Chris Ward's Blog - Posts Tagged "chris-ward"
Cover art for The Man Who Built The World
Here are a number of cover art ideas for my next novel to be published, The Man Who Built the World. This is a stand alone ghost/horror story. I made these covers myself so I appreciate any comments or suggestions.
http://amillionmilesfromanywhere.blog...
http://amillionmilesfromanywhere.blog...
The Man Who Built the World teaser snippet
From my next book, The Man Who Built the World, to be released by the end of June, here is a short excerpt.
‘Come here, Matty.’ Her voice was like the sound of tatty newspaper, caught on a fence and flapping about in the wind.
‘Come give Mummy hugs.’
‘Mummy?’ Eyes filled with tears as his head swung up. He turned towards the window, refusing to look at the shape hunched to his left, an amorphous smudge at the edge of his vision.
‘Come give Mummy hugs, Matty.’
He saw the shape of his own reflection, a black silhouette sat in a black room against a black background, saw the shapes of the things around him, the walls, the door the bed, the – what the hell is that? – all outlined in black. The lines wavered as though alive, a writhing nest of snakes made from shadow, shifting in and out of focus.
And then he sees a shadow deeper than night beside him, hunched and irregular, not man-shaped, not woman-shaped not shaped –
he sees his own mouth form slurred words
- come give Mummy hugs, Matty –
hears tissue paper rustling in his throat
feels arms fall around his shoulders
(no no rag and bone)
cold like dead tree bark
but can no longer see
can’t see
can’t
see –
‘Come to Mummy, Matty –’
From out there in the darkness, out beyond the window and the amorphous shapes and the blurred vision and the twisted limbs, out there in the darkness where the rain sheets and the wind roars, the crashing, rolling, cacophony of the fighting, colliding tree limbs form words and call his name –
‘Matty –’
This is a standalone horror/ghost story set in a small village in Devon, England.
(and yes, the tense change is intentional! Let me know if you think it works by commenting below).
CW
See cover art and more at my blog -
http://amillionmilesfromanywhere.blog...
‘Come here, Matty.’ Her voice was like the sound of tatty newspaper, caught on a fence and flapping about in the wind.
‘Come give Mummy hugs.’
‘Mummy?’ Eyes filled with tears as his head swung up. He turned towards the window, refusing to look at the shape hunched to his left, an amorphous smudge at the edge of his vision.
‘Come give Mummy hugs, Matty.’
He saw the shape of his own reflection, a black silhouette sat in a black room against a black background, saw the shapes of the things around him, the walls, the door the bed, the – what the hell is that? – all outlined in black. The lines wavered as though alive, a writhing nest of snakes made from shadow, shifting in and out of focus.
And then he sees a shadow deeper than night beside him, hunched and irregular, not man-shaped, not woman-shaped not shaped –
he sees his own mouth form slurred words
- come give Mummy hugs, Matty –
hears tissue paper rustling in his throat
feels arms fall around his shoulders
(no no rag and bone)
cold like dead tree bark
but can no longer see
can’t see
can’t
see –
‘Come to Mummy, Matty –’
From out there in the darkness, out beyond the window and the amorphous shapes and the blurred vision and the twisted limbs, out there in the darkness where the rain sheets and the wind roars, the crashing, rolling, cacophony of the fighting, colliding tree limbs form words and call his name –
‘Matty –’
This is a standalone horror/ghost story set in a small village in Devon, England.
(and yes, the tense change is intentional! Let me know if you think it works by commenting below).
CW
See cover art and more at my blog -
http://amillionmilesfromanywhere.blog...
Taking up the Challenge - 52 Short Stories in a Year
The Challenge - 52 Short Stories in a Year
Recently I read this blog post by Dean Wesley Smith on how it was possible to earn a living writing short fiction. Until then I had never heard of Dean, but it seems he's a pretty well-respected speculative fiction writer with a huge number of credits to his name, both traditionally published and indie-published.
His blog caused a huge backlash, particularly on Kindleboards, with numerous indie-writers churning out several thousand words arguing whether he was right or wrong. I've never been a big one for forums (to be honest, the less time I spend on forums the better – while they can be a great place to learn and make friends they can also suck valuable hours out of a busy day) so I ducked out of that conversation early in order to try to find out for myself.
I know for a fact that you can make good money selling short stories to magazines. Twice I've cashed checks for well over a hundred dollars for short stories I’ve sold, and of course the possibilities of indie-publishing are infinite.
For me, the biggest problem has always been the work ethic. I know I can write – I have eight novels, eighty-odd short stories and perhaps twice as much unfinished work sitting on my hard-drive. I’ve just never been that prolific. I've never written more than one novel in a year and perhaps 20 short stories in a year is my best effort.
There are many examples from history of writers who've experienced huge success on the back of one book, some even on one short story. Those people, while highly skilled, had huge elements of luck behind them, as well as the old case of right place, right time. I've read wonderful books by writers who died unknown, so just writing a good book is not enough. For the vast majority of us mortals, a high rate of productivity is the key to getting noticed and gradually becoming successful. I have been trying to sell my writing for fifteen years, so if it takes a few more before I make any money out of it then so be it.
So for me, taking up the challenge of trying to write 52 short stories in a year is more about giving myself a reason to write than trying to prove anyone else right or wrong. What I am going to do, though, is attempt to sell them. The good ones at least.
In Dean's post he's very strict on sales channels and pricing. He says to submit only to magazines offering 5c/word, which is considered by the SFWA to be a professional payment level. These magazines are very hard to crack (believe me, I've been trying), so I'm going to lower my standards just a little to 3c/word. I sold to Weird Tales at 3/c a word in 2008 and made a perfectly acceptable amount. However, I'm done with token payment and for-the-luv markets. Sorry guys, I ran with you for a while, but with Amazon around now those $5 payments are not worth the months of subbing and waiting for a response.
As for the big gun itself, Amazon, I'll be indie-publishing short stories there if I feel they meet my own standards. Another writer has set up a website called 52 Shades of Short Stories for writers like me who are taking up the challenge. I'll be following it closely, mostly as a motivator. However, I won't be rushing to publish on Amazon and would advise others against it. I have fifty short stories I could put on Amazon tomorrow, but the reason I haven't is because I don't think they're good enough. Unless I feel that a story is good enough to make a reader want to read my other stories or novels then it'll stay in the logbook for now. Perhaps if I put out a few anthologies I'll slip a few of these stories in, but within the limits of my own ability I have pretty high standards. It's the same reason most of my novels will never see the light of day.
As for Amazon pricing, Dean Wesley Smith recommends a minimum of $2.99 for a short story. In principle I agree with him, however, I don't have a following or a name or even any major credits. In short, I'm an unknown. Since my first short story went up on Amazon in January, I've squeezed out 99 (my 100th got returned so doesn't count! :-( ) total sales. Perhaps 30 of those are to friends/family, but even 69 sales to strangers is hardly setting the world alight. My novel, The Tube Riders, will be staying at $4.99 for the time being, but the short stories will move up and down, looking for their best price point. I don't like selling stories at .99c, but it's better than selling nothing at all.
So, to the challenge. I sat down on Thursday, 21st of June to start. So far (as of Sun July 1st) this is what I've written –
The Ship (short story) – 3850 words (finished)
Take Me Back With You (short story) – 2500 words (WIP)
Take me Back with You (novel version of the ss) –2800 words (WIP)
The Lost Train (short story) – 3400 words (WIP)
The Other Set of Feet (short story) 3800 words (finished)
Total – 16350 total words.
Not bad for ten days, considering some days I'm out of the house for fourteen hours.
I'll be posting regular updates along the way, to see if I can keep up my progress. My target is 52 new, completed short stories of at least 2000 words by June 21st, 2013. Anything else that I come up with is a bonus.
Wish me luck. It's probably going to break my back, but to be honest it's about time I pulled my finger out and got down to business. I've been flattering myself that I'm a future bestselling author for the last 15 years, so now it's time to start proving it.
CW
Taken (and slightly updated) from my blog at
http://amillionmilesfromanywhere.blog...
Recently I read this blog post by Dean Wesley Smith on how it was possible to earn a living writing short fiction. Until then I had never heard of Dean, but it seems he's a pretty well-respected speculative fiction writer with a huge number of credits to his name, both traditionally published and indie-published.
His blog caused a huge backlash, particularly on Kindleboards, with numerous indie-writers churning out several thousand words arguing whether he was right or wrong. I've never been a big one for forums (to be honest, the less time I spend on forums the better – while they can be a great place to learn and make friends they can also suck valuable hours out of a busy day) so I ducked out of that conversation early in order to try to find out for myself.
I know for a fact that you can make good money selling short stories to magazines. Twice I've cashed checks for well over a hundred dollars for short stories I’ve sold, and of course the possibilities of indie-publishing are infinite.
For me, the biggest problem has always been the work ethic. I know I can write – I have eight novels, eighty-odd short stories and perhaps twice as much unfinished work sitting on my hard-drive. I’ve just never been that prolific. I've never written more than one novel in a year and perhaps 20 short stories in a year is my best effort.
There are many examples from history of writers who've experienced huge success on the back of one book, some even on one short story. Those people, while highly skilled, had huge elements of luck behind them, as well as the old case of right place, right time. I've read wonderful books by writers who died unknown, so just writing a good book is not enough. For the vast majority of us mortals, a high rate of productivity is the key to getting noticed and gradually becoming successful. I have been trying to sell my writing for fifteen years, so if it takes a few more before I make any money out of it then so be it.
So for me, taking up the challenge of trying to write 52 short stories in a year is more about giving myself a reason to write than trying to prove anyone else right or wrong. What I am going to do, though, is attempt to sell them. The good ones at least.
In Dean's post he's very strict on sales channels and pricing. He says to submit only to magazines offering 5c/word, which is considered by the SFWA to be a professional payment level. These magazines are very hard to crack (believe me, I've been trying), so I'm going to lower my standards just a little to 3c/word. I sold to Weird Tales at 3/c a word in 2008 and made a perfectly acceptable amount. However, I'm done with token payment and for-the-luv markets. Sorry guys, I ran with you for a while, but with Amazon around now those $5 payments are not worth the months of subbing and waiting for a response.
As for the big gun itself, Amazon, I'll be indie-publishing short stories there if I feel they meet my own standards. Another writer has set up a website called 52 Shades of Short Stories for writers like me who are taking up the challenge. I'll be following it closely, mostly as a motivator. However, I won't be rushing to publish on Amazon and would advise others against it. I have fifty short stories I could put on Amazon tomorrow, but the reason I haven't is because I don't think they're good enough. Unless I feel that a story is good enough to make a reader want to read my other stories or novels then it'll stay in the logbook for now. Perhaps if I put out a few anthologies I'll slip a few of these stories in, but within the limits of my own ability I have pretty high standards. It's the same reason most of my novels will never see the light of day.
As for Amazon pricing, Dean Wesley Smith recommends a minimum of $2.99 for a short story. In principle I agree with him, however, I don't have a following or a name or even any major credits. In short, I'm an unknown. Since my first short story went up on Amazon in January, I've squeezed out 99 (my 100th got returned so doesn't count! :-( ) total sales. Perhaps 30 of those are to friends/family, but even 69 sales to strangers is hardly setting the world alight. My novel, The Tube Riders, will be staying at $4.99 for the time being, but the short stories will move up and down, looking for their best price point. I don't like selling stories at .99c, but it's better than selling nothing at all.
So, to the challenge. I sat down on Thursday, 21st of June to start. So far (as of Sun July 1st) this is what I've written –
The Ship (short story) – 3850 words (finished)
Take Me Back With You (short story) – 2500 words (WIP)
Take me Back with You (novel version of the ss) –2800 words (WIP)
The Lost Train (short story) – 3400 words (WIP)
The Other Set of Feet (short story) 3800 words (finished)
Total – 16350 total words.
Not bad for ten days, considering some days I'm out of the house for fourteen hours.
I'll be posting regular updates along the way, to see if I can keep up my progress. My target is 52 new, completed short stories of at least 2000 words by June 21st, 2013. Anything else that I come up with is a bonus.
Wish me luck. It's probably going to break my back, but to be honest it's about time I pulled my finger out and got down to business. I've been flattering myself that I'm a future bestselling author for the last 15 years, so now it's time to start proving it.
CW
Taken (and slightly updated) from my blog at
http://amillionmilesfromanywhere.blog...
The Man Who Built the World new teaser
Well, I'm nearing the end of proofing for my next novel and I found this nice little segment I wanted to share.
This is from Part One.
You can’t just leave like that, you know you can’t.
The thought hit him like a hard slap across the face, and for a moment he stumbled, catching his footing just in time to avoid tumbling towards the puddles hidden in the dark at his feet. Just a thought, just a stupid, irrational thought, but it had snagged him like the barb of a fisherman’s hook. His very presence back in Tamerton had opened up a whole can of long forgotten emotions that would take time to sort, time he didn’t have.
Time he didn’t want to give.
He should have stayed away. They didn’t need him, hadn’t for fourteen years. His sister wouldn’t know he had come; she was dead, after all.
And what sort of reception could he expect from his father? Ian Cassidy had made the call to him – only Heaven knew how he had found Matt’s number – but how much of that had been as a duty? How much did he really want to see his son?
Welcome home son. Welcome home, little me.
The Man Who Built The World is a stand alone paranormal fantasy/horror of 228 pages. It's badass. Read it.
CW
This is from Part One.
You can’t just leave like that, you know you can’t.
The thought hit him like a hard slap across the face, and for a moment he stumbled, catching his footing just in time to avoid tumbling towards the puddles hidden in the dark at his feet. Just a thought, just a stupid, irrational thought, but it had snagged him like the barb of a fisherman’s hook. His very presence back in Tamerton had opened up a whole can of long forgotten emotions that would take time to sort, time he didn’t have.
Time he didn’t want to give.
He should have stayed away. They didn’t need him, hadn’t for fourteen years. His sister wouldn’t know he had come; she was dead, after all.
And what sort of reception could he expect from his father? Ian Cassidy had made the call to him – only Heaven knew how he had found Matt’s number – but how much of that had been as a duty? How much did he really want to see his son?
Welcome home son. Welcome home, little me.
The Man Who Built The World is a stand alone paranormal fantasy/horror of 228 pages. It's badass. Read it.
CW
All about Tube Riding
What is “Tube Riding”?
I actually got asked this the other day, so I thought I would explain to you the rather dangerous practice that is at the centre of my dystopian novel, The Tube Riders.
## Disclaimer – “Tube Riding” is a fictional sport performed by a very small number of people in 2075 London. It is highly dangerous. DO NOT attempt to do it for real. You could quite possibly die and I, the author of The Tube Riders, will not be held legally responsible. Trust me on this. Just watch the movie. ##
A “tube” is a nickname for a subway/underground train. The Tube Riders are a group of young people (there could be older people, but they probably wouldn’t be able to handle it) who “surf” the sides of these trains. However, while the novel opens with them tube riding in the London Underground, it is possible to ride any train providing the prerequisites are met.
Prerequisites for Tube Riding –
1. A wooden board, known as a “clawboard”. Any flat piece of wood will do, but it must have metal handles or leather straps (preferably both) attached to one side, and a curved hook on the other. Some clawboards have two or more hooks, others have one big one.
2. Somewhere you can jump on the side of the trains without getting arrested. The Tube Riders in the novel use the abandoned London Underground Station of St Cannerwells. Now, don’t go looking for it, because St Cannerwells doesn’t exist. Yet (the novel is set in 2075).
3. A train. Obviously. Preferably one going pretty fast. The benefit of St Cannerwells is that it is abandoned and thus the trains don’t stop. They move through the station at speed, meaning the Tube Riders get a very exhilarating ride.
4. Some old mattresses or pillows to land on when you jump off. This is non-essential, as with correct technique it is possible to leap off and roll. However, as Marta explains in the book, “it hurts like hell”.
How to Ride and Dismount
As the train enters the station, you must run at a diagonal angle in towards it, as demonstrated by Marta in the first chapter of the book. You hold your board out in front of you. As you come alongside, you leap up towards the train, angling your board towards the metal drainage rail that is just above the window. Not all trains have this, so check beforehand.
If successful (and you really don’t want to miss), you stand with your feet braced apart just below the window, leaning back. Give any commuters a little grin, then get ready for the dismount.
It is very important that you get off before the train goes into the tunnel. Some of the tunnels are very tight and you could die. When you are nearing the breakfall mats at the end of the platform, push your board in and up. It will be held against the rail by the force of motion and you have to counteract it.
Immediately duck your head and arms in. Land on your back on the breakfall mats and be thankful that you are still alive.
The Aim of Tube Riding
While in the book, Switch describes Tube Riding as "better than any drug", obviously, the main aim is not to die. Several deaths have occurred, mainly when a rider misses what is known as the “hook” or the “mount”, and gets caught between the edge of the platform and the moving train. Some platforms have smaller gaps than others, but you really want to make that hook.
However, once successfully on the train, the aim is to dismount as close to the wall as possible, as indicated by painted or chalk marks on the platform edge. A score over thirty feet is novice, fifteen to thirty good, ten to fifteen exceptional. As mentioned in the book, no one has done under ten feet and lived.
You can check your own scores, but a score is not official unless it has been verified by at least one other Tube Rider.
More than anything, though, for the Tube Riders, their dangerous sport is something that holds them together in the chaotic days of Mega Britain. None of them have much family left, so it holds them together. It will also be needed to save them when they fall foul of the government.
Lastly, that disclaimer again. Remember, Tube Riding is a FICTIONAL sport. DO NOT try it EVER. NOT ONCE. I am not responsible.
The Tube Riders is available now from Amazon as an ebook or paperback.
CW
September 4th 2012
The Tube Riders
I actually got asked this the other day, so I thought I would explain to you the rather dangerous practice that is at the centre of my dystopian novel, The Tube Riders.
## Disclaimer – “Tube Riding” is a fictional sport performed by a very small number of people in 2075 London. It is highly dangerous. DO NOT attempt to do it for real. You could quite possibly die and I, the author of The Tube Riders, will not be held legally responsible. Trust me on this. Just watch the movie. ##
A “tube” is a nickname for a subway/underground train. The Tube Riders are a group of young people (there could be older people, but they probably wouldn’t be able to handle it) who “surf” the sides of these trains. However, while the novel opens with them tube riding in the London Underground, it is possible to ride any train providing the prerequisites are met.
Prerequisites for Tube Riding –
1. A wooden board, known as a “clawboard”. Any flat piece of wood will do, but it must have metal handles or leather straps (preferably both) attached to one side, and a curved hook on the other. Some clawboards have two or more hooks, others have one big one.
2. Somewhere you can jump on the side of the trains without getting arrested. The Tube Riders in the novel use the abandoned London Underground Station of St Cannerwells. Now, don’t go looking for it, because St Cannerwells doesn’t exist. Yet (the novel is set in 2075).
3. A train. Obviously. Preferably one going pretty fast. The benefit of St Cannerwells is that it is abandoned and thus the trains don’t stop. They move through the station at speed, meaning the Tube Riders get a very exhilarating ride.
4. Some old mattresses or pillows to land on when you jump off. This is non-essential, as with correct technique it is possible to leap off and roll. However, as Marta explains in the book, “it hurts like hell”.
How to Ride and Dismount
As the train enters the station, you must run at a diagonal angle in towards it, as demonstrated by Marta in the first chapter of the book. You hold your board out in front of you. As you come alongside, you leap up towards the train, angling your board towards the metal drainage rail that is just above the window. Not all trains have this, so check beforehand.
If successful (and you really don’t want to miss), you stand with your feet braced apart just below the window, leaning back. Give any commuters a little grin, then get ready for the dismount.
It is very important that you get off before the train goes into the tunnel. Some of the tunnels are very tight and you could die. When you are nearing the breakfall mats at the end of the platform, push your board in and up. It will be held against the rail by the force of motion and you have to counteract it.
Immediately duck your head and arms in. Land on your back on the breakfall mats and be thankful that you are still alive.
The Aim of Tube Riding
While in the book, Switch describes Tube Riding as "better than any drug", obviously, the main aim is not to die. Several deaths have occurred, mainly when a rider misses what is known as the “hook” or the “mount”, and gets caught between the edge of the platform and the moving train. Some platforms have smaller gaps than others, but you really want to make that hook.
However, once successfully on the train, the aim is to dismount as close to the wall as possible, as indicated by painted or chalk marks on the platform edge. A score over thirty feet is novice, fifteen to thirty good, ten to fifteen exceptional. As mentioned in the book, no one has done under ten feet and lived.
You can check your own scores, but a score is not official unless it has been verified by at least one other Tube Rider.
More than anything, though, for the Tube Riders, their dangerous sport is something that holds them together in the chaotic days of Mega Britain. None of them have much family left, so it holds them together. It will also be needed to save them when they fall foul of the government.
Lastly, that disclaimer again. Remember, Tube Riding is a FICTIONAL sport. DO NOT try it EVER. NOT ONCE. I am not responsible.
The Tube Riders is available now from Amazon as an ebook or paperback.
CW
September 4th 2012
The Tube Riders
