Nifty Anthropologist

The link leads you to an interesting free unviersity online course on storytelling. I find it is awesome. Enjoy!

A relationship guide for MEN only!

The author frequently gives advice via Facebook and supports us all with his wisdom, wits and charm.

Find Andre J. Carter 's charm and support at https://fbcdn-profile-a.akamaihd.net/hprofile-ak-ash3/c0.0.180.180/s160x160/534345_1413762058855699_858019186_a.jpg

ENLOY!!

A

Hello!

I found this splendid extraordinary opportunity and want to share it.

A university level course - FREE - about storytelling. All online, very competent and catching. I love it and wanted to share the info so you can judge it yourself!

Are you interested in the mechanics of current fiction formats? Do you want to know how stories are told? Do you want to analyze, understand, contextualize and create stories and narratives?

https://iversity.org/c/6?r=16bf0

Enjoy!!!

Mit unterhaltsamer Leichtigkeit liest sich die „Russische Rhapsodie“ bestehend aus den Novellen „Jahreszeiten“ und „Schicksalsprobe“. Beide Geschichten handeln von russischen Musikern, nur dass eine biographisch ist und eine fiktiv. In „Jahreszeiten“ schildert der Autor persönliche Anekdoten aus seinem Leben, das er in mehr als einer Welt verbrachte. Mitreißend schildert er sein Leben in Russland und die Umbrüche jener Zeit, sowie auch seine Erfahrungen als Migrant in Deutschland. Die Höhen und Tiefen seiner Lebenswirklichkeiten in Russland und Deutschland, als Mensch und als Musiker liefern eine biografische Betrachtung, die einen in das bereits erlebte hineinreißt und beinahe selbst erfahren lässt.

Die Novelle „Schicksalsprobe“ hingegen ist fiktiv und portraitiert das Leben eines Musikers in Russland, der in selbst gewählter geistiger und emotionaler Isolation, der staatlichen propagierten arbeitsamen Norm entgegengesetzt, inmitten vieler Menschen lebt. Obwohl die Novelle philosophische Fragen tragischer Natur aufgreift – wie dem Sinn des Lebens und des Arbeitens -, ist die Darstellung so erfrischend und humorvoll, dass sich die Erzählung nicht nur leicht liest, sondern auch treffend das russische Selbstbild und den Geist des russischen Alltags wiedergibt. Die Novelle bietet einen Einblick in die russische Seele und die Strategien, die Menschen wählen um mit den (teils selbsterzeugten) Widrigkeiten ihrer Existenz zurechtzukommen - oder eben auch nicht.

Wer beide Texte verschlungen hat erkennt den Autor trotz des starken Kontrasts der Protagonisten in beiden wieder: Wo „Schicksalsproben“ aufzeigt wie es sein könnte, wenn die Umstände nur etwas anders gewesen wären, beschreibt „Jahreszeiten“ wie Palmovs bewegtes Leben wirklich verlaufen ist und gestattet einen tiefen Einblick in den Charakter eines Musikers und Menschen mit Welterfahrung.

https://www.facebook.com/RussischeRhapsodie?fref=ts

This is the text from "the butler did it" and I reblog it because it is a noteworthy tru comment addressing self/direct publishing authors:

The rise of self-published books has changed the reader’s world. We all know that. It’s well documented and discussed.  I probably don’t have anything to add but I would just like to make a request from a reader to those that self-publish.

I have found and enjoyed many new authors through the rise of self-publishing.  Being able to take your work straight to readers without any gatekeepers in between has definitely helped some talented writers get their work out.  A lot of it is as well done as any coming out of major publishing houses. 

Sadly, however, this is not true of all.  And therein lies my one request of self-published authors.  Please use an editor.  I don’t care how amateur the cover looks if the book is good.  It can even have formatting problems if the books is good.  But it can’t have misspellings and punctuation errors.  Nothing will throw most readers out of a story faster than trying to make heads or tails of a dialogue because the quotations marks are in the wrong places or non-existent.  Synonyms used incorrectly, missing commas, repetitive words, these all ruin any type of impact your story is trying to make.  I’ve even read stories where the names of the characters changed from one chapter or paragraph to the next. The most creative, thought-provoking story in the world can’t survive that. 

An editor should also be able to tell you that you’ve gone on too long or you’ve repeated a point too many times. 

I’m not a writer.  I don’t know how to find the best editor for your work but please, have someone be honest with you, brutally honest.  We want to enjoy your creativity and hard work. Give us the chance to do that.

Dear people!

Instead of a new review I want to ask you something about PLACES.

What is the best or worst place for you to read or write?

Personally I developed over time. For decades I was fine reading in bed or in a comfortable chair at home. And I kept working on my desk at home. I was perfectly fine and effective.

Now, for about 18 month I cannot do ANYTHING at home anymore. I cannot focus. I can hardly read and that is horrible, because I need to read loads of Informations every day for my dissertation project, my work at the Publishers Ltd. and so on!

And even worse: I cannot really focus to organize the knowledge I get, so it is all messed up. Like it would jumble and circle around, fly in the air like Mary Poppins.

Now tell me how can I write down my conclusions if I cannot even organize myself?

I found only one solution: GET OUT!!!

And I do. I get out as often as possible, leaving home (including parents and my lovely dog) and go somewhere else. It is not only about meeting other people, though this is a factor. It is about being at some PLACE where I feel comfortable and centered.

Now the question is where is this place and what criterie must be met that the place matches my needs?

I find myself again and again at a certain Starbucks coffee shop! It is loud, noisy, lots of people running around, all chaos.

But though all is opposite to the places I used to learn/work for decades, here I can find peace, focus and centre my thoughts.

Isn't it ridiculous that my best place to be calm and focused is the most noisy and busy place around???

What is your best/worst place?

How is the place?

I ask you.

Relation to books: well, who can enjoy a book if the atmosphere is simply wrong? It changes our perception of the world and our emotions. So maybe you re-read a book that you felt only average again in a different place and find it excellent.

Give it a tray.

Have fun and enjoy!

Hello!

I just came across this new novel called "Red Axe, Black Sun" and have to talk about it. It is really stylish and with incredible wonderful vocabulary. The descriptions are very vital and soak you into the scene. It is maybe a bit too much for the first chapter, but considering that it is the introduction of the main characters...

Anyway, I like it so far. It is not finished, but I read the first chapter on http://www.wattpad.com/story/6479152-red-axe-black-sun and I am jumping around for curiosity how it will continue.

Here the description as the autor put it:

Coming out end of 2013, this is an epic fantasy novel in an apocalyptic norse fantasy world, fast-paced, gripping and realistic in a new way. Freedom, love and fighting!

Synopsis: "Axe-fighter Dryston of Decia helps his ex-lover and sorceress Kyra Celeste in rescueing a girl with a death-list tattoo. Getting poisoned during the action, he has to track down a gangland-boss whose name is on the list to claim the antidote. But with time running out, Dryston and Kyra are drawn into a bloody campaign by King Tancred who is driven by a long-feared event, that is more severe than his own downfall."

A thrilling story taking you into a dark and simplistic world. A tale of unhappy love, where characters get broken and have to learn to get up again, a fight for survival and a choice to trade one soul against another. Bravery and corruption in a war that is not against evil. This is where all bets are off and heroes begin to suffer and die. Their sacrifices will decide whose axes will turn red and if the day of the black sun will come.

I recommend taking a look.

Dear People!

This is the first entry in this blog. First of all I apologize if there are too many mistakes. The reason is simple: I have not used my English skills for a while and hope to improve them soon.

For the content of this blog is reserved for any kind of literature I read You will get insights and critics on novels of sci-fi and Fantasy, but also on biographic and cultural stories, because I work as an editor (private and) at Renata Rollfinke Verlag.

Another important branch I will deal with here is the stuff I am reading for my dissertation Project. You will get information on all kinds of social scientific/anthropological literature on disaster, disaster management, actors in disaster and Australia.

This scientific background of mine usually results in an interpretation of literature, that is different and has additional focuses than usual.

I hope this will be an interesting perspective for you all. So Enjoy reading, enjoy this blog – though it will only be a monthly issue.

Have fun!