Meet Ted, Storyteller Supreme

Courtesy of www.writersofthewest.com

Did you know that western books are the most borrowed genre from libraries? Yep, so put on your Stetsons, pull on those chaps, don't forget the spurs and get ready to read some wonderful writing from top class western writers.I was thrilled when asked to join a group, who are reviving the Western genre and I heartily agreed to become a member. The group are called Writers of the West and more of what this outstanding collection of writers has to offer can be found at the following link  www.writersofthewest.com 

This week I introduce you to Ted Atoka, a man of awesome writing talents. He hails from the US and has written in many genres but it is through the Writers of the West that I first met this wonderful man. His novella, Come Sundown, under the auspices of Writers of the West  is a story about The Horse Trough Saloon, in Oklahoma. The saloon is being threatened by ruthless investors from Las Vegas, but what they haven't bargained for are the local townsfolk giving them a fight to protect what is theirs.
Come Sundown is available in both ebook from Amazon.com and Amazon .co.uk , Lulu and in print from http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/Ted_Atoka

Courtesy of Amazon.com

Ted has many short stories, novellas and books to his credit, he is a natural storyteller and when it comes to writing about everyday relationships, the man is a master. He connects the reader to his characters in a warm and subtle way that makes you the reader a part of the story.

For a more intimate setting why not pop over to https://www.smashwords.com/interview/TedAtoka and see what the man has to say for himself and why not visit his website and connect with this top class writer at http://tedatoka.weebly.com/

“Writers of the West” brings some of the best contemporary penslingers in fiction, offering up western storytelling based on just about every other genre you can imagine......all focusing on the original superheroes—cowboys, cowgirls and people of grit who tamed the wild west, or died trying."
Courtesy of WOW website

A Mental Takeover

When you take time off from your daily writing schedule to attend to other hobbies you have, be it gardening, scuba-diving, whatever, do you switch off truthfully from your writing persona?  I have been wondering about this lately because my hobbies outside of my writing are suffering big time. Now that I think of it, it is my writing life that is impacting on my hobbies. It has always been like this I know but ah, it’s got out of hand I tell you.

I walk in the mornings, and it is my chance to think and get my thoughts in order. I plan my day and think about family stuff and then without realising it I am thinking about the story I have not finished and my characters are talking to me. The plan for the day is pushed aside. I sometimes take my mp3 and listen to a mix of music and hey, presto, certain lyrics hit me that would make great titles for a novel. I can’t listen to a song without analysing the words.

Even when I am with friends chatting and having a good laugh, something that is said, gets stored in my head for future use in a story. Or I wonder what if, when I notice another event happening nearby in the café we are sitting in. It’s not that I am not paying attention when I’m with my friends or family, it’s that my head is storing all this information and I cannot allow it to be wasted. 

Going to the cinema, another thing I like to do. Yet I’m sitting there and mentally I am editing the film. Making suggestions to what they should have done, all in my head of course.

So my dear friends, any tips for me on a past-time that I can enjoy without my writing life butting in and jeopardising it? 

Holiday Scribbles

Having had a lovely trip to Bochum, Germany in August, it was time I got back to my daily writing duties. While on holiday, I read a fair bit, (writing magazines, cover to cover and The Soul Catcher by Alex Kava) and decided to give myself a break from scribbling. But the pen is a mighty weapon and sure enough, a few days into the holiday, I was out the door and down to the shops to buy yet another new notebook. Then I found a comfortable spot near the balcony in the evening sun and took a deep breath. I was off. I wrote two short stories, titled When Love’s not Enough and Welcome Home. Below are just random feelings I had when I stopped to pause and take in my surroundings.

Inside the apartment, early evening

Air clammy, heat oppressive
Headache settling, eyes tired
Talk ceasing, silence heavy
Clock ticking, no other sound

Outside the apartment, same time

Trees rustling their leaves
Cars rumbling by,
People mumbling, sun shining hides behind the clouds
Washing blows, drying slowly.

Too quickly my holiday was over and while at the airport waiting to board a late evening flight I got out my trusty new notebook and again my thoughts were put to paper. Not quite Haikiu but yet it recorded my feelings and that’s all that counts.

(1)Pale blue skies cloudy
     Near the end of the day now
     Aeroplane waiting.

(2)Lure of foreign words
     Large advertising boards
     Promising new sights

(3)Children laugh and chat
     Parents weary yet watchful
     Waiting area their park.

My collection of notebooks is growing all the time. I should make it easier and just bring one every time I go away. But the thrill of choosing a notebook and filling the blank pages is a buzz I love so who am I to stop my enjoyment of shopping. Happy writing.

More than one style of Hangover!

Most of us have endured a hangover of the alcohol type or maybe even a chocolate binge headache at some stage. Reading my friends Blogspot about a word hangover she suffered it got me thinking can one have a driving hangover? You know the way you are on the road driving so much which I have been lately. I made three trips to Dublin from my home town (which is a round trip of 300 miles each time) in one week, not including in between shorter trips and so when you get to bed you can’t stretch your legs? The backs of my knees were aching; I couldn’t straighten my legs without being in agony. The same applied to my arms, in particular my elbows, from holding the steering wheel.

I was exhausted to say the least and like Marie in her blog post, she was longing to get the written word going again, I felt the need to drive the following day although my body begged to differ with my mind. Are we suckers for punishment? Maybe I need to learn my limits and live by them. So when you binge on whatever causes you to suffer the following day remember you are just having a hangover!

Check out Marie’s word hangover at the link below,

http://marieohalloran.blogspot.ie/2013/05/do-you-ever-suffer-word-hangovers.html

 

 

New Cover for my Ist Collection

Here is my new cover photo for my collection of Short Stories, A Baker's Dozen. When I published this collection last Autumn, the original cover photo was commented upon and so I took on board what my readers said and hey presto, my new cover photo! It is available as both paperback and as an eBook from Amazon and Smashwords. The paperback version is available from me and it is also in local bookshops from this week onwards. I am really thrilled at this new development.

Check out this fab new author

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/85666

This author is well worth checking out. His stories tease all the senses with great pace and tension and good storylines thrown in. The Ebook is a collection of stories worth putting in your E-library and for those of you who like the feel of the physical book in your hand, well the paperback version is due out shortly.