Author Archives: Drop John

After a bit of a hiatus I’m back to updating this blog. Trigger for this change is that I’ve reached there point of having fifteen or so WIPs that just need a little editing and a cover and I can finally get publishing! This is a short post to explain a couple of quirks ofContinueContinue reading “Vampires in IAinS”

I’ve been attempting to integrate some new elements into the Iceland Cold novel. Having been editing I realised that some of the character motivations seemed sketchy, or were ‘described attributes’ – I’d said character X was inquisitive, and that was a key part of what drives the novel, yet he was not actually inquisitive atContinueContinue reading “Adding elements in transit…”

Writing up baddies is one of my favourite things, though I like to keep them ambiguous enough that I can use history to switch perceptions of them. That has led me to doing some thinking about the issues associated with writing a villain in a post apocalyptic or near apocalyptic setting. Time for a ramble.ContinueContinue reading “Bad guys and catastrophes”

Just for a change I’m talking characters. My motivation is pretty good right now! I’m finishing off book four at the moment, provisionally called “Iceland Cold” after using that as a placeholder for a Canva concept. Sadly the cover is a bust, it’s been vetoed by my wife who’s also a director in our publishingContinueContinue reading “The motivation crash”

I’m not sure if it’s a standard thing for writers but I can only write when I feel like it. If I try when I’m ‘a bit dubious’ in the words of one of my series protagonists, the words may flow but in the same way as a sewer flows through a major city (I’mContinueContinue reading “Progress report”

One of the benefits of running a second series with a fair sized time jump is the ability to address historical memory. History happens to be the first thing I was interested in, except for dinosaurs and one of the things I find particularly interesting is the fact that today’s heroes can end up theContinueContinue reading “Historical Memory”

I was looking back on my original notes for book one as I’m finishing it off at the moment. Oddly books two and five are far nearer to finished than one is – I think it’s partly because one has changed so much over time. So originally book one was a short story which wasContinueContinue reading “How stories change”

So, I was thinking about the finale to the current Ice Age in Scarlet arc which is probably going to end up book six, though I might slot in a collection of ‘flavour’ short stories somewhere. And I got to thinking about what would follow. I love the world I’ve created but the current seriesContinueContinue reading “Second Series”

Just finishing reading “Law and Authors” by Jacqueline D. Lipton which led me to wonder how much most authors know about the legal framework under which they’re operating. My experience is that publishing law can be pretty counterintuitive and it’s good to understand the underpins before you get into signing up to deals you mightContinueContinue reading “Law and writing”

Because I’m bad with names. Also because the shroud of volcanic ash and its attendant monsters have caused a drop of around five or six degrees Celsius worldwide. Although the nature of the change has offered opportunities to mitigate this in some of the remaining nations it’s still bloody cold most places and it’s nearlyContinueContinue reading “Why is it called Ice Age in Scarlet?”