M.L. Forman's Blog, page 3

It appears that some questions must be answered:

Well, it appears that the cover art has a lot of you scratching your heads and asking questions. So, before getting into the blog proper, and without giving too much away, let me answer some of the most asked questions right up front. Yes, that is Alex on the cover, and no that’s not what he looks like in my head either. Yes, he looks a bit young and different than he has on previous covers. I really do like this cover, even with the too young looking Alex and that really strange looking staff he’s carrying. Yes, that is supposed to be his staff, yes his real staff is made from a dark wood with gold and silver inlay. I don’t know what happened there, maybe the artist didn’t know or forgot. Let’s see… Yes, that is a giant snake on the cover, not a dragon. Finally, that bird you see on the cover… it’s not an eagle and it’s not Alex, but it is important to the story.  (Ha, you still don’t know what’s going to happen, do you.)

Alright, with that out of the way I can tell you that I did finish the book and that it is now with my publisher and editor. I know they are going to have a few test readers go over it and give me feedback. If more changes are needed then I’ll go back to work on it. If no more changes are needed, well, then it will go to press and we will move closer to an actual release date. No, I don’t know when it will be out. I don’t have any say in release dates, but I will let you know as much as I can as soon as I know anything at all. I am hopeful that most of the problems with the story have been fixed and that little if any additional re-writing will be needed.

I would like to thank everyone who has suggest other books to read. There are some good ones listed, and a few that I’m going to need to hunt down and read as well. Also, thank you all for your support and suggestions. I am always surprised when you guys come up with ideas that are close to what I’ve written, but just now I’m not saying who is close and who isn’t. I’m afraid you’ll just have to wait until the book comes out.

Now, on with the questions:

Q: Is Alex a more powerful wizard that Whalen? Well now, that is an interesting question. More powerful, maybe. It depends on how you look at things. Alex might have more power, but Whalen has more experience and knowledge. Power alone isn’t always what you need, understanding and knowledge are important as well, so I’m not sure how to answer that, at least not yet. At some point in time I believe that Alex will be the greater wizard, but I don’t think we are there just yet.

Q: Will Alex ever go on an adventure with Whalen? Yes, he will, but “Sands of Nezza” isn’t that adventure.

Q: Well, it’s sort of a question. Some of you have asked about the elves that have faded. Will Alex ever meet one outside the known lands and such are common questions. Here’s the deal, when elves “fade” it is like dying. They vanish from the known lands and from the land of the living. They are waiting until the worlds are renewed, and no, I don’t know how long the wait will be. Elves don’t cross the wall into the shadow lands like humans and dwarfs, so it’s no good looking for them there. In short, No, Alex will never meet an elf that has faded.

Q: Since Alex is the only wizard to ever change into a dragon, does that make him the most powerful wizard of all?  Right, let me see. Other wizards have changed into dragons in the past. I think I mentioned this in one of the books, but it might have been edited out. Those other wizards did one of two things. 1. They flew away as dragons and remained as dragons for the rest of their days, or 2. They went insane and died after returning to their own form. So, Alex is the only wizard who can turn into a dragon and return to himself without going mad and dying or getting lost in the dragon form. Why? Because Alex is the only wizard who is also part dragon. Does that make him the most powerful wizard ever? No, it makes him a wizard that is part dragon. Yes, he is special, yes it makes him more powerful, but the most powerful… probably not.

Q: (I really like this one.) Can you create a room or a place inside a magic bag where you can keep horses?  Oh yes you can! Almost any kind of room you can think of can be added to your magic bag. There are only two questions you need to ask. 1. Do I need that kind of room? 2. How much will it cost? You could add a room that includes a forest, complete with animals if you wanted to, but why would you? You could add a dungeon if you needed one, and some adventurers might need one. There is no real limit to what kinds of rooms you can add, but remember, whatever you add you have to pay for. Huge rooms with forests and animals in them would be expensive, and the animals might wander into the rest of your bag and make a real mess of things, so be careful.

Q: Will Alex ever go on an adventure and run into another group of adventurers that are after the same thing?  Well, that already happened in “The Horn of Moran.”  I was, at one time, thinking of an adventure where Alex’s group of adventurers and another group of maybe not so honest adventurers, (Hard to call the second group adventurers because they don’t really follow the rules.) were both after the same thing. I don’t think we’ll get to that story in the series, but it would be fun to write. Maybe someday I will write it.

Q: Will there be anything that can harm Alex when he is a true silver dragon?  Yes, I think there will be. Oh, and I do want to point out, as some of you didn’t understand… When Alex met Salinor, the guardian of the past, I said that they were equals. Yes, Alex could destroy Salinor, but at the same time Salinor would destroy Alex. It’s not like you can kill a dragon like Salinor and just walk away, it’s going to cost you something. There are things more powerful than dragons, I think, but not many. You should also think about this, how much is Alex’s enemy willing to do to hurt Alex? How much is that enemy willing to give up? Salinor could destroy Alex, but he would probably die as well. Would some other enemy be willing to die just to hurt Alex? Maybe they would, I don’t know yet.

Q: Is there a chance of Alex ever meeting a dark elf?  Yes, there is a chance. I’m not sure if it will happen or not, but there is a chance.

Q: Was the name Thrain taken directly from Tolkien or was that a coincidence?  I’m going to claim it was coincidence. I’ve read Tolkien many times, and I’m sure a lot of his names are hidden deep in my mind. I didn’t even think about it when I used the name, I didn’t remember who Thrain was in Tolkien’s stories. Wait… who was Thrain anyway? Dang, gotta read all those books again. Thrain isn’t a name Tolkien made up, it was a common Norse name back in the day, or so I understand. Now if I’d used a name like, Bilbo or Frodo, you could yell at me… but that won’t happen because my editor wouldn’t let me use those names. Oddly enough, I had used the name Angmar in “Sands of Nezza” without really thinking about it. My editor told me to change it, as there was that one character in LOR who was “The Witch King of Angmar”.  You know who I’m talking about.

Finally, for normal questions, Alex’s step-brother Todd. Oh dear. In “Slathbog’s Gold” I tried to make it clear that Todd wasn’t the adventurer type. Even Mr. Roberts didn’t think his son would ever have anything to do with adventures. Yes, it could be cool, but I’m going to stick with my original thoughts. Todd is not adventurer material. Mr. Roberts might turn up in one of the later stories, but I don’t believe that Todd will. Sorry for those of you with hopes and dreams in that direction, it’s not going to happen.

Now, for a little on writing. There are some questions here that I want to answer, but remember, there isn’t just one way to do things when writing. Things that work for me may not work for you, so you might have to try a few different things before you find what’s best for you.

Q: How do you focus and decide on story plots? I don’t.  Well, that’s not really true, so let me explain how I write. I don’t sit down and plot the story out. I sit down and tell the story. All I want to do, especially on a first draft, is tell the story. I don’t worry about the plot, the theme, the hidden message, or anything like that. I sit down and I tell the story that’s in my head. For me this has worked well. Oh, I can add little details about the plot later, I can change things up to make plot twists when I go back and edit. For the first draft, however, all I care about is the story and getting it out of my head and into the computer.

Some writers I know spend a lot of time outlining their story, working out the plots, figuring out the back story or history of the characters, lands, races, etc. That’s all fine, and if it works for them, great. When I write I’m all about the story, I think, “What is the story I want to tell?” Yes, I take notes as I go. I write down things about characters, races, lands, places, animals and whatever else. Most of my notes will never make it into the book, but it is important that I know all those things so that I can tell a better story.

For those of you trying to write and get published, I’ll just note a comment from AALivengood here, who asks me to rate my publisher… um, you do know they run this blog don’t you?  LOL, I love my publisher, but there are things you should know. If I can help any of you with information or ideas or suggesting books you should read, email me at Bregnest@gmail.com  Anybody else who just wants to drop me a line can also email me there. I won’t promise to reply to everything, but I will promise to at least read everything.

So, until next time, when I hope to have more news about where “Sands of Nezza” is…

I remain yours in fellowship,

Mark

29 May – This is not a post, it’s more like a poster:

Well, I finally have it for you. The final cover art for “Sands of Nezza”. So here it is, let me know what you think.

Myself… I’m trying to figure out how the book ends.   Hmmmm… can we let the bad guy escape to fight another day? Should we cut him in half as he tries to escape through a magic portal? or maybe we should just melt him in a ball of dragon fire… I don’t know yet, but I’ll figure it out before the week is out. (My publisher will hurt me if I don’t.)

18 May… What do you mean it’s not April any more?

Holly Cow!!! It’s that late in May already? I’m so sorry, I seem to have lost the better part of a month. Where have I been? Why haven’t I updated the blog? What’s happening with the book? Well, I’ve been in Nezza trying to sort things out. There for a time I might have slipped into some other, darker world as well, I’m not sure. The book is still in progress, but we are getting closer. We’d better be getting closer, because soon my editor is going to come looking for me with an ax… Yikes.  Yes, I can honestly say this has been the toughest re-write/fix that I’ve had so far. There have been dark spots where I just didn’t want to go on, and bright spots where I’ve felt inspired and ready to fight any three-legged-troll out there. Right now in the fix it box, our friend Alex is trapped in the bottom of a dungeon, hundreds of guards flooding in to block all exits and search every room and cell. I’m not sure how he’s going to get out of this, but that’s where I am. When the book does get done, soon I hope, you can read it and discover exactly where I am in the fix. Of course, I have jumped around a bit in the story as I’m fixing, so when you read it, I might actually be fixing something further on than that.  (How am I going to get him out of that dungeon?)

With that brief update out of the way, I would like to thank all of you for being so patient and kind about all of this. I feel you’re happy thoughts, good wishes, and hopes, and I promise not to stop working until the story is done and out there for you all to read. Also, as many of you have asked, I will see what’s happening with the cover art. My publisher was going to get me the “Final” cover art last month, but they haven’t yet. I’ve been so far behind in getting this book fixed that I’ve been afraid to ask about it, but I will ask again on Monday, and Tuesday, and Wednesday if I need to. As soon as I get the cover art I will post it here for all of you to see.

Now I’m going to answer some questions, as it has been so long.  No, these are not the questions from so long ago that never got answered, but mostly those from the last post. If there is something not answered here that you are just dying to know, please ask and I will (really) answer as soon as I can. I did make a comment on FaceBook the other day that I was trying to win the prize for “Worst Blogger of the Year”, and sometimes it seems like I should win. I’ll work on that and try to post more often, even when I don’t think I have much to say. Feel free to remind me if I take this long between posts again. (Hey, my Internet connection in Nezza wasn’t that good, but that’s not a very good reason for being so far behind.)

Connie:  I have not done signings in Arizona, but I would love to come down and do some.  Not sure what the plans are for signings with Sands, but when I know I’ll post about it.  I do have a cousin that lives in Arizona, so if nothing else I could go for a visit and setup something while I’m there.  (What city does she live in?)

Zach: (and a few others who have asked about this.) No!  You can not have the old version of Sands to read and compare to the new one. The big reason for this is that my publisher would go nuts if I gave the old version away, but there are other reasons as well.  Mostly I don’t want you pointing out all the problems in the old version that I am already trying to fix in the new one. Sorry, but I don’t think the old version will ever turn up for reading.

icouldntthinkofanythingbetter:  (What a strange user name.) On stories that won’t fit into the series… I don’t know what will happen to them or with them. I hope that some of them will become books, even if they are not part of the Adventurers Wanted series. It is possible that some form of “Lost Tales” could happen, but I’m not looking at that right now as I need to finish the rest of the series first. Oh, and while we’re talking about this, and as people still ask more often than you might think, the current plan is for there to be eight (8) books in the Adventurers Wanted series when it is all done.  With any luck at all, what’s left of the series will be less trouble than Sands has been.

Anders: Sorry, I’m not sure about your last question, but you ask now what stops a “nation” from trying to take over all the known lands. Well, there are many reasons this hasn’t happened. We are dealing with kingdoms for one thing, which are normally smaller than nations… O.K. some Kingdoms are pretty big, and might try to take over all of one land or even parts of other lands. One reason this hasn’t happened is The Order of Malgor. (See “The Horn of Moran” for some information on the order.)  They keep track of things and warn different kingdoms when their neighbors are looking to start trouble. Also, as in the history of our world, one nation or kingdom has a hard time getting everyone in a world to think the same way that they do. I will say, since you brought it up, that there is a group trying to take control of the known lands. We did mention the idea of a Gezbeth at the end of “Albrek’s Tomb”, and discovering what the Gezbeth is and what it wants will be an ongoing theme in the stories.

The Joker: Did the dark elves make staffs?  Not sure if they did or not, but they could have. Would they be different than other staffs? Why would they be? Oh, they might be different, maybe better, but as I’ve said before, the magic is in the wizard, the staff is just a tool. So a dark elf staff might be like having the best tool out there, but if you don’t know how the tool works, and you don’t have the skill to use the tool, well… It’s just a tool.

Again, The Joker: Necromancers – Yes, they are always considered as evil. The idea of necromancy is what? To use the dead, control the dead, call back the dead. It is unnatural so it is always considered as evil. I think, and this is just my opinion, that most people who would use necromancy are already at the very least, leaning toward evil. I also think that using the magic of necromancy would make them more evil as they used it.  As for creatures that are all good or all evil/bad, well I hate to make things so absolute. Goblins are often considered as all bad/evil, but that might not be the case. Things like unicorns are often considered as always good, but I’m not sure that’s true either. (sorry to all you unicorn lovers out there.) I think there are creatures that are mostly good and mostly evil, but that doesn’t mean that every single whatever in all the known lands is good or evil. One other thing to think about on this: Some creatures simply are what they are. Good and evil don’t really apply to them because they don’t see things the way you do. A good example would be something like a Shark. Sharks kill people, they kill happy and cute seals, they must be evil. Well, no, they just do what sharks do.

Spencer Johnson: Ah, thanks for the idea. Yes, I will think about it, I am thinking about it… hmmm… I wonder where this boy lives? Our world, some other world?  When does all this happen? Today, a hundred years ago?  Well, we will see what happens at some point, I hope.

Matthew: Something there about Thrang and Thorgood.  Right so, Thrang Silversmith is the son of Thorgood Silversmith. King Thorgood is not Thorgood Silversmith, and I don’t think I mentioned his last name. (I wonder why?) Anyway, yes and no to your question.  Yes, Thrang is Thorgood’s son. No, he is not the son of King Throgood.

C.F. -Alex will start reading the books from the Isle of Bones soon.  Book 5 I believe. Yes, they are important, yes they will effect how things go on future adventures. The ring taken from the three-legged-troll will be explained in Sands of Nezza, and the dragon from the Isle of Bones will turn up again but I’m not telling when or why.   And thank you Aniki201 for trying to answer that one.

Science101:  There are many unknown lands, and as they are unknown I can’t really tell you what you might find in them. Yes, it is possible that there is a world full of civilized dragons, but that might be a world you need to discover and write about.  Well, maybe we’ll take a peak at that land before the Adventurers Wanted series runs out.

Brandon: When Alex calls someone back from the wall and whispers to them he is helping them to remember what happened at the wall and in the shadow lands. Living people don’t belong there, and it is hard for them to remember what happens there, so Alex uses magic to help them remember and understand what happened. It is always a very personal thing, so most people I think would burst into tears.  And no, I will not tell you the special word that wizards us for Paladins. (Can’t go giving all the secret wizard words away to non-wizard folks who just want to know. Give away too many secret words and who knows what might happen.)

CanyonNAttier: Favorite book in the series so far?  I think Albrek’s Tomb. Right now I hate The Sands of Nezza, but that’s because it’s being such a pain. It’s hard to say, there are parts in each of them that I really like, and parts that I still want to change.  Sorry, I can’t make any art of true silver dragons, but that’s mostly because I can’t draw. Maybe I can find an artist to do some. Yes, it would look cool.

Finally, as so many of you are asking, “What else can I read?” I will list a few of my favorite books and/or authors. Before that I just want to say this, I read a lot of different things. I don’t read just fantasy. Sometimes I actually read history books because I’m interested in history. Please, please, please, don’t be a person who only reads one kind of books. Try some new things, you might discover new worlds of wonder that you love to visit.  So, obviously I’m going to tell all of you to read Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit. Only read the Silmarillion (did I spell that right?) if you really, really need to know more. It is a tough read. I would suggest anything by Ursula K. Le Guin – The Earthsea books are all wonderful, but I’ve been happy with everything of her’s that I’ve read. Riddle of Stars by McKillip was outstanding and left me thinking, “I wish I could write like that.” I’ve enjoyed the Far World books by my friend, J. Scott Savage as well, and there are still, I think, two more in that series to come. How about some Science Fiction? I love Isaac Assimov’s stuff, Ray Bradbury, and Arthur C. Clarke as well. I love reading short stories, and most libraries have books called something like, “The years best Science Fiction short stories” or “The years best Fantasy short stories”  More Fantasy? O.K. try the Belgariad series by David and Leigh Eddings, it was great! Want a mystery? Try the old Serlock Holmes stories, they are mostly short and quick the get through, but a lot of fun just the same. Strange fiction, Horror, Classics, so many things to read. I actually read “Pride and Prejudice” about a year ago and found that I loved it. I read H.P. Lovecraft, Robert McCammon, Steven King, Michael Crichton, Mark Twain, and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Some I like more than others, some I might only ever read once, but you have to try new things to find out if you like them. Try reading Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, it’s not at all like the movie. Try “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson. Some of what people call, “The Classics” are great, others are, to be honest, a tough read. (Moby Dick almost killed me.)  Whatever you do, keep reading and don’t limit yourself to only one kind of book.  My writer friends and I, both dead and alive, thank you.

Until next time, which will be sooner than last time, I remain yours in fellowship,

-Mark

I’m working on it… really I am.

Well, I haven’t been given any official word that this is working again, but I’m going to risk it and try to get this blog post done. If you are reading this, the minions have done their work right and everything is mostly happy once more.

The answer to your question is, I don’t know. O.K. let me make that a bit more clear. The Sands of Nezza and when will it be out? I don’t know. Here’s the short version of the story. The book was done, it was edited and ready to go to the printer, and then… My publisher, my editor, and I had a talk. The book was done, it was a good book, but there was a problem. It wasn’t a great book, it wasn’t the book I really wanted to give to you, the readers. Panic set in. We all want to get this right. If Nezza is just an O.K. book the whole series could be in trouble. We want you to be happy with the final book and say, “Yes, that was worth the wait.” So, I’ve been making some large changes in the story, some small changes in the story, and adding new bits to the story for the last um, week or two.  No, I’m not done yet. My current goal/deadline is the 17th of this month. I think I can make it, I’m going to try my hardest to make it, and my editor it going to hurt me if I don’t make it. What does that mean to you? I don’t really know. I do know that the release date on Amazon might change, but I don’t know to what or when or any of the details. Please don’t get upset, I’m only doing this so the story will be better and so that you will enjoy it. O.K. I’m also doing it because I wasn’t happy with how the story was and I hope that I will be happy with it when I get done this time.

Now normally at this point I try to answer question from you all, but right now I just don’t have time. I did print them all out, and I will get to them as soon as I can, I promise. For now, I really need to work on The Sands of Nezza, so that’s where all my brain power is going. Sorry for the slow blog post, but once Sands is polished up, I’ll get back on and answer all your questions as best as I can.  Thanks for being patient, and thanks for reading.

Talk to you soon.

Yours in Fellowship

-Mark

Well it’s about time:

Yes, it is about time.  Sorry about that everybody, the blog is late, my main computer system is failing for reasons as yet undiscovered, and I’m typing on the laptop to do this blog because it just can’t wait any more.  Honestly though, I hate it when my desktop has problems, and I do prefer to type on my full size keyboard instead of on the laptop keyboard, but too bad, it’s blog time.

So, let me see.  We did some rewrites on chapter 2 of Sands of Nezza, and my outstanding editor is planning on having things ready to go to the final proof stage by the end of the month.  That means… well not much to all of you, as the book won’t be out until April.  O.K. it means that the book will be out in April and not delayed, unless my editor finds a giant problem in the story that needs major rework and time to get right.  (No, I don’t think there is one but I just wrote it and I’m not the best of editors.)  I will confess, however, that Sands of Nezza makes me a little nervous.  It’s different from earlier adventures because in this one Alex doesn’t actually join a company of adventurers.  Well, it’s different but I hope you all like it.  If not… well then I won’t do that again and we’ll go back to standard adventures with standard adventurers.  Now, on to the Q&A part of the blog.

Oh, before we go to questions I should say that final cover art is being finished up and I hope to have it for you soon.  Also the first chapter should be on the website sometime in February if all goes well.  Thanks for being patient.

Ah!  Why are all those correcting error messages showing up on my desktop???  Oh, sorry, back to questions.

Right, since so many of you have commented on the possible dark side of Alex, lets talk about that for a bit.  I don’t see Alex turning “DARK” any time in the future.  Yes, I think we will see his emotions being shown more, and yes, he might become a bit mischievous with his magic.  I do like the comparisons to Darth Vader, one of my favorite characters of all time by the way, but I just can’t see Alex going all out dark.  Yes, I know, Vader did come back in the end, one of the best movie scenes ever as well, but we won’t go into that.  I will try to make life a bit harder for Alex, and maybe not so much luck as he’s had in the past.  As we move forward in the series you will see that there are more forces that want to get rid of Alex, so things will be getting harder for him and his friends.  (No, I’m not telling you more right now, not even if you cry.)

Someone:  Yes, we’ve made the short leap from Alex being from a world like earth to Alex being from our world.  So many people already thought that he was from this world that it just makes things easier.  It also might make things easier if I decide to bring Alex here for an adventure, which I am currently thinking about.

Dawn:  About Alex adding magic to the things he makes while doing his blacksmith work.  The original reason Alex started doing smith work was to give him something non-magical to work at, to take his mind off magic for a time and let him just be, well, normal.  As he learns more about smithing it is only natural that he will want to bring his other talents, magic, into his smith work.  I don’t think we will see a lot of this in the stories, but there will be some here and there.  No, I don’t think Alex will start making super strong magic weapons for himself or for anyone else.  – part two of your question, how does the adventures leader know how many shares there will before all the adventurers are chosen is a good one, but it is really very simple.  The leader has a good idea about how many adventurers and what kinds of adventurers he will need to make the adventure a success, so he can figure out how many shares there should or will be.  It might change a little as they set everything up, but not too much.  If there is a big change that’s not a problem because the leader has the right to modify the agreement if needed.  One extra share or something would not upset anybody who’s been on an adventure.

hipnitized:  You know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen the entire Alice in Wonderland cartoon.  Seen parts of it many times, but never the whole thing.  If there are geebs or geeb like creatures in it, I think that’s great!  Thanks for sharing the stories with young minds.

oh dear, now the computer says it’s recovering orphaned files.  poor orphans.

Dakota:  Sorry they left out the next book in the series in the back of the last one.  I’ll mention this problem to the publisher and we’ll see if we can get it fixed.

mathew miller:  Alex will or almost will lose his temper in an upcoming story.  Possibly in more than one as the stakes get higher.

BananaDragon:  You haven’t been paying attention.  The ring from book one will appear and be used in the upcoming Sands of Nezza.  I’ve already said that I’m not going to tell you what it is or what it does.  Yes, Alex can call on friends from different lands to help him defeat a great evil, and he might at some point but I haven’t decided about that yet.  Finally, yes, Alex could be captured, escape, and defeat his enemy, and I have a feeling that all of those things will happen in the future, maybe more than once.

cornflower9909:  Wolves you say?  The Hellerash from Alberk’s Tomb were wolf like, though not the type of wolf you’d want to live anywhere near you that’s for sure.  I can’t say for sure, but wolves might make an appearance, wolves of some kind.  (Probably not the kind that want nothing more than to eat you.)

Zach:  Elementals are interesting things, and something like elementals will turn up in Sands of Nezza.  The locals call them “demons”, but then the locals don’t know that much about magic so the name works.  I think you’ll recognize them when you see them.

Salinor:  More powerful, sneaky, nasty, mean spirited enemies… you’ve got it.  Let me see, something that looks like a plant, eats like a great white shark, and can’t be killed, talked to, or… oh, sorry, just thinking while typing there.

Colby:  Alex in his own castle?  I don’t think that will happen.  He has a nice house, why move into a giant castle with all those cold and drafty rooms?  Also, Alex will always have Moonslayer, but that doesn’t mean he won’t get other weapons as well.

Cowboyusa:  I’m having some trouble figuring out what you want to know???  I will say, as I think this is what you want to know, that there might be real demons attacking a world at some point.  There are guardians of places so they might get involved in defeating the demons, but most demons actually belong to the world they are attacking, at least some part of that world in any case, even if it isn’t a very nice part.

Matthew H.:  I did have Alex meet an older wizard in one story, a story that won’t fit into the series now so you probably won’t ever see it.  The older wizard in that case was a good friend of Whalen’s, so there wasn’t any problem between him and Alex.  As Whalen has told people that Alex is a wizard I don’t think any wizards who know will have any questions.  I’ll have to think about this one a bit more, but I think any older wizard worth his staff will recognize Alex for what he is and not cause any real trouble.

Jacob Meyers:  Magical sickness?  Nice idea, and it is possible.  Not sure what the sickness would do or how Alex might catch it.  There might be magical allergies as well, certain types of plant that make wizards or magical people sneeze and have random spells happen when they sneeze.  Interesting idea and a lot of possible things that might happen.  I wonder if any of them will?

Well, I think that’s all of the questions and my dinner is getting cold, so until next time I remain:

Yours in fellowship,

Mark

Mold you say?

It was pointed out by a friend of mine that I’m a bit behind in updating the blog.  He said something about mold starting to grow, so I’m here to clean things up a bit and get some more questions answered.  First off, just so you all know, the current planned release date for “The Sands of Nezza” is… um, the first part of April.    Nobody has given me an official release date on it, but Amazon says the 13th, and Barnes and Noble says the 9th, so somewhere close to those dates would be a safe bet.  I have seen an early version of the cover and it looks awesome. I’ve been told that the final cover was finished, but that Alex looked a little too much like a hobbit and so they’ve asked the artist to fix that.  (Alex, a hobbit?  That will never do.)  Also in the news, I will be attending the LTUE conference in Prove on February 14-16, so I hope to see at least some of you there.  I will also be attending the LDS Storymakers conference in May.  For more information you can find both online, or I guess I can post the websites here.  http://ltue.org/LTUE_Home.html  and http://ldstorymakers.com/  Should be a lot of fun.

Now to answer some questions.  (These may not be in the order you asked them because the pages got mixed up when I printed them.)

Chelsea:  Wizards in this case do not get wands.  They have staffs, but I think if they needed to hide their staff they might change it into an easy to conceal wand.

Brandon:  Enchantments on items tend to last as long as the item does.  If a sword gets broken so does the enchantment on it.  If something just wears out I think the enchantment wears out as well.  How long can Alex live?  No idea.  He is part dragon and a powerful wizard, so I’m thinking a very long time if he can stay alive.  As for the value of gold, that would depend on where you are.  The gold coins that adventurers use aren’t massive, so if you just used them as gold in this world I think they’d be about 1/2 of an ounce.  Let’s see, that would make a coin worth about 850$ at the current as I write this price.  Gold, I believe is more common in the known lands than it is here, so it’s not worth as much there.

Taylor:  Alex may go on an adventure without being part of a company of adventurers, but I don’t think he will ever be all alone, at least not for long.

Theshadowknows:  Candy/sweets/desserts, yes.  Nothing really with fruit in or on it, and I do have to be careful because I’m type 2 diabetic (did I spell that right?)  So I can’t eat just anything or as much as I want to.  That’s probably a good thing, keeps me from getting super fat.

American Idiot:  Happy late birthday.

Cowboy usa: Yes, I want to see the hobbit, but I don’t want to wait for part two to come out after I see part one.  So I may not watch it until both one and two are out.  (Yes, that isn’t the best answer, but it might end up that way.)  I don’t know of any other people that are part dragon or that can be both human and dragon.  I do know a few dragons that pretend to be human, but that’s another story.  Bandits don’t all know about Alex, so he may run into them again and they won’t know to be afraid.  And finally, I don’t know of any people that can drain magic, but I do know there are objects made just for that reason.  (most of them were destroyed a long time ago, but a few are still around.)

a fan: Alex might do something stupid with his magic, but I don’t know about making someone grow a lot of hair.  Yes, if that happened he could reverse it, but would he?

Alyss:  I don’t think Alex would or could accidentally go on an adventure with evil adventurers.  They would have to hide a lot for Alex not to notice that they were evil, and even if he suspected something like that he wouldn’t go.  Also, Mr. Clutter and the adventure shops would not be likely to setup such an adventure.

Smiley Face:  Yes, I agree, Alex does have too much good luck and more bad things should happen to him.  I tried to add a few in this next book, but I think more and more bad things will happen as we go on.  If Alex still seems too lucky after The Sands of Nezza, don’t worry.  Things are going to become more and more difficult for him in the future.  As for using his sword vs. using his staff, I’ll try to balance that out.

Sly Fox:  An adventure gone wrong?  Well, maybe, but it’s not what you are thinking.

Aaron:  Corrupt adventurers, evil adventurers, and just plain bad adventurers don’t stay in the business long.  They may still go on adventure like quests, but they are not true adventurers any more.  Remember, adventurers have a code of honor, and if they lose their honor they may also lose the title of adventurer.  Not sure on the whole apprentice thing for Alex, but we’ll see.  Also, I don’t know if he can regrow a limb if he loses one, mostly because I never thought about it.  Maybe he could, but I don’t know at this point.

Heather 23:  A pet for Alex has come up several times in the past, and I’ve never found one that would really work well in the stories.  In Sand’s of Nezza there will be a kind of pet, though it’s not his pet and not really a pet at all.  No, that didn’t make sense so don’t worry about it.  Of course if you read between the words, what I’m saying is that Alex will have some kind of animal “Friend” along with him who helps out with things.  (Don’t worry, I think Dobkin and the other Smithies will be back before we get to the end.  I have some plans for them.)

Morraticus:  Thanks for the offer to use your name, I’ll think about it.  If a dwarf character turns up that feels like a Morraticus then you’re in.  If not, well, sorry.

Grant:  I don’t think there will be direct quest for the elves like there was in Albrek’s Tomb for the dwarfs, but we will see more of the elves in the future.

Joeybob:  Build something you say?  Well, Alex is learning to do smith work, and I think he will also learn to add magic to his smith work as he goes.  Something is bound to turn up sooner or later, or at least I hope it does.

Smiley Face: again…  Alex didn’t have a lot of friends or at least not close friends in the world he came from.  It didn’t seem important at the time so I just didn’t create them.  I have tried to explain what happened to Alex’s mom a couple of times, but the editor keeps cutting most of that out for some reason.  She died, mostly from a broken heart I think, and I think some of the info on his mom did make it through the edits in the first three books.  (Hmmmm.  I’d better double check and make sure.)

Jacob Meyers:  Dobkin was not put in Alex’s bag to cause trouble.  Alex’s father setup the sanctuary for the smithies in his bag, but that doesn’t mean the smithies are free to wander around in his bag and make trouble.  There are rules, even if I didn’t spell them all out.  The only reason Alex met the smithies was because they heard him inside the bag and were checking things out.

Dearl:  Tougher monsters… You’ve got it.  Ruff, scary melee, right we’ll ad that as well.  CD’s for the book are normally released about the same time as the new book, sometimes a week or two later.

Muffin45:  Yes, there will be other magical creatures in the books, but I’m not sure what yet.  I know that in book 5 there will be at least one sea monster, but I’m not sure what else will turn up.

Heather 23:  I thought I said Alex did change his age in Albrek’s Tomb?  I’ll double check, it might have gotten cut in edits or maybe I thought about it but forgot to write it.  Alex didn’t buy the house in Alusia, it was given to him by the king.  If he leaves it he won’t sell it, it will go back to the king.  Alex doesn’t need to go home and ask about his relatives because Whalen already found out all there is to know and told him.  Alex may go home and talk to Mr. Roberts about his relatives because there is a good chance that Mr. Roberts knows some of them, but I doubt that that would make it into the book unless the relative was important to the story.  No more questions about staying in the known lands for 100 years and coming home and being 16 and then going back for another 100 years.  Alex will live a very long time as a wizard, and an even longer time as a dragon/human, if he doesn’t get killed.  No need to go back and forth and change his age, and I’m sure Alex is getting tired of being 16 years old.  Yes, I do need to describe Alex better, so I’ll make sure to do that in… oh, too late for Sands… Well in book 5 then.  Thanks for the questions and I’m glad you have fun with the books.

Matthew H:  If I am ever in North Carolina I’ll try to stop by.  In fact if I plan on going that way I’ll post it and you can remind me to stop by.  Right now, I’m stuck in cold, snowy, wet, Utah.

Now, finally I’m glad so many of you have shown so much interest in where it is that Alex used to live.  I think that we will agree that Alex is from our world, earth.  I also think that Alex lived (or may still live from time to time) in an undisclosed location somewhere in North America.  I would choose England but I can’t write the accent for English people, not that there is an accent when you write it, but I can’t make Alex talk with an English accent in my head, he just won’t do it.  There is also the problem of all those other English witches and wizards and things could get a bit sticky if Alex ran into them, so we’ll stick to North America, somewhere.  Now, why is that important?  Will Alex be coming back to our world?  Well, maybe he will, and maybe he will be bringing some friends with him.  Not saying just yet, as I’m not sure how things are going to go that far ahead int he story, but it is possible.

So, until next time, I remain yours in fellowship

Mark  (The one who will do more evil to Alex and make his life more difficult and interesting.)

Past my expiration date:

Yes, I’ll say it, this blog is long past due.  Sorry about that, but life doesn’t always work out the way you want it to, and I’ve been a bit lazy.  I’ll work on the lazy, life will still do whatever it wants.

First up:  Yes, I do have a Facebook page, in fact I have a couple.  My main page for writing is https://www.facebook.com/pages/ML-Forman/165353446913522?ref=hl  I try to check this one every day, but I don’t post that much.  Another Facebook page was created by a fan, but they have made me an Admin. on it and it also gets updates and I do comment on it as well.  That one is:  https://www.facebook.com/AdventurersWanted?ref=hl  I hope both of these links work.

Second is about writing.  O.K. so several people have questions about writing, about becoming an author, and if I will help.  Well, thanks for asking, but to be honest I do not have time to review and critique the writing of all the people that want me to.  I will try to help if I can, but I’m sorry, I don’t have time to read and comment on entire books.  If you want to send say a short synopsis of your story to one of the Facebook pages, or to the bregnest@gmail.com email, I will try to read them and give you my thoughts.  Remember, a synopsis is short, no more than two pages, so don’t go crazy.  No promise on how long it might take me to reply either, that will depend on what life is throwing at me.  To answer a more direct question: No, I did not get an agent before Slathbog’s Gold was published.  No, I don’t have an agent now.  Yes, I should work harder and try to get an agent, and I will be doing that soon, I think.  Most publishers do require authors to have agents, and will only read submissions from agents.  You should also know that any good agent does not make you pay anything to be your agent, well, not up front.  An agent will read your work, decided if it is something they can sell, and then try to sell it for you.  They might give you suggestions about how to make your book better, or even ask that you make changes.  The agent gets paid by selling your book.  They deal with the publisher and get a percentage of what they sell your book for, and a percentage of your royalties.  (royalties are what you get paid for all the books that sell.)  So having an agent can be both good and bad, but I’m thinking it could be mostly good so I need to get one.  Finally, to all of you who want to become authors, and want to write stories and books to make money, my advice is this:  Start writing.  Write as much as you can.  Get into a writers group either in your area or online.  Write for yourself first.  Never give up.

Now, more direct questions:  (Doing it a bit different this time.  Naming the person who asked and giving the answer.  If you can’t follow because I left out the question I’m sorry.)

Dearl:  The CD’s of the books are normally released at the same time as the hardback of the book.  It might take a little longer for the CD’s to show up in stores, but they are available.

Muffin45:  Yes, there will be other magical creatures in the books, but I’m not sure what they all are yet.

Heather23:  I think Alex started on his third adventurer, Albrek’s Tomb, at the age he was on entering the adventure shop.  What was that… 16?  Didn’t Mr. Clutter say something about changing his age and then say something about there not being any real reason to?  Alex has no relatives in the world where his stepfather lives, so there’s no need for him to ask, however, Mr. Roberts might know something about his family.  I think our friend Whalen told him everything, even what Mr. Roberts might know.  And yes, I think the smithies will be back, but I’m not sure what part they will play.

Enigmas:  Sorry, Alex’s dad is really dead and so is his mom.  The watchers?  We don’t really know enough about them yet to say that Alex will ever join them, but they are out there watching.  As for the Order of Malgor (I think that’s how I spell it?) Wizards are not allowed to join.  I thought I’d included that information when Sindar is talking to Alex about the order, but maybe it got cut out in the edits.  The order will turn up again, and they will have some information for Alex, but you’ll have to wait to find out what that is.   Finally, the prophecies are not specifically about Alex even though he is the one who makes them come true.  The prophecies are old, not always remembered correctly, and well, nobody really remembers who made them, only that they were made.  There might be, even though we never hear about them, other prophecies that don’t come true or that don’t come true when Alex is around.

Travis: Cover art for The Sands of Nezza???  Not sure when it will be available.  I have seen an early version and I think it looks really cool, but no idea on what the final version will look like.  I’ll see if I can find out something more.  They did tell me that they would get me a copy of it as soon as it was done.

Cornfower9909:  Some of the adventurers might take extra things out of their bags when arming themselves because they aren’t sure if they need them or not.  Deciding that they don’t need things, or don’t need them yet, they put those things bag in their bags.  Don’t you ever pull things out that you might need on a trip and then decide you don’t really need them?  As for the magic in Norsland, the magic that runs in the family of Skeld and Tayo’s wives, it only gets passed on to dark haired girls in that family, I don’t know why.  The son of an adventurer will come to the Tower of the Moon, but I’m afraid that story will have to wait, and it isn’t likely to be told in this series.  Sorry about that, but we do have a limit to the number of books.

Taylor:  Yes, someone could break a wizards staff.  No, I’m not saying that it will happen or not.

Morraticus:  I like drinks.  Most favorite, CocaCola, which is Coke to most of us.  I should cut down though, too much sugar.

Madeline:  There are wizard duels, but they aren’t normally that structured.  Evil wizards would cheat if there were rules.  The mind to mind combat is a way to test strength without anyone getting hurt.  Yes, older wizards might dismiss Alex because he is young and has little experience, it happens.  No, not all wizards are adventurers.  Many live at magical places to protect them, some spend their time in study, some only travel in one land, normally their home land.  Wizards do not normally act as advisers to kings, or at least “True” wizards don’t.  Alex’s dragon side will play more of a part in how Alex acts and what he might do.  He will have to fight not to change into a dragon from time to time, but that’s all in the future.

O.K.  Geebs:  To summon a geeb there is a spell.  The cool thing about the spell is that the user doesn’t need to be magical to use it, it will work for anyone.  It’s not so much a spell as a summoning, which the geebs choose to answer or not.  Yes, there are times when the geebs won’t answer, you’ll see that in Sands of Nezza.  Why don’t they answer?  Well you’d really have to ask the geebs that question.  No, I won’t tell you the spell and that’s all I’m gonna say about that.

Dan:  About choosing an adventure.  As Alex is a wizard he can modify the adventures he decides to go on.  He has what is called “Wizard’s Privilege” that lets him do all kinds of things.  He doesn’t just use it for anything, but say there was one part of an adventure that he didn’t like, he could have that part of the adventure taken out using his wizard’s privilege.  He can also add things to adventures if he needs to.  You will see a little more about wizard’s privilege in “The Sands of Nezza”, but we won’t go into that right now.

Cowboyusa:  Yes, I believe that Alex can enchant weapons and other things if he needs or wants to.  I also think this ability will be included in future stories as we continue.  Sorry, I don’t know the North Ogden Fish Farm.

Madeline:  Yes, it would be fun to see Alex’s “bad” side now and then.  Perhaps not really bad, but maybe a bit of the darker, not always friendly and happy side of his personality.  I’ll try and work a bit more of this in as we go on.  Yes, Alex is related, though distantly, to Tara, Calysto, and Bregnest.  Alex is related to most of the royal families, but then a lot of people are.  I can trace my one ancestors back to William the Conqueror back in the, what would that be, eleventh century.  I think one line of the family might even trace back as far as a Roman senator in the year 9 A.D.  No, I don’t get anything for being related to either, and Alex’s relations could be even older than those.  Yes, it is possible for Alex to fall in love with a dragoness.  (Not a real word is it?)  Well a female dragon then.  No, I won’t tell you if he does.

Aaron:  Does anyone have the power to beat death?  Not sure if he can beat death, but death might take a few minutes to talk with Alex before taking him.  We’ll have to see about that.

Vessyr:  On Andy paying for Alex sword.  Andy agrees to pay in Thrang’s place.  Andy has been doing that all day long, collecting receipts as he goes so Thrang will know how much he owes to who.  I might have not been as clear as I should have been, but Thrang either has or will pay the bill for everything Alex/Andy bought when getting ready to go on the adventure.

Trevor:  Good question.  I never actually said that Alex was from Earth, everyone just decided that he was.  Now, I think he has to be from earth because that plays well with a future adventure and possibly another series I’m thinking of starting.  Which country?  It could be anywhere really.  Maybe we should have a vote and see which country people would like him to be from.  I’ll think about that.

Dan and Vessyr:  O.K. the shares for adventures and special skills and all that.  Well it all made sense to me when I wrote it, and everything added up correctly.  It’s been awhile since I broke out my shares-per-talent meter, but as I recall… First time adventurers get one share.  Experienced get 2 shares.  Special skills will get an extra share, so the special skill of being a wizard and being experienced is 3 shares.  The leader of the company gets 3 shares  2 for being an experienced adventurer and an extra 1 for being leader.  Alex might get more because apart from being an experience adventurer he is a wizard, can be a healer, might be a seer, and is also a warrior.  No, since he tries not to let anyone know, he does not get an extra share for being a dragon… but he might get an extra share for being a dragon lord, not sure on that yet.  Like I said, it all made sense and added up when I wrote it, and I will try to make the math work in future stories as well.  Then of course, maybe Alex won’t go on adventures with companies in the future, maybe he will go on his own or with a special friend or two… Ha, not telling.

Riddik:  Yes, the original idea was 7 books and return 7 lost bags.  That isn’t going to happen.  There will be 8 books, and Alex does have a few more bags to return now after the whole Tower of the Moon thing.  There will still be returns made, but maybe not in every story.  Yes, Alex will go on an adventure with Whalen… in fact I think that is book, oh sorry, not allowed to say yet.

Evan:  Yes, I think Alex can enchant normal things to do simple tasks.  An automagic duster, a broom that sweeps when the floor is dirty, those would be great.  The items for defense you ask about are possible.  There are also spells called “wards” that can be setup like alarm systems and/or to release defensive magic when it is needed.  Wards take time to setup, so Alex won’t often use them when traveling, but around his house, yes I’m sure he has some.

And last but not least:

Reichsever:  The Adventurer’s Handbook is an idea I’ve thought about several times.  In fact I was just thinking about it the other day.  I would like to do one, but I don’t know if the publisher will accept it or publish it.  There is also a huge amount of work that would need to be done if I did the real handbook.  Think about it, maps, name and talk about all the different creatures, list magical places, etc.  What I think might happen is that the “Revised” edition of the Adventurer’s Handbook might get written.  It won’t be as good or as full of info as the real version, but the reason for that is simple.  The real handbook is for adventurers, and you can only buy it at the adventure shop.  The revised edition is for anyone who wants to know more about adventures or that wants to travel around but not really go on proper adventures.  I’ll run this idea past my publisher and see what they have to say.  (Yes, I do have a very short version of the handbook written, just so I can keep track of important things.)

Wow, I think I’ve gone on too long.  I’ll be back soon, and we’ll talk more about what might be coming and what just won’t work.  Thanks for checking in, and until next time.

I remain yours in fellowship.

Mark

Red Alert! Red Alert! Oh dear, not again.

Right, it’s red alert time here at the work desk, and I’m not sure how bad things are going to get.  What’s the problem you ask?  Well, I’m glad you asked.  I just got some feedback from my publisher, and things are looking dangerous.  They were good enough to point out some problems with book 4, “The Sands of Nezza” that I need to fix before we print it.  Dang, why didn’t I see these problems before???  Well, I’m seriously thinking and working on the problems and I hope to have them under control in the next week or so.  I’m not sure what our current deadline for printing is, how this will affect when the book comes out, or when the new preview chapter will appear on the website.  I’m doing what I can, but there might be some delays.  Sorry about that, but if you wanted things done faster you shouldn’t have let me make these mistakes in the first place.

Right then, time for some answers to questions.

Chelsea, Yes, I believe Alex will have more dreams as we go along.

Why did we never mention Alex going to School while he was still living with Mr. Roberts?  Well, first of all it wasn’t important to the story, and second of all I did mention in a not so obvious way that Alex did go go school.  Alex does mention in the first book that he knows how to read and such, but that he can’t read one of the books Arconn gave him because it’s not written in a language that he understands.  (That would be the magic book.)

I’m sure that Hobbits will never make an appearance in the Adventurers Wanted series.  Hobbits do belong to Tolkien, and even though I like them I don’t think we’ll see them.

When will Alex meet Tayo’s son?  That will have to wait until Tayo has a son and that son gets to an age where he can be Alex’s apprentice.  We have a lot of stories to tell before that happens, and sadly I don’t think it will happen before the series ends.  Maybe an add on book at a later time, or another series, we’ll have to see.

Typing mistakes in the books:  Yes, it happens more often than you might think.  What can be done about it?  Well, the publisher keeps a list of all the mistakes they find or that people point out to them.  When they re-print the books, they fix all the typing mistakes that have been found.  You can send any you find to the publisher, but most have been found I think and will be fixed next time they print new books.

Will Calysto be back?  I really don’t know yet.  I’d like to bring her back, but I’m not sure how I can.  I’ll think about it, but we’ll have to wait and see where future adventures take Alex to find out.

Aaron, wow, that’s a long list of questions you’ve posted.  Let me see what I can answer.  Yes, in some places there are slaves, but most of the known lands have laws against slavery.  No, Alex will not inherit a kingdom.  We do learn something of Alex’s family in book 4.  Alex might fall into something like madness, but I’m not going to say what happens, Alex will learn to make impressive weapons but I’m not going to compare them with weapons made by the dark elves.  No, Alex can not create a dragon like he created the dog when he got his staff.  Dragon’s are not created like that and they wouldn’t be happy if you tried to get rid of them like the dog.  Skipping a couple and going to say a little something about Salinor here.  Yes, I did say that Alex and Salinor were equals, and if they fought they  would probably destroy each other.  Honestly, thinking about it now, I think Salinor might win if Alex and Salinor fought now.  Why?  Because Salinor knows so much more than Alex does, so he would have an advantage.  Alex, however, knows Salinor’s true name, so that would help him if they were to fight.  I think the equals is something more than just magical power and knowledge, I think it is that they accept each other as equals.  They respect one another, so there isn’t much of a chance that they would ever fight.  They are equals in the same way that people are considered equal to each other.  I hope that makes sense to you all, but if not I’ll try to explain it better as the books go on and the blog gets longer.

King Ted:  Alex is not building an army.  Why did you think that?

I don’t know why the subscribe button the the website doesn’t work, but I’ll ask about that.  I do know that at one time if people subscribed to the site they would get an email every time anyone posted anything.  I tried it, it was annoying.  They might have turned it off because of all the emails and just forgotten to turn it on again or maybe they never figure out how to fix it.  Oh, and yes, I do have a title in mind for book 5… Ha, not saying what it is.

Dragons are not adventurers.  Dragons aren’t that interested in adventures and such mostly because they are dragons.  Trolls are not that smart, but they are very good at hiding.  I think the hiding thing is mostly instinct.  The reason they can capture and kill adventurers and such is that they are fairly strong, hard to kill for the most part, and a bit sneaky.

Wizards can exchange thoughts and memories but they don’t have to touch heads to do it.  People on adventures do get colds and the flu and other sicknesses.  If they have a healer he can help them.  If they don’t have a healer they deal with these minor sicknesses as well as they can.  Most adventurers do carry some potions and things that help with common sicknesses, so those aren’t a real problem.

Yes, Alex will get married one day.  No, not to Tara from “Horn of Moran”.  I’ve said before that I wanted to bring Tara back and that I was writing a story with her in it, but that story doesn’t fit into the series, at least not now that we’ve decided on only doing eight books.  I’m not sure we will ever see Tara again, and if not I’m sorry but she does end up having a happy life and all, so don’t worry too much about her.

Nanowrimo??? I’m thinking about it.  Not sure what will happen but that’s O.K.  If I do Nano, I won’t know what I’m going to write until it starts in November.  I’ll be sure to let you all know if that happens and what the story is about.  I would also encourage everyone to give it a try.  It can be painful, but it can also be a lot of fun.

Yes, I’m a guy bartender, but I’ll forgive the mistake.  And yes, Morraticus, I am.

Finally, as I think I got most of the questions that needed to be answers and only skipped a few that have been answered or that will be answered or that I’ll let you answer for yourselves… wait, that sentence went too long and I forgot what came next???  Oh, um, I will be doing a signing this Saturday, October 6th at the Bountiful Deseret Book Store from 4:00 until 5:30 ish.  If you’re in the Bountiful area on Saturday afternoon stop by, have some cake or pie, and say hello.  Also, appearing with me, will be Camron Wright, who I haven’t met yet, so I’m looking forward to this.

Until next time, or until you show up at the signing, I remain yours in fellowship,

Mark

Questions? Why so many questions?

Yes, there are a lot of questions out there, some that have been answered already, some that I need to answer, and a few that I just don’t get.  How do you come up with so many questions?

First off, book 4, “The Sands of Nezza” is at the publisher’s being reviewed.  What that means is that the book is mostly done except for last minute changes the publisher might ask for and edits to fix my poor spelling and grammar.  If all goes well it will be in stores this coming February.  No, I don’t have an exact day yet, and no I haven’t seen any cover art yet so I can’t tell you what it will look like.  So with that out of the way, lets get on to the massive pile-O-questions.  Oh, and thanks to all of you who try to answer questions while I’m not here.  Hopefully people take the time to read the answers you give.

Will Alex get a rival wizard?  (one that he might not be able to defeat the first time they meet that is.)  Wizard?  well, not a true wizard but a wizard like evil person, yes.  We will see or at least hear about this person in book 4.

The watchers?  Yes, they will be back, they are important, and they are powerful.  I’m not 100% sure when the watchers will reappear, but I’m sure they will before the story is done.  Sorry, I’m not going to give you a lot of details about them just yet.

Dragons:  O.K. so yes, Alex will transform again.  As far as dragons having a government, no, they don’t.  Yes, Dragons have a land of their own.  Good dragons, like Salinor get along just fine with other good dragons, but evil dragons don’t really get along with anyone, not even other evil dragons.  Alex is part dragon and can change into a dragon, so when he mentions his connection to the other dragons it is because he is a dragon.  Yes, Alex is a human/man as well, but he’s a dragon too and that’s the connection.

Using magic to make people?  No, that just doesn’t work.  Using magic to summon a “Humanoid” army to fight for you?  No, I don’t think that would work because you’d have to control them all at once, or make them one at a time which would be a lot of work.  (What?)  O.K. so you use magic to create an army all at one time, great.  Now you have to control that army because they are mindless humanoid things.  Or, you can create the army one at a time and give each humanoid thingy a job to do, but that is really the only job they will do until you tell them to do something else.  Anyway, who wants a bunch of mindless humanoid things running around the battlefield?

The sign:  Why is it famous?  Because not many adventurers have ever seen the sign, and those who are chosen that way are normally very good adventurers.  So the sign is famous because the adventurers who see it are normally famous.  As for putting the sign up and taking it down… I think Mr. Clutter was confused about what Alex saw, and didn’t realize that Alex had seen the magic sign.  The magic sign is always there, or I think it is, but only a few people can actually see it.  Mr. Clutter was probably talking about his own “non-magic” sign, which Alex didn’t even notice.  (Yes, I should have explained that a long time ago, but I didn’t think about it.)

Will we see Todd, or even Mr. Roberts again?  Maybe.  O.K. we’ll probably see Mr. Roberts again, or I think we will.  Todd??? Not too sure.  At one time I was going to put in a story with both Mr. Roberts and Todd, but it just won’t fit into the series, so I don’t think Todd will be back.

The ring?  Yes, that is answered in book 4, so hold on a little longer and you’ll know.

Devon, thanks for the info on goodreads.  I’ll have to go and claim my page there when I get a chance.

Can Moon Slayer cut through anything?  Well it’s not a light saber, so no, not anything.  As for Alex’s general appearance… Well he’s grown up a bit since the series started, hasn’t he.  He was what 15 going on 16 when he became an adventurer, and now that he’s living in Alusia he doesn’t change his age, so… Alex is about five foot ten inches tall, maybe a bit taller, he has sandy blond hair, blue-green eyes, and is in good shape.  No, not an Conan sized guy, but not a stick figure either.  I’ll leave anything else to your imagination or to what I’ve said in the books that I don’t remember right now.

Symbolism?  Would I do that to you?  Alright, there is at least some symbolism here and there.  The lamp that is carried or not carried in book one… I’m thinking that the lamp is used to lead someone to the oracle or the truth.  Why isn’t it carried when Alex is taken to the oracle?  Because Alex already knows the truth, he just hasn’t accepted it yet.  Also, as a wizard, Alex has a light of his own, or he will once he understands what it means to be a wizard, and so he can find his way to the truth without the aid of the lamp.  Yea, O.K. sometimes he still needs help or at least time to understand, but he does have his own light.

Will Alex go on an adventure with someone his own age?  Yes, but that’s mostly because Alex is getting older as the series goes on.

Alex has already been to the brink of death, and he has not seen his parents at the wall.  Why?  Because it was not his time to cross the wall, and people on the other side of the wall would know that.  Also, Yes, there is a kind of heaven/hell concept to the wall.  Evil people would not be met by loved ones and family, they would be met by the people that they had hurt in life, and would have to answer for their evil deeds.  You didn’t really think evil could escape by just dying did you?

Paid assassins after Alex?  No, I don’t think so.  Assassins are a bit funny about who they are willing to go after, and as wizards can be extremely dangerous the assassins would tend to pass on them no matter how much money you offer them.

Is there more than one adventure shop?  Yes, many more.  Clutters’ is the most famous and the only one in Telous.  The adventure shops do work together for the most part, and often make their money by finding adventurers for other shops that need them.

Yes, Mr. Clutter has magic, but we are not going into that.  Mr. Clutter is not immortal, he is a kind of door keeper, but not one that can open doors to just anywhere, and I’m not sure how old he is, but I’m sure he’s at least five or six hundred years old.  As for Mr. Clutter being wrong but not really wrong… I’m not sure if that will be explained in any of the books because it doesn’t have any effect on Alex or the story we are in.  Maybe, someday, I’ll write a story called, “Mr. Clutters Mistake”, but for now we’ll leave it alone.

Yes, crossing the wall and dying are the same thing, Megan is correct.  O.K. so you die first and then you cross the wall, but you can’t do one without the other, so the same thing.

Yes, Alex would still be a warrior if he didn’t have Moon Slayer.

Yes, all of the known lands are populated, as are most if not all of the lesser known lands.  Unknown lands I can’t say because, well, they are unknown.

Right, so magic and making things out of nothing…  I don’t think even magic can make something out of nothing, but on the other hand it can make something out of your imagination.  Yes, it takes power, and the power in this case would come from a wizard.  No, you can’t make just anything because the bigger the thing the more magic it will take.  Some things a wizard can create and make them stay, other things he can create and then have to keep adding more magic to make them stay.  It gets very confusing at times which is why I don’t give you a lot of details.  No, wizards don’t pull things from another galaxy or reality, they use their mind, their magic, and their imagination.

The wizards bowl of magic.  Yes, wizards have a limited amount of magic they can use before things go dry.  No, wizards do not die if their bowls go dry, they just can’t do much magic at that point.  Some magic is possible even if their bowls are dry, but nothing too powerful.  Most people have a little magic in them, you might call it luck or good fortune, or bad luck even.  When a wizard’s bowl runs dry, his luck will still be there, so some magic will work and/or he might be able to escape harm because of his luck.

Religion in the known lands?  Yes, there are many religions and beliefs.  No, I don’t talk about them because they have nothing to do with the stories, at least so far.  Religious freedom is a big deal in the known lands, which means that as long as a religion doesn’t cause trouble or hurt anyone, things are fine.  Religions that do cause trouble, like trying to start wars or something, or that hurt people, don’t last long.

Garth:  Feel free to link this to your webpage if you want to.  Glad I could help.

Being an adventurer has nothing at all to do with your parents, your race, or anything like that.  Just because one or both of your parents were adventurers does not mean that you will be an adventurer.  Many people would like to be adventurers but if they aren’t chosen they aren’t adventurers.  You can’t buy the title if your a king, you can’t steal it if you are a thief.

There are twenty seven known lands, and yes I do have a list of them all but I’m not sharing.  If I ever write the “Adventurers Handbook” they will be included in that.  O.K. maybe I’ll share all the names and stuff, but for now I’m not because I want to keep them secret until the series is done.  Why???  Because I’m not sure which lands Alex will travel to before we are done, and I don’t want you all getting funny ideas about where he’s going.

And finally, for Cowboyusa, normal western style saddles are most common.

O.K. so some of you will be upset and say, “wait, you didn’t answer my question!”  Yes, I know, and there are reasons why.  Firstly, many of the questions asked will be answered when The Sands of Nezza comes out.  Second, other answers will come as the series goes on.  Finally, many questions don’t really need answers.  I’m not answering because I want you to find your own answer.  Not everyone will be happy with the answers I give to some questions, so I’m letting you decide for yourself what the answers are.  Is Alex right handed or left handed?  What do you want him to be?  Does it matter to the overall story?  Yes, I know, the kind of saddles used doesn’t matter to the story either, but as a cowboy asked I had to answer.  Anyway, I’m going to leave some questions for you to answer yourself.  Make the answer what you want it to be, and I’ll say I’m sorry later if I destroy your answer in one of the future stories.

Finally, on visits to different places to sign and talk at schools.  I know in the past I put an email address up for the person at Shadow Mountain you can contact to set visits up with.  I’ll try to find that email address again and post it for you.  I’m happy to go anywhere, but as the publisher normally pays for longer trips… well, we’ll have to see what happens.  If I happen to just be in an area, say on vacation or something, I’ll try to post it and let you know, and I’ll try to at least setup a signing as well.

I think that’s it for now, so thanks for all the questions and I promise to try and answer any new questions that I can.  If I don’t answer, well… The answer is coming in the future.

Yours in fellowship

Mark

The Pre-Sunday Dinner Blog

Mmmmmm… Sunday Dinner.  O.K.  so it’s just a meal, but that’s where you are wrong.  For me, Sunday dinner means getting together with the family, talking, and playing games.  It’s a tradition, and no matter what we eat, and it could be almost anything, Sunday dinner is always the best meal of the week.

So before we get lost in questions and answers, I promised that I’d post this for you all.  My friends at writingsnippets are doing a book giveaway, something they do a lot of, and this month they are giving away some of my books.  All you have to do is leave a comment on their site to be entered, and if you add a little story you get an extra entry.  Check it out at http://www.writingsnippets.com/   Lot’s of good stuff on the site for you writers out there, and also a lot for you readers as well.  Make sure to stop by and say hello.

First answer for today is about the book signings that are coming up this week.  Yes, I do plan to be at all of the signings, so come out and say hi.  I should have some posters and bookmarks to give away, and I’ll sign almost anything.  (Authors are funny that way, they love to sign things.)

Not sure if there will be a werewolf in the series, Cowboyusa, but it is possible.  Also, to clear up the saddle question that has been asked, I think most adventurers use the western/American style of saddle, but other types are possible depending on the adventurer.

On different lands and how that works:  Each land can be considered as a world.  You can’t ride from Thraxon to Vargland without going through the great arch, so don’t even try.  No, there are not any dimension shifts, time travel, or mystery rescues from alternate realities.  Maybe we’ll try some of that in the next series.

About this movie idea… O.K. let me explain a couple of things.  1.) Someone with connections in the movie business and a pile of cash has to want to make the movies if it’s ever going to happen.  2.) I don’t own the movie rights, the publisher does.  If someone buys the rights to the movie(s) the publisher has to agree on what the movies will be like and whatever else they want to make part of the deal.  I’ll get paid if they buy the rights, but I won’t have a lot of say so in the movies unless the publisher makes that part of the deal.  Yes, I’d love for the movies to be made, yes I hope they would stay close to the books, and no, I don’t know if anyone is even thinking about making movies except all of us readers who don’t have giant piles of money to spend making a movie.

Once more on living longer by jumping into the adventure shop and changing your age.  Yes, it is possible but here’s the thing.  Age changes are for while you are on an adventure, they go away when you go home again.  The age change only allows you to change to an age that you have been on a previous adventure, and most adventurers don’t start at 15 like Alex did.  So unless you want to stay on your adventure for a long time, leaving your home and family behind for years and years, it’s just not a good idea.

I’ll see what the people who actually run this page can do about setting up a facts and/or a FAQ page.  Not sure if the design allows for that stuff, but I’ll ask.

Yes, 18 months is normal for the time it takes to make a finished written story into a book.  I’ve heard that the average time to go from “My story is written and someone wants to publish it!” to a real book in my hand that I can read, is 18 months to 2 years.  Yes, that seems like a long time, but it does give authors time to write the second book while they wait.

Yes, the ring Alex found on his first adventure will be explained in the new book.  No, I won’t tell you what it is now, you’ll just have to wait until February.  Yes, it does have some magic, but I don’t think you will guess what that magic really is or how it works until you read the book.

To move a great distance with magic Alex has to open a portal, but it isn’t huge and it doesn’t require a lot of extra steps or planning.  Alex does not apparate  (how do you spell that?) as people in the Harry Potter books do.

O.K., O.K., question 7 on the adventurers application.  Yes, I know you all want to know what question everyone says yes to, but to be honest, “I don’t know”.  There, I said it, I don’t know what the question is.  I’m glad you are so interested in this, and if I ever figure out what question 7 is I’ll be sure to let you all know, but right now I really don’t know what that question is.  Sorry about that.

Morph his face?  Well I’ll say this, Alex and other wizards can use magic to disguise themselves.  Yes, I do use this in book 5.  It’s not really a morph, more of a magical mask.  They can change their entire appearance so that most people won’t know who they are.  Other magical people, and I’m not talking your average village witch here, but really magical people will notice the “mask” but may not be able to see through it.  Hmmm, how to explain without giving away part of book 5???  Let’s just say that if Alex hid himself in magic and Vankin saw him, Vankin would notice that there was something odd or different about Alex in his “changed” form but he might not know it was Alex until Alex told him.  Wow… did that make sense?

O.K. I know I didn’t answer everything, but we’ve hit that magical 1000 word blog post limit that I normally ignore.  Today, however, I’m gonna pay attention and stop now, because it’s almost dinner time and I’m really hungry.  I wonder what dinner will be today?

Talk to you soon, and hope to see at least some of you at the book signings this week.

Yours in Fellowship,

-Mark