P.D.Blake

Demon Gate

2012-02-19T07:02:00.000-08:00

Michael Mortain inherits more than just wealth when his uncle dies in a freak accident. He also takes on Friedrich’s magic, a rare power coveted by the insane witch, Morga, and her pet gamora. In a world of darkness and witchcraft Michael soon finds himself fighting for his life and that of the woman he loves, whilst evading the clutches of the inquisition in a bloody clash of magic and religion.

In the sleepy village of Richstein Michael Mortain finds himself the new master of Driesden House, and more, he discovers the charms of the local apothecarist, Annarina Anstein. But not all is as tranquil as it seems and Michael's new life is turned upside down with the arrival of a mysterious witch hunter and the widow of a recently slain merchant.

Michael's soon finds himself the target of an insane witch and her unwilling demon, but can the White Coven help him unlock the secrets of Uncle Friedrich's power, escape the clutches of the inquisition and save Annarina before Morga can unleash the forces of hell?

Get 50% off at Smashwords until 29th February 2012 by using coupon code LR67W

Available now at Smashwords and coming soon to Amazon Kindle

Breathing life into an old tale

2012-02-13T08:34:00.000-08:00

Ok, this is what I'm working on at the moment. It's dark fantasy with a bit of steam punk thrown in for good measure. I first started writing this about eight years ago. The first draft was horrible. The story and plot was there but the writing skills just hadn't developed.

A couple of years ago I rewrote it, all 120k of it, and now I've dusted it off and started editing it. I've liked this story for a long time and think it deserves telling.

Anyway, it's not far off now and, between bouts of editing, I've created a cover for it.

And a bit of blurb, definitely subject to change:

Michael Mortain inherits more than just wealth when his uncle dies in a freak accident. He also takes on Friedrich’s magic, a rare power coveted by the insane witch, Morga, and her pet gamora. In a world of darkness and witchcraft Michael soon finds himself fighting for his life and that of the woman he loves, whilst evading the clutches of the inquisition in a bloody clash of magic and religion.

The Black Cat Cleaning Co.

2012-02-07T11:44:00.000-08:00

The end of times is nigh and Aristel must rescue a fairy maiden from the great dragon to stop it happening, but he doesn't reckon with falling through reality and landing in a council flat in Little Rhampton.

Meanwhile, Kevin has just lost his job, but things seem to be turning a little brighter when a witch flicks a bit of good luck his way. He comes into money and meets the girl of his dreams, only to find that witches never do anything for nothing and Sally isn't quite what she seems.

The local council is planning to let developers knock down Carswell House and build a housing estate, and Mac the Hat is behind all the dodgy dealing to make it happen. Affordable housing is all very well, but not when a gate between worlds is at stake. There's more to Carswell House than just dry rot and rising damp and Kevin is recruited to help the witches stop the development and get Aristel home.

In a world of magic and mystery entwined with the everyday, mundane reality that we dwell in and with a cast of immortal druids, demonic cats, flying vacuums, witches and wannabes, The Black Cat Cleaning Co. pits good against evil, cunning against stupidity and everyone against the clock to save the world from greedy pen pushers.

The Black Cat Cleaning Co. is available now from Smashwords

Coming soon to Amazon.....

...and breathe.

2012-02-02T13:36:00.000-08:00

I've been a bit quiet lately. I've been busy writing, lots. Especially the last couple of weeks. I've finished the first draft of a novella and I'm currently doing a short.

I've got a bit of proof reading and some editing to do yet, but it won't be long before the next book is released. I already have the cover art done:

I'll leave you to guess what it's about until I get a blurb done:)

New Year, New Plots

2012-01-07T05:29:00.000-08:00

Well, that's Christmas done with. The hangover's about gone and the muse has woken up again at last. I'm having a rest from Ironarm for a little while, though I do have plenty of plots and a whole world for him to play in yet. But for now it's time for something different.

I have a new novel plotted and all mapped out. I've written the first few scenes already, and even have a couple of shorts banging about inside my head. One of them might even get sent to WOTF. Who knows?

Looks like a busy few months ahead.

Christmas Freebie

2011-12-14T11:05:00.000-08:00

It's almost Winterval and George gets more than he bargained for from his new job when his boss, Ricket the loanshark goblin, targets the old lady who lives alone in the Old Forest. Times are hard but there are things even a troll shouldn't have to lower himself to.

But George soon discovers that Betty Clause is an old woman with a dark secret, a very famous grandson and some special guests in the cellar.

Supported by a cast of half naked elves, angry fairies and drunken gnomes, George finds himself embracing the spirit of the season as only a troll can.

A Job of Debt is available now, FREE, at Smashwords - a little gift from me to you.

The Frozen North - Here at Last

2011-12-11T09:30:00.000-08:00

Alwyn finally has Thorgrim Ironarm under control and has returned to Green Delving, where he not only owns half of The Golden Sword inn but has fallen for Polly, the new smith's daughter. With life looking rosier than it ever has before, the last thing Alwyn wants is more trouble from the dwarven slayer's past.

But when Green Delving is attacked by ice elves Alwyn is once again forced to call on the power and memories of the ancient dwarf in his head. His travels take him through the forests of the fae and across the Silver Sea to the frozen lands of the north where he must take on the Silvan, long since gone from the world, the shades of a race ages dead and their insane, immortal masters.

Avoiding the long reaching magic of the Silvan, Alwyn and his companions must find a way to the dead city of Al Theranis, to discover a race in conflict with itself, a lost tribe and a power even Thorgrim Ironarm cannot face.

Available now from Smashwords and coming soon to Amazon.

Getting Closer

2011-11-29T23:56:00.000-08:00

I've typed up the edits for The frozen North. All that's left to do now is to give it a last read through (catch those last few typos) and get it ready to publish. Ideally I want it ready for Christmas.

Also, in time for Christmas, I'm doing a short/novella length work, which will be given away free by one means or another. It's along the lines of Tales From Under the Bridge and involves trolls, goblins, gnomes, little old ladies and seasonal goings on.

At last!

2011-11-24T10:04:00.000-08:00

The hard copy editing on The Frozen North (third Ironarm Novel) is done. Now to type it up and do a final proofing.

Fast reply, utter confusion

2011-11-10T10:46:00.000-08:00

I sent a query to an agent in London on 11/04/11, they sent my SAE back on 14/04/11, a rejection. It arrived yesterday, via Jersey with, surprise, not enough postage on it.

I'm a twit, or twitterer, or tweeter, or something

2011-11-09T11:08:00.000-08:00

I've taken the plunge and joined twitter. You can follow me (or not) by following the blatantly obvious link in the side bar to the right.

Making 140 character posts should be good practice for removing superfluous prose.

Tales From Under the Bridge - Review

2011-11-08T10:26:00.000-08:00

Tales From Under the Bridge has just received its first review, from Ron C. Nieto at Stories of my life, and it's pretty good.

Remember, remember

2011-11-05T07:40:00.000-07:00

Writing has sort of crawled to a halt at the moment. I'm busy editing the third installment of the Ironarm Novels, The Frozen North. I hope to get it out in time for Christmas so I'm throwing all my time at that. At the same time I'm plotting a new novel, something completely different, and fleshing out characters for it.

It's bonfire night tonight so there'll be no writing or editing. Instead I'll be making pumpkin soup and letting off fireworks.

As well as bonfire night it's also very nearly Remembrance Day so, as well as buying one of my books, go here and show your appreciation, and don't forget to wear your poppy with pride.

$0.99 Promotion.

2011-10-16T06:43:00.000-07:00

To celebrate the release of Tocks, the second Ironarm novel, we are pleased to reveal that, until 30th November, you can purchase the first novel in the series, The Long Way Home for the very special price of $0.99. Just go to Smashwords and add the book to your basket and use the promotional code DK24K.

Feel free to pass this code on to your friends

Giveaway Winners

2011-10-14T10:36:00.000-07:00

The Long Way Home book giveaway at http://www.fantasybookreview.co.uk/ has finished and the ten lucky winners have been notified.

If you are one of them I hope you enjoy your prize and would appreciate any feedback you'd care to give.

Tocks - The Second Ironarm Novel

2011-10-09T11:49:00.000-07:00

Tocks, the second Ironarm novel, is available now from Smashwords and Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and various other incarnations of Amazon.

With the ghost of Thorgrim Ironarm a permanent resident in his head, Alwyn, a simple potboy from Green Delving, makes his way to Dwarfingate, the ancestral homeland of the dwarves. His desperate journey to rid himself of the shade of the dwarven slayer takes him across the sea and to the other side of the world, encountering treachery on the high seas and an ancient dwarven menace.

Travelling with his mercenary friends, Alwyn witnesses the near destruction of Dwarfingate, the demise of the Runemasters and discovers the truth behind Ironarm's imprisonment in the amulet when an evil, created by the dwarves themselves, comes back to haunt them and threaten the world.

Alwyn is forced to find the last of the Runemasters and rescue him from the clutches of the Tocks and their master, Timecks, if he is ever to purge his mind of the mad dwarf who haunts it.

Editing Process

2011-09-25T11:00:00.000-07:00

I'm currently editing the second Ironarm novel, Tocks, the sequel to The Long Way Home. I'm doing this at the same time as writing the fourth installment if the series, tentatively titled Beasts, for now. The third is written and being sat on for the moment.

My editing process usually means sitting on a draft while I write the next project and edit the last one. Editing consists of a full, double spaced print out. I read this and tear it to bits with a red pen, before correcting and rewriting where I need to. The second edit is usually done on screen and corrected as I go. Then I do that second edit again, just to make sure.

That's where I'm currently at with Tocks and, after all that prior editing and chopping, it's looking pretty good and I'm on schedule for an October release still.

So, coming soon: Tocks - The second Ironarm novel

Once this one is released I can stop sitting on the third one , The Frozen North. I think it'll probably be warm enough by now.

The Long Way Home - Book Giveaway

2011-09-15T03:41:00.000-07:00

Those nice people at The Fantasy Book Review are giving away 10 copies of The Long Way Home. All you have to do is enter here and answer a simple question.

I'll give you a clue. The answer is at my website on the Books page.

The competition runs until the 14th October.

The Long Way Home - Out Now

2011-09-05T10:34:00.000-07:00

I've released my first novel. It's available now at Smashwords and Amazon. The Long Way Home is the first in a series. I have one more planned for imminent release, one being edited and one only just being written.

When his home is destroyed by a jarock Alwyn, a potboy from Green Delving, is stuck on the wrong side of the mountains with a band of mercenaries, a twelve year old ogre and with the ghost of an insane ancient dwarven slayer, Thorgrim Ironarm, haunting his head.

In the capital city of Rhull a princess goes missing and Marius Rectus, a lowly deputy sheriff and his loyal dog, Boot, are sent to find her, unaware that someone has been sent to find them too.

Alwyn and Marius must adventure from different ends of the Empire to take home an ogre, rescue a princess who doesn't want rescuing and prevent a blood thirsty necromancer and a highly placed traitor from plunging the Empire of Albian into civil war and, with luck, rid Alwyn of the insane Thorgrim Ironarm.

Available now from the links on the top right.

Going Kindle

2011-08-21T11:15:00.001-07:00

Well, I've gone and done it. Tales From Under The Bridge is now available on Kindle. I was going to wait until I could sort out an ITIN for the US IRS. An ITIN is, simply speaking, a tax number so that you use to let the people paying you royalties not to withhold 30% of them for the IRS. In order to get an ITIN you need to fill in paperwork and send it off with a letter from whoever is paying your royalties. Then send that number to them so they can legal pay you the full amount.

It all seems quite straight forward but it means waiting until I am eligible to get a letter from Smashwords. Amazon, as far as I can tell, just flat out refuse to give anyone a letter at all. It's all a bit daunting to be honest and I'd much rather be writing stories than filling out forms.

In any case, I decided to just go for it and put the book on Amazon anyway.

Now I just need to finish off preparing the first novel for publication. It may seem as though I'm rushing ahead with it, but I have three in a series already written, with the plot for a fourth stewing away in my head. The first is almost ready, the second in the process of being edited and the third is a finished first draft.

I estimate about a month before the first is released, and will pop out updates as I go.

Tales From Under the Bridge

2011-08-14T12:29:00.000-07:00

Ok, It's ready and I feel like a little kid waiting for Christmas morning. The book is edited, polished to as near perfection as I can get it, formatted to Smashword's specifications and has a pretty nice cover.

It's been shoved through Smashword's meatgrinder and is now available. I've set the price at $2.99 and intend to publish on Kindle too, but I'm holding on until I can sort out an ITIN before I go that route. More on that tangle of red tape in a future post though. For now, here it is.

Tales From Under the Bridge, all you ever wanted to know about trolls, and a few things you probably didn't. Life and death, myth and legend, magic and mayhem, all rolled up into six fabulous stories that lift the lid off the dark world of these wonderful, horrible creatures. With a supporting cast of drunken gnomes and angry fairies, Tales From Under the Bridge drags trolls out of the darkness, kicking, fighting, biting, drinking, belching and farting, into the light of day. Just don't expect them to be happy about it.

Join these marvellous monsters as they practice their own, well, different, flavour of magic in a school for troll wizards. Observe them prepare for parenthood, question their morals and fight for their bridges. Experience their seasonal festivals and intrude upon their mating habits. Prepare to witness secrets never before revealed.

Coming soon to B&N, Kobo, Apple and Sony

And now, I can get on with publishing my first novel.

Almost There

2011-08-11T13:12:00.000-07:00

I've finished the last story in my anthology and now I have a lot of editing, revising, compiling and messing around with formats to suit Kindle and Smashwords.

I've broken the whole hideous lot down into a series of tasks, thrity eight in all, that I will do, in order, one at a time. Thankfully I already have the cover done. Something I can thank a brief stint in 3D art and modelling for. I'll may reveal that particular chicken later on, once the rest of the eggs have hatched.

Another one bites the dust

2011-08-07T13:17:00.000-07:00

Just finished a 15k short. I'm starting a 6k story next (but it may grow), the last in an anthology. I'll tell you all more about it once it's all done, dusted, edited, cleaned, polished and packed up into e-book format.

Targets

2011-07-23T07:53:00.000-07:00

It seems that the whole world revolves around targets these days, but I find I write better and more frequently if I set my set goals and targets.

Each book or short story I write gets outlined to some degree. Some are so detailed that they make little stories all by themselves. Others are just a few lines that give a general gist of each scene I intend to write. I tend to decide what kind of word count I am aiming for right from the start so I can set a finish date once I start the writing proper.

My target is 1000 words a day and I usually hit it on weekdays. I struggle a little at weekends but, now and then, I manage to find a quiet moment. Like today, the house was pretty quiet and I sat in the garden amongst the chickens and hit my target on my netbook. Admittedly, once I finally looked up the chooks had pulled up my kohl rabi to make a dust bath, but I hit my target.

First Post - What This Blog is About

2011-07-23T07:46:00.000-07:00

I've started this blog as a place where people can get to know me and from where I can let the world know just how my writing exploits are going, what my targets are and, ultimately, when my books will be released on the unsuspecting public.

Currently I am working on a collection of short stories to be published as an anthology. This will, hopefully, be ready and out on Kindle inintially before Christmas. I am toying with the idea of putting it out on Smashwords too and eventually as a proper hard copy vie Createspace, though I will stick to ebooks for the time being.