Tag Archives: Darkspire Reaches. science fantasy

Research for historic characters.

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Here is something I think people might enjoy. If a character is linked to a place, even by implication, it is needful to know extensive details about the aforesaid place to get a greater understanding of the character. Now did Merlin have a hand in the construction of Stonehenge? He was an enchanter by repute. Just how long did he live and was he human or not? Legends begin with some element of truth.

Oh, and the picture is my personal property taken on a visit over the pond. As I said, I believe in extensive research.

I can haz pretties!

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Finally got my books. I have no idea what happened to the first box, sent before xmas, but these got here safe. If anyone would like to buy a signed copy off me, I have the first two books of the Shadow Series, Shadow Over Avalon and Sword of Shadows and the first book of the Wyvern series, Darkspire Reaches. I am shipping the first few off tomorrow.

If anyone would like all three books, I will include a postcard of Darkspire Reaches and Shadow Over Avalon.

Writing Process … Eureka moment.

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Everything can look good, flow well and be a good follow-on at face value but I knew there was something missing. I couldn’t put my finger on it and have been procrastinating, but now I know. I needed a secondary driver to ramp up the angst and the humor moments.

Now I am a happy camper. Now the storyline is in place properly and will work as I intended. Now I have to sit down and stuff in around 30k words in various places. Kicks self. I should have thought of this before. Just looking at the driver now I can see how crucial it is. Still, better now than later.

I guess I will have plenty of time to work on it today as I don’t intend to go anywhere. Someone gave me a late xmas present of a cold that I am trying to fight off. Double Grrrss.

Mind Tricks.

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I had a strange revelation this morning and maybe it is because I am not entirely awake, having not yet had my second cup of coffee. Yes, it is currently very dark o clock. I can’t sleep as usual. Anyhow, I was working on Facebook and it came to me how I pictured my friends on there.

Now this is the weird thing as most of you have profile pictures and some of you I have met in person, but I tend to think of your name in letters when I am reading your post or thinking of you on that site. Not the known image or memories, the written name. This is the identifying factor, much more than the profile picture, which may or may not have your image. I wonder if it is because most profile pictures tend to change, but a name does not?

Aside from that, I was idly playing with thoughts on what I would like to be on the cover of the second Otherworld series book, Serpent of the Shangrove. Now it absolutely has to have a dragon. That is a given. I think I would rather like the dragon/serpent to be in the Shangrove. Oh and I do have an image in my mind for that. It is on this trailer.

Digital Cover

The good, the bad and the wonderful!

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The good is that my office reno is progressing and I expect to finish this weekend. I also expect to finish my picture of a Green Man for my office wall. If I can find my camara, I will post a picture of this. It got lost in the renos.

The bad is certain people, who are professionals, told lies. This is causing me a lot of stress when it should have been a slam dunk and no, this isn’t writing related. The result was that I had to light a cyber bomb under that person’s ass and report them to their boss, who is now doing damage control. The people he needs to liaise with are out of the office until Monday. More stress. Added to which, I stupidly let one of my paint rollers dry up and this has put my reno back to the weekend.

The wonderful? Awesome people are collecting their pre-orders of signed copies of Shadow Over Avalon. I shall soon be able to remit money owing to my publisher for these units. Incidentally, the lion’s share goes to the printers, who have done a wonderful job with the printing and translation of the cover work. Much thanks to Eveliin Enorkson and Ken Dawson for a fantastic cover. So what is this book about?

Avalon conjures up images of King Arthur. At the end of the legend, he was mortally wounded by Mordred and with his last breath, he promised to return at the time of his people’s greatest need. Now fast forward into the far future where there are methods of extracting D.N.A from peripheral descendants. The newly created person is not connected to his past, excepting for fleeting dream images of ancient times. He gradually becomes aware of his purpose and those who would thwart it. Nothing is as it seems. The stakes are the survival of humanity faced with unspeakable odds. Can Arthur achieve his ultimate purpose, or will he succumb to the plans of a hidden enemy? This is not about what happened before: this is what happens next. This epic length book is not for the faint of heart. Lives are broken. Romances shattered. Life continues, or does it?

Shadow Over Avalon is the first book of a series. The next book, Sword of Shadows, is due for release by Kristell Ink next in 2014. The saga continues.

 

Charaters. Where do they come from?

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In light of the recent five star rating and comment on Shadow Over Avalon, I have gone into a quiet corner to think this through. My characters explode in my mind in the form or dreams and they are fully fledged individuals set on a certain path. I don’t work to construct an interesting character. Honestly, I have no idea how to do this. It is a visceral thing.

My story lines come through dreams. A scene pops up and I run with it, wherever it leads. What is important to me is that I must be able to see through a characters eyes. The characters must live in the eyes of the readers and therefore, they must live and breath in mine. I had not really thought about this before, but they do come alive.

Not one character is totally good, or totally evil. Life isn’t like that. People are an admixture between the two. A foul toad may well have reasonable wants or needs of his own. A hero/ heroine will have character flaws. None of us are perfect people and this must be reflected. Good people do make mistakes and bad people do have mitigating reasons in their own minds. It is what it is.

Not one single character from my books was taken from real life as far as I am aware. I have been told by physics that I am an old soul, who has had had previous lives. Opens mouth wide to shovel in a ton of salt with this. Wherever my characters come from, they are very real to me. The  only life form I have ever brought into my books from real life was an amalgam of my cats for the character of Kryling, a firedrake from Darkspire Reaches, so there you have it.