What Story Does Your Name Tell?

 

 

Some years ago, I decided to get my father a really special present. I had some research completed on the Weston family tree. Dad was into that kind of thing, and, because we had pretty accurate records of a number of generations of our family – on both sides – going back a few hundred years (Due to military service, etc), I thought it would be something he might enjoy.

 

Sure enough, after several months, a great result came back. My family had a rich and varied history. Our ancestors were noteworthy on both sides. My father’s mother – Jayne Lister – was a Great, Great Granddaughter of Baron Joseph Lister, a British surgeon and pioneer of antiseptic surgery. (Listerine mouthwash is named after him) And the Weston family name runs back to before the Doomsday book – the great survey initiated by William the Conqueror – in 1066. It was quite interesting to discover we had a hereditary title at one time, a family crest, and were descendants of Henry De-la-Westuna of France.

 

Needless to say, my father was delighted with the findings, and especially with the documents and seals that came with the research. (Plus a copy of our family crest – a rather fine example of argent lion rampant on sable background, with motto – Honor without Fear).

 

I always wanted to look deeper. But the cost involved was phenomenal and further research would take a great deal of time.

 

Imagine my interest this past week then, when I discovered that scientists have developed a GPS tool that can tell you where your ancestors lived, not just hundreds, but thousands of years ago. The article – within Nature Communications – states that researchers have discovered an algorithm which accurately pinpoints your geographic origin using samples of your genetic data. The findings can be so precise, that the results can narrowing it down to the country, or, in some cases, even the area within a country. 
 



 

Knowing my family originated from France about a thousand years ago has often made me wonder how far back I could take it. Not in the biblical sense, but in an entirely familial setting. I’d love to know. Wouldn’t you with your family?

 

You see, using DNA to pinpoint where modern individuals originated has been somewhat limited up until now. Current biogeographically generated algorithms have a variance of up to 700 kilometers in Europe, and even worse, elsewhere.  

 

To develop a more precise test for genetic ancestry, a team led by Eran Elhaik from the University of Sheffield, UK, created the Geographical Population Structure algorithm. (Get it? GPS.)

It relies on genetic admixture, (the process that takes place when people from different populations marry and have children, creating new gene pools that represent a mixture of the founder pools). This happened more than you realize in history. Conquerors settled where they won their victories, started raising families, etc. Well, the resultant blend of traits can be used to gauge the distance from the original home. 

 

A quote by Elhaik stated, “What we have discovered is a way to find not where you were born, as you have that information on your passport, but where your DNA was formed up to 1,000 years ago by modeling these admixture processes.”

 

Elhaik’s team developed the admixture algorithm using genetic and geographical information from 54 participants recruited through the Genographic Project. And then they tested their GPS tool with 600 genetic samples composed of 98 global subpopulations. Using DNA sequences, GPS can accurately place individuals in their country of origin 83 percent of time. 

 

How good is that? Well when the data from 10 villages in Sardinia and 20 or so islands in Oceania was analyzed, the team was able to trace more than 25% of the Sardinians to their home village and most of the remaining participants within 50 kilometers of their village. For the subjects from Oceania, they were successful at pinpointing their island of origin 90% of the time.  

 

This is poignant news for me. Remember, I’ve discovered ancestors dating back a thousand years. Just imagine when we have the technology to travel back even further...

 

Now THAT will be a story worth telling

 

Information courtesy of Nature Communications. 

Augustus Thorne

 

The blood of fallen angels runs through his veins.

Is that a good thing?

 



 

Soon, the world will know.

 

Kiss of the Succubus...Coming soon.

Have You Met the Triton?

Being ex military, one of the duties I used to have to perform involved diving.

Now, as any diver will tell you, the training you have to undergo to qualify is as involved as it is lengthy.

 

Not only that, once you're trained, you then face the prospect of having to operate whilst managing a whole load of equipment AND cumbersome oxygen respirators.

 

But - not any more.
A South Korean designer, Jaebyun Yeon, has invented an ingenious device that will make cumbersome diving a thing of the past.

It's called...TRITON.

 

 

 

 

TRITON operates on the basis of what is termed - an artificial gill system.

First of all, it will extract oxygen from the water through a filter. Those filters come in the form of fine threads with holes which have been designed - specifically - to be smaller than an actual water molecule. Very clever!

Then, using a tiny, but powerful micro possessor, the TRITON compresses oxygen and stores it within a special storage tank.

When the wearer bites down, hey presto! breathable oxygen.

Simple and effective.

 

If you want to find out more - follow this link to My Science Academy:

http://myscienceacademy.org/2014/04/06/this-scuba-diving-mask-allows-divers-to-extract-oxygen-from-water/

The Forgotten Pharaoh

He everyone,

On my blog today, I’m highlighting the new release of a good friend of mine, Laura De Luca

 

Julie Gerber isn't thrilled to be pulled out of school her senior year to follow her parents halfway around the world to unearth a lost pyramid. However, when the cute British guy and the mysterious financier of their project both fight for her attention, things start to get interesting.

The pharaoh known as Djedefre was cursed for the murder of his eldest brother. The work of the archaeologists brings new secrets to light, ones that prove the fallen god-king wasn't the villain history had painted him to be. Can they prove his innocence?

As the team digs deeper into the mystery, members of the party vanish or end up dead. Someone is determined to keep the truth hidden at all costs, even 4,500 years later.

And – there’s a fantastic giveaway you can enter.

Just click on the link below to go to her website and enter.

Enjoy.

http://newagemama.blogspot.gr/  

The Dreaded Synopsis

 

Hello again.

This time around, I thought I’d write about something that appears to strike fear into the hearts of even the most experienced authors…the dreaded synopsis.

I have a new release coming out soon – Kiss of the Succubus – the second novel in the Cambion Journals series, so writing a synopsis is something very much on my mind.

For those of who are fans of the series, you will remember that book one, The Rage of Augustus, introduced us to our hero, Augustus Thorne. We found out a bit about him. His origins and history, what makes him tick, and so forth, and especially why he is so harsh with himself.

Augustus is a Cambion, a human/demon hybrid of stunning power and fiendish appetites who hates what he is with a vengeance. Despite his origins, Augustus has made great sacrifices to control his desires and has devoted his life to one cause. The destruction of as many demons as is possible.

In the first book we witnessed how successful he is at what he does. But we also saw the price of his success. A self imposed isolation that makes him crave what others have. The chance to meet someone. Settle down. Have a family. We shared in his pain when his only foray into romance ended in inevitable disaster, due to the machinations of his own spawn-father, Fanon, and the demon King, Samael.

(I won’t go into too much detail in case some of you haven’t read the story yet and are intrigued by the references and want to find out more. The links are in the side bar).

So – how to approach the synopsis of book two – or any book come to that?

I did a lot of research on this subject. Some of it I loved, while other suggestions made me cringe. To keep things simple, I’ll share my process with you, and you can take the bits you like from it.

The main thing I do now is a more thorough form of self editing. Once I’ve written a chapter, I check through it and jot down the relevant points each section of the story makes. By the time the first draft is completed, I have a précis of each chapter, in note form.

Then I complete my final check of the entire manuscript. As I go through it, I ensure my notes are correct, and add in extra details…such as main character development and how this relates to the plot/sub plot evolution.

Now I’m ready to do the synopsis. The story is fresh in my mind, and important facets are still to the fore.

The first thing I do is ask myself. So, what’s this tale about? How would I sum the main thrust of it up in a concept? Doing this gets my mind working in the right way for the next – and what I’ve found to be – crucial stage for a good synopsis. A tagline.

A tagline is a simple phrase – encapsulated in a sentence or two – that encompasses what your entire story is trying to relate to the reader.

For example, In Rage of Augustus, I thought of the tagline, “He fights where evil fears to tread.” For Kiss of the Succubus, “Hell hath no fury like a Cambion Scorned.”

Read those statements for a moment. What thoughts and images do they conjure in your mind? Do you see how the tagline acts as a focusing agent? Not just to the reader, but for you too.

 

So, armed with those ideas, I then type out my notes. As I do so, I highlight in red where the chapters support the tagline, and in blue where important character and plot developments take place.

Come the end of the compilation, I have a set of bullet points from which to choose my synopsis material. Obviously, you will then be influenced by what each publisher expects. Some, like Tor, require between 3 to 10 pages. Others, a mere 200 words or less.

By completing notes as I construct the story, I find it helps a great deal in producing a flexible synopsis at the end. That way, I have the luxury of being as detailed or as brief as the publisher prefers.

So there you go. It’s not rocket science, and it’s a simplified explanation of a process that works for me. I hope you find something in it that helps you.

By the way.
As I’ve mentioned Kiss of the Succubus, I’m glad to announce that next weekend will see a cover release of the new book, together with details of a grand prize draw giveaway. I know…As Darth Sidious would say, “I can feel your excitement all the way from Greece. Feed it, and become strong in the ways of the Cambion.”

Until next week, take care now.

Poetry Acceptance

The Fib Review - Muse-Pie Press

 

I woke up to some lovely news today.

One of my poems - Coastal Surf - has been selected for inclusion within the next edition of the Fib Review, part of Muse-Pie Press.

 

I am particularly pleased to have been selected, as the Fib Review contains some rather unusual poems.

 

The Fibonacci sequence is a mathematical series of numbers, in which every figure is the sum of those preceding it. 1+1=2 / 1+2=3 / 2+3=5 / 3+5=8 and so on.

 

The significance of a Fibonacci poem lies in its adherence to that sequence, while retaining poetic value, e.g., can you tell your story, whilst limited to a short, restricted framework?

 

It was great fun to take part in, and is something I will definitely continue to explore in the future.

 

If you want to see previous examples, go to the link in the side bar and take a look.

Writers - Overcome Your Mountain

Do you sometimes feel like you're scaling a mountain?

You have a great idea or concept. You work hard for months to get it down in writing, only to find you come up against hurdle after hurdle to get it accepted...by agents or publishers?

 

Well, don't give up. The road to success is varied.

I came across this interesting article during the week I thought it might be nice to share.

 

How 10 Published Authors Got Their First Big break

 

 Here's the link:http://geenaleigh.com/blog/entry/how-10-published-authors-got-their-first-big-break

 

Now, what appealed to me is the fact that there's no hard and fast way to success. Obviously, talent, focus and determination play their part. As does the ability to write well. But apart from that, you'll see how often even a well established author got rejected before they got their break. Some had to wait years for that first deal.

 

Then, in some cases, it came down to a question of simply being persistent, and being in the right place at the right time.

 

Any way - see what you think, and take from it what you can. :)