Jonathan Moeller's Blog, page 183

a GHOST IN THE AMULET preview

The next two books I will write are SILENT ORDER: ARK HAND and GHOST IN THE AMULET (September and October releases, respectively). So let’s close out the week with a brief preview from GHOST IN THE AMULET:

Andrian’s grimace deepened. “Aye, that is a concern. The Boyar’s Guard has been vigilant. But as for the rumors of fighting…what actually happened is that someone wiped out the city’s Kindred assassins.”

“There was a family of Kindred assassins this far north, my lord?” said Caina.

Andrian gave her a surprised glance. “You know of the Kindred, madam?”

A torrent of memories went through Caina’s mind, most of them dark.

“Somewhat, my lord,” said Caina. “Often to my regret.”

“How curious,” said Andrian, making no effort to hide his disbelief.

-JM

Nadia Moran, The Unsinkable Protagonist: a CLOAK GAMES behind-the-scenes retrospective

I was going to include this retrospective at the end of CLOAK GAMES: MAGE FALL, but decided it was too self-indulgent. But I think it will make for a good blog post!

Excerpt Thursday: GHOST IN THE FORGE

It’s Excerpt Thursday! This week’s excerpt is from GHOST IN THE FORGE.

In this excerpt, Caina meets Kylon again in the city of Catekharon.

(And since I know someone’s gonna ask, I’m currently on Chapter 5 of 20 of GHOST IN THE AMULET – should be ready to go in October!)

###

Caina said nothing as she walked with Kylon along the far wall of the Hall of Assembly. Some of the other ambassadors shot them amused looks. No doubt they thought Kylon infatuated or seeking an easy romantic conquest.

She knew better.

He looked different. It had been only a year since the attack on Marsis, but Kylon looked older, his expression grimmer.

Would he try to kill her for what had happened to Andromache?

“Did you find him?” said Kylon at last in Kyracian.

“Who?” said Caina in the same language.

“The boy,” said Kylon. “The son of your friend.” She saw his sword hand curl into a fist. “The boy you defeated my sister and slew Rezir Shahan to save.”

“I did,” said Caina. “He lives with his mother and father in Malarae now, and is apprenticed in his father’s foundry.” She paused for a moment. “His father is the Champion of Marsis.”

Kylon’s response was half-laugh, half-sigh. “Indeed? The gods have peculiar humor. You defeated Andromache and slew Rezir to save the boy, and I assume his father slew Kleistheon to save his son. Had that boy and his father been elsewhere, Marsis would have fallen.”

“Perhaps,” said Caina. “Yet I didn’t defeat Andromache. She defeated herself.”

“I know,” said Kylon. They stopped, the glow from the metal throwing harsh shadows over his face. “I could not blame you. Or myself. Taking vengeance upon either of us would have been pointless.” He took a deep breath. “Andromache…made her own decisions. And those decisions led her to ruin.”

“So instead,” said Caina, “you decided to take vengeance upon the Empire.”

“By destroying the fleets?” said Kylon. “Andromache started the war, but it has outlived her. Your Empire would destroy New Kyre if it could, Ghost. You know that as well as I do. So even though Andromache started the war for nothing, I will fight to defend my city from destruction.”

“That is why you are here, isn’t it?” said Caina. “To obtain the weapon for New Kyre.”

Kylon scowled. “If I must. And that is the same reason you are here.”

“No,” said Caina. “I will destroy the weapon, if I can.”

“Rather than give it to your Emperor?” said Kylon. “If it is as powerful as the Masked Ones claim, the Emperor could use it to destroy all of his enemies.”

“Andromache thought the power in the Tomb of Scorikhon would her destroy all of her enemies,” said Caina, “and you saw how that ended.”

Kylon said nothing for a moment, and Caina shot a glance over his shoulder. She saw Halfdan speaking with some Istarish merchants as Yaramzod and Callatas conversed, but Corvalis was watching her. Probably ready to aid her if Kylon attacked.

She appreciated the gesture, but Kylon could cut down both her and Corvalis in a matter of seconds.

“Perhaps you are right,” said Kylon. “It would be better if the weapon was destroyed. But you and I will be the only ones to think that. Certainly the others will do what is necessary to claim it.” He took a deep breath. “I cannot allow the Empire to have the weapon. Not for any reason. Because if the Empire takes it, New Kyre will be destroyed.”

“If,” said Caina, “the weapon truly exists.”

Kylon titled his head to the side. “You think it does not?”

“The Masked Ones must have something,” said Caina. “Else why summon us here? But if they have such a powerful weapon, why sell it? Why not keep it?”

“I do not know,” said Kylon. “I will think on what you have said, Ghost.”

He walked back to the other Kyracians. Caina watched him for a moment, and then returned to Halfdan and the others.

“Who was that?” said Corvalis.

“Kylon Shipbreaker,” said Halfdan.

Corvalis’s eyes got a little wider. “You know him?”

Caina nodded. “We tried to kill each other in Marsis.”

-JM

should I write all the SEVENFOLD SWORD books at once?

A suggestion from a reader:

I wish you could write all the Sevenfold Sword books and release them all at once. They’re so good I always finish them in a day or two, and I’m so bad at waiting for the next ones!

Thanks! Once SEVENFOLD SWORD: SERPENT is done, there are four SEVENFOLD SWORD books left to write, and I could write them all at once, but I would probably go nuts.

the family dynamics of Ridmark Arban

After this weekend’s excerpt from SEVENFOLD SWORD: SERPENT, a few readers had questions about Ridmark’s family, the House of the Arbanii.

(Note that this post has mild !!!SPOILERS!!! for all of FROSTBORN/SEVENFOLD SWORD, so if you haven’t read those series you should probably stop reading this post now.)

Leogrance Arban had five sons, and Ridmark was the youngest. The eldest son Tormark became the new Dux of Taliand after Leogrance died fighting the Frostborn. The second son Valmark is a Swordbearer. The third son Caelmark went into the church and is the archbishop of Cintarra. The fourth son Kalmark is also a Swordbearer. The four of them are generally sober, duty-minded men who take their responsibilities seriously. A revolutionary trying to rouse the peasants to overthrow the nobles would generally find it difficult to raise ire against Leogrance Arban’s sons, who have a reputation for stern fair-mindedness. Though they are not without their flaws – Tormark is something a glutton and spends too much time hunting, Caelmark has a bastard son from before he entered the church (though, oddly, he and his son get on well, and he gave the mother a pension until she died), and Kalmark has had a string of mistresses since he and his wife are more or less estranged.

Ridmark gets on well with his brothers, but they’re not terribly close, since they really didn’t grow up together due to the age difference, and noble children in Andomhaim are typically fostered in other households. For their part, Ridmark’s brothers respect him but think he might be at least slightly nuts. They think he went mad after Aelia died, and are not quite sure that he recovered. None of them are overawed by the legend of the Shield Knight, which Ridmark finds something of a relief.

Calliande, on the other hand, was an only child, so she has a slightly idealistic idea of what the sibling relationship should be like. It always bothers her that Ridmark and his brothers aren’t closer, much to their bemusement. Though all of Ridmark’s brothers like Calliande quite a lot, and agree that marrying her was the best decision Ridmark made in the last ten years.

If you want to read a story where Ridmark rescues his brother Tormark and his niece, check out SHIELD KNIGHT: GHOST ORCS.

-JM

SEVENFOLD SWORD: SERPENT book description!

My plan for this week is to work on editing SEVENFOLD SWORD: SERPENT and to listen to auditions from audiobook narrators.

Meanwhile, let’s have the book description for SEVENFOLD SWORD: SERPENT!

###

The quest of the Seven Swords threatens to summon the malevolent New God…but other dark powers might seize the New God’s throne.

Ridmark Arban is the Shield Knight, questing to rescue his friends from the cruel dvargir slavers of Najaris.

But the slavers’ sinister master is far more powerful than a mere merchant, and his knowledge might destroy both the Shield Knight and the New God…

-JM

business & freedom

A while back I had a discussion about quantifying what I do for my writing business. I had never really thought about it before, but it turns out I do a lot of things by myself that many people hire out. Like, I do my own website, my own book layout, my own bookkeeping, my own marketing, and so forth. I hire out cover design, but I even do a lot of that myself. (Clarissa Yeo did the excellent cover for CLOAK GAMES: MAGE FALL, but I did the cover for CLOAK & GHOST: BLOOD RING myself.) So I do a lot of other things that aren’t related to the writing to support the writing.

I suppose this is a lot of work, but my first full-time job was unloading trucks, so my definition of “work” is probably a bit more robust than it is for many people.

SEVENFOLD SWORD: SERPENT excerpt!

Since it’s the weekend, let’s have a short excerpt from SEVENFOLD SWORD: SERPENT!

###

“I wouldn’t know,” said Ridmark, amused despite the grim situation. “I was my father’s youngest son.”

“Really?” said Tamara, surprised. “I never would have guessed. You seem like an eldest child.”

“He is very authoritative,” said Selene.

Ridmark snorted. “If you think I’m authoritative, you should meet my eldest brother Tormark. He’s the Dux of Taliand, and he cannot go more than a few minutes without giving a command to someone. Or my third-eldest brother Caelmark, the archbishop of the city of Cintarra. He rules the clergy of Cintarra with an iron fist. Compared to my brothers, I am the mildest of men.”

“How many brothers do you have?” said Tamara.

“He has four,” said Third.

“Are they all like you?” said Tamara.

“No,” said Calliande, and she smiled and squeezed his arm. “I’ve met them all, and I definitely married the best of the five.”

“Don’t tell my brothers that,” said Ridmark. “They all like you better than they like me.”

-JM

Audiobooks – your opinion needed!

I have been adamantly opposed to producing my own audiobooks for several years, but recently some changes might make it not only feasible for me, but perhaps even a good idea.

So, your opinion is needed! Audiobooks are expensive, I know, but some people swear by them. (Especially people with long commutes.)  And if you do use them, I am curious to know your preferences.

If you listen to audiobooks, what platform do you use – Audible, iTunes, or something else? Do you prefer to buy them, or use an Audible credit? How long do you prefer an audiobook to be? Do you listen to audiobooks from your local library? Or do you swear them off as too expensive and just use the Text-To-Speech feature?

Feel free to share your opinion below! There are no right or wrong answers to these kinds of questions, just personal preferences.

-JM

SEVENFOLD SWORD: SERPENT cover image and other updates

It’s Friday! To close off the week, let’s share the cover image from SEVENFOLD SWORD: SERPENT.

Now that CLOAK GAMES: MAGE FALL is out, I am going full speed on editing SERPENT. If all goes well, it should be out sometime in the first half of September.

I just reached 20,000 words of GHOST IN THE AMULET. Caina’s next adventure should be out in October.

I also passed 31,000 words of SILENT ORDER: ARK HAND. I’m also hoping to have that out in October.

[image error]

-JM