Through the years there have been a lot of great heroic characters created by a lot of great adventure writers. For me, there are several who stand out. Nelson DeMille created a character named John Corey for his novel 'Plum Island'. Corey is a tough sarcastic cop.. and the kind of guy every reader wishes they were like.
Wilbur Smith created a character named Harry Fletcher for his novel, 'Eye of The Tiger'. Harry was a cool kind of guy and it was one of the few novels Wilbur Wrote in first person.
But for me, the best action adventure character is Richard Sharpe, created by Bernard Cornwell.
Sharpe is the hero of over 20 novels written by Cornwell, all centred around the Napoleonic Wars. Sharpe is tough, ruthless... a genuine heroic figure.
He's also the kinda guy Todd Kent isn't!
Where Sharpe, or John Corey.. or Harry Fletcher would fight and win, poor Todd is so far out of his depth, he's in danger of drowning.
I've just posted new pages for today. Click on the 'Chapter 1' tab and scroll down to the first sentence which I have made bold.
Showing posts with label Wilbur Smith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wilbur Smith. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Wilbur Smith's Influence On My Life
When my father gave me a paperback copy of Wilbur Smith's "When The Lion Feeds", my life changed forever.
I read the adventure novel, and knew instantly I wanted to be an author. Over the next decade I read and re-read everything Wilbur Smith wrote. In fact, from the age of thirteen until I was twenty-three I never read another author. I just re-read every Wilbur Smith book over and over again.
And that was despite getting my first job in a major bookstore!
In 1981, I wrote to Wilbur, and, to my amazement, the man wrote back; two handwritten pages of advice and help for a wannabe writer.
We exchanged other letters in the years that followed.
Then in the 1990's I published a small newspaper and actually managed to do a phone interview with Wilbur. The publicist gave me exactly seven minutes. But Wilbur and I chatted for almost an hour before the interview ended.
I've read lots of great authors since I was first introduced to Wilbur Smith's writing, but the day my father handed me "When the Lion Feeds" remains the most pivotal and influential of my early years.
It was because of that moment I've carried this dream with me for so long.
I've just published more pages as the novel continues. Click on the 'Chapter 1' tab above.
The opening line of today's work has been made bold so you can see where the action carries on from yesterday. I hope you enjoy!
I read the adventure novel, and knew instantly I wanted to be an author. Over the next decade I read and re-read everything Wilbur Smith wrote. In fact, from the age of thirteen until I was twenty-three I never read another author. I just re-read every Wilbur Smith book over and over again.
And that was despite getting my first job in a major bookstore!
In 1981, I wrote to Wilbur, and, to my amazement, the man wrote back; two handwritten pages of advice and help for a wannabe writer.
We exchanged other letters in the years that followed.
Then in the 1990's I published a small newspaper and actually managed to do a phone interview with Wilbur. The publicist gave me exactly seven minutes. But Wilbur and I chatted for almost an hour before the interview ended.
I've read lots of great authors since I was first introduced to Wilbur Smith's writing, but the day my father handed me "When the Lion Feeds" remains the most pivotal and influential of my early years.
It was because of that moment I've carried this dream with me for so long.
I've just published more pages as the novel continues. Click on the 'Chapter 1' tab above.
The opening line of today's work has been made bold so you can see where the action carries on from yesterday. I hope you enjoy!
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