This week has been busy with the business of writing. So much so, I think I have slipped behind on NaNo. So few hours, so much to do.
With a little over a month until the launch of the book there’s a ridiculous amount of stuff to do. These books don’t promote themselves and with Small Press you don’t even get a publicist to help you. So it’s nose to the grindstone, hard graft. Not that I mind.
As I mentioned yesterday, whilst I was away on business, Fantasy Faction posted the first of my articles on craft where I talk to authors: Sam Sykes, MD Lachlan, Laura Lam and Lou Morgan about breaking into the industry and how ‘going pro’ impacted their writing process. I’m really proud of how these articles turned out and I think they are an interesting read for any writer, aspiring or pro. Fantasy Faction is also a great site which I’m honoured to be able to contribute to.
Check out the first article HERE
When I got offered my current day job I got warned that I might be required to travel and would I be OK with that. I think it’s a pretty standard question these days in interviews. I replied that I was more than happy to travel and the thought of being stuck in a hotel with nothing to do but write or find the local geocaches was my idea of Heaven.
This got put to the test this past week when I had to go to Birmingham for a set of training courses. Being in the middle of NaNoWriMo the idea of a week of no distractions sounded great so my Macbook got packed along with my work PC and taken with me.
Just to let you know I am off on a business trip with the day job for the next week. I’ll have limited access to web, email and social media so non-urgent correspondence will have to wait until I return.
On the plus side I’m hoping the lack of communication stuck in a hotel will help the evening’s word count on the novel! Play nice until I return.
As I’ve previously mentioned, I’m spending NaNo writing what has been referred to on here as Project Calamari, or as I revealed at the start of the week, the sequel to my first published novel.
A friend of mine joked that this would be my “difficult second album” but the reality couldn’t be further from the truth. I spent a year writing things – good things I may go back to – that didn’t feel right for me at the time. I had a nagging feeling that I needed to be writing this novel, whether the first was sold or not. Indeed, in the summer, just before I got the deal for The Four Realms, I’d spent time writing some of The Thieving King.
So after what has seemed like an age I can finally talk about a couple of sekrit projects that I’ve been working on, revealing everything about Project Octopus and as a result, uncovering the beans on Project Calamari. Needless to say tentacles feature very prominently in both projects!
And what’s more, it won’t be very long before you’ll be able to enjoy Project Octopus!
Bring on the Cephalopocalypse!
You may remember back in May, I told you about Dark Fiction Magazine picking up my short story, Jetsam, for their audio magazine. The story has just been released as part of their 13th issue read by Dave Probert and featuring some great art by Shock The Badger.
And best of all… IT’S A FREE DOWNLOAD!. So why not grab a few issues while you are there to add to your iPod and if you like what you hear consider donating to support the site.