So, yesterday was ANZAC Day. Sad day for Australia and I did catch a little of the ceremonies on TV. Always has a good turnout.

It was a nice day but I was busy working, so I couldn’t attend any of the ceremonies.

I will also say that for the first time this year, I wore my fluffy hoody. Not wearing it today, but definitely yesterday.

The weather is decidedly cooler and we did have quite a bit of rain up until midway through the morning yesterday. Today is absolutely beautiful.

Apart from that, there’s not a lot to update – oh, wait, I forgot about the car. We traded in our diesel 4×4 for a hybrid electric/petrol car last week. I’m still trying to get used to the lack of sound it makes. We got one that charges as it drives and has a damned good range on it. Yes, we said K2 was going to be our last car, but fuel prices have just skyrocketed here, so we thought it was the right choice to make.

And that’s about it from real life.

Updates

Draft2Digital

Due to the company’s decision to add fees to those books that aren’t performing well (yes, I know, it’s all marketing and I have yet to do that properly) I have decided to pull my books from Draft2Digital. They may have listed the books with companies, but 44c over 2 years is not worth the $10 fee.

I do have a new update completely unrelated to any of the works I currently have going. I will be entering a short story competition – and I’ve actually paid money to do so. Update on that – I have sent the story in, so let’s see what happens. Fingers crossed!

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.

Okay, the Ryan Locke story is with the editor. Explosive Reality is now with the cover artist. Once I get it back, it will go through to publication as an ebook exclusively to Kindle and Kindle Unlimited. Stay tuned for updates.

I am still considering the following idea, but I have been too busy to do more than consider it. I haven’t done a lot with Alex Travis and his mother Katarina. I feel that their history should be told, but I think that’s going to be in a book between Dark Reign and The Dark Road. So, stay tuned for that.

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.

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.

Bushland Castle Productions

Not your Normal Heroes is currently with Bushland Castle Production’s editors. The second story, now titled Hidden Heritage, is currently with my editor and then will be going to Bushland Castle Productions editors.

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.

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, keep your eye open on another 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

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 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.

Flawed Heroes

So, I’ve decided to talk about writing flawed characters. I mean, we’ve seen the type, the one that stands out is Tony Stark/Ironman. The way he is portrayed in the movies is a masterpiece of characterisation.

Everyone is flawed to a degree. We all have our character traits, our physical forms and, even, our emotional situation. Some of us even have a strong spiritual tendency. All of these go to rounding our own characters in a way that helps us to relate to others and helps others relate to us.

We also put on different masks/hats depending on the situation. I know when I worked in an office, there was an awful lot my colleagues didn’t know about me. That was because of the hat/mask I wore. Same thing at school/university. It’s most likely a societal thing, but I’m not going to get into a debate about why we wear hats/masks. Each situation is deeply personal to each person.

In writing, such idiosyncrasies can enrich a character. One might have a character who works in the mining industry but suffers claustrophobia. That could cause conflict if that character is asked to go to a deep mine instead of an opencut mine.

Another could be, like the famous English show about a doctor, someone with a phobia to blood, or vomit or diarrhoea. If your character is in the health industry, that could cause all types of issues for your character.

Take a character who’s a cop who can’t stand conflict. How would you put that cop with a bunch of bikies or bank robbers?

I ran with a character who I have since called my “experimental character”. This character is my protest against all of the things that are wrong in society today. But an added bonus to this character is that he taught me about flawed people. He let me see what I could do with a flawed character in my worlds.

I don’t have a lot of physical flaws in my stories, apart from Matt, but you’d need to read Hidden Heritage to find our what his flaws are, nor do I look at the deeper mental health issues in the world today. I am not willing to venture too much into that side of it because I have no experience with it. I do, however, have a number of characters whose lives have induced trauma and quite a few have anxiety and similar syndromes.

One of my earlier characters was a fairly ordinary person, hadn’t been through a lot of trauma, even if his chosen career was pretty questionable. So, I wrote three books with him. Then I wrote a story about him five years before the first book where he suffered emotional shock. Luckily, I had to rewrite those books because I was able to include that trauma reaction throughout them. I’ve been told it made him a more rounded character.

So, when I create a new character, I look at those types of things. As I said earlier, I am currently working on a new story based in the Gifted universe. The character in this was so traumatised before his first book that he was torn between grief and revenge. The balancing of those two reactions was difficult and I’m still not sure if I’ve treated it properly.

The Emotion Thesaurus and its fellow books have helped greatly in exploring emotional and trauma-related flaws in characters and I can’t recommend them enough. They are my rock and my solid resource for character creation, now.