Matthew Cesca's Blog, page 7

Redemption & Ruin Available for Preorder!

The moment you've all been waiting for has finally arrived.  The digital copies of Redemption & Ruin are now available for preorder.  Order now and the Kindle version will download to your device at midnight of June 23rd.  As usual, Amazon doesn't allow me to set up a preorder for paperback copies, but rest assured that I will get the physical version up as soon as possible on the release date.  As a paperback junkie myself, I definitely want my own copy for that bookshelf bling.



In addition to getting the preorder set up today, I've also given my website a complete face lift.  So while you're here, I'd appreciate it if you went and gave it a look.  I spent quite a few hours on it, moving images by a milometer one way and then back the other over and over again until it was perfect.

I also created and made new bookmarks for my various books, and I'm dying to get my hands on those.  You can check out the designs below.  The top two are front and back of one, and the bottom two are front and back of the other.

I like to use bookmarks as business cards.  I think it's a nice touch.  But if there's any interest for them from my dear readers, I may go ahead and sell them for a couple of bucks each.  Let me know if there's any interest in the comments below and I'll follow up on it.

Introducing Redemption & Ruin: The Forbidden Scrolls Part II

Ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys, children of all ages; I have some news to share with you.  We are just over a month away from the release of the next book in the Forbidden Scrolls trilogy.  And today I'm happy to share the cover and the official title with you.  Behold, "Redemption & Ruin":

As you may recall, Redemption & Ruin was the working title for this project.  In the end, it really did encapsulate the theme of this part of the story too well to be replaced.

Once again I have to thank Richard Chapman over at FantasyMapInk for this wonderful series of covers he's been making for me.  I love the simple aesthetic of them with the detail of the world map that he created in the background.  It gives the books a classic feel, and I can't wait to get my hands on the finished product.

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In addition to the cover and title reveal, I also have a release date announcement for you all!  You can get your hands on the latest entry in this series on June 23rd!  That's just a little more than a month away!  I expect to have the digital copies available for preorder within the next few days.  Physical copies, as usual, won't have a preorder because Amazon doesn't do that.  But they will be available as soon as humanly possible on June 23rd.

Coming Soon: Something New and Different

So, how's everyone doing?  You hanging in there?  Are you talking to people?  Staying connected?  Are you eating enough?  To say that it's been a long and challenging month understates the situation out there in the world, and I wanted to start off this post by just doing a check in.  And just a reminder to all of you, it's okay to ask for help.  People out there care about you.

Well, like you, I've been affected by the events of the Coronavirus outbreak.  I've been furloughed from my job, which means that I have more time to write.  Am I using it?  That's still somewhat TBD.  It's been a stressful time, and I'm not ashamed to say that it has hampered my creativity to an extent.  Mind you, I recently watched a video of one of my writing heroes Neil Gaiman talking to chickens and admitting that he's having a hard time with the lock down too, so I don't feel so bad about my own creative struggles under the circumstances.

While there's no good time for a global pandemic, being stuck at home has allowed me to do some brainstorming and some writing.  In this case, I've decided to jump into a completely new project.  With the second book in the "The Forbidden Scrolls" trilogy, "Redemption & Ruin" off to the betas, the timing was right for me to take a break not just from Teren'vei, but from the Fantasy genre altogether.  To step beyond the earthly coil and explore the space between worlds.



That's right folks, we're talking Sci-fi.

Well, Sci-fi and Fantasy are usually in the same section of the book store, so maybe it's not that big a break after all (insert nervous laughter here).  But I did need a break from the "Scrolls" trilogy so that I could step back and do the finale justice with a fresh mind.

Either way, much like "The Forbidden Scrolls", "The Miranda Project" started as an idea from a table top role playing game.  One of my friends was running a Hero campaign set in space, and I created a character that was meant to be a cross between Jason Bourne and Nightcrawler of the X-Men.  Basically, a teleporting super assassin on the run from the agency that created him.  The game never got very far, and not much remains of that original character except for the concept.

However, unlike the game I was supposed to be playing in, this novel is not set in deep space.  In "The Miranda Project", mankind has spread out into the solar system, but not yet reached for the stars.  The "Miranda" in question from the title is the small moon of Uranus of the same name.  In the story, this is where the people with special abilities are brainwashed/trained.

The main character's name is Trevor Alexander, but he goes by Alex.  Like all the others individuals with powers, his are psionic in nature.  Many other "Mentals" have telekinetic or telepathic abilities.  Alex's teleportation skill is rare, and what made him such a dangerous assassin.

I'm currently exploring the incident that freed Alex of his brainwashing and caused him to go rogue.  I expect the book to take place on Earth, Mars, and a couple of other destinations within the solar system.  There's also a good chance that like "Scrolls", "The Miranda Project" will end up being a trilogy as well.



Like "Scrolls", "The Miranda Project" will be dark around the edges.  This isn't the idyllic  future we were promised on The Jetsons as kids.  The worlds are going to feel used and lived in.  And with Alex spending much of his time on the run from the shadowy Agency that does the dirty work of the Centralized World Government, I would expect things to get dark on occasion.



So far, I'm only about 12,500 words, or 50 pages into this new book.  So I wouldn't expect the Miranda project anytime soon.  Luckily, "Redemption & Ruin", book 2 of "The Forbidden Scrolls", will be out sometime this summer.  You can look forward to an exact release date and cover reveal in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, stay safe out there.  I know this is a scary time, but we'll all get through it together.  Hopefully when we do step out into the sun once again, we can build a better world that makes times like these a thing of the past.

The Next Chapter

It's been far too long since my last blog post, and for that I apologize.  But I've had some good reasons.  The first was because I got a lovely case of the flu which turned into bronchitis.  That was six weeks of "fun."  But the other, much more exciting reason is because I've been busy working on the latest chapter in my Forbidden Scrolls trilogy.  And as of this past Wednesday, the first draft is officially done!

The second part of The Forbidden Scrolls is as yet unnamed.  The working title is "Redemption & Ruin," which sets a good expectation of what the theme of the novel will be about.  Once I get through revisions and beta reads, I expect I'll decide if I like that or something else.

In the next book, we'll visit new parts of the continent of Teren'vei.  Readers will join our heroes and villains as they cross the black sands of the Destan Empire, visit the ruins of Necronis on the Undead Isle, and the explore the frozen city of Thea'thal.  All these, and a few familiar locales from the first book as well.

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Whereas The Forbidden Scrolls is primarily Juliya's story and the tale of her journey home to Felbreach, "Redemption & Ruin" (the title is growing on me again) is the story of our two groups of paladins coming together from the various parts of the continent where we left them.  That doesn't mean that Juliya isn't still an important part of the story; she's still the main character and it's still her story overall.  But there will be moments where she takes the back seat to other characters.

All in all, the second part of The Forbidden Scrolls trilogy should be available sometime this summer.  I'm aiming for June, assuming all goes well.  In the meantime, now would be a great time to catch up on the first book in the series!

Halloween Comes Early This Year

Okay, we lied.

Remember when we said that Autumn Nights: 13 Spooky Fall Reads would be coming out on October 1st?  Well with today being the first day of fall, we decided "why the hell not?"  So your paperback copies are now available to order on Amazon!  If you're a Amazon Prime Member, you should get your copy with free shipping by September 25th, which is also the day the eBook will download to the Kindle app for all those people who preordered the anthology.  So yes, you'll all be getting it a full five days earlier than promised!

This anthology is the result of the hard work of fourteen Amazon Best Selling authors.  We were lucky enough to hold the number one release spot in horror anthologies for a few days before our success summoned and Old One and we got passed by an H.P. Lovecraft anthology.  But I for one am not foolish enough to stand in the way of the mighty Cthulhu.

There are a few special shout outs that need to happen here though.  Cass Kim, for putting this entire endeavor together and then herding thirteen other authors like cats.  A.W. Wang, for all the time he spent editing these various tales.  Edison T. Crux, for creating the beautiful cover that you can see above.  And Martin Shannon, for preparing the layout of the book.  I've seen the final PDF and am excited to say that the book looks gorgeous.

I'm looking forward to holding my own copy of Autumn Nights in my hands soon.  My personal copy should arrive on Wednesday, the same day that all of you can get your paperback or eBook copy if you order now!

Populating a Continent

So real quick before I get into the meat and potatoes of this post, yes... I've been quiet lately.  With the release of my book late last month immediately followed by a busy Labor Day weekend at work, I needed to rest and recharge my batteries a bit.  Ah, the joys of being an ambivert.  But good news, I'm back!  And not just here, but also to writing book two of The Forbidden Scrolls.  So that's all good news.

But on to the topic of today's blog: world-building.  I've done a couple of previous posts about how the continent of Teren'vei came into being.  But I thought it would be fun to go through the various nations and races of the continent to help familiarize you all with the people and places in the book.  We'll work our way west to east, and I'll include the map for reference:

On a large island off to the west of the main continent across the Straights of Faire Trade sits the Arathi Dominion.  One of two nations on Teren'vei belonging to the elves, this lush island is best known for the massive city of Arathas.  What sets Arathas apart from every other city that you'll get to explore on this journey is that it's built into the canopy of the trees of the island's lush forest.  It's a bit more isolated than most of the other nations of Teren'vei.  As such, little is known about the inner forest portion of the island by most outsiders except for what they've heard in legends.

Back across the Siren's Sea to the southeast lies the Kingdom of Tethis.  The majority of book one takes place here.  Tethis is one of two human nations, and just happens to be at war with the other human nation.  As far overall land, the Kingdom of Tethis is the largest nation on the continent.  The city of Tethis sits on the coastline in the shape of a long crescent and is the largest port for the western half of the continent.

Much of the southern part of the nation is covered with farms and large grasslands.  The grasslands are cut apart by three major rivers.  Raven's Run separates the capital from the southwestern tip of the nation, The Barrow River cuts across the center of the nation, and the Fel Run to the west of Felbreach runs across the eastern part.  Just to the west of the Barrow River sits a series of knolls known as The Barrows.  This is where the few gnomes that the reader will meet in this book originate from.

The northern part of the nation is dominated by the vast Brittlewood Forest.  Situated in the middle of it all sits Crater Lake and the small town of Barhnal where our tale begins.  The fortress city of Calder is the northernmost city in Tethis, and then there are a few unaligned villages that reside between the Brittlewood and the Dwarven lands to the north.

Above the northern tip of the Brittlewood sits the kingdom of the dwarves, Jodendal.  Almost completely surrounded by the Thrumvold Mountains, the dwarven lands are the smallest on Teren'vei.  But the city of Jodendal may be the largest city on the continent.  Half of the city resides under the mountains.  Dwarven lands are cold and snowy tundra, and only the heartiest merchants of the other races dare to make the trek through the Winter's Pass.  The thin line of mountains known as the Frostspires separate the dwarven lands from the Brittlewood Forest to the south.

Across the Thrumvold Mountains to the east lies the Elven Kingdom of Elind'thas.  Much like the dwarven lands, these plains are a vast and snowy tundra, though there are a few small forests dotting the southern end of the kingdom.  The capital city of Elind'thas sits to the south of one of these forests on a peninsula that cuts out into the Border Sea.  The city's buildings are all carved out of a massive crystal formation that covered the peninsula.

By land, the elves of Elind'thas trade with the nation of Tethis at the small border city of Vali'thras.  But the port at the city of Elind'thas encircles all sides of the peninsula that the city sits upon, making it the largest port on Teren'vei.

And lastly, the vast desert nation to the south of the Border Sea is the Destan Empire.  The Empire is the other human nation, and is currently at war with Tethis.  As a large desert nation, the Destans have expanded to take the city of Wen and the small village of Gan.  When the story of The Forbidden Scrolls begins, the war between the two nations is at a veritable standstill to the east of the Fel Run with the Empire having set it's sights on taking Felbreach and the surrounding farmlands.

The people of the Empire have a more bronzed, darker tone to their skin and narrower eyes than the people of Tethis.  They also have a strict sense of honor.  Culturally, they are reminiscent of feudal Japan here on Earth, but with some Arabic flourishes.  Their weapons and armor are similar to those of the samurai, and the Destan army paints their armor white to reflect the heat of the desert sun.

All of these places mentioned above will be visited, if only briefly or at some length in book one.  If you've come this far, you may have noticed that there are lands further east than the Destan Empire.  Across the Sea of Forgotten Ships lies the Undead Isle and the city of Necronis.  And across the Sea of All Seasons from Elind'thas sits the frozen island of Thea'thal.  These places are not spoken of in book one at all, but play an important role in book two of the trilogy.  As such, I'm not inclined to spoil much about these places... yet.  Consider that a little bit of a teaser for book two.

Guess Who's an Amazon Best Seller?

So a crazy thing happened yesterday.  This little horror anthology that I'm honored to be a small part of hit #1 New Release status on Amazon among Horror Anthologies.  Officially, that makes me, along with these thirteen other fabulous writers, Amazon Best Sellers.

I know.  My mind is blown.  I'm still processing all of this.

Want some visual evidence?  I got that too:

Needless to say, this is a tremendous accomplishment for all of us.  And the title of Amazon Best Selling Author is something that can't be taken away from any of us.  We can all have that on our tombstones now if we want.  That's a crazy thought.

Now, Amazon Best Seller isn't the same thing as a New York Times Best Seller.  So Stephen King I am not.  But I do share mantle space with some very fine company, not the least of which is the amazing list of authors that I got to work with on this project.

Ironically, I don't consider myself a horror writer.  Both of my existing novels are fantasy, as is my current work in progress.  And I'm not alone in that many of the other authors in this anthology come from other genres as well.  So it's been a bit of a surreal trip for quite a few of us these last 24 hours.

As for the wonderful folks that I've had the pleasure of working with, they are a fine collection of eclectic, yet highly motivated writers.  I recommend you check them all out on our splash page, or individually below:

Edison T. Crux

Jacob Faust

Nicolas Gram

Meg Holeva

Tara Jazdzewski

Cass Kim

Mandy Lawson

K. A. Miltimore

Dixon Reuel

SM Rose

Martin Shannon

Amanda Stockton

Alana Turner

A. W. Wang

Autumn Nights: 13 Spooky Fall Reads

I'm extremely excited to announce that I'll have a short story called "Dawson Farms" in an upcoming anthology featuring a number of other independent authors.  It's been an absolute pleasure to work with all of these fantastic authors on this project, and I'm looking forward to reading all of the stories that I haven't had a chance to read yet.

In addition to my own story, I had a chance to beta read four of the other short stories in this title, and they were all outstanding.  I feel honored to have my story featured along side of such talented writers.  And you can get the full list of author's featured in this anthology from the cover below:

Nope, you counted correctly.  There are fourteen authors in the anthology.  We agreed that we liked the "13" motif with the spooky vibe, but we decided to throw in a bonus story anyway!

My own story, "Dawson Farms," follows a teenage couple on a trip to a local farm to give the corn maze a try.  As one might expect in an anthology of "spooky tales," things don't go exactly according to plan.  You'll have to read the story to find out what happens, but I had a lot of fun writing it.

This is my first foray into horror, and I learned a lot in the process.  The brainchild of this endeavor was Cass Kim, whose book "Wilders" I have as one of the next books on my own "to be read" pile.  Our editor, A.W. Wang has a fantastic eye for detail, and I believe his work will make all of the short stories the best possible versions of each tale.  I'm looking forward to reading his book "Ten Sigma" as well.

Some of the other authors featured in this anthology have their own books out already, or have been featured in other anthologies.  But for some, this will be their first published story.  I'm excited for those people who will get to hold their published works in their hands for the first time.  It's an amazing feeling that I'm looking forward having for a second time tonight when my copy of "The Forbidden Scrolls" gets delivered.

Presales of the eBook version of "Autumn Nights" will be available on September 1st!  Just click the banner at the top to be directed to Amazon to get your copy.  The Paperback and eBook will release on October 1st.  Additionally, "Autumn Nights" will be free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers.  So there's no excuse not to check it out and get a taste of a number of my fellow independent authors' writing as well.

Furthermore, in addition to getting exposure to a number of fantastic authors, another reason to pick up a copy of "Autumn Nights" is because all profits will be going to the ASPCA.  So you'll also be helping out a great cause as well as getting some phenomenal spooky fall reads.  And I'm not even gonna make you listen to a Sarah McLaughlin song to guilt you into it.

"The Forbidden Scrolls" Available Now!

By the time this blog posts, my new novel "The Forbidden Scrolls" will be out in the world (or at least the U.S.).  It's been an amazing journey so far, and it's hardly done considering that this will be book one of a trilogy.  But I wanted to take a minute to give thanks to a few people who have helped along the way.

First off, I need to give a huge thanks to my mom, Betsy Carola.  She's been a huge cheerleader, going so far as to set up both this site and my Facebook pages.  She's re-Tweeted every post about my books with the love that only a mother's devotion could give.  And I'm extremely thankful for her support.

Additionally, my fellow independent author and aunt N.W. Moors has been an invaluable resource as I try to navigate this new adventure.  For those that are interested in fantasy romance novels, I recommend giving her books a read.

The massive writing community on Twitter.  The number of fellow authors that I've encountered that are all in the same boat I am.  Sometimes it feels like we're all screaming into the void.  Luckily, we're at least all hearing each other's echo.  And having that common ground makes it one of the most supportive communities that I've ever been a part of.

A special shout out to the entire "Ocean's Crew" on Twitter.  What started out as a random Twitter thread gone completely haywire has turned into a group of lifetime friends.  They are some of the most supportive and wonderful people I've ever met.  And one of them has my heart.  So that's pretty cool.  And yes, we still take over every thread that we are invited into.

I also want to thank everyone who read my first book, "The Stairs in the Woods."  It's been an amazing journey over the last year.  I never thought that I'd release a book, never mind a second one with at least two more on the way.  And if people continue to read them and I still have stories to tell, I plan on still writing.

As for this book...

The eBook will drop at midnight in whatever timezone you are in.  Also at midnight, I will push publish on the paperback version.  Hopefully Amazon reviews and approves it by the time I wake up in the morning.  The draft has been sitting online and ready to go for weeks now just tempting me to push that button.  For those of you that preordered this book... my words cannot express my gratitude.  Knowing that there were some people excited enough to buy my novel before it even came out is an amazing feeling.  And I Jumped and screamed like a little kid each time I saw a new presale pop up on my dashboard.

I hope you all enjoy your time on the continent of Teren'vei.  I'm already pretty deep into the first draft of book 2, and I'm excited to be able to get back to it once I calm down a bit from the excitement of this book launch.

In the meantime, may the Lady of Divine Light shine upon you all...

The Triad of the Gods

With just two days (TWO DAYS!!!!!) until "The Forbidden Scrolls" releases, I thought it would be fun to give you a little insight into the religions of Teren'vei and how they all interact with each other.  The Triad of the Gods will play a big part in the story of "The Forbidden Scrolls," and will continue to do so into the subsequent entries in this trilogy.

With any fantasy novel, world building is a key component of a believable tale.  A place has to feel lived in, with a history that predates the story that is about to be told.  This helps establish not just the setting, but also the stakes.  This world the writer creates is the one the protagonist or protagonists are struggling to save.  There has better be something special worth fighting for.

Enter religion.

Whether you are a devout follower of one faith or another, or someone who doesn't follow any particular doctrine, one would have to be intentionally blind to the power that faith can have on otherwise common people.  Wars have been fought over it in our own world.  Zealots claim to follow religious teachings when they cause violence and disruption (even though every major religion on Earth has the same Golden Rule).

Now one could argue that in a perfect world, all the major religions on Earth would work together to make the world a better place rather than fighting with each other throughout the ages.  But that's our world.  Nothing here is perfect, nor should it be.  Expecting perfection will always bring disappointment.

But stemming from this idea came the concept for the pantheon of gods in "The Forbidden Scrolls."  I wanted to explore the idea of religions that actually worked together in an imperfect world, fighting to make it better.  And with a fantasy setting (which is kinda my thing), It gave me a chance to explore this idea in depth without making it about any one religion here on Earth or another.  That's the beauty of an allegory.

Early on in the book, we're introduced to Alavarre, "The Lady of Divine Light."  Later on in the story, the other two gods of the "Triad" are introduced.  They are Dormond, "The Underking," and Sha'vante, "The Great Mother."  Alavarre is the goddess of the sun.  She is the god that most of the humans on Teren'vei worship, because their days in the sun are less numerous than that of the other races.  Her symbol is that of a blue and silver shining sun.  Dormond is the god of the earth, and as you might have guessed, is revered by the dwarves.  His symbol is of a gold embossed mountain.  Sha'Vante is the god of nature, and is worshiped primarily by the elves.  Her worshipers wear a symbol of the silver embossed "Tree of Life."

There is some crossover with regard to certain individuals of each race and which god they worship.  There is a major character in the book that is an Elf who is a High Priest of The Church of Alavarre.  But on the whole, the majority of the members of each race follow the gods as assigned above.  It is believed that each race was born of their specific god and took their forms.  So when a priest calls a fellow human a "child of Alavarre," they mean it in the literal sense.

However, the Gods are (as the title of the blog says) a triad.  They work together to better the world.  As such, the followers of one religion or another are taught to acknowledge the necessity of the other gods, and to work in harmony with their followers.  Though, to be fair, geography often gets in the way of the various races working together in complete harmony.  This need to work together is explored more as we get deeper into the book, and indeed, the series as a whole.  So I'm not going to get too in depth here to save you from the spoilers.

The fact is, Religion is hardly the only subject that I touch on in this book.  There is the inherent racism of the people of Felbreach, the city where the main character Juliya is from.  But I'll save that particular deep dive for another blog.  In the meantime, I hope you enjoy "The Forbidden Scrolls" when it drops on Tuesday.  Maybe it'll even give you a little something to think about.