Writing

Just a little update.

3000 words into my new work and it's going well.  As usual I've started with only a vague idea of where it's going and who/what the protagonists/antagonists are. But equally, as I'm writing ideas are springing up all over. It's starting to get wild.

Back with more later.

Immortal Clay by Michael W Lucas - a review

A while back I used to belong to a really tough critiquing group, SFFEditors. They are still going and as soon as I have enough material together I'll be going back to knock the shit out of my next novel.

There are some great writers there, and one of them, Michael W Lucas has just released his first novel, Immortal Clay.

Here's my short review...

Michael W Lucas has crafted one hell of a ride. Immortal Clay is SF, horror, Stephen King small town America, and twisted New Weird - but most of all, it’s great entertainment.

In a world invaded by an alien entity known as Absolute, Kevin Holtzmann, or what used to be Holtzmann, tries to understand what has happened and more importantly, how he and the few people allowed a second chance fit into the new order.
The alien and craziness of Lucas’s ideas would fit neatly into the New Weird pages of Interzone and Black Static. His imagination takes you to places at once bizarre and frightening. It's made all the more scary because he manages to evoke the everyday setting of small town America in loving detail. Lucas has a nice economic style and his description is first rate, sometimes stunning.

There were a couple of things that detracted - in a few places, a tendency for too much internal dialogue interrupted flow, and I was frustrated by the ending.  That said, there’s scope for a sequel and I’ll be keeping my eye out for it. Well, worth a read. Recommended.

The novel is fast paced and real page turner.

Now, I know what you are thinking. They were in the same crit group, they're friends, blah, blah, blah...

Well, Michael Lucas would be the first to admit that we didn't always see eye-to-eye on things and to be honest, when I started to read Immotal clay I wasn't sure I'd enjoy it.  But you need to give things a chance right? And boy am I glad I did; I'll be able to say I was there when it all started, I read his first book.

Treat yourselves and grab a copy.

http://www.amazon.com/Immortal-Science-Fiction-Alien-Invasion-ebook/dp/B00P8ACXDO/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_img_1#_

A funny thing happened on the way to my next novel...

So, I'm writing my next novel, Refugium. It's going well and at 12k I'm feeling pretty good, then I hit a bump, not a just a bump, but a bang and it derails me.  What to do?

You'll here authors tell you that you should work through problems, write past the awkward section and it will come together, not necessarily then, but later in rewrites, editing as so on. It's a sound plan that I'd go along with, but something was niggling away at the back of my mind. I'd try something different.

So, here I am, 20 thousand words into another project, The Narrows.  It's a multi-genre novel, blending fantasy, Sf and steampunk. A quest, artificlial worlds and galactic revelations.  And it's coming along better than I'd expected.

I've not lost Refugium. It's still waiting patiently for me to return and perhaps one day I will.  For now though, The Narrows has my full attention until it's finished. Hopefully around September 2014, when I'll start work-shopping it before submitting to major publishers.

I'll post some content later, as the project gains momentum.