Cover Reveal - Aphrodite's Dawn

Relaunching soon.

Blog Neglect: Stamp it out - TODAY!

Blog, Oh Blog, how have I neglected thee?

I plead the usual defence - stuff happened. Hardly an excuse, because surely I should have been blogging about it. Shouldn't I?

Anyhow, a big part of the stuff has been working with Fox Spirit to get 'Warrior Stone:Underland' ready to launch in the new year. Edits are nearing completion, and we have confirmed the talented Linzi Goldstone as cover artist.

The other BIG THING is that Aphrodite's Dawn is going to be relaunched over Christmas; new cover art, new edit, and available as a paperback. All though Metaphoric Media. Should be available from the week before Christmas.

And the last element of the excuse (apart from a new day job) is that I am currently editing or rewriting THREE books; 'Amunet' (Steampunk Urban Fantasy), 'Maverick' (SF), and 'Warrior Stone: White Magic'. I am hoping 'Maverick' will be published some time around May/June, and 'Amunet' has yet to find a home.

I have a feeling 2014 is going to be a very busy year!

Another 5* Review for Aphrodite's Dawn

Just found this lovely review on Goodreads, and I snipped a bit out to brag with :)

“Aphrodite’s Dawn” is intriguing, compelling, and suspenseful. Even as I was cringing over the symptoms of this truly dystopian society, I was enjoying the characters, the situations, and the backstory. Garrett is a rock-solid protagonist, and his “sidekick,” Pitr, is adorable and such a sturdy friend."

Big thank you to the kind person who posted it, and to everybody else - see, told you it was good, now go buy it and see if you agree :D

I got Interviewed

The nice people at Making Connections asked me some interesting questions, and I tried to do them justice with the answers. You can have a look at the interview here. I talk about how my characters work for me, how I balance my writing against my day job, and other stuff.

While I'm throwing links around, my facebook page is feeling lonely and neglected. Drop by and show some love with a 'Like' :)

First Draft Finished

Just finished the first draft of my current YA project 'Amunet'. 82000 words. W00t!

Its a hell of a feeling when you get to the end. Even though you know you still have to edit it, probably more than once (who am I kidding, way more than once), its still a buzz to get to the end of a first draft. For me, that's when it become real, when it becomes a book. It's whole. There's no more worries about 'can I/will I finish it'. Its there and all you can do now is make it better.

But now to put it away for a bit, and let it stew for a while. I have two books currently in Schroedinger Submission status which I may need to query, two short stories ditto, and there's been a submissions call for an anthology I would really like to get into.

Plus, I should be chasing up some marketing options for Aphrodite's Dawn, my first publish novel. Time to stir the pot on that again, too, I think

Most of all, I want to do some reading. Proper reading, not 'just before bed' reading. Lunchtime reading.

All good :)

Another 5* Review for Aphrodite's Dawn

Pop over to Amazon and take a look here, and while you're there why not buy a copy for yourself ;)

First 5* Review for Aphrodite's Dawn

I haven't read any SF for decades. There was a time when I read as many books in the genre as possible, often up to six books a week. Then I got older and discovered the gory joys of horror novels. Recently, a friend recommended this book by a new author and I decided to give it a go. I was delighted, the narrative gripped me from the first page, always a good sign. The writing, characters and settings are excellent and the story keeps up the tension throughout. A thoroughly good SF tale that is enjoyable from start to finish. I may not go back to reading SF, but I will keep reading work by R.B. Harkess..."

Well thank you kindly, Demonica

Young Adult Book Theatre

I just joined Young Adult Book theatre. Is a great site, showcasing some of the best new YA material from some innovative small press and indie writers. There are games, too, and load of other interesting bit. Worth a look

http://yabooktheater.weebly.com/

First Amazon Review

Just seen my first amazon review. 4 stars and some very kind words from 'Q'.

Cast of Wonders

My first ever podcast, done by Cast of Wonders, has gone live today.

They've done a great job, and it sent chills down my spine (but then I'm biased). Please go give it a listen. The guys at Cast of Wonders are doing a great thing, and there aren't enough people doing YA audio magazines. Share the love, and support them if you like what they're doing.

Grand Plan Replanned

Can't remember who said this. Probably Sun Tsu, or somebody like him. "No military strategy survives the first encounter with the enemy".

Based on that, I think the Grand Plan did OK. I wrote three outlines; one as a sequel to Aphdrodite's Dawn, one as the second book in the Warrior Stone trilogy, and a steampunk/urban fantasy mash with a working title of 'Amunet', so I guess I met the first half of the objectives.

Writing the three shorts was not so easy. I have finished one, and its currently out for peer preview. But then I got some comments on another story I wrote a while back. I never put it out for publication as I was never totally happy with it. Not the 'fussing with it ad absurdium because I can't let it go' thing, but just a feeling it was missing something. The comments gave me an idea and I've just launched into a total rewrite of a 100k word novel. Did I hear somebody at the back scream 'insanity'? Perhaps.

So I have no idea how long that's going to take, but I figure that's got to be worth two short stories? Mmm?

I got sent this artwork last night, so I thought I would share it with you straight away. Awesome, isn't it. I'm told we should get a release date really soon, so check back here or keep an eye on my facebook for news.

Grand Plan Update

Second outline finished. I now have the second Warrior Stone book waiting to be written. Of course, cant really start it before I find somewhere to place the first one. And I guess the same goes for the sequel to Aphrodite's Dawn That's the outline I'm working on now, but I cant really get started on writing it until we see how Aphrodite's Dawn is received. Looks like the steampunk outline could get developed first.

That is, unless I can actually come up with an idea for one or more of the three short stories I promised myself. So far, still not a squeak. I guess it could be my muse is more than happy with the three book ideas, but I'll give her a little longer to make her mind up.