As we head into December, there is a lot I could say about any number of topics.
I’m going to start by thanking everyone who has asked me about the world of Knyadrea or given me the chance to talk about it. My animated discussions with readers who find knyad biology fascinating, are charmed by and worried for my characters, or appreciate details about Apideccan culture, all keep me going.
Publishing my books has allowed me to find people all over the world who are excited by the same things as me; if I start mentioning them all by name, I will surely leave someone out. Being plugged into such a community has lead to book recommendations that suit me better than anything put forth by an algorithm.
Beautiful Mysteries
Next month I celebrate Christmas with my family. I grew up in Congregational and Presbyterian churches, and continue to practice my faith to this day. I know not everyone has had the positive associations with Christianity that I’ve had, so I’m not going to deny the reality that religion can be a painful subject for many. The story I’m about to share is an insight into my background and how I started writing.
Six years ago I was visiting a different church and someone who knew nothing about me walked up to me and said, “You’re a ‘pictures’ person. God is going to give you words too.” At the time I was indeed working in visual media, but I had put aside all thoughts of writing. At most, I thought I might release short stories, but I didn’t have an idea for a novel. A world similar to Apidecca had been left unfinished and abandoned in journals. A character reminiscent of Prismer was gathering dust in my college art portfolio. Oklas wasn’t yet on the scene. I can be skeptical of prophetic statements, so I carried on with my life. A couple of years later, the idea for this duology struck me. Within a few weeks, I had my main characters and the beginnings of a plot. I knew this was something I would finish.
Spirituality, as I experience it, has a way of sneaking into my writing. It is perhaps the love story at the heart of my books. The characters are broken but that is not the end for them. Their lives have meaning and not just in a fictitious sense. Real people get to go on an emotional journey with them.
I am 2/3 of the way through drafting the sequel to Far Removed, which stands at +- 75k and will probably end up being over 100k when finished. It has been fun revisiting some moments from that book. I recently posted a “writer’s commentary” on Blue Sky. It is a thread of snippets with my thoughts on various scenes.
Lastly, today, on 30 November 2024, I released the paperback of my novelette, The Tidelings of Dras Sayve. I had some hiccups while preparing it on the Zon and ordering copies to see how they come out, so I won’t encourage you to buy it until all those issues have been smoothed out. Have a safe, joyous festive season.
C B Lansdell 