Dust Review: Every Beginning Has An End

Hi readers,

Sorry its' taken me awhile to get this post up, but I've been ill, dealing with family matters and been busy keeping up with my new blog. Finally though, I can write about Dust and finish off the Silo series. I'd recommend reading the other two reviews first, because there will be possible spoils in this review. I also plan to keep this short, but also compared to the other books, this one is on the small side. I guess that's understandable though, because it's function is to bring the other two stories together in a dramatic final.

The book is well written and feels very pacey. Unlike the other two, there isn't much scene or background settings because its been covered in the other books and this actually works because it doesn't feel repetitive.  The characters are really good and realistic. Their actions and dialogue also feel really real and the reader can really connect with the characters. It was also nice that we were back with my favorite character, Juliette, and her friends from the first book.

The narrative switches between Juliette's point of view and that of Donald's and his sister's. This works well though because everything is kept on the same timeline and a nice tension is created between the characters. It also becomes clear that all the characters want the best for each other and Donald especially wants Juliette and her people to know the truth about things. Of course this does actually happen and allows the ending of the series to take place. 

Speaking of the plot; Juliette has encouraged her Silo to dig across to the other one she stumbled upon in the first book as she wants to rescue Solo and the kids. Their digging uncovers a machine, which they then use to help finish off the digging. With the silos joined a little bit of hell breaks loose-which is expected. Then Juliette starts to figure more things out, but before she can really plan her next step, she learns that silo 1 is going to shut them down. She tries to get as many people into the other silo as possible and they seal themselves in. 

Meanwhile, in silo 1, Donald is standing against all of this and he is still being mistaken as someone else with more power. He wakes is sister up and they try to find out if there is more outside then they can see. This they actually do, though Donald is taken down and his sister is left to try and pass the message on to Juliette, which helps the survivors escape the silo and go back to living on the surface. 

The plot does work really well and its a great ending to the series. The conclusion is rounded off and even though I know that there might not be any more books, I was hoping there might be! I could see some stories coming from the other silos and I'd love to read them. 

Overall, I would so recommend this series and these books to everyone. It has an original feel to the plot and characters, as well as the setting, which I love. even if you don't like dystopia or don't understand it, I would still suggest giving it a try. The plot isn't bogged down by the genre or the technical aspects and it is very character led. I still believe that the first book is the best novel I've read of this year and I'll be sad to move on from it. However, I'm now back to reading The Black Dagger Brotherhood and I shall be posting up that review next week. Thanks for reading and please feel free to follow this blog and check out my new one where I'm publishing daily short stories: http://thestoryfiles.wordpress.com/

Life Update #2

Hi readers,

My review of Dust will be up in the next few days, I just need to finish the last novella. Until then, I thought I'd post another life update. This is because I've started a new blog. Well, its been up for three weeks or so now, but its' still early days. I decided that I would like a clean space to post up some of the short stories I've written and others that I want to write. Also I decided to challenge myself and to write/post a story a day. I'd love it if my followers and anyone else who readers my blog would check out it. Here's the address: http://thestoryfiles.wordpress.com/

I'll still be writing this one as I only post a few times a month and I do enjoy reviewing books and looked at writing techniques. I just thought having two separate blogs would be easier and also I seem to have more interest on Wordpress then I've ever had using blogger.com. I'm not sure why this is and I don't really have a preference. At least nothing will change on this blog anyway. My new blog so far has a whole range of different themes and genres on it. Also the word count for each story varies a lot. I also have many different ideas of how I want to display my stories too. So, every story is unique!

My second piece of news is that a job I was guaranteed to get as a receptionist and customer service helper,  last week, I didn't get. It went to someone higher up to decided over me and someone else and they give her the job because she had more experience. I've been really upset and frustrated since Monday. I understand there wasn't a lot I could do, but I was looking forward to starting the next chapter of my life and moving on. I've got another interview for a different job tomorrow and though I'm not as guaranteed to get this one as much, I plan to give it my best shot. Tomorrow, I'll also get to see another area of Manchester and I love exploring my city. I'm still hopeful that something is out there for me and I'll find my path soon enough. Though it feels like I've been waiting an age already.

One of my plans this month is get the first chapters of my novel sorted and send it off to a few agents and publishers. It's something people have been bugging me to do for awhile, but I've not felt ready and nor has the novel. The problem is I'm not sure if the right time will ever come if I don't start acting upon it. So, I'm planing this weekend to start editing and getting it in preparation to be sent it. It can be a long process this and doing the research to find places to send it can take up so much time. I've all the tools and knowledge I need to do this though and I'm sure once I make the first step it'll be easier. As everything turns out to be.

Next, I need to start revising again for my theory driving test. I'm taking it the first week of October. I'm sure most of the stuff has stuck with me, I just need to get into practice with it again and remind my mind about some of the stuff. I want to pass first time because then I can try and do the practical and get a car soon after- around Christmas time, if I can sort out the insurance etc. That's my rest of year plan at the minute.

Lastly, I've been playing Dungeons and Dragons 5th edition at my local gaming shop. I played my 3rd game last night and I'm enjoying it. I've finding it slightly difficult to get the rules in my head as things aren't the same as 4th edition and I've become far too use to have that works. I'm also liking meeting the flurry of new people that have been turning up to play. This is because for the last few months Encounters has just been one table and 5-7 people and I got to know them really well. I actually preferred that, but mostly because I've social and trust issues and it can take me while to get to know people and feel okay to show my true nature, which also seems to be the opposite of my shy front! However, I'm growing use to more people and have started to make friends with some of them.

I think even though I'm a bit bad at playing and remembering things, I still like going to DD for the social aspect of it. Geeks, Nerds and Role Players/ Gamers are some of the nicest people. Granted they do take while to use to new people, but after that they have habit of become your friend for life. Also doing RP gets you a chance to explore different sides of yourself and others. I think for a writer this can be very useful and also the stories that come out from being around a table too! I'm looking forward to every Wednesday evening now.

So, once again I'm really busy and have so many plans! Like I said at the start, Dust review will be up soon and so until then please check out my new blog. Thanks.

Shift Review: “Some Things Are Better Off Back In The Past"

Hi readers,

I managed to finish reading Shift this afternoon and thought since I'd not got around to writing about Batman, that I'd put this one up now. Shift is the second book in the Silo series and contains the novellas six to eight. In away this sort of feels like the middle books in most trilogies and series because it focuses on filling in the gaps and questions raised in the first stories. I really loved reading Wool and was looking forward to reading Shift. However, I felt a bit disappointed at first because I really wasn't interested in how creations of the silos and life within them during the first years.

Then again, I quickly got into it and started to enjoy Howey's writing. He really has a way with words and is able to tell a very fast pace and gripping story. I think also that his writing his this open quality to it, that allows everyone to read it. Also it feels like honest writing, he's clearly enjoying the stories of the characters and wants to share them with others.

I found the characters this time around where just as good as the ones before. They all come across as being realistic and you can connect them to real people you know or did know, because they all have some very clear traits. They all individuals though and you get drawn in to wanting to know more about their lives- even the background characters. The felt the move to focus on more male characters also helped to balance out the female focus in the first book. The dialogues are to the point and care so much emotion, you can really hear them speaking from within the pages.

Opening with Legacy, we are introduced to Donald and his life. He's a young congressman who has connections via his ex-girlfriend and gets involved in creating and building the silos. Of course he doesn't really understand what's going on and he seems even blind to other happens in his live. He doesn't come across as strongly as Jules did and he seems very much like a puppet until the eightieth novella. The story switches between Donald at the beginning of the silos and during his first time living within the silo. He, like the everyone else in silo one goes through a pattern of being cryogenically frozen and then woken up to do some work.

For someone who's not good at keeping up with dates, this can be a bit confusing. Actually, though out the whole book trying to keep up with the time can be a bit tricky and it does take awhile to figure the time lines out.

Order is the seventh book and it follows most of the characters from six as they are awakened from cryogenic sleep. They face new problems and Donald learns a lot more about himself and the ideas/workings behind the silo. This is in between cuts to silo 18 and the story of Mission. He's a teenage boy with a trouble past, working as a porter. His silo is under threat of revolution and has he fights for survival, it becomes clear that his fate is actually being controlled.

Pact rounds everything off and finishes where things begin with Jules in silo 17. Before hand, we get the story of Solo and the fall of that silo. I think this had to be my favorite part because there was a lot of dystopia and a lot more straight forward action happening. There is also an ending that feels a lot more resolved then the first book. I think that for trilogies and series, the ending is still important to get right and it should feel like an actually ending.

Overall, this was another great book. It was nice to feel in the gaps left by the first one, but I still would have liked the focus to have stayed with the present of the first one. I'm really hopeful about the last one now!


Image from;
http://www.barnesandnoble.com

Life Update #1

Hi readers,

I've been so busy this week and last week I was on holiday, so I've not had a chance to put together a review yet. It'll probably be the first Batman and Dracula comic book that I'll review next week, as I'm currently reading Shift, the second Silo book and I don't think I'll have it finished anytime soon. It's been awhile since I last wrote a diary/life update post. I guess because I've found that people are more interested in reading my reviews then reading what I've been up to. I had the need to post up something though!

It seems I've been really busy over the last few weeks. I was on holiday with my boyfriend last week and we were in the Lake District. It was really nice and the house we stayed in was awesome. The weather was very typical British Summer! The first half of the week was reasonably. There was some sun and it was warm enough, however it was nothing like the heatwave that we'd had the week before. The rest of the week it rained, luckily it wasn't wet all the time, but Friday and Saturday were the worse. We went out on a steamboat ride and got drenched. The river which ran behind the house changed dramatically too. It was low and slow at the start of the week and then became  fast moving, roaring and flooding the bank at the end of the week. As much as I love the Lakes, I was glad to get home!

Whilst I was there I decided to start playing Pokemon Diamond. I younger brother had passed on his DS to me and since I'd not really had a chance to use it, I thought I'd have enough time to play some games whilst I chilled out. Turned out it was useful for the rainy days too! My boyfriend had the Pearl Pokemon which is the companion to mine. So, we spent a lot of time- a lot more then I thought! Playing and battling. I'm now addicted and also determined to finish the game. I'm not doing that badly, as I'm up to the last gym leader now. Though I know there's the Elite Four and other things to do afterwards.

I was into Pokemon when I was younger too. It seems to be one of those things that's still going strong, even if the fame surrounding it has dropped off. For me it was always about capturing the Pokemon and winning the card game battles. My boyfriend and I have played them too and I'm sure he owes me another match! Hopefully, I'll have it finished soon and be able to fill more of my time with reading and writing.

This week, I also finished off my Steampunk cushion (cover photo). I had to wait to get the sewing machine out and for the glue to dry on the felt pieces. I'm really pleased with how it turned out as its my own design. It'll go really nice with my other cushions now, which seem to be multiplying! I still need to make a Bioshock one, though I think I'm going to have to simplify the design. I might have some skills, but they aren't good enough to make a Big Daddy and Little Sister out of felt. The best part of my cushion has to be the cogs and the top hat with goggles. I'm really happy with it.

The same can also be said about my other felt creations (below). I've been planning some activities at the youth center and I use this as examples for the young people. I also get to use them too! Starting from the left is a seahorse, then above is a dragon wrist band and a small zipped purse is below that, then there's the scented square butterfly and a coin purse. My addiction and love to felt just gets growing. I really wish my shop had taken off and I could have spent time making things. I might look at trying again around Christmas time. Till then it's back to making examples and things for myself.

I've got this gold fish to sew and finish tomorrow (second photo below). I made one two weeks ago and now can't find it. So, I'm going to make another and cover him in sequins to give him that shinny scale look. It's going to have awhile, but he'll turn out really nice! After that, I've no idea what I'll make, maybe I'll get start on some Halloween stuff or maybe Christmas presents!

The next big thing I've to get sorted is my driving theory test. Though I don't feel ready, I'm going to try and book the test tomorrow. I've no idea where and when I need to be, so I guess I'll find out. My driving lessons as going really well and I've had about 21 now. I think passing the practical will be a lot harder, but I so need to get the theory out of the way. I probably should spend more time studying, but I've already read the Highway Code twice now and some of the questions they could ask might be in there! I've got to do the hazard test too, though I feel more prepared for that then the questions.

I'll just have to give it a good shot and hopefully booking it will make me study harder. At least I know if I fail it I can take it again and it's not the end of the world. Still though, like with every other test you want to pass first time! Hopefully, I can get there though and going through all these should help.

On Friday, I helped my boyfriend to create the first episode of his new YouTube series using Minecraft. It was really nice and fun to be working on a project together. I'm looking forward to seeing the results of all our hard work too! The idea is to tell a story like Red Vs Blue (if you've not seen that you should check it out.) using the world of a game and Minecraft is actually very suitable for this. I think it's got something to do with the fact that you can create so much and have adventures. I don't want to give to much away about the story, which is due out next week now and can be watched on my boyfriend's YouTube channel. He's currently doing Let's Plays of varies games and making other content. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJWrkwGLBfitfNNMjHR_7tw

Taking part in this experience has given me a greater appreciation for people who make internet reviews and shows. A lot of time and hard work goes into making some of the things people are now watching online. I think that people believe that making these internet shows is easy or else people are just wasting time or its just a hobby, so it doesn't matter. But, a lot of people are now making enough money to class their internet work as a part-time or full-time job. The same can be said for self-published writers! Of course, you've got to stick with it and make a lot of great content to get people interested and watch your show. I guess though if that's what you want to do and you try hard enough, its possible! For me though, I'm not that interested in having my own show, but I love helping others to make their's and it's fun!  

Lastly, I baked these apple crumble cupcakes. They turned out good and they were tasty. Though I think I'll stick to making felt things then baking, I'm much better at that!  

Images: 

All authors own, other then the Minecraft logo. 

Wool Review: 'If the lies don't kill you the truth will.'

Hi readers,

As promised, I finally finished reading Wool and I'm reviewing it today. For me, this is my favorite novel of the year and probably will become one of my all time favorite books. When people asked what I was reading, I'd tell them the basic plot in a few minutes and then expended on it for much longer! At the end I'd add that it's the kind of book I wish I'd written. That really just goes to show how this book made me feel. Luckily, there are two more books, so I won't have to say goodbye to it just yet!

If you are currently looking for a good, length book to take away on holiday, then I'd so recommend Wool. I'm taking the second one away with me next week. The minute you start reading, you get gripped into the world and the characters' lives. This carries on through out the novel and at the end it leaves you wanting more. I think what most surprise me about this novel is that though it's genre is dystopia everyone can read and understand it. This is because the force is mostly on the characters and their discovers about the world they live in. The dystopia does come through strongly throughout, but as the action deepens for the characters you just get lost in what's happening to them, more then the background.

My second surprise was that the Silo series is actually nine novellas divided into three books and that the first one was self-publishing on Amazon Kindle. The book become popular and Hugh Howey wrote more and got a publishing deal. He's now also signed the rights to movie. It'll be interesting to see that when it comes out. Once again though, its interesting to see that there is a growing trend of writers being picked up via self-publishing.

The plot of the novel appears simple on the surface: the earth has become inhabitable and people have moved underground. They live in silos which are carefully divided up and go deep down into the earth. They live by strict rules and most of them are fine with that. Those that break the rules get sent outside to clean the cameras the allow the people keep an eye on the outside world. They are also destined to die.

The first novella, Wool, tells the story of sheriff Holston and his wife. They uncover a part of the silo's and the world's past that has been hidden away. They can't really tell this secret and it ends up sending them both outside to clean. This secret is then re-discovered by two other people; Jules and Lukas, whom the second and third novella's follow the stories of.  I'd love to write more about the plot, but I really don't want to give anything away!

The characters are really well written and they are easy to get along with. The background characters also come across as being realistic and they all add a lot to the plot. I really loved all the characters and could connect with each one. Jules was my favorite though and she is an awesome female character. With her being the main character, a lot of time is spent with her, but this works out nicely because of the things she uncovers. The antagonist characters (bad/evil) are understandable too and you do start to see things from their point of view, even though their actions seem wrong. 

The narrative is all third person and switches between a group of characters. This works out well because all the points of the plot get covered and a lot of characters get to share their experiences, (as it were). The characters voices can be heard clearly through the dialogue, which is also really well written. It has a gritty realist feel to it and all the voices come across as being very different from each other. Something else I liked about this novel. The narrative flows well between the different scenes and the words feel like they have a lot of movement. Some jargon and science fiction terms/words are used, but nothing heavy and they are easily explained. That just adds to the world that Howey has created.

Lastly, the imagery that gets created by this novel is big. It feels like there's a lot going on all the time, but because of all the description and details, the images are easy to create in your mind. It's not overburdened with them and just feels right for this kind of work. I can easily see how this would make a good movie and when reading it almost feels like watching one. 

Overall, I would strongly recommend Wool to everyone. The dystopia genre might not appeal to everyone, but this novel is about a lot more then that. It's about family, friends, survival and choosing your own destiny. The novel is wonderfully written, the characters are so realistic and the plot is hard gripping. I'm so looking forward to reading the next books now. 

Image from: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Wool-Trilogy-1-Hugh-Howey/dp/0099580489

Up And Coming Posts

Hi readers, I thought I'd put together a list of all the posts I'm planning to do in the next few months/the rest of the year. This is also because I've not finished the book I want to review. The other book I thought about reviewing today, I've not read in a good few years. Even though it's by one of my favorite writers, I realized that I so needed to read it again to get the review right. So, I thought I'd do one of these posts again and make a list of things. Hopefully it'll help you as well as me! Please note these are not in any order, beside from the first one.

Book reviews 

1. Wool by Huge Howey.
2. Lost Souls by Poppy Z. Brite.
3. Shift by Hugh Howey.
4. Dust by Hugh Howey.
5. Batman and Dracula comic book trilogy.
6. One Piece by Eiichiro Oda (Japanese Manga)
7. Battle Royale by Koushun Takami (The Novel)
8. Rapture by John Shirley (Bioshock Novel)
9. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
10. Soulless by Gail Carriger.

11. Phoenix Rising by Pip Ballantine.

12. The Iron Wyrm Affair by Lilith Saintcrow
13.Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
14. About a Dragon by G. A. Aiken.
15. Prince Lestat by Anne Rice
16. The King by J .R. Ward.

Other Topics 

1. Has education made us hate literature? (My Opinions)
2. How To: Promote Your book.
3. Editor Jobs.
4. Proofreading Jobs.
5. Ghost Writing Jobs.
6. What other jobs can writers do?
7. Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition.
8. Writing Promotes.


Images from:
http://sablegrey.net/home/?page_id=20

Weekend In London

Hi readers,

I just spent the weekend in London with my boyfriend for my birthday. We had a great time and there was a lot to see and do! It was hard to pick out the four things we ended up doing, but I enjoyed them all. We traveled down on Friday and enjoyed being in first class. The two hours flew by and so did some nice countryside. The hotel wasn't that far from Euston, but with all the bags we decided to grab a taxi and it was nice to see London going past the window. We stayed at a Raddison Blu Edwardian hotel which was close to the theaters.

We went to the British Museum and spent a lot of time wondering around looking at all the different displays. My favorite part was the Egyptian room. I also liked the Roman room too. There was information about the archaeologists and explorers that discovered and brought back the items, which was very interesting. The museum was really busy and it was hot too. We didn't actually get to see everything because we only had an hour or so before we had to get ready to go out.

We had a posh Chinese meal and then went to watch Les Mis. It was really good and I enjoyed being a part of it. I didn't do much singing though! Being on stage, brought it more to life and enchanted the experience of watching the musical. They added a couple of songs which just created a flow into the next one, so I didn't mind that. All the actors were really good and the singing was perfect.

I do enjoy going to the theater to see plays and musicals. I'm sure in the future I'll go more often and there's a lot more out there I want to see. My boyfriend wanted to see The Book Of Moran, but we couldn't offered to go this time. Hopefully, it'll come to Manchester as staying in London is expensive!

The hotel bedroom was really nice though and I did get some sleep before we went to breakfast the next morning. I had pancakes which were amazing. We then headed out for a full day of walking and being being on the Underground. We had planned to go to the London Eye and the zoo, luckily they were on the same underground line, so we could easily get to them from and back from the hotel. Also we had pre-booked tickets for both, which provided to be so worth doing.

We arrived at the London eye way early, so got to walk up and down, before we went on it. I enjoyed doing this and I got to stand on the bridge across from Big Ben. There was a great view of the wheel and Westminster from there. It was mega busy though and there were people everywhere. It was also hot, though we did have a sharp shower later on. We went to pick up the tickets for the Eye and it was really busy and even more so when we had to go and queue up to get on! The fast track tickets cut the waiting time in half or even less and we were soon stepping on the wheel.

The view almost straight a way was good and as the wheel went further up, it just got better. You could see so far and get a good view of London. There were screens in the pod and it showed all the important buildings. It did start to rain a little once we reached the top and started coming down again. This meant that the view of the other side of the pod was rain splattered. The rain stopped when we got off, though I would have been happy to have gone around again!

We then caught the underground to London Zoo. I was really excited as I love zoos and seeing all the animals. We had to walk 15-20 minutes when we got off the train. We stopped in a coffee shop for a drink and homemade cake. When we got to the zoo was I starting to get tried. The weather was also starting to turn. We went to the Aquarium and reptile house, before going to see the monkeys and gorillas. They were inside and mostly sleeping or high up in their enclosures. We left and went to see the Pygmy hippo talk. That was interesting and we got to see the hippo eating and laying in the their 'hot tub house.'

Heading back to see the penguin talk we went to the see the fruit bats. I really like bats and find them fascinating to watch. It was too dark in their cave to take any good photos though. We also stopped for ice creams. It felt like we were in the queue for them for awhile. Not because it was busy, but because the staff were slow and they were also making milkshakes. We had just enough time to eat before we went to the penguin area. The talk about them was really good and it was very popular. We got to see the penguins diving for fish and also eating them out of the keeper's hands.

At the end, we went to the butterfly house which was just behind the penguins. I love butterflies and could have spent a lot longer watching them. My camera ran out of battery at this point. I wanted to go and see the big cats and the other animals that were on the other side of the zoo, but my feet were really hurting. We decided to head back in a taxi and get ready to go to an American Diner tea.

  The next morning, I so didn't want to get out of bed. My feet were still hurting and we'd had a really late night. However, we had to go to breakfast, pack and check out by 11am. Having slowly done this, we left our bags at the hotel and went to the National Gallery. It was a few minutes walk away at Trafalgar Square. When we got there, we found that there was an event on for the Tour De France and the place was noisy and packed. The gallery, though quieter was just as busy. Though I did enjoy looking at paintings and galleries, I ended up sweeping through most of the rooms. Sometimes it was hard to see a painting because of a cluster or tour group of people standing in front of it. However, it was good and I left feeling impressed by the art I did get to see.

It was then time to say goodbye to London and ahead back home to Manchester. I had a really good time and I enjoyed the parts of London I did get to see. Next time I go, I'm so going to Highgate Cemetery!

Photos are all authors own. Permission need to use. 

1984 Review -Big Brother Is Watching

Hi readers:

This week I've gone back to reading a classic literature novel, I fancied a change from the supernatural and so I decided to look at another of my favorite genres: dystopia. It feels like this genre is also growing and seems popular with young adult fiction. The Hungry Games is a good example of this and my review can be found in the archive section.

For those of you that that don't know, dystopia is the opposite of utopia, most of the time it has happened after a world war, or other large disaster, which means that society has changed. Often there is one ruling power and the people are controlled and restricted by it. Religion, identity and differences are done away with or changed. Also the world has become a darker, less colorful place where people don't live but survive.

Orwell's 1984 has many of these themes and also coined two things, which we use today, though with a slightly different context; Big Brother and Room 101. This novel in a way questions the future of humanity and I want to look at how a novel written in 1949 and set in 1984 could be similar to 2014 now. Whilst reading, I kept coming back to this question and it does seem to be a theme in the novel. So, nearly everyone has heard of Orwell and people will have read his novels in school/college, especially Animal Farm. If you've not read 1984, I would highly recommend it.

The plot of 1984 is centered on Winston Smith who is living in what once was Britain, but has become Oceania after the second World War. He works in an office and his job is to rewrite things so that everything stays in the present and there is no record of the past. However, he slowly starts to give into the rebel voice in his head and starts to question the world he lives in. Of course he gets caught and has to go through a program of rehabilitation. He meets other characters along the way and at first all of them seem to aid him in rebelling against The Party, who are in control of everything throughout the book, and their leader Big Brother, but of course that doesn't last.

The other main character is Julia, who falls in love with Winston. She leads him more into rebelling and thinking about a different life. However, she also leads him to his downfall. Her character symbolizes human freedom and spirit. This is actually what the Party want to get rid of and they want to have complete control over everyone, but strip them down to nothing. Whilst Winston comes across as being completely formed into the perfect party member.Them and the other characters are really well written and feel really realist. The world they live in stands out too and there are a lot of similarities to today's world. For insistence, the idea that you are being continually watched and controlled in your thinking.

The language used doesn't feel dated and I think one of the reasons why this is has to do with Orwell's invention of 'Newspeak'. This is the new form of language that the Party has come up with and is getting the people to use. It isn't heavily used and mostly it just sums up words and shortens them. There are other new terms such as 'doublethink', which has to do with the contradiction of facts and 'thought-police,' so you to control your thoughts. Towards the end of the novel there are also extracts from chapters of a book that Winston is reading. This just reinforces and deeper explains what has already been set up.

Overall, this is a classic novel and it doesn't feel dated at all. The characters and the settings come across as real and it is possible to see a world like this one day. The novel doesn't get stuck down with setting up all the world and giving out information, instead it lets this come through via the characters point of view. As a dystopia novel, it has all the traits and themes, but doesn't dwell or try to force the dystopia genre in the plot.

Images from:
http://mookseandgripes.com/reviews/2009/03/16/george-orwells-nineteen-eighty-four/

Steampunk - An Introduction to the Genre.

Hi Readers,

Today I went to the Steampunk Market at the Mill. Its a small fair at the historic Queens Mill, Lancashire, UK. I went last year, but it seems that I didn't write about it and that I've never done a post about Steampunk! I'm still a novice about the genre really and today was only my second fair and my first time dressing up, (see photo below). Though now I've a taste for it I'm eager to do it again!

The best way to describe today is probably to compare it to a comic/Scfi/game convention and a Victorian themed market. Spreed throughout the mill were a number of different stalls groaning under the weight of handmade and specialist items. The streampunk theme echoed within them all. There were Victorian style clothes; top hats, mini hats, corsets, dresses and waist coats but most had been 'punked' up with metal cogs/wooden cogs, goggles and metal embellishments. You could also by all of these separated. There was a fantasy games area, a poster/postcard stall with bespoke images of airships. There was also jewelry and other accessories, though some of it looked gothic to me. There was an afternoon tea and cake stall and I just had to try out the carrot cake. Which turned out to be awesome. My only small disappointment was that three of stalls I actually wanted to visit again from last year weren't there! They were the Victorian sweets, fudge and handmade soaps.

The mill itself is a museum and you can see how they made textiles there. They have a working loom room, which is really noisy and you have to wear ear defenders. A steam engine which provided all the power needed for the factory and lots of different hand looms. It's a good afternoon out, but I prefer Manchester's museum of Sciences and Industry.  

What exactly is steampunk?

In it's basic form it is a sub-genre from science fiction, though it is fast growing into a genre of its own now. The setting is normally an alternate version 19th century Britain, the Victorian era or the America Wild West. The biggest theme of steampunk is the growing industry and the use of steam run technology, only its more extreme and inventive then in the actual Victorian era. It influences everything; fashion, art, style, culture and architecture. Another big feature is airships and hot air balloons as these as a symbol of the Victorian era and fit in with the Steampunk style well.

Being a sub-genre is is very easy -especially in fiction and movies- for elements of other genres to appear in steampunk. These are mostly; history, horror, fantasy, supernatural, adventure and detective/crime. Though it can be crossed or mixed with just about everything. Mostly these are used in plot lines to add more to the story. They work well alongside the steampunk genre and can also add the the realism.

Elements of steampunk begin appearing in the 1950s/60s, but it was in the 1980's when it was coined as a humors take on cyberpunk* from there it has grown steadily and been most prominent in fiction. I think it's only been in the last few years though that it has really taken off and people have become interested in creating the fashion of steampunk.    

However, for some people there is no clear definition of steampunk or else there are a lot of different alternatives.
   
*Cyberpunk is another sub-genre of ScFi and it is normally set on earth in the near future in a post-industrial dystopia. It's main theme is advanced science, where technology is used or is able to do things that were unanticipated.*

Steampunk Fashion

For me the fashion of steampunk is one of the biggest draws. I think this is because there is a lot to it and there's no right or wrong. I think also just about any piece of clothing can be steampunked. The 'normal look' starts off with Victorian style clothes. For women its the long skirts, corsets or dresses. For men it's breeches, shirts and jackets. Other varies are Victorian adventuring/safari clothes, military uniform or engineer clothing. Some people might go for a more futuristic cyber look.

After that the steampunk elements get added. Normally this would be a pair of goggles on a hat or on a head. Then belts and gun holders. Leather pouches, arm or wrist guards and long leather boots or ankle boots. Other accessories are also added like; long necklaces or chokers, gloves, watches, other jewelry and other things that finish off the costume.  

Other elements included embellishing items like hats, boots and corsets with metal/wooden cogs, gears, watches and shapes like compasses, owls, wings, octopuses and butterflies.

If you want some inspiration just check out the links below or Google it.

Steampunk in Fiction

Like I said before, Steampunk started in fiction writing and novels and short stories set with the Steampunk genre have been rapidly growing. Most are influenced by 19th century writers like; H .G. Wells, Arthur Conan Doyle, Bram Stoker, H .P. Lovecraft and Charles Dickens. 

There is only a handful of the first official Steampunk novels dating from 1967-1995. The most know are the books which make up A Nomad of the Time Streams trilogy and the Anno Dracula series. It seems to be a small group of writers who've only had success with one or two Steampunk genre novels. 

However, in the 21st century there seems to be a boom of interested in Steampunk fiction. There are lots of new writers who seem to be writing series or a lot of one off novels. The most well known are The Parasol Protectorate series, The Clockwork Century series and The Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences series.  (I'll review them all eventually!) 

There is also a few anthologies, which collected the short stories of Steampunk together. The best are;  

The Mammoth Book of Steampunk, Steampunk, Steampunk! Reading one these is a great introduction to the genre. 

Lastly, there is the non-fiction books. These are really interesting because they contain a lot about the genre as a whole. These are works like the Steampunk Bible, Steampunk Style Jewelry and Steampunk: The Art of Victorian Futurism.

A list of stearmpunk books and movies can be found in the links below.

Steampunk in Movies and Games 

Most people will have come into connect with Steampunk through movies and games and not even realized it! There are lot of current and past movies and computer/console games that are either completely Steampunk or else have a lot of elements in them. Probably, the movie that is most well known  is Wild Wild West, though some people won't realize that it is in the Steampunk genre.

Other most well known films are; Treasure Planet, Laputa: Castle in the Sky, Howl's Moving Castle, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Three Musketeers (2011). All these films are well known for the Steampunk elements which appear in them, though some of them are set in non-Victorian or wild west times. However, they either have a Steampunk fantasy or alternate world setting, which does still make it. 

There are a few other films out there, but let's move on to the games. I'm not really a big player of them in general, so when I saw the list I didn't really know what to pick. So, I'm going to list the two that I've sit through being played by someone else and they are Dishonored and Bioshock Infinite. I can understand why Steampunk works well in games because they are some what closer to novels then movies are.  

I think that's it for now, until I come back to review a Steampunk book! 

Images from:

http://www.iplayawriter.com/?tag=steampunk
Author's Own (2014)
http://www.addicted2heroines.com/2011/10/review-phoenix-rising-ministry-of.html
http://500px.com/photo/36402244/she's-leaving-by-michel-reichmann
http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/steampunk-corset
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120891/
http://www.vg247.com/2012/12/12/bioshock-infinite-will-come-with-a-reversible-cover-community-to-vote-on-the-contents/

Additional Information and Other links:

http://www.visitlancashire.com/whats-on/steampunk-at-the-mill-weekend-p716320
https://www.facebook.com/marketatthemill
http://thetoychronicle.com/reviews/doktor-a-steampunk-market-at-the-mill/
http://www.thesteampunkempire.com/
http://www.leedssteampunkmarket.co.uk/
http://www.ministryofpeculiaroccurrences.com/what-is-steampunk/
http://www.steampunk.com/what-is-steampunk/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steampunk
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_steampunk_works
http://www.steampunkemporium.com/steam.php

First Grave On The Right Review

Hi readers,

When I saw this book supported by one of my favorite authors, as well as another author I enjoy reading, I thought I'd buy it and see what it was like. It's been on my bookshelf for a little while now -just like Highgate Vampire- and I thought I'd carry on reading through my top shelf with First Grave. I believed it was the first book in a trilogy, but now I know this is actually a series, with the seventh book coming out  this autumn. So, has the first left me keen to get my hands on the others and read through yet another series? Let's find out.

Darynda Jones, an American writer has so far written this series and a young adult trilogy. She has won a lot of different awards for her writing. She started writing at a young age and after giving it up to do a number of different jobs, including teaching and have a family, she started writing again with the goal to become published.

First Grave is about Charley Davidson, a grim reaper and a PI. She spends all of her time hanging out with ghosts, solving cases for the police and clients, drinking a lot of coffee and wondering about the mysterious Reyes. Along for the ride with her is her dad, uncle, best friend/PA Cookie and ghost teenage boy, Angel. The main plot of the novel is that Charley has to solve the murder of three lawyers, which also ties into a human trafficking ring, another murder, a missing teenager and a wrongly jailed man. The subplot, which in places seems to become the main plot, is about Charley's 'relationship' with Reyes, who also turns out to be her guardian. Reyes, who's in a comma, visits Charley in spirit form and they have a bit of bedroom time throughout the novel. So, yeah the grim reaper makes love to a ghost/ astral projection. She also sets out to find more about him as his records are seemingly very empty.

The narrative is told in first person, present tense by Charley herself. A lot of her character comes through because of this, but the problem is that it becomes something of a burden on the plot. She is over sarcastic, too witty, trying too hard to be sexy and seems to over exaggerated lot. Her sense of humor was also lost on me. Maybe, I am being a bit too harsh, but I just feel like she became unrealistic because all these things were too over used in the novel. Also, I got tried about hearing her addiction to coffee. Beside from all that though, Charley makes an interesting grim reaper. I'd have liked to have found out more about how she came to be one, but that's actually something she doesn't understand herself. Maybe in further books this gets looked at?

It's not just her character that has problems though. The love interested, Reyes didn't work for me. The description of him was a little bit 'too perfect dream boyfriend,' for my liking. Later, it's suggested he might be a supernatural being and that's a possible reason why he looks like he does. However, he just didn't come across as being a strong enough character for me. Okay, so he is in this ghost form and Charley can't see him very well. He speaks very little and to me beside the bedroom action and being overly protective, doesn't display any other signs of love for her. Maybe this gets stronger in the other books though? His other problem is that he's the subplot and because its a first person narrative, there's not much about him and it's bias.

The other characters: Charley's dad and uncle, Cookie, Garrett- a skiptracer, who fancies Charley-and the ghost lawyers, come across a lot better and more realistic. Though they are the supporting characters, they all have their own uses and Jones does this really well. Their backgrounds also seemed to be very detailed and sometimes their own goals also come across. There is tension between a few of them and Charley at different points, but this just adds more and allows their natures to come through.

Overall, I did enjoy reading this novel. It was slightly different from my normal books because it had the crime and detective elements, which have never really interested me. The supernatural elements keep me very entertained though. I did have issues with the characters, though I was well into the book before this happened. I'd be interested to read the second book to see if there were improvements to the characters and plot. I'd recommend this novel if you like this genre or are into similar. If not still give it a try and see what you think.  

Image From:
http://thegreatthegoodandthebad.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/first-grave-on-right-by-darynda-jones.html

Additional information from:
http://www.daryndajones.com/bio/

Links to me

Hi readers,

Here are a few links were you can follow me: 

http://www.readwave.com/hayley.hardman.7/ 

(For short fiction/non-fiction stories) 

http://www.pinterest.com/

(Images that mean something to me) 

https://twitter.com/ironmaidenfan9

(Updates and ramblings)

https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=208056472&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile

(business profile)

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHXL_MiDsFRX8cbqYt03DIw

(Watched videos)

http://blip.tv/tyas

(My boyfriend's show which also has me reviewing stuff in it) 

Image from: http://mlhprimary.co.uk/parents-carers/links-resources/

The Vampire of Highgate Review

Hi readers,

When I first heard about the Highgate vampire I was really interested to know more. So, when I found this book on sale at The Works, I was eager to read it as it claims to be based upon the true events. London's Highgate cemetery is a fascinating place and a lot of odd things have happened there. Most are probably not true and who really knows about the others? As much as I want to get into the review, I thought it might be interesting to have a brief look at the cemetery and the story of the vampire. The book goes into some details, but it left me hungry for more!

Highgate Cemetery was opened in 1839 and was a part of London's plan to provide more cemeteries outside the inner-city. It soon become a fashionable place to be buried and become home to the rich and famous. The Victorians were really into their Gothic tombs and headstones. The more fancier your headstone or family crypt displayed how much wealth you had. In 1854 the cemetery was expending and become divided into two areas; the west and east sides. Today, the east area is closed and only open to the public via a tour group. This is because it has become a nature reserve, has listed buildings and old structures so it needs protecting. The west side is open to the public and for a small charge you can visit during daylight hours. (See the website link to Highgate.org below for more information).

The Highgate vampire story or urban legend begin in the 1970's, when supernatural events were attributed to a vampire. It sparked a media frenzy, books were written and people hunted the vampire. It is claimed that an occult interested group of young people liked to roam through the cemetery, which had been come very overgrown, dilapidated and vandalized. One of the members spent the night in the cemetery and afterwards wrote about seeing a ghost. When he asked if others had seen anything odd, people replied with claims of seeing a variety of ghostly figures. A second man reported that he believed a vampire king lived in the cemetery. The vampire had been a Romania medieval nobleman who'd practiced black magic and he'd been brought to England in a coffin by his followers in the 1700's. He'd been buried in the area which then become Highgate cemetery. The man then claimed that Modern Satanists had roused the vampire and to vanquish him he needed to be he staked and have his head cut off and burned.

There was never any real evidence and though the second man wrote a book The Highgate Vampire (1985) containing his account and how he actually killed the vampire. It still doesn't mean that anything actually happened or was seen. However, the urban legend become the inspiration for other books, movies and people. Today, some people still believe that there was and/or still might be a vampire lurking in the cemetery. 

Hence, the inspiration for The Vampire of Highgate (2012). It is a young adult novel by first-time novel writer Asa Bailey. He is a British writer-director and he's worked on a number of movies as a writer, editor, producer and director. His bio says he was fascinated by vampires and the Gothic from an early age. The novel's prologue states that a London taxi driver told him the urban legend on his way back home one night. 

The novel's plot follows the main character Kathy, as she travels from New York to London in search of her family. However, she discovers that her sister has disappeared and might have been kidnapped by vampires and that this has something to do with the Highgate Vampire. She also finds out that she is a vampire hunter and that she must face all the vampires to save her sister. She has dreams/visions which guide her and she receives a book sent from her sister, which contains information about vampires. 

Whilst, the plot at first seems interesting it relays on coincidences and obvious twists to see it through. Ever event and plot point seems to work out far too nicely. To me this means that some of the realism gets lost and that there's not much of a mystery to things. Overall, though the plot does work and it does grab you enough to keep reading till the end. There are linking in sub-plots, which focus on the background of other characters and the victims of the high gate vampire. These are marked by a changed in the date and often appear at the beginning of the chapter. They give out some information, but for me I felt they digressed and it slowed down the flow of the story too much. I'd have liked this to be more incorporated.

The characters are well described and developed. Kathy and her sister Amber have large roles in the novel as well as their aunt and a vampire hunter. The vampires seem to be on the side and though there is a lot about them, for me I'd have enjoyed this book more if it was told from their point of view. The sub-plot of the vampires is that they know that the sister know where the Highgate vampire, who is their king, is hiding in the cemetery. He is been trapped there and comes out to feed every ten years if possible. The vampire leader kidnaps the sisters and makes then show him the right tomb, so that he can release the king. 

The narrative is very structured and simple, which is understandable for the young adult audience. I did enjoy this because it meant that more was left to the imagination and I could read the novel faster. However, I felt it needed more description in some areas, just to improve the writing. The dialogue also felt a little un-real for me. It was too simple, too many questions/answers and to obvious in establishing what was going on.  

Overall, I'm rating this novel as a good read. It's suitable for adults as well as teenagers. It has good characters and an interesting plot. For me I wanted a little bit more, but I did enjoy reading it and it captured the urban legend of the Highgate vampire nicely.          

Ps. I've a Goodreads profile so feel free to follow me on there as well as here. Thanks. https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7400715-hayley


Image From:
http://chocolatechunkymunkie.blogspot.co.uk/2012_07_01_archive.html

Additional information from:
 Wiki -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highgate_Vampire
http://highgatecemetery.org/

The First Wheels On The Road

Hi readers,
I've been so busy reading, writing, researching, volunteering and watching The Vampire Dairies season 1, Its' felt like I've had no time for anything else! This week I also took a massive step forward in my life. I had my first and second driving lessons. So, I thought I'd write about that as I've not finished the book I wanted to review this week. Also, that means I can make this post a short one!

So, I've been thinking for awhile that I should look at learning to drive. Time and money have always been against me though, so now that I've a good supply of both, I decided to look into starting. My first hurdle was choosing who to go with. There are a lot of driving schools and self-employed driving instructors out there. After doing some research, I picked a local self-employed instructor, but it turned out he'd retired. So, after much more fussing about, I decided to choose the AA. Actually, my boyfriend helped me to make the leap and I phoned the AA to discuss the price of the lessons.

Suddenly though, I found myself booking my first lesson and having it for Monday afternoon. Of course I could have said no, but I thought that if I've got more time to think I'll only talk myself out of it. Problem was I then spent the weekend with my mind on it and my emotions all over the place. Finally though the time arrived and I met my instructor outside my house. He turned out to be really nice and understanding about my needs.

We drove to this industrial estate and then he got me into the driver's seat. I was really panicky. It felt wrong in a way to sit behind the wheel as I didn't have a clue what I was doing. My instructor was calm and started asking some questions to test my knowledge of the car. I was worried  I'd get it all wrong, but it turned out I did know a lot more then I thought I did. After that and going through some more information about the controls of the car, I got to turn on the engine.

I then got to practice starting and stopping the car. It was really weird to be doing that and driving a little way. It did turn out to be easier then I thought it was going to be, but its still a difficult thing to do. Afterwards, I booked some more lessons and arranged to have two a week. That's not because I want to speed through learning to drive, its' because due to my short term memory problem, its all going to take awhile to stick. The fastest way of doing that is to keep doing the task and not having a large gap of time between doing so. Hopefully, this well help and I'll be able to remember all the steps.

I had my second lessons yesterday and I did feel like some of it had stuck with me. This time I got to drive the car around in a circle. I learnt how to change gears, though I wasn't very good at it! That's so going to take sometime to stay in my head. However, I did drive around a roundabout and other cars/lorries. I do seem to have a problem with corners too and I so need to get the flow of the road better. I shouldn't be so hard on myself though as I'm progressing. I'm sure that after some more lessons, I'll be better and more confident.

I'm looking forward to doing more driving and then officially become able to drive. It feels like a right of passage in away. Like another part of become an adult, which is an odd way to put it, but still. It'll give me that independence and freedom too, well as long as I get a car afterwards! but that's all far in the future.

I did wonder before how I could tie writing a novel or short story into this post. In a weird way, writing and learning to write is kinda like learning to drive car. You've got to take the leap and start out somewhere. It won't happen if you don't do that. Then you just need to take all the teaching in and put things to practice. Then you've got to stick to it and carry on. Then you just continue like that and keep improving the writing and doing research to make it right. In the final stages, you send it out onto the world and test it and yourself. Then if it gets published, you pass.

I'm really looking forward to my next lesson on Monday, but right now I've got more things to go and write.
Till next time.

Image from: http://dailycars-us.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/new-ford-focus-joins-aa-driving-school.html

Creative Writing Courses Online.

Hi readers,

It's been awhile since I wrote again, but unfortunately I've been ill and busy and not reading much. That's why this week's post isn't a book review, but still links in with the theme of my blog. I recently signed up for and this week started an online writing course run/partly by the Open University. My mum suggested it to me as she had been looking into it as part of her offices' writing poetry for nurses' day activity. The main focus is on creating characters, so I thought I'd give it a go and see what happens.

Its' been awhile since I last talked about writing courses and it'd been interesting to see if my views have changed about them. Actually, though I wanted to focus to be more about people/writers who'd already taken course/s on writing, ( no matter what they were) and weren't new to doing a creative writing course. I know this might leave a few readers out so I thought I'd go briefly write something for the new people afterwards. Okay, so, this is going to run into an A&Q post, but it seems the best way to write it.

Question 1: why if you've already done a creative writing course be it at uni level or equal too or just online etc, would you want/need to do another?

Answer: for lots of different reasons. It could be that the course is looking at one element of creative writing that you want to improve or be introduced too. For example you might be a poet, but you have an interested in travel writing but don't know much about it, then you could find a course tailored to met that need. Due to the fact that there are a lot of different subjects and they divided into different topics that make up a general creative writing course, it means that each course can offer different things and focus or main theme subject matters. The course I'm on for example does contain all the information a new writer needs, but its key theme is creating and developing characters.

Another reason might be that you've taken a break from writing -like I have and you want to get back into it but you don't know where to start. Plus, you need some motivation and to just go back through things. Courses can be really good for this. There one aim is always about getting you to write and getting you confident about your writing. The questions and assessments they give you can help get you back in the mode and time management for writing. It also allows you to make new connects, which are always useful to have. Adding into this is if you did a course a long time ago and you need to update your knowledge.

Question 2: How useful can it be to take another course? 

 It really depends on if its' suitable for you and if you put in as much as you can. For me, writing has always been something that can't really be taught, similar to other creative areas. Yes, you can learn about, but the talent and determination needs to still be there at the end. I also believe that you never stop learning and with Creative Writing being so broad this seems very true. Some writing courses wouldn't be much use to me now as I already know the basics and a lot about the publishing industry. However, a course that is focused on online-publishing or writing horror fiction might be still be useful to me because those are the areas I'm looking at and weren't that focused on at uni.

As an add to this going to public talks and readings to can be really useful. I can learn a lot about a certain subject and meet new people. You can also get inspired too and it's great to support other writes and teachers in this way.

Questions 3: Online or classroom?

I think this just depends on the course and yourself. I've got experience with both. I enjoyed going to classes and physically meeting up with tutors and friends. Certain environments can allow you to do more work or become more focused. I would love to go back to uni and do an different or related course, but I've not got the money to do so. Doing an online course paid for or free, is actually become more popular and I'm already seeing the benefits of it. Being online means that you can go at your pace and fit it in at a good time for you. So, there's no worrying about being late or missing things. A lot of people from around the world can get on the course as most of the time there's no number restrictions. You can do it all from home or from anywhere with a computer and the internet. You are still able to talk to the tutors and other support staff as well. Lastly, the qualification you might get isn't that different from a classroom on.

Question 4: Course or Writers' Retreat/Holiday? 

To me these have always been different things. A course is were you learn and the writers' retreat is where you go to get the space and time to write. I've seen some writers' retreats that do run classes and readings. But most of the time they do seems to be for someone who is currently writing and wants sometime to continue to do so. Most of the time there are other writers there for you to meet as well. Once again this depends on what you are looking for.

Question 5: Can I run my own writing course?

This is a tricky one but I was thinking about it before. The answer is technically yes. Though it does help if you some experience and a qualification in teaching to start with. Also, having stuff published can be a big element. Where to teach and how much to charge, is something I've not really looked into. However, I'm still trying to get a writing group set up at the youth center, though I'll probably won't get paid for that. I did know someone who went into prisons to teach creative writing. Schools might also be interested. I think it'd need some research and connecting the right people.

So, I've pretty much answered everything I had my head now. Hopefully it's also give you more insight into writing courses. It really does come down to what you want to get out of it and how you want to study. I'm really wanting to get back into writing my novels and meeting other writers. I miss how we motivated and support each other and that can be a large part of the writing process. It's also easier and cheaper for me at the moment. One thing it's also allowed me to do is find a use for these notebooks I  made. Though I fear I might need some more soon!

New writers

I want to do a writing course where do I start?

I'd so recommending doing some research into the different courses out there. Also think about how much time you can commit to and if you can offered to do it. Plus, traveling and other living expenses. Uni and college courses can be very expensive now. Of course you don't have to do a writing course to start writing and self-publishing. There's lots of information and helpful people on the internet and just doing that might be more useful to people then taking a course. but if you really do want to do it then I'd say look at doing a uni course or the equal to it. Doing a whole course like my BA Hons one meant that I could write a whole range of different things, I could also work in the publishing industry or do things like editing and making content online. There are ones that are tailored or more focused on certain parts of writing. So, it just depends what you want to do.


Images from:
http://chalkthesun.co.uk/?page_id=51
Handmade note books; Author's own.