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Social Network is a movie about Facebook and it’s founders Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin and the Napster co-founder Sean Parker. The film is mostly fictional but it follows the creation of facebook, as well as the two law suits levied at Zuckerberg, from Eduardo for cutting his shares, and the Winklevoss twins for stealing their idea.

The film is fairly linear in story, as most adaptations of true events are. The makers did manage to spice things up a bit, however, by having the film cut between the past, and present day court proceedings in both cases.

While the actual truth is not closely followed, I felt they did manage to capture the ups and downs of a creatives life very well and how easily trusts can be broken over large sums of money.  They also managed to show the very rapid growth of the company as well as the impact that it had on the founders.

I couldn’t help but feel very sorry for both Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin when the film came to its closing section. Both of them had made big mistakes and mostly just because everything was moving too fast for them to really keep up. I also absolutely loved the final spoken line of the film where one of the legal juniors tells Zuckerberg that ‘You’re not an asshole, you’re just trying so hard to be’ which does to some degree some up the films idea of what happened to him.

I also really liked the musical score for the film. It was very well done and there was the odd one or two scenes where the music set the scene so perfectly that I fell in love with the scene for no other reason.

The only thing I’d add to that is to stress that it’s a Hollywood film so most of it was exaggerated and a chunk was also completely fabricated. Taken as fictional though its a pretty cool movie.

While I’ve been browsing my way through the secret hidden forums of the kindle publishers/authors world I’ve met quite a number of authors and a few have stuck out to me. I’d like to introduce you to Patrick, just one of those authors, who is working to create a list on Amazon.com and .co.uk populated by the best books from indie authors. This is the first of many projects Patrick is working on as he also has a website being created called The ePublishing Consortium

I asked Patrick some questions about him and the list he is creating and thought I’d share some of what he said.

How long have you been publishing as an indie author/interested in indie ebook publishing?

I have been publishing books since 2007 when I released Legacy Inheritance in paperback.  I wrote the manuscript and donated the first printing to a nonprofit as a fundraiser.  I have been writing books since 1993 as a hobby.

What exactly is the list and what made you decide to invest your time effort and money into other authors by creating it?

The list is designed to find the best authors and promote their works in an otherwise difficult-to-find environment.  Most new eAuthors and their books are the hardest to promote due to being an ‘unknown quantity’.  There is a strong struggle for these authors as they do not know their way around the industry due to being new/inexperienced at it.  The List is a tie-in to the ePublishing Consortium where works can be shown, the best can be promoted, the Consortium selects their award recipients and authors can promote their books to increase sales.

The reason this effort is being focused on a solution for all eAuthors is due to its real need.  The publishing industry is undergoing a major evolution right now.  It is somewhat in a state of flux and chaos.  It is during the times of chaos where the most change occurs.  The need for independent, as well as veteran, authors to publish their own work has come.  There will always be a nostalgia about paper books.  But, the direction is clear… electronic is the format of the future.  We are seeing the cutting edge of this evolution now.

What do you hope to gain from the list both personally and for others?

I have always had sort of a Robin Hood complex wanting to help those who need it.  My life has not been perfect and there is a learning curve with each new venture, but, there is nothing like the power of people working together to build something.  There is a strong personal satisfaction derived from being part of that.

You can check out the list on Amazon.com here and .co.uk here.

An Echo In The Darkness is the second book in the Mark Of The Lion trilogy by Francine Rivers.

This book continues to explore the characters in the first book, picking up where the previous book left off, almost to the exact second. There are a few more characters introduced but mostly it follows all the well established characters from the first (The ones that haven’t died already anyway).

In this second book there is a distinct emphasis on the characters finally realising their flaws and doing something to sort them out. Marcus and Julia are impacted by this especially and it’s incredibly easy to emphathise with them as they try to figure out what is the right way to do things and get themselves into some more scrapes and messes along the way.

I was pleased to find in this second book the references to God were again a little more natural and in keeping with the plot as it ran forward. It also had a much better ending if a little unsatisfying in some ways it tied up the loose ends. It did leave me wondering what the third book would actually be about, however, as 95% of the characters now had their happy ever after.

I give this book a 4.5 out of 5

Inspired by Joe Konrath’s blog a week ago where he pledged $500 to the charity First Book if his book made it to the top 100 of Amazon.com’s listing, a group of Authors have all come together to do the same thing. All books involved are being kept track of here and I’m expecting mine to be up there shortly. Yup you heard me right. I’m doing it too with my book With Proud Humility

Now don’t panic that it’s Amazon.com doing it and that leaves all you uk people out of the fun. I’m pledging to pay $500 to the charity regardless of which Amazon it gets to the top 100 in and if it manages it on both Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk I’ll donate twice the amount.

Here’s the book on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk

Book synopsis:

Marie’s mother died protecting something, but what? Determined to find answers, Marie is prepared to go to any length to locate her mother’s legacy, even to pursue the man responsible for her death. No price is too dear to Marie, who gambles everything on a marriage of convenience to a ship’s captain she knows she can’t trust, but who may be one ally she needs.

This is a historic story of romance and adventure, set on the Caribbean seas of the early 1800′s, a tale of betrayal and sacrifice in pursuit of an unknown goal.

So please go check out the books on the list and even if you don’t buy mine buy one of them.

I was listening to the soundtrack for the second Narnia film recently and hit the credit song, The Call by Regina Spektor and found the words inspired me to write some poetry. I thought I’d share what came out of it.

An artists call

A gentle whisper close to my ear,
Lets me know that God is near,
And as my soul begins to fly,
That familiar feel takes me away up high.

That feeling then grows and before too long,
A hope of change moves me along,
Though frightened if the truth be told.
I cannot refuse when an artist is called.

The excitement builds, bringing tears,
Giving no choice but to abandon fears.
With fears gone, the quiet is unnerving,
Then a lioness comes, courage unswerving.

Though hardly any more time has passed,
Now a vision, as fragile as glass,
And then I’m flying on wings of gold.
I cannot refuse when an artist is called.

In no time at all a desire to fly,
Has become a roar, a battle cry,
Though alone I may miss my goal,
With God and friends I cannot fall.

A battle to win and territory taken,
With my faith I cannot be shaken,
I have been summoned, I have been told.
I cannot refuse when an artist is called.

Though I may fail before I begin,
To my new found vision I will cling,
And in blackness darker than night,
I will reach for Him, eternal light.

To others I may appear strange,
Odd, unfocused, even deranged,
But this is my purpose, why I was made.
I cannot refuse when an artist is called.

Though all I may have is only a feeling,
It will become more, now’s just a beginning,
And although it is hard to understand,
I have a battle, a sword in my hand.

I am an artist, all of God’s styling,
Only He can define me, and my calling,
No apology for me, you have been warned.
I will not refuse when I am called.

One of the hardest things about writing a new novel, script or other written piece is finding the right character name.

Character names have to sound just right and often people can spend hours agonising over the right sound, ease of spelling and all sorts of other factors.

I try and name my characters in one of three ways.

1. Name after someone I know.
2. Find a name meaning that matches the character’s personality.
3. Search for popular names in that period/region.

Naming after someone I know

This can help with the more minor chracters but I wouldn’t recommend it with your major chracters. It’s a trick I’ve used on a few occasions and will probably use again. I know the author Joe Konrath also does this occasionally as part of contests where the winner gets a minor character (Occasionally a major chracter) named after them.

The name still has to fit in your setting however. Bob isn’t going to work if it’s 1810 and likewise Fitzwilliam doesn’t work so well as a first name in a book set now. I named James Long in With Proud Humility after one of my relatives that was in the Caribbean at the same time I’d set my book.

Finding a name meaning

This is my favourite way of naming the main characters of my books, especially my main females. Usually I will get a good feel for how I wish my chracter to act and who they are before I even attempt naming them this way. Sometimes I just use their position within society or something similar.

This can be quite time consuming but I’ve found searching for a baby name site on google speads up the process somewhat. Sadly the baby name site I normally use has just installed some really annoying video ads that restart each time you click to a new page on their website so I won’t recommend them to you. There are lots of them though and most of them easy to search by meaning.

I’ve named Kaihaitu in this fashion by looking up what names had the meaning leader in Maori, as well as Tanwen which means white fire.

Popular names

Looking up names in a particular time can be very useful for historical fiction or books set in other countries. This is probably how I name the majority of my characters. For example the new book I’m writing has a large chunk of the chracters being from the same Maori tribe. It makes sense for me to look up common names originally used within the Maori culture. Then all I have to do is go through the lists and pick ones I like the sound of. Kinda like naming babies really.

If you’ve tried all that and you’re still stuck for a name try asking another writer to help. You will be surprised how many names get tucked away in the recesses of memories when you look up so many names all the time.

Last month’s progress:

Last month I tried to do a trial run at NaNoWriMo. To write 50k words of my new novel in one month. I didn’t quite manage it. I did manage just over 40k words, however, and I’m now well over half way through the next book’s first draft. So I do consider it a success.

• I hand-wrote: 41k words
• Typed: 65k words (including emails and blogs)
• Spent 10 hours planning for the old book.
• 5 hours on Flight work
• Spent approx 15 hours in the month distracted by something (not including emails).
• Sent 103 emails
• Spent 25 hours reading

I think I need to be distracted less but still good progress, and maybe send a few less emails.

This month the plan is to get my book cover done for With Proud Humility, finish off the last of the t-shirt designs for the new website/shop and work on the graphic novels with Kezia Warren and Andrew Bellingham. I’m also going to need to dedicate some time to a top secret project for Flight. Will post more about that when I can.

I’m taking ten days off from easter, so assuming I still have some time left, I’ll then continue writing the second book (and maybe finally name it too).

I was trying to work hard the other day when my husband, Phil, mentioned to me that he had been listening to a song called Jessie by Mother Earth. It suddenly made me think of a song my mother used to play when I was younger, also called Jessie, by Joshua Kadison.

Here’s the youtube link: Jessie on Youtube

The chorus lyrics are:

Jessie paint your pictures ’bout how it’s gonna be.
By now I should know better, your dreams are never free.
But tell me all about our little trailer by the sea;
Jessie you can always sell any dream to me.
Oh, Jessie, you can always sell any dream to me.

I know it’s not an entirely postive song about this girlie, Jessie, but it is about someone that dreams big and is willing to give it a go making those dreams happen. It just struck me that people often refer to me as a dreamer, someone not afraid to take a risk to see a dream come true either. The songs rather apt, as well as me sharing the name and it made me stop and think for a bit.

Anyone else have songs they listen to and it reminds them of themselves (not just because of the name of the person being sung about)?

A voice in the wind is the first book in the Mark of the Lion trilogy by Francine Rivers.

The books are set in the Roman empire in approximately 70AD and the first book mostly follows the life of a Christian girl called Hadassah as her family are killed and most of Jerusalem is destroyed. It then follows her journey as a slave to the Roman Valerian family and her struggles as a Christian in their very self centered lives.

For the most part I enjoyed this book. It’s a very endearing journey to see Hadassah learn to love others and find her place despite the tumultus beginning to her life. I also found I couldn’t help feeling her respect and love for the older children in the Valerian family, Julia and Marcus, despite their large flaws.

Francine Rivers is very good at painting her characters in a very real light making them easily relatable to. Although many of the characters have a very obvious flaw or two I was impressed with how they dealt with them and how everyone managed to grow somewhat by the end of the book.

I did find the plotting a little slow, with the odd over zealous reference to God and scripture, almost as if it was a little forced in. I think it got better as the book went on, however, as the situations the characters faced, gave more of a reason to mention their reliance on the dieties they believed in.

My biggest problem I had was with the ending. I was extremely glad I had the second of the trilogy to hand and I strongly recommend that anyone who reads this book immediately reads the first part of the next one.

Without spoiling the plot, I found the characters in a situation at the end that implied one thing and then found this not to be true on reading the first chapter of the next book. I think I would have infinitely prefered it had it not implied one way or the other at the end of the first book.

Over all I give the book 4 out of 5

I’m interrupting the normal blogging schedule to ask people for some help with something.

I’ve recently been exploring many different options to get my first book in print. The good news is that I’ve decided upon one.

The bad news is I therefore need to update my front cover, as the ebook version already done won’t actually stand up to the high res test needed for a print run.

This is where all of you come in. I need to gather every item in my cover picture into one place and take a bunch of photo’s.

As you can see that’s not an entirely normal set of items.

Cutlass: Believe it or not this is the only item on there I’ve already got/know someone with one (Me and my friends like swords)

Rose: Well I’m sure I can buy one of these come photoshoot day so no worries there.

Lace gloves: I don’t have any of these so if anyone has any white lace gloves they’d be willing to lend/give that would be appreciated. – Have managed to acquire these now

Playing cards: I really need these to be as old as possible as I need them to look like they are from early 19th century. Dirty and well used is good too. Again I only need to borrow as these can often be collectors items. – Acquired.

Hemp rope: I need at least 1 metre of this, borrowed/given.

Hand: I think I’ve got that one covered. Just.

Background: I’d really like to use something made from a dark wood like Mahogany or dark oak as the background. Will need to be something bigger like a table or coffee table so all the items can rest on top of it and I don’t actually want to keep this at all. If I can would prefer to just turn up somewhere with me and a photographer and use someone else’s furniture.

And what do you get out of it? Well since the book is about to be in print, anyone that helps will get entered into a prize draw for one of the very first signed printed editions of the book (if lots of people help I’ll give away more copies).

If people know useful info they can either comment below, facebook or tweet me. If you comment remember to give me some way to contact you in case you win.

I’ll obviously be running this giveaway of sorts until the book cover is done and uploaded and will do the draw as I close it (winners will have to wait a bit for their prize, however, as it takes a few weeks from me submitting everything before I get physical copies in my hands).