What the future holds for family; thought provocation from journalist Liz Jones

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depression, family, Liz Jones, mental health, prolongation of life, sexual differences, stress, The Greatest Gift

I noticed an article in the Mail on Sunday today; it was by Liz Jones, the self-deprecating journalist who lives with her life on her sleeve. She was talking about mental health and depression, particularly in women over 60, resulting from the stresses of trying to balance their lives, looking after grandchildren, children and ageing parents. However, perhaps their concern is to do with the realisation that their own life is possibly coming to an end soon and the worry of, ‘Have I done enough for everyone; have I passed enough information about life on to my kids to ensure that they have an easier passage through it than I did?’

In reading Liz’s article, http://dailym.ai/1bzgXu3, I realised that without having consciously considered it, I have finally taken on board, (with my wife’s assistance of course) how very different Man and Woman is. Men tend to see a problem and want to fix it and then move on, whereas a woman will analyse the problem, project it forward infinitely and worry about possible future problems. I realise this statement could be considered both sexist and glib, however in real terms, both approaches are absolutely necessary to provide a balanced solution to family life.

My novel, The Greatest Gift, considers the future in terms of probable increased life span and improved intelligence and it’s my take on what might happen if humans were to live for far longer than they do at present. In it, I explore the possibilities of a much longer life and the difficulties that might raise. I further this ‘exploration’ in book two, Drifting Sands, which I am currently writing. However, with time being plentiful, disease under control and intelligence vastly increased, what would Man do? Imagine then, 20-30 generations all living at one period in time; it’s a bit of a worry!

Ken Balneaves wrote, The Greatest Gift, available at http://amzn.to/QF7RLd (US), http://amzn.to/O12kgX (UK)

History made today; International Space Station now only 4 hours journey time.

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International space station, ISS, Soyuz, space, space capsule, space travel, travel

This is really interesting. Expedition 36 to the the Soyuz space capsule has today reduced the time it takes to reach the International Space Station by 87%; from 2 days to just 6 hours (including 2 hours decompression time for the astronauts), quicker than from London to New York! Vertically, it’s only the equivalent of about 60 mph but horizontally, that’s more than 25,000 mph for the four orbits round earth that it takes to catch up with the ISS, which orbits at 17,240 mph.

If you’re a space nut like me, that’s progress. Check out the following details.

Source: SPACE.com: All about our solar system, outer space and exploration

Ken Balneaves wrote, The Greatest Gift, available at http://amzn.to/QF7RLd (US), http://amzn.to/O12kgX (UK)

Time, the scarcest commodity in life and one that evades me.

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beyond the grave, Drifting Sands, Love story, sequel, The Greatest Gift, time, time travel

Well, it’s been awhile. I haven’t had time to write a blog in ages; months. Fact is, I haven’t had time to write my sequel either, until I went on holiday recently that is. Three weeks away from the humdrum of my day job and my mind is sparked into life. I wrote about 15,000 words in that time, whilst cruising round the Norwegian fjords and then the Mediterranean; I’m now two thirds of the way through writing, Drifting Sands, the sequel to my first book, The Greatest Gift, a tale that until last week, I didn’t know where it was going. But, despite a gap of nearly five months in my writing, it still came to me. As soon as I sat down and allowed my mind to wander, it flowed; it’s as though my fingers have little tongues, licking the keyboard into submission, telling a story that sometimes even I haven’t heard. Well now I do, the story is formed. Take a look, see what you think,

“When, from beyond the grave, Sir Stuart Harper introduced the SHINE programme, he never expected such cataclysmic consequences as a result of his procedures, but the immense augmentation to human lifespan and intelligence caused a demoralising and self-destructive effect on mankind. Richard Harper, Sir Stuart’s grandson, the receiver of the plan and implementer of the enhancements, had had misgivings when he rolled out the programme in 2012 and ever since, on occasion, he sensed all was not well. Now, 200 years on, the utopian world Sir Stuart had foreseen was no longer there, its path had deviated and man’s very existence was seriously under threat.

Young Stuart Harper, Richard’s son, was a troubled soul, desperately unhappy with his life. Sure, he had been given the option of having his intelligence and lifespan vastly enhanced and to that he had willingly agreed at the time, but he was only a child then. Now, with his superior IQ, which still remained substantially higher than his peers, after 200 years, he was finding his longevity tiresome, an ordeal. He believed there must be more to his being. His scientist father, Richard, was the main target of his dissatisfaction, blamed by his son for meddling with nature.

Stuart wasn’t alone in these thoughts, there were others. Many were so disaffected with their lives, they couldn’t cope and committed suicide to escape their terminal tedium. Others, less overwhelmed by the futility but nonetheless disconsolate, vented their feelings by rebelling against Stuart’s father and the authorities. But Stuart’s own escape was achieved in a very different manner, no contumacy from him. He decided to use his vast intelligence, in a positive way. He chose to explore times gone-by to see if history could teach him something he could use to advantage in his own time, something to rejuvenate his interest in life and as he delved into the past, he found it. He discovered a young woman who quickly became the focus of his intense scrutiny, someone who would change his life, forever.

But the journey of love is a difficult enough path to tread under normal circumstances, a challenging affair at the best of times. Add class and cultural differences to the mix and the probabilities of its success diminish. Add to that, different time zones and surely a relationship is doomed to failure?”

It’s ironic really, I haven’t enough time, to write about time. However, watch this space, it shouldn’t be long now and let me know if you like the concept.

Cheers for now.

Ken Balneaves also wrote, The Greatest Gift, available at http://amzn.to/QF7RLd (US), http://amzn.to/O12kgX (UK)

Writing tips. My particular method of writing.

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hyperlinks, mac, playing pool, strategy, structuring words, wordsmith, writer, writing

I don’t know about you, but when I am writing a book, on my Mac Air, I quickly get the concept down, and then I stop writing and structure the chapters. Within these chapters, I create bullet points as reminders as to what I expect to write about at that part of the story. I choose an arbitrary number of chapters, say twenty, but nothing is set in stone and that can increase or decrease. The book I’m writing now, Drifting Sands, has only twenty-five thousand words written at present, but I’m up to twenty-six chapters.

I then, create a dynamically linked index (a hyperlink to chapter numbers with a short overview of proposed content). This basic structure allows me to move quickly to a particular chapter, to check back on what I’ve already written or, to add chapters in the correct places.

I don’t write my books from start to finish, I dart about writing about what has come to me recently on a subject and sometimes new discoveries will change my storyline (I write science fiction adventure). The linked index permits me to choose which part of the story I want to write about on a particular day without wasting time searching for where my thoughts should go. I can see an overview of the bullet points in the chapters and pick what I want to write about. As I flesh out a bullet point, I remove it from the list.

This reminds me of the way pool is played, if I see a ball over a pocket that’s a dead cert, I might bank it for later and play a ball against the cushion. In the same way, if I see a bullet point, and I know what I am going to write on that subject, I might not pick that and choose a harder subject instead. Unlike pool however, when all the bullet points are potted, the game is not over.

Ken Balneaves also wrote, The Greatest Gift, available at http://amzn.to/QF7RLd (US), http://amzn.to/O12kgX (UK)

Ken Balneaves on Twitter Counter

Life, not as scary as SciFi, or is it?

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interview, radio, scary, School, science fiction, scifi, television, Time zone

It’s not as scary as you’d think, being on the radio. There’s only you and the interviewer there (just don’t think about the thousands that might be listening).

It went well. At least, everyone who listened said so. For me, it was over in a trice. Perhaps I overdid it on the preparation front though; I had far too much information ready, just in case the DJ asked an awkward one.

The day before, I had speed read my book. That was however, a really great thing to do and has inadvertently opened up many avenues for the sequel I am currently writing. It’s amazing what I had forgotten from my first book. How difficult must it be when writing a trilogy or a series? I guess I will find out, as I intend to write a series after the sequel.

So, first radio interview over, what’s next? I’ve already done a 450 person audience presentation, as guest of honour at my old school; I presented the year’s prizes to 140 students a month ago. In many ways, that was more daunting than being on radio. However, I think the most alarming situation would be television, especially when you’ve slipped into another time zone, something the lead character from my book, The Greatest Gift, knows all about! What a nightmare!

Over prepared or not, it seems to me that my personal motto prevails; if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. And I’ve also learnt something new; there’s no such thing as being too prepared.

There’s more information about my book, and where to buy it, at, Http://www.balneaves.co.uk

Vibe1076 Radio, interviews The Greatest Gift author

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Ken Balneaves, publication advertising, radio interview, The Greatest Gift

Vibe1076 radio show host, Josh Chelms will be interviewing Ken Balneaves about his science fiction adventure novel, The Greatest Gift, this Saturday morning (21st) at 9:00 am (UK time).

Listen live to a great radio station at
http://www.vibe1076.co.uk.

Any questions? Tweet them to @kenbalneaves during the show.

We hope you’re able to listen.

How would you rate your own book?

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book review, books, ebooks, radio interview, radio Watford, vibe1076

Next Saturday, 21st July, I’m being interviewed on Vibe1076 radio station about my book, The Greatest Gift. This is a local station, broadcast from Watford in Hertfordshire (UK).

Josh, the DJ, who has just read TGG, will be firing questions at me, some of which I am sure will be taxing. After all, it wouldn’t be interesting if it wasn’t controversial, would it? Trouble is, I wrote TGG over a period of five years and it has now been published for six months. It’s also potentially a little confusing that I’m currently writing the sequel, Drifting Sands. It would be easy to mix up the two stories particularly as time-travel is involved, which can at times be somewhat confusing. So, I will need to re-read it myself so I remember all that I wrote. I wonder how I will rate it this time around?

You can listen to the interview live on the Internet http://www.vibe1076.com, 9:00 a.m. UK time.

For more information about my books, or to buy, check out my website at http://wwww.balneaves.co.uk

Writers, Troglodytes or Sun Terrace Hogs?

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hermit, sequel, shoes, sun worshiper, time travel, troglodyte, writing

This is a republish of a blog a few days ago as the title was wrong in the original.

For the past four days I’ve been progressing the sequel to my published book, The Greatest Gift.

The new book, Drifting Sands, involves time travel and when you get into the realms of that, the possibilities and resulting paradoxes are mindboggling.

This is of course science fiction (at present; who knows after the likes of the Higgs boson discovery) but try to at least get the science as close to reality as possible and then, stretch the rules.

However, as a result of the complexity, I have found myself thinking, more than writing. I’ve probably only written 2,000 words. I’ve not even set foot over my threshold for four days, indeed, I haven’t had shoes on for that period either.

In case you’re wondering, I have showered but it makes me curious as to what other writers are like. Troglodytes or sun terrace hogs? Either way, I’m guessing shoes are not important.

The Greates Gift, available in all formats through my website, http://www.balneaves.co.uk

What it’s like to be a part-time author

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Author, books, holidays, new books, science fiction, word block, writer's block, writing

Due to the fact that I tend only to write whilst on holiday, sometimes there are several months between my opportunities to work on my science fiction adventure novel. As such I wonder if, when the next time comes, my story will flow. But, when the time for writing does arrive, it’s as though each of my fingers has a mouth, the tongues of which are all working contemporaneously, licking the keyboard into submission, creating a tale that, on occasion, even I have not heard; it’s a fantastic experience, like no other that I have known in my lifetime of creation in other directions. That’s why I sometimes write long sentences, I get carried away [sorry, that was to my editor].

I’m now writing ‘Drifting Sands’, a time travelling adventure novel and sequel to ‘The Greatest Gift’, available in paperback or eBook/ePub through my website at, http://www.balneaves.co.uk

I’m also on Goodreads, http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14061796-the-greatest-gift

I hope you have the chance to read them.

‘The Greatest Gift’ is now in print

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great read, just out, new books, paperback

They’re here, the first print run of my first book, THE GREATEST GIFT. It’s a science fiction adventure novel and now available on my website at www.balneaves.co.uk.