Comments for Scribe's Desk

Comment on Bubonic Plague in Australia by shifty

shifty — Sat, 12 May 2012 00:30:46 +0000

My understanding is that plague developed in Australia because slums were allowed to grow unchecked and that the public authorities neglected their responsibilities to monitor health.

Although plague was confirmed in January 1900 it was not proclaimed, and sanitation measures were not enforced, until March of the same year.

The human tragedy was compounded by the response of the populace, who blamed the poor and attacked the mostly Chinese residents of the slums.

Page 272
Australia’s Dangerous Creatures, Sutherland et al, Readers Digest 1987

Comment on A Stroke in Life by Karen

Karen — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 22:23:20 +0000

People keep telling me that, but to be honest I don’t feel it’s true. The last couple of days I’ve been a wreck!

Thanks for being concerned, Deborah.

Comment on A Stroke in Life by Deborah

Deborah — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 16:44:37 +0000

I’m praying for you, Karen. You’re a very strong woman.

Comment on eBook Review: The Time Machine by Karen

Karen — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 11:33:17 +0000

The book definitely had a different feel to it compared to the movies I’ve seen. I enjoyed the movies but have to agree that the book was better for a variety of reasons – the main one for me was the way it made me feel at the end.

Comment on eBook Review: The Time Machine by Terry

Terry — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 20:35:48 +0000

Hey Karen,
I remember reading this years ago and I loved it. It is a great distopia story and done very well. I have found there are several things in the book that have never been pulled off on the screen. This is definitively one of those books that is much better to read than to see the movie.

Comment on Editing Course: Perfect Punctuation I by Karen

Karen — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 11:48:47 +0000

Hi Beryl

Sometimes it can be extremely difficult to categorise a manuscript. I notice you say in your comment that mystery is not the main theme and romance is not the main theme … so my question is what is the main theme? Because that is your category.

Many books have a little bit of many categories, but most of them have a theme that stands out more than the others. That’s the one you need to pinpoint.

Maybe you’ve already answered the question when you said “contemporary”.

Best of luck with the manuscript.

Comment on Editing Course: Perfect Punctuation I by Beryl Shaw

Beryl Shaw — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:29:32 +0000

Hi, Karen.

I’m preparing a pitch package for a novel I have taken many years to write. And as stupid as this might sound, I cannot find a category in which to put it. My novel is not romance, horror, gothic, science fiction, fantasy, ethnic, juvenile. If I call it mainstream, will it fall into an unwanted catch-all category? It has a little mystery, but that’s not the main theme. It has a little romance, which is also not the main theme.The book is contemporary and it deals with environmental issues.So, I was wondering if you have any suggestions for what category to use.

Thank you,
Beryl Shaw

Comment on Paperbacks v Digital Books by Michael Parker

Michael Parker — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 10:37:02 +0000

Good article Karen. I have a Kindle but am torn between that and paperbacks. I’m an established writer and want to see people buy my hardback novels, but have resorted to POD and Kindle with a few of them. Interestingly, I read an article yesterday, a very lenghty one about the battle royal going on between Amazon and the established publishers. Amazon have declared their intention to go into publishing. Paprebacks do you think?