James Hockley's Blog, page 2

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Whats the Plan?

Are you a planner? If so, to what extent? Do you like to have every little detail mapped out, or do you prefer a broad structure in life where the details can be filled in later?

Or perhaps you would rather there were no plan whatsoever? In writing-land, this is commonly referred to as a pantser.

I am a pantser.

But as much as a pantser approach has a lot going for it, it has led to a lot of procrastination and no book releases since 2016....

Godslost | 1

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What is Godslost?

You may have noticed that theres lots of talk about Godslost these days. Well, perhaps I should temper that Godslost hasnt made it to the Twittersphere yet, but it gets talked about on this website a bit.

Anyway, there are probably some important questions to answer like:

What is Godslost? Where did it come from? And why is it called Godslost?

Well, lets take them one at a time shall we? Here we go

What is Godslost?

Put simply, it is the...

Breaking of Godslost

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The Breaking of Godslost

Just in case you were wondering how the Breaking of Godslost series fits with other published books (namely the Sword of Destiny), heres the nub of it:

In Sword of Destiny, Kantal swears allegiance to a country called Delfinia. In the Breaking of Godslost, we follow an imperial princess called Delfin, who will one day be queen of you guessed it Delfinia.

Thats the short version. Now for the long,

Prequel: Assassins Lack 617...

Salvation in the Last Resort

Chapter 04 | Salvation in the Last Resort

Image by Spencer Tamichi

And then she stepped down the stairs, and it was obvious. No-one else in the Empire was permitted a dress of red.

Drip. Drip. Drip. That could get annoying. Well actually, it already had. It had been an incessant burrowing sound for well over a year. It would forever echo in his mind.

There was a loud clank, and there was the familiar groan of the heavy metal door swinging open. He picked his head up off the floor and stared...

The Lack

Chapter 03 | The Lack

Image by Michaela Wenzler from Pixabay

It came away wet, beads of blood on the edge, and the effect was instantaneous. He crashed to the ground as consciousness caved in on him.

Ya know, its a damn good thing its Justice Day tday. We dont have ta wait long to kill ya! The jailer laughed at his own joke, spittle flying. The man was revolting.

I do try to help where I can. His arms were tied behind his back, and they were tied tight. Very tight. Getting out of binds was...

The Job

Chapter 02 | The Job

Image by kirbyc from Pixabay

It would be easy now, he hoped. Even though he didnt really know what he was doing.

Evening drew in, and with it, a blessed easing of the heat. Now was the time. In this middling heat, his body would be at its finest and his honed eyes would be his greatest asset. Hed always been good in the dark.

The town hall loomed over him on the other side of the square. It was the biggest square in the city, and stall owners were pulling down their...

Stinking Town

Chapter 01 | Stinking Town

Image by Mary Campos from Pixabay

Failure was almost unforgivable. Almost.

Just one more job. Just one more. Tomorrow he, Alidinia, would incite rebellion in the Empire and free the people of the North his people. But for now, just one more job. Besides, in a funny sort of way, it all contributed to the greater cause. He only killed people who deserved it.

It was another scorching stinking day in the Reach the southernmost region of the Mikaetan Empire. Being at...

Beagle’s Blot 18 | The Way of the Green

The flip-coin player never declared his bastard heritage, but that is okay.  He gave me so much more.

Ander is right.  The Hânto are hoarding the ‘short talent’ so far as it exists in Xeidan.  To what purpose, no-one knows, but they are incredibly protective about it and gather it mercilessly.  In fact, one story nugget went that a farmer was being rinsed by the constables for an apparently failed declaration, but when the farmer’s child was discovered to have just a smidge of talent, the aff...

Final Thoughts

So, we’ve come to the end of the journey. Or at least a junction. It is time to reflect, and this is what I’ve concluded so far.

I wrote at the start of this series that I considered myself to be a macro reader – i.e. a reader who could gloss over excessive POVs and literary errors. It’s the story that’s important, right? And I want to see as much action as possible in a palatable manner.

It turns out this is bollocks.

I thought I was a macro reader because I was able to read books without se...

Beagle’s Blot 17 | Hoarding the Edge

It was nice to be walking again, and here, the roads were fine.  Finer perhaps than those in Mandaria.  Cobbled, with drainage along each side and a curvature, they really were fine.  We walked amidst a steady flow of traffic.

After a day, we stopped at an inn and bedded down for the night.  I was ordered to change my appearance again, and this time opted to trim my hair right back and shave my beard to stubble.  I actually looked slightly rough I have to say, though my skinny arms rather rui...