Termaris is a surly mercenary with a talent for killing, but he cares little for wars, gods, death or even life.  He takes one last job to escape prison, then reneges on the deal when the journey draws him back to an older, higher calling, and threatens to lay his past treachery bare. Ethné has unique powers she can’t understand or control.  She wants answers, but soon discovers that her talent has a terrifying price which could leave her alone in a sea of enemies.

Drawn into a desperate mission they carry a holy vial south in search of alliance with the Arzantine Empire. But Arkavia’s old master is an insular nation of conspiracies and deadly intrigue, and they care little for the lives of barbarians in the north.  When a noble is murdered, a political game begins which could destroy hopes for a last bastion against the Temple, and leave every land at the mercy of the Dreaming God.

This is the new pitch for Warlords of the Dreaming God. Hope you like it. I am hoping to get some feedback from agents and publishing types this weekend, but I would love to hear if it hits the spot with you too, the reading public

Do let me know what you think, good bad indifferent or plain ugly. If you like what you see, you might even get a chance to read the whole book as one of my beta readers. How’s that for an offer? Imagine, your name in the credits, “thanks I couldn’t have done it without you…” etc etc gushing praise Upon Your Name . Immortal. Famed across the land. Well maybe not the last bit, but one can dream

If you have followed this blog for a while you will probably have wondered where I have been lately. It’s been close to a year since my last post. In social media terms, that’s like being dead. Perhaps you thought I had given it all up and become a buddhist monk on some hilltop, or inherited the powers of my araquan character Macalla and hidden myself from the eyes of men while I walk among you. Or given up writing altogether? If you really thought the latter, you and I have to talk. In any case, rumours of my (virtual) demise have been greatly exaggerated.

So here I am, back from the depths of the… no, the dark shadows of… where the hell was I anyway?

Try as I might to break the laws of time I haven’t figured them out yet, so I have to comply with the commonly held view that there are only 24 hours in a day. Trying to build a successful photography business has taken a lot – actually most of my time, so blogging regrettably fell by the wayside. Not that my writing has completely stopped, however.

I have been engaging in beta-testing Warlords of The Dreaming God with some trusted friends, rewriting, and tweaking some of the details & flavour of the story to make sure the split into 2 novels worked properly. More recently I have been shaping the book’s pitch and crafting that all important 1 page synopsis for agent submissions. If you ever tried to get across an epic story of over 100,000 words in 1 page, you will know how truly hard that is! It’s been a painfully slow road but I am very nearly there!

On the mission to be published, I am heading off to London to meet agents and other publishing gurus at this weekend’s Writers’ & Artists ‘How to Get Published’ Conference. Hopefully this will be a really useful experience. In any event, this year will determine what road I pursue with Warlords and the other novels of the chronicle, as the e-book revolution has created opportunities for writers to engage directly with readers that simply did not exist a few years ago.

Lastly, I want to say thanks for your patience during this hiatus, and I promise to blog more regularly from now on!

What compelled me to write was reading a post in the New York Times which referred to people contributing to social media as ‘a nation of serfs’. It cast a light on the fact that we, as contributors to Facebook, Twitter, and countless other sites create the content and essentially give those sites value, both in real terms and financially. These sites are valued at and are occasionally bought for hundreds of millions of dollars, but their contributors never see a penny. Is that right?

The internet has already evolved into a space where there is a mind boggling amount of stuff available for free (genuinely free or pirated), from news and articles to software, TV, music videos and e-books – and a load of other things I am not even going to touch on, you get the picture. It creates an expectation in internet users that you can get stuff for free if you look hard enough, after all, why pay? The internet’s all about sharing, right? 

This troubles me, because whilst I feel this ethos is a good one in many ways, as a writer (or any kind of artist), it may be difficult to earn a living from writing when the value of my work can be devalued by endless availability of cheaper or free options. Don’t get me wrong, when I hear that the prices some publishers are demanding for e-books are more than the hard copy I don’t think that’s right, but I do believe artists need to resist the drive toward zero cost for the end reader/user. It’s like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs – artists can only devote the time to create their best work when they can support themselves financially, earning a fair return from their work.

With the issue of kindle book piracy in the news recently it makes me wonder if the whole business model for publishing will change. We have already seen an explosion in bloggers and youtubers making their content free but attracting revenue through adsense and sponsored advertising. Is this the future of ebooks? That’s pretty scary, but it makes a certain kind of sense.

But after revisiting a previous post about writing stamina, I am trying to take my own advice and pick up where I left off. It’s tough trying to do anything which requires extra commitment when you work full-time. You know what I mean, whether it be studying, a demanding hobby, family life, sticking to a fitness regime. It’s all hard. But then I remembered a few words from the famous samurai Miyamoto Musashi, who when talking about learning a skill said that everything is hard at first.

It’s true. When I did my postgrad diploma a few years ago I had no idea how I would cope with the study demands working full-time. But things get easier with practice and routine. So I know that once I break the inertia and create some time the writing ideas will flow again. They are already trying to burst free. But I need to put my neck on the block and do it. So there is my new year’s resolution. Write more. Whinge less. As The Guardian advocates, I will have a plan, and just get on with it.

I will be having a break from blogging until the new year now so see you then. Have a great Christmas!

I would love to look this awesome, but sadly... Image by Fukanzen on Flickr

Firstly, apologies for my blogging absence for the last 2 weeks. I had to learn how to create my new photography website and migrate both my domain and emails for the first time – a steep learning curve! Anyway, today it’s back to writing.

I recently took up martial arts again, this time something closer to my home and easier to fit in of an evening. Aikido is the way of harmony and whilst it is similar in some ways to what I had learned in Bujinkan Budo Taijutsu, it is less hard/brutal and as I get older I am sure my body will thank me for this change. Like Budo, Aikido contains more than a small element of weapons training, and understanding of how this complements the open hand combat. I am revisiting sword techniques I first encountered over ten years ago in Kendo/Iaido along with many new ones, and am resuming the slow journey to understanding.

Why am I talking about this? Well, it occurred to me some time back that as writers it helps if we can experience some of the things we write about, understand them in a way which goes beyond empathy and an academic understanding. I once heard that in preparing for the film The Mission, Robert De Niro trained in fencing to championship level. He has a reputation as a ‘method’ actor, someone who learnt their role and tried to enter their character’s mindset by experiencing, rather than empathizing. To an extent, a writer can do the same if they wish (within socially acceptable limitations, of course). Many writers draw on their personal experience of life, or use it to infuse their characters and narrative with a life and truth they would otherwise not have, an emotional rawness, a knowledge of how it would really happen, what really works.

My experience of martial arts and sword techniques has helped me understand my warrior characters better and write more truthfully, because I have seen a little of what really works, rather than the glossy fight scenes one sees in many Hollywood blockbusters. I know that most hand to hand fights end up on the ground within seconds, and that it’s surprising how tired you get so quickly. I know that sword duels are brief. That small movements, not large ones, hide the difference between a useless technique and a deadly one. And that in a level match speed and strength can nearly always be beaten by experience.

In an effort to further my understanding I have watched medieval and Viking re-enactment companies slug it out dressed in full armour and metal weaponry. I respect these people immensely, because despite the armour they open themselves to the possibility of serious injury every time. They know what it’s like to be weighed down, fighting inevitable fatigue and dealing with chaos all around them. Earlier this year I was fortunate to watch and film the Vikings of Middle England and spoke to their head plunderer Dags, who is a top bloke and now a friend on Facebook. One day when my workload has magically reduced I may even become one of these re-enactors

Anyway, I digress. My point is, try these things out. It’s fun, good discipline, keeps you fit, and as a fantasy writer gives a unique take on the world you are writing about.

Macalla’s sword Spiritsong and bow Starthorn are weapons of ancient make, alliances between spirit, steel and wood. He is an archer and woodsman without compare. Yet in the vastness of the Velderwood he lives not with his own people but close to the human village of Torlenmere. He owes a debt to Ethné’s uncle, Jerechai; one which he will not speak of but which binds him to Ethné’s side as friend, guardian, protector. We do not see through his eyes until later in the story, but gradually we will come to see that behind his silent loyalty he knows more than he allows others to realize. About Ethné, the world, and the past.

The inspiration for the araquan is an odd blend of religious, cultural and literary sources. A starting point was the stock race of fantasy literature, elves, but really this was not a direction I wanted to go in. I wanted my elder races to be more in tune with the earth, more elemental in nature. Like the Faerie races, but yet not. From my reading and travels I saw an interesting similarity in beliefs in the Australian Aborigine peoples, Native Americans and the Shinto religion of Japan. A belief in spirits of nature, in every rock, river or breath of wind. I was even inspired by the First Ones of Babylon 5, stories of beings who crossed the stars before the first man was ever born.

Eventually the araquan took shape. They are the first of a number of elder races a reader will encounter on the journey. I am saving the best, for last of course

Not quite the metaphorical door I 'broke through'... but I hope you agree it looks impressive and suitably dramatic

I feel a weight lifted from my shoulders. Ethné, one of my main characters, has a back story that I am finally happy with, and one which I hope will both intrigue and shock readers as it plays out through the chronicle.

It happened while planning a rewrite of the last chapter of Warlords, to create a stronger ending – some of you may know that following the split into two novels I wasn’t sure if book one ended on the right note. Well, it took me right back to the underlying story of the chronicle and a back story that I was still slightly unsure of for various reasons. After years of playing the ‘what if’ game on and off, a combination of things came together in a way which fitted like a key turning in the lock. Everything works – finally!

You are probably wondering what the hell I am on about. When am I going to spill the beans on what this back story is? It’s a bit unfair that I can’t tell you yet, it would spoil the surprise. But I am working through Warlords adding references to it gradually. You won’t see it in the first few chapters which you can read on Authonomy but it will come out in later chapters – which I hope to post on Authonomy in the not too distant future so you can finally read more of the book. 

For now, let me tell that you she is special. But you knew that. Her magical talent, such as it is, is pretty unique, but it isn’t the only factor in her importance to the story. She will gradually learn why she was raised in the Velderwood, away from prying eyes and other educated folk. She will find out why she looks different to other Arkavians, something she hadn’t thought much about before. She will discover that under a certain magical light, her shadow has a life of its own… and realise that her true nature is a dark secret which could cost not only her life, but her eternal soul.

Intrigued? Shocked? Stay tuned.

I even missed Nathan Bransford’s announcement that he is no longer a literary agent! He will still be writing his excellent blog, but I feel like I missed something momentous here. As a generation X I didn’t think I would hit by this generation Y desire to be constantly in touch, knowing what’s going on, what people are doing. But I miss my daily RSS feeds like I would my left arm (that’s deep… I am left handed). But I guess that’s what happens when we adapt and come to rely on things. First we create tools then they come to define us.

Want to know what favourite reads I am blabbing on about? Well here are a few, aside from Nathan’s blog as mentioned above.

• Pimp My Novel – insider advice from someone in publishing
• The Guardian E-books – you know, it took me 10 minutes to find this link again
• Writer’s and Artists Yearbook – advice and news for writers
• The Book deal – excellent blog by Alan Rinzler, a consulting editor with many years experience
• Magical Words – published fantasy writers talk about writing, publishing industry, marketing for authors and many other topics

The good news is that reading less (apart from the odd chapter or so of ‘The Blade Itself’ by Joe Abercrombie, which is pretty awesome) means I am getting on with my latest revisions to Warlords. Still so much to do… So on that note, I better get on with some proper work.

Metaphorically, you understand, as it would be a rather crap book which blinded you before you could read it. Although a useful MI6 weapon (curls pretend moustache thoughtfully)…

• My books, obviously
• The Abhorsen Trilogy (Garth Nix)
• Belgariad and Mallorean sagas (David Eddings)
• The Blade Itself (Joe Abercrombie)
• The Books of Pellinor (Alison Croggon)
• The Book of the New Sun, Volume 1: Shadow and Claw (Gene Wolfe)
• The Dean’s Watch (Elizabeth Goudge)
• Legend (David Gemmell) and pretty much any of his other novels
• The Lord of the Rings (JRR Tolkien)
• The Mirror of Her Dreams, and its sequel A Man Rides Through (Stephen Donaldson)
• The Name of the Wind (Patrick Rothfuss)
• The Riftwar Saga - Magician, Silverthorn, and A Darkness at Sethanon (Raymond E Feist), and the many following novels
• The Silmarillion (JRR Tolkien)
• Spellsong saga and Recluce books (L E Modesitt)
• Tales of the Otori (Lian Hearn)
• The Wraethu trilogy (Storm Constantine)

I have done my best with the links, but for some of these it was hard to track down a good summary. Any more you can add to that, fantasy reads you are raving about? Knowledge is power, let me know and I will update this post from time to time.

When I first started writing I didn’t anticipate just how much rewriting I would have to do. Going back to polish the work, spotting plot holes, rephrasing sentences, restructuring, yada yada yada. But eventually you realise that writing a novel is really about rewriting. What Patrick Rothfuss describes as eliminating the ‘meh’ writing. It’s an essential process for any writer to go through who wants their work to be taken seriously by others, whether friend, family or agent. Sometimes the first form of words is the best, but usually it’s not. In the first draft we are still tuned into the Ideas Channel trying to get it all down on (electronic) paper, so obsessing over individual words can get in the way and slow us down. To be honest, I have been guilty of that, but try to keep going before the vision is gone.

Personally I go through peaks and troughs where the words come perfect first time, and other times they are more descriptive than evocative and I can come back to those on the next draft. There was a great post about rewriting on Pimp My Novel recently, which made me think about how I rewrite. Some people plough on to the end of their entire first draft before going back. I would love that discipline! But I am a fussy creature, as anyone who knows me will tell you

So where do you start? I am an advocate of the old ‘stick it in the drawer for a while’ philosophy. So before anything else, forget about the book, do something else and come back fresh so it’s easier to spots things that need to be changed. Then look at the novel from a number of different angles. Some require a micro analysis of the novel, some are more an overall feel for what’s going on, including things like: 

• Spelling and grammar – a continuous battle as you can introduce new errors during rewriting
• Punctuation errors – sometimes hard to spot
• Gaps in the story 
• Consistency in how things are described, like a character’s eyes changing from blue to green
• Continuity errors, like someone losing their sword then in the next scene it mysteriously reappears
• Overall story arc, does it tell the story the way it was meant to be? 
• Character development, are they ‘real’, can readers sympathise with them, do their decisions and journeys make sense? 
• Are there story elements missing, or sections which are not really that important and slow things down? 
• Word count. If aiming to be published, a writer must be intimately familiar with acceptable word counts with agents and publishers. Fantasy novels are notoriously long on word count, and first drafts tend to be verbose anyway so revise/rewrite with the aim of reducing word count. From the advice I have seen, around 100,000 words is optimal for a first-time fantasy novelist. I will come back to this topic another time.

Now that’s all I can think of for now but no doubt I left a few things out. One last thing, rewriting takes stamina, and utter faith that through rewriting the novel will improve. Too lenient and it will not get better, too harsh and you can start to doubt your ability and destroy good work, or even abandon the novel altogether. So stay true to the path my friends… the novel that comes out the other end will be all shiny impressive gorgeousness.

Until you spot the next amend.