Tobey Alexander's Blog, page 4

Twice in one day! And I’m used to bi-monthly.

This did start off as a Facebook post on my AUTHOR PROFILE but I thought it better suited as a progressive Blog entry.

Today’s creativity has ended well. I have formulated a good third of the novel I’m working on to bring The Magdon Series into a present day setting and cater to the audience who have asked for more to the story than is in the child-friendly novelettes charting Archy’s adventure.



As such I have begun structuring the story from the chapters I have already written and as my daughter hands me love heart sweets these seemed rather apt as I finished the day’s work.


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I am very happy with how the story is progressing and have brought a lot of personal imagination into this story as a bit of an outlet for things that have brewed up in the old noggin for many many years.



I do worry I am giving a lot into this story but I will not excuse myself by sitting on the idea I could write a series from this. I want to create a strong single entity in the mythology of The Magdon. If I choose to continue it beyond this story then I have an idea where that would go, but I want to have a tight end product that fulfils some of the issues/feedback I have had from my other ventures.



The key points for me are:



To invest enough time for each character, this is difficult for me as I am normally a single-protagonist writer but I am trying to share the adventure between a family unit. The father will be the main but I want everyone to form an opinion of the family members too. The same is to be said of my villain(s) who will be given enough time to develop beyond the two-dimensional nasty-people.



To give a meaty story, moving beyond the simplistic nature of Origins as a series which was designed to incorporate everyone as readers, young and old, experienced and inexperienced. No bones visible on this (save perhaps a Nivag or two).



Lastly to play to my strengths, although with one review of Footprints On The Other Side rated it as 2* mainly because they didn’t like the twist they did say I had a good tone for writing action. In respect of this, I am pushing my character work but also adding some pretty intense action along the way, some physical and obvious (cars, fights etc) but also building some tension-based action which may not be screaming and bawling but will at least, I hope, keep the reader interested.


It is a time of creative madness and I am sure aspects of what I have scripted thus far will fall to the wayside, and perhaps become the unplanned next story. I am loving this burst of creativity and am pretty sure my dear wife is irritated by me sitting here flitting between random odd jobs, gym sessions and writing.

I am sadly well aware that I turn into a “writing zombie” when I really get going. I am living in the vague, outlandish, probably ridiculous hope that perhaps this will one day be less of a hobby and more of a real thing. That said I really do need to get my thumb out of my butt and get my head around advertising in that case. Unless some glorious agent or publishing house (non-vanity) happen across my world and think they could/would run with it, then I am in this on my own.

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Until I scrape enough money together to hire a PR consultant.


Sorry! I appear to have rambled on a distinctly lengthy amount of time.

Absence due to holiday

Sorry for the silence…..rest assured I have not been idling and forcibly locking myself away suffering writer’s block. Quite the contrary to be fair. I have instead been having some reflective family time away in Wales on holiday.

It was rather lovely and allowed me to clamber up another mountain with my boys. This time the only aggravating factor was the 37mph wind on the summit which made it unsafe for the boys to touch the trig point, instead, they had to settle for an outcrop about ten metres beneath it. I felt bad but the wind was dangerously strong…..see, I can be responsible! Just a little.

Whilst away I have decided on quite a few little aspects of the big novel for next year (Working Title) LEGEND: A Magdon Adventure Story. I was planning on keeping it all nondescript with places other than big areas however, I have decided now to bring her home.

I intend on setting the story firmly in Nottingham for a part of the discovery/adventure and more specifically at Wollaton Hall following my reconnection with it recently. I’m playing on my own curiosities about the place, the fact I have neve been able to discover parts of the house. In line with that, I have put my imaginings since childhood into play in the story.

Hopefully, come release time I may get some interest in some sort of event there to help with promotion and such like but honestly, I have no idea how I would go about that. Albeit this is some way off yet.

I have been on something of a creative roll since coming back off holiday. It would appear a week in the middle of Wales, surrounded by mountains and freedom from the “normal stuff” has done me some good. Since arriving back I have written two/three drafts of five new chapters my current word count is over a third of the way through what I want for my total.

But this was just a “sorry I am still alive” type post. I need to get back to the land of fantasy and writing while the juices are flowing!

 

[image error]Windswept peak!

 

Why so short – my answer and promise.

Well, this week has been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster in respect of writing as I have pretty much completed the full drafts of Archy’s story. That is of course without edits and redrafts but in essence, the actual story is told, and it was quite touching to feel the connection to him dwindle.

I have been planning the next stage in the series which will bring The Magdon Series into the modern world but at the same time have roots back to where it al started for me.

Having started to spread copies around of book one Origins Of The Magdon: Vercovicium I have been receiving feedback that some people feel the stories are too short. I feel I need to defend this, as for me it was very hard truncating the stories as I have in order to achieve what I am trying with the Origins Of part of the series.

Origins is born from me and my sons creating the world of The Magdon from our adventures. Although I would love nothing more, and initially tried to, write Origins Of The Magdon as a full-length novel I felt I was cheating the younger generation out of a story. Having started it as an adventure for my boys, I felt I was not doing them justice by cutting them out of the story and making it inaccessible to them. Well, at least until they could manage a novel length book.

For that reason, I spoke with other children’s/mid-grade authors and realised to keep the story true and accessible to EVERYONE the optimum length was between 10,000-12,000 words. That way, in the future, I can even start planning a dyslexic friendly format and again increase the scope and reach of the story.

And so this in itself has become a double-edged sword. To keep the story true to all audiences I have had to take a simplistic approach, hence focussing primarily on Archy, with brief interludes for supporting characters. This has, obviously, alienate some readers who feel there could be more. I totally agree. But with more comes lengthier instalments which then become longer and longer until finally, they become what I didn’t want. I loose the foundation audience, those I want to inspire and kindle that sense of adventure.

On the flip side, though admittedly short, these stories seem to resonate with the readers of all ages, leaving them wanting more. That in itself tells me there is something in this idea, something that has indeed connected with the “bigger” readers (I didn’t want to offend anyone and call them older)…..the fact I have adults wanting more is only a positive thing for me.

And so, with the continuation story (currently under the Working Title Generations or Legacy), I promise to service the older audience. By then, the younger ones, will have their foundation into the world of The Magdon and can grow into the longer stories.

I am juggling a difficult task of creating an enticing, entertaining and adventurous story while at the same time trying desperately not alienate one demographic or the other by creating something too long or too short.

Who ever said this writing malarky was easy!?!

I felt I needed to justify my decision to limit length. In the same vein, it has prompted me to bring the next story up a level. Generations/Legends will be a novel-length affair offering its roots back to Archy but standing a new story with a bigger adventure in a modern setting. This will hopefully, come 2018, fill the gap some of the adults who have read the book are feeling.

I only hope that I haven’t pushed away a good portion of the audience and if I have, then Legacy will perhaps be the biggest waste of effort and energy so far.

 

Whilst I have put so much effort into advertising The Magdon stuff I realise I too have done a little disservice to my full-length novel Footprints On The Other Side. This most certainly caters for an older audience. Whilst I realise it is my fledgeling attempt to become a published author, and since its release, I have grown in technical knowledge and (hopefully) skill, it is still a story I am immensely proud of.

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Working nights lets me see things differently, the world in a different light.

So really this is an explanation, in a more serious way than normal, of why I have created a five-part novelette series as opposed to one bigger novel with more to it. Hopefully, those that aren’t “digging” the length can now understand the reasons behind it and forgive me for teasing and not fulfilling entirely the more competent and older reader’s expectations.

I realise too that I am unconventional in the way I do things. I am not playing this game by any rules other than the ones I set myself or learn along the way. Some of what I do may work and some may not. Perhaps even trying to justify my choices is frowned upon by “real authors” but in the end I want people to come to my stories and enjoy them for what they are. If that needs a little explanation/justification then so be it. I am not here to sit aloof and pretend I am not affected by opinions or ignorant to people’s feedback or questions. Who am I to just sit back and say “like it or leave it”. I don’t have the money, support or fan base to be so cocky(?) and pretend I know best.

Hopefully, you see I’m human. I’m trying to create a story for all, to entice new readers into a world and feed enough for adults to enjoy it too. Perhaps I have over-adult marketed the books, perhaps I am just trying to find my feet in everything I do.

We live and learn.

Hopefully, those who want MORE from The Magdon will be happy with what I am sculpting at the moment in Generations/Legacy. This will be a mix of action, adventure and family. I have big hopes for something that will be more than the foundations of the Origins Of aspect and perhaps draw in a newer level of audience in the Young Adults along the way too.

Hell, I’m just trying to please everyone, and I suppose that is nigh on impossible.

Revelations – it’s always been there

Another six days at work and roll into the rest days with plans for the new stuff for The Magdon Series and marketing. It is quite funny the fact I sit staring into the ether coming up with random ideas on my journeys home (or naughtily when on training at work and not taking part). Well, what other time do I get to build this world of madness I have created?

It was quite amusing yesterday. Having been to the local retail park I got a new shirt for the Archy outfit (feedback is that people expect more variety in his clothes – however in the same vein people must appreciate this isn’t a Hollywood gig, it’s a stopgap UNTIL it becomes a Hollywood gig!) That said, a new pink shirt that is yet to be “customised” with some dirt, grime, blood and tears to add to the authenticity.

 

[image error]I’m probably enjoying this business a little too much

 

So, having purchased the newest ensemble I quickly scurried into the building site that is my unfinished cellar, slapped on some make-up around my face to add some bruises and decided the best way to approach that day was to interview Archy. Before I even went shopping I did my usual gym session, came home then took my oldest son to the youth gym. Whilst he’s pumping his own weights I sat in the reception area tapping out my ideas for a character interview.

It was then, as I was writing Archy’s answers to the questions, that I realised it has been done before. You see quite a few character interviews but I wanted mine to be different. That’s where the idea to do it in person popped into my mad brain. Of course, any excuse to get changed into costume can be forgiven. Funnily enough when I came downstairs the first thing my (soon to be three-year-old) daughter said is “Oh look it’s Archy!” I must be doing something right.

Off I pop into the cellar (with her whispering “daaaaddddyyyyyy” through the keyhole breaking my improvisation and character for just a moment.

It went well. I don’t half hate my own voice so I tried not to listen to what I had recorded if I didn’t have to. I sound like some over-posh wannabe!

Needless to say, it was when I was talking about Archy’s adventures in 1911 (the focus of the first book in the series Origins Of The Magdon: Vercovicium) that I had a flashback. You can probably see it in my face when I’m talking about throwing a stone at the wall that I get my glazed look that means my brain is somewhere else (or in this case some TIME else).

I was reminded of a small ruin of a building I found many years ago. I was seventeen at the time and used to walk to see my then girlfriend, now wife, along an old Roman Road and through the local countryside. It was always a nice walk and there was a private wood at the top of Roman Road that I decided to walk through one day. I remember literally stumbling overt his small wall and found the outline of an old house of building. To this day I have no idea what it used to be but I remember it in summer, the air close beneath the thick trees and bluebells growing all around. I used to meditate there it was so isolated.

There, sat talking about Arcy’s discovery leading to the adventures of the series, I realised that his find in the woods was mine from some sixteen years ago. I don’t think I’ve given that place a second thought for the last decade or more, yet here it is as vivid as anything manifesting in my story.

 

[image error]I’ve written all The Magdon books on this laptop – just look at the keyboard!

 

That made me realise how much of the real world seeps into my stories. I’ve come to accept what I have created as truth simply because I have thrown myself wholeheartedly into the world of my books.

Don’t get me wrong, I may have spent a few hours interviewing myself dressed up as a fictional character less than 1% of the population even knows exists but it felt the right thing to do. No matter how hard I look I can’t seem to find the “get famous publishing your books and perfectly advertise it without costing millions” portfolio that people seem to hint exists.

I am making this up as I go along. Much like my way of writing. I get an idea, a whim, a tickle of something and just run with it. Life is about, for me, taking those chances. As they say in training at work, I need to be a little more prepared to “suck up more risk”.

I don’t know if what I am doing is right. People keep downloading the freebies, I make occasional sales and interactions seem steady from what I do put out there to advertise me, my books and my world but who knows. I haven’t opened that email/letter from some Executive Producer or Publishing Giant that begins “we think your ideas are fantastic and would love to discuss with you the option of……….”

One day it may happen, maybe it won’t. I cannot predict the future but really, like I said in a comment on Facebook, I can’t rely on anyone else to be as connected, as invested or as caring about my project than I am. Heck, I can;t afford to ask some supermodel fella to become Archy so I’m afraid you’ll have to put up with my ugly mug until that happens (or doesn’t).

I’ll leave with this parting thought.When I asked Archy/myself the following question this is the answer he/we gave:

Q:

Is there anything you would like to say to people who might read your story?

A:

I am no motivational speaker, no influential figure of history so it feels quite strange trying to say something people might listen to but I suppose I would say this.

Never turn away through fear, dare to tread along forgotten paths as they lead to a world of adventure. Believe in yourself and one day, eventually, the world will too.

An anchor from childhood

One place that I have always visited, from being a pushchair to now pushing my own, has been Wollaton Hall. It’s funny, I can always remember thinking about all the stuff you don’t see as a kid. I remember as a teenager riding up there most days in the summer holidays with my friends. We would leave our bikes outside and rush inside to walk through the museum, but for the most part, obsess about the staircase that led to the third level…..the staircase that was never open. Why was it never open? Why could we never go up? Who was up there?

All these questions and we still to this day have never found out the answers.

 

[image error]The rear view is my favourite, shame the old pond isn’t full anymore!

 

But that doesn’t mean I didn’t have some great ideas in my fevered little brain as to the so-called truth. We had everything from the ghost of an old resident of the house to a recluse hiding (which is ironic when we come to the filming that took place there later in the post).

The amount of made-up games and imagined adventures I created in the house and on the grounds aren’t even measurable. Funny how I have always gravitated here, though, all my children know it, my wife and I take the children them at least a few times in the summer holidays and generally a fair few times throughout the year.

I have always loved the majesty of the house, something has always tickled my imagination and I can, and often do, find my WRITER’S STARE setting in as I look at it and think what I could do in one of my stories with this place.

So yesterday, for the first time we took just our daughter with us. The boys were at school and very rarely do we get time just the three of us, so we decided to go there. Needless to say, my head almost exploded with ideas as normal. This time though I took the camera for once (I normally leave it behind or forget the memory card). There we were walking the grounds (catching Pokemon obviously too), and I’m already telling my little girl it’s a Castle and making up some new spurious story.

Thankfully she’s too young yet to give me the look of doom as if to say “dad you’re being stupid……again!”

I stood to take a picture of the front when I remembered back to when they filmed The Dark Knight Rises there. I was in full flow, at the time, in writing Footprints On The Other Side and I remember feeling something akin to jealousy as they filmed everything. I think at that moment I saw how much I wanted to make a story worth telling, to write something worthy, one day, to be filmed. I never got to “officially” meet the cast (I did get a work deployment that got me into their hotel but professional as I am I couldn;t go for an annoying fan selfie).

I remembered then that I had hit a writer’s block stage with Footprints and I went for a run around the exterior wall when they locked down the site, not only to sneak a peek but also to get some inspiration. There I could see all the props (when it re-opened I even got to see the graveyard at the end of the film and also Bruce Wayne’s Lamborghini under tarpaulin – sad and nerdy I know). But seeing all that made-up in the real world only helped to toss more fuel to the imagination fire.

That night I was talking to my oldest son about making a trailer for Footprints, and he couldn’t see how editing makes different places look the same. It was entertaining him mull over how one place can become another by clever editing. In fact, we have decided to try and set a summer holiday challenge for him and his brother to make a film together. Script it, prepare it and record it, as some sort of imagination-led activity. We will see how that goes down, I fear perhaps the sibling rivalry will lead to some very realistic fight scenes!

I love this place. It carries so much of my life there that every time I go I feel I am in touch with me. That may sound completely idiotic, but here I used to come on my own and just ride around the lake, go through the gardens or even just walk if nothing than to be out and about in my own little world.

Yesterday when we went it was so refreshing seeing my daughter greet the place with the same excitement I did when I was her age I expect.

The ladies enjoyed the museum and exhibits whilst I amused myself taking pictures of this, that and the other. Not to mention a very conveniently displayed Bison skull (which has always been the basis for The Magdon skull from when I first created the beast). I must have had some very strange looks with the angles I was taking the pictures as I wanted them to be physical reminders for me so I can use them as inspiration in the modern Magdon book for next year.

Strangely I found myself facing the closed door again. No matter what I still try the handle in case one day it is open, and I can rush up before some angry curator comes and tells me off. Alas, as always, it was locked. As if to console myself I am seriously thinking of featuring this place in (WT) The Magdon Generations if only so I can pretend to know what’s up there after all these years.

I, of course, dropped off one of my free copies of Origins Of The Magdon: Vercovicium in the hope someone finds it in my vain attempt at self-advertising.

Needless to say, my visit was, as always, inspiring. I came away with a dozen new ideas all from wandering around the grounds. I also came away with some proper pictures as opposed to snaps with my mobile phone which I will store away as inspiration. Naturally, I will bore you with some now, not just of the architecture but also of the wildlife there.

I had better be quiet now, you’re probably at the point of thinking “here he goes again”.

(WT) The Magdon Generations – character driven

Well, I am enjoying getting into the story of The Magdon Generations which is bringing my Magdon series into modern times. Origins Of The Magdon was exactly that…..an origins story for Archy. This is set to be a bigger beast compared to the five-part novelettes, I want a complete story in a novel format.

It’s interesting approaching this project as with Origins I was just focussing on Archy and all those around him were side characters. It was, after all, his journey we have been following. Whilst I have a little left of the main story for Archy his adventure for me is complete. It is more about final touches than idea development as I know where fate is taking him.

To that end, though, writing a series focussed on one character with supporting characters was easier.

With Generations, I want to bring a new theme into the story, one of family and commitment. These are my key themes for this part of the story. With Archy, it was discovery and adventure which I feel those stories capture and demonstrate well.

To that end, I have this week gone from the family element and a random villain to running two simultaneous story arcs to intersect through the story. From a “basic” villain I have now decided to give some meat to the myth of the Veks (worshippers of The Magdon) and bring them into the modern world as something more than a handful of shady worshippers living in dusty places. Now I want them to be something bigger, give that part of the Magdon mythology something more.

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Ironically I have always suffered with good-guyism. Even as a boy (I remember going to school dressed up as a pirate and had to explain to everybody I was a good pirate as I didn;t like being seen as the bad-guy). It remains the same now that I find it hard to portray the story of the villains as anything other than easily defined bad-guys. That way my moral compass is nice as obvious. However, taking the writing approach to give the villains in this piece a little more substance I have to challenge myself and put that aside. I probably suffer (being quite self-critical) of not fleshing out the villains enough in my stories so everyone can “dislike the bad guy”. Of course, the villain in this piece, Viktor Franklyn, will be a person to dislike but I also want to break my own stereotype and add a human element to them.

Oh, of course, he is going to be ruthless, as is his partner Tuilika but by giving them their own story arc I get to pay them a little more justice in the book. I do like running the two stories because I can feed into the story from different angles.

Normally my writing method is very linear. Most of the time I tend to write each chapter one after another, making notes of futures ideas for when I reach that part in the story. It served me very well in Footprints On The Other Side, my adult thriller, as the story was so complicated but needed to feed across the three parts of the book. I think it would have been far too easy to have got lost in the story had I skitted around the different chapters.

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That said, I do tend to write important key scenes in an early draft if they shape the story. I did it with the end of the Origins Of The Magdn series.

I think it is too easy sticking to rituals and routines. Come on, I know I am not a scholar of literature, creative writing or carry accolades to say I am in any way qualified to dare to write. To that end I suppose I need to test myself, push my own boundaries and see if it serves me well in the story writing.

As always though I digress.

This week has been one of working on whims and going with my gut. The free book release started that process. New characters, new story arcs and new ways of writing the next story.

I’ll probably end there with the confession that I have absolutely o idea what I am doing in any of this. Marketing being the main one, selling myself, approaching agents or reps from the “industry” but nobody has banged on the door and said “WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU’RE DOING, YOU’RE WASTING YOUR TIME GO AWAY!” So I am taking that as a positive sign.

There is nothing worse than self-doubt as I have said before. I’m doing all I can to see the good in what I’m doing and in the end as long as someone, just one person, reads the story and likes it then I’ve done my job well.

It would be lovely to make it in this scary world and perhaps one day I will.

Until then, I’ll jut keep doing my best and see where it gets me.

Trailer and photo shoot – using the real past in memory of a friend

At the start of the year a family friend, considered an alternative granddad, passed away at a very respectable age. He’s known me since I was just a toddler and always been a close friend to the family. Last year saw him fall ill and in the New Year he passed away. In the following weeks my parents sorted through his possessions and presented me with a collection of his memories and keepsakes as a reminder.

The first box ironically contained school photographs of me through the years. Quite touching to see them amongst his personal possessions and photographs of his long passed family.

As I sorted through the two aged suitcases I began to see a side of his life I had never known. Aged in his nineties there were photographs from pre-War, during the war and times I would never know. Opening the suitcase and sifting through the pictures, newspaper clippings, discharge papers, wartime cards and notes was quite emotional.

It inspired me to honour my friend in the only way I personally can.

I thought of The Magdon story and how I have told my children I learned of my great grandfather Archy’s adventures by being given his old diary. What better way to personify that discovery than in a short trailer/scene. I would love to film it properly as a short scene using these things as props but I am getting way ahead of myself.

So I made my excuses and decided to make a trailer that could use the memories of my family friend and make them feel like Archy’s. It seemed right. It seemed like the sort of thing that fits with the way I deal with people and things.

There were, of course, some problems with that. I don’t want to glorify on his past, it is after all his. There was a lot of dressing the things within the suitcase so to the unknowing eye it was just a collection of props but for me and my family, as we watch, we will see the clues of the past and smile inside.

As I say, this fifty-odd second snippet would be my opening scene, my introduction to the past and Archy’s life. If I could film it from start to finish the suitcase would be delivered and we would find Archy’s great grandson (which according to my children who still believe my lies would be ME!). Having been given the mysterious case we would see me/the main character take it into the house and with curious hands open it and sift through the contents. From there the diary would be found and we would be set upon the path to our adventure.

Of course, I am no director, I don’t even have a camera worthy of filming so that will have to remain one of my crazy ideas or perhaps a storyboard for drawing tonight as I drink wine and raise a toast in memory.

It also reminds me how distorted you can make the world. How your imagination can change things and the false imagined adventures can appear all too real. That’s not necessarily a bad thing but there is also caution to be had not to forget the truth amongst the imagined.

Back to the photo shoot and trailer.

With the suitcase dressed and prepped I took to taking some pictures to use as wallpapers and media images (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and the likes). Once that was done my creative head got rolling and I gave a guided tour of “discovering” the contents of the suitcase in a soft way.

It may be nothing. It may not even be my best piece of work as a trailer but as I have always said I act on a whim. When an idea takes hold I obsess over it and do what I can to get it done with the means that I have. For today that was a basic camera (not even an SLR as I can’t afford one of those). Clicking the red record button and doing my best to keep it steady.

I’m sure you can all see my intention, the fact that my dreams seriously outstrip my ability and capability but my actions are filled with best intentions.

The fact I could use the real life past of a friend made it all the more right for me to do.

The spooky thing though was when I found my daughter’s name on paperwork that related to my friend’s relative (possibly wife who I never had the chance to meet). Seeing her wartime Identity Card with my daughter’s name scribbled on the page sent a cold shiver down my spine. It’s funny how the past unknown can elicit a reaction and connect things decades apart.

And that is the essence of The Magdon story………..stories to connect generations, stories to elicit that sense of forgotten adventure and encourage a connection to the past from the future.

Hopefully, I have done his memory justice and the trailer creates the atmosphere and sense I want it to. You never know, perhaps one day I will be able to complete the project and get the pictures I see in my head out onto a silver (or LCD) screen.

Until then you can;t stop me creating. I excuse my madness in my desire to release my imagination and inspire my own children.

(WT) The Magdon Genereations – Villain

Coming up with a new character for the modern story. Let me explain that my children BELIEVE that Archy’s story is me retelling real events. To that end, I have been forced to get their permission to write a new made-up story. With that permission granted I have officially started tapping on the keyboard occasionally in creating my first draft.

Today on my way home from work I was stuck in traffic so my mind began to wander.

I need my villain – I need the new face and representation of the Veks and want him to be sinister and have that particularly evil look to him.

So, sitting down I tried writing my introduction to this character even though he had no name.

It took me an hour and a half to write 1,900 words of first-draft which introduces “villain”.

As I wrote I could hide his appearance beneath a new, more modern, version of the Veks mask (not giving that away just yet). I literally sat there and designed a whole new look in my head – it’s times like these that I wish I could draw. That way I could get my ideas into a visual form. Heck, I would even settle for some sort of printer I could stick in my head and just print out what I’m thinking but that would be too easy. Instead, I have to stare at the blank screen with the flickering cursor as I try to translate my mental images into words so you, in turn, can see my mental images.

That sounded convoluted.

So as the kids come back from gymnastics/leisure centre evening commitments I have described him. Come up with a Bond-villain style look to the villain and just need a name. I literally sit there with the boys and we throw names out between us until finally, we have a hit.

(There were some funny suggestions by A, including Orkos and some other unpronounceable names).

We settle on VIKTOR FRANKLYN and he is to be the newest face of the Veks and he is set to be one nasty individual.

Even though I am trying to keep the Generations story as something new in The Magdon adventures I can link back to Archy’s adventures without relying on them. That way I am not short changing people by forcing them to go back and read my Origins Of The Magdon books but giving them teasers to entice but enough information to make Generations its own entity.

To that end, I have cemented Viktor’s bad-guyishness in a distinctly evil deed.

I’ve enjoyed writing out of sync tonight. I normally try to write in order of events (except when I have the end in mind where I will write my end and then lock the flew away and not read it until I am ready to join it to the main story. Obviously, I know what happens but I don’t then feed into it too much which allows me to manipulate the first version ending and get the best of story flow both ways).

Tonight I skipped forward a few chapters to get the introduction to Viktor right. I’m aware I am going to run two main story arcs within the book this time where Origins Of The Magdon has solely followed Archy. I want to give a sense of both sides, showing the (re)discovery for my new main characters but also the devotion of the Villain and The Magdon.

Anyway, I’m being deliberately vague so will leave it alone now and switch my frantically developing idea-brain to its own devices.

I’m sat here with my green Italian leather notebook casting ideas left right and centre…..I love it!

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Ads, posts, ideas and more

In light of my rather self-bashing previous post and the realisation, I lack the skill, expertise and connections to sell my books without the aid of an agency clever-bod I decided to try some new avenues and see what happens.

In the first stage, I contacted Amazon to ask why they have not got the option to make my eBook for Book 1 (Origins Of The Magdon: Vercovicium) FREE to purchase. On al other platforms I have made the book free but could not for the life of me get Amazon to price match. Several months of emailing and querying got me nowhere so I got in touch on live chat and eventually, 48 hours later, the book appeared free on Amazon…..at last.

So then to spread the word. I managed a few Ad campaigns – Facebook, Instagram and Goodreads. So far neither have really spiked any sort of massive increase in downloads, just steady figures all the same both in and out of Ads. The Goodreads one seems more accountable, more able to see a Cost Per Click return and revenue. Again though not massively amazing in the figures department.

I have also started pre-planning Twitter posts (using Tiny Torch at the moment) which lets me be a bit more on the ball with my Twitter posting.

The biggest change and plan ahead is free-booking – my method will be covered in a future post as it is a work in progress and I will have more ability to say if it worked or not!

Aside from the new attempts at marketing I have had a great time out and about. Work has been demanding as ever but I had a lovely day in the Peak District with my to boys which worked wonders to clear my head.

As I have scanned through my writing and gone through some edits of Book 4 pre-summer release I can see where my head has been whilst writing. The latter chapters, whilst emotional, were quite sad. Sadder in many respects than they needed to be as I had hoped for the emotional “impact” when I finally brought Archy’s story to a close at the end of the final book in the series.

Looking back I think it was clear to see I had forgotten the way your subconscious affects your writing. Having had a recent family loss I’m all for “carry on and keep normal” when it comes to emotional adventures. Clearly, the impact I have decided to bury down has manifested on the page and made the ending a little too sombre. With a full edit in swing, I had to tone down the sadness and emotional impact for the fourth book. But in essence, it was nice to see I still have a human side, even if it does largely survive as a suppressed aspect of me!

Back to the walk, it was again another representation of me and my whimsical nature. There we were (three explorers aged 33, 8 and 6) stood on the Pennine Pass faced with a choice…..stick to the common path or explore a less used path and deviate. What did we do? Deviate of course and some two and a half hours later finally we reach the peak. Scrambling across water, rocks, landslide debris and such like the boys loved every minutes. I feared it was just to humour me but apparently, as we neared the car after 9 miles and four-and-a-half hours both of them asked if we could do another mountain!

And there lies my motivation. These boys are the reason I have put my “ass on the line” and dared to self-publish. If it wasn’t for them I would have lots of unfinished manuscripts gathering e-dust in forgotten hard drives on lost laptops (much like some stories I wrote over the years but never did anything with).

So really, today has been a time of self-reflection and acting to address my shortcomings in the arena of PR and marketing. Standing on the mountaintop with nothing but my boys with me there was nothing to disturb me, sod the demands, forget the niggles and distractions and just enjoy. Sometimes I wish I could spend my whole life in those sorts of moments.

So, in conclusion, I will bore you all with images of mountains, smiling me and my motivation…..the boys!

I’m blindly bumbling along!

I keep coming back to the fact that advertising/publicising myself is not my best skill. Yeah, sure I can talk the talk when the opportunity arises, but I don’t seem to have the right connections or in-roads to get myself out there. I really do feel I am letting the stories/books down in that sense and it really does frustrate me.

This is where the duality of my life comes into conflict. I juggle my work and home life with very distinct separations of personality traits. As for the author work, that rests squarely in the “home” category, and I often suffer that guilty feeling when I spend my free time pouring into the laptop churning through reams and reams of ideas for books and stories. To that end, I try to let my work on extra stuff beyond the writing and editing impact as little as possible on family time. As you’ve probably noticed, I am very focused on family time!

I flit between different avenues of advertising, some free, some low-end paid. I’ve toyed with Facebook Post Boosts – perfect for getting people to look at a post but pants for sales or going beyond the post. I’ve tried a Facebook Ad or two, again not a great result. I’ve just submitted a Goodreads Ad so will see how that goes.

Again I am just playing at it. I may be deluded, and my writing may be utter poo, but the feedback I have had is good. To that end, I have lots of faith that the story, especially The Magdon Series, has some legs. I just seem incapable of actually attaching the legs and getting them to run. I have made some approaches to PR agencies, but relative to cost is the fact a lot of them brush me off with a half-ass reply which doesn’t instil me with any confidence in what they do.

I’m all for trying to show my creative side, but in reality, I have to look at it all and ask who cares? Who actually invests in the time I pour into the pages, the posts, the pictures and the attempts to make waves in the big world?

It doesn’t matter really. I know I’m not some amazingly famous person to turn to in times of need for escape from reality. I’m one in hundreds/thousands of others, all equally proud of their creations and equally as determined to get out there.

That said though it won’t stop me.

If just two people read a blog post so be it. If a dozen people read the books, then that’s a dozen people who have invested in my world. I’ve stolen a few hours of their time, and hopefully they’ve enjoyed what I’ve given them in return.

But for now I will continue to fill my time in a dreamy land of belief in myself. I can wander the streets with excuses of “it’s for the book” and take random pictures to better help me visualise where I am going with my adventures. You never know, one day, it may all be worth this effort and the constant roller coaster of self-doubt.

Hell, it would be interesting to see who actually reads these posts and those who just click on it out of some sense of “feeling they have to”.

Again, what does it matter I’m out there, my stories are out there and perhaps one day they will grow legs enough and even wings to fly!

Until then the journey along the way is fun enough.

 

[image error]Time waits for no man – grasp the opportunity and run with it.