KUNDELA Book Launch

We are launching my debut novel KUNDELA in the small South Australian town of Orroroo on Tuesday 30th April at 7.00 pm. The Orroroo Community Library is the venue and I'm looking forward to catching up with many old and new friends.

About the Story:

            Vietnam Veteran Joe Gillespie is slow to anger but today, revenge drives his mood. He has had cattle stolen over the past twelve months and the police seem clueless.

            Jeff Rankin an Aboriginal police officer charged with solving the last cattle theft is thrust back into the high pressure world of the Bikie Squad after the Gillespie’s find their homestead trashed. Attracted by their openness and resolve he falls for Tilly, Joe’s daughter.

            A paddock full of poisoned animals set the trap for Joe to drive into an ambush. His assailants may be unknown but Joe is one farmer who won’t give in easy. Trying to outrun his pursuers Joe is in two minds as watches them in his rear view mirror. Through his dust he sees them crash off the road. Unsure about their condition he phones Jeff for assistance.

Three disfigured bodies lie beside the Hammond Road. Their identities wasted by shotgun blasts. DI Cassidy is soon on the scene and Joe becomes his prime suspect for the murders.

The Gillespies are still in danger. Joe has worked out who is targeting him, but all their research shows the suspect to be dead and lies buried in the Arlington War Cemetery. Joe is not convinced about the accuracy of the records and he and Jeff take to the air searching for the hideout.

Local Aborigines summon a Kadaichi to avenge their friends. Laura, Joe’s wife, sees his image salute her twice. A singing circle of women wail an ancient chant, their song aimed at helping Joe.

Too close to the family Jeff Rankin is angry, now removed from the investigation he and Joe independent of the police take on finding the killer. However their plans are thwarted when Joe’s mid air heart attack puts both of them in danger.

            Will the police catch whoever is targeting the Gillespies before Joe dies?

 

The setting for Kundela is the Mid North / Flinders Ranges Area of South Australia.

I am happy to offer free postage for all mail orders. The recommended retail price of the book is $29.95 including GST. Just e-mail your address details to kundela@bigpond.com and I’ll reply asap with my payment options.
If you would like the book signed please  remember to include who the dedication is for.

Thanks for your interest and remember to share this post with your friends and colleagues if you think they'd be interested in a signed copy of Kundela.

Orroroo is one of the towns where the story is set and it seemed fitting to introduce the story to the public there. To learn more about the area click on the links below: 
http://www.orroroo.sa.gov.au/page.aspx 
http://www.flindersranges.com/     
http://www.wadlata.sa.gov.au/

Lorraine Jones wins 2012 Stringybark Humorous Short Story Comp

Congratulations to a colleague from my 2012 writing group.

Lorraine Jones has received a Highly Commended placing in the 2012 Stringybark Humorous Short Story Competition for her tale Fifty Shades of Green. Lorraine has a smooth writing style that will capture your interest for a time and leave you chuckling all day as you relive her writings.

Fifty Shades of Green and other stories have been collated into a book titled: The Very End of the Affair... to be published in both e-book and hard cover. The e-book is available now and the hard cover will be available in May.

A special offer is being promoted to friends and family, you can purchase the e-book version for A$2.80 which represents a 25% discount. Just include the offer code RM79H when placing your order.

A book of laughs for $2.80 is a steal so this Easter treat yourself with a giggle to go with the chocolate and candy after all $2.80 to chuckle all day where can you get better value than that.

Well done Lorraine

Les Gillespies Gold 'the argument'

Today I finished a piece for the book where two people are arguing, and although I know I waffle-on in real life, I had a hard time knowing how long to keep this going for.
Are there any hard and fast rules in writing for arguments. I have about 900 words from beginning to end so in real life this would be about six minutes. Is it too long?

Les Gillespie's Gold -- Oops --

It's funny how careful planning can also bring you undone if you don't check your work. In responding to a comment on one of my posts I noticed that I had given one of my characters a different surname. She appears in KUNDELA and her character will have a bigger role in Les Gillespie's Gold. Bearing this in mind I had ploughed ahead creating mannerisms and features hair colour etc, Fiona was a complete and confident woman in the yummy mummy genre.

She appears in the story around chapter four and then her husband John shows up meeting her  in the same chapter. As I typed the story I knew his name was different. I could have maintained she kept her maiden name after marriage but she is not that big of character and if I refer to her parents at any time then they too have another surname. I would have to correct her profile sheet.

Therefore I had no option but to go back to the Kundela manuscript and complete a search. It took nearly half an hour but there he was.

Now that their family is over an identity crisis I can get on with the yarn that is Les Gillespie's Gold.

Check out Fiona O'Rourke's profile on my blog, if can you remember the wrong surname, I have three free copies of Kundela to give away to a random three people who get the answer right. Just leave the wrong name in the comments section.

Cheers,

Terry

Les Gillespie's Gold 'Cryptic Message'

In an attempt to put his mind to rest Joe Gillespie searches the property for clues and once more Les has left him a cryptic message carved into a slate stone.

 

This is my first draft of a poem that will help me to flesh out a couple of chapters in my new novel. I'm not intending to use it in the book for now but it will help me to create a scene with cause and effect action to introduce some new characters.

 

I hope you enjoy my draft.

 

 

 

The Chinaman’s Curse

This gift of gold I saved for you from deep within the ground

A pile or more lies hidden there in reef quartz like rivers sheen

From a winch you must descend to hear the water’s sound

And in its dampened darkness from your lamplight watch it gleam

 

My son now you have found my seam and behold its golden glow

Please remember me in loving terms and not when at my worse

It’s what gold fever’s done to me and a thing that you should know

The vapours they will linger long so beware the Chinese Curse

 

And beware the High Street Spruiker

And heed not the pull of greed when your pocket’s empty and bare

Stay clear of the sleazy spivs in spats who peddle mindless dope

And of the maid old and in rags a begging let not your eyes to stare

 

Beware of slick investors who want more than just your gold

This world has many treasure camped deep within its core

My secret is a keeper and through the years it’s only you I’ve told

For gold is not a treasure just currency it is really nothing more

Character Profiles: Les Gillespie's Gold

Over the past few days I have been working on character profiles for Les Gillespie's Gold. This is a departure from the way I wrote KUNDELA. There the people seemed to come from nowhere and their character was developed on the run. This caused me to double up on names and traits and descriptions.

With Toby Farrier I wrote a short story I called The Character Bus and used it as a plan to work out who the people were and how they interacted. It was a great tool but I still had to do charts for each one of the characters to create an easy reference to follow.

Les Gillespie's Gold follows on from Kundela, so some of the characters are known. Now others need introducing to keep the tension in the story and for over a week that is all I have done. Names may change to more suit the story later but by doing it this way a decision is made when the character is created. this has a two fold benefit to prevent duplication of Christian names and it also addresses the problem of ensuring the name is correct for their generation and position in time.

Thanks go to Merlene Fawdrey for providing the draft character charts through her Novel Writing Workshop sessions.

Here is one of my favourite characters who appeared in KUNDELA but takes a bigger role in Les Gillespie.

NAME:                    : Fiona O'Rourke

Position in story       Secondary -  Tilly’s Friend

Age:	37
Nationality:	Australian
Socioeconomic level as a child:	Good
Socioeconomic level as an adult:	Good
Hometown:	Sellicks Beach
Current residence:	Orroroo Police House
Occupation:	Home Duties
Income:	Family Benefits + husbands wage
Talents/skills:	Was a school teacher before marriage
Salary:	Gets some part time teaching work at Orroroo & Jamestown will go back to work
Relationships:
Birth order:	Second of two children
Siblings (describe relationship):	Stuart----43
Spouse/partner (describe relationship):	John  Police Constable in Orroroo for over 3 years)
Children (describe relationship):	Four: Ashleigh, Zac, Harry, Maxine, (Max)
Parents (describe relationship):	Sam and Joan Styles
Grandparents (describe relationship):	N/A
Grandchildren (describe relationship):	N/A
Significant others (describe relationship):	John (Husband)
Relationship skills:	Good
Physical Characteristics
Height:	160
Weight:	62 kg
Race:	Aussie
Eye Colour:	Green
Hair Colour:	Changes, most of the time she is blonde
Glasses or contact lenses?	Neither
Skin colour:	Fair
Shape of face:	Narrow
Distinguishing features:	Broad nose
How does he/she dress?	Simple smart
Mannerisms:	N/A
Habits: (smoking, drinking/drugs/addictions etc.)	Non smoker social drinker (has an image to protect)
Any physical illnesses?	None
Health:	Good
Hobbies:	Netball and gym
Favourite sayings:	I was like that once
Speech patterns:	N/A
Disabilities:	None
Style (Elegant, shabby etc.):	Yummy Mummy
Greatest flaw:	Says yes to everyone
Best quality:	congeniality
Personality Attributes and Attitudes
Educational Background:	Teachers College in Adelaide
Intelligence Level:	High
Any Mental Illnesses?	None
Learning Experiences:	Life in country towns has rounded her life skills
Character's short-term goals in life:	Get back to work to contribute to the family’s security
Character's long-term goals in life:	Be happy with lots of grandchildren
How does Character see himself/herself?	Confident strong supportive
How does Character believe he/she is perceived by others?	As above
How self-confident is the character?	She is happy with who she is
Does the character seem ruled by emotion or logic or some combination thereof?	Emotion features heavily in her judgement but measures it with logic
What would most embarrass this character	Family scandal
Spiritual Characteristics
Does the character believe in God?	Unsure
What are the character's spiritual beliefs?	She takes her children to Sunday School
Is religion or spirituality a part of this character's life?	Not really but she likes rules and the Christian religion provides that
If so, what role does it play?

As you can see Merlene's chart has helped reference this person's features characteristics and beliefs. giving me a ready reference to what I might need to know as the book develops.

Thanks Merlene.

More on publishing and distribution

I thought today that I would research the world of book distribution and came across a very topical article by Simon Haynes. Now an author with a lot of notable publishing credits he offers some advice to those who are taking the self publish route.

You can find his article by clicking on the link: http://www.spacejock.com.au/DistributeSelfPublishedBook.html

Cheers,

Terry

KUNDELA Replica

In my quest to find out as much as I can about the pointing bone in my story Kundela I decided to try and replicate something that may have been made. Research shows that after the bone has been charged with mystic power and the target pointed at, for the kundela to work it had to be destroyed. These weapons were the burnt in a ritual fire and that is possibly why few exist today.

To discover what kind of materials were used I spent days checking and reading everything I could about the different ways a kadaicha man may have made and used the bone. As most kundelas are made from emu or kangaroo bones I figured if I kept a lookout on an interstate trip I might find one or the other that had been killed in a road accident and I would have the main element of my replica.

Fortunately while resting the dog on the side of the Adelaide road, he started sniffing around under a wattle tree and found the skeleton of a dead kangaroo . Now all I needed were a few feathers, something to replicate human hair and spinifex gum. I couldn't find spinifex but a gum tree provided a rich red resin that could be heated and moulded to make a pad on the handle end of the bone. Some twine was found and plaited to make the strap.

Using a fine cutoff wheel in an angle grinder I began shaping the bones. I took two tibia bones from the skeleton, these showed greenstick fractures, the animal had been hit by a vehicle of some sort and crawled into the scrub to die. Using the cutoff disc I tapered both bones and cleaned them with a burnishing pad.

The photo below shows my finished replica.

Research in to the construction of a Kundela

Today I thought I should spend a bit of time finding out how a Kundela is made and came across this wonderful diagram of the skeleton of a kangaroo. Just check out the size of the bones in their feet. No wonder they can hop.

Link: <a href="http://www.visualdictionaryonline.com/animal-kingdom/marsupial-mammals/kangaroo/skeleton-kangaroo.php"><img src="http://www.visualdictionaryonline.com/images/animal-kingdom/marsupial-mammals/kangaroo/skeleton-kangaroo.jpg" alt="skeleton of a kangaroo - Visual Dictionary Online" title="skeleton of a kangaroo - Visual Dictionary Online" /></a>

Interesting Article on E-publishing by Alan Kholer

Thanks to Fleur McDonald for posting this link on Facebook. Alan Kholer delves into the e-publishing market and opened the post to receive some interesting and informative comments.

Here is the link to get you there:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-01-30/kohler-video-has-not-killed-the-bookworm/4490404?WT.svl=theDrum

The Wordsmiths of Melton are back for 2013

Had a great day today catching up with a few of the gang from last years writing group. It was interesting to hear about everyone's holidays their writing and plans for this year.

Thanks to Les, Julee, Caitlin, Sonia and Tracey for you company at lunch today. I will miss you guys.

As a few of us won't be with the group this year, there are a couple of places available for anyone interested in writing. From a personal point of view, I found the fellowship of other writers a great benefit to me, and they encourage you when the words won't flow. The group has planned a few workshops to support their critiquing meetings for the coming year and you can get more details from the Melton Library of if you wish to contact me I will get Julee to get in touch with you.

Have a successful year Wordsmiths

To Self Publish or Not? That is the Question.

Having finished my novel KUNDELA I have sent out samples to different publishers. Having religiously followed their submission guidelines in the hope that someone would chance upon my masterpiece, I have checked the e-mail inbox daily with dissapointment. Weeks of waiting and with response times now passing I have to face the possibility of not being picked up on this first round of enquiry letters.

I have been through most of the self publish websites and now have would be publishers from all over the world willing to publish and market my book for a fee, in some cases a rather large fee. I don't have that kind of money to spend, and I'm not sure that Francis from Frisco can be bothered with the marketing plan my novel needs. I think it's an opportunity for them to make money from the author rather than the other way around.

Taking the view that I'm a trades person with a commodity to sell takes the marketing of  KUNDELA into an area I know well. I've spent all of my previous career in sales and marketing so I have the skills. What I don't have is the contacts, therefore I will need an agent or at the very least the contacts an agent has. The first question raised now, is how do I do I gain that knowledge. Therefore I started to research the people who have been in a similar situation to me and gone on to become successful and published authors.

From my research I find that it is necessary to embrace rejection as something that teaches you a lesson, and to learn from it. Another point I found helpful was to create a business plan for your proposal. To sell anything you need to know everything about it, what it is, what products it competes with, the strengths and weaknesses of both yours and your competitor's product.

Now I am on a quest to structure a business plan for KUNDELA, complete with a marketing plan, sales strategy and finance plan. Now I find that I'm on familiar ground with a product to sell.

Proving that writing is a business.


One of the sites I found helpful was a Youtube Interview  by Stacey Cochran with John Fuhrman as his quest. It is over 50 minutes long but contains some wonderful information.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKLr9eWucrw

Time to start tapping into my inner teenager.

Writing Toby Farrier has caused me to rethink many things not the least of is the way we talk today. I guess any novel sets the time and place by the words that the characters use and Toby has thrown up the occasional challenge as I don't spend a lot of time with people of his age.

Maybe I should get out more, I have plenty of contact with those either side of their teens but with Toby I'm having a bit of trouble with dialogue used by the modern teenager. If it wasn't so hot today I'd park myself on a bench at McDonald's or one of our many other fast food outlets and scam some of their dialogue with some selective eavesdropping.

Writing tends to make you question everything we do and say. Sometimes when words like AWESOME,  EPIC and LIKE outnumber the nouns in a sentence I realise our language is a changing thing and I need a different approach. Just trying to understand today's young people speak made me think about the way we speak within in our different groups. Often for the same people this will vary and the use of swearing is demonstrative of this.
Among a rough group of mates out fishing or hunting I will find myself swearing along with the other members. Believe me we can fill the day with profanities that would make a shearer blush. IN another instance I might be with the very same people at a seminar or similar and we are all contained or restrained in our speech, demonstrating to those around us that butter wouldn't melt in our mouths.

There lies my conundrum I need to picture time, place and people as I write dialogue. Not easy but can be done.

Hang on McDonald's do ice-cream and I can justify it with research. Now where are those
keys to the air conditioned car.

Pat Baird's Story

Check out today's interview with Pat about his time in the tractor industry by clicking on this link: http://machinerymen.blogspot.com.au/

A Well Deserved Kick in the Pants

You have to keep your readers happy.

While attending a friend’s coming of age party today her husband pointed out to me that when writing for the NaNoWriMo challenge I asked everyone to keep the pressure on and let me know if I was falling behind. Alan did just that. It seems he got caught up in the adventure Toby Farrier was on and is hanging out for another chapter or two. Better still I was told to finish the book.

I must say it has been on the back burner for a couple of reasons.

One, I’m stuck, I have Arthur and Charlie winning a major lottery prize. They have won enough money to take them to all of the places they have wanted to see since they were kids, Gallipoli, France, and Egypt. Charlie is not well and his doctor has told him to take the trip now, while he can.

Two, what can I do with almost 16 year old Toby while they are away. I know it’s absurd. I can change the storyline and rewrite the whole chapter or maybe I can recycle it with a few minor changes.

I’m open to ideas to get over this hump and finish Toby Farrier, if not for me for my mate Alan.

Oh and by the way his suggestions were of no help.

Busy, Busy, Busy time for a writer

Following advice during the novel writing courses I attended this year, I started to build a spreadsheet to log names and contact details of publishers agents and anyone who is connected to the literary world.

Putting my previous life skills to work I dragged up an old mailing list and applied a mean resolve to edit it. transferred the data to our desktop and then went through the e-mails to remove all of the old useless ones, upgrade others and remove those who requested it.

Suddenly after removing the ones that had been recorded twice my list is down to about a quarter of it's original list. Ah well I can always work through my old contacts and ring them and rerecord their details. Nah, I could here the broadcast of the cricket coming from the neighbour's shed.

Time for another plan, the cricket was calling.

Fast forward to today and then I steeled my resolve. I had to get into the thick of this spreadsheet today would be the day. New headings, new pages all copied pasted and edited to reveal infinite detail. Vic Writers magazine open I began first with the publishers, sorting those who were traditional publishers ad others dedicated to self publishing. This is going to be a great reference for all of my other writing and required dedication perspiration and application. Then it happened, I opened the window and heard the neighbour's TV again and the cricket was on.

At close of play the Australian cricket team still has a lot to do but not as much as me. I guess I have been busy on research, it will come in handy if I ever need to use a day at the cricket in one of my novels.

So as you can see, I have been busy, busy, busy.