#WIPSnips 27/11 Book 7 of The Shattered Moon, working title ‘The Principle of Detachment’, has no instances of 'disorganise'. I’m going with the solitary occurrence of ‘ramshackle’. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WordWeavers 27/11: When it comes to your writing, what are you thankful for? Obviously, very glad that I still have the capability and the space to do it. And I’ve come to realise that I’m glad I learned proper grammar and spelling. They… #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WritersCoffeeClub 27/11: Do you prefer writing serialised, sequential, or standalone works? Why? I don’t know that I have a preference. I’m currently occupied with a series, because there’s always more to discover about the world and its people, but I’m… #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WIPSnips 26/11 Book 7 of The Shattered Moon, working title ‘The Principle of Detachment’, has no instances of 'impede', nor ‘obstruct’. Just one of ‘obstacle’. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WordWeavers 26/11: Does Current MC share any traits with you? Hmmm, since Perriad isn’t really a force any longer (Book 7), who counts as ‘the antagonist’? Not one individual so much as anti-progressive elements in society. So, no, I seriously hope not. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WritersCoffeeClub 26/11: How do you keep yourself sharp? Partly, the usual recipes of exercise, sleep, etc. Plenty of varied reading, good conversations in coffee shops, all that sort of thing. Also, writing different things. Substack is my outlet there. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

I could have called this ‘Writes of Passage’, but aren’t you glad I didn’t? My latestSubstack Post relates a couple of significant milestones on my journey to becoming a professional writer and photographer.

Last Christmas I gave you my heart Not really my heart Just somebody's heart This year If the cops should appear Please tell them that you don't know me

#WIPSnips 25/11 Book 7 of The Shattered Moon, working title ‘The Principle of Detachment’, has four instances of 'system'. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WordWeavers Nov 25/11: Does your Current MC share any traits with you? I’m sure… although my approach to character development has vanishingly little to do with the enumeration of ‘traits’. A lot of my MCs are young… #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

Passing on a friendly useful tip....Gmail users in phone, go to: Setting Click on your email account Scroll down to options pictures, OPT OUT otherwise Gmail will use your emails to train on. Do it now. Fck them, you're welcome ☕

#WritersCoffeeClub 25/11: What are some tips you can share to avoid 'clunky' phrasing? Everyone says read the work aloud, but if that’s awkward, try exporting to a different format, or just changing font etc so the document looks different. (Supplementary… #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

Continuing this serialised novel of murky goings-on in the great outdoors. Free to read

#WIPSnips 23/11 Book 7 of The Shattered Moon, working title ‘The Principle of Detachment’, has no instances of 'global' or 'globe'. Going with 'world' (20 instances). #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WordWeavers 23/11 Finding good cover artists, beta readers, & editors is hard. Shoutout who has helped you. I can’t deal with all these in 500 characters. Let’s do covers. I’ve had 10 different publishers in my non-fiction career, and design was… #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WritersCoffeeClub 23/11: What's your niche? Arguably at the intersection of SF, fantasy, and historical fiction. (SF by definition but tends to feel more akin to the other genres. And let’s not downplay the 'feel' or 'flavour' of a book; it’s essential. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WritersCoffeeClub 22/11: What has been the biggest change to your style since you started out? Depends what you mean by ‘started out’. The little stories I wrote when I was six? I’m a bit more sophisticated now. My undergraduate essays? #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WIPSnips 22/11 Book 7 of The Shattered Moon, working title ‘The Principle of Detachment’, has just one instance of 'crystal(line)'. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WordWeavers 22/11: If any artist, dead or alive, could create your cover, who would you choose? I actually don’t want to name the artist at this point because he’ll be referenced significantly in the novel I’m currently… #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WIPSnips 21/11 Book 7 of The Shattered Moon, working title ‘The Principle of Detachment’, has eight instances of 'direction'. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WordWeavers 21/11: Is writing an escape for you, or does stress make it hard to write? I think we need to be careful about the term ‘escape’ because of the connotations of shying away from reality. But good writing, and I specifically include… #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WritersCoffeeClub 21/11: What are some preconceptions about writers you'd like to see challenged? I suppose the movie stereotype of the solitary tormented genius… #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WIPSnips 20/11 Book 7 of The Shattered Moon, working title ‘The Principle of Detachment’, has eight instances of 'special'. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WordWeavers 20/11: Has the Covid pandemic affected how or where you write? In relation to writing, Covid pales into insignificance compared to my cancer diagnosis a couple of years before. It was that, coupled with drying-up of… #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WritersCoffeeClub 20/11: How did you find your writerly voice? I’ve been writing since I was a kid, just a small matter of 60 years or so. Professional writer and photographer for more than 30 of those years. Also an avid lifelong reader. Somewhere… #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

A reviewer’s verdict on The Sundering Wall, Book 2 of The Shattered Moon: "Sparks builds this world with his trademark finesse, immersing the reader in its paradox of familiarity and strangeness." 'Paradox of familiarity and strangeness' is exactly what I’ve aimed for. Here’s a brief excerpt:

#WIPSnips 19/11 Book 7 of The Shattered Moon, working title ‘The Principle of Detachment’, has 19 instances of 'third'. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WordWeavers 19/11: Are there any emotions that are hard for you to write? Not if the emotion arises naturally from the intersection of character and current circumstances. And if it doesn’t, then there’s a bigger problem anyway. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WritersCoffeeClub 19/11: What's something (even if fantastical!) which could improve your process? I want to sit in a courtyard in the Alhambra and write to the sound of a fountain… the fantastical bit is not being disturbed by tourists. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

A brief excerpt from Three Kinds of North, Book One of The Shattered Moon. www.jonsparksauthor.com/chapter-one

Here’s what readers think of The Shattered Moon series: "An expertly captained voyage of the imagination." "I love the way this story is developing, and can’t wait to see what happens next." "Beautifully crafted, insightful and compelling." www.jonsparksauthor.com/where-to-buy

Time for a few reminders of what it’s all about: The Shattered Moon series begins as a coming-of-age story set in a post-apocalyptic world that may feel strangely familiar. Both world and characters develop in unexpected directions as the series unfolds.

#WIPSnips 18/11 Book 7 of The Shattered Moon, working title ‘The Principle of Detachment’, has no instances of 'retrograde', nor any of ‘reverse’ or ‘backward’. ‘Step back’ (2) is as close as it gets. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WritersCoffeeClub 18/11: Do you include real-world quotations in your work? I feel that doing so would probably pop the bubble that is suspension of disbelief, so no. I might slip in the odd subtle allusion that’s probably… #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WordWeavers 18/11: What do your MC and SC disagree on? It’s a long time since Jerya and Railu seriously disagreed on anything. Of course they have differences of opinion, like any close friends, but not enough to disrupt their established relationship. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

Continuing this serialised novel of murky goings-on in the great outdoors.

#WordWeavers 17/11: How athletic are your characters? It’s a society where most people are, by necessity, more active than the norm for us today. Beyond that, the characters show a wide range. Jerya, for instance, roamed long distances… #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WritersCoffeeClub 17/11: What role does race play in your work? Race as we currently conceptualise it doesn’t really figure in the world of the Shattered Moon. There’s a full range of skin colours but they don’t align with any fracture-lines in society. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WIPSnips 17/11 Book 7 of The Shattered Moon, working title ‘The Principle of Detachment’, has 23 instances of 'spend'. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WIPSnips 16/11 Book 7 of The Shattered Moon, working title ‘The Principle of Detachment’, has 33 instances of 'run'. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WordWeavers 16/11: If your antagonist magically appeared in your home, would you two get along? I very much doubt it. Perriad is a very disgruntled person these days and doesn’t really ‘get along’ with anyone except a few sycophants. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WritersCoffeeClub 16/11: How much work goes into naming your characters? It’s an imaginary world and I want names that feel reasonable and not too weird/exotic, but also not too familiar. And with a load of minor characters as well as MCs, that’s… #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WIPSnips 13/11 Book 7 of The Shattered Moon, working title ‘The Principle of Detachment’, has 6 instances of 'progress': four in this short excerpt. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WritersCoffeeClub 15/11: Does the bulk of your research come before starting a work? During? Or not at all?! In my non-fiction career research could be a separate phase before starting writing, but mostly took the form of fieldwork, writing up each day’s… #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WordWeavers 15/11: Describe the setting of your last writing session (where, what time, sounds, smells, etc.). How did it go? On the sofa in our back room, wildly windy outside. How did it go? Average… #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WIPSnips 13/11 Book 7 of The Shattered Moon, working title ‘The Principle of Detachment’, has 68 instances of 'week'. #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WritersCoffeeClub 14/11: How objective or authoritative do you strive for your narration to be? In my non-fiction career I had to strive for qualities like these. A guidebook needs to describe a path or trail accurately and… #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WordWeavers 14/11: Does your SC have any insecurities? Which SC? There are quite a few. And everyone has insecurities, don’t they? Railu is an interesting example, objectively one of the best surgeons in the Five Principalities, but always… #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WIPSnips 13/11 Book 7 of The Shattered Moon, working title ‘The Principle of Detachment’, has 20 instances of 'build'/'building'. This is from the final page #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity

#WritersCoffeeClub 13/11: Name the oldest work to have inspired you. Sense and Sensibility was the first of Jane Austen’s novels to be published (1811). She’s also often regarded as the pioneer of the modern novel, and as such we ALL owe her a huge debt… #books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity