Tag Archives: science fantasy

I never comment on reviews … but

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I find I must answer one repeated question. For those who asked; yes, there will be a sequel to Darkspire Reaches. I am currently working on this book and I am taking notes of all the things readers would like to see advanced. Thank you kind folks.

If you want to see more of my worlds, my next book is a start of a new series and is entitled Shadow Over Avalon. Here is the description my publishers will be putting on the book, coming out on this Halloween. Oh, and yes there is a sequel to this already with my publishers. The second book will be released in 2014.

Beyond the mists of time, a dying warrior binds his soul to his sword with an oath to protect his people. His shade rides with the Wild Hunt while he waits for the call of greatest need, but when it comes, he doesn’t know it is a lie.

In the undersea city of Avalon, Arthur nears the end of his acolyte training. But he doesn’t want to spend his life serving the Archive, he wants to fight side by side with the air-breathing people to defeat the predators who are determined to ensure their own survival no matter the cost.

Ashira, War Maid princess of the surface-world, is ready to sacrifice her life to defend her kin, but when she is betrayed she must choose whether to die with honor or become one of the creatures her kinsmen fear and loathe.

Fortune twists in the strongest hands. This is no repeat; this is what happens next.

Following two threads of time, CN Lesley’s fresh take on the Arthurian tales of old delivers the perfect blend of science fiction and fantasy.

A typical day of work.

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Rise at 6: 30 and not because I have to, this is when I wake up naturally. First port of call is to put on my coffee. It is dark outside and I need to be fully awake. While the coffee is brewing, I pack my husband’s lunch. Retreat with aforesaid coffee to my office to start my day.

My first task is to check my mail.  Once everything has been answered I must start work. Right at the moment, I am working on edits and this will continue with short breaks for breakfast and lunch, after which, I check my mail again and answer anything needing attention. Some time is lost during the morning trying to persuade the VBC that he really does not need to leap into my arms and drape himself over me, but today I got lucky as he suddenly remembered his passion for his pillow. Eww. Anyhow, he was ‘otherwise’ engaged and I could get on with my work.

Edited until around 4:00 when my eyes fell out and I had to take a break from the screen. For anyone keeping a tally, this is now nine hours work with break and cat times deducted.  Stop to prepare supper and then continue on until the dear husband arrives home.

This evening, having gone through my mail again, and facebook, I am back at work. The file has just finished downloading and I expect to put in another three hours, or thereabouts.  Tally will stand at about twelve hours of work. This might be longer as I would like to finish this file this evening/night. All this is dependent on if I can keep my concentration level up. If not, then I will have to shelve the project for morning.

Is this a complaint? The hells no! I love what I do. This just happens to be a crunch time and so is very intensive. Once this is over, I will go back to my normal routine, which still is about twelve hours a day, only with split projects. I think I will do NANO this year because I really need to work on the sequel to Darkspire Reaches, so November is going to be fairly packed. I need about another forty to fifty k to finish the book and I need the discipline to stop me flitting between this and other works in progress. Ideally,, I would like the first draft to be finished by the end of November. No, this does not mean the book will be going out anytime soon. It will need three or four passes before it is anywhere near ready to inflict on my publishers. Oh, you might say I could send them my first draft and let them sort out the editing. Roars with laughter. Nope. Publishing is a business with time restrictions and it is courteously imperative only to submit the very best. No one gets to see anything that I am not confident will fly. That is how it is.

Now I see the download I have been impatiently waiting for in completed. Darn, I must find time to clear files from my laptop. Thirty minutes for a download is ridiculous. So, back to work.

I leave you with the thought that Shadow Over Avalon will be live in just seven days. Oh, and if you haven’t already downloaded a free copy of Darkspire Reaches, now might be the an idea. The promotion is time limited and may not be repeated. It is available on all ebook platforms. Enjoy.

Shadow Over Avalon

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Shadow Over AvalonThe editing process is now complete and I am so happy with the book. Sensitive and enlightened editing makes all the difference. Actually, I got some really good suggestions for expanding the script, which I jumped on. My bad there, as I had cut it down to the bone to fit in with current marketing needs and was told to expand it again in various areas outlined in detail. Loved this!!!

The book is now out of my sticky mitts and is going through the process. Come Halloween, there will be a new kid on the block. This is about what happened next and doesn’t pull any punches. Like a fright on Halloween? Prepare to be scared.  This science fantasy is a dystopia with a profound difference. Oh, and the second book is already completed and in my publishers hands. It is due out sometime in 2014.

Want to check out my worlds for free? Darkspire Reaches, my dark romantic fantasy, is available for a limited time on all e-platforms. It is currently #12 on Amazon.com free bestsellers general list. Note, not specific – general and in among other genres and literary books. Over ten thousand books have been downloaded today. How about making it ten thousand and something? Make my millennium.

Research – How important is it?

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For me, it is vital. Maybe 50% of my research doesn’t end up in my books, but the bones are there. World building doesn’t just pop out of nowhere. A world must have rules and set circumstances related to reality. I count an inadvertent mentor as Frank Herbert with his Dune series. He based the planet Dune on a Middle Eastern desert style of life and he immersed himself in it, adding to it as he went along. Armed with this example of excellence, I tried to incorporate the essential details of a world in my books.

In Darkspire Reaches, this meant demonstrating the difference in the races by more than the physical. There had to be speech patterns and attitudes. Reasons for disagreements needed to happen for the world to come alive. Note, this book is currently free on all ebook platforms for a limited time.

Shadow over Avalon posed different problems as there wasn’t just a difference in race to content with, there was a difference in species. Each of them has their own, very real goals. Each goal defines the species and its ability to survive. Aside from that, I used known landmarks for a lot of the settings and that meant reams of research and photos. It is not just a matter of blithely eliminating all roads, houses, infrastructure, etc. Removing things means other things must be set up to replace these. Then there are other considerations, such as religion, currency, social status, and technology, or the lack thereof. Added into this mix went cutting edge scientific discoveries, and yes, this meant reading published papers on the subjects of embryology, genetics. and physics.

A huge amount or research went into going back into ancient Welsh history to get the true account of King Arthur. Mallory’s account was taken from Gregory of Monmouth, a misogamist monk with a real hatred of women. Hence the incest story, which was total fabrication to discredit women of power. He effectively rewrote history to revile priestesses of the old religion in a way that would provoke an eew factor from the then modern man. What a monk was doing having those sort of thoughts beggars the question. However, it meant I could write a ‘clean’ Arthur, set in a future world with a clear conscience, and discard any erroneous ickiness. I have always thought Arthur was a greater man than portrayed and now I had my vindication based on extensive research. But this is not a historical recreation. It is what happens next, based on the platform of what should have been the true rendition. In twelve days you can see for yourselves. In the meantime, there are pictures on my Pinterest account of my world. Enjoy.

Thanksgiving.

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I have so much to be thankful for this year. Most of my family visited for lunch and it was so wonderful to have the them all over. Baby George was the highlight and he was an absolute angel.

I didn’t get done everything I wanted to do before they came. I had hoped to have my new drapes hanging, but found I had misplaced the hooks to get them on the rods. Ah, on the subject of rods. It is a well-known fact that most men will definitely get something done eventually. I have only been waiting nine years for the rods to go up to finish the drapes as I must have the drop measurement before the tops can go on. So very, very close to success. Now if I can only remember what I did with the hooks in those nine years?

Still, the renos are going along at a steady pace. We got rid of a manky old couch in the fall clean up and also a side table that was supposed to be an antique. Mmms, didn’t veneer stuff like that in the old days and I have always had my doubts. Water damage gave the truth and out it went. Now I have a coffee table and two matching side tables and a new couch matching the new ones in the family room, (downstairs ones courtesy of a Brick snarl up on previous product). It is getting there. The painting of walls is progressing slowly because the sitting room has high ceilings and I am still not100% after my neck injury. I have to do a little at a time, but am just aching to get started on the family room, which will go a lot quicker as the ceilings are normal. Yay!

In other news, Darkspire Reaches is now free on all the Amazons and will be for a limited time around and about the release of Shadow Over Avalon on Halloween. Don’t miss out on this offer. It may not be repeated.

http://www.amazon.com/Darkspire-Reaches-ebook/dp/B00DJE8RP4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1381792927&sr=1-1&keywords=darkspire+reaches

http://www.amazon.ca/Darkspire-Reaches-ebook/dp/B00DJE8RP4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1381793129&sr=1-1&keywords=darkspire+reaches

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Darkspire-Reaches-ebook/dp/B00DJE8RP4/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1381793400&sr=1-1&keywords=darkspire+reaches

 

 

TA DAH! Important Announcement.

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My publishers, Kristell Ink, in celebration of the upcoming publication of Shadow Over Avalon on Halloween,  have just released Darkspire Reaches as FREE on Smashwords. Over the next few days this will filter down to Barns and Noble, Nook and finally to Amazon. Can I please ask everyone to let Amazon know when the price on Barns and Noble becomes free? Amazon will then do a price match and it will be for all the Amazons.

I am really excited over how SOA is shaping up with the help of my amazing editor, Zoe Harris. This is a totally positive experience. Does happy dance. As per usual, there will be a few chapters of SOA released for free reading on Amazon when it goes live. In the meantime, I have the prologue and a few snippets up here, on my webpage. These are all previous to editing, although the changes will be minimal.

Come take a peek at my worlds.

Shadow Over Avalon.

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Shadow Over Avalon cover

He was a warrior. He worked with magic. He bound his soul to his sword with his dying breath, vowing to return at the time of his people’s greatest need. This was the promise. Now it has come to pass. The king has returns to a future woven by the strongest hands of all. Read what happens next in Shadow Over Avalon.

Crazy Times.

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So it starts. I had a phone call from my electrician first thing this morning and he was most apologetic for the hour, but he needn’t have been as I was up and about two hours before he called. He was scheduled to come wire in my generator on Monday, but now wanted to come tomorrow. One doesn’t mess with one’s contractor, and he is a good one. No, it is not very convenient, which I didn’t tell him, but I will work around it.

Late tomorrow night, Kid 1 arrives from Vancouver Island to stay with us for the wedding of Kid 3 on the 27th.  Fortunately, we have three vehicles, so she gets the use of her choice. I thought she was coming in just before the wedding and that I had more time. I was going to redecorate my guest room. I guess this isn’t going to happen.

Kid 3 wants me to go through the family pictures again to find a picture of her and her granddad for her slideshow at the wedding. Gulp. I don’t know that I have any that aren’t on slide and I don’t have a slide projector anymore.

Publishing stuff needs to be done, but my Publisher is being very nice about my busy time. All the same, I need to get stuff done. Not because I am being pressured in any way, but because I really want to participate and this is my choice.

Will my grandbaby stick to his/her due dates and arrive on September 7th? I doubt it from the appearance of that adorable child on his/her latest ultrasound picture. The mom to be cooked early and I think she might have inherited the same oven. In which case, this already well-developed baby might well put in an appearance with a very respectable weight at eight months. Time will tell.

Satisfaction.

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There is a certain buzz that is indescribably from getting all the chapters of a book in order and ready to be formatted. This is especially the case with the current book in editing stage as I had misplaced some chapters and have only just found the disc containing them. Heaves enormous sigh of relief. Yes, there will be one more pass as I format but the major overhaul is done. Yes, I do ‘rest’ books between edits. I find this is needful for me so I can see the wood for the trees.

This book happens to be the second book of the second series. It does occur to me how much space I will have on my pc once these two have gone out the door. Ok, so I am a pack rat and save anything and everything. Still, it will be nice to put all this info on discs and have all that lovely space to fill up with new stuff. And yes, I know what my next project will be already and it is mostly written.