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Ken Balneaves

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Ken Balneaves

Tag Archives: sequel

Time, the scarcest commodity in life and one that evades me.

28 Tuesday May 2013

Posted by Ken Balneaves in A writers thoughts, Forthcoming books, Published Books

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beyond the grave, Drifting Sands, Love story, sequel, The Greatest Gift, time, time travel

Well, it’s been awhile. I haven’t had time to write a blog in ages; months. Fact is, I haven’t had time to write my sequel either, until I went on holiday recently that is. Three weeks away from the humdrum of my day job and my mind is sparked into life. I wrote about 15,000 words in that time, whilst cruising round the Norwegian fjords and then the Mediterranean; I’m now two thirds of the way through writing, Drifting Sands, the sequel to my first book, The Greatest Gift, a tale that until last week, I didn’t know where it was going. But, despite a gap of nearly five months in my writing, it still came to me. As soon as I sat down and allowed my mind to wander, it flowed; it’s as though my fingers have little tongues, licking the keyboard into submission, telling a story that sometimes even I haven’t heard. Well now I do, the story is formed. Take a look, see what you think,

“When, from beyond the grave, Sir Stuart Harper introduced the SHINE programme, he never expected such cataclysmic consequences as a result of his procedures, but the immense augmentation to human lifespan and intelligence caused a demoralising and self-destructive effect on mankind. Richard Harper, Sir Stuart’s grandson, the receiver of the plan and implementer of the enhancements, had had misgivings when he rolled out the programme in 2012 and ever since, on occasion, he sensed all was not well. Now, 200 years on, the utopian world Sir Stuart had foreseen was no longer there, its path had deviated and man’s very existence was seriously under threat.

Young Stuart Harper, Richard’s son, was a troubled soul, desperately unhappy with his life. Sure, he had been given the option of having his intelligence and lifespan vastly enhanced and to that he had willingly agreed at the time, but he was only a child then. Now, with his superior IQ, which still remained substantially higher than his peers, after 200 years, he was finding his longevity tiresome, an ordeal. He believed there must be more to his being. His scientist father, Richard, was the main target of his dissatisfaction, blamed by his son for meddling with nature.

Stuart wasn’t alone in these thoughts, there were others. Many were so disaffected with their lives, they couldn’t cope and committed suicide to escape their terminal tedium. Others, less overwhelmed by the futility but nonetheless disconsolate, vented their feelings by rebelling against Stuart’s father and the authorities. But Stuart’s own escape was achieved in a very different manner, no contumacy from him. He decided to use his vast intelligence, in a positive way. He chose to explore times gone-by to see if history could teach him something he could use to advantage in his own time, something to rejuvenate his interest in life and as he delved into the past, he found it. He discovered a young woman who quickly became the focus of his intense scrutiny, someone who would change his life, forever.

But the journey of love is a difficult enough path to tread under normal circumstances, a challenging affair at the best of times. Add class and cultural differences to the mix and the probabilities of its success diminish. Add to that, different time zones and surely a relationship is doomed to failure?”

It’s ironic really, I haven’t enough time, to write about time. However, watch this space, it shouldn’t be long now and let me know if you like the concept.

Cheers for now.

Ken Balneaves also wrote, The Greatest Gift, available at http://amzn.to/QF7RLd (US), http://amzn.to/O12kgX (UK)


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Writers, Troglodytes or Sun Terrace Hogs?

07 Saturday Jul 2012

Posted by Ken Balneaves in Forthcoming books, General, Published Books

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

hermit, sequel, shoes, sun worshiper, time travel, troglodyte, writing

This is a republish of a blog a few days ago as the title was wrong in the original.

For the past four days I’ve been progressing the sequel to my published book, The Greatest Gift.

The new book, Drifting Sands, involves time travel and when you get into the realms of that, the possibilities and resulting paradoxes are mindboggling.

This is of course science fiction (at present; who knows after the likes of the Higgs boson discovery) but try to at least get the science as close to reality as possible and then, stretch the rules.

However, as a result of the complexity, I have found myself thinking, more than writing. I’ve probably only written 2,000 words. I’ve not even set foot over my threshold for four days, indeed, I haven’t had shoes on for that period either.

In case you’re wondering, I have showered but it makes me curious as to what other writers are like. Troglodytes or sun terrace hogs? Either way, I’m guessing shoes are not important.

The Greates Gift, available in all formats through my website, http://www.balneaves.co.uk

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The fun of writing

04 Wednesday Jan 2012

Posted by Ken Balneaves in Forthcoming books

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get your own back, new books, revenge, sequel, writing

Ever had someone take the rise out of you; been the butt of a bad joke, even been bullied? Introduce them into your next novel, make them a character, as weak and pathetic as you like. Change the name of course to protect the ‘innocent’ haha.

I’m having great fun writing my sequel, Drifting Sands.

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The challenge of writing

30 Friday Dec 2011

Posted by Ken Balneaves in Forthcoming books

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Tags

New book, sequel, time, writing

It’s an irony that my book, The Greatest Gift, is about time, the very commodity that evades me. I’m so busy with my full time work that I have limited time to write so do so mainly only on holiday.

In two weeks, I managed to set up the sequel, Drifting Sands, and write 6,000 words. At that rate I’ll need about 10 holidays or 3-4 years. In that time, not only will my readers have lost track of my story, I will too and constantly have to re-read what I’ve written to keep the continuity of a difficult time travelling plot. I guess this is the constant bain of a writer’s life unless they are full time.

Time, I can feel it slipping away. That’s why I’m writing about it I guess.

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