Chapter/Episode ONE of ENOCH—The Movie—A Work In Progress—from ENOCH the Metaphysical Novel by David Alexanders English (C2018) The inspiration for this work has always been the incredible story of Enoch. There has been so much mystique and misunderstanding around this character down through the years. It is a wonder and a testament that this singular figure holds such a revered and curious place in the fascination of so many thinking people of all cultural traditions to this day, regardless of whatever belief system to which one subscribes. The goal was to humanize this character; by positing the notion: what if he really existed; then envisioning, fleshing out how might his story have actually occurred.

Some authors write in a particular genre and all their work relates to that genre. Crime, horror, fantasy, sci-fi, romance—these spring to mind instantly. When asked, she who thinks she must be obeyed at all times says she writes character driven fiction. However, within this you have a whole raft of themes.

The short answer is that it can do. People who read Rosy Teale's books who know her say they recognise bits of her in various characters. People are generally interesting to observe so when you are writing character driven fiction it is only natural to draw on these observations sometimes.

“The dark moments we face in life are not barriers to success. They are what shape us, teach us and inevitably strengthen us to become stronger than we were before. In the end, they are mere bumps along your road to victory. Onwards!”

She who thinks she should be obeyed at all times is a great fan of audio books and used to work in radio, apparently, so knows a thing or two about recording. When she gives her talks promoting her books and her writing, people say they really enjoy hearing her reading the extracts, so producing audio books was something she was keen to do.

It was mid-afternoon in the California scorch zone when I came across the Facebook scroll that changed my life.

Death, dying and bereavement are subjects that, generally, people shy away from talking about but the beauty of writing strong characters is that you can express so much through their thoughts, words, and actions.

'The Perils and Pitfalls on the Path to Publication' is the title of the talk our Mum (she who thinks she should be obeyed at all times) gives to various groups as she promotes her writing. She has published a number of novellas, short stories, poetry and most recently she has finished the novel she started to write over thirty years ago. She has described the whole thing as being on a learning curve resembling vertical take off. She has described it in other ways too but we won't go there.

So you've got an idea for a story, but you're fretting over what genre or category you're going to put it in when it's ready for sale. Or maybe you're just starting out as a writer, and you want to build your platform and marketing base before you write anything... STOP. Don't worry yourself over literary labels. First, focus on writing your story, THEN worry about marketing and building a platform.

Here I am! I'm trying again, because the only way to master something is to practice.

I remember going to the library at least once every week when I was younger. I would walk out with an armful of books. I participated in every summer reading program, and the librarian knew me by name. I devoured Goosebumps, The Babysitter's Club, and the Sweet Valley Twins before growing too old for them, and moving on to other works of fiction. I stopped going to the library as much when I moved, but the library still shaped me into the book lover that I am today. When I started to take writing seriously, I knew I wanted my books in the library. I would picture myself going to the library for events and book signings. I saw pictures of other authors in their libraries, smiling and holding their books. I pictured myself doing the same, beaming from ear to ear while meeting new readers. I was under the impression that the library would be supportive of indie authors, so I googled my local library and noticed a lack of author events. I thought that was strange, but decided to reach out to the library. I was shocked to find that while some libraries are supportive of self published authors, the one nearest to me is not.

For every writer, there's a story to tell. Whether it's fiction or nonfiction (or any other genre), if you feel it in your heart, then you have to do something about it, right?