Thursday 20 July 2017

Still good, still writing!

I seem to be continuing the trend of long periods of time between blog posts, sorry everyone!

I've a good excuse though, as I've been very busy writing and planning.

Book 4 of Haldred Chronicles is progressing along very nicely. I'm onto my 2nd draft now, and the core story and characters are complete. My plan now is to flesh out descriptions and details, fill in a few more scenes for key characters, and proof the entire book once done. After that, I should have a complete story that I can then confidently pass to a few trusted proof readers.

It looks as if it'll be finished by November as planned (if not before). 

At the same time, I've found myself drifting back to the distant past of my writing lifetime. Years before I started Haldred Chronicles, I was writing a massive novel with the tentative title of "Adventure and other bad ideas" (thanks to Saul for the original title suggestion). This novel eventually laid the background work for Haldred Chronicles (it's set in the same time period) but was never finished, despite me writing over 77,000 words for it.

Now, with Book 4 heading toward completion, I'm thinking of giving it another go. It won't be a 5th Haldred Chronicles book, but instead will be a big stand alone novel set in the same place. Rather than concentrating on the Council of Peace and criminal investigations, this new novel will turn it's attention to a group of mercenaries and their adventures. Characters from Haldred Chronicles may pop in from time to time though. Time scale wise, it will be set after the current crop of the novels. 

That's the plan anyway. I first have to finish book 4. All being well, the next time I post an update it will be to report book 4 completion!

Wish me luck. Till next time.

Monday 1 May 2017

The Haldred Chronicles series is FREE on Amazon Kindle

A very quick blog post to let you all know some exciting news.

From the 1st May to the 5th May, all 3 of my current Haldred Chronicles books (Alyssa, Kalla and Shade) will be free on Amazon Kindle.

Yes, all 3. For the first time ever.

So if you or your friends want to pickup the entire story so far, now's the time! 

1st May to 5th May. Completely free :). 

Enjoy!




Wednesday 29 March 2017

News for 2017

A very brief blog post, just to keep everyone updated.

First up, I've been very busy on social media. I've been more pro-active on Twitter, posting more regularly and engaging with more people. As a result, since my last blog post my follower count has ticked over 2000 and still rising; a trend I hope to continue!  In future I hope to get back into interactions on the Goodreads community.

Anyone interested can find me at @jgwritesnovels

Secondly, using the excellent Creative Writing Syllabus & Rubric from Eva Deverell (find her resources at http://www.eadeverell.com) I have confirmed that I have moved from 'Neophyte' to 'Apprentice' in the creative writing lexicon.  This has given me a fresh inspiration and opportunity to investigate further methods of improving my craft, and expanding my writing skills.

For instance, I'm now keeping a proper writing journal in addition to hopefully updating the blog more often.  This way I've been able to more easily gather my thoughts and consider what I've worked on and progressed, day by day.

Thirdly, I've been hard at work on Haldred Chronicles: Anna. Despite the busy times of looking after my young son (who is almost one year old now!), I have been grabbing time here and there to write further on the story.  I'm still aiming to have finished by the end of the year, maybe even November 2017, but I'll see how I get on.

Finally, I have at last started to seriously hunt down possible publishers for Haldred Chronicles, and literacy agents.  The series has been available on Amazon Kindle since 2012 and I have gained a wealth of feedback and encouragement.  I think the time has come to see if I can pitch my idea of a long running series, that I hope to write for more or less the rest of my life.

So its all good, and I hope it stays that way.  Till next time!