Inspiration - Fruiting Bodies

Back in April 2007 I wrote my first Ulysses Quicksilver novella, entitled Fruiting Bodies. As anyone who has already read it will be able to tell you, the climax of the story takes place at Kew Gardens in London.

The inspiration for the story came from several stories, not least of all eco-disaster TV dramas from the 70s and 80s - namely the BBC's adaptation of The Day of the Triffids and the classic Doctor Who adventure The Seeds of Doom.

I recently discovered that the writer of The Seeds of Doom, Robert Banks Stewart, as well as being inspired in part by John Wyndham's tale of vegetable vengeance, lived with his family close to Kew Gardens which directly inspired billionaire Harrison Chase's estate. Banks Stewart is even supposed to be descended from Joseph Banks, the botanist who took part in Captain Cook's first great voyage and was almost single-handedly responsible for stocking Kew Gardens in the first place.

I think, subconsciously at least, another of the inspirations for my story Fruiting Bodies was this illustration by Martin McKenna of a plant golem, that appears in the Fighting Fantasy gamebook Legend of Zagor.

As any fan of the Fourth Doctor's adventures will be able to tell you, McKenna himself was inspired by the humanoid form of the Krynoid, the alien intra-galactic weed that threatens Earth in - you guessed it - The Seeds of Doom.

(You can pick up Fruiting Bodies now as part of The Ulysses Quicksilver Short Story Collection for the Kindle, or your preferred eReader of chocie, here.)

International Women's Day 2011

Today people all over the world are celebrating the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day. And it's got me thinking about my portrayal of women in the Pax Britannia books. One of my editors (who is of the female persuasion herself) once pointed out that I go into great detail when describing the women in my books but by comparison gloss over the appearance of the men much more.

In my stories I have consciously tried to make the female characters more than just damsels in distress for Ulysses Quicksilver to rescue but have I succeeded? What do you think of characters like Kitty Hawke, Jenny Haniver, Eliza, Katarina Kharkova and Emilia Oddfellow? I'm plotting UQ8 at the moment and am trying very hard to make sure that the main female protagonist isn't a cliche. Only time, and the publication of my as yet untitled eighth Pax Britannia novel in 2012, will tell...

Vlog 5 - Ask Me Anything

To celebrate World Book Day (it is still World Book Day, just about) I've recorded my fifth Vlog in which I answer all your questions about my books, writing in general, and even which dessert toppings I prefer. Well I did say you could ask me anything!

In the end, the finished Vlog was about 26 minutes long, which was too long for YouTube, so I've broken it down into three parts, which you'll find below.

Ask me anything*

Following in the footsteps of some of my other writer acquaintances, I'm going to record a Vlog in which I answer all** your questions about my books and my experiences of writing them.

Got a question about the world of Pax Britannia? Curious as to how to go about writing a gamebook? Wondering what it takes to write a Doctor Who tie-in? Then ask away.

You can post your questions at the end of this post or email me at info@jonathangreenauthor.com. Alternatively you can contact me via Facebook or Twitter @jonathangreen.

So, ask away, and when I've collated enough questions I'll answer them in my next Vlog.

* Well, almost anything.

** Okay, maybe not all, but most.

Dark Side at The Eloquent Page

I stumbled across this earlier today. It's primarily a review of Dark Side, by one Mr Pablo Cheesecake, but it is more than just that. For it also has some very nice things to say about the Pax Britannia series as a whole and my writing in general.

(I also liked the fact that Mr Cheesecake appreciated the careful naming of the chapters in the book and gave the Ulysses Quicksilver novella Proteus Unbound - an added bonus story that appears after the main feature - a shout out too.)

Here's a choice bit about the novel itself:

This novel kept me hooked from page one. It struck me that the title works on two levels. It doesn’t just refer to the dark side of the moon but the reader also gets to experience the darker side of Ulysses character due to the events that unfold.

And here's what Pablo has to say about Pax Britannia:

Prior to Dark Side, each Quicksilver adventure in the series has essentially been a standalone affair, previous books are mentioned but only in passing... If I have ever had a criticism of the previous novels it has been that I wanted larger more involved story arcs and based on the ending of Dark Side my wish has been granted.

A new Pax Britannia novel is always a cause for excitement here at The Eloquent Page. Dark Side joins the existing novels as a worthy addition. Green has crafted yet another action packed rip-snorter.

And I quite liked this bit too:

The thing I like most about Green’s writing, and it’s in evidence here, is that he pays attention to the little details. This is what makes the world(s) of Pax Britannia feel so well realised.

Now, enough trumpet blowing. I'm off to write about vampires, werewolves and Frankenstein's children. (I tell you, Being Human's got nothing on this!)

My new office

Long time readers of this blog (and my Facebook updates) will know that the Green Family are in the rather protracted process of moving from London to that there Countryside. In our new place in deepest, darkest Wiltshire, I have no office. Yet. Basically, it hasn't been built. But today I saw a picture of how I want it to look when it is finally created from what is currently an over-sized garage. I want it to look like this!

You can buy your own custom-made tentacle for your own

Nautilus/Cthulhu-inspired writing room from this guy here. (Fans of Leviathan Rising take note.) Unfortunately my budget won't stretch to one but I am considering a steampunk clock for the wall. And who knows - if I get that long sought after three book deal - one day, who knows...?

Anno Frankenstein - nearing the mid-point

I'm now almost halfway through my first draft of Anno Frankenstein (my next Pax Britannia adventure, to be published in May 2011) and I've reached something of a turning point.

I always find it a struggle to get started on a new book. The writing is never as smooth, nor as productive, as I would like in the early days of a new project (certainly when it's something the length of a novel), as I get to know the characters and get into the plot (despite the fact that I've already worked out the nitty-gritty of the story in detail).

But I'm now well into my stride, and barring the usual sort of interruptions that life throws up (like the school run and laundry), the word count is building steadily each and every day.

What's really helped is that I've finally got to a scene that I've been looking forward to writing ever since I started working on the plot of Anno Frankenstein - probably ever since I even conceived the initial outline for the book. To say any more here would spoil the surprise, but hopefully you'll be suitably satisfied when Ulysses Quicksilver's seventh stirring tale, packed to the gills with melodrama and derring-do, comes out next year.

The Complete Guide to the Rise and Rise of Steampunk (apparently)

Here's my five point plan to how NOT to have a productive writing day...

1) Pick up the latest copy of SciFiNow.
2) Get excited that there’s an article on steampunk contained within.
3) Read the aforementioned article* which doesn’t mention Pax Britannia even once – the series you’ve laboured over, nay put heart and soul into, for the last four years, having written over half a million words for, which has 8 novels out (6 by you) 1 omnibus and several more books to come - and yet which does feature the covers of other books that have come out in the wake of the success of Pax Britannia.4) Post a blog in which you have your own personal rant about the situation.
5) Enter the doldrums and achieve nothing for the rest of day, despairing that you’re never going to make a success of your writing and then, as a consequence, write nothing all day as the deadline for your latest steampunk epic looms ever closer.

Or, as an alternative, you could try this rather more productive alternative...

1) Pick up the latest copy of SciFiNow.
2) Get excited that there’s an article on steampunk contained within.
3) Read the aforementioned article, ignoring the numerous covers of other books (some of which have been less well received than your own steampunk series and others which bear uncanny similarities and yet which came out some years after your own books featuring similar subjects and themes), and, on the whole, enjoy it.
4) Post a cathartic blog about the general situation.
5) Be inspired to kick some butt and start taking names and show them the world that you really have got what it takes to make a success of this writing lark.

I'll let you decide which approach I followed today...

* The aforementioned article goes by the rather bold sub-title of 'The complete guide to the rise and rise of steampunk' and yet doesn't even feature one book cover image from the ever-growing Pax Britannia series. So what definition of 'complete' is the editor/writer using here exactly?

Human Nature is coming...

At 11.45pm Friday night I emailed my editor the completed manuscript of Human Nature - my third Pax Britannia adventure, ninth novel and twenty-first book!


But now it's Monday morning and it's back to work. There's a new novel to start, short stories to plot and pitches to write, but for the moment at least I'm basking in the warm afterglow of knowing that it's another job well done. (It also means that, come December, I will have passed the 1.3 million published words mark!)


Human Nature is out this December from Abaddon Books. You can reserve your copy here.

Work in progress

As any regular (or even intermittent) reader of this blog will know by now, I am currently writing the fourth novel in the Pax Britannia line, entitled Human Nature.

However, I am also plotting out the next novel after that. As you can see from the attached photograph I am going through my copious notes as I compose the novel synopsis.

I always find this a challenging yet exciting stage in the novel-writing process, challenging (and at times infuriating) as I struggle to fit all of my ideas into something that is in any way recognisable as a comprehensible plot, and exciting... for pretty much the same reason.

It's so satisfying when, as Hannibal Smith from the A-Team would say, 'a plan comes together' and I discover what's going to happen next myself. Then I get excited all over again at the prospect of extracting these ideas and situations that my imagination has created and revealing them piece by piece through the course of the novel.

The sharp-eyed amongst you may also get an inkling as to what the next book (due in 2009) is going to be about...