Joshua Reynolds's Blog, page 42

WIPW: Press Start

Another year, another Wednesday spent talking about what I’m working on. Start as you mean to go on, I guess.

Last week, I finished the first draft of the sixth book of 2016 just before the ball dropped. At 110,000 words, it’s only 20,000 words over the commissioned limit, which is pretty good, for me. I’m not satisfied with it, obviously. There are things that need fixing – the transition between Act 2 and Act 3 needs some work. Some of the character interactions need smoothing out, and I’m fairly certain there are some bursts of necessary exposition that need trimming so that certain scenes flow a bit more quickly.

Still, all in all, I’m happy with it. It’s a bit of a big, ridiculous blockbuster sort of thing – characters racing against time, vaguely gigantic stakes, exotic locales, giant monsters – but there’s some nice, quiet stuff in there as well. Also a conversation about giant turtles and what kind of currency you use, if you live on one.

As with previous Age of Sigmar novels, the bad guys were the highlight to work on – the skaven in particular. I may have spent too much time with them, in fact. Then, maybe not. My editor might request more skaven. One can only hope.

At the moment, I’m working on a short story for an anthology I was invited to submit to. It’s a Royal Occultist story, but one set prior to St. Cyprian’s tenure. Instead, it follows Sir Edwin Drood and his apprentice, Thomas Carnacki, as they investigate a case of phantasmal courtship, strange equine creatures, and the dark legacy of the British sack of Manila, during the Seven Years War. Drood has appeared in the Royal Occultist stories before, albeit in much diminished circumstances, and Carnacki is hopefully no stranger to anyone reading this.

It’s an interesting story to work on, less punchy-punchy-run-run and more thoughtful. Drood is more melancholic than St. Cyprian. He’s a world-weary sort, and his approach to problems reflects a decidedly spiritual outlook. There’s a lot going on beneath the surface of the story, as well. It touches on imperialism, racism, misogyny, the whole ball of wax. Not my usual sort of thing – I tend to err on the side of fun. Not a lot of jokes in this one, but neither is it doom and gloom.

I dunno. I’m stretching my muscles a bit. We’ll see what happens. I’m about 2,000 words in, and hoping to be finished by Sunday. I’m aiming for about 6,000 words or so, but that could very well change.

Next week, I need to start working on the sequel to Fabius Bile: Primogenitor, which is tentatively titled Clonelord, but which I’m referring to as Novel 1. I can’t really say much about what it’s about, save that it’s building on some of the subplots of the first volume, in ways that very few readers will likely expect. The first draft is due around the end of March, so I’ll be aiming to knock out the first third of it by the end of January, if possible.

And that’s it for this week. Though, if you’re of a mind, I’d ask you to check out my new e-short, “A Trick of the Light”, available to download from either the Black Library site, or straight from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.

A Trick of the Light

A new year, a new story. In this case, it’s a follow-up of sorts to the last story of last year, “The Art of Provocation”. In “A Trick of the Light”, Lukas is not yet the Trickster, but instead Lukas the aspirant, stumbling through the snows of Fenris, on the hunt for – and being hunted by – the murderous doppelgangrel…

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From the site:

A name lives in infamy amongst the Space Wolves of Fenris, not a foe but rather one of their own brotherhood, the Blood Claw, Lukas Strifeson. The Trickster. The Jackalwolf. He has ever been vainglorious, boastful and irreverent, even before his apotheosis to Sky Warrior. His quest for the Canis Helix takes Lukas deep into the ice of Fenris where krakens and bone-numbing cold await. Of all the hazards the death world has to offer, none are as deadly as the fabled doppelgangrel. Fate smiles poorly on Lukas when the beast gains his scent and his true trial to become a Space Wolf begins…

Well, I did say there’d be more, didn’t I? That aside, anyone expecting as many laughs as “The Art of Provocation” will likely be disappointed. Not to say there’s not some humour in “A Trick of the Light”, but it’s a bleaker sort. Gallows humour, you might say.

One of the questions I’ve always had about Lukas is exactly how and why such an individual came to be chosen to join the Space Wolves. Was it luck? Or was there some other purpose at work? And why is Lukas the way he is? I’m not promising any answers, mind, but it was fun to explore the character and his place in the setting.

Of course, there was always one other question that bugged me: how exactly did Lukas come to get one of his hearts carved out by the famed dark eldar corsair known as Duke Sliscus? How did that go down, exactly?

Somebody should write a book about that.

Anyway, “A Trick of the Light” is available to download now from the Black Library site. Why not check it out? And if you enjoy it, and want more Lukas in your life, why not download and listen to “The Art of Provocation”?

State of the Union

As 2016 kicks its last, 2017 circles the dimming fire, yellow eyes alight with eagerness. It’s hungry, this new year. Ready to pick the bones of the old, and yours as well, if you let it. I suggest avoiding that, if at all possible.

Anyway, here’s how I handled 2016. And how I’m planning to handle 2017.

I’ve accomplished a lot this year, relatively speaking. I wrote six books, of which four were 100,000 + words. I wrote three novellas of 30,000 + words. And I managed to sell around a dozen short stories of varying lengths and genres.

I already have contracts in hand for three novels next year, one of which is for an intellectual property I’ve never worked on, and one of which is a sequel. I’m also committed to writing a script, as well as three short stories. I’m in that grace period that relatively few writers ever get, when I know exactly where my next few pay cheques are coming from. I’m not going to lie – it’s a nice feeling.

This year also saw a significant uptick in my royalties, which is swell. Royalties are more than just money – in a way, they’re also a sign of your progress as a writer. More royalties equals more books sold equals more commissions. And more commissions means I can look forward to paying my bills and, y’know, eating.

Unfortunately, this is the year my organisational skills took a nosedive, mostly due to non-work related stuff. I started the year off badly burned out, both creatively and mentally. I forced myself to start and maintain a new posting schedule here, but everything else slipped right down the chute. As the year progressed, I attempted to streamline a lot of things – the Royal Occultist site, for instance. Not always successfully, but I’ve come to regard such things as a work in progress.

I also ran afoul of that old publishing bugbear, the delayed schedule, more so this year than any other. Several projects of mine, or projects which I contributed to, were either unavoidably delayed or, for all intents and purposes, derailed completely. This has led me to reconsider the way I’ve been doing some things, as well as who I choose to work with in the future. I haven’t burned any bridges, because I might very well like to amble back across them, sometime in the future. But I am trimming down my list of who and what to make time for in my schedule.

For the year to come, I’m hoping to make progress with my streamlining efforts – keeping everything updated and humming along, with no unscheduled breaks. I also need to work on my promotional efforts, as I have an increasing tendency to forget when and where I have stuff coming out. This might be a side effect of having more of said stuff coming out, or me just being a lazy cuss. Either is possible.

I’m also contemplating going off-grid, somewhat. I’ve been toying with the idea of starting up a Patreon account this year – all the cool kids have them, and it’d be an interesting experiment, if nothing else. It’d be for short stories, mostly, but maybe novels (or snippets of works in progress) as well, depending on how certain things shake out over the coming year. That said, nothing is certain, and I reserve the right to decide that I can’t be bothered with it.

That pretty much goes for all of the above, by the way. I reserve the right to decide that I can’t bother with 2017 in general. Maybe put it off until 2018.

In any event, here’s a song it seems somehow appropriate to close out the year with. Does to me, anyway. Your mileage, as always, may vary. See you next year.

Like the Song Says…

Christmas Bells

It wouldn’t be Christmas around here without a showing from the Royal Occultist. This year, rather than a free story, I’ve gone one better. The long promised audio version of “Iron Bells”, as performed by Richard Gough-Thomas (Charles St. Cyprian) and Ruth Narramore (Ebe Gallowglass) has finally arrived, just in time for some holiday listening.

You can listen to “The Royal Occultist: Iron Bells” below, or download it, as well as the previous audio adventure, “The Royal Occultist: Case Files”, for free from https://royaloccultist.bandcamp.com/ You can also drop a bit of money, if you like, which is always appreciated these days.

And if you’re still in the mood for some horrific holiday tales, why not check out the free-to-download digital collection, The Royal Occultist: Haunted Holidays? It includes several fan-favourite stories, including “Krampusnacht” and “The Dreaming Dead”, as well as a wonderfully pulpy cover by MD Jackson.

Space Wolf Wednesday

The fourth and final of my contributions to this year’s Black Library Advent Calendar, “The Art of Provocation”, is now available to download, if you’re looking for something to listen to this holiday weekend. It’s the first of several things I’ve written – or will be writing – featuring the irrepressible Space Wolf, Lukas the Trickster.[image error] From the blurb:

Amongst the Space Wolves, the name of Lukas the Trickster is as much a curse as anything in the old tongues of Fenris. Named Jackalwolf by his masters, none of whom wish his dubious fealty, he now plays a dangerous game with the hordes of orks massing on Polix Tertius. Risking the ire of Wolf Lord Kjarl Grimblood, as well as the blades of his xenos foes, he turns his attentions to the planetary vox-communications network, and begins to broadcast…

As mentioned above, this is the first of several things I’ve written (or will be writing) with Lukas the Trickster, some of which will hopefully appear in the coming year. I can’t say much more about it, other than that Lukas is a character I’ve looked forward to writing for quite awhile. Like Fabius Bile, he stands in contrast to his peers – Lukas is a burden, blessing, a curse and a test to his fellow Space Wolves. He’s simultaneously the best and worst individual ever to be gifted with the Canis Helix.

Hopefully, you’ll enjoy listening to this audio as much as I enjoyed writing it. It was a bit of a challenge to juggle the story elements, but I’m pretty pleased by the result – especially as performed by John Banks, Jonathan Keeble and Toby Longworth. Because those guys could make a grocery list sound awesome.

“The Art of Provocation” is available as an MP3 download from Black Library. And be sure to check out the rest of this year’s Advent offerings, including “Road of Blades”, “Prodigal” and “Doc Morgrim’s Vow”.

Oh, and if you’re counting, this marks another notch on my ‘First Founding Loyalist Space Marines’ checklist. So far, I’ve written about White Scars, Blood Angels, Imperial Fists, Ultramarines and now, Space Wolves. That just leaves Dark Angels, Iron Hands, Salamanders and Raven Guard.

One Hundred Woes

The third of my four contributions to this year’s Black Library Advent Calendar, “Doc Morgrim’s Vow”, is now available to download, if you’re looking for some grisly gridiron action. It’s a sequel to my previous Blood Bowl story, “Manglers Never Lose”, and though you don’t need to read one to enjoy the other, I encourage you to do so. Mostly because if they sell well, I might get to write more of them.

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From the blurb:

Having sworn an oath and despite his misgivings, Doc Morgrim is returning to Norsca and the hold of Krakadrak to take part in the Tournament of a Hundred Woes. His Blood Bowl team, the Middenplatz Manglers, must prove their mettle against The Dragon’s Hold Drakeslayers in a game where victory will not only determine the spoils but something much more important to Morgrim… his freedom!

As mentioned above, “Doc Morgrim’s Vow” is a sequel to “Manglers Never Lose”. The Middenplatz Manglers (both living and dead) and their semi-psychotic coach, Tyros Bundt, head to snowy Norsca to try and wrest the Angry Dragon Cup from its current possessors, the Dragon’s Hold Drakeslayers. Unfortunately, as is the norm in Blood Bowl, complications arise in the form of – well, buy the story and find out.

Like “Manglers Never Lose”, this was a lot of fun to write. More fun than I expected, really. I’ve become quite attached to the Manglers, and hope to write more about them in the future. Who knows – I might even pitch a book…

“Doc Morgrim’s Vow” is available to download from Black Library. And be sure to check out the rest of this year’s Advent offerings, including “Road of Blades” and “Prodigal”.

Death’s Due

And so, we come to it. A hat. A handful of names. Destiny fulfilled. Or, rather, a book being shipped out to someplace hopefully local.

Anyway, in the interests of fairness, we’re going to document this step-by-step. I apologise in advance for my poor photography skills.

First, the hat:

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Second, the names:

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And the winner is…

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Hunh. No, that’s not right. Let’s try this again. And the winner is…

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Son of a…no. Third time lucky! Let’s do this! And the winna and still champeen is…

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GOD DAMN IT MANNFRED.

Nope. Nope, nope, nope. Fourth round! Let’s get it right. And the actual winner is…

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BEN CAWKWELL. Look at that. An actual human being.

And that’s that. Congratulations Ben, you win yourself a signed copy of Nagash: The Undying King, which I will bundle in the post, post-haste.

I want to thank Mike Wang, Andy Maddison and the rest of the entrants for their donations. And as a special thank you, I’ll be dedicating my next few books, starting with Eight Lamentations: Spear of Shadows, to you guys. Not quite as good as a free book in the post, I know, but you get your name in a book, and I hear folks enjoy that.

And, I encourage you to donate to your local RSPCA or animal shelter this holiday season, if you’re able. You could also donate to other volunteer organisations like Cat Jazz Rescue, which are badly in need of funds.

Really, any charity, honestly, especially these days. Even if it means you buy one less book of mine.

And be sure to take to heart the words of the Undying King this holiday season…

Death is not a foe to be beaten.

Death simply is.

Happy Nagash-mas folks.

On the Eighth Day of Nagash…

There’s just one more day to earn a chance to win a signed copy of Nagash: The Undying King. I’ll be drawing a name from the hat tomorrow evening, and announcing the winner on Wednesday, so you have until midnight tomorrow night.

The Sheffield branch of the RSPCA does a lot of good work, and all of their funds are raised locally, through donations and charitable events. The centre costs around £2000 a day to run, and that ain’t small potatoes. Every little bit helps, folks. To those of you who’ve donated already – thanks, guys.

Too, how often can you say you got your hands on one of Black Library’s swanky limited editions for the low price of £5.00?  Outside of ebay, I mean. If you can give, great. If not, maybe retweet, reblog or share this post. Whatever gets the word out.

Oh, and Merry Christmas.

Prodigal Child

The second of my four contributions to this year’s Black Library Advent Calendar, “Prodigal”, is now available to download, if you’re looking for something to read. It’s a Fabius Bile story, and something of a prequel to Fabius Bile: Primogenitor, though you don’t need to read one to enjoy the other.

From the blurb:

When Fabius Bile is attacked by daemons aboard his frigate Vesalius, he is surprised to be rescued by an old friend, one of his very first experiments. It has ever been the Apothecary’s desire to improve mankind, to render them hardy enough to endure in a galaxy of pain and war. Such desires have often led to abominations created by Bile’s own hand, and enemies too numerous to list. This creation, Melusine, though ostensibly an ally, bears a cryptic message, one that could bode ill or well for her Progenitor…

“Prodigal”, like the other Fabius Bile short stories, “A Memory of Tharsis” and “The Howling Ship”, explores a throwaway line from Primogenitor. Too, like “A Memory of Tharsis”, it’s a more introspective piece, with Fabius ruminating on his life and work, as well as the nature of his quest, when he is reunited with one of his creations, long thought lost to the vagaries of Eyespace.

Anyway, “Prodigal” is available to download from Black Library. And be sure to check out the rest of this year’s Advent offerings, including “Road of Blades”.