Renewed Adventures and Steps Forward

Carl is currently listening to:

1. Starlight Brigade – TWRP (I challenge you to not enjoy this absolute bop of a mini-rock opera)
2. Next To You – Deco (I accidentally saw them live twice, and I’m so glad I did)

The Vanguard: Stepping into a New World

It’s been a long road back to this point for me. Reasons both personal and professional made it difficult for me to continue originally and now I find myself free of many of those reasons. As such, I’ve been very excited to dive back into my world of Esthia and write down more of the story that has been in my head for the past couple of years.

For those of you who don’t know, The Vanguard is an urban fantasy story set in the world of Esthia and has steampunk elements. However, I’ve been trying to come up with a better way to describe it as “Steampunk” doesn’t seem to be correct. The story takes place in the City of Volgorne, an enormous city carved into the side of a mountain and separated into four tiers or “stages” as they are known in-universe: The Roots, The Notch, The Quick, and The Rostrum, in ascending order. Each stage serves a different purpose. The Notch, for example, is the city’s centre of industry. We are introduced to Volgorne through the eyes of Eyde, a young zoologist freshly arrived and in search of a job at a research institute on The Quick, only to find himself embroiled in a plot involving the appearance of magical animals in the city.

Reading back through my original chapters, I knew I wanted to impart a greater sense of realism through worldbuilding. To that end, I decided I would try to map the city out stage by stage and include its individual districts, giving names to the main thoroughfares and landmarks as I went. It was interesting to imagine how the city would work and, more importantly, which parts of the city would be designed logically, and which needed to have a more organic feeling. The end result means I can now refer to places reliably within the text, helping readers navigate as we go through the journey together. Of course, this requires me to keep a track of where the characters are at any one time.

Another aspect of the rewriting process has been adjusting the story. After the original chapter 8, I felt things got a little loose in terms of the plot and I wasn’t sure where I was going to take it. The time away has given me the ability to ruminate and lay out a firmer structure to get me to the end of the book. I have no doubt this will change, but it’s really helped me to pick things up again and even introduced at least one new plot thread that I’m very happy with and excited to share when we get to that point. I also took the time to examine Eyde’s motivation for being in Volgorne. I feel the original chapter was vague in this regard and didn’t provide enough information to justify Eyde’s presence or state of mind. His arrival in Volgorne has now been added, giving readers greater insight into his mental state as the events of chapter 1 unfold. I would (of course) very much recommend you having a read of the first chapter, as I will be releasing more soon.

I’d also encourage readers to leave a comment on what they think of the new chapter. Is there anything still missing? Did you enjoy the expanded information I’ve included? Where do you think we could be going? 

One thing’s for sure, writing regularly is a great way to practice and become a better writer, and I plan to keep writing and sharing my journey with you all.

 A New Way to Listen: The 6th Exit Point Audio Release

My second announcement this week is that the Audible version of The 6th Exit Point is now available, with Amazon and iTunes versions being released on Monday 9th June!

As this is the first Audiobook I’ve narrated (I’m not including my previous chapters…) this is very exciting for me. It’s been wonderful working with the author, Jane Collins, and I’ve learned a lot about the recording process and storytelling during the time it’s taken to record.

Audiobooks are a fantastic way to experience stories, and they’re often so much more convenient than traditional print books. I love listening to them when I’m working or commuting, and the right narrator can really elevate the experience to something special. I can only hope that those of you who listen will enjoy my performance and Jane’s fantastic script. Here’s a sample to get you going, and a link to the book itself:

The story focuses on Archie Legge, a hypnotherapist, husband, and father of two in his sixties, whose professional life has become a dull melange of smoking cessation and weight loss appointments. A chance discovery leads Archie down a path that tests his limits of willpower, bravery and faith, in an emotional thriller full of brilliantly developed characters and cliff hangers that kept me turning every page as I tried to remember I was supposed to be narrating it!

I quickly discovered that narration is more than just reading words on a page out loud with specific accents. Each character needs to be unique. Not only in terms of their voice, but how they speak. Archie, for example, is weary. He’s reached a stage of his life where he’s tired. All he wants is some excitement, but there’s a guilt inside him for wanting that and it’s eating away at his self respect. Bernie, his wife, is intimately familiar with Archie’s past and struggles to trust him in the way she knows she probably should, but she puts on a chipper show to keep her family happy because they are the most important thing in the world to her. Recognising these aspects of each character informed the way I delivered their lines and even the narration around it. I really wanted to impart the depth of the emotion each of them was feeling.

I think my favourite character in the book is Bernie. This may have been influenced by the amount of fun I had voicing her. I really felt for her as she, as well as everyone else, gets dragged along by Archie, and loved the range of emotions I got to convey through this tiny Irish lady. One thing Jane has done incredibly well is provide each character with a fully developed personality. Even characters who appear only for a few pages feel like they have a place in the greater world. It is entirely possible that Jane has drawn these characters from her professional life… but I am too polite to ask, and I’m sure she is too polite to tell me.

All in all, I’m super glad this was the first book I got to narrate and I feel very lucky that Jane was the first author I got to work with. It’s certainly made me even more enthusiastic about pursuing this avenue of work in the future. Word is she’s also working on a sequel!

Looking Ahead & Staying Connected

With Chapter 1 of The Vanguard now live, the adventure has truly begun. I’m already deep into crafting the next installments, and I can’t wait to share more of Eyde’s journey and the unfolding mysteries of Volgorne with you all.

Your support means the world to me, and I absolutely love hearing your thoughts. So, please, leave a comment below! Let me know what you think of The Vanguard’s opening chapter, or share your impressions of The 6th Exit Point audiobook.

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