Long Awaited Update

Hi All

No, I have not got more writing done. I have now got more paid work and am facing exams next week (so this has to be brief).

I have decided with all the continuous quakes in Christchurch it will be a hard task to work out what the powers that be will decide to build in its place. Thus I have come to the difficult decision to write about a Christchurch that may never exist in reality, rather than try to predict (and most probably fail) what the new Christchurch will be.

The only other solution would be to hold off publication date for four years until all has settled and the result is obvious. This of course is not really an option.

That BOAS takes place in a parallel universe to ours it is reasonable that the Christchurch of BOAS is not the same as the Christchurch of our world. BOAS takes place in 2020 and the Christchurch of BOAS did suffer earthquakes nine years previously and even a great fire (top secret that bit).

Another point is that, since next semester I am only studying one paper, I have also decided I will set aside time for BOAS writing. So hopefully the novel can be finished before 2011 finishes, and early enough for my editors to edit the copy as well.

So plan on having more regular updates in a few weeks.

Cheers

Peter

BOAS and the Quake

BOAS is Christchurch, all through the story there are little explanations and descriptions of Christchurch. It is also based in 2020, which will be nine years after the quake that has just struck this wonderful city.

Much will change between now and then and I wish to present a Christchurch that has managed to come out of the rubble fighting and willing to show their English roots are still part of their architectural heritage. I know I will need many rewrites now as things progress and plans are redrawn to show what New Christchurch will be.

I hope that my book will show to the Christchurch residents that there is a future, maybe a weird one, but one all the same and that they will survive this terrible event as they did before.

My heart and prayers go out to the people of Christchurch, and also to people like myself who have emotional ties to the grand city. The Garden City will be great once more. My deepest thoughts are with those who have lost loved ones, or have no idea if they have or not. Buildings can and will be replaced. Loved individuals are unique and will forever leave a hole in our lives.

14,888 Words

I have had a good day writing. I discovered indoor playgrounds are great places to lose your kids long enough to get some decent writing done on the laptop and have a great coffee at the same time. I am now on Chapter 8 and things are hotting up for our hero and his friends after one of them loses their life.

Today's excerpt (Please remember that this is a very rough stage and there has been no editing at all. It will be smoothed before publication.)

"... Besides the term AI was hijacked by the advertising people to mean anything that didn’t do what you’d expect it to do. Artificial Intelligence now basically describes a computer that follows a huge store of possibilities that make it seem to be intelligent. Those machines know as much about their own existence as a toaster does. Just as we know who we are, Robbie knows who he is. He will have dreams, helps sort out the memory, and he will even have aspirations.”

“Hmmm, an aspiring computer. You don’t think that is a little bit dangerous.”

“You mean computers taking over the world?”

Michael stopped and looked at Sue. It took a while for Sue to realise that the question was not rhetorical, “Yes Mick that is what I meant.”

“No, one thing those science fiction stories forget about is the fact that computers have an on-off switch. A computer cannot take over the world if it can be turned off. I have also built in limitations to stop that; besides, his aspirations will be on attaining the best way to keep his designated area the cleanest and most efficient place for us to live in. That is built into his primary psyche, just as procreation is in ours.”

“Speaking of which, you and I have been going out now for over six years…”

“Oh hang on,” Michael interrupted looking at the screen, “I think he’s into the interaction phase..."

12,131 words

Getting into the exciting stuff now. Michael is about to introduce one of the main characters and the first murder is very near. The worlds will be flowing by the thousands soon as the story heats up.

Excerpt for the day - (Please note this is a very rough version, it will be smoothed out by the time pf publication)

“Oh, yes, okay. Anything you say dear. I am sorry I ate your egg.”

“And?”

“And”

“for being a selfish idiot and using me to further you own ambitions.”

“for being a selfish guy and using me to further, sorry and using you to further my own ambitions. I am very sorry Sally.”

“Thank you Mark, I do really love you, you know that.”

“Yes I do. I knew we could overcome this speed bump. Oh while I’m on the phone can you tell me where you put your sewing scissors? I have to cut some wires and I don’t want to damage my office pair.”

11,093 Words

It has been a slow weekend for the word count. But I had a good run tonight in between making the bed (I mean actually making the bed, drilling holes and bolting up the supports etc.)

But I have managed to get through the slump that this particular scene created. I am now on Chapter 7 which is where the story starts to really come out on its own.

Today's Quote (Please remember that this is a very rough stage and there has been no editing at all. It will be smoothed before publication.)

“What part’s that?” Michael asked quite perplexed.

“You know,” Sally stopped, and realised it was not a good idea to continue, it might lead to hours of explanation, “Just the part I should have listened to mum and totally avoided.”

“Well perhaps if you chop that bit off everything else will work.”

“I don’t think that would sit very well with Mark,” Sally was now almost laughing, “or should I say Mark wouldn’t sit very well....."

10,116 Words

Yes I have broken the 10 thousand barrier! I have re-edited chapters 1 to 5 correcting a few issues that were discovered last night. I am on Chapter 6 and after a slight stall as draft #4 is a bit iffy at this point so I had to start writing anew and get the same message across. So far it is flowing a lot better.

Favourite Text for today: (This is rough unedited text and will be a lot smoother in release)

"Hang on." Michael bounded into the car and pressed a button, "Nine Forty Five and thirty three point two three seconds. It' a quarter to ten, " Michael started singing, "and there's no one in the place except you and me."

"That's a quarter to three you idiot." Came the terse reply below.

Michael looked carefully at the car's readout, "No, a quarter to ten. This clock is reset every microsecond to satellite time, it is accurate to the nano-second...."

9582 Words

I am now at 9528 words, the target is at least 100,000. The good news is that I have not even got as far as the first murder yet, so it is looking promising. I have covered the flash back chapters which have made their way to the start so are no longer flashbacks and thus set the story and allow the reader to guess who dunnit without too much difficulty. The problem is that I reached 9000 words two days ago, but my paid work has caused me to slow down, plus too much time spent at Al's place and the like (See Amazon Customer Discussions).

Each day I will pick out my favourite sentence that does not give the story away. Please remember this is text from a non-grammar and non-plot edited version so it is pretty rough. It will be all polished up before it reaches the Kindle shelves.

“Your weight is fine Sally.” Mark said in a quieter voice, “Besides, I love big behinds, you know that.”