Book review

Having sold a few books through eBay, I check back to the groups I joined now and again to keep up with developments. I was surprised and more than a little moved to come across a review for 'Is' by someone who had bought and read it. I won't publish her name her, as I haven't asked her permission, but this is what she wrote:

"I FINISHED READING 'IS' LAST NIGHT, AND I HAVE TO SAY IT IS AN ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT READ.I COULDN'T PUT IT DOWN.IT CAME IN THE POST EARLY YESTERDAY MORNING, I DITCHED THE DEAN KOONTZ I WAS HALFWAY THROUGH AND GOT RIGHT INTO THIS INSTEAD.

THE STORY IS CRAM PACKED FULL OF MATERIAL WHICH WOULD INSPIRE IN-DEPTH PHILOSOPHICAL DEBATE AROUND THE MAIN SUBJECT AREAS IN THE BOOK,THOSE OF LIFE, LOVE AND DEATH.THE WRITING IS IMPRESSIVE AND I CAN DEFINITELY SEE THIS ON THE BEST SELLER LIST BEFORE TOO LONG. IN FACT, I HAVE READ BOOKS ALREADY BEST SELLERS WHICH I DON'T THINK ARE HALF AS GOOD AS THIS.

SCOTT LANGSTON IS A MARVEL AT PUTTING INTO WORDS HIS CHARACTERS' INNERMOST THOUGHTS AND MOTIVES. THE BOOK IS WRITTEN USING MAINLY DIALOGUE BETWEEN THE MAIN CHARACTERS AS WELL AS THE INGENIOUS INNER DIALOGUE AND DREAM SEQUENCES OF MARTIN, WHO I SEE TO BE HIS MAIN CHARACTER. THE STORY IS SAD AND BEAUTIFUL AT THE SAME TIME, AND ULTIMATELY INSPIRATIONAL. I HAVE READ MANY HUNDREDS OF NOVELS, VERY FEW OF WHICH HAVE LEFT QUITE AS BIG AN IMPRESSION ON ME AS THIS ONE.
READING GROUPS WOULD LOVE THIS NOVEL, PLENTY TO DISCUSS WITHIN ITS PAGES. I CAN ALSO SEE 'IS' AS A SUGGESTED READING FOR PHILOSOPHY CLASSES AS WELL AS LITERATURE CLASSES.

MY OLD PHILOSOPHY LECTURER SUGGESTED 'SOPHIE'S WORLD' TO MY CLASS,BUT I FOUND IT WAS MORE OF A TEXTBOOK TRYING HARD TO BE A NOVEL BUT FAILING MISERABLY.'IS', ON THE OTHER HAND IS A SKILLFULLY WRITTEN, BEAUTIFULLY DESCRIPTIVE STORY IN THE FIRST INSTANCE WITH A VERY STRONG PHILOSOPHICAL CURRENT RUNNING THROUGHOUT ITS PAGES. I WOULD PLACE THIS ONE IN MY TOP 10 READS OF ALL TIME. 9/10

BUY THIS BOOK, YOU WON'T REGRET IT!

YOU MAY NEED YOUR HANKIES AT THE READY DURING THE FIRST TWO CHAPTERS,I DID! I WOULD ALSO SUGGEST TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE SIGNED COPIES WHILST YOU CAN. "

What more can I say? Thank you - you know who you are...

Getting things moving...

It looks like my children's book - Benny and Binny - will be published within a month. As I'm working with Grade 5 at school on an Exhibition on Children's Rights, it seemed only natural that I could advertise and sell the book, giving away a percentage of profits to one of the charities identified by the kids.

Similarly, I am going to move the last copies I have of my book 'Is' through a charity event at school supporting WAR (Wildlife at Risk) which is a local charity combating traffic in and mistreatment of endangered species. I shall be signing copies of the book and donating a percentage of profits once again. After that, I shall let Amazon and Barnes and Noble do their best - I'm not a salesman and I find the necessary self-promotion side of being an author most disagreeable. Maybe I should find an agent...

Thailand

We are making the relatively easy move from Vietnam to Thailand. Closer to 'home' by about an hour...

It is a relief to know where we are headed - uncertainty can be tiring.

Senses

I can see: my keyboard, a little grubby, I note. Dust and stuff between the keys. It needs cleaning. A hastily scribble telephone number on a scrap of white paper – belong to? No idea. There’s a red-and-white airways envelope from Tahiti, where a friend is doing a six month residential course in air traffic control. The postcard it contained is up above the computer screen: Moorea, looking temptingly idyllic. My mouse is flashing red – AGAIN – informing me that it wants more batteries. I must get hold of a charger and rechargeables. There’s a coffee mat with a sepia illustration of Bolingey, Cornwall which was a gift from my dad last time we visited. A half-empty cylindrical case of blank CDs, a rubber (eraser, if that made you smile) a permanent marker, a diary and a wad of A4 paper make up the ensemble that is my desktop.

I can feel: the pain in my back and neck. Omnipresence. It is occupying more and more of me. As I concentrate, I can sense also a mild tingling in my fingertips, and of course the pressure as each key is hit. A trickle of sweat begins its journey down my back. As the fan reaches the edge of its arc, a brief respite of cool air reaches the left side of my head and body. And then there’s the pain in my back and neck…

I can hear: The electric shutters next door grindingly open to greet the day. The strains of Bach, oddly enough, coming from somewhere way behind the house. And now a taxi, struggling to squeeze passed the bikes parked outside and resorting to his horn. Padlocks being unlocked. And some one spitting loudly.

I can taste: the memory of the carrot and ginger juice I made myself ten minutes ago.

I can smell: hmm, my weak suit. Not much really. Even concentrating, I am unaware of any smells.

Re-cognise

To recognise me, you must first know me again. Re-cognise. First, you must believe there is a God to know. Second, you have to be open to new ideas about me. Third, and this is the biggie, you need to be ready to embrace a God who embraces you, without condition.

Ask yourself every day, ‘Is this Who I Am?’. Every decision you make is not a decision about what to do, but a decision about Who You Are. The other five word magic question is, ‘What would Love do now?’

If you require a certain result to be happy, you have an addiction. If you simply desire a certain result, you have a preference. If you have no preference, you have Acceptance. And you have achieved Mastery.

Suffering has nothing to do with events, but your reactions to them. What’s happening is merely what’s happening. How you feel about it – how you choose to feel about it – is another matter. Can you simply accept what ‘Is’?

Bits pinched from Neale Donald Walsch…

There is only what there is

There is only now

There is only your life

Your happiness

Your desires

Your existence

The rest is background scenery.

Whilst it can be very nice,

Interesting even,

It’s not you.

It’s not Who You Are.

It’s Who You Were

Perhaps,

Or Who You Could Be

Maybe

But right now,

Today

Who You Are is Who You Choose To Be.

Who do you choose to be?

Just back from an exhausting but enjoyable school camp to Hoi An. The odd quirk about this lovely little town is that it has the highest concentration of tailor shops in the world. So the kids kept buying us ties - decent silk ties for only 1 or 2$ are a bargain, and we now have many of them! They were impressed that we wore them on camp.

Hoi An is a world heritage site. When I first went there over 5 years ago there was a choice of 3 hotels. Now there are over a hundred. The over-reliance on tourism is scary. There clearly is money around now, but I dread to think what another Asian market crash or Bird Flu scare would do to the people here. I wonder for how much longer we shall still see buffaloes roaming down the beach...

DIY publishing in Vietnam

I have just discovered that I can get print-ready PDF files published in book form on single-book digital file basis here in Vietnam!

I researched self-publishing for the children's book I finished, and the lowest quotes came in at almost $2000. I can do the same job here for a fraction of that - the only difference being the lack of an ISBN number. How important is that? Well, for my purposes (a few sales to people I know and then review copies and carrots for a real publishing contract) this will do more than adequately. I'm quite excited - not least because I have three other children's book ready to go once I have sorted out illustrations.

Let's not get too carried away - this is Vietnam and I've only had email contact so far. Samples and definitive quotes to come next week...