From 13/7/16: “”Young star offers a glimpse of the Sun’s past” – interesting news story from NASA/ESA…”

“Young star offers a glimpse of the Sun’s past” – interesting news story from NASA/ESA at http://www.esa.int/spaceinimages/Images/2016/06/Young_star_offers_a_glimpse_of_the_Sun_s_past

“… Located 1800 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus, V1331 Cyg… may look like a star, it may be called a star, but it does not yet generate energy like a normal star. This is because this star is still being formed.”

This is a good example of how we think the Sun formed 4.6 billion years ago – fascinating!

A young star takes centre stage

“… It may look like a star, it may be called a star, but it does not yet generate energy like a normal star. This is because this star is still being formed.It offers a fascinating glimpse into our own past because our Sun began its life as such a ‘T Tauri’ star some 4.6…” – click the link to read more
esa.int

“1967 solar flare nearly took U.S and Soviets to the brink of war…”

How the Sun took us to the brink of nuclear war on 23rd May 1967, just six days before I was born – makes you think, doesn’t it?

sunspot-flare-1967-5-415x360

1967 Solar Flare Nearly Took U.S. and Soviets to Brink of War
http://www.skyandtelescope.com/astronomy-news/1967-solar-storm-nearly-took-us-soviets-brink-war/
An historical study from former U.S. military officials found that a solar flare was nearly responsible for military conflict with the Soviet Union in 1967.
skyandtelescope.com

From 30/9/15 – “Review of ‘Dark Matter’ by Michelle Paver…”

Just had to shout out about Michelle Paver’s diary-form ghost story called “Dark Matter”. I don’t usually read this genre but the book is very well-textured with a ring of authenticity about 1930’s polar exploration. Paver’s homework shines throughout the book and I couldn’t put it down.

My favourite line occurs near the beginning, when Jack Miller meets his companions-to-be on the 1937 Spitsbergen Expedition for the first time. Class means a lot to Jack and he feels very dis…advantaged compared to Hugo, Teddy, Algie and Gus:

“… I knew I hadn’t a chance, so I thought to hell with it, give it to them straight: offer yourself like a lamb to the slaughter (if lambs can snarl)…”

and then a bit further on,

“… think you can take it?

“I gritted my teeth and told him that was why I wanted to go: for the challenge. Oh, they liked that. I expect it’s the sort of thing you’re taught at public school…”

The somewhat literary writing style interested me as well. There is a lot of advice out there for writer’s to use short sentences, cutting straight to the actions, with simple punctuation and no adverbs. Paver doesn’t do that – she writes in the style that her book needs and it’s stronger for that, it really takes us into the world of Jack Miller’s inner voice. Something for us other writers to reflect on for a moment, I think…

dark_matter-600x887
michellepaver.com

‘An End of Beginnings’ was published on 1st June 2016.

anendofbeginningskindlecovertwittercopy

Finally, after 5 years of writing, editing and researching what to do with it, I have self-published this novel.

All the learning about how to publish the book with the best chance of success was new to me. I’ve learnt a lot about producing physical copies, cover design, editing and marketing.

I found getting to grips with marketing the hardest thing to learn – I know I made a mistake this time around and the book probably won’t sell many copies at first, but I’m hoping to correct that when I publish ‘Dead Snow’ in 2017.

The marketing resources I found particularly useful include the following:

• “Reader Magnets” by Nick Stephenson
• “Email Marketing Demystified” by Matthew Paulson
• “Book Launch Marketing” by Theodore Roach
• “Self-Publishing on Createspace” by Dr Andy Williams
• “Beyond the Page” by Andrew Purdum”

The following Facebook groups:
• ‘Fiction Writers’, ‘Aspiring Authors’,
• ‘Self-Publishing and Book Marketing’,
• ‘Indie Science Fiction Writers’, ‘Pat’s First Kindle Book’

• and Dan Dynneson’s “The Best-Selling Fiction Podcast”
… the mistakes I made with launching ‘An End of Beginnings’ are all my own – the advice from these people was very good!

However, I am very proud of what I have achieved with this book. Sometimes you have to take a chance and have a go, even when you know it won’t be perfect. That’s a very hands-on way of quickly learning. A couple of years ago I was lucky to listen to a talk by Jim Lawless on self-motivation and entrepreneurialism that he calls ‘Taming Tigers’ (see jimlawless.com for more information). Jim really inspired me to get on with turning this story into a published novel and 3 pieces of his advice resonated strongly:

       • Act boldly today – time is limited,
       • Head in the direction of where you want to arrive, every day,
      • There is no safety in numbers.

My thanks to all those inspirational writers, influencers and advisors who helped me to think this book through to reality!