AJDobbs Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 This is my first post and so I thought I’d share a little of my homage to Rush with an extract from my first book, a fantasy (steam punk esque) adventure which is due to be published this year! ‘In a cave up in the Northern Ice Fields a fire burned, keeping its occupant, Everett, warm as well as roasting a mountain hare for his dinner. As he waited for his meal to cook, he wrote on the walls using a paste made from the dust of the cave floor, which read… Finding my way I do the best that I can,but into darkness I head,I pray for life’s lessons to be kind,I am a madrigal man by circumstances I’m defined. Different strings play in all of our hearts,we are all moving pictures on life’s different pathsno limelight for me, I am no new-world man,but here is my afterimage, before you it stands. In life’s grand designs my mission now clear,to protect all those that I hold dear,my life’s scars define, all the layers of meentwined and refined in the man that you see On dreamlines my thoughtsto you I’ll send so you’ll see,between sun and moonis where I will be. In limbo I wait, but out of the cradle I’ll climb,with hope ever shining in the garden you’ll findall of the answers to questions in lifethat have left you thus blind… As he wrote and remembered his life, he could feel the tears welling up inside; as he finished the final verse he fell to his knees in triumph and pain. He had gained and lost much, but in his tears he found courage to go on, to do now what had to be done.’ If your interested in reading the book it's called The Seventh Seal and will be out on Amazon soon! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleRushmonkey Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 Wow. If a rush fan read that without knowing that you were one... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chicken hawk Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 I want the next part.! ♪♪ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJDobbs Posted May 3, 2015 Author Share Posted May 3, 2015 You will have also noticed my OCD got the better of me as not ony is every studio album represented but they are all in chronological order :-) The book has a number of subtle and not so subtle 'nods to the boys', e.g one of my main characters is Professor Alexander Peart and there is a Dalmatian called Geddy that can communicate by telepathy with the Seventh Seal Keeper.... Here's another snippet....... 'To the left of the tower entrance specialist vintners from Tolemak had set up their bar with the highly prized Cask 43 wine. This special wine was heavenly and like nothing you would taste on Earth or Arthe. The production process was complex and under the strict guidance and control of the Professor as fermentation was replaced by an energy infusion from the regulus.' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJDobbs Posted June 18, 2015 Author Share Posted June 18, 2015 Getting closer to publishing! Cover design completed, preview it at www.andrewjdobbs.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJDobbs Posted July 3, 2015 Author Share Posted July 3, 2015 Writing and music seem a distant memory as this week I've moved house! Never doing that again in a hurry. But in unpacking I did unearth my first ever Rush Album purchase, 'Archives'; now if I only knew where my record player was!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJDobbs Posted July 17, 2015 Author Share Posted July 17, 2015 I think every event in life has its own soundtrack and this book had several. The Clockwork Angels album, particularly Caravan and The Garden along with the amazing Fountain of Lamneth became my "protectors" of writers block creating a focus for me to write. That is the genius of their music! "You've got to have faith", no, you've got to have Rush :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJDobbs Posted July 17, 2015 Author Share Posted July 17, 2015 Wise words.... “Fools have a habit of believing that everything written by a famous author is admirable. For my part I read only to please myself and like only what suits my taste.” ― Voltaire 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJDobbs Posted July 17, 2015 Author Share Posted July 17, 2015 When writing the Seventh Seal there was a strong resonance with the song The Garden and the ancient greek philosohpy of Epicurus who's school was called "the garden". I love this quote from his writings which I included in the book "As long as we are on the road of life, we must make the later journey better than the beginning, but be happy and content when we have reached the end" I would recommend to anyone to pick up a book of what's left of his writings, it's quite incredible when he talks about atoms; he died in 270BC!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJDobbs Posted July 20, 2015 Author Share Posted July 20, 2015 I am relying on this :-) “Good writers have two things in common: they prefer to be understood rather than admired; and they do not write for knowing and over-acute readers.” Nietzsche Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJDobbs Posted July 24, 2015 Author Share Posted July 24, 2015 Now suffering from Amazon book ranking addiction. It's a topsy turvy world of meaningless numbers as far as I can tell.....but it's got me hooked!! If anyone knows how it works I'd be keen to know :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJDobbs Posted July 27, 2015 Author Share Posted July 27, 2015 Someone recently asked me; why did you write a book? An obvious enough question you might say and my stock response was “it was something I always wanted to do.” That is true to a degree but there is more to it than that. If that person had asked “why did you write this book?” they would have got a different answer… The book is the culmination of a personal journey, a desire to find a faith I suppose. Whatever your faith or calling, we all have one universal thing which binds us all; death. Whatever path we choose, ultimately death will darken our own lives as family and friends are taken; one moment with us the next gone. So it was for me one April night when my father’s time had come; in a moment gone. So what, you might say, we’ve all got our stuff going on and you’d be right! I’m telling you this not because he sadly died too young, but because of the impact it had on me. It was the start of a search for meaning. I read philosophy books, Aristotle, Nietzsche and discovered quantum physics. A new door on life was prized open. Nietzsche’s idea of the “eternal return”, a concept that the universe will continue to re-cur infinitely married well with “many worlds” quantum physics theories and armed with a basic principle of school physics; “energy is never destroyed but only ever changes state” I began to mesh it into something I could grab onto in the free fall of grief. The idea that nothing is lost is a comforting concept and this “recycling of matter” is a core theme in the book. In the end “the point of the journey is not to arrive” :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJDobbs Posted August 9, 2015 Author Share Posted August 9, 2015 Off on hols on Tuesday and going to give KJ Anderson's Clockwork Angels another go. I was disappointed first time around so hoping it reads better this time. Hoping to do a bit of writing myself on book 2 which has the working title, "the voynich manuscript" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Analog Grownup Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Hello and welcome to this forum :hi: You seem to have a lot of interesting thoughts. I've always wanted to write a book but always got stuck in technicalities like word count and how many pages it should be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJDobbs Posted August 9, 2015 Author Share Posted August 9, 2015 I did, but that becomes the heavy weight around your neck that just stops everything. Now I just write, I dont worry about quantity or quality to begin with I just get ideas down. I work in around 500 words chunks because I have a job and kids and all the normal stuff of life so working with that number usually means you can always find some time in a day to write 500 words. You need structure of course but even then dont let that restrict you. I had a wrting plan but it was a general direction of travel rather than a fixed and defined thing. I let each word act like a stepping stone to the next and it just flowed from there. It makes editing a little longer, I suspect the way I worked but it worked for me. I'm now working on the second book and the story in my mind has come alive. Another thing I now do is keep a notebook with me; it's amazing when ideas are triggered and how quickly they float away if you don't capture them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJDobbs Posted August 23, 2015 Author Share Posted August 23, 2015 Enjoying a lovely holiday in Italy...unfortunately the book Clockwork Angels is not any better second time around! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJDobbs Posted August 25, 2015 Author Share Posted August 25, 2015 Some of us will live today, some of us will die, in the tick-tock of life, did you ever ask yourself why..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJDobbs Posted September 3, 2015 Author Share Posted September 3, 2015 Had a nice boost today, my daughters Year 6 class are going to be reading The Seventh Seal this term, happy days....just a shame class sizes are 30 or I'd get more sales :-) www.andrewjdobbs.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheWatchMaker97 Posted September 4, 2015 Share Posted September 4, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gypsy muse Posted September 5, 2015 Share Posted September 5, 2015 This is my first post and so I thought I’d share a little of my homage to Rush with an extract from my first book, a fantasy (steam punk esque) adventure which is due to be published this year! ‘In a cave up in the Northern Ice Fields a fire burned, keeping its occupant, Everett, warm as well as roasting a mountain hare for his dinner. As he waited for his meal to cook, he wrote on the walls using a paste made from the dust of the cave floor, which read… Finding my way I do the best that I can,but into darkness I head,I pray for life’s lessons to be kind,I am a madrigal man by circumstances I’m defined. Different strings play in all of our hearts,we are all moving pictures on life’s different pathsno limelight for me, I am no new-world man,but here is my afterimage, before you it stands. In life’s grand designs my mission now clear,to protect all those that I hold dear,my life’s scars define, all the layers of meentwined and refined in the man that you see On dreamlines my thoughtsto you I’ll send so you’ll see,between sun and moonis where I will be. In limbo I wait, but out of the cradle I’ll climb,with hope ever shining in the garden you’ll findall of the answers to questions in lifethat have left you thus blind… As he wrote and remembered his life, he could feel the tears welling up inside; as he finished the final verse he fell to his knees in triumph and pain. He had gained and lost much, but in his tears he found courage to go on, to do now what had to be done.’ If your interested in reading the book it's called The Seventh Seal and will be out on Amazon soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gypsy muse Posted September 5, 2015 Share Posted September 5, 2015 This is so beautiful. I love this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gypsy muse Posted September 5, 2015 Share Posted September 5, 2015 This is my first post and so I thought I’d share a little of my homage to Rush with an extract from my first book, a fantasy (steam punk esque) adventure which is due to be published this year! ‘In a cave up in the Northern Ice Fields a fire burned, keeping its occupant, Everett, warm as well as roasting a mountain hare for his dinner. As he waited for his meal to cook, he wrote on the walls using a paste made from the dust of the cave floor, which read… Finding my way I do the best that I can,but into darkness I head,I pray for life’s lessons to be kind,I am a madrigal man by circumstances I’m defined. Different strings play in all of our hearts,we are all moving pictures on life’s different pathsno limelight for me, I am no new-world man,but here is my afterimage, before you it stands. In life’s grand designs my mission now clear,to protect all those that I hold dear,my life’s scars define, all the layers of meentwined and refined in the man that you see On dreamlines my thoughtsto you I’ll send so you’ll see,between sun and moonis where I will be. In limbo I wait, but out of the cradle I’ll climb,with hope ever shining in the garden you’ll findall of the answers to questions in lifethat have left you thus blind… As he wrote and remembered his life, he could feel the tears welling up inside; as he finished the final verse he fell to his knees in triumph and pain. He had gained and lost much, but in his tears he found courage to go on, to do now what had to be done.’ If your interested in reading the book it's called The Seventh Seal and will be out on Amazon soon!this is so beautiful. I love the Rush lyric references! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJDobbs Posted September 7, 2015 Author Share Posted September 7, 2015 Sold 5 books today, not going to retire on it but it's a nice feeling :-) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJDobbs Posted September 10, 2015 Author Share Posted September 10, 2015 Great review of The Seventh Seal from The Book Reviewer. Take a look at www.andrewjdobbs.com under the reviews page :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJDobbs Posted September 13, 2015 Author Share Posted September 13, 2015 Please join me in Sunday prayers.... In the beginning there was silence and then God created Rush. God said I can't wait to share this new wonder, the people will all see its light, let them all make their own music. Amen :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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