James Hockley's Blog, page 6
December 15, 2016
A Wizard of Earthsea
Ged has talent, and he knows it. And he is keen to play to that talent. He gathers what tutorage he can, but soon he must follow his own ambitions. He is going to train as a wizard. But though he has ability, he is still young. Very young. With great power comes great responsibility, and this is not something that is easily taught. And so it is that when Ged is goaded into showing off his talents, he finds himself playing with powers that he doesn’t fully und...
December 6, 2016
Author Newsletter December 2016
Another very busy month, but justifiably so. And why is this? Because I wrote a new book! You can find all about it here. Admittedly it isn’t the finished product, but I think it’s a good first draft. Anyway, on with the news.
What have I been up to?
Book Reviews:
Please stay in touch…
December 1, 2016
Destroyer
Kaiyer has been sleeping for many hundreds of years. But now he is awake. Why? Because someone believes he is the O’Baarni. Someone believes that Kaiyer is the destroyer of the Ancients. Because the threat of the Ancients has arisen again, and the humans look to past successes for their future gains. But Kaiyer has only a patchy memory, and even though he has clear talent, it is not clear whether it will be enough. And indeed, if Kaiyer is anything, he is uncontrollable...
Book Review: The Destroyer
“Kaiyer has been sleeping for many hundreds of years. But now he is awake. Why? Because someone believes he is the O’Baarni. Someone believes that Kaiyer is the destroyer of the Ancients.
Because the threat of the Ancients has arisen again, and the humans look to past successes for their future gains. But Kaiyer has only a patchy memory, and even though he has clear talent, it is not clear whether it will be enough. And indeed, if Kaiye...
November 29, 2016
Beagle’s Blot 11 | Flip-Coin
So, that was a bit unexpected. And indeed, it was as unexpected for me as it was for you! But yes, it is true. I am deeply indebted to a prince of Callij. Deeply indebted. You may call me a fool, and I would agree with you, but when you hear the odds I played, I challenge anyone to claim they would have done otherwise. My losses are an utter farce, but the problem is that I cannot prove that. There was no way to rig the game. No way.
Or so I thought… The Lady has been kind, and I now have my...
November 17, 2016
Book Review: Eye of the World
“The Wheel of Time turns, and the Age that has already been comes around again. The Dark One is restless, and his prison walls are weakening. He has eyes on domination, and he knows the tools he needs, and how to get them. Even as he stirs, the wisps of his influence leak out.
Unsuspecting Rand lives in a quiet corner of the world. It has been a hard winter, but finally spring has arrived. The celebrations will be wild, until that is, the villag...
November 1, 2016
Author Newsletter November 2016
Things are very busy, what with NaNoWriMojust around the corner, so I’m going to keep this month’s newsletter nice and brief. How am I going to do this? By using the only headings and pictures! Enjoy.
What have I been up to?
If you want more info then…
Other blogging highlights: 
October 31, 2016
Beagle’s Blot 10 | The Lady
What follows is a transcript of the meeting between myself and the Lady. I still tingle at the experience.
[Beagle]: Good afternoon, my Lady. It is an honour. I have heard so much about you, and yet I never imagined I’d have the privilege. You honour me.
[The Lady] On the contrary. It is only correct to dignify your eloquent letter with an audience.
But you must get hundreds of audience requests?
Oh, nonsense. Who would want to come and see this wisp of a woman. I am not lonely by choice.
Bu...
October 27, 2016
Book Review: Project Perception
“Climate Change has finally caught up, and the world is no longer a hospitable place. But despite the obviousness of the blame, humanity continues to stand divided on the matter. Everyone points at everyone else, and in a world of social networking, the arguments are polarising. No one has taken responsibility.
But on a shattered Earth, this is the last thing that humanity needs – it needs to be united. Why can people not see this? The time for debate is over; and the time for...
October 20, 2016
How much is too much POV?
Last month I talked about my early investigations into a style of
writing called “deep POV”. You can find the blog here. I concluded by saying that I would certainly give it a go, and so I will.
In response, I’ve been looking at a lot of detailed principles (as outlined in Marcy Kennedy’s excellent book: Deep POV in Fiction), and applying those to Mandestroy. It’s fair to say that the results have led to numerous edits already (at least 15% of the book has changed!), and though some of it is...
