Here is the cover for book 3 –

getting closer to publishing…..

All right people. In the light of the sales level of my books currently, which is generating an income that has passed the equivalent of 30% of my pre-Covid income, I have decided to re-arrange my work habits. Starting today (Monday 3rd) I am going to do my normal edit of a few Word size pages of the next book to be published and then instead of driving for Uber and writing around that I am going to sit and write at least a 1,000 words each day of new stuff. Then start driving with a smaller daily driving income target.

Three points from this.

One. It will only hold for as long as my book sales continue at the current level or higher

Two. What I write will still be determined by where the muse takes me so won’t always be the next book I may be planning to publish or even in that series

Three. A 1,000 words is not a lot compared to many authors. I think Chris Nuttall probably writes somewhere between 3k & 5k words a day when he is writing which is a vastly greater number of words than what I will be doing. Of course other authors like Bujold only ever write when they feel the urge so their production is either  very full on or completely switched off if you follow me.

Anyway. I will try and concentrate on Book 5 of Arturo’s story which is currently less than half written as that is the last planned book about the new Roman Republic. Although the Romans will pop up elsewhere at some point… as will Arturo…..

And on that tease I will go back to writing…..

 

Still editing a bit every morning before work. Somewhere between 70 & 80% done with Book 3’s 2nd edit….

I hope to get the cover finished this week but I make no promises!

Actually had a low week writing last week (binge watching a TV show… naughty naughty) but did make some progress.

Still have writers block on the 2nd half of Book 5 but hopefully something will spark up in the next couple of months!

read the latest Schooled in Magic book, Oathkeeper, over the last week or so when too tired to write or whatever when not working – good as always. I do like Chris Nuttall’s SiM series.

Back to work….

 

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I am past halfway in my edit of Book 3 and I have made some progress on the cover – I hope. So things are progressing. I am struggling with inspiration for book 5 – I have the first third, a bit in the middle and a bit near the end but the writing muse refuses to illuminate the missing areas…. I think this is what is called writers block.

I have lots of ideas for other stories, as always. Working 40-45 hours a week as an Uber driver makes it hard to find time to write a great amount each week – not because I don;t have enough free time but because I don’t have enough free time when I’m not mentally drained.

My current plan is that Book 3 will be followed by the first of my contemporary Wizard stories. “A Sorcerer Arrives” when Jason the Ancient History PHD student meets Urasmian the Sorcerer from an alternate Earth. At it’s heart it a story about a young man who gains great power and then has to deal with having great power.

I have found I made a mistake in my Space Opera story that was 3/4 finished and I now have to re-write the last 1/3 of what I’d written. Joy.

Anyway shouldn’t be too long before I have more to report.

 

I have started the 2nd edit on book 3 – As I may have mentioned before I find editing very tiring so I try an not attempt to do too much of it at any one time. Looking for strange word usage errors, occasional spelling errors that have slipped through, convoluted sentence structures, sentences where my brain was moving faster than my fingers were typing and so forth is something best done in small doses.  I start each day with a small session of editing while my mind is still fresh.

I am still struggling with book five – it’s only about half written and I have a lack of ideas happening about getting the story from points b or C through to the finish. Sigh Apparently an occupational hazard to have stories stall.

I have submitted a small short story for an Australian alternate history anthology – have had no word yet on whether my story made the cut – still it was satisfying that I was able to come up with an idea on short notice. If the story misses the cut I may include that version of the Earth in one of my Multidimensional Wizard books. Actually that makes a lot of sense to re-use all the backstory I did… hmmm

Right – back to editing… sigh

 

Finally got it all together….

I know, I know. But after my beta reader let me down (not his fault mind, real world issues) I am giving Book 2 another once over looking for all those sentences that are missing words because my fingers can’t keep up with my brain as well those bits that either don’t make sense or don’t say what they should, for the same reason.

Next week hopefully but don’t hold your breath. The cover is done finally though.

Still waiting on my Beta reader – going to pull the plug on Monday and get the final version done next week. Got the cover nearly done. Going to do a version of the On the Rocks cover suitable for a printed version as well as book 2’s cover in June – then wade through the Kindle file on how to prepare a manuscript for a print version so by the end of June hopefully both books will be available as paperbacks as well.

My beta reader has had some real world problems and hasn’t got his edit of book 2 back to me yet. It is coming – soon.

I am giving him till I finish my first edit on my contemporary wizard book, A Sorcerer Arrives. I am aiming to publish after book 3 of the Sandus books.

I had hoped that with less work during the covid19 lockdown I would get more writing done. Instead I am juts working longer hours to make less money. At least I am surviving.

Best thrill so far of being a published author is the first time that you are browsing through titles looking for something to read and in the Customers who read this also read section your own book turns up! Ha.

Anyway I hope to have Book 2 out before the end of the month. Really.

So I just learnt that the people re-making Dune are gender swapping Liet-Kynes – WTF

Now I am not at all misogynist. Truly. I believe women can do anything a man can do and should be paid the same for the same job as a well. In fact women can do things a man can’t do. But that is another matter entirely.

I do have problems with affirmative action programs though. If the best person for a job is a man then so be it. If it is a woman so be it. The operative words are “the best person”. Being required to hire people to fill a position to satisfy a quota – oh you have 30 employees but don’t employ a Hispanic, African American transgender Male who now wants be classed as female – shame on you…. is just going a bit far the other way and too far down the road to totalitarianism.

However that is actually a different argument to some second rate writer or a film producer looking at one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time and going – oh, we’ll just make that character a female. Huh?

The first question that comes to mind is WHY? It is not as if there aren’t plenty of female characters and strong female characters at that, in Dune. Yes, most are in secondary roles as it is a Patriarchal society but that is how the society was defined by Herbert. Feminists can complain all they want but historically most societies have been in the patriarchal mould. Facts are facts. Not that I am supporting patriarchal social systems in any way, I like today’s equality, but wishful thinking doesn’t change reality. And whatever it’s faults Herbert’s society is rich and clearly defined.

So why change the sex of that character? It messes with story with regards Chani – in fact the whole balance of the situation changes which means they will have to either make other changes to the story or it will look stupid. Which gets back to the question – why change anything in the first place?

It leaves one lacking confidence in the people doing the re-make. What else will they arbitrarily change?

One thinks of other remakes – Conan – Robocop – The Mechanic and so on where a perfectly good movie was re-made and failed at the box office  much to the surprise of those that re-made it. Why would people go and see a modern re-make when the first movie was perfectly adequate.

Now the previous versions of Dune are not adequate so there is scope for great version of this famous book – but so far all they have done is cause me to worry….