Paranormal City is unlike any other city or maybe it isn’t, it could be that this city is also here; unseen in the city we inhabit but hiding in plain sight, sharing its existence but in a different way to the one it lives within.
Paranormal City’s inhabitants walk our streets in a form of normality we recognise, rubbing shoulders with the daily commuters, sharing our places and lives but they are in some way different. These are the werewolves, shapeshifters, vampires, cyborgs, demons and creatures which only become strange to us when assuming their other, true hidden identity.
Paranormal City becomes the battleground of a titanic struggle between strange forces and creatures. It is a fascinating tale and a damn good read.
Hopefully, these creatures are purely a work of fiction.
After reading several self-help books of which this is one, I was sceptical. Most of those I had read promised much but delivered very little in the way of help.
Stephen thought there was a gap in the market, a gap between planning and implementation. While there is any number of books about setting goals; grand plans and ideas remain just that; unless there is a clear strategy to turn those plans, ideas and dreams into reality.
Unleash your Dreams is different it gives clear guidance, with links to further useful tools and forms online. It clearly explains the way forward in clear unambiguous language and is an easy read.
Mr Oliver has brought his experience in writing guidance manuals and teaching, often complex subjects to this useful book with great effect.
If you want to unleash those dreams; lose weight, write a book, run a marathon or have settled on some other goal, this is the book to help you make your dreams a reality.
Stephen Oliver, one of the book’s contributing authors gave me the heads up on this terrific collection.
The Generalist is Stephen’s contribution and thoroughly deserves its place in this book with the other excellent stories. Stephen’s stories are always unusual and quirky not only displaying an orignality of thought but also quality writing.
A cousin of mine named Startruck her favourite in an earlier collection “Where the Wild Winds Blow.” Another book showcasing some of Stephen’s work.
So what of the other stories? they were all exceptionally good but I particularly enjoyed Preacher by Lisa Diaz Meyer and The Felinedae Mission by Debbie De Louise, those who have cats would regard this as entirely plausible.
Stephen was kind enough to buy my book and has given me this wonderful five star review on Amazon, he has also posted it on his own blog too. I write not just for my own pleasure but hopefully to entertain others, it is gratifying for me when I have succeeded.
Killing Time in Cambridge
This is not part of my publishing career, but I would like to promote a novel written by a friend of mine, Philip Cumberland.
It is a cross between a time-travel adventure and a police procedural, with intense descriptions of local colour. The premise is fascinating, and the execution extremely well done.
The tale gripped me from the beginning because of the interesting, quirky characters, like Arnold, Sylvia… and, of course, Marvin. Their interactions were believable, and the character-building using dialogue was credible. The world-building, basing itself on the real Cambridge and the countryside of the Fens as it did, brought a touch of reality to an otherwise bizarre and twisted tale. Well, time travel will do that to a story.
If you like stories that are a bit out of the ordinary (and time travel and police procedural under one roof are extraordinary), you should enjoy this journey into the past… er, future? Um, whenever…!
Oh, and I loved that little plot twist at the end, hinting as it does to a possible sequel.
The author assures me that he has made every trip mentioned, been to every scene described, and walked (and timed) every outing within the city. I have not spent much time in Cambridge, but I can visualise how it was on the days of the murders…
If you’re looking for something different and interesting, I can thoroughly recommend it.
Stephen is a member of our local U3A writing group.
He is an excellent writer. His stories are well written articulate and above all entertaining. Most of Stephen’s work is within the Science Fantasy genre it is always a good read.
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about submissions to agents and publishers, given that I’m sending out three different books and a whole bunch of short stories to them. I have come to several conclusions about how much work is involved, what information you need to know, and how much preparation you need to undertake.
I’ll call the agents and publishers AP’s to shorten the article.
I now have around a dozen different versions of my manuscripts on the computer. Some AP’s want double-spaced, others 1.5 lines spacing. Some want Times New Roman, others Courier New. Some want indented paragraphs, others require no indentation, but want an extra 6 point space at the end of the paragraph. And so it goes.
Then comes the file formats: .txt, .doc, .docx, .rtf., .pdf. Attached to email, embedded within it, or uploaded via the submissions page. In the latter case there are often length limits on the number of words or characters in the upload space, often not stated.
How much do the AP’s want? 5 pages? 10 pages? 30 pages? 3 chapters? 50 pages or 3 chapters, whichever is the shorter? The whole manuscript? (Hurrah, but don’t count your chickens yet; I’ve been rejected at this point, too.)
The bios: short, long, one-liners. How much do they want to know?
Publishing histories; what have you already go out there? Short stories or books? Self-published or traditional?
Social media links. Are you on Facebook? Pinterest? Twitter? Instagram? Are there any interviews available? If so, where? What are the links?
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