Cross Post from Realm Makers Group

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Cross posting for those Christian Speculative Fiction writers thinking about attending Realm Makers Consortium next year, but are feeling too insecure to do so:

~~~~~

Okay, I will admit here, I was in the same spot when they announced for this year’s conference. This was my first writers conference of any kind and a lot rode on whether or not this went well. I hemmed and hawed the first time I looked over the itinerary. I didn’t know why I should bother.

I’m a stone introvert after all, hate crowds and generally have a low tolerance for several things in life. I have many coping mechanisms, but they all lead me drained and wanting to hide under the bed with dust bunnies to comfort me. (That’s why you never saw me at the after party kinda stuff. I was face down and foaming in my bed lest I was something other than my coping sunny faced insanity)

But… I had a very caring editor yell… literally yell at me and say go. So I signed up. No clue what to do, I just closed my eyes and said okay. I do not for one second regret it. I decided that I’m going to leave all my anxieties at home, force myself to drive 8 hours… through Illinois… and meet people and maybe possibly learn something that might help me grow.

I also made a conscious, terrifying decision that I was going to talk to people I normally would never dream of doing so. If someone looked scared like I felt, I’d reassure them. If someone talked to me, I’d screw on a smile and put myself out there to be embarrassed and maybe rejected because I had NOTHING to lose. If it all failed… pffft. I go back and hide in my cocoon and have learned a valuable lesson. I had to believe or at least pretend to believe that just about every person new there felt the same way.

Even as the ‘point of no return’ for registration and backing out of the hotel came up I still almost cancelled. But I didn’t. You will not regret it. One of the editors on the opening night panel (I think it was Steve Laube actually… the Dream Crusher for those of you who were there) said that Realmmakers is a “safe place to fail”. It is. It is the most welcoming place I have had to fail at. To have people you never expected to like your cockamamie idea to squeal with joy and shout “COOL!”

There is little more gratifying and soul soothing than that. Even if you haven’t published, but are trying to get published…. you have no excuse. There is a significant and loving portion of Realmies that are in the same boat as you! Team up! Encourage each other! You never know when your story may be what is needed to push another out of the valley of their own self doubt and despair and God has said “I am delegating this task to you. You are the only one who I can trust do this right. No pressure. You got this.”

So… next year… if you have the cash to do it, can manage a way to clear life out of the way… GET HERE! If for nothing else, you learn you are not alone. This FB group pales in comparison to the intensive therapy you get when meeting these people in person. (no offense guys, but you’re better in person)

There is nothing more valuable to lose than what you gain by showing up, sticking out your hand and saying “hello”. Sit at a table at breakfast and ask someone you never met before to sit down and break bread (or eggs and bacon. Lots of bacon) with you.

There. All excuses erased.

See you there next year.

 

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Busy Bee. That R Me.

July has been kinda crazed in many ways for me.  Hence why so few posts.  Books 2 and 3 are done.  I just finished the Story Grid edit of Book 2 yesterday, and the week before that, I was at the Realm Makers Consortium 2018 Conference for 5 days.

A blast was had, and I learned I neither suck at writing, and I have so much more to learn.  Seriously, the classes were phenomenal (with one exception that for a Christian Speculative Fiction Conference was a seriously sour note… but easy to forgive.  I keep thinking of the Niles and Frasier Crane definition of a perfect meal, where everything is perfect, except for one small flaw to pick at for the rest of the evening.

I will be going back, barring the apocalypse or some other minor but inconvenient tribulation.  :cP

No I don’t have pictures.  I don’t like pictures of myself.  I look like a couch with a goatee and an arm brace.  Who needs that kinda pressure?

That’s been July.  Busy editing, learning and generally finding things to fix in my book.  Hoo boy, it’s going to be an interesting edit.  I’m now scheduling two more passes through the book on my own where I do an out loud read through as well as another pass to get it looking nice and polished before I send it over to my editor.

My editor and I had dinner last night, and we talked about what scene to use for the cover.  Originally I wanted to do a triptych for the next three books, but alas, I do not think it’s going to be.  So I’m going to just be happy that I found a scene that portrays Brother Finn and Bergamot I like.  The other four scenes I seriously considered just all had fundamental flaws for how to portray the book best.  Also, you didn’t get Brother Finn like on the ALRDW cover.  I probably should contract the artist soon, if this is going to be a November release.  Yeah, it’s looking like that’s possible.

Still don’t have a title though.  Just the working title, which is going bubye.  Need something more fitting for the aesthetic.  I may wait till my Beta Readers get back to me.

Ohh!  That reminds me!  Beta Readers!  I’m going to put out an open offer for some people to get involved in the beta reading process.

What does this mean?

Ideally I would like to get between 10 and 20 beta readers.  I know that seems like a lot for some authors, but well, I like getting lots of feedback to consider.  I am writing something I want, but it also needs to satisfy you readers.

It will be for the month of September with a hard deadline of probably the last week of the month.  The date is not settled on yet.  I’m going to be a bit more strict this book, but I would love to get some of my fans involved.  I will also consider creating a Discord channel for us to be able to discuss the book.  Or perhaps we can set up a discussion forum on the blog here, or through Minds.com.  Again, haven’t decided but that will firm up, depending on participation from you guys.

Of course that means you will be rewarded with a free Ebook for your participation if you get in and provide the feedback I need once the book releases.

As a consequence of the conference (say that 3 times fast), I will not be doing a pre-order.  I found out Amazon changed their algorithm and it now screws over rankings for those who do pre-orders.  So if I do, it’s going to be less than 5 days if I do it at all.  So thank Amazon everybody.  Speaking of which, I’m probably going to go Amazon Exclusive for these next three books and see how that improves or hurts my sales.  See what Kindle Unlimited will do for me.

Lastly, I have a hardcover here that I am wondering what to do with.  It was supposed to go with me to Realm Makers, but showed up a few hours after I had to leave.  That means I have no current plans with it but the ideas are simmering.  I’m sure there are people out there who would like an autographed copy of the book.  But what to do for a contest for it?  I was thinking about fan art.  Be a shame to throw a contest and nobody came.  So if you like the idea, best let me know.  Something fun for a run up to Book 2’s release.  So, thoughts?  talk to me now for this is the time.

Well, that’s all for now.  The plan is:
August: editing
September: Beta Read
October: More editing, cover and formatting
November: Final polish and release (Late Nov publish date most likely)

Repeat process for an April Release of Book 3.

Repeat process for a November/December release of Book 4 (if all goes according to plan).

So there you have it.  Hope you like it.  Let me know what you think!

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First Draft of Books 2 & 3 Complete! FREE EXCERPT

That’s right!  I have finished adding back in that plotline and setting up for Book 4, so I’m going to turn my focus over to get you books 2 and 3 as soon as possible.

Many decisions are yet to come, and I look forward to what shows up in the editing process (which is going to take a few months of course) but if I can keep things on schedule, I hope to do a pre-release for Christmas, if not an actual release this year!  Nice huh?

So what’s it currently look like right now?  Well here’s some stats as it sits:

Akiniwazisaga : Book 2 (Working title – “A Land In Peril”)

Word Count: 81,096
Page Count: 222
*Without Encyclopedia Akiniwazi

 

Akiniwazisaga : Book 3 (Working title – “Into The High Places”)

Word Count: 101,238
Page Count: 282
*Without Encyclopedia Akiniwazi

Therefore the last chapters added in are:

83. A Fray Lost, A Trap Set
87. An Odyssey Ends
88. A Bittersweet & Complicated Farewell

These last chapters required a lot of extra care and swings to hit them out of the park.  Thank God for my Alpha readers giving me great feedback for when the story went awry.

It seems to be the pattern that the closer to the end I get, the slower the process becomes as much consideration is given to how to best end the story, and what would be a good and satisfying end for you fans.  I may write these books to soothe my own creative itch, but part of that balm is telling an entertaining and engaging story that brings you back for the next tome.  I like happy readers.  What can I say?

Now I’ve been trying to find something good that wasn’t going to require you to know a plot twist or give a spoiler.  That has been a challenging task to find.  So here’s what I decided.  Till Book 2 is officially released, this is the last free sample.  Just everything else is too entwined and relying on spoilers I don’t want to show yet.  So here’s the last freebie, unless something changes.  I hope you enjoy.

As always FIRST DRAFT, so lots of exposed nails and rough framing.  Things may change significantly in later drafts as I find better ways to tell the same story.   (Glossary Provided at the end of the sample.)

25. Ten Lashes

“My back,” Mirjam whispered, voice strained in pain.
“I warned you this was not a good choice on where to hide,” Solveig chided back. Whoever heard of hiding in barrels? Not even in the Sagas were people so foolish.” It was impossible to keep time in the hold, let alone in the two empty barrels the girls hid inside.
“It has worked so far.” Mirjam said, insulted, forgetting that every word said was another chance to be caught too soon.
“It has been only an hour or so since the engines started. I would not say this has worked yet.” Solveig criticized.
“Are you trying to get us caught? Shut up and try to sleep!” Mirjam commanded. Worry that her plan may fail had begun to torment her.
Solveig descended into a sulky silence.
Mirjam’s back had begun to cramp and her feet were now numb. If she could only sleep. A good long nap would help the time go faster, and the longer they could remain hidden, the better chance they had of not being sent back home to be punished. If only she could stretch her legs.
After counting to a thousand several times to the piston stroke of the engine, Mirjam fell asleep.

“Get out here you lousy tambakkji skipgut!” a rough voice shouted. Solveig was grabbed by her shoulders and thrown bodily out of the barrel and struck her head on what she did not know. The world spun and filled with sparks. She lay on the floor holding her head in agony, never before having felt such pain in her life. Only a low groan escaped her lips.
“Get up you lazy, good for nothing!” The man bellowed again and a rough boot struck Solveig in her gut, leaving her to cough. “Hide down here and shirk your duties? The Baatsmann will flay the tender skin right off your back, you hrodinefr! The cook has been looking for you and here I find you hiding and taking a nap. We shall see about what the Kaptein wants to do with the likes of you!”
Solveig’s breath would not come, and now dark spots danced with the sparkles from the blow to her head. The wroth man looked into the barrel again and saw the sea bag in the bottom.
“A thief too? Stealing the Kaptein’s kit? Oh you will pay for that too, boy!” Her captor fished the bag out and slung it over his shoulder
“Get up,” he ordered but she did not respond. Wheezy rasps came from her as she fought to get her breath back. Her stomach hurt and burning lungs came back to life in ragged hitches and coughs. The man who had disgorged her from the barrel hauled her up by her armpit, setting her on her unsteady feet.
“Come on. March!” he ordered. She stumbled hard onto the deck, for her strength was gone and head still swam with the blow. The Sjomann hooked under the armpit, and all but dragged her up the stairs toward the Kaptein’s cabin. As they passed through the hold and into the aftcastle, other sjomenn seeing the lazy skipgut already having received a taste of the punishment to come began laughing at the young boy’s predicament.
“First voyage out, and in trouble before the day is done,” one said shaking his head.
“He will learn the hard way,” another chided.
“You caught the fubrande, Herr Snekker?” still another asked.
“Jah. Caught him snoring in a barrel. Never even took the Kaptein his property, he answered shrugging the sea bag for emphasis. The door to the hold closed.

In the quiet that followed, Mirjam peaked out of her barrel like a mouse looking out of its burrow. No one was there, so she stood, back crackling in the process. She saw Solveig’s barrel overturned, the lid flung to the side. Although she had heard the scuffle, it was only a theory till the truth was seen.
“Oh dear God!” she whispered. “No, no, no, no, no!” The panic grew as she realized the peril her sister… that both of them were in! If the crew did not know them in disguise, they could be killed!

~~~~~

Glossary

Baatsmann  : [BAHTS-mann]  Boatswain, head of the deck crew

Fubrande :  [foo-BRAHN-deh]  An insult; literally means “arse log”, and was also used to describe a piece of wood used below the draft animal’s tail to prevent a certain type of sleigh from slipping to far forward when going downhill.

Herr :  [HEHR]  Mister. Polite form of address to a man

Herre : [HEH-re]  Master or Sir. A polite form of address towards a man of superior position but unknown status or a Huskarl

Hrodinefr : [ROWD-ih-NEH-fur]  Snotnose

Sjomenn : [SEEOH-man]  Sailor or Seaman

Skipgut : [SKIPS-goot]  Cabin boy

Snekker :  [SNEK-kur]  A carpenter

Tambakkji : [tam-BAHK-yeh]  A cheap alloy.  Used to describe a person you dislike.

What’s next?

July : Editing Starts

End of July:   I will be attending the Realm Makers Consortium Conference in St. Louis.  Who knows?  Maybe I’ll see some of you there.  Always happy to chat.

August: More and more editing

September: Beta Read and contact the cover artist.  (Also begin first draft of Book 4!)

October: Editing, final proofing and formatting.

November:  Release?  (this is the ideal hope)

Answers to some expected questions.

Will there be a pre-order?  Yes, but I won’t know details till I’m more firm on when I will be done with editing and ready to format.

Where will the book be offered for sale?
Amazon for all formats (Hardcover, Paperback, Ebook)
Smashwords and Kobo/Rakuten (ebook only)

Will there be an Audiobook?  As of now, no.  The cost is too high and I’d rather hire someone good to make it.  Someone who speaks Norwegian, Swedish or Icelandic so they can get the terms right.

When will Book 3 come out?  As the Magic 8-ball sez… “Ask Again Later”.

There you have it.  One big update with lots of extras.  Allow me a short break to rest up, get my brain straight and then start editing so you can have goodies for Christmas!  Huzzah!

 

Spiritual Warfare and Cultural Foundations of Akiniwazi

 

I’ve made no bones about this fantasy world of mine being based not on paganism/polytheism/humanism like ohhhh almost all fantasy out there that we’ve generally heard of.  Yes I know there are several Christian authors, and 2 of the biggest fantasy authors based their worlds on Christian allegory.

But there’s that key word.  Allegory.

I’m not trying to use allegory, in part because I want to remain distinct from those two greats and dozens of other lesser known authors.  Instead, I focus my efforts on remaining true to scripture and what I’ve learned from deliverance ministries and the writings of some priests involved in exorcism, former witches and other related sources, writings and videos.  That’s why it’s hard to manage this.  Although I do retain the core of these concepts, I do allow for a little creative license.  Sort of a Dragnet-esque “Change the names to protect the innocent” kinda deal, but the principles are the same throughout.

Of course, that has made it difficult at times because ya gotta be consistent with your setting, even if the special effects go to 11.  Some of the fantastic stuff will have no explanation because that’s how God and the devil do from time to time.  It ain’t supernatural without a good reason, and the Gift of Miracles is a great catch-all for that stuff.

So, you experts out there who can run rings around me, know I’ve made a specific effort to follow this school of thought on the subject.  Y’all may know much more and much better than me, so forgive me my shortcomings.  After all, this is just the “magic system” of the story.  It is not meant to sermonize to people.  If you want to see how that wrecks things, watch Star Wars: The Last Jedi/Solo/Rogue One (or the Ghostbusters reboot).  There’s 4 secular SJW “sermons” before story for ya.

But recently, it has lead me to realize how much work I’ve needed in my life for repentance and deliverance.  Writing is hazardous that way, particularly when you invite God into the process.  On several occasions I’ve been saying “I’ll just take notes, Lord, you tell me what you want, okay?”

For those of you curious about some of the sources I’ve taken inspiration from in how things work in the spiritual realm (with the special effects turned up to 11 and a little creative license taken) you can check out the following authors and ministries.

Derek Prince Ministries.  A rock solid pillar and deliverance centered ministry.  I may not agree with all his suppositions, but I do agree on much of his teaching regarding deliverance.

Tony Evans.  His books and sermons on the activities of demons not to mention the names of God were extremely helpful

Rebecca Brown MD. (sometimes co-authored with her husband Daniel Yoder)  I never understood the concept of generational curses or cursed objects, till reading her work.  Furthermore, her writing with an anonymous witch and satanist clarified a lot of my own personal experiences with the occult from when I was younger and dumber.

Frank and Ida Mae Hammond.  “Pigs in the Parlor” is an excellent book on deliverance and what to watch for.

Some of you may not agree with these teachings, and that’s fine.  Just treat it the same as you would reading a type of philosophy or pagan pantheon you don’t believe in and stick to the entertainment value.  The rest of the religiosity you will find is a combination from several denominations, convoluted on my study of viking cultures and their adherant advancements through the culture of Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden and to some extend Finland and the Sami, as well as Viking controlled areas of the Dane law of England, Scotland, and Ireland.

Combine this with centuries of separation from their home nations, and you get the polyglot mishmash goop of the Forsamling culture in the fantastic land of Akiniwazi.

Anyhoo… not sure why I felt the need to bring this topic out other than to maybe give those of you new to the series a bit of insight to what’s happening beneath the surface.  Oh!  Speaking of beneath the surface, Book 3 is almost done!  I know I’ve said that before, but I mean it.  Not sure if I have 2,3 or 4 chapters left.  Kinda depends how this one turns out.  My hope is to finish this week.  (I have vacation… woot!)

So here’s the latest autopsy on what’s been written since last I mentioned it:

Book 2 (A Land In Peril*) ->First Draft Done

Pages	211
Words	77122

Book 3 (Into the High Places*)

Pages	259
Words	92707

*working title

Neither of these include the glossary or “Encyclopaedia Akiniwazi” as of yet which may be kinda sizeable, and I may muddle a bit of where the ending is for book 2.  It may include a chapter or two more, but I’m not sure yet.  Meh.  We’ll figure it out as we go, right?

New chapters since last.  Luckily the chapter numbers are now becoming established order and the back-building is ending.

73. The Vultures Begin to Circle

76. The Burden of the Sword

80. A New Threat Is Discovered

82. Predator or Prey

That’s all for now.  Hope for a new post next week with shouts of “Good news, everyone!”

Ta!

I’ll Pull the Trigger, You Can Lend a Hand

So it’s official.  I’ve got a trilogy emerging in lieu of a book I never expected to have to write to bridge a gap in the original storyline.  It’s going to force me to redo my plans for how to sell my books in the future.

 

Book One: A Light Rises in a Dark World is almost a prequel now in many ways, and I like that, but at the same time, I’m looking at the 240k word trilogy as it’s growing and thinking “When do I get to the original storyline idea again?  This is fun, but… geez!  It’s a lot of fun world building I must admit.  For those who may not know, there are several samples of what is now books 2 & 3 scattered about my posts over the last year.  I think they’re worth a read.

So what does this mean for you, O gentle reader?  It means what shall become Book 2 (Title Pending) will be going into editing this June, and hopefully Book 3 will end up doing the same come July… with Book 4 getting worked on to move the trilogy to completion.  Now Book 4 has one well appointed stage set for it.  It also frees me up in another manner.  Instead of worrying how long the climax was going to be, I am free to run wild.  That is a HUGE load off my mind.  YUGE!  I can also potentially extend to a second act of that book I didn’t expect to write about except as maybe a chapter or two.  So yeah, that’s getting extended and enhanced.

That’s me pulling the trigger and going forth with that decision.  2 books approximately 220 pages long each, 80-85k word count.  Not sure how big Book 4 will be yet, but here’s hoping.  And then what is now becoming Books 5 and maybe 6 which are partially written.  Possibly Book 7 is in there too will begin… or rather restart work in 2019.  This also means that if I play my cards right, I will have Book 2 releasing before the end of the year.  That’s the goal.  We’ll see if I can hold to that.  Depends on certain factors, but confidence is high.  If this all can be accomplished as desired, I would release 3 and 4 in four month cycles after that.  I really need some names for these books.  Sigh….

Okay, so how can you help?  Simple.  I need reviews, comments criticisms and other people talking on my book.  There’s only so much I can do.  If you’re enjoying the first book, please please please, let people know.  Particularly in places where people who read a lot go.  I need reviews on:

Amazon (of course)
Smashwords
Kobo
and Goodreads (really need some more there.)

I’ll just say thank you in advance for any you may leave.  Seriously, this is the best way to let an author know you think their work is worth continuing, and that the series is meaning something to you.  So shout out loud to your neighbors and friends that you enjoyed the book and be the first ones in on the craze before it becomes the next big thing.  Then you can say “I discovered that” and be all smug to your friends.  ;cD

So there it is.  I want to get this out to you guys who have been downloading and supporting.  If support is good enough, who knows where this could go.  Again.  I’ve been peeking, and can see ya downloading.  Thank you for that!

 

P.S…  That means I’m probably going to need beta readers possibly before end of Summer.  heh heh heh.  Yeah, I saw you sit up straight for that one too.  ;c)

Dynamiting the Key Log

 

I’ve been bunged up here with the book lately.  Why?  Because I did not understand my characters and setting well enough to push forward.  It all goes back to adding back in that silly tertiary plotline.  In doing so, it exploded into a wonderland of what’s going on to enrich the setting and the intrigue of what’s going on.  A villain suddenly became much more deep, and even to a certain degree, sympathetic.  I’ve had to create maps to understand the land in which major events for the final conflict will take place, and realize that I have a brand new Macguffin that I never intended would have to be put in with what’s coming.

So what does it all mean?

This single book very well might become a trilogy unto itself!  Yep.  I can see this becoming a 240k word monster that might just be too big for one book.  There are three distinctly unique acts that can stand on their own.  So that’s why this is taking so long.

But now that the key log in the log jam has been dynamited, the writing is moving forward again and a little faster than it had been.  Here’s hoping I can keep it up.

Also, in related news, I have been working on building up an artist studio for not only my writing, but music, video and art.  I hope to put it to good use for book promo videos, and original music and artwork to add in as things move forward with the world of Akiniwazi.  The first big piece came the last week in the form of a new synth.  So I’ve been working hard to balance my creative time between writing and learning on this:

 

And I’ll be hooking that up to a new computer as well so lots of good things happening.  Speaking of good things happening, new chapters are written.  Even though they’re back building, like I said before, this is fleshing out what is to come.  As always the order shifts with the new added chapters.  The numbering is more of a help to keep me straight.

 

Pages	462
Words	165260

31. On Pins and Needles

54. A Casual Sunday Recreation

62. An Oracle Comes

65. Secrets From The Labyrinth

66. Everything Else Must Wait

67. Becoming the Monster

 

Only a few more chapters of the back-added plotline and then the whole thing starts moving as one, just like a broken up logjam… which I hope doesn’t hurt anything as I push on.

Thank you all for your patience and support.  I keep seeing downloads of Book 1 happening, so welcome to those who have found me here and hope you like what you’re reading.  If you can, please leave reviews!  They as helpful to an author on so many fronts.  But more is coming.  I promise!  Lots more!

 

Updates Coming

I know I’ve been quiet recently.  Sorry for keeping you all out of the loop.  Book 2 is requiring me to learn a lot about storycraft and how to keep an ensemble cast in line, while providing enough pages for them to shine.  Currently the project is around 450 pages plus the glossary and hope to refocus efforts to get the draft done soon.

More announcements coming soon.

Chaos… At Home & Abroad

With all the news going on in the world, it’s been very hard to focus on my writing.  Then again, realizing how big this grew, I’ve been struggling with the scope.  But here are some of the developments going on.

First off, I am going to be attending the Realm Makers Conference in St. Louis this year.  Hopefully I will finish my first draft by then, but we’ll see, right?

Second off, with all the craziness and… shall we call it evil behavior of the information mega corporations, I’m looking for new places to store data and conduct things with social media as I look to divest myself of Facebook, Google and Yahoo.  I am tired of being treated like a cheap commodity and with as much respect.  When this change-over happens, I don’t know.  Thankfully WordPress is owned by Automattic, and therefore I don’t think I will have to look for a blog alternative.  I’m also considering a Discord channel.

Third off, I’m really happy with the growth of book 2.  I recently did a lot of work clarifying the timetable of the chapters, which involved several shifts, and working to make sure characters had time to get from point A to point B and that communication also followed the same rules of physical space.  That’s turned out to be harder than you think.

And lastly, I found someplace that may be a good home for the Encyclopedia Akiniwazi, for free.  I’m still working on it so it’s not ready for release.  It will include the timeline and the atlas, so I hope that there will be a big reveal on that sometime in the near future.

On a plus side, I’ve got “Volume 4 : The Grand Scheme”… That’s the working title… completed in Book 2.  It’s 40 chapters, 223 pages and 81,000 words.  So yep.  A short novel unto itself.

Currently  “Volume 5 : Into The High Places” (again working title) is sitting at 46 chapters but 10 of them have not been written yet so I’m guessing it should end up around 260-270 pages if my average chapter length is in the ballpark, It means this volume might come close to 100k words too.  Uh huh… I know what you’re thinking.  Me too.

As for Volume 6… crap I have no idea.  It’s like I dumped out a 10,000 piece puzzle and the picture on the cover only shows part of the full thing, and none of it edge pieces.  But the scenes I have that will culminate into this whole story… Which BTW was supposed to be a single novel, not it’s own trilogy… Just… I can’t even….

But I’ve also got some new chapters written, so that’s a good sign… they’re just not in any order you’d recognize because I’m having to go back and insert them.  That’s hard to do.  Don’t care what anyone says.  I prefer to write chronologically in the order I expect the chapters to appear.  Helps me from getting confused.

Current Page & Word count

Pages	435
Words	156157

Don’t forget about what I said about 10 more chapters to write on Vol 4 & 5 too for what looks like another 44 pages and 25-30k words.  Book 2 is going to be massive!  Reimar… you caused me such trouble!  Geez!

So some of the new chapter titles are as follows:

A Much Needed Consultation

The Distance of Family, The Intimacy of Enemies

Hooves & Claws & Antlers & Fangs

So as you can see, new chapters are fighting hard.  Several are started but not finished too.  Again, hate writing out of sequence.

And now for another look into the first draft of Book 2.  You’ve been very patient.  As always, mind the loose boards and nails.  Things may change some from the finished product, boilerplate and fine-print insert here.  thppt.  Enjoy!

An Interrupted Meal

The Tavern Off the Pier was a ramshackle place near the town beach. Its main room was dark and smoky with the pipes of the patrons and generous hearth. The dingy gray-brown wood of the posts and rafters made the excellent food hard to believe. Forhors, now Brother Urban sat on a shaky stool at one of the several small round tables alone and finished giving thanks for his food. He then began tearing apart the “Bottle and a Bird” that had just been brought by the serving wench who also looked as run down as the building. The cider was sharp and refreshing, while the chicken was crispy, and dripping with salty fat. Although the day outside was bright and sunny, the wind was still too cold and made eating out of doors uncomfortable. Urban was most thankful for the warm fire that crackled merrily in the large hearth in the middle of the room, attended by the cook who roasted two dozen foul and several cuts of boar and venison on spits.

Licking off his fingers he relished the spicy meat. He did not know how they made it, but after one bite of the crunchy skin, he knew why this unassuming place was so busy. Urban sighed in satisfaction as he kept his own company. The first leg of his trip from Athrvorthfesting had been pleasant, if not a little exciting with the strong winds the knarr had to buck against. It felt good to be on the waves again, but there was so much farther to go, he was right to assume that he would be sick of sailing by the time he reached home. No good would come of to sending a letter ahead. He would reach home at the same time. None the less, he was certain they would be happy with the surprise.

Out through the rippled glass of the diamond paned window several ships jostled for position on the pier, or if they could, they nosed right into the soft beach and lowered the gangplanks to conduct their business. Brother Urban scratched at his new tunic where a seam on the shoulder was not comfortable. It would not do for him to be about in his Forhors robes, and decided to avail himself of the skill of his host’s mother, a talented seamstress, and have new clothes made. It had been so long since he had been out of his office’s vestments, they felt odd to his skin. Even still, he kept some remnants of his office that had been set aside in keeping with the colors of his sect, as to identify himself as a man of God, but not so much as to intimidate the common Forsamling. Ragnarites may be common on the edge of the wilds or large cities, but this was neither. Combine to this the missing weight of his sword on his hip, Brother Urban felt very much out of place.

A crowd of men came in as he enjoyed his meal, raising the pleasant mumble of the tavern to a riotous level. A ship must have just concluded business, and the men set loose to enjoy their wages for a night or two, and sjomenn took up the rest of the tables. Their soot covered faces and arms with freshly washed hands gave their jobs away as plain as could be expected. An off watch boiler crew from one of the steamknarrs at the pier. Brother Urban smiled in return when acknowledged by the passing throng and continued to eat. His trip’s next leg was beginning in a few hours, so he was in no rush.
Then someone outside caught his eye.

Through the same window, a couple stopped. A thin dignified woman, pipe in mouth with a large Skaerslinger man with her. Urban stopped chewing at the sight of the two talking before the Tavern off the Pier. They chatted for a moment, the man nodded, gave her a smile that men reserve only for their loves, and then he walked inside while she hurried off with a ledger under her arm to someplace else.
The Skaerslinger surveyed the room and saw a combination of angry glances towards him which he was immune to, but no places to sit. The big man walked over to the cook working the spits at the hearth.

“How much for a chicken and some roast boar?” He asked, his tone polite.
The cook was intimidated and took a surprised step back as silence now claimed the room.

“These are not for you, savage,” one of the sjomenn said from somewhere in the crowd. Brave enough to give voice to his distaste, but not brave enough to show himself. The Skaerslinger ignored the voice.

“How much for a chicken and some roast boar?” he repeated in the same manner.

“I…” The cook started to say, cleared his throat and tried again with a tone reinforced by murmuring from other sjomenn who had taken interest in what was happening. “They are all sold to those men.” The cook lied as he pointed in the direction of the hostile voices. The blackened boiler crew grumbled but backed up the lie since it meant keeping food from a Skaerslinger’s mouth.

The big man pursed his lips in mild irritation. It was plain that this sort of issue had happened several times before to him.

“Are you sure this is your answer?” there was no threat to the tone, but it was of such a serious nature, the cook looked ready to break even with the crowd behind him. The steamwright came forward and put down a single gold Penning on the thick stone of the raised hearth next to the cook. A half week’s wages for him.

“That should cover our meals and drinks.” His eyes locked onto the Skaerslinger’s who returned the gaze without malice nor fear.

“As you can see, Herr, these are all paid for.”

With a slow nod of acceptance, the Skaerslinger took two steps back and then turned to walk out, head turned ever so slightly as to keep the group of men in his sight just in case they considered violence wise. The door closed behind him and a discourteous murmur replaced the raucous conversation that had existed before.

Images from Pexels.com

Brain Static & the Spiritual Nature of the Internet

Nothing major to report right now other than discovering what things slow my progress and distract me interminably.  I really do not like writing out of sequence.  That’s now a known quantity.  It’s also getting ahrd for me to resist going back and starting to edit.  I must not fall into that trap.  And of course, “Adulting” is never a fun thing to deal with, but I’ve also been noticing a strange phenomenon regarding my time spent online.

I’m an unrepentant news junkie and social media addict, despite my curmudgeonly attitude towards things like Snapchat and Twit-er (see?).  Facebook is something I use mostly for non-writing stuff and keeping up with family and friends, and watching/listening/reading the news often grabs my eyeballs to the point where I get to be jumping from one story to the next, constantly checking for status updates for more information on stories that have absolutely NO connection to me.

What I’ve come to realize is that this has been destroying my focus and ability to hold cohesive thoughts for long enough periods of time to develop understanding.  Kinda bad for a writer to be suffering with.  It’s odd, but I keep wanting to scroll to see if there is something else to watch in my head, so to speak, and I can’t focus on what I’m doing in the moment.  Even doing this post right now is an example of putting off what I should be focusing on.  Now Steven Pressfield (if you write, I recommend you get his blog, some very good and hard stuff) will say it’s good as long as you still get your ass in the chair daily and bang out the words.  If you want to be a pro, you gotta write and you can’t do it save by doing it.

And then I came across this little gem of a video and went:

“Huh…  Self, is this is something that could be plausible?  Why, yes it could be other self… yes it could be.”

 

Okay, okay, before you think I’ve completely lost the plot here, understand that my background took me into this kind of metaphysical experimentation.  To my mind, this corresponds with some experiences I’ve had.  I also have done a fair amount of lay person research into the basics of spiritual warfare/deliverence ministry/exorcism for the basis of my fantasy setting’s “Magic System”.  BTW, I ran across this too in my many youtube research dives:

Very helpful in understanding what the heck I just did with my world.  Using Prayer and the Gifts of the Spirit is a very soft magical system of sorts.  It’s predicated on you not doing it, nor is an unconscious/inanimate resource you can exploit.  It’s about relationships and (ironically) focus and distraction.  Something that I think I need to actually address in the narrative of my story.

So it got me thinking about how much of the distraction I feel is because of the addictive nature through Dopamine hyper-stimulation courtesy of those dirty rotten poopieheads at Facebook and other online social sources, and how much could be spiritual in nature?  After all, I am writing Christian based fiction dealing in spiritual warfare.  Ya think that if this really is the spiritual case the Enemy would not want me writing about such things as would be a crack in the omnipresent pagan influence over fantasy?

Yeah I thought as much too.  So… it’s plausible enough for me to consider how I interact online, and cutting down these “astral links” to specific well guarded gates to my own conscious and internal life.  One thing I’m going to have to force myself to do is get away from video and screen time and put my nose into books rather than listening to them.  I’ve stepped away from physical books over the years, I have come to realize because my eyesight got worse over the last 3 years thanks to hitting that magic age when your arms ain’t long enough and you can’t get the book close enough.  It makes the physical act of reading uncomfortable for me.  Gonna have to bite the bullet and change that habit.

It’s why in my recent guest post for Peter Younghusband, I used only my blog for a contact point.  I’m also really struggling in how this will affect marketing of my books in the future if I decide to silence all my social media save for this blog?  It makes for some hard considerations.  After all, why would I want to enable bad actors (or spiritual forces) by using tools that can harm others just to sell a book?

I cast “Ethical Dilemma”…
:::rolling dice:::
Critical success!
Crap!

So that’s the way it sits right now on the eve to the one year anniversary of the release of Book One of the Akiniwazisaga: “A Light Rises in a Dark World”.  It took me a 40 day fast from all social media and games except for email and this blog to get this whole thing started, perhaps, I must do it again to get Book 2 done.

More later with potentially good news.

Oh hey, one last question.  I put this out to my fans and curious readers who have an opinion.  If you name a character, must you pay off like Chekov’s gun or can they just disappear when they had no attachment to or are a distraction to the plot?  What do you think?

Ciao for nao!

Trip It Up and Down

When I don’t feel like I’ve tripped and fallen into the pond, I feel like my feet are stuck in mud with writing. On the other hand, my Alpha Readers are coming back and really enthused with what’s been put out. I can’t see it of course. That’s the curse of being a writer sometimes and makes it more important to take time between writing and reading so you can gain some perspective again.

Book 2 is progressing still, but as a two pronged attack. I’m having to go back 20-40 chapters and rebuild a plotline that I had pulled, and now keeps getting better and better IMHO as I go. But it’s hard to shoehorn it into areas that don’t disrupt the flow of the story, work well with serialization and all the rest that I have going on.

The second prong had stalled with the main plot till I started realizing what a point of contention would be between the characters…. and it’s a naaaaasty one that I hope will have people cheering and angry at the same time. Ahhh ambivalence… you are so fun. As it is, the characters keep talking to me and giving me good things to transcribe for them. They seem to be getting bored with my downtime thanks to life, the universe and everything getting in the way. Oh I should include my own inability to hear them at times which leads to my Guild Wars 2 inspired brain static. Something I hope to avoid this weekend and crank hard on some new chapters.

But. We are up to 73 chapters. Can I get a “Whoa mama!” from the audience? Still aiming for that 1500-3000 sweet spot which gives a wonderful potato chip feel to the chapters. Before you know it, you eat the whole bag.  Or perhaps that’s just me.

Om nom nom.

The downside is that this is causing me writing fatigue. I’m looking at it going, “Come ONNNNN!!!! Get to the finale already!” But the characters have to tell their story the way they have to. It’s foolhardy to try and make them do something they ain’t gonna. I’ll make it through, and it’s giving me ideas of what’s to come in the future.

I should note that there is now consideration on my part and agreed upon by my editor that Book 2 (Title Pending) may turn into a FOUR volume set!  That’s right kids and kidettes.  So much is going on, I may be unable to pack these into only three parts.  If that happens, it’ll still be worth it.  Trust me.

Without further ado, here are the new stats  (I see it’s been a while):

Including the “Encyclopedia Akiniwazi”… formerly the Glossary

Pages 467
Words 156774

New Chapters with their new numbers:

Inserted Chapters:

22. Tugging at a Loose Thread

30. A City Robed in Black

33. Denied That Which Is Necessary

Moving on from the last end point:

66. In the Deep Places of the World

67. Ashamed Before the Crown

68. Lingering Doubts

69. Dashed Illusions

70. If Given the Choice

71. The Importance of a Name

72. At The Ragged Edge of Disaster

73. In Dark Halls, a Light Shines

We’ll give an excerpt next time.  Gotta keep them special dontcha know?

BTW, in case you didn’t quite realize, The pictures I use are often clues to what kind of things I’ve been writing about in the book.  Just a little extra something for when you read the book you can look back and go “ohhhhh!  That’s what he was doing!”

Obviously Daffy isn’t one of them.