Tuesday, 31 August 2021

Tuesday Poem - Little Book of Autumn

My poem today comes from my poetry book Little Book of Autumn, the seventh book in the Little Book Series.

Autumn is a poetic marvel - all those beautiful colour changes, the weather morphing from summer to winter and a sense of an ending approaching. Join Claire Buss on this seasonal journey through pumpkin spice and crunchy leaves, hibernating hedgehogs and hot chocolate by the bonfire. Take a moment to appreciate the warmth of fall with this collection of twenty-five autumnal poems.


Back To School

The summer holidays have been suitably grand
We've done nearly everything I'd planned
The sun has shone and the rain came down
I mostly turned upside down each frown
We've visited family and seen good friends
At times it felt like the holiday would never end
We went to the beach and swam in the sea
We walked past lots of flowers and counted the bees
A hike to visit the castle ruins up on the hill
And we've definitely eaten our entire fill
Of Greggs sausage rolls and Happy Meals
Not a big fan but they had all the feels
And now it's the night before the best day so far
We're going back to school, we're raising the bar
It's a brand new year, new teacher, new class
I'm hoping they don't give them too much sass
I'm excited they're going but I know I'll be sad
Hoping naively I don't miss them too bad
I feel sure home time will soon come around
And they'll chatter excitedly in the playground
So let's raise our mugs in an exhausted cheer
They go back to school, it's finally here!


Claire Buss is a multi-genre author and poet, completely addicted to cake. Find out more about her books on her website clairebuss.co.uk. Join the discussion in her Facebook group Buss's Book Stop. Never miss out on future posts by following me.

Monday, 30 August 2021

The Bone Thief - update

I am very excited, relieved and terrified to be able to tell you that the first draft of The Bone Thief is very almost finished. All I have to do is write the final closing scene(s) and I'm done. I've hit about 60K which is about right for this stage of things.


I need to add in a legend at the beginning and lots of additional scenes - the joys of being a discovery writer. But I think this method works well in the end for me because it usually adds a lot of depth to the story and makes the novel stronger. Also, I suck at plotting.

Next steps for me now are to print out the manuscript, notate all the comments from my wonderful critique group, do a chapter breakdown to see whether any chapters need to move around and create a timeline to make sure that my characters aren't trying to do everything in one day.

These bits and bobs are relatively painless. It's the next bit that requires more time and thought - the writing in of all the missing scenes. Unfortunately, this is the downside of my writing method and the reason why I print out my manuscript. It's so much easier to see all the characters and scenes if they are physically in front of you. I check individual character storylines, I check the main plot, I try to weed out all the inconsistencies and I write in all the XXX. 

XXX is a placeholder I use for the name of something that I haven't made up yet.

Then it's readthrough time to make sure the story still makes sense and I'm not missing anything further. Normally I would then put the book through ProWriting Aid which is a time-consuming process as I like to run various checks. In order to keep my brain fresh, I usually do it one chapter at a time. 

But, I played too much in the summer holidays and I am way behind my writing schedule so there is a very good chance that I will have to send the book off to beta readers before I've had the chance to put it through ProWriting Aid. For that, I can only apologise. Commas are my nemesis. 

They've all been briefed that they have a short turnaround to get the book back to me at which point I then collate all their comments and do another sweep through the manuscript making changes where needed. Then it's time for the final read-through.

At which point I will be sick to the back teeth of reading it lol. 

My favourite part of the whole process is formatting it ready for print. And with a pre-order deadline of November 12th, I need to keep my eye very firmly on the publishing ball. 

If you fancy pre-ordering a copy of The Bone Thief, you can do that here: PRE-ORDER

If you stumbled upon this blog post and have not read the previous humorous fantasy books in this series, you can catch up with The Rose Thief and The Silk Thief accordingly. Click the titles to be taken to buy links. Paperback and ebook are available from your favourite retailer. 


Claire Buss is a multi-genre author and poet, completely addicted to cake. Find out more about her books on her website clairebuss.co.uk. Join the discussion in her Facebook group Buss's Book Stop. Never miss out on future posts by following me

Wednesday, 25 August 2021

A Slice of Cake With... Daniele Kasper

Today I am delighted to have a slice of cake with author Daniele Kasper.

Daniele’s travels have taken her around the world and back again, but her favorite adventures will always be found between the covers of a good book. From rescuing dolphins in the Florida Keys to getting chased by grizzly bears in Alaska, Daniele has taken her adventures and used them as inspiration for her writing. Eventually, she married a horse trainer and settled down in central Michigan. She is now a farm girl with her husband, The Cowboy. They have four rescue dogs, a multitude of cats and chickens and a couple of cowponies. Daniele loves reading and writing fantasy and science fiction. She also loves all things Outlander and Disney, can’t grow a garden to save her life and occasionally moonlights as an elementary teacher.  

What kind of books do you write?

I write books that take you out of your home and humdrum life and throw you into magical, fantastical situations that we always spend hours secretly daydreaming about. 

Can you describe your writing why?

I write because I have to. Once I have an idea, it consumes me until I start to write it down. I also write because I want to share my stories with others who may relate and connect to the characters or situation and enjoy what I write. 

Share with us your favourite passage from the book you enjoyed writing the most

Oh, wow. That is a tough one. I enjoyed so much of writing my novel that it is so hard to pick just one scene. I wrote a few really humorous scenes that were so fun to write. I love writing a little witty banter. But, I also loved writing the descriptive scenes. I think in the end one of my favorite scenes was Caine sharing one of the legends behind the constellations and he and Cara connecting over the shared idea of stars having a backstory. 

“Cara stared up at the stars, thinking about the three sisters who sacrificed themselves before they would betray each other. “They loved each other so much they died for each other.” 

“Sometimes, when you love someone that much, dying is the least you would do to protect them.” His voice was hushed as he gazed skyward.”


Tell us about your latest project

My book, which was just published in January, is called Cut Her Out In Little Stars and is an action-packed interstellar adventure with a touch of time travel and a splash of romance all set in future space. The sequel should be out next year! It is equally great for fans of Firefly and Star Trek as it is for fans of Outlander. The main character, Cara, ends up hundred of years in the future in a world she doesn’t quite understand. She meets the enigmatic Fleet Commander, who isn’t what he claims to be. I have several other projects in the pipeline, including a middle grade and a couple young adult fantasies. 

What is your favourite cake?

It’s not a cake, but key lime pie is my favorite thing ever.


You can connect with Daniele here:


Join me next week when I will be having a slice of cake with Eric Thomson. 

If you would like to take part in A Slice of Cake With... please fill in the form found here. I'd be delighted to have you.

You can also support my writing endeavours and buy me tea & cake - it's what makes the world go round!


Claire Buss is a multi-genre author and poet, completely addicted to cake. Find out more about her books on her website clairebuss.co.uk. Join the discussion in her Facebook group Buss's Book Stop. Never miss out on future posts by following me

Tuesday, 24 August 2021

Tuesday poem - Bad Back Strikes Again

Old injuries hang over my head
They taunt me every time I get into bed
I hear a whisper now and then
A faint alarm whenever I bend

When they don't flare for a good long while
I jaunt around with a great big smile
And just when I think all is well
My back injury takes me to hell

Can't stand
Can't sit
Can't walk
Can't lie

Pain in my legs, pain in my arms
Pain setting off all my internal alarms
Making me gasp, making me cry
Making me curl up and ask why oh why

I didn't do anything crazy or mad
But my body is punishing me for being bad
I've kept moving every day all the time
Walking, daily yoga, doing just fine

And then one day, I get in the shower
Ordinary, daily, one with a smidge of power
Suddenly it hurts, it hurts so much
Can't even breathe, can't even touch

Laid up now for four days straight
Is this a twisted plan from fate?
Forcing me to sit still and cope
Waking each day with small hope

Eases off then comes back in waves
Hoping this time it doesn't last for days
Trying to keep busy, working on my book
Curled up in my squishy sofa nook

Hot water bottle, block of ice
Eating everything that tastes nice
Drinking lots of cups of tea
Regretting it every time I have to go pee

Rebooking all the appointments I made
Just waiting now for the agony to fade
Feeling bad for the kids locked in with me
When I'm barely able to cook their tea

Letting them have much more screen time 
Telling myself that for now, it's fine
It won't be forever, soon I'll be able to move
Then I'll be back in my supermum groove



Claire Buss is a multi-genre author and poet, completely addicted to cake. Find out more about her books on her website clairebuss.co.uk. Join the discussion in her Facebook group Buss's Book Stop. Never miss out on future posts by following me.

Monday, 23 August 2021

My First Audiobook!

Oooh it's taken a while but I can proudly announce that The Interspecies Poker Tournament is now available on audio - my first audiobook!

The Interspecies Poker Tournament is a Roshaven novella, a case file from the thief-catcher office and as such has Ned Spinks and Jenni the sprite investigating a series of murders.


Blurb

Ned Spinks, Chief Thief-Catcher, has a new case. A murderous moustache-wearing cult is killing off members of Roshaven's fae community. At least that's what he's been led to believe by his not-so-trusty sidekick, Jenni the sprite. She has information she's not sharing but plans to get her boss into the Interspecies Poker Tournament so he can catch the bad guy and save the day. If only Ned knew how to play!

The Interspecies Poker Tournament, Case 27 of The Roshaven Files, is a humorous fantasy novella following the adventures of Ned Spinks and Jenni, a prequel to The Rose Thief. If you loved Terry Pratchett's Discworld, you'll love Roshaven.

Here is a preview of the audiobook:



The Process

Oh my goodness it was a process. First I did some saving up. I bought a course on how to record your own audiobook, then a bought a mic and created a test audio file. It didn't sound great. Then I realised I had bought the wrong mic!! So a bit more saving up meant I was able to buy the right mic. 

I was recording onto my laptop from the mic through a program called Audacity. It wouldn't work. No matter what I did, how many YouTube videos I watched, articles I read and helpdesk I sent emails to - I could not get Audacity to recognise my mic. I fumed for a while. Then Microsoft did an update and voila! Amazingly, suddenly, the mic was recognised and I could record to Audacity.

It still didn't sound good. 

I bought a sound shield and the wrong mic stand, twice. I tried creating some weird umbrella based, blanket fort but still, the sound wasn't great. 

Then my good friend Kate recommended a sound guy to me, Rob Hodgkinson of Ghost Studios. He gave me some wonderful advice on set-up. I bought a mouse mat and forked out for the correct, more expensive mic stand and a shock mount. Put everything on my chest of drawers, nestled into my small wardrobe space and used an additional blanket and pillow to absorb as much sound as possible. 


Looks pretty good, huh?

And the sound quality was a huge improvement but it still wasn't as good as I thought it could be so I went back to Rob, who was now a very good email friend lol, to see if he could help. He offered to master the files. This means running them through professional sound equipment, getting rid of background noises and reducing hisses and pops. A service that has been absolutely worth every single penny. 

Once the files had been mastered I was able to upload. I uploaded direct to Findaway Voices for the wider distribution - Apple, Google Play, Kobo, libraries etc and to ACX who look after Amazon's Audible service. 

There were a few quality hoops to leap through but nothing too horrendous and then that was it. The audiobook had been uploaded. Ta-da!

You can get your copy here:



I really hope you enjoy the audiobook, I look forward to hearing what you think. I will be narrating more books in the future, starting with The Rose Thief.


Claire Buss is a multi-genre author and poet, completely addicted to cake. Find out more about her books on her website clairebuss.co.uk. Join the discussion in her Facebook group Buss's Book Stop. Never miss out on future posts by following me.

Wednesday, 18 August 2021

A Slice of Cake With... Stephen Oliver

Today I am delighted to have a slice of cake with author Stephen Oliver.

Stephen is an ex-software engineer who spent many years of his life programming computers to make people's lives better. He has since also begun writing self-help and fiction (primarily science fiction, space opera, fantasy, urban fantasy, paranormal, magical realism, horror, fairy tales, fairy stories, slipstream, interstitial, noir, detective fiction, action, thriller, humour, YA, and children's stories) and has achieved over 1.15 million words in the past eight years.

What kind of books do you write?

I write stories about the weird and wonderful narrative universe I've created, full of strange creatures, scientific marvels, and dark monsters. Many of my main characters are outsiders of some kind.

Can you describe your writing why?

I love to tell stories about the odd and the strange. I've been an SFF fan for over 50 years, and I feel I have many unusual tales of my own to tell (6 novels, 1 completed and 4 WIPs), plus 8 anthologies (4 completed, 4 WIPs; covering over 180 short stories and novellas).


Share with us your favourite passage from the book you enjoyed writing the most

This is not necessarily my favourite because there are so many. However, it is the latest favourite thing I've written. I completed the story two days ago.

He was the greatest visio-musician of his age.
She was a rank beginner.
He was the consummate master, beloved by all.
She was unknown, even to her contemporaries.
He was old and fading.
She crackled with youth and vitality.
He recreated all his best works, again and again. Precisely the same, every time.
She brimmed with new energies of creation, raw and edgy.
He wanted peace.
She wanted to kill him.
He was already dead.

Tell us about your latest project

My latest project concerns the novels and anthologies I've written in my narrative universe. I'm in the process of submitting the first of them (a novel titled Shuttlers and the first anthology of the series title Paranormal City) to publishers and agents alike. I've sent out 318 submissions since the beginning of the year and 9 of my short stories have already been accepted for publication in magazines and anthologies. Two more were published last year.

What is your favourite cake?

Swiss Carrot Cake


You can connect with Stephen here:

Self-help blog: www.stephenoliverblog.com
Twitter: @AuthorStephenO

Join me next week when I will be having a slice of cake with Daniele Kasper. 

If you would like to take part in A Slice of Cake With... please fill in the form found here. I'd be delighted to have you.

You can also support my writing endeavours and buy me tea & cake - it's what makes the world go round!


Claire Buss is a multi-genre author and poet, completely addicted to cake. Find out more about her books on her website clairebuss.co.uk. Join the discussion in her Facebook group Buss's Book Stop. Never miss out on future posts by following me.

Tuesday, 17 August 2021

Tuesday poem - 10 Lines

I recently attended a really fun poetry workshop run by poet Ella Frears and the Poetry Takeaway Van. We were given some creative exercises to do which included writing a ten-line poem with ten rules.

1. must have an explosion
2. must have a half-rhyme
3. must have a proper noun
4. must have an animal
5. must have a nonsense word
6. must have a colour
7. must reference the animal, nervous
8. must have a word repeated three times that begins with the letter of your first name
9. must have an exclamation
10. must finish with three adjectives

At first, I panicked - I've never done anything like this before but I gave it a go and this is what I came up with.


Boom ba da boom ba da boom bing bing!
All the words are fighting over everything
They've decided to leave the English language
And dive down into the ocean to meet the starfish
But they get entangled in a splodgy mess
In shades of inky blackness as they sink
The starfish are scared, they can't punctuate
But they're curious of shapes, curious of sounds, curious at all the moving parts
Ye Gads! What is that?
It's a fishing net made of children's tears, hopes and fears as they fish for wonderful, witty, wacky words.


So there you have it - starfish and words under the sea. Can't tell I have kids, can you? Ha ha! Why not have a go yourself and see what you come up with. I'd love to see your poems.

Claire Buss is a multi-genre author and poet, completely addicted to cake. Find out more about her books on her website clairebuss.co.uk. Join the discussion in her Facebook group Buss's Book Stop. Never miss out on future posts by following me.

Wednesday, 11 August 2021

A Slice of Cake With... Joseph Malik

This week I am delighted to be having a slice of cake with author Joseph Malik.

In addition to fiction, Joseph writes and lectures on advanced intelligence theory and asymmetric warfare for the U.S. military. He has worked as a stuntman, a high-rise window washer, a computational linguist, a touring rock musician, and a soldier in the United States Special Operations Command.

He has been a panelist and demonstrator at fantasy conventions including Norwescon and WorldCon, speaking as an expert in worldbuilding, linguistics, swordsmanship, hand to hand combat, and military tactics and strategy. He has also lectured on fantasy writing and independent publishing at schools and colleges across the Northwest.

His first novel, Dragon’s Trail, became a Kindle Top 100 Bestseller in four countries in 2017, reaching #1 in Epic Fantasy in the U.S., Australia, and Canada and #1 in Sword and Sorcery in the UK.

A veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom, Joseph lives in the Pacific Northwest along with his wife and their two dogs. He serves in the U.S. Army Reserve and is a member of SFWA.

What kind of books do you write?

I wrote a fish-out-of-water fantasy series that does for knights in armor what The Hunt for Red October did for the nuclear submarine. While there is magic—it is fantasy, after all—the mundane aspects of the fantasy world where the characters from Earth find themselves are functional and even plausible, from the phases of the moon to the slivers in the floor. My goal was to create a magical fantasy world as realistic and believable as possible, threading a needle between suspension of disbelief and plausible deniability.

The biggest thing that sets my work apart, I think, is that I accomplished this by doing all my characters’ stunts, so to speak. If I needed to know it to create my fantasy world, more often than not I’ve experienced it hands-on in some manner. I’ve studied swordsmanship, horsemanship, blacksmithing, stunt work, martial arts, mountaineering, and much more. I’m in the States, but I’ve traveled to the UK and France to pace off castles and ruins; I built a language for the elves in my series and learned to speak and write it; and so on. You’ll find a lot of this worldbuilding information on my blog.

I demonstrate all this at fantasy conventions across the country. This gets a little strange because in the course of a weekend, someone might see me demonstrating rapier fencing and knife throwing, speaking Elvish fluently, and teaching a class on using celestial navigation on an alien planet. As a result, I’ve had readers contact me demanding I tell them where the portal is, absolutely sure I’ve been there myself. Understandable mistake, I guess.

Can you describe your writing why?

My mother was a writer, which is how I got the bug initially, I think. In my late teens, I wanted to read the kind of fantasy I now write, and nobody was writing it. Thirty years later, still, nobody else has done it. I don’t know that they could. If you started today, it would take you ten or fifteen years just to learn what you’d need to know. You can always research worldbuilding online—everyone does—and there are plenty of fantasy authors who have some sort of hands-on knowledge. For instance, there are a ton of medieval weapons and martial arts buffs who write military fantasy. But creating an entire fantasy world from the foundations up using an experiential knowledge base is something that, as far as I know, no one else has ever done. And it created a new kind of fantasy novel, with a completely different feel and in which the plot turns on a series of technical details that most other fantasy authors either get wrong or don’t mention. (A pivotal element in my debut novel, Dragon’s Trail, centers around Viking-age steelmaking technology.)


Share with us your favourite passage from the book you enjoyed writing the most

The first hundred words of my second novel, The New Magic:


Tell us about your latest project

Thanks. I just finished the final draft of the first book in a new series, with the working title Stonelands. It’s a portal science-fiction novel about a modern-day American Special Operations team exploring the fantasy world of my bestselling first series. It’s fun for me because it’s been an opportunity to show that fantasy and science fiction can simply be a matter of perspective. The characters in Stonelands are soldiers and scientists who view the fantasy world as an alien planet. They don’t see elves; they see beautiful, pointy-eared aliens. They don’t see castles; they see pre-industrial fortifications. They beat their brains in looking for scientific explanations for the magic they witness.

Stonelands follows a storyline similar to Jerry Pournelle’s 1979 novel Janissaries—soldiers from Earth exploring a medieval-era alien world—adding elements of Dances with Wolves, and updating both concepts by addressing intersectionality issues of the modern American elite military professional: the hurdles facing women seeking combat roles; the struggles of LGBTQIA troops serving openly; racism; ableism; ethical concerns over resource exploitation and neo-colonialism (examined through the eyes of a combat-disabled half-American Indian protagonist from the same tribe as my mother and stepfather); interservice rivalries; and the mindsets of the “old guard” colliding with a younger, progressive generation of leadership. I’m career military, and these are all current issues in the American Special Operations community that I don’t see anyone else talking about.

The flip side of this, though, is that Stonelands ties into real-world Special Operations tradecraft and Department of Defense policies, so it’s currently at the Pentagon undergoing security review and being scrubbed for potentially classified information. My understanding is that Stonelands is the first science-fiction/fantasy novel anyone in their office can remember needing to undergo a full security review. The process will take about a year, so Stonelands will likely be out in 2022.

I’m about to start a structural rewrite of the finale in my first series, called Coin of the Realm, removing the military aspects that link it to Stonelands so it doesn’t have to go through the same process. I hope to have a final draft of Coin of the Realm by summer, which would make it available for pre-order by Christmas.

What is your favourite cake?

Boston Cream Pie. The classic, please: yellow cake, custard filling, chocolate icing. I could eat my bodyweight in Boston Cream Pie.

Also, filling a Boston Cream Pie with white frosting instead of custard is an abomination and should be outlawed. There are stores here in the U.S. who do exactly that and still call it a Boston Cream Pie, and there’s no way to know until you’ve brought it home and cut into it.

Thanks for the interview! This was great.


Connect with Joseph here:


Join me next week when I will be having a slice of cake with Stephen Oliver. 

If you would like to take part in A Slice of Cake With... please fill in the form found here. I'd be delighted to have you.

You can also support my writing endeavours and buy me tea & cake - it's what makes the world go round!


Claire Buss is a multi-genre author and poet, completely addicted to cake. Find out more about her books on her website clairebuss.co.uk. Join the discussion in her Facebook group Buss's Book Stop. Never miss out on future posts by following me.

Wednesday, 4 August 2021

A Slice of Cake With... Mark Minson

This week I am delighted to be having a slice of cake with author Mark Minson.

Mark lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. He enjoys playing games with his wife and five kids. He loves to sing and can often be found whistling as he walks. An avid shoe-wearer, you might run into him strolling down memory lane - either his or somebody else’s.

He brings humor to life through his many accents and movie quotes. He found his magic long ago, in a high school far, far away and now happily shares it with you. May you find your magic and share it with others.

What kind of books do you write?

I write books about victims of bullying, love, and magic. I didn’t consciously sit down and choose those themes, but they are strong ones from my youth. As a hopeful romantic, I find love to be a powerful motivator. I revel in the possibilities of magic in many different forms.

Can you describe your writing why?

I start writing because an idea hits me, sometimes a page of a story or just an over-arching idea. Most of my writing begins in my head and I have to grab something to write it down. After that, I need a goal, a reason to keep writing. With my first novel, I wanted to finish an actual book. Then I had people who wanted book 2 of the series. Finally, I knew that I would sell more of my books if the series was finished. Now I’m writing for Dave Farland’s class. I’m also trying to finish my next novel to prove to myself that I’m not a one series wonder.


Share with us your favourite passage from the book you enjoyed writing the most

That’s like asking which of my children is my favourite. I’ve recently edited my short story called Dragon Bond (Honorable Mention in the Writers of the Future contest), and this scene still makes me smile.

”Huth had peed his pants. Not when he realized the yellow eyes belonged to a dragon the size of two horses, no, he’d just screamed like a girl and run. Not when the medallion had glowed and burned on his chest, humming like rolling thunder inside him causing him to stop. Not even when he turned around, almost against his will, because the medallion called to the dragon. But instantly when the dragon’s mouth opened sending orange and yellow fire to engulf him.
 
He’d shut his eyes tight hoping for a quick death. Instead, warm water washed over him like standing under a small waterfall but comfortable, cleansing. He didn’t dare open his eyes until it stopped. Did heaven feel like a warm shower? 

After it ended, charred ground surrounded him in the enlarged clearing, and he had wet pants. The enormous beast collapsed. The circle of scorched earth included part of the stream leaving vaporized water hanging heavy in the air.”

Tell us about your latest project

My current novel is called Severed. My goal is to release it this year. I’m writing the falling action and loving the story. 

“The Magi fought alongside soldiers during the goblin wars. But a jealous king forced them to lose their ability to cast magic or lose their lives. The goblins, once thought extinct have returned and Derrit and Plimeria, two outcasts and fledgling mages, may be the only chance for saving humankind.”
I also want to release a collection of short stories this year so Dragon Bond will be available to read in its entirety. 

What is your favourite cake?

My favourite cake was made by a master in Cannon Beach, Oregon. Two layers of chocolate cake sandwich a layer of marionberry cheesecake and the whole cake is coated with a thick layer of milk chocolate. But since you can’t get that anymore, the big chocolate cake from Costco.


Connect with Mark Minson here:


Join me next week when I will be having a slice of cake with Joe Malik. 

If you would like to take part in A Slice of Cake With... please fill in the form found here. I'd be delighted to have you.

You can also support my writing endeavours and buy me tea & cake - it's what makes the world go round!


Claire Buss is a multi-genre author and poet, completely addicted to cake. Find out more about her books on her website clairebuss.co.uk. Join the discussion in her Facebook group Buss's Book Stop. Never miss out on future posts by following me.