What are you working on right now?

[sknox]

Here's the cover for the book I just finished. Release date is around 21 July

 

[AlexH]

I remember writing a description of what my ideal book cover would look like on this forum, and that one fits the biscuit.

In "what I'm working on" news, last month I cancelled the 4,000-words-a-month I sent to an editor so I can concentrate on actually honing stories rather than writing so much new stuff. As a result, I've submitted two short stories and three poems this month. I'm hoping to submit another two stories before I go away next week, but still have a lot of stuff to organise...

 

[sknox]

I'm envious about the short stories. I've written two, and not all that short (~8k) and it's been quite a while and I can't think of any new ones. I realize the market's bad and the pay's worse, but I'd like to think I *could* if I really wanted to. So far, nothing.

 

[AlexH]

I don't think of an idea as a short story, I just start writing and stop when it seems like the right time. I've been told two of my shorts could be novels but don't fancy writing a novel, as the stories that reached 9,000-10,000 words were hard enough! Two of the poems I submitted were actually flash pieces, but they work as poems so I reformatted them.

 

[sknox]

I've got one on the backburner. I want to do a locked room mystery, but with wizards. Maybe at a convention or a school. Seems like a natural. Maybe after I get some distance between me and Into the Second World and I can look at the world with fresh eyes.

 

[-K2-]

* First off, I've finished up my alpha+ version of my story.
* A day before however I was struck with a new idea regarding a vast dune desert, a number of key aspects, a big point regarding climate change (what if your way of life, the desert, was shrinking and becoming green?) and an absolutely awesome title for it. Hopefully I can keep it novelette sized, but knowing me it will be a novella... no more than, and I'm going to try and stick to that!
* However, wanting to get LS~G8 to beta stage first, and get the rewrite of LS~G9 to the beta-stage (won't be that hard), I refuse to do more with the above project past make note of ideas.
* To stay focused, a few weeks ago I posted a short passage for critique. As usual good points were made by the members, all noted... yet then I decided to recheck my science. Especially on some debated points.

So, I've been performing heaps of research into cloud types and what causes them, projected changes to the atmosphere regarding climate change, changes to the jet streams - the Hadley, Ferrel, and Polar circulation cells, etc.. Most of my research though has dealt with the spectral shifts in sun and moonlight due to increased methane in the atmosphere and the projected longevity, resulting associated changes and compositions considering other aerosol contaminants (including spectral shifts), angle of the sun throughout the year considering projected cloud banding relating to zodiacal light/false sunrises-sets, various stages of twilight, skyglow & airglow, atmospheric extinction and scattering, etc. etc.. And finally, effects on human vision considering prolonged mesopic vision (vs. photopic/scotopic), Purkinje shift, physiological and psychological effects considering the visible wavelength shifts that would occur (more blue band, much less red) and optical results. And, a whole bunch more along those lines.

Why? Because I'm learning What's fun is, key pieces are all out there... but... they've not been put together into a single package of 'extreme climate change and the resulting effects on visible light, and how that will affect humans.'

K2

 

[Eric Lewis]

Hi all. I figured this would be a good choice for my inaugural comment. After two years of writing and revising and two more querying, I'm finally putting the final touches on my debut novel, to be published sometime next year. It's a mildly grimdark revenge fantasy, with peasant insurgents, political conspiracies, scheming banks, mercenaries, warlords and spies. I'm anxious to get my agent revisions before it goes off to the editor to be ripped to shreds.

I've made a start on a sequel, with badder villains and higher stakes, but I wonder if the story is really much different from the first one to be worth it. I'm about 35 pages in, and I can already see how the whole story will play out, and I can't tell if it's very interesting because I'm so invested in the world I have no objectivity.

I also just started a short story for fun, about a hero for hire who can't get a job and decides to become a villain instead, plotting to kidnap the people who wouldn't hire him. It's kind of a snarky commentary on the vast number of form rejections I've received, so it probably won't get accepted anywhere good. But it is fun.

 

[CTRandall]

@Eric Lewis Welcome to the Chrons and congrats on getting your first novel published! I've found lots of good, helpful people here who are happy to read through stuff and rip it to shreds. Just like real editors, except here you'll end up being friends with them

 

[sknox]

Welcome Eric. So your book has been bought by a publisher?

 

[HareBrain]

Welcome Eric. So your book has been bought by a publisher?

I edited the name of book and publisher out of Eric's original post because that counts as self-promotion (which isn't allowed until members reach 100 posts). Hopefully he'll be in a position to tell us more about it long before it comes out.

 

[sknox]

Ah, ok. Still, getting a publisher right out of the gate is worth a congratulations!

 

[Vaz]

* A day before however I was struck with a new idea regarding a vast dune desert, a number of key aspects, a big point regarding climate change (what if your way of life, the desert, was shrinking and becoming green?) and an absolutely awesome title for it. Hopefully I can keep it novelette sized, but knowing me it will be a novella... no more than, and I'm going to try and stick to that!
*

This sounds amazing. When you need a beta reader for this, let me know.

V

 

[-K2-]

This sounds amazing. When you need a beta reader for this, let me know.

Thanks for the response! If you'd like for me to share a few themes to be applied from my notes, let me know.

Thanks for the offer.

K2

 

[Vaz]

Yeah shoot me a PM if you want to share anything. The premise sounds interesting.

V

 

[Vaz]

@sknox great cover by the way. Intriguing and well put together.

V

 

[CTRandall]

Submitted a short story today. It was based on one of my 75-word chaĺlenge entries for the Chrons, so if it gets accepted, I have all of you lovely folks to thank.

 

[Vaz]

Good luck with the submission.

V

 

[Eric Lewis]

I edited the name of book and publisher out of Eric's original post because that counts as self-promotion (which isn't allowed until members reach 100 posts). Hopefully he'll be in a position to tell us more about it long before it comes out.

Welcome Eric. So your book has been bought by a publisher?

Oops, sorry! I'm really good at accidentally breaking rules. Which is why I needed a break from AW Yes, it's a new imprint of a publisher that's been around for awhile but has mostly printed stationery, cards, calendars etc. until now. I won't pretend it's anything other than dumb luck, but after 242 queries, I'll take it!

The first draft of my short story is done. It's kind of a send-up of classic RPG fantasy tropes. A questing hero that uses scrolls, spells and rings to do petty side quest jobs can't find a permanent gig, so he decides to become a villain and kidnap the last batch of folks who rejected him to hold for ransom. But a rival villain steals his plan notes and gets to them first, and he inadvertently ends up rescuing them and becoming the hero after all. Not a terribly original plot, but I hope it's amusing enough to get in somewhere. I needed to do something more lighthearted for a change. It still has loss, betrayal, madness and revenge, but at least no one dies in it. That counts as lighthearted, right?

 

[sknox]

Into the Second World is back from the editor. Work on it is delayed a month, however, because Wife&I are going on a big trip. Fiftieth wedding anniversary. We'll take a cruise ship across the Atlantic, stop in a few ports, then catch a train from Barcelona to Paris, and five days in that city. A little over three weeks for the whole shebang.

I took a quick look. Plenty of little stuff, but no major rewriting. Of course, once I return I'll have several weeks of distance and I may wind up being my own worst editor at that point. I'll try to keep the demon caged. Even allowing three weeks or so for final revision and proofing, there's a good three or four week window for pre-sales work.

In the meanwhile, I'm reading more about Welfs and Hohenstaufen. There are great characters associated with Frederick. I mean, when you have a pirate ally called Henry the Fisherman, how can you go wrong?

 

[The Big Peat]

Congrats to Mr Knox on the big number and romantic trip - and also a light edit and a gorgeous looking cover.

Also congrats to Mr Lewis on finding SFFChrons. Oh yes, and also getting published Love that short story idea too.


As for me, I'm 66% of the way through the edit on NotGumshoePaladin which at the moment is turning into a rewrite the chapter jobbie. Fun times!