Jonathan Moeller's Blog, page 325

Reader Question Day #55 – the origins of Sicarion and the organization of THE GHOSTS

Kaitlyn asks:

I love the Ghost series, there some of my favorite books. I do have one question, were did you get the idea for Sicarion? He reminds me of a character from a Supernatral episode.

Thanks for the kind words about the books!

The character of Sicarion originated in the GHOST MASKS short story I wrote for Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Sword & Sorceress 24 anthology back in 2009. In that story, Caina faces off against an assassin planning to kill the Emperor, an assassin with gruesomely scarred face. I had first named the assassin Cross, because of the way the scars crisscrossed his face, but during editing I realized that was in fact a stupid name, and so I changed it to Sicarion. Which, of course, is not his real name, but what he chose to call himself.

Fast forward four years to when I began writing GHOST IN THE STORM. Since Caina seemed like she had met Sicarion before during GHOST MASKS, I decided to add their first meeting to GHOST IN THE STORM. Additionally, I added his necromantic powers, and his ability to harvest body parts from his victims to replace his own damaged organs, which then explained his hideous scarring. And rather than making him an independent assassin like in the short story, I turned him into a follower of the Moroaica – sort of Jadriga’s pet psychopathic killer.

So that is where I got the idea for Sicarion.

I haven’t watched much of SUPERNATURAL. I watched the show intermittently through the end of season 2, but a lightning strike fried my TV in 2008 and I never bothered to replace it, so I’m afraid I stopped paying attention after that.

Colton asks:

I read Ghost in the Storm and loved it so now I’m working my way through the rest of the series.Since the first book I’ve had a question about the ranking system for the ghosts.

Caina is a nightfighter and Halfdan is a circlemaster, but what are the other ranks and where does Caina stand in terms of authority inside the ghosts?

If this gets a reply that answers my question I thank you for your time.

Thanks for the kind words about the books!

The Ghosts are organized into “circles”, which are similar to the “cell” structure used by other clandestine organizations throughout history. Each city and large town will have its own Ghost circle, and sometimes large cities like the Imperial capital of Malarae will have multiple circles covering different areas or social classes of the city. A more sparsely populated province might have only a single Ghost circle to cover the entire province.

Every circle is headed by a circlemaster, who has considerable authority to act as he pleases, and who knows all the Ghosts of his circle. He’ll also be the only one in the circle who will know every other member of the circle.

A typical Ghost circle will have a very large number of informants among the servants of the nobles and the wealthy, the slaves, and the poorer people, and each one of those informants will have a person to whom to pass reports. These contacts are generally called “nightkeepers”, and have authority over their informants while reporting to the circlemaster. Nightkeepers also have skills the Ghosts find useful, such as lockpicking or medicine, but tend not to get involved in field work. They make the tools and collect the information, while others act upon it.

And those who act on it are the nightfighters, the elite of the Ghosts (Caina is a nightfighter). Nightfighters are generally people who have the ability to act effectively as infiltrators, spies, thieves, or assassins. A nightfighter can also issue commands to any informants or nightkeepers, even from another circle, and is subordinate only to the circlemaster. Nightfighters are rare (the Ghosts never have enough), so they tend to travel from trouble spot to trouble spot when the circlemasters report problems.

Finally, there are a number of high circlemasters – essentially circlemasters in charge of the other circlemasters. The high circlemasters answer directly to the Emperor, and tend to be very knowledgeable and extremely dangerous. Halfdan is one of the high circlemasters.

In theory, the Ghosts report to the Emperor. However, the mission of the Ghosts is to defend the people of the Empire, and if the Emperor becomes too tyrannical or allies with the nobility or the magi against the commoners, the Ghosts will turn against him, and in the past Emperors have died in “accidents” that the Ghosts arranged.

-JM

choose your own adventure…

…is coming back on Monday. So let’s have one final preview!

CONCERNING THE POWERS OF THE SWORDBEARERS

Firstly, a knightly Swordbearer wields a blessed soulblade, forged and blessed with the waters of the Well of Tarlion. This blade bestows great magic upon its bearer, and grants him the power to wound creatures of supernatural aspect that no mortal steel can harm. For a soulblade is bound to its wielder, and draws its strength from his courage and resolve, and from that bond great power comes forth.

Secondly, the sword grants its bearer strength beyond the mortal, permitting him to strive against the foes of humankind.

Thirdly, the sword grants its bearer the speed of the winds themselves, allowing the Swordbearer to close swiftly with his foes.

Fourthly, the Swordbearer may use his power to heal both himself and others.

Fifthly, the Swordbearer may shield himself from harm, both material and magical.

But these powers come at great price, for just as hard labor may exhaust a man and burst his heart, so too may the powers of a soulblade prove too much for mortal constitutions. Thus have many valiant Swordbearers fallen, slain in battle to defend the realms of men from the darkness beyond our lands, and their names are remembered in song and tale to this day.

Thus have the Order of Swordbearers been the shield of men for many centuries, guarding the realm of Andomhaim from the urdmordar and the skinchangers, from the dark elves and shades, from supernatural creatures beyond count, even from the terrible wrath of the Frostborn themselves.

an excerpt from GHOST IN THE FORGE

Since I am now editing GHOST IN THE FORGE, have an excerpt from the book:

“Do you really think,” said Corvalis, “that the Masked Ones are such fools?”

“I do,” said Caina. “They never leave their city, and they spend all their time with their spells and books. For all their power, they have no idea how men truly act. If the weapon leaves Catekharon, it will spark a war unlike anything seen in history. But the Masked Ones are foolish enough to think it will bring peace.”

Claudia sniffed. “Is not bringing peace a noble goal?”

“Aye,” said Caina, “and it’s also a noble goal to feed the poor and hungry. But if I try to feed them with rocks and stones, that makes me a fool. A well-intentioned fool, but a fool nonetheless.”

Claudia said nothing.

choose your own adventure, a second preview…

…since the game will begin on Monday.

Meanwhile, let’s have that preview!

###

Concerning the foundation of the Two Orders:

For many years, the heirs of High King Malahan Pendragon ruled over their new kingdom, the realm of Andomhaim, and were fruitful and multiplied, and grew wealthy and prosperous.

Yet other races dwelled in this new world, races who had waged war against each other for longer than mortal man dwelled upon the Old Earth, and some looked upon mortal men as prey.

Thus the knights of Andomhaim waged war against the orcish tribes, the manetaur kingdoms, the wolfborn, and diverse other foes. In time the orcs paid heed to the missionaries who came among them, and forsook their idols and accepted baptism. And the orcish king of Maluusk swore fealty and homage to the High King, and peace reigned over the land.

And then the urdmordar came.

Before them marched their slaves, the great hosts of northern orcs, filled with feral rage and worshipping gods of blood and death. With them came the corpses of the slain, raised from the churchyards and the barrows by the black sorcery of the urdmordar. In their van marched the dark elves, the worshippers of the darkness, who delighted in cruelty and slaughter. And at last came the urdmordar themselves, invincible and immortal, wielders of dark magic beyond compare. For no earthly steel could harm them, and all the world worshipped them as gods, and the urdmordar desired to humble the stern lords of Andomhaim.

And the urdmordar and their slaves made the armies of Andomhaim as wheat on the threshing floor. The realm was overthrown, and valiant knights slain beyond count. The High King Caradoc Pendragon and his loyal men retreated beyond the walls of the royal fastness of Tarlion, and despaired of all hope, and determined to fight to the end.

And then the Keeper came to the gates of Tarlion, and with him came Arhythain, the last mage of the high elven realm of Cathair Solas, for all the other high elven kings had otherwise been conquered and overthrown by the urdmordar over long millennia of struggle.

“Behold, High King of Andomhaim,” spake the Keeper, “I come with aid and counsel. Our realm is overthrown, and only the walls of Tarlion stand fast. Long tradition has decreed that among the folk of Andomhaim, only the Keeper may wield magic. Yet my powers are not enough to stave the dark tide from the north. We must change or perish utterly. Noble Arhythain will unlock the powers of the ancient Well in Tarlion’s heart, and teach our folk to wield the power of his ancient ancestors.”

To this the High King consented, and thus the two Orders were born upon that day. The first, the Swordbearers, knights noble and true, wielding blades quenched in the waters of the Well and bestowed with the powers to wound creatures of darkness. The second, the Magistri, learned and disciplined, trained to unleash the magic of the Well itself against their foes.

And so Prince Calenhard, the High King’s brother, took up the High King’s sword of Excalibur, which had been reforged into a soulblade upon the Well, and became the first of the Order of Swordbearers, and he led the men of Andomhaim against the urdmordar and their hordes…

GHOST IN THE FLAMES – 5,000 copies

I am pleased and very grateful to report that as of January, GHOST IN THE FLAMES has sold over 5,000 copies.

This is especially gratifying because of all my books, I tried the hardest to sell this one to a traditional publishers. I wrote it in 2008, and have a fairly lengthy spreadsheet of agents and publishers to whom I sent it. None showed any interest.

So you can see why I would find this milestone of particular satisfaction.

-JM

choose your own adventure…

…is coming back soon.

Yes, it’s been two years since we had some fun & games, friends and neighbors, but it’s time once again. Have a preview!

###

A letter to the surviving kings, counts, and knights of Britain:

I am Malahan Pendragon, the bastard son of Mordred, himself the bastard son of Arthur Pendragon, the High King of all Britain.

You know the grievous disasters that have befallen our fair isle. My father betrayed my grandfather, and both slew the other upon the bloody field of Camlann, along with many of the mightiest knights and kings who pledged to follow the banner of the Pendragons. Before that came the sorrow of Sir Lancelot’s treachery and the Queen’s adultery, and the High King’s war against Lancelot that slew many noble and valiant knights.

Now there is no High King in Britain, Camelot lies waste and deserted, and the pagan Saxons ravage our shores. Every day the Saxons advance further, lay waste to our fields and flocks, butcher our men, make slaves of our womenfolk, and desecrate holy churches and monasteries. Soon all of Britain shall lie under their tyranny, just as the barbarians overthrew the rule of Old Rome.

My lords, I write to you not to claim the High Kingship of Britain – for Britain is lost to the Saxons – but to offer hope. My grandfather the High King is slain, and his true heir Galahad was slain seeking the grail, so therefore this burden has fallen upon me, for there is no one else who can bear it. Britain is lost, but we may yet escape with our lives.

For I have spoken with the last Keepers of Avalon, and by their arts they have shown me how to save our people – a gate wrought of magic, leading to a far distant world, beyond the circles of this world, and certainly beyond the reach of the heathen Saxons. Here we may settle anew, and build homes and lives free from the specter of war.

I urge you to gather your fighting men and all your people, and join me at the stronghold of Caerleon. We shall celebrate the feast of Easter one final time, and then march to a new home.

Sealed in the name of Malahan Pendragon.

Reader Question Day #54 – THE GHOSTS, Sword & Sorceress, and writing advice

Danica asks:

Any chance you will release the stories that appear in the Sword & Sorceress books into a book of shorts?

Eventually the books will catch up to the short stories – at the end of the last book, Caina is twenty-one, and at the end of the last short story, she’s almost thirty. So eventually the events of the short stories will be incorporated into the books. But not for a few books yet.

Kenzie asks:

Also, I would almost think you a fan of comic books, for the way you create situations to transition from one to the next.

That’s interesting, because around 2010 (before I discovered ebooks) I played with the idea of starting a webcomic, and tried to teach myself to draw at least passably well. But the bald fact is I have absolutely aesthetic inclination whatsoever, and eventually gave it up as a bad idea. I think THE GHOSTS would transition well to a comic-book format. I have to admit that I sometimes see the characters in anime form in my head as I write.

Nicholas asks:

I am 13 and am wondering if you have any advise for a young fantasy writer.

Well, I would start by writing short stories or novellas. A novel’s a bit of an endurance run, and it takes practice to get up to it, like how you need to be able to run a mile before you can manage a 5k run.

When writing a story of any length (whether short story, novella, or novel), bear in mind that it needs to have four basic things: a protagonist (the hero or main character), a conflict, the method the protagonist takes to deal with his conflict, and a resolution. Now, the conflict can have an actual antagonist,  like a knight fighting an evil wizard, or it can be a situation, like a man stranded in the desert – in that case, the conflict is the man’s efforts to survive thirst and the sun. But the protagonist has to have a problem to solve.

Additionally, the protagonist must also take action to solve his problem. A story where the main character doesn’t do anything, but just sits around passively, is not interesting. This doesn’t mean the protagonist’s actions always have to be effective. Often a story can be made more interesting when the protagonist’s actions make the conflict even worse or result in unforeseen complications (like, the knight slays the evil wizard, but this breaks the spell the wizard had used to keep a rampaging dragon in check).

A good way to keep characters from becoming one-dimensional is to give them mutually incompatible desires. Real people often want to do two incompatible things at once – like a woman who wants to go her friend’s party but has to fill a late shift at work, or a man who wants to stay with his girlfriend but has a job offer in a distant city. In fact, the conflict between incompatible desires can often provide the necessary conflict for a story.

Finally, the ending of a story must, must provide emotional resolution to the conflict. It can be a sad ending, or a happy ending, or any sort of ending at all, but it must resolve the conflict. If it doesn’t, the reader will feel massively cheated.

Not every writer recommends this, but I think it’s best to write a complete outline before you start a story. Otherwise you’ll get a third of the way in and realize you don’t know what happens next, much like driving across the continental US, getting to Arkansas, and realizing you don’t have a map and don’t know where to go next. Outlining forces you do the hard work of planning the story before you start to write it.

This will sound dreadfully patronizing, but the bald fact is that it gets easier to write as you get older, because you’ve simply had more stuff happen to you. That said, it’s best to avoid writing thinly-veiled parallels of people you know in real life, since this is an excellent way to get sued or cause familial estrangements.

Write a lot, since the best way to get good at something is practice.

Also, if there’s a topic that interests you, don’t be afraid to write nonfiction.

-JM

GHOST IN THE FORGE – the rough draft done!

Cover image copyright JC_Design | istockphoto.com

I am pleased to report that I finished the rough draft of GHOST IN THE FORGE today, coming in at 98,475 words.

I should be able to start revising and editing in a few days. So if all goes well, we should have a new THE GHOSTS book by the end of March or the beginning of April!

-JM

SOUL OF SKULLS – the first 20 days

SOUL OF SKULLS came out on January 11th, and I’m pleased to report that in its first 20 days, the book sold 545 copies. Thanks everyone!

-JM

the bones of the king

The bones of King Richard III have apparently been located in England. 

I’m not an expert on the Wars of the Roses by any means (keeping track of the family lines of medieval English nobility requires specialized vocabulary and elaborate flowcharts), but it’s always been an interest of mine. So for Richard’s bones to have been found is quite a historical coup.

Richard, of course, is most famous for murdering his nephews and seizing the crown of England. He probably murdered his nephews, but is not quite the villain painted in Shakespeare’s play. And villain or not, he had a brave end. When the Battle of Bosworth went against him, Richard led a final charge into his foes in hopes of cutting down Henry Tudor (one account has him almost reaching the future Henry VII), shouting “Treason! Treason! Treason!” until he was at last overwhelmed and killed.

According to the scientists examining the bones, Richard was wounded ten times before he was killed. The man might have been a scoundrel and a murderer, but he was no coward.

-JM