Peter Cooper's Blog, page 3
May 28, 2013
Book 3
Book 3 should be out by now, though I haven't had a chance to slip into the local bookshop and check. So if you've been desperate to get your hands on it your long and agonizing wait should now be over ... or will be in a day or so. I hope you find it worth the wait.
It's always a good feeling when that big box of books comes in the post and you can stack them all on the shelf and admire them. It's a goal achieved and a dream come true. I'll be proud of it for the rest of my life.
It's always a good feeling when that big box of books comes in the post and you can stack them all on the shelf and admire them. It's a goal achieved and a dream come true. I'll be proud of it for the rest of my life.
May 19, 2013
Updates....
I'm currently writing two books at once. I'm sure that somewhere in the writing advice annals this is classed as a Bad Idea but I'm doing it anyway. My problem is I have two stories rattling around in my brain and I can't choose between them. So, ever the pragmatist, I'm writing both. In my lunch-breaks I take a notebook and pen, find a nice spot to sit (away from smokers, quite difficult in the Adelaide CBD) and write a thousand words of a science fiction story I've been planning since about...
April 20, 2013
Feel the Weight!
An advance (very advanced) copy of Book 3 arrived in the post today. So now I can finally put them together and look at nearly a decade of work all packed neatly into one place.
And here is a side view, just to show the combined thickness...
How good is that? What an amazing moment it is to see them all together. It's not without its sadness though, and a teensy weensy mite of anxiety. Will I be able to get something else published? I've spoken to lots of people who assume that once you g...
And here is a side view, just to show the combined thickness...
How good is that? What an amazing moment it is to see them all together. It's not without its sadness though, and a teensy weensy mite of anxiety. Will I be able to get something else published? I've spoken to lots of people who assume that once you g...
March 1, 2013
Spending Time
At Christmas I was given a $50 Dymocks gift voucher, so last week in my lunch break I trundled down to the Rundle Mall store with a mission to spend it. I'd been holding off for a little while, mainly because I already have a huge pile of unread books on my shelf, but in the end the book-buying itch got the better of me and off I went.
There were a couple of books I definitely wanted to buy. The first was Obernewtyn by Isobelle Carmody, which I haven't been able to find before, mainly because...
There were a couple of books I definitely wanted to buy. The first was Obernewtyn by Isobelle Carmody, which I haven't been able to find before, mainly because...
February 18, 2013
The Perils of Osmosis
I'm reading the Lord of the Rings again at the moment. I used to read it almost every year for a while there, but it's been close to ten years now so I thought it was well time for another foray into Middle Earth. Last night I was reading the Two Towers and I came to the bit where Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli meet Eomer on the plains of Rohan, and I noticed that Eomer refers to himself as "Third Marshal". And it really struck me, because in my own books (and I hesitate to mention them in the sa...
February 9, 2013
The Hobbit Rundown
I saw the Hobbit for the second time a few days back. With cinema fees being so exorbitant I think it speaks for itself that I loved it. I'll probably go again in the next few weeks, though I might have to skip a few meals to pay for it.
Having now seen the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies multiple times I've identified what I see as an important principal for enjoying the movies.
Leave your knowledge of the books at the door.
It's really difficult to do, I appreciate that....
January 18, 2013
The Walking Woman
There's an old woman in our area who walks almost every day. I see her when I'm driving to work and when I'm driving home, always walking the same path. Each time she's carrying a small bag in one hand, just a simple little cloth bag that looks as if it's seen better days. One of the strangest things about her is that her right arm -- the one that carries the bag -- is much longer than the left, as if she's been carrying something heavy in that little bag for sixty years and it's gradual...
January 17, 2013
January 14, 2013
Man of Leisure
Sort of.
On Monday I emailed off (yes, emailed off! That old print and post-office thing is so last year) the manuscript for book 3 of Tales of the Blue Jade. Now I have the nervous wait to hear what the publisher and editor think of it.
As for me, I'd have to say I'm pretty happy with the result. As with everything I write it didn't turn out the same as the original outline but I like the way new plot twists and situations showed up while I was writing. Creating a story can often be as...
On Monday I emailed off (yes, emailed off! That old print and post-office thing is so last year) the manuscript for book 3 of Tales of the Blue Jade. Now I have the nervous wait to hear what the publisher and editor think of it.
As for me, I'd have to say I'm pretty happy with the result. As with everything I write it didn't turn out the same as the original outline but I like the way new plot twists and situations showed up while I was writing. Creating a story can often be as...
December 30, 2012
Where Did That One Go?
Another year draws to a close. It's been a busy one, and an eventful one. The highlights for me (from a writing point of view) were the publication of Ghost of Ping-Ling in Feb, Mapmaker's Apprentice in May, chairing a CBCA panel in May, and signing at Castle Plaza Bookshop twice in the year. All good fun, and all completely surreal.
Other than that, the year has mainly been plugging away at book 3 and trying to meet the deadline. It's been a hard slog, but the book is now at the (delightful)...
Other than that, the year has mainly been plugging away at book 3 and trying to meet the deadline. It's been a hard slog, but the book is now at the (delightful)...
