Writing Update: January 2014

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The other day, I was getting mad because a few authors whose work I’ve enjoyed have failed to offer updates on sequels. Then I realized—I haven’t given updates in awhile and it was time to fix that!

 

2013 was a big year that began with Fanged Princess’ release, followed by The Chalice of Malvron, and ended with Fanged Outcast, the sequel to FP. I completed the first drafts of books 4 and 5 in the Argetallam Saga as well as the premier novel in a new Epic Fantasy Romance series that has been garnering some attention, but more on that later.

My goal for this year is to finish drafting the last two books in the Argetallam Saga and publish the fourth novel in the series before Christmas. Right now, I would say we are looking at a July/August release for The Temple of Tarkoth with Fanged Princess 3 to follow a month or two later. (But it might be sooner, we shall have to see.)

 

The first draft of the third novella in the Fanged Princess series is set to be done by this weekend and sometime after that it’s off to writing the sixth Argetallam book and editing my newest word baby, Daindreth’s Assassin. If you follow me on Pinterest, you have probably seen my board for this series and know that I am very, very much in love with it. It’s a true epic fantasy about an assassin who falls for the prince she was hired to kill and my goal is to get it beta-ready by July-ish and publish it sometime in 2015 around late spring/summer, but ONLY after I finish writing the Argetallam Saga. Janir’s story is one I want to tell right and I think she and her friends (and enemies) deserve to be taken care of first.

 

The prospect of coming to the end of Janir’s tale is more than a little daunting, as Janir has been with me for close to a decade now, but at the same time I can’t wait to see if everything unfolds as I envisioned years ago. However, there is a certain Argetallam mortahn and a pair of young lovers who just might get their own books. We shall have to see.

I am very excited to share with you all Haddie and Janir’s upcoming adventures and I am just giddy for you to meet Amira. But in the meantime, I have some wordsmithing to do. Catch you later!

Five Top Five: Things I have learned writing the Argetallam Saga

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For my final Five Top Five post, I am talking about the top five things I have learned writing the Argetallam Saga. Don’t forget today is also your last chance to get the first two books for free and The Chalice of Malvron for $0.99

Now is better than later

Procrastinator Extraordinaire is my unofficial title. I can put off things until “the end of this soundtrack,” “after dinner,” or “as soon as the kids are in bed.” But if I’m doing nothing, nothing gets written. If I want to let my characters speak, I must write. Write when I don’t feel like it, write when I must force my fingers to move over the keyboard. Write, write, write!

If you don’t write it, nobody will

I have all these stories inside me that are trampling over each other in the rush to get out. They want to be written and I need to write them or they will stay trapped in my neurons for all eternity. Me and no one else can tell the stories locked in this mind, same for any writer. It’s no use wishing for a magic button or little elves to finish the books. Writing is the only answer.

Search and Replace are your best friends

I love this Word feature. Without it, I would have to pick through my manuscripts manually to check the spellings of words. They have made everything so much easier and I can only imagine what it must have been like fifty years ago when everything was still written in hardcopies.

Villains are people too

I believe the best villains have good qualities that make the reader empathetic to them as well as vices and flaws that make us hate them. I have tried two times in particular to create purely evil characters and found myself rooting for them in spite of everything. As Stephen King said, even villains usually think themselves good.

Proofreading is EVIL

Typos are the cockroaches of literature—they can survive anything. It is a scientific fact that we do our best proofreading after we have hit either “send” or “publish.” No matter how many times you comb through a manuscript, there will still be those insidious little typos, waving at you from the pages. In an attempt to wipe out the scourge, you comb through your manuscript again and again until you come to hate each word of your own writing and still a handful of typos endure!

(Click the covers for the Amazon pages! Again, the first two books are free until tonight and the third is only $0.99 for a limited time!)

Five Top Five: Things I have researched for the Argetallam Saga

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Medieval/Ancient World military tactics

This is one of my favorite subjects ever. Military history enthralls me for some reason, as does Medieval /Ancient history, so putting the two together makes for conveniently educational and enjoyable research. Studying historical battles to get an idea of how they played out and how one would progress has been very interesting and proved to be excellent inspiration.

Medieval social structure

There was actually quite a bit more to medieval social structure than most people think. I read into a little bit of it for ideas on how to set up Brevian society, but in the end composed something that was more a hodge-podge of historical and my own imagination.

Natural predators of camels

This was for a scene that was ultimately deleted from The Secrets of the Vanmars. In it, Janir and Karile hijacked a camel to escape. The animal was then scared off by wild animals that night, leaving them without a lift in the desert. It turned out that camels have no natural predators in the setting I had drawn up and that was just one of many reasons that scene was deleted.

“Fire” vs. “Loose”

I have learned that the term “fire” in reference to the discharge of weapons only came into use after the advent of firearms. Before then, bowmen were ordered to “loose” or “release.” So now whenever I hear “fire” used in context of arrows, I (to quote Dr. Sheldon Cooper) “want to rip off my face and tear it into tiny little pieces and do it again and again until I have a big pile of face-confetti.”

Medieval horse classifications

This is among some of the more interesting research I have done. As stated many times before, I love horses and so naturally I used writing as an excuse to read more about them. In the medieval era, there were different classifications of horses just like there are now. For example, a “destrier” was a large heavy-set warhorse used for carrying a knight into battle, but for day to day traveling and riding, the lighter “palfreys” were ridden. Though I don’t recall if I was able to squeeze in those tidbits, I think they are immensely fascinating.

(Click the covers for the Amazon pages!)

Five Top Five: Names that come from real life

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Gideon

The Gideon Mountains, the mountain range that separates the Staspin Waste, Brevia, and Stlaven is lovingly named after my middle brother, Gideon, who shares my love of fantasy, especially dragons.

Zebulun

The Zebulun River is the namesake of my youngest brother and is rather fitting. Like a river, he never stops moving, can be surprisingly destructive, but you love him anyway.

Lucan

A knight from King Arthur’s court who dies in Arthur’s final battle. However, the significance behind the name had little to do with its choosing. I just liked the sound.

Genvissa

Genvissa is another figure from Arthurian lore who arranges a truce between her warring husband and father. When I was searching for a name for the young healer in the prologue of The Secrets of the Vanmars, I stumbled across this name and fell in love with it.

Amatahns

Originally spelled “Amytans,” this also comes from Arthurian Legend. Amytans is a wise man who rebukes Merlin in a lesser-known Scottish poem, Lancelot of the Laik. When searching for a name for my ancient wizard, I chose Amytans, but was forced to alter the spelling when my editor chided me for “so obviously naming him after Amy Tan” (the Asian novelist whom I had never heard of at the time).

(Click the covers for the Amazon pages!)

Five Top Five: Favorite quotes

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“I promise I won’t tell anyone except everyone I meet.”

This is from The Chalice of Malvron and comes from jokester character when he is trying to get a friend to tell what it bothering her.

“Fearlessness is the lack of fear. While admirable, it requires no virtues. Bravery is facing fear and that takes far more strength.”

The Lord Argetallam’s words when telling someone they showed courage. This is one of my favorite quotes because I see so often that people do confused bravery and fearlessness and I very much like the way Janir’s father explains the difference.

“Te valde amo ac semper amabo.”

This phrase is spoken both in The Secrets of the Vanmars and The Chalice of Malvron and translates directly to “I love you very much and always will forever.” I wanted a different, new way for my characters to say “I love you” and after a bit of consideration, picked this to be their declaration.

The servants know and tell all.

From The Key of Amatahns, a quote from Armandius Caersynn to Janir on the knowledge staff have of their employers. As a wise man once said, “if you want to know what a man’s like, watch how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

Illness though this may be, there could not be a sweeter malady.

It may be cheating for me to include this one, since it is from a short story currently titled The Stars at Midnight that I don’t intend to reveal until Christmastime. Nonetheless, it is told from a young man’s perspective in reference to his feelings for a young woman and I think it is one of the most romantic things I have ever written.

(Click the covers for the Amazon pages!)

Five Top Five: Favorite series subplots

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To celebrate the release of The Chalice of Malvron and the five days the first two books will be free, I will be doing a blog feature each day where I talk about the series! So here is the first one. Enjoy!

Lucan and Genvissa

This is a budding subplot that occurred quite by accident. When I wrote the prologue for The Secrets of the Vanmars, I thought I’d add a healer to the scene who would be tending Lucan’s wounds. From there things got out of hand and now the pair have their whole own story that’s already made me smile and cry.

 

The Lord Argetallam

In the beginning, Janir’s father was meant to be pure evil. Period. Then I started developing him more and exploring his background, his childhood, and his complex psyche and now he is one of my favorite characters. Though it can be hard to see why at this point in the series.

 

Cyrilius and Janir

I wanted a guardian/protector/Argetallam trainer character for Janir and thus Cyrilius Palivahr Argetallam was born. I have been told by one reader that he is the “hottest” character I have ever written, though I’m not sure why she would think that. The relationship between him and Janir is one of my favorites in the series and I can’t wait to show you guys more of it!

 

Aryana

Poor Aryana. Though Janir’s seeress mother was born into a noble household, she was allowed to marry for love, wedding Armandius Caersynn in her later teens. The subplots about her, her husband, and the father of her only child get me excited because the emotions and details involved are so complicated and I love complicated.

 

Malkalar

Malkalar has had only one scene in the series thus far, but he will be getting many more. I can’t really say why he’s one of my favorite subplots because of spoilers, so you’ll just have to wait!

(Click the covers for the Amazon pages!)

THE CHALICE OF MALVRON release day is tomorrow!

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Who’s ready for tomorrow?

THE CHALICE OF MALVRON Teaser No. 1

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THE SECRETS OF THE VANMARS Book Trailer

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And now I’m proudly showing off The Secrets of the Vanmars‘ book trailer!  Again, I think the score fits the nature of the book very well. It starts of sweet, but with a hint of suspense… Enjoy!

THE KEY OF AMATAHNS Book Trailer

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Today I’d like to share with you the book trailer for The Key of Amatahns. Pay attention to the musical score, I think it fits the book perfectly!