Christopher C. Tubbs's Blog

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It has been a while since I last posted. It's been a busy year. I have retired from the day job and now only write. We have moved house, country and continent. We now live in Bonaire in The Netherlands Antilles. Is it an island paradise? Well its not like St Lucia and covered in rain forest. The flora here sports long thorns or is cactus, but is still beautiful. The sea is warm and the reefs rich with sea life. There are seasons; hot and dry, hot and wet, and very hot. We are just coming into the very hot season where the temperature gets above 40C.

During this period I have been signed by Lume Books who have taken over the publishing of the Scarlett series and commissioned a new five book series to be written over the next four years. I have retained the Dorset Boy and Charlemagne Griffon books. The latest Charlie book has just been published and has had nothing but 5 star ratings.

The 13th in the Dorset Boy series will be published in December and is called Empire.

Life has returned to a sort of normality, nobody else has died and we are content.

Sometimes life sucks. Mum died on Xmas day and will be buried on the 19th January. She had late stage dementia and didn't know anyone at the end. I will miss her.

On the other hand looking at the good things in life our plans to move to Bonaire are moving along, we have agreed to buy a house over there and our house in The Netherlands is up for sale. So anyone want a five bedroom house in the middle of nowhere? Sales of the books are continuing to rise and we had a record month in December with the release of Exile. The 12th book in the series is half written.

I guess how ever bad things get you have to balance that with the positives.

This week has been a little difficult. First Amazon blocked the preorder for the new Dorset Boy book as I messed up the release date. I put 5th November when it should have been 6th December. They come down hard on people that don't submit the finished content by the deadline and lock you out for a year. I begged forgiveness and they gave me a second chance. But before then I had to redo the Facebook adds I had running to swap out preorder and replace it with available from. Facebook are equally intolerant of you messing around with the adds or having adds rejected. I got locked out of placing adds too. So I asked for forgiveness again and they were kind to me.

Lesson learnt? Get it right!

There is a lot of satisfaction in finishing a book and sending it to be published. My latest, Exile, is based around the Battle of Waterloo for the first half and Ceylon in the second. Both parts needed careful research especially as there are a lot of Waterloo scholars out there who will correct me if I get anything wrong. Now its a case of waiting for the editor, Debz Hobbs-Wyatt, to work her magic and it will be on the shelves in time for Xmas. Artwork is done, rewrites done I can relax and start the next one.

Sounds like a truism but for many that heralds the SAD season. Seasonally Adjusted Depression is insidious and catches many by surprise as the days get shorter. That's because it creeps up on you little by little and you feel lousy without realising why.
I have SAD which adds to my anxiety levels this time of year and to counter it I have a high intensity lamp that I sit in front of for ten minutes every autumn and winter day, It works wonders; I feel less anxious and my general sense of wellbeing improves enabling me to focus on my work and writing.
Talking of writing the 11th in the Dorset Boy Series will be released in time for Christmas. Based in 1815 and 1816 it covers the Battle of Waterloo and rebellion in Ceylon. Subscribe to my web page www.thedorsetboy.com for regular updates.

Ok I am known as a historic fiction writer and I do enjoy writing within the constraints that brings but sometimes I get the urge to let my imagination run free and go more down the fantasy route. So, I have had a go at writing a steampunk alternate history action and adventure story.

Buddha's Fist introduces Charlemagne (Charlie) Griffon and he his sidekick Etherton. In the best tradition that every hero need a sidekick. My wife when she read it said he was like a freelance Bond especially his predeliction for a pretty face and a nice pair of ... You get the idea.

Based in an alternate Victorian 1850 period where steam is the dominant technology for transportation by air, sea and land . The revolver has just been invented and made available (at a price) and the British Empire is in full swing. Its a novella and will be free to download for subscribers to my website and cost a whole euro on Amazon.

My latest book in The Dorset Boy series, Raider, has been on preorder for a couple of weeks now and we are doing OK. Its doing well enough to hit the 13 spot in the Sea Stories top 100 chart! Its also the highest charting fighting sail book in the genre and the only one in the top 100.

Bragging rights aside I am humbled that readers want to read my books and do so in numbers I couldn't have dreamt of when I started writing.

I'm experimenting with a steampunk action and adventure short story next and after that will write the third and last book in the Scarlett Fox series. I will give away the short story called Buddha's Fist to subscribers to my website which is www.thedorsetboy.com and if it gets a favourable reception turn it into a new series.

Have a great weekend

Chris

Trying to return to something close to normality and all of a sudden realise that the deadline for getting the ninth book in The Dorset Boy series is upon me. Tempus Fujit and all that. RAIDER as I've decided to title it was written at a strange time for me with multiple deaths in the family and friends. That reflects in the book, some favourite characters meet their ends and Marty visits revenge on an enemy in a completely disproportionate way. It reflects my state of mind at the time of writing, somewhat bleak and dark but with a hope of a light at the end of the tunnel. Raider will be pre-released soon when the wonderful Dawn Spears provided the cover art. It will go on sale November 20th.

I have also decided that the third book in the Scarlett series will be the last. It feels right that its a trilogy.

Now to something even more exciting: I am writing a short story which will be offered for free on my website for anyone who subscribes. It is a Steampunk/mid 18th century alternative history Adventure. Yup, steam rules; trains, ships, airships and carriages all steam powered. A flawed hero and a trusted sidekick. If this goes down well I may well turn it into a series.

That's all for now

Stay Safe

Chris

A fact of life for many writers nowadays is that you will end up editing one book while writing another and planning a third. The demands for new additions to a successful series are high with fans writing to ask when the next will arrive. Then there is the need to keep up a constant social media output.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining as I enjoy all this but readers often don't understand what it takes to write an 80K page book, get it into a shape that is fit for publishing, marketing and promoting it.

I wish I could do this full-time but I have to work to fund life until we save enough to make the move to full time writing. So until then my evenings and weekends will be taken up with getting my writing fix and keeping my few fans happy.

But secretly, between you and me, I can't wait to 'retire'.

Chris