Book review - The No Excuse Zone, by Terri Main

This great little book approaches the work (yes, the work, not the 'art' or other highfaluting term, but the WORK) of writing from the point of view of project management.

One reads so much airy-fairy twaddle about writing today that it was utterly refreshing to encounter Main's completely no-nonsense approach. Starting with a merciless, although not unkind, exposition of the fallacy of making excuses for non-performance, she takes us step by step through a solid, do-able methodology for setting realistic, achievable goals and then achieving them. Reliably, every time.

Main's work, as always, distinguished by limpid clarity and painstaking detail-mindedness. No assumptions are made unexamined, no steps skipped in this blueprint for a successful job of writing (at least, successful in terms of finishing the job; of course Main cannot guarantee talent to anyone). I particulary cheered at her contemptuous dismissal, just in passing, of 'the myth of inspiration.'

I would heartily recommend The No-Excuse Zone to anyone struggling with productivity, not just as a writer but in any long-term, self-directed project.

The No-Excuse Zone is available from AMAZON.

Book Review - The Apostle Paul: Up Close and Personal, by Terri Main

This little book reminds me of the old-fashioned 'pocket books', as I used to call them - those tiny editions that one could slip into handbag or pocket and dip into as one went about one's day. Each section is short and simple and deals with one specific aspect of Paul's ministry. It could be used either as suggested, to drive a group bible study/discussion group, or for solitary devotional reading.

I am no biblical scholar, but the doctrine seemed sound to me. I did think, though, that the mention in one of the sets of suggested discussion questions of 'how we can live as Americans' was inappropriate, introducing as it did a political element into the faith content. I found that ironic in light of the author's very correct insistence that other things cannot be mixed in with Christianity.

The Apostle Paul: Up Close and Personal is available from AMAZON.

Book Review - Ridiculously Simple Self-Publishing: Do-It-Yourself E-Book Cover Design, by Terri Main

This basic primer of cover design delivers exactly what it advertises. The step-by-step approach, divided into short chapters dealing each with a single aspect of cover design, presents the material in an easily accessible way, and embodies sound educational principles in the way that each successive element is built on to what has gone before.

The simple, easy-to-follow language, punctuated with lots of pictures and screenshots, makes the book completely easy to follow, even for a graphics failure like me. The complete range of issues in cover design are covered, from layout design right down to the nitty-gritty of choosing a font, and there's even (a bonus!) a short tutorial on using Gimp.

Something I particularly appreciated was Main's sensible, down-to-earth attitude to cost. There's no unrealistic, high-faluting admonishment to buy this or that software, pay expensive cover designers, etc. Main recognises the cost limitations that an independent author, unsure of what level sales will reach, must accept.

It was a pleasure to read this book, I learned a great deal from it and it is going straight to my Kindle's Reference Section.

Ridiculously Simple Self-Publishing: Do-It-Yourself E-Book Cover Design is available from AMAZON.

Restaurant review - Romulus and Remus, Richmond

At first glance the location didn't seem very promising. The depressing end of Bridge Road isn't where I normally expect to find fine food, but there it sits, and there we were, meeting a large group of friends for a pre-Christmas lunch.

This restaurant is downstairs from the dance studio where I spend a lot of my evenings, so I was already familiar with its inside enough to know that they serve truly excellent coffee, and that their barrista is among the elite of his profession, remembering my rather unusual coffee order perfectly without prompting only the second time I went there. I'd often thought about sampling the food, but it's always so busy and I'm always so tired and in a hurry that somehow it had never happened.

The venue is quite inviting looking, decorated in a comfortable, unpretentious style that I think of as 'smart casual'. There was no difficulty in pushing tables together for our party of ten, and the waitstaff were efficient and cheerful. So far so good.

Smart casual decor

But of course, it's the food that really matters. Now I am not a regular foodie, and I don't often blog about food, nor am I in any sense a qualified gourmet. In fact, I can't stand cooking, and as soon as I've satiated my hunger, I'm not that keen about food in general. You won't find me huddled in a corner during tea breaks drooling over food porn, or watching any of these extreme cooking shows (although I must admit to a soft spot for the lovable, cuddly Gordon Ramsay).

But I do know about pizza. I've been eating pizza since I was in my teens, and that was a LONG time ago. In fact, there was a time when I spent a month without eating anything else. Yes, overbooked work commitments, story of my life. During that time, my cat learned to love pepperoni. Another story for another day.

RooRoo, a true gourmet and pizza afficionado

So, as it was a casual lunch, I decided to order pizza. Here's the description of it:

"Crying Little Caesar", topped with spicy chilli crusted salami, spiced pork sausage, roasted peppers, olives, chilli sauce and peppery rocket.

Now I have had a lot of pizza in my life, as I've mentioned, but never, ever had I eaten one as good as this. Nor one so filling! I can usually count on demolishing the whole of an individual pizza, but, sensational as this one was, I could not eat more than half of it, despite not having eaten at all that day and despite my best endeavours, which are nothing to be sneezed at. I've been known to eat an entire family size pizza on the way home from picking it up. (No, it wasn't a long drive. About ten minutes, as I recall.)

Crying Little Caesar. Nothing to cry about here, unless they were tears of joy.

So there you have it. The location might not be terribly salubrious, but it is very convenient if you're going that way. The food's to die for. The coffee's of the first rank, the staff are pleasant and know their jobs, and as if anything else were needed, the ladies' room is like something out of a movie set.

The lav.

Romulus and Remus is located at 648 Bridge Road, Richmond. Their telephone number is (03) 9429 3042, their Facebook page is HERE and their pretentious website is HERE.

Book review - Both Sides Now, by Shawn and Dawn Inmon

This book is the companion volume to Feels Like The First Time, by the same author. I have to say it didn't really engage me; having recently read Feels Like The First Time, I felt as if I were reading almost identically the same story over again. The technique of telling the same story from several viewpoints is one that I like, but I think for this to work really well in fiction there has to be some kind of contrast or conflict between the two versions, so that the product of them is greater than its parts. Of course, with a work that is essentially autobiography, one doesn't really have this option, and I felt that the two books would work better published as a single volume.

That said, it is a lovely story, and, I think, would make a really great film. I could imagine such a film grossing hugely. One can only applaud the writer's, well, and his wife's too, searing honesty. Few people, I think, would have the courage to lay their lives bare to the public in this way.

The writing is even and just like that in the first book. Just as a matter of style, I think I'd have like to see Shawn and Dawn differentiated a little more in the writing, but with non-fiction one must, of course, stay true to the facts, and perhaps their personalities are so well matched that this wasn't possible.

As with Feels Like The First Time, I cringed every time 'lay' was used intransitively, but I feel that as counsel for the defence I might argue its appropriateness when writing in the first person of a dialect speaker, and so make allowances for the possibility that this was in fact what the author intended.

Both Sides Now, and its companion, Feels Like The First Time, are available from AMAZON.

Book Review - Cold Winter's Night, edited by Rhoda d'Ettore

This collection of short fiction from independent writers contains, as advertised, a wide variety of material.

Several of the stories have merit. DiStroya's zombie story, Home For The Holidays, was delightful, and a refreshing departure from the usual zombie apocalypse that has become so tediously ubiquitous of late. JJ Francesco's Glimpse, a sweet little traditional Christmas story, is very nicely done. Another traditional Christmas tale, The Gift, by Jayson True Blood, was charming. Regina Pickett Garson's The Most Enduring Gift was charming and quite well written. Similarly A Fitting Gift by Nicola McDonagh, a chilling tale of horror, well thought out and executed. Editor Rhoda D'Ettore's own contribution, Love, Revolution Style, was nicely done, although I felt the ending was rather rushed and much more could have been made of it. The Professor's Pleasures, by Fallen Kittie, got off to an excellent start with some quite powerful writing, but failed dismally half way through when it inexplicably descended into pornography. A waste of a fine idea.

Some, on the other hand, were of an unmitigated dreadfulness that suggested to me that, due to a dearth of submissions, all were published without selection.

Taken as a whole, the book, for me, epitomised the criticisms so commonly made of independently published work. Every single story desperately needed proofreading, and the whole thing had the air of having been thrown together in a great hurry, perhaps to meet a deadline. The formatting for Kindle is appalling, and one wondered if it had even been downloaded and checked in the headlong rush to publication. There is no table of contents, which in an anthology, particularly one published as an ebook, is a grave omission and most inconvenient to the reader. The editor's decision to present the stories alphabetically by the authors' surnames, understandable as it may be from the point of view of equity, was the single most unwise decision in the entire enterprise, resulting as it did in the opening story's being the worst of the lot, and doubtless costing the group many sales as it occupies Amazon's 'Look Inside' position.

Book Review - In Shambles, edited by Samantha LaFantasie

This book reminded me of the bags of lollies we used to buy as children. 'Twenty cents worth of mixed lollies', we'd say, naively casting ourselves on the generosity of the shop ladies, which generally worked out a lot better than we deserved. There'd be some of everything, some of the coveted Cobbers, everyone's favourite, and also some of the despised el cheapo Milk Bottles et alia.

In the same way, this book is a mixed bag, containing some really wonderful stories, and some that are.... well, there was always one kid who liked Milk Bottles.

Deserving of special mention were The Old Kodak, Raising Rudi, Samaritan and my personal favourite, Four Houses Down. I just can't say how much I enjoyed it. The book is worth buying for that one story alone.

I also very much enjoyed Wildman - the technique of telling the story around a whole collection of first person accounts by minor characters is, although not new, something I always enjoy, and it was very creditably excecuted, although I'd have liked to see the different characters' language more strongly differentiated and I'd have left off the last section, as I felt the reader was made well aware of what happened through the story. An epilogue telling the reader what really happened shouldn't be necessary if the writer has done his job, and Mr Woods certainly did his job well enough.

Mama also pleased me greatly. A chilling tale, and somehow the writer succeeded in capturing the atmosphere of an old Japanese film. Sadly, it was spoiled for me by very poor English.

I note that Samaritan and The Hand Me Down were edited, and I must say I think it a great pity that Mr Duckworth did not extend his editorial hand to all of the stories.

Finally, something I seem to say about independent books with depressing regularity - insufficient attention has been given to presentation. The proofreading appears to have been rather sloppy. All in all though, an entertaining read, with a few exceptions.

In Shambles is available from AMAZON.