Jon Cronshaw's Author Diary - The Real Life of an Indie Author | Writing | Publishing | Disability

Jon Cronshaw's Author Diary - The Real Life of an Indie Author | Writing | Publishing | Disability

By Jon CronshawArtsBooks
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Jon Cronshaw's Author Diary - The Real Life of an Indie Author | Writing | Publishing | Disability episodes

  • 159 - October 11, 2020 - The Ravenglass Chronicles, tedious fiction, Throne of Glass, South Park

    Welcome to Jon’s Author Diary for the week ending October 11, 2020.

    We’re still in local lockdown, but I’ve been keeping my head down and getting on with Judgement, which is book 20 of The Ravenglass Chronicles.

    The first draft is complete and I’m about 3,000 words from the end of my second.

    It’s such a strange feeling knowing I’ve got one more episode to write.

    But it’s okay as I already have plans for my next series.

    It’s going to be set in the same universe, but focused around a gang of thieves turned reluctant assassins.

    It’ll have all the craziness you’ve come to expect from The Ravenglass Chronicles, with wyverns and magical realms, but with a focus on a male protagonist and the Ostreich Empire’s gritty underworld.

    Black Death

    If you’ve been following my author diaries for a while, you might recall I was working on a post-apocalyptic trilogy with a co-author, Lynn Sheridan.

    I’m pleased to say that he’s done with the first book and is almost complete with his work on the second book, so we should have a final version of the Black Death trilogy ready for the editor by Christmas….hopefully!

    We started working on this project in late-2017, so it’s weird putting the finishing touches to a series about a pandemic given what 2020 has handed us.

    Throne of Glass

    Finally, I’ve been reading the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas. A few readers had said how The Ravenglass Chronicles shares elements with the story, so I thought I’d check it out.

    As I’ve not been able to get into fiction since the start of lockdown, I’ve really enjoyed getting back into fantasy (I’ve read the first three books over the past week and am enjoying book 4, Queen of Shadows).

    I can see the parallels in terms of some of the story elements, but it’s also very different. If you’ve not read it and enjoy YA fantasy, I’d highly recommend the series .

    If you’ve got any recommendations for similar stuff, let me know.

    Take care,

    Jon

    6 min
  • 158 - October 4, 2020 - The Ravenglass Chronicles, Blackpool, Throne of Glass, His Dark Materials, The Immortality Key, Graham Hancock, Joe Rogan

    Welcome to Jon's author diary for the week ending October 4, 2020.

    It’s been a mixed bag of the week. I’ve been working on Judgement, which is the penultimate episode of The Ravenglass Chronicles.

    I’m pulling together all the story threads for the final episode. I had hoped to have finished the series by now, but 2020 has thrown everyone’s plans asunder it would seem.

    Although we’re in local lockdown, we did manage to celebrate our son’s eighth birthday with Super Mario LEGO and a trip to Blackpool.

    If you listen to my Author Diary podcast, you’ll know that we scrambled before the local lockdown came in to make sure he had a birthday party with his best friends.

    This year’s been hard enough for the kids, and I was determined to make his birthday as fun as it could be given the circumstances.

    Over the past few weeks we’ve been watching the His Dark Materials TV series on BBC iPlayer, which is tremendous. Although we’ve watched movies and TV shows as a family before, we’ve never watched anything like a long-form drama together, so it was really nice to cuddle up on the sofa and watch with my guide dog keeping my feet warm.

    Finally, The Sun, episode 19 of The Ravenglass Chronicles, is now available. Click HERE to grab your copy.

    5 min
  • 153 - August 30, 2020 - The Sun, The Ravenglass Chronicles, the Sci-Fi Roundtable, Zecharia Sitchin, Operation Trojan Horse, Ray Bradbury, Lancaster brewery, back-to-school prepping

    Welcome to Jon's author diary for the week ending August 30, 2020.

    That's right, it’s the end of August. I cannot believe we already here—what a strange year 2020 has been.

    This week I've continued writing The Sun, episode 19 of The Ravenglass Chronicles. I’ve just finished writing chapter nine, so it’s coming along nicely.

    I'm still getting used to the new way of writing where instead of racing through my first draft and spending weeks and weeks turning into something palatable, I’m doing that instead on a scene-by-scene basis, making sure each chapter is ready for the editor before moving onto the next one.

    There are three episodes left to write, including this one, and it feels like everything is starting to come together with the story. The pieces are in place, questions get answered, and there are a few major revelations on the way that have even surprised myself!

    Next week, my wife and son go back to school for the first time since mid-March (my son’s seven and my wife is an English teacher). Since lockdown, I’ve been doing my writing for three hours a day on weekdays, so it’s going to be quiet in the house, and strange to have all those extra hours at my disposal.

    I’d like to think I’ll get much more writing done, but there’s Parkinson’s Law to contend with which states that work always expands to fill the time available!

    Podcasting

    I hosted this week’s episode of the Sci-Fi Roundtable podcast on the topic of monsters in the mainstream. Shane Thomas, Stephanie Barr, Adam Stump, Jen Ponce, and I discussed demons, dragons, the fae, zombies…and humans.

    It was a fun episode as ever. Visit: anchor.fm/sci-fi-roundtable to listen now, or subscribe on your favourite podcast app.

    On this week’s author diary podcast, I talk about some of my ideas for my next fantasy series, my thoughts on the Ray Bradbury Challenge, Zecharia Sitchin, and an update on my co-authored Black Death series.

    Visit: anchor.fm/joncronshawto listen now, or subscribe on your favourite podcast app.

    Visit subscribepage.com/ravenglass to join the VIP mailing list. You will receive free stories and be first to know about new releases.

    12 min

About Jon Cronshaw's Author Diary - The Real Life of an Indie Author | Writing | Publishing | Disability

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Step into the world of storytelling with Jon Cronshaw, a legally blind indie fantasy author who refuses to let visual impairment stand in the way of his literary dreams.