Three chapters left

Started chapter 10 today of Darkest Before Dawn, the second book in the Benjamin Knight series.  I sat down last week and worked out a detailed plan of the last 3 chapters, scene by scene, to get to the ending that I have known about for a while.  It comes to a total of 24 scenes, and I typically manage 2-3 scenes a day (depending on how big they are) when I'm writing, so about 2-3 weeks!

I set myself a target to get the first draft done by the end of July, so it looks like I'll make it.

On another note, a couple of the reviews for Knightfall commented on editing errors, so it is currently in the hands of Hercules Editing and Consulting, getting another polish.  They suggested it will take a few weeks, so hopefully again ready towards the end of July.  I then plan to make it free for my final two KDP select days when Darkest Before Dawn is ready to go (after being edited, proof read, cut, polished, rewritten and edited again), so if you haven't got it already, you could wait.

Or not.

I mean, really, it's only £1.95 (or $2.99 in the US).

That's cheaper than a coffee at Starbucks.

Go on, give it a try.

It'll make me smile....

Lincoln Stone Festival (continued)

As promised, here are some more pictures from the festival.  They are all amazing, I am sure you will agree.  If you were one of the lucky ones to win one, I am really pleased for you.  I would have bought loads if the bank account would have allowed!  Thanks again to all involved for a great day out.

Lincoln Stone Festival

Had an amazing day today, went to the Lincoln Stone Festival at Lincoln Cathedral.  Stone masons (both qualified and apprentice) come from all over the world to create pieces of art which are then auctioned off for charity - this year they made over £50,000!

We bid for a piece that my wife fell in love with.  She is a cardiac (heart attack) nurse and also doing a floristry degree in her spare time, and when we saw this piece she had to have it.

I am pleased to say that we won at the auction and I get to bring this home tomorrow!  If there are pictures of some of the other pieces available online, do check them out, the stone masons are truly amazing at what they do.  I took a few pictures when we were going round and I will post them another day (probably tomorrow) when I get them off my phone.

Will be back writing tomorrow, I have three chapters to do (bringing the total to 12) and the first draft of book 2 is done.

The home stretch

Another good day at the keyboard, and I finally feel like I am on the home stretch.  I have one more scene to write for chapter 8, then I start building towards the finale.  It's going to be a rollercoaster ride, believe me.

It feels good to be able to see the direction, all the notes that I have scribbled on bits of paper finally coming together into a whole.  There's been a lot of reflection and introspection these last couple of chapters, it will be nice to write a series of big action set pieces, to channel my inner Michael Bay!

As I have said before, I promise none of my characters a happy ending, or even the guarantee of making it to the end of book 3.  They go where the story takes them, for good or for ill, and rely on their wits and good luck to make it through.  There are a couple I have my fingers crossed for, so let's see what happens.  I'll be back at the keyboard tomorrow....

Energize by Thomas R. Manning

Review of Energize (From the Logs of Daniel Quinn) by Thomas R. Manning

Energize tells the story of Daniel Quinn, an ex-soldier of the Earth Star Alliance, cursed with a dark past and demons that continue to haunt him. Five years after being framed for a crime he didn't commit, he is a mercenary and captain of his own ship, partnered with humanities only artificial intelligence. Coerced into a contract he doesn't really want to take, he is forced to make choices that effect not only his future, but the future of a newly discovered planet and the species that inhabit it.

The story is solid and told from the first person perspective, with an easy flow and style that brings the characters and settings to life. Characters are fun and believable and the aliens, though humanoid in actions and emotions, are well thought out with a culture and language all of their own. Actions make sense, and there are no leaps of logic or convenient pieces of technology that often plague science fiction tales like this.

All in all, it is an excellent read and well worth the time I took to read it. I am looking forward to book 2 (Antagonize I think due for November 2013) and will pick it up as soon as it is available.

A good, solid 4* book.

Scoring system

5 – excellent
4 – above average
3 – average
2 – below average
1 - poor

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Energize-From-Daniel-Quinn-ebook/dp/B00D8OOYNE/ref=pd_rhf_ee_p_t_1_Z8TY

http://www.amazon.com/Energize-From-Daniel-Quinn-ebook/dp/B00D8OOYNE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371296198&sr=8-1&keywords=energize+Quinn

http://thomasraymann.wordpress.com/

My daughter's work

Today I am going to post something a little different.  Earlier this week my daughter (aged 7) wrote a wonderful story and drew a picture to illustrate it.  She did such a great job with plot, action, suspense, punctuation and everything else that I just wanted to share it and show everyone how proud I am of her.  Check it out below!

 
 

 

 

 

See what I mean?!  She is so clever and she got to read it out in class where everyone clapped.  I hope she has better luck with publishing in future than I do!

More artwork for Darkest Before Dawn

Okay, so this is the proper blog entry.  I have had 2 weeks off from writing and bits, what with the children's school holidays and then going and getting married so you'll have to excuse me.  Spent a couple of great days in York after the wedding though and noticed that a couple of things reminded me of Maleton, the fictional city in which most of the second Benjamin Knight book takes place.  Having had a bash at drawing my own maps (see previous posts), I decided why not try to add some art to the journal entries, pointing out the strange architecture and things out of time that Ben witnesses in Maleton (these, of course, were not in York and had to be added in by me, the very poor artist).

As always, beware spoilers from reading the diary entries that go with the pictures, but please let me know what you think.  Should I include them in book 2 or are they just laughable?  Honest answers please!

A quick post

Just a quick post for today, I will hopefully do a longer post later tonight or tomorrow to show off some new artwork I've been doing for book 2.  I just wanted to post a copy of the review my nephew did for Knightfall.  He wrote it on paper, if you can believe school children still do such things, so I entered it on Goodreads (FRAUD FRAUD I hear you cry!).  Anyway, posted here as evidence is his report.

Check back later or tomorrow for the proper blog entry with even more artwork!