Blood Red Sand

It’s always a delight to share new books and authors with you so today let me introduce you to author Damien Larkin and his new release, BLOOD RED SAND.

Blood Red Sand
By Damien Larkin

Mars will run red with Nazi blood…

After World War Two, Sergeant McCabe knew the British army could send him anywhere. He never imagined facing down another Nazi threat on Mars.

In New Berlin colony, rivalry between Generalfeldmarschall Seidel’s Wehrmacht and Reichsführer Wagner’s SS threatens bloodshed. The Reichsführer will sacrifice everything to initiate the secretive Hollow Programme and realise his nightmarish future for humanity.

McCabe, Private Jenkins, and the Mars Expeditionary Force must overcome bullet, bomb, and bayonet to destroy the Third Reich. While Jenkins fights to stay alive, McCabe forms an uneasy alliance with MAJESTIC-12 operatives known as the Black Visors. Will this be the final battle of World War Two or the first confrontation in an interstellar war?

Release date – July 6, 2021
$17.95, 6x9 trade paperback, 252 pages
Science Fiction - Military/Alternative History/War & Military
Print ISBN 9781939844781 / eBook ISBN 9781939844798
$4.99 eBook available in all formats

Now join me in giving a warm welcome to Damien as he stops by to answer some questions about his writing during these crazy times we’ve been living through. Damien, welcome.

Has your writing been affected by Covid-19? If so, in what ways and if not, how are things the same? Do you think it will have any influence on your next book? Any suggestions for others trying to write during this difficult time?

Like everyone else on the planet, the Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact of my life. In terms of my writing, it’s forced me to change my processes, but I feel like I’ve adapted very well. I seem to be in the minority of writers whose productivity has actually increased!

Prior to the lockdown, I got the bulk of my writing done when my two young children were in school. In absolute silence, I could lose myself in my latest writing project. With the schools closing nationally and the introduction of working from home, everything changed. I realised I needed to find the right balance between being there for my children emotionally as well as physically, while also juggling my job and my writing.

I found that during the day, there were brief periods of what I called ‘natural silence’ that I utilised for brief writing sprints. Twenty minutes peace as they ate their breakfast – that’s a couple hundred words done. Anywhere up to a half hour while they played on the trampoline in the back garden – maybe a thousand words on my laptop in the kitchen. Whereas before I couldn’t write unless I had silence, I adapted to writing while they watched tv or sang songs as loud as they could.

I’ve learned a lot from adapting my processes during the pandemic so I can definitely see it impacting my future projects. As I work for a major broadband and satellite tv provider, my workload has significantly increased (because in lockdown we all need tv and internet access to work from home)! With less time than before, I tend to write during my forty-minute lunch period on most days, and so have managed to keep my productivity up.

For suggestions on how to write during these trying times, I’d recommend first and foremost to look after yourself and prioritise your mental health. Learn to trust what your needs are. If you feel burnt out, switch off and take some time to recharge your batteries. When your energy levels are back to normal, write a word. Any word. Then another. Then another. And so forth!

Each and every one of us struggles with writing at some point. The main thing is to push yourself to do what you can. It doesn’t matter if it’s a hundred words, a thousand or ten thousand. Every sentence you jot down will take you that much closer to your end goal.

Damien, thanks so much for joining us today and sharing this insight into your writing habits. Lots of good advice there. A book can’t be published if that first word isn’t written.

Meet the Author: Damien Larkin

Damien Larkin is an Irish science fiction author and co-founder of the British and Irish Writing Community. His debut novel Big Red was longlisted for the BSFA award for Best Novel. He currently lives in Dublin, Ireland.

For more on Damien and his writing, you can connect with him at http://www.damienlarkinbooks.com/

You can also find his new book, BLOOD RED SAND at the following links:
Amazon US - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08NJ1LMC1
Amazon UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08NJ1LMC1
ITunes - https://books.apple.com/ca/book/blood-red-sand/id1540765181
Barnes & Noble - https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/blood-red-sand-damien-larkin/1138272663?ean=9781939844781
Kobo - https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/blood-red-sand
Goodreads - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55945491-blood-red-sand?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=nKXbdJKenu&rank=4

Thanks everyone for stopping by today. As a reader, has the pandemic had any impact on how or what you read? If you’re a writer, has it changed your writing and/or writing habits?