Beginnings and An Ending

Well after a few months of hard work, I am pleased to say that the first draft of The Forgotten Son is complete. It now resides with the publisher for notes (feedback, edits, etc) as well as the other authors of Project Hush-Hush. Speaking of, soon I’ll be able to stop calling it that. Five months of me not being able to speak openly about it will be over. The cover for book one is almost complete, the press release is all set to go out… We are THAT close to officially announcing the project. The reaction should be pretty intense. And I can’t bloody wait.

I have to say, I am rather pleased with the finished book. I think I’ve done the concept and the property justice. It’s been quite a ride building the foundation for the series and establishing new and interesting elements for the lead character. The responsibility is still heavily resting on my shoulders, but I feel really good about it at the moment. I will talk more about it once the series is officially announced, and interview the rest of the team, but until then I must remain as evasive as ever.

Little bit of information I can tell you. I’m in talks with two authors for the second batch of books (with a further two authors still considering their involvement, authors very connected to the source of the property — I hope to get all four on my wish-list, so fingers crossed!), and some really interesting ideas are being bandied about. Ideas that feed into the mores of the time in which the series is set.

In other news, next up I shall be re-editing The Forever Journey, which will include adding new scenes set before the original beginning of the book, and then I’m onto editing a new novel for Candy Jar Books. No rest for me.

Oh yes, I want to take this opportunity to announce that I have officially resigned from the Space: 1889 & Beyond series as line editor with Untreed Reads Publishing. An official statement from the company about the future of the series will be released soon. Watch this space.

Update Number Something Or Other

And lo, it’s been over two weeks since the last update. I’m really rubbish at this, aren’t I? Well then, let’s cut to the chase and update y’all.

I’ve been hard at work on Project Hush-Hush, primarily with chapter eleven of The Forgotten Son which has been a very hard chapter to break. Writing a narrative that’s set in the late ’60s has its share of difficulties since it was a time of great change and a time before I was born — only just, though, but still, we’re talking at least seven years before any real memories of mine. It’s kind of like writing an historical, with lots of research to get the small details right. In some ways not a whole lot has changed, but in others everything has changed. People are people, and basically the same throughout history, all struggling with the same emotional issues and relationship complexities no matter what era you’re writing for, but it’s the small details that create the era. And this is why chapter eleven has been so difficult. The setting for that chapter is 1937/’38, a time when the political climate of the world was undergoing a massive upheaval, where Germany was making itself known is no uncertain way, a time when Britain believed it was finally escaping the depression that had claimed it after the Great War, not knowing they were on a brink of another world war that would do more damage to British economy than ever before and change the face of the world forever. And all this is important background stuff which informs the characters in chapter eleven, although it had no actual bearing on the story told in that chapter. The hardest part was trying to find the voice of the child characters who dominate that chapter, especially children living in the late ’30s. A very different time to be a child, but not so different as all that, as I discovered when I was writing it. How well I’ve succeeded is something which the readers will have to judge, but after two weeks I believe I’ve broken it well and made it work. Certainly my first draft editor (fellow author and unbiased voice, Jonathan Cooper) thinks I did a good job of it — although, of course, he had some useful advice and suggestions. My intention was to capture the Chocky vibe, and I hope I’ve done that.

Beyond the actual writing, I’ve been in important meetings about the series, which is ever near being announced now. We’ve got our cover artist, the maestro himself, Marvel UK’s very own Simon Williams, and some exciting ideas about what direction we’re taking the cover design. I’ll be getting to see some cover images within the next two days, which is VERY exciting indeed!

In other news I’ve been posting some fun stuff over at Type 40, most notably an interview with Hannah Haisman, granddaughter of Mervyn Haisman, co-creator of the Brigadier, the Great Intelligence and the Dominators from seasons five and six of Doctor Who, plus a top ten of my favourite stories to feature the Brigadier. Pop over and have a butcher’s.

So, that’s me these last two weeks. Now I need to get back on with The Forgotten Son — only got another three chapters left, so I hope to have the first draft finished within a week. It’s all exciting times, with the other authors working on Horror, The Schizoid Earth and MAD while I finish work on my book. Four books coming next year — watch out for the announcement VERY soon!

Incredible Hulk art © Simon Williams 2014