Richard Raley's Blog

On the Other Side of Pain

Finished up the second side of my RFA last week and I'm feeling about as amazing as I get.  Haven't felt this good since before I hurt myself at physio.  Really highlights how much I've been struggling these last few months.  So much so that I'm actually worried about how bad what I wrote during that period is going to look once I dive fully into this readthrough/edit on MAXIMUS MASQUERADE.
Pain can be really insidious in a lot of small ways that have nothing to do with "ouch".  The exhaustion and brain fog of it is something those that haven't experienced chronic pain probably don't imagine, but they are just as utterly crippling as spikes flaring in your back.  Now, with this nerves burned out...it's literally like a switch got flicked.  Not just the pain gone.  Better all around.  More energy.  More optimism.  Ready to tackle problems and chores and all 200 pages piled up on my desk.
Was very tired, very depressed, and not happy with anything I wrote...well, a couple scenes were fun.  All glory to Mama Welf!  The biggest problem of it is that when a bad mood bleeds into King Henry then he's just extra cynical and biting, but when it's Vicky...that doesn't really work and I need to go through and take the optimism and energy I have now and really scrub those pages.  Of course, given how miserable I was...maybe those pages aren't as bad as I think they are and, truthfully, wouldn't be even the hundredth time I'd written a first draft, thought it was completely shit, and then immediately turned it around with a "FUCK AM I GOOD!!!"
Recap:  feeling better, have energy, plan to use it on editing and then more new stuff!

RFA Week

And boy do I need it!

So...probably won't be much new writing for the rest of the month.  I've printed everything I have so far for MAXIMUS MASQUERADE and WAR TO END ALL WARS to get some editing done while I'm stuck in bed.  Also been busy the last month doing research on MOST OBVIOUS TRAP, lot of books and documentaries on East and Southeast Asian history and mythology.  Currently working my way through "A History of Japan" by Mason and Caiger for a very technical dry read and "Tokyo Vice" by Adelstein for a slight more sketchy source of inspiration (anyone that can dispute his story is dead and its kinda sus, but hey, great story!  looking forward to checking out the HBO show when I finish).  Have a massive list/pile to get through.  If anyone has any recs for that area of the world, by all means throw me a comment below.

Obviously I've got a better understanding of it than probably the vast majority of Americans (fuck you, RR, I LIVE on TikTok, I'm WAY more "knowledge" than YOU about the TRUTH!!!) and did some work, especially on the mythology side, when creating the Vampire Divines and their backstory, but I'm always interested to learn more and fill in my (still massive) gaps.  Got a recent fan mail from a Bulgarian pointing out they study English starting in the 4th grade, so...my bad on Valko's linguistic troubles.  Although...if the whole of Bulgaria has to take a hit just so I can make that wonderful "you sound like bitch in heat" joke...comedy = first, right?

Point is, I try, I fail, I purposely ignore the truth at times too.  Also Valko is a huge butcher job of a name.  Not the worst I've accidentally done, granted, since calling a Filipina girl Malaya is a bit on the point, but then we have people called America now, so...why not?  Also, Raj Malik means King King.  And there was that whole accidentally naming an EXTREMLY MINOR character after a Manson Family member...yeah...did that...changed it super quick!  She was actually named for my aunt (Leslie) and Von Houten means "forest" or something like that, not looking it up.  Which I think means it's all my grandmother's fault and I'm blameless.

I actually think naming Urban Fantasy characters is kind of a surprisingly difficult part of the genre, since there are only so many names in the real world, many of them very, very boring.  You only get so many Rick Browns, man!  Unlike my high school, which had an easy dozen Jennifers.  And the amount of German names I've looked through to figure out all the Welfs!  Meanwhile, I can name an elf Pougpaellieth and no one bats an eye, right?  So much easier!  Lucky epic fantasy writers!

Talk to you all in August, hopefully I'll be able to sit up for longer than half an hour by then.  Also currently playing Metaphor Re Fanzsomething, which is fantasy Persona and fun, but is also fantasy Persona, so...gameplay feels quaint in a post Clair Obscura world.  Watching the Bear Season 4...will refrain from making any comments on its quality to not repeat my effusive praise of Season 3 before it went absolutely nowhere.  Daredevil Born Again after that.  Reading?  New Penric and Des novella just released, yay!

Stay cool! (Fresno is only in the low 90s this week!  woot!)

Finished A Chapter

It's a miracle!

My fault.  One of those oh it's a bridge chapter, no reason to expect it will be that long mistakes where it kept growing and growing.

Feel like I'm slightly short of the halfway mark.  Also very aware some scenes earlier in the novel now need at least partially rewritten since I've got some characters flip flopping quite severely, though granted, one of them forced the change upon me while I was writing a scene.  Might also cut here and there so we get to the main event quicker (this chapter being suspect number one), which I'm firmly into working on now.  Welf Gala here we come!

I have no doubt this novel will get hit with the "too slow" and "nothing happens" complaints, since it's all familial and political maneuvering without a single bit of violence.  Though I think Moira's tongue can cause more lasting harm to a person than any of her Constructs' fists and the novel is stacked with many revelations , both for the characters, the world, and um...all that lovey dovey stuff you'd never expect out of the Welfs.

My back is utterly horrible right now and I'm typing this very quickly since sitting up for longer than fifteen minutes without breaks is currently impossible.  Can't wait for the RFA next month!

Well, onto the next chapter, for now titled:  The Battle for Tyson Bonnie.

Alternate Title:  How Dare She Give Me A Pink Dress.

Steady as We Go

Writing when I can, catching up on the last 5 years of gaming on my rest days, still annoyed by appointments but they're not as overwhelming as when I was doing physio.  So...just in the grind.  Trying to ignore, ya know...the whole world since...fuck me, I guess I wasn't cynical enough about this species.

Pain's been worse and been better.  Still trying to get the insurance to give me MRIs with the hopes of launching me back down the surgery path, next round of RFAs are set to start at the end of July, so I'll need a week recovery for each side, but outside of that just trying to keep things chill as I delve into the Welf Gala proper.

Some really fun party crashers coming up I get to spend some time with...it's one of those moments where I wish I could film people's reactions when they read it.

Quick Fire Reviews on Every Game I've Played Since Diving Back In:

Mario vs Rabbids:  Spark of Hope = 7 (too easy, first game was better)

Unicorn Overlord = 9 (just what I needed for a tactical fantasy adventure)

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim  = 8.5 (not much game to it, but the story was super fun to work through with plot twists galore)

Yakuza Like a Dragon = 7 (nothing great, nothing horrible, too long, which is a massive trend I've noticed, first game in the series I've played, so none of the big character moments hit for me)

Astro Bot = 9 (I'm not a platform guy, but haptic features were super fun)

Hogwarts Legacy = 7 (amazing first five hours exploring Hogwarts and Hogsmeade that just kinda becomes an open world game with too many quests and so so characters)

Midnight Suns = 7 (yikes dialogue, enjoy card battlers so...it's my jam)

Guardians of the Galaxy = 9 (this game was so much better than I was expecting, surprised to find out it sold so poorly, it's a blast of a 20 hours well spent)

Horizon:  Forbidden West = 7.5 (too long, too huge, the weapon upgrade aspect was a massive grind, killing big enemies was either boring based on OP freeze into spikes or just took forever chipping at health bars, how many siblings did I save in side quests?  A dozen?  Main quest was fun, but it was only 1/3 of the game) 

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 = 10 (GOTY, my favorite game since at least God of War 2018, maybe the Witcher 3, still thinking about it, itching for DLC and Sequel and maybe even the first New Game Plus I've bothered with since Mass Effect 2, will be writing FM7 to its soundtrack)

Dragon Age Veilguard = 3 (i have never played a game, especially an RPG which we can admit trends towards more intellectual players, that thought I had a 50 IQ before.  MIND NUMBING.  Every bit of dialogue is exposition repeating itself over and over, I didn't hate some of the companions which is the best we can say about that, the romance was HR PG nonsense, it somehow made me look fondly on Mass Effect Andromeda in comparison, I guess it was pretty at least)

Spider Man Miles Morales = 7.5 (fun little appetizer focusing on smaller scale spider man stories)

Spider Man 2 = 8 (it makes you feel like spider man, moving through the city is fun, the plot had a few fun moments, boss battles had too many stages since they were just the same thing over and over, Peter was super boring, too much open world crap again)

Indiana Jones and the Great Circle = 8.5 (not what I expected gameplay wise, but once I coped, had a ton of fun, best Indiana Jones story since Last Crusade, Troy Baker killed the voice, Disguises are so OP they trivialize the game, again a lot of open world find 30 ancient dildos crap, no, really they totally look like ancient dildos!)

Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart = 8.5 (it's a very pretty Ratchet and Clank game and hey, it's only about 15 hours long!  It's a miracle!)

Improving and Back At It

Just wanted to say I am back to writing, here and there, and the pain has returned to not-fun but manageable levels for me.  Physio is probably a thing of the past, since I'm scared of a repeat and just having that appointment every week and needing a couple days in bed to recover after was playing havoc on its own.

So, yeah, hoping for some boring normal over this summer and just tapping away at the phone pumping out new scenes.  Really enjoying the one I'm writing now, in fact...and the next one I get to introduce a new Welf for ya'll!

Generally Not So Great Update

I'm really tired of typing posts like this, but...I do have a open and honest pact with you all about my progress, the ups AND the downs.

Short story:  hurt myself at physio on the 18th of April.  Not even like an exercise, just trying to lie down face first on a table weirdly enough.  Felt a pop in my mid back and by the time I got home...

Spent about ten days stuck in bed in incredible pain, basically in the fetal position on my right side moving as little as possible.  Considered going to ER, but given how ineffective they've been for me over the years, didn't want to torture myself in a chair for hours to be told there was nothing to be done since I'm not dying or bleeding.

Feeling on the higher side of my "normal" pain range now.  Hence me being able to type this really quick.

So...not much new writing, probably have an RFA coming up soon, and pretty bummed out.

Am improving day to day and I did finish a key scene before I hurt myself, have one setup (literally!) chapter left to write before the political chaos erupts! (beyond Moira's familial machinations which I know you all love soooooo much)

I guess the good news of not having physio any more would be that I'll have tons more free time to write (and play video games since this interrupted my BG3 plans something horribly...) and it felt like something I had to try to see if it helped.

Just typing this out made me feel better...and want to write.

Richard Raley:  eternal optimist.  Probably with a curse word and a bodily fluid reference thrown in there somewhere...

Okay, Spring Doctor Hell Survived

I'm still going to have minimum 5 appointments a month (4 physio, 1 spine guys) for a while longer but all the extra stuff looks like it will be out of the way come Tuesday.

I have gotten almost no work done for the last 6 weeks.  It's been...physio, procedure, physio, check up, physio, dentist, etc. one after another, then recovery from them to keep the spine from taking a downturn.  I fit like 3 days of work in April, one of which I up a deleted like two thousand words as soon as I finished writing them cuz they sucked...always so much fun!

I've also been reading reviews, answering email, posting here, stuff like that.

But...now I'm going to be taking a step back.  Get more into a writing mindset and try to get some chapters written.  If you have a question for the Q&A, ask, but it might be a week or more before I respond.

Outside of that, glad 99.9% of you enjoyed the new book, here's hoping WAR TO END ALL WARS, MOST OBVIOUS TRAP, and VICKY VON WELF AND THE MAXIMUS MASQUERADE (yeah, I'm changing the title) can keep the good times rolling.

Outside of that the sequel...I bought a PS5 to get ahead of the tariffs and I have 5 years of console gaming to catch up on.

Could be months until y'all see me again...and that's just playing Balder's Gate 3...

Seismic Semester Q&A

 Ask away.  Might take a day or two for me to respond when real life gets in the way, but I'll try to be quicker than that.  Obviously I expect most questions to be about the new book, but if you have something else, go for it.  I, as always, reserve the right to throw out some RAFOs when needed.

Seismic Semester Fan Survey

Going on three weeks, I assume a large number of people are starting to finish the book (71 ratings, 4.8 average, woohoo!), so let me throw out the same three questions I gave the beta readers (who can also answer here it they want, or maybe their opinion changed after a reread).

1.  Favorite Scene?

2.  Biggest Laugh?

3.  Favorite Single?

Q&A will be start of next month looks like!  Kinda in doctor/physio hell for the next week.  Am stealing the occasional feel good day to write, but not a lot.  And...I deleted about 1.5k words worth of work one night because I was unhappy with it...sigh.

Release Recap and Looking Forward

So...release has been great.  Maxed out just inside the top 3k, which isn't my record since PIT OF NO RETURN was just outside the top 1k for awhile, but there's a vastly higher amount of novels being published these days and they probably equal out.  Reviews are great, no gnashing about the singular timeline yet.  It's really nice to see the fanbase start to find the series again and purchase the new book without any delay, considering how harrowing and miserable the journey to get here has been.

One thing that does annoy me...I've already made half of my total take on EVERCHANGING DILEMMA within one week of SEISMIC SEMESTER being out.  Now, KENP wise, we are talking about an 800 page novel versus a 250 page novel, but...more of you need to give MancyVerse Moments a try!  Especially EVERCHANGING DILEMMA.

I pity the fans that skip these novels and pick up MOST OBVIOUS TRAP totally confused why we've moved from A to F.

And that's where we're heading.

These are the three books I'll be working on over the next couple/few year(s).

VICKY VON WELF AND THE MANCY MASQUERADE

THE FOUL MOUTH AND THE MOST OBVIOUS TRAP

THE FOUL MOUTH AND THE WAR TO END ALL WARS

Probably in that order release-wise.  The Vicky novel has to release before MOST OBVIOUS TRAP since it takes place a month or so before FM7 (the fabled, long in coming FM7).  January 2020 versus Feb/March 2020 in our timeline.  AGAIN there will be no pandemic in the MancyVerse since...I need my characters flying (or World-Breaking) around the globe, not stuck inside learning how to bake bread while watching Tiger King.

There's a possibility I'll get a massive push of inspiration for WAR TO END ALL WARS and finish it first, but I just spent so much time on our lovely teenage bullshit that I'm very overdosed at the moment and looking for something else to dive into with a bit more weight...and more vampires...and more dragons.

The Vicky novel obviously has Vicky as the main POV, but with a small slice of Tyson and a surprise or two.  Those of you that have emailed me worrying that the Singles would not have a place in the mainline because you love them so much now and don't want them to disappear since they're still students will immediately be put at ease!

Heck, here's a tease:

“Self-flagellation?” Juliette brightly quipped.

Brother choked on his wine and took a moment to recover. “Um…one hopes not.”

Just like PIT OF NO RETURN was in many ways a sequel to TROUBLED BOOMWORM, THE MOST OBVIOUS TRAP is in many ways a sequel to HEADLESS HUNNY.  It's a vampire novel.  You can probably guess who is gonna show up.  You will also finally get to properly meet my favorite Divine.

And, of course, WAR TO END ALL WARS is a direct sequel to SEISMIC SEMESTER, finally wrapping up the school timeline with the wild 2016 Winter War.  Hijinks will ensue.

Healthwise, I'm feeling good by my standards and have started physio, which is an every Friday kind of thing at the moment.  So that will eat up some of my time, but the long term benefits are in my favor for sure.

I'll let you all poke and prod me with a Q&A end of this month or start of next month, until then the discussion thread is all yours.