Author Updates

Rounding out the preparation for launch of Cut In Half next month. That included locking down on the blurb, if you haven’t seen that check it out.

There’s always lots to do and plan to get ready for a launch including multiple reads, sending to copy editor and final preparation.

This week we’ll start on the interactive map for it. That means some updates to the map design, then loading the new image into the tool we’ve built for interactive maps, and then plotting out each step for the characters.

Key work of late:

• Final edits of Cut In Half – a work in progress
• Writing the blurb for CIH and also writing a new blurb for A Fool’s Errand.
• Pending Wiki update with all of the final content from Spire of Fools
• Sent out the cover reveal email to my newsletter group.
• Setting up pre-order links for Cut In Half.
• Planning the launch process.

Working my way through all the final edits of Cut In Half. Every part of this book has been handled a little differently to the earlier three and I’m not rushing any of it.

It has taken longer to fit in what I am doing around everything else but the end goal is what I’m focused on. My aim is that this story incorporates everything I’ve learned along my writing journey so far but also lifts the depth of the story elements in some new ways.

And the new publication date is set – May 13, 2025. I am looking at doing a cover reveal in the next month so keep an eye out for that in my newsletter.

Key work of late:

• Final edits of Cut In Half – a work in progress
• I’ve set publication date to be May 13, 2025
• Pending Wiki update with all of the final content from Spire of Fools
• Publishing more blog posts

Happy New Year to everyone. I’ve been busy working in my agency throughout the holiday period, setting up a bunch of new things ready for this year.

Writing wise it’s all about the final editing steps, which I am working through. Based on availability for my copy editor, which is late February I’m chipping away at a steady pace to be ready for that timeframe.

It feels like not a lot has happened in the last month, which isn’t true, but I always feel different in this final edit process as it’s a much more strategic review. Less words more thinking.

Key work of late:

• Final edits of Cut In Half
• Pending Wiki update with all of the final content from Spire of Fools
• Reviewing what I want to do on social media, email and in general promotions for 2025
• Publishing more blog posts

Summer has well and truly arrived which for those that have been following along for a while is my favourite time of the year.

Time at the beach, down the road, and just soaking up the sunshine is time that helps me feel fantastic and replenish the mind and soul.

I now have the manuscript back for Cut in Half, which came back a little later than expected and pushed out some dates. It means we’ll be publishing/releasing it in 2025 but I’m comfortable with that.

Key work of late:

• Reviewing Cut In Half with my editor
• Final edits of Cut In Half
• Setting publication date for Cut In Hald
• Still stressing about the fact I still have to update my Wiki with all of the final content from Spire of Fools
• Reviewing what I want to do on social media, email and in general promotions for 2025
• Publishing more blog posts

I’ve had the last two weeks to myself, including being away on a road trip in Northern NSW, Australia… why? because Cut In Half is with my editor.

That’s exciting news I know!

Of course now I get to sit here and stress about what it will come back like, how much editing I’ll need to do etc.

But that’s the joy of things.

It has also given me time to look into the outline of Book 4 in the series and make the critical choice about whose story it will be. With me going to create smaller books in the main series to be able to publish them quicker, I’ll be focusing on one of two characters this time.

Key work of late:

• Sending Cut In Half to my editor
• Running a promotion for Fool Me Twice
• Still stressing about the fact I still have to update my Wiki with all of the final content from Spire of Fools
• a little more on the outline for Book 4 in the In All Jest series.

Very much deep in the editing of Cut In Half, although I did manage to fit in time to release The In All Jest World Free Ebook.

I’m over 1/3 of the way through the editing process, my first part of it, before it goes off to my developmental editor.

I know I need to select the actual day in December that it will be published, but hey there’s still 3 and a bit months to go. As soon as I do the cover reveal (this month) then I’ll have to tell the exact date.

Key work of late:

• Finishing and publishing the FREE ebook The In All Jest World. You can get on this site.
• Editing Cut In Half
• Thinking about a promotion for Fool Me Twice, which I’ll be setting up in the next week
• Stressing about the fact I still have to update my Wiki with all of the final content from Spire of Fools
• Drafting the outline for Book 4 in the In All Jest series.

Most of my current focus is on my editing process for Cut In Half. I am currently reviewing all of the existing chapters and marking them into a spreadsheet based on the Story Grid concept by Shawn Coyne which helps me see many of the surface level stats.

From there after marking up the printed copies and notating key elements in the spreadsheet I’ll be onto the actual page edits.

We’ve locked in a publication date for Decemeber this year, which will be the first time I’ve published more than 1 novel in a year.

Key work of late:

• Producing the FREE ebook The In All Jest World, it’s about 70% complete
• Prepping with my editorial team for Cut in Half (and setting the date)
• Editing Cut In Half
• Running a promotion for A Fool’s Errand
• Making some changes to my social media productions.

I’m now editing Cut In Half, Book A in the In All Jest World series. It’s great to be at this stage already and not have 200k+ words to edit 🙂

What’s been very enjoyable has been writing about things from before the Occultation occurred and bringing that to life as it happens in the book… oops no spoliers.

As I write this I can see the book cover which is printed and blue-tac’d to my wall above my monitor. I’m more certain about it being right for the story as well. Looking forward to having it out in the world.

Key work of late:

• Running promotions on A Fool’s Errand
• Updating my email series for new people joining the reader club
• Commenced work on the World of Scurra free ebook, which is an updateable guide to my In All Jest series, with pronunciation guides, maps and a glossary
• Outlining Book 4 of the In All Jest series.

About 1 week from finishing the first draft of Cut In Half, Book A in the In All Jest World series.

Then I’ll be straight into editing it with a two-month turnaround on that before getting to my editors.

The goal is to have that published later this year while writing Book 4 in the main In All Jest Series.

There’s been a lot of ongoing promotions of A Fool’s Errand, introducing new readers to the series and receiving feedback on Spire of Fools.

Key work of late:

• Running promotions on A Fool’s Errand
• First draft of Cut In Half
• Outlining Book 4 of the In All Jest series.

Spire of Fools was published in February which was followed by a short break.

I’ve changed the default size of my paperbacks to be in the 6×9 format. I really like this setup and all future books will be printed in this size also, instead of the 5×8 that was originally used.

I’m currently just over halfway through my latest book called Cut In Half, which will be Book A in the Scurra World series.

The In All Jest series is set in the world of Scurra, and currently on two continents: Dharatan and Enderk.

Cut In Half is a standalone novel which will provide some insight into several characters that appear in Book 3, Spire Of Fools.

It will be much smaller than the In All Jest books have been, and I already have the cover design completed which I am very happy with.

Key work of late:

• Promoting Spire Of Fools
• Running promotions on A Fool’s Errand
• First draft of Cut In Half
• Cover design of Cut in Half
• Outlining Book 4 of the In All Jest series.

It’s time to release the cover for Book 3 in the In All Jest series, Spire Of Fools.

Unlike the first two books this cover only came together recently. It took the amazing skills of my designers in my web agency to help produce the background image, which is an illustration of Midderbuilt, from within the series world. That illustration sets the scene for this amazing cover.

Here’s a small version of the illustration.

And here’s the cover. Note Spire of Fool’s is now available for pre-order, you can find the links on the main book page.

I’d love to hear what you think about the new designs

In my view, there’s no worse time than the period between sending off a manuscript to your editor and when you receive it back.

Due to the deadline and human’s being good at always needing every last minute to complete such a thing, you are invariably very busy up to the end.

Then it just stops dead.

You are left holding all the regrets of things you didn’t do, or living with the ideas bubbling up from the space your brain now has.

And there’s nothing you can do.

That’s how I’ve felt over these last weeks since my manuscript ran away from home.

So what do I do?

I use the time inbetween to update my world wiki. What’s that you ask? Great question. Writing a fantasy series requires a lot of world building, and information that develops as the series unfolds.

As much as I’d like to think the computer in my head can remember everything, it can’t.

My wiki contains everything about each realm (country) within me worlds, incuding their history, type of government/ruler, economy, people, cities, towns, geography etc.

Then there’s all of the characters and their profiles, which includes eye colour, which hand they prefer, skin color, hair colour, preferences, quirks, you name it. If it’s part of their character profile, I store all of the detail in the wiki.

Then there’s plot threads, other pieces of information and detailed descriptions of locations that appear within the books.

All of this helps me, especially when you are deep in a chapter or scene and you can’t recall a feature of a place, or mannerism of a person.

Maintaining the wiki it is quite a task. I didn’t update it after the release of Fool Me Twice, which meant having to go back to the book instead of the wiki to confirm key things while drafting Spire Of Fools.

Thus, I am ensuring that I get it up to date now. Once Spire Of Fools is published the first task before Book 4 in the series is begun will be to repeat this exercise.

I use a piece of web software called Roam Research, which is a bidirectional wiki – meaning it links in both directions automatically. I.e. if I link from Content A -> Content B, it will auto link back from B -> A.

This is incredibly helpful and means the linkages build a graph of knowledge about the series that would take a person too long to do.

So that’s what I have been doing of late.

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