ZZ Adams's Blog, page 5

Interviewed by a Gang who is Awesome!

https://awesomegang.com/zz-adams/

ZZ was recently interviewed. Check out the interview here:

ZZ Adams

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Two amazing new books coming soon

So what have we been up to? If you guessed writing, you’d be right!

We’re hard at work on Wunderkind, a new prequel to the Zero-point Awakening series.

We are simultaneously editing book 3 (Ascension) and writing book 7 (Incursion). We will be releasing all of this and more this year, so hang on to your metaphorical hats!

Wunderkind features Elliot Goshawk and Gunther (who some of you will recognize from Splice, and Gunther from Siege and Fire and Sand as well). The book also gives Millicent (from Siege) some air time.

We think you are going to love this one. It has been a lot of fun to write so far and, as long as we survive the editing process, we don’t see any reason why this will not be ready for download very soon. So stay tuned for updates.

But wait, there’s more! With Shadow War closer than ever to release, we will soon be putting book 3 (Ascension) up for pre-order as well. Here’s a sneak peek.

We are working hard to get these ready for you and we cannot wait to see what you think.

If you’ve read any of the books from our free library (available to our weekly newsletter subscribers for FREE) you can now leave a review on www.zzadams.com.

If you’ve read Splice or Mindstorm, please consider leaving us a short review on Amazon as well.

Just in case, here are the links:

Mindstorm: Leave a review on Amazon

Splice: Leave a review on Amazon

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Happy Holidays and a New Freebie

Obligatory pet pic – Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Max

It has been a pretty terrible year for a lot of people this year. For us, it’s been a busy one. We started this journey in May. It was just an idea–two friends with a love for writing and for science fiction and fantasy in particular, collaborating on novels and short stories. What could possibly go wrong?

Project Status Update

Here’s a list of a few of the key things we have managed to do since May, 2020 (apologies in advance… this is going to be long):

We completed Siege, the prequel

We wrote the pilot episode of the Zero-Point Awakening series, Siege. This is a punchy first in the series that introduces Millicent, a character who comes back later in the series. We wanted this to have elements of sci-fi and military-style action (both hallmarks of the series) but also to be human. There is an arc for Millicent and the major secondary characters. There is drama and there is action. We believe this is a great read and you should definitely let us know either way! You can grab a copy of SIEGE if you have not picked one up already from here (you will need to sign up to our mailing list to get it. If you have already signed up, don’t worry, the system takes care of that and you will not receive multiple copies of emails.

We wrote and released Splice

Splice is the first in the Zero-Point Awakening series and it introduces Elliot and Arthur two of our key characters.

This book has more humor than Siege and really gets into the relationship between Arthur and Elliot as they try to learn to live with each other and come to grips with their abilities.

The aim of this book was to have fun. We both love X-men, Avengers and The Boys and when we first started thinking about the Zero-Point series we wanted it to be something that fans of Watchmen and the Avengers would love. Just like with Siege, we wanted there to be a beating drum of action and we think we have achieved that but it is not action alone. There is real character development throughout Splice and both of us have come to love these characters (or hate them, as the case may be). We hope you will come to love them as much as we do.

Splice is available at Amazon and is free on Kindle Unlimited. You can find out more about it here or pick up your copy at Amazon here.

We completed Shadow War

We don’t want to say too much about Shadow War, the second episode (book 2) of the Zero-Point Awakening series because… spoilers. The story continues with much angst caused to the cast of characters by the ornery writers of this series (ahem).

Shadow War is available for pre-order on Amazon and will also be free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers. You can find out more about Shadow War here.

Progress on the Rest of ZPA Series

There are eight main books planned in the Zero-Point Awakening series. Here’s where we are with the rest:

Episode 3 (Ascension) – Complete (scheduled for pre-order in April, 2021 and release May 1, 2021) (Arthur and Elliot are back of course but they are joined by two new cast members (Millicent from Siege and a new character called Stanley)).Episode 4 (Mayday) – Draft is complete, currently being edited. (scheduled for release June 1, 2021)Episode 5 (Counterpunch) – First draft complete. Going through second draft process. (scheduled for release July 1, 2021)Episode 6 (Beachhead) – Plotted.Episode 7 (Incursion) – Still a long way to go.Episode 8 (Tyranny) – What? We have a book called Tyranny planned?



The Mindstorm Project

We had our hands full with the ZPA series, but we haven’t stopped there. We also released Mindstorm for pre-order this month. Mindstorm is the first in a YA dystopian sci-fi series about a group of plucky teens in London who wake up one day with supernatural powers. You can find out more about Mindstorm here or pre-order it at Amazon here.

The best is yet to come!



Mindstorm — YA dystopian Sci-fi

Luckily, working on the collaboration has been a pleasure for us both and has helped us get through this whole Covid situation. The collaboration could not have gone better and while what we are writing may not be everyone’s cup of tea (really?) we’ve managed to create a few stories that have resonated with people and we are both humbled and pleased by the results.

For everyone who has supported us by buying one of our books or stories or by leaving a review, or sending us a personal email, thank you! We really appreciate your time and effort. It means a lot. From our side we promise to continue writing stories you love and doing it to the best of our ability, maintaining the highest quality of prose and editing. That’s our commitment. Will we fail? Probably. But we are going to do our best.

Which leads me to Hunter. If you are looking for a great read during the holidays, we have you covered.

Hunter – a supernatural thriller

A psychic awakening comes with magnificent powers. And a secret organisation determined to capture you.

Erin Shaw and George Campbell knew it was true love from the beginning. But she was firmly working-class—brought up on a housing estate. He was the heir to a dukedom—his father with his own castle and staff.

It was hard enough to fit in with the hunters and their rifles, but when the castle comes under attack from a squad of armed agents, Erin must defeat her fear and fight alongside the Laird and his family against the invaders.

It isn’t only that there is a team of well-trained thugs trying to kidnap her and murder her boyfriend and his family but something else is happening to her–something she can’t explain.

To survive, Erin will need to do more than fight. She will have to learn to use her new-found powers to save not only herself but her new family.

Hunter is the YA supernatural short story, set in the world of Mindstorm, a brand new YA science fiction thriller from ZZ Adams.

Download Hunter




But wait, there’s more

We also released two sci-fi stories. These are available at Amazon for only 99c so if you haven’t checked them out, please do and if you do, please consider leaving a review. That’s the best present any author can hope for.

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A Brand New Novel For 2021

Fight for your friends, your family, your future.

A brand new YA dystopian Sci-fi novel for a new year. Find out more about it here or pre-order now at Amazon.

#sciencefiction #dystopianfiction

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Sci-Fi or Fantasy? It’s more complicated than that…

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Shadow War: Available for Pre-order Now at Amazon

Writing is a funny business. We just released Siege (The prequel to the Zero-point Awakening series) and then Splice, Episode 1 and now it feels amazing that we are in the lead up to releasing Shadow War, Episode 2. Shadow War is available for pre-order at Amazon now.

On the run from a remorseless corporation, now they’re working together to strike back!

Months have passed and Lizard Man and Assassin Boy are hot on the trail of their kidnapped loved ones. Everywhere they look they find the greasy fingerprints of Hellinix, a shadowy multinational corporation with grand and nefarious plans. A company that does not want to leave them alone. 

They nearly saved the world the first time. This time will be different. Probably.

You can find out more about Splice here. And if you would like to know more about the story or the characters, there is no better way to get to know them than to read Siege, Fire and Sand and the upcoming Wunderkind (more on that later).

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We (still) Love Writing Sci-fi Action (Part 2 Of 2)

The Zero-Point Awakening series is a sci-fi action/superhero story at its heart. In the last post on this topic, Damian described the process of working through the first draft. Once that was done, that’s where I took over.

Writing Sci-Fi Action Stories – The editing Process

I’m not going to lie. It’s daunting to receive a draft of a story and be asked to edit it. Exactly what that means in the ZZ Adams process may be a little different than some other writers, so let me explain.

Since we are a writing team, one of us has to take the first cut of everything we write. We switch that around all the time, but this one was Damian’s baby (yes, I’m blaming him for that ending, but at least he didn’t just blow everyone up (spoiler alert–there are no story-ending explosions in Siege). The other person then takes that draft and works through it, adding another layer of characterization, polishing dialogue, finding typos (most of the time), and generally making it shine as much as they can. So that’s what I did.

I got to read the first draft the way most of you would have read Siege (assuming you have read it at this point and if you haven’t I highly recommend it. Siege has the origin story for Millicent Cuff, one of my favorite characters in the entire series). I started at the beginning and followed Millicent through her journey, right to the (ahem) bitter end. I did have the benefit of having read more of Millicent’s chapters from when she was older, so I was willing to forgive a lot (unlike one of our beta readers who still doesn’t like poor Millicent to this day!)

Sci-fi or Not?

Editing is a methodical process. I like to read things aloud and see how they sound. That’s my way of doing it. I mostly work on the weekends since I have a day job, so my time is limited. It means I feel a lot of pressure to get things right the first time. Luckily, Siege was very clean first draft. The only issue we had was: was it sci fi enough to represent the Zero-Point Awakening series?

I still wonder whether it has enough elements to keep sci-fi fans happy (please feel free to let us know via our contact page). But ultimately, the story has to start somewhere, and this is where Millicent’s journey began, so we had to tell it this way.

That Ending Though…

Damian handed me the draft with a warning that I wasn’t going to like the ending. He’s said above that it is an impactful ending and I think that’s right, but I do not feel (even now) that it is a frivolous one. It is the ending that Millicent needed to start her on her troubled road. A character like her needs a start just like this.

So there it is. That’s a little bit of insight into what we were thinking when we drafted and edited Siege. Let us know what you thought. Feedback like that is invaluable to writers, especially self-published ones. Without your feedback, we cannot write the stories you want to read.

I’m looking forward to being with you on this journey. We are already up to Episode Five of the series with spinoffs planned, so strap yourselves in. This is going to be a wild ride!

~ Andrew

#sci-fi #sciencefiction

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We Love Writing thrilling Sci-fi action (Part 1 Of 2)

Part 1 – Drafting

Siege is a sci-fi thriller. Here are some cool things we learned writing Siege, Prologue to the Zero-Point Awakening series. This is what Damian has to say about the drafting process:

Awesome learnings began with Millicent

From the start of the Zero-Point Awakening project, I knew we had to write a novelette to give to all of you wonderful subscribers. We’d just finished writing the first draft of book three when I put my hand up and said I’d write the first draft of an origin story of a character who appears for the first time in book three: Millicent Cuff. 

I’m not ashamed to admit I was a little drained from writing three novels back-to-back. I got the first two chapters written over two days and then hit a wall.

Pants are optional?

The thing is, Andrew and I are both pantsers – we barely plot at all when writing a novel. It’s quite good really when combined with writing a book in partnership because it’s more like play, and neither of us knows where the story will end up. (Kudos to you if you can work it out!)

So I let it drop for a bit and got on with editing the stuff we’d already written, practically terrified of continuing with Siege, because, at that point, I couldn’t see where the story in Siege was.

Busting through walls is cool

The mistake I was making though was mostly that I wanted it to be a great read and I was trying to write perfect prose right out of the box, a really tough thing to do. Andrew spoke to me and reminded me I just needed to let the words come because, obviously, we were going to redraft and edit it.

All the clues I had led me to believe that it would be a very dark ending.

– Damian J. Clay (A very mean writer)

That really helped, and by the time Gunther made a visit to Millicent’s house, I got a good idea of where things might end up. 

The end?

I was still unsure at the end. All the clues I had led me to believe that it would be a very dark ending. A Titus Andronicus style ending. I’ll say no more about that, but I’m super happy with the finished first draft.

The concern I thought we might have was that it was less representative of the other books in the series than it might be – there was much less humor for sure. But as we’ve carried on writing the novels, what I’ve come to understand is we do have very dark moments where the comedy is necessarily sparse, as well as the lighter moments where we’re aiming for laughs. 

All’s well that ends well?

For me, that sums up the Zero-Point Awakening series. 

By the time I’d given it a redraft, I was very happy with it. There were some cool things about writing Siege that I’d learned. At that point, I handed it over to Andrew: 

~ Damian

Watch this space for insights into our collaborative editing process. Coming up in Part 2 where we delve into the editing of a sci-fi thriller.

Haven’t read SIEGE yet? You can download it free for Kindle and other ereaders by signing up to our newsletter.

Sign up to download SIEGE for Free

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Progress!

Ascension, Episode Three of Zero-Point Awakening is coming along. Currently in the second round of revisions. Here’s a sneak peek at Stanley, one of the two new POV characters from the book. #orangutans #greatapes #sciencefiction #zero-pointawakening

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Just Sayin’

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