December Update

I know I've not written much on here lately.  But I've not really done a lot of writing.  I've sort of lost focus on my writing and I really need to get back into it.  I've worked on it piecemeal since taking my vacation this week, but I really need to focus more on it.  I've finished Chapter 1 of Geometry of Souls today.  I am rather proud of that fact.  I am also thinking maybe alliterative verse for the center piece epic poem might not be a strong point for this story, and that maybe I should use a different poetry style for it.  It's just really hard to write in that style.  Originally I was doing it to challenge myself and to make the story a little more historical like accurate...putting it into the veins of things like Beowulf and such.  But I am only an average writer at best, and in truth I only write for my own enjoyment and hope that others that read my stories enjoy them as much as I enjoyed telling them.  So not sure if I should keep trying to write it in alliterative verse or not.  Or maybe I should try writing one version in alliterative verse and the other in a more natural feeling style for me. 

Moving on I haven't really worked on anything aside from Geometry of Souls.  I also started to write up the plot tree for what has to be in Geometry of Souls.  I had a vague idea of the gist of the story but with the plot tree I am filling in the gaps of things that must be covered in this one.  First of all it's going to tie up one of the cliff hanger fairly early on of Book 1: In the Shadows:   I am also thinking that in Book 2 Margan will start playing a smaller role as in truth I didn't think his role would be as important as it became in this version of Book 1, as I introduce the new and more important characters for the story.  Most of them you will have already glimpsed in Book 1...not that Book 1 of it is out yet.  I am still in need of saving money for a cover, but other real life needs take precedents over the money for the art I want for this first book. 

Not much more to say, so I'll type more when I have another update on my writing for you.  And thanks to those that take the time to read this blog.

November Update

I have so far 20 dollars saved up for a cover.  Sad I know but then I don't get alot at work.  Secondly been saving up for a car as tired of walking to work, but digressing from point as this blog is for my writing.  Since it's taking time to save up money for a cover illustration I have since added in a few more scenes into the First Book that I didn't realize it sorely needed.  I put in more with the character of Nissa and Lady Betlinde Byrr of the Ainar Empire.  So far the story is going well.  I need to just finish writing up the Lady Betlinde scene and then I'll go back to focusing on the second book of the Ashes of the Fallen Series.

I also have a website now.  If you haven't you can check it out here:
Forsaken Tomes

Not much more type up on my writing, so as you know I'll type more when I have more to inform you with you.

How I've Been Productive Without Being Productive

I find myself constantly checking back and forth through my pages while writing for character descriptions.  I have a cast of many characters for Ashes of the Fallen Books so today I used Google Drive's Spreadsheet and created a database with the information on my characters.  It included important details such as their names and physical descriptions and court factions and other such things.

Geometry of Souls News and In the Shadows Inside Art

As some may know I already have the prologue of Geometry of Souls written up.  However today I wrote up the first scene of chapter one of G.O.S.  and also wrote up some of the second scene in chapter one.  So far looks like it's going good.  Started out earlier today with a bit of the laziness.  I felt too tired to write anything.  I feel tired again so stopping here for better or worse.  I also am commissioning up some inside art as some may know.  I have seen the first picture and it looks awesome.  I am looking forward to seeing the second one.  This is the artist is the awesome artist that doing the inside art.  I have just one more I'm going to commission from this artist and then it's time for me to start saving up for the cover art.  At first I thought I would do a front and back cover but not sure if I should or not.  I was thinking the front would feature a certain character from a scene in the story and the back would feature another character from that same scene.  If you want to give me any feedback feel free to leave comment.

Creative Ways to Beat Writer's Block

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Book 2 Begins Chapter One

Wrote up the first scene of Chapter One on the Nook this morning.  I also wrote some notes on Chapter 2 and 3 of this book.  Feeling really good about that.  I'm on my way and plunging into Book 2, Geometry of Souls.  This one should be really good as it will start to introduce things like the Tal'Varesh and the Necromancer.  It will also open up more of the Ainar Court then has been previously seen in Book 1 In the Shadows, I am thinking.  It'll be a fun ride to get to the end of this series I think.  I still haven't had the time to start saving up money for a cover for Book 1 but sent a note on DA to an artist I think would be cool to do some inside art for In the Shadows so I'll have that as teasers of what's inside Book 1 if artist accepts commission.  Not much else to type so type more when I more to type.

It is Done.

The first book of Ashes of the Fallen: In The Shadows: is now done.  I have finished the first book and feel very glad to have it finally finished.  It's been a long journey to reach this point.  But the journey is far from over.  There are 7 more books to write for this series.  Now I can focus on Book 2 of Ashes of the Fallen: Geometry of Souls:   Things will only intensify in it as the Great War looms ever closer.  Sadly I will not release this first book until I have the second book finished and the third one started.  That should give me time to save up money for an awesome cover I hope for this first book.  I have some artist in mind for it.  Not much else to say so I'll type more when I have more to tell.

At Last On The Last Chapter At Last

 I finally got Chapter 25 completed to my satisfaction, and I have only one more chapter to write up for In the Shadows.  Once I have the time to write up Chapter 26 I'll jump immediately into the second book of the Ashes of the Fallen Series, which I am called Geometry of Souls.  I already have the opening for it already written up so I'm looking forward to writing it.  And looking even more forward to when I have the money to start buying art for these books as I have some cool scenes I'd like to see illustrated.  Not sure if they'd be cool scenes to others, but I know I'd think they are cool to see.  Not much more to say so I'll type more later when I have more to say.

News on Chapter 25

Finally have Chapter 25 finished...well for the most part.  I'm adding in one more scene that I need to transfer over from paper that I had written while at work.  Then I can finally write up the last chapter for this First book.  It feels like I've been working on this book for a long time.  I think I've been working on it for close to three to four years.  I am really happy so far with this new and latest version as it's taking the time to get to know the characters in the story better.    I hope people will like it once I have it up for public consumption.  Not much more to say except I'll type more when I have more to type.  Until then later.

News on Chapter 25 and Chapter 26

I have just one scene to write up for chapter 25 that I'm stuck on how to word it.  I know what I want to happen just struggling on how to put it into the right words.  I also got a good start on chapter 26, which is the last chapter for the First book in Ashes of the Fallen.   Once I have it all finished up going to plunge right into Book 2, Geometry of Souls.  Had to push back saving up money for art.  I'll start saving up money in October due to unforeseen expenditures. I'm going to be saving up for an inside art piece, cover piece and back cover piece for the First Book, In The Shadows.  The characters that shall be featured in the art pieces will be Margan, Seren, and Rudal.   The Second book I'm thinking the cover will have Kaari and the Necromancer on it.  Haven't really written a lot of it up yet, so not sure what the piece of inside art will be if it has any.  Not much more to type on my writing so I'll stop here until next time.

Song of the Grey Witch

A song/poem I've been tinkering with centered around Karla the Grey Witch from Record of Lodoss War.  She is my favorite character in Lodoss War.  And when I say Lodoss War I mean the OVA and not the stupid tv series.  Which to me lacked the depths of the OVAs.

Without further ado here it is:

Watching, watching from Shadows,
as She burns with a secret truth only She knows,
so She takes the risk and She gambles,
gambles with countless lives.
Lives are nothing to Her as she plays hero or villian as Her pawns,
She must keep it balanced like the edge of knives.

Power, Power can never be allowed to settle,
in The Darkness or The Light,
So once again with people's lives She meddles,
allowing neither side to win The Endless Fight.


She is the Eyes of Gods looking down,
From a circlet on Her forehead crowned.
Five hundred years She wanders across the land,
Causing these war to bring peace to all Lodoss.
Her tears left unshed
as She swallows countless kingdoms in bloodshed.
Her Love for Lodoss makes her blind.
To ensure Fate and History are properly carried out is Her design.
blind and deaf She ignores the People crying out in their grief,
The Secret Truth, she will not sway, not sway from Her Belief.

Watching, always watching from the Shadows,
Burning, Burning so hot with the Secret Truth only She knows.
Takings Risks and Gambling with lives,
as to bring peace to Lodoss She strives,
With time each body She discards,
like worn out garments she throws them away.
As she begins her quest again.
Endless she must struggle to keep the Peace.

Lodoss shall be saved by War,
So She believes.

Chapter Twenty Five News

I got the first scene written up for Chapter Twenty-Five.   I am quite proud how I expanded out that scene from my notes on it.  I only have two more scenes to write up for Chapter Twenty-Five and I hope they turn out as good as the first scene.  I also have in mind what two inside art pieces well be for the story.  In truth I probably can only afford two inside arts for this one and the cover picture.  It'll be the first story I've written to have inside art.  I wanted to have some inside art for my Friar Fisher and Wiccan/Hultan stories, but I didn't have enough money at the time I published them.  However this time I'm going to be waiting until I finish the Geometry of Souls (second book in Ashes of Fallen series) before I publish the first one so that should give me enough time to hopefully save up enough money for all that.  I am going to try to take 20.00 dollars out a paycheck to pay for it when I can afford to do so...which will probably be the end of September and beginning of October.

One More Chapter Done Only Three More Left

I finished writing up the final scene this early morning to Chapter 24.  Now I have only three more chapters until this first book in the series is complete.  I am so excited.  I only wished I had the money right now to buy a cover for it, along with the inside art I want for it.  I have only one scene in mind for a piece of inside art.  Once it's done I'll probably look for more scenes from the book that might be interesting to seen drawn up as picture.  Which might be hard because there are a lot of characters I like even in this first book.

I'll type more when I have more to say.

News on Chapter 24 and other chapters of Ashes of the Fallen

I have only one more scene to write up and Chapter 24 is finished.  I have outlined the rest of In The Shadows and have only three more chapters I plan on writing up for it, so the book is nearing completion.  Once I have those three chapters written I shall dive immediately into Book 2 Geometry of Souls.  Once October comes and I start getting good paychecks again at work I'm going to start putting aside money for a couple inside art and cover art for In The Shadows.   Once I have finished Book 2 Geometry of Souls and hopefully enough money for the art for the First Book, I'll have it available on the Nook.   Also I plan on releasing the Second Book in the series as soon as I complete Book 3.  I want to try and have the first three books release at least a year between each other to give people a proper chance to read them and not lose the characters or interest.  I may come out with a compilation of all three books at some point if I feel there is a market for doing that.  Not much else to type so I'll leave it go at that for now.

Chapter 24

Finally finished Chapter 23.  I am now going to be working on Chapter 24 next.  I think I already have the opening for it.  So I'll share some of it with you.

      Nadja's body convulsed as coughing wracked her sickly body.  Never before had she dwelt so long trapped in the stale aired darkness.  Her only light the few instances her meals had been brought to her cell.  How she longed to once again feel a breeze caress through her hair, and warm sunlight dance across her skin could not easily put into words.  

     Nadja had not heard, nor seen the door open as abruptly a golden brilliance engulfed her cell.  She barely managed to use her hands to shield her eyes against the light, for her chains made such movements hard and painful as the manacles cut into her wrists.

    A voice she had never heard before spoke onto her from within this golden brilliance, "Too long have you dwelt in the Darkness....."

and that's all I got for now.

Chapter Twenty Three

I have finished Chapter Twenty Two and am now working on Chapter Twenty Three.  Up until this point I have had already written drafts to work with.  Now I shall be working with creating complete scenes without the usage drafts but that of my notes on what should be happening so it'll most likely take me longer to write this portion as I have only notes and not complete scenes to go on.  I am hoping to have In the Shadows finished before September.  Even though I have no plans of releasing it until I have finished a rough draft of Geometry Souls and start on the third Book, Renegade.  I want to be able to release the books hopefully within a year of each other.  I am not sure how likely a goal I am setting myself with that.  But it should give me time to save up for illustrations as I would greatly like to be able to not only have cover art; but also a few pieces of inside art of good quality for these books.   It will also give me time to work on the Lay of Keiken and Erienne, which is the corner piece of Kalunesh History as it sets up the fall of the Reisiri Empire and the founding of the current Kalunesh Empire.

I have also been working on my novel, Zmeij, which is going to be a single novel, unlike these Ashes of the Fallen Books.   I drew up a map for Daukkon Kingdom in Zmeij yesterday, and came up with some of their economy, but not much else then that.  The northern half is mountainous and rich with mineral wealth and irons.  The southern half is more the agricultural economy.  I will type more when I have more to type.

Chapter 22

Got a good start on Chapter 22 and nearing the end of the rough draft materials I have written up.  I'll have to be writing up new material after chapter 22 to finish up the story.  The original draft before the current one I'm using jumped way ahead on things so that very first rough draft is no way near where this book will end.  Many of things covered in that very first rough draft might not be showing up until either book 2 or book 3.

News on Chapter 21

Only got one more scene to write up and I'll done with chapter 21. YAY.  Slow progress is better then none I guess.

Chapter 21

Started working on Chapter 21 for In the Shadows, the first book in my Ashes of the Fallen Saga.  The story is now at 150 pages on Nook press, if you count the extra content the story is at 175 pages on the Nook Press.  Things are really starting to come together now as I am drawing to the close of In the Shadows.  I am thinking it will be close to Thirty Chapters in all.  Not sure how many pages it'll be until I finish it completely.

Onto Chapter 21 Today

Finishing up Chapter 20 today for In the Shadows.  I only have one last scene to write up and then I'll be working on Chapter 21.  I just need to keep myself motivated and plow through today.  I'm torn between stopping and picking up something to eat while its still cool and working on Chapter 20.  I also got chapter 1 for my other book, Zmeij finished last night.  So I'm rather proud I'm working on two novels at once.  Plus it's nice to be able to shift between the two when I get bored with one.  Not much else to say except I need to focus more on my writing with this vacation and need to stop goofing off so much.  I'll type more when I have more to say.

Chapter 20 and other stuff.

Finally finished chapter 19. I've got my vacation time and trying to work on my story.  I'm on Chapter 20 now and I think it's looking good so far.  I hope to at least have up to Chapter Twenty Five if not further finished by the time my vacation ends.  Plus going to do a few odd cleaning jobs around the house with the time off.

Aside from Ashes of the Fallen I have many other ideas for books and here is a sampling of one that I call Zmeij.

  "Zmeij is the rarest spice in all of  Erda.  Perhaps that is why this spice is a fairly recent discovery.  The discoverer is unknown; but what is known is that the spice had been found almost over two hundred years ago.  It was found that when the seeds of the rare Xmei  plant  were ingested that they granted  the ability to use the fabled sorcery of Ancient Legends. 

   A group of merchants and farmers began to consolidate their control over this crop and formed the now infamous Sorcer Guild.  However before they had gained the chance to completely consolidate their hold on Zmeij Spice cartels appeared to challenge their holdings.  Thus had been born the Zmeij Wars."-  History of Zmeij, Section I  by Alos of House Hameln.

   "Naturally he is getting on your nerves, darling.  After all, he is your husband.  Men never really grow up.  Why, only just this very morn I find my husband climbing a tree.  Imagine that a tree of all things.  He said that he wanted to personally check on the ripeness of our apple orchid.  I didn't believe him of course.  To be quite honest with you I think the aging fool just wanted to engage in this boyish pursuit for the pure silliness of seeing if he could still do it.  I mean surely that is something the orchid workers or some other servant could have easily attended."  The Grand Duchess Valeria of Arleon remarked to Lady Clarice.

  The young brunette noblewoman who had the honor of being the Duchess of Quarion, raised up her folded red bejeweled fan to slightly cover the "o" shape of shock her mouth had formed into, "Oh dear!  I hope my husband doesn't start climbing trees like some simian creature.  I mean what would people say to such outlandish behavior."

   Grand Duchess Valeria replied matter-of-factly, "Indeed.  Men are completely insensible creatures that never consider the consequences of their rash actions.  It is quite fortunate that We, the Fairer Sex, do not suffer from such foolish afflictions.  Prudence and proper decorum are always foremost in our sex, and which I feel one should not be shamed but rather take pride in the fact."

   Clarice lowered her fan away from her red painted lips, " There you are quite correct, Valeria.  Still what am I to do?   Would it not be proper for me to put an end to his foolish notions of taking up swordplay?  The other day he nearly knocked over one of mother's priceless vases that she had sent as a wedding gift in his bout of facing imaginary foes.  I don't know if I can stand this much longer."

   The Grand Duchess seemed lost in thought as she thought for several minutes before replying, "On the surface that would seem ideal.  Sadly ideals and reality rarely coincide with each other.  He is young and full of bravado this husband of yours.  In another time this pursuit might even make him seem rather gallant.  However, this is not the Zmeij War Era, and a Duke learning swordplay is quite scandalous, I must admit in this day and age.  But as I also said before your husband is quite young and thus not properly put into his place by you, and any attempts to curb his enthusiasm in his boyish bravado may only escalate his passion for it.  Dear me, you have quite the conundrum here, darling."

   "I must do something.  It is getting so bad that before I can go to sleep I find myself laying awake.  My usual thoughts of luncheon and dinner engagements, and planning out balls are unfocused and disturbed as nagging at the corners of my mind is that he might do himself a mischief, swords are rather sharp and pointy."   Lady Clarice confided.

   It was at this moment that he appeared with sweat plastering his dark locks to his brow, and in his white swordplay garment.  Lady Clarice wrinkled her nose slightly at the smell of sweaty cloth.   He looked a fine figure in white and quite dashing in Grand Duchess Valeria's iron gray eyes especially with that elegant sword hanging at his side.  If she had been younger and more moved by the flesh she would have regretted not being married to this young Duke.

   The Duke of Quarion bent down and gently kissed the side of his wife's brow, "I do hope I am not interrupting anything important."  He banally smiled at the two women sitting at tea.  He pulled out a chair and made to join them.  A servant, fearful of being punished by the Grand Duchess, quickly fetched a third cup and offered it to the young Duke of Quarion. 

Birthday Plans

I know I said that this particular blog is dedicated to my writing and you may be wondering why I have such a personal title for this post as my Birthday Plans, but I'm not going to be going into what exactly my birthday plans are.  I am taking the time to say that for my birthday I am taking off from my day job or rather taking a vacation and during that time I'm going to try and hammer away at the first novel, In the Shadows for the entire week off or 79 percent of my time off I'm going to try to devote to getting this first book done so that I can really start at getting into the second book and of course I'll update my few readers on here on how the novel is coming.  I'm still on Chapter 19 but I've written a few lays to add depth to the lore of the world, which I plan to incorporate into the novels; either in appendices or in the actual novels.   On that note to show I've not been completely idle at my writing for Ashes of the Fallen Series of books here is a sampling of a more revised form of the Lay of Keiken and Erienne;

In dawning days of Second Age didst dauntless Keiken appear.  

His hands held stalwart shield and mighty spear,

for war and fire filled forests and fields once fair. 

Villages burned brightly beneath its blaze in these bleak elder days.

And out from dreaded fear, out from the flames strode forth Erienne The Fair.

no spear, no shield, no axe, nor even sword, did she yet hold,

Only heart and head guided her hand against hateful enemies untold.

Ringed in the fire she fled into flaming forests,

holding tightly to sister's tiny hand.

So quickly somewhere along the way her sister's small fingers slipped away.

Sorrow greeted her as she stopped by river's sedge.

Fall's sad leaves drifted slowly in sorrowful forest where no birds sing,

By river's sedge she still stood teardrops slipping down her sallow cheeks.
_________________________________________

This is set in alliterative verse, not all the lays and songs are going to be in this format.  I was thinking of being overly ambition and actually setting the lays in the languages of the cultures they are from; but then I thought that such a thing would be of interest only to myself as the languages sources of inspiration are probably easily seen and I am no Tolkien, and also it would be far too time consuming that would probably be better spent on actually working the novels themselves.  These are being created by me only as backdrop for the setting and give flavor to the world of Ashes of the Fallen and it's sequel set of books I have planned and I'd really like to get to those sequel book series but first I have to set up the ground work for those books with the Ashes of the Fallen Story as that is the Beginning Point it has to start at for everything in the other books to make sense and to give the world a better grounding to the reader I think.  This is a huge project and I only plan on doing these two sets of novels series for this world.   Once done I don't plan on going back into the world of Ashes of the Fallen and it's companion series, especially not forward.  

One More Chapter Down and Many More To Go

Finished Chapter 18.  Now I have to work on Chapter 19.  Not much more to say then that so I shall speak again when I have more to say.

Edit:  I got the first scene written and finished for Chapter 19 and I am going to try to work on it some more tomorrow if I can find the time because I'm doing overnight work and not sure when I might get the chance to get back to working on Chapter 19 of In the Shadows.  I need to really work on writing the Lay of Keiken and Erienne. It's the central piece of literature and poetry for the Kalunesh and it is an important part of their culture so I think that it is something I shouldn't shirk creating. For it is more then a legend or poetry; but a history from the dawn of the Kalunesh Empire after the Fall of the Reisiri Empire.  Unfortunately I've never been good at poetry.   I've been trying to keep it somewhat authentic and write it in alliterative verse, which seems very hard to me with my limited vocabulary.

Here's my attempt at the first couple lines of the Lay of Keiken and Erienne.

Fall's sad leaves drifting slowly in sorrowful forest
by river she stands teardrops slipping to streams.
Peering through pines and oak Keiken percieved her presence.
Keiken saw Erienne standing  spilling out her grief in sobs and tears.

More on Chapter 18

I wrote more up on Chapter 18 and even added in some extra details that were not in the most recent draft before I started this umpteenth attempt at it.   Though in truth the last draft only went up to 12 chapters so with the added detail I put into the characters and world I've surpassed the recent draft before this one...but the very first draft went up to chapter 20 I believe so lots of content from that draft has yet to make it's appearance as in the very first draft I had rushed far too much to get to points I wanted to get.   Some of those scenes in that first draft might not even make it in until the third book. But depending on flow it might end up in the second book.  Don't know until I finish this first story, In the Shadows and start working on the second book, Geometry of Souls.  

As I said at the start I worked more on Chapter 18 today.  I also wrote some notes to add even more depths to write up some new scenes to give better nuances to the story.   I have to write up these 3 scenes and then I'll have chapter 18 down and be ready to start Chapter 19 of ITS (In the Shadows).
I got a start on the first scene; but going to work some more on after dinner possibly.  Not much else more to type so I'll drop a line of text on here when I have more to say.

Start of Chapter 18

I finished Chapter 17 today of In The Shadows.  I also got a good start on Chapter 18 of it.  I'm hoping to have this first book finished by the end of summer.  I think that's a realistic goal.  However it might take me a while to save up for the cover art.  I was thinking maybe this time since I was going to wait until I had a complete first draft of Geometry of Souls finished before I e-publish In the Shadows I might also save up to have some inside art or maybe have an artist redraw a better version of the map I drew up for the world of Ashes of the Fallen. 

Here is a very tiny snippet from Chapter 18:

  "Why do you keep calling me that?  What does meöd chik even mean?"  Margan inquired as he took a shallow sip from the mug. 
   She grinned at him, "Honey boy....roughly.  Now don't be takin' offense.  Is what ja are as far as these eyes can tell.   But know who ja are, Margan of Andars.  Going to cut straight to point here.  Da winds be stirring.  Whether good or ill omen I do not know.  But by my warrior's tail I have a feeling ja have some hand in it.  Trouble brewing and it be my job to watch out for dat.  See how wind blows and try to take best advantage of it for my people.  I am deir representative in Norens.  So what part ja play?"
    "Don't your spies tell you."  Margan petulantly remarked as he pushed the mug away from himself.
   Her finger traced along the top of her mug, "Spies only see so much.  Dey cannot see into hearts and minds so well.  Perhaps ja tell me what ja knows."
_________________

I'll type more when I have more to say.

First Post of May

Making my first May Post.   I have just finished with Chapter Sixteen of In the Shadows, and will soon begin Chapter Seventeen.  Today I also added in some extra content into the book.  I am going to add information on the Houses of the Kalunesh and Ainar Empires, respectively.  From the History of the Kalunesh Houses my favorite character would have to be Lord Oris, who founded the House of the same name.  He is a very interesting character to me.  Once I get through with the Ashes of the Fallen and the second series of books; maybe I'll do some prequel books on characters that interest me from the past of the world I created for these books.



EDIT:  Got all the information written up on the Kalunesh Nobility for an appendix for In The Shadows.  Now I just have to write up the information on the Nobility of the Ainar Empire for their part of the appendix.


Not much more to tell you so I'll type more when I more to say.

Another Writing Update

I got Chapter 16 started and I also wrote up a little scene for Chapter One for the second Ashes of the Fallen book, Geometry of Souls.  I would sort of like to have the rough draft for Gemoetry of Souls done before I put up the first Ashes of the Fallen book, so it will not take as long for the sequel to come out and might even think of doing a special print edition run of both books combined into one later down the line, depending on popularity, length of both books in paper format, and cost to produce it.

Kindle Store Links

Oriele the Wanderer is now on Kindle. (Story written in English language)

For those in the States/US

For Those in UK

For those in Germany/Deutschland

For those in Japan/Nihon

AU Link

Italy

Amazon.es

Amazon.ca

Chapter Sample:
THE BLACK GATE OF HAVAN

   The crowded streets of Havan overflowed with women and men drunk on song and wine, too lost in their own carousing and accustomed to strangers to seeking fortune and adventure to notice one more adventurer.  Even one so strangely attired as this black cowled figure that made her way through the throng, her unique robe with it's silver intersecting lines of runes resembling a myriad of interlocking spiderwebs; but only a keen eye that peers deeper then ordinary people would notice the silver threads imbued with magic sewn into the black robe.  And one would need to possess an even keener mind to recognize the arcane nature of the sorcery within those linking runes, though the power these runes in particular gave could not be easily ascertained by one such person merely catching a glimpse of them.

   The black clad sorcerer's sharp ears took in the surrounding noise about her, the clacking of her sorcerous staff muffled by the boisterous shouts and singing of drunks.  Pushing these disturbing noises to the corners of her awareness, her thoughts swirled upon the myriad questions that troubled her mind.  Questions whose answer would burn her to the core, yet the desire for knowledge and truth burned ever a greater inferno within her soul.

   Her journey along the Black Road had been far from easy as she tried to blend amongst the crowd in the streets, her heart hammering and a slight cold sweat upon her palms.  She dreaded being found.  Her body still ached from the long days and longer seeming nights of endless walking, always on the move.  She could not remember the last time she had slept well or even in a comfortable bed.  Though in truth she remembered very little at all.  If forced to name the last place she had taken a comfortable rest it would have been the Phoenix and Lion, an inn in the rural village of Ember, though it had only been tranquil until they had caught up with her again.

  The Sorcerer Oriele's mind so fixated on it's vigilance that she had not realized she had wandered into the Castletown district of Havan.  She had been ignoring the pain of her parched throat, her supplies had run out several days before she had reached the city; worse yet she could not remember the last time that the sweet nectar that was wine had passed her black painted lips.   Oriele's halted in the street, a drunken fool bumped into her shoulder and splashed ale on the hem of her black robe.  Her piercing blue eyes had caught sight of the sign hanging loosely off the archway only several steps away.  The sign featured a feature of a black gate with the words food and ale written beneath it the picture.  Pushing open the doors she strode into the tavern known as the Black Gate.

   Within this establishment the noise roared louder then that outside the inn, the clamorous voices of the patrons reverberated off the inn walls, with their laughter, song, and conversations.  Wanderers and eager fortune seekers mostly filled the Black Gate.  The veteran warriors gave Oriele only a quick glance before returning their attentions back to their drink or food.  This type of inn was far from conducive to Oriele's usual haunts for solitary contemplation with her wine, but it had to suit her purposes for now.  Her finances had dipped quite low, and she would need further means to fund her personal quest.

  Oriele maneuvered her way through the drunken and not so drunken throng to find a good table out of sight from most of the patrons, and yet provided her with eye on every entrance from it.  She sat within the shadows of her black robes, the silver threads now almost entirely unperceivable in the darkness to even a keen eye as the shadows of the room somehow seemed to make the blackness of her robe even darker.  Her staff she kept close to hand, least she should have need of it.  Beneath her scrawny build hidden beneath the black robes she possessed a lean body of long muscles like that of a jaguar, and a brain power and knowledge of stave combat. 

   She gestured towards one of the barmaids, and it had not been long before the buxom young woman had returned with her Red Wine.  She took hold of the young woman's hand as she let drop a few cheap coppers into her palm.  She thanked her as the ornate bottle of expensive wine had been placed upon the table, along with a black wooden goblet.  Oriele poured herself the wine, sending the barmaid back to those that would better appreciate her company.

   Now fairly comfortable, the black clad sorcerer in the shadows began to survey the room, searching for someone that might be interested in hiring one of her special talents, though she was no master of sorcery, she could easily hold her own against many of her more cunning peers.  Oriele took a few sips from the goblet, her blue eyes piercing through the crowd to the newcomer, a towering wall of muscles of a  man with golden skin making his way through the packed crowd coming directly towards her.  Her left eyebrow raised slightly; interested that he was making his way towards her.  He did not seem to be one of them, but she had a spell already for use and her hand shifting into a ready position for attack should he turn out to be one of their agents.

_________________________________________
(Dark Fantasy Shorts similar to Vampire Hunter D and Trinity Blood and old Horror Films from Hammer Films)
THE FRIAR FISHER CHRONICLES

Wolves of North Woods on Amazon.de

Wolves of North Wood on Amazon.uk

Horror of Hellgarde on Amazon.de

Horror of Hellgarde on Amazon.uk

Sampling from Wolves of the North Wood:
  "Damn it,' Friar Abe Fisher cursed under his breath as he tried to remain calm.   His hands shook violently as he reloaded Gabriel.   This .62 caliber belt pistol had been passed down in the Fisher Family for so many generations that not even Abe's great grandfather knew when this silver trimmed firearm had come into the family's ownership.   His left hand braced the white stock of Gabriel as his right hand's index finger rested uneasily upon the trigger.   The name Gabriel glistened in the silver along the gun's twelve barrel reflecting the light of a setting red sun; spilling out across the horizon like a wound.   

    Abe's heart raced as he stood alone; trying to hold the belt pistol steady.  His hide boots gripped firmly onto the snow crested hill top as the distance between him and the encroaching shadowy form shrank.  He easily heard the snapping of old oak branches and gnarled pines as the foul creature approached.  The beast's ravenous howls did nothing to ease the Friar Fisher's mind.  

    The friar attempted careful aim with his shaking hands as the white furred dire wolf burst from the forest's cover.  The massive she-wolf, nearly as large as the friar himself, savagely bounded over the snow banks with a solitary purpose in mind: feasting on the friar.

    An almost blinding flash of brilliance filled Abe's vision for a second as the bullet roared forth from the barrel, and slammed into the dire wolf's chest.  The piercing ring of the shot sounded only for the briefest of seconds in the friar's ears.   The white beast haltered only for a minute as it absorbed the shallow wound's damage.   A raging bellow passed those snarling lips just before the she-wolf charged the friar, a sparse trail of blood staining the snow behind her.

    The friar's time to act shrank with each passing minute those snapping jaws of death drew closer.  Abe discarded the ivory handled belt pistol.   Gabriel fell with a soft thud before the friar's feet as he pulled the flintlock rifle strapped to his back.   

A blur of motion and soon the dire wolf rammed directly into the solitary black robed friar.   He felt her slick vermilion blood running down his chest, and soaking his robe as he laid pinned.

  

Chapter 15 Update

I almost have Chapter 15 finished. I just have to finish up two more scenes and then I'll be onto Chapter 16.  So far it's over a hundred pages in the Nook Preview.  So that's kind of cool to me.  Not much more to really type about except that tomorrow I'm gonna try to get Chapter 15 finished and start on Chapter 16.   I might also try to work a little on the Second book in the series if I find myself losing interest in writing up Chapter 16.   As I'd like to have the rough draft for the second book in the series started before I self-publish the first book.

Also I have a new work of fiction out that's based after a Forgotten Realms, DnD session that I sort of DMed.  The art was done for free by my brother.  

Overview

A mysterious wizard with no memory of her past is joined on her quest to find herself by the most unlikely of companions as champions of order and justice pursue her and her companions across the continent. Though what dark secret does the talisman she keeps truly holds, is it answers to her past or something far more darker...

(Link to buy it: Oriele the Wanderer  )
Sample Chapter:
THE BLACK GATE OF HAVAN

   The crowded streets of Havan overflowed with women and men drunk on song and wine, too lost in their own carousing and accustomed to strangers to seeking fortune and adventure to notice one more adventurer.  Even one so strangely attired as this black cowled figure that made her way through the throng, her unique robe with it's silver intersecting lines of runes resembling a myriad of interlocking spiderwebs; but only a keen eye that peers deeper then ordinary people would notice the silver threads imbued with magic sewn into the black robe.  And one would need to possess an even keener mind to recognize the arcane nature of the sorcery within those linking runes, though the power these runes in particular gave could not be easily ascertained by one such person merely catching a glimpse of them.

   The black clad sorcerer's sharp ears took in the surrounding noise about her, the clacking of her sorcerous staff muffled by the boisterous shouts and singing of drunks.  Pushing these disturbing noises to the corners of her awareness, her thoughts swirled upon the myriad questions that troubled her mind.  Questions whose answer would burn her to the core, yet the desire for knowledge and truth burned ever a greater inferno within her soul.

   Her journey along the Black Road had been far from easy as she tried to blend amongst the crowd in the streets, her heart hammering and a slight cold sweat upon her palms.  She dreaded being found.  Her body still ached from the long days and longer seeming nights of endless walking, always on the move.  She could not remember the last time she had slept well or even in a comfortable bed.  Though in truth she remembered very little at all.  If forced to name the last place she had taken a comfortable rest it would have been the Phoenix and Lion, an inn in the rural village of Ember, though it had only been tranquil until they had caught up with her again.

  The Sorcerer Oriele's mind so fixated on it's vigilance that she had not realized she had wandered into the Castletown district of Havan.  She had been ignoring the pain of her parched throat, her supplies had run out several days before she had reached the city; worse yet she could not remember the last time that the sweet nectar that was wine had passed her black painted lips.   Oriele's halted in the street, a drunken fool bumped into her shoulder and splashed ale on the hem of her black robe.  Her piercing blue eyes had caught sight of the sign hanging loosely off the archway only several steps away.  The sign featured a feature of a black gate with the words food and ale written beneath it the picture.  Pushing open the doors she strode into the tavern known as the Black Gate.

   Within this establishment the noise roared louder then that outside the inn, the clamorous voices of the patrons reverberated off the inn walls, with their laughter, song, and conversations.  Wanderers and eager fortune seekers mostly filled the Black Gate.  The veteran warriors gave Oriele only a quick glance before returning their attentions back to their drink or food.  This type of inn was far from conducive to Oriele's usual haunts for solitary contemplation with her wine, but it had to suit her purposes for now.  Her finances had dipped quite low, and she would need further means to fund her personal quest.

  Oriele maneuvered her way through the drunken and not so drunken throng to find a good table out of sight from most of the patrons, and yet provided her with eye on every entrance from it.  She sat within the shadows of her black robes, the silver threads now almost entirely unperceivable in the darkness to even a keen eye as the shadows of the room somehow seemed to make the blackness of her robe even darker.  Her staff she kept close to hand, least she should have need of it.  Beneath her scrawny build hidden beneath the black robes she possessed a lean body of long muscles like that of a jaguar, and a brain power and knowledge of stave combat. 

   She gestured towards one of the barmaids, and it had not been long before the buxom young woman had returned with her Red Wine.  She took hold of the young woman's hand as she let drop a few cheap coppers into her palm.  She thanked her as the ornate bottle of expensive wine had been placed upon the table, along with a black wooden goblet.  Oriele poured herself the wine, sending the barmaid back to those that would better appreciate her company.

   Now fairly comfortable, the black clad sorcerer in the shadows began to survey the room, searching for someone that might be interested in hiring one of her special talents, though she was no master of sorcery, she could easily hold her own against many of her more cunning peers.  Oriele took a few sips from the goblet, her blue eyes piercing through the crowd to the newcomer, a towering wall of muscles of a  man with golden skin making his way through the packed crowd coming directly towards her.  Her left eyebrow raised slightly; interested that he was making his way towards her.  He did not seem to be one of them, but she had a spell already for use and her hand shifting into a ready position for attack should he turn out to be one of their agents.

(If you like what you read and want to read more you can purchase this story by clicking on the link provided.    Oriele the Wanderer  )

ORIELE THE WANDERER

 ORIELE THE WANDERER

 I just finished Oriele the Wanderer.   This story is based after a Forgotten Realms online pbp rpg I DMed.  The Campaigned fizzled out slowly; but I felt like the story was good that it should be shared so this is my attempt at transforming that rpg into a story format.  Though due to certain obvious reasons I had to change the names of places and characters.   So far it's only available on the Nook.  If anyone that reads this blog has a kindle and would like to see it on there be sure to comment.

SYNOPSIS of Oriele:

A mysterious wizard with a no memory of her past is joined on her quest to find herself joined by the most unlikely of companions as champions of order and justice pursue her and her companions across the continent. Though what dark secret does the talisman she keeps truly holds, is it answers to her past or something far more darker.

.

Click on this link below if interested in reading the story of Oriele the Wanderer and her quest to regain her memories.
ORIELE THE WANDERER

A Slight Pause on Ashes of the Fallen to Work on Oriele the Wanderer

I have not really worked on Ashes of the Fallen lately.  I have instead been working on converting an old campaign into a novel form.  I'm going off old records from a Dungeons and Dragons campaign I hosted.  It was originally set in Forgotten Realms, but for obvious reasons I couldn't keep the story set in that world.  So I've made a few alterations to the story.  Hopefully I'll have this story done soon, and then once it's up I'll go back to working on Ashes of the Fallen.
My brother was even nice enough to draw the cover for me for free.  So not much more to say concerning my writing.  Well type more when I have more to type, until then later.  But before I go completely, here's a little sampling of Oriele:

THE BLACK GATE

  The crowded streets of Havan overflowed with women and men drunk on song and wine, too lost in their own carousing and accustomed to strangers to seeking fortune and adventure to notice one more adventurer.  Even one so strangely attired as this black cowled figure that made her way through the throng, her unique robe with it's silver intersecting lines of runes resembling a myriad of interlocking spiderwebs; but only a keen eye that peers deeper then ordinary people would notice the silver threads imbued with magic sewn into the black robe.  And one would need to possess an even keener mind to recognize the arcane nature of the sorcery within those linking runes, though the power these runes in particular gave could not be easily ascertained by one such person merely catching a glimpse of them.
   The black clad sorcerer's sharp ears took in the surrounding noise about her, the clacking of her sorcerous staff muffled by the boisterous shouts and singing of drunks.  Pushing these disturbing noises to the corners of her awareness, her thoughts swirled upon the myriad questions that troubled her mind.  Questions whose answer would burn her to the core, yet the desire for knowledge and truth burned ever a greater inferno within her soul.

For Those Who Have Been Keeping Track of My Writing

I have not done much writing due to certain issues that have been resolved for the time being that need more money invested into them.  I have only written snippets up on Chapter 15.  It's always hard going over old stuff and trying to infuse it with new life so you don't get sick of what you're typing and not stray away, too far, from the original drafting.  

I am currently in the last scene for Chapter 15 which is taking me forever to write as it's a fairly important and big scene for the chapter.  I will not say much more on it then that.  So not much more type on my writing, so I shall type more when I have more.

Chapter 15 At last.

I have finished Chapter 14 this morning. YAY and I am passed the point chapter wise on my rough draft, yet oddly enough because of the all the new stuff and fixes, plot wise I'm still about chapter 7 of the original draft.  But I felt I had to slow the plot down to give the reader time to learn and care about some of the characters in this, so plot though still important took only a minor backseat so I could introduce and let the reader know and hopefully feel more for the characters in this story.  Although some new characters decided to pop their heads into this one, such as Lady Anja, Granny (wink), and Z'ren. And a few other characters got a little make over with name changes and other small minor things that can sometimes make or break a story.  Now I am at last on Chapter 15.  I know it's taking me a long time to write this one, but I hope once it's out there that people will enjoy it.  Type more later.

New Idea For A New Novel

I came up with an idea for a new novel; but of course I can't work on it now as I have not even begun to finish my current set of novel ideas.  For now I've simply written down the basic plot outline for it and came up with a tentative title for it, Dreams of the Tempest.  The title for this new idea sounds more cool to me then the title I came up for the first book in my Ashes of the Fallen series, which is In The Shadows.  The plot for Dreams of the Tempest is very complex and might not actually be very marketable as far as books go.  But until I at least get done with Ashes of the Fallen's first couple books I'm not going to even attempt any drafts on Dreams of the Tempest, though I might work on names for the characters if I get bored at work during my breaks. 

Not much more to type so I'll type more when I have more to say.

Another Update on In The Shadows

I finally finished Chapter 13 and I am now on Chapter 14 of this novel.  I am glad to finally be done with Chapter 13, it was taking far too long.   Chapter 14 should be pretty good as the wheels are finally starting to spin again and the things set up in the beginning chapters are starting to move everything into place for this part of the book.   I am thinking Chapter 14 will see the introduction of the Reldarian Emissary so that should be a fun chapter to write.  Plus there is the fact of Emissary Larenz outrage, that will be a fun scene to write up as well, most likely.  On the Nook In the Shadows is at 98 pages, and still has some way to go before I reach the end of it.   A lot of things have to come to pass before I have this one finished.   Plus watching something inspired me for a character but not sure if he'll show up in this series or the next or a completely different set of books.  I shall type more when I have more to say about my writing project.

Wrote Up More

Wrote up a little more on Chapter 13 of In the Shadows.  Slowly getting this chapter done.   Just a problem of finding the muse to write up the scenes I know have to be written up to finish this chapter.  I'll probably try to work some on it on Tuesday if I don't write anything on my day off this Sunday.

I also wrote up a little more on the third book of ashes of the fallen, The Renegade.  Here is a sampling of what i wrote up.

PROLOGUE

     He would never be safe. It was that simple thought that terrified him most of all as he ran through the rain choked, muddy lanes.  He knew the rhyme and still he dared to hope that even in that legendary kingdom of mages he'd be safe if only he could reach it.  His chest hurt as he felt his heart in his throat.  Rowan heard the sound of their boots splashing in the puddles as they drew ever closer.  He knew escaping the Hounds impossible when they were so close.  He gasped as a hand shot out of the darkness and dragged him completely through the doorway he had been using as cover from the rain and Hounds.  He squirmed and bite down into the hand, and found himself thrown to the wooden floor of the house he had taken for being unoccupied.
   A cowled figure in travel worn and stained silver robe stood over him rubbing his hurt dingy silver gloved hand, "Fool...I know what  you are, and more importantly I know what hunts you in the Dark of the Night.  I have stood in the same place as you do now.  You would be wise not to bite the hand that aids you again."
   Rowan looked up with terrified eyes at this stranger.  The stranger in dirty silver robe held up a finger to his lips calling for silence.  The stranger and Rowan peeked through the shutters as a figure in black wearing long chains that connected from his wrists to his neck and from his wrists down to his feet, sniffed at the window. 

Geometry of Souls

I know I should be working on the first book, In the Shadows; but I wrote up the opening for the Prologue for the second book, Geometry of Souls.  Here is a sample of the Opening for my second book in the Ashes of the Fallen Series which introduces a despicable character called the Necromancer.

GEOMETRY OF SOULS,  Prologue

      "A black figure stalked the deserted streets, his body completely covered by leather; from his boots to his gloved hands and body that ran up almost to his chin, over his head he wore a strange iron helmet with a long beak projecting out of it.  Within this metal beak that covered his mouth and nose were filled with herbal compounds to prevent diseases from infiltrating.   He heard it from that distance, the most disgusting sound to his ears, the bawling of a small child.  He stepped over the occasional corpse that littered the street  as he made his way towards that disgusting sound.  Beneath the mask he frowned as he had hoped the various plagues he had simultaneously released upon this small village would have yielded better results.   He supposed he should have felt grateful that at least this village had produced at least one successful test rat for him.   His time was running out, and he needed the cure for the most fatal of all diseases, mortality."

News on chapter 13 of In the Shadows

Finally got a good start on Chapter 13 of In the Shadows and I am quite pleased with it so far.  I now have Chapter 13 completely plotted out and just have to finish writing it up.   I already have the opening for the second book, Geometry of Souls in my mind and hope I don't lose it.  I wrote down notes for it, so I'm good so long as I don't lose those notes. XD   Moving on Chapter Thirteen sees the introduction of another fairly important character in the Kalunesh Emissary, Telmaru, whose originally name I had as Seren but decided to change it to make it feel more Kalunesh.  Not much more to say on this then I have to go to work later today and probably stayed up way too late working on this; but when inspiration strikes I often find that if I don't start typing it up, it won't come out as good as when I first got inspired for the scenes playing out in my head.   Type more when I have more to say so until then later.

Chapter 12

Worked more on Chapter 12 and finally finished it.  Now moving onto Chapter 13.  Not really a lot more to say then that.  Trying to get In The Shadows finished.   I was hoping I could find some extra money to put into this book at least a couple inside illustrations; but they'll depend on what my finances look like when I feel ready to self publish it.  Not much more to report so I'll type more later.

Deviant art

For those that are interested that come across this blog and are interested in some of my writings this is my gallery on Deviant art.

http://rudh.deviantart.com/gallery/?offset=0

Things As They Stand

Haven't worked much on my Ashes of the Fallen, but wrote up some stuff on a pet project this week.  Hopefully my next days off I'll work on getting further into finishing In the Shadows, the first of the Ashes of the Fallen books.  I got inspired to work on my pet project again after watching fansubs such as Noragami and Tokyo Ravens.  Plus I've been having problems with writing up scenes in In the Shadows to lead to where it needs to go.  I even worked a little on Princess of Darkness, the next short in the Friar Fisher/Wiccan series.  I figured maybe I needed a little break and approach In the Shadows with fresh eyes after working on some other projects these past couple of weeks.