It's My Anniversary

 

May always has a special place in my heart. It's my wedding and my author anniversary. This year marks 28 years for the first, and 9 for the second. In 28 years I have raised three children to their teens. In 9 I have released 21 titles. Seems pretty good numberwise. 

And the weather has finally taken a turn for the better (typical Brit, huh?!). For our anniversary, hubs finally let me have some more chickens so I am now up to ten. 

And at the end of this month, the third book in my Redemption series will finally go off to my editor for release hopefully before the end of this year. Hurrah!

In the meantime, I am preparing for my second eldest child to leave his secondary school and become an A-Level student, just as his older sister ends her first year of university. So that's down to one set of school uniform to buy (another yay!). We have all survived a year of the Great Plague and are ready to move on (providing COVID is too...???). Fantasy Forest, the end of school, and hopefully conventions and concerts again. But I'm not holding my breath, just in case...

Writing Update

At the end of this month, the third book in my Redemption series will be off to my editor, hopefully for release before the end of the year. My long summer holiday is upcoming, which should give me more time to work on it. It's been a long time coming, I know. Funny how I originally intended a potential five books at two year intervals, which technically would have seen this book release in 2017. Ah, well. In the meantime, a number of in-between novellas and shorts have appeared instead, so it isn't as if the story hasn't moved on. As for book four...

Do SFR Authors Dream of Electric Lovers? #scifi #romance

Look, it's going to sound like a cliché but yes, my character Keir from my main SFR series did come to me in a dream. But nothing like the post title. When I first 'met' him, my dream was of a beaten, hooded man sitting hunched in a deep, dark dungeon. Nothing romantic about it. When I woke up with that haunting image lingering in my mind, I immediately wanted to write his story. To find out who he was, what he was, and why he ended up in that dark place, at the darkest point of his life. Which meant I needed someone to rescue him.

That was how my debut novel began, as a short story describing that scene, but no more than that. It was years later before I finally picked up that short and decided the mystery of Keir needed resolving. 

It turned out dreaming was also a great way to solve plot issues as I continued with it. Being a pantser on my first full length novel meant often writing myself into corners because I couldn't see ahead, or because I don't write linearly either having to bridge the gap between two scenes that seemed to have no connection. Thinking about a particular issue as I drifted off led to waking with a new resolution to a problem, or new ideas for another scene. I don't know that I'd recommend it on a regular basis, though. Sometimes doing that meant I didn't sleep well.

So for six weeks I literally ate, slept and breathed my novel. I couldn't think about anything else, which rather upset my husband. I think the obsession came from a decade of not writing and the intense boredom and loss of my own identity after years being a stay at home mum. Whatever, it's a depth of absorption I have never quite replicated since.

As for electric lovers... I do have one published SFR with an android character, and others unpublished with them. But I have never dreamt about any of my other characters except Keir, even if I try to think about them as I go to sleep, to try to write their stories. I often wonder why...

But maybe my new bedspread will help me dream of some more. Is this a cover befitting a SFR author?

So I'm curious to know - do any other authors dream of their characters, either before, during or after they write them? And what about readers, do characters come to you in your dreams after you've read about them?

It's a Very Merry Christmas Release! #scifi #mystery

 While my fellow crew members are taking much deserved seasonal shore leave, I have one last Christmas treat for you. Today sees the release of my scifi mystery Solstice on Vintro - the story that took me a stonking seven years to finish. And it's not even that long a story! But it's finally done and releases today in time for the winter solstice around which it's set.

A Science Fiction Mystery novella.

   

​

Vintro. The planet that had stolen all her dreams.

 

Melandria Solei has always dreamed of commanding a starship and exploring the universe. When her own dark-eyed older lover steals the position she's worked for, she never expects to go chasing after him in a stolen ship to a world colder than revenge...

Just click the cover to be taken to the buy links (y'know, if you feel like it). And while on the subject of new releases long overdue, there's also the next Keir and Quin book up for pre-order too! Due for release on the 20th March (spring equinox in the UK), when it might not be quite so chilly. I'm hoping that this little novella in the series will keep you busy while I work on the full length book three in the hope of releasing that before the end of next year. No promises, though. I don't exactly have a good track record, now do I?

A Science Fiction Adventure novella

and a side story in the Redemption series.

 

How can one moment of anger destroy so much happiness?

​

It is a question that will haunt him. When an old enemy comes to Kasha-Asor to kidnap their daughter, armed with a weapon that could end everything, Keir is forced to leave an injured Quin on Lyagnius. But his quest for a cure and their missing daughter will come at a terrible cost. 

Book #2.5 of the Redemption series.
Trigger warning: the loss of a child.

***

I will leave you with a seasonal picture of my Star Wars Christmas tree. Happy holidays!

Redemption for a Discarded Title: Lost Serenity (Cover Reveal) #redemption #scifi

Once upon a time...I wrote a story. It came from a dream and I scribbled it down the next day, then it sat in a folder for years, forgotten. Scroll on a decade and my third child had reached the stage where he was old enough to play outside with his siblings. I sat at my computer, bored, possibly depressed, and wondered what to do with myself. That forgotten short story called to me. I put on some music, and a few weeks later that short had become...somewhat longer. In 2012, it became my debut published novel.

original cover

current cover

Book two had some serious issues. I learned a helluva lot going through edits with book one and knew the sequel wouldn't pass. At the time its working title was Lost Serenity, but after a major rework 'Serenity' was no longer lost and I couldn't just call it Serenity. Instead, I completely binned the title and book two became Keir's Fall.

Book three had similar issues, with a completely unrealistic plot line that needed ripping out and reworking. In 2017 I sent it to my editor for assessment. She liked it, but not the fact that it was set a decade after book two. After repeated comments on where this missing book was between two and three prompted me to dig out an old collection of notes basically covering that missing decade - never intended as more than a guide book for me about that missing time. Not for the first time, the random collection of information for my eyes only was going to go public, and with a curiously familiar title...

How could a moment's anger destroy so much happiness? 

It is a question that will haunt him. When an old enemy comes to Kasha-Asor to kidnap their daughter, armed with a weapon that could end everything, Keir is forced to leave an injured Quin on Lyagnius. But his quest for a cure and their missing daughter will come at a terrible cost.

You can find the details up at Goodreads. I don't yet have a release date as I have two more pieces set for edits next month, one of which is a winter solstice story that I'd like to release in time to coincide with the time it's set. so I'll have to let you know. In the meantime, I'm happy to have been able to give a discarded title a second shot at its own bit of limelight. 

Writing Update

Lost Serenity is currently with me for one last round of edits (hopefully). An angel short and a scifi mystery novella will be off to my amazing editor and cover designer Dani next month (Hades knows how she's put up with me all these years now). These three pieces will be all my releases for 2020/21, so don't go holding your breath for Redemption book three until 2022...

Kitty Update

My girls are both indoor cats - for their own safety, and that of the already under pressure wildlife - but during the pandemic I managed to put together a cattio for them to give them some outdoor space, to which they have free access via a cat flap. They are loving it!

Chook Update

Sadly I had to take two of my girls to live with a friend yesterday. Unfortunately their squawkiness was aggravating my SO's anxiety (in overdrive now thanks to the pandemic), and one had decided she liked to crow of a morning, something I'm not willing to subject my near neighbours to. I know they'll love the extra freedom my friend's chooks enjoy even though I will miss them deeply. In the meantime, my remaining seven girls are a lot quieter with my two top hens out the way, and hopefully it will give the more timid ones a bit more freedom to find the best tidbits without getting ambushed and robbed. Got to find the silver lining somewhere...

On a more personal note, my eldest has just turned eighteen and is off to university in less than a month. I'm so proud, and so terrified! But I know she'll work hard to achieve her dreams, and I'm not going to get in her way.

Her 'The Babe with the Power' unicorn birthday cake

Music To SFR To #amwriting #inspiration

I've always talked a lot about how much music inspires me, and in fact how I couldn't live without it. I miss a day with no music. In the past three years I've been privileged to go to several concerts featuring my two most favourite bands - The Rasmus, who inspired so much of the tone and feel in my Keir series and got me writing again, and Starset who have now become my favourite band to write to, and who I never expected to ever see in concert in the UK. I've now seen them FOUR times, twice as support and twice in their own right on tour. I saw them in February as headline, and each time I think I've already seen them at their best, they just set the bar higher again, with a super appropriate change of image and a set of songs that fit with our current pandemic.

While The Rasmus still take full credit for inspiring Keir, Starset have definitely taken the top spot as my SFR muse. Why? Not just because I love their music and lyrics, but because to me they encapsulate what SFR is, or at least the kind I like to write. Star-crossed lovers, separated by space and time, galaxies colliding, telepathy, enslavement, end of the world stuff. And it's not just music. No, these guys have a novel and a graphic novel out too. They are all about the science, and the fate of humanity, travel to other worlds, and messages from the future. It's not just what they do, it's what they are. Wrap all that up in a song and a video, and I'm a happy space bunny. Just as an example, the video below has always reminded me of The Martian (or rather The Martian reminds me of this, since I saw the music video first).

Or if that doesn't light your fire, you could try Breaking Benjamin's Ashes of Eden (undertones of Passengers), Linkin Park's In The End (for a touch of apocalyptic), or The Rasmus with Justify (a very Keir song, lol).

Writing Update
So, since editing and publishing my Christmas story last year, I've been working on Redemption 2.5, the story my editor felt was missing before book three of the series. I'd always had a vague idea for it in my head, but it wasn't until the release of Starset's Vessels album helped me fix some frankly terrible elements in book three and turn it into something that might actually work that I felt I could do something with it. Despite slowly recovering from burn out and wanting to write again, working full time didn't leave me much...well...time! However, by the start of this year I felt I might be approaching a point with it where I was thinking about booking actual edits for it. Well, more the point of 'omg, this story sucks!!' But as things happen, my beloved editor posted a discount for edits booked and I took it as a sign. Redemption 2.5 was booked for a slot in June. I've now completed the first round, and while I was waiting for those I've finally finished a solstice scifi novella, tidied up an angel short story, and re-opened book 3. Seems I'm an all or nothing kind of person...

The Joy of Writing 'THE END' (even though it isn't) #amwriting

This weekend I had the very great pleasure and satisfaction of doing something I haven't done in a long time. I. Finished. Something. Only a 25K novella that I'd been sitting on for far too long, but I metaphorically wrote The End. *Sigh*

Why metaphorically? Well, I have never actually written (or typed) 'The End' on anything. Not once. Nope, never. I don't know if that makes me odd. But for me, the end is never THE END. In terms of the book itself, there are still weeks or months of editing ahead. Cover art to be discussed and chosen. In some cases blurbs and/or taglines agonised over, and always the credits. Then uploading to all the platforms. I no longer spend time or money on marketing because it never paid me back (and frankly now I'm working full-time I'd rather spend my spare minutes writing) so after release the whole production line has sort of ended. But there's always the next book to work on...

But in terms of the story itself - well, endings are definitely a big weakness of mine. After completing my 21st work, you'd think I'd have learned something about them. It'll definitely be...interesting...to see what my editor has to say about my latest. In my mind, every story is really a never-ending story (where sometimes even death isn't the end). Reunion at Kasha-Asor, a side story in my main series, is an example of that. It follows on directly from the end of book one. It started out as just a tough sketch of how my two main characters lived for the year between books one and two, but once it reached a certain point it seemed too much a waste to leave as just notes.

My current title was born in a similar way. There's an even bigger time gap between books two and three so again this novella started out as a 'but what happened next?' background. But when my editor did a story analysis on book three, she wasn't happy. She wanted that missing book.
So now it finally is one.

Book Update
Redemption 2.5 is now officially with my editor!

Chook Update
Sadly I lost my newest girl - Wanda - just over two weeks ago. I have no idea why. She'd been a bit quiet the day before but I'd checked her over and not found anything obvious. She ate, she drank, even laid an egg, but went to bed early. The next morning I found she'd passed away in the night. It's always heartbreaking to lose one of my girls, added to the shock of it being so sudden, but unfortunately they do hide symptoms and if I hadn't have been in lockdown I might not even have noticed her being quiet. I look at sudden deaths as at least they didn't suffer long, and it was unlikely that anything could have been done for her in this instance.

However, on a brighter note one of my more elderly girls, having been poorly for a few days without any specific signs, perked up after some tlc and time in the Henfirmary. Kairu is a grand old girl of seven and a fox attack survivor, who was still laying up until her mystery illness.

Kairu on the left. Centre - Pixie, with Sprite behind her. Right back is Saffie, front centre is Nova, and nearest is poor Wanda.

And the rest of the girls are doing fine, but thoroughly spoilt having been allowed to free-range almost nonstop for over two months with us home. There's going to be a lot of squawking when that ends...

Kitten Update
Not quite true. As of yesterday our kittens are now officially adults (though I think they missed the memo).

Ember

Astrid

The Here and Now
Today I'm attending an online meeting to discuss going back to work. Support staff have been asked to do one day a week. Frankly I'm scared. I've never been a conspiracy theorist, but right now I really do feel like my government wants to kill me and mine, or at the very least doesn't care if we die. I will go back if told to, taking every precaution, but I will not be sending my own kids to school. I'm lucky. I have choices. So many don't.
Last night my daughter was very distressed by the happenings in the US - I am too, but I'm already so angry and upset by events here that it seems too much to take it all in without feeling completely helpless and overwhelmed. She doesn't understand how anyone can be racist, see any other human as lesser than another (a feeling we currently share as our government treats the public here with contempt), but more how even someone racist could deliberately kill, or at the very least have no respect or regard for the life of another person. To not care that your actions are harming another person. There's a protest being held next weekend in our home town for BLM and we're torn on attending. But with COVID-19 still a high risk no matter how our government tries to gaslight us, I just can't justify going. My husband has health issues and my youngest has asthma. My government won't protect them so I have to do my best to do so. My heart hurts for the world. How do we come back from this? Do we even deserve to? I don't know. All I can do is the little things and hope that eventually all the little things we all do will add up to fix the bigger things.
May the odds be ever in your favour...

On Hiatus: The Great Chicken Run Build plus Valentine's Day #snippet #scifirom

It's half term here in the UK, so I'm taking some time out with the monsters (me and the boys are currently watching number five of the Harry Potter films as part of a week long HP marathon) while eldest is on a music workshop. Today is also Pancake Day - traditionally served with just lemon juice and sugar, but I daresay the monsters will be opting for the chocolate and icecream version. And later we have Black Panther!
In the meantime, the chicken run build is progressing. The run itself is built, though the proper roof isn't up yet, and we're still putting the new coop together.

Kala checking the foundation beam is properly aligned.

Hubs injured me with a spade - an almost traditional occurrence when we work together.

Foundations laid.

And the run is up.

But the girls still enjoy coming out into the garden.

Temperature indicator - the ice from two days ago still hasn't melted!

Not so little Firefly.

The coop coming together.

Valentine's Day Excerpt
While hubs and I don't celebrate Valentine's Day (we save it for our anniversary, especially as it's our 25th this year), I thought I'd share an old micro story featuring Keir being interviewed about the meaning of romance...

"Romantic?" Keir shakes his head and hands me a glass of red wine. "No. I would not say that I am romantic."

I take a sip and watch him from over the rim of the glass. The wine's good, but not as much as the company. I wouldn't mind him warming me up instead. I shake myself. "I'm sure Quin would say that you are." In fact she has--to me--in private. But why embarrass him?

He smiles, a little shyly, but the light in his eyes now I've said her name makes me feel seven shades of jealous. About five foot six and athletically built, he moves with an easy kind of grace. A narrow face, finely sculpted with high cheek bones. But those probably wouldn't be the first thing you'd notice. No. His blue skin is the most striking feature. A dark, dusky blue, like the sky just before full darkness falls. And the tatts! Wow. My eyes skim over them, which takes some time. He's covered in them! Tribal style, black runes and twisted symbols all down his arms and showing above the edges of his white vest. Even his face and neck are marked. I've heard he has them everywhere on his body. I'd love to know if that's true...

"What more did you need to know?"

I snap myself back to reality. So far he's told me about how idyllic life is on the string of tropical islands in this planet's temperate zone. I'd rather ask about the tatts, but that's not why I'm there. Humans living on Metraxi are a rare thing. A married couple spending their honeymoon there? Even more so. "What about your wedding vows?"

I've surprised him. Bright blue eyes fix on me. "My wedding vows? Why would you wish to know those?"

"That's normally pretty romanctic to people. I mean, you didn't exactly have a great first date. Meeting Quin in a dungeon."

He scowls fine black brows knitting. "No. But that is a moment I will never forget."

He settles himself in a wooden chair opposite and wraps his hands around the glass. Long, slender fingers. His hair is a mass of loose black curls that make me itch to run my hands through them.
"We used the Metraxian vows. The words in Universal matched what I felt in my heart."

"Would you tell them to me?"

He tugs a hand through his dark curls. I wonder if I've embarrassed him?

"The village chief, L'enko, asked me what I sought. I told him I wished to bind my life to Quin's." His gaze drifts into the distance. "I promised to share my life with her, in love and laughter, through tears and trials. To work by her side and dream in her arms. To love her until the end of our forever."

My throat tightens. "That's beautiful! And you say you aren't a romantic."

"To me, it is not about trying to be romantic," he assures me, very serious. "It is about being honest in your feelings when you love and care for someone. Keeping a promise. Respecting them. If that is being romantic..." He shrugs. "Then perhaps I am."

An alarm beeps on my wrist module--notification that my transport is waiting. I finish the last of my wine. We're on a tight schedule, and much as I'd like to stay for a while, I can't. Being a travel agent isn't all fun. But at least I have an idea to sell Metraxi as a unique romantic getaway to my boss. It worked for Quin and Keir. And I think a wedding planner would kill for the privilege of selling ceremonies like theirs.

"Well, thanks for the info. It's been..." I give him another look over, and he lifts an eyebrow. It's then I remember that he's telepathic. Although I doubt he'd need to read my mind to know what I'm thinking. "...gratifying."

"I hope I have given you what you needed."

A blush burns my face. Information-wise, yes. Otherwise... I sigh. Quin's a lucky woman. I hate her just a little. No, I hate her a lot!

"Thanks. It's been helpful."

He escorts me to the door of the hut. The Metraxian village glows from lanterns filled with bright insects. For all Metraxi's advanced technology, the simple life appeals to them more. It's paradise. I can see why they stay. But now I need to get back to the office and sell the romance of Metraxi to the universe.

Blurb:

A demon waiting to die...
An outcast reviled for his discolored skin and rumors of black magic, Keirlan de Corizi sees no hope for redemption. Imprisoned beneath the palace that was once his home, the legendary 'Blue Demon of Adalucien' waits for death to finally free him of his curse. But salvation comes in an unexpected guise.

A woman determined to save him.
Able to cross space and time with a wave of her hand, Tarquin Secker has spent eternity on a hopeless quest. Drawn by a compulsion she can't explain, she risks her apparent immortality to save Keir, and offers him sanctuary on her home-world, Lyagnius. But Quin has secrets of her own.

When Keir mistakenly unleashes the dormant alien powers within him and earns exile from Lyagnius, Quin chooses to stand by him. Can he master his newfound abilities in time to save Quin from the darkness that seeks to possess her?

Book One of the Redemption series and part of the Travellers Universe. Previously released by Lyrical Press Inc. 7th May 2012.

***

A Science Fiction Romance Novel
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Where Words Fail, Music Speaks... #amwriting #scifi

...is a quote from Hans Christian Andersen (according to a quick Google. These days I'm always a little suspicious.). If I was ever asked what is the one thing I couldn't live without (other than coming back with the sensible answer of sustenance), it's music. I'm pretty much plugged into my mp3 player every hour of the day I'm alone, and can't go a day without music unless you want a seriously moody person on your hands. Lots of authors seem to find inspiration in music, make soundtracks for their books and characters, and I'm no different. My debut novel Keir owes much of its existence to the music of a certain Finnish rock band - The Rasmus - whose three albums at that time not only helped keep me sane during the writing process but heavily influenced the tone and character of the story. Justify is Keir's song most of all.

And on Sunday I got to see them perform live for the third time since I became a fan. Even more awesomely I got a close encounter with band member Eero who snuck out a fire exit while we were queueing. I managed actual words but tried to play it cool - I didn't think he wanted someone doing the whole fangirl thing at him (but damn it, I wish I'd asked for a photo. Not that anyone else would care - this is something I will always remember and be grateful for!).

The venue was quite small and cozy, and we had an excellent view (though my feeble camera lies about that). Not right at the front with the younger die hard fans, but on a second level balcony where no longshanks could get in front of me and block my view!

My phone also completely failed to save the video of their opening song, but luckily plenty of other people didn't have that problem, including my friend and fellow fan Irene Jones. Warning, there's a lot of strobe lighting and flash photography.

And of course they played the song they're most famous for.

The only problem with the cozy venue was lead singer Lauri was occasionally drowned out by his own fans singing. A shame because I love his voice, but I can't deny I wasn't singing along too. :P

But if you want to hear all the songs associated with Keir, go HERE to listen to my unofficial soundtrack and maybe play it as you read. :) Oh, plus a rare couple selfie taken outside King's Cross station (yes, THAT King's Cross station mentioned in the Harry Potter books).

Status Update
I've abandoned NaNoWriMo - it got me writing again, I have 10K on a new story and got my edits done. Aim achieved. At this stage I'm far too far behind to ever catch up so I will just keep pootling along with things.