A Reckonin' a Comin' May 18th
When I first tackled the idea of Insanity's Respite, way back in 2019, I didn't plan on going further than one book. Today, it's May the 17th, and tomorrow the 18th, I'm launching Book 3 of 4 in the Auramancer's Exorcism.
It started as an idea based off of two references:
The Brick + Mortar Song, "Locked in a Cage," and the card "Geier Reach Sanitarium" from the card game, Magic: The Gathering.
What should've been a simple one and done turned into a sprawling epic of nightmares, stress, and horror - and that's just the author! - that really let me touch on a topic I rarely see in modern commerical fiction:
A hero with problems.
Now the crux of ANY story is a centralized conflict. But I mean a hero with *problems.* Akaran (our intrepid, exhausted exorcist/protaganist) is fighting a broken leg, a curse that directly affects his ability to work in the only way he knows to work, and severe PTSD.
These are things you see in real life (minus the curse part, but most of us know someone that's been injured and can't do a 'thing' that they want to do) day in and day out. It's a thing I have some experience with; chemical dependency, a broken neck (rather than a broken leg), chronic nightmares, depression, anxiety, paranoia. I know these things because I live these things.
They make for an interesting avenue to tell a story from. You're used to your Boramirs and Links going out and taking a hit and walking away from it; your Jon Snow who gets killed, resurrected, and doesn't seem to have any long-term effects from it. You've got your heroes that see a goal and go right for it because it's Wrong and Something Must Be Done (tm).
But when you're hurt, you're tired, and you don't really give a crap, you have to be motivated to go care even when it's really wrong all around you. Motivation isn't always pleasant. Motivation sometimes means desperation. Motivation means sweat, and blood, and tears, and doubts.
Rarely do I see that in the books, movies, or shows I watch. Getting to explore that concept of, "How do I motivate someone too busy dealing with his own demons to care about the other ones loose in the city?"
I like to think I came up with a pretty powerful answer to that.
Of course, my timing has been terrible.
If you're excited for Reckoning's release tomorrow, that means in spite of a global depression, a global pandemic, an election season, riots, job insecurity, food insecurity, and social media being... social... you gave me some of your time, your effort, and your hard-earned money.
This is not the best of times to get behind a story of murder, torture, terror, nightmares, a spiritual plague, a sadistic vampire, and a wedding that hardly anyone wants to have happen.
Even with that in mind, and to be fair - I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS GONNA HAPPEN LIKE THIS I SWEAR! - my timing could've been better...
...I'm excited for this. I'm excited for you to see where this journey is going to go. I'm excited for you to see why Akaran gets a task that doesn't make him the messenger... it makes him the message. I'm excited to present the newest chapter in his story.
And I'm excited for how it sets up the final book in the Auramancer's Exorcism later this year.
But first, there's a reckonin' a comin' that you don't want to miss.
With my thanks, my love, and my blessing, I do hope you enjoy.
Kindle version is out tomorrow. Paperbacks have hit a small snag, and are likely going to be out by the end of the month.
For more:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B091NBDPVV
Or:
http://www.sagadmw.com/insanitys-reckoning/
Or:
Insanity's Reckoning
Until next time, be safe out there...
...and try not to trip over the bodies in here.
~Joshua E.B. Smith
https://www.facebook.com/sagadmw
https://www.amazon.com/author/sdmw
It started as an idea based off of two references:
The Brick + Mortar Song, "Locked in a Cage," and the card "Geier Reach Sanitarium" from the card game, Magic: The Gathering.
What should've been a simple one and done turned into a sprawling epic of nightmares, stress, and horror - and that's just the author! - that really let me touch on a topic I rarely see in modern commerical fiction:
A hero with problems.
Now the crux of ANY story is a centralized conflict. But I mean a hero with *problems.* Akaran (our intrepid, exhausted exorcist/protaganist) is fighting a broken leg, a curse that directly affects his ability to work in the only way he knows to work, and severe PTSD.
These are things you see in real life (minus the curse part, but most of us know someone that's been injured and can't do a 'thing' that they want to do) day in and day out. It's a thing I have some experience with; chemical dependency, a broken neck (rather than a broken leg), chronic nightmares, depression, anxiety, paranoia. I know these things because I live these things.
They make for an interesting avenue to tell a story from. You're used to your Boramirs and Links going out and taking a hit and walking away from it; your Jon Snow who gets killed, resurrected, and doesn't seem to have any long-term effects from it. You've got your heroes that see a goal and go right for it because it's Wrong and Something Must Be Done (tm).
But when you're hurt, you're tired, and you don't really give a crap, you have to be motivated to go care even when it's really wrong all around you. Motivation isn't always pleasant. Motivation sometimes means desperation. Motivation means sweat, and blood, and tears, and doubts.
Rarely do I see that in the books, movies, or shows I watch. Getting to explore that concept of, "How do I motivate someone too busy dealing with his own demons to care about the other ones loose in the city?"
I like to think I came up with a pretty powerful answer to that.
Of course, my timing has been terrible.
If you're excited for Reckoning's release tomorrow, that means in spite of a global depression, a global pandemic, an election season, riots, job insecurity, food insecurity, and social media being... social... you gave me some of your time, your effort, and your hard-earned money.
This is not the best of times to get behind a story of murder, torture, terror, nightmares, a spiritual plague, a sadistic vampire, and a wedding that hardly anyone wants to have happen.
Even with that in mind, and to be fair - I DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS GONNA HAPPEN LIKE THIS I SWEAR! - my timing could've been better...
...I'm excited for this. I'm excited for you to see where this journey is going to go. I'm excited for you to see why Akaran gets a task that doesn't make him the messenger... it makes him the message. I'm excited to present the newest chapter in his story.
And I'm excited for how it sets up the final book in the Auramancer's Exorcism later this year.
But first, there's a reckonin' a comin' that you don't want to miss.
With my thanks, my love, and my blessing, I do hope you enjoy.
Kindle version is out tomorrow. Paperbacks have hit a small snag, and are likely going to be out by the end of the month.
For more:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B091NBDPVV
Or:
http://www.sagadmw.com/insanitys-reckoning/
Or:
Insanity's Reckoning
Until next time, be safe out there...
...and try not to trip over the bodies in here.
~Joshua E.B. Smith
https://www.facebook.com/sagadmw
https://www.amazon.com/author/sdmw
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