Inside Evil, Spirits of the Middlelands, is completed

Posted by geoffwakeling on March 6, 2013

I’m so happy! Yesterday, I wrote the epilogue for Spirits of the Middlelands and finally got that all important final sentence for this third book in the Inside Evil series onto paper – aka – word. I have to admit, it didn’t start off so well. Having taken several months out to complete CRYO and Pacifier 6, getting back to Ridgewood and rediscovering Roberta, Susan and Karl took a while. I had writer’s block, I tried to force the story, and I got absolutely nowhere. But, then things started kicking into place, twists that even I hadn’t foreseen began to occur and my nimble fingers were back on track. I got the great cover art done and released a few teasers and everything started to snowball in the right direction.

Having now finished Spirits of the Middlelands, I’ll need a week or so to re-read the first draft, make improvements, fix some continuity issues and take out a couple of paragraphs that began story threads which didn’t actually transpire into anything. Then, it’s off to my editor. So, with us already heading towards mid-March, I would think this release will due at the end of the month at best, but more likely early April. If you don’t want to miss it, then make sure to sign up to the newsletter.

WHAT’S NEXT?

As much as I want to write the next CRYO book and have ideas formulating for another Pacifier 6 novella, Inside Evil fans will be pleased to know that I’m going to crack straight on with book number four. My mind is filled with Ridgewood right now, with each character’s fate, and I’m keen to capitalise on this. With the middle book now complete, there’s just two more to write – I can’t believe it! If you haven’t had a chance to read Inside Evil yet, grab it – it’s FREE ;P

Now, I must be off to correct typo’s and ensure continuity!

A Bloody Kind of Lust

Posted by geoffwakeling on February 14, 2013

Everyone loves a bad boy, right? Or has indulged in unrequited love, or perhaps fallen a little too far for someone completely inappropriate. It’s Valentines Day, and we all know that this day of the year is about sharing time with your partner (or getting drunk if you’re single). But what if you’re love isn’t the average? What you’re in love with a monster? A zombie?

Love between a mortal and a zombie

Whilst I’m no fan, Twilight has certainly pushed away the boundaries over loving monsters. Tales have been spun throughout the decades of mere mortals falling for deadly and vicious monsters, but Stephanie Meyer really managed to bring monster love back into the spotlight….though Edward Cullen wasn’t quite the vicious vampire that we’re all used to. Perhaps, for that, it’s best to look towards the realm of True Blod and Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse novels. More recently, Warm Bodies has found a spotlight, with the film adaptation of Isaac Marion’s book showing that love can really cure all. But can it? And, more importantly, should it?

I’ve been grappling with this idea in my latest novella, Pacifier 6, The Shadows Within. Set after a zombie apocalypse, the human race is trying to rebuild society. Zombies decimated our population, but there were those that survived, and with the emergence of a new drug – Pacifier 6 – the remaining zombies have been drugged and farmed into a new workforce. But whilst decomposing, mute and all together nasty looking, is there still a place for love?

I’m not sure that love is the correct word, and it’s more like bloody lust. A zombie is a zombie, even when pacified, and despite that there’s a new creature lurking within, I was torn between all out love and showing just the flickering of an emotional connection. If you read the tale, you’ll discover that it isn’t really a love story, but more of a discovery of feelings. Is Carl attracted to his zombie worker because he likes a bad boy? Because there’s a consciousness deep within? Or is it simply that there aren’t many people left to choose from?

At any length, I’m not sure that love between monsters and mortals should be an easy ride. After all, love between two humans is normally less than smooth. And, if I’m honest, monsters are still monsters whatever the show they put on…they’re supposed to be scary, to creep us out, to put the fear of god into our souls. Love tends to be enduring. Lust, however, it an instant overtaking emotion that gets us into all manner of problems, especially when we’re ogling a monster.

*THIS IS PART OF A VALENTINE’S BLOG HOP - Click here for the other members of this Blog Hop.*

Thinking on a galactic level – world building with Raphyel Jordan

Posted by geoffwakeling on February 12, 2013

As a writer, I get the awesome job of creating brand new worlds. Creatures of any type, characters with whatever personality I choose to give them, vast universes full of teeming life. Today I’m VERY excited to host Raphyel Jordan in a piece about world building.

Raphyel Montez Jordan grew up in a household sensitive to the creative arts. As a child, his hobbies were drawing favourite cartoon and video game characters while making illustrated stories. This passion for art never left and followed him all the way up to his high school and college years. When he was 19, he started writing a novel for fun, taking inspiration from the constant exposure of different ideas and cultures that college showed him. He eventually made it a goal to have the story published after he graduated, and dubbed the goal “Operation Prosia,” the very same project that would develop into his first published book, “Prossia.”

*****

You know what? The real world’s boring. I mean, seriously. Look outside. Did you just see a dragon or UFO fly by? No? Then I rest my case. And if you said yes. . . maybe it’s time to talk to a professional.

One of the reasons why we’re seeing sci-fi and fantasy films strike it big in the box office is because people love being able to get lost in a world beyond imagination. It’s our natural human nature. Classical stories like Homer’s epic poem, “Iliad,” centuries beyond centuries old, is a strong evident to that statement.

Human beings love to imagine the what-if scenario. What if there was magic? What if I had superpowers? What if aliens actually did exist? With those small sentences, with those few words, galactic governments have been put on the brink of peril, wars between elves and goblins have been raged, adventures that have challenged the test of time have been born, and that was exactly how “Prossia” was created.

After having a basis for the story in mind, I asked myself, “What if I wrote a story about aliens?” Sure, that’s simple enough, but that thought would branch off into more avenues and streams.

* What if they lived on a single planet?

* What if it was an entire solar system?

* What if the aliens were spread across an entire galaxy?

* What if there weren’t any even humans around, like so many other stories?

Did you see what happened? Did you see that snowball-turned-avalanche coming down the mountain? When I asked myself if my story was going to be about aliens, I was already challenging myself to explain why these people’s world was the way it was, without even realizing it.

And granted, universes aren’t made over night, so creating the Prossia Universe has been a very long process. The other challenge of the universe comes from the fact that this is indeed a science fiction story. Meaning, I can’t just say something is the way it is by magic. This genre requires a little fact, as much as feasible. So, when I made my main character, Aly, come from people who had infrared vision, had super reflexes and agility, and could form energy out of their hands, I actually had to explain that Aly has infrared vision because it helps her see approaching threats. I have a separate file listing the anatomy of my aliens, from what type of cartilage and muscle tissue would be possible for Goolians to move the way they do, to the extrasensory perceptions they have when it comes to their ability of using fusion to create a ball of plasma.

And that only covers one of the current nine races! What about the other aliens and their designs? I wanted them to look a certain way, but there had to be a reason why. Humans and other animals look the way they look due to Earth’s size, its closeness to the sun, the ecosystems it has, and tons, I MEAN TONS, of other factors. So, it’s only natural other life-forms would evolve to fit their environments as well. That is, after all, one of the key functions of life. Seriously, look at how diverse the biology on our very own little rock is.

So, more questions:

If we must adapt to our surroundings, what if I make aliens that can adapt to their surroundings through an advanced acclimation process? If that were the case, wouldn’t that mean what took us millions of years to do capable of being done much sooner? And how much sooner am I talking? Am I still talking millions of years, or just a few thousand?

And still, the questions continue, and guess what else, so does the world I find myself lost in. Maybe some people would think such world building is just wayyyy too much trouble. I, on the other hand, think it’s totally awesome. Being an artist and a writer, I like being able to create, so what’s cooler than creating an entire galaxy!?

To think that I studied Civilization, Psychology, Ethics and Values, Biology and Ecology just so I could have some ideas for Prossia’s Universe. Now, I’m not saying that’s what all writers should do in order to build their worlds. I was just fortunate enough to be in my college years while I was writing “Prossia,” and I needed to fill in some class electives. To me, researching is good, and the deeper I go into a universe, the better. Still, in the end, none of this could’ve happened if I asked the one thing that humans love to ask. “What if–” . Why don’t you ask the same question? Who knows what wonders you’ll bring.

: Aly, Prossia’s main character

: Cyleroa

I have to say a massive thank you to Raphyel for sharing his post and fantastic artwork us. If you want to find out more, then here’s a few links:

Prossia on Amazon
Prossia on Barnes and Noble
Goodreads
Raphyel’s Website, Facebook Page and Twitter

FINALLY, if that wasn’t enough there are also some goodies to win with a Rafflecopter giveaway. There’s FORTY (yes, 4 – 0) paperbacks up for grabs, as well as some Prossia merchandise AND a $25 Amazon gift card so it’s WELL worth entering.

Writing circles are important for goal achieving and encouragement

Posted by geoffwakeling on February 4, 2013

There’s nothing like setting a deadline to get your work done, right? Writing is hard, and once the initial few chapters have been completed, finding the stamina to keep going can often become a nightmare. There are chores to do, work to go to, real lives to lead. So, we set ourselves goals and targets to work towards. There’s NaNoWriMo, forum threads to add to every day to say ‘hey guys, I got 1K done today‘, and it does help. There’s nothing quite like a public announcement to put the pressure on. But, if you really want to keep going, you need perseverance and the help of friends.

Once you’ve published a book or two, the pressure starts to mount even more. With two books of my Inside Evil series out, there’s a rising need to write the third. I want Spirit of the Middlelands out in March. It’ll mean I’ve published five books in a year, and it’ll ensure that fans of the series actually get a new read fairly quickly. But I’m a procrastinator, it takes a while for me to sit down and open that .doc file. Not anymore, however, because I’ve found New Year, New Book.

This fantastic little community of writers, some of whom I know already and some who are becoming new friends, encourage each other along with tweets, emails and a visual little stats counter. As I said, there’s nothing like a public challenge to throw down the gauntlet, but all too often NaNoWriMo and those forum threads can become just as impersonal as if you were simply looking at a goal Post-it above your laptop. With New Year, New Book, each time we write, we check in with Twitter hashtags and our little stats bar zips towards our goal. I’m three days into February and I’ve already written 6.5K. It’s going great guns!

Writing can be an extremely lonely experience, and though I’m quite happy being a hermit for most of the time, a few encouraging tweets and the joy of applauding for others is quite welcome in my day. If you want to find out more about New Year, New Book head over to the page and see if you want to get involved. I’m writing more now than I ever have done.

Finding my way back to the inner pantser

Posted by geoffwakeling on January 28, 2013

In the writing industry, there are two common types of authors; the planners and the pantsers. If you haven’t heard of the latter term, it applies to writers to let the story emerge without really thinking about it. Whilst some individuals prefer to meticulously plan every chapter, draw up character sheets and have a detailed concept before they even start to write, pantsers normally have a few important story milestones to reach, a character or two at most and then just write. J. K Rowling is a famous planner of her novels, creating spreadsheets to easily guide her writing. I, however, am a complete pantser. I’ve never been able to plan a book in my life, and the idea of sitting down and writing out a chapter by chapter summary before I’ve even started makes me shudder. I actually don’t think I could even do it because many of my ideas spark from creative thought as I’m in the process of writing my fantasy novels.

Writing a series = Pantser freak out

However, herein lies the problem. Writing a standalone novel isn’t too tough if you just have to sit down and let the words flow. You can tighten up aspects of your book when you’re doing the edit. But, when you’re writing a series, all manner of complications begin to arise.

Spirits of the Middlelands is now progressing nicely, and I’m about one third of the way through (Hooray). Inside Evil was pretty easy to write, The Tower of Souls practically fell out of my mind and onto the page, and Spirits of the Middlelands? Gosh – it’s been causing me problems. I’m not sure whether it’s because I took time out to write CRYO and Pacifier 6, or whether I’m trying to wind so many strands of information together that it’s blowing my brain, but getting the flow has been hard.

So many threads

Spirits of the Middlelands is the third novel in a five book series, and whilst being the middle segment, there’s a lot to factor in. There are questions that need to be resolved from The Tower of Souls, for example. How did the Queen of the North Realms survive? Why was the girl able to cross over? Will the portal in the basement now be a doorway between worlds? These are all questions that need to be answered.

Then there is the lore around the Ammokra itself. What is it? Where did it start? Can it be stopped?

Then there are the individual story elements of each novel which need to tie together so you get the ‘Aha’ moments. Characters need to be progressed; Martha needs to be developed as a Gatekeeper, Roberta needs to prepare herself for life in hiding, Karl just needs to find an actual role in life.

Time to breathe

I’ve spoken about the threads as they’ve really begun to become problematic. How on earth can I write freely when there are so many elements that I’ve got to try and include? It’s for that reason that I’ve suffered major writer’s block for a couple of weeks. I like sitting down and watching Martha and Susan drink gin, or Roberta and Sam solving problems. I don’t want to feel as if I’m pulling teeth to get them to say or do anything.

Luckily, I’ve realised that the planning needs to step back, that I can go through the intricacies of the story in editing. That’s the time to add the little nuances and important features that will wind the entire series together. For now, I’m sitting back and let the characters do their own thing again, and truth be told, it’s working. Martha’s acting odder than ever, Roberta’s becoming more feisty and even Karl’s created an entire storyline that was never planned. This is the way I like it.

So what’s the entire point of this post? Basically, it’s to say; Don’t force it. I was trying far too hard to MAKE the story work instead of it letting it CREATE itself. Don’t stress on the first draft…just run with your thoughts and sort out the details later. You’d think I’d have known this by now…obviously not.

Are you a planner or a pantser? Let me know in the comments!

Writing Challenges for 2013

Posted by geoffwakeling on January 4, 2013

Well, 2012 was quite a year wasn’t it?! This time last year I read an interview in the Telegraph about Amanda Hocking and thought, ‘I could do that‘. This time last year I had NO idea what a journey this self publishing process would take me on. This time last year I had a couple of unfinished manuscripts hiding away on my computer.

Inside Evil was published on March 12th, 2012 and since then it’s been a roller-coaster ride. I’ve got better at writing, become more accomplished at marketing and feel that my inner writer is finally coming out. And, in 2013, there’s some important goals to complete!

CRYO; Rise of the Immortals

I was originally looking at a December launch, but, well….you may have noticed that December’s come and gone without a book. That’s because CRYO was an old manuscript that has been polished…hence more editing than normal is required. My editor is 54% of the way through, so I do expect this new science fiction saga to be released by the end of the month.

Inside Evil – Spirits of the Middlelands

If anyone follows my Twitter feed or Facebook page, then they’ll know that the third instalment of the Inside Evil saga has already begun. I’m SO glad to get back to Roberta, Susan, Martha and the rest of the gang to find out what’s been going on. Spirits of the Middlelands jumps forward by six months, so gone is the winter and here is the summer sun. I don’t always know what’s going to happen, so I’m excited by the new twists and conclusions that keep jumping into my mind. I’m aiming for two months of writing and editing, so would expect this third book to launch in March/April.

Pacifier Six

I can now reveal that the title for my zombie novella is ‘Pacifier Six – The Shadows Within‘ . This was a book that I had not been intending to write at all, but it popped into my brain during NaNoWriMo. If you haven’t read the first unedited chapter, you can do so here. It’s only a novella, circa 30K, and it can be read as a stand-alone story. However, if people show interest and the novella does well, then I may well write further stories. The editing is finished on Pacifier Six, and I’m only waiting on the artwork. This means that this novella should be published in late January or early February.

In addition to publishing these three stories, I’d like to have the fourth Inside Evil book published by the end of the year so that the five book saga can complete in 2014. Depending on the reception for CRYO, I’ll also be looking to have completed the second book in this series! I have a lot to do!!

What are you planning for 2013?

Genre blogging and how it helps you sell ebooks

Posted by geoffwakeling on November 19, 2012

I’ll be honest, I’m a bit of a blogging whore. I can’t help it. I’ve had so many blogs in my lifetime that I can’t even write them all down. In addition to running this author blog, I have a gardening one for my landscape company, I’ve just started a new one about my Second Life bookstore attempts, and I have many old and languishing websites that are long forgotten.

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been reading with increasing interest about the reasoning behind genre blogging; that is, writing about your novel’s genres and interests, rather than about the writing process itself. It does seem obvious when you think about it. If I blog about how to write novels, ways in which to promote books and my own self-publishing story, then I can expect to attract other authors who are interested in, or going through, the same process. If I blog about Inside Evil or my other books, I’m likely to attract only my current fans or those who are specifically looking for more information on my books.

However, if I blog about fantasy, science fiction and other subjects that have inspired the books, then I’m more likely to attract new readers who might give my books a go because they have similar interests.

I’ve increasingly been thinking about blogging in my genre and how to go about it on this blog. Writing about fantasy and science fiction is no hardship for me at all – I’m more than happy to gush about Mass Effect, LOTR or Blood & Chrome for HOURS. But, these subjects are such a dramatic split from this current blog that it just didn’t sit right with me.

Would I offend current readers of this blog by posting material that they really weren’t interested in? Would new readers looking for the latest gaming update or cinema release really be drawn in by other posts about writing?

I don’t think so.

As such, I’m attempting to breathe some life back into my old blog, The Modern Hermit. I’ve had this blog running for several years, and despite not having posted on it for nearly a year, I still get more hits a day on that site than I do here, largely because the back-list of articles and keywords. The blog certainly has a different tone than here, with completely different subject matter and a far more informal, even cursing voice sometimes, but it draws readers. Readers that could become book buyers.

Today I’ve updated both the themes for each blog to tie them together, as well as adding a new page on The Modern Hermit about my writing. It means that if those interested in fantasy and science fiction material are interested, they can easily find my work, but that I can keep the realms of writing and genre blogging separate from one another.

I think my little tip here is that if you feel that two subjects don’t fit alongside each other on a blog and you run the risk of repelling the very viewers that you’re trying to attract, listen to your instincts. Instead, create two blogs with the same themes, the same look, sister sites you could even call them. Then encourage cross reading for viewers, but ensure that should they want to do so, bloggers only need read the items that interest them.

A surprising new book

Posted by geoffwakeling on November 9, 2012

You may have read an earlier post where I talked about how to promote books on Squidoo. I’ve become fairly addicted to Squidoo over the past few weeks, and whilst I am yet to actually note any sales as a direct result of my marketing there, I am having fun. In addition, creating a lens about how to write a great vampire novel seemingly triggered a creative thought process in my brain, and now I started a new book!

With it being NaNoWriMo this month, and the fact that I haven’t really got off the starting block with the third Inside Evil book, I’ve been a little worried. I’ve failed at NaNoWriMo for two years running, mostly because I just haven’t sat down to write, rather than attempting and failing miserably. I have no interest in writing a vampire story, it’s really not my thing, but my Squidoo lens talked about the importance of bringing something new to a genre, of putting your stamp on it, of creating a new tale with one or two features that are original. Finding originality in literature is incredibly hard these days as most things have already been written. Then, choosing to write in a small genre, such as vampires, makes the task even harder. But it got my brain thinking, and last night I had a flash of inspiration for, uh-oh, a zombie story.

The inspiration occurred to me yesterday, and I decided to write some notes and shelve the idea for a while. After all, I’m in the middle of writing TWO book series. Plus, I’ve NEVER wanted to write about zombies. However, as I was working at a gardening client’s today, the novel just wouldn’t leave me alone. Ideas were coming thick and fast, and I’ve just ended up writing a 3,000 word first chapter for the book! I don’t have time to write a full length novel, not when I’ve got other series in motion, but a short 20k/30k novella might be OK. So, it’s decided, this NaNoWriMo I AM going to participate. I’m going to write my first ever short story. I’m going to take a leaf out of Hugh Howey’s book, and throw a short out there and see if it gains traction. If it does, I’ll write more. If it doesn’t, I’ll be happy that I completed NaNoWriMo for the first time and crafted my writing skills a little more.

I’m excited! I’m off to write!

Edit, edit, schmedit.

Posted by geoffwakeling on September 8, 2012

Whilst stories and ideas tumble around in my head for the third instalment of Inside Evil, the editing process continues with gusto for the new science fiction title. Whilst a name is still to be confirmed, I’m making good process. About 10,000 words got edited today, and I’m about 50k in – just another half to go. The end of the novel also has to be finished. Like Inside Evil, I wrote this story over several years and have therefore become distanced from the work so am having to reacquaint myself with the characters through a first general edit so that I can tie the end of the novel up nice and neatly. I’ll need to write/rewrite about 10 – 20 thousand words to complete the book, at which time another edit will be needed. But, what is my editing process?

When I read through a manuscript I do make punctuation and grammar changes, but I leave the majority of this work to my proofer. She’s there to call me out on bad words, questionable sentences and a host of spelling mistakes, missed words and comma misplacements (the latter, I know, I’m pretty awful with). My main focus for an edit is to ensure that the story flows, to make sure that a character’s inner voice doesn’t get too annoying. ‘CRYO’ sees an ordinary man win the trip of a lifetime, a chance to start again in a fresh and new world. He’s disillusioned with the current state of his dying Earth, and sets off to find a new utopia. One area that I’ve been battling with in this work is my protagonist’s whinge. Yes, he hates the world, he wants to leave, he wants a better life. But, there’s a careful balance between expressing his thoughts and making readers want to throttle the bugger.

I’m excited about getting this novel out there, and the current timeline will probably see the final manuscript having a second edit during Oct, proofing during Nov and publication in early Dec. Then I’ll get back to Inside Evil and start formulating the increasing wad of notes around my house into a sensible story! But, for now, here’s the first 250 of my WIP (subject to change – of course):

Title: TBC

The sales assistant, a gangly and short youngster with a metallic silver tattoo beading its way through his eyebrows, stared over the counter, open mouthed and wide eyed. John’s pupils dilated, his skin became momentarily flushed. Excitement, anticipation, disbelief; his face expressed it all. Wednesday morning, 12 minutes past 10, nothing had been planned for today, nothing was supposed to happen or to have happened, but in the cashier’s hand was something that could change everything. No, it would change everything.

Time had slowed to a grinding halt. John’s mind contorted as it tried to process this split second in time, trying to stop itself from exploding due to the multitude of mixed of emotions that John was feeling at this precise and tiny moment in time. Emotion seeped through his veins, pumping his heart with power, a deep resonating booming in his chest that he was sure the whole world could hear. Minute sweat beads began to form on John’s temple, his skin flushed, causing every hair on his body to become aroused. Around him people were shopping, laughing, living, queuing, fighting, crying, and in the midst of it he stood silent, an ordinary chap, on an ordinary day, with one extra unordinary feeling.

The Next Project Begins

Posted by geoffwakeling on August 4, 2012

The Tower of Souls is done and has now been given to my proofer for a final once over. All being well, it’ll be on shelves in the next few weeks, furthering Roberta and the residents of Ridgewood’s stories. So, with the manuscript completed, my mind is already moving to new things.

My next project will be a slight departure from Ridgewood as I complete the science fiction novel that has been lurking behind the scenes for many years. It’s already at 80K, and will probably end up at about 110K overall. I’m not very good at writing stand-a-lone stories as I get far too involved in my characters, and so I’m expecting this science fiction story to become quite epic.

With the title still TBC, my new project follows John Carlody; a widower who finds himself with one of the rarest golden tickets on the planet, the chance to get onto the world’s latest fad – cryogenics. The shy and retiring John finds himself thrust into the limelight, filled with mixed emotions over saying goodbye to those he loves and thrown into a future unrecognisable to the one that he left.

I’m excited to get back into this book and rediscover the characters who have been in my mind for so long. I’m aiming to have an Oct/Nov release, after which I’ll be back with the Ridgewood residents for the third in their series.