Fiction
I’ve been writing fiction for a while now, having completed a huge sci-fi novel a year ago called Cities of Refuge. After that, I wrote a very different (and mercifully shorter) novel consisting of stand-alone chapters, each told by a different character, all in the first person. I was testing my ability to create character through dialog, and never intended to write anything more than a short story, but the ideas came fast and Life Below Decks was the result.
Anyway, while I look for a publisher, here’s a taster: the first chapter, called Bad Barnet. (For those unfamiliar with the slang, a ‘barnet’ is a haircut). Be warned: there is strong language, the subject matter is a boxing scam, and if you’re expecting some feely tree-huggy environmentalist saga, you’re in for a violent shock. This story is about revenge.
http://gpwayne.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/bad-barnet.pdf
Update
I spend a lot of time writing doomy stuff, and I hope it’s all very worthy etc, but bloody hell! There must be more to life than this, surely?
Well yes, actually: this is a different kind of contribution. I spent three years writing a novel, was resolutely ignored by the agents and publishers I sent it to, so I tell you what: here it is as a PDF – my gift to anyone who cares to download it. The book is called Cities of Refuge, and I asked my partner to describe it:
Set against a foreboding future landscape, a band of musicians take a journey of fate or free will through the remnants of civilisation’s failed ambitions, to find answers and provide protection for a mysterious, yet endearing, stranger they have taken under their wing.
Fraternal efforts bring forth a poignant test of loyalty, love, trust and camaraderie as the band’s hedonistic existence is dislocated by their reluctant contact with the murky world of espionage. Fearing for their safety, they are capitulated into a hazardous trek across a broken country and deep into the realms of exploration, betrayal and redemption.
Damn, that sounds wicked. I might even give it a try meself…
http://gpwayne.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/cities_of_refuge.pdf
