Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Chronicles and getting back to my roots.

So, as much as I love Unda Vosari: Chronicles (as should you), I feel like I'm forgetting why it's here. I do love Lor and Colt and Genaya and Natalia (BUT FUCK MURAI, THAT USELESS BITCH), but that's not what Unda Vosari is.

Originally, it was a game.

It started as a desire.

I wanted pirates.

I'm currently writing Unda Vosari: Origins, which is a series of short stories that I'll attempt to get published as exactly that - short stories. They can be read individually, and will tell part of a larger tale, but they don't require the others to be read. That's the overall goal for me right now - to get back to my "roots" with Unda Vosari. Vincent, Lyri, Dorilys, Malim and Dean are going to be the central characters, but I may include some others (eventually).

Also on the table is the revisiting of Unda Vosari. What the hell do I mean by that? I mean the actual d20-based game setting I had in mind forever ago. Pirates, magic, ship-to-ship battle, wars, armies and epic tales of heroism and bravery. It was a project that I thought I had turned into a group effort, but once the group went away, so did the project.

That isn't the case anymore. The project needs to be done, because I need to see it through. Not because I think it'll be the next Planescape, Eberron or Forgotten Realms, but because it's something that, in the end, would mean more to me than anything the other three settings could provide combined.

I'm a dozen or so issues ahead of schedule on Unda Vosari: Chronicles, so I have some time to kill. I'm still actively working on Unda Vosari: Confrontations (as well as Unda Vosari: Origins), but that doesn't mean I can't "get back to my roots" and work on the one thing I know I'll feel more validated once I finish.

Coming soon - Unda Vosari.

Saturday, July 9, 2011

The Biggest Interlude Ever.

Slowly but surely, I'll be releasing a LOT of issues over the next month on the way to the big five-oh. By the end of August, issue 50 will be out. By the end of issue 50, lives will be lost, our heroes will find their world irreversibly changed and nothing is going to be the same.

What's that mean?

It means it's time to change gears.

Issue 51 is going to take place at the same time as issue 1. Issue 52 is going to take place at the same time as issue 2. Issue 53 is going to take place at the same time as issue 3. Are you beginning to see a pattern?

I hope so. What's the catch?

There's two sides to every coin, and every tale as multiple perspectives. The first 50 issues have shown us what happens to the adventurers and heroes of Unda Vosari: Chronicles. The following 50 issues will reveal what happens to the nobles and royalty of Unda Vosari: Chronicles.

Over the next few days, names are going to be dropped on the Chronicles character page that, currently, play little role in the world. Some of them will be introduced prior to issue 51, and some of them will be mentioned prior to issue 51, but as of issue 51, they will be the stars of the show. The following fifty issues will explain the role they play in the grand scheme of things, and we'll flip back to the heroes of the story in issue 100. This is to introduce a few more characters (as if I don't have enough to work with by now) and explain some of the behind-the-scenes events we'd miss out on if we only followed the heroes.

In short, stay tuned, because things are going to get interesting in a very new way very shortly!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Interesting Updates! Spoilers! Whee!

So, having obviously been getting some issues out, people may be wondering what's in store for our heroes...

Alucard and Murai have uncovered a cult with dark intentions and a very deadly goal... However, that's about to be second to the all-out war that Tir Na Eternity and Tir Na Incorrigible are going to wage on each other! Why would that happen? Because of our feared and fearless heroes!

Of course, that's also not even mentioning the destruction of the capital of Tir Na Incorrigible!

What does all this mean for our heroes? The middle ground they once enjoyed has just been destroyed, leaving them free-falling into a new world where they have no allies. On top of that, a very powerful enemy is about to surface, and a very large battle is looming on the horizon. By the end of it all, not all of our heroes will be around...

"When the dust clears, who will survive the Reckoning?"

Stay tuned!

Monday, March 14, 2011

Apologies And Insults!

First, I'm gonna apologize for not getting any new issues out - gimme a bit, I'll have a few up. I've moved halfway across town, had to get a bunch of stuff done and generally had no time to write.


Second, I'm also apologizing for the writer's block. I'm at the beginning of another story that's got me wondering WHO to start with, so I'm in the conceptual phase.


Third, writers fucking suck. All of you need to choke on a biscuit and die. Every single one of you. I hate all of you not because you're better or worse than me, but because what you write has absolutely no point whatsoever.


I will point out that there's a difference between writers and authors. The difference is that a writer writes, and an author composes. It's the difference between Van Gogh and a retard with a crayon up his nose dragging his face across the table, or some Jackass player with a flute up his ass and Beethoven.


A writer will have one or two characters and all their stories will revolve around that one or two characters and it's how AWESOME their life is and nothing ever goes wrong and it's always either an adventure without plot or a romance 

without reason. A lot of romance writers and idealistic (and immature) girls (sometimes high school but often well into their twenties or, even more sadly, thirties) fall into the group of "writers" that insist this type of dribble is art.

To quote TV Tropes...

The starry-eyed pacifist will be able to settle wars, get people to understand each other, and to destroy the Big Bad in a glowing ball of goodness entirely by accident. The cynic is often depicted as someone who would make matters worse, or a Knight Templar General Ripper advocating Nuke Em All as a solution to every problem. If the world is a horrible place to live, the heroes will fix it. And The Good Guys Always, Always Win. Abridged: Right Makes Might.


Newsflash, boneheads. You're not telling a story, you're writing something that has the literary value of a snot bubble that got wiped on the ads in the Sunday newspaper. People do want romance, yes, but if all they're doing is sitting around being lovey-dovey without any kind of plot beyond "Insert Tab A Into Slot B" (even if it's just any of that crap out of Red Shoe Diaries), it isn't a story, it's a scenario.

And a boring one at that.

If you need some inspiration, go look up your favorite movie, book or story on TV Tropes and see what kinds of tropes it uses. Make stories using some of those. At least use a mystery where the detective seduces information out of people. Christ, SPONGEBOB has more plot than some of the pisswater you're trying to pass off as beer.

... Anyway... More Unda Vosari: Chronicles soon. Also, the books are being worked on.

Friday, February 25, 2011

A Taste Of Things To Come

Okay, no really. There's no spoilers here, really, just a big ol' blog post about what's going on.

Unda Vosari: Chronicles is still going. I've got about 20 issues done, over half of which are up. I'm putting them up in arcs, more than individual stories, so each update is a full arc of at least two or three stories. Each part in the arc is a minimum of 1,000 words, and I do a full arc every two to three weeks. The only reason they're not all put up as soon as I do them is the urge to stay "ahead of the game" - if I get a bout of writer's block, I'm able to put up an arc or two and give myself a few extra weeks to get some more stories churning.

I gotta give a shout-out to Robby, who played Nordray back on Venomheart. He's actually downloaded Audacity and tried reading the story and making a recording of it. I'm hoping I can talk him into making a recording for the visually-impaired (which means you, Lacey)...

I'm also still working on digging through the TV Tropes website, looking for more tropes I may have (or have intentionally) used in both Unda Vosari: Legends (which is still on sale - email me if you want a copy) and Unda Vosari: Chronicles (which is free to read and online right here). Want a link to the TV Tropes Unda Vosari article? Here ya' go.

If anyone wants something specific added to the wiki, like character bios, more background or more stories, send me an e-mail and I'll see what I can do to get it included!

Sunday, February 13, 2011

A few ideas I'm running with.

"I've been with you the whole time."

I love retcons that aren't really retcons, they're just unexplored avenues of the past that weren't revealed until a certain point in the story.

I'm gonna drag Michael away and send him on a little side story (since I never really wanted him to be with the group in the capacity that he is now, which is to say "the bitch"). He's going to meet (or rather, he's met, as far as I've written) a character who's not quite omnipotent, but he's powerful enough that nobody's going to fuck with him. During this little "side-quest" he's going on, Michael will have the chance to impact some of the events of Solrac, the Eternal Fair and the childhood of Lorimarko and Coulton.

What's he going to do? He's going to see the past (and have influence over minor details) of Solrac, the Villa, the Eternal Fair and the Sands (see the Origins story for more details). Alucard and Murai, meanwhile, will continue on with the set plan that Lorimarko originally wanted (that Alucard sort of agreed with). What's this mean for ol' Michael? Means he'll know about the struggles that the other heroes have gone through up to this point, and explain in more detail the past of Lorimarko, Coulton and Alucard.

As usual, the story (always in progress) can be found at the Unda Vosari wiki in the Chronicles section!

Friday, February 4, 2011

Unda Vosari: Chronicles status!

To let everyone know, I've actually finished the first ten issues (and yes, each one is a minimum of 1000 words). For those keeping track, that means I've finished 5 issues more than I've put on the wiki. Issues 11-14 are already planned and, yes, I've finished the plot and just have to write it out in story form.

Issues 6 through 8, 9 through 11 and 12 through 14 all run concurrently.

Issues 6 through 8 (known as Raising The Stakes) deal with Lorimarko and Genaya retrieving the gems from Ratava. Issues 9 through 11 (collectively called Gauntlets of Eternity) deal with Coulton and Natalia retrieving the original gauntlets Ratava couldn't find. Issues 12 through 14 (refered to as Fall From Grace) deal with Alucard, Murai and Michael gathering the artifacts - a shield, enchanted armor and a whip - and discovering exactly who the ancient evil Alucard must face actually is.

Issue 15 actually kicks up the intensity and danger that the group faces, as the war between Eternity and Incor both take a very nasty turn... It's the beginning of the Unbreakable story arc...

Still without access to my hard drives, Unda Vosari: Dark Corner is on hold, as is Unda Vosari: Confrontations.

Monday, January 24, 2011

Previews and Spoilers!

Ratava possessing multiple Eternity Gems?

Several Greek deities from Earth each have one?!

Who's the mystery man holding three of them, and what warped things is he doing with them?

First, let's go into Ratava and the war with his brothers...

In the introduction blurb, I said that Ezra turned traitor against Eternia and hated his brothers, Dominic and Ratava. This is true.

In the first issue, I said that their rivalry to please the king culminated in Ratava and Dominic declaring war on Ezra, forcing the king to exile Ezra, and Ezra ran off to Incor. He, and Incor, wanted to defeat "the power-hungry Ratava and the mana-deranged Dominic" (yes, Ezra wants both of them dead).

In issue four, we learned Dominic discovered Ratava was up to no good. Dominic went to Ezra and was ignored, so he went to the King. Ezra discovered the Ratava was up to no good, but by then, Dominic was already exiled. Before the king could exile Ezra, Ezra defected to Incor, taking the proof with him. Dominic was all pissed off at Ezra, which is why he remained an Outlander.

So in short... Dominic discovered Ratava was making the gauntlets and gathering the gems, and went to Rabin. Rabin exiled Dominic (because Ratava was working for Rabin and Outlanders are less believed and trusted than citizens) and Ezra discovered why, so left, although Rabin "exiled" Ezra.

Ezra declared war on Dominic for not joining Ezra and Ratava for being batshit insane.
Dominic declared war on Ezra for not believing him and Ratava for being batshit insane.
Ratava declared war on Ezra AND Dominic because... Ratava's batshit insane.

Don't forget, of course, Rabin, who's all about destroying Incor, Ezra and Dominic and taking over the world. Naturally, he doesn't seem so insane in the public eye, but the cast will slowly figure that out...

But yes, Ratava does have several of the gems! That was almost assured us. Yes, four people, seemingly Greek GODS from EARTH of all places, will each have a gem. There's a single individual who DOES have three of them...

Shall we do some math?

Four Greek GODS each have one. One mystery man has three of them. Three plus four is seven, which leaves Ratava holding three... if all the guesses and estimations are correct...

Now, what's the mystery man doing with them? Building his perfect world, of course. The problem is, he doesn't have all the gems, so he's doing what he can with he can, which means there's going to be some laws of physics being broken...

More coming soon!

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Update on Unda Vosari: Dark Corners and the pre-release of Chronicles!

Back in Phoenix and writing in full force again. What's that mean? Releases and updates!

First, Unda Vosari: Dark Corners. The only thing left to do is Janimba's story, which will put him back in the Holy Lands. Good thing - that's all that's left to do. Bad thing - it's on the computer which is currently in a box, and I don't have the room to put it up. I'll see if I can get the book off the drive and finish that story to (finally) release Dark Corners.

Next, Unda Vosari: Chronicles. Got the first three stories done, and they're about a thousand words each. I may eventually set the bar a bit higher (a thousand words a month is pretty easy), but for now, a thousand words is plenty (at least per chapter). I'll release them later this month (both January and February at once, then March sometime in the middle of next month).

Finally, the actual novel. Since it's in three parts, I'll admit I don't even have the first story done, but I've already started on the second and third story (and, yes, I do know how they will end). I'm hoping for a release sometime in 2012...

Meanwhile, check out the Unda Vosari wiki for Unda Vosari: Chronicles, as well as (hidden!) spoilers about the novels and updates on releases, articles and interviews!

Monday, January 10, 2011

Delayed release of Dark Corners. :(

Totally forgot one character (who played only a semi-important role in the first novel, which is subsequently why I completely forgot he existed)...

Linden's got a story done. However, Janimba completely escaped my mind because his role in the first novel was small. His story in the SECOND novel, however, is much bigger - I just forgot to add the segue story in Dark Corners for him... It'll be a bit longer before Dark Corners goes to print... Sorry, folks!

In other news, I do plan on coming up with a list of songs (some of which may be remixes I've done) for an unofficial soundtrack of both the original Unda Vosari game, the Dark Corners novel and the unreleased Confrontations novel (that'd be the second novel). Check it out on the wiki!

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Lack of updates, tons of progress.

Sorry about the lack of updates, but I've been busy!

1) With the exception of one story (called "The Fighters Club"), Unda Vosari: Dark Corners is done.

2) I've outlined the entire series which is back up to some ungodly number of books that's likely to get cut again, but for now, it's a lofty goal.

3) Started a wiki. This is as much for me as other people. It does have a lot of info on upcoming books, what's already out and things like that.

4) Started a Twitter account. This is more a personal thing, but it keeps me in touch with folks.

5) Started a Tumblr account, which is more about my personal life than anything.

Also decided to start up a monthly series called Unda Vosari: Chronicles, which will go into the Mystic Isles and detail the War of the Mystics. That'll be a prequel/sequel series for Lorimarko, Eternia, Incor and the Villa (and the rest of the Outlands)... More on that later.