Just a quick reminder about my forthcoming talk on Monday 8th February 2010, at the Croydon Clocktower on Katharine Street. The event will be hosted by the 'Croydon Writers Circle', and will be in 'Workshop 1', from 8-9pm. The audience will be primarily adults, but is open to anyone. Tickets cost £4 at the door, and are £2 for members. The proceeds will go towards covering the cost of the venue. 

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I shall be doing a couple of talks, sharing information on how to go about writing a book. I'll be assisted by members of the Riddlesdown Collegiate 'Book Club', who'll be on hand to provide some fun and exciting activities. Details of the two events are as follows: 

1) Sanderstead Library talk (Saturday 23rd January 2010, 2pm-4pm): For the 'Teenage Reading Group', and anyone who wishes to come along. Free tickets can be booked through Janice Hendry, the Children's and Young People's Librarian, at Sanderstead@croydon.gov.uk.
2) Croydon Clocktower talk (Monday 8th February 2010, 8pm-9pm): For the 'Croydon Writers Circle', which has been going since 1945, although the event is again open to anyone. Tickets: £4

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Alex Franieczek is starting to produce some really good stills. Here's Brantex:

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I’ve recently had a lot of very interesting emails, some of which have touched upon the same points, which I would now like to deal with openly. In The Enchanted Amulet, I describe a paradisiacal land, with a practical and enlightened system of governance. I’m not a Zionist, per se, but it is true to say that Peralucia is a sort of Promised Land, New Jerusalem or Zion. Now, I’ve also said that there is a connection between Malkazore and Bolon Yokte K’uh – the Mayan Lord of the Underworld, who some believe will herald in an apocalypse on December 21st 2012. Lots of religious groups are now starting to jump on the bandwagon. Many Christians now believe this might actually be the date of Armageddon, alluded to in the Book of Revelation. Bible cryptologists have been quick to draw our attention to the following passage: “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.” (Revelation 20:12) And the The Freemasons, too, also seem to be in on the act. The City of London – a financial and Freemasonic capital, which, I might add, is home to some of the most brilliant minds in the world – has been instrumental in bringing the Olympics to London. And, having organised the whole thing, is it mere co-incidence that the logo, which innocently reads “2012”, can be re-arranged to read “Zion”! It’s a sad fact that the only thing that seems to bring us all together is the threat of a major catastrophe – whether real or imagined. 

         

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Quite a few people have asked if Malkazore is based on Bolon Yokte K'uh - the Mayan Lord of the Underworld. As you may know, there has been quite a lot of hype surrounding the date: 21st December 2012. This is when the Mayan calander, which can be read from the carvings on the 500-year-old Aztec Sun Stone, predicts the end of a major cycle, brought about by the aforementioned demon.  As many people now know, this date also happens to co-incide with some major astrological events. The Earth and Sun will come into alignment with the super-massive Black Hole at the centre of our Galaxy (which happens every 26,000 years); the Earth will complete a full Precession of the Equinoxes (which happens every 26,000 years); there will be a double Solstice Alignment (which happens every 13,000 years); and there will be a Solar Maximum (which happens every 11 years). Some claim that the gravitational effects caused by the alignment with the super-massive Black Hole, which the Mayans referred to as Hunab Ku, could cause a Pole Shift on Earth. The Earth would acquire a new North and South Pole, causing the current polar ice caps, which would now be out of position, to melt, resulting in a super-deluge. This galactic alignment could also amplify the forthcoming Solar Maximum, resulting in an electromagnetic storm of such magnitude the planet would be without electricity for some time. Anyway, to cut a long story short, there is indeed a link between Malkazore and Bolon Yokte K'uh; and a little more can be ascertained if one studies his name. "Mal", for instance, comes from the Latin word malus (evil); "ka" from the Egyptian word ka (spirit); and "azore" refers to the famous archipelago that was named after the bird of prey, the goshawk, and which forms part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Refer to the writings of American congressman Ignatius Donnelly for further clues, although more shall be revealled in the forthcoming Chronicles of Peralucia series... 

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Am looking into taking the book to the next stage, and possibly turning it into a movie. Lots of people have shown interest: especially Terry Hall, an internationally renowned scriptwriter from Film Ink., Alex Franieczek, a graphic artist from RedBedlam, and actor Luke Flanagan.  Anyone else who wants to get on board, please drop me a line.

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Some people have commented that The Enchanted Amulet is quite expensive in some bookstores. Although you can now pick it up for about £5 online, it's true that in some shops it's as much as £12! I'm not happy with this and I'm trying to get the price down, however there are many legitimate reasons why it is so high. Firstly, most young adult novels are between 20,000-40,000 words in length. My book is approximately 70,000. Most paperbacks are printed on inexpensive paper, which will discolour and disintegrate over time, and are bound using the cheapest materials. Mine displays a high quality gloss jacket cover and is printed on acid-free paper. Most novels appear in the standard ‘pocketbook’ format and are 7”x 4.3”. Mine is 8”x 5”. Most novels contain just written text. Mine contains a detailed map, list of contents, chapter titles in the header, and a twelve-page lexicon. Most novels are not formatted properly. Words are often squeezed onto a line, or are separated by large spaces, making passages very difficult to read. Mine has been formatted over twenty times. Hope that clears up some of the confusion! :)

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Wrote an article for More to Life magazine. Will hopefully appear in the winter edition...

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Interested in doing some writing? Check out "Spread the Word" at: www.spreadtheword.org.uk. Really good scheme designed to help nurture budding writers. From the Croydon Guardian (04/09/2009, p.12): "Spread the Word will train emerging writers in a nine-month programme of creative and practical training, mentoring and hands-on experience in five boroughs including Croydon".

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