Whilst I have a moment, I thought I would jump on with a quick update. For quite some time, I have been working on a story, which I hope to be able to offer to all of you soon. The story focuses on two themes, which are Fantasy, and Grief, and I understand that to some that may appear an odd mix, but I think once you read it, that it will make more sense to you.
As much as I love and have really enjoyed working on the Curio Chronicle’s, which are more modern and based in a fictional setting, there is a part of me which wanted to return to fantasy, especially after many years of writing Heirs to the Kingdom, and the upcoming book, ‘Han’s Cottage’ will allow me to do that.
I do not want to give too much away at this point, but I think I am safe explaining the basics, and also some of my reason for wanting to write it. For me personally, that is actually a very important aspect of this story. I would like to think of this book as a gentle book, which although does have an intensity to it, I hope I have written it in such a way, that it draws in the reader and has mass appeal. To lay the groundwork, I will supply the following.
Emily Montgomery, is almost twenty two, and flat shares with her best friend and Uni pal, Shelly Parkinson. Emily suffered the loss of her mother when she was only aged four, and as a result. has grown up not really knowing who her mother was. Her father fell apart after her mother’s death, and threw himself into his work, shutting off his feelings, trying to deal with her death, and sent his daughter to boarding school, which left Emily a little isolated and alone.
In order to ease the pressure on Emily, her father turns to her grandmother Hanna, and Emily spends a great deal of her holidays from age four onward living with Grandma Han, who is her only connection to a mother she barely remembers. Through Han, Emily learns all she knows about her mother, and Han’s memories in a strange sense, become Emily’s memories, as she grows up. To Emily, Han is the only real family she knows, as her limited interactions with her father leave her questioning why her mother ever married him, because she feels, her father is cold and withdrawn.
Shortly before her twenty first birthday, she receives a phone call from a stranger named Randolph, who informs her that her grandmother has passed on, and Emily’s world falls apart. The book starts a few hours after Han’s funeral, where a very well tailored gent, who is Han’s solicitor, pays a visit to Emily to reveal the contents of her will, and much to Emily’s surprise, she finds that the house and land, which had been her only real home since age four, have not been left her aunt as she expected, but have indeed been left to Emily. The solicitor is adamant that Han was very precise in his execution of his duty, and he handles everything, to ensure Emily has an easy transition into the full ownership.
It is a big shock, but one Emily is not ready to face, because the thought of being in the cottage without Han is too much to bear, and so the story starts to unfold, and the story passes forward by almost a full year before it really begins. Shelly tries her hardest to convince her to go back to the cottage, but Emily who is living miles away in Exeter and hates her life and job, has given up on living, as she struggles to deal with the loss of Han, having strange and frightening dreams. Her uncle. is constantly pestering her, and making offer after offer for the land, to the point where he is driving Emily mad.
This story follows Emily, and her thoughts, feelings and memories, as Shelly confronts her, and tells her to visit her grandmothers grave, as it is almost a year. In a moment of anger at her uncle, she makes her first move to face the truth of her life, and in a twist of fate and anger, her return marks the start of a journey through her grief, and into recovery. Han had a big secret, one that was very well hidden, and it all involves the cottage and the land, and with the arrival of Emily at the cottage, a series of strange events adds to her uncertainty.
In many ways this story is a fairy story for adults, it has some moments of joy and humour, and others that will make you sit up and ponder life, it’s meaning, and its joys. For myself personally, this is my way of explaining a little of my own feelings, over the loss of someone deeply special to me, and I have encountered many of the sayings and comments Emily gets in this story. I hope through explaining Emily, in a way, I also explain many of the people I have spoken with in my life, who could identify with my own personal way of dealing with loss. I know the fantasy aspect of this story will appeal not only to a majority of HTTK readers, but I hope, also a lot of new readers.
The story has a good mix of opinions on a few things, of which one is the fantasy realm, and within that, Emily with her scepticism and Shelly with her absolute belief of the mystical, clash with some wonderful dialogue that will hopefully leave all of you thinking and questioning today’s reality. In today’s cold world, there are still so many questions about life and death, and what lies beyond, and many people live in fear of what happens at the end. This story raises some of these thoughts and feelings in a gentle way, and considers all aspects of how we deal with life, loss and grief, and how our own beliefs can be challenged.
There are some good funny moments between them, and also some really close caring moments, as the story takes on Emily’s experience, and her journey towards her future of a life after Han. I feel it is a really well rounded tale, and I hope you do too. In regard to the fantasy aspect of this story I will allow you to read the story and discover that yourself alone, and I will not give too much away.
At the time of writing this to update the blog, the only person who has read the manuscript is as always, my wife, and I was concerned people would think that the subject material would appear too heavy and oppressive, as it is themed to a degree around loss.
Her opinion is, this story follows a young sceptic through her struggle with the reality of her life currently, her grief, her loss and her difficulty dealing with her friend, who is a believer in all things mystical and magical, to some humorous effect. When my wife considered the fantasy aspect of this story, (She smiled) she felt like she had her childlike wonderment given back to her, as she found the characters adorable, and it is a really magical tale, that makes her want to believe in all the magic again. She has really enjoyed reading it, which is a bit of a relief for me.
I currently have no cover images as they are in the final stages of production, except to say, I have provided a much bigger contribution to this one than some of my previous covers, and have really enjoyed the process. I will get something up soon, but for now this blog post will remain image free.
This book will strictly be a one off, I have no intentions of returning to it for further additional stories, as I am already working on other new material, and have further Curio and HTTK stories ready to be put out when I am happy with them, of which the next book in the Curio series will land later in the year. It is my hope to have Han’s Cottage out around mid September, and with the Curio book planned for later this year, that will be three in one year, which is pretty good, although Han’s Cottage has been written over six years, and all the Curio stories were written in 2020, as I have been busy with other stories.
The third Curio Book will not be as explicit, as the gang are growing up and settling down, and that is part of their journey. Abigail will be another two years older in this book and finally starting to see her hard work pay off, but her and the Curio’s will be encountering some new foes and problems, which will add to the crazy chaos of the full story of the whole series. I am sure all of you who have read the first two will have a few good giggles as you experience their strange and bonkers life around Birch.
I am working on other things, I have started a brand new dystopian story, which I am still outlining, but I am happy with what is on the page so far, and enjoying putting it together as well as continuing Ariel and Branna’s story, of which one particular aspect of that has been great fun, as it involves writing some moments of Robbie and Runestone’s children, which are yet to hit the book market in a book set eighteen years after Kingdom. My wife has had a little peep, and she is already in love with some of the kids.
Closing submissions for new manuscripts from other writers to VCP, has really allowed me to work with a lot more freedom, as now, instead of spending months working with new writers, who then pull out for other platforms, I have had time to work on my own material, and I have really been enjoying it. It is much less stressful, and allows me my creative freedom back, so for a while, VCP will only be putting out RJM books, of which, I have quite a few manuscripts almost ready.
I have other ideas in the works, one of which may be some form of channel with discussions of the books and behind the scenes stuff. That involves a lot of extra work and tech, which I have been working at for a while, but I am still working out the logistics, and which platform to use at the moment. Looking at how puritan and moralistic platforms like You Tube have become, I need to find something that will not ban some of the themes of Kingdom or the Curio’s. It is something I have wanted to do for a long while, and I hope after the summer to start recording some things, and will maybe have a guest or two featured, to talk books, writing and a writers life, not just mine, but possibly a few others.
As always, I am grateful to all my readers, and love getting things organised and ready for you all, and so watch this space for all the new stuff, that is coming in the not too distant future. As always, comment, like, and share this stuff around, and get everyone talking about the books, so I can continue to battle social media’s biased and unfair algorithms, and keep the books coming.
My thanks to you all, talk again soon.
RJM.