Short Story Pt 2

October 17, 2014 News

I mentioned recovering a short story here, which ended with me getting my hands on a hard copy.

Earlier this week I  retyped it from the hard-copy and discovered when I did that it was 4,500 words, not the 1,500 I remember.

The story is in better shape than I remember.  Originally published in 2009, there are a few tweaks needed to update it to reflect the modern era. I had also expected to be polishing the writing style, since it was four years old and I only had an unedited proof.  Instead, I found out that it had held up better than expected. When I  started trying to make changes for accuracy and correct detail, I ran into a problem. Accuracy slows action.  At the moment, it is a roller-coaster ride, but breaking into a discussion of physics and aerodynamics in the middle of an air chase – well, there’s a time and place for rocket science and this isn’t it. The research and figures are correct, they just don’t belong in the story.

Expect screaming ‘cite’ at me to get pages of stats and lists back.

So the re-corrected is now at the publisher getting proof-checked. I already know they liked the story, because they were the ones that asked about it, so it will almost certainly be out shortly. The only other delay is finding a cover, which for an aircraft as sadly unknown as this could be difficult.

The politics? I’m leaving that in. It is inevitable, after all:

The aircraft is the TSR2.



Perfect Partners – Lightning and TSR2 (greetings card)