I.H. Laking's Blog, page 11

What Went Wrong Went Mrs Milliard’s Mech: New Cover is Live!

The new cover for What Went Wrong With Mrs Milliard’s Mech is complete! Check it out!

The new cover for What Went Wrong With Mrs Milliard’s Mech? features a scene from Mrs Milliard’s bakery with Inspector Ambrose and the Mech. This is the second cover I’ve had done through Artcorgi and once again I’m really happy with the result.

I’m really happy with the result of this collaboration. Silvadoray really nailed the look and feel of the kitchen beneath Mrs Milliard’s Bakery, and the style of her Mech. I hope you love the look & feel as much as I do!

You can also check out the first collaboration with Artcorgi on The Vanishing Villa here.

Sympathy for a Good Villain

Ian:

Great post on building believable villains!

Originally posted on Drew Chial:

The Sympathetic Devil

Bad Villains Blow Your Cover

A hero is only as good as their opposition, which is why their enemy has the power to bring down the entire story. Before card carrying villains can break your hero, they set their sights on the suspension of disbelief. If their motivation is world domination, who says they’ll stop at their own? They might make the transition into their writer’s reality.

How you ask? The monocle models, mustache twirlers, and glove rubbers, draw attention to their authors. The train track trespassers, the rope wranglers, and the damsel distressers, wink at the reader. The spark plug pinchers, the lever pullers, and the timer primers, blow their creator’s cover.

Every time the villain kills a henchman for no good reason, a light goes off in your reader’s brain. Every time their monologue reveals the details of their master plan, the reader questions your…

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Taking the Leap: Manuscript Assessment

This week, I’ve decided to take a big leap.

I’m sure many other self-published authors out there know the tension of investing money in their work. After a discussion with a colleague of mine, T. R. Milne (who recently released her debut novel – check it out here), I’ve decided to invest in a manuscript assessment.

The plan is to assess all three of the Inspector Ambrose novellas that I’ve written, including the unpublished Murder at Mansfield Manor. There’s a cost associated with this – it’ll be several hundred dollars. So why have I decided to take the leap?

Because getting feedback – especially impartial feedback – is so hard! Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate everyone who has read my writing so far, but getting people to actually tell you what they loved and hated is another matter. Most people just say it was “good” – which is cool, but I need someone to give me some honest truth, so that’s what I’m shooting for.

So after some adjustments to the original manuscript of Mansfield Manor, I’m going to be submitting my stories (along with several hundred dollars) to Writers Victoria for an assessment.

I’m taking the leap, and I’ll let you know how it works out.

In 6 – 8 weeks.

Depending on workload.

Novel Planning: Building a World, Writing a History.

Now that revisions are at play for The Murder at Mansfield Manor, I’m moving into in-depth planning for my novel focused on the Empire.

The Inspector Ambrose Mysteries gave me a chance to explore parts of the Empire, and to think about how its structures, people and groups work together. As I’ve been writing the stories these past months, I’ve also been thinking about depth. In particular, the themes and messages I’ll be looking to bring out in a novel.

Rather than racing in and beginning the writing process, I’ve taken a step back to look at history, and how the Empire fits into a long-term understanding of a society. If I can’t give a basic worldview to its characters that answers where they came from, where they’re going, and how they fix things that are “wrong”, it will be nearly impossible to build depth.

So now I’ve found myself with a sketchbook full of stories, maps, outlines and structures that will guide the first novel as it grows and develops.

But the bottom line is this: I’ve got a storyline that I believe is fun, new, and exciting.

Looking forward to getting started.

Mansfield Manor: It’s a wrap!

After a long two months of writing, I’ve finally finished my initial draft and first edit of The Murder at Mansfield Manor!

It’s been a slow boil for Mansfield Manor these past few weeks, with my participation in the Melbourne Marathon taking a lot my attention away from writing. It feels good to be at a place where the storyline is consistent, the characters developed and the themes clear.

Now it’s on to a bit of user testing! And then a bit more editing. I’m pleased with my decision to change the setting and core characters somewhat this time – it’s made for a very different scenario which challenges the protagonist and moves him out of his comfort zone.

The lesson? Take a risk! It’s totally worth it.

Seeking Five Reviews…

Five: The magic number.

With What Went Wrong With Mrs Milliard’s Mech now permanently free on Amazon.com, I’ve begun the task of hunting down five reviews. I’m currently on one from when I originally released the short story, but four more will enable me to get marketing the book through websites and mailing lists that have a minimum number of reviews required before you can submit your eBook to them.

Have you read the short story? Write a review on Amazon.com, it’ll help me greatly!

Keen to read a great mystery story that’ll draw you in? Check out Mrs Milliard’s Mech and (you guessed it!) leave a review!

And whilst I wait for the reviews to roll in, I believe I’ll get back to editing my first draft of The Murder at Mansfield Manor…

Mrs Milliard’s Mech is now a free eBook forever!

This week I made a big call: I decided to make my original eBook, What Went Wrong With Mrs Milliard’s Mech? free forever.

I’ve toyed around with Amazon’s KDP Select program for the past 3 months, and whilst I understand the benefits of being in the program, right now my number one priority is getting people to read (and for love of all that is holy, review) my work.

So it’s goodbye to KDP Select, and hello to a free eBook forever! I’ve published the work through Smashwords, and will now be working to get Amazon to price match the free book. You can help by going to the page for Mrs Milliard’s Mech here, clicking on “tell us about a lower price” under the Product Details section, and pasting in this Barnes & Noble link from here.

Thanks to everyone who’s read the story so far – here’s to more people taking that chance and getting into the world of Inspector Ambrose!

Writer’s Block 2.0: A Different Breed of Block.

So I’ve hit the block again.

It’s not the same as last time. This time it’s been down to how busy things are around me, and I’ve found myself losing focus. The thing is, my current WIP (The Murder at Mansfield Manor) is actually in pretty good shape. 22,000 words, solid plot, characters have played out well. But it’s down to finesse.

In order for this particular story to come together, it needs a) something driving the narrative strongly and b) to deal with each of the suspects well whilst still keeping the reader guessing. The block I’m feeling at the moment is about making sure I’ve done justice to both the drive and the characters.

So I’ll keep plodding along. Tonight I’m writing again for the first time in a week, so we’ll see where it ends out. And hopefully there’ll be less block and more completion.

… In Which I Interview Myself in Two Vastly Different Visions of my Authorial Future.

The Ridiculously Successful Future:

Setting: Two people sit on armchairs in a lounge room. There is a pleasant view out the large double doors behind them, revealing a lawn and some tall trees. The walls of the room are covered by shelves stacked high with hardback books.

Ian: Hi folks, and welcome back to “Meet the Author”. On today’s show, I’m interviewing I H Laking, a young author from New Zealand who’s been making his mark on the fantasy genre these past years. Greetings Mr. Laking, how are you?

I H Laking: I’m fine thanks Ian, and I might I add that this is a fine spot for an interview.

Ian: Well, it is your house.

Laking: So it is. (Witty laughter)

Ian: So tell me, how do you feel about your success thus far?

Laking: Well, it’s taken me by surprise actually. I wasn’t so sure that people would be into the concept I was trying to sell through the novels, and I’ve been greatly encouraged by the support of so many people. Especially the Pope. That was a surprise.

Ian: Yes, quite. (More witty laughter, wipes a teardrop from him eye). And how do you feel about the upcoming movie deal?

Laking: I was unsure about it at first. I mean, Denzel Washington and Shia Le Bouf? It’s just too much to take in. Also, I had to turn down the idea of mashing it up with Star Wars Episode IV – it just couldn’t work!

Ian: True, very true. You’ve often said that there were seeds of the main novel storyline planted in your early short stories. Can you elaborate on that at all?

Laking: Yes, I purposefully put many references into my early work as a precursor to the first book of the series. I wanted people to have a sense of something coming, but not to have an idea of what it was exactly. I suppose people saw the vision I was trying to instill.

Ian: Well I know I enjoyed going back over the stories recently and finding some of those ideas myself. Well done on getting that part down. Onto other matters…

Laking: Yes?

Ian: Can I get your autograph?

Laking: Certainly. (Scribbles in notepad) Now if you don’t mind, I’ve got to rush – catching my private jet to London.

Ian: The Prime Minister again?

Laking: Yes. He never lets up! (Witty laughter once more)

Ian: Well, thanks for making time.

The “Other” Future:

Setting: A sidewalk outside a mall. People are bustling past a reporter who is standing on the corner with a microphone. He is trying (unsuccessfully) to procure someone for an interview.

Ian: Excuse me ma’am can I… ok, sorry. Ah, sir, could I just… (ducks) Wow! You certainly can punch hard. (mutters) I wonder if I’ll find anyone to interview about this self-publishing topic.

I H Laking: Excuse me, did you say “self-publishing”?

Ian: (Sigh) Yes, I did. What do you want?

Laking: Well, I’m a self-published author! Would you like to interview me?

Ian: No.

Laking: Oh. (Awkward silence) Very well then. Sorry to be a bother.

Ian: Get lost.

Laking: Sure thing!

End.

Qan’s Adventure: Free This Weekend!

Good news! My fantasy short story Qan’s Adventure is going to be free all weekend, and I’d love you to help me get the word out there.

In between writing Mrs Milliard’s Mech & The Vanishing Villa, I took time out to look at my wider plan for the world of the Empire. The result of that time out was Qan’s Adventure, which looks at the Eastern Empire; a land far removed from Ambrose, Percy and the city of Traville.

My plan for the Empire has never been for it to only feature detective stories. Many complex characters and fascinating secrets are waiting to be uncovered, and two key characters are featured in this story.

If you’ve got a spare hour or two this weekend, grab yourself a copy here! And once you have, do me the biggest favour you possibly could, and write a short (hopefully somewhat positive) review – it’s like giving me a big hug, or a wonderful birthday present!

Qan’s adventure isn’t long, but it’s a small taster for what’s to come in the Empire. I hope you like it. Or at least don’t hate it.

Either way, leave a review!