I started work in earnest in the last two weeks on my second novel.
Titled "HYBRID MACKENZIE (AND THE PEOPLE ON THE HILL)" - It's an ambitious project for me to say the least.
Three books, all telling the same story - for three different and unique age groups. A round of fables told as if by Chinese Whispers - so one account will be full and comprehensive - telling the entire legend of a story, aimed at adults 18+, then the same story but filtered as though a fairy tale for a teen audience and young adult, then a third retelling where we filter down to a children's story - a picture-book, telling the very heart and essence of the story.

The idea is one which will take a lot of time, not least of which because it is also being illustrated in all three versions by myself as well!

I intend to take my time to get it right, but i am incredibly happy and proud of the work i have done so far. A solid foundation for the rest of the novel. One which loses ONE MAN AND HIS DOGMA'S non-linear narrative, and instead, tells a straight line story with a beginning, middle and end all told in sequence, with very few (if any at all) tangents along the way.

I intend to share snippets with you as we get into the story - and my intention will be to share the first chapter when the book is completed... But expect updates as we move forward!

Thank you again to all who purchased ONE MAN... still a few copies remain with me, so they will be signed and numbered (limited 250 in total) and illustrated with a doodle in every copy, should you wish to get a copy for a loved one or yourself at Christmas!

For now, i leave you all again, but big love to all, and take of yourself and each other... Its a mean old world at the minute, and a bit of love would never go amiss.

Easy Now.

​Andi.x

Hello Friends.

We are continuing apace on the final edit, so very nearly at the end!
In the long months since we started we have made some important changes, tidied narrative and strengthened characters continuity to make the first draft a real bona fide pageturner.
I could not be happier with the work my brilliant editor paul martin has put in, nor his astounding support during the whole of this post-writing process...

Editing is a hard, long job - let me tell you.
And Paul has done a great job of keeping a handle on the tiniest of story consistencies and narrative threads and pointed out some things that really have helped make this the best story I could tell.

We will be going to final stage and print in a matter of a few weeks, and we should be shipping the pre-order kickstarter copies out in the next month - all being well.

Which brings me to the good news!
We have released a full edited sample chapter from the book - which acts as a gateway, Amuse bouche and introduction to the novel.

Written as a self contained story deep within the book, it was designed specifically to bolster two important characters but spoil nothing - and is ready to be read on the link below...

https://tablo.io/sarianlives/one-man-and-his-dogma-chapter-six

We welcome you to take a dip inside the finished novel and read a decent chunk of story before its release.
This introduces you to Death and his Riders Four and the great Lord Lucifer Morningstar, two of our more important and central characters from our cast.
And sets up the story to follow, whilst informing and supporting the story before... But, whilst giving nothing away.

We hope you enjoy.
I really enjoyed writing this chapter... And it perfectly explains the story when I say it deals with the tenets of religion, whilst not being RELIGIOUS, and highlighting the more fantastical areas of the story.

Get your teeth in, and I hope it whets your appetites.

Speak soon.
Andi.
x

Before I started writing ONE MAN AND HIS DOGMA as a novel, I had a string of similar half ideas from different genres laid out in incomplete forms on my hard-drive.

Some of them were comic book storylines I was working on with a friend for an ongoing series we were plotting and developing, others were short stories which had no spine or heart - and were floundering messes I had jettisoned into the "Junk" file in my WRITING folder. One was a three quarters complete stage-play which kind of ran out of juice. Unsure if it was a BOTTOM style manic comedy, or a Jack Lemon/Water Matthau whimsical comedy... And was not really very good at being either.

Then there were threads of the same story that just needed a dust and a polish until I could see the bones to put the flesh on.

One such short story was ONE IN SIXTY MILLION.
Written when I had a bout of severe insomnia at college in 2001, it is a simple concept that - when filtered down - had a solid idea which was waylaid badly in my adolescence as a writer...
Trying in vain to find my voice.
Banging and smashing and tripping over blindly in the outhouse trying to build my style...

Bits and pieces of the idea were stolen for tiny fragments of the novel ONE MAN AND HIS DOGMA, when I realised that a "SILLY" idea could be rejigged and rebuilt into a dramatic long-form project...
It's the idea of a very green, very naive writer who was struggling with delusions of grandeur, but I will be damned if it doesn't hold a big place in my heart.

I have posted the story over at my PATREON page for you to read, I did not want to post here as I want to try and keep some things offsite like a hidden treasure (there is that delusion of grandeur again...) hiding things around my social media on the web, where you can find bits and pieces should you go exploring.

PATREON is a strange concept, I am not entirely sure I even really get it yet. Watching people I admire like Amanda Palmer use it as well as she has though, with the support she has received and the feedback she puts out, has made it slightly less frightening.
But I am well aware how lucky I was with my Kickstarter to have the book completed and allow me to self publish - so I am also aware how I could be pushing my luck by having a page at Patreon.
Still - have one I do - and if you want to check it out and the things I am offering, please follow the link and have a gander:

ANDI JAMES CHAMBERLAIN - PATREON

I will occasionally post random and unique things there, including stories I would not post anywhere else.
So keep checking back and, should you wish, feel free to Patreonise me!

In the next week or two I hope to share a full chapter from the novel with you all and some short-stories written for my pledgers on Kickstarter, released for public consumption with their express and gratefully received permissions...
For now.
Take care and enjoy the story you crazy kids.

Peace.
Andi James Chamberlain
17.06.2015