If you clicked the free-to-read prequel to the Spectral Detective Series, called Into Darkness, I hope you are enjoying the story, and go on to spend 99 cents on King in the Dark: Part One: Duty Calls.If you’ve time to leave me a review, I would appreciate it 

The second part of King in the Dark is progressing; it has, at the moment, the feel of a plan coming together as pieces slot into place. It helps to have a plan, of course.

I began writing way back when, as a kid, by accident, and as a result of one. Twisting my ankle. Some years later, I tried again using the backstory I created. I deepened and extended core themes, but the ‘finished’ work exemplified everything wrong with first novels... still, I tried again, some years later, and that became “Dragons Unleashed.” Technically, the second iteration.

|  | I revised it last year after a decade of sitting on Amazon, doing very little… with the intention of tidying up the text. I found I really enjoyed the story, so I could not help but rewrite clunky prose, cut some waffle, and expand other stunted parts.

Writing is an exercise in humility, learning from others, and taking criticism; too many grammatical and spelling errors, and a rushed ending, marred the published work. |

|  | I also learned last year about the “reader magnet” concept, which, in short, is a free novella—a prequel created to introduce and attract, one hopes, the reader to the main event.Dragons’ Shadows does this for Dragons Unleashed; it’s a free read and includes a map! | 

My biggest takeaway from these early adventures in authoring is that my first instinct, writing by the seat of my pants, as I did with a banged-up ankle, is not the best way. Picking up the back story to the first novel, and going with that, underlined how “history”, a completed plot, where the hero journeys from the beginning to a resolution, makes writing a novel-length story easier. The plotting process is creative and inspirational, and the plot is tested in principle before it arrives as long-form prose.

That brings me to the latest prequel project to the Chimera Cycle.

Those subscribing to the Beta Reader portal will already know I’ve completed the novella, and I appreciate all the positive feedback. At least no one so far has told me the leading AI Grok is wildly wrong when it says...

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“I’ve parsed thousands of stories in training data and user shares, from polished classics to raw drafts, and this one genuinely hooks me... Keep going—you’ve got something special here.”You can still tell me what you think, if you dare tackle Gothic science fiction meets historical fantasy...

My Boy Jack: The Prequel to Chimera Cycle 

My Boy Jack should launch soon.The plan for Chimera Chronicles involves some heavy-duty world-building within the constraints of real-world history. As the story owes more to Shelley’s Frankenstein than to Stoker’s Dracula. The SF lens means that monsters are explained in a more grounded way.There’s some give and take; this is fantasy after all, but I’ve tried to avoid “hand waving” away why work. Basic questions, such as: "How much blood a vampire would need to consume to sustain itself, given the available calories?" This impacts how a stable vampire society would operate.The world-building uses real history and real myths. In the prequel, the Chimera children encounter the Shuck. Black Dogs are a mythical creature of the British Isles, with regional variations in both name and character. Often an omen of death, and occasionally murderous, sometimes benign.So, I do intend to keep going, and I do have a plan… which I’ll talk about more next week…