James Hockley's Blog, page 9
July 7, 2016
Book in a Blog: Mandestroy 6
Well we’re one week behind schedule – that’s where we are. I blame it on a web-based technical fault, but actually it was a bit of a blessing. I was a bit behind on my final edit anyway!
Now in the novella, Kantal has found himself joining the army, which really makes absolute sense for someone with his aggressive abilities. In fact, why didn’t he follow that path earlier? But the problem with the army is that he is bottom of the pile and expected to obey orders, where he’s come...
July 5, 2016
Author Newsletter July 2016
Yep – I’ve given up on the silly titles. It didn’t take long did it? My knowledge of news based quiz shows is not extensive enough to keep it going any longer. And beyond that, I saw an article by Jane Friedman here which suggested it was not a productive idea! So we have a functional title instead.
And on that note – thanks to Jane for her excellent blog advice. I have signed up to a few ‘writing bloggers’ out there, but I have to say that Jane has become my go-to source of self-publishing i...
July 4, 2016
Beagle’s Blot 6 | Malhorn
My goal is Mallis. I yearn to see the great spear that is the lonely home of the Grey Lady. The Jinq may be the master architects, but the Mallahn managed their own statement. That will be a magnificent sight – I am sure of it – but it remains elusive. It turns out that this island of ours is much bigger than I anticipated.
Three cycles of the sun took us clear of the southern mountains of the Adunas Mahija and up the peninsula that is the ancestral home of the Mallahn. But there is plenty of...
June 30, 2016
Book in a Blog: Mandestroy 5
So where are we? Well, we are still in our young protagonist’s past – looking at his life growing up; where he has come from. He’s no longer bullied, and he has a hell of a punch on him, but it still isn’t a life as such. It almost was – after fifteen years he may have actually bonded with his father – but all that was ripped ruthlessly from his grasp by his jealous scheming brothers. He was out on the streets once more, but now he is sleeping there too.
This w...
June 28, 2016
Book Review: Coinman
This is the first truly literary work I’ve read in a while. I like it.
The story is set in a small office in India and focuses on a
discriminated odd-ball called Coinman – so called because he habitually plays with coinage in his pocket, the sound of which drives his colleagues to distraction. What follows is a collaborative vendetta against the ‘tyranny’ of the coins and their unrelenting noise, and all the associated fallout with such a revolution. It is...
June 21, 2016
Book Review: Deity’s Soulmate
This is a very interesting concept – certainly not akin to anything I’ve 
read before. And strangely, this is the second book in a row that I’ve read with gods at the core. But more than that – here we have dragons too; and lots of other classic fantasy creatures to think about. Almost all of them in fact. This is certainly a far reaching concept.
I would say that this is a peaceful and sedate read. However, darker sub-texts do reveal...
June 16, 2016
Book in a Blog: Mandestroy 4
It’s amazing how much time goes into crafting words, and yet how easily they can be devoured up. I suppose it’s the same with anything really. If there’s one thing that writing does give you, it’s an appreciation of just how much work goes into a book. And yet the internet gives us the opportunity to offer bullet ratings and reviews – hours of effort appraised in a heartbeat.
Terrifying.
Anyway – I digress once more. Let us pore over what has happened to our General Kanta...
June 14, 2016
Book Review: Az – Revenge of an Archangel
This book is not like anything I’ve ever read before; a great premise. 
This is (as the title suggests) about the archangels, and this works really well, especially the first half which tallies nicely with the Book of Genesis. Part of me wants to believe that this is how Genesis plays out, but I know that’s not true – this is a solid modern fiction novel with borrowed context. It’s great.
Without giving too much away (but nonetheless giving some away), this book follows Az, the A...
June 9, 2016
Book in a Blog: Mandestroy 3
Well, yes it is. So far we have had “The Moment” which is as yet undefined (it is a moment in time, but that is all we know), and then we have “The Now”, where our key character is getting himself into sticky political waters – not his best colour.
And now we are about the enter “The Then”, which as you may have worked out, is in the past. In particular, we are looking to General Kantal’s history for inspiration to help him in his sticky political waters.
Bu...
June 8, 2016
Book Review: The Midnight Land Part 1
This is a very original and refreshing piece of work. If pushed, I would declare it as somewhere between Tolstoy, Tolkien and CS 
Lewis. Make of that what you will! I don’t think this is something I would naturally gravitate towards, but I’m glad I have read it. It’s good.
To set the scene, what we have is a fantasy world which very closely resembles Russia. I’m going to say it is medieval Russia from the environment, but that’s really rather irreleva...
