C.G. Hatton's Blog, page 5

Hiding away...

I haven’t written a blog post in a while because, I must admit, I’ve been struggling to write and carry on with the promotional stuff I know is necessary as an indie writer.I’m writing book four. I’m loving it. I’d forgotten how cool it is to have a blank page and endless possibilities… to have the outline certainty of what happens but to have surprises pop out and hit me in the face as the story progresses and characters misbehave.I need to hide away to write. But I know that sales of your books increase when you promote them. Checking Kindle and Smashwords sales, watching out on Goodreads for reviews and comments, keeping the Tweets up to date (and not all just about Tottenham), blogging… it’s all time consuming. I’ve had a great time at comic cons this year. I’ve made some great contacts and some lovely friends. I’ve had some amazing feedback, for which I am very grateful. But I had to make a conscious decision to spend the winter writing to have book four finished for next year. NG is a lot of fun to be with. And I’m looking forward to Scarborough next March. So I’m going to crack on with it. Here’s to book four…

Sheffield Film and Comic Con: Some FAQs

Do something every day that scares you…
I reckon attending a comic con as a scifi writer is one of the most terrifying things you can do. I want to sit under a tree and write, or throw a blanket over my head and write, or sit on the stairs and write… anything other than being with real people.But… and it’s a big but (ha!), after being thrown into the deep end thanks to the combined and wonderful connivings of my other half with Andy and Steve of Scifi Scarbs, I’ve found that I love comic cons! For a pure introvert, it’s exhausting but it’s wonderful and as a writer, it’s amazing to meet people who want to read your books or even people who have already read your books and want to talk about them.So, if you’re a reader, here are my answers to some of the most common questions I’ve come across at comic cons, or if you’re a scifi writer thinking about going to a comic con, here’s a glimpse into what to expect.
The question: What’s it all about?It’s terrifying to stand behind a table laden with your books, hoping someone will stop by and talk to you, and then when they do, they ask, “So what’s it all about then?”They’ve probably read the blurb on the back of each book and scanned over the snatch quotes you’ve printed off from your Amazon and Goodreads reviews, but they want to hear, first hand, from you, what it’s all about. That’s when it’s really fun to talk about your books.
My answer: My Thieves’ Guild universe is set in a far-flung future where the Earth Empire is stagnating and the biggest corporate-run colonies have formed a coalition. In the Between is a neutral zone, where the colonised planets are a law unto themselves. There are constant rumblings of war. The guilds are neutral and cross the line between the two power bases. My stories are told from the point of view of Thieves’ Guild field operatives. They’re the guys on the ground who are used to working in the shadows, invisible, but they are thrown into the spotlight and find themselves being chased by assassins and bounty hunters. Throw in pirates and aliens, political intrigue, war and betrayals, and there you have my books!I don’t get caught up with long drawn out descriptions and I don’t get into big in-depth analyses of technology. It’s not hard science science fiction, it’s fast-paced action adventure scifi. If you like that, then give it a go – book one is free in eBook!
How many main characters do you have?Aha. All you can do here is be honest. Know your point of view. Different people like reading different styles so be honest about how your books are written. I hate reading books where there are so many ‘main’ characters that you’re switching point of view every couple of pages, or even worse, within a paragraph. If I like a main character, I like to stay with that guy throughout the whole book… so that’s how I write.
My answer: There is one main character in each book. Hil in the first, LC in the second and NG in the third. The books follow one big story, each told from a different point of view character but I write in close third person – you stay with the main character for the whole book. That gives me problems as a writer. There’s no switching scenes to see what the bad guys are doing. But it means that you stay with that character through thick and thin. I love my main characters and I love being with them while I throw them into pickle after pickle. I’ve been writing about these characters for twenty odd years. I have loads of first person stories written as NG. He was always mischievous, always fun and always difficult. I always thought that LC was my real ‘main’ character. He’s the one the stories centre around. He was supposed to make an appearance in book one but when it came to it, I was too intimidated by him to write him in. It took a lot to start writing book two. Hil is the one character who turned up most recently, who took me by the scruff of the neck and said, write this. And that’s what turned into book one.
Is it a trilogy?You never know what the ‘right’ answer is when someone stands across the table and asks this. Some people love series, the more books the better. They love thinking that it will never end and they love waiting for the next instalment, however infuriating that may be. Other people hate having to wait. They like to know that a book is a one off. Or they want a trilogy where they know that the story will be wrapped up nice and neatly in book three. Again, be honest. Your books are what they are. Mine…?
My answer: No. It’s a series. The end of book three left me feeling like I was standing on an edge looking into an abyss. I was bereft for weeks. But then I started on book four and I’m giving NG a hard time again so all is well…!

Love summer…

Quick update on everything I’m doing or planning to do this summer: write, entertain two munchkins, write, go along to the Sheffield Film and Comic Con, watch Transformers 4 (even though I’ve seen the reviews), work with Rachel and Graeme on artwork for the graphic novel, sit under a tree and write some more, watch the start of the football season with the usual unbridled optimism that goes with supporting Tottenham, paint pirate maps on the beach and write.I’m taking a break from drinking rum, but I’m not sure how successful that venture is going to be yet – it’s early days.On the book front, I’m supporting Smashwords’ summer/winter sale. Residual Belligerence is up there for free at the moment anyway (https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/67066) on a bit of a whim because I realised that I rarely download anything these days unless it’s free or unless I already know that I like it. It didn’t seem fair to hope that other people would reach into their pocket to give my stuff a go – although I really appreciate it when they do.Blatant Disregard (https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/268265) and Harsh Realities (https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/424942) are up there on a 50% discount for the rest of July. So if you like the first one, you can get the others at half price. And if you do like my stuff, please let me know – it means a lot to hear good feedback.Work is progressing on book four. It’s NG again, and as usual, he’s being difficult but a very cool difficult. I love the comment that Rachel from York posted on Goodreads about NG: “I really liked him as a character, flawed enough to be likeable, mysterious enough to be intriguing and ruthless enough to be a little bit scary!”So that’s my summer planned. The husband is being very patient and just tells me to go write him a book… and reminds me about my deadline for SciFi Scarbs next year!

Finding out what my characters look like…

I’m writing a script for a graphic novel based on my books and that is weird enough, but part of the process of working with an artist is having to describe what my characters look like.Anyone who has read any of my stuff will know that I don’t go into great detail on how my characters look physically. When I read a book, I like to create my own picture of how I see the people in it – that’s how I get attached to them so that’s how I like to write.I know exactly who NG, LC and Hil are, how they behave, how they react to different situations, how they interact with others, what they drink, what they like and dislike, how good they are at poker. In the books, I’ve never fully described their physical appearance except for brief mentions of attributes that may be relevant to what they’re doing.Working on a graphic novel is a whole new plate of bananas. So I have now written a full profile, including description, for each of them and talked in great detail through initial sketches with Rachel who is a great artist (and who is being very patient with me). It has been very strange. I feel as if I’ve been auditioning people for the parts… No, he needs to look younger; No, his hair needs to be shorter; Yes, he’s great. It’s all been very bizarre but I must say, lots of fun.

#amwriting

I am. At last. After standing teetering on the edge where the end of book three left me, I have managed to gather my wits again and start writing, albeit in pencil scribbles in a notebook. I have launched myself into book four, met with an artist to discuss the graphic novelisation of my Thieves’ Guild series and started a YA book centred around my favourite guild characters.Scattergun approach, I know, but I’m having fun. It’s weird to be writing again and not revising and reworking and editing. The process is very different. Finishing a book is really hard work. It can be all-consuming, tying the intricate knots of each loose thread throughout the whole story and sharing the intensity of the ending with the main character. Working at it until it’s right is challenging and then letting it go, out into the world, is tough.Writing new stuff, especially at the start of a project, has an amazing sense of freedom and possibility. It’s like taking a breath of fresh air just after a rainstorm, standing on the top of a hill in bright sunshine, looking around to see all the different routes you could take and having no idea where they could take you. It’s exciting and that’s the best thing about writing.So I am writing and enjoying it. (And really appreciating people getting in touch to say they’re enjoying my books! Many thanks to everyone who has contacted me with their feedback and support.)
A few people have been asking where they can get different formats of my eBooks. Here are some links to specific sites but if you can’t find what you need, Smashwords is always good for all formats!
The Thieves’ Guild Series: Residual Belligerence #1, Blatant Disregard #2 and Harsh Realities #3 Out now in paperback from Amazon and Waterstonesand in eBook for Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iPad and iPhone. All eBook formats available at Smashwords. Also available to read through InkBokand Oyster.

Goodreads Giveaway

Just under two days to go to enter the Goodreads Giveaway to win a paperback copy of Harsh Realities. There are ten copies available and readers can enter from all countries. Click here to enter! Good luck!

Harsh Realities: out now

Well I’ve done it! My first sci-fi convention and I have to say, it was daunting and I didn’t sleep for three weeks before but it was awesome. Many, many thanks to SciFi Scarborough organisers Andy and Steve for giving me so much encouragement, enthusiasm and support, both leading up to it and at the weekend itself.I must also thank, wholeheartedly, my husband, who booked me in for it, in collusion with Andy. The hubs met Judge Anderson at the event so I think that more than made up for the grief I gave him beforehand.It was amazing to be part of the first SciFi Scarbs weekend, which by all accounts, by all there, was fantastic. It was well organised, well attended, family-friendly, amazingly supportive to a socially-awkward sci-fi writer and just really good fun.I am a very private writer and my characters mean a lot to me. It takes a lot for me to publish my books, never mind put them on public display. The response I received from everyone who came and talked to me was awesome and I really hope everyone who enjoyed the first two books so much enjoys the third.I’d like to give special thanks to Andy and Steve, Gary Erskine for his support and advice and for being a lovely neighbour, to Kelly and Kev from Piddleypix and their two little ones for making lovely friends for the weekend, David Hine for headhunting our little one to hand out leaflets (she was very chuffed at getting her first job), Olivia and the crew from Professor Cooper’s Emporium of Victorian Futurism for being so patient and friendly to our little ones, Daniella from Geeky Comics and Steve Penfold from Beyond the Bunker Comics for their advice, the amazing Terry English for his hug, Danny John-Jules for being the Cat and being so cool, Lynn for her enthusiasm, and everyone who came to see us and made us feel so welcome.I’ve been given the challenge to have book four of the Thieves’ Guild series ready for SciFi Scarbs 2015, and it’s one I really hope I achieve because I’d love to part of it all over again.

Book Three: Coming Soon

Harsh Realities is finally finished, the cover’s done and there are just a couple of weeks to the launch at SciFi Scarborough weekend in April!It feels very strange to have actually finished this book. I’m feeling a bit bereft. I can remember reading years ago, when I was doing lots of fieldwork, about a phenomenon called expedition blues – glumness after all the excitement of an adventure. Finishing this book feels a bit like that. I’ve spent four years with these characters, through thick and thin, getting to know them, being surprised by them, taking out my moods on them. I’m missing them.I know what it’s like as a reader to get to the end of a book or series and feel lost; to have been so caught up with the characters that you don’t want them to go yet. As a writer, it’s a hundred times worse. You’ve lived with this main character inside your head for so long, with infinite possibilities of what might happen to him. Suddenly, it’s all there in black and white and it’s done. No more what ifs or aha moments. It’s all happened the way it should and you’ve taken him as far as he needs to go – for now. It’s a bit like finishing a (half!) marathon – incredibly exciting and satisfying but after all that hard work leading up to it, it also leaves you standing there (usually in the rain) thinking, what am I going to do now?Still, the Scarborough weekend sounds like it will be a lot of fun and it will be great to have the book out. We haven’t decided on costumes for the little ones yet but we have a few ideas if we can persuade them to be something other than Mr Gru’s minions.And after that, back to the writing and into book four. After book one, I reckoned I’d be writing a book a year. Now that I have NG out of my system (mostly), maybe I’ll be able to get back on target.
Scifi Scarborough: 5th and 6th April 2014www.scifiscarborough.co.uk
Harsh Realities: (Thieves’ Guild: Book Three) is due out in paperback and eBook on general release on Monday 7th April 2014 and is available for pre-order at www.6e.net
Enter a Goodreads Giveaway to win a copy of Harsh Realities: (Thieves’ Guild: Book Three) at www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/86764-harsh-realities

Still writing...

It's taken me a long time to get back into full flow but I'm up over 100,000 words in Book Three and loving it. Life sometimes takes over, and that's never been more so than in the past year, but to have the constant buzz of dialogue in my head again is great. I'd best get back to it...!

In a pickle…

At last, after what feels like months and months of revising, editing and tweaking, I’m finally at a point with NG where I’m writing again.The process is so different that I’ve had to revisit all my old little tricks to get the words flowing – red wine, walking in the rain, loud music. When I’m in full flow, I can write on the back of a bus ticket, but getting the momentum going after so long editing, and editing other people’s work, has been a tad challenging.But it’s working and the word count is racking up again as the action finally moves forward with everyone, hopefully, all where they need to be, doing what they should be doing. I’m back at the point where I can have dialogue going on in my head whatever else is going on around me, little sparks of back story popping up out of nowhere and connections clicking into place that tie in with stuff written into books one and two as if they were planned all along. That’s when writing is fun.So NG is up to his ears in a pickle that looks as dire as anything I’ve written before. And what’s cool is that LC and Hil are behaving too, albeit in as much of a pickle, and I’m learning a lot about all of them.