Family First

Let’s go! 2025 is here and I’m strangely motivated.

What have I got in the pipeline? Well, the most relevant thing here is the novel that I’m working on. I am currently 79K words into a work of fantasy with a similar sort of feel to Scott Lynch’s Gentleman Bastards series, with a smattering of Patrick Rothfuss’s Kingkiller Chronicles for flavour.

Themes that I aim to explore within this novel are various psychological trauma responses, particularly PTSD, and the importance and true meaning of family, whether related by blood or circumstance.

When this year began I had nearly 50K words written, which I’d struggled through over the last two and a half years. Needless to say, there were other priorities that I had to deal with. There still are, but for the time being, I have free time. Time to write!

I’ve adopted a similar routine to that of Stephen King, in that every day (weekends optional!) I sit at my computer from 8-12, crank some heavy metal and write. I begin by reading the last two pages that I wrote, just to get myself into the world. Then I just… write. So far, so good. I began this routine on the 6th of January, and thus far it seems to be working remarkably well.

As I stated previously, I am now up to 79K. That is, for me, absolutely amazing. I have no idea about the potential final word-count. It might be 100K, perhaps 2. The result may be an epic worthy of comparison (size-wise, at least!) with the likes of Robert Jordan, George R.R. Martin, or even Brandon Sanderson. I really cannot say with any certainty.

Also, calling it ‘Fantasy’ is not entirely accurate. It takes place in a fantastical setting, sure enough, and there are occasional fantastical elements, but really, they are few and far between. The story is grounded in as much reality as I can muster, given the unrealistic setting. There are no dragons, goblins, elves. No magic. No zombies! Very different, for me!

This is a world with electricity, and a great deal of understanding about the way the world works. Picture our own world, perhaps as far back as a hundred years. Maybe two. Only more vertical. The centre of the City is the University, and towering above that, the Citadel. The Citadel houses the Guard and the Army, in their respective blue and red uniforms, and is also the seat of government.

The City is governed by a trio known only as the Proctors; mysterious masked people that conceal every part of their identities.

The protagonist is a young woman called Kaya, who had to flee for safety when her family were butchered at the beginning of the Season of Darkness.

Mysteries abound in the City, and Kaya learns very early on that if there’s one thing she cannot resist, it’s a mystery. During the course of Kaya’s adventures within the novel, she will encounter a host of trials, some more harrowing than others. When she ******* her ****** because of ****, is a particularly devastating scene, and the echoes of those acts will shape the rest of Kaya’s life. Also, when her best friend ****** ***** her nearly to *****. But through it all, she continues to learn, to grow, to become the best version of herself that she can, despite the setbacks that she encounters.

But the mysteries keep her focussed, keep her going. Mysteries about her adopted family, the City itself. Even the mystery surrounding the Season of Darkness. But perhaps the most compelling mystery that Kaya faces is who she needs to become in her new life in the City.

That’s the major focus, at least in the early part of the year. To go along with that, there is a script for a short film that I’m going to be working on (this one DOES have zombies!) as well as music and a script for another film (no zombies, this one’s vampires!) that is in the pipeline, though probably we won’t begin any serious work on that one until 2026/27. Mainly because I’m not the only one with ideas and stories! I wouldn’t even say that mine are the best, or most fun.

I will also be helping a dear friend with creating a documentary for her not-for-profit organisation. More will be coming about that one, as well.

Also, the rewrite/update of my Zombie Apocalypse Survival Journal, and probably an updated version of my Zombie Survival Guide. Both are projects that I’ve been meaning to deal with for a very long time, now. I wrote both long before I actually had any idea what I was doing, regarding writing. Now I cannot unsee the flaws and I need to fix them!

There is also a ton of travel that will be happening this year. Road trips galore. Travelling all around Australia, seeing places I haven’t seen yet, or been to. It should be a ton of fun.

Then, there is another fantasy novel. Song of Steel, which I initially began writing when I was 17. Indeed, this one definitely has elves, dwarves, dragons, goblins, magic. All that fun stuff. I published it once, in 2012 I think, but it is definitely another casualty of the ‘me not knowing my job’ thing. I’m turning 47 this year, now I know what I’m doing, and I think I can probably write something significantly better than the original version. Plus, more ideas have come in the intervening 30 years (30?!? Really?!? Christ I’m old!).

That’s what I have planned for 2025. Some will definitely be finished and ready to go by the end of the year. I actually expect Kaya’s story (Probably going to call it something like “Family First”, thinking on it) to be finished hopefully by the end of January, but then there’s editing time, proofreading, a whole process to go through before it’s ready for publication.

It should be a fun and creative year, if nothing else.

I look forward to it with great interest…