C L Walker
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Dark Game - Merikh Book 1 - Out Now

13/3/2016

 
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Dark Game has just gone live on Amazon. It's at 99c for the rest of the week, so if you want to grab a copy do it now. Not just now. Not when you've got time. Now!

This is the result of the realization I discussed in my last post. I'm changing genres and upping my production schedule. Today is Dark Game, but the second in this initial trilogy is coming up in April, and the third in May. They might even be sooner, but we'll see how well all the outside stuff (covers and editing) lines up.

Both those sequels are already written, by the way. In fact, I've already started on the next project.
Here's the description:

Power-hungry gods. Deadly magic. What could go wrong?

Merikh is a deadly assassin. After escaping from the brutal clan that raised him, he and his partner Mouse plan on putting their skills to good use. All they need to do is poison one simple target for a sweet payday. When the mark turns out to be much more than they bargained for, Merikh and his partner barely survive a blast of magical power.

As they investigate further, Merikh and Mouse find a god masquerading as a waitress, a plot to destroy the town, and an unsettling amount of magic. The job started as a way to make some cash. Now if they don't go through with it, the world may fall to an ancient power even the gods are afraid of. No pressure.

Caught in a battle between magic and the gods, Merikh must seek the help of an unlikely ally to finish the job and save the world from pure evil.




The Deal, a Prequel Novella to Isaac's Story, Is Out Now!

7/7/2015

 
One plan to ruin them all…

Gang leader Zero knows a good opportunity when he sees one. When he and his gang are offered a job to do a favor for a mob boss, they jump at it. All they have to do is pay off a rival for a place in the larger organization.

But Zero has a plan. He thinks they can get what they want, make their new boss happy, and keep the cash in the process. It won't take long to find out if his plan is idiotic, brilliant, or suicidal.  

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In addition to being a new cast of characters in a new story, this also covers Kazumi's arrival in London and her first job for Essex Blood. And more of Kazumi is always a good thing.

Happy Reading

New Release: Dead Men Season 1

27/11/2014

 
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Dead Men Season 1 is out in the wild.

I've spoken about this one at length already, so I'll just say that I'm pleased this is out now.

I really like the characters and the world. I like the pulpy action of it. I like the links it has to the Isaac's Story series, despite the difference in tone. I like Captain West.

Amazon is having some problems at the moment, so the description on the product page is screwed, which is awesome. Updates just aren't going through. This means anyone finding the book organically thinks I'm an idiot. Deep joy.

It's on special for now, selling for 99c for the rest of the week.

Go read a book

New Release: The Algorithm

4/9/2014

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Book 2 of Isaac’s Story: London has appeared, like a genie from a well-rubbed lamp. A thing of immense power, yet fragile and helpless in your hands. Its fate is yours to decide, for good or ill.

Or something.

The Algorithm is about a guy called Jon, who is hired to try and steal data from Wednesday Minds, the largest company in the world and the creators of the digital minds that run everything. He does this and is very happy, until a mad man turns up and starts hunting him that night.

I like Jon. I think he’s a hard working guy, good at his job and proud of his achievements, and he deserves some success. Of course this is the world of Isaac’s Story: London, so he doesn’t get any of that; he gets shot and stabbed and beaten up and chased and loses everything. As you do.
This book was weird to write, because I had an entirely different story in mind when I started. Not the big stuff, that was all there. It’s the B-plots and side-characters that were going a totally different way. I started it heading in a direction and when I was firmly on the path I sat back, expecting the future of this world to shine before me and…

Something in my head went “Nope, not this” and I was lost. I couldn’t figure it out at first, couldn’t see the problem. The characters were all sympathetic and the story of their lives was solid. The redemption of the main character was set up, Chekov’s Gun was in place, but I just couldn’t move it along. I’m sure I could have finished it (I had it all planned out and I can write to a brief), but I didn’t want to.

So I tore it down and rebuilt it, crafting a lean thriller, all action and danger. The characters are all still there, and I think what happens is very cool (and so will you, so go buy it before they’re all gone). It just isn’t the story I set out to write.

What was wrong? Isaac’s Story: London is all thriller. It’s a punch in the face as you a turn a corner, followed by lots of running and fighting. It’s normal people who, though possibly exceptional in their normal lives, aren’t built for this kind of thing. And that wasn’t what I’d written for Jon. I’d written a character study, a deconstruction of certain aspects of my world and of the characters who live there.

I like writing stuff like that. I love a long piece of fiction that doesn’t go anywhere except deeper into the navel of the pretentious protagonist. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t read that sort of thing. God no, of course not. That stuff is boring as church. I read stuff with gunfights and punching and cool cyborgs. But I do like to write it.

So I scrapped what I’d written, which is why this book is only going up now instead of two months ago when I’d intended it to appear. I needed time to let the original idea fade a little, so I went off and wrote other things for a bit. When I came back I was able to pull it apart and put it back together again in a new shape. A shape with a scalpel, and a hammer, and torment, and triumph.

The links will go live in the next 12 hours or so. Remember, reading makes you smarter, re-wiring your brain and allowing you to perceive the world in new and exciting ways. For my books that's especially true; they’re like Popeye’s spinach, but for your brain-muscle.

Feed your brain-muscle. Eat my book.

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New Serial Release: Dead Men 5

28/8/2014

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I’m pleased to announce the release of Dead Men: Episode 5. (Also a belated notice on the release of Dead Men: Episode 4, two weeks ago)

This episode sees the company helping Maddy Green’s mother. She’s being abused and she wants out, so the team put together a plan and get to work. Things go wrong, of course.

There’s a basic plan anyone can use when writing any kind of fiction, but (in my opinion) especially thrillers and action/adventure books. Take your hero and chase them up a tree; Throw rocks at them, making their lives worse and worse; See how they get out of it (or don’t).
It’s simple and fun, and can lead to really complex worlds and characters. There’s skill in how you throw the rocks, and in how the character reacts to them, but the foundation of the idea is simple and you’ll see it in anything you really enjoy.

Episode 5 marks the midpoint of Season 1. It’s the last stand-alone story in the season, so from here on out I’m ending on little cliff-hangers. I’ll make sure every episode is complete and ends with a resolution, but the main arc for the season is about to kick into high gear and there’s no way I can make it all go away in one episode.

For the rest of the season I’m going to be throwing rocks, one after another. I’m going chase them all the way up the tree and I’m going to make them beg me to stop. I’m going to do this over multiple episodes, so I have a suggestion:

Buy Episode 5. It’s good and fun and there’s shooting and swearing. And it’s stand-alone.

If you have any issues with cliff-hangers, or with waiting for a resolution to the story you’re reading, don’t buy the next few episodes. I release these every two weeks, so that’s a lot of time to kill between episodes if you find I’ve left you with a burning need to know what’s going to happen next. If that’s a problem, don’t buy them.

Either wait until I’ve released all the episodes or wait an additional couple of weeks, at which point I’ll be releasing a Season 1 box set. You’ll get all the episodes in one book, and you’ll save money in the process.

Now, if you want to buy the individual episodes, and you don’t mind some of them ending on cliff-hangers, and you don’t mind spending more money (though not a lot more), then do whatever you want. I’m just warning you, because I’d like you to enjoy the series.

Having said all of that, go buy the book. Buy a few: books make great gifts.
Buy Now
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