Finally Freaksville!

 Hi Guys,

Yes - it has finally happened! After an entire year of failed promises, Freaksville has finally gone to Amazon! And I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am! (Or is that relieved?)

The book as you know has been a struggle. I've written and re-written it so many times that I can't even remember what it looked like at the start. There have been multiple attempts at a cover - I'm really pleased with the one that I finally got out of Deep Dream. And the blurb actually had me pulling my hair out!

But it's finally done. A 136 K of science fiction, genetic engineering and urban fantasy, all set in the fictional town of Freaksville (Arundale) where witches do battle with one another in the streets and humans stay clear of them if they know what's good for them! Where the mist rises and falls and people arrive and leave. And of course where there are soldiers patrolling the streets, making sure no one escapes the quarantine zone. Meanwhile on the horizon there are sea monsters and six legged cats and battle!

And standing in the middle of it are Frank Fischer - a mechanical engineer trapped in the town - and Rina Crofter, a faerie and orchardist from the other side of the mist. And as their romance blossoms, while all around chaos rages and war looms, the conflicting plans of all the different factions slowly come into focus.

Anyway it's written and my eyeballs are trying to burn their way out of their sockets. Most of all I need coffee. And so I wish you all a great time and hope you enjoy the book.

And of course, be good or don't get caught!

Cheers, Greg.

Freaksville is Coming Along Nicely

Hi Guys,

 

 

Just thought I'd write a short post to tell you that, no, I haven't been just simply sitting on my arse, twiddling my thumbs all this time. (Just some of it!) In fact I've been busy writing two different novels - oh the perils of being a pantster! 

The first is "A Ghost Of A Chance" which is about an astral traveler in a steampunk world who discovers all the strange troubles his talent can get him in. At the moment I'm a little bit blocked on it, which is why the second book, "Freaksville" is coming along a little faster. Freaksville is an urban fantasy set in New Zealand about an engineer trapped in a community full of nyads, dryads and - you guessed it - faeries. It also skirts the boundaries between urban fantasy and urban sci fi which means it may end up being classed as science fantasy. (Oh, it also has a six legged cat!)

But what I really wanted to talk about was a new art program I've recently discovered. And maybe I'm a little behind the times, but it is wondrous. It's called Deep Dream AI, and as the name suggests, it actually has an AI generating images for you based on how you describe the image you want. And it is stunning! It does beautiful pictures, though it has problems. Number one unfortunately is that it can't do wings, which is why I had to tinker a little with the image above. (And there's more to do yet - this is just a draft!)

What blows me away though, is that the computer generates these images all by itself based purely on a few words you give it. Now that truly is science fiction!

Anyway if you've got a few spare moments, I'd recommend hopping over to the site, and taking a look. It has a limited free offer - probably about fifteen or so images you can experiment with - but unfortunately after that you have to pay. But it's well worth just seeing the brave new world of computing arriving in front of you.

(I just hope AI's don't start writing books - or I'll be in trouble!)

Other than that, I really haven't got a lot else to report. But as usual I wish you guys all the best. And as always, be good or don't get caught!

Cheers, Greg.