Synopsis
Alma Baines is an ordinary woman whose life is irrevocably turned upside down when she loses everything she holds most dear.
The forces of darkness want her life to end for reasons she does not truly understand, and only the intervention by a small group of heroes can save her. The forces of darkness are strong and powerful, led by the demon Baphomet,who is willing to go to any lengths to achieve his aim, which is nothing less than the total subjugation of the Earth and every living thing on it.
The only ones who can stand against him are the Warrior, the Magician, the Shield, the Joker and the Mother, all of whom are joined by a special connection to the Forest that seems to know more than it is willing to admit.
What links the formation of a volcano and an earthquake at opposite ends of the Earth, thousands of years ago with Stonehenge, Woodhenge and Old Sarum. And why is rural Wiltshire the setting for the ultimate battle between good and evil that will determine the fate of the entire planet.
It's for sale. Buy it, you might even like it.
Click on the title above to go straight to it at Lulu.com.
It's also available from Amazon.com now, yippee!!!
Monday 26 October 2009
Sunday 25 January 2009
What a Palaver
Well, looks like the new novel is going a lot slower than The Hypogeum did.
I simply don't seem to be getting the time to sit down and write it. Not only that, but I decided, after a read through, that the prologue was too slow and the start of chapter one was not punchy enough.
So what did I do? Simple, binned the prologue and moved chapter one to chapter two, then started a new chapter one that incorporated the events of the prologue into it that will be interspered with a couple of rather bloodthirsty episodes that will hopefully engage the reader from page one.
Can you think of a more startling way to begin a novel than with the paragraph, "The startled sheep just had time to let out a pathetic bleat when the large, hairy shape exploded through the hedge. Long, razor-sharp fangs sank into its neck causing two geysers of crimson to arch outwards. Long claws raked along the side of its body opening up the flesh of the poor beast."?
Me neither.
Not only that, but I suspect that The Hypogeum will be my last self-published work. I didn't realise how much self-promotion would eat into my writing time, not only that, but I rather think that I would prefer a publisher (should that ever happen for me) to be the ones that are banging heads in the direction of brick walls.
Don't mean to sound bitter, I know that a publishing deal happens for the happy few and not for the great unwashed. And I have after all, only just started on the journey towards a proper book. But it does seem like there are an enormous amount of pitfalls just waiting to trip you up, as well as legions of sharks just waiting to take your cash and rip you off.
Thank Heavens for websites like www.sfwa.org without whom I may have fallen into one of the many traps out there waiting for me.
More later, when I actually get around to creating more of A Wolven Rose.
I simply don't seem to be getting the time to sit down and write it. Not only that, but I decided, after a read through, that the prologue was too slow and the start of chapter one was not punchy enough.
So what did I do? Simple, binned the prologue and moved chapter one to chapter two, then started a new chapter one that incorporated the events of the prologue into it that will be interspered with a couple of rather bloodthirsty episodes that will hopefully engage the reader from page one.
Can you think of a more startling way to begin a novel than with the paragraph, "The startled sheep just had time to let out a pathetic bleat when the large, hairy shape exploded through the hedge. Long, razor-sharp fangs sank into its neck causing two geysers of crimson to arch outwards. Long claws raked along the side of its body opening up the flesh of the poor beast."?
Me neither.
Not only that, but I suspect that The Hypogeum will be my last self-published work. I didn't realise how much self-promotion would eat into my writing time, not only that, but I rather think that I would prefer a publisher (should that ever happen for me) to be the ones that are banging heads in the direction of brick walls.
Don't mean to sound bitter, I know that a publishing deal happens for the happy few and not for the great unwashed. And I have after all, only just started on the journey towards a proper book. But it does seem like there are an enormous amount of pitfalls just waiting to trip you up, as well as legions of sharks just waiting to take your cash and rip you off.
Thank Heavens for websites like www.sfwa.org without whom I may have fallen into one of the many traps out there waiting for me.
More later, when I actually get around to creating more of A Wolven Rose.
Wednesday 21 January 2009
THE HYPOGEUM COMPETITION
I've decided to run a competition where one luck winner will walk away with £50.00 cash.
Simply follow this link - HYPOGEUM COMPETITION - And enter. Simple as that.
Good luck!
Simply follow this link - HYPOGEUM COMPETITION - And enter. Simple as that.
Good luck!
Tuesday 20 January 2009
Getting In The Way
*Sigh*
Finally got some peace and quiet from the hurly-burly of family life and settle down to crack on with A Wolven Rose... But! And its a big but.
The problem with PC's is that its so easy to get sidetracked. I thought that I would do a quick search about for more ways to shamelessly prostitute myself and hopefully generate more sales of The Hypogeum.
Five minutes and an hour and a half later and I've just finished. Not just placing references to my books on facebook and submitting it to a plethora of search engines, but also advertising this blog (If you look at the top right of the page, you can rate my blog) A good rating equates to more visitors and hopefully more people parting with their shekels for my poetic scribblings.
Anyway, I finally finish that and once again settle down to write when who should decide that now is cuddle time and the only place to be is on my lap, but Stella the Staffy.
Could you say no? Didn't think so, and neither could I.
Ever tried to type whilst balancing a licky dog on your knee? Not easy.
Still, she's had enough now, so I think I can crack on with the story... Only, I think I'll have a quick game of FreeCell first.
Finally got some peace and quiet from the hurly-burly of family life and settle down to crack on with A Wolven Rose... But! And its a big but.
The problem with PC's is that its so easy to get sidetracked. I thought that I would do a quick search about for more ways to shamelessly prostitute myself and hopefully generate more sales of The Hypogeum.
Five minutes and an hour and a half later and I've just finished. Not just placing references to my books on facebook and submitting it to a plethora of search engines, but also advertising this blog (If you look at the top right of the page, you can rate my blog) A good rating equates to more visitors and hopefully more people parting with their shekels for my poetic scribblings.
Anyway, I finally finish that and once again settle down to write when who should decide that now is cuddle time and the only place to be is on my lap, but Stella the Staffy.
Could you say no? Didn't think so, and neither could I.
Ever tried to type whilst balancing a licky dog on your knee? Not easy.
Still, she's had enough now, so I think I can crack on with the story... Only, I think I'll have a quick game of FreeCell first.
Is It Just Me?
Or are ideas like buses? You wait for ages for one to arrive and then two or three all turn up together.
After spending months trying to think of a good idea for a story, as soon as The Hypogeum was in the bag, I immediately got another one. An original spin on our old friend the Lycanthrope. For any small children reading this, it's a werewolf.
Not only is my werewolf a female with all the associated problems of what to do when she changes back into her human form and needs some clothes, quick, but also what to do about the evil magician who needs her beating heart but not the rest of her.
I'm calling it A Wolven Rose.
Although the general plotline just appeared in my head, unlike The Hypogeum that I just let flow straight from brain to keyboard, I have decided to plan this one out properly.
All of the main characters have been given names and descriptions as well as a brief back-story. I drew a map and placed some countries, islands, towns and cities around the place.
All I can say after that is thank God for Seventh Sanctum and their name generators without whom I would probably be calling my main protagonist Deirdre Farthingale instead of the more exotic sounding Okime Denkriss.
Synopsis:
Okime Denkriss is a woman living a life of drudgery without hope. She is trapped as a virtual slave after the death of her parents and with no means of earning a living beyond the minimum required to stay alive. She also has a fear of water due to a very bad experience as a child.
One evening, on her way home from the kitchens where she works, she is attacked by a werewolf and is infected. The werewolf that bit her is killed and it turns out that she is the last living lycanthrope. Whilst werewolves are normally vicious and mindless killers in wolven form, Okime is different and for some reason keeps her sense of humanity and the ability to speak and reason normally when in the form of a wolf.
However, she does not wish to live as a werewolf and her only goal in life is to find a cure for her lycanthropic condition, but in order to do so, she must find the Magi of the White Order, who resides somewhere on the other side of the Freezewater Sea.
But, the Black Mage has sworn to kill Okime because he needs her beating heart for a spell that will allow him to fulfil his dreams of power, and he knows that she is the last of the lycanthropes and must NOT be allowed to find the cure she needs.
What WILL our heroine do?
What can she do?
After spending months trying to think of a good idea for a story, as soon as The Hypogeum was in the bag, I immediately got another one. An original spin on our old friend the Lycanthrope. For any small children reading this, it's a werewolf.
Not only is my werewolf a female with all the associated problems of what to do when she changes back into her human form and needs some clothes, quick, but also what to do about the evil magician who needs her beating heart but not the rest of her.
I'm calling it A Wolven Rose.
Although the general plotline just appeared in my head, unlike The Hypogeum that I just let flow straight from brain to keyboard, I have decided to plan this one out properly.
All of the main characters have been given names and descriptions as well as a brief back-story. I drew a map and placed some countries, islands, towns and cities around the place.
All I can say after that is thank God for Seventh Sanctum and their name generators without whom I would probably be calling my main protagonist Deirdre Farthingale instead of the more exotic sounding Okime Denkriss.
Synopsis:
Okime Denkriss is a woman living a life of drudgery without hope. She is trapped as a virtual slave after the death of her parents and with no means of earning a living beyond the minimum required to stay alive. She also has a fear of water due to a very bad experience as a child.
One evening, on her way home from the kitchens where she works, she is attacked by a werewolf and is infected. The werewolf that bit her is killed and it turns out that she is the last living lycanthrope. Whilst werewolves are normally vicious and mindless killers in wolven form, Okime is different and for some reason keeps her sense of humanity and the ability to speak and reason normally when in the form of a wolf.
However, she does not wish to live as a werewolf and her only goal in life is to find a cure for her lycanthropic condition, but in order to do so, she must find the Magi of the White Order, who resides somewhere on the other side of the Freezewater Sea.
But, the Black Mage has sworn to kill Okime because he needs her beating heart for a spell that will allow him to fulfil his dreams of power, and he knows that she is the last of the lycanthropes and must NOT be allowed to find the cure she needs.
What WILL our heroine do?
What can she do?
The Hypogeum
So, here we are a few years down the line and I find that I want to stretch myself. No more short stories for me, especially naughty ones. Do you have any idea just how tedious and boring it is to write graphic sex scenes? Trust me, it is so boring, I was beginning to lose interest in writing altogether!
No, I wanted to write a full length novel... But what?
Let me tell you, a lot of brain storming went into this until I finally came up with what I think is a winning idea.
I looked around at all of the writers I knew and couldn't find anything even similar to my idea. So I bit the bullet and started planning it.
Eventually I came up with the title, The Hypogeum (yes it is a real word). The name of the book and all the main characters in it had names that were relevant to to their role. Buy the book, read it and look up the meanings of all the characters' first names if you don't believe me.
That's right! It's available for sale.
After it was completed and I eventually got tired of the plethora of literary agents beating a path away from my door, I thought I would try the self-publishing route with http://www.lulu.com/.
It worked and now The Hypogeum is on sale either as a download or as an honest-to-goodness old-fashioned printed book.
I must admit that it could be laid out slightly better, but as I am a novice at layouts and what with having to do everything myself, learning at each step of the journey, I have produced a book that I am very proud of. Not only that, but it will be available for sale on Amazon sometime in March 2009! WooHoo!
Check it out here: The Hypogeum
Go on. I dare you!
No, I wanted to write a full length novel... But what?
Let me tell you, a lot of brain storming went into this until I finally came up with what I think is a winning idea.
I looked around at all of the writers I knew and couldn't find anything even similar to my idea. So I bit the bullet and started planning it.
Eventually I came up with the title, The Hypogeum (yes it is a real word). The name of the book and all the main characters in it had names that were relevant to to their role. Buy the book, read it and look up the meanings of all the characters' first names if you don't believe me.
That's right! It's available for sale.
After it was completed and I eventually got tired of the plethora of literary agents beating a path away from my door, I thought I would try the self-publishing route with http://www.lulu.com/.
It worked and now The Hypogeum is on sale either as a download or as an honest-to-goodness old-fashioned printed book.
I must admit that it could be laid out slightly better, but as I am a novice at layouts and what with having to do everything myself, learning at each step of the journey, I have produced a book that I am very proud of. Not only that, but it will be available for sale on Amazon sometime in March 2009! WooHoo!
Check it out here: The Hypogeum
Go on. I dare you!
Power Play & Other Loverotica
So, I had a book published... Well an eBook in point of fact, but it still counts.
Not the sort of thing I like to write, but I needed to find an audience for my short stories and after much banging of head on a parade of walls, I decided to go through my stories and add naughty scenes where I thought they would fit best.
Then I sent it off to Renaissance E Books Inc and there you are. Not an ideal solution, but it has allowed me to reach a limited audience and show what I'm capable of as well as provide a fairly steady (if somewhat meagre) boost to my bank account.
Not the sort of thing I like to write, but I needed to find an audience for my short stories and after much banging of head on a parade of walls, I decided to go through my stories and add naughty scenes where I thought they would fit best.
Then I sent it off to Renaissance E Books Inc and there you are. Not an ideal solution, but it has allowed me to reach a limited audience and show what I'm capable of as well as provide a fairly steady (if somewhat meagre) boost to my bank account.
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