Princelings series – Page 2 – The Princelings Books: Jemima Pett

27 May, 201926 May, 2019

Progress on Chronicles of Marsh

It’s a month since I finished writing the last two books in the series. So far I’ve done a first and second edit of Chronicles of Marsh, book 9.

I’ve also been in touch with my editors and my cover illustrator, to see how their schedules run, and get Chronicles logged in with them.

My editor, Dani English, has been very busy this spring, with commissions and also a couple of conventions on the south coast of England. Her stand was very impressive! It’s easy to forget that my journey through writing the Princelings books has coincided with Dani’s graduation from college and attempts to gain employment in the illustration field. Now, no longer a ‘recent’ graduate, she’s decided that freelance work will enable her to be creative while still holding down a job that gives her enough time to do both.

Kanizo stand Dani English — You can buy many of these items at her Redbubble and Etsy shops.

When you look at her work now, I wonder what would happen if I commissioned a whole new suite of Princelings covers! I’m not going to though. I’ve given her my idea of what might be on the covers of the last two books, but I’ve also sent her the chapter outlines for both books and the draft text in case she wants to delve for the detail. She did such a wonderful job on book 8 that I know I can leave it to her brilliant imagination.

I’m so lucky to have an amazing illustrator in the family!

I’m now working on the third draft of Chronicles of Marsh. I have one piece that needs changing as there is a danger of referring to something that hasn’t yet been disclosed. Not referring to it will be easier than changing the sequence of disclosure. What I wonder is, whether the format of the book will appeal to readers. I suspect it is really only for existing fans, since it fills in a lot of gaps between the previous books and the last one. There is a story pulling it all together, but it may be more interesting to me than the general reader!

The third draft (or whichever version I’m on at the end of June) should take it to beta-reader and editor stage. If you’re interested in being a beta-reader, just let me know in the comments below.

30 April, 201930 April, 2019

A Momentous Day – the last book is finished!

Well, I’ve just typed “the end” at the end of my book. The end of the series.
It felt really funny.
But I think it won’t really feel like the end till I’ve finished editing it.
I’ve missed a bit of business I was planning because it didn’t go with the flow or the narrative. Maybe I’ll find room for it in the next draft, maybe not.
Wow. The end of the series. It’s really sad.

30th April 2019, the day I finished writing the Princelings of the East series.

Of course there’s plenty of work to do yet to finish them to publication standard. But I probably started writing the first book in spring 2009, so it’s taken ten years in the writing, although the first three books were all written in 2009. The only file I have with a secure date on it is for book 3, and that was last modified in September 2009. It makes sense, as I’d had the guinea pig Fred & George for two years then, whereas Hugo and Victor only joined me at the end of 2007, and I would have ‘met’ Dawn, my editor, in 2008. I wouldn’t have written the books imediately after that, I don’t think.

Wordcount

At present, both Chronicles of Marsh and Princelings Revolution are around the 45,000 word mark. I feel that I’ve left out two pieces of business I’d been planning to include in the Revolution, so that might grow. Then books usually lose words in the editing process. I tend to add more description in my second drafts. I hope to get the Chronicles to my external editor by early July, though. I must check to see if that suits her own workload. And also ask Dani to slide the cover into her workload – she’s very busy with commissions these days, which is great.

Characters

One thing I like about the last book, is that, while it of course focuses on Fred and George, all the other guinea pigs I’ve had get at least a mention; Victor, Hugo (who doesn’t actually appear, but is talked about a lot!), Humphrey, Hector (who’s been missed out of all the previous ones), Kevin, Colman (a mention, but they’ve been in several other books), Dylan and Dougall (also a mere name check at present, and I want to change that in the editing), Oscar and Midge (both have small roles), Percy (a lucky fixture in one of the other castles for a few books now), Bertie and Biggles, and finally Roscoe and Neville.

I’m still trying to pack in namechecks for other friends and people who’ve helped over the years. It’s fairly easy as I have lots of women friends and not many women guinea pig names!

Other favourites are there, but mostly in small roles or namechecks: Lupin, Nimrod, Baden, Mariusz (of course), Saku, Digby, Augustus, Roland. Willoughby plays a prominent role in both books. From bit part, to own book, to major player, he’s certainly taken the Realms by storm.

Dates

Chronicles of Marsh has a hoped-for publication date of early spring 2020, and Princelings Revolution, I’m aiming for spring 2021. But the date 6th May 2021 is significant in the final book. I don’t think I’ll wait for that, I think I’ll try to get it published sooner.

Meanwhile, we have a significant date coming up next week when George Guinea Pig World, (the blog run by the guinea pigs themselves) celebrates ten years. I think I’m writing the anniversary post on Tuesday 7th May.

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5 March, 20195 March, 2019

Paperbacks now available from Waterstones online (UK)

The Princelings series in paperback is now listed for sale at Waterstones Online in the UK. I’m very pleased to see that Blurb’s distribution facility via Ingram has slid them into the Waterstones catalogue. It will make it a lot easier for anyone wishing to purchase them instore, since the Waterstones sales staff (who are generally excellent in their knowledge and helpfulness) will find them more easily on their system!

I wonder if there will ever be enough demand for Waterstones to actually stock them on their shelves?

You can find them here (prices as listed at Feb 19):

18 February, 20193 February, 2019

Princelings of the East Books 4-6: Box set 2 out Wednesday

The second ebook Box Set: Princelings of the East Books 4-6, is out on Wednesday 20th February.

A time tunnel from the future, a castle with paranormal powers, an assignment in foreign parts. Three separate adventures take us further into the world of Princelings Fred and George. We meet Lord Mariusz finding both opportunity and trouble when he steps back in time; Humphrey, the refugee from the Lost City, seeking somewhere he can call home, and Victor, the ambitious young barkeeper, setting out on his business career, with two, or is it three, assignments to unravel industrial espionage.

The Traveler in Black and White: this prequel to the series enables Lord Mariusz to set the record straight in his own laid-back style. Was he really a profiteering, hard-hearted, opportunistic charlatan? Or just a charming victim of circumstance. He’s certainly charming.

The Talent Seekers provide Humphrey with the opportunity to use his unnatural powers of hearing and memory. He emerges from the obscurity of gangs of refugees and outcasts, victimised by the evil Lord Colman, to become the hero of the hour. But surely, isn’t friendship what it’s all about?

Bravo Victor takes us further away from the Realms than we’ve ever been, showing that inventions and shady deals know no boundaries. Why has Princeling George not returned from the flying festival, and who is trying to smuggle a banned drink into the Realms? Sundance is tasked to find out, but it’s Victor’s expertise that he needs to solve his problems.

These three books in the series take us from the discovery of the time tunnel through to the complications of travellers crossing their time lines, all the while making progress towards an end product to deliver the promise the Princelings made in the very first book.

The ebook box set is available for Kindle at Smashwords only; also at iTunes for iPad, B&N for Nook, and Kobobooks for Kobo, and various other online retailers. Price is $8.99, which saves nearly $3 on the price of the three ebooks separately.

Buy here: