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.