Lost in the Woods – eBook Review!

A first for this blog, an eBook review! The author, one ‘Fun London’, contacted me on Twitter. He complimented me on this site, and said if I was interested in reviewing his book ‘Lost in the Woods’ that he could email me a review copy. I said Okie-dokie, and here we are!

… Don’t you all feel more edumacated? You’re welcome.

On to the review!

The story starts, and revolves, around 12 year old Jack Barton. He’s your average adventurous type, and loves climbing trees. After a fallout with his mother, Jack climbs a tall tree. A really tall tree. We’re talking the ‘endless corridor’ of trees, here, so it’s pretty tall.

But eternally tall or not, all trees abide by nature sooner or later, and it’s not long before Jack falls foul of weak branches and, erm… Falls.

(I’m so utterly brilliant at synonyms, me…)

Fortunately for Jack, a thick branch breaks his descent (hah, see? I didn’t say ‘fall’ – dammit!). With cautious steps, he sets foot on solid ground. Only, it’s not any ground he’s familiar with… And the tree he came down from wasn’t the one he climbed up…and is that squirrel talking to him?

… Yes, yes it is. Wait, wait! I know what you’re thinking; talking animals have had their day, and shouldn’t be heard unless they’re satirising the communist movement in a barn. That’s right, Dave has read ‘ANIMAL FARM’ – but that’s not important!

What is important is that Fun London does talking animals well. Each creature Jack meets on his journey home had a different, unique voice. And not all of them actually spoke to get their voice across. And not all of them are friendly… But instead of having random enemies, Fun London (in case you’re wondering, that is his pen name – I’m not referring to him by his Twitter name to confuse you all) makes sure that any and all foes have a personal and, more importantly, believable reason why they’re going after Jack.

But it’s a forest-wide disaster that brings everyone together, friend and foe alike, in a bid to save their home. And maybe – just…just maybe – Jack learns something about himself along the way…

‘LOST IN THE WOODS’ is a brilliant, old-school fantasy story that will entertain and delight children of all ages. If I had one complaint, it’s a tiny one; Allen (the squirrel) says “And so forth and so on” a few too many times for my liking. But, like I said, tiny – a slight characterisation hitch isn’t enough to get in the way of this wonderful tale.

Rating: 4/5

For those wondering (that’s probably just a few of you), I will be reviewing the rest of Barry Hutchison’s ‘INVISIBLE FIENDS’ books very, very soon.

Until then!

Dave

Judgment is Coming…

Saw this poster upon stepping outside New Cross Gate train station…

At first, I thought it was some sort of ‘End of the World’ notice. I thought it was nice they wanted to remind us ahead of time, but the Mayan’s predicted date was still a way’s off. Then, upon closer inspection (ie. spotting a release date and the Lionsgate logo), I quickly realised that this was a teaser poster for the upcoming ‘DREDD’, and that it was pretty spiffy, for more than one reason…

Firstly, it LOOKS GOOD, and draws your attention and curiosity. Judgement? Whut now? There is a city in the midst of fiery devastation, and surely that means this judgement is either a) the cause of said destruction, and not good, or b) the answer to this ruined city’s problems, in which case huzzah! It can’t come around quick enough!

Secondly, could have just shown a picture of Dredd himself, but then – other than to take in the costume – you wouldn’t give it a second glance. They purposefully left him out, along with any other glaringly obvious iconography from the movie or comics. Doing so is a very clever marketing strategy, if you think about it… Instead of thinking ‘If we don’t make it obvious this is advertising DREDD, how is anyone going to know?’ They instead went with ‘Hey, if we just have the ominous statement “JUDGMENT IS COMING”, it will confuse a lot if people, but in a good way – instead of shrugging it off, they’ll hopefully look into it online, and find out more about the movie!’

And they’re not the only ones to take this approach. Only recently I saw an advertisement on the tube for ‘Rekall memory services’. This was easier for me to place, as I’m a huge fan of the original TOTAL RECALL, but it struck me nonetheless as an ingenious marketing campaign – involve your audience, bring them into the world of your story, and they feel more affinity towards it.

And I’m sure it’s not just movies utilising this strategy – the card game ‘Magic: The Gathering’ did a similar postal campaign for their recent horror-influenced ‘Innistrad’ set, mailing postcards done in the olde English style of posters, declaring everything from witch hunts to monsters stealing children. They were odd and disturbing, and set the mood perfectly when the new range of cards came out.

I’m sure books can use similar approaches, if they haven’t already. I’m already in the planning stages of a HUGE publicity angle for the series I’m writing, but I can’t be alone…

What do YOU think? Are there any unique publicity/advertising campaigns for books I’d should know about? Maybe you have plans for the future, or would like to share a past success? Leave a comment!

Until next time,

Dave

Random Ramblings: I’m Going to Explode…

So, something I’ve learned tonight…

Cooking too much when you’ve got a family or group of people you’re cooking for is fine: it’s a sign that you’re a caring soul, that you’d rather have food left over than have your loved ones go hungry. It’s a wonderful fault to have.

Cooking too much when you live alone, on the other hand, isn’t so endearing. Especially if you cook rice.

Dear lord, the rice!

They’re sneaky buggers, those grains of rice. You can pour in about two handfuls of the stuff… But not always get the same amount back. What the hell, right?

It’s almost like, sometimes, extra grains of rice hide inside other grains inside other bloody grains! It’s like a crap version of ‘Inception’, I swear…

Sometimes, I wonder if hot water is the secret catalyst for the rice reproductive cycle. Either that, or rice are Gremlins…

Dave

Day 30 -An Odd End…

So…

This is the thirtieth post, but obviously not on the thirtieth day (WP drafted this one, as well). I’ve hit a lot of obstacles along the way, but I persevered, and got out the other end alive!

Thanks to everyone who read the entries – I’ll try and be more frequent with future posts. So that means more book reviews, author interviews, and maybe some original short stories.

Stay tuned!

Dave

Day 29 – Make Em’ Laugh…

I’m currently in the process of perfecting the first 5000 words of my novel in time for an agency’s funny-story competition, and when I’d gotten it to the best I possibly could at the moment, I went on to write more of the overall novel. That’s when I noticed something for probably the first time…

Writing comedy is HARD. Seriously hard. And comedy for children? Probably the hardest of all.

It’s not as simple as “That’s funny, I’ll put that in!” You’ve got to consider your audience, the joke’s suitably, it’s necessity to the story, it’s phrasing/delivery… There’s no point having a funny idea if you can’t get it across clearly for your readers. Especially children – adults will read a long, convoluted humourous passage, decipher the intended joke, and move on. Children will just find the book boring, and put it down. Then you, as the author, have lost.

Thankfully, as the author, you have as long as it takes to make every joke zing (unless you’re an already-published author working to a deadline, in which case I’d think it’s safe to say you’ve already proven you know how to write jokes). Your first draft can be as long and muddled as it can possibly be, because your revision process will then whittle away all that fluff and prattle time and time again, until you’re left with as close to perfect as it’s going to get. And it’s the same with writing the jokes. So what if it took you four lines to say “grandma blew-up the birthday cake”? What matters is that, by the time you’ve revised it half a dozen times or more, you’ve got something snappy, surprising, and sure to make the kids giggle.

So take it from me – just because writing gets hard from time to time doesn’t mean you’re going anything wrong. It just means you’re learning more about the writing craft itself…

Until tomorrow!

Dave

Day 28 – Still Behind…

I’m getting more and more lethargic as the days progress, and my blog schedule is suffering because of it. And for that, I apologise.

The good news is a) I haven’t given up, and b) there’s only two posts to go (after this one).

But where to go from there? Obviously, I want to do more book reviews, interviews, and talk about my own writing projects and process, but I currently have two writing competitions I’m working on, as well as the constant search for employment, so posting regularity might take a dip after the 30th post. But I won’t give up on it! So stay tuned… And you never know what you might find next.

Until tomorrow!

Dave

Day 27 – Club LOUD

Sorry, fell asleep and forgot I hadn’t caught up…

So, after the Ice Bar the four of us went next door to a place called Strawberry Moons – go in there and say you’re a friend of Dave’s. They won’t know who you mean, but I’ll probably find it funny – a bar/nightclub packed from wall to wall with party people. Needless to say, I felt out of my element, but Misha led us to the dancefloor just as an ABBA/Steps tribute band (I know, right?) finished up. There followed a weird few minutes during which a man-woman host judged a limbo competition (the stick was held by two half-naked guys, I kid you not. And they held it with different… Er, muscles as the stick was lowered). A long dance marathon followed. But I don’t dance, so I mostly stood by the railing, and held onto her bag for dear life.

Come half midnight, Misha had finally had her fill of boogying, and we all caught a sleepy bus home.

It was definitely one of the most varied, interesting, and at times downright weird days out I’ve ever experienced. But I wouldn’t change a thing.

Until tomorrow!

Day 26 – Getting Colder

So, yeah, my girlfriend and I went on a river cruise for her birthday – but the fun didn’t stop there! Oh, no…

After a small spot of retail shopping (during which I freaked out on the lowest level of Topshop – did you know there’s no name for the fear of being underground? Surely it should be something like Subterraniphobia, right?), we met her best friend and his wife for Nandos… And then went out to hit the town!

First stop, the Ice Bar! Created by the same people who created the Ice Hotel, the Ice Bar is exactly what it sounds like: a bar, made of ice.

Before you go in, a protective cloak that makes you look like an Eskimo is thrown over you. This cloak has a pair of insulated gloves attached, gloves you’ll quickly become thankful for as you step though the doors… Into a wall of cold air.

A 40 minute timer is projected onto the wall which is, of course, made of ice. As are the bars, the chairs, the sculptures and wall carvings. The only things not made of ice are the staff and the sheet metal flooring, the latter of which stick to the soles of your shoes every now and then.

You get a free drink with the price of admission, and I – seeing as how I don’t really drink – made mine a non-alcoholic one. It sounded lovely, looked great in it’s hollowed-out icecube glass, and I’m sure I would’ve loved it. But then I found out the hard way that

A) The ice counters were made of ice, and had widely curved edges. And…

B) Curved ice counter edge + icecube glass = the metal floor enjoying my drink for me.

So I spent the next 35 minutes with no drink, but great surroundings, and even greater company.

Me, with my beautiful girlfriend. No prizes for guessing who’s who…

But the night didn’t end there!

That comes later…

Dave

Day 25 – Delayed Due to FUN

Yes, this should’ve been posted on Thursday, but that was the day of my girlfriend’s 25th. And did we have a great time (not like that, you cheeky monkeys)!

We went to London, for a bit of sightseeing on the London Eye River Cruise. It was only a little chilly, so the two of us persevered on the open top-deck to take many great photos as the informative-yet-chicken tour guide told us all about the buildings lining the Thames, both old and new.

On our ride, we saw the Spire…

The Tower of London…

And a pirate ship next to a pub.

There was also a small ship on top of a theatre that served as a single-room hotel AND art installation, but the cruise shot past it before I had a chance to snap it. Just google “A Room for London” if you’re curious.

That was the afternoon – I’ll save the evening for the next post!

Until then!

Dave

Day 24 – NOT the Jack Bauer Power Hour

Totally forgot my last blog was still a day behind, so here’s yet another catch-up blog.

This is the 24th blog, although not on the 24th day. I’m a huge fan of the show 24, hence the post title. It’s a great example of how a premise for a series can be repeated whilst exhibiting significant changes in each story to keep it fresh and exciting. Each season has a distinctly different threat, and even Bauer’s situation changes… Unlike, say, the Bond films, most of which get a bit samey. They only thing that changes there is his face (I have multiple in-canon ideas behind this, but I’ll save that for another time).

Another good example of the same premise changing enough to stay fresh is, of course, the Harry Potter books: each year is another year at school, we know Voldemort wants him dead, and that something is bound to be dodgy within Hogwarts itself, but that’s pretty much where the similarities between books finish. Rowling then sprinkles each with enough originality to make each book stand apart from the rest.

Both are proof that you can revisit the same characters without placing them in wildly different situations every time.

Until tomorrow!

Dave