Progress

C R Dudley Author - Orchid's Lantern

Exciting things are happening behind the scenes at Orchid’s Lantern!

I have finally decided to independently publish under the name C R Dudley: some of you have already noticed I’ve started changing my social media accounts to reflect this. Orchid’s Lantern will be the name of my publisher and I’m having a logo designed for it, which will appear on the back of my books and my website. 

I am currently editing and compiling a selection of flash fiction for my first official publication. I expect there will be 30 – 35 stories included, many of which have already featured here on my blog but some are brand new. I am working with the title Fragments of Perception which I believe captures the essence of my work, what do you think? I’d also be interested to learn from my regular readers what genre you would describe my stories as? This could play an important part in how I present them.

Once the editing is complete in about a months’ time I will be looking for a couple of beta readers to look over the collection with a critical eye. If you’d be interested in doing this, please drop an email to orchidslantern@gmail.com so we can discuss. I will gladly return the favour if anyone is in need.  

My novel is progressing and about to enter a second draft stage. This will involve a fair amount of re-writing from the first draft as I now have a stronger, clearer idea of what needs to happen to achieve my vision. I’m working under the title The Enlightenment Machine for this. Broadly, it is about a man taking part in experimental therapy living underground with similarly afflicted individuals. The world he is exploring is changing his outlook but something unknown is slipping through the cracks that no one is yet equipped to deal with… 

Some of you may be pleased to know I have also done some more work on The Old Woman, The Stag, And Me (working title only as it’s grammatically incorrect among other things). Looking at the outline, I think this will likely end up at novelette length but could be slow progress as I am desperate to press on with the novel foremost. 

Lastly, I’ve written a couple more flash fiction pieces to submit to anthologies which I hope are fruitful.  

I hate to be creating new work and not sharing it straight away, but hopefully it will all be worth it. Once I have Fragments of Perception nailed, I will be back to putting my flash fiction straight onto the blog as it is ready. A big thank you once again to everyone who follows and interacts with this blog (almost 500 of you now!), your support is my confidence.

16 thoughts on “Progress”

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  3. Fragments of Perception seems like an excellent title to me. Your enthusiasm to move forward with your own projects is inspiring!

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  5. “…genre you would describe my stories as?” Never ask for a pigeon hole, or it will be given to you. Elmore Leonard fought the Western Writer moniker as hard and often as Vonnegut fought the Science Fiction one. Original stories by (your name here) and describe them. Delicious, short, macabre jewels, funny…whatever. But don’t put yourself in a bag from the get go because you might want out some day.

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    1. I’m not a big fan of pigeon holes myself so I agree to an extent. However this is less about categorising myself than understanding who my market might be. Identifying with one or two existing genres helps people to decide if the book is for them. For example on Amazon I will need to select a couple of genres to be displayed under – if I don’t, I will fall through the gaps and no one will ever see it.

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  6. Exciting indeed! Nice to see you came to a decision and have chosen to publish that anthology; if you think about it, what better way to formally introduce yourself to the reading world than through a collection of many different aspects of your personality as a writer, rather than just one long story?
    Fragments of Perception is alright, but it’s a little… dull. It sounds like the kind of thing a year-one psychology major would have to read, not something as beautifully complex and intriguing as your work. Keep in mind this is just my opinion, and the majority might actually love it. How about Fragments of Life, or is that too broad?
    Genre-wise I’d have to agree with Phil Huston, although if you put a gun to my head I’d say just describe them as “a varied collection of sci-fi, romance, mystery, fantasy and everything in between, as diverse and complex as life itself.”
    I’ll definitely take you up on that request for beta readers, and of course I’m thrilled at the prospect of some more The Old Woman, The Stag, and Me.

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    1. Thanks for your input on the title. I’m not 100% sold on it, but I wanted to keep the Fragments part because it’s been with me all the way. Perception seemed to cover everything and describe what I’m trying to do. It’s also a word that would intrigue me as a reader. I’m not keen on Fragments of Life I’m afraid. Another option would be to go for a ‘—— and other stories’ kind of title, but I’ll chew it over.

      As I responded to Phil, I’m not trying to limit myself to a single genre I’m just being realistic in terms of marketing. If you pick too many genres or tell people you cannot be categorised, it won’t do your book any favours and you will not have a target audience.

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      1. Of course, I know exactly what you mean. I just meant in terms of limiting yourself to a genre before you start writing. It‘s not like identifying the genre of a work that‘s already been completed is going to limit its potential, hence my suggestions. It is tricky trying to identify the genre of multiple pieces though, especially considering the diversity of your portfolio and abilities.
        As for the input on the title, you‘re welcome. No worries that you don‘t like the suggestion, or that you prefer yours. Like I said: that‘s just my opinion, and a flexible one at that. It‘s your decision because it‘s your work, and whichever title you feel describes it best should naturally be your choice, because you know your work better than anyone else.

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