Finally Writing

So it looks like I'm on the Aurealis judging panel again this year, this time in the Fantasy and SciFi Novellas category. Last time was the short story category, so the differences in style are going to be interesting to see. Looking forward to it!

Yesterday saw my long service leave from work start. Ten glorious weeks. It is very much needed, I was on the edge of burnout at the end of last year and only made it through to now knowing that this leave was booked. I've been a teacher now for 33 years, and I can honestly say it has never been a harder job than it is today. I rather hope to be doing a lot of writing, although there are also some family matters that will require attention. I'm about half way through the third book in the Muse Chronicles science fiction series now. It still doesn't have a name, but I'm not overly bothered by that - book two didn't get it's name until it was almost finished. Of course I think about the lack of title, but not too often. Only about a dozen times a day. Because of the way the second book, "Swan Dive", finished, this one gave me the perfect opportunity to try something new in my writing. New for me that is, other authors like Becky Chambers use this techniq...

"Swan Dive" my fifth novel and second in the Muse Chronicles series has been officially put to bed and sent off to the publisher for their consideration. Now the nervous waiting starts. Also, I should hear late July about the Wyld Magick short story I submitted for an anthology. Usually at this point there is a bit of space to do something else, but the way Swan Dive ended I just had to get straight into writing the next one. In the week and a bit since I started I'm already 10,000 words in. I don't expect this pace to stay, especially with my paying job needing some attention, but even if nothing happens with the series I'm having fun. Sometimes the story just demands to be told.

 And at just over 90,500 words, that's "Swan Dive", Book 2 of the Muse Chronicles done. Loads and loads of editing to do now of course, but in a way that is easier. And I need to start book 3 because of the ending to this one that the characters forced on me. Heaven help me if they ever unionise! Back of Book Blurb With Midway Station continuing to be built and the threat to faster than light travel around the solar system solved, Captain York, Ruby, and the crew of the Betty Luck have been enjoying some well-deserved normalcy in their lives. Until, that is, they have a run in with a young girl with powers not unlike Ruby’s. That encounter causes the Betty Luck to be on the run from a would-be pirate king, and Ruby needs to decide which secret is more important to keep; the stable sentient AI that inhabits their ship, the powers of this strange young girl, or her own abilities as the Muse of Music. And in this case, making the wrong decision is sure to invite tragedy.

 **Incoherent screaming** I'm less than 2000 words away from finishing writing the 2nd book of the Muse Chronicles. On the way in to work this morning my characters completely changed the ending on me. I hate the new ending. Yes, it makes more sense, it is more dramatically appropriate and it is a far superior set up for book 3, but I still hate it. Stupid characters.

 Huh. I guess maybe I am a real author now. Just found out my book has been read and added to Meta AI's learning system. I hope they at least bought a copy...

I've written a short story (6300 words) that I plan to submit for a Three Raven's anthology that is coming up called "Wyld Magick". The anthology is about the encroachment of civilisation on wild places from the point of view of Forest Fae. I've pitched my attempt with the idea that it might be a good fit for the final story in the anthology. But let's face it, if they were to merely mention it in an addendum I'd be happy!  :)

 Well, after nine months of writing and a couple more of editing, my new science fiction/fantasy novel "Speed of Sound" is ready. Crossing my fingers that Three Ravens are interested in it. This is the "Back of Book" blurb. From the moment she first boarded the free trader ‘Betty Luck', Ruby could sense that this crew was special. By signing on as their Liaison Officer, Ruby, a direct descendant of the Muse of Music, had hoped to be able to discover all the new songs being created on the lonely mining colonies and small ships dotted around the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Like with the sailors of old, here there would be new music to explore, new melodies for her to inspire, and hopefully with this crew, a friend or two to be made. At least for a while. When, however, cargo ships mysteriously start appearing out of their faster-than-light jumps as empty, burned-out wrecks, Ruby, along with her new Captain and crew, find themselves in a struggle for th...

 I'm not starting another story. I have book 3 to edit and a Pheno game to write. I just want to get this basic idea down before I forget it.  ...1000 words later... Bugger.

Yesterday I submitted "Nothing to Fear", a short story that sits between books 2 and 3 of the Wingless trilogy, for an urban fantasy anthology. My hope is that, despite it using the same characters and timeline as the main books, I've been able to write the short story so it stands on it's own without needing any knowledge of the rest of it to be enjoyed by readers. Now I cross my fingers and wait to see if it is accepted by the publishers 🙂 Book 3 is also complete, and has been for a while, but my blogging has fallen behind. "Learning to Fly" is the story I always wanted to see play out, with Joan and Hattie working together as equals. It took me a long time to work out how best to end this one, partly because I needed it to be worth the work I had put in with writing three books, but I think a large chunk of the angst came from the simple fact that I did not want it to end.   Writing the last line of a story is hard. In many ways it will be how you say fa...

Had a lovely surprise this morning. After publication by Three Ravens Publishing in America, my debut novel "Wingless" has been announced as a finalist in one of the novel categories at the Imadjinn Awards for Imaginarium 2024 in the USA. The winner will be announced in late July, but this is just amazing, and I can't thank Three Ravens enough  for all their help and support.

The new release with my wonderful American publishers "Three Ravens Publishing" with the rest of the trilogy waiting in the ... ummm ... wings. 

I have written a short story for a competition in Victoria, but it has to be below 3000 words. Edit 1 = 3,205 Edit 2 = 3,112 On to edit 3.  Cutting words is hard! Story submitted to the competition. 2999 words. Not cutting any more. Nope. Not happening. I have started to employ a strategy for this that have I read about on a few other author's blogs. Rather than just delete the scenes from the story, I have a file called “DVD Extras” where I cut and paste the scenes into. Not that any of my work will ever be made into a movie or TV series, but if it was, I have some ‘deleted scenes’ all ready. It’s silly, but it makes me feel better.

I've been sitting on this for about a week or so as contracts and other details have been worked out between here and the USA. Now everything is signed however... I have a publishing contract.  Thanks to "Three Ravens Publishing" in Georgia USA, I'll be making the move from self-published author to published author, (I'm still alternating between squeeing and wibbling about that), as they redesign and then publish a second edition of Wingless and then look to pick up the next two books of the trilogy.  This is a dream come true for me, and I want to thank everyone who has bolstered me along the way and through all the imposter syndrome (which still hangs around from time to time) by saying nice things about the stories. I appreciate those words more than you will ever know.  https://threeravenspublishing.com/

Wingless, in my head anyway, was always going to be an only child, err, book. But I found I was missing the characters once my journey with them was all over, and then a friend asked me, “What about Hattie?”. And so, book two was born.   Born Without Wings Hattie Newman is about to embark on the greatest adventure any normal young woman just graduated from university can start – moving out of home. However, with Hattie’s family home consisting of her human parents, an extra Angelic mother, a fallen angel-turned-human third mother, and a literal host of celestial aunts and uncles, ‘normal’ is not a description often levelled at Hattie.   When, one-by-one, her angelic relatives start to disappear, Hattie finds herself thrust once again into the Great War between Heaven and Hell, only this time she doesn’t have the strength of her celestial family to help her. And in trying to save them, the girl who was once called the ‘Wingless of Fear’ may eventually discover just wh...

  Book Review of Wingless by Book Excellence Wingless by David M. James is a compelling work of fiction that follows Joan, the leader of a group of fallen Angels, who were exiled from heaven and stripped of most of their powers after refusing to fight in the Great War. They are now known as the Wingless. The Wingless began as a few hundred Angels, but now there are only a dozen left. So, when one of the Angels disappears, Joan embarks on a dangerous mission to protect not only those she holds dear, but the whole world as well. The plot moves swiftly and is both captivating and original. James’ voice and tone have been well established and his use of descriptive imagery makes you feel as though you are living and breathing each moment with the characters. Joan is a strong, likeable female protagonist. Her courage, strength and determination in helping her loved ones and fighting for what’s right is to be admired. In addition, the dialogue is simple, straightforward and relatable, gr...

Today “Wingless” goes on sale in paperback and e-book formats. It has been a long time coming, and a lot of editing from the draft version I inflicted on friends.  My first novel. On sale. It’s hard to believe. The publisher’s website has it ready to go now, and several other resellers should have it listed by this time next week. I have some (signed) free copies to be delivered to those people who allowed me to use their character ideas that I will get to you as soon as lockdown rules allow it. You people are amazing. I was going to say something corny like “Need something to read while in lockdown?” 😉 , but what I really want to say is a huge thank you to everyone who encouraged me or at least smiled politely as I rabbited on about this thing over the years. I am now working on the sequel, set a dozen or so years after the events of Wingless and telling the story of the now adult character of Hattie. I’m enjoying the writing, but if the length of time it took to get Wingless fin...

Just over seven years ago, while sitting in a particularly mind-numbing professional learning opportunity, I allowed the droning monotone voice of the presenter to fade into the background and in the guise of taking notes, put pen to paper to scribble out some ideas for a twelve session role-playing campaign about the concept of free will, with the players being a small group of Angels who decided to sit out the ‘great war’.  It was called “Wingless”.  After an amazing run with a group of friends I found I still couldn’t put the idea down. In 2015 I found myself in the same PL ‘opportunity’, and so I started to write the game out as a story, thinking that if I was able to write out all the things I wasn't able to fit into the game I’d finally be able to put this idea away.  Then I got the chance to run the game again for two other groups, and more of the Wingless characters came to life before my eyes. I can’t express enough how grateful I am for everyone who played the g...