A Couple of Nonfiction Pieces in Print.

Generally, I write fiction: it satisfies my imagination. But, currently, I’m preparing a nonfiction book to describe my experiences of ME/CFS in order to help sufferers and their helpers. Along the way, I’ve ventured into some short nonfiction pieces for publications. And, I suppose, most of my blog posts here and the stuff I’ve placed on ReadWave is nonfiction. I’m a writer, and I let the piece choose the genre.

It’s always satisfying to have work published, no matter how brief and transitory it may be. This week, I had a short piece of personal memoir published in a local daily newspaper, The Yorkshire Post. It was an observation on regional stereotypes presented in humorous form. And it’s a piece for which I’ll be paid, which is a nice bonus. Also this week I’ve had a short article published in the major UK  Writing Magazine, a monthly publication, that has a section for subscribers to tell the world their news. I wrote a piece on my great experience at Fantasticon 2014 and it’s now appeared in the current issue (January 2015).

Both of these short features have put my name, and in the case of the writing mag, my website address, in front of a wider readership. There’s the possibility that readers of the journals may investigate further and I may, as result, gain new readers for my fiction.

So, if you generally confine your activity to fiction only, perhaps you might consider the occasional foray into journalism. These publications certainly cheered up an otherwise stressful week for me. Have a go. What have you to lose?

Writing: 1300 Words Added.

Another relatively early start, after a great evening at my brother's house for wine, music and talk on many matters. Produced 1300 words of Ch22 and brought part of the action to a climactic moment, with plenty of threat and room for danger for a main character.
It's been a mostly domestic day; following breakfast in bed after the writing, I visited the local recycling depot and disposed of bottles and card there. Visited my brother again, to borrow his pressure washer. Washed the car, for the first time this year; well, the first time for about 6 months, if the truth be told. Lots of mud to remove and some odd spots now revealed that are in need of paint if the body isn't going to rust.
Emptied the larger of our two compost bins and spread the rich soil on the flower borders. Used the pressure washer to remove the layer of green lichen that has made the paving slabs dangerous in the wet: winter had left them with this film of green that turns into a slime when the rain falls, so i had to clean them. Half of that job done; the other half will have to wait until tomorrow.
It's Easter and it's Saturday, so that means it's Dr Who in UK. A must see TV programme.
After a busy day, physically, I think I've earned some relaxation time, so that's me finished for now. See what the morning brings.

Today's picture is of a gap in a dry stone wall. If it seems familiar, that's because I used it in combination with some other pics for the cover of my novel, Breaking Faith.

A Shameless Plug for my Own Book

Image by stuartaken via Flickr

Here are some reviews of Breaking Faith, my self-published novel. I hope they might tempt you into buying the book. But, if you want a flavour of it first, visit my website www.stuartaken.co.uk and use the BookBuzzr widget to read the first 30 pages or go to the ‘Novels’ page and read the first 2 chapters, all for free. You can then buy it through amazon or any of a number of other booksellers.

By S. D. Mace "Shirley Mace" (High Bentham)
After several years of not having the time or making time to read novels I could not believe how determined this book was to make me read it and was surprised how quickly I read it and how much I enjoyed reading it. 

"Breaking Faith" is about a young naive, innocent girl, set in the summer of 1976, it details Faith's journey from one of isolation, deprivation and abuse where she is bullied by Heacham, acting as his skivvy and financial support and also nursemaid to her brain damaged sister, to enlightenment and self-knowledge in which she slowly falls in love with Leighton and overcomes all the obstacles that are put in her way. Writing from alternating perspectives (Faith and Leighton) adds detail, richness, interest and understanding of the characters. A shocking but captivating story that is definitely worth reading.

By  Mr. P. F. Field (UK)
"Breaking Faith" is the story of Faith, ignorant, naive and completely overshadowed by the sadistic bully Heacham. Faith struggles to nurse her brain-damaged younger sister, skivvy for Heacham and be the family's total financial support. 

Awakening comes as she gets a job with Leighton, the local glamour photographer and she falls in love with him, despite the terrifying threats from Leighton's assistant, the disgusting Mervyn.
I read this book in one sitting, unwilling to put it down, immersed in the Yorkshire of the sweltering summer of 1976 and Faith's journey from darkness to self-knowledge. Her sometimes frightening honesty wash all hypocrisy away, for she is a girl who sees things as they are and tells it the way it is. The book is written from the alternating perspective of Faith and Leighton, giving the reader a greater understanding of their interactions with each other and those around them. The characters are drawn with a fine brush, especially Faith's mother and father. The denouement is sudden, violent and completely satisfying.

By Michelle Mccabe (Gateshead, North East England)
I thought this was a really original story with an intriguing hero and an even more intriguing eponymous heroine. I also felt an intense dislike for some of the other characters meaning Stuart Aken's characterisations were really well done and the denouement tied all of the plots up to a surprising conclusion. Switching the first person narrative from one to the other and looking at the same events from both sets of eyes was a wonderful means of seeing the reasoning behind both of their actions. The story compelled me to read and read and read (a habit that, with an eight year old son, I confess, I have lost recently). 

I would recommend it to anyone and look forward to reading Stuart's next novel!

A triumph of good over evil and an enthralling read

Posted April 13, 2009, 1:37 PM EST Barnes and noble, by Retreiver470:

"Breaking Faith" is the story of Faith, ignorant, naive and completely overshadowed by the sadistic bully Heacham. Faith struggles to nurse her brain-damaged younger sister, skivvy for Heacham and be the family's total financial support. Awakening comes as she gets a job with Leighton, the local glamour photographer and she falls in love with him, despite the terrifying threats from Leighton's assistant, the disgusting Mervyn. I read this book in one sitting, unwilling to put it down, immersed in the Yorkshire of the sweltering English summer of 1976 and Faith's journey from darkness to self-knowledge. Her sometimes frightening honesty wash all hypocrisy away, for she is a girl who sees things as they are and tells it the way it is. The book is written from the alternating perspective of Faith and Leighton, giving the reader a greater understanding of their interactions with each other and those around them. The characters are drawn with a fine brush, especially Faith's mother and father. The denouement is sudden, violent and completely satisfying.

A compelling human story

Review by AJ Field

I have read some of Stuart Aken’s earlier work and he always writes with an immediacy that goes straight to the heart. “Breaking Faith” is the story of one girl’s journey from horrific abuse and bullying, through emotional turmoil, to finding love. But, of course, Aken doesn’t make it easy for her. This is no girl meets boy moonlight and roses book. It is, in parts, deeply disturbing, especially the character of Heacham and his treatment of Faith and her brain-damaged sister. Richness comes from the alternating perspectives of the two main characters, Faith and Leighton. Faith is a girl who sees things as they are and tells it like it is. The way Aken writes his characters pulls your emotions from one to the other. And over all of this is another character, the Yorkshire Dales in the searing summer of 1976. It pervades the action of the book, mirroring the lives of the characters in its landscape. The story builds to a wholly satisfying climax that is sudden and violent, but fitting. It is a book I shall read again.

Karen Wolfe

This is a story of triumphant human spirit. Heroine Faith's rite of passage from horrific neglect and abuse to fulfilment and true love is an inspiring one. Stuart Aken's novel, set in the summer of 1976, simmers with heat, lust, decadence and sexuality, all of which Faith transcends to become her own woman. I loved the Yorkshire Dales setting, and I was rooting for Faith all the way to her well-deserved happy ending. Stuart Aken is indeed a writer to watch.

Word of the Day: joy – delight, vivid pleasure, happiness; ‘Returned from the battlefields of Flanders, he was filled with joy as he approached his beloved wife.’

Review of Torc of Moonlight by Linda Acaster

From time to time, when I come across a book I feel is worth the effort, I'll place a review on this blog. This is the first such. A review of Torc of Moonlight, by Linda Acaster.

In Torc of Moonlight, Linda Acaster gives us a book which is more than simply a damn good read. This well crafted paranormal romance leads the reader through mysteries that are only gradually revealed, frightening us along the route taken by the possessed lovers. She builds empathy for the central characters, putting us inside their minds to explain their motives, drives and fears, and shredding our hearts with their emotional experiences. That she handles the male point of view with as much skill and sympathy as that of the female says a great deal about this writer’s observational powers.

The story concerns a rugby-playing male student and the mysterious, beautiful and surprisingly tough history student he falls for. Her preoccupation with Celtic history and, specifically, the female spirits of sacred springs in North Yorkshire, underlines her very real concern for those she loves.

On a deeper level, though not intrusively, the novel deals with many themes. One that caught my imagination was the parallel of modern contact sports with ancient warrior ways. She portrays, with an understanding suggestive of her unlikely physical participation, the potential brutality of rugby. Her analogy shows how rule-breaking in sport renders the game less worthy and destroys team spirit. In the same way, her anti-hero, Ognirius, in his selfish pursuit of personal glory at the expense of his fellow countrymen, destroys trust and undermines the civilisation of his own time and that of the present day.

Linda handles sex scenes and love scenes with equal veracity, lending emotional honesty to the loving relationship of the main characters and contrasting this with the usage and guile displayed by those who indulge in sex merely for their own gain.

Detailed pictures of the city of Hull, its university, and the moorlands of North Yorkshire bring life to the setting of the novel without ever slowing the story. The plot moves, twists and turns to surprise, confuse and astound as it takes us through emotional, physical and spiritual conflicts to the inevitable denouement.

I could not put this book down and confidently recommend it to all who love well written novels with believable characters, intriguing stories and real settings.

www.lindaacaster.co.uk