Gary R Batchelor Introduction

I wrote the first draft of a science-based novel, Divine of the Gods (120000 words) between 1996 and 1998. Over the next three years this was part of a very amateurish submission package which eventually accumulated around 30 rejections. Now, in hindsight, I can’t say I’m surprised. I rewrote the novel and it currently stands at 147000 words but have put it aside for the moment.

Following this first entry I dabbled in fiction writing for a number of years before taking some Creative Writing courses with the OU around 2010 – 2012. During the period 2003-5 I achieved an English with Media 2i degree and a PGCE and began teaching adult learners basic literacy and numeracy at Liskeard Link into Learning. This continued until 2015 when I was made redundant. 

From 2014 I wrote some horror short stories and tried to get them published in ezines but found their criteria for accepting stories very narrow. I took the decision to write stories for myself, rather than to some prescribed template and explored the world of self-publishing with Amazon KDP.

I found an editor (not cheap) who polished my stories, and I published my first collection of horror short stories, A Trick of the Tale in 2017. This was followed by another collection, A Body Parts & Other Anatomies a year later. Later in 2018 I published a horror novella, Syngamy, set in the permafrost of Siberia. Clearly links to the movie, The Thing (1982). I had no real idea of promotion or marketing, and none sold very well, but I enjoyed the experience.

In 2018 I found another editor (more expensive) who suggested finding an agent rather than self-publishing. I decided to submit my crime series, Cold Fire and between us we worked through six drafts of the first novel in the series, Twinkle Twinkle. I began sending the submission package, including a synopsis, first three chapters and a covering letter during 2019. In a number of rejections, I received encouraging feedback. I take these as a positive and remain undaunted. To date (October 2022) I have received around sixteen rejections, but many more no replies. I continue to send this out. 

After joining Jericho in May 2022, I decided to follow a different thread and enquired about a M/S assessment for my fallen angel fantasy series, ARISE. I was fortunate that a published crime writer, Margaret Kirk agreed to read the first draft of the first novel, The Great Chain of Being in the seven-book series and prepare a report. Following her report, she made a number of suggestions and I set myself a deadline of completing the rewrite before the end of August 2022. This was accomplished and despite the improvements I had made it still required some work, especially around dialogue, pacing and tension. I had an online meeting with Margaret, and she was very supportive and encouraging.

The next decision was what to do next. I decided that a self-editing course would be appropriate and have signed up for that programme which, due to demand, won’t begin until September 2023. Good things come to those who wait. I hope.

In the meanwhile, I have put The Great Chain of Being aside for six months and will redraft it in the new year after I have studied some of the support materials available on the Jericho website. Then I will leave it alone again before dusting it off prior to September 2023.

I am now writing a fantasy novel, Death and Sleep are Brothers, the first in a seven-book series, AEON, which features a girl who has out of the body experiences and is whisked away to other dimensions and multi-verses when she falls asleep. This is a family heritage which claimed the life of her elder brother three years earlier and also resulted in her father leaving home six months after he was born. 

When she arrives in this new reality, she finds herself in an adult form of herself, which takes some getting used to.

I also have a vampire series, a vampire hunter family series, as well as many other sci-fi, speculative, horror, crime and other genre fiction ideas.

There aren’t enough hours in the day (or night).