Professor Tomlinson's Last Experiment - by Tabitha Ormiston-Smith

A blog by Tabitha Ormiston-Smith.

I've always regarded the short story form as a kind of laboratory where one can experiment with different styles and techniques without great commitment or risk. This new story represents my first venture into the uncharted waters of science fiction.

Thanks to Patti Roberts of Paradox Book Cover Designs for the wonderfully evocative cover design, which calls to mind the best and the worst of the 1950s science fiction I devoured by the crateful in my teens. 

I came late to science fiction, encountering it for the first time at fifteen. My mother had brought home, I suppose from a second-hand bookshop, several enormous cartons full of old issues of F&SF and IASFM. I'd never encountered science fiction before, and it was an utter revelation to me. Over the course of a long illness that kept me at home alone for many weeks, I read my way through the lot. I'll never forget my excitement when, hunting through the out-of-order piles, I finally found the last episode of Lord Valentine's Castle. Or the first time I read the creepily recursive All You Zombies. Or my bitter frustration when I realised that in all those volumes, I only had the first two instalments of The Dreaming Jewels. My whole world opened up that year.

In the ensuing years, as I left school and started on adult life, I read my way through the complete oevres of Heinlein, Asimov, Sturgeon and Bradbury. My love of extreme and fantastic tales has never abated. And yet, when I set out to write myself, my own work was solidly set in the real world, in the Melbourne where I've lived for so many years. 

So Professor Tomlinson's Last Experiment is an experiment for me too, but most of all it's a tribute to the great writers of yesteryear, who cheered the days and nights of a lonely, sick child.

Professor Tomlinson's Last Experiment is available in all formats at Smashwords.

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Primordial Traditions, the recipient of the $10,000 Ashton Wylie Award for Literary Excellence, is finally back in print

Award Winning Book Back in Print

Primordial Traditions, the recipient of the $10,000 Ashton Wylie Award for Literary Excellence, is finally back in print after a long hiatus. Originally a free quarterly periodical dealing with spiritual and metaphysical philosophy, Primordial Traditions was reprinted in book format in 2009, and received the award for its potential to unite the different Traditions of the world by postulating a core under-lying philosophy.

Unfortunately the original plans for the book were waylaid by a year long sequence of large earthquakes in the author’s country of residence. Following this, the original plans for the book became untenable and the author, Gwendolyn Taunton, relocated and the series halted.

In 2014, Primordial Traditions is back in a second edition, with new and revised content. Now writing under her real name instead of the previous non de plume, Gwendolyn Taunton has assembled and impressive book of over four hundred pages with an excellent design and research.

With subject matter as diverse as religious philosophy, Middle Eastern Mysticism, rites of Ancient Greece and Rome, Norse Berserkers, Tantra, and altered states of consciousness in yoga, Primordial Traditions covers an extremely diverse range of topics, some of which are clearly intended to be aimed at an audience of highly educated readers. This is tempered however, by some less intense and more relaxing articles on Celtic & Viking history, Mayan astrology, and even some dealing with law and finance. These articles, though not as hefty, are equally fascinating and add to the quality of the volume by virtue of their unique topics.

After sitting down and reading the book cover to cover, it’s easy to see how such a philosophical approach to religion could benefit humanity by teaching a sensible, moderate, and logical approach to faith that ends religious conflicts and prevents dogma and fundamentalism from damaging spiritual movements. All in all, Gwendolyn Taunton’s greatest achievement here is perhaps a philosophical victory rather than a literary one, because this is a concept I could easily see changing not only the way religion and spirituality are conceived, but also the very nature of the concept itself. By reading and spreading the philosophy of the Primordial Tradition, I already feel secure that this book will make the world a better, happier, and safer place.

Gwendolyn Taunton, Primordial Traditions Volume I, Numen Books, 2014.

URL: http://www.amazon.com/Primordial-Traditions-Volume-Gwendolyn-Taunton/dp/0987559842/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1399461720&sr=8-1&keywords=primordial+traditions+taunton

Books by Gwendolyn Taunton - HERE 

About the author

Gwendolyn Taunton is a previous recipient of the Ashton Wylie Award for Literary Excellence. She has edited and written a number of works, including Primordial Traditions, Melpomene (an anthology of poetry and prose), Kratos: the Hellenic Tradition, and Mimir: The Journal of North European Tradition. Other works written under the pseudonym 'Gwendolyn Toynton' include Northern Traditions and Mythos: The Myths and Tales of H.P. Lovecraft & Robert E. Howard. Over the years Gwendolyn has also written for other publications, including New Dawn Magazine.

Gwendolyn Taunton also holds a BA (Hons) in Religious Studies and has a strong interest in all spiritual matters and philosophy. Gwendolyn is also a graphic designer and she has a interest in the arts and the humanities. Gwendolyn Taunton is devoted to restoring the cultural values which should be at the core of our civilization and upholds the right for all indigenous peoples to preserve their cultural heritage. She is also firmly committed to the preservation of the natural environment and animal welfare.

Contact Name: John Thorne

Email Address: info@numenbooks.com.au

Company Location: Victoria, Australia

Website: www.numenbooks.com.au

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Book excerpt from Trial Run, by Ella Medler (romance)

Trial Run, available soon.

The sky was beginning to darken, taking on a purple hue topped with an orange layer of whipped clouds, when a sharp trill came from the house.

“Phone,” Jason said and hauled himself out of the pool. “Bit early for Amelie,” he said as he sprinted to the house.

The conversation can’t have lasted more than seconds. In a flash, Jason ran back out and waved his car keys at Rob.

“You wanna come along?”

“Sure.”

“I won’t lie,” Jason said as he unlocked a shiny new SUV parked by the roadside, just outside the green arch formed by the aging banyan trees. “I might need you for the muscle.”

“You’re taking me to a brawl?” Rob chuckled. “Feels like yesterday...”

Jason laughed as he peeled out and drove faster than the legal speed limit toward Boca Raton. “Only that fight had nothing to do with Amelie.”

“I couldn’t close my right fist for two days,” Rob said, flexing his fingers now, as he remembered their last fight together when, aged just eighteen, they’d walked away relatively unscathed from an encounter with the Ramos brothers. Well, apart from the deep gash in Jason’s thigh and Rob’s split eyebrow and grazed knuckles. They were lucky the patrol car arrived when it did, and the fact that there was a warrant already out for the brothers’ arrest didn’t hurt either.

Rob squinted as Jason turned down a less well-cared-for street. Most houses displayed signs of neglect here, and not all street lights functioned. Jason stopped the car in front of a property set back from the road, bordered by tall hedges and with a blinking neon sign over the double door.

Black Tulip Tattoo and Piercings, it read, and there were two black stylized tulips painted straight onto the white wall by the door. An offending odour permeated the space surrounding the house, and Rob sniffed twice, trying to place its origin. Chemical... antiseptic with a slight charring whiff, maybe.

“Watch my back,” Jason ordered and burst through the front door.

The small reception desk hid a girl who couldn’t have been more than fifteen. She took one look at Jason and shrunk back into her chair.

Rob gestured to her to get out, and she didn’t have to be told twice. The door swung shut behind her at the same time as Jason’s shout came from the room at the back. Rob sprinted over and caught the fist that had missed Jason’s face by a hair’s breadth. A quick twist and shove, and the pierced skinhead who’d launched it crumpled to the floor. Rob’s heel to the gut made sure he’d stay there for a while.

To his right, Jason was sinking his fist into the tattooist’s stomach, but that didn’t hold Rob’s attention for long. Because on the cot in the middle of the room the most perfectly shaped woman lay naked on her front, her peachy and flawlessly tanned ass cheeks glowing in the light of the overhead projector.  Two parallel stripes of white powder marred the round contour of her right ass cheek. The projector’s light outlined the word SLUT on her upper back. Only the S and part of the L had been inked, Rob realized with relief.

Relief was not the expression she wore when she turned her head around to see what the commotion was about. The scowl on her face deepened when she saw Jason bent over the tattooist, and then she sat up, scattering the coke, and turned to the door. Her ice blue eyes locked on Rob.

“Amelie?” he whispered, his heart skipping a beat.

Ella Medler on Amazon - HERE

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Author Interview with Kemka Ezinwo "Something New"

A big warm welcome to Kemka Ezinwo to my blog, the author of Something New.

Firstly, a little about the book:

Two women are hauled together by their husbands’ partnership but that’s not all they have in common. 

After five years of being married to Moses without any children to show for it, Athena is at a crossroad which is further exasperated by an obnoxious mother-in-law who brings in another woman to help the process; to top it off her husband is cheating on her.

Temitope has been married to Olamide for ten years. Although she has two daughters she desperately needs to give birth to a male child that will inherit her husband’s empire and secure her marriage. She is worried that a mistake she had made is costing her the opportunity of doing so and will do anything to ensure no other woman takes her place.
One thing is certain they’ll do anything to keep their marriage… but will they succeed?
Meanwhile, Moses starts a liaison with Cynthia who is in a contract marriage with Olamide and now she is pregnant…

Book review:

4.0 out of 5 stars A great find 

Review by V Wiltshire

I hadn't heard of this author before but I'm glad I took a chance. I really enjoyed this. It's an intriguing story of love, marriage, heart-breaking longing for children and betrayal.

Generally well written - lovely use of language. It is a book that is difficult to put down as you want to find out what happens next - I read it all in one go.

What inspired you to start writing, and when?

I’ve always written books in my head too lazy to put it to paper. So I settled for poems and song writing until 2011 when I decided to write short stories, but anything I wrote begged to be a full length novel and I’ll discard it. One day a friend came back from holiday with a book on Creative Writing then I realised that I had been on the right track but holding back.

What is your preferred genre?

I’m still working on that. So far, I read everything except Paranormal and erotic novel because I have an overactive imagination.

Where would you call home?

Well, I call anywhere I have friends and family home. I do like company a lot so long as they aren’t intrusive.

How many books have you written?  If more than one, are any a series…or trilogy?

Three, (if you add the one I’m presently working on). The first one is Twerking Cruxes and a Cloaked Visage.

Tell us a little about your book.

It’s about two old fashioned women and what they have to go through to protect their marriage while they try to get pregnant. A story of love, marriage, betrayal and friendship.

Do you have plans for a new book?

Yes, I’m presently working on two novels. I want to join NaNoWriMo this July to see how well I will fare.

Do you work to an outline or plot or do you prefer just see where an idea takes you?

Both. For me, they work hand in hand.

Is there an Author that you would really like to meet?

Yes, Maureen Jennings because I love Murdoch Mysteries.

Do you prefer ebooks, paperbacks or hardcover?

Depends on where I am. EBooks are convenient and unconventional. If I have my laptop with me it will be an ebook but I love the feel of flipping through the pages of paperback.

Where do you prefer to buy your books?

Any place so long as it’s easy to access. But I visit Amazon a lot.

Are you a self- published (Indie) Author?

Yes, I don’t think I would have been able to cope with waiting for a response from a traditional publisher.

What books would you like to read again?

The lion and the jewel   Wole Soyinka

The Lord of the Rings   J.R.R.Tolkien

Honor among thieves   Jeffrey Archer

Things fall apart   Chinua Achebe

What book are you currently reading and in what format (ebook/paperback/hardcover)?

Wedding hell by Jennifer Gilby Roberts in ebook format.

Do you have any advice for other writers starting out? If you dream of it, you can achieve it and by God dream big!

Do you write under a pen name?

No, but I was thinking of using one when I start writing for young adults.

Do you ever write in your PJ’s?

Yes.

If you were asked to get three things from grocery shop what would they be?

Coca-Cola,

Biscuit

Calamari

How did you come up with the title and cover design?

The name: Twerking Cruxes and a Cloaked Visage came only when the book was at its final stage of publishing. But Something New occurred to me with the idea of the story. I didn’t know of premade covers initially and had to change the cover of my first book twice. It took weeks of browsing websites of premade cover to get the one that caught the story.

How many hours per day do you try to devote to research and writing?

A whole day sometimes but an average of four hours, two or three times a week.

What are 3 things you never leave home without (apart from keys, money and phone)?

Paper, pencil and lip balm.

Sleep in or get up early?

Sleep in.

Laptop or desktop for writing?

No, paper and pencil.

Your favorite gadget?

My laptop.

Do you find yourself intrigued by the cover of a book enough to buy it? 

No.

From your experience, what are three important elements to writing a novel and the most important for aspiring authors?

I’m still new in this but I will say:

Consistent point of view (POV);

Have a character or characters that your readers would root for; &

Plot must be realistic

Where and when do you prefer to do your writing?

I prefer evenings or early in the morning. I’ll have to take a power nap before starting and wait another hour for my eyes to be fully open.

One of your favorite quotes – There is a reason why your assets are in front of you: it’s so you don’t look back.

List 3 of your favorite movies?

The Mummy;

Avatar;

Fast Five.

An actor you have a crush on -

Benedict Cumberbatch

Where can your readers stalk you? www.facebook.com/kemka.ezinwo

Is your book in Print, ebook or both? Both

Where can your readers stalk you? www.facebook.com/kemka.ezinwo

Is your book in Print, ebook or both? Both

Book links:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/436279

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Something-New-Kemka-Ezinwo-ebook/dp/B00K5SWHH6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1401915921&sr=8-1&keywords=kemka+ezinwo

http://www.amazon.com/Something-New-Kemka-Ezinwo-ebook/dp/B00K5SWHH6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1401927229&sr=8-2&keywords=kemka+ezinwo

I hope you have enjoyed reading Author Kemka Ezinwo. Please show your support to indie authors and share this post with the links below. It is greatly appreciated! Patti