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
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?
