Category: Writing

Naturism, books, COVID-19 and natives

Yes. Talk about a strange mix of subjects for one blog post. Please, read on.

A few days ago I listened to a podcast in the “Stuff they don’t want you to know” series. Maybe you know it. This specific episode was called “Indigenous Tribes, Covid & PPE”.

To my shock and horror I discovered that Native Americans are heavily affected by the COVID pandemic, and that in most cases and states, hardly a thing is done to help them, or even to educate them on the issues.

I know that the United States have many problems, and many people will shrug this off. I, however, am not many people. If you know my “Naked Crow” books, you may know that Native Americans play an important part in the stories.

The thing that really hit me, as stated in the podcast, was that “Doctors Without Borders” is stepping in to help Native Americans. This may not mean much to you, but this organisation usually steps in when a situation in a third world country is hopeless.

So what does this have to do with books?

In a previous blog post I mentioned “Murder in the nudist colony”. An anthology with death in all kinds of nudist places (just to stay on the cheerful side of life of course). All the proceeds of this book will go to Doctors Without Borders. After learning that this organisation is on the move to help the original Americans, this means even more to me. So here is your chance to help that organisation!

Murder in the nudist colony.

Pre-order it on Amazon, or on another e-book platform. Select your favourite one here.

On behalf of all the authors and other contributors to this publication, I thank you!

Exciting book news all over

As I already posted, there is a lot happening in the book area.

Naked Crow 9 - Canadian Crow

Next Saturday Naked Crow 9 is hitting the e-shelves. But as if this is not enough, another book will be out soon, being the 21st of this month.

On that day, an anthology will see the light. Lots of it has already been posted on Twitter.

The name of this book: Murder in the Nudist Colony.

Does this sound ominous enough for you?

Let me tell you a bit more about it:

Early in 2020, naturist fiction author P. Z. Walker had the idea for a collection of mystery stories to be called “Murder in the Nudist Colony,” deliberately using the antiquated term “nudist colony” for a slightly retro, humorous touch. On social media platforms, mostly Twitter, other folks associated with the fine network of naturist authors chimed in. Ted Bun put together the call for submissions, Robert Longpré set up the page to share documents as well as the ISBN, Fabien Barabé designed the cover… and we’ve ended up with fifteen submissions within a relatively quick timeframe. Will Forest and Ted Bun volunteered to edit. The project has been a strong example of an online community working together!

So there you have it. I am the one who’s to blame for the whole thing getting to life. I’m very proud of all my co-conspirators who have done so much work to get this anthology to life.

If you want to have a look at the available bookstores for a preorder, click here for the Amazon store and click here for a selection of other locations!

A naked crow is a strange bird

Yes. There is some news about our Naked Crow. About the ninth one, to be precise. Let me show you…

Naked Crow 9 - Canadian Crow
Crow

The only thing I would like to add to this information, which is pretty sparse, I admit, is that you should be on the lookout soon. You might spot this one as of June 13th. That’s when I plan to let it fly.

This story has been in the making for a while, but with No More Unsworth Manor Nudes and a few other bits and surprises coming up, that was to be expected!

So note it down, all you ornithologists. June 13th. Of this year.

Talking about Mirror Earth…

Mirror Earth
The book that started the Mirror Earth trilogy

Yes, I did that, on the sibling blog NaturistFiction.org.

In that post I hinted at the possible possibility that there might possibly be another book in the set. I somehow feel like Douglas Adams now, who put 5 books in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy trilogy. 4 is a good start, isn’t it?

Mirror Earth 2

I’ve been making some plans. I’ve been reading parts of the first three in the original Mirror Earth trilogy. Hmmm. There might be options. Openings.

It looks as if I’m going to give that a try.

And then this comment popped up:

Another Naked in Space would be great also.

Someone simply left this in a response on the above-mentioned post.

Ehm, what now? I had not expected that to happen, but I have to admit I am very grateful/pleased/happy/proud of that.

Nude in Space

Is “Nude in Space” really worthy of a successor? Hmmm (yes, again).

I have to say that it was an interesting premise to write about. A challenge as well.

Let me put this down as another definite maybe. At the moment I’m working on part 2 of Murphys in Space, as well as a few other projects, and I don’t want to get so many going that nothing gets done. That’s not helping anyone.

I’ll first get more in the clear about another Mirror Earth volume. After that there’s always time to consider a sequel to Nude in Space, or perhaps something else. New. Different. Strange. Weird. Just leave that to me. In the mean time I do appreciate all the comments and suggestions. Trust me (uh-oh, don’t buy into that! LOL!), they are not wasted!

Stay safe, stay nude.

And so I found myself thinking about fairies

Fairies? Yes. Fairies.

Human-style fairy

Why that?

Well, it’s that writer brain acting up again. I know, it can be a nuisance, popping up at the most inappropriate times hahaha.

But I really thought about them. What are they? From where do they come? And, you probably wonder, what does this have to do with naturism? Well, hang in there, dear reader. We’ll get to that.

So. What are fairies?

A fairy is a type of mythical being or legendary creature in European folklore, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural, or preternatural. Myths and stories about fairies do not have a single origin, but are rather a collection of folk beliefs from disparate sources. Wikipedia

I was immediately drawn to the words ‘supernatural’ (a manifestation or event attributed to some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature) and ‘preternatural’ (beyond what is normal or natural).

Okay. Nature is definitely a part of it. And I think you may get where I am going here. Suppose fairies were real and not thought up by humans. What would they look like? Hint: the one above is clearly according to ‘the rules’. She wears a dress. A very human dress, which is idiotic for a non-human creature. For me all living creatures come from nature, so fairies would come from nature too. A part of nature science doesn’t understand.

Natural fairies

Wouldn’t this fairy be much more ‘natural’?

Natural fairy

I would like to think so. Just like humans, dogs, horses and other creatures from nature, they would start off naked. Would they need clothes like humans do? Perhaps. But since they are considered super- or preternatural, they might be beyond such things (and yes, I do envy them for that, even when this is all hypothetical).

Humans started covering their body for warmth, but humans are not supernatural, no matter how many of us think we are. So why would fairies need that same kind of covering?

Unfortunately, fairies are thought up by dressed humans, which is why most of them are depicted like dressed humans.

Still, my writer’s mind insists on naked ones. Since they are from nature. And that’s where you also often find naturists.

A writing update for a change.

One of the categories for this post is Nanowrimo. If you know what that is, glory to you. If you don’t: forget about it. It’s a bout of madness for people who like to write.

Most of you know this cover.

Yes, I’m working on book two of the Emma Nelson fantasy mysteries. I think it is going well, be it as slow as with the first book. Mysteries are hard to write for me because a lot of mysterious things happen (duh) and they have to fit and work on all sides. The next book will shine some more light on where Emma’s ability comes from (if I can make that work) and also Jo-Anne’s absence gets more attention (if I can make that work.)

I’m also still working on Naked Crow 9. Two big things for Sheila and Jeremy are: Canada and Vacation. And somehow these two are combined I’ll leave it to your mastermind to figure out how that can happen, I’m sure you can do this. Otherwise follow this link… And then there is something with a big rock and someone disappearing, but that’s just minor stuff.

And then there is a story I once started and never thought would get any traction or serious word counts. Well, how wrong can you be. Said story is over 42,000 words (think 120 pages of text) already and suddenly it is growing and going into a direction I hadn’t expected to happen. If you know anyone called John, pay attention. There might be more to John than you think. Of course most Johns are not like this one, but still…

This particular story will be bought by Marvel as it is about superheroes. Four of them. Marvel will make it a huge hit and that will make me disgustingly rich and adorably famous. Well, that is the plan, at least.

I’ll let you know whether or not the plan worked out.

Until it does, I’ll keep writing. Have a great week, everyone!

P.Z.

A writing-update

It’s been a while since the writer in me spoke out to update you on the world of stories and the likes.

P.Z. Walker writing

I’m working on far too many stories.

This is a true and a false statement in one, of course. False because there can never be enough stories. As I once read, the world needs more story-tellers and dreamers. In that respect I am doing my best to add my words.

In the true sense this means that, though there is progress in every story, it seems to take forever to get something done and finished. That’s something I have been thinking about. Would it be better to focus on one story, get that done, and then focus on the next? Some may say yes, some may say no. For now I am in the no-camp…

So what’s going on?

Naked Crow 9 is beginning to take shape. I’m at chapter 3 as I write this post (which is in the past hahaha, I love how you can manipulate time online). It took a lot of researching for me to find something that I hope will be interesting. For me to write it definitely worth the while.

Unsworth part 3. I already know the title for it, which I won’t tell you now as that might change. My way of writing allows for such flexibility. 😉 So far the story ambles along nicely. My trusted word-advisor Mr Bun says so as well, which should be enough of a quality certificate.

Murphys in Space part 2. That is going slowly. I have a lot to think about regarding that one, but it is growing. The thinking comes from the space parts in it. I don’t want it to be the thirteenth-in-a-dozen kind of space thing where you already see what’s happening before even seeing the cover image of the book. Bear and bare with me, it will come.

Emma Nelson 1 - See-Through

Emma Nelson part 2 is also slowly taking shape. I am only 2 chapters in with that story because this is mystery sleuth stuff and I am not very good (at least not experienced) with that. It will take place partly in Dallas, Texas (just adding that for good measure, maybe there is another Dallas somewhere), and the story will shed some light on Jo-Anne’s absence in book 1.

And then there is something which for now is called Crazy Pictures. It’s a superhero fantasy story that somehow popped up in my head and so I had to start writing that.

So there you have it. 5 naturist volumes are on the roll at the moment so plenty to look out for in due time.

Be well, happy and as naked as you can!

Paul

Naked Crow 8. It’s going to come.

Naked Crow 8 - Giant Problems

Yes. This is it. The cover for the eighth book in the Naked Crow series.

Goodness, I still remember the moment when I started writing part 1. I was visiting Gran Hotel Natura on Fuerteventura (which unfortunately closed its naturist doors) and I was reading a naturist fantasy story that was soo poorly written that I thought: I can do better than that.

The enthusiasm that Naked Crow met was actually a surprise for me but also a motivation to keep going. And now part 8 is seeing the light of day.

The e-book will be available on August 10th, on an e-store shelf near you.

Let me tell you what this book is about…

A naturist resort as a place for resident artists. Can you imagine that? Yes, it will happen at the Mighty Oaks. Remarkable artists will stay there for a while, diving into their art – and strange adventures.

Of course, Sheila and Jeremy are part of those adventures.

Slowly, bits and pieces of the history of Mighty Oaks are revealed, as well as a secret the managers of the resort managed to keep for quite a while.

All of this and more will present giant problems for the resident shaman.

Are you ready to face them together with her?

I hope this is enough to fire up your interest for this new book!

Nothing for a long time, and then…

Emma Nelson 1 - See-Through
See-Through – Emma Nelson 1

It feels like last week that I published this book.

What?

Oh. It was last week. Hmm. Thank you for letting me know. So it was last week that I published this book. At the moment of writing this post I have not had any bad reactions yet (I am writing this soon after publication so I am able to say this with an honest face), so hopefully the readers are entertained by Emma Nelson’s first adventure.

As the title of this post says: nothing for a long time… (meaning there were no new books for a considerable amount of pendulum swings…) and then… I have the pleasure to announce that the next Naked Crow book, volume 8 in the series, is ‘en route’ for publication.

My friend Will Forest picked the nits out of the text and had valuable feedback on the story, all of which is now all applied.

Yes, dear readers and followers of this blog, Naked Crow 8 will come out ‘soon’. That is probably next month because having the text in shape is not all there is to it.

Let me treat you to a sneak preview of the cover for Naked Crow 8.

Yes, the title is worth the trouble Sheila and her friends get into. They are for real Giant Problems.

Another sneak ‘preview’ is what this book is about. There are young artists of Native American descent, a few mentors and you also get a peek into Alice Branson’s former life when she was married. That ‘heritage’ combined by a rather gruesome find at the Mighty Oaks, makes Sheila’s recipe for Giant Problems. A good thing about this size of problems is that they won’t fit under your bed, so you can go to sleep safely tonight. I hope.

Happy reading, everyone, and be naked as long and often as you can.

Paul