tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6281366541236970652024-02-19T09:02:08.758-08:00A Million Miles from AnywhereChris Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03041048445927976912noreply@blogger.comBlogger150125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628136654123697065.post-72484444171727491222018-10-27T23:10:00.001-07:002018-10-27T23:10:49.809-07:00Next bookNot blogged in a while, but for those who still read this, my next release will be the third book in the Fire Planets Saga, Fire Rage, out on December 11th.<br />
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Pre-order is available now on all Amazon stores.<br />
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Mark your diaries!<br />
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<br />Chris Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03041048445927976912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628136654123697065.post-45487232232303681432017-11-25T06:15:00.002-08:002017-11-25T06:15:37.178-08:00The Endinfinium Series is here!At long last, my new series, set in the weird and wonderful world of Endinfinium, kicks off on December 1st, 2017 with the release of Benjamin Forrest and the School at the End of the World.<br />
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Click the picture or <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077D2WZ3B">click here</a> to check out the book on Amazon. Until the 15th of December the book will be available for a special price of $0.99, or free to KU readers.<br />
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The second in the series, The Bay of Paper Dragons, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077PMGZWG">is available for pre-order now</a>.<br />
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<br />Chris Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03041048445927976912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628136654123697065.post-4885615003217561912017-04-18T18:17:00.001-07:002017-04-18T18:17:40.987-07:00Updates AprilJust a short post to say that Warrior: Rage of the Bloodsworn, my first straight fantasy novel, is finished. It came in at a monstrous 232,000 words, by far the longest book I've ever written. My task now is to figure out whether to publish it as a single story or split it into serial sections. My gut wants to go with the first, more traditional option, but my head is telling me otherwise. Mulling it over right now ...<br />
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Now that Warrior is on the backburner, I've switched focus back to my YA fantasy series, Endinfinium. The first two books, The School at the End of the World and The Bay of Paper Dragons are finished, so I'll be giving them a thorough working over then publishing them hopefully within a couple of months. <br />
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In the meantime, if you're interested, you can download a sample of it <a href="https://instafreebie.com/free/CSf0i">right here</a>. You'll need to sign up to the Mailing List if you haven't already, but that's good because then you'll know as soo as the full book is available.<br />
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Happy reading!<br />
<br /><br />
Chris Ward<br />
April 19th 2017Chris Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03041048445927976912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628136654123697065.post-9928220600223892622017-03-05T03:37:00.001-08:002017-03-05T03:59:37.536-08:00Updates from March and some more giveaways<span style="font-size: large;">Hello all, I hope you're well. This is my first post in a while, because as usual I've not had a lot to say. I'm still hard at work on my epic fantasy, which, despite having reached mammoth proportions, I hope to finish sometime in March. Fingers crossed. I'll let you know.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Next up, a couple of promos going on that I thought you might be interested in. Big one <a href="http://www.cotronis.com/freebooks">here</a> hosted by George Cotronis, in which the eagle-eyed among you will spot one of my books halfway down. And an even bigger one <a href="http://www.cotronis.com/freebooks">here</a> is about to kick off, hosted by Dean F Wilson. If you're into any kind of speculative fiction you'll be sure to find something you like.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Finally, a mate of mine, Matthew Kadish, has a new book out soon in his popular Earthman Jack series, so if you haven't read it, you can grab the first book in the series over here at his website <a href="http://www.earthmanjack.com/">www.earthmanjack.com</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Happy reading, until next time ...!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Chris</span>Chris Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03041048445927976912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628136654123697065.post-50440666642655538382017-02-02T05:15:00.000-08:002017-02-02T05:15:29.211-08:00Updates and a bunch of free books <div style="line-height: 23px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 0px;">
<span style="font-size: 16px;"><strong>Hello again, I hope you're all well.</strong></span></div>
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First I'll get the news and updates out of the way, then I'll let you know about some cool offers going on.</div>
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January
was a bit of a quiet month for me, writing-wise. I finished editing and
published the third book in my Asian rom-sus series, meaning I could
dust my hands off and get back to my spec fic after my little genre
excursion.</div>
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First
up for Feb, I'm hoping to get some serious progress on my epic fantasy
done. I won't say "finish", because its been in progress since last June
already and is well into that old school long-time-to-write-a-book
situation that sometimes I actually miss. It's currently a little under
140,000 words, and there's no end in sight. One thing, though. It's
awesome. You're going to love it.</div>
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Once
that's out of the way, I really want to finish up my YA fantasy series.
I've got two books written, they just need to be edited. Still, I'm
trying to focus on one project at a time this year, rather than
multitasking.</div>
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Anyway,
that's about it for progress updates. Now I'd like to share with you a
couple of awesome promotions going on that I'm involved with.</div>
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There's a big one going on here at <a data-link-id="81583987" href="https://www.lincolncole.net/freebies/#sthash.ysbyx3U9.dpbs" style="color: #2ecc71; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">www.lincolncole.net</a>.
I'm a bit slow to the draw on the sci-fi one (babies and jobs tend to
do that ...!) but most of those books will still be available and there
is another one on there about to start, if romance is your thing.</div>
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Another cool sci-fi one is going on on Katherine Hayton's website <a data-link-id="81583989" href="http://katherinehayton.com/apocalypse/" style="color: #2ecc71; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">right here</a>. Check it out for some cool post-apoc books. She's got something cool going on with the covers too, must ask how she does that!</div>
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If you're into mysteries and thrillers, you can grab some free books on <a data-link-id="81583991" href="https://www.perfectingthecraft.net/free-stuff" style="color: #2ecc71; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">www.perfectingthecraft.net</a>,
run by James Craft. You can grab one of my rom-sus books over there if
you haven't read it already. It's awesome, trust me haha.</div>
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Finally, there are a ton of free books over at <a data-link-id="81583993" href="https://melanietomlin.com/tpr-freebies/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the_prolific_reader_january_results_and_more&utm_term=2017-02-01" style="color: #2ecc71; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">The Prolific Reader</a>, run by Melanie Tomlin. They are organised by genre, so take a look around. You'll see a couple of my books on there too.</div>
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Finally, I just finished another book review which you can view on <a data-link-id="81583995" href="http://www.amillionmilesfromanywhere.net/book-reviews/after-the-pretty-pox-the-attic-by-august-ansel" style="color: #2ecc71; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">my website</a>.
The book is After the Pretty Pox: The Attic by August Ansel and I
thought it was fantastic. If you like post-apoc / survivalist fiction
it'll be right up your street. I wasn't sure what to expect because the
cover was a bit basic, but the title kind of intrigued me and once I
started reading I was hooked. Trust me, that's rare for me. I put aside a
Pulitizer Prize-winning book to read this one (I'll be reviewing that
soon because it too is pretty awesome).</div>
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Anyway, that's all for now. Have a nice week and speak to you soon.</div>
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Kind regards,</div>
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Chris</div>
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<a data-link-id="81583997" href="https://www.facebook.com/Chris-Ward-Fiction-Writer-268864733183769/" style="color: #2ecc71; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Facebook</a></div>
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<a data-link-id="81583999" href="http://www.amillionmilesfromanywhere.net/" style="color: #2ecc71; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">www.amillionmilesfromanywhere.net</a></div>
Chris Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03041048445927976912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628136654123697065.post-53741887463776895182017-01-13T04:52:00.005-08:002017-01-13T04:52:59.046-08:00Self-improvement challenge 2017Never one to rest on my laurels, particularly as I get older and older (38 later this month), I've decided to set some goals for this year to generally improve my life and gain some new skills.<br />
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Obviously, as I'm a writer, here are the writing goals first:<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Writing Goals</span><br />
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Publish four full length novels (likelihood: easy)<br />
Write 400,000 new words (got 500k in 2016 so should be a breeze)<br />
Make $10,000 in book profit (near impossible; despite my best efforts, I only made about $3k in 2016, of which barely $500 was profit, probably less, but you've gotta dream big, right?)<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;">Outside writing</span></b><br />
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I'm a new father (eight-month-old daughter) and a teacher in Japan by day, so my free time is limited. However, I still want to make some other small gains to improve myself. Here's what I'm planning to do in 2017:<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Jog 200 times</span><br />
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I'm constantly told I'm overweight and have high cholesterol, so its time to do something about it. I actually used to run a lot - seven years ago this April I ran my first and only marathon - so its not so hard to get back into it. To count as a run, it has to be more than 10 minutes. I've actually done seven so far, and we're only two weeks into January. The longest was 32min, although I did a few shorter ones which were hill climbs or sprints. A sub goal is to get my weight under 90kg. It's currently at 94kg or thereabouts.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Learn to play a song on the piano</span><br />
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I have a keyboard that I can't play, but I've always wanted to try. I've decided to choose just one song and learn it well. I've already decided the song, so I'll post a video if I actually succeed.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Learn to draw anime characters </span><br />
<br />
Okay, this is one to impress my students (I work in Junior High Schools). I love the idea of learning something completely random, so this is it. As with the piano above, Youtube tutorials are my friend on this.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Pass the Japanese Language Proficiency Test 1 kanji section</span><br />
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I live in Japan, but my Japanese is rubbish. However, my favorite section is the characters (kanji), and I can actually read Japanese quite well. The JLPT Level 1 test is rock hard, and is considered native fluency. However, its only multiple choice, so I have a chance with the kanji. I have already passed the 3rd level test, but the first is a massive step up. Note that I'm not expecting to pass the whole test - I have no chance! - just the kanji section. And it will be informal - I'm going to download a practice test and try it, not pay a bunch of money to take the full test. <br />
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How am I going to do all these things? Writing is obviously my priority, and jogging is something I'll do at random, but for the others I'm planning to devote roughly an hour per week on each. I would like it to be more, but I get a couple of hours free time per day at best. It will be a challenge to see how much I can cram in.<br />
<br />
So, that's me. If you're also doing some kind of self-improvement challenge this year, feel free to let me know in the comments. Good luck!<br />
<br />
Chris Ward<br />
January 13th 2017Chris Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03041048445927976912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628136654123697065.post-8708527467043290322016-11-12T04:06:00.000-08:002016-11-12T04:06:16.206-08:00New boxed set available featuring me!Introducing Visions of the Fall, a monstrous book of dark and dystopian fiction from some of the best authors around. More than one million words of fiction to keep you entertained, including my book, The Tube Riders: Underground.<br />
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Get in there now because the introductory price of $1.99 won't last forever. Click the picture to view the boxed set on Amazon.<br />
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<br />Chris Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03041048445927976912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628136654123697065.post-6039360703203636152016-10-21T05:36:00.002-07:002016-10-21T05:36:50.605-07:00New release October 25th - Stolen (Tokyo Lost Series 2)New book out this Tuesday, the second in my romantic suspense series set in Tokyo. Go check it out. I'm running a small giveaway - one winner will receive an Amazon Gift Card worth $25. To enter, you have to buy the book and tweet me a copy of your receipt to @chriswardwriter, or send me a pic of it on your kindle.<br />
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Good luck!<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggxOg9zb9emLKSHgK8me4v-mV-eNql6EzD2-aV6fq5YoR9dxOoUZzKi5vWvtRLsZ9bJKijJ7Uo9e-iksPpxwErSxFXcgCRwz4J75q4nY4HUAjOUpxns-DwvY-9xpR3FrIjix5zbLa-_ZQ/s1600/Stolen-Generic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggxOg9zb9emLKSHgK8me4v-mV-eNql6EzD2-aV6fq5YoR9dxOoUZzKi5vWvtRLsZ9bJKijJ7Uo9e-iksPpxwErSxFXcgCRwz4J75q4nY4HUAjOUpxns-DwvY-9xpR3FrIjix5zbLa-_ZQ/s320/Stolen-Generic.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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Chiaki Hasegawa is a multi-million selling singer songwriter, but her
career peak is a decade behind her. Now she lives like a caged bird,
fighting to escape the violent and oppressive grip of her manager,
Masaaki Iida, who is desperate to resurrect her career, no matter what
the cost.<br /><br />Then one day she meets Ben Wilson, a traveller and
train blogger struggling with his heartbreak and obligation to the
family he wronged.<br /><br />Chiaki's life is turned on its head, and for the first time she sees the possibility of a life beyond music.<br /><br />But Masaaki Iida will never allow it.....<br />
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<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Stolen-Tokyo-Lost-Book-2-ebook/dp/B01LWB2VTJ/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1477053235&sr=1-2">Amazon</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/stolen-christopher-ward/1124650352;jsessionid=0ADE121F5484EE50D255BAAA1FEBA52B.prodny_store02-atgap03?ean=2940153482415">Barnes & Noble</a></div>
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<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1156117407">Apple</a></div>
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<a href="https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/stolen-92">Kobo</a></div>
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<br />Chris Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03041048445927976912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628136654123697065.post-60440307166633091892016-10-01T06:33:00.000-07:002016-10-01T06:33:35.129-07:00General updates Sept/OctSeptember was a long month. It was also, due to busting all kinds of ass, my most financially successful month of the year.<br />
<br />
But that's not saying much.<br />
<br />
I won't talk figures, but let's just say that I've already written off 2016 as a slump year and am building towards greater success in 2017.<br />
<br />
So what did I get done in September?<br />
<br />
I focused mainly on building my mailing list(s) and setting up lots of welcome emails with all kinds of freebies, bells and whistles. Across all my lists I now have a little over 2500 people, and I'm working hard to at least double this by the end of the year. It's been fun, that's for sure, but because of the focus on it my other work has suffered.<br />
<br />
I wrote just over 30,000 new words. That might sound pretty good but it's my lowest month of the year. Still, I passed 400,000 words for 2016 during Sept so I'm game on for getting 500k plus by the end of the year. Easy.<br />
<br />
My heroic fantasy--my current main WIP--is sitting at 122k, with no end in sight. I've slacked off a little with it due to the other things I've got going on, but I'm hoping to finish it in Oct/Nov.<br />
<br />
I did some rebranding back along, and turned my completely-ignored romance, Finding my World into <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Broken-Tokyo-Lost-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00MXS76WC/ref=sr_1_5?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1475328489&sr=1-5">Broken (Tokyo Lost Series 1)</a> complete with a stunning new cover. The second in the series (these are standalones but they share locations and styles), which had a working title of Tokyo Sonata, will be released under the name of Stolen (Tokyo Lost Series 2) on Oct 25. The book is available for pre-order right now on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Stolen-Tokyo-Lost-Book-2-ebook/dp/B01LWB2VTJ/ref=sr_1_14?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1475328455&sr=1-14">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1156117407">iTunes</a>, <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/stolen-christopher-ward/1124650352?ean=2940153482415">Barnes and Noble</a>, and <a href="https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/stolen-92">Kobo</a>.<br />
<br />
I actually just finished the final proofreading of Stolen tonight and sent it out to my advanced reviewers group, so if you're on that list you should be receiving your free copy soon. It always feels great to complete a task, but it just means that I'm straight on to the next one. And that is the second draft of my YA fantasy, The School at the End of the World. I'm about halfway through it, and I'm hoping to get that book out (and ideally the second too, because its finished) by the end of the year. Fingers crossed.<br />
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In addition, I'm working on the paperbacks for Broken and Stolen (and once I'm done with those it'll be the turn of In the Shadow of London), plus Broken is now taking auditions on Audible, so if you're a narrator, why don't you have a go?<br />
<br />
So, September was mostly admin type stuff. More than anything I'm really just looking forward to getting back to writing. I have at least the next three books I want to write lined up in my head, so hopefully 2017 will be a bumper year.<br />
<br />
Onwards and upwards!<br />
<br />
Chris Ward<br />
Oct 1st 2016Chris Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03041048445927976912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628136654123697065.post-53611795779693338452016-09-02T06:11:00.002-07:002016-09-02T06:11:32.724-07:00Exile is now available in audio!Great news! The audiobook for Tube Riders: Exile is now available, read by the awesome Gary Furlong.<br />
<br />
Click on the picture below to go and listen to a sample.<br />
<br />
Happy listening!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Tube-Riders-Exile-Trilogy-Book/dp/B01L9FCC9G/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_img_5?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=5HJ4B8TPBA782QERGAXC"><img alt="https://www.amazon.com/Tube-Riders-Exile-Trilogy-Book/dp/B01L9FCC9G/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_img_5?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=5HJ4B8TPBA782QERGAXC" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVDAVWDtMbV3Vl3OXLSSGgFTPluUv0kzddEdMGw2Cm9P6P9rHx9KxaI5JZUts9W0My1W02j4yhxGtcoFKcBsKaiclj5f_o4G-KsJ-ikdc46mRffODH-7HD5Q-YJ-hbBPjZ08w9rbgOcC8/s320/Exile_audio.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Chris Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03041048445927976912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628136654123697065.post-30282548841661103152016-08-10T06:50:00.000-07:002016-08-10T06:50:27.580-07:00Updates - July / AugustI realised it's been a while since I posted any updates to this page. Purely an oversight! The good news is that I haven't been as idle as this news page might suggest. I've been pretty slack on the marketing and publishing front, but I've been writing like a beast, stacking up manuscripts while the creative juices have been flowing.<br />
<br />
Back in May, I published The Tube Riders: In the Shadow of London. The book was actually finished last October. In the period since that book was finished, I've written nearly five more books, all of which will be published soon.<br />
<br />
I can't give you a set schedule, but here goes my best effort ...<br />
<br />
The dystopian book (title unconfirmed) - this badass beast should hopefully be out by the end of the year.<br />
The dystopian book 2 - currently at 51k. I've paused for a bit because I got stuck, but I'll be getting back to it soon. I'm hoping to have the manuscript finished by the end of the year.<br />
<br />
The School at the End of the World (Benjamin Forrest 1) - written under my kind of pen name, Christopher P. Ward (actually my real name) this will likely be the next book published. It's a YA fantasy, so no swearing or ultra violence. Cover is done, reveal soon!<br />
<br />
The Bay of Paper Dragons (Benjamin Forrest 2) - the second book in the above series. Also finished. Again, the cover is done (reveal soon). Hopefully out by the end of the year. <br />
<br />
Tokyo Sonata - a romance I wrote over Dec/Jan. Finished in first draft. This is going to join Finding My World in a Japan-set romantic suspence/mystery trilogy. The stories are not connected, but they're similar in tone and style. I'm already thinking about a third book. This won't sell much until the third book is done, so publishing it is low priority right now. Probably early next year.<br />
<br />
Warrior - my heroic fantasy! I originally started writing this because I wanted to write a novel dedicated to my beautiful daughter, who was born in May. However, what should have been a simple story has grown and grown. It's now at 70k, and I'm probably not halfway through. Hopefully the first draft will be finished in the next month, with publication around the end of the year.<br />
<br />
In addition to the above, I have a bunch of short stories on the go. Get on the mailing list if you want to get them for free!<br />
<br />
That's all for now, more updates coming soon.<br />
<br />
Chris Ward<br />
August 10th 2016Chris Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03041048445927976912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628136654123697065.post-29355385271557014352016-04-29T19:20:00.003-07:002016-04-29T19:20:59.388-07:00The Tube Riders: In the Shadow of London - AVAILABLE MAY 10th 2016<h3 style="text-align: center;">
In the Shadow of London will be released on May 10th, 2016. The book is available for pre-order now.</h3>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXhpYK-MX-zS6yM66yCEqtbA2U1_3FlntHDGVDlsAqiiW0DXFN-G2ZuCF1-xBucBpdUcaN9rUbohROiFIUkHnk_QswG7DVgKY34b3-CwYU-Q3Lw5-XgspSAcUQdjkedmAP092IcPKTHJY/s1600/In-the-Shadow-of-London-Kindle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXhpYK-MX-zS6yM66yCEqtbA2U1_3FlntHDGVDlsAqiiW0DXFN-G2ZuCF1-xBucBpdUcaN9rUbohROiFIUkHnk_QswG7DVgKY34b3-CwYU-Q3Lw5-XgspSAcUQdjkedmAP092IcPKTHJY/s320/In-the-Shadow-of-London-Kindle.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tube-Riders-Shadow-London-ebook/dp/B01E3JRHGS">AMAZON</a></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/in-the-shadow-of-london-chris-ward/1123719303?ean=2940153227634">Barnes & Noble</a></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1107486702">iTunes</a></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/in-the-shadow-of-london">Kobo</a></h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
</h2>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: blue;">In the Shadow of London</span></h2>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
There's gone and then there's London-gone ...<br />
<br />
Marta Banks and
her Tube Riders may have fled, but they've left behind a city on the
brink of collapse. In the violent wasteland of London Greater Urban
Area, former Tube Rider David Silverwood tries to reunited old members
of the gang. In his way stand Dreggo, once a member of a rival gang but
now the Governor's right hand, and Lindon, a member of the criminal
stronghold known as the Tank, who is struggling with issues of loyalty
towards revolution, the people protected by his organisation, and his
dying girlfriend, Cah.<br />
<br />
Revisting London in the period between <em>The Tube Riders: Exile</em> and <em>The Tube Riders: Revenge</em>, <em>In the Shadow of London</em> is a stunning addition to Chris Ward's <em>Tube Riders</em> series.<br />
<h2 style="text-align: center;">
<br /></h2>
Chris Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03041048445927976912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628136654123697065.post-67600535856834921172016-03-26T08:03:00.000-07:002016-03-26T08:03:01.201-07:00In the Shadow of London - Exclusive sample chapterI'm please to share with you today the first chapter in the soon-to-be-released fourth book in the Tube Riders series. I'll have full release details soon. In the meantime, enjoy!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrrr5F6or1MbbaT1gQ1oQVgFMUf8F2EqBZKMmedaLTN79APJyj5h5DPr1As6nHQZTWjEzhIXwnZo5Q8iW4BvX2P_27IGZCkLvSkxVgphcNEJdlnXWtPL6hovNs_9BAmVaLhdpteUAMtMs/s1600/In-the-Shadow-of-London-Kindle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrrr5F6or1MbbaT1gQ1oQVgFMUf8F2EqBZKMmedaLTN79APJyj5h5DPr1As6nHQZTWjEzhIXwnZo5Q8iW4BvX2P_27IGZCkLvSkxVgphcNEJdlnXWtPL6hovNs_9BAmVaLhdpteUAMtMs/s400/In-the-Shadow-of-London-Kindle.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Chapter
One</span></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Clawboard</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
mob was trying to derail the train.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Up
on the elevated Hammersmith and City railway line, a short distance from the
ruins of Shepherd’s Bush Market and just back from where Goldhawk Road passed
underneath the tracks, a ragtag group of men was hauling what looked like a
thick silver rope up over the rails and passing it down to another group
waiting on the street below.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A
crane hook the length of a man’s chest was attached to one end. A short
distance from the second group, an old double-decker bus lay on its side
amongst the debris in the middle of the street, its windows smashed in.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">‘Pull
harder!’ shouted a bare-chested man from up on the tracks. Tattoos covered his
back and his hair was dyed blood-red. ‘Get it looped through the frame!’</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">With
a collective roar, the men in the street hauled on the wire rope. It stretched
a few feet closer to the bus. Shards of broken safety glass crunched under
their feet.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Across
the street from the railway line, occupying the first and second floors of an
old redbrick building which had a boarded-up supermarket metro on its ground
level, was a local bureau of the Department of Civil Affairs. Concerned faces watched
from behind windows protected from thrown stones by bent and twisted sheets of
wire mesh. Another group of men crowded around the entrance, keeping the
government’s enforcers trapped inside.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">‘Haul!
Come on, haul it!’</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
men hauled, shouting and cursing. From somewhere further up the line came the faint
blare of a train’s horn.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Crouched
in the shadows of an alleyway between two nearby buildings, David Silverwood
watched the mob with a mixture of apprehension and excitement. It was the
biggest mob he had yet seen, and the skeleton crew of DCA agents inside the bureau
building had not even tried to engage them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">With
another collective roar of exertion, the men succeeded in pulling the wire rope
as far as the bus. Two men hefted the crane hook in their arms and began trying
to loop the wire around the rear window frame.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Sirens
wailed in the distance. David crept back into the shadows of the alleyway to
the lowered ladder of a fire escape and climbed quickly up to the third floor
roof. From here he had a much better view of the railway line and Goldhawk Road
heading away northeast towards Shepherds Bush Common.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
sirens were coming closer. A few streets away, two white vans threaded through
the piles of debris, red roof lights flashing. David frowned. Just two? There
was no way they could disperse a mob this size, but there were rumours that the
DCA was spread as thin as it had ever been.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
large clock on the wall of an old post office across the street read three
forty-four. Six minutes until the next train, by David’s reckoning. A couple of
miles up the track towards central London, where the rails went underground for
the first time, was the abandoned London Underground station of Melling Road
Junction. In the days he had hung out there the trains had always come through
every fifteen minutes, starting at five past the hour.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
vans came to a stop where an overturned car blocked the street. One of them
made a hasty U-turn. David wondered if they would give up and go back, but then
the back doors flew open and something stooped and cloaked leapt out onto the
street.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">No.</span></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">It
couldn’t be. Not here.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Another
followed, taller than the first, something silver glinting in its hands.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">So,
the rumours were true.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Two
men in DCA uniforms climbed out of the back of the van. One made a sweeping
motion with his hands and the two stooped figures dropped into a crouch then bounded
forward, up and over the piles of debris and lumps of fallen masonry that
clogged the road, closing the distance to where the mob had gathered with
unnatural speed.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">David
had never seen one, but he had heard the stories. In the last few weeks, the
rumours had been everywhere.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">He
ran to the far edge of the roof, cupped his hands over his mouth and screamed, ‘Run!
Huntsmen!’</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A
ripple of shock passed through the mob. The group in the street dropped the
wire rope and scattered. The man with the powerful voice still screamed his
commands, but only a hardy few were still listening as the rest climbed down
from the elevated railway line, running after the others. As his last comrades
deserted him, he walked to the bridge above Goldhawk Road and lifted his fists
above his head.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">‘Come
on, you bastards!’ he screamed, beating one hand against his chest, brandishing
a knife in the other.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Something
whistled through the air and a silver bolt struck the man in the shoulder. A second
took him in the stomach, and he tumbled off the elevated railway line to the
street below. Moments later the first of the Huntsmen reached him, dragging him
back into the shadows beneath the bridge. David lost sight of them both, but
the sound of ripping, tearing claws, and the screams of a dying man came
piecing out of the evening air.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
second Huntsman had gone in pursuit of the dispersing mob. It caught up with
two men, claws slashing, downing them in one stroke. Then it dropped to one
knee, lifted an arm, and something silver struck a third running man in the
back, knocking him forward on to the bonnet of a burnt out car.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
clock above the old post office ticked over to three fifty.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
train came roaring down the line out of the three-storey townhouses on either
side of the tracks. Its wheels struck the wire rope and for an instant it
seemed to slow as the wire went taut, dragging the bus a couple of feet along
the tarmac. Then the wire rope broke free and the train powered across the
bridge, roaring straight through the now-abandoned Goldhawk station and
hammering on towards the Hammersmith terminus, disappearing between the residential
buildings on either side of the line.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">As
the train’s engine roar faded away, David scanned the streets for the Huntsmen,
but they were nowhere to be seen. The last members of the mob had long dispersed,
and the streets were nearly deserted. A couple of DCA agents had taken a few
tentative steps outside their bureau building, but while the two DCA vans were
still parked further up Goldhawk Road, of their occupants there was no sign.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">It
was time to leave. David headed for the fire escape, but at the last moment a
tickle of caution made him pause.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">He
squatted, lowering himself flat to the roof. Then he eased forward until one
eye could peer down through the rungs of the metal stairs at the street below.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Breath
caught in his throat. One of the Huntsmen was down there, sniffing at the
ground like some kind of hound, its hood fallen back to reveal the top of a
sparsely haired scalp crisscrossed with silver wires.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">‘Hey!
Come on, let’s go!’</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A
uniformed man strode into view. The Huntsman snorted and looked up, growling at
the newcomer.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">‘Time
to go, you ugly bastard.’ A hissing filled the air and the Huntsman jerked and squealed,
a sound that made David’s hair stand on end. Then, with one last glance up at
the fire escape, it slinked after its handler.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">It clocked me, </span></i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">he
thought, remembering the way its human eyes had paused on his. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">It knew I was here.</i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
handler led the Huntsman back to the vans. The other had already returned,
standing tall with its head bowed like a friar at prayer, only the silver
crossbow held in curved claws giving it away as something monstrous. David didn’t
wait to see what happened next. Finding his nerves again, he hurried down the
fire escape and away into the streets, crossing under the railway line and
heading in a gradual arc towards the east, back in the direction of central
London.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A
few streets away he came across a city bus picking its way through the debris. He
climbed aboard, taking a worn, colourless seat among a clutch of glum,
disillusioned faces.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">He
peered out at the trash-strewn streets, wondering what had just happened, and
what it meant for his safety.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Twenty
minutes later, he flipped the driver a coin and got off. He cut through a
crowded market and across a sloping, overgrown park to a cluster of tall
tenement buildings.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">In
the apartment he had called home for the last two years, he ignored his
flatmate, Taku, who was slumped on a ratty sofa in their sparse living room, watching
old movies on a battered TV that had a crack cutting diagonally across the
screen from left to right. He unlocked the room he called his own and then locked
it again from the inside, adding an extra padlock as a secondary precaution.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">There,
he sat down on the bed and tried to let himself relax.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
Huntsman had smelled him. Had it not been for the intervention of the handler,
he might be dead. No one could kill a Huntsman, everyone knew that. They were
as close to invincible as a creature could get. According to word on the
streets, even the government could barely control them. That was why they had
been locked away for so long until the kids calling themselves Tube Riders had
been bold enough to escape.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Everyone
he knew thought it was rubbish, this whole story about the supposed Tube
Riders. What were they anyway, just some urban myth about kids who hung from
the side of London Underground trains late at night, peering in through the windows?
They were ghosts, apparitions, some said, the trapped souls of train suicides.
They couldn’t possibly exist, and they couldn’t possibly have gone on the run
from the government, causing an army of DCA agents to follow on their trail,
and bringing the Huntsmen back on to the streets.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">No,
most people thought it was bullshit.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">David
reached under his bed for an old cardboard box pushed right back against the
wall. He pulled it out and tossed aside an assortment of tatty books, dusty
ornaments, and other junk to reveal a smooth piece of willow at the bottom.
About fifty centimetres long, it had two rubber straps on one side and two
metal hooks on the other.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">He
gave a grim smile as he lifted up the clawboard and blew away the dust. Unlike
most people, David knew the rumours about the Tube Riders weren’t just idle
street talk. He knew they were true.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Once,
he had rode with them.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">And
if the government was hunting Tube Riders, he might be in a lot of trouble....</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Garamond; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><b><span style="font-size: small;"> Keep checking back for release news or sign up for the <a href="http://eepurl.com/bz-yl9">Mailing List</a> to be the first to hear about new books and offers. </span></b></span></div>
Chris Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03041048445927976912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628136654123697065.post-7200727845842472792016-03-10T17:23:00.001-08:002016-03-10T17:23:15.352-08:00In the Shadow of London - third draft<b>Hello!</b><br />
<br />
Just a short update for you today.<br />
<br />
I'm still working away as always. I have two current focuses - a new novel that is currently up to 64,000 words and is kind of in the final act I suppose (my natural length seems to be about 90,000 words for a first draft). I have a couple of working titles but I don't like either of them so I won't post them here. This book is aimed at younger readers (as in, no bad language or ultra violence like most of my books), and is a bit of a departure for me. I kind of wanted to write something similar to Harry Potter but still different, so that's what this is. And it's pretty good. You (and hopefully your children) will like it. The first draft should be done by the end of this month, after which I'll probably forget about it for a while or start planning a second book.<br />
<br />
And the other focus is of course <b>The Tube Riders: In the Shadow of London</b>. I've finished my first read through and now I'm fine tuning - a little more than I'd like, but I want it to be really realistic and detailed, as well as fast paced. Because this book is set entirely in London in the period between Exile and Revenge, I'm taking great care with my locations to get them as accurate as possible. As always I've taken a few liberties and made up a couple of train stations, but there a lot more real locations in this book. Google Streetview is proving especially useful. In an ideal world I'd like to up-camp to London for a couple of months and just wander about, but unfortunately I don't have that liberty. Perhaps for the fifth(!) book ...!<br />
<br />
Okay, back to it, that's all for now. Thanks as always for reading. Make sure you sign up for the Mailling List (all the red buttons on the main site) to get exclusive news and offers before anyone else.<br />
<br />
Chris Ward<br />
March 11th 2016Chris Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03041048445927976912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628136654123697065.post-59859243606805106092016-02-28T23:24:00.000-08:002016-02-28T23:24:08.301-08:00February updatesHi all, it's been a while since my last post so here's a little update. It's currently February 29th where I live, and February was another good month for new words. I passed 50,000 yesterday, most of them on a new novel/possible series I'm keeping underwraps until I at least finish the first book.<br />
<br />
The next release will the <b>The Tube Riders: In the Shadow of London</b>. I'm currently editing it. I hoped to have it out by March but as usual I got caught up in other things. I'm hoping to give it a couple of weeks of close attention, then it will be off for editing. This is likely to be the last in the contemporary <b>Tube Riders</b> novels (unless I come up with a really cool wider-world story), but the often promised backstory novel(s) is still a possibility. I got kind of stuck on that, but I'm hoping to get back to it later in the year.<br />
<br />
After that, I've got a fifth and final <b>Tales of Crow</b> book to write. Then I hope to be launching at least two new series, both starting with the book I wrote last August and the one I'm currently writing. I've been doing a bit of brainstorming on the second of each series, but no news on a start time yet, nor even any confirmed titling information.<br />
<br />
So that's it for now, but keep checking back because I hope to have some more cool stuff for you soon.<br />
<br />
Chris Ward<br />
February 29th 2016Chris Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03041048445927976912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628136654123697065.post-3874149731849813052016-01-04T17:14:00.000-08:002016-01-04T17:14:06.266-08:00Announcing the release of The Circus of Machinations (Tales of Crow #4)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">The Circus of Machinations (Tales of Crow #4)</span></div>
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<b>January 15th 2016</b></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B019UBFW02?*Version*=1&*entries*=0">AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER NOW</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvtiBqGzGVLvjcoxvIvcepzQdkxufJrBbD9ndCc_OcnAnBxuYijgcvPxRp-JebJfQcUpHswVR6FP2hob6u5-ewodJddfD9aFgOoNrSiR-E0uR7EnxNC14anjD5X14gHsT_7FHPrM-FLsM/s1600/The-Circus-of-Machinations-Kindle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvtiBqGzGVLvjcoxvIvcepzQdkxufJrBbD9ndCc_OcnAnBxuYijgcvPxRp-JebJfQcUpHswVR6FP2hob6u5-ewodJddfD9aFgOoNrSiR-E0uR7EnxNC14anjD5X14gHsT_7FHPrM-FLsM/s320/The-Circus-of-Machinations-Kindle.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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For five long years, Professor Kurou has been in hiding, a wraith haunting the streets of the remote Siberian mining town of Brevik.<br /><br />Victor Mishin is a small-town inventor who needs his help. An unstoppable, inhuman army is approaching the town, and the townsfolk face total annihilation at the hands of an evil even greater than the one that walks among them.<br /><br />For at the head of an army is a man who will stop at nothing to see Professor Kurou dead.<br /><br />The Tales of Crow series:<br /><br />1 - They Came Out After Dark<br />2 - The Castle of All Nightmares<br />3 - The Puppeteer King<br />4 - The Circus of Machinations</div>
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CATCH UP WITH TALES OF CROW 1-3 BOXED SET</div>
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<br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Crow-Books-1-3-Boxed-ebook/dp/B0180YBVPK/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8">AVAILABLE NOW</a></div>
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<br />Chris Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03041048445927976912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628136654123697065.post-48320644412702716362015-12-24T06:27:00.004-08:002015-12-24T06:27:38.782-08:00Chris's Christmas Message<div class="_5pbx userContent" data-ft="{"tn":"K"}" id="js_13">
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Chris’s Christmas Message<br />
<br />
It’s that time of the year once again where I decide to risk the wrath
of the internet and say something about the state of the world as I see
it. Firstly, Merry Christmas. To all my family and friends, to all the
positive, good-doing people of the world, I love you all dearly. To all
the haters, the assholes, the murderers, abusers, manipulators, fuck
off. Have a shit, lonely Christmas, you worthless pricks.<br />
<br />
I think it’s worth looking back over 2015<span class="text_exposed_show">
to try to make 2016 better. We’re all human, and we all make mistakes.
Think back over the last year to those times when you were an asshole
for no particular reason (and we all had them), when you pushed someone
who didn’t deserve it, or were rude to someone just because you were
having a bad day, or didn’t help someone when you could have, etc.,
etc., etc., and in 2016 try to even it out by doing something positive.
In fact, if everyone did two positive things for each negative thing, it
would be pretty much problem solved.</span><br />
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Humanity is a pretty odd species. We search endlessly for new life in
space while relentlessly destroying life on Earth; we big up war heroes
and honour our war dead then commit the ultimate disrespect to those
people who died for our freedom by starting new wars and taking the
freedom away from someone else; we respond to someone killing our
children by bombing theirs; we create an entire industry of building
weapons that can kill other people then complain when people use them to
do what they're designed for …. doesn’t make a lot of sense, does it?<br />
<br />
The same as charity starts at home, so does creating a better world.
Not all of us can rush off to Cambodia to build a school for
impoverished children, but we can offer a smile to someone who might be
having a bad day, share a donut with a stranger, give food to a stray
cat, pick up litter off the street, be nice to that guy at work who
always blanks you, slow down just enough to let someone who might be in a
hurry cross the street.<br />
<br />
Just think how much better life could be
if we spent all that money, time, and effort on building and creating
rather than destroying and taking away. Perhaps if everyone tried just a
little harder to do good things (beyond sharing posts on Facebook…)
then we might not have to watch miserable shit on the news every single
day.<br />
<br />
Think about it.<br />
<br />
Merry Christmas and a great 2016 to you all!</div>
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Chris Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03041048445927976912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628136654123697065.post-45820075433746681722015-12-17T22:28:00.001-08:002015-12-17T22:28:38.494-08:00The Head of Words audiobook is now live!Narrated by the fantastic Tim Bick, you can now get Head of Words in audio. Head of Words is my highest rated novel, with an average rating of 4.8 on Amazon.com.<br />
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Check it out by clicking the cover below.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Head-of-Words/dp/B019CW3HJM/ref=sr_1_1_twi_audd_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1450420080&sr=8-1&keywords=head+of+words"><img alt="http://www.amazon.com/Head-of-Words/dp/B019CW3HJM/ref=sr_1_1_twi_audd_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1450420080&sr=8-1&keywords=head+of+words" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijmirjYa-CbHovP7ReENxMSf5PGfy4nlm0Gw6bdGVMxaytYLjvC3HGJKSwwC99xpeRj1Ir5I7iNKnhUbCac7qdnQqTfDN29nniA9vsduiGDCWek4COmQ0Eurx59GZIJTTmhhTCuB4k3Ew/s320/HoW+-+Audiobook+cover.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Chris Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03041048445927976912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628136654123697065.post-52661725826234218622015-10-16T00:04:00.000-07:002015-10-16T00:04:51.987-07:00The Circus is coming ....In between writing the new Tube Riders book, I've been doing some editing on Crow 4: The Circus of Machinations, which I'm still hoping to have out by the end of the year. In this episode we find Kurou in vastly alien conditions, hiding out in a backwater town in Siberia as the threat of an unseen invasion army slowly chokes the town. We also meet a brand new protagonist, the softly spoken but put-upon inventor, Victor Mishin.<br />
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Here's the beginning of the prologue. Look out for more excerpts coming soon.<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Prologue<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
robot and the inventor<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A
cold wind was whipping in from the south, bringing with it flurries of hard ice
ripped off the top of seasons-long snow drifts standing like dirt-streaked grey
sentinels by the side of the road. Victor Mishin stopped one more time to tie
up his hood, but the string was frozen stiff. He scowled, cursing under his
breath. Dipping his face away from the wind instead, he turned back to make
sure the cart was still following.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">From
both sides of the road, the dead eyes of Brevik’s abandoned houses watched him
with their broken door grins. From inside flickered torchlight, accompanied by the
faint peal of nervous laughter. Many became temporary crack houses and brothels
after dark, living crypts filled with the skeletal remnants of men and women
put out of work by the closing mines and factories.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
first rock to clang off the outside of the cart’s casing made Victor jump. The
echo of laughter from a shadowy alley that followed made him shiver.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">‘We
see you, old man.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">It
was the voice of a kid, throat dry from too many cigarettes and cheap local
homebrew. Brevik started its youngsters early, and only a kid would ever call
him old. Victor wasn’t yet thirty.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">‘Come
on,’ he told the cart. ‘We have to hurry.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
machine’s head snapped up, a vaguely humanoid oval. Twin lights at the front
gave a wild flicker. ‘Rolling, rolling.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Another
stone landed in the snow at Victor’s feet. He grimaced. Even the prepubescent
kids were built out of wire passed down through generations of miners with
playful fists, and Victor was no fighter.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">‘Level
up,’ he said to the cart. ‘We have to move. Now.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">‘Roger
that, partner.’<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The
cart, a silver rectangle, rocked back on its caterpillar treads and lurched
into an upright position. Smaller central treads unfolded from the ends of its
main propulsion system. It was activating its sprint mode, but in the snow and
ice its motors would only last a couple of hundred metres. It would have to be
enough.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">‘Move
it,’ Victor said, as another stone clanged off the cart’s casing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Shadows
shifted behind him as he started into a run, morphing into the shapes of four,
five, six kids as they bolted from the alleyway. Victor squeezed his eyes shut
as the cart’s accelerator runners spun in the snow, then clunked as they caught
on something buried under the surface.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-char-indent-count: 2.0; text-indent: 24.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Garamond","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">He
didn’t want to turn around to see his most treasured invention pitch forward onto
its robotic face as the group of laughing urchins descended on it, thrown
stones rattling off the metal like machine gun fire, but he had no choice. The
cart was dear to him; he owed it a single icy tear frozen against his face by
the chilling wind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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glared for one long moment at the feral children as they engulfed the cart in a
flurry of thumping hands and kicking feet, then turned and hurried for home,
feeling at least some scant relief that its sacrifice had allowed him to get
away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Chris Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03041048445927976912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628136654123697065.post-51716664010125383542015-10-07T06:33:00.000-07:002015-10-07T06:33:03.168-07:00Coming soon - Crow books 1-3 bundle<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The first three books in the Tales of Crow series are now available for purchase so within the next few weeks I'll be bundling them as a boxed set in anticipation for the fourth book in the series, hopefully by the end of the year.</div>
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Watch this space for a release date (most likely early November). In the meantime, here's the cover: </div>
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<img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN9tuzNfQnKPuucEl0jJZdoORP4TxB8ZSmapzNe2we81aYfMB-I2qXDNIDq_K5KYLQSS7ldlJfrVUtwAF547_sbN7cR7rOxX1QA67Tg7ssjZDIXgSp6AcdvPxmvHZscn-Glrev9G0pHoQ/s640/Tales+of+Crow+1-3+Boxed+set+-+FLAT.jpg" width="425" /></div>
<br />Chris Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03041048445927976912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628136654123697065.post-72495257763009388062015-10-01T17:56:00.003-07:002015-10-01T17:56:52.601-07:00My Childhood DreamObviously I have a day job and generally am a badass sci-fi writer by night. Sometimes I have to write stuff for work too though. I'm an assistant English teacher in a Japanese junior high school, and a teacher asked me to write a speech about my childhood dream. This is what I came up with. It's kind of true and a little poignant haha. I can still remember asking my mother to buy me a power sword. I think I was about five, but who knows haha.<br />
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<span lang="EN-US">My Childhood Dream<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">By Chris<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">When I was a small child, I wanted to be a
superhero. I watched the news on TV, and saw that there were a lot of bad
things in the world. I wanted to stop these bad things. So one day I asked my
mother to buy me a power sword from the supermarket. She said okay, but that
night she told me that the supermarket had sold out of power swords, so I
couldn’t become a superhero. At that time I felt very sad.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Now that I am older, I understand more
about the world. There are still a lot of bad things in the world but we can
all help to stop them. Not everyone can change the world in a big way, but we
can all change the world in a small way. For example, we can pick up trash or care
for cats and dogs that don’t have a family. Or we can say nice things to people
even when we don’t feel happy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I learned that to be a superhero you don’t
need to have a power sword, because the power to change the world comes from
your heart.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Thank you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Chris Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03041048445927976912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628136654123697065.post-77666802002352820232015-09-17T00:00:00.002-07:002018-04-03T03:54:25.525-07:00I wrote a poem today<div style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.466667175293px; margin-bottom: 6px;">
I wrote a poem today. It's an allegory for the European migrant crisis and the fear of the unknown. It also suggests that it's better to act sooner rather than later.</div>
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<u>I found the devil</u></div>
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I found the devil’s body, washed up on the shore<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br />I heard him faintly whisper; “I have fled a distant war.”<br />A dilemma swift upon me, asked whatever should I do?<br />Repel him to the water, or offer him some food?<br />An arm rose from the sand and beckoned me to listen<br />“To tell your people of our plight became my final mission.<br />Minding our own business, we lived as devils do<br />But Heaven took offense at our blasé attitude.<br />With fire from the sky, and poison in the water<br />They led us blindly down the track to poverty and slaughter.”</span></div>
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Stunned silent as I looked on him I considered what to do.<br />
Said, “Devil, wait here by the waves, I’ll soon return for you.”<br />
I consulted with my people on a forward way to act,<br />
Passed days and nights with nothing done as we assessed the facts.<br />
A conflict between sun and moon, who were we to intervene?<br />
Resolved we were to tell the devil what we had decreed.<br />
“Head further south, and there you’ll find a safer place than here,<br />
Another town will welcome you and hush away your fears.”<br />
But when I reached that bleakest shore, my words already said,<br />
I found I was too late: the devil, alas, was dead.</div>
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Copyright 2015 by Chris Ward</div>
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Chris Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03041048445927976912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628136654123697065.post-7837106724621212492015-09-13T06:01:00.000-07:002015-09-13T06:01:13.899-07:00New covers!Recently I had new covers down for the three books in the Tube Riders series. These were done by the very talented Elizabeth Mackey at <a href="http://www.elizabethmackeygraphics.com/">www.elizabethmackeygraphics.com</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRywNYBxEVLFfsEFdl-TyqJ8pQ-udrftGZRA-6u2JuhZS5zZLEhIkmDEXEBW4v2vxMdGbq0nm0jhcgjhYRgV1Dsl06qvryE14yeOfJDXGxD9FS5mpb_uVN3dpwPRyF2JFbtR62M6jkXtw/s1600/TubeRiders_Underground.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRywNYBxEVLFfsEFdl-TyqJ8pQ-udrftGZRA-6u2JuhZS5zZLEhIkmDEXEBW4v2vxMdGbq0nm0jhcgjhYRgV1Dsl06qvryE14yeOfJDXGxD9FS5mpb_uVN3dpwPRyF2JFbtR62M6jkXtw/s400/TubeRiders_Underground.jpg" width="265" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibsodLoI0y6hlpjH86Xcz5sW6aFcs1RWbO1GyiEZ7GKrVGrlyI_Y193siDVqU9xg9J7RDkSstbKmL7Wka6ncGFoXtd0ooSlo2-DQs1NE_ja5NkhjY9LX348wW1GKkP-5_-6RUHf_fN27A/s1600/TubeRiders_Exile_V5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibsodLoI0y6hlpjH86Xcz5sW6aFcs1RWbO1GyiEZ7GKrVGrlyI_Y193siDVqU9xg9J7RDkSstbKmL7Wka6ncGFoXtd0ooSlo2-DQs1NE_ja5NkhjY9LX348wW1GKkP-5_-6RUHf_fN27A/s400/TubeRiders_Exile_V5.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMRMvI_Dxpk8eFJMDDkYCb1AFxL7_55tHdHkrBElzohAHr0zLBxpguKA0iVO_f3558TxlcoJ42JXIFyLR2X-3V0bDfDRaDMWT3elnT8VnJbl1T8LhIfapzEoPhn5uX_ZoPKOrxel_3hUs/s1600/TubeRiders_Revenge_FINAL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMRMvI_Dxpk8eFJMDDkYCb1AFxL7_55tHdHkrBElzohAHr0zLBxpguKA0iVO_f3558TxlcoJ42JXIFyLR2X-3V0bDfDRaDMWT3elnT8VnJbl1T8LhIfapzEoPhn5uX_ZoPKOrxel_3hUs/s400/TubeRiders_Revenge_FINAL.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<br />Chris Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03041048445927976912noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628136654123697065.post-8838417978390304572015-08-14T20:03:00.001-07:002015-08-14T20:03:45.221-07:00Upcoming scheduleIt's been a while since I wrote a long rambling update about what's coming up soon, so here goes. As regular readers will know, I recently finished writing a book that forms part one of a new dystopian series. I'm hoping to have that available for you to read by the end of the year. It could be a year or two before a follow up, though, as I have unfinished business with other stories first.<br />
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So, here's the plan...<br />
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Autumn/Winter<br />
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Publication of The Puppeteer King (Crow #3)<br />
Publication of Circus of Machinations (Crow #4)<br />
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Begin the audio books for Crow 1 and (hopefully) Tube Riders: Exile.<br />
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Write Crow #5: The Tower at the World's End and The Tube Riders: In the Shadow of London (side novel set between Exile and Revenge).<br />
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Do the paperbacks for the first four Crow books.<br />
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Winter 2015 / Spring 2016<br />
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Get back to the Rise of the Governor (Tube Riders prequels). Part One will possibly be called Genesis.<br />
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At some point there will be a short stories omnibus and possibly a Crow boxed set.<br />
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Some of the more beady eyed of you might have noticed the disappearance of a few of my short stories from my Amazon page. This is because I've been thinking long and hard about branding and organisation. Last year was pretty successful, but due in part to market forces and my own lower output due to personal goings on, this year has been a massive let down so far. The simple truth is that the ebook world is growing so quickly that it's very easy to get lost in the mire. Free books don't equate to paid sales as much as they used to and you're constantly fighting a million other authors for visibility. Therefore, my Amazon author page will be getting a streamlining over the next few weeks. All my shorts and stuff will still be available on iTunes and elsewhere, but on Amazon I'll be concentrating on novels.<br />
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Also, there is a little Tube Riders news on the horizon. The series will be a getting a bit of a revamp over the next couple of months. There will be no changes to the stories, but one or two elsewhere. No details for now. I'll let you know when I do.<br />
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Okay, that's all for now.<br />
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Chris Ward<br />
August 15th Chris Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03041048445927976912noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-628136654123697065.post-5498860477663875812015-07-30T21:53:00.001-07:002015-07-30T21:53:03.115-07:00Work in progress snippet<span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">Wrote this yesterday. Part of a new story I'm working on, in first person no less! Closing in on 50,000 words, so hopefully I can get it done in August. I still have a 5th Crow book to write, but after doing three in a row I needed a break. This is actually based on an old short story, but it's deviated somewhat into a completely different beast. Not sure of a title yet.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"><br />"The damp, algae-coated wooden slats that passed for seats in the bottom of the boat were like a strong hand to a falling man. I hugged them, crying into them, trying to ignore the pain in my torn-open wounds as the brutal reality of the words I had screamed as I leapt from the harbour side into the water rang in my mind like a giant, diseased bell.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">None.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">At the moment when I had needed them most, I had forgotten my children’s names.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;"></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 24px;">I felt like the world was folding in on me, squashing me flat, and there was nothing I could do to stop it."</span><br />
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;">Chris Ward</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Trebuchet MS;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;">July 31st 2015</span></span>Chris Wardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03041048445927976912noreply@blogger.com0