Here’s something very interesting that I discovered recently – copyright free music.
This is music that’s available free to be used in any kind of project.
It’s a resource I’ll definitely return back to again one day – a time will come when this kind of stuff is exactly what I’ll need. For now, I’ve yet to create a trailer for a book release, but it’s something I’ve seen plenty of pros do.
White Bat Audio is producing these, so I’m very grateful to them. A true service to the creative community!
Obviously these won’t be suitable for all genres, but I think a writer of science fiction (or cosmic horror) could really get some great use out of these.
After some time, I’ve decided to retire the old cover to The Survivors (my reader magnet!), and create a new cover.
This also seemed like a great project to practice working with art creating AIs!
Just in the past year (it’s 2022), artistic AI’s have had an explosive breakthrough in their abilities. It seems every month they get so much better and better. Many I’ll make another cover next year, once the technology has advanced even further.
I’m starting on the new book right now, and it’s a totally different feeling to be at the beginning of a project, rather than at the end, surrounded by deadlines and calculations.
This also means I can find time to do some recreational reading, as my eyes are no longer sore from looking at a written page for as long as I can manage each day.
Made with Starry AI
Reading other books is important for more than just recharging my batteries, it brings inspiration and helps improve my writing by exposing me to other people’s language and style.
I spend the vast majority of my time reading my own voice, so it’s great to actually focus on someone else’s words for a while!
This is simultaneous to me planning the next two novels back to back, which will complete the Defiant Space series.
Here’s my reading list, both current items and upcoming soon:
Some rascal in my local gaming group has got me into the game Star Wars Legion, and this is the first result from my miniatures painting table.
The Royal Guard are from an Imperial force that I’m still painting:
These models were painted using just three paints! Red Tamiya spray, Stormhost Silver for weapons, and then old formula Nuln Oil all over.
The key is getting the Nuln Oil to dry in the best possible position. I rotated the model continuously like a rotisserie chicken to prevent any pooling, literally waiting for the paint to dry. That gets the results like above. It’s an activity that goes well with a good podcast.
It’s more nuanced than other reviews of Black Library books I’ve seen, which can skew towards excessively positive. It takes a pragmatic view about what works about the Horus Heresy series and what doesn’t.
I’m quite picky about reading Black Library books, and perhaps rightly so. There are some great ones, but there’s also plenty that aren’t top tier in quality, and life is too short for underwhelming books! But there’s also some fascinating stuff buried in there.
The Eisenhorn books from Black Library were a huge influence on my early writing ambitions when I first read it (that book on Amazon has zero 1 star or 2 star reviews out of 1000 ratings, wow!), and Gaunt’s Ghosts is also fantastic for well-written action scenes and characters.
Both of those are written by the esteemed Dan Abnett, who appears in the positive recommendations of in that more skeptical article up above. Dan Abnett is a master.
Also highly regarded there is the Night Lords series, by Aaron Dembski-Bowden, which I’ve never read yet. I have a soft spot for Chaos Space Marines, especially as narrators. My own short story Grandfather, in Inhuman Pressure, is inspired plenty by these kind of ideas.
When I next find time to read something from Black Library, I’ll start with Night Lords, and I’m looking forward to it.
Interesting fact – the two photos above are taken only 66 years apart – from the first flight of the Wright brothers’ plane to the first landing on the moon, in less than a single lifetime.
This period has been described as an explosion of human potential, and it feels like something from another era now. We have no equivalent in our current modern times. It’s also a series of events that’s massively influenced the science fiction genre in so many clear ways. Science fiction culture really continues to operate in the immense shadow of this period.
One other comparable example is the explosion in physics knowledge that occurs from the late 1800s to the 1940s, which influenced the thinking of H.P. Lovecraft. At the beginning of Lovecraft’s lifetime, the atom was a mystery, an almost theoretical concept. Lovecraft’s early work is often based around medieval ideas of magic and demons.
One human lifetime later, and the main theories of quantum mechanics had accurately detailed impossible hidden forces that govern reality far beyond our earth. The universe’s mysteries had been cracked open, to a degree. Lovecraft’s work correspondingly takes on a more scientific angle, becoming about the quest for cosmic knowledge and an infinite series of alien worlds.
What will our next future explosion of knowledge be?
In my personal view, the biggest breakthroughs now are being made in artificial intelligence and the digital realm. We are beginning to understand how powerful AI systems will look very different to what was imagined only a decade ago. The smart phone has allowed billions of humans to form a collective consciousness that drives our personal actions every day, for better or worse. The smart phone is the true cutting edge of human development – machines that enhance our brain’s abilities and manipulate our decisions every hour we’re awake.
The book is available in paperback, ebook and Kindle Unlimited formats.
I hope you enjoy it.
This is the sequel to Defiant Space, and the first time I’ve written a novel that’s continuing directly on from a previous story. This was a new skill for me to learn, which was an enjoyable experience overall.
The first reviews are here already:
“This exciting sci-fi adventure takes us into deep space and to new worlds, with a cast of very likable characters who must work quickly to save their home world. The pacing and world-building are excellent. Recommended!” Kate B.
“When deadly alien forces threaten their home world, the crew of Fidelity seek help in the far reaches of space. But something is tracking them. And if they don’t complete their mission soon, it won’t be long until it catches up to them.” Taylor A.
“Richard Rimington has created a great story. In Defiant Systems, Book Two in the Infinite Void series, this follow-up to Book One, Defiant Space, we rejoin Cal, Leda and Rosco, as they continue their journey across the galaxy to reach the Ruarken Senate. They must plead their case and try to save their home world from imminent destruction. With mercenaries, pirates, and the entire Universal Legion fleet, all hell-bent on stopping them by any means necessary, there certainly has not been a shortage of action and adventure. It’s like that old saying, “Cheer up, things could be worse.” But each time they thought the worst was behind them and they were just beginning to cheer up, sure enough, things got worse. Strap in, this will be fun!” Tom B.
Thank you to everyone who reads this blog for showing your support, the community that’s developed here is very special to me.
It goes without saying that I’m very proud of this book. I feel it does a fantastic job of raising the tension of the ongoing story, and exploring the strange universe the characters find themselves immersed in. The personal bonds between the crew grow stronger, even as they face ever more sinister monsters and schemes.
It absolutely enhances the whole series, and according to every reader so far, it’s best book in the series yet.
This is not the end of the story, but you will see that it is certainly the end of the first era.
Now that the launch of Defiant Systems is imminent, it’s time to look back on the whole writing process and reflect on what aspects worked well and what didn’t.
When writing this book began, I created a timeline for how it was all meant to go. It went like this:
Obviously that didn’t quite happen, but I’d say I’m not too far away. Here’s what actually happened…
You can take a look at the data yourself, but two things jump out at me: 1) Finishing the line edit obviously took far longer than planned. 2) Writing the first draft actually went a little faster than expected! It was also fun.
Why did this happen? Partly because I spent some time travelling to Kolkata this summer, which disrupted my writing plans, but also because line editing is very labor intensive. It involves a close review of every single phrase in the entire book to make sure it’s the best it can be. I was editing the book for eleven hours a day sometimes, and it still took several weeks longer than planned. Line editing is exhausting.
Could the process be shortened? My goal is to release a book every six months. I’ve spoken with other indie sci fi writers who agree this is generally a good target to aim for. Defiant Systems probably would have taken six months of pure work if I’d cut out all my personal time… but sometimes life isn’t convenient like that. Usually, within a six month window, something inconvenient is likely to happen, whether it’s a family member having a health crisis, or the need to relocate, or something else. The goal of a six month novel is achievable, but I think it would require a perfectly calm period in life, and sadly that’s something that requires a degree of luck to happen.
Looking back, each of my books has taken around nine months to produce from start to finish. I’m speeding up a little with each one, especially considering that the books are getting longer and more complicated. I’m proud of the work, but it would be nice to shrink that time period a little overall.
Defiant Systems is due to launch at the end of this month!
Thoughts on science fiction, creative writing, media and philosophy.
Richard Rimington is a British writer living in Hong Kong, and the author of the Infinite Void series.
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Science Fiction Writing and Culture 