Kyle Belote's Blog, page 11

World-building a Sequel—The Demon’s Fate

…And I’m back! Welcome to Outpost Dire, home to the shared Dire Universe of epic, grimdark fantasy, military sci-fi, thrillers, and more! Let’s dive right in.

I’ve been spending a bit of time worldbuilding—or shall I say galaxy building? Okay, that’s a little cheesy. Regardless, there’s a lot that the first book, The Demon’s Fate (TDF), didn’t cover that I’m now having to construct. In many ways, it’s fun, and I’m enjoying the challenge. Other times, I’m pulling at my beard. 

When I wrote the TDF, it was supposed to be a one-off. I didn’t have any inclination of returning to the book and making it a series. Why? Well, it wasn’t about the ship or the crew or who they were; the story is about the world, and I think a lot of people missed that. In a way, it’s a character, too. Moreover, it’s a character already been introduced in my other works. You have to read between the lines to see what I’m talking about. All the hints are there, but it’s subtle. In the grand scheme, it’s about a shared universe. 

So, what am I having to world build? Everything. Remember, TDF has two locations: the ship and the world. They’ve lost their memories, and therefore, I saved myself some world building. It’s a mystery. What happened to them? Why did they forget? What planet are they fleeing? Why?

With the sequel, there’s still the mystery aspect, a continuation of the previous story, but now the reader is coming from a perspective of being introduced into the larger galaxy, even though humans are only a small corner of it. In fact, they’re still on the same block in terms of scale. Think of it this way. A city is the galaxy. They’ve left their home (Earth) and begin traveling down the road (block). By the distance traveled, they are between their home and the neighbor’s. Not too far. 

Things I’ve fleshed out. Why did they leave Earth? How many escaped? What led to them leaving? How many ships did they have? How many now? Who is the admiralty? How many officers make up this group? Is there a government? Are there different types of ships, and if so, what are their sizes and specialties?

Storywise, I’m still very much in the fleet aspect, which so far has taken the first fifteen chapters. For those of you who want a word count, that’s the first third of the book. I’m about 31k in. Not too far, but I’ve had to stop and world build a lot. There are two types of books out there, especially in the sci-fi ‘verse, those who explain things to you so you can immerse yourself, and those books who don’t and you, the reader, take everything at face value. It just works … because! 

I plan to write more blogs in the upcoming weeks as I work my way through the book. Maybe release some notes of my world building, talk about characters, or whatever. For those who’ve read the book, I’m always open for questions.  

That’s it for this round, short and sweet. I shall return…

If you enjoyed this content, check out my books, The Bearer of Secrets, Mark of the Profane, The Demon’s Fate, The Dark Portal, and For Heathens of Heaven on Amazon. All works are available on Kindle Unlimited, eBook, and print. Reviews can be found on Goodreads and Amazon.

Searching for a Beta Reader

…And I’m back! Welcome to Outpost Dire, home to the shared Dire Universe of epic, grimdark fantasy, military sci-fi, thrillers, and more! Let’s dive right in.

I’m in the hunt for a beta reader and wanted to give any lucky reader out there an opportunity. Later this year, I plan on releasing a self-help book on writing called Flawed to the Core: Building Memorable Characters and Writing. I’ve had it edited a while back and had a few from my writing group read segments of it, but now, I’d like an unbiased opinion.

The book covers tools you’ll need to write, knowing the type of writer you are, world building with several methods, story structure and the various types, character motivations, and creating memorable but flawed characters. And that’s just the first five chapters. The second half focuses on honing your writing skills like conflict types, writing dialogue and dialogue tags, action and risking the characters, sex, adverbs, filler words, repetition, and self-editing.

The book is eight chapters long and 47k words. So, it’s a streamlined approach to writing. I’ve tried to cover the big topics within in a no-nonsense way by cutting out a lot of filler that other books have. So, does this sound like something you’d want to read? Feel free to contact me through the website if you’d like to read.

That’s it for this round, short and sweet. I shall return…

If you enjoyed this content, check out my books, The Bearer of Secrets, Mark of the Profane, The Demon’s Fate, The Dark Portal, and For Heathens of Heaven on Amazon. All works are available on Kindle Unlimited, eBook, and print. Reviews can be found on Goodreads and Amazon.

Warmaster—TDF Sequel

…And I’m back! Welcome to Outpost Dire, home to the shared Dire Universe of epic, grimdark fantasy, military sci-fi, thrillers, and more! Let’s dive right in.

I’ve definitely switched gears from THOLAC and into The Demon’s Fate (TDF) sequel. I always knew that when I ended the first book what the title would be if I was going to continue the story. As you can see from above, the title is Warmaster. In TDF, Chief Regent Andrea Hessner is the older sister of Warmaster Velaria “Vara” Hessner.

So, what makes the sequel different than the original? Well, world building for starters. TDF didn’t have much world building. Why? The crew wakes up with amnesia, so they don’t remember. Additionally, they’re on a ship and hurtling back to fleet at FTL—Faster than light-speed. So, alone on a ship with five members, doesn’t leave much for world building. Instead, it was a character dive and morality story. With WM, everything I swept under the rug as ‘nonexistent” has come back to haunt me. Granted, at the time of writing TDF, I didn’t know if I even would revisit this segment of my shared universe, so it mattered little.

Now, moving full steam ahead, I find myself stopping to world build every chapter. Don’t get me wrong, that’s not a complaint. I’m enjoying it this time around. I’ve set up their government, I’ve arranged their fleets and given them parameters to work within, mapped out their security clearances, described their truncated version of society, introduced an alien race, introduced several new characters, expanded the admiralty, etc. So, WM will have everything the first book didn’t have. So, I hope you enjoy it.

I’m right around the 30k mark, and judging by my hasty outline of where I’m going, this book will likely be longer than the previous by a significant portion. We’ll see. There will be revisit to Celesta 6, as it’s the logical destination/ culminating point. I can’t wait to deep dive and nurture the story waiting to be told.

I’ve written the back jacket blurb. It may change in time or I may leave it. So, for now, it’s the placeholder, and I wanted to share it with you.

“We don’t know what happened to the crew. We don’t know who fabricated this audio file. We don’t know what happened to the SAVI unit, the ship, or what the … alien artifact can do. Our job is to find out. We’re stealing the ship, defying orders, and prepping for a one-way ticket, but we’ll be sure to bring hell with us. This mission is a voluntary basis, and we’re not coming back until we know what happened to The Demon, my sister, and her crew. I told Andrea that I’d tear the galaxy apart to find her, and that’s what I intend to do.”

That’s it for this round, short and sweet. I shall return…

If you enjoyed this content, check out my books, The Bearer of Secrets, Mark of the Profane, The Demon’s Fate, The Dark Portal, and For Heathens of Heaven on Amazon. All works are available on Kindle Unlimited, eBook, and print. Reviews can be found on Goodreads and Amazon.

THOLAC 2.4–Burnout

…And I’m back! Welcome to Outpost Dire, home to the shared Dire Universe of epic, grimdark fantasy, military sci-fi, thrillers, and more! Let’s dive right in.

In short, what the title says. I’m burned out on THOLAC. While I hold a special place in my heart for the book, there is such a thing as too much. So, I’m pushing pause on the round 2 rewrites, stopping at about the 40% mark. So, what am I going to do in the meantime? Glad you asked.

I once started working on The Demon’s Fate (TDF) sequel, and I think I’m going to go back to that, at least temporarily. The first time around, I got about 25k into the novel and just kinda … stopped. I was warring with myself on where I wanted to go in the story. Utilizing what I’ve learned from THOLAC, that some very loose, barebones plotting is better than absolutely nothing. This gives me a direction to go yet still spontaneity can happen. I think I like this method.

That said, I tossed some ideas around yesterday, and I think I will migrate over to TDF sequel. Speaking of sequels, I’m partial to the thought of a series of novellas for The Dark Portal (TDP). So, those are also on the back burner and might be moving to the forefront. What’s more, the entire universe I’m creating is tethered together, so there could be elements or species introduced in TDP or in TDF that could carry over into other stories. The backbone of everything is in my main fantasy series. With Volume II hitting the shelf this year, I hope to have volume III out either in 2022 or early 2023. Only time and finances will tell.

That’s it for this round, short and sweet. I shall return…

If you enjoyed this content, check out my books, The Bearer of Secrets, Mark of the Profane, The Demon’s Fate, The Dark Portal, and For Heathens of Heaven on Amazon. All works are available on Kindle Unlimited, eBook, and print. Reviews can be found on Goodreads and Amazon.

Mark of the Profane is Live!

“There’s a monster inside everyone, and I embraced mine to save us all!”

The day has arrived! I’m proud to bring you the second book in the Dark Legacy Series! Pick up your copy today and enjoy this bloody and relentless war epic of sword and sorcery. Title is available on KindleUnlimited, so you can read for free! Paperback is also available.

New Book Release: 5 Days. Live Aug 1st.

…And I’m back! Welcome to Outpost Dire, home to the shared Dire Universe of epic, grimdark fantasy, military sci-fi, thrillers, and more! Let’s dive right in.

It’s been a long, incredible journey to bring you Mark of the Profane, volume II of the Dark Legacy Series. What’s in store for this epic tome? Everything you’d expect, except twisted on its head. This bloody and gritty tale will leave you breathless, horrified, and elated. Betrayal lurks around every corner, renegades roll the dice and turn every advantage into a chance for chaos, and those who wield magic have it in spades.

I’m drawn to characters, the internal conflict, the relatable choices people are faced with. The world isn’t black and white, choice A or choice B. There’s a minefield of murk between a great decision and a terrible one. I’m more interested in the tales that wade through this swamp. Moreover, the effects of such choices, whether devastating or epic, send ripples through the pond and affect everyone around them.

In this book, you won’t find “dashing” male heroes and “strong” female characters. No, you’ll find flawed, relatable people who are both jackasses and badasses, who do great and terrible things in their own right. This isn’t noble-bright fantasy. There isn’t a happy ever after. This is grimdark, an epic war fantasy. Similar books with tone and character are Joe Abercrombie’s First Law Trilogy and Martin’s A Game of Thrones.

If you want a tale that will keep your guessing, takes the path less traveled, and isn’t cookie-cutter and crammed with modern ideology, then you’ve come to the right place. And if all goes well, you’ll be getting the third volume much sooner than you’d expect.

That’s it for this round, short and sweet. I shall return…

If you enjoyed this content, check out my books, The Bearer of Secrets, Mark of the Profane, The Demon’s Fate, The Dark Portal, and For Heathens of Heaven on Amazon. All works are available on Kindle Unlimited, eBook, and print. Reviews can be found on Goodreads and Amazon.

12 Days Until Hell Is Unleashed—Mark of the Profane

The wait is almost over! Secrets, betrayal, blackmail, and the carnage of war await in this sequel. Who will survive? Who will thrive? Preorder now for the August 1st release!

“Within the confines of her dark prison, a new hush crept over the air. Something stirred beyond the edge of her vision in the tenebrous gloom. Her spine tingled. A new predator stalked her, one she couldn’t escape. As the panic grew, her consciousness slipped beyond the precipice …”

August 1st—Mark of the Profane

The wait is over! The war rages on. Come the dawn, the world of Ermaeyth will never be the same again.

Preorder available now!

THOLAC 2.3

…And I’m back! Welcome to Outpost Dire, home to the shared Dire Universe of epic, grimdark fantasy, military sci-fi, thrillers, and more! Let’s dive right in.

In the world of rewrites, the progress is slow in the past week or so, but I’m still plugging along. I’m eight chapters in out of thirty, so close to 1/3 of the way through. I’ve focused on Amice first, the female partner to Maro, the main protagonist. Though Amice hovers between the cusp of secondary character and co-lead, she is a vital part of the story, and she needed her own distinct voice when standing side by side with Maro.

Now that her chapters are finished, I’m going to switch over to secondary characters Glyn and Dokana. While their chapters have nothing to do with the main arc, together they paint a more robust picture of the entire story instead of the one dimensional outside-looking-in narration. With them, I want to paint a more sinister and bleak outlook, jaded by the realities of war, and what it means to be prisoners for the losing side.

I’ve given a lot of thought on what the focuses of the rewrites would be. Since I’ve chosen voice as the second draft, I developed a roadmap on what my driving points will be. The numbers below indicate which draft version.

Get the story downFocus on voice and narration, broad internal thoughts, develop tone for each characterThe senses and details: visuals, smells, what do the buildings look like—bring the world to life with weather and sounds.Detail focus: does the story flow, plot details, reverse outline—form an outline based upon the details of each chapter for quick reference. Soft edit on word choice.Final—Line Edit: My hard edit, going line by line, word by word. This stage is to get it as polished as possible to send to the editor.

So, that’s my game plan for the foreseeable future. We’ll see if I stick to it or make changes as needed.

That’s it for this round, short and sweet. I shall return…

If you enjoyed this content, check out my books, The Bearer of Secrets, Mark of the Profane, The Demon’s Fate, The Dark Portal, and For Heathens of Heaven on Amazon. All works are available on Kindle Unlimited, eBook, and print. Reviews can be found on Goodreads and Amazon.

Bad News For Mark of the Profane

…And I’m back! Welcome to Outpost Dire, home to the shared Dire Universe of epic, grimdark fantasy, military sci-fi, thrillers, and more! Let’s dive right in.

Without preamble: Mark of the Profane, volume II of the Dark Legacy Series, goes live on August 1st! Preorder available now.

So, bad news first. Amazon Marketing sucks! What I mean by that is this: they’ve rejected any advertising on my book six different times. Why? Because there’s blood on the cover. In their estimation, this extreme violence and gore. Here are my thoughts on it. If it’s too bloody or gory to advertise, then it’s too bloody or gory to sell. Practice what you preach, Amazon. Get rid of the countless thousands of books with a sword, dragon, a knight, or anything fantasy war-related.

Instead of going on a tangent, I’ve cut my soapbox short, and we’ll leave it at that. So, it’s either get a new cover in less than 2 weeks to launch or just don’t advertise. So, I’m going with the latter option, but with a twist. I’m heavily promoting two of my other books at the moment, and I’m thinking about doing the third. On top of that, I will be releasing another book later in the year on writing, so I’ll hopefully drum up some interest with that book as well. If I can pen a book on writing and have people read it, maybe they’ll take a leap of faith with one of my other works with an actual story. At least they’ll see me practice what I preach.

Submissions for a critique are still open. Peruse the blog for the details. I did have one person submit, and it was a delightful experience. I hope to share with more people. There isn’t anything like a good critique without the rose-colored lenses of those closest to you.

That’s it for this round, short and sweet. I shall return…

If you enjoyed this content, check out my books, The Bearer of Secrets, Mark of the Profane, The Demon’s Fate, The Dark Portal, and For Heathens of Heaven on Amazon. All works are available on Kindle Unlimited, eBook, and print. Reviews can be found on Goodreads and Amazon.