The Realm of Katherine Vick

Note: I have chosen this for reblogging just because I think it still very much needs to be said... Citing the Nazis It is a fact universally acknowledged that if one invokes the Nazis in an argument, that argument is lost. Everyone knows that, don’t they? Bring up Hitler in an online thread and that thread comes to an end. Compare someone to a Nazi and you are the one who ends up looking ridiculous and extreme. Putting something modern day alongside the Nazis is considered the ultimate in overreactions. And in the vast majority of cases, that’s true. But at the same time, there is a tremendous risk in dismissing all such comparisons with such instant contempt. Because if we aren’t careful, we might end up forgetting one of the most important lessons that history can ever teach us – how people with extremist, dangerous views can work their way into power. For anyone who has it available to them, I would strongly recommend watching the first series of the BBC documentary series Rise of ...

 Note: I'm reduxing this blog because sadly, this still very much needs saying... The Dangers of Insecurity and Ego I’m afraid I’m angry with the world again. But to be fair, there’s a lot to be angry about at the moment… I’ve always suspected that at the heart of the majority of human beings is an innate insecurity, an uncertainty about one’s place in the world, one’s position in the tribe, what kind of person one is going to be, that nags at us all deep down. This can manifest in many ways, in the need to find a societal box to fit into, in the need to de and re-box, in anger, in self loathing or self embrace, in reassurance or kindness, in malice and hatred, and, in some, in the need to heavily bolster one’s ego and feel powerful in order to make that frantic, insecure voice go away. And this is the territory of the school bully. That thing the parents of a bullied child will say – it’s not you, darling, the problem is theirs – you know what? It’s true. It’s hard to believe and ...

Note: It feels a relevant time to redux this particular blog... The Cult of Charisma I’m not big on big personalities. Now don’t get me wrong, if they are decent people, good luck to them. The problem I have is the way in which society latches onto a big, charismatic personality to the detriment of all else, decency included. Because in this media driven world, it does seem to me as though being big and loud and passionate and exciting, someone who can make a splash on the front pages and some juicy, news-content selling headlines seems to outweigh whatever they actually happen to do . A big personality can get away with murder in the way a quieter soul cannot. And this is something that seems to permeate society. Take relationships and the great dramatic (not sure I want to call it romantic) trope I call the thrill . It happens over and over again in TV drama, soaps especially – a person in a stable, loving relationship, with a stable, loving partner abandons it all for a splashy, pas...

Note: I am reduxing this blog in honour of a kind lady I have been alerted to whose lovely reviews of my books on a Facebook reading group have resulted in a small flurry of sales. I'm very, very grateful to her. :) ------  I like reviews. Anyone who knows me from my fanfiction days will know that. I’m happy to admit it. It’s an odd feeling, but a nice one, that little buzz of validation from a total stranger, often living hundreds of miles away. It is someone you will probably never meet and never know but yet they have taken the time and trouble to spare a few words to make your day. They  like your writing . And for someone of an insecure and anxious disposition, that makes a massive difference. Writing is an odd pursuit in that most of the time it is done in total isolation. And much like those hopeful youngsters singing in their bedrooms before applying for The Voice or X-Factor, a writer can never really be sure if they are actually any good at it until they sling their ...

  Be More Dullard You may have noticed – to be fair it is hard not to – that I often use this blog to vent my frustrations at the state of the world in which we live. I’ve never tried to hide it – I ain’t subtle and have long been prone to a bit of ranting now and again in an effort to express my inner exasperation at what is going on around me. What I also hope people have noticed – if not, I may have been too subtle, though somehow I doubt it! – is how much of that frustration also worked its way into my novels, in a wide range of forms that it would probably take a skilled literary analyst a number of years to tease out but a member of my close circle who knows me well will spot in about ten seconds. I have been told by those in the know that my books positively reek of me.   But rather than wait for some miraculous and highly unlikely time when someone will consider my books worth analysing or indeed pull them apart for you myself, I shall say this – if there is one t...

  Note: Totally forgot to post anything this month, mostly due to some appallingly poor service from a business incapable of fulfilling the basic function of moving an item successfully from their warehouse to my home without damaging it - three times. Therefore this redux seemed appropriate... On Treating People as Things It's another serious one - I'm afraid I am quite cross with the state of the world at the moment. Sorry folks... As I recently quoted in my blog on AI, a character of the late, great Terry Pratchett once said - “Evil begins when you treat people as things.” I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately. Indeed, I’ve thought about it a lot over many years, as anyone who has read my book may have noticed, given treating people as commodities who exist only to serve a purpose for others is one of its major themes. But as I said in my blog on AI, when I stated I feared it would be used to enhance man’s inhumanity to man, in this modern age, the idea of a person as ...

 Life continues to batter me, alas so it is a redux once again. And although I only posted this one last year, I think it is important to say it again. The Importance of Thinking Twice We live in a reactionary world. That’s simply the way it is now. Someone says something or does something and around the world people React. They get quite fervent in their reactions and the reaction builds and then suddenly it becomes a Thing. But I do wonder how many of these Things would not develop in the way they do at all if people just stopped and thought twice . Because it isn’t the first thought you have that matters. It’s the second . The great Sir Terry Pratchett has beaten me to this insight, of course, in his Tiffany Aching books. But I shall do my best to clumsily articulate it all the same. Our first reaction to anything is instinct. It’s born of our culture, our upbringing, our influences, our religion, even deep, primal emotions – it’s the thought that comes without even think...

 A few thoughts on the world as the year turns. Happy New Year everyone. :) Hope For Us All As we move forward into a new year I look at a world full of darkness and fear A world full of hate and a world full of war And I desperately wish it could be something more A world which is hopeful in heart and in mind A world which is tolerant, humble and kind A world which is loving, a world that just cares A world where good business helps people, not shares A world where our planet means more than just earth A world not exploited, for that’s its true worth A world in which people mean more than great wealth A world in which profit stops impacting health A world where unique isn’t something to smother A world in which people respect one another A world where a difference is to be embraced Where all can achieve and wise knowledge is chased A world where newcomers are welcome indeed And given our help when they are in great need A world in which power ...

 NOTE: Life based arse kicking is ongoing. Therefore I thought I'd repost the sequel blog to my last redux written and posted back in August 2021 instead when  The Merry Band was just coming out. Gosh, that feels a long time ago!   The Name Game – The Sequel In honour of the release of  The Merry Band , my sequel to  The Disposable , I have been seized by the urge to write a sequel to my previous blog, where I discussed my naming strategies. And my premise is simply this – if you had to name yourself in the manner of my Realm, what name would you give yourself? Because on thinking about it for myself, it’s really not as simple as it sounds. Would you want to chose your own name or have it chosen for you? Would you want a name that genuinely reveals an aspect of your personality or would you prefer to keep your true self and any accompanying expectations privately behind a less accurate or less specific one? And what part of yourself would you chose to advertise ...

NOTE: Well, life is kicking my arse somewhat at the moment so fresh blog entries remain unforthcoming. I shall therefore offer up another blast from the past and redux a blog I wrote back in July 2021 about how I name my characters. :) The Name Game I have a confession. I love names. I’m an avid collector of them. For example, there are some wonderful historical names my mother has uncovered in the course of her family history research – the winners so far being Valentine Pratt, Strange Peacock and brothers Wildsmith and Griffin Badger (the latter two being indeed a part of my genetic make-up!). As a child (sad as this makes me sound), I used to pause the credits of films on video and list any interesting names I found there. I have a number of name books, both conventional and slightly more unusual – my books of Cornish and Celtic names are an especially good source of fantasy names. And any time I come across a good name in normal life, I have a little notebook on hand to write it do...

It's been September. I work in education. Do I need to offer any further explanation as to why I have had no time, energy or inspiration for a new blog this month? So I hope you'll forgive me for offering up a rehash of an old favourite instead. :) The Unachievable Heights of The Chosen One Ah, The Chosen One. That staple of the fantasy world. Destiny’s Child, born under an auspicious star, with a unique birthmark foretelling their glorious fate, generally blessed with a stunning or striking appearance, an unusual eye colour and unexpectedly modest origins for their impressively regal heritage, watched over at a distance by a guardian just waiting for the right moment to reveal their secret power and fated purpose in saving their realms from a lurking evil. Step forward all you fantastical Eriks out there, for you are legion. But as anyone who has read my novels may have guessed, I have a few issues with the trope of The Chosen One. Because as the father of modern fantasy, JRR ...

 My tired old brain has failed me again - I have both forgotten to write a blog this month and had no ideas for one anyway. So I'm doing a Blog Redux on this offering from 2020 about how precious and unique a book is to every reader. :) *** The human imagination is an extraordinary thing, when you stop and think about it. Being as I am not of a scientific bent, I have no idea of the ins and outs of how it can possibly work, how it is that a lump of grey meat inside a wrapping of bone could possibly generate images, ideas, unheard sounds, regurgitate things once seen and create whole new universes out of nothing. Indeed, to be honest, I don’t   want   to understand how it works - that would destroy the magic. I’m quite happy just to have the means to play in new and never before seen realms in the depths of my own head. But there is another special thing about the imagination – it is unique. It is a strange thing to consider that no one will ever see my characters exactly ...

  The Joy of Tropes As anyone who has read my novels may be aware, I like to play with tropes. I like to try at least to puncture expectations and point out the kind of plots and characters a narrative tends to rely on with big fat signposts. I don’t like to let the obvious and predictable pass by without comment. Sad as it sounds, that’s my idea of fun. ;) But – and here’s the thing – I point them out while trying to adhere to a satisfying narrative structure myself. Stories where the bad guys win and everyone dies horribly do exist, but they aren’t much fun for the audience – there needs to be the escape, the payoff, the triumph in order to leave the reader smiling and satisfied. There needs to be victory over adversity, a price or a heroic sacrifice to make the moment hard earned – an easy victory is no fun either, there has to be some drama or strife. That is what makes a tale worth telling. So while I poke at tropes, oddly enough I don’t actually have that much objection...

  The Importance of Thinking Twice We live in a reactionary world. That’s simply the way it is now. Someone says something or does something and around the world people React. They get quite fervent in their reactions and the reaction builds and then suddenly it becomes a Thing. But I do wonder how many of these Things would not develop in the way they do at all if people just stopped and thought twice . Because it isn’t the first thought you have that matters. It’s the second . The great Sir Terry Pratchett has beaten me to this insight, of course, in his Tiffany Aching books. But I shall do my best to clumsily articulate it all the same. Our first reaction to anything is instinct. It’s born of our culture, our upbringing, our influences, our religion, even deep, primal emotions – it’s the thought that comes without even thinking about it. So, for example, if you grew up in a time when or a place where, for example, homosexuality was considered unacceptable then one’s first...

 Citing the Nazis It is a fact universally acknowledged that if one invokes the Nazis in an argument, that argument is lost. Everyone knows that, don’t they? Bring up Hitler in an online thread and that thread comes to an end. Compare someone to a Nazi and you are the one who ends up looking ridiculous and extreme. Putting something modern day alongside the Nazis is considered the ultimate in overreactions. And in the vast majority of cases, that’s true. But at the same time, there is a tremendous risk in dismissing all such comparisons with such instant contempt. Because if we aren’t careful, we might end up forgetting one of the most important lessons that history can ever teach us – how people with extremist, dangerous views can work their way into power. For anyone who has it available to them, I would strongly recommend watching the first series of the BBC documentary series Rise of the Nazis because while it is a hard and sobering watch, it is also a lesson in the dang...

 The Importance of Example What is a good relationship? It’s a big question and the answer will differ from person to person. Some folks will draw on examples, good and bad, from within their own family to decide what it is in a partner that matters to them. Some will take an answer from their culture, their religion, their society. But some, poor souls, may decide to take their answer from the example of film and television and that is the point, I fear, where things may start to go wrong. Because using something designed to be dramatic (often melodramatic) created for the purposes of entertainment as one’s example, consciously or not, is not the way to a happy and fulfilling future. Take the British soap opera EastEnders. When it started, forty years ago now, it was known for its gritty realism and tackling social issues. It addressed matters like alcoholism, domestic abuse, HIV, gay relationships, PTSD, racism and drug abuse. I used to watch it regularly, long ago, but aband...

 Well, here we are - a whole five years today since The Disposable first became available for all you lucky peeps to buy. ;) It was a strange old time for me - I'd just had an operation and was laid up, COVID was just kicking off and the world in general was a very odd place to be and in all of that, I was trying to plug a book! It was hard to imagine what life would be like down the line - and to be fair, I wouldn't have imagined the world would be as it has become lately - but one thing I am very glad of is that my four book Plot Bandits "trilogy" of The Disposable , The Merry Band , The Narrative and The Taskmaster is out there in the world. :) For while I haven't exactly been setting the publishing world alight, knowing that Fodder, Flirt, Shoulders, Dullard and Pleasance and their friends are out there for other people to get to know (and hopefully love!) as much as I do gives me so much satisfaction. That they exist and live in other people's heads apa...

 The Importance of Human Thought  With apologies to all those in favour of it, I’m going to have a rant about my issues with Artificial Intelligence again. But this is something that isn’t going to go away and I fear that, as so often with the human race, it is something we are plunging into without thinking about the consequences. Because the major consequence, if we aren’t careful, will be to crush our ability for creative thought by giving it all to a computer. I think I can speak for many when I saw that jobs that don’t involve brain work are not very stimulating. Mindlessly copying or inputting data into a computer, repetitive tasks – this is work that pays bills but doesn’t ignite passion or indeed brain cells. Where jobs become interesting, where people become enthused, is where thought is involved – analysis, diagnosis, assessment, creativity, imagination, problem solving, projection, discovery, inspiration, whatever you want to call it, whatever kind of work it ...

 The Dangers of Othering You may have noticed from the tone of my blogs of late that I feel like humanity is in a very dangerous place right now. And though there’s probably only a half dozen or so of you out there reading these as I shout helplessly into the void, I still feel the need to do it or I’m probably going to burst with frustration and rage. So my apologies everyone but here we go again… It’s always someone else’s fault. We all know that person, don’t we? Anything that goes wrong in their world, well, it wasn’t their fault, oh no, impossible, it was someone else who caused it, it wasn’t down to them. The dog ate my homework. He pushed me. She wasn’t looking where she was going. They didn’t explain it properly. It wasn’t made clear that wasn’t allowed. I wanted to be there and they were in the way. They didn’t do what I told them to do. They weren’t behaving properly. I wanted to do it, they got in the way. They came over here and took our jobs, it’s not down to me th...

 Hello to you all - I hope all those who celebrate it had a lovely Christmas and I'd like to wish you all a very Happy, Safe and Prosperous New Year. Look after each other, care for your fellow man and above all, be kind. :) There we go - with the sentiment out of the way, I shall now indulge in some hideous self advertising of the type I've been too tired and grumpy to undertake of late. I have these books out, you see, and what better New Year Treat than to give them a try or encourage friends and relatives to do so? And, yes, I do feel ashamed of myself - I'm too goddamn British for all this self advertising! But nonetheless.... The first novel, The Disposable can be found here: UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Disposable-1-Plot-Bandits/dp/1951471024 USA: https://www.amazon.com/Disposable-1-Plot-Bandits/dp/1951471024 The Narrative Must Be Obeyed Everyone in the Taskmaster’s Realm knows how the story goes: the boy of destiny goes on a quest, defeats the dark lord, and gets ...