Category Archives: Fun

Dreams of C2E2.

This last weekend marked one of my favorite weekends of the entire year: the weekend that the Chicago Comics and Entertainment Expo (commonly referred to as C2E2) rolls into town! I’ve gone every year since I moved down to this area, and this year was definitely not an exception, though we did make the grave mistake of getting only a one-day pass. It is nearly impossible to get the full experience on just Saturday; this year turned me into a three-day passer for life.


(Image from David Ngo)

This year, I even delved into the cosplay a little bit. Here’s my roommate and I doing an attempt at humanized version of My Little Ponies Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie. Granted, some of the costumes at C2E2 are incredible, and ours only scratches the surface of the wonder of what people can put together to bring their favorite characters to life. I’m constantly astounded by the costumes at this thing; they’re one of my favorite parts of the convention!

My other favorite part? Artist Alley. There’s always a big section of the convention floor devoted to artists, mostly of the comic book persuasion but I’ve seen others, like authors, in the past, to sell and display and promote their work. And I’ve finally decided that I’m going to try to snag myself a table for 2014. By then, I should have at least two books to promote, and I’m brushing up my art skills as well, since art is a much bigger draw than just books themselves. Since the convention just finished last weekend, it’s a long wait until probably winter before I can even figure out how possible this is, but I’m absolutely itching to get it ready right now. It’ll be a different perspective on the convention for sure, and, while I don’t expect the monetary pay-out to be anything at all, I know for a fact the publicity and exposure, little as it might be, would be completely worth it.

I’m always a big fan of the panels, too, especially the professional ones, but I admit, they tend to take a back seat to the spectacle that is the show floor…

Any of my fellow readers frequent C2E2 goers as well? Or do you have a local entertainment expo/ComiCon you like to partake in? What do you enjoy most? Also, I’m on the look-out for anyone who might want to share table space if I manage to get the spot in 2014. The more, the merrier! Of course, I’d also be happy with anyone just wanting to swig by and say hello, but we’ve got a while to go until then.

You know something is awesome when it’s only just finished, but you already can’t wait for the next one!

10 Characters Meme.

I was trying to think of something a little light, a little fun, to do on the blog today since I’m definitely out of practice with regular posting and thinking of things to write. With the reclamation of the previously missing draft of Serpent in a Cage, the book has been pretty strong on my mind, too, and I just want to babble about it. For the sake of my poor readers, I wanted to at least give my babbling a little bit of an interesting twist, and so that means a meme. Specifically, the 10 Characters meme.

I’ve seen this used a lot in fan communities and in role-playing games, but there’s no reason I can’t go and apply it to my current WIP. So, here’s how it works. Below, you’ll see a list of ten characters from Serpent in a Cage, and, below that, there are questions, that I have no looked at prior to composing the list, about those characters. It’s a cool exercise in putting them into situations or thoughts you wouldn’t normally conceive of, and…okay. It’s an excuse to let me talk about my characters. Shhh.

The fun with the meme is that you don’t know which characters are going to be thrown into which situations, so if you want to swipe it and do it yourself (which I very, very, very strongly encourage), do so before reading my answers, or at least randomly switch the numbers to prevent predictable results. I know I’d definitely love to see this pop up in a few other blogs for a few other WIPs out there…

Anyway, onto the Serpent in a Cage bunch…

1. Locke Mandrake Battarack
2. Gilferen Allok
3. Auferrix Ferrore
4. Tayahyla Ma’a'goric
5. Estialog Emereson
6. Taluin Sera Cohl
7. Knolan Rszbeki
8. Awngel Demarkus
9. Tenenshe’ean Madean
10. Jaxson Devoii

1) Describe the children of #3 and #7? Are they good parents?

While I find it pretty difficult to imagine Auferrix and Knolan having children together, we know for a fact that Knolan is a capable parent, having raised Gilferen and Locke from babies into adulthood by himself and with hardly any resources. Auferrix is not likely to be as strong a parent as the more experienced Knolan, but, since she did witness her own parents’ death at a young age, she is likely to be very protective and very caring toward whatever children she may have. If these two were to procreate, I don’t think it would be a one-time thing. They’d probably get involved, have at least a few children, who would all be strong-willed and stubborn, capable fighters and strategists, though they’ll probably always feel a little bit at odds with their place in the world. Both their parents would try to ensure that they certainly had a place, but both parents spent a majority of their lives outside of the box they were meant to be in, and I can see that rubbing off on whatever offspring they might have.

I have to admit, exploring a sort of romance developing between these two fascinates me a little more than I should, and I’m creating this whole crazy AU in my head at the moment, involving a father-complex and a love triangle pulling in her current father figure, Kadue. Yikes!

2) Describe #5 and #1′s first kiss.

…

Do you mean besides completely accidental? Although I am now imagining a scene where Estialog has Locke in a vulnerable position, and the best way to kill him is with a spell that could only be executed with a kiss. Because an old Majani trying to kill you isn’t enough; it has to be overlaid with blatant homoerotic sensuality, as well…

3) How would #2 react to if #6 is pregnant with #10′s baby?

Shocked, offended….and incredibly impressed, not to mention a little bit jealous. Up until Jaxson joined the Battaracks, Gilferen was easily the ladies’ man of the group, and he mostly is, but Jaxson has a certain ability that makes him jealous, whether it be with knives, women, or general charisma. He can’t understand it entirely…but in a way, it makes sense. So he’d have to mentally give Jaxson a high five for that one, although he’d be left also thinking that he thought Taluin would be smarter than to be seduced by Jaxson. Especially since Taluin so deftly managed to spurn all of Gilferen’s own attempts to seduce her…

4) How does #8 convince #7 to go with him/her on a date?

Boy, so far, Knolan’s getting quite a bit of attention in this meme! However, Awngel’s got a pretty good job with this one…All she’d have to do is bat her eyelashes, twirl her parasol and smile at him and she’d pretty much be able to get him to do whatever she’d want. Historically, Knolan really is mush when it comes to pretty women…and Awngel is very good at using her feminine wiles to get what she wants out of a Battarack…

5) Where would #9 and #6 go for their honeymoon? How is #4 going to sabotage their honeymoon?

So, Taluin’s getting some action, too, it seems. This is a good meme for the old-school Battaracks! Well, if you can call marrying Tenenshe’ean a good thing, which I probably wouldn’t. There was probably a lot of manipulation going on there…if anyone other than Tayahyla was trying to stop it, it would probably be because Taluin was being swayed into an evil trap! The fact that Tayahyla wants to stop it, though, is probably because she’d be the one wanting to go on a tour of ancient Kassirian ruins with Tenenshe’ean. And she’d probably sabotage it fairly well, considering she was raised in the deserts and could track them better than anyone else. She’d probably wind up snagging Taluin and threatening to kill Taluin, which Tenenshe’ean would allow unless he hadn’t gotten whatever it was he wanted out of Taluin yet.

…So maybe not so good for old-school Battaracks after all…

6) #6 is in love with #1. #3 confesses his/her love to #6. Whom would #6 pick? Does #8 think s/he made the right choice?

That needs to be broken down a little. Taluin is in love with her dead best friend’s son. That alone is enough to pause. Then Auferrix confesses her love for Taluin (I could be down with that…). Taluin most definitely chooses Auferrix, because she’s smart enough to know that it’s weird being in love with Locke, especially since she’s constantly thinking about how much Locke looks like his father, which then makes her wonder if she just really has a thing for her dead best friend’s dead husband who she thought she hated…Auferrix, meanwhile, is the first Asyentai who she has sworn to bring into power, and that’s a pretty great way to be at her side to make sure that happens. As far as Awngel’s opinion in all of this…she’d easily support Taluin’s choice, because she’s had enough drama in her own life to want the people in her life to be without drama as well.

7) #5 and #2 must pretend to be a married couple. Why?

I have no idea, but I bet it has something to do with with when Gilferen gets to the Majani Tower and wants to fend off the advances of another young male Majani. “See, we can’t date, I’m already married.” “…To who?” *Estialog hobbles by* “..uhh…Majani Emereson! ..wait…crap. Ahaha, hey, honey!”

Meanwhile, Tayahyla cannot stop laughing to save her life.

8) #10 is moving in with #9. What do they fight about the most?

Which one of them has the best wardrobe…

9) How will #4 prove his/her love to #1?

Tayahyla would most likely prove her supposed love to Locke by not killing Gilferen, as much as she would very much like to. After all, what says “I love you” better than “I won’t murder your best friend”?

10) #7 and #4. Love at first sight?

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. …no. At first sight, Knolan finds Tayahyla to be an immature, petulant savage that he’d rather never have to deal with ever. And, although Tayahyla probably wouldn’t mind getting with Knolan if she had the chance, it would be more likely in an attempt to get under Estialog’s skin than out of actual attraction.

11) What would #2 give #9 for Valentine’s Day?

A sword in the belly and a swift kick to the head…Happy Valentine’s Day, Douchebag Trying to Take Over the World by Kidnapping, Torturing, and Raping Young Women!

12) Under what circumstances could #3 and #5 have a happy end?

Ooooh, now this is a great idea for an AU! The whole focal point of Serpent in a Cage balances on which group gets to help Auferrix first. Depending on who you ask, if Estialog and Tayahyla were to prove victorious, the happy ending for Auferrix could also easily happen, it’s just that she’s helped by different people and another faction is the one that wins. My whole over-arching theme in the Aryneth books is that the lines between good and evil are actually quite blurred, and the idea that the Black Majani aren’t the evil ones, that DiraSkyria truly is the Savior of the World rather than the destroyer of it, that the people trying to stop her are really the evil ones is fascinating, and the point is, if Estialog truly was the one to save Auferrix and she raised up the kingdom of A’aefar with him, it would still be a happy ending for the both of them…though not for the people who were trying to save her first.

Writing the book with the other side winning could be a very interesting exercise…

11) What would #8 like to change about #10? Does number #10 approve?

I’m actually tempted not to answer this one because it might ruin a surprise within some future volumes, so I’ll just leave it at mentioning that Awngel would like to change quite a bit of Jaxson’s past, which she’ll make quite clear to him in the future, once she figures out who he is and how they’re connected to each other. And he makes it quite clear that he doesn’t approve of her disapproval; he has no remorse for his past. Sorry ’bout it, Awngel.

12) #2 and #7 are together. Who is more protective of the other?

Well, this one’s a little easy, since Gilferen and Knolan have spent their whole life together. The idea of that turning into something romantic, as I’m sure the question is implying, is a little weird for me and treads on some pretty twisted psychological territory, but Knolan is definitely the more protective one. Their whole relationship is centered on the fact that Knolan has spent his whole life protecting Gilferen.

13) Who is first going to say “I love you”, #1 or #9?

I’m pretty sure Tenenshe’ean would cut out his own tongue before saying “I love you” to anyone, so I’d have to go with Locke on this one. We all know he’s actually a real softie inside.

14) Describe #10 and #4′s perfect romantic outing.

The two people on the list with possibly the most skewed ideas of ‘romantic,’ other than Tenenshe’ean, of course. It involves finding a bar…a nice one, a classy one, not some shitty hole in the wall…starting a game of poker, drinking a lot of alcohol, winning some money, and then going and frexing until they pass out. Not a bad evening, really…

15) Who suffers from pre-wedding jitters, #3 or #8? How does bridesmaid/best man #10 soothe them?

That’s an easy one; Auferrix is general unconcerned with matters of the heart, while Awngel has jitters about everything tied into relationships. Considering who Awngel ends up marrying, the idea of Jaxson as a best man makes me laugh, but his method of soothing the jittery bride is likely booze-involved, a release of sexual tension, or a threat with a knife…Yeah. Jaxson’s more likely to increase Awngel’s anxiety, not soothe it…

16) #6 is a secret admirer. What presents will they make the wo/man of their dreams?

Taluin would more than likely find some rare old book of poetry, dress it up with a ribbon, and pass it along. It’s a true sign of affection when a bibliophile willingly hands over something they’d love to just keep to themselves!

And there you have it! A lot of these situations were pretty absurd for this cast; Serpent in a Cage is hardly a romantic book, but that’s part of what makes it so much fun. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll go ahead and get back to finishing the book so that you can all read it and see what I mean by these answers.

ART!

Yesterday, I gifted myself with a membership to the Art Institute of Chicago, one of my most favorite places in the world. It was surprisingly affordable, and I intend to take advantage of the membership on most of my days off from work. Like today. Shortly, I’ll be bundling up against the cold and making the short walk down to the train station, hopping on as I whisk through the suburbs toward the city, and then the brisk walk through downtown toward those infamous lions.

I’ll likely wander around for a bit, scribbling down thoughts and ideas and little sketches, and I think I’ll spend a good amount of time downstairs, trying to make up stories from the incredibly cool Thorne Rooms exhibition. These miniature rooms are truly impressive. I also plan to spend a lot of time with the 18th century paintings, as I’ve decided that era is going to be an inspiration for the Second Asyentai books.

I’m just stoked. This is the sort of thing I wanted to do more of when I moved down here, and now I’m finally getting to it. I can’t wait to come back, filled with ideas after a good long time of wandering and pondering and marveling at the incredible talent, cultures, and histories of the world.

Okay, or maybe I’m just excited to see my favorite Oscar Wilde teapot. It is just faaaaaabulouuuuus~!

Are you a fan of museums? Ever been to the Art Institute of Chicago? What are some of your favorite pieces? I’m going to go finish my hair and then I’m off. Huzzah for a day of inspiration and beauty!

Oh, Here It Goes Again.

So, I’ve taken a little bit of a break from writing and from the blog to have some well-spent time with a friend, which I have a feeling I’ll be doing a lot of on the weekends if this new schedule that gives me Sundays off stays consistent. From what I hear, this is typical for the position I’m going to be taking a different store, so I’m pretty stoked about that. While there’s more work and demands and probably a likelihood of having to more on any given week, a certain regularity to when I’ll need to be there will be kind of nice. I’m definitely excited for it…

…but I’m also excited that it’s Monday and I have at least the week to try to get back into the swing of writing and get some work done there, too. It’s definitely going to be an exciting week on that front; I got a letter from Amazon regarding my first royalty check coming through, which should happen any time this week, so I can officially say I’m a published, paid, professional writer. Booyah.

I’m still running my Autumn Anthology contest, though I realized that ‘anthology’ was spelled wrong in the title of that particular post, which probably doesn’t help my street cred too much. That’s okay, though; I’m embracing my laziness about actually fixing it. There’s also been an exciting change! I will be accepting all of your short stories and poetry fit for a thrills and chills Halloween-esque anthology! Honestly, as I told the Writing Poetry Group on Facebook, I’m surprised I didn’t think of poetry. I think I’d love to accept any images, too, especially for a potential cover. So, send me your stories, your poems, your artwork or photography for consideration! You have until September 30th to submit! I can’t wait to see what you come up with, and be sure to share the contest with your friends, too!

Other than that, I’ll be plugging away at Serpent in a Cage, reading a lot (as usual!), and trying to get a grasp on what I want to do for NaNoWriMo. I really want to be proactive and go out to the get-togethers they were holding last year in Naperville that I was too shy or spastic or busy to attend last year. This is definitely going to be the year I finish NaNo! I am determined. Besides, it’ll be good to have a finished draft just in case it looks like neither the anthology or SiaC are coming out by the end of 2012 (since I did that whole ‘going to publish two books this year’ plan and everything). I know there’s another round of RoW80 starting soon, so I’ll have to access my goals there, too.

I’m also looking forward to catching up with everyone and their blogs, but if I’ve missed something good and interesting over the weekend, let me know! How’s everyone getting on? I can’t wait to get to work this week.

Question Time!

So, I’ve seen this on a few blogs. No one tagged me for this, but I wanted to do it anyway. So there. It’s a collection of questions about you as a writer and your latest work in progress, so I thought I’d spend a little idle time and answer there, whether anyone’s interested or not. Because I love these things. Here we go!

What is the working title of your book?
Serpent in a Cage (potentially with The Asyentai Chronicles or The Age of Return involved in there, too)

Where did the idea come from for the book?
Sometimes, when you’ve been working on a book for as long as I’ve been working on Serpent in a Cage, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly when inspiration struck. The first draft, which was completely and entirely different and nothing like the current incarnation except for the presence of I think two characters (out of a very large cast!), was written when I was in sixth grade, but it was such a different tale then that I don’t even know if I could count it. But, in my mind, the world that SiaC opens up to the world started when I was ten years old, in a memory that’s as vivid with meaning as it is hazy with detail. I hold in my mind traipsing around Mission Creek Woodland Park in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, pretending to be characters from the DragonLance book series, when all of a sudden, the characters started to change a little and become slightly different, and they grew from there into the vast world of Aryneth…A world of my own, a world yet unknown, a world that has stuck with me ever since and hopefully will for a very, very long time.

What genre does your book fall under?
Serpent in a Cage is definitely a fantasy novel, which is still hard for me to unabashedly admit since college tried to get it through my head that genre fiction is bad. I’m tempted to talk about how it’s more character driven with fantastical elements, and that’s true, but, I’m going to put down my foot, toss back my head, and proclaim, “Yup. It’s fantasy. Deal with it.”

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Since the cast of Serpent in a Cage is so large, it would be hard to cast most of them, so I’ll stick with the three main ones. I know, visually, the only ones I have in mind for Locke Mandrake Battarack and Gilferen Allok are models who have questionable acting skills, though one of the Phelps twins could do a good run as Gilferen. For Auferrix Ferrore, I can’t help thinking Frida Pinto would be glorious if it turned out that we can rough her up a bit and make her more bad-ass.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
A plot to save a captured princess should be easy enough, but the Battaracks are about to discover a world that goes much, much deeper than they would have ever expected.

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
Self-published, baby! I always imagined myself trying to traditionally publish the Aryneth series, but now the thought is almost anathema, unless any publishers just happened to want to take it over because it’s doing so awesomely, lol, /dreaming.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
The ‘first draft’ in its completed form took me probably about four years to write, from the time I sat down with the new approach and dedicated myself to finishing it. I believe it was completed sometime in 2009 or 2010, and I started to revise it in 2011, only to discover I wanted to completely rewrite it. I’m still working on the second draft, though it’s going quite well. These dates are mostly just guesses; I’m feeling too lazy to look into the actualities of it.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Oof. That’s a tough one, since I try my best to keep myself from being comparable to other tales in this genre. I want it to be more like A Song of Ice and Fire, a big sweeping epic, but it’s not (yet). I suppose I could compare it to The Wheel of Time in that there’s the unlikely hero, the big prophesies, etc, etc, but again, I wanted to break the mold with Serpent in a Cage in that the first book is really a pretty simple tale, and it’s not a sweeping epic, though it will be…eventually. In that respect, I’d almost compare it to The Hobbit, in that it’s the little bit that starts up a much bigger thing later on. The style and the structure, though, I think, still lends an awful lot to the DragonLance books that originally inspired it so many years ago.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?
You can tell that there have been a great many books to inspire me along this path, and that this book is a long time in the making. But if I had to attribute this book to any one source of inspiration, I would have to say my father. It was through his own love of books, passed down to his eager, starry-eyed daughter, that I was able to discover and embrace this incredible power to create. Thanks, Dad.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
Besides the fact that it’s awesome? Aryneth to me is a complete world, fully realized and exceptionally detailed, and I should like to think that it’s a world people will enjoy getting lost in. The characters are all unique, but relateable, on several levels. They’re regular people, in a fantastical world, in an extraordinary situation. To me, that’s what fantasy is all about, and I really hope I’m able to accomplish that feeling of wonder and relateability through Serpent in a Cage and the subsequent epic to follow.

I’m not going to tag anyone for the questions because no one tagged me. I’ll just leave it to whoever wants to talk about their upcoming works to tackle if they so desire!

I am going to take a moment, though, to thank my newest subscribers, Chris Martin and Patti Niehoff! Thanks so much for following!

The 100 Books Project: Alice in Deadland.

“Better dead than undead.”


“Alice in Deadland” by Mainak Dhar

Anyone who knows me well will know that, among my extensive list of Loves, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and zombies are pretty high on the list. I’m sure this is true for a pretty healthy amount of people, too, so I’m sure they’d be just as intrigued and interested in a book that promises to combine the two of them in an action-packed post-apocalyptic novel. However, I would then be obligated, as their friend and fellow lover of the combination of awesome things, to generally avoid Alice in Deadland by Mainak Dhar, with the caveat that they should go ahead and tackle it if they’re like me and want to read everything, or if they want a good example of a really fantastic idea executed extremely poorly.

It’s such a shame, too, because the foundation of Dhar’s Deadland is actually quite unique and different, but the book suffers from a very blatant case of bad writing. Our post-apocalyptic tale takes place in what used to be India, already giving the story a flair for not being the typical zombie story I’m used to encountering, and recalling up one of my favorite short stories, “Calcutta, Lord of Nerves” by Poppy Z. Brite. Zombies (or Biters, as they’re called in Dhar’s tale) have taken over the world, and right about there is where Brite and Dhar’s interpretation start to part ways, both plot-wise and aesthetically. Brite’s story is rich, compelling, and terrifying; Dhar’s is dry, unengaged, and frankly uninteresting. We have Alice, a young girl born after the world changed, who does not know of a world before Biters, though there are others who do. And then she happens across the Queen, a strange Biter-human hybrid that holds what she believes is a prophesy in the form of a copy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. She touts Alice as their Savior, though the connection beyond the name and the fact that Alice is white and blonde like the girl in the book, and then the military gets involved and it’s really just kind of a mess.

The premise starts out well, but the plot gets convoluted and convenient. The most challenging thing for me, personally, was how utterly lackluster Dhar’s prose is. There is very minimal description, the characters never fully develop beyond the first dimension, and he has a cache of phrases and terms that he uses ad nausuem. At best, the writing is amatuerish; at worst, it’s just bad. It feels as though very little writerly effort was put into the tale, which is such a shame because the concept has so much opportunity to be a epic tale, and it’s just thrown away. A definite disappointment, although I suppose that just opens up the opportunity for me to take a better stab at it.

Books read: 30/100.

That said, perhaps this missed opportunity for Alice in Zombieland might be a good prompt for my Anthology Contest! I’m not the only one thinking it’s a good idea; Face Off, which inspired this contest in the first place, did an Alice/Resident Evil cross-over episode that yielded some pretty good results (and some pretty bad ones, too, if we’re honest!). So, today’s prompt for the contest is “Alice in Zombieland,” and here are my two favorite looks from the episode, by Derek Garcia and Laura Tyler, respectively:

Happy writing!

The “Look” Challenge.

Over at Frame Tale, Kate did a challenge post that she had come across that I just had to give a stab at myself. I love these little games, where you get the chance to showcase a little bit of your work. It’s also pretty useful for those days when you don’t have much else to write about, either.

So here’s how it works:

Take your current manuscript and find the first instance of the word “look”. Then post the surrounding paragraphs as an excerpt of the book on your blog. Lastly, tag five more blogging authors who you think would be a good choice for the game.

What I have typed of Serpent in a Cage right now is a hot mess; I’ve been doing my thing where I inflate the paragraphs to whittle down into more concise words later, but it didn’t seem fair to skip it entirely since a variation of the word “look” appears in the first page. However, I didn’t want to leave it at just a really rough draft, so I’m including Bowlful of Bunnies to it, too. Which also has a variation of “look” right at the beginning. Perhaps something I need to look into not doing so much…

Anyway, without any further ado, here’s a little snippet of Serpent in a Cage‘s rough draft, built around the word “look,” which so happens to be the beginning prologue, heavy and dense as it is in its current unedited state:

      “When she pulled her arm back, tearing the blade away from the soft, warm body, she just wanted it to be over. She wanted to collapse and close her eyes and finally rest, letting the weight of her steel drag her down to the floor, where she wouldn’t have to get up again until she was good and ready. The sweltering heat of the fire was almost as suffocating as the thick smoke that filled the air and choked her lungs, made her eyes sting and start to water. Overhead, the rafters strained with a loud, threatening crack, struggling to keep the roof held under the intensity of the heat. Underneath, there were pitiful groans from the scattering of bodies left for dead. It was a nightmare, something out of a hideous dream, and she just wanted to fall back and let it finally end. Close her eyes and perhaps, when she opened them again, it turned out it was all just a figment of twisted imagination after all.
      But she couldn’t stop. She had to keep focused, she had to keep moving. She had to find the others and make sure they were safe. Auferrix Ferrore gave her sword arm a quick jerk, shedding off some of the wet blood from the blade before it started to stick. Splatters of it landed in the fire and hissed like serpents.
      “Kadue!” she lifted her voice, calling out over the chaos and destruction. Smoke rushed into her lungs, and she gasped from the sudden pain, fighting against a cough. Scanning the area, looking for him, was useless; her eyes were so damp from the stinging smoke that they rendered her blind. She staggered forward, exhausted but determined. If only she could find a way out! In the fresh air of the cool evening, she could collect her thoughts and her wits. She could breathe and begin to see more clearly.
      The smoke was so dense, so thick, that she didn’t even notice the big, hulking man in front of her until she had practically collided into him. She stopped just short of contact; he has his arms lifted over his head, ready to plunge his axe down into a figure on the ground. Panic swelled inside of her as she realized she had no idea if the attacker was one of her own or one of the enemy, but if she did not act, the person on the floor would be just as dead. She moved on instinct, trusting her gut feeling and praying to the gods that she was right. It was justice; it was defending those who could not defend themselves, not matter what their position in this crazy war might be.
      “Firae, give me strength,” she whispered, as she always did before she braced herself for an attack. The axe started to fall, but it didn’t get far. Every action except the bulging of the man’s eyes stepped suddenly as Auferrix drove her blade firmly through his shoulder blades, through his heart, and then out on the other side. The tip dinted against his armor, and she yanked her blade out again.
      A moment passed where the man seemed to be suspended only by the last thin thread of Life, and he fell into a crumpled mass at Auferrix’s feet. She looked down on the poor, lifeless bastard, feeling only a small bit of pity while the heat swelled behind her with a crackle of fallen wood. After nudging the body with her toe, he thrust out her hand to the cowering person she had just saved, hoping she had slain the right one.
      “Come on,” she ordered, firmly, but hurriedly. The smoke had cleared enough that she could now recognize the face gawking up at her. Not his name, but definitely the person, the owner of the tavern they were in, the owner of the tavern burning down into a bloody rubble around them. She closed her eyes a moment to thank the gods and pushed her hand closer when he didn’t grab it. He was in a state of shock, that much was clear, having expected to be cleaved in half by the man between them. Auferrix barked out her next words to get him back to reality. “We have to get you out of here.”

And, as a bonus, here are a few paragraphs surrounding the first instance of “look” in Bowlful of Bunnies, which happens at the beginning of the first story, Dragon Rising, which means it’s nothing special because it’s exactly what you’d read in the book preview, lol:

     Possum, Rabbit, and Prairie Dog had all gone to the river to do the washing, and I had followed to watch them. The sun was bright in the cornflower sky, and hot, so after they had dunked the clothes in the gentle rushing stream, after they had scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed, they laid them out on the big flat rocks that had been soaking up the sun’s heat. There, the clothes would dry, basking like salamanders, and the girls would splash around in the water themselves, laughing and playing, tossing handfuls at each other until they were drenched and cooled. Then they, too, settled down in the long grass, turned their browned faces toward the sun and soaked it up.
     Quiet and still, I crouched next to a boulder too tall and round to be used for drying, underneath a fern for further shelter. I curled my tail in, which was the only way I could prevent it from twitching happily at the serenity of the scene. They had no idea I was watching; the three of them were such pleasure seekers that they had none of the carefulness and caution of their friends, who would have surely caught me. Rabbit was perhaps the most skittish of them, and her bright brown eyes flicked my way on occasion, her pert little nose wrinkling as it tried to pick up the scents carried on the wind. Mostly, though, it was just the sweet grass and the soap still floating by on the river, the fresh linen and the lavender flowers from up the hill.
     She looked at me at least three times, straight at me, without seeing me. My ears pressed back with the pleasure of my successful camouflage. The others wouldn’t even believe me when I told them that I was peering into the intimate, quiet respite of these three bright-eyed girls, knowledge so valuable that I would instantly be skyrocketed up in their ranks. If only Deer and Fox had laundry duties today! They, out of all the girls in the village, were easily the most eagerly sought after. Next time, perhaps I should try my stealth in the kitchens or the temples to see what other wonderful things girls did when they were alone, but I couldn’t imagine anything as splendid as their splashing and laughing, their hair catching in the sun as they tossed it freely around.
     And then they began to talk.

So there you have it. Apparently, “look”s appear pretty quickly in my work, and I hope you all enjoyed this…look (ah-ha!) of Serpent in a Cage. Don’t forget, I’ve got a really cool scary story/mystery contest running until the end of September. I’ll even give you a new prompt with the following picture, found at favim.com, accompanied with the word “clandestine“:

And, lastly, I have a few new subscribers! Hooray! So a shout out and a thank you to Meghan Elizabeth, Amber West, and Cheryl Moore! So good to have you all along!

Character Interview: Locke Mandrake Battarack.

A little while ago, I proposed an idea that would spark up some interest in what’s intended to be my next WIP, Serpent in a Cage. Already, I’ve done a post talking about the geography of the world that SiaC kicks off, but I had mentioned character interviews on the blog where readers can also ask questions and learn more about the story and the world of Aryneth through them. The response was pretty good; a lot of people seemed interested, so this Friday, we’re giving it a shot. We’re starting out with one of the three main characters of Serpent in a Cage, Locke Mandrake Battarack. But before we get to Locke, let me tell you a little bit about him.


Is Marc-André Grondin dark and broody and (most importantly) cheek-bony enough for Locke Mandrake Battarack? I think so! All he lacks is the piercing blue eyes….

So, if you’re a certain age, you’ve probably heard of the Battaracks. If you’re a little younger, maybe you haven’t. In some opinions, the Battaracks were the scourge of Kyano; others found them to be heroes like from the tales of old, marauders traversing the continent from one end to the other, fighting the battles that others would not. Through the years, though, the numbers of the nomadic tribe of warriors began to dwindle; they still remained a significant force, but no where near the legends they were since their inception in the Age of Legend. Always contending with the forces of Gynnocota, Kyano’s largest city-state, one fateful night, the armies of Gynnocota slipped into the nearby Battarack camp and completely massacred what little was left of their factions.

Well, almost completely.

Through a deft maneuver, Lady Serene Battarack was able to entrust her young infant son, Locke, to Knolan Rszbeki, her husband’s right-hand man. Knolan was able to steal into the night with the child safely, as well as with another, Gilferen Allok, whose dying mother requested the man take her son as well. With everyone they knew dead from the bloody massacre, Knolan struggled to bring up two boys in the wilderness and rebuild a life for himself and the all but destroyed Battaracks.

It wasn’t an easy life, but Locke and Gilferen grew up to be quick and resourceful young men, creating a much diminished group of marauders in the spirit of their deceased forefathers. They traveled Kyano, scavenging for jobs and heists, making a meager living for themselves. Now that Locke is a full grown man, though, he’s turning his attention to calling up the glory of the Battaracks of old, to move beyond being mere theives and mercenaries, and rebuilding an empire. It will be a difficult task, though, and, with the addition of a new member, a mysterious Analisian by the name of Jaxson Devoii, the Battaracks are just about to embark on a truly new experience: traveling to the desert continent of Kassir in the hopes to garner prestige in a whole new land. We caught up with Locke the day before their ship was to sail toward this exciting new journey.

Hello, Locke! Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us a little. You must be incredibly busy for such a big trip!

L: (he smiles tightly) Busy’s one word for it, I guess. It’s not that we have a whole lot of stuff to pack, though. Most of it’s just the cargo that we’re transporting, and preparing ourselves for how different Kassir will be. I’m not looking forward to the heat. Or the insects. Or the jungles. Or any of it, really.

Yikes. Isn’t there anything you are looking forward to?

L: (he shrugs, avoiding my eyes) Not really. I mean, the whole thing is Jaxson’s idea; if I had the choice, I’d have never taken a job like this, but Knolan insists that it will be good for us. I’m the leader of this group, so what I say should be paramount, but he’s so insistent on it! I guess we can try it and when it doesn’t work, I can reinstate at least a little bit of authority. He acts as though I’m still a boy no bigger than his hip, and that Jaxson is just the thing we need to turn the Battaracks around. But we don’t need Jaxson. We need to be heading toward Gynnocota, figure a way to strike at them in a way that’ll shake this whole continent.

Revenge?

L: (he shrugs again) Something like that. All I know is that the Battaracks have been a part of Kyanese history for longer than most people can remember. What in Hadesari’s Realm are we going to do in Kassir, besides fry our brains and contract some torturous tropical disease? It’s insane, but Knolan, as usual, won’t listen. I guess I’ll have to wait for the stubborn old goat to see it with his own eyes.

Now I feel odd wishing you luck, but I do hope it goes well for you, whatever the outcome. You never know. You could surprise yourself and be very successful in Kassir.

L: I could. But I doubt it. I think that’s something someone like Jaxson will never understand. I don’t even think Knolan understands it, either. But I feel connected to Kassir; I have a history here that runs deep in my blood, and whenever I think about the fact that I’m leaving it, I start to feel it. Right here. (his hand covers his chest) It aches. I just have a bad feeling about this, but I’ll see it through. I’m nearly positive that it’s going to fail, and, when it does, I’ll return and things can get back to the way they were. It isn’t as though I haven’t suffered through mishaps before.

Like what? What would you say was the most challenging thing you’ve faced in your life so far?

L: (he snorts) You mean besides the rigors of every day life? Of trying to ensure that you have food and shelter every day, when you’ve gone so many days without? Every single day is a challenge, L, but that doesn’t stop me. (he chuckles, a bit suddenly) Besides that, I guess the biggest challenge would just be that I’ve got to do it with Gilferen. I love the man as if he was my own brother, but he doesn’t make things easy. Do you realize how many villages we’re not allowed in anymore because of him? I’m pretty sure we could repopulate the Battaracks entirely just by going around and collecting all the bastards he’s put into the bellies of innkeeper’s daughters and milkmaids…

Your words say one thing, Locke, but your grin says something else entirely. I’m pretty sure Gilferen’s not the only one who’s had his hand in those sorts of dalliances.

L: Pretty sure, but you’d be wrong. That’s more Gilferen’s thing; I have other things on my mind.

Surely, there’s had to have been a few beauties to turn your head through all your years of traveling…

L: Of course. I’m not blind. But I’m afraid I lack the fervor in which Gilferen seems possessed. It doesn’t really bother me. There was one girl… (he drifts off, shakes his head) It doesn’t matter, though. I’ve yet to meet anyone that I’ve felt so strongly about to bring her into the Battarack fold. Maybe I’m too picky. If Gilferen had a say in it, we’d have a regular traveling harem. (a pause) If you talk to him, do not mention that. We don’t need to be giving him ideas of what we should be bringing back with us from Kassir.

Don’t worry, I won’t. But I will open up the questions to everyone else, if you don’t mind. Locke, thank you so much for taking the time. I know you’ve got a lot to do before you sail off into the Great Sea, but our audience might have a few questions of their own.

L: (he shrugs) Sure. Go ahead…

And so I open the floor to you, Dear Readers, if you’d like to ask our guest Locke Mandrake Battarack anything at all about himself, his life, and his world*. Before we get into that, I do have a new subscriber to mention, too! Thanks for joining us, Justin Zamora Rodriguez! Good to have you here!

*(General comments, as well as questions that Locke will answer directly, are welcome, too!)

Welcome to Aryneth.

For how absolutely essential and pivotal the world of Aryneth is to my writing and why I became a writer in the first place, it’s a little astonishing how little I talk about it here in this blog. I blame college for that; there was such a strong emphasis on avoiding genre fiction and embracing only hoity-toity contemporary prose that I started to shy away from the bright and vivid worlds I created in my youth to try a hand at more “serious” fiction. As a result, I abandoned too much talk about these fantastical worlds, though they were still held extremely close to my heart. Now that I’m working on finishing and publishing Serpent in a Cage, the book intended to launch the whole Aryneth sagas, it’s time to put on my hiking boots, strap on my backpack, and go journeying through this world again. And I’m bringing you with me.

This will be a series of posts exploring the world of Aryneth, and today’s post will take us through the rich geography of this world, which isn’t too dissimilar from that of our own. A large world, round in shape, made of mostly water and a few plops of land where a remarkable amount of life can blossom and grow. Depending on which lore you follow, some say that Aryneth was created in the image of Earth, even, as a sort of second Earth for a god who feared becoming obsolete and created his own haven. Six continents sit in the Great Ocean like jewels scattered, each with their own unique features, climates, cultures, and cities.

Glaceair: Pronounced Glah-see-air, the northernmost continent is a vast wilderness of ice and snow for most of the year; only the southernmost port cities are blessed to experience a thaw in the warmer summer months. Life in Glaceair is a hard one, and this makes the people who live there strong and durable. Travel between cities is rare, and most people live in walled fortresses and tightly knit communities, though there are large populations who have created civilizations beneath the tall, icy mountains that jut like shining spires from the frozen ground. It is said to be the land of the great tiger, a fierce and dexterous animal that can survive through the harsh winter months thanks to his cunning and his skill. Glaceair is said to be the land of the goddess Wintaer, the loving and nurturing soul with the ever cool and even temperament.

Kyano: Considered the westernmost of the middle continents, Kyano (KEE-ah-no) is a lush, vibrant land laced with rivers, lakes, and mountains. These waterways crisscross through the land like the very veins of the world. Despite the clear and evident borders these rivers and lakes can make, Kyano has always been a land ripe with war and contention. There are disputes for the possession of land and resources, as well as constant feuds between houses and alliances. There are many cities and villages peppering the countryside along the waterways, and Kyano is easily one of the most populated of the six continents. It is the land of the bat, who flies without seeing and works in the cover of night, much like the lords and ladies of Kyano work under the cover of their own machinations. The god most closely tied to this land is the goddess DiraSkyria, which reflects on the constant contention and destruction rippling throughout Kyano.

Laurasia: To the east of Kyano and the southeast of Glaceair lies Laurasia (Lore-ay-SHAH), called the Great Green Continent for its dense forests and wide grassy plains. Laurasia is considered to be one of the most peaceful lands of Aryneth, though some chalk that up to the mere fact that it isn’t as populated as some of the others and the cities are rather spread out. The Hall of the Majani is located in the great fields of Laurasia, and a great deal of farming villages are scattered throughout. It is the land of the hawk, a great, soaring bird that views everything from its lofty heights, descending only when necessary. The goddess associated with Laurasia is, of course, Aerella of the the wind, whose airy nature allows her to move with where the gusts take her.

Analisia: Considered the Jewel of Aryneth for all of its lush foliage and brilliant silks, Analisia (Ann-NAH-lis-see-ah) is the southeasternmost continent, a land of great mystery and beauty. The ancient race of the Reidvyn are said to have originated in Analisia, and this is one of the many reasons why a great spirituality has struck the hearts of most inhabitants of this land. Temples dot the landscape from the tall red cliffs of the eastern mountains to the lush valleys and lakes of the western slopes. It is a land that inspires in most people thoughts of meditation and calm, of brave warriors and an unbreakable code of honor among them. It is the land of art and beauty, home to the spider, who moves so deftly in spinning his web that one does not realize he is caught inside of it until he is already snared. It is also the land of the god Pryston, with his gift of the songs of nature and harmony.

Midacia: On the southwesternmost side of Aryneth lies another continent shrouded in mystery, but, while the mysteries of Analisia are of a great mystical nature, the veil over Midacia (Mid-AH-see-ah) is dark and chilling. Thick forests and dense swamps cover most of the land, while the southern tip is the rocky and inhospitable terrain of the Mekonese race. It is the sort of place that inspires a great deal of superstition and belief in powers well beyond our control. Some call it the Land of the Dead, and not merely because the god most closely associated with Midacia is Hadesari. The moods of its inhabitants are often mirrored in the morose mood of the place, hanging over it like a thick, dense fog. It is the land of the wolf, a restless, wandering creature that calls out to his kind in the night, always searching, always hungry.

Kassir: In the middle of the Great Sea between Midacia and Analisia lies Kassir (KAH-seer), the great Arynethian Desert continent. Though the land is ringed around the shoreline with thick, luscious jungles, the majority of Kassir exists in scorching sands and red rock mountains. Just because the sands are arid does not mean they are without life, especially for nomadic Ana’aek and Ssark tribes. The northern tip of Kassir is “cut off” by the great Red Divide, a wall of rock that opens in a single passage that divides the northern part with the southern, less civilized stretched of land. Considered strange and exotic by most of the other lands, Kassir is a harsh place where only the tough can survive. It is the land of the serpent, lithe and quick, easily hidden until it’s the right time to strike, and many attribute the fierce heat to Kassir’s association with the god Firae, all flames and fire.

Each Arynethian land has its good points and its downsides. Which one seems to call to you the most? Kassir is the setting of Serpent in a Cage, though two out of our three narrators are decidedly Kyanese. Their antagonism toward the land they’ve found themselves in and their desire to return home is one of the main driving points of the plot, while the third narrator decidedly has the heart of Kassir, and that’s the other driving force. The whole Asyentai Cycle is so heavily rooted in a sense of place and home: the Asyentai are supposed to be embodiments of the lands they are destined to rule, and so each of their characters are so inexplicably tied in to the various traits and cultures of their land, so a lot of love and care has been poured into developing this world into a rich, diverse planet of personalities and cultures. I hope it inspires my readers to want to pick up a book and stay in Aryneth for at least a little bit.

RoW80 Round 3 Goals!

I love A Round of Words in 80 Days. Love it, with a great, fiery passion. RoW80 has led me to so many great things, including the fantastic writing community I’ve connected with and the inspiration to self-publish. I don’t know if I’d have ever imagined releasing Bowlful of Bunnies if it wasn’t for this fantastic and incredible group. It’s completely changed my whole perspective on writing and really propelled me forward to be successful.

Those of you already familiar with RoW80 probably know exactly what I’m talking about. If you’re not familiar with RoW80, then I highly recommend checking it out. It has been such an incredible, life-changing experience for me.

Basically, RoW80 is a writing challenge that knows you have a life, and it’s all about the flexible goals and learning what you can do, how to do it, and knowing where to push yourself. I really dropped the ball during the last Round, but I did manage to get my main goal (publishing Bowlful of Bunnies) accomplished. Now that the big hefty task is out of the way, I’m really looking forward to getting back to specific benchmarks and regular check-ins for this round, which begins July 2nd. Here’s what I have planned for the next 80 days, starting tomorrow (I’m giving it a little head start due to it being Sunday and the start of new month, which just gels well in my OCD brain):

Novels: Now, anyone who knows me in my RoW80 career will not be surprised by this; those of you who don’t will probably think I’m crazy. But I intend to work consistently on four different novels this round. My goal is simply to write a new page of material for each novel every day. I know some people gawk (Brian always did!) about my juggling different products, with the thought that I should just focus on one until it’s finished, but, alas, I cannot work like that. Not in the early stages like this. When BoB was nearly complete, it was all I worked on. Total tunnel vision. But right now, I have the attention span of a gnat until one of these other books is in near-ready-to-publish condition. So I will be slowly plugging at least a page a day on Serpent in a Cage, Battarack Girls, the dragon western, and a space pirate novel. Eventually, I imagine one of these will pull ahead and demand all my attention, but, right now, it’s just slow and steady on each of them.

The New Novel Project: I will also be restarting my ancient New Novel project, which is something I’ve done in the past, and lately I got the chance to appreciate the benefit of it. Basically, the New Novel Project is simple. Every month, I start a new novel, write at least a page a day of it, and, at the end of the month, I stop, put it aside, and start a new one. Since this Round coincides with the beginning of the month, it’s perfect. The idea here is not only to just keep writing and get new ideas started, but to give me the chance to go back next year, revisit the started works, and pick one to focus on finishing. The space pirates novel mentioned above was one of last year’s New Novels, after scanning through what I’ve got already, and I want to bolster the options a little with some new novels. And, who knows, maybe one of them might surprise me and insist on being written further after the month. Wouldn’t that be nice?

The 100 Books Project: I’ve been slacking off on this a lot! I have so many books to catch up on, but I’m not going to worry about it. A Round is 80 Days, so we’ll just call that three months. In three months, I should read 25 books. So, this round, to make up for some of the back-up, I’m going to aim for 30 books by the end of the Round. Let’s get reading! (This will include books I’m about to finish, which total about three. Because I can).

750 Words: I still haven’t decided if I plan on utilizing the 750Words site again, but I was thinking about how one of my favorite stories from BoB came from my attempts to keep up with the 750 Words a Day thing. So I want to challenge myself in that way again in hopes to come up with a companion piece for it, or perhaps just some new short stories since I used up my whole catalog for BoB…

Exercise: Though health goals don’t have anything to do with writing goals (except perhaps in the sense that, when you’re healthier, you work better, you think better, everything is better), many RoWers add exercise and health goals to their ROW80 goals, and I’m going to do that, too. The whole idea is to do a little bit of exercise every day, even if it’s just some low-strain yoga. Because even just a little bit can go a long way. I’m going to start small tomorrow morning, and build up to more difficult things, because I’m really out of shape and I don’t want to blow it right out of the door because I pushed too hard. I was also thinking of starting to track what I eat, but that feels just a little too tedious. I’d rather use that energy toward my writing. So, yes, at least some kind of work-out, small or massive, every day.

I think that basically wraps it up. I’ve been really looking forward to tomorrow so that I can get this next Round going. I’m hoping for a lot of great things, and, of course, I know I’ll have a lot of support and love along the way. Are you a RoWer? Have you decided on your goals yet? I look forward to seeing how everyone does in the upcoming 80 days!

I’m also incredibly pleased to welcome three new followers to the blog! Thanks to Katie, khamneithang, and Jim Norwood for subscribing! Welcome aboard! Good to have you guys along.