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Don Massenzio Welcome to the 2018 author interview series. Author interviews will be posted every Friday throughout the year. I am honored to continue this series with English author and blogger Stevie Turner. For those of you that have read … Continue reading
Alucard from Hellsing
War of Nytefall is very much about Clyde because he was the first character I came up with and the adventure is based around him. He is a vampiric thief whose execution by the Followers of the Sun is interrupted by the Great Cataclysm. This event is when all all of the magic of Windemere went berserk and the entire world changed. Clyde is one of the results of this event with him becoming the first Dawn Fang. He is faster and stronger than other vampires, can retain his powers in the sun (‘true’ vampires require a night cloak when operating in the day), and other changes that you’ll learn about when you read the stories. Because his evolution is a core part of the story, I won’t go much into his powers and secrets.
Like most of the characters, Clyde started as a Vampire: The Masquerade character. He wasn’t my first one. That would be a nameless one who was an artist that didn’t last long in a combat-oriented game. Clyde was the first one I put effort into creating much like Luke Callindor with D&D. Unfortunately, I still thought vampires should be monsters, so my test game went a little . . . there was the chainsaw . . . a watermelon . . . department store fire . . . car chase . . . lots of bodies . . . Let’s just say the guy running the game told me after the first session that I had to calm Clyde down or he’d take away all of my humanity points. As it was, we had to drop it to 4 and that’s out of 10. Clyde would go on to be become a violent force of nature due to my really lucky rolls and him turning out to be the only vampire in a group of Mages. I didn’t want to switch over because I’d worked so hard, which almost made things difficult.
The solution to keeping him in the game was to make Clyde immune to the sun, which is unheard of in this system. It came with a price too. Vampires wanted to eat him because they thought he held the key to daywalking. Werewolves thought he stole an artifact. Mages considered him a walking exposure of the magic world, especially when he decided to become a Hollywood action star between adventures. Men in Black wanted him for experiments. A demon got pissed about being killed and banished by Clyde for 300 years, so that was going to be a problem. In his defense there, it had one Hit Point left at Clyde hit it and then everyone else in the group missed. Believe the finally blow was a halfhearted smack and a lot of cursing. Still, all of this combined to create the book version that you’ll meet in a few months.
One of the biggest challenges with Clyde in the book is that he’s a ‘hero’ who is normally unstoppable. He’s fairly similar to early version Wolverine in that he’s loyal to friends, but prone to bestial rampages when angry. Though, Clyde might do this when bored too unless Mab convinces him to go on a heist. Because of his power level, it’s hard to call him an underdog in a fight. So, I had to give him other weaknesses. This includes a strong desire for a challenge, which leads him to making the wrong decision on purpose. He’ll let an enemy with potential go in the hopes of getting a better fight or even reduce his strength to their level in order to draw things out.
Perhaps the biggest flaw is that he possesses a powerful blood lust that is always on the verge of taking over. One of the themes for Clyde is his loyalty and attachment to his gang, who help to keep him sane. It’s a strange dynamic that I’m struggling to build where he’s a monstrous outsider even among the Dawn Fangs at times. Yet, he needs social interactions and ‘human’ connections to retain what little humanity he has left. It’s an issue he’s aware of too, so his arrogance will be covering his worries at points. My hope is to use the inner turmoil to make him a multi-faceted character regardless of his physical superiority.
I will finish with a small story: I couldn’t put this into the series, but there is a nod to a game incident. Not going to say what it is, but I will tell the tale. During the Vampire/Mage game, Clyde made friends with a child mage who he kept convincing to enchant his chainsaw. It had unlimited fuel, fire blade, hurts ghosts, could be summoned, and fit in his pocket, which made it an insane artifact. The guy running the game wanted to stop all the enchanting going on, so he was going to kill off or at least badly hurt the Mage character. He first step was to make sure Clyde had no weapons to stop the M.I.B. agent sneaking up on the kid. I still had a move though, so I asked what I had. The only object in my pockets was an ear of corn I snatched as the characters drove through rural Kansas. Well, Clyde pumped up his strength, rushed ahead, grabbed the man, and plunged the corn into his windpipe. It was too glorious and unexpected for anybody to undo it, so the move stayed. We still joke about it too because that scene seemed to cement Clyde’s personality. Not declaring he’s a vampire in the middle of a werewolf holy site, killing the demon, punching a ghoul so hard that his arm with through its head, and other cool/comedic scenes. The ear of corn is definitely an RPG highlight with him and a fun inside joke for something that shows up at times in the book.
Hey there all you beat reporters and gumshoes. We’ve got an interesting case here today. This is Lisa Burton Radio, and I’m your host Lisa the robot girl. What happens when a carnival stripper misses her last show, is found murdered in her trailer, and local sentiment is to brush it all off?
I have with me today, the one person who seems to care. “Welcome to the show, Brian Stockton.”
“Thanks for having me. It’ll be good to get this story out there.”
“Now, Brian. I understand you work for the local newspaper. How did you get involved in this case?”
“It’s my job–guess my editor figured he could spare me from important stories like covering a Town Hall meeting or a loose cow running amuck on main street. So, he gave me this case to cover. Good thing, too. It needs the attention, with the police getting nowhere…
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Blood Match, a new thriller by Don Massenzio
You might remember that this book was a Kindle Scout candidate and it performed well lasting on the Hot List for 209 of 720 hours or some part of 11 out of 30 days with over 4,000 views.
Here is a blurb about the book:
Intelligence analyst Jake Balrich boards his Monday morning flight, as he has so many times, for routine field work. When the plane lands, a passenger fails to wake up. Jake soon realizes that the death was not accidental and is part of a murderous plot that will have Jake running for his life as he struggles with an unknown enemy that seems to guess his every move.
Blood Match is a thriller that examines the desire for gaining power with little regard for the human lives that are affected.
Follow Jake Balrich, as he enlists the help…
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The top post of 2017 originally went live on February 2.
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What was once vivid
Has faded into the bleak
Bright colors of youth
Have lost their luster
And continue draining
As the days go by
Is it the world around me
Or my own eyes have glazed?
Cataracts of pessimism
Forged by years of knowing
That life is no longer
Fun and games
__________________________________________________________
I actually came up with this poem idea earlier in the week. Thought I would remember it since I was driving, but it didn’t happen. Couldn’t even write it down because dying in a fiery wreck isn’t on my bucket list. Now, the day was overcast and gloomy because snow was coming. This immediately put me in a funk, which was increased by the usual stuff that is well-documented here. Gray weather always sinks my mood and it’s a slog to get any work done. At least these days.
Anyway, I passed by something that I’ve been passing ever since I went to elementary school. I don’t remember exactly what it was since I wasn’t paying full attention to anything other than where I had to make a left. Yet, my mind perceived that the object wasn’t the right color. I began noticing a melancholy coming over me and paid more attention to the colors around me. Things didn’t seem as bright as they were when I was a kid. I’m not talking about objects that had always been there. Just the entire world lacked something. Either that or I lacked it.
When watching my son explore the world, I wonder how vivid everything is since it’s all new to him. I’m old enough to have let most things fade into the background. Stop signs are only there when I’m driving. Trees and flowers aren’t examined with curiosity like when I was a kid. Things are simply there to me, but he sees nearly everything as a fresh experience. Maybe this is just part of being a kid and a side-effect of having very little knowledge and experience. Maybe things losing their vividness is part of life.
Yet, I do miss the sense of exploration and discovery, so maybe we aren’t really supposed to lose this part of ourselves. I can see how it’s useful, but I also know how often people tell you to leave it behind. Imagination, creativity, enjoying the world around you, and other ‘frivolities’ are either for kids or that 15-minute smoke break you get. Nobody wants to hear somebody talk about the beautiful flowers. They ask about your job. It really is like a cloak of translucent gray has been cast over my adult world and it takes a lot of conscious effort to see through to the vividness. Really makes me consider the possibility that we’re doing adulthood all wrong.
Out Now!—Finding Angel by Jan Graham (@jan_graham) #romance #suspense #romanticsuspense
Finding Angel release date: January 30th, 2018
Genre: Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Blurb:
It’s time to participate in a dangerous dance of murder, trust, love, and intrigue.
Trouble isn’t Angel’s middle name, so why does it follow her wherever she goes? Her life should be less complicated after the death of her ex, but his actions continue to haunt her. While trying to gain some distance from a crime boss who has a contract out on her, and a cop who believes she’s the key to taking said bad guy down, Angel runs straight into the arms of two dominant brothers with an unexpected interest in making her theirs.
Faced with a difficult choice, Angel must decide who she can trust. Two kinky brothers that she just met? A cop she has more in common with than she…
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This post originally went live on May 19.
Map of Narnia
There is a third group that is specific to the sea that is neither navy nor pirate. They might be found with those other two groups, but they are unique because of their goals. Even if you find them among outsiders, these ocean-traveling sailors and adventurers tend to stand out. Many believe they have been cursed by a wanderlust that directs them to the open sea. Others simply think they want the glory of discovering a new land since the group appeared only after the Great Cataclysm. No matter what, people have a lot of respect for the Mappers.
The name pretty much says it all. These are people who don’t care about riches, glory, fighting, or defending a nation. All they want to do is map out the oceans, which are vast and always changing. While they do have a handful of land-based members, the Mappers prefer the sea. Each one has their own reason for this, which is what lends itself to the wanderlust curse idea. Yet, there really aren’t many detailed maps of the ocean. You have the bigger pieces of land, but there are believed to be thousands of islands that were moved or created by the Great Cataclysm. This is why many Mappers claim that they are simply rediscovering the information that was lost. Still, there are those who want to find legendary lands and map them. Rumor has it that a special sect of Mappers even want to get to the the four moons of Windemere.
Unlike pirates and navy members, there isn’t much uniform to the skills of a Mapper outside of cartography and map-reading. They might have different tools, various levels of seamanship, and previous specialties. For example, a former forest tracker might use her skills to become a Mapper and be able to go it alone in some areas because of their combat training. Another might have magic while a third is also a priest. It is fairly rare that one finds a Mapper who doesn’t have a second job or come from an unconnected background since this is more calling than career. Those that are a Mapper from youth to old age end up gathering an assortment of skills. Like forest trackers, they are prized guides when one is adventuring, but the downside is you never know what else you’re getting. It doesn’t help that these people will only gloat about their mapping skills and not share what else they can do unless they trust you.
So, why are these people considered the third power of the Windemere seas? The answer is fairly simple. The other two groups would be in a lot of trouble without the Mappers doing what they do. Pirates and navies buy maps and navigation gear when they are traveling into unknown areas. Sometimes, they will keep a Mapper on the crew to help with traveling quickly and put the other sailors at ease. There is less fear of getting lost when these professionals are around, which is something they take pride in. Another service is that Mappers are always happy to train others in map reading and whatever navigation tricks they have. The veterans have special tools and styles, which go to a chosen apprentice. Yet, the basics are always on the table if they are given a chance to travel into a place they haven’t been to before.
One curious thing about Mappers is that they rarely interact with each other. There are only two reasons that they work together. One is a yearly gathering to compare notes and see if anybody has undone your previous work. This meeting bans all writing implements and memorization charms, but does allow map trading. Every Mapper has a collection that they are always looking to increase. Now, the other type of gathering is when several join forces to make a single crew. This happens when a special circumstance is discovered and multiple Mappers are after the same mystery. While some may want to race, most will work together on something that could be seen as a once-in-a-lifetime event. These outings can be chaotic though because you have conflicting personalities and there’s always a poor captain that they hire to help.
