July Update

You know, I've noticed something that could, you know, be aggravating. You know what I mean? Because, you know, my brain tends to get stuck in a rut sometimes when talking and, you know, I regurgitate the same stupid words or phrases a few times. It drives me crazy, you know. AAARRRGGH!!

Anyway ….. I've been working on brainstorming through some things for Taloner: Wekthusia to try and hammer out and refine issues that are bothering me. I already mentioned this in my last post, so I won't go into more detail on that today. The other thing I've been doing lately is working on world lore, particularly for the world of Gaia. When I say lore, what I'm referring to is miscellaneous things like how certain types of magic work, detailed pieces of history for races or areas found in Gaia, random bios for individuals who appear throughout the world's history, things like that. It helps kind of stretch my creative muscles at the same time it maintains sanity for me, as well as giving me stronger bases to build story elements off of. I'm someone who enjoys history, and I'm a detail-oriented person. I like having material already developed which I can reference while writing, rather than being halfway through a paragraph and having to go, "Oh well, this character is descended from … Greg the Great, who um, was known for …. I mean, he ate lots of …. pancakes …"

Yeeeeah. I prefer to have things that are already a little more fleshed-out to draw upon when I'm writing a story. It's kind of like anchor points for building a web, in a way. If there's no anchor point for X details, then you have to hurry and make something up, and on-the-fly isn't usually my favorite method. But if I took the time beforehand to create some lore, then oh! Look at these handy anchor points I can use to help build the basis of some of these ideas I'm writing. Yeah, you get the point.

I haven't done much art of any kind for a while, and I'd like to start sketching out a few of these non-canonical characters I've been coming up with, just for fun. We recently found a channel on our television that sometimes has a competition show on blacksmithing/forging, and it's helped kind of rekindle some flame for me in working on ideas for both smithing characters and different types of weaponry that appears in Gaia. Seeing some of the unique (and sometimes just plain wicked) weaponry that really does exist in our world is amazing to me.

Okay, back to work. Stay cool!

Mandatory break

So, I'm pretty sure that anyone who reads this can already tell that I've been on a writing break for a while. It's kind of a huge "duh" at this point. But nonetheless, here I am making the announcement.

I didn't want to go on a break right now, but I didn't have a choice. Between various things in my personal life and the fun stress that comes with them, I was burning out pretty badly. I can tell you from experience that trying to force yourself to keep working on something while burned out is one of the worst mistakes you can make. So rather than ruin a book, I chose to back off for a while. And as it turns out, my brain is slowly beginning to rejuvenate (yay). 

I've had a number of ideas for story concepts, plot fragments, character profiles, and other things like that trickling through my head while on break. Imagine, if you will, the late night scene: We're finally getting to bed after a long day, the lights have been turned off, and then I pop up like a wild woman and grab my phone to make a note before it's gone from my head. I'm sure you can hear my puzzled husband's sleepy questions as to what in the world I'm doing, because we're finally going to bed.

It's not all been for Taloner:Wekthusia; much of it has been for other projects. With that being said, I plan to make time and sit down to go over a few things in the T:W plot and re-work a few details that have been bothering me. I'd like to resume working on this book before the year's out, and while right now it seems like I still have a whole six months to worry about that, that time does tend to disappear quickly. As the manuscript currently sits, I'm roughly 80% of the way through drafting it.

This story has been more challenging than I anticipated it would be, as a couple of the characters have really started feeling like empty cardboard cutouts. And that is something that I do not want. These characters are their own people, with unique personalities and strengths and flaws, and I want to convey that to anyone reading about them in the best way I can. My aim as a writer is very much to help transport you, the reader, into another world that you can experience and enjoy with me. Nobody enjoys staring at a cardboard box. Or reading about one.

As an aside, I'll also try to update this blog a little more, even if there's not much going on with my writing. I'd rather that it not just become a vacant outpost. 

When Things Must End

You know, I've been doing a lot of internal review and contemplation. I haven't posted here in a while due to some heavy personal things I've been dealing with. I haven't been able to write since July. It isn't writer's block. I just haven't had the energy to create.

I've been thinking a lot about what would happen if I was no longer present on the face of this earth, as grim as it sounds. I have been writing in my series for nearly twenty years. And what do I have to show for it? One revised book and a train wreck of projects waiting around to be written, completed, or overhauled and pulled from the limbo badlands. 

What would I leave behind as a writer if I only had two months left? Two years? Five years? What would happen if I could suddenly no longer write? There are so many stories I want to draft and have exist just for the sheer sake of knowing I wrote them and they're somewhere besides inside my own head.

In recent years, I've realized I need to get back to my roots and the original reason I started writing: for me. It was never to become rich or famous or cool or anything like that. I wanted to create my stories for me. For the simple yet complex and rich pleasure of picking up a story I know I could trust and enjoy. For reliving those raw wisps of energy and thought in a refined form and woven together more cohesively in a fashion that I could enjoy again and again, at my own discretion.

Now, I just hope I have the opportunity to continue to write and bring as many of these stories to life as I can before anything comes up that would prevent me from adding material to my list of accomplishments. I still intend to do as much as I can to achieve that goal. I have no idea when I'll be able to get another book published and available to the public, but I hope it isn't too far down the road. There is so much in my imagination that I don't want to let die. A trilogy must be completed yet again. A duology must join it in written form. A mini series yearns to grow its family. Standalone stories, new series, adventures with magic and machines and space and darkness and light and intrigue are all crying to be told. I will do my best to bring them to fruition. And all along the way, I just hope and pray that I have the strength to accomplish what I desire.

Of Wings and Things

Hello everyone. Not a whole lot to update you with right at the moment, since it's the same old story: I'm still working on both Taloner: Wekthusia and the revision of Nethbane. But while things are a little quiet, I thought you'd enjoy an excerpt from Book 9.

Exhaling softly, Lotus closed her eyes; it was easier to concentrate when she wasn’t looking at anything. Reaching within herself for a particular spell that she and Rhozu had been developing over the last several months, Lotus summoned the energy forth. Through her eyelids, she saw a flare of light.

Shivering from the slight tingle on her back, Lotus opened her eyes and turned to inspect her work, then sighed when she saw the feathered pair of white wings on her back. They glowed with faint luminance, lighting up the deck where she stood.

After having traveled so much with the lore drakes a year previous, Lotus had felt inspired to devise her own method of flight. It had helped to speed her in her travels across parts of Siege, especially over rocky terrain.

Lotus turned a half circle and flexed her wings, “feeling” them through the sensation of magic in her veins. Were she to reach out and touch them, they felt soft and real, but if she pressed hard enough, she could slide her fingers right through the beautiful pinions. She twitched them up and down just for fun, watching as silvery hues flashed along the magical limbs.

As someone who bore the title of Light Caller, Lotus had discovered that she had a particular bond with spells that were connected to light. Usually these were just in the form of illuminating an area or altering her vision so that she could see in the dark, but sometimes her magic extended to far more tangible points.

Facing the nearest of the ship’s three masts, Lotus focused, then jumped off the deck. Her wings thrust and propelled her upward, and a second later, her boots touched down on the lowest limb of the mast. Lotus grabbed the main trunk quickly as she caught her balance, smiling. She was no lore drake, but she was becoming more and more familiar with the spell each time she used it.

Looking up, Lotus readied herself and jumped again, going to the next limb up. She repeated this until she was balancing on the topmost part of the mast, her wings flexing around her to keep from falling. The lookout in the crow’s nest nodded to her, his mane rippling in the breeze.

“Fine evening,” he said, and Lotus nodded back.

“How do things look?” she asked, her hair slithering over one shoulder.

“Pretty quiet tonight,” the lookout said. “I’d say you’re safe for a flight.”

Thanking him, Lotus turned her attention to the dark ocean and prepared herself. When she was ready, she walked out to the end of the mast limb and leaned forward, falling away from her perch. Her wings caught the air with nary a sound as she glided forward, momentarily leaving the safety of the Hammerwing.

Wind rushed over her ears as she flew, and Lotus couldn’t stop the wide grin that appeared on her face. Oh, how exhilarating it was to fly! The fact that she could fly all by herself made it even more enjoyable, since she was no longer dependent on anyone to ferry her around.

Curving gently and flapping, she willed her magic to buoy her across the face of the sea. She had found that she couldn’t actually sustain full flight like a bird could, but she was able to cross limited distances without trouble.

A shout came from somewhere behind her.

Twisting with some difficult to look over her shoulder, she could just see the lookout on the Hammerwing waving, but with the rush of the wind over her ears, she couldn’t make out anything that didn’t sound like garble. What was he trying to say?

Abruptly, her leisurely flight was interrupted as something large and cold slammed into her. Lotus’s startled protest was cut short as she plunged into the cool water, closing her eyes as salt stung them. Her concentration broken, she felt her wings disappear from her back.

Giving a powerful kick born of adrenaline, Lotus broke the surface of the water and coughed, sucking in warm air. She tried to look around and see what had hit her, but was again driven down into the dark water. This time, she was farther from the surface. The blue moon wavered overhead, surrounded by a halo of light. Lotus kicked and fought against the water, losing her breath as she was hit in the side and spun around.

Stunned, Lotus blinked painfully and tried to see through the water. Something large writhed against the darkness, inspiring terror to the struggling human. A massive head loomed out of the deep below her, and Lotus suddenly found herself rocketing upward and into the air as something hard and cold clamped down around her chest and one arm. Sputtering, panicked, Lotus gasped and looked down at what held her.

A long, serpentine body extended away from her and disappeared into the ocean, its dull gray hide blotched by dark spots of rust. Her stomach lurched when it turned and dove back into the water, slamming her against a surface that felt as hard as earth. Lotus tried to scream, but all she achieved was swallowing a mouthful of brine.

Whatever was holding her twisted and turned, taking her closer to the inky depths. Now truly frightened and desperate to escape, Lotus aimed her free hand toward the creature and focused with all her strength. A beam of brilliant white and gold light plowed through the water, creating a flurry of superheated bubbles. A dull clang sounded as her magic struck home, but the thing that held her still refused to let go.

Someone help me! she thought, unable to speak with her mouth. Was she going to die?

The creature holding her jolted and a series of metallic booms traveled through the water. Lotus felt the pressure on her chest disappear as she was released. Frantic, she paddled her way toward the surface. It seemed so far away.

Something bright and shiny flashed through the water, and then Lotus felt strong hands grab her arm and shoulder. Her sluggish pace tripled as someone pulled her up toward the barrier between water and precious air.

Again, she felt her head break the surface as she coughed up water, sucking in a breath and coughing some more. She floundered and looked to see who had rescued her. The curved, beak-like hook of a lore drake mask met her gaze. To her start, she recognized Seraphim holding her above the waves.

“Your wings!” the lore drake cried. “Summon your wings, paladin!”

Beyond him, the water churned. An elongated head lifted and rushed toward them, jaws opening.

Lotus hurried to comply as the creature in the water closed, but her mind had been effectively scattered. All she could think about was that huge, lunging mouth.

Seraphim snarled something in Laeren, then shoved her violently to the side. Lotus felt herself being sucked backward as the huge thing—whatever it was—slid within inches of her back and submerged. Afraid that she was going to do the same, Lotus fought with all her might to stay above water.

“Paladin!”

Wet hair in her eyes, Lotus squinted and saw an airborne shape descending through the air. Six broad wings spread around a single figure and pushed against the night as blue hands grabbed Lotus. She latched onto Seraphim and felt herself yanked out of the water and borne skyward.

Behind her, the water swirled and made a sucking sound. Lotus looked in panic as a set of jaws longer than she was tall came toward her. Her eyes scrunched shut and she screamed as the maw clanged together and tore her sodden cloak.

A blast of lightning lit up the night, followed almost immediately by a thunderclap. As they flew higher, Lotus was finally able to see just what it was that had been trying to kill her. A sinuous shape that seemed to extend endlessly rose from the water in humps, and Lotus recognized the sea serpent as another lightning bolt struck it. The casters on the Hammerwing were fighting to distract the monster while Seraphim carried her to safety, his six powerful wings pumping and blasting her with cold air.

A grinding, metallic groan cut through the air and made Lotus grit her teeth. The sea serpent was lurching toward the ship, but it had clearly sustained some damage from the magic being thrown at it. The Hammerwing was veering sharply toward it, and as Lotus watched, the large blade on the front of the ship collided with the serpent. Several magic users at the front of the ship fired devastating spells down into the water, and with a final ear-rending groan, the sea serpent was caught under the ship and disappeared.

When her feet touched the firm wooden surface of the Hammerwing’s deck, Lotus collapsed, cold and suddenly very weak. Shivering, she looked up to make sure that the sea serpent had gone, then looked at Seraphim. The turquoise lore drake was standing over her in concern, his wings dripping water.

“Are you alright?” he asked, and she nodded.

Lotus coughed again, spitting up saltwater, then eyed his wings. They were almost … translucent.

“You have six wings?” she blurted, unable to comprehend what was going on. Just how much salt water had she swallowed?

She began to choke again. Seraphim thumped her on the back as she spit up more water.

“At times,” he said. “It’s a gift from a very generous priestess I helped a while ago.”

Now that she didn’t feel as if she were on the verge of death, Lotus was able to study the wings more carefully. All six of them looked identical and somehow ethereal, as if they had been carved out of bluish ice. A faint glow was coming from them.

“Captain, that serpent may be coming back up,” one of the crewmen warned.

Seraphim nodded to his men and started issuing orders.

“I want magi on all points of the ship. Do everything you can to boost our speed and get us the blazes out of here! If that thing knocks a hole in us before we can sink it, we’re going to be limping for a long way.”

“Aye, sir!”

As his men hastened to obey his orders, Seraphim reached down and helped Lotus to her feet. With a sighing noise, his wings flickered and vanished, leaving behind the single pair he regularly sported.

“Come—we’d better get you dried off.”

Lotus was still staring at his wings, her head spinning like a top. Six wings? Sea serpents? What had she gotten herself into?

“You and that Nethbane seem to be magnets for trouble,” Seraphim grumbled as he opened the hatch and escorted her into the hold. Behind them, the wind had suddenly picked up and was blowing into in the Hammerwing’s sails with a vengeance.

“What do we do now?” Lotus asked.

Seraphim waved a hand. “Ah, don’t worry, lady. They’ll sink that thing before it can cause any more damage. It’s not the first serpent my men and I have dealt with. I’m more concerned about you staying safe, in the meantime.”

“I’m sorry, Captain,” Lotus said as they approached the place where her cot was crammed. She was beginning to feel very stupid about her short flight. “I didn’t mean to stir up trouble.”

“It’s not your fault,” Seraphim told her. “Now, get out of that armor. I’ll have an extra blanket brought down to you while you dry off.”

Resisting the urge to sigh, Lotus rolled her eyes. She certainly hoped that the rest of her journey wasn’t going to go like this.

All content (c) 2020 W. A. Johnson

New Year, New Goals

You know, it occurred to me recently that my writing has been a serious hobby for about seventeen years, now. In that time, I've managed to draft and publish a trilogy and several additional books, but most of those are unavailable to the public due to my decision to go back and revise most all of my work up til now. I never really pressured myself to say, "I'm going to have X number of books published in ten years, and Y number in fifteen", because that kind of goal-setting seems to work against my grain. But, honestly, I've not made near the amount of progress in seventeen years that I would have liked.

By now, it's no secret that I've struggled to get back in the groove with my writing since finding out I was going to become a mother. Motherhood has been a colossal shift in my life, and I've not had nearly the same amount of energy or time that I had before to devote to writing. I'd imagine it's a challenge most every new parent faces, whether it be with their creative endeavors, balancing work and home life, or some other application. So I've been working on coming to terms with the fact that my life just isn't the same anymore, and finding new methods to accomplish my goals. Kind of like forging new paths across a landscape that you used to travel frequently, then had the scenery get obliterated by some natural disaster. The route you traveled before no longer exists, and now you have new obstacles to cross and understand.

It does sound kind of bleak when I put it that way, but I don't mean it to be that way. I'm just trying to understand and make peace with how my writing energy is different now. It's still there, I can still feel the core of that energy circling within me and waiting for new channels to flow through. The biggest challenge for me now is chipping out those channels and learning how to moderate the flow of energy so that I don't burn out or give up altogether during a drought.

So, that brings me to my goals for this year. Remember those notebooks I lost last year? I finally found them (YAY!!!) I am in the process of reviewing my notes and materials in order to resume work on Taloner: Wekthusia, and one of my goals will be to complete the first draft by the end of 2020 and begin prepping it for revision and eventual publication. I'm unsure yet if that publication will happen this year or the next, but I'm pushing to get it done ASAP. I really feel like my readers have waited long enough for something new from the Legends of Destiny universe.

The next order of business: revision of Nethbane will continue throughout this year, and I'd also like to get this back into publication as soon as is humanly possible. I've been pretty lax with assigning myself weekly quotas for writing, but now it feels like I've been too lax. When I was revising Wings of Fate, I was working on it at least every other day, if not daily, and logging massive sums of work each week. I can't realistically expect that same kind of workload to get accomplished now as a mother, but you'd better believe I'm going to do everything I can to get things rolling again!

In addition to these goals, I have decided that as soon as I finish either the first draft of Taloner: Wekthusia or the revision of Nethbane, it's time to resume the revision of Path of a Hero, the second book in my trilogy. I've been thinking about it more over the past few months and slowly working through ideas on how to reshape some of the messier, muddier spots in the original manuscript. I would really like to see this book refined, finished, and back into print by the end of 2021. Sooner would be excellent, but it took me about two years to revise Wings of Fate, and Path of a Hero was a larger book to begin with. I'm hoping it won't take more than two years, maximum, to finish reworking it and cleaning it up. There's also the matter of new cover art for the revised edition, but we'll cross that bridge later.

Last year, it had been my plan to finish drafting Taloner: Wekthusia and then move on to other short projects, such as future Taloner books (there are at least three others I've got summaries written for, at present) but after much reflection, I've decided that the rest of the Taloner Chronicles will have to wait. After I've gotten most of the above-mentioned workload done, I intend to resume work on the duology, which has been patiently waiting for me to return to it.

My brain is saturated with sooo many things I'm dying to share with readers through that duology. There is just so much of Gaia and the series that I'd love to give all of you to read, in the intimate detail with which it exists in my head. There are other stories, too, such as the loosely-connected series Foreign Lands that I hope to someday draft and publish.

I'll stop all my chattering there, though. I've learned by now that my energy seems to best remain self-sustaining if I don't give away too many details of the content I'm working on at any given time. It's strange. And, I'm burning precious time by writing this blog entry. I really need to grit my teeth, dig my heels in, and get to work.

Until next time. And as always, thank you for reading <3 p="">

Fall Update

Happy Fall, everyone! I hope you’re all staying comfortable and enjoying the season. We’ve been busy working over some of our fields in an attempt to clear out lots of nasty old greasewood and creosote brush so that we can plant wheat. Long story short – hard soil bad. Tractors good.

I’ve continued to work on what was supposed to be the final revision of Nethbane, but the more I dig into this, the more disgusted and disappointed I am with how sloppy some of it feels. I put a lot of time and effort into this book when originally drafting and revising it (a LOT) and to read through it now and think that I only wrote this about six years ago, I’ve begun reworking it in the same fashion that Wings of Fate was subjected to – IE, a complete re-write.

The core of everything will stay the same (with a few extra things) but I have no choice but to overhaul Nethbane before getting it back into print. I am a perfectionist by nature, and I will accept nothing but the best quality that I am capable of at any given time. This means that the revision may take longer than I’d first anticipated, but whatever. At least it will feel better to me, and hopefully flow better for readers.

Still no sign of my large writing binder or its companion notebook, unfortunately. And now my main sketchbook has gone missing, as well. I’ve not seen any of them in months and the only thing I can think is that I put all three of them somewhere very safe while moving – so safe, of course that I can’t locate them. I’ll continue to search, but if I can’t find them within the next little while here, I may just break down and rework some things in the outline for Taloner: Wekthusia so that I can at least finish the first draft. I really was hoping to have this book ready for print some time next year, and I’m not giving up on that goal. Of course, that leaves the matter of getting myself back into digital art, which I’ve not really done for about three years, but it has to happen at some point.

In other news, I’m still exhausted day and night, but by this point I’ve realized that this will never go away and I’ve begun to adjust mentally. It does create more frustration with trying to write and hold onto all sorts of different little details, but I guess that’s why I have a bunch of blank notebooks hoarded (and a plethora of digital notes) Time to fill everything up with work!

Being in a constant state of utter exhaustion also means art will be sparser (not like you didn’t notice that already, right?) But I am hoping to do a little art here and there, instead of lots of nothing.

PS - Is there a character or creature from Legends of Destiny that you would like to see drawn? Feel free to mention it in the comments!

What Once Was Lost...

Hello again, dear readers. Happy news: For the first time in more than five years, I have internet at home.

And, some not-so-happy news: I cannot locate the large binder (or its companion notebook) in which I have recorded a very significant amount of notes for my writing. Both have to be somewhere amongst the things that have been packed up for moving, but after scouring multiple places that these notebooks could and should be, I still cannot locate either of them. I am at a point in the manuscript of Taloner: Wekthusia where I cannot continue forward without being able to consult my notes for vital bits of information I have there, and I am unwilling to plow blindly ahead and create a large mess to come back and clean up later on. So, after much consideration and no small amount of regret, I am forced to take a temporary break from working on the manuscript. With luck, I will be able to find at least the binder or the notebook within the next little while. Once I do, work will resume. This is really the only problem with condensing so much of your thoughts, notes, and work into one central point.

This is really frustrating for me because the past several months have been full of progress, and this is the most productive I've felt with my writing since revising and re-releasing Wings of Fate. Waiting is not something I enjoy doing.

However, I've also come to the decision that while I am attempting to locate my lost notes, I will begin working on another project that has been weighing on my mind quite heavily for the last while; the final revision for Nethbane is overdue, and I will be applying myself to this project in the meantime. There are a couple of new chapters that need to be written and inserted, as well as something being modified near the end of the book.

While my large binder and notebook are missing, I did manage to unearth a single page of very important notes that I had lost while working on the original draft of Nethbane's manuscript. The last sixth or so of the book never did feel quite right to me, and I knew I was missing something, but I couldn't remember what. It was a relief to find this lonely little scrap of paper, which is now being kept in a safe place.

I think that's enough of an update here, for now. If you'll excuse me, I have a little over 215,000 words I need to read through and polish.

Resurfacing

Posting an update here to assure everyone that yes, I'm still alive. It wasn't intentional to have time lapse so long between updates, but I have been dealing with heavy Post Partum Depression since having my son. I went back and forth for a while on whether or not to really say anything here, but this blog has always been intended as a place where I can speak candidly about everything affecting the creative parts of my life, and that includes the obstacles that occasionally come out of nowhere and overwhelm me like a tidal wave.

I'm someone who's no stranger to depression, as I've had it all my life, but the past couple of years have been especially hard. It's only very recently that I've finally begun to resurface from what feels like a bottomless, dark lake that smothers everything else in life. And it's taken its toll - I have gotten absolutely no writing done for the past three months. This, on top of the extremely sparse work I was able to do during my pregnancy and for several months after the arrival of my son, has left me feeling somewhat of a sense of urgency to continue my work as a writer. I'm not sure yet whether that urgency is stemming from the load of work I've set up for myself to complete, or if it's the herald of some new challenge that is coming my direction. Either way, I have resolved to attack my hefty project list and do as much as I can before I either burn out again or some large and new hurdle appears on my path - whichever happens first, I guess.

So, obviously I'm not going to be able to pursue the Spring release for Taloner: Wekthusia that I was hoping for, but crap happens. I am back at work on the manuscript and have selected which projects I will be working on once T:W is written, revised, and in print. I'm really looking forward to knocking projects down one at a time and getting more books written and revised and back into the hands of readers.

And as an aside, I am in the laboriously slow process of helping my husband to fix up two houses and move from one to the other. I am also still a resident of No Internet Land, and now a resident of Poor Signal Land, as well. So updates here may continue to be far and few between for a little while.

Wishing you all well. Here goes nothin'.

Excerpt - Taloner: Wekthusia

Hello, readers! I've been keeping pretty busy here, between looking after a very rambunctious and inquisitive son and all the produce that's been unexpectedly dropped into my lap for food storage. It's been a big challenge to get any art done in the midst of all of this, but I'm hoping to be able to get some concepts secured soon here. Work on Taloner: Wekthusia has been slow, as usual (I sure miss the days when ten pages a week felt like a breeze)

Here's a little tidbit from the manuscript for you to enjoy this lovely Autumn morning (or afternoon, or evening - whenever it is for you):

         The smell hit his nose before any sounds touched his ears. It was the odor of sweat, stale coffee, and the deep, earthy musk perfumes preferred by the elves.
         Wekthusia ground to a halt, wings tensing. He cast out rapidly with his magical sense and encountered the buzzing aura of not one, but three spellcasters. Hastily, he retracted his magic and glanced behind him. He didn’t want to go back into that nest of elves, truth be told.
         Sucking in a breath, Wekthusia grabbed at a small charm worn on a chain around his neck. He watched as the air rippled around him, signaling that the charm’s power had been activated.
         A split second later, five elves walked into sight. One wore a red-striped feather that signified some sort of commander, if Wekthusia remembered correctly. He watched as the elves approached his position and chattered in low, soft voices. None of them even glanced at him.
         Within seconds, they reached the spot where the priest was standing and continued past, one of them passing through Wekthusia as if he were a ghost. Wekthusia dared not exhale until they were several steps away, for the effects of the inter-dimensional charm only blocked him from physical sight and touch, not sound. And now that he’d used it, he’d have to wait a full twenty-four hours for it to recharge.
         The elves continued along their way, conversing about recent reports from the coast. Wekthusia thought he heard a snatch of something about Neth, but that wasn’t so unusual, anymore. Ever since the war, Neth activity had been up in almost all sectors of Siege, along with a few areas outside the continent.
         He was just about to release the charm when something one of the elves said caught his ear.
         “Did you find the Lauina yet?”
         Wekthusia’s eyes snapped onto the speaker. It was the elf wearing the red-tipped feather.
         Another elf made a gesture.
         “Not yet,” he said, “but it’s around here somewhere. Our spell net will …”
         That was about as much as Wekthusia understood clearly, but he got the feeling that whatever else the elf was saying was unpleasant. The commander snorted and made a remark about “practice” when the Lauina was found.
         Wekthusia’s stomach churned. The Illismonah knew he was here—and they were looking for him.


Pretty short, sorry. The working manuscript is still just shy of 29,000 words. I'm still working toward my Spring 2019 goal for completion of the first draft, even if I have to start writing in the middle of the night to get there.

Current Project

Okay now, I promised a post to reveal what my main writing project is for the year. You might have already guessed it (did your eyes just dart down to see if you were correct?)

AND THE WINNER IS:

Taloner: Wekthusia

Yep, it's one of the Taloner books, as I suspected I'd choose at the first of the year. Since these books are much smaller than other projects in the series, it has provided a lighter workload for me to carry while I continue to adjust to being a mother and being so drained of energy each day, I commonly stutter or slur my speech (Guys, my one-year-old is still waking up an average of five times a night. Seriously)

I've mentioned before that Taloner: Wekthusia started out as a project some years ago. It was just a random story idea that I started writing after finishing the first drafts of The Rebirth Trilogy, and I really didn't have a clue as to where it was going. It was something that I'd add to as little sparks of inspiration occurred, as I was still riding the afterglow of completing my own trilogy. The manuscript has now been dusted off, plotted out, and I've overhauled what was written so that it's much less shudder-worthy in the structure department. I'm glad I held on to this piece for so long, even when I didn't think it would ever become anything more than an unfinished manuscript that would never see the light of day. It's provided a platform for me to get back into the groove with writing, which is what I needed.

Yeah okay, moving on. So if you've read Taloner: Reima or it's sequel, you kind of already know what a Taloner is. It's a scout who roams a specific area of the world in order to observe and record information related to their assignment, such as keeping an eye on enemies of the lore drake empire.

Going more into depth, Taloner scouts typically fall into one of five categories: warriors, priests/priestesses, scholars, monks (fighting priests), and those of nobility. Wekthusia is a priest, which has been a little different to work with, as I'm used to the warrior mindset of Reima. I've had to keep correcting myself and really try to focus on developing Wekthusia as his own person, instead of making him a Reima clone (trust me, it's easy to accidentally copy your own characters sometimes when you write)

So looking at what I've been able to accomplish so far with this book, it isn't very likely that it will be completed this year, even with it being a smaller project. It's currently at a little over 27,000 words. That might seem paltry to some, but from where I've been mentally during the last two years, it's a success. I'm excited to keep working with it, and I'm hoping to release it in the spring of 2019.

I'm already deciding which writing project will come next after that, as I'm now focusing on my group of announced titles instead of starting anything new. I'm not certain yet if my side project, Origins, will become the next main project, or if it will continue to exist as my side project. It just depends on what kind of energy and inspiration occurs for me between now and that point.

Now then, I'm off to do some work. Have an excellent day, and thanks for reading!

WIP - Himni Rek-Aro

Holy smokes, two posts in one week. What is the world coming to?

I sketched this a couple of weeks ago as part of a small art challenge for myself. This is Himni Rek-Aro, a character who appears in The Rebirth Trilogy. She is the last of the four original original characters I drew when I started writing the trilogy as a teenager, once upon a time (the others being Kuma, Cenme, and Nighteye). I've wanted to draw her for a while in order to more fully flesh out her appearance. This sketch needs a lot of work before I ink it, but it's a start. In particular, I need to redo the details of her mask. The wing theme was okay, but it's not what I wanted. I do plan to ink and color this at some point.

So ... a little trivia for you about Himni, since I've been trying to do this more when I post images of individual characters and such:

The gemstones in Himni's mask are a purple-red sapphire and a red spinel, the latter of which represents "intensity" among the Laiuna people. (Side notes - Different colored sapphires, aside from the familiar blue, may also carry special meaning. And, red spinel is one of my personal favorites when it comes to gemstones)

Himni's home is a city called Juk Sul, which is located in a southern range of Genkian mountains called The Gods' Abode. The city is built at a high elevation, which means that cooler temperatures are a norm, and as such, some of Himni's normal attire includes fur lining. Juk Sul has an interesting history that involves rebelling against the Laiuna empire at one point, and one of the carry-overs of that rebellion is represented by the structure of it's citizens' names; Instead of the traditional name format in the rest of Genkai (Surname, followed by Given Name) the natives of Juk Sul use their Given Name first, followed by their Surname. I won't bore you with further details on all that, but yeah.

Okay, now - Setting aside trivia and sketches, I've also come to a decision: While I still have a number of planned works in store for the Legends of Destiny series, along with a couple other series and projects, no more new projects will be started for the next while .... like, years. I've decided that the amount of back-logged projects I have built up is utterly ridiculous and I'm going to start working through the book titles that have already been announced before I begin anything else. This means that titles such as Sovereign Soul, The Gem Duology, at least some Taloner books will be completed in their first draft form before I move on to anything else. My goal is to drastically cut down on the number of books sitting around in limbo, since some of them were announced a long time ago (cough, Sovereign Soul....)

Oh yeah. I guess that means I'd better make an announcement on which title won out as my current main project, huh? Well, look for that post soon!

Fourth Chaos Beast

Another Chaos Beast! Sheeze, I finally got the time and energy to sit down and finish this one. I'll continue to work on the concept art for her, since some of the colors didn't turn out quite right with what I'm seeing in my head.

Okay, so if you've read the trilogy you may be thinking, "Fourth beast? What happened to the third one?"

Don't worry. Beast 3 will be making an appearance in the duology, as I stated before. But that doesn't mean I'm not still developing the rest of the Chaos Beasts, or that none of them will appear in future projects.

So what are some things I can tell you about this Chaos Beast without ruining any surprises? She's female, for one (Yeah, you caught that. I know). Four of the Chaos Beasts are female, actually. The abilities of this one include power over illusion. She is also unique among all other beasts, for a reason that I won't divulge quite yet (sorry). And yes, she does appear in at least one of the book titles that has already been announced. She is also around twenty-five feet total in length, making her a little smaller than Denlupis.

The Origins Project

Ha, so as if I don't have enough of a pile falling out of my project cart, I need to come clean about one more: The Origins project. This book will not be a novel, however. It is a collection of anthologies similar to Wayside Tales, but all of the short stories in it will revolve around the theme of an origin - origins of creatures, characters, relics, and maybe a few other things that haven't yet been explained in-depth in the series.

I do already have partial drafts written for several of the stories, as well as a list of ideas that I might like to create a story for to add to the collection. I highly doubt that the entire list will make it into the book.

Origins is currently functioning as my side project. When I need a little break from my main project, or when a spurt of energy strikes me at the right time, I'll add to the short stories in it. Realistically, I'd like to get all of the first drafts done within the next year or so, but as always, we'll see what life deals me between now and then. As I said, Origins is not my main project ... yet.

Have a lovely day :)

Beasts, Gems, and books

Greetings, readers. Are you ready for summer? And are you ready for another update?

I'm happy to report that I've been able to stick with my weekly writing quota in an effort to get as much done as I can on my main project for the year. I've even been able to make up for some lost time in the past couple of weeks, which makes me happy. I'm still not saying which title I'm working on, but since I ruled out a couple of titles in the last post, I will also say that my main project is not one of the following:

Foreign Lands
Nethbane
Path of a Hero (revision)

Yep, sorry. PoaH is still stuck in traffic waiting its turn to be worked on, but fear not. I'll almost certainly be back to working on it within the next year and a half, or so. I've been avoiding it, shame on me, and the reason is because there are several parts and story threads in it that I know will be messy to clean up and hammer out. When I first wrote the trilogy, I was pretty much just gamboling along and having fun, spitting out whatever plotline ideas occurred to me that passed the 5 minute rule. Unfortunately, that's left some weak plot elements to come back to. But I refuse to just abandon the revision project. I want readers to really see this book how it was supposed to be written, just as is now possible with Wings of Fate. I don't want to wait too long before having the complete trilogy available to the public once again.

So, that leaves the following possibilities in my lineup:

Book 9
Taloner: Reima (revision)
Taloner: Moa
Taloner: Wekthusia
Predecessor

Can you guess which one is the winner?

Speaking of Book 9, I really thought you should know ... seeing as how it's the first half of a duology, its project name is the Gem Duology. This title might change in time, but for now, this is it's name. And since this is a duology, that of course means that there's going to be a second book involved here. Let's call if Book 15 for now, shall we? (Even though it will take place directly after Book 9 in the series, and not later on in the timeline)

I do have the gist of the plot framed out for the duology, and it's one I'm very eager to share with readers. Among other things, some new insights will be revealed about the Gems of Virtue, something that has only vaguely been mentioned in the series up until now. The Gems affected quite a bit of Gaia's history during their existence, and they are legendary among its inhabitants.

The duology will also feature at least one new Chaos Beast. Readers familiar with The Rebirth Trilogy will remember these fun critters, as a couple of them surfaced there.

There is so much about these beasts that I enjoy writing about. Each of them is totally unique from the others, and each is connected with different elements in the world, giving them powers related to those elements. Denlupis was associated with electricity and speed, of course. And here's another fun fact about the beasts: They have the peculiar nature of becoming attached to the existence of one mortal at a time, until either they die, or the mortal does ... guess which one usually happens? So, someone in the duology is getting a new beast attached to them. Oh dear.

And while we're talking Chaos Beasts, I'm in the process of finishing some concept art for one Chaos Beast in particular. You'll likely see it posted here in the near future.

That's all for now. Until next time!

Progress is Progress

Well, work has been very slow for the past four months. My son has always struggled with sleeping well, and if you've never gone for a long time without much REM, let me tell you - it wipes you out. You stumble through the day like a zombie, and then you wonder how it got to be nighttime again so that the cycle repeats. Housework is drudgery. Exercise is torture, if you even achieve that much. And the ability to function like a sane person is almost non-existent.

But enough of that.

I have selected which book will be my main writing project for the year. I'd rather not say which book it is just yet, as that seems to knock the wind out of my sails. But, I can say that it is not either of the following titles: Taloner: Blue, nor Taloner: Dio. Both of these titles need a significant amount of work to their plotlines and development before I can really start working on them.

So, that being said, I'm trying very hard to devote all of the spare time I have to working on my book for the year ..... which isn't much. I'm still holding out hope that that changes soon, but at this point, I've just decided that tired or not, I'll be sacrificing some much-needed sleep time to work on writing. Worth a shot, right?

I was hoping to have a character sketch up with this post, but alas, I need to find the installation software again for my scanner. Le sigh.

Until next time, readers. Stay sharp (and rested!)

It calls to me ...

Well, well. It has certainly been another while since my last update here. In that time, I’ve been experiencing the very incredible task of becoming a mother. To sum things up, I am still recovering in some regards and have next to no time for myself, but I love being home with my little one. What’s more is that at long last, my energy reserves for creative endeavors are returning – and demanding to be set loose. So, here I am, attempting to gather together my thoughts and notes on what projects face me for the next decade (wow).

I actually bothered to make a New Year’s resolution this year. My goal is to complete the first draft of any one of the writing projects that I have in progress at present. It’s going to be a pressing goal under my current time constraints, especially since I’m still adjusting to caring for another person and the term “sleep deprived” is only mildly describing my state of consciousness. But, I need to write. After more than a year long dry spell, the drive to complete and publish more of my stories is strong.

So, cut the chatter. Here’s a list of the items vying for my attention. And reader beware, there are spoilers ahead!

Path of a Hero (revision)

My current progress on this is sitting at a scant 3,100 words – which leaves about 197,000 words for me to read through and revise, yet. Like Wings of Fate, I am revising Path of a Hero by completely rewriting the manuscript as I read through it. Very, very few sentences are left just the way they are, if any. It’s a grueling task, but very much worth it to me. I am still enormously pleased with the rewrite of Wings of Fate and hope to find similar satisfaction with this book, despite the fact that there are a couple of particularly messy hang-ups I know I’m going to have to contend with in the manuscript.

Book 9

Sitting at a little over 67,000 words, Book 9 is still a project I’m very much looking forward to completing … when I can devote enough time and attention to it. Becoming a mother was not something I had planned on just yet. Be that as it may, I know that this is a project I will return to, most probably within the next few years. I really don’t have a choice – the story is burning in my soul and begs to be finished.

This book is the first half of a duology. In the very early stages of conception, this was planned as an installment in another trilogy, but due to story concepts and symbolism that has to do with the over all plot of the books, this was better suited as a duology. In the past year or so, I’ve been able to gather my thoughts and plan out a lot more detail for the second half of the duology than I had since completing the original drafts of The Rebirth Trilogy. So, here’s a little blurb for you:

Roughly a year after the events of the Rebirth War, the world of Gaia is still feeling the cooling effects of an evil god’s return. While the issue of war is nothing new, other problems are cropping up – one of which is particularly alarming: For reasons unknown, the Nethbane is once more roving the lands, though his presence is far from that of a god-sent savior. Leaving a trail of death and confusion, his name is quickly turning to a curse on the lips of Gaia’s inhabitants.

When news of her friend’s strange shift in behavior reaches the paladin Lotus, she sets out to find her friend and stop him, if possible. Despite all that she’s heard, Lotus knows in her heart that Kuma could never truly turn evil, but the disturbing question must be asked: If this is not the work of the Nethbane … then who?

Taloner: Reima (revision)

Revision work for this book has already been started, but I’m not quite 6% of the way through the first rewrite. However, this manuscript is much smaller than Path of a Hero, so it feels more doable at the moment.

Taloner: Moa

An unassuming and quiet researcher finds her peace disturbed and herself the target of a dangerous creature when she unearths an ancient weapon in the ruins of Godrealm.

Taloner: Dio

A seafaring Taloner stumbles upon a stranded ally, one connected intimately with an issue of the empire’s safety. Time is limited, and there are details that run deeper than they first appear on the surface.

Taloner: Blue

Someone is laying lethal traps for the Laiune in southern Kura-Cora, and the design appears to be that of an ally. When a mechanically-minded scout tries to find out why, she finds herself suddenly entangled with the military and a sinister truth that threatens a friend.

Taloner: Wekthusia

So this is an older one I had started to write years ago out of boredom, and it now requires an overhaul before completion. For anyone who’s familiar with the stories in Wayside Tales, a certain sassy young Illismonah also makes an appearance in this one.

Wekthusia is a decent sort of guy who believes in honesty and being responsible first and foremost. So when a brash young maiden shows up and drags him into a personal dispute with a sorcerer, it’s bound to cause some issues.

Predecessor

An exotic new race calling itself the Neth has appeared in Gaia, and its foremost goal is the destruction of the Laiuna people. With a sudden shift in the very powers that created the world, once-faithful followers are now left anchorless and confused. Heeding the will of his master and going in the face of hopelessness, a lowly warrior named Meng chooses to undertake a seemingly impossible task – destroy the god Zemose.

Nethbane

Surprised to see this one on the list? I’ve hinted (rather obviously) that this was going to go through some more work in the future. I mainly just need to do a little more revision and add in a crucial detail toward the end of the book – a detail that was scribbled down on a scrap of paper and then got lost and forgotten in the early stages of the book. Nethbane never did feel quite right when I was trying to wrap up the first draft, and when I rediscovered this scrap of paper, I felt like an idiot for having forgotten what was written on it. Of course … isn’t that why we write things down?

Foreign Lands

Here’s one that’s a little different than the rest. Why? Because while it is connected with the Legends of Destiny series, this is actually a series all its own. For about a decade, now, I’ve been plotting out details for a fantasy-scifi crossover that I’d like to write. Foreign Lands began with a dream I had one night where I saw a fairly detailed map of a new continent. When I woke up, I recorded as much as I could remember, then began to develop the story behind this land. As things stand now, the series will contain five books total, a number that’s symbolic with some elements in the story. It will be a big shift for me from the usual material in Legends of Destiny, but the more time goes on, the more I’m able to develop the plotlines in this series and the more eager I am to make it my main project.

One item that did not make it to this list is Sovereign Soul, which I still do not feel I am ready to complete – much to my frustration. With that being said, I fear that if I do not force myself to at least attempt to churn out a sizeable portion of this book within the next four to five years, I may lose my drive to work on it, altogether. This is totally unacceptable. But, I have to be realistic here and weigh my options for the year, given the sparse time available to me to work.

Unfortunately, it’s very unlikely that any of the larger projects will make it to the finish line this year. This means that one of the Taloner books will almost certainly be my winner for being completed in draft form, if I am able to actually pull off this goal. But, that doesn’t mean that I can’t sneak in a little work here and there on one of the larger projects. Wish me luck. I’m going to need it.

And while we’re talking about book details, don’t forget the Legends of Destiny wiki at http://legends-of-destiny.wikia.com/wiki/Legends_of_Destiny_Wiki. I’m still updating it periodically as the need arises. Until next time, happy reading!

Not dead, just kinda

So yeah, I went pretty dead for the last while. I guess being pregnant will do that to you. Between work and horrid morning sickness, I have had almost no energy for writing and very little for art. Things have been improving much more over the last month, however, for which I am exceedingly grateful. I now only have nausea bad enough to make me really sick every few days or so, and it's nowhere near as bad as it was when I last updated this site. I'm sitting at about six and a half months, so I still have three months to go before I have a cute new little baby to take care of. Lemme tell ya, it was quite a surprise to find out about.

Alright, anyway - So I do have a few doodles that I need to post here at some point. It would help if my laptop wasn't slowly dying.....ahem...... I'm hoping to be able to start doing some digital art again, especially since one of my projects that's been sitting in limbo really needs a new cover image. The current cover art I have on hand for Taloner: Reima was fine and great almost ten years ago (gads, has it been that long?) but I'd really like to create something that looks a little more professional for the revised book.

And speaking of TR, I'd very much like to get some more revision work done on it while I'm trying to retrieve the most recently updated file for the revision of Path of a Hero from my other dying laptop. It's always something fun, right? I'm reeeeally glad my external drive is still kicking, even after a decade (knock on wood) But yeah, I figure that with my energies still recovering from the demands of creating a baby, a smaller project like TR is a good place for me to start and get back in the saddle.

That's all for now. With luck, I'll be able to get some kind of art update on here within the next month. Have a lovely day.

The journey continues...

If barely. Bleh, sorry. I've been sick for over a month straight, and it's taking its toll. Yes, I know what's going on. No, I'd rather not talk about it right now. I'm just hoping it gets better soon.

Anyway, revision on Path of a Hero has officially started. It's going to be slow for a while, I'm afraid, but I'm doing what I can when I can. My creative energy for writing and drawing has been all but nuked, thanks to the aforementioned sickness. I'm really struggling to pull much of anything out of my hat. This means that I haven't been able to work on any projects, not even Taloner: Moa (and right when I was getting warmed up with it, dang it) I'm really tired of being dead in the water with everything.

Still working on getting the kindle version of Wings of Fate so that it's available on Amazon. The tools that I've been given to do this keep directing me in a maddeningly endless loop of the inability to do anything with the files, and I'm honestly getting very irritated with it all. I may have to contact support and see just why the page is being so stupid.

So that's about it from my corner right now. I wish I had more stuff going and more updates to post here. I have several half-finished pieces of art that I was hoping to post weeks ago, but again ..... nuked. :/ Hoping for better days soon here.

Wings of Fate is here!

It's finally the day! It's been a long road, but Wings of Fate is officially available!

To find it on Createspace's direct site, check here: https://www.createspace.com/6767195

To find the paperback version in Amazon's online store, check here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1540798887/ref=sr_1_35?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1482425766&sr=1-35&keywords=Wings+of+Fate

A Kindle edition of the book is in the works, and an update will be posted to this blog when it is available.

For those who cashed in on the free eCopy giveaway, you should have your copies by midnight tonight, MST :)

This book is being published through Amazon Createspace this time around, which was a new venture for me. And it's a huuuuuge relief to have it done. I just wish I could have fit more text on each page, but what can you do? So now, I'm going to attempt to relax for two minutes and recuperate before getting back to writing. I still have Taloner: Moa floating around in my head, along with several other projects that need attention.

Happy reading! And thank you for all of the support!

New Logo, New Problems

With the reboot of the trilogy, it was time to give the series logo a makeover. I've never been able to find a font I really, truly liked for this logo, so I ended up just drawing an alphabet of my own letters. It will do for a while.

Warning: rant ahead!

Oh. My. GOSH. Never have I EVER had as much trouble getting a book into print as I have with this one! And this is self-publishing! I just blew four hours of this evening fighting with the formatting of both the interior and the cover for Wings of Fate in order to get it to be acceptable for print. And even then, I have a feeling it's going to get kicked back because of the dopey interior maps that can't seen to figure out that they're supposed to be 200+ DPI. Tomorrow is D-Day, so I'm really, really hoping and praying that any rejections found in the files are quick and simple fixes. I just about croaked when the site through which I'd like to publish came back and said I had to add a .75 inch gutter to the manuscript!

What's the gutter? Oh. It's the section of pages inside your book that you can't really pull open enough to see because the book is too thick. And weighing in around 650 pages total, this one is a whopper! I'm a little scared to see what happens with Path of a Hero and Eternity's Edge after I have completed the revision process for those two.

So what with bouncing back and forth between my two challenged laptops, the internet usage on my phone nearly running dry for the month, health recovery and plenty of issues with various software, I have had it for today. I have been so bent on getting this book revised and back into print that all of my Christmas activities for today got thrown in the garbage. It wouldn't be so bad if I knew this book was going to end up netting me a large sum of income, but honestly, I'll be thrilled if I even get more than $5 in royalties. No, I'm serious. I don't write my stories for mulah. That would be nice, but my main drive has always been to have stories that I can sit down and enjoy and not worry about something inappropriate appearing partway through. Even with self-published authors, making a decent chunk of change on your work is pretty much like winning the lottery. Tens of thousands, dare I say hundreds of thousands of authors probably don't make more than a few bucks on their work, and I'm willing to bet that most of that comes from family and close friends.

Okay, my laptop is starting to burn my hand. I'm off to skulk around the kitchen and watch Star Trek. See you tomorrow.