Newsletter: New Starts
Or will it be "same old same old"?
Updates On My Writing
I sent the final version of UESI to my proofreader yesterday, after many rewrites and edits. It’s the most speculative thing I’ve ever written, and I’m proud of the amount of stuff packed into a tiny novella. I may do a special limited-edition hardback to celebrate. Watch this space.
I’ll be teaching my next WRITE creative writing class tomorrow. This month’s theme is “collaboration” and I’m looking forward to having a live videochat with an author in Denmark as part of the session, if technology doesn’t fail us!
The Stove, which hosts WRITE, recently did a fun blog post about it.
I’ve also been editing for various creative clients. I love seeing work improve between iterations, so that it ends up flowing smoothly whilst telling an amazing story.
If you are an author, consider taking out a paid sub to access all my writing posts and extra support.
Personal
As usual I have been busy with my voluntary roles. Spiritual, environmental, and political. Whilst filing last year’s newspaper cuttings I came across some I hadn’t shared, such as this one:
On a bookish front, I recently bought a load of books that had been on my wishlist for a while:
In full, and photo order:
Out (Natsuo Kirino)
The Aosawa Murders (Riku Onda)
The Tokyo Zodiac Murders (Sōji Shimada)
NOS4A2 (Joe Hill)
The Manhattan Hunt Club (John Saul)
Paganism 101 (Trevor Greenfield)
Year Zero (Jeff Long)
This Is How You Lose the Time War (Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone)
The Last Astronaut (David Wellington)
Paradise-1 (David Wellington)
The Mall (S.L. Grey)
Snow Crash (Neal Stephenson)
The Terror (Dan Simmons)
The Fireman (Joe Hill)
Dark Matter (Blake Crouch)
Not sure which to read first. Have you read any? Which do you recommend? And if you haven’t read any, which one appeals to you most?
I bought them all second-hand since second-hand books or those borrowed from libraries are the most environmentally-friendly and least wasteful options of all. The ethical consideration for me is always this one:
Reduce > Re-use > Recycle.
Second-hand books count as re-use, whilst also reducing the demand for new products, so it is a double win.
The other advantage of second-hand sellers is that you can get books and editions that are no longer in print. Hopefully you have second-hand bookshops, jumble sales, car-boot sales or charity shops near you. If not, here are some options that don’t require creating an account, you can checkout as a guest:
Lastly, I always play computer games. I just finished Age of Wonders, which fascinated me. A rich fantasy strategy game, but different enough from Heroes of Might & Magic to stand on its own. It’s only £1.29 at the moment. I’ve also been replaying Arx Fatalis. It’s quirky and sometimes clunky, yet is also immersive and different as you explore a fantasy civilisation trapped underground by endless winter. (Don’t play it if you are scared of giant spiders!)
Review Corner
I got this review for Lost Solace the other day:
The reviewer really understood one of the key points of Opal’s personality. :-)
Here’s an extract from another review of the book (audiobook edition):
“Very well written and narrated and had me hook, line and sinker from beginning to end.
When you pick up a copy of Lost Solace get ready to go on an adventure ram packed with action, humour, science fiction, conflict, aliens, space, deadly creatures, mystery, horror, suspense, danger, military, horror, military, tension, loneliness, fights, friendship and much more!! Opal is a fantastic flawed, determined and strong female protagonist. Thanks to Karl's brilliant descriptions and Marisha's clear narration they both ensure the reader feels the fear, tension, comfort, friendship, horror and humour as you traverse the pages. This is a truly unique storyline which is hard to come by after reading hundreds of books so congratulations Karl. This would make an absolutely incredible movie!
This is one of those few books that I have listened 100% on Audiobook. I must say a HUGE congratulations to the narrator Marisha Tapera who did a great job bringing this story to life. I would listen to it in the car and while walking at any opportunity and Marisha did a fantastic job on both male and female characters voices!!! I'm not only looking forward to reading more books by Karl but also to listening to more books narrated by Marisha!
A unique science fiction filled with action, horror and more that will keep you hooked from beginning to end.”
Let me know if you made any new year resolutions!
May your days be fresh and feisty,
Karl
