THE LITTLE BOOK OF GENIUS

We are pleased to announce that Keith's latest book - a great gift for Christmas - The Little Book of Genius, published by The History Press is now available from the publishers, Amazon and all good bookshops. It is also available as an ebook for Kindle. You can even get it from our own West Uist Bookshop at the bottom of the blog! (Just click on General non-fiction and you'll see it.)

Have a look at the video of the book.

And here is how the publisher describes it.

At any party, there’s always one person who stands out from the crowd, because he or she talks more intelligently and tells better jokes than everyone else there. And everyone else wishes they were as knowledgeable and witty as that person.

   Thanks to Keith Souter’s The Little Book of Genius, they can be, or at least appear to be. The first part, which is based on serious scientific foundations explained in an accessible and light-hearted manner, explains some handy techniques for winning an argument, getting your point across, telling a joke and generally making the most of yourself. The second contains the essentials of what you need to know about literature, history, art, music, science, sport and other subjects, so that people will think you are cultured, intelligent and well-read.

    With the help of The Little Book of Genius, you can be the envy of everyone else at the party!

Anyway, have a look. We at The West Uist Chronicle think it is a good read.

Calum Steele

THE CURSE OF THE BODY SNATCHERS

We are delighted to announce that Keith's latest novel, specially written for youngsters will be published by G-Press, an imprint of Golden Guides Press in February 2012.

It is a dark tale set in Victorian London. The action moves swiftly from the old Cross Bones Graveyard to the Thames and to fashionable areas of London. There are phrenologists, police officers, mediums, ghosts and of course - The Curse of the Body Snatchers. It is just the sort of novel that youngsters will delight in reading last thing at night!

Have a look at the video to get a flavour of its atmosphere.

And if you want to pre-order the book either do so on the bar on the left or visit our own WEST UIST CHRONICLE BOOKSHOP  at the very bottom of  the blog.

Calum Steele
Editor

THE POCKET GUIDE TO DICE AND DICE GAMES

Dice have been around for a long time. For about 5,000 years in fact. Keith was recently interviewed on the Simon Mayo Show on BBC Radio 2, about his forthcoming book THE POCKET GUIDE TO DICE AND DICE GAMES, which is due to be published in March 2012.

With photographs of dice from his personal collection and illustrations by the talented Laura Matine, this book is a pot-pouri of history, magic tricks, tips about playing dice for fun, and important information about the mathematics of odds. It is a must-read if you are contemplating a trip to a casino.

Check out the video about the book.

And if you are interested in pre-ordering it, check out the side bar on the left, or go straight to The West Uist Chronicle Bookshop at the very bottom of the blog.


Calum Steele,
Editor

SCHOOLBOY SCIENCE REMEMBERED

Do you remember those wonderful days in the school lab? Not those days when you had to do those dreadful tests, or when your science teacher demonstrated yet another experiment that failed abysmally and the chemicals turned the wrong colour. Rather, those days when you learned about some amazing principle and felt stimulated to go home and try it out yourself. And when you did, do you recall that Eureka moment?

The West Uist Chronicle is pleased to announce that one of Keith's latest books SCHOOLBOY SCIENCE REMEMBERED is now out. It takes you on a voyage of scientific re-discovery. From the kitchen laboratory to the bathroom test site you will be able to do experiments galore, investigate the mystery of the pyramid, find things out about your body and make things fizz. If you want to re-experience those Eureka moments, then this book is for you

Did you know?

That Tycho Brahe, the great Renaissance scientist had an artificial silver nose and was assisted in his experiments by his court jester

• That you can make a battery from a stack of coins, blotting paper, silver foil and some salt and vinegar
• That an ancient Greek inventor, Hero of Alexandria invented a steam machine 1,700 years before James Watt built his steam engine
• 
  That you can make a crystal set radio from a toilet tube, copper wire, a pencil, a safety pin, a few drawing pins and paper clips, and an old razor blade

Well, you can find out here. Have a look at this video.

And if you are interested in obtaining a copy, scroll down the left hand side, or pay a visit to The West Uist Chronicle Bookshop at the very bottom of the blog

Calum Steel
Editor



THE WEST UIST CHRONICLE BOOKSHOP IS NOW OPEN

Dear Readers,

Due to much demand for some of the various books written by Keith our honorary editor we have decided to open The West Uist Chronicle Bookshop. You will see it at the bottom of the blog if you just scroll down.

We will be adding other books, not just Keith's as we go along, but why not have a look for yourself.

Calum Steele

THE TRADITIONAL WEST

You might say that we have always been fairly traditional here on West Uist. Well, THE TRADITIONAL WEST  that is our headline here  is actually nothing to do with our wee island of West Uist. In fact it is a long way over the water and then a long way west from there.

 It is all about a great new anthology of traditional western short stories, published by Western Fictioneers  in the USA.

Please have a look at this great trailer from it, made by Larry Martin, one heck of a western writer. And he is pretty darned good at making videos, too.

So what is it all about:

The classic American Western returns in this collection of brand-new stories by some of the top Western writers in the world today.  Twenty-four members of Western Fictioneers, the only writers’ organization devoted solely to traditional Western fiction, take readers from the dusty plains of Texas to the sweeping vistas of Montana and beyond, in the biggest original Western anthology ever published!

Western Fictioneers was founded in 2010 to promote the oldest genuine American art form, the Western story.  Its worldwide membership includes best-selling, award-winning authors of Western fiction, as well as the brightest up-and-coming new stars in the Western field.  The organization’s first anthology features original stories by Steven Clark, Phil Dunlap, Edward A. Grainger, James J. Griffin, Jerry Guin, C. Courtney Joyner, Jackson Lowry,  Larry Jay Martin, Matthew P. Mayo, Rod Miller, Clay More, Ross Morton, Kerry Newcomb, Scott D. Parker, Pete Peterson, Cheryl Pierson, Kit Prate, Robert J. Randisi, James Reasoner, Dusty Richards, Troy D. Smith, Larry D. Sweazy, Chuck Tyrell, and L.J. Washburn.  With original cover artwork by acclaimed artist Pete Peterson, THE TRADITIONAL WEST is more than 120,000 words of classic Western fiction.

You may remember that our own Keith Souter writes with several different hats. This time he has his western hat on and has a story in the anthology under his other name of Clay More. 

He is proud to have a story sitting in the anthology along with some of the best western writers in the world.





The Traditional West is available now on Kindle and will be out shortly in paperback.

Calum Steele
Editor

BOOK SIGNING AT WATERSTONES

Keith was at Waterstones in the Ridings in Wakefield on Saturday 14th May, signing 6 titles that were on display. It was great fun and he had an enjoyable couple of hours chatting to customers, signing books and drinking tea.

Keith signing some of his novels and medical books at Waterstones

Calum is now going to crack the whip a bit and get him to finish the next West Uist mystery. He can't wait to find out what happens to him in this one!

REVISITING KING TUTANKHAMEN'S CURSE

We are now well into conference season. They are great fun to go to, to meet colleagues, chat about projects that we all have on the go and just immerse yourself in the subject for a day or two. The trouble is that once you have been there for a day you start to wish that you were somewhere else, or doing something different - like writing your novel or playing golf.

I was at a conference down in Norfolk last week and took time out to visit the Swaffham Museum. It has a rare wee exhibition about Howard Carter, the Egyptologist who discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen in 1922. He had been brought up in Swaffham, a fact that I had been unaware of all those years ago when I was a frequent visitor to the area, for my wife's father had been the Rector at Cockley Cley, a nearby village.

There is a facsimile of the tomb in the museum. You can look through a sort of window and see what it looked like. Then press a button and you see a film clip of Howard Carter crawling along a corridor. Then Lord Carnarvon asks anxiously, 'Can you see anything?'

Carter replies 'Yes, wonderful things.'

For a moment it felt as if you were there.

I have to confess to having a fascination with Tutankhamen, and the whole story of  Carter and Carnarvon. Over the years I have built up quite a library on archaeology, especially Egyptology. And although I know that it is all bunkum, I have a fascination with the story of the Curse.

I am sure everyone will have heard about it. The ancient curse supposedly warned anyone who dared to attempt to desecrate the tomb that they would die a horrible death.

The Egyptologists ignored the curse, of course, then strange things started happening. Carter's canary was eaten by a cobra, and some time after the dig Lord Carnarvon received a mosquito bite on his cheek. He subsequently nicked it shaving and soon after developed septicaemia, and died in a Cairo hotel. The lights went out in Cairo and seemingly at that very same moment Lord Carnarvon's dog at home in Highclere Castle howled, rolled over and died. And then over time a number of people associated with the dig died.

When Carter examined the mummy of the King he found a scar on the cheek. It was said to be on the same side as Lord Carnarvon's.

Such is the stuff of legend, and most of it has been debunked as sensational journalism with scant regard to facts. Yet it is a compelling story which has inspired many writers. I think it was etched in my own mind when was an aspiring writer.

I remember the excitement I felt when I heard that  the famous Tutankhamen exhibition was going to come  to London in 1970, complete with the golden death mask. I queued up for hours to see it. Years later I visited the tomb itself in the Valley of the Kings and guess what - I was bitten by a mosquito on my cheek!

My daughter Kate reminded me about it when I told her that I had been to the Swaffham museum. The thought of it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Although I have been scientifically trained, there was still a part of my mind that had wondered about the curse when the mosquito decided to feast on me!

A SAD DAY FOR GOLF

The flag is at half mast up at St Ninian's Golf Course today. Seve Ballesteros has lost his battle with cancer and passed away this morning. He will be sadly missed by golfers all over the world.

A golfing legend

We were fortunate enough to see him play several times when he was dominating the world of golf. He truly was a genius, conjuring up shots that no-one else would think of playing. Indeed, probably only a handful of the great players would have had the ability to play them.

The Reverend Lachlan McKinnon will be holding a special memorial service at St Ninian's this afternoon at 2pm, then he and Torquil plan to play nine holes in his memory. Anyone who is free around three o'clock is welcome to join them.

Seve Ballesteros RIP.

Calum Steel
Keith Souter

PLEASE HELP THE JAPAN QUAKE VICTIMS

The earthquake and tsunami that has devastated Japan has left masses of people in need of help. Our friend and fellow writer Charlie Whipple, who writes westerns as Chuck Tyrell has put together a collection of his short stories set in Japan, which is available as an ebook for about a dollar (it is available on Kindle for 69p). He and the publisher are donating the entire proceeds to the  victims of the earthquake and the tsunami. Please spare a little cash and buy the book, it is great read!

The book is called A MATTER OF TEA, after the title of the first story which won the 2010 Oaxaca International Literature Competition. It is an enchanting tale written by a master story-teller.

Charlie lives in Japan and has experienced past earthquakes, but nothing like this. He writes:

So I decided to let you read these stories and help the people in Tohoku at the same time. Buy this book for a buck -- well, for 99 cents -- and I and my publisher will give all the income we receive from your purchases to worthy charities that are helping in Tohoku. I will personally pick the charities and I will personally report to you about what has been or is being done.

Help me out. Buy this book of stories about Japan. Get your friends to buy a copy, too. Spread the word. Help me help the victims of Japan's horrendous earthquake and tsunami.

If you want to find out more about Charlie or buy the book (AND PLEASE, PLEASE BUY IT) then visit his blog:

http://chucktyrell-outlawjournal.blogspot.com/

Or you can buy it directly for your Kindle from Amazon.uk by just following the link to the left.

Thanks,

Calum Steele
Keith Souter