HI Roger, Congratulations. Enjoy being a site expert, you deserve the title.

I visit your blog every now and then. It's very interesting. I followed some of the links and I'm just coming to terms with the fact that people on myspace have taken on the personality of famous dead people such as Dickens and Descartes. Even, you say, characters from books. I had a bit of a browse around but as usual got a bit overwhelmed. I visited Mr Descartes'. I'm just amazed at the things people imagine.

I had a listen to you reading from your recent book. Thank you for the sample. It sounds like a good read. Best wishes with sales.

Regards
Di2

Just seen this, Roger. Well deserved! Good luck with the sequel to A Gentle Axe. I'm looking forward to it.

Just seen this. Congratulations!

NaomiR

Good for you, Roger.

Great news.

Best
Sion

Late to this news - but Congratulations, Roger.

Thanks, guys!

Congratulations Roger,

Miss the good old days in SSII.

B.

Hi Brian, yes, I remember SSII as well! Was it there I read extracts from your historical novel about the soldiers in the fort? How's that going? It got hard for me to contribute as much because of a deadline. I'm trying to get back into things, dipping into various groups. That seems to be a definite perk of the new title, it gives me access all areas!

Hi Roger,

Great memory. I am flattered that you remember.

The Novel is progressing well. Maybe too well... It is not 60 chapters and counting. I am just about done though. When I was at the 20 something mark I sent the whole thing out to a professional editor for an opinion and got some really positive remarks. Earlier I had sent her some chapters from my Vet memoirs.

I’m extremely impressed by what you’ve done with the novel to date—words of praise that rarely drop from my normally jaded editor’s mouth. For the most part, Gontier’s adventures are spellbinding. Your writing has come a long, long way. Most of the text flows along naturally, with barely a hitch. The rich cultural details make the story realistic as well as informative—just what readers like in a historical novel. I am hopeful about the possibility of publication.

This has helped spur me on and I have spent a lot of time travelling to the major locations. Luckily, most of the contested areas are beautiful so it has been rather enjoyable doing the research.

It is rewarding when you manage to work actual historical events into a plausible story involving your character.

This is the latest chapter if you are curious.Kaendae

I must say I am impressed at your industry. I barely found out that you had one book published and suddenly there is a second! You do have a day job don't you? You said you tend to get uo early in the morning and work. Is that it, or is there more to your secret, like you have cloned yourself or something.

The second one sounds like it involves more research than the first yet you still seemed to turn it out amazingly fast. I know research is one of the things that slows mine down. That and the fact that I want it to be as true to what actually happened as possible.

Anyway, congratulations again on your posting. You deserve it.

Brian.

Hi Brian, I shall take a look at the new chapter soon, though right now I am struggling to get started on the next novel.

I do have a day job, though I am lucky in that it only takes up three days a week. In theory that should leave me two (work) days for my own writing. It doesn't always work out like that. I've just frittered away a couple of hours trying to drill holes into brickwork, in the process snapping my masonry bit and having to go out and buy a new one. All to put up a new retractable washing line.

So now I really want to get on with some work otherwise I will have wasted the day. But what do I do? Come straight to ww, of course!

The speed of A Gentle Axe may have been deceptive in that I already had it written, and indeed in submission, at the same time as Taking Comfort was being submitted. Taking Comfort was written incredibly quickly. Gentle Axe took a while longer - the research did slow things down, but there were other things too. The style is very different, the subject matter very remote - I had to work hard to get my head around the demands of the genre too.