Jon Cronshaw's Author Diary: The Real Life of a Legally Blind Fantasy Author

Welcome to Jon's author diary for the week ending June 28, 2020.

This week I had what I can only describe as writer’s block. Yes, the dreaded writer's block.

I always thought that writer’s block was a myth, that it is something that only happens to authors who don’t have a plan going in.

On last week’s Author Diary podcast, I talked about an experiment to write by the seat of my pants, to going in without a plan…and lo! Writer’s block reared its ugly head.

Many authors have told me they go in without a plan, that they follow their characters’ lead. I do this, but I also have an outline.

The first few days felt liberating. I followed my gut, the story seemed to flow out of me…, and then I stopped. The cursor blinked. It kept blinking.

I tried to sleep on it.

However, the words didn’t come.

I wouldn’t go as far as to say it was a failed experiment, because I learned a lot about my process. I’m an outliner. I need a plan.

My plans are pretty loose, maybe a sentence per chapter. But without that, I can’t seem to get through the story and the writing suffers on a sentence-level as a result.

At least I know where my strengths and weaknesses are, so it wasn’t a complete waste of time.

Magic systems

I’m a huge fan of magic systems. A magic system done well is almost as satisfying as a great story. If those two things are combined—well, therein lays genius.

On the latest episode of The Sci-Fi Roundtable podcast, I’m joined by Shane Thomas, Ken Goudsward, and Geoff Habinger to talk all about magic systems.

We discuss Brandon Sanderson, Patrick Rothfuss, Terry Pratchett, and J. K. Rowling.

Plus, I go into a lot of detail about the magic system I developed for The Ravenglass Chronicles, and some influences which will probably be obvious if you’ve read Temperance.

You can find the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Overcast, or through your favourite podcast app (I like Podcast Addict on Android). Alternatively, you listen directly at anchor.fm/sci-fi-roundtable.

Cleric of the Wasteland

The fourth and final book in my post-apocalyptic Wastelandseries is almost ready for release.

All being well, the book should go live on July 18.

If you’ve not read my Wasteland books before, you can get the first three books for just 99c/99p for a limited time on Kindle, or read for free on Kindle Unlimited. Click HERE.

Blind Gambit

Finally, my gamelit novel Blind Gambit is free today on Kindle.

Think Ready Player One if the main character was blind, written from the perspective of a severally visually impaired writer. Click HERE to grab your copy.

Happy reading!

Jon

Welcome to Jon's author diary for the week ending June 21, 2020.

After the intensity of last week getting Cleric of the Wasteland ready for the editor, I decided to take this week off. That lasted about two days before I started getting twitchy!

So, I started work on The Moon (episode 18 of The Ravenglass Chronicles). I’m five chapters in and I’m using a different method to write than usual. Instead of working from an outline, I thought I’d try writing on the seat of my pants.

It’s scary, as I’ve honed my method over the past decade of writing. But it’s an experiment to see whether I can do it. I’m not sure if it will work. I may end up halfway through, realise it sucks, and go back to my old way of doing things.

As a process, it feels weirdly liberating. I’m letting Kat and the tarot cards guide the story. I’m little more than a stenographer along for the ride at this point.

Let’s see how it goes…

The Star is now live!

Episode 17 of The Ravenglass Chronicles is now available on Kindle and Kindle Unlimited. Click HERE to grab your copy.

This means we’re closing in on the final leg of the story. Based on my current trajectory, I’m hoping to have The World (episode 21) out by autumn. I’ll then turn my attention to writing you a free novella called Dawn of Assassins, which will be a prequel to my next series in the Ravenglass Universe.

I’m thinking of my next series as the midpoint between Robin Hobb, Scott Lynch, and Brent Weeks. Imagine roguish thieves turned reluctant assassins…with wyverns—can’t forget the wyverns.

Sins of Empire

I read Brian McClellan’s book Sins of Empire this week, which I highly recommend. It’s a regency-era epic fantasy with guns, gods, and great characters.

It’s the second trilogy in his Powder Mage series (which is up there as one of my all-time favourites).

Because of the lockdown, I’ve not been in the right headspace to read fiction, so it’s been wonderful to enjoy a good story well told.

What are you reading at the moment? Can you recommend any fantasy series set in the 18thor 19th centuries?

Take care,

Jon

Welcome to Jon’s Author Diary for the week ending June 14, 2020.

Woohoo! It’s taken a while, but the final draft of Cleric of the Wasteland is done and ready for the editor.

I started work on this book in winter 2017, so it feels good to finally be done and ticked off my list of open projects.

It’s been an intense week of getting up at 5 AM each day to get it done. But it’s done and that’s what counts.

As for The Ravenglass Chronicles, I received The Star (episode 17) edited and proofread. I’m going to give it a final look over and then get it up on Amazon for June 20.

I’ve had a few readers ask me when I plan to finish the series. The Ravenglass Chronicles is based on the tarot’s major arcana, which has 22 cards. This means there will be 21 episodes in the main series with The Fool representing card zero as the prequel.

The means that I should have the series wrapped up by the autumn.

Of course, my long-term plan is to write many more books in the Ravenglass Universe (there are the minor arcana cards too!)

Take care,

Jon

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Welcome to Jon’s Author Diary for the week ending May 17, 2020.

Something happened this week that felt like a massive weight was lifted off my shoulders, like a huge ball of tension burst.

Some of the lockdown restrictions were lifted here in England on Wednesday, so I’ve been taking advantage of being able to go outside more than once a day.

However, that wasn’t what relieved the tension.

It was my birthday on Tuesday. I celebrated in true author in lockdown style by releasing a book and eating pizza. It’s the second time I’ve released a book on my birthday, and, if I’m being honest, it’s probably not the best idea, especially when the book in question didn’t exactly do well.

No. The thing that did it was a chiming melody coming down our street and an ice cream van stopping outside our house.

We all had a 99 (which for those unfamiliar is whippy ice cream on a cone with a chunk of Cadbury’s Flake sticking out of it.

This was the best ice cream I’ve ever had.

I’m not kidding. Sure, it tasted like every other 99 I’ve ever had, but this one brought huge smiles.

And, I can’t believe I’m writing this, when I reflected on it I ended up shedding a few tears. Crazy, right?

Of course, it was probably a whole bunch of tension about everything coming out, but for me it signified we’d passed an important point. We are now in a world where when an unexpected treat is possible, where spontaneity is possible.

When you’re planning your meals out two weeks in advance and the days seem to blend into one, a little thing like an ice cream van turning up unexpectedly represented something hopeful to me.

I hope wherever you are things are starting to look better.

Two releases

This week saw me release two books! I launched Blind Reset, which is the second book in my Gambit duology—a GameLit series about dealing with going blind.

The Tower, book 16 of The Ravenglass Chronicles, just went live in the Kindle store. Click HERE to grab your copy.

You can read both titles on Kindle Unlimited.

Writing update

I’ve sent The Star, episode 17 of The Ravenglass Chronicles, to my editor and have turned my attention to redrafting Cleric of the Wasteland, which will be the fourth novel in my Wastelandseries.

I wrote the first draft a year ago and I have to admit it feels very odd going back to that series. It’s a story I started writing in 2016, and so it’s been a bit of shift to get back into Abel’s head.

That being said, the writing is going well enough. It’s a slow process, but I’m 20 percent through the redraft. It’s just a case of working on a few thousand words each day until it’s complete.

This is part of my 2020 aim to clear all my open projects before moving onto my new series next year.

Looking forward

If you missed my author diary podcast last week, I talked about my plans for my next series when Kat’s journey ends.

I’ve really enjoyed using the tarot’s major arcana to inspire the story.

I’ve decided to keep going with the tarot influence and move on to the tarot’s suit cards—swords, cups, wands, and coins.

The new stories will be set in the Ravenglass Universe with new characters and new locations.

My head is filled with ideas for a series featuring a pair of thieves turned reluctant assassins. And, of course, there’s always room for more wyverns.

Take care,

Jon

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Welcome to Jon’s Author Diary for the week ending May 3, 2020.

As I write this, I’ve just finished my first draft of The Star, book 17 of The Ravenglass Chronicles.

Book 16, The Tower is currently with the editor, so I’m hoping to get that released as soon it is proofread, which should be some time over the next week or two.

My novel Blind Reset, the follow-up to my GameLit novel/mediation on disability Blind Gambit, is also being edited, and should be back for the final proofread next weekend.

I don’t have a release date set, but as soon as it’s ready, I’ll get it out to the world.

Blind Reset will be the second and final book in that series as I’ve told the story I wanted to and anything else will be padding for sake of it.

If you’ve been following along with my Author Diary podcast, you’ll know that I came to a decision about the future of The Ravenglass Chronicles.

Kat’s story is told using the cards of the tarot’s major arcana—22 cards equals 22 episodes (including the prequel).

I’ve built quite a world and magic system, and have a lot of stories I still want to tell in that universe. So once the final book of the current series is done and Cleric of the Wasteland is released, I’m going to carry on writing in the Ravenglass Universe.

It’s an ambitious aim, but I’m going to start writing series based on the minor arcana—four suits containing 14 cards. This means four series of 14 novellas.

By the time I’ve finished, I will have written 78 novellas. So this one’s going to keep me busy for the next few years.

With the backlog projects (three non-fiction books, two novels, and a collaborative trilogy) behind me next year, I’ll be able to focus my full attention on getting the stories out on a more consistent basis.

I’m excited and daunted by the prospect. But I love a good challenge!

Yours,

Jon

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