Across the Board

Good morning all. It is rather pleasant outside at just after 9 o'clock in the morning here in New Zealand, with some sort of roadworks happening just outside my window. Anyway, as it's so close to Christmas and New Years, I figured to do an update. Not that there has been much of one really, as work has been super busy and my writing has somewhat dwindled. Still haven't heard from the publisher you suggested I rework a piece and resubmit, but no news is good news. Right? Hope all is well with you though?

Things are slowly progressing here. While waiting to hear about my resubmission I have had been rather busy, which is a good thing.  Work has certainly picked up, especially with the self review coming up.  That had been easy this time round, and all the paperwork emailed to the appropriate people up north; with the parting words of "time to countdown the hours until the weekend", which were replied to with full blown agreement.  Being busy generally means no time to think about the little things in life that somehow continue to baffle me to this day. The last while has also seen me being busy over the weekends too, most recent being a parade from Dental School to the Octogan. You can read about it here .  I have also started research on a new premise, and have found a goldmine thanks in part to being connected to a friend of my friend and am now in dialog about certain information.  Then there are the collaborations.  One with my friend Nigel, which I need to get back in

I am super excited for two reasons; it's the weekend, and if that doesn't excite anyone than boohoo to you, and because of two writing projects that I am collaborating on. One of whom is done with my good pal Nigel, the author of Black Donald , and the other is with Sam. Okay, so Nigel and I had tried collaborating once but I had to pull out due to other commitments getting in the way. The good news is that Nigel has turned that stalled collaboration into an awesome novel, titled Honourbound and is to be the first in a series. Personally, I am looking forward to its release sometime in the new year, as I think it's one of his better works. Nigel is also working on a sequel to Black Donald . As Available at Amazon.com, Amazon UK and Smashwords to what we're collaborating about now, you ask? All I can say currently is that it is in the style of John G. Hemry and Ian Douglas , and centres on the fictional Royal Navy Strategic Space Vehicle Orion and her crew. T

One of my all time favourite independent authors, who writes predominantly scientifically factual fiction, wrote a blog post asking if Star Trek's days are done? With the mixed reactions to the two reboot films by J.J. Abrams, along with good sales (and a healthy nostolgia for the franchise), there are calls for another television series set in Star Trek universe. Steve says that . . . The stories featured adventures in strange lands, or places where strange phenomena required the best and brightest to solve and overcome.  The aliens they encountered were very clearly designed to be caricatures of existing foreign peoples, and conflicts with them closely resembled conflicts with certain countries with which Americans were very familiar.  And a great deal of the world-building involved a cold-war-esque threat of armageddon with those various other races. All of which was fine, for the late-twentieth century United States seeking to reconcile their position as world su

So I'm listening to Aqua while writing this blog, as am hoping to get into the groove to look over some edits for "With Prejudice"; a short novel of sorts within the speculative and spy/crime thriller genres. If you haven't heard of Aqua, then you're missing out. I know that some of my writing friends write to music, whether it be classical music to set the mood for the 1800s to the latest techno for a more futuristic settings. What about you, what do you listen too?

I just came across an online article from our local newspaper about the prospect of a test drill for oil and gas off the Otago coast, and that it could happen sometime in January next year.  The article could be found here . If the drill tests prove successful, and by the looks of things Anadarko is taking it seriously by investing over US$100 million into the project and ensuring that it filed the correct forms with the New Zealand Environmental Projection Authority (even though they don't have to), it would be an economic boost for the region. I know that there is a certain amount of opposition to the idea of drilling so close to our shores, considering the oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico back two years ago. Then again, oil spills tend to get bad press anyway. But surely we need the tests to be successful, and for Anadarko setting up offices here in Dunedin, because we need a return of industry. We have lost so much recently due to the Recession and globalisation, where

I am writing this more out of irritation than anything else, largely because I had to put down two ebooks and wonder why the heck I wasted money on them. Then I remembered, it was the pretty covers. When I was writing the early draft for Compromised , my friend Nigel had this tendency of hammering one thing the most; and that was to show, don't tell. I had a hard time doing just that in my early writing endeavours, as soon in Exit Strategy . He has a point, and one of those days I will ask him or one of my other writing buddies to guest post about it. For now, you're stuck with me. You see, a story is like a movie, largely because we - as humans - are very visual, at least from what I could ascertain. Perhaps that is why movie blockbusters are so attractive, and the current levels of CGI involved definitely help, as they are visual slug fests.The same goes for fiction. We're very visual in our approach to things, and most often then not it is simpler to show h

Go here .

When is enough really enough? I have been on a writing journey of late, one focusing on Gene Bukowski and his exploits. He had gone through multiple transformations as I tried to find the best fit for him since Vocal Minority. Last Sunday I had about enough. It was as if I was going in circles trying to write that perfect novel. The thing is, I have written one in Vocal Minority. Okay, so I have decided a tad later that the story felt a little flat and childish. Essentially I didn’t like it. Yet, my friends had suggested that I put it up anyway. I did, and is now a free download at Smashwords. Thing is, in my writing endeavours in trying to create the ultimate reading experience, I have forgotten the golden rule of writing: you write ultimately for yourself, and it took a bit of patience from a fellow writer and a frank and honest chat with two of my writing idols to hammer that home. This has been reinforced to me by my English teacher back at high school, and you know what..

The story is nearly finished, and sitting roughly just under 14,000 words. While I can imagine a few extra scenes added to the story, I doubt that it would be a novel length per say. Why so short, you ask? Without putting a finer point on it, because dragging it out wasn't working. The story is a precursor of sorts, where Gene Bukowski and his best friend are slowly incorporated into a clandestine arm of a multinational peacekeeping force akin to the International Security Assistance Force, if not itself but evolved into a bigger entity. More importantly I want this to be about Bukowski; the main character. It is nearly finished, and a cover is being created by an artist. Watch this space folks, but do so patiently.

In my current work in progress I want to do two things: Explore Gene Bukowski's past and the catalyst that had him decide to join the New Zealand Army, which was used as a springboard into the evolved fictional version of the ISAF . Give you a hint of one of the antagonists that Bukowski and friends will be facing. Admittedly, that's no easy task. When I first started the whole idea that has become Gene Bukowski in his current form, I never really figured why he joined the military in the first place. Sure, in Exit Strategy I gave off a pretty lame excuse that he went Army to peeve off his old man.Thinking about it now, the original idea wasn't that well thought through. In Oranges however, I can't just put in a throw away idea. It needs thinking through on what would motivate a sixteen-year old to start on a road that would make him not only a badass field operative, but the person he grows up to be. The other thing I need to consider is how do I go about

I have asked my friend Nigel, the guy behind the awesome book Black Donald , to step in and talk to you about a story I'm working on; as he is one of my beta readers. I think it's important to see what others think about a draft, as it gives you objectivity. Anyway, this is what he had to say...

Work is going to be understandably busy this week, and while I'm waiting to hear from the publisher and a couple of betas, I thought that I will focus on my main boy Gene Bukowski and his adventures as a member of an ultra secret special activities unit within a fictional version of the International Security Assistance Force set fifty to sixty years from now. The first of the series of novelettes and shorter novels, essentially mini-novels ranging between 10,000 to 30,000 words, is Compromised . Here we see a snapshot of Gene being sent in to investigate if a certain former surgeon has been compromised by the Russians. This will be followed by another short piece titled Backdoor Straight . Yet another snapshot, which is currently in draft form. This story features both Gene Bukowski and his best friend Tomasi 'Big Tee' Havili. Both have been sent to check on espionage being committed against the New Bata space elevator that is in the process of being commissio

So I went to see the new Vin Diesel movie, the sixth in the Fast and Furious franchise, last night with my brother. The basic premise being that Vin's character and his team of car racing buds were brought out of retirement to help put an end to another outfit skippered by a former SAS major-come-criminal master mind. Look, I'm a big fan of Vin Diesel and his work; with the Riddick franchise the other of my favourites. I can say that the movie delivered in the entertainment side of action, thrilling car stunts and some of the best one liners Tyrese Gipson. There will be seventh installment of the franchise, so yay... can't wait. On the good news though, Luke Evans was an awesome baddie.

As things go, my writing has been going all over the place lately. With my current submission, a Bukowski adventure by the name of With Prejudice , currently in the hands of a potential publisher, I have been spring cleaning my hard-drive and google drive. The end result was finding a perfectly good novella titled Oranges, a prelude to the Martian Independence War . The novella is one of my earlier works, having it written sometime back in 2011 and involves an old character from my early play-by-email phase (which hasn't really ended, please check out Dark Frontier ). Like the title suggests, it involves oranges and conflict. Oranges, a prelude to the Martian Independence War is currently in the hands of two beta readers. Then there is Compromised and Delta Virus . Both titles are set in the Bukowski universe, and am understandably taking a slight break, as I need to think where I want to go with him and the premise creatively. What started out as an experiment with

Considering the crappy weather, and my helpers actually snowed under, I figured that it be fun to do something different this afternoon after work finished. I randomly wrote "mermaids" into the google search engine and watched what happened. Okay, so I deliberately typed in the word. I could have done it with "dragon" or "yeti", or any other random word associated with mythology. Consequently, I came across a mockumantory called Mermaids: The Body Found . Okay, so they try and explain how mermaids may have come up, other than from the figment of some ancient mariner's imagination. Perhaps it was bound to happen. Mermaids had been part of folklore since the day some drunk sailor saw a manatee for the first time. In some cases, entire cities were founded upon a legend of a protective fish chick. Not that I'm ditching that. As legends go that is cool. "Why wouldn't we be mistaken for mermaids?" "Oh, I dunno bro, cause we'

It's Monday afternoon down in good old New Zealand as I write this post, about seven to two o'clock if you must know. For the last fifty minutes I have been staring at a google doc in an attempt to write a generic email as a template, and am writing this blog post instead. Yeah, ok... it is Monday afternoon and thereafter that means I ought to be working. Yes, true that. But I technically work part-time and from home. So there. Anyway, truth be told it'll be a while before this post will be written (considering it's just after half past two, and I just finished my second coffee for the day). Templates. All one has to do is just google the word "template" and you will have thousands of options, from business related forms for minute writing to what goes where in a quality manual. You can get templates on novel writing as well. Not that I'm against it of course. Templates and standardised forms are essential for any growing business. I am certain

What looks like an orange, but isn't really an orange? As questions go, that was pretty lame. But never mind. My friends tell me that I tend to ask stupid questions. To your right you'll see a cover stand in for Oranges: A Prelude to the Martian Independence War , a novella that was the result of reading too much Robert Heinlein, and having a very healthy love affair with science fiction as a whole. The story is about the prelude to war between Earth and her colonies on Mars. Okay, so it's a cliche premise but frankly so what... it's what I want to set this premise in. If all goes well, it should be available either through Smashwords and Amazon in the next month or so (unless I will try to submit it somewhere). Either way, I'll keep you all updated on which way I go.

I went to my old high school last night to see the Dunedin Sinfonia play for a couple of hours, which was nice. For one, it's great to see such organisations as the sinfonia put on a show in a more local setting (especially when said local setting was only two and a half blocks away). The pieces played were done by Mozart (namely Symphony No 35 and Haffner) and Beethoven (Symphony No 4) and a cute wee number with a harp by Handal, with a New Zealand piece featuring a clarinet soloist that... in my musically uneducated ears anyway... did nothing for me. What was your weekend like?

I want to talk to you about my progress on working With Prejudice , which is kind of related to Snapshot (which I haven't decided what to do with it just yet). Originally intended to be a direct sequel to Exit Strategy and Across the Board , this current work in progress is just that; a WIP. As I said to one of my friends in Seattle, it'll be a spiritual spinoff to Bukowski's little saga. It'll be near future, action packed and hopefully with a few twists and turns to keep the reader on the edge. Currently the initial draft is just over 67k words.

Current Project With the following tagline: A young reporter determined to prove herself, only to stumble onto a story that would further her career. A veteran operative, one of the best the Division has to offer, has been told to keep his head down. A snapshot of two people becoming reliant on one another. The current project is a spiritual offshoot of Special Projects. The protagonist is this premise is Jonathan Crowley, or Jack to his mates. A former New Zealand Special Air Service operator recruited into a clandestine branch of the multinational North Atlantic organisation. Right now am envisaging him more along the lines of a younger Michael Garibaldi from the Babylon 5 series. Why him I hear you ask? Well, I was a big fan of the series when I was younger. Plus I was impressed with how Jerry Doyle portrayed the character, and still am to this day. After all, there was a character that felt real and with his own unique set of problems. It is that that I'd

I think I was a little too quick in dismissing Bukowski. Or, more accurately the whole idea. When I wrote last time I was fed up with a few things going on, with a plotline not cooperating and generally giving me grief to a few projects misbehaving themselves at work. So yes, I think I was allowed to through a hissy fit. Am I really going to give up on Bukowski? Don't know. As I mentioned in my last post, he and I go way back. What I will say however is that I like the idea of clandestine agency answerable either to the UN or a multinational security alliance running about saving the world from itself, as I've been brought up on such movies as James Bond and series like the old Mission Impossible and the much newer NCIS, NCIS Los Angeles, Spooks, Water Rats and a few others. Not to mention books by the likes of Coonts, Clancy and a few others. I think Bukowski and the resulting Exit Strategy was a proof of concept that I can write something similar. Now to put it

Sergeant First Class Gene Bukowski and the United Nations Marshals Service, followed by the Special Projects branch of the United Nations Security Agency and now this... whatever this is. By far my greatest achievement To be honest I haven't got a clue. When I first started with Bukowski, I was relatively new to the idea of writing. Well, kind of. My first story that I've ever written from beginning to end involved ended up being published in my high school's end of year magazine. But it wasn't until I came across such awesome examples of story telling in my role-playing game via email that I wanted to actually write a story. That story had been Bukowski. In my attempt in writing my great masterpiece, that I was to unleash on a publisher who will instantly snatch it up and make me millions of dollars, I have dragged Bukowski through various incarnations and locales: from the tip of Olympus Mons, to the regolith deserts of Earth's moon and finally to Cahora

So the other day I wrote about going to seeing ballet, and absolutely loving every second of it. Last night I went to see a show being done by the City Choir Dunedin, called Nature's Bounty , at the Knox Church. The drawcard for me was that it was supported by the Southern Synthonia . There is something about an orchestra that lately seems to have an affect on me, and am slowly discovering the likes of Chopin and company. The other bonus was that it was held at Knox Church, one of the icons of Dunedin, dating back to 1859 and with a pretty impressive history in its own right. It's on the corner of Pitts and George Streets As a budding historian, I had always wanted to see the interior of the church but access to it is understandingly limited. So when family friends suggested we check out the choir's latest concert there I figured "why not?". So of we went. Interior of Knox Church Okay, let me start of with saying that Knox Church is pres

When I first started writing Bukowski's adventure, the setting and premise looked nothing like what you see in Exit Strategy . Yet, as with anything, the idea grew. Between feedback from writing friends Barb Caffrey , her late husband Michael, and the likes of N.M. Gillson to name just a few, I had been encouraged and pushed to do better. The novella had been available through Smashwords and Kobo, and Barnes & Noble if memory serves me correctly. Four stories had been sold, until I figured that it would be a good idea to just make the story and the accompanying vignetta serial as free downloads. Better to have a readership than zero sales, at least that is my belief. Once I figure out how to place my stuff on Amazon that may change, but am sticking with Smashwords for now because... well, it suits my purpose for now. But what is the bestest part right now, on this Easter Monday? I checked out Goodreads, where I have my story placed as well, and Kobo. I saw