Guest post: Quirky audio books lampoon social issues, by Adele Park

A very warm welcome to Adele Park, who's here to write about her very original Quirky Audio Book series.

I have a quirky sense of humor.  So much so that I lather the quirk on every audio book I produce.  Writing on the fringes has its benefits:  no one expects me to be normal.  I see it as an opportunity to unleash a litany of snarky comments on social issues.  The sell lines for both my audio books put a fine point on this: When radio and polygamy collide… Jitters - A Quirky Little Audio Book and When marijuana and reality TV collide… Yikes! Another Quirky Audio Book. Those who aren't amused by stuff like pot and polygamy might want to look elsewhere.

Being free to roam about the cabin of craziness has led to the genesis of some pretty wacky characters.  I like to place them in a secluded spot called Navel and see what happens.

Navel is more of a state of mind than a physical location.  It is a cosmic portal which opens to those in need, starting with Joseph Stratton, the kindly polygamist who founded Navel in 1957.  Stratton, along with a gaggle of pubescent wives, was fleeing his religious brethren in Salt Lake City when he stumbled into the wild orange groves of Pitt County.

Jitters and Yikes! both feature full casts of actors who advance the plot using first person narratives.  Most of the characters are supreme narcissists who give lopsided accounts of what is happening.  It's up to the listener to decide what is true.

Having wandered off the literary reserve, I also take advantage of the chance to experiment with different forms of narration.  From a writing perspective, narration is a convenient way to string together an array of random ideas.  In the Quirky Audio Book Series, it also serves as the voice for the town of Navel.

In Jitters - A Quirky Little Audio Book, the story centers on a shock jock named Nancy Neptune who unwittingly finds herself working at a radio station in Navel.  In keeping with the radio theme, Jitters is narrated through a series of newscasts.  Yikes! Another Quirky Audio Book offers a more conventional form of narration through a succession of pieces called Examine Our Navel.  The protagonist in Yikes! is a marijuana enthusiast named Blue McKenna.

Using satire, I explore issues ranging from gay rights to freedom of religion.  By exploiting the absurd, I try to illustrate the effect certain attitudes and acts of discrimination have on society.  But mostly, I'm just going for the grins and giggles.

You can find out more about Adele, including where to buy the audio books, at the Yikes! website and on her blog.

Halloween: An eerie classic by Mark Twain

{photo credit}

Since Halloween is upon us, I thought I'd share one of my favourite spooky stories – A Ghost Story by Mark Twain.

I love this tale for many reasons, but especially because of the sharp and unexpected ending. You're in for a treat... and maybe a trick (tada)!

Filmmaking with the Raindance Film Festival

On September 15th I attended the Saturday Film School in London, hosted by Raindance Film Festival. I'd been planning on going for a year, ever since I found a discount off the price via Groupon (£39 instead of £119; a pretty sweet deal!)

During the day, there were four different tutorials. The first was about screenwriting, which is something I've been interested in for a short while. I love watching films and thinking about how someone has created a scene on paper, and then how an actor and director might interpret it.

The tutors were excellent, well established industry people, and had some fantastic tips. The main speaker was Elliot Grove, who is the founder of Raindance. He first told us some of his personal history: growing up in a Canadian Amish family who tried to make him believe that talking pictures were the devil (!), how that led to him falling in love with film, his decision to move to the UK, and then founding the festival.

After that, Elliot talked us through the basics of screenwriting. Here are some interesting bits I wrote down:

• Writers love to procrastinate (definitely me!)
• Screenplays should be very easy to read. If your screenplay is complicated, you're doing something wrong.
• The best way to learn is to read as many scripts as you can get your hands on.
• Copying directly from one screenplay is called plagiarism, but copying from two is called good research (not sure how far this is true, but it made me chuckle!)

After the screenwriting session there was a short break, during which I was bribed into forking out £50 for Raindance membership! Okay, so I wasn't exactly bribed. They just made an announcement that instead of the usual price of £1000, membership was put down to £50. Then, the rascals threw in a massive messenger bag (I'm a sucker for bags), and a data CD with about 50 screenplays on it! They also included a production paperwork data CD, but I didn't have much interest in that. Still, since the whole thing was worth nearly £1,100 altogether, how could I turn it down? Exactly.

So even though everything was pretty interesting and entertaining, my favourite part of the day was when director Patrick Tucker took the stage to give us a tutorial on acting and directing. I don't really have any ambition to do either, but it's intriguing to see how these are put together. Patrick's energy was also very infectious; he led the tutorial with a massive amount of humour while still teaching us useful insights. Many times he asked for volunteers to come up on stage to aid various demonstrations (but I will admit that I ducked down in my seat each time so I wouldn't get chosen!)

Other subjects were covered, for example how to break into the industry, and the legal aspects of filmmaking. We were also shown a few short films which were intended to demonstrate just how easy it can be to make one ourselves – as long as you have access to a camera (even just on a mobile phone), you can make a film that people will enjoy.

If you want to learn more about the Saturday Film School, including future dates and timetables, click here. I'd highly recommend it to anyone interested in filmmaking – the course makes it sound so simple! Well, simpler than you would normally be led to believe. I enjoyed it so much that I'm thinking of going back for a second dose!

An excerpt from Extraordinary Rendition by Paul Batista

It's my pleasure to present an excerpt from Extraordinary Rendition, a high-octane legal thriller written by attorney and television personality, Paul Batista. It's currently available for purchase at Barnes and Noble, Amazon.com, and for pre-order on Amazon.co.uk.

First, here's the blurb:

When Ali Hussein—suspected terrorist and alleged banker for Al Qaeda—is finally transported from Gitmo to the US mainland to stand trial, many are stunned when Byron Carlos Johnson, pre-eminent lawyer and the son of a high-profile diplomat, volunteers as counsel. On principle, Johnson thought he was merely defending a man unjustly captured through Rendition and water-boarded illegally. But Johnson soon learns that there is much more at stake than one man’s civil rights.

Hussein’s intimate knowledge of key financial transactions could lead to the capture of—or the unabated funding of—the world’s most dangerous terror cells. This makes Hussein the target of corrupt US intelligence forces on one side, and ruthless international terrorists on the other. And, it puts Byron Carlos Johnson squarely in the crosshairs of both.

Pulled irresistibly by forces he can and cannot see, Johnson enters a lethal maze of espionage, manipulation, legal traps and murder. And when his life, his love, and his acclaimed principles are on the line, Johnson may have one gambit left that can save them all; a play that even his confidants could not have anticipated. He must become the hunter among hunters in the deadliest game.

Written by no-holds-barred-attorney Paul Batista, Extraordinary Rendition excels not only as an action thriller, but as a sophisticated legal procedural as well; tearing the curtains away from the nation’s most controversial issues.

Provocative. Smart. Heart-pounding. A legal thriller of the highest order. 


Like what you've read so far?

Just checking in

I've finally finished the job! Woohoo! Though things aren't showing signs of slowing down just yet – September was much more eventful than I thought it would be. Plus, my university creative writing module has just started, and I'm going to spend this weekend getting myself completely settled into that. So, it looks like I won't have much time to read until next week at the earliest (though I'm sure I'll fit it in somewhere!)

I'm hoping that, once I've got into a routine, I'll have much more time to blog. I may even have time to start accepting books to review again! Needless to say, I'm looking forward to getting back into the regular ol' swing of things around here.

Review: 666 Park Avenue by Gabriella Pierce

What if your mother-in-law turned out to be an evil, cold-blooded witch . . . literally?

Ever since fabulously wealthy Malcolm Doran walked into her life and swept her off her feet, fledgling architect Jane Boyle has been living a fairy tale. When he proposes with a stunning diamond to seal the deal, Jane can't believe her incredible luck and decides to leave her Paris-based job to make a new start with Malcolm in New York.

But when Malcolm introduces Jane to the esteemed Doran clan, one of Manhattan's most feared and revered families, Jane's fairy tale takes a darker turn. Soon everything she thought she knew about the world—and herself—is upended. Now Jane must struggle with newfound magical abilities and the threat of those who will stop at nothing to get them. (via Goodreads)

I wanted to read 666 Park Avenue because I'd heard that a TV series based on the book was being made, and Terry O’Quinn from Lost had been cast as one of the characters. Plus, these days, I’m all for reading the book before seeing the on-screen adaptation. But that’s just not going to be possible with this one for the moment. I'm not even halfway through!

It's the composition that lets 666 down the most. The actual storyline is pretty good, which is probably why it got picked up to be a television series, but the way it's told is very much lacking. I get the sense that the Pierce was aiming for some witty, semi fairy-tale feel, but she has disappointingly missed the mark.

At 40% through the book, I should care enough for the characters to move on, but I don’t. It’s taking too long and the writing style is just frustrating. I might try to read more of 666 Park Avenue when I’m in a more patient mood, but I’m sick of waiting for the story to pick up pace and evolve. Perhaps the TV series will encourage me to have another go?

Rating: None, as reading wasn’t completed.

Michael Palin and Karl Pilkington talk books!

If you've seen Karl Pilkington's hilarious travel programme, An Idiot Abroad, you might remember when he went to Egypt and stayed in the same hotel Michael Palin visited several years beforehand.

Now you can watch the two of them, briefly, as they meet for the first time to discuss their new book releases. Expect two different men, one common subject, and a lot of inimitable personality!

Paris in photographs

I thought I'd share some photos from my four-day trip to Paris last month, seeing as I'm short on time at the moment and can't give you guys a full recap. A lot of these are photos that I have previously posted on Instagram (you can find me as @SoapyCheese if you're on there), with a few regular shots in between. Hope you enjoy!

The Hotel De Lille where I stayed, about a two minute walk from Museé d'Orsay. I would only recommend this place if you want to experience something along the lines of Fawlty Towers!

  

Up ahead in this photo is the café I ate at my first evening in Paris. Oh, and they seem to love Smart Cars there; I saw so many!













The hotel wasn't all bad. In fact, the room was pretty nice. The bathroom had these beautiful Parisian windows which opened up all the way, and a great view.

 
A very gorgeous Parisian building right by the Eiffel Tower.

Authentic French Lavender garden, also by the Eiffel Tower.

No caption needed!

I wanted to go up, but the queue for the elevators was at least two hundred yards long (and no way was I taking the stairs)!

A classic Renault car. I think Marion Cotillard's character in the film A Good Year might have driven one of these?

I found these street stalls walking by the river Seine from Musée d'Orsay to the Latin Quarter.









They sold everything from souvenirs and posters to used French literature.










I managed to find a bunch of vintage French Elle magazines, and bought two for 10 Euros – one from the 1940s (left) and another from the 1950s (right)!












Also on my walk to the Latin Quarter, I stumbled upon the Pont Des Arts; a bridge covered in padlocks. The idea is that a couple will attach a padlock to the bridge, perhaps write a little something on it, then throw the key into the Seine. A romantic symbol of love perfect for Paris!

A quiet corner of the Latin Quarter.

The famous Shakespeare and Company bookshop.















A message from the owner, George Whitman, upon his retirement in 2004.

An American busker singing about Paris in the Latin Quarter. He was pretty good!

Notre Dame, and more street stalls.

 


On my last day, I was sat next to a lovely Australian couple in a café. They ordered snails, so were obviously feeling much braver than me! Also, check out that massive beer!












Heading home on the Eurostar. I can't wait to see Paris again!

Slow September

For the next two to four weeks, I'm going to be working full time and so won't have a lot of spare moments for reading or blogging. Yup, it certainly sucks, but I'll be back in force by the time this is over (and I can't wait!)

In the meantime, if you're an author, publisher, or even another blogger and are interested in producing a guest post for my blog, now's definitely the right time to get in touch. Email me at: sophie@lifebetweenpages.net, telling me a little bit about yourself and what you have to offer.

See you soon!

Review: Elemental Gelade by Mayumi Azuma [manga]

During a routine raid, sky-pirate Coud Van Giruet discovers a most unusual bounty: Ren, an "Edel Raid," is a living weapon that interacts with a human to become the ultimate fighting machine. But Van Giruet soon realizes that Ren is even more prized than he first thought. When she is captured by an evil man who sells Edel Raids on the black market, Coud and the agents of Arc Aile join forces to rescue Ren! (via Goodreads)

There's always a certain amount of 'strange' guaranteed when you read manga. Plots are either exaggerated in some way (which can, sometimes, mean more awesome), and/or feature offbeat fantasy worlds.

Elemental Gelade is a unique sci-fi story, but I didn't find it that great. I don't know if this is just my problem, but sometimes I find manga difficult to follow because of jumps in time or location that aren't pointed out very clearly. Could this be an issue with translation? I don't know, maybe other manga readers can tell me if they've had similar problems. All I know is, Elemental Gelade presented me with an unforgivable amount of barriers. I couldn't even figure out whether the people who try to bribe the sky-pirates have good or bad intentions. Not to mention, the ending is very strange (even for a manga).

Rating: 2.5 / 5