I said to myself a while back that I really should keep up with my blog more. That was in September or October, I think. Then, a lot of different things fell onto my plate, and I fought to clear them. That included a novel release I shall cover shortly, the release of Ataris Station's audiobook, the making of two others, and a writing course I ended up taking. I haven't written a manuscript in ages, but I have several outlines ready to rock.
But then, I realised it was 2023, and almost the end of January. People might be interested to know what I have been up to. So, for my first blog post of this year, I thought I would fill you all in on what I had been up to.
The above picture is the front cover for my last release, a very personal project to me. I had always wanted to write a story that paid homage to the underwater science fiction movies I loved growing up, such as Leviathan, The Abyss, and DeepStar Six. The inspiration came after playing Subnautica, and having the idea hit me as various scenarios ran through my head. The result was Escape from Crescendo Station One, something that was a joy to write. The editing, however, was nothing short of a nightmare. The first editor had it for around six months, which was way too long, and had missed several mistakes, so I had another take a look at it. The drama surrounding that I will spare you the details of, but it left a very bitter taste in my mouth that took some time to shift. Seeing it out now, and getting some good reviews, makes me feel better, given how personal the book is to me.
After Crescendo Station was released, I became aware of the launch of the BBC Maestro site, and the numerous courses it had to offer. At first, I wasn't bothered, because it had nothing I was interested in. For those who don't know, Maestro is the BBC's version of the Master Class website, but with British creators. Then I became aware of a course on the site that taught writing popular fiction, from none other than Lee Child himself, the man behind the Jack Reacher novels. Someone I know once said to me, "every day is a school day," and he was right. So, I purchased the course and went through it.
Listening to Mr. Child talk about the craft and the lessons he had to teach was awesome. It was like I was sitting in the room with him, a cup of tea in hand, an audience of one with a master of storytelling. After it was finished, I was buzzing with ideas, but still had other things to clear off my plate before I could jump into them. But, I do hope the day comes when I can meet Lee Child and shake his hand as I thank him. Is that possible? I don't know, but you never know, right?
After Ataris Station was published, I knew I wanted an audiobook made. So, I submitted it to ACX and waited to see if I could attract any narrators. Sure enough, the auditions started flowing in. They were an interesting listen, especially when it became clear most of them did not have a good microphone. There was even one guy who tried getting a text-to-speech sample by me, but I picked up on it.
By the way, if that was you, and you're reading this, fuck you.
Finally, I heard the audition of Candace Roman. She had such an easy-going voice that was pleasant on the ear, and she read the part well. Upon checking out her profile, I saw that she added music to other samples she had narrated to show what she could do. When I asked if she could do that for Ataris, and she agreed, I gave her the job. It turned out it would be Candace's first audiobook, and she knocked it out of the park. I took such joy in listening to what she submitted, and I only made two revision requests during the whole time. She recorded the work at an amazing speed and I was thrilled to see it released. I think Candace will go far as a narrator, and I look forward to the day she can do it full-time.
The audiobook for the omnibus of my Harem Nights trilogy had been in production for a while but was paused when the narrator had to move home. It was strange listening to very old pieces of work, but it helped me realise just how far I had come as an author. At the time of writing this, the finished audiobook is going through ACX's quality checks before release.
However, it wasn't all good.
One series I wanted to push forward with was The Adventures of Furman Simms. But, in revisiting the written text, I knew too much time had passed since I last ventured into that world. As much as I tried, I just could not reconnect with it. So, as a result, I chose to leave that one behind. One thing I said to myself was to keep moving forward. Furman had no place in my future plans. I don't like the phrase, but it very much fell into what is known as, "killing your babies."
What are my plans for this year? All shall be revealed in part two of this blog post, which will be published this week
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