Goal Post: Made It Through the First Quarter . . . 25 More To Go?

This was the last week of the quarter, which had Veterans Day smack in the middle.  It was a nice reprieve and I had my son, so we got to have fun.  We might even have another art post coming up next weekend if he finishes his two current projects.  Okay, I writing this last night after a glass of chianti, which is hitting me harder than I expected.  No more for me.  I’m exhausted too.  It was a really grueling week.

Work was busy because the end of the quarter meant a lot of traffic in the testing center where I spend most of my time.  This is where most of my energy went to and it got steadily more difficult as the week went on.  Handled it all though and things are ready for next to be easier.  Please let it be easier because I could use a simple week.  There are parent-teacher conferences for my son though, so we’ll see how those go.  I do hope to get a little more progress done on . . . something.  Anybody remember what I was working on again?

Writing has been weird this week.  After finishing the first drafts of War of Nytefall and having no other series to pounce on, I feel lost.  Normally, I’d take a week to relax and gather my energy.  That didn’t happen with working and parenting.  I tried to start Do I Need to Use a Dragon? (Fantasy Writing Tips) and only got through the intro, which will be posted on Tuesday.  I took a long time to write it and it was nerve-wracking because I realized that I’m the main character.  I don’t have a skin to wear in the spotlight like Luke Callindor or Clyde.  This is me . . . and my social anxiety kicked in and I severely doubt how well it came out.  I came up with so many reasons:

  • I rushed . . . Even though it took me 3 hours.
  • I used contractions . . . That was the plan.
  • People will think it’s too casual . . . That was the plan!
  • People will hate it . . . I got nothing to counter this one.

The big thing is that people will ignore me stating that this book will be written as if they are blog posts.  They are made to be casual and easily understand with minimal jargon to help people who might be starting out.  More experienced authors may see this as me being sloppy and that worries me.  It’s happened on this blog at times where a fellow author will miss a chunk of my post and make a critical comment that doesn’t really connect.  That worries me a lot more than it should because I will have to depend a lot on other authors helping to promote this.  No idea what to do with the cover and inside art either.  First time I’ll be putting pictures into a book and I want to make sure that they look good.  Cost might be an issue too since I’m looking at cover, Legends of Windemere art, War of Nytefall art, and Ichabod Brooks art.  Maybe one more right before the end, but I don’t know what that would be.

I have my son this weekend, so I won’t be writing.  My nights have been used to set up a long line of Tuesday posts where I put 3 songs to each Legends of Windemere book.  A lot harder than I imagined and it brings me into February.  I wish I had some good February topic posts, but the well is running dry right now.  Feel free to suggest anything that isn’t Ye Olde Shoppe.  I know that one is popular, but I can only do those when lightning strikes.

I’m hoping to get back to Do I Need to Use a Dragon? after my son goes to his mom’s next week.  That will be after I see how people take to the intro.  If it’s an utter disaster then I’ll slink away and work on Ichabod Brooks or something.  I’m also contemplating dropping all of my single books to 99 cents around Thanksgiving since I haven’t had a sale in 2 months.  It’s clear I’m not going to make money on this or that I’m seen as worthy of a $2.99 price tag.  Read an article that the onslaught of non-fiction political and current state of the world books has reduced fiction sales too.  I can believe that considering how many people I meet admit that they refuse to read fiction out of fear of missing something in reality.  Guess escapism is a bad thing now?

Bought a new toy that won’t show up until around Christmas, so I’m going to keep that a secret.  Started playing ‘Mega Man X’ with my son.  It’s fun on the Nintendo Switch, but I realized that there is a response delay.  This game was originally in the Super Nintendo and my reflexes expect a certain reaction.  Buttons are smaller now, so I can’t pull off a lot of my more agile moves or dodge things.  I hit jump at what I think is the right time and X doesn’t always react accordingly.  I have to take a lot of hits to the face and hope I survive now.  Still, it’s fun to play an old series with my son.

Wish I had more to report, but that’s it.  Stress has me filled with doubt about a lot of things, so I need to chill a bit more often.  That might be the goal for the next week if things are slow enough.  I chipped a tooth and need to find a dentist, so there’s that event I guess.  I’m running out of steam here and hope that I presented the crazy of the week in some fashion.  Enjoy the weekend.

Goals of the week:

  1. Parenting fun this weekend.
  2. Make it to next weekend.
  3. Finish the Music Video posts.
  4. Get tooth fixed?
  5. Training one night.
  6. Parent-Teacher Conferences.
  7. Possibly do some writing if I can get my confidence back.
  8. Outline if I get a slow period?
  9. Watch more ‘Yu Yu Hakusho’ without falling asleep.
  10. Biking.
  11. Remembering other things I wanted to mention here.
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5-Star Review for ‘War of Nytefall: Eradication’ #fantasy #vampires

Cover Art by Alison Hunt

Check out the great 5-Star Review of
WAR OF NYTEFALL: ERADICATION!

Really happy that N.N. Light enjoyed it.  🙂

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The Scallywag Salad Buffet

Homer Simpson

Welcome to our fine eating establishment.  Here you can make your own salad with all of our ingredients.  Well, we don’t let you touch the food due to health concerns.  You look through the glass and tell our sterilized robots what to pick from  Then, you will get served outside next to the lake where we have our rainbow dolphins.  Don’t worry about them because they’re harmless . . . and robotic.

Now, let’s begin with the base of your salad.  Most people go for the typical lettuce or spinach, which we have here.  As you can see, we have a ton of each and they are safely contained to prevent them from falling on any of our workers.  The sign back there says it’s been a week since we had an accident, which is our personal best.  Now, we have other bases if you want.  This is our onion pile and we have a bowl made completely out of carrot sticks. Hollowed melons and coconuts are an option since we take the skin off to allow for eating of the entire product.  We recommend these to help the planet.  Other options include large heads of cauliflower with skewers for the other veggies, a giant mushroom cap turned upside down, and this circular piece of dough that we can cook up.

Let’s move on to the other additions.  There are far too many to list because you can put anything in a salad.  Here are the veggies that range from tomatoes to a type of radish that tastes like a cucumber.  We think that’s because they were sent with the cucumbers and that taste infects everything.  All of our mushrooms, as you can see in our nursery, are edible and safe.  Yes, I know that black one has a skull and crossbones on it, but I assure you that the symbol is a lie.  That species simply evolved a way to make humans avoid eating them.  It’s quite intelligent and only screams once when bitten into.  Now on to the fruits that are picked fresh from the farm out back.  None of our fruits have been kept in syrup, so they don’t come with extra sugar.  Like the vegetables, we have every type that you can think of and some you’ve never heard of.  For example, this is a strawberry . . . Oh, you’ve heard of that?  Never mind.  These are the meats that range from these crumbled cow remains to these spicy red discs that may be pork.

Cheeses!  We make these ourselves in the basement laboratory, which is only the word we use since we don’t know what else to call it.  Cheese factory sounded too close to another establishment.  Nothing really special about these.  People are very particular about their cheeses, so you come in knowing what you want.  Do you smell that aromatic combination of aromas?  I wouldn’t know because my nose became utterly useless a month into having the position of Cheese Preparation Lord.  Your salad can be topped with slices, chunks, crumbles, shredded, and powdered if you wish.  Yes, we keep the croutons in this section too, but there’s no variety in them.

Last, but not least, we have all of our dressings.  Our saucier traveled the world to collect as many recipes as she could.  We make them fresh in the morning and put on as much as you want.  In fact, we prefer to put it on the side and bring you more if you think you need more.  Our more popular flavors are in the front such as tropical mango, ranch, Italian, seasoned tomato dressing, spicy peppermint pesto, and buffalo.  That last one isn’t what you think it is.  Not made from the animal, but all of the ingredients come from Buffalo, NY.  Our saucier assures us that it’s the traditional way to make it.  In the back are our lesser known dressings such as coffee slurry, bubblegum, melted cherry chapstick, and caramel cottage cheese.   They are nauseating, but you never know when someone will come in and ask for them.  It hasn’t happened yet, but I’d rather be prepared just in case.

There you have it.  What would you like?  Sorry, but the only way out of our establishment is to use the back door.  The robotic guard won’t let you out unless you have a salad, so there’s only one way to leave.  Yes, this is why we make so much money and it’s entire legal in this city.  Now, what would you like?  Cooked flattened dough, seasoned tomato dressing, shredded mozzarella, and the meat discs.  That is a very popular salad for some reason.  What do you call it?

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Science Fiction and November 2020

Gwen M. Plano's avatarStory Empire

Hello, SE readers! Today I will again focus on inspiration–but with a twist. I’ve been thinking about Mark Twain, and not because I live a couple of hours from the Mississippi River.Rather, it’s because I read some of his science fiction work and was haunted by his comment: “Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; truth isn’t.”

It seems to me that Twain nailed it. Truth is stranger than fiction, and November 2020 is evidence. Most of us could not have imagined the craziness that has unfolded this year. But if anyone could have, wouldn’t it have been the science fiction writers? Those visionaries who populate outer space with odd-looking creatures, who make intergalactic wars part of our vocabulary, who go deep into the earth and uncover cities of strange beings? Yes, those writers.

Inspired by Twain’s statement, let’s visit…

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Immortal Wars: The Summoning Part 44 (finale) #fiction #throwback

(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!

“Please.  Do not leave me in the dark, guardians.  What happened to Solix and the evil immortals?” asks SEAS while everyone is resting in the Main Hall.  Miracle, who is bandaged up and slowly recovering, sits next to Fate with her head lying weakly on his shoulder.  Infinity and Hydrana silently stare at the room’s decorations from their chairs.

“I honestly don’t know where Solix has gone off to.  At the end of the battle he used the Solstar medallion and then disappeared.  Adriana said that he committed suicide by using the Solstar’s ultimate power,” answers Fate as he gently puts his arm around Miracle.  She winces a little, but doesn’t let the pain bother her.

“I see.  In a way, Solix did commit suicide.  The Solstar medallion has a very deadly side effect that you do not know about.  It was only a rumor because the side effect had never occurred before now.  If the center stone does not get enough stored energy from its holder, the stone absorbs the holder.  Solix was not strong enough to wield the weapon’s ultimate power and most likely he knew it,” explains SEAS.

“Well, why did he do something stupid like that?  Now this group doesn’t have a leader anymore,” states Miracle in a weary voice.

“We do have a leader.  Solix gave Fate that sign of power on his neck.  That makes him our leader.  Luckily, Eddie escaped from Adriana and returned,” says Infinity when he breaks out of his mild trance.

“You obviously weren’t listening on the ride home.  Fate didn’t escape from them.  They let him go with the Solstar medallion and the sword of light.  You never told us why they did such a nice thing,” says Hydrana while pointing an accusing finger at the calm Mars guardian.

“There were two reasons that Adriana had for letting me go.  One was the vision Startrix had about the last battle.  The vision showed that the last fight during the first year of the immortal wars would only be between Adriana and me.  A fight that will end in either one or maybe both of our deaths.  Since my death would have made the battles much easier, Adriana wasn’t ready to kill me.  She wanted to get some fun and competition from the four of us before this whole thing ends,” explains Fate.  He slowly moves his fingers along the smooth gemstones of the sun weapon and imagines what would happen if he used it at full power.  He comes to the conclusion that it would not be pretty.

“What was her second reason?  Does the big, bad immortal have a crush on our new leader or something?” teases Hydrana.

“No she doesn’t!” exclaims Miracle as she tries to move.  The sudden motion makes her whole body scream in pain and she settles against Fate again.

“Take it easy, Kelly.  Hydrana didn’t mean anything by that disturbing remark.  Of course for all I know it could be true, which really makes me worried.  The other reason was that I spared her life and she thought she owed me a favor.  Adriana seems to have some small sense of honor.”

“It’s good to see some of them aren’t totally evil.  At least, Adriana and Kilanus showed a few likeable traits.  For all we know, one of them might become an ally over time.  That would be very cool,” mentions Infinity.  He picks up a portable computer and starts to type in a series of passwords.  When he reaches the program he wants, Infinity begins to make a new data folder on the mysterious Kilanus.

“I would not hope for that in our lifetime.  But you have brought us to another problem.  What do we do about Kilanus?  Where did she come from and what are her powers?” asks SEAS as he helps Infinity make the data folder.

“Kilanus’ physical abilities are on the same level as Fate’s, who is the most powerful out of the four of us.  But for all I know, she was holding back and is more powerful than we could possibly imagine.  It’s hard to say.  Where she came from is the easy part of this mystery to solve.  Kilanus claimed that she was the daughter of Adriana, which explains a lot about her actions and the resemblance.  She mentioned Hellax being her father, but none of his DNA can be found in Kilanus’ hair that I found on my cloak.  Must have fallen on during one of our fights,” says Infinity as he types everything into the computer.

“What about her birthright powers?  Do we have any idea what those are?” mentions Hydrana as she stands up.

“I know.  During the DNA scan of Kilanus’ hair, and while I passed in and out of consciousness, I found out some things that Infinity missed.  I may be injured, but I am far from useless.  There is some evidence that Kilanus was subjected to genetic tampering.  There are certain parts of her DNA, which are exact duplicates of Fate’s genetic code.  The only explanation I have is that Mindtrigger integrated some of Fate’s genes into Kilanus.  Specifically the ones that give him immunity to some of the guardian weapons.  The side effect of this is that it causes traumatic vision flashes that send her into a berserker rage.  Her real birthright power is that of resurrection, which means she can revive the dead,” responds Miracle.  Her eyes slowly close and she falls asleep on Fate’s shoulder.

“So if a villain dies, Kilanus can bring them back?  Oh, just kill me now and get it over with!” Hydrana hollers.

“Calm down, water sprite.  What about that genetic tampering?  Why did they choose Fate?  And how did they get his DNA?” remarks Infinity.  He turns the computer off and looks toward SEAS’s containment gem.

The powerful computer answers, “Fate was proven to be the most powerful guardian, so that is why they copied his genes.  His full potential was evident, even before Solix approached him.  There is a good explanation for how they got the DNA.  Mindtrigger probably took a DNA scan like I did while you were still on Earth.  After that, he simply replicated the genetic codes he wanted.  With all of the alien technology they have, it is more than simply possible to accomplish this feat.  There is no telling what other little surprises Kilanus was given.  She could even have Fate’s luck powers.  Though I doubt it.  Immortals with two birthright powers are rare and it is even rarer that they can control the energy.”

“We’ll worry about all of these things when the time comes.  Right now, we have another question to find an answer to,” says Fate while he gently wakes Miracle up from her brief nap.

“Let me guess.  You want to know if any of us are planning to leave.  Well forget about it because we’ve already said that we’re staying,” mutters Miracle as her emerald eyes open and she puts on a weak smile.

“That was when Solix was still with us.  Adriana said that this fight was the beginning of the Immortal Wars.  If you decide to stay, then expect to go through hell.  I’m stuck here as the new leader, but any of you are allowed to leave if you want to,” explains Fate.  He looks around the Main Hall at the other three guardians and waits for each of their answers.

“Psylon and I still have a fight to finish.  Right now, this little water sprite is going to sleep.  See all of you in the morning,” says Hydrana as she walks out of the room.  Fate looks over at Infinity, who is removing his shimmering, obsidian cloak.

“A leader is only as good as his troops and you have the best troops you could possibly get for free.  Meet you in the game room for breakfast.  Just don’t wake me up early or I swear that I’ll kill all of you,” says Infinity before he leaves Fate and Miracle.

“What about you?  You almost died today, Kelly.  Are you staying even after the beating you took?” asks Fate while he helps the injured guardian to her wobbly feet.

“Like you should talk.  Besides, it takes more than being dragged around an entire planet to make me quit.  Takes two planets and a small moon at least.  These wounds will go away in a few days, but I promise that I will still be here with you.  You didn’t think I would even consider leaving you alone up here with Hydrana and Infinity.  They would drive you crazy after a few minutes.”

“The thought of you leaving never crossed my mind,” whispers Fate after lightly kissing her on the head.

“Remember what you promised.  We’re going to spend eternity with each other and that won’t happen if I’m on Earth and you’re stuck in the sun.  Now, help me get to my room because I can’t feel my legs,” orders Miracle with her usual carefree smile.  Fate picks her up and carries her out of the Main Hall.  The last person to leave the room is SEAS as his red containment diamond slowly fades to black.

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Wizard, Magician, Magic-User, Sorceress, Witch, Warlock, Caster, Etc.

It seems there are so many words out there to denote practitioners of magic.  That’s only the arcane side of things and not the holy ones too.  Imagine if we add priests, priestesses, paladins, druids, and the rest of those who tend to use magic in fantasy.  Even with all of this, people tend to only really use ‘Wizard’ and I put the blame squarely on these two:

Gandalf and Dumbledore

Because of the popularity of certain fantasy series, people tend to only use wizard and not even acknowledge the others.  It gets even messier when you factor in some Harry Potter fans accusing Tolkien of plagiarism, especially when it comes to the Hocus and Pocus up there.  Let’s not get into that one because it really only shows how many people don’t bother learning the history of the genre.  That and how they can’t look up which series came first.  In the end, we find that potential readers seem to adhere to a single phrase for certain things and then get angry when it appears everywhere.  Any authors who try to stand out can cause confusion.

Which brings me to the word I use: Caster.

Early on when I started writing Legends of Windemere, I found that I was switching terms a lot.  Some people who read my stories and didn’t know fantasy thought the terms each pointed to a different thing.  I changed them all to ‘magic-user’, which was frustrating and kind of lame to use.  I mean, someone who uses an enchanted spoon to make soup could technically be a ‘magic-user’.  I considered going to ‘Wizard’, but I didn’t think it would be smart to get that close to Potter terminology.  So, I sat down before I published Beginning of a Hero and thought about what to do.  My train of thought went like this:

  • These people use magic.
  • They cast the spells.
  • I’ll call them casters.
  • Around The Compass Key getting published:  I think my love of ‘Outlaw Star’ influenced this choice too.

It’s the same logic though.  Spellcaster is a term and it got shortened to caster, which I add to other schools.  Song Casters and Necrocasters are two examples.  You can go with unique names for specialties too like the Chronos, Channelers, and Slumberlord since they are fairly unique.  Yet, you do need a general name and ‘Wizard’ is so popular that it doesn’t have an impact.  To come up with something unique, you really need to analyze your fantasy world and take everything into account.  Windemere is very magical with it being everywhere, so a casual and non-flashy term such as ‘Caster’ works.  It really does sound like a job in a way, which it can looked at as.  That isn’t to say it always hits the right note either.  Still, I think I’ve done better than others.

I’ve read several fantasy books where authors create their own languages and one of the words is something they use to refer to Magicians/Wizards/Witches/etc.  A lot of it depends on how you introduce and use the word.  Having it only be in narration and not dialogue can hurt because it doesn’t feel natural.  It would be like the narrator saying ‘plumber’ while the characters used other terms to describe the guy fixing the toilet that they broke.  The denizens of your fantasy world need to use all created words when appropriate or it falls flat.  This is exceptionally true with these characters because you know they’re going to be in the action.  Also, they’re bound to be questioned or explained since we lack magic in our world.

If you’re going to create a term for something that we all know then you have to give it some depth.  You need to make it part of the world for it to stick.  Science fiction uses fake science terms all the time and historical fiction can fudge things a bit.  Both of those genres get taken to task for terminology and it’s done a lot more than fantasy, which has a bit more freedom.  Even if you come up with the term on the fly and don’t have a way to flush it out in that specific scene, you can always have a brief conversation to explain it.  This is a big reason why I always have the ‘questioning’ character in my stories because it allows for the readers to be taught as well.  You really do need something like this when using a new term for something common.  Depending on a reader to make the connection doesn’t always work or can get the wrong result if they think you’re being cute.  Doesn’t have to be an info dump, but there should be something.

All of this being said, an author shouldn’t feel forced to create their own term.  I went with ‘Caster’ because I wanted a single word to stand out and, quite frankly, nothing else seemed to fit Windemere for me.  That’s just me.  Plenty of authors use ‘Wizard’ and it’s been the top choice for decades if not centuries since we’ve got Merlin.  You also have variations that denote gender like ‘Sorcerer’ and ‘Sorceress’ if you want to make that kind of split.  There is a use for all of the terms and you can use them to all if you wish.  Maybe you’re world has a different role/school for each one.  You could not want to bother with this aspect and stick to ‘Wizard’.  It’s really up to you in the end.  As long as you make it work for your world and remain CONSISTENT, it should work out.

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Three Literary Elements: Theme

Staci Troilo's avatarStory Empire

ThemeCiao, SEers. I’m going to round out my posts for the year with a discussion of literary elements and how they interact. There are probably as many opinions of the number of literary elements as there are authors who use them, but I’m going to focus on three in particular that work in tandem to strengthen a story—theme, subject, and symbolism.

Today, we’re going to talk about theme.

I’ve heard a lot of authors say “theme” is for literary fiction, not genre fiction, so they don’t consider it when they write. I’ve heard many others say they wait until they’re done with their story before even looking for their theme.

I maintain all fiction has a theme, and all authors have it in mind when they set out to tell a story (even if they don’t know it).

First, what is theme?

Theme (as it relates to fiction)…

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Teaser Tuesday: A Wild and Chaotic Ride #fantasy #vampires

Cover Art by Alison Hunt

Here we got for some fun from War of Nytefall: Eradication.  I almost forgot about this scene since it was off the cuff.  Enjoy.

Continue reading →

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Songs of Nytefall the Series

Cover Art by Alison Hunt

We’re going to get right into it.  All of these songs made me think about the overall series, including the ending.  I really hope some people go through the series to witness the ending because I’m proud of it.  Been planning it since Mab debuted in Legends of Windemere.  Now, enjoy the War of Nytefall songs.

There is a lot of pain in this book.  Characters are battered and brutalized emotionally throughout the series.  So, a song about hurt really fits.

I play this song whenever I think about Clyde in Nytefall.  While he doesn’t really see himself as a king or true ruler, others see him as such.  The tone of the song helps me imagine him in battle as well.  I believe it also pertains to how Clyde and Xavier are basically fighting over who will be the vampire leader.

Throughout it all, Clyde holds onto his dream.  As violent and monstrous as he is, the man is a big dreamer.  Even if success means that he has to disappear from society, he wants Dawn Fangs and mortals to live peacefully with each other.  The closer things get to the ending, the more complicated this dream appears to be.

Putting a fourth one on because this is the overall series.  I always liked this song and it makes me think of stuff being ‘epic’.  It fits for all of my series, but the climactic conclusion of Nytefall really stands out.  Hoping I can get it all out to you by the end of 2021.

See how far the Dawn Fangs have come in
War of Nytefall!

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Calling All Indie Authors!

Originally posted on Lucy Brazier: Despite whatever nonsense is thrashing about in the world right now, it is an inescapable fact that Christmas is …

Calling All Indie Authors!
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