- Hello!
- Conquest of the Nu World
- Newsletter Q&A - What Do You Do All Day?
- Kickstarter - Bruegelburg
- Blog Round-Up
- Upcoming Events
- Submissions Alert - Luna Press Publishing
- Hard Drive Hot List (or, My Current Projects)
- Bi-Monthly Competition
Hello!
This newsletter is brought to you by Costa Coffee.
More specifically, I've had to escape the final days of building work at house Thorpe to get some peace and quiet to write, so am currently holed up in the relative peace of Costa. It has the added bonus of caffeine. In a stunning display of planning failure, the final week of a 17-week building project has coincided with deadline week for my current Black Library novel - Imperator: Wrath of the Omnissiah.
Many people imagine authors sitting at a desk with a view of an inspirational landscape, where the changing weather perfectly matches the mood of the writing, and the peaceful silence ensures there will be no interruption to the creative flow.
I'm sure some authors get to enjoy such environments, but for most it's a different story. I know one author whose desk was on the landing at the top of the stairs for several years, and another who wrote two novels on train journeys between Brighton and London. When you have a deadline to meet, you realise you can work anywhere.
So here I am, sat in Costa. Which does have one other benefit. A couple of weeks ago I was sat in the same Costa, tapping away at my iPad, when the waitress brought over a drink and this napkin:
For those reading on small screens, it says:
Many thanks for all your work. I got Graham McNeill a coffee, this seems fair!A Fan.
I was a little startled as I've never had this happen before - but I was thoroughly thrilled that someone had taken the time (and expense) to say thank you. The waitress had relayed that the person didn't want to be identified as they didn't want to interrupt me, so I didn't get the opportunity to say thank you. If you're reading this, thank you - and next time please come over and say hello, I'm always looking for ways to procrastinate.
Going back to writing environments, I think the learning point is to find what works for you, but be prepared to change your location as necessary. If you become a professional writer with deadlines to meet, you'll need to be able to work in a variety of places, so don't rule anything out.
Once our building work has been finished I'll have a dedicated office space, hopefully with some signed Neil Roberts artwork gracing the walls. I may still choose to work in Costa sometimes though - free drinks are always welcome ;)
Conquest of the Nu World
My new novella, Conquest of the Nu World, is out now. It's the second novella in the Cryptid Clash! series, and pits Ban-manush against Buru.
Ninety-eight light-years away, the terraformed colony planet Goloka has gone silent. Azavedo Explorations dispatches a team of mercenaries and middle-management to investigate.
The series also includes titles by Black Library authors Josh Reynolds, CL Werner, and David Annandale, as well as William Meikle and Nikki Nelson Hicks.
You can read more in my blog:
"Of all my teenage obsessions, I’m not embarrassed to say I dabbled with a World of Strange Phenomena – the twilit realm of the Fortean Times. In fact, I only ended my subscription last year when space at home became an issue (because obviously as a collector of ALL things, I haven’t been able to throw away my 20 years of back issues)."
Newsletter Q&A
Paul asked on the blog: I presume given your work rate, you overlap writing multiple projects? Do you have a set system for what hours you tackle which book or is it just whatever gets you to the deadline?
I basically work mornings and look after Sammy most afternoons, but this old blog I wrote gives you a general idea: What Do You Do All Day.In short I have ‘noodling’ for ideas of upcoming projects, writing an actual project, and then rewrites and editing, and then later on there comes the marketing. I can comfortably fit in a 5-10,000 word short story while doing some of the other non-writing stuff, but once in the full flow of a novel I try not to get too distracted. That said, to ensure a steady flow of work (and income) I need to have one project lined up nicely after another to avoid gaps in the cash flow…
If you want to ask a question, just reply to the newsletter and I'll get back to you as soon as my schedule allows. I haven't had time to do the Q&A yet this month, so you'll have to look out for that on the blog.
Kickstarter - Bruegelburg, A Day At The Fair
The fun Bruegelburg miniatures from Lead Adventures have been out for some time, and now they have launched a Kickstarter to expand the range. These would make a superb Open Combat warband or perhaps add a little variety to converted Free Guild for Age of Sigmar Skirmish.
"Somewhere in the rainy North, not too far from the coast of the Great Ocean, lies a bustling city state. Sitting on a crossroads of highways and rivers, it has become a major trade nexus for the continent.The dark of the Middle Ages has not yet fully vanished, and the light of the Renaissance does not yet reach all the shady spots found in the shadows of the great merchant houses. The name of this place: Bruegelburg."
The Kickstarter ends this weekend, so you'll need to get in quick.
Blog Round-Up
You can read my game report for Cthulhu Wars, and find out about Nine Worlds Geekfest 2017.
You can listen to my interview with The Imperial Truth, where we discuss my history with Games Workshop, Angels of Caliban and Lorgar.
There's also my second interview this month with Splintermind, a Dark Eldar podcast, where we discuss Aeldari lore, the nature of the Phoenix Lords, and my novel Jain Zar.
Upcoming Events
If you are coming to any of these events, do come and say hello.
I'm looking to demo Big Stompy Robots as much as I can over the next 12 months - if you have any suggestions for wargaming events I could attend, please let me know.
! Submissions Alert !
Luna Press Publishing is an independent UK Press, dealing with science fiction, fantasy and dark fantasy, in both fiction and academia.
They have just announced their next open submission week, for novels with a truly epic wordcount of approx. 200,000. You'll need to submit a two-page synopsis and character outline for round one, and the first chapter if you get through to round two. That doesn't mean you only have to have written the first chapter though - this is a serious opportunity for a fully completed novel.
Submission week is 5th-12th October, so you have some time to polish your manuscript and write a killer synopsis.
One of the most common questions I get asked is "What are you working on?", so here's my (sorry, sometimes cryptic) list of works in progress, plus future releases.
Hard Drive Hot List
- Frontier Worlds - Hostile Takeover (Snowbooks)
- The Journal (publisher to be announced)
- Ghost Warrior (Black Library)
- Ashes of Prospero (Black Library)
- Imperator: Wrath of the Omnissiah (Black Library)
- Strontium Dog (Warlord Games)
- Macragge's Thunder (TBA)
- Big Stompy Robots (Original Game)
- Sword In Ritual Splendor (Original Fiction)
- Rise of the Ynnari - Book Two (Black Library)
Bi-Monthly Competition
All subscribers to my mailing list are entered into the bi-monthly draw to win a personalised, signed copy of one of my books. The next winner will be picked in September, and will receive a signed copy of Ghost Warrior, book one in my Rise of the Ynnari series.
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