Hello there. It's been a while since I checked in here with anything new, that's mainly because what's been going on in my life - while fascinating to me - would be of little interest to anyone other than me. Probably. I mean, you never know, do you? But then that's what my blog site is for. The minutiae of my life, away from fangs and blood and all the rest of it, belongs on my Blogger page. This - U&F.com - is for all things U&F. And as I say, there hasn't been a whole lot of U&F going on in my life lately. Or so I thought. In fact, U&F is always going on at some level in my life; it's like a quiet engine that thrums away constantly in the background, always doing something, creating itself either with or without my direct involvement. And so, I realised today that things have happened in the U-andF-niverse, and I'd like to share them with you.
Firstly, the manuscript of U&F the novel is now out of the audio-matching / editing stage, and is being proof-read for errors by my wife. As you know, the book is in two parts, and she's done part one and is now well into part two. She tells me work still needs to be done on it, but on the whole, it's looking good. This bodes very well for a Spring release for the ebooks. Yes, books - plural - I've decided that the ebook release will be in two parts. Part One, which corresponds to Episodes 1-21, is called Resurrection, and Part Two, which corresponds to episodes 22-45, is called Bonded in Blood. The reason for separating the book into two distinct parts is really due to the way the ebook marketplace seems (to me, anyway) to work. Readers love series. Readers also love low prices. So by splitting the book into two distinct parts, I create two low price books. The two "volumes" will be combined into a single edition for the paperback and hardback editions. So what you currently think of as Underwood and Flinch, will ultimately become Underwood and Flinch, Books One and Two. And that means that the book I'm currently writing, will become Underwood and Flinch, Book Three: Blood and Smoke.
Busman's holiday. Writing U&F Blood and Smoke in the Canary Islands
Yes, that's another piece of news for you. I'm writing again. I had started on the next U&F adventure quite a while ago. The plot is all mapped-out in my mind, and although it's daunting (and how!), I've been chipping away at it, on and off, for several months. But a few weeks ago, I went on holiday to Fuerteventura with my wife, and at the last minute, I decided to take a laptop with me so I could work on the story should the mood take me. Well, the mood did take me. I wrote over 10,000 words, averaging at about 1,400 a day. It was a great place to work because all the usual distractions just weren't there: there was nothing to do but lie around in the sun, read, or write. I managed to get some sun, and to read too, but most importantly, I got to write, and I got my book rolling again. Yay! I only wish I could afford to do it more often!!
Since coming home, I've tried to keep up the writing habit, but back with the distractions of day-to-day living, my output has fallen. Though sayng that, I'm still chipping away at it as and when I can. The story currently stands at about 20,000 words. I'm not saying that's done and dusted, ready-to-go, word content. But it's a start.
So what's it about? Well, it is, as I say, called Blood and Smoke, and it continues Underwood's origin adventure in the Caribbean. I can't say more than that at the moment, but I will say that it's going well and I'm happy with it. I plan to continue writing it as regularly as my schedule allows, and with a bit of luck, it'll be finished by the end of the year. My plan is to release it as an ebook and an audio book simultaneously. Hard copy paper books may happen; it depends on how well the paper copies of the first novel go. But I'm sure what's really tickling your curiosity is whether or not it will be released as a podcast, no? Well, I'm happy to say that it will ... But, it won't come out all at once. No, it'll be a monthly podcast like U&F was - an episode a month for a year (or however long it takes to podcast it). However, unlike U&F, next time, you'll be able to end the torment of waiting at any moment by just buying the whole thing outright. Huzzah!
And finally, one last nugget of news, Night Crossing, the U&F prequel short story, is once again free for all e-reader formats from Smashwords.com. So if you haven't got a copy for your device, grab one now by clicking the image below.
I'll check back in with any U&F news as soon as I have some. But in the meantime, should you wish to keep up with the minutae of my life (I've got flu, read all about it), then do please follow my Blogger page. It's not exactly exciting, but at least you'll know that I've not completely fallen off the face of the Earth 
