Donald B. McFarlane's Blog, page 6

Feb ’19

February is over and Brexit is looming. What could possibly go wrong?

February was a rather slow month. Project 8 has been edited to the point where it can be handed to the beta-tester, but I’m waiting until April to do that. Gotta give my man a break. Standish is still going through a line-by-line edit. Once this is complete, it’ll be sent to agents and publishers. I think it’s the strongest work I’ve done to date, and dumping it on Amazon Kindle would be a disservice to the work I’ve put in.

With Brexit looming, Trump in the US, and right-wing fascists emerging everywhere, I’m giving more consideration to this and that. I’ve subscribed to Foreign Policy in an attempt to educate myself more on the world and how fucked it is. And with that in mind, I’ve come off Insta-Stupid. I don’t think it was helping me sell books, and I was finding the whole experience a negative narcissistic nightmare. No more!

I watched a few cracking documentaries in Feb, starting with Operation Odessa. Fascinating look into organized crime and the world of narcos. The second documentary I watched was the China Hustle. This was a real eye-opener into the world of Chinese and US financial operations etc. Mind. Blown.

I also watched the BBC Les Mis series, which I thought was excellent. A hell of a lot better than the musical from a few years back.

On the reading front I tried a book on the crusades, but it was putting me into a coma, so I’ve started with the first Game of Thrones book. Wow. It’s excellent. I can’t recommend it enough. I am giving serious consideration to reading the books on the trot. We shall see.

Music was the same. Growing my collection of synth. I do love this music. It’s the only thing I can work to, even for editing.

March should see the completion of work on Standish. Once that is in the books and ready to deploy, the question has to be what comes next. Project 8 is the 6th book in the Earth Saga series, but I’m not that interested in writing book 7 at the moment. I’m thinking about writing another novella. Set in the Earth Saga Universe, but with characters we’ve not seen before. There are several stand-alone books like Standish on the drawing boards, but I’m thinking of doing something different first. We’ll see what happens.

 

 

January ’19

Another month in the books. January didn’t involve much new activity. At the moment there are 2 novels being edited: Standish (Project 6) and Condition Zero: The Earth Saga VI (Project VIII). These are both at a different phase of the editing process but are ticking along.

Having some a bit of research recently, I have decided that I want to pitch Standish to agents/publishers before attempting to put it on Kindle. If the goal is to make writing a profitable career, I need to get away from the one-man-band idea and seek real representation. This will most likely prove to be a long a laborious process, but one that must be undertaken.

Onto lighter subjects. I picked up the John Harris and Chris Foss art books this month.

These are incredible resources with amazing art that really makes you dream about the worlds these two artists have created.

One the reading front, I read Team Yankee, a book about a US army unit in Germany during a WW3 scenario. It’s fun, fast, and technically accurate, which makes it very enjoyable to read.

Didn’t go to the cinema in January, but I did watch Polar with Mad Mikkleson, which was fun. Laura, a film-noir which is brilliant, and a documentary on nuclear weapons that is half art film/half scare you about the prospect of being turned to ashes rapidly. A brilliantly made film.

On the music front, I secured some more Synth-wave. It is all I listen to while working. I don’t think that will change anytime in the near future.

I’ve got an artist doing some work on a rendition of Standish the character. The outfit she is wearing is from a non-combat related scene and shows some versatility in her character. Looking forward to the final product.

Febtober will involve more editing. I feel confident that Standish will be finished by the end of the month, while Condition Zero should be ready for the next phase of editing by the end of the month also. Fingers crossed.

When considering options for going forward, I’m not sure how I want to proceed. Standish appeared in the Book IV flashback along with several other characters. I’m thinking that Project 9 should be a book in the same universe but with completely new characters. I’m not cancelling any of the other projects that I’ve considered already, but I’m thinking another stand-alone is required after Condition Zero is handed off to the beta-tester.

Time will tell.

2018 in Review

Another year in the bag.

Sold 185 books. (I need to sell roughly 68 per day to live)

Got ‘Love in a Time of War’ out to the people.

Finished Project VI and VIII. Both of those are currently being edited.

A lifelong friend read Project VI, a standalone work titled ‘Standish’. He thinks it’s the best thing I’ve done so far, and that I should dump the series. He’s probably right on the first count, but the Earth Saga series must be finished. The story has to be told. 5 published, 4 to go.

Did a bit of travelling in 2018, which is always nice, wouldn’t mind doing some more in 2019.

But the big goal for 2019 has to be getting ‘Standish’ to an agent/publisher. That really must be the focus, because without that, I fear that there is no longer-term viability in this career for me.

Tomorrow is another day. We’ll do some editing. Listen to some amazing synth. Hit the gym. Discipline and consistency are the two words that need to be painted on the wall for 2019. With a close check on both of them, success should beckon.

December ’18

Another month has wrapped, bringing with it the end of the year.

Work wise, I finished, and completed 2 rounds of editing on Project VIII, which is the 6th Earth Saga book. This project is now on the back-burner while I work on ‘Standish’.

Sales wise, the month was a disaster. 1 book sold I think. Grim.

On other fronts I got some amazing music.

Watched some good films.

And bad films.

 

Now I’m primed for 2019. Let’s hope that sales pick up.

And I get an agent/publisher for ‘Standish’!

November ’18

 

November has come to an end and there is one word to sum it up: ZERO. That is the total number of books sold this month. I thought my books sales were normally low, but from what I understand, I can’t do much worse than ZERO! I suppose I need to hold out hope that December is stronger, and we end the year with a bang.

On a work front, November culminated with the completion of Project 8, which is the 6th book in the Earth Saga series. We hit the mid 85ks, and will probably up-edit over the next month or so. There are some holes that need to be filled, but I’m happy with the result, and I hope that the readers are also.

Another exciting bit of news regarding ‘Standish’, is that both beta-testers are promising to have their copies of the first draft to be shortly. Once I’ve got my hands on those, it’s all hands on deck to get it fixed and out to the public before the end of December. I have high hopes that this is the one.

Sticking with the ‘Standish’ theme, I am hopefully having some art generated for the book. Not cover art, but just an image to accompany the book. It might be until January for this piece to be finished, but I’m excited about it either way.

Entertainment wise, I have continued my obsession with synthwave music, but have also been adding some jazz to my music collection for work. Synth for the actual punching of the keys, and jazz for the editing process. It all works in perfect harmony to create the zen like atmosphere I need to get shit done.

There was some serious film/TV watching this month. Narcos Mexico and Outlaw King were good. Batman V Superman was a disaster. In the middle was Sicario 2. Well done, but with a rather weak plot.

Since we’re getting closer to the ‘Standish’ launch, I thought I’d delve a little more into the story without revealing too much. As we speak, ‘Standish’ is going to follow two story lines are the main character ‘Standish’. One of the story lines will take place in the present time, while the other will take place in the past. This may seem unconventional, but I think it works.

The novel itself is a bit StarShip Troopers meets Wonder Woman. Female led with lots of violence. The only thing I’ll say about Standish now is that she is physically based on Sara Sigmundsdóttir. I wanted to create a female character that was relevant in the 21st century world in which we live, most importantly strong. Both physically and mentally.

That’s it for this month. Fingers crossed December sees better sales, and the release of ‘Standish’.

October ’18

 

October was a brutal month for sales. Disastrous. But I suppose that is following a general trend from the past five years. I seem to be unable to A: sell books and B: get the limited people who read them to review them. It’s a shocking mess.

I’m currently punching the keys on Book VI (Project 8) at the moment, and we’re north of the 50k mark heading towards 90,000.

That’s all well and good, and I’m happy with the story and the direction it is heading. I am of course banking my entire career on the success of Standish, my magnum opus, which is still out with 2 beta-testers. I need to get this puppy back, edit the hell out of it, then get it out to the readers before Christmas. This might be easier said than done. The other plan with Standish is to get it to an agent. Ha! I know.

On the flip side, October was a relatively active month for travel. Munich, London, France, Hamburg, back to London, with a tiny journey on the Queen Mary 2.

On the art scene, I went to this exhibition on photography at the Tate Modern. Hated it.

Then I went to this ballet, Mayerling. Hated it. Not a good month for culture.

On the reading front, we’re back where we should be: history. I read Anthony Beevor’s Arnhem, which was amazing, and I’m currently reading The First World War by John Keegan. I might have read this before, but I can use the re-fresh on WW1.

The only cinema trip I took in October was to see Bohemian Rhapsody, which I thought was alright, while at home I watched Den of Thieves, which was shit.

Music-wise, I’ve been adding to my jazz collection, and of course, my synthwave collection, which I listen to for work. Very happy with Neon Moonlight from Jazzycat.

The plan of action for November is to keep punching the keys. I’ve got to get Book VI done asap, and then pray that the beta-testers get Standish back to me before the end of the month, otherwise there is little hope of getting it live before X-mas. Work work work.

Fingers crossed November is a better month for book sales, and maybe someone will leave me a review.

Until next time.

Month in Review: September ’18

September has come to an end, and with it the heat. London is cooling off, and autumn has arrived. September was a fairly productive month. I got Standish into the hands of another beta-tester, and work on Project 8 (Book VI) has continued. I’ve also gotten a better picture of where the Earth Saga series is heading after Book IV has wrapped, and what project with be up next after 8 is complete. Lots to figure out, but if the keys keep getting punched, we’ll get there eventually.

In terms of books sales, September wasn’t the worst month of record, but it wasn’t stellar. I really need to find an agent, otherwise I’ll be in literary obscurity forever.

Read the first book in the Agent Cormac series from Neal Asher, Gridlinked¸ and I thought it was quite fun. Quite a change from reading a tomb on the Napoleonic Wars. I’ve got a stack of books to read at home which will take at least a year to get through.

I also added Nuthin But Mech 2 to my collection in September. I found it in Forbidden Planet while popping in randomly. The artwork inside is amazing, and really gets the mind flowing in so many directions.

September also had the book launch of my friend James Sherwood’s Jewelry for Gentlemen book at Bentley and Skinner on Piccadilly. A great resource of men’s jewelry and filled with inspiration of how to jazz up any look.

Cinema in September was a very mixed bag. On the good side was Born to be Blue, about Chet Baker. Ethan Hawke delivered a great performance as Baker, and I’m always a fan of Callum Keith Rennie. I also thoroughly enjoyed the Bodyguard series on the BBC. Gripping, well written. A winner.

On the other side of the spectrum were disasters like Riddick, Point Break (the remake), and Passengers. Proof that no amount of budget can save a badly written story with crappy dialogue and dreadful acting. Who green-lights these catastrophes?

Music wise, we stuck with adding synth-wave tunes to the collection, along with more random albums from several ‘Greatest Records of All Time’ lists. My library is growing with not only music I like, but with music I’m told I should listen to, at least to increase my breadth and depth of knowledge.

Unfortunately, we lost Burt Reynolds in September. The man was a character.

On a positive note, we got a picture of Arnie and Linda Hamilton. Whatever they make can’t be worse than Genisys!

October should be a good month. Visiting Germany twice along with France. Need to get more words down on the page. Project 8 (Book VI) needs to be finished by the end of November to stick with a late December launch. We shall see!

Until next time.

 

Month in Review: August ’18

 

August is over, and I would have to say it was a fairly positive month. Taking stock of open projects, Project 6 is with testers/editors, and we’re going to be giving out another copy to Nick C for reading during the first week of September. Project 8 is approaching 40,000 words and should be on track for a late 2018 release. The most exciting news, however, is that Project 7, Love in a time of War has finally been released. Always nice to get a new project out there.

Project 6 is on track for an autumn/winter 18 release, and will be the second stand-alone Earth Saga story after Love in a time of War. These two stories take place in the same universe as the first 5 Earth Saga stories that have already been released, and some familiar faces may pop up in them. As of now, Project 9 will also be a stand-alone novel. I think that having more stand-alone material in the market will help increase my readership, and will offer a softer transition into the Earth Saga universe versus starting off with what is planned to be a 9 book series.

In other news, I watched a few films in August, the one that jumps to mind first is Extinction a sci-fi film that has a rather clever twist in the 3rd act, but still sucks. While the premise is interesting, I think that it’s a little unrealistic (I know, sci-fi), and the acting is weak. Which never helps.

I went a bit crazy in the book stores last month. Bought enough books for probably all of the rest of this year, and all of 2019. Added a bunch of sci-fi to my ‘to read’ list. I started with Thrawn, a Star Wars book. It was my first, and most likely last attempt at a novel from that series. I’m not saying it was bad, I’m just saying it doesn’t warrant another crack, at least for now.

One book that I am very thrilled with is the Martian by Andy Weir. I’m about half-way through this one, and I think it’s great. Always fun noting the differences and similarities from the book and the film.

The music trend in August stayed with synth. I freaking love it. Bought 2 albums from Survive, one from Isidor and a band called Join the Riot. Some great tracks from these groups.

In other sci-fi news, it seems that there might be a Picard spin-off, which would be awesome. I’ve been watching the new season of Archer, and while it’s not as good as some of the first seasons, it’s still a load of fun.

Finally, I was able to get out of London for a few days in August. I often complain that I don’t get out of town enough, and even though I’m working while in France, it’s nice to get some fresh country air, and not worry about being killed while cycling through town.

As soon as I’m back in town, it’ll be straight to the printers to get a new copy of Project 6 printed out and into the hands of my trusty beta-tester. This could be the one, and I’m going to pitch it to agents. I need an agent, can’t keep groveling for sales on my own forever.

 

Until next month.

July ’18

The first of August has arrived, which means it’s time for a month in review. I was going this weekly, but until I feel that that is necessary, we’re scaling back to once a month.

July went fairly well. Both Standish and Love in a time of War were either both handed off to beta-testers, which is a step in the right direction of getting those two projects published.

Work has started on Project 8, which is Book VI in the Earth Saga series. This book promises to be lots of fun, and will deliver an action packed crescendo. There is a very good chance that after this project is completed that I will work on another stand-alone project. I believe it is necessary to have more stand-alone material to attract new readers to the series.

I finally finished Children of Time, which I thought was good, but the ending left a little to be desired. I thought that the writer might have played it safe in an attempt to please too many readers. But what do I know? That guy has won awards.

I read my first Bond novel, which happens to be a bit of a prequel to Casino Royale. I enjoyed it. It was fun, not too serious. Not sure I’ll read another, maybe try one of the early Fleming novels.

I recently started a book on the Napoleonic Wars, which is more my speed. I’ve been reading too much sci-fi lately, and need to get back to my history-degree roots. While I’ve watched plenty of TV and film on this era, this is the first work of non-fiction I’m reading on the subject, and so far I think it’s amazing.

I watched a few films in July, and three come to mind. First was the disaster film How it Ends, which was horrible. Then there was Wind River, which I thought was great, and finally there was Fall-Out, the most recent Mission Impossible film, which was very entertaining. I’d recommend it to anyone, regardless of their opinions on Tom Cruise. I thought the action was great, and while the story could have room for improvement, the set-pieces are excellent.

Music wise, I’ve been adding to my working synth-wave collection weekly. It’s the only music I can really work to at the moment. Helps keep the brain ticking along.

I went to Masterpiece at Royal Hospital Chelsea for the third year in a row. It was once again packed with beautiful pieces of art, furniture, jewelry and other exotic features from around the world, all well north of my budget. I visited the British Museum, the National Gallery and the V&A also in July, and I have to say that I believe the cultural exposure is great for the mind. Gets it thinking about bigger things and ideas.

August is going to be a heads-down month. I’ve already knocked out over 16k on Project 8, but the objective is to release it, and Standish and Love in a time of War all before the end of the year, so the keys must be punched.

Of course I’m going to need to up the attack to find an agent. I’ve got no chance in finding a publisher without an agent, so that will be a major priority for the remainder of the year.

With that in mind, time to get back to Project 8. It’s not going to write itself.

 

 

 

Week in Review: 24/06/18

 

It was a good week for writing, and a great week for English football. Football is one of those sports that I follow like an addict every so often. Tennis, golf, the Olympics, rugby. A big tournament or competition comes on, and I’m hooked. It’s nice to get some variety in what sports I watch, now that I’m finished with the NFL after 30 years of loyalty, I’ll need to switch to other options!

We are in the finally half of ‘Standish’, get some last few ‘things’ done. My beta-tester 2.0 is arriving in England around the 10th of July, so everything will be all ready well before his arrival. ‘Love in a time of War’ will be finished this week. I’ll be taking the red-pen to that document once I’ve printed it out. I might dump that on the beta-tester also. Which means, if all goes to plan, we’ll be on to Book VI by the middle of July. Everything works out, all 3 books will be released this year. Very exciting stuff.

Always adding to my music collection, this week we added some Droid Bishop, which must be a reference to Aliens. Great, great film. I’ve become a big fan of Café del Mar, and am adding one album a week to my collection. Great background music.

Found this article in the New Scientist. Nothing new here! Perhaps it’s just nice to see what I already knew confirmed.

And finally, we’re trying to keep the style on a good run. This was a little look I put together Sunday morning. I find that very few people actually take the time to dress well these days. Look, I’m not wearing a tux to the gym, but it just seems we’ve hit rock bottom, and started to dig. Very little effort being put into what people wear, which is ironic, since most of what people wear is probably made in some horrible 3rd world slave-labour sweatshop while they  demand organic foods that are fairtrade. Rather hypocritical.

This week has got some great weather in store for London, and a big England V Belgium game on Thursday. Time to punch the keys.