Societal control of the human body: Science fiction book recommendations on the theme

 

If you’re looking for reading recommendations, the book discovery site Shepherd.com is a great place to find them. Shepherd is a rich platform offering book suggestions around a topic, theme or mood, as recommended by numerous authors.

I’m pleased to have been featured on their site with my recommendations for science fiction books on the theme of societal control of the human body.

My book on this theme, An Accident of Birth is a dystopian novel that explores how society might respond if human fertility were to decline to the point where only few people are born fertile. I discussed my inspiration for writing this book in a previous post When Evolution Fails Us - A Tale of Declining Fertility.

If you wish to find more dystopian fiction, why not try the Shepherd.com bookshelf The best dystopia books, where you will find enough recommendations to keep you going for a very long time. 

 

When Evolution Fails Us - A Tale of Declining Fertility

What if, in a future generation, human fertility has dwindled to the point that fertility is a rare gift – so unusual that it is considered to be a lucky accident of birth?

Every species has a natural drive to survive and reproduce. It is one of our most basic instincts and, let's face it, without that instinct, humankind wouldn't exist today. We fight for survival, and we love to reproduce.

Indeed, in many sectors of human society, couples who choose to remain childless are thought to be failing in their responsibility. This attitude, however dubious, is driven by primal instinct, not reason.

In recent years, studies have revealed some sobering facts. It seems that every generation of men is, on average, less fertile than its predecessor. We may be growing taller and bigger, but we're not as good at making babies.

The news reports which highlight this issue focus on the generation to generation decline in fertility, but do little to speculate on where it will lead. The reports generally measure fertility in terms of how many children are produced per couple. If the average is less than two then the population is declining. This is frequently couched in terms of how many children are produced per woman, which is a curiously flawed way to view it.

We have to look a little harder to find reports which talk about the biological ability of a couple to reproduce, rather than the choices they make. Many articles about female fertility focus on how many children a woman has, rather than her biological ability to bear children. On the subject of men, however, the literature is more forthcoming.

It seems that every generation of men is less biologically capable of reproduction than the last. According to a 1992 study¹, “... data on semen quality collected systematically from reports published world-wide indicate clearly that sperm density has declined appreciably during 1938-90, although we cannot conclude whether or not this decline is continuing.”

That uncertainty was put to rest by a research paper in 2017², which concluded that “… sperm counts whether measured by SC or TSC declined significantly among men from North America, Europe and Australia during 1973–2011, with a 50–60% decline among men unselected by fertility, with no evidence of a ‘leveling off’ in recent years.” (SC is sperm concentration, and TSC is total sperm count).

That's pretty scary. If we were to take this to its logical conclusion, the end result could be catastrophic for humanity.

So, why is this happening? According to the Infertility Centre of St Louis³, “The human male is known to have the worst sperm count of any mammalian species, with the exception of the gorilla, possibly because the fragile location of these sperm production genes lies on the Y chromosome. The process of recombination "repairs" chromosomes. Since genes on the Y do not recombine, the chromosome degenerates. Thus, the Y chromosome — which makes the male a male — deteriorates with each succeeding generation. It is not a very safe place for sperm production genes.”

There's plenty of evidence, also, that lifestyle choices of parents, such as obesity and smoking, can have a serious adverse effect the offspring's fertility.

If men’s biological fertility is declining, what about women? Information on this is hard to find. There is evidence that the number of children born through IVF is increasing significantly. This, however, could represent trends in lifestyle choices, or other factors. Whether it has anything to do with trends in the biological fertility of women is unclear.

In today's society, the majority of people are fertile, and the infertile are usually thought of as the unlucky ones, but will that change? Fifty generations from now, will we be frantically trying to find ways to secure the future of the human race?

What will society look like if fertility becomes a rarity? Will fertile people still be considered lucky when the rest of society depends on them to propagate the species? In such a scenario, would a fertile person be allowed to choose not to have children? How would genetic diversity be maintained to avoid the birth defects which result from inbreeding? How would the population be maintained?

In today's society most of us think we’re free, but are we really? We are subject to a profusion of laws, most of which we don't know about and wouldn't understand if we did. Further, we are subject to social pressures and taboos which greatly influence every aspect of our lives. Still, most of us are born “free”, and spend most of our lives believing ourselves to be so.

But what if some of us were born with a biological attribute that made us a rarity? Something with a special value to society that would result in people treating as a resource; a commodity. Something to trade in. If fertility were rare, would those lucky few be the victims or the benefactors of this accident of birth?

Would they be treated as childbearing royalty or breeding slaves? Would they be able to choose a partner because they loved them, or would they be forced into breeding with carefully selected, genetically compatible partners? Would their lives be dominated by social pressures or statutory rules? Would surrogacy be a choice, a lucrative contract between fertile people and their clients, or would it be state controlled?

Would there be a black market; a criminal underworld, trading in the fertility of the few? Would supporting industries spring up? How about services for fertile people who wish to escape the bonds of their condition?

These questions are not easy to answer. At present, how society might respond to such changes is no more than speculation. Nonetheless, if and when it comes, we will have to respond, one way or another.

However we set about tackling the problems posed by increasing infertility, conflict is bound to arise. People with differing beliefs and value systems will also have differing ideas on how to deal with the problem. Whatever solution is chosen, there will inevitably be those who don't accept it.

Would that lead to social unrest? Quite possibly. Large scale differences of public opinion on emotive subjects often do. Will it change the face of politics? The world of politics is there to serve the greater social interest (or so it should be), and what greater interest than the survival of the species?

We don't really know how long it will take for dwindling fertility to become a threat to the future of humankind, or indeed, whether it ever will, but one thing is clear. The trend towards diminished fertility raises some difficult social questions.

For now, we have to rely on works of speculative fiction, such as An Accident of Birth, for answers to these questions.

~

NOTE: This is an update to an article first published on this blog in 2012.

References

[1] Carlsen E, Giwercman A, Keiding N, Skakkebaek NE. Evidence for decreasing quality of semen during past 50 years. BMJ. 1992 Sep 12;305(6854):609-13. doi: 10.1136/bmj.305.6854.609. PMID: 1393072; PMCID: PMC1883354.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1883354/

[2] Levine H, Jørgensen N, Martino-Andrade A, Mendiola J, Weksler-Derri D, Mindlis I, Pinotti R, Swan SH. Temporal trends in sperm count: a systematic review and meta-regression analysis. Hum Reprod Update. 2017 Nov 1;23(6):646-659. doi: 10.1093/humupd/dmx022. PMID: 28981654; PMCID: PMC6455044.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6455044/

[3] http://www.infertile.com/infertility-treatments/millennium.htm

 

Francesca’s Bookshelf: The Common Muse: An Anthology of Popular British Ballad Poetry XVth – XXth Centuries

You may remember from my earlier blog posts that Francesca loves to collect old books of ballads and songs. In fact, with all the necessities of life taken care of, and book collecting as her only real hobby, it’s all she has to spend her allowance on. It’s unsurprising that her collection contains numerous old and very interesting books.

Today, Francesca is browsing The Common Muse: An Anthology of Popular British Ballad Poetry XVth – XXth Centuries. Edited by V. de Sola Pinto & A.E. Rodway. This first edition was published by Chatto & Windus, London in 1957. The objective of the editors was given on the front flyleaf of the dustjacket. The dustjacket is missing from many copies of this book, so I have reproduced the editors’ objectives below for you (click to enlarge it). From this, you would expect the book to contain a wealth of old popular poetry, songs and ballads, and you would not be disappointed.

There is a 29-page introduction, which begins with the words: ‘Though many of our greatest poets knew, used and imitated street songs and ballads, in modern times it is mainly the political and social historians and antiquaries who have so far paid serious attention to them. Literary critics and historians dismiss them as “doggerel” or “journalism in verse”. What was good enough for Shakespeare, apparently, is no longer good enough for us.’

The introduction goes on to give a critical analysis of the genre of songs and ballads in poetry from mediaeval times to the 20th century. The authors discuss varying perceptions of the literary and moral value of these works, at the same time highlighting the wide range of subject and style, from bawdy to romantic, from historical to social commentary. They acknowledge that while the preservation of mediaeval verse can be attributed to broadsheet¹ publications, they also owe a debt to ‘folk memory’, since the earliest songs and ballads were composed and sung by minstrels, many of them itinerant, and passed on by word of mouth rather than printing. The critical analysis is an engaging read for anyone with an interest in this kind of poetry.

Following the introduction, the book is structured in two parts. Part I: General has subsections Historical; Social Criticism; Manners and Fashions; Soldiers, Sailors, Highwaymen and Poachers; Portents and Prodigies; Crime and Punishment; Religion. Part II: Amatory has subsections Rural; Urban; Vocational; Clerical; Marital; Wise and Foolish Virgins. As is apparent, this collection contains a rich variety of interesting songs and ballads. Each subsection is prefaced by a delightful woodblock print, and contains a number of songs or ballads.

After browsing for a while, Francesca finds herself reading a song called Don’t Be Foolish Pray.

Young Hodge met Mog the miller’s maid
Who long his suite denied,
And half inclined and half afraid,
Scratched his rough head and cried:-
‘Now Molly while I love you so,
Why still our joys delay,
Come dang it, to the parson go,
And don’t be foolish pray.’

Sweet Moggy with an artful blush
That sham’d the rose’s hue,
Looked round, and cried to Hodge ‘hush hush
Speak softly, softly do:
We shall be overheard I know,
The mill don’t work to day
Be quiet, Hodge my hand let go,
Now don’t be foolish pray.’

Poor Hodge, thus chid, at a stand,
And cried,-‘Well then, good bye,
I’se go to give to Sue my hand,
Since thee do cast off I.’
‘Me cast you off’, cries Moggy ‘no,
The mill don’t work to day;
And so dear Hodge, to church let’s go,
And don’t be foolish pray.’

Francesca rather likes the idea of a blush that shames the rose’s hue, but she’s not quite sure of the wisdom behind Molly’s initial refusal of Hodge’s hand. Perhaps Molly is toying with him. Would Francesca do such a thing herself? She doesn’t really want to have to answer that question.

The song was recorded by the brilliant folk-singer/guitarist Nic Jones on his album Ballads and Songs in 1970. If you’re not familiar with his work I highly recommend you get the album for this, and the other wonderful songs and ballads on it. As a tune for this song he used a part of the tune The Merry Merry Milkmaids from The Dancing Master by John Playford (published in a number of editions from 1651 to about 1728). He also altered the words a little to scan with the tune.

In the sleeve notes for Ballads and Songs, Nic Jones wrote, ‘The printed broadsides are often accused of stunting the growth of folksongs and of solidifying the words by submitting them to print. True as this is in many cases, they also created and diffused a great many songs which possess a deal of charm in themselves. Don’t you be foolish pray is a good example of this, probably created by a townsman with his idealised view of rural life. In many instances, songs such as this appealed very strongly to the country singers and were allotted high positions in their repertories.’

1: According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the words broadsheet and broadside both refer to a large sheet of paper printed on one side only. These were used to publish ballads and songs, as well as news items and advertisements, and sold by street vendors, particularly in the Elizabethan age, but continuing until the nineteenth century.

When Does a Pacifist Pick up a Gun?

What would it take to get a pacifist to pick up a gun? I guess before we try to answer that question I should begin by saying what I think a pacifist is.

According to CollinsDictionary, pacifism is: (1) the belief that violence of any kind is unjustifiable and that one should not participate in war, and (2) the belief that international disputes can be settled by arbitration rather than war.

The second definition seems rather narrow to me, so I'm going to stick with the first one. I'm also going to limit this to violence between people. Violence towards animals is a whole subject of its own, and I'm not going there today.

Some of my readers might think of themselves as pacifists, and others might be nothing of the sort, so hopefully that will bring a whole spectrum of views to the table.

So what we're talking about here is this. If someone believes that violence of any kind towards other people is unjustified, what would it take to make them pick up a gun and use it against somebody else?

That's a tough question to answer, so I'm going to begin by posing a different question. If the life of somebody you love were threatened, how far would you go to defend them? This is the question faced by Dominic in An Accident of Birth, when Baron Craig Drake deliberately threatens Francesca with a fate worse than death. What should Dominic, a dyed-in-the-wool pacifist, do? Dominic is many things, but he is not a coward, yet he firmly believes he should not resort to violence.

So what should a pacifist do in that situation? Obviously they would seek out every non-violent means at their disposal to save their loved one, but how about if I pose a more specific problem, and we'll see what we can do with it.

Suppose you're asleep in the depths of night, and you're woken by the sound of an intruder. Your loved one is right there, vulnerable to whoever has just broken in, and there's no way out without going past where the intruder is.

There are several things you don't know about the intruder. Are they armed? Are they willing to kill? Will they kill without hesitation, or would they negotiate? Will they find you in the next ten seconds or ten minutes? You simply don't know. Will you leave it to chance, and hope they won't respond to your presence by killing you and your loved one? Or will you act first, quickly, and take chance out of the equation? Hit before they know you're there? Kill first?

Plenty of people would say that of course you should kill first and not give the intruder the benefit of the doubt. But for some others it's a dilemma. Even though the stakes are high, it's still tempting to try to find another way out of the situation. But if you've only got seconds to think about it, perhaps a more visceral response might be inevitable. Is there a real alternative?

Perhaps then the dyed-in-the-wool pacifist might respond with violence?

Francesca's Bookshelf: Percy's Reliques

“Consisting of old heroic ballads, songs and other pieces of our earlier poets together with some few of later date”

Francesca loves her ballads and songs, and with plenty of spare time and little else to spend her money on, she has assembled a formidable collection of old books, many of them containing ancient collections of ballads. She is pleased to find a copy of the three volume set of Reliques of Ancient English Poetry, a collection put together by the Rev. Thomas Percy in the 18^th Century, and commonly known as Percy's Reliques. The full three volume set is hard to find, and she pays a high price for the set.

We owe Percy a lot, as the inspiration for subsequent generations of collectors and singers. Without his work, fewer of these old ballads and songs would be available to us today, and artists such as Steeleye Span, Fairport Convention and many others would have had a poorer access to our traditional songs and ballads.

This collection, first published in 1765, was one of the earliest published collections of ballads, and at a time when ballads were popularly thought of as vulgar street songs, it shone a new light on the form, providing future generations with a window into the past of these wonderful gems. Indeed, his work provided inspiration for future collectors such as Child, Scott, Jamieson, Motherwell and Buchan to name but a few. Notably, the Rev. R. A Willmott produced a single “handy volume” revision of the Reliques in 1857, entitled Percy's Reliques, in which he cleared away all Percy's essays and prefaces, and added annotation of his own.

Henry B. Wheatley, edited the 1885 three volume edition photographed above (this copy is a 1927 reprint). According to Wheatley, Thomas Percy was born in 1729 in Bridgenorth in Shropshire. He matriculated at Christ Church College, Oxford in 1746 and achieved his Masters degree in 1750. In 1753, at the age of 24, he was made rector of Easton Maudit in Northampton. As a young man he came into possession of an unbound manuscript in poor condition. Of it, he said, “I saw it lying dirty on the floor, under a bureau in ye parlour: being used by the maids to light the fire …” Happily he was able to rescue the manuscript, and this, along with other collections, printed broadsides and other sources, provided the material from which he derived the Reliques. Percy's precious rescued manuscript itself was probably written shortly before 1650, and was used extensively by Child more than a hundred years later.

Percy died in 1811 at the ripe old age of 83.

On the left is Willmott's "handy volume" edition. Percy's Reliques. This copy is not dated by the publisher or printer, but the inscription in the front is as a prize, given in 1879.

This edition contains a small number of illustrations, like the one shown here.

As an interesting footnote, I should add that, although Percy titled his work "Reliques of Ancient English Poetry", the collection does not contain only English poetry! As an example, some ballads such as Sir Patrik Spence, and Edward, Edward are Scottish, as he states in the text.

I have scanned some pages from Wheatley's 3 volume set for your delight. What follows is a ballad entitled On Thomas Lord Cromwell, from the second volume. I chose this because Thomas Cromwell is currently being depicted in the media in a television dramatisation of Hilary Mantel's novel Wolf Hall. Percy prefaces the ballad with a brief essay, and this is followed by [in square brackets] Wheatley's own comments. The ballad is written in archaic language, which makes it a challenge to read if you're not used to it, but it's worth the effort. Just click on the images to enlarge them.

I hope you've enjoyed this little trip into the life of Thomas Percy.

Francesca is one of the two main characters in An Accident Of Birth, by Tony Benson

Francesca's Bookshelf: Motherwell's Minstrelsy - The Twa Corbies

Confined as she is to an oppressive Atelier life, Francesca's imagination roams free. Her collection of rare, antique books of ballads and songs is a source of constant inspiration, and as she browses the dusty pages of the ancient books she sings the old songs, transported to a different place - a different life.

One of her favourite songs is The Twa Corbies. This old Scottish ballad tells of ravens who are discussing their prospective meal of a knight who has been slain on the battlefield. The ballad appears in many of Francesca's collections, and typically for old ballads and songs, each time it appears in a different collection or performance, the words differ.

First, here's Damh The Bard with a modern rendition of the song:

In Minstrelsy Ancient and Modern by William Motherwell, first published in 1827, the ballad uses slightly more archaic language, but it's easy to follow:

There were twa corbies sat on a tree
Large and black as black might be,
And one the other gan say,
Where shall we go and dine to-day?
Shall we go dine by the wild salt sea?
Shall we go dine 'neath the greenwood tree?

As I sat on the deep sea sand,
I waved my wings and bent my beak,
The ship sunk and I heard a shriek;
There they lie, one, two, and three,
I shall dine by the wild salt sea.

Come, I shall show ye a sweeter sight,
A lonesome glen and a new slain knight;
His blood yet on the grass is hot,
His sword half drawn, his shafts unshot,
And no one kens that he lies there,
But his hawk, his hound, and his lady fair.

His hound is to the hunting gane,
His hawk to fetch the wild fowl hame,
His lady's away with another mate,
So we shall make our dinner sweet;
Our dinner's sure, our feasting free,
Come, and dine by the greenwood tree.

Ye shall sit on his white hause-bane,
I will pick out his bonny blue een;
Ye'll take a tress of his yellow hair,
To theak yere nest when it grows bare;
The gowden down on his young chin
Will do to sewe my young ones in.

O cauld and bare will his bed be,
When winter storms sing in the tree;
At his head a turf, at his feet a stone,
He will sleep, nor hear the maiden's moan;
O'er his white bones the birds shall fly,
The wild deer bound and foxes cry.

I mentioned earlier that different versions of this ballad vary, depending on the collection or performance. This is typical for old ballads and songs, but never more so than for this one. In the version by Damh The Bard, and in Motherwell's version, the ravens are able to look forward to a tasty meal of freshly slain knight. However, many versions differ in a fundamental way - the hound lies at the knight's feet, the hawk hovers overhead, warning off any predators and the lady buries him. The ravens sit by and wish they could feast, but cannot. One of the versions given in Minstrelsy Of The Scottish Border by Sir Walter Scott has this version of events, and finishes with the words:

God send euery gentleman,
Such haukes, such houndes, and such a leman.

Images © Tony Benson. All rights reserved

Dominic's Recipe – Blackcurrant Vodka

We picked our blackcurrants a few weeks ago, and those we didn't use at the time have been in the freezer ever since. That's all very well, but it's about time I put them to good use, so I'm using Dominic's recipe to make some Blackcurrant Vodka. Here it is:

Blackcurrant Vodka
Ingredients
1 Bottle vodka (75cl)
12 oz Blackcurrants
6 oz Sugar
Method
Mash the blackcurrants and transfer all the juice and pulp, together with the vodka and sugar, into a closeable glass or plastic container, large enough to hold all the ingredients. A bottle, demijohn, large soda bottle, etc. is suitable. Note, the mixture won't fit in the original vodka bottle, but keep the bottle for the finished product.
Shake repeatedly until the sugar is dissolved. Place the container in a cool place away from direct sunlight. Shake every day for the first week, then leave until it has been kept for two months. At the end of two months decant the liquid and, if necessary, filter it. This is now ready and can be put back into the original vodka bottle. Drink any that won't fit.
As a bonus you now have some blackcurrant pulp that is steeped in vodka. It makes rather a nice dessert with ice cream.
Dominic loves to give Francesca little presents when he visits. He sees it as a small compensation for the oppression of her captivity. Francesca is not allowed alcohol, but she does love blackcurrant vodka, so Dominic smuggles it through the inspections on the way in.
Enjoy your blackcurrant vodka, but whatever you do, don't do what Francesca did at the Autumn Ball.
Dominic and Francesca are characters in An Accident of Birth. The recipe is real.

Interview With the Editor – Sher A. Hart

Today I’m interviewing Sher A. Hart, the editor of An Accident of Birth. Sher is an author and editor, and you can find her website here. Sher has been a pleasure to work with. She carried out a structural edit and copy edit, then proofread my finished manuscript. Her attention to detail, combined with insightful feedback on story structure has worked wonders. I highly recommend Sher to anyone who wants a talented professional to do an excellent job.
Sher, first of all, tell us about your own writing.
First, thank you for the praise! I was looking for another hobby when gardening got too painful for my back. Then my youngest son, who was in middle school at the time, got run over by a truck, his second run-in with a moving vehicle within a few years. He’s fine now, but the hit and run in a busy intersection combined with a witness who disappeared later motivated me to write about a different kind of illegal aliens at the wheel. At first, I wrote very sporadically because I was too busy. Doctor appointments, hauling schoolwork back and forth, physical therapy. We also had hurricanes for three years running. Along the road between major revision one and umpteen, my middle grade SF evolved into two separate book series. The illegal aliens are in a YA paranormal, and the middle grade SF features Boy Scouts who try to save the broken Heartland of a sentient Earth. I also wrote a rhyming picture book I need to resubmit—sometime.
What made you choose editing as a profession?
I didn’t choose editing at first. More like it chose me. When I joined my first critique group, I found out I could spot and fix more problems than most. I traded critiques with local writers, and I helped Anna Banks with Of Poseidon before she got a two-book deal. Then I got a Kindle and started sending error lists to authors everywhere, including Susan Kaye Quinn for her Mindjacker series. By the third book, I helped copy edit, thinking someday I’d ask her to beta read my book. I would have traded forever, but after I sent Julia Dweck a rhyming verse to replace one with bad rhythm, she asked me to edit, not critique, her next rhyming picture book. For pay! That was a huge eye-opening moment. Since then, I've edited about two books a month for her, including, Blucy, her latest.
How do you balance your time between writing and editing?
Well, there’s not much balance. After I revised my website, I went from mostly writing to mostly editing. Now I only write when I’m between editing jobs, and that isn’t often because I keep sending error lists for books I review. I guess my love of reading other authors’ books overtook my desire to write my own. Part of it may be my knowing how my own book ends. No more mystery, but that’s not all. As a teen, I did a personality test that said I was “nurturing” and hated that label. But being a mother, volunteering at schools, church, and Boy Scouts taught me better. I even chose my pun name (my real name is Sheryl Hartwell) for the sound of sharing my heart. Now I feel I can help more people by editing, making their books attract more readers, than I can by finishing my own.
You offer the three kinds of edit – structural edit, copy edit and proofreading. Perhaps you could explain the differences between them and what’s involved in each.
Structural editing is like building or remodelling a house. For new clients, I usually find content problems that would adversely affect sales. Changing a scene from narrative to dialog and action, showing vs. telling, is like straightening a wall. Resequencing events is like moving the wall. Inconsistent world building may require resetting or expanding the foundation. Content editing is also called substantive line editing if it’s done by the track changes tool. I add notes at the location rather than just in an editorial letter. It’s important to know where to nail, not just that you need nails.

Copy editing is like changing out cracked or broken single-pane windows for impact-resistant double panes. It brings the book up to building code. But building code for books isn’t limited to the rules we learned in school. Unlike academia or the press, novels follow style rules from the Chicago Manual of Style. But where their style creates a jarring appearance, I follow typographer Robert Bringhurst’s advice. Let’s just say I like strong and pretty windows.
Proofreading is the last phase, like washing the new windows so readers don’t even notice there’s anything between them and the imaginary scene inside the house. With good proofreading, readers feel like they're taking part in the action, and they'll have no distractions until the author closes the curtains at the end. Then they’ll bang at the door until the author opens the curtains to the next book. Don't blame me if your windows end up with finger and nose prints!
You can find a more detailed explanation on Ellie Garratt's blog, along with the picture of the Queen Borg outfit.
What is it like, as a professional editor, working with independent authors?
I love it! You often made my day by going beyond what I asked of you. I loved your sense of humor and your complements. And it was fun working together to find ways around conflicting meanings of American and British words and blending styles. As a group, indie authors are anxious to succeed and willing to learn. They do what it takes to make a sturdy yet exciting, mysterious yet beautiful house, so readers will want to return again and again.
Does it help or hinder your work if you like or dislike what you are editing?
Great question. Reading anything beats cooking and house cleaning. Before I started editing for pay, I critiqued many memoirs and mysteries, not my areas of highest interest. I gave them the same attention as more exciting material and tried to make them more interesting. I also have the ability to concentrate for long hours of unexciting detail work (I once made a Queen Borg costume). I did decline a book for which I didn’t have the historical knowledge I considered necessary, and I don’t do erotica. But if I accepted a book and then found out I didn’t like it, I would consider it a challenge to make it likeable—not for me alone, but for a wider audience. If I couldn’t do that, I would not charge the author.
How much do you find your work as an editor helps with your own writing?
On the rare occasion I write between editing, I often look at my manuscript and wonder what I was thinking when I wrote such a bad scene. I’ve added some scenes, moved others, and rewritten still more, yet I have no doubt I will need an editor to help remodel my book.
Do you listen to music while you work? If so, what kind?
No, although I love music. I sing most of the time I’m not writing or editing. I even sing to my cats. But reading takes my full attention. I'm in another world. People can talk to me, and I’ll never know they’re speaking until they say my name. That focus may be why I catch errors others don’t. Or maybe that's because I have an artist's eye for detail. Maybe both.
Do you have any words of advice for budding indie authors out there?
Join a critique group, and not just any group. Make sure it’s for your genre and that you learn from the people. I wrote my first book over double the acceptable length for middle grade and never found out until I submitted it and got rejected. Later, I learned that the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) is THE group to join for kidlit up through YA. With no local SCBWI critique group available, I put an ad in my area’s website and critiqued online until I got local members almost a year later. What a difference a good group makes. They motivate me to improve and keep trying. And they’ll serve for my first few rounds of structural editing. Your group can do the same for you, so when I edit your book, it’ll cost less. Woo-hoo!
Also, don’t ever think your spouse, partner, friend, etc. will tell you all the bad news you need to hear. They’ll want to spare your feelings. Don’t think even your worst enemy would give you the bad news you need because he or she won’t want you to improve and succeed. Find a good editor! One person may not be the best for all the phases. Give everyone the same sample pages, then choose.
Many writers say they can’t afford an editor. Wise writers know they can’t afford not to hire an editor. My rates are low, but I can and do refer writers to my trainee editors for content and copy editing at even lower rates. I believe in team building and cooperation to help us all rise together. I hope that sharing my heart helps others become better writers and better people. In other words, I believe in The Golden Rule.

You can call the phone number on my business card or contact me via my website.
I do free author hosting on my book blog (limited to kidlit up through YA).
I'd be honored to follow you back on twitter as @sherahart.
If you like my Sher A Hart page on Facebook, I'll return the favor. Please leave a link.
I will circle writers back as Sher A Hart.
Tony, thank you from the bottom of my heart for letting me edit your book and for the interview!
Sher, thanks for joining me here today, and thanks for an interesting and entertaining interview.

Francesca's Bookshelf: Child Ballads - The Elfin Knight

Francesca collects old books. She loves to read, but she also loves the look, feel and smell of ancient books. She has many books in her collection, but none more loved than her ballads, songs and poetry.

Over the years she has collected many rare and valuable books. Among them is a set of ten volumes of The English and Scottish Popular Ballads by Francis James Child. The collection is commonly known as The Child Ballads, and these days when it is available it is usually printed in five volumes - two of the original volumes to each in the new edition.

Today I've picked one of my favorite ballads from the Child collection, called The Elfin Knight. We'll take a look at the ballad, and see a rendition of it by J Lenoir, and a relatively modern interpretation by Simon and Garfunkle called Scarborough Fair. It tells of two lovers setting each other impossible tasks before they can be together.

First, let's listen to J Lenoir with an interpretation which is pretty much straight from Child's collection. If you like this performance, please support the artist by buying this excellent CD.

Child collected eleven different versions of this song, and provided copious notes about each. The version I have chosen is Child's second, which he attributes to A Collection of Curious Old Ballads, etc., p. 3. Partly from an old copy in black letter, and partly from the recitation of an old lady:

The Ellfin knight sits on yon hill,
Ba, Ba, Ba, lillie ba
He blaws his horn baith loud and shrill.
And the wind hath blawn my plaid awa

He blaws it east, he blaws it west,
He blaws it where he liketh best

‘I wish that horn were in my kist
Yea, and the knight in my arm niest.’

She had no sooner these words said,
Than the knight came to her bed.

‘Thou art oer young a maid,’ quoth he,
‘Married with me that thou wouldst be.’

‘I have a sister, younger than I,
And she was married yesterday.’

‘Married with me if thou wouldst be,
A curtisie thou must do to me.

‘It's ye maun mak a sark to me,
Without any cut or seam,’ quoth he.

‘And ye maun shape it, kinfe-, sheerless,
And also sew it needle-, threedless.’

‘If that courtisie I do to thee,
Another thou must do to me.

‘I have an aiker of good ley land,
Which lyeth low by yon sea strand.

‘It's ye maun till 't wi your touting horn,
And ye maun saw 't wi the pepper corn.

‘And ye maun harrow 't wi a thorn,
And hae your wark done ere the morn.

‘And ye maun shear it wi your knife,
And no lose a stack o't for your life.

‘And ye maun stack it in a mouse hole,
And ye maun thrash it in your shoe sole.

‘And ye maun dight it in your loof,
And also sack it in your glove.

‘And thou must bring it over the sea,
Fair and clean and dry to me.

‘And when that ye have done your wark,
Come back to me, and ye'll get your sark.’

‘I'll not quit my plaid for my life;
It haps my seven bairns and my wife.’

‘My maidenhead I'll then keep still,
Let the elphin knight do what he will.

We don't find out the young lady's name, but I confess I admire her. She was no pushover.
And to finish, how better than with the wonderful Simon and Garfunkle, with their own very special version of this same ballad - Scarborough Fair:

The old ballads were passed down by word of mouth and evolved with every generation. Even today it's unusual to find two performers who perform the same ballad with the same tune and the same words. Indeed, I sing a version of this same ballad which is a hybrid of the words in Child's collection, a tune and refrain which I received via oral tradition and a unique flavour which is my own. Such is the fate of the old ballads.

Francesca is a character in An Accident of Birth by Tony Benson.

Kindle Release Celebration Today - An Accident of Birth

Launch celebration today, July 30th, from 2pm to 10pm BST
You've all been so supportive and kind while I was writing and publishing An Accident of Birth. To thank you, today I'm giving away five ebook copies and one paperback copy (when it's available).

Want one? It's easy. Either mention this launch on your blog and leave a comment here, or visit my Facebook page, like the page and share the announcement for the launch.
I'll be responding to comments here, and on my facebook page chatting with people who come by and posting excerpts from the book, so do come over and say hello.
Coming soon... an interview with my editor, Sher A. Hart.

An Accident of Birth - Kindle launch & book giveaway

The time has finally come! Thank you so much to all of you who have been so supportive during the writing and publishing of An Accident of Birth.
Next Tuesday, 30th July, is the official launch for the Kindle version. I'll be posting here, and launching on my Facebook author page. The launch celebration will be from 2pm-10pm BST.
To celebrate the launch I'll be giving away some books. I'll be giving away a paperback copy, with worldwide postage, and five Kindle copies. I'll be selecting the winners from people who 'like' my author page and share the post announcing the launch and giveaway. Please swing by to like and share - I'll be pleased to see you there.
Alternatively, you can qualify by announcing the launch and facebook page on your blog. If you do so, please be sure to leave a comment here so I know you have done so.
Please spread the word - I'll be glad of any help I can get in putting the word out there.