Spring 2014 Update

Hippos in Zululand

"Watching Us - Watching Them!"

We’ve been having a great time so far this year:

- spent nearly a month in Malta where the temperature got up to 21° C

- had a lovely time with our grandchildren in Austria

- enjoyed a visit to our daughter in Eton/Reading

as well as partaking of many walks along the seafront in Frinton-on-Sea where it was windy and cold!

I have still not started on my short stories, but I do have a plot in mind for the first one which will be a follow on to ‘A Ticket to Cusco’ – perhaps it will be entitled ‘A Return Ticket to Cusco’.

The question is what will I do with it once it’s written – it certainly won’t be published as a paperback book.

Problems with Self-Publishing

Summer in Frinton-on-Sea, England

At the present time, I am totally frustrated and completely demoralised. I was so proud when I submitted my third book for publishing; I truly believed it was the best book I had written so far. I had worked really hard on it, proofreading it thoroughly, and making sure that it was formatted perfectly.

I forwarded my completed work, together with a submission form and all the other information required, to my Check-in Co-ordinator on 20 July 2013. It is now 6 September, and I still have not received the final galley (proof). The novel has been backwards and forwards so many times that I have lost count.

Supposedly, the advantage of self-publishing is that the author is able to have a book printed in exactly the format they want with the content meeting their requirements. I have already learnt from my previous experiences, if you want your book laid out to your requirements when you self-publish, you have to fight tooth and nail in order to achieve it, and now I have discovered that you even have a struggle to ensure the content is included as you planned in order to ensure the novel is complete.

The first problem was that the information provided on requirements on the submission form was totally ignored – I only asked for the cover to be laid out in a consistent format when compared with my previous two books so that when they appeared on the shelf together it was obvious that they were part of a set.

When I submitted the book it was in a pdf format which meant that no layout changes were necessary, and that there would be no problem with proofreading the final copy as it would not be possible for the content to be changed as problems in this respect had occurred with my first book.

The first proof (with an incorrect cover layout) were received on 30 July, and I sent in the revisions on 31 July. As far as I was concerned, the book should now have been perfect. I received what I believed to be the final galley proof on 31 July, checked it thoroughly and confirmed my approval on 1 August.

It was at this point that the ‘rules’ changed. For the first time, in my experience, my book was assigned to Content Evaluators.

I would add that I am not against content evaluation per se. In fact, if carried out correctly it might ensure that certain books were improved prior to publication as the problem with self-publishing is that the content can be so poorly written that it is virtually unreadable.

But, as I have discovered, this was not the purpose of Content Evaluation in this instance. It was purely to protect the publishers from the litigation culture that is endemic in the USA these days.

Previously the only requirement was that the content should not be libellous, and even then, the publishers’ terms and conditions stated that they took no responsibility whatsoever for the content – it was totally the responsibility of the author. However, now my publishers are setting their own rules as to how many words/sentences can be used in quotations. Previously, the fair use rule was (as with all copyrighted material) that providing you quoted the originator’s details, the date, and used less than 10% of the original work, it was acceptable. And the quotes I used to enable my fictional accounts to relate to actual events fulfilled this requirement. However, not in the eyes of my American publishers who even at one stage suggested I spend an additional £450 in order to obtain an American copyright when I already have a UK one, which covers 165 countries, including the USA.

I am sorry to ‘witter on', but I had to get everything off my chest. Also, needless to say, I will not be using the services of these publishers in the future.

However, I am still hopeful that my book ‘A Ticket to Cusco’ will be available shortly.

Progress Report



The Andes in Peru



My third book  ‘A Ticket to Cusco – The Land of the Inca’ is complete, has been proofread several times and is now ready to submit to the publisher: 19 chapters plus an Introduction and an Epilogue, 253 pages, 65,531 words have all been checked for errors.

Proofreading always takes longer than you think it will, and there is a continual worry that you have missed something vital; an error has slipped in, you have carried out a Search & Replace and replaced something that you did not mean to replace, or there is a fact that you have omitted to double check.

However, at some point the decision has to be made that the book is now as perfect as it can be and ready to be printed.

The next stage is to complete all the submission forms, agree the picture to go on the front cover and the back cover wording, carry out a final check when the proof arrives, and then give the ultimate go ahead.  Copies should then be available for purchase within a matter of days.

I would just like to say that I am very proud of my third book – I believe it is the best novel I have written so far.  Whilst writing the first two books I learnt a lot and all the knowledge I gained whilst writing those two has been applied within what, in my current opinion, will be my final book: A Ticket to Cusco – The Land of the Inca.

Views of Marsascala Bay

First, a progress report.  My third book 'A Ticket to Cusco'  is so very nearly complete.  One hundred and ninety pages written, and the story is all there!  Just need to go back and add a few things, proofread and check every word.

While I am doing so, I thought some photographs taken in a warmer climate might help cheer up those who are looking forward to enjoying summer weather, both in the UK and in Malta

The above picture was taken from the same location as that on the cover of my first book 'A Ticket to Malta', but of course, this is the daytime view - not the one taken in the dark!

The view to the right looks back into the bay, and the final one below is looking out to sea.

All of these photographs were taken in the month of April, when the weather changes in Malta and you start to believe that summer is just around the corner.

In the height of summer, in Marsascala Bay, all those 'buoys' you see floating at the front of this last picture will have small crafts attached to them and there won't be any space to swim inbetween the boats.

How do you know that summer has arrived in Malta? 

You know when you hear the ice cream van touring the streets playing 'Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer'!

‘Educational’ Murder Mysteries

Spectacular Cloud Formations during a Maltese Sunset

I have just been carrying out some research online, checking the facts I am including in my latest novel ‘A Ticket to Cusco’ and have decided that I could give my books a new classification as ‘Educational Murder Mysteries’.  This is not, as some might initially think, that they teach people how to commit murders, but because they all include a lot of facts about the countries in which they are set.  The aim of providing so much information is to put the location and the situation of local people into perspective, but hopefully, my readers will also find the facts of interest for other reasons.

I am now making good progress towards completing my third novel with over 150 pages written so far, the whole story laid out in a draft format and even the Epilogue has been finalised.  I feel I am on track for publication during the summer months.

To put parking problems in the UK into perspective, I give below an extract from a recent copy of the Times of Malta.  It is entitled: ‘Teachers’ strike over parking is to go ahead’.

“Teachers who work in Sliema will report for work an hour late today after the failure of eleventh hour talks with the council and the Government over the new parking restrictions in the locality.

The Malta Union of Teachers held meetings with the Sliema local council and later with Transport Minister Joe Mizzi yesterday in a bid to prevent the industrial action but there were no developments and the one-hour strike will proceed as planned, president Kevin Bonello told Times of Malta.

The directive will hit St Claire College, St Francis School, St Joseph School (primary and secondary) and St Dorothy’s School.

Teachers were among those who heavily criticised the new Sliema parking scheme which started being enforced last Wednesday. 

Half the parking bays across the busy town are being reserved for residents, with outsiders only able to park in them for two hours between 8 am and 9 pm or risk a fine  . . . (meaning) teachers would have to leave their classrooms every two hours to move their cars.”

Attributed to The Times of Malta

7 May 2013

My Writing Style

Kudu in South Africa

Both of my books ("A Ticket to Malta" and "A Ticket to Zululand") are now available in Kindle format in addition to the paperback versions being sold by Amazon and the publisher, Authorhouse.

Use this link to view ‘A Ticket to Zululand – The Place of the People of Heaven’ in Kindle format.

I have also now completed my Facebook page and reviews of both of my books can be placed on Goodreads and on the Amazon website: 'A Ticket to Malta' and "A Ticket to Zululand".

  

It would be much appreciated if readers of my books could complete reviews as I would love to hear your comments.

Just to provide an insight into my writing style:

From the outset, it has been my intention to provide a tourist’s impression of a foreign country using a travelogue format as a basis for my novels, but in addition, I will always provide at least a second thread within each story that gives an insight into the lives of local people, as well as adding the extra spice of a fictional murder mystery.

In ‘A Ticket to Malta’ some of the dialogue is in Maltese in order to add a Maltese flavour as the majority of Maltese people speak both Maltese and English, sometimes in the same sentence.  However, because few other people speak Maltese, a translation is necessary.  Consideration was given to placing this explanation in a footnote at the bottom of the relevant page, but then people might lose their place on the page.  This would be an even greater problem if the translation were placed in an endnote.  Therefore, I decided that the best solution would be to put the explanation in brackets immediately after the words that might be in an unfamiliar language.

I do hope my readers enjoy the inclusion of words spoken in a language that perhaps they have never experienced before.

In ‘A Ticket to Zululand’ there is only one word that is not in English as I have absolutely no experience of any of the multitude of different languages spoken in South African and, therefore, would not presume to include them.  The mission I assign to my readers in this instance is to discover what that one word is.