Real Life Dramas - Volume One

Darren - this is a great idea! I've seen books that describe real events that people have endured, but not one that dramatises them like this. I liked the 'two months later' epilogue in the shark attack chapter, but I think you made the right choice in not doing that with the other two published chapters.
You also might consider plugging the book in the forums - there are a number that discuss non-fiction books and the writer's needs. A number of the NF writers on the site welcome other NF books, as we are in a minority!
I look forward to reading more when you post it.
Regards
Martin (The Book of Ages).

Great to have another Non Fiction work on here!
These are great tales - very entertaining!
Good luck with it on here - we need more support for this genre so please take a look at some of the other Non Fiction works on here.
Cheers. Alison
ps Some very nice Antipodeans in my book!

Dear Darren, Thanks for sharing in you book. :) Hope you can read my He Love Me, He Loves Me Not & my unedited version Tell Me True Love Stories of He Love Me, He Loves Me Not. Thanks, Susie :)

I am trying to move my book out of the basement. I have backed your book and hope to trade reads with you. I realize my book needs editing; however, I have severe untreated PTSD from the event and writing the book once was torture. I hope to someday be able to afford a professional editor, but for now I am just trying to my whistleblower story out to the world. It is a true story and supporting documents can be found on my personal blog site: http://cid-5d732de5984e829c.profile.live.com/ .
Best Regards,
Bob-e Jackson

I am trying to move my book out of the basement. I have backed your book and hope to trade reads with you. I realize my book needs editing; however, I have severe untreated PTSD from the event and writing the book once was torture. I hope to someday be able to afford a professional editor, but for now I am just trying to my whistleblower story out to the world. It is a true story and supporting documents can be found on my personal blog site: http://cid-5d732de5984e829c.profile.live.com/ .
Best Regards,
Bob-e Jackson

Hi Darren,
I really enjoyed your stories, they make a nice change from some of other things that are available to read on Authonomy.
You write well, you have created a different atmosphere for each story which the reader can become involved in.
I like the mix here, this is the sort of book one could keep by their bed or take on holiday so that it can be dipped in and out of.
You have some great description, very vivid.
This is on my SHELF!
Bests,
AnnabelleP
(Adelaide Short)

The shark story: I don't know if this was well written or not--all I know is that my eyes were glued to computer screen and it scared the you know what out of me. The only thing I didn't like was the very last sentence, It tells us what we already know. You can do better than that.

Captive: This is a great story but not as perfect as the first one. The length between the opening scene and Ruby walking own the alley toward the highway is too long., and the rest isn't as carefully written as the first one. But once you get going and show her fear and her danger, it is once more, impossible to put down. With a little tightening and a few corrections (which I didn't note as I am not proof reading) this, too, will be a perfect tale of terror.

Because this has so many possibiities and I love short stories and the kind of scary tale told around campfires on a dark moonless night, this story will be shelved as soon as I have a space. I keep books on it for a week so I have a few before you. In the meantime I am watchlisting it.

Good luck.
Jan
THE COBRA AND THE MONGOOSE

I really enjoyed reading these stories, but I found I was left hungry for more specific detail. I can't help it, I'm a documentary addict, and these stories felt more like fiction the real-life to me. Street names, places, that sort of thing, ways to ground it in reality so that the reader feels that they are reading true stories, even though some of it is dramatised. They are all very well written and this is an interesting concept for a book.

Hi Darren, Have just read your first story and I really admire how well-written it is.Will read the next story tomorrow. All the best. Joanna

Brilliant idea, superbly written...especially liked 'its teeth glinting in the moonlight; some ivory, some blood red'...shiver!

Great stuff!

Julie

Dear Darren,

Real Life Dramas. Nice to see something like this on Authonomy. Not only narrative non-fiction, but stories one can read beginning to end in a short time.

On my bookshelf.

Comments? A few. I read all three stories. Did a bit of scanning once I saw what was going on and then slowed to read the gory parts.

After seeing Mauled, I wanted titles for the other tales too. Piece of cake to drop in titles. Simple, like Bush Fire, Taxi Fare, whatever. Felt I was scratching my head over what I was reading about.

I also thought some editing would be a good thing. Tweaking here and there. ‘It’s got my leg’ is a bit mild, perhaps a bit lame for what the victim was actually shouting. But perhaps that’s what actually happened. Humans are strange how they react to drama

I have been in life and death situations a number of times and got myself out of them by thinking coolly. Didn’t stop the nightmares that followed when I thought back on the situations.

And in the very first line of Taxi Fare, you had the opportunity of telling your reader it was a taxi we are reading about. You said ‘car’ and taxi only turned up later.

I have no idea what the market is like for compendiums of short stories which normally appear in periodicals. I’m sure you have a plan for publishing these.

Will look at Minotaur tomorrow. Not Fantasy, I see.


Keep well,

Pierre.

Welcome to the site - you are going in my watchlist, so I can read more later. It is great to have more non-fiction on this site. Fully support Alison in her comments!
Cheerio,
Anli

Great to have another Non Fiction work on here!
These are great tales - very entertaining!
Good luck with it on here - we need more support for this genre so please take a look at some of the other Non Fiction works on here.
Cheers. Alison
ps Some very nice Antipodeans in my book!

Welcome to Authonomy. It's good to get more non-fiction writers. Can I say that it may not be such a good idea to put your own book on your bookshelf.

Others may not want to back it if you do, that's all. The forum seem to support people who're supportive to others.

best
anne

Darren - this is a great idea! I've seen books that describe real events that people have endured, but not one that dramatises them like this. I liked the 'two months later' epilogue in the shark attack chapter, but I think you made the right choice in not doing that with the other two published chapters.
You also might consider plugging the book in the forums - there are a number that discuss non-fiction books and the writer's needs. A number of the NF writers on the site welcome other NF books, as we are in a minority!
I look forward to reading more when you post it.
Regards
Martin (The Book of Ages).

One thing lacking from this book is an index of the stories contain within the binding, other than this, the tales of the dramas that are captured for our reading pleasure are very captivating. Do I have a favourite? Well I have two, Firestorm which shows that we should listen to the advice given by the emergency services but as you can imagine the people involved in this short don’t leading to a very serious situation as a forest fire descends on them; the other short story was Murder at Midnight in which a taxi driver is witness to a murder which he duly informs the police though soon the killer comes looking for the only person that saw the crime.
All the stories in this book are a great read and should entertain everyone that loves tales of real life events.