By J.J. Fryer

So, with Supanova being cancelled due the pandemic, our nerdy hearts were shattered until inCONceivable events came along. To tell us more about it is Megs, the founder and creator.

What is inCONceivable?

The current pandemic has hit us all pretty hard this year and I know of many indie artists and small vendors who have been struggling with not having any pop culture events to go to. I also know that a lot of the Australian geek community miss the fun and excitement of going to these events, so when I had the opportunity to do something about it, I decided to give it a go. inCONceivable is a new Australian-based virtual marketplace/convention that aims to fill some of the gaps left by being unable to have in-person events at this time. The first inCONceivable virtual con will be utilising the platform Eventeny which was recently used for Dragoncon goes Virtual. Our first event is planned for 14-15 November 2020. Not a lot of time I know, but we want to get this happening in time for attendees to buy Christmas gifts. Current plan is that ‘trading times’ (when exhibitors should be ‘available’ for contact on their virtual booth) is 10am-6pm AEST Saturday and Sunday. However, being a virtual event, hopefully with lots of global attendees, there is nothing stopping us from trading outside of these hours as well. I feel we have a unique opportunity here because the world is now used to (and hungry for) online content, so by marketing this well, and as a team, we won’t just be reaching the people who are able to attend the in-person event at whatever venue we are at. Let us expand our audience and show the rest of the world the amazing geek culture that Australia has to offer!

How did it come about?

The current pandemic has proved challenging to many small businesses, artists, authors and creators due to the lack of in person events, especially for those who would normally sell their wares at pop culture conventions throughout Australia. The impact on creators could already be seen in August, when inCONceivable convenor, Megs Drinkwater (Small Business owner and creator of cool things at PirateDragon), came across an American Platform called Eventeny. After having a quick look, she signed up but found the platform only gave the option to ship to America or Canada, so she contacted Eventeny to ask whether they were considering exploring Australian and New Zealand markets any time soon. With Megs’ vast experience exhibiting in Artist Alleys at conventions across Australia and New Zealand, she could see the opportunity for a virtual marketplace for the whole range of creators normally found in the Artist Alley at conventions. This first email led to a zoom meeting with the founders of Eventeny, Nausheen Punjani and Aly Hussaini. After Megs explained her idea to them, they said they would be happy to work on making Eventeny ready for Australia and encouraged Megs to consider including video content as a way to value-add to her online convention.

Where did the name come from?

Kylie Chan (Author – Dark Heaven Series) suggested inCONceivable (possibly as a joke), but the name resonated and so inCONceivable and Inconceivable Events were born.

What can people expect?

inCONceivable is a FREE online event. Virtual attendees don’t need to register to watch the panels or browse through the marketplace (though we do have the option to register for a general ticket for those that may want advance notice or reminders of things happening during the event). Sign up is only required if an attendee wishes to make a purchase or contact one of the exhibitors. With Eventeny you can shop all exhibitor’s stalls and pay for them in one transaction. It can be experienced entirely from the comfort and safety of your own home. Best of all… NO QUEUES!!!

How do people attend if they want to attend?

You can find our event page here: https://www.eventeny.com/events/inconceivable-762

So, there you have it what are you waiting for? Go get your tickets. If you want to follow inCONceivable events on social media you can find them on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram @inconceivableevents and also on Youtube.

Iridescent Fury is the first book in a quartet of the Iridescent Fury series. I am lucky enough to interview Zachary James, the author. Before we get into the interview though here’s the plot!!

When Ariadae Vox’s father tries to murder her after returning from the darkened forest she has been banished from all her life, the sixteen-year-old takes it upon herself to delve into the seemingly wicked expanse of trees.

On her hunt for knowledge that can help her save her kingdom from the cursed king, she discovers magic, monsters, and secrets that tie her to a world she has never known. Ariadae learns the truth of her mother’s untimely fate, the lies hidden in the shadowed libraries of a ruthless Fae Queen, and the intentions behind each of her companions’ reasons for joining her on this quest for answers that becomes a fight for survival.

Q1. How did you come up with the idea for Iridescent Fury?

Zachary James: I came up with the idea of Iridescent Fury from a dream I had when I was 15. I was in the middle of a hiatus from writing when I dreamt about a red haired princess in a dark wood with horrifying monsters. It was magical and inspiring and writing became my escape! I wrote the book when I was only 15 and self-published it under a different title in 2017, but in 2019 I wanted to rewrite my debut story because I knew I could do it better! So that was essentially how I came up with the idea of Iridescent Fury.

Q2. Which authors inspire you?

Zachary James: Sarah J. Maas, Victoria Aveyard, Kerri Maniscalco, Tahereh Mafi and Sabaa Tahir.

Q3. What was your favourite read of last year?

Zachary James: The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon!

Q4. Who would you cast as the characters if your book became a movie?

Zachary James: This sounds awful, but I really don’t have a fan cast for my book! I know it’s like every author’s dream to have their book become a movie and have a wonderful cast, but I’m not sure who would be able to play my babies. But if I had to pick, I know there is only TWO characters I could cast. Tyler Hoechlin would play Lunan and Charlize Theron would play High Lady Evaflora.

Q5. What are your favourite T.V. shows?

Zachary James: The Office, The Office and The Office.

Q6. Which Hogwarts houses would you sort your characters into?

Zachary James: Ariadae is definitely a Slytherin. She wants to be selfless but is selfish in her actions! She doesn’t know any better. Jeremiah and Zube are Hufflepuff! They’re too funny to be anywhere else. I’d say Jax is a Gryffindor because he is always courageous and strong and brave for Ariadae’s sake. He’s a little selfless, the opposite of our fiery-haired princess. And lastly, I think Fayla is a Ravenclaw. I know it seems like a strange choice right now, but as the series progresses you will see why I think that!

Q7.  What 2020 book release are you excited for?

Zachary James: Since House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas has already been released, I think the 2020 releases that I’m most excited for are, The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna, Burn Your Bodies Down by Rory Power, Imagine Me by Tahereh Mafi and Aurora Burning by Jay Kristoff and Amy Kaufman. I can’t pick just one.

Q8. What advice do you have for aspiring authors out there?

Zachary James: Some advice that I’d give to aspiring authors is do not get caught up in the editing or anything else until your story is done! Just write, write, and write some more and have fun doing it!!!

Q9. Can you tease any upcoming projects?

Zachary James: I can’t talk too much about my upcoming projects, but Cerulean Dawn – the sequel to Iridescent Fury – is in the works right now and coming along beautifully! And I may also have some other projects I’m working on that may or may not be moving to the traditional publishing route…

Iridescent Fury is available NOW!! You can buy it anywhere online!! To keep up to date with Zachary’s journey follow him on Instagram.

This interview was conducted by J.J. Fryer, a fantasy author and a strong supporter of indie writing. You can follow him on Instagram, read more of his blog posts or buy his books from our online store.

2019 wasn’t a big year for me reading books. Off the top of my head, I started a few, but only finished one or two. I started two graphic novels, and I’m still currently reading them. I bought a Star Wars book called Thrawn and I’ve been addicted to it ever since. It made me miss books. So, I’ve decided 2020 I will get back into reading, find the time and read some. It got me thinking about when I used to read 15 books a year and which ones I enjoyed. Below, I’ve made a list of some that stood out.

Two books I have read and re-read: Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S Thompson. Besides being awesome books, when I moved to Brisbane, I didn’t have a job and couldn’t afford new books all the time, so I re-read those. Still favourites.

Two books that I couldn’t actually put down: Tranny by Laura Jane Grace and The Hepatitis Bathtub and other stories by NOFX. Both are from Punk bands I like, so that’s a coincidence. Another notable mention is Bully, by someone I can’t remember and a book about the serial killer BTK. Oh, and The Spooks Apprentice by Joseph Delaney.

Two books that made me for-real cry: The Dirt by Motley Crue. I was on a plane coming back from Christmas break and there is a bit in the book about the singer’s daughter (I won’t spoil it) and I started openly weeping on the plane. I have read that book twice and lent it to many people. The other is The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents. I won’t say the part, but it’s near the end and I think it brought a tear to my eye.

Two books that are absolutely flawless and perfect (in my opinion): One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey and The Road by Cormac McCarthy. I picked up Cuckoo’s Nest from the Valley markets for $6 and it had the movie cover, which I normally avoid, but that book is perfection. It is flawless in every single way. You hold your breath for something not to be right, like a sentence or the wrong word, but it never happens. I just can’t believe someone can write like that. The other book, The Road, which they made into a film also, which doesn’t give it justice, sent me through more of an emotional trip than any other book has, ever. I picked it up at a second-hand bookstore years and years ago. Cormac McCarthy is one of the reasons I write today.

Two authors I buy no matter what: Besides Cormac McCarthy, I buy Stephen King books when they are released. I haven’t read the last four or five, but I always intend to. I buy them because I used to read them all the time, and because he is the master of horror. The other is Terry Pratchett. Every book Pratchett released I would ask for the hard cover for Christmas. His last book, I got halfway through and stopped. It’s not because it was bad, but because it was his last one and a part of me can’t bring myself to finish it.

Two graphic novels that are my favourites: Blankets by Craig Thompson and Maus by Art Spiegelman. Blankets is about a teenager who goes to church and reads the bible and then finds a girlfriend and wrestles with his emotions versus his doctrine. It’s beautiful and truly magic. Maus is based on Art’s father’s experience in the death camps in WWII and the aftermath of growing old and talking to his son. Jews are portrayed as mice and Nazis as Cats. I can’t recommend these two books enough. You’ll find them on every single list of top 10 graphic novels ever made (ahead of Batman, I might add).

Two books that scared the shit out of me: Stephen King’s Gerald’s Game and The Amityville Horror by Jay Ansen. Netflix made a movie of Gerald’s Game and I was keen to watch it. It carried over several scenes that I didn’t think they would add. I was reading it at night, which is my first mistake, and towards the end of the book when she looks into the rear vision mirror and the guy with long limbs is in the backseat, made me nearly jump out of my skin. I had seen two different films of The Amityville Horror, and knew the story well. Then I found the book at a second-hand bookstore and thought I’d give it a read. When the mum looks out the second storey window and there is a face looking back at her, I was done. Scared the heck out of me.

I had a general rule not to stop reading a book halfway through, but now that time is hard to find to read, if the book isn’t good, I stop. I have many books on my shelf, floor and table, that I want to read, not to mention two graphic novels still to read that I’m looking forward to. And just to finish, two books that I’m looking forward to reading: The Rise of Skywalker Star Wars book adaption. Apparently, it has more in the book than the movie? And it explains more. I’ll grab that when it comes out. Finding Me, by Michelle Knight, one of the kidnap victims that was locked up for like 13 years until her escape. Another honourable mention is Flea’s book Acid for the Children and the next Thrawn book.

Good night.

Mitchell Tierney

You can follow Mitchell on Instagram and Facebook, and you can find his books in our online store.

Google is flooded with lists such as ‘100 books you must read before you die’ or ‘50 books that will change your life’. The books on these lists are the classic titles you expect: The Great Gatsby, Pride and Prejudice, To Kill a Mockingbird, Little Women, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The list is endless but rarely surprising.
Today I’m going to give you a different list.

Dozens of Australian indie authors are here at Supanova Gold Coast as I write this, selling incredible, unique and often undiscovered books across multiple edgy genres that you won’t always find in your local conservative bookshop. Luckily, all of these are available online. Here is the list I give you.

20 Indie Books You Should Check Out:

1. The Species Within by Kimberley Clark
   Kira, a huntress plagued by dreams of fire and pain, has worked tirelessly to rid her city of the scourge that has nearly destroyed it… nostvores, mythlend creatures with dark and vast appetites for blood and sex. She does this not only because they had killed so many people in her life, but because she has an edge that no other human had… she has their abilities. However, these abilities were killing her and she feared time was no longer on her side.
   So the moment she found out that Darius, a nostvore leader, was threatening to awaken an indestructible species to help him enslave all humans and mythlends, and that she may be the key to his plan, Kira knew her only choice was to risk her life with the little time that she had left. It meant joining her enemy to find out why, and making sure his plan failed.
   If that wasn’t dangerous enough, the more time she spends with the Vanatre nostvore, Emmerich, and the mooran, Kuron, who she brings with her for protection, the less she wants to kill them. Instead, she feels an unexplainable attraction toward them both, and she fears surrendering to such desire with either is a deadly game to play, since she would not only be risking her life, but quite possibly her heart.
2. Soulless by Jacinta Maree
   Welcome to Soulless.
   We are the generation that laughs at death.
   Reincarnation; what was once considered a gift of immortality has become an eternity of nightmares.
   Nadia Richards lives in a world plagued by reincarnation, a system of recycling souls where all past memories, personalities and traumatic events are relived daily in disjointed sequences. Trapped within their own warped realities, not even the richest and most powerful are saved from their own minds unravelling. Madness is the new human nature, and civilisations are crumpling beneath themselves trying to outrun it.
   Within a society that ignores death, Nadia appears to be the one exception to the reincarnation trap. Born without any reincarnated memories and with printless eyes, the hot tempered 19-year-old quickly becomes the ultimate prize to all those wishing to end the vicious cycle, or for some, to ensure they could evade death forever.
3. Pandora Sequence by Alex James
   A tour-de-force meta-thriller from Alex James (Venus IA) that dives headlong into the mythologies that are resonant in the world today – conspiracy, the alien agenda, and radical planetary change.
   Mitch Pyne is starting to realise that his premonitions – of a devastating Los Angeles earthquake – might be real.
   In one night, down-on-his-luck Mitch will have his world turned upside down: a shocking phone call from a woman who knows more about his life than he does; a mysterious gift from an old friend – who has just been brutally murdered somewhere in the jungles of Peru… and the sudden return of the beautiful woman Mitch has loved all his life.
   Thrust into a world he never knew existed, Mitch is forced to confront a strange new reality – a twilight world in which no-one can be trusted… but in which he will be forced to choose sides.
4. The Great Spoon Heist by Sam Colbran
   Many stories blossom from the folk of Favinonia, from myths and legends to recent heroic acts of now. All will be uncovered in Favinonian Tales.
   Set two weeks after the events of Lake Merrin.
   At a stately dinner at Count Darel’s Mansion, WayWocket discovers that there was fake silver cutlery at the high table.
   After hearing this information and realising he could use it to gain favour with the Count, Klaus Handwerk, an up-and-coming lumber merchant, hires the Rejects to find the source of these forgeries.
   Delve into this new adventure with Joan Stillwater, Gunner Nessuno of the Green, WayWocket Basteln and Lone Solo as they find out there is more at stake than just cutlery.
5. Chosen by Shayla Morgansen
   Chosen is an urban fantasy novel and is book one in The Elm Stone Saga. The White Elm council has governed the magical societies of the world for centuries, keeping the peace, leading the way of the light, but when popular and powerful Lisandro announces his intention to leave the council, a line is drawn in the sand.
   Young Irish sorceress Aristea Byrne jumps at the opportunity to compete for a coveted position as an apprentice to the White Elm and quickly finds her powers blossoming. Under the tutelage of the council at their Academy she awakens skills she never knew she had. As she finds herself drawn more into the council’s unfamiliar world, and in particular into the web of mystery surrounding council rebel Renatus, she starts to wonder how much is still within her control and how much has been chosen for her…
6. Blank by Sabrina Raven
   Confined to Oasis after the war, people are genetically matched via matching birth marks. City Ordinance makes sure mutagen free status is maintained. But in a world of marked people, what happens when you’re blank?
7. The Wandmaker’s Apprentice by Mitchell Tierney
   Claude Wells has been hired as an apprentice for the reclusive wandmaker Abraham Crenshaw.
   When a mysterious figure arrives in town, they must reveal the true reason for his arrival.
   Magic has been hidden and pushed underground, but has suddenly made a resurgence.
   What is the cause of this sudden upheaval?
   The wandmaker has been instructed to make a lethal wand, guards start to fill the streets of Shrub Oak.
   The cathedral is suddenly locked with chains.
   Claude and Abraham must protect the city, uncover the mystery and stop the unknown visitor from fulfilling his plans.
8. The Laughing Man by Robert J Barlow
   When Adam is saved from monsters by a strange man in a coat he is shown a secret world, a world full of gods and monsters, angels and demons, a world at war.
   He is given an ultimatum, head to another dimension and gain power, or never be safe again. Guided by a soldier, a lunatic in a magic hat, and a spider (by adoption) he is taken to meet the Laughing One, a strange creature who seeks to teach him to reach his potential.
   But beset by the emotionless Legate, the violent Ursas, the mysterious Kings Man and their army of monsters, and without even a clear idea of what’s going on, how can he hope to survive in this strange new world?
   And even if he does reach the end of his path, will he recognise himself in the Laughing Man he is becoming?
9. Half Blood by Lauren Dawes
   “Swallowing her pained sounds, she forced the fear from her eyes. ‘You killed me,’ she breathed, swallowing down on the hard lump in her throat. It wasn’t often that someone got an opportunity to come face to face with their killer.”
   A battle for werewolf territory and rights has Rhett fighting for his life and for the survival of the pack. The last half blood—a half human, half vampire hybrid—has been found and Rhett has been chosen as her unlikely Guardian. The pack’s survival hangs on her completing her transformation, but a Sicarii—a vampire assassin—is hunting her to ensure that never happens …
   Indigo’s hard exterior is nothing compared to the dark secret she carries within her. Her haunted eyes alone tell of her struggle and desire to live. But what she doesn’t know is that she is hard-wired for survival; the very blood in her veins and the legacy of her father demands it. But when her life takes a violent turn, her heritage and her fate may be the very thing to get her killed …
10. Amity by Danica Peck
    No matter how far you run, fate will catch you.
    Amity believes that fate has dealt her a bad hand of cards. She is bonded with the brother of the man she loves and cursed to live a lifestyle that will turn her village against her.
    Wes is cursed for loving a girl that leaves town after bonding with him, making his heart ache for her, despite being able to feel her heartbeats within his own chest.
    When Wes’s brother Nicholas is murdered, Amity returns to avenge him. But do sparks fly between the bond of Amity and Wes or do to many complications arise upon her return?
11. The Stray by Amanda Geisler
    Life has been anything but easy for Rya Garcia, and life isn’t going to get any easier. With a rogue werewolf in town, humans are closer than ever to discovering the pack’s existence. Meanwhile old and new enemies begin to stir, making secrecy the least of Rya’s concern.
12. Reflection of Fire by Annalise Azevedo
    Golden Cliff is an isolated town in Wyoming with dark secrets – unfortunately for some they are forced to learn the hard way. When a new student arrives in their town, Laria Alfero discovers that she is a descendant of shape shifters and the last Alfero – a gifted individual. Upon awakening her power, Laria soon learns that her childhood friend Brodie Forte is also a shape shifter and that the stranger, Jason Amarel, has a mystery following him. Together, the three will go on a path that pushes them to learn the truth of their origins which changes the future of the town forever. They will face the very threat that is slowly creeping towards the town as they try to not get sucked into the darkness along the way.
13. Inner Reflection by J. J. Fryer
    Anastasia Larson, a young girl with Asperger’s Syndrome, is about to start her first day of high school. However, she soon discovers that she has awoken a magical ability. She and her friend, Fletcher, are thrown into a hidden world where other people with special needs have powers too. She soon realises that there are a few obstacles in the way to find out who she truly is.
14. Seraphympire by Renee Spyrou
    The world is on the verge of apocalypse. A designer drug contaminated with a mutated strain of the Porphyria virus, V5, has hit the streets of London. Humans are on the threshold of an evolutionary change that will bring about their extinction – they no longer need to be bitten to become Vampires. An ancient artefact, the Trinian Globe, has been stolen, and a sinister force is preparing to take control of Earth’s hidden gateways. Makayla Uriel is the one being that can stop the world’s inevitable destruction; and the one person least likely to. She lives on the edge – the fringe of a world that is not her own – where legend is reality. Most days she wants to escape what she is, a Seraphympire, a Vampire Seraphim with two souls, and a craving for rare bloods. When she is saddled with a new partner, she is forced to confront her demons – realising that it’s alright to trust another, even if it means sacrificing all that she has ever known. The clock is ticking. Will Makayla and an elite group of warriors, the Shadow Seekers, save the inhabitants of Earth from annihilation? Can they stop the global distribution of V5 and discover who is behind the burgeoning Newblood infestation before it’s too late? More importantly, will they recover the Trinian Globe before it’s used to destroy Earth? Who will triumph?
15. Neveah by Jessica Gleave
    Duty always comes before love.
    Neveah has seen that her whole life. She is after all the daughter of the Sun and Moon, who have put their weather duties before their love. Growing up she struggles to find her place in the Sky Realm, where everyone has a duty except her. And there are some who believe she shouldn’t exist.
    When tragedy strikes, Neveah decides to take up the sword, fighting against Niall the Cloud and his family and their quest for power over the Sky. During one such battle against the Storm twins, Neveah finds herself falling to the Land Below.
    Now Neveah must make her way back up to the Sky so that her parents will separate breaking the eclipse they make when they come together.
    Blaxton will help anyone in need. So when a young woman asks him for directions to get to Fingerpoint Mountain he decides to guide her there himself.
    As the two travelling companions continue their journey, their attraction to one another grows. But neither can confide to each other who they really are.
    The Monteris King hears rumours of the female warrior. He knows who Neveah really is and wishes to take her for his bride.
    Can Neveah get back to the Sky Realm before the Land Below is plunged into eternal darkness or will her heart make her want to stay with someone who accepts her for who she is?
16. Femme by Delia Strange
    A science fantasy with a touch of romance.
    A utopian world with a touch of slavery.
    Kaley Blackburn is sent to Femme in her final year of Future Tech studies. The world is a socialist utopia of low crime, great health and advancements in technology that leave other worlds envious.
    It is a fantastic place to visit if you’re a woman. Men, on the other hand, are the slaves that tend to all feminine desires. Kaley knew about the world’s culture of slavery but never had to face it until she is assigned a slave, Mecca, for the duration of her stay.
    Mecca is handsome, intelligent and obedient, but every answer he gives to Kaley’s questions only feed her growing concerns. Does Femme hide an ugly truth beneath its beautiful surface and can she trust her feelings for a man whose sole duty is to make her feel special?
17. The Siege of Masada by Jodie Lane
    An ancient fortress … A desperate last stand … Trapped in a time she doesn’t belong … Will Gwyn change the course of history just to survive? On holiday from university with her family in Israel, Gwyn stumbles across a strange device while exploring the ruins of Masada. She is unwittingly thrown back two thousand years in time to the bloody siege between the Roman invaders and fiercely nationalistic Jewish defenders. Blending in is her only option to stay alive; but can she escape before the siege comes to a head? Meanwhile, Michelle is the Time Space Agent from the year 2623 AD trying to escape her enemies and recover her lost time machine, all while inadvertently stumbling on a dangerous political plot. The clock is ticking as Gwyn and Michelle’s timelines hurtle towards each other in this historical adventure based on the real events of Roman conquest in Ancient Judea. The actions of these two time travellers, born centuries apart, will impact not just each other’s survival, but the fates of past and future worlds alike.
18. Legacy Hunter series by Chris Heinicke and Kate Reedwood
    Stardrives.
    Powerful, beautiful, bio-mimetic energy in its purest form. A benevolent gift meant to launch humanity into a new age of space travel. They were the hope for the future. The key to the next stage in human discovery.
    But every gift has its price.
    Nearly a thousand years after Earth took its place in the network of galactic commerce, the planet is depleted of resources and on the edge of collapse. Can stardrive technology bring the Earth back to life? Adventurer Axel Ryan is betting his life that it can. But there aren’t any stardrives left to be found on Earth, and ships capable of interstellar travel are hard to come by. His only choice is to enlist the aid of mercenary pirates to steal one. With the stakes high, and the future of Earth on the line, does it matter he’ll have to betray the love of his life?
19. The Adventures of Viola Stewart by Karen Carlisle
    Viola Stewart is a widowed optician with a penchant for dectectiving, who stumbles upon a secret Society of Men in Grey. Set in a Victorian steampunk fantasy world, this series has a gaslamp flavour.
20. Rilla by Ivana L Truglio
    Rilla grew up in a Paradise. A place where humans could live freely from the threat of magic and dangers of the Outworld. What most people in the Outworld weren’t aware of was that the Paradises were becoming just as dangerous to live in as their own world.
    From the very beginning, Rilla knew she was different from everyone else. Abandoned by her mother and shunned by her father, the others in her Paradise soon began to treat her as though she was invisible, or worse still, a non-conformist.
    But when an Outworlder arrives in Rilla’s Paradise just days before The Choosing, she suddenly becomes more visible than she’s ever been in her life. The balance of four lives rests with her and she is sworn to protect them. Can she possibly keep them all safe and alive when she discovers their secrets?

By Danica Peck

Connect with Danica on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and find her books in the Ouroborus online store.

Chapter One

The Streets of Yorktown

 Claude ran as fast as his feet would allow him. The cobblestones were cold and uneven. He wove through the bazaar, ducking and weaving through markets, over the top of wooden crates and through roads packed with Clydesdale horses. They saw him and raised their front hooves, slamming them down hard on the stone ground.

‘Hey!’ a rider yelled at the young boy. ‘Watch where you’re going!’

‘Sorry, Sir!’ Claude yelped, dipping his cap to him.

He pressed his back against the brick wall and quickly caught his breath. Sweat beaded on his brow so he took his flat cap off and wiped his forehead with the back of his sleeve. His shirt was covered in holes and his pants were dirty. His boots were stitched together with string and fishing line. The importance of his task suddenly struck him, and he sucked in a lungful of air and started running again.

The journey took him through the streets of Yorktown, past the church where Father Jacob was hanging his clothes on the back line.

‘Why in such a hurry, Claude Wells?’ he yelled, as Claude zipped passed him and leapt over the fence.

‘It’s father!’ Claude yelled back.

Through alleyways lined with trash and slop buckets, Claude made his way to the end of town where a small building stood amongst the taller houses. On the door was a red cross, the paint peeling and faded. He stumbled the last few steps, his lungs squeezing and gasping for air. Up the stairs, he finally paused, raising his fists and banging on the wooden door. A woman answered quickly.

‘Why are you bashing on my door? Are you trying to turn it into kindle?’

‘It’s… my… father,’ Claude begged.

‘Get up boy, I can’t have you gasping and sweating on my front porch. Come through quickly.’

The woman, who was dressed all in white, and wearing a nurse’s cap, took him through a room full of people lying on beds. Most of them had handkerchiefs covering their mouths. They were all coughing and looked gravely ill.

‘Sit here. I will fetch the doctor.’

‘But!’ Claude said, leaping to his feet.

‘Sit!’ she demanded and pointed to the chair.

Claude sat, but was unable to keep still.

Suddenly the Doctor appeared. He had blood on his apron still and his hair was dishevelled.

‘What is it boy?’ he yelled. ‘I’m in the middle of surgery!’

‘It’s father… he’s not well again.’

The Doctor looked towards the door, as if expecting to see him standing there. He looked back at the young boy.

‘I’ll be there when I can.’

‘No,’ Claude said, rushing over to him. ‘Mother said it’s bad this time. You must come now.’

‘Okay,’ the Doctor nodded, looking down at the small boy in his ragged clothes. ‘After I sew this man’s leg up, if he hasn’t lost too much blood from me being out here conversing with you, I’ll come by.’

Claude saw the woman reappear, as if her and Doctor weren’t allowed to be in the same room at the same time.

‘Thank you,’ Claude said as he headed towards the door.

‘Tell your mother it will be 4 shillings!’

Claude pushed on the door and didn’t look back. He ran into the street and up through the alley way. There were people heading down from the township to see the Doctor. They were all coughing and spitting. Claude didn’t know how they were going to pay the Doctor to come out to see them.

He headed towards home, going faster than he had before.

Chapter Two

The Sickness

Claude sat beside his father’s bed and watched his mother dampen his brow with a wet cloth. His sweating was profuse and relentless. His father complained about the heat, even though the air in the small house was chilly.

His mother picked up a jug of water and poured a little into a glass. She lifted his head and he sipped it, before spitting it out over his drenched sheets and coughing wildly.

‘When did he say he would be here, Claude?’

‘I don’t know. He didn’t say. He was fixing a man’s leg.’

Claude stood up and looked at his father. He was pale and his eyeballs had receded into their sockets. He looked ghastly.

‘Get the last of the bread,’ his mother told him. Claude did as he was told and ran to the kitchen. It was small, with shelves with no doors and a cooler box with no ice. There was a bucket of filthy water and flies buzzing around old onion skins. Under a small cloth was two slices of bread from a loaf they had brought weeks ago. Claude picked them up as if it was the last piece of bread on earth and took it back into the room. His mother took them from him and tried to feed it to her husband, but he refused.

‘You eat it,’ he told her. ‘Do not waste it on me.’

‘It’s not a waste,’ she told him. ‘Not if you get well.’

‘What if I don’t get well,’ his father said, followed by a violent cough that produced mucus on his lips.

There was a harsh banging on the door and Claude looked at his mother, who appeared afraid. He jumped to his feet and bolted for the door, swinging it open. Doctor Herbert stood on the doorstep. His shirt was stained with red and he was carrying his medical bag. He looked unpleasant.

‘Are you going to let me in, boy? Or should we wait till your father passes into the next world?’

Claude moved aside and the Doctor rushed in, looking around frantically.

‘They’re in the bedroom,’ Claude announced, pointing to the end of the hall.

The Doctor marched forward into the room, shutting the door behind him. After a little time, Claude could hear his mother crying. He crept slowly towards the door and pressed his ear to it.

‘…the sickness. There is no cure. Only rest and water and pray that it passes. I can give him something for the pain, but he is in a bad state.’

Claude knew they didn’t have 1 shilling to pay for the medicine, let alone 4 shillings for the home visit.

‘I’ll return in a week. If he gets worse, send the boy.’

The door swung open and Claude nearly fell into the room. The Doctor looked down at him with narrowed eyes.

‘Eavesdropping, boy?’

‘Will my father get better?’

‘He needs the right medicine and clean water,’ the Doctor looked around the room and marched back towards the front door. Claude followed him.

‘If he can’t work, then you must,’ the Doctor told him.

‘I can’t. I’m only 14. Apprenticeships start at 16.’

Doctor Herbert leant down, so he was face to face with Claude.

‘Ever heard about lying, boy. Either you bring in money, or….’ Doctor Herbert looked over his shoulder at the room at the end of the hall. ‘Tell the employment office I will vouch for you.’

Far down the hall he could hear his father coughing and splattering. The Doctor stood back up and stomped out of the house. Claude shut the door and slumped down to the ground.

That night, his father got worse. Due to the house only having one room, Claude slept in the small nook in the evening room where the fireplace was. There was no wood and it had not been lit for some years. His blanket was an old rug he found in the alleyway in town. He slept on rags for a mattress and his pillow was a balled-up shirt his father never wore anymore. The window above him let in moonlight. From where he lay, he could see the stars. They seemed so far away and, no matter how much he focused, he still couldn’t see what they were. He heard footsteps coming down the hall. It was his mother. She fetched more water from the bucket and returned to the room. She had been awake now for over two nights, keeping vigil over her husband. What the Doctor had said to Claude had resonated with him. It rattled around his skull like a loose marble. Tomorrow, he thought, I will go to the job market and look for an apprenticeship. I will lie about my age and get father the medicine he needs. He closed his eyes and thought no more.

Want more? Coming  mid-March!

The last year of the twenty-teens has been a big one for many, and the crew at Ouroborus Books are no exception. For today’s blog, our authors answered some candid questions about the year that was, and the decade to come.

First, some 2019 stats:

New books published: 4

(Children of the Locomotive, Haunted, Amity and Eye of the Storm)

Total words published: 387,501

Blog posts: 26

Now, onto the all-important questions and answers!

Sum up 2019 in a single sentence

Annalise: For me, 2019 has been about the changes in my life and that it can take a lot out of someone.

Shayla: I think I can sum it up in two words: treading water.

Rob: “Fall down seven times, get up eight.”

What was the biggest lesson 2019 taught you?

Annalise: The biggest lesson that I got from 2019 was to do things as soon as possible. As in editing. I found editing EoS to be quite challenging, challenging enough that I actually had to rewrite some parts. I think if I had finished some things earlier, then I would’ve given myself less pressure.

Danica: 2019 was full of ups and downs, fun travels, some extreme lows. But lessons that will allow me to grow and become to person I want to be.

Sabrina: That I can be true to myself and get along just fine.

Amanda: This year I learned a lot about perseverance. It has been a very heavy year for me personally with a lot of sickness throughout the year making other parts of my life difficult. I came face to face with the state of my mental health and have had to start the process of improving my quality of life in many ways. So generally I have learned and am still learning that I need to make time for myself and do what I can, not do everything thrown at me to make people happy otherwise I will be setting myself up to fail over and over again.

Josh: To just breathe, and let things sort themselves out.

Who inspired you in 2019?

Annalise: I suppose I can’t list everyone who inspired me in 2019. I had a lot of advice given to me by Shayla, Amanda and friends I’ve treasured.

Shayla: Greta Thurnberg. Children and young people with guts and vision constantly inspire me. This girl is taking a stand that matters and I am behind that 100%.

Rob: Oh my god, so many people, it’s been an awesome year for fantasy in general! But I think my no 1 goes to Neil Gaiman, watching my idol making his dreams come true on TV was amazing.

What was your favourite read of the year?

Annalise: So it’s a fanfiction, that I never thought that I would read. I don’t often read these kinds of fiction, but I saw a comic adaptation of it which prompted me to read it. I fell in love with the writing and only wish it was completed.

Sabrina: The Institute by Stephen King.

Josh: Ash Princess by Laura Sebastian.

How did this year progress you as a writer?

Annalise: I managed to successfully edit and publish Eye of the Storm. With the revision, I decided to revise Book 3 and got down above 100,000 words completed. On top of that, I have started Book 4 again, but while that’s been slow – I think it will pick up once my personal life settles a bit.

Amanda: This year as a writer I went through a long tunnel that had no end in sight. I was having trouble finding my way back to writing after life had gotten in the way and forced me to brush it aside. Since I use my writing as a creative outlet my mental health suffered due to this and I had to work to get through the tunnel and over the wall that was holding me back. Now I am back in the writing game, stronger than ever and writing my new books to the best of my ability and around my important life events.

Did you meet your 2019 goals?

Annalise: Did I meet my personal 2019 goals? Yes. On top of that, I have met some goals I had for 2020, such as getting a new car and finally getting a house to enjoy. Did I meet my writing goals? I like to say I did, but I kinda gave my series a soft reboot so I couldn’t finished my final book of the series.

Josh: No.

Shayla: Neither, I got totally derailed.

Amanda: In short, no. At the start of the year I knew I wanted to try and finish at least The White Wolf Trilogy (TWWT). I haven’t even managed that, because of the tunnel I found myself in and I struggled to find the end. I have now set new goals for the new year and I hope that they are more achievable than this year’s with my schedule.

What are your main goals for 2020?

Annalise: Writing-wise, I would like Book 4 to be finished and if I get enough funds I should be able to send Book 3 off to publishing.

Danica: Mine is to focus on my series Battles of Azriel. For I would like to publish book 3, get book 4 into editing and writing book 5. Let’s hope I can stay focused enough.

Sabrina: More writing. This year has been a hard one for me time-wise so I want to get some set time for writing next year.

Josh: Definitely get more of book 2 done.

Amanda: I really only have one writing goal for the new year, that is to finish writing TWWT. I have now started writing the final book so I believe this is completely doable. I have this goal because in 2021 I will be entering third year of my uni studies and I know I won’t get very much time to write. To allow for my readers to have closure before this time I want to have the books ready to go so that I don’t feel stressed about my writing projects during heavy study times. I still plan to write while I have heavier study, though nothing will probably be published in those two years except the third instalment of TWWT. As far as non-writing related goals go, I want to continue to better my physical and mental health that I have already started the journey for, I just want to maintain my current routine in regards to this and help better my general health as a whole.

What can readers anticipate from you in the new year?

Annalise: If I had an evil moustache, I would be twirling it. I have plans to publishing a free-to-read trivia from the Sacred Stone. I’m hoping to get some more lore down once things start settling. With everything going on, I have to see how I go though.

Shayla: New year, new author brand! I’m launching my newsletter, finally.

Rob: Well if I can get my mundane life together and scratch up the cash for it I’ll be publishing book 3, The Red Gentleman next year. It features Xavier at his most, excitable.

Grand plans for the ‘20s?

Annalise: First off, I want to start getting into my career. This way I will be able to feel mentally and physically satisfied. Hopefully with some funds, I want to be able to publish the remainder of the books and try to sell them at Dymocks. Which can only be sold in Perth because… haha… there’s nothing up here.

Sabrina: Take over the world!

Amanda: Really for the 20s I will be progressing from my 20s to my 30s. With my impending wedding in 2020 and university graduation set for 2022, I will be setting myself up in the teaching profession and cruising towards domestic bliss, and hopefully the beginning of starting a family with my husband to be. Writing-wise I will be entering into a new project next year and while I finish my studies so I am hoping to bring my new project to life with some world building and story development as we progress throughout the decade.

Very importantly: what’s on your wish list this Christmas?

Annalise: A pony! Haha not really. Poor thing would be squashed in this place. But I haven’t really thought of things I wanted.

Shayla: A pony is on my wish list every single year. Instead I have asked for tickets to German Comic Con in June because they don’t need to be fed as much.

Danica: Well I’d like a plane ticket that will take me to Africa or Egypt but I’ll settle for a new computer to help the writing progress.

 

From Amanda, Annalise, Danica, Josh, Mitchell, Rob, Sabrina and Shayla.

Although this topic may be taboo, or not talked about at all, writing on medication can be an obstacle. When I first started anti-anxiety medication, I thought it would affect my writing. I figured it would stifle the flow of ideas by making my brain zombified and non-creative. In fact, I found that it didn’t affect my writing at all, but I was lucky. It’s not this way for everyone.

A lot of writers I know are on some form of anti-depression or anxiety meds, in fact, most people I know, regardless of being creative, are on something. It isn’t something to be hidden or ashamed of: I embrace my anxiety disorder and tell people that the medication changed my life for the better. I remember thinking, when I first started it, ‘If this affects my writing, I’m not taking it.’ I was prepared to have panic attacks and be anxious in order to keep my creative output flowing. Luckily, my meds didn’t interfere with my writing, so I was able to overcome the panic attacks and keep writing.

Some medication will obviously not work in this way, it will make you numb, and it will stop the flow of writing. As with all meds, you can switch and change (under the supervision of your advising physician) until you find one that fits with your life. I’ve taken different medication before, and the one I’m on now has made me cloudy. You feel like you haven’t woken up properly. Your body is moving and you’re speaking, but you aren’t all there. In time the cloud moves along, and you return to semi-normal, then after even longer, normal. It’s important to take care of your mental health first, then work with your doctor to try and get on a path back to the keyboard.

It isn’t anything to be ashamed of, or kept secret, but if you feel uncomfortable telling people, then it’s just between you and your GP. You might find other people are on the same medication or can give you opinions of meds that they took and liked or didn’t like. I’m on Effexor. I take it at night, so if the cloud comes in, I’m asleep. I don’t get anxiety anymore and my writing has continued on as normal. What’s happened for the better is, I don’t spend weekends stressing and fretting about something at work; it gets pushed aside and then I’m allowed to write uninterrupted. For me, that’s an improvement. If your mental health is interfering with your creative processes, your productivity and your overall wellbeing, consult with doctor about options, because it doesn’t have to be this way.

Mitchell Tierney

If you or someone you know are having issues and need to talk to someone please approach your doctor or click here for a list of helplines worldwide.

Writers and authors use a variety of ways to plan their projects. As I’ve mentioned in previous blogs I’m not much of a planner, I do however have my research and I have tried a few different programs to help me sort through all of my notes.

As far as programs go, I give it a solid 9/10.

This program has a lot of uses that makes it worth the $45AUD one-off cost. It updates your program and as far as I’m aware it is a lifetime subscription. Once such thing I came across while playing with the program was the name generator. You can put in a variety of different settings and it will provide you with names that fit your description, and you can even look up name meanings.

The basic layout for a fiction novel set-up is relatively easy to follow. It has a manuscript section where you can make a tab for each of your chapters then you are able to export the file and it will hopefully come out as a fully formatted novel. I haven’t tried this part of the program yet as I prefer to complete my manuscripts in Microsoft Word for easier reading and editing.

You can also create character profiles within the program which I found extremely useful, especially now that I am gaining more characters and venturing into the second book with them, it is important for me to remember who is who and how they are related to the main plot. Without this section of Scrivener I would be lost, I would be constantly reading through The Stray to make sure everything is correct. Similar to the characters section of the program you can create places. Describing a new place and need to know all the information later on, the best place to store it is in that section. For both the characters and the places Scrivener provides a basic template that you can edit to suit your project needs.

You do also have the option to make extra areas, which is what I do. I make extra folders and corkboards that allow me to put my mythologies and species histories and connections into a database of some kind. You can also create extra template sheets for later use if you require them in other projects.

Scrivener is a very useful program for me and I’m not even using it to its full capacity. I think this program is fantastic for its price and would be useful to almost any writer beginning or published. I’m looking forward to giving Scrivener’s sister program, Scrapple, a try whilst I plan and write the rest of the White Wolf Trilogy. For only $15AUD it’s worth a try.
~Amanda

You can follow Amanda on Facebook, Twitter and on her website, and The Stray is available from our webstore.

This week is Book Week in Australia. I was blessed to grow up in a house of books, where the written word was not only respected but adored. Thanks to my mother, I was a gifted reader before I started school so I flourished amongst the library books that I could now get from two libraries (local and school) and the all-important book catalogues. Not sure if that last sentence ages me but Lucky, Arrow and Star were words that sent my heart soaring. My mum managed to get my teachers to get me all three catalogues even in Year 1 and 2 (they were for different ages) and I’d beg for books from all three. My first set in Year 1 was the Narnia box set which is long gone, water damaged when I was about 10 and replaced about five years later, reuniting me with Aslan.

And then I discovered Book Week. Books AND costumes? My dreams had come true. I did Bo-Peep, a space captain, a witch, a clown… so many costumes. And I was blessed with a mum who could sew and be crafty, so I had a ball.

Book Week was established in 1945 by the Children’s Book Council of Australia. It was “founded at a time when Australian children’s books were few, and Australian authors and illustrators were virtually unknown. In 1946 the CBCA established annual book awards to promote books of high literary and artistic quality. These awards are now the most influential and highly respected in Australia.”¹

As an author and illustrator, I look back and realise the Book Week was such a huge part in my journey to becoming who I am today, with the encouragement of my book-loving mother, by instilling joy in reading. The yearly themes were never important (although I happily used them for costume ideas) but seeing my school come to life in a flurry of colour and excitement over books, my favourite thing in the world, kept the storyteller and artist inside me alive.

Now I see a new generation of kids (and amazing teachers) embracing Book Week, through my friends’ kids and my nephew and nieces. Watching the new generation of readers embracing books with two hands and enjoying the written word makes me so happy. I don’t have kids of my own but I try to inspire the same love of books in my nieces and nephew, who all have amazing imaginations and artistic flair. I hope that they hold on to the love of stories, the love of books, long into their futures.

To anyone out there with kids, READ to your children. Make them excited for books. Make them want to go on adventures in Narnia, Middle Earth, Hogwarts, Hundred Acre Woods, Neverland and all the magical places they can escape to, even if its on a screen, reading is reading. But if you can, this Book Week, celebrate the joy of the written words and all the places that it can take them, and yourself.

All pictures here are courtesy of, and with permission from, parents I know and love and their kids, and there’s even a few of me.

~Sabrina

You can find out more about Sabrina RG Raven at her website, Facebook or Instagram and her books can be purchased from the Ouroborus Books online store.

 ¹ http://www.cbca.org.au/about