Mr Stargazer is Back

Hail readers!

It has been a long while since I last wrote here on the Magical Realm. Don’t blame me; blame the rather less than competent engineers of BT. They were supposed to connect us to the Internet on Monday—last Monday. They then said they didn’t have a map of the exchange nodes next to our house (why didn’t they bring that when they came to connect us?) and that they would be installing it on Wednesday.

Wednesday came and went. Then they told us by Friday; that came and went. They told us they’d connect us by Wednesday this week; they didn’t. I have been forced to publish this through the university’s Internet. Suffice to say, I am far from pleased.

But really, I shouldn’t be surprised. BT have shown themselves to be less than competent before. And it’s not like we have a choice: in our area, a God-forsaken town in the Midlands, all of the phone and Internet infrastructure is owned by BT.

The situation is similar in many other parts of the country—in urban centres like Manchester or London Virgin Media has fibre optic, but much of our telecommunications still passes through BT via DSL.

Anyway, rant aside, this is an almost textbook example of market failure via monopoly. Because BT owns all of the phone and Internet infrastructure in the area, they have a local monopoly; and so they are not obliged to compete in order to improve the infrastrucure (which is still DSL and still limited to a paltry 8Mb/s in some places). Nor, it seems, to provide good service.

Our ISP is actually Sky, but they still have to use BT’s phone line and thus be hobbled by their incompetence.

There are a few potential solutions. One would be for other companies to set up their own phone lines, perhaps with public investment and other incentives from the government. The problem with this approach is obvious: telecom infrastructure isn’t cheap, and the money would have to be stumped up by the taxpayer.

A different solution is to return to what we had previously: British Telecom, i.e. have BT nationalised. Firms would still be able to piggyback on the national infrastructure (thus allowing some competition without having to replicate the same expensive infrastructure multiple times) and hopefully with some sort of democratic oversight, BT might actually serve the interests of the people.

Anyway, enough of that. You’ve probably been expecting news of my efforts in reaching an editor, so here goes.

On Editing

Due to my lack of Internet access, I have not been able to contact more editors on Reedsy. However, my phone did have access to Internet—albeit to only 2G (!) despite the fact that it’s 2016 and I live in the middle of a town. Anyway, I was able to receive an email from Elliott—the company’s founder—who drew my attention towards 5 editors he deemed open and suitable.

Thus I have now filed a new request, and hope to be getting some more quotes very soon. Once I have, I hope work can begin and my time won’t be wasted on the incompetence of others…

Beta Reading

I have also decided on sending the latest draft of the Ark, with part two complete (did I mention?) onto a person who did a beta read for the first part; that is, Margaux Espinosa, who also reviewed the Necromancer some while back.

In addition to her, I have not heard back from my secret beta reader, so they’ll be getting an update. And, I shall look for more beta readers wherever I may find them; Goodreads has proven useful in the past.

The Necromancer

Incidentally, a lady has offered to review the Necromancer (remember that?) and will hopefully post a review sometime in the not too distant future. I must say I’m curious to see what she’ll say. Oh, and thanks to the Goodreads group for helping me find her.

The Magical Realm over the Spring

With my A level exams coming up in May, I am obviously somewhat pre-occupied with revision—I’ve done a little this past week, but not much owing to my continued irritation with BT—and with work on the Ark. You can understand why theMagical Realm will be on the back-burner so to speak.

Nonetheless, I will be keeping you all updated. I can do that much.

Finishing Off

I have covered a fair amount of topics in this update, so just to recap: I have not had Internet until now and will be occupied with various tasks for the remainder of the week, in addition to my revision; I am still waiting for a washing machine to arrive (…); and I have contacted more editors regarding the Ark, as well as a beta reader.

On top of all that, I have been busy getting used to our new house. We’ve installed a number of curtains and net blinds inside. Most of the furniture is set-up, along with the TV; but my Internet, washing machine, and a few pieces of small furniture have not.

I’ve also been busy changing address with the bank and other institutions.

So, that’s most of what I’ve been doing.

On a final note, I have continued reading Picketty’s Capital in the 21st Century and have now read a fifth of it. (Considering that the work spans 1000 pages and is full of graphs and maths, that’s no mean feat, believe me.) I have decided to write my thoughts as I go along. These I will publish on Goodreads, and here on the Magical Realm.

And why, you might ask? Because Picketty’s work is fascinating and relevant to our modern age. Also, it will help me with my economics. ;)

With all that out of the way, stick with me. As you can see, a lot is going on…

The Long Interlude

Hail readers!

You may have observed that I have not blogged for quite a while. Unfortunately, this has been all but inevitable: for as I’ve mentioned previously, I’ve moved house. And sadly, I won’t have Internet until sometime around the 20th (eek!).

Nevertheless, a number of developments have arose since I last blogged.

The first of these concerns the Ark, and specifically, I’ve been looking to get an editorial assessment for the first two parts of the manuscript (the second part being very nearly finished). My reasons are simple: my beta reader, and my personal suspicions, agree that some work needs to be done on it. In particular, it is in places overwritten; Casey needs a stronger voice; and there are no doubt numerous other small but important flaws.

The initial feedback I received from an editor called Matrice largely agrees with that, and has flagged up problems none of us were able to spot.

I contacted this editor using the help of Reedsy, a website aimed at writers, editors and other publishing professionals. Due to the somewhat unusual nature of the Ark, and the rather busy schedules of some of the editors, I’ve decided to extend the deadline for quotes by a week; and so I am effectively in a kind of limbo, waiting for more editors to reply with quotes.

In truth, such is the nature of the business. You can’t get a book published on your own—and when you have to rely on other people, well; unexpected things can happen.

But it’s not all limbo: I still have a good two chapters to get written. So, to conclude this, I guess I’ll just say: take it up your chest, and keep going.

Concerning Reviews

In other literary matters, I have recently come up across Cassandra Clare’s latest novel—the Lady Midnight. Now, those of you who follow my reviews might know that I’m a fan of the author; her books are wonderfully suffused with a magic, in an original and compelling world, and to add to that there are the multidimensional characters and dark, unexpected plot lines.

Well, Lady Midnight is no exception. In fact, if anything, it might actually be better than the Mortal Instruments series.

Anyway: expect my review soon.

To Finish Off

Due to present circumstances, I am unfortunately unable to blog a great deal: there won’t be any essays or new posts until past the 20th, the only exception being short updates regarding my progress. That said, stick with me. After the 20th we should be mostly moved in—and I will have another school holiday.

Although most of that will be occupied with revision for my A2 exams, I can squeeze in a few musings on political philosophy. I’ve written a great deal on Socialism, and a fair amount about Conservatism and even Social Democracy; but I’ve not written much about Liberalism. So, I shall rectify that.

Until then, wish me luck. The Ark, after all, will not write itself.

Tales from the Ark

Hail readers!

Alas, it has been a while since I last updated the Magical Realm. There are a few reasons for this: chiefly, I am now doing my mock exams. But I have also been busy writing—I have added two chapters to the Ark since my last update.

Also, unfortunately, me and my parents are moving house. We’re hiring a moving company to help, but… I am sick and tired of it. No matter. I’ve a great deal with which to occupy myself; and I’ll be going to university in a couple of months, so the new house’s small size won’t be with me too long. (In fairness the house is also brand new, has lovely fittings, solar panels, and three bathrooms—but still. Were will I put my double bed and dual monitors?)

Anyway: this post is concerned primarily with updating you on my writing progress, and also: you get to see some of my beta-reader feedback!

Of the Ark and its Reception

I have received a substantial amount of feedback—the majority of it positive. Here, take a look:

As to the Ark itself, I like it. You have a good command of English, your descriptions of the architecture and world are imaginative, and [with regards to Casey and Conall] you skilfully travel the line between titillation and what I suppose may be termed pornography.

—from my Secret Beta Reader.

So…your sex scene. Bravo! Beautifully written and it definitely adds to the story and characterization. Each action tells more about the person doing it and how they feel about the other person. That to me is the mark of a good sex scene. Nothing seemed to be in there just for titillation

—from Karen, my writer friend.

The relationship between the boys was sweet but had some conflict which makes it more intriguing.

—from Karen again.

I write this response directly after reading the first chapter. I’m impressed, entertained, and grabbed.

The real strength you have is your creation of the world. I think you’ve done it wonderfully. The concoction of wonderment at the technical and the inexplicable is very much to my taste, and I think it is very much a USP for your world. The narrative voice of Conall is another great strength, both considered and consistent. I very much like the world and the eyes through which you describe it are suitably insightful, yet notably human

—Oli, a friend of mine, who is actually a rather good poet.

Nevertheless, my novel is not quite perfect. As my Secret Beta Reader puts it:

But nevertheless I do find myself getting confused over Casey and Connal and wondering who’s who.

This is understandable, since my SBR has already criticised me for narrating the two characters’ voices in too similar a fashion. (This has likewise been brought up by another person who read it.) I suspect I will have to do some revision to one of the character’s general mode of expression and language.

Aside from that:

You have a good command of English, but its possible that at times it might come across as being a little stilted or contrived.

—SBR.

This has likewise been echoed by one Margaux Espinosa (if you were around a year ago, you may recall that she reviewed my prior book, the Necromancer) who has expressed difficulty reading it at times: ‘So slow because of all the formal language.’ I have actually done some revision since then (as my SBR agrees: ‘You appear to have done quite a bit of work on it. It reads much more fluently and I couldn’t readily detect many grammatical errors.’) Nevertheless I suspect more work will be done both under my own steam and under the direction of the editor.

Concluding Thoughts

I have made respectable progress so far, with nearly 300 pages and quite a few thousand words under the banner. I still suspect I will finish by midsummer, but, hey; at least you can be with me for the ride.

Overall I am very pleased with its incipient reception so far, although I do suspect a bit more work is in order.

My next order of the day vis-a-vis the Magical Realm will include an essay on Social Democracy vs Socialism. That will arrive soon. Hopefully.

Until then—and this has become cliché, I know—may the stars be with you.