A CELEBATION IN SMALL MEASURES

Positive Outcomes

Congratulations to Richard Goodall and his well deserved success on the American entertainment programme America's Got Talent simply dubbed AGT and congratulations to Rap Singer and lead vocalist Mike Shinoda for making the choice to move  forward with a new lead vocalist since the sudden demise of the late great Chester Bennington in 2017. Chester was actually the amazing lead vocalist of the Nu Metal Rock band LINKIN PARK. 

However, despite other changes made within the band the newest member and now co-vocalist is a young woman named Emily Armstrong who has considerable experience as an American musician, singer and songwriter. Emily is the co-founder and former member of the group DEAD SARA.  

LINKIN  PARK  are currently on their world tour and I can't be more thrilled because I am a fan and I have loved listening to their latest single The Emptiness Machine. 

The bottom line is this: there have been positive outcomes. And, sometimes we can't seem to see the big picture from where we stand. In fact things get muddled up because everybody has an opinion to share or there practically is a difference of a belief.  All this might have a lot to do with believing in what one can do. 

Some people kept the fate and believed Richard Goodall the singing janitor could pull it off by winning the Show others thought otherwise and a good number of LINKIN  PARK fans think Mike  is making a mistake by recruiting Emily to be the co-lead vocalist of the band. But guess what? It takes guts to make a wise decision even in the heat of the moment. In this case I believe strongly a brilliant decision was made in the case of Emily taking up the mantle from where Chester had stopped. But, onto other things....

A new training ground

Just like the changes I've managed to highlight the MECHANICS of ADVENTURE WRITING workshop is still going through some changes in order to function well. The session I did last week started beautifully in a different  environment and a new venue with a few participants.  The session was scheduled for two and a half hours last Saturday on the 21st of September 2024. I must say one thing. Palmers Green Library is a great training ground because they have all sorts of resources.  I hope they call me back. 

These participants who came to the session wanted to learn more about their creative writing process. It was an exciting experience because they specifically wanted to explore in depth the practical aspects and the marketing of their creative writing, I must say I learnt a thing or two from them as well. 

From the look of things their experiences were hovering on one fact. That the publishing industry was continually evolving with its ideas of serving the public and it was all becoming too synthetic for most people. For instance,  the publishing of a book without having a face to face chat. It was evident that everything was done online and over the phone with some publishing houses now.  

And, as far as I was concerned that was a bit confusing. I knew that would be somewhat difficult for the participants who came to understand especially  when some questions needed to be answered properly about their book work. So, the lessons learnt on the day were thus:

The lessons learnt on that day 

That confidence is paramount in the business of writing and publishing a book. In addition to this  the sequence between traditional publishing and self publishing  should be thoroughly examined and the findings must  not be taken for granted. Research is  essential and one cannot begin to emphasize that when you want to publish a book you must consider creating a budget for it in order to align it with a marketing strategy to ensure sales. 

Therefore the most important lesson to learn during this free session was this: That the book process was ultimately an adventure in itself. And that the rules were no different from when one was being guided  to write a classic adventure story.

 

CRIME is  an addiction and for want of a better word a disease. 

Only one man has sworn to dare the odds to fight it. 

His name is Mac Logan and he was once an educated cop with a questionable past. 

Once again in an exciting new adventure  the man called Jarrett also known to some as the Rattlesnake and the Expendable PI will do whatever it takes to fight crime and get to the truth. 

The ungodly had better watch out. For the Rattlesnake cometh.

Watch out for the symbol of the Expendable PI. It simply says, 'Vengeance is Mine!'  

 

HALLO EVERYONE,

I wouldn't be exaggerating the truth when I say almost everyone  seems to be enjoying the weather these days even though there have  been some change in the weather in the last few days. 

These changes however, have had a lot to do with the cool  breeze yesterday. 

Anyway, I haven't spoken to you lot in a while so I decided to make the effort to reconnect. 

I've been resting and refurbishing my old shed. There's still a lot of work to do in there. And, I'm getting the best service from a handy man who thinks he can do a great job. And I really think he can because he's proven himself anyhow.  

Anyway, talking about other things the last Self Publishing Event at Coombes Croft Library on the 8th of June 2024 was a real blast. It was nothing short of exciting and I had the participants come up to me afterwards to share their thoughts on the presentation. They felt it was AWESOME. So, there will be another Creative & Adventure writing & Self publishing event on the 27th of July 2024 which will delve into a couple of things linked  with the forthcoming M.A.W! Showcase in NOVEMBER. 

M.A.W! simply means MECHANICS of ADVENTURE WRITING and from the look of things and popular demand it is coming back. So get ready for the RETURN of the coolest masterclass ever! The MECHANICS of ADVENTURE WRITING course is coming back and I won't begin to divulge what  plans we are making to not only make it happen. But, make it a main stay from now on. And, yes the EXPENDABLE PI AKA THE RATTLESNAKE will RETURN...SOON.

NB: I have been receiving emails from participants who not only want to Self-Publish their work. But want to attend and learn more about the masterclass. I must say that's refreshing. But on the other hand I'm somewhat surprised. 

The Journey man cometh. And that's what you all need to know and he's coming to STAY! 

 

DON''T STOP  BELIEVING!

HALLO EVERYONE,

I woke up early this morning  at 7.45am. At least that's what I considered early on a Saturday morning. It wasn't cold. But, it was breezy outside and knowing that gave me a cold chill because the weather was showing no signs of changing. Summer was obviously approaching and some people desperately needed the sun. I really did not care. I was nonplussed to say the least.  

Anyway. I got  up from my bed and brushed my teeth and decided to browse the internet with my smart phone.  And there it was staring me right in the face. The latest golden buzzer on AGT  (America's Got Talent). I was overwhelmed with emotion when I watched the audition of the fifty five year old janitor looking for a break in the music and  entertainment industry. 

Richard Goodall's audition was all over Social media  and the American  news. And the golden buzzer audition he did is now regarded as arguably one of the greatest auditions in the history of the Got Talent series. 

Everyone  on  the judges''   panel gave him a warm and affectionate nod as he sang the song 'Don't stop believing' originally sang by the band called JOURNEY. And, even the great SIMON COWELL gave the contestant a standing ovation. The audience was in a frenzy of excitement and  sang along  to the chorus. Some of them were  in shock at Richard's singing talent. 

From what I could see it was one hell of an audition. And, he deserved to get the golden buzzer too from Heidi Klum who was one of the judges.  SO,  DON'T JUDGE A BOOK BY IT'S COVER. 

CONGRATULATIONS RICHARD GOODALL. But, that brings me to say this  to you lot. 

Sometimes stories or storytelling moments like this one come with a  price. And, yes one of those STORIES is about to  be unfurled  in the form of another COME BACK STORY read I've  written. 

MAC LOGAN THE EXPENDABLE PI will RETURN SOON.

IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO WRITE AND PUBLISH YOUR OWN STORIES. DON'T STOP BELIEVING. HOLD ONTO THAT FEELING.

I think this is where I say no one should give up on their dreams no matter what. I'll be damned if I do and I  won't.  So for you folks out there focus and GET REAL. 

My journey man Adventure writing programme or should I say the coolest masterclass on the BLOCK The MECHANICS of ADVENTURE  WRITING workshop (MAW!) makes its come back in the month of November this year and its going to be really exciting.   More details about that to come soon. One more thing before I sign off.  

Come and spend sometime with me next Saturday 8th June learning the crucial art of creative writing and self-publishing. In addition come and  learn  how to  design  your own self-publishing project.

Hey Gang Don't Stop Believing. HOLD ONTO THAT FEELING AND MAKE THAT DREAM COME TRUE. 

STAY SAFE!  

NB: #DON'T STOP BELIEVING!!

www.maclogan.bloggspot.co.uk

 

 It's GO! TIME

HALLO EVERYONE, 

I hope you're all  enjoying the weather. Even though  there's been a cold breeze in the air and some rain drops. But, I'm almost sure that's not stopping anyone from going out to meet friends or even loved ones. Or going to see the London Zoo or booking tickets to travel in order to see the great wonders of nature, culture and the globe too. 

Don't get me wrong I like travelling the world when I can. But not when I can do something else worthwhile with my life. I guess that counts for something especially when you're trying to make a difference or show someone the light.  

But, let's pause there for a little. It's half term. And everyone's on holiday for at least a week and I guess some children will be couped up in doors watching TV, films or playing video games. Who knows which? Talking about TV I watched the BGT! (BRITAIN'S GOT TALENT) semi- finals yesterday night and I really think the young South African named INNOCENT MASUKU can go all the way to the final. Anyway, we'll see. I'm intrigued anyhow. 

I had another exciting session at Coombes Croft Library N17 8AG based in Tottenham. on the 4th of MAY 2024. The participants who came basically demanded I do this meeting every month. And it seems like that dream is coming true. Because the team and I are scheduled to do another creative writing and self-publishing training programme on the 8th of June 2024. 

So, are you guys going to come to the next meeting? You must be curious to know what I divulge in these classes. Besides,  it would be nice to see you there because from the reaction I got from the last set of participants who came if you ask me again about that encounter. I really believe it's GO! time. What do I mean? 

Never mind. Come and learn a few things about Self-Publishing and come and master in this short period how best to showcase your stories because regardless of whether they are written or orally told YOU stand a great chance of making a difference. 

Have a nice day and one more thing... STAY SAFE!

                                                           

WORLD BOOK NIGHT!

On the 23th of April 2024 which was last Tuesday I almost cringed in fear when I discovered I was going to talk to some keen students at the Adult learning centre HARINGEY LEARNS based in Wood Green, London. I do my voluntary work there you see. The  talk was going to be about Thriller writing.

 Now, how did I get into all this? I wasn't prepared to deliver a short lecture on a favourite subject. But,  I was drafted  to do this job simply because another author scheduled to do the talk on World Book Night dropped  out at the last minute. I didn't care to ask who this was or why they did so. I guess I just reluctantly jumped at the opportunity to do this.

The whole idea was to take these adult learning students under my wing and then gallantly introduce them to the genre of thriller writing and what it entailed to write one. I remember doing that on the evening. And, that same evening I was instructed by my supervisors to introduce the group to the format of a crime thriller they were reading in class. 

The novel titled Those People Next Door by Kia Abdullah was a book I hadn't come across until that point. But, I surprisingly did that with great ease. And, all that paid off beautifully because I was kindly asked by the same team at HALS to present my thriller novel Snake Amongst Shadows.  I guess it all worked out in the end because everyone went home happy. There were photos taken and they're all on the HARINGEY LEARNS webpage. I can't thank enough the English teachers at HALS. The likes of the wonderful Samantha Hobbs and the fantastic Rita Olivera. I hope to work with both of them again. I can't wait for that day to come. I can tell you one thing. The SNAKE AMONST SHADOWS will be back.   

 

 YEAH! This is COMING. SO, GET READY FOR A BLAST!