Graeme Rodaughan's Blog: Writing The Metaframe War Series, page 4

The Temple of Thoth

The Temple of Thoth is the scene of the Prologue for A Subtle Agency, it was designed by Ahknaton and constructed over a twenty year timeframe.

Key Points.

[1] The entrance to the lower levels is via an archway into an antechamber within the body of the main temple.

[2] A descending hall leads from the antechamber to the first landing.

[3] Another descending hall (a switchback) leads from the first landing to the second landing.

[4] The second landing gives access to a descending spiral staircase to the Halls of the Gods.

[5] The Halls of the Gods, is a terrifying maze of horrific and lethal traps - you need ramp abilities and knowledge to navigate the maze safely.

[6] A descending hall leads from the exit of the Halls of the Gods to the third landing.

[7] The third landing has a secret and locked door in the floor, to open it you need to press a series of flagstones in the correct sequence. Only Ahknaton knew the sequence and the door resets after a set period of time (also unknown).

[8] The third landing secret door provides access to a spiral staircase leading to the Chamber of Worlds.

[9] The Chamber of Worlds is an inverted, empty, pyramid, with some specific properties.

[9.1] It is coated with a substance that induces vertigo. Only Ramp capable people or vampires (as it turns out) are able to control the vertigo.

[9.2] There are a series of levels on the inside of the pyramid approx ten feet wide, ten feet high each and descending down to the inverted apex of the pyramid.

[10] At the bottom of the Chamber of Worlds is an open doorway into a descending, curving hall that leads to Anknaton's tomb chamber.

[11] Ahknaton's tomb chamber has a secret door that is only opened by "Ahknaton's Key," the same device that is used to provide full access to the Metaframe.

[12] The secret door leads along a flat corridor to the Chamber of the Metaframe - which is located directly beneath the inverted pyramid.

I hope this helps readers visualise the events in the prologue.

Preorder The Dragon's Den

The Dragon's Den

Is now available for Preorder with release on the 31st January 2018.

AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078QFTCMS
B&N (NOOK): https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-...
APPLE: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id13...
KOBO: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-...

The Metaframe War - January ARC for The Dragon's Den

Hi All,




[ARC READ]: As of January 15th 2018, I will be supplying members of the Castle Dracula group access to FREE Advance Reader Copies of The Dragon's Den, book 3 of the Metaframe War in the following formats.

[1] PDF - based on the CreateSpace paperback format.
[2] ePUB - Draft2Digital format.
[3] Mobi - Amazon Kindle format

[MORE FREE BOOKS]: In support of the ARC read, I will be offering my first two books, A Subtle Agency, and A Traitor's War, under the same conditions immediately, to allow interested readers the opportunity to catch up before the 15th of January.

[WHAT TO DO?]:

How to access all this generous bounty?

[1] Go to: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... and add a comment joining the ARC read.

[2] PM me on Goodreads with the following.

(a) your email address so that I can email you the files.
(b) your desired format (PDF, ePUB, Mobi).

--- Please remember, you have to be a Castle Dracula member and you must add a comment joining the ARC read before I will send you any files.

This ARC read for The Dragon's Den will operate as one of the Book of the Month reads for the Castle Dracula group, and I will participate in the read so you can ask me any questions you like during the reading process.

[FINAL NOTE]: The Dragon's Den will be formally published on the 31st January 2018.

[THANKS]: I would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to Elaine, our host and moderator at Castle Dracula for the generous support of her Group.

CHRISTMAS DISCOUNTS

CHRISTMAS DISCOUNTS FOR DECEMBER: A Subtle Agency ($0.99 USD) and A Traitor's War ($2.99 USD) will be discounted from the 11th December to the 28th December.

All my books are published via Draft2Digital and Amazon on the following platforms.





AMAZON US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FS73TXY
APPLE, NOOK, KOBO, et al: https://www.books2read.com/u/mqpNB8





AMAZON US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06ZZ8ZLKD
APPLE, NOOK, KOBO, et al: https://www.books2read.com/u/4Do82r

Standard pricing is US $3.99 for each book.

Reading

It occurs to me that I have the capacity to read approximately thirty books a year - and I love to read.

That's 300 books in a decade.

Perhaps a thousand books left to read before I die.

On reflection - the bottom line is that I'm gonna DNF a book if it doesn't hook me early and demonstrate something special - something worthy of my time.

Time is limited.

Time is irreplaceable.

Time is precious.

I'm looking for the best reading experiences going. I want characters with depth and nuance, characters I can love and hate, and sometimes both at the same time. I want narratives with the power to immerse me in an imaginary world and hold me there. I want stories that are unforgettable and which I'm devastated by when they end - knowing that a re-read will be the only solution to my grief.

This is my reading life, this is the life I want to live.

An Awkward Moment

An awkward moment.

The One Ring has been destroyed, Sauron is gone forever, and two friends, Gimli and Legolas, are enjoying a few quiet brews together in an Inn. Gimli pulls out an old silver locket from his pocket, opens it and smiles fondly at the pictures inside.

Legolas: "What's that Gimli?"

Gimli: "Why this is a locket I inherited from my father Gloin."

Legolas: "I thought it looked familiar."

Gimli: "Why, have you seen it before?"

Legolas: "Yes. When I caught your father and a bunch of other dwarves sneaking through Mirkwood without my father's permission."

Gimli: "Oh?... Sneaking?"

Legolas: "Yeah. We found them in the forest about to be slaughtered by giant spiders, so we saved them. We then threw the lot of them in our dungeon, but Bilbo used the One Ring to free them. Led me on a right merry chase as they got away."

Gimli: "Dungeon? You had my father in a dungeon? He never mentioned it."

Legolas: "Well, I'm not surprised. He might have been a bit upset by being rescued from the spiders by elves. After all, what dwarf would want to be called Gloin Rescuedbyelves. It doesn't have the same gravitas as Oakenshield, does it?"

Gimli: "I find this all very strange. Are you sure this happened?"

Legolas: "Absolutely. The memory is crystal clear, as if it happened yesterday. Gloin was showing me the drawings in the locket, and I pointed out your mother and said to him, 'Is that your brother?' and (eyes streaming tears of mirth) I pointed out your picture and I said, (wheezes) 'Is that a Goblin Mutant?'"

Legolas slapped his thigh, laughing long and hard.

Legolas: "Now isn't that just hilari...."

The Day Guard Book Covers

Yes (fist pumps...). The covers are now available.

Kindle.



Paperback.



Still targeting release at the end of December 2018



Blurb:

IT’S A HOT WAR.

Cornelius Crane, King of the Vampire Dominion, has his eyes fixed on the final destruction of the Mirovar force team and Anton Slayne.

The Day Guard is ready. Crane’s new super-soldiers can fight the Ramp masters of the Order of Thoth and the Red Empire during daylight.

The Order of Thoth has called a secret conclave to decide who will lead. The faceless men who run the Order will stop at nothing to ensure Francis Mirovar does not become the next Head of the Order.

Rogue vampire general, Chloe Armitage, seeks a new alliance with an ancient foe. A terrible power Anton Slayne has never seen before.

Will the Day Guard tip the balance of power in favor of Cornelius Crane? Will the faceless men of the Order secure their grip on power? Will Chloe Armitage advance her enigmatic cause?

Will Anton Slayne and his friends prevail, or will the last true hope of humanity versus the vampires be extinguished forever?

The Mind Palace

To quote Juliette Mirovar.

“The mind palace relies on two interlocking factors. The fundamental mind palace discipline, and the use of the implant-laptop-Internet cloud to access massive data. The first is personal training and discipline, and the second is technology. The human-machine interface has a quirk. There is no way you can physically access the raw data and comprehend it. The technology creates a gestalt experience, essentially a vivid, lucid dream, where the information is presented in metaphorical imagery. A talented, and skilled loremaster can guide and interpret the dream to establish an augmented view of reality that approaches precognition.” - Juliette Mirovar, loremaster

Writing Update: The Dragon's Den

Writing Update. Still inside chapter 7 (of 11). When I started The Dragon's Den, I was thinking this would be the easiest of the three books to write as it is dominated by action sequences, and I excel at action.

Well - I WAS SO COMPLETELY WRONG - this book is as difficult to write as A Traitor's War was, and I'm sure ATW burned out a few brain cells computing the collision of half a dozen competing agendas.

There is an underlying complexity present in TDD due to the simple fact that all the players are intelligent and adaptive. Anyone who survives a combat adapts intelligently and implements fresh tactics prompting adaption on the other side.

Writing this book is like juggling half a dozen electrified cobras and attempting not to bitten or shocked.

Got a few days off this week, so expect to complete Ch 7 this week and move on to Ch 8.

New Author Interview by Book Blogger Sheila Goicea

At https://www.shesgoingbookcrazy.com/si...