Now hear this ... now.

Let it now be said, here and now, that, now, here, being said now, there are interactive contents pages for both Book One and Book Two of the saga ... now.  I've become very flash, you see and, for the time being, I'd like to be referred to as 'Harker the interactive contents page fellow who has interactive contents pages for his saga because he's a fellow of sorts'.  I realise this is rather a long name, but it's only temporary.  To those who have already purchased said books, you can request updated versions from Amazon for free.  That's all for now.

   Yours sincerely, 

                         Harker the interactive contents page fellow who has interactive contents pages for his saga because he's a fellow of sorts.

                       

Well here's a problem.  For the past few days I've been attempting to continue with Book Four, but I have happened upon what I call a slight hindrance.  It isn't writer's block, of course, since if ever I were to experience such a thing I'd merely write a story about it.  Rather this is some trickery of the mind.  Allow me to explain further.  I keep seeing sausage rolls, cheesy footballs and cakes, where instead there should be a computer desk, a keyboard and a monitor.  This may sound a little odd, but I'm currently writing this blog on a huge slice of turkey spattered with cranberry sauce.  I see food and drink everywhere, and I don't believe these sights will cease until Christmas has finished, or until ... oh no, here I go again to Puddlefish:
  
Strange; each corridor in Mackerel's Wash appears to breathe.They expand and contract, and then growing apertures appear in the walls that permit me access to stairways made from dorsal fins generously coated in batter.I've just entered a room full of fish-like folk garbed in boot laces, and who are exhaling noisily in gutteral stutters.Upon mentioning the words "Yule Chocolate log", one of them has shifted forward; it appears as though it may speak ...




... And I'm back again. 


Merry Christmas everyone.

Sirrenvaag - the blurb!

   As the unsightly structures of Sirrenvaag unfurl amidst a dissipating mist, The Wanderer prepares to confront his own past in a town teeming with answers to questions that have plagued him for so many years.   

   Set within the iniquitous town itself, ‘Sirrenvaag’ is the third book in the ‘Words to the Wise’ saga and unearths both a forgotten and discarded fragment of the world.  Faced by the relics of dark myth, insidious cults, menacing prophecies, preternatural discovery and terrifying Truths, The Wanderer begins to learn that even hope has its place amidst the residue of insanity and slaughter.

Goodreads: a very rewarding experience

As you might know - if indeed you have been following this blog with all the eagerness of a passionate revolutionary - my book 'Words to the Wise: Book One (The Awakening)' was one of those chosen for the 'November Selections' on the 'UK Amazon Kindle Forum', which is discoverable on the Goodreads website.  I must submerge my silliness in seriousness for just a moment and state, for the record, that it has been an extremely pleasing experience for me.  Aside from the amiable atmosphere inherent within the site (courtesy of those who visit and post therein), I must say that the manner in which the book has been received has very much  opened my eyes wider than if I had gazed upon the most beauteous vista with all of its splendour and spectacle attached.  A large number of the comments referred to those aspects of the novel that I would've deemed negligible to the reader, but I was very pleasantly surprised to learn that many of the nuances I had injected into the vein of the work were certainly more than discernible beneath the skin of its cover.


Overall, this has been an extremely fulfilling month for me so far.  To all those who read and enjoyed the work, and to all those who posted their comments and joined in with the discussions, I say thank you all very much ... it has been a real pleasure.


P.S. I promise that my next post will rejoin the realms of the ridiculous.

I am pride's companion.  Only last week did we venture out together; we had lunch and recalled those sorry times when we were once distant cousins who seldom spoke.  We are re-united once again, not merely because I offered him good money to be seen in public with me, but because of the manner in which Book One of my Saga has been received.  Pride did say unto me: "Look at that, Mr. Harker, you're not such a solitary and invisible figure after all; here, have one of my Monster Munch" (pickled onion flavour, no less).  I include some of the reviews below.  Myself and pride are now off ice-skating.  Apparently he can execute an amazing pirouette.



"The wording that the author uses really helps to paint the scene and express the emotions of "The Wanderer" in relation to what is happening. I love the way the books is told by "The Wanderer" to another individual for me it gives the book a different edge than if we had been going through the story with him as it was happening. I loved everything about this book, although if you read this be prepared to be reading at least one more book, it is not a stand alone book unless you don't mind the story being unresolved."

"This is a beautifully written book, the words and phrasing are so eloquent that I savoured every word.
love fantasy but wasn't prepared for the dark horror that both captured and terrified me in equal measure.
I can't wait to start the second in the series 'Words to the Wise Towards Darker Climes' which I have downloaded straight away onto my kindle."

"The plot itself was quite dark, so if you like that style you will love this book. I'm not sure that I could summarise it adequately so I will leave that to others. There was a lot of attention to detail throughout the book and the one essential I look for in a great book was missing: however it was a necessary omission. I love to get a feel for the characters and that was missing with the main character of this book. This was due to the fact that the character himself was searching for his own sense of self, so the fact that I was on that search with him shows how well written the book is. Hopefully the next books will uncover this."

This book was chosen for our Goodreads group and I am so glad it was. I already had the sample on my Kindle, and I know I would have definitely eventually got around to reading it and subsequently downloading the full book, because I was hooked from the first few pages of the sample. It's not often a book comes along that you feel a connection with. You can like a book, you can love a book. But sometimes you can feel more than that, a passion almost and that's exactly how I felt about this book. I am not sure what genre this book falls under, sometimes though the writing is to such a high standard, like this one, that the genre hardly matters. It wasn't just the writing style though, I really did love the story too. It pulled me in so quickly and I found right from the beginning that I really did want to know what happened to The Wanderer.
I know the book won't be to everyone's taste. For me personally though it felt like one of those books that deserves to be a modern classic.
I am afraid my impatience won't allow me to delay reading book 2 and I have already bought it.

November Book Selections (Goodreads)

   So there I was strolling past the mirror with very few cares about anything in particular, when I  found myself returning to said mirror very suddenly and with a certain degree of confusion.  "Why are you smiling?" I asked myself.  "Well," I answered, now feeling somewhat embarrassed by the fact that I was still wearing my favourite 'Batman' costume, "your book (Words to the Wise: Book One (The Awakening) is one of three that's just been chosen for the Goodreads 'November Book Selections'".  I already knew this, of course, I just thought I'd state it in front of the mirror whilst dressed as 'Batman'; strangely enough it had more of an effect than when I attempted the same thing just minutes earlier whilst wearing my 'Little Bo Peep' costume.
   Then I drifted off into reverie and found myself once more in the dark isle of Puddlefish, an arid place roofed by a sky of undulating water.  I found myself resting in a village called 'Mackerel's Wash'.  Comprising just one fish-textured high-rise edifice, the people there decided many years ago to fashion their entire village skywards instead of across the plains.  This information was brought to me by whispering odious zephyrs that travel throughout the village, since I'm yet to encounter a living being.  What has all of this really taught me so far? That perhaps I shouldn't spend too much time staring into mirrors whilst dressed as 'Batman'.

Progress and darkish thoughts

   Well, here I am.  I've returned to Book Four and have become inadvertently entwined with my own meticulous nature.  Instead of continuing from where I left off, I decided to arrest my thoughts and begin in the middle.  There were various things I had to alter, you see, and with these alterations came one of those accompanying extras that so effortlessly plague me on more occasions than I care to recall; continuity.  Once I changed one aspect of the narrative, I was compelled to change the rest.  This will take me several days and will quite possibly involve a fleet of psychiatrists, but it shall be done.
   It's a strange thing, however, that whilst writing I suddenly became preoccupied with an imaginary dark isle called Puddlefish, an isle located on the back of a giant cantankerous haddock.  I feel as though such a place needs to be explored, so I will disclose more about this alternate universe as I progress with Book Four. Did I mention also that I shall soon be editing Book Three?  There will undoubtedly be some odd times ahead.  Bear with me.

The story so far

I studied Gothic literature for some time, and developed a passion for the often baroque manner of writing employed by novelists such as Ann Radcliffe, and later Gothic/horror writers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries such as Poe and Lovecraft.

I suppose my aim was to recreate a certain style of writing that was popularised during these periods, an ornate and yet still atmospheric form of prose used to draw in the reader, and envelop them in billows of periodic eeriness. It was also my intention to create a journey, since I do so very much love a literary journey. I like nothing more than to imagine the readers feeling as though they need to shake the dust off their feet once they have read the final word; although that may be pushing things a little beyond expectation.

So far things are going very well. I've had a few favourable reviews from like-minded sorts who also enjoy this particular approach to the Gothic engine, which certainly helps to fuel my intent in regards to completing the saga.

As for when it will be completed, I would say I'm probably a couple of years away yet. Book Three has already been written, and I'm currently writing Book Four; there will be five or possibly six in the entire saga.


I shall very soon be editing Book Three for publication.  In the meantime I have to get used to the fact that I now have a blog.  I shall post updates where necessary.