Jonathan Kent - A story to divide the crowd?

[Jonathan]

I have a confession to make. Apart from a few short stories and blogs, I have never tackled anything as complex as writing a novel. I love books and I love reading, but the thought of actually writing one seemed far too much for a mere mortal like me. I had ideas by the bucket loads, but actually getting them written I thought was beyond me.

And then I decided to make a change...

Nothing dramatic, but in September 2016 I found myself out of work for the first time in 27 years. The decision to leave work was entirely my own as I could see the years ticking by and I wasn't prepared to do another 27 unfulfilling years.

So I started writing. And writing. Before long I had written over 200 pages of a story that I thought hung together well. I shared it with a few friends who told me to publish it. But I still wasn't convinced. Who really wanted to hear an odd fantasy story of a chubby family man travelling between worlds and being chased by the physical manifestation of his fathers inner demon?

I mean, I liked the characters. I thought David was a little like me (frustratingly naive). Katy (smart put-downs) and Lily (Yoda sage) were the Ying and Yang that could finally wake David up to what he was up against and in Dex I had a villain that literally lived to cause misery.

So at the end of November 2016 I closed my eyes and clicked that 'publish' button. My book was out there for the world to see and reading through all the other Goodread's threads and showcases - I feel very daunted and at the moment not worthy of the title 'Author.'

I can see there is a lot of support on here for mortals like me and rest assured I will be trawling through all the threads to pick up as many tips as I can.

Thanks for reading....

Jonathan

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

[Jane]

Yo Jonathan. Welcome to the club. Unworthy is a word you should instantly expunge from your vocabulary. We're all the same here.

Mad blighters with the writing bug.

*off to check out your book now*

[Jonathan]

Jane wrote: "Yo Jonathan. Welcome to the club. Unworthy is a word you should instantly expunge from your vocabulary. We're all the same here.

Mad blighters with the writing bug.

*off to check out your book now*"

Thank you - I definitely have the writing bug...

(love the word expunge!)

[Thomas]

Welcome to the author club. As for the feelings, in my experience it's normal to question yourself about that, but hold your head high because you are now a part of Earth's literature history.

[G.G., Genre Buster Extraordinaire]

Hey Jonathan!
I'll second what Jane said. Unworthy should not be in your vocabulary unless it's to use in a story. :P

Welcome aboard

[Nathan]

Hello Johnathan,
Welcome aboard!

[Jonathan]

Thank you everyone for your kind welcomes. Starting to feel slightly more worthy

[Annie]

Hellooo, oh-so-unworthy, Jonathan!

Welcome to the funhouse where we all hold much value. Priceless, I say!! ^_~

Hugs,
Ann

[C.B., Slave to Santa's Workshop]

200 pages in one month, and the publishing it 2 months later!
Crikey! That's bonkers.

Also, Hi!

[Lyra]

Hi, Jonathan! Welcome to the indie author madness, um, I mean, club. ;)

[Jonathan]

Annie wrote: "Hellooo, oh-so-unworthy, Jonathan!

Welcome to the funhouse where we all hold much value. Priceless, I say!! ^_~

Hugs,
Ann"

Thank you for the welcome Ann

[Jonathan]

C.B. wrote: "200 pages in one month, and the publishing it 2 months later!
Crikey! That's bonkers.

Also, Hi!"

I think I just got into the zone. I looked up, a month had passed and the pages were written.

God knows what my family thought of me at the time

[Annie]

When you quote me it takes out the strikethrough line so, umm, it looks like I called you unworthy.

*dies laughing*

I didn't, people. I swear.

[Jonathan]

It's ok, I can take it.

*quivering in the corner, crying*

[Jonathan]

I finished my first novel 'Homecoming' towards the end of 2016. I always intended it to be just a one off stand-alone novel to prove to myself that I could actually write a cohesive story. Obviously the jury is still out on that one! but as I was completing the story I realised there were many more tales I wanted to tell about this strange world I created called 'Shael'. I had a really strong outline for the second book in the series called 'Meadowbank' which in a roundabout way starts off where the first novel finished. I also have books 3 & 4 pretty much mapped out.

I knew 'Meadowbank' was going to be a much longer novel than 'Homecoming' with multiple characters and I was excited about the scrapes I was going to put them through, but for some reason I wasn't quite ready to get started.

Christmas 2016 was fast approaching and rather than plunge straight into a project that would take me months to complete, I thought I would test myself and write a short story over the festive period. I have always been intrigued by novelists that write short fiction and the way they can wrap a tale up in such a condensed format. I wanted to know if I could do the same....

The fruits of my labour were this short called 'The Waiting Room'. I think it holds together OK and not to give too much away, it is a subject matter that fascinates me.

If you get a chance, check it out.

Happy reading!!

JK...

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...

[Justin]

Clark's father is a writer? Hmm who knew..

[Eric]

Hey hey, Mr. Kent...welcome to the terror dome. Or banter club. Or key-punching therapy sessions. Or...hell, I dunno what it is, but it's pretty damn fun.

And sweet perspective shot on the short story cover.

Books 3 and 4 already mapped out?? How dare you call yourself a writer!

[Jonathan]

Yes folks, it’s finally here!

The second volume of the Shael chronicles – ‘Meadowbank’ – will be available to download from the Amazon Kindle store from the 28th April.

The action picks up only days after the shocking finale to 'Homecoming' and takes us deeper into the weird and wonderful world of Shael.

I am really pleased with where the story has taken me and I hope you will be to.

All the best

JK…

[Jonathan]

Meadowbank: A dark fantasy thriller. Available from the 28th April ONLY in the Amazon Kindle Store.

Meadowbank is the chilling second volume of the Shael chronicles from author Jonathan Kent. Following on from the events in 'Homecoming', an idyllic North Dorset village awakens to discover two women have mysteriously been taken during the night. As a small group of villagers rally round to unravel the mystery, all evidence begins to point to the dilapidated mansion at the end of the lane: 'Meadowbank Hall'.

Uninhabited for decades and filled with an unknown host of secrets, our four protagonist's must search the deepest bowels of the house where they learn of the final days of its previous inhabitants. Then begins a desperate race against time as they are thrown into the strange alternate reality of Shael and the real truth behind the women's disappearance.

Shael, the world that really doesn't want to be found.

[Jonathan]

Meadowbank - The difficult second album

I knew when I was finishing my first novel 'Homecoming' that there was a great many more stories to tell about the world of 'Shael'. I also knew that by telling these stories I would have to greatly expand the world I was creating.

'Homecoming' was a relatively simple tale revolving around our protagonist 'Dave' and his return to his old family home. I thought it gave a decent introduction to 'Shael', but was only really a starter for the main course yet to come: which turned out to be the novel 'Meadowbank'.

I wrote the opening chapters before 'Homecoming' was published and I could see where the whole arc of the story was heading. My goal for this story was to move away from the single hero tale and focus on a group dynamic and introduce characters that could (hopefully) continue the story over a further 2-3 novels.

Meadowbank is a fictional village, but the part of North Dorset in which it is set is full of quaint little villages and a number of grand (but run-down) mansion houses - all of which gave me a great launch pad for the tale.

So, I had my characters and I had the mystery of 'Meadowbank Hall' and then the story kind of grew from there - in directions that at times I felt I had very little control over!!

I hope you find the story as much fun as I had writing it and I hope you can follow me on the adventures yet to come! Rest assured, we will learn what has happened to Dave from the first book and we will find out more about the secret organisation that has been popping up along the way...

Work has already started on the 3rd 'Shael' book which at the moment is tentatively titled 'Nightfall' and, if all goes well, should be out towards the end of the year.

Happy reading

JK...

Meadowbank

[Jonathan]

Limited time new release price of £0.99

"When times are dark, you cling onto whatever light you can, no matter how twisted"

From Jonathan Kent, author of 'The Shael Chronicles' and the best selling Amazon short story 'The Waiting Room', comes 'Delivery Man', a dark, twisted psychological thriller.

In the space of four months, Robert Townsend lost his wife, his kids, his job and his house. When a bleary clarity finally returned, he knew he had to try and put the remains of his life back together. Taking up a position as a 'Delivery Assistant' in a local supermarket should have been just the tonic he needed to start the road to recovery, but what he hadn't accounted for was the sadistic boss he found himself working for. As the personal conflict escalates beyond his control, he is left with two very clear options: quit or stand up for himself.
God knows why he chose the latter.

'Delivery Man' shows exactly how far a man can go when pushed to the limit.

Delivery Man

[Jonathan]

Delivery Man is a bit of a departure for me and I'm conscious this story may divide the crowd. However, I thought I would give some sort of insight as to where this story has come from.

My head is still in the fantastical world of 'Shael' as I begin work on the third novel in the series, but this one has been chipping away in my ear for a few months. It's not autobiographical in any way, but there is probably more of 'me' in this story than any of my others. I think all of us live in fear of our lives imploding and losing it all - this story kind of blossomed from there. The path to rebuild a shattered life can be a huge uphill struggle and woe-betide anyone who stands in the way of a man putting the pieces back together!

I do hope you enjoy reading this tale. It's probably a little longer than I originally intended as once I got into the mindset of 'Robert' I didn't want to let go. I was eager to see exactly how far 'he' would go and believe me, even I was surprised.

Thanks for reading

Jonathan...

Delivery Man