First off, I’d like to apologize for the relative silence as of late. I’ve been beavering away writing and writing. And somehow, through some miracle, I managed to finish the first draft without being waylaid by my inner editor.
Only problem is that now, instead of pushing forward I’m finding myself immediately pilfering the many sticky notes and post-its I have made over the course of writing, and am currently well into the second draft.
So apologies for the delay, but Invictus is certainly not dead, and I am working on it full pelt/110%/maximum warp. Some points have needed some hefty revision work (as apparently writing at midnight under the influence of sedatives, gin and caffeine is not the best of ideas... I may have been pulling an ’Adrian’ so to speak).
If anyone would like to beta-test/read the first act, please do send me a message and I’ll link you along to it. I am more than willing to return the favour!
We’re well into the month of July now, and the first draft is very close to being finished. I am struggling with my inner editor though, and have gone back to the first few chapters to tidy them up.
So far I have rewritten Chapter 1 as ’I - Fixing Alyx’. It’s very much the same, only slightly neater (I hope). Please do feel free to comment on/critique it - anything to make this story the best it can be.
As always, love to you all, and thanks for sticking around.
The cover is indeed VERY beautiful. hats off to Landon, it is very impressive and an amazing work of art. The story is amazing and I can’t wait to read the entire book, You’re doing a great job :) keep the awesome work up. Never doubt yourself or the story because it’s spectacular, ^_^ behind you 100% can’t wait to get my hands on a copy and read it all the time. just don’t forget to take it easy and have breaks occasionally as not to run yourself ragged :)
We have a new cover, and it is beautiful. Credit goes to Landon Trine; I could not ask for a more fitting summation of Invictus. There’s a a few things worthy of comment:
-The double helix is artificial. This mainly reflects on the afterlife, which is a thing of our own creation. However the theme of authenticity runs strong throughout the story - in heaven, identity and appearance. The faces of those of the Inner City are a nice example: very clean and tidy, very pretty, but oh so fake.
-The colours. The double helix is rainbow coloured! I’ll admit that this speaks to me on a personal level, but also reflects those in the story. I can’t not write LGBT+ characters, and such themes feature very heavily in certain character’s stories. Harriet, Silver and Alyx predominantly.
I’m going to stop gushing now and get back to writing. The first draft is coming along nicely, and I’m consuming far too much coffee and confectionery for my own good (even by maths student standards).
As always, thank you to everyone who has commented, reviewed and recommended Invictus. I always love reading feedback, and am always open to contact. Intercontinental hugs go out to you all.
So at some point, we hit 50 followers. I want to use this opportunity to thank (again) everyone who has commented, reviewed or recommended Invictus. You are the oil that keeps the gears turning!
Whilst I’m here, I’ll do two things:
First I’m going to shout out to Matthew Dho’s I Am Waltz. Any and all proceeds from the sales will be given to the families of the victims of the Orlando shooting. So support an awesome book, and a worthy cause. Also it has robot gore.
Secondly, I was going to do a character bio - but couldn’t decide who to do. So I asked Silver to give a rundown on the group as a whole instead.
Key Members:
"Silver Jenkins here, reporting for The Vox. I should probably start with myself, although I’m not that important a member (my trumpet gathers dust in the closet). I’m agender, so they/them pronouns please. I do all the reporting for our underground resistance newspaper The Vox, and am always ready to take an oppurtune shot. I also do a lot of hacking in my spare time, and am a backup in case Adrian’s heart finally gives out.
Alyx Bradley - Our Runner. (hearts) Possibly the most important member. Alyx does all the hard work, running around the cities, making deliveries and stealing shit. She’ll fight you no problem, and pummel your ass. She has a few substance abuse issues, but don’t tell her I told you that (it’s okay, she never reads the paper).
Ruth King-Gomez - She’s our self-confessed den mother, and complete fusspot. She has that motherly stare that tells you off without having to say anything. Oh yeah, and always look at her when you talk to her, or she might smack you.
Harriet Anti - Our medic and biotech expert. She used to work for Charon, on project Titan. She was part of the team to crack ectogenesis, then realized the horror of what they’d done and jumped ship. She also has a mysterious genetic illness that she doesn’t like to talk about.
Rain Bradley - Harriet’s lover, Alyx’s mother, and currently very dead. Her Soul is stuck in Sheol. Getting it out is our number one objective.
Adrian Goldstein - Eurgh. What can I say? He’s a rich git, always high and has appalling personal hygiene. But he’s a damn good hacker, always looking out for us and can do shell transfers (we call them ’Recuva’) no problem. He spends a suspicious amount of time in the Inner City though. Not that I’m complaining.
Mae Anti - Harriet’s biological sister. The two have a chequered past we can only speculate about. She’s our guardian angel. She teaches people how to fight, defend themselves and the nuances of human anatomy. She likes her knives a bit too much, and refuses to get a gun. Somehow she’s yet to have to undergo a Recuva though.
Hernando King-Gomez - Oh my god where do I start. He’s Ruth’s husband, if the name didn’t give it away, and performs much the same duties. But holy hell is he ripped. He also runs the farm, kitchens, orphanage and teaches the kids chess, risk and diplomacy in his spare time.
We have others, but these are the main ones. They’re always around, lovely to talk to and fully prepared to die for our cause. Though we’d rather not, because we’re probably all branded as traitors and doomed to Sheol. So we’re stuck living for the time being. Not that we fear death, but more that we know what comes after, and we don’t much like it."
First thing first, I just wanted to thank all of the wonderful people who have followed, commented upon, reviewed and critiqued Invictus. You help keep the Invictus ball rolling, and I fully intend on taking everything on board and doing my best to make the book the best it can be.
Secondly, I have uploaded chapter three. This short aims to give insight into the lives of the various families and the world as a whole.
Finally, I want to update on the overall progress. I’m well into drafting my way through the novel, and the whole book at this point is planned out and ready to have fleshy attachments. This July I shall be participating in camp Nanowrimo, and shall aim to plow through the rest of a first draft for the whole thing. So it’ll be a quiet month, and then I’ll be (hopefully) getting the ball rolling on pre-ordering.
Hello lovelies!
First off, I’d like to apologize for the relative silence as of late. I’ve been beavering away writing and writing. And somehow, through some miracle, I managed to finish the first draft without being waylaid by my inner editor.
Only problem is that now, instead of pushing forward I’m finding myself immediately pilfering the many sticky notes and post-its I have made over the course of writing, and am currently well into the second draft.
So apologies for the delay, but Invictus is certainly not dead, and I am working on it full pelt/110%/maximum warp. Some points have needed some hefty revision work (as apparently writing at midnight under the influence of sedatives, gin and caffeine is not the best of ideas... I may have been pulling an ’Adrian’ so to speak).
If anyone would like to beta-test/read the first act, please do send me a message and I’ll link you along to it. I am more than willing to return the favour!
Love,
Em
X x
New cover!
We have a new cover, and it is beautiful. Credit goes to Landon Trine; I could not ask for a more fitting summation of Invictus. There’s a a few things worthy of comment:
-The double helix is artificial. This mainly reflects on the afterlife, which is a thing of our own creation. However the theme of authenticity runs strong throughout the story - in heaven, identity and appearance. The faces of those of the Inner City are a nice example: very clean and tidy, very pretty, but oh so fake.
-The colours. The double helix is rainbow coloured! I’ll admit that this speaks to me on a personal level, but also reflects those in the story. I can’t not write LGBT+ characters, and such themes feature very heavily in certain character’s stories. Harriet, Silver and Alyx predominantly.
I’m going to stop gushing now and get back to writing. The first draft is coming along nicely, and I’m consuming far too much coffee and confectionery for my own good (even by maths student standards).
As always, thank you to everyone who has commented, reviewed and recommended Invictus. I always love reading feedback, and am always open to contact. Intercontinental hugs go out to you all.
Love,
X x
Onwards and Upwards!
So at some point, we hit 50 followers. I want to use this opportunity to thank (again) everyone who has commented, reviewed or recommended Invictus. You are the oil that keeps the gears turning!
Whilst I’m here, I’ll do two things:
First I’m going to shout out to Matthew Dho’s I Am Waltz. Any and all proceeds from the sales will be given to the families of the victims of the Orlando shooting. So support an awesome book, and a worthy cause. Also it has robot gore.
Secondly, I was going to do a character bio - but couldn’t decide who to do. So I asked Silver to give a rundown on the group as a whole instead.
Key Members:
"Silver Jenkins here, reporting for The Vox. I should probably start with myself, although I’m not that important a member (my trumpet gathers dust in the closet). I’m agender, so they/them pronouns please. I do all the reporting for our underground resistance newspaper The Vox, and am always ready to take an oppurtune shot. I also do a lot of hacking in my spare time, and am a backup in case Adrian’s heart finally gives out.
We have others, but these are the main ones. They’re always around, lovely to talk to and fully prepared to die for our cause. Though we’d rather not, because we’re probably all branded as traitors and doomed to Sheol. So we’re stuck living for the time being. Not that we fear death, but more that we know what comes after, and we don’t much like it."
Love,
X x
First thing first, I just wanted to thank all of the wonderful people who have followed, commented upon, reviewed and critiqued Invictus. You help keep the Invictus ball rolling, and I fully intend on taking everything on board and doing my best to make the book the best it can be.
Secondly, I have uploaded chapter three. This short aims to give insight into the lives of the various families and the world as a whole.
Finally, I want to update on the overall progress. I’m well into drafting my way through the novel, and the whole book at this point is planned out and ready to have fleshy attachments. This July I shall be participating in camp Nanowrimo, and shall aim to plow through the rest of a first draft for the whole thing. So it’ll be a quiet month, and then I’ll be (hopefully) getting the ball rolling on pre-ordering.
Love,
X x