Not everything in life can be politics, thank heaven. And on Fridays, I promise to keep things lighter.
But boy, do I have a post ready to go for Monday.
Meanwhile, I thought I might post a little something from the book I’m writing right now – the sequel to Battlehymn. SPOILERS FOLLOW! But if you’ve read Battlehymn, and you don’t mind getting a sneak peek, here’s a piece of Crown of Exiles Book 2: Lamentation.
WHAT THE HECK AM I WRITING?
Work in Progress Challenge
Scott Roche tagged me with this challenge, and it sounded like fun.
1. What is the title of your Work In Progress?
I’m never really happy with my ability to name fiction. Right now, the working title for it is “Norris Tilney and the Western Wild.”
2. Where did the idea for the WIP come from?
Scott and I came up with a universe a couple of years ago that was steampunk-ish, but magic-based instead of mechanics/clockwork-based. I really liked the character that came out of that – Norris Tilney, and wanted to do more with him. Add to that the weird western stuff I’ve been doing, and this kind of fell together.
… are important when one is writing fantasy. Or so I hear. A world does have to have internal rules, and should abide by those rules.
For example, the magic in Untitled Ghost Bear Project is largely one that involves the binding of certain kinds of spirits. The Oathbound Guard bind themselves to the spirits of animals. This gives them certain advantages – improved sight, strength. It also gives them a spirit companion – one that can scout areas, serve as a companion and guide, and participate in combat. However, the spirit often has a will of its own, and it takes time and training for the Guardsman and spirit to come to an understanding and become effective partners.
So, tonight I am recording the first episode of my “first” book – Battlehymn.
It’s a story about two young people trying to find their place in the world. Of course, one is a wanna-be rock star. And the other is a princess. And the world includes civil war, mecha, crazy psychic powers, space habitats, intrigue, betrayal, and cats. Well, one cat.
My main goal with this is to a) show that I can produce a longer novel, and b) have fun with it as I go. I’ll be releasing episodes in both text and audio at the website – exiles.madpoetfiles.com. Sign up there to join the mailing list and get notifications as new episodes and side-stories become available.
Still working on the next story, which is now clocking in at about 7800 words. It’ll easily be over 10,000, but it’s mostly written. I’m just adjusting, rewriting, editing, and polishing now. My anticipation is that if you want to read Cost of Duty without paying for it, you’ve probably got about 24 hours to do that. Because sometime tomorrow, I’ll be posting a story in the Wildspitze universe that Scott Roche and I created. A story of magic, machines, and mayhem in Meiji Japan. A story that combines traditional Japanese mythology, history, family, swordplay, romance, and Nikolai Tesla.
Hmmm… so Scott Roche just suggested that we build a co-operative playlist. He starts with a song, (In this case, White Wedding, by Billy Idol – Spotify Link), and tags a person (me) to pick the next song based on that previous song – either similar in style, through a word association, or whatever.
So… song 2 should be White Lines by Duran Duran and Grandmaster Flash (Spotify Link). Passing the dutchie to the left hand side… and choosing Wicked Good Steve Loopipe!