2025: Easter update
This is the first real Easter I’ve genuinely had since …
Children change everything; I now can't imagine life without our wonderfully bossy 2.5-year-old. That time has flown past with fantastic speed (both for the good and bad).
I haven’t written about my writing much recently, and I thought this would be a great time to make a short post on what’s going on with the series.
Hope: Burn the Sky (book 1 of the duology).
2020- Hope: Burn the Sky, a sci-fi duology set in the richly crafted Aster system, originally came out through a vanity publisher in 2020. It was released from its contract in 2023. Since then, so much has changed in our lives, and time has become a commodity with which to experiment.
2024- I finally picked up the confidence to self-publish our two books while still procrastinating with the story and plot of the trilogy that follows in the same universe. I began performing a ground-up edit of the first book.
That leads up to now. About 2 weeks back, I had a meeting with the CEO of Queensland Writers Centre about where I stood with my work. This informal meeting was more for me, directing my future self toward finishing a project (I’m bad at that). She said I should just perform a proofread edit and get the books back out. By the way, the same thing Amanda told me months before.
2025- Here we stand, Easter already.
I have three days per week to achieve things around the house and edit while Jayne is in kindy. I have a ground-level deck to finish and a few other things, but my heart is writing all the time. Most of my editing and writing outside of these days now takes place after Jayne has been put down and the kitchen is clean.
Work has started on the quicker edit of Hope while I write key scenes of the trilogy to grasp my main characters more.
Upcoming: The new unnamed trilogy.
I spent the last few days writing and editing a chapter with my MC. It’s written as close POV where he is in full rage and fighting another character. It’s not blow-by-blow or gory, but certainly something that is impactful. Here is a snippet of the WIP chapter. It’s not much or it will give away too much.
“‘Ash—!’ The scream came again, choked with fear, then a crash, and then another sickening silence.
Something inside him snapped. A memory struggled, faint and distant, yet the feeling gripped him. The violence. The helplessness. The panic.
Instinct took over.
Without hesitation, he disengaged thrust and hit the reverse thrusters, feeling the shift in momentum. Ash punched his 5-point harness and dropped to the ceiling with everything else as gravity inverted.
He crouched, muscles coiled, waiting. The thrusters cut off with a dreaded finality that echoed in his chest. Ash kicked off in the microgravity, falling, torpedoing through the ship toward Danan’s quarters. His mind cleared, and he focused on the railing. With practised efficiency, he grabbed it and swung to his feet with a solid thud.
Ash hit the door controls, and he froze.”
Other writing project.
I have started a new thing here on my blog titled “Almost a cult classic”, where I pull apart old sci-fi movies and consider a new path for the story or characters. It has helped me to push the boundaries of my creativity, but not without its toll. One blog takes a full day to write and edit, so I have been limiting my blog posts to about once every fortnight.
Midnight and one o’clock have been my friends most nights recently. Hello there, 11:30 pm.
One thing I’d love to see (hopefully soon) is a little feedback on my posts and a few more readers. These things will come in time.
If you've read any of my posts or checked out my 'Almost a Cult Classic' series, I'd genuinely love your thoughts. What resonates with you most? Do you have a movie you’d like me to watch and rewrite?
Friday the 25th is another public holiday, so my Almost a cult classic series will return next week with Damnation Alley from 1977.
Amanda, Jayne, and I wish you all a safe and enjoyable Easter. If you enjoy these updates or my dives into sci-fi storytelling, leave a comment. I’d love to hear your thoughts!
