Peter Rendell's Blog
September 25, 2019
ZED delayed
The launch of ‘ZED’ has been delayed to 26-Mar-2020.
Given the favourable banter on Facebook about the book cover, I am disappointed that I cannot release ‘ZED’ immediately. I have spent the last six months preparing my books for Audible media, and hence not on ZED as scheduled. The ‘preparation for audible’ uncovered a need for Scene markers defining ‘who, where, when’. Some sharp eyes have spotted that the male faces on the book cover are the same. Well, yes, spiritually, they are all the same person, but I would concede that there is no logical reason why they should look the same.
ZED was not blessed with long life like Merlin, but by using the power of a ring of Gaia, he had avoided his ‘Day of Reckoning’. If he held the ring against a pregnant woman when she was at 26 weeks term, ZED’s spirit could move into the new foetus.
The first four chapters of ZED will appear on www.reads4u.com in the next few days.
Peter Rendell 25-Sep-2019.
Given the favourable banter on Facebook about the book cover, I am disappointed that I cannot release ‘ZED’ immediately. I have spent the last six months preparing my books for Audible media, and hence not on ZED as scheduled. The ‘preparation for audible’ uncovered a need for Scene markers defining ‘who, where, when’. Some sharp eyes have spotted that the male faces on the book cover are the same. Well, yes, spiritually, they are all the same person, but I would concede that there is no logical reason why they should look the same.
ZED was not blessed with long life like Merlin, but by using the power of a ring of Gaia, he had avoided his ‘Day of Reckoning’. If he held the ring against a pregnant woman when she was at 26 weeks term, ZED’s spirit could move into the new foetus.
The first four chapters of ZED will appear on www.reads4u.com in the next few days.
Peter Rendell 25-Sep-2019.
May 18, 2019
Merlin Parnassus Third Edition
When you publish a novel, you always believe it is as good as it can be, and you consider it to be finished. Then some new tools come onto the market. I started with the application ‘ProWritingAid’ and used it for the second edition of the novel. However, it was a fight.
I use Microsoft Word for my story development and create new styles for each new format; so, if I don’t like a presentation then I can correct it quickly by adjusting its style.
Unfortunately, it took me a long time to find out that ‘ProWritingAid’ and ‘MSWord’ are not truly compatible. ProWritingAid seems to be USA only. You can set MSWord to English(UK) to control grammar and spelling but this is a global setting and it seems to revert to English(USA) at the drop of a hat. I suspect software upgrades are resetting defaults.
With this frustrating scenario, I was always on the lookout for something better and I am now using ‘Grammarly’. This product allows for language selection ‘English(British)’. Most suggestions, by the Grammarly application, for alternative phrases have been very good, often with several alternatives, but, in the end, you can still ignore the suggestions. On its performance to date, May 2019, I would recommend Grammarly as an excellent grammar checker, but the current version is losing paragraph styles; on balance this is a small nuisance that is easily corrected.
In March2019, I discovered an application called ‘Fictionary’. This product is claimed to be the first phase of Editing. It soon became clear that my concept of a ‘scene’ was not tight enough. Fictionary defines ‘a scene change’ as a change of Point of View (POV), location or time. The end of each scene should be marked by a line of three asterisks ‘***’, unless it was the end of the chapter.
Now my stories tend to be from a single POV and I hadn’t recognised time as a ‘change of scene’ condition, so I had to update the manuscript before loading it to Fictionary. Now each scene requires a POV, the POV’s objective, the scene name and location. It is now clear to me that this rigid form would be required everywhere – film, TV or theatre. This is a valuable lesson on its own. So, the package had succeeded from the very first step.
With the manuscript loaded, and the scenes recognised, the hard work begins. My novel ‘Merlin Parnassus’ was 65,000 words when I started this exercise. The last chapter was rewritten as four new chapters. The novel is now up to 70,000 words and I haven’t finished the Fictionary evaluation, and the novel. It looks like the Fictionary phase will take 2 months; this is a significant amount of effort and I have yet to judge if it was worth it.
Peter Rendell
Merlin Parnassus
I use Microsoft Word for my story development and create new styles for each new format; so, if I don’t like a presentation then I can correct it quickly by adjusting its style.
Unfortunately, it took me a long time to find out that ‘ProWritingAid’ and ‘MSWord’ are not truly compatible. ProWritingAid seems to be USA only. You can set MSWord to English(UK) to control grammar and spelling but this is a global setting and it seems to revert to English(USA) at the drop of a hat. I suspect software upgrades are resetting defaults.
With this frustrating scenario, I was always on the lookout for something better and I am now using ‘Grammarly’. This product allows for language selection ‘English(British)’. Most suggestions, by the Grammarly application, for alternative phrases have been very good, often with several alternatives, but, in the end, you can still ignore the suggestions. On its performance to date, May 2019, I would recommend Grammarly as an excellent grammar checker, but the current version is losing paragraph styles; on balance this is a small nuisance that is easily corrected.
In March2019, I discovered an application called ‘Fictionary’. This product is claimed to be the first phase of Editing. It soon became clear that my concept of a ‘scene’ was not tight enough. Fictionary defines ‘a scene change’ as a change of Point of View (POV), location or time. The end of each scene should be marked by a line of three asterisks ‘***’, unless it was the end of the chapter.
Now my stories tend to be from a single POV and I hadn’t recognised time as a ‘change of scene’ condition, so I had to update the manuscript before loading it to Fictionary. Now each scene requires a POV, the POV’s objective, the scene name and location. It is now clear to me that this rigid form would be required everywhere – film, TV or theatre. This is a valuable lesson on its own. So, the package had succeeded from the very first step.
With the manuscript loaded, and the scenes recognised, the hard work begins. My novel ‘Merlin Parnassus’ was 65,000 words when I started this exercise. The last chapter was rewritten as four new chapters. The novel is now up to 70,000 words and I haven’t finished the Fictionary evaluation, and the novel. It looks like the Fictionary phase will take 2 months; this is a significant amount of effort and I have yet to judge if it was worth it.
Peter Rendell
Merlin Parnassus
October 25, 2018
Merlin Parnassus
Merlin Parnassus
OUT TODAY
Merlin Parnassus
Theme: “Who wants to live forever?” (acknowledgement: Sung by Freddie Mercury; written by Brian May, Queen 1986). Would it be a blessing or a curse?
“Merlin Parnassus” by ‘Honeysuckle Pear’ was released on 25-Oct-2018.
Kindle Edition:
https://www.amazon.com/Merlin-Parnass...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Merlin-Parna...
Paperback Edition:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1726649660/...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/172664966...
Merlin Parnassus was a Real Magician, a Navigator and a herbalist. He was the wizard at King Arthur’s Court. According to Legend, Merlin’s existence ended when Morgana Le Fey trapped him in the Crystal Cave. It didn’t stop there. This biography shows Merlin has lived for two millennia and is still alive today. This biography is a work of fiction based on real places and notable historical people.
Merlin was born in the glades of Mount Parnassus. His natural mother died in childbirth. His adopted mother became a Sibyl, a wise woman skilled in herbs and medicine; these were gifts from Gaia, mother Earth. Sibyl was invited to work at the Oracle of Delphi. She became a Pythia, a priestess who made predictions as the Oracle of Delphi. Life for a Pythia was dangerously short due to the heady vapours beneath the Omphalos; Merlin believed these vapours triggered the predictions. In her dying breath, Sibyl prayed to Gaia, “Let my child receive your gifts and become your servant.”
When Merlin returned to the Glades to cremate his mother’s body, he dedicated his life to Gaia, and she accepted, promising him “a long life learning Real Magic”.
Five steel rings, the size of headbands, were donated to the Oracle; they were used in the crowning wreaths of the champions of the Pan-Hellenic Games. Gaia blessed each ring, with permanent magical essence, to aid the winner in their new role as a Judge or Teacher. The Games had been designed to find the best candidates for the top jobs in the community.
The priests fled, with the rings, when the Romans condemned all religions outside of Christianity. Four pairs of priests and priestesses left as bridal couples to unspecified destinations. Merlin fled to Britain with a small group of priests and priestesses. They landed at Camulodunum (Colchester) and moved on to Caerleon-upon-Usk, where they settled down to run a farm, an Apothecary, a Guild of Masons and document copying service.
Merlin received a message at Caerleon, delivered by a monk. The letter was from a Lady Ygerne Del Acqs asking for medical help; he must be discrete. When he arrived, the Lady was in great distress. Her husband, the Lord Gorlois, was away fighting usurpers. While Lord Gorlois was away, Uther Pendragon had raped Igraine and left her pregnant. Igraine gave birth to Arthur in 559AD. Igraine rejected Arthur; she refused to breastfeed him. A wet nurse, Eve, was drawn to Arthur like a magnet. Igraine asked Merlin to protect Eve, Arthur and her reputation.
On Arthur’s sixteenth birthday, Merlin ran into the clutches of Morgana at Tintagel. She drugged him and carried his paralysed body into the cave below the castle. Merlin was buried in the back wall of the cave and suspended in time and space by the most powerful of Morgana’s spells.
Merlin escaped Morgana’s trap; (If you want to know how then buy the book) and fled across the notorious Bodmin Moor.
Merlin became friendly with Captain Marsh, a Greek-Cypriot, who owned the ship, Andromeda. Merlin paid for his passage with the gold coin that was 500 years old but looked brand new. Captain Marsh was prepared to take the risk; it was the first of many risks that he would take on Merlin’s behalf.
The Captain helped Merlin set up a new life as an Apothecary in Paphos, Cyprus.
Merlin spent a lot of time in the local Taverna chatting with the proprietor, Nico Gregoriou. His wife’s name was ‘Thea’, but everyone called her ‘Tee’. She ruled the kitchen as the family Matriarch. Nico and Tee had four sons Alex, Brygus, Cole and Demetri; and three daughters Callia, Maria and Georgia. It was a modest size for a Greek family.
It was two weeks before Merlin had a chance meeting with the daughters. They were formally introduced when he first met Nico, but they didn’t get much free time. Callia was the first to approach; she was keen to discuss my knowledge of herbs and spices. She was a bubbly person and became quite excited when Merlin said he would discuss recipes with her.
Honeysuckle Pear 4-Oct-2018.
OUT TODAY
Merlin Parnassus
Theme: “Who wants to live forever?” (acknowledgement: Sung by Freddie Mercury; written by Brian May, Queen 1986). Would it be a blessing or a curse?
“Merlin Parnassus” by ‘Honeysuckle Pear’ was released on 25-Oct-2018.
Kindle Edition:
https://www.amazon.com/Merlin-Parnass...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Merlin-Parna...
Paperback Edition:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1726649660/...
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/172664966...
Merlin Parnassus was a Real Magician, a Navigator and a herbalist. He was the wizard at King Arthur’s Court. According to Legend, Merlin’s existence ended when Morgana Le Fey trapped him in the Crystal Cave. It didn’t stop there. This biography shows Merlin has lived for two millennia and is still alive today. This biography is a work of fiction based on real places and notable historical people.
Merlin was born in the glades of Mount Parnassus. His natural mother died in childbirth. His adopted mother became a Sibyl, a wise woman skilled in herbs and medicine; these were gifts from Gaia, mother Earth. Sibyl was invited to work at the Oracle of Delphi. She became a Pythia, a priestess who made predictions as the Oracle of Delphi. Life for a Pythia was dangerously short due to the heady vapours beneath the Omphalos; Merlin believed these vapours triggered the predictions. In her dying breath, Sibyl prayed to Gaia, “Let my child receive your gifts and become your servant.”
When Merlin returned to the Glades to cremate his mother’s body, he dedicated his life to Gaia, and she accepted, promising him “a long life learning Real Magic”.
Five steel rings, the size of headbands, were donated to the Oracle; they were used in the crowning wreaths of the champions of the Pan-Hellenic Games. Gaia blessed each ring, with permanent magical essence, to aid the winner in their new role as a Judge or Teacher. The Games had been designed to find the best candidates for the top jobs in the community.
The priests fled, with the rings, when the Romans condemned all religions outside of Christianity. Four pairs of priests and priestesses left as bridal couples to unspecified destinations. Merlin fled to Britain with a small group of priests and priestesses. They landed at Camulodunum (Colchester) and moved on to Caerleon-upon-Usk, where they settled down to run a farm, an Apothecary, a Guild of Masons and document copying service.
Merlin received a message at Caerleon, delivered by a monk. The letter was from a Lady Ygerne Del Acqs asking for medical help; he must be discrete. When he arrived, the Lady was in great distress. Her husband, the Lord Gorlois, was away fighting usurpers. While Lord Gorlois was away, Uther Pendragon had raped Igraine and left her pregnant. Igraine gave birth to Arthur in 559AD. Igraine rejected Arthur; she refused to breastfeed him. A wet nurse, Eve, was drawn to Arthur like a magnet. Igraine asked Merlin to protect Eve, Arthur and her reputation.
On Arthur’s sixteenth birthday, Merlin ran into the clutches of Morgana at Tintagel. She drugged him and carried his paralysed body into the cave below the castle. Merlin was buried in the back wall of the cave and suspended in time and space by the most powerful of Morgana’s spells.
Merlin escaped Morgana’s trap; (If you want to know how then buy the book) and fled across the notorious Bodmin Moor.
Merlin became friendly with Captain Marsh, a Greek-Cypriot, who owned the ship, Andromeda. Merlin paid for his passage with the gold coin that was 500 years old but looked brand new. Captain Marsh was prepared to take the risk; it was the first of many risks that he would take on Merlin’s behalf.
The Captain helped Merlin set up a new life as an Apothecary in Paphos, Cyprus.
Merlin spent a lot of time in the local Taverna chatting with the proprietor, Nico Gregoriou. His wife’s name was ‘Thea’, but everyone called her ‘Tee’. She ruled the kitchen as the family Matriarch. Nico and Tee had four sons Alex, Brygus, Cole and Demetri; and three daughters Callia, Maria and Georgia. It was a modest size for a Greek family.
It was two weeks before Merlin had a chance meeting with the daughters. They were formally introduced when he first met Nico, but they didn’t get much free time. Callia was the first to approach; she was keen to discuss my knowledge of herbs and spices. She was a bubbly person and became quite excited when Merlin said he would discuss recipes with her.
Honeysuckle Pear 4-Oct-2018.
April 5, 2018
Being a Father
Being a Father
Honeysuckle Pear © 5-Apr-2018.
This is an extract from the forthcoming ‘Merlin Parnassus’ story.
Authors notes:
- Text in single-quotes is telepathic thoughts communication.
- Copper is a dog of the breed ‘Aksaray Malaklisi’.
---
There were several times that I felt estranged as a father. I didn’t have the daily contact with the children that I felt they should have. It suited my life style as I couldn’t be around all the time, but I felt – I should do more. I couldn’t pin down if I was on a guilt trip or feeling left out. I stepped back to look at Callia’s position. What did she have that other mothers did not. Well, the obvious answer was Copper, who was far more than just a pet. Copper’s greatest asset was her telepathy skills which turned her into a companion and a Nanny. Callia also had instant access to her mother through the Paphos portal. I think I can say that I have no reason to feel guilty.
Callia understood how I was feeling. That night, she took me to bed and used my trigger word. I floated gently down into my own private space. She teased out and removed any guilt I felt and gently pushed me into deep relaxation. I had taught her these techniques so that she could cope with anyone having a mental breakdown. She had sensed my depression.
I floated gently, as if I weighed nothing; my body was a light as a feather.
‘Now Merlin. Relax and forgive. Do not think about what I am saying. Just relax and forgive. You said I should never use hypnosis with telepathy. Please forgive me for violating that request. You can explain to me, why I shouldn’t, on another day. Forgive and relax.’
‘You are forgiven.’
The whisper came from the depths of my soul. I had no thoughts and listened for her caring commands.
‘Let your body float in my arms as a baby. Let your lips caress my nipple and suckle, to your hearts content; I have plenty of spare milk to nurture you body and to calm your soul.’
I drew on that source of life with no thoughts, no demands, no sense of time, nothing.
‘Now, let your mouth continue to suckle. Focus your telepathy on me. Feel what I feel; feel the child suckling on my nipple; feel the senses in my breast, in my stomach and down into my pussy; feel my building urges and satisfaction.’
No thoughts entered my head. Callia wasn’t thinking, so I wasn’t thinking. I recorded her feelings deep down into her toes. I squirmed as she squirmed. I felt the flow of milk throughout the breast and out of the swollen nipple. I felt Callia’s love of her baby. Her motherly affections were being drawn towards that sole point of contact. The focus of the mind was total; no other thoughts could invade for consideration. We had both achieved nirvana. We drifted in a different time.
‘Now Merlin, your body is content. Stop suckling. Let your focus remain within me. Feel my contentment. Let your mind follow my thoughts. Let yourself feel and understand my contentment.’
At that point, Callia had a small orgasm. I left the trance, bathing in the afterglow, feeling relaxed and a little envious. I had to accept that, in some ways, I would always be a bystander.
***
Honeysuckle Pear © 5-Apr-2018.
This is an extract from the forthcoming ‘Merlin Parnassus’ story.
Authors notes:
- Text in single-quotes is telepathic thoughts communication.
- Copper is a dog of the breed ‘Aksaray Malaklisi’.
---
There were several times that I felt estranged as a father. I didn’t have the daily contact with the children that I felt they should have. It suited my life style as I couldn’t be around all the time, but I felt – I should do more. I couldn’t pin down if I was on a guilt trip or feeling left out. I stepped back to look at Callia’s position. What did she have that other mothers did not. Well, the obvious answer was Copper, who was far more than just a pet. Copper’s greatest asset was her telepathy skills which turned her into a companion and a Nanny. Callia also had instant access to her mother through the Paphos portal. I think I can say that I have no reason to feel guilty.
Callia understood how I was feeling. That night, she took me to bed and used my trigger word. I floated gently down into my own private space. She teased out and removed any guilt I felt and gently pushed me into deep relaxation. I had taught her these techniques so that she could cope with anyone having a mental breakdown. She had sensed my depression.
I floated gently, as if I weighed nothing; my body was a light as a feather.
‘Now Merlin. Relax and forgive. Do not think about what I am saying. Just relax and forgive. You said I should never use hypnosis with telepathy. Please forgive me for violating that request. You can explain to me, why I shouldn’t, on another day. Forgive and relax.’
‘You are forgiven.’
The whisper came from the depths of my soul. I had no thoughts and listened for her caring commands.
‘Let your body float in my arms as a baby. Let your lips caress my nipple and suckle, to your hearts content; I have plenty of spare milk to nurture you body and to calm your soul.’
I drew on that source of life with no thoughts, no demands, no sense of time, nothing.
‘Now, let your mouth continue to suckle. Focus your telepathy on me. Feel what I feel; feel the child suckling on my nipple; feel the senses in my breast, in my stomach and down into my pussy; feel my building urges and satisfaction.’
No thoughts entered my head. Callia wasn’t thinking, so I wasn’t thinking. I recorded her feelings deep down into her toes. I squirmed as she squirmed. I felt the flow of milk throughout the breast and out of the swollen nipple. I felt Callia’s love of her baby. Her motherly affections were being drawn towards that sole point of contact. The focus of the mind was total; no other thoughts could invade for consideration. We had both achieved nirvana. We drifted in a different time.
‘Now Merlin, your body is content. Stop suckling. Let your focus remain within me. Feel my contentment. Let your mind follow my thoughts. Let yourself feel and understand my contentment.’
At that point, Callia had a small orgasm. I left the trance, bathing in the afterglow, feeling relaxed and a little envious. I had to accept that, in some ways, I would always be a bystander.
***
May 20, 2017
Why me? 20-May-2017
I, too, am an introvert. Physically, I couldn’t do many things I wanted to do, so I spent a lot of time on my own, thinking, overthinking, speculating, dreaming and meditating.
I tried a few things – hypnosis, to help me control my breathing and to investigate whether my problems were aggravated by psychosomatic causes – ‘it’s all in the mind’ the doctors used to say. – The hypnosis sessions lead, accidently, to Past Life Regression. – One day, I may publish some of the 30+ sessions.
I have personally experienced 2 Past Lives. There I was in deep hypnosis – the therapist instructed me to go back to where I felt “it” all began. – Back, back, back.– No further prompting was given.
The memories that flooded my mind were real in every sense – sounds, smell, taste, feelings, temperature, emotions, perception, depth, history, physical contact and awe. – And the memories were not from my current life. How could they be? My previous life was a young boy killed in the last world war. The previous life before that, I was a woman. – I was completely spooked. – And nearly broke the regression session. - So the first conclusion was inescapable – reincarnation must be true. – Much research followed.
So I began to speculate on what it must be – life, death (not so much – purgatory or some form of inter-life) and then a new life.
So what else could I conclude – Probably Heaven and Hell are not eternal and both are here on Earth.
So, how can I expand this philosophy? - The Scala Naturae conceived by Plato, Aristotle, et al – see Wikipedia. – I am not a student of classics, so no BS here.
I hypothesised that we must earn the right to move up this concept of ladder of life. – So each of us must have a ‘Day of Reckoning’ where we are on trial for our current life.
If we earned the right? – Could we influence the decisions on who we would be in our next life?
Somewhere in all that speculation was the foundations for my first book. - It is the essential theme of ‘Samantha’s Journey into Real Magic”. It isn’t really a series. The story will be at least 3 parts; it is 4 at the moment. Part 1 is just the ‘set up’. The essence of life is defined in Samantha’s Little Black Book (Grimoire if you insist, but Samantha claims to be a healer, not a witch).
My original villain was Cancer. – But this was not the tangible person that the public expects.
My first attempt at the story was written in ‘first person’ point of view. – Imagine the power and feeling… I am Samantha!!! – BUT, first person POV is very restricting. – You cannot write about what other characters are thinking. – Five years later, I decided on a rewrite – new villain (a person) and sadly for me personally, third person POV.
I tried a few things – hypnosis, to help me control my breathing and to investigate whether my problems were aggravated by psychosomatic causes – ‘it’s all in the mind’ the doctors used to say. – The hypnosis sessions lead, accidently, to Past Life Regression. – One day, I may publish some of the 30+ sessions.
I have personally experienced 2 Past Lives. There I was in deep hypnosis – the therapist instructed me to go back to where I felt “it” all began. – Back, back, back.– No further prompting was given.
The memories that flooded my mind were real in every sense – sounds, smell, taste, feelings, temperature, emotions, perception, depth, history, physical contact and awe. – And the memories were not from my current life. How could they be? My previous life was a young boy killed in the last world war. The previous life before that, I was a woman. – I was completely spooked. – And nearly broke the regression session. - So the first conclusion was inescapable – reincarnation must be true. – Much research followed.
So I began to speculate on what it must be – life, death (not so much – purgatory or some form of inter-life) and then a new life.
So what else could I conclude – Probably Heaven and Hell are not eternal and both are here on Earth.
So, how can I expand this philosophy? - The Scala Naturae conceived by Plato, Aristotle, et al – see Wikipedia. – I am not a student of classics, so no BS here.
I hypothesised that we must earn the right to move up this concept of ladder of life. – So each of us must have a ‘Day of Reckoning’ where we are on trial for our current life.
If we earned the right? – Could we influence the decisions on who we would be in our next life?
Somewhere in all that speculation was the foundations for my first book. - It is the essential theme of ‘Samantha’s Journey into Real Magic”. It isn’t really a series. The story will be at least 3 parts; it is 4 at the moment. Part 1 is just the ‘set up’. The essence of life is defined in Samantha’s Little Black Book (Grimoire if you insist, but Samantha claims to be a healer, not a witch).
My original villain was Cancer. – But this was not the tangible person that the public expects.
My first attempt at the story was written in ‘first person’ point of view. – Imagine the power and feeling… I am Samantha!!! – BUT, first person POV is very restricting. – You cannot write about what other characters are thinking. – Five years later, I decided on a rewrite – new villain (a person) and sadly for me personally, third person POV.
April 18, 2017
SJP1 release date
"Samantha's Journey into Real Magic part 1" will be released on 19-Jun-2017. It has been uploaded to Smashwords and KDP Aamazon.com and.co.uk.
Samantha's Journey into Real Magic - part 1
Samantha's Journey into Real Magic - part 1
March 26, 2017
Hello Friends
I am too busy to write a regular blog and so you may safely follow me without my blog becoming a nuisance. Close to a book launch, this may become very busy.
My next book "Samantha's Journey into Real Magic - part 1" will be released on 19-Jun-2017. The preview, the first 4 chapters, is available on the book page.
My next book "Samantha's Journey into Real Magic - part 1" will be released on 19-Jun-2017. The preview, the first 4 chapters, is available on the book page.
