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Some visual concept designs I sketched for my own personal reference of Sam and Frank in Forgotten Liberty Part 2. • • With this second part of the story being set eight years after the events for the original, Sam is now 12 years old. He and Frank, along with many of the settlers of Autark, have adopted the self-sufficient lifestyle they had originally intended to live and I wanted their appearance to reflect that through natural materials and accessories that adhere to their increased knowledge of survival and frontier life. • • While this is a visual representation that helps me, I hope that it doesn't deter anyone from steering away from their own imagination and how they visualised Frank and Sam in the original story! 😁 • • #ForgottenLiberty #Art #Artwork #ConceptArt #Design #Sketch #Novel #Books #AmWriting #AmDrawing #AmReading #writersofinstagram #readersofinstagram #booklovers #storytellers #Character #CharacterDesign #OriginalDesigns #Frontier #Survival https://www.instagram.com/p/BpRTd29FG1O/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1hr2lc5m7vgrs

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I went to see this last to support my sister and I have to say that I went into it a little blind, but wow.. It is incredibly tense and delves into some pretty dark themes of power and corruption. The entire cast and crew did an amazing job and I would definitely recommended people to go and see it while it's still available! #TheVillage #StratfordEast #StratfordEastRoyalTheatre #Theatre #Production #Acting #London #LondonTheatre (at Theatre Royal Stratford East) https://www.instagram.com/p/BnyQJS5Fijd/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=17z3j1rcmg58y

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Another beautiful piece of concept art for Forgotten Liberty Part II. One of the groups from the first novel will be making a return along with a key character and some new ones to meet along the way. Artwork by @thomasroisland. #ConceptArt #Art #Artwork #ForgottenLiberty #Novel #AmWriting #Books #Authors #Writers #Readers #AmReading #Beach #ILoveBooks #readersofinstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/BnoFgv9lZRf/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=zf28vuj0ur7g

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This weekend is your last chance to enter the competition to win a free signed copy of #ForgottenLiberty! All you have to do is follow me and like and comment on my previous post. The winner will be announced tomorrow night, good luck!! 😁📚 #Books #AmReading #AmWriting #ILoveBooks #BookLovers #readersofinstagram #writersofinstagram #authorsofinstagram #FreeBooks #Competition #Free #Epic (at United Kingdom)

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Was great to meet @mr199cm today and do a public reading of our books! 📚📖😁 #ForgottenLiberty #Kingslayer #TalesFromArlanon #PublicReading #Readers #Writers #Authors #AmReading #Novels #Books #Story #BookClub (at Walton-on-Thames)

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Was very cool to see my book on display for Local Surrey Authors! 📚😁 #ForgottenLiberty #Surrey #London #Authors #AmWriting #AmReading #Books #authorsofinstagram #writersofig #bookstagram

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New cosplay photo by @colineastaugh. Thanks for the tag! #Cosplay #JonSnowCosplay #JonSnow #gameofthrones #gameofthronescosplay #cosplayersofinstagram #mcmlondoncomiccon #comiccon #housestark

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Better late than never 🎉🎊🎄 #Wedding #Christmas #Elf #Suit #Vineyard #Party #Celebrations

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Merry Christmas! As part of a Christmas giveaway, the kindle edition of Forgotten Liberty is completely FREE to download right now! Download your copy via the link in my bio and to further support me, please don't hesitate to leave a review and let me and other potential readers know what you think 😉📖❤️ #FreeEbook #ForgottenLiberty #Christmas #ChristmasGiveaway #Kindle #FreeBooks #Novels #IndieBooks #ILoveReading #AmReading #Amwriting #Writers #Readers #Authors #IndieAuthors #BookLovers #ILoveBooks #ChristmasReads #WinterReads

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trying to get your story together like:

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A year on from writing my first novel.

Over the past few years I’ve found it hard to pin-point exactly what it is I’ve wanted to do with my life. I think any person can relate to that on some level and sometimes you just need to throw yourself into something to really know if it is right for you.

When I was younger I really wanted to be a movie director. I watched a ton of movies from all eras growing up and was inspired by other directors and what they had achieved to create their vision. The thing is, I also went through other phases too. I really love video games and how they’ve evolved over the years so at some point growing up I wanted to be a game designer. I wanted to be a video editor, an actor... Point is, I could never really decide exactly what I wanted to do, but what I really wanted to do, was create something.

Video Review by Poppy Sansom.

About five years before the release of Forgotten Liberty, I wrote out a draft for a movie idea I had. I jotted some notes then worked on writing it out as a full synopsis and thought it might be easier to create it as a piece of literature rather than trying to produce it into an actual motion picture. I didn’t really give any real consideration to motive, character arcs, plot development and pretty soon it ended up being just another unfinished project on my pile. I had a lot of unfinished projects...

Feeling uninspired, I dropped the idea for about two years and focused on my career. Two years later I came across this same unfinished project and thought about the time I had collectively put into this pile of other unfinished ‘nothings’. I was somewhat disappointed in myself for never following through with an idea right to the end and I was at a point where I really wanted to prove to myself wrong and complete something I could look back on and know I’d created a full and finished product.

Banner design created for a previous promo featuring Frank with Sam's mysterious black book.

I gutted the original unfinished draft down to its core and before I even put pen to paper I brainstormed and organised the story’s beginning, middle and end. I looked at what I wanted it to be about, key themes, genre, characters, everything. It had to be personal to me on some level otherwise I wouldn’t feel connected to it like it was my own. I thought about my world views, my views on politics, technology, religion, history, relationships, family and ancestry. I have to say that when really taking it to that next level I actually started to get excited about writing again.

I worked as a freelance camera assistant in broadcast at the time. I wasn’t getting a lot of work during certain times of the year and needed money so I worked part time behind a bar in a golf club. The manager was lenient and understood that cameras was my primary line of work and so the last minute nature of calls in that industry made the two jobs a good pair. Eventually I was entrusted to work the morning shifts alone, opening and setting up for the day. It’d be busy for most of the time but I’d become fast with the routine and there was always those few moments in the day where I’d be writing notes on my order pad for the book. I’d go home in the evening, take the scrunched wad of tickets from my pocket and write it out in full, then be back at the golf club drafting dialogue again the next day. Once it was all complete after countless drafts and edits, I pitched it to publishing houses but most stated they only represented those with an agent. I tried agencies but many of them were seeking those with a recommendation or somebody with already established work so it was a bit of a ‘chicken or egg’ type situation.

Some awesome people in my life who've supported my creative outlet.

I later discovered self publishing via amazon’s KPD and CreateSpace schemes for free and thought I’d give it a shot. Sure I had to edit, design and market the book all on my own which was scary as hell but I kind of liked the idea of having 100% creative freedom to do as I pleased and went ahead with it. I realised I wasn’t bothered about mass profit and fame as an author. Although that would be amazing and one can only dream, I know I was only able to finish the book because it was something I genuinely enjoyed writing. It was something I myself wanted to read (and hope maybe others might enjoy it too!).

I was so nervous about how it might be received because fiction and art in general is such a subjective form. The feeling alone of hearing that people had taken time out of their lives to read something I had written was so overwhelming to me. Those who enjoyed it questioned whether or not their might be a sequel which I hadn’t even considered before I found out that people had connected with the characters of Forgotten Liberty more than I had anticipated. I mean I knew they were important to me but I never even dreamed that others would express their feelings and opinions to me about Frank, Annie, Sam and the rest of the group. A year later I can certainly say it has been a been a fulfilling experience and I hope that my small dedicated audience will someday grow into something that will allow me to dedicate more of my time to continue writing the stories I’ve begun creating.

Cover Design - Forgotten Liberty by Alessio Cala

To support my work, check out my book, Forgotten Liberty. Leaving a review allows others to see your feedback and thoughts on the book. The more reviews, the more likely people are willing to give up their time to read it.

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Death Stranding projected at 4K with some fitting Stranger Things vibes lighting 😚👌🏼 #DeathStranding #HideoKojima #NormanReedus #Playstation #Gaming #Gamers #Trailer #Cinema #StrangerThings #Vibes #Lighting

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