Published! Heir's Defence has landed on Amazon

Heir's Defence, book 2 of the Imperial Line series, picks up where Heir Non-Apparent left off.

As well as the now established members of Babel Squad, there are a host of new faces to meet. Se-se has her own personal squad of elite Imperial Guards to get to know and, far more important and more frightening, her parents are desperate to spend time with their eldest child.

There is also Se-se's younger sister, herself battling for survival, and not sure where her place is in a suddenly changed universe.

At the end of Heir Non-Apparent, Se-se was still in the hospital and had not ventured into the Imperial Palace. When she does, the extravagance and sheer decedent insistence on the most expensive and best of everything stuns her. Rulers of planets are envious of the luxury afforded to the Imperial family, everything and anything is hers at whim, but for the one thing she wants the most. Revenge.

Thousands of innocents were murdered as an unknown adversary sent mercenaries after the Emperor's heirs, and even after Se-se returns to her true home the death toll only rises.

Just because she is now home, does not mean Se-se is safe, or that Babel Squad are ready to stand down.

Se-se used to know who she could trust and she could rely on people keeping to their word, but who can she trust when any one of the strangers falling over themselves to get her attention could be plotting her murder?

Se-se once thought that her guardians and Colonel Castleman were teaching her the skills to become an officer and fight for the Emperor, now she must use those skills for their intended purpose, to defend herself and her Empire, and no matter what she does there will have to be sacrifices.

Afterword:

Okay, that's the blurb done with. Now you have a tiny taste of what to expect, I can admit that I'm nervous about this one.

The setting for book 2 is different, there are a lot more characters to get to know and more intrigue between the action. I hope the pace isn't too much slower after the non-stop style of Heir Non-Apparent, but there were just too many loose ends left hanging for me to race blindly through it. 

I want you, the reader, to have some answers and to get a taste of how drastically different Se-se's new existence is from her upbringing.

Just stick with it. I promise it gets a bit crazy in the latter half of the book, more like the action in book 1, and I hope you appreciate where I'm going during the action light sections.

Oh, and this book is quite a lot longer than the first, by about 15 thousand words, it may take a few sittings to complete.

After Afterword:

And look out for a familiar sounding name. There's an Imperium in book 2 that you might have met if you know me from motorsport circles. 😉🏁

Heir's Defence is nearly ready!

After publishing Heir Non-Apparent back in March, I made the rash decision to announce that I would get the follow-up novel written and published by Christmas.

What was I thinking?

Writing the first novel was stressful enough and then editing it, *shudder* editing is a special layer of hell reserved for authors. I naively expected Christmas never arrive, but here were are in November, the shops are full of cheery decorations and Santa is receiving long and fanciful requests for many garish toys.


The last few months have been a blur. Real life has most disgracefully interfered with writing, while I type this I am also looking after a poorly child off sick from school and being kicked by an overly active toddler, but I have somehow made progress.

The cover is designed, there is even a novel beneath it. This can only mean one thing, my second book is soon to be available on Amazon 😀.
And it's not even Christmas yet, phew.

Release date to be announced very soon!

What happens next?

If I have a nasty habit, it's writing without a plan.
I'm not one of these people who plans out their book Chapter by chapter and has a detail breakdown before I begin. I start with an idea, a flash of inspiration, and let the keyboard race away with me.

I wrote this some time ago, I scribbled it down in a notebook while out and about with no idea where it was going or what was happening, I just had an image of the scene in my head and the only way to get it out was to commit it to paper.

Snow flakes swirled about in the biting wind making it hard to see any distance at all up the valley through the heavily laden fir trees.

Heavily armoured and up to his knees in snow, Brodey was thankful for his thick fur cloak but even with it he shivered and he prayed anyone noticing would think it was only from the cold. His gloved hands twitched compulsively, gripping sword and shield tight as he waited. Beside him his best friend and Commander stood stock still, staring across the snow with rich hazel eyes piercing the night. All that identified him as the Commander was a dark plume rising from his helmet, other than that his fur cloak was almost identical to Brodey's and his leather and chain-mail armour could have belonged to any officer in the army but for the small brooch pinned lovingly to it that was a present directly from the Queen's hand. He was her chosen man, the officer in charge of her guards, an honour he had only reluctantly taken when it was clear there was no better man for the job. And here in the freezing darkness with danger all around the Commander was smiling.

“Dacan,” Brodey could not help himself. “You know we're all going to die tonight, don't you.”

The Commander looked briefly at his friend before his eyes turned back to the trees and snow. “Of course I do.”

“So what in all the layers of hell is there to smile about?”

Dacan actually laughed. “Because when all hope is lost and death is staring you in face, when you resign yourself to the inevitable and stand strong against the bitter end, if you're really lucky you might just see an angel.”

There was something in the way his Commander spoke, something wistful. Brodey wondered if there was a part of the plan he had missed. “If there's something you haven't told me now is really the time.”

“No,” the smile was gone. “There's nothing but a last stand left. The Queen will get safely to the city with Recal and his detachment and we'll make sure of that by holding the line here.”

“Good.” Brodey nodded and turned back to watching the forest. “For a minute there I thought that last knock to the head had lost you the last bit of sense you had left.”

So what happens next?

Okay, I've actually turned this into a full story now with developed characters and (whisper it) a plot, but it could have gone anywhere.

Do Brodey and Dacan die in an act of heroism? Does an angel appear to rescue them? Do they somehow manage to defeat the enemy and return to the Queen? Are they abducted by aliens to become space warriors in a battle for the universe? Ahem, am I getting carried away?

Where would you take it?

Inspiration is not linear, it does not give you plot notes with beginning, middle and end. It gives a snapshot, a moment in time to be turned into something greater. 

Getting inspiration is easy, turning it into a novel is hard work.

Oh no! I killed off a character I love!

Killing off characters is a sad but necessary part of narrative, even fairy tales kill off vast numbers of characters (although to be fair the original versions of most fair tales are certainly not the way Disney portrays them).

The problem with killing off characters is their deaths are meaningless unless you first establish an emotion connection to them, no matter how tenuous, but by then it's too late. It's far too easy to fall in love with that doomed character and try to find a way to avoid killing them. Believe me, many an author has cried over their keyboard when the time has come to dispatch a beloved character.

Some characters just don't want to die

If there is no life, there is no death.
Unless your novel's universe revolves around immortal beings then there will almost inevitably be death involved in it somewhere.
In my first book there were thousands of deaths (no exaggeration, I was feeling pretty nasty I must admit) and most of them were not an issue for me because their deaths were preordained for the plot, but I did fall a few of the characters and although I had to kill them I do regret it. They were lovely people and they wanted to live so much, but they had to die instead.

Here, unlike in real life, we can at least find a solution. No, not the infamous Dallas solution "It was all a dream" (I know, I know, it can work but Bobby Ewing ruined it for me as a child) or the alternate universe (even if Star Trek has proved it can work well), but the well written prequel.

I love a prequel, it can fill in so many gaps and explain why characters behave the way they do when you first met them (but no, just no, I could have done without Jar Jar Binks).

I order to maintain my sanity, what little of it I have left, I have found myself writing the odd mini-prequel to resurrect dead characters and let me play with them again.
If you want to meet my poor doomed characters Joe and Tam again, follow the link to a time when Se-se was young. I enjoyed getting to spend some time with them, they were so important to Se-se and it felt mean to rip them away from her but I had to get her alone.

Babel Squad's Surprise Exercise
And they never knew it was anything more than a game they played when some old friends appeared unexpectedly.


And please excuse all the TV & film references, for some reason they just floated to the top of my mind, ripe for skimming off.

How to be anti-social: Become a Writer

"Someone said you've written a book. That must be exciting."
This was actually said to me the other day and it made me stop in my tracks.

Writing isn't exciting.
Writing is sitting at a desk for hours upon hours, pouring out your soul as you type. Then it's more hours deleting the work you spent hours on simply because your mood has changed and now you hate everything you created.

It's months of creatively tearing your hair out to make the vision in your mind match the words on the screen. Then it's time for editing - don't get me started on the pain involved with shredding your beloved work to pieces to make it fit the right box for reader consumption.
As for publishing... *shudder*


Writing can be a work of love, but it can also be a painful labour of dogged determination and absolute stubbornness.

Have I put you off yet?

No?

You might just be stubborn enough for the gig.


But I haven't got to the best part yet. The part that really sets you apart from the normal people.

That's right. Writing is incredibly anti-social.

While other people get to go to work and interact with real living people, your interactions play out inside your head and on the page.
When you do actually go outside you find yourself watching people, you see how they behave and what they do. You know you're beyond help when you find yourself scripting their actions. It's hard to relax and simply enjoy the moment when you're analysing it, you find yourself permanently placed on the outside looking in. The worst part is - you put yourself there!
It's well known that I take a notepad and pen with me everywhere because inspiration can strike at any time and once it hits I can't concentrate on anything else until it's written down. I need a "Do Not Disturb" sign to hang round my neck when I sit down with my pad and pen


So I urge you, fellow writers, it's time to unite! Separately, at our computers, without real people around to interrupt us.

You're either a writer or a reader.
It's time to choose sides.

Character Development: How does a plot hook become a person?

How many times have you read a book with a fantastic plot but been let down by the characters?

What makes a great character? They don't have to be a perfect hero, in fact it's usually better when they're not. To stop your characters feeling shallower than a puddle in August they have to stop being characters and start being people.
You don't have to over analyse every action (I'm guilty of that sometimes - I hold my hand up and admit it) but a little thought and back story to flesh a person out make them feel more real and helps you to write more rounded reactions to situations.

That minor character who needs to drink the poisoned coffee - is he going to drink it just because you need someone to die a horrible death that stops your hero from suffering the same fate, or is he drinking it because he had a late night last night (the baby wouldn't sleep again) and he needs the caffeine?
You don't need to tell the reader that unless you want them emotionally involved, but if you are involved you're more likely to write what happens in an emotive way that makes the death more important.

I've had minor characters turn into major ones because I've fallen in love with their back story, I've had good guys turn bad because they've suddenly gained a motive and bad guys who've become good in their own mind because they believe they're doing the right thing.

Yes, it slows down your writing, yes you spend extra hours on that Chapter you really need to finish, but I would rather invest that time creating a real person rather an a pretty plot hook.


Name: The name is normally gender and culture specific, it gives an instant impression. You may deliberately choose a misleading name or nickname but be sure not to deceive the reader for too long!

Harold Finley-Windsor is an articulate gentleman who in his younger years was quite the regular on the social scene.
Harry Fin was was the bloke down the road who spent his evenings in the pub propping up the bar and doing trick shots at the dart board.

Description: Don't go crazy, but give important details early on. Don't wait until half way through the book to tell the readers your romantic lead is covered head to toe in tribal tattoos. Unless she's been taking great pains to hide them from everyone of course, just allude to some odd behaviour early on.

You could tell straight away she did not follow the crowd with her style, an intricate climbing rose tattoo traced its way across her chest and up her neck all the way to nape of her electric blue hair.

Emotion: This often falls into the "show, don't tell" category of writing, but like all rules it can be broken if you feel the need.

Instead of: He was angry and everyone around knew it.
Try: He slammed down the coffee mug and growled as scolding liquid splashed onto his hand.

A person's actions speak volumes. You don't need to be told this man's upset, if he was your Boss you'd delay asking for a pay rise until tomorrow.

Back Story: Firstly, do they need one? The taxi driver in the book for one paragraph probably doesn't, but if they hang around for a chapter or more they should be fleshed out.

Harold Finley-Windsor was disinherited when he fell for the beauty with the rose tattoo who danced at the gentleman's club. He took the name Harry Fin and made a name for himself as a prize fighter before retiring on his earnings and enjoying the simple life.


Give it a try. Don't be afraid of falling in love with a character, they came from your mind after all.

On the cutting room floor - the regrets of editing

Everyone has to face it at some point, even if they do all their own editing. You will have to cut things out sometimes, whether a scene you love interrupts the flow of the story or it just doesn't quite flow right, there will be times when you must be brutal.

One that springs to mind for me is part of the early version of the journey home within my Heir Non-Apparent novel. It was one of those sections of story that was good for the character (Androvich) but just was not necessary for the plot, especially with later edits.

I have so many scenes like that languishing on my computer. I know they will never be published but I just can't face getting rid of them.
Oh well, at the risk of spoilers (or complete incomprehension) for anyone who hasn't yet read the book yet, I will publish that little something on another page, just to console myself that it has been published somewhere.
Androvich on the Singer

Something a little different - British Touring Car Championship (BTCC) / Star Wars mash up

If the title sounds a little (okay a lot) weird then it's right.

One of my many loves in life is the BTCC motorsport series. Partly because I love fast cars and partly because of the characters involved in the sport.
Well, my love of writing has caught the attention of a few of my BTCC friends and they asked me to write a review of the first round of the season. For some very random reason it became a Star Wars themed review - because life is too serious sometimes.
I shared my review to the group and they liked it so much I am now expected to do it after every race weekend, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity to share my first attempt on my blog for everyone to see.

Apologies if you know nothing about BTCC but maybe it will inspire you to watch it. If you know nothing about Star Wars, how? Just how? Watch the films, read the books! Personally, I much prefer the originals to the later ones but that's just me being old school (or showing my age, I'm not quite sure which).

And just before I launch into the review, I want to make it clear I was not the first person to think of using Star Wars to parody the sport.

Posted on BTCC Memes (Facebook group)

A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, away, the Empire of B’Tcc was ruled over by the mighty dictator Lord Gow of Down Under.

Under his command, great warriors of skill fought to become his honoured champion on tracks of much danger while the baying crowds cheered on the epic destruction. His favourites were showered in champagne, the failures torn apart by orange clad executioners in clouds of gravel and dust.

We join this endless power struggle as Sir Flash of Shed’Den fights to retain Lord Gow’s favour against the young apprentices vying for fame and fortune.

At Brands of the Hatch, his comrade in arms Neal on the Matt (so named for he must kneel in Lords Gow’s presence so his size does not embarrass the great Lord) used his ramming skills to put off the competition and drive the Turk into submission. It was a tactic copied by the aging former champion Play-Toe (a names whose origin is thankfully lost to history) who is rumoured to bathe in the blood of conquered warriors to retain his youth.

Sir Jeff the Smith shocked all with his great speed, while the most handy Roberto Austini was lucky to survive the mauling he received from Lord Gow when he mistook a sacred flag of slowing for a promissory to pass.

A young cook, plucked from burger flicking obscurity to do battle for Stewart of Brum, has caused great upset among the old guard by out ranking them in the Lord’s favour for the final contest of the day. Can the young apprentice, Josh of the land of Maxi, succeed where his master failed?

The next episode, taking place in the land of Do’Nington is sure to take it’s victims. The much feared and beloved pet of Lord Gow, the monstrous Goose lives at this battle ground and Lord Gow merrily tolerates the sacrifices it demands in it’s honour.

On the day of veneration to the God Easter, whose dominion is Chocolate, Rabbits and Tooth Fillings, the warriors of B'Tcc will do battle once more.

Caffeine Works!

Brought to you exclusively by Caffeine and Carbs, I have Inspiration!

But honestly, why does inspiration always appear when can't get to my computer or even a pad and pen? This time I was in the middle of kneading bread dough, so full on sticky, yeasty, hands. It's nearly as bad as when you're hit by inspiration in the shower, but waterproof paper and pencils exist for this reason 😄.

Inspiration always hits when you're as far away from your keyboard as you can get

Perhaps when your body is busy and your mind is free to wander it is more likely to travel along a path bound for new discovery.


And yes that picture is me, five miles into an obstacle race, in a shipping container filled with ice cubes. I was struggling to breathe, I couldn't feel my fingers, and yet my mind was giving me a thousand ideas a minute. It was a very productive day, I only wish I could have written down a fraction of my thoughts to translate them into usable plot hooks.

Writers block - the bane of an author's existence

It's something every writer has experienced and everyone  has heard of.

Writers Block 😬

Argh, when it hits, it hits hard and it has no respect for deadlines or emotions.

Sometimes it's just that you have no idea what to write. You know you want to write or you need to write, but there is just nothing there, you can stare at the computer screen for hours without a single thought in your head before giving in.
That's bad, but you can walk away, clear your head and ignore the whole thing until inspiration hits you from behind and dumps you back in front of the keyboard.


Sometimes it's the most frustrating feeling of them all: You know exactly what you want to write, you can see the shape of the story in front of you, but the awful disconnect is between your brain and your hands. How is it possible to know what you want to write but simply not be able to do it?


I can see it, I can hear my characters discussing their next move and the whispers of plotting behind closed doors, but where do I start?
Sleep deprivation and a low caffeine supply are probably something to do with the problem.
I shall remedy this and try again.

Now available in print! Heir Non-Apparent in ebook and paperback formats

It's taken a long time (an embarrassingly long time), but the first book in the series has now been published.
Heir Non-Apparent the first of the Imperial Line series is now available to buy on Amazon in both paperback and ebook formats. If you are a Kindle Unlimited customer for a limited time you can even read it for free!

It's a strange feeling to know I have a novel published and ever stranger to know that people have already asked me to sign their copy of the book.

I will still be publishing on this website so keep checking in for freebies and extras.

It's a very loooooooooooooonnnnggggg time since I last posted here. Life has really got in the way, but I have made progress.

True Family now has it's final title and is complete.

Heir Non-Apparent

This is officially the first of a series and will soon be available in both ebook and paperback format.
Watch this space for updates!