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What book is everyone writing now?

Beanbag

Illuminator
Beanbag
Joined
Jun 7, 2003
Messages
3,468
Books only. No short stories, poems, or screenplays.

I've got two in the works: The Faerie Preserve, a story about a man whose cat drags home an injured faerie; and Lazarus Flats, a story about an elderly scientist who develops a technique for transferring consciousness to another body, gets hit on the head on the eve of the announcement of his process, then wakes up eight years later in the body of a twelve-year-old boy.

Beanbag
 
"M3A1 Scout Cars and Upgraded Armoured Cars of the IDF".
I'm not expecting to hit the NYT best sellers list with this one.

Robert
 
I have quite a few books on the go, in various stages of completion, and they all fit into a rather odd little series. In chronological order:

  • The Week of Alibis: Murder mystery. In 2nd draft.
  • The Passion of Marty-Sue: Things start becoming Real at a science fiction convention when a group of extraterrestrial refugees squares off against an old enemy. I'm rewriting some of the earlier sections, but otherwise this is finished.
  • The Misuse of Things: Road trip about a high school reunion. Complete; awaiting query letters and marketing.
  • Ice Cream for Lakshmi: People in an apartment building are turning into gods. Complete except for the final fight scene and dénouement.
  • The Department of Stuff: A hostile business takeover, an apparently sentient computer, and the goddess of chaos versus a receptionist, a software geek and a hardware geek. About 2/3 finished.
I'm also gearing up for this year's NaNoWriMo and have a rough mental sketch of where I'm going with the next book in this series. I'm also trying to figure out what to do with two older manuscripts that need so much revision I'm considering either junking them or rewriting them from the ground up.

And if that weren't enough, I have a half-finished radio play called Cult of the Velvet Schnauzer that needs to be completed so I can get some audio gear together and produce it. With this year's NaNo project, I fully intend to strand my protagonist and her sidekick in the town where this play is set, to connect the play to the main series.
 
I'm still working on my opus magnus monkeyus, entitled Murdery Nights. It's sort of a mystery story, except all of the characters are openly (to the reader) murderers, the mystery is who is the detective and how on earth does he (or she!) expect to bring any of these murderers to justice?
 
Not books exactly, but I'm working on two adaptations - Plautus' "Menaechmi" and Shakespeare's "Venus and Adonis".
 
An expat Southerner returns to Tennessee to solve the mystery of her aunt's death, and rediscovers her roots. Much foxhunting and characters included.
 
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It's a sci-fi book about an alien who kidnaps a human child for ranson, but accidentally kills the baby's parents in the aftermath. The alien courts sentence him to raise the child himself which, as far as they're concerned, is justice. Humans, being human, disagree. Lots of legal arguments, violence, and general uproar follow. If two races can't agree on the basic meaning of justice, can they even coexist?
 
I am annotating Johnny Truant's note of Zampano's thing about the house of leaves.Lost my home.Get panic attacks.I Can't sleep and I've been told I scream like a madman when I do.The darkness will eat me....and you. THIS WAS NOT FOR ME.

More seriously I can't seem to get anything going.I started dozens of stories and always get «stuck» after 50-75 pages, so I scrap it and try something else.Right now is a fantasy about a hero who everyone sees as evil because he just doesn't care about consequences (eg Murderer hides in a house? Burn it down and him with it)
 
Victorian-era vampire fiction replete with werewolves and a Gothic castle. In the vein (Get it?) of Stoker and LeFanu rather than of Rice or that other lady.
 
Vortigern99 said:
Victorian-era vampire fiction
Click to expand...


"Horrors!" cried Lady Basingdale-Dasingbale, fainting dead away at the sight of the mysterious Mr Ravensdime biting Miss Finchley in the bustle.



Sir Reginald made a valiant attempt to stake the unholy vampiress through the heart, but unfortunately Lady Bloodpenny's corset easily absorbed the blow. Languidly she opened her eyes and smiled up at him. "Why, Sir Reginald! Fancy you showing up fourteen hours early for the tea party!"



The innocent young lady trembled before the undead menace. "Please, don't hurt me!" she cried. "Silence!" growled Queen Victoria, advancing with her fangs gleaming in the gaslight. "I needs the blood of ye, that I mayeth live forever!"



eta: feel free to use and expand on these exciting clips.
 
Several, unfortunately:


The Flesh of Legends – The second book in my heroic fantasy “epic” which is actually a man-on-the-run, murder-mystery.

The Second Cut – A fictional action-adventure account of Tomoe Gozen following the Battle of Awazu.

In a Mirror Dimly – Not certain how to classify this one, but setting is similar to Lloyd Alexander’s Westmark, the plot is supposed to be political intrigue in the kingdom with a beggar boy and a princess as the main characters.

Unnamed Project – The working name is “Death Smiles”, but that was just to call the file something. This was a bare-faced attempt to use Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces, the hero is a desert girl who gets enlisted to help fight an evil queen.

The Tears of Heaven – Supernatural action-adventure (at least that’s what I was told) that follows a Nephilim, as she hunts rogue demons. Yes, actual rogue demons.

I Am Not a King – Alt-historic fiction of the start of the Hundred Years War, centering on Aubert, the bastard son of Enguerrand VI, lord of Coucy, who died at the Battle of Crecy. The introduction of a new weapon and new tactics changes the course of the history of France, England and Scotland.​
 
For those working on multiple projects, you can save time by simply combining them all. Everyone will rave about your complex plotting and how brilliantly it all comes together in the very last chapter when five of the six plots are revealed to be dreams of the characters in the sixth plot.

Okay, now I'm just openly sabotaging the works of everybody else because I can't do my own. Do it anyway, damn it. It would amuse me!
 
"Native Snakes of Ireland"

No?

"Micro Lepidoptra of the Golden Valley, Gloucestershire"

Ok, that would be awesome but it's a lie.

"Tales of the Wend" Sci Fi for children. Based on the Panspermia theory, every planet has the same basic life, but on one planet Rabbits have evolved as the dominant intellient life form, on another Squirrels are intelligent etc etc. There's a mature galactic civilisation but the Canids are hell bent on expanding their empire! Those damn dirty dogs!

That's the real one... :)
 
CriticalSock said:
"Tales of the Wend" Sci Fi for children. Based on the Panspermia theory, every planet has the same basic life, but on one planet Rabbits have evolved as the dominant intellient life form, on another Squirrels are intelligent etc etc. There's a mature galactic civilisation but the Canids are hell bent on expanding their empire! Those damn dirty dogs!

That's the real one... :)
Click to expand...

Sounds very Redwall meets S. Andrew Swann's Moreau Series, but in a totally unique spin. I'm intrigued and would probably buy your book.
 
Loss Leader said:
It's a sci-fi book about an alien who kidnaps a human child for ranson, but accidentally kills the baby's parents in the aftermath. The alien courts sentence him to raise the child himself which, as far as they're concerned, is justice. Humans, being human, disagree. Lots of legal arguments, violence, and general uproar follow. If two races can't agree on the basic meaning of justice, can they even coexist?
Click to expand...

Just reading this hurt my head, I can't imagine actually writing it. That is, by the way, a compliment.
 
RobRoy said:
Just reading this hurt my head, I can't imagine actually writing it. That is, by the way, a compliment.
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Thanks. My first (unpublished) book is set on earth in what was (in 2000) the near future. A woman turns up in a hospital having been raped by the very new alien ambassador. It turns out that it's all perfectly and biologically normal where he's from. He is sorry and will never do it again. The book follows his trial and the question of what the purpose of punishment would be.

I'm glad to send it to anyone who actually cares to read what is basically a legal procedural with a spaceship in it.
 
Loss Leader said:
Thanks. My first (unpublished) book is set on earth in what was (in 2000) the near future. A woman turns up in a hospital having been raped by the very new alien ambassador. It turns out that it's all perfectly and biologically normal where he's from. He is sorry and will never do it again. The book follows his trial and the question of what the purpose of punishment would be.

I'm glad to send it to anyone who actually cares to read what is basically a legal procedural with a spaceship in it.
Click to expand...

Your themes are both intriguing and disturbing.

If you're offering, I'd love to read it.
 
RobRoy said:
Sounds very Redwall meets S. Andrew Swann's Moreau Series, but in a totally unique spin. I'm intrigued and would probably buy your book.
Click to expand...

Thanks RobRoy! Redwall in space is how I describe it, but aimed at a slightly older age group. I've got the story outline, two possible first chapters and some key incidents written. I've stalled like a numbskull though!

In case you're interested, I've got two beginnings because I'm not sure whether to start low-tech on a planet as if it was a redwall style book or to start high-tech with a running space battle so the reader knows the score. I like the first idea but can see publisher types binning it without realising it all kicks off in space, with explosions! :)
 
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