‘The Footholder’s Tale’: Release and Cover

Jayne at Rebel ePublishers has told me ‘The Footholder’s Tale’ will be released on Friday, 5 June. 

I’ve also just received the final version of the cover, which I love – it’s the sort of stunning scenery my wife and I yomp over in north Wales whenever we can.  It’s also highly evocative of the story’s feel.

As a reminder, ‘The Footholder’s Tale’ is a retelling of an old Welsh story about a king who must keep his foot in a maiden’s lap.  Despite the unusual premise, it’s a wonderful fantasy tale of power, love, war and the like, and is easily my favourite traditional story.

‘The Footholder’s Tale’ will be available electronically from Rebel ePublishers and, I understand, in paperback from Amazon.

Review: ‘Covenant’, by John Everson

Anyone who read my review of John Everson’s ‘The 13th’ will know how much I enjoyed discovering the works of a talented horror writer I’d not come across before.  I gave ‘The 13th’ five out of five.

So, it was with enthusiasm that I tore into ‘Covenant’.

Like ‘The 13th’, and apparently like Everson’s other works, ‘Covenant’ doesn’t hold back on the sex or violence.  Like ‘The 13th’, though, I thought the darker side of life is secondary to the exquisite characterisation.  Joe and the various people he meets all come over as fully rounded characters with complete personalities.  It was reading about these people that really drew me into the book.

The plot is fine and consistent and works.  The premise is about a sleepy town that has its share of suicides – all teenagers leaping to their deaths over the local cliff.  Newcomer Joe finds himself investigating, and puts himself and other residents in danger in a story laced with blood and supernatural horror.  Perhaps the violence is a little gratuitous, but that added to the tension and didn’t take away my enjoyment of the book.

This was a compelling read, and another five out of five.  I will be trying out another Everson soon.

Acceptance: ‘Operation Trench’

I’m delighted to announce another acceptance.  ‘Operation Trench’ is a time travel novel about modern politicians who send undesirables back a hundred years to boost the British manpower shortage toward the end of World War One.

This is my first venture into both science fiction and World War One, and it’s a story I’m very pleased with.

As usual I’ll not name the publisher until everything is formalised in case something goes wrong or one party has to back out before contracts are signed.  However, it’s a publisher I’ve worked with before and who I’m very happy to be with again.

The novel is likely to see print in 2016.

‘Operation Trench’ is set partly in a university’s archaeology department.  That let me have some fun by including my favourite fictional PhD students – Kerry-Jane and Amy – who starred in my erotic novelette, ‘Art Class’.  Both also appear in the forthcoming follow-up, ‘Eton Mess’.  Although their roles in ‘Operation Trench’ are strictly non-erotic, it helped the writing to include characters I know and enjoy working with.

Many thanks to Charlie Hotchkiss and, as usual, Philip McCormac who read and made suggestions on early drafts.  Thank you also to Peter Richardson, who advised on some of the scientific aspects.

An Update

It’s been a while since I gave an update of what’s happening in my writing world, and in particular with my four current ‘forthcoming’ books.  So, here it is:

• I’ve had initial contact about editing for both ‘Snuff’ (a violent horror hovel) and ‘Eton Mess’ (an erotic novelette), so they’re going through the process;
• ‘Dana’s Children’ (a violent horror novel) has been through the editing process and is in the final stage of proofing;
• ‘The Footholder’s Tale’ is currently being edited.

So, there we are.  I don’t have any information on release dates yet. 
In other news, I’ve sent my time travelling World War One science fiction story to a couple of publishers.  I’m still waiting to hear back, but it’s a story I’m happy with and I’m hopeful of a bite.
The current work in progress, like ‘Andraste’s Blade’  ‘The Doe and the Dragon’ and ‘The Footholder’s Tale’ is a story set in Celtic north Wales, around the region’s myths and legends.  It’s about a man who marries a fairy.  The original story is flawed, with some highly improbably elements so I’m describing this as ‘based on…’ rather than ‘a retelling of…’ type story.  The overlying plot, though, is great fun and I’m enjoying the challenge of writing some ‘straight’ historical fantasy and leaving horror completely behind.  That’s something I don’t do often enough.

‘The Footholder’s Tale’

When ‘Footholder’ was accepted for publication by Rebel ePublishers, I reported that the novel’s title was under discussion.  That’s because the publisher and I wanted to find something that described the story, was marketable, and wasn’t already in use.

After some (well, actually quite a few) exchanges of E-Mails, we’ve decided on ‘The Footholder’s Tale’.  I’m no marketing expert, but from my angle I like that title because I think it brings over the feel I tried to achieve with the story.

I still think of it by the working title I gave it, ‘Footy’.  Rebel ePublishers declined to use that, probably rightly(!)

‘The Footholder’s Tale’ is going through the last stages of editing at the moment, so I hope it won’t be long before I can announce a release date.

As a reminder, the story is a retelling of a traditional Welsh tale about a king who must keep his foot in a maiden’s lap.  Despite the odd premise, it’s a beautiful story of love, war, betrayal and power.  It is easily my favourite traditional story, and I can only hope my retelling does it justice.

Six (Yes, SIX!) Computer Screens

A written obituary to genius Sir Terry Pratchett (RIP) shows him at his desk.  What stood out to me was that he worked with six (yes, SIX!) different computer screens, in two rows of three in front of him.

A while ago I invested in the biggest wide screen monitor my budget would allow, so I can have two pages of my current chapter open alongside the novel’s Excel ‘Mastersheet’.  But, I’m struggling to see the use I would get from six (yes, SIX!) screens – even if I could fit them on my desk (below).  I do appreciate that Sir Terry was professional and wrote books in series which gives more need for record keeping, but even so I’m struggling.

It did get me thinking, though, and into discussion with the household’s non-writers.  If I had the space, budget, and inclination for six (yes, SIX!) computer screens, what would I use them all for?  Here are my thoughts, and I’d be interested in suggestions from other writers.

• The document I’m currently working on, straight ahead and in front of me, which probably goes without saying.  For me, that will be the current chapter of the novel I’m drafting;
• My ‘Master Spreadsheet’.  I have an Excel file for each novel with a summary of each chapter and links to each key document such as my character list, and other documents I need for the story, for example who is wearing what in each chapter, or who has what in their pockets or rucksack etc;
• Character sheet.  Depending on the complexity and number of characters this can be a Word document of a couple of pages in total briefly outlining each character, to a multi-page spreadsheet with thirty or forty lines of information on each character – looks, age, relationships, religion, phobias, background and the like.  Maybe I would make use of this on screen - at the moment they’re run off on hardcopy for ease of reference, but I keep changing or adding to them as I find out more about the characters;
• Story summary.  I have a brief outline with a couple of paragraphs for each chapter, to remind me what needs to happen when and tends to be rewritten several times as I go along;
• Internet.  Sometimes I need a bit of factual information – what flowers bloom in early spring in north Wales, for example – and Wikipedia and similar sites are my friend (and yes, I do know the pitfalls of such sites!);
• I can’t think of what I’d use a sixth screen for!  (Maybe, if I was more inclined, social media, which writers seem to live by these days?)  But, Pratchett probably had a lot more information than me to keep track of.  And, of course, I can’t argue with a genius!

Meet the Characters –‘The Well’

‘The Well’ has been around for a while - it hit the world in 2012. 

It’s a story I’m very pleased with; I was particularly happy with the story’s four main characters.  For those of you who haven’t read it (and a reminder for those of you who have), it’s about a beautiful heiress who wakes from a drugged sleep at the bottom of a dried-up well in the American desert. 

 

Here’s a brief resume of who’s who:

Constance ‘Connie’ Straker

Connie Straker is an outstandingly beautiful college student.  She is also the daughter of a millionaire burger chain owner.  Connie has an apparent self-confidence and maturity that some might describe as ‘feisty’.  That is just a front, though, to cover some of the typical hang-ups of early adulthood – concerns about her looks, whether she is only popular for her money, and so on.  She has phobias of heights and dark, enclosed spaces.

Connie’s constant companion and ‘best friend’ is ‘Pocca,’ a battered key ring in the shape of Pocahontas. 

Julian ‘Spongehead’ Atkinson

Julian knows he isn’t cool.  He accepts that with his acne, mop of curly hair (hence the nickname ‘Spongehead’), and poor social skills, he will never win a popularity contest.  He usually takes the bullying on the chin, but his bitterness sometimes boils under the surface to give the potential for instability.

Julian has always had a thing for Connie, and used to cast her furtive glances at school.  His affection wasn’t returned.

Malcolm ‘Mal’ Maloney

The older of two brothers.  He thinks of himself as the brains of the two, but what he likes to think of as intelligence is in reality a mixture of single-mindedness and bullying.  He is reasonably good looking, but living the life of a bum in a desert shack with his brother keeps romantic opportunities to a minimum.

Mal has a grudge against Connie’s family, which forms the basis of ‘The Well’.

Jed Mahoney

Mal’s younger brother.  He isn’t bright, and is overweight.  He relies in his brother to organise his life, and in return is loyal to Mal.  He doesn’t mind his shortcomings because he is content with life, as long as he has his brother to look after him.

‘The Well’ is available on Amazon.