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Don Massenzio Today we sit down with writer and blogger Christina Weigand. Chris specializes in YA books and shares with us her inspiration, a bit about her process, and an excerpt from her work. Please enjoy this installment of 20 … Continue reading
Cover Art by Jason Pedersen
Hair– Blonde
Eyes– Green; Later chocolate brown with gold flecks and black circles
Race– Half-Elf
Hometown– Haven
Career– Forest Tracker
Weapon(s) of Choice– Twin Sabers
Debut Book– Legends of Windemere: Beginning of a Hero
Luke Callindor was born to be a hero. At least that’s what he was told since he comes from the famous Callindor lineage. Since childhood, he has been trained in combat, tracking, monster lore, and various wilderness. By the time Luke turns eighteen, he has made up his mind to become an adventurer. Running away from home with his loyal dog, Stiletto, he has no idea what he is getting himself into. A famous name can only get him so far before experience and skills can finish the job.
Being the first hero who appears in the Legends of Windemere series, Luke is shown at the beginning of his adventurers. He is cocky, stubborn, and still working with the idea that destiny is in his favor when he lies to get his first adventure. Pitted against a demonic assassin and under the suspicious eye of a famous mercenary, Luke quickly realizes that he may have made a mistake. It doesn’t take long for him to learn that trustworthy friends are the key to his survival. This is only his first lesson and he continues to grow as his story progresses alongside the other destined heroes.
Throughout the series, Luke Callindor relies on his courage and ability to think on his feet more than being tactical. He is spontaneous and unpredictable to both his enemies and allies, which has managed to keep him alive even in the most challenging situations. Luke is also a very quick at learning new skills and adapting, which is an ability that he is not entirely aware of. He works off instinct when backed into a corner or he sees someone in danger. Growing up with dreams of heroism, he will routinely risk his life to save his friends or even total strangers from danger. As admirable as this is, his enemies know that this can be used against him.
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First, I know it’s July 4th here, so I’m not expecting too much traffic for this post. Also, why I’m going to keep it semi-short and leave it open to conversation for those that happen to be in the blogosphere. Funny stuff will come on Wednesday and Friday, so let’s get to the topic of the week.
Many lengthy fantasy series will hit a point where the heroes need to travel to a distant kingdom. Sometimes this is over a mountain or through a desert, but other times it involves getting across an ocean. This brings on a new set of dangers. You fall off your horse, you can usually get back on. Fall of the ship? Heavy armor sinks you to the bottom, sea monsters might be out there, you need the crew to throw you a rope, your disappearance might not even be noticed, and so many other terrifying things that simply doesn’t happen on land. You can’t just stay in place when you go overboard like if you were lost in a forest. Currents will move you and most of the danger is beneath your line of sight. At least if the author chooses to use the journey for more than a casual conversation piece or does a ‘time passes’ jump.
The difficult thing with writing a scene that takes place on the water is that you really need to change your way of thinking. A ship is a small space for characters to interact in, especially if privacy or large movements are needed. This means I have to keep my action scenes compact and in the rigging for the more acrobatic heroes. When it comes to casters, I have to remember that wood is flammable and they run a very high risk of destroying the transport. Just thinking of the list of things I have to consider for a lengthy water journey is making my head spin. Not to mention the wildlife, which typically touches on an instinctive fear of the open ocean that most humanoids have. You’re truly defenseless in the water without magic that counters all of the challenges.
So, what do you think about adventures that move from land to sea? What about those that take place entirely in the sea? Can you answer without mentioning anything from Pirates of the Caribbean or saying ‘Release the Kraken’? Have a feeling I just lost at least half of my audience with that last one.
Not sure where I’ve heard the above from, but it come up in the anime channel I listen to on Pandora. So, what happened?
Writing
Accomplished nothing since kid was on vacation. Hoping to start writing Chasing Bedlam when his summer session starts. Technically, I started it with that teaser a few months back and I’ll be expanding that for the first chapter section. I can already tell in my mind that Lloyd might be a little milder and Cassidy will be a little wilder. We’ll see as things progress.
Blogging
Got all of the August posts scheduled and I started a Sunday guest promo event. Got a lot of volunteers, so I hope it goes for a while. Beyond that, I had a lot of trouble keeping up with things. Might as well get to the meat of the week.
Parenthood
I had to be more father than author this week because my son doesn’t start his summer session until next week. The heat made things rough, especially on the days I did my biking. What sinister being made it that you continue sweating after a shower if the weather is a certain way? This was frustrating, but we tried to do as much as we could without exhausting ourselves. A lot of low key stuff like the playground, sprinkler, movie at home, and just having fun.
Thursday was the big day at the petting zoo. I promised that my son could feed milk to the baby goats since we usually only do the dry feed. We saved that for after he got to feed the camels, alpacas, sheep, cows, and zebras. He always loves the camels because they’re big enough to lean over the railing and take the food from him. Only animal that beats it is a giraffe, but that’s another place. The bottle feeding didn’t go as he expected because the babies didn’t care. The adults wanted the milk, one in particular butting others out of the way to make sure he got fed. My son thought it was hilarious and it was the third best moment of his day. Second was being chosen to help hold up a ring during the parrot show and first was getting his picture taken with two parrots.
The heat was a problem though because we were both out for too long. He threw up later that day and I simply collapsed with no energy. Guess the plus side is that he’s now aware of what happens when he’s outside for too long. So he’s better about coming inside when I ask. I only need to figure out another day of activities for Tuesday, which might be public sprinklers and a local Fireman Museum. Still have no idea when he’ll get picked up by the bus, so we’ll see what the new weekly schedule turns out to be. His schedule is what sets the stage for mine.
Well, that’s really it. Books are selling, stress is still high, energy is still low, and I feel like I have more dreams than time. Never got around to making a list of superhero stories to sort through them again. Maybe I’ll just divide it into the big heroes that I still feel connected to. Probably a level of stubbornness that prevents me from discarding some of the characters, but it might come down to that. This is why I really need the list and to find a listening ear to go over it with. Not too big a priority since I still have Legends to work on and several series would come first if I ever get to them.
Goals of the week?
“But…but…but…THAT”S not YOUR name as the Author!” I hear you declare indignantly…
That’s TRUE – I’M not the AUTHOR, my Mother is, but unfortunately she is not alive to publish it herself, (she died in 2000), so I’ve published it in her name.
Today would have been Mum’s 90th birthday if she’d still been alive, so my sister and I felt that this book would be a nice way to celebrate Mum’s life and memory.
What’s it about?
As stated in the book description:
We all have dreams, loves and hopes; but what if you are a girl growing up in 20th century Northern Ireland before, during and after the ‘Troubles’?
From the poetic thoughts of our Mother, we get a sense of what it was like, ranging from humour, sadness, wistful thinking and sometimes just downright nonsensical, these are the words of one such girl.
Each poem tells a story.
My sister…
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Morpheus from The Matrix
First, know that this is a sticky post for the week and new stuff is going on below. I keep finding new posts are ignored when I have something fastened to the top, but I want this here for a bit.
Starting in August, I’m going to be opening Sundays to authors who want to make a guest post or simply promote their books. All you have to do is make contact, send me the post with links and pictures, and I’ll set it up. This is going to be a first come, first serve email type of deal. I figure Sunday is a good day to have one up and leave it at the top. I’ll be doing a sticky post for it that will last until the next morning when the Monday post goes up.
So, let me know if you’re interested and we’ll try to set something up. Email is lukecallindor@gmail.com. Enjoy the weekend.
EDIT: I just realized how silly it is to wait until August. The original plan was for this to be a Thursday thing, but I know a few people who do events on those days. To avoid stepping on toes, I switched to Sunday. That means we can start this right away.
When I move house I always ask myself, how long will it be before I feel at home in this new place? I worry about being able to join a new community? Will I meet people who will become friends? My novel Alone: A Winter in the Woods probes those questions and others that arise for immigrants and settlers, wherever they find themselves.
I’m wearing a T shirt today which says “Never stop exploring,” but I discovered long ago that exploration doesn’t necessarily mean travelling, but instead digging deeply into one’s surroundings. When I left Toronto, to live in the country after many years teaching in the inner city, we explored the area around our new home. One of our favourite places is Presqu’ile Provincial Park, a small peninsula which curves out into Lake Ontario. Mixed woods and a marsh harbour a multitude of birds, animals and wild flowers. The…
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I noticed that I focus a lot on eyes in my stories. The color, where they’re looking, and what a character sees. Might stem from me being a very visual learner.
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Vivid blues to tempt our heart
Deepest browns to calm our soul
Brilliant greens to enchant our mind
Noble gray to ensnare our sight
Soft hazel to warm our spirit
Rarest amber to grab our curiosity
Our eyes are key to taking hold
Growing deeper with each year
Wisdom shines behind their hues
Purest orbs that twinkle in elation
Or weep when sadness hits
They will see it all until they close
And take their final blink
JULY SALE! #Smashwords The Spanners Series’ #ebooks 75% off & #CreateSpace #paperbacks 25% off for July!
The Spanners Series first three Volumes of utopian science-fiction/romance by Sally Ember, Ed.D. are on sale NOW! Proud member of Clean Indie Reads #CR4U and Fantasy and Science-Fiction Network #FSFnet
The Spanners Series‘ cover art and logo by WillowRaven: http://www.willowraven-illustration.blogspot.com/
Smashwords is having its annual July Summer/Winter Sale and The Spanners Series‘ ebooks in every format (reader’s choice) are either free (Volume I) or only $1.00 (usually $3.99) for the entire month! See below for info and coupon codes! And, go browse on Smashwords for other great discounts and sales!
Whether you’re sweating, freezing, rained or snowed on or anywhere in between, it’s time to READ!
Give books for gifts for birthdays, graduations, holidays, anniversaries, vacations: any time!
The paperbacks of all three Volumes at 25% off on CreateSpace! See…
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