Literature Map again

See how good this is - it just reminded me of two of my favourite authors so I'm adding them to my list of favourite things.

Literature Map

I've been meaning to tell you about a site I love.  It is called literature-map.com and is a fantastic means by which you can find authors similar to the ones you like already.

The idea is simple.  You type in the name of an author you like, press a button and, hey-presto, a constallation of stars explodes onto your screen before settling down into a galaxy of similar authors.  Those closest to your named writer are most like him or her, those furthest similar but less so.

 I love it.  Try it. If anyone knows how it works please let me know. 

Martin Lake

PS It also works for films.

A new voice

I've just been enjoying an interesting blog, lots of lively writing and good use of images to enhance the text rather than overwhelm it.  Check it out on http://semicattus.wordpress.com
I shall have to get my camera out and sharpen my pencil in order to keep up.

The Lost King: Resistance

Now that the first part of The Lost King is finished I can look back on its genesis.  I have always been interested in times of transistion and also in the Anglo-Saxons.  So it was perhaps no surprise that I was drawn to the turbulent year of 1066.  But I cannot now recall what drew me to the story of Edgar Atheling, the young heir to the throne who was proclaimed king after Harold died at Hastings.

However, as soon as I started to read about him I realised that Edgar has been almost completely eradicated from our history.  They say that history is written by the victors and there is no better example of this than the Norman white-wash of Edgar.  If we were to believe what they said about him he was a tame creature, idle, foolish and a no-hoper.  In reality he spent many years leading the resistance to the conquest and came closer than anyone to defeating William the Conqueror.  People have heard of Hereward the Wake but he was small fry compared to Edgar, the last native king of England.  The rest of Edgar's  life was pretty exciting as well.

You can find The Lost King: Resistance by clicking on this link.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Lost-King-Resistance/dp/B004X23TFO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&m=A3TVV12T0I6NSM&s=digital-text&qid=1303624569&sr=1-2

Please take a look at the book (it's 70p in the UK, $1.15 in the USA and 0.99 Euros elsewhere.)  Let me know what you think of it.

My other work

Someone asked me about what else I do other than write.  I run a training company called Education Associates which specialises in training college and school staff.  We are also beginning to train students on the same topics we give to the teachers so that everyone can sing off the same sheet-music. 

My web-site can be found at www.educationassociates.co (just co, not com or dot uk.)

I am still playing with this blog and see the wonderful opportunities it is opening up.  More on this later.

Martin

The Writer's Journey

I mentioned this yesterday and recommend that you either get this book or look up the book it is based on: The Hero's Journey by Joseph Campbell.  There is a very good article on him in Wikipaedia.

I have designed a template from this which I use when I am plotting and find it invaluable.

I will now read The Heroine's Journey and see if I can use this.

Martin Lake

Books for budding writers

I am currently completing an on-line writing course at UEA which has been a marvellous experience.  (Please contact me if you want more details.)

As part of the course I was able to indulge myself by asking for books for Christmas.  I got a lot.

Before going on this course my favourite had been 'How to Write a Million' by Dibell, Scott Card and Turco which I recommend.  Since going on the course I found these particularly invaluable:

Solutions for Writers by Sol Stein
The Freelance Writer's Handbook by Andrew Crofts
Solutions for Novelists by Sol Stein
The Writer's Journey by Christopher Vogler

I shall say more about them in future posts.

The benefits of sunshine

I've just spent an hour walking round my local park.  Well, not the whole hour walking.  In fact I spent most of it sitting on a bench thinking about my latest novel and its inter-twining strands. 

I saw a family playing frisbee and had the idea for a short story.  I doubt this would have happened on a rainy, blustery day in winter.  The sun brings opportunity and helps the creative juices.

Books on Kindle

I am really excited because my collection of short stories 'Pick and Mix' is already available on Kindle.  I am hoping that 'The Lost King: Resistance' will be available in the next few days.

Welcome to my blog

This is an exciting day for me.  I have just uploaded 'Pick and Mix', a collection of my short stories onto Kindle.  I hope that it will be available over this weekend for purchase.  Please buy it and also write a review.

I will be putting the first part of my historical novel on Kindle shortly.  It is called 'The Lost King: Resistance.'  Just think, you could be the first person to buy this.