Jon Sparks
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jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
Jon Sparks
@jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
1.7K followers 1.8K following 2K posts
After more than 30 years, and 60 books, as an outdoor writer and photographer, I’m now fully focused on fiction with the Shattered Moon series. AI-free (and I mean free).
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jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WIPSnips 26/11
Book 7 of The Shattered Moon, working title ‘The Principle of Detachment’, has no instances of 'impede', nor ‘obstruct’. Just one of ‘obstacle’.
#books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity
He showed further delicacy in suggesting he site his tent well away from theirs, beyond the stream. The narrow stream was no real obstacle, but the separation would give the women a measure of privacy. By the time the ground was cleared, tents pitched, and everything stowed within—and Jerya fully dressed again—the afternoon was well advanced. Time for some rest, to catch up on drinks, and to begin a strange, episodic meal like an amalgam of lunch and supper. They had discussed possibilities extensively on the ship, of course, but in the certain knowledge that everything was conjecture until they actually had their feet on the ground. Now, having climbed the first step, and seeing promise that it would be possible to climb further, they could plan in earnest.
November 26, 2025 at 7:34 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WordWeavers 26/11: Does Current MC share any traits with you?
Hmmm, since Perriad isn’t really a force any longer (Book 7), who counts as ‘the antagonist’? Not one individual so much as anti-progressive elements in society.
So, no, I seriously hope not.
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November 26, 2025 at 7:29 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WritersCoffeeClub 26/11: How do you keep yourself sharp?
Partly, the usual recipes of exercise, sleep, etc. Plenty of varied reading, good conversations in coffee shops, all that sort of thing.
Also, writing different things. Substack is my outlet there.
#books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity
November 26, 2025 at 7:28 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
I could have called this ‘Writes of Passage’, but aren’t you glad I didn’t?
My latestSubstack Post relates a couple of significant milestones on my journey to becoming a professional writer and photographer.
Take It To The Limit
Formative Moments for the Novice Author
open.substack.com
November 25, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Reposted by Jon Sparks
scalzi.com
Last Christmas
I gave you my heart
Not really my heart
Just somebody's heart
This year
If the cops should appear
Please tell them that you don't know me
December 4, 2024 at 11:45 PM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WIPSnips 25/11
Book 7 of The Shattered Moon, working title ‘The Principle of Detachment’, has four instances of 'system'.
#books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity
She didn't, as she often did, say, 'Please, call me Jerya'; but she did smile and say, "It is we who are honoured by your hospitality." With gentle emphasis she added, "And may I present Master-Emeritus Evisyn of the Guild of Dawnsingers?" Meridès offered dutiful words of welcome, but it was clear 'Master-Emeritus' meant less to her than 'Countess', and she quickly returned her attention to Jerya. Doubtless she would have proceeded to gush some more, but she had to breathe, at which point Jerya briskly enquired, "Have you received any messages for us?" "Indeed, yes, your Grace." Jerya lifted a brow, but said nothing. Evisyn had never heard anyone address her that way before. Was it, she wondered, strictly correct? She knew—Jerya had complained of it more than once—that there were endless protocols and etiquettes around the Denvirran peerage; and to complicate matters, each of the Five Principalities had its own distinctive system. Troquharran, for instance, had not Dukes and Earls but Margraves and Burgraves and who knew what else. She knew that Sessapont had a Prince but nothing beyond that. Perhaps 'your Grace' was correct for the local equivalent of a Countess.
November 25, 2025 at 7:46 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WordWeavers Nov 25/11: Does your Current MC share any traits with you?
I’m sure… although my approach to character development has vanishingly little to do with the enumeration of ‘traits’.
A lot of my MCs are young…
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November 25, 2025 at 7:27 AM
Reposted by Jon Sparks
aim2gtc.bsky.social
Passing on a friendly useful tip....Gmail users in phone, go to:
Setting
Click on your email account
Scroll down to options pictures, OPT OUT otherwise Gmail will use your emails to train on. Do it now. Fck them, you're welcome ☕
Screenshot Gmail smart features and Google products, opt out of both
November 22, 2025 at 8:55 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WritersCoffeeClub 25/11: What are some tips you can share to avoid 'clunky' phrasing?
Everyone says read the work aloud, but if that’s awkward, try exporting to a different format, or just changing font etc so the document looks different. (Supplementary…
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November 25, 2025 at 7:26 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
Continuing this serialised novel of murky goings-on in the great outdoors. Free to read
The Kanchenjunga Manifesto—Chapter Twelve
Continuing this serialised novel of murky goings-on in the great outdoors.
theshatteredmoon.substack.com
November 24, 2025 at 3:00 PM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WIPSnips 23/11
Book 7 of The Shattered Moon, working title ‘The Principle of Detachment’, has no instances of 'global' or 'globe'. Going with 'world' (20 instances).
#books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity
Ysutèni smiled. It wasn't much, but it was a smile. "I cannot think so—but I never thought of it." "I understand; and as Master Evisyn here will tell you, the Guild of Dawnsingers has only ever admitted girls from the Sung Lands anyway." "That’s correct," said Evisyn. "And not likely to change in the near future." Ysutèni’s look at her seemed puzzled. Evisyn had been introduced, but… well, it was likely the girl’s first sight of a Dawnsinger; and therefore of a bald person who wasn’t a slave. How often did a young Princess see the world beyond the Palatine anyway?
November 23, 2025 at 10:56 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WordWeavers 23/11 Finding good cover artists, beta readers, & editors is hard. Shoutout who has helped you.
I can’t deal with all these in 500 characters. Let’s do covers. I’ve had 10 different publishers in my non-fiction career, and design was…
#books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity
Cover Stories
Finding a style, finding an image… and that's just the start
tinyurl.com
November 23, 2025 at 10:51 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WritersCoffeeClub 23/11: What's your niche?
Arguably at the intersection of SF, fantasy, and historical fiction. (SF by definition but tends to feel more akin to the other genres. And let’s not downplay the 'feel' or 'flavour' of a book; it’s essential.
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November 23, 2025 at 10:50 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WritersCoffeeClub 22/11: What has been the biggest change to your style since you started out?
Depends what you mean by ‘started out’. The little stories I wrote when I was six? I’m a bit more sophisticated now. My undergraduate essays?
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November 22, 2025 at 9:04 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WIPSnips 22/11
Book 7 of The Shattered Moon, working title ‘The Principle of Detachment’, has just one instance of 'crystal(line)'.
#books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity
She stopped, kneeling to examine the floor more closely. "There’s only a thin film of dust, a millimetre or two. That seems remarkable after so long." "Seems to have been a very clean environment in here?" said Evisyn behind her, voice reverberating off the walls. "Possibly… I’m just brushing the dust away here. The surface looks just like the rock outside, but we’d have to look with a lens to be sure. But the rock’s grainy, crystalline; there’s no natural smooth cleavage, like slate. I can’t conceive this being natural—but how did they do it?” "You must have known, Jerya, that every 'answer' we find is only going to spawn a dozen new questions."
November 22, 2025 at 7:37 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WordWeavers 22/11: If any artist, dead or alive, could create your cover, who would you choose?
I actually don’t want to name the artist at this point because he’ll be referenced significantly in the novel I’m currently…
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November 22, 2025 at 7:33 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WIPSnips 21/11
Book 7 of The Shattered Moon, working title ‘The Principle of Detachment’, has eight instances of 'direction'.
#books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity
Sails slackened; only a small jib remained fat with wind, and in the weak breeze the ship was barely moving, not stirring enough bow-wave to disrupt her own reflection. "Ahoy, the shore!" Bensik’s voice carried easily over thirty metres of grass-green water. "Captain!" she called back, not in a full shout but the elevated voice she used to address larger gatherings like Ordinations. "Is there news? We hadn’t expected to see you so soon." "Aye, madame, there’s news: storm coming. It’s black as pitch to the south." He waved a hand in a sternward direction and indeed Evisyn saw that the sliver of sky between two of the spires was dark as a bruise. "Looks like to be a bad 'un. We need to stand well clear of land afore it hits—and either we take you off right away or… well, if you’ve found any better shelter than the tents, I’d waste no time getting to it."
November 21, 2025 at 8:23 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WordWeavers 21/11: Is writing an escape for you, or does stress make it hard to write?
I think we need to be careful about the term ‘escape’ because of the connotations of shying away from reality. But good writing, and I specifically include…
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November 21, 2025 at 8:17 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WritersCoffeeClub 21/11: What are some preconceptions about writers you'd like to see challenged?
I suppose the movie stereotype of the solitary tormented genius…
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November 21, 2025 at 8:16 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WIPSnips 20/11
Book 7 of The Shattered Moon, working title ‘The Principle of Detachment’, has eight instances of 'special'.
#books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity
Torvyn had witnessed Dawnsong before. Growing up at Skilthorn, with Dawnsingers visiting every summer, she must have heard it dozens of times, starting before she could even remember. She had, she thought, been six or seven the first time she had been allowed to rise at a painfully early hour and climb the narrow stair to the roof of the main house, where only a few of the tallest trees broke the Eastern horizon. On the recent journey she had been present for Dawnsong at Under-Keldash, had heard it drowsily through an open window in Blawith, and made a special effort to be up and present at Kendrigg, where Jossena was the sole Dawnsinger. The Song itself, she might have heard a hundred times, but never from more than half a dozen voices at once. This morning would be different.
November 20, 2025 at 7:29 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WordWeavers 20/11: Has the Covid pandemic affected how or where you write?
In relation to writing, Covid pales into insignificance compared to my cancer diagnosis a couple of years before. It was that, coupled with drying-up of…
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November 20, 2025 at 7:24 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WritersCoffeeClub 20/11: How did you find your writerly voice?
I’ve been writing since I was a kid, just a small matter of 60 years or so. Professional writer and photographer for more than 30 of those years. Also an avid lifelong reader. Somewhere…
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November 20, 2025 at 7:24 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
A reviewer’s verdict on The Sundering Wall, Book 2 of The Shattered Moon:
"Sparks builds this world with his trademark finesse, immersing the reader in its paradox of familiarity and strangeness."
'Paradox of familiarity and strangeness' is exactly what I’ve aimed for.
Here’s a brief excerpt:
Soon enough she began to feel more hopeful, to get a sense that the peaks were not one continuous chain. Another hundred metres, and she was nearly sure of it. She felt so much lighter without the mass of the pack that she even ran a short way. There it was: a gap; a curiously rectangular notch, deeper than it was wide, parting great blades of rock. Running up to it, only a simple slope of scree splashed with snow. There was an apron of rock at the breach itself, but she could see it'd be easy. If the other side's the same, it's a pass. At once she set out up the scree, picking a winding line where it was mostly smaller stones, avoiding any larger blocks. These, she knew, could too easily be precariously balanced, ready to shift at the merest touch of a boot. Unladen, she still felt light, almost as if instead of the great lump of the rucksack she had wings on her back. She couldn't fly, but she climbed fast, her breath coming in gasps, her heart hammering. What she saw at the top might decide everything. I'll rest when I can see. It was perfectly clear now. Ever since she had seen that notch in the ridge, the first pass, or false pass, she had not merely wanted to see what lay beyond; she had needed to see. This was far beyond curiosity. Now, she needed to see if there was a way into the land beyond. And if there was? No matter what the others did, she thought, barely noticing how she lumped Rodal and Railu together; no matter what they did, she herself would go on now, until she knew. Until she knew.
November 19, 2025 at 9:10 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WIPSnips 19/11
Book 7 of The Shattered Moon, working title ‘The Principle of Detachment’, has 19 instances of 'third'.
#books #writing #WriteSky #writingcommunity
They went on, working through the list. First Crossing, West—East: Jerya, Railu, Rodal. Second Crossing, East—West: Rodal. “Making him the first to make a return Crossing, and also the first to do a Crossing alone. Is he still the only one to do that?” “There’s one other I know of,” said Keriset. “Former enslaved, so I won’t mention his name… But that was a few years later.” Hedric only nodded and moved on. “Third Crossing?” Several of the girls thought this was the Selton party. Torvyn, who naturally knew the answer, kept silent, let Hedric put them right. "I’ll try not to feel too much forgotten," he said, pulling a mournful face. Third Crossing, ten years later, East—West: Jerya, Hedric, Lallon. Jerya becomes the second person to make a return Crossing.
November 19, 2025 at 9:01 AM
jonsparksauthor.bsky.social
#WordWeavers 19/11: Are there any emotions that are hard for you to write?
Not if the emotion arises naturally from the intersection of character and current circumstances. And if it doesn’t, then there’s a bigger problem anyway.
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November 19, 2025 at 8:42 AM