The Doctor, The Plutocrat, and The Mendacious Minister

Latymer heard a piercing scream rise from amongst the general sound of the station. He took it to be the whistle of an engine. As he looked around his eyes set upon a man clutching his arm. Could this be his first patient, so soon after his arrival?

‘The stupid sod.’ The voice sounded shrill.

‘Now sir, watch your language, there are ladies and children present.’ His uniform gave the porter the prerogative to sanction.

‘Yes, Reg.’ The lady with the injured man spoke, attempting an air of authority.

Reg replied, ‘Are you standing here with a broken arm?’

‘No, it’s just that–’

‘Shut your gob then,’ Reg told her.

‘Reg,’ the lady pleaded, ‘stop the palaver. Don’t speak to me like that.’

The porter moved to intervene.

‘Fight a man with one arm, would you?’

‘Reginald. Calm down.’ The woman was firm with her husband.

‘What was the idiot doing,’ Reg whined, ‘slamming the door on a train full of people?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘I bet he’s in the station bar,’ said Reg, ‘cosy with a whisky. That’s what I need, a whisky for the pain.’

‘I’ll get you one.’ The lady looked around and shouted, ‘Porter!’

‘Don’t give him anything.’ Latymer purposefully strode to the small gathering. Full of self-importance he said, ‘I’m a doctor.’ Every young doctor has the desire to utter the statement, I’m a doctor, and answer the emergency.

‘Thank God for that.’ Reg spoke, with a miserable groan, as if his life needed saving. ‘A doctor.’

‘He may be in shock. No alcohol.’ Latymer repeated the instruction while he looked into the man’s eyes.

‘What the doc means is he may need an operation.’ The porter made a sawing motion across his own arm. ‘His arm amputated.’

‘Oh no! Oh no! Milly, I’m going to have my arm cut off. You’d better get me that drink.’

The porter walked away and left them to it.

‘You’re all right. Pull yourself together. Let’s take you to a seat and have a proper look.’ Latymer pointed to a bench.

His wife led Reginald to the nearby seat.

At the end of the bench was a narrow space, perhaps large enough for Reg to sit. The rest of the bench was taken by a lady of large proportions with a scarf tied tightly to her head. Next to her was seated a schoolboy.

‘Move along and let the gentleman sit down. He looks a bit pale.’ The woman gave the boy a nudge.

‘Where am I going to sit?’ asked the boy.

‘You’ll have to stand. The train will be here soon,’ the lady said kindly, seeking to appease him.

‘I’ll have to stand on that, as well,’ the boy shot back.

‘Stop being cheeky. Here you are, sit down, duck.’ She gestured for Reg to take the empty place that the boy, flouncing and sighing, had gone to great pains to make.

Reginald made a show of sitting down as if he were a hero.

‘Well it can’t be because of the war,’ the boy gave a sideways nod towards Reg, ‘it’s been over three years now. Why can’t we get proper food? I was reading in The Times that they’re better fed in Germany and they lost!’ He stood petulant in his schoolboy’s uniform, speaking as if he were talking about a game of football.

‘We don’t want that kind of talk,’ said the lady minding the boy.

Latymer looked at the boy and said, ‘You’ve got a politician there. How old is he?’

‘Ten. He sees, hears, and reads everything.’

‘Is that so? Very bright,’ answered Latymer.

‘So his parents say. I’m seeing him back to school.’

What a precocious child, Latymer thought, but doctors are taught to never give away their true feelings. ‘Anyway, thank you for letting this gentleman sit down. He’s been in an accident.’

Reg nodded his head, affirming the situation.

‘Yes, I see that,’ the boy went on. ‘His arm isn’t broken though. At the worst it’s a slight sprain. If he moves it carefully, it’ll free itself. He’ll be right as rain in no time.’

Years of hard work training to be a doctor, Latymer despaired looking heavenwards towards the vaults of the railway station, and a ten-year-old diagnoses my first patient.

‘His mother and father say he wants to be a doctor.’

The boy confirmed the statement, pronouncing his words as if he had a plum in his mouth. ‘I do want to be a doctor.’

‘Well, there’s a lot more to it than guesswork.’ And to show that he was very serious, Latymer spoke in a voice that was a few decibels below his normal one.

‘How long have you been a doctor then?’ the boy asked.

Latymer ignored the question, but carried on with his explanation. ‘There’s seven years hard training, difficult examinations.’

‘There’s nothing wrong with most patients you see as a GP that wouldn’t cure itself,’ said the boy pompously.

Latymer knew the boy to be correct. ‘How do you know that?’

‘I read it in The Lancet – last June’s issue. I can send it to you if you give me your address.’

‘You read The Lancet ?’ Latymer gave the boy another look.

‘Like other boys read the Beano,’ the lady told them rather proudly, as if she were his mother.

‘Yes, so do I,’ said Latymer, foolishly with pride in his voice.

‘You read the Beano, Doc?’ asked Reg. ‘I can let you have my back issues.’

‘No, The Lancet.’

‘That’s why he knows more than you,’ said Reg.

‘He doesn’t know more than me. This arm could be broken.’

Day Three

Day three of being a publisher. Someone please, pinch me! After years of thinking about this and working on it, it seemed a bit unbelievable when my retail licence arrived last Saturday.

How about a sample of The Doctor, The Plutocrat, and The Mendacious Minister by Glyn Pope?

Chapter One

Peter Latymer stepped from the Great Northern carriage at Belgrave Road station. The concourse was unusually busy for late afternoon on a chilly October day. The secure glow of warmth from the fires of the train engines and the heavy smell of oil and coal, bound up with the crowd moving as if all were on a new journey. Peter stood, reflecting for a moment on his new start.

The daylight failing, there were lights shining as hadn’t been enjoyed in three years. There had been a brief glimmer of hope earlier that year when the Olympic Games were held in London. But that had been London. In the rest of the country the celebrations hadn’t made any difference. The aftermath of the war existed. It was still dark. A new age had yet to dawn.

Latymer heard a piercing scream rise from amongst the general sound of the station. He took it to be the whistle of an engine. As he looked around his eyes set upon a man clutching his arm. Could this be his first patient, so soon after his arrival?

http://www.cactusrainpublishing.com/
Oh yes, I'm milking this...I'll share more in the next post.

Cactus Rain Publishing publishes debut novel

Cactus Rain Publishing is a boutique publishing company in central Arizona, USA. Its mission is to bring the world to readers -- one book at a time -- by publishing the finest English language novels by authors from around the world. The writers write in their native language; British English, Colonial English, and American English.

Nadine Laman, owner of Cactus Rain, says, "We heavily vet our books and work closely with our authors to cultivate their voice and story into a uniquely enjoyable reading experience."

The Doctor, The Plutocrat, and The Mendacious Minister, by Glyn Pope (France) is the debut novel for Cactus Rain.

Doctor Latymer arrives on a council estate in Leicester, England, full of hope and the innocence of youth. He quickly becomes the local miracle worker. But without a grasp of the realities of life, he sets out to right injustices that he doesn't fully understand. In the process, he unravels the delicate balance between rich and poor, and the struggling post-WWII British economy still reliant on rationing and the black market.

Cactus Rain's books are perfect for readers who want novels that bring new reading experiences.

The Doctor, The Plutocrat, and The Mendacious Minister goes on sale November 1, 2010. Order your copy direct from the publisher, http://www.cactusrainpublishing.com/.

http://www.cactusrainpublishing.com/pdf/PressReleaseNov2010.pdf
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24-hour day

In my recent newsletter, which posted today on my website, http://www.nadinelamanbooks.com/, I wrote about the 24-hour day quote I often use.

It is quite simple to me that we have the same length of day as do the people we admire, our heroes in history and those around us in our daily lives.

My kids grew up hearing this. (Yes, they still talk to me!)

It isn't meant to do anything other than to inspire people, myself included, to think. Nothing is impossible if we truly want to achieve it.

It is unlikely and certainly unusual that someone as dyslexic as me would write a novel. Much less that I would write three, and they are fairly well received books. Even more unlikely is that a dyslexic person, the class dummy who was sometimes put in the re-tard class, would start a publishing company.

But I did that too. The debut book is at the printer. It will carry a publishing date of November 1, 2010. For those who know these things, that is a holy day in my religion. (It just worked out that way, but I think it is a good thing.)

The debut novel is The Doctor, The Plutocrat, and The Mendacious Minister, by Glyn Pope.

I hear a lot of people say they want to write a novel, and some even start, but it is never done. I don't know what they're waiting for. My blog and hundreds of others tell how to write. There are probably thousands of books and courses on writing well. (Yes, it is more than taking a grammar class ~ sorry.)

So the point is, quit talking and start doing (didn't Yoda say that in StarWars?).

Nadine Laman http://www.cactusrainpublishing.com/

Drama Anyone?

The other day I watched several interviews. Actors were discussing the movies that most impacted their careers. They each mentioned older movies, many are today's classics. Hands down, they all said it was the drama that appealed to them.

When they listed actors who were most influential in their careers, they said the quality of the acting set them apart; that they could carry the scene single handedly. They discussed dramatic acting, not good looks or athletic bodies.

They discussed modern movies with computer generated special effects and exotic settings, too. But they kept retuning to one theme - drama. It was made up of two elements: story and acting ability.

To translate that into print, it brought me back to story line and character development. Both have to be well rooted in technique, but not so rigidly that they lack substance. Just like acting has to be well presented and believable, so does writing. Books can't rely on big explosions that fill the theatre with sound and lights.

The single biggest mistake I see beginning writers make is tiring of the edits and rewrites before the drama of the story line comes through in polished form. Both the story and the characters have to be something the reader can relate to on some level. People want to see a little of "me" in the story and the character so they can slip into the unreal, but real-like world of fiction.

Rivals and Friends

This is a story about two women in competing businesses in the same town (just happens to be Phoenix, Arizona). There is no denying they are in direct competition with each other.

However, beyond the surface is the fact of friendship. The two women tip each other with information that is useful to both. Despite the fact they should be fierce competitors, they are more likely to assist each other.

As time has a way of doing, personal hardships came and went, and the two women helped each other through those too. They went to lunch and talked shop. They participated in industry activities together - these competitors.

One day one woman emailed the following to the other:

One of our books, Sweet Music on Moonlight Ridge, has just been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The other is very happy for her friend and rival. If you haven't visited here, then you should right now. http://www.chaletpublishers.com/index.html

Please celebrate with me for my friend and Phoenix Publisher, Joy Collins, her business partner and authors. Best wishes to all.

Author Photos

How do these measure up?

Kathryn's Beach:



High Tide:



Storm Surge:


Now compare them to these:

http://flavorwire.com/117566/against-promotional-author-photographs

The Brown Wrapper Is Gone!

Look! http://www.cactusrainpublishing.com/

I Dare Ya!

Most people admire those who dare to do things that we'd like to do, but for whatever reason, don't.

We love to read adventure books where the main character does exciting things and risks everything, including self, to resolve the conflict of their journey (storyline).

So why is it we aren't daring with our writing? I thought about the people I know who would read my books and left out elements I knew they would not appreciate me writing. In retrospect, that wasn't daring of me.

We tend to write in third person, a recognized safe place, because that is what most people do. We write more or less the same stories over and over. (Oh yes, we do. There are several well respected books that recommend comparing our ms to books already published.)

While we will grumble about an injustice or the woes of the industry over a cup of coffee, we rarely dare to do much more than grumble.

This is one exception on two counts. One to dare to write about contemporary topics in YA books, and the other is the support of fellow writers.

Please read: http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/sep/07/authors-boycott-cancels-teen-lit-fest

Andrew Revels Remembered

My kids came to visit for the holiday weekend and we talked about Andrew. They had met him, so his passing was more to them than reading my blog - which they don't do.

As it turned out, Andrew's uncle posted a comment on my blog today. See below:

Hi Nadine.....I am Andy's uncle and just wanted to share that on August 28th Live Long, Live Strong, a celebration of Andy Revels took place and was a great success. 10 bands played until the wee hours, the local news was on hand, we were able to videotape the final episode of Andy's PRTV, and 100's of people shared Andy's memory. It will take a month to edit the final PRTV but I will let you know when it gets posted. I am sending a youtube link to a slideshow from the event and from PRTV....it will be in the final PRTV, but I decided to share a sneak peek. Enjoy and I will keep you informed on the release of the full episode in about a month.

You might want to go back to the original post and refresh your memory, listen to Andrew read his poem on YouTube I posted. Here is the link:

http://nadinelaman.blogspot.com/2010/08/andrew-revels.html

This is the YouTube Andrew's uncle mentioned. I will post the final version.