Hi everybody.
I am sorry for the extended absence. Life does funny things to blogs, I am sure you have noticed, and I would dearly love to have the time and the energy for weekly posts, but alas lately I do not. Even so, here we are, and I figured it was time to stick my head in the door briefly.
2013 is over, with perhaps less projects completed than I had hoped, but a realistic amount of success none the less. Armada’s Disciple was of course released during 2013, and I feel is a worthy addition to anyone’s SF library. If you have not already grabbed a copy, please consider having a read of it and joining the many others who already are finding a fascination for the HRMS Deception, the mysteries it evokes, and the new questions it raises about the universe inhabited by Starlight Hodgens et al.
The second title that was tentatively scheduled for completion was Longarm Severed, which I am taking my time over and is still some time away from release. That said, I feel the book is benefiting greatly from this slower approach. The story is shaping up nicely, with some tight plot lines and plenty of room for the reader to imagine it’s unusual world beyond the confines of the novel. A story of imprisonment, Longarm Severed follows the incarceration of Theodore Longarm, a convicted murderer, smuggler, and terrorist, as he struggles to discover the truth of his identity in a prison that has stolen his past. You can expect Longarm Severed to be completed in 2014. Release dates still pending.
On completion of Longarm Severed, I intend to look at Children of Nevermind, the sequel to Dance of Nevermind. Dance is a regular seller, ticking over in greater numbers than the others, even those released since. There is something about Dance that has captured the imaginations and adoration of many readers, and I appreciate every fan written email I have received, though I do not always have the time to reply straight away. The echo is a creature that is particularly popular, and that species will most certainly play a prominent role in the sequel.
Also I will possibly get stuck into my side project, The Chronicles of Iron Johnstone, which is a sequence of short stories documenting the life of the title character. Ian ‘Iron’ Johnstone is a character many of you will already know from his role in the existing kindle short story “Failing Calamity,” in which he stars. That story will likely form a chapter around the middle of the chronicles. This work I had intended to take the form of an illustrated novel, and I have not commissioned an artist to assist. I will be considering that option once I get into the story, and have a better idea of what form I would like the artwork to take. Obviously I may choose to undertake that part of the book myself, but if the result is not satisfactory, of course I would seek professional assistance.
I have had some readers asking about my possible foray into fantasy, which I will answer with a ‘maybe later’. I do not at this stage had any solid plans, or any ideas I feel are strong enough, or original enough, to pursue. Should something come about, I will certainly embark on that path when the time is right. To offer a potential teaser, there does exist the beginnings of a story I wrote as a child, simply titled “The Tiaras”, which could potentially see an overhaul and completion at some point. Renaming as well as that title does not inspire me in the slightest! That is of course, providing the inabilities of a twelve year old introvert can be overcome by the forty year old version of the writer.
As for the later, as yet unannounced science fiction novels, I have no substantial information to give you at this point beyond what is already mentioned above. As always, there are plans for many, many books, but which ones will progress beyond a mere title or vague concept I have yet to decide. I have plenty of work to do already and I admit it feels nice to have begun to shrink the pile a bit. Of course, there are a couple of ‘front runners’ for the betting people. One likely candidate is a second book to feature the HRMS deception, staring some of the favoured characters from Armada’s Disciple such as Shae Jarzi, and the bounty hunter, George. That does not even have a title as yet, and neither does the potential prequel that details the prior history of that mysterious colony ship found adrift in deep space hundreds of years after launch.
Those and many other projects will come, in time, and I hope you will all continue to join me for the ride as my characters live out their varied lives through you, the reader, without whom they would never even exist. On behalf of all of them, from Danny, Rachel and the crew in Suspended Earth, Starlight and crew in their books, Jessica, Angel, Ajax and the rest on Nevermind, to Kevin, Anelle and all their friends on Farthrow, Thank you for reading, for bringing life through your participation in their imagined worlds, and for living with them all the highs and lows of their lives as figures of change in their personal histories.
As we enter the fourth year that my books will be available for public consumption, I bid a fond farewell to 2013, and would like to say to you all, in the hope that you continue to join me in my imaginings, welcome to 2014!