Eye Can Write by Jonathan Bryan

As a writer I am a member of a number of organisations, one of which is the Association of Christian Writers. One of our members is the inspiring Jonathan Bryan, a remarkable young man. The blurb from the back go his book gives a flavour of his story and why he felt inspired to write the book.

Eye Can Write by Jonathan Bryan

Can you imagine not being able to speak or communicate? The silence, the loneliness, the pain. But, inside you disappear to magical places, and even meet your best friend there. However, most of the time you remain imprisoned within the isolation. Waiting, longing, hoping. Until someone realises your potential and discovers your key, so your unlocking can begin. Now you are free, flying like a wild bird in the open sky. A voice for the voiceless.

Jonathan Bryan has severe cerebral palsy, a condition that makes him incapable of voluntary movement or speech. He was locked inside his own mind, aware of the outside world but unable to fully communicate with it until he found a way by using his eyes to laboriously choose individual letters, and through this make his thoughts known.

In Eye can Write, we read of his intense passion for life, his mischievous sense of fun, his hopes, his fears and what it's like to be him. This is a powerful book from an incredible young writer whose writing ability defies age or physical disability - a truly inspirational figure.

Was I was a nurse in. previous life, I also wanted to pick up on some of the issues surrounding his disability, and as. a Christian unpick his faith. 

How do you answer people who say: Why do you think God gave you this condition?

Late last year I was asked this specific question, and I found the premise behind it deeply flawed and offensive. Why do people think God gives out illness? The image it paints is of a God who is dispassionate about the people he has created and who dollops illness out, as a scientists might experiment on mice. But, this is not my understanding or experience of God; God is good and illness was never part of His plan.

My experience is that illness is also not a barrier to God’s plans for people, for He can transform every situation for good.

Today is the 9th anniversary of your transplant. What would you say to someone unsure of signing the donor register?
“Please reconsider”. For two years I was on the transplant list spending a morning three times a week on dialysis; it was a miserable half existence. My early memories are of debilitating sickness, hospital stays and feeling unwell. When I got my transplant, all that changed overnight. Transplants don’t just change lives, they give life.

To the family who gave my kidney I am eternally grateful.

Thank you, Jonathan, it has been a pleasure hosting you on the blog today. I wish you all the best with your future writing. I know we will be seeing more of you in the future.

Author Bio

Jonathan Bryan is the twelve-year-old author of Eye Can Write and founder of the charity, Teach Us Too (who are receiving all his proceeds from the book). Faith, family and friends sum up all that is important to him. He also passionately campaigns for all children to be taught to read and write regardless of their educational label, for which he has been awarded a Diana Legacy Award and a Pearson Young Person of the Year Award. Jonathan blogs at eyecantalk.net

Eye Can Write is available from Amazon and all good bookshops.

Putting One Finger in Front of the Other

Writing a Book is that Easy? Or is it?

In most jobs an employee has to show up and carry out their allotted task whether they feel like it or not. The job doesn't go away just because someone isn't in the mood or isn't feeling it. Yet, often as writers, we convince ourselves that we can only write when the perfect mood strikes. I know I have the potential to give in to these feelings.  This blog is an example. I knew I needed to write a blog post and yet I put it off thinking, I haven't got an idea in my head. Time goes by and no blog post is written.

However, I think I am lying to myself. We often do as writers. Once I opened up my laptop and put one finger in front of the other, the thoughts started flowing and ideas came thick and fast. My brain, and/or my muse, just needed dragging out of bed and told that it was time get to work.

The same can be true for my novels. I can procrastinate, telling myself that my muse has up and left. That's not true. My muse just needs me to show up and join him or her. Once we're snuggled up together in front of the keyboard ideas come thick and fast. Showing up is the first part of the process.

The second part of the process is typing actual words. This may seem elementary but again the muse may need a bit of cajoling to get going. There is a lot of expert advice out in the stratosphere about writing when the mood doesn't strike. I have found one to be particularly helpful. Write anything. Write rubbish, you can do something with it later. The very process of writing will help the mind to start thinking creatively. It will then take over and the rubbish becomes something more coherent. Who knows, it might become something truly brilliant?

This advice is the same whether you, the writer, are penning a short story, an article, a blog or a book. You will not get anything done if you are not moving your fingers on the keyboard, or using a pen to script words. So going back to my caption, writing a book is that easy. Well not quite. As most writers know, there are many steps to the process of writing a book. However, none of them will ever get done if the writer and the muse are not sitting down to write the first draft.

So why are you still reading this blog? It's time to grab a pen or sit down in front of that keyboard. Your muse is waiting for you to show up so it can get cracking. More power to your pen or keyboard and I look forward to reading that completed book. If you have any more writing tips feel free to share in the comments. See you back here soon.

How Travelling Can Enrich Your Writing

I've been flying around the world recently as well as chasing around the UK. Life as a writer is so busy and often I think that I don't have time for any of this. It's getting in the way of me actually doing any writing. But on a number of occasions I have discovered that travelling can also broaden and enrich my abilities as a writer.

This morning I was on my way to The British Library. To get from where I was staying I had to change from the rail network to the London Underground. As Tower Bridge Station is undergoing renovation there is a long walk to get to the underground station. At a number of places along the route there are staff members guiding travellers in the right direction. Now this seems, to me, to be quintessentially British. It's like the tube are saying we have inconvenienced you but not that much because we are helping your commute to go well.

One of these staff members took it one step further. In fact I think they took it a whole heap further. He was saying, "It's Friday. leave work 15 minutes early. Relax, start your weekend well, go for a drink and take it easy."

Now how cool is that? It was sad that most of the commuters were paying him no notice. They were doing what they always do and putting one foot in front of the other. Content only on getting to work they were unaware of what was happening around them. As I had no clue what I was doing I was taking everything in. I was able to notice the kindness of one stranger who was doing his best to make life more pleasant for commuters in the Capital.

How much do I often miss by not taking in my surroundings. As a writer I should be inquisitive and looking around. Looking for nuggets which could shape scenes, settings or characters. This has taught me a valuable lesson and I will certainly be paying more attention in the future.

My exhortation to you today is to do the same. Look around you, take stock and really take life in. Don't let it pass you by.

Wendy H. Jones is the author of the best selling DI Shona McKenzie Mystery series of crime novels set in Dundee. The Dagger's Curse, the first book in her Fergus and Flora, Young Adult Mystery series was released on 10th September, 2016. She also has one non fiction book, Power Packed Book Marketing: Sell More Books. You can find out more on her:

Website

Amazon Author Page

Inspiration and Writing Environment

As writers we often spend time alone in our offices or at our desks. Perhaps for short periods, perhaps for several hours. We are introspective and live a lot of our lives inside our heads. Now I don't know about every other writer on the planet, but sometimes I feel the need to shake it up a bit. This is a good thing as I have barely been in my house since the beginning of September, let alone in my office. However, I have still been writing.

In the last few weeks I have written at airports, on planes, sitting beside the Mississippi River, in cafe's and restaurants in New Orleans, in hotel rooms, in an apartment in Butlins and on trains. It's a good job I'm an any time, any place, anywhere type of writer. If I wasn't my writing would have come to a full stop.

One thing about being in all these different places is that it gives me plenty of inspiration. I see people and hear things which can spark off all sorts of train of thought. This can lead to something quirky appearing in a book. Now before you think I'm writing people and conversations directly into my book, that is not the case. It just sets my imagination spinning. 

Today, however, I am writing in a place which gives me much more inspiration than the average. I am in The British Library. The photo at the top of the blog is my view as I write. Being surrounded by such old books gives me a sense of place. A sense of purpose. A sense of history. I am following in the footsteps of so many authors who went before me. To be in a place entirely devoted to books is writer's heaven. All around me people are writing, reading, researching and anything devoted to books. 

As an aside I deposited my book here for legal deposit. It should have been here months ago but obviously went missing in the post. To bring it in person seemed surreal. Knowing that my books are in this vast place alongside millions of others is something I can't quite take in. To know that someone can borrow my book from here is also something I cannot take in. Will they ever do so? That is something I will possibly never know but knowing they can is enough. I love being a writer and I consider it a privilege to be writing in The British Library. 

If you have not yet met DI Shona McKenzie or downloaded DI Shona Mckenzie's Guide to Killing Your Boss, then you can do so on my website 

About Wendy

Wendy H. Jones lives in Scotland, and her police procedural series featuring Detective Inspector Shona McKenzie, is set in the beautiful city of Dundee, Scotland. Wendy has led a varied and adventurous life. Her love for adventure led to her joining the Royal Navy to undertake nurse training. After six years in the Navy she joined the Army where she served as an Officer for a further 17 years. This took her all over the world including Europe, the Middle East and the Far East. Much of her spare time is now spent travelling around the UK, and lands much further afield. As well as nursing Wendy also worked for many years in Academia. This led to publication in academic textbooks and journals. Killer's Countdown is her first novel and the first book in the Shona McKenzie Mystery series, followed by Killer's Craft, Killer's Cross and Killer's Cut. Her debut Young Adult Novel, The Dagger's Curse, was published on 10th September 2016.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Inspiration

I want to start with a question on the blog today. What do Arthur Conan Doyle and I have in common? Have a think about that one and I will get back to you with the answer later in the blog. Don't let me forget now.

Yesterday I was through in Auld Reekie for the day. For those uninitiated in the Scots language. This is a nickname for Edinburgh from the days when coal fires left a black haze of smoke over the city. Translated, Auld Reekie means Old Smokey. Doesn't have quite the same ring to it in English. No offence to my English readers but us Scots certainly know how to romanticise language. 

Anyway, enough of the lessons in the Scots language. Whilst I was there I went to the Scottish National Library. This fabulous old building houses an array of books both ancient and modern. A book lovers paradise. I felt like I'd died and gone to heaven. They have a couple of exhibitions on at the moment. One is on the Jacobite Rebellion and there are a number of ancient documents and books  about the rebellion. One of these is Bonnie Prince Charlie's birth certificate as seen below.

Now that is what you call history as Bonnie Prince Charlie, or to give him his real name, Charles Edward Stuart, was born on 31st December 1720. 

There were also many other Scottish writings from this time and some can be seen in the photo above. This made me think about my heritage both as a Scot and a writer. I am proud to be part of a history of Scottish writing which started before I was born, and will continue long after I am gone. Looking at the books and documents has inspired me to write more and to be the best writer I can be. I don't want to let my fellow writers, whether living or dead, down. If you can get to the national library of your country then I would urge you to do so. It is the most inspiring day I have spent.

The other exhibition was about different aspects of Scottish writing and had many items about Arthur Conan Doyle. Many people forget that he was Scottish, as his most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, is London based. It was fascinating to find out more about him and his work. We often forget that he wrote many other books several of which were in the exhibition. He takes his place amongst other great Scottish writers such as Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson.

What's that you say? What do Arthur Conan Doyle and I have in common. Well firstly take a look at the photo below.

This is me with a copy of my book sitting in Arthur Conan Doyle's chair in his study. So we've both sat in the same place and thought about writing. 

The second thing we have in common is the fact that his books, and my books, are now in the Legal Deposit Libraries in the National Library of Scotland, The Bodleian Library in Oxford, Cambridge University library, the Library of Trinity College Dublin, and the National Library of Wales, as well as the British Library. I was depositing five copies of Killer's Countdown for legal deposit. I felt quite famous for five minutes.

This post was brought to you by a very proud, emotional and inspired Scottish author.

I'm going to finishes with a question. What inspires you to write? If we share in the comments below we will be able to help each other be inspired and to be better writers.

See you all back here very soon for another reading and writing frenzy. Until then, keep reading

Nelson Mandela: The Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela

Today's recommended book on Bookaholic is not for the faint hearted as it is almost 900 pages long. However, I can assure you it is one that is wroth taking the time.

Overall I found this book to be an excellent insight into the life of Nelson Mandela. Through it's pages you learn more about the man who became the first black President of South Africa. You also discover the forces which shaped him and made him the man he is. It takes you from his early years in Africa and how his early upbringing and development helped to develop his character. Whatever happens in his life he rises above it and moves forward. It is obvious that Nelson Mandela was a remarkable man, powerful, and yet humble and staying true to his African roots. His faith in God is obvious but the book does not focus on this so it does not overwhelm. This book is at times emotional but at the same time inspirational. It demonstrates the courage of one man to rise above his circumstances.

This book is so much more than an insight into Mandela's life, it is also an in depth overview of life in South Africa from the early 20th century to the turn of the 21st Century. It covers a period in history which cannot, and should not be repeated. It demonstrates the struggles that Black South Africans went through to get to be the nation they are today.

There is one thing which I must point out before you pay out good money for the book. As I said at the beginning of the blog this is a very long book as it goes into a great deal of detail and description. Whilst this is necessary to set situations and decisions into context, at times it went on for too long. This book could have been a couple of hundred pages shorter without losing any of the flavour of the book. This may put some people of and they may not complete the book. Other than this it is a book which I would highly recommend.

I now have another 800 page tome to read which is the latest murder mystery by Greg Iles. I love his books and will be back with a review soon. Until then keep reading. If you have downloaded and are reading this book then I literally mean keep reading. See you all again soon.