In A Flash

Just thought I’d pop up an excerpt from The Jovian Counter, (Book Two of the Nine Worlds series) since I’m working on it and need content for the blog. ;p Enjoy!

Libertine jinked and dived, but the flak-load shells streaked out in front of her, slamming into rocks, obliterating the smaller ones entirely.  The objective was not to hit the fleeing vessel, but to draw asteroids into erratic orbits, and force a piloting mistake.  Fleeting red indicators bracketed a shoal of tiny debris, before the targeting grid went crazy.

“They’ve dropped Spoof beacons and mines,” Isaac warned.

Becca swore and increased her fire to front, the Rarden shells pummelling hard vacuum until they connected with the bomblets left in the wake of Libertine.  Shelley grunted in approval at their cunning foe.  With so much debris tossed up, and the targeting software aboard Orca momentarily confused by the beacons, all Becca could do to stop them being destroyed was to fire blind.

Brilliant flashes tore the skies as the ship ploughed on, illuminating the bridge with backwashed light.  A thunderous crump coming from the left bow announced the trouble they feared.  They’d been hit.

“Mine strike!” Isaac warbled.

Shelley let the comment go unanswered.  A single explosive tearing at the shields wouldn’t pop them, but would force them off course.  She glanced at the helmsman, but he’d already triggered the manoeuvring thrusters.  Even so, she grimaced – this couldn’t continue if anyone was to come out alive.  A knife fight in an asteroid belt was not conducive to long survival.

Duncan issued invective common to the Universal Fleet as he twisted the ship to port and starboard, thinking in three dimensions, calculating in 360 degrees.  He turned Orca hard left to dodge the cloud of mines and inverted from Neutral, bringing them around and over a large asteroid, pockmarked with craters from high speed micro-impacts.

Shelley watched the horizon shift and got a good, close-up view of the ancient boulder they skirted.  The enemy vessel was out of visual contact, but LIDAR showed she broke to starboard, but she bit off her curse and trusted Duncan’s instincts.  She was vindicated as Orca completed the deep arc round the asteroid, to find Libertine in front of them once more, and at their mercy.

Becca uttered no cry of joy, no excitement as she fired.  Orca’s teeth bit deeply into the other ship’s flank, popping the forceshield envelope in a blink and shearing into the armoured carapace with a Graviton beam.  The blow was mortal, rupturing fuel and oxygen lines in a great blossom of orange flame.  The pirate ship canted at a crazy angle and slammed into an asteroid at neck-breaking speed, rebounding and crashing into another, a mere pinball in Newton’s grip.

It spilled a trail of debris and corpses in its wake, until finally they met something with more mass and inertia, ploughing right into a micro-planet nose first.  The result was a pathetically small plume of dust, carried on the venting atmosphere of the ship, and a slew of displaced metallic grit.

END.

Just shy of 500 words, makes it flash fiction and should be enough to pass a few moments. Please let me know what you think and as always, have a Great Day Adventurers. 🙂

Behind the Scenes

Well, I don’t care if it’s God’s own anti-sonofabitch machine, or just a giant hula-hoop, we’re not gonna let ’em have it!

Sergeant Major Johnson – Halo: CE Opening Sequence, Legendary Difficulty.

Pardon the use of a gung-ho Halo video game quote, but it suits my purposes nicely. It may not look connected, but let me explain.

The first Halo game brought a very different world full of the same science-fiction (or ‘speculative fiction’, I believe is the en-vogue term for it now – someone fetch me a Chaises-Longues, stat!). With it came a whole slew of stories, background and questions, that once the game was completed, agog fans wanted answered. At least the ones who were into SpecFic literature.

This is worldbuilding at it’s best and worst.

Firstly, the questions draw the inquisitive mind in. Good. This is interest, this is what we want. However, it was obvious that the questions weren’t really prompted by planning, but by omission, sometimes glaringly so. (What they are is a different post entirely, but I digress).

When a sequel was commissioned, the production company also began a book series to cover those gaps, but thanks to the wonky writing of production, envisioned to be a self-contained, complete unit, hampered the development and tied the hands of the authors. (I’ve mentioned about the curse of Prequels before).

I will stress however, that both the developers and the authors did a great job. They backfilled lore and technology, set other opportunities in motion, because now, the writers knew where they were going. They were established.

Fantastic result, based on a formula we can see represented in something nearly everyone has heard of or seen: Star Wars. This original series was more a work of Director’s Vision, but the similarities are there – especially for the Expanded Universe writers.

Now, contrast this with something like a book series which is slow burn, like A Song of Ice and Fire or perhaps Lord of The Rings. Both of these started with maps of the world, what races lived there or what politics and institutions work in those areas. This is where the series is built and worked from the ground up, carefully and painstakingly charting the creation of a world which is a parody to those of our experience.

Tolkien was more of a historian than storyteller (in my Chaises-Longues dwelling opinion) and so his worlds are exceptionally authentic because he even goes into the geology. It asks a different question, not one provoked by omission, but by the magical need to know what happens next that keeps the pages turning.

In between these giants, live authors such as I.

We write the first book, realise it’s going to be a series or a linked array of stories (anthology? I’m a hack by-the-seat-of-my-pants, not a master plotter and architect of fate) and go from there. We have a lot more leeway with this than a video game developer and as a new author you have a lot more control – especially as an Independant. That latter point gets thrown around a lot, but this is where the real benefit is: Constructing a Series. (Actually rolling out a series and supporting it is where Traditional Publishing takes over – and how).

The Ares Gambit, my SpecFic novel (Gosh, such a writer!) started like Halo. It was a self-contained unit, with all the tech and such delivered in snippets between chapters, as if they were excerpts from newspapers or research books, which would give the history and politics of the world – everything from a wonder mineral, to the thorny subject of prisoner transportation – hint: it’s wrong).

For the purposes of modern storytelling, all the background stuff is pulled out. Modern audiences tend to want something slick and smooth, without infodumping everything they don’t want. A good author smoothes into the book everything that the audience needs to know, which will answer questions otherwise prompted by omission.

This does two things. Firstly, it builds the world the Author needs to know behind the scenes. Internal consistency is paramount to suspension of disbelief, the understanding of why things can be done and why they matter. Secondly, it frees up a regular reader to either take things at face value, or plunge in to whatever depth they desire.

A lot of authors want to show off what they did. This is especially true of research (if it’s a particularly strange and interesting thing, you can hit Agents with it too) which the author wants to show the reader and say:

“Look, look, I learned all about that! Now you know it too! Did you know we learn lots from books! Do you feel educated?”

“What about the swamp princess, does she get married?”

“Er…don’t you want to know about the toxicology of the Red Cap Mushroom?”

“Um. No.”

Thankfully, there is another way. Terry Pratchett, among lots of other examples, released what was called the Discworld Companion, which was an anthology of who, what, where and when, in his own inimical style. I plan to do this too. It isn’t essential and I’ll either include it in one of the books, or make it free to download etc.

So if you want to see the 10-20,000 words of history, technology and research ie: everything else that makes the story work, you’re welcome to. If not, then just keep reading and find out what happens to the swamp princess. 🙂

Have a great Day Adventurers 🙂

(PS: She gets married – and lives happily ever after).

A Quick Query

Firstly, hello to another handful of Adventurers! Welcome, sit ye down around the fire and share in the tales of my witless jabbering! 🙂

I was directed to a publishing company that was looking for submissions in my genre, (no YA, Fantasy, Screenplays or Poetry oddly) so I have put together a tight synopsis and buffed the manuscript for The Ares Gambit. I was going to publish this Independently, but since it has never seen the light of day and is fresh to market, there’s nothing to harm it by trying to send it off to a traditional publisher first.

I’d resigned myself to being an Indie publisher (and there’s nothing wrong with that) but I’d be a fool not to exploit an opportunity.

The publisher may well turn down my Manuscript (MS) as being naff. That will be a painful possibility, but preparing a Query letter (kind of) and all the bits and bobs, the blurb, the hook, the elevator pitch or what-have-you, has been a worthy challenge. I now see as something that has bettered my understanding and focussed my mind on the process. Even if you’re not ready to Query yet, as a writer, practice. You’ll thank me later.

I love the book and I believe in it. I love my characters (it isn’t reciprocated, considering I try to kill them all the time – and occasionally succeed) and it is as good as I can make it. It is light years ahead of what it was.

I’ve had it professionally edited, proofread and gone through it to eliminate as many typos and as much garbage as I can. It’s the end of the road for this book – it HAS to go out. SOMEHOW. I refuse to die in some dumb accident, or from a heart attack or a bloody jet engine falling on my head (Heaven forbid I am crushed on my Chaises-Longues!) with this thing unpublished.

Twenty years. That’s how long I’ve been writing this thing and it is going OUT. I hope and pray it’s good enough for the publisher, but if not, I am satisfied it will please those who want to read it.

In 6-8 weeks, we’ll know. Wish me luck – and as always – have a great day Adventurers! 🙂

Congratulations

Thank you everyone, we’ve hit a large milestone today!

One-Hundred fellow adventurers!

100! A Century, three-figures, triple digits!

Thank you to my supporters old (as in long-suffering) and new (as in welcome to the madhouse) alike as we continue to grow this small, but cozy channel 🙂

Still learning what everyone likes and finds interesting and I am trying to network and support other bloggers as I can, but it’s a slow push uphill for me with everything else, so please be patient.

I just hope I keep everyone entertained as I keep rolling the boulder.

Have a Great Day Adventurers! I know I will. 🙂

Pencilling In.

Just a quick update from me today.

Have been working on several projects, lightly drafting some ideas about a few dreams (read nightmares) I had alongside the Knitted Knomes. Some involve unique medical remedies, others brass and copper pocket watches and all manner of olde-worlde trinkets.

I’ve also been tidying up problems with previous works that continued to nark at me. I remember Hannah making mention how one of my characters was built up to be someone portentous, and yet ended up being a long stream of empty farts (eg. full of sound and fury, signifying nothing).

This gap (not gas) is now remedied and I am happier with the novel as a result. It still isn’t perfect, by any chalk, but it has to go out soon, and on that I’m going forward. I’ve had some positive feedback on Only Bloody Money (thanks Polly and R.J!) and once I’ve decided the setting/location for the book, it will likely not be long before I sink my teeth into a second draft followed by a large serving of editing.

Anyway, things are going forward (despite a nasty cold) and I have the passion back for building worlds and destroying the lives, hopes and loves of my poor, long-suffering characters.

Have a great day, Adventurers! 🙂

Long Time No Shriek

Apologies fellow adventurers for my absence. I did pop a post up about Villains etc a week ago, but I admit it was winding and rubbish, so I binned it. If you saw it, no, you’re not going mad, I just wind-bagged from the Chaises-Longues a bit.

I might go back and write it again. I generally know when I’m onto a loser though, because I write the post more than once (I do a bit of editing for each thing I put up here), but if I have to save it to ‘Drafts’ it’s possibly a load of bobbins.

Anyway…

Polly and I have generated a new story about Gnomes, or more accurately, ‘Knomes’.

They’re called ‘Knomes’ because they ‘Knit’.

Get it? 😀 (Somewhere, a slow clap begins).

Moving swiftly on, it will most likely be a short story I can throw to some competition or even up on the blog, so we’ll see. I’ve also been looking onto Amazon Specific publisher…well, kind of. They’re not a publisher, more of a literary service, providing access to an editor and cover designer in lieu of fees, they take a slice from the royalty fee.

They ask the author to do a lot of what an Indie author does anyway, so it’s not too far off my experience. It’s really helpful on the face of it if you can’t afford to hire an editor (I have been very lucky) because you can pay them as you go.

I’ll have to look into it a bit more.

Anyway, that’s all I have. Have a great day Adventurers! 😀

Journey/Ending.

Welcome to the new adventurers joining our ranks 🙂 I hope you find something of import within these pages!

With the welcome mat out, we better turn to the matter at hand.

“It’s about the journey, not the destination.”

– Some Chaises-Longues dwelling author, presumably.

In my not-so-humble-opinion, no, it really isn’t.

By doing this, you’re sacrificing one element in favour of the other. I see a lot about this, especially in books, games and movies, delivering a good ride until the ending comes apart, or the ride is awful, but the ending saves it. It’s a strange phenomenon, because I see these arguments used as an excuse for lazy and even poor writing (but I’m an Indie Author-not-a-real-author-don’t-cha-know, so my author opinion is worth diddly to some – but I’m still a reader).

I’ll admit, I’m no saint. I’m guilty of lazy writing too. Thankfully I have test readers, good friends and nit-picky people to bend my ear about it. I also employ professional independent Editors who will, without hesitation, chew my arse off when I’m slacking. You see, readers can tell when you’re being lazy, even the casual ones. They can tell when you’re disenchanted with the story you’re telling, or you’ve used Deus Ex Machina to hand-wave yourself out of a corner, because your flannel doesn’t ring true. Incidentally, this happens a lot with Prequels written after the original story is published, Star Wars III: Revenge of The Sith has this problem, as do some of the Halo books and Warhammer: Horus Heresy line.

A bad journey is just that. The reader will skip pages, sometimes chunks of your hard-wrought book just to reach the end, out of frustration. They might never get there, having put it down and never picking it up again. I’ve done it. Not often, but I have, and I remember how it made me feel.

A bad ending is even worse. All the hopes and dreams for your characters, all the bonding you’ve carefully crafted between them and the reader is shattered when they find out your expectation breaking ending was:

“It was all a dream.”

“That was naff.”

“But the journey was good wasn’t it?”

“Bobbins. Never buying your books again, you’re a hack writer. What was the point of any of it? I’ve wasted my time.”

Avoid this, or be avoided. Write your journey and your ending to be satisfying – in my opinion, that’s what makes a good book great, regardless of your genre (and even if you want to end on a bleak and gruesome note, have something in there which satisfies, such as the conclusion of a character arc). It’s a fine and difficult line to straddle.

Anyway, that’s all I can think up for now, if you have any advice, or wish to drop some wisdom, argue with me or merely tell me I’m full of bobbins, drop a comment below.

And as always, have a great day Adventurers! 🙂

34 Million Miles

I’m not just a navel gazer – occasionally my attention turns outwards to the cosmos at large. This is a trait most science fiction authors should have perhaps, yet I’m such an amateur at it, I had to check three websites and make my own observations to establish exactly what I was looking at and realising it WAS what I was looking for.

I’ve been keeping an eye on Mars, watching as it danced in the lunar conjunction, the nearest it will be to Earth for two years and due to a couple of astronomical quirks, brighter in the sky than Jupiter or Venus, both much bigger than it. What can I say, the War God packs a punch.

I’m using an old telescope, perhaps anywhere from 30 to 100 years old, as it has no makers’ mark and its provenance is difficult to ascertain. I’ll be taking it apart to clean it – (carefully!) and a few articles I’ve read will give me an amateurish stab at identifying how old it is.

Peering into the darkness gave me an appreciation for many things. The tools and hands of the people who made telescopes all the way to today, the machining and science that went into both. The notes and scribbling of stargazers, some of whom who would go unnoticed and others who soared to household names, all the way to seafarers, navigating the oceans under sail, only stars and the moon to guide them.

Which brought me back to Earth and made me feel small, humbled and aware of how much wonder there is still left in the world and in the skies.

So look up, look around. Like me, take your nose away from the boulder you’re pushing uphill occasionally. You don’t have to travel far, to go on a million mile journey.

Anyway, that’s all I have, hope you have a good day Adventurers! 🙂

Scrumping For Pluck.

Among other things.

For a few days now I’ve been fighting with The Jovian Counter and a bout of cold. Thankfully, it’s just a head cold with a few aches and pains thrown in, nothing terrible, but it’s making me lethargic and I’m dredging through a slump at the moment.

The style the book is written in (near all 80,000 words of it)is pre-Editor, which means it’s bloody awful, which matches my mood and humour. I can see the threads of what I intended with it, but the execution is so terrible, the entire thing reads like a botched afternoon at the guillotine.

Not for the first time, I’m becoming disillusioned with it all.

Thankfully, I’ve recruited a couple of extra test readers to look at other projects and my usual crew are backed up. I suppose this is the knock-on effect of the times making me tear my hair out – which makes a change to Editors tearing my arse off.

Anyway. I shall sit on my Chaises-Longues and contemplate the Boulder. Maybe I can just will the bloody thing uphill.

Tomorrow.

Have a good day Adventurers! 🙂

Bringer of Jollity

No, afraid it isn’t a party – that’s the title of Holst’s Jupiter, from his famous ‘Planets’ suite. There will be rambling below – be warned!

This is appropriate, because I have finally worked out what to do and happier now I have a bit of direction. I’ll be hammering out the burrs in my sequel to The Ares Gambit, which was written just over a year ago.

It’s strange when I look back and think about it. I wrote a lot last year and have been held up from tackling the polishing due to writing another, yet I still have trouble convincing myself I’m a writer and that I have more than one book in me. I don’t know why that is, but when I sit my printed proofs side by side, like Neo in the Matrix, I begin to believe.

Then I realise I have six months of editing and proofing something else and I want to go back to my Chaises-Longues! 😀

Anyway, I have now officially commenced work on The Jovian Counter, but it’s a working title (I’m reasonably happy with it, but the true title no doubt, will creep out before too long).

I’ve also plotted out my book timeline (again) and realised I have six books planned for this series and have two written and a third partially done, which is a prequel. This gives me a quandary though – how do you, my fellow adventurers, feel about Prequels?

To a new reader they’re just the first book in the series – but to a veteran bookist they tell a story you already know the end of…What do you all think? Let me know below!

Anyway, back to the boulder – there’s a few of them to shift!

Have a great day Adventurers! 🙂