With Christmas rapidly approaching, if you’re scratching your head for gift ideas, I have several novels available that might make good presents.

Today’s suggestion: Children of the Folded Valley

Intended Readership: Adults.

Here is the blurb from the back of the book:

During a journey to visit his estranged sister, James Harper recalls his childhood growing up in a mysterious valley cut off from the outside world, as part of a cult called the Folded Valley Fellowship.

In this seemingly idyllic world, the charismatic Benjamin Smiley claimed to be protecting his followers from an impending nuclear apocalypse.

But the valley concealed a terrifying secret.

A secret that would change Smiley’s followers forever.

By far my most successful novel to date, Children of the Folded Valley has been very well reviewed.

Here is a sample of the many raves:

“I don’t usually leave reviews but I felt so strongly about encouraging people to read this fantastic book. It had me captured from start to finish. At one stage in the book I actually thought it was a true story.” – Paul, Amazon.

“The use of re-written religious doctrine to control, govern and frighten is particularly chilling… Full marks to Simon Dillon for this creative and highly readable novel.” – Around Robin, Amazon.

“Creepy and unnerving. Kept me gripped the whole way through.” – Lucyboo, Amazon.

“I couldn’t put it down.” – Bukky, Amazon.

“Really well written, well thought through, compassionate… Full of empathy.” – Over, Amazon.

“So well written, you could believe it was a memoir.” – Shelley, Amazon.

“A perturbing and very original story… The ending is magnificent.” – Joan, Goodreads.

Print copies can be ordered here: http://www.lulu.com/shop/simon-dillon/children-of-the-folded-valley/paperback/product-21812308.html

With Christmas rapidly approaching, if you’re scratching your head for gift ideas, I have several novels available that might make good presents. Over the next few days I will explore each one in a little more detail.

Some of my novels are aimed at grown-ups, others at children, but all readers can enjoy them. As CS Lewis once said, a children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story.

Today’s suggestion: Uncle Flynn

Intended Readership: Children and adults.

Uncle Flynn, my debut novel, was received very positively. On the surface it is a properly old-fashioned treasure hunt adventure, but it contains underlying themes about overcoming fear and the dangers of mollycoddling. The book is dedicated to my eldest son, and was largely inspired by our many excursions over Dartmoor, as well as a bit of local history.

Here is the blurb from the back of Uncle Flynn:

When timid eleven year old Max Bradley embarks on a hunt for buried treasure on Dartmoor with his mysterious Uncle Flynn, he discovers he is braver than he thought.

Together they decipher clues, find a hidden map and explore secret tunnels in their search. But with both police and rival treasure hunters on their tail, Max begins to wonder if his uncle is all he seems…

Here are some reviews:

“Harking back to the wonderful adventure stories of Arthur Ransome, Uncle Flynn is a welcome return to the excitement of outdoor exploits in wild surroundings. Excitement, tension and peril combine in a well-written tale where The Goonies meets Swallows and Amazons. The evocative descriptions of treasure seeking on Dartmoor will have you longing to visit and explore for yourselves. Action-packed puzzle-solving pleasure for children and adults alike, with a neat twist in the tale to keep you guessing.”

Mrs Alice R Brewer, Amazon.co.uk

“A treasure for all ages. Kids and teenagers would love this fast-paced adventure story. Most adults would also find it a light and enjoyable read.”

B Fraley, Amazon.com

“Don’t pass this one by. I have been burning through the free NOOKbooks and this is the absolute BEST. Doesn’t matter what type of fiction you like to read, I can imagine this would capture just about anyone’s attention – and heart.”

willreadanything, Barnes and Noble.

“Could not put the book down, so enjoyed the journey. Recommended it to my 12 year old grandson who now wants me to be his book reading adviser. Loved by three generations.”

Brinney, Barnes and Noble.

“What a wonderful book for young readers and anyone else who loves a book with a great twist on an amazing story of courage over fear.”

Beansie47, Barnes and Noble.

“I’m an 83 year old woman. Your book was a joy to me. I felt I was having all the adventures myself at this ripe old age. Your book was like a cold drink of water on a hot day. Thank you.”

Joan McLaughlin, commenting on the Uncle Flynn blog.

“I downloaded the book for my boys to read, and thought I’d just read the first few lines… Needless to say I read to the end! Well written and most enjoyable – great adventure with life lessons woven into the story.”

Cecile Weyers, commenting on the Uncle Flynn blog.

Print copies are available to order here: http://www.lulu.com/shop/simon-dillon/uncle-flynn/paperback/product-21165126.html

With Christmas rapidly approaching, if you’re scratching your head for gift ideas, I have several novels available that might make good presents. Over the next few days I will explore each one in a little more detail.

Some of my novels are aimed at grown-ups, others at children, but all readers can enjoy them. As CS Lewis once said, a children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story.

Today’s suggestion: Dr Gribbles and the Beast of Blackthorn Lodge

Intended Readership: Children and adults who enjoy books like the Alex Rider series.

Dr Gribbles and the Beast of Blackthorn Lodge is a gripping and scary tale involving spies, monsters, haunted houses, mad scientists and lots more besides, with action and thrills to spare. It was actually inspired by the nightmares of my youngest son, and the book is duly dedicated to him.

Here is the blurb from the back of Dr Gribbles and the Beast of Blackthorn Lodge:

September 1987.

Curiosity lands Tim Rawling in a world of secrets, spies and a desperate race against time.

The haunted house, the monster and the mad scientist are only the beginning of a terrifying adventure.

So far hardly any reviews have appeared for this book, which is a shame as I think it is rather good. There is a five star rave on Barnes and Noble, calling it a “fantastic read” but by and large the novel has been somewhat overlooked. Time to change that!

Print copies are available to order here: http://www.lulu.com/shop/simon-dillon/dr-gribbles-and-the-beast-of-blackthorn-lodge/paperback/product-21564790.html

With Christmas rapidly approaching, if you’re scratching your head for gift ideas, I have several novels available that might make good presents. Over the next few days I will explore each one in a little more detail.

Some of my novels are aimed at grown-ups, others at children, but all readers can enjoy them. As CS Lewis once said, a children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story.

Today’s suggestion: George goes to Mars/George goes to Titan

Intended Readership: Children and adults who enjoy books like the Alex Rider series.

George goes to Mars and George goes to Titan are books 1 and 2 respectively in a thrilling, action-packed space tale set just over a hundred years in the future. Each story is a stand-alone adventure, but I recommend reading the novels in order nonetheless. The third (and almost certainly final) book in this series, George goes to Neptune, will be released next year.

George goes to Mars

Here is the blurb from the back of George goes to Mars:

When George Hughes discovers he has inherited the planet Mars, he goes from poverty to becoming the richest boy on Earth overnight.

Accompanied by his new guardian, a mysterious secret agent and a crew of astronauts, George voyages to Mars to sell land to celebrities wanting to build interplanetary holiday homes. But sabotage, assassination attempts and the possibility of an alien threat plunge him into a deadly adventure…

Print copies can be ordered here: http://www.lulu.com/gb/en/shop/simon-dillon/george-goes-to-mars/paperback/product-21336550.html

George goes to Titan

Here is the blurb from the back of George goes to Titan:

The thrilling sequel to George goes to Mars…

A year on from his adventures on Mars, George Hughes faces an even deadlier peril as he travels to Titan on an urgent rescue mission. The mysterious Giles returns to help him, but assassins are once again on his tail, and a new, far greater alien menace lurks in the shadows waiting to strike.

Print copies can be ordered here: http://www.lulu.com/shop/simon-dillon/george-goes-to-titan/paperback/product-21736985.html

Here are a couple of reviews from adults:

“A thoroughly enjoyable read” – Mark, Amazon.

“Reading like a cross between one of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ pulpy Mars adventures and a Robert Heinlein ‘juvenile’, this improbable yarn (just how many “saved in the nick of time” coincidences can one novel contain?) about a rags-to-riches-to-hero boy named George was nonetheless page-turningly entertaining. Perfect rainy day/sick day reading.” – Elizabeth Olson, Goodreads.

And here some thoughts from the target audience (at least I assume so, given the tone of their reviews):

“This was totally amazing! Involves space ships, aliens and more! A totally exciting adventure you’ll love!” – Anonymous, Barnes and Noble.

“Pure awesomeness! Packed with suspense and adventure, as well as LOTS of action!” – Anonymous, Barnes and Noble.

“Best book ever!” – Anonymous, Barnes and Noble.

I recently re-watched Schindler’s List and was astonished at just how many funny bits were peppered amid the horrific events contained therein. Scenes such as Schindler’s secretary montage to his darkly comic asides with Nazi bureaucrats (“I think I can guarantee you’ll both be in Southern Russia before the end of the week”) got me thinking that humour makes tragedy all the more powerful. If Schindler’s List can have humour, anything can. Heck, even The Passion of the Christ has a funny bit near the start.

The reason is simple: humour is a part of life and should not be omitted even from the most serious drama. The most tragic situations often contain moments of dark comedy. For example, at my father’s funeral I experienced a farcical “shoe malfunction” that would have had Dad in stitches. Perhaps he was laughing up in heaven.

I can think of many other examples where humour has leavened tragedy/darkness and made it all the more powerful. There is a great deal of humour in Dead Poets Society, making the final tragedy all the more powerful. The Remains of the Day (both book and film) would be nigh-on unbearable were it not for the gentle humour dotted throughout. Romeo and Juliet contains some great humour, as does Breaking Bad, The Godfather, Anna Karenina, Wuthering Heights, Thomas Hardy’s most famous novels (although perhaps not Jude the Obscure so much) and many others.

One of the most effective examples I can think of is Blackadder Goes Forth – a hilarious and brilliant TV series that nevertheless ends in one of the most heart-wrenching tragedies I have ever seen. Seeing these characters we know and love meet their deaths in the big push of World War I is absolutely shattering. It is because we have laughed at them so much that we are heartbroken when they die.

Humour provides a crucial counterpoint to tragedy or darkness. Consider The Empire Strikes Back – widely regarded as the finest entry in the Star Wars series. The darkness of the narrative, especially the terrible secret of the Skywalker family line, is leavened by the hilarious, screwball comedy humour of the Han/Leia relationship (“Would it help if I got out and pushed?”). Compare that with the well-intended but overwrought tone of Revenge of the Sith, and it is clear which film has the more believable heart of darkness.

Deliberately omitting humour from tragedy makes for a one-note tale that is depressing for all the wrong reasons, especially if said tale consists of little more than the repetition of endless tragedy. Such stories actually end up becoming unintentionally comic because they are so absurd. A good example from the world of film is Legends of the Fall – an unrelentingly serious and utterly excruciating piece of work that squanders a good cast and big budget on tragedy after tragedy until eventually you laugh because it is all so preposterous.

Anyone who has ever chatted up a girl will know that if you make her laugh, you’re halfway there. I submit the same is true for writing tragedy. If you can make your reader/audience laugh at your characters, they will like them. Therefore they will really feel for them when you put them through tragic situations.

How important is it to be prolific?

For some, one great novel is enough. Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is an obvious example. But if you are writing as a career, just one novel isn’t going to put food on the table. What then? Should everything you write be considered a masterpiece?

Agatha Christie and Enid Blyton were both hugely prolific. Was everything they wrote gold? No, but some of it was. I wonder just how much of the great stuff would have emerged had they not been as prolific (and therefore practiced) as they were. Although they both enjoyed writing, they wrote for a living, to survive. William Shakespeare was the same. He churned out play after play to pay the bills.

No-one argues the greatness of Shakespeare, but I despair of the snobby attitude some display towards Blyton and Christie – not just because they wrote genre fiction, but because they churned it out so regularly. Personally, I consider Five goes to Smuggler’s Top (Blyton) and Murder on the Orient Express (Christie) amongst the best books ever written.

Obviously all writers are different. Some have a sparser body of work, others write more. But being prolific does have one big advantage: whatever your successes or failures, you continually improve as a writer.

I have never been able to abide the snobbery that exists in some literary circles regarding genre fiction. For example it dismays me that anyone can dismiss The Lord of the Rings because of some pretentious, elitist literary ideal that completely disregards Tolkien’s extraordinary, ground-breaking achievement. Even if you hate The Lord of the Rings, it is undeniably a landmark of literary fiction. It is a masterpiece.

Yet in certain elite circles there still seems to be snootiness not just about fantasy writing but genre storytelling in general. In the same way that Oscar voters often disregard genre movies and typically pick winners that are worthy but dull, Booker prize winners are sometimes (but not always) of a similar ilk. By contrast, an examination of the bestselling books of any given year will provide a list that includes many genre writers – many of whom have also been dismissed by the so-called literary elite – that are clearly beloved by the general public.

In my view, genre writing at its best is just as important as any so-called serious literary endeavour – if not more so. Authors who master genre bring just as much piercing insight into the human condition. The difference is they often do so far more entertainingly and therefore far more effectively.

Sticking with The Lord of the Rings as an example, that novel is not just about a bunch of hobbits trying to chuck a ring into a volcano to destroy an evil Dark Lord. It contains profound insights into the horrors of war, the nature of good and evil, friendship and – in my opinion most importantly – growing up. There is more “truth” in The Lord of the Rings than in many non-genre texts that these elitists seem to prefer.

Germaine Greer once dismissed The Lord of the Rings as “Nazi tosh” on the BBC. She was then challenged by the presenter as to whether she had actually read the book, and forced to admit she hadn’t. Leaving aside the fact that Greer’s ridiculous comment can be disregarded because she hadn’t read the book, accusing Tolkien of being a Nazi sympathiser is profoundly offensive to the memory of the great man. This is particularly galling considering his own well-documented condemnation of Hitler as a “ruddy ignoramus” and the way he told publishers that a German version of The Hobbit could “go hang” because he refused to sign a piece of paper saying he had no Jewish relatives.

Yet this kind of smear, not to mention snobbery about texts like The Lord of the Rings, still seems to persist in these elite literary circles. Other fantasy authors besides Tolkien have suffered a similar fate, with JK Rowling being particularly singled out by some, in spite of the fact that her Harry Potter canon is unquestionably an extraordinary achievement. This snobbery isn’t just directed at the fantasy genre either. Romance, thrillers, whodunnits, science fiction, horror and other subgenres are also routinely dismissed as lowbrow by the literary elite.

Of course, in one sense this doesn’t matter. Genre fiction remains as popular as ever, and the authors are justifiably rewarded. Yet this snobbery really sticks in my craw. Somehow when the literary elite have a go at one of my favourite books (such as The Lord of the Rings), it feels like they are having a go at a friend. Therefore I feel honour bound to go on the defensive.

Incidentally, my most recent novel The Birds Began to Sing touches on the power of the written word in general, and the power of genre writing specifically. Click on the link below to order on Kindle from Amazon.

Print copies are also available from Lulu.com:

http://www.lulu.com/shop/simon-dillon/the-birds-began-to-sing/paperback/product-21878694.html

Print copies of my new novel, The Birds Began to Sing, are now available from Lulu.com. Click below to place an order.

http://www.lulu.com/shop/simon-dillon/the-birds-began-to-sing/paperback/product-21878694.html

The Kindle version can also be bought at Amazon:

Various other downloadable formats are available from Smashwords FREE for a limited time:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/487865

The Birds Began to Sing is page-turning mystery novel influenced by the likes of Agatha Christie, Daphne Du Maurier and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, with a dash of Susan Hill, the Bronte Sisters, Michael Crichton and obviously a lot of yours truly.

Once more, here is the blurb from the back of the book:

When aspiring novelist Alice Darnell enters a competition to write the ending for an unfinished manuscript by late, world famous author Sasha Hawkins, it appears she might have her big break at last.

However, upon arrival at Sasha’s former home – the sinister Blackwood House – Alice is unsettled by peculiar competition rules, mysterious dreams and inexplicable ghostly visions. She begins to question her sanity as she is drawn into a terrifying web of deceit, revenge and murder.

My new novel, The Birds Began to Sing, is now available for Kindle from Amazon. Check out the link below.

It is also available from Smashwords, in various downloadable formats:

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/487865

Print copies will be available from the 2^nd of November.

The Birds Began to Sing is my second novel for grown-ups. It is a mystery thriller that draws upon the rich history of the genre and its key writers (Agatha Christie, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and so forth), whilst hopefully representing something interesting and original in its own right. Essentially I just wanted to write an unpretentious, page-turning mystery that grabs the reader and doesn’t let go.

Here again is the blurb from the back:

When aspiring novelist Alice Darnell enters a competition to write the ending for an unfinished manuscript by late, world famous author Sasha Hawkins, it appears she might have her big break at last.

However, upon arrival at Sasha’s former home – the sinister Blackwood House – Alice is unsettled by peculiar competition rules, mysterious dreams and inexplicable ghostly visions. She begins to question her sanity as she is drawn into a terrifying web of deceit, revenge and murder.

I hope you enjoy the book.

Most of my books are dedicated to individuals, normally family members. My new novel The Birds Began to Sing is dedicated to my wife, Zara – mainly because of her love for mystery thrillers, and also because she puts up with all my artistic hissy fits, “George McFly” moments and generally because she is fantastic.

As I have explained previously, the novel draws inspiration from a number of genre writers, including Agatha Christie, Daphne Du Maurier and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, as well as horror stories such as Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black and the gothic romances of the Bronte sisters. But I believe it is also a unique story in its own right, and obviously I hope you enjoy it. I know Zara did, so that in itself is a high recommendation.

Here’s the blurb from the back of the novel:

When aspiring novelist Alice Darnell enters a competition to write the ending for an unfinished manuscript by late, world famous author Sasha Hawkins, it appears she might have her big break at last.

However, upon arrival at Sasha’s former home – the sinister Blackwood House – Alice is unsettled by peculiar competition rules, mysterious dreams and inexplicable ghostly visions. She begins to question her sanity as she is drawn into a terrifying web of deceit, revenge and murder.

The Birds Began to Sing is released on the 27^th of October in various downloadable formats. It can be pre-ordered from Amazon (see link below).

Print copies will be available from the 2^nd of November.