This morning I was watching a youtube video I saw something very interesting. As I am not one of their subscribers I have to watch videos with ads. Now for the most part those of us that have to sit through them just tend to stare at the countdown button until we can skip it.

But for once I didn't, I saw something that I was really interested in. It was an advertisement for an upcoming documentary film. This film is called "The Dissident".

It's about the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi under the order of the king of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman. A watched the entire movie trailer and even followed the link to the website and watched it again. The critics who viewed the movie in select screening all seemed to love it.

As I was reading about this, apparently Netflix and Amazon Prime both refused to host the movie on their streaming services possibly for fear of upsetting the Saudi Royals. While I am far from a journalist I am an author and given have prominent democracy is in my books I find the idea of murdering someone with whom you disagree deplorable.

Thus I felt it was my duty to inform my readers about the existence of this movie and to encourage them all to watch it on Apple TV or video on demand when it becomes available early next month. Although I haven't yet seen it I will be watching it as soon as I can and I will be posting a review of it both on my website and on Goodreads.com.

 

I've posted the official trailer here, hopefully, the film is seen by as many people as possible.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2I6hjwblA_g&feature=emb_title

 

I had a discussion with a Young Earth creationist last week on Facebook and I found the conversation to be as interesting as it was astonishing. Since this conversation, I have removed myself from the Facebook debate group, due in part to my strong political views and in order to preserve my faith in humanity.

During the discussion that has since been deleted, I pointed out to this creationist that Noah's flood could not have happened as described in the book of Genesis. The reason for this was that there was simply not enough water on the face of the Earth to do it - otherwise, we would still be underwater right now. You would need to more than double all the water on Earth to cover all the land on this planet over the tops of the mountains as the bible describes.

Now given that the earth is already covered in about 70% water there really wouldn't be anywhere to store all that water nor any explanation of where it came from. At this, my opponent then responded with the suggestion that there are underground caves full of water that the water was ejected from them and later drained back into them once the flood was over.

When I pointed out that given the thickness of the Eart's crust and the amount of water needed to be held in these underground chambers to make up for the shortfall there wouldn't be much practical room left to build the stable ground we stand on.

Then he switched gears and started trying to convince me that it doesn't matter because you can have a global flood with less water than you would need to cover the surface of the earth. He stated with full confidence and conviction, that a lake near my house had enough water in it to flood even though it isn't flooded right now so that proves there must be enough water in the oceans for a global flood.

So in conclusion a lake that is flooded has the same amount of water in it as it would if it wasn't flooded.

Just like a glass of water that is half-full has the same amount of water in it as it would if overflowing.

I ended the conversation at this point and left the debate group.

I really wish I was making this up.

Just some thoughts on conflict...

At a fundamental level, stories are about conflict. Every story on earth needs a plot, and a plot cannot exist without conflict. I challenge my readers to think of a story that doesn't - you won't find one - at least not a good one.

Conflict makes a storyline interesting. Humans being social animals compete with one another for resources and status. So even at the most basic biological level, conflict is what arouses our interest. At a basic evolutionary level, we weigh the social costs and benefits of everything we do.

This is of great importance when developing your characters and your plot in a story. Given that most of the characters you create will have at least some human-like traits and your target audience will as well then appealing to this primal instinct can really help draw the readers in.

As an avid reader myself, one of the most frustrating things for me is when nothing seems to be happening in the story. I can't tell you how many times I've flipped forward in a book after a few pages of mindless blather where the author just likes hearing themselves talk. If your reader does this, they're not enjoying themselves and they won't come back.

If you've ever flipped forward in a book, you know why you did it: You're Bored. Fantasy writers are especially bad for this because not only do we have to tell the story we have to tell the reader about the world the story is in. It's one of the reasons I try and introduce conflict as soon as possible in my books - sometimes in the first sentence.

The sooner the reader knows whose side they're on the better. In my view, every word that you write should be built around the conflict in some way. No one cares what magical creature the mountain looks like or that the air smelled of dew and rose petals unless it helps to move the story forward. As a general rule, I try and keep my worldbuilding descriptions down to no more than a few short paragraphs as it keeps the story moving and short paragraphs are easier for the reader's eyes.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is the fifth installment of the Harry Potter series and is the first book following the return of He-Who-Not-Be-Typed as Harry and his friend return to Hogwarts for their fifth year.

In a fashion typical of a government, the Ministry of Magic refuses to acknowledge the growing threat that has emerged in the last year and instead seems to be focusing on controlling the wizarding communities' perceptions rather than facing the threat head-on.

I greatly appreciate Rowling's emphasis on character development in this book, particularly with regard to the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Delores Umbridge is one of my favorites Hogwarts teachers, which will surprise everyone who has read the book as she is absolutely horrible. Bad-tempered, selfish, and just plain rotten to the core she's probably a better villain than the Dark Lord himself.

5-stars, I would highly recommend this book to fans of the Harry Potter series but only if you have already read the first four books otherwise I imagine it would be hard to keep up and not everyone pays as much attention to the Harry Potter lore as I do especially given the return of You-Know-Who as the end of the last book.

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Origin by Dan Brown
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I first read this book after my brother purchased it shortly after it came out. Personally, I found it to be one of Robert Langdon's best adventures yet. The book is fast-paced, interesting, and takes the reader on a journey all across Spain and takes the reader into the world of technology and science as in many of Dan Brown's past novels.

I especially like the character "Winston" in order to not spoil the book for those who have not yet read it I won't be saying exactly why - only that Winston is an "unusual character" even for Dan Brown. The story also contains an underlying message of positivity of a scientific future but underlines the dangers of a world where politics and religious fanaticism pose a great threat to the future.

The character Edmond Keirsh is intriguing and even humorous at times with and my readers. Personally, I relate to him a great deal given what is revealed about him later in the story - hopefully, my fan will catch the hint.

I highly recommend this book and it is my favorite of all Dan Brown's books so far. 5 stars and well earned.

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