Monday, 2 June 2014

Mystery model parts #13 & #14

The hard brick of DAS putty has spent some time soaking and once it became soft enough I was able to break it down and use it again. 

So time to get started again on the mystery model. 

I’ve misplaced the note book with the designs in but I still know how the model goes together. 



Two ground floor corner pieces are going to be stone work. (These are #13 & 14 on the plan.)

I smothered the pieces with PVA glue then spread the putty over. 




Left it a few minutes to dry out slightly then carved the stone pattern into semi dry putty, then left them to dry out.



It’s not much, but it’s a step in the right direction.





Next article in this series: Mystery Model Takes Shape
Previous article in this series: New Mystery Model, parts #9, #16 & #18


Sunday, 1 June 2014

Karl’s Clock is Ticking

As the third and final part of the Karl Trilogy goes into its second draft now is a good time to join the adventure, especially since this week both volumes are available in the Kindle store on the Kindle CountdownDeals.

Kindle countdown deals start low then the price slowly rises back up to the original price during the run of the deal.  So why not try something new for summer.


Book 1 will run for 99p on Amazon UK and for $1.66 on Amazon.com for the whole week, you have until Saturday night.




Book 2 starts at the same price as book 1 but only for a couple of days before it rises to £1.99 ($2.65 approx*) on Tuesday night, then remains at that price until the end of the deal next Saturday night.





(*) I don’t  have the exact US price step available to me since I am UK based.

A postcard from Miltonburg

PS I’ll be posting an update to the mystery model quite soon.


Friday, 23 May 2014

Where has all the time gone?

"Oh My Giddy Aunt," as the Second Doctor was heard to say a few times. It’s nearly half past May and this blog is looking sparser than a, well a 1976 reservoir. 

Sorry, sorry I had planned and intended to be far better this year, but time, tide and stuff...

I’ve been so absorbed in getting the final part of Karl’s trilogy finished everything else has gone by the wayside. No model work has been done, no book reviews written. Although I have been reading and here is the pile of books waiting for the reviews to be penned.

There are a couple in the pile I really want to rave about so I might just cherry pick them out first.

As far as model making goes, that mystery model is still cluttering up the kitchen. I did try to turn my attention to it the other day and went in search of the putty stuff to make some stone walls and it was hard as rock. I couldn't even chisel any off.

However, all does not appear to be lost, I’ve left it soaking for a few days and it appears to be coming back to life. So you never know, I might just get round to it one day soon. But not this bank holiday, this coming bank holiday my attention has to go to getting the garden fence fixed. Grrrrr!!!





So, Karl. First draft is done. I say first draft; it’s the first draft I let my read through team see. It’s more like a third draft. The first always hand written – call me old fashioned but pencil to paper is still the best way for me to get those initial ideas out of my head. Draft two comes when that gobbledegook and illegible scrawl is typed up. The third follows a complete read through and the attack of the red pen. Then others get to see and comment.

Let’s just say I’m already working on the fourth draft...



If you want to know more about what is happening with the books then pop over to Karl’s Facebook page, give it a like and the more likes we get then the more we can do with the page.


Or if you prefer the little blue Twitter bird then give me and/or Karl a follow @djkettlety  for my general weird grumblings or @karlaxilion for book news and Karl’s own occasional messages from Miltonburg.

Catch you soon, and that’s a promise.

Derek

Sunday, 5 January 2014

Karl Birthday Offer


Since January 6th is according to the Christmas story the day the wise men actually arrived at the manger, the end of the 12 days of Christmas, and the birth date of Joan of Arc I thought I'd celebrate. 

Okay there is another reason - it's my birthday also.

So on 6th Jan for one day only there is a 24 hour special offer on both installments of the Karl trilogy published so far on the Kindle.





Jan 6th prices

Book 1 Birth of Mystery & Book 2  The Lost Adventurer
 $1.63 on Amazon.com  & 99p on Amazon.co.uk

Sorry but these are the only markets we can set up special offers on.




Friday, 3 January 2014

Book review November & December 2013

A little late but never-the-less the last of last year's book reviews.

The Clone Rebellion - Republic (Book 1)
ISBN: 9781781167137
The Clone Rebellion - Rogue (Book 2)  
ISBN: 9781781167168

By Steven L Kent

The first two novels in the Clone Rebellion series follow the struggles of Private first-class Wayson Harris as he climbs the ranks of the military which now uses cloned troops for most of the grunt work. 

It is the year 2508 and humans now occupy six arms of Milky Way but it is not all peace and harmony. Rebellion appears to come from many quarters and Harris has to decide which side if any he is on.

The second book takes the story in a new direction, however where as the first made me want to move straight on to the second, by the time I reached the conclusion of that I felt the need to take a break before seeking out the third part.






I felt a bit removed from the characters by the end of the second. This may have been deliberate since the story is told in the first person and Harris is very suited as a loner character that when any suggestion of a relationship might arise it feels very alien.












Doctor Who: Summer Falls and Other Stories
Credited Authors: Amelia Williams, Melody Malone, Justin Richards
ISBN 9781849907231

Summer Falls by Amelia Williams
(Inspired by the Doctor Who episode 'The Bells of Saint John')

The Angel's Kiss by Melody Malone
(Inspired by the Doctor Who episode, 'The Angels Take Manhattan')

Devil in the Smoke, as recounted by Mr Justin Richards
(Inspired by the Doctor Who episode, 'The Snowmen')
  
Three very different stories, none of which explicitly feature the Doctor although that is not to say he doesn't make an appearance possibly incognito. The first two stories are stories suggested to have been written by characters in the series both 'ghost written' by two well established voices of Doctor Who literature. Here James Goss writes for Amelia Williams and Justin Richards for Melody Malone. All three give very different styled entertaining reads. The Angel's Kiss by Melody Malone is rich with innuendo that the joke might be lost on younger readers but it is impossible not to hear the great Alex Kingston's voice in your head as you read this story in voice of Riversong.





Tuesday, 24 December 2013

Merry Christmas

The Christmas display this year has come from the Lego Winter Village collection, and the City Advent Calendar.



The village I've collected over the last few years comprises of a post office, toy shop, bakers, cottage and a winter market and merry-go-round that with a turn of a handle also rotates.






However I must say the festive spirit in Lego City is a bit of a worry. Alongside the snowman, festive table and toys under the tree quite early on you got a policeman and a burglar. 

Not exactly keeping in with the spirit of the season I'd say personally considering other variations of the minifigures they have produced over the years.











Anyway all the best 
Derek


ps. The last book review of the year will follow shortly.

Book review September & October 2013


Australian Ghost Stories
(Tales of Mystery & the Supernatural)
selected by and includes an exclusive Introduction by James Doig.
ISBN-13: 978-1840226416


A collection of short stories with an Australian connection, whether by settlers or their decedents. Across this collection there are a couple of stories that draw on mythology for Australia, like The Bunyip, but the others are very general and do not draw on what could have been offered by the history and culture of the island. . For the low cover price on these books it is worth a read.







Titan Books
Sherlock Holmes - The Stuff of Nightmares
James Lovegrove
ISBN-13: 978-1781165416

In the autumn of 1890 a strange figure haunts the streets of London, this strange figure is the scourge of the crime world, but Holmes does not believe he is all that he seems, so when he is called in by Mycroft to investigate a series of bombings in the capital Sherlock's attention is directed at the new apparent champion of the people. A story more in the steam puck nature of the Rodney Downey Jr style Holmes than the Jeremy Brett TV adaptations of the original Conan Doyle stories.





Tales of Mystery & the Supernatural 
- Wordsworth Editions Ltd
The Tangled Skein
By David Stuart Davies
ISBN-13: 978-1840225273

I usually have some doubts when there is a merging of different characters from different works come together but fortunately this does keep the voice of Dr Watson. Holmes takes a lot of convincing when Van Helsing arrives with an account that Dracular is on the prowl. Holmes's investigations return him then to Dartmoor, the setting for Hound of the Baskervilles. An enjoyable read.







Sherlock Holmes and the Hentzau Affair
By David Stuart Davies
ISBN-13: 978-1840225488

This one is the Sherlock Holmes equivalent of the Prisoner of Zenda with Holmes pulled into a story of  royal inheritance, love and betrayal in the Ruritanian court. A pacy and exciting tale one Dr Watson would have been proud of.