Publication of my second novel

 I have published the second novel in my urban fantasy series on Amazon. The title is 'The Arabian Conspiracy'. The plot involves a murder mystery. Members of the Guild of Magicians are being murdered. The assailant is using magic. But the characters in the novel take a long time to realise that the incidents are linked.

The novel introduces a new character, a 13-year old girl named Constance. Her original purpose was to be the subject of an exposition, so I could explain my magic system to the reader. But her role just kept growing.  

I will not be able to produce the novel as a paperback until the cover is available. But as we are stuck in lockdown, I will not have any opportunities to sell paperbacks at conventions. 

Revision of a work in progress

 I have decided to revise the third novel in my 'Magicians' series. A key point in the story involves a man being abducted. I decided that the episode should occur earlier in the story, to draw in the reader. 

I thought it would be simple, but that minor change forced me to re-shuffle a dozen other episodes in the story. The man is introduced to a schoolgirl during a school holiday; the abduction now takes place during the school holiday instead of after it. I could have deleted that interview, but it helped to show how likeable the abducted man was. I decided to keep the interview, but that forced me to make a couple of other changes.

I think the end result makes it all worthwhile.

First book in series finally published

The first book in my Urban Fantasy series, 'The Conspiracy Theory' has been published on Amazon Kindle. I  hope to arrange a paperback version in a few days.

The story describes a series of magicians from Britain who visit the United States and attract the unwelcome attention of some American conspiracy theorists.

I have been working on this novel since I first went into lockdown. the text was completed in September. Arranging the cover took over a month.

The next task is to carry out a line-edit of the second book in the series and arrange a cover.

I have five novels in the series in various stages of development.

 

  

Fantastic Schools Anthology

 Almost a year ago, at the Novacon Science Fiction convention, I read an invitation to contribute to an anthology on the theme of magical schools. The editors were Chris Nuttall and L. Jagi Lamplighter, both of whom had written novels on this theme. 

I was writing a series of Urban Fantasy novels, and those stories had included a school. None of the action had taken place in the school, but I realised that the world I had created would allow me to produce a story. I  sent a note to L. Jagi, asking whether a 'St. Trinian's - style'  story would be acceptable. Her reply was encouraging, so I set about writing the story. The first draft was a bit long, and needed to be trimmed, but I was satisfied and sent it off. 

The story, 'A Polite Request from a Tough Soldier', was accepted. My only disappointment was that Chris and L. Jagi had received so many replies, they had decided to publish them in two books, and my story would be published in the second one.

Their feedback, always encouraging, was constructive. I was asked to trim the text further and downplay the role of one of the characters, which was easy enough.

The anthology, 'Fantastic Schools Volume 2' was published on Amazon a couple of weeks ago. 

Chris and L. Jagi have now issued another request for contributions and I am thinking of making a contribution. 

Request for feedback

This is thew blurb for my new novel. I have posted it on a Facebook writers' site, asking for feedback. 

The president thinks that a group of witches has put a curse on him. He is right, but the truth is more complicated than he thinks.

The British ambassador is using telepaths to send confidential reports to London. They know that their emails are being intercepted - and the ambassador’s blunt views of the president could provoke a crisis. 

But when an American radio talk show hears about these 'cypher clerks', he assumes that their role must be more sinister. They must be a conspiracy. He tries to guess the telepaths’ true role – and guesses wrong.

Mary has been trained by the secretive Guild of Magicians in England, then sent to New York. Her boss has told her that there are no magic users in the United States. The truth is more complicated. The American magic users are keeping their own secrets.

Oliver just wants to enjoy a simple playboy lifestyle in London and New York. Then his father orders him to do some social work for the Guild. If he doesn't, his allowance may be cut. Oliver is inclined to nurse a grudge, but then he meets Mary.

Then, in the Great Storm, the President suffers a near-death experience. He tells the world that the witches were responsible. Then he hears the allegations about the British Embassy. He tries to guess the telepaths’ true role. The wrong answer could provoke a crisis.

Research

 I have just returned from a trip to the Tower of London. The place is atmospheric - it's got a history going back 900 years.  The Warders carry out a ceremony every three years. 

They walk round the perimeter of the castle in full dress uniform. The children who are living in the tower at the time, and some from a local school, usually take part as  well. It is very colourful. I want to put the ceremony in my next Urban Fantasy novel.

I had considered using a photograph of the Tower as the cover of my novel. That was the purpose of the visit.

Moselsteig

 I have just returned from a six - day hiking holiday along the bank of the River Mosel in Germany. The journey was not intended for research for a novel. It was merely a way of escaping from my home. I had been stuck there since the lock-down began.

The Mosel flows through a narrow valley with steep sides. Every morning I would climb to the top of the gorge, then walk along the trail - the Moselsteig - before descending to a village at the end of the day.  I was lucky with the weather. It only rained twice, after the day's walk had ended. Unfortunately the restaurant manager, worrying about the Covid-19 precautions, had asked us to dine outside. 

The biggest setback came on the first day, before the hike began. I got off the train, chose a restaurant, switched on my phone, and read my emails. The first one informed me that Eurostar had cancelled my return journey. At first, I assumed that Eurostar had closed down completely. Would I have to take the ferry home? Then I realised that only one train had been cancelled. So I used my phone to book a seat on the first train the next day.  Unfortunately, that meant I had to arrange an extra night's stay in a hotel.

The other setback is that I now have to endure 14 days quarantine. 

Now that I am safely home, I shall pick up my writing. I have to arrange the publication of another book, the first in my 'Magicians' series. The first step is to find a cover artist.  

Publication of another novel

 The second novel in my Alternate History series, Greeks Bearing Gifts,

has now been sent for publication on Amazon Kindle. The next step will be to arrange the printing of a paperback version. That will have to be proof-read.

I now intend to line-edit and publish the first novel in my Urban Fantasy series. I hope to do that within six weeks. 

I now have four of these urban fantasy novels in some stage of development.

British Library

Everyone who publishes a book in the UK has to send a copy to the British Library.
Today, I received a couple of copies of my novel 'The Aviators'. I immediately took one copy to the Post Office and sent it off to the Library. That is an important boundary. I can move on to my next novel.
The second novel in the 'Empire of Gaul' series is complete. I have contacted a book cover artist.
After that, I think that the next book to be published should be the first in my Urban Fantasy series. I have been working on that for years.

Publishing my new novel

My new novel, 'The Aviators' is now available on Amazon Kindle.
I shall now start work on finalising the next novel in the series, 'Greeks Bearing Gifts'.
I shall have to advertise my book on Amazon. That looks as if it could be a stressful process.
Should I start revising the third book in the series, or should I start work on my other series, set in the present day?

Publishing a novel

My novel 'The Aviators' has been sent to Amazon, to be uploaded onto Kindle.
I have also tried to get the novel printed by Amazon in  paperback format.
That has proved to be more difficult. I have received several error messages. Nothing seems to work.

I shall just have to keep trying.
At least, it is not urgent. I will not need the paperbacks until I attend my next Science Fiction convention. The next one in my calendar, Novacon, is five months away.

Feedback and revision

In an earlier post, I explained that my short story had been accepted for publication. But my editor has now written back, saying that she would like a couple of changes. She wanted the role of one minor character to be toned down, as her presence risked overbalancing the story.
On the other hand, an almost invisible character had to be brought forward, in order to strengthen the plot. The female lead felt challenged by the minor character, her grandmother. So the grandmother had to be given more substance to explain why the female lead felt oppressed by her.
All of this turned out to be a most rewarding exercise.
I shall send the revised text off this evening. Hopefully, it will be accepted.

A new novel

Now that my first novel is ready for publishing, I have moved on to writing the next one. I actually started work on this several years ago, before putting it to one side. Re-reading it, I can see that a lot needs to be done.
I did a lot of research while I was writing the novel and, unfortunately, too much of that went into the novel. Most of it does not advance the plot and so it will have to be cut.
The female characters do not have much to say for themselves. I shall have to strengthen their roles and let them speak out more.
In the original text, I set down what the characters said, but did not explain why they said it, or their moods.  I will have to go back and add all of that.
It is all going to take longer than I first thought.

The Aviators

I haven't posted anything lately. Over the last few days I have been concentrating on completing my book, 'The Aviators'. I have now completed the final line edit. I may have missed a few errors, but I can't bring myself to go through that again.
That allow me to move on. The next task is to format the book for printing and find a cover artist.

Writing again

Right at the start of the lockdown, I decided to use this time to complete my novel. Then my laptop froze up. I tried to continue, using my Chromebook. But as everyone who has used a Chromebook will know, the word-processing software is very basic. It's acceptable for everyday work, but I wanted to complete a draft that was up to professional standards. I could not take my old laptop to a repair shop. The only option seemed to be to buy a new laptop.
One side effect of the lockdown was that the hotels I planned to visit in April and May had returned their deposits. So I had an unexpected healthy bank balance. (I would have preferred to go to the Eastercon and Satellite conventions, but there you go.)
When my new laptop arrived, it took a day to set it up. It took another day to obtain internet access. but now I am ready to go. I have the word-processing software I need to format my novel.

Short story

Back in November, I saw a facebook page from two editors requesting contributions to a short story collection on the theme of 'magical schools'. I was, at that time, writing a novel about a society of magicians so I thought I could use a theme from that novel to provide a short story.
My story, about an adolescent girl in a school for magic, was accepted for publication. The story collection will be published next month. In the meantime, the editors have published a web page.
This is the link:

https://www.superversivesf.com/fantasticschools/2020/04/02/announcing-fantastic-schools-1-2/

I hope you find it interesting.

Lost documents

I have suffered a minor disaster. My laptop has frozen. When I turn it on, all I get is a blank screen. All of my files are in there, but I cannot get at them. And, in this lockdown, I cannot take it to a repair shop.
Fortunately, I had backed up all of my files a few days ago, so only a few days' work has been lost.
I had bought a Chromebook to serve as a backup. The challenge now is to learn how to read and edit my draft, using the Chromebook's very basic word processor.

The month when everything changed

COVID-19 has changed everything. It has not just changed the way we live - the lockdown. From now on, the people who experienced it will ask whether an event happened before the epidemic or after it.
Novels dated before January 2020 will be regarded as historical novels - just like novels dated before or after the First World War.
I have been writing a set of novels set in the present day. They describe the political situation in the Middle East. Should I rewrite them so they are set after the crisis? But how will the epidemic change the political situation?
The alternative is to write a historical novel. Some time ago, I drafted a novel set during the Roman Empire. I abandoned it because it needed extensive revision. I may go back and rewrite it.

Eastercon cancellation

Eastercon, the British national science fiction convention, was due to be held in Birmingham this year, over the Easter bank holiday. The Eastercon this year was named Concentric. One tradition of these conventions is the dealer's room, where small-scale publishers and other dealers can rent a table and sell their books and other merchandise.
I was looking forward to this convention as I had booked a table for myself and expected to sell a few of my books. 

The convention committee has just sent out an email to advise all members, guests, panelists and dealers that the convention has been cancelled. The government has orderd all bars and restaurants to close. The bar is the social heart of every convention, so the government's announcement meant that the hotel could not meet its obligations.
The committee's decision is is not a surprise, given the developing Corvid-19 crisis, but it is still a disappointment. I have booked tables at several conventions in the past, and had hoped to sell a few of my books at Concentric. 
The other major British convention this year, 'Satellite 7', to be held in Glasgow in May, has been postponed to February 2021.
I also regularly attend Novacon, whivh is usually held in Nottingham. I am hoping that this convention will not be put off.

Working from home

I have not been able to add much to my novel over the last week days. On Tuesday, my employer asked all their staff to work from home. This has completely disrupted my schedule. Our employer expected us to use our personal Cable Boadband setup to maintain contact with the office. At our own expense. The trouble is - I never bothered to get broadband. I'm a writer, not a gamer. I didn't neet ultrafast acess. Until now, that is.
So I had to improvise. I'm using a colleague's smartphone as a personal hotspot. The link keeps failing, so I have to stop work to re-establish the link.
Hopefully, I'll be able to establish a new writing routine next week.

Research at a pub

Yesterday, I jumped in my car and drove halfway across England to visit a very pleasant pub, the Barley Mow, on the Thames. As you can see, it is photogenic. The interior is as picturesque as the exterior, with low ceiling beams and a huge open fireplace.
A word of warning: the road is busy, with blind corners, and the car park is on the opposite side of the road.
The justification for this extravagance was that I was carrying out research for my latest novel. Several characters meet up there. The two Americans are astonished at the age of the building.
The warm and cosy interlude at the inn is followed by grimmer scenes in the Middle East.

s.,

The editors of the anthology asked the contributors to supply a short intro paragraph to introduce their stories. This is my first draft:

When Constance was thirteen, she discovered that she was a Firestarter. The man from the Guild told her that the only way she could protect her family from harm was for her to go to the secretive Castle School.
She learned other forms of magic, which was fun. The other girls forced her to learn deportment, which was not fun at all. She joined the officer cadets, so she could learn how to abseil down cliffs. But then the army learned about these children. They turned up at the school gates ...

Acceptance of a short story

Last November two authors, Chris Nuttall and L. Jagi Lamplighter, asked for contributions to a new anthology of 'Fantastic School' stories. They have both written a series of novels set in schools of magic. 
I remember the date very well, because I had just arrived at the annual British Science Fiction and Fantasy convention 'Novacon'.
I was writing an Urban Fantasy novel at the time. One of the characters was an adolescent girl who had found she could do magic and, as a result, had been sent to an English residential school. I realised that this setting could be used for a short story that might fit within the editors' guidelines.
I described my concept to Chris, asking for his opinion, and he said it sounded good. So I started writing.
This imaginary world already existed in the notes for my novel. One difficulty for me was to explain this background to the reader within the word limit of a short story. I kept adding scenes until I realised the story was getting too long. It was also unbalanced, with too much buildup, which outweighed the final act. So I had to prune it back again. I completed my story, and eventually decided on a name, 'A polite request from a tough soldier'. I sent it off at the beginning of February.

The editors have just informed me that my story has been accepted. They hope to publish the anthology in May. You will understand that for a struggling author, this acceptance is very encouraging.

Stories interesting places

My latest novel is set in present-day Baghdad. 

The political situation changes from day to day. There are protests, riots and bombings. This is very dramatic - which could be very useful for a novelist. I could incorporate these events into my story. My characters could participate in the protests or be trapped by a riot.

But the political scene is changed by these events. Should I adapt my story to reflect these changes, or should I ignore them? 

Writing and publishing my novels

I am writing a series of five Urban Fantasy novels. 

They are based in England, but action tales place around the world.  

Publication

I have to decide whether to publish them all at once, or several months apart. Publishing them no more than three weeks apart will have a greater effect upon publicity, but will involve more effort on my part.