Dorothy Tinker's Blog: Balance of Seven, page 7

The Importance of Being Prepared

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Thank goodness the place I’m staying at has a printer.

In every area of our life, we are always taught to be prepared.  It’s even one of the main tenets of the boyscouts.  Whether you are taking a test, going to an interview, or even just going shopping (you can’t buy anything without carrying some form of payment), preparedness is a must.

Attending conventions is no exception.  Whether you’re attending a convention as a member of the paying public or with the intention of selling merchandise, the weekend can’t be a success if you are not prepared.

Thankfully, the closest I’ve come so far this weekend to such a lack of success is pictured above.  The empty box depicted used to hold excerpts of my book, which I hand out to potential customers in the hopes that the taste they get from it will bring them back for the full product.

Now, I’ve printed two batches of excerpts since I first decided on this tactic.  The first was a batch of one hundred, and it lasted me for three full conventions with four excerpts left over.  The second batch was in preparation for this weekend.  I decided to print seventy-five; more than enough to last the weekend, surely.

Imagine my surprise when I managed to hand out thirty-three excerpts on the first day.  Eight more disappeared overnight (I like to leave out the free stuff even when I’m closed in case of late-night browsers).  By the time I left this evening, I had one excerpt left.  And it, too, will hopefully be gone by morning.

As I said, thank goodness I’m staying at a place with a good printer.  As I write this, I’m printing off sixty more excerpts.  If the weekend continues as it has, it shouldn’t be difficult to get rid of them by the end of Monday.

On top of the success found in quickly disappearing excerpts, I managed to sell the same number of books today as I did yesterday, which definitely makes this the best convention I’ve had all year.

I’ll keep you posted on the rest of the weekend, and, hopefully, I will return to my Culture-Building series on Tuesday.

Animefest First Day Success

First day of Animefest, and I’m already feeling more confident about it than any other convention I’ve attended this year.  I had several sales today and handed out a lot more excerpts than I had expected, especially on the first day.

Here’s hoping this pace keeps up.

Interview With Dorothy Tinker

dorothytinker:

Valerie was kind enough to do this interview with me about my upcoming books. Thank you, Valerie.

Originally posted on Valerie Thomas:

I recently had the opportunity to interview the fantastic Dorothy Tinker, author of the upcoming Peace of Evon (September 30) and the sequel Gift of War (late November 2014). You can find her blog here. So let’s get to the interview:

 

When did you first become interested in writing?

I first started writing when I was thirteen.  I’d always told myself stories before then, but the idea that I could write them down for others to read never crossed my mind until I met someone else who wrote.

Do you find your work tending towards a particular genre?

Almost all of my work is fantasy.  I have a few short stories that are more horror/thriller, and I have ideas for a set of stories that are more science-based than magic-based, but even those have a sense of fantasy.

So, you have a couple of works coming out soon?

Peace of…

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R.I.P. Skiver

I know I promised the next article in the Culture-Building series today, but when I saw today’s Daily Post, , I couldn’t resist.

Like most people, I’ve named several inanimate objects in my life:  cars, computers, stuffed animals.  However, the object I named that had the most impact on me wasn’t even mine.  Skiver was my best friend’s first car.

I, myself, didn’t learn how to drive until the summer after my second year of college (I just didn’t want to learn), so I depended on parents and friends for rides.  In high school, one of my best friends drove a Toyota Camry that had previously belonged to one of his parents.  The license plate contained the letters “SKV”, from which we derived the name Skiver.

Skiver was a great car and lasted my friend for about five years.  Even after I learned how to drive, my friend was more likely to drive when we did things together, so Skiver became our constant companion.  Skiver was such a constant in our lives that he went through two changes of license plate without receiving a name change.  We even talked at times as though Skiver had a life of his own.

Unfortunately, the name of this article is not without reason.  Three years ago, my friend was in a car accident.

I had just gotten off a late-shift at the grocery store when I got on the phone with my friend.  The first question out of my mouth after he told me he’d been in an accident was about Skiver.  I don’t mean to sound callous by this.  You have to remember that I was on the phone with him and knew that he was alive and well enough to talk.

Sadly, Skiver wasn’t so lucky.  My friend had been rear-ended as he was coming to a stop on a crowded on-ramp between two highways.  While my friend escaped with only chest contusions, Skiver was totaled, accordion-style.

Even up to the end, Skiver was protecting my best friend.

Nowadays, my friend and I are roommates, and we both have hatchback cars:  I have a Toyota Yaris named Yari, and he has a Nissan Versa named Vice.  Even so, we still remember Skiver fondly and sometimes accidentally call Vice “Skiver”–always immediately apologizing to Vice to prevent him from breaking down in jealousy.

Have any of you ever had similar experiences with an inanimate object you’ve named?  If so, I’d love to hear it.

Culture-Building: Religion

I will say this first:  I am not a religious person.

Yet, religion, as a rule, has played such a large part in the history of humankind, in the creation of various aspects of our lives that we take for granted, and in so many of the current cultural conflicts that it was one of the first things I considered when building the culture of the Peace of Evon series.

In fact, religion is so influential in our lives and history that I probably didn’t do enough research to fully remove the influence of Earth religion from my world’s culture.  But, really, who could?

To be honest, the plot behind the Peace of Evon storyline began as a simple fantasy adventure.  The same kind of thing you might read in so many other fantasy books:  main characters assembled under a common goal on a quest to achieve that goal.

It wasn’t until I was deciding what would happen in the final battle (a scene that will appear near the end of the fourth book in the series) that I realized I wanted something greater than that.  I decided then that the main character needed an antagonist who was greater than human, someone who could influence her other enemies without showing himself to her until this critical point, someone, indeed, who embodied everything she was trying to prevent.

And so was born War, my first demigod.

However, by the very name ‘demigod’, there had to be something greater than him.  With research into various religions and the addition of some ideas that I myself thought should be important, I created a group of gods that ruled the region and the mortal souls within it, keeping the Balance and holding back the Chaos.

Once I introduced the gods and religion into the world, the plot changed tone.  The story gained a spiritual side that it hadn’t had before.  But, more than that, I found myself becoming more aware of the words I was using and the small aspects of the world’s culture that I hadn’t even considered before.

The people of the Peace of Evon series are not Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, or any other of the multitude of religions that fill our world.  They didn’t even have paganism the way our world did.  Their culture was defined by the gods who created and guided them, and by their own knowledge of this.

I found myself processing the influence of the religion through the divisions of time, the language used, the holy days, important life milestones and ceremonies, etc.  If you read my last post, you’ll probably realize that I just listed most of the things I mentioned in that article.  That’s how important and influential the religion became.  I’ve posted this particular article first, not necessarily because I wanted to, but because no others would have made sense without it.

My next two or three posts will expand upon different aspects of culture-building with religion, but I would also like to hear from other people on this topic.  What have your experiences been with religion in scifi/fantasy?  Have you had to deal with this in your own writing or have you noticed it in others?

Considerations in World-Building: Culture-Building

Many scifi/fantasy authors write their stories in worlds of their own creation. Even those who set their stories on Earth usually face some form of world-building, though on a smaller scale.

My concern here, however, is not so much the physical world, but rather the people who inhabit it. More accurately, I would like to discuss what I think of as culture-building.

When I created the world behind the Peace of Evon series, I found a surprising number of things that we take for granted in our everyday lives that simply didn’t make sense for the people of my world. I found myself creating, altering, or completely eliminating things like important life milestones and ceremonies, divisions and lengths of time, religions, language and vocabulary, holidays, and so much more.

Over the next few weeks, I hope to publish articles on each of the different aspects of human life I found myself altering and why I thought them important enough to consider. I hope you will join me and discuss the culture-building you may have done in your own works or seen in others.

Pact of the Tauresian Pirates

At one point in my novel, Peace of Evon, the characters reference a document known as the Pact of the Tauresian Pirates.  As explained by Gemini, known to her audience at the time as James Caffers, the name is “simple, aye.  However, we are simple men, so the name works”.

The title of the Pact isn’t the only thing that’s simple.  When the Tauresian Pirates unified, they didn’t want to completely destroy the way of life they’d found as pirates.  Therefore, the Pact only dictates those actions that were deemed necessary for peace and unification among them.

Pact of the Tauresian Pirates

1. Structure of Governance

   a. The captain of each of the signed ships will sit on a Tauresian Council that will meet at the Port of Calay twice a year, once at the beginning of Early Spring and once at the beginning of Early Autumn.

   b. Every man in the crew of one of the signed ships will follow all orders given by the captain of their ship pertaining to battles and destinations.

   c. Those decisions pertaining to ship duties, everyday activities, and the fate of prisoners are to be decided by the crew by majority vote.

   d. All loot will be divided justly and fairly, each man receiving his apportioned lot.  The means of division is defined in the charter of each of the signed ships.

2. None of the signed ships shall attack or terrorize any ship, city, or other property governed by Evon or this Pact unless they are first attacked, terrorized, or otherwise provoked.

3. If one of the signed ships falls into trouble that they themselves cannot handle, it is the duty of the other signed ships to protect the ship in trouble by any means necessary without breaking part of this signed agreement.

4. If the captain of a signed ship is deemed unworthy or unable to captain his ship, the first mate may take over the captaincy, by force if necessary.

   a. If the first mate succeeds in taking the captaincy and the previous captain still lives, the crew will decide by majority vote what to do with the previous captain.

   b. If the first mate fails to take the captaincy, even by force, the captain may keep the captaincy but must let the crew decide by majority vote what to do with the first mate.

5. If the crew cannot form a majority for those decisions that are decided by majority vote, the captain must decide between the two most popular choices.

6. And if any pirate or ship should break this signed agreement, he/it is no longer under its protection, and it is the duty of the other signed ships to punish him/it.

This post was a response to Daily Post’s Weekly Challenge Manifesto.

Oh no! Animefest is Next Weekend!

(If you are attending Animefest in Dallas this year, look for my table in the Bizarre Bazaar.  I will be there under Balance of Seven selling my novel, Peace of Evon:  Missing Heir.)

This year has gone by way too quickly.  I published my first novel, Peace of Evon:  Missing Heir, last December and have spent the time since then advertising it and writing the sequel.

As part of my advertising plan, I have attended and advertised at an average of one convention (scifi/fantasy, anime, or gaming) a month since February, with Animefest (Aug 15-18) expected to be my last for the year.  After that, it’s time to crack down on the republication of Peace of Evon:  Missing Heir as two books, Peace of Evon and Gift of War, and finish and publish the sequel, Lost King.

My inner procrastinator is cringing in horror.

However, at a time like this, I refuse to give in to that horror.  I will plan, I will write down and organize what I need to do, and I will succeed.

And I will keep my new favorite phrase in my mind:

May Peace and Balance surpass the Chaos in your life.

May they, indeed!

The Importance of Names in Evon

In the world of Evon, a child is not given a name until its Naming Day, ten days after its birth.  Granting a child a name not only recognizes it as a person but also acknowledges the life in the child.

Despite the power of the Healing Magic that some humans wield, Mage Healers are only so prevalent.  Newborn deaths are not uncommon, especially among the nobility, whose lines are restricted to certain families and are not fortified by magic the way some lower-classed families are.  (Such importance of magic within family lines is unacknowledged by everyone, but that does not lessen its effect.)

The following is an excerpt from my novel, Peace of Evon.  These are the words of Mama Caler, a powerful Seer, who Saw the future of the baby girl who would be Named Gemini Cosley.

 

“Lord and Lady Cosley.[...]This daughter of yours will be no ordinary girl.  She will not see distinctions the way most do.  To her, there will be no difference between men and women, rich and poor, magical and non-magical.  She will help her countrymen to alter their views that they, too, might view the world this way.

“She will bring peace to—nay, she shall be the peace of—this land when it needs her most.  At times, she will seem as one person, while, at others, she might seem like another.[...]Lord Cosley, I would recommend to you that you raise her both as a son and as a daughter that she might meet her future as your heir well-prepared.[...]

“From what I have Seen, this child will accomplish much during her life, yet I have learned it is inappropriate to name a child after what she will do.  Instead, it is best to name her after what she will be able to do or a personality trait.[...]

“If I were you, Lord and Lady Cosley, I would name her for her dual personality.”

–Mama Caler at Gemini Cosley’s Naming Ceremony

 

The baby girl was named for the twin moons that circle the planet of which Evon is a part.

Gift of War excerpt

 

How I nearly abandoned my dream.

The following is the excerpt I promised in the post Oh the Joys of Writer’s Block.  I began writing the story of Peace of Evon:  Missing Heir in 2005 during my first year of university.  By the time I graduated from university and began looking for a job, I had hit a point in the storyline where I couldn’t figure out where to go next.  In fact, I was stopped not far into the apology between Gemi and Ulla, and I only include the scene on either side so you can get an idea of what I had and where I finally decided to take it.  Keep in mind, of course, that this is completely rewritten from the original, but the first scene still holds most of the same meaning that the original did.

I will post an excerpt from Peace of Evon, to be published on September 30, 2014, in a later post, but I wanted to provide this since I’d already promised it.

 

Excerpt from Chapter 4

Ferez woke slowly, opening his eyes to reveal light-colored fabric hanging high above his head.  He didn’t remember falling asleep, but he felt much more comfortable than he would have expected for the desert, which was the last thing he remembered clearly.

Maybe arriving at the oasis wasn’t a dream then.

A gentle tugging on his tunic finally pulled Ferez’s attention away from the drifting fabric that seemed to glow softly.  Tucking his chin down, the king was surprised to find a small boy seated on his chest.  He’d been so comfortable that he hadn’t even noticed the weight of the child, whose hands plucked gently at Ferez’s tunic.  Despite the gentleness of the boy’s touch, his brow was furrowed and his small lips tightly pursed.

“Hello,” Ferez murmured curiously.  The child lifted his gaze to Ferez’s face, but the small hands didn’t still their persistent tugging.

“‘Allo,” the child answered shortly before turning back to his work.  Ferez blinked, suddenly unsure of himself.  He was accustomed to children who were more excitable.

“Lorenz,” a new voice suddenly hissed softly.  “Are you in here?”

Turning his head, Ferez spotted another small figure ducking through what appeared to be the tent’s entrance.

“Ja, I’m ‘ere,” the boy on Ferez’s chest answered softly.  His fingers continued tugging as the new arrival drew closer.

“Herr Kanti,” the second child, a girl by the sound of it, chirruped as she knelt by Ferez’s head.  “You’re awake.”

As Ferez nodded, the girl turned to Lorenz and tugged on his sleeve.  “How many does he have left, Lori?”

The boy wrinkled his nose and stuck his tongue out at the girl, his hands finally stilling.

“Ava,” he whined.  “You know I ‘ate tha’ name.”

Ava giggled.  “True, but I also know that you tend to grow the seeds instead of just removing them if you’re left on your own.”

“I do not,” Lorenz denied, even as his face reddened.  He caught Ferez’s gaze then and ducked his head, muttering, “Not on people, I don’.”

Ferez smiled and gently patted the boy’s leg.  “I’m sure you don’.  Although,” he added with a soft chuckle, “I am curious what it is you’re talkin’ about.”

Lorenz nodded quickly and tugged once more on Ferez’s tunic before holding one hand out in front of Ferez’s face.  Blinking, Ferez focused on the hand and realized the boy held a sprouted seed in between two fingers.

“They’re Senf seeds,” the boy explained.  “They get blown ‘bou’ by the deser’ wind, and they grow on anythin’ they land on.”

“Including Tier and humans,” Ava added, plucking the seed from the boy’s fingers and burying it in a pot of dirt Ferez hadn’t noticed before then.  “I’ve heard it’s really painful if they manage to start burrowing into the skin.”  She plucked the sleeve of her own tunic.  “It’s one of the reasons we wear long sleeves and Kopfabdeckungen.”

“But ever’one needs deseedin’ ever’ once in a while,” Lorenz added as his fingers began tugging at Ferez’s tunic once more.  “‘Specially af’er a long journey.”

He twisted and tugged on the fabric for another minute before releasing a cry of triumph and holding his hand out for Ferez to see.  This time, the sprouted seed seemed to writhe within the boy’s grasp.

“Tha’s the las’ one.  I’d ‘ave pulled it sooner, bu’ they tend to grow fas’er when I’m around.”  The boy dropped his gaze and buried the seed in the pot of dirt.

“Because you’re a Plant Mage, aye?” Ferez confirmed, remembering what James had told him about his youngest brother.  “The only one in your family?”

Lorenz blinked before nodding and smiling shyly.  “James told you about me?”

The king chuckled.  “About all of you actually.”  He turned his gaze to the girl at his head.  “You’re his sister, Ava, then?  An Animal Mage?”

The girl dipped her head before tapping Lorenz’s leg and motioning him off of Ferez’s chest.

“You can meet the others, too, now that Lorenz has finished deseeding you.  James and Vati’ll want to know you’re awake, but introductions will probably have to wait until after James finishes apologizing to Ulla.”

“Apologizing?” Ferez asked as he stood and stretched.  “What for?”  He did note that Ulla was the name of James’ older sister, the only Mindspeaker among the siblings.

“For things said and unsaid this Morgen,” Lorenz answered.  Gripping the man’s hand, he pulled him towards the tent’s entrance with an unnecessary “Komm.”

Ferez chuckled as he stumbled after the two children, one hand reaching up to straighten his Kopfabdeckung.  As they left the tent, he nearly halted, startled to see that the sun was already dropping towards the horizon.  However, the children didn’t give him the chance to pause and, instead, dragged him away from the tent.

They passed several other nomads, all of who were dressed in the same type of outfit that Ferez and James had been wearing since they’d left Kensy.  Even the boy’s younger siblings, Ferez realized, wore similar outfits.

Lorenz tugged him along until they reached a group of nomads seated near a cold fire pit.  As they approached, Ferez recognized James kneeling in front of a young woman about their age.

That must be Ulla, he thought as he watched his friend plead with her.

*~*~*~*

“Bitte, believe me, Ulla,” Gemi begged, all too conscious of the other Nomaden surrounding them.  “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.  I was just tired.  You know how I get when I’m tired.”

Ulla sniffled and swiped a hand under her eyes.  “Slow to react,” she mumbled.  “Quick to anger.”

Gemi grimaced but nodded.  Most who knew her knew that her temper was closer to the surface when she was exhausted, though anger really wasn’t what had gotten her into this mess.

“You’re mein Schwester, Ulla.  I love you.  You know that, don’t you?”

Ulla sniffled again and lifted her head to meet Gemi’s eyes.  After a moment, she nodded.

“Ja.”

Gemi smiled reassuringly.  “Gut.”

However, Ulla sniffled again and frowned.  “But I still don’t get why.”  Gemi must have looked puzzled because Ulla added, “Raymond’s right.  You usually are grumpy around me.  I want to know why.”

Gemi’s cheeks heated.  She really wished she didn’t have to have this conversation in front of so many people, even if they had all known her since she was ten.  But the Clan was the Familie, according to Nomade tradition.  It was the one thing about Leben as a Nomade that she still found disconcerting.

“Well…” Gemi whispered.  She wasn’t sure how to explain to Ulla without upsetting her Schwester more than she already was.  “You remember the first time we met?”

Ulla sniffed and wiped at one eye.  “Of course I do.”  Her voice still sounded choked up.

Gemi felt her lips twitch as she remembered her first meeting with the Katze Clan.  “Do you remember that first conversation we had?”

To Gemi’s surprise, Ulla actually blushed.  Shifting her gaze from Gemi’s, Ulla muttered, “I guess I deserve that.”

Gemi blinked at the unexpected reaction.  “What?”

Ulla sighed and sat up straighter.  “I guess I can be a bit of a Gör, sometimes.”

Gemi gaped at her Schwester, as those around them chuckled.  “I would never call you that,” she finally said.

Ulla’s smile was soft.  “I know.”  The smile widened into a grin.  “You’d probably prefer ‘brat’, or something else from your native tongue.”

Gemi groaned and dropped her forehead onto Ulla’s knees.  “And this is why I’m often grumpy around you.”  When Gemi felt Ulla’s hand gently touch the top of her head, she sighed.

“I take it I’m forgiven, then?”

Ulla’s chuckle was answer enough, and the Fräulein slid her hand under Gemi’s chin to lift it.

“Of course, Bruder,” the young Geistmagier whispered.  “I forgave you a while ago.”

Gemi raised an eyebrow.  “And the tears?”  She found it hard to believe that Ulla would continue crying after forgiving Gemi.

Ulla grinned.  “I just wanted to see if you could actually explain it.”  She shrugged.  “You got your point across, at least.”

Gemi sighed and rolled her head back.  She might have responded, but she caught sight of a double purple Statusgürtel to her side and quickly swung her head around to the wearer.

She was surprised to find Ferez standing there, frowning as his gaze moved back and forth between Gemi and Ulla.

Gemi’s cheeks burned then.  She didn’t know which was worse:  the possibility that Ferez had heard her pleading with her Schwester, the teasing that followed, or the position that Ferez had found her in, with her head practically in Ulla’s lap.

Why should that bother me? she wondered, even as she pulled back from Ulla. We’re Schwestern. It’s not like we’re interested in each other in more than a familial way.

Despite her self-assurances, the heat in her cheeks didn’t abate.

Hoping to distract herself, Gemi scrambled to her feet and grabbed Ferez’s hand.  “Let me introduce you to mein Familie.”

*~*~*~*

As Ferez watched James lay his head in Ulla’s lap and listened as they referred to the first time they met, a growl swelled in his chest.

Biting his lip to keep the sound from escaping, Ferez frowned at them.  This level of intimacy hardly seemed appropriate for such a public place, even if he still had a lot to learn about the nomads and such might be normal within the clan.

Not to mention, they’re siblings, Ferez thought, chastising himself for the sudden anger.

Even so, the anger didn’t ease until James jumped up and grabbed Ferez by the hand.  The king didn’t have time to wonder over the odd emotion as the boy began introducing the small group that surrounded them.

“Frenz, this is mein Schwester, Ulla.”

The young woman to whom James had been apologizing stood and nodded before brushing off her trousers, though Ferez couldn’t see how they needed that much cleaning.

“Mein Mutter, Mina,” James continued, turning to a woman seated to Ulla’s left.  While Ferez had been distracted by the conversation, the boy’s younger siblings had joined her, Lorenz in her lap and Ava kneeling by her feet.

“A pleasure, madam,” Ferez greeted, offering her a small bow.

“Hardly necessary, young Mann,” Mina dismissed with a wave of one hand.  “A Freund of James is a Freund of the Familie.”

“You are too trusting, Mina,” someone accused in a rough voice.

Ferez turned towards the speaker and swallowed as he took in the melted appearance of the left side of the woman’s face.

“He is a stranger.”

Mina shook her head.  “I trust mein Sohn not to bring with him someone who might mean harm to the Clan.  Surely you cannot fault James’ judgment, Isa?”

The scarred woman must be James’ aunt, then, Ferez thought idly as he watched the exchange.

Isa scowled.  “It is not his judgment I’m questioning.”

“Tante,” James interrupted sharply.  “Frenz has been traveling with me almost since the beginning of the Jahreszeit.  He’s a Freund.”

“He doesn’t mean any harm, Tante,” Ava twittered.  “He’s just curious.”

She flashed Ferez a smile that he couldn’t help returning.

“Bitte, Freund, forgive mein Schwester.”

Ferez glanced to the man who’d spoken and nearly bowed a second time.  He didn’t need to see the double purple of his Statusgürtel to recognize that he must be the Clan’s leader.  The way he held himself was too reminiscent of Ferez’s own father for the man to be anyone else.

“Frenz,” James spoke with a quick squeeze of his hand.  “This is mein Vater, Häuptling Hausef Kanten, Erstehäuptling of the Vereinte Clans.”