New release! “The Ant-Man of Malfen”

50% off at Smashwords until 31st December:

Progress on the SHADER series

The cover for “Gods in the Dreaming” is now ready.

I’m close to finishing the second draft of the manuscript and plan to start editing early in the New Year.

The book looks set to be massive, so much so that I’ve decided to split it into two. The final fifth of “Gods” will now form the basis for Book 2, which will be called “The Technocrat of Aethir”. Book 3 is “The Archon’s Assassin”, which is half written, and book 4 is “A Dark Perdurance.”

Dramatically, this split works really well.

The cover for The Chronicles of the Nameless Dwarf: The Ant-Man of Malfen should be ready in two weeks. There’s a final round of editing to be completed and then the Kindle version will be released.

New release pending

D.P. Prior’s new novella, NAMELESS (First Chronicle): The Ant-Man of Malfen is undergoing some final editing and proofing. It will be released in the next few weeks and features cover art by C.S. Marks.

Editing underway on “Gods in the Dreaming”

http://densewords.blogspot.com/2010/09/editing-new-draft-of-deacon-shader.html

25% discount on Derek Prior titles

If you order from the publisher, Create Speace you can now get 25% discount on the following books (enter the code at the checkout):

“Thanatos Rising” (code:6N6E8YN6) –

“The Resurrection of Deacon Shader” (code: Y2TF28U5) –

“Foundations for a Better Physique” (code: 4NMCWESF ) –

“Nutritional Journal” (code: UUD4HW87) –

Progress on “Gods in the Dreaming” etc

It’s been a busy week of editing work but I’ve also managed to complete the second drafts of four more chapters of “Gods in the Dreaming” as well as writing most of a totally new scene that reveals a bit more of a certain megalomaniac scientist and your friendly neighbourhood assassin.

I’ve also been making rapid progress on the tentatively titled “Bad Blood” – lots of action and aimed more at the YA market.

Vampires and Werewolves in Anderida

I’m four chapters into a new dark fantasy provisionally called “Bad Blood” which is set in the SHADER universe at a point between “The Archon’s Assassin” and “A Dark Perdurance”.

It’s a stand alone novel aimed at the YA audience. Most of it’s set in Anderida, which features a lot in Shader, and is based on East Sussex.

There’s a beast left over from Archon’s, a very different protagonist who’s about as conflicted as it gets, and a female protagonist whose bite is definitely worse than her bark.

Alternating POVs throughout, “Bad Blood” is a tale of romance, tortured pasts, breaking free and pursuit.

Morst, a former exorcist and now bearer of the great sword Severance that seems to have a mind of its own, must find the woman he feasted upon if he’s to find a cure for the poison now infecting his veins. As Morst and Megan realise their dependance on eachother, the Templum judiciary close in upon them, and there’s something about their leader, Bartholomew Shin, that doesn’t augur well for Morst.

Who the heck is Harry Chesterton?

I’ve been asked about the protagonist of “Thanatos Rising” a good deal lately. Here’s some of the responses I’ve given:

“Harry Chesterton, is a very old character I used to write about in virtually all my school assignments in the 70s. He was a sort of “everyman” who had adventures in just about every setting imaginable. He’s been an astronaut, explorer, pirate, cricketer, punka wallah…
In Thanatos Rising, Chesterton’s a much more sombre character with a morbid fascination for the writings of a certain Dr Otto Blightey, whose pioneering research into post-mortem consciousness had him expelled from Oxford and ridiculed by the scientific community.” (from an interview with Noah-Mullette-Gillman)

“I really enjoyed writing Chesterton’s POV throughout “Thanatos Rising”. I usually write in the third person, but in this instance I chose first in order to achieve absolute intimacy with his thought processes. He’s a dark and troubled character but one bound for better things and new challenges.
Chesterton’s journey through “Thanatos Rising” is a lot like Plato’s Cave. He’s a very sombre, neurotic type throughout, frequently disorientated and even delusional, but at the end he emerges into something new.”

The name Harry Chesterton has been around since I was 8 or 9. I suspect the Chesterton had more to do with Ian Chesterton in the early Dr Who stories than with G.K. Chesterton, who just happens to be one of my favourite writers these days. Not sure where Harry came from…I had an uncle Harry so maybe that’s it.

I’m looking forward to part II of the Memoirs as that’s where we see the Chesterton of old, a heroic fantasy figure in the ilk of John Carter. In Thanatos he’s really rather down and out, but there’s a hint of things to come at the end.

Twists in the Dreaming

I’ve been working for a few hours every day on the second draft of “Gods in the Dreaming” and it’s really starting to shape up. The characters – particularly Rhiannon, are taking the plot into new territory. Most of the old “Resurrection” plot has been buried and where any elements remain they’ve been brutalised.

It looks like I’ll meet the December deadline but I’m not going to rush this. I’ve just had another look at the extensive editorial notes I got back from John Jarrold re “Resurrection” and went back through “Gods” with them in mind. So far so good. 140 pages more to revise, two new chapters to pen and then a break before the first round of editing…then proofing…then editing…

Progress on the cover for “Gods in the Dreaming”: