Link to my book

At last I have a working link to The Never-Dying Man. At least it worked for me!

Here it is:

http://mybook.to/TheNeverDyingMan

Charity Begins at Home?

I am responding to a post by Clancy Tucker that he posted on his blog, https://clancytucker.blogspot.com/. It was about The Peace Corps set up in 1961 by President Kennedy. The idea was to get young people to go abroad to countries that needed help and give that aid. Someone made the comment that he did not think there would be many volunteers from the current generation as they don't seem to be into volunteering.

Be that as it may, my thoughts went to people here in the UK, not usually the young, who are against foreign aid. They often quote the Bible, although how many of them know they are doing so I'm not sure.

What they say is 'Well, Charity begins at home, so we shouldn't be sending all this money abroad in foreign aid. We should be spending it on our own people.'

They are interpreting this saying as 'Charity begins (and ends) at home. This is not how I see it at all.

My interpretation is twofold.

 I see it as a message to parents to teach their children about kindness and love. If the parents don't show kindness, love and helpfulness in the home, then the children won't learn it. Thus, Charity begins at home, and as the children grow up with such a loving and caring background, they will then be able to extend that love to others.
 Then there is the other side of the same coin. If you cannot be charitable to those you live with, you cannot be charitable to those outside your immediate family.

That is how I see the saying. Unfortunately, too many disagree with me and rail against the help we send to poor countries.



Next week, as it's the first Tuesday of the Month, I'll be posting the next instalment of Asphodel's story.

The Never-Dying Man

Today I received the news that The Never-Dying Man is available for purchase on Kindle. In the next few days it will also be available in print.

Unfortunately, the link the publisher send does not work. I've told him and I expect he'll sort it. I'll let you know as soon as I have a working link.

Re-Launch of The Never-Dying Man.

Today I'm announcing the imminent re-launch of The Never-Dying Man, Book 2 of The Wolves of Vimar Series.

As with The Wolf Pack, there have been a few changes. This is because of the changes I made in The Wolf Pack. I'm afraid some things would not have made sense without them, due to things left out of the first book in the revision.

Anyway, it is now ready for the re-launch. I've not been told yet just when it'll be on sale, but hopefully not too long. I hope not more than a week.

Sorry this is a bit late, and rather short, but I've had a 'procedure' done in hospital and had to stay in overnight, unexpectedly. It should have been a 1 day thing but turned into 2 days. Now I'm laid up with a bad back. I think it's from lying on a hard surface and being unable to move for a couple of days, firstly during the 2 hour procedure and 1 hour after it, then because I was wired up to a variety of machines.

I hope to be back to normal by next week.

Hypocrisy. A poem

Today is a day when I publish some more of my writing. Today it's a poem about how hypocritical we are.

Hypocrisy

We like our village churches
But we don’t go there.
We love our local pub
But we don’t drink there.
We don’t want them to close
Though no one ever goes.

Our roads, they are congested
With cars for everyone.
The others shouldn’t have them
But we, of course, need one.
It should be other folk
Who give it up and walk.

Aircraft fly above us
Polluting all the air.
We think there should be fewer
But we still fly o’er there.
We need our holiday
No matter come what may


We don’t like highest earners
But want to earn as much.
We eat our meals with wine
But we don’t know too much.
We really like to think
We understand our drink.

We highly praise the classics,
 But we don’t read them.
We talk of works of Art
But never see them.
We think we are so highbrow
But brows are really quite low.

 We say we all hate rumour
But spread the gossip.
We say we understand things
When we don’t, not one bit.
Hypocrites are we
And we always will be.

10 word useage errors I found in a book I read recently

I recently read a book in which the author made many mistakes in the word he chose to use. I won't embarrass him by naming the book or author just in case he ever looks at this post. Suffice it to say that it isn't the usual genre I read, being horror.

I actually found the storyline quite good and it read with pace, but here are some of the mistakes he made with words.

1. Traverse: Transverse

Traverse is a verb meaning to go across something, like, as in the story, a forest.
Transverse is an adjective meaning something that goes across something else. e.g. a diagonal line crossing a shape, or a piece of wood going across another to form a cross.

The author wrote '...the only way to transverse the property...'

2. Disperse: Dispense

Disperse means to scatter. E.g. The crowd dispersed in an orderly manner.
Dispense means to do without. E.g. As the weather was warmer, he dispensed with wearing a coat.

The author wrote  '...dispersed with human words...'

3. Soul: Sole
This one amused me greatly.
Soul is the spiritual part of a person that carries on after death.
Sole is the base of a shoe, or the only one.

The author wrote '...rubber boots, their souls encased in mud...'

4. Boarded: Bordered

Another amusing one.
Boarded means to get onto a ship, coach, aircraft, bus etc
Bordered means to go round the edge of something.

The author wrote 'Two candles boarded a statue of the Buddha.'

5.Forth: Fourth

Forth is to set off, go or depart.
Fourth is the one after third and before fifth.

The author wrote 'He dumped the first three cards and was in the process of leading the forth.'
6. Hold: Holed

Hold is to have something in one's hands.
Holed is to hide away.

The author wrote, ''We hold up in my grandfather's hunting cabin.'

7. Site: Sight

Site refers to a place. E.g. This is the site of the battle.
Sight refers to seeing.

The author wrote 'He brought up the front site of the shotgun.

8. Crucifix: Crucifixion.

Crucifix is is the cross on which people were killed in Roman times.
Crucifixion is what happens on the cross.

The author wrote, 'The priest stood next to the first crucifixion.'
'A large semicircle with twelve crucifixions...'
'Strapped to the crucifixions...'

9. Finally: Finale

Finally is an adverb. It means coming at the end.
Finale is a noun and it refers to the last act.

The author wrote, 'The grand finally...'

10. Wetting: Whetting

Wetting means to put water on something.
Whetting means to sharpen something. E.g. a stone used to sharpen a knife is called a whetstone.

The author wrote, '...wetting their appetite...'

Those were the main ones I noted down, as well as some common ones like were and where, choose and chose and the inevitable loose and lose.

Now I'm prepared to be generous and say some of these might, just might, be typos, but even in that case, it was poor. The manuscript should have been edited better.

It's things like this that give self-published authors a bad name. It's easier to get a bad name than a good one, and very difficult to get rid of a bad name once it's been established. Unfortunately, in many people's eyes, self-published authors are poor and produce poor books, and it's things like this that reinforce this opinion.

So please, please, please, if you are a self-publishing author, or are thinking of self-publishing, get your manuscripts edited and all corrections made before going to press with it. At least read through it properly and get someone else (as many someone elses as you can, preferably) to do so as well if you can't afford a professional editor. I've never heard anyone say they couldn't finish a book because it had no errors, but I've heard many say the opposite.

Aspholessaria Part 3

Asphodel left the house, tears streaming down her face. She would go to Vass. He would have a solution to this. She could not, would not marry this man. He was old, in spite of what her father said. It was wrong to force someone to marry against their will. It was one thing if the two people both agreed to the arrangement, but she did not agree. She loved Vass. If she married Frishillondor she would never be able to see Vass again. she could not bear that thought.

She ran down the path leading to where he was staying with his cousin, Liss. It so happened that the two young men were just leaving the house. Vass ran to Asphodel and took her in his arms.

'Oh, my darling, what's the matter?' he said, stroking her long black hair.

Asphodel stopped sobbing now she was in Vass's arms and leaned her head against his chest.

'Vass, it's terrible. Father has arranged a marriage for me with a man who himself is old enough to be my father. I told father I won't marry him and ran out of the house. He'll be so angry. He'll make me marry Frishillondor, I just know it.'

Vass pushed the girl away from him, holding her by her shoulders and looked down into her grey eyes, no longer clear as the usually were. He smiled at her.

'Asphodel, I swear I won't let this marriage go ahead. I love you and you love me. It's right we should be together, and this marriage is all wrong.'

'But what are we going to do? I know we should be together, Vass, and somehow I'll make sure we will be. I don't know how, just yet, but whatever happens, I won't marry this man.'

Asphodel's tears had stopped. She clenched her fists pressed her lips together and looked up at Vass. She saw his smile and her heart beat faster. Yes, this was the right man for her, not Frishillondor.

'You don't much like being told what to do, do you?' Vass said.

'It's not that,' replied the girl. 'What I don't like is being told to do something I know is wrong, and I won't do it.'

Vass turned to Liss.

'Do you think your parents will let Asphodel stay here for tonight?' he asked his cousin.

Liss shrugged. 'It might not be easy to persuade them. After all, they would be likely to agree with Asphodel's parents, that it's her duty to marry the man they choose for her.'

The three walked through Quantissarillishon thinking and occasionally putting forward ideas. Eventually they decided they would have to lie about why Asphodel wanted to stay with them overnight.

As it began to get dark, the trio made their way back to Liss's parent's home. Liss's mother was preparing the evening meal as they entered.

'Ah, there you are,' she greeted them. 'Did you have a nice walk?' she turned to Liss.
'Your father will be home soon, so go and get washed. And you, too, Vass.' Then she looked at Asphodel.

'Would you like to stay for the evening meal, Asphodel? If you're sure your parents won't mind.'
Asphodel looked at Vass who smiled at his aunt.

'No, they won't mind. In fact they won't even know until Asphodel tells them. They've gone away to stay with her sister for a few days.'

'That's settled then. You'll stay to eat with us.'

She returned to chopping up vegetables when she suddenly stopped and, brushing her hair from her eyes, she said, 'I've just had an idea. How long are your parents going to be away for?'

This took Asphodel by surprise. She had not thought this question might be asked.

'O-Oh, er. I don't know. Daisy, that's Dassirrola, my sister, is expecting a baby any day and I think they'll stay until she's had it.'

Vass looked at her and raised his eyebrows. Asphodel looked back at him and gave a little nod to say that it was the truth she told about her sister.

'Oh, I understand that,' said Liss's mother. 'Your mother is so lucky having two of you. That's rare in elvenkind. Most of us have to make do with one child.'

She picked up her knife again and resumed her chopping before continuing.
'What I was going to say was; would you like to stay here while your parents are away? It'll be lonely for you at home by yourself.

Vass almost broke out laughing, and Liss's jaw nearly dropped to the floor. How easy it had turned out to be after all. No arguing a case for Asphodel to stay after all. His kind-hearted mother had done it for them.

The next morning, Vass took Asphodel out to walk in the forest outside the city.

Once there, he took her hand and said, 'I hardly slept last night, darling. I was thinking and thinking how we can be together and I came to the conclusion there is only one way. We must run away.'
Asphodel stopped and looked at him. 'Run away? Run to where? Wherever we go in Rindissillaron they'll find us.'

'Not to anywhere in Rindissillaron. This is a big continent. We could go to Erian. They'd not find us there. But we must go quickly. Your parents will be already looking for you. First they'll think you stayed with Sissi and not worry, but this evening they'll begin asking. It won't take them long before they think of looking here. We should go tonight, or at the latest, tomorrow morning.'

Asphodel walked to the edge of a small brook that ran through the forest.

'Leave Rindissillaron?'

'Yes.'

'I've never lived anywhere but here in Quantissarillishon.'

'Then it'll be an exciting adventure for you. It's the only way I can think of that we can be together.'
Asphodel turned to face Vass.

'Then we'll go. I have a few jewels and a little money. If I can get them without my parents seeing me, then I will. We'll need money.'

'I've a little money too. Not much, but I can work, and you can read and write so you can get a job as a scribe, I expect. We'll get along just fine.'

'I don't speak Erian, do you?'

Vass laughed. 'No, but we're both intelligent people and we learned Elvish, didn't we? How hard can it be to learn Erian?'

Asphodel laughed and Vass picked her up and spun her round.

'Here's to our new life in a new country,' he said