Spring 2025 - Update

The writing of novelette Meet Chompy is complete and will be released when the audiobook version is finalised and ready.

All being well, Meet Chompy will be available this summer in the following formats:

• Free ebook.

• Audiobook.

The next few months should see the availability of the following:

• The Oakmere Grynfang (print version and this edition also includes the short-story Bristlewurm).

• A Girl Named Latchford (print version).

• The Farley Mount Pinchers (print version).

Current tales in the works are:

• The Duskwood Ribticklers (third draft).

• The Promise (first draft).

• The Bushgreave (outlining and storyboarding).

The next few months will be busy in a fun way, and in case anyone does read this blog, I’ll post updates each fortnight on how the tales are progressing and any other news.

Audiobook versions of Bristlewurm and The Oakmere Grynfang are available on Apple Books and Overdrive Audio (the ‘news’ section of the Undelund Tales website will be updated with links when they're available). More options will be available in due course.
Not all stories will be suited to an audiobook version, but this will be kept under review.

Voices from Undelund

Veering away from posts about stories and their status; this brief article explores the ‘Voices from Undelund’ that appear on the Undelund Tales website.

Background

When writing, one of the things I like to do is have a picture in my mind of not only the character’s personality but also how they ‘look’. The reason I like to have a clear picture in my mind of each major character, is because each scene of the story plays out in my mind as a mini movie before I try to convey the scenes using words.

The ‘Voices of Undelund’ blends a character's avatar with something they think, write, or say; and clicking the graphic will take a website’s visitor to the story being referenced. The goal is to give potential readers a teaser around the characters and story content.

Example

Below is a recent addition to the ‘voices’ from the story Bristlewurm. The character is Cora Winstanley and is one of sixteen I’ve created that relate to the story.

Of those sixteen 'voices', five are attributed to Chief Wurmologist Sir Jonty Grizzle and eleven to Cora Winstanley. How many I assign to each character depends on their level of involvement in the story.

As of writing this article there is a pool of 'voices' totalling 120, and these span the 7 stories currently available and represent 26 characters. The 'voices' rotate at random throughout the week and change each hour. The novelette Meet Chompy will bring another 20 'voices' from 4 different characters; and here's a sneak preview of one from Grandma Jeeky:

All things being equal, by the end of the year there should be more than 200 voices in rotation on the website.

Only the truth will do

Imagine a world where lies were highlighted the instant they were spoken and imagine how quickly the world would become a better place.

Let’s imagine for example…

…how 99% of politicians would be swept from power and into the dustbin of history, or better yet imprisoned for their lies and half-truths.

…how inept middle-managers will be booted from their cushy jobs when they can no longer blame their teams for their own shortcomings.

…how many interpersonal relationships would crumble when the light of truth shines upon them.

The subject of telling the truth, and the consequences of not doing so, is explored in the upcoming tale, Meet Chompy.

Another theme explored in the story, is that of good people fighting hidden battles and driven to do bad things; but what’s not known to the observer, is what fuels the individual’s actions.

Meet Chompy will be a free-to-read novelette and is due for publication in the summer of 2025.

Cover for Meet Chompy

For more details on this story or others, please visit my website: Undelund Tales

False friends as inspiration

The upsides of having a true friend are manyfold. Among the positives, are that a true friend will accept you for who you are, cheer your successes, lift you when you're down, and be there for you through thick and thin. Behind your back they'll speak well of you, protect your reputation, and the friendship will be equitable and mutually beneficial.

Oftentimes the dangers of having a false (or foolish) friend are overlooked. Among the negatives, are that these people will drain your energy, lie to you, and drag you into unnecessary drama. Behind your back they will mock you, gossip about you, sabotage your efforts, and they take far more than they ever give.

Quite frankly, false or foolish friends are not the friends of anyone; and in my opinion, the people they are conning simply haven't connected the dots yet.

Like many others, I've suffered false “friends” and when I kicked the final one out of my life it's been a gift that keeps on giving. The moment I burned the bridge with that individual it felt like I had been reborn. My only regret wasn’t the decade lost to someone who I thought had my back, it was that I had ignored the red flags and befriended them in the first place.

Cover for The Oakmere Grynfang

It's been my experience dealing with false friends that inspired The Oakmere Grynfang. Without giving anything away, the story shows how it's better to walk alone than with fools.

The origin of Bristlewurm

Cover for Bristlewurm

The idea behind the upcoming short story Bristlewurm, arrived more by luck than design.

While editing the novella named The Oakmere Grynfang, there was an opportunity for Cora Winstanley's quirky side to shine through, and I took this opportunity when she's walking with a baker’s apprentice named Noldo Krumb.

During their walk, the herbalist briefly mentions a gross encounter she’d experienced during a previous trip to Oakmere forest, and while writing that brief monologue of hers, it planted the seed for this new story.

The short story Bristlewurm is Cora’s first-hand account of the gross encounter she's referring to; and she's had many of these messy encounters during her treks into swamps, caves, and forests.

This story represents Cora’s second appearance as a key character but isn’t the first time a character appears in more than one tale. That award goes to Myrsa Summersby where in The Oakmere Grynfang, she makes a cameo appearance at the bakery; her footsteps are heard by Tarabai in The Farley Mount Pinchers; and she's the protagonist in A Girl Named Latchford... as you can see, like The Beach Boys, she gets around.

Bristlewurm is a short story, will be free to read, and expected to be finalised and published around the middle of February.

Currently Working on Bristlewurm

 Initially I was going to make this first blog post about what I ate for breakfast (spoiler alert: I’ve not eaten yet), my former career as a lifeguard for computers, and how I started writing; however, rather than bore you to tears with that, I'll bore you with making it about what I'm working on.

My next story is titled Bristlewurm and takes Cora Winstanley (as seen in the novella The Oakmere Grynfang) out for a not-so-leisurely stroll into Oakmere forest.

Cover for Bristlewurm

Her mission is to help the townsfolk of Lindlebrook rid themselves of constipation due to their over consumption of crumpets. To accomplish this, she must obtain some green goo from bristlewurms.

A preview page for this story can be found here:

Bristlewurm (short story)

I tend to write stories in parallel, and this will be written and edited alongside the following:

Meet Chompy (short story)

The Duskwood Ribticklers (novella)

All short stories will be made available for free on as many platforms as is practical, and a downloadable file available from my website upon release.

Bristlewurm is one of four short stories I'll be publishing this year alongside three novella-length titles. That said, if I can write a few more short stories along the way, I will do so, and details will be provided here and on my website: Undelund Tales

If you’re still awake after reading all that, I salute you.