Miles Hurt's Blog

May already? Where has the year gone?

I was supposed to have another novel published by now. The second in the Wandering Knife epic fantasy series. Currently the title for this novel is Book Two. This might give you an idea as to how finished the novel is.

It’s not finished.

But don’t worry, I’m not far off. I’ve just finished the second draft. This draft is what would be termed a ‘working prototype’ in other fields. That is, if I stripped out all of the ‘notes to self’ that riddle the chapters, I could print it off and you could read it. It would be very rough of course. But it’s definitely a novel.

So why have I fallen behind schedule?

Well, as I mentioned in a previous post, I’m susceptible to a thing called the Planning Fallacy. Meaning that things always take longer to finish than you think they will. To be honest, I think I’m still going at a fair clip. 100,000ish words of fantasy fiction in about a year is pretty good, I reckon. But I still think that I could have gotten finished by now if I wasn’t susceptible to another dreaded enemy of the creative soul.

I admit that I’ve gotten off track a couple of times over the last year while working on this main creative project in my life. I’ve dabbled in writing some non-fiction, some fiction for kids, even some (shudder) literary fiction! None of this stuff ever gets finished because after a while it just doesn’t feel right. I write fantasy. But why don’t I have the laser focus required to get the job done, to get my next fantasy novel out there?

It’s because of the Good Idea Fairy.

The Good Idea Fairy is a mischievous sprite well-known in military circles for whispering in the ears of decision makers. Making suggestions about a better way to do things. But the ideas supplied by the Good Idea Fairy are usually disastrously bad. So much so that if memes are to be believed, the military organisations of the world have standing orders to kill the Good Idea Fairy on sight.

For me, the Good Idea Fairy never shuts up. It’s always chattering away about other things I could be writing, other creative ventures I could be following up that won’t take up much time and which are guaranteed to be successful. I know the ideas from the Good Idea Fairy are Not Good. In fact they are a Time-Wasting Distraction. But I can’t help myself. Each new Good Idea that gets suggested necessitates much researching, cogitating, note-taking, drafting, et cetera, et cetera. And almost always, the fairy’s spell breaks and the idea is revealed to be a waste of my time.

Let me give you another example. At one point during the last year the Good Idea Fairy suggested that I should learn how to be an artist. Wouldn’t it be great, said the Good Idea Fairy, if you could do your own artwork? Think of the money you’d save on cover art! How cool would that be?

So I flushed a week or so of my creative time (which is hard to come by, let’s not forget) on working out what it would take to become a pro-level artist capable of doing my own covers. I even bought a new notebook which I dedicated to my ‘art’.

I’m cringing as I write this.

Why? Because, as you can see in the image that accompanies this blog post, I’m a loooooong way off from being a pro artist. I think Malcolm Gladwell underestimated how much time it would take me to get my chops together. I reckon 20,000 hours would be about right.

So what’s with the crudely drawn artwork?

Well, once I snapped out of my Fairy-induced delirium, I realised that I do, and always will, need an artist. With the overall shape of Book Two bedded down, I knew what I wanted on the cover. I got back in touch with Olivia Rea who did the artwork for Red Harvest Moon and Bane of Wolves and fortunately for me she was available to work on another cover.

I gave her this sketch to provide a (very) rough idea of what my vision was. Olivia has almost finished the artwork for the cover, which I will reveal soon. Let me just say that it is incredible, and light years beyond anything I could ever produce.

And as you can see, there is going to be a filthy great big monster on the front cover of my next book.

So what’s next? Really, all I need to do is put my head down and run through another draft or two of the excitingly titled Book Two. I need to focus, and if I hear the buzzing wings of the idea fairy, I’m going to reach out and rip them off.

The post Wandering Knife Update: The Good Idea Fairy first appeared on Miles Hurt.

One book I’ve returned to many times in my life is The Lord of the Rings. I’ve got the paperback copy of the trilogy published by Grafton in 1991 with the incredible artwork by John Howe, and I may need to splash out for a new edition soon as my copy is falling to pieces from being read so many times.

We all know the trilogy is a classic, and a cornerstone of the fantasy genre. We all know about the depth of worldbuilding that Tolkien achieved, the language, the lore, the landscapes. But one thing that people might give less regard to is the quality of Tolkien’s prose. Line by line, paragraph by paragraph, he’s a fantastic writer.

An aspect of Tolkien’s powers of prose is his ability to terrify. Although The Lord of the Rings is epic fantasy, there are some moments of sheer horror.

The climactic chapter of The Two Towers, the second novel of the trilogy, is Shelob’s Lair. This is possibly my favourite chapter in The Lord of the Rings. It’s a great example of Tolkien’s prose style, and of his ability to create a completely engrossing flight of fantasy. I want to share a few of my favourite lines from the chapter and talk about how the use of light and darkness contributes to the monster Shelob being one of the most utterly terrifying creations in fantasy fiction.

So a quick recap of the situation. Frodo and Sam, our protagonists, are trying to pass the mountains of Mordor in order to destroy the ring of power. Gollum has guided them to a secret cave. Gollum is hoping that the monstrous Shelob, a giant spider, will kill them, enabling him to claim the ring of power.

Drawing a deep breath they passed inside. In a few steps they were in utter and inpenetrable dark.

Here we have a sharp transition, from the outer world of light and fresh air. As soon as the hobbits enter they are immersed in darkness. The technique at work throughout the chapter, that we can borrow from the visual art world, is chiaroscuro: a strong contrast between light and dark.

The contrast between light and dark is a theme that runs throughout The Lord of the Rings. However, nowhere else in the series, even in the deepest parts of Moria or on Mount Doom, are light and darkness so effectively placed in conflict as they are in Shelob’s Lair.

Here the air was still, stagnant, heavy, and sound fell dead. They walked as it were in a black vapour wrought of veritable darkness itself that, as it was breathed, brought blindness not only to the eyes but to the mind, so that even the memory of colours and of forms and of any light faded out of thought.

The darkness that Tolkien describes is profound.  ‘A black vapour wrought of veritable darkness… that brought blindness to the mind.’ What an amazing concept! A darkness so thick it can be breathed, causing the mind itself to become blind.

The senses of the hobbits become dull, they can barely speak, their words are stifled. They even lose their sense of time. This creates the atmosphere of the chapter, of the obliterating, supernatural darkness that the hobbits find themselves in. There has to be something nasty in here.

Soon they sense a wide opening…

…out of it came a reek so foul, and a sense of lurking malice so intense, that Frodo reeled.

The way Tolkien reveals sensory information about Shelob piece by piece is a master class in horror writing. There is a ‘reek so foul’ pervading the chapter. The darkness and the stench become one. And with the ‘sense of lurking malice,’ the ancient, malevolent Shelob reminds me of a Great Old One from the writing of HP Lovecraft. This is in a similar vein to some of the other Tolkien monsters such as the Watcher in the Water, or the balrog of Moria.

The hobbits move on, and become lost in the darkness.

…from behind them came a sound, startling and horrible in the heavy padded silence: a gurgling, bubbling noise, and a long venomous hiss. They wheeled round, but nothing could be seen.

Here’s more sensory information: the horrid sounds of the spider cutting through the darkness. It’s interesting that for the hobbits, the sounds of Shelob approaching are not deadened by the darkness. Just when all hope seems lost, Sam remembers the star-glass that Galadriel gave to Frodo.

…it began to burn, and kindled to a silver flame, a minute heart of dazzling light, as though Eärendil had himself come down from the high sunset paths with the last Silmaril upon his brow.

Now we have some light balancing out the darkness, some chiaroscuro. I love this image of Eärendil appearing with the last Silmaril on his brow. The way Tolkien gives little glimpses here and there of the depth of his lore really enhances the sense of a deep history in his fiction.

Not far down the tunnel, between them and the opening where they had reeled and stumbled, (Frodo) was aware of eyes growing visible, two great clusters of many-windowed eyes – the coming menace was unmasked at last.

The light of Earendil, while being a source of hope for the hobbits, also gives us our first glimpse of Shelob. ‘Two great clusters of many windowed eyes… the coming menace was unmasked at last.’

Terrifying.

The radiance of the star-glass was broken and thrown back from their thousand facets, but behind the glitter a pale deadly fire began steadily to glow within, a flame kindled in some deep pit of evil thought.

The effect of light here, reflecting in Shelob’s eyes, is fantastic prose. She is a creature of darkness, but has her own light, a pale deadly fire that glows from within.

Monstrous and abominable eyes they were, bestial and yet filled with purpose and with hideous delight, gloating over their prey trapped beyond all hope of escape.

This sense that Tolkien gives us of Shelob’s sentience, her ‘hideous delight’, adds to the horror of the scene. She isn’t a mindless monster. She has her own evil designs separate from the will of Sauron. And we get the sense that she wants to toy with the hobbits before she kills them.

…even as they ran Frodo looked back and saw with terror that at once the eyes came leaping up behind.

I love the motion of this description, of the eyes falling away and then leaping up suddenly behind them. The hobbits take a stand in the darkness and Frodo, in a moment of supreme bravery, advances on Shelob and shines the star glass in her eyes again. Again, their chief weapon against the monster is light alone.

Tolkien writes of the eyes:

‘One by one they all went dark; they turned away, and a great bulk, beyond the light’s reach, heaved its huge shadow in between. They were gone.’

So the hobbits manage to see Shelob off for now. With great difficulty they cut their way through Shelob’s cobwebs and escape the lair. But she returns just as they think they’ve gotten away.

A little way ahead and to his left (Sam) saw suddenly, issuing from a black hole of shadow under the cliff, the most loathly shape that he had ever beheld, horrible beyond the horror of an evil dream. Most like a spider she was, but huger than the great hunting beasts, and more terrible than they because of the evil purpose in her remorseless eyes.

All of the sensory info we’ve been given culminates in this fearsome vision of Shelob fully revealed. Shelob manages to trap and poison Frodo, and Sam bravely fights with Shelob using the star glass and the sword, Sting. Now Tolkien returns to the use of chiaroscuro, of the battle between light and dark. Sam attacks Shelob with the star glass. And here the light wins out, with the star glass blasting away the ‘dark air’.

It flamed like a star that leaping from the firmament sears the dark air with intolerable light.

The star glass continues to be a weapon that Sam will use to drive Shelob back into her darkness.

The beams of it entered into her wounded head and scored it with unbearable pain, and the dreadful infection of light spread from eye to eye. She fell back beating the air with her forelegs, her sight blasted by inner lightnings, her mind in agony.

A throwback to our first vision of Shelob, when the light of the star glass is reflected in her many-faceted eyes. These are some of my favourite lines in the Shelob sequence. ‘The dreadful infection of light’. Now we’re sensing the light from Shelob’s viewpoint. Tolkien continues this description with the remarkable line: ‘Her sight blasted by inner lightnings, her mind in agony.’ Where earlier the hobbits had their minds blinded by the darkness of Shelob’s lair, now the great spider’s mind has been ‘scored with unbearable pain’.

Shelob is beaten by Sam, she slinks back to the darkness of her lair, and the adventure continues. However, Tolkien leaves open the question of whether or not the battle has killed the great Shelob. In my mind she survives. There has to be some evil left in the world!

So there’s a close look at the wonderful prose style of JRR Tolkien, from one of my favourite chapters, Shelob’s Lair. The battle between light and dark has become a cliche in fantasy fiction over the years. But in the hands of a master, the use of light and darkness, of chiaroscuro, can produce wonderful effects and be the foundation of truly epic writing.

The post Prose Exploder: Shelob’s Lair first appeared on Miles Hurt.

To be honest, I’m a slow reader. It usually takes me a month or two to get through a book. Also, unlike other media consumers, I don’t really binge watch TV series. For me, reading and watching are a lot like eating. I need to do it to survive, but after about twenty minutes, I’m full. The result of this slow diet approach to media means that I’m super-picky about what I take in. Here’s a quick round-up of what was on the content menu for me in October.

READ

Yes, I know that steampunk is no longer the hot stuff it once was. But a good book is a good book. The Court of the Air (2007) is probably a good book. I haven’t quite decided yet, as I haven’t quite finished it yet. This is the first of a six-part series of thick, enticingly presented books that are a cornerstone of the steampunk genre.

Hunt’s writing is evocative and crisp, and there’s no shortage of ideas on display here. It’s over the top and a little bit fey, but it’s very obvious that Hunt is aware of this and is leaning into it.

Orphans on the run. Secret societies. Assassins. Steam robots. Zeppelins. Underground cities. Check check check check check check. This book has all of this and more. The express rate at which Hunt introduces and incorporates new elements into the novel reminds me of the wonderful Perdido Street Station by China Mieville. I’m hoping that The Court of the Air is at least half as good as that classic.

WATCH

Not sure if you are aware, but there’s a pretty good show on Netflix at the moment called Squid Game. I watched it in October over about five nights. This is as close to binge watching a TV series as I’ve ever come. Each night I had difficulty sleeping, due to the adrenaline surge that the show sent through my body. Much has been written and said about why Squid Game is such a massive hit, so I won’t bang on about it. But from a writer’s perspective, the show is fantastic to take inspiration from.

The way that creator Hwang Dong-hyuk introduced sympathetic characters into the story then placed them in high-stakes situations was a masterclass. The patient exposition of the characters and the game they find themselves playing is also noteworthy. The worldbuilding is crisp and stylised, and the exploration of the consequences of that world is unflinching.

But for me what marks Squid Game as a brilliant work of fiction is the nesting of each frame, each moment, each scene, each episode, and the series as a whole. Nothing is wasted or filler. Every word, movement, object is charged with significance and resonance. And the way the episodes steadily ratchet up the tension and conflict is brilliant. There’s nothing better than enjoying a story that has been constructed masterfully.

LISTEN

On a cool and wet early-spring day in October I treated myself to a listen of one of my favourite records: The story of Beren and Luthien from the Silmarillion as read by Christopher Tolkien.

Regulars of my blog will understand that I think of the writing of Tolkien as ‘The Well’, and that I like to return there regularly to take a good long drink. Something about the water is so nourishing and life-affirming. Also, with the many volumes the Tolkien father-and-son combination produced, The Well is very deep.

The moment the record needle hits the groove and Christopher Tolkien’s wonderful English accent begins its evocation of the Silmarillion, you are transported. The story of Beren and Luthien follows the classic (literally) format of the suitor of the princess being sent on a suicidal fetch-quest by the king. In this case Beren is sent to retrieve a Silmaril from the grip of the original dark lord Morgoth. It’s a cracking adventure, and listening to the recorded version of this is a great way to while away a rainy afternoon.

You can listen to the record on Youtube here.

The post Read, Watch, Listen Oct 2021 first appeared on Miles Hurt.

The doyen of indie fantasy delivers with this sharp novel, written in prose that cuts like a katana through the mind’s eye.

The wandering swordsman Haruto travels through a frozen frontier, using his supernatural gifts to cleanse the land of evil spirits. A crew of powerful demons seek to unleash a new terror on the world. Haruto, driven by vengeance, will confront these vile things and try to take them down before all is lost.

Spirits of Vengeance is a treat to read. Rob J Hayes achieves that rare feat of good writing, giving you the wonderful sensation where the words on the page seem to fall away before your eyes as you find yourself immersed in the story. The prose is crisply defined, the cumulative effects of imagery and action precisely delivered.

This is a stand-alone story set in the Mortal Techniques world, the third in the series. And yes, you can read this novel without having read the others.

The visual art and folklore of Japan dating back centuries is replete with images and tales of bizarre ghosts and demons. Hayes has plumbed the well of ukiyo-e, manga and anime, and drawn up a modern interpretation of this folkloric world. His reinterpretation is so polished that it glows.

It’s also fun. The main cast of characters are likeable, the villains despicable. The swordsman Haruto and his travelling companions keep up a continual patter of banter, their interactions and personal stories helping to flesh out the world of Ipia and its history. And the evil spirits trying to unleash terror upon the world, while cruel and horrible, are undeniably cool.

Where the novel really gets rocking is in the fight scenes, which are plentiful. Anyone with a passing acquaintanceship with Japanese animation will find their imagination filled with familiar imagery: glowing swords, menacing monsters summoning dark powers, blood spattering across snow, heroes gritting their teeth as they are pierced with many wounds but fight on. Hayes has mastered the difficult art of portraying violent supernatural action, and his descriptions of combat resonate with clarity, energy and verve.

But the most impressive feat of Spirits of Vengeance is the vision of Japanese folk horror brought to life. The land of Ipia is a direct analogue of feudal Japan, with representations of culture and folklore being imported wholesale. In clumsier hands this could come across as a botched transplant. But with Hayes in charge it works beautifully. Ipia is at once a bright new world, and immediately familiar to anyone who has watched cartoons on a Saturday morning, or seen a Studio Ghibli movie, or passed a Japanese screen print in an art gallery. Hayes has done his research, absorbed the cultural products of Japan and processed them into something fresh and vibrant.

The hierarchies of supernatural creatures are thoroughly worked out, from the lowliest house-spirit to the most powerful god. How the spirits are created in moments of violence and pain is well-defined, how they are rendered in their encounters with Haruto is wonderfully detailed. The creatures that populate the pages of Spirits of Vengeance are lovingly brought to life and presented to the reader without flaw.

The cover deserves special mention for becoming an instant classic of indie fantasy. Felix Ortiz and Shawn King have combined to create this visual treat that is sure to draw the eye of readers.

Spirits of Vengeance delivers both super-charged action and nuanced character development, and is a novel that deserves to find a large an appreciative audience.

Amazon

The post Review: Spirits of Vengeance by Rob J Hayes first appeared on Miles Hurt.

The seventh edition of the Self Published Fantasy Blog Off is under way. This is a contest for indie published fantasy novels that are the first in a series or are stand-alones.

300 novels have been entered in this contest that will run for almost a year. Ten different blogs and booktubers are the judges, and a winner won’t be chosen until about March 2022. However, a field of 10 finalists will soon be chosen, to be paraded around the internet like the lucky contestants in some weird reality TV show.

My novel, Red Harvest Moon, is entered in the competition. To be entered into SPFBO is to feel a bit like being in the running of the bulls. It’s thrilling, it’s terrifying, and there’s a fair chance you’ll get trampled early on.

I’m really not expecting to win. While I’m not in the ‘Before We Go Blog’ category, (aka the Group of Death), I can see there’s some books in my category that are strong performers. To be picked as a semi-finalist would be awesome, and to make it to the final ten would be a dream come true. But as I say, at any moment I could be trampled by the rampaging bulls that are the judges. (Just kidding. These people are doing an amazing job reading and reviewing all of these books!)

But who will make the cut? And who will take home the coveted selfie stick? (That’s the prize, by the way.)

Previous finalist Zak Argyle has created a handy web page where you can check out the entrants and their status in the competition. Last time I checked, I was still running…

The post Am I Still Running In SPFBO7? first appeared on Miles Hurt.

Another reminder to authors that artwork is best left to artists.

If there was one skill that I would love to download into my brain, Matrix-style, it would be the ability to create digital art to use for my book covers. Unfortunately that ain’t gonna happen, and I’m probably about 10,000 hours of practise away from being able to draw much more than a stick figure holding a sword.

Which brings me to my concept sketch for the cover of Red Harvest Moon.

As I revealed in Part One of this series, I quite literally borrowed my daughter’s crayons to draw my vision for what the covers of the first volumes of the Wandering Knife series should look like. The image on the left is my impression of Ren walking across the sacred site of Mirrorhill, autumnal birch in the background. The idea is there, but as cover art I don’t think it would move many units.

The talented Olivia Rea was able to take my sketch and use it as the starting point for an actual work of art. Seeing it come to life through several phases of design and feedback was amazing. The end result of my main character almost stepping off the page blew my mind. It was exactly what I was hoping for, and so much more.

Red Harvest Moon has been out for a couple of months now, and the early reviews have been pleasing. The fact that people are taking an interest and giving it a read is in no small part due to the great artwork on the cover. Authors looking for an artist to bring their vision to life should definitely get in touch with Olivia.

In Wandering Knife news, I’ve finished planning out book two (working title Book Two) and am laying down some fresh prose. I’m hoping to have it ready for publication by the end of 2021.

And I won’t be doing the cover art.

The post This Is Why You Hire An Artist Part Two first appeared on Miles Hurt.

A couple of weeks ago I sat down with a pair of booktubers to have a chat about Red Harvest Moon.

Steve from ‘Steve Talks About Books’, Raul from ‘Raul Reads’ and I chewed the fat about a host of topics ranging from the art of writing violence to knowing when it’s time to kill off your favourite characters. It was a lot of fun. These guys are on the way up in the booktubing game so make sure you check out their channels and subscribe!

Here is the interview.

The post An Interview With Steve and Raul first appeared on Miles Hurt.

Thanks to Steve for taking the time to review Red Harvest Moon on his booktube channel! I look forward to chatting with Steve and Raul from Raul Reads very soon.

The post Steve Talks About My Book And Stuff first appeared on Miles Hurt.

It’s impossible to know how people will receive your fiction. It took me almost three years to finish Red Harvest Moon, and all I could really do as I was writing was hope that when it was published it would find people that would like it.

The novel has been out for a few days now, and I’ve been really pleased with some of the early reviews. Here are some of the things people have been writing.

Dan over at FanFiAddict was kind enough to give the novel a favourable review. You can read the full review here.

A couple of early reviewers posted very in-depth and positive feedback on Goodreads. You can check out what they said at the novel’s Goodreads page.

And of course I should mention up-and-coming booktuber Raul! When he finished the book he posted this review straight away. Needless to say I was chuffed!

So it seems that my novel is indeed finding some people that are responding to it! There’s no better feeling than to have written something that is connecting with people. Thank you to these early reviewers for taking the time to check out my novel. I really hope that more people will find my book and have a similar positive response.

Red Harvest Moon will be launched on the 19th of March, 2021.

This is the novel I’ve always wanted to write.

A novel is a synthesis of an author’s influences and their own creativity. I’ve always been a fan of fantasy, myth and folklore, animation and cinema.  But the two greatest sources of inspiration for Red Harvest Moon have been classic epic fantasy, and the tradition of Japanese samurai films.

My dad read The Hobbit to my brother, sister and I when we were in primary school. I’ll never forget hearing ‘Riddles In The Dark’ for the first time. My brother and sister enjoyed the story. But for me, experiencing The Hobbit was a life-changing event. The idea of becoming a writer took hold.

A few years later I discovered Kurosawa. In the samurai films of the Japanese master I discovered the fatalistic romance of the wandering swordsman. The archetype of the masterless ronin holds great appeal for me. I’m not sure why. They’re just so cool. These characters live by an enigmatic code, but are usually ready to defend the little guy with the flash of a katana.

In Japanese, the word ‘samurai’ roughly means ‘one who serves’. And the word ‘ronin’ means ‘vagrant’ or ‘wandering man’. I took inspiration from these translations. Ren, the protagonist of Red Harvest Moon, is an exile from his native land with no fixed purpose. He’s been ousted from the order of the Loyal Knives, and has become a Wandering Knife.

The elevator pitch for Red Harvest Moon is that it’s The Seven Samurai, but with monsters. I’ve tried to create a novel that’s fast and sharp, that will hit the right notes with fans of traditional fantasy. I hope I’ve succeeded.

The prequel novella to the Wandering Knife series, Bane of Wolves, is the start of the journey. You can get it for free at this link.