The IAN Interview

Interview - Click link below

The Independent Author Network: Carlo J Vella: The IAN Interview: "Carlo J Vella discusses The Book of Secrets and his writing experiences. IAN. Please tell us a bit about yourself. CV. I get ..."

Lisbon Portugal

Lisbon’s history dates back to 300,000 years ago. However, it emerged as a nation state in the early 12th century and ranks as one of the world's longest founded cities. As the legend tells, it is a city founded and named by Ulysses as Ulissipo or Olissopo, which has its origins in the Phoenician words "Allis Ubbo", meaning "enchanting port". It is from there, according to legend, that Lisbon got its name.

I was taken back by the beauty, the architecture and the people who not only were hospitable but they carried the burden of a hard life with a smile. Though the city does have that unclean feeling, the beauty remains and you can feel the damage that occurred after the horrendous earthquake in 1755. The people enjoy their life and having some financial difficulties in 2010 where the EU donated money to help with the economy, locals continue with their everyday chores and retain the proudness of their heritage even though some have to struggle to make a living.

It was once the launching pad for many discoverers (Vasco da Gama's epic journey to India), Lisbon was the first true world city, the capital of an empire spreading over all continents, from South America (Brazil) to Asia (Macao, China; Goa, India). It is forever known as the city of the explorers: Prince Henry the Navigator or Ferdinand Magellan. The city now rests quietly, leaving traces of history here and there but for sure the greatest discoverers will never be forgotten and having been under great stress with its financial difficulties, the city still has the reputed respect of it once being the forefront of adventurers.

The city was already existing when Julius Caesar was in power. Lisbon was a part of the Roman Empire, and was known under the name “Felicitas Julia”. Also the Islam had its time in Lisbon, and ruled the city until the first half of the 12th century. The rise of Lisbon started in 1147, when the city was conquered by the Christian crusader Afonso Henriques. Since then on, the political, economic, and cultural importance of Lisbon was increasing rapidly.




On November 01, 1755 an earthquake hit at at 9.30 am. The centre of the quake was situated in the Atlantic ocean and lasted approximately 10 minutes, sent 3 heavy shocks towards the city of Lisbon. The earthquake was felt as far as South Africa and tremors were felt in Spain, France, Switzerland and Italy. The earthquake caused a massive fire which, with the help of the quake destroyed just about the whole of Lisbon and a strong tsunami caused sever damage on the coast of Portugal, south-west Spain and western Morocco.






Lisbon being one of the most beautiful cities in Europe in 1755, was sadly destroyed, a re-enactment of  Pompeii's destruction, only this time mother nature used other means instead of poisonous gasses and lava from Mount Vesuvius.

256 years later and it is now 2011 the city may not be one of the nicest in Europe but Lisbon still holds in charm, though many will say that it looks unkept, it is still beautiful and in some way magical. It left me with awe and amazement studying its history, talking with the locals and seeing how the city was rebuilt, I felt the strength of the people that such a disaster was not going to keep them from continuing living their life. 






A piece of me is still in Lisbon and piece of Lisbon has embedded into my mind and heart. It is a city I adore and a place I will be visiting again and again.

Abandoned Village in Tarragona, Spain

We went to investigate a couple of abandoned villages this weekend that are supposedly haunted. Both villages in the South of Spain in the Province of Tarragona, villages that were wiped out during the first world war. They were built in the 17century and sad to say that most people in the village perished during the bombings.

Locals have said they could hear screams and crying and others have seen apparitions. Some of the houses are located near the woods and there seemed to be an eerie feeling as we walked through the woods to get to the old church. Though the feelings are more caused by the ghostly tales we were told. 

 We didn't end up seeing or hearing anything.

BUT ...............................

Our last stop was to visit a Knights Templar castle and while touring the massive structure, my EVP went crazy. I took out the infa-red camera and started taking pictures. Here is what came out!

 

Not too sure what to think of this photo. Not saying anything is there by the entrance but the equipment did go crazy before I took the photo.

In this pic, there have been reports of a woman being seen kneeling. The dark figure is supposedly of the woman. Before the photo was taken, my colleague stated that he saw something bright then quickly disappear. 

It is difficult to prove these photos and of course I can not state the fact that these may be paranormal. But nice to share the info.

Midsummer - Summer Solstice

There many mythical associations with the summer solstice, not the least of which concerns the seasonal life of the God of the sun. It is believed there is good reason to see the Sun-God at his zenith -- his peak of power -- on this day, and that his death at the hands of his rival would not occur for another quarter of a year. Material drawn from the Welsh mythos seems to support this thesis. In Irish mythology, Midsummer is the occasion of the first battle between the Fir Bolgs and the Tuatha De Danaan.

Midsummer celebration 1962

Altogether, Midsummer is a favorite holiday for many Witches in that it is so hospitable to outdoor celebrations. The warm summer night seems to invite it. And if the celebrants are not in fact skyclad, then you may be fairly certain that the long ritual robes of winter have yielded place to short, tunic-style apparel. As with the longer gowns, tradition dictates that one should wear nothing underneath -- the next best thing to skyclad, to be sure. (Incidentally, now you know the REAL answer to the old Scottish joke, 'What is worn underneath the kilt?')

Denmark

The two chief icons of the holiday are the spear (symbol of the Sun-God in his glory) and the summer cauldron (symbol of the Goddess in her bounty). The precise meaning of these two symbols, which is believed to have recently been discovered, will be explored in the essay on the death of Llew. But it is interesting to note here that modern Witches often use these same symbols in the Midsummer rituals. And one occasionally hears the alternative consecration formula, 'As the spear is to the male, so the cauldron is to the female...' With these mythic associations, it is no   wonder that Midsummer is such a joyous and magical occasion!

Courtesy: Mike Nichols 

Many countries celebrate midsummer in their own traditional way. Here are some photos from various countries celebrating Midsummer.

Barcelona

Galway

Russia

 Sweeden

UK

History of Litha (MidSummer)

Also known as Summer Solstice, Litha, Alban Hefin, Sun Blessing, Gathering
Day, Feill-Sheathain, Whit Sunday, Whitsuntide, Vestalia, Thing-tide, St.
John's Day 

In addition to the four great festivals of the Pagan Celtic year, there are four lesser holidays as well: the two solstices, and the two equinoxes. Infolklore, these are referred to as the four 'quarter-days' of the year, and
modern Witches call them the four 'Lesser Sabbats', or the four 'Low Holidays'. The Summer Solstice is one of them. 
Litha is usually celebrated on June 21st, but varies somewhat from the 20th to the 23rd, dependent upon the Earth's rotation around the Sun. According to the old folklore calendar, Summer begins on Beltane (May 1st) and ends on Lughnassadh (August 1st), with the Summer Solstice midway between the two, marking MID-Summer. This makes more logical sense than suggesting that Summer begins on the day when the Sun's power begins to wane and the days grow shorter. The most common other names for this holiday are the Summer Solstice or Midsummer, and it celebrates the arrival of Summer, when the hours of daylight are longest. The Sun is now at the highest point before beginning its slide into darkness. 

Moons
Humanity has been celebrating Litha and the triumph of light since ancient times. On the Wheel of the Year Litha lies directly across from Yule, the shortest day of the calendar year, that cold and dark winter turning when days begin to lengthen and humanity looks wistfully toward warmth, sunlight and growing things. Although Litha and Yule are low holidays or lesser sabats in the ancient parlance, they are celebrated with more revel and merriment than any other day on the wheel except perhaps Samhain (my own favourite). The joyous rituals of Litha celebrate the verdant Earth in high summer, abundance, fertility, and all the riches of Nature in full bloom. This is a madcap time of strong magic and empowerment, traditionally the
time for handfasting or weddings and for communication with the spirits of Nature. At Litha, the veils between the worlds are thin; the portals between "the fields we know" and the worlds beyond stand open. This is an excellent time for rites of divination.

Those who celebrated Litha did so wearing garlands or crowns of flowers, and of course, their millinery always included the yellow blossoms of St. John's Wort. The Litha rites of the ancients were boisterous communal festivities with morris dancing, singing, storytelling, pageantry and feasting taking place by the village bonfire and torch lit processions through the villages after dark. People believed that the Litha fires possessed great power, and that prosperity and protection for oneself and one's clan could be earned
erely by jumping over the Litha bonfire. It was also common for courting couples joined hands and jump over the embers of the Litha fire three times to ensure a long and happy marriage, financial prosperity and many children. Even the charred embers from the Litha bonfire possessed protective powers - they were charms against injury and bad weather in harvest time, and embers were commonly placed around fields of grain and orchards to protect the crops and ensure an abundant reaping. Other Litha customs included carrying an ember of the Litha fire home and placing it on one's hearth and decking one's home with birch, fennel, St. John's Wort, orpin, and white lilies for blessing and protection.


Thanks to 13 


Happy Midsummer

Sex in Novels

Well, sex is something we can not overlook. Basically it's in our face wherever you go. Straight women apparently enjoy watching man on man action just like straight men drool over a woman going down on another woman.

Gay novels are read more by women than men and are written more by women and have to say that their descriptive words do leave an erotic image in your mind. (and who said women don't know what men like?) They sure know what men like when you read their books. Now, I am not saying gay men do not read gay romance novels or gay porn for that matter but it is surprising how many women enjoy a hot romantic M&M novel.

So, what makes a novel interesting to read? The plot (if there is one) unless you just want to write pornography then there is no sense in thinking of a plot. There are numerous writers who have created some wonderful work blending man to man action with a plot, though simple, but enough to keep the reader interested until the last page. 

Taste is what it's all about and I have spoken to many people about what they find interesting in a novel which contains hard core sex. Here are some comments made of what readers like to see in a novel

JENNA: A vampire story be it gay or straight is expected to have sex scenes, romantic and slow seduction to lure the victim. I like the author to give me explicit details but not make it too lengthy, just enough to picture the image and then move on. I love vampire stories, especially gay vampires, it's sexy, erotic and does tend to excite me a little.

PABLO: I have to say that I am not a fan of erotica, only difference you read are the characters but everything else is the same. I prefer the author to give subtle hints on the activity between the characters having sex and that's all. 

RENE: I am not much of a reader but occasionally do read a story about lesbianism on the net. It's quite a turn on and watching two women together is even better but the wife doesn't seem to like it. I wont go any further on the subject!

MONTSE: Love watching women having sex but when it comes to novels I prefer reading about straight couples or gay men. It's more exciting.

ANDREA: What I like most about gay erotica is the variety of sex scenes you get with the characters. I'm not talking about positions but the fantasy in the story; gay shape shifters, angels, then you get the leather and so on. There is not much in the hetro section with such a variety of sexual fantasies. I even enjoy stories with threesomes - 2 men and a woman is fantastic.

I have interviewed so many people about this and it seems that women win over the subject of gay erotica. But I do have to say that there were a few who looked at me as if I just rose up out of the pits of hell. The mention of gay erotica was definitely not to their liking. Each to their own I say.

My say on the subject? My genre  is horror (reading and writing) I do pick up a gay romance novel every now and then as something different to read. I have to admit that I get tired of the stereo types - the smooth young lean male body, blonde hair and the blue eyes, not a single blemish can be traced in this young man's body or face. I seem to have read more novels with this type of characters. Is the lean, smooth body, boy look more attractive than the rugged and hairy, sexy and masculine man? What do you think?

Out of all the people that I interviewed, the following are the stats: (approx)

65% Women like M&M erotica                         25% Men like M&M erotica
30% Woman prefer Hetro                                  55% Men prefer Hetro
05% Women like Lesbian erotica                       20% Men like lesbian erotica
                               

REMEMBER, there weren't many gay men (maybe the occasional one) interviewed and I am sure the stats on the male side would be much higher


Keep in mind that the stats are only calculated on the people interviewed in  Barcelona.

Kudos to all authors who are entertaining readers with their style.




Have any thoughts on the subject? What do you like reading? What fantasy excites you the most?

Don't be shy. 

Short Story Submission

Teaching English to foreign students is not easy and there aren't many English books where students could pick up and read without having to look at a dictionary to find out what the author is actually talking about. Many English novels are translated into Spanish and only the most popular of authors are recognised here in Spain.

I am organising an Anthology of short stories - different genres for students to read and hopefully expand their knowledge of the English language. This will be for students studying in the Advanced Level and any other person interested in reading the book. I have been told by a number of people that it is very difficult for them to understand books written in English. It is why I am looking at doing this project.

We are also thinking at opening a shop to enable books to be sold here as the variety of English books is quite limited. Unless you are Stephen King, Dan Brown, J R Rowling, Charlaine Harris etc, your book will not be found on the shelves.

Indie books, books written by Independent authors will be the focus. Also a web site will be designed in Spanish to sell these books to anyone interested in buying them within Spain and of course other countries but  the sales will mostly be focused in Spain.

If you want to take part, email me at carlojvella@yahoo.com

Below are the submission guidelines . DO NOT SUBMIT ANY WORK FOR THE MOMENT

What we are looking for:

*  4 Authors to submit 2 short stories each - (myself and 3 other authors)

*  Short stories must NOT be too difficult - remember you will be writing for foreign students/readers

*  Between 5,000 to 10,000 words.

*  Looking for Crime, Horror and Paranormal (vampires, witches, ghosts etc)

*  Stories will NOT contain any type of explicit sexual content or indecent language.
*  All submissions must have their work edited

This is a good opportunity for Independent authors to show their work in another country.

Deadline 31 August 2011

Anyone interested please Email me with any question - carlojvella@yahoo.com (DO NOT SUBMIT ANY WORK FOR THE MOMENT)

Carole Sutton - Interview

Author of crime fiction novels - The Ferryman, Blood Opal and the Devil laughed, Carole Suttons talks to me about her passion as an author, all the way from Perth Australia.


A writer of crime stories. Where do you get your ideas from?

CS: I have a very fertile imagination. My ideas come best when I am bored and staring out of the window with nothing particular on my mind. That's the most likely time for the muse to kick in.  I'm a great fan of British crime TV series. In particular those that feature Cornwall as a location.  I lived in Cornwall for 20 years with my husband, raising our family of three children, before coming to Australia in 1981.  Writing crime has a certain discipline that I enjoy. For instance, to make your scenes realistic, you must observe the correct police procedure. For that reason my years of watching crime on TV,  whether it be The Bill, or Wire In The Blood, or others of similar caliber has paid off. I also did an eight week course at the local University called  Crime Scene Investigation for Writers, which I found most enlightening.

What inspires you to write? 
CS: I've always been a writer of sorts, whether it was writing diaries, short stories, or articles  to sell to magazines, I have enjoyed the process. It's also a way of emptying the mind - controlling my sometimes riotous imagination. Odd things will trigger an idea - for instance in my second book, And the Devil Laughed - the trigger was a name. I heard the name Hannah mentioned somewhere, and my immediate reaction was to think,  'Hannah, that's who I'm going to write about.' Then, once started, the questions filled my mind, who was Hannah, where did she come from, what did she do, what happened to her and so on and I was up and running with Hannah guiding me all the way. I love it when that happens.

It's not easy for one to get their books published and as Independent authors, one must be their own agent and do their own marketing etc.. What are your thoughts on this?

CS: I've had my share of rejections from traditional publishers and was becoming quite disheartened at my lack of progress. Then in 2008 YouWriteOn declared they would publish their members books for free. I had been working with them for a couple of years or so. Both my novels had at some point been their 'Number One.' on their Top Five List. I gained sufficient kudos on both books to receive professional critiques on them. After numerous editing I thought my first one, Ferryman, was ready to be given the chance. One more edit using that very helpful critique and I offered it to YWO for publishing. I was in my seventies at the time and decided I didn't want to wait around many more years for traditional publishing.But, I agree with you, doing your own marketing is a nightmare. Book shops here in Australia tend not to like the Independents. The attitude I've experienced with some bookshop owners is that if it is POD it must be inferior, or heaven forbid - vanity press. Yet another bookshop owner welcomed my set of three books just recently and billed them proudly as 'Local writer.' 

What makes an author? Can anybody become a writer?

CS: Anyone can become a writer, but whether or not they make a good author is a different question. What makes an author? I think it's something in-built. A good author has to have a story, or a subject worth telling, and must have the ability to put the right words on paper in an interesting manner, well enough to hold a reader's attention.  When people say of my books, 'I couldn't put it down,' I am very happy, they have paid this writer a great compliment. I am definitely not a sales-person, but find when I do sell one of my  books to a friend or acquaintance, they invariably come back for another one.

What guidance can you give to people wanting to start a career in writing?

CS: Are we talking about newspaper reporters' career or something more at home like poetry, yal, romance, short stories or novels maybe? If the latter, then get to know your genre. Get to know the rules of that genre, as each one appears to have its own set requirements or limitations. Go to a face-to-face writing workshop, get to know the rules of writing in general. Join Internet writing workshops and be an active member. You can learn a great deal by critiquing other people's work, and their comments on your baby can be  invaluable. Develop a tough hide - you'll need it. Here is a wonderful site that helped me get where I am today, that and the YWO program, excellent help for all grades of writer.

Here are a couple of websites to assist writers of all levels. 

www.internetwritingworkshop.org/

www.youwriteon.com/info/youwriteon-top-questions.aspx

I have read the Ferryman and have to say It was a joy to read. It is a shame that Independent authors can not get the recognition they deserve. There is wonderful talent out there. Keep up the good work.