Stephen Brooke's Blog: Stephen Brooke's Scribblings, page 3
April 1, 2019
Old and New
Hmmm... I know I've posted at least a couple entries here since January but they seem to have disappeared. Maybe it is one of those aberrations of the internet (Aberrations of the Internet...that could be a band, couldn't it? Or something) and they'll show up again.
Be all that as it may (or may not). Everything is on course for the 'official' release of THE DICTATOR'S CHILDREN, my novel of espionage and adventure set in the Cuba, Florida, and Central America of 1948. The files for print and ebook are uploaded and, unless there are unforeseen problems, will be available before the release date of May 4. In the mean time, I've finished another fantasy adventure, THE CROCODILE GOD (book 2 of the Crocodile Chronicles and the sequel to THE CROCODILE'S SON) and have set it aside to edit further in a bit. Expect it before the end of the year. Maybe even by the end of summer.
Incidentally, I am experimenting with posting DICTATOR at WattPad. Just something to try out and see if it attracts any attention. A couple chapters a week---it should be available for sale well before I'm done with that. I know the bulk of those who use WattPad are kids but at least they read!
Finally, I was supposed to be working on a 'serious' contemporary novel but a sci-fi idea jumped up and waved its arms, calling 'Write me! Write me!' So that is what I am doing at the moment. We shall see how that goes.
Be all that as it may (or may not). Everything is on course for the 'official' release of THE DICTATOR'S CHILDREN, my novel of espionage and adventure set in the Cuba, Florida, and Central America of 1948. The files for print and ebook are uploaded and, unless there are unforeseen problems, will be available before the release date of May 4. In the mean time, I've finished another fantasy adventure, THE CROCODILE GOD (book 2 of the Crocodile Chronicles and the sequel to THE CROCODILE'S SON) and have set it aside to edit further in a bit. Expect it before the end of the year. Maybe even by the end of summer.
Incidentally, I am experimenting with posting DICTATOR at WattPad. Just something to try out and see if it attracts any attention. A couple chapters a week---it should be available for sale well before I'm done with that. I know the bulk of those who use WattPad are kids but at least they read!
Finally, I was supposed to be working on a 'serious' contemporary novel but a sci-fi idea jumped up and waved its arms, calling 'Write me! Write me!' So that is what I am doing at the moment. We shall see how that goes.
January 20, 2019
Free Ebooks
I (and Arachis Press) decided a while back to make the electronic versions of my poetry collections free. They were always 'loss leaders' anyway and not intended to make much in the way of a profit. So now one may read and/or download them at: http://insolentlad.com/ebooks/
I have always felt poetry should be 'free.' This is why I have never hesitated to post the work online, whether in early draft or finished form. Naturally, the print editions remain on sale. If you like the ebooks, consider purchasing them (or any other of my titles!).
I have always felt poetry should be 'free.' This is why I have never hesitated to post the work online, whether in early draft or finished form. Naturally, the print editions remain on sale. If you like the ebooks, consider purchasing them (or any other of my titles!).
January 11, 2019
Jewels and Children
When my reading list suddenly lurches to a standstill, one can assume some project or another has grabbed all my attention. And one might also guess that project is the writing of another novel. In this case, it was a new action espionage novel to be titled 'The Dictator's Children' and slotted to be released by Arachis Press in May 2019. This fairly short (54,000) words book stars a character I've being making notes on for years but never got around to writing a novel about---'Wilk,' an ex-pat Pole who adventures through the 20th Century. This particular novel is set in 1948 and visits Cuba, Florida, and Central America.
In the mean time, the most recent fantasy adventure, 'The Jewels of the Elements,' will be coming out shortly, the official release date being February 2. This is the sequel to 'The Eyes of the Wind' and the second book of the Sajam Saga. It should be up on my profile here at Good Reads soon (and for sale 'everywhere,' of course, in print and ebook).
What next? Lots of projects in development but not quite ready to throw myself into one at the moment. That could change anytime!
In the mean time, the most recent fantasy adventure, 'The Jewels of the Elements,' will be coming out shortly, the official release date being February 2. This is the sequel to 'The Eyes of the Wind' and the second book of the Sajam Saga. It should be up on my profile here at Good Reads soon (and for sale 'everywhere,' of course, in print and ebook).
What next? Lots of projects in development but not quite ready to throw myself into one at the moment. That could change anytime!
October 24, 2018
Hurricane Hiatus
Having endured a two week hurricane hiatus---I was in the direct path of Michael here in the Florida panhandle and without power or any connection to the outside world for a long while---I am back to the business of being a writer. All of this should not have interfered with any publishing timetables, though we'll be cutting in close on the release of MAGIC, the new poetry collection. Out Dec 1 if all continues on schedule, from Eggshell Boats.
And what follows? Why another fantasy novel, of course, another of my 'little' (around 65,000 words) adventures. This one is titled THE JEWELS OF THE ELEMENTS and is the sequel to THE EYES OF THE WIND, making it the second book of the Sajam Saga. It chronicles the further adventures of newly-weds Marana and Saj as they attempt to settle into a new life as colonists on the isle of Lorj. Good luck with that, kids! We see the return of the wizard Im (who has popped up elsewhere in my fiction, notably in THE WAYS OF WIZARDRY) and (spoiler) of a certain small god who likes to dabble in human affairs. I am going through a final round of proofreading right now.
Beyond that, who knows? I am working on a couple concepts. Well, more than that really, but two fairly seriously. That is typical for me. I like the cross-pollenization effect of multiple projects. And, as ever, dabbling here and there in the projected novels. I'll never be a linear writer. One or the other will 'grab' me eventually and I'll finish working it up. Those are a reasonably mainstream mystery/crime novel to be titled THE DEPOT BLUES and another fantasy adventure that will become THE CROCODILE GOD. Between those and the needed roof repairs, I'll be kept busy.
And what follows? Why another fantasy novel, of course, another of my 'little' (around 65,000 words) adventures. This one is titled THE JEWELS OF THE ELEMENTS and is the sequel to THE EYES OF THE WIND, making it the second book of the Sajam Saga. It chronicles the further adventures of newly-weds Marana and Saj as they attempt to settle into a new life as colonists on the isle of Lorj. Good luck with that, kids! We see the return of the wizard Im (who has popped up elsewhere in my fiction, notably in THE WAYS OF WIZARDRY) and (spoiler) of a certain small god who likes to dabble in human affairs. I am going through a final round of proofreading right now.
Beyond that, who knows? I am working on a couple concepts. Well, more than that really, but two fairly seriously. That is typical for me. I like the cross-pollenization effect of multiple projects. And, as ever, dabbling here and there in the projected novels. I'll never be a linear writer. One or the other will 'grab' me eventually and I'll finish working it up. Those are a reasonably mainstream mystery/crime novel to be titled THE DEPOT BLUES and another fantasy adventure that will become THE CROCODILE GOD. Between those and the needed roof repairs, I'll be kept busy.
July 16, 2018
Later This Year
The latest 'fantsy adventure' has been put to bed, all edited and proofed and formatted and ready for printing and distribution. Print and ebook, as usual. This is 'Tsar of the Empty Lands,' a novel set in more-or-less the same world and time as the Malvern/Mora novels and peripherally related to them. Not necessary to read any of these books to understand the others (except the Malvern trilogy should ideally be read in order).
Here's the official back-cover blurb: Nineteen Thirty-Five, Soviet Russia. Josef Dobrov is only a soldier and wants it to stay that way, to be someone nobody notices. Some of his friends have been noticed and it did not end well for them. One of them is on the train of gulag-bound prisoners he is guarding. Not his affair, says Josef. He has no intention of getting into trouble. But high in the Urals, fate throws the young soldier into not only trouble but an whole new world, a world of savagery and beauty, danger and wonder. A world he adopts as his own, only to find it besieged by forces from without, and the woman he loves endangered and ensorcelled by those forces. Can he and the ancient and powerful sorcerer, Hurasu, stop them? Jokingly named ‘Tsar’ by his fellows, Josef becomes a man willing to step forward at last, to be seen as leader, as hero, in Tsar of the Empty Lands, a fantasy novel by Stephen Brooke.
'Tsar' will be out officially on Sept 8, from Arachis Press. There will also be a new poetry collection published before the end of the year, 'Magic,' to be released on Dec 1. Beyond that, into 2019? Nothing definite yet, but one should expect another fantasy adventure, 'The Jewels of the Elements,' which is a sequel to 'The Eyes of the Wind.' Yep, I'm keeping myself busy.
Here's the official back-cover blurb: Nineteen Thirty-Five, Soviet Russia. Josef Dobrov is only a soldier and wants it to stay that way, to be someone nobody notices. Some of his friends have been noticed and it did not end well for them. One of them is on the train of gulag-bound prisoners he is guarding. Not his affair, says Josef. He has no intention of getting into trouble. But high in the Urals, fate throws the young soldier into not only trouble but an whole new world, a world of savagery and beauty, danger and wonder. A world he adopts as his own, only to find it besieged by forces from without, and the woman he loves endangered and ensorcelled by those forces. Can he and the ancient and powerful sorcerer, Hurasu, stop them? Jokingly named ‘Tsar’ by his fellows, Josef becomes a man willing to step forward at last, to be seen as leader, as hero, in Tsar of the Empty Lands, a fantasy novel by Stephen Brooke.
'Tsar' will be out officially on Sept 8, from Arachis Press. There will also be a new poetry collection published before the end of the year, 'Magic,' to be released on Dec 1. Beyond that, into 2019? Nothing definite yet, but one should expect another fantasy adventure, 'The Jewels of the Elements,' which is a sequel to 'The Eyes of the Wind.' Yep, I'm keeping myself busy.
July 3, 2018
Books I Like
These are novels (not plays, short stories, nor anything else) that I particularly like and feel have particularly influenced my own writing. It is not a list of the ‘best’ novels.
The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien — I love The Lord of the Rings but this was the book that made the initial impact and has been more of a model for my own writing.
The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway — For me, the first and the last of Hemingway were his best: the first novel, The Sun Also Rises, and his late-life novella, The Old Man and the Sea. One could disregard all the novels between, not that some of them were not decent enough.
Vanity Fair, W.M. Thackeray — A relatively late entry for me, and not a book I read when young. But it might well be my favorite novel of all. No one better at giving insight into characters.
Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh — Not necessarily his best but it made the most impact on me. I do love his more typical novels too, the humor, the style, but the nuanced ideas of Brideshead speak to me.
The Left Hand of Darkness, U.K. Le Guin — This novel made a big impact on me when it first came out and I was young. This was (and is) the sort of thing serious speculative fiction should do. The Dispossessed may have been even better, and those Earth-Sea books, but this one got got to me first.
A Princess of Mars, E.R. Burroughs — Pretty much where my love for speculative fiction starts, and a surprisingly well-crafted piece of writing with a sense of wonder. Burroughs’s sly humor puts him a cut or two above most writers of adventure.
Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen — Yes, I seem to have a thing for English novelists with a bit of sarcastic tone. Thackeray, Waugh — but they both owe Miss Austen.
Kim, Rudyard Kipling — In terms of prose style, I can think of no one I like better. And I do like stylists. The short stories of the Jungle Books provided the original impact as far as Kipling goes.
There is probably no sense in adding more to these eight. Yes, I know they are all English language writers. Yes, I could come up with a different list a different day. And I could more easily make a list of well-known authors I do not like that much and have influenced me as examples of what not to do. We learn as much that way as any other — figuring out what turns us off and avoiding it in our own work. But I won’t mention my dislike for Dostoevsky or Conrad or anyone else here.
IN OTHER NEWS: Asanas, my contemporary Florida novel, was released a few weeks ago and is available 'everywhere,' print and ebook. And a new fantasy offering, to be titled Tsar of the Empty Lands is on the way, probably in September. More news on that to come.
The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien — I love The Lord of the Rings but this was the book that made the initial impact and has been more of a model for my own writing.
The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway — For me, the first and the last of Hemingway were his best: the first novel, The Sun Also Rises, and his late-life novella, The Old Man and the Sea. One could disregard all the novels between, not that some of them were not decent enough.
Vanity Fair, W.M. Thackeray — A relatively late entry for me, and not a book I read when young. But it might well be my favorite novel of all. No one better at giving insight into characters.
Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh — Not necessarily his best but it made the most impact on me. I do love his more typical novels too, the humor, the style, but the nuanced ideas of Brideshead speak to me.
The Left Hand of Darkness, U.K. Le Guin — This novel made a big impact on me when it first came out and I was young. This was (and is) the sort of thing serious speculative fiction should do. The Dispossessed may have been even better, and those Earth-Sea books, but this one got got to me first.
A Princess of Mars, E.R. Burroughs — Pretty much where my love for speculative fiction starts, and a surprisingly well-crafted piece of writing with a sense of wonder. Burroughs’s sly humor puts him a cut or two above most writers of adventure.
Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen — Yes, I seem to have a thing for English novelists with a bit of sarcastic tone. Thackeray, Waugh — but they both owe Miss Austen.
Kim, Rudyard Kipling — In terms of prose style, I can think of no one I like better. And I do like stylists. The short stories of the Jungle Books provided the original impact as far as Kipling goes.
There is probably no sense in adding more to these eight. Yes, I know they are all English language writers. Yes, I could come up with a different list a different day. And I could more easily make a list of well-known authors I do not like that much and have influenced me as examples of what not to do. We learn as much that way as any other — figuring out what turns us off and avoiding it in our own work. But I won’t mention my dislike for Dostoevsky or Conrad or anyone else here.
IN OTHER NEWS: Asanas, my contemporary Florida novel, was released a few weeks ago and is available 'everywhere,' print and ebook. And a new fantasy offering, to be titled Tsar of the Empty Lands is on the way, probably in September. More news on that to come.
April 13, 2018
Asanas
The more-or-less mainstream novel 'Asanas' is (finally!) complete—written, edited, formatted, proofread! It took a while, mostly because I paused to write a couple of my little fantasy adventures along the way. That was okay, I probably needed the time to think deep thoughts about where the book was going. :)
Official release date from Arachis Press is June 16. As usual, it will probably pop up online before then. Print and ebook, of course, available pretty much everywhere (Amazon included).
Asanas revolves around a yoga class (hence the name), an art gallery, and the lives of two young women in a Gulf Coast Florida town. Here's the official back-cover blurb:
Yesterday is but a dream, and tomorrow only a vision.
Two women. A yoga class, an art gallery. The little Gulf Coast resort town of Tamarind seems to go to sleep when the ‘season’ is over, when tourists and winter residents alike return north. But turmoil lurks beneath that drowsy surface.
For Lynn and Karen, their yoga class becomes something more. Workaholic Karen decides yoga instructor Pat is ‘just what she needed.’ But would she ever be what he needs? Lynn has her doubts, as she does about own relationship with a charismatic married artist.
Through the heat and storms of a South Florida summer, passions and tensions grow, testing both love affairs and friendships. Life has its own asanas, its movements and postures, as surely as a yoga class, and its own lessons to teach in
ASANAS, a novel by Stephen Brooke
Official release date from Arachis Press is June 16. As usual, it will probably pop up online before then. Print and ebook, of course, available pretty much everywhere (Amazon included).
Asanas revolves around a yoga class (hence the name), an art gallery, and the lives of two young women in a Gulf Coast Florida town. Here's the official back-cover blurb:
Yesterday is but a dream, and tomorrow only a vision.
Two women. A yoga class, an art gallery. The little Gulf Coast resort town of Tamarind seems to go to sleep when the ‘season’ is over, when tourists and winter residents alike return north. But turmoil lurks beneath that drowsy surface.
For Lynn and Karen, their yoga class becomes something more. Workaholic Karen decides yoga instructor Pat is ‘just what she needed.’ But would she ever be what he needs? Lynn has her doubts, as she does about own relationship with a charismatic married artist.
Through the heat and storms of a South Florida summer, passions and tensions grow, testing both love affairs and friendships. Life has its own asanas, its movements and postures, as surely as a yoga class, and its own lessons to teach in
ASANAS, a novel by Stephen Brooke
January 4, 2018
New Year, New Books
So, THE WAYS OF WIZARDRY is officially out in a couple days. Available pretty much everywhere at the moment except my office! The 'bombing' of the East Coast has kept my copies from arriving on time. Not a big deal, of course.
The next fantasy novel is pretty much finished. Written and rewritten and put away for a couple weeks now before I give a final (yeah, sure, it's never final) proofreading and get it ready fro publication. This would be WOMAN OF THE SKY, the third and final (obviously) book of the Mora Trilogy. I'll be leaving the Mora world for a time, but may set another series of novels there eventually. Too may other projects demanding my time in 2018!
Some might be fantasy, some might be more-or-less contemporary 'realistic' novels. And one is likely to be under a pen name so it's best not to talk about it here, eh? Here's to a good new year for all of us.
The next fantasy novel is pretty much finished. Written and rewritten and put away for a couple weeks now before I give a final (yeah, sure, it's never final) proofreading and get it ready fro publication. This would be WOMAN OF THE SKY, the third and final (obviously) book of the Mora Trilogy. I'll be leaving the Mora world for a time, but may set another series of novels there eventually. Too may other projects demanding my time in 2018!
Some might be fantasy, some might be more-or-less contemporary 'realistic' novels. And one is likely to be under a pen name so it's best not to talk about it here, eh? Here's to a good new year for all of us.
December 10, 2017
Wizardry
My latest 'light' fantasy novel is set for official release on January 6, 2018. This is 'The Ways of Wizardry.' All work done, waiting now for a final (I hope!) print copy to arrive for approval. From Arachis Press, as ever, print and ebook.
A journey of discovery, as many of my books. Finding ones place seems to be a common theme. Or searching for it—not quite the same thing!
Beyond that, I am in rewriting and editing mode on the next novel, also a fantasy but a tad heavier, the third and final installment of the Mora Trilogy, to be titled 'Woman of the Sky.' Expect it some time next year. I also have my editor/publisher hat on for work by some other authors. More on that later, perhaps, depending on how things go.
A final note: I recently put together a little illustrated book of quotes from Thomas a Kempis, also from Arachis Press. That is available direct-only at a nominal price. There may be more books of a similar sort coming.
A journey of discovery, as many of my books. Finding ones place seems to be a common theme. Or searching for it—not quite the same thing!
Beyond that, I am in rewriting and editing mode on the next novel, also a fantasy but a tad heavier, the third and final installment of the Mora Trilogy, to be titled 'Woman of the Sky.' Expect it some time next year. I also have my editor/publisher hat on for work by some other authors. More on that later, perhaps, depending on how things go.
A final note: I recently put together a little illustrated book of quotes from Thomas a Kempis, also from Arachis Press. That is available direct-only at a nominal price. There may be more books of a similar sort coming.
August 30, 2017
Relases and Plans
Time, perhaps, to update a little; the latest fantasy novel, ARROWS OF HEAVEN, is (as you should all be aware!), is officially out this Friday. The book is out everywhere right now, is on my profile here, etc. so the actual release date is a little anticlimactic.
The next book will be the latest poetry anthology, VOYAGES, coming out November First. There is a certain maritime slant to the collection, though it deals with journeys of many sorts. I almost titled it 'The Wind on the Prairie, the Wind on the Sea,' (which is one of the poems) but that seemed a bit much to fit on the cover. :)
And I'm finishing up getting the next novel ready to go, another 'light' fantasy to be titled THE WAYS OF WIZARDRY. It just might appear before Christmas; we'll decide on that shortly. Lots of projects beyond that. I'm turning into James Patterson, as quickly as I'm turning out books—but without the sales, alas!
Next year, 2018, expect more of the same (but better!) from me. Maybe I shall get that spy novel set in the Vietnam War going (inspired by my own aunt's time there). Or some other historical novel, and more fantasies, to be sure, and certainly at least one contemporary mainstream-ish story set in Florida.
The next book will be the latest poetry anthology, VOYAGES, coming out November First. There is a certain maritime slant to the collection, though it deals with journeys of many sorts. I almost titled it 'The Wind on the Prairie, the Wind on the Sea,' (which is one of the poems) but that seemed a bit much to fit on the cover. :)
And I'm finishing up getting the next novel ready to go, another 'light' fantasy to be titled THE WAYS OF WIZARDRY. It just might appear before Christmas; we'll decide on that shortly. Lots of projects beyond that. I'm turning into James Patterson, as quickly as I'm turning out books—but without the sales, alas!
Next year, 2018, expect more of the same (but better!) from me. Maybe I shall get that spy novel set in the Vietnam War going (inspired by my own aunt's time there). Or some other historical novel, and more fantasies, to be sure, and certainly at least one contemporary mainstream-ish story set in Florida.
