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| Oh, BMW gods.... Why have thou smitten me with a dead starter motor! Anyway, guess where it is... right at the bottom of the darn engine at the back under all of the intake manifold, oil extractor and a dozen other things... I really think the BMW engineers hate humanity  Yeah, yeah, I should have replaced it when I was in there two years ago. Not doing it myself this time, it can go to BM workshop then sold... I just don't have the energy to spend hours digging through an E90 engine bay. Normally I would but not this time. I miss my Nissan Silvia S14  An M-sport is a fun car... and then you have to pay for repair or parts. Believe me the fun fades really quick hahaha. |
| And as promised, first few chapters of Book One are available here to read. Took a bit to get it to look as close to the book formatting as possible. https://davidstoneauthor.wixsite.com/davidstone/copy-of-books |
🍀Krista☘️  - Thank you, it has taken a lot of work to get it looking like that. I have a very close friend and fellow writer who is an artist and she made the art/backgrounds for me. |
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| Jeepers, what a cool story. I know it's fantasy, but the Black Hand kinda threw me off... Isn't that a bit trite? |
Reply| Amethyst Angel ♡ - Oh it makes sense as the story progresses and fits the narrative of who they are. I wanted something mundane in a sense, obvious, self-important and grandiose. Just the sort of name such a self-absorbed group would give itself and considering the larger series it fits well. So trite is exactly what was expected. |
Reply| Hello all. Yes, I have been a bit quiet of late as life... well, it happens. Between losing my teaching job thanks to cuts, life has been a little crazy. Had to cut back on costs and my subscription here was one of those things cut back on along with many others. However, somehow through all the crazy that was 2025 I managed to publish, and close to publishing two more novels this year (Book Two of my current series is in alpha read right now). Anyway, I am not sure if this is allowed here but the Sir Julius Vogel Awards are now open for nominations. Possibly a bit cheeky posting this here but I thought why not as there are likely other writers here on Writing.com from New Zealand you know who could do with a nomination as well. E.L Julian a local horror writer comes to mind https://www.eljulian.com/ My published work can be seen here through links to Amazon, and I will have the first two chapters available to read later today as I update the webpage  https://davidstoneauthor.wixsite.com/davidstone Link to Sir Julius Vogel Awards nominations below: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScfKa9UaFeYh1QpGkZO1zks-UJG1u2TRfntJfQx... Anyway, thanks all, and yes, I am still lurking and reading the newsfeed. Things are just a bit tight right now as you can imagine. |
| And I have a webpage It will be expanded over time and the art designer for it did an amazing job https://davidstoneauthor.wixsite.com/davidstone |
| Last of the print proofs arrived. Amazon took a little bit to sort, but life happens, I guess. https://www.instagram.com/p/DNOtls-zqoq/ |
| Posted a little about Beta Readers over on my Instagram. They are worth their weight in gold. https://www.instagram.com/p/DNHcbIfSQcs/ |
Elycia Lee ☮  - Yeah more or less the same thing. Critique of track and mix is common before signing off on a project. |
| That moment when it hits you how much work you have left to go before the series is finished.... Three to finish writing in series one and five in the parallel series. Although, many parts are written out already as I have a habit of not working in any sort of liner fashion Update and a little screenshot of Scrivener over on my Instagram https://www.instagram.com/david_stone2535/ |
| Over on my Instagram page I have posted a sneak look at some of the artwork inside my current book. These are all original and no AI was used in any of the artwork. There will be a full colour paperback and hardcover coming soon. https://www.instagram.com/p/DM-7SmaS8Bv/ |
| Book One now available from Amazon.... Print copies in another week as I had issues with the print copy (margins), but all fixed now. Hardbacks will go through Ingramspark just after the paperbacks. There will be a full color version in paperback out soon. Also for the E-books, if you have a one that will do color there is quite a bit of color artwork through the novel. Thanks all. https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0FKVDH38H?crid=24SAH64GZY1AN&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Xsc1... |
| Woke up today a published author. The book in E-book form is available Monday the 4th of August from Amazon. Feels very odd honestly, and I am not sure I have quite processed that the first book is now finished and people can buy and read it. There is a tag line in the book that says "Once The Never has you... It will never let you go." Sort of feel like that since I am working on book two... the rabbit hole just gets deeper it would seem. Anyway... Print copies will be available shortly. PS: Judy Mohr's latest book is out, and I will be reading it... you should too. https://judylmohr.com/books/dancing-in-the-purple-rain/ |
| I have a little business repairing guitars and thought I would share this with you all. It is the repair of an acoustic guitar bridge that has come off. https://www.instagram.com/p/DMrJRJQSP17/?img_index=1 |
We watched a How It's Made type show a few nights ago. Two of the items were electric guitars and acoustic guitars. I'm certain I could build fairly nice guitars myself. All I'd need would be a two billion dollar production plant and a few skilled workers. I seriously learned a lot. I understand a little about the types of wood needed and the importance of matching the grains. I wouldn't have what it takes to push the button to start the line to make another 1000 top quality guitars each day, but I'd love to learn the old ways to hand-craft a guitar. I have always admired skilled crafts-people who learned skills from their parents and grandparents. |
Always Humble Poet PNG- 📓  - I got my first electric guitar at age twelve and pulled it apart to see how it all worked. From there I learned how to maintain, repair, then build them over many years. This will soon be my main source of income on top of a little audio work as I just got informed my courses are closing at the end of the year and I am redundant. Sick of teaching anyway and have other things I want to do. |
StoneHeart - I've always thought teaching would be a very rewarding occupation, but carries tremendous responsibility. When any other person makes a mistake, someone can correct it and that mistake has been rectified. When a teacher makes a mistake, it is multiplied by the number of people who are mistaught and multiplied again and again by the number of people they teach. You obviously have the necessary drives to be a great teacher. You seem unsatisfied with being simply told something, and want to know things for yourself from the inside out. One cannot teach what one does not know. The best way to know is by studying any subject from the inside outward. That's why I humbly believe that the ratio of great teachers to bad ones has been shifting toward 'bad' for a very long time. |
| Spent today taking stock of the insanity I am trying to write... Writing one book series is a challenge for sure, and two even more so. But what about two parallel series, that must foreshadow each other, and have crossovers at mile points seen from opposing characters perspective and all match up at what should be book six in each series? If this works it will be epic, and no chance to backout now even if I wanted to. PS: it is working, just bloody complex to write so it is easy for the reader to follow and not actually have to read both book series at the same time. I am working carefully to make sure the reader can read either series so it works, and either series can be read without the other. Not a new idea I expect but never done it myself. I may just be completely insane by the end of this 😛 |
Wowee  I thought I was going cuckoo while writing I must've worked out the timeline of Dan's life about fifty times, and it came out different every time It was the most delightfully exasperating writing experience I've had so far. I've never tried doing a series with the same characters before. It's the closest to a novel I've attempted. Best wishes on your mammoth project  |
| Well, this is it..... Final cover reveal. Thanks to a little hiccup along the way the book is out on the 30th of August. E-book first followed by paperback a week or so later. Hardcover will be available in the new year as I want one myself hahaha. Final cover and thanks posted here. https://www.instagram.com/p/DMZEETcyA89/ |
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