Jonathon Fletcher's Blog: Captain's Blog
April 11, 2015
The work in progress (WIP) blog tour...
I was nominated to take place in this blog tour by the magnificent Scarlett Flame, author of fabulously debauched fantasy erotica. She's a good Twitter friend @ScarlettFlame2 and you can find her WIP blog here...
http://t.co/elrJPvuFw2
My latest work in progress is the next episode in the Josiah Trenchard space navy series. It's called "Arkhangelsk". The name is Russian for "Arch Angel" and is a port that was the destination for Arctic supply convoys during World War II.
Rather than this blog being simply an advert for the book, I thought that I would write about my inspiration for this story. Each of my books deals with an adventure of the infamous "Fixer", Captain Trenchard and has a central storyline based on a single mission that he is sent on. That story is then wrapped around with a bigger story arc which weaves through the whole series. For Arkhangelsk I had the story arc worked out but no mission for the crew of the Might of Fortitude.
Struggling for ideas, I chanced upon a documentary on TV that was presented by the almost as infamous Jeremy Clarkson. The tale that he told of one particular doomed WWII Arctic convoy seemed to be a plot straight out of one of my books and so I decided to borrow several key events from the real life story to use as the basis for my novel. I won't go into the details here (spoilers) but if you are interested there is the documentary on Arctic Convoy PQ-17, presented by Jeremy Clarkson on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxFvo...
...and a detailed Wikipedia entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convoy_P...
It is quite a story, all the more remarkable for the fact that it actually happened...
What inspired me and what I want to talk about here is bravery; not the comic book bravery that you would see in any Hollywood feature film, but the kind that is born out of necessity. In July 1942 the U.K. was preparing for invasion by the Nazi's from France. The Russians were fighting the Germans but were short of tanks and other military supplies. In order to keep the pressure on the German forces and hopefully stall the invasion, Winston Churchill agreed to send military supplies to Russia to aid their fight, this despite the fact that the Merchant Navy ships were desperately needed to bring food into the besieged British isles. Somebody had to brave the deadly Arctic waters, U-boats, torpedo bombers and the mighty German surface fleet.
After a series of mishaps, bad decisions and poor intelligence, the Merchant ships in convoy PQ-17 were abandoned to their fate in the ice by the heavily armed Royal Navy escort ships that had been protecting them. Left unprotected many were destroyed, easy prey for U-boats and German bombers. If any of the Merchant ships were to survive then someone had to take charge.
Step forwards RNVR T/Lt Leo Gradwell, commander of the HMS Ayrshire. He realised the desperate plight of the convoy. Many of the other Captains wanted to run and take their chances alone. Gradwell convinced a group of ships to stay together. The Ayrshire being little more than a cargo boat with no armaments, he defended those ships with what he had to hand, arranging tanks on the deck to act as turrets against incoming enemy aircraft and packing the nose of the Ayrshire with explosives with the intent to ram and destroy enemy ships.
With only a sextant and the "Times World Geographic Pocket Book" to aid him; after a series of close calls, Gradwell brought his small convoy of four ships home to port at Arkhangelsk. Without his bravery and leadership those vessels would have surely been destroyed. He received the Distinguished Service Cross for his bravery. Convoy PQ-17 lost twenty four of its thirty five Merchant ships to the icy depths of those Arctic waters. It was not until December 2012 that most of the brave survivors were honoured with their own medal, the Arctic Star military decoration, many posthumously.
True bravery comes from having to get the job done, no matter what you face. It is finding the fortitude to not turn away, even when times are darkest. It is reaching into yourself and finding the strength to carry on, even if that means you may die. The characters in my books are a pale imitation of the men who took their ships to Russia. I enjoyed writing my story, but always at the back of my mind were the sailors who lived it and the many who drowned in the freezing water. We owe them a great debt. I cannot say it any better than the words from "Ode of Remembrance" by Laurence Binyon...
"They went with songs to the battle, they were young.
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.
They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam."
Josiah Trenchard part six, Arkhangelsk will be published sometime in early summer, (hopefully June). The book is dedicated to the memory of those sailors lost at sea.
If you would like to be nominated for a WIP blog and keep the tour going, please get in touch.
My first nominee is author Line Norgaard Fallesen
- Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author...”
- Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
- Twitter:
https://twitter.com/Noangel_86
- Tsü:
http://tsu.co/LineFNielsen
Thank you.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jonathon-Flet...
http://www.amazon.com/Jonathon-Fletch...
http://t.co/elrJPvuFw2
My latest work in progress is the next episode in the Josiah Trenchard space navy series. It's called "Arkhangelsk". The name is Russian for "Arch Angel" and is a port that was the destination for Arctic supply convoys during World War II.
Rather than this blog being simply an advert for the book, I thought that I would write about my inspiration for this story. Each of my books deals with an adventure of the infamous "Fixer", Captain Trenchard and has a central storyline based on a single mission that he is sent on. That story is then wrapped around with a bigger story arc which weaves through the whole series. For Arkhangelsk I had the story arc worked out but no mission for the crew of the Might of Fortitude.
Struggling for ideas, I chanced upon a documentary on TV that was presented by the almost as infamous Jeremy Clarkson. The tale that he told of one particular doomed WWII Arctic convoy seemed to be a plot straight out of one of my books and so I decided to borrow several key events from the real life story to use as the basis for my novel. I won't go into the details here (spoilers) but if you are interested there is the documentary on Arctic Convoy PQ-17, presented by Jeremy Clarkson on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxFvo...
...and a detailed Wikipedia entry:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convoy_P...
It is quite a story, all the more remarkable for the fact that it actually happened...
What inspired me and what I want to talk about here is bravery; not the comic book bravery that you would see in any Hollywood feature film, but the kind that is born out of necessity. In July 1942 the U.K. was preparing for invasion by the Nazi's from France. The Russians were fighting the Germans but were short of tanks and other military supplies. In order to keep the pressure on the German forces and hopefully stall the invasion, Winston Churchill agreed to send military supplies to Russia to aid their fight, this despite the fact that the Merchant Navy ships were desperately needed to bring food into the besieged British isles. Somebody had to brave the deadly Arctic waters, U-boats, torpedo bombers and the mighty German surface fleet.
After a series of mishaps, bad decisions and poor intelligence, the Merchant ships in convoy PQ-17 were abandoned to their fate in the ice by the heavily armed Royal Navy escort ships that had been protecting them. Left unprotected many were destroyed, easy prey for U-boats and German bombers. If any of the Merchant ships were to survive then someone had to take charge.
Step forwards RNVR T/Lt Leo Gradwell, commander of the HMS Ayrshire. He realised the desperate plight of the convoy. Many of the other Captains wanted to run and take their chances alone. Gradwell convinced a group of ships to stay together. The Ayrshire being little more than a cargo boat with no armaments, he defended those ships with what he had to hand, arranging tanks on the deck to act as turrets against incoming enemy aircraft and packing the nose of the Ayrshire with explosives with the intent to ram and destroy enemy ships.
With only a sextant and the "Times World Geographic Pocket Book" to aid him; after a series of close calls, Gradwell brought his small convoy of four ships home to port at Arkhangelsk. Without his bravery and leadership those vessels would have surely been destroyed. He received the Distinguished Service Cross for his bravery. Convoy PQ-17 lost twenty four of its thirty five Merchant ships to the icy depths of those Arctic waters. It was not until December 2012 that most of the brave survivors were honoured with their own medal, the Arctic Star military decoration, many posthumously.
True bravery comes from having to get the job done, no matter what you face. It is finding the fortitude to not turn away, even when times are darkest. It is reaching into yourself and finding the strength to carry on, even if that means you may die. The characters in my books are a pale imitation of the men who took their ships to Russia. I enjoyed writing my story, but always at the back of my mind were the sailors who lived it and the many who drowned in the freezing water. We owe them a great debt. I cannot say it any better than the words from "Ode of Remembrance" by Laurence Binyon...
"They went with songs to the battle, they were young.
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.
They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam."
Josiah Trenchard part six, Arkhangelsk will be published sometime in early summer, (hopefully June). The book is dedicated to the memory of those sailors lost at sea.
If you would like to be nominated for a WIP blog and keep the tour going, please get in touch.
My first nominee is author Line Norgaard Fallesen
- Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author...”
- Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
- Twitter:
https://twitter.com/Noangel_86
- Tsü:
http://tsu.co/LineFNielsen
Thank you.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Jonathon-Flet...
http://www.amazon.com/Jonathon-Fletch...
January 19, 2015
Mr Stink stank. My 4* review of "Mr Stink" by David Walliams...
Mr Stink is aimed at children, so why am I reviewing it? My wife is a teacher and wanted to check it out before reading it to her class, simple at that. We read the book to each other over a few nights as you might do for your child. Bearing in mind that it's for kids, I loved it.
David Walliams is clearly in line to be the next Roald Dahl, the illustrations are even drawn by the fabulous Quentin Blake. The book is well written, imaginative and poignant. The story of a young girl called Chloe who befriends a dirty, smelly tramp is heartwarming and the end of the book (just to warn you in advance) had us both in tears.
The only reason this didn't get the full five stars from me was a few repetitive passages which seemed unnecessary and distracting. Maybe they would work for children, I'm not sure? I'm probably too old and jaded to enjoy that sort of thing so I'll let you decide on that one. They simply took the shine off what was otherwise a perfectly executed and magical story.
Mr Stink is a loveable eccentric who has a sausage addiction and a grounding in etiquette and impeccably good manners. Chloe is a girl from a mildly dysfunctional family. She is obviously lonely and finds a friend and confidant in Mr Stink and his dog. The book deals subtly with several difficult issues including bullying and homelessness and takes a clever side swipe at the political system. Mr Walliams is clearly no fan of David Cameron or his government and should be applauded for introducing children to the idea that politicians are not to be trusted implicitly!
A fun book with some thought provoking moments. It was as enjoyable to read as it was to listen to but be prepared for some hard questions from your children. After finishing I really wanted to find Mr Stink and give him a really big hug. Good job Mr Walliams. A sequel please!
David Walliams is clearly in line to be the next Roald Dahl, the illustrations are even drawn by the fabulous Quentin Blake. The book is well written, imaginative and poignant. The story of a young girl called Chloe who befriends a dirty, smelly tramp is heartwarming and the end of the book (just to warn you in advance) had us both in tears.
The only reason this didn't get the full five stars from me was a few repetitive passages which seemed unnecessary and distracting. Maybe they would work for children, I'm not sure? I'm probably too old and jaded to enjoy that sort of thing so I'll let you decide on that one. They simply took the shine off what was otherwise a perfectly executed and magical story.
Mr Stink is a loveable eccentric who has a sausage addiction and a grounding in etiquette and impeccably good manners. Chloe is a girl from a mildly dysfunctional family. She is obviously lonely and finds a friend and confidant in Mr Stink and his dog. The book deals subtly with several difficult issues including bullying and homelessness and takes a clever side swipe at the political system. Mr Walliams is clearly no fan of David Cameron or his government and should be applauded for introducing children to the idea that politicians are not to be trusted implicitly!
A fun book with some thought provoking moments. It was as enjoyable to read as it was to listen to but be prepared for some hard questions from your children. After finishing I really wanted to find Mr Stink and give him a really big hug. Good job Mr Walliams. A sequel please!
January 15, 2015
My review of "The Zom-B Chronicles" by Darren Shan.
This is one of the most difficult reviews I have had to write. It took me a long while to get used to the first person narrative in which Darren Shan’s book, The ZOM-B Chronicles, is written. I found the writing style a little distracting at first. Ignoring the fact that the book is apparently aimed at a young adult audience, the story is very good. I struggled with the first few chapters which were full of teenage angst but once the zombies started to rampage and feast the story became much more interesting.
The book is definitely a book of two halves, having been spliced together from two separate books, “ZOM-B” and “ZOM-B Underground”. As I said, the first half reads like a teenage drama that just happens to have zombies in it. I almost stopped reading it at this point but I persevered and I’m glad that I did.
The second half is like another book entirely. The writing is tighter, the story gripping and full of action and horror. The perspective from a zombie’s point of view is intriguing and the descriptions visceral and unpleasant enough to make you squirm. What saved the book is the clear notion that this is not just another zombie holocaust. There is a sinister power in action behind the scenes, personified in one of the most memorable characters that I can recall from any horror franchise.
Mr Dowling is part clown, part zombie, part insect nest and thoroughly terrifying. Who he is or what he’s up to I assume will be revealed in later books and the desire to know that is enough to encourage me to read more of Darran Shan’s sequels. A book of two halves; persevere to the end and I promise that it will be worth your while.
The book is definitely a book of two halves, having been spliced together from two separate books, “ZOM-B” and “ZOM-B Underground”. As I said, the first half reads like a teenage drama that just happens to have zombies in it. I almost stopped reading it at this point but I persevered and I’m glad that I did.
The second half is like another book entirely. The writing is tighter, the story gripping and full of action and horror. The perspective from a zombie’s point of view is intriguing and the descriptions visceral and unpleasant enough to make you squirm. What saved the book is the clear notion that this is not just another zombie holocaust. There is a sinister power in action behind the scenes, personified in one of the most memorable characters that I can recall from any horror franchise.
Mr Dowling is part clown, part zombie, part insect nest and thoroughly terrifying. Who he is or what he’s up to I assume will be revealed in later books and the desire to know that is enough to encourage me to read more of Darran Shan’s sequels. A book of two halves; persevere to the end and I promise that it will be worth your while.
Rolling in the Deep; My review for "The Kraken Wakes" by John Wyndham.
“If it had only been something we could fight - ! But just to be drowned and starved and forced into destroying one another to live – and by things nobody has ever seen, living in the one place we can’t reach!”
This quote from Phyllis Watson, one of the main protagonists of “The Kraken Wakes” pretty well sums up the whole book. Phyllis and Mike are journalists who work for the E.B.C. (rivals to the B.B.C.). When strange events begin on Earth, the two journalists are tasked with reporting what is happening back to the masses in the United Kingdom and around the world. This is their story.
It begins harmlessly enough; a few strange glowing lights fall through the sky and plunge into the oceans of the Earth, but then events become terrifyingly sinister. I won’t go into the details of what happens for fear of spoilers. What I will say is that this is the best imagining of an alien invasion that I have read since “The War of the Worlds” or John Wyndham’s other classic book, “The Day of the Triffids”.
The writing style is a little formal, even old fashioned by today’s standards, but if you can get past that then the story simply sucks you down into the murky “depths” that are slowly being colonised by creatures that we can’t even see as they live at depths where the pressure would crush even our strongest submersibles. From the moment that an exploratory deep sea diving bell disappears with the loss of two sailors the puzzling events that have so far been dismissed as “harmless” take a sinister and deadly turn. The scene where “sea tanks” crawl out of the depths to prey on the unfortunate inhabitants of a coastal village still haunts my imagination.
The book is not only entertaining but is cleverly and intelligently thought through and has many of the elements of cataclysmic, worldwide apocalypse that wouldn’t seem out of place in a contemporary big budget movie. In fact I can’t imagine why no one has bought the rights to this story as it would put such mind numbing popcorn fodder as “The Day After Tomorrow” to shame.
As with his other books, The Kraken Wakes has a dismal feel to it. The main characters become gradually worried, depressed, terrified and eventually completely disconsolate. This book scared me more than “Jaws”, mainly because the creatures below are never seen or described. The imagination conjures up more terrifying creatures than computer special effects ever could. Tentacles, beaks and gelatinous amorphous forms roll in the deep as huge saucer-like eyes regard mankind with incomprehensible malevolence. One piece of advice I would give you; don’t even think of reading this book while you are on a cruise…
This quote from Phyllis Watson, one of the main protagonists of “The Kraken Wakes” pretty well sums up the whole book. Phyllis and Mike are journalists who work for the E.B.C. (rivals to the B.B.C.). When strange events begin on Earth, the two journalists are tasked with reporting what is happening back to the masses in the United Kingdom and around the world. This is their story.
It begins harmlessly enough; a few strange glowing lights fall through the sky and plunge into the oceans of the Earth, but then events become terrifyingly sinister. I won’t go into the details of what happens for fear of spoilers. What I will say is that this is the best imagining of an alien invasion that I have read since “The War of the Worlds” or John Wyndham’s other classic book, “The Day of the Triffids”.
The writing style is a little formal, even old fashioned by today’s standards, but if you can get past that then the story simply sucks you down into the murky “depths” that are slowly being colonised by creatures that we can’t even see as they live at depths where the pressure would crush even our strongest submersibles. From the moment that an exploratory deep sea diving bell disappears with the loss of two sailors the puzzling events that have so far been dismissed as “harmless” take a sinister and deadly turn. The scene where “sea tanks” crawl out of the depths to prey on the unfortunate inhabitants of a coastal village still haunts my imagination.
The book is not only entertaining but is cleverly and intelligently thought through and has many of the elements of cataclysmic, worldwide apocalypse that wouldn’t seem out of place in a contemporary big budget movie. In fact I can’t imagine why no one has bought the rights to this story as it would put such mind numbing popcorn fodder as “The Day After Tomorrow” to shame.
As with his other books, The Kraken Wakes has a dismal feel to it. The main characters become gradually worried, depressed, terrified and eventually completely disconsolate. This book scared me more than “Jaws”, mainly because the creatures below are never seen or described. The imagination conjures up more terrifying creatures than computer special effects ever could. Tentacles, beaks and gelatinous amorphous forms roll in the deep as huge saucer-like eyes regard mankind with incomprehensible malevolence. One piece of advice I would give you; don’t even think of reading this book while you are on a cruise…
July 31, 2014
Free sample: prologue from Warrior of the Space Navy
image: 
Unity Book One
Warrior of the Space Navy
Prologue
“A Clear Message”
Deep within the asteroid belt that lies in orbit between Mars and Jupiter a desperate struggle had begun. A huge cargo hauler was engaged in a deathly dance through the void. Sitting on its back was an ugly black lump of a ship, a mongrel that was constructed out of the salvaged parts of the unfortunate space vessels that it had defeated and torn apart. The black ship had the unmistakable markings of the Martian pirates painted across her prow, a helmeted skull and crossed rifles. Just underneath the grisly image, painted in blood red, was the name of the vessel; the S.S. Satanskin.
The Satanskin was clinging onto the back of the cargo hauler using claw-like docking clamps that bit fiercely into the metal hull of its prey like a lion’s claws biting into the back of a gazelle. Docking tubes protruded from the underbelly of the black beast to meet deep wounds that had been cut into the skin of the crippled cargo hauler. Through each tube a steady stream of heavily armoured pirates now marched. Each pirate wore an armoured E.V.A. spacesuit and carried a deadly weapon. Every pirate had a fearsome design boldly painted across the visor of their suit, a skull, a demon, a snarling tiger shark or other bestial images intended to intimidate and terrify their victims. They poured into the cargo hauler like an army of ants, intent on stripping the ship clean and killing every living soul on board.
Inside the bridge of the cargo vessel the Captain stood firm with his officers beside him. He knew that he was about to die. Pirates didn’t take prisoners. They left no-one alive who could identify them. The men and women around him were shaking with terror. They held their puny looking pistols in sweating hands and stared fixedly at the hatch to the bridge as if they expected the devil himself to burst through on wings of fire. As it turned out, they were not far wrong.
With a shower of sparks the metal hatch fell inwards and landed on the deck with a clang that reverberated throughout the ship like the mournful toll of a funeral bell. Two of the officers began to fire their pistols at the incoming hoard and were instantly mown down by automatic rifle fire. The remaining crew immediately dropped their weapons and raised their hands in terror, falling to their knees as the armoured pirates surrounded them.
The Captain was a proud man, never one to cower. He stood tall with his hands clasped firmly behind his back, awaiting the death that he knew was coming for him with as much bravado as he could muster. Death came through the hatch in the shape of a huge man who was wearing an E.V.A. spacesuit that was painted with vivid black and red diamond patterns. When the Captain saw the suited figure even his stiff upper lip began to tremble.
‘Harlequin!’ he hissed through teeth that were clenched tightly in an attempt to stop them chattering.
‘I see that my reputation precedes me?’ said the helmeted figure as he came to a halt directly in front of the defiant Captain.
Harlequin’s voice sounded metallic, electronic and weirdly distorted as it came through the communication system of the Extra Vehicular Activity spacesuit. The towering figure stared calmly down at the Captain. He was a clear foot taller than the Captain. In his gloved hands he carried a coil of hemp rope which he continually twisted and pulled.
‘It precedes you like a bad smell!’ hissed the Captain as hatred burned in his eyes. ‘You’re surrounded by the foul stench of death and decay. You will burn for an eternity in the fires of hell for the crimes that you have committed!’
Harlequin began to chuckle, a sound that seemed detached from the death and destruction that surrounded him. The Captain couldn’t tear his eyes away from the rope that Harlequin continually wrought in his hands.
‘I don’t believe in hell Sir,’ said Harlequin, ‘at least not in the sense of an afterlife. There is hell enough before death for men like you and me. I give you a choice brave Captain, one choice for you and your gallant crew. Live or die. Join my crew; pledge your allegiance to me and my ship and you will live. Refuse and you die, here and now.’
There was absolute silence. Then the Captain snarled, ‘I’ll never join filthy, murderous scum like you.’
A moment passed and then a young man to the Captain’s left stepped forwards and spoke in a quavering voice. ‘I’ll join you,’ he said hoarsely.
‘Good lad!’ said Harlequin and then motioned to two of his men.
As they led the young man away back towards the Satanskin, he averted his eyes from the accusatory stare of the Captain. Then Harlequin rounded on the Captain and the remains of his crew.
‘Anyone else?’
Nobody moved or spoke.
‘Fine,’ said Harlequin and pointed with his gloved hand to the crew standing either side of the Captain.
Immediately the automatic rifles of the surrounding pirates mowed down the remaining bridge crew. A hail of bullets and chilling screams surrounded the Captain. After a second he was the only one left standing amidst a pile of twitching corpses.
Harlequin eyeballed the man through his painted visor. The Captain was still standing resolutely on the spot with his hands clasped firmly behind his back. Blood now spattered his face from his fallen crewmembers, but the man had not even flinched.
‘My, you are a tough son of a bitch!’ goaded Harlequin. ‘You should have joined us. I could have used a stalwart man like you. Now it’s going to be worse for you mate.’
The Captain finally began to shake, his resolve crumbled, anger and fear taking control. ‘Go to hell! Get it over with. Just kill me you bastard!’
‘Oh I will kill you, to be sure, but it won’t be quick,’ said Harlequin darkly. ‘I have a message to deliver.’
Then Harlequin turned to his men. ‘String him up!’ he ordered.
Several of the other pirates quickly took the rope from Harlequin’s hands and used it to tie the Captain to an overhead girder. The quaking man was hung by his outstretched arms in a crucifixion position and then hauled up until his feet were hanging a clear foot above the deck. Harlequin walked towards the Captain and looked up into his face. By now the man was utterly terrified.
‘What are you going to do?’ the Captain asked in the quiet voice of a broken man.
‘I told you,’ said Harlequin. ‘I’m going to send a message.’
Harlequin turned to a pirate who was standing next to him and nodded. The man brought a small holographic camera up, focussed it on Harlequin and the Captain and began to record. Harlequin bowed dramatically to the camera and then straightened up.
‘This message is for the Admirals of the United Worlds Space Navy’s High Command and President Smith’s government. It is from my new allies in the Insurgent organisation. They are very unhappy with how you have treated their people on the outer worlds. Your heavy-handed approach is uncalled for, barbaric and brutal. So as an object lesson they have asked me to make an example.’
Harlequin moved aside slightly to let the camera see the strung up Captain more clearly.
‘This cargo hauler was on its way to your naval base on Cairn carrying supplies. Nothing vital I’ll admit, but you will be on short rations for a while. More to the point is that this ship was under your employ. It was subcontracted to the Space Navy. Cairn is from where you launch your attacks. Cairn is your safe haven. Therefore it is Cairn that will suffer! In retaliation for your attacks and subjugation of the free people, we make this promise. We will attack any civilian ship that attempts to bring supplies to the naval base on Cairn. I repeat, all supply ships that attempt to reach Cairn will be destroyed and their crews slaughtered. Cairn will be cut off and your enlisted troops will slowly starve!’
Harlequin stepped closer towards the Captain.
‘…and just so you believe that our resolve is firm…’
Harlequin turned towards the Captain. He slowly drew a knife from a sheath on his belt and held it up so that it glinted in the light. Harlequin leaned in closely towards the Captain and whispered softly.
‘I’m sorry mate, but this is going to hurt you more than it hurts me.’
Then Harlequin began to cut.
With every slice, with every deft cleave, the Captain’s blood-curdling screams could be heard echoing throughout the entirety of the doomed vessel. When he had finished Harlequin turned towards the camera, still holding the bloody knife. Blood covered his visor and dripped down his spacesuit to pool on the deck. Behind Harlequin what remained of the Captain swung to and fro like meat on a hook in a butcher’s window.
‘That ends today’s object lesson. You can be sure that there will be others. Farewell and adieu.’
Unity Book One: Warrior of the Space Navy, is available now from Amazon...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Warrior-Space...
http://www.amazon.com/Warrior-Space-N...
Unity Book One
Warrior of the Space Navy
Prologue
“A Clear Message”
Deep within the asteroid belt that lies in orbit between Mars and Jupiter a desperate struggle had begun. A huge cargo hauler was engaged in a deathly dance through the void. Sitting on its back was an ugly black lump of a ship, a mongrel that was constructed out of the salvaged parts of the unfortunate space vessels that it had defeated and torn apart. The black ship had the unmistakable markings of the Martian pirates painted across her prow, a helmeted skull and crossed rifles. Just underneath the grisly image, painted in blood red, was the name of the vessel; the S.S. Satanskin.
The Satanskin was clinging onto the back of the cargo hauler using claw-like docking clamps that bit fiercely into the metal hull of its prey like a lion’s claws biting into the back of a gazelle. Docking tubes protruded from the underbelly of the black beast to meet deep wounds that had been cut into the skin of the crippled cargo hauler. Through each tube a steady stream of heavily armoured pirates now marched. Each pirate wore an armoured E.V.A. spacesuit and carried a deadly weapon. Every pirate had a fearsome design boldly painted across the visor of their suit, a skull, a demon, a snarling tiger shark or other bestial images intended to intimidate and terrify their victims. They poured into the cargo hauler like an army of ants, intent on stripping the ship clean and killing every living soul on board.
Inside the bridge of the cargo vessel the Captain stood firm with his officers beside him. He knew that he was about to die. Pirates didn’t take prisoners. They left no-one alive who could identify them. The men and women around him were shaking with terror. They held their puny looking pistols in sweating hands and stared fixedly at the hatch to the bridge as if they expected the devil himself to burst through on wings of fire. As it turned out, they were not far wrong.
With a shower of sparks the metal hatch fell inwards and landed on the deck with a clang that reverberated throughout the ship like the mournful toll of a funeral bell. Two of the officers began to fire their pistols at the incoming hoard and were instantly mown down by automatic rifle fire. The remaining crew immediately dropped their weapons and raised their hands in terror, falling to their knees as the armoured pirates surrounded them.
The Captain was a proud man, never one to cower. He stood tall with his hands clasped firmly behind his back, awaiting the death that he knew was coming for him with as much bravado as he could muster. Death came through the hatch in the shape of a huge man who was wearing an E.V.A. spacesuit that was painted with vivid black and red diamond patterns. When the Captain saw the suited figure even his stiff upper lip began to tremble.
‘Harlequin!’ he hissed through teeth that were clenched tightly in an attempt to stop them chattering.
‘I see that my reputation precedes me?’ said the helmeted figure as he came to a halt directly in front of the defiant Captain.
Harlequin’s voice sounded metallic, electronic and weirdly distorted as it came through the communication system of the Extra Vehicular Activity spacesuit. The towering figure stared calmly down at the Captain. He was a clear foot taller than the Captain. In his gloved hands he carried a coil of hemp rope which he continually twisted and pulled.
‘It precedes you like a bad smell!’ hissed the Captain as hatred burned in his eyes. ‘You’re surrounded by the foul stench of death and decay. You will burn for an eternity in the fires of hell for the crimes that you have committed!’
Harlequin began to chuckle, a sound that seemed detached from the death and destruction that surrounded him. The Captain couldn’t tear his eyes away from the rope that Harlequin continually wrought in his hands.
‘I don’t believe in hell Sir,’ said Harlequin, ‘at least not in the sense of an afterlife. There is hell enough before death for men like you and me. I give you a choice brave Captain, one choice for you and your gallant crew. Live or die. Join my crew; pledge your allegiance to me and my ship and you will live. Refuse and you die, here and now.’
There was absolute silence. Then the Captain snarled, ‘I’ll never join filthy, murderous scum like you.’
A moment passed and then a young man to the Captain’s left stepped forwards and spoke in a quavering voice. ‘I’ll join you,’ he said hoarsely.
‘Good lad!’ said Harlequin and then motioned to two of his men.
As they led the young man away back towards the Satanskin, he averted his eyes from the accusatory stare of the Captain. Then Harlequin rounded on the Captain and the remains of his crew.
‘Anyone else?’
Nobody moved or spoke.
‘Fine,’ said Harlequin and pointed with his gloved hand to the crew standing either side of the Captain.
Immediately the automatic rifles of the surrounding pirates mowed down the remaining bridge crew. A hail of bullets and chilling screams surrounded the Captain. After a second he was the only one left standing amidst a pile of twitching corpses.
Harlequin eyeballed the man through his painted visor. The Captain was still standing resolutely on the spot with his hands clasped firmly behind his back. Blood now spattered his face from his fallen crewmembers, but the man had not even flinched.
‘My, you are a tough son of a bitch!’ goaded Harlequin. ‘You should have joined us. I could have used a stalwart man like you. Now it’s going to be worse for you mate.’
The Captain finally began to shake, his resolve crumbled, anger and fear taking control. ‘Go to hell! Get it over with. Just kill me you bastard!’
‘Oh I will kill you, to be sure, but it won’t be quick,’ said Harlequin darkly. ‘I have a message to deliver.’
Then Harlequin turned to his men. ‘String him up!’ he ordered.
Several of the other pirates quickly took the rope from Harlequin’s hands and used it to tie the Captain to an overhead girder. The quaking man was hung by his outstretched arms in a crucifixion position and then hauled up until his feet were hanging a clear foot above the deck. Harlequin walked towards the Captain and looked up into his face. By now the man was utterly terrified.
‘What are you going to do?’ the Captain asked in the quiet voice of a broken man.
‘I told you,’ said Harlequin. ‘I’m going to send a message.’
Harlequin turned to a pirate who was standing next to him and nodded. The man brought a small holographic camera up, focussed it on Harlequin and the Captain and began to record. Harlequin bowed dramatically to the camera and then straightened up.
‘This message is for the Admirals of the United Worlds Space Navy’s High Command and President Smith’s government. It is from my new allies in the Insurgent organisation. They are very unhappy with how you have treated their people on the outer worlds. Your heavy-handed approach is uncalled for, barbaric and brutal. So as an object lesson they have asked me to make an example.’
Harlequin moved aside slightly to let the camera see the strung up Captain more clearly.
‘This cargo hauler was on its way to your naval base on Cairn carrying supplies. Nothing vital I’ll admit, but you will be on short rations for a while. More to the point is that this ship was under your employ. It was subcontracted to the Space Navy. Cairn is from where you launch your attacks. Cairn is your safe haven. Therefore it is Cairn that will suffer! In retaliation for your attacks and subjugation of the free people, we make this promise. We will attack any civilian ship that attempts to bring supplies to the naval base on Cairn. I repeat, all supply ships that attempt to reach Cairn will be destroyed and their crews slaughtered. Cairn will be cut off and your enlisted troops will slowly starve!’
Harlequin stepped closer towards the Captain.
‘…and just so you believe that our resolve is firm…’
Harlequin turned towards the Captain. He slowly drew a knife from a sheath on his belt and held it up so that it glinted in the light. Harlequin leaned in closely towards the Captain and whispered softly.
‘I’m sorry mate, but this is going to hurt you more than it hurts me.’
Then Harlequin began to cut.
With every slice, with every deft cleave, the Captain’s blood-curdling screams could be heard echoing throughout the entirety of the doomed vessel. When he had finished Harlequin turned towards the camera, still holding the bloody knife. Blood covered his visor and dripped down his spacesuit to pool on the deck. Behind Harlequin what remained of the Captain swung to and fro like meat on a hook in a butcher’s window.
‘That ends today’s object lesson. You can be sure that there will be others. Farewell and adieu.’
Unity Book One: Warrior of the Space Navy, is available now from Amazon...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Warrior-Space...
http://www.amazon.com/Warrior-Space-N...
July 18, 2014
The Captain's Blog welcomes Michael Cairns...
Today the Captain's Blog welcomes author Michael Cairns...
Here is a little about him:
Michael Cairns was born at a young age and could write even before he could play the drums, but that was long ago, in the glory days – when he actually had hair. He loves pineapple, playing gigs and outwitting his young daughter (the scores are about level but she’s getting smarter every day). Michael is currently working hard on writing, getting enough sleep and keeping his hair. The first is going well, the other two…not so much.
...and here is a little about his latest book.
The story is called 13 Roses and can be described as a character study/zombie apocalypse/spiritual fantasy…thing.
The flower seller sets up his stall on Embankment every day. Every day, he will serve only one customer. That person will be on the edge. Maybe they have to make a decision they dread, maybe their world is falling down around them and they are faced with a choice. Or maybe they need to change and don’t realise it. Whatever it may be, the flower seller is there, nudging them in one direction or another and giving them more than a nudge when the need arises. But who is the flower seller and why is he giving these people roses? And where do the zombies come in? All will be revealed…
Jon: so why the obsession with pineapple?
Michael: Pineapple just has it right. It's the right amount of crunch to sweetness ratio. It's also normally pretty good in terms of being ripe. I'd put nectarines in there but getting ones that are ripe can be tough. Mangos get an honourable mention but they're a sod to peel.
Jon: Do you play in a band? What's it called and what sort of music do you play?
Michael: I play in a few bands. I make money playing at corporate functions and weddings, banging out all the classic pop songs you can think of (and some you'd probably rather not)
My main gig is playing with a fabulous soul singer called Alexia Coley. She's releasing her first album (featuring me on drums) through Jalapeno records later in the year. If you like your soul funky, passionate and occasionally dirty, you can find her here: http://alexiacoley.com/
Jon: Interesting blurb. Care to tell us a little about the flower seller (without spoilers)?
Michael: Talking about the flower seller without giving too much away is tricky. He has a very difficult job and it's one he's been forced into following a release from his previous role. Despite this he takes every subject he has very seriously and strives to bring them back from whatever brink they're on. His boss is something of a harsh taskmaster but there's more going on in their relationship than simple line-managing. To be honest, the story is taking place live on the blog, so if you want to know more, the best is to check it out on the blog. Part one is here: http://cairnswrites.com/13-roses-part...
Jon: What is it about zombies that does it for you?
Michael: Good question. I first got into zombies through Day of the Dead, the classic Romero movie. It was only after I'd watched it a few times and done my research I discovered Dawn of the Dead was the real classic. But I loved the bleakness of Day along with the sheer excess of people being torn apart and eaten alive! I enjoy the way zombie films never finish with a nice clean everything's okay ending. I also love that feeling of having to survive without any real sense of hope. Cheery stuff! I love that at the heart of them, zombie movies are about ordinary people dealing with extraordinary circumstances. But the extraordinary bits are almost always secondary to the people and their personal journeys. Zombie movies can be wonderful metaphors or you can just enjoy them for the blood and guts.
Jon: What's the worst gig you've ever played and the best?
Michael: My worst gig's a tough one. There's almost always something to take away from them. I have, however, done a few gigs in run-down pubs to one man and his dog, neither of whom were interested in the music. They're rarely fun. I've had too many best gigs to choose from. Most recently I had a terrific weekend, playing in Amsterdam on the Saturday night and flying home to play the Scala in Kings Cross on the Sunday. Both gigs were great fun with great audiences and even better, the drum kits were set up before I got there :)
Jon: If you had to compare your work to another author, who would it be?
I hate to compare to anyone because it always feels arrogant. I can happily talk about my influences and the people I feel I would like to emulate. The Planets series has been described as a comic in book form, so in terms of comic writers, I love Brian Michael Bendis, Neil Gaiman, Warren Ellis, Terry Moore and Bill Willingham, among others. In books, I love all kinds, but my strong fantasy influences include Raymond E Feist, David Gemmell, David Eddings, The Wildcards series authors (best superhero series ever), Melanie Rawn and Terry Pratchett. I got a lot of my love of adventure from movies like Indiana Jones and Star Wars, and some TV shows like Buffy and Angel. It was those shows that made me want to do a serial fiction blog and I'd love to have the A Game of War series adapted for TV.
Jon: How did you become a writer in the first place?
Michael: I wrote a bit in school and had one of my stories published in the school yearbook. I then wrote nothing for ten years save some outstandingly horrible poetry in my student days. About four years ago I went on one of my wife's retreats to help with the washing up. Fortunately, the chef we hired was somewhat efficient and I found myself with a spare afternoon. With no idea of what I was going to write, I opened my laptop and typed the first sentence of my first book. By the end of the weekend I had ten thousand words down and a whole world in my head. I spent the next two months finishing the first one. I started the second, my daughter was born, and sixteen months later it was finished. I must confess, I didn't really consider myself a proper writer until the beginning of 2013. My new year's resolution was to write every day, which I have done ever since.
Jon: Everyone's writing process is different. How do you plan out a story?
Michael: This is a fun one. The most honest answer is that I don't. The most exciting thing in the world, except a lifetimes supply of chocolate, is a blank page. So I normally begin with a sentence that sounds good. What I have noticed is that it's normally something a character is thinking or saying. I have yet to begin with...'the tower was black.' So, my sentence becomes a paragraph and that becomes a scene. By the end of that first scene, I'll have a pretty good idea about the character. As I write the next few scenes, I get more of an idea of what their lives are about and what the challenge is they are facing, as well as introducing others. It comes bit by bit from then on. I'll try to search for the ending as I write, but more often than not, the big things happen literally as I'm typing. My second book, which is released this week, has a massive happening near the end. It came to me as I wrote it, but looking back, I discovered I'd set it up perfectly. So maybe stuff is happening unconsciously or maybe I'm just lucky, I'm not sure yet.
Jon: What methods do you find successful for promoting your books?
Michael: We've tried a few different things, but haven't yet managed to track the success to any particular avenue. This week we are doing our first paid promotion on some of the bigger book promo sites, so we'll have to see how they go. We released the first book in my sci-fi series, A Game of War, for free and got good initial uptake on that. I tend to get good comments through facebook. My blog has some regular readers (I post fiction there twice a week and podcast fiction once a week) but again, tracking whether they become buyers is difficult.
Jon: Is there anything else that you want people to know?
Your readers can download a free copy of Childhood Dreams from my blog by signing up to the newsletter. They will also receive updates, early opportunities to get my books and free short stories.
Also, of course, thanks so much for having me :)
Jon: Thanks for being on the Captain's Blog. It's been a real pleasure interviewing you Michael.
Here is a little about him:
Michael Cairns was born at a young age and could write even before he could play the drums, but that was long ago, in the glory days – when he actually had hair. He loves pineapple, playing gigs and outwitting his young daughter (the scores are about level but she’s getting smarter every day). Michael is currently working hard on writing, getting enough sleep and keeping his hair. The first is going well, the other two…not so much.
...and here is a little about his latest book.
The story is called 13 Roses and can be described as a character study/zombie apocalypse/spiritual fantasy…thing.
The flower seller sets up his stall on Embankment every day. Every day, he will serve only one customer. That person will be on the edge. Maybe they have to make a decision they dread, maybe their world is falling down around them and they are faced with a choice. Or maybe they need to change and don’t realise it. Whatever it may be, the flower seller is there, nudging them in one direction or another and giving them more than a nudge when the need arises. But who is the flower seller and why is he giving these people roses? And where do the zombies come in? All will be revealed…
Jon: so why the obsession with pineapple?
Michael: Pineapple just has it right. It's the right amount of crunch to sweetness ratio. It's also normally pretty good in terms of being ripe. I'd put nectarines in there but getting ones that are ripe can be tough. Mangos get an honourable mention but they're a sod to peel.
Jon: Do you play in a band? What's it called and what sort of music do you play?
Michael: I play in a few bands. I make money playing at corporate functions and weddings, banging out all the classic pop songs you can think of (and some you'd probably rather not)
My main gig is playing with a fabulous soul singer called Alexia Coley. She's releasing her first album (featuring me on drums) through Jalapeno records later in the year. If you like your soul funky, passionate and occasionally dirty, you can find her here: http://alexiacoley.com/
Jon: Interesting blurb. Care to tell us a little about the flower seller (without spoilers)?
Michael: Talking about the flower seller without giving too much away is tricky. He has a very difficult job and it's one he's been forced into following a release from his previous role. Despite this he takes every subject he has very seriously and strives to bring them back from whatever brink they're on. His boss is something of a harsh taskmaster but there's more going on in their relationship than simple line-managing. To be honest, the story is taking place live on the blog, so if you want to know more, the best is to check it out on the blog. Part one is here: http://cairnswrites.com/13-roses-part...
Jon: What is it about zombies that does it for you?
Michael: Good question. I first got into zombies through Day of the Dead, the classic Romero movie. It was only after I'd watched it a few times and done my research I discovered Dawn of the Dead was the real classic. But I loved the bleakness of Day along with the sheer excess of people being torn apart and eaten alive! I enjoy the way zombie films never finish with a nice clean everything's okay ending. I also love that feeling of having to survive without any real sense of hope. Cheery stuff! I love that at the heart of them, zombie movies are about ordinary people dealing with extraordinary circumstances. But the extraordinary bits are almost always secondary to the people and their personal journeys. Zombie movies can be wonderful metaphors or you can just enjoy them for the blood and guts.
Jon: What's the worst gig you've ever played and the best?
Michael: My worst gig's a tough one. There's almost always something to take away from them. I have, however, done a few gigs in run-down pubs to one man and his dog, neither of whom were interested in the music. They're rarely fun. I've had too many best gigs to choose from. Most recently I had a terrific weekend, playing in Amsterdam on the Saturday night and flying home to play the Scala in Kings Cross on the Sunday. Both gigs were great fun with great audiences and even better, the drum kits were set up before I got there :)
Jon: If you had to compare your work to another author, who would it be?
I hate to compare to anyone because it always feels arrogant. I can happily talk about my influences and the people I feel I would like to emulate. The Planets series has been described as a comic in book form, so in terms of comic writers, I love Brian Michael Bendis, Neil Gaiman, Warren Ellis, Terry Moore and Bill Willingham, among others. In books, I love all kinds, but my strong fantasy influences include Raymond E Feist, David Gemmell, David Eddings, The Wildcards series authors (best superhero series ever), Melanie Rawn and Terry Pratchett. I got a lot of my love of adventure from movies like Indiana Jones and Star Wars, and some TV shows like Buffy and Angel. It was those shows that made me want to do a serial fiction blog and I'd love to have the A Game of War series adapted for TV.
Jon: How did you become a writer in the first place?
Michael: I wrote a bit in school and had one of my stories published in the school yearbook. I then wrote nothing for ten years save some outstandingly horrible poetry in my student days. About four years ago I went on one of my wife's retreats to help with the washing up. Fortunately, the chef we hired was somewhat efficient and I found myself with a spare afternoon. With no idea of what I was going to write, I opened my laptop and typed the first sentence of my first book. By the end of the weekend I had ten thousand words down and a whole world in my head. I spent the next two months finishing the first one. I started the second, my daughter was born, and sixteen months later it was finished. I must confess, I didn't really consider myself a proper writer until the beginning of 2013. My new year's resolution was to write every day, which I have done ever since.
Jon: Everyone's writing process is different. How do you plan out a story?
Michael: This is a fun one. The most honest answer is that I don't. The most exciting thing in the world, except a lifetimes supply of chocolate, is a blank page. So I normally begin with a sentence that sounds good. What I have noticed is that it's normally something a character is thinking or saying. I have yet to begin with...'the tower was black.' So, my sentence becomes a paragraph and that becomes a scene. By the end of that first scene, I'll have a pretty good idea about the character. As I write the next few scenes, I get more of an idea of what their lives are about and what the challenge is they are facing, as well as introducing others. It comes bit by bit from then on. I'll try to search for the ending as I write, but more often than not, the big things happen literally as I'm typing. My second book, which is released this week, has a massive happening near the end. It came to me as I wrote it, but looking back, I discovered I'd set it up perfectly. So maybe stuff is happening unconsciously or maybe I'm just lucky, I'm not sure yet.
Jon: What methods do you find successful for promoting your books?
Michael: We've tried a few different things, but haven't yet managed to track the success to any particular avenue. This week we are doing our first paid promotion on some of the bigger book promo sites, so we'll have to see how they go. We released the first book in my sci-fi series, A Game of War, for free and got good initial uptake on that. I tend to get good comments through facebook. My blog has some regular readers (I post fiction there twice a week and podcast fiction once a week) but again, tracking whether they become buyers is difficult.
Jon: Is there anything else that you want people to know?
Your readers can download a free copy of Childhood Dreams from my blog by signing up to the newsletter. They will also receive updates, early opportunities to get my books and free short stories.
Also, of course, thanks so much for having me :)
Jon: Thanks for being on the Captain's Blog. It's been a real pleasure interviewing you Michael.
May 4, 2014
The Captain's Blog: Blog Hop. My Writing Process
Today on the Captain's Blog I am participating in a blog hop. I was tagged by Jenny Burnley @JennyBurnley1. Her blog is here:
http://www.jennyburnley.co.uk/bloghop
I then tagged Michael Cairns @cairnswrites. His tagged blog is here:
http://cairnswrites.com/category/auth...
I was asked to answer four questions about my writing. So here goes...
1: What am I working on?
I usually like to work on a couple of things at once, that way I don't get bored with one project. So currently I'm editing Unity Book One and polishing up the cover. I'm also putting the finishing touches to a slightly extended edition of Josiah Trenchard 2: Morgenstern. This will bring the word length in line with parts 1, 3 and 4. I don't know why it ended up being shorter, it just did. Anyway, the re-write will cure that. Plus I've started working out the plot for JT 5: Arkhangelsk, but more of that later...
2: How does my work differ from others in my genre?
That's hard to answer. I guess I try to be original? That's very hard to do when writing science fiction. It's very easy to fall back onto stereotypes. So for example, when I created the Space Navy, I decided to base it upon the British Royal Navy, rather than the American version or the Marines. I spent a lot of time researching how the RN rank structure works, what life aboard a submarine is like. It's these little details that make or break a story for me. Inevitably some militaria from other services around the world creeps into my work, but that's inevitable. Military experts would probably pick holes in my books. But the point is that I've tried to be different.
The other way my work is different is that I've tried to include as many different races, creeds, colours and even regional personalities as possible. For example, a couple of my characters are Geordies (from the North East of the UK). There are so many different regions in the UK, different accents and cultural differences, it seems wrong not to delve deeply into them. Traditionally, the British military would recruit from all over the UK. There would even be specialist regiments, Scottish, Welsh, Northumbrian. So why not have the same thing in science fiction? A friend of mine often refers to my work as "Geordies in Space", which is a direct reference to the Muppets "Pigs in Space". It's a little glib, but it does exemplify what my books are about. Apart from Dave Lister in Red Dwarf, I can't think of any other famous Scousers in space? Can you? I can't think of any Geordies in popular science fiction and Geordie La Forge doesn't count!
3: Why do I write what I do?
I was always creative, even from being a child when I would make models out of cereal packets and draw. I did Art and Design right through school and into University. Then I had a ten year career working in the Animation industry as a prop and set maker and finally Art Director on Bob the Builder. Then through a series of events that I won't go into here, I became a gardener. Gardening is a great job, if a little wet at times. I did it for many years without any problems and then gradually I became aware of a hole in my life. I didn't do anything artistic any more. I didn't paint, draw, make models or write. I felt I was missing something important.
I had some stories left over from my university days that I had developed into TV scripts when I was working on Bob the Builder. I desperately needed an artistic outlet. I had been thinking about trying to write them as novels, so I wrote a book called "Unity" and then looked into publishing the traditional way, which is hard. Then a friend suggested self publishing on Amazon and here I am.
The point is that I needed to do something artistic like I need to breathe. I love to write and I build models for the covers and Photoshop them. Even if I never make much money in the self publishing game I will still create the books. I do this because I have to, because I need to. It completes me. I love what I do and I think that shines through in my work.
4: How does my writing process work?
I have a huge story arc / time line for my science fiction universe printed onto several sheets of A4 paper and stuck to the back of my wardrobe doors. This covers major events and gives an overview of the whole series plot. This is broken down into two streams which follow the two book series that I am currently working on, Unity and Josiah Trenchard. I have an idea for a third and possibly fourth which would take place within the same story arc.
Each book then takes place within a set time within that arc and will revolve around key events. The next thing I do is come up with a basic theme for that particular book, for example, zombies, Frankenstein's monster or a space battle. My next Josiah Trenchard book is primarily a huge space battle and I have taken my inspiration from a doomed World War Two merchant convoy that was trying to take supplies to Russia. Through a series of blunders, most of the convoy's protection fled and left the merchants to the mercy of the German fleet. Only a few merchant ships made it into safe harbour and that was mainly due to one very brave Captain. This story seemed to fit my gallant Captain Trenchard perfectly. The next book will also be Trenchard's "Wrath of Kahn". He will meet and battle an old adversary to the death!
The next thing I do is rough the book's story out using post-it notes on a wall. This makes it easy to move things around until I'm happy with the flow of the narrative. Next I begin to write. I like to keep the chapters short, around 3,000 words which equates to roughly six pages in Word. I write every morning before I go out gardening as I'm fresher then. You have to write every day and treat it like any other job, it's no good just writing when you feel like it, you'll get nothing written. Each morning I edit what I did the day before and then write something new.
Eventually I will have a rough draft. I return to the start and begin to edit. Then I edit all over again. Once I'm happy with the rough draft, I read the book to my wife, editing as I go. She comments on plot, characters and anything that doesn't seem to be right. She reads a great deal and has no truck with anything that a character "wouldn't do" or is too convenient. After she's heard my books read, we argue about the plot points and then I invariably go and do what she told me to anyway, after I've thought about it. She's usually right, but don't tell her that! After I've edited all her suggestions, which sometimes can mean a drastic re-write, I leave the book alone for a few weeks and work on something else.
The final stage is for her to read the book back to me, like listening to an audio book. This is important, I don't look at the screen, it's too distracting. I simply lie back and let the story flow by. I'm listening for how the dialogue sounds, does the action work? I can really tune the characters properly this way. Meanwhile my wife is proof reading as she goes, checking spelling, punctuation and grammar. Once that's done, the book is ready to publish.
Well, that my blog hop done. I hope you check out Jenny's and Michael's who I've tagged. There's lots of great independent authors out there. Go ahead and try a few!
Honour, strength and unity.
Jon.
http://www.jennyburnley.co.uk/bloghop
I then tagged Michael Cairns @cairnswrites. His tagged blog is here:
http://cairnswrites.com/category/auth...
I was asked to answer four questions about my writing. So here goes...
1: What am I working on?
I usually like to work on a couple of things at once, that way I don't get bored with one project. So currently I'm editing Unity Book One and polishing up the cover. I'm also putting the finishing touches to a slightly extended edition of Josiah Trenchard 2: Morgenstern. This will bring the word length in line with parts 1, 3 and 4. I don't know why it ended up being shorter, it just did. Anyway, the re-write will cure that. Plus I've started working out the plot for JT 5: Arkhangelsk, but more of that later...
2: How does my work differ from others in my genre?
That's hard to answer. I guess I try to be original? That's very hard to do when writing science fiction. It's very easy to fall back onto stereotypes. So for example, when I created the Space Navy, I decided to base it upon the British Royal Navy, rather than the American version or the Marines. I spent a lot of time researching how the RN rank structure works, what life aboard a submarine is like. It's these little details that make or break a story for me. Inevitably some militaria from other services around the world creeps into my work, but that's inevitable. Military experts would probably pick holes in my books. But the point is that I've tried to be different.
The other way my work is different is that I've tried to include as many different races, creeds, colours and even regional personalities as possible. For example, a couple of my characters are Geordies (from the North East of the UK). There are so many different regions in the UK, different accents and cultural differences, it seems wrong not to delve deeply into them. Traditionally, the British military would recruit from all over the UK. There would even be specialist regiments, Scottish, Welsh, Northumbrian. So why not have the same thing in science fiction? A friend of mine often refers to my work as "Geordies in Space", which is a direct reference to the Muppets "Pigs in Space". It's a little glib, but it does exemplify what my books are about. Apart from Dave Lister in Red Dwarf, I can't think of any other famous Scousers in space? Can you? I can't think of any Geordies in popular science fiction and Geordie La Forge doesn't count!
3: Why do I write what I do?
I was always creative, even from being a child when I would make models out of cereal packets and draw. I did Art and Design right through school and into University. Then I had a ten year career working in the Animation industry as a prop and set maker and finally Art Director on Bob the Builder. Then through a series of events that I won't go into here, I became a gardener. Gardening is a great job, if a little wet at times. I did it for many years without any problems and then gradually I became aware of a hole in my life. I didn't do anything artistic any more. I didn't paint, draw, make models or write. I felt I was missing something important.
I had some stories left over from my university days that I had developed into TV scripts when I was working on Bob the Builder. I desperately needed an artistic outlet. I had been thinking about trying to write them as novels, so I wrote a book called "Unity" and then looked into publishing the traditional way, which is hard. Then a friend suggested self publishing on Amazon and here I am.
The point is that I needed to do something artistic like I need to breathe. I love to write and I build models for the covers and Photoshop them. Even if I never make much money in the self publishing game I will still create the books. I do this because I have to, because I need to. It completes me. I love what I do and I think that shines through in my work.
4: How does my writing process work?
I have a huge story arc / time line for my science fiction universe printed onto several sheets of A4 paper and stuck to the back of my wardrobe doors. This covers major events and gives an overview of the whole series plot. This is broken down into two streams which follow the two book series that I am currently working on, Unity and Josiah Trenchard. I have an idea for a third and possibly fourth which would take place within the same story arc.
Each book then takes place within a set time within that arc and will revolve around key events. The next thing I do is come up with a basic theme for that particular book, for example, zombies, Frankenstein's monster or a space battle. My next Josiah Trenchard book is primarily a huge space battle and I have taken my inspiration from a doomed World War Two merchant convoy that was trying to take supplies to Russia. Through a series of blunders, most of the convoy's protection fled and left the merchants to the mercy of the German fleet. Only a few merchant ships made it into safe harbour and that was mainly due to one very brave Captain. This story seemed to fit my gallant Captain Trenchard perfectly. The next book will also be Trenchard's "Wrath of Kahn". He will meet and battle an old adversary to the death!
The next thing I do is rough the book's story out using post-it notes on a wall. This makes it easy to move things around until I'm happy with the flow of the narrative. Next I begin to write. I like to keep the chapters short, around 3,000 words which equates to roughly six pages in Word. I write every morning before I go out gardening as I'm fresher then. You have to write every day and treat it like any other job, it's no good just writing when you feel like it, you'll get nothing written. Each morning I edit what I did the day before and then write something new.
Eventually I will have a rough draft. I return to the start and begin to edit. Then I edit all over again. Once I'm happy with the rough draft, I read the book to my wife, editing as I go. She comments on plot, characters and anything that doesn't seem to be right. She reads a great deal and has no truck with anything that a character "wouldn't do" or is too convenient. After she's heard my books read, we argue about the plot points and then I invariably go and do what she told me to anyway, after I've thought about it. She's usually right, but don't tell her that! After I've edited all her suggestions, which sometimes can mean a drastic re-write, I leave the book alone for a few weeks and work on something else.
The final stage is for her to read the book back to me, like listening to an audio book. This is important, I don't look at the screen, it's too distracting. I simply lie back and let the story flow by. I'm listening for how the dialogue sounds, does the action work? I can really tune the characters properly this way. Meanwhile my wife is proof reading as she goes, checking spelling, punctuation and grammar. Once that's done, the book is ready to publish.
Well, that my blog hop done. I hope you check out Jenny's and Michael's who I've tagged. There's lots of great independent authors out there. Go ahead and try a few!
Honour, strength and unity.
Jon.
April 25, 2014
The Captain's Blog: Nostalgia isn't what it used to be...
It occurred to me the other day that I have crossed a line and that I am now old. “How old?” I hear you shouting at the computer screen. Well I’m on the way to forty three this year. “Jeez, that’s ancient!” shout the writhing teenage masses, huddled around their iPhones for warmth. “I’d kill to be that age again!” grumble the over sixties as they stir their tea and wonder if they still have any haemorrhoid cream left in the bathroom cabinet.
…and that’s just the point isn’t it. Age is relative. You are as old as you feel. I’ll stop before I throw out any more glib clichés and get on with the point of my story. I now feel old because of two main things. First my body is beginning to fall apart by degrees. I have aches and pains that won’t go away any more. Gone are the days when I can eat a spicy pizza after eight in the evening and that third glass of wine will come with a severe headache in the morning and an early alarm call from my full bladder. These are normal processes of getting old and not the big problem.
The main symptom of getting old is what happens inside your head. You start to look upon life with a dismissive and condescending sneer. Everything becomes a problem to solve rather than a challenge to overcome. Gone are the happy go lucky days of youth and yes, you start to reminisce. Nothing is as good as it used to be!
Nostalgia is a good thing in small doses, but recently I have become sharply and acutely aware of the sheer weight of time behind me and the dwindling days ahead. To illustrate I will partake in some nostalgic rambling for the next few paragraphs which will have some of you nodding sagely and saying “Yes, I remember that!” and the rest of you wrinkling your brow and asking, “Did they actually have electricity when you were born?’
I remember when there were no McDonalds or Subways in the high street at all…
(Waits for the clamour to die down.)
Yes, the high streets of the U.K. used to be thankfully free of fast food chains. Each city had a different feel to it. Each street was picked out by individual cafes that sold bacon buttys and independent record stores that sold vinyl before it became fashionable again the second time around.
There was no such thing as a mobile phone. The phone was screwed to the wall of the hallway at home and you were always within earshot of your parents.
Computers were virtually non-existent. My Dad bought one of the very first home computers, the Sinclair ZX-80. The limit of its programming prowess went something like this:
10 Print “Hello”
20 Goto (10)
Which got a result that looked something like this:
Hello
Hello
Hello
Hello
Hello
Hello
Hello
(Ad infinitum)
Social networking involved talking to a friend in the playground or writing a thank-you letter to your auntie for the one pound that she sent you for your birthday.
For a large part of my childhood there were only two television channels. Eventually we got channel 4 which seemed like heaven at the time.
If you wanted to find out how to get somewhere you had to look at a strange piece of paper called “a map” and then argue about it with your partner in the car.
No-one had even thought about Balsamic vinegar, deconstructed beef Wellington, pea shoots or Tapas.
Beer and petrol were both less than a quid.
CD was a term applied to certain back alley shops that sold magazines for gentlemen and there was no such thing as internet porn!
The natural outcome of nostalgia is to become horribly depressed at the fact that things aren’t what they used to be. When you discover that your favourite pop song isn’t just a cover, but a cover of a cover of a cover that some twelve year old has just re-issued, it is difficult not to feel cheated in some way.
I have a terribly Buddhist method of coping with this. It’s not the fact that things change that is the real problem. Everything changes all the time. It’s your own personal unwillingness to accept this change that causes stress. If you accept that things will change and even welcome the change with open arms, you will find that you begin to worry a lot less about “modern life”. I’m not saying that I manage to do this all the time myself, but it’s always at the back of my mind.
So when you’re staring at a smart phone screen and trying to work out how to dial a number or watching the blue screen of death on your PC, be thankful that you have these things. They improve the quality of your life and the future is bright.
Once the environmentally friendly, long-life bulb warms up that is…
Goodbye
Goodbye
Goodbye
Goodbye
Goodbye
Goodbye
Goodbye
Goodbye………
…and that’s just the point isn’t it. Age is relative. You are as old as you feel. I’ll stop before I throw out any more glib clichés and get on with the point of my story. I now feel old because of two main things. First my body is beginning to fall apart by degrees. I have aches and pains that won’t go away any more. Gone are the days when I can eat a spicy pizza after eight in the evening and that third glass of wine will come with a severe headache in the morning and an early alarm call from my full bladder. These are normal processes of getting old and not the big problem.
The main symptom of getting old is what happens inside your head. You start to look upon life with a dismissive and condescending sneer. Everything becomes a problem to solve rather than a challenge to overcome. Gone are the happy go lucky days of youth and yes, you start to reminisce. Nothing is as good as it used to be!
Nostalgia is a good thing in small doses, but recently I have become sharply and acutely aware of the sheer weight of time behind me and the dwindling days ahead. To illustrate I will partake in some nostalgic rambling for the next few paragraphs which will have some of you nodding sagely and saying “Yes, I remember that!” and the rest of you wrinkling your brow and asking, “Did they actually have electricity when you were born?’
I remember when there were no McDonalds or Subways in the high street at all…
(Waits for the clamour to die down.)
Yes, the high streets of the U.K. used to be thankfully free of fast food chains. Each city had a different feel to it. Each street was picked out by individual cafes that sold bacon buttys and independent record stores that sold vinyl before it became fashionable again the second time around.
There was no such thing as a mobile phone. The phone was screwed to the wall of the hallway at home and you were always within earshot of your parents.
Computers were virtually non-existent. My Dad bought one of the very first home computers, the Sinclair ZX-80. The limit of its programming prowess went something like this:
10 Print “Hello”
20 Goto (10)
Which got a result that looked something like this:
Hello
Hello
Hello
Hello
Hello
Hello
Hello
(Ad infinitum)
Social networking involved talking to a friend in the playground or writing a thank-you letter to your auntie for the one pound that she sent you for your birthday.
For a large part of my childhood there were only two television channels. Eventually we got channel 4 which seemed like heaven at the time.
If you wanted to find out how to get somewhere you had to look at a strange piece of paper called “a map” and then argue about it with your partner in the car.
No-one had even thought about Balsamic vinegar, deconstructed beef Wellington, pea shoots or Tapas.
Beer and petrol were both less than a quid.
CD was a term applied to certain back alley shops that sold magazines for gentlemen and there was no such thing as internet porn!
The natural outcome of nostalgia is to become horribly depressed at the fact that things aren’t what they used to be. When you discover that your favourite pop song isn’t just a cover, but a cover of a cover of a cover that some twelve year old has just re-issued, it is difficult not to feel cheated in some way.
I have a terribly Buddhist method of coping with this. It’s not the fact that things change that is the real problem. Everything changes all the time. It’s your own personal unwillingness to accept this change that causes stress. If you accept that things will change and even welcome the change with open arms, you will find that you begin to worry a lot less about “modern life”. I’m not saying that I manage to do this all the time myself, but it’s always at the back of my mind.
So when you’re staring at a smart phone screen and trying to work out how to dial a number or watching the blue screen of death on your PC, be thankful that you have these things. They improve the quality of your life and the future is bright.
Once the environmentally friendly, long-life bulb warms up that is…
Goodbye
Goodbye
Goodbye
Goodbye
Goodbye
Goodbye
Goodbye
Goodbye………
March 30, 2014
The Captain's Blog welcomes Jenny Burnley...
Today, the Captain's Blog welcomes Jenny Burnley, author of Zenzoris Returns. Here is a little about her:
I have always loved reading and writing, from as far back as I can remember. I loved both stories, poems and non-fiction as a child and it is the same for me now. I almost always have a novel, a biography or some non-fiction book on the go at the same time. And of course, my beloved Kindle, packed with dozens of books, goes everywhere with me. I have a fairly eclectic taste in reading, depending on my mood or how busy I am at any one time. I do love a good thriller or crime novel, though, especially when snuggled up in my bed on a cold winter’s night, with the wind howling outside for good, atmospheric effect. There’s many a night I’ve been too scared to turn out the light and that’s only with Harry Potter, so forget Stephen King.
My father was a writer and he would often write stories and poems for us. In those days, he wrote everything by hand, so it’s hard to imagine in this technological age what it must have been like to write, then edit, using pen and ink. It’s bad enough nowadays with word processing being so comparatively easy. I can’t begin to think of editing by hand. Shudders. My dad died many years ago, so I often think what he would make of all the changes in book publishing today. He was far more interested in the writing, rather than in recognition or monetary gain, especially with his plays, some of which were performed on the BBC radio drama hour in his day.
Like my Dad, novel writing is a very enjoyable hobby for me, rather than a career. In my ‘real’ job I do a tremendous amount of writing, but in a more academic, (yes, some might even say boring!) field. I find writing to be a great escape from all the things that annoy/bug/stress me in the real world. It is pure therapy and I love it. Also, I think fiction-writing is great because you get to make up stuff, a bit like lying, but you get away with it under the guise of artistic license.
A few people have asked why I do not have a photograph on my Twitter avatar. Well, first of all I am extremely ugly and can scare babies from as far as a hundred paces away. However, the main reason is my job, which precludes me from divulging who I am or where I work. I will therefore have to remain mysteriously anonymous under my author name (at least until I give up the day job!)
...and here is her book blurb:
"Sophie Radcliffe, a feisty, Texan intergalactic agent, is a brilliant computer programmer with a phenomenal photographic memory. She has worked for the Intergalactic Law Enforcement Agency for ten years and is considered to be the best human agent on the team. She works alongside two other humans, Tom Logan, a tough, ex-police cop from Chicago and Justin Adams, a talented British linguist, whose arrogant, superior ways get right under the skin of his colleagues. When the agents discover their nemesis, a Drogg named Zenzoris, has escaped his prison pod and is seeking vengeance; the mission to recapture him takes the agents on a terrifying, roller-coaster adventure. Will the Drogg succeed in overthrowing the Intergalactic Council this time? The agents battle against time to find Zenzoris before he exacts his terrible revenge."
Jon: How did you come up with the idea for Zenzoris, what was your inspiration?
Jenny: Sophie Radcliffe, the heroine of the series, is a tough, brilliant intergalactic agent from Houston, Texas. The idea for Sophie came to me when I lived in Houston, where the inspiring Johnson Space Centre was a second home for me. Sophie somehow came to life for me when I was there. I I love the idea that somewhere up there in the universe, other life exists, so with a bit of imagination and creative licence, along with a dollop of quantum physics, mixed with the odd wormhole and the magic of anti-gravity, all the intergalactic characters were born. Once I had outlined the basic plot, the characters unfolded naturally and of course sci-fi is a wonderful genre that allows your imagination to fly. Zenzoris, the Drogg, is a wicked character with a vengeful spirit. I enjoyed creating him because he allows Sophie to show how tough and clever she is in her quest to find and defeat him.
Jon: Why did you spend so much time at the Space Centre?
Jenny: It allowed me to feed my huge fascination for space exploration and the study of our amazing universe. It was also quite near to where we lived in Houston and was always a place I dragged visiting rellies/friends/kids etc. to (possibly against their will when I think about it.
Jon: What's a Drogg?
Jenny: A Drogg is an extra-terrestrial member of a sub-civilization from the planet Sentinart. They are not true Sentinartis and look different from them; they are taller with short necks, leathery skin a shade of purple/brown with 3 red eyes! They speak the Sentinarti language (Gorsayi means Greetings) Zenzoris, Sophie Radcliffe's nemesis, is an evil Drogg, who inexplicably escapes his prison pod and seeks revenge on Sophie who describes him as 'dastardly and alarming'.
Jon: How much of an influence on your writing is your Dad! Do you feel like he's looking over your shoulder while you're writing?
Jenny: I don't think my Dad influenced me too much in terms of what I write because I write about completely different things, but I know I have inherited my love of poetry and wacky imagination from him. (He was very creative, but nuts too like me)
Jon: How much of your personality is in Sophie? What aspects of yourself do you see in her?
Jenny: I'd like to think I had Sophie's personality; she's a very smart scientist with a photographic memory. She is a loud Texan gal, while the real me is more the quiet, English reserved, not over-confident type. Sophie is explosive and fond of uttering expletives, but I rarely get rattled and only ever say words like that in my head, so maybe there's some subliminal Tourette's going on there with me. She's a lot more serious than me too. I find it hard to be serious for more than a few minutes-(I think I must drive everybody mad). I was always the class clown as a kid, probably the way I coped with my shyness.
Jon: Are you working on a new book at the moment?
Jenny: I am editing at the moment. There are three Sophie Radcliffe books and the last two are roughly finished. It's hard finding time to write sometimes when juggling a demanding job, big family, garden, blog and social media (blah blah blah!) I'm not complaining, though, because I thrive on plate-spinning, even if I do drop one or two occasionally. I love being busy and have my fingers in so many pies it's a wonder I'm not covered in pastry!
Jon: If there was a book that you wish you had written, what would it be?
Jenny: I enjoy so many different genres from classics to modern/crime/scifi novels, but I love K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat, The Lord of the Rings and Wuthering Heights.
Jon: Is there anything else that you would like to tell the readers?
Jenny: My website link is:
jennyburnley.co.uk
Zenzoris Amazon links are:
http://goo.gl/4SAq9 UK
http://amzn.to/18Jzhvd US
Jon: A big thank you to Jenny for appearing on the Captain's Blog!
I have always loved reading and writing, from as far back as I can remember. I loved both stories, poems and non-fiction as a child and it is the same for me now. I almost always have a novel, a biography or some non-fiction book on the go at the same time. And of course, my beloved Kindle, packed with dozens of books, goes everywhere with me. I have a fairly eclectic taste in reading, depending on my mood or how busy I am at any one time. I do love a good thriller or crime novel, though, especially when snuggled up in my bed on a cold winter’s night, with the wind howling outside for good, atmospheric effect. There’s many a night I’ve been too scared to turn out the light and that’s only with Harry Potter, so forget Stephen King.
My father was a writer and he would often write stories and poems for us. In those days, he wrote everything by hand, so it’s hard to imagine in this technological age what it must have been like to write, then edit, using pen and ink. It’s bad enough nowadays with word processing being so comparatively easy. I can’t begin to think of editing by hand. Shudders. My dad died many years ago, so I often think what he would make of all the changes in book publishing today. He was far more interested in the writing, rather than in recognition or monetary gain, especially with his plays, some of which were performed on the BBC radio drama hour in his day.
Like my Dad, novel writing is a very enjoyable hobby for me, rather than a career. In my ‘real’ job I do a tremendous amount of writing, but in a more academic, (yes, some might even say boring!) field. I find writing to be a great escape from all the things that annoy/bug/stress me in the real world. It is pure therapy and I love it. Also, I think fiction-writing is great because you get to make up stuff, a bit like lying, but you get away with it under the guise of artistic license.
A few people have asked why I do not have a photograph on my Twitter avatar. Well, first of all I am extremely ugly and can scare babies from as far as a hundred paces away. However, the main reason is my job, which precludes me from divulging who I am or where I work. I will therefore have to remain mysteriously anonymous under my author name (at least until I give up the day job!)
...and here is her book blurb:
"Sophie Radcliffe, a feisty, Texan intergalactic agent, is a brilliant computer programmer with a phenomenal photographic memory. She has worked for the Intergalactic Law Enforcement Agency for ten years and is considered to be the best human agent on the team. She works alongside two other humans, Tom Logan, a tough, ex-police cop from Chicago and Justin Adams, a talented British linguist, whose arrogant, superior ways get right under the skin of his colleagues. When the agents discover their nemesis, a Drogg named Zenzoris, has escaped his prison pod and is seeking vengeance; the mission to recapture him takes the agents on a terrifying, roller-coaster adventure. Will the Drogg succeed in overthrowing the Intergalactic Council this time? The agents battle against time to find Zenzoris before he exacts his terrible revenge."
Jon: How did you come up with the idea for Zenzoris, what was your inspiration?
Jenny: Sophie Radcliffe, the heroine of the series, is a tough, brilliant intergalactic agent from Houston, Texas. The idea for Sophie came to me when I lived in Houston, where the inspiring Johnson Space Centre was a second home for me. Sophie somehow came to life for me when I was there. I I love the idea that somewhere up there in the universe, other life exists, so with a bit of imagination and creative licence, along with a dollop of quantum physics, mixed with the odd wormhole and the magic of anti-gravity, all the intergalactic characters were born. Once I had outlined the basic plot, the characters unfolded naturally and of course sci-fi is a wonderful genre that allows your imagination to fly. Zenzoris, the Drogg, is a wicked character with a vengeful spirit. I enjoyed creating him because he allows Sophie to show how tough and clever she is in her quest to find and defeat him.
Jon: Why did you spend so much time at the Space Centre?
Jenny: It allowed me to feed my huge fascination for space exploration and the study of our amazing universe. It was also quite near to where we lived in Houston and was always a place I dragged visiting rellies/friends/kids etc. to (possibly against their will when I think about it.
Jon: What's a Drogg?
Jenny: A Drogg is an extra-terrestrial member of a sub-civilization from the planet Sentinart. They are not true Sentinartis and look different from them; they are taller with short necks, leathery skin a shade of purple/brown with 3 red eyes! They speak the Sentinarti language (Gorsayi means Greetings) Zenzoris, Sophie Radcliffe's nemesis, is an evil Drogg, who inexplicably escapes his prison pod and seeks revenge on Sophie who describes him as 'dastardly and alarming'.
Jon: How much of an influence on your writing is your Dad! Do you feel like he's looking over your shoulder while you're writing?
Jenny: I don't think my Dad influenced me too much in terms of what I write because I write about completely different things, but I know I have inherited my love of poetry and wacky imagination from him. (He was very creative, but nuts too like me)
Jon: How much of your personality is in Sophie? What aspects of yourself do you see in her?
Jenny: I'd like to think I had Sophie's personality; she's a very smart scientist with a photographic memory. She is a loud Texan gal, while the real me is more the quiet, English reserved, not over-confident type. Sophie is explosive and fond of uttering expletives, but I rarely get rattled and only ever say words like that in my head, so maybe there's some subliminal Tourette's going on there with me. She's a lot more serious than me too. I find it hard to be serious for more than a few minutes-(I think I must drive everybody mad). I was always the class clown as a kid, probably the way I coped with my shyness.
Jon: Are you working on a new book at the moment?
Jenny: I am editing at the moment. There are three Sophie Radcliffe books and the last two are roughly finished. It's hard finding time to write sometimes when juggling a demanding job, big family, garden, blog and social media (blah blah blah!) I'm not complaining, though, because I thrive on plate-spinning, even if I do drop one or two occasionally. I love being busy and have my fingers in so many pies it's a wonder I'm not covered in pastry!
Jon: If there was a book that you wish you had written, what would it be?
Jenny: I enjoy so many different genres from classics to modern/crime/scifi novels, but I love K. Jerome's Three Men in a Boat, The Lord of the Rings and Wuthering Heights.
Jon: Is there anything else that you would like to tell the readers?
Jenny: My website link is:
jennyburnley.co.uk
Zenzoris Amazon links are:
http://goo.gl/4SAq9 UK
http://amzn.to/18Jzhvd US
Jon: A big thank you to Jenny for appearing on the Captain's Blog!
February 16, 2014
The Captain's Blog proudly presents: How to format your Word document correctly for Kindle...
Today on the “Captain’s Blog”, I’m going to give you the basic tips on how to format your book in order to successfully publish on Amazon Kindle. If you’re anything like I was before I published for the first time, then you’ve probably written your book, most probably in Microsoft Word and are thinking “Right! What do I do next?”
Formatting your book is really difficult… the first time. You’ll almost certainly have done some of the formatting wrong and will have to re-edit the whole book.
DON’T PANIC!
It’s alright. Breathe slowly and I’ll get you through this. I had to completely re-edit the whole of my first book and take out every single tab and return. It took HOURS. But, when you have done this once, you’ll know for next time and the formatting will become second nature to you.
All of my advice in this blog is distilled from a wonderful FREE guide that you can download from Amazon called “Building Your Book for Kindle” by Kindle Direct Publishing. Here is the link:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Building-Your...
I heartily recommend that you get this book. It is helpful and detailed, but sometimes the instructions are a little hard to follow. That’s why I went through the whole guide and made my own notes. It is those notes that are the basis of this blog.
I’m assuming that being a writer, you have a reasonable grasp of Microsoft Word. The instructions below work for my, rather old version of Word (2002). You may have to experiment to find out how to do the same thing if you have a more recent version of Word or you are using another word processor.
Unless you’re including pictures inside your book, file size shouldn’t be a problem, but it must be kept less than 50 meg. I looked into adding pictures and on my first run, my brain melted, so I didn’t bother. I’ll leave it up to you to work that one out. I’m concentrating here on a purely text novel. Do NOT paste in images, it won’t work.
So, let’s begin…
1) Do NOT use tabs!
This is the biggest mistake. I made it and as mentioned above, I had to re-format my whole book. Instead of using tabs, you set the automatic first line indentation as follows:
Format > Paragraph > Indentation and Spacing > Indentation > Special > First Line 1.27cm (1 Inch)
This sets every first line in a new paragraph automatically to one inch, which gives a professional “book” look. The measurements are set in your preferences to either cm or inches. Do not forget however to remove the indentation at the very start of each new section within a chapter. Simply click before the first word of the new section and press backspace. This is a mistake that I see in a lot of indie books and it doesn’t look professional. Look at a print book and you’ll see no indent at the start of a chapter and each subsequent new section.
2) Do NOT use returns to put spaces in-between sections.
The way that a Kindle reader works means that it doesn’t recognise things like font size and returns. If you do use returns then the book might look wrong on a Kindle viewer. To insert a space between sections…
Format > Paragraph > Indents & Spacing > Spacing > After > 12pt.
I use 12pt to separate sections and 24pt after a Chapter heading. You can use whatever you wish. To make sure that you don’t have any errant returns hiding in your book…
View > Show Paragraph Marks (Tick ON)
This will show a mark wherever there is a return. If you’ve used the method above, there should be no marks.
3) No Headers or Footers (Like page numbers)
A reader of your book can set the font size to whatever they want. This means that there are no set page sizes. That in turn means that headers and footers generally don’t work and mess up the formatting. Don’t use them.
4) Do not use different font sizes.
Similarly as outlined above, different font sizes will not show properly on a Kindle because the reader can change the font size to whatever they want. Stick to one font size for the whole document. I use Times New Roman 12 Point, 1.5 Line Spaced.
5) Justify both sides.
This seems obvious, but it makes the final document look more like a book page.
6) Insert page breaks at the end of chapters.
Again quite obvious, but necessary to separate the chapters so that your “Table of Contents” navigator will work properly.
Insert > Break > Page Break
7) Chapter Titles.
This bit is VERY important. The look of your Chapter headings can be as you wish within reason. They should be the same font and size as the rest of the document. I usually centre mine and make them bold. I don’t use underlining, but that’s a personal preference.
In order for your Table of Contents to work properly, you need to tell the Word document that this is a Chapter Heading and not body text. There are other ways to do this in Word, but this is the simplest way and it works for me. Highlight the whole Chapter Heading with your mouse, then…
View > Toolbars > Outlining
With the Chapter Heading selected, change the text in the Outlining box from “Body Text” to “Level 1”. I know for a fact this works differently in later versions of Word, but it took me five minutes to find out how to do it. The main point is to make your Chapter Headings “Level 1” rather than “Body Text”, however you do it.
So that’s how to deal with the bulk of your novel. Now let’s talk briefly about the front end of the book. You should have the following pages right at the start AND in this order.
TITLE PAGE:
This should have the book title and authors name. They should be centred and I make mine bold and all caps too. Insert a page break after the author, just as at the end of each chapter.
COPYRIGHT PAGE:
Look at some other books to see what language they use and place something similar here. The free guide will help you. Again it should be centred. Page break afterwards.
DEDICATION:
“To my darling whatsit, this book is for you my dear because you are geet lush!” Centred: Page break after.
CONTENTS PAGE:
This is a bit trickier. To insert a Table of Contents (TOC) first create a page after the Dedication. Put the title “Table of Contents” at the top then a single return. Click underneath the title on the next line down.
Insert > References >Index & Tables > Table of Contents (Click on the Tab).
Set “Show Levels” to “1” and un-click “Show Page Numbers”
This will insert an automatic TOC with all the Chapter Headings that you made into “Level 1” earlier. If you don’t like the font or bold or justification, you can simply highlight the whole TOC and change it. If you need to change chapter titles, add or remove chapters at a later date, you’ll need to update the TOC. To do this simply click anywhere inside the TOC and press F9. You’ll see the whole TOC refresh.
Now you need to Bookmark the Table of Contents. This will enable readers to navigate straight back to the TOC from anywhere in the book and then skip to a chapter of their choice.
Highlight and select the page title “Table of Contents” at the top of the page with the mouse.
Insert > Bookmark > Type in “TOC” then click “Add”.
If you want to check that this works, scroll down to a later section of your book and then click…
Edit > Goto
A box comes up that enables you to navigate to bookmarks that you’ve inserted. Choose TOC and it should take you straight there. You can insert any bookmarks that you like, but I stick to just the TOC.
Your Cover:
According to the guide, your book cover artwork should be a JPEG which is 1000 x 1600 Pixels. I create all my covers as 2000 x 3200 Pixels at 300 dpi initially. Then I save a copy at half that size ready for upload. Try and stick to just the Title and Author on the cover. Too much text clutters up the cover, save that for the product description. Your cover should still be legible when zoomed down to a thumbnail, as most people will see it that way on Amazon.
Lastly, before you upload your book to Kindle:
Spell check AGAIN! Make sure you haven’t missed something obvious.
Double check the formatting. Check your TOC works and there are no tabs, returns etc. Go through EVERYTHING above.
Get someone else to proof read your book, preferably someone with language and grammar experience. My wife does mine and she is a qualified teacher. She is exceptional, but occasionally even she misses something. Don’t just rely on friend who may read the book for the story, but not bother to point out your mistakes.
Once all that is done, save the Word document as “Filtered HTML Document” or “Web Page Filtered” (depending on your version of Word). When the message pops up “Remove Office Tags?” click on yes.
Your book is now ready for Uploading! Hurrah!
Log onto http://kdp.amazon.com/
Click on “Sign In” and then once you’ve put in your e-mail and password click “Add New Title”.
Follow the instructions on screen. I won’t go into details here as the on screen instructions are pretty good and there is a very thorough help page.
When you’ve put in your book details, uploaded the book content and the cover, preview the book using the online Kindle pre-viewer. Review the front matter. Ensure the TOC links work for every chapter. This is laborious, but I go from the TOC to every chapter and then back again until I get to the last chapter. Check the Artwork looks okay. Close the pre-viewer.
Hit save and the website will take you onto the page where you decide the price for your book. Again, follow the on screen instructions and then hit “Save and Publish!” That’s it, you are now an author!
Now comes the hard part. You thought that writing the book was difficult? Next you have to promote it. I wish you all the best. Drop by Twitter and say hi if you have any further questions. @JonGardener
Good luck!
Jon.
Formatting your book is really difficult… the first time. You’ll almost certainly have done some of the formatting wrong and will have to re-edit the whole book.
DON’T PANIC!
It’s alright. Breathe slowly and I’ll get you through this. I had to completely re-edit the whole of my first book and take out every single tab and return. It took HOURS. But, when you have done this once, you’ll know for next time and the formatting will become second nature to you.
All of my advice in this blog is distilled from a wonderful FREE guide that you can download from Amazon called “Building Your Book for Kindle” by Kindle Direct Publishing. Here is the link:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Building-Your...
I heartily recommend that you get this book. It is helpful and detailed, but sometimes the instructions are a little hard to follow. That’s why I went through the whole guide and made my own notes. It is those notes that are the basis of this blog.
I’m assuming that being a writer, you have a reasonable grasp of Microsoft Word. The instructions below work for my, rather old version of Word (2002). You may have to experiment to find out how to do the same thing if you have a more recent version of Word or you are using another word processor.
Unless you’re including pictures inside your book, file size shouldn’t be a problem, but it must be kept less than 50 meg. I looked into adding pictures and on my first run, my brain melted, so I didn’t bother. I’ll leave it up to you to work that one out. I’m concentrating here on a purely text novel. Do NOT paste in images, it won’t work.
So, let’s begin…
1) Do NOT use tabs!
This is the biggest mistake. I made it and as mentioned above, I had to re-format my whole book. Instead of using tabs, you set the automatic first line indentation as follows:
Format > Paragraph > Indentation and Spacing > Indentation > Special > First Line 1.27cm (1 Inch)
This sets every first line in a new paragraph automatically to one inch, which gives a professional “book” look. The measurements are set in your preferences to either cm or inches. Do not forget however to remove the indentation at the very start of each new section within a chapter. Simply click before the first word of the new section and press backspace. This is a mistake that I see in a lot of indie books and it doesn’t look professional. Look at a print book and you’ll see no indent at the start of a chapter and each subsequent new section.
2) Do NOT use returns to put spaces in-between sections.
The way that a Kindle reader works means that it doesn’t recognise things like font size and returns. If you do use returns then the book might look wrong on a Kindle viewer. To insert a space between sections…
Format > Paragraph > Indents & Spacing > Spacing > After > 12pt.
I use 12pt to separate sections and 24pt after a Chapter heading. You can use whatever you wish. To make sure that you don’t have any errant returns hiding in your book…
View > Show Paragraph Marks (Tick ON)
This will show a mark wherever there is a return. If you’ve used the method above, there should be no marks.
3) No Headers or Footers (Like page numbers)
A reader of your book can set the font size to whatever they want. This means that there are no set page sizes. That in turn means that headers and footers generally don’t work and mess up the formatting. Don’t use them.
4) Do not use different font sizes.
Similarly as outlined above, different font sizes will not show properly on a Kindle because the reader can change the font size to whatever they want. Stick to one font size for the whole document. I use Times New Roman 12 Point, 1.5 Line Spaced.
5) Justify both sides.
This seems obvious, but it makes the final document look more like a book page.
6) Insert page breaks at the end of chapters.
Again quite obvious, but necessary to separate the chapters so that your “Table of Contents” navigator will work properly.
Insert > Break > Page Break
7) Chapter Titles.
This bit is VERY important. The look of your Chapter headings can be as you wish within reason. They should be the same font and size as the rest of the document. I usually centre mine and make them bold. I don’t use underlining, but that’s a personal preference.
In order for your Table of Contents to work properly, you need to tell the Word document that this is a Chapter Heading and not body text. There are other ways to do this in Word, but this is the simplest way and it works for me. Highlight the whole Chapter Heading with your mouse, then…
View > Toolbars > Outlining
With the Chapter Heading selected, change the text in the Outlining box from “Body Text” to “Level 1”. I know for a fact this works differently in later versions of Word, but it took me five minutes to find out how to do it. The main point is to make your Chapter Headings “Level 1” rather than “Body Text”, however you do it.
So that’s how to deal with the bulk of your novel. Now let’s talk briefly about the front end of the book. You should have the following pages right at the start AND in this order.
TITLE PAGE:
This should have the book title and authors name. They should be centred and I make mine bold and all caps too. Insert a page break after the author, just as at the end of each chapter.
COPYRIGHT PAGE:
Look at some other books to see what language they use and place something similar here. The free guide will help you. Again it should be centred. Page break afterwards.
DEDICATION:
“To my darling whatsit, this book is for you my dear because you are geet lush!” Centred: Page break after.
CONTENTS PAGE:
This is a bit trickier. To insert a Table of Contents (TOC) first create a page after the Dedication. Put the title “Table of Contents” at the top then a single return. Click underneath the title on the next line down.
Insert > References >Index & Tables > Table of Contents (Click on the Tab).
Set “Show Levels” to “1” and un-click “Show Page Numbers”
This will insert an automatic TOC with all the Chapter Headings that you made into “Level 1” earlier. If you don’t like the font or bold or justification, you can simply highlight the whole TOC and change it. If you need to change chapter titles, add or remove chapters at a later date, you’ll need to update the TOC. To do this simply click anywhere inside the TOC and press F9. You’ll see the whole TOC refresh.
Now you need to Bookmark the Table of Contents. This will enable readers to navigate straight back to the TOC from anywhere in the book and then skip to a chapter of their choice.
Highlight and select the page title “Table of Contents” at the top of the page with the mouse.
Insert > Bookmark > Type in “TOC” then click “Add”.
If you want to check that this works, scroll down to a later section of your book and then click…
Edit > Goto
A box comes up that enables you to navigate to bookmarks that you’ve inserted. Choose TOC and it should take you straight there. You can insert any bookmarks that you like, but I stick to just the TOC.
Your Cover:
According to the guide, your book cover artwork should be a JPEG which is 1000 x 1600 Pixels. I create all my covers as 2000 x 3200 Pixels at 300 dpi initially. Then I save a copy at half that size ready for upload. Try and stick to just the Title and Author on the cover. Too much text clutters up the cover, save that for the product description. Your cover should still be legible when zoomed down to a thumbnail, as most people will see it that way on Amazon.
Lastly, before you upload your book to Kindle:
Spell check AGAIN! Make sure you haven’t missed something obvious.
Double check the formatting. Check your TOC works and there are no tabs, returns etc. Go through EVERYTHING above.
Get someone else to proof read your book, preferably someone with language and grammar experience. My wife does mine and she is a qualified teacher. She is exceptional, but occasionally even she misses something. Don’t just rely on friend who may read the book for the story, but not bother to point out your mistakes.
Once all that is done, save the Word document as “Filtered HTML Document” or “Web Page Filtered” (depending on your version of Word). When the message pops up “Remove Office Tags?” click on yes.
Your book is now ready for Uploading! Hurrah!
Log onto http://kdp.amazon.com/
Click on “Sign In” and then once you’ve put in your e-mail and password click “Add New Title”.
Follow the instructions on screen. I won’t go into details here as the on screen instructions are pretty good and there is a very thorough help page.
When you’ve put in your book details, uploaded the book content and the cover, preview the book using the online Kindle pre-viewer. Review the front matter. Ensure the TOC links work for every chapter. This is laborious, but I go from the TOC to every chapter and then back again until I get to the last chapter. Check the Artwork looks okay. Close the pre-viewer.
Hit save and the website will take you onto the page where you decide the price for your book. Again, follow the on screen instructions and then hit “Save and Publish!” That’s it, you are now an author!
Now comes the hard part. You thought that writing the book was difficult? Next you have to promote it. I wish you all the best. Drop by Twitter and say hi if you have any further questions. @JonGardener
Good luck!
Jon.
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