One Small Step

With scattered work throughout the first prequel book getting sorted out I managed to squeeze in time to get married.  Things before and after the wedding were rather crazy, but I still managed to eek in some writing (and re-writing) whenever possible.  I managed to get through what will ultimately be one of the longest sections in the series yesterday, a section that provided a severe challenge for me converting it from a mere conceptual possibility to a reality, and in many ways I expect this to reflect the entire process of the prequels and the series over all.

Considering the experience I gathered from the Weapon Mythos I think I've got a better pre-edit understanding of the pace and voice of the story, which really means I'm better at recognizing when I'm providing too much story, something that really slows down the journey I'm setting up for the reader. Side plots can enrich a world, and back stories can make characters feel more solid and human, but too much too soon can overwhelm and diminish the overall tale.  The easiest portion of this process has actually been scale.  So early in the series the focus is much more condensed and has a much clearer lineage.  While the Weapon Mythos is rooted firmly in theology, mythology, and history as its main influences (a vast swath of literature) this series has a more singular influence, not just in the arc of the story, but in the relative time period.

One cliche that tends to run throughout most Fantasy books, and is a reference to the romanticized records of ancient Rome and ancient Greece, create worlds that are mere shadows of their pasts.  The people you are reading about are pale imitations of the far greater people that proceeded them.  There is a level of cultural inadequacy that pervades people living with the relics of a greater age.  I have really tried to avoid that aiming more for the societal angst of a world that believes it is at its zenith.  They are moved by their history, but truly believe it was a foundation they have built upon.  I wanted to design an environment wherein the characters you are reading about are the ones that others would talk about in myth and legend.  They are the ones that erect towering buildings and massively impressive statues.  When you read other books and people recall the world that was... that is the world of these books.  Whether I've pulled that off or not is for others to decide, but I still feel it was a goal worth aiming for.

Once again here is an unedited section:

Finally, with the sun in the South East, breaking through the canopy of the Dale Forest, he saw his quarry. It was a stag, its coat both ruddy and golden in the early morning light. It's rack was impressive, festooned with sixteen tines, what collectors would have called a Monarch. Dappled sunshine rippled across its flank as it timidly approached a shrubbery and started to gnaw on a brace of berries.

Back To Work

Despite myriad interruptions I managed to get a few solid pages done today and wanted to celebrate getting back to work with a quick (unedited) snippet:

      The one named Clem, a great big fat man, clad in pauldrons and a chest plate that were two sizes too small grunted his acceptance, but before any of them moved the child pointed at Clem. His voice had not changed from that somewhat scratchy tone that it had always been, yet it suddenly felt more authoritative as if he could command reality itself to bend to his will.

      “You are more fat than muscle and when you turn your knee will make a pop that only you can hear. You will fall to the ground screaming. You,” he pointed his finger at the gambler that had commanded Clem, “will die clutching your chest because you will feel as if your heart is exploding. The rest of you will fall to blade and tooth and claw, except him,” he said as he pointed at Beodelf. “He will survive and you will leave him be.”

Apple Gets The Message

Finally!

Apparently the new MacOS will allow Macs to actually read books that were previously iPad only.  My books are among that lot (of course since I don't use DRM Google had a solution to that) so I think it's a step in the right direction and too long in coming.

A Stall In The Schedule

So, my work will be slowing for a little bit because my VISA was approved and I'll be moving to Australia on the 18th.  I hope that the slowdown in my writing isn't too drastic, but it will happen for a short time.  In the mean time here's another unedited bit of the new book:

He ran his hand along the recently shorn crown of his scalp and felt the smoothness that ran all the way back to his neck.  Hair was one less conceit about which he had to worry.  he progressed from the song's opening stanzas about the Monk's life of avarice and violence and the transition to his pilgrimage to find faith and meaning.  He could feel warmth spreading up his arms, across his shoulders and around his chest and back, the heat traced the lines of the sinuous tattoos that wound about his torso and arms.  His eyes were closed, yet he was aware of the soft blue light that had started to emanate from the intricate patterns.

Continuing Work

I've been slowly working and re-working the what is ultimately the opening chapter to the series.  I anticipate it will be the longest opening chapter of any of the books and quite possibly the longest single chapter in the series.

Here's a WIP glimpse:

     Sera wanted to throw up.  Her feet were moving, but she wouldn't have described it as walking.  She was mostly being dragged.  The world swept to and fro with each movement, as if the ground shifted beneath her feet.  She could feel she was descending and then there was a blast of warmth followed by noise and the assault of bright lights.  Her head was floating and she just wanted to stop moving.  Voices seemed to warp around her twisting at times between incredibly loud and extremely faint.

     Her feet kept moving, but she didn't remember every step of the journey.  Many moments were immediately lost, replaced in her mind with flashes of white light.  She remembered seeing an older serving maid lock eyes with her.  The woman appeared angry at first, but as she saw the man that was forcibly escorting her the serving maid looked away, her eyes downcast and her brow furrowed with shame.

-DWH

Prologue

I'm making an effort to keep more up to date with my progress through the blog.  I'm well in to the opening prequel book and as a treat today I'm posting a small portion of the rough-cut of the prologue, enjoy:

     Sir Macullen awoke with a start; as he sat up quickly, urged to action by his nightmare, pain flared in his ribs. He placed a hand on the fresh linen wrap that covered his healing wounds and felt tenderness with his every touch. He slowly breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth as he closed his eyes. His calm was restored. He was a Knight of the 5^th Realm and had been trained to evoke calmness at times when other men would burst into tears or release their bowels. Pain is weakness leaving the body, he thought.

     His brown hair tickled his forehead; it was starting to grow unruly, a far cry from the short crop that he normally wore. He swatted away the loose strands and then pressed his hand more firmly onto the bandages and as agony blossomed from the pressure he remembered how he had gotten the wound.

     He had no idea how long he laid on the ground waiting to die, but the battle had ended and the world had gone quiet. He could almost remember when the elves picked him up off the ground and carried him to this sanctuary, a haven it was sometimes called, but the delirium that had set in kept any memories of that escapade far from coherent.

     A quiet stirring in the room brought his attention back to the present, “Esthmerelda?”

     “Not quite,” came a familiar voice. It was the droning yet melodious voice of Solethorn, the elf that visited him most often. He was also the elf that had found him, nearly dead, on the field of battle. The elf had dragged him over the bodies of the fallen and through pools of blood to a waiting cart. Had the elf expected him to be there or was it a coincidence? The elf certainly liked to play it up as if the gods had ordained the entire event.

     “Hy Brasil called.” Even when speaking he sounded as if he was crooning a hymn. “Therefore the caretaker is not in attendance.” Macullen sneered at the phrase. While the Priests of Cypher were normally skilled with the common tongue, unlike their seaborne cousins, they still occasionally had communication issues. Solethorn used the word “caretaker” often, but did not differentiate whether he actually meant nurse or steward.

     Macullen did not look at the elf. “I presume you mean Esthmerelda is not here since you obviously are.” As far as Solethorn was concerned he was the caretaker of this sanctuary and Esthmerelda was the caretaker of Macullen.

     “How is your wound?” Solethorn often ignored Macullen's questions or actively changed the subject.

“Progressing.” I should be dead, Macullen thought.

Change Is Here

I'm quite happy to say that after many weeks of work the site has evolved.  I'm hoping to slowly increase the volume of art that's associated with the site.  I also want to take a moment to thank the tireless efforts of Allan Libby, without whom much of this would not have been possible.

Beyond the website I've made considerable changes to the Nook and iPad versions.  Now the Nook, Kindle and iPad version are all properly formatted (thanks to John Henninger for help with the iPad version) to match the print edition.  The iPad version is designed with iBooks Author, which means it's only for iPads, but if you want to read on an iphone I believe the kindle app will suit your needs.

I am already hard at work on the prequels (The Guardian Mythos) but with some other real life events demanding my time and energy I'm going to ease up on the speed at which I'll be working for the next few months.  I need to recharge my batteries some after spending the last couple months burning the candle at both ends.

With the fancy new site up I'm intending to get more posts done as I continue to work on the prequels.

MORE NOTES ON E-BOOKS:

While the weird formatting of the original Nook and iTunes versions bothered me for some time a lot of problems arise when trying to do so much independantly.  As a result of my displeasure with the formatting compromises I had to make and royalty issues from purchases I've reduced how much I work with Lulu to just the hardcopy editions of the books.

While going through them, in order to sell the electronic editions at $0.99 USD, I  had to assume no royalties if someone tried to buy through Lulu, (what was essentially the source) and hope they purchased through B&N or iTunes instead.  It also meant a lot of messy links for people wanting to purchase a product I wasn't entirely happy with because B & N had myriad search engine issues for the books.  Now that I've taken direct control over those versions I'm much happier with the quality and intend to continue to keep as much control over the layout and design as possible.

-DWH

Change is Coming

It's not quite the Stark Words, but I've been doing a lot of work behind the scenes for the main site for the books and recreating a unified vision of the books both as an electronic format and a hard copy format.  Essentially when Lost Lore releases it will be a series re-launch and I'll be focused more on figuring out how to get the message that these books exist out there.

I'm intending to include one thing that a few people have asked for in new versions, a page that lists the order of the books.

The updated version of the site will have a lot more content than the current one and I hope to add more as time goes on.

Be ready for some big announcements in the coming weeks.

After the final edits are made to Lost Lore I'll be taking some time off from writing in order to hopefully complete some other projects, but fear not.  The first set of prequel books are already underway and whenever possible I'll be adding additional content to the main site.

-DWH