Friday, November 30, 2012

Just an update

Hello, I know it has been a while since I have posted on here last and I just want to let you few readers that I have know I haven't forgotten about you.  Life, unfortunately, gets in the way sometimes and I can't keep up with my blogs of my writing the way that I would like too.  Currently, I have a short story that I have completed called "Will the Last Person to Leave Please Turn Out the Sun".  I wrote this story partially as an exercise and partially because I needed a short break from "Tears of the Western Moon" after killing off one of my favorite characters as well as a sub-character. 

The way that this short story was an exercise for me was that I  find it very easy to tell a story as long as it has a large word count.  So in light of that, I set the restriction of 2k words for this short story.  One I finished it it came out to around 1850 words which is well within my limit that I set and I am happy with the results, now I just wait for initial reactions from my first draft reader before I start edits...

As for work on "Tears of the Western Moon"  I had gotten up to a word count of 39k words but needed to go back and delete 6k of that 39k.... very discouraging.  But I have since added 1k back to it and am now at 34k words.  I find myself struggling to continue this novel because the death of... the character who I killed off still depresses me and now I have to face the fact that she is dead  and move on with the story.  I will finish this book.  Then I will edit as I did with "Shadows of the Western Moon" and after edits are finished I will move on to the third novel in the trilogy. 

Anyway, just wanted to post an update for anyone that was interested.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

The Dreams of the Young

Hello there my few readers that I have, I want to talk to you today about dreams. No, not the type that you get when you close your eyes and go to sleep, instead I want to talk about the kind that you have when you are growing up.  Yes, those dreams like being a firefighter or astronaut. 
When I was growing up I had dreams, big dreams, small dream and average dreams just like I imagine every kid has.   I wanted to grow up to be a multitude of things ranging from policeman to ballerina to gymnast to archeologist to musician to published author… The list could go on and on.  Of those dreams I have accomplished some, though not necessarily to the degree that I desired, but the point is I have accomplished them.   I have been an officer of the law.   I have been a musician.  I have even been published twice with my poetry, though sadly no novels have been published yet. 
The point I guess that I am getting at is that there are dreams that were and/or are obtainable as long as I worked toward them.  Now obviously, some of the dreams I had when growing up were clearly impossible short of the existence of magic or extreme advances in science.  Those dreams I have had to come to terms with at they will never be anything more than just dreams but, the dreams I have that can be achieved I still work and strive toward.  One of those dreams, to become a published author or rather novelist, is very achievable as long as I keep at it. 
Now when I was young the dream was simply to write a novel and get it published.  Now I didn’t know about self-publishing when I was young and therefor that didn’t work into the dream.  Now that dream has expanded and grown as I have gotten older, now I know exactly by how and by who I want to be published.  Not to knock people who self-publish, but I do not think that self-publishing is for me, at least not at this point in my life.  I still want to sell the rights to my novels and be published by professional publishing companies, in particular Baen, Pyr or Tor. 
I hold this dream close to my heart and hope that one day I make it a reality…  That is all, that is all that this post is about.  Sorry if you found it disappointing but I just wanted to share that piece of me with you, my very few yet regular readers.  I hope that life finds you well and that many of your dreams will become reality for you too.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Sanguine Whispers


Just wanted to put this out there, this is a snippit from the novel "Sanguine Whispers" that I was working on before I started the Moonstones Trilogy novels.  Part of this novel is writen from the perspective of the serial killer while the other part is writen third person, following the privite detective that is trying to help the police catch him.  Tell me what you think. (btw, this is a VERY rough first draft.)

Slowly I trail a finger down her breast, passing it gently over her nipple causing her to shiver with pleasure beneath my touch.  Looking into her eyes I see the desire she has wanting me, needing me as I tease her body building the anticipation.  She wants me, she craves me, I can see it in the wild look in her eyes, she needs me.  Gently I kiss her, lips trailing her body, I feel her nerves racing, wondering where my lips will touch next.  I push her to the brink . . . before pulling back to admire my handy work.
            I look at her, examining her limp, loose body as it lies on the bed, waiting, waiting, waiting for me.  Months of preparation had led up to this point, this moment, where I will soon claim my prize.  My father once said, “Patience is a virtue my son, and as it is with any virtue, it will reward you in the end.”  Indeed, it was moments like this that prove that to be true, a perfect moment in time, one that will always be cherished. 
            As I look at her on the bed, my mind slips back, rolling over every delectable detail leading to the now.  I first spotted her while leaving the apartment of my last girlfriend, Jessica.  To be honest, it was the sound of her shoes that drew my attention with the little click, click, click, they made on the concrete of the sidewalk as she walked away from where I was standing.  She wore four inch black stiletto heels on her pretty little feet, dark stockings with the seam that ran up the back of her long, supple legs.  Her pinstripe skirt of the business suit she wore was tight fitting and displayed her tight butt quite well.  She had a tiny waist, shown by the tightness the matching pinstripe jacket she wore.  Her golden hair was pulled up into a tight french twist allowing me to see the soft skin of her neck and the perfect curve of her jawline.  I couldn't help it, I had to follow this vision of perfection that had caught my eye so suddenly. 
            I locked the door to Jessica's apartment quickly, left the key in the lock, and took off after her, removing my gloves as I followed.  She led me to a parking garage that was just around the corner.  Upon showing her pass to the attendant she was let in, I walked on in order not to draw attention to myself.  Just down the street there was a bench with a newspaper dispenser next to it.  I grabbed a paper and sat down, pretending to read while waiting for the next car to pull out of the garage.  I didn't have to wait long.  After a few minutes a black Mustang pulled out onto the street and, lucky for me, turned to head in the direction I had gone.  That is when I was given my first glimpse of her face and I knew at once, this angel was to be my next companion.
            Softly she calls my name, pulling me out of my revelry.  I lean in to hear what she has to say.  She is talking softly, so softly I must strain to hear her. 
            She is telling a story, a story of two young lovers who met by chance at a party shortly after the Civil War had ended.  They were so smitten by one another upon their first meeting that they almost immediately fell into the others arms.  That would have a scandalous affair though, had that occurred.  Instead they agreed after much dancing and time spent in each other’s company to meet later that night down by the banks of the Warrior River.  Soon the hour of truth came, and the maiden was sneaking out of her bedroom window to meet the young man who had wooed her that night.  He was waiting there for her and for the first time, they embraced.  After some time spent enjoying each other’s company they soon parted ways with the agreement to return the next night.  Not that many nights passed before they made love for the first time, it was a magical experience, making the world seem more alive in their eyes.  Soon, they got married, had several children and lived happily ever after till the day they died. 
            She asks me if I think that we will be that way.  I smile and simply tell her that it shall be so.  I resume the kisses I had been doing and soon she is ready. 
            She lets me know, in between the soft little pants that signal her arousal, that the time is right.  I work my way slowly back up her body, priming it for the gift to come.  As I make my way to her neck, caressing her skin with my lips, she opens for me and I enter. 
            My mind flashes back to the moment we met earlier tonight.  I had been watching the doors to the club her and her friends had gone too for some time, knowing that it was customary for them to leave before her.  The reason for this was that all her girlfriends were married and had families to get back too while she had just an empty house waiting for her.  She would hang around; usually about another two hours to see if she could find a nice young man to “hook up” with so that the night wouldn't be as lonely.  Sometimes she found one, but most times she didn't.
            Tonight, I had thought to myself as I watched her friends leave, tonight you will not leave empty handed.  Tonight you leave with me.
            Quietly I slipped into the club and made my way to the bar where I knew she would be sitting.  As I approached, I caught her eye immediately though I pretended not to notice.  I had dressed in a nice white polo and a pair freshly pressed khakis, “Dressed to impress,” as my father would say.  I sat down six seats to her left and ordered a beer before I gave notice of her presence.  I flashed a polite smile in her direction and turned to my beer.  As soon as I knew she wasn't watching me, I turned to watch her and whenever she would turn to look at me I would quickly look away blushing.  The eye flirting continued for a while before she finally approached me as I knew she would, having watched her perform this little game with several different men over the four month period I had spent observing her and learning about her.  She sat down beside me, eying me so intently I could swear there was a hunger lurking behind her eyes.
            “Hello there,” she said, smiling as she sat. “I’m Clarissa, and you are?”
            I smiled and gave her my name, telling her I was pleased to make her acquaintance.  She offered to buy me a drink, which I politely declined, telling her that it is only polite that I buy the drinks for her, not the other way around.  She accepted my kind offer and soon we were chatting it up, time was passing so quickly that before we knew it last call had come and gone.  She was more than a little drunk at that point and asked me if I would like to come back to her place where the setting would be a bit more intimate.  I, of course, agreed.
            She led me to her car and asked where my car was, I told her that I lived near the club so I had walked.  She nodded, accepting that explanation easily enough, then got into her car and unlocked the passenger side door for me.  The interior smelled heavily of the leather it was covered in, mixed with the intoxicating scent of her perfume.  I very nearly couldn't help myself as I leaned over to kiss her lightly on the cheek.  She murmured something I couldn't quite make out, then turned, kissed me deeply and smiled as she pulled away. 
            After a short drive we were at her building, and I helped her up the stairs to her to her apartment, which luckily was on the first floor.  As she unlocked her door I silently slipped out the syringe I had been hiding in my pocket the entire night.
            She stumbled inside, flicking the lights on, never looking back at me as I followed her and shut the door gently.  I slowly approached her from behind, kissing her shoulder gently before spinning her around and allowing my mouth to seek hers, it isn't hard to find.  She kissed me eagerly and I responded in kind, she didn't even feel the needle as I slid her skirt up, slipping it into the firm muscle of her buttock.
            We made our way to her bedroom, stripping off clothing as we go.  We were almost to the bed before her legs gave out.  I picked her up and carried her the rest of the way.  I lay her gently on the bed and one thing turns into another, past and present merge as her voice calls my name in the throes of passion.
            I collapse beside her, as my body gives out from exertion.  I look at her and can tell it was as good for her as it was for me.  Lounging beside her, as I catch my breath while she whispers sweet nothings in my ear, time ticks slowly away.  As minuets pass I gather my thoughts, knowing what is yet to come, anticipating the ritual that will make her mine for good.
            Climbing out of the bed after that seemed like hours, though was just mere minuets, I stand and gather her in my arms.  I carry her into the bathroom and am pleasantly surprised by the sight of a rather large spa styled bathtub.  Sitting her in the tub, I spot a bottle of scented bubble bath.  I turn on the water and make sure it is not too hot or cold, then add the scented bubble bath to the water, making lilac scented fluffiness on the water’s surface.  Bending down, I kiss her on the forehead and inform her I will be right back.
            I move back into the bed room, looking around for fresh sheets, I find some on the top shelf in her closet.  Stripping the dirty sheets off the bed and replacing them with the clean sheets, I make up the bed.  Then I move on to the kitchen, looking for garbage bags.  I find what I am looking for and return to the bedroom.  Bagging the old sheets up takes only seconds and I almost forget to grab the condom I had used. 
            With the basic clean up done in the bedroom, I return to the bathroom to check on the water.  The tub is nearly full.  I turn off the water and begin to bath Clarissa gently, washing her entire body, cleansing away anything that might sully her perfect skin.  Before long her skin begins to glisten like morning dew in the first rays of a rising sun.  Seeing that she is sufficiently clean, I turn my attention to her golden hair.
            I grab a nearby bottle of shampoo and gently begin to work her hair into a lather, taking steps to avoid tangling her lovely hair.  Upon finishing with her hair, I lift her gently out and towel her body off, making sure I get every last drop of water I can. 
            With her body now dry, I sit her down in a chair and begin to dress myself.  I look at her damp mass of hair when I finish and begin to search for a hairdryer, it doesn't take me long to find one.  Soon her hair is dry and brushed with a gently tousled look that I soon correct, fixing it into loose curls using a curling iron that I found with the hairdryer.  Her hair is soon a vision of perfection, like that of a doll, so perfect it almost seem surreal.
            I search some more in the bathroom and coming up with plenty of options for her makeup and nails.  I apply the makeup expertly and step back to admire my work, the doll comes to life.  I paint her well-manicured nails a crimson red to match the lipstick I had picked for her.  I tell her I will return shortly, then leave locking up behind myself. 
            I walk down the street to the parking lot I had stashed my car earlier that night before catching a cab to the club.  Driving myself home, I look back at what a success tonight has been so far.  It is not often things go so smoothly, but tonight has been nothing but smooth sailing. 

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

The Exercise in Futility

What is it like to be me?  So many of you just do not and cannot understand.  It’s a struggle daily that I go through just to be me.  I wish I could make you feel the way that I feel in hopes that it would give them some insight into what I deal with day in and day out, yet that is beyond me.  How can I articulate my version of reality to the world?  How can I make you know a tenth of the pain I feel so that you would understand and not lash out at me from fear of what you can’t truly comprehend?  Well, the closest think I can think of is to try to present an analogy that will hopefully demonstrate what everyday life is like for me.
To start off, close your eyes.  Now, imagine yourself, or rather, your self-image, got it?  Good.  Now open your eyes and go to the nearest mirror and look in it.  Does what you see in the mirror look at least similar to your self-image?  It should at least be close to what you saw in your mind’s eye.  Now imagine that instead of seeing yourself in the mirror you see someone of the opposing gender. 
In this scenario you are still yourself, in all regards, same personality, same likes and dislikes, same preferences, but whenever you look into that mirror you see the other person.  Now because you see that other person in the mirror, you know that that is, for all intents and purposes, how the world sees you despite that in your mind’s eye and even your dreams you see yourself differently.  This is what you look like physically.  Since this is what you look like, people are going to treat you accordingly and expect you to act accordingly, if you do not, then you are a freak and a danger to society, therefor you are under threat of attack if people find out about the inner you.  So you learn to play the role that fits your outer shell in order to hide who you really are inside.  You do this every day of your life, day in and day out, never letting that inner you out even though you only want to be able to be yourself and be accepted for who you really are.  You keep him/her caged inside, locked away for your safety and sanity as you play the role that has been dealt to you by God.  You are never able to freely be yourself or express yourself, you can only be the person that society dictates you must be whether you like it or not.
That is an idea of what my life is like.  It sucks.  It has sucked ever since I was young and started getting my behavior corrected by the people around me lest I stand out too much.  That little exercise pales in comparison to the way it actually feels to live my life, but I hope that it helps you to understand the pain I feel.  So, what is it like to be me?  So many of you do not understand but maybe if you try then the world will be a little bit brighter for people like me.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

My Voice Has Been Stolen

Why can’t I say what I mean to say when I speak?  I try to convey my thoughts and feelings in an effort to express myself through speech yet only incoherent noise escapes my lips.  No matter how hard I try, how hard I struggle; the words just don’t come out right.  All I want to do is speak my mind, to let people know who I am and what I think, yet as always it comes back to the fact that I cannot speak. 
I think it comes from the need to hide who I am from the world.  All my life I have been told that I had to conform to the role that society has set for me.  When I was growing up every time I did something that did not fit into the role that someone thought I should fit into, I was mocked and ridiculed, told I was a freak.  Overtime I learned to fit into the role that had been defined for me, conform lest I be destroyed.  Because of this I am an actor, an actor of the stage of life, one of the best actors that have ever lived.  I have the whole world fooled.  They look at me and they see exactly what they expect to see, the person that they think I should be and it only cost me my voice. 
The world sees the shell, not the person inside.  If they could see to my core they would see that she is screaming in frustration, desperately wanting to be heard, yet I keep her locked away as the thirty two years of my life have told me I should.  Her eyes are filled with tears of frustration at not having a voice, being able to watch life go by but not able to do anything to affect it.  If she were to show herself, and the world was to see her, then all the hate, all the pain that led to where she is now would be heaped once again upon her shoulders and it would break her. 
She wants to be free… I want to be free.  This life of hiding is slowly killing me.  I am tired of hiding behind this façade I put up.  I am tired of having to fit the role that people have thrust upon me.  I am tired and I just want it all to end.  It’s not fair that I was forced to live this life.  I didn’t want it.  If it wasn’t for the one that I love above all others I believe I would have chosen to end this long ago.  She is the only one who has ever listened to me and accepts me for who I am.  She doesn’t judge me.  She makes life bearable when I think it is getting to be too much.  Yet, despite the fact that I can be myself around her, even in her presence I cannot speak.  The struggle is still there no matter what. 
The struggle is still there, no matter what.  I try as hard as I can, yet I struggle still.  It makes me want to scream, to shout, to cry and to lash out to try to force it due to the frustration that I am filled with due to my inability to express myself.  Sometimes I just don’t know what to do.  I just want to be able to be myself without fear of the world and the people in it.  It is enough to make me wish that magic were real so I could just magically correct the issue that has led me to hide myself.  Unfortunately that is not the way reality works though. 
Perhaps if I were braver then maybe I could present my face to the world for all to see, yet I am a coward and I know it.  I see other people that are just like me that are willing to do what they feel that they must, opening themselves to attack, and I am jealous of them and the spine that they have.  I want to be them so bad.  If I was them then I wouldn’t have to be me, I would be braver and not have to live in fear… at least that is what I think.  Sometimes I wonder if they had to deal with the same kind of thoughts that I deal with in this regard. 
But, as much as I sometimes wish I could be them, that doesn’t change the fact that I am me.  So I hide, I cry, I hurt and ache.  I struggle daily with these thoughts, knowing that nothing will ever change because of my fear and cowardice.  I know that with what little I have said here I still have barely scratched the surface of what I wanted to say but, as I have mentioned before, I cannot speak.  I have tried to speak my mind and use my voice but I know that I have not articulated even a tenth of what I feel.  Oh well, life goes on.  Maybe one day I will find my voice once more, but till then I hide, I cry, I hurt and I ache. 

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Into The Fray, A New Character Appears


Figured I would post an update for everyone on how the new novel is going.  So far I am only a little over 18k words into “Tears of the Western Moon” which, considering I am not writing on the weekends (which believe me is kind of hard because I do want to write) and only aiming for the tiny goal of 1k words per day of writing, I think I am doing well.  I am maintaining my pace and not rushing the novel which was the way I wanted to do this one to see if I could avoid a lot of the errors that I caught when editing “Shadow of the Western Moon”.  
So far, when it comes to the journal entries I mentioned in my last post, I have added only one more journal entry.  Right now I am planning in there being about 6 to 12 total, but right now I am still working out exactly where to place each one.  So far I have let the placement come naturally, but I suspect that when I get down to editing this novel I will have to rearrange where they fall, but so far that doesn’t seem to be a problem.
Also, I am considering, due to the length of the first novel and the projected length of the second novel, that I may end up combining the two novels into one novel, making them part 1 and part 2.  As for the third book, with what I have planned, I think it will fall around to about 100k words so the current plan is for it to stay a novel in its own right.
Also, as a slight update on my characters.  I have had a new character added to the story, though I still don’t know if he is a main character or not.  His name is Jackson Lee and at first he appeared to be the crazy eyed, foul smelling hobo type (Though he does clean up quite nicely) who no one would want to keep around, but, as it turned out, due to events that transpire, Sephira is able to see Jackson’s true nature and warms up to him as a friend.  She even went so far as to invite him to join the group as they travel southward since Jackson has not seen any of the outside world (he is from the Underground of New Babylon) and was very intent on learning what he could from her.  As a result, I now have five characters traveling together which consists of the main three, Jonah, Alissa and Sephira, as well as two sub-characters that may or may not be main characters in the end consisting of Doctor Sliss and Jackson Lee.  On top of that, there is a mysterious Ibian that keeps popping up from time to time that appears to be following the group as well.
In other news, I have officially sent out my query letter to the first agency that I am considering using.  Considering that this was my first time ever writing a query letter, I hope that I did a semi-professional job with it.  It took me around 6 hours to write it as well as double and triple checking it before mailing it off.  I am extremely nervous about it and want to hear good news back, but I also realize that this is my first query, so as optimistic as I want to seem, I realize the chances of rejection, before even getting the chance to send part of my novel to them, is high.  But, as I like to say, I’m crossing my fingers but not holding my breath. 
Also, while I wait on a reply, I am thinking about sending my novel off to a professional editing agency to do a quick edit and possible critique.  Not sure if I should or not, but it is something that I am considering.
Anyway, thank you for your time today and I hope that you found this little post interesting.  Sorry I haven’t included any more excerpts, but I hope that you will understand if I want to keep the remainder of the excerpts off the blog until I have finished the novel and gone through the editing process like I did with the first one.  Till next time then, take care.

Wednesday, February 29, 2012

"Tears of the Western Moon" Update with Expanded Prologue Preview

I have added to the Prologue since my last post and wanted to update it for all who are interested.  This is probably the last time I will throw a preview of the prologue up since it will probably be edited and added to again once I start the editing process.  The reason I added what I did is I initially felt that the prologue was too short, indeed it is still a bit short for my tastes now, but I was also struggling with how to tell some backstory that would explain how thing came to be the way that they are.

This edit is my attempt to fix that and so far I am pleased with the results.  The journal entries that tell the now ancient history of the planet as well as the history of the moon, Sila, will be scattered throughout the novel.  The main concern I have with doing this is creating a jarring experience for the reader, but fixing problems like that is what editing is all about.

So far I am over 10k words into the novel and while I am shooting for just 50k to start off, I am hoping I surprise myself and take it all the way to 100k or more.  Also, in case you were wondering about the format in which this is written…  I am writing this way for multiple reasons, one, it will make the manuscript easier to get ready for publishing if it is already in this format and font, and two, I like the way it looks in general. 

Prologue
          They watched and they waited as time slowly passed them by.  The Watchers watched as they had done now for thousands of years, waiting for the sign, the sign that would tell them it was time to awaken the Sleepers.  They knew that the time was drawing near, they could hear the pulse.  The pulse, the rhythm of life, they could hear it slowly fading. High in their orbital position above the planet’s surface they watched, they waited, they listened. 
All of the Organics were now gone from the station, their dreams though still living on within the Watchers and the Sleepers.  The Organics had built them well, made them to last.  Their programming was infallible.  If necessary, the Watchers would wait till eternity, though they knew that that would not be the case, for the pulse was slowing, fading and soon the sign would come.  Then great machines would them spring into action, fulfilling their purpose once more. 
In the vacuum of space there was little to cause damage to the great machines as they watched and waited, indeed, the biggest threat that they had experienced was a loss of power that occurred in the early days, before the Organics had all vanished.  Thanks to the Organics that had made them, the machines had an unlimited source of power which had aided them over the many years of their vigil.  Strategically placed mirrors that reflected light from the sun when it was on the opposing side of the planet below, kept the solar panels on the back side of the station fed, preventing another outage like that one in the early days.  This prevented to station and the machines within from running out of power which was important to the task that the Watchers were charged with. 
Electricity sparked as the Watchers summoned the records of the past from deep within their circuitry.  They didn’t know why they did this, but it seemed whenever they reflected back to the past in anyway, the records would come to fill the void of memory.  Perhaps it was just their programming but whenever the records would com they could not help but turn their attention slightly inward toward the record to view it, as if there was some hidden message within for them to glean despite that fact that they had watched these records thousands of times before throughout the centuries.
#
Journal Entry #1282
Date – 06/12/2234
Project - Sila
Status – 23.4 percent complete
We have completed the framework of the space station Sila and have started installation on the power stations that will power the station once it is complete.  So far everything is running smoothly and we have had no complications to report.  Once the power stations are complete we will then get the solar panels installed and once we have confirmation that everything is in working order we will start building that machines that will be assigned to run that station once it is complete.  They should be able to aid in the construction and speed the project up. 
As project manager, I feel that that is the best course of action since we received word that the first of the immigrant ships will be arriving from Earth in roughly ten years’ time.  That severely limits our time tables on this project but I have faith that we will pull through and have everything ready before they get here.  My family should be on that ship and I can’t wait to see them once again.  Maybe this new planet will be the perfect new home for us to start over so that our children and our children’s children will have a chance to enjoy a world that is pure and free of the corruption we wrought on Earth.
The Yggdrasil project has been completed on the planet’s surface for some time and is awaiting our completion with the station.  Once Sila is complete we will unleash the Tears and pray that our calculations were correct and this planet can indeed be suitable for life.  I hope against all hope that we were correct.  If we were, then the Tears working with the Yggdrasil should bring this planet to life, like a virgin Earth, that has been unspoiled by our hands.  I hope that we learn from our mistakes on Earth.  
All of us here on the Sila project are hoping that we succeed in time and that all of this will not be in vain.  Reports from Earth indicate that the situation there is deteriorating rapidly and all their eyes are turned to us in this faraway planet tucked into the corner of our galaxy. 
We here at the Sila project realize the weight of our burden and hope that we are strong enough to see it through.  The Tears will be ready on time, even if we have to die to make it so. 
End Journal Entry #1282
#
Soon, soon, the Watches whispered among their circuits as the record came to a close. The signal will be shown to us once again.  Soon, we shall awaken the Sleepers.  Soon it will be time once again, time to unleash the Tears of Sila once more. 

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

The Words Continue Of Bone And Sinew

It is official.  I have started my second novel.  As you all should know by now, my first novel “Shadows of the Western Moon” is currently going through its first proofread.  I was going to wait until that proof read was done and I had started finished my second edit before starting the second novel.  Well, long story short, I got tired of waiting to write it and wanted to start it while the ideas were still fresh in my head, so I have started it.
The name of the second novel is going to be “Tears of the Western Moon” and it starts off just a couple of weeks after the events of “Shadows of the Western Moon”.  I am hoping with this one to not only expand upon the 2 main characters from the first novel, Jonah and Alissa, but also to really develop the two characters Sephira and Doctor Sliss, since they play a much larger role in this novel.  As I am finding out as I write this second novel, the first one was just the prelude to the real journey that these four characters experiencing. 
Currently I am only little over 6,000 words into the new novel and like the first; my goal is 50,000 just like it was for NaNoWriMo.  The main difference between now and NaNoWriMo is that I am taking a much more relaxed pace this time around when writing.  When I was participating in NaNoWriMo I had to have a daily goal of 1,667 words in order to hit my 30 day goal of 50,000 words.  Even though I was able to hit my goal of 50,000 words in 25 days instead of thirty, it was rather stressful at times, so this time around I am removing the 30 day limit from the equation.  My goal is to write 1,000 words per day with the exception of Saturday and Sunday.  On those two days I am not going to write anything. 
The second novel will be completed when it gets completed and I am not going to rush it.  I am hoping that by doing this, it will make the first time I edit it go a lot smoother then the first novel did.  I had to completely rework sections of the first novel because of grammatical errors that could have been avoided the first time around if I had not been in such a hurry.
But anyway, here is a little taste of what the new book has in store for you.  This is the prologue which isn’t very long but sets things up quite nicely.  This is the very first rough draft of this which has not yet been edited in any way.  I hope you enjoy.
Prologue
          They watched and they waited as time slowly passed them by.  The Watchers watched as they had done now for thousands of years, waiting for the sign, the sign that would tell them it was time to awaken the Sleepers.  They knew that the time was drawing near, they could hear the pulse.  The pulse, the rhythm of life, they could hear it slowly fading. High in their orbital position above the planet’s surface they watched, they waited, they listened. 
All of the Organics were now gone from the station, their dreams though still living on within the Watchers and the Sleepers.  The Organics had built them well, made them to last.  Their programming was infallible.  If necessary, the Watchers would wait till eternity, though they knew that that would not be the case, for the pulse was slowing, fading and soon the sign would come.  Then great machines would them spring into action, fulfilling their purpose once more. 
In the vacuum of space there was little to cause damage to the great machines as they watched and waited, indeed, the biggest threat that they had experienced was a loss of power.  Thanks to the Organics that had made them, the machines had an unlimited source of power which had aided them over the many years of their vigil.  Strategically placed mirrors that reflected light from the sun when it was on the opposing side of the planet below, kept the solar panels on the back side of the station fed.  This prevented to station and the machines within from running out of power which was important to the task that the Watchers were charged with. 
Soon, soon, the Watches whispered among their circuits. The signal will be shown to us once again.  Soon, we shall awaken the Sleepers.  Soon it will be time once again, time to unleash the Tears of Sila once more. 

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

"The Moonstones Trilogy" Information part 3

Ok, I have finish my first (rough) outline at least, that is to say, I have finished all that I am going to post.  I don't want to spoil the book for anyone which is why I am leaving third section empty for when it comes to public veiwing.  If someone I know really wants to read that part of the outline I will let them upon request.  But anyway, here is that last little bit, once again, spoiler free.              
                        2.4  Charne
2.4.1        Description – Charne is a massive ruin that once used to be a bustling city that was located in the middle of the Tulk Valley which is in the middle of the Sarphine Jungle and to the west of the Mindas Rift.  It is also located far to the west of Ib.  The ruined city is made mainly of dark grey stone that resembles marble.  All of the buildings are craved from this stone as well as all of the giant cobblestones that make the streets.  The only structure that is not made of this marble like stone is the huge pyramid that sits at the heart of the city.  Whereas most of the buildings in Charne are relatively short with flat roofs, the pyramid stands out because if it’s height.  It towers over the rest of the city with a lone temple that sits at the very top of it.  The pyramid and the buildings within a few blocks of it are the only structures that have not been claimed by the jungle.  The rest of the city has been slowly taken over by the plant life of the jungle.  Some of the structures on the outer edge of Charne are little more than piles of rubble due to the jungles encroachment.  The ruins have been long since picked over by looter and nothing of value remains.
2.4.2        History – The city of Charne wasn’t always a huge city.  It started out as a small village.  It wasn’t until Sephira and her husband Cain settled there that the village began to grow where it eventually became the city that it was.  When Sephira and Cain came to settle in the village, the natives of the village saw a massive population bloom as birthrates jumped and the abundance of food seemed to mysteriously increase.  This led to not only the city growing because of natives multiplying, but also growing because of many people immigrating to the area to take advantage of the seemingly supernatural life bloom.  Charne grew rapidly until it became the huge city that it was.  When her husband died of old age, Sephira became one of the main draws from both near and far to the city since she seemed to have the mysterious ability to cure any ailment short of death and old age.  She set herself up as a healing woman in order to support herself, never demanding money or wealth, all she asked was that the people that she helped would help her with her basic needs, food, clothing, and repairs to the home that she and her husband had shared.  As her reputation grew in not only the region, but the world as well, everyone wanted her help.  This led to the ruler of Charne, a paranoid man, to make decisions behind Sephira’s back by blocking requests for her to travel to other cities to help the people there.  The ruler was afraid that if she were told about any of the cases that could not be brought to her that she would leave to go to them and not come back because the people that she would travel to go see would prevent her from returning.  This is what led to the Ibians eventually taking up arms against the city of Charne since their requests for the healer had been denied several times.  Ib’s king was deathly ill and the Ibians were just wanting Sephiras aid so that their king could live.  When the final denial came back to them from Charne, they decided that is she would not come to them, they would go and get her or, if possible, her source of power.  Ib brought the full force of it technological might against the city of Charne, slaughtering all that stood in their path.  The few survivors of the attack buried their dead and then mysteriously vanished into the fog of history.
2.5  Westerfield
2.5.1        Description – Westerfield is a medium sized city that has not grown much over the many years that it has been around.  It is one of about two dozen cities of equal size that make up the Republic of Bethel.  Bethel rests far to the south of New Babylon across the southern Andronicus Sea.  Westerfield is the oldest city of the state and because of this is the capitol of Bethel.  The city itself is not what most would expect of a capitol city.  It has a very “wild west” feel to it with how open the city is.  There are no real walls around the city which is customary of all the cities of Bethel, instead they have fencing that surrounds the cities with short watch towers scattered along the perimeter.  Westerfield is surrounded by many acres of developed farm land that fills the gaps between it and the other cities that form the state.  The farmlands all have housing and barns that are close together inside a fenced in area similar to the cities.
2.5.2        Districts – Westerfield, like all the cities of Bethel, has no discernible districts other than a marketplace that is set aside for shops, skilled tradesmen, farmers and traveling merchants.  Everyone is seen as an equal as long as they pull their fair share of the work to keep things running smoothly.
2.5.3        The People – The People in Westerfield, indeed all the people of Bethel, are a hardy and rugged folk.  They believe that hard work and good strong moral principles make a man (or woman) respectable.  Everyone is seen as an equal in the Republic of Bethel and as such, every man has a vote with which they can use to choose a representative who will take a place for two years in that capitol to help create and uphold the laws of the land.  There are very few criminals among the people; this is mainly due to the harshness of the punishments for committing crimes in Bethel.   The people of Bethel have been tempered over the years from not only hard work but also dealing with the undead plague that comes from the west.
2.6  Yggdrasil
2.6.1        Description – Yggdrasil, also known as “The World Tree” or “The Tree of Life”, stands to the far west of the Republic of Bethel.  Its branches once stretched high into the sky reaching higher anyone could have thought possible.  The great tree was once green and full of life, supplying and abundance of life-force to the planet.  Its massive roots once provided shelter for weary travelers and were large enough that people were known to settle under where they rose up forming a natural shelter.  It would take days to walk around the trunk of the great tree, not because of the obstacles caused by the root system, but because the tree itself was just that massive.  But all of that is in the past.  The great tree is slowly dying.  It has been dying for hundreds of years, ever since Sephira was murdered at the hands of the Ibians.  Somehow her life-force was tied into the life of the great tree and once she was killed, Yggdrasil started to wilt for the first time since the tears of Sila fell upon it.  Now the tree is a pitiful sight to behold.  Its limbs are almost completely bear and what few leaves remain are all wilted and blackened with rot.  The wood of the tree itself crumbles to the touch as decay has taken its toll.   As the great tree withers the life of the planet slowly dies.  What was once a lush place full of life is now filled with death.  It is believed that the great tree can be restored but, as each day passes and the tree decays a little more, hope is turning to despair.
2.7  Sila
2.7.1        Description – Sila is the silvery western moon.  It rises in the northwest traveling to the southeast as it trails across the sky.  When it is full, Sila is bright enough for people to see clearly at night, even seeming to break through the clouds to illuminate the earth below.
2.8  Illsa
2.8.1        Description – Illsa is the golden eastern moon.  It rises in the northeast and sets in the south west.  Illsa is slightly smaller than its sister satellite Sila and instead of putting off a bright silvery glow as Sila does, Illsa appears to be a faint golden glow as it travels the sky.  The light from Sila always outshines Illsa with the exception of when Sila is eclipsed by Illsa.
2.9  The Wastelands
2.9.1        Description – The Wastelands surround the city of Ib and are a result of the curse that was placed upon the Ibian people as a result of the horrific nature by which they received the Moonstone.  The lands are blackened and filled with twisted coniferous plant life that makes travels though the wastes a dangerous task.  Not only do travels in the wastes have to deal with the plant life, but they also have to deal with the strange metamorphic creatures that inhabit the wastes.  No one knows where these monsters came from or what they used to be before the Wastelands twisted everything within them.  Over all, the wastes look fairly barren as it is not suitable to sustain life for most forms of life in the world.
3.      Key Events (not for public eyes due to spoilers)
3.1

Monday, February 13, 2012

"The Moonstones Trilogy" Information part 2

I have gotten the first three cities outlined and am placing them for your viewing pleasure.  I would have waited till I completed all ot the locations but as you can see, there is quite a bit of info in the three that are complete.  I will add more upon finishing them.
                     2.      Places
2.1  New Cardeth
2.1.1        Description – New Cardeth is located on the northern portion of the Illos landmass.  It is a huge city state that is run by a supposedly Democratic government but in truth it is ruled by The Authority.  The city covers many miles of land with many districts that fill its walls.  In general the city is fairly flat with only a few tall buildings.  It is surrounded on all four sides with natural barriers.  To the east are the Wastelands, a large and desolate land where few creatures live.  To the south there are the massive Revel Mountains which stretch far to the south, almost toward New Babylon.  To the East lies the great Ismouth Sea that is rumored to have a mysterious landmass on the other side of it.  To the north is the looming Landrie Cliff, which stretches high about the city.
2.1.2        Districts – The city is composed of several key districts.  Each one of these have sub-districts in them, but those are not considered as important as the key district itself.  To the eastern portion of the city lies the Merchant district which also houses the docks.  This district is full of color and sound as shops offer everything from the mundane to the bizarre.  To the north is the Whitehall district only the very wealthy and the politicians live.  In the center of the Whitehall district lies the capitol building where the politicians make a spectacle of running things.  Set into the cliff that lines the northern part of the district is a structure that The Authority uses as its base of operations.  The reason that the Whitehall district gets its name is because of the large white archways that line the streets, giving the illusion that you are inside a hallway when you are on street level.  This is one of the few areas that have gas lamps to light the streets and pathways.  To the west is Low-Town, a massive sprawl where the poorer citizens live.  The streets in Low-Town tend to be muddy and worn while the buildings are rundown shacks that are constantly having random pieces of junk and scraps of metal added in order to keep them from falling apart. Low-town is also one of the few parts of New Cardeth that actually has a wall that forms a barrier against the outside world. On the other side of the wall are the fields that supply a large amount of the produce that New Cardeth citizens consume.  To the south is the Mining district where all of the ore that is mined from the mines in the Revel Mountains.  This ore and metal production is the lifeblood of New Cardeth’s economy when it comes to trade with the rest of the world.
2.1.3        The People – The people of New Cardeth come in all varieties and all walks of life.  The wealthiest tend to stay in the Whitehall district where they indulge themselves with the newest technological advances in clockwork, steam power and gas power technologies.  The poorest of the population tends to stick to the Low-Town and Mining districts because that is closest to the areas that they tend to labor.  The people of these districts are some of the happiest and most fulfilled people in New Cardeth.  They tend to be inventive, creating new gadgets that they then use to improve their lives.  The merchants in the Merchant district tend to stick to the areas where they set up their shops.  Merchants come from all over the world to trade in New Cardeth and because of their presence the city is booming economically.
2.2  Ib
2.2.1        Description – Ib is a massive metallic city that is located in the center of the Wastelands, to the west of New Cardeth, far across the Thane River.  It has massive wall of blackened metal that surround the city to protect its citizens from the dangers of the Wastelands.  All along the wall are towers where the Ibians can keep watch, looking for miles out into the wastes.  The only way into the city it through one of four massive metal gates that are several feet thick and require a complex mechanical system to open.  Once inside an observer would find the streets lined with black and grey cobblestones while all the buildings are made out of the same type of metal as the wall and gates.  The odd thing about the metal that the structures are built out of is that the metal seems to be seamless.  There is no evidence of any kind of cutting or wielding on any of the metal.  The city has no discernible districts within its walls and all the buildings, home and businesses seem to be evenly placed around the city as if no one really had a plan when working on the layout of the city.  The only area that really differs from the rest of the city is in the heart of the city.  It is a huge court yard that is about a mile across and has only one key feature in its center, a massive monolith that is carved with murals depicting the Yggdrasil and the story of Sephira.  The main feature of this monolith is a depiction of Sephira in which the original Moonstone is mounted in.
2.2.2        Districts – Ib has no real discernible districts because all of the citizens are considered as equals and when the city was formed the leader at the time felt that creating districts would separate and divide the citizens of Ib.  Because of this, everything seems to be scattered out, with no truly discernible order to the layout.  
2.2.3        The People – The citizens of Ib are a strange lizard like race that are extremely technologically advanced though knowledge of how to use most of the technology has been lost over the years.  Only over the last two hundred years have the citizens started to try to learn about the technology that they possess in an effort to regain their past.  This has given them an edge on the rest of the world technologically which is not a bad thing for them considering how the Ibians are viewed in most places.  The Ibians also have a strange form of speaking which confuses most humans due to the way that they twist and rearrange words when speaking.  It is difficult for humans to tell the difference between male and female Ibians, therefor the Ibians tend to wear clothing that matches their gender at the time.  Ibians are also able to swap their gender as a method for keeping population levels at the correct level. The Ibians reproduce by laying eggs and their young are born able to eat solid foods.  Ibians come in a large variety of color combinations that make it easy to distinguish between individual Ibians.
2.3  New Babylon
2.3.1        Description – New Babylon is a towering city comprised of an intricate mix of stone and wood.  It is located far to the southwest of New Cardeth and southeast of Ib on the southern side of the Revel Mountains.  The city sits on the edge of the Great Manid Plateau, where it borders the Ismouth Sea.  The City itself is an impressive sight to see as it stands so tall that the top levels are sometimes hidden from view on the ground by clouds.  All along the inner and outer walls of the city are colorful hanging gardens that fill the air with the light delicate scent of flowers.  Once inside the city, there is an impressive system steam powered pulleys that operate hundreds of elevators that allow for travel between the different levels of the city.  All throughout the city all of the wood and stone that is not covered by plant life is instead covered by intricate geometric carvings.  On the side of the city that faces the Ismouth Sea, there is a dock for seafaring merchants.  From the dock it can be seen that the city extends far below the surface at the top of the Great Manid Plateau since a portion of the city is exposed at the base of the huge cliff formed where the plateau meets the sea.
2.3.2        Districts – The way that New Babylon is set up when it comes to districts is actually the way that most people would think that it would be set up.  The lower the tier of the towering city that you lived on, the lower your station in life.  The lowest of these tiers being the subterranean portion of the city.  This underground section of city houses all of the steam machines that power the city and all of its workings as well as provides heating during the cooler seasons.  The tier above that, the one that is on the ground level as well as a few levels above, are home to a massive market area where the merchants and traders from all over come to sell their goods.  Above that is the first tier that is considered for civilized use.  The higher you go up the towering city the larger and more extravagant the housing units become until you reach the very top which sits high above the clouds.  This tier is reserved only for what are considered the best of the best, with the very top level belonging to the royal family.  It is here that the royal castle sits high above the earth.
2.3.3        The People – The citizens of New Babylon are very focused on class.  What tier a citizen was born on can dictate their entire life.  There is no moving up in New Babylon no matter what, where a citizen is born is they have cast their lot in life, with one exception.  If a citizen commits a crime and is found guilty, they can be shifted down to a lower tier.  If this were to happen, that individual can expect to have everyone who they have ever known on the tier that they were in to treat them as if they had never existed.  This would mean that they would lose all family and friends that they had known their entire life.  Each citizen that lives on each tier look at the people on the tiers below them as little more than animals.  The one exception to this is the ground level where the merchants and traders are.  They are always treated as equals to all tiers due to that fact that they are the life blood of the economic machine that keeps New Babylon running.  The people on the subterranean tier are treated the worst of all.  They live their lives for the sole purpose of keeping the giant steam engines hot so that they can utilize the sea waters to power the city.  They slave in the heat of the engines for twelve hour shifts so that those above them can live in comfort.  The lowest tier is run like a prison and in order to be sent there a citizen would have to of committed an especially heinous crime, otherwise they are the people who were just unfortunate to have been born on the lowest level.  As for the upper tiers, little is known about what exactly they are like as the people who live on them feel that it is beneath them to socialize with those from a lowers station in life.  There rumors from the lower citizens that the citizens on the upper tiers have been working on a massive ship that is said to sail the skies.
2.4  Charne
2.5  Westerfield
2.6  Yggdrasil
2.7  Sila
2.8  Illsa
2.9  The Wastelands
3.      Key Events (coming soon)
3.1