Healing the Thames: a Steampunk tale

 I am writing a steampunk novel. One complaint about steampunk is that it is racist: it is solely about whites. This was a valid complaint. Then I read about the Zulu king Cetshwayo's trip to London in 1882. He was received with some respect and even got to meet Queen Victoria.  This, I thought, was the perfect base for a steampunk story. So I introduced a fictional ambassador from a fictional African kingdom. 

But steampunk is more than an 'alternative universe' story. It needs a touch of the supernatural.  My answer was to introduce deities for rivers and hills. The Thames at that time was heavily polluted. Its deity was suffering. So I invented a campaign by the ambassador to heal the Thames. I have reached 60,000 words so I still have a long way to go.  

The African king Cetshwayo in London

In August 1882, the Zulu king Cetshwayo came to London. The British had deposed him from his rightful status as Zulu king and forced him into exile. He came to London hoping to petition the British government against his continued exile and the threatened incorporation of KwaZulu territory into the white settler colony of Natal.   

This report (in 'Black Victorians - Black Victoriana', edited by Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina) fascinated me. I knew there was a story in there. But did I have the skill to write about the Zulu king? I eventually decided that I did not, and instead devised a story about a visit by a young prince from a fictional West African country. That resulted in a novella. But the situation, a royal visitor from a port country exploring London, had great potential. I am presently writing a sequel, and am drafting notes for a third story set in the Great War.  

Novella - African Ambassador

 I have just published my new steampunk novella 'African Ambassador'. It is set in London and West Africa at the end of Queen Victoria's reign. The first draft was a straight historical fiction story, but I rewrote it as fantasy because I realised that a historical novel would not sell.

I added another storyline about the goddess of the River Thames, poisoned by industrial pollution.  

i am still struggling with the advertising campaign. I cannot think of the appropriate tagwords to use. 

Legal Deposit Libraries

 I have received an email from the Legal Deposit Libraries. They are exercising their legal right to request 5 copies of my novel, 'The Russian Conspiracy'. This is in addition to the copy that I have to send to the British Library. It is a sort of tax, but one that every author has to pay. 

It is also recognition that I am a published author.

Book title problem

 One of my novels is titled 'Greeks bearing gifts' This is a quotation: the 'gift' in question was the Trojan horse, and brought disaster to the Trojans who accepted it.

Amazon has now told me that the title is not acceptable to them. It contains the word 'gifts'. Apparently, Amazon is worried that potential buyers will assume that I am trying to give the book away free, which is against Amazon's rules. They seem unaware that this quotation is world-famous. 

I have removed the book's subtitle. Hopefully, this will appease Amazon's automated editors.  

Addition to 'Telepaths' series: The Arab Grimoire

 The latest novel in my 'Royal Telepaths' series, 'The Arab Grimoire', has been published on Kindle. A paperback version will be available shortly.

The Guild of Magicians in London wants to learn about the Arab tradition of magic. And they know you can find anything in Baghdad’s weekly book market. Constance, fluent in Arabic, is studying the science of the caliphate, and owes the Guild a favour. 

In Baghdad, the police barricades have been removed, the nightclubs have reopened. But there are still kidnappings. The militias are still active. There are violent protests outside the American embassy. The local magicians are secretive – and resent foreign intruders.

But, for Constance, the worst hazard is the anarchy of the annual fashion show.

New novel: The Strategist

 The fourth novel in my 'Empire of Gaul' series has been published on Kindle. It is set in Europe, in the Middle Ages, just as the empire of Charlemagne is collapsing. A British general, Kay, is hired by the new emperor to defend the frontiers against Viking and Arab pirates.

Kay is married to a German princess. He painfully aware that a fine mind is just as important on a campaign as courage and a strong sword arm. He has doubts about his own abilities. 

A key element of the story is that Kay's wife, Bridget, accompanies him on his campaigns  gives him advice on tactics and strategy.

Poor sales - how should I respond?

 I have put a new title on Amazon, the third in a series. I have started a new advertising campaign, to publicise that series. But sales have been low.  

All of these are fantasy titles. Is that why they have failed? Should I adopt a new strategy? 

One option would be to start a new series, one that is straightforward adventure rather than fantasy.

But that is a huge commitment. The first book would take months. And all the expert advice says an individual book will not sell - you need a series. So I would be committing myself to at least a year's writing output. 

But it could be the best option.

Publication of a new novel, 'The Russian Conspiracy'

The fourth novel in my 'Royal Telepaths' series has now been published on Amazon, in both ebook and paperback format . I started writing the series in 2016. I had intended this story to be the fourth in the series, taking place in 2019. But as the Covid crisis developed, I realised that the fourth novel would take place in the middle of 2020 - when the country was in lockdown.

I did not want to place the actions of the novel after the crisis. Nobody knew when the crisis would end. My solution was to move the intended fourth novel to the spring of 2019. 'The Russian Conspiracy' would therefore take place in the autumn and winter of 2019 - just before the lockdown was imposed. 

The Russians are meddling in the Middle East, propping up an immoral regime - that's one conspiracy. Britain organises a covert operation to upset their plans - another conspiracy. Assassins are appearing in London. The Russians deny they are responsible. The Guild of Magicians become involved in the campaign to stop the assassins. My recurring characters, a group of magic users, play a large part in this campaign. 

  

New short story

 My second short story has been accepted for the Fantastic Middle Schools  magical schools anthology. The editor made this comment about the introduction.

I think your blurb is lovely! You made it very intriguing and I think that it will make the reader enjoy it all the more. Might I recommend, to bring your blurb into keeping with the style of the rest, that we present it this way?

The author writes: “The viewpoint character in my story, Constance, appears in a story in Fantastical Schools, Volume 2 and my novel The Arabian Conspiracy. 

The story was inspired by a novel in Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London series. In it, the British 'Magic police' arrest a Russian witch. She then sneers at them, saying that they would have to let her go because no 'conventional prison' could hold her. As an author, I was disappointed that Ben's police officer tamely accepted this.

It occurred to me that, if a conventional prison could not hold a witch, what about an unconventional one? My next thought was "The Tower of London", because as prisons go, it is as unconventional as you can get. I had a vague recollection of a ceremony at the Tower. An internet search told me that this ceremony took place every three years; and the next occurrence was six weeks away. I told myself that if I missed the opportunity to witness it, I would never forgive myself.

Insurrection and inspiration

 Insurrection is defined as:  the act or an instance of revolting, violently against an established government.

And that is what happened in Washington on 6 January.

That event was truly shocking.

And the organisers could try again.

But any event, no matter how shocking, can act as inspiration for an author. I am now setting out the guidelines for a novel based on the aftermath of those terrible events.

The president and the senate are now under siege, psychologically if not physically. How will they respond?

Publishing my third Urban Fantasy novel

 I have just arranged for the third novel in my urban fantasy series to be published on Kindle. In this story, Two Prisoners,  a member of Britain's Guild of Magicians has been renditioned and held prisoner. But the Americans have seized the wrong man; they mistook him for somebody else. Then, in a bizarre twist, an American magic-user is arrested in London. He needs to be held in a place where he cannot use magic to escape. But the Guild has an answer to that problem and he is taken to a very different prison.

I had hoped to publish all of the novels in the Royal Telepath series before the end of the year, but the artist I chose to provide my covers has suffered several delays. The latest setback is that his home has been flooded. 

Because of this delay, it could be some time before I can bring out paperback versions of these novels.

I am aready working of the fourth and fifth novels in this series.

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.