True Blood – truly entertaining.

imagesI’ve been struggling to blog recently, even though I’m determined to make it part of my weekly routine. Blogging ain’t easy when you’re writing a book.

There are a lot of terrible things happening in the world at the moment. I feel I have to try to make some sense of it in blogs likes this. Sometimes, however, it’s good to leave the big picture stuff alone and write about True Blood.

I spent last night in Bon Temps with Sookie and company. Jason Stackhouse is my hero. I’m thinking of modelling myself off Ryan Kwanten’s character. I’m glad Alcide passed away last night. Every time he took off his shirt my partner gasped. Now I don’t have to listen to her sharp intake of breath whenever he disrobes. Lafayette is simply sensational and Pam is some kind of wonderful. I’ll miss them when they’re gone. I hope this final season ends with a wonderful Bon Temp’s vampiric flourish!

 

Jonathan K Benton

There be good reviews, and there be bad – Jonathan K Benton

reviewsThere be good reviews, and there be bad, as the pirates would say. A critical review from someone who didn’t like your work is still a good review – carefully considered criticism can be extremely useful. I learn from some of the criticisms levelled at my own work. People must be allowed to have opinions, including whether they like, or dislike, a novel. The nasty reviews from people, who think abuse is some kind of intelligent criticism, are wasting everybody’s time. They reveal more about the reviewer’s character (or lack of) than the book itself.

I’m deep into my next book, using the five P’s to make sure my writing is improving, so it was a nice surprise to receive an email from my publisher advising me that an Amazon top 500 reviewer had read and reviewed A Wicked Kind of Dark (published by Odyssey Books 2013). Pop Bop has a way with words – I enjoyed reading the review for this reason alone. It was also nice to know that someone with such great command of the English language enjoyed reading my book.

So … A big thanks to Pop Bop and all those people who take the time to read and write carefully considered reviews. We authors appreciate it.

Jonathan K Benton

Saturday Night Fever – Jonathan K Benton

GROVER-Saturday-Night-FeverI always have good intentions surrounding my blog. Big ideas. Global peace and the betterment of humankind. Then Saturday rocks around and I’m staring at an empty page.

Thank goodness for Saturday night television and the plethora of movies that I’d already seen. I picked one of the greatest movies this side of 2000 AD and used the ads to channel surf the other six.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Great special FX could not save this one.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I think it’s the best of the series.

Men in Black 2. It’s fun, but suffers from the same spit and polish issues as most sequels (Terminator 2 and The Empire Strikes Back are rare examples of sequels improving their respective stories).

Six Days and Seven Nights. No comment.

New Years Eve. It’s nice, but it’s no Love Actually.

Miami Vice. Hmmm.

When the ads finished, I returned to the truly great film. Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World. I give it a Wow rating. Yep – it’s that good. Brilliant scripting; it’s quirky and original, and superbly acted. I loved spending Saturday night with Scott Pilgrim and Ramona Flowers and thank them for inspiring this blog.

Let me know a movie that you think deserves a Wow rating (or even a Terrifying rating based on my unique system) and I’ll watch it.

Jonathan K Benton

Captain America: The Winter Soldier. And some people with whom I shared the theatre

captain americaI saw the latest instalment of Captain America  on Easter Friday and boy did I love it. He’s not the most powerful superhero in the Marvel universe but he’s one of the coolest – in a geeky kind of way. I give this movie a Wow rating.

Have you ever sat next to a popcorn rustler before? I didn’t know they existed until Easter Friday. I asked my partner why anyone would rustle a box of popcorn and she advised me that it shakes the popped popcorn to the top … apparently. I wanted to shake the man rustling the popcorn.

Why any parent would bring a toddler to an M-rated movie is beyond me. It’s very sad. I should have told the ushers. I think I will next time.

Finally – Darth Vader is the most powerful being in the universe. This is a FACT.

Jonathan K Benton

Writing tip no. 3 and my thoughts on New Zealand

nzWriting tip

This one is subjective, but I hear it lot, and it works for me. Don’t edit the first draft until you’ve finished it.  Write your story from beginning to end – smash it out. Don’t worry about sentence structure and beautiful images. These things can be polished into the novel at a later date. If you get bogged down, write some ‘he did’ ‘she did’ sentences to move your mind out of the mental quagmire. Then continue with the story. Flesh out the gaps on subsequent drafts. As I said, it works for me.

Thought for the week

I spent three weeks in New Zealand last year.  My father and his partner have a bach at Matarangi on the Coromandel Peninsula. Kiwis refer to their holiday homes as baches. Matarangi is the type of place where you can play cricket on the road or sit on the long white surf beach believing you’re it – that there’s nobody else on the planet. I can’t remember seeing more than four people at a time on the pearly Matarangi sands. Then I took my family back to Auckland stopping at several boutique cafes serving top shelf cuisine and superior coffee.  My mum lives in Tindalls Bay. This idyllic seaside suburb boasts a beach protected from the ocean swells and therefore perfect for my firstborn boy (No. 2 was just a twinkle in his parents’ eyes at the time).

I am a Kiwi living in Australia. My partner is an Aussie, our sons wear the green and gold too. I’m outnumbered three to one in my household. I love Australia – it is my home and I consider it a privilege to be able to live here. But I was filled with pride when I returned to New Zealand. The Land of the Long White Cloud is one of the most beautiful spots on Earth. If you haven’t been, you’re missing out.

Jonathan K Benton

It’s personal – the music that changed me. Jonathan K Benton

musicMusic has always played (excuse the pun) a massive part in my life. I love how it makes me feel, what it means to me, its magic and its power. I listen to all genres, everything from the soaring rock anthems of Queen to Lorde’s 2013 hit Royals and Flumes haunting trance-like ballad Insane. Every once in while along comes a song that I need to hear. Timing has a lot to do with it. The song might have been around for years, centuries in some cases, but I stumbled upon it when I needed to hear it most. Here’s a list of ten such songs. I would love to know what songs have been there for you.

1)     Moonlight Sonata: Beethoven 1801

 

2)     Time: Pink Floyd 1973.

 

3)     Life on Mars: David Bowie 1976

 

4)     Back in Black: ACDC 1980

 

5)     Romeo and Juliet: Dire Straits 1980

 

6)     Street Spirit (Fade Out): Radiohead 1995

 

7)     Better off Alone: Alice Deejay 1998

 

8)     Lose Yourself: Eminem 2002

 

9)     Resistance: Muse 2009

 

10)  Insane feat. Moon Holiday: Flume 2013

Feel free to contact me if you want to know how these songs helped me to move on: pick a song and I will tell you what was going on in my life at this time.

Jonathan K Benton

Movie Review – Pan's Labyrinth.

ofeliaThere’s a reason I don’t review books/movies that I believe possess no redeeming qualities:  I’m an author, and I don’t have time to write a review about something that doesn’t inspire me. There are not enough hours in the week to waste precious keyboard time on something I didn’t enjoy. I likely never finished the novel or movie anyway, which rarely happens because I choose my passions carefully. As an author, if I’ve got nothing nice to say about someone else’s art, it’s better left unsaid. My dad once told me never to throw stones in glass houses. It’s great advice. If I review something on this blog, I think it’s worth the effort.

I’m starting with one of the best. It’s a movie. Check out how I categorise movies here.

 

 

 

Pan’s Labyrinth.

vidalThis dark fantasy is not for the faint hearted. There is no creature on the silver screen more terrifying than the Pale Man, no human more selfishly evil than Vidal. Ofelia’s innocent beauty is pitted against an overwhelming evil … Picture a small but brilliant, white light shining in an endless darkness.

pale manEverything works here. The haunting soundtrack, brilliant acting and excellent script. Even the special effects are carefully managed so as not to eclipse the beautiful fairy tale at the heart of this incredible movie.

Written and directed by Guillermo del Toro, Pan’s Labyrinth is an inspired piece of cinema. Definitely not for the faint hearted.

Ranking: Terrifying Movie.

Jonathan K Benton