What It Means When A Man Falls From The Sky #AmReading #BookPreview

A dazzlingly accomplished debut collection explores the ties that bind parents and children, husbands and wives, lovers and friends to one another and to the places they call home.

In “Who Will Greet You at Home,” a National Magazine Award finalist for The New Yorker, A woman desperate for a child weaves one out of hair, with unsettling results. In “Wild,” a disastrous night out shifts a teenager and her Nigerian cousin onto uneasy common ground. In “The Future Looks Good,” three generations of women are haunted by the ghosts of war, while in “Light,” a father struggles to protect and empower the daughter he loves. And in the title story, in a world ravaged by flood and riven by class, experts have discovered how to “fix the equation of a person” – with rippling, unforeseen repercussions.

Evocative, playful, subversive, and incredibly human, What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky heralds the arrival of a prodigious talent with a remarkable career ahead of her.

---

Image of Lesley Nneka Arimah

Lesley Nneka Arimah was born in the UK and grew up wherever her father was stationed for work, which was sometimes Nigeria, sometimes not.

Her work has received grants and awards from Commonwealth Writers, AWP, the Elizabeth George Foundation, the Jerome Foundation and others. She currently lives in Minneapolis.

Advertisement

The Magician’s Apprentice #BookReview #TrudiCanavan #TheMagiciansApprentice

Title:
The Magician’s Apprentice – Hardcover

Author:
Trudi Canavan

Genre:
Fantasy

Book procurement:
Book store sale

Rating:

A predictable 3 out of 5

Synopsis:

In the remote village of Mandryn, Tessia serves as assistant to her father, the village Healer. Her mother would rather she found a husband. But her life is about to take a very unexpected turn.

When the advances of a visiting Sachakan mage get violent, Tessia unconsciously taps unknown reserves of magic to defend herself. Lord Dakon, the local magician, takes Tessia under his wing as an apprentice.

The hours are long and the work arduous, but soon and exciting new world opens up to her. There are fine clothes and servants – and, to Tessia’s delight – regular trips to the great city of Imardin.

However, Tessia is about to discover that her magical gifts bring with them a great deal of responsibility. For a storm is approaching that threatens to tear her world apart.

First Thoughts

Over the course of the years, I’ve been making an effort to collect books in genres outside of just horror. Surprisingly and despite dabbling in the genre, Fantasy took a back seat in my reading adventures. Therefore, Trudi Canavan’s The Magician’s Apprentice felt like a great way to bring fantasy closer to the forefront of my reading goal.

Intention and Practice, however, are two different things. While the book does a wonderful job of exploring the genre in terms of characters, setting, and worldbuilding, there were other aspects that I had me put the book down in frustration a few times. Mainly:

• The predictability was sometimes palpable.
• I worked out that much of what characters thought and said, even in speculation, came to pass later.
• There was a lot of unnecessary switching of characters between sections, which led to unneeded “cliffhanger” chapter breaks.
• The magic, sadly, had no real depth .

I do think this was, perhaps, due to the fact that this prequel was written after the main trilogy and so certain facts and histories are clear for Canavan and her readers. But new readers like myself, missed a depth which might be present in The Black Magician trilogy.

The Story

We follow Tessia, a promising young healer living under the authority of magician Lord Dakon. Her father is the town Healer, passing knowledge to his daughter with an insatiable appetite for healing knowledge; this factor is the reason Tessia finds herself at Lord Dakon’s estate. After an unpleasant encounter with a visiting Sachakan magician, Tessia discovers her magical ability and the joys and danger of being an apprentice.

Tessia begins as the main protagonist of the story, but it feels like she fades off to secondary character status by the end of it, with ties to the story rather than the driving force. While she’s present for much of the unfolding events, she’s not present in every situation, which relies on other characters to provide the details she wouldn’t know otherwise.

The flitting perspectives became more obvious towards the middle-to-end of the book, which again, had me put the book down when an unnecessary break in the story gave a perspective that didn’t have a deeper impact to the unfolding story. Those final chapters felt very much like “necessary events prevalent to the next book” and the lives of people I’d spent all this time reading about, were simply tied up and discarded to the histories. It felt very anti-climatic.

Overall, I did enjoy the story. It involved discovery of new powers, using said powers in interesting situations, and a “main” character I wanted to invest in. Lord Dakon, Jayan, Takado, and the host of characters making an appearance each have distinct, viable personalities to round off a cast and story that is entertaining.

Writing

Praise must be given to Canavan’s writing itself. The first sentence, ‘There was no fast and painless way to perform an amputation, Tessia knew.’ and right through the opening paragraph, the story opens vividly into the life of a healers helper. There is no wasting of words as each description, sentence, and expression drives the story forward, and at the same time, brings character traits to life.

Unfortunately, its this same crisp writing that turns the writing (and thus the story) predictable. When no words are wasted, then thoughts characters have (even in conjecture) must have relevance to pushing the story forward – as it proved far too often.

I enjoyed a lot of the worldbuilding around The Magician’s Apprentcice. The towns and people felt real, the exploration of race, culture, politics, and social standing became part of the reading without distraction, and overall tied together solidly.

I was looking forward to a bit more in the magic system. There was more time spent on how it felt using magic, and the result of its use, but none of the little details. On its own, this isn’t an issue – when there’s an intense magical battle between powerful magicians, the missing details make for a lackluster spectacle.

Final Thoughts

Following Tessia, Jayan, and Drakon through these early days was still a lot of fun. Learning about the different races, histories, and moral differences made up for the lack of “spectacular” magic I was expecting.

More than anything, the book starts strong and ends abruptly. I can understand how establishing an existing history into a single novel can be difficult. Perhaps if the book had included the rest of the detail into a prologue, I’d feel a little better about it.

There’s also too many little details I can’t write without spoilers, so I’ll end with this; I hope The Black Magician, written before this “prologue”, reads better and deeper into this really fascinating world.

---

The Magician’s Apprentice was first published 23 February 2009.

Did you know: In early 2006 Trudi signed a seven-figure contract with Orbit to write the prequel and sequel to the Black Magician Trilogy. The prequel, The Magician’s Apprentice, won the Best Fantasy Novel category of the Aurealis Awards.

Trudi Canavan was born in Kew, Melbourne and grew up in Ferntree Gully, a suburb at the foothills of the Dandenongs. In 1999 she won the Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Short Story with “Whispers of the Mist Children”. In the same year she was granted a writers residency at Varuna Writers’ Centre in Katoomba, New South Wales.

A Man of the People by Chinua Achebe #BookReview #AfricanAuthors #ChinuaAchebe

Title:
A Man of the People

Author:
Chinua Achebe

Genre:
African Literature – Literary Fiction

Book procurement:
Home Library

Rating:

An inspiring 4 out of 5

Synopsis:

By the renowned author of “Things Fall Apart,” this novel foreshadows the Nigerian coups of 1966 and shows the color and vivacity as well as the violence and corruption of a society making its own way between the two worlds.

This novel was included in Anthony Burgess’s personal selection of the 99 best novels in English since 1939.

First Thoughts

2021 opened with an old box of books, and a TBR list that needed to be dusted off. Top of the pile – and thin in comparison to the rest – Chinua Achebe’s A Man of the People was a book my mother often touted around the house, proclaiming to all, “It’s a must read.”

After reading the book, I share a fair bit of her sentiments.

The opening paragraph was all I needed to pull me into Achebe’s writing style and immediate characterization. It was a freshness to writing I perhaps needed from the novels and authors I usually surround myself with.

An interesting note lay in Achebe’s use of Pidgin English during dialogue and other parts, grounding the story in its African setting. It does take some getting used to, and I often had to reread a line to make sure I got the meaning correct.

Overall, the writing flows well and pulls you into the story, characters, and ensuing drama surrounding narrator and protagonist, Odili Samalu.

The Story

The novel opens with an introduction to the main man of the story, Chief the Honourable M.A. Nanga MP (his titles are important), a charming politician, husband, and true man of the people. His meeting with Odili leads to a revelation of what truly happens behind the closed doors of powerful, influential people. Of somber sacrifices, debatable questions of morality, and murky “for the good of the people” grey-areas that can quickly drown or elevate a man by simply manipulating perspective.

Subsumed in the story is Odili’s humanly-irreproachable personality and genuine virtuousness, contrasting the harsh reality of the power, attraction, and seduction of the political world and its leaders. His own life drama entangles with Chief Nanga’s life, bringing with it aspects of love, tragedy, joy, and betrayal.

And hidden in plain sight is the ever-present conflict/debate between the “white-educated” populace and their “locally-educated” peers. It is a conflict I myself struggled with as a black African, when vocabulary and pronunciation had me questioned for being “too white”. Chief Nanga, a true politician, maneuvers around the issue deceptively well, while having an obvious opinion of where he stands and at the same time, never quite reaching it.

Writing

At one point I may have stopped the book and compared it to the narrative style of The Great Gatsby. That is, seeing Chief Nanga as the great hero and wonder that he is, and slowly realizing he is flawed and human like the rest of us. Especially in light of Odili’s narration as an outsider, guest, then close friend to the renowned man – though that’s as far as comparisons go.

Achebe’s writing style feels familiar and reads like a recount of an actual story – one can imagine meeting Chief Nanga, Odili, or any of the characters making appearances in the book, in real life. Even the dialogue sounds authentic, sub characters encompass their roles (Dogo the guard comes to mind), and the story continues and flows easily and with purpose.

Final Thoughts

I have always wondered how stories like these can ever come to an end, and yet an end they must have. This particular ending was not only reflective of the opening paragraph and proceeding events, but also reminiscent of the true struggles that rise when politics, culture, religion, and personal gain have a cost that hits a little too close to home. As one of the characters states, paraphrased,

“Does a man who comes from nothing and finally gets a taste of luxury, willingly give it up?”

---

The A Man of the People was first published in 1966.

Did you know: Achebe became the David and Marianna Fisher University Professor and Professor of Africana Studies at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, United States.

Chinua Achebe was a novelist, poet, professor at Brown University and critic. He is best known for his first novel, Things Fall Apart (1958), which is the most widely read book in modern African literature.

Achebe’s novels focus on the traditions of Igbo society, the effect of Christian influences, and the clash of values during and after the colonial era. His style relied heavily on the Igbo oral tradition, and combines straightforward narration with representations of folk stories, proverbs, and oratory. He also published a number of short stories, children’s books, and essay collections.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde #BookReview #OscarWilde

Title:
The Picture of Dorian Gray

Author:
Oscar Wilde

Genre:
Horror

Book procurement:
Office library.

Rating:

A so-so 3 out of 5

Synopsis:

Written in his distinctively dazzling manner, Oscar Wilde’s story of a fashionable young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty is the author’s most popular work.

The tale of Dorian Gray’s moral disintegration caused a scandal when it first appeared in 1890, but though Wilde was attacked for the novel’s corrupting influence, he responded that there is, in fact, “a terrible moral in Dorian Gray.” Just a few years later, the book and the aesthetic/moral dilemma it presented became issues in the trials occasioned by Wilde’s homosexual liaisons, which resulted in his imprisonment.

Of Dorian Gray’s relationship to autobiography, Wilde noted in a letter, “Basil Hallward is what I think I am: Lord Henry what the world thinks me: Dorian what I would like to be—in other ages, perhaps.”

First Thoughts

The Picture of Dorian Gray is a classic story and book I’ve been meaning to read ever since I heard about it. The story of a man who imprints his misdeeds into a painting of himself, remaining young while the portrait ages in his stead? That’s the kind of story I’d want to read.

At the end of it, the premise which was presented and story itself, traveled parallel up until the end and then it all felt to end abruptly – like a story that realised at it’s end, that it had reached its word count.

The Story

We follow the lives of three significant people; Dorian Gray the young beautiful man the story is based on, Basil Howard the painter who captures Dorian Gray, and Lord Henry Wotton, Dorian’s friend who is present during the painting.

The book begins with Howard’s meeting of Gray at a party, where the painter finds himself completely drawn to the young man, finding in him a new muse. He invites Dorian to have his portrait painted and during the painting, Lord Henry Wotton comes to visit. Gray and Lord Henry hit it off, with Lord Henry imparting new ideologies and philosophies to the young man… only the new awareness may be too much for young Dorian.

As Henry postulates and Dorian’s world is exposed to new knowledge, something occurs during that moment, forever altering the lives of all three men.

Writing

There is no denying that Oscar Wilde is a great writer. Descriptions are flourished with colour and sound, characters within their lives vividly imagined, all creating an immersive world; one can imagine themselves in those times, interacting with the people and exploring various locations as they would.

As a reader (and writer) who enjoys suspending reality long enough to appreciate the descriptions, there may be a few who might be put off by the long-winded writing. I personally enjoyed this style of writing as Wilde adds all senses into his writing such as scent (perfumes and flowers) to visuals (clothing styles, unique locations), all used to paint a deeper portrait of each character and their lives – including sub characters.

Final Thoughts

I may have enjoyed the writing and general story, but there were moments I felt unnecessary, descriptions that dragged too long, characters that didn’t really do much, and an ending that leaves much to be desired.

To be honest, when I reached the end of the book, I was underwhelmed and disappointed. It felt like the whole narrative was an elongated short story, or an incomplete novel. I was pining for more… sadly there wasn’t any.

---

The Picture of Dorian Gray was first published in July 1890.

Did you know: Several of his plays continue to be widely performed, especially “The Importance of Being Earnest”.

Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish playwright, poet, and author of numerous short stories, and one novel.

Known for his biting wit, and a plentitude of aphorisms, he became one of the most successful playwrights of the late Victorian era in London, and one of the greatest celebrities of his day.. 

Writing Update: Of Metal and Magic + Beneath The Wax: Cover Reveal

It has been an enduring couple of months, and yet at the end of it all, writing continues to be both a savior and a form of catharsis that pulls me back from the murky depths. Well that, family, and good friends. Nonetheless, and despite my abhorrent absence, the writing cogs continue to go on. Much like life.

Of Metal and Magic

For the last few months I’ve been working alongside a couple of authors from Fiction Vortex, specifically in the realm of Of Metal and Magic (OMAM). JM Williams, an international author currently enjoying Comic Con Seoul, with much grace allowed me to be part of the team, and as an effort to bring more readers to this amazing universe, created the OMAM Facebook Page.

All things related to OMAM, including the authors, upcoming works, and announcements (photos of JM Williams enjoying Comic Con without us haha) can be found there. Please join us as we embark on a journey through an epic-shared universe of dragons and unicorns and magical stories.

OMAM Facebook Page

JM Williams Author Page

Ashley Rothrock Author Page

Nthato Morakabi Author Page

Beneath the Wax – Cover Reveal

1723: Constantine Bourgeois is a man of many secrets. Artisan by day, killer by night, he turns his victims into wax figures for his shop.

2045: Richard Baines works for the renowned Anthony Garfield Historical Museum. His mundane existence is a stark counterpoint to his fascination with serial killers and science fiction.

Constantine’s nightmares drive him to undertake a journey to uncover a long-forgotten secret. Richard’s research uncovers a company secret and the mystery of Madame Bourgeois.

Two men, two timelines, and truths that will only be revealed when they look Beneath the Wax…

With much thanks to Chasing Dreams Publishing and the amazing Nico Venter whose gorgeous artwork was featured in the Jozi Flash 2017 anthology, I am very proud to present the cover image of my first novella in my Wax trilogy. All details about where you can buy the book will be made available soon.

International Giveaway

Chasing Dreams Publishing is also running an international giveaway, offering a lucky winner-reader free eBook copies of Beneath the Wax, Dim Mirrors and Sketches. Competition runs until the end of August so you got plenty of time to enter!

Enter Here

Dim Mirrors by Carin Marais

Dim Mirrors is a collection of 39 flash fiction stories that open windows into worlds of fantasy and nightmare. Interwoven with images from mythology and folklore are the themes of love, loss, and memory. The comical “Not According to Plan” leads to more serious and introspective works like “Blue Ribbons” and “The Destroyer of Worlds”, while mythology and folkloric elements come together in stories like “The Souls of Trees” and “Ariadne’s Freedom”.

Sketches by Nicolette Stephens

Like art sketches, flash fiction stories are fleeting moments captured in a few hundred words.

In a world without men, the first boy child is welcomed as the saviour of his race; a cuckoo clock holds death and destruction in its beautifully carved figures; and a snowman holds a silent vigil of peace during war.

In this collection of 50 stories, illustrated with her artwork, the author delves into worlds of imagination and reality inspired by words and drawings.

---

I apologize for the radio silence these last couple of months. Expect me to be very active and bringing lots of exciting new stories, book reviews, recommendations, and a couple of event articles too.

PS: I’m going to Comic Con Africa too. Expect pictures and geeking out haha.

Shrike – Joe Donnelly #BookRecommendation #Horror

Blurb

When old spiritualist Marta Herkik gathers together a group of lost souls, each hopes for a change of luck that will help them. But during the séance, the old woman taps into something dark, something with a hunger.

Policeman Jack Fallon, investigating a series of killings, can find no logical reason behind the violence that has visited his town. The killer seems to like high, dark places, but it leaves no clues. The investigation leads him to Lorna Breck, a young highland woman who is gifted, or cursed, with a kind of second sight. She seems to know what is happening, and often knows before it even happens. Only she can unlock the mystery, and only she can lead Jack Fallon to the Shrike.

But the thing brought into the world in a séance gone wrong, is waiting for them.

---

Joe Donnelly is the author of eight horror chillers and the Jack Flint trilogy for young readers.  Joe was born in Glasgow, in Scotland, close to the River Clyde, but at a very young age he came to live in Dumbarton, which is some miles from the city and close to Loch Lomond, Ben Lomond and the Scottish Highlands. At the age of 18, he decided to become a journalist and found a job in the Helensburgh Advertiser, a local paper in a neighbouring town where he learned the first essential of writing: how to type. Quickly.

During his career he won several awards for newspaper work including Reporter of the Year, Campaigning Journalist and Consumer Journalist. It was while working in newspapers that he wrote his first novel, Bane, an adult chiller, which was followed by eight other novels, mostly set in and around the West of Scotland and loosely based on Celtic Mythology.

Recently he completed the Jack Flint trilogy for children, although he says his books are aimed at “young people of all ages…those with some adventure in their soul.”

vN – Recommendation

Amy Peterson is a von Neumann machine, a self-replicating humanoid robot.

For the past five years, she has been grown slowly as part of a mixed organic/synthetic family. She knows very little about her android mother’s past, so when her grandmother arrives and attacks her mother, little Amy wastes no time: she eats her alive.

Now she carries her malfunctioning granny as a partition on her memory drive, and she’s learning impossible things about her clade’s history – like the fact that the failsafe that stops all robots from harming humans has failed… Which means that everyone wants a piece of her, some to use her as a weapon, others to destroy her.

---

Now that is both a cover and a synopsis that will get me to pick up a book even if I don’t know the author. As I don’t in this case but it’s definitely on my To-Read list.

Battle Royale – Recommendation

Koushun Takami’s notorious high-octane thriller is based on an irresistible premise: a class of junior high school students is taken to a deserted island where, as part of a ruthless authoritarian program, they are provided arms and forced to kill one another until only one survivor is left standing.

Criticized as violent exploitation when first published in Japan – where it then proceeded to become a runaway bestseller – Battle Royale is a Lord of the Flies for the 21st century, a potent allegory of what it means to be young and (barely) alive in a dog-eat-dog world.

Made into a controversial hit movie of the same name, Battle Royale is already a contemporary Japanese pulp classic, now available for the first time in the English language.

---

Koushun Takami (高見 広春 Takami Kōshun) is the author of the novel Battle Royale, originally published in Japanese, and later translated into English by Yuji Oniki and published by Viz Media and, later, in an expanded edition by Haika Soru, a division of Viz Media.

Takami was born in Amagasaki, Hyōgo Prefecture near Osaka and grew up in the Kagawa Prefecture of Shikoku. After graduating from Osaka University with a degree in literature, he dropped out of Nihon University’s liberal arts correspondence course program. From 1991 to 1996, he worked for the news company Shikoku Shimbun, reporting on various fields including politics, police reports, and economics.

The novel Battle Royale was completed after Takami left the news company. It was rejected in the final round of the literary competition for which it was intended, owing to its controversial content. It went on to become a bestseller when finally released in 1999 and, a year later, was made into a manga and a feature film.

He is currently working on a second novel.

---

Vicky (booksandstrips) or I think it was Jen (fictionalJenn) recommended this movie and then said it was actually based on a book, which I found and want to read. The movie was fascinating!

Any movies which were initially books are you interested in watching? Have you read the books?

Character Backstory Woes

I made a terrible discovery yesterday. The minor character in my novel who dies in the first chapter (well supposed to anyway…suddenly undecided) has a better backstory than my protagonist. This minor character has a rich beautiful backstory that won’t be part of the novel while my protagonist has nothing interesting at all. I figured it was time for a little Extreme Makeover Novel Edition *cue music

Meet the Character

Protagonist is a fluffy poodle of wasted potential badly planned and written even worse. He’s been living as an incomplete in the First Drafts Section for over three years with no hope of ever coming to the fore. However, in a dramatic turn of events, he’s found a new home in Second Drafts which is being renewed and refurbished. However, will that be enough?

Back to Basics

We’ll be crafting a new identity for this quagmire oozing latent aptitude to be the a great Protagonist. First we must consider their traits:

• Who are they: Name. Last name. Nickname. Age. Race. Language. Height. Weight. Imagine them fully fleshed out as a walking, talking real person. If Protagonist is not alive to you, they won’t be alive to readers.
• What are they: Human? Orc? Pizza-slice animated to life and seeking the purpose of life? Are they working or students or mage or detective? Are they the Chosen One or the stable boy or a passing wind offering fruits of wisdom to strangers? What Protagonist is, defines social life, goals, aspirations, challenges, advantages. Paint the details that specify Protagonist.
• Past|Present|Future: Who was Protagonist before the start of the novel? Who are they during the course of it? Who will they be at the end of it? Has the “Who” and “What” changed during these transitions? For good or bad? In short, does the wise wandering old mentor turn out to be a random man who found fortune cookies in the dumpster behind the Chinese restaurant. How does that change your character?
• Choices: Choices made by the protagonist, antagonist, and other characters affect the protagonist in some way. These also after the story being told. Don’t forget that story and character are deeply intertwined like the flavouring of your 2 Minute Noodles and the bottom of your pot/plate/microwave.

After careful application of these concepts, Protagonist should come out shiny and new, with purpose and depth sure to stun readers into swooning stupors of joy.

Backstory Vs Back Story

One is the history of the character and the other is a story about the character’s back (or a command to tell the story to back-off). Same thing. Whatever. Either way, a character is defined by their history and what’s behind them (see what I did there?), much like we are. Look back (ha more puns) into your own past at a choice or decision you or someone else made that could have changed who you are today.

You can start with a character and who you want them to be, and fit a matching backstory as you see fit. Alternatively you can define the world or history around them and let that define the character.

Protagonist is now ready to delve into the story. You know who they are, what they are and where they come from. You know how they walk and talk, and importantly where they are going. It’s time to match character to story.

Novel Reveal

Following this intense procedure of revamping the character and their backstory, the story may or may not change. What does change, is the revelation about your character that will drive your story forward.

Junk Yard Angel, which is the novel I am currently working on, has seen some dramatic changes in its story. While keeping the original idea intact, the character improvement has also restructured the sequence of events. This means new characters, new settings, new technology and more importantly, a deeper, richer story to tell. It also added more links to my mind map which have spawned a new idea for the novel: side stories.

Side Stories will be the untold arcs that won’t appear in the novel but will add a profound depth to the world where Junk Yard Angel takes place. Worldbuilding added to much of these untold stories. It’s a really exciting time ahead and I look forward to completing my novel.

---

Have you realized any profound changes to your novel WIP and had to re-work the characters/world/story? How did it work out for you?

JYA Novel – First Drafts and Mind Maps

Today I skimmed over my first novel attempt – Junk Yard Angel. Although I’d written this close to 4 years ago, I’m pleasantly surprised by the writing in this first draft. I see a lot of places where improvements can be made and some places I’m going to delete, but there are a lot of pieces I will definitely include in the second draft. It’s a relief to know I was not a completely terrible writer, and that I’ve improved over the years. It can only get better from here right?

Mind Your Novel

Mind maps are like my thing now. They used to be when I was far younger, encouraged by English teachers to use planning, then I stopped when I found the joy of discovery writing, but now I see the value of them once again and have become an official Plantser. Mind maps allow me to contain all my ideas, plots, characters, and general thoughts into one document, divided into pages for each topic.

• Main Story: Details the overarching theme. Lists all significant plot points and any side arcs.
• Characters: Lists every character, role, character arcs,growth points and anything else related to the character.
• World: Maps out the world and the continent/countries. Detailed descriptions for each location. Points out key locations and how they tie in to characters, main story and anything else significant.
  • Also includes details regarding culture, religion, technology, weather, people, economy, fawn, flora, etc etc
• Technological Advancement: Explains where the world is technologically, and what the current world utilizes in day to day activities.
• Resources: All links, references, pictures etc used to form the novel.

First things First

I’ve been reading the Mammoth Book of Steampunk for a number of months now. Steampunk is one of those sub-genres that fascinate me. It requires a lot of research to keep it authentic, while inventions need plenty out-of-the-box thinking.

For Junk Yard Angel, the first thing I will be tackling is the in-depth research. I’m exploring current trends in technology and wondering how they would work in an alternate Earth where there’s no electricity but steam. How it would have come to fruition. What technology in real life was invented during the pre-electricity era, and what could have propelled those inventions forward had electricity failed.

The story is also set in various locations, which means each place has technology unique to them. Different people and cultures will also have varying needs. Weather and temperature will affect requirements. Weaponry. Living space. Lifestyle. Religion. All of these aspects have to be explored and meted out in order to build a believable living world.

Onward!

I’m genuinely excited. My mind is already creating images and scenery inspiring me forward. Mind maps are starting to shape up. World building is also one of my favourite parts of writing a novel before the real hard work begins.

I hope you continue with me on this journey towards writing my novel.