Cat Hellisen's Blog, page 3

King of the What Now?

It’s only a new book, kittens.

YUP YUP. At the end of this year there will be a new Cat Hellisen on the shelves. I have been working a stack during this lovely pandemic *sigh*, the upside of which is that KING OF THE HOLLOW DARK will be releasing on 15 December 2020.

Currently the ebook is up for preorder, but the paperback will be added soon, so I am proper excited for the launch.

Georgina Skyler Carey is not a necromancer. She’s the daughter of one.

And now she’s dead.

George has grown up hidden away, trying to live a normal life after her mother was executed for a ghost uprising which killed millions. Every year, the Anti-Necromantic Unit drags her in for testing, while the Empress of Life watches. And every year; nothing.

Until she turns twenty, and the wards which were hiding her and binding her are finally erased, and Georgina discovers that she’s still not a necromancer, just the immortal body designed to host the soul of an aeons-old goddess.

Ousted from her meatsuit and trapped in the afterlife, George is determined to get her body back.

It’s not going to be that simple. George discovers that the afterlife is nothing like she could have imagined and the only people who might be able to help her have bigger issues to deal with. She’s trapped in an afterworld that is slowly being consumed by the Hollow Dark which waits at the end of all things. There’s a lot more at stake than one life – the entire realms of life and death will fall to the endless nothing of the Hollow Dark if the King of Death isn’t returned to hold his throne. The worlds are crumbling all around her, and George is going to lose more than just her body if she doesn’t find the King, and with him, the truth about her creation.

PREORDER NOW:
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In personal news, I ‘m feeling pretty tired (isn’t everyone?) and some days I wonder if we’ll ever reach a semblance of normal ever again. I miss my friends, I miss a life that’s more than just my house and the grocery shop and my job, and I really miss skating. I’ve been trying hard to keep my spirits up with creative stuff like my art and writing, but things are flagging a bit now. On the plus side, though people I know have been hospitalised (and are recovering) no one close to me has died, for which I am extremely thankful.

I’ve heard a rumour that a rink relatively near me might be opening within the next two weeks, so that gives me a little something to hold on to.

What’s keeping you going?

*dusts off blog*

Wow, it’s been a looooong while. I am alive, though I tend to mostly post on Patreon and my newsletter these days.

But an amazing thing has happened, and though there has been much going on under the surface which I can’t talk about, I CAN tell you that I have a new book out.

YES. An actual New Book.

It’s also an old book, and some of you may have read bits and pieces of it when it was called Hob an Lam.

Well, now it’s called Bones Like Bridges, and it is out in the wild, in ebook and paperback.

War is coming to Oreyn.

Magic is vanishing.

Neither problem matters much to Jek until he is pulled out of the slums and forced into the world of the Great Houses. A bastard heir to a dying magical family, Jek is caught up in the scheming of his half-sisters, who see him as the proof of their father’s betrayal. He’s powerless, out of place, and has no-one he can trust.

Jek’s scramble to make a home for himself in a world that will never accept him takes a strange turn when he finds himself drawn to one of the forbidden low-caste vampires, and the illegal magic they carry in their blood.

War is coming to Oreyn

Magic is vanishing.

Jek Grinningtommy is not a hero.

Until he finds someone worth dying for.

Anyway, if that’s your kind of thing, it’s available across the internet in places like Kobo, B&N, Apple, Amazon US, and Amazon UK.

#tenfor2018 June Prompt, a tad delayed.

Yikes, May ended up being Not a Great Month for #tenfor2018, though I did get the start of a short story down. But that’s okay, no need to beat myself up, I still made words and I’ll finish it up this month.

We all have weeks (months, years) where things just don’t click. It’s fine, and maybe it’s a sign to shake things up like a kaleidoscope.



SO, I decided to do something different for June and smash my way out of my comfort zone. Shoreline of Infinity is looking to put out an international anthology of Science Fiction poetry, and by handy coincidence, the deadline is 30th June.

We are especially interested in considering poetry from BAME writers, and writers from other under-represented groups including LGBT+ writers and writers with disabilities. If you’ve ever felt excluded from, or not represented by, mainstream sci-fi – we want to hear from you.

So, send us your alien acrostics, space age sonnets, time-travelling tankas and robotic rondeau. We also accept free verse (and everything in between).

So that’s what I’m doing, kittens. Writing poetry. Yep. About SF. Yep.

WISH ME LUCK.

Feel free to join me in this one, or make your own goals for June. Happy writing!

 

Photo by NASA on Unsplash

 

To Glasgow and Beyond!

Tomorrow I am off to Glasgow for the weekend to take part in and enjoy Satellite 6, Glasgow’s Science Fiction con. There are a host of things happening, but here are the ones where I’ll definitely be present.

Friday 18:30 – 19:30 in Siduri (Main Programme): I’ll be rubbing shoulders with Cameron Johnston and Hal Duncan, and we’ll be reading from our latest works. Cameron’s debut fantays novel is the much-anticipated The Traitor God and Hal will be reading from the upcoming Scruffians novella The Land of Somwhere Safe (I read and loved the first Scruffians, so I’m ascite for both readings.) The wonderful Neil Williamson will be herding cats and keeping us all in line.

Also I’ve made muffins so if you have a craving for a savoury vegetarian muffin, do come along.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Saturday there’s loads to do. I’ll definitely be going to Shoreline of In­fin­ity’s Event Ho­ri­zon

(20:15 – 21:45 in Siduri.)

I try and catch their monthy Edinburgh events, and have discovered wonderful writers and performers through them. The line-up is looking pretty spectactular, with songs and readings and performances from Painted Ocean, Ken McLeod, Neil Williamson, Ruth EJ Booth, EM Faulds, Brian M Milton, Ian Whates and Dave Clements.

 

However, before that at 17:30 – 18:30 in Siduri , I will be with Ian Whates from NewCon Press to launch my short story collection Learning How To Drown. It’s my first short story collection and features all my previously published work plus a handful of new stories. If you can make it, please do. (Alas, no muffins. Just me. And my book. But my book is awesome. So THERE.

#Tenfor2018 May Prompt

It’s already a new month, I’m not sure how that happened, but I did manage to finish (and sub) a story for April. I have a very vague idea of something I want to write for May (something…slightly sciffy, for a change) so in terms of prompts, I want you to go to wikipedia and find out what hapened/who was born/died/etc on your birthday, and see if anything sparks.

That might seem like a pointless one, but you never know what random littel piece of information is going to worm into your brain and curl up there, feeding and growing, until eventually you realise that little thread of info has taken over your whole mind like a parasitic wyrm.

My spark came from watching a random documentary about one of my hobbies, and wondering about cruise ships, and how pointless and weird cruises seem to me (looking in, I’ve never gone on one.) It’s still feeding and growing, but I know how my writing works. I need to start putting words down and more thoughts will come to fatten up the initial idea.

Until then, find something that fascinates you, some weird tick of history, and turn it into a story:

 

 

Not a Review: The Moon King – Neil Williamson

I’m going to upfront say that I’ve met Neil Williamson a few times, so I do know him, which is partly why I’d never read him (The other part is that while UK folk seem to know his name, he is sadly less known outside  – certainly not in South Africa). I have this thing where I prefer to not read books by people I know (this can get very difficult) because it is always So Damn Awkward if you end up not really being into their work.

Also, I’m an idiot, because as it turns out Neil Williamson is just the kind of writer I love, and now that I’ve devoured The Moon King, I must read more of his work.

Here’s my Not-a-Review of The Moon King

I am somewhat annoyed with myself for taking so long to read Neil Williamson’s work. The Moon King was just what I needed: characters were complex and complicated, the worldbuilding ugly-beautiful, populated with whimsical grotequeries, magical, filled with descriptions that brought the city of Glassholm to life in my head.

An excellent novel that pivots on the politics of change and revolution, while reminding us with a skeleton grin that there is a conservatism behind every action, no matter how anarchic it might appear. Crammed with delightful oddness, The Moon King is shot through with shades of Clive Barker and Tanith Lee, but is all itself, darkling strange, magical, and twisted by shadows and moonlight.

Tenfor2018 Prompt April – Witches and Finland and Art

I hope you all got something creative splattered onto the page or screen last month. If you didn’t, don’t worry, it’s time for a new month and a new prompt.

I found an artist whose clean, gentle style and whimsy (and cats!) I have fallen in love with, and so I’m going to be using their art as the prompt for April. And if this one doesn’t inspire you, I encourage you to head to their instagram and go through the illustrations – full of witches and cats and bears and Stuff Wot I Luv. I’m sure you’ll find an image there to spark an idea.

This is Ghost Migration by Finnish artist Heikala (and you can buy prints of this and others at her store. Also check out her sketchbooks and process videos on her instagram for more loveliness.

And let me know what you make. I can’t wait to see/read.

Writing the Map; or, How I Pants my Novels

I’ve spoken a bit about this before but it tends to be a recurring topic. Go to any writer’s forum and start a thread asking, “Should I outline my novel?” then sit back with the popcorn and enjoy the military grade drama that ensues before you’re banned for life.

The answer to the outlining question is YES.

If it works for you.

My friend Nerine Dorman has to work from outlines and she spends a great deal of time working out all her ideas and characters and plot threads before she even starts writing. Without an outline she feels that she’ll waste time in the actual writing. There are many books that help you learn to outline (Story Engineering, and The Anatomy of Story are just two of the ones I own. Why do I have them when I don’t outline? Because a) I have worked on outlining to see if it could help me be a better writer and b) because there are things to be learned from every process.) and if you’re interested, I suggest you start there.

There’ s not much money to be made telling pantsers* how to write**. After all, it’s not like there are steps to follow when you just sit down and wordvomit onto the page. But since this *is* how I write, I thought I’d talk a bit about my process, the pitfalls, and how I deal with them.

Everything here is simply MY PROCESS. Steal what works for you, ignore what doesn’t.
Starting the journey

Generally I have only the vaguest notion, but I have to start with a place, and a person, and something that causes a reaction.

As an example, I’m revising a book now, but when I first started it, all I knew was that there was a girl called George who was being haunted (she thought) by a ghost, even though the city she lives in was warded against ghosts. I also knew her mother was a necromancer who had been killed by the state. I knew it was the anniversary of her mother’s death, and that every year more stars disappeared from the sky.

I found out what the rest of the story was by following George around.

Getting lost

George and I made many missteps. This is what happens when you’re writing your own map. If you outline, you can snip all those pointless story threads before they waste your time, but when you’re pantsing, it can take a while to know you’re lost. I used to get so mad at myself when this happened because OMG I HAVE WASTED SO MANY WORDS AND SO MUCH ENERGY AND TIME, and usually after that I would vow to learn to outline again. But things work better for me when I take a more Buddhist approach to the journey. My goal is not a final polished book (well, it is, but it also isn’t). The journey is the goal. The wrong turns and extra story threads, while they may not make it into the final book, they were an important part of my process. The journey along the twisting path is as important (if not more so) than the peak of the mountain.

Getting lost also gives you room to play with ideas. Sure, something may not work for this novel, but perhaps you write the perfect seed for a different novel, or short story, or poem. Just take that ‘useless’ section, transplant it into another file or notebook and let it sit until you need it. Getting lost doesn’t mean losing work. It just means your map is wider and stranger.

Dead ends and Labyrinths

Not having a plan in mind can lead to getting stuck. Usually when this happens I do a kind of mini brain-storming and outlining session. I sit with what I know so far about my story and my characters, and, with pen and paper, I write down What If? scenarios. This is much more useful to me once I’ve already written about 15-20k, than when I’m going into a story cold. Usually I’m able to come up with some ideas I really like, and even make a kind of mini outline that gets me through the next few scenes before I need to what if? some more.

Sometimes my story becomes so Labyrinthine that it’s an utter mess. Just keep writing (sung in a Dory voice) is my mantra. My first draft is a kind of outline. Sure, it’s about 100k long and it’s a mess of poetry and typos, but it’s still not a story. It’s a vast map of the world I want to set down in a story. I’m not going to use everything on the map, but it helps to know it’s there.

Accept Rewrites and Revisions are Your Life Now

I’ve heard some people who outline say that it means they have to revise less. Personally, I think this is bull, and accounts for so many paint-by-numbers stories, but I’m also mean and picky so…. One thing I do know, however, is that pantsers can rarely get away without drastic rewrites and revisions to get their story in shape. AND THAT’S OKAY. Once again, it’s a part of the journey. Enjoy the creative process, and what rewriting allows you to do. You get to take your universe and reshape it. Destroy the things that bug you, build better palaces, better heroes, better villains. HELL, better and more interesting story shapes.

Finally, every piece of writing is different, and sometimes you’ll find the techniques and tricks that worked for you before aren’t working now. Never be afraid to try new methods, especially if you’re stuck. Sometimes a completely different approach is just what you need to jump-start a story or chapter.

Have fun, keep learning.

 

*I got asked what a pantser is: it’s the writers who charge off into story land with no idea where they’re going, armed only with idiocy and determination (and a pen), and write ‘by the seat of their pants’).

**One book I have found useful for pantsers is the Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook. I may not have written any break out novels, but the exerises taught me to think better and deeper when I was rewriting, so I think it can be a useful tool for writers who like writing exercises.

#Tenfor2018 An introduction, and a prompt.

It’s been a long while since I last wrote any short stories, and I was pretty sure I would never write any again. I felt defeated, deflated, scraped out. All my imagination was rust flakes and bird droppings.

But I’m feeling better, and I’ve decided to set myself a little challenge of one short piece a month. If you’d like to join in, don’t feel shy, and don’t feel obligated to do every prompt. Write whatever suits, be it poetry or prose, fanfic, flash pieces, longer works, serious or comedic, whatever. This isn’t school. This is just a bunch of people gently writing again.

My prompt for March is this image of British artist Su Blackwell’s, The Lighthouse Keeper’s Cottage. I chose it for three reasons. Blackwell sculpts with paper, and I loved the connection between my medium and hers, and for the image of the light, warning of danger, but also warmly comforting in the dark. And finally, for the cottage. The safe place, small and encircled, the island in the waves.

I hope you see something in it that fills your word well.

The Lighthouse Keeper’s Cottage – Su Blackwell

If you decide to join in, you can share your progress, ideas, triumphs etc on twitter. I’m using the hashtag #10for2018 to keep track of the project.

 

 

The Fiction of Success

Success is an amorphous tentacled monster, defined by contrasts and comparisons. By our own desires. And success – or the appearance of it – is even more nebulous in the age of Social Media.

I’m going to talk about writing because that’s all I know, but I’m pretty sure the principals are the same for other arts, businesses and life achievements.

 

Success is relative

It is going to depend on what you define as successful. And that’s something you control. If you tell yourself you can only be considered successful if you win a Hugo, or if you make a million dollars from your writing, chances are pretty high that you will go through life feeling like a failure. I’m not saying that you should have no goals, but make them realistic and achievable – do not chase things that rely on outside influence. Set yourself up for success on your own terms.

Other People’s Success is Curated

And we know it, even if though sometimes it’s no fun to admit. After all, it makes wallowing in misery hard when you know that so much of the success you see is framed, cropped and filtered by the person talking about it. Some people are *really* good at bigging up their achievements. Briefly made it to number one in an obscure Amazon category with a 99c special becomes NUMBER 1 BESTSELLER ON AMAZON, nominating themselves for an award becomes [Name of prize] NOMINATED! selling 100 copies of a book when previously they sold 4 – BREAKOUT SELLER!

There are people out there who buy reviews and ratings, who have intense networks with others to 5 star each other’s books on sites like goodreads. The writers whose day job is marketing themselves, and writing is only an afterthought. And yes, the constant barrage of how well their book is doing can make you feel like a failure, but you need to look below the hype at what’s really going on.

Look at the pic without the Insta filter.

Success Can Mean Losing

The lure of money is a powerful one and huge social marker of success, but chasing trends is not always the best choice. There are writers who make a very good career financially by churning out tropey fast food books, and if you are happy doing it, then go for it! Make all the money in the world! I want writers to be paid for their work. I also love fast food.