Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 09/08/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress

Blood Red Dust is on the shelves. War Over Dust has just appeared as a Kindle, available from your local Amazon. The launch for that will still officially be 2nd September at Fantasticon in Hull, but you can now obtain your copy as an ebook and get ahead of the pack. Maybe even read/review …

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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 02/08/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress2 Comments

At the moment, patiently awaiting the first view of the new book. While we wait, I thought I’d make a few comments about why I wrote ‘War Over Dust’. Actually, why I wrote that and its predecessor ‘Blood Red Dust’ and will write the one yet to come in this trilogy. Science fiction attracts writers …

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Red Desert – Point of No Return, by Rita Carla Francesca Monticelli, Reviewed.

On 29/07/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Reading, Review3 Comments

This is the first part of a four book series. I have a certain distrust of such books, if they fail to perform the function of a proper story in each volume. This one, it must be said, is marginal. The ending is ambiguous and designed to draw the reader to the next part, which …

Continue reading Red Desert – Point of No Return, by Rita Carla Francesca Monticelli, Reviewed.

Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 19/07/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction, Mars, Progress

The time has come. The time is now! Here’s the cover for ‘War Over Dust’, the second in the Generation Mars series. Gabi Grubb’s cover graced book one, and she’s done it again with some fine work for this volume. I love it! To be ready for the launch on 2nd September, make sure you’ve …

Continue reading Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 12/07/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Fiction, Mars, Progress

War Over Dust, the second in the Generation Mars series, has a cover! Gabi Grubb’s cover graced book one with some fine work, and she’s done it again with this volume. I’m over the Moon with it. Should I tease you with some clues, or give you the whole picture now? Difficult. I think I’ll …

Continue reading Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 05/07/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress

A very short update tonight. The book is currently undergoing typesetting. War Over Dust, the second in the Generation Mars series, is also being covered by a creation I’m looking forward to displaying here. Gabi Grubb’s cover graced book one and she’s currently working on this volume. Fantastic Books Publishing, Gabi, and I are in …

Continue reading Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 28/06/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress

Well, that’s about it. Today, I finished the line edits and content edits sent by my publisher. It’s been a pretty intense period, with long hours staring at the screen and trying to get the best word(s) in place. I’ve printed the whole book off now (222 pages in Word) and will read it through …

Continue reading Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 21/06/201721/06/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress

The MS is complete. I even have a title, agreed after consultations with my publisher, Fantastic Books Publishing. Of which, more later in this post. Because, in publishing terms, the book has a short lead in time (we want to launch at Fantasticon in Hull; a fantasy/gaming/scifi convention that takes place on 2nd and 3rd …

Continue reading Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 14/06/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress2 Comments

Some weeks are a country walk, others a trek across mountainous desert. This one has been a touch demanding. But, the book itself is now done. It lacks a title, of which I have a brainstorming session’s worth of around 50 at present. And the blurb demands to be done. I usually try for three …

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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 07/06/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress

Reading each chapter, making amendments, additions, deletions, corrections, and then feeding them through grammar checker, Prowritingaid.com. It removes unintended repetitions, weak verbs, and many other small errors you can miss when reading from the screen. It’s pretty intense. But I’m up to page 329 of 411. Twelve chapters to go; mostly in the denouement now, …

Continue reading Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 31/05/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress2 Comments

I’m currently reading each chapter and then feeding them through grammar checker, Prowritingaid.com. This removes unintended repetitions, weak verbs, and many of other small errors the eye misses when reading from the screen. It’s a fairly intense process. So far, I'm at page 165 of 412 in a Word doc that's double spaced. After that …

Continue reading Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 24/05/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress2 Comments

The work continues. All characters have now been subjected to scrutiny for consistency in their various appearances through the book. Some selected words have been substituted, and certain terms have been introduced. One or two special features are now included to make the story more in keeping with the future in which it’s set. I’m …

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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 17/05/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress

The first rewrite is complete! Whoopee! But that’s by no means the end of the process. Having made the changes to the story elements, I’m now checking for consistency on all 36 named characters over the 54 chapters. So far, I’ve done two of the major players and two minor ones. It’s a check to …

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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 10/05/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Mars, Progress5 Comments

It’s been a funny old week. A few unrelated events have disturbed the intended plain sailing of the rewrite. And, yesterday was my birthday. A fun day spent at the local hospital in the morning, where two lovely ladies in their uniforms probed various orifices and inserted implements of torture in an attempt to resolve …

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Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.

On 03/05/2017 By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Mars, Progress

Halfway through the major re-write, and a good many story elements yet to change. That’s the result of working as a pantster: plot develops as the story is created, and that impacts on parts already written. It’s particularly influential on the denouement on this occasion, since I had a ‘light bulb’ moment during an interrupted …

Continue reading Progress on the WIP: #SciFi in the Making.