June 30, 2013

Author Interview with Tom Abrahams

Hi Tom, first of all, could you tell us a bit about yourself?
By day, I'm a television anchor and reporter. I've been in the business for 20 years and love it. It's taken me all over the world and given me a front row seat to history. I cover a lot of issues oriented stories, including the environment, energy, education, the economy...a lot of politics. When I am not at work, I am home with my awesome wife and two great kids. They're very supportive of my work.  And they've been great at helping me carve out time to write.

June 24, 2013

Writing Tip: The Importance of Building Worlds


[A Guestpost and Image by Ben Galley]

If you’ve ever tried to write a book, you’ll have done some world-building. Whether by design, necessity, or accident, it’s essential to any novel, no matter what the genre

By definition, world-building is the act of creating a world or setting for a novel and its plot. It’s a very important task indeed. Why? Well, if you’re thinking that world-building simply refers to dreaming up the physical attributes of a room, or a city, or deciding what colour the sky should be, then think again. World-building is so much more than that. It can define characters, give life to a plot, and basically underpin every scene of a book.

June 20, 2013

Man of Steel - Movie Review

Man of Steel is Warners newest attempt to create a successful Superman movie and another DC Comic hit, beside the already ended Batman trilogy. Now they are trying the same formula with the biggest comic franchise. Expect a darker, grittier Clark Kent and an intelligent plot. You could say that the use the exact different approach than marvel, with their plotholes and humorous action movies. Did it work? No, at least not for me. The quality of Man of Steel tore me apart, because it jumps from magnificent to utter boredom within minutes, but let me explain right from the start.

June 16, 2013

Author Interview with Ben Galley (Part #3)

Welcome back to part three of my Interview with Self-Publishing Author Ben Galley about his fantasy series Emaneska. This time we will talk more about his latest books – the final two in the Emaneska Series. Part 1 / Part 2

Hi Ben and welcome back. We will get right back into the world of Emaneska. What are the last two books in the series called and could you explain to us in 20 words what they’re about?
My latest books, Dead Stars Parts 1 & 2 can be summed up in the following words: An epic, gritty, twisting, adventurous, ambitious, outlandish, poetic, emotional, deep, vast, dark, brutal, eagerly-awaited whirlwind of a series finale.

June 9, 2013

Author Interview with Ben Galley (Part #2)

Welcome back to part two of my Interview with Self-Publishing Author Ben Galley. This time we will talk more about his epic fantasy series Emaneska and how he created it. Here is Part One again for everyone who missed it.

What method did you use to start creating your own epic world? Did it come together bit for bit as the story progressed or did you carefully put each piece together?
It started off with a title, like all of my books. It seems rather clichéd to say it simply popped into my head one day, but in this case it truly did. ‘Emaneska’ was the first word I wrote of the Series. The world then grew with the characters and dialogue, until I was forced to draw a map and solidify my ideas.

June 5, 2013

Hangover 3 - Movie Review


The Wolfpack is back again to survive another ridiculous hangover, but will this be the last one. Director Todd Phillips said that he won’t direct another one and also the beloved cast members share his opinion. If Warner Bros want to milk the franchise any further, don’t expect it to be the same, which even this last movie isn’t. It feels different than the previous two, both in style and humor. But at least for me it was a worthy ending.

June 2, 2013

Author Interview with Ben Galley (Part #1)

I already did some interviews with self published authors, but none so far felt as professional as him. Not  only has he great looking and not with stockimages plastered book covers, but also an individual website. You can imagine how much he cares for his work without even reading the first line.  Now I have the honor to bring you a month full of posts about him, his thoughts and his works, which will end with a big blast, but more about that at a later time.

Hi Ben, first of all, could you tell us a bit about yourself.
My name is Ben Galley, I’m a young fantasy writer from the UK, author of the bestselling Emaneska Series, a self-publisher, and self-publishing consultant at the advice site SHELF HELP.