Going it alone...

August, 2025

August was fun and busy so far as writing is concerned. I’m currently completing edits and reader feedback on three manuscripts, both targeted for release next year; one the speculative sci fi novel, Mika, that I mentioned in the last blog, the second a semi-literary, contemporary novella about a day in the life of a down-and-out older man living in share house which is titled A Day in His Life, and a re-edit and preparation of Tamesan: The Last Wizard Saga Book 1 for hopeful release at the end of September in readiness for the second book, Chasse: The Last Wizard Saga Book 2 to be released in November. The ongoing plan is to then release Jaysin: The Last Wizard Saga Book 3 in January 2026 and Harmi: The Last Wizard Saga Book 4 in February/March period 2026. The cover designs shown here are concepts for now and may not be the same when the works are finally released.
 
I also redesigned and re-edited my collection of Australian speculative and various stories, and added two more to the original collection, and republished the story anthology of The Red Heart in hardback copy. Some of the stories, like ‘Hope,’ ’Beach Cricket,’ and ’Jammin’ were originally published in other anthologies. The republishing is a vanity personal project, but if you are a short story reader or want to add this one to your collection of my writing you can order copies directly from me and I’ll organise them for you. An outline of the book’s contents is available on my web site at
 
I headed up the final Writers SA Think Tank session for 2025 where we focussed on making a scene or setting come alive as a character in a story or memoir. Works like Ellis’ American Psycho, Harper’s The Dry and Simmond’s The Terror make the setting come alive in sinister and harrowing and interesting ways and readers recognise that the human characters are themselves pitted against and within the confines of a larger ‘antagonist’ being the places the characters live within.
 
I worked with my five Spectrum Writing ‘acolytes’, developing their respective projects, holding a total of eight mentoring sessions across August. As a glimpse into what each project is covering, one is a pop culture satirical spoof with Asian philosophical overtones as an online webnovel, one is a superhero coming-of-age novel, one is a self-reflecting autobiography, one a speculative exploration of how right-wing turmoil gains traction and one is an historical fiction set in the times of Roman occupation of the British Isles. The thinking keeps me switched on. The Spectrum Writing business has been sold by its co-founder, Jason Fischer, to Kiran Vuppuluri who is keen to maintain and grow the business further as an NDIS initiative for its members, so hopefully the projects will reach positive conclusions for the participants.
 
Finally, we received the proofs of Richard Miles’book, Mounted, and we are going through them to ensure the final print versions are as accurate as we can make them. Hopefully, this book will be in print by the end of October.
 
On the personal side of life, like so many people I know, I’ve battled a significant cold/flu-type bug that’s left a lingering but slowly receding cough, and also I have had to stop exercise/sport for the past month because of a slipped disc in the lower back area, which is also on the mend. I’m still coming to terms with turning 70 this year – it’s weird to be officially ín my seventies ’already. But I’m here and I have projects to complete, so it’s all good.
 
Thanks for reading 😊