Tom’s Comments (group member since Jun 18, 2012)

Tom’s comments from the Q&A with Tom Liberman group.

I'm still thinking about the basic plot, characters, and thematic elements to what will be my next book, The Spear of the Hunt. I've got most of the main elements fairly well constructed in my mind but there is a plot device that I still need to get straight before I start writing.

I prefer to have a clear idea of the beginning, middle, and end of the book before I start. I also like to know all the main characters, the essential plot line of events, and the main thematic elements I'm going to try and stress.

This helps me get past so called Writer's Block. By having all the elements in place in my mind before I start even if I get a little bogged down in one area or the other I can push on to the next scene with confidence.

This story takes place in the Dark Ages era after the fall of the Empire but before Jon Gray and the Modern Era. It tells the story of General Yumanar who must decide how best to save the nation that he loves. What is the greater threat; the invading armies or the politicians that rule?

I hope everyone will like it.

Please ask any questions about this book in this forum. Thanks for following!

Tom

The Sword of Water is complete and published at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and Smashwords. For purchase and information links see the post in the Sword of Water forum.

Onto the Spear of the Hunt!

Tom

I'm happy to announce the release of my fourth Sword and Sorcery novel, The Sword of Water.

Cover art by Raro.

Summary

Jon Gray returns along with his best friend Sorus Nightwalk as they travel to the newly freed island nation of Cawl in search of the Sword of Water. Directed by his enigmatic brother Valari, Jon arrives on the island and quickly finds out the king of the nation is off on a quest but a regent rules in his stead. With permission from Granatz the Black the two heroes set off towards the Central Mountain where rumors of the Sword of Water persist thousands of years after it legendarily ousted the great Fire Elemental twins Eleniak and Hezfer from their citadel.

Young Prince Jerichi and his friend Silenia follow the two champions into the adventure of a lifetime. They journey from the great mountain to the restive city-state of Serapis where Silenia’s father, High Priest Amalagaz, plots against the prince and hopes to usurp control of the newly founded nation.

Muddying the plot is the fact that Eleniak is still alive, blames the Sword of Water for the death of her twin, and plots vengeance against the Water Elemental Silenia. The great fiery ruler manipulates events so that she can lure the Water Elemental from her ancient hiding place.

It’s a battle of courage against fear, a fight for a newly founded nation to survive political turmoil, and a question if young Silenia will lure her namesake into the grasp of Eleniak. Can Jon Gray navigate these tumultuous waters safely or will the young Knight of Gray meet a foe more powerful than even he can manage?

Find out in The Sword of Water; a Tales of Corland adventure featuring Jon Gray.

Purchase Information
The Sword of Water at Amazon – Barnes and Noble – Smashwords: $2.99

Previous Novels
The Staff of Naught at Amazon - Barnes and Noble - Smashwords: $2.99
The Staff of Sakatha at Amazon - Barnes and Noble - Smashwords: $2.99
The Hammer of Fire at Amazon - Barnes and Noble - Smashwords: $2.99
Thank you for purchasing and reading! I hope everyone enjoys the books.

Coming Next
The Spear of the Hunt: During the Dark Ages after the fall of the Empire young nations fought against the terrible chaos that reigned. Among the greatest of heroes from this time is Yumanar of Caparal. He found the ancient Spear of the Hunt, saved his kingdom from destruction, and built a legacy that lives on five hundred years later. This is his story.

Website Pages
See more about each of the novels, read sample chapters, and watch videos about the characters and philosophies behind each book.

The Hammer of Fire - The Staff of Naught - The Staff of Sakatha - The Sword of Water

I finished the final check during the week and the book is now in the hands of my final proofreader, mom. She's about a third of the way through but then I have to take her corrections and make them to my version. That doesn't take long.

I also commissioned the cover art from Jesus Garcia Lopez for a third straight time. He's already produced a sketch.

I anticipate a release sometime in mid-December.

Tom

I finished the main edit last night. Now, I do a final check and then turn it over to my proofreader. This is a same-time process in that as I finish pages I can pass them along. It usually takes about a month or so depending on how much time my proofreader (good old mom) can spend on the project.

I'm very happy with how it turned out. My thematic elements really came together in the end. I hope everyone will enjoy it!

I'll let everyone know a week or so before release. I'll probably contact my cover artist in the next couple of weeks and I'll post pictures of that in progress.

Tom

I finished the rough draft this afternoon. Now comes the next stage, rewriting everything. Usually that involves adding a lot of what's called voice, making the events line up properly, making sure that characters are not saying or doing contradictory things, and cleaning up lots and lots of typos.

Voice is when each character speaks in their own distinctive style. Usually I don't get a good feel for a character's voice until half-way or more through the rough draft. So, I have to go back and change the way characters speak in the rewrite.

This part usually takes a month or so. I wrote the rough draft really quickly this time, in about three weeks so I might need a break before moving on. I'll keep you, my loyal fans, up to date!

Tom

It's been a good two weeks. I've written 50K words. That gets me to 62K total on the rough draft and about 38K left. I don't know if I can keep it up. It's tiring.

Jon and the gang are now in Serapis and the massive confrontation with High Priest Amalagaz is right around the corner. Decisions about who lives and who dies hang in the balance.

Tenebrous must decide who he will support; the power and fury of Eleniak the Golden Flame or the godless Unbeliever. It's getting exciting!

Progress continues apace. I wrote 25K last week and started off today with another 5K. It's all rough draft of course.

This seems to be my pattern. I think about writing the book for a long time and then really hammer out pages in a hurry.

Then comes the re-write of the nonsense that is the rough draft. Still, I doubt I can keep up this pace for too long. I'm at 42K right now which is approaching halfway.

Jon, Sorus, Jerichi, and Silenia are in the mountains while Taragaz waits below in ambush. I sense bloodshed soon.

Tom

I tossed out another 5K today. Up to 22K which is about 20% done with the rough draft. I had a really good couple of scenes with Jerichi and Silenia behaving like the eleven year olds they are. I think it will be a nice contrast for when they have to grow up fast. There are some nasty-nasty things about to happen to them.

I really feel pretty good about the novel so far but there are a couple obstacles I'm still mulling through. See you soon!

I threw about 5,000 words at the Sword of Water today to get me up to 17,000 total. I like the way the plot is developing so far. Jon and Sorus are heading to the Central Mountain to find the Sword of Water trailed by the erstwhile Jerichi and Silenia. Meanwhile Eleniak has just contacted High Priest Amalagaz and the two will soon find common ground!

I have some fun things planned for poor little Silenia but I think she will survive although I'm not sure. She is the only main character I'm seriously considering killing.

I'll try to keep people posted on my progress on The Sword of Water here. I've mainly been thinking about it to this point although I've got 12,000 words written. Hopefully I'll start working hard on it soon. I feel like I've got most of the pieces in place in my mind. There is one thing I still want to straighten out a little but I think it isn't major.

The Black Hawthorne is a short story freely available in the Writing section of my home page here at Goodreads.

It tells the tale of Hazhallahad a middle-aged necromancer stuck from the southlands in the Imperial Court at Das'von. Unable to advance because of prejudice against his homeland he undertakes to fashion a powerful necromantic staff. The fruits of his labor eventually, thousands of years later, become the subject of my novel, The Staff of Naught.

Please post any questions about the story here!

My books are or will be written in distinct times frames and I can see this causing some confusion as thousands of years pass between each era. I'll cover it generally here.

Elemental Age
This age was dominated by the Elemental powers as they shaped the world. This age lasted some 3.5 billion years.

No books or stories yet

Age of War
This is the 5,000 year period between when the Elementals were overthrown and the rise of the Emperor. Many small kingdoms and much warfare takes place. I have no novels set in this era currently.

No books or stories yet

Imperial Age
This era is when the great Empire arises and lasts for a thousand years under the guise of the immortal and all-powerful Emperor Corancil. The world is named Corland during this age.

The Hammer of Fire
Black Hawthorne (Free short story)

Dark Age
This is the period after the fall of the Empire but before the modern age. It lasts about 1,000 years.

The Spear of the Hunt

Modern Age
The rebirth of the Empire is written and so it shall be ... maybe. This is the current era of my world and the main setting for my novels.

The Staff of Naught
The Staff of Sakatha
The Sword of Water

Because all the books are set in the same world I'm often questioned about the reading order. As of now they are not serial.

The Staff of Naught and the Hammer of Fire are completely independent of one another with different characters and set in different eras.

The Staff of Sakatha and the Sword of Water involve the same protagonist, Jon Gray, and his friend but they are not direct sequels and can be read independently. The Staff of Sakatha takes place about a year before the Sword of Water but it is not necessary to read one to understand the other and events in the two are largely separate.

The fifth book will be the Spear of the Hunt and it involves different characters and is set in a different era that the other four. It can be read independently.

Please post any questions about the World of Corland here. Corland is the name of the world used as the setting of my Sword and Sorcery novels.

My novels span a timeline of about 7,000 years on a continent bigger than North and South America combined along with numerous islands. So, it's a big place, a long timeline, and many ideas. It can get confusing ... even for me!

Tom

Hey The, lol, I love that handle. Well, The, the books are set in the same world but have different characters and are not a series in the traditional sense. The order read is irrelevent. They are all heading towards a related conclusion.

I think I've gotten better at writing as I've gone so I think The Hammer of Fire is the best of the three. The Staff of Naught was my first and I wasted some time at the beginning with irrelevant characters. Still, I love some of the characters in that book.

I thought maybe the Staff of Sakatha could have had more of a "pop" ending but Jon Gray is my favorite character.

Even though the Sword of Water will be another Jon Gray book it also can be read out of order as events are not directly related to the Staff of Sakatha.

As usual, I've given a complex answer when a simple one would have sufficed.

You can read them in any order!

Thanks for the question,

Tom

I'm now working on my fourth novel in the Tales of Corland, The Sword of Water. Please post any questions or comments here.

Please posts any questions about philosophy including Libertarianism, Objectivism, or just about anything else!

Please post comments and question about my first novel, the Staff of Naught here.

This is the discussion board for questions and comments about my second novel. The Staff of Sakatha.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12...