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The sun was out and spring was in the air. I had the urge to get out into the brightness while at the same time I had the urge to write. So I decided to get the garden umbrella out of its winter storage in the garage and to sit at the garden table with my laptop.

There was a chill in the wind so I had a light jacket on, but when the sun appeared you could feel the warmth on your face. If you closed your eyes you could image laying by the water's edge on a hot day enjoying the cool shade of the beach umbrella. Once the laptop was up and running I opened up Daniel Jones Revenge and read the first chapter. Once I was finished I thought about the second chapter, but my mind wasn't focused on the job. I kept thinking about the new story that I have in my head. Should I make a start on it? Bugger it, I did. I opened up a new page on Word, gave it a title and just started to type. The words came out of me like a steam train out of a tunnel and four hours later I had written ten pages.

For the following three or four days I got caught up with the day to day routine of family life so no further writing was completed. Then I decided to keep Thursday clear to carry on with my new story. I still haven't decided at present if to write two books at once; with the sequel to Daniel Jones Doom plus my new mystery adventure, or just concentrate on the one book.

I decided to go for an early morning run at my gym. Forty five minutes of being in my own world with my iPad shuffle to keep me company; while I was pounding away at the revolving rubber floor was just the perfect tonic to clear my mind. But! Yes there is always a, But. As I slowly increased speed and the sweat began to seep from my flesh something flashed into my mind.

When I wrote those ten pages it introduced the main character as a man. Then I thought, 'What if he became a she?' Should the lead person in my story be a women and not a man. Suddenly the whole outline of the story started to change and with all the possible different outcomes. My mind began to buzz. Then I started to wonder if I could write as a women. That might sound silly as I have the two female characters of both Mary and Gwendolyn in both Frenzy a Daniel Jones Story and Daniel Jones Doom. But this was different. Could I see the whole story through the eyes of a women? As a man could I understand life through the female form? The more I thought of it them more I believed he should become a she.

Well I've decided to give it a go. I'm going to rewrite the first ten pages again, but this time the lead character will be female, and then I will compare the two together, and see what happens. Because at the end of the day we are all different as individuals, but at the same time we all share the same basic desires and wants in life.

I think it will be interesting. So watch this space to find out my conclusions.

Regards

Mark

Sunday, 12 April 2015

Di-monds

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It's been a funny old week. Easter Sunday was a traditional affair with the family visiting the local parish church for the service followed by an Easter Egg hunt for the children afterwards. Then we headed over to the Mother-in-laws for a traditional British roast lamb lunch finished off with evening tea and hot cross buns.

With the children still on their school holidays it's been a frantic week of events which came to ahead on Friday. In the morning after a visit to the gym I headed into the city. I was asked to appear in a promotional video that was being filmed. A clever chap I know call Paul Rudd has invented a new board game called Di-monds. He has produced the prototype and an app and now is in the process of raising funds via crowd funding to get it into production.

The filming was a laugh. It tells the story of how Paul came up with the idea while out walking his Rabbit. Yes you read it correctly, a very large black rabbit called Geoffrey! When he got home he put his idea into practise by making a rough copy out of a card board box, and any bits or pieces he could find including a mint. While testing the new game with others in his local pub a chap who works at City College Norwich said he would make Paul a proper version of the game. He only wanted a bottle of vodka in return and the above pictures are the finished product.

later on some one else designed an app for the game and now the crowd funding is the next step. Once it starts I will post the link here and on my other media sites like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc and would ask that you support Paul in bringing Di-monds to production.

Geoffrey the rabbit makes an appearance, not the real one but an electronic one. In a way it could be another product in its own right? You never know! In years to come the newest rage to hit the toy shops could be Geoffrey the Rabbit and you could be seeing people walking abut the streets with rabbits in toe.

Regard

Mark King

Saturday, 4 April 2015

In two minds

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Easter week is upon us. The children are off school so any thoughts of finding quite time to write goes out the window. In fact finding any time to yourself just disappears like the white blooms of the cherry tree after a gust of wind. But on Thursday I did just manage to find a couple of hours to myself at lunch time. The children were at their grand-parents and I had the house to myself.

Now sometimes when you suddenly find yourself on you own all the things you planed to do at such a time seem to vanish from your mind. You could do this or do that and your head starts to spin until it's empty. This is what happened to me. I should have sat down at the dinning table with my laptop, and started writing the next chapter of Daniel Jones Revenge the third book in my series. But I didn't!

I decided to be decadent and to take a lunch time nap, a siesta, sleep or what ever word you may call it in your own country. We lead such double quick lives now, always on the go, and we can forget about the real luxuries of life. Taking a midday break from this world as we close our eyes and let ones mind drift off to another plain is one of them.

I put the cat outside because the last thing I wanted, while I laid down, was for the cat to think it was time to get some fuss. For her to jump up onto my chest purring as she paddy-paws my belly while I gently stroke her head. I turned the phones off so that I wouldn't be disturbed by some stupid call from India asking if I knew I could make a claim on a car accident I never had two years ago. Everything was in place. There wasn't even anyone outside mowing the lawn or hammering away at some D.I.Y project in their shed. I even put out a note on the front door just in case there were any deliveries; asking them to leave any packages at the house next door.

I closed the bedroom door and laid my head on my pillow. Even the temperature was just right, cloudy outside so not too hot, but warm enough to be comfortable. I could feel my muscles relax. I cleared my mind. I felt sleepy and could feel myself drifting off. Where too I did not know or care about. I then sensed the sun must have made an appearance because I could feel the extra warmth on my face and the darkness of my sleep suddenly became bright.

And then it happened!

It popped into my head. It was as if someone had instantly down loaded into my mind a whole new story, like plugging a memory stick into a computer. It wasn't anything to do with Daniel Jones Revenge, but something totally different. The whole damn thing from the first scene in the first chapter to the very last scene in the final chapter; even the lead characters name and the title. It's nothing like the Daniel Jones series but a work of fiction based in the present and in the genre of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. My head started to buzz as my thoughts jumped from one chapter to the next, and for 30 minutes my mind was on a high that dispelled any hope of sleep. Eventually I couldn't take anymore and had to get up, and make myself a cup of tea.

Since then you would think it would be as easy as just sitting down and getting the story out of my head, but as I say there is always a but, it hasn't. The last two days have left me in turmoil. You see, it takes at least two years of very hard work, and personal commitment, from when you very first start writing to actually getting it into print. So this is the dilemma I have faced. Do I put the Daniel Jones series of books on hold for at least four years as I concentrate on this new story, and thus risk loosing my fan base as they drift off to other author's? Or do I concentrate on getting the next book out after Daniel Jones Doom and take the risk of never getting the new story published?

So I have been in two minds ever since. One minute taking the pragmatic view and deciding to concentrate on Daniel Jones Revenge, and then the next my heart jumps with the thrill of writing something totally different. So when in doubt do nought and as it's Easter nought is what I'm going to do. On Saturday I'm going to my local at The Fat Cat and Canary and take the advice of Doctor beer. The prescription is always enjoyable although the after effects always aren't.

Of course I could write two books simultaneously?

Regards

Mark

Friday, 27 March 2015

You never know who will pop in

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Last Friday afternoon I popped into my local pub the Fat Cat and Canary to have a drink and meet up with friends, especially my mate John Butcher. I have inspired him to take up writing after successfully getting my two books published, Frenzy a Daniel Jones story and the sequel Daniel Jones Doom. He has finished his first manuscript and is now in the rewrite stage. It's a historical piece of fiction based on true events that happened in Norwich during the first centuries after the Norman invasion when Norwich grew to becomes England's second city.

There I was supping my pint of ale when in walked Delia Smith with her husband. Now for my followers in the U.K you will know that she is one of the countries top cookery writers and T.V personalities when it comes to cooking in this country. For my readers abroad I don't know if you will have heard of Delia Smith, but if you like British Football (or Soccer to my U.S cousins) you will know she is also the owner of my local football team, the mighty Canaries who play at Carrow Road in green and yellow under the banner of Norwich City F.C. Delia is a legend in this part of the country and what is affectionately called a national treasure.

As the evening unfolded we got talking about our combined love of N.C.F.C and of writing. Later on when the good wife turned up in the car with the children, after visiting the mother-in-law, Delia Smith posed for pictures with my family, and took great delight in hearing they are true Norwich supporters.

You never know who will pop into your life, and moments like these can only really happen if you are out there experiencing the world, and not just sitting in front of the television expecting it to do it for you. Local pubs are closing down in U.K at an alarming rate due to greedy landlords and incompetent governments of all political persuasions. So do something different and your local a good turn at the same time, and take some hours out from in front of the T.V box, and pop down to your local for a social drink and a chat, even if it's for a soft drink and a packet of crisps.

Because you never know who will pop in!

Regards

Mark.

Friday, 20 March 2015

Number 45

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After last weeks activity with starting the first chapter to the third book in the Daniel Jones series after the success of both Frenzy a Daniel Jones Story, and its sequel the recently released Daniel Jones Doom, my mind has been shooting off in different directions the story could take. The first chapter in Revenge follows the same style as seen in both Frenzy and Doom. All the chapters in the three books are no more than a page or so long, and all three are very dramatic in their writing. The final similarity is that all three introduce characters into the story line that appear at some stage later in the book.

The below first chapter is in its raw state. There has been no editing done, no proof reading and it may change from what eventually could be printed in Revenge. It may not even appear at all, but I like it and hopefully you will too.

CHAPTER ONE

NUMBER 45

The stench of death hung in the air with the rotting remains of human flesh that littered every blood splattered piece of rubble; confirming that humanities last stance of defiance had truly been confined to the history that will now be written by the new victors. Swarms of hungry flies buzzed incessantly in their frenzy to feed. They battled for space with an assortment of creepy crawlies that now feasted on the mass of massacred bodies that lay in tribute to their doom laden last stand.

A lone voice called out in vain; appealing over and over again the same name in a desperate hope of finding a response. Then something caught his attention. There on the floor was a picture. For a fleeting moment it flashed its image before the wind caught it and it tumbled over. A desperate hand reached for it, but a sudden gust snatched the picture away before placing it on the charred remains of a women's body.

Bending forward with a quick sprint Michael grabbed the precious piece of paper from the corpse and turned it over. The sudden realization of its meaning sent him crashing to his knees in dread. There in his hand was the only picture that existed of him and the women he loved. ‘Mary,’ he cried out. ‘Why did you have to die?’

So there it is. The first chapter of the third book in the Daniel Jones Story. Now there is two years of hard work in front of me before it comes to life as a book. During this time you are more than welcome to take a look at life through my eyes by following my weekly postings here on Always-hanging-around.

Regards

Mark

Friday, 13 March 2015

The first chapter

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Time is short when you have a young family. They seem to suck every spare minute of your time. They are like Hoovers that are constantly on, rushing about. You have to plan every day at least a week in advance and the calender will have dates booked on it throughout the year. It can seem as if you never have time to do what you truly want to do. Since the release of my second book Daniel Jones Doom I have been mulling over in my head the lay out of the third book in the Daniel Jones series. I have been itching to to have a go, and every week when I find space in my busy life I have been determined to start it. But like I say there is always a but in life; something would suddenly pop up out of the blue and those precious hours would suddenly disappear.

This week though I did it! I started on the first chapter. On Thursday after my I had finished my volunteer shift at Norwich Cathedral I walked up to the Forum; Norwich's central library, sat my back-side down in one of the reading booths with my laptop, and started to write. I didn't think I would make it at first because I felt tired until I was inspired by a piece of sculpture by the artist Maria Pacheco that was on show in the cathedral. My picture below doesn't do it justice and it shows I'm a better author than I am a photographer.

Each figure is larger than life and hand carved from single pieces of wood; including the central figure of a son carrying his father which is based on Greek myth. The figures are haunting, almost creepy, but you find yourself walking around the exhibit admiring the craftsmanship. I have never seen anything like it before. All hand carved. The fine details were just stunning.

After this I had no choice but to write. There was no going home to put my feet up and enjoy a couple of quite peaceful hours to myself without the noise of family life. When I started FRENZY a Daniel Jones Story I used to visit the library once a week to get me out of the house and into a different environment, and this routine I carried on with when I wrote Daniel Jones DOOM. So there was no better place to start the first chapter of Revenge. This is the initial title I have given the book because I haven't made my mind up let on the final title. It could be Daniel Jones REVENGE, or even REVENGE on Daniel Jones, or maybe Daniel Jones and the REVENGE of the Overseers. I will just see how the manuscript pans out, and next week you will get the chance to read some, or maybe all, of the first chapter here on my weekly blog at Always-hanging-around.

Regards

Mark

Friday, 6 March 2015

Bateman's

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