Upping the Sex in a Series

Posted on August 19, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

I’m going to tackle this one right off the bat.  There’s a reason that this weighs heavy on my mind with War of Nytefall: Ravenous.  Actually, it’s a few reasons:

  1. Desirae Duvall’s main business hub is a brothel.
  2. Desirae Duvall is a very sexually open character.
  3. She seduces and it is implied that she sleeps with several established characters.
  4. She tends to steal a scene, so people will notice the upping of sex.

Of course, there isn’t any actual sex in my books.  For anyone who paid attention in Legends of Windemere, I don’t go the erotica route.  There isn’t a point in it for my stories because the sex isn’t a focal point.  The emotions leading up to and the ones that linger after are of interest to me.  Events leading up to it and the repercussions are where the plot thrives in my mind.  So, I’ll have innuendo, kissing, embracing, lustful looks, pillow talk, and the usual stuff that can happen after sex.  Once we get to the point where hands and mouths will touch certain parts of the anatomy, I fade to black.  I mean, a reader can fill in that blank on their own.  I’d probably be giggling and blushing too much to get through it.  Sex scenes can come off fairly ridiculous too, especially when you’re trying to name the parts.  Half of them sound clinical and the others are either crude or silly.  I mean, I’ve seen authors use pastry names . . . I think I’m losing the point of this post.

All that being said, Desirae brings a higher level of sex by having blatant innuendo.  I don’t even think I can call it that.  She openly tells characters to go to her room because she needs to have fun.  She talks about spending the night with others and there’s one scene that is clearly the morning after an orgy.  Again, you don’t see any of those events happen, but you know that they did.  It’s part of her character being a seductress and it’s very much like a less inhibited Chastity.  This means that readers who are very sensitive to sex are going to feel like they’ve been hit by a sledgehammer.  I considered making it more subtle, but Desirae lost a lot from doing that.  She isn’t timid in this arena and the way she talks and acts needs to show that.  Still, do you really think people will be concerned after seeing Chastity flirt, hear Mab talk about Chastity’s promiscuity, and see the heavy make-out session between Mab and Clyde in Rivalry?

From past experience, I can guarantee that there will be some people who will be shocked and appalled at this turn.  I’ve learned over the years that readers can miss the subtle and tame stuff pretty easily.  Then, they hit a blatant mention of sex and they act like they’ve just been subjected to porn.  I remember when people complained about all the sex in a mid-book of Legends of Windemere.  There wasn’t an actual sex scene, but I believe an early chapter had Luke Callindor and Sari naked in bed.  It was after sex and they were talking.  This came after we already knew they were sleeping together, multiple kissing scenes, one really heavy make-out scene, and multiple scenes with stated nudity.  It was this that sent some readers into a tizzy.  Keep in mind that I don’t mention the naughty bits and don’t harp on the nudity.  I point it out to set the scene or use it for comedic effect, but that’s it.  So, you never know when a sexy scene will stir the sensitivities of a reader, which is another reason I’m bringing this up.

Personally, I don’t think I upped the sex in Ravenous to a point that makes it erotica or horribly corruptive of delicate morality.  Desirae doesn’t talk dirty or greedily lust after people like a wild animal.  She seduces and is clearly the one in charge of any sexual encounter that she initiates.  I stuck to my guns with not having actual sex scenes and leaving the genitalia descriptions to the imagination.  I’d like to think this is enough to keep things clean-ish, but I know better.  With any luck, people will find the character to be a breath of fresh air since everyone else tends to be rather stuffy and nervous in this arena.  As always, I enjoy hearing that people like my characters.  They are the ones who carry the plot, so I try very hard to make them enjoyable or, in one case, impactful to some extent.  Desirae is no exception.  I want people to walk away from Ravenous remembering her for everything she does and not only the sexuality.  It’s another reason I don’t do sex scenes, I guess.  Those are what people may remember the character for instead of their personalities.

So, what do you think?  Not even sure about the topic I’m asking about here anymore.

Posted in Thoughts | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Teaser Tuesday: Solo Heist #fantasy #vampires

Posted on August 18, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

Cover Art by Alison Hunt

I noticed that I’m taking larger chunks of story for the War of Nytefall: Ravenous teasers.  One reason is because a lot of the scenes don’t have clean break areas like previous books.  There’s a lot of depth and context.  This is an all action scene too, so I had to find a good cliffhanger.  I was going to do the set up scene today, but realized I’d have to alter it to clear out a lot more spoilers than I’m comfortable with now.

Continue reading →

Posted in Teaser Tuesday, War of Nytefall | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Binge-Worthy Book Festival Week 3!

Posted on August 18, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

Hope everyone has been checking out the festival and enjoying it.  Life & Times of Ichabod Brooks is making an appearance there today.  The teasers for this fantasy short story collection are always enjoyed, so see how they all end.  That’s just me though.  You have plenty of literary choices every day of the week.  Dive into the fun and make your ‘To Read’ pile grow large enough to build a book castle out of it.  Though, I wouldn’t recommend that because you could accidentally dog-ear a page.

Click here for the  Festival!

Clicker here for the Rafflecopter!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Time to Meet Desirae Duvall

Posted on August 17, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

Vampirella

And here we start the promos that will hopefully whet the appetite for War of Nytefall: Ravenous.  The plan is to release it next month and I’m been trying to figure out how I should start.  Well, I’m going to begin this with a bang.  This is the newest Dawn Fang to step into Windemere and she’s possibly one of my favorite characters to write.  In fact, Desirae Duvall is the reason I had to rewrite the outlines for the volumes that came afterwards.

So, who is she?

Desirae is a type of character that I never tried to write before.  She has some really cool powers that I won’t get into here because you need a reason to read the book.  They are at the core of the overall problem, but so is her personality.  That is what had me enjoy writing Deisrae so much.  She isn’t a fighter and actively avoids confrontations whenever she can.  To do so, she comes up with plans and thinks on her feet in order to get away from a situation.  One would call her conniving and they’d be right.  Many times, I felt like I was writing a more troublesome, less moral version of Chastity Sullivan.  That character is already pretty loose, so Desirae was downright open for business.  She just jumped off the page with her antics and pretty obvious innuendos.  Yup, the sexual vampire has entered the arena.

Let’s be clear though.  I don’t write sex scenes or detail any nudity if there is any.  It is clear that Desirae enjoys sex and uses it to both relax, expand her business, and focus some of her powers. The hub of her business is also a secret brothel called the Pleasure Shadow, which is how she began creating her empire.  She seduces men and women with no hesitation.  People might already be turning off to this, but there are a few reasons why this makes her a very dangerous opponent.  Not that she can charm Clyde, but seduction works off charisma and being able to read a person instantly.  He’s never faced someone like this and she could easily be the smartest Dawn Fang in the entire series.  After all, she created a globe-spanning empire that the information networks of Kai Stavros (spymaster) and Chastity Sullivan (information broker extraordinaire) didn’t even know about.  Much of this ability comes from her ability to get in close to people and she uses it for seduction when it’s ramped up to its full power.

Now, this isn’t to say that Desirae is perfect or always in control.  In fact, much of the story revolves around some of her actions going off the rails.  She is desperately trying to bring everything back to what it was before, which brings in the attention of those that she’s been hoping to avoid.  Namely, Nytefall and Nyte.  For all of her confidence and charisma, Desirae is able to screw up and she does it hard.  That’s another reason why I liked writing her because she rarely took disaster with panic.  She has the calm and rational mind that I wish I had in real life.  Something goes wrong?  Well, back to the drawing board and toss this out to keep the hounds at bay.  Need to manipulate a few more people to buy some time? Not a problem.  Whatever she needs to do, she’ll do it as long as it doesn’t involve getting herself killed.

A funny thing about Desirae is that she began as a big player in ‘Realm of the Night’, which was the original series title for War of Nytefall.  Then, I reduced her to a minor role, forgot about her for a few years, moved her to another series, forgot about her again, and eventually placed her in another minor role.  It was probably only recently that I sat down and flushed her out to be the major antagonist that she is now.  If I decide to bring her back then she might make some cameos in other series, but a lot depends on how people take to her.  She’s kind of a hard sell because of the open sexuality.  It was to the point when even her origin gets a little shaky.

As with all the Dawn Fangs, I’m going to end this with how she started.  Desirae started in a ‘Vampire: The Masquerade’ game and was played by the ex-wife.  It was a challenge for her to play a character that wasn’t combat oriented.  We convinced to go very far off her usual path by making a vampire prostitute who gathered information for blackmail and the local nobles.  Aside from getting annoyed at one of the male players and showing that she could do the seduction thing, there wasn’t really much to Desirae.  She was there and didn’t do a lot because fights would break out all the time.  Since the character wasn’t a heavy hitter, she didn’t really get involved.  I don’t remember how long she lasted and I don’t think the ex-wife enjoyed the experience.  There was even a point where she hated that I had Desirae listed as a book character.  To get out of this trouble, I did a massive redesign of her to the point where really only the name and connection to prostitution remains.  I even made her an elf.  Pretty happy with how the whole thing turned out too.

Posted in War of Nytefall | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

The Highs and Lows of Writing Books

Posted on August 17, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

Nicholas C. Rossis's avatarNicholas C. Rossis

This is a guest post by Arslan Hassan. Arslan is an electrical engineer with a passion for writing, designing, and anything tech-related. His educational background in the technical field has given him the edge to write on many topics. He occasionally writes blog articles for Dynamologic Solutions, a software development company. 

The Highs and Lows of Writing Books

Writing | From the blog of Nicholas C. Rossis, author of science fiction, the Pearseus epic fantasy series and children's book

For a writer, a book is not only a manifestation of their imagination but an entity with a life of its own. By writing and publishing a book, the writer hopes for a sense of pride and accomplishment.

These highs, unfortunately, are almost always accompanied by lows such as writer’s block and self-doubt. Even if your manuscript is downright amazing, it could be years before a publishing house agrees to publish your book. Eight publishing houses rejected J.K.Rowling, reigning queen of authors, before the first Harry Potter book was published.

If writing…

View original post 819 more words

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Another Collection of Art from the Son: All Pokemon

Posted on August 16, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

So, I asked my son if he minded me posting more of his pictures here.  I went through a round of questions before he said it was okay.  We’re doing Pokemon right now, so that’s what you’re going to see here.  It’ll probably be that way for a while.  Most of them were done use Art for Kids Hub.  The exception is Venusaur, which was done with Cartooning Club How to Draw.  I’ll be putting some notes down on a few of these too.

Pikachu

This one was actually our first real attempt to do shading.  It was the first time he got to use his black gel pens, but only for coloring in at this point.

Gengar

This was the first time he used his gel pens to redo the outline, which we weren’t sure would work.  Came out great.  Shading was tough because the video used pastels with blending and we use colored pencils.

Squirtle

This was the first of a 3-in-a-row attempt.  We’re still working on getting angles and dimensions of the body right, but his faces are coming out great.

Bulbasaur

This was the middle one and I think it’s the best of the trio.  He had hit his groove here and it was probably the easiest out of the three.

Charmander

This looks good, but it was the last and hardest of the three.  Patience and focus were dwindling because it was more of an action shot than the others.  We were both getting frustrated trying to get the shading right too.  Still, it looks really good and shows progress.

NOW ON TO THE FINAL EVOLUTIONS OF THE LAST THREE!

Charizard

My favorite part of this one are the wings, which came out perfect.  Halfway through, we saw that the body was oddly shaped when compared to the video, but it was too late and it still worked out.

Blastoise

This was our introduction to block shading.  Basically, you don’t fill everything in with one color and put another layer on top.  You fill in sections with different shades of the color, which turned out to be an easier method of shading for him.

Venusaur

This is the one from another ‘How to Draw’ series because the other didn’t have one for Venusaur.  The challenge here was that the video showed how to draw, but not how to color it.  You see a digitally colored version at the end, which we had to pause and examine to figure out how to match it.  My son determined how to do the block shading while I tested and showed him the colors we had.  It looked really weird at first, but it came out looking incredible.

Mega Gyrados

We ran into a small problem with this one.  This was an introduction to guide lines that helped shape the body.  We didn’t realize they what they were, so the segmentation didn’t come out at first.  It took both of us trying different tactics to get the right effect.

Snorlax

This is the one I really wanted him to do because Snorlax is one of my favorites.  I mean, he mostly sleeps and eats, so why wouldn’t I love him?  There were issues with getting the right type of circle and making things look somewhat symmetrical.  We didn’t have the exact color that the video had too.  So, I had to get his Pokemon book to show that Snorlax can be a darker blue and we found this one.

Jigglypuff

Love how the eyes came out.  This is definitely one of his best shading jobs.  Funny thing is that this required a template, which was a bowl in the video.  I didn’t have a bowl around and the ones I did find were too big.  The entire project started with us hunting for the perfect circle template.  We ended up using the top section of my oil diffuser.  As you can see, it got the job done.

That’s it for now.  We’re still doing Pokemon, but things may slow down once school starts next month.  Hope people are enjoying these.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | 38 Comments

A Slightly More Tolerable Week

Posted on August 15, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

First, be sure to check out the Binge-Worthy Book Festival, which has new authors every weekday.  Click on the banner below to go exploring:

Last week’s Saturday post wasn’t really about goals.  It was a massive rant about something that was driving me to panic attacks.  Graduate school would be a massive undertaking and it wasn’t clear if it would pay off.  I had also forgotten that it was one of many requirements for a lifetime teaching certification, so I’ve been heavily weighing my options.  One person pointed out that the Covid-19 situation adds more chaos to my life because schools are on funky schedules.  As it stands, my son and I aren’t on matching ones.  This means, I’d only get to spend time with him a few evenings a week and the occasional weekend.  If I was doing graduate school then that would shrink down to barely any father/son time.  With him stepping into middle school, I feel that he needs me to be around as much as possible.  So, I’m going to push graduate school back to the spring, which gives me more time to figure stuff out.

That isn’t to say I’ll definitely go, which has upset some people.  Working as a TA is something I enjoy, but I know a full-time teacher gig is more money.  Yet, as someone said, if I’m only doing it for the money then I probably shouldn’t be a teacher.  That’s definitely a factor to consider.  Once Covid-19 calms down, I can look into other things like teaching writing and poetry in a local ‘continuing education’ program or maybe doing an occasional weekend seminar on creative writing through a college.  There are plenty of those around and I’ve seen other authors do so.  Something to consider once I finish checking all paths to full teacher certification and weighing my options.

Enough about all that though.  I prepared War of Nytefall: Ravenous for a Labor Day weekend release.  I’ll be hitting publish on September 4th and sending out the emails to volunteers that afternoon.  The ‘book is live’ post will be done that evening and stickied throughout the weekend.  I need to figure out if I want to mention Legends of Windemere in it this time and what I should grab for a short teaser.  I’m excited about this even though the books don’t move since it means I’m 3 books away from publishing another full series.  I might not make money, but I’m definitely productive.  I only have the finale, War of Nytefall: Eulogy, to write and I’m starting that after this week.  If I can publish the last 3 throughout 2021 then 2022 will see the arrival of Darwin Slepsnor.  I get all of next year to outline and write his stories as well as doing Do I Need to Use a Dragon? (Fantasy Writing Tips).  This sounds like a decent plan to me and I’m really hoping it works out.

Work this week was entirely editing War of Nytefall: Savagery, which I finished last night.  That means I can relax this weekend.  I got two outings with my son this past week too, which were fun.  The pool didn’t work out because it was too cold, so we played catch, board games, and he did another drawing.  That one won’t be in tomorrow’s post since there are more to the set.  We had another afternoon of playing video games, which he thoroughly enjoyed.  Next week he is back here, so we are going to have be running around and having fun.  It’s getting closer to school, which is proving to be fairly stressful already because of the pandemic.  I want to enjoy what we’re doing, which will include a zoo trip that I already reserved.  A few other places are doing similar things with outdoor only events and limited attendance.  The hardest part is going to be keeping up with the munchkin, but it’s worth it.

There isn’t much else that I’m planning this week.  I’m going to do more of the December blog posts, which I’m not as worried about now.  With graduate school being pushed back, I will have more free time the next few months.  I’m still going to schedule it all because it clears more writing time.  By doing 3 chapter sections a day, it will take 22 days to finish War of Nytefall: Eulogy and I’ve got 9 completely open ones coming up for school begins.  I’d love to finish Clyde’s adventures before 2021 even though it means I will retire another cast of characters.  This one has been rougher since I had to write a love story arc in the midst of a divorce, but that might have made it stronger.  I got to explore some fairly dark themes too, which really appear in Ravenous.  Hope people check that out when the time comes.

Well, that’s really all that happened this week and what I’m planning.  Nothing extremely excited, but I might add any cool zoo pictures next Saturday.  We’re hoping to see these animals called dholes, which are also known as Indian Wild Dogs.  They were either hiding or off display when we went before the pandemic hit.  Fingers crossed.

Goals of the week?

  1. Outline more for The Ether Thief: Punctured Soul.
  2. Hang out with friends for a day.
  3. Watch more ‘That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime’.  Maybe I should make a post about all the shows I finished watching.  Forgot about those.  Perhaps next Saturday.
  4. (All previous goals were for weekend.)  Father/son time once he returns.
  5. Work on December blog posts when the munchkin is asleep.
  6. Should I start looking at plot breakdowns for Tales of the Slumberlord already?  It’s another 8 volume series, but the overarching plot is rather vague as Darwin stumbles into various destinies to screw up.  It’s actually been a long time since I made a chapter by chapter outline from scratch.  Can I still do it?  This should be where I because this goal is getting pretty long.
  7. Get a good night’s sleep.
Posted in Goal Posts | Tagged , , , , , , , | 26 Comments

New Release for #99cents! HMS Lanternfish by C.S. Boyack! #pirates #fantasy

Posted on August 14, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

(A big welcome to Lisa Burton who is here to promote C.S. Boyack’s newest book: HMS LANTERNFISH!  It’s a big pirate, fantasy action adventure and the author’s first foray into the world of trilogies.  Enough from me though.  Take it away, Lisa Burton the Robot Girl!)

Thanks for having me back, Charles. I love getting away from the writing cabin and touring all over the country. As you might guess, Craig has a new book out. This one is a bit different, because it’s Craig’s first trilogy. Specifically, this is book two of the trilogy.

HMS Lanternfish picks up where Voyage of the Lanternfish left off. In a world gone mad, James and his pirate crew decide to take Lanternfish out once more to see if they can change the outcome of the war.

Part of the charm of Lanternfish is that it takes place in a fantasy world. A tall ship is a great way to explore this world, and it’s full of exotic lands, peoples and creatures.

Since your fans are fantasy fans, I want to focus on that today. Many of the fantasy creatures are sea creatures, including one who may actually be a god. There are some land creatures, and my poster includes some of those.

Lanternfish sails to a place called Bungo Bungo. This is a floating island, and it seems to collect creatures from all over the world, depending upon where it drifts. They never expected to find it, but since they did, they have a small mission involving some graves on the island.

They come across something new. Birdlike creatures that are somewhat tribal in nature. These decide to help them, but they’re not capable of speech. I kind of like them. They run like apes, have a small civilization, and should fare well as long as people leave them alone.

The root monsters from the ship named them the Omcrom. There is a tense scene in the book, caused by the root monsters, who else. My poster today is a play on that scene.

Lisa Burton Poster by Sean Harrington

Craig is trying some different promotional things since this is a trilogy. HMS Lanternfish debuts at 99¢, but that price will go up after the tour ends. At the same time, Voyage of the Lanternfish is going to be free through August 14th. Amazon has limits on free days, but it’s a pretty good deal. Your fans can pick up both books for a grand total of 99¢.

Always a pleasure stopping by here, Charles. I’d better drop a cover and blurb before this post goes too long.

***

Blurb: The Lanternfish crew completed their original mission, but got exposed to a more global problem. An entire continent is at war, headed up by a head-strong young king with dreams of power, and pushed from behind by a mysterious religious order known as the Fulminites.

Rather than let their country fall under the iron boot of conquest, James and his crew set sail once more to see what kind of muscle Lanternfish can lend to the war effort. Acting precariously under an unofficial charter as a privateer, even his allies aren’t always his friends.

HMS Lanternfish explores new worlds on its way to war, and drifts considerably off course. It features an international crew of characters, and for fans of the first book, the root monsters are back, too. Tall ships, a few con games, martial arts, and everything you loved about the original book is all returning.

Hoist the colors and wheel out the guns. Lanternfish is taking to the high seas once more.

HMS Lanternfish: 99¢ for a limited time.

Voyage of the Lanternfish: Free until Friday.

You can contact Craig at the following locations:

Blog | My Novels |  Twitter | Goodreads | Facebook | Pinterest | BookBub

Posted in Guest Blogging, Spotlight | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

Immortal Wars: The Summoning Part 31 #fiction #throwback

Posted on August 13, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

(Previously on Immortal Wars.)

(Again, we shall revel in my teenage originality.  Everyone groan in unison.)

Disclaimer: Immortal Wars was the book I came up with and wrote in high school.  I hadn’t even hit college by the time I wrote the first two books.  That means I hadn’t developed my style yet, wasn’t good at self-editing, and the story was fairly basic. So, you’ve been warned that this is the ultimate author throwback segment for my blog and will show my author origins.  FYI-  I put the first book (The Summoning) through a Print-on-Demand publisher and the second one (Light, Blood, & Tears) never saw the light of day.  Enjoy!

Solix is quietly sitting on the golden chair when the four planet guardians arrive.  SEAS is still in his red containment diamond while speaking to the sun guardian about time quickly becoming short.  There is a genuine human sense of intense fear and urgency in the computer’s electronic voice.

“What do you want, Solix?” asks Fate as he walks into the room.  All four of the young immortals stop a few feet in front of the golden chair and none of them make any moves to sit down.

“At least you’re still willing to listen to me after hearing my secrets.  Take a seat at the table and I will explain what is happening,” answers Solix in a weak and tired voice.  They impatiently sit in the wooden chairs around the table and wait for Solix to tell them the reason for this unscheduled meeting.

“SEAS has discovered that the evil immortals are building some sort of construct on the far side of Pluto.  It rotates into our sensor range once every twenty-seven days.  Whatever they are building can be just about anything, except good,” the old man explains.

“Let me guess.  You want us to attack them before they can finish their work and attack the galaxy,” responds Miracle.

“Yes.  That is the basic plan I wanted to use.  The only, and biggest, problem is that the four of you have not trained enough for a real confrontation.”

“So you want to send us on some kind of a suicide run!  You’re out of your decaying mind!” yells Fate.

“Fate’s right.  How many bad guys do you think we can get through before our heads are removed from our bodies?  Now that Fate told us about the original guardians we know that we could actually be killed” mentions Hydrana.

“Honestly, I think you can get through all of them.  All of the murderers are on the farthest planet as we speak.  I have complete faith in your fighting abilities and your quick thinking skills.  Yet, there are two strange events that have me and SEAS very worried and extremely confused.”  Solix stiffly gets up and wanders over to one of the stained glass windows, which is a beautiful picture of a golden knight standing in front of a mountain.

“What do you mean by strange events?” questions Infinity.

“Solix is talking about the appearance of a new immortal and the curious change in an old immortal.  The one that has undergone some changes is Cybro because his birthright power has been completely eliminated.  Only his brain wave pattern and immortal energy emissions are present.  How or why this has happened to him is anybody’s guess.  As for the new member among their forces, I do not know anything about him or her.  But I do happen to know who is missing,” explains SEAS from the red diamond.

“Which one isn’t there?” asks Miracle.

“The one known as Pulsar.  Most likely she died during the villains’ voyage home because I cannot find anything to prove that she is still in existence.  And she was one that would never stay behind on a foreign planet.  For all her evil deeds, she loved to stand in the forests of Earth and watch the sun.  But I digress.  Even if Pulsar had taken over someone, there would still be some sort of distinct energy signature.  But I have not been able to find a trace of it anywhere.  I seriously doubt any of the other villains would have killed her because they all feared her.  Everyone except Adriana because her pride and ego would not let her fear anyone that was working for her.”

“I hope we don’t run into the thing that killed Pulsar.  Any idea about the new immortal’s powers or identity?” says Infinity, who is looking directly at Solix.  The ancient guardian doesn’t hear the question and keeps staring off into space.

“I already said no.  All I know is that he or she has been around for about seventeen years at most.  She arrived around the same time as you, but Adriana has kept her hidden within their warship.  The powers and personality of this immortal still remain a mystery.  He or she will also have the stolen death scythe that Pulsar took from the original guardians.”

“The stolen what?” asks Hydrana once the word death is mentioned.

“The death scythe of Jupiter is one of the original guardians’ missing weapons.  Its magical power is to rip the soul out of anyone or anything that it cuts into.  Even if the cut is very tiny, like a paper cut sized mark, the death scythe will kill.  I read the data folder on it before I went to sleep last night.  Not the type of weapon one would expect a hero to use,” answers Miracle.

“Good for you, tomboy.  But I really don’t like anything that causes death.  Especially my own,” mentions Hydrana.

“Unfortunately, you will have to learn to live with, and accept, death if you intend to remain with us as the new Neptune guardian.  As immortals we live forever and get the pain of watching our loved ones die while we stay young,” states Solix from right behind the red-haired guardian.  He had silently teleported behind Hydrana while Miracle was talking about the death scythe of Jupiter.

“You finally decided to enter our important conversation.  Well, it’s about time,” says Fate with his back turned to Solix.

“This conversation is over, Edward.  I want all of you to go to the armory and get ready for battle.  That is, all of you except for the Mars guardian.  He stays with me.  SEAS will show the rest of you the way to the armory and give you any of the weapons you want.  Oh, and I think Hydrana should be given a new uniform.  The shirt shouldn’t have any holes in it until after this battle,” explains Solix.  SEAS and the other guardians leave while Fate somersaults over to the opposite side of the table from Solix.

“I can see that you really don’t trust me anymore.  You think I’m going to send all of you into a death trap,” mentions Solix.

“The thought crossed my mind about thirty times.  Do you blame me for not trusting you anymore?  You lied about everything,” growls Fate.

“Not everything.  I only lied about what happened to the original planet guardians.  I told you the truth about the villains and your birthright powers.”

“It was still a very big lie.”

“Fine.  I admit that I was wrong in lying to the four of you, but now I need you to do something for me.  You owe me for bringing out your true potential.”

“I don’t owe you anything.  So, shut the hell up and leave me alone.  I’ll do whatever I want and as long as you don’t get in my way, you will be fine.  I told you before that I’ll stay, but that I won’t trust your judgement.”

“That’s it!  I’ve had it with you!  Just drop this childish attitude and listen to what I have to say!  During this battle I will have to die in order to save the rest of you!  The dreams I have had are clear on this.  Do you have any idea what this event would mean?”

“Why should I care about what happens to you?”

“Your stubbornness will help you a lot in the future, but now is not the time to hold a grudge against me.  If you will not listen to me then maybe this little gift will help change your mind,” claims Solix.  He takes out a long, golden sword from behind his back and touches a small button on its white ivory hilt.  A red haze surrounds the blade and a low humming can be heard in the silence.  Solix presses it against Fate’s neck before the young immortal can get out of the way.  The sound of melting flesh and hissing steam echoes throughout the enormous room.

“What did you do to me!” shouts Fate.  He puts his hand to his neck and feels his hand pass over a strange burn mark that the hot blade has left on his skin.  From his distorted reflection in one of the windows, Fate sees that the smoldering symbol is that of a blue comet and it noticeably pulsates with power.

“It is a timeless symbol of power that allows the leader of the guardians to use the Solstar medallion for more than an accessory,” says Solix.  He removes his cloak’s hood and shows Fate a similar marking on his own neck.

“Why would you give this symbol to me if you’re our leader?”

“It’s good to see that you were listening to me before.  I have given you the symbol because you are to be the new leader of the guardians after I die in this battle.  Like I said.  My death will have many repercussions for the planet guardians.”

“You have to be kidding me.  I guessed that you had something big in store for me, but this was definitely not what I expected.  I was expecting some kind of nasty betrayal on your part instead of this.  I guess you’re not as cruel as I thought.”

“Thanks a lot.  Though it is very amazing how an unimportant orphan is destined to become this galaxy’s primary hope for survival and perhaps its greatest warrior to date.  Now, do you understand why I did not tell you the truth about the original guardians?  I couldn’t take the chance of driving you away from your destiny.  The galaxy needs you, Edward.”

“So the entire lying thing was just a way to make sure I remained a planet guardian.  I’m flattered, but I still don’t understand why I have to be the new leader.  The others have a lot more combat-oriented birthright powers than mine.”

“I’ll stick to the obvious reasons because you won’t understand the less obvious ones until a few years of leadership are under your belt.  You have great leadership instincts and the courage of a true warrior.  The security cameras in the game room have repeatedly shown this during your group training sessions.  It seems to always be you giving orders that the others usually listen to and you are the one making decisions only leaders have to make.  The battle scenario against the robot army is a good example.  He chose yourself to be a decoy while the others got behind the enemy to destroy them.”

“So the others occasionally listen to me.  Why can’t one of them be put in charge instead of me?”

“They each have a tiny personality flaw that, unlike your flaws, can cloud their judgment from time to time.  Although your temper must be put in check starting now.  Infinity is prone to acting without considering any long-term consequences of his actions.  Miracle has a habit of going far too easy on her opponents no matter how dangerous they are.  This isn’t always considered a bad habit, but it is not the best way for a leader to act understand these circumstances.  Of course try to remember that all of these problem will probably be fixed over time.  As for Hydrana . . . ,” explains Solix.

“Stop.  Hydrana doesn’t have to be explained.  I’ve known her for too many years.  But you know that I’m not perfect either,” replies Fate.

“As you know, and keep harping on, neither am I.  Leaders are not supposed to be perfect.  But they don’t let their flaws stop them from doing what is right.  That is mainly why I chose you, Fate.  Even with your colorful background of trespassing and stealing, you are currently a very honorable warrior.  An honorable thief so to speak.  Now, do you accept the mantle of leadership after I die?”

“Looks like I don’t have a choice since I’m stuck with this glowing thing on the neck.  Being a leader won’t be easy.  Right?”

“It isn’t supposed to be easy, Fate.  Leadership is a very big and hard responsibility for a young man like you to deal with.  But there is a way that the symbol of power can be hidden from sight.  All you have to do is press your finger against it once to make it disappear and press it again to make it reappear.  I recommend keeping it hidden.  Just so you aren’t made a bigger target in the upcoming battle.”

“I just do this?” asks Fate as he presses the blue mark.  It disappears under his skin, but Fate can still feel the pure energy that is steadily ebbing into his body.

“Exactly.  Now, there is still one more item that you must gain to truly be the guardians’ new leader.  And you will not like the only way to get it.”

“What is it and how much pain will I have to deal with?”  Fate starts playing with the tattoo and finally sits down in the golden chair.  Solix shoots a glare at him and Fate jumps out of the seat to stand next to the older immortal.

A big smile crosses Solix’s face before he says, “This is an item that the evil immortals stole from your predecessor.  I am talking about your planet’s magic weapon.  You need it in order to truly assume your leadership responsibilities.”

“So, who exactly do I have to go through to get my weapon?  Please say Hellax because he seemed like an easy target.”

“Your weapon is the sword of light and last I checked, Draveon is the immortal who uses it.  I believe you read the rather limited data folder on him.”

“I did.  He’s the walking mountain with a brain.  Can’t we just make a new sword of light instead of sending me up against him?  It would be a lot less painful.  I don’t need a trail by fire to become the new leader.”

“Another one is impossible to make in this day and age.  Now, come on.  We will have to use one of the space skimmers to get to Pluto,” says Solix as he starts to teleport himself and Fate out of the Main Hall.

“Use one of the what?” whispers Fate.  His question goes unanswered as he disappears in an amber flash of light.

Posted in Immortal Wars | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Cover Reveal: War of Nytefall: Ravenous #vampires #fantasy

Posted on August 13, 2020 by Charles Yallowitz

Got a last minute addition to the blog.  Last night, I received the cover art for War of Nytefall: Ravenous.  I don’t want to wait to show it, so I’m doing it now.  My plan is to debuted the book on Labor Day weekend.  If anybody wants to host a simple promo post then please let me know.  Now . . . Here we are:

Cover Art by Alison Hunt

Also, another look at the blurb for anyone who missed it:

Does that griffin have fangs?

News is spreading that wild beasts with vampiric natures have been attacking mortals and carrying off random victims.  With the Dawn Fangs still a secret from mortal society, Clyde fears that these strange creatures will reveal his peoples’ existence before they are ready.  Old enemies and trusted friends begin to disappear as the investigation goes deeper into a business that has been lurking in the shadows of Windemere for decades.  Those who return are beholden to a new master whose cunning is matched only by her primal desires.  As his allies disappear, Clyde is left with the one he trusts the most in all of the world to help him solve this mystery.  Too bad Mab has her own secret that can cause more damage to Nytefall than any vampiric beast.

Is this how the Dawn Fangs will be revealed to Windemere?

Posted in War of Nytefall | Tagged , , , , , , , | 11 Comments