Getting back to work

I decided to take a summer break...well from my latest novel.  I am still finishing TEEN TIME and should have it out on the shelves by the end of the month.  I am currently reviewing "Night of the Cossack". It's a great story and the writing is captivating.  I haven't finished reading it but I am enjoying it so far.  The author writes from a western perspective of Russian history...what does that mean? It means that our history is biased towards our understanding of religion and politics. If you read Russian history in Russia, you get a different feeling and view of world history. I'll write more about this when I finish the book.

Angel above the sea

My new novel (in progress) is becoming more interesting as I research into the Japanese occupation of Shanghai in the 1930s. Apart from the hagiography of this period i.e. St John of Shanghai, I am finding interesting facts about the Japanese Army and Chinese ancestor worship. I am also amazed how characters take on a life of their own...I know I have some memorable heroes and heroines, plus a tragic hero...a bit like Captain Ahmet Ali in The Landing Place.  BTW The Landing Place  www.creativecopy.us/lp.html is now published by Pokrov Press. I am very pleased with the new cover and the fact that I get all the royalties this time.  Any way back to work and less blogging!

I hear that Disney is offering chocolate frogs at its $250 million theme park based on Harry Potter. I thought the US was in recession but apparently there is still oodles of money around and some people will always find the cash to enjoy their particular brand of fantasy. I found the first HP book a good read. The prose was lean (just as I like it) and it was a clever story. It reminded me of Enid Blyton and her naughty pixies….not literally, but it had a simple ring about it. I would recommend HP as a fun read but not call it a classic. I don’t expect that Disney will turn my novel into a film that breaks the box office nor do I envisage a theme park, complete with a Russian SB-6 bi-plane and a concrete replica of Mt Ararat...and chocolate snakes.    A Supernatural Adventure

Latest writing doodles

What am I doing these day? I often ask myself this question about my creative writing. Hey. All writing is creative, isn't it, even your tax form..?

Well, the big project is my new non-fiction (and I've almost completed it) called TEEN TIME: Spending quality time with your cyber-savvy teen.

I believe there is a need for a guide for parents to the Internet. We are, after all, living in the 21st century, the new digital world.  As parents we surely need to know what our teens are up to?  I am covering the pros and cons of social networking, surfing, games, with an appendix on fantasy/sex addiction and the new princess narcissism.

I am writing TEEN TIME for a secular audience but I am also writing some articles, based on the book, for a Christian readership.

And I'm working on a new novel for teens about Shanghai in 1936-37. It tells of the lives of street kids, a Japanese Officer and a mysterious Russian bishop.

The Road to Deer Run

I don't usually read romance novels but this story by Elaine Cooper is an exceptional tale. It is a story of sacrificial love written from the heart. Elaine uses the imagery of nature to create mood and tension. She couples compassion with suspense as a local colonial girl tends for an enemy Red Coat. What I found very moving was that this story is based on true events. And what's more, Elaine, herself if a direct descendant of the soldier, Daniel Prince. I think you will find it a read that you won't be able to put down.