June begins

Wow, June already. And cold – not as cold as July probably will be, but definitely chilly.

And who said the year could go so quickly? Will it slow down at all?

So, we went to a quiz night. Interestingly, we were in the lead for the first 2 of 5 rounds, but then we dropped the ball. Well, they would bring in religious questions! Mind you, I was impressed with the inclusivity of the questions on religion. Quite a few different faiths were involved. I’m just not religiously-minded! In fact, our whole team was not religiously-minded.

But it was a good night and the proceeds went to a great charity, so that was the main thing!

And that’s real life at the moment!

Updates

And still waiting for that competition to close – but there’s another one! This one’s through BCP, so if you want to know more about the Catalyst Scroll and Heritage Scroll, see the link to BCP‘s website below.

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 is back with the beta readers. This story 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. Dark Beginnings is still on the backburner. I have started this and I will return to it.

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.

I have had the first peeks at the cover of Explosive Reality, so I can’t wait for that to be finished and it to go online! This story runs in line with Dark Reign and follows the reporter, Ryan Locke through some adventures he experiences. Watch out for that one coming hopefully in a few weeks! (Sorry, cover artist – no rush!)

Consequences

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

Heart of Deception is now available through Amazon. It has been donated to the Midland Library, so it is available to lend out.

Legacy of Risks will follow in the next few months, once cover art is finalised for it. The reason why it will take a few months is because I’m applying The Emotion Thesaurus options to it. And, yes, I am still working on it. I want to be absolutely certain it is finished before it’s published. (Have I mentioned how much I hate editing?)

I have been heavily editing Legacy of Risks. As with Heart of Deception, I made some major alterations to Legacy of Risks, so I’m making sure those changes feel right. I am still going to be applying the Emotion Thesaurus to the manuscript before a final look through and then sending it to the editor. Watch this space!

Dangerous Heart will then go to beta readers.

Watch this space.

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. This is still on the backburner, I’m afraid to say.

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.

The Gifted

The Gifted is a universe where some people have an extra gene than others. When this gene is activated, usually around the age of fifteen, it unlocks a Gift. Gifts can be specialised, as in one ability, or they might be blended. It just depends on that Gift. I have a few characters in this universe and I have been writing furiously about them. Once Hidden Heritage goes to the editor, I will start to edit the first of these new stories with the hopes that it comes out later this year. It will be after the Otherworldly Emergence series is completed, however.

On an update to the Gifted Universe, I have been writing other stories to support Not your Normal Heroes. These explore the Gifts a lot more and possible consequences of some of those Gifts. Yes, there is a really exciting yet dangerous Gifted being worked on at the moment.

One of those stories is about the detective in Not Your Normal Heroes and a journey of self-discovery that he goes on. Two others are about another Gifted detective. Now, those were pretty full-on, so I’m having a rest from the Gifted Universe.

Bushland Castle Productions

Not your Normal Heroes is currently with Bushland Castle Production’s editors. The second story, now titled Hidden Heritage, is going through the second round of editing with Bushland Castle Productions editors. Stay tuned for more updates.

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/publishing/owe

The upshot of being involved in the Otherworldly Emergence is that it has opened up a whole new universe for me which has been expanding exponentially. The possibilities in that world are almost limitless and I have to admit to being distracted by writing in that universe. I have called this universe the Gifted universe.

Having admitted that, I will say that I have completed a story that links both my stories in the Emergence series and starts a whole new series in itself. It’s very, very exciting and a lot of questions raised by the second story are being answered in follow up novels.

Otherworldly Emergence

It’s getting very close! We’re sharing more online and we’re all proud to announce our novellas. These are works that are close to our hearts and I know that I can’t wait for them to be released.

Covers are now being revealed, so check out BCP Creative on Facebook – or visit BCP‘s website for the reveals!

Launch dates

We have launch dates for each novella and for the series as a whole.

This is the link for the series: www.bushlandcastleproductions.com/event-details/otherworldly-emergence-series-launch

There is a door prize and a lot of games and Q&As as well as conversations! We’re happy to talk about our books at the launch of the series!

For each individual book, we have a separate day and those are below:

Not Your Normal Heroes

Here’s the link for the novella launch : www.bushlandcastleproductions.com/event-details/not-your-normal-heroes-launch

There is a door prize, an epub and an autographed book available. See details at the link.

Hidden Heritage

Here’s the link for the novella launch : www.bushlandcastleproductions.com/event-details/hidden-heritage-launch

There is a door prize, an epub and an autographed book available for this one as well. See details at the link.

The covers are about to be revealed. On the BCP Creative Facebook page, information about the authors has been shared, so feel free to use the BCP Creative link below to read up on the authors and subscribe or like the page for more updates!

BCP is planning its next series, which will build on the Otherworldly Emergence but this time will be Otherworldly Origins. Stay tuned for further information regarding that (along with a link).

Coming Soon through BCP Creative

The world we know is about to change forever. Hidden for centuries—or even millennia—otherworldly creatures such as vampires, werewolves, shapeshifters, gnomes, and more finally step into the light. Whether by choice, accident, or necessity, their existence can no longer be denied. Otherworldly Emergence explores the emotional, societal, and fantastical consequences of this revelation.

Each novella will tell a unique story set during this critical period of emergence, offering readers different perspectives and settings while connecting to the shared theme.

BCP have created a blog where the Timeless Paladin answers questions presented to him. Read the answers here: https://www.bushlandcastleproductions.com/post/consulting-through-time-q-a

While you’re on the website, you will find 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. Season 3 has started, so check out BCP’s website for further information.

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

Finding Elara is in season break at the moment and coming back soon with Season 3. In the meantime, there are mini episodes with interviews with local writers at a convention in Bunbury last year.

Bushland Castle Productions have also created two brand new competitions – the Catalyst Scroll and the Heritage Scroll.

You can find all the details on how to enter these at the website:  www.bushlandcastleproductions.com/competitions

I am toying with the idea of entering the Heritage Scroll, but I’m not sure yet. Still have to work on it.

Otherworldly Origins

Also, check out the next speculative fiction novella series coming out from BCP. It’s about the first one of any creature. You’ll find more details on their website: www.bushlandcastleproductions.com/publishing/owo

I’ve already booked my pitch meeting and got a sample together for the pitch! I’m looking forward to this series. It may actually bring the Exiles and the Gifted together – as they should be because Perth has 3 degrees of separation rather than 6!

Grow Write

Once every fortnight, Grow Write meets at the Midland Library in Midland, Perth, Western Australia. Our very first anthology has been published and is available on Amazon to purchase. It is also available through Midland Library

We are all excited to share this anthology with everyone.

I have suggested to the group that we produce an anthology every second year rather than every year.

Editing and Competitions

Strange title for a blog post, isn’t it? And you’re thinking why? Right?

Because competitions want polished and edited manuscripts.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I grew up at a time where typos and errors were not a part of any book. So I hate them. Especially in my own work. Which I am diligently trying to make sure that they’re not in there.

I am currently editing Legacy of Risks really heavily because of that reason. (And the Emotion Thesaurus).

I won’t class myself as a perfectionist, but I do take pride in what I do and I will admit, somehow I dropped the ball on Heart of Deception, Ed 2. So, I will be going over that and making sure that is spot-on as soon as I can.

One of the hardest things, as I’ve heard that Stephen King says, is to kill your darlings. We spend a lot of time on our prose, whether it’s a novel, novella, short story, poem or something entirely different.

And if you’re not selling what you write, then it doesn’t matter how it sounds. As long as it says what you want to read.

But sometimes that’s not the case when you’re selling your work. There are so many distractions out there that stop people from reading. And while that is something to address in the writing itself, sometimes editing – or lack thereof – can cause people to just not finish a book.

Because we, as authors, usually keep all the nitty gritty in our heads and sometimes that nitty gritty doesn’t make it onto the page or screen. If that nitty gritty ties a scene together, or links two scenes together, then that nitty gritty needs to be in the book. In the raw writing. (I’ll get back to that.)

It’s not only the nitty gritty that we hold in our heads, but it’s how we put the words together. They have to make sense. If they don’t make sense, the book won’t be read.

Writing for a competition is much more serious than that. The whole time you’re writing, you have to keep the criteria and theme in mind. You have to remember what the competition parameters are. It is very easy to over-write for a competition.

Sometimes, the hardest thing is to abandon something that is going into a competition – because you’re not feeling it or it doesn’t really suit the criteria.

But that’s only the writing itself. Editing is a major part of competition writing.

Because a writer who enters a competition must show that they are fully aware of the rules of grammar, spelling and punctuation. Judges in a competition can be really harsh and quite often there is no feedback to say where you went wrong.

When a competition is advertised worldwide, it attracts many more writers than a regional competition does. That means, if you’re going to write for a competition that invites writers from across the globe, then you have to make sure you meet the criteria wholeheartedly and that your manuscript is print-worthy. As in fully edited. No typos, no missing punctuation, no misspelt words.

Competition writing is a harsh reality. It can be brilliant for your writing career, but a writer has to be the worst critic possible. Because a manuscript for a competition may need to be stripped to the barebones to fit it into the wordcount.

So, if you’re considering entering a competition, make sure you have the criteria correct. Even if you ask questions when it’s not clear (like we did at university).

Take the time to edit the piece. I suggest leaving the raw work for a few days before tackling it.

Listen to the words through a computer program – or read them aloud to yourself. Even get others to read it for you. (If you’re like me, you won’t read them to yourself :D)

Think of your writing from a reader’s perspective. Because that’s what competition judges are – readers. But they’re usually authors themselves – or educators in the literary fields, so they will be going over your entry with a fine-toothed comb.

Keep their interest. Kill your darlings if they have no part in the story. You can always expand on that story later and put them back in. Sorry, forgot to say – kill them in the story, but don’t get rid of huge swathes of them. Just in case. I mean, if you’re like me, you’ve got draft upon draft upon draft and those words are still in there somewhere!

So, please, if you’re entering a competition, take the time to perfect that entry. Make sure it’s readable. Check it for typos. And the main thing – keep the reader’s attention. Don’t take half the story to get into the action – unless it’s a cosy story.

That’s it. Go. Perfect your work!