Progress Update: September 2023

Hello readers! Just a short post from me this week. I thought I should provide a progress update on the books I’m writing, and some other associated projects. I’ll also take a moment to reflect on what this blog has become, and where I see it heading in future.

Highmoor series: first draft of book three is complete!

This weekend I finished the very first draft of the third book in the Highmoor series. I already know that it requires significant changes in some places, and I’m sure that more issues will become apparent as I read it over and over again in the coming months. I anticipate that the first rough copies will be sent out to my trusty review team this autumn, after which I will begin the second round of edits. There will be a lot of back and forth to get things ironed out, but hopefully the first edition will arrive on Amazon in the first half of 2024.

Thank you to everyone who has read Highmoor and Sylvre. Any feedback is always appreciated, and I love hearing fresh perspectives on the world and characters. I’ve been so close to this fictional universe for so long that I take things for granted, and it is super helpful to get outsider insight. Also, as I’m still working on this series, any queries might well be addressed in future books!

Maps in the making

A few months ago I released a map for Highmoor (find it here), and I fully intend to do the same for Sylvre. However, as readers will know, the plot of Sylvre covers a much larger area than the plot of Highmoor – and so the map is taking longer to produce. Hopefully I can release a first draft before the end of the year. My eventual aim is to have an interactive map of the entire world available on its own page of the blog, but this might take some time to sort out…

The blog

I have been writing this blog for quite a while now, providing weekly posts on quite an odd range of topics. However, I think the blog has finally found its rhythm. It has carved a curious little corner for lovers of science fiction and fantasy to enjoy, and we’re in a fairly regular cycle of reviewing films and books, investigating the science behind them, and learning about the real life scientists who brought our understanding to where it is today. Around this are semi-regular reports of my so-called adventures, and the odd post about Ed Sheeran and muesli. I’m quite happy with the bizarre beast that this blog has become. Hopefully you are too.

On that note… If anyone has any recommendations for films I might love/hate to watch/tear to shreds, please let me know. I’m also on the lookout for fantasy or science fiction concepts to test with maths and physics, so feel free to send ideas my way.

Showing support

I am incredibly grateful to everyone who has read one of my books this year, whether they bought it on Amazon, accessed it through Kindle Unlimited, or picked it up on a free book weekend. Over 500 books have been shipped this year. However, as anyone familiar with the Amazon bookstore will know, finding new readers is an uphill struggle. Only a fraction of downloads result in star ratings, and even fewer result in written reviews – and even then, there is no way of knowing how the Amazon algorithm decides to promote your work.

There are four main ways for you to show support:

1. Consume my books. Not literally, because Kindles don’t taste nice (or so I’ve heard). I don’t mind if you buy them, get them through Kindle Unlimited, or download them on a free book weekend. Readers are readers.
2. Give the books a star rating. I can’t overstate what a difference this makes to independent writers on Amazon. Most people don’t like taking risks, so they only pick up books that have a certain number of ratings. The actual star score is often a secondary concern, because everyone knows they’re a bit meaningless. But the number of ratings matters!
3. Follow my author page. Amazon provides each registered author with a page where all their books can be found, and this page has a follow button. Anyone with an Amazon account can follow an author, which just means you receive an email when I publish something new. This really helps me out (and it’s not like your inbox will be inundated with my publications).
4. Follow the blog! Finally, you can follow this blog. I publish posts weekly, and WordPress allows me to send emails to my subscribers to keep them in the loop.

The reason these actions mean so much is because they quantify the engagement of my audience. In the short term, this might help me get a foothold in Amazon’s algorithms, but in the long term, it could help me move into traditional publishing. Then again, the indie publishing scene is really taking off, so who knows where we will end up.

In summary…

New books are in the pipeline. Maps are in the pipeline too. It’s a busy pipeline. I hope you continue to enjoy reading this blog as much as I enjoy writing it, and I’ll provide another update at the end of the year. Happy reading, and I’ll be back next week!