Kathy Bates in Misery
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Woody and Buzz from Toy Story
Pirates of the Caribbean
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(EVER FRIGGIN’ TIME!)
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Ritual of the Lost Lamb is doing well with sales, but it is going slower than the previous ones. The Top 100 lists are rough too. I’m writing this Friday night, so maybe I’ll have posted about getting on some for Men’s Adventures and Women’s Adventures before this goes live. I’m on a bunch of Top 100 New Releases, which is good. The roughness is that I’m seeing books can hold multiple spots if they come in Audio, Kindle, and Paperback/Hardcover form. Looks like only Beginning of a Hero is allowed on the Sword & Sorcery list too. No idea why since I put them in the search terms, but things look so chaotic at times. People can list their books as anything, so I’m wondering if the lists should be taken as seriously as before. Still, it would be nice to get all 15 books on a Top 100 list by the time it’s over. More a mark of pride than anything else.
The big writing project this week was final edits The Life & Times of Ichabod Brooks, which is going smoothly. I only have Zaria’s Kiss and The Vixen of Errenshar left, so I’m guessing I’ll be done by Tuesday. It’s going smoothly, so I don’t have much to report there. Don’t want to get into anything big before Memorial Day weekend, so I’ll settle for getting July blog posts done and tinkering with a few things. Best to keep it low key since the previous week was busy outside of the writing stuff.
There was a lot of non-writing stuff going on too. Monday is a blur for some reason, but Tuesday was my son’s Invention Convention. He got to present ‘Max the Cooking Robot’, so I had to be there. For some reason, I don’t have a picture of Max on my phone or computer. They’re probably still on the camera. My wife tried to make it too, but traffic foiled that plan. She made it for the part where I was about to leave with the project, so at least she got to say hi to his teacher. Prior to this post going live, we’ll be seeing his gymnastics show, so it’s a big week for him. Not counting the dentist appointment that ended with the mention of an orthodontist. Saw it coming from a mile away though, but I still hear the bank accounts weeping.
My own issue isn’t helping. Tonight, I do a home test for sleep apnea. Bring the sensor back on Monday and then we’ll see if I need a special mouth brace thingy. The dentist said something looked off, so I saw a specialist. I’m sure this is where some people go to the comments to declare their cures, opinions, and whatnot. We all know this is what we do when medical stuff comes up on the Internet. Well, the sleep apnea seems to stem from something else that will probably get laughter:
My tongue is too big for my mouth.
*Pauses for laughter and jokes*
I got an odd question about Protecting Bedlam, which will be hitting the blog from June to September. Guess people can just avoid me on those days if they have no interest since this series is a really hard sell. Anyway, the question was if I’ll be changing things as the political landscape changes. Honestly, I don’t need to because I quickly went off most of the source material pretty quickly. There were some ‘in’ jokes, but I eventually tried to make the villains and supporting cast have better personalities than ‘me bad guy who want power and money’. Basically, I started giving them quirks like the villains in previous books. With any luck, some people might like this story and check out the other 2 for $2, so it isn’t like I have anything to lose here. As it stands, I’m finding it tough to rationalize working on Derailing Bedlam since I can’t get the series to move. We’ll see what happens in a month or two.
Speaking of future projects, I’m still stumped on where to go. By mid-June, I’ll have edited the final Legends of Windemere books. So, I need to decide on the next project by that time. Do I work on the stand alone book that connects to the end of the big series? Maybe, but I don’t know when I could release that without causing an issue with potential spoilers. Would it be okay to release that in March/April if the finale came out in December? There’s also the need to start in on another series. If I put Bedlam in the corner then I’ll be setting my sights on The War of Nyt, which shows the rise of the Dawn Fangs in Windemere. Vampires still seem to be a touchy subject, but it’s the series that is closest to being written. That and this isn’t your typical vampire story. Whole civil war between the two species and how it came to be that the Dawn Fangs decided to live peacefully among the other creatures. For anyone who has read The Mercenary Prince, you might be wondering about that considering how powerful they are.
So, those are the three choices right now. Legends Stand Alone, next Bedlam story, or start in on the vampires. Hard to decide for some reason. How do other people choose the next project? Am I lost because it isn’t like I’m leaving Windemere behind since many of my other series are in the same world? When do I start reviving Super Earth and will it simply replace Bedlam as my non-fantasy side project? Just how many questions will I write until I get on with things? Is one more pushing it?
Goals!
Pictures of Max sent:
Quina from FFIX
This post is really just for myself and having some ‘documentation’. Legends of Windemere: Ritual of the Lost Lamb has hit a Top 100 list just like it’s older siblings. At least for a little bit. Still can’t figure out why only the first book is allowed on the Sword & Sorcery list:
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.
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Wanted
I know I promised the Ichabod Brooks blurbs on a post that most people don’t read over the weekend. Figure I have over a month to get that done, so I can get this brain worm out of my head.
So, I’m 37 and I recently considered all of the things that happened over the course of that time. Many ideas have come and gone, so few have reached completion. Plenty of games have been played and workdays have been slogged through. If lucky, I could live for another 37, which means many more events and ideas can occur. Yet, I wonder if there’s a point and also if the phrasing I had in the shower will return to me. Won’t bet on that last part.
For a while, I’ve wondered if humans simply waste most of their lives. I should say most humans because there are a handful that get to live out their dreams. Others make the best of their situation and still find happiness, which is the way to go. Yet, I’m seeing more and more people who simply hate where they are. I could list the problems, but it really boils down to something in their life sucks and they can’t find a way to change it. This is where somebody will step in to say ‘only you can change your life’. Very few people can simply quit their job and go into something else or cast the sources of negativity away because some of those are family. That phrase is actually fairly painful because it means the situation is entirely that person’s fault. For as much control as we have over our lives, the actions of others can impact us without us wanting them too. For example, a seasonal staffer steals money at a retail job and the management decides to let all of the seasonal staff go because everyone shared shifts at some point. That happened to me once and it was rather deflating.
Many questions turn up when I think about this:
As I watch sales trickle in even on the new book and struggle to think of promotional abilities, my mind drifts to how I spent my life. 10 years writing, editing, and submitting thinking I’d eventually get a bite. Nothing happened. 4.5 years living in Florida, which feels like a waste outside of the friends I made. Most of what I learned in elementary school has been forgotten because I had no use for it. College courses I took for graduation requirements are vague at best. Just how much of what I’ve done in my life has gone to waste and I simply did it because I had to. There wasn’t a connection to my endgame, which many people have tried to talk me out of. Even today, I get weekly inquires about when I’m going to grow up.
And there we also have it. People are very quick to tell others to put away the ‘childish things’ and act like an adult. If the fun stuff isn’t allowed when you grow up then what’s the fucking point? Does society require that an adult be miserable and never shed the illusion of maturity? Yeah, I said illusion because deep-down every person wants to go back to having fun like a kid. They want a day to lounge or a chance to grab the dream they never pursued. Is that what living is? Surviving and letting the regrets gnaw away at you until you either die, go insane, or make a move for the dream?
37 years! That’s how long I’ve been around and it’s only been the last 4 that I’ve put any real progress on my dream. Legends of Windemere has been in outline form for nearly a decade and 12 of the books weren’t even written prior to 2012. This isn’t counting Bedlam and Ichabod Brooks. What the hell could I have accomplished if I was allowed to charge into this world straight out of college? Well, there probably wasn’t a chance because e-readers and indie publishing wasn’t around. Yet, even when it started, I was convinced by others that it was a fad that I shouldn’t bother with.
Why did I listen to them? Because they were older than me, so I assumed they knew better since they’ve been around. We’ve all done that when younger. Then we hit the same age and realize those people are full of more shit than a latrine. You get there and suddenly you don’t feel wiser. You feel tired, battered, and end up staring at your past that is filled with only slightly more than nothing. You pick out the times you were too afraid or unconfident to do what you really wanted. A trend of people repeatedly talking you down from a ledge turns up too. They think you’re going to go splat on the ground, but they don’t see that you’ve got your wings ready. Their words make it that you forget you can fly if even for a little bit.
Now, this post has turned into a finger-pointing thing, but the truth between the lines is that I think people waste their lives. They listen to the wrong advice because it sounds good and safe. They believe that their chance for the dream will always come until it’s clear that it will never happen. I think all of us are guilty of this. We depend on people to help guide us, but nobody truly knows what we want and need except for us. Yet, we still listen and deny ourselves the dream.
It’s almost like society depends on people giving up on what they really want. Only so many people can stand at the top for some reason. I wonder what life would be like if we saw the world less like a jagged peak and more like a large plateau. Even better if there was room in this world for everyone to be what they dreamed of being. Imagine a world like that. Wonder how many problems would be solved if people were allowed the right to be happy with their dreams.
(Think this post got really far away from me.)
Welcome to another edition of Lisa Burton Radio. I’m your host, Lisa the robot girl. What if you had to completely reboot your life? Maybe it’s not so bad in your twenties, it might even seem common. But what about someone in their fifties? In the studio with me today is Imogen Smythe, and she’s had to do exactly that. “Welcome to the show, Imogen.”
“Thank you very much for having me on the show today Lisa it is great to be here.”
“My bio says you were happily married, but apparently that happiness was one sided.”
“I did consider myself happily married Lisa, and thought that my husband Peter was too. Unfortunately I discovered that for the last two years he has been living a double life. We have three amazing children, two daughters and a son and during the last twenty-five years we have faced challenges but also…
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Hello everyone, I’m Teagan Ríordáin Geneviene, taking a moment to lift you up, to help you thrive. What better place for me to do that than from the marvelous tree-house of the Story Reading Ape?
Sometimes I feel de-motivated, denied, discounted, discombobulated, or any other de or dis that nobody enjoys. However, there is one thing that always helps me change that feeling so that I can thrive — and that is motivating someone else. If I work at lifting someone else’s spirits, or promoting them in some way, I find that I’ve also motivated myself.
We rise by lifting others… Robert Ingersoll
Wishing you a Thriving Thursday.
Mega hugs,
You can read my serial stories and learn about my novels at my blog,Teagan’s Books. Click on over and say hello.
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Black Sails
Can’t talk about the good guys without touching the bad guys, but these aren’t always the bad guys. Close enough though. Pirates are a favorite enemy in adventure stories. Either they’re the main villains, the opposing army, the minions, or a momentary problem that the heroes stumbled into. For some reason, fantasy stories have oceans full of wandering pirates that pray they never run into a protagonist. Let’s be serious here. If they do run into a main character then their fate is a choice between death and noble heroism. That second option only happens if they have lines beyond ‘Arrrrr!’. ‘Tis a difficult life for a buccaneer in fantasy.
Seriously though, it is always a lot of fun to write pirates in a fantasy setting. They have such a hodgepodge of personalities, quirks, and gear. Think about how they loot ships for money and resupplying. The collection of magical items alone makes them a fairly unpredictable force. You don’t know if you’re getting a swashbuckler with a regular sword, enchanted sword, magic boots, or a wand of fire wasps up their sleeve. This is a reason why the navy hasn’t wiped out the pirates too. It’s difficult to plan against a force that isn’t a unified group. Every ship for herself with some flimsy alliances and nothing more than common rules to join them.
Now, I am making pirates seem rather goofy and random here. They can always be that sometimes. Yet, they are a major threat or a great ally depending on what happens. Most times, a pirate will be selfish and become a hindrance if they join a team. Their nature is to look out for themselves, their crew mates, and their ship. So there is a loyalty similar to what the navy has. Both have a foundation of family in a way, but they deal with betrayal a lot differently. Navy will fire or jail you while pirates will kill you. Usually since they could also turn a traitorous crewman over to the authorities for the reward by using a middleman that gets a cut. In this way, the Windemere pirates are very cunning and most of those that rise up the ranks study the history of their profession. These aren’t stupid or lazy people.
My pirates do tend to be more like the ones you see on TV and in movies. If they show up as bad guys then they’re fairly aggressive and most will fight to the last man. Those that show up as good guys are jovial, tough, and will leave as soon as they lose interest in the adventure. I should say typically because there are a few series that involve pirates to some extent. One has them in a closed off area and the ‘crew’ are people taken from various worlds. Still trying to figure that one out or see if I should simply make them all different types of pirates. Another has a character who decides to become the pirate captain of a ship and crews it with elementals. So, it’s hard to put them into the same category as the standards.
I would say as far as power and influence goes, the pirates have a leg up on the navy because they travel everywhere. With no kingdom to control them, they only have their whims and desires to restrain their travels. Probably makes them rather appealing to people in that world too. Also, it’s the big reason you will see them turn up more often in my stories.
Legends of Windemere 