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Update 34

2021-11-08

Hi! A patron friend had mentioned a little while ago that he thought I had ended the latest LUMINA series as well as the HEAVENFIELD, and I realised just how bad I am at communicating where I am with all the stories! In my mind all my current series are in constant development, it’s just some are taking a lot longer to see the light of day than others.

So, I just wanted to write with a quick update as to how things are going here in story-land.

The Heavenfield

Although I have struggled to write any additions to the series, The Heavenfield is very much alive in my mind. I revisit it in some way or other most days, whether it is ideas for future storylines, or some detail added to the lore. Since diving into my 3D projects, I have been putting together the idea of creating Heavenfield locations. I am so excited at the idea of being able to visualise the locations found in the stories, and have been toying with some ideas for how a narrative might be able to run through this. I’ve been blocking out the Maunsworth Accelerator Array in 3D, which promises to be very atmospheric to explore!

Blocking out the Array Chamber in 3D.

The Heavenfield Datavault is another open-ended project that I am constantly adding to. Now that I am finding my way into more 3D work, I hope to be able to better illustrate some of the elements from the stories.

The Deathwalkers

Several years ago, I began work on a Heavenfield book called the Deathwalkers, which aimed to follow a military unit of the same name during the events imediately after the first Heavenfield story. I am 45,000 words into this story, with a fair bit still to copy up, but am struggling to get immersed in the story again with so many other ideas flowing around my head. I liked the general concept of the story, and came up with an interesting twist just recently, but I feel I have already run so much of it through in my head it’s as though I know the story too well to be able to write it. It’s a funny line to walk when writing a story -- one needs to know loosely where it is going so that intertwining storylines link up, and at the same time once it is blocked out too much as a concept there is nowhere left for the imagination to run, and creativity dries up.

I am hoping that I will find a way back into this story sometime when the time is right, and have pondered the idea of putting what has been written already for patrons to explore. Let me know if there is any interest in this idea and I’ll look into it further.

The Deathwalkers.

Lumina

The last part of the series ended very abruptly, as I had the idea that I would launch straight into part four with little delay. I have most of the story written in my notebooks, but I didn’t count on getting sidetracked with my 3D projects and the CIRCLE OF SOULS series. The fourth part of the story will complete what I see as the first book in the series. I will combine the four parts and then begin work upon the next part of the series. I’ve got lots of ideas for where this saga is going and I hope to get back to copying it up soon.

LUMINA Book 4 coming soon.

The Circle of Souls

I keep talking a lot about this series, but I am painfully aware that I haven’t released any of it to the public yet! This project is very dear to me, having been written for my daughter, following the years of her growing up. I have been feeling a great pressure to complete the second book in the series before my daughter outgrows the characters. It has been heartening to have had a good flurry of writing recently, and the story is starting to take shape. What’s more, I think I am getting a good view of the broader arc of the story and where it is going in future.

The Ruby House - the first book in the CIRCLE OF SOULS.

I have felt that I didn’t want to release the first book until I was well into the story arc. This has helped me on a couple of occasions when I was able to go back and plant little details which will grow into major story elements in the future.

The 3D Virtual Story Location of Crowe Hall.

Being able to work on the 3D scenes from the story has really fired my imagination, and I find myself feeding details from the locations back into the story as I am working on both.

I am hoping to start work on the audiobook of this story soon and release it to patrons. There is still a load of upheaval from our house move, and I don’t have a place to record as such, but things are getting organised slowly.

As to the story progress, I have almost 47,000 words copied up with around 5,000 more in my notebooks. The first book, The Ruby House, ran to 79,000 words, but I am expecting The Awakening Blade to be around the 65,000 mark, so not far to go.

The 3D virtual location of Crowe Hall is coming on well, and I hope to get another update out very soon. I have been concentrating upon finding my way with the creation of the environment. I feel as though I am getting a bit more of a handle upon the software now from this point of view. After this initial stage, I am hoping to have a complete environment for the Crowe Hall estate. Then I am looking to try and add some basic gameplay elements such as various goals to find and unlock certain locations and the ability to save games etc. I’m not sure how well I will manage with this stage but I’ll give it a go!

From there, I hope to expand the 3D world to include other scenes from the story. I managed to afford a set of fantasy building elements recently, which I am thrilled to be able to start city-building with. Look out for many dark and winding castle streets to explore soon!

Watch a flythrough into the Mausoleums of Crowe Hall.

The Seven Symbols

This is a peculiar one! A completely off-the-wall surreal comedy which I have been working on for the last twenty years now. I can’t believe I have only 21,000 to it so far - the story is so rich that the story feels like an epic! Anyway, I got back into it a couple of months ago and managed to re-find the voice it is written in. It was great fun to immerse myself in, and I hope to share some of it with you some day! Again, if any patrons have a particular curiosity about this or the other stories, then let me know and I can give you some sneak peeks!

The Seven Symbols.

I hope that gives you a better idea of where I am with the various projects I am working on. I live and breathe these stories every waking moment, and am constantly thrilled to be able to build upon them. And you, as patrons, are a fundamental part of that freedom to create. Thank you all for your ongoing support, and I look forward to sharing the next stories with you soon!

All the best,

I G

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