Chris Power - Author

Yes!!

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:26:32 GMT

I now have a new laptop - Phoenix 3 - and my son has spent most of the morning getting it set up for me. Could have done it myself, but given he has all the disks I needed for the programmes I simply can't do without, and he loves to play with techno-toys, who am I to turn down his offer? It also meant I could stagger down town to the Carphone Warehouse while he was playing, and get myself a mobile broadband for it so I don't have to rely on friends' internet connections or the public libraries. Now I have to make sure all the Document folders and files are loaded across. And the Photos folder. And some of the videos... Hmm, thank the gods for 250 GB hard drive...

Curate's Eggishness

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 08:49:26 GMT

On the plus side, we had a great review for War Trail - not the Royal We, that. It's Terri as well. It'll be interesting to see how it's sold when we get the quarterly royalties in a few months' time.

My own Argent Dreaming comes out on September 11th, and I'm keeping everything crossed that it'll do okay. The cover is really great - it would catch my eye if I was browsing for a book, so I'm hoping it will pull in others enough to get them interested in what's under the picture.

On the down side, I'me finding it bloody hard to get back into the discipline of writing. That six week break I took to help out in the revamping of the garden has shot it to hell. Yes, we now have a patio and edging all the way round the flowerbeds, plus a new rowan tree and a black elder tree, and big beds partially dug out from the bindweed and rampant raspberry canes, BUT I have two novels stonewalled two-thirds of the way through to the extent I am second-guessing the plot arcs in both, and the second draft of Sea-Change is just hanging there. I know what needs to happen in the re-written start, but there is this gap between that and the keyboard, and it should be filled with coherent words but isn't.

Another downer is the imminent death of my laptop. The one that gets dragged everywhere with me when I travel. It's about five years old now, a trusty Dell Inspiron 1100, but the poor dear is slow and clunky and the casing is beginning to crack. Also, I am beginning to run out of memory. Soooo, the cash I was trying to save to get back to Malta next winter/spring has had to go towards a replacement.

On the plus side, my son [who deserves a medal] tracked down a great deal for me. Dell has recently started selling through store outlets, and Tesco's had an Inspiron 1525 with all the bells and whistles I want along with a 250gb hard disc and an amazingly good value on the price. The local stores had all sold out, so we are trying to get it from the online store. They've accepted the order in spite of the 'sold out' flash and I've had a 'dispatched' message this morning, so it should turn up tomorrow...

Now I need to kick my brain cell into line and get some bloody writing done!!

Shakespeare Surprise

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:13:26 GMT

And a great one. A year ago I had a chance to book a cheap[ish] ticket for the RSC's Hamlet at Stratford Upon Avon, and grabbed it. I *love* live theatre, and I get high on Shakespeare's words, and as I rarely get a chance to actually go to the theatre because the seats are usually priced waaay out of my reach - well, had to go for it, didn't I? Regardless of who were taking the starring roles. When I heard that Patrick Stewart *and* David Tennant were leading, I was amazed but not hopeful. I expected that they wouldn't be on stage for a Saturday afternoon Matinee. But Saturday I discovered I was wrong. They were and they were utterly brilliant. Tennant was an anguished Hamlet, beautifully done, and Stewart doubled as Claudius and The Ghost of Dad. He was just masterful. The whole cast were wonderful, and since I didn't splash out on a programme I haven't a clue who they are. So I'll just say Gertrude was besotted, worried, and ultimately betrayed, Rozencrantz and Guildenstern were perfect, Ophelia was tragic and frenetically mad, Laertes was a noble blinkered idiot, Horatio was loyal and tragic, and Pollonius damn-near stole the show as the statesman-buffoon.

It was done in modern dress on a stark set that was enlosed on three sides by the audience, and it just about blew me away. I have now decided that my down on modern-day Will is just stupid - after all, the magic is in the words and their interpretation, not the pretty costumes. Unless you're talking Troillus and Cressida - saw that years ago with the Greeks in short black leather kilts and lots of sleek muscle, and the Trojans in long black leather kilts, ditto. *Very* scenic...

I am going to do my damnedest to see more live plays, though *not* in London. The prices are just plain daft.

We have a patio

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 09:09:29 GMT

Well, I suppose it does fit the trade description of a patio - a tadpole-shaped area of about 3 square metres with slabs on the wide end for a large round picnic table and incorporated seats, big enough for all of us to sit round in comfort, given that the three adults are not exactly slim. The rest of the area is barked and it does look pretty good. It's in the south corner, under the apple tree. We've finished edging and planting the flowerbed in the west corner - we now have a small black elderberry tree planted there to grow up beside the fence. The foliage is an amazing dark reddish colour that will contrast beautifully with the golden hop growing over the archway, when it's grown up a bit. We planted the rowan tree by the pond, in the bed that links west and north and it's settled in well by the look of it. The north corner needs a bit of work, but it's the East corner and the long bed that links it to the South that needs the most work. It is smothered with bindweed and raspberry canes.

Still, we're more than half way there as far as the flowerbeds are concerned, and if the last month hadn't been so wet, we would have been a lot closer to finishing. As it is, I have about a week before I'm off to visit Anth and go to see Hamlet at Stratford Upon Avon. Hopefully, we can get the centre circle done over the autumn.

The writing hasn't been nearly as productive. Sea-Change has finished its first draft, but it needs a lot of work, especially on the beginning. I'm not entirely sure what'll be a good hook into the story and people - maybe the release of the Monk seals? Better than the red pickup, possibly.

Fox Hunt is being a pain in the arse. I don't want to write a sequel, but it is difficult to go with a Happy Ever After Ending when the hero is a vampire and the heroine isn't. And Starfall won't get out of my head, which is so not helpful.

But on the good side I had my quarterly royalties cheque arrive and Dark Waters did quite well for me, even if the exchange rate and bank commision ate up half of it.

Oh, well, back to the garden and the bloody bindweed...

Slightly irritated...

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 07:58:28 GMT

...That ARGENT DREAMING has had its release date moved back - now due out on September 18th. These things happen. Usually it's because the Ed-in-Chief has to juggle the genres to get an even balance in the release blocks, and there's a lot of paranormal titles out there.

I'm in something of a limbon at the moment. What with one thing and another I'm finding it hard to get back into my WiPs, and very soon I'll be taking a six-week semi-hiatus to help DinL attack the humans' half of the back garden. The dogs' half is fine, can more or less be left to nature as it's grass surrounded by bushes. The other half needs major weeding, edging, leveling, a new flowerbed digging and edging, the area where the garden table has to be leveled and paved, and the centre circle laid with pea gravel and the occasional slab. Any writing - always assuming I'm in a fit state to actually sit and think - will have to be done in the evenings.

WAR TRAIL is released

Fri, 30 May 2008 16:54:31 GMT

As of yesterday, WAR TRAIL is up on the Cerridwen Press web site, and that makes four ebooks Terri and I have available. Come August and the release of my ARGENT DREAMING, it'll be five. No idea yet what the sales figures are - if any - but I'm hoping to hear sometime in the next month.

I've finished the second draft of SEA-CHANGE, and now I'm waiting on the feedback from two of my beta readers for the next draft. Then I send it off to Elva in Honolulu to have the Hawaiian side of it authenticated. Then, after a long enough break to come at it with a fresh mind, I'll do the final draft and decide what I'm going to do with it. Helen said to send it to her to see if it'll fit into CP, but I'd sort of like to try for an epublisher that also does print books.

Now I can get back to FOX HUNT, and as it's been a while since I worked on it, the old 'fresh mind' approach will be a good thing. I've also started roughing out iplot arcs for STARFALL. And both UNDER SEIGE and RAKOSZY'S PLEDGE are simmering on the back-burners...

Sea-Change

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 14:58:40 GMT

The first draft of Sea-Change is finished, but now the work will start on the second draft to iron out the rough bits. Not to mention the rushed bits! I *know* there is a section in Chapters 32 and 33 that's badly paced, but at the moment I'm too close to it to get a clear idea of how to go about fixing it. Woods and trees, and all that. I'm going to set it aside for a short while to gain a little distance.

I'll also have to find another stand-by story to turn to when I'm blocked on the main WiP. Said WiP being Fox Hunt. At least In won't have to look too far for one. There's quite a log-jam in my head.

It's Out!

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:08:10 GMT

TRIBUTE TRAIL is now out! Terri and I have been pushing it like crazy everywhere we can think of - and today we heard from Helen that the release date of the sequel, WAR TRAIL, has been brough forward to May 29th 2008.

I wish the release date of my own ARGENT DREAMING could be brought forward as well... Who knows? It might yet.

DARK WATERS has also been let out of the cage.

On the on-going writing front, Sea-Change is on the very last furlong and heading for the finishing line. This is only the first draft of course, and it'll be a long time before it's been through the final draft. Then I have to make a decision. Helen has seen the short plot outline and has said to submit it for consideration for Cerridwen Press, as it won't qualify for Ellora's Cave - not enough sex! So we'll see how I feel when it's completed.

Then it's back to FOX HUNT.

Hmm

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 14:28:26 GMT

Has been hellish busy for a while now. This is a good thing, generally. Apart from a visit to the dentist for a filling which was amazingly untraumatic until I had to pay the bill, it means I have been visiting other people's blogs and pimping my two ebooks due for release this week. It also means the various muses have been cooperating and I have been writing many many words on my stand-by novel. This is the one that I return to time and again whenever I am afflicted by the bloody Writer's Block on the current project. In this case, FOX HUNT.

Since SEA-CHANGE [working title] is flowing so well and FH is still blocked, I'm going to stay with it for a while. Then I will *have* to get back to Fox Hunt. It has been sitting there patiently for a few months now - well, it was its own fault for deciding to inflict me with the Block.

In any case, SEA-CHANGE will have to be put it aside for a short while so I can come back to it with a fresh eye to do work on the second draft. When it's been through its however-many drafts, I'll have to decide what to do with it - if anything.

Success!!

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 17:10:49 GMT

Well, sort of. My website has finally been updated, thanks to my son. Not that the problem has been fixed, he just showed me a way to fudge round it. But, hey, whatever works...

Anyhow, http://www.thepowerfamily.demon.co.uk/chris/index.htm is now functioning.

FOX HUNT has slowed down - life has been very busy one way or another and the writing has inevitably suffered. Thank God I don't have a deadline for it, or I would be in deep shit.

Two More Covers!!

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 21:57:27 GMT

After a slight hiccup with their emails, the Covers Department have finally sent us the covers for TRIBUTE TRAIL and WAR TRAIL. They were done by the same artist who did such a brilliant job for my ARGENT DREAMING, and the WT cover comes close to equalling it. There are some talented people in that Department!

I like this one,

and this one is brilliant!

On the actual writing front, things have slowed down considerably. I've been away from home cat-sitting for friends and indulging in a little R&R... So now it's back to the Vampire Plot, and attempting to keep the lid on the various new plots that are fermenting away in the background.

The latest cover

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 11:33:34 GMT

I was away for the last week, having a brain-storming session with Terri in North Wales. While I was there, Helen sent me the edits for ARGENT DREAMING. I managed to turn it around in a couple of days, and just before I left, the Covers Department sent me the design for it.

The artist has done a great job - I am really pleased with this. The same artist has done us covers for TRIBUTE TRAIL and WAR TRAIL, but they had to go back for tweaking. I'll upload them as soon as I get them back.

Yet another step forward

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 12:12:39 GMT

The edits on WARTRAIL have gone off to Helen, and now we have to do the blurb, the excerpt and acknowledgements. Then I must get back to FOX HUNT.

I'm due to travel to North Wales for a writing week with Terri - rain and floods permitting. As long as it stays dry for the next few days, it'll be okay and the trains will run. The problem was somewhere between Salisbury and Bristol where the River Avon had burst its banks. The Severn is pretty full as well. Oh, well... We shall see what happens.

While I'm up there, we'll be concentrating on UNDER SIEGE and RAKOSZY'S PLEDGE I expect, but I might have a chance to do more on FOX HUNT while I'm travelling. Thank the gods for my old Psion, I wouldn't be without it.

I'm quite pleased with my progress on FH, even if it is slower than I'd like. It is now up to 60 thou words, so it will end up a sensible length for a novel. I don't know what the official designation is re novels and word-length, but anything under 70 thou does not a novel make IMO.

Back to the grindstone... *grin*

Brr

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 09:33:29 GMT

On the writing front, Fox Hunt is progressing steadily, if slowly. I've also been making brief notes on some plot ideas and characters for future work. Thanks to all the gods there doesn't seem to be a lack of ideas bouncing around my skull.

In a couple of weeks I'll be visiting Terri and we'll be brain-storming a couple of things we're writing together - Rakoszy's Pledge and Under Siege. We'll also be talking through some plot ideas Terri has for her own solo writings - see her website at www dot kymrukatz dot com. As an added bonus there are some lovely pics there of her wonderful cats.

On the home front, we are freezing our bits off. Yesterday our combi water heater broke down, which means that we are without hot water in the taps and in the radiators. Phill is currently working in Malta [in Valletta - a place I'd *love* to live if I could afford it] and he says he thinks he can fix it if we can hold out until Saturday when he's home. Since it will cost us an arm and a leg to call out an engineer, we are going to grit our teeth and wrap up warm. Luckily we have a couple of very large pans we can fill with water and boil on the gas stove for washing, and the weather is supposed to be above freezing if very wet and windy. We hope it's just a question of tripping the reset button - but the heater has to be partially dismantled to get to the bloody thing! That in itself wouldn't be a problem, but we can't find the service manual so Kathy and I don't know where the button is inside. Phill does.

Hmm...

Fri, 28 Dec 2007 10:32:07 GMT

Well, Christmas went reasonably well, if a bit like the infamous Curate's Egg - good in parts... The grand-brats were unspeakable on Christmas Eve. A combination of teenage tantrums, ADHD, an overindulgence in chocolate and anticipatory excitement had them charging in and out of my room like a horde of Visi-Goths into Rome. Since I was trying to plan out an important chapter, it didn't go down too well. But on The Day itself, they were fantastic. Not angels exactly, but charmingly exhuberant and *not winding each other up to the point of warfare*! Boxing Day was where the Curate's Egg bit comes in.

We'd gone to Kathy's Mum and Dad for the day, and came back to find that the dogs had broken into the fridge and gorged themselves on the ham and beef joints. The fridge has a catch on the door to prevent it being nosed open, but it had been left off by whoever was the last one to open it. Consequently, either Sophie or Teazle had prised it open and ransacked it for goodies. Poor Bracken hadn't got much of a look-in, I suspect. The two girls had the joints and he was left with the consolation prize of the crab ring, judging by the two bloated dogs with belly-aches and the one dog who was happy to eat his dinner.

On the writing front, I've sorted out my plot tangle, but it means replotting the last seven chapters. And it's the final one that is now giving me a headache. The one that I was struggling with on Christmas Eve while being invaded by barbarians. The Grande Finale I originally had planned doesn't fit, so now I have to find a whole new choreography for the conflict and resolution... I think I will have to let it simmer away in my back-brain for a while. It has a way of producing solutions at about two o'clock in the morning if I give it the chance.

News!!

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 16:51:31 GMT

And thank you, Anny, for your timely reminder to update this thing! I would pleade senile decay but I think I wore that one out years ago.

Anyhow, I have a few bits of news - TRIBUTE TRAIL, written with Terri Beckett, will be out on March 20th 2008!! No cover as yet to show off and crow about. Its sequel, WAR TRAIL, is currently going through the edit stage , and I have no projected date for it.

My own paranormal contemporary mystery romance ARGENT DREAMING, is sort of on hold for a couple of months, as my poor editor has a mighty backlog and can't get to it until February.

But DARK WATERS, a shapeshifter fantasy male/male romance novelette written under the name of Chris Quinton, will be released by Ellora's Cave on March 28th 2008. I'm now going to try and upload the cover pic...

Heh! That worked.

On the WiP front, my vampire novel, now titled FOX HUNT, is giving me a bit of a headache. A plot wobble reared up and bit me, and now I have to go and sort it out. The two mystery romances I'm co-writing with Terri are on the back-burner until we can get together and brainstorm a few points. Since she is in North Wales and I'm in the South West of England, that isn't as easy as we'd like.

Progress...

Thu, 22 Nov 2007 09:25:39 GMT

I've received the contract for Argent Dreaming, and the edits for it should be with me round about Christmas. That is when the War trail edits are due, so the latter part of December is going to be *very* busy.

Fox Hunt is progressing steadily but with all the home dramas going on around me, I can feel my concentration slipping. Oh, well... Pity I can't use them in a story, but they aren't that kind of drama - broken and leaking guttering, grandson # 1 with ADHD in full teenage tantrum/angst mode, grandson # 2 with ADHD about to hit puberty...

I think I need a loooong holiday. Just me and my laptop, and an internet cafe within walking distance.

Done it again - Or not...

Mon, 29 Oct 2007 12:57:27 GMT

This is getting ridiculous - I really must remember that I have a blog and I should use it! Self-discipline is a necessary part of a writer's repetoire, and NOT a fetish involving whips! Okay, I've been doing a lot of travelling - which has been fantastic - but now it's time to settle down and write.

Helen has said the edits for Tribute Trail and War Trail will be arriving in November and before Christmas respectively, with a release date in March 2008. Which is good news. We're both looking forward to working on them, though I think Terri isn't quite so enthusiastic. She prefers the actual creation side of things... Talking of which, we've sent off the cover-request forms, and it'll be interesting to see what the Covers Dept. come up with this time! Terri had a few reservations about the one they did for Nettleflower, but we didn't argue it. This time we will, if necessary.

Argent Dreaming will hopefully be released in the summer, but I've no confirmation of that as yet. With any luck I will be able to get the edits done on TT and WT before I need to start on that.

I also need to get my arse into gear and put some serious effort into Masque - now retitled Fox Hunt. It's halfway there, for God's sake!

Ooops...

Wed, 08 Aug 2007 08:50:16 GMT

Hadn't realised how long it's been since I last posted. But then, life has been somewhat hectic since June.

Terri sent the outline of Tribute Trail and War Trail to Helen at CP, and she wanted to see both novels, so I dropped everything and did a complete revision of both novels, an approximate total of 212 thou words... My eyes felt like they were embedded in sand. Thank all the gods and goddesses for computers, or I'd still be doing it!

I've found a goddess of scribes and writers - Seshat, wife to Thoth. I think I'll start burning incense to her!

In between all the family and writing stuff, I've heard that Cerridwen Press has accepted Tribute Trail and War Trail, so now we sit and wait for the contracts. That'll be interesting, since I have yet to receive the contract for Argent Dreaming...

Waiting...

Sun, 24 Jun 2007 09:16:57 GMT

Still haven't received the contract for Argent Dreaming. A week ago Helen said it would be about a week. Or so. Note to self - I *must* learn patience...

...And self-discipline. Had some more story ideas that range from the vampiric to legends here and now. I'll have to rough out the ideas enough to solidify them, then I must concentrate on Under Siege.

On a personal front, now I'm off the new meds and back on my old ones, I can once again see the bone definition of my feet and ankles. Now I have to get fit again!

Photo Album: Cover Art

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 11:15:17 GMT

Cover Art

Argent Dreaming

Nettleflower

Tribute Trail

War Trail

Dark Waters

Book List: Book list

Tue, 22 Jan 2008 12:20:29 GMT

Book list

C.J. CHerryh: Faded Sun Trilogy
This is my all-time favorite author and probably my favorite book. No one does SF culture clash quite as she does.
C.J. Cherryh: The Chanur Series
Again brilliant SF culture-clash and an incredibly fast-paced series of books, one flowing on directly from the other.
Lois McMasters Bujold: The Miles Vorkosigan series
Yet another great world-building series with fascinating characters, drama, humour, and pathos. LMB's fantasy novels are also good, but Miles is her best.

Custom List: People and Places

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 09:35:56 GMT

People and Places

Susan Sizemore
An author with a wide range of genres at her fingertips - Romance, Timeslip, Fantasy, Vampires, Science Fiction... All powerfully written with a certain dark humour at times.
Jody Lynn Nye
Jody concentrates on Science Fiction and Fantasy and writes it with style and panache...
Ellora's Cave
Erotic romance a little too hot for mainstream, in all kinds of genres.
Cerridwen Press
Mainstream Romance fiction in all kinds of genres, and where you'll find 'NETTLEFOWER'.
Terri Beckett
Longtime friend and co-writer - a sister in all but blood. Terri is devoted to cats, and does a lot of work for her local Cats' Protection charity.