What’s next? Work in progress.


As I said last time, it’s a relief to get the completed work ready for beta reads, as a bonus, it’s got my creativity flowing again on the other work I have started and not yet finished.

This week I’m talking about the part finished work in my portfolio, of which there are several pieces, all at varying stages.

One of the curses of being a writer, at least as far as I’m concerned, is that ideas keep leaping into my head. While I’m seeing a story, I will often catch a glimpse of a spin-off, some adventures that are only hinted at, or a sequel, or even a prequel.

I know I keep on about this, what you need to understand is that up to not so long ago, I couldn’t write ANYTHING, now it seems that I can’t stop. The novelty of being able to write long passages or whole books that make sense has not yet worn off.

Trouble is, the inspiration comes unbidden, I can’t always sit down and write what I want, I have to go with what I’m given. Which makes plotting a doddle, I don’t have to.

This can mean more stories in the series that are written, new ideas for stories (I hesitate to say stand-alone as all the series started as such), or spin-off plots, using the same universe, with different times, setting or characters.


For example,

my Steampunk story The Sensaurum and The Lexis. While it is set in Norlandia, the story takes place at a different time to the Horis Strongman stories. Although those stories are used as a reference to help build the world and provide background, as far as the characters are concerned, it’s all history.

Or Survive, it’s set on a planet that features in the Dave Travise universe, principally in Freefall, but it takes place several hundred years before Dave’s time.

I don’t know about The Sensaurum, but I definitely have a sequel to Survive, if I hadn’t decided that 86,000 words was enough for one story, I could have just carried it on, making it into a real doorstep of a book. I suspect that readers would prefer it in smaller doses, especially as I’m (still) relatively unknown. I can always issue a boxset later.

In terms of my other work, I have a third Balcom story in progress and a third Horis Strongman steampunk adventure (hinted at in The Sensaurum). I don’t have titles for either of these yet as there is not enough of them written to suggest one. The third part of the Dave Travise story, called Promise Me, is nearing completion and will soon join the ranks of the beta versions. As a break from writing, I took an hour to do some concept work on a cover, this is what I came up with.



Andorra Pett also has two further adventures, taking the series to five books. They are provisionally entitled Andorra Pett takes a Break and Andorra Pett’s Lunar Adventure. Whether it will then be time for her to hang up her investigating hat and settle for the quiet life she always craved, we’ll have to wait and see. It’s always possible that her descendants might take on the mantle (believe it or not, that thought occurred to me while I was typing this).

There is also the second part of Life and Other Dreams to finish, I prefer not to call Wake me Up a sequel, as that implies closure and explanation, which I’m pretty sure will not be the case.


Meanwhile,

other possible plots abound. I have an idea to develop a short story I wrote ages ago into a novel, I can see glimpses of action past what exists but nothing definite yet.

Finally, I have a new hero, the disillusioned ex-soldier Dan Jones (not his real name), who is working as a hit man for gang boss Fliss Bauer. However, he feels that his boss is tiring of him and realises that he needs to get away from her before he becomes surplus to requirements. He meets a petty criminal, Lydia, in strange circumstances and mayhem ensues.

This one has the feel of a potential NaNoWriMo 2019 project about it, of course, it’s not up to me. November is a long way off, I might have had a completely different idea by then.

I’ll be back on Thursday, with a new Indie Showcase, see you then.

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