Ask the Author: Philip Dodd
Answered Questions (24)
Philip Dodd
I would not mind travelling to the world of 2001: A Space Odyssey, so I could stand before the monolith on the moon.
Philip Dodd
The people who read your Goodreads blog are those who are on your list of friends. So what you ought to do is to increase the number of friends you have on Goodreads. Sadly, this is a bad time for author's blogs on Goodreads. A few days ago the number of times a blog has been viewed vanished. My posts used to get between 12 to 20 views. Now that the number of views are not shown, I have no idea how many people have viewed my blog. I found a thread on Goodreads of author's asking why the number of views of their blogs had vanished. The moderator of the thread did not give a satisfactory explanation. Some authors said there was no point in posting new posts on their blog as they will have no idea if anyone has viewed them.
Philip Dodd
In his horror novels, he wrote much of hell. When he died, he was appalled to find that hell was real.
Philip Dodd
During the summer I should finish reading Out of the Whirlwind by C.W. Hambleton, then I will read Empty Pocket Blues, the Life and Music of Clive Palmer, one of the founder members of the Incredible String Band. Among other books, I will read Tales of Time and Space by H.G. Wells.
Philip Dodd
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Philip Dodd
Hello, Dave. Is your question about posting a poem in the Poetry group on Goodreads?
Philip Dodd
The tale of Beren and Luthien from The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien moved me because of what their love for each other achieved. Beren is a mortal man, Luthien Tinuviel is an immortal elf, they meet and fall in love with each other by chance in the woods of Neldoreth. King Thingol says he will only allow Beren to marry his daughter, Luthien, if he brings to him a Silmaril from the Iron Crown of Morgoth. Beren knows the elf king sends him on an impossible quest but he still makes his way to Angband, the fortress of Morgoth. With the help of Luthien, he achieves the Quest of the Silmaril and is allowed to marry her. What they achieved together finally leads to the death of Morgoth and the fall of Angband. Sadly, J.R.R. Tolkien never finished The Silmarillion in his own lifetime. The Silmarillion, published in 1977, is but a hint of what could have been, edited by his son, Christopher Tolkien. It contains one great love story, however, that of Beren and Luthien. It was a tale that meant a lot to J.R.R. Tolkien as he called his wife Edith his Luthien.
Philip Dodd
Thank you very much for buying my new book, Arthur. I hope you enjoy reading it. Still the Dawn: Poems and Ballads is a collection of poems and ballads I wrote between the years of 1983 and 2015.
Philip Dodd
I have been away for a while so I have only just read your message. I am glad you liked my review of your wonderful book, Rodney.
Philip Dodd
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Philip Dodd
Hello, Steve. Welcome to Goodreads. I was interested to read the list of your favourite authors on your blog, and was pleased to see you mention John Fowles. Apart from The French Lieutenant's Woman, I liked some of his other books, like The Collector and A Maggot.
Philip Dodd
Hello, Krystine. At the moment I am concentrating on looking for reviewers who would like to review my new book, so your message cheered me up today. It came as a nice surprise. I could either post the PDF version of my book to you or send you a paperback copy through the post. It is up to you. Thank you very much for showing an interest in my book. Best wishes, Philip
Philip Dodd
Hello, Milkweed. Do you mean how did I actually feel about writing Angel War? If so, I felt there was a story that needed to be told, inspired by the "war in heaven", mentioned in Chapter Twelve of the Book of Revelation, and I knew no one was going to tell it, at least as how I imagined it to have happened. I felt it was a serious, daunting task I had set myself, but when it was completed, one that was well worth doing. In total contrast to Angel War, which is a serious book, rooted in The Bible, my new book, Klubbe the Turkle and the Golden Star Coracle, I wrote to amuse myself and, hopefully, others, too. When I finished my new book, I felt satisfied that it was funny, with a bird brain humour, which I like. Hopefully, those who read it will think it is funny, too.
Philip Dodd
For anyone who writes, the internet is wonderful. I will never take it for granted. Before I tuned into the internet in July, 2012, I wrote in isolation. After my book, Angel War, was published in April, 2013, I was pleased to have my Author Profile Page on Goodreads and a page for my book, complete with reviews of it by other members. I enjoy sharing my poems in the Poetry group on Goodreads, on poetry sites on Face Book and on my own WordPress blog: http://astro7747.wordpress.com It is natural to want to share what you have created with others, even if it is only one other person. I have had positive responses to my book and my poems since I tuned into the internet, I am pleased to say, and I find it interesting and enjoyable reading the works of others. I have had poems published in my local newspapers and in The Dawntreader, a quarterly poetry magazine, published by Indigo Dreams Publishing, but the good thing about posting them on the internet is that I can get a response from those who have read them. Only by sharing what you have written with others can you measure how good it is, how worthwhile it is to write in the first place. Writing is a great hobby. When others appreciate what you have written, it makes it even better.
Philip Dodd
My book, Angel War, was inspired by Chapter Twelve of the Book of Revelation, which speaks of the war in heaven, fought between Michael and his angels and the dragon and his angels. The Bible only says that the war happened but not why, so I decided to write my own version of the events of the war and its aftermath. One of the chapters of my book, called The Tempter, was inspired by a painting called The Temptation of Christ by Satan in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool. The King James Version of the Holy Bible was the main inspiration for my book. A tiny, yellow painted plastic toy model of a turtle, which looked to me as if it was walking on its hind legs, designed to fix onto the end of a pencil, inspired me to create a character called Klubbe the turkle. Turkles, I decided, are like turtles, only they walk on their hind legs, have the gift of language, the ability to create their own culture, and live on a planet called Ankor. My story, Klubbe the Turkle and the Golden Star Coracle, tells of how Klubbe becomes Ankor's greatest inventor and explorer. Its first two chapters can be read on Wattpad. Memories of looking at the lion on a Tate and Lyle golden syrup tin inspired me to write my poem, The Riddle of Samson. Memories of people and places have inspired other poems. My poem, Windmill and Rainbow, was inspired by a painting by Turner. Some of my other poems were inspired by paintings, too, such as The Ascent of the Prophet to Heaven, which was inspired by a Persian painting. Such odd things as reading about an insect that survives by drinking fog in the Namib Desert in South Africa can inspire me to write a poem. The Flightless Fog Drinker was the name of that poem. My interest in mythology has inspired me to write such poems as Sigurd, Volund, Thor, The Redundancy of Gods and Maze For The Minotaur. In short, inspiration is a real thing, I am pleased to say, and it is something you cannot control. It comes and goes. Life inspires me to write, in all its aspects.
Philip Dodd
Learn from the masters. Read some Classic novels. They have survived for a reason. Basically, it is because they are good tales, well told. You may feel safe only reading books by your favourite authors and certain kinds of books, but there are worlds elsewhere. Do not restrict yourself to modern literature. Go back as far as Gilgamesh, The Iliad and The Odyssey. Remember when you have finished writing your story, it is only the first draft. Leave it for a while, then write a new version, until you know it cannot be improved upon. You will then have your final draft. Think of what it means that literary agents and publishers are only interested in books that will sell not just hundreds, but thousands of copies. Study the Writers and Artists Year Book and sites on the internet concerned with writing and publishing. Enjoy being a creative person.
Philip Dodd
One of the best things about being a writer is being able to create your own world on the page. That gives you an extra dimension to inhabit and explore. In the first chapters of my book, Angel War, I gave myself the task of creating the angel kingdoms and the angels who inhabit them, and in the later chapters, the dragon kingdoms, ruled by the Dragon on his Citadel throne. It was not an easy task I set myself, but it was an interesting, enjoyable one, to say the least. One of the best things about writing poems is being able to preserve memories on the page. In my poem, 1914-2014, for example, I was able to preserve my memories of my grandfather and how he fought in and survived the Battle of the Somme in the First World War. Those who have read it were moved by it and it was published in my local newspaper, the Liverpool Echo. Preserving memories in verse or prose is much more satisfying than looking at old photographs, I think. The best thing about being a writer is the pleasure and satisfaction that comes from being creative. To create is a wonderful thing.
Philip Dodd
My book, Angel War, was published in April, 2013. Since then I have completed my light-hearted science fiction story, Klubbe the Turkle and the Golden Star Coracle, which I may publish one day. At the moment I am enjoying posting my poems in the Poetry group on Goodreads, on poetry sites, like Uncaged Emotions, on Face Book, and on my WordPress blog, complete with a print selected from the internet to illustrate each poem. The internet is wonderful for anyone who writes, I think. No one need write in isolation anymore. Philip Dodd, Author of Angel War I have called my blog. It is mainly dedicated to a collection of my poems, called Chimneys and Clouds: http://astro7747.wordpress.com
Philip Dodd
Angel War was inspired by Chapter Six of the Book of Revelation, which speaks of the war in heaven, fought between Michael and his angels and the dragon and his angels. The Bible only says that the war happened, but not why, so I decided to write my own version of the war and its aftermath. My book is fundamentally the biography of Azel, the Prince of the White Castle of the Angels of Light, who from an early age plans what he calls his great rebellion against the Father. It is he who begins the war in the angel lands. After his defeat in the war, sat on his Citadel throne, in his exile, he uses planet Earth as a battlefield in his war against the Father, from the time of the Garden of Eden unto the 1980's, during the time of the Cold War. My book could be called a work of fantasy fiction, rooted in The Bible.
Philip Dodd
My book, Angel War, was inspired by Chapter Twelve of the Book of Revelation, which speaks of the war in heaven, fought between Michael and his angels and the dragon and his angels. The Bible only says that the war happened, but not why, so I decided to write my own version of the war and its aftermath.
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