C.J. Brightley's Blog, page 8

Anniversary Post 2015 – Book Stats

This is a very belated post, but pretend I posted this a month ago for the calendar year 2015.

      

Books Published: 8 (4 in 2015 – The Dragon’s Tongue (novel), A Fairy King and A Fairy Promise (novellas), and Heroes and Other Stories (a print edition of Heroes, Street Fox, and Color, which were all previously published))

Books in Progress: 2 (Book 3 in A Long-Forgotten Song (tentatively titled The Beginning of Wisdom), and Book 4, as yet untitled)

Books Backburnered: 2 (Erdemen Honor 4, as yet untitled, plus a new standalone)

Short Stories Published: 4 (none in 2015)

Short Stories in Progress: 3

Blog Posts: 115 (25 in 2015)

Is there anything else you’d like to know?

2016 Writing Goals:

I tend to be wildly overoptimistic about how much I can get done and how quickly I can write and edit, then berate myself when I don’t achieve those goals. I’m trying to be realistic. Life and other responsibilities take a lot of time, and I haven’t quite mastered getting up at 5:00 to write. I can get up, but my brain doesn’t engage. I have a regular babysitter now, who has been a lifesaver, but most of the time the kids are with her has been used on consulting work.

 

Rather than a word count goal, I’m setting these general goals for 2016:

Publish A Long-Forgotten Song Book 3 (it’s SO CLOSE!). It’s almost through editing, so I’m aiming for a late March/early April publication date
Outline A Long-Forgotten Song Book 4 (April-May)
Draft A Long-Forgotten Song Book 4 (June-Sept)
Outline the standalone novel (September-October)
Start the draft of the standalone novel (October-December)
Take another look at Erdemen Honor 4
Write 15 short stories
Put together the first SpringSong Press anthology. (July?)

Hm. Written out like that, it looks rather ambitious, doesn’t it?

What are your goals for 2016?

 

~~~~~

Please connect with me on Facebook or Google+!

The post Anniversary Post 2015 – Book Stats appeared first on C. J. Brightley.

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Anniversary Post! Book Stats – 2014 – And Other Musings
Writing Goals 2014

Interview: Hannah (from A Fairy King series, after A Fairy Promise)

I decided to interview Hannah, the narrator of A Fairy King and A Fairy Promise. Several readers submitted questions, so I asked Hannah directly. If you have any more questions, or questions for other characters, please let me know!

Here she is!

 

C. J.: Hi Hannah. Thank you for making time to speak with me.

Hannah: You’re welcome. She is soft-spoken. She brushes her hair back from her face with a slender hand; a ring flashes on her finger.

C. J.: That’s a beautiful ring. Is it from Cadeyrn?

Hannah: Her smile lights the room. Yes! Isn’t it beautiful? She hesitates, then says, Although I should probably tell you that you ought to call him His Majesty High King Cadeyrn. But you’re the author, so I don’t know if protocol really applies to you.

C. J.: My apologies. I have a few questions from readers for you, if you’re ready.

Hannah: Of course!

C. J.: First, one reader asked why you weren’t “creeped out” by His Majesty High King Cadeyrn’s first letter. Wasn’t it strange and a bit scary to receive a mysterious letter like that?

Hannah: She chuckles softly. Of course it was strange, but I was so very young! I lived a sheltered life; it never really occurred to me that Cadeyrn’s letters could be anything more dangerous than a prank by other children at school. I certainly didn’t imagine an adult preying upon gullible children or anything like that. His letters were… innocent, I suppose. Her expression grows thoughtful. He never asked anything of me. Perhaps, if he’d asked me to meet him somewhere or do something for him, I might have been more skeptical or cautious. But he never did. His letters were like gifts with no strings – anecdotes and drawings and paintings with no expectation of any reply.

C. J.: Did you ever speak to your parents about him?

Hannah: She blushes. No. I… mentioned once that I had a pen pal. I believe I was twelve or so at the time, old enough to realize how strange the letters were. My mother and father were interested, but then my mother mentioned that she’d never seen any letters in the mail box. They asked where he was from.

C. J.: What did you say?

Hannah: I mumbled something about “very far away” and ran upstairs to do homework. She smiles, and I can tell she is embarrassed. I wanted to talk to them about it, but by then he’d been writing so long that I felt speaking about him was somehow betraying his confidence. I didn’t want to explain why I hadn’t told them earlier, and I knew they would ask questions that I didn’t know how to answer. She sighs. Now, of course, I know it would have been wiser to simply talk to them. But I was young. I talked to them about nearly everything, and this felt like a precious secret.

C. J.: I understand. Another reader asked why you decided to trust His Majesty High King Cadeyrn.

Hannah: When?

C. J.: Well, first when you chose to take his hand when he offered to take you to Victoria Falls, and then shortly afterward when you chose to go to Faerie with him rather than have him take you home before he returned to his kingdom.

Hannah: She licks her lips. Well, the simple answer to the first is that I’m not entirely sure that I believed he could take me to Victoria Falls. I knew he did magic, of course… but the idea of closing my eyes in my living room and opening them in Africa a split-second later was too mind-boggling to really comprehend. I took his hand because… because… she blinks rapidly, then brushes tears away… because you should have seen his eyes. If you saw how much he’d hoped, and then saw that hope die because I hesitated… I couldn’t distrust him.

He didn’t show it in any other way, just that tiny light of hope and excitement in his eyes fading away, the slight smile that just… vanished… into this royal courtesy. I realized how much he’d bared himself to me, and how my hesitation hurt. I couldn’t bear it!

C. J.: And Faerie?

Hannah: Oh, how could I refuse that chance? The castle where he grew up, the goblins and beasts he’d written of… I couldn’t say no!

C. J.: Was there ever a time earlier when you wished His Majesty High King Cadeyrn was with you? When you wished he’d visit?

Hannah: Dozens of times. But I never said it aloud. I barely thought it in words. When he wrote of his father’s cruelty or his mother’s coldness, of the war, of the exhaustion of rebuilding his kingdom… I wished I could comfort him. I wished he could visit my family. I wished he’d come on our summer vacations to the beach and the mountains, the time we rented a cabin in the Appalachians and spent a week hiking. I wished he could know what a real family felt like. I wished he’d keep me company while I was studying for finals!

But I never said it. Not once did I say the words aloud.

C. J.: Did you think something would happen if you did?

Hannah: … She hesitates, her expression thoughtful. Not exactly. I think… maybe I wasn’t ready, or maybe he wasn’t. Maybe I knew something would happen, and so I feared magic without knowing I feared it. Or… maybe something kept me from it.

Cadeyrn told me recently that he’d asked Cara to keep an eye on me when he could, and the letters themselves have a slight protective spell on them. Nothing obvious, nothing that would attract attention or break the laws of physics… just a tiny bend in the world, like being a little bit luckier than I should be. I’ve wondered if perhaps the letters themselves played a part in the timing. Cadeyrn says he can’t tell; the spells are faded and wouldn’t leave a much of a sign anyway.

C. J.: A reader wanted to know what it was like visiting Faerie for the first time. Would you tell us a little about that?

Hannah: Where to start? She smiles, eyes sparkling. The goblins were a surprise, of course. They were a little frightening; they don’t look friendly, or natural, or sweet like kittens or puppies. They’re leathery and they move strangely, as if gravity and the rest of physics don’t fully apply to them. I suppose they don’t! Goblins are born magic, like Fae, but they can’t do what Cadeyrn can. They have “low magic”. It’s not an insult… I think it’s more like a low tone in music, for example. Less obvious, beneath the melody… I’m not sure how to explain it. I don’t really understand it yet. Fae have “high magic”… it’s more precise, and more like what you think of when you think of magic. Cadeyrn has much stronger magic any of the other creatures in Faerie, and part of that means he can do things with low magic that other Fae can’t do, as well as much greater feats of high magic.

I’m sorry, I didn’t really answer your question. The goblins didn’t want to be frightening, although I think they were amused by my fear. Very quickly it became clear that they were friendly… even the plumberry they offered was a gift meant in kindness, although it was aimed more at pleasing Cadeyrn than pleasing me.

Afterwards, although I felt terrible about what had happened, the quiet hours in Cadeyrn’s suite were peaceful. I trusted him already, of course, but to see his rooms, as he had seen my house, to see his library and his bed and the sunset from his windows… those hours helped me feel less self-conscious around him, I think.

Later, seeing Comonoc and Einion… She hesitates… Comonoc was rather intimidating, but of course I was thrilled to see a centaur! I’d imagined him for years. I hadn’t known how to picture Cadeyrn; he never sent me any pictures of himself. Not once.

Einion was different. He was dangerous, and terrifying, and unpredictable.

C. J.: You seem to have dealt with him rather well.

Hannah: She gives a nervous little chuckle, then presses her lips together, schooling her face into a more serious expression. She takes a deep breath. Perhaps it wasn’t obvious how very scared I was.

I was lucky, and I’m not sure whether I made a good choice or not. I think I did, but I’m afraid of what it might cost. Not just me, but Cadeyrn and his kingdom.

Faerie is more dangerous than I’d imagined, but also more magical. The way I imagined it had not significantly changed since I was a child reading Cadeyrn’s first letters, and of course Cadeyrn didn’t ever give much detail on many of the less friendly denizens of Faerie. The shadows who eat light and flesh, the Unseelie faction of the naiads… there are quite a few dangers in Faerie. But few of them would ever dare challenge him directly, and with his name protecting me, I’m relatively safe. She smiles, little spots of pink rising in her cheeks. I’m… popular… I suppose, with the Seelie too, so I have many allies. She sobers. With the Unseelie… well, you can’t really guess what they’ll do, but Einion stands by his word, and his authority is… mostly… respected among the Unseelie. I don’t feel safe among them, but I’m probably as safe as anyone could ever be around Unseelie.

C. J.: I think you’ve proven you’ll be a very good queen, just as His Majesty High King Cadeyrn said.

Hannah: She flushes bright pink, looking down at her ring and twisting it nervously. I hope so. I hope I can be a good queen… a good wife. We know each other, but we still have so much to learn. She looks up, smiling. But I suppose that’s true of most marriages, isn’t it? You never really know each other until you become one.

C. J.: Thank you for your time. I’m sure you have things to do.

Hannah: Of course! Thank you for inviting me. It was lovely to meet you. Perhaps Cadeyrn can come next time as well!

~~~~~

Please connect with me on Facebook or Google+!

The post Interview: Hannah (from A Fairy King series, after A Fairy Promise) appeared first on C. J. Brightley.

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Interview: Kemen Sendoa (from Erdemen Honor series, after Honor’s Heir)

My Writing Process by Book and Series

I was recently asked to describe my writing process for novels and series.

Hm.

That’s a hard one. Every book has been different. Every series is different. This isn’t a post about how you should write your books and your series. This is about what I’ve done so far and how it has worked, as well as what I’m going to try to do next.

The Short Version:

Erdemen Honor evolved as a standalone, then a sequel, then a third book in the series. Each is a complete, self-contained story that builds on the previous books.

A Long-Forgotten Song was a series from the beginning. In fact, it’s more of a “series” in the way that The Lord of the Rings is a “trilogy”… it’s split up at logical places for publication, but it’s really one story.

A Fairy King began with the first novella. I thought I was done, but I got several emails from fans demanding a sequel, so I wrote A Fairy Promise. I’m glad I did, but it might not have happened without the encouragement of devoted readers.

The Details:
 
Erdemen Honor 1: The King’s Sword

In 2007, Mr. Brightley and I moved to the DC area after graduate school. He had a job, and I didn’t, even though he specifically looked in DC because of my graduate field… he could work anywhere. The job search was a daily grind of soul-crushing frustration, and we had no friends or relatives within 700 miles. I was frustrated, discouraged, and lonely.

Enter National Novel Writing Month. I’d written before, of course… I had a trunked novelish monstrosity that I’d written as a frantic distraction from grad school term papers, as well as a number of shorter unfinished works dating from elementary school onward. Fifty thousand words was intimidating. 50,000. The number looked so huge. Although my trunked novel approached 50,000 words, it was written over months as pure play; it didn’t even aspire to have the structure of a novel. This was different. I wanted to do NaNoWriMo right. I wanted to win. I wanted to end up with something that might someday be a novel.

I planned my NaNoWriMo novel (AKA “plotted it”). I noted the major turning points. It wasn’t the most ground-breaking work of fantasy in history… the story of a spoiled prince growing up and reclaiming his throne. That was fine… I was interested in the experience of writing a novel draft, not breaking new ground in the genre. I had no intention of publishing it.

I won!

Now, you have to understand the rules NaNoWriMo to understand what I mean by “won”. I wrote (typed) 50,000 words on one story in November. That means I won NaNoWriMo. NaNoWriMo has no requirement relating to structure, or quality of writing, or even that your “novel” have an ending. You write 50,000 words = you win.

It wasn’t a novel yet. It was far from ready to be published. But it was a good start, and I was proud of it.

I loved Kemen and Hakan, and I loved the experience of writing their story. I had followed my outline almost exactly, and the events were more-or-less what I’d planned. Yet my neatly-planned novel was different than I had envisioned it. I had thought I would tell Hakan’s story through Kemen’s eyes, but discovered that Kemen was far more interesting than I’d expected or planned. Instead of Hakan’s story, it was Kemen’s, with Hakan as the main supporting character. The story had morphed from a redux of a well-worn fantasy trope into something more subtle, although I didn’t really grasp what it was yet.

That first draft required a lot of editing. The words were good but the gaps were so huge that all but two of my beta readers completely missed the point. It wasn’t their fault. However, it was hard to figure out what comments were useful and how to use them. See more about how I dealt with this and what I learned from it in this post about beta readers. This is when I learned to think in “story threads”… for me, this idea encompasses character arcs as well as plots and sub-plots.

Before I seriously began editing this draft, I sat on it for about a month. I thought I was done. The experience was enough. I enjoyed writing, and I’d write something more “serious” later.

But I couldn’t let it go. Kemen and Hakan were too important to me, and although I didn’t have the distance yet to edit The King’s Sword, I began drafting the sequel.

Erdemen Honor 2: A Cold Wind

Unlike The King’s Sword, I didn’t plot this novel. It began with a version of the reconciliation scene… if you’ve read it, you know the one. THE SCENE. But I didn’t have a clue who Riona was… what was she like? How did Kemen and Riona get to this point?

Writing that first draft was a matter of discovering how Kemen and Riona had gotten to that scene. Of course, when I imagined that scene, I expected that it would be closer to the end of the novel than it is in the final version… things changed, as they do during editing. I wrote the scenes out of order, piecing them together into a coherent story as it coalesced in my mind. From the outside, it would have looked like a very strange way to write a novel… this bit of the end, then this middle piece, then this intro bit, then a little bit more of the middle, then a conversation between Riona and Lani at the beginning. Unlike The King’s Sword, which followed a plan I had made, writing A Cold Wind felt like uncovering a story that already existed, brushing away the dust and dirt to discover little gleaming bits of treasure in a story that existed unto itself. I didn’t know the story, but the story knew itself.

I finished the first draft of the story in February 2008.

I began seriously editing both The King’s Sword and A Cold Wind during spring and summer 2008. With the help of some fantastic beta readers who understood what I meant to do with the story, I shaped those early drafts, the bare bones of stories, into more-or-less final versions.

Writing A Cold Wind was very different than writing The King’s Sword. I knew Kemen now, and although these situations were new, his reactions were not difficult to imagine and write. Getting into Riona’s mind was a much greater challenge. I didn’t know her the way I knew Kemen, and I needed her to make sense to me and to the reader. I needed to understand her the way I already understood Kemen.

Then I set the books aside. I queried a few agents and received some interest, but nothing that really panned out the way I’d hoped. I didn’t seriously pursue publication; I was busy with my new job and life.

Then self-publishing exploded. I was sadly ignorant of how the publishing world was being turned upside down. I read a few articles, but I didn’t really get it… I didn’t completely buy in to the idea that I didn’t have to wait for permission to publish. I wanted someone else to sign off on my writing, to say it was worthwhile, that it was worth reading.

Then I grew up.

I’m not being facetious, and I’m not saying that everyone who wants to be traditionally published is immature. Of course not! But for me, at that time, choosing to sit on my books waiting for permission (which I didn’t even pursue that hard) rather than jumping in was a choice made in fear and uncertainty, of wanting to be told I was good enough and my writing passed muster with someone whose opinion mattered. For me, deciding to go indie was part of deciding that I wasn’t going to ask permission anymore… I was going to trust my own judgment about my writing, and I was going to risk letting my work be read.

It was a choice to be brave and vulnerable.*

Erdemen Honor 3: Honor’s Heir

I struggled with Honor’s Heir. Eventually, after being stuck for months, I threw away about 45,000 words and started almost from scratch. I kept the main characters, but Sirkhar’s character was completely reimagined, and Elathlo’s character arc was changed in important ways. In comparison, the first two books were far easier to draft and more difficult to edit, while Honor’s Heir was a bear during the drafting process but easy to edit, since I’d worked out the major issues already.

A Long-Forgotten Song 1: Things Unseen

Things Unseen was completely, terrifyingly unplanned. I had no idea I was writing a new novel. I was fighting with Honor’s Heir, discouraged and frustrated, and just started typing. Typing anything, with no vision, no idea what it would turn into… no plan for it ever to see the light of day.

It was the first scene of the book, the scene in which Aria sees Owen for the first time at Dandra’s Books. I finished it, sat back, and thought, “Uhhhhhh… now what? What happened? Who is this guy? Why is he threatening Dandra? WHO IS PETRO?” These questions needed to be answered, and I didn’t have the answers. I discovered them as I wrote the scenes; the scenes came in order, and each one led me on to the next, with more questions: Who is Gabriel? Who is Niall and why is he important? What is Owen doing? Why does he care? Why didn’t he kill Aria on the bridge?

Although I am a Christian, I did not plan to write a Christian story. Doctrine and theology and values inform my work, but not everything I write has an explicitly Christian purpose or message. This story morphed as I wrote it into something that is definitively Christian; some readers don’t see it in the Things Unseen, but the themes and story threads are definitely there. By the end of the first draft, I knew the story would be a series. I thought at first it would be a trilogy. Then I wrote the first draft of The Dragon’s Tongue.

A Long-Forgotten Song 2: The Dragon’s Tongue

By the end of the first draft, it was pretty clear that the series would be a tetralogy/quartet/quadrilogy. I wrote Things Unseen and The Dragon’s Tongue in a rush of inspiration that lasted about 5 months. I’m not being entirely metaphorical when I say “inspiration” either… I do believe that these books are inspired by God. Not inspired in the way that Scripture is, of course, but inspired in that these stories are not wholly mine. I did not know where they were going. I did not plan the theological themes. There is far more depth in the stories than I believe I could devise on my own. I did the writing, and I worked very hard on the books, and I am editing and polishing and pulling story threads and theological themes forward and weaving them together… but they are not entirely mine. There are story threads that were started in Things Unseen that will not make sense until Book 3 or 4… but I didn’t start those threads knowing what they meant, or how they would be important.

I feel honored and blessed that I am allowed to write these stories. I have a sense of ownership over them, over the work I have done, but also a sense that I am sharing in something wonderful that is not about me.

A Long-Forgotten Song 3: The Beginning of Wisdom (working title, coming soon!)

I’ve been working on this for over a year. The first draft was finished in February 2015 and it was originally going to be published by Christmas 2015, but life got in the way. I’m aiming for a mid-March publication date. Editing this book has been the most challenging but most rewarding so far. As the third in a four-book series, a lot is riding on this book, and I want to do it justice.

This one came as the others in the series did… mostly in order, scene by scene. Editing has been a process of going back and teasing out the theological threads, pulling on themes and character arcs and character relationships. I also tend to write in such spare detail (read: almost no detail) that in the first draft the setting tends to be nearly non-existent, so while I edit the story I’m also working in details about the setting and environment so that what is on the page is closer to what I see in my head.

A Long-Forgotten Song 4: Untitled

I’m just starting to plan this one in detail. I have story threads that must be pulled taut and character arcs that must be resolved. Book 4 the explosive conclusion of everything built up so far, and it needs to be fantastic. To be honest, writing the last book in a series like this is more than a little terrifying. But I’m excited. I know some of what will happen, but not everything. I love discovering the story as I go. I don’t want to claim this story as my own, but rather to leave plenty of room for God to work, to surprise me with what He does through me. I don’t want to lay claim to this, as if it’s all mine. It’s not.

A Fairy King 1: A Fairy King

I wrote this intending it to be a short story while I was working on the edits for The Dragon’s Tongue.. It was initially just Chapter 1, and I thought I was done. But the story called to me, and I wrote Chapter 2. Then Chapter 3 just sort of happened… I couldn’t help it. But then I was definitely done. I published it within a month of publishing The Dragon’s Tongue.

A Fairy King 2: A Fairy Promise

Did I say I was done? Several fans sent me emails pleading for a sequel, and so I wrote A Fairy Promise over the course of a few months between publishing The Dragon’s Tongue and starting the first draft of A Long-Forgotten Song Book 3. It was unplanned but unfolded more-or-less in order. I think their story has ended, but I haven’t ruled out a third novella in the series. I really enjoyed the shorter novella length, and I’ll be writing more in the future.

So… what is my writing process?

I… um… it’s complicated? *picture me shrugging* I’m a pantser (as in “seat-of-the-pants”er) who sometimes writes out of order, because I know my characters far better than I know the events of the story. I know where they will be, and who they are, and I have to figure out how they get there. I write my characters rather than interesting thought-experiments (What if a guy walked into a bookstore and threatened the owner and no one seemed to notice? Why would that happen?… that’s not how Things Unseen started for me, although from the outside it might appear that way.). I write the bare bones of the story and then have to flesh it out… my editing process is radically different than what I read about the process of many other writers (especially fantasy writers). My editing is filling in gaps and adding detail rather than cutting out redundant bits and unnecessary fluff.

I’m still learning my own process. I don’t know how the next book will be written. I know about the ones that have been backburned, but after that I have no idea. What I do might not work for you. It might not even work for me next time.

 

* My one regret so far about my writing and publishing is that I wish I had been brave earlier. I sometimes think my writing career would be a lot farther along if I’d published when it was a little easier to get noticed, when there weren’t a jillion books already out there. But then I remind myself, with varying degrees of success, that my readers… the people who will enjoy what I write, will find me anyway. If that has already happened, great! You can follow along as I keep writing. If a reader who loves my writing doesn’t find me for several years, that’s cool too, because they’ll have plenty of books to read once they discover me.

~~~~~

Please connect with me on Facebook or Google+!

The post My Writing Process by Book and Series appeared first on C. J. Brightley.

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Occoquan Arts and Crafts Show Review

This post is a long-overdue review of the Occoquan Arts and Crafts Show. I had a table at the show back at the beginning of October. I had a fabulous time, but not without one significant downside.

Downside: Logistics

The organizer, who was otherwise fantabulous, had an email glitch that affected several vendors, including me. This meant we didn’t get the emails with the vendor setup times, when the streets would be closed to the cars, etc. She was flagged as a spammer because she sent so many emails, so her emails didn’t get through but she didn’t get the error messages. This happened even though she was using a .gov email address, which I guess is reassuring that ISPs are on their toes. But anyway, knowing that books are relatively quick to set up (compared to jewelry), I showed up an hour before the show was to begin, only to discover that the road had already been closed to cars!

My father was helping me with this event. We parked after speaking to a very kind police officer, but we were still probably a third of a mile from my booth space. We carted my tent and boxes and boxes and boxes of books and tables and my banner and everything else to my spot, and I set up the tent with the assistance of my booth neighbor while my dad went back to the car to get the rest of the stuff.

My dad is a superhero.

He hauled hundreds of pounds of books and tables and stuff in six trips (maybe more) to my spot while I set up and started selling. I think I sold my first book while he was still hauling stuff. I am very petite. Perhaps we could have done it faster if I’d helped haul too, but he didn’t want me to leave my stuff unattended and miss out on any sales.

I could not have done this by myself.

The alternate plan was for my mom to help me while my dad and Mr. Brightley stayed with CutiePants and Giggly both days. This would have been a disaster. My mom is magnificent, but she would not have been up to hauling all this stuff, and I would have had to do it. I am petite and while I’m in decent shape, it would have taken me a lot more trips while my mom isn’t as prepared to talk about my books as I am. Mr. Brightley could have done it, but we thought Giggly needed some Daddy time so we hadn’t seriously considered having him stay with me all day.

So… a very significant downside. However, this is NOT the norm for this show, and the organizer was so incredibly apologetic. I (and other vendors) recommended MailChimp or another email service to handle mass mailings in the future, so this shouldn’t happen again.

Upside: Everything else!

The show was well organized. My booth neighbors were fantastic! My lovely neighbor to my left owned a carpet shop. He was Persian and incredibly friendly and helpful. Most of the show was handmade crafts, but there were a few spaces for local businesses such as his. He helped me set up my tent while my dad was hauling things (I don’t have an EZ-Up… I have a Difficult Up. It’s really a three or four person job, but you can do it with two if you try really hard. It has a complicated top structure and really tough springs and weighs far more than I wish it did. But it’s stable and sturdy and nicer than an EZ-UP once you get it deployed.) He let me store books in his shop overnight so I didn’t have to leave them out in the humidity, let me use his restroom so I didn’t have to walk a quarter mile to the nearest portapotty, and even invited me in for Persion tea at the end of the show! The other vendors were lovely as well! I tasted fabulous macarons from Tournesol Macarons and bought lovely soap from The Soap Engineers

Oh, and the attendees? They were fantastic!

I sold books! Getting a booth was quite expensive, and books don’t have a high profit margin. I don’t expect to get rich as an author, but spending a ton of money on a big show was a bit scary… what if I didn’t sell anything? Throwing money away and wasting my time sitting around while everyone walked by uninterested would be a terrible feeling.

I write because I want to reach people. I want my books to mean something to you, the reader. I want you to care about these people I’ve imagined… they’re real to me, and I want them to be real to you too! I write to inspire you, to uplift you, to encourage you, to remind you of courage and generosity and hope and love.

I met new readers, some of whom have already emailed me about how much they loved my books.

Do you want to know how to make an author’s day? Tell them how much their writing means to you! Write an email, write a review… let me know that my writing touched you. It will make my day (or week!). It will inspire me to write more!*

Thank you!

Thank you, readers, for making the show a success.Thank you for taking a chance on an indie author. Thank you for caring about my characters. Thank you for your encouraging emails and your lovely reviews. Thank you for reading!

I’ve already registered to do the show next year.

 

*Did you know I didn’t plan to write A Fairy Promise? I thought I was done at the end of A Fairy King. But a particular review and a couple of emails from a reader helped me see that Hannah and Cadeyrn’s story wasn’t finished. Dear readers, you make a difference!

~~~~~

Please connect with me on Facebook or Google+!

The post Occoquan Arts and Crafts Show Review appeared first on C. J. Brightley.

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Fall Schedule

A Long-Forgotten Song (the hypothetical movie series cast)

Like many authors, I like to dream of my books being made into movies. Good ones, of course, with huge budgets so that all the props are meticulously detailed and the actors are perfect and the musical score is magnificent and original and awe-inspiring. My hypothetical movies will be like the Lord of the Rings movies (except without the tiny changes that are oh-so-important to Tolkien purists like me), so that the soul of the books and the characters is laid bare, brought to life for viewers who haven’t yet discovered the books themselves.

So… who do I imagine playing my characters?

I don’t watch many movies, so I’m pretty clueless on what actors are even out there. My preference, of course, would be for unknown or relatively unknown actors, so that when you see them, you don’t remember them as some other character. But, since I don’t know unknown actors (and I barely know the big names), bear with me here. Also, since I don’t watch that many movies or shows, I’m basing some of these selections on how the actor/actress looks physically… I’m not commenting on whether he or she could carry the part. Also, pretend there’s some time travel involved, because the ages of the actors and the ages of the characters may not match up very well.

My imaginary dream cast for the hypothetical movies of Things Unseen, The Dragon’s Tongue, and the rest of the A Long-Forgotten Song series is:

Aria Forsyth:  or possibly Olesya Rulin or Summer Glau

Owen: Maybe Matt Bomer? Maybe Ben Barnes?

Cillian: I don’t know. He should look a lot like Owen.

Niamh: Carrie Ann Moss

Feichin: Tom Hiddleston

Niall: Maybe David Mazouz?

Grenidor: or James Marsters or  I know these actors are very different, but I could see any of them as Grenidor, emphasizing different aspects of his personality.

Edwin: Wallace Shawn or Jack Nicholson

Petro: Benedict Cumberbatch

Dandra: Annette Bening

Lachtnal: Sebastion Stan

Ardghal: Liam Neeson

Aodhagan: I have no idea. I have a strong image of him in my head but… I don’t know any 6 year old actors out there.

Who do you imagine playing these characters? If you’re a writer, who do you imagine as your characters?

~~~~~

Please connect with me on Facebook or Google+!

The post A Long-Forgotten Song (the hypothetical movie series cast) appeared first on C. J. Brightley.

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Things Unseen: A Long-Forgotten Song (Book 1)
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Fall Schedule

This fall is going to be busy! In addition to writing, I also make jewelry at Shy Violet. While I don’t have a lot of cons close by this fall, I do have craft shows! My schedule is below (click the names for links to the fliers).

September 26-27 – Occoquan Arts and Crafts Show in downtown historic Occoquan, Virginia. Saturday the show runs 10AM-6PM, and Sunday the show runs 10AM-5PM. I will be there as an author only.

October 3-4 – Fort Belvoir Oktoberfest Autumn Bazaar at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. The show runs 9AM-5PM both days at Specker Field House. I’ll have both books and jewelry at my booth.

November 7 – Woodson High School Holiday Happenings Craft Show in Fairfax, Virginia. The show runs 10AM-3PM. I’ll have both books and jewelry at my booth.

November 14 – Robinson Marketplace at Robinson Secondary School in Fairfax, Virginia. The show runs 10AM-4PM. I’m attending only as an author.

Please come say hi! I’d love to meet you.

~~~~~

Please connect with me on Facebook or Google+!

The post Fall Schedule appeared first on C. J. Brightley.

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Things Unseen: A Long-Forgotten Song (Book 1)

Why is the Labyrinth movie so great?

I occasionally post on Quora.com, and recently someone asked why Labyrinth is so great. You might already know that I love Labyrinth. But let me tell you more, because this movie is dismissed far more quickly than it deserves. Someone else had already given a short answer that mentioned the fantastic story and David Bowie, but I will go deeper.

I don’t like the sequel manga and I think it derailed some of the fantastic symbolism, so my answer below is going to pretend it doesn’t exist. In my mind and in my answer, I’m treating the movie completely as a standalone.

The writing is superb. There are layers of meaning and ambiguity that make the movie more enjoyable as you watch it over and over.

One layer:

As already mentioned, there’s the intense psychological drama of a teenager being a self-absorbed overly dramatic twit, then dealing with the very real, terrifying consequences of her selfishness. There’s a coming-of-age story – facing the monster of the Goblin King and the journey to get her baby brother back. Sarah learns not to judge people (dwarves, big orange monsters, etc.) by their appearances. She learns forgiveness after betrayal. She learns to focus on what’s really important (her brother) rather than what makes her comfortable (staying at home).

Another layer:

Symbolism! So much symbolism!

One interpretation – Jareth is a personification of temptation in a Christian allegory. Yes, I know the movie isn’t a “Christian movie”, and the allegory isn’t exact…. but there’s a lot of depth in it.

Sarah sins in wishing her brother away. By sin, I mean she makes a selfish, self-centered choice. Her goal is to make her own life easier and more pleasant, without considering the consequences for anyone else. Yes, she doesn’t really expect anything to happen… but out of the heart, the mouth speaks.
Jareth offers her the easy choice and the hard choice… enjoy her new baby-brother-free life, or face dangers untold and hardships unnumbered to rescue him. Recognizing what she has done, Sarah is horrified and chooses to try to get her brother back. She faces the consequences… partly in genuine understanding of what she has done, and partly in youthful arrogance and ignorance of what she’ll be facing.
Hoggle – a picture of good being done through and by a weak, stupid character who nonetheless wants to do the right thing. He’s not brave, he betrays Sarah at the slightest threat… but he loves her. He reminds me of Peter, and of Christians in general. We’re not always good or brave or kind, we mess up… but we can do the right thing, and we’re forgiven if we throw ourselves on grace rather than relying on our own merit.
The Fieries – they make me think of drug addicts and much of modern secular hedonism. It’s all about fun, and as long as you don’t hurt anyone else, you can do whatever you want. From a Christian perspective, “don’t hurt others” is obviously important, but… it’s not the only thing or the most important thing. They aren’t malicious, exactly… they don’t intend to hurt Sarah (at least at first). But they’re dangerous. If Sarah forgets about Toby and joins in the fun, she’ll lose her baby brother forever. The Fieries want Sarah to join them in their uncontrolled indulgence, but when she refuses, they turn on her.
Jareth – His temptations and distractions become increasingly sophisticated as the movie continues. It’s a children’s movie, and it’s unclear whether any of the dangers are ever meant to be truly dangerous. But they are distracting. He doesn’t want to kill her. He wants to win.
Sarah wins by realizing that Jareth (sin) has no power over her. His power literally crumbles around her at this realization and assertion. The consequences (and punishment by her parents) of her selfish choice are erased… but she remembers what she did, and she remembers the cost. It’s not a redemption by Christ (or a Christ-figure within the narrative), but it is a revelation of the power Sarah has over her own actions and her ability to be braver and stronger and kinder than she has been previously. She renounces the temptation of Jareth and everything he offers in order to save her brother. She chooses differently than she did at the beginning because she has grown up.

Another interpretation – It’s a dangerous love story (multiple sub-interpretations).

Jareth is a Fae with some shape-changing ability and some ability to manipulate time and space. How old is he? He loves her (for some values of love) before she knows he exists – he watches her practice acting (dramatically) in the park. How did she get the book that outlines their adventures and the critical line of dialogue that destroys everything? I get the feeling he gave it to her. Did he hope she’d forget that line? Did he believe he would be able to convince her to stay, or win before they ever got to that point?

He never really tries to hurt or kill Sarah. I mean… yeah, it’s a children’s movie, but really he could have been more dangerous than he was. His “army” of goblins is comically clumsy, and he is neither surprised nor particularly upset by this. You get the feeling that his dramatic rages are more for goblin discipline than because he actually expects much of them.

But how much control does Jareth really have? He seems bound by rules that may or may not entirely conform to his own desires. Does he even want Toby? Yes…. but not to be turned into a goblin. He doesn’t seem to love the ones he has, they’re not particularly useful, and they’re pretty indestructible. The continuation in the manga reveals that he apparently wants to make Toby his heir, which kind of makes sense except that I get the feeling that Jareth is an ageless kind of creature. Why does he need an heir, and why must it be Toby? I think Toby is merely a means to get to Sarah, which brings us back to whether he really loves her.

How many children does he steal? Do the others get turned into goblins? Possibly. The goblins imply that they steal children regularly (“she hasn’t said the words!”); Jareth doesn’t seem to regret this part of his job, but I’m not sure how gleeful he is about it. More on this in a minute.

The ending has so many divergent possible meanings.

“I can’t live within you.” – What a play on the lover’s “I can’t live without you”! Is the whole thing a dream? If so, Jareth is somewhat independent of the dream – his owl form is outside the frame of Sarah’s imagination. He surprises her at times… in fact, most of the time. He’s more dangerous than she understands… she understands the physical danger of the labyrinth, scary though it is, but the seduction of the dance in the peach dream is quite a bit more sophisticated. Perhaps it’s a miscalculation on his part… might she have succumbed to it if not for the clock chiming? Was that an outside force as well, or merely her personality reasserting itself? Yet, despite his disappointment, he doesn’t stop her from fleeing. Maybe he can’t. Maybe he merely restrains himself.

Does he depend on her belief for his power? Perhaps he is an old entity, losing power as people stop believing in him. Her belief in his power is fading… is his power therefore actually fading? Is he trying to lure her to his realm in order to bolster its very existence?

“I am exhausted from living up to your expectations of me.” – It sounds like a plea for pity, but he doesn’t seem to want pity. Perhaps he would appreciate some compassion. Perhaps it’s all just another complicated ploy… until you actually look at him. He does look exhausted and desperate, drawn thin by the effort of… what? Shaping his world to fit her expectations… how? A dream world made real? A real world concealed in a dream? The effort of playing a role that doesn’t fit him as well as Sarah thinks it does?

Is all that effort to keep Toby? I think not. I think it’s for Sarah, although why he went to so much effort is open to interpretation. The labyrinth itself is drawn from toys and decorations in Sarah’s room, making it possibly a dream, or possibly a creation of Jareth’s shaped by Sarah, or his interpretation of Sarah, or… something. Fantasy and dream and reality blend.

(Did he manipulate her world to ensure that she received toys and dolls and books based on his world, or did he shape his world to mold her expectations?)

“Fear me, love me, do as I say, and I will be your slave.” – Echoes Satan’s temptation of Jesus in the desert, although I don’t know how intentional this parallel is. It could be the plea of an immortal being who needs her dreams to survive. She would serve him with her imagination, and he would literally be her slave, living up to everything she imagines or dreams. Or… is it a marriage proposal? Don’t laugh too hard! How much power to hurt her did he have, and how much did he actually hurt her? He scared her, he threatened her, but he never really hurt anyone (even Hoggle). He loved her, if you believe the book, and possibly the owl, since before she had any reason to know of his existence. Perhaps the phrase is a bit overly dramatic, but nothing about Jareth seems undramatic.

What dreams is he offering her? Despite Sarah’s complete distrust of him, I’m not sure that he ever really lies to her. He distracts her, he misleads her perhaps… but hypothetically, if he was telling the truth, what dreams would he have been bound to fulfill for her? To be important and to be cherished are the obvious ones that come to mind (given her childish outburst at the beginning of the movie). What is more important and more cherished than a bride?

You can see themes of power and consent and sexuality in the movie. In the final scene, where Jareth is tempting (promising?) Sarah, she refuses him and challenges him, perhaps even intimidates him (he retreats, acknowledging her power). She struggles to find her voice, but even her struggle makes him hesitate, and he hears her when she says NO.

My point isn’t to stick to a particular interpretation. I don’t know that I could decide on only one interpretation. I love how Jareth is written and performed precisely because he’s so open to divergent interpretations. You can see him as the evil child-stealing villain, the amoral enigmatic Fae, the dream-creator, or the romantic anti-hero, and all those interpretations would be more-or-less consistent with his character in the movie.

David Bowie. How is David Bowie in tight pants appropriate for a children’s movie? HOW?

He owns this role. I first saw this movie when I was about twelve, and for years, I didn’t really have words to understand why David Bowie made me simultaneously incredibly uncomfortable and mesmerized. He is sex appeal in glittery shoulder-padded popped-collar jackets with indecent ruffly shirts and tight pants and sparkles and ridiculous hair. Anyone else would crumble under the weight of the sheer audacity of this role. Puppets and singing and poofy hair and sparkles and glittery eye makeup!

He makes Jareth come alive, not just because he acts well, but because he looks like he has a tremendous amount of fun doing it. Jareth gets bored. He gets annoyed by these nitwit little goblins that surround him. There was no reason for the song Dance Magic to even exist within the plot (the action of “what happens next”), but David Bowie prancing around with the goblins actually adds an important bit of characterization. Jareth is intense and dangerous, but he’s also willing to sing and goof off with the goblins. He isn’t a one-dimensional villain; he makes a chicken-and-goblin filled crumbly castle fun, at least for a while. Dangerous, but fun. (Where does he keep all his clothes? We see a lot of wardrobe changes for a falling down castle. There’s a full world in the background; you just don’t see all of it on screen.)

Snark.

Jareth has this look when he says this, as he turns away, that implies he has much more cause to be bitter at the world than she does. Little lines like this fill the movie… bits of characterization and background that just raise more questions.

Jennifer Connolly. She was 15 when the movie was filmed. Sarah is beautiful and sweet (when she isn’t being a complete selfish twit), and perfectly balanced on the edge of innocent childhood. She’s a child with an almost-adult body, and navigating that treacherous age is part of what the movie is about. There’s a twenty-year age gap between her and David Bowie, and in the ballroom scene, you can see the danger of that age difference. Jareth is in command of himself, in command of the whole room. He has power. She is awed, frightened, intrigued, and dangerously drawn to him. This is the temptation that she isn’t prepared for and doesn’t fully understand.

Cutting edge puppetry. It’s an old movie now, but at the time the puppetry was absolutely amazing. Look at the expressions on the faces of the puppets! They’re believable. This was groundbreaking at the time, and it was apparently an interesting challenge for the actors.

Editing. There are little moments scattered throughout the movie that add to the ambiguity and complexity. They’re fascinating in the depth of acting, and they’re also evidence of really good editing. I don’t know anything about making movies, but I’ve always been impressed by these little shots that, in any other movie, would probably have been considered throwaway shots and just been deleted.

There’s one where Jareth says something cruel and scary, and then instantly glances sideways at Sarah – leaving you with the impression that he’s really all about watching her react, getting a reaction, knowing that he’s important, rather than about actually being villainous.

The Labyrinth manages to accomplish all of this with no CG, no explosions (except that one small one in the goblin war), and very few actual actors. It’s amazing.

 

(I’ve written about Jareth before in my Characters I Love blog post series.)

~~~~~

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The post Why is the Labyrinth movie so great? appeared first on C. J. Brightley.

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Extra – School Days (Continued)

For #SaturdayScenes this week, I’m sharing a continuation of the short story / novella draft that I began with School Days, which is set during Kemen’s childhood.

Enjoy!

~~~

“What is he?” Chavo asked.

Bekendi followed Chavo’s gaze. “He’s a Dari. Full-blood, I think.”

All the boys exercised together, and the instructors who weren’t leading watched the students. The oldest were at the front today, where they could be corrected. Their performance was critical to their final assignments, and they worked hard.

“Have you had any problems with him?”

Bekendi had been watching another boy and glanced at Chavo in surprise. “Who, Kemen? No. Why?”

“Hm. Just curious.” Chavo wondered if he’d misread the boy after all.

The boys crowded around the water pails. They’d be off on a run in a minute, and Sikaro let them get a drink before they left. A sea of blond heads with a single black-haired mop at one edge. The boy stood out, that’s for sure.

Sikaro, the sword instructor, was leading exercises that day. He took them on a long run, two and a half leagues out and back. The oldest boys were in the lead. Bekendi was timing them, and there was always a competition to see who would be fastest. Sikaro hung back to push the stragglers. There would be no dawdling in obscurity at the back of the pack; Sikaro was there to berate and encourage as necessary.

Bekendi, who had recorded the results before, was not surprised, but Chavo, who waited with him, watched the arrival with interest. The fastest were the oldest boys, of course, at just under two hours, and the times increased in a rough inverse to the boys’ age. But Kemen, the dark-skinned Dari boy, arrived among the thirteen-year-olds, not among his own cohort. He raced in, head high and feet flying, barely nosing ahead of Tulit.

Bekendi nodded toward them. “Watch them, please. In case things get out of hand.”

It was the second day of class, and already Tulit had come to Chavo’s attention as well. Nothing obvious, nothing open, but Chavo could see his arrogance in the set of his shoulders, the way he smirked when other students were corrected in class. He watched from a short distance as the boys recovered.

Kemen leaned over with his hands on his knees a moment, then stood up, clasping his hands behind his head. His thin chest heaved, and he turned to watch the others arriving. Tulit, equally winded, walked up to him.

“You’re a keffing dog!” The insult was low and furious.

Kemen didn’t answer. He shook his head and turned away.

Tulit grabbed his shoulder and spun him around. He was half a head taller than the younger boy and much heavier.

Chavo stepped closer, but he didn’t say anything.

“Did you hear me? I said you’re a keffing dog!” Tulit’s voice rose in anger.

Kemen’s voice was quiet, which surprised Chavo. Most boys his age would be terrified or angry. “I heard you. I don’t want to fight, Tulit. It’s just a run.”

“Too bad.” He punched Kemen hard in the face.

Chavo shouted and began to run toward them. His leg seized at the sudden demand and he stumbled, almost falling. “Tulit! Kemen! At attention!”

Tulit threw another punch at Kemen. The younger boy had staggered backward, and he straightened with his left hand to his face. Blood seeped from between his fingers. The second blow did not land. Kemen stepped inside the punch, slipped his right foot behind Tulit’s, and swept his foot from beneath him. Tulit landed with an outraged grunt, and he struggled to his feet just as Chavo reached them.

Chavo grabbed their shoulders and flung them apart. “At attention, I said!”

He glared at each boy. “This is my first session at Kesterlin military school. I thought we raised soldiers. Instead I see ruffians.”

Tulit glared back at him, wavering between defiance and submission. He was nearly as tall as Chavo, already starting his growth. Kemen  stared at Chavo’s boots, his left hand pressed tight to his cheek and mouth.

“Kneel, Tulit.” Chavo’s tone brooked no argument, and Tulit’s defiance faded. He scowled at the ground but obeyed, sinking to sit on his heels, hands resting on his thighs.

Chavo forced Kemen’s face upward. “Let me see it.”

The boy removed his hand reluctantly, shaking the blood off with a quick flick of his wrist. He glanced up at Chavo’s face for an instant, and Chavo blinked at the startling green of his eyes. Demon eyes, he thought to himself. It’s not natural. But the child was no demon. His lower lip was split deeply, and it was bleeding down his chin. Already swollen huge, his lip trembled a little, and Chavo saw the glisten of tears in the boy’s eyes. He kept his eyes fixed on Chavo’s tunic as the teacher inspected him.

“You’re fine. Just a split lip. It’ll be half-way healed by tomorrow morning.” He smiled at the boy and gave him an encouraging pat on the shoulder. Kemen nodded and sucked the lip between his teeth. Chavo handed him a handkerchief. “Go wash it off. Hurry back and don’t be late for Commander Sikaro’s class.”

“Yes, sir.” Kemen’s voice was so quiet Chavo wondered if he was going to cry after all. He jogged off toward the water pails.

Chavo turned to Tulit. “And you. I am ashamed.”

Tulit shrunk a little, though he still scowled at the ground before him.

“During your rest period, you will work in the kitchen. For a week.”

Tulit scowled even harder at the ground, but he didn’t look up. “Yes, sir,” he answered sullenly.

“Rise, and if you strike a fellow student in anger again, you’ll be spending the next three months on kitchen duty, and you’ll owe me ten thousand pushups. Ten thousand, do you understand?”

Tulit nodded again. “Yes, sir.”

“Go to class.”

“Yes, sir.”

~~~~~

Please connect with me on Facebook or Google+!

The post Extra – School Days (Continued) appeared first on C. J. Brightley.

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Fan Art! Part 2 – Now with Cosplay

My lovely fan Courtney has made more fantastic fan art!

Check out this adorable Niall from A Long-Forgotten Song series (Things Unseen and The Dragon’s Tongue so far):

Niall from A Long-Forgotten Song (Things Unseen and The Dragon’s Tongue) – art by Courtney Keys, shared with permission

She’s also done some cosplay!

See it here

and here

If you’re inspired by my characters, please share your art! I’d love to see it.

~~~~~

Please connect with me on Facebook or Google+!

The post Fan Art! Part 2 – Now with Cosplay appeared first on C. J. Brightley.

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Interview: Kemen Sendoa (from Erdemen Honor series, after Honor’s Heir)

To celebrate reaching $25 per story on my Patreon campaign, I interviewed Kemen Sendoa from the Erdemen Honor series. This interview takes place after Honor’s Heir, so beware of spoilers! I’m also sharing this scene for #SaturdayScenes, a weekly event on G+. You can find me on G+ here.

 

SPOILERS AHEAD!

 

Kemen enters the room. As the author, I wrote from his perspective, imagining what it would be like to be tall, to be male, to be a soldier, to be a Dari. I experienced these things from his perspective, not my own. Now I see him from the outside, and I understand better how he is so intimidating. I am a petite 4’11”. He towers over me; he must be at least 6’8″, perhaps as tall as 6’10”. He is broad-shouldered, but built more like a gymnast than a linebacker. He sits across from me, graceful as a cat; despite his size, he makes me feel suddenly clumsy.

Thank you for agreeing to this interview. How would you like to be addressed? General? Ambassador? Kemen? Lord Sendoa?

Kemen is fine. Thank you.

What is your favorite color?

Kemen blinks and looks a little puzzled. Green. Then his lips quirk in a secret smile. And blue.

Have you ever loved anyone other than Riona? In a romantic sense?

No.

What do you think she sees in you?

I wonder if I am wrong to ask this, but I am the author. Surely I have the right to ask him more personal questions than others do. Besides, this is an interstitial conversation; it never really occurs and affects nothing.

I do not know.

Honestly, you have no idea what she might see in you?

I do not speculate on why she loves me, but I trust that she does.

He absently rubs his thumb across the hilt of the dagger at his hip. It isn’t a threatening gesture, but for a moment I understand why people fear him. His face is lean, the lines of cheekbone and jaw chiseled of dark stone. Perhaps it is the olive brown of his skin, or the subtlety of his expressions, but he is difficult to read, even though I know him well. The bright white silk of his shirt lays softly over the sharp edge of his collarbone, the great muscles of his shoulders and chest. He sits with his back perfectly straight, every inch the military officer on duty, though he isn’t wearing his uniform. The posture is natural, not forced, and I recall that he has been a soldier from childhood.

What is your favorite childhood memory?

I don’t have one.

Really? Not one? Any pleasant memories you would be willing to share?

His eyes go distant for a second. Most of my pleasant memories are times with Yuudai. We talked as boys do, about the future, about war, about our classes and classmates and teachers. I enjoyed our field training. We were often partners; I enjoyed the immensity of the woods, solitude with a friend. Entering the king’s service was a proud moment, as was the first time I beat one of my instructors in school.

Who was that? How old were you, an what happened afterwards?

Ekaitz was the first, the senior open-hand combat instructor. He had… pushed us harder that session than in the past. I was nine when I beat him the first time, near winter break that year. At winter break I was moved up to fifth form rather than finishing out the year in fourth form. By the end of spring session I had beaten all of the combat and weapons instructors at least once, and I was moved up to sixth form. I also skipped eighth form. I taught the advanced open-hand combat class and several weapons classes the last year before I graduated and entered service.

That’s quite impressive! So you showed your potential early. Did you ever consider that others might be jealous of your success?

Jealousy does not befit a warrior. I choose not to assume those I meet are so petty.

Has that always worked out for you?

No. His eyes are steady on my face, and I wonder what story he has not yet told me.

What is your favorite weapon? Why?

The longsword. I am most practiced with it, and can use it one-handed for a short time.

How do you balance honor with fighting to win?

He smiles faintly, as if the question pleases him. Honor determines who you fight and when you fight. Some principles are worth fighting for. Some fights are worth fighting. Others are not.

But if you must fight, you must fight to win. If it’s not worth fighting to win, it’s not worth fighting at all.

How so?

Any fight can be fatal. In accepting a fight, you’re accepting the fact that you will probably either kill or die in the next few minutes. So you should never fight over words. Strength and honor are not threatened by words and insult. Honor is what you do and who you are, not things that are said about you or to you. No one can take your honor away from you.

He studies my expression. I don’t mean you must kill your opponent. With superior training and the right circumstances, it is sometimes possible to win without killing, perhaps without even injuring your opponent. Honor dictates how you treat a defeated opponent. Respect, mercy, kindness… these virtues are not in opposition to honor; they are intrinsic to honor. It is impossible to be honorable without kindness and mercy to those over whom you hold power.

In a duel, honor dictates following the rules of combat as agreed. Duels are rare, of course, but they do happen.

Sparring is different. Sparring is practice between friends and fellow soldiers, an opportunity to work together toward the common goal of greater skill.

Do you think your parents are alive somewhere? If so, would you be interested in meeting them?

He hesitates, then answers quietly. I have always assumed they were dead. If they are alive, it would be strange to meet them as an adult.

You were apparently paid quite well when you were an officer, with bonuses for valor and extra pay for teaching additional training sessions. Yet you had very little money when you met His Majesty Hakan Ithel. What happened to all of that money?

A soldier’s savings are held by the army with his pension until requested. Many soldiers send their money back to their families every month, but mine accumulated. When I was discharged, it should have been given to me. Kepa’s message, which I did not receive, probably provided an explanation, but I have not asked him about it. It wasn’t a substantial sum. I had given money to several young enlisted soldiers with families that had outpaced their earnings; I had little need for it and it was only sitting in the king’s coffers. When I was discharged, I did not think to request what money remained. Once I had recovered enough to remember it, I preferred solitude to arguing with the bureaucracy. In retrospect, that kept me unnoticed by Taisto for years, but at the time it was a decision born of frustration rather than wisdom. In the intervening years, I took only enough escort jobs to pay for basic survival supplies. Solitude was more necessary than gold.

So perhaps you understated how difficult it was to tolerate Hakan’s questions when you first met. Is that right?

Perhaps. A smile flickers across his face. It matters not. I am glad we met.

Do you feel you acted as gently as you could toward Lani, given her feelings for you?

Kemen blinks slowly and doesn’t say anything for a moment. What do you speak of?

You did know she had feelings for you, didn’t you?

He is still as a stone. No.

Oh.

Long, awkward silence. Kemen stares at me, as if it is my fault. I suppose it is.

Who is your favorite character from literature?

Kardu.

Why?

He existed in history, but the epics show a model of a man, an aspirational archetype. The accounts of him tell not only of the legend of Kardu, but about us and what we value. Therefore he is instructive, both for his own time and for ours.

What will you title your autobiography? Or your biography, I suppose.

My what?

The book about your life. People will want to read about you, you know. Outside of history books.

He stares at me. I had underestimated how unnerving that could be, but I think he is merely perplexed, not irritated. If someone writes about me, I suppose they can call it whatever they wish. But I doubt anyone will read it.

As an ambassador and the Minister of Military Affairs, you’re part of the ruling class now. How have you adapted to this luxurious life?

Slowly and not particularly well. He smiles slightly. I can’t argue with the small luxuries. A hot bath is a magnificent treat I will never fail to appreciate. I also appreciate the clean clothes that some else has washed, and the variety of food that I never enjoyed as a soldier. But… he hesitates … I fear that I will become soft. I appreciate the rigor of life as a soldier, not only because hard work keeps one skilled, but because it is good for the heart to be challenged. A man doesn’t develop character and courage through being comfortable.

Also, the fame that accompanies my position makes me uneasy. I am a man, not an aspirational archetype. I smile, and his eyes glint with subtle satisfaction. I wonder if he will elaborate on this. I imagine that he will say something about how his own expectations of himself are high enough, and adding the hero-worship of a nation is near crushing. But he says nothing, leaving me to fill in the blanks as he watches me, grass-green eyes sharp on my face.

How do you navigate the different groups in power? Nobility, commoners, servants, military officers, Ministers… How do you address such different audiences?

I am honest. He smiles wryly. I’m not particularly good at politics. Hakan knows he has my support and my advice when he asks for it. I have always tried to treat everyone with respect. Somehow that seems more unusual now that I have titles.

What are your plans for the future?

In what respect?

Any political changes you’d like to make? Family plans?

Hakan and I hope to increase the number of schools for common children. I have military duties as the Minister of Military Affairs, and I am still involved in the diplomacy with the Tarvil people and with Rikuto. There is travel involved, as you can imagine, so I am kept busy.

He smiles, a flash of white teeth against his dark skin. I will be spending the winter in Stonehaven, though. Ria is expecting again.

Really? Congratulations!

Thank you. His smile widens.

 

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The post Interview: Kemen Sendoa (from Erdemen Honor series, after Honor’s Heir) appeared first on C. J. Brightley.

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