End of Spring

So, Spring is coming to a close and we’re looking ahead to Summer. Weather is still a bit iffy, some warm days, some cool days.

In fact, we went out ghost hunting in a cemetery last night using our favourite ghost hunting apps. What great fun that was! Awesome for research. We even used an SLS app and, yes, we had a result we can’t explain. There was nothing to suggest a false positive, so we’re taking it that we found a ghost.

Anyway, onto updates.

Clans in Conflict

For those who don’t know much about it, this is a series about a clan that is lost travelling through dimensions due to a scientific experiment gone horribly wrong and about the city-state Part 2 concludes in.

Dark Dimensions Part 1 and 2 is recounting that journey to Torkandisch. Dark Reign is the next book in the series and covers the next 12 months in the city-state.

The Dark Road takes place about 16 years later. Lots in Torkandish has changed and there is lots of intrigue and heartache throughout this book. Some funny instances, too.

But Dark Beginnings will take us back to where it all started in Tordun, covering Vlad’s rise to power and, perhaps, that fateful experiment, along with the first 15 years of dimension-hopping.

So, that’s what’s in store for anyone who wishes to immerse themselves in this world.

There are also going to be other stories, along with a special edition of Dark Dimensions where the two parts are combined. That will be in the future.

Speaking of other stories, Deadly Convergence is centred on Torkandisch 5 years before the Clan lands in the city-state and follows a crime that twists into something else. This is available only on Kindle and on Kindle Unlimited.

Consequences

Only 5 days until Heart of Deception is launched! 28 November! We are hosting an online launch party to celebrate. Sign up by clicking on the link below:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/16KYIn7lC0AAFVAG50cz_w8eGyhTU0Lryj8W8Py3r7a8/edit?usp=sharing

Legacy of Risks will follow in the next few months, once cover art is finalised for it.

Dangerous Heart will then go to beta readers.

Watch this space.

This series follows the rise of Marek from a mastermind thief to the saviour of a nation.

There will be some short stories come out and, possibly, a fourth book that covers events much later after Dangerous Heart. Definitely a “watch this space” moment.

Other Universes

Strefinobhan

With Heart of Deception released and my work on the Otherworldly Emergence series coming to a conclusion, I should be able to get back into editing the first book of this series and sending it to beta readers. I am still unable to say when this will happen, but hopefully sooner rather than later.

Paranormal

Again, this will have to wait until work on the Otherworldly Emergence series is completed. One of my paranormal pieces, however, is in the Emergence series, so stay tuned for updates there.

Speaking of which, you can find the Otherworldly Emergence information at the website below.

Bushland Castle Productions

As mentioned above, I am currently editing both stories for Bushland Castle Production’s Otherworldly Emergence Novella series.

I have finished editing the other one and am about to submit that story. I’ll be trying to lose something like 2800 words, however. As usual, I’ve gone overboard.

Pitches for this novella series has now closed and we are working hard on our manuscripts to bring them to you in a timely manner.

All of the information regarding the novella series is at the website:

https://www.bushlandcastleproductions.com/emergence

While you’re on the website, is information about their nonfiction series Australia: Living in the 70s. If you have a life story about living in the 70s in Australia, check the website for more details on that series. I know if I were to submit, it would all be about CountDown, Sandman vans and learning about Unionism through school (and other things, of course).

Also check out their podcast – Finding Elara. Learn about Mindfulness from other creatives – not just writers, but other creative persons, as well as worldbuilding and other information.

At the end of each segment, there’s a prize drawn. Go in to win books and other goodies!

Not only that, but Finding Elara has just made it onto YouTube. There is a Halloween special up that features one of my short ghost stories being read out live. So, just search for Finding Elara and have a listen. I’m the one in the blue hat.

Grow Write

Once every fortnight, Grow Write meets at the Midland Library in Midland, Perth, Western Australia. We are very excited to announce that our very first anthology is complete and it is almost ready for publishing. Watch this space as I will be sharing the cover with you!

Dialogue

So, I want to talk about dialogue. Which is talking, conversation, whatever, between characters.

I could talk about all the tags and that sort of thing that writers have to know and ensure they’re in place, but I’m sure you’ve heard that all before.

What I want to talk about is how to create that conversation so that it sounds/reads as natural speech. And the best way to do that is to imagine your characters having that conversation.

Now, I did learn, recently, that it pays to intersperse actions with the dialogue so that the characters are more than just a name on a page. This can be rolling the eyes, scratching their head, scratching a beard if they have one, raking a hand through their hair or any number of facial expressions.

These actions give your character life.

There’s nothing worse than just having the dialogue between the characters and not their actions/reactions.

Take a surprised character. Maybe they’re surprised by the topic of the conversation. So, maybe their reaction goes like this:

‘You what?’ Valerie asked, her eyes wide and her eyebrows raised.

This shows how Valerie’s face looks. What her expression is and what her face is doing. These facial expressions tell us that Valerie feels surprised when she hears whatever comment is made by the other character.

But it could go a different way. Take this for instance:

‘You what?’ Valerie’s eyes narrowed, her brow was creased and her teeth bared.

This might convey an expression of anger or outrage.

The other thing your character might do is scratch their head or run a hand through their hair. Like in the following:

‘Uh, I wouldn’t like to say,’ Donal said, scratching the back of his head.

This implies that Donal is uncomfortable and doesn’t want to discuss something that should really be spoken about by somebody else. Or, it may be as follows:

‘Uh, I wouldn’t like to say,’ Donal said, bowing his head and rubbing at the tile with his toe.

This one might imply that Donal might be embarrassed at the context of the conversation. Or that he doesn’t really know anything about what he’s being asked, but doesn’t want the other person to know he doesn’t know, so he’s trying to distract them.

The idea is to show how your characters react in that conversation in a realistic manner. I do this by putting myself in their situation. When I write those two words in either scenario, I am in Valerie’s head. I am saying those words and my eyes and eyebrows are making those expressions.

Then I double-check the Emotion Thesaurus to see if I have reflected that expression in the way readers would.

So, my suggestion is to go and experiment with dialogue, conversation or just monologue, using those cues above and see whether you can bring those characters and conversations to life.

That’s it for this week! Have fun with your characters!