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Read one of my books for free this week-end!

15/11/2012

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My book 'Surviving the Battleground of Childhood' will be available on AMAZON as a free download from 12:00 am on Saturday 17th November to 11:59 pm Sunday 18th November (Standard Pacific Time).
I hope you'll take advantage of this opportunity to read this book.  It is a personal memoir of my growing up on the coal fields in Scotland and England and of my continual 'battle' with my father who physically and emotionally abused me, and also with the paedophiles within my own family.
I wrote this book intially as a means of healing myself, and it wasn't until I was 52 years old that I was finally able to publish my story.  It took me that long to get to a point in my life where I could do what I had always wanted to do, namely become a professional writer; a long held dream from my earliest childhood, but so hard, for me, to actually begin.  Why you may wonder?  Well mostly life got in my way, commmittments to my family, and my own children, but eventually I was able to begin my writhing career in earnest and it has proved to be the happiest time of my life. 
I began the writing of this book when I was 30 years old, when I realised I needed to 'lay the ghosts to rest' and reclaim my life, and then it was another 22 years before it was ready to be published.
My childhood wasn't all doom and gloom, far from it.  I had a lot of fun mixed in with the pain.  I learned to nurture and care for myself, and finally, I was able to forgive my abuserers, and leave them to their misery.  It was a long, difficult road, but, as I have said, not all pain and woe.
I do hope you'll take this opportunity to read my first book.  I am posting below a couple of the reviews it has received for you to read, and here's the link to follow.
AMAZON Link

Best regards
TD

* April 29, 2012 - By Alison Brady. 
Couldn’t put it down! This wonderful story allows you to experience the hardships and adventures associated with growing up in working class England and Scotland in the 1950s/60s. Told through the lens of young Thomas, we are privy to a frank and open exploration of his formative years. At times dark, at times funny and always hopeful, the book left me with confidence that courage and strength can prevail. Thank you!

*  Nov. 22, 2011 - By Ruth Medcraft - 5 stars
"Amazing and heartfelt story about a young boy that overcomes childhood hardships and extremely difficult tragedies in his young life, and manages to turn his life around through finding the courage to overcome the many hard battles he faces. The way this book has been written was so well done and different in so many ways than many other books I have read before. Well done, an absolute pleasure to read! I laughed ,cried and was astounded with how well it had been worded to make you feel that you could see it all happening and felt relief to see our young hero succeed in the end."


* 2008 - A review by Cherrell Ward at New Book Review.org.Cherrell Ward, NewBookReviews.org
"Our New Book Review: T.D. McKinnon's 'Surviving the Battleground of Childhood' is inspirational reading!  This narrative about his childhood is a revealing story about painful experiences and the everyday struggle to overcome serious challenges he faced as a child, and the strength he developed in becoming a survivor.  McKinnon's frankness and fearless attitude are amplified by his ability to tell a story well! I give Surviving the Battleground of Childhood - 4 ½ Stars!"

*   2008 - Pat Qua, Acclaimed Australian painter, sculptor and musician - 5 stars
"Such honesty about the difficulties of the human condition is rare to find - some damaging problems of sex and cruelty are faced with refreshing openness.  I just couldn't put it down." 


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Johanna Ford - Winner Queensland Rail Stencil Competition

16/10/2012

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Talented young artist Johanna Ford from Queensland,
Australia is one of five artist who won prizes in the recent
Queensland Rail Stencil Competition.

Artists submitted designs which could be used for large
scale stencil designs along the south-east rail corridor.

Johanna’s design was selected as one of five winners, each receiving $500, whose design will be used at various locations.

Congratulations Johanna!


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Two Writers Meet for a Coffee and Chat

20/8/2012

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Here's a photo of myself with fellow author, and Scotsman, David Laing having a catch up coffee in Devonport recently.  It was a cold morning, but we found the perfect spot in front of the fire.  David is the author of the children's story 'Forest Spirit' and the soon to be released sequel 'Forest Shadows'; available on Amazon.
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'Terra Nullius' reviews on Amazon Kindle

20/8/2012

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4.0 out of 5 stars Really makes you think July 26, 2012
By Linda Parkinson-Hardman
Format: Kindle Edition

I read Terra Nullius in a little over two nights and it made compelling reading; I was both enthralled and enraged by the story. The title Terra Nullius explains the whole - it is a term used for centuries to condone the expansion into what was a little known world and it means `No One's Land'. What TD has done is to take a small number of known historical facts about the systematic genocide of an ancient race by the colonialists of the 19thC and weave them into a fantastic piece of fiction that looks at that time from the perspective of the indigenous population. There were times when I found the story hard to bear because it was so graphic in its description of what it could have been like; my heart broke for the people who had been used and abused so cruelly. And yet, at the end of the telling, I feel enriched because of having my world view challenged and my emotions expanded.

                                                                                      * * * * *
4.0 out of 5 stars The True Story July 11, 2012
By David Laing Author
Format: Kindle Edition

`Terra Nullius' by T.D. McKinnon, an adult fiction novel.
Told from the Aboriginals' point of view, this is a fictional story based on a true account of early Tasmanian history. Accurate in all respects, no stone is left unturned as McKinnon expertly describes the harshness and the cruelty of the times.
The author's creativity is particularly evident when he describes the conflict endured by the `Caretakers' (Aboriginals) when confronted with the aliens (settlers, convicts, sealers, bureaucrats). This is particularly so when he describes the innermost thought and feelings of Trucannini when, time after time, she is confronted with obstacles (both physical and mental) to her happiness as she moves towards her prophesied destination.
The stark differences of the two cultures are vividly portrayed by the author. In doing this, McKinnon uses his prowess as a writer to weave believable scenes throughout the story to give us a clear understanding of the everyday lives, beliefs and values of the white and the black man. At times, I occasionally found it a little hard to logically follow the progress of some of the Aboriginals in the scenes but this was probably due to the use of the unfamiliar Aboriginal names.
Beautifully written, this is a gripping tale that would suit both the serious student of Aboriginal history and the adult reader.
Highly recommended.
Review by David W Laing, author of:
* `Forest Spirit'
* `Forest Shadows'
* `Fish Guide - Port Lincoln Area'
Contributing author to `A Tumble in Time', a children's story book.
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Woman On The Edge Of Reality

25/7/2012

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Hello again,
I've been having a busy time lately with my computer almost given up the ghost! But a new one is on the way and so hopefully by this time next week all this crashing and 'you have made an illegal whatever!' will just be a far and disatant memory; till the next time...
But something exciting is happening today, 26th July, and it's an interview I am having with Linda Parkinson-Hardman on her website http://womanontheedgeofreality.com/ on The Thursday Throng page. The interview is scheduled for 8:30am British Standard Time. If you don't know Linda she's a very inspiring young woman and well worth the visit to her website.
Hope you can stop by and check it out and my interview.
See you there
TD
 
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Indies Unlimited

2/6/2012

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Hi,
I just thought I'd let everyone know about my Story Time and Sneak Peek posts on Indies Unlimited, which by the way, for all you budding young writers, is an exceptional site for Independent Authors, jam packed with information and support of all kinds for us, as well as exceptional works by fellow writers throughout the world. 

Stay tuned  also because I have a Guest Post scheduled for the 4th June, New York time, on the same site and I will post that link here when I get it.

Story Time http://www.indiesunlimited.com/2012/06/01/story-time-cycle-of-abuse/#more-16983
Sneak Peek http://www.indiesunlimited.com/2012/05/23/sneak-peek-surviving-the-battleground-of-childhood/

Thanks for all the interest and support.  
Regards TD  
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Franklin House Children's Storybook 'A Tumble In Time' Book Launch.

12/5/2012

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The Franklin House Children's Storybook
'A Tumble In Time'  book launch was a great success on Thursday 3rd May 2012.

The launch was attended by Launceston's Mayor Albert van Zetten, Alderman Robin McKendrick, and Alderman Rosemary Armitage.  There was also a reading of chapters from the book by local school children who made the characters 'live' and jump off the page.  Well done.


Pictured here from left to right with one of my fellow authors is David Laing, Hilary Keeley the manager of Franklin House, Rosemary Mastnak who contributed her beautiful artwork to the project, Zoë Lake who received the original manuscript that had not been professionally edited and formatted, and pulled it up and into the professional product that it now is,  and of course, myself. 

'A Tumble In Time' has also been accepted for the 2013 Sydney Writers Festival.



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Devonport Library ePublishing talk.

11/5/2012

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Hello and thanks to everyone who attended my ePublishing talk today at the City Library.  I had fun, I hope you all did too.
Here are those web addresses we talked about.  If you have any other questions please contact me here, or through the contact form on my home page, where you will also find the link to the free eReader that you may download to your computer

For independent authors:
Indies Unlimited - http://www.indiesunlimited.com/
Historical Fiction Online - http://www.historicalfictiononline.com/

For free eBook sites:
Adelaide University - http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/
Project Gutenberg - http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page
Feedbooks.com - http://www.feedbooks.com/books/recent

Good luck and happy eReading and ePublishing to all!

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In fondest remembrance of Susan

5/5/2012

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Franklin House Children's Storybook

16/4/2012

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The Franklin House Children's Storybook that I mentioned in my previous blog is due for release on 3rd May and its title is A Tumble In Time.  It was challenging in that the story had already been started and one had to take over the tale and do it justice.  It's been a truly interesting and fun experience for me and I am looking forward to seeing the completed book with all the artwork and trimmings.

See you there!
TD

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    T.D. McKinnon is the author of books about his personal survival of childhood abuse, as well as works in the genres of speculative literary/fiction, historical fiction and action/thriller.

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