Planning your novel

Chris McKenna is the author of three novels - the first being 'Paradigms'  I have yet to read his other two novels, but I was lucky to read 'Paradigms' even before it was published. I found it to be an astonishingly original novel, and was instantly engrossed.

 A review of Paradigms:  

Wonderful Blend of Meaning and Fantasy

By Edward A. Meissner

Format:Paperback

Chris McKenna's new book is a unique blend of post-apocalyptic fantasy, merged with Buddhist themes easily recognizable to readers of Buddhist thought. His characters reflect the fantastic realm in which they live, contributing to their development along the paths they choose. Anyone will find pieces of themselves in McKenna's book, in their own struggles to resolve contingent circumstances with personal ethics.

McKenna does not leave off with examining how the characters experience their paradigm shifts of perspective, but places this is a rich fantasy world of magical possibilities. How one uses, and abuses, power is shown to come directly from the mind, but it is a tale that can simply be enjoyed for its entertainment value.

The same reviewer has this to say about his second novel, titled 'Bardo.'

Edward A. Meissner

This is McKenna's second book with Buddhist themes, this one more directly based on the mythological elements of Tibetan cosmology. Rather than using that environment as is, the author uses the rich traditions of Vajrayana and brings them into a cultural context any contemporary reader, particularly Westerners, will find appealing.

No background with Tibetan ideas about realms of existence are needed, as McKenna richly describes them with a light and effortless style as his main character, Nikki, navigates them on behalf of the reader. Other characters not only complement Nikki's own personality, but bring both humor and poignancy to the story arc. Though not having any particular resonance with the main character, a teen girl, I nonetheless did find utter sympathy with her difficult social situations, and celebrated in her overcoming of obstacles throughout the book.

Appropriate for tweens on up through adulthood, this is not just for kids and McKenna has a nice touch with his messages without having to get heavy handed. A fun read that nonetheless sticks with you and brightens your day long after finishing.

PLANNING YOUR NOVEL:  by Chris McKenna.

I've been thinking a lot about planning recently, as I'm going to be doing it as part of my on-line writing course. It's one of those things that seems to divide writers along with “show don't tell” and the use of semicolons.

The real argument seems to be that the non-planners say that the story is driven by their characters. They put them in a place and the story naturally unfolds. The other side seems to say that this is fine for a simple story, but that for a story to have real depth its got to been seen as a whole picture first.

I think I tend towards the last group. I've experimented with both forms of writing and while I find the first is good, and even more enjoyable for adventure stories, there have been too many times where I've been led to a dead end or even worse, an unsatisfactory ending in a story. There have also been loads of Indy books that I have read where the author is obviously doing this and you can spend several meaningless chapters waiting for something story wise to really happen. Although that might just be poor editing as well.

On the other side I think there is a danger of over planning. I think when you hold characters too tightly and try to force them in a certain direction they can become wooden. If you are too focused on the final destination and not going with what feels natural for the characters, the reader can tell. There is nothing worse in a story than when the nice kid who's never done anything bad in his life suddenly decides for no reason to steal something or break in somewhere. It's cringe worthy and I want to, and sometimes do, throw the book across the room shouting “why!” This is really bad for me as I now use a Kindle.

So I think the argument is not really a matter of right or wrong, but much more a matter of degrees. When I've spoken to people who say they “don't plan” their stories. It seems what they mean is that they don't formally plan their stories. Likewise I've never met a writer who makes a time-line for each paragraph of their book. That's why I go for the middle ground.

When I plan I usually make mind maps for the main characters as a way of finding out who they are. Likewise there will be another mind map for the story itself. Every couple of chapters I'll also tend to do a mind map for the next section of the story in which I'll include a few more details.

The thing is, these are just way points for me. They are vague mountains in the distance and don't go in to very specific detail. It's something that I could do in my head, but for me putting in on paper helps. I think that non-planning writers do the same thing. They just don't need to put it on paper.

Also, as I write, the mind maps change. In fact most of my diagrams grow more during the story than at the start. For me it's a way of keeping track of characters and ideas along with giving me time to examine smaller facets of the story in detail. That said, there have been plenty of chapters where the map just got lost – or burned. Things came up as I was writing and so the story changed. In my first book Paradigms there was one chapter which I started writing that ended up adding another five unplanned chapters to the book. It was a long and productive diversion that really added to the story, but the final destination still stayed the same.

So what I'm really saying here is that there is no right or wrong. There is just what is right or wrong for you. Use short stories. Play around. Experiment. Find what you are comfortable with and what works for you, then go for it.

*****

 

Where to find more information about this author

and where to find his books.

http://mckennastories.blogspot.com/

http://www.mckennastories.wordpress.com/

ShambhalaSun Magazine says of 'Paradigms'

 “The post-apocalyptic world that McKenna creates is fascinating and offers an opportunity

to challenge our current social and cultural expectations on gender, power, and happiness”

-  

2012 EPIC awards Finalist.

Available now on Amazon in paperback and ebook:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Paradigms-Chris-McKenna/dp/0984452192

 

Dedicated to Doris - where is she now?

Paul Trembling, author

Paul Trembling, author

                                    or DRAGON-MAN?  

Paul has written several books about Rimsey, dragon-slayer. They are not long books, but each of them most entertaining.  I read the first several months ago.

This is my review:  The Ways of Dragons:

A short but very entertaining read. And I did enjoy the quote from the first story, when the supposed-to-be virgin sacrifice to the dragon tells her parents that she'd thought of losing her virginity so that she would no longer qualify. 'Better up the duff than down the gullet.' But anyway, as we soon learn, the dragon doesn't care whether the human is virgin, young or even female. Rimsey is a great heroine, with a dose of common sense as well as a big dose of courage. Three enjoyable tales for a tiny price.

More recently, I reviewed the next two in the series: 

Things I particularly liked about the story of Rimsey, her battles and her victories:
*I like that she is a girl, scorned by her peers, and yet she is intelligent, courageous and above all, triumphant.
*I love the breathless speed of the fight scenes, and I like that she wins each battle. (Well, the story would have to end if she lost)
*I liked what she said once - that in her profession, there was no such thing as a partial win. It was either a win or no more dragon slayer.
*I liked the pragmatism with which she treats a needed death - when told that her enemy would not forgive her, she says: "I know he won't. But neither will he learn from it. You should have let me kill him. I'll have to eventually. Pass your plate, supper's ready."
*I like the fact that when the nun tried to lay a guilt trip on her for killing the man, she disregards it - She looked down at Berenice. "But for me, hate isn't a burden. It's a tool of the trade." She flicked the reins and drove out, without looking back.

Things I didn't like? Well, nothing really. Purchasers should be aware that these stories are only short, 12,000 words for Dragon 2 and around 15,000 words for Dragon 3.
And I suppose they're really meant for children. That didn't stop this mature adult thoroughly enjoying them.
Happily 5 stars for Rimsey, her stories and her author.

 What Paul has to say

 

(I don't think he considers himself a dragon-man) , and he has written other books - 'A Can of Worms' which is a crime novel,  and 'Trouble in Toyland''  for children.

Paul Trembling, pictured opposite:

I have a theory about talent.  It goes like this:

The things that we’re naturally good at, we will probably enjoy doing.  The things we enjoy doing, we do more of (or as much as life gives us the opportunity!).  The things we do more of, we get better at.  So natural talent is reinforced by practice which is driven by the pleasure we take in exercising our talent.

You can see this happening in many areas.  Sport, music, DIY, hobbies of all sorts and (for the lucky ones) sometimes in work as well.  And in writing.

If my theory is correct, then I should be a pretty good writer by now, because I’ve been practicing it all my life!

Actually, I often prefer to think of myself as a storyteller, rather than a writer, because I began telling stories even before I could write – or read, for that matter!  Some of my earliest memories are of lying awake at night, making up stories and telling them to myself.

I’ve never stopped telling them.  To be honest, I’ve never really tried – its just too much fun!   But I doubt if I could break the habit now even if I wanted to.

Eventually, of course, I did learn to read and write.  My reading influenced my story making, and my story making became writing.  Eventually (and it was a long process) the writing became sketches and short stories and novels.

But does the theory work in my case?  After a lifetime of practice, am I any good as a writer?

Ultimately, that’s not for me to say.  Those who read my stories will have to decide for themselves.  But I have had some considerable encouragement from people who have read them, and liked them, and have been good enough to tell me so!  And – although of course, there’s always more to learn, always improvement to be made – I quite like the stories myself!

(But then, I always did, even when I was the only one I told them to!)

If you’d like to make your own mind up, I’ve got a few to choose from.

My crime novel, ‘Can of Worms’ is available on Amazon (for Kindle) or as a paperback from Lulu.com.  It has its own FaceBook page, where you can read an excerpt for free.  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Can-of-Worms/289132197861985

Or if you enjoy fantasy, try my ‘Dragon Slayer’ series.  A linked series of short stories that follow the adventures of Rimsey Stolworth, the only female Dragon Slayer and probably the best one ever. 

‘The Ways of Dragons’ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ways-Dragons-Dragon-Slayers-ebook/dp/B00718WFO8/ref=sr_1_6?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1350462378&sr=1-6

‘The Dragon Slayer’s Apprentice’  http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Dragon-Slayers-Apprentice-ebook/dp/B007PPJMO8/ref=pd_sim_kinc_2

‘A Plague of Dragons’  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Plague-Dragons-Dragon-Slayers-ebook/dp/B00885VLCU/ref=pd_sim_kinc_1

Books 1-3 are available on Amazon (Kindle only at present, I’m afraid), Book 4 should be online before Christmas.

My next publication, however, will be a new venture for me – a children’s fantasy.  ‘Trouble in Toyland’ was originally written for my youngest son, Andy.  He seemed to like it – so (with a few changes) I’m going to offer it to a wider audience.  It should be out on Kindle in the next few weeks.  In order to keep it separate from my other writing, I’m putting it under the pen name ‘Henry Leyland’

Another project nearing completion is a fantasy novelette, which I’m also hoping to publish before Christmas, and a fantasy / romance novel (The Empress’s Lover) which could be available in the new year.

At the moment I’m working on some crime short stories, prequels to ‘Can of Worms’.

If you want to keep up to date with my writing, visit my FaceBook page, ‘Paul Trembling – Writing’.  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Paul-Trembling-Writing/163519717084014?fref=ts

And please take a look at my website, Yearning Blue, to find out more about me and to read some free stuff!  Short stories, poems, projects, etc.  http://yearningblue.weebly.com/

I hope you enjoy it.  If you do – let me know!  If you don’t, let me know why not!  All writers need encouragement, and feedback.  Encouragement helps us to keep writing.  Feedback keeps us in touch with reality!

Thanks for reading, and especially, thanks to Marj for hosting me on her blog.

Paul Trembling

 

 

Polishing your novel

Polishing a novel is extremely important – more important for those who are using an independant publisher or who are self-publishing. Readers should be confident that even if they are only paying a pittance, they will receive a professional book. Those who release books riddled with errors are not doing any of us a favour as it is likely to discourage potential buyers.

******

Two of my books are due for release in November, 2012. These are two Penwinnard stories – ‘Angel No More’  and ‘You Gotta Have Manners.’

I am currently in the final polishing stages, going again and again through the stories, trying to ensure they are is as good as I can possibly make them before publishing.

I started writing around ten years ago, early books which will never be published. This is when I discovered the necessity for a separate reference file to note the things that need checking.

These are examples of those things that I’ve recently checked. (The parts in inverted commas are direct quotes from my books)

1.  ‘a member of  parliament, who had also committed suicide. Bob had known him as ‘Buck’ though his real name was Clive Kilpatrick.’ 

When referring to a fictional person who happens to be a lord or MP or someone high up in the church, for instance, it is prudent to ensure there is no real person of that name in that position – especially if you’ve made him a baddie. In this instance, ‘Clive Kilpatrick’  started out as ‘Lord ****’   but when checked there was a real lord of that name, who certainly would not have appreciated being named in this fashion.   

We know more than we think we do sometimes, and when a name pops up for a fictional character, it could be something that you ‘knew’  long ago and had not remembered.

For instance, in the second of my Shuki novels, I based a fictional country on Oman, a country I knew almost nothing about. In my story, it was required that King Feroz assumed the throne at the age of just sixteen, which meant that his father had to be dead. I didn’t want any brothers, so I made it that the old king had had syphilis. In my subsequent research, it turned out that it was very close to the real situation had been in Oman. So at some stage, had I read about this?  Or maybe seen a documentary that left a trace in my mind? The king of Oman is not called a ‘king,’ but is nevertheless, an absolute monarch.  For the purposes of my story,  I chose to use the term, ‘king.’ It is a fictional country, not really Oman, and that’s the beauty of being an author – you do what you want to do.

2. *Ofsted,  its full name ‘Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills.’ 

I noticed that what I assumed were initials (Ofsted)  did not match,  so that was checked and is correct. 

3. Make sure that the geography fits – at least as near as possible.

Ch 14:  “Hitchhiked from Penzance, the train from London.”  Changed to Truro

Penzance was further west than Penwinnard, so I changed it to a more appropriate stop.  The internet is wonderful.  Fancy being able to check the times and the stops of a train on the other side of the world! 

4. Duplication: This is another of those things that need to be picked up in the polishing process.

From my notes:

*Check for duplication

Not long after nine, Ian rang Ruth, who straightaway asked how Brian Nash’s potential placement was going, confirming that either the adoption agency or the Reillys had been in touch, but then he spoke to her about Lachlan Dewhurst. Were there any past problems with him victimising particular boys, maybe in a sexual fashion? Was there any hint that he’d been sexually abused himself aside from his allegations about the man he’d killed?

‘Ian was pleased to have the opportunity to meet Lachlan’s father, but regretfully decided that he could not ask for details of the act that had led to the term in Vinney Green and Ruth had been unable to tell him any more.

Ch 15 ‘On Monday, Ian phoned Ruth, asking again if she could possibly get more details of the killing that Lachlan had been involved in, but all she could say was that they were not available.’

It is very easy to repeat bits of information, often using the exact same phrasing. Best avoided. 

5. Continuity:

I first came to realise the importance of these sorts of notes when I found that someone was dead in one chapter, and merely retired in the next. It tends to happen in the editing and is one reason why an author needs to read and re-read, polish and re-polish, wait three months to clear it from the brain and then start again.

Example:

Ch 14:  'Cameron had found Dallas, and said, “A visit with the Castlereighs tomorrow. The boss said to choose someone well-behaved, and I thought you might like it. They pick us up at ten and bring us back Thursday afternoon, so we’ll miss the Thursday cliff walk. They’ve got a holiday house at St. Ives.” Conan was close. Cameron ignored him.'

If this is the first reference to the cliff-walk, something will need to be changed. A reference added at end of Ch 13

6. Checking the facts:

I’ve researched things from the use of stun guns to the sequence of checks for AIDS to the sort of hunting one would find in Morocco (the fictional country that I based Shuki’s home on in ‘Not a Man.’)

Examples from the Penwinnard novels:

*Check Bristol – when did that Vinney Green open? 1995,  Vinney Green, not Greene.  Was checked

*Invention of facebook. Year? Ok around ’94.

* One cannot always get the facts right. Prominent authors have the benefit of research assistants. Others of us have to do as much research as we can, and occasionally, we need to take refuge in vagueness – just not be specific enough to be wrong.

7. You will have spell-checked earlier, but ensure that you do yet another one at the very last. You may have removed a comma, for instance, and carelessly removed the word before at the same time.  It has happened, (not by me.)  A spell check right at the last should find a last minute slip like this.

*****

The story as I write it doesn’t look quite as it will when published.



A misty day at Penwinnard

 There are writing notes, such as ‘check this’  and ‘what town?’ and there are very frequent dates. I prefer to keep a time-line as exact as possible. And further, I like the days of the week to be the correct days for the year, even when I never mention the year. So a calendar for the appropriate year is required. When writing about Penwinnard which is on the beach, while I do not go as far as making sure the tides are correct for the dates, I do ensure that if it’s low tide at 4.00pm on Monday, it is not high tide at the same time on Tuesday.

Also, an aid in the editing process is to use different colours, a different colour when writing from the point of view of a different character. Bob is green, Ian is black, and various Penwinnard boys are red.

 A sample of the story as I write it.  

 “Aren’t they the ones you were swearing about?”

“Yes. But now the boss says they’ve asked if they could have the ‘honour of my company’ for a week.” He’d put on a posh voice, but reverted to a laugh. “Maybe being rude is a way of getting noticed.”

Dallas grinned, “Well, at least I get to go with people sometimes.”

******

Tuesday, 24th August.

 Bazinet was at the ‘Auxiliary,’ as Franz had referred to it, a piece of land around five miles from the farm. He was regarding the incinerator. With him was a man in a white coat, who said, “The cremations appear to have been thorough, but I’ll sift through the ashes, and maybe there’ll be a few fragments of bone, possibly enough to get DNA readings from. We might be able to identify one or two, maybe.”

Bazinet said, “Nineteen boys killed, and no record of their real names.”

“Well, I’ll do my best, but it’s not likely to be useful.”

“The oldest one might be able to identify some from pictures of kidnap victims. We know the characteristics he looked for, intelligence and languages - they all knew at least two languages, plus, of course, looks.”

“You still have them tucked away?”

“Hidden away as effectively as could be managed. It’s going to be very hard to protect them once it’s known who they are.”

******

Bob had been more and more reluctant to come for counselling, so when he failed to arrive that Tuesday, Donna was not surprised. She told Ian that she didn’t think she’d ever been of any real use to him.

Ian said, “He’s healed anyway, I think. Not just that his friends are rescued, but I have a feeling he might have talked to Gerry. Maybe that helped.”

“Are you going to punish him for not turning up?”



Penwinnard - some of the boys are scrambling on the cliff.

  

Look for my Penwinnard Stories coming out soon, the ebooks on Smashwords first, then Amazon once I have approved the paperback.

 https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/Samray

'Eye of the Storm' by Melanie Dent.

Written by Melanie Dent

Eye of the Storm: Lewis Franklin’s Story the novel detailing the Life story of the Lynchcliffe series romantic hero prior to the events of The Lynchcliffe Cuckoo Volume 1: Mise en Scène.

When his father and brother drown at sea, nineteen-year-old Lewis Franklin is forced to grow up fast as he faces the new challenges and responsibilities of looking after his widowed mother, Anna, sister in law, Alice, and infant nephew, Daniel.

In London, Lewis befriends retired merchant sea-man, Abraham “Abe” Fleming, and the two men forge a bond of friendship that matures through the years much as Lewis becomes a hero to his nephew, Daniel, as the boy grows to manhood. Lewis is forced to learn some of life’s harsher lessons, yet retains his dignity and spirit throughout.

This is a tale of the enduring friendship between men and women as they suffer loss discover dark secrets and survive the harsh realities of life in the late Victorian era.

Lewis Franklin is the hero of the popular Lynchcliffe Cuckoo series and this story answers unasked questions about his life pre Lynchcliffe Park and what made him the man he became in his search for an elusive all-consuming passionate love affair.

  Franklin’s story begins in 1881 following the tragic deaths at sea of his father and older brother, David, father to Franklin’s nephew, Daniel, who is only an infant at this time.

The book takes us through several years of Franklin’s life.  It deals with his loves, his experiences and his friendships as well as dealing with his various previous periods of employment.  It covers social issues such as domestic violence, religious hypocrisy, suicide and street violence. Franklin is certainly forced to learn some of life’s harsher lessons but he is better for it and manages to maintain his dignity and spirit throughout. This is not easy when having to deal with the deaths of people he loves. 

This is probably my favourite book in the Lynchcliffe series.  To me Lewis Franklin represents the best of working class males in the late Victorian era. He stands up for the underdog and is fiercely loyal to those he loves.  He has his faith in humanity cruelly shattered at one point but gets through to a stage where he can cope with it.  He is a handsome intelligent man who is good at what he does and also a sensational lover.  He develops a strong bond with his nephew, Daniel, and the boy grows to idolise the uncle who loves him like a son.  With Franklin’s help Daniel learns about the darker side of humanity and finds the resilience to cope. The book explores relationships between family members, between friends and between lovers.   It is also the one that has received the best reviews and interest from readers.

Here are a couple of excerpts from the book. The first is from the part where Franklin’s widowed sister-in-law Alice witnesses him without a shirt and her fevered lustful imagination goes into overdrive.

Alice descended the stairs and froze as she spotted Lewis through the steam. He had a fine handsome well muscled body with no excess fat as he kept himself in good shape by walking a lot. She felt her sex dripping at the thought of having him mount her. She shivered at the thought of his hardness thrusting between her legs. She crept quietly away to her own room to lust after him in peace. When she undressed for bed that night she had no surprise to find herself soaking wet.

“I will have tha in my bed, Lewis Franklin.” She vowed as she rubbed herself unashamed with her fingers; lying naked under the bed sheet as she sweated. “I want to make a man of tha. Tha’s damned gorgeous and it’ll be a lucky woman who ends up with tha between her legs. It’s not a matter of if, Lewis. It’s a matter of when.”

Alice had enjoyed pleasuring herself ever since her father had almost caught her one day and told her it would earn her a place in Hell. Anything her father disliked must surely be enjoyable, Alice thought for she hated his narrow view of the world seen through the book of Revelation and since that day she had made a habit of it.

She could not deny herself that the sight of Lewis half naked had really given her something to pleasure herself over and she rubbed hard enjoying the sensation of sucking her wet fingers clean as she imagined his mouth hard on her chest while his fingers caressed her to orgasm. She pictured herself bending over the bed as he thrust into her from behind caressing her firm breasts as he did so and the deep moans that would come from their throats as he rode her hard. Her wet lurid fantasies made her more determined to be the woman who made a man of him. If Lewis was aware of her mounting desires he said nothing and if he felt anything akin to desire for her he did not speak of that either.

The second excerpt is from when Franklin learns that his nephew, Daniel, has drowned on RMS Titanic.

“Damn you God!” he shouted. “Damn you! Have you not already taken enough of the people I loved? Tha should have taken me instead of my nephew and I wish to God tha had. Daniel was a good man and he deserved better than that as did all those people whose lives you cruelly took on that ship! I hate you with all my being and damn you to hell. By not acting to save those folk it makes tha no better than the devil.”

As quickly as it had come upon him Franklin’s anger abated and he sank to his knees with his head in his hands. In his hands he held the notebook with the story Daniel had written for him many years before and turned the pages slowly as tears flowed down his cheeks. He found that precious letter Daniel had written after his visit to Sycamore Park and reading the childish spelling mistakes made Daniel so real to him that Franklin lay on the floor and cried himself to sleep. He wished he had held Daniel a little closer that last time and told him one more time how much he loved him and how proud he was of him.  The only comfort he felt was that Daniel was now with his parents in that place beyond death and right now Franklin wished with all his heart that he was there with them.  They were together now united in death and Franklin felt a huge well of loneliness welling inside him.  The pain of his loss was like a knife in his breast and with that dawned the sobering knowledge that he was truly now the last of the Franklin male line.

  

Warning:  This book is not suitable for children and young adults as it contains adult material as well as dealing with adult themes such as domestic abuse and violence, illegitimacy, suicide, and the varying response to the death of loved ones.

You can buy Eye of the Storm: Lewis Franklin’s Story on Kindle.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Eye-Storm-Lynchcliffe-Prequels-ebook/dp/B007CXXW76/ref=sr_1_4?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1330119774&sr=1-4

http://www.amazon.com/Eye-The-Storm-Lynchcliffe-ebook/dp/B007CXXW76/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1336950098&sr=1-1

You can get the paperback through Lulu.com

http://www.lulu.com/shop/melanie-dent/eye-of-the-storm-lewis-franklins-story/paperback/product-20301955.html

You can read my blog character interviews with Lewis Franklin and his friend Abraham “Abe” Fleming.

http://lynchcliffe.wordpress.com/an-interview-with-lewis-franklin/

http://lynchcliffe.wordpress.com/interview-with-abe-fleming-4/

Catholic Church Hide Accusations of Abuse

 

This is an article taken directly from Bigpond News.

 

Catholic Church hid abuse, Vic Police

Thursday, October 11, 2012 » 01:12pm

 

The Catholic Church and other religious groups hide accusations of abuse rather than expose suspected offenders, Victoria Police says.

In its submission to the state government's inquiry into the handling of child abuse by religious and other organisations, Victoria Police says victims of sexual crime are too often being talked out of reporting the matters to police, while the suspected offenders are sent elsewhere.

It is concerned the Catholic Church, instead of encouraging sex abuse victims to go to the police, is providing a financial incentive to keep the matter within church walls, the submission says.

But the Catholic Church says many victims want their experiences to remain private and do not want their complaint reported to police.

In the last 15 years more than 30 religious leaders have been convicted of child sexual offences in Victoria.

Police said they have found recurring issues in dealing with religious organisations, with victims discouraged from reporting sexual crimes and suspected offenders moved to a different diocese or sent overseas.
They said the Catholic Church's 'Melbourne Response' - set up to assist victims - appeared to be a substitute for criminal justice.

'It has not referred a single complaint to Victorian police,' the submission said.

It said the assessors were not trained or resourced to conduct criminal investigations, there was no transparency or external right of review and they may be providing inappropriate or wrong advice to victims, who are not legally represented during the process.

The victims are told that to obtain an ex gratia payment they must agree to discharge the church from further liability and not to discuss or disclose the facts and circumstances around their complaints at the risk of being sued by the church.

The submission said there was an underlying culture within the Catholic Church, and other religions, to hide accusations of abuse rather than exposing suspected offenders.

'It is in the opinion of Victoria Police that such deliberate action should be criminalised,' the submission said.

The Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, Denis Hart, said tension existed between respecting the wishes of victims and the calls for all allegations of abuse to be reported to police.
'In relation to the police (submission), our submission discusses the issue - a sensitive one for victims - that many want their experiences to remain private and do not want their complaint reported to the police,' he said in a statement.
'The church acknowledges that Victoria Police has the primary role and expertise in investigating criminal allegations.
'We recommend that all allegations of serious crimes be reported to the police in a way that does not infringe the confidentiality and privacy of victims who have come forward on that basis, or the sanctity of the confessional.
'This difficult matter requires a balance to be struck between the responsibility of the community to prosecute criminal conduct and protect the vulnerable, and the right of victims to privacy.'

Mr Hart said such a balance could be achieved through a system where details of an allegation are reported to police on the proviso that police could not use powers of compulsion to discover the identity of the complainant from the source of the report.

Police are investigating 50 suicides by the graduates of just one school, St Alipius in Ballarat, which are all thought to be linked to sex offences by Brother Robert Charles Best and Father Gerald Ridsdale, who operated the parish.

"To Love and To Protect'

'To Love and To Protect' is the third book of the Shuki series.

The release date is tentatively set for June, 2013.

To buy the first two books of the Shuki Series,,

go to

   https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/Samray