Author: T.D. McKinnon

Scottish author T.D.McKinnon ‘Survived the Battleground of Childhood’ in the coal mining communities of Scotland and England before joining the British Parachute Regiment at fifteen where he remained for five years. He has trained in the martial arts for most of his life and had five Karate schools in Scotland before immigrating to Australia. He writes across several genres and has completed five books that are all available as eBooks. He lives in Tasmania, Australia with his wife. Learn more about T.D.McKinnon at his website and Amazon author page.

Reviews, Reviewers and Reviewing

I would be the first to admit that we need reviewers and reviews. We need them to help broaden our profile, to draw attention to ourselves and our writing, to create interest in our work and, let’s face it, to ultimately help us sell our wares.

It goes without saying that I would certainly not advise rubbing any prospective reviewer up the wrong way, and let’s face it, these days, that doesn’t leave many people we can safely rub up the wrong way, does it?

From the, supposedly, top ranking book reviewers — in the US that would perhaps include the New York Times’ Janet Maslin and Dwight Garner, to name just two; and on the other side of the pond, possibly The Guardian’s Olivia Laing and Michael Hogan come to mind — to the blogger reviewers, who are gaining in popularity and credibility (thank goodness), and some of them, like our own Cathy Speight and Big Al, and the likes of Linda Parkinson-Hardman, are becoming an integral part of the Indie Revolution. Goodreads is another foundation that is important and becoming integral to the Indie cause. Then of course there are the indispensable ‘reader reviews’. Continue reading “Reviews, Reviewers and Reviewing”

It’s All About Choice

As Indie authors we have a lot of responsibilities, listing exactly what those responsibilities are could be the subject of an entire article; however, what I’m going to be looking at, on this occasion, is just one of the aspects that we, as independent authors, make decisions about that we might not be able to if we were taking the traditional route. Continue reading “It’s All About Choice”

Bang! Zap! Kapow!—Get the Fight Right!

If you are not knowledgeable in an area you are writing about you owe it to your readers, and yourself, to do the research: consult the experts or risk appearing like an amateur.

When I am reading a book or watching a movie and it reaches a fight scene, or an act of violence: a point at which physical conflict is involved, I tend to zero in on any inaccuracies. From that statement you might conclude that a particular kind of subject matter attracts me; however I would argue that some kind of combative, violent or physical conflict will be found in ninety percent of all the reading and or cinematic fare on offer.

There have been times, whilst totally engrossed in a book or a movie, my disbelief totally suspended, when one unresearched, implausible paragraph or fight scene has ruined the whole experience; and all for the lack of some decent research. Continue reading “Bang! Zap! Kapow!—Get the Fight Right!”

One Thing Leads to Another

You should never get annoyed at red lights; just go with the flow!

You should never get annoyed at red lights; just go with the flow!

When I lived in Sydney; in my busy existence one day, whilst driving across town through heavy traffic, I seemed to be collecting an over abundance of red lights. I was running later and later for an important appointment and finally, frustrated beyond belief, and at the tail end of a block of traffic – had I not spotted the police car out of the corner of my eye – I fully intended to take my chances and run the red light. A few seconds later there was an almighty crash up ahead as a seven car pile-up ensued. Wow! If it wasn’t for that police car I would have… Wait a minute… Where did that police car go? There never was a police car! Continue reading “One Thing Leads to Another”