Steve McHugh's Blog: Steve McHugh - Writer, page 30

Paperbacks and Competitions

As some of you know, I’ve been getting a paperback copy of Crimes Against Magic ready.

I wanted it ready for the end of May, but circumstances outside of my control meant that wasn’t possible. So now I’m ready to announce the date that the paperback of my book will be ready to purchase.

Today. Now. This second.

In fact you can find it here:

Amazon.com – http://www.amazon.com/Crimes-Against-Magic-Hellequin-Chronicles/dp/1477411321/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339665620&sr=1-2&keywords=crimes+against+magic

Amazon.co.uk – http://www.amazon.co.uk/Crimes-Against-Magic-Hellequin-Chronicles/dp/1477411321/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1339665613&sr=8-2

It’s also available in France/Spain/Germany and Italy, as are the kindle versions for anyone in those countries (although, everything is in English.). I’ll put links for these here.

To celebrate this, quite frankly, excellent event, we’re going to have a competition where one of you, dear readers can win a signed copy of Crimes Against Magic.

So, how do I win? I hear you ask.

 

Well, it’s very simple. There are four things you can do to get an entry:

1. Like my Facebook Author page https://www.facebook.com/Hiddenrealmspublishing

2. Follow my blog (click on the ‘follow’ button on the top right of this page).

3. Tweet about this competition or RT my tweets (if you tweet, you’re going to have to include me so I can keep track – there’s a widget at the bottom of the page with a link to my Twitter account).

4. Share my posts on Facebook (Look for contest posts on my Facebook page).

Every time you do one of the above, your name goes into a hat. Each additional action, means an extra entry. So in theory, if you do all the above and then share and re-tweet every day, you’ll get loads of entries.

In one week’s time, on the 21st June, my daughter will draw one name out of the hat, and I’ll announce the winner on my blog. They then have one week to contact me with their address.

If you already follow me or like my author page and don’t want to take part (maybe you don’t like free stuff) then let me know and I’ll make sure to remove your name from the hat.

And that’s it for this week. Thanks to everyone who supported me and to everyone who has already purchased a copy of the book.

Wednesday Wippet #2

So, it’s the 2nd Wednesday Wippet, where I post something from my WiP, Born of Hatred. The only rule is, it has to be something that’s relevant to the date. So, as today is the 13th, I’ll post something from the 13th chapter.

Like last week, this hasn’t been edited, so there might be the occasional spelling/grammar issue, as I don’t want to spend tons of time going through it, as it defeats the point.

I hope you enjoy it:

 

“Anything else, Doc?” I asked.

He removed a thermometer from inside the wound. “It’s hard to give an exact time of death, but I would say about four to five hours ago. Whatever is doing this, it’s like nothing I’ve seen in my hundred and ninety years of life.”

I thanked him and, with a head full of information, went off to find Tommy and Sara.  Instead I found one of the agents who had been the contact for the killer. “Agent Reid,” I said and offered my hand, which he took.

“Are you helping with the investigation?” He asked.

“Just a fresh set of eyes, I’m not trying to step on anyone’s toes.”

He raised an eyebrow. “You pissed off some people earlier. That would be akin to jumping up and down on people’s toes.”

“I get that a lot,” I assured him. “Do you mind if I ask you a few things?”

“Go nuts.”

“The killer, Olivia says he calls you.”

“He calls Greaves,” he corrected. “Usually a few hours after he’s killed them. Greaves got the call just over an hour ago. We came here first and then contacted Director Green.”

“Greaves is a werewolf, yes?”

“Yes, I am,” I rough voice snapped from behind me. “Is there a problem with that?”

I turned toward the surly man with a smile on my face. “No problems. I just wanted to know if you caught any scent.”

“And I should tell you why?” He jabbed a finger at my chest. I glanced down at the digit and wondered if I should break it.

 

And that’s it for another Wippet. It’s much harder work than I’d thought, trying to find bits that don’t spoil anything, while still giving a taste of what’s in store.

Next week is the 20th, so you’ll be getting a glimpse of what the flashbacks in the book are about.

 

 

A Good Beta

This week I read an excellent post by Krista Walsh about reading Betas. In fact it was so good, that I’m going to steal it as a topic so that I can talk about it. Thanks for that, Krista.

For those of you who aren’t writers and don’t know what a Beta is, it’s when people read a pre-published copy of your story so that they can find any problems. It’s basically the writer’s version of bug testing.

For a variety of reasons, Beta reading is one of the most important aspects of being a writer. It’s really the first time people will judge if the story works. Are the characters well written? Is the pacing well done? Are there any serious errors?  Is the formatting okay? And most importantly, is it any good?

Good Beta readers are like gold-dust. Not only do they take time out of their lives so they can read your work, but they also give excellent advice and are there when you need to bounce ideas off someone.

I have never read about any writer, no matter how successful, that doesn’t use Beta readers. So if you’re a writer and you think your book is finished, but you don’t have any Beta readers. Get some. Soon.

There is another side to having people read your work. And that’s you reading others.  Being a Beta reader, or giving critiques, will improve your writing in ways you can’t do any other way. You will spot flaws and errors in other people’s work that you block out when reading your own. It will improve your writing in ways you can’t understand until you start doing it. But there are rules to giving a good Beta.

1. Be Polite – You might not like what you read. And you should be honest about the problems you’ve found, but be pleasant about it. Tearing the story apart will do nothing for you in the long run, except upset someone and cause you to look like a dick.

2. Don’t re-write it – You can give ideas, you can suggest what you might do. But don’t re-write huge chunks of their book. It is, after all, their book. And their writing style. And if you decide to write entire chapters in your style, your sort of missing the point.

3. Give a critique – Saying you loved it is great. Only saying you loved it, is pointless. You need to explain what you did and didn’t like. And there’s always things you won’t like. Explain what they are, don’t just leave your critique as short sentences as it won’t help anyone.

4. Ask when they want it back – It seems obvious, but you know, people forget to  do it.

5. Get it back to them on time – Again, seems obvious, and it’s something I’m guilty of doing, but it’s also something I’m trying to make sure I stop.

And last, but not least.

6.  Enjoy yourself. You’re reading the work of someone before it anyone else sees it. That is probably one of the most incredible things about being a Beta reader. You should probably enjoy that. And if you don’t, then there’s no hope for you.

There are probably other rules, but they’re the 6 I try to stick to.

So, here’s to the Beta readers. Long may they make us better writers.

I could have chosen a picture of a glass of Scotch, or one with Christina Hendricks holding a glass of Scotch. If I’m honest, it wasn’t a difficult choice.

Wednesday Wippet #1

A few weeks ago I did the Lucky Seven Meme, which was 7 lines from the 77th page from my wip. Well, a short time after that Krista Walsh started doing Wednesday Wippet. It’s basically similar to the Lucky Seven, but instead of limiting you to one page, you take a few paragraphs from a page or chapter that relates to the date.

I thought it would be good fun to do for a few weeks, and let people have a small taste of Born of Hatred. Now be warned, this isn’t a completed draft, so there might be a few things that change.

So, as it’s the 6th June, I could select the 6th page, 6th chapter, 66th page… that sort of thing. I selected the sixth page of the story:

 

I turned the small radio and microphone over in my hands. “I’m not going on a mob bust.”

“It’s that or you wear one of those ridiculous Bluetooth headsets, which are about as secure as yelling really loud. I need to stay in contact with you, just in case he comes home early.”

I placed the radio in my pocket, clipped the microphone to my top and pressed the ear piece home. “I assume you’ve done some recon work to know where he might be at ten in the morning.”

“Of course I’ve had some recon done. Neil leaves his building a little after 9am, and comes back at 3pm. He then leaves again at 6pm and comes back sometime in the morning between one and three. Twice he’s arrived back with a young woman, who then leaves a few hours before Neil surfaces. According to the notes, they’re of… questionable virtue.”

“They’re hookers is what you’re getting at, yes?” Sara asked, which made me laugh.

“I’m surrounded by uncouth ruffians.”

“And apparently you live in the nineteenth century,” I said. “I’m going to go break into someone house before you call me a ragamuffin or something equally hurtful.”

Even Tommy had to laugh, but it was cut short by a serious expression. “Nate, be careful. This guy is a nutcase. If he sees you in there, he’ll probably attack you.”

I forced a grin. “Isn’t that why you brought me along in the first place?”

 

 

And that’s it, short and sweet I know, but I hope you liked it.

Interview with Tom Harris

Monday’s, as a rule, suck. Today sucks even worse, because it’s a bank holiday and I have to work. But there’s a little glimmer of happiness in what is otherwise a gloomy day. And that, my friends, is an interview with the wonderfully talented, Tom Harris.

But before we get to that, here’s the first chapter of his YA Novel - The Amber Room, introducing the main character, North.

THE THRILL:

He sat on the top deck at the front, away from the other school kids at the back who had got on the bus with him. He shielded his eyes, feeling the heat on his face through the glass as the autumn sun peeked out between the terraced houses.

The open staircase behind his seat was his only exit. A blur of sunlight got trapped in his vision as he glanced down the length of the bus to see if he could make a clean getaway when the time came. He could feel the thrill rising inside him like a leviathan.

Four seats back, across from him, sat alone on the double seat was a guy wearing huge headphones, eyes closed, head bobbing. Three seats from the front were a young couple holding hands and giggling; eyes like magnets locked on each other. Second seat from the front was a problem. The middle-aged woman stared at him when he got on and she stared again now. All she had to do was lean across her timid looking husband and…Gotcha!  On the seat across from him was an old lady sucking on a mint she had taken out of a packet that sat loosely in the palm of her saggy skinned hand.

North didn’t like mints, but he was going to steal them anyway.

He caught his reflection in the window. The sight of his jean jacket over his drab black and grey school uniform took him back to the Easter holidays when his parents had bought it for him just before his fourteenth birthday. It was the last thing they would ever buy him, probably…

A bead of sweat seeped down his back sticking part of his school shirt against his skin. He pulled his tie off, rolled it up and unrolled it three times, and put it in his jacket pocket. Through the reflection in the front window, the bag of mints sparkled like pure white diamonds.

Goosebumps gathered on his skin. His legs quivered as if he was tapping along to heavy metal. He rolled his neck, stretching, warming up for the main event. A pile of scrunched up bus tickets had collected on the floor below his seat and he spread them out with the tips of his toes forming the letter M for Mint. He let out a small snort of laughter. ‘Second seat from the front woman’ was like one of those pictures that followed you around the room. He avoided her stare through the reflection of the front window and ran his hand across his cropped black hair as the bus pulled to a halt.

The bus trembled at the stop and a rush of heat smothered his body. He picked at the tornPerrowSchoolcrest on the blue cloth school bag that hung around his neck. It was too much of a hassle to take off his jean jacket so he blew cold air down his top. He rocked a little in his seat, full of nervous energy, legs still wobbling like jelly.

The thrill was back.

I told you he was talented. And that’s a hell of a good cover. So, without further ado, allow me to introduce him to you.

Hi, Tom. So, why don’t you tell us all a bit about yourself?

I write Young Adult fiction and everything else is inconsequential! Although, as you were kind enough to ask, Steve, I do like Toffee Crumbles – even though I have no idea if they are an ice lol or an ice cream? Maybe that’s what makes them so appealing? I love Hitchcock’s Vertigo – I’m a big Hitchcock fan. I actually found out the other day that he almost directed the first Bond film which was meant to be Thunderball, but he turned it down and they went with Dr No – imagine what the Bond franchise would have been like under Hitchock’s direction? Wow! I love cricket, football and birds – all three have fascinated me since I was a child. I think watching TV shows and movies are important for writers as well as reading great books. I love reading but stuff like Buffy, Supernatural, Sherlock and The Fades fuel my creativity whilst acting as a release valve from ongoing projects.  24 is not my genre, but I do miss Jack Bauer and attend withdrawal therapy every month! My friends know I love the show and call me CTU, at least it sounds like that to me…

 

 

Can you tell us a bit more about your book, The Amber Room? Where did the idea come from? How long did it take to write?

The idea was spawned by reading Charles Perrault’s fairy tales. I then thought about a fresh take with new characters travelling inside these amazing worlds; the brilliant Jasper Fforde’s Nursery Crime Novels, inspired me to wander down this path. Then the characters got hold of me and became so real that I had to write it. North being a kleptomaniac was the key as it gave him an Achilles Heel that, although unappreciated in our world, is seen as a gift by the mysterious Dr Tan and enables North to become a treasure thief. Once Rosie Boots arrived as North’s guide through Perrault’s fairy tale worlds, I knew I just had to write it!

It took about six months for the first draft but a year in total, including time off to let the draft fester and then return to it with a fresh pair of eyes – which didn’t come cheap on the black market I can tell you! It was just like Minority Report! By the way, Philip K. Dick – amazing! I really did edit the heck out of this and am so grateful for my great critique group – The Registry Writers. Everyone who read it and gave advice played their part in forming the finished version of The Amber Room. Cheers guys!

 

Who’s your favourite character in the book?

I love Doctor Tan, North and Rosie and it would just annoy them if I picked one as my favourite – lots of squabbling and hiding when I need to discuss the sequel with them. My favourite sections to write were Doctor Tan’s scenes with North inside the Amber Room as I could just allow my imagination to wander into the mind of an eccentric supernatural treasure hunter and his quirky, twisted view on the world. I had some real fun with this and it got a little dark in places too – perfect! I also loved writing the scenes with North and Rosie and their banter as they deal with their attraction to each other as they pop in and out of dangerous fairy tale worlds searching for amber treasure. A lot of these scenes were inspired by a nameless muse and returned fond memories to my flame-grilled heart…sigh…Anyway [necks a shot of Oban Single Malt Whiskey] Let’s move on, quickly…

   

What made you decide to self-publish?

I just really believed in the story and wanted people to read it. I was very curious about the process of self publishing and wanted to see what would happen. The general idea was to promote myself from within, to catch the attention of publishers and agents through the quality of my work.

This is not a try it and give up if it doesn’t work thing for me. What I’ve produced is as good as I could do at that moment, but I aim to improve as a writer and to keep learning. This is a showcase for my writing which I’m very proud of and since me and the book have been out there, I’ve began to understand the fuller role of the modern author and what is expected. And let’s face it, If any of us can wake up in the morning and do what we love doing then surely that is the greatest gift of all! I hope this is a stepping stone to be able to one day achieve that goal. That’s why I self published!

*If anyone is interested in reading more about why and the processes of self publishing, I did a piece for Hackwriters last week on the very subject, just follow the link… http://www.hackwriters.com/TheAmberRoom.htm

 

Do you have a favourite book or author? What are they?

I read loads of Young Adult fiction and dip into other genres only when something hits me hard. Like a Hardback to the face or being threatened by a fellow debut author with a machete in a dark alley – I meant to have a word with you about that Steve! You really do take your research for your fight scenes to the limit don’t you!

I love Jasper Fforde’s stuff – so inventive and a work of genius in my opinion. Pullman, Rowling, Suzanne Collins first Hunger Games novel and Moira Young’s Blood Red Road are all outstanding! Neil Gaiman who I recently discovered – shocking that it’s taken me so long frankly – is absolutely amazing! Marcus Sedgwick is also brilliant!

 

What do you do for fun when you’re not writing?

This is my fun! Everything outside of writing is down-time, spent sprawled across the sofa or clambering up the stairs to bed. There have been reports of me having fun outside of writing – as rare as yeti sightings – which mostly involve friends and booze. I don’t class cricket and football as being fun, they are a plague which I take far too seriously – it’s in the blood and there’s nothing I can do about it! I’m like a moth to the flame when it comes to these sports.

 

Do you have any other projects in the pipeline?

I have drafted the sequel to The Amber Room – The Amber Antidote, which I’m planning on releasing next year. But next up is a contemporary YA adventure thriller called Jackie Jones.

Fourteen year old Jackie accepts a mysterious invitation to a country estate to compete for a huge cash prize which could put an end to his family’s money worries for good. What starts out as being the opportunity of a lifetime, turns into a nightmare when Jackie arrives at Heath Hall and finds that the other contestants not only share his desire to win the money, but also his name!

I also have Hywel which is back to supernatural fantasy which I love. That will come out after The Amber Antidote in 2013.

Fifteen year old Hywel is troubled. He stalks girls, his parents think he’s overweight and now he’s been sent to a fitness boot camp in the English countryside. After following pretty Lara into the woods, Hywel watches beneath a full moon as she is attacked by a Nesthead Demon. Lara is saved but taken by a white wolf, but when Hywel returns to the camp no-one will believe his story until the camp comes under attack.

 

You can be any comic book superhero – Who would you be?

Batman! I love Batman! Not in a weird way, but I remember seeing what may have been a copy of an old Batman comic at a church fete and being totally hooked. I was desperate to get hold of the first issue to know how he became Batman! This wasn’t so easy back then and it took me ages to find out how it all started with the bat flying through the window and all that. God it’s so dark and brooding and painful and bloody amazing! God! I would love to be Batman!

When I was a kid I used to laugh my head off at the old TV series with Adam West and Burt Ward playing the caped crusaders and I still love that now! KABLAM!

As much as I enjoyed Jack Nicholson and Michael Keaton in Tim Burton’s take, and it was great how they tried to stay true to the origins of the comic, the only credible part of the whole Batman franchise left standing after that was the brilliant animated series, where Mark Hamill of Star Wars fame, voiced The Joker! Every film sequel was rushed and the character was overlooked for special effects and guest stars, and also the lead actor kept changing…until Nolan and Bale got hold of it and…Wow! This is the dark, brooding, mystery of a vengeful man that I fell in love with. The two films are incredible, great storylines, great writing and superbly acted and very character driven, which is the key to pulling at emotional heart-strings after all.

 

 

If you could go back in time, what advice would you give to your 16-year-old self?

Go for it, you bumbling idiot! Being shy and polite never won fair maiden! You’ll never know if she likes you, if you don’t ask! Fight for her and treat her like a princess and let her know you love her. I’m single because of this stuff, anyone else out there treading gently, go out and declare your love – do it now! Don’t wait for it to happen, it never will! But if she or he rejects you I am unavailable for counselling as I generally give terrible advice.

Also, to slap the South Birmingham Football Manager round the chops with a pair of white gentleman’s gloves for not picking me when I was the best player on the pitch at the trial – well that’s how I remember it anyway! This idiot of a manager picked loads of giant kids and decided to play long ball tactics. I was a smaller kid, a bit like a young Messi – in size only obviously – but I was a ball player – he didn’t like that! WTF? Sorry Steve, you don’t have to post this boring football stuff, I only left it in because it was just great therapy to say that after all these years – cheers!

 

What skills do you possess that would help you survive a zombie apocalypse?

Natural camouflage. My face falls to pieces now and again and I have a strong limp, my shoulder is broken in four places, my head is at an angle and rests against my shoulders as though I’m sleepy and I drag my arms and my left foot just like Daniel-Day-Lewis. I like to eat rare steak and let that dribble from my mouth and I sleep in a graveyard! This could also explain why I’m single – hmm, never thought of that!

You can find and download The Amber Room on Amazon & Smashwords by following the links:

Amazon.co.uk - http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Amber-Room-ebook/dp/B007SFPG0O/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1337796392&sr=1-1

Amazon.com - http://www.amazon.com/The-Amber-Room-ebook/dp/B007SFPG0O/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1337796468&sr=8-3

Smashwords - http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/148214

And if you feel like learning more about Tom, and why wouldn’t you, you can go to his blog:

http://tomdharris.wordpress.com/theamberroom/

We’re Going to Talk About Fight Club part 2

Last week I spoke about writing fights and the need to balance the realistic while making it something that isn’t incredibly dull to read.

This week I thought I’d take a look at the things I’ve used to help inspire the various fights scenes that I’ve written.

Asian Cinema

This is the big one. I could do a whole blog post about what Asian cinema people should watch. Asian cinema is overflowing with incredible fight scenes. I’m not just talking about the stuff from the 70s and 80s, like Project A or Police Story. There’s also a lot of incredible new stuff, Ip man, Chocolate, Kung Fu Hussle, 13 Assassins and a host of other films that are full of incredible feats of fighting process. I’m not such a big fan of the wire work films, like Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, but there’s some impressive stuff to watch.

One of the best films ever, made by a master. You know, before he went crazy and made Rush Hour 3.

Some of it is also exceptionally brutal. The violence portrayed feels almost real, it’s usually quick, breathless and unrelenting. Man from nowhere, Oldboy, and a host of others are amazing films, but not for the faint of heart.

As you can tell from the poster, it’s a lovely film about carpentry.

Hollywood

There’s a lot less good fight scenes in Hollywood. The heroes were usually near invincible (which is fine if the fights are interesting, and dull as hell if they’re not) and it was rare that a fight ever lasted beyond one punch or kick. Don’t get me wrong, they’re finally catching up with Asian cinema, but for a long time a lot of fights in American films were fairly dull to watch. The Bourne Films, Matrix and most recently Drive all give three very different types of fights. Drive in particular, like the Asian Cinema I described above, has a very vicious side to it.

It takes 45 minutes for the action to kick in. But when it does, it’s unrelenting.

Anime

Anime is fantastic for getting ideas for the most incredible parts of fighting, especially where your characters aren’t human or use magic. If you’re writing fights, or even action scenes, where something unhuman happens, amine is a great tool to give you some inspiration you might not have thought of before. Naruto, Fullmetal Alchemist, Ninja Scroll, Hellsing, Bleach, Soul Eater, Kaze no Stigma, there are far too many to mention here. In fact I’ll probably do a blog post at a later date about Anime.

Best. Anime. Film. Ever.

Probably the best anime TV show ever. Miles better than almost everything else on TV.

Books

David Gemmell. Seriously, if you’re writing a fight scene, this is a man you should be reading. Even more so if you’re writing scenes where weapons are used. The pacing and violence are perfectly pitched, and the writing for them is fantastic.

Whether you like fantasy books or not, David Gemmell should be one of those writers that you read at some point in your life.

Richard Morgan. His fight scenes are raw and feel like they would be dangerous, they also fit in tone with the rest of the book.

If you haven’t read Altered Carbon, you really should.
Unless you don’t like to read well-written stories.

Now, I’m not saying you should watch or read all of these, or copy what they do exactly, but it’s certainly a good place to do a little research and hopefully crack a few ideas loose at the same time. And if I leave you with one thing you should all watch, it’s this fight from Flashpoint.  There’s a reason that Donnie Yen is awesome.

Donnie Yen. Also known as ‘Holy Crap, That Was Insane!” He probably prefers Donnie though.

Here’s a link for anyone who would like to see it (and yes, I know the pic isn’t for Flashpoint. The Ip Man picture is just much cooler): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yo_YfzvAYJY

Don’t say I never give you anything.

LINKS

I took over Angela Addams’ blog and wrote about writing sex scenes.

Joce Adams asked what I’d do if I had a time machine.

Over at Paranormal and Urban Fantasy Reviews, there’s an excellent interview where I answer the hardest question I’d been asked about my book. Who would I like to play the main Characters.

We’re Going to Talk About Fight Club Part 1

Over the last few weeks I’ve been asked a few times about how I get my ideas for the fights that occur in my books. I’ve also seen a few blogs that deal with the subject, leading me to believe that there are a lot of unsuspecting characters that some writers are about to have assaulted in the name of literary endeavour.

People all have their own ways of thinking about new fights or action scenes, but for this post we’ll assume anyone else is wrong and go with how I do it.

Before you write a fight scene there is one thing that you need to be aware of. Real fights suck. I’m sorry to all of you who think that real fights are somehow a cross between Jackie Chan and a UFC fight, but they’re not. They’re normally fought by people who have no idea what they’re doing and they’re normally dull, insanely stupid and not worth bothering with. Normally alcohol is involved. This does not make you a good fighter.

If you really need to see a real fight just go to Youtube and type in ‘Man punches…’, then the noun of your choice and then sit back and wonder how human life has actually managed to not implode with stupidity yet.

From every fight I’ve ever been in or seen, there’s one prevailing truth. They’re over quickly. Either because someone gets a lucky punch, or because after a few punches, the participants are far too tired to continue. I’ve seen two grown men, clearly very angry at one another, start slapping each other like a Three Stooges sketch, because they’re too tired to actually continue fighting.

Every Saturday night in Southampton is another unnecessary pie fight.

There’s one other thing about real fights. In your mind you may have the idea that someone gets a kicking and at some point they bounce back to life and dish out a thrashing to the thug in question. This doesn’t happen. Life is not the end of the Transformers cartoon movie.

You got the the touch, you got the power…

So, when writing fights you’re going to want to make them sound interesting. No one wants to read every fight if it’s “I punched him once, he fell over, I moved on.” You can only really use that once, maybe twice before it gets dull. So, you’ve gotta mix it up a bit. Lee Child is excellent a this, his fights are normally short, sharp yet still exciting. But his main character, Jack Reacher, can hit people once and move on as he’s the size of a small car.

So writing fights in a realistic manner is something I don’t usually do. I usually tweek that realism until it gets to a point I’m happy with, and for that there’s a multitude of places you can go to get inspiration. Asian cinema is fantastic for this, and there are a few american films that have some great fights in. Anime is also a great place to find interesting ways to fight, especially is you’re using non-human characters. But as for telling you what I recommend you watch, well, that will have to wait until next week.

If you’re writing about vampires (not so much the sparkly kind), Blood the Last Vampire is a film you should watch. Not the live action thought. No one should do that.

In the mean time, here’s some links that you should be checking out.

Bea’s Book Nook has a Spotlight on Crimes Against Magic.
Ciara Ballintyne has a great interview with me on her blog.

Both of which are worthy of your time to go and have a read.

This week I plan on getting more of Born of Hatred done, and I have a new story, a Steampunk Fantasy, something I’ve never written before. I”m currently at that exciting point where I’m making notes. I’m quite excited about writing it, and one day I may actually tell people what it’s about. That it’s for now, so until next week, have a good weekend.

Small Time Vengeance

A few weeks ago, I wrote a prequel of sorts to Crimes Against Magic, by the name of Small Time Vengeance. It was a flashfriday piece, my first ever, and since I spoke about it, I’ve been asked by a few people if I plan on posting it on my blog. Well, as I’ve been very busy this week, and haven’t had time to write anything interesting. I figured now was as good a time as any.

So, I present you to you. Small Time Vengeance.

Near Soissons, France 1414.

The only reason the man wasn’t dead was because he hadn’t taken part in the raid. He swung gently from the rope I’d wrapped around his chest and under his arms, before I’d hoisted him off the ground. After gaining the information I’d needed about his friends, a cloth gag ensured he would make no sound, and if he woke up and thought about making problems, the four corpses of his comrades, lying clearly visible below him, would prove I wasn’t someone he wanted pissed off.

The four had died while they slept, their throats cut without a sound by the light of their campfire. They’d deserved no less, but my anger would be saved for the man who truly deserved it, the chief of the bandits I’d decimated.

I sat on the thick branch of the old oak tree, high above the ground, watching the man swing slowly back and forth beneath me.

My patience was rewarded as the moon reached its fullest and the sound of laughter came through the forest. The newcomers called to their friends in the camp, their laughter dying when there was no reply. Weapons were drawn and their leader barked orders, as he realised that there would be no answer from his erstwhile followers.

I stepped off the branch and white glyphs erupted over the backs of my hands and up my arms, as my air magic slowed my descent. When I was just over head height with the bandits, I forced the magic down toward my feet, so that I smashed into the ground with a roar. Leaves and dirt were thrown into the air, causing enough confusion and panic that the two closest bandits died before the leaves had drifted back to the earth. A blade of white-hot fire cut through their throats as I moved past them, out of the clearing and into the darkness of the forest, where the blade vanished from my hand.

Four were left in the circle of their camp, their eyes flickering frantically at the merest hint of movement.

The chief grabbed the nearest minion and pushed him. “Get in their and find him,” he barked.

I used my fire magic to see in the dark, turning my vision into a mixture of reds and oranges without casting any visible light from me.

Two large men crept into the forest, their daggers drawn. I moved behind them and took the first one with a blade of air into the base of his skull, almost decapitating him. He fell forward, alerting his companion who turned toward the noise, only to have a gust of air lift him off his feet and crash him into a nearby tree. The angle of his neck suggested he wouldn’t get back up.

“What are you fucking idiots doing in there?” the chief shouted from the tree line, his voice full of barely concealed anxiety.

I charged out of the forest and caught him in the jaw with a blast of air that threw him onto the ground.

I sprinted to the final bandit and he swiped at me with his sword, but I dodged aside and broke his knee with a swift kick. He screamed in pain and fell back, but I caught him and snapped his neck before he hit the ground.

The chief had gotten back to his feet and drawn a dagger, waving it in my direction. A gust of hardened air removed the danger and a second shattered his arm. He howled in pain and I punched him in the stomach, doubling him up, and then pushed him onto the ground.

“Who are you?” The chief’s voice was raspy with pain.

The noise had woken the hanging man, and he watched wide-eyed as I picked up the dagger and crouched beside his boss.

“You terrorised that village. You went there time and time again to steal and have your fun. And when a boy of twelve stood up to you, you murdered him in front of his parents and maimed the man who tried to stop you.”

I smiled down at the chief as fear oozed out of him. “You did everything in your power to break them. But you know what? When I arrived there two days ago, the first thing they did was offer me hospitality.

“They warned me of you and your bandits. They made sure I was going the other way. They wanted to keep me safe from you. Even though you tortured those people, you couldn’t break them.”

“So?” he groaned as I placed the tip of the dagger against his stomach, drawing blood.

“So, clearly you’re very bad at your job. And someone that terrible needs to be shown how to do it properly. So allow me to educate you on the fine art of breaking someone.”

The chief’s screams and pleas lasted only a short time. I gained no enjoyment from what I did, but it needed doing.

The surviving bandit begged me to spare him as I cut him down and removed his gag.

I nodded. “But you’re going to do something for me in return for your life.”

“Anything,” he said immediately.

“You’re going to gather up every last coin and item of worth from your fellow bandits here, and you’re going to take it back to the village you stole it from. You will do this tonight. You will beg for forgiveness. And if you fail to do any of these things, I will find you.” I dragged him over to the body of his chief.

“And I will make what I did to him appear as a tap on the wrist, are we clear?”

The man nodded repeatedly.

“One more question,” I said. “Have you heard about Soissons?”

“You don’t want to go there. The French army murdered everyone. I’ve heard stories of monsters and demons roaming the city.”

“Monsters and demons?” I smiled. “Sounds like my kind of city.”

*****

I hope you enjoyed it.

There are a few links this week, that I suggest you all go and check out.

The first is actually on my blog. An interview with the very talented Colin F. Barnes. My first ever in fact, although not my last by any stretch of the imagination.

Colin also repaid the favour and interviewed me, which was a lot of fun.

Speaking of fun, Tom Harris had be take the Badger, which I assure you is not some weird euphemism. It has to be read to be believed.

Debra L. Martin also did an interview with me this week.

The fantastic Keri Lake conducted the last interview of the week with me.

And last, but by no means least, Kendall Grey allowed me to steal her blog for the day to talk about the day before I published my book. Something I hope you find both fun and interesting.

As for Crimes Against Magic, well it’s doing okay. A sixth, 5 star review was superb, and i’ve had a few people e-mailing me to tell me how much they loved it. Thanks to all of you who took the time.

That’s it for this week.

And as he proved so popular last time, I’ll leave you with one image.

All Glory to the Hypnotoad.

Interview with Colin F. Barnes

Today I’m conducting my first ever interview, so I’m very pleased and excited to introduce my friend, Colin F. Barnes. His newly published anthology sees him working with a host of very talented writers.

So without further ado…

1. Hi Colin, can you tell everyone a bit about yourself and your latest book?

Hi Steve, I’m a writer and publisher. I’ve worn many hats over the last few years, mostly because I have a receding hairline, but also because I’m a hands-on kind of guy who likes to get involved with projects and create new things. Hence my interest in publishing as well as writing. Writing is my prime interest however, and that is where I focus most of energies.

As for my latest book, I don’t actually have fiction from myself in this new release. Day of Demons is one of my publishing projects. It’s a dark fantasy anthology of nine stories exploring the effects of a demon upon a character or characters over the course of a day. We have contemporary character pieces, old-school psychological horror and even some epic fantasy. This anthology has a got a little something for everyone.

2. Your website suggests that you’ve held a lot of interesting jobs. Including Somalian pirate and Snake poison collector, how have they prepared you for the world of publishing?

The poison is surprisingly effective when mixed with fountain pen ink. I can say no more on the subject. If someone, maybe like Dan Brown happens to turn up dead, it’s not my fault. Ahem.

3. As a writer, editor and publisher, how do you find the time to prepare the stories you’re sent and write for yourself?

I have no other life outside of fiction. I’m not married (although living with a partner) and have no children other than two pesky cats. I’ve whittled my many hobbies down so that my only commitments on my spare time are publishing and/or writing. I gave up drinking (heavily) some years ago which means I’m not hungover very often and I spend very little time in the pubs. I’ve also eschewed most TV and video games. I have a few that I watch/play, but these are usually when I’m between projects (or procrastinating — which really is just seeding the imagination. Honest). So although it seems I have a lot on (which I do), I just about manage to hold it together. Although lately, I’ve regrettably had to drop a number of writing commitments as my other projects and various life issues have grown in size.

4. What advice would you give a new author just entering into the self-publishing arena?

Learn to write, learn to take and seek out expert criticism and don’t publish the first thing you’ve written.

5. How did you come up with the idea for the, quite frankly stunning, cover?

I usually do the covers myself, but I was put in touch with a friend of a friend who is an excellent artist (and lived locally which helped). I was interested to see what someone else could come up with for the concept of Day of Demons. We had a chat and discussed some art and artists that we admired and he went away and came up with a whole bunch of ideas. There were at least three or four that were equally as good, but for pure attention-grabbing-ness, this one jumped out at me right away. So we worked on it, improved it, refined it, and then I added the typography. I’m happy with the results, and so far the feedback has been positive. It certainly stands out of the crowd even as a thumbnail, which I think is important in this day of digital marketplaces.

6. Will there be a follow up to Day of Demons?

I wasn’t planning on it, but a number of people have asked this so, so depending on the success of the first I wouldn’t be against doing another later on.

7. What book(s) are you reading now?

I tend to have a number of books on the go at once. I’m currently reading Michael Marshal Smith’s ‘Spares’ which is simply brilliant. I recently finished Samuel R. Delany’s ‘About Writing’ which is a deep academic look at the craft. I got a lot of value from that one. I’ve also got some thrillers that I’m reading by Kathy Reichs and Jo Nesbo. I read widely across genre and usually add in short story collections and classics too. The Vandermeer’s ‘The Weird’ is a collection that I’ve been working through. It’s a mighty tome, but full of wonderful examples of the genre.

Thanks, Colin for a superb interview. If you want to know more about Colin’s world, the links below will provide you everything you’ve ever wanted to know.

www.colinfbarnes.com

www.anachronpress.com

www.cityofhellchronicles.com

To purchase Day of Demons (which I can’t recommend enough). 

Amazon US http://amzn.to/Jdy01c

Amazon UK http://amzn.to/HwO3HD

Am Published. Would like to Write.

I’ve been a published author for nearly two weeks now. And, despite the fact that it’s still weird to write that, I’ve spent pretty much every day doing marketing. Now don’t get me wrong, I appreciate every single person who has allowed me to steal, borrow or befoul their blogs, but before I published, I’d spent every available second working on the book for at least two weeks before hand.

So that means I haven’t written anything new on book 2 for nearly a month and my brain is beginning to dislike that fact.

Not this Brain. Although, that would explain my desire to take over the world.

However much I’d prepared for the marketing side of being published, the reality and the plan go about as well together as oil and water. Learning how to mash the marketing and the creative together so you can do both, is a trick I’m still learning. There’s no how to guide, there’s only trial and error. Hopefully, with more success than error.

At some point soon, I plan on getting back to writing, that’s what got me to the stage of being published in the first place after all, and maybe, just maybe, my brain will be happy about the fact that I’ve written something.

Once again, not this Brain. This brain is never happy.

Speaking of the past week, I have several more links for people to go check out:

Chrissey Harrison did an excellent review of Crimes Against Magic, which you can go to here.

There’s also a wonderful interview you can check out here, with the chance to win a copy of Crimes Against Magic.

Big Bear has also done an excellent review.

As did Darcie Mair, here.

Belinda Frisch did an awesome interview too.

At the moment, Crimes Against Magic has five, 5 star reviews and three, 4 star reviews. All in all, a superb total and one that I couldn’t have expected if I’d tried. A serious thank you to everyone who purchased a copy. Which, you can still do by going to Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com.

For those who have been asking for a paperback copy, your wish is granted:

 

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The couch is extra.

 

It will be out, hopefully, by the end of May. I’ll confirm a date and price closer to the time though. It’ll also be out on smashwords soon, once again price and date to be annouced.

 

So that’s it for another week. I hope you all have a good weekend.