tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20301076317430304592024-03-06T01:17:53.051+13:00MilkshakeMatt Hammond's debut novel now available in paperback and download from Amazon.com and Amazon.co.ukAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124367034336032972noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030107631743030459.post-42599798784596392432013-09-07T21:29:00.000+12:002013-09-07T21:29:27.477+12:00The new definition of 'Gay'?<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Gay people define themselves and are defined, judge themselves, and are judged, on the basis of their sexuality.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">But you don't have to be 'gay' to consider your sexuality to be your defining quality do you?</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Some people think it's important to be seen as sporty, or arty, or intelligent. To them, these particular traits are what help create the impression they wish to give others.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So when the 'Gay Community' (which makes it sound like they all live happily together) petition for their rights, or for acceptance, there is a paradox. You cannot crave 'normality' (whatever that is) while defining yourself in such a narrow way.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I think it's time we forgot about being 'gay', and that goes for the people who are.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sexuality and the sexualisation of our society makes gay people feel important; special. They are not. They are normal people and always have been.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">It's time to move on.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Sure, you can still be gay, but only if you're honest enough to admit that what it really means is you're narrow-minded enough to consider your sexuality your most important trait; and don't forget, you don't actually have to be gay to do that.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'm really not interested in your sexuality unless I'm considering having sex with you.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So 21st century, let's move on shall we? </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124367034336032972noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030107631743030459.post-1488307355620235492013-08-11T17:39:00.000+12:002013-08-11T17:39:34.883+12:00Black Rooms and the ancient art of mail interception<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I realised it's been over four months since my last blog post. In that time the world has come to know the names of Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden. </span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The true extent and intent of western governments to intercept, snoop and generally read your supposedly 'private' emails and internet postings has become evident.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Here in New Zealand, the so-called GCSB Spy Bill is poised to become law, thanks, in part to the support of MP Peter Dunne who himself was recently the victim of leaked emails which resulted in his resignation as a minister.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">But why are we so surprised our leaders are so keen to take advantage of so much information being available at the click of a mouse?</span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Whilst researching '<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Milkshake-ebook/dp/B005UEFCX6/ref=sr_1_7?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1318498069&sr=1-7" target="_blank"><span style="color: white;">Milkshake</span></a>' I wanted to (fictionally) install a phone interception device in the telephone exchange situated in the Nelson Post Office Building. I came across the concept of the '<i>Cabinet Noir' or</i> 'Black Room'.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The following quote, written over six years ago, is based on fact and shows the idea is not new...</span></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><i>The concept of a ‘Cabinet Noir’ or Black Room dated back
to the reign of Louis XIII. It was the office where letters sent by suspicious
individuals were opened and read by public officials before being forwarded to
their destination. <o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>The practice was
adopted during the First World War when the New Zealand Government employed the
tactic as a means of censoring mail in
order to protect and maintain the morale at home, shielding it from graphic and
depressing correspondence sent from the front line thousands of miles away in
Europe. </i></span><span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 200%;"><span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">No doubt different versions of 'Black Rooms' continued to exist throughout the 20th and 21st centuries. But has the room now evolved to incorporate the entire internet?</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124367034336032972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030107631743030459.post-16958326684501527292013-03-27T15:59:00.002+13:002013-03-27T16:02:36.338+13:00Blog 20 Sound on? vision on?<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So it's been a while since my last blog post. In the meantime 'Milkshake' has sold steadily and a few Kindle Select free download promos have helped spread the word.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The trial with the cow's backside cover is coming to an end. I've agreed with the publisher we should go for an 'edgier' look to reflect the 'thriller' elements of the story a bit more. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So in the near future, expect to see this on Amazon:</span></span><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKek2-TyrsMG5UNObewurtBn4JXuk_UUEoBFSrenmE81U1rSCXsTvG17PhoZafc1JAaUMJE0W5g5Ky8tb-EdFXkR3hQTYEQC4pJ8PqMrDyQiW41yQbrjVeDoZv8hKggHBUzafbtjBUcEJl/s1600/Milkshake+cowhide+cover+with+blood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKek2-TyrsMG5UNObewurtBn4JXuk_UUEoBFSrenmE81U1rSCXsTvG17PhoZafc1JAaUMJE0W5g5Ky8tb-EdFXkR3hQTYEQC4pJ8PqMrDyQiW41yQbrjVeDoZv8hKggHBUzafbtjBUcEJl/s320/Milkshake+cowhide+cover+with+blood.jpg" width="226" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Meanwhile, in other news, a local radio personality who I made contact with via Facebook asked to read a copy of 'Milkshake'. After reading it, he invited me in for an interview, broadcast on local Nelson radio station The Breeze. He enjoyed the story and it's local Nelson flavour and was keen to help promote it in any way he could. He's promised a further interview when the sequel 'The Destiny Stone' is published, in the near future.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: white;">Here's the interview:</span></span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><a href="http://soundcloud.com/milkshakenz-1/matt-hammond-milkshake" target="_blank"><span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Click here</span></a></span><br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124367034336032972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030107631743030459.post-54174161349425444712012-10-28T21:51:00.001+13:002012-10-28T21:56:29.552+13:00Blog 19 A tsunami of benevolence?<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As I write this, a 2 metre wall of water is about to hit the Hawaiian islands, so this title could be either wildly inappropriate or an unintended Google search hit.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Anyway, the tsunami of which I write concerns the 48 hours last Monday and Tuesday during which my debut thriller 'Milkshake' (available at all good bookstores called Amazon) was available for free download.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">This is a nail-biting time for an author who is not self-published. With no access to the hourly figures and no idea how things are going, all I can do is blindly promote and wait, like mission control waiting for Apollo 12 to emerge from the radio-blackout silence of the dark side of the moon.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">At least I got a sense that things were going well, since the figures on the 'Free' kindle chart appear alongside the book listing for the duration of the free promo. Milkshake appeared to reach number 5 in the US Amazon 'Action & Adventure' chart, which was promising.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">After two days the promo came to an end, with the book, as hoped, a lot further up the <i>real</i> Amazon chart, where hopefully it will draw greater interest and therefore actual sales.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So what about numbers? well my publisher tells me 1200 free copies were downloaded on Amazon UK and US. Surprisingly the vast majority on the US site, since usually sales are far greater in the UK.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So with 1200 copies now scattered across the world, the next stage is to wait and see if any get read. The first indications came earlier today, when, within the space of a few hours I received (on the US Amazon website) firstly a 4* review from Minnesota, followed a short while after by a 3* review from New Delhi.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I have no problem with the free promotional periods. Along with the previous ones, there must be several thousand copies of 'Milkshake' on Kindles around the world. The thought of my debut book being read by so many complete strangers is both thrilling and also vaguely disturbing.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The sequel 'The Destiny Stone' should be out early in 2013 and I console myself with the expectation several thousand copies will be instantly purchased by those eager to find out what happens next.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124367034336032972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030107631743030459.post-76367689089246283032012-08-12T14:04:00.000+12:002012-08-12T14:04:06.855+12:00Blog 18 Publisher or not? The 'sea' word..<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Just before a tsunami, the sea rushes out further than the low tide mark. That's a warning of the impending tumultuous torrent of devastation about to ensue.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">After I finished writing 'Milkshake' I wasted several months trying to track down likely agents and publishers who would preferably accept emailed manuscripts instead of insisting on half a ream of paper being sent halfway around the world. I reluctantly sent one to Australia. It cost $25. They declined.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So there I stood, in a desert of frustration, with no prospect of anyone ever getting to read 'Milkshake' in the form of a book. Except it wasn't a desert, it was a beach, and the sea had retreated far over the horizon.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A tsunami was imminent...</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">A number of aspiring writers were slowly realising the potential of self-publishing. Lead by the likes of Smashwords and Amazon, the internet was finally developing a viable model to exploit the full potential of the novel, in the same way musicians were already embracing the web as a way of cutting out the middle-men record companies who'd traditionally taken the lion's share of royalties and passed on a few cents to the artist.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Writers now had the ability to not only self-publish their work. Not only that, there were mechanisms in place to market and sell, potentially on a global scale, 24/7. Meanwhile, back on the beach, a distant roar could be heard. Traditional publishers stood looking out to sea, and wondered what that strange sound was.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So now the wave has hit us, swamping the unsuspecting publishers who stood, Canute-like, expecting the water to just rise uncomfortably above their waists. Instead, it simply washed over their heads.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">But some were prepared. A few writers had already prepared their raft. They'd anticipated the power of social networking and realised without the luxury of a corporate marketing budget, their success depended on <i>branding</i>. Never mind the story, the sale was as much about the attraction of the author as it was about the written word.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Not everyone has the skill to build their own raft. Luckily a few entrepreneurial types had the foresight to build lifeboats, and so we saw the rise of a huge number of publishers. In many cases this is a misnomer, since they offer little more than the time and technical expertise needed to convert Word documents into files capable of being sold on Amazon. Others will offer editing and critiquing services. Again many of these are not founded in any kind of formal training or acquired skill or learning.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Nevertheless, many inexperienced writers prefer to jump on board the relative comfort and safety of one of these newly-constructed 'lifeboat-publishers'. The kudos of a '<i>published by'</i> together with an eye-catching logo gives many writers the desired 'warm-fuzzy' feeling of having genuinely been published.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Of course, one of the other benefits is, hopefully, there are also other people on the 'lifeboat'; fellow writers able to support and publicise each other's work.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Meanwhile the traditional publishers frantically try and construct their own lifeboats using the flotsam and jetsam bobbing around in the wake of the biggest tsunami to hit publishing since the printing press.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: white; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;">...and I've not even mentioned pirates yet...</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124367034336032972noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030107631743030459.post-56494627972006625622012-07-02T19:55:00.000+12:002012-07-02T19:55:48.746+12:00Blog 17 is book purchasing seasonal - like fruit?<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Milkshake-ebook/dp/B005UEFCX6/ref=sr_1_7?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1318498069&sr=1-7" target="_blank"><span style="color: yellow;"><i>Milkshake</i> </span></a><span style="color: white;"> has ticked along quietly since mid-October 2011.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In recent months it has sold, on average, one copy each day. This makes it feel like prospective buyers are patiently queuing to log on to Amazon, one-by -one to make their purchase.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Now, as the northern hemisphere summer finally kicks in, it's interesting to see how sales, even of my obscure, low-charting debut novel , have started to pick up.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Helped, no doubt by my publisher;</span><span style="color: yellow; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <a href="http://www.taylorstreetbooks.com/" target="_blank"><i><span style="color: yellow;">Taylor Street Publishing</span></i></a> </span><span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">who have signed <i>'Milkshake</i>' up for Amazon's Kindle Select program. In return for giving Amazon exclusive ebook rights, they allow a number of promos which see <i>'Milkshake'</i> offered for free, for a limited time only. This not only allows the opportunity for a free copy (and hundreds have taken up the offer), but also pushes the book up the Amazon chart and closer to the more popular titles. This in turn appears to attract actual sales, once the promo period ends.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So, coming out of a 2-day promo at towards the end of June, the notoriously unreliable, but nevertheless compelling sales estimate website Novelrank, began suggesting sales of more than 1 per day!</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">In fact, in the last 7 days, Novelrank has estimated sales of 20 copies on Kindle.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">So I'm hoping I've caught a wave of people stocking up their e-readers ready for their summer holiday. I've also tweeted and face-booked the fact 'Milkshake' is primarily set in July 2002 - exactly 10 years ago this month. Readers may enjoy the heightened sense of timeliness by reading it in the next few weeks.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: white;">Although I don't yet have the figures for this most recent promo offer, combined with the last, and judging by how </span><i style="color: white;">'Milkshake' </i><span style="color: white;">leaped fairly rapidly up both </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Milkshake-ebook/dp/B005UEFCX6/ref=sr_1_7?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1318498069&sr=1-7"><i><span style="color: yellow;">Amazon.com</span></i></a><span style="color: white;"> and </span><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Milkshake-ebook/dp/B005UEFCX6/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1318321182&sr=1-6"><i><span style="color: yellow;">Amazon UK</span></i></a><span style="color: white;">, I'm estimating there to be around 2,500 copies out there. This bodes well for people wanting to find out what happens next in the story.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: white;">The sequel </span><a href="http://www.thedestinystone.webs.com/"><i><span style="color: yellow;">The Destiny Stone</span></i></a><span style="color: white;"> is currently with the publisher, awaiting editing. I'll keep you posted on its progress towards publication.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Finally, two more generous readers have taken the trouble to leave reviews on Amazon. This is, as always, great feedback as well as valuable unsolicited publicity for potential buyers looking for a great summer read!</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124367034336032972noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030107631743030459.post-39956953698978462812012-06-02T19:53:00.002+12:002012-06-02T19:53:46.028+12:00Blog 16 - Slides Down Easily<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After the success of the free Kindle downloads for</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: yellow;"> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Milkshake-ebook/dp/B005UEFCX6/ref=sr_1_7?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1318498069&sr=1-7" target="_blank"><span style="color: yellow;">Milkshake</span></a>,</span><span style="color: white;">sales picked up to around 3 per day on both Amazon UK and US. The publisher tried another 48 hour freebie on the last couple of days in May, but, as he predicted ,the uptake was not as high. The downside was, when the book appeared back on Amazon 'for sale' it had lost its ranking and was in the teens on the UK and the hundreds of thousands in America.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">The previous experience showed people appeared to be more attracted to titles higher up the chart and there has only been a couple of sales in the last 4 days. The new cover <i>may </i>be a factor, but there are too many other variables to consider as well.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: white;">The final draft of the sequel is nearly ready to be sent away and I may get my first royalty cheque in the next week or so from the publisher, for Milkshake. I actually got my </span><i style="color: white;">first</i><span style="color: white;"> royalty about a month ago thanks to a solitary sale of a hard copy via my local bookshop in Nelson,</span><span style="color: orange;"> <a href="http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/574768-Milkshake-9781466423701" target="_blank">Page & Blackmore</a> </span></span><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">who are great at supporting local authors.</span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124367034336032972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030107631743030459.post-91882449607396977902012-05-24T16:05:00.000+12:002012-05-24T16:05:26.986+12:00Blog 15. New publisher, new beginning<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">The Kindle Select free promo for 'Milkshake' lasted approx 48 hours. During that time around 1400 free digital copies were downloaded from the Amazon.com & .UK sites.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Since then, sales have really picked up, more in the UK than the States, with on average 4 copies a day being purchased for actual money. This trend is set to continue with a couple of recent developments.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I've signed to Taylor Street Publishing; a US-based company with bigger promotional and marketing aspirations than my previous publisher. They also have contacts in film and TV. I've been told (and said myself) 'Milkshake' is quite a 'cinematic' story, and the yet to be published sequel even more so.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'm looking forward to the next stage of the journey me and Taylor Street are taking together.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">As part of the 'refreshed' look to "Milkshake', the cover will shortly be updated. Will this change to the visual attraction on Amazon make any difference to sales, especially in the American market?</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">Do people buy based on the cover art, or the blurb?</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: large;">With the new cover running initially for a month, it will be interesting to watch the sales figures.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124367034336032972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030107631743030459.post-42434236443703525902012-05-08T20:49:00.000+12:002012-05-08T20:49:35.069+12:00Blog 14 Marketing strategy creates a FREE download!<span style="color: white; font-size: large;">Yes, I know the title looks like one of those spam emails, but in this case its absolutely true!</span><br />
<span style="color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;">As part of a cunning marketing plan, Night Publishing has removed 75% of its titles from Smashwords and handed sole e-publishing rights to Amazon.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: white;">This means, for a limited time </span><span style="color: #fff2cc;"><b><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Milkshake-ebook/dp/B005UEFCX6/ref=sr_1_7?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1318498069&sr=1-7" target="_blank">Milkshake is FREE!</a> </b></span><span style="color: white;">(yes, you're meant to click on the link!)</span></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;">The idea is everyone loves free stuff and, with the northern hemisphere summer fast approaching, and the time to sit around the southern hemisphere winter fires almost upon us, now is the idea time to take advantage of some free ebook entertainment.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;">As the free downloads encourage curious readers, the free version of Milkshake will slowly rise up the Amazon chart. At a certain point it will then become a 'pay per view' only. Hopefully that point will be when its chart position and popularity become irresistible and voracious readers will clamour to pay just 99c for their own copy.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;">That's the theory (I think!) anyway.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;">Now let the games begin...</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124367034336032972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030107631743030459.post-58720971044540495892012-04-29T06:42:00.000+12:002012-04-29T06:42:07.352+12:00Blog the thirteenth - Around the world and back<span style="color: white; font-size: large;">I've just returned from a 3 - week trip to the UK to visit family, taking in Paris, London Cardiff and a brief stop in San Francisco airport. After 10 years, my impression of the UK was - what recession? There are more retail outlets than ever, with a constant stream of people emerging from them laden with bags of 'bargains'.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"> A new phenomenon was the ubiquitous Apple Store where people seem to just stand around in huge numbers gently stroking Ipad screens. A bit like a nightclub but without the booze. Or dim lighting. Or music. No one seemed to be successful though. Not one person seemed to be leaving having actually secured the services of the aforementioned Ipad. They are, after all, not a cheap date.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;">The other trend I encountered was the apparent insatiable appetite for German cars. The M3, M25 and M4 motorways were choked with a seemingly endless variety of Mercedes and BMW's, with a few Audis and frequent VWs thrown in as well. I swear the same sporty black Merc kept lapping me on the M25.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: white;">In book news, I took a few copies of </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Milkshake-ebook/dp/B005UEFCX6/ref=sr_1_7?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1318498069&sr=1-7" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Milkshake</span></a><span style="color: white;"> to give to friends and relatives. I decided it would be a bit of fun to leave my last copy in the departure lounge of Terminal 3 at Heathrow. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: white;">I wrote inside asking the finder to pass the book on when they'd finished and note their brief possesion on the </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/milkshakenovel" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Milkshake facebook page</span></a><span style="color: white;"> So I sat down, carefully placed the book on the empty chair next to me and then waited until the cleaners had passed by before walking away.It felt a bit like one of those subtle document drops you see in spy movies. Only later did I remember that the opening chapter is actually set in a Heathrow departure lounge in 2002.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;">The sequel to Milkshake is currently with 4 beta readers, one of whom has already given me plenty of feedback to work on now I'm back in front of a proper PC rather than a netbook which seems to have about 20 minutes battery life before needing re-charging.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;">Incidentally, it was nice to see how many locations offering free wifi also offered the chance to re-charge laptops etc free of charge.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;">I'm off to start work on amending the first draft of TheDestiny Stone. It's 6.40am and I've already been up for 2 hours thanks to jet lag!</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124367034336032972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030107631743030459.post-19558822473283218922012-04-01T14:49:00.000+12:002012-04-01T14:49:35.668+12:00Blog 12 Beta readers and a fly on the wall<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: white;">An update on beta readers for the </span><i><a href="http://www.milkshakenovel.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: yellow;">Milkshake</span></a></i><span style="color: white;"> sequel; </span><i><a href="http://www.thedestinystone.webs.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: yellow;">The Destiny Stone</span></a><span style="color: white;">. </span></i><span style="color: white;">Thanks to some generous offers, I have 3 willing readers (2 in New Zealand and 1 in Australia), who have agreed to go through the draft in the next couple of weeks.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: white;">In </span><i style="color: white;">Milkshake</i><span style="color: white;"> news I had an interesting experience this week. A work colleague has purchased the paperback version from</span><span style="color: yellow;"> <a href="http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Milkshake-Matt-Hammond/9781466423701" target="_blank"><span style="color: yellow;">The</span> <span style="color: yellow;">Book</span> <span style="color: yellow;">Depository</span></a> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: white;">(free worldwide delivery) and keeps asking me about various aspects as she reads. Meanwhile, my manager has downloaded the e book onto her Ipad from the </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Milkshake-ebook/dp/B005UEFCX6/ref=sr_1_7?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1318498069&sr=1-7" target="_blank"><span style="color: yellow;">Amazon.com site</span></a><span style="color: white;">. On Thursday I overheard them discussing what page they were up to, what had happened so far and how much they were enjoying it.... all without acknowledging I was actually in the room! This proved to be far more immediate and worthwhile than any written review I've ever had!</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">Incidentally I now have 10 reviews on American Amazon and 7 on the UK version.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: white;">Also this week, </span><i style="color: white;">Milkshake </i><span style="color: white;">had been reviewed on the popular and well-respected </span><a href="http://www.kiwireviews.co.nz/review/3312-milkshake" target="_blank"><span style="color: yellow;">KIWIreviews</span></a><span style="color: white;"> website. It'll be interesting to see whether or not it generates any sales at all.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">Milkshake has now been on sale since mid-October 2011. I understand this week the publisher gets all the royalties and sales details from places like Smashwords (and all its affiliates; Kobo, Barnes & Noble etc) and Amazon. Once the figures are passed on, it'll be my first indication of actual sales numbers.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124367034336032972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030107631743030459.post-64269760467697685442012-03-25T16:40:00.000+13:002012-03-25T16:40:14.913+13:00Blog 11. How social is a social network?<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: white;">This afternoon I finished the sequel to </span><i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Milkshake-ebook/dp/B005UEFCX6/ref=sr_1_7?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1318498069&sr=1-7" target="_blank"><span style="color: yellow;">Milkshake</span></a><span style="color: white;"> </span></i><span style="color: white;">. Unlike Milkshake which I struggled to title until re-reading the final draft, this sequel had a title virtually from the first page. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: yellow;">The <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Destiny-Stone/266846953342732" target="_blank"><span style="color: yellow;">Destiny Stone</span></a> </span><span style="color: white;">is complete at just under 78,000 words.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">No-one has read it yet.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">I've decided I need a few Beta readers to check things like plot, if the various timelines integrate with each other as well as grammar and spellings etc.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: white;">So as a small experiment in the power of social networking, I've advertised for Beta readers on Facebook, Twitter, and the website of my publisher, </span><span style="color: yellow;"><a href="http://nightreading.ning.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: yellow;">Night</span></a>.</span></span><span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"> One fellow Night author has already kindly agreed to read it through, on the basis of enjoying and being a staunch support of Milkshake.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">It will be interesting to see where (if any) the offers come from, how many I get, and also what feedback I eventually get from them.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">I'll keep you posted.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124367034336032972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030107631743030459.post-24801300417203449422012-03-20T17:07:00.000+13:002012-03-20T17:07:16.418+13:00BLOG 10 - The Pirate Blog<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Someone at work boasted at having found a site with 'free' e books.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> They'd downloaded 300.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> I may have downloaded free music in the past - certainly not 300 albums in one go. </span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> But at least with music, it doesn't require your undivided attention. You could easily load 300 albums onto your Ipod and play them in the background while you go about your business. However, a book requires a semblance on concentration and engagement. You'd probably have to stop most things to read a book. </span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I hasten to add I've since changed my attitude to online piracy since becoming an unwilling victim of Cap'n (phone) Jack</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So why on earth download 300 different titles at once at once? Think about it. Isn't that just literary looting for the sake of it?</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I've yet to receive any royalties for 'Milkshake' Its been for sale for nearly 5 months and I'm due my first royalty sometime this month.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> I'm not holding my breath. I haven't ordered the Porsche. I haven't booked a celebratory table at a flash restaurant in anticipation. With the amount I'm expecting I'm confident Macca's don't take reservations.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">'Milkshake' has been variously priced @ 99c (75p) for the ebook and $11.99 (7.50GBP). One sale; ANY sale is a significant event, both for my ego and, eventually my bank account.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I'm not against free books, or free digital content in general. in fact I'd rather someone read for free, than not read for the sake of 99c. I can fully understand the clever marketing logic of offering an online title for free for a limited period to drive traffic to a particular title before adding a price back onto it.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">So please consider the author next time internet temptation stares at you from your PC screen. I read a slogan recently along the lines of '<i>ebook </i>- <i>took 2 years to write </i>- <i>cost 99c</i>. <i>Cappacino</i>. <i>Took 3 minutes to make </i>- <i>cost $</i>4.00.'</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">See you next time.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124367034336032972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030107631743030459.post-20193135437585595252012-02-27T17:24:00.000+13:002012-02-27T20:31:38.729+13:00Blog 9 - Just a quickie<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I haven't blogged for over a month. Time for a brief catch up then.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mr Dotcom is out on bail and the hysteria over his wealth and lifestyle appears to have died down now the court process has started to get bogged down in the inevitable procedural sludge. You see? This is where real life differs from the edited and stylized imagery of fiction.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Meanwhile, the debate continues in NZ over the proposed purchase of vast tracts of arable dairy land by a Chinese-based company. If you've read 'Milkshake' then you'll know this real-life scenario in some way mirrors the plot. But as with the Mr Dotcom saga, life is very slow when it comes to mirroring art.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last week 'Milkshake' finally went on sale in a real bookshop! <a href="http://www.pageandblackmore.co.nz/products/574768-Milkshake-9781466423701" target="_blank">Page & Blackmore in Nelson</a> have taken half a dozen copies, so now locals can go in and peruse, poke and ponder before purchasing.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I may have to have a third and final attempt to get the local media to sit up and take notice by sending out yet another self penned press release.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I was very happy to see a <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Milkshake-ebook/product-reviews/B005UEFCX6/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1" target="_blank">tenth review on Amazon.com</a>, and a five star one at that! Apparently George Polley in Japan purchased a paperback version and gave me a very generous review.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally, the first draft of the sequel 'The Destiny Stone' is nearing completion after just over a year and 75,000 words. It should be ready for anyone who wishes to 'beta read' in the next few weeks.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124367034336032972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030107631743030459.post-89196835545945827972012-01-21T22:24:00.000+13:002012-01-21T22:24:52.451+13:00Blog 8 - Only one thing is stranger than fiction...<span style="color: white; font-size: large;">Before Christmas I blogged vaguely about how, since the publication of <i>Milkshake,</i> life seemed to be imitating art. I put the details on the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/milkshakenovel" target="_blank">Facebook</a> page, but I'll also now detail them here as well .</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;">Dec 4 - NZ news website <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/farming/6079166/Cow-population-growing-faster-than-human" target="_blank">Stuff reports</a> the NZ dairy herd is growing faster than the human population - predicted in <i>Milkshake</i></span><br />
<i><span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span></i><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;">Dec 5 - <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15984493" target="_blank">The BBC reports</a> on plans to harness desert sunlight and transmit the captured energy north, to Europe. Again, predicted as a throwaway line in <i>Milkshake </i>as The Felin Project in the initial draft written nearly 7 years ago and retained in the final version! </span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;">Dec 6 - Another '<a href="http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2011-12/06/content_14218511.htm" target="_blank">Milkshake Moment</a>' in the media as the NZ airforce finally take delivery of the NH90 helicopter they are secretly testing (in the book) in 2002. I wrote that in 2006.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;">Dec 17 - Things started to get just a little freaky as <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10773262" target="_blank">some political commentators </a>in NZ started focusing on the Green Party and how their agenda may not be all it seems? Without giving away the plot, in <i>Milkshake </i>the Ecological Political Assembly (of) New Zealand are not quite the good guys everyone assumes them to be.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;">Things went quiet in the media while the world enjoyed a well-earned break. </span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/6293542/Megaupload-attempting-to-get-back-online" target="_blank">Then</a>....</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;">Like some modern-day Ian Fleming villain, an overweight, unfeasibly-named, over-smiling black-clad Teutonic overlord with a penchant for fast cars and faster women and a secretive empire globally dominant in it's chosen field, is arrested in a protected safe room in his $30million mansion...............in New Zealand.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;">New Zealand?? sleepy little nuclear-free, hobbit-loving clean and green Aotearoa?</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;">How could such a person and his cohorts, this tallest and widest of tall poppies, have lived under our very noses undetected, untroubled by the media? Did no-one ever see that Lady Penelope pink Cadillac cruising down the leafy lanes around Dotcom Manor? Are we really to believe that such a person is able to live and control his empire from a small island tucked away in the bottom corner of the world?</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;">What do you think made New Zealand the ideal location for this mega-villain's lair?</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;">Are we not all just a little shocked that such a character not only exists at all, but chose, it seems to base his operations here?</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;">Kim Dotcom has made me smile. He clearly watched far too much TV as a child and thought he could actually be Dr No while living on Tracey Island, manipulating how and when the online community watches and listens to whatever it was they wished to download.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;">I bet the Police found an underground bunker, the wall lined with TV's and a counter showing how many $$$'s were being earned by the hour.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;">The point of all this is to show that, as far-fetched and fictional as <i>Milkshake</i> might appear to be, it's no where near as unbelievable as the unfolding story of the unlikely-named Kim Dotcom.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124367034336032972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030107631743030459.post-41089733298310248502011-12-17T21:21:00.000+13:002011-12-17T21:21:24.792+13:00Blog Seven - Inevitable Coincidences?<span style="color: white; font-size: large;">As I was writing Milkshake I often found life imitating art.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;">A version of something I made up would suddenly be mentioned in the NZ media, or at least to my ear, it would sound like a familiar scenario.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;">Now I find the situation reversed. With the book out for over 2 months, stories are appearing in the NZ press which eerily mirror some incidents in the book.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"> Milkshake could be seen as a cautionary tale; its a 'what if?' or 'speculative fiction' story, showing the reader an alternative, slightly skewed but almost believable version of the present, or recent past. I'm therefore sensitive any events in 'real life' which appear to, in some way, be echoing the fiction in my story.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;">Three such events have already reared their head in recent weeks.</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;">Am I just hyper sensitive to these news stories, given my feeling that I 'predicted' them over 5 years ago? or am I just warping innocent current affairs to fit my purpose?</span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;">I'll let you decide by checking out the links to three recent news stories via <a href="http://www.facebook.com/milkshakenovel" target="_blank">the milkshake Facebook page</a></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: white; font-size: large;">Of course, you will have needed to have <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Milkshake-ebook/dp/B005UEFCX6/ref=sr_1_7?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1318498069&sr=1-7" target="_blank">read the book</a> to get the point!</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124367034336032972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030107631743030459.post-78874079039410198832011-11-09T21:18:00.000+13:002011-11-09T21:47:10.837+13:00Blog 6<br />
<div style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: static !important; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #134f5c; color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">The paper copy of 'Milkshake has arrived'!</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: static !important; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #134f5c; color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: static !important; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #134f5c; color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">A month to the day since it was published online.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: static !important; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #134f5c; color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">The cover is a little fuzzy compared to the sharp online image on Amazon (both Tim and I suspected this and could not see how we could correct it)</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: static !important; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #134f5c; color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: static !important; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #134f5c; color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I was keen to see how thick the book has turned out to be - 260 pages is an average -sized book.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: static !important; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #134f5c; color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: static !important; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #134f5c; color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I also think the paragraphs look too close together.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: static !important; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #134f5c; color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: static !important; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #134f5c; color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I also think i'm being an overly critical parent and accentuating the negative rather then the positive!</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: static !important; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #134f5c; color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: static !important; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #134f5c; color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I'm pleased I've gone for a fairly vivid cover - often I've seen self-published (or rather self designed) covers attempt mean and moody and end up plain dull.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: static !important; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #134f5c; color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: static !important; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #134f5c; color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Also glad I went for cows not people - people instill a false sense of a character's identity in the readers' mind in my opinion - leave that to the readers' imagination (The publisher disagrees about faces).</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: static !important; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #134f5c; color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: static !important; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #134f5c; color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">On the last page Creative have added the actual print date - 20 Oct 2011 - 20 days to cross the Pacific. The pigeon must have struggled.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: static !important; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #134f5c; color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: static !important; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #134f5c; color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Overall, a pleasing but somewhat surreal experience.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0.4em; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: static !important; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #134f5c; color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 17px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; position: static !important; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: #134f5c;">Not only do I now own a first edition, its currently the only copy in the world</span><span style="background-color: black;"></span></span></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124367034336032972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030107631743030459.post-54731057292624355332011-10-27T12:20:00.001+13:002011-11-09T21:18:47.701+13:00Blog 5<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Milkshake has been out for just over 2 weeks. I'm reliably informed by the publisher 145 copies were downloaded from Smashwords in the first few days - not sure if that was while it was free!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Anyway, CreateSpace have now confirmed the paper version and its up on the Amazon.com website to order at US$11.99 (click the amazon link to the right). It'll also be available on the UK amazon site in the next few weeks. For now its just there as a Kindle download.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I've had 4 reviews on Amazon so far. Once I get over 5, other book-selling websites become more likely to stock it, so just waiting for a few more people to finish reading so they can post reviews!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I've signed up so I can supposedly track sales via both amazon sites. After 3 days its a big fat zero. But other people have told me not to rely too heavily on the tracking software.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Once I get a few copies delivered into New Zealand, I'll begin the job of local publicity. I need to ensure I have review copies readily available to send out in case reviewers prefer a real book to a downloaded one.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124367034336032972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030107631743030459.post-6931264119963290822011-10-11T22:18:00.002+13:002011-10-11T22:18:55.505+13:00Blog four<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Just a quick few lines to announce 'Milkshake' has been published in the last 24 hours and is now available as an e-book from Amazon and will soon also be available in hard copy.</span><div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I feel a bit like a terrorist who has planted a bomb and walked away, never being able to turn back and witness the devastation. The book's out there, people are downloading and perhaps even reading. I have no way of knowing what they think as its far too early for reviews even if people bother to write them!</span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">People on Facebook have been very kind in promoting the book and praising, but realistically that will probably lead to maybe half a dozen sales?</span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Perhaps I'll check back in here in a few days once I've had some feedback</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124367034336032972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030107631743030459.post-10640838124947334082011-10-02T22:50:00.000+13:002011-10-02T22:51:23.037+13:00Blog three<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;">I thought I might share the proposed cover art for 'Milkshake' The publisher suggested (and I agreed) the original photo I'd pinned my hopes and dreams on was a little <i>obscure </i>and arty. So after a very brief internet conversation where we agreed there was an element of satire and humour to the story, I came up with this:</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiPYao8Rtaf9vL6eWELnxwumgWYoWqahbwugotUoPCqpKnYUy25GWI9iYN9T_B-ZQ0s7BZUQtTn2nLvusNfvb_QaK-90fUa0XSMqA3bGIbaMSIGYe3h1fdRYErw2AaPucN82hgkg3G0QLF/s1600/milkshake++final+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiPYao8Rtaf9vL6eWELnxwumgWYoWqahbwugotUoPCqpKnYUy25GWI9iYN9T_B-ZQ0s7BZUQtTn2nLvusNfvb_QaK-90fUa0XSMqA3bGIbaMSIGYe3h1fdRYErw2AaPucN82hgkg3G0QLF/s320/milkshake++final+cover.jpg" width="226" /></a></div>
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;">Which we both agreed conveys a far better message and is likely to work well as both an internet image and hopefully a proper paper book cover.</span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124367034336032972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030107631743030459.post-20045186044972396962011-09-26T20:40:00.000+13:002011-09-26T21:18:44.407+13:00Blog Two<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;">Milkshake just whizzed around unfinished on my PC.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"> Inspiration had dried up. Motivation had stalled. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;">The story was never going anywhere.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"> Each time I sat in front of the screen it just stared back. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"> Then, on a dull winter's afternoon in July 2007, fate stepped in.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"> Riding home from work on my motorbike, the inattentive driver behind, staring out into the bay instead of at the road ahead, failed to see the slowing traffic.
All I saw in my mirror was a car approaching much faster than I was travelling. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"> There was a bang and I remember seeing the sky. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"> The next thing I remember is lying on the hard road with people staring down at me asking me who the Prime Minister is.
At that point I'd lived in New Zealand for 5 years. But I struggled to remember it was Helen Clarke, not Tony Blair. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;">I wiggled my toes. I could feel them. Then fingers. Sensation there also. No broken spine then. That didn't stop the cautious paramedics strapping me carefully onto the stretcher for the short ride to Nelson Hospital where they found a broken left wrist and mangled fingers on my right hand. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"> Six weeks off work. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;">Midwinter in New Zealand. Stunningly bright clear days and sharp still nights.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"> I rested my sore wrists on the keyboard and began typing, one finger at a time.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"> I sat there for four or five hours every day. The silence allowed my mind to wander. The creative juices finally flowed.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"> Suddenly the autobiographical travelogue became a story; a mysterious thriller. Nothing like I'd ever read before. Fifty pages were re-written, taking out 'me' and 'I' and putting in place someone else, who eventually became David Turner.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"> I watched the TV and scoured the internet for more inspiration. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;">I realised an isolated country such as New Zealand has stories of national importance that the rest of the world knows nothing about. Stuff goes on here that could have international significance. If anyone ever bothered to scratch the surface. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"> So what if something <i>was</i> going on? </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"> What if the apparently innocuous stories on the nightly news were part of something bigger, something secret and hidden? </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"> Many of the incidents and 'facts' in 'Milkshake' can be traced to actual events. Ones I have put my own slant on, to weave the story. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"> Milkshake is a fictional account of an attempt by the US Government to establish a herd of biofuel cattle in New Zealand. Sounds benign? It would be except the milk is poisonous to humans.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"> On the day I finished the first draft, and without any prior knowledge or notification, the following story appeared in the national press:-</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: yellow; font-size: large;"> Click here to read it </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;">Someone was already onto the concept. 'Milkshake' was suddenly no longer fictional. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"> Next time I'll tell you about more truth stretching and coincidence....</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124367034336032972noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2030107631743030459.post-41993540095737870082011-09-11T20:08:00.000+12:002011-09-11T21:51:25.098+12:00Blog One<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"><i>Milkshake</i> is about coincidences. Time and again as I struggled for inspiration, something would happen in the world, which I could then use in the story. Spookily, often I would write a scene and then something very similar would happen in real life. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;">The coincidences worked both ways.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;">As I finished writing this blog (which I've put off for at least 18 months) I looked at the date which prompted the move to New Zealand, and the subsequent writing of the book, which itself draws on, but does not directly reference the same date. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;">September 11 2001. Exactly 10 years ago today, as I write.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;">A bit of history first.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;">When we moved to New Zealand in July 2002 I had a bit of time on my hands. We'd chosen to leave the UK after 9/11 the year before. A country where the kids could still be kids for as long as possible, still speak English and fulfill all their educational and creative potential seemed like a good idea. Somewhere they could play unsupervised beyond the garden gate.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;">Britain was no longer that country.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;">So, with the time I now had, inspired by the landscape, the laid back Kiwi lifestyle, and the happy coincidence of finding Nelson to be a hub of various creative activities, I set about writing.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;">I'd written as a child; even won first prize in a nationwide essay competition run by <i>Smiths Crisps</i> when I was 10. That Action Man tank and other items lasted for years. In school English classes I often ran out of time or exercise book as page after page fell to frantic descriptive scribbling. So I knew I'd come back to it one day.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;">In bizarre and completely disciplined preparation I decided to not read again until it was time to write. So, apart from the odd biography plus, obviously newspapers and reference books, I barely read another novel for the next 20-odd years, Certainly no more than 10 in that time.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;">My rationale was, the less I read of other people's work, the less I would be unduly influenced by style, or accused of plagiarizing a plot.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;"><i>Milkshake</i> began as a first-person travelogue of how we ended up in New Zealand. As I wrote, I often watched the TV news and soon became fascinated by the culture of my adopted country. How small stories made big news and how quickly a minor incident, in global terms, could influence a small nation of 4 million people.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;">I started to think <i>what if..?</i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;">What if there was stuff happening that was not reported on. What if events were occuring, but for entirely different reasons to the ones explained on the TV?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;">I decided I might be able to construct a whole different story around what the public were being fed in the media. I went back and removed all the first person reference in my travelogue. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;">I needed a character, I needed another reason why he had decided to emigrate to New Zealand. He was still driven by the events of 9/11. But why had the media influenced his decision so much? What if there was a conscious attempt, a conspiracy, to persuade people to move from where ever they lived in the world, to one of the safest countries?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;">What exactly was that conspiracy and why was its influence so powerful?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: white; font-size: large;">In my next blog I'll talk about how popular culture influenced the storyline and what personal event drove me to complete the initial draft.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01124367034336032972noreply@blogger.com0