Jonathon Fletcher's Blog: Captain's Blog - Posts Tagged "writing"
The Captain's Blog welcomes: B R Crichton
Today the "Captain's Blog" welcomes B R Crichton. Here is a little about him...
B R: I was born in Zimbabwe in 1975, and I was very lucky to be educated there when the government schools were still well funded. I was always a good creative writer, but never really considered it as a career until I was at college in Dundee after moving to Scotland in 2002. I wrote a book called 'The Gift of Chaos', which I will never publish. I have heard it said that every writer should put at least one book in the bin before writing a proper one, and that is what I have unintentionally done. It was a useful exercise in clearing my mind of clutter, and I learned a lot about planning and story structure.
Now I live in Blairgowrie, Perthshire, with my lovely wife Lesley, children Sandy and Laura, and a third due in July (Third and last. Separate beds from now on!). There are also two half-witted, but very lovable Rhodesian Ridgebacks to guard the ol' homestead.
Jon: So tell me a little about the book you've written?
B R: It's a Fantasy novel. I would definitely call it low fantasy; which I have heard described as 'non-rational events occurring in a rational setting'. I suppose what that means is, there is a great deal in that world that is very similar to our own, although there are elements of the story that could not occur in reality. Like most writers, I write what I would like to read. I have tried to avoid too much in depth world creation that is quite prevalent in the fantasy genre, and also avoided delving too much into the history of the world in an effort to explain its current state. I have kept the pace brisk throughout, so, although it covers a lot of ground, it does not get bogged down in peripheral events.
The Rage Within is a complete story in its own right. That is to say, it has an ending that can be seen as such. However, life goes on, even fictitious lives, and so I am working on the first of a three book sequel at the moment. Readers can choose whether or not to follow the characters beyond the end of this first book without feeling obliged to because of loose ends.
Jon: Without spoilers, can you tell the readers what your story is about?
B R: "The Gods are dead. They are all but forgotten. One of their kind remains who has sworn to un-make all that his enemies created; but he has lost the ability to wield his power alone. He needs the anger of a mortal to unleash the destruction he craves, and Kellan Aemoran is more angry than most.
Having witnessed the murder of his family by a cruel Empire, Kellan is cast out into the world to fend for himself. A presence more powerful than anything seen since the age of the Gods has taken root in his soul, and is feeding on his rage.
With a band of mercenaries led by ‘Scurrilous’ Blunt, and an unlikely guide, Kellan must face his enemies in a land thrown into chaos; those enemies within as well as without. But he is a danger to all those he loves, and to save the world he must find a way to do the impossible…
Kill an immortal."
So there it is in a nutshell. Besides the protagonist, Kellan, I had a lot of fun with the mercenaries, and these are also important to the progression of the novel, and they have their own sub-plots within the main story. The people who have read it tell me that the mercenary leader, 'Scurrilous' Blunt was just an outlet for my own personality; and I find it hard to deny. For the majority of the book, the story unfolds in two parallel tales, one of Kellan's childhood, and the other his adulthood. This was a useful way to draw comparisons, and provide explanations for some of the events.
Jon: So would you describe your story as sword & sorcery, like Conan, or is it set in a contemporary "modern" world?
B R: Definitely more Conan, but not so much in the way of sorcery as such. I have avoided any overt magic, and have tried to be more subtle than magic wands and enchanted jewellery; not that there is anything wrong with that, I just wanted this book to be a little more grounded for reasons that become more apparent in the sequels. It is set in another world but has a very medieval feel to it.
Jon: How much did your life in Zimbabwe affect your writing, if at all?
B R: That's quite hard to answer since I have no idea what or if I would have written had I been brought up anywhere else. But, it must have had some sort of influence. Across much of Africa, the very worst of human excesses go on unchecked and in plain view, to a far greater degree than the UK, Western Europe or North America. The wealthiest Africans make Her Majesty look like a pauper, and the vast numbers of poor have no support whatsoever. Here in the UK, the worst our politicians can do is lie to us, and we have the ability to replace them. In many African countries today, the worst their leaders can do is declare them and enemy of the state, and have them, their family, village or tribe killed. It happens far more than is reported in our press. Despite all of this, it is a place of incredible energy and optimism, with the overwhelming majority of people simply trying to go about their lives like anywhere else. So perhaps that is the greatest influence; seeing the strength of the human spirit shine through against a backdrop of injustice and a legacy of hatred.
Jon: Was it a culture shock moving to Scotland?
B R: I had been to the UK a couple of times to visit my grandparents (My father was born just outside Dundee), so I knew what to expect. And yes, the weather in Zimbabwe is great. But you can have too much of a good thing; the temperature seldom drops below 20 degrees Celsius, and long before that the locals are reaching for their jumpers! Drought and water rationing are the by-products of all that sun though.
Jon: What made you move over here?
B R: Itchy feet. I really wanted to experience something new. Dundee was the obvious choice because of my family connections.
Jon: Anger seems to play a large part in your story. How much of that comes from you?
B R: Grrr! What are you saying? Probably more than I would like to admit. But then, it's a very human response to adversity; look for someone to blame and smite them! I'm more grumpy than angry though. Mostly.
Jon: If you could be an immortal god, what would you be the god of and what would be your special power?
B R: That's a tricky one. Perhaps the God of weather would be fun. I could favour those who please me with fine barbecue weather every weekend, but those who earn my wrath could have horizontal rain instead. (Just when they get the fire lit!) Either that or the God of something really trivial. That way, I wouldn't have to go in to work every day, and just go fishing instead.
Jon: So you're about to sit down to write. What three things must you have or do before touching the keyboard?
B R: Peace, a packet of Haribo Tangfastics or Starmix, and a good strong cup of tea!
Jon: If you had to compare your book to another work, be it a book, film, or TV show, what would that be?
B R: Mmmmm. Tough one. It's not easy comparing your work to something from an established talent without sounding cocky, but if Robert Jordan and Joe Abercrombie had a lovechild (and let's face it, that's a little unlikely), with David and Leigh Eddings as the Godparents, then that lovechild would probably write something like 'The Rage Within'.
Jon: What do you like to read? What's the best book you've read and the worst?
B R: Lately I've been reading a lot more Science Fiction than Fantasy. I avidly follow Neal Asher, Richard Morgan and Alastair Reynolds. The great Iain M Banks sadly died during this interview, but his novel 'Use of Weapons' is probably the one book I would recommend to someone if they were only going to read one Scifi book in their life. Peter Brett's Demon cycle has me hooked as well at the moment.
Best book? 'Use of Weapons' or if I'm allowed a series, 'The Dragonlance Chronicles', by Weis and Hickman; its what really got me into fantasy.
Worst book? I had to read 'To Kill a Mockingbird' for my Higher English exam, and just couldn't get into it. It can't be a bad book, it's far too popular, but it just wasn't for me. Probably being told that I had to like it because it was a classic didn't help.
Jon: If you could have any other fictional character guest star in your stories, who or what would it be?
B R: Rowley Birkin QC from 'The Fast Show' could perhaps make an appearance in a village inn to lighten the atmosphere. Anyone who hasn't seen him should look him up on youtube; one of the best characters in television.
Jon: If there was a piece of music that would be suitable as the theme tune for your book, what is it!
B R: Ah. Beethoven's 9th Symphony. An epic piece with every emotion packed in, and an ending to blow your socks off.
Jon: Anything you'd like to add or tell your prospective readers?
B R: I didn't set out to change the world with this book. It was written to entertain; pure and simple.
Jon: And now for a wonderful excerpt from Bruce's book...
Then Kellan heard voices from up the slope. They were searching for him. He rose quickly and ran again, glancing over his shoulder from time to time, listening for his pursuers. Suddenly he crashed into a pile of branches, sending him sprawling on the damp, rocky ground.
He slowly looked up, and to his horror saw feet, dangling not a hand's width from his face. Every fibre of his being urged him not to look up, to run blindly away, but before he could stop himself he had raised his head.
He screamed. Before him, hanging from a bough, was his father. Face swollen and purple, eyes glazed. And then, like hammer blows, one by one he saw the other five victims, scattered about the edges of the small clearing, tongues bulging from between purple lips. He scratched at his face, trying to erase the images, but his father’s lifeless eyes glared through his frantic hands.
Gagging on the bile that filled his throat, he tore himself away from that place and ran, stumbled, crawled across the stones and dust. Horrors clawed at his back no matter how quickly he went, always just a hair’s breadth from tearing him down and devouring his mind. The back of his neck burned as he plunged on down the mountainside, too terrified to look back. Then his terror was joined by something more powerful.
He felt something terrible rise within him; a horrifying, yet welcome release from the visions that filled his mind. Even as he stumbled on down the slope, he felt a furnace of rage start to burn in the pit of his belly, and a roaring in his ears cut out the sounds of snapping branches and stones sent tumbling down the steep slope. He felt no pain when he tumbled and skidded on the sharp rocks, was barely aware of his surroundings at all, only the volcano building in his core.
On he ran down the mountainside, not caring where he was going, only away. Away from the memory of his mother’s death, his father’s dangling corpse. Away from blood, and swollen faces; headless bodies; terror. Unaware of passing time or distance he plunged on, fuelled by anger, giving himself freely to it, offering his soul to the rage within so that it could scour those images from his mind. He did not care if his being was swept away with it, so long as it took those awful memories and gave him peace, or oblivion.
He fell; weightless in free-fall for blessed seconds before hitting the icy river. The shock smashed away the muzzy walls that had almost shut him from the world outside, forcing him back to reality. Rage shattered like glass, giving way once again to fear, and despair as the foaming waters whisked him down rapid after rapid, tossing him, plunging him, dragging him down before throwing him up for a brief staccato gasp of air, then on down the torrent.
Then into free-fall once more, the roar of the waterfall echoing round the steep sided valley, but in those moments in space, a calm fell upon him. A perfect stillness. Detached as he was from the world, those blessed seconds freed him from his pain, both from the overwhelming sense of loss he felt, and from the damage to his battered body. The world was an arm’s length away, and rushing beside him as he began the calm slide downwards. Here in this place, above the water with its icy needles, below the jagged peaks with stones that cut flesh, he was untouchable, and utterly, utterly safe. He was in the womb, wrapped in soft torpor, the only sound, that of his mother’s heart. It had time to beat twice.
Then into the depths once more.
This time with no more fight to give.
www.brcrichton.com
Jon: A big thank you to B R Crichton for spending the time to talk to me about his writing.
Source: Uploaded by user via Jonathon on Pinterest
B R: I was born in Zimbabwe in 1975, and I was very lucky to be educated there when the government schools were still well funded. I was always a good creative writer, but never really considered it as a career until I was at college in Dundee after moving to Scotland in 2002. I wrote a book called 'The Gift of Chaos', which I will never publish. I have heard it said that every writer should put at least one book in the bin before writing a proper one, and that is what I have unintentionally done. It was a useful exercise in clearing my mind of clutter, and I learned a lot about planning and story structure.
Now I live in Blairgowrie, Perthshire, with my lovely wife Lesley, children Sandy and Laura, and a third due in July (Third and last. Separate beds from now on!). There are also two half-witted, but very lovable Rhodesian Ridgebacks to guard the ol' homestead.
Jon: So tell me a little about the book you've written?
B R: It's a Fantasy novel. I would definitely call it low fantasy; which I have heard described as 'non-rational events occurring in a rational setting'. I suppose what that means is, there is a great deal in that world that is very similar to our own, although there are elements of the story that could not occur in reality. Like most writers, I write what I would like to read. I have tried to avoid too much in depth world creation that is quite prevalent in the fantasy genre, and also avoided delving too much into the history of the world in an effort to explain its current state. I have kept the pace brisk throughout, so, although it covers a lot of ground, it does not get bogged down in peripheral events.
The Rage Within is a complete story in its own right. That is to say, it has an ending that can be seen as such. However, life goes on, even fictitious lives, and so I am working on the first of a three book sequel at the moment. Readers can choose whether or not to follow the characters beyond the end of this first book without feeling obliged to because of loose ends.
Source: Uploaded by user via Jonathon on Pinterest
Jon: Without spoilers, can you tell the readers what your story is about?
B R: "The Gods are dead. They are all but forgotten. One of their kind remains who has sworn to un-make all that his enemies created; but he has lost the ability to wield his power alone. He needs the anger of a mortal to unleash the destruction he craves, and Kellan Aemoran is more angry than most.
Having witnessed the murder of his family by a cruel Empire, Kellan is cast out into the world to fend for himself. A presence more powerful than anything seen since the age of the Gods has taken root in his soul, and is feeding on his rage.
With a band of mercenaries led by ‘Scurrilous’ Blunt, and an unlikely guide, Kellan must face his enemies in a land thrown into chaos; those enemies within as well as without. But he is a danger to all those he loves, and to save the world he must find a way to do the impossible…
Kill an immortal."
So there it is in a nutshell. Besides the protagonist, Kellan, I had a lot of fun with the mercenaries, and these are also important to the progression of the novel, and they have their own sub-plots within the main story. The people who have read it tell me that the mercenary leader, 'Scurrilous' Blunt was just an outlet for my own personality; and I find it hard to deny. For the majority of the book, the story unfolds in two parallel tales, one of Kellan's childhood, and the other his adulthood. This was a useful way to draw comparisons, and provide explanations for some of the events.
Jon: So would you describe your story as sword & sorcery, like Conan, or is it set in a contemporary "modern" world?
B R: Definitely more Conan, but not so much in the way of sorcery as such. I have avoided any overt magic, and have tried to be more subtle than magic wands and enchanted jewellery; not that there is anything wrong with that, I just wanted this book to be a little more grounded for reasons that become more apparent in the sequels. It is set in another world but has a very medieval feel to it.
Jon: How much did your life in Zimbabwe affect your writing, if at all?
B R: That's quite hard to answer since I have no idea what or if I would have written had I been brought up anywhere else. But, it must have had some sort of influence. Across much of Africa, the very worst of human excesses go on unchecked and in plain view, to a far greater degree than the UK, Western Europe or North America. The wealthiest Africans make Her Majesty look like a pauper, and the vast numbers of poor have no support whatsoever. Here in the UK, the worst our politicians can do is lie to us, and we have the ability to replace them. In many African countries today, the worst their leaders can do is declare them and enemy of the state, and have them, their family, village or tribe killed. It happens far more than is reported in our press. Despite all of this, it is a place of incredible energy and optimism, with the overwhelming majority of people simply trying to go about their lives like anywhere else. So perhaps that is the greatest influence; seeing the strength of the human spirit shine through against a backdrop of injustice and a legacy of hatred.
Jon: Was it a culture shock moving to Scotland?
B R: I had been to the UK a couple of times to visit my grandparents (My father was born just outside Dundee), so I knew what to expect. And yes, the weather in Zimbabwe is great. But you can have too much of a good thing; the temperature seldom drops below 20 degrees Celsius, and long before that the locals are reaching for their jumpers! Drought and water rationing are the by-products of all that sun though.
Jon: What made you move over here?
B R: Itchy feet. I really wanted to experience something new. Dundee was the obvious choice because of my family connections.
Jon: Anger seems to play a large part in your story. How much of that comes from you?
B R: Grrr! What are you saying? Probably more than I would like to admit. But then, it's a very human response to adversity; look for someone to blame and smite them! I'm more grumpy than angry though. Mostly.
Jon: If you could be an immortal god, what would you be the god of and what would be your special power?
B R: That's a tricky one. Perhaps the God of weather would be fun. I could favour those who please me with fine barbecue weather every weekend, but those who earn my wrath could have horizontal rain instead. (Just when they get the fire lit!) Either that or the God of something really trivial. That way, I wouldn't have to go in to work every day, and just go fishing instead.
Jon: So you're about to sit down to write. What three things must you have or do before touching the keyboard?
B R: Peace, a packet of Haribo Tangfastics or Starmix, and a good strong cup of tea!
Jon: If you had to compare your book to another work, be it a book, film, or TV show, what would that be?
B R: Mmmmm. Tough one. It's not easy comparing your work to something from an established talent without sounding cocky, but if Robert Jordan and Joe Abercrombie had a lovechild (and let's face it, that's a little unlikely), with David and Leigh Eddings as the Godparents, then that lovechild would probably write something like 'The Rage Within'.
Jon: What do you like to read? What's the best book you've read and the worst?
B R: Lately I've been reading a lot more Science Fiction than Fantasy. I avidly follow Neal Asher, Richard Morgan and Alastair Reynolds. The great Iain M Banks sadly died during this interview, but his novel 'Use of Weapons' is probably the one book I would recommend to someone if they were only going to read one Scifi book in their life. Peter Brett's Demon cycle has me hooked as well at the moment.
Best book? 'Use of Weapons' or if I'm allowed a series, 'The Dragonlance Chronicles', by Weis and Hickman; its what really got me into fantasy.
Worst book? I had to read 'To Kill a Mockingbird' for my Higher English exam, and just couldn't get into it. It can't be a bad book, it's far too popular, but it just wasn't for me. Probably being told that I had to like it because it was a classic didn't help.
Jon: If you could have any other fictional character guest star in your stories, who or what would it be?
B R: Rowley Birkin QC from 'The Fast Show' could perhaps make an appearance in a village inn to lighten the atmosphere. Anyone who hasn't seen him should look him up on youtube; one of the best characters in television.
Jon: If there was a piece of music that would be suitable as the theme tune for your book, what is it!
B R: Ah. Beethoven's 9th Symphony. An epic piece with every emotion packed in, and an ending to blow your socks off.
Jon: Anything you'd like to add or tell your prospective readers?
B R: I didn't set out to change the world with this book. It was written to entertain; pure and simple.
Jon: And now for a wonderful excerpt from Bruce's book...
Then Kellan heard voices from up the slope. They were searching for him. He rose quickly and ran again, glancing over his shoulder from time to time, listening for his pursuers. Suddenly he crashed into a pile of branches, sending him sprawling on the damp, rocky ground.
He slowly looked up, and to his horror saw feet, dangling not a hand's width from his face. Every fibre of his being urged him not to look up, to run blindly away, but before he could stop himself he had raised his head.
He screamed. Before him, hanging from a bough, was his father. Face swollen and purple, eyes glazed. And then, like hammer blows, one by one he saw the other five victims, scattered about the edges of the small clearing, tongues bulging from between purple lips. He scratched at his face, trying to erase the images, but his father’s lifeless eyes glared through his frantic hands.
Gagging on the bile that filled his throat, he tore himself away from that place and ran, stumbled, crawled across the stones and dust. Horrors clawed at his back no matter how quickly he went, always just a hair’s breadth from tearing him down and devouring his mind. The back of his neck burned as he plunged on down the mountainside, too terrified to look back. Then his terror was joined by something more powerful.
He felt something terrible rise within him; a horrifying, yet welcome release from the visions that filled his mind. Even as he stumbled on down the slope, he felt a furnace of rage start to burn in the pit of his belly, and a roaring in his ears cut out the sounds of snapping branches and stones sent tumbling down the steep slope. He felt no pain when he tumbled and skidded on the sharp rocks, was barely aware of his surroundings at all, only the volcano building in his core.
On he ran down the mountainside, not caring where he was going, only away. Away from the memory of his mother’s death, his father’s dangling corpse. Away from blood, and swollen faces; headless bodies; terror. Unaware of passing time or distance he plunged on, fuelled by anger, giving himself freely to it, offering his soul to the rage within so that it could scour those images from his mind. He did not care if his being was swept away with it, so long as it took those awful memories and gave him peace, or oblivion.
He fell; weightless in free-fall for blessed seconds before hitting the icy river. The shock smashed away the muzzy walls that had almost shut him from the world outside, forcing him back to reality. Rage shattered like glass, giving way once again to fear, and despair as the foaming waters whisked him down rapid after rapid, tossing him, plunging him, dragging him down before throwing him up for a brief staccato gasp of air, then on down the torrent.
Then into free-fall once more, the roar of the waterfall echoing round the steep sided valley, but in those moments in space, a calm fell upon him. A perfect stillness. Detached as he was from the world, those blessed seconds freed him from his pain, both from the overwhelming sense of loss he felt, and from the damage to his battered body. The world was an arm’s length away, and rushing beside him as he began the calm slide downwards. Here in this place, above the water with its icy needles, below the jagged peaks with stones that cut flesh, he was untouchable, and utterly, utterly safe. He was in the womb, wrapped in soft torpor, the only sound, that of his mother’s heart. It had time to beat twice.
Then into the depths once more.
This time with no more fight to give.
www.brcrichton.com
Jon: A big thank you to B R Crichton for spending the time to talk to me about his writing.
The Captain's Blog welcomes: Claudia Burgoa...
This week I have an extract for you from Claudia Burgoa's debut novel, "Where Life Takes You", which will be available at the end of July 2013...
Facing Connor hadn’t killed me. Confronting Lisa wouldn’t be a mortal blow either –only painful.
I got home fast, but didn’t go in for almost half hour. My purse had eaten the keycard to my floor. And I really didn’t want to ask the doorman to swipe his for me. Again. The landlord needed to change the system and implement a passcode. I would’ve bet my brain wouldn’t lost it in my purse or forgotten in the apartment.
When I opened my door, I heard a voice. Dan leaving a message.
“Pick up, you can make it… Run, princess,” he encouraged me like a little kid. “Bex, the outside camera caught your car entering the building a half hour ago. You swiped the elevator key five minutes ago. I timed my call… answer. And I think your cell ran out of battery again. Come on, Babe.”
“Don’t call me Babe,” I growled when I picked the receiver. “You make me sound like one of your cheap dates.”
“No, you’re not a cheap date, Bex. I didn’t mean to upset you, Bex. But you picked up the phone. Why weren’t you home? It’s Sunday.”
I vaguely explained my journal expedition, with Connor’s encounter excluded. I lied by omission but I hated worrying him. For the past few years, he’d been my best and only true friend. We’d became each other’s family. When he traveled –which was often– I missed him every moment. It wasn’t worth it upset him while he was away.
He asked me to grab my iPad so we could Facetime or Skype. Though I cherished those moments with him and loved to see him, but I declined. “I forgot to charge it yesterday, after our long conversation.” He accompanied me on the phone while I prepared myself a sandwich and pulled out some chocolate cookies from the jar. My fake yawns finally caught his attention and we said our goodbyes we didn’t lie to each other. Dan knew me so well the truth of how crappy I felt would come out.
“Good luck with your journal.” Dan’s reminder made me want to cry. “Are you sure you don’t want to connect? We can talk until you fall asleep.”
Goodnight, Dan”
*****
Dear Lisa,
Where shall I start? We never talked, yet I’m expected to communicate with you through a piece of paper and some ink. Will a simple letter give me closure? You ruined me
Funny thing, I saw Connor today. Remember him? He has a son, Ryan, who called me Aunt Becca. Cute little boy. You would’ve made sure to inform the boy we weren’t related wouldn’t you? Destroying my life was always your favorite hobby. I should’ve told everyone about your life. I wish for so many things, but there isn’t a magic lamp, a wishing well or a genie around to fix everything. It’s too late.
I have so many wishes, but perhaps I could undo the curse you cast over me with only one I wish your father never met my mother. Or if he did, that he’d dump her like my Dad did. Then he wouldn’t have brought you with him. Your brother wasn’t a problem, until your little finale. He’s few appearances were manageable –except the last one. Actually, he hated your father and couldn’t handle you. Wonder why?
You didn’t like Mom, yet within months of the wedding you became the daughter she’d always dreamt of. The one she took to the spa, went shopping with and did all those other MAD activities. The first summer was endurable, but after you took over the entire school, living with you became unbearable. You were the bombshell that hit Highlander High School by surprise. No one stood a chance, not even him.
In the beginning, Ian understood me, but slowly you took over and by the time I noticed, you’d infected him. Why did you snatch my life… my happy ending? I’m glad the martyr act dropped when your condition came to light. Mom might not talk to me, but everyone knew the real you at the end.
Are Satan and you best friends yet?
Rebecca Trent
http://www.claudiayburgoa.com/
Thanks to Claudia for sharing this marvellous extract from her forthcoming book...
Source: Uploaded by user via Jonathon on Pinterest
Facing Connor hadn’t killed me. Confronting Lisa wouldn’t be a mortal blow either –only painful.
I got home fast, but didn’t go in for almost half hour. My purse had eaten the keycard to my floor. And I really didn’t want to ask the doorman to swipe his for me. Again. The landlord needed to change the system and implement a passcode. I would’ve bet my brain wouldn’t lost it in my purse or forgotten in the apartment.
When I opened my door, I heard a voice. Dan leaving a message.
“Pick up, you can make it… Run, princess,” he encouraged me like a little kid. “Bex, the outside camera caught your car entering the building a half hour ago. You swiped the elevator key five minutes ago. I timed my call… answer. And I think your cell ran out of battery again. Come on, Babe.”
“Don’t call me Babe,” I growled when I picked the receiver. “You make me sound like one of your cheap dates.”
“No, you’re not a cheap date, Bex. I didn’t mean to upset you, Bex. But you picked up the phone. Why weren’t you home? It’s Sunday.”
I vaguely explained my journal expedition, with Connor’s encounter excluded. I lied by omission but I hated worrying him. For the past few years, he’d been my best and only true friend. We’d became each other’s family. When he traveled –which was often– I missed him every moment. It wasn’t worth it upset him while he was away.
He asked me to grab my iPad so we could Facetime or Skype. Though I cherished those moments with him and loved to see him, but I declined. “I forgot to charge it yesterday, after our long conversation.” He accompanied me on the phone while I prepared myself a sandwich and pulled out some chocolate cookies from the jar. My fake yawns finally caught his attention and we said our goodbyes we didn’t lie to each other. Dan knew me so well the truth of how crappy I felt would come out.
“Good luck with your journal.” Dan’s reminder made me want to cry. “Are you sure you don’t want to connect? We can talk until you fall asleep.”
Goodnight, Dan”
*****
Dear Lisa,
Where shall I start? We never talked, yet I’m expected to communicate with you through a piece of paper and some ink. Will a simple letter give me closure? You ruined me
Funny thing, I saw Connor today. Remember him? He has a son, Ryan, who called me Aunt Becca. Cute little boy. You would’ve made sure to inform the boy we weren’t related wouldn’t you? Destroying my life was always your favorite hobby. I should’ve told everyone about your life. I wish for so many things, but there isn’t a magic lamp, a wishing well or a genie around to fix everything. It’s too late.
I have so many wishes, but perhaps I could undo the curse you cast over me with only one I wish your father never met my mother. Or if he did, that he’d dump her like my Dad did. Then he wouldn’t have brought you with him. Your brother wasn’t a problem, until your little finale. He’s few appearances were manageable –except the last one. Actually, he hated your father and couldn’t handle you. Wonder why?
You didn’t like Mom, yet within months of the wedding you became the daughter she’d always dreamt of. The one she took to the spa, went shopping with and did all those other MAD activities. The first summer was endurable, but after you took over the entire school, living with you became unbearable. You were the bombshell that hit Highlander High School by surprise. No one stood a chance, not even him.
In the beginning, Ian understood me, but slowly you took over and by the time I noticed, you’d infected him. Why did you snatch my life… my happy ending? I’m glad the martyr act dropped when your condition came to light. Mom might not talk to me, but everyone knew the real you at the end.
Are Satan and you best friends yet?
Rebecca Trent
http://www.claudiayburgoa.com/
Thanks to Claudia for sharing this marvellous extract from her forthcoming book...
The Captain's Blog proudly presents: How to format your Word document correctly for Kindle...
Today on the “Captain’s Blog”, I’m going to give you the basic tips on how to format your book in order to successfully publish on Amazon Kindle. If you’re anything like I was before I published for the first time, then you’ve probably written your book, most probably in Microsoft Word and are thinking “Right! What do I do next?”
Formatting your book is really difficult… the first time. You’ll almost certainly have done some of the formatting wrong and will have to re-edit the whole book.
DON’T PANIC!
It’s alright. Breathe slowly and I’ll get you through this. I had to completely re-edit the whole of my first book and take out every single tab and return. It took HOURS. But, when you have done this once, you’ll know for next time and the formatting will become second nature to you.
All of my advice in this blog is distilled from a wonderful FREE guide that you can download from Amazon called “Building Your Book for Kindle” by Kindle Direct Publishing. Here is the link:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Building-Your...
I heartily recommend that you get this book. It is helpful and detailed, but sometimes the instructions are a little hard to follow. That’s why I went through the whole guide and made my own notes. It is those notes that are the basis of this blog.
I’m assuming that being a writer, you have a reasonable grasp of Microsoft Word. The instructions below work for my, rather old version of Word (2002). You may have to experiment to find out how to do the same thing if you have a more recent version of Word or you are using another word processor.
Unless you’re including pictures inside your book, file size shouldn’t be a problem, but it must be kept less than 50 meg. I looked into adding pictures and on my first run, my brain melted, so I didn’t bother. I’ll leave it up to you to work that one out. I’m concentrating here on a purely text novel. Do NOT paste in images, it won’t work.
So, let’s begin…
1) Do NOT use tabs!
This is the biggest mistake. I made it and as mentioned above, I had to re-format my whole book. Instead of using tabs, you set the automatic first line indentation as follows:
Format > Paragraph > Indentation and Spacing > Indentation > Special > First Line 1.27cm (1 Inch)
This sets every first line in a new paragraph automatically to one inch, which gives a professional “book” look. The measurements are set in your preferences to either cm or inches. Do not forget however to remove the indentation at the very start of each new section within a chapter. Simply click before the first word of the new section and press backspace. This is a mistake that I see in a lot of indie books and it doesn’t look professional. Look at a print book and you’ll see no indent at the start of a chapter and each subsequent new section.
2) Do NOT use returns to put spaces in-between sections.
The way that a Kindle reader works means that it doesn’t recognise things like font size and returns. If you do use returns then the book might look wrong on a Kindle viewer. To insert a space between sections…
Format > Paragraph > Indents & Spacing > Spacing > After > 12pt.
I use 12pt to separate sections and 24pt after a Chapter heading. You can use whatever you wish. To make sure that you don’t have any errant returns hiding in your book…
View > Show Paragraph Marks (Tick ON)
This will show a mark wherever there is a return. If you’ve used the method above, there should be no marks.
3) No Headers or Footers (Like page numbers)
A reader of your book can set the font size to whatever they want. This means that there are no set page sizes. That in turn means that headers and footers generally don’t work and mess up the formatting. Don’t use them.
4) Do not use different font sizes.
Similarly as outlined above, different font sizes will not show properly on a Kindle because the reader can change the font size to whatever they want. Stick to one font size for the whole document. I use Times New Roman 12 Point, 1.5 Line Spaced.
5) Justify both sides.
This seems obvious, but it makes the final document look more like a book page.
6) Insert page breaks at the end of chapters.
Again quite obvious, but necessary to separate the chapters so that your “Table of Contents” navigator will work properly.
Insert > Break > Page Break
7) Chapter Titles.
This bit is VERY important. The look of your Chapter headings can be as you wish within reason. They should be the same font and size as the rest of the document. I usually centre mine and make them bold. I don’t use underlining, but that’s a personal preference.
In order for your Table of Contents to work properly, you need to tell the Word document that this is a Chapter Heading and not body text. There are other ways to do this in Word, but this is the simplest way and it works for me. Highlight the whole Chapter Heading with your mouse, then…
View > Toolbars > Outlining
With the Chapter Heading selected, change the text in the Outlining box from “Body Text” to “Level 1”. I know for a fact this works differently in later versions of Word, but it took me five minutes to find out how to do it. The main point is to make your Chapter Headings “Level 1” rather than “Body Text”, however you do it.
So that’s how to deal with the bulk of your novel. Now let’s talk briefly about the front end of the book. You should have the following pages right at the start AND in this order.
TITLE PAGE:
This should have the book title and authors name. They should be centred and I make mine bold and all caps too. Insert a page break after the author, just as at the end of each chapter.
COPYRIGHT PAGE:
Look at some other books to see what language they use and place something similar here. The free guide will help you. Again it should be centred. Page break afterwards.
DEDICATION:
“To my darling whatsit, this book is for you my dear because you are geet lush!” Centred: Page break after.
CONTENTS PAGE:
This is a bit trickier. To insert a Table of Contents (TOC) first create a page after the Dedication. Put the title “Table of Contents” at the top then a single return. Click underneath the title on the next line down.
Insert > References >Index & Tables > Table of Contents (Click on the Tab).
Set “Show Levels” to “1” and un-click “Show Page Numbers”
This will insert an automatic TOC with all the Chapter Headings that you made into “Level 1” earlier. If you don’t like the font or bold or justification, you can simply highlight the whole TOC and change it. If you need to change chapter titles, add or remove chapters at a later date, you’ll need to update the TOC. To do this simply click anywhere inside the TOC and press F9. You’ll see the whole TOC refresh.
Now you need to Bookmark the Table of Contents. This will enable readers to navigate straight back to the TOC from anywhere in the book and then skip to a chapter of their choice.
Highlight and select the page title “Table of Contents” at the top of the page with the mouse.
Insert > Bookmark > Type in “TOC” then click “Add”.
If you want to check that this works, scroll down to a later section of your book and then click…
Edit > Goto
A box comes up that enables you to navigate to bookmarks that you’ve inserted. Choose TOC and it should take you straight there. You can insert any bookmarks that you like, but I stick to just the TOC.
Your Cover:
According to the guide, your book cover artwork should be a JPEG which is 1000 x 1600 Pixels. I create all my covers as 2000 x 3200 Pixels at 300 dpi initially. Then I save a copy at half that size ready for upload. Try and stick to just the Title and Author on the cover. Too much text clutters up the cover, save that for the product description. Your cover should still be legible when zoomed down to a thumbnail, as most people will see it that way on Amazon.
Lastly, before you upload your book to Kindle:
Spell check AGAIN! Make sure you haven’t missed something obvious.
Double check the formatting. Check your TOC works and there are no tabs, returns etc. Go through EVERYTHING above.
Get someone else to proof read your book, preferably someone with language and grammar experience. My wife does mine and she is a qualified teacher. She is exceptional, but occasionally even she misses something. Don’t just rely on friend who may read the book for the story, but not bother to point out your mistakes.
Once all that is done, save the Word document as “Filtered HTML Document” or “Web Page Filtered” (depending on your version of Word). When the message pops up “Remove Office Tags?” click on yes.
Your book is now ready for Uploading! Hurrah!
Log onto http://kdp.amazon.com/
Click on “Sign In” and then once you’ve put in your e-mail and password click “Add New Title”.
Follow the instructions on screen. I won’t go into details here as the on screen instructions are pretty good and there is a very thorough help page.
When you’ve put in your book details, uploaded the book content and the cover, preview the book using the online Kindle pre-viewer. Review the front matter. Ensure the TOC links work for every chapter. This is laborious, but I go from the TOC to every chapter and then back again until I get to the last chapter. Check the Artwork looks okay. Close the pre-viewer.
Hit save and the website will take you onto the page where you decide the price for your book. Again, follow the on screen instructions and then hit “Save and Publish!” That’s it, you are now an author!
Now comes the hard part. You thought that writing the book was difficult? Next you have to promote it. I wish you all the best. Drop by Twitter and say hi if you have any further questions. @JonGardener
Good luck!
Jon.
Formatting your book is really difficult… the first time. You’ll almost certainly have done some of the formatting wrong and will have to re-edit the whole book.
DON’T PANIC!
It’s alright. Breathe slowly and I’ll get you through this. I had to completely re-edit the whole of my first book and take out every single tab and return. It took HOURS. But, when you have done this once, you’ll know for next time and the formatting will become second nature to you.
All of my advice in this blog is distilled from a wonderful FREE guide that you can download from Amazon called “Building Your Book for Kindle” by Kindle Direct Publishing. Here is the link:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Building-Your...
I heartily recommend that you get this book. It is helpful and detailed, but sometimes the instructions are a little hard to follow. That’s why I went through the whole guide and made my own notes. It is those notes that are the basis of this blog.
I’m assuming that being a writer, you have a reasonable grasp of Microsoft Word. The instructions below work for my, rather old version of Word (2002). You may have to experiment to find out how to do the same thing if you have a more recent version of Word or you are using another word processor.
Unless you’re including pictures inside your book, file size shouldn’t be a problem, but it must be kept less than 50 meg. I looked into adding pictures and on my first run, my brain melted, so I didn’t bother. I’ll leave it up to you to work that one out. I’m concentrating here on a purely text novel. Do NOT paste in images, it won’t work.
So, let’s begin…
1) Do NOT use tabs!
This is the biggest mistake. I made it and as mentioned above, I had to re-format my whole book. Instead of using tabs, you set the automatic first line indentation as follows:
Format > Paragraph > Indentation and Spacing > Indentation > Special > First Line 1.27cm (1 Inch)
This sets every first line in a new paragraph automatically to one inch, which gives a professional “book” look. The measurements are set in your preferences to either cm or inches. Do not forget however to remove the indentation at the very start of each new section within a chapter. Simply click before the first word of the new section and press backspace. This is a mistake that I see in a lot of indie books and it doesn’t look professional. Look at a print book and you’ll see no indent at the start of a chapter and each subsequent new section.
2) Do NOT use returns to put spaces in-between sections.
The way that a Kindle reader works means that it doesn’t recognise things like font size and returns. If you do use returns then the book might look wrong on a Kindle viewer. To insert a space between sections…
Format > Paragraph > Indents & Spacing > Spacing > After > 12pt.
I use 12pt to separate sections and 24pt after a Chapter heading. You can use whatever you wish. To make sure that you don’t have any errant returns hiding in your book…
View > Show Paragraph Marks (Tick ON)
This will show a mark wherever there is a return. If you’ve used the method above, there should be no marks.
3) No Headers or Footers (Like page numbers)
A reader of your book can set the font size to whatever they want. This means that there are no set page sizes. That in turn means that headers and footers generally don’t work and mess up the formatting. Don’t use them.
4) Do not use different font sizes.
Similarly as outlined above, different font sizes will not show properly on a Kindle because the reader can change the font size to whatever they want. Stick to one font size for the whole document. I use Times New Roman 12 Point, 1.5 Line Spaced.
5) Justify both sides.
This seems obvious, but it makes the final document look more like a book page.
6) Insert page breaks at the end of chapters.
Again quite obvious, but necessary to separate the chapters so that your “Table of Contents” navigator will work properly.
Insert > Break > Page Break
7) Chapter Titles.
This bit is VERY important. The look of your Chapter headings can be as you wish within reason. They should be the same font and size as the rest of the document. I usually centre mine and make them bold. I don’t use underlining, but that’s a personal preference.
In order for your Table of Contents to work properly, you need to tell the Word document that this is a Chapter Heading and not body text. There are other ways to do this in Word, but this is the simplest way and it works for me. Highlight the whole Chapter Heading with your mouse, then…
View > Toolbars > Outlining
With the Chapter Heading selected, change the text in the Outlining box from “Body Text” to “Level 1”. I know for a fact this works differently in later versions of Word, but it took me five minutes to find out how to do it. The main point is to make your Chapter Headings “Level 1” rather than “Body Text”, however you do it.
So that’s how to deal with the bulk of your novel. Now let’s talk briefly about the front end of the book. You should have the following pages right at the start AND in this order.
TITLE PAGE:
This should have the book title and authors name. They should be centred and I make mine bold and all caps too. Insert a page break after the author, just as at the end of each chapter.
COPYRIGHT PAGE:
Look at some other books to see what language they use and place something similar here. The free guide will help you. Again it should be centred. Page break afterwards.
DEDICATION:
“To my darling whatsit, this book is for you my dear because you are geet lush!” Centred: Page break after.
CONTENTS PAGE:
This is a bit trickier. To insert a Table of Contents (TOC) first create a page after the Dedication. Put the title “Table of Contents” at the top then a single return. Click underneath the title on the next line down.
Insert > References >Index & Tables > Table of Contents (Click on the Tab).
Set “Show Levels” to “1” and un-click “Show Page Numbers”
This will insert an automatic TOC with all the Chapter Headings that you made into “Level 1” earlier. If you don’t like the font or bold or justification, you can simply highlight the whole TOC and change it. If you need to change chapter titles, add or remove chapters at a later date, you’ll need to update the TOC. To do this simply click anywhere inside the TOC and press F9. You’ll see the whole TOC refresh.
Now you need to Bookmark the Table of Contents. This will enable readers to navigate straight back to the TOC from anywhere in the book and then skip to a chapter of their choice.
Highlight and select the page title “Table of Contents” at the top of the page with the mouse.
Insert > Bookmark > Type in “TOC” then click “Add”.
If you want to check that this works, scroll down to a later section of your book and then click…
Edit > Goto
A box comes up that enables you to navigate to bookmarks that you’ve inserted. Choose TOC and it should take you straight there. You can insert any bookmarks that you like, but I stick to just the TOC.
Your Cover:
According to the guide, your book cover artwork should be a JPEG which is 1000 x 1600 Pixels. I create all my covers as 2000 x 3200 Pixels at 300 dpi initially. Then I save a copy at half that size ready for upload. Try and stick to just the Title and Author on the cover. Too much text clutters up the cover, save that for the product description. Your cover should still be legible when zoomed down to a thumbnail, as most people will see it that way on Amazon.
Lastly, before you upload your book to Kindle:
Spell check AGAIN! Make sure you haven’t missed something obvious.
Double check the formatting. Check your TOC works and there are no tabs, returns etc. Go through EVERYTHING above.
Get someone else to proof read your book, preferably someone with language and grammar experience. My wife does mine and she is a qualified teacher. She is exceptional, but occasionally even she misses something. Don’t just rely on friend who may read the book for the story, but not bother to point out your mistakes.
Once all that is done, save the Word document as “Filtered HTML Document” or “Web Page Filtered” (depending on your version of Word). When the message pops up “Remove Office Tags?” click on yes.
Your book is now ready for Uploading! Hurrah!
Log onto http://kdp.amazon.com/
Click on “Sign In” and then once you’ve put in your e-mail and password click “Add New Title”.
Follow the instructions on screen. I won’t go into details here as the on screen instructions are pretty good and there is a very thorough help page.
When you’ve put in your book details, uploaded the book content and the cover, preview the book using the online Kindle pre-viewer. Review the front matter. Ensure the TOC links work for every chapter. This is laborious, but I go from the TOC to every chapter and then back again until I get to the last chapter. Check the Artwork looks okay. Close the pre-viewer.
Hit save and the website will take you onto the page where you decide the price for your book. Again, follow the on screen instructions and then hit “Save and Publish!” That’s it, you are now an author!
Now comes the hard part. You thought that writing the book was difficult? Next you have to promote it. I wish you all the best. Drop by Twitter and say hi if you have any further questions. @JonGardener
Good luck!
Jon.
The Captain's Blog: Blog Hop. My Writing Process
Today on the Captain's Blog I am participating in a blog hop. I was tagged by Jenny Burnley @JennyBurnley1. Her blog is here:
http://www.jennyburnley.co.uk/bloghop
I then tagged Michael Cairns @cairnswrites. His tagged blog is here:
http://cairnswrites.com/category/auth...
I was asked to answer four questions about my writing. So here goes...
1: What am I working on?
I usually like to work on a couple of things at once, that way I don't get bored with one project. So currently I'm editing Unity Book One and polishing up the cover. I'm also putting the finishing touches to a slightly extended edition of Josiah Trenchard 2: Morgenstern. This will bring the word length in line with parts 1, 3 and 4. I don't know why it ended up being shorter, it just did. Anyway, the re-write will cure that. Plus I've started working out the plot for JT 5: Arkhangelsk, but more of that later...
2: How does my work differ from others in my genre?
That's hard to answer. I guess I try to be original? That's very hard to do when writing science fiction. It's very easy to fall back onto stereotypes. So for example, when I created the Space Navy, I decided to base it upon the British Royal Navy, rather than the American version or the Marines. I spent a lot of time researching how the RN rank structure works, what life aboard a submarine is like. It's these little details that make or break a story for me. Inevitably some militaria from other services around the world creeps into my work, but that's inevitable. Military experts would probably pick holes in my books. But the point is that I've tried to be different.
The other way my work is different is that I've tried to include as many different races, creeds, colours and even regional personalities as possible. For example, a couple of my characters are Geordies (from the North East of the UK). There are so many different regions in the UK, different accents and cultural differences, it seems wrong not to delve deeply into them. Traditionally, the British military would recruit from all over the UK. There would even be specialist regiments, Scottish, Welsh, Northumbrian. So why not have the same thing in science fiction? A friend of mine often refers to my work as "Geordies in Space", which is a direct reference to the Muppets "Pigs in Space". It's a little glib, but it does exemplify what my books are about. Apart from Dave Lister in Red Dwarf, I can't think of any other famous Scousers in space? Can you? I can't think of any Geordies in popular science fiction and Geordie La Forge doesn't count!
3: Why do I write what I do?
I was always creative, even from being a child when I would make models out of cereal packets and draw. I did Art and Design right through school and into University. Then I had a ten year career working in the Animation industry as a prop and set maker and finally Art Director on Bob the Builder. Then through a series of events that I won't go into here, I became a gardener. Gardening is a great job, if a little wet at times. I did it for many years without any problems and then gradually I became aware of a hole in my life. I didn't do anything artistic any more. I didn't paint, draw, make models or write. I felt I was missing something important.
I had some stories left over from my university days that I had developed into TV scripts when I was working on Bob the Builder. I desperately needed an artistic outlet. I had been thinking about trying to write them as novels, so I wrote a book called "Unity" and then looked into publishing the traditional way, which is hard. Then a friend suggested self publishing on Amazon and here I am.
The point is that I needed to do something artistic like I need to breathe. I love to write and I build models for the covers and Photoshop them. Even if I never make much money in the self publishing game I will still create the books. I do this because I have to, because I need to. It completes me. I love what I do and I think that shines through in my work.
4: How does my writing process work?
I have a huge story arc / time line for my science fiction universe printed onto several sheets of A4 paper and stuck to the back of my wardrobe doors. This covers major events and gives an overview of the whole series plot. This is broken down into two streams which follow the two book series that I am currently working on, Unity and Josiah Trenchard. I have an idea for a third and possibly fourth which would take place within the same story arc.
Each book then takes place within a set time within that arc and will revolve around key events. The next thing I do is come up with a basic theme for that particular book, for example, zombies, Frankenstein's monster or a space battle. My next Josiah Trenchard book is primarily a huge space battle and I have taken my inspiration from a doomed World War Two merchant convoy that was trying to take supplies to Russia. Through a series of blunders, most of the convoy's protection fled and left the merchants to the mercy of the German fleet. Only a few merchant ships made it into safe harbour and that was mainly due to one very brave Captain. This story seemed to fit my gallant Captain Trenchard perfectly. The next book will also be Trenchard's "Wrath of Kahn". He will meet and battle an old adversary to the death!
The next thing I do is rough the book's story out using post-it notes on a wall. This makes it easy to move things around until I'm happy with the flow of the narrative. Next I begin to write. I like to keep the chapters short, around 3,000 words which equates to roughly six pages in Word. I write every morning before I go out gardening as I'm fresher then. You have to write every day and treat it like any other job, it's no good just writing when you feel like it, you'll get nothing written. Each morning I edit what I did the day before and then write something new.
Eventually I will have a rough draft. I return to the start and begin to edit. Then I edit all over again. Once I'm happy with the rough draft, I read the book to my wife, editing as I go. She comments on plot, characters and anything that doesn't seem to be right. She reads a great deal and has no truck with anything that a character "wouldn't do" or is too convenient. After she's heard my books read, we argue about the plot points and then I invariably go and do what she told me to anyway, after I've thought about it. She's usually right, but don't tell her that! After I've edited all her suggestions, which sometimes can mean a drastic re-write, I leave the book alone for a few weeks and work on something else.
The final stage is for her to read the book back to me, like listening to an audio book. This is important, I don't look at the screen, it's too distracting. I simply lie back and let the story flow by. I'm listening for how the dialogue sounds, does the action work? I can really tune the characters properly this way. Meanwhile my wife is proof reading as she goes, checking spelling, punctuation and grammar. Once that's done, the book is ready to publish.
Well, that my blog hop done. I hope you check out Jenny's and Michael's who I've tagged. There's lots of great independent authors out there. Go ahead and try a few!
Honour, strength and unity.
Jon.
http://www.jennyburnley.co.uk/bloghop
I then tagged Michael Cairns @cairnswrites. His tagged blog is here:
http://cairnswrites.com/category/auth...
I was asked to answer four questions about my writing. So here goes...
1: What am I working on?
I usually like to work on a couple of things at once, that way I don't get bored with one project. So currently I'm editing Unity Book One and polishing up the cover. I'm also putting the finishing touches to a slightly extended edition of Josiah Trenchard 2: Morgenstern. This will bring the word length in line with parts 1, 3 and 4. I don't know why it ended up being shorter, it just did. Anyway, the re-write will cure that. Plus I've started working out the plot for JT 5: Arkhangelsk, but more of that later...
2: How does my work differ from others in my genre?
That's hard to answer. I guess I try to be original? That's very hard to do when writing science fiction. It's very easy to fall back onto stereotypes. So for example, when I created the Space Navy, I decided to base it upon the British Royal Navy, rather than the American version or the Marines. I spent a lot of time researching how the RN rank structure works, what life aboard a submarine is like. It's these little details that make or break a story for me. Inevitably some militaria from other services around the world creeps into my work, but that's inevitable. Military experts would probably pick holes in my books. But the point is that I've tried to be different.
The other way my work is different is that I've tried to include as many different races, creeds, colours and even regional personalities as possible. For example, a couple of my characters are Geordies (from the North East of the UK). There are so many different regions in the UK, different accents and cultural differences, it seems wrong not to delve deeply into them. Traditionally, the British military would recruit from all over the UK. There would even be specialist regiments, Scottish, Welsh, Northumbrian. So why not have the same thing in science fiction? A friend of mine often refers to my work as "Geordies in Space", which is a direct reference to the Muppets "Pigs in Space". It's a little glib, but it does exemplify what my books are about. Apart from Dave Lister in Red Dwarf, I can't think of any other famous Scousers in space? Can you? I can't think of any Geordies in popular science fiction and Geordie La Forge doesn't count!
3: Why do I write what I do?
I was always creative, even from being a child when I would make models out of cereal packets and draw. I did Art and Design right through school and into University. Then I had a ten year career working in the Animation industry as a prop and set maker and finally Art Director on Bob the Builder. Then through a series of events that I won't go into here, I became a gardener. Gardening is a great job, if a little wet at times. I did it for many years without any problems and then gradually I became aware of a hole in my life. I didn't do anything artistic any more. I didn't paint, draw, make models or write. I felt I was missing something important.
I had some stories left over from my university days that I had developed into TV scripts when I was working on Bob the Builder. I desperately needed an artistic outlet. I had been thinking about trying to write them as novels, so I wrote a book called "Unity" and then looked into publishing the traditional way, which is hard. Then a friend suggested self publishing on Amazon and here I am.
The point is that I needed to do something artistic like I need to breathe. I love to write and I build models for the covers and Photoshop them. Even if I never make much money in the self publishing game I will still create the books. I do this because I have to, because I need to. It completes me. I love what I do and I think that shines through in my work.
4: How does my writing process work?
I have a huge story arc / time line for my science fiction universe printed onto several sheets of A4 paper and stuck to the back of my wardrobe doors. This covers major events and gives an overview of the whole series plot. This is broken down into two streams which follow the two book series that I am currently working on, Unity and Josiah Trenchard. I have an idea for a third and possibly fourth which would take place within the same story arc.
Each book then takes place within a set time within that arc and will revolve around key events. The next thing I do is come up with a basic theme for that particular book, for example, zombies, Frankenstein's monster or a space battle. My next Josiah Trenchard book is primarily a huge space battle and I have taken my inspiration from a doomed World War Two merchant convoy that was trying to take supplies to Russia. Through a series of blunders, most of the convoy's protection fled and left the merchants to the mercy of the German fleet. Only a few merchant ships made it into safe harbour and that was mainly due to one very brave Captain. This story seemed to fit my gallant Captain Trenchard perfectly. The next book will also be Trenchard's "Wrath of Kahn". He will meet and battle an old adversary to the death!
The next thing I do is rough the book's story out using post-it notes on a wall. This makes it easy to move things around until I'm happy with the flow of the narrative. Next I begin to write. I like to keep the chapters short, around 3,000 words which equates to roughly six pages in Word. I write every morning before I go out gardening as I'm fresher then. You have to write every day and treat it like any other job, it's no good just writing when you feel like it, you'll get nothing written. Each morning I edit what I did the day before and then write something new.
Eventually I will have a rough draft. I return to the start and begin to edit. Then I edit all over again. Once I'm happy with the rough draft, I read the book to my wife, editing as I go. She comments on plot, characters and anything that doesn't seem to be right. She reads a great deal and has no truck with anything that a character "wouldn't do" or is too convenient. After she's heard my books read, we argue about the plot points and then I invariably go and do what she told me to anyway, after I've thought about it. She's usually right, but don't tell her that! After I've edited all her suggestions, which sometimes can mean a drastic re-write, I leave the book alone for a few weeks and work on something else.
The final stage is for her to read the book back to me, like listening to an audio book. This is important, I don't look at the screen, it's too distracting. I simply lie back and let the story flow by. I'm listening for how the dialogue sounds, does the action work? I can really tune the characters properly this way. Meanwhile my wife is proof reading as she goes, checking spelling, punctuation and grammar. Once that's done, the book is ready to publish.
Well, that my blog hop done. I hope you check out Jenny's and Michael's who I've tagged. There's lots of great independent authors out there. Go ahead and try a few!
Honour, strength and unity.
Jon.
Captain's Blog
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