Tuesday 2 December 2008

January

Please note that owing to a technical difficulty
I will be unable to post to this page until
January 2010. Sorry folks!

Monday 20 October 2008

THE STORY SO FAR
is coming soon!

Monday 22 September 2008

Zblog #11

Zblog #11
PHEW!
Well, sorry everybody about the delay in getting back to you. I know some of you thought I'd given up on this little project. Sorry to disappoint you. I'm back and nearly back in business. First I need to kick-start the old computer which has all my Space Invaders stuff on it. I know what you're thinking, you're thinking why doesn't he just get a memory stick or put it on disk? If only it was that easy. The old pc doesn't have a usb port and the disk drive is a floppy one whereas this machine only has a cd type thingy. Anyway...
POSTING
I'm going to be posting new stuff to Space Invaders! this week, but I'm not sure which day yet. So, this is what I'm going to do. I will e-mail each new post out to anybody who leaves their details on this Zblogage. You can of course if you prefer, contact me by e-mail, my details are in my complete profile which you can clink-the-link to from my right-hand side-bar.
UPDATE
Okay, I don't expect people to leave their e-mail address on this blog or any other place on the web for that matter but you can leave a comment saying you want me to e-mail the next post to you and send me an e-mail with your address on it under plain cover, so to speak. Many thanks to Stan, Lynn, Dave and Kevin who I know read every word on these pages and thank you to all of my readers new and old alike for sticking with me. We are very close to revealing the next chapter...

Thursday 31 July 2008

Back in September..

Sorry Folks!
Gone Camping!
Will post as soon as possible..
Have you tried my other work-in-progress-blog yet?
Gobsplot.blogspot.com

Tuesday 22 July 2008

Zblog #10

Zblog #10
MUNDANE MADNESS
Try as I might I just can't seem to win with this blog. I've been over at my other blogs and at other peoples blogs and have had absolutely no trouble posting whatsoever but on Space Invaders! nothing seems to go right. I think the problem is that I use a different computer for my-work-in-progress-novel and the connection is really slow. It is however, linked to the machine that I'm bashing the keys on now so you wouldn't think that there would be much difference but unfortunately there is.
BACK IN BUSINESS
Okay then, back to the nitty gritty, we've just finished Charlie Chapter Three and I can't decide whether to go back to The Party People or to press on with Jason's Mission in Delta Chapter Four. In some ways I want to go back and visit the devious and deluded General Ratz and his buddy The Major and to find out what plans they're hatching right now. On the other hand I'm itching to see if Jason can unlock the secrets of The Metropolski. I guess you'll have to wait for my next posting to find out which route I take.

Tuesday 8 July 2008

CHARLIE Chapter Three - (post five)

CHARLIE Chapter Three - (post five)
The security man stands in front of the presidents desk in a private side room. The room is soundproofed and only personell with the highest clearing are allowed in. "Okay sir!" says the Security man, "I'll arrange for a mission to be sent."
"Tonight!" barks the President.
"Yes sir, Mr President! Tonight!"
"Jason," begins the President, addressing the security man by his first name. "I sent for you because I believe that you're the man for the job. When you volunteered, you confirmed that for me."
"Thank you sir."
"Jason, you won't thank me when you find out the extent of the mission."
There is a silence in the already very quiet room, it is the President who speaks again first. "You will leave tonight for the east, our people have arranged for you to take the place of a journalist on a student trip... these are your papers, the orders are in the envelope. Good Luck Jason."
"Thank you sir," he replies and before he leaves the private office, he adds "I'll need it over there."

Tuesday 1 July 2008

Zblog #9

Zblog #9
MARCHING ON
Slowly the story is marching along nicely now. We'll soon be at the end of the third chapter, in fact I'm going to wrap it up this week. Then we can move on to see what's happening elsewhere. I've got a new character in my head Natasha, I think I may have mentioned her on an earlier Zblog posting. Anyway, it appears that Natasha's son mysteriously disappeared only an hour after he was born, not only that but another boy who was born in the same maternity room on the same day as Natasha's son also went missing... The plot thickens!
DEFECTED?
If you've been reading the recent postings to Space Invaders! you'll know that a top agent has defected from The Party Peoples Republic to the FreedomLanders. But who is it? and just how important is the information he carries? Not only that but why has he defected now? The answers to all of these questions will be revealed as you read on... Well, in Chapter Four anyway! UPCOMING
Where am I up to with the overall work? And what can you expect to see on these pages in the coming weeks? First things first, I'm only actually up to where you can read up to, this is an Online Novel as far as it goes, by that I mean, that I'm writing it in little snippets directly onto the web page. This work is very much a first draft warts an' all project. As for other stuff that I intend to post soon, I want to scan the original play script of Space Invaders! that I wrote in Manchester's Withington Library in 1984 and post it on this bloggage!
FULL CHAPTER
Another thing I'm in the process of doing is pasting all the snippets together to make a full chapter. At the moment I'm working on Chapter One and later this week I will be reposting it as a complete chapter. The idea is to knit all the bits together and post them as full chapters, there will be a clickable-link to transport you from the latest post to the start of an unbroken and hopefully readable chapter. So, by the time I finish writing this story, there should be a completed second or third draft version Online for you to read. Phew!
More Zblog soon..
Please bookmark this site and come back often...

Monday 30 June 2008

CHARLIE Chapter Three - (post four)

Back to start of novel..

Back to start of CHARLIE Chapter Three..

CHARLIE Chapter Three - (post four)

“Correct!” Answers the President, and then adds. “The walled City, as I believe it’s called in the service.”
“Sir, you do realise that none of our agents have ever been there?” The security man poses the question, carefully.
The President looks at the man, and then seems to look right through him. After a chilling moment he gives his answer. “Yes, I’m aware of that,” he replies. “I know only too well the dangers involved in this kind of mission…” The Presidents voice tails off as though he’s thinking about something that happened a long time ago. “However,” he continues. “We have to, we must, penetrate the Metropolski. I’m convinced from talking with the defected agent that the Walled City holds a special clue for us.”

The security man knows that it is his job to obey orders and he thinks that if he doesn’t volunteer to go to the Metropolski, the President and worse, the Presidents staff will think that he is a coward and that just won’t do.
“Sir!” he shouts, standing to attention in front of the leader of his country. “I want to Volunteer Sir!
Read on..

Friday 27 June 2008

CHARLIE Chapter Three - (post three)

Back to start of novel..

Back to the start of CHARLIE Chapter Three..

CHARLIE Chapter Three - (post three)

Just as the men start to leave the room a messenger enters and approaches the President. He whispers something that only the President can hear.
“Wait!” shouts the President and immediately the men begin to regroup. “Men, we have just heard that the radio signals are getting stronger and stronger and that our satellite stations have picked up definite radio messages.” He is reading from a card that the messenger has given him. He turns it over then upside down and then back the right way. “At this minute we are trying to make some sense of them.” He says and quickly looks to Professor Kearns for support. “Correct Professor?” he questions.

“Yes, unfortunately Mister President…” The Professor ad lib’s. Then taking the messengers card he turns back to face the men. “Gentlemen, we could be on the verge of possibly the most exciting encounter in the whole history of man.” He speaks as though he has just thought of this, as though nobody knows that he is reading it off the card. “On the other hand it may be disaster if these people? are hostile!”

The same security man or perhaps another dressed and groomed just like the first one, puts in a question. “Is that likely Professor?” the man asks, “I mean, if they are hostile they’d hardly be attempting to contact us! Would they?”
The professor answers him rapidly. “Well, at this stage we honestly don’t know do we? They may well not be trying to contact us at all.”
The security man stares open mouthed at the professor for several seconds, finally he speaks in a squeaky voice “You mean, we er, we might’ve just stumbled onto their wavelength?”
“Something like that.” Replies the Professor quickly, then adds “Only of course much more technical and very complicated.” He shrugs his shoulders and forces his mouth into a sort of grin. The others present respond in a similar manner.

The President takes the microphone back off Professor Kearns. “Men, I wanna form a special team, this morning a foreign agent defected to us and he tells a strange story of an Eastern Party Peoples plan to control the world.” The President studies the looks on the men’s faces, then continues to speak. “I know that you all have many questions to ask but really I’m as much in the dark as you all are, however, it may well help to talk among yourselves but remember that walls have ears and that none of us can be too careful in these troubled times.” He raises both of his hands into the air as though he is pleading with God, after a moment he turns back to the gathering. “Men you are dismissed!” He says and steps down from the platform.

In a soundproofed side office the President, Professor Kearns and five other men are seated at a glass topped table. It is the President who is speaking. “Men, you are my hand-picked team, my special force, it may be the case that one of you may lose his life before this thing is over. This morning as I said to you earlier, an Eastern Party agent defected to us, but what I didn’t disclose in the general meeting was that he is a high ranking official in the organisation over there. Now as everybody here knows, they have ambitions to control not only their own people but all of the peoples of this world including us.”

One of the hand-picked operatives forces the question that is on the minds of all of the other men. “By what means Sir? Is this connected with the radio signals?”
The President looks at Kearns and then at Johnson, finally he turns to the man who is asking the question. “I don’t know,” he replies in a quiet voice. “I really don’t know anything any more, what I do know though, is that I want two of you men to volunteer to be sent on an investigation to the Metropolski.”

“The Walled City, Sir?”
Now read on..

Thursday 26 June 2008

CHARLIE Chapter Three - (post two)

Back to start of novel..

Back to start of Chapter Three..

CHARLIE Chapter Three - (post two)

“Men, I’ve called you together today, because of a possible State emergency.”
The President starts speaking with a pained look on his face, he tries to force a smile but his acting skills are not that well honed.
“Men, it seems that our Space Research Center on the coast has been monitoring radio signals from outer space.”
He continues as the men exchange glances of disbelief and whisper 'Phews!' and mouth 'Wows!'
“Men, I’m gonna hand you over to Professor Kearns, who will fill in the details for you.”

The aging professor steps up onto the small platform beside the President.
“Thank you Mister President,” he says confidently. He turns to face the others and opens his mouth to speak but nothing comes out. An aide hands him a very full glass of hurriedly poured water which he takes a quick gulp from and spills the rest down the front of his tweed jacket. “Well Gentlemen,” he manages to stutter at the second attempt. “There isn’t much to tell but an unknown force is seemingly trying to contact us.” He looks around the room and the President and a couple of close aides nod in agreement. Regaining his initial confidence the Professor continues to address the gathering. “As I was saying, an unknown force is seemingly trying to contact us, we are sure of this. My department informed the President this morning, resulting in this meeting. Do you have any questions?”

Everyone in the room raises their hands and one or two of the men jump up on their feet excitedly. The first person to make himself heard clearly is one of the dark suited security men.
“Professor,” he says “do you see this as an indication of warfare? With Aliens?”
“Well!” the professor replies, “We hope not obviously, but really it’s too early to say.” Then quickly before anyone else can distract him from his train of thought he adds, “ at this stage of, well who knows what?”

Everybody wants to ask a question now but it’s the President who takes the microphone first.
“Men, we’re gonna have to call this a wrap, any business discussed here is to go no further. This is as always, Top Secret and highly confidential information.” He turns and hands the microphone back to the Professor.
Professor Kearns smiles and nods his head slowly in agreement.
“Yes Gentlemen, you can imagine what the newspapers, radio and TV would make of this.”
The President has the final word.
“Thank you for sharing with us Professor.” He says, and then to the others; “Men, we will meet again in twenty four hours time, you are free to go!”
Read on..

Monday 23 June 2008

Zblog #8

Zblog #8
MONKEY PUZZLE
Welcome to my-work-in-progress-novel Space Invaders! Or should I say welcome to my slow-progress-novel? Anyway, I apologise yet again for getting things wrong and not posting when I said I would and so on and such forth. I really mean to write a bit each day and to post at least once a week. I know I've said it before and I meant it then too. However, things don't always work out the way you want them to, do they?
PROMISES PROMISES
So this time I'm making no promises, all I can tell you is that I intend to finish this thing and that I will post whenever I can. I was just reading the excellent Writers Who Blog site and there was a thing there that talked about writing a hundred words a day. That's a good idea, isn't it. In fact I think I'll clink-the-link HERE and go back over there and read it again. Why don't you try it too? You never know, you just might like it.
THE STORY SO FAR..
Okay, thanks everybody for sticking with me. We're over in FreedomLand right now in Chapter Three of our little story, the big panic in the Oval Office is the Alien Threat! What will happen? Will the nasty aliens attack? Will the Space Bods on the west coast have a solution? Or will something else emerge? Read on to find out the answers to all of these questions and much much more.. How cheesey's that? More next time...
RECENT POSTINGS
Some of you may be wondering what happened to some of the recent postings and/or why there's a gap in the dates etc. The simple answer is, that I deleted several postings for technical reasons. Also to keep the continuity of the story going. I feel that I'm back on track now and that I will be making frequent postings in future. So, many thanks for visiting Space Invaders! Please tell your friends and bookmark this site and return as often as you like.

Monday 14 April 2008

CHARLIE Chapter Three

Back to the start..

CHARLIE Chapter Three

Straightening his collar, the Presidential aide takes a huge lungful of air. He looks at the stack of paper in his hand for the umpteenth time. Why do I always have to be the bearer of such bad news, he thinks to himself, as he enters the oval office. “Mr President,” he begins, “I think you should see these reports.” He hands the pile of paper to the President.
“What are they?” asks the President.
“Well Sir, they’re from our space center on the west coast, some of the scientists out there claim to be receiving strong radio signals from outer space.”
“Outer space!” exclaims the President “Get outta here! There’s nothing out there, no intelligent life, it’s just fantasy, that’s what it is.”
“Well sir, I think you should read this one” replies the aide, as he starts walking, slowly, backwards towards the exit.
“Very well, leave it with me..”

The President sits in his oversized swivel chair and starts to speed read the pile of papers in front of him, he hates the thought of having to work on such a sunny day. I should be out on the green now, he thinks. I might not have time for a full round of golf but I could be potting a few balls on the lawn. Suddenly, he drops the stack of paper to the floor and jumps up out his chair. “Johnson! Johnson! Where are you?” He shouts across the large room and his voice carries into the corridor.

The Presidents aide comes hurrying back into the room, pulling the door firmly closed behind him. “Yes sir?” He enquires, breathlessly.
“Johnson, I want you to call a meeting of our security people, as soon as possible,” the President starts, “and Johnson, this could be an emergency!”
“Yes sir, straight away sir.”
Johnson backs out of the Oval office door for the second time this morning and breaks into a run as he reaches the hallway. He carries on down the carpeted corridor till he reaches his own little office. Once inside, he locks and bars the door and pulls down the shade over the window. He picks up the telephone and asks the internal operator for an outside line. Heavily, he punches all the sevens onto the telephone keypad and the message on his screen reader says: ENTER YOUR SECURITY CODE. He presses in his personal number which the system accepts and he’s now clear to contact the coast.
Read on..

Tuesday 8 April 2008

Zblog #7

Zblog #7
HAPPENINGS
Something strange happened to my posting last week. I'm not sure exactly what but the bottom line is, that after spending ages writing the piece I was going to post, I lost it. Where it went I do not know but I can tell you that the rewritten version is safely stored on another machine somewhere.
CHARLIE
The last posting, post eight of Bravo Chapter Two, actually brings us nicely to the end of that chapter and we can now go on and have a look at some different characters on/from the other side of the world and the political spectrum ideologically. The next set of players are The Freedomlanders and they are very different from The Party People, who we have just spent the last chapter with.
ALIENS
In a lot of ways I'm itching to get back to the Aliens, don't you just want to know what's happenning with Arrow, Cresent and Dart? I do, but we're going to have to wait a little while yet because The Freedomlanders have a lot of plans of their own that we need to find out about. Oh yeah, and then we need to go back to The Party People and see if they've cooked up anything new before we get to go back into The Dome. Oh well...

Wednesday 2 April 2008

BRAVO Chapter Two - (post eight)

BRAVO Chapter Two - (post eight)
“Good” says Ratz, “It is good that everybody is in agreement. Now, however, I will tell you both, exactly what we are going to do!”

The General paces up and down in front of the fireplace, he doesn’t want to get his speech wrong and he knows by experience that life is one big compromise and that revolutions, even meticulously planned revolutions take time and cooperation. He leans against the table and looks down.

The Major and Karloff are sitting on the sofa nearest to the table and their necks are straining as they force themselves to make eye contact with Ratz.

“Okay, this is what we do!” Ratz begins. “The evacuation of the dome will still go ahead, the men will leave in the carrier vessels with the invader craft onboard as planned.” The General studies the faces of The Major and Karloff, looking for any sign of dissent. People are weak, he thinks to himself, but so far it looks like they agree with me.. “We will send them close enough to the enemy to be seen, but I won’t give the order to invade. How’s that?” He asks.

Karloff jumps to his feet, he is wringing his hands in a wild motion and his facial expression becomes a gurn. He is happy and he’s having trouble restraining himself. “Excellent General!” he shouts, as he jumps for joy. “Excellent, excellent!” he repeats, then adds “the perfect threat, all we need do now is convince the enemy that these aliens are in charge."

Before Karloff can say anything else, The Major stands up and adjusting his tunic he addresses Ratz. “I will work on that General, myself!” He volunteers.

For a full minute, the General stares at him. Eventually he speaks. “Very good Major.” He says, “See you do a thorough job!”
Go to next chapter..

Tuesday 25 March 2008

BRAVO Chapter Two - (post seven)

Go back to the start of BRAVO Chapter Two..

BRAVO Chapter Two - (post seven)

Ratz, thinks about what the Major is saying and deep down he recognises that the logic being expressed by his colleague is fairly much the same thing that he’s been trying to tell them for the last twenty years. He brings both hands up to his face and drags his fingers in a clawing motion down his cheeks. He stares straight ahead, stiffening his whole body. Finally he relaxes and turns towards the Major. “Major!” He shouts. “You Genius, You Genius! We will control the world by fear, the fear of the alien threat.” He smiles, a broad toothy grin and turning to his right he addresses Karloff. “And you? What do you think?” he asks his trusted aide.
“I agree with you, General.” Karloff replies.
“You agree with me?” General Ratz spits out the question. “I don’t want you to agree with me, I want to know what you think about The Major’s plan. I don’t want you to tell me, you fool! I want you to tell him.”
Karloff shuffles back an inch or two and regains his composure. He looks away from Ratz and speaks to the Major. “Yes Major,” he begins. “You are a genius!” He says, and touching the General on the sleeve to include him in his praise, he adds. “And General, together we will dominate the world.”

The three men are now seated at the big table. Ratz is sitting at the head and Karloff is to his left. The Major sits opposite Karloff. The Vodka is long finished and tall jugs of freshly drawn spring water with slices of lemon now dominate the highly polished surface of the giant oak table. Ratz looks refreshed and his straightened tie and buttoned jacket bear testimony to this. The General picks up the neat stack of papers that are in front of him and gently shuffles them, banging them lightly on the table. “So, you suggest we call off the attack Major, and have the aliens on display as a threat?” He looks at the Major as he speaks and stares deep into his eyes, almost forcing the Major to tell him the truth.
“Yes General” Replies the Major.
The General turns away and reapplies the stare towards Karloff. “And you! What do you say Karloff? Karloff shivers for a moment, it’s not cold in the oak panelled room but the General’s stare is freezing and he can feel it. “I agree with The Major.” He answers.
Read on..

Look out for my next posting before next Wednesday..

Wednesday 19 March 2008

BRAVO Chapter Two - (post 6)

Go to the start of Chapter Two..

BRAVO Chapter Two - (post 6)

Karloff sits down, “I rest my case…” he whispers to the major, who is struggling to carve himself a slice of cold pork from a platter on the gigantic oak table.

The major looks up at the aide, he knows that Karloff is right. Who needs another war? He thinks to himself. It’s difficult enough these days to slice a piece of meat off the bone, let alone engage the enemy on the battlefield, none of us are getting any younger, and yet…
He looks at Karloff again and stuffs a handful of pink flesh between two roughly cut slices of black bread. “Leave the General to me!” he says quietly.

General Ratz is not asleep, but he is making a snoring kind of noise, his breathing is deep and loud, his head is leaning forward and his chin is resting on the stack of medals that are pinned to the chest of his uniform jacket. He is breathing through a partially blocked nose and his head rises and falls with every breath.
The Major decides it is the right time for his little input to the meeting. He beckons for Karloff to come close and the two men join Ratz on the leather sofa in front of the great fire.

“General, I think that Karloff is right, nobody wants just another conventional war, the great plans we made all those years ago will all come to nothing.” The Major stops for a moment and takes a bite from his crude sandwich, plum sauce oozes out from between the slices of bread and dribble down onto his white shirt. “We will be exposed, not only to our enemies, who will fight back, but also to our own people.” He continues. “We must be very careful about the way we proceed.”

“Bah!” exclaims Ratz, shaking his head frantically from left to right. “Am I surrounded by idiots?” He screams, waving his fists in the air. “Karloff, you say that the Major is right and Major, you say that Karloff is right! So, who is wrong? Me? Are you saying that everybody else is right and I am wrong?

“Of course not General,” replies The Major. “However, if we can convince the enemy that a super Super power, an alien power from outer space with a superior intelligence and weapon capability has their gun sights set on them and on us, then we can pull the strings!”

Read on...

Zblog #6

Zblog #6
REALISTIC
Okay, I'm going to have to get realistic about the amount of posts I can make in a week to Space Invaders! Because every time I get enthusiastic about this novel, something else comes up that demands my time. I would love to find an hour a day to indulge myself, but I need to get real and let you know that from now on this page WILL be updated every Wednesday!
IDEAS
The ideas for this story come at the most unpredictable of times, I'll just be dropping off to sleep and bingo! I can see how such and such a scenario will take place. I know that you know that I already have a play script for Space Invaders! and that all the ideas were formulated more than two decades ago, but don't you know? There's always something new!
NATASHA
One of the new characters that I have dreamed up is a woman called Natasha. When I first thought of her, she was only going to have a small part in the play and in the end I never used her at all but I did write a page of dialogue for her (that I now can't find). So anyway, now that I'm writing the Novel version, I intend to find a way to incorporate her into the plot. Of course one character or thread leads to another and when you stitch 'em all together you should have a new garment. In the case of Natasha, she has led me on to discover several other new people, plots and sub-plots, conflict and subterfuge..
NEW READERS
Hi there, thanks for clinking-the-links to Space Invaders! I hope you enjoy your time here. I must apologise once again, to all of my readers for not updating this page as often as I have previously said that I would. Sorry! Anyhow, new readers and old readers alike can leave a comment on any post. You don't have to belong to any organisation or pay any kind of fee, all you need to do is clink-the-comment-button and type a message! Of course if you need/want to contact me personally/privately you can e-mail me from the clinkable-link in my full profile...

Wednesday 12 March 2008

BRAVO Chapter Two - (post 5)

Go to the start of Chapter Two..

BRAVO Chapter Two - (post 5)

Karloff listens intently to what the Major and General Ratz have been discussing. In his own mind, Karloff thinks that he knows more about the aliens than the other two put together. After all, he muses, I am the one who controls the film footage of the young men. He waits for the right moment to say his piece.

Ratz falls to the floor and quickly picks himself up, dusting down his huge frame and finishing the neat vodka with a slurp and a gulp. “Psychological warfare!” He screams towards the fireplace and throws his now empty glass into the flames. “Bah, we have waited so long to take our revenge, all this time we have waited to show the world…” He stumbles backwards again and lands in one of the leather seats. He screws up his face and ignores the other men’s stares.

Karloff seizes the moment, he takes up a new position, leaning on the arm of General Ratz’s chair. Quietly but clearly, he starts his pitch. “General,” he begins. “The Major may be right!”

Ratz stares at Karloff but doesn’t speak. He’s starting to think that the Major and Karloff just might have something to contribute. He used to trust them in the days of the glorious revolution; in fact they were his right and left hand men. So, perhaps they still have a trick or two up their sleeves, he concedes. He can see that Karloff has something to say and he sits back, sinking further into the lush leather seat.

“General,” Karloff begins yet again. “General, The Major may be right! If we attack our enemies with weapons they can see, alien or not in appearance to them, they will fight back and after a period of time our plans will fail – just another conventional war."

Read on ...

Monday 10 March 2008

Zblog #5

Zblog #5
WHERE ARE YOU?
Where am I? Well, I'm back and I'm sorry if you missed me...
I won't tell you about my little trip to the Caribbean...
'cos that won't really help matters, will it?
Perhaps I could tell you that I've been working every hour god sends on this project or that... But you won't believe me will you?
So, what's my excuse?
DREAMING
Well, I've been dreaming, I thought that it would be easy to find the time to write an hour a day and to post a little something new to this story every evening. However, the reality of the situation is that I get so tired, that I fall asleep and the only thing I'm actually able to do is dream! I don't want to just dream though, I want to dream something up when I fall asleep. So, maybe, just maybe... I'm actually working on my script when you think I'm asleep and dreaming.
VISITORS
Anyway, thank you for visiting this page even though there isn't anything new for you to read. I will try (again) to update daily or at least regularly, so please don't give up on me just yet. Thanks for reading, and please do come back soon!

Monday 25 February 2008

BRAVO Chapter Two - (post 4)

Go to start of BRAVO Chapter Two..

BRAVO Chapter Two - (post 4)
The Major stands up and starts to pace back and forth. He inhales the thick cigar smoke and breathes it back into the room in a blue cloud. He pours himself a large glass of the neat spirit and drinks it down in one gulp. Karloff and Ratz watch him, waiting for him to speak. Eventually he stubs out the cigar butt in a silver ashtray and turns towards the others. “Comrades,” he begins, almost shouting. “Do you think it is wise for the aliens to attack in this way?” He asks the question with his arms doing as much of the talking as his mouth.

General Ratz, shrugs his shoulders and opens his hands answering the question with another question. “What other way is there Major?” He enquires, and then quickly adds. “Have you lost your thirst for power? He spits on the rug in front of the open fire and rubs the phlegm in to the pile with the heel of his boot. He turns his back on the Major and stares into the flames.

None of us are getting any younger, thinks the Major to himself. Sometimes, using thought instead of force might be the best plan. He consoles himself. Already though, he can hear General Ratz, shouting and bawling like a madman, just a few feet away from him.

“Well?” Shouts Ratz. “Have you lost your thirst for power? Do you not remember how good it feels to be in control?”

“No General, of course I haven’t lost my thirst for power, I remember as well as you do, how good it was to be in control. I was only suggesting that as we hold all the aces, we could use them as a bargaining power.”

“A bargaining power! A bargaining power? Have you heard yourself Major? Screams the General, turning round to face the other man. “Bah! A psychological warfare! NO BLOOD! Have you gone crazy Major?” The General spits onto the highly polished table and wipes the mess with the cuff of his sleeve. “Have you gone crazy Major?” He screams again, his big brown eyes nearly popping out of their sockets. He slams his fist onto the table again and again. “Have you forgotten our glorious revolution?” He barks, starting to go blue in the face and then he sits down reaching for the very nearly empty bottle of Vodka.
Now read on ...

Saturday 23 February 2008

Zblog #4

Zblog #4
CHAPTERS
Okay, now I've started to post chapter two. You'll notice the different characters and the new setting. I call the different scenes or sections of this work chapters, only for want of a better word or description. It may well be that later on I change the way the 'chapters' are laid out or even do away with them entirely as seems to be the modern trend. One of the books I'm reading at the moment is presented this way, and it works very well. So, who knows?
FOOTFALL
Part of the problem with blogging in general is getting people to read your work. I suppose in that respect it is not much different than any other form of publishing. On the one hand you don't want to force people to read your manuscript but on the other hand you don't want them to ignore you either. There must be a happy medium somewhere, but I guess the key is to keep on writing, regardless.
ZBLOGGING!
What's the Zblog! or the Zblogging all about then? Well, at the risk of confusing you and complicating matters even further... Go on then, I'll tell yer! It's an alphabetical thing, that's what it is. You see in blogger, on blogspot, well on this template anyway, I can create an alphabetical list, a list as posted or an alphabetical list reversed. So, to call the blog bit, blog one, blog two etc. would simply mess up the chapter listings. So instead of blog read Zblog! Which also means that there will be less than twenty six chapters in total.

Wednesday 20 February 2008

BRAVO Chapter Two - (post 3)

Go to previous posting..

BRAVO Chapter Two – (post 3)

Clapping and smiling, General Ratz goes over to Karloff and slaps him on the back. “Excellent! Excellent!” He tells his trusted aide. “The Freedomlanders will be fooled and our people will once again be our servants!” He continues excitedly. Then, smashing his clenched fist on the table for the umpteenth time, he declares, “We will rule with an iron fist. Karloff, you are a genius!”

Karloff is happy that the General is pleased with his work and he knows that Ratz will be even more impressed when he is shown the second reel of film. “Thank you General, thank you, this next film shows the invader craft.” He struggles once more to make the film run, but with the help of a pencil from the breast pocket of his grey suit jacket he manages. He reaches over and starts the music, it’s Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and the Major and General Ratz, start to hum along with the tune.
As the images flicker onto the canvas screen, Karloff starts his narration. “This first picture is of the Invader Craft, see how sleek and powerful it looks, there is nothing in this world to match it.” He is pointing at the image with a bamboo cane and he is happy to see that the General looks pleased. However, he is not so thrilled with the expression on the Major’s face.

Regardless, he continues. “The men have been trained to operate the craft, on a need to know basis. In addition they have all been trained in warfare and with the aid of the element of surprise, they will conquer and destroy as we demand!” Karloff shouts the last sentence.
read on...

Tuesday 19 February 2008

BRAVO Chapter Two - (second post)

Go to start of BRAVO Chapter Two..

BRAVO Chapter Two - (second post)

The peace of the quiet room is suddenly shattered by the sound of loud music. "Sorry, General!" Karloff shouts above the racket, desperately fumbling with the dials on the tape player. After about twenty seconds he manages to turn the decible level down, he pops his ears and smiles apologetically towards General Ratz and the Major who are still seated either side of the long table. "Gentlemen," Karloff begins, pulling down a projector screen with his left hand and rolling his right hand in a gesture towards his superiors. He presses the button on the projector and an image flickers onto the screen. There is no sound track to the moving picture but Karloff has a music tape with Chopin and Vivaldi playing subtley in the distance. He intends to narrate the film himself. "Gentlemen, these are the men at work, we filmed them secretly, notice how alike they look, every one of them could be brothers."

The film shows what looks like a factory, there are many young men working at benches, fitting together small parts and pieces to make various components that are in turn taken away by hand-trucks to another area out of sight of the fixed camera. After ninety seconds the film ends and the noise of the plastic reel can be heard spinning round needlessly. Karloff reaches for the off switch on the projector, hoping that the bulb won't overheat before he has to show the next reel. He can hear General Ratz clapping loudly at the far end of the table.
continue reading..


Sunday 17 February 2008

Zblog #3

Zblog #3
DIFFERENT DRAFTS
Okay, as this is a-work-in-progress-novel the version or draft that you read on this page will almost certainly change as the novel progresses. The as-I-write-it postings are actually the second draft as the first draft is the original play version of Space Invaders! that I wrote in 1984/85. Now that I have started to post the second chapter, I realise that a lot more work needs to be done on the first chapter - which I will do and then re-post ALPHA Chapter One as a complete chapter in a third draft version. Phew!
INTRODUCING CHARACTERS
The first few chapters, or sections of Space Invaders! are taken up, to some extent, with introducing the characters. I have four main sets of characters in three different locations and a number af additional but important characters that will be seen at crucial times in the storyline. I don't want to give too much away here but I'm hoping to 'throw in' some extras that couldn't have been easily accommodated in the original playscript.
LAYOUT + DESIGN
What I have found out is that there is no easy way to layout an Online novel. I've had a look at the way some other people do it and at best it's a higgledy-piggledy mess.
So,what is the answer? Answer, I don't know!
In my case, I'm designing a format for Space Invaders! to grow into. Firstly, I have the wysiwyg postings. Then, I hope to do a third draft of each chapter which I will then post as a complete chapter. When I start to re-post my third draft chapters, I will have a clink-the-link-thingy in the side bar. Which, if I get the design right will be in reading order. For example, chapter one will be followed by chapter two etc. Am I driving you mad?

Saturday 16 February 2008

BRAVO Chapter Two (start)

BRAVO Chapter Two - (start)

General Ratz stands up to address the small gathering, he fingers a button on his tunic in an attempt to hide the fact that the uniform he’s wearing is at least two sizes too small for him. “Comrades,” he begins, looking around the oak panelled room and wiping a tear from his cheek. “Comrades, we meet again, hopefully this will be our final secret session before we have control of the world!” Before he sits down, he thumps the huge meeting room table with his clenched fist and takes a long gulp from a glass of neat vodka.

On the other side of the table the Major relights a cigar and blows a cloud of blue smoke towards the open fire that is burning fiercely in the hearth.
“General Ratz,” he says, addressing his colleague. “Have you given the orders to attack?” As he asks the question he licks his lips in anticipation and starts to salivate at the thought of a battle.

The General staggers to his feet and opens another bottle of the 70% proof alcohol. He throws the screw cap into the fire and watches for the little flame that momentarily shoots up before the top blackens and melts in the heat.
“Yes, yes, yes!” Screams Ratz. “The aliens will annihilate the Freedomlanders and give us the power we deserve!” He thumps the desk again, imagining that he has an iron fist. “Karloff!” He shouts to his trusted aide, who comes running to his side from one of the leather sofa’s by the fire. “Karloff,” he repeats, this time in a gentler voice. Then asks, almost as an afterthought. “Have you brought the tapes?”

Karloff looks at the General and smiles, “Yes, General, they are all ready to be shown!” He beams, flashing a mouthful of gold plated teeth.

“Bravo! bravo! I like efficiency it is good, no? Major and Karloff,” begins Ratz excitedly. “You are my most trusted men, in fact, you are the only ones I can trust.”
He tells them these things like it’s the first time they’ve ever heard them. Of course it’s not, he’s told them the same thing over and over again, year after year. This time though, things are different. “The President, huh! He’s just a puppet,” continues Ratz.“He’s our puppet, we pull his strings! These youngsters in The Party, bah! They’re not to be trusted, all they want is wealth, what do they know of the revolution?”
continue reading...

Friday 15 February 2008

Chapter One - (post five)

Go to the start of ALPHA Chapter One..

ALPHA Chapter One - (post five)

“That’s great!” Screams Arrow to no one in particular but somehow hoping that a passing robot might be hurt by his outburst. “We really are slaves now!” he continues, this time speaking specifically to his close friends and workmates Crescent and Dart. “Work, eat and sleep, work, eat and sleep...” He mimics the robotic voice, before diving headlong onto his bed and pulling the covers up around his chin.

“No leisure period. I don’t believe it, they can’t do this to us.” Laments Dart, as he too climbs onto his bunk and reaches for the blanket.

Crescent is as shocked as anybody to hear the news and for a few minutes he even forgets about his hunger pangs. “You don’t believe it?” he yells. “You don’t believe it? Well you better do Dart, ‘cos they’ve just done it, and you and everybody else knows it. We’ll have to accept it, what else can we do?

“I don’t know about you, but I’m going to sleep.” Says Dart.
“Okay, I’ll wake you for second lunch.”
“Thanks Crescent.”

Crescent goes over to Arrow’s bed and sits on the end of it. “They must be in a panic behind the scenes.” He confides. “You know, making us work around the clock like this.”
“Hum, maybe, I wonder what it is that we’re making though?” Muses Arrow. I’ve never seen components like these before.
“Well, whatever it is, they want it kept secret, all the assembly area is in the forbidden zone, which means only…”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah! Only the flaming robots know what the blooming finished article looks like!!!” Arrow completes Crescent’s sentence for him. Then he starts to laugh, a great big rip roaring laugh. “And they can’t see! Can they Crescent?” he asks his friend, still laughing.

Crescent is too hungry to laugh; instead he pulls a serious face and answers Arrow’s question as though his life depends on it. “Well, not like us, they can’t,” He begins, and then hastily adds. “But, they certainly have some kind of directional sense.”

The bell rings for second lunch, it sounds louder in the sleeping quarters than in the workshop, and the young men like Dart who have chosen to take a little nap before eating, are suddenly on their feet again and running towards the canteen to form an orderly queue for second lunch.
“That was quick!” Exclaims Crescent. “I better wake Dart…” He starts to tell Arrow, as he walks across the dormitory and shakes Darts leg.

This is the end of ALPHA Chapter One.
BRAVO Chapter Two starts tomorrow..

Thursday 14 February 2008

Chapter One - (post four)

Go to the start of Chapter One

ALPHA Chapter One – (post four)

The young men’s conversation is interrupted by the sound of a loud bell ringing; it’s one of those annoying front door style electric bells, but much, much louder.

“I’m glad this work session is over.” Says Arrow, as the trio down tools and start to move away from their workbench.
“Me too,” says Dart, “I’ll be really happy when I get back to my bunk.”
“You not going to eat then, Dart? Asks Crescent, who is always hungry.
“Not yet Crescent, thanks.” Dart laughs, knowing how much his friend will be craving food right now. “I’ll eat later, I just want to lie down now, really.”
“What about you, Arrow?” Crescent asks, hoping that Arrow will be hungry for once.
Arrow looks at him and smiles and pulls a taut face; he shrugs his shoulders and makes a reply. “I’m sorry, I’m not hungry yet, I think I’ll go later too.” He says apologetically.
Although he thinks that he’s starving, Crescent doesn’t want to go to eat by himself. So, reluctantly he makes a decision “I might as well come back to the quarters with you both then.” He announces.

The young trio only just reach their shared room in the sleeping quarters when the Tanoy Bleeps. Blurp! Blurp! Blurp! It bleeps, over and over again getting louder and louder until everybody in the Dome can hear it.
Then the monotone voice of a robotic machine begins to drone.
“This is an important announcement. This is an important announcement.” It repeats itself, like someone who just likes to hear the sound of his own voice. “There will be no leisure periods until further notice. All personnel will work, eat and sleep. Work eat and sleep. I repeat. There will be no leisure periods until further notice. That is all.”
And the Tanoy Blurps. Bleep, Bleep, Bleep… it Blurps!
read on..

Wednesday 13 February 2008

Chapter One - (post three)

Go to the start of ALPHA Chapter one

ALPHA Chapter One – (post three)

“The thing is…” begins Crescent, puffing his chest out and rocking his head from side to side ever so slowly. “The thing is, we’ve grown bigger and wiser, so they need more robots to supervise us, to keep us in line, if you like!”
“Yeah, but where do they come from? If they can increase their number, maybe we can too! Exclaims Dart, excitedly.
Arrow throws a spanner onto the floor, he’s frustrated with the conversation having heard these thoughts voiced many times before. “Impossible!” He shouts. “We are all males, the females of our species didn’t survive the break up of the planet when we were born.”
The others look at him; they all know that that there is no hope for them, no way for them to duplicate themselves like the robots have. It’s Dart who breaks the silence.
“But there must be a way, a way to…”
“Forget it Dart, we’re here, we’re alive and that’s all there is to it.” States Crescent.
“Not quite all, we’re the servants of these, these machines. We’re being controlled by a bunch of flaming robots! They tell us what to do and when to do it.”
“Yeah,” says Arrow, “we always have been Dart, and yet, we’ve been happy until now.”
Continue reading...

Tuesday 12 February 2008

Zblog #2

Zblog #2
DAILY POSTINGS
I know that I've already said this elsewhere, but I must repeat it here on this posting, just to let you know that I am going to be making posts daily to Space Invaders! from now on. I know that I've got off to a slow start and I apologise to each and every one of you.
MORE WORDS
At the risk of repeating myself and boring you senseless I add the following remark strictly for the record. Space Invaders! is becoming one of those novels that has more words written about it than written in it! There you are, you see, I've said it now. It's the blogging equivelant of liking to hear ones own voice, perhaps!
ONLINE
Why do it Online? People ask me all the time. Well, good question. I think my answer would have to be that I want the challenge, I want to prove to myself that it is possible to complete such a task with the world looking over my shoulder. I want to write this novel Online because I want to communicate with my readership on a one to one name for name basis if possible in a 'warts an' all' first draft kind of environment. Phew!
ABOUT COMMENTS
All bloggers love to recieve comments and in some situations like writing a work-in-progress-novel, comments from readers not only lift the writer but also endorse the product. Of course, commenting isn't compulsory and one can never legislate such things. But it is nice to leave a comment and I don't mind if you don't like my story or the way I write it. In fact I'm actually looking for critique on this blog and I welcome anybody to leave a comment. So, if you're reading this now, and I know that you are, please leave a little comment and introduce yourself.
ARCHIVE SCRIPT
Some of you already know that I've found my original play script, the actual hand-written copy for Space Invaders! What you might not know is that when I wrote the play version at Withington Library in Manchester in 1984/85 I used a different colour pen or pencil for each character and I remember I wrote some of the robot bits with my left hand. Anyway, I tell you all this because my son Jack can scan the images into the computer for me and convert the files so I can show them on this blog! How cool's that? And guess what? The original artwork for the front cover by yours truely is still intact!
CONCLUSION
Look out for the conclusion of Chapter One of Space Invaders! on this blog tomorrow and for the start of Chapter Two which will take us to a very different place. I can't wait to press on with this project and see what happens. So, see you then, then!

Wednesday 30 January 2008

Chapter One Cont.

Go to start of chapter One.

continue reading from previous post.
ALPHA Chapter One - (post two)
The young men continue their work in silence, each thinking his own thoughts. After awhile Crescent poses a question.
"I wonder..." he begins, "I wonder how many of us there are against how many of them?

Arrow and Dart shrug their shoulders. They don't want to be drawn into yet another pointless conversation but Arrow knows the answer to this question and after only a few seconds he decides to share this knowledge with his friends.

"At the last count," he whispers, looking around, furtively "there were three thousand of us, that was of course before Jangle disappeared!" Arrow picks up one of the pieces of casting from the bench and examines it. He rubs it on his sweatshirt, like some people do with apples, he inspects it again and gives it a final buff on his sleeve before returning it to the bench. He looks up at Crescent. "Does that answer your question?" he asks.
"No!" his friend replies. "It doesn't, not fully anyway."
"What else can I tell you?"
"How many damn robots there are in this flaming dome?
"That, Crescent my friend, is a very good question! And a very difficult one to answer."
"Yeah," interjects Dart, "nobody knows how many robots there are, there could be thousands behind those doors in the forbidden zone, for all we know."
"Well, we did count them recently," says Arrow, making a face and scratching his shaved head before continuing. "Actually it was Jangle and his friend Flippy, they counted eight hundred Pawns, ten Knights and four Rooks."

A pawn glides up to the bench where the three young men are deep in conversation, none of them see him coming until it's too late. He crashes into the metal frame, steel against steel, sparks flying, sending half finished components to the floor.
"Pick up the pieces! pick up the pieces!" The Pawn commands! "This is not a pic-nic, you men are here to WORK! Pick up the pieces and start again!" The Pawn spins around and glides off across the workshop.

"Phew, that was a close call." Says Arrow.
"Yeah, where were we up to, what were we saying?" Asks Dart, as the threesome crawl on their hands and knees picking up the bits and pieces from the hard concrete floor.
"I was telling you both about Jangle's survey." Mutters Arrow, banging his elbow against the frame of the workbench.
"Yeah, yeah, there's always been three thousand of us, everybody knows that!" Dart recalls, as they continue to pick up the pieces. "But, I don't remember there being so many blooming robots about!" He exclaims!
Continue reading

Hi, Thanks for reading this far! Please leave a comment and introduce yourself. If you're writing an Online Novel or blogging about the novel you're writing, maybe you'd like to swap links.

Saturday 26 January 2008

Zblog #1

Zblog #1
INFORMATION
It's funny, to me at least, that most people I talk to about Space Invaders seem to think it must be Sci-fi. It never crossed my mind but there again, I know what happens, sort of...
So, I got to thinking about what genre if any, this little work might fall into. The short and long of it is that I don't really know. In some ways it's not even fiction at all because it really happened. Or did it? I don't remember! If it did really happen, then it happened a long time ago and if it didn't it doesn't really matter, does it?
FACTION
If it's a fictional story based on fact then I guess it could be faction. Faction? That's for me to know and for you to find out. I will give some major clues though. Firstly Space Invaders is not Science Fiction, Science Faction or Science anything. It is simply a story about good and evil. About the powerful and the powerless. It is a tale of the manipulated and the manipulators. It is a novel about... Okay, then, yeah, I guess you're right, it probably could be categorized as Science Something. I've just checked a list of 92 different genres and it doesn't seem to fit any of them. Well, I haven't actually written it yet!
COMPLICATED
Don't you just love complications? You'd think it would be an easy task to write an Online Novel with blogspot and it probably is if you know what you're doing. The main problem is that each new posting goes above the previous posting so unless you post a complete chapter or keep on adding bits to an earlier posting there is no real continuity. I've been looking at the way other people get around this situation and the best solution is to have two sites, one with work-in-progress and a second one with the completed task. Anybody got any better ideas?

Wednesday 23 January 2008

Chapter One

ALPHA Chapter One (first post)
The Rook glides effortlessly along the balcony, he's closely followed by a number of Pawns. Beneath their armour plated chess piece exterior, they are robots and masters of the Dome. The dull black painted finish of their coats completes the sinister look.

"Gentlemen we must have discipline!" Alpha begins his robotic rant. "There is no call for stupidity in our lives! The man Jangle has been found in an air shaft..." The Rook's voice echoes around the assembly area of the Dome. "If we are to survive you must obey us. We are your masters! We have built the city to protect you as our planet hurtles aimlessly through space" He continues, monosyllabically, the way only a robot can. "We are a small number on a very small planet. The Dome occupies nine tenths of the surface, the outside is uninhabitable..." His machine like voice drones on. And on..."I repeat, we must have discipline, the man Jangle is dead! That is all... Dismiss."

Young men begin to return to their living quarters or their place of work. Three of them, Arrow, Crescent and Dart walk away from the meeting together.

"I suppose they'll be watching us all, more closely now." Says Arrow, to no one in particular.
"Yes," replies Crescent. "I think there's some big panic going on behind the scenes." Then he thoughtfully adds. "I wonder what Jangle was up to?"

Before anybody could answer a Pawn bumps into Crescent, knocking him to the hardened concrete floor.
"Come on you men, back to work, these components need finishing!" The Pawn urges the three young men before gliding off to admonish another group.

"Slave driver!" Whispers Dart as he helps Crescent back to his feet. "We always have to meet some deadline for these rotten machines." He looks around to make sure that none of the chess pieces are watching or listening.
"That's a bit strong Dart! Don't you think? The machines are our masters, after all. Don't forget!" Says Arrow, speaking up for the robots.
"Our gaolers, more like!" Dart Hurriedly replies.

The three young men complete the short walk from the big meeting back to the assembly line in the highly mechanised workshop. They work side by side at the same bench, day after day, piecing together intricate castings to produce something... but they don't know what it is.

Crescent looks up at the other two and out across the workshop where several hundred more young men are busy working on different projects. The whole place is buzzing with activity.
"I wonder if we'll ever find out where we came from?" He asks, knowing that the others only know what he knows and that everybody only knows what the Rook and his cronies have told them anyway.

"I want to know what's going to become of us, do we really have any future?" Questions Dart, ignoring Crescent's cry from the heart.

The loss of their friend Jangle has affected the men more than they are willing to admit to themselves and the soul searching questions they are asking each other reflect this.

"Can anybody tell ME!!! WHAT'S going to happen to US?" Dart screams! But only Crescent and Arrow can hear him. The workshop is a noisy place, it is jam-packed full of heavy machinery.
It's Arrow who finally answers his question. "Not here we don't Dart, you know that as well as anybody. Here, there's only us and them!"
Continue reading...
Hi, Thanks for reading this far! Please leave a comment and introduce yourself. If you're writing an Online Novel or blogging about the novel you're writing, maybe you'd like to swap links.

Friday 18 January 2008

Introduction

INTRODUCTION
SPACE INVADERS
(my-work-in-progress-novel)
First of all, thank you for visiting this page. I decided to create a new blog for Space Invaders as trying to slot it into Proper Joe's was never really going to work. The aim of writing this novel is just to prove to myself that I can do it. Of course I'm going to cheat! You didn't think I was just going to sit here burning the midnight oil night after night did you? Well, when I say cheat, I mean that I've already got the plot sorted out in the form of a play I wrote with the same title in 1984.
STYLE
Of course I haven't got a clue about how I'm going to present this work as a novel. I have a vague idea in my head about the way I want it to go - whether I possess the skills to achieve this is a different matter.
FEEDBACK
One thing I will need your help with is feedback. Comments and critique are welcomed from anybody who can take/make the time to respond. If there's something you don't like about my story, please let me know, but do bear in mind that everything you read on these pages will only be a first draft.
BOOKMARK
You can bookmark this blog and return whenever you like, I'm going to be posting as often as I can.
DIALOGUE NOVEL
The thing I always like best about writing is dialogue. Play scripts have always seemed the natural way for me to communicate. Space Invaders was originally written as a play but I wanted to do something else with it. I like the idea of a 'described play' or better still a play that you can read like a book rather than a script. On his blog Blogisode Dave Riley refers to a "Dialogue Novel" as a play that is read rather than a play that is performed. That is exactly what I've been wanting to do for the past twenty four years! So, thanks Dave, I guess your quote is pretty much the inspiration for my-work-in-progress-novel. Phew!