Greetings Friends!
Much has happened since my last newsletter which was written before this blog was created, and thus is not archived here. I’ll start off with my normal life – which is sufficiently different to my writing life. The last few weeks have been pretty full on with tonnes of study for exams and assignments to be finished. I hate doing assignments, they seem to me to be a waste of time; an evil plan hatched by the teachers to destroy people’s souls and leave them but a gray shadow of their former self. If that was true, I certainly wouldn’t be attending school.
Anyway, all my exams are over, I had my last one on Wednesday 19 September. Well, technically I had two, but I count them as one. Now my two week break looms ever nearer, starting the day after tomorrow. It would be all well and good and allow me to pursue my interests, but for two sneaky assignments that have crept stealthily upon me. Anyway, besides that, I have a week of tennis training, will be getting together with some friends, and working on the notes and plan for my books. (Notice I said “books” and not “trilogy”? There’s a reason for that.
A few weeks ago, a friend of mine broke an art room window. He denies that he ever did so, but all the evidence pointed to him. And those that were with him including me were interviewed by the secondary principal. To cut a long story short, my friend now has the bill for the window. At least I think he does, but you never know. I suspect that the staff have already forgotten about it.
Now onto the topic that I’m sure most of you have been waiting for – what is happening to me on the writing front? Well, first off I’ll say that things are expanding themselves better than I expected, yet I have fallen behind on where I should be. In my last newsletter (I think), I stated that the plan of Volume I in the trilogy was going well. Now Volume I will have to be redone but with six other volumes to follow it. Yes, thats right, this will now be a seven-book story, which is really only one book split into seven volumes. I’m still writing down notes and forming my world, so there’ll be no real planning of the series in an actual outline for probably a few months. But I’m having fun with the notes, in huge notebooks. Sorry, I still can’t reveal much information on what the story is about. Why? Because its not set in concrete yet.
I’ve been reading a lot lately, and have a number of books planned for the holidays. Some of these will be the Wheel of Time series by the late Robert Jordan. Also, Eldon Thompson’s Legend of Asahiel trilogy, of which volumes I and II are currently out. The book I’m reading at the moment, or rather rereading is The Silmarillion which I haven’t read for some years. When I have time, I’ll do some book reviews, but I just haven’t had any free space to do one, since it takes a lot of time and effort. Probably you’ll see one during the next two weeks on the blog.
Until next time…
May your souls stay pure
Fred Gallney
From the Desk of the Writer of High Fantasy 