Lissa Dobbs's Blog: Shadow Walkers of Grevared, page 25

Work Toward Your Dreams

We all dream of something. It could be going on a trip, publishing a book, buying a house. A lot of the time, we put these dreams on the back burner and tell ourselves that we’ll get around to them some day. The thing is that ‘someday’ never seems to quite get there. If we want to live our dreams, we have to work on them now, no matter how much we have to sacrifice to do it.

Best wishes!

Lissa Dobbs

http://www.lissadobbs.com

Upcoming Books

Well, things are moving along nicely, I think.  The Chronicles of Ethan Grimley III: Revenge of Cronus will release at the end of October. For this one Ethan returns home to Land’s End for the Yuletide holiday. He’s looking forward to it but apprehensive all the same. His mother, after all, didn’t let him leave home willingly. She restrains herself, however, since Ethan’s friends have come with him. They don’t get a quiet Yuletide, however, as Cronus hasn’t finished with them yet. This time, though, Cronus has an ace that they don’t know about, and Ethan has to deal with the possibility of betrayal along with the angry god.

 

I’m also hoping to have another adult novella out by the end of December. This one will be titled River of Blood, but I haven’t gotten far enough alone to make a cover yet. River of Blood takes place in the Shizzuria Wasteland, and will feature Erastus Hallowell, a ranger with a secret.

There’s also a young adult novel in the works tentatively called Darkmoor Thunder. This one deals with Sophia Theodosia Snettisham, the spoiled daughter of the governor of Starspire. Her father wants her to marry Marcus Pickleberry, but Theo has other ideas. After all, who wants to marry someone named Marcus Pickleberry?

And, finally, after months of staring at it blankly, I’ve finally figured out the ‘book that never ends’. It will definitely be more than one, but, at this time, I’m not sure just how many.

I’m also working on the bestiary for Grevared and some fairy tales for the world. Each of these will, most likely be posted on the website for your viewing pleasure.

It looks like I’ve got my work cut out for me over the next year. At least I don’t have to worry about being bored. At all.

Best wishes!

Lissa Dobbs

http://www.lissadobbs.com

 

 

 

Light Up Someone’s Life

Sometimes, a simple smile can change someone’s day. So, give someone a smile. You never know how much good it can do.

Best wishes!

Lissa Dobbs

http://www.lissadobbs.com

This is My Monkey

We get our inspiration from different places. Some of us like long walks, some of us like movies, some of us like to watch football and drink beer. Me, I have a monkey.

Now, it isn’t a live monkey. It’s a pink monkey. Her name is Galadriel, and she has different outfits. Granted, she mostly wears the camo boxer shorts, but, hey, who wants to be uncomfortable when at home?

Galadriel sits with me while I write. She has her own notebook that stays open on her lap, and when I get stuck, I look over and Galadriel and have a long talk about the plot line. It’s the talking out loud that helps to jog my brain over whatever’s holding it back, but it works, so I don’t argue.

Galadriel also helps out on days when I just don’t want to do anything but sit and stare. You know, those days when nothing goes right, and the only way to fix it is to curl up in a ball and wait on it to pass. All I have to do to get over that is look at her because, let’s face it, you can’t be bummed looking at a pink monkey in camo boxer shorts.

Best wishes!

 

 

Let Your Light Shine!

Let your light shine for all to see. Never let someone else tell you who you are or what you’re meant to be.

Best wishes!

Lissa Dobbs

http://www.lissadobbs.com

Muhulda Speaks – Unlock the Truth

Shadow Walker

The Story of a Rogue

 

This reporter recently interviewed one Barnabas Merriweather, leader of the entire Shadow Walker guild, and I have to say that I was less than impressed. Mr. Merriweather spent more time dodging my questions than he did answering them. I wonder what he’s hiding?

In an effort to discover this truth, your favorite reporter spoke with Constable Etienne Lamcombe of the Enforcers, and what he had to say, especially about some of his fellow officers, was quite an eye opener.

According to Constable Lancombe, there is a series of documents entitled The Annals of the Shadow Walkers (available on Amazon and other platforms) that date back hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years and detail each and every mission the Shadow Walker guild has undertaken since its inception.   Constable Lancombe has attempted to access these documents, but he was told by one Eleanor Hestenfield, of Sangeron, that those outside of the guild were not allowed to view the documents.   Is there something in these documents that exposes the Shadow Walkers for who and what they really are? You decide.

 

 

Learning Experience

Well, I’ve been learning how to use the software to make my covers what I want them to be, and I think I’ve finally made one I like for Wolf in the Shadow. Now, I’ve just got to do the others. The new cover should be on all ebooks and print books in the next couple of days. It took a while, but at least I finally figured it out.

The Shizzuria Wasteland – What the Heck is Gonna Live Here?

The Shizzuria Wasteland shares a continent with Riverland Pearlrest, a collection of rich communities made up of those who made their fortunes mining the precious minerals that are found in the mountains of the wasteland.

The Shizzuria Wasteland is a glacier several miles thick.  The climate is one of perpetual winter with year round snow storms and temperatures that rarely reach above freezing.  The only real resources in this area are the minerals that have been mined from the mountains, and most of the small towns in the Shizzuria Wasteland are mining towns.

Four small towns sit on the edge of the glacier: Grenvor, Whitedale, Pearlwater Sky, and Shizzuria Landing.  With the exception of Pearlwater Sky, which is the eastern port of the continent, these are rustic towns with only the most basic goods.  Newpost and Ofleim are larger towns with a little more to offer, though all are affected by the weather.

A railroad connects most of the towns in Riverland Pearlrest and the Shizzuria Wasteland; however, the tracks are impassable in the coldest months of the year, and freak snow storms in the warmer months can also render them useless.

Several ruins dot the wasteland, and these are sources of great interest to many of the Halfling communities in the area.  It is not uncommon to find groups of Halflings, as well as those from the academic institutions of other countries, travelling the wasteland in search of knowledge.  Some believe many of the ruins come from the time before The Catastrophe, while others work hard to prove that this isn’t the case.

A number of creatures populate the mountains and forests of the Shizzuria Wasteland.  One of these is the coniklo, a creature like a horned rabbit, that lives in the mountain region.  Another creature that inhabits the wasteland is the dajowjut.  This being is somewhat bearlike with a long snout and talons.  It can walk on either two feet or four feet, and it will search relentlessly for humanoids to eat.

Now, here’s where I start running into trouble.  I want there to be original creatures in the world of Grevared, especially since the world itself is an amalgamation of all thirteen planes of existence.  However, I think there should be wolves and reindeer as well, things that we all recognize as belonging in a frozen wasteland.

I’ve pretty much binge-watched most of the Wildest Arctic show on Netflix (I’m in love, by the way), and there are so many possibilities here.  The show covers the Arctic Sea, the Taiga forest, and tons of other areas I would absolutely love to see.  The beauty of these places is breath-taking, and there’s such a diverse animal population that it’s hard to decide just what to use to populate the land.  However, I’m thinking something like the North American Musk Oxen has got to be there.  This creature is just downright cool.  Their skulls are seventeen centimeters thick, which comes in handy since they don’t seem real bright.  Banging their heads together just for the right to mate with females?  Whatever.  I can just hear the sound echoing through the quiet of the wasteland, perhaps catching Erastus’s attention and pulling him off track.

The mountain regions of the Shizzuria Wasteland are rocky and steep.  There are caves used by the Rangers all through them, but there really isn’t a long of greenery; the ice doesn’t melt enough to allow it.  What little forest exists on the wasteland is around the town of Whitedale, one of those just at the edge of the glacier.  This could create a problem for herbivore species unless they live primarily in Riverland Pearlrest and simply cross the Shizzuria Wasteland.  I suppose that’s a possibility, but Riverland Pearlrest is much more developed than the wasteland.  In fact, there’s even an amusement park in Riverland Pearlrest.  So, more creatures could live there, but the humanoids who have built manors there aren’t going to take too kindly to it.  Perhaps there needs to be a forest, at least a small one, among the mountains.  At least some way for creatures to eat.  On the other hand, if there isn’t, then that leaves lots of possibilities for animals and the like to invade the towns.  Hmmm…….

And what about the lights?  Grevared exists in a void space with its own rules of physics, so there’s a lot about our world that simply doesn’t work there.  However, the gods helped to fashion it, and there’s definitely an atmosphere.  It rains, it snows, but there’s never any real sunshine.  So, would lights of some kind work?  They obviously couldn’t be the Northern or Southern Lights, but could there be some kind of phenomena that only occurs over the Shizzuria Wasteland?  It’s something to consider.

This is where world building gets a little complicated.  There are so many possibilities and details to consider, especially since the story I’m currently working on is based here, that it can make one’s head spin.  Still, though, it also makes for hours of entertainment, and I never have a chance to get bored.

Best wishes!

Visit my website for information on books set in the world of Grevared.

 

 

 

 

A Walker is Born

https://books2read.com/u/mVDKrb

Those who’ve been around a while know that the first book in The Chronicles of Ethan Grimley III is A Walker is Born. Since book three is coming out this October, I decided to make the first book permanently free where I could. The above link is for the platforms where it is free. Hopefully, it won’t be long before I can have it free on Amazon as well.

Best wishes!

The Chronicles of Ethan Grimley III

I was concerned that I might not get book three, Revenge of Cronus finished in time to release in October, but it looks like I’m right on track. That being the case, I went ahead and did a trailer for it. Hope you enjoy.

Best wishes!

https://youtu.be/nkZvHVQ_wHI