Novels

Novels by Marcel M du Plessis

Longer pieces of fiction or non-fiction. Writing novels is my true passion. There is nothing like seeing characters and plots develop in long-form writing. It’s hard, but it’s rewarding.

The Bright Report

The Bright Report Volume 1 Cover

The Bright Report Volume 1 is a collection of 6 themed short stories (with some sneaky added extras). If you liked the odd humour of my short story Jargon, there might be something in here for you.

The Bright Report is the oldest and most respected fictional, journalistic journal you’ve never heard of. In the tradition of serial works such as The Pickwick Papers back in the Victorian times, the Bright Report will be released in several instalments. Each story is ‘written’ by an intrepid journalist who has been sent out by the editor, Mr. Lazen F. Balding Jr. III. They are tasked with uncovering unusual human stories across the globe. Often, the journalists have to come to terms with their own quirks and egos before they can get to the heart of the story.

Volume 1

The first installment contains the following stories:

  • Kitjovistinope – a strange word that took the art world by storm
  • The Chiprock Recluse – the mysterious author of “The Aquatic Acquaintance” is revealed
  • The Derby – taking on the Giant Snail Race Derby
  • The People of the Cloud – exploring the remote islands of the Quadratic Sea
  • Reviewing the Lethe Series D – the economy car of the future, or is it?
  • A Board Game Story – playing a literary board game with too few players

Volume 1 is available now in paperback and eBook format. Please click the link below to find out more. Also, a review is always appreciated.

Volume 2

Volume 2 of the Bright Report is now available in eBook and Paperback format. The second installment contains the following stories:

  • Murky Dishwater, an unusual rock band with an unusual sound – what is their secret?
  • Cheese rolling is a dangerous business, but did you know that the cheese goes through several ‘hill tests’ before it can carry the name of Double Gloucester?
  • An apartment full of unusual creatures asserts their right to squat where they want to.
  • An unusual writing implement is said to bring the wielder great literary success, but at what cost?
  • Mr Carmichael washes up on a strange island where the residents sort themselves into the Likins and the Knopes.

To find out more, please follow the link below:

The Silent Symphony

My literary novel that was stuck in query limbo for a long time. Six years of work and more than a year of queries and all there was, was silence. Rather poetic, actually.

After my efforts with the Bright Report, I have decided to publish the Silent Symphony myself.

Blurb

Cassius Wortham leaves all he knows behind to make it as a writer in the City, a nameless, walled metropolis at the crossroads of the world. But things are not as they seem. His roommate might have mob connections, his artist friend has addiction issues, and the waitress at the poetry club has political aspirations. Not to mention the invisible spirit of history that follows them around waiting to chronicle a looming catastrophe.

As overseas turmoil brings tides of refugees to the walls of the City. Ambitious leaders play at social engineering. The loudest voices are drowned in the growing silence. Only Cas, his friends and their ghostly tag-along hold the key to the future, for in the end the silent will decide the fate of the City. Listen…and you too may hear the instruments of the Silent Symphony.

The novel will be available soon.

Current Projects

A writer is only a writer if she/he keeps writing. While I’m waiting for my completed projects to be noticed by the right people, I am hard at work on the following projects:

  • The Bright Report Volumes 3 & 4
  • Awkward Phrasing – an Introduction to the Bright Report
  • A Fantasy Epic
  • And many more!

More details on these projects as they near completion.

Top Image: Nymphs finding the head of Orpheus, by John William Waterhouse (1900)