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Originally posted on readful things blog:
My dad taught me to draw. In the beginning it was just doodles and random things. We would go out on nature walks and he would point out animal tracks and different patterns in…
Cover Art by Jason Pedersen
First, click on the covers for to go to the Amazon pages. Promo done? Good.
With Crossing Bedlam out and Legends of Windemere beyond the halfway mark, I’m left thinking about the two in comparison. Not an easy thing to think about since I never really thought I’d move so far out of fantasy. Sure, I toyed with science fiction, but this type of story never came up until recently. Not a bad thing. Just something I didn’t expect.
Compared to Windemere, Bedlam is way on the other side of my spectrum. Both have a large amount of action and violence, but Bedlam seems darker at most points. A big factor in this is how the characters react to killing. The champions don’t take any joy from killing while Lloyd revels in it. There’s a sense of amusement and glee in the action scenes of Bedlam while Windemere is more low key even when high adrenaline. This might have to do with my own mentality while writing them. I see Bedlam as an R-Rated action movie like Mad Max and Total Recall. I think the addition of guns and a real world setting makes the action scenes grittier and more ‘visible’. Windemere is closer to Lord of the Rings with a grandiose style of action that contains elements of the unreal. For example, you can clearly imagine a battle with Cassidy and Lloyd in their jeep with more ease than Luke Callindor battling trolls in a jungle. You have to put a bit more brain power into forming the troll in your mind than the jeep.
There is also a difference in language with Windemere only going so far as bastard and the occasional bitch and ass. Bedlam brings out my inner swear fiend. This was a choice of audience that I made for both series after some thought. The earliest version of Nyx actually had her swearing left and right because the person who played her in the game swore a lot. I changed this when I felt that it didn’t fit the fantasy setting and I remembered that I rarely ran into curse words in the stuff I read in my youth. So I made up my own insults and kept the mundane ones that I felt would work for the world. As far as Bedlam, I knew this would be more adult and society had collapsed, so Cassidy and Lloyd cursing often made sense. Especially Cassidy who is pure survivor and has little patience for manners. It’s weird because I feel off when I write the Bedlam crew yelling without curses and the same sensation comes over me if the Windemere cast drops a big swear word.
All of this is cosmetic differences though. That’s what I see when I look at characters, setting, atmosphere, action, and the plots. So is there anything similar? Possibly only me and what makes up my writing style. Both stories are written with high action and some humor in a present tense third person style. There is a focus on character development at times, but Windemere has that more than Bedlam. The latter requires that the characters not soften because the world is so dangerous. Again, I find myself pointing out differences, which makes me wonder if I have created something new for myself. A fresh playground to poke around in with these characters.
Keep in mind that I’ve been writing Legends of Windemere since 1999. I outlined stories for other worlds and other regions of Windemere, but eventually everything stemmed from Legends. Now I have Bedlam that can go on its own and let me flex a bit while I run toward the end of the big series. Is that why the two series are similar only in style and not in substance? As odd a question as it sounds, do other authors get confused when they write in two genres or worlds with such differences? What do people think about an author that writes series that vary so much in ‘rating’? I ask that last question because I’ve seen many authors go from a children or young adult series to an adult one and get backlash. Makes one wonder if an author can easily step into a new realm after they’ve become known for one.
Cover Art by Jon Hunsinger
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So . . . Be right with everyone. *watches son run back up the stairs for more toys and wonders what happened to his breakfast* It’s going to be one of those days, but that’s par for the course this week.
Let’s start with Crossing Bedlam. It got into the 50,000 rankings for a bit, but has stayed in the 100,000 region for the most part. No Top 100 Lists and it’s only had 9 sales as of this writing. The promo stuff is still coming out and I’m tweeting it alongside Mercenary Prince. Some people have given their opinions on why it hasn’t taken off like Windemere. Others have suggested that being a new series, it has to reach 3 books before it does anything amazing. I’m actually rather confused here because it felt like I did the pre-release hype better than I usually do. Then again, I’m probably also used to coming out of the gate stronger than this and I could be looking at what is supposed to happen when you start a new indie series. Keep in mind, Beginning of a Hero exploded on me soon after I released it and I never figured out why. All I was told is that it wasn’t common, especially in fantasy. As far as Bedlam goes, it’s been suggested that this is more of a male-oriented story and that might have to be taken into account.
This does bring up the question of if I should do a sequel. I’ve routed one from Texas to Florida and am setting up encounters. The ideas are flowing and I really love the world and characters. Yet, there’s that issue of viability that I comes to mind and makes me feel dirty. I love writing because I have fun and it makes me happy. Yet, the current situation (i.e.- My wife still can’t find work and keeps getting the rug ripped out from underneath her.) means I don’t have a lot of funds to work with. Legends of Windemere is already established. Crossing Bedlam isn’t. Yet, I don’t want to be the author who has a great idea that he tosses aside. Especially since I came up with such a great plot outline for the sequel:
“The Jeep gets stolen. Cassidy gets pissed. Lloyd is along for the fun.”
I guess we’ll see what happens when reviews start coming in. If they do since I have no control over that.
Beyond all that, this week was Winter Break for the kid. I spent the first half with a really bad cold and recovered in time for Thursday. The plan was to take my son to a ‘Free Play’ thing at a nearby fun zone type of thing. Got there 5 minutes after it opened and couldn’t even get into the parking lot. Birthday party. Same with the place across the street that had ‘Free Play’. So I drove off to another place that had something like this and found ‘Max Capacity’. Dang it. Well there was a little carousel that he could ride for 50 cents . . . I only had 25 cents. Going to the desk for change would make the kid think we were going inside, so we trudged back to the Target parking lot. He got a plush Woodstock out of the whole thing.
Plus side is that Friday went better:
That is a Plush Deadpool and Plush Woodstock in his hand
Before you say anything, we saw ‘Kung Fu Panda 3’. A lot of fun and he had a blast. He does know who Deadpool is, but is also aware that it is a ‘Mommy/Daddy Superhero’ and he isn’t old enough yet.
Other than all that, I finished editing The Spirit Well, which I hope will be out this December. This means I cleared the way and have things in my head to start writing Book 13: Ritual of the Lost Lamb. This is going to be a tough one because the system has changed a few times on it. Best way to explain things is that the champions got a kick to the face and they’re trying to recover. It’s actually been nearly 3 months since I wrote a new novel. Reminds me that I need to find a time to put that Ichabod Brooks story up here. Might do it after Tribe of the Snow Tiger comes out since I have March posts prepped and that book might be April. Sorry about the rapid fire releases, but I’m feeling like my time is running out.
What are the goals for this week?
Yep, that’s right. From Saturday, February 20th to Wednesday, February 24th, the Kindle edition of Visions will be available for free. Curious about the Hell Bent series and the characters therein (but not up for spending $2.99 for something you don’t know you’d like)? Well, here’s the perfect jumping-on point!
“Dr. Spencer Abbot has been searching for the ideal anniversary gift for his wife. When he and his friend Travis meet a woman that claims she can help, they accept.
The pair are led to Visions Studios. But instead of the boudoirs photos they’d intended to get, they stumble upon something far more sinister: snuff films.
Before long, it’s up to Travis to resolve their situation, no matter what tries to get in his way.
This first installment of the Hell Bent series blends urban fantasy, sci-fi, horror, a bit of humor, and plenty of action.”
So please feel…
View original post 14 more words
Darkness at the edges
Always has been
And will forever be
Yet every generation says
We will not be the last
We cannot be the last
Humanity is eternal
So our actions continue
Pointing fingers and passing debts
Believing the end is myth
There will always be tomorrow
Never stopping to ask:
What if the final generation
Is us?
