Donna Maree Hanson, Author, Phd in Creative Writing

Gentleman Magician is at 40,000 words. This is going to be a novella and I think I can finish it soon. I just have to write the ending scenes. I’m so excited. It’s taken me a bit longer to write than I planned but I have enjoyed not rushing. The Cry Havoc series continues. Steampunk and magic, with a side order of sandwiches. I’m really excited to be exploring the relationship between Edward Huntington, Ambrose Fulton and Jasper Heaton.

After I’ve done a bit of research, I’ll be starting Book Five, The Amethyst Way, featuring Jemima of course, and an adventure for Milly. Not sure I’ll write the prequel novella about Jemima’s father and mother but we shall see.

I’ve given up shopping my PhD novel, The Founders’ Legacy, to agents and publishers. The small Australian presses I had in mind are closed to subs. I have a feeling it’s a bit woke for the current climate in the USA and bad economics and global uncertainty don’t help either. Anyway, I did try. So the other day, I found a cover. Let me know what you think. It is SF YA/Adult cross over. I’ve got to work on the blurb. This is what I have so far:

Sixteen-year-old Tal is graduating from pod life and dreams of developing an experiential history machine to explore the past. When Tal’s research project is initially refused, that future seems impossible. After negotiation, approval is granted on two conditions: Tal must stay clear of the Founders’ lives and work alongside a young genius named Gen.

While mining data in the city’s systems, Tal uncovers the Founders’ arbitrary decisions that shaped Frequil’s genderless society. Fictional texts from the past introduce the idea of binary gender. Drawn by forbidden knowledge, Tal and Gen use their invention to experience what it was like to live as a pre-Frequil man and woman. As their bond deepens, the biological template that made Tal genderless begins to break down…

The Founders’ Legacy explores gender, love, and autonomy in a society that believes these concepts are no longer relevant.

In other news, I have eye surgery on Thursday for the fast growing cataract that is the result of my previous eye surgery, the vitrectomy ilast September. I’m half blind and typing this is fraught!

I have one upcoming appearance June 12, Newcastle Book Boyfriend. I’m heading to a Regency Weekend on the 14th and I’m madly sewing for it. Between writing and craft and bad posture I hurt.