Tag Archives: crossways

How to Write a Speculative Fiction Book

Posted on August 3, 2021 by Jacey Bedford

I’m not going to be able to teach you how to write a book in the twelve hundred or so words in this blog post – even presuming I have the skills. Yes I’ve written books, seven published so far … Continue reading →

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Space Opera

Posted on July 19, 2021 by Jacey Bedford

I write science fiction. I’m pretty sure my sub-genre is (so far) space opera. I’m happy with that definition. I grew up reading my dad’s Lensman books and the distinctive Gollancz yellow jacketed SF which (sadly) I only have a … Continue reading →

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Building a Universe – Law and Order in The Psi-Tech Novels

Posted on February 23, 2021 by Jacey Bedford

More about the universe in which the Psi-Tech books are set. The Monitors – Galactic PolicingFormed in 2391, the Monitors are an interstellar policing force largely concerned with providing law in the space-lanes and for those newly established colonies that … Continue reading →

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Building a Universe – Folding Space – The Psi-Tech Novels.

Posted on February 9, 2021 by Jacey Bedford

Early Space ExplorationHumans established several stations on the moon, and a joint scientific facility on Mars by 2050. At the same time commerical expeditions to mine the Kuiper Belt proved successful, and, following a twenty year scientific study, shipyards were … Continue reading →

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Building a Universe – The Psi-Techs

Posted on January 26, 2021 by Jacey Bedford

My Psi-Tech Universe has implant-enhanced humans who have telepathy to a greater or lesser extent, combined with other psi talents. My main characters, Cara and Ben are psi-techs. Cara is a top class telepath with a side order of empathy, … Continue reading →

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Building a Universe – Power Structures and Personal Stories.

Posted on January 12, 2021 by Jacey Bedford

When I started to write Empire of Dust I didn’t really know much about my setting. I didn’t build my universe first and then people is and dream up stories. The people came first, and along with them a predicament. … Continue reading →

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The Geography of Words

Posted on August 4, 2020 by Jacey Bedford

Writing science fiction and fantasy involves worldbuilding. Sometimes we take a concept, strip it right down to basics and invent a planet where the sea is pink, the sky is upside down and the dominant life form has seven tentacles … Continue reading →

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An interview first published in SF Signal

Posted on March 10, 2020 by Jacey Bedford

I like doing interviews, especially when the questions are both thoughtful and taxing. Carl Slaughter presented me with an intriguing set of questions way back in 2016. I thought I’d revisit them. CS: Your first series is cyberpunk space opera. … Continue reading →

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The Long Haul

Posted on April 23, 2019 by Jacey Bedford

Now, here’s the thing… when you write a trilogy you are in it for the long haul. To all those people who write a single book, I salute you. It’s not easy. It takes dedication and effort. Now imagine you … Continue reading →

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Jacey’s Quick Book Links

Posted on November 16, 2018 by Jacey Bedford

With the publication of Rowankind just a few days away (27th November), I thought I’d post links to all my books. Obviously the (not-so-hidden) subtext is, go out and buy them, but seriously folks, those advance orders for a new … Continue reading →

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The Gift That Keeps on Giving

Posted on April 12, 2018 by Jacey Bedford

My first book, Empire of Dust, launched on 4th November 2014 from DAW and, boy, was I excited. I’d waited a long time for that moment. When I got the first review , from Publishers’ Weekly, no less, I read … Continue reading →

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What’s the Psi-Tech trilogy about?

Posted on January 3, 2018 by Jacey Bedford

Nimbus, the final book in my Psi-Tech trilogy, is out now.  Who-hoo, I have five books out and this is the first complete trilogy. Sometimes big ideas start with a bang and arrive fully formed, sometimes they start small and … Continue reading →

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Happy Book Day To Me!

Posted on October 3, 2017 by Jacey Bedford

My new book, NIMBUS, is out today. Let me say that again because it never gets old. My new book, NIMBUS, is out today! It’s my fifth published book, and the third in my Psi-Tech universe. It represents a milestone … Continue reading →

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IAm/Am Not a Word Machine

Posted on September 21, 2017 by Jacey Bedford

A reprint from a blog I did for Emerald Musings back in February 2017 – with updates. Douglas Adams famously said: ‘I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.’ That may have worked for … Continue reading →

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Due Process

Posted on May 16, 2017 by Jacey Bedford

My publishing process goes like this: The publisher offers a contract (negotiated by my agent) which may be for one, two or three books, and on signing I get half the advance. My agent takes the agreed cut and I … Continue reading →

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Worldbuilding for a Series

Posted on May 1, 2017 by Jacey Bedford

In the last blog I talked about Committing Trilogy, but glossed over the worldbuilding aspects so I could talk about them in this blog entry. I’m going to (mostly) talk about the worldbuilding involved in my futuristic SF trilogy, though … Continue reading →

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Overnight Success in Only Sixteen Years

Posted on November 28, 2016 by Jacey Bedford

The beginning of my writerly story is lost in the mists of my childhood. I struggled with writing at school because, being a fluent reader (but not a writer) by the age of five, I was put into a class … Continue reading →

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Pitfalls of Publishing, or Lest I Forget

Posted on November 13, 2016 by Jacey Bedford

I’m now in the fortunate position of having three books published by DAW, with two more due out in January 2017 and October 2017, but achieving a novel publishing deal took years from my first short story sale to a … Continue reading →

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Gotten, Tannoy, and Trug

Posted on August 6, 2016 by Jacey Bedford

Another milestone. I just hit send and emailed the manuscript for my fourth book to my editor. It’s 134,200 words long which is roughly the same size as Winterwood. Silverwolf is scheduled for publication on Tuesday 3rd January 2017. It’s … Continue reading →

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Fan mail

Posted on January 20, 2016 by Jacey Bedford

I just received this from Hugh, a friend in Canada, who is currently in the middle of reading Crossways. I think it may constitute genuine fan mail even though we do know each other personally. Hugh McMillan is a very … Continue reading →

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My Writing Year – 2015

Posted on December 26, 2015 by Jacey Bedford

It’s been a pretty good year in the word-mines with my second book, Crossways released in August to some decent reviews – though not many of them, which I understand is pretty normal for a second book in a series. … Continue reading →

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CROSSWAYS is OUT TODAY!

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Jacey Bedford

It’s BOOK DAY! Crossways, my second novel, is out today.  What starts out as a search for survivors turns into a battle for survival. Space stations, corrupt corporations, telepathy, relationships and something moving in the depths of foldspace. Not read … Continue reading →

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New Two-Book Deal

Posted on July 24, 2015 by Jacey Bedford

With Crossways less than 2 weeks away from publication I just got the go-ahead from my lovely agent (Amy Boggs of Donald Maass Literary) to announce this. I have a new contract with DAW for another two books to follow … Continue reading →

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Book Cover: Crossways

Posted on July 16, 2015 by Jacey Bedford

Crossways, my follow up to Empire of Dust, is due out on 4th August, so with only a few weeks to go I thought I’d delve a little deeper into the cover art by Stephan Martiniere. Stephan did the gorgeous … Continue reading →

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Crossways – the Process

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Jacey Bedford

It’s page-proof time. The last opportunity to catch any typos and last minute (small) alterations in the text of Crossways before it’s sent to print. I have nearly two weeks to check 173,000 words of text. From the writer’s point … Continue reading →

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On Delivering the Second Book

Posted on April 11, 2015 by Jacey Bedford

Empire of Dust came out in November 2014 and yesterday I delivered the final version of Crossways. Second books are difficult, mind bogglingly, scarily difficult. For starters, you never quite know how much backstory to filter in from the first … Continue reading →

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Crossways Cover Reveal

Posted on February 25, 2015 by Jacey Bedford

I got the illustration for my new novel Crossways a few months ago, but until yesterday’s SF Signal featured it in their ‘Coming Soon’ section I hadn’t seen it complete with titles. So here it is. The cover illustration is … Continue reading →

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Short story Sales 2015

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Jacey Bedford

It’s only 8th January and so far I’ve sold three short stories this year, all flash fiction (i.e. under 1000 words) and all due for publication within the next few months: Mort’s Laws to Nature’s Futures (Nature Magazine) Times Two … Continue reading →

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Editing and Time Travel

Posted on July 17, 2014 by Jacey Bedford

Editing one book while writing the first draft of the sequel is as close as I will ever come to time travel. My first book, Empire of Dust, is due out from DAW on November 4th and while waiting for … Continue reading →

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Jumping in at the Shallow End

Posted on August 29, 2013 by Jacey Bedford

So after a week of bringing together plot notes, I’ve now started writing the new book. Working title: Crossways. It’s a sequel to my space opera. Writing a sequel is in some ways easier and yet also more difficult. On … Continue reading →

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