Zack Pieper on Pierce Brown

 

* Also now printed on the Sunday Tribune *

As I have said before on my writers influences frequently, part of the beauty of this series wasn’t just the beauty of letting the writer introduce an influence off to everybody but me sometimes too.

Pierce Brown, the writer in question today certainly is not a writer I have heard off previously but Zack Pieper, today’s guest describes his major influence on his own work as “I would say my primary writing inspiration comes from Pierce Brown. If you dont know, he wrote this epic science fiction series 'Red Rising'”.

“I was handed an ARC of his book outside of PAX seattle, in 2017 I think it was. “ He describes how he first became of the work of Pierce Brown “And I was instantly hooked. Pierce Writes First person present tense, until his work I had not even been exposed to that. But it instantly drew me in and held me with the hard hitting emotional reality of living life from his hero's viewpoint. There was so much about his style and the way he structures his sentences that I found refreshing and new. He keeps it short, avoids transitional words where he can, and he hammers home emotional realities with hard hitting imagery and symbolism. Frankly I respect him as an author to the extreme, and I am unashamed to admit after reading his first novel, I rewrote the opening chapters of mine.”

“But even beyond his style, I find his personal story to resonate with me, I dont know to much about his life.” He concludes “But I know that at one point, he was living at home, with not much going for him. and then he sat down and cranked out red rising in a few short months. Which is a similar story in some ways to my own. His story is a reminder that if your work is truly great, it can pull you out of obscurity and allow you to make a living of your passion. That is my dream, to write full time. And If Pierce can do it, so can I.”

Bio:

Zack Pieper is a big city man, with a country boy heart. An eccentric creative with eclectic tastes. He loves being exposed to new things, learning new things, going on adventures, and making new friends. Hobbies include, fitness, gaming, anime, hiking and outdoors activities, and howling into the abyss.

His book ‘The Garden of Lies’ can be found on Amazon under the name of Zachary A Pieper.

His Youtube channel is https://www.youtube.com/user/Zackthedalj

His page on good reads is https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/21368809.Zachary_A_Pieper

*

Pierce Brown is an American science fiction author who writes the Red Rising series, consisting of Red Rising (2014), Golden Son (2015), Morning Star (2016), Iron Gold (2018) and Dark Age (2019). 

Jupiter's Moons Part 1 (New from Ocean in a Bottle)

 

Jupiter’s Moons is a trilogy by Andy n’s Ocean in a Bottle project with his most ambitious project to date with ‘Jupiters Moons’ a three part series of albums taking its listeners on a three part journey into space towards Jupiter’s, the 5th planet in our solar system and all of its moons. 

Composed of three separate albums all containing ten tracks, Jupiter’s Moons is a series of three albums with each one of the three albums a study of ambience and sound counter spaced with a mood embracing each one of the moons.

Each volume of Jupiter’s Moons will take the listener on different journeys in space with each piece of music breathing new life into some moons which have being known off for hundreds of years to recently discovered moons hiding in the shadows. 

Each volume of the series will open up shards of emotion in the drone like sounds / ambience waves of its music taking the viewer into a trance like journey to the large planet in our solar system and a selection of the moons taking its listeners on a long quest to penetrate the workings of space.

Available from https://camembertelectrique.bandcamp.com/album/jupiters-moons-part-1 (Pay what you want / free stream)

Dyslexia and Poetry with Helen Kay

 

(This article was scheduled for publication on the Sunday Tribune at the start of June before the online magazine was by all accounts discontinued)

A few people know I was registered with Diabetes in August 2011, which is a story for another day over the impact it caused over both my health and my lifestyle, but what is less known is the fact I am also Dyspraxic.

While Diabetes I feel over the last few years has gained the awareness it deserves, less is know about both Dyspraxic and its close cousin Dyslexia.

In my case, I first got registered as suffering from it all the back in 2000, and it has to be said when I got told this at university, my reaction to was like ‘What?’ and it took years for certain members of my own family to accept this, let alone understand it.

After university, although I have seen the occasional project be mentioned which is perfect for people with dyslexia and dyspraxia, today’s feature on dyslexiapoetry which is described as a platform for dyslexic poets and artists is the first I have seen that directly covers this topic.

Helen Kay, a dear friend of my Podcast series ‘Spoken Label’ describes the history of this further by starting “In 2018 Dyslexia Poetry Imagination (DPI) was formed by a group of people living with or working with dyslexia. DPI aimed to raise awareness of the importance of creativity to develop confidence and create a positive link with dyslexia. Research has found that on balance dyslexic people are more creative with an ability to think differently. “

“In 2018-2019 the DPI team organised an exhibition of artwork, video poems, needlework and poetry by neuro-atypical creators, which was toured to different venues. (fb page Dyslexia and Poetry).” She carries on explaining bringing back my own memories of the said exhibition at Manchester Central Libary which was simply a wonderful experience “Based on the success of the tour, DPI has also run live poetry evenings and a college-based competition and has taken part in a range of dyslexia and dyspraxia-based events. The project, which aims to attract at all stages of their writing has been supported throughout by award-winning poet, Mark Pajak. One of the founder members of DPI, Helen Kay, has supported dyslexic learners for 20 years and has written a pamphlet of poems about her experiences entitled This Lexia & Other Languages (v.press). “

“The group is particularly keen to encourage and support neuro-divergent adults and to celebrate their creative strengths. Often people feel supported and encouraged to create while in education, but there is less support for adults, especially when it comes to developing skills outside those required to survive within the work place.” She discusses next which mirrored the problems I had with a ex employer I worked for some years before “Many older adults have not had any support and even remain unaware that they are dyslexic. Many have experienced stress, humiliation and discrimination both in education and outside of it. “

“In March 2021, despite the constraint of the pandemic, the DPI members were thrilled to launch its own website, dyslexiapoetry.co.uk. “ She brings the story up to date “Designed by martynbristow.co.uk, the aim of the site is to showcase dyslexic poets and to share their achievements. The site will post one poem a month plus photos and profiles of artists and other creators. The site is particularly interested in capturing poems which reflect the diverse experiences of dyslexia dyspraxia and other co-occurring neuro-atypical conditions. “

“DPI would love to hear from anyone who would like to be involved and/or wants to share their experiences. “ She concludes “Poems, flash fiction artwork images and details of other similar projects. Please contact us via the website or directly to hekay1958@gmail.com or via Dyslexia and Poetry on facebook. We look forward to contributions, constructive feedback, sharing of experiences and other projects that raise awareness and ideas of how to develop the project. “

Their website which I recommend you check out is: dyslexiapoetry.co.uk    

The Breakup Monlogues with Rosie Wilby

This short feature is with the lovely Rosie Wilby.

Rosie is an award-winning comedian who has appeared on BBC Radio 4 programmes including 

Woman’s Hour, Saturday Live, Four Thought and Loose Ends, TV shows including Good Morning Britain, podcasts including The Guilty Feminist and in the finals of several major comedy competitions. She has performed at Glastonbury, Secret Garden Party, Green Man, Wilderness, Port Eliot festival, How The Light Gets In and Latitude and has had articles published in The Sunday Times, the Guardian, New Statesman, Cosmo and more. 

Her first book Is Monogamy Dead? was longlisted for the Polari First Book Prize and followed her TEDx talk of the same name. In 2018, Rosie created The Breakup Monologues podcast, which is available on iTunes, Spotify and all good podcast platforms and also the name of her second book which I am talking about with her below. 

Andy N: 

I know the breakup monologues started off as a Podcast series, can you tell us about where this came from?

Rosie:  

The Breakup Monologues podcast launched in early 2018, inspired by a trilogy of comedy shows about the psychology of love and relationships that I had toured around the world over the last decade or so. The trilogy began with a show called The Science of Sex and ended with a show called The Conscious Uncoupling. This last show was all about my breakup story. 

After the show, friends and fellow performers would chat to me about their own breakup stories. So I decided to start a live chat show where other people shared their stories with me and we compared notes about how we had recovered from heartbreak and the more bizarre things we had done in failed attempts to woo partners back and so on. 

I was working on the age old premise that tragedy plus time equals comedy. When the live show started going really well, I decided we should record the conversations for a podcast. 

Andy N: 

And what has now made you want to develop this further as a book?

Rosie: 

The idea of writing a second book was always in the back of my mind. I’d already written one called Is Monogamy Dead? 

That was based on the middle part of the aforementioned trilogy. 

It made sense to continue writing about relationships and follow that one up. 

Andy N:

How did writing you new book compare to 'Is Monogamy Dead?'

Rosie: 

The new book, The Breakup Monologues, follows a similar sort of narrative nonfiction format where my ideas and discoveries about the real science underpinning how our relationships work (and sometimes don’t) are embedded within my own story of trying to apply this learning in my real life. The first book ends with me meeting my current partner. 

Andy N:

Was your new book a easier book to write?

Rosie:

In some ways, the second book was harder to write because I’m writing about a relationship that I’m still in and one that I want to stay in. But one that I also want to write about critically. Relationships are really hard work once the initial honeymoon phase is over. And I wanted to represent that realistically. 

Many times it can feel like it would be so much easier to break up and walk away. But then you remember that you have built something really important with someone you love and trust and you should probably stay. 

Andy N:

What plans do you have next? 

Rosie:

It’s been a bit hard to make concrete plans during a pandemic because so much of what I’ve traditionally loved doing professionally involves performing onstage in front of an audience. As outdoor events start to happen again this Summer, 

I’ll be touring the live version of the podcast to some of those. Cambridge Comedy Festival and Primadonna Festival are confirmed so far. Eventually I hope to write another book. 

But, realistically speaking, there’s at least a year of hard work to do promoting this one before I can think about that. 

Andy N:

Where can people find this book?

Rosie:

People can buy the book from all good bookshops, either online or in person. If your local bookshop doesn’t have it, then they will be able to order it. Alternatively you could ask your local library to get it. As well as the hardback and the kindle versions, I have also narrated an audiobook. 

Yet More Speak Easy news

* Speak Easy News *

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tft5K2frvDA

Thanks to everybody who attended Speak Easy (our Spoken Word Open Mic night) last night. We had a blast as always as can be seen above.

For July we are doing the following events:

1) Thursday 1^st July – We will be making our return to the live circuit at Chorlton’s Dulcimer (567 Wilbraham Rd, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, Manchester M21 0AE) on 1 July 2021.

We will be taking bookings for this Sunday coming 06 June 2021 from mid-day either by email (aen1mpo@yahoo.co.uk – ensuring the email is marked Speak Easy please) or a message by facebook (To my AndyNpoet facebook account).

2) Weds 14^th July – We will be running a online poetry show under the name of Speak Easy Online on Zoom.

We will be taking bookings for this on Sunday 20 June 2021 from mid-day either by email (aen1mpo@yahoo.co.uk – ensuring the email is marked Speak Easy please) or a message by facebook (To my AndyNpoet facebook account).

3) Possible news to follow regarding Chorlton Arts Festival in September.

More Speak Easy News

 

* More Speak Easy News *

A few bits of clarification from yesterday's announcement that Speak Easy (the Spoken Word Open Mic Night I co-run with Amanda Steel and Steve Smythe), yes the night will be starting on Thursday 01 July 2021 in person @ Dulcimer in Chorlton and booking details are to follow. However, we will be running our regularly scheduled live poetry Zoom show on Weds 02 June 2021 beforehand. 

All Slots are booked (List of readers to follow) but everybody is welcome to attend to watch and we are currently scheduling a Speak Easy Online event for July too (Date to follow).

Speak Easy Update

 

* Speak Easy News *

Steve Smythe and myself have being in a meeting this afternoon and are pleased to announce that Speak Easy (our Literature / Spoken Word Open Mic we co-run with Amanda Steel) will be returning as a live event on Thursday 01 July 2021 @ 7.45pm on a monthly basis at Chorlton Cum Hardy’s ‘Dulcimer’ which can be found at: 567, Wilbraham Road, Chorlton- cum Hardy, Manchester, M21 0AE. 

More details to follow but look forward to seeing you all there.