Mark Roberts, New Zealand

From my smugmug galleries, which you will find from my website....

Sat, 15 Sep 2012 07:35:29 +1200

From my smugmug galleries, which you will find from my website. Click the photo or the link underneath.

New Zealand Maori Woman

Wed, 12 Sep 2012 07:42:00 +1200

New Zealand Maori Woman

From my smugmug galleries, which you will find from my website....

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 09:25:00 +1200

From my smugmug galleries, which you will find from my website. Click the photo or the link underneath.

From my smugmug galleries, which you will find from my...

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 09:20:00 +1200

From my smugmug galleries, which you will find from my website. Click the photo or the link underneath.

From my smugmug galleries, which you will find from my...

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 09:16:00 +1200

From my smugmug galleries, which you will find from my website. Click the photo or the link underneath.

Fitness Update: 3 September

Mon, 03 Sep 2012 18:00:49 +1200

Bench press: 3 sets of 5 reps on 95kg. Bit of a struggle with the last rep.

Fitness Update: 30 August

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 20:22:04 +1200

5 reps on bench press at 100kg. A pb. Time for a wine.

Fitness Update: 28 August

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 17:05:40 +1200

Yesterday, I struggled a bit with my bench press at 95 kilograms. Couldn’t get the last set of 5 reps; had to settle for 4. No big deal. Followed that with 6 sets of press and one set of chin-ups.

Today, I did my 3 x 5 reps of squats with 100 kilograms, followed by 3 x 5 reps of power clean with 55 kilograms. I know I’ve done something. Time for a cold beer!

Tomorrow, I hope to run.

Fitness Update: 25 August

Sat, 25 Aug 2012 17:55:41 +1200

Today was my day to work the lower body. I squeezed out 3 sets of full squats (as in ass to the grass) with 100kg on my back. Then I headed off to supervise at our harrier club meet—I didn’t run. Once back at home, I did four sets of power clean with up to 55kg.

It’s great how these compound exercises stress the whole body. I hate the term ‘core’, but that’s what they hit, aside from the legs of course.

Fifty shades of despair

Fri, 24 Aug 2012 14:34:59 +1200

Fifty shades of despair

Fitness Update: 24 August 2012

Fri, 24 Aug 2012 07:54:10 +1200

Well, after a 18-month rest from running my achilles tendon seems okay. I tottered through a 7 kilometre run yesterday. I need my running to get rid the gut I’ve grown. It’s not huge, but it’s there.

While I haven’t been running, my strength training has blossomed. The trick now is to run and lift weights to the max, something I’ve struggled with before at times.

My bench press is up to 4 x 100kg (220lb). The last rep was a bit hairy, but I made it with no assistance. Three sets of 5 x 100kg is the goal for end of year.

Runners at the recent New Zealand Cross Country Champs.

Tue, 07 Aug 2012 11:29:53 +1200

Runners at the recent New Zealand Cross Country Champs.

My science fiction novel has been reviewed.

Wed, 06 Jun 2012 14:32:17 +1200

My science fiction novel has been reviewed.

First official day of winter in New Zealand.

Fri, 01 Jun 2012 17:45:53 +1200

booksquotesandreviews:

I shot this portrait this morning—a young Maori girl in New...

Sat, 26 May 2012 18:46:00 +1200

I shot this portrait this morning—a young Maori girl in New Zealand.

Surfcasting at Great Exhibition Bay, Northland, New Zealand.

Thu, 24 May 2012 17:13:59 +1200

Surfcasting at Great Exhibition Bay, Northland, New Zealand.

Science Fiction

Mon, 21 May 2012 11:49:54 +1200

Unforced Error—hard science fiction

This item is from my website and is about my science fiction novel. If you want to read it in full, please go to the relevant page of my website here.

Several people have told me they enjoyed reading Unforced Error and had little trouble sorting out who was who in the story. However, others got lost in the first few chapters and decided not to continue with it. This second group intrigues me, considering one of my aims was to write a story that was easy to read. How did I get that wrong, or at least not completely right?

Many authors have written novels that didn’t appeal to everyone. It’s the norm. I’ve read reviews posted to www.goodreads.com for various novels including best sellers. Some reviewers rave about a book and give it five stars; others hate the same book and give it one star. Some people are highly intolerant of an implausible story—see my example in the appendix below. Others seem not to care or even notice. Can an author hamper his or her success by insisting on a logical plot and plausible character motivation? Interesting question.

I can tolerate an implausible plot if it’s a film with amazing special effects, because I’m not expending much energy, and quite possibly I’m consuming a glass of beer or wine at the same time and enjoying the ride, no matter how silly it is. Implausibility in written fiction, however, is not so tolerable for me.

I suspect Unforced Error can be a challenging read because at any one time up to four groups of characters are driving the action. What one group decides to do affects the decisions of the others, and all decisions must be described in a correct time sequence. This means I constantly move the action from one point-of-view character to another, and this invariably involves a change of location. All these groups of characters are introduced early in the story, so the reader has a lot to absorb from the first few chapters. There is a protagonist who is fighting for his life, antagonists who are actively trying to kill him, a separate group of high-level antagonists who are controlling them, and finally the law enforcement people. I’m sure switching from location to location and character to character wouldn’t be a problem if Unforced Error were a film. In that form, the audience gets to eyeball setting and character. That makes any story easier to follow. With the written word, it’s always going to be a harder.

The varied reaction to Unforced Error has caused me to consider how I might help even a seasoned reader of fiction to better enjoy the story. We live in an age of digital publishing, and there is talk about the ‘enhanced’ novel. At present, there is no consensus as to what enhancements might be attractive to readers—or what might make money for publishers. Developments in hardware are currently outpacing developments in content. In any event, I’ve decided to create this simple ‘enhancement’ that describes and explains various aspects of Unforced Error.

Black cattle on hill country in New...

Mon, 21 May 2012 08:07:33 +1200

Black cattle on hill country in New Zealand.

http://www.markroberts.co.nz/

Ngaruroro River, Hawke’s Bay, New...

Mon, 21 May 2012 08:06:00 +1200

Ngaruroro River, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand.

http://www.markroberts.co.nz/

How’s this for a smile?

Sun, 20 May 2012 19:37:35 +1200

How’s this for a smile?