Tymely News
Work in Progress #1: Troll War #1 (June 21-28)
Eight days ago, I started work on one of my many planned novels, Troll War
For a while now, I've been thinking it might be fun to write a little something about each day's writing, as a sort of journal of my work in progress.
I'll be doing this on Mastodon for daily posts and on this blog for more in-depth information every weekend.
To start the ball rolling, I've been posting my daily updates on Mastodon all week: https://mastodon.social/@OwenTyme/112672253855096568
These are each short, normally detailing one chapter, because that's roughly my minimum average output. From time to time I may post twice in a day, if I've done things that need to be broken up.
The rest of this post will be my first weekly update.
Basics of the Setting
Troll War takes place in a galaxy not unlike our own, on a world similar to Earth, though with the addition of magic. It won't play too big a part in the novel, but there's a whole galaxy of sci-fi wonders out there, including an AI species that's consuming the resources of the galaxy to spread like a plague, but that won't become a big part of the story until book 2, AI War.
The series is titled Rumors of War.
This as yet unnamed world (the inhabitants probably call their planet some uncreative translation of the word 'dirt', just like we do) includes a variety of fantasy races. So far, I've only mentioned humans, elves, dwarves, trolls, gnomes, goblins and dark fairies (but this implies the inclusion of light fairies). The other races will likely play a part in book 3, Magic War.
As for technological level, I'm intentionally breaking with tradition and not using a medieval setting, placing the people of the various races collectively somewhat beyond the Victorian-era of technology, with a fantastic flare, but only when considered as a homogeneous people, which they most certainly are not.
Dwarves
The dwarves have advanced steam technology and metallurgy, including vehicles and trains of all kind, but have stuck by their old melee weapons, shields and armor, because the best firearms they've managed on their own are muskets, though they don't know the secret to making black powder or gunpowder, getting that from humans. Their axes do include one-shot muskets, however, in place of the ax handle.
Dwarves don't use magic directly, but their best craftsmen are somewhat mysteriously able to craft magic items and their magic is always of the best quality. They do this by starting with magical materials they've dug from the ground, such as mythril.
Humans
The humans are most advanced in firearms and the family of Lady Gunn (see below) are the principle inventors of guns. In particular, repeating pistols and rifles will play a part in battle later in the book, once things really get going.
Elves
Elves mostly eschew technology in favor of magic, but they have nothing against purchasing technological items from other races, if they find them useful. This may change over time or it may not. I'm undecided, but the local elves in the book are very much linked to the humans, since they're governed by the same king.
Trolls
Trolls are surprisingly advanced in medicine, because they have the advantage of being able to experiment with bodies that rapidly regenerate and the real truth is that their doctors (if you could call them that!) are able to produce frightening abominations of biology that would terrify even modern men, shaping the bodies of trolls until they become something new and horrifying.
It isn't uncommon for a troll to reattach severed limbs and with the assistance of another, they can reattach a severed head.
It isn't obvious to an outsider, but troll women look just like human women, aside from being exceptionally attractive, with starkly-white hair.
Troll women are all effectively witches, with a style of music-based magic unique to them. They prefer, but are not limited to mental magic, with a heavy emphasis on telepathy. Illusions come almost as easy to them.
Trolls strongly believe that might makes right. They're secretly ruled by their women, because their magic makes them believe they're superior to men and the men have never been strong enough to resist.
Notable Kingdoms
Oswil is the human/elf kingdom, to the north of the main trade road. The southern end of the kingdom is human land and the north end is elf land, though they all live under the rule of a human king.
To the southwest of Oswil is Utros, the troll kingdom, which is outwardly ruled by King Shengis, though he's actually a puppet of the troll Queen, Nepita. Utros is mostly in the mountains and the land is rich with iron.
To the southeast of Oswil is Fortune Fields, the dwarf kingdom, which is mostly a large, open plain, though there are swamps and mountains on the western edge. The land is rich with copper, iron, silver and gold.
The three kingdoms form the primary setting of Troll War.
Prologue
The majority of the prologue was written as a result of some inspiration about five months ago and on Friday of last week (the 21st), I did some clean-up work and then finished it.
This initial scene takes place in a tavern on the southern outskirts of the human kingdom of Oswil, which hosts bare knuckle matches with very few rules.
On this particular day, a human noblewoman, Lady Gunn, has been invited to join another noble, an elf wizard named Lord Rolar. Lady Gunn isn't pleased by how dirty the tavern is, but she's pleased by the fine wine her companion offers her and a match between a dwarf and a troll begins.
Dwarves are well-known for how sturdy they are, on top of being incredibly stubborn. Their fighting spirit is second to none and getting a dwarf to back down is next to impossible. This particular dwarf is used to slowly wearing his opponents down by having far greater endurance, on top of being able to punch like a fully-loaded mine cart.
Trolls, on the other hand, have the wondrous power to regenerate from most any wound, a power they use to out-last most any opponent they might face in battle. This particular troll is used to taking hits and growing back, outlasting his opponents though masochism and an incredible tolerance for pain.
Lady Gunn is soon drawn into the fight, selecting the dwarf as her choice of champion to cheer for.
The one-on-one fight rages for six hours, until the dwarf is exhausted, but still standing and the troll is on his feet, but he's begun to exhaust his body's resources useful for regeneration, starting to lose his edge though hunger.
The tiny thought I had in the back of my mind for this is that each time a troll heals, they become slightly more hungry. While they're able to recycle damaged cells and restore their bodies, there's a lasting cost in the form of a metabolic price that must be paid to activate the magic used for this.
Both combatants are at the end of their rope, breathing heavily and the troll isn't regenerating anymore, because he's too hungry. They nod to each other with mutual respect.
The dwarf asks, "Shall we end this by putting everything we've got into one last exchange?"
The troll agrees and they both abandon defense, charging each other for one, final strike! The troll dies as a result and the dwarf is briefly praised as the winner, but just as he starts a speech about his victory, he falls dead, min-sentence.
Seeing the results, Lord Rolar asks, "To the south of Oswil, we have two nations, Fortune Fields and Utros, ruled by dwarves and trolls, respectively. After this evening's spectacle, can you imagine what might happen if circumstances conspired to send them to war?"
Lady Gunn proposes they settle the question with their usual bet at stake: thirty silver pieces.
Chapter 1: Don't Kill the Messenger!
Nepita, Queen of the Trolls sits upon her throne in the great hall of Utros, surrounded by the women of her court, feeling bored.
He thoughts are interrupted by a nervous boy entering the room, carrying a message from the troll king, Shengis, claiming an elf has been captured entering the kingdom.
Nepita invited the boy to come closer and realizes she's looking at her own son, who she handed off to her mate to raise, once he was weaned. She feels a strangely sudden sense of attachment to the fourteen year old boy and grants him the title of 'Prince', similar to the way she granted her mate the title of 'King'. She orders her right-hand woman, Anji, the Weapon Master, to take the boy away for training, then orders her sister, Illa, to test the boy for magic potential, which flies in the face of tradition.
Nepita silences the resulting argument with a thunderous shout and then orders the room cleared. She may have a sentimental side, but Nepita is also unpredictable and beyond deadly. She respected by the entire court due to the way she broke every bone in her grandmother's body, to gain the throne. She's also well-known for revisiting any offense ten-fold, which is her standing international policy.
Raising her voice in song, Nepita touches the mind of her mate, Shengis, that she might use him like a puppet.
Through his eyes, she observes the elf prisoner, who explains his presence by offering up a journal taken from an ill-fated party of dwarves that had been on a spying mission inside troll lands.
It is hinted, but not spelled out that this elf is Lord Rolar, last seenin the prologue.
Nepita speed-reads the journal and is both furious with the dwarves and eager for war, because it will interrupt her boredom.
Disconnecting her mind from Shengis, she calls Anji back into the room, giving orders for the coming conflict.
Chapter 2: Disturbing the Peace
King Gorgo Windmaker, the Tenth, King of the kingdom of Fortune Fields, receives a guest.
Lady Gunn hands over a journal she claims was captured from trolls, which details their spying operation and observations of the dwarf kingdom.
King Windmaker values his profitable business relationship and even friendship with the trolls, despite their obvious differences, but he can't ignore the journal, so he sends his son, Prince Kadrek, as an envoy to Utros, to seek a peaceful conclusion to the conflict.
The price has an eerie journey up the canyon leading to the palace of Utros, until he hears singing that absolutely entrances him, drawing him every forward, until he lays eyes on four troll women. He stares at them in a trace as his men are slaughtered, but just as he's about to be killed, their leader, Anji, recognizes him, having sen the Prince though her mate's eyes.
She orders the prince stripped, shaved and his memory of troll women wiped, then sends him on ahead, for interrogation. The Prince is put to sleep by a magic lullaby.
Chapter 3: Declaration of War
When Kadrek wakes, he faces Shengis and Nepita looks on him through her mate's eyes.
He explains his presence and begs for peace, but neither of the troll rulers believes him, thinking his father sent him under false pretenses.
They hear him out, then give him an ultimatum to deliver, before giving him the night to rest, because eh it's a long, naked, barefoot run back to the palace of Fortune Fields, which he should make sure he hurries to complete, because he has limited time to warn his father before two more villages are destroyed (he's informed of the plan to destroy Flintbrook; see next paragraph).
While the prince sleeps, Anji and her army arrive at the smallest dwarf village along the border to Utros, Flintbrook. They slaughter every dwarf they find, not even sparing the children, and arrange the bodies to spell out a horrifying message: THE PRICE IS TEN-FOLD! They leave no stone of the village standing on another, using bursts of magic to level every structure they find.
At dawn, the prince is released and he runs the entire way, leaving his feet a bleeding mess. He collapses in the throne room and tells his father he must immediately respond with his acceptance of the destruction of Flintbrook or be prepared to lose Withermine and Razorpoint Refuge, followed by all-out war.
Last of all, he warns his father the soldiers should plug their ears and not listen to the singing, before he passes out.
Chapter 4: War Machine
Furious, King Windmaker shouts, "By Nobris, ye don't shave a dwarf's beard!"
Here's a helpful quote from what I've written, to explain:
Nobris was the god of dwarves, industry and beards, who was widely believed to have gifted the dwarf race with their talent for mining and crafting. According to legend, he’d also given them their beards, which grew thicker and longer than the hair of women. To a dwarf, their very beard was a sacred, god-given gift and shaving it off was said to be an affront to Nobris, whom they praised more than any other god. In short, the trolls hadn’t just shamed the prince, but they’d also insulted Nobris.
Kadrek is carried off by the healers, while the King erupts in orders to prepare his kingdom for war. In particular, he orders his war-riders gathered at the west gate, then makes his way to the back of a statue set behind his throne, climbing a ladder to the platform, which allows access to the interior of the statue, which is filled with buttons, levers and other controls. He opens the shutters covering the windshield of the definitely-not-a-statue, allowing more light in, then shuts the back hatch.
He activates the steam engine in the belly of his war-rider, which is actually a huge, steam-powered mech shaped like a giant dwarf armed with an ax and shield. Likewise, the war-riders occupied by his royal guardsmen come to life and they march down the hall, though a huge pair of brass-shod doors.
They emerge on the main street of the royal city and every dwarf witnesses the huge machines in motion, coming to the same conclusion: the kingdom is at war. The workers on their way home from work turn around to volunteer for another shift, while the busy streets are soon cleared, as every man, woman and child among the dwarves sets out to contribute to the war effort, as one lone street vendor, who used to be a royal guardsman sheds a tear for the looming future and the loss of peace, likely with the only joy being the joy of fighting.
Chapter 5: Bloody Razor
I didn't get very far on this chapter, doing little more than writing descriptions as King Windmaker's war-riders gather, then set out, one two companies off to Withermine, while he takes another two off to Razorpoint Refuge.
Razonpoint Refuge is a fort built at the deepest portion of a crescent-shaped mountain named Razorpoint Ridge. The interior of Razorpoint Ridge faces into Fortune Fields and is topped with razor-sharp obsidian, while the prevailing wind blows right into it. The top is high enough that it touches and shaves the bottom off of clouds, causing the land beneath to often fill with fog, incidentally watering the crops for the dwarves living there.
Not only is it fruitful land, but also extremely defensible, so the King's father built a fort there, using the excuse of defending the nearby trade road, to the north, to justify putting a fort so close to troll lands.
King Windmaker splits his force in two, placing them near each tip of the crescent, that they might use a pincer attack when the trolls inevitably come.
Depite the fact backup is on the way, the King worries: Razorpoint Refuge is an impenetrable fortress, impossible to take by force, and yet, the trolls openly declared it as one of their first targets in the war, as if it were a place of weakness. He can't help but wonder what they know that he doesn't.
The answer will become clear on Monday, when I resume writing, but I'm leaning toward it being a matter of troll women and their magic. On the other hand, the trolls have no idea the dwarven war-riders even exist, so it should be a really fun opening battle for the war, with unexpected outcomes on both sides. However, unless I change the chapter title, the battle is going to be bloody.
Tags: writing, work-in-progress, rumors-of-war
More Short Stories
After spending an inordinate amount of time fiddling with the details, including small adjustments to CSS files to allow for the posting of properly-formatted prose on my website, I've posted a pair of my old short stories from the days when I put my work up on Wattpad.
The first of these is Community Service Fairy Godmother and the second is Sweet Surrender, which will become the next two entries in my Short of Tyme series. You can find links to their pages there or click on the titles, below.
Neither has cover art at the moment, because I don't wish to re-use their old AI-generated cover art. They'll get another pass of editing sometime before they get new covers illustrated by Ryan Johnson, the artist I work with. As soon as both tasks are done, they'll be published in the usual fashion.
I should soon be posting more stories, because I have more to share, but for now, I hope you'll enjoy these little gems.
Community Service Fairy Godmother
Seeing systemic injustice in the laws established by the Queen of the Fairies, may she reign forever, Sophorica breaks them to draw attention to their absurdity, literally painting New York City red. After all, if the only crime is to be caught and any offense can be forgiven simply by being sneaky, then the law itself can only be considered a cruel joke.
Her crime is expunged from history and the human race is none the wiser, but the Queen, may she reign forever, sentences Sophorica to perform one act of community service in the human realm for each human witness. This service takes the form of granting wishes to human children as their fairy godmother, until they're happy.
However, the awful truth is that granting wishes rarely brings happiness, forcing Sophorica to learn as much as she can about her charges, that she might get them to wish for what they really need, rather than what they want.
Will Sophorica find a way to free herself from the twisted, unjust punishment wrought by the Queen, may she reign forever, successfully demonstrating the flaws in fairy law or will she be forever banished to the human world as a Fairy Godmother?
Sweet Surrender
In this trio of linked tales, learn what happens when the unstoppable force meets the immovable object.
In the first tale, a priestess to the god of empathy never wanted to involve herself in politics, but when her king seeks riches from the kingdom at the expense of the common man, she's forced to put herself directly in the path of the King's armies, who are under strict orders to turn her away, even if it means killing her. Unfortunately for them, they didn't count on the pain they inflict on her reflecting back!
In the second tale, nobles discuss Aaron Kozinski, an amazing guard that never fails in his duty, no matter how bleak the situation, all in exchange for a little money, that he might eat and pay rent. He stands guard in horrendous weather and even repels assassins, preventing them from coming anywhere near his employer, all without complaint.
In the concluding tale, the two are manipulated into conflict by a mysterious man that hopes they'll destroy each other.
Will the priestess learn enough about Aaron to ease his pain or will she be overwhelmed by his hopelessly broken heart?
Tags: short-story, writing, publishing
Fresh Release: She Hunts Demons
She Hunts Demons is the first volume of a new series titled Ashen Blades. It's heavy with action, magic, demons, witches, gunplay, conspiracies, a demon's plot to rule the world and an extra helping of wild and woolly weirdness, all in a Film-Noir inspired setting.
I enjoyed writing the dialog, which uses 1940's idioms. I also played around with many Film-Noir tropes, which is why I wanted a mostly black and white cover.
It was a challenging piece to write, but it was also immensely fun, because the protagonist is functionally mute, speaking largely though actions rather than words. She's also the most cocky character I've ever written, so it's probably a good thing she couldn't voice her absurdly stubborn level of self-confidence, which sometimes borders on the insane.
I apologize to those that were anticipating the next volume of The Wizard's Scion, but the third book of this new series, Demon for President! (which I'm in the middle of writing), takes place on the backdrop of the current presidential election, so I'm pressed for time and working to get this new series established so I can publish that piece in a timely fashion, probably in April.
The next book published should be Ashen Blades volume 2, She Goes to War.
You can rest assured: The Wizard's Scion will be published in its entirety, but for now it must wait on the back burner. Again, I'm sorry, but please take a look at She Hunts Demons. I doubt you'll be disappointed.
The half-demon girl who calls herself the Hunter never really considered why she wanted all demons dead, but when she’s presented with the one responsible for killing her parents, she loses all rationality, going on the warpath.
It started with a crying widow and a stack of letters, leading the Hunter’s private detective partner, Clayton Simmons, to investigate a series of financial crimes. These threads all lead to the mysterious Otto Vogerath, who’s rumored to be a mobster.
At the same time, the Hunter’s earliest memories begin coming into focus, giving her clarity about the death of her parents at the hands of the very same, because Vogerath isn’t just a mobster: he’s also a demon that claims to be the serpent from the Garden of Eden.
The duo and their allies are soon caught in a complex spider’s web of mystery, involving conspiracies, murders, atom bombs and the demon’s plot to tear a massive hole in reality, all of which revolves around the life of the Hunter. Worse still, the demon requires the Hunter’s cooperation for his plans to succeed and will do almost anything to get it, repeatedly proving to her that everyone she cares for is in danger, so long as she stands in the way of what he wants.
Will Simmons and the Hunter save the world or will the serpent succeed in opening a portal to Hell, so legions of demons can march forth to conquer the world? The answers lay within this book, but only for those brave enough to buy it!
Tags: ashen-blades, novel, writing, publishing
The Smashwords Sale Has Begun
Troll Song and Forgotten Legends are 50% off on Smashwords until January 1st.
Tags: writing, publishing, sale, the-wizards-scion
Emergent Consequences
It's also my favorite of the short stories I've written.
Merry Christmas and I hope you laugh as hard as I did, writing it!
The painter of the universe, known as Life, just wanted to fulfill her reason for being, by creating a universe full of beautiful wonders and living things, but her twin brother, Death, exists solely to destroy her work, leading to an intractable argument about whose work should prevail.
Eventually, Life partially wins the argument and is allowed to make a universe without seeing it immediately destroyed, but she doesn't know well enough to leave things be, leading to emergent consequences as she continually interferes, adding new creations to fix the problems she created, only to see everything balloon out of control, while Death laughs at everything she does…
Emergent Consequences is a short tale that takes a light hearted view of the follies of human nature, as seen through the lens of a pair of extremely fallible creators, whose universe fortunately isn't our own, holding up the mirror of satire, so we can laugh at ourselves.
Come read about their journey and hopefully learn a little about human nature along the way.
Tags: short-story, writing, publishing
50% Off on Smashwords!
I’m excited to announce my Ebooks, Troll Song and Forgotten Legends, will be 50% off on Smashwords as part of their 2023 End of Year Sale starting on December 15! Be sure to follow me for more updates and links to the promotion for my books and many more!
Lyra never intended to cause the extinction of the troll race, but when she uses the power of troll song to read the mind of a dwarf, she's forced to compare her life of abuse to that of a loving family.
Acting for the good of the world, she betrays her family and her race by revealing the secrets of the trolls. For the sake of the dwarves, Lyra kills her oldest sister, creating an opportunity for the dwarves to defeat a disorganized army composed of their brothers.
The middle sister, Lyra's childhood nemesis and personal tormentor, Nicole, is furious beyond all rationality over her youngest sister's actions, determined to make Lyra pay, no matter the cost! Death would be too good for Lyra, so Nicole seeks to telepathically destroy her mind, instead!
Luring her sister into a trap, Lyra drops an entire mountain of ice on their heads, intent on ending Nicole at the expense of her own life!
They wake from their frozen sleep thousands of years later in a world of wonders both scientific and magical. As Nicole escapes, the contest begins anew and she gains control of a powerful star ship, intending to use it as a platform for her vengeance!
Meanwhile, Lyra gains modern allies, including the influential family and friends of a young wizard, Levi Jacobs.
Will Lyra defeat her murderous sister or will Nicole destroy Lyra's mind to fulfill her vow of vengeance? Will Lyra end the troll threat or will Nicole become a scourge on the entire world, raiding and pillaging as she sees fit?
Levi hated the monster from under the bed as a child, but when he meets the creature as a young adult, he quickly learns nothing will be the same in his life, ever again. The creature of darkness pleads for his aid in a coming war and the young wizard reluctantly agrees, making it his familiar.
Levi's family and friends are soon caught up in a galaxy-wide war to decide the fate of humanity and continually come face to face with monsters straight out of myth and legend, including the dreaded Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse! The old gods and monsters humanity revered before the rise of science and reason are angry over being ignored and seek to force humanity to believe in them once more!
The young wizard's allies find themselves in a unique position to fight the supernatural creatures, since they're gifted with magical powers of their own, soon sparking a wave of resistance from the governments of the galaxy, as they take the fight to the legends!
However, the battle isn't easy, because the forgotten legends weren't idle over the millennia, having built an impressive manufacturing facility that draws matter straight from a star to build warships at an incredible rate, churning them out faster than humanity can deal with! Worse yet, these ships have the very best in weaponry that both magic and science can produce.
Will Levi and his family overcome the endless waves of disposable warships or will the governments of the galaxy be crushed by the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, beginning an era of slavery under the heel of their own forgotten legends?
Tags: writing, publishing, sale, the-wizards-scion
Smashwords Sale!
I’m excited to announce my Ebooks, Troll Song and Forgotten Legends, will be promoted on Smashwords as part of their 2023 End of Year Sale starting on December 15! Be sure to follow me on social media or this blog for more updates and links to the promotion for my books and many more!
You can find Forgotten Legends here.
Tags: writing, publishing, sale, the-wizards-scion
Author Copies of Forgotten Legends
Today I got my hands on the author copies of Forgotten Legends I ordered.
Just like Troll Song, it's a joy to see something I wrote in print and again, the camera in my phone just doesn't do the art justice.
Oh, and by the way, the Ebook sale is over at the end of today, so if you want to grab a copy of one of my books at a discount, you better move fast!
Tags: writing, publishing, novel, sale
Black Friday/Cyber Monday Sale
The Ebooks of my novels go on sale for Black Friday through Cyber Monday, starting tomorrow.
Forgotten Legends will be $1.99!
Tags: writing, publishing, sale
On Sale, Now!
To celebrate my novels being featured in the local newspaper, the Ebook versions of my novels are on sale until the end of Monday!
Troll Song is currently a dollar off, at $1.99. https://books2read.com/b/TrollSong
Forgotten Legends is two dollars off, at $2.99. https://books2read.com/b/ForgottenLegends
Hurry and buy them, before it's too late!
Tags: writing, publishing, sale, the-wizards-scion
Apparently, I'm News
On Monday morning a reporter for the local newspaper (The Leader & Times) interviewed me and today, the article was posted online.
I know I was a nervous wreck, but she did a good job of turning my ramblings into a coherent news article. Never once did I consider the possibility that I might be interviewed by a reporter, but hopefully, this will get the word out to locals, at least. I know I can definitely use the extra sales and it stands to reason, those that read newspapers are more likely to read books.
Tags: writing, publishing, news, interviews
Available for Pre-Order: Forgotten Legends!
The second volume of The Wizard's Scion series, titled Forgotten Legends, is now available for pre-order as an Ebook. The print edition should follow, soon.
Forgotten Legends releases on November 13, 2023.
Levi hated the monster from under the bed as a child, but when he meets the creature as a young adult, he quickly learns nothing will be the same in his life, ever again. The creature of darkness pleads for his aid in a coming war and the young wizard reluctantly agrees, making it his familiar.
Levi’s family and friends are soon caught up in a galaxy-wide war to decide the fate of humanity and continually come face to face with monsters straight out of myth and legend, including the dreaded Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse! The old gods and monsters humanity revered before the rise of science and reason are angry over being ignored and seek to force humanity to believe in them once more!
The young wizard’s allies find themselves in a unique position to fight the supernatural creatures, since they’re gifted with magical powers of their own, soon sparking a wave of resistance from the governments of the galaxy, as they take the fight to the legends!
However, the battle isn’t easy, because the forgotten legends weren’t idle over the millennia, having built an impressive manufacturing facility that draws matter straight from a star to build warships at an incredible rate, churning them out faster than humanity can deal with! Worse yet, these ships have the very best in weaponry that both magic and science can produce.
Will Levi and his family overcome the endless waves of disposable warships or will the governments of the galaxy be crushed by the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, beginning an era of slavery under the heel of their own forgotten legends? The answers lay within this book, but you’ll never know unless you buy it!
Tags: the-wizards-scion, novel, writing, publishing
Coming Soon: Forgotten Legends
The artwork for the next volume of The Wizard's Scion is nearly complete, so I'm back in full edit mode, to give the text one final pass of polishing before publishing, since Ryan (the artist) moved far faster than I expected, this time.
Forgotten Legends will likely be released as an Ebook in the next week or two. The print edition should follow on a short delay, as I intend to upload files and complete the work for both on the same day, this time.
This is really exciting to me, because Forgotten Legends is my favorite of the five books in the series, with lots of fun things related to monsters and mythology.
It also has some mild horror elements written from the perspective of the monsters, which is not within my usual writing wheelhouse, but I'm particularly proud of the first and second chapters, as well as the chapter involving Strangers.
Then there's the chapter involving a Kaiju vs. giant robot fight. That's just all-around fun and shows the far-reaching consequences of the war.
I also love the book for the chance it gives the protagonist to really grow up. In Troll Song, Levi was introduced as an immature teen. In Forgotten Legends, he's forced to face the the harsh realities of war and he'll never be the same, again.
I also love the lasting consequences of the novel, because it perfectly sets the stage for the three to follow, directly leading to the rise of old enemies in the Third Wish, the unexpected redemption of a villain in Dark Moon and the capstone of the series, The Inverted Glass, where Levi faces the greatest of challenges on the path to mastering his wizardly powers, with the fate of everyone he loves at stake.
Tags: writing, publishing
Troll Song Author Copies!
I finally got my author copies of Troll Song, today.
I wish I had a better camera in my phone, because these look way better than this in real life.
You can get a copy of Troll Song for yourself here: https://books2read.com/b/TrollSong
Tags: writing, publishing