tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-134244162024-03-06T20:47:23.620-08:00Lee Moan's Steam-Powered TypewriterLee Moanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11341946009450299809noreply@blogger.comBlogger210125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13424416.post-15410861002722984982018-04-07T05:54:00.001-07:002018-04-07T05:59:03.824-07:00Music for Writing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
How do you write? In silence? Or with heavy metal blasting out at full blast? I used to be able to write with my favourite music playing (usually on my headphones, especially if the kids were in bed). But in recent times I've found it increasingly hard to concentrate with music, particularly music with lyrics. Quite often now I will play a movie score soundtrack. <i>Batman Begins</i> is a favourite, as is <i>John Carter</i>. Recently, though, I've discovered some even more useful musical accompaniment on YouTube. The video below is a good place to start. Not quite 'ambient', more... 'atmospheric'. Puts me in just the right mood for composing prose. ['Comprosing'? Err, no.] Check it out. And if you don't like this one, there are plenty more to choose from.<br />
<br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jyWah1OOFkQ" width="480"></iframe></div>
Lee Moanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11341946009450299809noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13424416.post-12090748143924313282017-08-17T07:09:00.000-07:002017-08-17T07:23:25.732-07:00'Lazarus Island' - Free Kindle Offer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
If you enjoy a good supernatural thriller, this could be for you.<br />
<br />
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From tomorrow, Friday August 18th, you'll be able to pick it up for free on Kindle. This offer lasts until Sunday the 20th. Grab a Kindle copy while you can. Tell your friends. Tell your enemies! Tell the strange bloke who lives down the end of your road who's always a bit cranky. Tell the world!<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lazarus-Island-Lee-Moan-ebook/dp/B00613J56A/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8">Amazon.com</a><br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lazarus-Island-Lee-Moan-ebook/dp/B00613J56A/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8">Amazon.co.uk</a></div>
Lee Moanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11341946009450299809noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13424416.post-50738202947472236082017-08-07T14:09:00.000-07:002017-08-07T14:09:01.957-07:00I'm Still Here<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
“No, this is not the beginning of a new chapter in my life; this is the beginning of a new book! That first book is already closed, ended, and tossed into the seas; this new book is newly opened, has just begun! Look, it is the first page! And it is a beautiful one!” <div>
~ C. Joybell C.<div>
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The past two years have been a difficult time for me personally. But I'm still here, still fighting the good fight. New updates coming soon . . .</div>
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Lee Moanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11341946009450299809noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13424416.post-2118969038416127592015-11-14T03:35:00.000-08:002015-11-15T03:53:20.841-08:00"Hope is found": Star Wars Episode VII The Force Awakens <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I remember way back in 1999, as the world was gearing up to return to the Star Wars Universe for the very first prequel, the anticipation reached fever pitch. In the midst of all the excitement, one commenter had wise words to share - that no film could possibly live up to the expectation being heaped upon this movie. Star Wars is a phenomenon, and the arrival of a new movie is always an event, regardless of whether you're a fan or not. That call for caution was not only wise but also prescient. After watching <i>The Phantom Menace</i>, it took me a long time to realise just how much was wrong with it. The war in my heart between wanting something I loved to be great and the disappointing realisation that it wasn't lasted several years.<br />
<br />
Now we are at a similar point. In a month's time, a new Star Wars film will hit cinemas and, once again, the anticipation and excitement is infectious. But I believe we have good reason to be excited. For a while, their was an air of caution over this new venture which has gradually transmuted into gleeful optimism. The team behind this new movie and the way they have handled it - with such enthusiasm, artistry and, yes, love and care - has already won many people over. Also, this new series of movies has one thing over the prequels, and that is the element of surprise. New characters, new worlds, new stories, and no one knows how any of it will pan out, who will live and who will die.<br />
<br />
I am happy to say I am excited for The Force Awakens and I am confident we will not be disappointed. As one character says in the recent trailer: "Hope is not lost today, it is found . . ." </div>
Lee Moanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11341946009450299809noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13424416.post-3299724891050448102015-06-20T09:57:00.001-07:002015-06-20T10:02:02.656-07:00Anything But Zombies<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Very proud and excited to have a story in this great new anthology!<br />
<br />
From the publisher's page: "For decades we’ve had vampires, werewolves, Jason, Freddy, and Michael. And now zombies have gone all Hollywood.<br />
<br />
Out of a need to figure out what is the next classic monster, publisher and lifelong horror enthusiast Gerald Dean Rice has assembled this fresh and downright disturbing collection of short stories featuring some of the most clever and imaginative horror writers of the day including Tim Curran, Jeff Strand, Armand Rosamilia, Rebecca Besser, MontiLee Stormer, Lee Moan, Tonia Brown, Jake Bible, Faye McCray, and Jimmy Pudge. Inside, the diverse cast of contributors introduces new breeds of monsters such as sentient sex dolls, anti-zombie terrorists, suicidal cultists, the woman who can smell sin, and more. These monsters come alive within the pages, and they are blow-your-mind frightening. They are just what the horror world needs. They are Anything but Zombies!"<br />
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Lee Moanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11341946009450299809noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13424416.post-75511840459860063372013-08-04T13:54:00.001-07:002013-08-04T14:39:57.889-07:00A few thoughts on Doctor Who, and 12th Doctor Peter Capaldi<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://www.denofgeek.com/tv/doctor-who/26732/a-few-thoughts-on-doctor-who-and-12th-doctor-peter-capaldi">A few thoughts on Doctor Who, and 12th Doctor Peter Capaldi (Den of Geek Article)</a><br />
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Whilst <i>Den of Geek</i> has pretty much nailed it all on the head in the above article, I just wanted to add my own thoughts on the casting of Peter Capaldi in the iconic role of the Doctor.<br />
<br />
First things first, now that the news is sinking in, I am very very pleased. Buzzing, in fact.<br />
<br />
Peter Capaldi's name was linked with the role over the past few days and even <i>Den of Geek</i> dismissed the idea as a little bit of misdirection, and I was quite convinced it was. But as soon as I saw his hand on the live TV show I shouted out, "It IS Peter Capaldi!", and I found myself suitably thrilled and confused at the same time. Considering the ages of recent Doctors I just didn't expect to see a new Doctor being cast who was over 40, let alone over 50. (Mr Capaldi is 55). But I am soooo glad they did. I have thoroughly enjoyed all three of the Doctors since the show started anew in 2005, and although it was necessary to bring the whole enterprise up-to-date by making it better, faster, shinier, I do think a certain 'something' was missing from the show because of it. I am hoping that when we get our first full run of episodes with the 12th Doctor next year (hopefully!), we will see a little more depth to some of the stories and ideas. That's not to say that Mr Capaldi won't be able to do all the running and jumping, or that the show will skew older and forget it's family audience; I am just hoping to see a tonal shift, perhaps, a change of gear that will enable us to explore some of the fantastic ideas the show's writers put forward. Maybe this might mean a slight change of format, although I would not welocme a return to the 25 minute episodes of classic Who. As much as I enjoyed the 7th series run of "45-minute weekly blockbusters", I did feel that most of the time 45 minutes was not enough. 60 minutes would have worked much better for most of the stories in this latest run. (And I don't think 13 epidsodes at 60 minutes is asking too much as we all know we only really had one series spread over two years, am I right BBC? Hmmmmm?)<br />
<br />
The other thing that intrigues me is the change in dynamic between the Doctor and his young female companion. Since 2005, the series and its writers have explored the Doctor's relationship with his female companion in a more overt romantic way than ever before. After all, the Doctor is an alien! But he loves Earth, and he loves humans (well, the good ones, anyway). It's been nice to explore this romantic relationship, especially between the 10th Doctor and Rose, which has led to some of the modern show's most poignant moments. But I think a return to a more paternal, or even grandfatherly, relationship will do the show no harm. Links are already being drawn between Mr Capaldi's Doctor and the First Doctor, William Hartnell, as they are about the same age as actors. I think this is exactly what the show needs, and Who knows, [<i>see what I did there?</i>] in a way, this may even bring the entire show full circle.<br />
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Roll on the 50th Anniversary Special and, even more importantly, the Christmas Special. This is a good time to be a <i>Doctor Who</i> fan.</div>
Lee Moanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11341946009450299809noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13424416.post-66061792544992655832013-06-28T07:12:00.000-07:002013-06-28T07:12:58.084-07:00Symbiosis<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Light years from home. <br />Bonded to an alien for survival. <br />A dark secret is about to be revealed . . . <br /><br />The
planet Verdana was supposed to be their new home, their new Eden. But
shortly after arriving the human colonists were faced with a dilemma -
join with the alaahi or perish. In the end, they chose the process of
symbiosis, a physical conjoining with the native alaahi.<br /><br />But now
there are whispers amongst the colonists. The alaahi are not the
benevolent beings they made themselves out to be. Before long a dark
secret is about to be revealed, and young Jena must make a terrible
choice . . .<br />
<br />
If you haven't read <i>Symbiosis </i>yet (now with a brand spanking new cover), download your Kindle copy for free. But hurry, it won't be free for much longer.<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Symbiosis-ebook/dp/B004QTORAA/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1372428193&sr=1-4" target="_blank">Amazon US</a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Symbiosis-ebook/dp/B004QTORAA/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1372428559&sr=1-4" target="_blank">Amazon UK </a></div>
Lee Moanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11341946009450299809noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13424416.post-57735245600019136572013-06-10T14:29:00.000-07:002013-06-10T14:29:09.155-07:00FREE THIS WEEK: Science Fiction Mystery 'The Vanished Race'<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
THE VANISHED RACE, a science-fiction mystery thriller, is free all this week on Kindle. The Free Promotion ends on Friday. Please tell your friends. Please tell your enemies. Please tell anyone who will listen.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn2C52PL1RiGwdk0wRARrXXPbrSMBEDrQFEqqL78UGXhWpetfUu8ljrBcqrPm-ZYbpuBLyjoku_q25NAbZyB5I9gGtHlIu24IL0RguZ6e8b6hIiVKey2ZZ5p2Px4P7lFiWZFqzag/s1600/TVR-Kindle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn2C52PL1RiGwdk0wRARrXXPbrSMBEDrQFEqqL78UGXhWpetfUu8ljrBcqrPm-ZYbpuBLyjoku_q25NAbZyB5I9gGtHlIu24IL0RguZ6e8b6hIiVKey2ZZ5p2Px4P7lFiWZFqzag/s320/TVR-Kindle.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Vanished-Race-ebook/dp/B005E1DBV0/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1370899609&sr=8-6&keywords=lee+moan" target="_blank">Amazon UK</a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005E1DBV0/?tag=kb1-20" target="_blank">Amazon US</a><br />
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Lee Moanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11341946009450299809noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13424416.post-2927592678607356372013-03-17T16:29:00.003-07:002013-03-17T16:29:49.122-07:00COMING YOUR WAY...A TALE OF TERROR!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Joe and Susie Maxwell are heading across the moors to collect their daughter. Unfortunately, Joe forgot to fill up on petrol, despite his wife's advice to the contrary. To make matters worse, a strange cloud lies between them and their destination. Will they make it to their daughter before the petrol runs out? Or will they fall prey to the terrible things inside the cloud . . .?<br />
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DISTANCE TO EMPTY is an edge-of-your-seat tale of terror, a devastating thrill-ride into the unknown . . .</div>
Lee Moanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11341946009450299809noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13424416.post-73154656638622986502013-01-27T16:19:00.001-08:002013-01-27T16:19:27.508-08:00Why J.J. Abrams is a Great Choice to Direct Star Wars Episode 7<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Now that the speculation is over and a director has finally been appointed for the forthcoming<i> Star Wars</i> sequel (<i>Episode VII </i>to give it its current correct title), our collective thoughts now turn to what we can expect from this new chapter in the<i> Star Wars</i> cinematic universe.<br />
<br />
THE FACTS<br />
<br />
This is what we know:<br />
1)<i> Episode VII</i> is the first film in a planned new trilogy.<br />
2) This proposed trilogy has three different screenwriters in place - Michael Arndt (<i>Little Miss Sunshine, Toy Story 3</i>) for Episode 7, Lawrence Kasdan (<i>The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark) </i>for 8, and Simon Kinberg (<i>X-Men, Sherlock Holmes, Jumper</i>) for 9.<br />
3) There will be more <i>Star Wars</i> movies outside of the proposed trilogy - Kathleen Kennedy has suggested that Disney want 2-3 <i>SW</i> films <i>per year</i>, similar in structure to the Marvel/Disney strategy of standalone movies building up to tent-pole event movies every three years or so.<br />
4) The trilogy will be based on "an original story" so all those speculators out there talking about this being a lazy retread of some expanded universe novels, think again. To be fair to Lucas, he's always made a point of ensuring the movies were 'special' in this respect. So, in short, we're going to get some "All New Stuff". This is good.<br />
5) The use of the title <i>Episode VII</i> clearly suggests that the emerging trilogy is set <i>after </i>the events of <i>Return of the Jedi, </i>and this is where the greatest speculation and interest lies. How soon after those events this story takes place is still unknown, and more information in this respect would give us more of an idea of what to expect from the new trilogy.<br />
<br />
[SOME THOUGHTS: In my humble opinion, what made the <i>Star Wars</i> saga great in the first place was its characters - Luke Skywalker, Leia Organa, Han Solo, Obi Wan Kenobi, Darth Vader, Yoda, etc. But by the end of Episode VI, Yoda, Kenobi and Vader were dead. To create a movie 'reboot' without these major influential characters is a massive risk. Is the Skywalker story arc over? Although I would dearly love to see new adventures with Luke, Han and Leia, without the threat of Darth Vader (arguably SF cinema's greatest villain) and the unique wizardly wisdom of Yoda and Obi Wan, it might all seem a bit . . . meh. Perhaps using 'Episode VII' is a little stifling, creatively speaking. What <i>Star Wars</i> needs, more than anything, is fresh ideas, fresh perspective and a return to all those things that made it great in the first place. Personally, I couldn't give a womp rat's butt if the new movie <i>wasn't </i>subtitled Episode VII. I would be just as happy to see a new movie that's either a standalone adventure or a trilogy-starter, as long as it delivers a great story with great characters and, most importantly of all, a return to the true spirit of <i>Star Wars</i> that has been sorely missing from recent iterations in the franchise.]<br />
<br />
And finally . . .<br />
6) J.J. Abrams is directing the first instalment. This is great news. Of all the directors reportedly up for the job, Abrams has the best track record of them all, especially when it comes to sci-fi and spectacle. His <i>Star Trek</i> reboot in 2009 is arguably one of the greatest reboots of any franchise ever, and a cracking piece of cinema to boot (it's one of my personal favourite movies of the past ten years). Bold, energetic and engaging, he took the <i>Star Trek</i> franchise and gave it a heavy dose of "Star Wars action" (Abrams' own words, paraphrased), making it relevant again to modern audiences. And cool, too. And, famously, Abrams wasn't even a fan of <i>Trek</i>. But he has <i>always </i>been a fan of <i>Star Wars</i>. So what exactly will he bring to this most beloved of movie sagas?<br />
<br />
I think Abrams has the talent, the clout, and the vision to make <i>Star Wars</i> cool again. Let's face it, <i>Star Wars</i> has always been cool, the world just needs a reminder of just how cool it can be. I think Abrams will have some surprises in store for fans (see the secrecy over the new <i>Star Trek Into Darkness</i> film and you can see what we're in for). Lets also face a home truth, here: <i>Star Wars </i>- and by association, Lucas - has had one hell of a mauling over the past fifteen years. Fans (largely) hated the prequels, and they were less than enthused with the Clone Wars TV series. [They also hated the fourth <i>Indiana Jones</i> movie, too, but that's a whole 'nother discussion for a 'nother time.] Basically, whatever comes next has to be an improvement on past entries. Cynics out there will continue to poo-poo this new chapter in the <i>Star Wars </i>saga, but despite all the negativity, true fans are still hugely excited at the prospect of a new <i>Star Wars</i> film, and I foresee that in two years' time, the whole world will be going <i>Star Wars</i> crazy again, and as someone who was there back in 1977, I just hope it's because we have a great new <i>Star Wars </i>movie to go see. I do believe, as the saying goes, <i>the Force is strong with this one . . .</i></div>
Lee Moanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11341946009450299809noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13424416.post-19440313660722554212013-01-13T03:28:00.001-08:002013-01-13T13:32:40.260-08:00Doctor Who - Baby Trouble<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Hello me hearties! First off, apologies for the lack of blog entries, I've been very quiet on here lately . . . but for good reason. As well as editing and (almost) finishing two novels I've also started doing something I haven't done for years - making movies! I'm very excited to be back in that particular creative arena, it's always been hugely satisfying for me. Whilst I work on the various short films on the current roster, here's a very short (and a bit silly) Doctor Who skit we made. I hope you enjoy it, and if you do there'll be many more videos on the way over the next few weeks/months. Till next time, 'Adios amigos!'</div>
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/SrYdqIkI12o" width="560"></iframe></div>
Lee Moanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11341946009450299809noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13424416.post-3764042451865041652012-11-20T15:46:00.000-08:002012-12-15T04:09:32.280-08:00THE NEXT BIG THING<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br />
<b>The Next Big Thing</b> is a series of networked blogs in which writers showcase and promote their latest works. I was very happy to be nominated by the wonderfully talented <a href="http://carolejohnstone.blogspot.co.uk/">Carole Johnstone</a>.<br />
<br />
<br />
Here goes...<br />
<br />
1) What is the working title of your next book?<br />
<br />
For a long time, the working title for this book was <i>The Silver Sea</i> but I changed it last year to <i>The Door in the Sky</i> (for a number of reasons too numerous to go into here). I love both titles, but have decided to stick with the original one, <i>The Silver Sea</i>. I think as this is primarily a mystery novel it certainly lends the book an air of intrigue.<br />
<br />
2) Where did the idea come from for the book?<br />
<br />
My first published book, The Hotel Galileo, was a whodunit in the tradition of Agatha Christie - except that it was set in space. Around the same time I imagined a Victorian detective thriller where the main character finds himself trapped in an alternate reality. I saw it as a steampunk adventure but with a dark, supernatural bent. I also knew that it would be a three-or-four book series with an over-arching story.<br />
<br />
3) What genre does your book fall under?<br />
<br />
I don’t like to make things easy. I would describe this book as predominantly a detective mystery with a large dash of H.P Lovecraft and H.G. Wells thrown in. There’s horror, romance, science fiction, action and suspense. All you could want from a novel, really. It’s a genre mash-up!<br />
<br />
4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?<br />
<br />
When I was younger I was always imagining different actors or actresses playing my characters but reading this question now has made me realise that I don’t do it anymore. Not sure why. <br />
<br />
5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?<br />
<br />
A brilliant detective finds himself trapped in another world far from home, and the only man who can help him find his way back is the killer he is trying to stop . . . <br />
<br />
6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?<br />
<br />
Steve Upham of <a href="http://www.screamingdreams.com/index.html">Screaming Dreams</a> has already produced some amazing cover artwork for this book. If things work out, I am hoping to publish this book independently. <br />
<br />
7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?<br />
<br />
The first draft took around four or five months and it almost wrote itself! This story had been alive in my head for so long that putting it down on paper was like an act of auto-writing. It’s gone through some revisions since but the main plot of the first draft is still there. This truly is a labour of love. I hope readers enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it!<br />
<br />
8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?<br />
<br />
George Mann’s "Newbury and Hobbes" series.<br />
<br />
9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?<br />
<br />
H.G. Well is my main inspiration. I love all of his works. I remember reading his short stories years ago and, despite their age, they really fired my imagination. Part of my thrust for writing this book was asking the question, “What kind of story would Wells have written about alternate realities?” <br />
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10) What else about the book might pique the reader's interest<br />
<br />
<i>The Silver Sea</i> is the first volume in a three-part series entitled "The Darknoll Chronicles". Each volume is a standalone adventure, but the over-arching story is about one man’s attempts to find his way home, back to the woman he loves. Volume Two, <i>City of Illusion</i>, is well under way and I cannot wait to write Volume Three, <i>The Oblivion Gate</i>. I know exactly how it all ends and I hope readers will find it exciting, thrilling and ultimately a bit of a heart-breaker. In a good way. <br />
<br />
For next week (Wednesday 28th Nov), I nominate the following writers:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://bob-lock.blogspot.co.uk/">Bob Lock</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://sarahjanedobbs.wordpress.com/">Sarah Dobbs</a><br />
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<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Thank you for reading.</div>
Lee Moanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11341946009450299809noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13424416.post-40327705827896178582012-08-06T15:06:00.002-07:002012-08-06T15:09:54.800-07:00Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy: An Appreciation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<u>Part 1: <i>Batman Begins </i>(2005)</u></h2>
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Before I was a movie fan I was a comic fan.<br />
<br />
There's a geek moment in my life I recall even to this day with utter clarity. It's a Wednesday morning, about 7.30 AM. I'm sitting on the steps outside my friendly neighbourhood newsagents. Said newsagent, Mr Chidlow, comes around the corner and on seeing me does a little double-take. "Blimey, you're up early, lad," he says. Yes, I am up early. And the reason I'm there at such an ungodly hour on his doorstep? It's Wednesday morning and that means the new issue of <i>Spider-Man</i> is out. I can't wait a minute longer. I have to know what happens next.<br />
<br />
Looking back as a man of forty, it's hard to reconcile myself with that 10 year-old kid, an age when you could love something as simple as a comic book with the same passion you might reserve for a religion and no one thought you were strange in doing so. Okay, maybe they thought you were a <i>little </i>strange. In the intervening years life has taken me by the lapels and shaken most of that passion from me. But as I grew older and found a new love in my life - movies - I always yearned for the cinema to deliver a movie version of my favourite superheroes that would do justice to the grand <i>milieu </i>created by both the Marvel and DC stables. Many years passed before I saw anything even close. There was a 1980s TV series of Spider-Man which I loved <i>because I wanted it to be good</i> but looking back it was pretty underwhelming. The technology just wasn't in place to portray these characters the way I always imagined. Yes, Spider-Man was (and still is) my favourite superhero - I'm a Marvelite, so sue me - but of all the DC heroes I always had a special leaning towards Batman. The 60s TV series of Batman only appealed to me as a kid in a take-it-or-leave-it pop-culture way but left no lasting impression, and as much as I enjoyed the Tim Burton movie versions, they never really captured quite the right tone for me and I always felt a huge emotional void at their centre. By the time Joel Schumacher took over the directorial reins for <i>Batman Forever</i> and <i>Batman and Robin</i>, I just didn't care. It was the 60s TV series all over again. Only less so. Empty, camp and, for the most part, just stupid.<br />
<br />
Like most people, I resigned myself to the fact that I would never see the Batman I imagined portrayed on film. Then I heard reports about a new movie version - <i>Batman Begins</i>. My initial reactions weren't incredibly positive. "What a terrible title!" was my first thought. And then, "Hm, the suit looks very similar to Val Kilmer's suit in <i>Batman Forever</i>." This is going to be just more of the same. Yawn. Then I saw the teaser trailer [<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu2ecPMX0kI" target="_blank">watch it here</a>] and it was the tone that intrigued me. Enough to go see it with my big brother, anyway. Well, I can happily say that I walked out of that cinema speechless. "What the hell did we just see in there?" Can't remember if either of us actually said that, but that was the feeling anyway.<br />
<br />
Christopher Nolan had taken a comic book hero (not a superhero as he has no special powers, just tons of money) and made it work in the 'real world'. He had treated the source material with reverence, the tone was serious but with occasionally moments of playfulness, and he had done this with a stellar cast of some of the most accomplished and talented actors working today. With repeated viewings <i>Batman Begins</i> gets better each time. Unlike when I was in my youth, I very rarely watch films more than once these days mainly due to a lack of time (and energy). But <i>Batman Begins</i> is a film I often come back to and it improves on each viewing and, more importantly, the story of Batman's formation is still thrilling. Why? For a number of reasons. Firstly, because the story of Bruce Wayne / Batman deals with so many deep-rooted human (and primal) emotions: losing your parents, revenge, justice, fear, power. If you've lived even a little, these themes evoke strong feelings and cannot fail to stir your emotions. We all watch the news and find ourselves becoming angry over stories of terrible injustice, of terrible tragedy, and also - rarely, it seems - great heroism. Nolan makes these themes sing by making us care about the characters. These are not just comic book cut-outs. In Nolan's version of Gotham City, these people are <i>real</i>. If that means the first hour of <i>Begins </i>is a slow-burn (compared to the previous action-oriented Batman movies) as we watch an emotionally-wounded man formulating an ideal that could change his home town, then so be it - it only serves to give the second half of the movie greater impact. After the woeful pantomime of <i>Batman and Robin</i>, the movie iteration of the dark knight needed his integrity back. Nolan delivered that in spa<br />
des.<br />
<br />
<i>Bruce, why do we fall?</i><br />
<br />
<i>So that we can learn to pick ourselves up again.</i><br />
<br />
This exchange resonates throughout <i>Batman Begins</i> and for me it's the emotional core of the movie. Life throws hardships at us when we least expect it - sometimes terrible hardships that can seem insurmountable. How can we get ourselves back on our feet after something so terrible has befallen us? A petty criminal killed Bruce Wayne's parents when he was just a child. And for what? A few dollars and some jewellery. How does one overcome that level of grief? Do you let it consume you? Or do you find a way to channel it, to harness it even, try to make sense of the loss by turning it into something good? People who lose loved ones often create a foundation in their child's name which serves to help the community. [One such example is <a href="http://www.sophielancasterfoundation.com/" target="_blank">The Sophie Lancaster Foundation</a>] Bruce Wayne does something similar, proving that one man can make a difference - but as he so rightly observes, not as a man, but as a <i>symbol</i>.<br />
<br />
<i>Fall and redemption.</i><br />
<i>Law and chaos</i><br />
<i>Justice and revenge.</i><br />
<br />
These themes lie at the heart of <i>Batman Begins</i> and they also lie at the heart of the human experience. Until the 21st Century it was impossible to imagine a "superhero film" dealing with such heavy and important subjects. This is Oscar-worthy stuff we're talking about here. But <i>Batman</i>? Seriously?<br />
<br />
Yes, <i>seriously</i>. There has been a seismic shift in recent years in movie audience expectation. The Old Guard of Hollywood are giving way to a new era. Films which operate outside the realm of cinematic "reality" are garnering a new following, a new respect. And one of the main reasons for this is the talent behind the camera. I salute Christopher Nolan and his collaborators. They have not only delivered a cinematic version of Batman that raises the bar for all superhero-related movies but <i>all </i>movies in general. I don't envy the filmmakers burdened with following up Nolan's vision. Anything which follows is going to have to aim very VERY high.<br />
<br />
At the end of <i>Batman Begins</i>, Gordon (Gary Oldman) alerts Batman to a new threat: The Joker. "I'll look into it," our hero says.<br />
<br />
<i>Aaaaaah</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>I can't wait a minute longer. </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>I have to know what happens next.</i>
<br />
<i><br /></i></div>Lee Moanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11341946009450299809noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13424416.post-30365116170529095972012-05-23T13:49:00.000-07:002013-08-04T14:49:23.325-07:00Why I Loved John Carter<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihJX-Dxm-dppdjMImlcF2rHy9kpToatNgOfCTJZfYvtiTXUe2ZT1t2OZsiAXD1YNwaxBe0oWhlTWv9K8i2OnutMF9DuYDaahAnUm7bFgobd9EL5th6fdragS7bx4e5A1b-d_r_ng/s1600/JC+and+DT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihJX-Dxm-dppdjMImlcF2rHy9kpToatNgOfCTJZfYvtiTXUe2ZT1t2OZsiAXD1YNwaxBe0oWhlTWv9K8i2OnutMF9DuYDaahAnUm7bFgobd9EL5th6fdragS7bx4e5A1b-d_r_ng/s320/JC+and+DT.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
It's been well publicised that Disney's <span style="font-style: italic;">John Carter</span> movie adaptation has not been the big success they had hoped for. It's still done impressive business nonetheless, bringing in so far about $179m worldwide against the reported (<span style="font-style: italic;">exaggerated?</span>) budget of $250m. This doesn't take into account the future DVD sales and rental profits which are sure to match, if not exceed, the theatrical takings. I don't see <span style="font-style: italic;">John Carter</span> as a flop by any standards. And, if I'm honest, I think it's fared better than I could ever have hoped. And I'm a huuuuge fan.<br />
<br />
Let me explain.<br />
<br />
Flash back twenty-four years. I'm sitting reading a paperback edition of George Lucas's original <i>Star Wars</i> scripts. Every so often the footnotes mention Edgar Rice Burroughs' John Carter books. These books, the footnotes tell me, were a huge influence on Lucas. Edgar Rice Burroughs? The chap who wrote <span style="font-style: italic;">Tarzan</span>? Really? At that time I often frequented a local second-hand bookstore, so, intrigued by the notion of sacred texts which had been a major inspiration to one of the most influencial movie series ever made, I made a special trip down there to see if there was anything by Burroughs. By a stroke of luck, I came back with a New English Library paperback edition of <i>A Princess of Mars</i>, first in the Barsoom adventures.<br />
<br />
And I <i>loved </i>it.<br />
<br />
I loved it so much I went back to that old bookshop every week until I had every book of the series (as well as a copy of <i>Carson of Venus</i>, the 'spin-off' series) and I read every single one of them, one after the other. It was <i>Star Wars</i>, but more. It was <i>Flash Gordon</i>, but grittier. It was a glorious mix of swords and airship battles and lost kingdoms and mad scientists and beautiful, intelligent, courageous princesses; action, adventure and pure escapism all grounded in an alien setting so vivid and so compelling I can still see it clearly in my mind's eye to this day. I can remember thinking back then, <i>I would love them to make movies of these books, but that's NEVER gonna happen</i>. <i>EVER. And even if they did they'd never be able to really do them justice.</i> <br />
<br />
How wrong I was.<br />
<br />
For me, Andrew Stanton's movie captured all of this better than I could ever have dreamed.<br />
<br />
I have the DVD pre-ordered on Amazon. If they never make another <i>John Carter</i> movie I will still have this one. I've always been of the opinion that favourite movies, the ones I truly cherish and revisit time and again are movies that feel as though they were made <i>just for me</i>. That's the feeling I have about <i>John Carter</i>. When I first heard that Disney was actually making a movie of the John Carter books I couldn't believe it. I <i>didn't</i> believe it. I watched with a sceptical eye as big name actors like Willem Dafoe and Cairan Hinds joined the cast and just thought, <i>the production's gonna fold any day now</i>. <i>Bound to</i>. Then came the teaser trailer with that amazing Peter Gabriel track and the first glimpse - the first real promise of how amazing this film could be, followed some time later by the full trailer which was just . . . <i>fantastic</i>. But even then I couldn't believe that a major Hollywood studio had spent massive amounts of money creating something so insanely . . . I don't know, the only word I can think of right now is <i>retro </i>- and quite possibly uncommerical. [Ryan Lambie over at Den of Geek summed up this strange phenomenon in this recent <a href="http://www.denofgeek.com/movies/1366340/in_praise_of_the_summer_blockbuster.htmlr" target="_blank">article</a> about Hollywood blockbusters.]<br />
<br />
Is Disney's <i>John Carter</i>, the movie, uncommerical? Did it ever stand a chance of being a box office smash? I don't know. I would love, more than anything, to see a sequel - heck, multiple sequels, or at the very least the initial trilogy comprising <i>Gods of Mars </i>and <i>Warlord of Mars</i> - but I just don't think it's going to happen. And why? It is the grandaddy of all science fiction/fantasy adventures after all. And I think Andrew Stanton and screenwriters Mark Andrews and Michael Chabon (another hero of mine) could not have done a grander job of making it work for today's cinema audiences. But unfortunately its source material is one step removed from 'the modern moviegoing experience'. By this I mean that modern successes like <i>Star Wars</i> and <i>Avatar </i>and other science-fiction/fantasy smashes - which all took their inspiration from Burroughs' Baroomian tales - did so with a much more direct route to modern moviegoing audiences. These ultra- modern movies are complete in themselves. That is, there are no century-old texts to wrangle with to better understand the universe presented on-screen.<i> </i>But maybe I'm wrong. I mean<i> The Lord of the Rings</i> managed it without too much trouble.<br />
<br />
No matter what the future holds, the arrival of this movie has made me believe in small miracles - that sometimes the impossible, or at the very least the <i>improbable,</i> can sometimes happen. It's as though Andrew Stanton convinced Disney to spend over $200 million on an arthouse movie. And that's a pretty amazing achievement right there. And for that, I want to salute Andrew Stanton and all the other people that made this movie event possible. You are my heroes!<br />
<br />
(Now, to make my life really complete, someone hurry up and make <i>The Dark Tower</i> books into a movie series. Pleeeeeease?)</div>
Lee Moanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11341946009450299809noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13424416.post-62232024259454874622012-04-01T01:55:00.004-07:002012-04-02T15:27:41.705-07:00George Lucas to Remake the Star Wars Saga From Scratch<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgpmkHNYsaRWLHICn7zunTpwWFs2zkvCv7ZbQg5mH7Ay7c_EI6xASS4QIBqqCJeLtgDOzCVqOcrguzaCBJsQrP1Fwt7SSqJEN1sG2wywWTeUMotfS1vfiTYwQVA1PdGRqonEz0dg/s1600/george_lucas17.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 278px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgpmkHNYsaRWLHICn7zunTpwWFs2zkvCv7ZbQg5mH7Ay7c_EI6xASS4QIBqqCJeLtgDOzCVqOcrguzaCBJsQrP1Fwt7SSqJEN1sG2wywWTeUMotfS1vfiTYwQVA1PdGRqonEz0dg/s400/george_lucas17.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5726357747049970418" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">From Press Association, London:</span><br /><br />In an announcement that is sure to upset millions of <span style="font-style: italic;">Star Wars</span> fans and baffle many others, George Lucas has put forward his plans to remake the entire <span style="font-style: italic;">Star Wars</span> saga from scratch, retelling the story of the Skywalker family using the same digital animation technology developed on his hit <span style="font-style: italic;">Clone Wars</span> TV show.<br /><br />'This was always what George was working towards,' a Lucasfilm spokesperson told us. 'He never felt that live-action film, even with the huge amount of CGI employed in the prequel trilogy, was able to do justice to his vision. Now, though, there are no technical limits in presenting his universe.'<br /><br />The other big news is that there will only be five movies in the proposed retelling, starting with events surrounding the start of the Clone Wars as depicted in <span style="font-style: italic;">Attack of the Clones</span>. Why the ommission of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Phantom Menace</span>? 'Let's face it,' the spokesman said, '<span style="font-style: italic;">The Phantom Menace</span> is very much unloved by a lot of fans. And George recently admitted that as far as the storytelling goes it was mostly just padding. And, of course, there's Jar Jar...'<br /><br />Having announced his retirement from directing, Lucas is handing over the entire project to his prequel producer, Rick McCallum.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<br /><br />HAPPY APRIL FOOLS DAY EVERYONE!<br /><br /></div>Lee Moanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11341946009450299809noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13424416.post-9367666074745359952012-03-20T14:22:00.002-07:002012-03-20T14:37:35.580-07:00Guardian - A Short Story<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:85%;">(<span style="font-style: italic;">The following story first appeared in </span>From the Asylum,<span style="font-style: italic;"> July 2006)</span></span><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Guardian</span></span><br /></div><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif][if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif][if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif][if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-US"> Jim Hughes had just opened the front door to put out the trash when he saw the Ferrier kid. He was standing in a spot of moonlight at the bottom of the garden path, staring up at the house. The sight of him almost made Hughes drop the can. </span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“Hey!” he called. “Who is that?”</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The boy didn’t reply, but Hughes quickly realised who it was. He recognised Ferrier from the descriptions he’d overheard from the local kids. Painfully thin and impossibly tall, his face a mass of acne scars. His clothes were also several sizes too small, which gave him a scarecrow-like appearance. But what confirmed it for Hughes were his eyes. They were huge. Great white cue balls they were, with the tiniest pupils you ever saw. It was those eyes which freaked people out the most. Girls mostly; it always seemed to be clusters of girls running away from him. The high school kids said the Ferrier boy—the weird kid from the special school in Brighton—could see <span style="font-style: italic;">right into your soul</span>. </span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Hughes followed the boy’s gaze, which led him to the bedroom window of his step-daughter, Stephanie. He could see her silhouette moving about behind the curtains, getting ready for bed. </span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Hughes started down the path. “Have you got a problem, buddy? Are you a pervert? That it?”</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Those huge white eyes met Hughes’ own as he reached the end of the path. Hughes, a fearless soldier who had seen combat in the Gulf War, felt a finger of dread creep up his spine. </span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“Get out of here,” he said, his voice lacking its usual punch, “or I’ll break your head.”</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The kid stared at him a while longer. Then he opened his sore-encrusted lips and spoke only two words.</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“No more.”</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“What?” Hughes barked. “What’s that supposed to mean?”</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>But the boy didn’t answer.</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Hughes watched him walk off down Cedar Road until he was just a shadow amongst the trees. When he raised his clenched fist, he found he was shaking uncontrollably.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; font-family: georgia;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-US">#</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-US"> He found it hard to sleep that night. The encounter with the Ferrier kid had deeply unsettled him. Lying next to his snoring wife, Hughes turned those two simple words over and over in his head until the early hours.<br /></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-US"> <span style="font-style: italic;">No more.</span><br /></span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>What had he meant by that? No more what? Was the kid vowing that he wouldn’t peep at girls’ bedroom windows anymore? Or did he mean something else entirely? Whatever it was, he’d seen the little creep off.</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>He got up and shuffled out to the bathroom. Relieving his bladder, Hughes listened to the silence of the house, broken only by the incessant drone of his wife’s nasal music. Marie was so fat she couldn’t sleep without snoring anymore, it seemed. Just another nail in the coffin of their sex life.</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>He was crossing the landing when he felt that familiar urge again</span><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family: "Courier New";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-font-kerning:14.0pt; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA" lang="EN-US">—</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-US">the one that always came in the darkest hours</span><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family: "Courier New";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-font-kerning:14.0pt; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA" lang="EN-US">—</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-US">and he changed direction. He placed his ear against his step-daughter’s bedroom door, listened intently for a moment, then went in. </span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Stephanie was sprawled across her bed like most teenagers in deep sleep. Caught in a sliver of moonlight, her face looked as beautiful and fragile as porcelain, the image of Marie when she had been her age. </span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>His heart beating a little faster, Hughes sat down on the bed beside her, gingerly brushing the backs of his fingers along the silk of her nightdress, along the curve of her thigh.</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“Stephanie?” he whispered. “Daddy’s here.”</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>She didn’t stir, didn’t even open her eyes, but two words escaped from her lips. A sudden gust of wind from the gap in the window obliterated what she’d said.</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“What, honey?” he said, leaning close.</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“No more.”</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“What?” he said, his mind reeling. But before he could say any more, he felt a white-hot pain explode in his brain and his vision filled with fire</span><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family: "Courier New";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-font-kerning:14.0pt; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA" lang="EN-US"> . . . </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-US">then absolute darkness.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; font-family: georgia;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-US">#</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-US"> The week after her father was buried in Brighton cemetery, Stephanie Hughes found the courage to tell her mother what he’d done to her, what he’d <span style="font-style: italic;">been </span>doing to her for months. Her mother refused to believe her; she was too lost in grief for her husband, the war hero. But Stephanie didn’t mind. Before her father dropped dead of an aneurysm in her bedroom, she’d been on the brink of suicide. By his death, she’d been saved</span><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family: "Courier New";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-font-kerning:14.0pt; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA" lang="EN-US">—</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-US">just in time. It was almost as if a guardian angel had been looking after her.</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Coming home from high school one afternoon, she saw the Ferrier kid standing on the pavement a few houses away. He was staring at her with those big, uncanny eyes. She shivered and rushed into the house, trying to shake the mental image of him from her mind. She never saw the contented smile which momentarily broke his acne-scarred features as he turned and continued on his way.</span></p> <p style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center; font-family: georgia;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-US">END</span></p>Lee Moanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11341946009450299809noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13424416.post-47770783577760282262012-01-08T14:33:00.000-08:002012-01-08T15:55:20.968-08:00Two Kindle Novels and a Short Story Collection - Free for Monday<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhipnS0Vh7IQFfOUSHeE9gHQduzvdrY2SdwRGg9-t-BNK_ShHgXPye5Omm4Fs0TYOJVryW_HHzht9G0OqC-S-OkxTQs0uN5XhhuVFlTOUZfah0-t01KvvVStcdorTFhS_va_a1Rpg/s1600/TVR-Kindle.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 262px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhipnS0Vh7IQFfOUSHeE9gHQduzvdrY2SdwRGg9-t-BNK_ShHgXPye5Omm4Fs0TYOJVryW_HHzht9G0OqC-S-OkxTQs0uN5XhhuVFlTOUZfah0-t01KvvVStcdorTFhS_va_a1Rpg/s400/TVR-Kindle.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695395667605784850" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTtNa0gJ6MyfZGyYPwhrl5946fVa-PzMETsisBelPGhZy8H2_wQoC3EHS4JMIRBUjXGZ4piBwluME-lJd0AiLfRy_bT2NajBxle_2wbmo0fDq9mLPjBb-2YB0BF0LebS12DJzFDg/s1600/LAZARUS_ISLAND_FINAL_COVER.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 279px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTtNa0gJ6MyfZGyYPwhrl5946fVa-PzMETsisBelPGhZy8H2_wQoC3EHS4JMIRBUjXGZ4piBwluME-lJd0AiLfRy_bT2NajBxle_2wbmo0fDq9mLPjBb-2YB0BF0LebS12DJzFDg/s400/LAZARUS_ISLAND_FINAL_COVER.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695395663204006466" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyoBctbEU_dLhbUiNh8nNndr4yRZQnE7uUK627SXox9sw_VfzW_N9u5civOT6KBQmIkmltYv6ekEUXAZbRz3xRIj2IFYWMXoWUgqFgcSaBo46VwVhKPW3uM3lYb-JwDZEq-TgnpQ/s1600/Midnight+Men.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 279px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyoBctbEU_dLhbUiNh8nNndr4yRZQnE7uUK627SXox9sw_VfzW_N9u5civOT6KBQmIkmltYv6ekEUXAZbRz3xRIj2IFYWMXoWUgqFgcSaBo46VwVhKPW3uM3lYb-JwDZEq-TgnpQ/s400/Midnight+Men.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5695395677965355506" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">For today only (Monday 9th Jan) three of my Kindle ebooks will be free on Amazon:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lazarus-Island-ebook/dp/B00613J56A/ref=ntt_at_ep_edition_2_5?ie=UTF8&m=A7B2F8DUJ88VZ">Lazarus Island</a><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Vanished-Race-ebook/dp/B005E1DBV0/ref=ntt_at_ep_edition_2_4?ie=UTF8&m=A7B2F8DUJ88VZ">The Vanished Race</a><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Men-Other-Stories-ebook/dp/B004TBBZN2/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2">The Midnight Men and Other Stories</a><br /><br />(Please spread the word!)<br /></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Lee Moanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11341946009450299809noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13424416.post-63732939301400527002011-12-30T14:24:00.000-08:002011-12-30T15:14:23.088-08:00Go confidently in the direction of your dreams . . .<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLHZk4LDahvmaA8T0E-k92HUQR5ex4hIdl0dCuLFra-NvYJh9Cie5SiMgy7DGHcNXOD3hbPT66K8GTlN5Z6sSKaFCJIpLG1eDnM_xbHsqHmymuRPG7JGq-xXHMW77AdMdhcOn4tg/s1600/manifesto.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 299px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLHZk4LDahvmaA8T0E-k92HUQR5ex4hIdl0dCuLFra-NvYJh9Cie5SiMgy7DGHcNXOD3hbPT66K8GTlN5Z6sSKaFCJIpLG1eDnM_xbHsqHmymuRPG7JGq-xXHMW77AdMdhcOn4tg/s400/manifesto.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5692050929440988674" border="0" /></a>Twelve months ago I was in a bad place. The New Year was looming, I had some personal problems that were kicking my behind, and my writing career was not progressing the way I'd hoped. Then, on Jan 2nd, I received a late night phone call from America. It was Joni Labaqui from the Writers of the Future Contest. The story I had entered almost four months previous (and which, to be honest, I had forgotten about) had reached the final 8 of the quarter. Ms Labaqui assured me that my story was really good and that I was a talented writer. I almost cried. As it happens, the story didn't make the all-important Final 3 but shortly after I went on to sell it to <span style="font-style: italic;">Realms of Fantasy Magazine*</span>. [*That's another story.]<br /><br />Anyhoo, this episode taught me a couple of things. One,<span style="font-style: italic;"> I can do this</span>. I've "got the chops", as they say. Two, I started telling myself to stop waiting around for things to happen.<span style="font-style: italic;"> Make your own opportunities</span>. At the time, I didn't quite know what that meant. Surely a writer has to wait for that all-important publishing deal, right? That was my dream, wasn't it? Since the age of ten I'd been dreaming of being a published full-time writer just like my hero Stephen King. (Yeah, I read <span style="font-style: italic;">Firestarter, Pet Semetary,</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Cujo </span>and <span style="font-style: italic;">Thinner </span>about that time - go figure.) But back in January 2011, I had an epiphany moment.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Sometimes, we have to adapt our dreams.</span><br /><br />I'd been following the blog of Mr Joe Konrath and his trailblazing adventures in the world of self-publishing (or indie publishing for want of a better term, but to be honest the terminology is unimportant). Things were changing. The publishing world was changing. Hell, the <span style="font-style: italic;">world </span>was changing. With the advent of ereaders like the Kindle, the Nook and the Sony Reader, the way people <span style="font-style: italic;">read </span>was changing - and at the same time, the way writers got published was changing, too. Writers suddenly had the autonomy and the freedom to write <span style="font-style: italic;">what </span>they wanted and publish it <span style="font-style: italic;">how </span>and <span style="font-style: italic;">when </span>they wanted. With publishing platforms like Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Smashwords, writers were able to reach potentially vast audiences. I'm not going to detail the various arguements for or against self-publishing because, in the end, every writer has to weigh up the pros and cons for themselves and make a choice. Personally, I am proud to say that since March 2011 when I self-published my first ebook, I have sold over 20,000 ebooks. In the process, I've received really good reviews, some great feedback from readers, and most importantly, I've been given a real sense of purpose in my writing. I can't wait to get the next book out to readers. And the next one after that.<br /><br />I've never felt more excited about doing the thing I love most.<br /><br />May I wish you all a happy and prosperous 2012! May all your dreams come true.Lee Moanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11341946009450299809noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13424416.post-91479281051971326042011-12-07T16:10:00.000-08:002011-12-07T16:11:58.651-08:00Probability and Chaos<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center;line-height:200%" align="center"><i><u><span style="font-size:20.0pt;line-height:200%" lang="EN-US">Probability and Chaos</span></u></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;line-height:200%" lang="EN-US">'If you jump,' the cop bellowed, fighting to be heard over the buffeting wind, 'you’ll be dead before you hit the ground.'</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;line-height:200%" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The jumper, a young man in a white lab coat, glanced over the ledge on which he was standing, taking in the endless tiers of sky-traffic coursing by in every direction below them. The young scientist let out a short, high-pitched laugh. 'You would think so, wouldn’t you?' he shouted to the cop.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;line-height:200%" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>'What are you talking about?' said Officer Pullman. 'If you throw yourself into that traffic, the odds of surviving are a million to one!'</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;line-height:200%" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The young scientist smiled grimly. 'Actually, the odds are 123,570-to one, to be precise.' He observed the puzzled expression on the officer’s face. 'That’s my field of research - probability and chaos. You’re quite right that the odds against me <i>not </i>being hit by a single vehicle during my descent are considerable. But for the last six months I’ve been working night and day to predict the exact moment and the exact circumstances necessary for me to fall through the sky-traffic and completely avoid being hit.' He glanced at his wristwatch. 'And that moment, according to my calculations, is due in twenty-three seconds time.'</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;line-height:200%" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>'Are you <i>serious</i>?' asked Pullman.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;line-height:200%" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>'Of course! At precisely 11:47 and 23 seconds I will conduct my experiment. I will jump.'</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;line-height:200%" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Pullman shook his head in disbelief. 'But … even if you miss being hit by the traffic, you’ll still die. You’ll hit the pavement!'</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;line-height:200%" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>'That doesn’t matter,' said the scientist. 'If I hit the pavement before I hit anything else, the experiment will have been a complete success!'</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;line-height:200%" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>'Not if you’re dead!' said Pullman.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;line-height:200%" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>'I’m not afraid. I will die safe in the knowledge that I will be famous beyond death. As the first person to truly control his destiny!'</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;line-height:200%" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Pullman slumped back against the window-frame in defeat, and then he said the one thing negotiators are taught never to say to a jumper: 'You’re crazy!'</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;line-height:200%" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The scientist gave him a wan smile. 'We’ll see, shall we?' He looked once more at his watch. Pullman could see him silently counting down 3 … 2 … 1 …</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;line-height:200%" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Then he jumped.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;line-height:200%" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>With a mixture of horror and curiosity, Pullman watched the man fall - only he didn’t fall very far. About twenty feet below them, just above the point where the heavy flow of sky-traffic began, a speck of blinding blue light exploded into life. The light expanded rapidly into a large cone-shaped vortex. In its swirling throat Pullman could see a terrible blackness. Something told him that inside that vortex was the end of all things. He watched as the demented young scientist fell straight into that heart of darkness (his final cry of <i>'What the hell?' </i>echoing in Pullman‘s head for some time afterwards) and disappeared. A second later, the vortex itself winked out of existence.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;line-height:200%" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Officer Pullman looked down into the noisy sky-traffic, scratched his head and said, 'I guess he never predicted that!'</span></p>Lee Moanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11341946009450299809noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13424416.post-34644982216032793542011-12-05T16:22:00.000-08:002011-12-05T16:30:11.454-08:00The View from the Bridge<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Courier New"" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> <span style="font-family: georgia;"></span></span><span style="font-family: georgia;">“Potential suicide, Golden Gate Bridge. Officer needs assistance.”</span></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Sergeant Harris studied the figure in his rear view mirror. Dark clothing, black raincoat, raised hood. It was a miracle Harris had seen him through the thrashing rain. But this wasn’t the first time he’d come across someone loitering conspicuously at that particular spot. In his ten years on the beat there’d been a dozen suicides there; he’d attended two of them himself. </span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The first one had jumped - a middle-aged woman driven to despair after ten years in an abusive relationship. Harris had never really gotten over her death. He could still remember the feel of her dress as it slipped through his fingers. Helpless, he’d watched her fall - silent, graceful - into the roiling waters below.</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>He’d made a promise to himself that day - he would never let it happen again. Thankfully, the one which followed, a young man, had been pulled back from the brink. Afterwards, Harris had asked him why he’d chosen to jump from the Golden Gate Bridge. The man replied, “I just liked the view from there.”</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Harris supposed that was all it was. If <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">he</i> ever decided to end it all, he would probably go to the same spot for the very same reason. The view of the Bay was glorious from there, and what better view to have at the end . . .</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The figure in the hooded raincoat, oblivious to Harris’s patrol car parked only a dozen yards away, stepped onto the lower bar of the railing. </span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“Just hurry with the back-up,” Harris barked, slamming the inter-com back into its cradle. He studied the figure for a moment, feeling the twin spokes of fear and adrenalin in his gut. After glancing round, he pulled a small silver flask from his pocket and raised it to his lips. If any of his colleagues saw him on the sauce again he’d be canned for certain, which would be a tragedy after he’d managed to convince everyone that he’d beaten his addiction. </span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>He took a healthy swallow and slipped it back into his trouser pocket, before climbing out of the car into the rain-washed night. Cautiously, he approached the wavering figure.</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“Hello there!” he hollered.</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The figure didn’t turn.</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“You okay, sir?”</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Still no response.</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Harris shuffled closer. He could just glimpse the man’s profile - nose, lips, bearded chin - peeking from the hood. The guy looked rough. A tramp, maybe. As Harris took another step closer, he smelled the wreak of booze.</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“Would you step down from there, buddy?” Harris asked in a calm, level tone. “Can you hear me, pal?”</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“Stop me.”</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The words were so faint, Harris wasn’t sure if he’d imagined them.</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“Excuse me?” </span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The figure turned slightly towards him so that Harris saw one rheumy, bloodshot eye staring back at him.</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“Stop me,” the old man said.</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“Stop you? Buddy, that’s what I want to do.” Harris took this as a plea for intervention and stepped forward-</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>But something - some force - was stopping him. He pressed forward again, but felt a definite resistance. It wasn’t the wind. This was like some invisible barrier surrounding the hooded figure. </span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“Stop me!” Louder this time, almost a command.</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“I - I can’t,” Harris admitted. “I want to, but-”</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The figure pointed a bony, accusing finger at Harris. “You can stop this!” </span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Harris tried to focus on the hooded figure, but it was as if his vision was slipping between two different images of the same man - one looking down into the water, the other turned slightly towards him. </span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“You can stop this!” the figure said once more, before it turned, both images melting into one again. The old man raised himself up on the railing, his upper body shaking with the effort.</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“No! Don’t!” Harris screamed. He threw himself forward with all his strength, hit the wall of pressure and then-</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>The next thing he knew he was lying on his back in the traffic lane, rain running down the back of his uniform, blinding headlights bearing down on him. He was so stunned he didn’t even think to scramble out of the way. Luckily, the vehicle slowed and pulled up in front of him. The flashing blue lights filled him with relief. </span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“Harris, you okay?”</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>It was Sergeant Dawson, one of his oldest friends on the force. He rushed over and helped him to his feet.</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“The old guy!” Harris said breathlessly. “He jumped!” </span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“What old guy?” Dawson said, scanning the length of the bridge.</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“Didn’t you see him?” Harris asked.</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“I only saw you, man,” Dawson said. “You stumbled and fell in the road.” </span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“Yeah, but-”</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Dawson’s friendly expression suddenly turned sour. He leaned close and sniffed Harris’s breath. “You been drinking, man?”</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Before Harris could answer, Dawson reached down and picked something up from the gutter. It was Harris’s silver flask. </span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“Jesus, man,” Dawson said, slapping the flask against Harris’s chest. “You told me you’d kicked the habit.” He shook his head. “It’ll be the death of you, Harris.”</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Harris froze, his shame momentarily forgotten. </span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“What did you say?”</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“You heard.” Dawson walked back to his patrol car. “Give it up, man,” he said, before driving away.</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Harris stood awhile in the pouring rain, staring down at the sleek surface of the flask.</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">You can stop this.</i></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Had he imagined the whole thing? Was that figure not really there at all tonight? Or was it a glimpse of something that had not yet come to pass? He remembered the profile of that haunted figure, and saw a likeness now that sent a terrible shiver through him.</span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">You can stop this.</i></span></p><span style="font-family: georgia;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; font-family: georgia;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>“Yeah,” Harris said to himself, “I can.” And with one mighty throw, he tossed the flask over the railing and into the dark waters below.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: "Courier New";" lang="EN-US">***</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Courier New"" lang="EN-US">(First published in <span style="font-style: italic;">From the Asylum</span>. Copyright 2011 Lee Moan)<br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center;line-height:200%" align="center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Courier New"" lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Courier New"" lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:78%;" ><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%;" lang="EN-US"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Courier New"" lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Courier New"" lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center;line-height:200%" align="center"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Courier New"" lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:200%"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:"Courier New"" lang="EN-US"> </span></p>Lee Moanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11341946009450299809noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13424416.post-82830249593534023792011-12-04T13:48:00.000-08:002011-12-04T13:54:17.608-08:00The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Star Pilot<p><strong>JOURNAL ENTRY #3138 Date: 11/04/2199 Time: 1046</strong></p> <p>This is Cory Dealth, captain and pilot of the cargo freighter, Alexa. I’ve just chartered the final leg of our course for Delta Centauri, but I’m certain that I won’t reach journey’s end alive. I am in the grip of “the Sorrow”, “the Loneliness”, “the Pilot’s Despair”; it doesn’t matter what you call it, I know it has only one cure — death.</p><p>Continue reading the story here: <a href="http://planetmagazine.wordpress.com/2004/09/20/the-loneliness-of-the-long-distance-star-pilot-by-lee-moan/">Planet Magazine</a><br /></p>Lee Moanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11341946009450299809noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13424416.post-80039694506103634952011-11-27T13:21:00.000-08:002011-11-27T14:32:43.487-08:00The Thing All Parents FearSome years ago, I recall Stephen King talking about <span style="font-style: italic;">Pet Semetary</span> (still one of my favourite King books) and the hesitancy he felt about actually publishing it. The cause of his hesitancy? The fact that the story featured the death of a child - surely the greatest fear of all parents. I believe SK referred to that particular plot development as "real horror". There's another quote out there (I forget from whom) which goes something like this: "In a novel, you can kill as many men as you like. You can kill women if they deserve it (if they're <span style="font-style: italic;">really </span>bad) and you can kill a child if you have very, very good reason. But if you kill off a dog in your book, you're probably going to alienate your readers completely." I'm paraphrasing here but that's the essential gist. Incidentally, I love the irony of the quote that dogs spark a greater emotional reaction than children. Anyway, point being that no matter how great the tale you are spinning, readers (and I count myself amongst that number) are emotionally connected to certain things and as a result may react to your narrative in an unexpected and seemingly quite irrational way. I think, in literary terms, this sort of reaction goes back to the public outcry Charles Dickens experienced when it was discovered that he was about to kill off Little Nell in <span style="font-style: italic;">The Old Curiosity Shop</span>. Readers petitioned him to change the outcome, to save their beloved Little Nell, a character they had come to love and care about. Of course, Dickens did not. He told the story he set out to tell. That is the writer's job.<br /><br />Children die. They die all the time, all around the world, every day. It is heartbreaking and traumatic, but it is part of life. I remember watching a BBC documentary some years ago about the hardships suffered by children in an African community which believed in the occult practice of Kindoki. In one scene, a child of no more than 3 0r 4 years old was sick with some incurable disease and a holy man was standing over him, conducting a deeply upsetting ritual over the boy (he was crying throughout). The journalist reporting the event said in voice-over: "The boy died two nights later". I couldn't sleep that night. I couldn't stop crying for that little boy, so scared and alone and confused. I've never been so upset by something I've seen on television. So I totally get why people react so strongly to children dying even in a fictional narrative. We, as a society, are deeply sentimental when it comes to children. No one in their right mind wants to see a child in pain, or worse still, experience the death of a child. My novel, <span style="font-style: italic;">Lazarus Island</span>, features such an event, and I have to say, the original ending kept me from publishing it for quite some time - years, in fact. I wasn't happy with the original ending at all. I personally found it so dark and depressing that I simply shelved the book and moved onto other stories. But I always loved the mythology of the island and, like Lazarus himself, the story just refused to die. Finally, I found the ending the story needed and I believe it directly addresses the issue I'm trying to highlight right here. At what point do we let go of our emotional connection to a character and allow the story to unfold as it was intended? (The only pop culture example I can think of to illustrate this point is the death of Jack at the end of <span style="font-style: italic;">Titanic </span>-<span style="font-style: italic;"> Jack and Rose should have been together forever!!!</span>) The writer's dream is to create characters readers can care about. It shouldn't matter whether they're a child or an adult. A writer's responsibilty is to "tell the truth" and, like I said, sometimes children die - in real life and in fiction. I have four children myself, so it's not something I say lightly, or without personal experience. Children are precious and that is what makes the human experience so painful and difficult and - ultimately - so rewarding.Lee Moanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11341946009450299809noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13424416.post-26758852706330986052011-11-23T15:38:00.000-08:002011-11-29T15:14:45.283-08:00Lazarus Island Offer<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ0HzzTnvjtg37T9g3W3hw88ffoBJH4sh8D9sozJ-6wrNVqxRbhDYLTSuAYLv6Cz0AYXf3zcNrztFXvtP1eoMp8OgwLKDDffGXqztKECHrVzYVN-VNycCRPD9ZWVEC5od5pWHZ7A/s1600/LAZARUS_ISLAND_FINAL_COVER.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 279px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ0HzzTnvjtg37T9g3W3hw88ffoBJH4sh8D9sozJ-6wrNVqxRbhDYLTSuAYLv6Cz0AYXf3zcNrztFXvtP1eoMp8OgwLKDDffGXqztKECHrVzYVN-VNycCRPD9ZWVEC5od5pWHZ7A/s400/LAZARUS_ISLAND_FINAL_COVER.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5680557023940734962" border="0" /></a><br />Hi folks. My latest novel <span style="font-style: italic;">Lazarus Island</span> is currently discounted on Smashwords until 20th December:<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ5iZO77ii1F1g27TzIivcjCx62dvJp7mODGIEPeXYmDtIx98qY_AGN5a_o5FFJz_5ERyHon6986YB1LTW2LMtxdNTPS39MbAhDrP5NXaEzIeJW9f5rUwDiok_pWA2nvsqZBjhvg/s1600/TVR-Kindle.jpg"><br /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;">USE COUPON CODE <span style="font-weight: bold;">UE63U</span> at checkout to get this ebook for just $1.50.<br /><a href="http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/100572/">Smashwords - Lazarus Island</a><br /></div><br />As always, all feedback is greatly appreciated.Lee Moanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11341946009450299809noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13424416.post-45344624409631647552011-10-30T03:25:00.000-07:002011-10-30T03:30:13.213-07:00LAZARUS ISLAND AVAILABLE ON KINDLE FOR HALLOWEEN<div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDLcW53XRsqoIbr5PXfmSSXMj1AdTtHJh0kzDh9nyn4dKqPCgqRNBvcoQfdNyKZmBNGF3z0E0Ij8yuOMCi8R5l9PS4ihmRI1qH80L0pSOM3lBL3NjP5ZKgLYVt8WdxxM9xiTbH1g/s1600/LAZARUS_ISLAND_FINAL_COVER.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 279px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDLcW53XRsqoIbr5PXfmSSXMj1AdTtHJh0kzDh9nyn4dKqPCgqRNBvcoQfdNyKZmBNGF3z0E0Ij8yuOMCi8R5l9PS4ihmRI1qH80L0pSOM3lBL3NjP5ZKgLYVt8WdxxM9xiTbH1g/s400/LAZARUS_ISLAND_FINAL_COVER.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5669229884266857426" border="0" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Lazarus-Island-ebook/dp/B00613J56A/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_7">AMAZON US</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00613J56A">AMAZON UK</a><br /></div>Lee Moanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11341946009450299809noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13424416.post-46329030947666295302011-09-14T14:11:00.000-07:002011-09-14T15:15:25.561-07:00Into the Realms of Fantasy (see what I did there?)I am very pleased, proud, and all kinds of excited to announce that my dark fantasy story 'The Transmuted Engine' has been picked up by <span style="font-style: italic;">Realms of Fantasy</span> Magazine. I do believe this will be my very first professional sale. It was a long and interesting process.<br /><br />The first draft of this story was written waaay back in 2008. I was a regular at Critters Online at the time and after honing the story as best I could I submitted it for critique and four weeks later recieved about fifteen or sixteen critical evaluations, ranging from in-depth monologues to a few scant lines. After fixing the issues which arose in those crits, I sent it to a number of magazines, including <span style="font-style: italic;">Interzone, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Weird Tales, GUD, Andromeda Spaceway</span>s and a bizarro anthology, amongst others. Despite the rejections, I still believed in the story. I felt it was the most exciting and imaginitive piece of fiction I had yet produced. In August 2010, I sent it to L Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future Contest. I didn't hold much hope of success. I'd entered twice before and reached the quarter finals and felt that was as far as I was going to get. But in the early hours of January 1st 2011 I received a phonecall from America. It was Joni Labaqui, one of the administrators of the Writers of the Future Contest. She told me my story had reached the final eight for the quarter and was in with a good chance of winning. She told me that, no matter what happens, "you are a great writer". I am telling you now, with absolute honesty, that tears sprang into my eyes at that moment. It was all I could do to keep myself standing upright. I managed to keep my composure for the rest of the conversation, but I was choked with emotion by the end of it.<br /><br />Now, sadly, 'The Transmuted Engine' didn't make the all-important final three (the prizewinning positions) but that phone conversation not only saved my life, it gave me a newfound sense of self-belief. As a result, I sent the story to <span style="font-style: italic;">Realms of Fantasy</span>, the magazine I had always dreamed of being published in but never dared believe I would, and here we are, six months later, with an acceptance. [Duotrope's Digest reports that <span style="font-style: italic;">Realms of Fantasy</span> has a 1.27 % acceptance rate, and that alone makes me feel emotional all over again.] I wanted to share this story with you, the story of my first big story sale, because it is a huge milestone in my career. There are so many factors involved in selling any story to any market - the editor's tastes, the genre/style of your story, your status as a writer, etc. - but I think the one thing this process has taught me is that if you write something you are proud of and which you utterly believe in, and if you work damn hard to make it the best it can possibly be, it <span style="font-style: italic;">will </span>find an outlet. Eventually.<br /><br />Never give up.<br /><br />Never give up on yourself and never give up on an ideal.<br /><br />'Nuff said.Lee Moanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11341946009450299809noreply@blogger.com3