Writing moods

It's strange, one day you get the urge to write as much as possible, the next absolutely nothing. You need to find the motivation from somewhere to continue. And if you lose the need, that's even worse. Until you remember why you're putting pen to paper, so to speak. And then the motivation builds up again. Got a ton of ideas while riding on the Metro this morning, but when I woke up I wanted to forget about it all. However, a few memories came back and gave me a kick in the head. I now know that whenever I will finish this 3rd book, it's going to kick some arse, maybe even put me on some secret hitlist. Better go get some life insurance...

Comments for the 3rd book

Well, it looks like I've got a few comments for the 3rd book's back cover. I think these are the 'winners'...

“Hilarious” Eponymous Rox (Bot)

 “Amazing” J.T. Bennett (Four Corners)

“Flash Gordon meets Water-world” Karen Bates (Faking it in France)

...with this one at the end...

“Heck, I’d buy it.” Leon Gower (Universal Constance)

The book is at 25,000, slowly moving forwards...

The University of Photoshop

A friend of mine mentioned he'd read that native Englishmen Photoshopped degrees to get a teaching job in a certain country. A few days later he not only found out that it was true, but the employers Photoshopped one for someone who hadn't bothered to do it before they had travelled. Now there you go...a degree is a piece of paper...

“These pieces of paper are strange. What you’re saying is a person whoever has one can get a job to teach someone else to get a piece of paper, and it's those who have a piece of paper which say whether those who wish to have a piece of paper can have a piece of paper, and then those who received a piece of paper from those who have a piece of paper can either go on to higher employment or continue to teach other people who wish to have a piece of paper..."

(Kang Dee to the Dean "The Rage of Atlantis")

1000 + views!!

Had a few days off the net and came back to over 1000 views!! Thanks :-)
Here are the stats (if you're interested).
Hungary (345), USA (265), Russia (132), UK (115), Netherlands (96), Germany (15), France (10),
Denmark (5), Canada (4), Latvia (4), and some others from Australia, Japan, Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia,
Romania, Brazil and Thailand. Russia is a BIG surprise.

I was also able to rethink the 3rd book's plot, and I got a decent comment on authonomy which tells me where to go with the re-write. Thanks Sam !!
http://authonomy.com/books/44130/the-rage-of-atlantis/

I've just seen another review on Amazon.co.uk!
The reviewer is a 'Frank Zappa', deceased rock musician extraordinaire. It's not me, I swear, though I have a good idea who it is....Thanks for the review, guy!!
And here it is...
"An interesting version of an old favourite, this story is a light and amusing version of the life of Jesus, but with a twist. Not recommended for the narrow minded or deeply religeous without a sense of humour.
To understand the full complexity of the characters and narrative you should also read (J.L.Caine's) [that's DJ Caile's, 'Frank') first book, Man by a Tree which explains in modern terms the relationship between heaven and hell when time stands still; satire at its best.
The Bethlehem Fiasco is an enjoyable read giving new light on the relationship between Jesus and his disciples and the misunderstandings that can happen in normal everyday life
Highly recommended. (5 stars) "
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/pdp/profile/ASD8DYMOQVYJ7/ref=cm_cr_dp_pdp

Almost 1000 views + Cheap Kindle editions!

Well, this blog now has over 950 views! So close to the magic number before the end of the month! 5 more days to go. I searched 'Dani J Caile' on Google and 3 pages came up. I seem to have been busy...
Amazon.co.uk....price of Kindle editions are much better now...
'man by a tree' - £3.24 , 'bethlehem fiasco' - £3.24 

 I've just got an idea for a 4th book....:-)

The hype of it all

So far, I've made my books easily available on the internet in the USA, UK and Europe, I've got one review on Amazon.com, a web interview on Hapax, I'll soon have a review on a literature website, I'm still featuring on two other author's websites, I have a couple of hits on my website per day, I keep collecting good comments on both authonomy.com and jottify.com about all 3 of my books, I ocassionally pick up another follower on twitter, I upset my friends with facebook posts about this blog, I give away ebooks, and I have at the moment anywhere between 15-40 views of this blog per day. Is this enough? No. Apparently not. Apparently, a book has to be in the shops to be bought. Does this depress me? A little. I work hard to make sure I give 100% in my writing. I know it's not Shakespeare, but it's what I can do.
I have an exam tomorrow. After that I will speed through the 3rd book and start revising. It'll be ready in maybe weeks, though probably a month. Will it do any better at editors? It should. It's a Dan Brown parody.

What does a dolphin say?

I thought a female dolphin main character would be good, but she has much more potential as a secondary.

So how does a dolphin think? I don't know, but definitely the dolphin would see things differently.

Some lines which show that this dolphin really has something special to say :-) (ha!)

“You humans swim in shallow waters”

“I am not a fish”

 “…two reasons why humans smile, either you made some money or you’re having fun, and I think that wasn’t the latter…”

"You never lose it, you know, not even after 20 million years of devolution.”

“I’m a dolphin. Knowledge is inbred.”

“No, I can’t (bring back a human). Swim up to the beach, have a look at one for yourself.”

“A degree? Is that a piece of paper?” 

 “Well, for me, swimming came with the package.” 

Rage!

A post for those on a different time...
I had trouble working out just what rage I was talking about with my title 'The Rage of Atlantis'. I always have the title first, you just fill in the blanks afterwards. I thought of a huge anger, or maybe a fashion trend. I then realised...it could be ALL meanings, from different perspectives...
...the interview? People are still hitting it, now with a new snazzy look...
http://sargakonyv.wordpress.com/2012/05/19/interview-with-dani-j-caile/
The 3rd book is growing and gaining backers...
http://www.authonomy.com/books/44130/the-rage-of-atlantis/
And the 1st and 2nd books are being translated to their original Hungarian...sorry, from their original English to Hungarian (the Hungarians might just get that :-)

Blossoming like a rose...

Yes, that's the 3rd book. It's blossoming like a rose, it even has the thorns. Just over 20k now, and I've finally figured out what to do with Drukan, the hobgoblin sidekick from 'The Bethlehem Fiasco'. Fitting in his story as we speak, it's a side-plot, but it shows another important side to the action, and keeps with continuity of the 'world of DJC'.
The interview is getting hits, and so is this blog, almost at 900 views, might make the 1000 views by the end of May...it depends on you :-)
Waiting for a promised review to happen on an official literature website...
Also approved a Hungarian translation of 'The Bethlehem Fiasco', but you'll have to wait for the result...

Goblins

Someone asked me why goblins, or more specifically, hobgoblins? Well, what inspired me to write back in November was Shakespeare, with the help of my British Literature teacher's enthusiasm for the theatre of the time; flags, standing room, open air, etc. Midsummer Night's Dream has always been a favourite of mine, and this time I realised even more the importance of Puck. And then Ariel in The Tempest. I also loved the plot changes in MSND, and could see through the Tempest as a piece which endeavoured to show Shakespeare's audience his craft throughout his career, his ability to entertain. I digress...after looking through these plays, I wanted to try my hand at writing. I got to a point where I needed a slave/worker/miracle worker, and Puck and Ariel fit the bill. 'Fairy' was just too twee, "Goblin" was too Lord of the Rings, so I took hobgoblin, which has a mischievous feel to it. Plus the fact that I have one of those stupid McDonald's Fairy backgrounds sitting on my desktop, left over from installing one of those damn games...sub-conscious conditioning, staring at it every day...:-)

Descriptions are mere info dumps

Yesterday I received a rejection letter from a small publisher about my 2nd book. They said that it was too dialogue-driven and there wasn't enough description. That's the reason why my readers like my books! There is plenty of space to think between the lines, I allow them to think and visualize the scene themselves, using their own background knowledge of the world. I don't wanna spoon-feed anyone...
"Descriptions are mere information dumps for the unimaginative reader." - Dani J Caile (21 May 2012)
You have to think when you read my books. Well, you don't have to, you can just giggle your way through :-)) Both are good :-)

10 out of 10 readers prefer DJC

So far, 100% of those who've read the first part of 'The Rage of Atlantis' have enjoyed it immensely.
If you have the time, perhaps you too can have a look, you don't need to register.
http://authonomy.com/books/44130/the-rage-of-atlantis/
If you still haven't had a look at the first 2 books, they're available there too, and you can download it from Amoazon Kindle (well, 50%, I think).
At 18,000 words now, writing is going well, though I need to have a break to study this week. But it won't stop me writing, it can't, it's an illness. Once a book is in your head, it grows and grows. Some cool ideas coming, and the storyline builds up upon itself.
Once this 3rd book is done, I'll concentrate on screenplays for all 3. My readers keep saying how visual my books are, mainly based on dialogue, so it'll be easy to turn them into movie scripts. You never know...

Looking for 1000 views total !!!

So, a little bit of limelight! An interview!
http://sargakonyv.wordpress.com/2012/05/19/interview-with-dani-j-caile/
Let's see if we can get 1000 views in total by the end of the week.
I'll post once a day and see if it happens, this blog is already at around 850 views.
Waiting on a publisher who's looking at my 2nd book.
Waiting on more comments about my 3rd :-)
Have a read yourself...
http://authonomy.com/books/44130/the-rage-of-atlantis/
My books are available throughtout Amazon now, too. It's all go!

First Interview :-)

My first online interview!!

http://sargakonyv.wordpress.com/2012/05/19/interview-with-dani-j-caile/

Writing is a lexical illness?

Writing feels like some lexical illness. An idea comes, I write it down, and another idea pops into my head when I'm away from my keyboard. Then I have to write it down, add it to the rest. After that I re-read and re-write. Then another idea comes into my head and I think 'wow' where did that come from? And I write it down.
16000 words and growing...:-)

1000 words a day

How to write? Put your fingers on the buttons and press. Hopefully the presses make words which make sentences.
Seriously...
1. Have a theme / idea / point to make
2. Brainstorm and 'flesh out' some of your ideas
3. Look at what you have and make a skeleton storyboard
4. Write write write
5. Rewrite rewrite rewrite
6. Complete :-)
So I'm in the '1000 words a day' stage 4. It's great to see the scenes appear, ideas pop out, characters grow and change. Today, the main character found out that 'humans bred out intelligence in favour of good looks' millions of years ago. And also some information about dolphins :-)

Books available on Amazon.co.uk!

Well, it didn't take 5-7 business working days, it took a few hours.
Man by a tree £5.95 (free postage in the UK with Super Saver Delivery)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Man-tree-Dani-J-Caile/dp/1468048228/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1337286138&sr=1-1
Bethlehem Fiasco £6.75 (free postage in the UK with Super Saver Delivery)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Bethlehem-Fiasco-Dani-Caile/dp/1469989158/ref=sr_1_1_title_0_main?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1337286248&sr=1-1 
This is much cheaper than it was before, it cost about  £14 from the USA to anywhere in Europe.
Maybe I'll get a few more sales...:-)
Still not available on the other European Amazon sites, but at least Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk are available now :-)

Amazon Europe!!

Createspace just made Amazon Europe available for distribution and buying!
That means my books will be printed and sent out in the UK and Europe, instead of just the USA. That will cut down the time and postage costs!
Amazon Europe includes...
Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr, Amazon.it, and Amazon.es.
So if you live in the UK or Europe (and the USA of course), you can get my books quicker and cheaper! 
I've already cut the prices of my books down to a bare minimum. 
I'd like my books to be available to be read!
It's better to be 'read' than dead.
I don't know when these websites will actually allow people to buy, probably in a few days. It's not like there's a rush...
No, it says 5-7 business days, so I'll keep you posted :-)

Punctuation is important

It's hilarious...
"An amazing story. The sentences go from long to short. A lovely use of comma's and some of the most refreshing full stops I've ever seen." Leon Gower (authonomy)
Seriously, in good poetry, punctuation is so important.
Watch this clip from the movie 'Wit', talking about John Donne's 'Death be not proud', my favourite piece of poetry, I've gotta say.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GS-m0UAB3uQ

1st comments on 3rd book

Got my 1st real comment about 'The Rage of Atlantis' today. Here it is...

"It's a Flash Gordon meets water-world, action packed and fast paced story. You could improve it further with more descriptions and an edit to make it even sharper but nothing too radical needed. If it's aimed at the young adult market then I think you have pretty much nailed it." Karen K(authonomy)

I don't know about descriptions, I like the reader to imagine what things look like, to give them room to breathe.
...and while waiting to see whether my daughter had broken her ankle or not, I wrote up the 'skeleton' storyline of the rest of the book. Will be tricky to write but well worth the journey.
Hang on a minute...a 2nd comment!


"Reading your work I can't help but think of a comic book. (and i love comic books) Have you considered teaming up with an artist who needs a solid script and story line? This could make for an excellent series. you've got a good idea and clear vision. Heck I'd buy it." Leon Gower (authonomy)


You see? There are some people out there who can see it. It's so fantastic to know that my writing can get through, that people can see what I'm trying to do here. Hope you do too :-)

First 10,000 words of 3rd book

The first 10,000 words are up to read from my 3rd book 'The Rage of Atlantis'.
Please have a read and tell me what you think, on the site, here, by my own website, whatever :-)
The best quotes will actually go on the back cover of book :-)
Hope you enjoy it.

http://authonomy.com/books/44130/the-rage-of-atlantis/

A treat...small part of 3rd book

A treat for the 700th view! Here's most of Part 13, about 5000 words into my new unfinished 3rd book, 'The Rage of Atlantis', with God talking to his personal secretary, Audrey.

..........

God had noticed. And he’d seen that Gabriel hadn’t. Or at least he hadn’t mentioned it. There was a drop, just a slight one, but enough for him to feel it. It hadn’t affected business yet, but if it continued in this manner, then questions would be asked, heads would roll, namely his.

“Audrey?” He clicked through to his personal assistant.

“Yes, sir?”

“Can you switch me through to Main Records, and put it through to my screen?”

“Of course, sir.” It was easier to ask her to do it. There was a certain protocol to run through, and he didn’t wish anyone to know that he was querying something. Tongues might wag. “There you go, sir.”

“Thanks, Audrey.” He already knew that figures were down, there were less souls coming through ‘up above’ in the last few years than before, but only Main Records had other information that was crucial to investigating why. All he had was a list of names and times which he handed to Gabriel to deal with. He knew it wasn’t Gabriel, he was such an industrious fellow.

Looking through the records, it took him only five minutes to see something, something which kept cropping up. “Audrey?”

“Yes, sir?”

“There’s a cause of death here which isn’t familiar to me.”

“What’s that then, sir?”

“Well, there’s heart attacks, strokes, cancer, accidents, toilet seats, the usual, but there’s something else I’ve never come across before.”

“And what’s that then, sir?” Audrey had to deal with God on a daily basis, sometimes it was tiring.

“What’s ‘terrorism’?”

“It’s not familiar, sir…but...hang on, I did hear it’s got something to do with another monkey trait called ‘Polysticks’.”

“Polly sticks? Oh, you mean Politics.” Abstract nouns were still difficult for God. Connecting words to objects was fine now, but words connected to nothing but an idea, that was hard.

“Yes, sir, maybe that’s the one. Yes, yes, I think so.”

“Mmm, Politics.” God thought for a definition. ”The destruction of freedom, enforcing power over selected targets of unnamed masses, profitable only to a chosen few. What has Politics got to do with this ‘terrorism’?”

“I think it’s about death, sir.”

“Well, it has to be. It’s in black and white here on the screen. It’s a cause of death.”

“Yes, sir.”....(continued in the book...authonomy.com...when there's 10,000+ words)
.............

On the right track

Completely rewrote the first 3000 words of 'Rage'. It's starting to make sense now, with the dolphin as a sidekick. Have a look if you can. It gives it a lot more scope.
http://jottify.com/works/the-rage-of-atlantis/

Prices down!

Well, the day has come!
I've put the prices down on my printed versions to rock-bottom :-)
The sole/soul purpose of a book is to be read, and this is the best I can do to make my books available to all at the cheapest price possible.
Man by a tree - $6.95 - https://www.createspace.com/3731273
The Bethlehem Fiasco - $7.50  - https://www.createspace.com/3783797
If the eStore system isn't good for you, there's always Amazon.com, but they're the reason why the books can't be any cheaper, they take so much money that I make a few cents on a sale. But the point is to get the message across, not make money :-)

Interview soon online

I've just finished answering some questions from a website interested in my 2nd book. They were pretty good questions, I hope the answers were good too. Don't know when the interview will be online, but apparently that website gets 1000 hits a day from the USA, UK and Hungary! This could be a break...I'm not getting anywhere near that many hits here or on my own website...
Still thinking about the dolphin...
...and I'd just like to say hi to Teressa in Cyclone, Pennsylvania :-)

Dolphin

It's the dolphin. Writing has hit a wall, and it's not because I don't know what to write. It's because of the dolphin, it's too forced to be a Main Character. The dolphin is an important aspect, in terms of prejudice and point of view...and the odd fish(y) joke, of course. Everything is telling me that the dolphin's an important sidekick, so a heavy rewrite is on the cards. Not a bad thing, though I'm 10k in...:-)

Writer's block? or not?

I'm just over 10,000 words into my new book, and I've hit this wall. With my 1st book, I had no time to think, just write, write, write, and at the end, I put it all together. The 2nd was almost as fast, but I wrote it from beginning to end (almost), and it came together quite well. This 3rd book...there's so much to work out, I don't know where to start, what to leave out, put in, which direction should I go...it looks like it could take a while. Just write a little here, a little there, and watch it grow. After that, step back and see what I've got. So, 3rd book, and 3rd way of writing. Not bad as an experience, but thankfully I don't think I have writer's block...or maybe the first stage, who knows? Maybe I need to try harder. Or relax a little. This is a strange time.

Sestina

Poetry is where I started out, really. The odd few lines when I was 9, the 'trying-to-get-deep' stuff, it never worked. Now I try nonsense, it works better, deeper than anything else.
http://jottify.com/works/sestina-tree-rage-fiasco/
I'm not saying it's great stuff, it's just that it's out there to see. Do something. Get interested. Have a go.
Still working on the 3rd book...doing bits here and there, it'll come together soon. :-)

3rd book busting my head

This 3rd book is busting my head apart. I know what the story is, but HOW to tell it, now there's the rub! So many ways...my latest attempt is to break the harsh message with absurdity and see if anyone is reading. Or perhaps I should go for short and sharp. Or perhaps fluffy and thick with alliteration...
Whatever, I'm sure I'll find a way soon. While I'm fighting in my head, I wrote some silly 'poems' with unusable words...http://jottify.com/works/fruit-of-three-kinds/

3rd book absurd??

 Well, I re-wrote the beginning of the 3rd book. I read a bit of Milligan when I popped/pooped over to the 'motherland'. I found my first work a little too dry, so I opened up and here are the 1st three small parts.
http://jottify.com/works/the-rage-of-atlantis/
Definitely has a lighter feel...

Where's the Milliganese?

I pulled my first bits of my 3rd book off jottify, over 20 people viewed it, but I felt it was missing something. Sure, it's a Dan Brown parody, but where's the Milliganese? Where's the 'absurd'? Working on it right now...it will be an absurd work to be proud of.
I was in my native country for a few days...It's great to be back in Hungary. The sky, the air, the hot hot hot weather...:-)

Ex-girlfriend nightmares

In `Bethlehem Fiasco`, there`s a few mentions of a type of girl I once knew, but now, coming to think of it, it can go so much further.
We were once watching a comedy film from her native country, with English subtitles, and I laughed. I then received a lecture on how I couldn`t laugh because I wasn`t native, I had no idea where the joke had come from, no idea what was behind the joke, and being English I would never understand the joke.
Whenever we went for a walk, I had to walk 2m ahead of her, and not look back. I wasn`t allowed to give her complements or any sign of affection in public. I wasn`t allowed to show that I was actually with her, but I had to pay for everything.
She was so nice before I found her a place to work in England...silly me.
I caught up with her 10 years after, and mentioned a few things she did, and she 1. blocked me on facebook, 2. told me that I had a black heart, 3. said that I must be wrong in the head to think like that 4. etc.etc.etc... 9. that I must be very sad to feel like that about her after 10 years. I see it as part of my life, nothing more.
Ooo, but can`t you see? So much more material waiting for me :-)
Have you had a nightmare girlfriend? I`ve had a few...