LOSE/LOOSE (both verbs) This was not, in fact recent, but when I was teaching, many moons ago, I had a cover lesson for an absent English teacher. One child brought his work up to show me. I glanced at the previous work done and marked by the said English teacher. I cannot remember the exact sentence the boy had written, but let’s say it was something like ‘If you aren’t careful you’ll lose your wallet’ Imagine my shock when I noticed the boy had written ‘lose’, correctly spelling it, but the teacher (English teacher remember) had crossed it out and written ‘loose’.
WHET. To sharpen You use a whetstone to sharpen a knife (or dagger) I used to think, when I was little, that the said stone had to be used after putting water on it. But it’s a sharpening stone. Similarly the scent of cooking will whet (sharpen) your appetite for the meal to come.
INSURE/ENSURE (both verbs) Now these are becoming interchangeable, it seems. In fact, INSURE seems to be taking over, But in fact they have different meanings.
INSURE. This is to make payments to a company who will pay you money in compensation if the thing insured against happens. e.g. ‘When I go on holiday, I take out travel insurance in case something goes wrong.’
IMPLY/INFER. (both verbs) I heard these confused recently on BBC radio 4.IMPLY. To suggest something without actually saying it. e.g.‘Are you implying that I’m not telling the truth?’ INFER. To draw a conclusion from something that has not been specifically said. e.g. ‘I infer from what you said, that he told lies about it.’
HOARD/HORDE This one I read in a book recently, Hoard was used instead of Horde!
HOARD. A verb or a noun. Verb. To accumulate something, then hide it from others. Noun. A secret stock of money or other valuables that is usually kept secret.
HORDE. A large group of people, although it can be used of other living things. e.g.The pied piper of Hamelin led a HORDE of rats away from the town. There was a HORDE of football fans coming down the street toward me.
I hope these few words of mine help you in your use of the English Language.
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I would like to welcome A.J.Alexander to my blog today. She is about to launch the next book, Demon Tracker, book 3 in her Council of Twelve books, with a blog tour. I am delighted that she has agreed to come here and talk to us about it.
Hello, AJ. It’s good to have you here. Perhaps you can help us to get to know you a bit better by answering a few questions.
What is your e-reading device of choice? I’m reading on a Kindle Paperwhite
Describe your desk I have a computer desk with a laptop and an extra monitor, a multifunctional printer device and books, papers, paper sketchbooks and pens, pens, pens.
Where did you grow up, and how did this influence your writing? My upbringing does not have any influence on my writing. I’m writing fantasy and paranormal romance.
When did you first start writing? I’m not sure there ever was “a start”. I learned to write at the age of four and I remember developing little stories since I’m a Kindergarten kid. In school, when others complained about essays, mine were easily 6 – 10 pages long, I enjoyed it so much.
What is the greatest joy of writing for you? Writing is my passion. Writing is a way to focus my creativity on building a (hopefully) good story. Writing relaxes me, calms me, challenges me, and it makes me happy. It is a part of my life.
What are you working on next? I’m working on ‘The Council Of Twelve’ series and ‘Soul Taker’ is the first book of the series. Different books of the series are in different states of completed. Right now I’m writing the seventh and eighth book in the series while several are being edited or waiting with my editor.
Who are your favorite authors? I love reading Eric van Lustbader, James Clavell, Clive Cussler, and many other famous writers. But: I read books by L.W. Smith, Merlin Fraser, Micki Peluso, Taylor Fulks, Jim Spencer, Allan Krummenacker, and many others who held me intrigued and entertained. There are so many fantastic new authors out there. I’m adding their books to my “to-read” pile. Every single one of their books can teach me a lot about writing.
What is your writing process? The first draft is written by hand. By typing it into the computer I am able to catch the major flaws and can correct them. After that, the manuscript goes to editing, from there to filing for copyright. Then I send it out to Beta readers. That’s how I did it with the first book in the Series, ‘Soul Taker’. Let’s see how it works out and if the process will slightly change with the next books. Of course, there are more things in between, marketing, book cover, writing blurbs, getting a trailer done, and so on.
How do you approach cover design? I have KJ Magical Designs, Kathryn Jenkins, who does the covers for me. She is educated in graphic design and did a wonderful job with the first book of the series. I saw her work on other books and I’m happy I decided to pick her as my cover designer for that book series.
If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book? The answer is no. If I wasn’t happy with the book the way it is I wouldn’t call it ‘completed’. My work is completed when I’m satisfied with the book, the characters, the plot and the entire story. How can I expect readers to like it if I don’t fully stand behind my work?
Can you tell us a bit about the book?
Zepheira is the best Demon Tracker working for the Good side. With her unusual looks, her phenomenal sense of smell, and her bravery, she quickly draws ‘The Big 7’s attention to her talent. They hire her to find one of them. Leaving her familiar surroundings and regular work environment unsettles Zepheira at first. But the challenge to prove herself and to increase the reputation of her infallibility tempts her. She is convinced she will be a great asset to ‘The Big 7’. Little does she know she will be a much greater asset in Heaven’s fight against Evil. Zepheira suddenly becomes more than a hired tracker. She finds herself an important pawn in the game of love, heat, and fire. Will her courage and sacrifice be sufficient to dance with the flames?
And to whet your appetite, here’s an extract from the book.
Less than twenty minutes later, I received a message from Michael. I was strictly ordered not to do anything but stay where I was. Andreas would pick me up a little later. In the meantime, I could work out in the gardens with some of the angels if I wanted to. “I’m sorry, Zye. I must leave at once,” Uriel whispered. He kissed my cheek and was gone. I worked out with Robbie and Daniel while Maria watched us carefully. All three of them were excellent sword fighters and we had a good time. After the workout, I rinsed the sweat off my body, dressed in black pants and a white t-shirt and went outside again to sit down and just enjoy nature for a while. I watched frogs climbing out the pond, sparrows and hummingbirds flying and hopping all over the place and butterflies filling the air with breathtaking colors. After a while, Andreas sat down next to me on the white bench. “Hello, Zye.” “Hi, Andreas. I was told you were supposed to take me somewhere?” He smiled. “Not just somewhere, Zye. You will be meeting the ‘Council of Twelve’.” I froze. “Are you joking?” He shook his head. “No.” I felt my blood drain from my face. Andreas jumped up. “Holy Mary! You’re not going to pass out on me, are you?” I carefully stood up, testing whether my feet would still carry me. My body trembled. Andreas laughed. “Listen, Zye, there is no reason at all to freak out. Yes, they’re Archangels, but they won’t eat you. Don’t forget, Uriel will be there as well and he’s likely to protect you!” I took a couple deep breaths. “Yes, he will. But what can he do when eleven others are voting against me?” Andreas laughed. “What do you think they’d vote for? Killing you? Zye, they’re angels, standing on our side, fighting against evil. Just like what you do!” His words made me think for a few moments before I finally replied, “I can’t help myself, Andreas. I’m still scared to death.” He smiled mildly. “There is no reason to fear them. Of course, respect them. After all, they’re probably the most powerful individuals on Earth besides our one and only Creator. They’re not going to do anything bad or evil to you.” I slowly tried to slow my heart rate and bring my trembles under control. “See? You’re getting better.” Andreas grinned. Then he opened his arms and offered to carry me to the assembly hall. The so-called “assembly hall” was an enormous room, beautifully built, with polished marble of purest silver-gray, inlaid by some marble that looked like the veins of fire. The ground was covered with anthracite colored stone and harmonized beautifully with the light gray walls and the beautifully painted fiery ceiling. The ceiling was so high, even the Archangels could fly within the hall. The room was equipped with a small waiting area with black leather seats and a small glass table. It was quite modern, but comfortable. Andreas gave me a brief description before we started to prepare me for the impressive and pompous sight. After our arrival, I stepped away from Andreas and in my head heard Uriel’s voice: “If you’re going to do this more often, girl, I will have problems with that.” I grinned. “There is only one solution to this problem,” I replied. “And this is?” Uriel’s buoyant voice asked back. “Next time pick me up yourself, Mr. Taxi,” I snarled. I enjoyed the mental clash and the growing closeness it showed between Uriel and me. Andreas curiously examined my face. “You were just somewhere else with your thoughts,” he commented with amusement. I blushed furiously which made him chuckle. “I’ll wait here for you.” I swallowed. “I… okay.” Then I turned to the huge ornate white door that opened by itself to let me inside. There I found two huge angel warriors in full armor and a beautiful winged woman gesturing for me to follow her. She led me through a light, nearly empty corridor to a smaller pair of wooden doors. She opened them to let me enter. I hesitantly entered and the door closed behind me. There I stood in front of a simple long table with twelve tall, exceptionally beautiful Archangels, each of them unique Still, I had the impression that these individuals formed an enormously strong singular entity. Of course, I saw their different manifestations , but what caught me off guard was the fact I could perceive them all so clearly. Their smells and aromas were much stronger than the ones of other individuals I had encountered. I already memorized Uriel’s scent. To me he was the purity of flames and heat, fire, and blaze. But to be truthful, he smelled deliciously like cinnamon. I hid a smile. I interrupted my train of thought when Michael stood. “Please, Zye, come closer and meet the ‘Council of Twelve.’ From your left: Uriel, Myself, Anghariel, Zachariel, Centriel, Deonur, Raphael, Gabriel, Benadrel, Santanael, Tsechirel, and Simael.” He threw me a sharp look. “You seem to be totally in shock, Zye. Are you all right?” I almost collapsed; my mouth was as dry as an Arabian desert. I had to swallow before finally I was able to reply. “Forgive me, Mylords. I just discovered that I apparently can catch your natural fragrance in a very strong and unique way. It hit me when I entered the hall.” Gabriel rose, eyeing me curiously. “Wow, really? You’re not kidding?” I only shook my head. “Does that mean, even if you can’t see us, you’re still able to tell we’re here?” “Not only that,” I explained. “Each one of you smells unique.” Gabriel seemed enthusiastic about this information. “You could tell us apart without even seeing us?” “Yes, Sir.” “No ‘Sir’ here, Zye,” he replied with the wink of an eye. “I’m Gabriel.” He turned to the others who had similar expressions on their faces. “Oh, please, can we take the time?” Michael laughed. “We’re not in a hurry.” He scanned me quickly. “Are you up for a test?” I swallowed dryly. “Yes.” Uriel stood. “Fine with me, friends. But seriously: she looks like she’s going to pass out any minute. Would you mind being nice enough to offer her some water and let her relax for a couple of minutes?” He walked around the table and handed me a glass of water. His hand was placed caringly onto my shoulder. Just when I took a sip, Anghariel drawled, “Sheesh, Uriel. You sound as worried as Grandma Walton.” I spit my mouthful of water across the floor, laughing. This unexpected little mishap made the Archangels stare at me in wonder before they smiled as well. I apologized, but it took a couple minutes until we all calmed down. By that time, I was visibly relaxed and Michael called his friends to order. “What do you need for us to do, Zye?” he asked politely. I smiled. “Not too much. I need to separate each one of you. I would say, at about the distance from here to the furthest corner over there. Then your natural perfumes won’t get mixed altogether.” “Who do you want to start with? Uriel?” Michael asked curiously. Anghariel chuckled. “I don’t think so, brother. I’ll bet my socks she knows his stench quite well by now.” I blushed, Uriel grinned and eleven Archangels apparently had tons of fun. I bowed my head politely to Anghariel. “Would you mind if I start with you?” He laughed. “Nope. It would be my pleasure.”
This is a book of short stories. They are all set in the same era, well into the future of the Solar System, when humanity has colonised Mars, and is mining the asteroids. There are androids whose appearance makes it impossible to tell them apart from humans. They have even achieved the ability to feel some kind of emotions. Mars is being slowly terraformed, and humans can stay outside for short periods, but humanity still has all the same foibles as we have now. Some of the stories have the same characters appearing, but all are separate and complete.
Blurb
Glimpserama is a glimpse into one of mankinds possible futures. The first attempt is to begin colonizing the solar system and beyond. Although technology may have advanced, will Man have learned the improved ways of living along with such progress? Maybe not! We see that though Man has moved forward with technology, he is still the same marred creature he ever was, with very much the same old problems of morality and the simple ability to get along with his fellow man. Here are fifteen stories of the human condition in the thirty-third century.
Story
The stories in this book are excellent. They hold the attention throughout. I found I had to read to the end of each one. They are very varied. From detective mysteries to explorations beyond the solar system, to wars, we find a great variety of tales.
Characterisation.
Being short stories, there is little time for the characters to develop, although it was fascinating to follow the increasing self-awareness and growing emotions in one of the androids. The characters had human foibles (except for the androids, of course), and felt real.
Writing.
This is the weakest part of the book. There are a great many punctuation errors that I found somewhat disconcerting, especially when Roxburgh put some of the same person’s words on a different line after the dialogue tag. He also puts the quotation marks before the comma, full stop, question mark, etc., and he does not seem to fully understand the use of apostrophes. S ometimes they are in the correct place, but other times they are scattered in plurals. There are places where he puts commas instead of a full stop and question marks where it’s not a question. He also has a habit of using obscure words, many of which I had to look up. Not helpful for a clear and enjoyable reading. There are also some spelling mistakes (lead instead of led, dyeing instead of dying, for example.)and wrong word usage (like conceded instead of conceived, and peculiarly for particularly).
Conclusion
I do have to commend Roxburgh on his research, though. It is thorough and accurate as far as present day science is concerned. Who can say how accurate his foretelling might be? All in all, in spite of the grammar errors, the stories are good, and so I decided to only remove 1 star from my review.
Did this review help you? Let me know in the comments box.
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The ancient Greeks believed everything was made up of four basic elements in varying proportions. People also believed this into the middle ages, and physicians thought that sickness was caused by an imbalance in these four elements. People were treated by using substances of the other elements to rebalance the system.
Ever since Mendeleev, science has known that this is untrue, although the same name– element– has been given to these building blocks of matter.
We now know that things are much more complex than our ancestors believed, but the idea of these elements is still around, even in our language in words like choleric and phlegmatic.
In writing The Stones if Earth and Air, I used this ancient idea. There are five worlds in the book, all in different dimensions of space and time. Four are based on the four classical elements, and the fifth is an amalgamation of the others.
The Stones of Earth and Air has now been released as an audit book, I have some to give away. There are 25 for the US and 25 for the UK. This gave me a problem. Who should I give them to? I eventually came up with the idea of a quiz.
There are 2 questions. Not too difficult, really. If you answer them correctly, and send your answers to me to my email address (vivienne.sang@gmail.com) and tell me where you are (US or UK), I will send you the code to get the book.
It will be first come, first served, of course, and as there are only 25 for each country, be quick and send your answers.
The first 2 elements are in the title of the book I’m offering. What are the other 2 elements?
At some point, a fifth element was introduced. What is it called?
(Apologies if you are in a different country, but I’ve only got codes for the US and UK.)
Hey! The Never-Dying Man, Book 2 in The Wolves of Vimar series is on sale for only £0.99, $0.99 from today until 27th. Don’t miss this opportunity to get this, especially if you got Book 1 last time. Click the link for your book.http://myBook.to/TheNeverDyingMan
I know this is a bit of a boring post, but I’m short of time. I promise more interesting ones in future!
I have been considering the degradation of words recently.I know words are constantly evolving, but it seems to me that more often than not, they become degraded and lose their meaning.
When I was growing up, some words that are now considered normal, (and I use them myself on occasion) were definite no-nos, and had I used them I would have been in serious trouble. Words such a damn or b*&&er. (just in case the gremlins in the internet have decided it’s still a bad word.)
The words that are now thought of a swear words, I didn’t know. I never heard them. Such words as the F word and the C word have become commonplace, if what I hear in the street is anything to go by.
These words have become degraded. They are no longer as ‘bad’ as they once were.
This has happened to other words, too. The one that immediately jumps to mind is AWESOME. Things are no longer just ‘good’ or even ‘excellent’. They have to be ‘awesome’. Do things commonly described as such really fill the speaker with awe? I doubt it.
The next word we’re hearing a lot these days. That word is HERO. We hear it applied to all and sundry. According to dictionary.com, a hero is “a person noted for courageous acts or nobility of character.” Not everybody who is simply performing acts of human decency.
ICONIC is another word that has become degraded. Everything now sseems to be ‘iconic’. Originally an icon was a religious portrait to aid worship. It can also be the depiction of a victorious athlete, soldier, or a sovereign.
Here’s one we were told not to use, when we were in school. NICE. Once it meant fastidious or scrupulous. Now it just apples to anything that give a bit of pleasure. A nice garden. She’s a nice person.
Finally, here’s one that can often be left out of sentences. (Writers take note.) It has degraded so much that it is now almost meaningless. That word is ACTUALLY. Originally it meant something unexpected. Now it’s often only an interjection.
I hope you enjoyed reading these words. This was not what I originally set off to write. I was going to make a list of confused words I’ve come across recently. That will be another post for another day.
Are there any words that you’ve noticed being degraded? If so, add them to the comments in the comments box.
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![Glimpserama by [Major Roxbrough]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51EmpuXWbhL.jpg)
Hey! The Never-Dying Man, Book 2 in The Wolves of Vimar series is on sale for only £0.99, $0.99 from today until 27th. Don’t miss this opportunity to get this, especially if you got Book 1 last time. Click the link for your book.
Dragons Rule OK. V.M.Sang (author) 