I haven't posted for a while, simply because so much has been going on. Changes in my private life have left a void and so I have thrown myself into my SF novel A Pride Of Lions, yesterday finishing the 2nd rewrite. I've found myself writing constantly, sometimes from 10:00 until 01:30 and, as I said on Twitter, it's frustrating when you make a cup of tea, look at your novel, then take a sip only to find it's gone cold. This happened five times the other day. So the plan now is heavy editing, fire up the coffee percolator to combat the peculiar happenings with the Earl grey, and then to submit my work for crits while looking for an agent/publisher. I estimate that the word count at about 60,000, which is about right.
Although I've almost finished my short story collection Distant Shores, and I'm keen to publish it, I've decided to hang fire for a while, to see how the novel goes before making any decisions about how and where to market it.
The MA finishes in February, and I have one more submission to make (comprising of two edits of the same work). Then it's re-edit the complete 7,500 MA Project and submit it along with a contextual essay for marking; then all will be done and dusted, and it will just be a question of waiting.
There's also the fact that I may be moving soon too, further north, to Boston in Peterborough. It's nice there and very quiet, no such animal as a traffic jam. So, things have been extremely hectic, as I go through my cupboards and the loft to vet what I have to take with me. It's amazing what you accumulate over the years.
Sunday, 21 August 2011
Sunday, 10 July 2011
Cursed, So I Am
Why is it that when you think you are finally catching up on your writing projects something catches your eye and your breath quickens? Browsing through publishing sites this morning one in particular immediately grabbed me, and I thought I'd love to have a story that would really fit into that. Then realised that I did. So, now I'm rewriting my short story 'Dream Stealer'. But that's never the end, is it? On top of this project I have the novel to complete, a feature a magazine editor's agreed to in advance and a brace of book reviews.
So, is writing a gift or a curse? A bit of both I guess. I simply love the way that stories chop and change as you develop them, the thrill of getting critiques back and the sheer delight of having one or two accepted by editors; the dismay when occasionally those accepted aren't published and you wonder why you left it with them in the first place, when there are so many other markets waiting out there.
Tis cursed, so I am.
So, is writing a gift or a curse? A bit of both I guess. I simply love the way that stories chop and change as you develop them, the thrill of getting critiques back and the sheer delight of having one or two accepted by editors; the dismay when occasionally those accepted aren't published and you wonder why you left it with them in the first place, when there are so many other markets waiting out there.
Tis cursed, so I am.
Friday, 8 July 2011
Updates
Geoff Nelder now has his trilogy 'Left Luggage' under contract with Scottish small-press LL-Publications. This is an absolutely superb piece of news, for not only is Geoff an excellent writer but also a staunch backbone of the BSFA Orbiter groups, never failing to critique and assist the other members of the group. Well done Geoff, great news indeed. My fingers are crossed also for his 'Xaghra's Revenge', which is currently under consideration with Angry Robot.
Exactly what is happening with Combat and my feature of Matt Fiddes and Michael Jackson is simply beyond me. The editor assures me that this has already been published, although it's not out in the shops and should have been on 29th July, but the issue is showing on the digital edition page of www.combatmag.co.uk. I'm hoping that all goes well, as I've always been a strong supporter of Combat and have been producing work for them, on and off, since 1984.
As well as continuing work on my short story collection, which I hope to publish as an EBook, my novel is progressing well. The tutor for the MA Project, Andrew Wille, is simply superb, offering sound advice and criticism. At this moment in time I have 7 features accepted and 7 short stories away for consideration, having finally cracked my latest effort 'Seven Steps To Gethsemane'.
In the meantime it's back to writing the novel, and getting my spicey female Key Character, Jenny, further into battle with those seemingly unbeatable aliens.
Exactly what is happening with Combat and my feature of Matt Fiddes and Michael Jackson is simply beyond me. The editor assures me that this has already been published, although it's not out in the shops and should have been on 29th July, but the issue is showing on the digital edition page of www.combatmag.co.uk. I'm hoping that all goes well, as I've always been a strong supporter of Combat and have been producing work for them, on and off, since 1984.
As well as continuing work on my short story collection, which I hope to publish as an EBook, my novel is progressing well. The tutor for the MA Project, Andrew Wille, is simply superb, offering sound advice and criticism. At this moment in time I have 7 features accepted and 7 short stories away for consideration, having finally cracked my latest effort 'Seven Steps To Gethsemane'.
In the meantime it's back to writing the novel, and getting my spicey female Key Character, Jenny, further into battle with those seemingly unbeatable aliens.
Thursday, 16 June 2011
Matt Fiddes & Michael Jackson
The Editor of Combat magazine told me yesterday that they are publishing my exclusive interview with Matt Fiddes in their July issue. Matt has a flourishing martial arts business with over 40,000 students and teaches martial arts to many celebrities. He met Michael through their joint friendship with Uri Geller and Matt was both bodyguard and martial arts instructor to Michael during his visits to the UK.This is a rare glimpse into a side of Michael that little is known about, and I for one can't wait to see it on the shelf at the end of the month. Combat is a superb magazine and one that I have supported for a great many years. I'm absolutely delighted to be able to give them this exclusive interview.
Sunday, 8 May 2011
Amazon
After Monk Punk appeared for sale on www.amazon.co.uk with my short story in it "Understanding Lee" I decided to peruse the virtual shelves and much to my delight discovered my book "Kwak's Competition Taekwondo" there. Sadly these are second user copies, for sale at the staggering price of £25! If the price had been set at that originally I would have been a very happy man. To top it all the Escape Velocity Anthology came out this week and that's also for sale on Amazon. Bearing in mind a writer's need for social media in this day and age I took the bull with both horns and created an authors page there.
The research portfolio for the MA is due in this week. It's the final one before the MA project itself starts. Much to my surprise I've managed to pass it all so far (see, there is a God!). Once this portfolio is sent off I will no doubt be chewing my lip until the results arrive.
I also managed to interview Logan Hood, the personal trainer of Jason Stratham last week. I was asked to interview him and centre the piece around June's DVD release of The Mechanic. One bonus here is that I get to see the film first and what a cracker it is too, I loved every minute of it. Logan, an ex-navy seal, turned out to be a really nice guy and I have to say that it was an absolute pleasure to speak to him. The feature's written now and has been mailed off to the editor, along with 3 other pieces. Since then I've had two other films arrive in the post to watch and then interview for, which I look forward to doing sometime this coming week.
The research portfolio for the MA is due in this week. It's the final one before the MA project itself starts. Much to my surprise I've managed to pass it all so far (see, there is a God!). Once this portfolio is sent off I will no doubt be chewing my lip until the results arrive.
I also managed to interview Logan Hood, the personal trainer of Jason Stratham last week. I was asked to interview him and centre the piece around June's DVD release of The Mechanic. One bonus here is that I get to see the film first and what a cracker it is too, I loved every minute of it. Logan, an ex-navy seal, turned out to be a really nice guy and I have to say that it was an absolute pleasure to speak to him. The feature's written now and has been mailed off to the editor, along with 3 other pieces. Since then I've had two other films arrive in the post to watch and then interview for, which I look forward to doing sometime this coming week.
Friday, 22 April 2011
Monk Punk
I was delighted to hear this morning that the Monk Punk anthology has now been published, containing my short SF story 'The Cult Of Adam'. This will be available on Amazon shortly and in the meantime copies can also be downloaded directly at:
www.pillhillpress.com/shoppe-static-movement.html
There are some superb stories in here by many up and coming writers, an anthology to look out for and certainly one to target by aspiring writers!
www.pillhillpress.com/shoppe-static-movement.html
There are some superb stories in here by many up and coming writers, an anthology to look out for and certainly one to target by aspiring writers!
Thursday, 7 April 2011
Celtx: Open Source Screen Writing Beginners Guide
I've been asked by Celtx to review their new book Open Source Screen Writing Beginner's Guide by Ralph Roberts. This shows us the way to write professional scripts and screenplays in the only way acceptable to Hollywood producers and agents. For writers in this field this is a complete page turner and should be added to any scribe's list of must have books.
For a sample chapter go to: http://tinyurl.com/3nunvyj
The complete EBook can be downloaded at: http://link.packtpub.com/5frggq
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