Lieutenant Alrous DeFlare (Endless Tides)

As the long suffering subordinate of Captain Skyheart, it would be fair to say that Alrous DeFlare often comes across as world-weary. With the Captain’s aversion to work leaving DeFlare running Division Four practically single-handedly, his poor mood is, perhaps, understandable; doing the work of two people will leave even the most ardent workaholic discontented.

                Still, DeFlare is a dutiful subordinate to both the Thieronian government and Captain Skyheart; his loyalty to his Captain is unflappable, defending the flamboyant drunk from his many detractors despite the immense pressure placed on him by his immediate superior. That said, in the privacy of their strained friendship, DeFlare has no qualms making scathing comments at Skyheart’s expense.

                At his core, Lieutenant DeFlare is a man who wants to do what is right for everyone, often losing himself in the process. DeFlare is dutiful to all causes, but nothing comes above his loyalty to his position defending his nation.

                And woe betide any who would cross that.

Paccon (Endless Tides)

A thoughtful and shy child, Paccon is ruled by his emotions, ranging from blissfully happy to deep, if fleeting, depression. Still, he is determined and brave, often resulting in a longing for an adventure he chases in a typically contemplatively way.

                Paccon finds the majority of his company in his pet baby turtle, Franklin, in whom Paccon displays staggering empathy and love. After being torn away from his mother, this relationship deepens, but Paccon also forms genuine bonds with those he meets on his enforced adventure, forming a strange group akin to a surrogate family.

                Through all this, Paccon’s determination to return home to his mother never falters. But, with so many new people to care for in his life, will saying goodbye be so easy?

Myri Harmoire (Endless Tides)

Orphaned by war at such an age that she cannot remember his parents, the now adult Myri has had a life in which she was forced to make a family of whoever was around. Though, following the death of her fiancé at the hands of a sea-serpent, ravaging their already impoverished fishing town, Myri falls into a deep depression, enforced by her searing loneliness.

                She finds solace in distraction, filling her time in efforts to help the town, until she finds the missing child, Paccon. Myri vows to take care of Paccon and help him find his way home back to his mother, only to find herself gradually taking her place, in her own heart if not the boy’s.

                But with the alleviation of her loneliness comes the fear of its return, tearing her between her love for Paccon and her promise to take him home.

Captain Laike Skyheart (Endless Tides)

At first glance an arrogant and foppish man, it is something of a mystery as to how Laike Skyheart ever rose so high in the ranks of Thieron’s armed forces. His blatant self-interest, coupled with his complete lack of leadership qualities and obvious disdain for authority (not to mention hard work) should have been factors enough against his promotion, yet, in the highly class-driven nation of Thieron, it seems nepotism runs supreme; the mere fact the blood of his father, Commander Zenedin Skyheart, runs in his veins proving enough for his superiors to overlook his many faults.

                These many imperfections and the contempt shown to Captain Skyheart be his superiors and subordinates alike, may be factors towards his alcohol dependency. This could be construed as an outlet for low self-esteem at the hands of the poor opinion surrounding him, his arrogance nothing more than a shield against the destructive eyes of his professional world. Then again, it could just be hedonism.

                Captain Skyheart is notorious worldwide as the greatest swordsman of his time, a hero to adventurous children and a shining light to those trapped in the banality of everyday adult life. Yet, with the discovery of an ancient jewel, central to the mythology of Thieron, combined with the threat of impending war, can Captain Skyheart maintain his flamboyant personality whilst living up to society’s pressures?

                Endless Tides is, at heart, a character study of Captain Skyheart, a meditation on the cult of celebrity and a tale of the most difficult adventure of all; the quest for peace. 

The Quest Continues

So, after gross amounts of overtime and intense writing sessions, I've finally pushed myself into the final third of 'Lay Me Restless'. It's an exciting prospect, but I'm reticent to put an end date on the draft. In my first and second books, this was the fastest part to write, yet, at the same time, I have a busy few weeks ahead of me so it's a little difficult to guess. Still, I feel very enthused.

My promotion has stepped up yet again also. I've managed to make a little noise on a few new book recommendation sites and I'm just being a little more organised about everything, which gives me more time to do everything and, more importantly, do it right. This has led to me, while not selling an awful number of copies on Amazon, sell my entire stockpile of copies locally. This is no small amount, adding up to thirty or so in the last two months. If all of those readers leave a review somewhere, that's a fairly significant amount of noise. I've also landed a book signing in an independent bookshop a few towns away which could prove lucrative. The exact details haven't been ironed out just yet, but they look to be next week! Updates to follow soon.

So, everything is going as well as expected. All that's left to do is to push ahead.

Sam

Progress

So, what's new? Well, I'm making constant progress with book three of the Nameless Planet series. I'm really pleased with how all of the characters have come together and dynamic of the group is really interesting. These relationships are what really enthuse me about fiction and to be able to do them in a way that is nuanced as I'd planned is highly gratifying. What's more is that the end is in sight. It's still in the distance, maybe two months away from a complete draft and another few for the final draft, but I'm making very steady progress and I'm excited.

I'm in  talks with a few local bookshops about the possibility of some book signings. There's nothing concrete just yet, but I have a good feeling about it. Independent bookshops are so much easier to work with and are a lot more reasonable than the big names (who shall remain nameless, if only at the request of my lawyer, Jameson). But my point is that when you're dealing with people as opposed to faceless corporations, then it's a lot easier to achieve something.

I'm re-reading Cormac McCarthy's entire bibliography at the moment. It's really great for me because he's one of the reasons that I wanted to get into writing. His stark, yet vivid, descriptions and his work with language I find really interesting. I love any author with a really distinct style and this is something that McCarthy definitely has. Although he's inspired me, it's strange to think that my prose style is quite different to him. Every so often I like to use his bluntness as an effect, almost poetically, but when writing I'm always more drawn to the gossamer yet in depth prose of authors like Mervyn Peake. I suppose, without really trying to do so, my prose has kind of merged these two schools of thought with something completely of its own too, which is the whole reason I got into writing really. I have stories that I want to tell, but I want to tell them my way in my style.

I play video games too, which I'm not sure if I've mentioned on here before. In terms of storytelling and character I've always felt like these can be every bit as intense and gripping as a book and have definitely shaped my writing. Unfortunately, some public opinion seems to have a lot of backlash against video games and I'm hoping to be able to write a few articles soon to be able to confront this. Everyone's entitled to their opinion, of course, but it seems wrong, to me, to dismiss a entire medium of which there are millions of worlds to explore. Anyway, I'll save the entire thing for another day and when / if the articles appear I'll post links to them. There's a lot to be said.

So, as usual, I'm quite busy, but to be honest I wouldn't have it any other way. Now I must away to update my author biographies before writing 9000 words this week!

Remember kids, being an author is glamorous...

Sam

I'm Back!

So, after a couple of weeks off from writing (my pen had some time off, my mind kept creating) this week I got back into it.It's fair to say this wasn't quite as productive a week as I had hoped for; between sorting out a few errands and coming back into the book with some quite difficult chapters to write, I only got about 4000 words done. This isn't the worst week ever, but I've done that in a day before, so I have mixed feelings. The good news, however, is that next week I have nothing to distract me and have chapters that are easier to write.

I've had this issue a couple of times with my previous books. Some chapters are just difficult to write. I do make a small mistake when I'm writing. My first draft is more like most author's second or third, in the sense that I add in a lot of detail in the first draft and edit as I go. A lot of writers say this is a bad habit to get into, but I disagree. Although every so often I hit a stumbling block with it, I'd argue it makes me more productive. Before starting writing for the day I like to read what I wrote the day before; if that's good quality (which it usually is) it really enthuses me to write that day and I end up getting a lot more done, brimming with inspiration. A lot of authors would say I'm wasting time, but I'm going to edit it all anyway, so I don't really see it as a huge problem if I change the time at which I edit it. If I do it earlier on, I could well save time down the line.

In other news, I was supposed to be giving a creative writing workshop at my old college this week. I had my lesson plan all sorted out (we were going to have a discussion about the creation of character) and I was really looking forward to it, but they had to pull out at the last minute. Most of the class had a History revision session that they couldn't miss. Apparently they have these things called 'exams' coming up? Who knew? Anyway, they said they'd like me to come in sometime after their exams are over, so I should be able to give the same talk in June or July. They a great, enthusiastic group and it's always really inspiring to talk to them.

So, I think that's all the news I have. I'll probably be posting some character biographies in the next few days, so keep checking back.

Sam