Monday 30 May 2011

Previews!

Hi to everyone in imagination land. I hope you had a great weekend. I must apologise for being late with this preview of THE SPIRIT OF THE MOON. As some of you may know (or may not!) I've been sick for the last five days, wrestling with an extremely dedicated flu. It was certainly doing its job to eradicate me but I won the war in the end HA-HA! Before I say something delirious, I just want to say enjoy this sneak preview, remember it's fantasy aimed at children and all you adults, whip the cobwebs out of your imaginations and enjoy! (Although I've got to say it's a bit scary having my work out and about for people to read)

This scene starts off the book, shows us an event that gets the story rolling and introduces us to two of the main protagonists (Baddies!). Have fun!

PROLOGUE

This story starts with the boy who was never loved and the Father too wicked for his own good. The moon was full and close to the Earth. You could almost touch its craters by reaching out into the cold, night sky. And in one dark moment, that is precisely what the old man and the boy meant to do. Touch the moon and bring it crashing to the ground.
          “Father, I’ve made all the preparations, just as you asked,” said the boy.
The old man’s cold, black eyes squinted at the boy and a small, whispery smile came to his mouth.
          “Be sure that you have Phaestus. The planets will not align again for quite some time for a performance such as this. Do wrong by me boy and I’ll whip your back till it bleeds.”
The boy cringed inside for he knew all too well the feel of his Father’s belt buckle.
          “The circles have been drawn as you asked. The larger one contains the symbol of binding.”
The old man inspected the work of the boy. He had indeed done as asked. He did not thank the boy, as that was not of his kind. The boy expected no more from the old man with black eyes.
          “Then stand away boy. The time is upon us to trap a God.”
The boy ran and hid behind the old garden fountain. His Father knelt in the smaller circle and uttered a few words in a language long gone. The circle around him flashed a florescent red and a ball of energy enveloped the old man. He was like a bird in a cage. He arose and held his hands to the moon. He chanted the words with a silver tongue, mighty incantations that would make your ears bleed. The boy could not understand, nor hear proper the words being spoken. But he could feel the power in the air and this frightened him a little. The magical symbol drawn into the larger circle began to pulsate blue.            Astonishingly the light of the full moon concentrated on that circle and the sky went dark. His Father spoke louder now, drawing to an inevitable conclusion. The boy looked upwards towards the moon and it seemed to shudder, turning crimson red. The blue light of the large circle grew so bright that the boy closed his eyes. He knew in his heart that the old man was winning the battle of wills.
“Yes, come to me, my darling!”

With the power of the old world,
And the darkness of the black sun,
I bind your power to this Earthly realm,
 With this old, dark magic I have won!

The last thing the boy remembered was an explosion of blue flame and the thought of whether he was going to die. He awoke behind the fountain, with the sun starting to rise in the east. The moon, no longer close to the Earth, seemed sickly and had the colour of curdled cream. He arose to see the old man, his Father, standing next to the larger circle. Above it was a floating a ball of blue energy.
          “About time you awoke, weak boy. Come and see where your Father has succeeded and others have not.”
Phaestus walked cautiously to his Father’s side. Inside the blue ball, he could see a figure.
          “Look closer, boy. There she is and soon the power she controls will be ours.”
The boy peered through the blue haze. In the centre of the ball he saw what looked to be a child, dressed in a white gown, fast asleep with no care in the world.
          “Is that it Father? A little child?”
The old man struck the boy hard on the back of the head.
          “What have I taught you boy. Gods take many forms. Do not be deceived by what they show to your eyes. They have walked the Earth countless times and fooled many a man.”
          “So...so is that her then?” said Phaestus cowering away.
          “Yes, my son. That is indeed the one whose power we seek. That is the Spirit of the Moon and she is all mine.”
The boy stared at the little child and a whispery smile came to his lips.

Tuesday 24 May 2011

House cleaning...

As I said on Facebook, I received the cover today for the book and here it is:




My cover artist Juha Veltti has done an amazing job and I can't thank him enough. In a future post I plan to show you guys the stages Juha went through to get the cover done. As a process junky myself, I find it fascinating how artists do what they do. So the plan is to interview Juha when we can set up a scheduled time and bring that to you all.

The book is proceeding along at a good pace. I had a great meeting with my editor yesterday and she gave me some great suggestions (as well as pointing out typos and logic errors) so a few changes to the manuscript in order, but that's all part of the fun.

Thanks to all who have joined my Facebook page and came to the blog. It was suggested that I should add a link from the blog that goes directly to the fan page. As soon as I work out how to do that, it shall be done. And thanks for all the words of encouragement from everyone. Much appreciated.

I'll just leave quickly with a quote from someone who was talking to me about the book yesterday. After cautiously asking me about the book, the process behind it and enquiring as to whether  I really, really did write it, he went on to ask me a question:

"So do you read books as well?"

John

Friday 20 May 2011

Doctor Who: The show that time forgot

 “There’s this blue box. It’s bigger on the inside. It goes anywhere, sometimes even where it’s supposed to. There’s this bloke in it called the Doctor. Stuff will go wrong, and he has to try and sort out, he usually succeeds because he is Awesome. Now sit down, shut up and watch ‘Blink.’”- Neil Gaiman.

When I was a little boy, up until the age of six, we only had one TV station. Hard to imagine in this day and age of internet, 3G mobile phones, pay TV and whatever way they beam content into your lounge room, I know. But back then we had none of that. We had the ABC or we went outside and made things up. (Unfortunately too many things are already 'made up' and prepackaged for children that they don't need to use imagination any more, but that's another post!) But on TV in those days there was a  show that I used to watch every day. I remember it scared me so much that sometimes I had to cover my eyes or leave the room, but I always came back in the end. It was a show that delighted me, it fuelled my imagination and took me to all different places in time and space. It was about a man and his blue magic box. Doctor Who.

I watched this wonderful show religiously right up until the age of about 11. It was at this time Doctor Who, after many incarnations, wasn't very good any more. I was growing up into a teenager and well, we tend to jettison those things that we held so dearly as children. I said good bye to the Doctor and forgot about him. I went to high school and he kept having adventures until the show was cancelled in 1989. The Doctor was a man out of time in a bad costume and dodgy, wobbly sets, with bad SFX. So long Doctor.

It wasn't until Doctor Who was brought back to TV in spectacular fashion in 2005, that I remembered what an impact this show had on me. It impacted on what books I read, what stories I was attracted to and shaped the possibilities of the kind of mythologies I wanted to tell. That little blue box and the groan of the TARDIS engine had been dormant in my mind for nearly 20 years without me realising it, waiting to be unleashed again.


Current Doctor Matt Smith and companions.
Now we have this wonderful show to love all over again. The imagination is still there, the Doctor is still flinging himself through time and space in his magic box (I never saw this show as sci-fi, but fantasy) and I'm loving every second of it. Gone are the dodgy sets and SFX. What we have in it's place is a smart, beautiful, well written and acted TV show that is being loved by children all over again. Imaginations are fired and kids are running behind the couch again, scared out of their wits. And that's a good thing, if you ask me. 

Watch Doctor Who this Saturday on ABC1 at 7:30pm. The episode is called 'THE DOCTOR'S WIFE' and it's written by award winning fantasy author Neil Gaiman. It's a love letter to the show and encapsulates everything that is grand about a man and his blue box. (Have a box of tissues close by...it's apparently very sad at the end!)

Thursday 19 May 2011

THE SPIRIT OF THE MOON

Well, I've had my morning coffee and crumpet for breakfast so here we go...

Firstly, big thank you to all the people who have 'liked' the Facebook page over the last two days without having the actual book available yet (still gestating for a few more weeks, but I'll talk about that). It's remarkable the power of Facebook and a good wife who does admin duties while I'm at my real job :)

My first book will be a children's fantasy novel titled THE SPIRIT OF THE MOON. Here's a brief synopsis: " On one fateful night, someone has used dark magic and captured the Goddess which resides within the moon. Who has done this and for what nefarious purpose? And how is this connected to a strange little town called SOVEREIGN CREEK? Two mysterious strangers, MR AND MRS WELLINGTON, have arrived in town to find out exactly what has happened to the Moon Spirit, before a terrible fate befalls the Earth. Aiding them in their quest will be twelve year old MAXIMUS WALKER, a local young boy too curious for his own good. Will they succeed in their mission and if so, what price will be paid?"

 This will be the first in a series of books set in the town of SOVEREIGN CREEK which has the unusual reputation of being 'THE WEIRDEST TOWN IN THE WORLD.' There are a lot of strange and unusual occurrences that have been happening in this town for many years. Why? Read the series and find out good people!

These books will be aimed at the 8-15 year old market (I think adults will like them too, but that's just me :)

THE SPIRIT OF THE MOON will hopefully be published within 4 to 6 weeks. Now where will it be available? At first you will be able to by the book from Amazon.com as a paperback and as an E-book from their Kindle service. If you don't own a Kindle device, that's OK as the software is easily downloadable to PC's as a desktop reader, so no excuses. Link as follows:

Kindle

What about Australian bookstores? Well, I'm doing things in reverse, which is not unusual for me! Once the international edition is in place, I'll start looking into publishing here, so as soon as I have some information regarding this, I'll let you all know.

For all you audio book listeners out there, plans are afoot for in that department as well!

Don't forget to sign up for updates by registering your email addresses (or not!) below,receive publishing news and read my rants on various, exciting subjects!

Thank you all once again and let's enjoy this scary, scary ride!


Cheers,

John

second test post

Second test post