Thursday 28 November 2013

Melton Short Story Competition

Last Friday night a good number Melton City Council's best writers, their  families and friends gathered for the annual short story competition. Each year the council has offered an opportunity for local writers to submit stories poems and plays and compete for both monitory reward and more importantly recognition among the writing community.

The Melton City Council provided three competition categories this year and offered monitory prizes for each. Entrants were advised of being short listed a couple of weeks prior and this added to the tension in the room as every author there wondered if they had been successful and their guests wanted to know who had won too.

Amra Pajalic, author of 'The Good Daughter' was master of ceremonies for the night and kept the night moving as she introduced the judges and winners of awards.

I'm told the adult section was fiercely competitive this year, and Beverly Eikli said she had a tough job picking the finalists. This comment lifted the spirits of the entrants as each of us wanted to know if the standard of our writing was of quality.

With a great sense of pride I listened as Beverly called out my colleague Chris Mack from last year's Longitudinal Writing Workshop as the first place winner.

Her story about a child finding her place among her peers was a heart warming account of a girl from a low income family looking for clothes at the local tip was read to the spellbound crowd. It was a wonderful rendition and something I'd love to have happen with one of my yarns.

In equal second place was Fikret Pajalic and I shared this award with him.

In third place was the fantastic Melton writer, Craig Henderson, who I believe should win almost everything he enters. Yes his short stories and longer works are that good.

When I think back over the months that I have spent with some of these people I find that the work and time given by Merlene Fawdry to assist and encourage writers of all skill levels is evident in the winning stories.I met Merlene last year by attending her workshop and was impressed by her drive and commitment to help us succeed.  Some months later I was in awe as she selflessly gave her time to copy-edit and produce an anthology of stories by Melton and Caroline Springs storytellers. Storytellers who by way of the book can be proud of the stories and poems she helped polish to make suitable for publication.

I have put my story 'Banib the Bunyip' onto Amazon's Kindle format and for December it is only US$ 0.99 to download.

Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/Banib-Bunyip-Terry-L-Probert-ebook/dp/B00GRLFU2E

Banib the Bunyip is a Dreamtime story told by an Aboriginal boy to a group of kids on a school camp. It's a scary story that my friends and family love and it's set in Melton to the west of Melbourne. I'd love to get some feedback on what people think of the story so please let me know as both good and bad critique is welcome.

Blog Links:




Sunday 17 November 2013

Save Mona 693 petition signatures and climbing.

With every project we plan there are milestones and one of these is a tipping point. For the wild rhinos across the world their extinction has already crossed that point and it seems they are doomed for extinction. So why should we care. We should care because we can and we don't wan to tell our children and our grandchildren we stood by and did nothing while these animals crashed into a bloody and horrible death at the hands of poachers.

From my point of view the problem needs to identify why the animal is being poached? Oh and I do know it is for the belief that the horn is an aphrodisiac but if that is the root cause it should be easy to manage a change in opinion by offering a substitute, the makers of products like Viagra spend millions each year telling us about a better sex life. I think this is like many things only available to the rich, it is about status and power. Rhino horn is about power, being dominant showing that you can thumb your nose at the world and everything in it. Proving that everything has a price and you can pay it..

Ask yourself these questions and maybe you will find the answer:

  • What turns a farmer into a poacher?

  • What can we do as a group?

  • What can I do as an individual.
If you want to do something to help today drop into the Save Mona website and sign the petition, we are not at the tipping point yet where a groundswell of support will cause politicians across the globe to do something but if you share your thoughts and encourage others to sign the petition maybe we can bring these animals back from the brink.

Click here now to take part: http://savemona.org/ and please remember to post the link on your social media timelines too.
Cheers,
Terry L Probert

Friday 15 November 2013

Kundela Update

Today has been one of frustration, and missed opportunities for NaNoWriMo. I have been refurbishing my contacts database to ensure that it is up to date and I'm sure that most of the bookstore were busy when I asked them to confirm their details.

The reprint of KUNDELA has arrived and I'm extremely pleased with it. The new cover distinguishes it from the old one yet retains its Aussie character. I have taken an opportunity to change a couple of irritations that bugged one or two fo my critics but that's all it needed.


To say I'm a happy camper is an understatement. A big shout to all of you who have bought the first copies, they were a small print run and your support is power for my pen.

More updates to come.

Sunday 10 November 2013

Save Mona

Thanks to all my Facebook friends who have liked and shared the Save Mona page. Your actions will create a groundswell of people expressing the same opinion and one day we may save these creatures and many others from extinction.

Let us all hope our grandchildren don't point to a photo of a rhino and say why didn't you do something Gramps?

Check out the website and leave a comment please: http://savemona.org/

And the petition: http://www.change.org/en-AU/organisations/save_mona

Thanks everyone.

Terry

Introducing: Gino Di Massimo, Charlie Winkler's henchman

Meet Gino, a fictional character in my new novel Les Gillespie's Gold. Gino as you can see from his profle is a very clever and dangerous man. Probably a latent psycopath he manages to keep his urges to kill under control. He can hurt without leaving a mark and his presence is enough to intimidate most.
I'm not quite sure where he will pop up in the story but when he does he will cause trouble.
Check him out below


NAME:                                                 : Gino Di Massimo
Position in story:                                   : More than a Secondary Role 

Age:
37
Nationality:
Aussie born Italian
Socioeconomic level as a child:
Good
Socioeconomic level as an adult:
Middle income group
Hometown:
Torrensville
Current residence:
Mile End
Occupation:
Mr. Fix-it for Raydor
Income:
 
Talents/skills:
Trained in Psychology and is a martial arts expert with a very mean attitude he is feared by most of his colleagues (Based on Harry Bennett. Henry Fords right hand man)
Salary:
$120,000 + bonuses + expenses
Relationships:
 
Can’t keep a woman for long he tortures them both mentally and physically
Birth order:
Oldest of two
Siblings (describe relationship):
Rocco (dead, died in uncertain circumstances)
Spouse/partner (describe relationship):
None
Children (describe relationship):
None
Parents (describe relationship):
Maria came out from Sicily to marry Angelo in 1969. Angelo worked in the market gardens in Virginia until they started a fruit shop in the Central Market
Grandparents (describe relationship):
In Italy no current connection
Grandchildren (describe relationship):
None
Significant others (describe relationship):
Retains a mechanic to look after his dragster
Relationship skills:
Very smooth with everyone until he has what he wants and then discards them
Physical Characteristics
 
 
Height:
187 cm
Weight:
78kg
Race:
Italian
Eye Color:
Brown
Hair Color:
Black
Glasses or contact lenses?
Gold rimmed glasses photo grey tint
Skin colour:
olive
Shape of face:
Square jaw
Distinguishing features:
Crooked nose
How does he/she dress?
Expensive suits and RM Williams outfitter when in the bush
Mannerisms:
Keeps looking over his shoulder and always chooses a seat in the back corner of any room he is not familiar with
Habits: (smoking, drinking/drugs/addictions etc.)
Doesn’t smoke. Likes good wine and only eats Italian food if possible
Any physical illnesses?
No
Health:
Excellent
Hobbies:
Drag Racing
Favourite sayings:
You’re mine
Speech patterns:
Aussie with a touch of Italian
Disabilities:
None
Style (Elegant, shabby etc.):
Elegant
Greatest flaw:
He has been able eliminate all his shortcomings but vanity will sometimes cause him to lose his cool
Best quality:
There isn’t one
Personality Attributes and Attitudes
 
 
Educational Background:
Adelaide Uni
Intelligence Level:
Very high
Any Mental Illnesses?
None
Learning Experiences:
Grew up being bullied for his glasses and being Italian it made him mean and vengeful
Character's short-term goals in life:
Screw everyone to benefit himself
Character's long-term goals in life:
Become very rich
How does Character see himself/herself?
As perfection in a man
How does Character believe he/she is perceived by others?
He doesn’t care for the opinion of others much
How self-confident is the character?
Very and driven by ego
Does the character seem ruled by emotion or logic or some combination thereof?
Logic he is very cool when cornered
What would most embarrass this character
People referring to his being bullied
Spiritual Characteristics
 
 
Does the character believe in God?
He is a devout Catholic and attends Mass most weeks
What are the character's spiritual beliefs?
God will forgive him for anything he does
Is religion or spirituality a part of this character's life?
Religion is a means of finding peace in his actions

 

Saturday 9 November 2013

Les Gillespies Gold is my novel for NaNoWriMo

I started this book not long after writing Kundela and have all the chapter plans and plots in place. However I lost my folder with all of the character profiles etc. After deciding I can no longer keep hunting back through the manuscript for small details, I started printing out new sheets. The warm smells and the whirring of the printer had me searching the 'My Documents' folder and I found a header sheet for the binder spine of lost book. A quick search of the bookcase now has found the folder hiding in plain view.

So now I have a plan to bring this story back on track. It's not that I forgot the theme just the detail. Today I only managed thirteen hundred words, but now having found my compass I'm confident the words will fly next week.
Tomorrow I'll post a character sheet of one of the more evil guys in the story.

Cheers,

Terry