March 9, 2014
Let me be transparent about this, I have a robust dislike of two adjectives that it seems no spokesperson can be interviewed without using in almost every sentence. It doesn't matter whether it's the police, a local councillor, a representative of the National Health Service or a head teacher, they all insist that they'll be introducing robust measures to ensure greater transparency in future, or demanding the same from someone else.
I suggest they look these words up in the dictionary. Not only will they see the correct meaning of the words, but they'll find some alternatives. Here are the entries from The Little Oxford Dictionary:
Robust: of strong health and physique; not slender or weakly; vigorous; sensible; straightforward.
Transparent: that can be clearly seen through because allowing light to pass through without diffusion; (of disguise, pretext etc.) easily seen through; obvious; easily understood.
They could also try 'flexible', 'enduring' or 'appropriate' instead of 'robust'. 'Transparent' could be replaced by 'open' or 'honest'. There is a third option, of course: they could leave the adjectives out altogether. Without the 'corporate-speak' and 'jargon' they'll sound far more believable.
Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Linguistics
March 2, 2014
For one week only, you can buy
Discord's Child and
Artists & Liars and save 25 and 50 per cent respectively on the usual price. Smashwords is running Read an Ebook Week until midnight Pacific time on 8th March 2014, and I'm happy to be taking part along with a host of other authors.
I started publishing with Smashwords in June last year, and I've found them really author-friendly. Their formatting might be a bit of a fiddle to begin with, but once you've mastered that they make it really eas...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Coming Soon
February 24, 2014
This blog was going to be all about publishing
Discord's Child and
Artists & Liars on both Smashwords and Kindle, with the annoyances caused by not formatting everything properly the first time around. (I thoroughly recommend making sure that
all original formatting is taken off before you begin and starting again from scratch, having backed everything up first, of course.) However, the news that Alice Herz-Sommer has died made that seem rather trivial.
Alice Herz-Sommer was believed to be th...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Inspiration
February 18, 2014
One of the great things about being a writer is that sometimes work you did a long time ago rewards you out of the blue. This week I had a request to publish my story, 'Blind Alleys', from the organisers of the Yeovil Literary Prize. It was commended in the 2012 competition, and I had thought that was that. Now, I have publication in an anthology to look forward to in the autumn. It will bring together the winners and commended entries in the short story and poetry sections of the competition...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Competitions
February 12, 2014
Last week, National Grid dug up the street where I live. Traffic drove over the footpath spreading claggy clay mud everywhere, the drill sounded like a headache and my concentration packed its bags and departed for somewhere sunny. It was time to do something to stop me making excuses and kick me into action. Luckily, I had an invitation to an exhibition of paintings and drawings by Christopher Fiddes, organised by
Primrose Gallery and held at The Charles Rennie Mackintosh Museum, 78 Derngate...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Inspiration
February 2, 2014
I did one of those online quizzes this week that's supposed to discover what the ideal job is for you. It's only a bit of fun, but (surprise, surprise) it turns out that the perfect career for me is as a writer. How they came to that conclusion by asking whether I preferred The Lord of the Rings or Star Trek, and whether I'd rather take food or a friend with me to a desert island I don't know. All they really needed was to ask four simple questions. Am I a control freak? (I like making my cha...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley.
January 26, 2014
Alfie Dog Fiction is my new four-legged friend. Four of my stories are now available on the site, priced 39p each. They range from literary and historical to feelgood. Here are the blurbs.
'Bare Earth'–Keen gardener, Peter, has hopes of finding a girlfriend when his new neighbours move in. He is encouraged by their reaction to his floral presents and DIY help, but it is not long before he discovers a rival.
'Between Lives'–The narrator meets Greta and her young son when she is fleeing the...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley.
January 19, 2014
Alfie Dog Fiction has just accepted four of my short stories. (See my tail wagging?) Each of them is already a prizewinner and/or previously published, but no longer in print (to my knowledge). There aren't many publishers or competitions that take previously published material, and it seemed a waste not to make them available somewhere. I could have self-published them, but feel Alfie Dog will introduce my work to a wider readership.
Alfie Dog Fiction publishes individual stories, collection...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Coming Soon
January 15, 2014
The chocolates might all have been eaten and the decorations have gone back in their box, but I've still been enjoying plenty of sparkle and the sweet taste of success. That's because I've received The Binnacle Ultra-shorts 10th Edition. Not only is it exciting to read my work in it, but there are 56 other works to enjoy.
My favourites are 'Hoopty Time Machine' by Christopher DeWan, which one the prize for best prose, and 'In the Parking Lot' by Wayne Scheer. Despite the 150 words restriction...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley. Posted In : Competitions
January 6, 2014
Recent tests using MRI scans show that when people read novels different parts of the brain are activated according to what's happening in the book. If the protagonsit is engaged in a chase, the same parts of a reader's brain become active, as if they were also physically taking part i.e. they live the book. This comes as no surprise to those of us who like little more than to immerse ourselves in an exciting story, but it's good to have scientific proof.
Now, instead of going to a gym I shal...
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Posted by K. S. Dearsley.
