Author Notes Vol 5

Alien Abduction Progress

As mentioned during my last Author Notes i’ve been working on editing what i’ve already written for my new book rather than writing it all the way through to the end. I’ve now fully caught up to where I was and am feeling much better about the story. Everything feels more in place and connected. More coherent. The story that was in my head is now really starting to come to life on the page. It was a needed detour in order to get the second half of the book right as everything relied on the setup.

Having caught up I’ve now began writing that second half of the novel and have added a couple more chapters since the last update. I’m at around fifty thousands words now, which while only ten thousand more than the last update feels significant better in quality (at least to me)

I have very high hopes for this book. I haven’t worked out how i’m going to get any one to read it yet, but I do thoroughly believe it will represent my best work to date. The book has been a challenge with more characters than anything i’ve written before, and it still being early days within my Sci-Fi work, but i’ve enjoyed that challenge. The idea is always to become a better writer after each book and this one is definitely going to contribute towards that goal.

I’m still looking at a release date of around June/July for the book, but I’m in no rush. That’s the beauty of Self-Publishing, all my deadlines are self-imposed.

Reading

I’ve also been reading a lot more this month. Tackling some bigger books and stories that have sat on my shelf for a little while. It’s been an absolute joy reading a lot more serious work over the last year. Going back into the past and catching up on some of the classics of the genre while occasionally dipping into some new exciting work. I feel like reading is becoming more important to me than ever before.

Cinema was always my escape In the past, and it still largely is, but the commitment of sitting in my little corner with the lamp on over my head and my glasses on while a read a paperback has started to become a big part of my day. It’s relaxing. Makes me smile. And is incredibly enjoyable. I’m getting more sucked into the stories than I use too. It also makes me look at my a lot phone less and slows down the days, two things that I need more of because life has moved too quickly of late.

At the time of writing this I’m reading Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter’s Time Eye, What i’ve read so far feels like it should have become a massive TV show at some point. The more I read, the more I realise how lazy and dumb it is to keep remaking the same old thing when there’s so many other fantastic stories out there waiting to be told. I mean I already knew that, but this last year has been confirmation.

I’ll be writing and scheduling the review for Mockingbird by Walter Tevis after writing this update too and that was one of the most beautiful books i’ve read in a long time. Some authors just get you.

Short Stories

I managed to edit the two shorts I was working on last month and one of them (Popsicle) is already available on the website. I think it’s a fun short and there might be a bigger idea there one day. The other will be out at the end of May and is tonally quite different from the last few i’ve written. I’ve put aside some time this coming weekend to begin work on the next batch as I want to continue publishing a short story every month here.

While I haven’t been giving Shorts as much attention of late I do love writing them and want them to be apart of my life. They’re not getting too many reads, but they’re out there now for people to look at if they want, and one day I can put them all together as a collection.

I have also written a couple of other shorts for a different project, but I don’t know how that’s going to go and isn’t worth really going into at the moment. One day… maybe.

What’s Going On In May?

Hopefully over the next month i’ll pretty much finish my second sci-fi novel, my alien abduction story, There’s still a lot of work to be done but I feel like I have some decent momentum at the moment and a good mindset. I had hit a little bit of a wall, but have got past it now and can see the home stretch. As I said, there is still a lot of work to be done so the writing of it may cross over into June, but either way massive progress will be made within the next thirty days or so.

I’ve also designated days for Writing Articles and Author Notes for the website, along with the aforementioned Short Stories. I’ll always be writing the Reviews as well. So, the plan at the moment is to keep everything active on here and produce more work. I just want to write as often as possible and i’ll figure out how to get people to read the work at a later date. Naive maybe, but that’s my mindset.

Author Notes Vol 4

Working Hard On My Next Book

It’s been a little while since I wrote my last author notes and that’s not just because Pokemon Pokopia came out. I’ve been working hard on my next book, an alien abduction story that i’m around forty thousand words into. I think that’s probably just over half way as i’m aiming for somewhere between seventy and eighty thousand in total.

I was planning on writing the book all the way through before doing the second draft, but I had a change of heart as I reached the mid-point and instead of carrying on I started to re-edit the first half. The reason’s will become more apparent when you get to read the book, but without spoiling anything I just needed all those extra little character details in line before the big event and aftermath that happens after it. Basically, despite my pre-planning, I had to get the story straighter on the page than it was in my head.

I’m very pleased with how it’s going so far. I really enjoyed writing Unclaimed Outpost but it was always going to be a difficult book to market and get people to read (a handful of sales have backed that theory up) but I think this one has a lot more potential readership wise, as well as being a bigger and more challenging book to write. Including my previous writing in a different genre I think this will just about be more biggest book to date, and definitely the one with the most characters (although I still think it’s pretty focused)

I always tend to know if i’m writing well if I get emotional at my own work. It lets me know that as well as the fun stuff, i’ve also included the right amount of heart and care within the characters i’m putting through the wringer. This stories put a lump in my throat a few times so i’m taking that as a good sign, rather than just being a mark for my own writing lol (does that term apply for things outside of wrestling?)

Unclaimed Outpost

As mentioned, sales have been slow for my debut sci-fi novella Unclaimed Outpost. Slower than I even expected, and my expectations were very low. It was a difficult book to market, especially with how little social media presence I currently have, and how little marketing I actually done for it. No-one currently knows who I am, and it was never going to be a book that naturally sold itself.

I knew all this when I put the book out, but it’s still been slightly disappointing. I won’t dwell on it, and have already written half my next book and have developed a fair bit of another idea, but my hope is that one day people will go back and give this one a go. That over time i’ll see reviews (positive or negative) pop up for it.

Self publishing is hard. In my previous life it took a couple of years to build a readership so I know to be patient. I know the mixture of hard work, talent, and luck have to magically come together in order for things to happen and that takes time. So, i’m not going to beat myself up about this one arriving to crickets, but as mentioned, I hope one day people will give it a go as I think it’s a decent little story.

Short Stories

Work on short stories has been slow recently due to all my attention going into the alien abduction novel, but I plan on editing the few I have written over the next couple of weeks. I’d like to keep up the pace of putting a short out every month on the website and think with a little discipline I can maintain that.

I’ve really enjoyed writing the short stories and playing around in the different sci-fi sub genres, and the new ones I have written continue that trend. One of them is a bit of a take on a military sci-fi story and that definitely inspired some ideas elsewhere (possibly a future book) The other is what i’d describe as typical of my writing in tone, but with a bit of a sci-fi twist to it.

With a bit of luck you’ll be reading them in April and May, while my most recent short Time Travel Paradox is now available to read on the site.

What Does The Next Month Look Like?

While I want to spend most of my time getting the whole story down for the Alien Abduction novel and editing those two shorts, there’s also another idea that I want to work on a lot more. It’s a story that i’m considering writing with Traditional Publishing in mind, but that’s probably a whole other blog, and something that I haven’t completely decided upon yet (might just be a knee-jerk reaction to the Unclaimed Outpost lack of sales)

It’s a more complex idea than anything i’ve written before, and is inspired by a lot of the older sci-fi I’ve been reading, but it’s something that’s just in the background at the moment. I need to see what shape it takes before I decide how to proceed.

I’’m also running out of scheduled movie reviews so I need to go on a bit of a movie marathon as well. I’ve been reading and writing a lot of late (as well as playing the aforementioned Pokemon Pokopia) so movies are the thing that’s taken a back seat, but I haven’t missed putting out two film reviews a week yet since starting the site so hopefully I can continue that trend.

Think that about wraps up the notes for this entry, anyone reading them feel free to go and buy Unclaimed Outpost, and hopefully i’ll have a bigger update on my latest book for the next entry.

Author Notes Vol 3

Unclaimed Outpost Release

It’s been a long and somewhat muddled journey to reach the point of publishing my first Sci-Fi novel. I began working on the Taten Chronicles over a year ago thinking that series would be my first release, but then put it to one side believing it would work better as a serialised release to begin with. (Of which I've now also written a prequel for)

Then, I turned my attention to a standalone novel called 2922 Days. I’m about a third of the way through writing that and it’s still a book I intend to publish this year, but I felt it wasn’t quite right for my first book. The scope of it was a little too much. I wanted a simpler book for my first release. Something maybe a little more personal, but which still showed the things I enjoy about Science Fiction. A book with world building, but not to the insane lengths of the Taten Chronicles. Something that showed a futuristic humanity, but not in the way 2922 Days does. That book became Unclaimed Outpost.

I started writing Unclaimed Outpost around September with a February release date in mind, and I’m pleased to say that I've made that release date. The novella is now fully edited, formatted, and ready to be put out into the world. My first published Sci-Fi book, and my first book in general for a long while. A new beginning, and in a genre I adore.

Synopsis and Cover

The synopsis for Unclaimed Outpost is as follows:

A year alone in the darkness of space can do strange things to a man, especially when he’s questioning himself to begin with. All Max had wanted was a job away from Earth, no matter how insignificant or menial, just some kind of purpose to his pathetic existence. He briefly found it on the Outpost, but it was taken away all too quickly.

Now, after a year of isolation, completely cut off from humanity, with only a needy computer for company and a giant asteroid heading in his direction, Max must question whether he has any kind of future, much less a happy one…

Set on the edge of the asteroid belt, Unclaimed Outpost is a story of loneliness, unfolding just as humanity comes together to claim the Solar System.

Availability

Unclaimed Outpost will be released on 22nd February both in Digital and Paperback format, with the possibility of an audiobook later in the year. The digital release is currently available for Pre-Order. Here are the UK | USA Links, and for elsewhere in the world search Unclaimed Outpost on Amazon.

I’m really excited to be putting this book out. I see Unclaimed Outpost as the true beginnings of my journey as a Sci-Fi author. It’s my favourite genre, and one I should have started working in a longtime ago (I will make up for lost time) Once this book is out there, there’s no turning back. I intend to dedicate the next twenty plus years of my creativity to Sci-Fi. However the book is received, I'm proud of the work and effort I put into it. This really will be the beginning of something for me.

I look forward to seeing what you all think, and I've already made big inroads on my next book which I'll talk about in more detail on my next Author Notes Post.

For now, thank you in advance to anyone who buys a copy of Unclaimed Outpost. Your support means the world to me, and will help finance future work from Lambency Belt.

Author Notes Vol 2

Unclaimed Outpost

I finished the final draft of my debut Sci-Fi Novella the other day. I still need to give it a quick once over for any silly mistakes before I send it to the editor, but I think it’s in good shape. I have an editor in mind, so hopefully there will be no drama there (because there always seems to be something) and I can have the story ready to hit the stands (or Amazon digital store) by February as planned.

It’s been a lot of fun writing Unclaimed Outpost. I haven’t published anything in almost two years (previously under a different name) so it was good to get that rush back of knowing something is almost ready. I have completed two other books during that time period (Taten Chronicles) but I'm putting them on here as serialised stories first as they’re part of an ongoing series that I don’t want to rush. Plus, it means I can concrete on other ideas rather than being almost obligated to work on a single project.

Unclaimed Outpost had its challenges, especially the ending, but I think I've overcome them. It reads a lot like the story I had in mind when I started writing it, and that’s normally a good sign for me. The WELLS character grew significantly compared to my initial thoughts, while Max is how I envisioned him. I’m happy with the little story, and feel it’s a good beginning to what will hopefully be a substantial body of work over time.

The novella took a little longer to complete than I thought it would, but that’s the beauty of Self Publishing, there’s no strict deadline or time restrictions. If I over-run by three weeks it isn’t a big stress. The important thing for me is putting the work out in the best shape it can be, not hitting some arbitrary date.

I’ll have a final update on Unclaimed Outpost next month, and will be able to share the synopsis and cover.

What’s Next?

The original plan was to go back to work on 2922 after I finished Unclaimed Outpost. It’s a book I'm about a third of the way through and already very proud of, but I’m going to put it to one side at the moment. Tonally, it’s quite a serious book, and I feel like writing something a little more fun and silly.

Whether that’s a sensible choice or not I’m not sure as 2922 definitely works better alongside Unclaimed Outpost than the Alien Abduction story I'm working on instead. But, as I mentioned in a recent article I wrote, I like to write what I want to write. The more sensible choice would be to establish a voice and type of book I'm known for, but I'm interested in all sub-genres of Sci-Fi, and want to play around in the whole genre rather than just a corner of it,

So, my next novel (as of the time of writing this) is going to be the aforementioned Alien Abduction story, that does have a title, but I don’t want to give it away yet. It’s a story I've had in my mind for maybe seven to eight months now, and intended to write it as my third or fourth book, but it’s jumped the queue.

I just found myself thinking about this story more and more. My brain connecting pieces together in the background. My love of the central character began to grow and it became the story at the forefront of my mind. Instead of rushing through other books to get to this story, why not just write it now.

It saddens me a little to put 2922 aside once again. I feel like the book could be the work I love the most over time, but I also want to do it justice. Give it my full attention. Make sure it’s the best thing I've ever written. It’s time will come, but that isn’t now. Hopefully I'll get back to it later in the year.

Short Stories

I’ve been a little distracted finishing Unclaimed Outpost and beginning Alien Abduction to work on to many shorts of late, but I have written more of Popsicle, and published a Collection of Short Stories in my shop. I’ve also jotted down a ton of ideas for other short stories.

Going forward I've given myself time each day to work on short stories. It’s something I feel will be important to my overall body of work as it gives me a chance to play around with new ideas, and find more sub-genres within sci-fi that I love. Also, it means I can share more work on this website rather than having to wait months on end for a new book to be ready.

I have a bunch of stories planned within a future collection called Edison Rift, and you can read the first story for free here.

Edison Rift is another thing that’s been on my mind more of late. I think it will take a while to complete this collection of shorts as I have to many other stories on the go, or in the pipeline, but I hope to add to that collection each month and build it overtime to an eventual book.

In the meantime, I'll be adding some of the stories to any Lambency Belt Story Collections I put out, and posting them on my website. One of the stories, Wait Until Night Comes is already available in the first collection of short stories I mentioned, and will probably be the next story I make available on the website.

Time To Write

I’ve been working on the idea of a writing schedule of late and think I'm going to go ahead with it. This has never really worked for me in the past, and I'm not sure what makes this time different, but I'm going to try it. I think previously I’ve always been too strict with myself, and when I didn’t keep to the schedule for a few days that was kind of that. But, this one will be more flexible. I’m going to give myself room to take days off, and have lighter days, rather than pile on the pressure. I’m not a young man anymore, I need my rest and movie days, so why not just make room for that too.

I’m good at getting stuff written so can rely solely on my own discipline, but I really want to start getting Lambency Belt into a place I'm proud of. This schedule would allow me to tackle all the areas I need too, making sure that I'm working the right amount of time on my main books, and the supporting short stories alongside it. It will even give me a chance to write some novelettes, and consider how to market my books and stories as at the moment that hasn’t been happening.

There’s a lot of writing ahead, but I'm looking forward to it. I’m feeling motivated at the moment and want to capitalise on that as much has possible. There will be ups and downs along the way, but I have my eye on the bigger picture rather than feeling I've let myself down on any short term goals.

So, it’s time to start writing.

Author Notes Vol 1

Introduction

With so much writing planned over the next few years I thought I'd try to journal a lot of what I'm up to, hence the beginnings of my Authors Notes page. The intention of this ongoing blog is simple, to let everyone know what I'm working on, what obstacles I've come across during the writing, and how I'm feeling about the work and the genre. A peak behind the curtain. A look behind the scenes. You know, the good stuff.

It’s meant to be a little more personal than the Essays and Articles, and also a chance to elaborate more on Self Publishing as a whole, rather than tackling the occasional individual subject. I’ve never written any Author Notes in any of my books and probably never will, so this will be the place to read those little tidbits instead.

What Am I Currently Working On?

My main focus at the moment is getting my debut Science Fiction Novella ready: Unclaimed Outpost. I’m currently aiming for a February release and feel on track for that. Unclaimed Outpost wasn’t originally going to be my debut novel, but the book I was working on is much bigger (therefore takes more time to write and is more expensive to edit) so I briefly put that aside for something more manageable that I can get out into the world sooner. But, the moment Unclaimed Outpost is written, edited, and fully ready for release, I’ll be straight back on 2922 Days.

Unclaimed Outpost is a Novella set on an Outpost near the Asteroid Belt, following the story of its lone worker, Max, and the effects being alone in deep space in having on him.. I’ll go into more details on my next Author’s Notes as the novella will be in the editing stage by that point, and hopefully I'll have a full articulated spellchecked synopsis by then too… rather than butchering it’s premise thoughtlessly now.

I’ve been writing Unclaimed Outpost since around September, although had outlined much of it before then while I was busy working on 2922 Days. It’s a simpler story than the bigger book I've been putting together, but is hopefully a good representation of what my work will be like within the genre, although, I have also been putting some time into two more outrageous Space Operas. You should get to see both sides of my love of the genre over the next year. Some work that’s based in some loose sense of reality, and the more pulp Space Opera crazy stuff that I absolutely adore.

Short Stories

I’ve also been working on several short stories over the last few months with the intention of releasing the first batch as a collection on my Buy Me A Coffee Page. The idea is to try and put out at least one short story per month, to go alongside my serialised Space Opera Taten Chronicles (which will have a new entry every 2-3 months). The shorts will be available to read for free on the website, or to buy slightly earlier as part of an Ezine Short Story Collection that I'm planning on issuing every few months.

The Shorts have been great fun to write. A couple of them are purely standalone (Terraroid and Time Travel Paradox) but a few of the others (Edison Rift and Analog Apocalypse) are also things that over time can be expanded into bigger ideas. Maybe collections, novelettes, or anthologies. Have too many ideas at the moment, so it’s just about trying to organise them, and then prioritise which order to write the stories.

I’ve just started writing another new short on the side of my main work called Popsicle, but I’m having to do a little too much research for that one at the moment. So, I might have to put it on hold until I've finished the novella. We’ll see.

The Website

As some of you may have notice the website has also undergone a drastic transformation. This is in preparation of getting a lot more writing done. Having a place to share my Short Stories, my serialised space opera Taten Chronicles, my Author Notes, Essay’s and Articles, and the Review’s I've been writing on Sci-Fi books and films over the past year.

I want the website to be the central hub for everything I do, while I've set up a Buy Me A Coffee Page as a place to sell my digital Short Story Collections, and upcoming wacky Novelettes (I also take donations there ;) )

My main books will be available on Amazon when they’re ready, but I haven’t decided whether to enrol them in the KDP. If I don’t, they’ll also be digitally available to buy on my page. I like the idea of enrolling them on KDP, but hate that I can’t put them elsewhere if I do, so that’s a decision I'll need to make at some point.

My Buy Me A Coffee Page will also feature a Free Short Story you can get right away once it comes back from the editor.

What Does The Next Month Look Like?

My priority is finishing Unclaimed Outpost, but also getting this website fully operational. Then, it’s to continue the next book, and don’t look back. I want to get back into the habit of writing every single day, and publishing 3-4 books a year. Whether that’s possible at the moment I'm not sure, but it’s what I’m going to aim for. I’ve got a lot of books in me, and it’s about managing my energy with my health the way it is so that I can write them all.

I’m excited for the future, but also anxious to get started. And hopefully, over time, people will start to read and enjoy some of my work.