The IT guy checked the logs. “Damn there they are again, ” he said to himself. He sighed and clicked through the long list of blacklisted IP addresses. “Don’t they have anything better to do?” the IT guy said.
He pulled out a black box the size of a matchbox. “Let’s see how they like this,” the IT guy said. He plugged the box into a USB port on the server. The IT guy smiled as a green light flashed on the box. He wished he could see the expressions on their faces.
(Somewhere far away) – The hacker touched his keyboard and screamed. The electric shock made his body twitch and spasm.
(Somewhere even farther away ) – The grinning thief placed his hand on the mouse. His scream of agony woke everyone in the building. The plastic melted and burned his palm. Acrid smoke filled the room.
The IT guy chuckled as he left the control center.
I’m on the diving board. Far below I see the blue sheet. I shuffle forward and get on tip-toes. Arms up and hands together I say goodbye to the air.
I bounce on the edge and the board pushes back. Up, up, up I go. I wriggle, turn and bend and form a point. The air rushes by and finally the tip of my finger touches cool liquid.
Hi there! Thanks for joining me on my awesome fourteen-day blog tour with 4Wills Publishing and my fantastic host for today! You can find details of my other stops here: 4Wills Author Page.
I published my first book, THE BATTLE FOR BRISINGAMEN, in May 2013. I soon followed this up with the award winning mystery/thriller THE GLADE in November 2013, and my first Young Adult fiction book, ELEMENTAL EARTH, in July 2014.
This is my first non-fiction book, and is a powerful new guide that gives essential editing tips for authors.
Lots of books have been written on the art of writing, and here—at last—is a guide that will teach you the essential techniques of editing your own book. This will help you turn a promising manuscript into a published novel. And, it does this without the jargon. You don’t need to know all the grammatical terms in order to make use of this book. You don’t need to know the definition of a split infinitive, a comma splice, or a ‘to be’ verb, as this manual explains these in detail in easy to understand terms, and a lively and engaging style.
Chapters on Passive Writing, Tense, Point of View, Dialogue, and other techniques take you through the same processes an editor would go through to polish and perfect your manuscript. Good writing is nothing without good editing. Learn the secrets of good editing and writing with this essential author reference, which offers so much more for so much less.
As well as being an award-winning author, I am an accomplished editor and proofreader. My passion is helping Indie Authors to successfully achieve their goals and dreams.
Excerpt from Chapter One: Passive Prose …
“Here is a cartoon I came across online a long time ago, and it struck a chord. It says what it needs to say so eloquently.
Can you see the difference? Which would you prefer to read? Especially in the middle of an action scene or a moment filled with suspense.
More on that . . .
Ed to the rescue!
Who’s Ed??? Not ‘who’, ‘what’. Ed ending words tend to be immediate and engaging—right in the thick of it. They are the bouncers to keep out Was and his mates. Let’s party . . .”
You will also find me in the soon-to-be-released Rave Reviews Book Club Anthology: RAVE SOUP FOR THE WRITER’S SOUL, and the All Authors Magazine Anthology: CONCORDANT VIBRANCY.
It’s early. Most folks are still in bed after a late night. A few hardy souls are out in the sunshine and brisk air.
They walk slower than those who arrive at the park later. The joggers barely lift their feet off the ground. It’s as if they are going through the motions.
This morning promenade has a higher purpose. A thin man walks with his hands in his pockets. He hunches over into the wind. As he takes each step he ponders his place in the world. The middle aged woman inhales the crisp cold air. She swings her arms as she moves along the path. She sits on a bench and gazes at the ripples on the water.
Eventually the man’s hands come out of his pockets and his chin rises up. The woman stands and smiles as she watches three ducks frolic in the water.
Ripples pass across the flag before it snaps to in a gust of wind.
It took them long enough. Did they think that they made it all by themselves? Of course they needed a shield. They would have been snuffed out long ago otherwise.
I guess I’ll give them about ten thousand more years and then I can take the training wheels off. If they can just learn how to play nice with each other they might make it.
I must have been ten years old. It was still light out but bedtime trumped all. Last thing I remember a squirrel poked its head against the window screen. It looked me in the eye.
…
I can’t believe it. This is great. I scamper over the electrical wire and leap onto a tree limb. I give my tail a few swishes to get my balance and then I jump onto a springy branch. I hold on for dear life as it oscillates back and forth. Once it is steady I scramble to the tree trunk.
…
“I’m warning you. Breakfast is ready. I’m not going to say it again,” my Mom yells. I snuggle under the covers. I try to move my tail. Nothing is there.
He opened the front door and collected the mail. “Maybe this is the big day,” he thought. The stack looked promising. The envelope might be hidden in between all the catalogs and junk mail. He sorted the items into piles. Each time he glimpsed a long thin envelope his heart leaped. As soon as he saw the corporate logos he would rip the envelope in half and toss it into the wastebasket.
He picked up a particularly thick envelope from a credit card company and tried to tear it up as usual. “Damn, they waste so much money on these mailings,” he thought. He opened the envelope and threw the tough plastic coated sheet into the trash.
He finished going through the pile. “As usual, nothing,” he thought.
His shoulders slumped as he plopped into his favorite chair. He smiled when he saw the blue jay perched on the bird feeder.
“I bet it will come tomorrow,” he said to himself.
Two small boys found it in the ruins. They went into one of the unlit passages of the Emperor Nero’s palace. Something shiny on the wall caught their eye.
…
“Look at this,” Marius said. He held a disc the size of a dinner plate. Baldo stared at the object. He wiped the surface with his shirttail. Suddenly a rosy glow filled the room. The brightness momentarily blinded the boys. They dropped it and ran.
Soon their eyes adjusted and they crept back. Baldo picked it up and exclaimed in wonder. “People are inside,” he said. Marius watched over his shoulder. The boys were spellbound.
A young man in an elegant toga paced back and forth. Jewels and delicate gold chains hung from his wrists. A beautiful young woman, obviously pregnant, sat on the floor wringing her hands. The man turned to her and shouted.
Marius and Baldo watched wide-eyed. The young man sat on a marble bench and picked up a stringed musical instrument. He began to play. The haunting music hypnotized the boys.
They heard a click and bright white light filled the passage. “Hey, what are you doing here?” a rough male voice shouted. Baldo gasped and stuffed the disc into his shirt. Marius stood in front of him trying to obstruct the view of the man. “You know you’re not allowed in here. Out. Now, or I’ll call the Polizia,” he said.
The boys ran as fast as they could out into the sunshine.
Scientists have an ingenious idea that they can detect dark matter due to its disruption of the fabric of space-time.
They might want to read Pomroy’s World as dark matter plays a big role. I will make sure to pass on the GPS idea to Juan and Muriel (characters in Pomroy’s World) as it might help them get out of their current predicaments.
