K.R. Gastreich's Blog, page 34

Spring Equinox Fantasy Book Sale, March 20-22

I want to extend a very warm welcome to everyone who is visiting this week for the Magic Appreciation Tour's Spectacular Spring Equinox Sale.  I am very excited about this event, hosted by fellow author and modern mage, Daniel Marvello.  The sale includes 35 fantasy novels by 20 authors, several of whom have been recent guests on my blog.

From March 20-22, all 35 titles will be available for less than $5, some -- including Eolyn -- for as low as $0.99.  We are also offering more than thirty prizes in electronic and print copies of our novels.  Visit the Spring Equinox Sale now to browse all the titles and sign up for some great giveaways.

In addition to providing electronic and print copies of Eolyn for the Magic Appreciation Tour event, I am hosting my own Spring Equinox Giveaway on this blog. 

If you haven't had a chance to read Eolyn yet, now is the perfect time to venture into her world of love, magic, betrayal, and war.  Join this extraordinary maga as she rises from humble origins to challenge the harshest dogmas and the most powerful princes and wizards of her time. Bound by magic, torn apart by destiny, Eolyn and the Mage King will confront each other in an epic struggle that determines the fate of a millennial tradition of magic.

Eolyn is the first of three companion novels.  Its sequel High Maga will be released in spring of 2014, followed by the third novel in the series, Daughter of Aithne, available from Hadley Rille Books in 2015. 

You can sign up right here for your chance to win a FREE signed copy of Eolyn. Just use the rafflecopter form below; it's quick and easy.  If you'd like more chances to win, visit the Magic Appreciation Tour and sign up for one or both of their Spring Equinox giveaways.

For those of you looking for other fun things to do online this week, I also invite you to visit Heroines of Fantasy .  I'm up this week, for the first time in a couple months, with a somewhat confessionary post entitled Old Hobbit, New Hobbit.  Fans (and foes) of Tolkien are especially welcome.

Good luck and may your equinox celebration be filled with magic!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Old Pope, New Pope

Pope Francis won the hearts of the people in St. Peter's
Square almost instantly with his humble demeanor.Yesterday, a series of random events came together in such a way as to allow me to witness the announcement of the new Pope live, as it unfolded in Rome.

Not that I was in Rome, mind you.  I was in my parents' kitchen. But still, this is the fourth Pope I have seen elected in my lifetime, and the first where I happened to tune in just as the white smoke was billowing out of that skinny tin chimney.

Mom and I had planned to go shopping after lunch at my parents'.  But the arrival of a repair man to attend to their dysfunctional phone changed those plans. While the landline was being fixed, I opened up my iPhone app for the Kansas City Star, and we saw the breaking news:  white smoke from the Vatican, posted only six minutes before.  Mom turned on the TV, and another moment in history unfolded before our eyes.

It's been interesting to watch the on-line dialogue following the announcement of the election of Jorge Bergoglio as the next leader of one of the world's largest churches.  Ever the optimist myself, I am rather happy the Vatican has at least stepped outside of Europe and picked their next man from the great continent of South America.  I like his demonstrated commitment to the cause of the poor, and the humility he has expressed in both his lifestyle and his opening address as the newly elected Pope.

Legend or history?  Conspiracy theorists say that after a woman
was unwittingly elected Pope in the 9th century, rituals
were established to ensure all new electees had
the proper (and presumably more holy) set of genitals.Everyone is speculating over his choice of name:  Francis, presumably reflecting a dedication to the mission and life of St. Francis of Assis, a man reknowned for his devotion to the cause of the poor, and to all the living creatures of the natural world.

Of course, this handful of promising notes is not enough for many people. There is much anger being expressed because Bergoglio is conservative on precisely the issues one would expect a Catholic Pope to be conservative.  He objects to abortion, for example, and does not approve of gay marriage. 

Nonetheless, he also represents a step forward in ways few people seemed to expect from the Church at this time.  For my part, although I am bound to disagree with many aspects of his doctrine, I have to admit I was impressed with the unassuming way in which Pope Francis shared this moment of transition with his adoring crowd on St. Peter's Square.  I also hope he renews the focus on social justice, which I think has been one of the Church's strongest points of leadership since Vatican II.

Most of all, I'm curious to see how this new papacy unfolds. 

Because all life is, in one way or another, related to my novels, I couldn't help but remember the wizard Tzeremond as Cardinal Bergoglio accepted this grave and noble responsibility for the spiritual lives of millions of people worldwide. 

Another image that reminds me of the
wizard Tzeremond.  The road to perdition
is paved with good intentions.Tzeremond, like Bergoglio, is humble, dedicated, and keen of mind. Although he is Eolyn's greatest antagonist, he is an honest and even good man, from a certain perspective.  In writing Tzeremond's character, I knew he never once doubted the truth of his convictions, even as those convictions led him to preside over one of the most terrible injustices in the history of Moisehén: the annihilation of the Magas.

Perhaps not coincidentally, the influence of my Catholic childhood on the story of Eolyn also came up today while in conference call with editor Eric T. Reynolds and Thomas Vandenberg, who will do the cover art for High Maga. 

One of the earliest memories of growing up as a girl in the Catholic Church was the moment in which it hit home that I could never be a priest.  This seemed a terribly unfair situation, especially since I was certain I could be a much better priest than any of the priests I knew. Although I eventually came to the conclusion I was not called to a religious life of any sort, I have no doubt this early moment was one of the seeds that eventually gave rise to Eolyn and her struggle to practice magic in a world where magic is forbidden to all women, and controlled by men.

Once in a great while, I've questioned the relevance of Eolyn's story to the modern world.  I like to believe the women's movement of the 1960s and 70s has brought us a long way from the reality of Medieval Europe (which, by the way, was not all that different from the reality of the US in the 1950s, or the reality of the conservative elements of the Republican Party in 2013).  I like to imagine that younger readers, especially, won't "get" the idea that a particular right or path to power might be forbidden to women just because they are women. 

Unfortunately, reality has a way of preventing me from sinking into this myth, with a constant stream of events little and big; in the news, and in the lives of my friends, students, and family. So much is left to be done, and defending what precious ground we have won in the last few decades is an unending battle. 

I may not live to see a Catholic woman priest,
but a Lutheran woman priest presided over
the funeral of my maternal grandmother.
She gave one of the best and most heart-felt
funeral sermons I have ever heard.  Yesterday was one of those days, despite (or perhaps because of) the emotion and excitement of the announcement of a new and hopefully different kind of Pope.

It has been about 1700 years since women were banished from the leadership of the Church.  Since then, women have gotten around this prohibition by finding countless creative ways to serve the Church's most noble missions, and to contribute positively to its spiritual ministry.  Yet women are still second-rate citizens in the eyes of the Vatican, subordinate to all men and incapable of coming as close to God as the red-robed bishops and their white-robed leader standing on the balconies of St. Peter's. 

The pomp and celebration was exciting, the new Pope inspiring in his origins and humility. Still the news was sad somehow, and incomplete. We were reminded, in bold relief, that a Church led by only half of its community can never be anything more than half a Church.

This is also one of the core themes of Eolyn.  We need men's leadership, but we need women's leadership as well, equally and fully, in all walks of life, in all our human endeavors. 

When I was a little girl, I dreamed that in my lifetime I would see women priests in the Catholic Church.  I have let go of that dream in the years gone by, having come to terms with the fact that it is far too unrealistic, that the Church needs another 500 years, perhaps another 1000, to catch up with the 21st century. 

Of course, I may be happily proven wrong someday.  After all, it was once said -- not so long ago -- that a Latin American Jesuit could never be elected Pope. 

Seventeen hundred years later, something is still wrong with
this picture. . .

Artists and Endings (and also, Beginnings)

The cover art for King's Gambit, a novel by
Mark Nelson that will soon by released by
Hadley Rille Books.  The artist, Tom Vandenberg,
will also do the cover art for my new novel, High Maga.Hadley Rille Books released this wonderful image this week, and I had to share it with all of you.  This is a preview of the cover art for King's Gambit, a new novel by Mark Nelson that will be released this May.  The artist who elaborated this battle scene -- stunning in its detail -- is Tom Vandenberg. 

And now for the really wonderful news:  Tom Vandenberg has agreed to do the cover art for High Maga! 

Next week, HRB editor Eric T. Reynolds and I will meet with Tom via conference call to begin our exchange of ideas.  Eric has sent him the manuscript, which I imagine he is enthusiastically devouring word-by-word even as we speak.  I am so excited to be working with Tom on this project, and especially to begin designing the cover for my next novel.  This is the moment when everything begins to feel "real" in a way that no other aspect of the road to publication quite achieves.  I cannot wait to see the essence of High Maga expressed in images. 

Meanwhile, work continues on Daughter of Aithne.  Yes, I've settled on the title now, having decided that it is not only a good title, it is a brilliant title in ways that I didn't perceive when it first took shape in my mind. 

One of the questions I most often get about crafting a novel is whether I work with an outline.  The answer is yes and no.  I do not write down outlines, but I do spend a good deal of time "mulling" over a novel, and each of its scenes, before sitting down in front of the computer. So by the time I sit down to write, I have a pretty solid idea of the motivations of the characters and the layout of the scene.

I've also found that I have to have an image in mind of how a novel will end before I can begin writing.  And, I need a sense of key events in the novel that will lead to that ending, although I may not have it clear in my head the myriad of individual choices that will connect those key events. 

In the case of both Eolyn and High Maga, the ending that I originally envisioned was very different from the denoument of the final manuscript.  I may be speaking too soon -- indeed, I am almost certainly speaking to soon -- but I suspect this will not be the case with Daughter of Aithne. 

Where it all began: artist Jesse Smolover
created this lush and wonderful image for
the cover of Eolyn, iconic in its portrayal
of a maga's journeyIn the past couple of days, the ending of Daughter of Aithne  has come to me in vivid detail: the layout of the final scene, the impact of the ultimate revelation.  It is clear in my head in a way that the endings for Eolyn and High Maga were not.

What makes me think this denoument might be the 'real' one is that it surprised me; it is an ending I would not have expected even a week or two weeks ago.  Not only does it surprise me, it makes perfect sense, bringing the journey of all the characters full circle in a way I did not really foresee until now. 

I'm beginning to suspect that Daughter of Aithne is the book I have most wanted to write in this series, that everything I've done before was simply preparing me for this moment, when I find myself standing at the gate of Eolyn's final and greatest journey. 

This is indeed an exciting moment.

Word count as of today:  12,197 (about 10% of the way into the novel, assuming it's more-or-less the length of the previous two)

Five chapters are done.  I'll start on number six tomorrow. . .

Eolyn's Play List (Part II)

We've just been through the blizzard of the century in Kansas City, and another storm is descending on us tonight. 

Last Thursday, about a foot of snow was dumped on us in the space of 4 hours.  There was even lightening and thunder!  I've never witnessed a thunder snow. It was pretty awesome.

I must admit, I was grateful that Mother Nature decided to storm through the neighborhood and give us all a break from routine.  Until, of course, I had to shovel off the driveway.  And if the storm tonight is as bad as they say it will be, I will be shoveling snow again tomorrow.

I have gotten a lot of writing done, being trapped in the house and all.  I'm up to almost 10,000 words on the third companion novel to the Eolyn series.  The working title of this third manuscript is Daughter of Aithne, but that may yet change, so don't get too attached to it just yet.

High Maga, the sequel to Eolyn, will be out in just over a year -- April of 2014, to be exact.  The manuscript is ready, and has been for a while, but due to constraints with Hadley Rille's publishing calendar, we have to wait just a little while longer to see High Maga in print. 

Another way of saying the same thing:  Hadley Rille Books has a lot of awesome novels coming out between now and the release of High Maga!  Three of those novels are by Heroines of Fantasy authors, so be sure to check out my other blog for regular updates on those releases.

Last week, I posted the first half of Eolyn's play list; this week I'm continuing my tour of the songs that inspired scenes from the novel. If you, like me, are snow-bound, what better way to pass the time than listening to some music?

Eolyn's Playlist, Part IILacrymosa, by Evanescence

A haunting interpretation of Mozart's Lacrimosa, this song inspired a climactic moment in the novel, when Eolyn is apprehended for witchcraft, a crime that means certain death under the laws of Moisehén.




Presagio, by Malpais

This  song is one of my all-time favorites.  Malpais is a Costa Rican group, and Presagio, captures the spirit of momentous change.  Revolutionary change.  The kind of change that everyone hoped to achieve when they united behind Eolyn in her struggle against the Mage King.

I also really like the images in this video; obviously geared to inspire another kind of momentous change, one that is perhaps more relevant to our contemporary world.




Si Tu No Vuelves, Miguel Bosé

This guy, Miguel Bosé, has the sexiest voice in all of singingdom.  If you haven't heard him yet, you must listen to him now.  And be prepared to fall in love -- after all, sometimes all it takes is a good voice.  The song, Si Tu No Vuelves, is another love theme for Eolyn and Akmael. 





Angel, Massive Attack

Here's a high-tension song if there ever was one.  I would often listen to Angel while I was trying to envision the details of the final confrontation between Eolyn and her arch-nemesis.  Who is her arch-nemesis?  Well, you'll just have to read the book to find out!




Bring Me to Life, Evanescence

Evanescence makes yet another appearance on the playlist with this song, especially suited for portions of the battle sequence. 




Tear Drop, Massive Attack

Time for a little background-on-Eolyn trivia. 

Tear Drop is on this list for a couple reasons. 

First, in the year I started writing this novel, I began studying modern dance with Jorge Corrales at the Taller Nacional de Danza in Costa Rica.  Jorge choreographed a dance to this song, which we performed as part of TNC's annual presentation at the Teatro Melico Salazar.  This was an important time for me; I had been looking for a 'home' in dance for some time in my adopted country, and I had finally found it in this class, and in this studio.  The magic of dance was returned to my life. This is part of the reason why Corey's Circle made it into the novel -- and why dance became an important part of Corey's Circle. 

Tear Drop is also, interestingly enough, associated with the end of the novel as I had originally envisioned it -- which is quite different, by the way, from how the end was actually written.  So I guess we could call this song, "Theme for the Lost Ending of Eolyn".  Though I think some of the spirit of that original vision was preserved in the denoument of the final manuscript. 




That completes Eolyn's play list, parts one and two!  I hope you've enjoyed it, and I'd love to hear if there are other songs that remind you of the novel. 

Later on down the line, I'll be back with a brand new set of artists on the play list for High Maga. . .

Guest Author: Elizabeth Baxter

I am happy to welcome Elizabeth Baxter, author of two fantasy series, The Last Priestess and The Wrath of the Northmen.
Elizabeth was born and raised in England. In her spare time she enjoys reading, hiking, traveling the world and watching England play cricket. She’s been writing since she was six years old and plans to continue for as long as she’s able to hold a pen (or a keyboard).
Today we are celebrating the release of The Last Priestess. Like most of the author's books, this features a strong female character. So, to whet your appetite, Elizabeth has provided us with an interview with one of the ladies from The Wrath of the Northmen.
Please join me in welcoming Elizabeth, and her character Falen! Interview with Falen from Summer Storm  Can you tell us a little about yourself?
My name is Falen and I live in Variss, a city right in the north of Thanderley. You should see it - the most beautiful place in the world. It's ringed by the Sisters who have snow on their peaks all year round and lakes so clear you can see right to the bottom.
Sounds like a nice place to live. You must enjoy living there.
I didn't say that. Variss might be beautiful but it's also insular. It's a place too concerned with its history and traditions, if you ask me. Nobody ever questions how things are done. Change comes slowly. It's become a city full of stuffy old men full of stuffy old ideas.
You sound as if you talk from experience?
Unfortunately, yes. In Variss women should be seen and not heard. We should be interested in our husbands and our children. Or if you're really lucky you might be allowed to become an artist or a weaver. But I'm not like that. I'm a scientist. For me, there's nothing more exhilarating than discovering the answer to some scientific riddle or inventing something that will improve people's lives. But do I get any recognition? Of course not! People just think I'm odd and that I ought to be married off so I can't cause any more trouble!
  What kinds of experiments have you conducted?
 At the moment I'm working on some weather stuff. I'm trying to test hypotheses about air pressure and if it's linked to weather patterns. I've designed a piece of equipment which I reckon might be able to predict storms. Can you imagine how helpful that could be for a mountain city? No more travelers and shepherds lost on the mountain! I call my idea a stormglass. It looks a bit like a glass teapot. I fill it with water and measure how the water level in the spout rises and falls in relation to the water level in the body. I've got a theory that the rising and falling is linked to fluctuations in air pressure and this in turn is linked to different weather. If I can prove that, people will have to take me seriously! No more sniggering behind my back!
 What are your plans for the future?
 If I tell you do you promise to keep it to yourself? I've applied for the Ral Toran Engineering Academy. Ral Tora is a city down south. My father would go apoplectic if he found out. But I'm hoping when my stormglass is finished and it earns me a place at the academy, he'll be too proud
to be angry. Wish me luck!~*~Falen is from Summer Storm, an epic fantasy novella and the first book in The Wrath of the Northmen epic fantasy series. Summer Storm is available FREE at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Summer-Northmen-fantasy-novella-ebook/dp/B009HCWLHM/ For more information about the author and forthcoming books, visit Elizabeth Baxter at:
Website/blog: http://elizabethbaxter.blogspot.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/smallblondhippyFacebook:  http://www.facebook.com/#!/Elizabeth-Baxter/1902352310888487Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/5743309-elizabeth-baxter

Eolyn's Playlist (Part I)

A couple days back, a red breasted robin showed up on my front lawn as I pulled the car out of the driveway. This morning, an entire flock of these melodious creatures greeted me outside O'Reilly Hall when I arrived on campus.  There can be no doubt: spring is coming.

The annual reappearance of the robin has always had special significance for me.  There is a brightness about this migratory thrush that bids me to set aside my dark moods, to shed the sadder side of winter.  Spring has arrived!  And with it green fields and blooming flowers, the dawn chorus and the evening crickets.  Bicycling on breezy days.  Wandering through budding forests.  Flying kites on open fields. Breathing in the fresh spring air. 

Spring is also Eolyn's season.  She was born during the months when winter is transformed to summer; her name is, in part, derived from the spring festival of Eostar. 

By way of celebration, I've decided to put a little music into my blog.  I'm going to share with you the playlist for Eolyn, something I've often thought about doing but never gotten around to. 

These are some of the songs that inspired me while I was writing the first novel, from 2006 to 2010.  I've picked twelve in all -- appropriate, since 12 is a sacred number in the tradition of Moisehén. Today I will embed six, with the other half dozen coming a post or two down the line.  (Yes, I do have a play list for High Maga as well, but Eolyn has been waiting her turn for a while, so let's attend to her first...)

Before we get to the music, I'm also happy to announce that work on the third novel is well under way.  I've completed the first three chapters, a total of about 7500 words.  Still a little ways to go before I finish, but a start is a start; and this one is a very strong start at that.  The working title is Daughter of Aithne, but that may change, so don't get too attached to it just yet!

Onto the music, and perhaps a little dancing.  When you're through listening, I'd very much like to know if any of these songs resonated with you.  I'm also very curious -- for those of you who have read Eolyn -- whether there are other songs out there that remind you of the novel.

Enjoy!

Playlist for Eolyn: the First Six Songs1. Evanescence: Sweet Sacrifice

I actually discovered The Open Door just a couple months after starting the novel, and the music from this charismatic group accompanied me through many scenes.  Sweet Sacrifice is a song I associate with the first chapter of Eolyn.




2. Vangelis: The Conquest of Paradise

I love the majesty of this song, and I especially love the fact that the video features scenes from the beaches of my adopted country, Costa Rica!  I'd tell you which scene is connected to this song, but that would be kind of a spoiler. 




3. Evanescence: My Immortal

Yes, Evanescence.  Again.  I always thought this an appropriate love theme for Eolyn and Akmael.




4. Evanescence, Snow White Queen

This song brings to mind the Mountain Warrior Khelia, an enigmatic and magical woman who can not only fight -- and shape shift while she's fighting -- but has a powerful and enchanting voice. 




5. Cirque du Soleil, Alegria

Cirque du Soleil did not actually inspire Corey's Circle -- like Evanescence, I came across it after I had started writing the novel.  But wow -- this spectacle of art and acrobatics fits perfectly with the magical mood that I associate with Corey's traveling show. 

In terms of characters, I always imagined Adiana, Eolyn's friend and a musician from Selkynsen, singing songs like Alegria.




6. Sting, Desert Rose

Here we are at number six already, and who better to close out today's show than Mage Corey himself?  Yes, this is Corey's song.  The passion.  The power.  The image of eternal fire.  Though Corey doesn't look all that much like Sting.  Or does he?   You tell me. . .




That concludes today's musical tour! I'll be back soon to post more songs from the playlist for Eolyn.  Until then, may your spring transition be filled with magic, music, and dance!

Guest Author: Christopher Kellen

It is my pleasure today to welcome author Christopher Kellen, whom I met through the Magic Appreciation Tour. 

Christopher Kellen began his career as an independent author with the publication of ELEGY: Book One of the Arbiter Codex in July of 2011, which was shortly followed by the releases of the free short stories Dutiful Daughter and The Corpse King. In late 2011, the release of Sorcerer’s Code marked his first book that would go on to become an Amazon.com best-seller, and he has been writing furiously ever since.

2012 saw the releases of two new novels and a novelette, following up on the series that began in 2011. In December 2012, he began a new military science-fiction/space opera series with SINS OF THE FATHER. A proud member of the Genre Underground, his heroes of literature are those who are fearless in telling stories that truly mean something to their readers. He lives in New Hampshire with his wife and monstrous black dog.

Today, Christopher tells us about building the world of Eisengoth for his ELEMENTS OF SORCERY series.  At the end of the post, check out the Rafflecopter giveaway and enter to win a FREE copy of the ELEMENTS OF SORCERY series!


Eisengoth: Building a World
THE ELEMENTS OF SORCERY focuses on the tale of how Edar Moncrief, a maker of love potions and wart remover (and competent sorcerer in his own right) gets tangled up with an Arbiter, and how his life gets irrevocably screwed up from that point forward. It's swords-and-sorcery written with an urban fantasy sensibility—like if Jim Butcher (author of The Dresden Files) wrote stories based on Robert E. Howard's Conan and Solomon Kane. There will be five installments when it's finished; each is novelette to novella-length, ranging between 14,000 and 19,000 words so far, and they've been getting steadily longer.
About four and a half years ago now (give or take), I embarked on my 2008 NaNo project. I'd been reading Robert E. Howard (the author of Conan) and a few of his contemporaries and successors, and I really wanted to write something in the swords and sorcery vein. At the end of November, 2008, I had a 50,000 word manuscript entitled ELEGY.
It was originally intended to be a stand-alone.
Fast forward a couple of years to 2010. ELEGY was very nearly published in an e-zine as a serial piece, but unfortunately the e-zine went under even before it launched. I did a lot of revision to prepare for that publication, but after the organization behind it crumbled, ELEGY went back to sitting on my hard drive.
So, when I came around to 2011 and was struck by the idea to go indie with my work, ELEGY was the first thing that came to mind. It was polished (or so I thought at the time) and ready to go. However, as I mentioned, it was originally supposed to be a one-shot. I hadn't even really begun to develop the world around it, which is odd for me, because I'm always world-building (even in my sleep, I think). All I knew about it was contained within those 50,000 words, but I knew that it could be something more.
From the moment I decided to publish ELEGY, I began building the world of Eisengoth around the city of Calessa, the primary setting of that first book. It didn't take me long to put in the first few details; a free league of cities, far removed from the older parts of civilization. The Free Cities was the first thing I really nailed down, and after that the next block came in easily: why were the Free Cities free? Well, because they'd broken away from the tyrannical authority of the Old Kingdoms.
I really wanted a sort of decaying, decadent feeling in this world. It's not a very nice place, honestly. Something really bad happened about five thousand years in its past, and ever since then it's been kind of a wreck. The world itself tries to kill the people who live there, and the monsters aren't much help either. The Free Cities, I decided, were a sort of frontier land, whereas the Old Kingdoms had existed for centuries, or even millennia. Within the text of ELEGY I had mentioned a city called Aldur, north of Calessa, so that was easy.
The next major part of the worldbuilding really came in when I made my first attempt at writing a sequel to ELEGY. (It didn't go well.) I laid down some landmarks as I began to write a travel story (I'm no good at writing travel stories, so I don't know why I thought that was a good idea) and set up the outlying areas.
When the draft failed, a lot of the details got scrubbed, but the core remained. That was what allowed me to build the tiny border kingdom that D'Arden visits in THE CORPSE KING, and what eventually led me to exploring the Old Kingdoms when I wrote SORCERER'S CODE, the first entry in The Elements of Sorcery.
As I wrote SORCERER'S CODE, pieces of the world kept falling together. This was my first attempt at getting across that sort of desperate, decaying feeling that infuses works like Jack Vance's Dying Earth, and the city of Elenia was the perfect place to do it: a city where the monarch changes every few months, and every time it does, the whole place gets incredibly drunk and attempts to kill each other in merriment.
Like I said, it's not a very nice place.
With each installment of The Elements of Sorcery, I've tried to explore different and contrasting locations while driving the story forward with my snarky and clever protagonist, Edar Moncrief. So far he's visited three separate locations, each stranger than the last, and there's two more installments to come! Seeing the dangerous and unpleasant world of the Old Kingdoms through Moncrief's eyes lets me paint a picture of a terrible place that a reader actually wants to continue reading, because his voice draws the reader in and shows them the world from the perspective of someone like them: a guy who's just trying to get along without getting killed, or skinned alive, or worse.
For all the places I've explored in Eisengoth, there are many more which have names and general concepts, but have not yet been detailed, and others which exist but only in sketchy visions inside my own head. One of the things that I love to do is to find places and learn about them within this world as I write along. If I already knew every detail about the world before I set to writing the next installment, there wouldn't be anything left to discover!


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Love and the Human Spirit

The season of love is upon us again!  Happy Valentine's Day.  I hope you are in for a week full of love and friendship, and most of all, lots of chocolate. 

I have some fun news to share.  Rumor has it Hadley Rille Books will be offering a special Valentine's Day Promotion starting on Wednesday.  I'll be sure to announce things on the right hand bar of this website as the sale becomes official.  You can also visit Eolyn on Facebook for the most up-to-date information. 

Over on Heroines of Fantasy, Mark Nelson has written a wonderful post about love in fantasy.  I don't agree with everything he has to say, but as usual, he got me thinking.  Mark is looking for fantasy fiction that celebrates long-term stable love.  If you know of a title or movie that will satisfy his craving, stop by Heroines of Fantasy and tell us about it.

I spend so much time reflecting on -- and writing about -- love, that I don't have anything new of my own to scribble on my blog this week.  But I did come across something very special that I can share:  Helen Fisher's Why We Love, Why We Cheat. 

Helen Fisher is an anthropologist, author, and (as you will see) a gifted speaker.  This brief presentation takes us on the incredible journey of human love, from the depths of prehistory to the present day, and beyond.

Fisher talks about how the brains of men and women differ, and she reveals the distinction between lust, romantic love, and attachment from neurophysiological and evolutionary standpoint.  Although her focus is the science of love, she never once abandons its poetry. 

This video has been around for a while, but I only came across it today -- right in time for the Week of Luv -- thanks to a recommendation from my good friend Suzanne Hunt.  Please watch and enjoy as Fisher paints a broad and beautiful canvass of love and the human spirit. 






For more videos of Helen Fisher and related topics, visit TED.

Taking Time

photo by Anais Nin, from Women Hold Up Half the Sky

Hay más tiempo que vida.
--Spanish proverb

It has begun.  The third novel, that is.  I'm about 3500 words in, just beginning chapter 2. 

It's been many months since I've written new material for a new project.  The next-to-final draft for High Maga was finished last summer, and I spent the fall refining that manuscript and getting it ready for my editors.  In November, High Maga went out to beta readers, and most of them returned their comments to me by mid-December.  Sometime during the holidays, I sat down to incorporate their edits and shave another 3000 words off the manuscript. 

Now High Maga is done, sitting on editor Eric T. Reynolds virtual desk, waiting for his verdict. (It's already been through one editor at Hadley Rille Books; Eric will be the second.  I have no doubt he will like what he reads, but will he have more edits?  Only time will tell.) 

We've tentatively identified a cover artist, though I'll wait until that's reconfirmed before making any announcements. I expect the cover art to be finished sometime over the summer. Then of course, there will be copy editing and countless other nitpicky tasks (like sending the ARCs out for reviews) that stand between us and the official release date in April 2014. 

And there will be a lot a lot a lot of marketing activity, including several giveaways that we will set up in various venues during the months leading up to the launch. 

I have had so many questions about the release of this second novel, and every time someone asks me "Are you done?  When can I get my copy?" it fills my heart with joy. I am so excited that you are so excited! 

Of course, there's inevitable disappointment every time I say it will be another year before High Maga is released.  It seems such a long time to wait in a world where we've become accustomed to life moving very quickly.  It seems such a long time to wait when every moment of every day, dozens of books are being published that are not High Maga. 

But if you understand something of the traditional publishing route, which is the one I've chosen with the wonderful small press Hadley Rille Books, a year is actually not that long.  And having been through a faster track with Eolyn, where we had about six months between when the manuscript was finalized and when it went to press, I would much rather have a full year to put everything in place and enjoy a successful launch. 

I'm probably a little old fashioned this way, in my attachment to avoiding the frenzied rush whenever it is in my power to do so.  But as I learned during my years in Costa Rica, hay más tiempo que vida.  This is a really tough saying to translate; in English, it makes little sense.  Partly because of the words, but also because our culture is not as adept at decoupling "life" from "time".  Essentially the idea is that time can be 'wasted' because there's an infinite supply of it in the universe.  Life cannot.  So often, enjoying life involves letting go of time.

It's the journey that matters, not the destination is a saying in English that more or less captures the same idea.  I have to remind myself of this often, as a person and a writer.

The journey of publishing a book involves so much more than the release date; it also includes everything leading up to that moment, and everything that comes after it.  Even though Eolyn was released in 2011, the journey of publishing her is far from over.  And now her sister High Maga is about to embark on that same adventure. 

While High Maga prepares her ship to sail, little sister number three is on the way.  I have a feeling she's going to be a spritely companion to her two older siblings.  After giving myself a nice long break from writing, these first couple of chapters are coming with unusual ease.  That's not to say they're perfect -- never perfect in the first draft!  But the words and ideas flow with a sense of security that I don't remember feeling when I first started Eolyn and High Maga. 

I think this is, in part, because I've allowed myself time. Time to do other things, time to mull over ideas, time to enjoy aspects of my life that are not necessarily related to writing. 

Most of all, time to savor the journey.

Hiking in Andrews Forest, Cascade Mountains, Oregon.

On Science and the Soul

The event on which this fiction is founded, has been supposed, by Dr. Darwin, and some of the physiological writers of Germany, as not impossible of occurrence. -Percy Shelley, from his 'Preface' to the original 1818 edition of Frankenstein

 Early cover art for Frankenstein.~*~ I'm moving into the final chapters of The Age of Wonder by Richard Holmes, caught up in that wonderful tension between not being able to put the book down, and not wanting it to end. 
One thing I really enjoy about Richard Holmes' narrative is his constant attention to the interplay between literature, poetry, and science during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. While Joseph Banks, William Herschel, Caroline Herschel, Humphry Davy, and their many companions redefined our world through science, the great romantic authors such as John Keats, Mary Shelley, Percy Shelley, and Lord Byron explored the meaning of poetry in an age of increasing rationalism. 

I was fascinated to learn that Mary Shelley's character Frankenstein may have had his roots in real-life contemporary scientists.  There was, for example, in 1803 a certain Giovanni Aldini who tried to revive the body of a convicted murderer with electrical charges, six hours after he had been hanged in London. Aldini's experiments were met with eager publicity on the one hand; and public outcry on the other. By 1805, he was forced to leave the country. 

Mary ShelleyOf course, Mary Shelley's Victor Frankenstein was not an Italian scientist living in London, but a German physician immersed in a Gothic world of her making.  Holmes speculates that Shelley may have found further inspiration in the German physiologist Johann Wilhelm Ritter, whose galvanic experiments were known to be practiced on animals, and rumored to have been applied to humans.  Ritter did not achieve much success by any definition of the word.  His colleagues were alienated, his students abandoned him, and his family suffered grievously from his neglect as he became increasingly obsessed with his work.  In 1810 he died penniless and insane.

At the heart of these gruesome attempts at reviving the dead was a heated debate over a concept called 'Vitalism'.  This was the belief in the existence of a life force, or 'Vitality', vigorously attacked by some and staunchly defended by others.

'Vitality' was thought of as a substance super-added to the mechanical structures of animals and plants.  A liquid, perhaps, or something akin to electricity.  A fair number of scientists claimed to have isolated it, though these claims were eventually refuted.  'Vitality' was considered by many a scientific conception of the soul; and since it was super-added, some power outside of humans (God?) must have added it.

Holmes does a wonderful job of showing how this debate was infused into the works of authors and poets of the time, most notably with John Keats narrative poem 'Lamia' and of course, Mary Shelley's immortal Frankenstein. 

Wanderer Above a Sea of Fog,
by Casper David FriedrichShelley's novel takes on renewed significance when one considers the historical context, for she is taking the most controversial experiments of her time to their most terrible conclusion in an even grander experiment of the mind. In the process, she considers the debate of Vitalism. After all, Frankenstein succeeded in giving organic life to his 'monster', but could that monster also be given a soul?

Those who have read Frankenstein know that the doctor and his 'monster' are actually co-protagonists, each given the chance to tell his own story.  The eloquent and introspective nature of the 'monster' is lost in most film renditions; Shelley painted him as a sort of anti-hero, a creature driven to wreak havoc and destruction by the unbearable circumstances of his creation. 

I have said elsewhere (see The Landscape of My Imagination ) that I would have felt very much at home among the Romantic authors.  Now in reading Richard Holmes' work, I like to imagine I would have felt even more at home among the scientists who were their contemporaries.  Not so much Aldini, of course.  But I would have liked to have met Joseph Banks, Caroline and William Herschel, and Humphry Davy, among others. 

Certainly I would have loved to experience something of that time, when the tension between enduring mystery and revolutionary knowledge produced a sort of 'vital force' of its own.

Not that this tension has faded, though sometimes we may think it has. Our scientific knowledge has grown exponentially since the start of the 19th century. Yet somehow the universe has kept pace with our capacity to unravel its mysteries.  The more we know, the more it seems there is left to discover.

That makes for a friendly universe, in my mind.  One that is most accommodating to our insatiable sense of curiosity.