Today’s author, Margaret Pearce is the writer of THE OBELISK TRAP, published by Kayelle Press, and the first in their series Awesome Aussie Tales.
ABOUT THE OBELISK TRAP
When mysteriously transported to The Place with No Name, Billie, Charlie and their uncle are in real trouble.
They have a deadly secret that must be kept at all costs. Billie is a girl, and girls will be destroyed. Yet there seems no way back home.
Easy enough for Billie to pretend to be a boy except she can’t seem to control her smart mouth and is sure to end up in strife one way or another.
They don’t know who they can trust and there are eyes and ears everywhere. They need to escape and fast.
MARGARET’S INSPIRATION
THE OBELISK TRAP was written as the result of a weird nightmare, which just proves that even nightmares can be useful. I wrote this because tomboys always seem to have good ideas on escaping unwanted situations.
MARGARET’S WRITING TIPS
- Write what you think about first, and THEN think about grammar and spelling. It is always much easier to correct something written than sit in front of an empty screen/page because you can’t remember how to spell.
- Does it sound okay if you read it aloud? People who used to tell stories to crowds probably had rotten eggs thrown at them if they didn’t keep their story interesting. No one copes with being bored.
- Try to show not tell what your hero/heroine is feeling. Saying ‘I’m/ he/she is scared’ doesn’t give the same message as showing. Fear causes odd reactions. Sometimes you are frozen and unmoving. Sometimes hearts go thump, thump, thump as if they are going to stop. Sometimes hands go all clammy. Anyone remember really feeling VERY scared/nervous/excited? If so use the symptoms in your next story.
- A story, whether long or short, has a beginning, middle and an end. Otherwise it is just an incident to put into a story. Every listener/reader wanted to know WHAT ended up happening and WHY and WHEN.
- Sometimes, if you decide the beginning isn’t going to grab attention you can start at the exciting bit and flash back to a fairly quick explanation of the beginning. No one in these modern times is interested in long rambling explanations. MOBY DICK by Herman Melville and written in 1851 is about an obsessive whale hunter Captain Ahab has the first five chapters describing a fishing village. So how many of you have ploughed through MOBY DICK?
THE OBELISK TRAP is available from Kayelle Press.
