Tom – Page 122

All together now ... on my Author's Pages — All together now … on my Author’s Pages

If you are in the UK, and involved in self-publishing, this is for you. The Self-Publishing Conference 2014, is taking place on Sunday 30th March in Leicester.

The sessions available include: working successfully with bookshops and libraries, creating the best media pitch, importance of an author website, writing a successful press release, and much more.

The conference is an all day affair, complete with breaks and lunch. At only £55, I believe it’s money well-spent for any self-publishing author, whether working on adult material, or children’s books.

Even if we don’t take all the advice that’s offered to us, we owe it to ourselves to find out what is on offer out there, and this has to be one of the most beneficial days any self-published author could spend. It’s being held on a Sunday, so negates the need for taking a day off work, if like me, you still have a ‘day job’, of however many hours.

This is one of my shortest posts, but I think it’s important to get the word out there. If you’re a writer in the UK – check it out. All the details you might need are obtainable on the link.

It’s one day and it could do so much for you.

The Self-Publishing Conference 2014

Treasure Island Cottage - Braemar — Treasure Island Cottage – Braemar

If you’re wondering why this review is supported by the picture of an old building, it’s quite simple. The picture shows ‘Treasure Island Cottage’, which is situated in the tiny, but beautiful village of Braemar amidst the Scottish Highlands. I had the good fortune to rent the cottage for a week in October 2013. On the front of the building is a plaque, assuring the visitor that the great Robert Louis Stevenson wrote part of the book whilst he lived there.

I first read Treasure Island away back in … 1966,the Football World Cup year when England won the tournament. I was 14 then, and wasn’t interested in English football, which is just as well, because my father would have disowned me. I digress.

If the task of the writer is to suspend belief, and whisk the reader to some other place and time, then RLS has succeeded with this timeless tale of adventure, mutiny, treasure hunting, and summary justice.

Did I read this book again at the age of 60 to see if I could learn anything to aid my writing? No, I read it quite simply, because I remembered I enjoyed it for the escapism and pure entertainment it gave me as a teenager. It provided those same things for me all over again.

The characters are well-drawn, and come to life as the story unfolds. The twists and turns are as good as any modern author could produce, and even if there is no intention to learn anything; I think all writers could learn from reading it – as adults.

There is no problem with the dialect, because the way the characters express themselves becomes part-and-parcel of bringing the tale to life. Sufficient imagery is provided to have the reader believe they are observing the events, but nothing over the top.

It’s a wonderful tale which I would recommend to any who have yet to read it. As much as I tried to make the pleasure of it last, I read it in two days.

I have a yearning now to read ‘Kidnapped’, which I last read all those years ago when I went through my first phase of admiration for Robert Louis Stevenson‘s work.