tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40895908581092117632024-02-19T04:57:57.950+00:00Adventures in writingThe blog of Jacob Prytherch.Jacob Prytherchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01931309523182492269noreply@blogger.comBlogger82125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089590858109211763.post-76324178962645799372023-04-26T05:43:00.005+01:002023-04-26T05:53:22.447+01:00Abscission moves closer to release<p> <span style="font-family: courier;">Abscission is getting a lot closer to release, with a Steam pre-release page and new demo, and also a trailer. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wi75C8xo60w<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: courier;">https://store.steampowered.com/app/2392160/Abscission/<br /></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNaEmeUdY0_pcKOg29FnKei-Qxm788U3L5jtPHn66ytr6F_oEXuvHf1Pya49GkyLndpS1DYfnSbaC2bmztaDdcLOvxTzrCBEurjyqNNqLau_ZeXeSZaj3bPI-WVgidA0AjLPjdTvYiquMX1cNtlEianF4YMvKYokxPwPgb2CpQ-iiovhDyp4gYhB1fcw/s640/Screenshot%201.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvCg2ZdYiNIj1je9bNxmnfkheKbzCfUSplasQbuWfQqyw6Zyr3skMKuLY1Zvq9iELzs65ugYwtM-HLnNLqF39kpKmuHE1TBONHEpUDmpmlq3GU2geeaQIGSNTMCTfJQPQSEv5OZ02tf9WG/s1596/5.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1596" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvCg2ZdYiNIj1je9bNxmnfkheKbzCfUSplasQbuWfQqyw6Zyr3skMKuLY1Zvq9iELzs65ugYwtM-HLnNLqF39kpKmuHE1TBONHEpUDmpmlq3GU2geeaQIGSNTMCTfJQPQSEv5OZ02tf9WG/s640/5.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKw_F_4pcHCXcBRFkkFoZsvBMdAQPL2-VJhPBw-HbNnrUAeStXc9zHWpAEkXbS9T2AwzGw6HiighD6Ys1xBLppCJ3oFzjc13CtpYGJZaUmBwnRsLOLO4y47xLNy4LfrJAsWrke5riaaoc1/s1606/1.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1606" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKw_F_4pcHCXcBRFkkFoZsvBMdAQPL2-VJhPBw-HbNnrUAeStXc9zHWpAEkXbS9T2AwzGw6HiighD6Ys1xBLppCJ3oFzjc13CtpYGJZaUmBwnRsLOLO4y47xLNy4LfrJAsWrke5riaaoc1/s640/1.png" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; 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text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiudBJtjfs_DrsPcihJHx0cfNZlz3xpHHHfJY4BEJ27PsZYDw1TkvlI-u7GUyArcV5zRZ764PfniiO7t6Pn4TmbvuL9N5gYQeh36nQHfgf6EbRNApJLMMwOoJ46QLvpB3nI_bKZSWjxx8HP/s1593/4.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="999" data-original-width="1593" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiudBJtjfs_DrsPcihJHx0cfNZlz3xpHHHfJY4BEJ27PsZYDw1TkvlI-u7GUyArcV5zRZ764PfniiO7t6Pn4TmbvuL9N5gYQeh36nQHfgf6EbRNApJLMMwOoJ46QLvpB3nI_bKZSWjxx8HP/s640/4.png" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: courier;"><br /></span><p></p>Jacob Prytherchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01931309523182492269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089590858109211763.post-85569617671435236662020-05-30T09:21:00.004+01:002020-05-30T09:21:42.956+01:00A Small Update<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_sPwqV3PuxvmtjBP9NCvmbN7P2b3a0s_cnlvXs2186R1li7QLWskxV3fNKbzBLn6GuKhZ5EQ9Np1Onu-gzs0qrhktncb4nDrdnZaZa8nZCCDdlrBKBEFY5z8_M_B81iJeqrxRRPl3b0UL/s1600/Untitled.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1007" data-original-width="1600" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_sPwqV3PuxvmtjBP9NCvmbN7P2b3a0s_cnlvXs2186R1li7QLWskxV3fNKbzBLn6GuKhZ5EQ9Np1Onu-gzs0qrhktncb4nDrdnZaZa8nZCCDdlrBKBEFY5z8_M_B81iJeqrxRRPl3b0UL/s320/Untitled.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Abscission is coming along nicely. I have started to add new features, such as:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Comic style portraits for all characters (including changing emotions, blinking, etc)...</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkUvwJbntBvem4XF35WT0dDa6PkrnCP8pv4seOug_q8fItv7WdOWAiogbtQh5GTzyLzKFhMxguzivreKLwLdcrzKLSFDA2pgKEWjMIUFm6jka_Hj0Ug7oZRfMzBjdliSFvpkyppaYgspd9/s1600/Example2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="993" data-original-width="1599" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkUvwJbntBvem4XF35WT0dDa6PkrnCP8pv4seOug_q8fItv7WdOWAiogbtQh5GTzyLzKFhMxguzivreKLwLdcrzKLSFDA2pgKEWjMIUFm6jka_Hj0Ug7oZRfMzBjdliSFvpkyppaYgspd9/s320/Example2.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEOdgDk4ojQXwjT7BmndvsSRYs_JxSA6Nq0_ugN7MiyaGheKI30cfqb_XzKQKuUF2XNrZ6XQcCG8UuydlaL6qcLJcmT4nBANFpE5t72qrlgjIq5E3xLDVbQap4UmKurDusu1t-FQ8-Iv2r/s1600/Example+7.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="994" data-original-width="1600" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEOdgDk4ojQXwjT7BmndvsSRYs_JxSA6Nq0_ugN7MiyaGheKI30cfqb_XzKQKuUF2XNrZ6XQcCG8UuydlaL6qcLJcmT4nBANFpE5t72qrlgjIq5E3xLDVbQap4UmKurDusu1t-FQ8-Iv2r/s320/Example+7.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMqgCsAlq13BFkaIPFKxxAE9CEmrPjRtCn1JASwfqaDBdnYpYZqRyLbHAmqxZd543l-y0aA3qoi6YR1XQHUNWSytj3sSp9w6kUGXjNlBCIByzJCGCNVp1u9ryn0m2h_LuCLjoqzHJEE7aT/s1600/Example3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="992" data-original-width="1593" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMqgCsAlq13BFkaIPFKxxAE9CEmrPjRtCn1JASwfqaDBdnYpYZqRyLbHAmqxZd543l-y0aA3qoi6YR1XQHUNWSytj3sSp9w6kUGXjNlBCIByzJCGCNVp1u9ryn0m2h_LuCLjoqzHJEE7aT/s320/Example3.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">A map for navigation (with locations opening up when clues or connections are found)...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi845lrMOmNN5K4Kc_eV3pVYINMdGTWWUjPYguzmVXgso3sopBiCUbFlGuP_X14Ae5Z_8LdVQkyZtxYvQtdjvF78f4IcKvxCU8CK1CqIfaPybv93Kf3Ex5drCJMl0TZxKQxDtCvPBO90b3w/s1600/Example+6.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="998" data-original-width="1593" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi845lrMOmNN5K4Kc_eV3pVYINMdGTWWUjPYguzmVXgso3sopBiCUbFlGuP_X14Ae5Z_8LdVQkyZtxYvQtdjvF78f4IcKvxCU8CK1CqIfaPybv93Kf3Ex5drCJMl0TZxKQxDtCvPBO90b3w/s320/Example+6.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">Cutscenes...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzRt50iRvvfyOILa91bnceKMIlODkDivADntcGE3NjQu_fUoLRIwefHRdIeL45U3cADDkjyJcAkdWKjLMIjk0DuxBQQitMCwBdkwryHIgU09L7NHnMaL7yBxavIvt2T0XL6IkJaNWV3Ece/s1600/Exampl4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzRt50iRvvfyOILa91bnceKMIlODkDivADntcGE3NjQu_fUoLRIwefHRdIeL45U3cADDkjyJcAkdWKjLMIjk0DuxBQQitMCwBdkwryHIgU09L7NHnMaL7yBxavIvt2T0XL6IkJaNWV3Ece/s320/Exampl4.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">And a few other elements, such as
classic late 80's cell phone to call up other characters, a computer
parser system to use for searching for clues, a journal system to keep
track of story points, and also some surrounding lore and immersive
elements (such as TV news, etc) that will make the world richer.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh289R2z5_DtwPpIx2BTa4422kJRTNrNtm1uL36X7vxdJcvRUSqyPtNR8t2IhDqQM_JCCYqa3c0Jm3d3Hxc1LkmcQtnA-nYAIvS0YkvrLHrehvM5AS-jw7pba_najqMrc60k3c8Duv5BoTs/s1600/Exampl5.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="999" data-original-width="1596" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh289R2z5_DtwPpIx2BTa4422kJRTNrNtm1uL36X7vxdJcvRUSqyPtNR8t2IhDqQM_JCCYqa3c0Jm3d3Hxc1LkmcQtnA-nYAIvS0YkvrLHrehvM5AS-jw7pba_najqMrc60k3c8Duv5BoTs/s320/Exampl5.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8jQKfzQXv-hy6F_4yLPbNcMAjwb-2OJp82mewVNzj3xfe6P0isJyPxF3rjacN_OlrdcwhieW5UmtNJESzDzWNkG7TXkq9okw_cOzv7Pks_37o5r-7qkOkBDWUde9e4FmLg6N6gIyCaMs8/s1600/Example+8.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="990" data-original-width="1596" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8jQKfzQXv-hy6F_4yLPbNcMAjwb-2OJp82mewVNzj3xfe6P0isJyPxF3rjacN_OlrdcwhieW5UmtNJESzDzWNkG7TXkq9okw_cOzv7Pks_37o5r-7qkOkBDWUde9e4FmLg6N6gIyCaMs8/s320/Example+8.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace;">It's great fun to do something new!</span></div>
Jacob Prytherchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01931309523182492269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089590858109211763.post-66348734242006928662020-05-17T08:19:00.002+01:002020-05-17T08:20:02.125+01:00A New Venture - Abscission<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">After a while of moving between different writing projects (including some scenarios and campaigns for Call of Cthulhu, which may or may not see some form of publication) I have found myself doing something that I always wanted to do...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil9D6K5qmQCCpaYfG2P_EtxislrVuqATAUW6HxIMerEzOJK2FNMO-RAjySZLBGyjsr2vyf17t7hANpDBykUz4Aodcj88r3mrkF8MU1R32m4IEP_6uLgE3UZXoyShnZMxIFwe5eoFYLCcbz/s1600/Example1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="999" data-original-width="1595" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil9D6K5qmQCCpaYfG2P_EtxislrVuqATAUW6HxIMerEzOJK2FNMO-RAjySZLBGyjsr2vyf17t7hANpDBykUz4Aodcj88r3mrkF8MU1R32m4IEP_6uLgE3UZXoyShnZMxIFwe5eoFYLCcbz/s400/Example1.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I'm making a point and click adventure game!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The first game I can remember playing as a kid was Monkey Island 2, on 14 or so floppy disks, on an Amiga at some weird kid's house (I can't remember him, but I can remember the game). It gave me the adventure game bug and I have played them all my life.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I'm using Adventure Game Studio to create it, a fantastic piece of FREE software (available <a href="https://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/" target="_blank">here</a>) that (unknown to me until a couple of weeks ago) sits behind some fantastic games (such as Technobabylon - available <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/307580/Technobabylon/" target="_blank">here</a> at Steam). It has a pretty steep learning curve, especially since I have never really created any pixel art or done any programming, but I'm enjoying the challenge.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSXcy2G8qT1uLQBjaJ_ddUzH0XdPRfsbnx6h8i8sqT-KaL-6he_apn1KMYeHZXezhaS_fzxHXSg6tB_dSYLarIvW0igWtz7Pwar8g_hzkPqLsnnbsZ9V9JyMncIXhDhRLKR_85nSxXoaVT/s1600/Example2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="707" data-original-width="1011" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSXcy2G8qT1uLQBjaJ_ddUzH0XdPRfsbnx6h8i8sqT-KaL-6he_apn1KMYeHZXezhaS_fzxHXSg6tB_dSYLarIvW0igWtz7Pwar8g_hzkPqLsnnbsZ9V9JyMncIXhDhRLKR_85nSxXoaVT/s400/Example2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Abscission is a horror mystery at heart, telling the story of Detective Bill Stanhope, as he investigates the murder of Serina Challinor.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpyY8-osIKmG8tyHW1LeUMs40IDc3T-4hX9m25-Ly0iREtp8OrTSpoj1mccO59DRNlkQVwJRZAM4Y_CpywnW1CyZ0CK3re_D6j_CTnWdHlMtsaO8rh-LzWJd_gtFbnPcTDHoKM3ZouAWLC/s1600/Example3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="796" data-original-width="1305" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpyY8-osIKmG8tyHW1LeUMs40IDc3T-4hX9m25-Ly0iREtp8OrTSpoj1mccO59DRNlkQVwJRZAM4Y_CpywnW1CyZ0CK3re_D6j_CTnWdHlMtsaO8rh-LzWJd_gtFbnPcTDHoKM3ZouAWLC/s400/Example3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">It's a relatively mature affair, so will probably be 16+ or 18+ in the end.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBoaYBt99v37uztB-1CtpVbtn2L7YXfxYqrsm2cpDxY7a3CT05yBhO1AatRZvDUlIJANQvxNiGxQ9DGvgnhdGj36YrVL_4mICvOHrg-TUe5gjYe_OFgUSXVFbRoeMxUaXMhKu4c8ggbzXf/s1600/Example4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="997" data-original-width="1600" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBoaYBt99v37uztB-1CtpVbtn2L7YXfxYqrsm2cpDxY7a3CT05yBhO1AatRZvDUlIJANQvxNiGxQ9DGvgnhdGj36YrVL_4mICvOHrg-TUe5gjYe_OFgUSXVFbRoeMxUaXMhKu4c8ggbzXf/s400/Example4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">As it stands, the plot is fully outlined (though subject to change as I add more creepiness) and I have some rather ambitious ideas for story progression and a journal system, which may or may not happen depending on my ability to work out coding.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Anyway, will post more as it develops. I have no idea how I will release it in the future, but it will be released, somehow, like an odd pixelated kraken.</span><br />
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Jacob Prytherchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01931309523182492269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089590858109211763.post-12422383399202459472017-08-03T05:46:00.000+01:002017-08-03T05:46:15.874+01:00An Unnoticed Year Off<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Without intending it, I've had around a year off from being an indie author, or maybe even more. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Don't get me wrong, I have been writing (a novel, a few short stories and an extensive novel plan), and a couple of stories have been published ('Worm' in A Haunting of Words, 'Little Boy' in This Twisted Earth) but I haven't been promoting anything, or pushing anything. Part of this apathy was down to other aspects of my life taking over, and part of it was due to the fact that I enjoy the process of writing far more than trying to sell it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">The bottom has well and truly fallen out of the kindle market for indie authors. The market is flooded, and eBooks seem to have had their moment in the sun. Hipsters are buying proper small-batch books on vellum to peruse on floating tea-houses while puffing on their artisan vape pipes*. With that in mind I partially threw in the towel, and consequently enjoyed the writing far more. I felt no need to sell, as there was no money to be had. I could just try and write a good story. I did feel one regret though. One of the joys of trying to get a solid career in writing is getting to know all the other suckers in the same boat. I've got to know some truly lovely people over the last five years since I published The Binary Man, and that stalled recently. So I'm going to get back on the networking, and post a lot more, but not in the vein of "BUY MY BOOK!" but rather commenting on books I've read, or other bits and bobbins that relate to my tastes of dystopia, sci fi, fantasy, horror, and coffee. It's an easy trap to fall into when you really want your books out there, but it's hollow and hackneyed and jive.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">So onwards and upwards! Here's to a great 2017. (Yes, I know it's more than half way over but I've been tired). Also here's a picture my daughter drew because I love it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">*may be an exaggeration </span></div>
Jacob Prytherchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01931309523182492269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089590858109211763.post-54147248135450219322017-05-10T15:55:00.000+01:002017-05-10T15:56:33.585+01:00Hidden Productivity<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I know I haven't posted anything for a VERY long time, but believe me, I have definitely been working.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Since the last post I have finished my first fantasy novel, delved about a quarter of a way into its sequel, worked on another long term Lovecraftian sci-fi project (which will take some years to sort out), done some very in depth planning on another more classic horror novel (the details of which I may or may not reveal one day), had two short stories accepted into anthologies (A Town Called Hell and A Haunting Of Words), and am working on finishing another short story to submit to the sequel to This Twisted Earth. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The reason I haven't posted any updates is mainly due to finding my feet through a bit of a rocky time personally, but the worst seems behind me and the storm has turned into occasionally rainy weather with long bright spells prevailing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">The reason I haven't published the finished fantasy novel (despite having all the layout and editing done) is because I think that it is definitely solid enough for trad publishing, so I'm going to work on the rest in the series (potentially five books) while submitting the first and hoping that someone will give it a shot. It's a bit different to the normal fantasy fare in many ways, but hopefully that will be seen as a positive.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I'll try and post something before another eight months goes by...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Much love.</span>Jacob Prytherchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01931309523182492269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089590858109211763.post-25055192079021162462016-09-24T11:16:00.000+01:002016-09-24T11:16:43.247+01:00This Twisted Earth<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I'm not quite sure how to start this post so I'm just going to dive in. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Hooray!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Today sees the launch of This Twisted Earth at FantasyCon-by-the-sea. The book is a shared-concept anthology devised and edited by Dion Winton-Polak and featuring stories by (among others) myself, Mike Chinn, Jess Nevins, and Adrian Tchaikovsky. Yes, that Adrian Tchaikovsky, winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award for his novel Children Of Time. Now, I know that I should be using this blog and site to promote myself, but this guy is solid gold. Find his books, buy them and read them. You won't regret it. I'm just happy to be crammed into a book with him! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I had a blast writing my story for the anthology (titled Little Boy) and I hope the book does as well as it deserves to. I've only read a couple of the other stories so far but they were fantastic, and I can't wait to read the rest when I receive my paperback (and hardback) editions.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">You can pick up a copy from here:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01K7LIU08</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K7LIU08</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">To celebrate the launch (as I sadly can't be there) I'm giving away The Binary Man, former UK #1 cyberpunk bestseller for <b>free</b> on Kindle for the next five days (24/9 - 28/9). Pick up a copy at:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">UK: </span><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00857DL5G</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">US:</span><span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00857DL5G</span></span></div>
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Jacob Prytherchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01931309523182492269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089590858109211763.post-56080549395550397902016-04-15T16:43:00.001+01:002016-04-15T16:43:19.952+01:00A New Career In A New Town<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Well not quite a new career, but a new aspect to my career.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">My first two books for children are now available on Amazon - The Wonderful Tale of Giraffe the Giraffe (who was also a superhero), and The Wonderful Tale of Billy the Lion (who was a little bit afraid of the dark). Whilst not officially being a series yet (can you have a series of two? Isn't that a diptych?) I am hoping that I can add to the Wonderful Tales series in the future, to attract some lucrative benevolent publisher to my wares.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">So far they've been very well received (at least I hope so, I'm still waiting for the reviews to come in). They were great fun to write and draw, and the writing process didn't carry the lingering sense of unease that often sits at the back of my skull as I'm writing horror.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I have a few ideas for future books, including a longer story for slightly older children that can incorporate black and white ink illustrations, but for the moment I have another project that I'm trying to nail down within the next six to eight weeks.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">You can pick up a copy or five of my children's books below!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">The Wonderful Tale of Giraffe the Giraffe (who was also a superhero)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">UK: </span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1523387521</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1523387521</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">The Wonderful Tale of Billy the Lion (who was a little bit afraid of the dark)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">UK: </span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1530659183</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1530659183</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Enjoy your April!</span>Jacob Prytherchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01931309523182492269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089590858109211763.post-50889281562547552082016-03-16T04:23:00.000+00:002016-03-17T06:44:20.657+00:00The Giraffe Lives!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">It's alive!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">My first book for children, <b>The wonderful tale of Giraffe the giraffe (who was also a superhero</b>) is now available from Amazon! It's only available in paperback because, you know, why Kindle?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1523387521</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">US: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1523387521</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I'm also at the painting stage of my second book for children, <b>The wonderful tale of Billy the lion (who was a little bit afraid of the dark</b>) before I get to the juice of writing it. As kiddy books are new to me it would be interesting to know if others write the story first or do the illustrations, but I found that I came up with ideas whilst drawing that then added to the story, so I enjoyed working that way around. It's just a working title at the moment as I haven't decided if I want to continue after this second book, creating a 'Wonderful Tales' series. It would be a good way to sub-divide my children's books from my other novels as I could do a standalone site. This will be mulled over.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">So until the second book is done I will leave this here, separate but not separate, a ghost of a giraffe haunting my other books...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">In other news, the writing is good right now and I'm making big steps towards my set of goals for 2016, stopping only to get a short story done for a particularly interesting anthology. Whether it's accepted or not is a different matter but it's a fun exercise.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Enjoy your day!</span><br />
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Jacob Prytherchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01931309523182492269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089590858109211763.post-4840713433085936572016-01-13T11:48:00.001+00:002016-01-13T11:51:35.564+00:00Looking forward<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I had thought about looking back at 2015, but for one reason or <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="0231b0c2-0ed2-4d6b-9a9b-016570fa4014" id="078867e4-65c6-4e87-ba51-d14ff99dc88b"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="c223d1ea-4380-43b3-b9e8-d529d5c23c22" id="38ce0db4-fa2d-4d79-813f-a0eac6b8e6b4"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="ce1a2bdc-c50e-4bfc-8eca-e98c63fd7f07" id="f27095e2-d889-4c6a-89e7-73a9f8eba5e1">other</gs></gs></gs> it wasn't my best in writing. I got a lot done, but I didn't get a lot finished, with A Fresh Start as my only release. I hope that the reason for the low production rate was that I became more discerning - as opposed to becoming <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="311ecd1b-edbc-4969-be76-aabf59e1ed82" id="5cdb020b-7129-4efb-90de-db1438b38143"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="0098fb33-200c-418f-8cce-17ba8b0dcf15" id="068582a6-2707-4c09-9d71-f72c19cd69d6">paralysed</gs></gs> by self-<gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="311ecd1b-edbc-4969-be76-aabf59e1ed82" id="b63f7372-9d8c-4281-bd6a-4337624dec29"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="0098fb33-200c-418f-8cce-17ba8b0dcf15" id="565306db-dcc1-4be4-b718-4b359b01922b">criticim</gs></gs> - but only time (and eventual reviews) will tell. At the start of 2015 I created a list of 10 - 15 projects that I wanted to finish, and it was far too many. I did some <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="6c62e342-72cc-433d-b3f4-599ea003c920" id="44589d19-56f4-42ca-82d9-380635879ec2"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="eb59d656-91b6-49c0-9f4f-ff30bbe4a535" id="90728ecb-8411-489d-b3d2-dfc92e89df5a"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="0bfcd8bb-ed55-4497-9bda-fa6b8d8bb709" id="bab855cd-0d5a-48b2-87c0-a2dc814986ae">on</gs></gs></gs> all of them, and even finished 90% of a novel only to decide that the premise was flawed and... <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="8a06cb9e-c9e4-4481-8880-b900fd9174e0" id="f0702491-68b3-431e-b2c3-1ea5886f37be"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="022227b4-273f-4200-9798-69cd98bb792b" id="b95f0976-5bb0-4aeb-b71b-16dd90712dce"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="c8fcaa12-68af-40cf-a645-6b6d622628be" id="471a9ebc-20fd-4707-9cc4-a8bacd8fe5cf">well</gs></gs></gs>... <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="6641abc0-007b-4f3b-98a7-788f24205f46" id="83cceb87-6534-4df0-9eac-86f93a110605"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="a7d34321-8ae1-45e3-a487-9ffb574f21f8" id="94c3b66e-d85d-48c0-bc18-0ee2cf2802ae"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="1ab61074-1abf-4c2d-8c14-1ad7879ab115" id="96b03335-6c13-4c6f-9653-bc17e8f55270">a</gs></gs></gs> bit dull. It lacked humanity, and believable motive. If I'd written it a few years ago I might have put it out, and it might have done ok (I've read worse stuff, and I'm happy with the setting and some of the characters) but I have to be better now, otherwise there really isn't any point. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">It's all about progress!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">This year I have set myself a goal of six projects, one of which is days away from being finished - The Wonderful Tale Of Giraffe The Giraffe (Who Was Also A Superhero).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">It isn't horror or <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="f97c487d-4316-4127-a7a5-07f039c6287c" id="522d1ed9-5a02-459b-a719-73035dbcbe17"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="2612c6e0-dd50-407e-b309-fbe5f6049c03" id="d46526c6-280f-4862-9003-33ddb15650a0"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="ee9cce90-0eb7-4936-a5d3-9b89bcccda63" id="2371a9ca-b865-4e95-a662-defd5a2819ed">sci</gs></gs></gs> <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="f97c487d-4316-4127-a7a5-07f039c6287c" id="a1a0e05b-7835-451f-b25f-92186474f4ce"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="2612c6e0-dd50-407e-b309-fbe5f6049c03" id="fb506283-16c1-4c37-8022-9b59680da680"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="ee9cce90-0eb7-4936-a5d3-9b89bcccda63" id="86df8f89-d946-4a3b-a12c-031f142a4aa5">fi</gs></gs></gs>, sorry.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I wrote and illustrated it as a gift for my four year old daughter, and will do the same for my six year old in the next few weeks. I may have to create a sub-section in this site for it if it's worth selling. We'll see. It was definitely great fun to do!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I'll try to become a bit more regular with the blog posts too. I'll take some word <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="fdc2954f-567e-4dec-a52e-8dfe2eb19f6f" id="86ebbaef-6b61-4d1e-bafc-404dceb78bd4"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="36d3c043-5032-4283-8ebf-c67852d67eac" id="d0947786-41f8-461a-8fb1-98b8aac5a305"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="8c6134b0-b905-407c-9523-30251c65deab" id="79e0d2ce-8397-4ea1-8773-ba57471fb652">fibre</gs></gs></gs>, or something.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Onwards!</span></div>
Jacob Prytherchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01931309523182492269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089590858109211763.post-25995000890778374142015-09-25T05:33:00.004+01:002015-09-25T05:33:53.354+01:00The morning after the promo before.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpz1jk9pwVyTI5Mgf7RiqHU5PFX37eaeJQRFYvnqip1MAM1e0Jwe1W9Z56oLFUSEvDmB0FIaNpeqKKDtk_xhfmIlogM1UDDP1GOM0uS6AoZQ8452MUqFw4Nu2-5UYq4Q4pgFQXrHwE9OWg/s1600/jhgjhg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpz1jk9pwVyTI5Mgf7RiqHU5PFX37eaeJQRFYvnqip1MAM1e0Jwe1W9Z56oLFUSEvDmB0FIaNpeqKKDtk_xhfmIlogM1UDDP1GOM0uS6AoZQ8452MUqFw4Nu2-5UYq4Q4pgFQXrHwE9OWg/s320/jhgjhg.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">So did it work?</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">After running my first paid promo of my writing career, the results are bittersweet (well, mostly sweet but I'm a natural pessimist).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I made my cash back after the first day, and had my highest day of paid sales. The downside? Sales dropped off significantly in the second day (showing that Amazon rankings do a lot less for sales than they used to). I also remember the Binary Man getting a lot higher in the bestseller lists three years ago with significantly less sales. This tells me that it's getting a lot harder to stand out in the over-saturated Kindle market. </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I'm at least hoping to get a few more reviews from my sales (freebie book readers don't tend to review from my experience). </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Would I do it again? Yes, maybe with another book to see the results in a different genre.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">On the writing side (far more interesting to me than promotion) I am very close to completing my first draft of The Devil Has Dry Feet, and have finally reached the stage where the characters are fleshed out enough in my mind to drive the story on by themselves, which is the best part of the writing process. Every session at the keyboard throws up scenes that I hadn't planned and creates a much richer narrative. After it's <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="c224f1f9-53c7-4a83-8efe-d94f70b63126" id="7b2bb97d-7d89-47fc-84f9-9fa193633e62"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="c224f1f9-53c7-4a83-8efe-d94f70b63126" id="22667899-e4fd-494c-9f32-fa8eaf52f1cf">done I</gs></gs>'m going to try and let it sit for a couple of <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="c224f1f9-53c7-4a83-8efe-d94f70b63126" id="aca0e24b-fb74-4f4d-8c24-e14471eb20b3"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="c224f1f9-53c7-4a83-8efe-d94f70b63126" id="ac45c0d5-be18-46c3-baa9-b255b20f30b4">weeks so</gs></gs> I can draft it with less familiar eyes, whilst working on a couple of other things</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">And finally, if you've read one of my stories, please review it on Amazon (my selling platform of choice). I can't stress enough how helpful each and every bit of criticism and praise is, not just for sales but also for nudging me in the right direction.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Have a nice day!</span></div>
Jacob Prytherchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01931309523182492269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089590858109211763.post-63935744330406481552015-08-17T04:50:00.000+01:002015-08-17T05:22:06.579+01:00The End<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0m5IufTGqZ9Nr4fn0pxgY91d82ZXz3D8Jixsz8LgWZ8okuCMw6UYwLlcLM_BaqPrzTw60kZ9LeHIyjNvOuV3-0EVQmbc1cbkgsqDwPeiAfkoCaj-mIyLkZx50UVaHhsXbz9T4u_iDeq9i/s1600/55AF51EA3B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0m5IufTGqZ9Nr4fn0pxgY91d82ZXz3D8Jixsz8LgWZ8okuCMw6UYwLlcLM_BaqPrzTw60kZ9LeHIyjNvOuV3-0EVQmbc1cbkgsqDwPeiAfkoCaj-mIyLkZx50UVaHhsXbz9T4u_iDeq9i/s320/55AF51EA3B.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">- Imagine a typewriter with changeable font size! -</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace; font-size: large;">The End</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Ok, the title is a little misleading. I'm not really ending anything (least of all writing... <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="ba8dd494-2353-4120-b31c-aa3b427c8825" id="f6593df0-5904-4980-83c4-765312484888"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="659c0db6-772d-4987-96a8-ce418847fafd" id="00915345-2774-4b07-953f-adde0a6c877a">actually</gs></gs> least of all overeating, but that's another story) I'm actually beginning something.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">When I first self published The Binary Man in 2012 I gave myself the task of having a writing career without any cost to myself, be it <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="1eb82fdc-839e-4c92-88cf-1a62a59a01b7" id="92df68cd-c754-4cb7-8050-73ba3395eda9"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="70edce02-5c80-4d79-97f0-98dbf7f3a17f" id="e7b911c4-01a0-4ac4-977d-317334c6c619">on</gs></gs> production or promotion. So far I have succeeded, but at a cost (ironically) to my visibility. Due to time constraints, I can't spend as much time on spreading myself through social media as I'd want, and consequently I've not really had much of an impact on the <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="b1456779-4edc-4377-b390-cf3e8bb02c62" id="03600fba-b16f-4995-9ac3-8fcbbf8d3999"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="badfa749-946d-4c5b-a1e7-c9d79a773924" id="e860402a-afb4-4f5c-9f11-30ac336cb089">fantabulous</gs></gs> world of books.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Blogger is telling me that <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="a44a6484-bf45-441b-b52b-3332f09a3584" id="b83e251a-12ca-4746-9808-a8e58043f469"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="cb7f0f2a-588c-4944-a641-7ad1002114ba" id="bafcbe7c-a58f-46dc-9a68-b2ddf37456b6">fantabulous</gs></gs> isn't a word, but I'm ignoring it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I haven't garnered many bad reviews, which is nice, but my books are hard to find, which isn't. So it's time to bite the bullet and put some of my royalties back into my writing. I'll (hopefully) be running a paid for promotion in the near future to test the waters, starting small (due to innate caution) with The Binary Man. Let's see if we can't crank this writing game up a notch.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">In other news, The Devil Has Dry Feet continues to barrel onwards towards first draft completion, after which I'll spread it around some beta readers. While I'm waiting for that to be read and commented on, I'm going to either knock out a short story (I love those little <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="0c94af62-3d5e-4163-9197-b7ed3d9fe33c" id="aa3abe30-e750-46d5-b613-34846a81f0fc"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="049371c9-31d7-43cb-aecd-fea8ae430e31" id="63c634df-8630-4df4-8312-37c58d1796d0">fellas</gs></gs>) or get right on with one of the two books that have been gnawing away at the back of my mind like brain rats, forcing me to flesh out their outlines when I should have been working on my current WIP - With My Eyes On The Far Sun (hard <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="0c94af62-3d5e-4163-9197-b7ed3d9fe33c" id="78d482b4-deaa-4416-a520-6bab5b761dcb"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="049371c9-31d7-43cb-aecd-fea8ae430e31" id="78c38715-b191-4120-ab49-7d6ef3d2843b">sci</gs></gs> <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="0c94af62-3d5e-4163-9197-b7ed3d9fe33c" id="75dfd958-0301-4ab1-8089-d803ce3ebea2"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="049371c9-31d7-43cb-aecd-fea8ae430e31" id="4c92f8f1-469e-49db-b215-6f56c2b1219f">fi</gs></gs>), The Alchemist & The Idiot King (quirky fantasy, more Gaiman than R.R. Martin).</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj75JHvXzF-U9kY5f0oivkgJMGuhvZnnj7Qs4L0qrodawwuzHxdr_mbXFxf-a1OrtFdIiBTEFL3oBevtybiK0-TQzBFCdxAMNqD3BLnq_Vdo88iYd1jk5BFyWK2NRGfiqwpd4Hdobf5jfc4/s1600/cvs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj75JHvXzF-U9kY5f0oivkgJMGuhvZnnj7Qs4L0qrodawwuzHxdr_mbXFxf-a1OrtFdIiBTEFL3oBevtybiK0-TQzBFCdxAMNqD3BLnq_Vdo88iYd1jk5BFyWK2NRGfiqwpd4Hdobf5jfc4/s320/cvs.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">- My inspiration/procrastination working covers<gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="71af418d-1ff3-4403-98ff-1006df33bf1c" id="e172baa2-75c8-4863-9f27-8940679915cd"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="e5327654-c268-43b2-aa99-d5f2e7cfc092" id="9172fa17-0ca7-44cf-b314-8dbc24b5454d"> -</gs></gs></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">We're through the looking glass now. It's time to get real. No <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="1cc0845f-967c-49de-a333-66703ffda362" id="faa2e0bb-7a36-4867-a7dd-0b314d07e087"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="c5f1f952-02da-410d-a501-2531a2693246" id="a1bb1682-b728-4c99-bba3-515174ba1b91">pain no</gs></gs> gain. No <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="c244993c-5d64-4b5f-9ceb-facb4d191bbc" id="d4e8fea1-12e0-4930-af03-d8bee101e10b"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="d4352dea-315e-421d-aed8-abef27f5cb6f" id="19aad81c-dfc1-4eef-98ac-90efd58f0a2a">socks no</gs></gs> shoes. Wish me luck!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">PS - Check out the links to the right of my blog (or in the BOOKS section of my main site) for the three US freebies: Just One Day, The Real Thing, and Shred. Currently only Just One Day is free in the UK, apologies. Also check out (and like/follow) facebook.com/jakeprytherch for <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="fc40631f-8d07-4c47-93d7-7140811ccf56" id="95c75ce5-cd39-4eb4-8518-7a66c550e546">more tasty</gs> updates.</span></div>
Jacob Prytherchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01931309523182492269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089590858109211763.post-43255906099529653192015-07-24T08:56:00.001+01:002015-07-24T08:56:28.818+01:00Progress<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4xLSGmoKyKWOTqJRxPwN9gts9-CAvSE7RKNwCfaL57rIVDUHFTAImDqrd5rwwU0IkwafuHSyICmZvYXgauWiot2TwZCxlhuATgOBZOFwFNt6yYlaRqXHOoEIw2K8fO5QcbSi4BUSB-zmt/s1600/small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4xLSGmoKyKWOTqJRxPwN9gts9-CAvSE7RKNwCfaL57rIVDUHFTAImDqrd5rwwU0IkwafuHSyICmZvYXgauWiot2TwZCxlhuATgOBZOFwFNt6yYlaRqXHOoEIw2K8fO5QcbSi4BUSB-zmt/s320/small.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">- Long overdue blog post<gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="e2c02536-379d-416d-af2b-f2f099a73fad" id="47d68bf5-2e7c-4f95-84f8-08f03889343d"> -</gs> </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">After a period of partial blackout, I'm finally able to give a couple of nuggets of news (some of which you may have already seen if you follow my <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="745574d6-62a5-49ba-a34b-7d990889f504" id="53a428e7-a84f-4065-9ad0-bcaec906bafb">facebook</gs> page - <a href="http://facebook.com/jakeprytherch" target="_blank">facebook.com/jakeprytherch</a>). </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">My current WIP thriller "The Devil Has Dry Feet" is on a partial second draft stage. I wrote 80% of the first draft before deciding to add elements which add to the strength of the plot but needed including from the outset. After this second draft is <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="a0faa25a-0de0-465d-bc16-c0e92e10ecce" id="41cc3ff4-57c2-4dd7-8adb-d1549b55d416">done I</gs>'ll move on to writing the finale, before beginning another round of drafting. I can't give a time frame <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="63fb0ac3-f540-4fc6-b86e-dfa247d70c49" id="141035e7-31d8-480e-9b90-9cffe3f4fc94">on</gs> completion yet as I've found that life has a way of pulling the rug out from under you, but it's on its way!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">In other news, my long/short story A Fresh Start is done and will be released in some form or <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="3e481314-d560-4f10-b89a-913af39220d2" id="5eeb3a43-528e-4641-870a-13c52c6560fa">other</gs> in a few weeks (I'm exploring different avenues for release).</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Lastly, I'm also working on writing <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="e16a956a-bc47-493d-8442-b9ae4dbe7c57" id="2b274559-fe27-4e9b-9d87-72639ee7ba04">an</gs> illustrating a couple of books for my daughters, which is proving to be a light hearted treat!</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Ok, that's your lot. Enjoy your summer!</span></div>
Jacob Prytherchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01931309523182492269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089590858109211763.post-69553829319928994842015-05-04T23:22:00.000+01:002015-05-04T23:29:00.287+01:00Making things that shouldn't matter not matter.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdZT9cS51Ta0LDkdj5-MsoPVxEOpMPbuImYnHQ-lPa104RtvJW2TuM1vclWPmZFJmbrPy1ldnyx_WaKXnERfrtPGUD8iASBftlHiMg4VJ6IHWvcs_emPs-iyadmURSqBNO7FMtgwyWByqh/s1600/Verna+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdZT9cS51Ta0LDkdj5-MsoPVxEOpMPbuImYnHQ-lPa104RtvJW2TuM1vclWPmZFJmbrPy1ldnyx_WaKXnERfrtPGUD8iASBftlHiMg4VJ6IHWvcs_emPs-iyadmURSqBNO7FMtgwyWByqh/s320/Verna+1.jpg" width="232" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">I was reading a post on an indie author<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="4188f5e6-8d9e-424c-9e0c-312273afe02a" id="a85f4e51-7359-4120-8a39-0ff17bbbf8a3"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="31e97b4d-42ef-428f-b599-00de83c5df2a" id="05e2d70a-4c9c-49bd-aeef-6c3e61053d74">facebook</gs></gs> page today in which the
author stated that sci-fi was inherently racist and sexist, and while it's
a bold statement (and one that has been posed before many times) it may
have some truth in it. Or it may not. Allow me to expand on my muddled and ill-thought-out
point.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">I must admit
that I haven't read enough<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>sci-fi to
make a firm judgement on that statement, although I will agree that the
majority of protagonists<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>in<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>the books that I have read are white
males. Is this a reflection on the writers, the society they inhabit (or
inhabited as the majority of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>sci-fi I
read seems to be from before the 70's) or the publishers? I have no idea,
and it's too damn complicated to go into here.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">Well, I'll go
into it a bit, and I'll start by looking at my own work.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">Of the
sci-fi novels I have written (The Binary Man, The Real Thing and Just One
Day), all have had white male protagonists, although The Binary Man does
effectively have three main characters, with the other two being a woman (Alice
Howe) and Japanese by birth (Toshihiro Sato). Looking back on the story I can't
recall race ever coming up as anything other than a brief initial description
to add a bit of narrative juice (I chose Japan for his birthplace as I have
visited the country a few times so can describe it with more confidence than
most places, USA included), and Alice's gender only really came to the fore
during a couple of minor plot points with Yannick and Mickey, before becoming
irrelevant again. It was certainly never a hindrance, although she did
require the clichéd "saving" by Yannick (but then again everyone
did!). I must admit that my default protagonist always seems to be<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>me before branching out<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>(partly because so many of my ideas
come from dreams, where I'm me, natch).</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">I have never
considered race to be worth mentioning as a point of difference with regards to
characters, and if any of my sci-fi had taken place further into the future
then skin<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="08bf075a-4f62-4f2b-95de-2c694d4d08c6" id="629e26d5-b860-4920-8d49-72756a3b78c6">colour</gs> and
birthplace would have been irrelevant anyway. If someone is born on<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Ganymede would they really have
an issue with someone from a certain region of Earth? What if there were
generational changes to bodies based on the location of human colonies, such as
squat, hairy bodies from high gravity/low temperature worlds, or long gangly
hairless bodies from the opposite conditions? Would that cause issues over and
above other less drastic racial differences?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">Are all races going to mix in the future
to create a single skin <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="628553c2-c547-442d-a96a-7a216f5c5157" id="56afe7ac-d269-4373-8a8e-f6ead5a2b8fa">colour</gs>? Maybe, or maybe not, but I would hope that in
the face of a six legged <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="6d130dff-2f88-4b77-aca8-cf6f61a0dc76" id="cb1687ec-ae5f-4287-b5ab-da31a5ddffc7">insectoid</gs> silicon-based millipede, they would consider
the human next to them as kin. My children are mixed race and trying to
pigeonhole them is pointless (they’re just wonderful people). They play with
kids of every culture and race with equal joy, and hopefully they will never
learn the idiocy of prejudice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">I hope I<gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="7688c13a-1d21-4ab9-a002-b4f52a44a030" id="942e5927-1b5b-4c6b-b513-a708b10c0231">’m expressing</gs> the point I’m
trying to <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="7688c13a-1d21-4ab9-a002-b4f52a44a030" id="8ada65fc-b9ad-43c9-b319-c18920844627">make</gs> well enough. Let me use an example: Red Dwarf had two black main
characters in Lister and Cat, and it was never mentioned, either positively or
negatively. <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="3f5f1c40-ccb5-477b-b32a-79daf51a8be9" id="af622829-05f8-48e9-9f62-f67191eb06da">Class</gs> was, and economic standing, and these are the things that
will most likely endure (as great a shame as that is, and despite Star Trek’s
moneyless wishing). Rimmer was born on Titan, which was mentioned, and Lister
was born in Liverpool, which was mentioned, but skin <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="4c8718da-eccd-4e48-b412-c19e50460124" id="93c7e60d-c45e-4416-8cf6-194f7d6ab400">colour</gs> wasn’t. Craig Charles
(Lister) mentions this <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="5df3310f-c25d-412a-a273-e0ef35857f90" id="30a99520-2849-4560-8ca1-99b4cab465ee">on</gs> the documentary accompanying the episode Dimension
Jump.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">“It’s a top rated BBC sitcom where two
of its leading participants are of colour, and the colour of their skin is
never mentioned, race is never an issue. It kind of says that in the future,
where once we came from Africa one day we’ll come from everywhere. It’s all
just a melting pot, and race won’t be an issue in the future.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">I tend to write dystopia, but having no
racial issues is a utopian ideal that I happily put into my books.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">With that in mind, I’d like to approach
the idea of a protagonist’s gender in the same way, which is why the
protagonist in my next sci-fi story is a woman. She is a woman, and <i>this fact is irrelevant</i>. Let me explain,
or try to.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">The premise of the story is a human one
(I won’t go into more details as the plot is still in flux), not a gender
specific one, so it makes no difference to make the protagonist a woman. Why do
it then? It is most certainly not due to any notion of tokenism, but rather to
make me less lazy in my writing. The character was initially a male early
forties bodyguard with a beer gut, a colourful vocabulary and cybernetic eyes.
None of this needs to change if the protagonist is a woman, but it adds
something extra. It’s more interesting, and it’s less stereotypical from both
perspectives. I’ve always hated stick-thin big-boobed sex fantasy heroines as
much as square jawed ‘complicated’ heroes. How many heroines have you read with
a saggy belly? Why would a woman who had been trained for as long as a man be
any less capable of being a bodyguard? Ripley from Alien – come on now, she’s
mighty, and not a ‘weak-at-the-knees’ romantic sub plot in sight (apart from a
few glances between her and Hicks). Proof that going outside of the mould can
produce some great results.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">So yeah, after all of that rambling I’m
no closer to knowing whether there truly is an issue or whether it is a trend,
or coincidence, but I’m going to mix it up for its own joy anyway.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">Introducing Verna Walden, bodyguard and
badass, and heroine of (one of my) WIP. Enjoy!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">PS – I know this is a contentious topic,
and comments are welcome. Please note that any flippancy is not malicious, and
I just love you all.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Jacob Prytherchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01931309523182492269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089590858109211763.post-22488582180585107982015-04-19T06:46:00.003+01:002015-04-19T06:49:33.117+01:00Small stories and progress<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-p0Mcn1FE2HWnRpyIU4YHr_G_sY-gpyejJL7zL9pC3yu6JqxFcJ45zMrsZuijbyo-TgChQpzGU08dUZe4i57HKord2R5cRUOIZzHezJAOeJUtiJsctJDrlaNO_S8sUJuauwif_dMkRuCM/s1600/Pattern.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-p0Mcn1FE2HWnRpyIU4YHr_G_sY-gpyejJL7zL9pC3yu6JqxFcJ45zMrsZuijbyo-TgChQpzGU08dUZe4i57HKord2R5cRUOIZzHezJAOeJUtiJsctJDrlaNO_S8sUJuauwif_dMkRuCM/s1600/Pattern.jpg" height="320" width="194" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">As I mentioned in my last blog post, after around a year of difficult writing and lack of direction I've finally found myself getting things finished, and enjoying the process a lot more.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Here's a list of recent events, including detail</span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">s of </span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"></span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">free</span><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">bies</span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Two of my books (The Real Thi<gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="cde593ee-5282-4423-bd1e-24fef044b303" id="a056df72-7f28-4c58-8cda-7d6164149a89">ng, Sh</gs>red) are now </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="c823b938-e20c-4a3f-9582-a8c9785a5484" id="ee984e43-f9bc-4ee6-9fb4-6e29a7bd4326">permafree</gs></span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> on <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="dca883da-e403-4025-88f5-9cc3290b0959" id="f6bd3678-98cc-4b3e-ad12-0f45e7b6bd3d">a</gs>mazon.com as well as on B&N, </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="c823b938-e20c-4a3f-9582-a8c9785a5484" id="336ba226-5b86-4021-aa4d-327dde722b39">Itunes</gs></span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"> etc. Here ar<gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="dca883da-e403-4025-88f5-9cc3290b0959" id="a656801d-3c02-4796-8e03-3966c2dafa7d">e the lin</gs>ks:</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The Real Thing <u><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00D2PKOU6">http://www.amazo<gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="dca883da-e403-4025-88f5-9cc3290b0959" id="243e260e-f68e-4d0a-9a38-330a626a0793">n.com/</gs>dp/B00D2PKOU6</a></u></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Shred <u><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009G6J5DW">http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009G6J5DW</a></u></span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">At the moment they still aren't free in the UK, but my fellow Brits can pick them up through Smashwords.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><u><a href="http://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=jacob+prytherch">http://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=jacob+prytherch</a></u></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I've also released a short story titled The Pattern Ends. It's loosely horror/metaphysical, a 5,000 word treat for a long lunch break. It's free on Smashwords (<u><a href="http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/536138">http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/536138</a>)</u></span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">, and should soon </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">be free on B&N and <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="439aa575-cdf7-41c9-b7a2-81fb98c9e4bc" id="25c85728-eeb4-4d07-8c85-b3fe424f40a7">Itunes</gs>. I will work on <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="e90c652b-54bb-4d05-b1b5-260cdced3026" id="303f566f-7c6e-4957-b497-cfdca1fcb007">amazon</gs> soon.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I am not releasing these stories for free because I don't value my own work. I recently read through The Real Thing again and really enjoyed looking at it with the fresh eyes of forgetfulness. I'm doing it as a way to draw people into giving my writing a shot who might not have done so otherwise. I know I barely register on the scale of writing, but still hope to one day, so I'm trying to show you lovely people what my writing is about before you decide to part with your money.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">My long short story/short novella A Fresh Start will also be released in the not-too-distant future, and I will be releasing it as "pay what you want" through Smashwords as an experiment. Maybe people will pay, maybe they won't. Maybe no one will read it, but I hope they do.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">If you like my stories, please consider reviewing them, on whichever site you prefer. A few words of your own in exchange for mine <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="f3c470de-6915-41da-b934-c515dffdd8c3" id="92681400-89cd-46a2-8ffd-5c72659ef98b"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="f3c470de-6915-41da-b934-c515dffdd8c3" id="cb7f092e-f26e-47c6-b83d-353120c445d3">is</gs></gs> more than fine by me, as every positive review gets more people interested, and every negative review gives me pointers on how to improve.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I'm currently deep into writing a story that I started last year and drifted away from, but have recently re-discovered (along with an almost complete story plan, always nice). I hope to get it finished within the next three months, and am hopeful that it will be one of the better stories that I have written. It's quite different to my usual genres, so we'll have to wait and see.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">As this post is (<gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="54fbf234-8377-426d-ae11-4fa60595a641" id="68de77bb-d83b-4287-a231-c7fe2b7242cd">loosely</gs>) about trying new things, I thought I'd leave you with Neil Gaiman's brilliant speech to The London Book Fair in 2013. I think I've shared it before on <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="e4bcf115-c81f-4afd-9240-2fde06cf153c" id="e7582cf8-ae2f-4f1c-9f5b-2b2d7d56a7b5">facebook</gs>, but another go won't hurt. The guy is a great human being.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><u><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6KB6-7uCrI">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6KB6-7uCrI</a></u></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I'm off to be a dandelion.</span></div>
Jacob Prytherchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01931309523182492269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089590858109211763.post-45887642399274690532015-04-09T06:44:00.003+01:002015-04-09T06:44:32.538+01:00The Art Of Writing Without Writing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8deFDxofrmGv1oXADqs2VIpn_kcW61OHJjyKPaKowJ74YwgVSD10fXEdIqCpSAUn2UusD20cSOQ9ksXfeoyAnsNj44Uy_XGmkhZUA2gBtQiFGPnmjnwkZ-1Fm12ubIE7Q9eSnoCX9CAQN/s1600/dgf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8deFDxofrmGv1oXADqs2VIpn_kcW61OHJjyKPaKowJ74YwgVSD10fXEdIqCpSAUn2UusD20cSOQ9ksXfeoyAnsNj44Uy_XGmkhZUA2gBtQiFGPnmjnwkZ-1Fm12ubIE7Q9eSnoCX9CAQN/s1600/dgf.jpg" height="400" width="356" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">First off, I don't have any reason to look as sassy/smug about my writing as Bruce Lee is about his Jeet Kun Do, I just liked the way I could mulch up his quote.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Now that's out of the way, what exactly do I mean by "writing without writing"?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Well, this will all come as little surprise to seasoned writers out there, but I'm still cutting my teeth after only three years of wrestling with books, so it was something of an epiphany for me when I <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="00650bed-9423-4437-b266-cb83c54aa34f" id="9287216b-8489-49b7-9a26-07318e3cf5a0">realised</gs> that to truly improve in style, and to craft a decent narrative, I had to spend more time <i>not</i> writing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Whoa, that's <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="d875da13-5294-42ed-9d0f-678e7ce1904c" id="394ab156-f326-4e49-9b16-201d5a644a4f">cray</gs>-<gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="d875da13-5294-42ed-9d0f-678e7ce1904c" id="f5e04ee1-5a13-4261-b4ea-da6a7b2a2c7e">cray</gs>, you might say!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Nope.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="a502cb0d-1b02-455a-a48b-9173ded4859d" id="fa229e41-2cd5-4bac-b2b5-cea126398932">Writing</gs> has <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="a502cb0d-1b02-455a-a48b-9173ded4859d" id="d582933d-65e5-4a27-a878-e616febc7b93">gotta</gs> <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="a502cb0d-1b02-455a-a48b-9173ded4859d" id="7e4fac64-07da-40ec-a63d-7376aed5e5bc">be</gs> 33% thinking, 33% reading, and only 33% getting stuff down. And 1% coffee. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I used to be a voracious reader (oh yes) before I started writing seriously, but once I'd <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="3d929c66-a6be-49f8-9dca-992d4897af7a" id="1f6afc03-5149-4e54-b60a-d0b0841102de">started I</gs> got 'the nerves', and found that no time was enough time. Writing makes me restless, and now that I've taken the plunge I find it hard not to measure anything I do against time-I-could-have-spent-writing. So books went out of the window (not literally, I'm not a monster), as did relaxing. I've lived on my tiptoes for three years, bouncing off walls until I could get down to a screen, and after a while I found that I began to freeze. Where once <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="f86da69d-53ae-4bf8-9341-f61b4dece918" id="059f920f-5e90-40e5-8359-1ac32a7190d0">words</gs> were easy (even if they weren't polished) now I couldn't even get a few sentences down without getting 'conga face'.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Whole mornings devoted to writing would produce less than 500 words. I felt like I was flushing my life down the toilet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">So this month I've finally decided to try something different. I've started reading again, sometimes even between 3 and 7 am (the golden hours when the kids are asleep and silence is possible). </span><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">When I write in isolation, I lose sight of right and wrong. I second guess everything, revising and cutting until there is nothing left but ashes and dust. ASHES AND DUST. By reading the sentence structures of other authors, and <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="27ef2545-6434-44cc-b260-22053c23631a" id="cf953141-58fd-4a22-83c5-63dc7c9f4502">analysing</gs> plots, I found that I could judge my own work far more easily, and objectively. I also lost the 'first draft fear', and let myself get some stuff down with the view to honing it later, which is a whole lot easier than trying for perfection straight away. It's like crafting a marble statue - you get the vague shape first, you don't go straight for the ball sack. (<gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="35617f75-c5be-4f63-8970-6106ff0fa444" id="667e6a2d-8d8e-4bfb-a924-3b926442932a">Disclaimer</gs> - I have no idea how to carve a marble statue. And not all of them need ball sacks.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">I've also allowed myself to think of time with my family as a positive for my writing rather than a negative, which is a small thing but it makes a big difference. I love my family dearly, and whenever I was with them and wished I was writing, I would feel guilty for even thinking it. Whenever I was writing and could have been with them, I felt guilty. Whenever I spent an enjoyable day with them and neglected writing, I felt guilty. I basically felt guilty whatever I was doing. Now I use the few seconds when my kids are off on the swings or scooting around the park as a chance to think about my plot, mulling over details and logic until my plot humps iron themselves out. By doing this I have managed to finish a short story that has been on my hard drive for a year. It's vastly different in tone to my original idea, but I like it, and more importantly, it's finished (well, almost. Always room for more drafting). I've also made sure that my mind goes over plots while I'm in the shower or cooking, rather than slipping into stressing about work, or money. Plots I can figure out, life is more of an issue, so <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="26563fca-b8b8-4b70-b534-7ae032898ef9" id="fe5b2a97-bb22-4ea7-93f9-1433aff10490">lets</gs> get some small victories!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">By doing all this, I have managed to get above 2000 words a day on a regular basis, which I haven't done since I finished Cuts Of Flesh.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">In conclusion, I've devoted less time to <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="0d9a1ea3-76a8-4ee1-9c86-bac3f5f43ae2" id="b34a618e-4003-47b2-a4d8-8f952d48e5fc">writing</gs>, and got more done. Win-win.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>Jacob Prytherchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01931309523182492269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089590858109211763.post-39798896521223168292015-03-19T21:06:00.001+00:002015-04-07T04:36:13.927+01:00The Purge<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and admit you've wasted your time.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">It's time for a fresh start!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">No, I'm not giving up writing in <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="6686822d-19bb-44f7-9732-7e934c2ab3ec" id="a8a36667-a768-4847-9271-63c51baac6c9">favour</gs> of a career as an ice-cream van man, although I would totally own that role. Instead, I have decided to get some research done on what makes a good kindle book cover, as opposed to just trusting my brain. I sometimes feel as if I'm cheating when I read tips, as if my own imagination should come up with everything by itself, but this time I have bowed to common wisdom, and found it to be good.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">In the past (very recent past) I have created my own covers using a host of photoshop trickery and computer magic, but it was all for nought. All I needed was to find some really good pictures, keep them as they were (isolating part of it that fit the story's concept) and add some bold, clear titles in well designed fonts. And that is pretty much it. Below are the results. I'm still keeping my cover for Shy (I do like that mouth), Heal The Sick Raise The Dead (my mate Jody did a great job, better than I could ever do), and The Alchemist and the Idiot King (which is still stewing in first draft land, but will be done one day, and the cover fits the fantastical nature of the narrative). The rest have gone and been replaced by leaner, meaner models. Enjoy!</span><br />
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Jacob Prytherchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01931309523182492269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089590858109211763.post-18027080123567495312015-03-11T17:11:00.001+00:002015-03-11T17:11:57.091+00:00An exercise<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqWpw3asTkHfQ9CF9rzCSsA7f4dYsVOATD_zeC-rxUmVcGMfSJdc3oP4Jo4Itsh9vmRQRlz2yaZ-PDmWk_7LqpIROzPbY2n08k6WWAXSjoNWgCbP99GIQZI0cELalM2sqAhWUycwFzA2PQ/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqWpw3asTkHfQ9CF9rzCSsA7f4dYsVOATD_zeC-rxUmVcGMfSJdc3oP4Jo4Itsh9vmRQRlz2yaZ-PDmWk_7LqpIROzPbY2n08k6WWAXSjoNWgCbP99GIQZI0cELalM2sqAhWUycwFzA2PQ/s1600/unnamed.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">After finding it hard to get into a flow with writing last week, I decided to spend half an hour working on a simple premise with no worries about plot or character, simply atmosphere. Below is the result.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="Default" style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Glass
shatters somewhere in the house. The covers are a tangle around <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="2c1ca94d-6749-463c-87df-758cc5e5eaf7" id="8a0d35e7-4351-43c7-82b2-4f80cd772eb3">me but</gs> I’m out
within seconds. The <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="f4296089-212e-414d-8ea9-fdd878df41cd" id="eccac1c9-e85e-4c84-97c0-6b89b71969ed">streetlights</gs> are out too – there must be a power cut. The
night outside is starless, but I can see the moon. It bleeds a little light onto
the landing through the skylight above. I walk past my study and head
downwards.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Default" style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Each step
is slower than the last as I move into the darkness below. The blinds are drawn
in the living room, and the door is open, as is the door to the kitchen. I look
<gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="d1063464-5517-4163-b670-abc657426c90" id="8b9dcd4f-a4d0-4dcd-83ca-ae47fd98b220">in</gs> and see black shapes, one long across the floor, another high against the
wall, with smaller ones dotted about. They are the night images of the daytime
sundries. It was I who put them in their places. I know all but one. I hear a
gasp. That one is raising a hand. I turn and run, my feet slamming on the
staircase, though the sound does not quite drown out the scream, or the sigh.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Default" style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Default" style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The lights
go out. Glass shatters somewhere in the house. I wait for a moment, hoping that
the lights will come back on. The night outside is starless. The <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="2364e726-39f7-4743-b0c9-825857930416" id="5b7e4943-f955-478a-b804-cfe9953ba8dc">streetlights</gs>
are out too. It’s too dark to read anymore, so I close the book and go to push
myself up out of my chair, when from across the landing I see a shadow leave
the bedroom. I freeze in place, my hands on the arms. It’s gone in a moment. I
go to the doorway and stare downwards to the foot of the staircase, but what
little light the moon gives me is drowned in the deep. I hear a gasp. A piece
of the black detaches itself and begins to move towards me, so I back away and slip
behind the chair, burying my face in my hands.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Default" style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="Default" style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Glass
shatters somewhere in the house close by. I wake up and slip from the sofa onto
the floor. The walls are distant memories in the dark, and all I can see is a
sliver of white by the door leading to the stairs – I must have left the blinds
closed. The <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="bb3335b0-6753-44c3-865f-552b70e316b8" id="1e3d7845-3e95-4a43-a5f6-3125d3d24360">table digs</gs> into my knee, but I know that there is a torch there, so
I run my hands across the surface until I find it. Someone gasps, so I get to
my feet and when I look up <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="2411b1c0-698d-4f86-926e-afce61f543b5" id="4fc49d73-3bea-4ce9-94b3-3d0bb6bbb176">again I</gs> see a shape in the doorway. I raise my torch
but it is gone before I turn it on. I know my way, even in the dark, and
scramble over the sofa towards the kitchen. Perhaps I will get a knife.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Default" style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<span style="font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">My breath
is <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="8ff3597b-0113-4d7f-bf40-9ad90df67f4a" id="d46d910f-d1f8-449f-915e-633aaf7a7629">stolen but</gs> I don’t know why, and I all I can do is sigh.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Default" style="text-indent: 14.2pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="DE" style="font-size: 11.5pt;"><span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The lights go out. I fumble and
drop the jar, which shatters on the tiles beneath my feet. I reach down without
thinking, and my hand closes on glass. It bites into my skin and I let out a
gasp. My flesh holds it in place and I cannot see enough to pull it out without
risking permanent damage. I turn towards the living room, hoping to get my
torch, when a shape lunges towards me. I raise my hands and feel the glass
between us, cutting hand and neck, my hand and their neck. I scream, and the
other gives a sigh.</span></span></div>
Jacob Prytherchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01931309523182492269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089590858109211763.post-64928475775613706672015-03-06T04:07:00.000+00:002015-03-06T04:07:03.743+00:00A change of tactics<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB-iyzhIy8SSoC_pJwBb0XnMd2VeX4-rdBjxW5sNNXpIKdFcen8nkfCkkxFBAONwzCTnr60uL9hq17QC9YMmY8DJsZZRsRQiDKSJlUXXcE6ESbp-4j1hgD9Aqs4VsxkydFSmd-k9Nh3Fmh/s1600/tactics-board1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB-iyzhIy8SSoC_pJwBb0XnMd2VeX4-rdBjxW5sNNXpIKdFcen8nkfCkkxFBAONwzCTnr60uL9hq17QC9YMmY8DJsZZRsRQiDKSJlUXXcE6ESbp-4j1hgD9Aqs4VsxkydFSmd-k9Nh3Fmh/s1600/tactics-board1.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I've been writing ever since I was young, but only selling my work for close to three years, so I still have a lot to learn. I've always been more focussed on writing than marketing - this is unlikely to change unless marketing becomes markedly more thrilling - and have used Amazon and its KDP select programs to generate income, but it's time for a change. These programs are giving back smaller and smaller benefits and I'm missing out on a huge base of readers, so after a last small round of freebies/offers I will be distributing everything I've written through not only Amazon but also Smashwords and <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="19a920e8-f531-4cc2-97f2-21864406b59a" id="44009c13-7f6d-4af5-b912-e3d02101c364">Bookbaby</gs>, and anywhere else I can find.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I'll still be <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="f8a04930-6104-403d-8abb-ff591038c41a" id="4805dc30-0f70-45ae-a769-5e05603177ab">writing though</gs>, otherwise my brain will atrophy.</span></div>
Jacob Prytherchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01931309523182492269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089590858109211763.post-17641435860364566172015-02-24T11:58:00.001+00:002015-02-24T12:00:22.261+00:00Update on WIP<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">After a very busy few months (sadly not on the writing front) I've finally been able to catch up with things.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I've given my main website a re-vamp to make it far easier to navigate, and added some reviews to the book pages.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">On the short story front, I've had two submissions accepted for anthologies and a third one is still being considered, so it's been a pretty successful period considering I haven't been able to get much done.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I've also decided to give my current WIP The Alchemist and the Idiot King a drastic re-write. I love the setting and characters, but I just wasn't doing enough with them. A small twist will make everything better, although that twist necessitates a purge of the majority of what I've already got down (a third of the book roughly) so the release date will be a lot further off, sadly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Finally, I've redesigned the cover to Terror Organic and added Carnival into the digital version to make it better value. The paperback still needs updating, so that's my next goal.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Stay frosty!</span>Jacob Prytherchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01931309523182492269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089590858109211763.post-21297157886172544212015-01-21T14:35:00.000+00:002015-01-21T14:35:05.219+00:00Finding My Book<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3TaLGv4emITqHUq_DKBVwHL9Pssukv6Yy8U3aSUu5tkrb4w9xlJCkyRxC8I3XGTtNx4m0-hHsx1Jktm_8tlywBAoZFp6ueKBbF6eKypOmaZubmfKK38L-Iqus2bCg1IXxhDmODzWU8Grb/s1600/10915274_10153494814896258_7810888958192766706_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3TaLGv4emITqHUq_DKBVwHL9Pssukv6Yy8U3aSUu5tkrb4w9xlJCkyRxC8I3XGTtNx4m0-hHsx1Jktm_8tlywBAoZFp6ueKBbF6eKypOmaZubmfKK38L-Iqus2bCg1IXxhDmODzWU8Grb/s1600/10915274_10153494814896258_7810888958192766706_n.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">Last week was a strange one, but one
that is worth sharing, if only because it was so unexpectedly eventful.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">Whilst looking
through the bookshelves of a charity shop for something new to read, I found
one of my own books on the shelf. The sight threw me completely, as various
emotions vied for control of my brain.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">"Look!"
cried Anger. "Someone has thrown your book out like it was nothing!"</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">"No, that's
not it," said Lookonthebrightside, "someone just wanted others
to read it."</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">"But I keep
the books I enjoy!" I said.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">"Yes, but
some other people don't.”</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">"Or maybe
they didn't enjoy it," said Morose from his perch in the corner (he likes
to hide in the shadows).</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">"That's
true," said Anger, jabbing a finger towards his constant companion.
"They hated it and they didn't tell you! They could have at least told
you."</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">"Look
guys..." I started.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">"I fancy a
packet of crisps," said Hunger.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">"Simmer
down," I said, pushing him back. "Guys, this is all a bit much for
the moment.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>Let’s<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>just sit down and have a coffee."</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">"Buy the
book," said Anger.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">"Eh?"</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">"Buy it.
Buy it now. BUY THE SHAME."</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">"Ok..."</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">So I bought it,
along with Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker and Do Androids Dream of Electric
Sheep? <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="5555bae2-7939-4d36-8f84-1a709d989bfa" id="c1c90a98-2463-476e-8d41-9392e6c28cf0">by</gs> Philip K Dick. It was a 3 for 2 offer. My book was the free one.</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">So I let the
experience stew away in my mind for a while. My main cause of confusion was trying
to work out just why I felt hurt. Eventually I <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="f17ef9b6-0d42-48a8-bf8c-5b0f5563cf66" id="e4e317c4-97b4-4a71-be21-c949b2afbbba">realised</gs> that it was because I
still looked at my books as something personal, something just for me, despite
the fact that the Binary Man has been out for almost three years. Selling e-books
is a very abstract thing. It's just numbers on a screen, which then becomes a
trickle of money into my PC<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="cf8cff64-2d94-4938-8e7f-22ad76f0a3fc" id="56f4c18c-e078-46e7-9122-72721745abda">games</gs><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>budget. To actually see one of my
books in paperback the first time was a childhood dream come true, and it took
three years of writing to come to fruition (the first one is always the
toughest, so I’ve been told). Physical books mean the world to me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">The reason I was feeling hurt was
because they didn’t see my book as a strange dream-reality combo item of
mystical power.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">Well, of course they bloody didn’t! It’s
a book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Wait, there’s more,” said Anger. “What
about the fact that they didn’t tell you what they didn’t like about the book?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">Well, this I admit is something I really
crave. I am desperate to improve with everything I write, with every word if
possible. Criticism of my work is of vital importance to me. Surely someone who
disliked my book enough to chuck it would be able to give me something to work
with?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Whoa there,” said Guilt. “What they did
do was they BOUGHT it. They paid some of their own money to give your book a
read. And now you’re listening to Anger! That’s no way to pay them back. And
what if they liked it, but are the sort of person who is able to get rid of
books, instead of storing them for decades in the loft? And if they didn’t like
it, is that a crime? They bought it. It was theirs to do with as they wished. There are far worse things they could have done with it...”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">I bit my lip.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">“You git,” said Guilt.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">“I know…” I said, shaking my balding
head.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">Whether they read it or not, liked it or
not, it didn’t matter. My books aren’t just mine <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="81064260-4d4b-4456-8e7d-a6f73f0bffb8" id="ef0c3625-5167-4a4c-bf9e-b43f9c0ac069">any more</gs>. That one belonged to
someone else, someone who believed enough in the blurb to give it a shot.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">Whoever you are, I salute you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: 'Courier New'; font-size: 13.5pt;">I’m keeping the <gs class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="eeb60f4e-9db8-40cf-8954-d4d90b445715" id="b87254d7-5dd5-4c67-bea1-e9d7d3876cd2">book though</gs>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Jacob Prytherchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01931309523182492269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089590858109211763.post-6686265582613481302014-10-29T04:48:00.002+00:002014-10-29T04:48:31.021+00:00Dream Themes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMBa2Y_w65u7-whjuJfMCXKXpU_CODJF1iBHSxaDRHuuk9TChXISL8Bbnk42fZMW_hSHmqVSZJ3m7_iU_AL6ULfMIA9hCH2ZMa84NVfFjU6cH6FRNVyq1UlEX4zdwdT-vUCpIoYVD8NXap/s1600/Alchemist+figure+redo+cropped+title+SMALL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMBa2Y_w65u7-whjuJfMCXKXpU_CODJF1iBHSxaDRHuuk9TChXISL8Bbnk42fZMW_hSHmqVSZJ3m7_iU_AL6ULfMIA9hCH2ZMa84NVfFjU6cH6FRNVyq1UlEX4zdwdT-vUCpIoYVD8NXap/s1600/Alchemist+figure+redo+cropped+title+SMALL.jpg" height="320" width="201" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The commonly held wisdom is that as someone who wants to make a go of writing, I should blog regularly, weekly if possible. I tried that a while back, but just can't do it, mainly because writing is dull. It's really dull.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">An example commentary <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="ad1e3789-bffb-48c2-8853-3bab59e8a2ab" id="456b7d9f-3d3f-4cac-a98f-ebdf3651a120">of</span> my writing method involves '<span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="ad1e3789-bffb-48c2-8853-3bab59e8a2ab" id="dd44ca69-a13b-4b3a-9cad-ae49da9b7b79">get</span> a cup of coffee, drink the coffee, write a bit, delete a bit, think, write a bit, judge it, delete or keep it'. I could post other things by other writers or TV programs, films etc. <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="05043dc4-25d6-4b44-8d14-bf49cd24d9be" id="b7ac598f-d1cb-4f43-ac26-98928af5103e">but</span> between my job, my family and my <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="05043dc4-25d6-4b44-8d14-bf49cd24d9be" id="5662be3a-724b-4359-9e3c-4d1b4028bec7">writing I</span> don't have the time, not if I want to sleep, and I do want to sleep, (right now, as it happens).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I'm posting this now because I have something vaguely fresh - a new book cover (see above) for a project that I started roughly a year back before stalling. I have since picked it up again and found it enjoyable (to me). I've gone against my natural instincts to just jump into writing it and have instead finished a plot synopsis first. I think it's pretty decent, so I'm going to try and finish it. It'll be a fantasy (of sorts), dreamlike in its oddness, tragedy and triumph.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Right, that doesn't fill up much of a page, so I'm now going to tell you all about common themes that crop up in my own dreams. Judge my psyche as you will...</span></div>
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</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Living alone in decaying houses, often by the sea.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Visiting the edge of the world (often by the sea too).</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Being in a house where the lights are struggling to stay on, fading out after a certain amount of time, necessitating me turning on the switch again and again.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Being in a position of fame (playing guitar for Mastodon, or playing football for the Gooners) and having no skills with which to pay the bills.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Being in a safe environment, surrounded by monsters that I can control by telling them to stop, and then having them ignore that command and move towards me.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Having a person or animal drowning nearby and I can't help them.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Having a friend <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="094e74a4-59cc-4a4f-aa98-6e027ac87b48" id="de6201c4-dba2-460d-8efe-65f54aaf1280">try</span> to hurt/kill me but refusing to tell me why.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Courier New', Courier, monospace;">Fighting in a sword-<span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="5aa8485e-681b-402d-a9e8-5b09caf30879" id="c267f97c-5daf-4446-a273-9a8d89306b9f">fight but</span> being unwilling to hit my opponent as I actually don't really want to cut someone with a metal blade. It bloody hurts.</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">So yeah, my dreams are quite bleak and powerless generally, but that usually means I wake up pretty happy with my lot (beautiful family, no immediate peril) so don't pity me, buy my books! Is that what I'm supposed to say? I don't know. Have a good day, all of you.</span></div>
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Jacob Prytherchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01931309523182492269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089590858109211763.post-35292978469996445912014-08-14T08:17:00.000+01:002014-08-14T08:17:01.201+01:00The lonely man<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinSlkQOHIn8AZCmv0mT-psM58BN_5ty5UuZ_DPJe7UngGRa8uZjw3nvXvQKfdnxONEpZ73OEZHAm4xe3yEfZUktGOHNx1-EXEsyyyCrZQnem7UhccqiHYfuMSKYGT2USmn4pUYkXaHroh2/s1600/124.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinSlkQOHIn8AZCmv0mT-psM58BN_5ty5UuZ_DPJe7UngGRa8uZjw3nvXvQKfdnxONEpZ73OEZHAm4xe3yEfZUktGOHNx1-EXEsyyyCrZQnem7UhccqiHYfuMSKYGT2USmn4pUYkXaHroh2/s1600/124.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">Today is mine and my wife’s seventh wedding anniversary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">The time seems to have flown past, though only when I think
of her. The rest of my life has been a long slog, day after day. I was thinking
about why that was, and I <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="81d0e70c-7f0e-42a8-bb27-e551fdbe7a92" id="cdc3a8c3-c661-4580-8ee5-a25e91987ca8">realised</span> that it was because even though we have been
together for so long, there is still so much to learn about her. Even if she
told me all about her life, every day, there would still be thoughts and
feelings and events from her past that I would never know, grain upon grain,
building up into the bedrock of her life before we met. She’s a story I want to
know, a mystery that I want to unravel. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">We don’t have the same tastes, not at all. Her taste in
music is the complete opposite to mine. Books? We both read quite a bit, but
different genres. Films, the same (though we can agree on comedies more than
others). Pass-times… well, let’s just say my <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="8dc0f5aa-04d0-4b69-a814-924c084e546a" id="eacf6fc4-3ce0-476b-b66a-01d01e480cae">nerdiness</span> fills her with a boiling
disgust. There are cultural differences (she’s from Japan, I’m from the Black
Country. Yep, hers is better). We can’t always communicate everything in as
much depth as we’d want (though she is a far better linguist than I). So why am
I so happy?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">It’s because she accepts all the differences, without a
single thought. She simply accepts me, big, clumsy, forgetful, daft Jake. If we
disagree, we compromise. She is never jealous. She never spies on me, nor I on
her. We trust each other implicitly. We also share the most important aspects
of our world views. We both value freedom, family, justice, security… and food.
Oh man, the food.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I didn’t have a second thought about proposing after nine
months of being together. Being with her was as comfortable as being alone, if
that makes sense. Despite the fact that I’m very sociable, it’s a learned
trait. I’m actually cripplingly shy. I find it hard to be 100% myself around
anyone, except her. I feel myself around her. I don’t hate myself around her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">She doesn’t mind that I’m a <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="ed851ef9-cf1f-44bd-9b56-30bd5e901b0a" id="a065a960-9a18-43d6-8315-1604b7c525c4">soft spongey</span> man who wants
hugging more than she does, she will always be there for me. We can be silent
together, and not feel the need to fill the room with words. She has taught me
what it means to be a husband, and a father, and an adult (without having to
lose the edge of creative fun that childhood brings). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">She’s in Japan right now, with my two lovely daughters, and
the fact only serves to make this anniversary all the more special. I’m now
experiencing life without her, and it is cold, depressing, and despite the fact
that I am seeing my family and friends more than I ever did when I was single,
I’m unbelievably lonely.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">She’s my best friend. She’s my love. She’s my little pumpkin
seed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I love <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="0a54140a-abde-4b6a-bc4e-898b2bfa5c88" id="2c6de80c-32c7-4769-8659-58ef548681e8">you</span> <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="0a54140a-abde-4b6a-bc4e-898b2bfa5c88" id="c49cca72-9d23-4855-9862-fde9c645cec2">wifey</span>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">(Please come home soon.)</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Jacob Prytherchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01931309523182492269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089590858109211763.post-51953775248537978122014-07-19T10:57:00.001+01:002014-07-19T10:57:21.944+01:00The Bones<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTJpCExt_wOQKyEz99ZPtTWZlhu7krLzGoCCgXamiS-Lh5AtFIE2f1KRD-10pPA05gxoW6eYik1_pD4NaGECh3eIbgXVUAfWzb69tGjlOVn5VPFqkIiRcVXXlBPGxe_x2IAcZau-NjrIZh/s1600/Cover+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTJpCExt_wOQKyEz99ZPtTWZlhu7krLzGoCCgXamiS-Lh5AtFIE2f1KRD-10pPA05gxoW6eYik1_pD4NaGECh3eIbgXVUAfWzb69tGjlOVn5VPFqkIiRcVXXlBPGxe_x2IAcZau-NjrIZh/s1600/Cover+2.jpg" height="320" width="186" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I flew back from Japan to the U.K. <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="1be85eaf-e830-4586-ad6a-9156732c1e38" id="2f0d4942-1d4f-4141-9351-73290a17b06b">yesterday</span>, having spent two weeks with my in-laws. My trips to Japan usually involve a lot of writing. Once upon a time I managed to get 40,000 words of The Binary Man done in ten days, but this time was a little different, and not only because we've got the kids now (the 'time machines', due to their ability to drain it in the happiest way possible). My word count was a demure 6,000, give or take. Why? Well, I was looking at the bones.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I've always resisted studying the structure of stories. I did learn a bit about it at University in the most superficial of ways, and found that even this half-hearted approach still sucked all of the potential magic out of reading a book. It broke my immersion. I felt the same when writing. Better to get the story out, as fast and as enthusiastically as possible, because that way it'll be more raw. And it was. But raw is only good in sashimi and wrestling.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I've been throwing out first drafts, and thinking of them as finished. Sure, sometimes I would get a glimpse of something decent, when a few parts fell in the right places, but it was luck rather than judgement, if I'm honest. And then I wonder why my books don't sell. It's like making a baked potato. You can do it in the microwave, and you'll have the same ingredients (pomme de terre, <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="becd11a3-5870-4c65-9827-8ffc3b230077" id="ad1c0d15-93c4-4834-a91c-e425564acf59">buerre</span>, <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="becd11a3-5870-4c65-9827-8ffc3b230077" id="b3784159-8024-4b8b-9c34-ef699e1d3674">fromage</span>, lovely jubbly), but there's something missing in the <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="becd11a3-5870-4c65-9827-8ffc3b230077" id="3dd7a40d-2997-4a78-80c6-a429c0b32999">flavour</span>. If you give it an hour in the oven, it develops nuances and textures that weren't there before. It comes together. It melts, rather than flaking.</span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">So I picked up a few books, and read how others did it. You know, successful authors. I looked at <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="9e9de56f-cd8c-4de2-b48c-c41b9e603ed4" id="aca044df-ac7f-4bac-9e8e-e1df14aad538">exposition</span>, leading to rising action, to climax (oh <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="9e9de56f-cd8c-4de2-b48c-c41b9e603ed4" id="6162cd9c-6bc1-4777-aaa0-1a3d847caac8">myyy</span>), to falling action, and then I compared that structure <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="9e9de56f-cd8c-4de2-b48c-c41b9e603ed4" id="b847b2d9-47b2-4b6a-b108-04fc2a9b5644">to</span> the books I loved. It worked! It fitted. And I never saw them, I never saw the bones that held the body of work up. </span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">I laid out a plan. I worked out events, characters, a setting, and left enough room for the story to jiggle about a bit as the characters' personalities begin to assert themselves (always an exciting moment). It's going to be a thriller. It has a different narrative voice to my usual one, even my usual first person voice, which means cutting words that don't fit, and explaining things in a different way so that they work for the character. It's not going to be the most original story out there, but I don't think that matters this time. This story is about me learning how to write, how to build the skeleton, before I <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="7e98c443-0d15-4e24-9c63-5aecc648c1ae" id="2c30f91e-9048-4acd-bcbd-0ee7303262e3">hide</span> it in the meat of a (hopefully decent) read. I'm keeping most of the details secret. I've only told a snippet of the plot to one person (my soon to be brother-in-law), and I stopped myself quickly. I'm not getting that hot potato out of the oven until it's done. I'm going to draft, re-draft, cut, and be mercenary. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Courier New, Courier, monospace;">It'll be the best damn potato I've ever baked. I hope you enjoy it.</span></div>
Jacob Prytherchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01931309523182492269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4089590858109211763.post-61989458625887043782014-06-08T07:09:00.000+01:002014-06-08T07:09:31.292+01:00Why I write horror.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXhpHO_rsft5Dhnw31kEd-xIz1EOJCFPrVEvwB98sc8vL-LygNf91Fmtg39waxMKRng29X2GeiOaBuCGFlyRuozghLFPHKfUIitw-9ycD5DQxE_l7VfzjlHkBrD0R8WSDYE7HR2rPqn2u9/s1600/download+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXhpHO_rsft5Dhnw31kEd-xIz1EOJCFPrVEvwB98sc8vL-LygNf91Fmtg39waxMKRng29X2GeiOaBuCGFlyRuozghLFPHKfUIitw-9ycD5DQxE_l7VfzjlHkBrD0R8WSDYE7HR2rPqn2u9/s1600/download+(1).jpg" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">Well, I <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="51228f3d-5b5c-4412-b868-1334cdcac8cc" id="da20b476-b58c-4d9b-802d-bbbfd0c31759">was trying</span>
to write a blog post every week, but last week was too filled with life,
children and (I’ll be honest) sunshine. I’m feeling very stretched lately (what’s
that Tolkien/Bilbo quote? “Like butter over too much bread?”) so I’ve decided
to relax on my writing to enable me to get a bit of energy back. Due to
starting new jobs, moving jobs, scheduling holiday for when my kids are off
etc. I am now in the position where I’ve only had a week and a half of holiday
in eight months. I am fried.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">So I now watch
Hannibal on my commutes, with just a bit of writing thrown in if my mind can
take it. Hannibal is a great program, though very <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="6692cf87-0677-4964-93fe-eeae33689bfa" id="6d187e4e-1792-48d2-97ec-1b9971f2dd8c">grisly</span>. I wouldn’t mind if
the violence was more implied, as it’s not the reason I watch it. The
characters are the draw (even if the female characters are very two dimensional
compared to the male). It’s a wonderful story of a descent into madness, and a
chillingly believable one (for all of its mammoth body <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="9ece7d57-d0ad-4375-91b3-27ba2f876889" id="c6eb8114-aa57-4e35-aef5-9638715e4632">count</span>. I’m never going
to Baltimore. There must only be about three people left).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New";"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Courier New";"><span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="2ce42e4c-9abc-4c75-a32e-2e8b0803ac93" id="6a91c300-39a3-4267-bae2-a7cfe400e091">Annnnnnnnnyway</span>, all
of this led me to thinking about why I actually write horror. I never intended
to be primarily a horror writer. The majority of the books that I own are
science fiction or fantasy, and my first book <i>The Binary Man</i> was a cyberpunk effort. My second <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="9de275a3-ede1-4b19-9b62-86983e3392e3" id="09b9d42d-bf50-4ae1-98cc-274457470aa0">book <i>Heal</i></span><i> The Sick, Raise The Dead </i>would have
a hard time to be classed as anything as horror due to the fact that it
features the <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="9de275a3-ede1-4b19-9b62-86983e3392e3" id="f5aebec9-35ca-4ae3-8d54-ab02c8a92d3d">undead</span>, but I intended it to be more of a mystery than straight up
zombie pulp. The corpses are incidental and present a sense of constant threat,
rather than being the main story. Then came <i>Cuts
of Flesh</i>, a six part novella Lovecraftian series about a detective
investigating a murder, which leads to <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="ae5422f3-02aa-4513-b76e-ad0f885773b5" id="58daa508-9590-4ada-9c35-2db7e4b875c8">him uncovering</span> the fact that his wife
might still be alive after she disappeared seven years ago. Yes, these ones are
definitely horror. <i>The Real Thing</i> is
not, going back to cyberpunk with an overblown near future romp, which I
enjoyed writing, but has never taken off. Then there was <i>Terror Organic</i>, an anthology of my short stories (all pretty
macabre), <i>Carnival</i>, another horror
novella, and finally <i>Shy</i>, an
interactive Japanese horror novel. I’m now in the process of flitting between
three novels, one <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="b64a6029-2744-4f1a-b097-244e5b0f7193" id="a8436be0-8d17-40bb-9315-a2e3a09eff28">sci</span> <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="b64a6029-2744-4f1a-b097-244e5b0f7193" id="74592294-39f0-495d-9ad1-cb16fc7ba90f">fi</span>, one dark fantasy and one thriller/yes, probably
horror. The strange thing is, I don’t really think of the word horror when I’m
writing the story. Horror to me evokes a revelling in gore. I’ve seen posts by
horror fans along the lines of “that is so sick, when the eye gets squished!”,
where the violence itself is seen as being a reason to watch. I know horror
fans who don’t give a flying limb about narrative, as long as the blood keeps
flowing down the screen. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Courier New";">Yes, my stories do
sometimes contain gore, but I don’t enjoy writing it. I <i>fear</i> it. Maybe I keep falling back on such dark writing because I’m
older, I have a wife who I love dearly and am petrified of losing, and now two
daughters. My heart aches with worry, and those worries come out in my stories.
I want to push those worries back, but don’t feel strong enough to do it
myself, so I write protagonists who can. My ideal life would be <span class="GINGER_SOFTWARE_mark" ginger_software_uiphraseguid="c17dda28-d812-417f-b78b-688ecfdefb4e" id="f805416f-0733-4249-96d5-16bc7c41ab0d">farming</span> and
sunshine, away from a society that seems hell bent on stripping the world of
its life and reducing everything to a commodity to be consumed. Unfortunately,
farms are expensive, and I fear my wife wouldn’t do well in the solitude that I
crave, so I slog it out in the city, and exorcise my demons with writing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Jacob Prytherchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01931309523182492269noreply@blogger.com0