Update 2019

That’s right – I’ve reached that point where I throw up one update a year.

Where am I with my work?

‘Death Echo: Vol. 3’ took a back seat to Proper Magic (a fantasy novel I want to get traditionally published). This involved a number of lengthy re-writes and edits but it’s finally reached the stage where I want others to look at it.

It’s not ready by any means, but there’s nothing further I can do without getting some fresh eyes on it.

While it’s with my beta readers I’ve been working on something very different – A Red Dwarf-esque space jaunt. I’ve always loved science fiction, but I’ve never felt confident with it in the same way as I do with fantasy. All the same I had an idea and the words just came pouring out.

It doesn’t have a proper title at the moment but I’m calling it ‘Between Stars’, which is a bit generic considering it’s about two middle aged lesbian space truckers who ‘accidentally’ steal a god (kind of). Any thoughts? Answers on a postcard.

I feel like I’m getting better at writing, like I’m closer to finding my voice.

Also – I’m getting married early next year. How mad is that? I’m so excited!

I won’t leave the next update so long, promise!

– Seb

Update!

[ Cover art by: xaiyasak ]

It’s been a little while since I last did a proper blog post. Rest assured I’ve been writing each and every day. That’s the strange thing with writing. The finished product is literally the tip of the iceberg, floating on the back of years of effort and struggle.

So what’s breaking the surface next for me? Well, I’ve started writing outlines for Death Echo: Vol. 3.

DEv3 will be the final instalment in what has been a massively interesting and educational experience. I’ve made mistakes, and I know now that I am many things, but I am not an editor. How they manage their magic I’ll never know! I’ve also received some wonderful reactions and it feels amazing to have my work out there, being read by real human eyes.

Death Echo: Vol. 3 won’t be out for a while, at least a year. I really want to take my time with it.

In other news my novel, Proper Magic (a comical but sincere fantasy) is nearing completion. I’m so excited about it! I’ll be looking to find an agent and get it traditionally published. As previously stated on this blog I don’t trust Amazon with a novel. Or rather – I don’t trust myself to do the long, hard sell that novels require when it comes to self-publishing.

In that regard I’m perhaps a little too insular. That’s something to work on I suppose.

I’ve found a really good life/writing/relaxing balance. I take my laptop into work now and spend around 40 minutes of my lunch break writing. Then when I come home I’m not on edge about needing to write and I’m able to enjoy time with my fiancé and fur babies. Then on the weekends I do some editing and a big chunk of writing, along with playing computer games (maintaining other hobbies is key to happiness y’all!).

In conclusion – All is good. I’m writing, a lot.

Now, if I could only shake this cold…

– Sebastyan

 

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Death Echo: Vol. 1

Death Echo: Vol. 2

Death Echo: Vol. 2 is now out!

Death Echo: Vol. 2 is now out! Due to issues on Amazon’s end the paperback hasn’t gone live for .co.uk but it can be bought from .com. Good for Americans, bad for brits. Don’t go spending out on American shipping though, it should be available soon!

In the meantime it can be downloaded for Kindle here for a mere £1.99!

I’m super proud of this collection so I hope everyone enjoys it. P.s if you haven’t jumped on the Echo train yet (note to self – ‘Echo Trains’) the first volume is still free for the rest of today so grab a download 🙂

Now I can finally get on with all that other writing I’ve been meaning to do!

– Sebastyan

 

What is Death Echo: Vol. 2?

Tomorrow  (13/1/18) will mark the release of Death Echo: Vol. 2. It contains ten stories, a mixture of fantasy, science fiction, and good old regular fiction. The cover and inside illustrations were all done by Jade Andrews.

Vol. 1 came out back in March 2017 and there was a big build up to it. This release is a quieter affair.

The first volume came in at a modest 16,000 words whereas this one is closer to 26,000 words – still well below the length of a novel – all the stories are a nice manageable length for the most part. It will be going for the same price (eBook £1.99 and paperback £3.99).

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In the far future a dying man chooses to take his own life under an alien sky. A young girl sets off to find twin lights she saw fall from a mountain top and in a post-rapture town three survivors are hunting divine prey. The Echo continues.

 

Memento Mori

Upon receiving awful news a young woman must return to her estranged grandmother, despite every bone in her body telling her to turn tail and run.

Route 20

A man and a boy are on a strange, endless road-trip through the long arid stretches of middle America. What drives them forward? And for that matter what drives the car – the gauge has been on EMPTY for a long time now.

Falling into the Sky

Even in the far future there are illnesses that drive us to extreme measures. Oswen Shaff has lived a long life, but it is not without regrets. Under the sunset of an alien sky he is left alone with his thoughts, and copious amounts of drugs.

Hollow Harvest

Nothing happens on the Hollow family farm, except one night when something DOES happen. Esmeralda is too young and headstrong to understand fear so she goes to investigate. Perhaps tonight she’ll learn how deep the shadows really are…

Grand Leader

Everything is fine in the Holy City of Midden, according to the old Grand Leader. His people are happy and protected and the faith is strong. Admittedly he hasn’t looked outside in a long time, but why would his faithful servants lie to him?

The Last Wedding of Plas Teg

The apocalypse is here. More specifically the apocalypse is gathering around the Plas Teg stately home. Time is running out and the vicar is nowhere to be seen…

Blood for Barthmont

Tael gave up his old life in the treacherous South to protect his new life in Barthmont. Winter is approaching the mountains he patrols and it rarely travels alone. Barthmont is a pretty prize for any daring enough to try and take it.

Immortal

It’s Nold’s job to raise servants into willing cattle for the Immortal Lords of the Forbidden Palace. He enjoys his job. He’s good at his job. So why does it concern him so much that one Lord seems to refuse his offerings? Why does he feel like Lord Ruine is planning something?

Hope Street

Perhaps it was the rapture, perhaps not. All the same the strange creatures that came from the skies on golden wings have got to go. Enter the two man kill-team of Al and Fezz, backed up by young Ben, who is about to learn that his life underground hasn’t really prepared him for the violence of top-side.

Below the Storm

When something nearly wiped out all life on Earth some humans managed to escape to an orbiting station. Generations later they want to take Earth back, but what awaits them under the strange storm that covers the planet?

 

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I’ve had a few problems with the up-loader where certain alterations haven’t stuck. Hopefully this will all be sorted as soon as possible and it shouldn’t affect your enjoyment. Do let me know if the format has been thoroughly messed up though and I’ll do everything I can to make it right!

I’ve learnt a lot more this time around, not just about the obvious (editing and writing) but also about myself. Volume 2 was not an easy road for me. I struggled with motivation a great deal and pushed the release back a few times – Christmas happened slap bang in the middle of it too (the nerve!).

All the same I’m relieved to be at the end of it and see the fruits of all those sleepless nights. I still feel like I’m learning a lot about writing every day and it means the world to me that there are people out there willing and able to join me on this strange little literary trip.

I appreciate you all. Thank you.

– Sebastyan

 

Death Echo: Vol. 2 | 13th of January | Pre-Order Now!

Death Echo: Vol. 2 is ready to be released! It will be available on Amazon in both eBook and paperback. The eBook version is available to pre-order now!

Vol. 2 will go live on the 13th of January 2018!

From the 9th to the 13th Death Echo: Vol. 1 will be free to download so if you missed it the first time feel free to grab it now.

You don’t have to read the first volume to enjoy the second, but there are connections between the two!

I’m very pleased to announce Jade Andrews has returned to provide the cover art and the illustrations! Each story has it’s own image and Jade has really knocked it out of the park – I just hope Amazon doesn’t butcher the image quality!

You can Pre-Order Death Echo: Vol. 2 here.

Join the Facebook release party here.

Or just check out my Amazon page when you get chance by clicking here.

Where did Death Echo come from?

My grandfather died Christmas 2016. Death had seemed a long way away – suddenly it was at the door. The bubble had popped and everything felt suddenly very small and very delicate.

Mortality had arrived.

One of my short stories had been published but I felt as though I was standing still. On January the 1^st I swore to put something out there. Time was short and I had to DO something.

Telling people I was a writer felt like a lie. I needed a product.

Reading through the short stories I’d written over the years something struck me – they were all about death. Not always directly, but they were all touched by the idea of endings, of passing.

This gave my theme: death.

March 2017 saw the release of Death Echo: Vol. 1, a collection of short stories by myself, illustrated by Jade Andrews.

Death Echo is a personal project. I never intended to make money from it (I still don’t) but I knew I wanted full control, something self-publishing facilitates. Three months of nonstop writing and editing, and some beautiful art and I had a product.

It went on sale at the end of March, though it nearly ended up in April due to my own struggles with Amazon’s upload system. The reaction was far better than I expected – I don’t have much of footprint when it comes to social media. Despite that I had over a hundred units moved in a week and a half (downloads and physical copies). I’ve not looked since, this isn’t a number game at the moment.

It was encouraging. Now I had something to talk about, something to sell. It was something I’d written and shaped and sent out there. I had friends, family and strangers all reading a reviewing my work. For the first time since declaring myself a writer I actually FELT like a writer.

It came from a place of desperation and fear but became something rather different. It may be about death but I hope in execution it’s something more uplifting.

– Sebastyan

Radio Silence = Busy Writer

I’m a firm believer that the quieter a writer is the more they’re writing. This has certainly been the case with me. These last few months I’ve buried myself in my work in order to reach a pretty extreme deadline. The thought of missing it fills me with dread, but I mustn’t let my desire for progress get in the way of the quality of the final product. All told I have around a month to get things in order.

I’ll make more announcements closer to the deadline, as I’ll have a better idea of what’s happening. In the meantime rest assured that every free moment I have is spent agonizing over the hobby that I so dearly wish to make a career.

– Sebastyan

Celebrate Prime Day with Me!

Death Echo: Vol.1 eBook download free – 10th-12th of July

What is Prime Day? No-one really knows. Our most learned scholars say it has something to do with Televisions. Whatever the case may be I’d like to invite you to enjoy Death Echo for free! I’ll be making Death Echo: Vol.1 free from Monday, July 10th until Wednesday, July 12th. That means you can download the full book, illustrations n’all for no charge on your Kindle/whatever!

Volume 2 is well underway and there will be little trails between the books for the dedicated readers so keep your peepers pealed.

Buh bye now.

–      Sebastyan

50th blog post!

Wow, where has that time gone? I started this blog as a means to promote and discuss Death Echo: Vol.1 along with having a point of contact as a self published author. In both respects it has performed pretty well. I’m not built for social media – it’s like a game that I struggle to play. All the same it feels good to rabbit on to whoever will listen!

A big thank you to all those still here!

Here’s a breakdown of my timescale for future projects. They might not mean must to you but this seems as good a place as any to put it all down:

August 31st – Proper Magic rewrite draft complete – editing begins

November 1st – Death Echo: Vol.2 complete and up for pre-order

December 1st – Death Echo: Vol.2 releases

January 1st – Begin looking for an agent for Proper Magic

January onward – SWEET SWEET PROFIT

January onward – begin work on Death Echo: Vole.3

And now for the important part, the gifs.

– Sebastyan

Hay Book Festival 2017 – What a Day!

As mentioned in my previous post I’d never been to the annual literary festival in Hay-on-Wye. It’s not too far from where I live but getting there without a car is a bit of a nightmare. Fortunately two lovely friends of ours were also going, and offered us transport!

I didn’t really know what to expect, other than books, and there were plenty of those to be found. When it comes to book shopping I’m awful. I tend to grab something that catches my eye then um and ah about it for an hour. This time was no different. I was captivated by Yiyun Li’s book Dear Friend, from My Life I Write to You in Your Life from the moment I saw the cover:

I don’t know what I liked about it so much. It was sitting alone on a desk full of other titles. I picked it up and read the first few extracts, then put it down, feeling guilty that I wanted to buy the first book I’d picked up. What followed was roughly an hour of walking around, occasionally returning to see it still alone on the table. I bought it, obviously, and I don’t regret it. I’m only a dozen or so pages in but already it’s shaping up to be a stunning read.

After that we bumped into two people. Firstly Amanda Palmer, a very talented singer-songwriter from America, who just so happens to be married to Neil Gaiman – the reason for our visit. My partner didn’t want to pass up the opportunity and stopped her to say hello. We didn’t want to bother her with any photos as she was busy and in a rush, but Nicole was incredibly happy to have had a moment to speak to her.

After that we were waiting around for our friends to come out of their talk with Chris Riddell – UK Children’s Laureate. It was his final public event in the role when who should walk past us but Neil Gaiman himself, having just left the talk.

I’d brought a few copies of Death Echo: Vol. 1 with the intention of leaving some around the event as surprises for anyone who wanted them. This didn’t go to plan as it was an awfully humid day with dark clouds overhead. Leaving a copy of my book out in the open to possibly get ruined by the rain didn’t sit right with me so I kept a hold of them. Giving one as a gift to a writer I’ve long admired is another story.

With some convincing by Nicole (behind every awkward man is a strong, confident woman ready to kick them into action) we nabbed him and gave him a copy. He could have snubbed us and I wouldn’t have blamed him, these events can be insanely busy and it’s difficult to stop and chat to everyone. He very graciously accepted it as a gift (making sure I’d signed it!) and even posed with us for a picture:

 

I didn’t even ask him to hold Death Echo like that, he did it of his own free will!

 

We learnt later that by stopping him a small queue built up and he didn’t get away from there for some time (sorry!). I hope he enjoys the collection. Just the knowledge that a writer I respect so much reading my stories gives me a wonderful tingly feeling.

Onto the main event:

The main reason for our visit was to see Stephen Fry interview Neil Gaiman. This wasn’t until later in the day but there was plenty to see an do. All the same when the time came we first in line:

 

Well, first in OUR line – there were multiple lines!

The event included Neil reading a story from Norse Mythology, Stephen reading a story from his upcoming collection on Greek Mythology, Amanda Palmer reading a beautiful poem, and Chris Riddell, drawing sketches of everything in the background on a projector. It was a beautiful thing to witness. After that was a book signing by Neil. I think perhaps the organisers didn’t realise how popular it would be, with a  queue that apparently didn’t die down for four hours!

Fortunately Amanda was nearby to entertain the masses:

If we could have stayed for her full show we would have, but what with the drive home and work the next day we had to go 😦

In many ways I couldn’t ask for a better experience. I got to see some brilliant people do and talk about the things they love, and I got to be a part of it.

*contented sigh*

– Sebastyan

p.s. Big thanks to all the organisers and staff who worked their butts off (and are still there now, still working their butts off.)

 

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You can buy my first collection of stories available in paperback and Kindle here: Death Echo: Vol. 1

You can now also pre-order Broken Bones and $10 Bills, an anthology in which one of my stories is featured!