The Last Aborigine

Roger E Craig · 08-31-2010, 08:39 AM

ON KINDLE $2.99 limited time market-test
The Last Aborigine is a lusty novel. Mob violence and individual violent acts are its tapestry. But in the end, the novel is a love story; an emotional spectrum coloring the lives of a once-burned pugilist and a life-scarred television reporter.
Finally it is the story of the Australian character, forged by the likes of the outlaw, Ned Kelly and the indigenous peoples who spawned the last Aborigine.
If The Last Aborigine has a moral, it’s never fall in love if you’re running from the Mob.

Senator Roger E. Craig- a published novelist in book form and Kindle. When he isn't windsurfing or scuba-diving, Roger Craig is a trial lawyer. He writes his own appellate briefs, he explains, to sharpen his skills as a fiction writer. State Senator, Two-time Academic All-American in football, factory worker, musician, private detective, special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee during the Nixon-Ford transition and the head of the City of Detroit's law department, Craig brings a wealth of personal experience to his writing.
Other novels [/U][/B]: The Vetowich Wall and ERG Unit of Power Also on Kindle market-test at low price

Luke King · 08-31-2010, 07:46 PM

Any chance of using Australian spelling in your novel?

Might add some colour.

Then again, you'd probably alienate two-thirds of your readership.

AprilHare · 09-01-2010, 02:13 AM

Books about Aborigines aren't very popular in Australia, so don't worry about Australian spelling too much.

AprilHare · 09-01-2010, 05:51 AM

Today is Australian Indigenous Literacy Day - help close the gap by buying a book from a supporting bookstore or donating online http://www.hollows.org.au/Page.aspx?ID=2139. Let's give others the amazing gift of reading!

Roger E Craig · 09-01-2010, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luke King

Any chance of using Australian spelling in your novel?

Might add some colour.

Then again, you'd probably alienate two-thirds of your readership.

Luke,
Thanks for the note. My first thought was "What a good idea to have an edition in the Australian language." But AprilHare put me off the idea. And I don't suppose there are enough aborigines to have one in the aborigine language :-)

badgoodDeb · 09-01-2010, 05:54 PM

It's also very important to allow a "sample" of the book for free. If I don't know anything about the book or author, I always sample it first. If I like the writing in the first few chapters ... if I'm hooked on the plot ... I'll buy it!

AprilHare · 09-01-2010, 07:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roger E Craig

Luke,
Thanks for the note. My first thought was "What a good idea to have an edition in the Australian language." But AprilHare put me off the idea. And I don't suppose there are enough aborigines to have one in the aborigine language :-)

You can feel free to put Australian spelling and language in your book for authenticity

There are many many Aboriginal languages.
They were divided into many disparate tribes in 1788 (more than 150?), and they still sometimes not get on with each other (inter-tribal warfare was common).

AprilHare · 09-01-2010, 07:19 PM

http://www.dnathan.com/VL/austLang.htm

Quote:

There are more than 200 Australian Indigenous languages. Less than 20 languages are strong, and even these are endangered: the others have been destroyed, live in the memories of the elderly, or are being revived by their communities. This site has annotated links to 231 resources for about 80 languages. About 35% of these resources are produced or published by Indigenous people.

Luke King · 09-01-2010, 07:34 PM

Australians are pretty used to reading American English. I don't know about these days, because I don't buy paperbacks anymore, but a lot of the second hand books I have from the seventies and eighties are in American English.

Basically, apart from books published in Australia, they either come from the UK or the States, and we've grown used to seeing American spelling. As an Australian author it's something I've been debating (with ebooks). Should I use Australian spelling or American spelling, when two thirds of my audience are Americans?

GraceKrispy · 09-02-2010, 02:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luke King

Australians are pretty used to reading American English. I don't know about these days, because I don't buy paperbacks anymore, but a lot of the second hand books I have from the seventies and eighties are in American English.

Basically, apart from books published in Australia, they either come from the UK or the States, and we've grown used to seeing American spelling. As an Australian author it's something I've been debating (with ebooks). Should I use Australian spelling or American spelling, when two thirds of my audience are Americans?

Just speaking from experience, I prefer to read books with the spelling/grammar/language use that is typical of the location of the story. I read a fair amount of novels that take place in the UK (a few in Australia), and I like to read them with UK spelling and dialect. The trouble is, I tend to speak like that for a while after reading the book.

SneakySnake · 09-02-2010, 02:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roger E Craig

Luke,
Thanks for the note. My first thought was "What a good idea to have an edition in the Australian language." But AprilHare put me off the idea. And I don't suppose there are enough aborigines to have one in the aborigine language :-)

There's plenty of Aborigines around, but they don't all speak the same language. Its a bit like saying you will publish a book in Asian or European.

There were five MAIN language groups in the last aboriginal community I know, so most aboriginal people speak English or Kriol which is a little like English, but a a recognised language in its own right. So an aboriginal language would be more likely to be Kriol than any particular Aboriginal dialect. We have a bible in Kriol.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AprilHare

You can feel free to put Australian spelling and language in your book for authenticity

There are many many Aboriginal languages.
They were divided into many disparate tribes in 1788 (more than 150?), and they still sometimes not get on with each other (inter-tribal warfare was common).

Do you mean were as in that is how it was? or were as in that is when it happened?

Anyway, as an Ozzie, any book about or set in Australia written in American grates on me as pissweak yanky and I would not buy. Research is required about a place if you are going to place your novel there.

"The girl with the Dragon Tattoo" made that mistake by referring to a specific place, but the details were all wrong. (sheep in Tennant Creek

)

ardeegee · 09-02-2010, 06:45 AM

Also, any novel about Australia must contain the words "billabong" and "didgeridoo", but never the phrase "I'd like to stick my didgeridoo in your billabong", which is considered highly offensive and may lead to a booting.

M. R. Mathias · 09-15-2010, 12:36 AM

Hey.... Where that book of yours about that thing?? ... ERG thats it. How do I get that one?

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08-31-2010, 08:39 AM	#1
Roger E Craig Roger E. Craig - author Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Naples, FL Device: Kindle	The Last Aborigine ON KINDLE $2.99 limited time market-test The Last Aborigine is a lusty novel. Mob violence and individual violent acts are its tapestry. But in the end, the novel is a love story; an emotional spectrum coloring the lives of a once-burned pugilist and a life-scarred television reporter. Finally it is the story of the Australian character, forged by the likes of the outlaw, Ned Kelly and the indigenous peoples who spawned the last Aborigine. If The Last Aborigine has a moral, it’s never fall in love if you’re running from the Mob. Senator Roger E. Craig- a published novelist in book form and Kindle. When he isn't windsurfing or scuba-diving, Roger Craig is a trial lawyer. He writes his own appellate briefs, he explains, to sharpen his skills as a fiction writer. State Senator, Two-time Academic All-American in football, factory worker, musician, private detective, special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee during the Nixon-Ford transition and the head of the City of Detroit's law department, Craig brings a wealth of personal experience to his writing. Other novels [/U][/B]: The Vetowich Wall and ERG Unit of Power Also on Kindle market-test at low price

08-31-2010, 07:46 PM	#2
Luke King Member Retired Posts: 173 Karma: 200000 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Australia Device: Kindle 2	Any chance of using Australian spelling in your novel? Might add some colour. Then again, you'd probably alienate two-thirds of your readership.

09-01-2010, 02:13 AM	#3
AprilHare Wizard Posts: 2,981 Karma: 11862367 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: Sony Reader PRS-T2	Books about Aborigines aren't very popular in Australia, so don't worry about Australian spelling too much.

09-01-2010, 05:51 AM	#4
AprilHare Wizard Posts: 2,981 Karma: 11862367 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: Sony Reader PRS-T2	Today is Australian Indigenous Literacy Day - help close the gap by buying a book from a supporting bookstore or donating online http://www.hollows.org.au/Page.aspx?ID=2139. Let's give others the amazing gift of reading!

09-01-2010, 05:54 PM	#6
badgoodDeb Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,501 Karma: 64095689 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Harrisburg outskirts Device: Palms, K1-4s, iPads, iPhones, KV, KO1	It's also very important to allow a "sample" of the book for free. If I don't know anything about the book or author, I always sample it first. If I like the writing in the first few chapters ... if I'm hooked on the plot ... I'll buy it!

09-01-2010, 07:34 PM	#9
Luke King Member Retired Posts: 173 Karma: 200000 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Australia Device: Kindle 2	Australians are pretty used to reading American English. I don't know about these days, because I don't buy paperbacks anymore, but a lot of the second hand books I have from the seventies and eighties are in American English. Basically, apart from books published in Australia, they either come from the UK or the States, and we've grown used to seeing American spelling. As an Australian author it's something I've been debating (with ebooks). Should I use Australian spelling or American spelling, when two thirds of my audience are Americans?

09-02-2010, 06:45 AM	#12
ardeegee Maratus speciosus butt Posts: 3,292 Karma: 1162698 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: PRS-350	Also, any novel about Australia must contain the words "billabong" and "didgeridoo", but never the phrase "I'd like to stick my didgeridoo in your billabong", which is considered highly offensive and may lead to a booting.

09-15-2010, 12:36 AM	#13
M. R. Mathias Banned Posts: 111 Karma: 80 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: New Orleans Device: Kindle k3, PC	Hey.... Where that book of yours about that thing?? ... ERG thats it. How do I get that one?