A Great New Review for The Day Of Legion.

I am very happy to direct you to a great new review for The Day Of Legion. It is on an awesome blog called The Book Boost. I have also got a guest blog on there as well!

http://tiny.cc/l9bij

Second Novel

Well, I'm currently in the process of penning my second novel. It is as yet untitled and in the very early stages, but basically its about a subject I have been wanting to write about for a long time. Now I know a lot of people will roll their eyes and say its been done before many times, but I am approaching it from a unique perspective and although the plot is pure fantasy, it could actually happen. The story is about a post apocolyptic world where a few survivors battle to live and avoid the 'infected'. What is unique about my story is how the disaster occurs and what happens afterwards. It is a combination of post apocolyptic, paranormal and horror.

I have had to conduct quite a bit of research due to the cause of the disaster, but I have found it very interesting. As I said before, a lot of you will say this has been done before and you are right. All I can say is watch this space because although the basic plot is a story that has been explored before, the twists and turns are all unique.

Don't forget, all subjects have pretty much been covered by authors over the years, but there are some amazing and unique approaches, giving us exciting stories.

I also mix fact and fiction, making the far out seem quite possible. I know this book will make you think and change certain aspects about your life, even though it is fiction. Impossible you say? Wait and see what I mean. I am sure all those horror fans and end of the world fans will love this story, because you would never have thought about it like this before.

See you all very soon.

How People Teach Us The Lessons We Are Supposed To Learn.

In 2008 I went to a developing nation with the United Nations Department Of Peacekeeping Operations. So many nations had sent men and women to assist in the capacity building of this developing nation. I had the opportunity to work with many nationalities, who, outside of opportunities like this, I would never have met.

I worked directly with a Singaporean, Malaysian, Phillipino, Iranian, African, Indian, Australian and a Nepalese.

Everyone got on with everyone else most of the time and I found all of them helpful and curious about my country. I enjoyed my time with them and learned about them all, their families, religions and their countries.

I did have one stand out moment and this is the point of my blog entry. I had to fly to a location away from our base. The flight in the huge Russian helicoptor took 45 minutes and I was accompanied by an Indian Army associate.

We got to talking and he told me how he thinks about things at the end of the day. Now, this is a man who has been involved with the Indian army for over 20 years, so you can imagine the things he has seen. He told me that when someone who works for him makes a mistake or something unexpected happens, he doesn't panic or get angry or blame the other person.

Instead, he asks himself two questions.

1. Will someone die from this mistake?
2. Will I regret this on my deathbed?

Now, what this little lesson taught me has stayed with me. I have people who work for me and when anything goes wrong I ask myself those two questions. What I have found is this. So far, 100 percent of the time, no one will or has died from an everyday mistake. Also, nothing has been so bad that I would regret it on my deathbed.

So what you say?

Well, have you made and do you make a big deal of others or your own mistakes or situations? Are those things you sweat about really that important? Are you unable to put things into context?

Try it next time something happens that would normally send you into a tailspin. Ask yourself those two questions and I bet that both answers will not only surprise you, but will help in putting your 'issues' in context.

It was such a simple conversation, but it has affected my decision making and thoughts many times since.

A new review for The Day Of Legion.

A review for The Day Of Legion is on Authors by Authors. I'm quite happy with it really.

My Review of "Day of Legion" by Craig Taylor

The Day of Legion definitely got off to a great start, hooking me right away in having me try to figure out the main character was in both past, present and future. With lots of unexpected twists, the story continued to recapture and hold my attention from start to finish.

I thought the story had a unique structure to the story line, and I applaud authors and publishers who take those kinds of risks because it definitely worked for this book. Even with the multiple, meaning more than two, points of views, which is always a challenge to depth of character, I think the author did a great job of letting the reader get to know each of them. I felt personally involved. Maybe this was in the descriptions that the author seemed so very good at.  These made me really enjoy the good verses bad plot, the destiny, angel and demon type feel to every event that happened. The mythology was light but sounds, lending its hand to the constant suspense which really made the book.

If supernatural horror is your thing, then I highly recommend this read! Craig Taylor is yet another excellent author from Damnation Books :)

Here is the original review:  http://t.co/1zVqS1P

An excerpt from The Day Of Legion

At first she rode him. His loneliness melted into pleasure instantly. He felt wanted again. He smiled and started to imagine this beautiful woman as his partner, and all the things they would do together.

Then he felt the pressure of her hands on his throat. She chanted softly to herself. First he felt confusion. Maybe she liked it rough. Reality then set in as he started to choke. Then he was dead.

Clara got off him and stood by the bed. She was excited. She didn’t have long to wait. The man’s body arched its back and inhaled loudly.

The face turned to look at her and she knew the demon was in him. His eyes were completely black and the odor of the darkness began to fill the room. The chest heaved as the demon relished the pleasure of breathing air, something it hadn’t done for hundreds of years.

Clara released the bindings, allowing the demon to sit up and look around. He smiled. She was instructed to acquire a strong body, and she hadn’t disappointed. He could feel the strong muscles covering solid bones. He breathed in the air and could smell the sickly scent of a world with too much light.

Guided by Life.

I am a firm believer that life will provide us with lessons when we need them.

How have I come to this conclusion? By recognising those lessons and realising that life is so generous, even if we miss her voice the first time around, she will remind us in years to come when we really need to know.
I will never forget the biggest lesson life taught me as a mere child and the unexpected outcomes that lesson has led me to in my adulthood.

I was seven years old and walking home from the movies by myself. I noticed a mandarin tree in someone’s front yard, so I stole one, discarded the peel and ate it. The fruit lodged in my throat and I started to choke. I couldn't breathe. The skies darkened and it became very cold. Within moments the rains fell heavily. Despite my age and the predicament I found myself in, I was strangely calm. What was the thought that went through my seven year old head? "I'm going to die here in the rain".

I coughed and the fruit dislodged itself and flew on to the road. I knew right then and there what I was being told.

'There are always consequences to your actions'. Basic, I know, but a revelation to my young mind.
I have carried that lesson my entire life. Whenever I have been tempted, that lesson returns. Whenever I have a decision to make, I contemplate the consequences. Will I have to explain my choice on my judgement day?
Where has that one lesson led me now?
At 39 years of age I wrote my first novel "The Day Of Legion."
I am now 40 and I sit with amazement when I see it displayed on Amazon and realise the connection with that small child choking in the rain, receiving the gift of a life lesson.
The story is based on a phrase in the bible - "And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying; My name is Legion, for we are many." Mark 5:9.

This was the basis of the story because it was a powerful phrase that stuck in my head from Sunday School when I was a child. That, combined with my other lesson, became an idea, which became a story, which became a novel I am immensely proud of.

I use the choking example in ‘The Day Of Legion’ for a character who unknowingly meets his guardian angel and is reminded of the lessons he has learned through life, before he is thrust into the battle between good and evil.

Although I don't believe for a moment Life provided me with a lesson so that I could write a book at a time in my life when I really felt the need, but because I paid attention and lived by that lesson, I was able to do something that I had wanted to do my entire life. 'The Day Of Legion' is the physical expression of the richest lesson I ever learned.