My April 15th launch of Book #4, "Ticking: Southumb Pride" was a success, despite a power outage at Chapters and the surrounding area.
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Below is the cover design for the second edition of my first book. The cover ties-in with the other covers and presents them as a set. My son, Clark, did the design, using a map that I drew of the Greater London, England area in the mid-1700's. Londoners will know where Southwark, Covent Garden, Clapham Common and maybe even Wimbledon are. Those of us less familiar with the local geography will see the red pin where the chrononauts landed in Hounslow Heath and, further west in Middlesex, Mansfield Castle.
Is the cover a winning design, or what? On April 15th at the book launch, I'll have a copy of the screenplay (or script) I've been developing.
A screenplay includes everything seen or heard on screen: locations, dialogue and action. It tells the story but is also a technical document that contains all the info needed to film the movie. One page of a screenplay equates to about one minute of screen time. So generally, screenplays are typically 100 to 120 pages long. For now, I've split Book 1 (A Tale of Two Time Travellers) into two parts: Episode 1 is now a two hour movie (127 pages) and Episode 2 is about 82 pages (one hour 22 minutes). I'm currently writing Episode 3, where the chrononauts travel to Southumbria. The book will likely be divided into 3 episodes. To me, the screenwriting process is more challenging than writing a book. The industry adheres to strict standards that ensure quality productions. Where a book is, by nature, descriptive, the screenplay must be succinct, providing just a glimpse of what the director and actors will portray on-screen. Screenplays use seven line types in a defined format:
Chapters was forced to cancel my February book launch due to a nationwide cyber attack. The new date is Saturday April 15 at the Chapters in Coquitlam (just east of Coquitlam Centre). Come visit any time between 11 am and 4 pm. I'll sign a copy of any of the four books for you!
The launch of my fourth book "Ticking: Southumb Pride"
Saturday, February 18 between 11 am and 1 pm Chapters Coquitlam in Pinetree Village, 2991 Lougheed Hwy. Please join me as we launch the fourth book in the time travel adventure series. I'm excited; the chrononauts return to Southumbria to deal with some unfinished business. But their timing (these guys are supposed to be time travelers) couldn't be worse! The book cover is striking; designed by my son, Clark. Stop by Chapters (a great place to browse and buy) and I'll sign a copy of Southumb Pride for you. A draw for some bling (mugs, shirts, etc.) is planned. Copies of the first, second and third books will be available. The draft screenplay (for Book 1) will be on display. Please tell anyone who may be interested or who may just want to know how to travel through time. Thanks for your support! Gravitational waves are 'ripples' in space-time caused by some of the most violent and energetic processes in the Universe, like tremendous supernova explosions or black hole collisions. These cataclysmic events disrupt space-time sending 'waves' of undulating space-time in all directions away from the source at the speed of light.
So, Beatrice Westover uses these waves as a means to travel through space and time. But wait a minute; aren't those waves hard to find? And when you do find one, doesn't it shoot by at the speed of light? Yes, and yes. Albert Einstein predicted the presence of gravitational waves, but scientists have only recently confirmed his prediction. We are inundated with grav waves, all the time, but they are really hard to detect, only the largest of them -- like those described above -- have been detected by the finest equipment designed to do so (see LIGO or Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory). Theoretical Physicist Westover has found a way to amplify smaller, more plentiful waves, making more available for time travel. This "amplifier" works like a capacitor, requiring time to re-charge. It is this re-charging time that determines both the leave time and the return time for the chrononauts. I love a lot of things.
I don't hate much. When motorists park facing the wrong way and street basketball hoops are two; both being instances of perceived entitlement. But more than the above two combined, I hate the meaningless expression “going forward”! Thankfully, it is usually only used verbally; you’d have to be really dumb to use it in the written word. Going forward is purported to mean “in the future”, but it seems to be an attempt to avoid these words. It seems to mean “I don't know right now”. The local weather person used it twice in her short report just this morning. You’ve heard it used, but your recollection of its use may be sketchy; the expression is redundant and vacuous so it may have slipped by you. The dreaded phrase is almost always used as a superfluous “filler” when the speaker needs to sound knowledgeable and/or important, such as “our strategy going forward.” What is a strategy if not forward-looking? Or, it is randomly tacked onto the end of a sentence, as in: “Let’s talk about that tomorrow, going forward.” Even venerated institutions use it. Actually, they are the worst. A report – yes, a written report -- by the US Federal Reserve stated “Increased uncertainty has the potential to restrain economic growth going forward.” The last two words should be simply left out! Newscasters and the aforementioned meteorologist-types, who should know better, are some of the worst offenders. The talking heads will often use this expression to maintain the cadence of their delivery when better words – or none at all – fail. The battle against this expression is lost. Many have fought valiantly against it, including journalist Lucy Kellaway in the UK. In defeat, Kellaway cited the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission in a speech he gave to, get this, persuade the financial sector to drop its convoluted traditional prose style. Kellaway was devastated by the chair’s use of the expression in his sentence “Still, although the learning curve will certainly flatten as we go forward, this year it was steep.” She lamented the fact that a decent wordsmith such as the chair should say this in a speech that was intended to promote plain English. Another venerated institution, the (British) Institution of Silly and Meaningless Sayings, kept a "going-forward-ometer" until they gave up, exasperated, months later, after breaking their going-forward-ometer while recording hundreds of instances. We cannot win going forward. The fight is indeed lost. Now, about that basketball hoop… |
AuthorCraig retired in 2015 and has been writing ever since. And boy, is his hand tired. Archives
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