lucbyard

Book two of The Deep System is complete - the first draft, at least. It has taken 12 months and 3 weeks and is 161,222 words.

It feels pretty good to have finished the second in the series because that means it 'is' a series now and I genuinely think this book is better than the first one. I had so much fun writing some
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The Brawling Beauty engages her reversers as she exits the slipstream vortex back into normal space.

Please follow The Deep System on Twitter for updates and release information on the upcoming novel 'Boxrunner'.

Pirates be up to no good.

I love my Manatee design - it's so modest and unassuming. It doesn't try to be cool or badass. But I figure if some pirates get a hold of one, it wouldn't stay like that for long.

I haven't done too much to it. I gave it an engine upgrade and at teh front added a missile launcher system
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I've learned how to do custom decals and parts for studio which has allowed me to do two things. Now I can put graphics straight onto the bricks and don't have to photoshop them in after the render every time and I can create small parts for details like lights that standard pieces are too big for.

As the graphics are prepped in Photoshop first,
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“Irrinuuga, this is Tourbillion Crimson Horse. All vessels approaching the Exchange are now subject to inspection. Stand to and prepare to receive a shuttle.”

The water tanker Aquon Irrinuuga holds at 4km from the Tourbillion Orbital Exchange over Titan. I think this is my first rendered scene from Book 2: Proteus Rising.

Irri is a benign ship with a whale-like disposition. She is placid and
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Is it just me or do the Beauty's shoulders look jacked from this angle?

But she does work out a lot so...

While the details have evolved and refined over the years since I first sketched her, the Brawling Beauty's two 'arm and fist-like' booms protruding forwards have always been fundamental to her design and yes... she can throw a punch.

What's that? 'But she's
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I'm still hoping to draw in an agent but I can't sit on it forever so...

The first chapter of Boxrunner takes place on 5th January in the year in which it is set so I thought that would be an apt date, albeit it a few centuries early :) to aim for. This gives me time to query but if self-publishing becomes the preferred
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'Pull your weight - pull your freight'.

So they say in The Deep System.The Brawling Beauty is no exception.

Seen here in orbit over the Moon (upper) and performing an exit burn over Europa with an extender deployed to balance the centre of thrust with the centre of mass owing to her asymmetrical payload.

With their vast fleet of rugged mining ships, the Tourbillion Mining Group are quick to stand up to the threat of Eclipsis.

Equipping their mining pods with plasma cannons and missile barrels was an easy task but while their Redblade mining pods are durable, they are also slow.

Tourbillion would prefer a straight out fist-fight but Eclipsis hold on to no such sentiments - they
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I've passed 100,000 words on my sequel novel... And it feels good. I'm expecting 140-ish for the full thing so it's starting to feel like so close to finishing it.

To celebrate, here's a new render of the Brawling Beauty with some new paint parts - I've added red and black to the engines - she's a girl that likes ink. 😉

“In planetary news: Faulty gravimetric compensators have been blamed for the recent loss of two Cobalt Initiative vessels which burned up falling into the atmosfield above Pele recently, killing two pilots. The findings are unlikely to quash rife speculation that it followed a firefight as tension between Cobalt and the Eclipsis ships in orbit continues to grow. Both organisations insist that at present, they are
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