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Wood the Writer

~ Author of Tales From Undersea

Wood the Writer

Category Archives: story

Want a Free Book?

22 Tuesday Mar 2022

Posted by Jessica Wood in author, Blog, Bonus content, steampunk, story

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alternative history, books, clockpunk, free book, free ebook, steampunk, steampunk book

If you’ve been following my Instagram lately, you might have noticed an announcement for a new book. This isn’t a regular book release but a new freebie for joining my steampunk newsletter.

Codex Leonardo is a prequel to the Undersea series, detailing how the world came to be, featuring Leonardo da Vinci and several other historical characters. If you haven’t read any of the Undersea books yet, this book can still serve as an introduction.

If you want a copy, all you have to do is click here and follow the instructions to join the mailing list and download a digital copy (this book isn’t available in paperback, unfortunately). In addition to the book, the newsletter will also give you regular updates, special offers, free stories, and background information on the Undersea series, and the upcoming Tales From the Skies spinoff.

Watching Lost Season One 18 Years Too Late

23 Wednesday Feb 2022

Posted by Jessica Wood in Blog, musings, series review, story, tv, tv review

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fandom, lost, television, tv

Where are they?

I have a strange relationship with pop culture in that I hardly ever seem to follow something when it’s currently being released. I’ll generally get into it years after it’s already ended and the majority of discussion and fandom has dried up and moved onto something else. In a way this has an advantage as there’s plenty of fan content waiting for me, but it also has the disadvantage of feeling like a fandom of 1.

That’s what’s happening to me with Lost right now. Despite being one of the most watched and acclaimed shows ever, I only started watching it a few weeks ago. This wasn’t by choice, mind you. The show was so heavily promoted when it aired in 2004 that I was planning on watching it. But on the night the pilot aired in the UK, my family was going out somewhere so I only caught the first few minutes. Since this was before streaming services, I couldn’t exactly watch it when I got home like I would today. And since the show is so continuity heavy and plot driven, I couldn’t exactly jump in part way through either (and I did try). So, I ended up not watching a staple of modern pop culture for 18 years. I don’t want to be a ‘back in my day’ type of person, but I think a lot of people younger than my own generation don’t realise how lucky they are to live in an age of streaming and watching things whenever you want to.

But now I have started watching the show, I can understand the hype and see what I’ve been missing all these years. It’s incredibly addicting not only to follow the supernatural mystery, but also to see the character relationships develop and find out how they’re going to survive together.

In retrospect, I can now see that certain aspects of the show haven’t aged particularly well, or are a reflection of the time the show was made. And I’m not just talking about the special effects for the polar bear, which must have been bad even by 2004 standards. Sawyer represents the ‘troubled bad boy’ archtype which while still around today, has evolved somewhat from just being an arsehole for no particular reason. Some of the relationships seem to exist purely on the basis of having a man and a woman interacting on a 2000s show. And the less said about the love triangle the better. In a way, it does provide an eye-opening look into how media and representation has changed for the better in the space of 18 years.

The disadvantage of only getting into things super late is that it not only makes it easy to accidently stumble upon spoilers, I can find them without even needing to look. The show has been around for so long by now that many of the big twists are already common knowledge, even to people who have never watched the show. Plus, as engaged as I am with the show, I have heard more than a few rumours that it doesn’t stay this good for the entire run and the supernatural elements get super weird. I’m going into it aware that I could be setting myself up for disappointment.

Even so, I’m still excited to continue watching the show for the characters I’m growing to love so I can finally decide for myself if I agree with the popular opinion. One advantage of getting into things late is that I don’t have to wait for it to finish.

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.

Deleted scene – Where Shiro got his otter

05 Monday Apr 2021

Posted by Jessica Wood in author, Blog, deleted scene, pirate, self publishing, steampunk, story

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deleted scene, fiction, pirate, sea otter, steampunk, writing

I was going through an old draft and found this deleted scene I thought readers would like. I initially introduced Shiro and his pet otter Kappa earlier and explained in more detail where he came from.

 

“Mum, look what I got with my share!” Marina’s voice appeared behind them. Alethea turned to see her daughter. She shared her mother’s thin face and dark hair, although hers was cut short and worn loosely rather than the bun which Alethea preferred. But she had her father’s thoughtful forest green eyes. Now that she was getting closer to adulthood, the resemblance was even stronger, Alethea always thought wistfully. But she was snapped out of her thoughts when she remembered that she was angry with her.

“Where have you been? It’s madness out there.”

“I was only buying a book,” Marina said with a scowl, showing her the title of her new purchase.

“Leif Erikson and the Golden Sea,” Alethea read the title.

“It’s a first edition. It was the last one in the shop,” Marina said.

“This was your father’s favourite book, too,” Alethea said, taking the book and running her hand over the cover.

“Really?” Marina said, her eyebrows raised.

“Yes. We didn’t think much of the opera version, though. The Vikings of Vyborg is much better.”

“Oh look at me, I’m going to the opera!” the teasing voice of Rico Hernández, the Barracuda’s gun master, came as the Hispanic man slid down the flank of the boat to land next to them. “I grew up drinking expensive wine from golden cups and hunting pheasants while riding side saddle,” he said in a mocking British accent.

“Do you think I grew up in the Middle Ages?” Alethea asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Who grew up in the Middle Ages? Are you talking about my village?” Asked Shirokani, the boatswain, as he joined the others.

“It’s nothing. Rico’s being an arse again,” Kei said.

“Right, same as usual,” said Shirokani.

“Shiro, why is your tunic moving?” Rico asked, eyeing Shiro’s chest.

“What? No it’s not…” Shiro said, gripping his tunic, which now that Alethea looked closer, did appear to have something moving underneath it.

“Yes, it is. Is there something inside of you about to burst out?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Shiro said, turning red, before a tiny furry head poked out from the top of his tunic.

“Oh, it’s so cute!” Marina almost screamed as she leant an arm out to stroke the fuzzy creature.

“Be careful, he’s only a baby. He still bites,” Shiro said, drawing out the baby sea otter, no bigger than his palm, out from his tunic to allow Marina to find a safe spot to pet him. Alethea noticed that there were already several bright red bite marks on Shiro’s fingers.

“Seriously? Another one?” Rico groaned. This wasn’t the first time that Shiro had adopted a baby animal. In the two years he’d been on the Barracuda, he’d already adopted a cat, a turtle, and a squirrel. Rico slept in the bunk next to Shiro, and wasn’t always happy about it.

“I had to! He was about to be sold to fur traders. I couldn’t let that happen to little Kappa,” Shiro said, gently stroking the otter’s head.

“Kappa?”

“It’s a legend from my home. I had a dream that I met a kappa when I was little. Wait…was that a dream?”

“You can adopt as many pets as you want, so long as you don’t bring a parrot onboard,” Alethea said.

“What is with you and parrots?” Kei laughed. Alethea had never told anybody about Redscalp’s parrot and how much she’d hated it.

“Anyway, I suppose you’ve all heard by now,” Alethea said.

“I think everyone from here to Pacifica will have heard by now,” Kei replied, looking out to the dozens of ships which were already exploding out the pods, almost crashing into each other as they headed out in every direction like children on an Easter egg hunt.

“Meeting in the galley,” Alethea ordered.


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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.

It’s not me, it’s my characters!

14 Sunday Feb 2021

Posted by Jessica Wood in Blog, musings, romance, sale, self publishing, story, writing

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books sale, ebook sale, romance, writing

You’ve probably heard a lot of authors say that the characters take charge of the plot and hijack the story. Some even claim that they don’t intend for their characters to fall in love but they do it on their own.

It happens to me far too often. I don’t intend yet another romantic subplot on top of all the others I have already. But the characters go and fall in love anyway, then the romance becomes a major part of the story. With the Undersea series, I always intended for romance to be a major part of the story and to have a diverse range of relationships (straight, gay, interracial, mermaids, and so forth). But two secondary characters called Rico and Shiro seemed to fall in love entirely on their own. The more I wrote them, the more I realised they would need their own subplot in the second and third novels. It’s ended up becoming one of my favourite parts of the story to write and a major part of the plot. I’ve even come up with new spin-off books for these couples.

Most likely it’s just my subconscious realising that those characters are a good fit for one another, have good chemistry, or the subplot would benefit the story. But sometimes it does feel as if the characters really have become the masters of their own narrative.

Sale for UK readers

In keeping with the Valentine’s theme, Traitor’s Revenge will be on sale for only 99p during Valentine’s weekend in the Amazon UK store. My last sale was only applicable for the US store, so I didn’t want any UK readers to miss out.

For more deals and ‘behind the scenes’ writing notes, join the Undersea 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!

Writing update – Janurary 2021

18 Monday Jan 2021

Posted by Jessica Wood in adaptation, author, Blog, Editing, indie, pirate, self publishing, steampunk, story, writing update

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am writing, creative writing, dieselpunk, steampunk, writing, writing update

I haven’t posted many actual updates since the first book in my series came out. Rest assured, I’m already in the swing of the next two books in the series.

Book 2 – Stealing From Thieves: I got feedback from beta readers which was mostly positive, but did point out some things to correct, which I have done. The book is almost ready to begin the editing phase. I did plan to have this book finished by the end of 2020, but the feedback took longer than I anticipated. Now I’m planning to have it published by Midsummer this year, and hopefully to have the paperback ready to publish at the same time as the e-book.

Book 3 – Outcast’s Alliance: I’m looking over the first draft which I wrote at the end of last year. I expected it to be full of plot holes and errors, which it is, but not nearly as many as I feared. Dare I say it, it’s actually pretty good. Or at least it will be once it’s edited. Once I’ve finished making notes, I’ll be starting the second draft. I plan to have this book finished and ready to publish by the end of 2021.

Other books: I just can’t help myself. Even with these other two books to write and one to promote, I’m still developing ideas for future books in the series, and other series. I just don’t know which one I will work on immedietly after I’ve finished this current trilogy. I’ll probably leave it up to whatever the readers want the most. I’m already planning two one-off sequels to the first Tales From Undersea trilogy focusing on some of the secondary characters who have already proved popular with readers (and with me!). I’m also planning a dieselpunk trilogy set in the same world but moved ahead to the 1920s and set in an underwater version of New York City. A non-related series I’m also developing ideas for is a series based upon the Jules Verne books (can you tell yet that I like Jules Verne?). But that is still in the very early stages of development, so I can’t say anything else about the plot or characters.

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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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