Hello everyone!

Well, this last week has been a busy writing week for me, which is nice.

I was wondering whether to postpone this post a few more days until I'd finished the first draft of my current novella, but that may still a little while off nonetheless. I should still finish it during the week, over the next couple of days or so in fact, but still.

I had wondered if I may have been able to have finished it by now, but that wasn't the case, where I had wondered originally - a few months ago - if it would total 25,000 words, I did start wondering if it would be nearer 12,000 words when I made my last post. But its currently totalling a little over 19,000 words and I've still the main climax and conclusory passage to do, so it probably will be nearer 25,000 words like I originally thought.

What that means is that I'll have the first draft of a novella that will be 60 to 70 pages long.

But enough numerical stuff. I should have this done by Friday, which is good because my main character, Gwaeloch Irisgarth is to be accompanied by a version of a friend of mine who will appear as a wizard's apprentice. I really am hoping to have it completed by Friday as it will be her birthday then and it'll make a nice little present for her, even if it is in rough form.

Yes, I've just to somehow work out how to do a four way showdown - with a liche and a being from the stars, and the apprentice's old master, and someone who'd previously captured the heroic duo. Easy (suppresses a mild sense of panic deep down inside).

But otherwise, in my writing world, nothing much has taken place. I am still enjoying Jungle Tomb of the Mummy Bride for DCC with all its added content.

Jungle Tomb of the Mummy Bride,
for Dungeon Crawl Classics - DCC

It really is a good book with plenty of options to expand the original quest and to probably triple or quadruple its run time. It really fleshes out the jungle around the Mummy Bride's tomb with snake men, cannibals, fungal men of universal knowledge and other things.

Other  than that, there isn't really much else to say about things. Next week, I should definitely have the current novella first draft finished and should have either started or be planning the next first draft - there is a small selection of stories I'd like to write, in various states of preparation. Its just a choice of which to work on first.

 Hello everyone!

Well, that was a good writing week. I'm really quite pleased with progress so far. To be honest, I had planned on making a post on Monday, but to be honest, I'd lost track of time. So, here we go.

I still feel a bit awkward about how life had got in the way before with writing and to be honest, I'm not really sure how to think about it, it still feels a bit of a weird two or three weeks having to divert my attention so whole-heartedly.

But needless to say, I'm back writing and have managed to dedicate much of every day over the last nine days to writing, though I did have to start the novella over again, which is a shame.

Looking back, I wasn't too happy about the way that the original draft was going, so starting again was probably for the best. The previous draft had taken three weeks to get half way through - about ten thousand words - and though its looking to be a shorter story than expected, not by much but after nine days, I'm at the same word count and I think the first draft could total around seventeen thousand words.

I seem to be averaging about one thousand one hundred words a day. Its not much, but its manageable for me. I think I could have the rest of the story finished by next Tuesday. Its the day after I normally do a blog post, but I may hold off on the next post until then so that I can fully update folks on things and plans. I think I know what I'll be doing next, but I'll wait until then to write about it.

Anyway, you may be asking what this novella is about. Well, in short, its about an elf barbarian called Gwaeloch Irisgarth who gets employed by a wizard apprentice called Yasmina Bruhns - who is actually based on a friend who gave me permission to do so - to help find her mistress, a fully qualified wizard who lives deep in an ancient forest that covers a vast area. They think the wizard had gone after something called the Royal Star, and on the way, they get involved with evil satyrs and also find a ruined elven city, dead for centuries, filled with the undead. And things culminate there.

Its a story that I've been trying to get my head around for a few months and its been a bit difficult. I've not really been used to writing something so long and its been hard planning to get the level of content suitable for a story two or three times the length of what I'm used to. To be honest, its wound me up quite a lot on occasion and I had originally planned to have this ready for publication with another novella by Christmas and that hasn't happened. Its sort of something that's really got to me, even if I don't always like to admit it.

Its one of those things, sometimes and for some reasons that I'm not sure I fully understand, I sometimes have great anxiety over projects. I think it stems from a time when I was basically anorexic and a workoholic and had to give up writing for a while to recover. I even ended up in hospital a couple of times with a suspected heart attack.

I think some of my anxiety around trying to get fully back into writing is down to that. If anyone has any tips to help, that would be great as I do feel that I still pressurize myself with it a lot and I want to get passed that. I keep remembering the days where I used to be able to do seventeen thousand words a day - a word count I've only heard of Michael Moorcock rivalling when he was on cocaine.

I realise that's not practical in the slightest, but improving my daily word count would be great too. I'd sort of like to average about four to five thousand words a day, but at best, I manage half that and it sort of feels a bit disappointing. Anyway, if anyone has any times about that too - improving word count, please let me know.

Anyway, that's enough from me. To be honest, I can't really think of anything else that's particularly bloggable at this time, other than me ordering an all female dwarf Blood Bowl team, but that's still to arrive. I still want to get the main box set to learn the game. I miss it. I may even do a write up of some games or some videos or something once that's sorted.

All Female Dwarf Blood Bowl Team

With that all out of the way and with part of that getting a lot deeper than I thought it would, I just want to wish everyone good health and prosperity.

Bye bye everyone!

 Hello everyone!

Guess what, life still got in the way after my last blog post. Yeah, I was hoping that that wouldn't happen, but it has. But anyway, I think there'll be a little influence over my writing and a few more minor commitments, but no so drastic as they have been over the last month.

That unfortunately means that I've managed to get very little writing down in the fortnight since my last post, and that's something I was almost immediately dreading. I'm still not sure I want to go into what has happened too much, but I think there is some much needed help coming in to some areas, which I'll welcome.

Onto some peripheral things that have happened in the meantime that is actually relevant. One thing I've been thinking about is to include some wargaming and roleplay games that I think are relevant. I have got into a game called The Woods by Oakbound Studios, which I love the background to, with inspirations from Celtic Myth, King Arthur Legends, Welsh Legends, some Brian Froud things and some terry Pratchett inspiration. I've been painting up some models, all be in badly, ready for a few games. I do need to base them up properly. Please excuse the quality of the photos as well.

Fodden and Pixie Badger-Riders
for The Woods

Representations of the four seasons,
for The Woods.

If you would like to check them out, please take a look at their website here, and their facebook group here.

Also, I received my copies of Jungle Tomb of the Mummy Bride, a campaign setting for DnD 5th Edition and also for Dungeon Crawl Classics. I managed to get a copy for each. Hopefully, they be available for general sale soon.

Jungle Tomb of the Mummy Bride,
for DnD and DCC

Anyway, where am I heading from here? Will I be continuing writing?

Of course I will. I realise that life has got in the way recently, but storytelling is something I serious about. It sometimes feels like there are so many stories in my head that its difficult to get them all down quick enough. Sometimes that's a problem - it doesn't exactly aid focusing. But still, even if I have difficulty getting stiff out there for you guys to read, it's still something I'm serious about doing.

So what's happening with the story I was working on until recently?

Well, I think I've lost momentum with it at the moment. I think that it would be much easier to start the story over again. It's a shame, I was about half way through the first draft, but I'm having difficulty building the momentum up with it again. To be honest, I'm not really happy with how the first half was going as well. There were clunky bits in it and I think it could generally have gone a lot better anyway. I think starting it over again could fix a number of the problems that I'm seeing at the moment. I'm still having difficulty getting the characters to the nub of the story, to the necropolis of a mummified elf king. But those should work themselves out.

I still have the other couple of stories to edit, but that'll be once I've completed a couple more first drafts. I want to go through things in batches, get a few first drafts done, then work through them with second drafts, and then edits and so on.

Anyway, I think that's enough for this week. Hopefully I'll have a lot more writing based news to share with you. I hope you all are well and I'll see you next time.

 Hello everyone!

I realise that I missed a post last Monday and I apologise for that.

There have been a few changes around here, mostly in my sleep pattern. I think I put up on my twitter that it had thrown me off a bit, but I was still carrying on with the novella. Well, turns out that jet lag can be a bit of a pain in the bum and I've been on the verge of a migraine for most of the last week because of blood sugar levels. There have been a few other issues with family and with housing recently too, but I don't really want to get into that here. I think that is in hand now. Hopefully.

So where am I after attempting to start waking up eight hour early and doing the day shift mentality instead of the night shift?

Well, things are finally settling down and I can get my head around the novella again. I had got some stuff sorted in the meantime with it, but I think I'm going to have to go back and re-write parts of it. I think there'll be a prison break with magic, instead of a tentative alliance with evil satyrs. But I'll hopefully soon get back into the swing of my fantasy novella. The elf barbarian and wizard apprentice will be back to storming an ancient elvish necropolis soon.

But in other news, a kickstarter I backed last summer is now being shipped, so I'm eagerly awaiting my copy of Jungle Tomb of the Mummy Bride to arrive from America. I know some copies have already arrived. It should be excellent. And I managed to get both the 5e and the DCC version, so I'm quite excited.

Jungle Tomb of the Mummy Bride

Also, something else I'm quite excited about is the another kickstarter finished and soon, I should get my copy of Rackham Vale: Paint Box Edition. It does look lovely and I know the company that made it has worked hard on it.

Rackham Vale

If folks would be interested, I could do some things involving these and other roleplay game books to, and possibly some wargames too, just to mix things up a bit. But primarily, this is a writing blog. But on another note as well, I have been talking with a friend about us starting up a wargaming and roleplaying Youtube channel. We just haven't gotten our acts together with that yet.

Anyway, that's about it for this week. Hopefully I'll have more writing related stuff for everyone next week.

See you all soon!

 Hello everyone,

Just a quick update. I've wanted to keep this up as a regular thing and this week, I'm finding it hard to think of much to say, I'm afraid.

Something happened during the week that shook me up a little and I feel almost embarrassed that it shocked me and threw me so badly as it isn't necessarily life changing, but it had made be have flashbacks to a time when something similar happened and I was almost made homeless. But I relly do doubt that it'll get that bad. But much of my writing this last week has taken a back seat and I'm having a little difficulty starting up the routine again.

Anyway, I am still trucking through my copy of the WFRP 4th Edition source book: Altdorf, The Crown of the Empire.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th edition,
Altdorf: Crown of the Empire

I have also decided to revisit a book I finished about 20 years ago when I was in my teens called Puckoon by Spike Milligan. Its hilarious! Its one of the few books that I think everyone should read.

Puckoon, Spike Milligan

Beyond that, I'm also still reading one of Christopher Fowler's Bryant and May novels called The Lonely Hour. Its going slowly but I'm progressing alright.

The Lonely Hour, Bryant and May,
Christopher Fowler,

I have also backed a few Kickstarters, all of which are supplements for RPGs. I have a couple on order for Dungeon Crawl Classics and a couple for Old School Essentials. Both are fun games and I love the Dolmenwood setting for Old School Essentials.

One of the books is for an Old School Essentials setting book based around the artwork of Arthur Rackham which is wonderful. The Kickstarter for which you can visit here.

Rackham Vale for
Old School Essentials

 Hello everyone!

I had thought I'd get a post up yesterday, but I had thought how the first of these new regular posts had gone up on a Tuesday, there wasn't much of a problem with putting one up today instead. there had been that impromptu post put up on Sunday about Andy Remic and him sadly loosing his battle with cancer as well. May he go on adventures wit the gods and goddesses now.

A bit of news about Thadeus Morticaine, he is still studying away at a few things, looking into the lesser known things of the world and the universe, 'playing with chaos and dancing with the fae' as he puts it but he has been looking into some very interesting stories. He has managed to et an interest in Folk Horror and has been working his way through both the collections of 2000AD's Thistlebone and he is thoroughly enjoying them.

Thistlebone Volume One, 2000AD

Thistlebone Rising, 2000AD

Thistlebone, 2000AD

If you would like to take a look for yourselves or buy them, take a look here for volume one.

And here for volume two.

Now onto what Dan Coghlan has been up to. Well, the essence of it is that he is still trucking away at his novella. It's taking a bit longer than he planned, but he has broached the half way mark and soon, once there has been a prison break, the undead will run rampant and a wizard will be found to have been dead for longer than was thought - no, she wasn't leading the undead. He hopes that during the week to come, he'll be storming his way through the final chapters.

After he's finished with this novella, there'll be another first draft written about fimir breaking into a strange dimension and a short story about ancient and unearthly powers being woken below a city that's been built over a pyramid complex. He then should really start editing those stories and the two from before Christmas, but he may well try and get another two or three first drafts done before he grinds through the edits.

And that's about it for this week. I hope to see you next time.

 Hello everyone.

This update is a bit out of routine.

I recently got a bit of a shock and wanted to share, that with a sad heart Andy Remic the fantasy and sci fi author lost his battle with cancer today. He died at the age of 50, leaving his wife and two kids.

By the sounds of it, he was a much loved teacher, a filmmaker and generally, a bit of an adventurous sort.

If you are unfamiliar with him and would like to find out more about him, please follow this link here.

Anyway, I think I'm going to start reading Kell's Legend again.

Kell's Legend by Andy Remic

Andy Remic, Sci-Fi and 
Fantasy author

Hello everyone!

I'm just writing this before a writing session. But a couple of things have happened during the week that I can update everyone on.

The first bit is that Dan Coghlan is making headway on a novella that he's been meaning to have finished for a while. It involves his elf barbarian - Gwaeloch Irisgarth - going on the hunt for a Master Wizard with their apprentice in tow and getting themselves involved with a city ruin and necropolis system filled with ancient elven undead, including a mummified elite. There are also evil satyrs and rotten dryads to contend with along the way.

He reckons that he could very well be about two fifths of the way through. It's taken a week to get those seven and a half thousand words done, but progress is being made each day. He'd like to get more done each day but has been having trouble with some dastardly migraine headaches.

Thankfully, Dan Coghlan also has a couple of other short stories including the same character under his belt in first draft form and hopes to get them sorted in short order. Those he hopes to send out to some magazines or anthologies when they're done.

After this, he also has another novella planned including a clan of Fimir, another story that may become a novella involving a cannibal hold of dwarves. There will be a short story including a pyramid complex under a city that holds an ancient evil, and another involving a wizard duel after a long night out.

On another note, I wanted to share something that was of inspiration to Dan.

Earlier this week, he received a copy of a Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay book for the forth edition based around the Empire city of Altdorf.

Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4e,
Altdorf: Crown of the Empire

He's a big fan of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay and is loving this book. He has the Middenheim book in the same series and is finding  this one much more interesting, even though the Middenheim book is a very suitable book for anyone involved with that edition of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. He likes how its jammed packed with cults and spy rings, location showcases and NPCs. He says it really does paint a picture of a vast fantasy city.

Anyway, with that all covered, I hope you all are well and enjoy your week.

 Hello everyone!

I realise that it's been quite a while since I last left a post on here - has it really been more than two year?!

Anyway, I do still intend to upload to the blog on occasions, even if they are sporadic. I had first intended to upload weekly, then monthly. There was a period when I used the blog as a person interest thing with things of related content to what was being written, from folklore to the supernatural, from crime to literature. I suppose I haven't really fully grasped or appreciated what I could or should do with this blog.

I think I could still try and do that if things come up that are relevant. What do you think to that? I get the Fortean Times regularly and could comment on that?

I also got into wargaming and TTRPGs, I could comment on that too, if there was interest. Even if it was very minor. I know that's diversifying topics on something that should remain quite specific. But I'm thinking of using it for things that inspire or help or generally tie in some how with my writing and it's process.

Anyway, on the writing front, I am still forging ahead. I realise that over the last two years the world has gone a bit weird. Its plain weird all over now and though I've been quite lucky with it all, I've felt quite bogged down with everything that's gone on in this changing world and there have been a few health concerns on top of that too. I hope they are settling down now. I hope this will settle into something a bit more stable or generally better soon. Hopefully both.

So, that is sort of why I've not been up much.

Over the last few months, I have been trying to catch up with things a bit. Though Thadeus Morticaine is taking a bit of a rest from the writing process to ponder some of the strange things of the universe and wander the faery pathways into strange lands and find brilliant ephemeral things, Dan Coghlan has been quite busy.

Dan has been busting through a few first drafts. He has currently three short stories and a poem under his belt, though the poem and one of the stories he is unsure of what to precisely do with. There is also a novella he is currently working on, which will accompany another planned novella and a planned short story. There are also another two planned novellas and three planned short stories. Hopefully, he'll organise himself so that the first two connected novellas will be published over the next couple of months or so. He also has his mind set on a trilogy of novels too.

Needless to say, he is very much enjoying writing these Sword and Sorcery stories based on Gwaeloch Irisgarth the barbarian elf from the hill lands. Hopefully you'll be hearing more about all the magic and sword swinging action in later posts.

With that, I shall leave you all to enjoy your days, afternoons, evening and nights in the best way you can.

To get the ball rolling, here is a little bit about both Thadeus Morticaine and Dan Coghlan.

Thadeus Morticaine and Dan Coghlan have been friends for many years and are both authors from Derby.

Thadeus Morticaine was born in November 1985 and is writing stories in many genres. He is working on some Folk Horror stories based on his Great, Great Grandfather, Obadiah Morticaine. He is also working on a series of stories set during the English Civil War. He is also working on some Grim Dark Fantasy and is very keen on the stories of Sexton Blake. He is also working on a selection of ghost stories too. He is also a runecaster and loves folktales. He is helping out with Northworthy Sagas and Stories.

Dan Coghlan is working on a series of Swords and Sorcery stories based around the adventures of a Wood Elf Barbarian. He is also planning a series of post apocalyptic pulp fiction style stories too. He is a fan of a number of the old pulp fiction stories.

Hello everyone,

As a new year has come, so has a re-jigging of this blog. It will now be a place for the inspirations and work - and its progress - for two author friends called Thadeus Morticaine and Dan Coghlan. You can check out the About the Authors side bar for more on them.

In the mean time, other social media outlets will be set up and post by the two will be uploaded in time. I hope you enjoy what's to come.