Pippa DaCosta's Blog - Posts Tagged "sci-fi"

But Pippa writes fantasy, not sci-fi?

Right now, my head is saying; ‘write more urban fantasy, you have a spin-off series to do, a sequel to write, fans want more Muse, more demons, more fantasy-esque stuff, more-more-more.’ And I do want to do those things, I will do those things BUT, you know what my heart is saying? Whispering... ‘You know that guilty pleasure of yours, the love of sci-fi? You should write that, because a writer has to follow her heart, else the words won’t flow.’ But this isn’t just about writing what I want to write. There’s no room for sci-fi in my business plan. I’ve not written sci-fi before, and I have no idea what I’m doing. I don’t know if there are sci-fi readers out there who will like my style. I don’t know if there’s a market. Honestly, there’s a whole heap of ‘don’t knows.’ If I research the market, I suspect I’ll discover Urban Fantasy sells better to the 18-30 female audience (currently). My business head will say no to sci-fi,...and I’ll do it anyway, but feel worse about it.

Having come to the end of the Veil Series (x5 novels and a novella) and with ‘City of Fae’ in the hands of the publishers, I’ve been stuck in a serious book and reading funk. Everything I read feels flat, everything I write feels flat. ‘You’re burned out’ my writer friend suggested. ‘Take a break.’ She’s a writer, she should know better. Writers don’t take breaks.

I tried to write, and failed. Rubbish. Rubbish. Rubbish. And then, that little whispering voice said, ‘Hey, how about that sci-fi you’ve been thinking about? Maybe try something totally new, something to cleanse the palate?’ I ignored that voice, because my head said, ‘Sit your ass back down and focus.’ After a few days of frustration, I opened a new word.doc and tapped out the opening chapter to Girl From Above told from the main character ‘#1001’s’ point of view. (See it here: http://www.pippadacosta.com/#!girl-fr... ). I didn’t have an outline, or a plan, just one little scene (take note, the Veil Series started exactly the same way). Chapter One done, I slept on it (not literally), and wondered what it would be like to try alternating POV’s in first person perspective. So, the next day, I wriggled into my other main characters head, flexed my fingers, and started typing. And Caleb Shepperd happened. Seriously, happened. In the space of a few chapters, ideas for his character exploded. Suddenly I had to take notes, to scribble a rough story arc, to jump out of bed in the middle of the night and write down his next snappy piece of dialogue. He’s crass, selfish, obnoxious, and a borderline sociopath. He’s such a damn cliché, that even I rolled my eyes, but in the background, secrets bobbed to the surface. His secrets. The other main character, #1001, has secrets too. Caleb’s second-in-command, Fran, is a drug-addict. They’re all frankly messed up in the head, and to top it off, they run illegal cargo, and should be in prison. They’re rude, aggressive, abusive, to the point I already have a warning written, because they will offend. These characters are so morally ambiguous, that I wondered if I had a cast made up entirely of bad guys.

But, the obsession took hold. First draft fever, I call it. When I can’t sleep because the characters are acting out their scenes in my head; when I can’t think about anything else, and I start twitching with need to get typing, just to get the voices out of my head (quickly moving on). I’m now along for the ride, thinking about turning this novel into a series, about covers and editing. And still the ideas are flowing faster than I can write them down.

Writing ‘Girl From Above’ makes zero business sense. It’s a huge risk. And I don’t care. I want to write an action-packed, sexual charged, heart-pounding sci-fi novel. I don’t know if my readers will like it, I don’t even know if they read sci-fi, or if they’ll skip it, because it’s not their usual genre (I hope they give it a chance, because sci-fi isn’t about sci-fi, not really. The same as fantasy isn’t really about fantasy. It’s about the people). I hope my readers will trust me to bring the same dynamics from the Veil Series to Girl From Above.

I’m thrilled, excited, and slightly terrified. But mostly I have a huge grin on my face. Because this is the next Veil Series; I can feel it in my inky-writer veins.

Wish me luck & please comment to let me know I'm not absolutely crazy to do this!

Click to add it to your shelves.

Time for an update! I'll keep this quick (must get back to writing). Here's rough idea of all the things happening in the next few months:


Firstly, Girl From Above 3: Trapped is finished! It's due to hit the shelves at the end of November or very early December. Caleb's on his usual fine form, trying to screw over everyone else before they get a chance to screw him over first. Throw in some riots, betrayals, deaths (some grizzly), fleeting kisses, painful truths, explosions, sex... and you have a typical GFA book ;) Add it to your shelves here:

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I'm finishing up edits for City of Fae #2 which is due to go off to the publisher at the end of December. People are going missing from all over London. Alina suspects her nemesis, General Kael is behind it and won't stop until she sees him revealed as a liar and a monster. The problem is, she's more like him than she cares to admit. Cover coming soon! I've seen the mock-ups and it's gorgeous. Add it to your shelves here:

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I'm about to start the first draft of a very exciting project for 2016. The Chaos Series! Woot! The first book, Chaos Rises, has a tentative release date of April 2016. I've already filled a notebook with my internal ramblings, character sheets, plot arcs, key scenes, and more. I simply cannot wait to introduce you to a new cast of deadly, intriguing, and sexy characters. Gem, Delta, Torrent, Allard, and more. You can take a sneaky peek on my Pinterest page by clicking here (For any new fans, don't worry, you do not have to read the Veil Series to enjoy the Chaos Series).
Cover news will be coming in November. Add the book to your selves here:

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I spend way too much time on social media, so if you'd like to contribute to my procrastination, hop on over to Twitter & Facebook.

And before I go (this turned into a much longer post than I'd planned - sorry!), I'll leave you with some fun facts and a snippet from Girl From Above 3:

1, In 'Trapped' Caleb says fuck and its many variations a grand total of 194 times (compared to 146 times in Book 1).
2, 'Trapped' will be around 44,000 words after edits (Book 1 was 41,000. I don't have target word counts for any of the Girl From Above books, they have as many words as the story requires, be that 40,000 or 90,000).
3, 'Trapped' has the highest body-count of all three books so far.
4, Chapter One has a sex scene and a death scene. Now ask me if it's the same scene ;)
5, #1001 likes the rain.

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“Does the past ever leave us?” Caleb asked, his smile fading away.
“It is always there,” I replied softly. “It is who you are.”
He tapped his fingers on the arm of his flightchair. “Not you. You could erase yours?”
We both stared out of the obs window, our gazes lost among the crowd. “But then who would I be?”
He blinked and looked at me. “You’d be you.”

***

The gritty, sexy sci-fi is back with Book #3 - Trapped. Out now at Amazon (paperback at B&N soon!) I've already had one reader tell me this instalment made them cry, in a good-bad way. I wish I could say I'm sorry Mwuhaha... .

To celebrate (the new book, not the crying) Books 1 & 2 are just 99c each for a LIMITED TIME. So, if you haven't started the series yet, now's your chance. Grab Book #1, Betrayal here.

But wait, there's more... WIN signed paperback copies of Books 1, 2, & 3 over on my Facebook page here.

Good luck!

In April 2015, a little-known sci-fi story was released and surprised everyone by storming up the charts. Full of bad guys kinda trying to be good guys (and mostly failing), dirty sex, betrayal, scheming, and a few murders, oh, and a homicidal 'synthetic' human, The 1000 Revolution, (previously known as Girl From Above) is a crazy, wild ride. And wowsers, was it fun to write!

Well, it was time for the series to have a refresh in terms of cover design, and I think the new covers are stunning.

Okay, okay, so maybe Caleb's hair is more... high maintenance than Caleb would have liked. One looks as though she's about to rip out a few spines and use them as belts, so she's happy. I LOVE the new look, but what do you think?

If you haven't read the series yet, the first book Betrayal is free everywhere, but be warned, it's not for the faint-hearted!

Want a bit of sci-fi? Maybe a sprinkling of fantasy? How about both together?

In a world cloaked in surveillance, Kesh Lasota can move unseen, making her the perfect illegal messenger. But when one of her messages kills its recipient, Kesh finds herself on the run from a creature that shouldn't exist: a warfae.

The fae died out thousands of years ago. They're myths and legends. Aren't they?

This fast-paced action-adventure series combines magic and technology, truth and illusion, romance and betrayal, and twists them all until nothing is what it appears to be.

The first book in the Messenger Series launches on March 2nd at 99¢ on Amazon & in KindleUnlimited (paperback also available).

Sign up to my my mailing list to get notified of the launch, add Shoot the Messenger to your shelves, and visit the MacHalos blog on release day for the first look at the cover!

In a world smothered by surveillance, Kesh Lasota is a ghost. Working as a messenger, she moves undetected, delivering illegal messages between Calicto's criminals. But when one of those messages kills its recipient, Kesh finds herself on the run.

Magic and tek, the fae and humans, clash in this thrilling NEW space-fantasy.


The hype is real.

Complex. Heartbreaking. Astonishing. F*cking mind-blowing.

A fabulous start to a new series, Fae, space, and courtly intrigue what could be better?!?

The writing was amazing the characters intriguing. This book has many twists and turns that will have you craving the next one.

This book was amazing from the beginning to end! I can't wait to hear what Kesh, Kelley, and Talon do next!

All I can say is You Have To Read This Book!

Unraveling the mystery of Kesh is going to be a delight - but strap yourself in because this is a wild ride!

OUT NOW.

I'm back from Boston Fantasy Fest and trying to get to grips with jet lag, so I apologize now for any errors you're about to encounter. It's a miracle I can remember my own name after the nightmare of a journey back to the UK. But I am back, and plowing full steam ahead into preparations for the third Messenger book. Things are just warming up for Kesh, Kellee, Talen, Arran and Sota. The third book: The Nightshade's Touch sees our foursome starting to find their feet as a team, only to have those foundations tested as they find themselves stranded on an abandoned farming planet. Unfortunately, they're not alone. Oberon can no longer afford to ignore Kesh's actions and sends one of four elite guardians to capture her. Then there's the small issue of slaughtered farming colonies with suspicious vakaru-like wounds. Oh, and let's not forget the monsters with a single name on their lips: Nightshade.

The Nightshade's Touch is the third book in the planned five-book Messenger series and it isn't just the plot that's heating up. Kesh might be saru, but she can't resist the temptation of Talen, Kellee and Arran for much longer. If only they could get past all those pesky trust issues!

A lot of questions from the first two books are answered in Nightshade. Our heroes pasts start to be revealed, and with them, some terrible truths are exposed. Truths that will either tear the Messenger and her men apart or bring them closer together. Are their bonds strong enough?

I dive into edits this week and have it scheduled for an August release. I'll publish a date once it's more solid. This one will only be a short preorder, so make sure you're signed up to my mailing list for all the news.

Boston Fantasy Fest was an epic gathering of some of the coolest most awesomest (it's now a word) authors ever. I finally got to meet so many authors who I've friended (or they've befriended me) over the years, including James Hunter (Cataclysm, Domino FinnDead Man, Jex Lane Captive and more. It was a stellar line-up of professionals and if you get a chance to go to the next one (possibly West Coast in 2019) definitely do. There's something magical (and a little bit dark ;) ) about a room full of urban fantasy authors and these guys were so much fun to meet in person.

There's lots more happening in the Pippa DaCosta house, so don't forget to check my Facebook readers group including a first look at the next Messenger cover and exclusive character artwork.

See you there! Oh, and make sure you add The Nightshade's Touch to your shelves.

I'll just leave this here...

Coming late August! Add it to your shelves here: The Nightshade's Touch