An order too tall?

My mind is fickle.

On one side, I would like my next novel to be different to the zombie genre so that I stagger the Zed trilogy (and don't get pigeon-holed) to its final completion but now think that this might be the wrong strategy, and so, have decided against it. At this point in time I am aiming to write the last two books in short succession of each other over the next few months.

My view is to write, refine and release the books with a manufactured six-month delay between the two of them. I think that would be best and I think the last two books would benefit from this as I would be able to maintain a more even tone through the remainder of the series rather than having to rediscover my voice each time.

If I can pull this off I will be 'quite the hardened author' in the end. Despite the teething problems of the first one, I think that each successive book should be simpler to knock into a final polished shape. I believe I have developed an interesting story arc and this should result in a great conclusion to the trilogy. Well, here's to hoping the general public also agrees with me ... and here's to facing up to the challenge!

An impromptu interview by Zed

Well, it had to happen. Zed came out of hiding for an impromptu interview at fuonlyknew and took a moment to discuss the subtleties when choosing the next brain to eat (not that he does anymore).

Would you prefer eating brains from a man or a woman?

Hmm…it would be relative to what I am in the mood for; the flavour of a woman’s brain is intense, sweet and decidedly complex with hidden nuances that require my full attention. A man’s brain is musky, with a strong flavour that underlies the overall demeanor of the host. Of course, certain nationalities would result in some differences, for example, Italians/Spanish are prone to irrational bursts of flavour.

I hope you enjoy the interview - it was amusing to see Zed's perspective on things ! Thanks Laura

A whirlwind tour

You probably have noticed that I've been relatively quiet in the last few weeks ... well, maybe a little more quiet than normal, but at least this time I do have a valid excuse. I was on holiday that was quite short but definitely appreciated.

[IWDRM] "If you wake up at a different time, in a different place, could you wake up as a different person?"

It all started with a fifty (!) hour trip from America via a convoluted path to my final destination in Amsterdam, Holland. Why did it take so long? I won't go into details, but the multiple aircraft did begin to feel like a second home by the end. I also made a good number of single-serving friends along the way, although I unfortunately did not make Tyler Durden's acquaintance (shame on you if you didn't get the references).

All of this effort was so I could be there to celebrate my Grandmother's birthday (and to celebrate the end of another successful project). It was wonderful, with all of my Dutch relations doing their best to make the short time I had in Holland as enjoyable as possible. After my time in Holland, I then headed over to Malaysia to the wonderful warmth, humidity and my family and then finally back to Australia for the cold and dreary. It was a whirlwind tour ... and somehow I automagically handled every time zone with aplomb and guile. Whether I have become a hardened traveller is anyone's guess, but I somehow clinched it each time.

I am unsure whether I should be proud of that or just a little bit worried.

Interview with Christopher Gray

Today I am interviewing a fellow author by the name of Christopher Gray (or C.M Gray), author of Shadowland; a tale that attempts to answer the mysteries surrounding the origins behind Merlin, Arthur and the Knights of the round table.

Tell me a little about yourself.

Hi Stephen, well thanks for the opportunity to talk about myself and my books. I’m an Englishman living just outside Barcelona in Spain. I’ve spent the last twenty plus years living all over the world, with longer stays in Hong Kong, India, Israel, The Philippines, Holland and France. I’ve always sought out interesting locations and have a taste of adventure that has got me into trouble on more than one occasion. I think a lot of the experiences I’ve had and the locations I’ve been in find a way into my writing. I have a love of Aikido, which I practised since I was a teen, anything in the great outdoors like walking and sailing, and playing guitar rather badly! My working life has encompassed everything from the restoration of church organs, building work to raising finances for a reforestation company.

What made you want to become a writer?

Two things made me want to become a writer. Firstly, I have always loved to read. I devour books in a very short time and read everything from fantasy to spirituality, the only genre I dislike is romance. I always heard the saying that ‘we all have a book within us’ and wondered what ‘my’ book would be like. The second thing that got me writing was The X-Factor. I took a distinct dislike to the whole concept just as my wife was rapidly becoming addicted to it, I fled the room and started tapping on my laptop. Thank you Mr Cowell because writing turned out to be a lot more fun than watching you!

If you had to do an 'elevator pitch' for Shadowland, what would you say?

Interview on Love Hate Poetry!

I always feel like a celebrity when someone chooses to interview me and this time is no exception. That someone would care what I have to say about random (usually book-related) topics is always fun.

The interview covers a few taboo subjects (well, religion), so I apologise in advance to those that are easily offended

Thank goodness for Apple

I'm not one to go about expounding the virtues of Apple or their products ... although I do like their engineering. The reason that I am giving them a standing ovation is for their retina display technology. What is retina display, do you ask? Well, put simply, it's a very high pixel-density screen. This might not sound like much to you but means everything to me. The iPhone 4 manages to cram a 960x640 resolution in 3.5" of screen. The new iPad continues this tradition with a resolution of 2048x1536 in a 9.7" screen.

old vs new

On the PC side, we are on bread and water. There has been a rash (some would say an influx of STD's) of laptops that are sold with 'high definition' displays, although I'm not sure how they come up with HD when a 15" screen usually involves a resolution of only 1366x768. My first PC twenty-two years ago was 1024x768. If we were to project the resolution on the iPhone to a 15" screen, you would have a resolution nine times higher (or seven times for the new iPad). With murmurings that the new Macbooks will be utilising retina display screens, the pressure on the PC industry to follow suit will be palpable and I will welcome this 'revolution' with open arms.

I am a developer by trade and when the only way to see a complete page is by being forced to scale a document to 60% of its actual size (while hiding the space-hogging ribbon on office) is annoying to say the least. Considering I had a higher resolution screen about fourteen years ago on my desktop is a joke (1920x1080, followed by 2048x1536 about twelve years ago).

So, in conclusion, I am not heralding Apple for being innovative but rather applauding them for being willing to point out the hilarity of today's modern age.

UPDATE: It seems that the new macbooks have a resolution of 2880x1800. All I can say is YES!

Worshipping false idols

Ah facebook. After all the hub-bub surrounding the company (apparently) being worth hundreds of billions of dollars, it is heartening to see that the stock investors are not as unrealistic in their assessment. After floating at $42 dollars a share, it is now sitting at just over $30, with a one-day drop of 9%. I'm the first to question the 'value' in facebook and, despite using it, don't see where their revenue stream is sourced. I've yet to see/know of one of my friends ever clicking on a link or purchasing a virtual whatever on one of their integrated games. Sure, it's polished but I just don't believe there's that much to it.

The only place that there is any actual value is in collecting data about its users. This is their value ... and is probably worth maybe 5-10 billion dollars for that. My profile's value is apparently around a few cents although my profile is probably not indicative of the average user. The only way that the company is worth 100+ billion is if every person's profile is worth over $200 which I find a little hard to swallow.

GM apparently agrees with me, because they've dropped their 40 million (!) advertising campaign with FB because they saw little-to-no return. I would personally have fired the person that decided to push that much in a market where the users don't focus on adverts ... but I guess I don't have a few million dollars sitting around gathering dust. They can always get a few more billion pushed their way from the US Government if things turn sour once again.

Whether the emperor's new clothes will remain transparent is anyone's guess but I'd rather keep my cotton duds. A realistic value would be around $15 and unless facebook brings a new compelling revenue model, that's where it should and will remain. Update: for my 5-10 billion dollar value to be true, apparently the stock price would have to be around $5. Interesting ...