Well, we’re halfway through the month. It’s mid-July and I only just thought about Christmas in July – only ’cause last weekend we were driving through our suburb and people already have their Christmas deccos up. So, we thought Christmas in July. But if they want it halfway through the year, they’ve sorta got it wrong, ’cause it should be Christmas in June. And then we realised – oh, wait, they want a white Christmas. Snow season is generally July here. Thus, curiosity sated.
But in other news, the weather did get warmer last week and then it was back to rain. Yeah, I get it. It’s rainy season here. The cats are loving it – I have a fur pile while I’m trying to cross-stitch while watching telly.
Not only that but I have reactivated my Instagram account, so I have been posting on that as well.
Anyway, onto updates – and I have at least one!
Updates
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.
Explosive Reality is live! It’s available through Kindle Unlimited at this link: www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0H8L2XC7W
This is a story about Ryan Locke. It is set during the first half of Dark Reign and is a separate story to that novel. It is about half the size of a novella and I hope everyone enjoys it.
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 am currently halfway through the editing. So you understand why it’s taking so long, I am pulling apart every scene and editing each scene individually. Then I’ll go through it as in the below paragraph. So, I’ll keep supplying updates as I get further along with the 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!
Update – I am now more than two thirds of the way through. I will go through it once more to tidy things, then it’ll go to the editor.
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.
Actually, I’m going to move this universe into the Gifted, because all of my paranormal stories are based around Nina and Perth. So, technically, they’re part of the Gifted universe – just specialised in supernatural entities.
PS. I have started a new paranormal story that draws both sides of this together, so from the next blog, paranormal will be part of the Gifted.
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.
So, in the last 2 weeks I finished my last story on The Gifted for now and everything’s quiet, so I am able to edit other work. When I’ve finished with that one, and then another, I’ll start editing my first Gifted work and going through that.
The Gifted universe has a heavy police presence and the main character for two of the stories I’ve written is a drug squad officer who is also Gifted. His Gift is the most dangerous and his stories are quite traumatic in themselves. But you’ll read about him in his own stories. Stay tuned – they will come out.
Bushland Castle Productions
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. Each launch is limited to 100 places, so get your ticket before they’re all gone.
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 have been 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!
Not Your Normal Heroes and Hidden Heritage are both available for preorder and the links are below:
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 Origins
Pitching for Otherworldly Origins is open from 6 July for concepts! Book in so you can pitch your story concept for this series. You’ll join a whole collaborative community where you can get help and insights with your writing.
Otherworldly Origins will build on the Otherworldly Emergence concept. Visit the BCP website: http://www.bushlandcastleproductions.com/publishing/owo for more information or use the QR code below!
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.
I’ve already booked my pitch meeting and got a sample together for the pitch! I’m looking forward to this series.
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.
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.
My writing tools
So, I often get asked by other writers or aspiring writers what tools I use when writing.
When I started out, like everyone else, I used a word processor and little else. When I got introduced to NaNoWriMo, I was also introduced to yWriter. This was the first scene-based program I had seen and I instantly fell in love with it. The fact it was written by a fellow Perth NaNoWriMoer made it that much better.
As time went on, however, I learnt of Scrivener and used the discount through NaNoWriMo to get a licence. I used that for many years, checking out other writing programs such as Obsidian and Atticus, but recently, like I think four years ago, another friend introduced me to Lore Forge, a completely different program. Story goes it was created by gamers, but I don’t have knowledge to that. Lore Forge became my main writing program, even though I still have the others.
For editing, however, I return to a word processing program. Only because I utilise track changes a lot and
The other tool I use is a style sheet. I learnt about these when I did a couple of editing courses over the last few years. My first version of this was actually a notepad page with the various characters in Torkandisch and distinguishing humans from vampires. I really must sort it out properly.
Now, my style sheet is a spreadsheet that has various tabs in it.
It started out with just the names. All I was doing was keeping track of the names at that point. Now it’s expanded into a whole lot more.
The next phase took those characters into the way they relate to the story and the MC/s. Because sometimes you just forget. But what changed my style sheet the most was Strefinobhan. I had to make sure I had each character’s powers listed. And, of course, that worked perfectly for Not Your Normal Heroes and Hidden Heritage. Actually, all of the Gifted universe stories.
But it’s become a lot more, that style sheet. When I was writing Not Your Normal Heroes, I needed to reference a lot of things relating to Perth alone, so it got a glossary sheet. Because of the heavy police presence, it got a code words sheet and a reference sheet so people could see where I had pulled that information from.
So, the next major change to the style sheet was the addition of character profiles. As the style sheet expanded, I realised it was great to have everything in one place – right at my fingertips. So, my character profile sheet was changed into a spreadsheet and now I just add the blank version as another tab on the style sheet.
So, I’ve now mentioned character profiles. For a long time I never used them, but I was lucky enough to have a marvellous mentor in 2022 who gave me a challenge and a blank sheet to create the profiles for one of our sessions. I have to say – it did make a difference. Which is why I’ve now added them to my style sheet. Purely for convenience.
The other thing I do is use my ReMarkable to jot down stuff when I’m watching television. Especially when it comes to the Gifted universe. Because that is a complex story by itself. I have a lot of information that I have written using my ReMarkable and then emailed to myself so that that info can be added to the style sheet if necessary. I was able to pinpoint a lot of what the Gifted can do and their drawbacks – because if you give people extraordinary abilities (superpowers), then I am of the opinion that there needs to be a way to keep them in check. Thus, they have weaknesses depending on their Gift. So, the ReMarkable came in very handy in brainstorming that kind of detail while the telly was on and a cat was crying for attention. (Go away, kitty.)
The added advantage is that I can write in the ReMarkable in the car and it has a nonreflective surface so I can use it outside without reflections getting in the way.
In my books I also have a disclaimer. Because I use the Macquarie Dictionary and the Australian Government Style Manual for my books and if you’re not sure about them, feel free to Google them.
For maps, I have to confess to using Google maps. Only because I can work out times and distances. As well as routes. Like in Heart of Deception, I have (I think) 6 maps from Malaga to Budapest tracing Marek’s journey. I have used it to figure out where volcanoes are for my magma-based fire elemental in the Gifted universe.
So, that’s the tools I use when writing. I know there are many more tools and resources, but I find these best suit my needs and I encourage you to find your own tools and resources.
J A Duxbury's World 