R.H. Russell's Blog, page 2

It’s Release Day for Venture Unbroken!

Venture Unbroken is out now on Amazon.com, Amazon.UK, and BN.com!

In the aftermath of the All Richland Absolute Fighting Championship, Venture Delving is ready to build a new future for himself. But his enemies have plans to destroy his dreams, his friendships, and his hopes for a life with his master’s daughter, Jade Fieldstone—plans not just to thwart him, but to break him.

Book three of the Venture Books. Approximately 67,000 words (270 standard pages). Ages 15 and up.

About the Venture Books:

Venture Delving is a bonded servant, a member of the lowest class in the world. Already fatherless, when he loses his mother, he veers from energetic to out of control. But when Venture’s rage saves the life of Jade, his best friend and his master’s daughter, Venture finds himself in the last place he ever expected—a center renowned for training young boys to be professional fighters.

When Venture realizes he’s fallen in love with Jade, he knows that the only way he’ll ever have her, the only way he’ll ever be free to live the life he’s meant to live, is to defy convention, common sense, the trust of those he cares about most—and sometimes the law—and become the best fighter in the world, the Champion of All Richland. Venture must battle not only rival fighters, but the ghosts of his past and the members of a privileged warrior class who stand between him and his dream.

Sneak Preview of Venture Unbroken!

It’s almost here! Venture Unbroken officially releases in just a few days, on September 15. Some of you have been waiting for months, or, as my son so patiently put it, “FOREVER.”

I had fun writing this novel, especially exploring Jade’s side of the story. So many people told me she needed her own book that I just had to give her more say. While I didn’t write her an entire story of her own—yet—some of Venture Unbroken is told from her point of view, and some from Venture’s. Scroll down for a sneak preview of the opening of Venture Unbroken, and a taste of Jade’s point of view!

I’d love to hear what you think in the comments here, on Facebook, or on Twitter.

If you’re just discovering the Venture books, you can read more about the series here, or read the opening of Venture Untamed, the first novel in the series.

Twin Rivers, Richland,

Spring’s First Month, 660 After the Founding

Jade crept down the hall, boots in hand. She lowered her foot onto the step, shifting her weight slowly, willing her father and grandmother not to wake. She slipped through the kitchen and into the washroom, then out through the servants’ door in the adjoining courtyard. The cool black of the night greeted her, and her breath caught.

The last time she’d stepped out this door and into the moonlight, the last time she’d sneaked out in the middle of the night, it had been to meet Venture. Sweet Vent. Jade’s throat ached to form a cry, but she forced it back. She didn’t have time to dwell on the past, to cry over something that might never be. Dasher was waiting for her.

Footsteps padded beside her, and Lightning’s cold, wet nose rubbed against her palm. After they took Venture away, Father had tried to give Lightning to Justice. Lightning always was really Venture’s dog. But Justice had looked at Jade, not with blame, but with a different sorrow added to his own. Compassion for her, for what she and Venture once had together. What they’d wanted together. Justice insisted Jade should have Lightning nearby, looking after her. “It’s what Vent would want,” he’d said.

“There’s my good girl,” Jade whispered to Lightning as she pulled on her boots. “Want to go for a ride with me? A lady shouldn’t ride alone. It’s dangerous.”

Lightning’s ears perked up. Instead of doing her usual dance at the prospect of being included in one of Jade and Sunrise’s rides, she cocked her head at Jade skeptically. Even the goodnatured retriever knew that neither of her masters—Grant Fieldstone by right, or Venture Delving, the master of her heart—would approve.

Jade knew the right things to murmur to the horses as she opened the stable doors. She knew how to keep them whickering soft greetings. She saddled up Sunrise and led her out of the stable and onto the grass. She didn’t steer her horse onto the road and mount until they were partway down the hillside that led to Twin Rivers Town, in the valley below.

Lightning bounded alongside Sunrise. She circled the horse as Jade slowed and dismounted. Jade tethered Sunrise to a tree on the outskirts of town. Riding was faster, but hooves on cobblestone would draw too much attention. She tried to stay in the shadows of the buildings’ eaves until she reached the yard. A few trees in the yard offered some cover, but eventually she had to sprint through the open grass.

Just as she neared the front steps, Jade froze. Were those footsteps? Her heart was beating so fast, she couldn’t be sure. She glanced around her anxiously. Where was Lightning?

“Lightning?” she called softly, coaxingly.

She sensed a flurry of movement behind her. Too big to be Lightning. Just as Jade’s mouth opened to form a scream, a hand clamped over it.

“Hush.” Dasher’s voice was ever smooth, even in a breathless whisper. His arm wrapped around her, pulling her to his chest. “It’s just me.”

Jade relaxed, and Dasher lowered his hand, but her heart was still thudding. Dasher’s arm held her tight. A part of her wanted to turn her face to his chest and hide there, safe in his arms, and pretend none of the events of the past several months had ever happened.

She pulled away. Nowhere was safe anymore, and she could never forget Venture.

Dasher took her hand and led her to the door with a couple of swift strides. “We don’t have much time.” He let go her hand and fished the key out of his pocket. Sensing her hesitation, he paused. “What’s the matter?”

“Nothing,” she lied.

Dasher frowned, not entirely believing her. Venture wouldn’t have believed her at all.

“No one saw you?”

She shook her head.

Dasher turned the key in the old lock. The click was so loud in the stillness of the night. Jade cringed, but Dasher didn’t seem to notice. “We will be careful. We will be quick. No one will know.”

Venture would know, eventually. And if he found out about Dasher’s part in it, he’d kill him. Jade followed Dasher into Beamer’s Center. She was going to learn everything she could, and she was going to get Venture back, no matter what the cost.

Marti Malloy Wins Olympic Bronze

Few things are worth losing an entire night’s sleep for, but watching live streaming of the beautiful, funny, and hard-working USA judo athlete, Marti Malloy working her way through a tough first-round draw to win Olympic bronze was definitely time well spent. This makes Marti only the second American woman to win an Olympic medal in judo. Congrats, Marti. After being up from 1:30 am to 7:00 am, I’m still pumped up for you.

 

 

Cover Reveal for Venture Unbroken

Here’s the cover for Venture Unbroken, the third full-length novel in the Venture series! The manuscript is with beta readers now. Next steps—revise, polish, edit, and publish on September 15, 2012!

Guest Post About My Publishing Journey on Operation Awesome

When my friend and author of Deadwood (Pugalicious Press, September 2012), Kell Andrews invited me to do a guest post on the group blog Operation Awesome, I knew it was time to share my publication story. Stop by and find out how I decided to self-publish some books and sign a deal with Sourcebooks for others.

Guest Post About my Publishing Journey on Operation Awesome

When my friend and author of Deadwood (Pugalicious Press, September 2012), Kell Andrews invited me to do a guest post on the group blog Operation Awesome, I knew it was time to share my publication story. Stop by and find out how I decided to self-publish some books and sign a deal with Sourcebooks for others.

It’s a Different World in There—Freedom and Friendship in the Dojo

I was seventeen when I first stepped onto a mat. I’d wanted to be a writer for as long as I could remember, but I’d only recently gotten the urge—and the guts—to try martial arts. Little did I know, as I bowed into that tiny backyard dojo, that I was beginning a journey that would shape my life and enrich my writing in completely unexpected ways.

At my first dojo we did a combination of martial arts, but I fell in love with the beauty and the roughness of judo. There was nothing like the feeling of making my opponent fly through the air when I caught him or her with a big hip throw. And once I got the hang of chokes, they became my favorite—the great equalizer for a small judoka like me.

But one of the most surprising and appealing aspects of my time in the dojo was the people, of all backgrounds and ages, learning and struggling alongside each other. I’ll never forget one of my first sessions. To my humiliation, an eight-year-old who’d already spent four years on the mat patiently and expertly corrected my technique as I practiced on a lady in her fifties. We were all laughing and sweating together by the end of the night, the age gaps all but forgotten.

As I spent more time in the dojo, teens who I never would have gotten to know in the stratified atmosphere of my high school became friends in the dojo. Raw beginners like me worked out with former judo Olympians. It was a different world in the dojo, and I was drawn to it, even before I really understood why.

I took my love of judo with me when I moved to Washington State, and I became one of twelve founding members of Ippon Judo Dojo. Soon our judo team had grown to over one hundred active members, from chemical engineers, to police officers, to MMA fighters, to all sorts of kids, including one who eventually made the 2008 and 2012 Olympic teams. I gained an appreciation for the competitive spirit, the drive, and the big dreams of some of my teammates. But mostly I gained friendship—an extended family formed through the mutual sacrifice, the ruts and the high points, the dedication and support that come with training together.

In my writer’s heart a story was forming about the camaraderie, the challenges, the tension and the understanding that training in martial arts makes possible. I wanted to share the fascinating world of fighters with readers in a unique way—a way anyone, martial artist or not, could identify with.

My main character, a boy named Venture Delving, started to tell me about his dream to be a champion fighter, in a world where unarmed fighting was the dominant sport, and where a champion’s prize was fortune enough to change a man’s life forever. But what if that society—and its martial arts community—was rigidly divided by class? Would the unifying experience of training in martial arts enable the characters to overcome such divisions, such prejudices?

I began to explore this question through a novel, originally titled Venture. That novel turned into a series, starting with Venture Untamed and Venture Unleashed.

In the Venture books, Venture Delving is a bonded servant, a member of the lowest class in the world. Already fatherless, when he loses his mother, he veers from energetic to out of control. But when Venture’s rage saves the life of Jade, his best friend and his master’s daughter, Venture finds himself in the last place he ever expected—a center renowned for training young boys to be professional fighters.

When Venture realizes he’s fallen in love with Jade, he knows that the only way he’ll ever have her, the only way he’ll ever be free to live the life he’s meant to live, is to defy convention, common sense, the trust of those he cares about most—and sometimes the law—and become the best fighter in the world, the Champion of All Richland. Venture must battle not only rival fighters, but the ghosts of his past and the members of the privileged Crested warrior class who stand between him and his dream.

As this bonded servant’s story developed, I realized what it was that had drawn me to the dojo, that compelled me to spend hour after hour on the mat, even when I was just a white belt, constantly getting mat-burned and bruised up. It was a unique sense of freedom. Freedom to battle it out with my teammates and to smile afterward. Freedom to cast aside other concerns for a moment and just work at this craft. Freedom to form unlikely friendships.

Most of Venture’s teammates forget about Venture’s class once they get to know him as a fighter, and for Venture, a troubled past vanishes in those moments on the mat. But the Crested warrior class’s opposition and the reality of Venture’s life off the mat threaten the freedom he enjoys in being a fighter.

I am no champion, no star. But I know something about that freedom, and about the type of friendship, the challenge, and the accomplishment that can only happen in the dojo.

“It’s a different world in there,” Venture’s master Grant Fieldstone says as Venture stands outside the doors of the fighting center, anxious to enter and step onto the mat for the first time.

And whenever I step onto the mat, I get to be a part of that world. A world where impossible dreams and unexpected friendships are born. Where challenges are faced and freedom is won.

Giveaway for Venture Untamed

If you haven't read Venture Untamed yet, you can enter to win a free copy on Bookerella's blog. Already read it? Send your friends over to check out her review and enter.

Boundless, a Novella, Releases Today!

Boundless is available now on Amazon and BN.com!

Venture had more to tell me about his time training with Dasher and Earnest, and about what it was like dealing with Jade when he came home to Twin Rivers. If you’ve already read Venture Untamed and Venture Unleashed, Boundless will fill you in on some of the time that lapsed. If you haven’t, Boundless is a great way start the series.

About Boundless:

Sixteen-year-old Venture Delving always believed he was meant to be a champion fighter, in spite of his status as a bondsman. But Venture’s confidence is shaken by an unexpected challenge from his old friend and rival, Lance. On the road with his trainer, Earnest Goodview and the reigning Champion of All Richland, Dasher Starson, Venture has already been struggling to adjust to his double life—up-and-coming fighter, and bonded servant to wealthy entrepreneur, Grant Fieldstone. Now, Spurned by Grant Fieldstone’s daughter, Jade, and rattled by his failure on the mat, a deadly encounter has Venture questioning everything.

Soon he’ll return to Twin Rivers, just in time for Jade’s sixteenth birthday—the day every eligible bachelor in Springriver County has been waiting for. Amidst the rumors that Jade’s been waiting for this day—and for another man to have his chance to court her—will Venture be able to serve Jade and her father? With his dream of marrying Jade coming undone, will his equally impossible dream of becoming Champion of All Richland survive?

About the Venture Books:

Venture Delving is a bonded servant, a member of the lowest class in the world. Already fatherless, when he loses his mother, he veers from energetic to out of control. But when Venture’s rage saves the life of Jade, his best friend and his master’s daughter, Venture finds himself in the last place he ever expected—a center renowned for training young boys to be professional fighters.

When Venture realizes he’s fallen in love with Jade, he knows that the only way he’ll ever have her, the only way he’ll ever be free to live the life he’s meant to live, is to defy convention, common sense, the trust of those he cares about most—and sometimes the law—and become the best fighter in the world, the Champion of All Richland. Venture must battle not only rival fighters, but the ghosts of his past and the members of a privileged warrior class who’d rather see him die than live his dream.

Ages 15 and up.

Boundless, a Novelette, Releases Today!

Boundless is available now on Amazon and BN.com!

Venture had more to tell me about his time training with Dasher and Earnest, and about what it was like dealing with Jade when he came home to Twin Rivers. If you've already read Venture Untamed and Venture Unleashed, Boundless will fill you in on some of the time that lapsed. If you haven't, Boundless is a great way start the series.

About Boundless:

Sixteen-year-old Venture Delving always believed he was meant to be a champion fighter, in spite of his status as a bondsman. But Venture's confidence is shaken by an unexpected challenge from his old friend and rival, Lance. On the road with his trainer, Earnest Goodview and the reigning Champion of All Richland, Dasher Starson, Venture has already been struggling to adjust to his double life—up-and-coming fighter, and bonded servant to wealthy entrepreneur, Grant Fieldstone. Now, Spurned by Grant Fieldstone's daughter, Jade, and rattled by his failure on the mat, a deadly encounter has Venture questioning everything.

Soon he'll return to Twin Rivers, just in time for Jade's sixteenth birthday—the day every eligible bachelor in Springriver County has been waiting for. Amidst the rumors that Jade's been waiting for this day—and for another man to have his chance to court her—will Venture be able to serve Jade and her father? With his dream of marrying Jade coming undone, will his equally impossible dream of becoming Champion of All Richland survive?

About the Venture Books:

Venture Delving is a bonded servant, a member of the lowest class in the world. Already fatherless, when he loses his mother, he veers from energetic to out of control. But when Venture's rage saves the life of Jade, his best friend and his master's daughter, Venture finds himself in the last place he ever expected—a center renowned for training young boys to be professional fighters.

When Venture realizes he's fallen in love with Jade, he knows that the only way he'll ever have her, the only way he'll ever be free to live the life he's meant to live, is to defy convention, common sense, the trust of those he cares about most—and sometimes the law—and become the best fighter in the world, the Champion of All Richland. Venture must battle not only rival fighters, but the ghosts of his past and the members of a privileged warrior class who'd rather see him die than live his dream.

Ages 15 and up.