I formed the premise for Stasis None in the late 90’s but it wasn’t until 1999 I actually started work on the book.

After years of being in bands I’d hit a bit of a brick wall in more ways than one, and decided to join the Armed Services.

I guess I was trying to figure out what I wanted out of life, and needed a new focus and direction.

While I would never wish to change this decision, this somewhat drastic U-Turn saw my more creative leanings stifled – As such, I began writing Stasis from earlier notes and ideas. It was a long, rewarding – at times difficult process.

It’s hard to write a complex, multi-layered story in stolen hours over the course of several years…

Harder still to then try and blend it together as a cohesive book.

Looking back, it was probably an overly ambitious project as my first venture into the world of writing – but it has proved if nothing else, a good education on so many levels.

After years of revisiting and pasting notes together, the manuscript was ready in 2010 and was originally to be released on a small indie-label. 

In my desperation to see years of work finally out there, I made the rookie error of allowing others control over the work, people who claimed to know the business – and I took them at their word.

This came back to haunt me in the worst possible way, and I was mortified to find the first version published was full of errors after an editor (amongst others) did an appalling job (actually putting more mistakes into the book than were taken out – quite an achievement in its own right).

The book was recalled and eventually re-released in 2012 and was, I’m happy to say – successful.

A new, re-booted version is to be released in Nov 2023 after a full scale pro-edit and re-working, which I’ve wanted to do for a while. It now finally feels like the book it was always meant to be.

My advice to anyone set to undertake such a journey is simple… believe in yourself, make time for the work and dare to dream (and make sure you find yourself a good editor).

It is so rewarding in the end seeing a novel in print – it is an achievement not even the harshest of critics can take away from you.

That said, I would emphasise the need not to rush in after typing ‘The End’ – as it is in fact – just the beginning!

If a publisher is not forthcoming and you decide to go it alone, save up and invest in a good editor, and hold on to the same patience and diligence you had when writing your book in the first place…

Take it from somebody who learned this the hard way.