Dramatic, hey? Laughing here. But not for long.
My poor hard drive that died has to go to a clean room. Can’t afford that, so we’ll be holding onto the drive until we can. The first specialist was really helpful, so I was grateful for that.
On another hand, our weather took a downturn on Thursday and has cleared up today, so I might go and sit in the sun for a while. We’re expecting rain tomorrow, though. Darn it!
Things have been super busy here, with the launches of the Otherworldly Emergence series, but that’s for later. All the juicy gossip will be here.
On to more important things.
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 still have 5 chapters to go! I will go through it once more to tidy things, then it’ll go to the editor. (Do I need to tell you I hate editing?)
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.
The Gifted and Exiled Universe
The Gifted and Exiled 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.
The Exiled part is where a group of people, Nina included, have been exiled from another planet. That story is recounted in short by her in Hidden Heritage.
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 happened! Our novellas have launched!! We are now sharing the individual books and their launches. These are works that are close to our hearts and I know that I can’t wait for them to be released.
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.
Can I just say how excited I am for this? I mean, it’s a whole evening of fun and entertainment! Most of the authors will be there to answer questions about their books. I’m looking forward to answering those questions and giving out background information about the two books. So, I’m looking forward to you being part of our celebrations! Come join the fun!
We’ve already had two successful launches and there are more to follow! Visit www.bushlandcastleproductions.com/event-list to book for the remaining launches.
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 (see above).
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 has now closed. All authors are locked in. We’ve had our first meeting and the stories that will come from this are phenomenal. I look forward to reading these ones!
Otherworldly Origins will build on the Otherworldly Emergence concept. Visit the BCP website: www.bushlandcastleproductions.com/publishing/owo for more information!
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.
We are currently working on the 2027 Anthology.
Writing standards
So, I could bore you, again, with reminding people to backup, but I’ve done that, so I’ll just whisper it – Psst – back up your work! And onto the topic.
Now, I have a disclaimer in my books that say I write in Australian standards and use Macquarie Dictionary and the Australian Government Style Manual (AGSM). Yes, there’s an Australian Style Guide, but a lot of what it says comes from the AGSM. But I’ve only just today learnt something that I actually should go back and correct in my previous works. Because it’s not correct.
You see, my first editor was an American living in Melbourne. I knew she used the Chicago Style Manual, but as I wasn’t quite sure which way I was going, I decided to follow that. And my first – my very first – book was published in Canada and they used the same style manual. So that was okay.
Now, from that first book, I learnt that “farther” was used instead of “further” for distances. I thought okay, that sounds reasonable and understandable. So, I blithely used that throughout all my work and have done ever since.
But I was actually watching a show on streaming TV last week and they clarified they’d been speaking with a British person (American actor and she kept dropping out of the English accent) by her use of the word “further” for distance, arguing that an American would use “farther”.
So, that tickled my curiosity for a few days until today. I was doing some work and had Macquarie Dictionary open, so I thought I’d check if they were correct. Because what I’d been taught by my previous editor just made sense.
Well, to say I was surprised is an understatement. The American TV show was correct. In Australian contemporary English, “further” has much greater currency than “farther”. So, all this time, over 10 years, I have been using the American word.
Now you know my dilemma. Do I go back through all my published works and alter that one word or do I leave it and move forward? Decisions, decisions. I’ll tell you in the next blog what I decided.
J A Duxbury's World 