Book Review: SPARTACUS by Lewis Grassic Gibbon

The classic tale of a true hero.

The slaves of Rome are launching a revolt against their cruel Roman masters and there is only one man capable of

leading them into battle.

His name is Spartacus.

Reprinted by Hesperus Classics 26 June 2014

The Spartacus legend has been re-told many times by everyone from Stanley Kubrick (in 1960, with Kirk Douglas as the unlikely Thracian hero) to more recent accounts by Ben Kane (2012) and the strangely compelling ‘Starz’ cable TV version (with Australian actor Liam McIntyre, on 'location' in New Zealand). It is refreshing, therefore, to return to the original 1933 novel by Scottish author James Leslie Mitchell under his pen name of Lewis Grassic Gibbon.

Fast-paced, the original Spartacus novel recreates a real sense of how Roman decadence was almost overthrown by an army of over 90,000 former slaves, led by what must have been an exceptional man. Mitchell pulls no punches in the brutal fighting scenes and a surprisingly modern recognition of the role and influence of women on the slave army shows he was ahead of his time. I can imagine this book must have raised a few eyebrows in 1933, as it tackles topics that are often avoided even today. 

The charismatic central character of Spartacus remains mysterious, rarely speaking and seen mostly through the eyes of those around him. It is no spoiler to note that Spartacus does not have a happy ending - and the final scenes on the Appian Way (the main road into Rome) are more harrowing than anything Hollywood has so far represented. Nevertheless, Mitchell is a great storyteller and I highly recommend this original tale of courage and loyalty, love and death in one of the all-time great historical fiction novels. 

Tony Riches

# # #  

About the Author

Lewis Grassic Gibbon was born James Leslie Mitchell in 1901 in Aberdeenshire. Spending most of his childhood in Arbuthnott, a farming community south of Aberdeen in Scotland. Mitchell left school early after arguments with the school authorities to work as a journalist in Aberdeen and Glasgow. He joined the army, which enabled him to travel to the Middle East and Egypt, which fuelled his interest in ancient civilisations and inspired his first short stories. From 1930 to 1934, Mitchell wrote eleven novels, two books of short stories and three anthropological books before his untimely death in 1935. 

Book Launch: The Rose Master by Valentina Cano @valca85

Available now on Amazon US and Amazon UK

The day Anne Tinning turns seventeen, birds fall from the sky. But that's hardly the most upsetting news. She's being dismissed from the home she's served at since she was a child, and shipped off to become the newly hired parlor maid for a place she's never heard of. And when she sees the run-down, isolated house, she instantly knows why:

There's something wrong with Rosewood Manor.

Staffed with only three other servants, all gripped by icy silence and inexplicable bruises, and inhabited by a young master who is as cold as the place itself, the house is shrouded in neglect and thick with fear. Her questions are met with hushed whispers, and she soon finds herself alone in the empty halls, left to tidy and clean rooms no one visits.

As the feeling of being watched grows, she begins to realize there is something else in the house with them--some creature that stalks the frozen halls and claws at her door. A creature that seems intent on h arming her.

When a fire leaves Anne trapped in the manor with its Master, she finally demands to know why. But as she forces the truth about what haunts the grounds from Lord Grey, she learns secrets she isn't prepared for. The creature is very real, and she's the only one who can help him stop it. 

Now, Anne must either risk her life for the young man she's grown to admire, or abandon her post while she still can.

 # # #

About the Author

Valentina Cano was born in Uruguay, South America, and now lives in Miami. She is a classical singer who enjoys reading and writing about impossible Gothic romances. Her poetry has been featured in literary magazines and her debut novel, THE ROSE MASTER, is published in 2014 by REUTS Publishing.

Find out more at her website and find her on Facebook and Twitter @valca85

Guest Post ~ Mining for Gold: Putting Reviews to Good Use By Jo Sparkes

“Don’t you just love it when you take on a novel …

and find a hidden gem!”

The Birr Elixir: Available on Amazon US and Amazon UK

There’s a free tool available to authors brave enough – or smart enough – to use it. It’s those reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.

True, many of us prefer counting the five star ratings and ignoring all else. After all, if the reviewer didn’t recognize our talent, what use is the opinion? And some tend to despair over a bad review to a point where they can’t bear to look at them.

Yet these thoughts from a reader’s perspective are valuable mirrors of our craft. They can be turned to good account. All it takes is realizing that every writer, even a New York Times bestseller, gets criticized. The difference in professionals and amateurs is not the criticism received – it’s the way they handle it.

Let me repeat. The difference in professionals and amateurs is not the criticism received – it’s the way they handle it.

Here’s how to get the most out of a review.

First, look for logical points that could be addressed. If someone writes, “the main character was inconsistent”, you may or may not agree, but it is fixable. On the other hand, a review saying “it sucked, sucked, sucked!” says nothing. There’s no meaningful information to do something about, or even prove the reviewer read the book.

It’s useless. Toss it aside and move on.

Notice common threads. When multiple reviews hint at the same thought, you’ve got smoke from the proverbial fire. Perhaps one review talks of the book ‘dragging in the middle’, and a second mentions ‘hooked me right on page one, almost lost me when they got to the castle, but then the ending really caught me in the twists and excitement.’ The second review feels much better – but don’t they both hint at shoring up the middle of the story? When different people identify the same idea, chances are there’s something to it.

Once you’ve identified these logical points, consider them. They don’t mean you must change the book – in fact they may not even be valid. But take the time to really think about each point before dismissing it. Often the points that feel a little painful have some core of truth.

Don’t despair – address them. Read a book on characters, take a good class that catches your eye. Read a book by someone considered great at this point, and see what they do. Use what you learn in your next book.

The last step is the most important. Once you’ve mined any logical points, once you’ve weighed them and chosen what to do, you’re finished. Move on.

There’s a tendency to cling to bad reviews. We want to punish ourselves, especially if we perceive we ‘made a mistake.’ Having learned from it, however, it’s time to let it go. Start looking for your next opportunity to grow.

Because ultimately, there is no better way to improve your reviews than to improve your writing. 

Jo Sparkes

 # # #

About the Author

A well-known Century City Producer once said that Jo Sparkes “…writes some of the best dialogue I’ve read.”  Her  body of work includes scripts for Children’s live-action and animated television programs, a direct to video Children’s DVD, commercial work for corporate clients. She won the 2012 Kay Snow award for her screenplay, Frank Retrieval.

She’s written numerous articles for internet sites. As a member of the Pro Football Writer’s Association, she was a contributing writer for the Arizona Sports Fans Network, where she was known for her humorous articles, player interviews and game coverage. Jo was unofficially the first to interview Emmitt Smith when he arrived in Arizona to play for the Cardinals. 

She served as an adjunct teacher at the Film School at Scottsdale Community College, and wrote “Feedback  How to Give It  How to Get It” for writers, actors, and other artists. Find out more at Jo's website http://josparkes.com/ and you can find her on Twitter @Sparkes777

Special Guest Post ~ Why Write A Trilogy? by Patricia Bracewell

A rich tale of power and forbidden love revolving around a young medieval queen

Set in England when Vikings are on the brink of invasion,

this is an epic tale of seduction, war, and unrequited love

from an outstanding new voice in historical fiction

Available on Amazon US and Amazon UK

Trilogies. Some people love them, devouring them voraciously and then looking around eagerly for more. Others find them annoying, perhaps considering them an irritating trend or maybe a tactic by an author to pad a perfectly adequate book with enough filler that it can be released in three separate volumes, thereby earning piles of money (hah!) for its avaricious author.

Frankly, when I decided to write a trilogy about Emma of Normandy, I had no ulterior motives. I was simply trying to figure out the best way to tell what I hoped would be a gripping tale.

Emma lived well into her sixties, perhaps even into her seventies (we’re not certain of her birth year). Either way, she lived a very long life. I decided at the outset that I had no wish to write a novel that would cover her entire lifespan, mostly because I didn’t know how to do it without diluting the drama inherent in her story. I knew from my research that there were two distinct periods of Emma’s life that were fraught with conflict: Sixteen or so years in the first quarter of the 11^th century when she first arrived in England as the adolescent bride of King Æthelred, and another nine-year span much later in her life when she was probably about fifty years old. All of these years were marked by massive unrest and political upheaval in England, but it was the earlier period that really intrigued me. I wanted to explore the difficulties that Emma would face as a young, foreign queen; I wanted to imagine the turmoil of that time – not from the point of view of a king or a warrior, but from the point of view of a woman.

Because the women obviously were there, although their experiences have gone largely unrecorded.  I hoped to explore what Emma must have lived through and to stay very close to her, writing a story that would reflect the turbulent history that she witnessed and the emotions she must have experienced. It seemed to me that I could only do that if I whittled those sixteen years down into more manageable chunks.

So I divided them into three. The first book, Shadow on the Crown, spans only three years, but the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle entries of that time are chock full of dire events that needed explaining, dramatizing, and re-imagining, not just through Emma’s eyes but also from the viewpoints of a few select characters who I included to broaden the story. Once written, the book was no easy sell.  A debut author isn’t likely to find a publishing house willing to take on a book that goes beyond a certain word count – that’s just a fact of publishing life. And so that first manuscript – infinitely shorter than if I had written a tome covering sixty years instead of three  – had to be cut even more.

Now that the second book, The Price of Blood, is completed and in the pipeline toward publication, I can reveal that it begins about a year after the final events in Shadow on the Crown, and that it covers a further seven years of Emma’s story. Frankly, this sequel doesn’t end where I originally intended. A certain character tried very hard to wrest control of the plot line and make it all about her. I had to fight her every step of the way, and I ended up adding scenes just to get her to behave. That’s called revision and it, too, is a fact of publishing life.

As for the third book, I’ll be getting started on that very soon. It will take Emma’s story about six years further into her future. And after that? Well, I have to get a little further into my own future before I can answer that.

 Patricia Bracewell

# # #

About the Author

Patricia Bracewell was born and raised in Los Angeles and majored in English Literature.A Masters Degree was followed by a California teacher’s credential and she taught high school English. Eventually moving to the San Francisco Bay Area, she  met and married a Canadian and now has two sons.

Her passion for writing began with short stories before she fulfilled a long ambition when she discovered an English queen whose name was unfamiliar. Intrigued, Patricia began research, including journeys to England and France  - and wrote  the novel that became Shadow on the Crown. The first book in a trilogy, Patricia has now completed the second, The Price of Blood. She will be the Writer-In-Residence at Gladstone's Library in Hawarden, Wales this year from 27 October to 10 November, participating in Gladstone's weekend Hearth Festival as well as conducting a day-long Fiction Writing Workshop. Find out more at http://www.patriciabracewell.com/ and find her on Twitter

@patbracewell and Facebook.

Increase your readership with oAuthor

After the initial excitement of your launch comes the challenge of helping new readers ‘discover’ your book. A great review can boost sales and there is what has been called the ‘Amazon Effect’ where books can soar up the rankings - but do you wonder about all the potential readers who prefer other e-readers than Kindle? In this new series of posts, I’ll be looking at some of the new sites offering authors a page where they can promote their work and make it easier for readers to buy their books.

Based in Ireland, oAuthor (see http://www.oauthor.com/) aims to put indie authors back in control of the book selling process and already has over 380 authors and 1,100 books represented in 2014. It is free to use and only charges a small transaction fee for every book the author sells directly, to cover the cost of using the services and any credit card transaction.  

The site was created by Nuala Moran, author of 27Secrets, who told me, “Once I actively marketed my book I began to see sales and my dream of making a living from writing blossomed. Out of habit, I defaulted to directing all my readers to the Amazon store.”  This is when her OMG moment happened. By a single link to one book selling page, she could offer readers a simple choice of bookstores and downloads.

Some authors sell ebooks in different formats directly from their personal websites – but the new oAuthor site takes care of that for you. I recently created oAuthor pages for each of my novels. You can see the page for my latest novel WARWICK here: https://oauthor.com/buy/bn.  It takes about five minutes to create the page (if you have all the files and info to hand) and everything is under your complete control. You can upload as many different formats of your book as you wish, for direct download by readers. You can also add links to your where book is available on Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble etc. The oAuthor Selling Page also has ‘geo-targeting’, which directs your readers to the correct Amazon store for their country.

I find the oAuthor page universal hyperlink is a useful way to raise awareness of your books on social media. It was also good to see that the site includes helpful stats about when and where in the world potential readers are viewing your books - and 'clicking through' to your other sites. To get started, simply visit www.oauthor.com and follow the on screen instructions. You can find Nuala Moran on Twitter @NualaEMoran and Facebook. 

Book Review ~ In My Wildest Dreams by Leslie Thomas

Available on Amazon UK and Amazon US

The death of Welsh author Leslie Thomas recently prompted me to re-read his autobiography In My Wildest Dreams. My copy has an updated introduction written in 2006 where Leslie Thomas recalls how he met one of his childhood friends who said, 'I'm retiring next year and I'm going to finish my book then.'  'You're writing a book?' Leslie asked. 'No,' his friend replied, 'I'm reading one.'

Leslie's great sense of humour makes this a very readable book, even though I'm sure he makes light of his very challenging early life and years spent in children's homes. I was particularly interested in how his first novel (followed by twenty-nine more) became such a worldwide best seller. It seems he had several lucky breaks, starting with the title. Based on his far eastern national service in the Army Pay Corps, it was originally going to be called The Little Soldiers  then someone suggested it should be changed to The Virgin Soldiers just before the books went to print.  A nervous BBC review editor added 'Don't leave it around where children can pick it up.' An intrigued public rushed to buy it - and the rest is history.

Leslie modestly says of The Virgin Soldiers, 'It was a beginner's book, written from the heart.' The fact is he spent years learning his craft the hard way, writing for magazines and later as a reporter on the London Evening News. He also spotted an important niche when he realised no one had previously written a novel based on national service experiences.

I really enjoyed re-reading this life-affirming story of a resourceful but penniless orphan who, through his writing, became a much-loved celebrity, (dining with Princess Diana) and am sure I will return to it sometime. I should really leave the last word to Leslie: "I overheard two old ladies talking. 'This Leslie Thomas,' one said, 'They say he can write and he's funny and charming. I can't see it myself." Her friend replied: 'Nor can I.' "    

Free on Kindle this weekend: Potholes on Memory Lane (Or So It Seems) by Robb Lightfoot

Available on Amazon Kindle

Humor is watching a sailboat sinking... when it belongs to Robb Lightfoot. Here's a collection of short, family-friendly humor about living in the country, having brain fade, rebooting a road trip, and trying to make your kids do their homework.

    About the Author

Robb Lightfoot is a humorist who teaches, writes and performs in Northern California. His work can be sampled on his website at www.robblightfoot.com or read weekly in his trademarked column, "Or So It Seems." He's married to Karin, his partner for more than 31 years. Follow Robb on Twitter @robblightfoot