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Wood the Writer

~ Author of Tales From Undersea

Wood the Writer

Category Archives: books

One week to go

25 Monday Apr 2022

Posted by Jessica Wood in Blog, books, self publishing

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blurb reveal, dieselpunk, mm romance, new book, pre-order, steampunk book

Ok, technically six days, but what does it matter? Sky’s Edge is out on May 1st! It is already available for pre-order at only 99 cents. The regular price will be $3.99.

It’s never easy to kill a man. Especially one you’re falling in love with.

Over York City, 1928.

Alcohol is banned throughout the Empire, including the sky cities. But that doesn’t mean you can’t find any, so long as you know where to look.

When police detective Rory Sullivan is assigned to go undercover to the Sky’s Edge speakeasy, he takes the job willingly. He’s been out for revenge on the Hell’s Alley Gang, who run the illegal and magically-hidden establishment, ever since they killed his father. But Rory doesn’t expect to meet the charming and beautiful drag queen, Lacey Liscious. He is even more surprised to discover she is actually Colin Gilbert – the son of the Don and one of the mob’s most deadly hitmen. As Rory closes in to enact his revenge, the Don also tasks Colin with killing the detective and tossing his body over the city’s edge.

But the more time Rory and Colin spend together as friends, the closer they become. And the more Rory spends in the hidden, underground sections of Over York, the more he realises the mob may not be the villains he believed. How can Rory and Colin kill each other when they’re also falling in love? And how can they keep their newfound relationship a secret?

Pre-order now. Or join the Sea and Skies newsletter for more deals, new releases, and free stories.

 

Top Six Books I Read in 2021

10 Monday Jan 2022

Posted by Jessica Wood in author, Blog, books, fairy tale, fantasy, pirate, romance, villain

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books, children's books, fantasy books, reading, steampunk books, ya books

Since 2022 is already in full swing, I thought I’d make my first post of the year about my favourite books I read in the past year. According to Goodreads, I managed to read 56 books in 2021! One more than my goal of 55! These were the ones I liked the best:

(Note, this is ‘books I read in 2021’ and not ‘books which were published in 2021’)

  1. The Girl the Sea Gave Back by Adrienne Young

I do love a good Norse-inspired fantasy, and this one didn’t disappoint. Tova is a relatable ‘out of place’ protagonist, hated by her community yet completely essential to them. The romance between her and Halvard was a little sudden, but I loved how it played out in the end.

2. Steel Rose by Kathryn Ann Kingsley

I wasn’t sure I was going to enjoy a ‘villain romance’ at first, especially since this is essentially the romance between a freedom fighter and a quasi-communist leader (I live in Finland and we don’t exactly like communists). But this book surprised me. What drew me in most to this book was the dieselpunk world of airships, art-deco buildings, and an interesting concept of communism essentially taking over all of Europe. I’m excited to read further books in this series to see how this corrupt government falls.

3. Sherwood by Meagan Spooner

I already wrote a full review gushing over this book. To avoid repeating myself, this is a feminist re-telling of Robin Hood from Maid Marion’s perspective. I especially love how the feminist message is portrayed without being overly preachy and still fitting in with the attitudes of the time period.

4. The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket

It took me far too long to start the Series of Unfortunate Events books, especially considering the TV show is my favourite series, and the reason Neil Patrick Harris is my favourite actor. I wasn’t disappointed by the book version, and some lines really shook me, even knowing how the story was going to unfold.

5. Knightmare Arcanist by Shami Stovall

While this may seem like another ‘kids with powers’ YA book, the likeable characters, range of unique mythical creatures, and exciting plot set it apart from all the other cookie cutter YA fantasy books I read on a regular basis.

6. To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

Fairy tale retellings are very popular right now, but I have to admit I prefer the darker versions. This book is a loose retelling of The Little Mermaid with a sinister twist – the mermaid is a siren who has to capture the heart of the prince. By which I mean his literal heart, not just his love. This book also has a great supporting cast, vivid locations, and an exciting plot. And did I mention pirates? Yeah, if you can’t tell, I also have a thing for pirates.

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Writing update 19/7/2021

19 Monday Jul 2021

Posted by Jessica Wood in Blog, books, self publishing, writing update

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creative writing, steampunk, steampunk books, tales from the skies, tales from undersea, writing

I hope everyone is having a good summer and surviving whatever heatwave or flood is plaguing your corner of the world. It’s been about a month since I launched Stealing From Thieves, the second Tales From Undersea book. I’ve been pleased with the positive response it’s received so far, so a huge thank you to everyone who has read the book so far.

But what is next for the Undersea series? Well spoiler alert but book 2 ended on a bit of a cliff hanger. I’m currently editing book 3 and hope to send it to beta readers in early August and release it by the end of the year.

And after that? Well, I’m already planning a ‘sister series’ titled Tales From the Skies. This will be set in the same universe as Tales From Undersea but will take place in a sky city in the 1920’s and 30’s. While I’m going to write it with the intention that anyone who has read the Undersea series can go straight into this one, it will also serve as a jumping in point to anybody unfamiliar with the series. It also looks like it’s going to be aimed more at adults rather than the young adult market, so there may be a few slightly naughty bits.

While Tales From Undersea had a focus on adventure, Tales From the Skies will have a romance plot at the forefront. The story will focus on the ongoing relationship between Colin, a crossdresser working at his mafia family’s drag bar speakeasy and Rory, a police detective seeking revenge on the mafia for killing his father. Of course this is still all in the planning stages, so don’t be surprised if any of these details change by the time the books are published. I’m hoping to get the first one out by May 2022 and then space them out every few months after that. So far there are 4 books in this series, so there will be even more for you to enjoy.

If you want to stay informed on release dates for this series or any special offers, the best way is to join the Sea and Sky newsletter, where I post all new releases the day they come out. You get an exclusive free short for singing up, too!

Stealing From Thieves is out now! (Plus a book deal)

23 Wednesday Jun 2021

Posted by Jessica Wood in Blog, book launch, books, pirate, sale, self publishing, steampunk

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99 cents, book deal, book release, book sale, ebook sale, new release, self published author, self publishing, steampunk book, ya book, young adult book

I’m very happy to announce that Stealing from Thieves, the second book in the Tales from Undersea series, is out now on Amazon in ebook, paperback, and in Kindle Unlimited! Click the book cover to go to the Amazon page:

If you haven’t started the series yet, book 1 is only 99 cents (or 99p) until Sunday.

Join the Undersea newsletter for more book releases, deals, and free stories.

Six Steampunk Trends I love (and One I Hate)

01 Tuesday Jun 2021

Posted by Jessica Wood in Blog, books, fantasy, romance, steampunk, story, villain, writing

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dieselpunk, dystopian, enemies to lovers, fantasy, murder mystery, steampunk, steampunk books

I’ve been researching popular trends in steampunk books lately to better help my own writing, and in doing so I’ve uncovered some I really like, and a few I can’t stand. These are some of them:

  1. Magitech

I once heard someone say that magic has no place in steampunk since technology usually fills the same role. But steampunk often straddles the thin like between fantasy and science fiction, so why can’t we have both? Technical devices powered by magic are both fascinating and unique, and allow us to experience the best of both fantasy and sci-fi.

2. Steam-powered dictatorship

The popularity of the dystopian genre seems to have bled into steampunk in franchises such as Mortal Engines. It is a nice subversion for the standard steampunk setting where technology improves everyone’s lives and society lives in harmony. I especially love the setting in Kathryn Ann Kingsley’s Cardinal Wings series where a communist-style society has essentially taken over all of Europe.

3. Murder mystery

Perhaps it’s because of Sherlock Holmes, but there seem to be quite a few mystery series with a steampunk twist. My particular favourites are The Daemoniac by Kat Ross about a gender-flipped Sherlock Holmes and the Arcane Casebook series by Dan Willis which takes a more dieselpunk tone.

4. Art nouveau

While we mostly associate steampunk with Victorian aesthetics, it seems more common lately to include inspiration from the early 20th century and the art nouveau and art deco styles. As much as I like the Victorian era, I like these looks much better and find the simplistic lines much more pleasing. They can be used both to make a setting look cool or to make it appear imposing and threatening.

5. Propaganda

The role which propaganda plays in our public perception has been more of a hot-button issue in recent years. As sinister as it is, there is something oddly fascinating about how words and images can sway huge groups of people into a particular way of thinking, and how virtually every society has attempted it at some point in history. Steampunk is a particularly interesting genre to explore this, especially when combined with the dystopian elements I mentioned above.

6. Enemies to lovers

Readers have been going crazy over this trope lately, especially since we’ve started deconstructing classic villain archtypes. There’s something incredibly thrilling about reading two people from opposing sides realising they actually have a lot in common and going from one emotional extreme to the other. Once again, this works perfectly in steampunk fiction which loves both a good villain and a good romance.

And one trend I hate:

Everyone loves the hero

I enjoy romantic drama as much as the next reader or fanfiction writer, but something I notice a lot in the steampunk books I’ve read lately is protagonists with several love interests, or at least people who are interested in them. Sometimes it seems as if the entire world is falling at the main character’s feet within moments of meeting them. It runs the risk of portraying the character as unrealistic and there isn’t going to be much of a character arc unless somebody hates their guts.

 

What are your favourite and least favourite steampunk trends? Let me know in the comments below!

 

Join the Undersea newsletter for new releases and special offers on my steampunk series, Tales From Undersea and the upcoming Tales From the Skies.

Book Review – Sherwood by Meagan Spooner

17 Monday May 2021

Posted by Jessica Wood in adaptation, Blog, book review, books, story

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book review, historical fiction, Robin Hood, robin hood book, ya, young adult book

This re-telling of the Robin Hood legend puts a modern feminist twist on a centuries old story.

When the hero Robin of Locksley dies in a crusade to the Holy Land, Nottingham is plunged into poverty and turmoil. His betrothed Maid Marion is left to pick up the pieces when the Sheriff raises taxes and King Richard is nowhere around to help his own people. Putting on her beloved’s cloak, she disguises herself as Nottingham’s hero and rounds up a team of Merry Men to bring justice to the land. But with Guy of Gisborne both out to catch ‘Robin Hood’ and win Marion’s broken heart, she’ll have to use every ounce of cunning she has.

There seem to be quite a few feminist re-tellings of Robin Hood and similar legends lately. This one has a lot that will appeal to modern women without sacrificing any historical accuracy. In fact, many of the issues brought up are as painfully relevant to the modern day as they were in medieval times. For example, when Marion is disguised as Robin, the Merry Men follow her plans without hesitation. But when she is presenting as herself, they talk over her, question her ideas, and treat her like a fragile flower in need of protection. Although the men are portrayed as heroic, likeable characters, it says a lot how even they are conditioned to treat men and women differently.

Guy of Gisborne was another great surprise in this book. At first, I assumed that following most adaptations, he would be a standard villain and unwanted suitor to Marion, sort of like Gaston. But the number of twists and turns for his character threw me back and made me change my entire perspective on his character.

The only real downside to this novel is that the first half drags in comparison to the action-packed second half and risks putting off some readers. Although this does leave plenty of time to set up Marion’s position of Robin Hood and portray her grieving with heart-breaking accuracy.

Any young adult readers or those looking for a relatable, strong female protagonist will find this book a sharp-shooting adventure.

 

My rating – 5 out of 5.

Happy World Book Day!

23 Friday Apr 2021

Posted by Jessica Wood in author, Blog, books, cosplay, sale, self publishing, steampunk

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ebook sale, free, free ebooks, steampunk, steampunk book, world book day

I remember my school always took World Book Day super seriously. We had events like dressing up as your favourite book character and having prizes for the best one (which was always someone dressed as The Cat in the Hat). I vaguely remember dressing up as Black Beauty, never telling anyone that I had only seen the films and have never read the book, and having a tail awkwardly shoved down my trousers all day. Perhaps this sparked my interest in cosplay.

I also remember every school child in Britain got a book coupon to use on World Book Day, which I usually put towards pony books (are you noticing what kind of child I was?). I don’t know if they still do this, but I hope they do.

As somewhat of a throwback to these memories, my book Traitor’s Revenge is free on Amazon until Saturday. You don’t even need a book token or to cosplay as Black Beauty.

If you want to know about future promotions or new books, join the Undersea newsletter.

Four things I learnt from writing and publishing my first book

18 Thursday Feb 2021

Posted by Jessica Wood in author, Blog, book launch, books, Editing, indie, self publishing, story, writing

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creative writing, self published author, self publishing, writing

As proud as I am for not only completing but self-publishing my first novel, it soon became apparent that there were a lot of things I did wrong, and a lot of things I can learn from. These are just a few which I’ll be applying for my future books, and which may be beneficial to other authors:

Abandoning ideas can be a good thing

People always tell you ‘don’t give up’ and ‘always finish a book’. There is some good sentiment in these statements, but I think it’s more important to recognise when you should give up or abandon a project which isn’t working.

For me, I spent years working a novel which I was proud of at the time, but looking back it contained every YA book cliché. Rebellious princess? Revolution? Non-human and borderline creepy love interest? Yep, it had them all.

When I first came up with the idea which would turn into the Undersea series, I was reluctant to give up on the book. But after much reflection, I realised that letting it go to work on this new project was the right move. While there are still some things with this new series, I’m not happy with in hindsight, reception has been much more positive, so I’m glad I didn’t release that cliched book as my debut release.

Plan from the beginning

While I decided early on that I wanted this series to be a trilogy (with the possibility of further books in the future), I didn’t plan out each book in the trilogy until I started the first draft. This has held me back as I’ve wound up with dozens of different characters and sub plots to juggle and resolve cleanly in the final book. Many character arcs have gone a different direction than I intended and some foreshadowing in the first (now published) book I’m now wishing I had cut out. If I write another series with ongoing continuity, I’ll do much more planning from the start so I don’t end up writing myself into a wall.

The final draft is never the final draft

You would think that once the final draft is done, it’s over, right? Oh, how wrong I was! There are still edits, proofs, print copies, copies in different formats. These are all the files in my ‘final version’ folder:

And that’s for just one book.

No matter how low your expectations, you’ll still be disappointed

This one is going to be difficult for other authors to swallow, but is precisely why we need a thick skin. I knew that as a debut author with virtually no platform, my sales were going to be low at first. But I thought I might get at least a few on release day. Maybe a few people would read my blog or see my social media posts.

I opened my Amazon account the next morning and… nothing. My first sale didn’t come in for a few days, and that was me buying a copy of my own book to check it for errors.

Part of it, I have now learnt, was that it takes a few days for Amazon’s system to pick up a book, add the ‘look inside’ feature, and start including it in search algorithms. This is why next time I’ll go for a ‘soft launch’ to give Amazon a few days to register the book before I start promoting it. I’ll also focus more on looking for ARC reviewers to look at the book on release (contact me if you want to join my ARC team, btw).

Sales have picked up a tiny bit thanks to some promotions, but are still nothing most days. But I’m not discouraged. This is just part of the process. I’m going to keep writing whether I ‘succeed’ or not, so it really doesn’t matter.

 

If you want to find out more about the Undersea series or get some free stories, join my newsletter.

Traitor’s Revenge is on sale

02 Tuesday Feb 2021

Posted by Jessica Wood in author, Blog, books, pirate, sale, self publishing, steampunk, story

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99 cents, book promo, book sale, discount, ebook sale, steampunk, steampunk book

The e-book edition of Traitor’s Revenge is on sale on Amazon for only 99 cents until February 4th!

Don’t forget to sign up to the Undersea newsletter for more deals, book recommendations, updates, and free stories. You get a free prologue for Traitor’s Revenge when you sign up!

Top Seven Books I Read in 2020

07 Thursday Jan 2021

Posted by Jessica Wood in adaptation, author, Blog, books, fantasy, story

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books, fantasy, mystery, read in 2020, reading, thriller, young adult

For everything 2020 was, it was at least a great year for staying in and reading. I topped my personal best by reading 52 books this year, according to Goodreads. These are some of the best books I read this year (note that this is ‘books I read in 2020’ and not ‘books that were released in 2020’):

  1. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

I watched the tv show before I read the book, which is the opposite of what I usually do. But the tv show was good enough to get me to read the book, and I really enjoyed both, for much the same reasons. It was just the sort of hilarious book I needed this year. And I can’t help but ship Crowley and Aziraphale.

2. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Another Neil Gaiman book. I loved this one for its creepier atmosphere and the surprising twist which I almost didn’t believe even after I had just read it.

3. The Daemoniac by Kat Ross

Not only do I enjoy a good lady detective book (I’m actually planning one myself) but I also adore Victorian settings, gothic storylines, and Sherlock Holmes re-tellings. This book has them all. I’ll definitely be checking out more from this author.

4. You by Caroline Kepnes

I love the Netflix series, and the book doesn’t disappoint, either. It has some differences from the show, but also has more of an insight into Joe’s head, which makes him ten times creepier.

5. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

This one had been on my ‘to read’ list for a while and I finally got around to reading it. Once again, I wasn’t disappointed. If tend to find that when the reading community on Tumblr is constantly recommending something, I should probably check it out. That was definitely true for this book. I loved the bleakness of the remote setting (it almost reminded me of Craggy Island!) and the unique and often terrifying take on selkies.

6. Last Battle of the Icemark by Stuart Hill

I don’t see many people talking about this series anymore, which is a real shame. It has a compelling cast of characters, worldbuilding based upon several different historic cultures, and an exciting story. This last book was particularly exciting, and I loved seeing what happened to Medea.

7. Sword and Pen by Rachel Caine

I finally read the last book in my favourite series, and what an ending it was! It was the perfect way to end the series, except for the fact that my favourite couple didn’t get married! I was sad to hear that Rachel Caine passed away at the end of last year, since she was my favourite author and a large inspiration to me and many other writers. I still hope that readers can still find and enjoy her books, regardless.

 

What were the best books you read in 2020? What are you most looking forward to reading this year? Tell me in the comments!

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