Celebrating Altitude
- At July 12, 2018
- By Niel
- In Writing
0
It’s hard to believe that it’s been a year since my young adult novel Altitude came out. This was a departure from my usual work; it’s a contemporary story with elements of fantasy, but more grounded in real life than the fantasy and magic of the Timesmith Chronicles, or the futuristic science fiction of the Arkship Saga. Altitude stands alone, somewhere in between those other books and in many ways it’s the most personal of my stories so far.
It’s about three teenage girls who are about to leave school and move on to the next phase of their life. It’s about transition and change, and it’s also about being able to fly.
While coming to terms with her father’s illness, Tamsin discovers an amazing secret in the nearby wood: she can fly. It’s a secret too big to keep to herself, but the only person she can turn to is Abigail – a girl from school who hates her. As Tamsin learns how to control her newfound ability the bonds of friendship begin to unravel, starting a chain of events that could lead to tragedy.
Altitude: 24 hours to publication
- At July 05, 2017
- By Niel
- In Writing
- 0
I’m a bit excited! Tomorrow is Publication Day for my third book, Altitude. Tomorrow the e-book goes live, and the paperback is already available to order, so this is your last chance to get 25% off the e-book price. On Thursday the price will go up, so if you’re thinking about getting Altitude (and why wouldn’t you? You’re a person of obvious charm and taste) then today really is the day to do it. Don’t delay any more, just click this link and wallow in your good judgement:
Buy Altitude ebook edition now!
And thank you all for your support during this entire process, it’s great to have so many of you on board for this.
Here’s a short video where I babble about my new book:
One week to go!
- At June 29, 2017
- By Niel
- In Events/News, Writing
- 0
Yes, it’s almost here. Altitude comes out next Thursday the 6th of July. Right now you can get 25% off until publication day, so do jump in now and save on the launch day price. Don’t miss out.
Buy Altitude ebook edition now!
And if you’re a paperback person you can buy Altitude in physical form right now from your favourite online or physical bookshop!
Want to read the first three chapters for free? Click here for a PDF version. Or click here for other options.
13 months
- At June 28, 2017
- By Niel
- In Writing
- 0
Yesterday I completed my final edit of Altitude. I made my last few small changes and stepped away from the book, declaring it finished. This is always a bittersweet moment for any author, it’s exciting to finally finish your novel, to put it to bed and move on to the next project, but it’s also a sad moment when you walk away from the playground that has been your metal home for an age. You cheer at your achievement, but you worry that it’s no good, that you could make it better, that you should give it just one more read through…
There’s that famous saying by Leonardo da Vinci: “Art is never finished, only abandoned.” It’s so true. We’re never fully happy with our work, we just run out of time, or enthusiasm and step away. Or we tinker until the project rots.
Looking back over Altitude I realised that, even though it feels like I’ve been working on it for ages, it’s been just over a year from start to finish: 13 months, give or take a week. The idea dates further back, maybe another year, but I started jotting down my initial ideas in June 2016. That first file contains a rough synopsis, which I’m surprised to discover is very close to the finished book. I wrote the first draft over the summer, finishing it in mid September 2016. The rest of the time between now and then has been taken up with editing and re-writes, although I’ve also been working on other projects at the same time.
Now the book is done and out of my hands, ready for readers to discover in just over a week’s time. It’s the fastest project I’ve done so far, and that’s probably because it’s my first venture into self-publishing. I’ve not turned my back on traditional publishing, I just wanted to give this a go. The faster timeline is very appealing. Sorrowline took three and a half years from that first page to publication. Timesmith was about the same. It’s a long time to live with a project. 13 months is like travelling at light-speed in comparison! I like the challenge of the quick turn-around. The question is, can I do it faster? It seems the key to a prosperous career as a novelist is productivity – the reader wants the next book NOW, not in a year’s time. So, I’m about to start on my next project and see if I can get it out there this side of Christmas. Watch this space…
Altitude – the first three chapters
- At June 16, 2017
- By Niel
- In Events/News, Writing
- 0
Publication day is getting closer and closer, I can almost see it now!
On July 6th Altitude will be published as both a paperback and ebook edition. But you can read the first three chapters right now, completely free! all you have to do is sign up to my email newsletter and you’ll get immediate access to the start of the story.
Go on, you know you want to, just click the link: https://www.instafreebie.com/free/buz7V
Altitude!
- At May 11, 2017
- By Niel
- In Writing
- 0
I’m delighted to finally announce my next book. It’s called Altitude, and it’s coming out in July from Magic Number Books!
What’s it about? Good question, my friend. It’s a coming-of-age story set in a typical small English town, about a sixteen-year-old girl called Tamsin who’s going through a difficult time at home when she discovers a magical escape from her worries in the local wood. Here’s the blurb:
‘I’m flying!’ Tam shouted. ‘I’m really flying!’
While coming to terms with her father’s illness, Tamsin discovers an amazing secret in the nearby wood: she can fly.
It’s a secret too big to keep to herself, but the only person she can turn to is Abigail – a girl from school who hates her.
As Tamsin learns how to control her newfound ability the bonds of friendship begin to unravel, starting a chain of events that could lead to tragedy.
I’ll be blogging lots about Altitude over the next two months in the run up to publication, but the good news is that you can pre-order the kindle edition right now at a discounted price.
The paperback will be available to order soon.
