I've got the "Prelude" and "Issue 0" of Unda Vosari Chronicles on the Patreon, as well as the first and second issues. I've also got a map up, although it's still not finished... I'm notoriously bad when it comes to mapping because naming cities is a pain in the ass (despite the fact I've got well over a third of the entire population of every major city named, you'd think I can name a city but NOPE, I can't name cities).
So far, I haven't gotten any patrons to sign up, but I'm not surprised. Most of the people I know haven't been interested in my writing at all, let alone enough to support my endeavors. That doesn't mean I'm gonna stop - it just means I have to focus on getting the bills paid before continuing the writing process (which is generally me just sitting down and putting fingers to keyboard, since I already KNOW what's going on, I just haven't typed it all out).
I plan on doing an issue or two a month, at the rate I'm going. We'll see how it goes.
Saturday, March 14, 2015
Friday, February 27, 2015
Patreon, Chronicles and Confrontations
Big news first.
Patreon is a website that allows content creators to gain patrons that pay for work either by-piece or monthly (giving access to the work for the duration of the patronage is in effect).
Chronicles is back in full-swing. I'm gonna do at least a full 1,000-word "issue" a month, although I also plan on adding a bit here and there of "side stories" that involve Vincent and Dashade. Most of it will be Lorimarko and Genaya in the Mystic Isles (and I'm actually more focused on the "background" of the setting itself than I am the characters).
Speaking of Vincent, Confrontations (the second book) is pretty much finished - I just need to talk to my editor and send what parts I've got her way. I'm also wondering if I could talk her into editing Chronicles, but I haven't approached her with that, yet, since it's slightly less daunting but requires more presence (meaning, we'd have to schedule things at least once every couple of weeks).
I'm still wary about the course the story is taking. Maybe I need to invest in some kind of metaphysical lasso so I can rein the destruction back in.
Thursday, February 20, 2014
When the story writes itself...
It isn't always the best thing.
I sat down a couple of months back and finished the first third of Confrontations. The second and third parts are about halfway done but I'm actually concerned about that first third, not because it's poorly done but because it wrote itself out to a natural conclusion. A conclusion I'm not comfortable with.
Here's what happens...
For the rest of the series, I had planned on Vincent carrying around a severed head (and practically abusing it whenever he's in a foul mood) and, originally, it was going to be a lot more light-hearted. As it stands, what happened to the injured person isn't something I like. However, I'm still in the "story writes itself" mindset and I don't want to break the flow or change what has "already" happened.
That said, currently, I'm attempting to prevent the story (and thus, the series) from taking a very "GRIMDARK" turn and treading lightly not with WHAT I'm writing but with HOW it's being written...
I sat down a couple of months back and finished the first third of Confrontations. The second and third parts are about halfway done but I'm actually concerned about that first third, not because it's poorly done but because it wrote itself out to a natural conclusion. A conclusion I'm not comfortable with.
Here's what happens...
For the rest of the series, I had planned on Vincent carrying around a severed head (and practically abusing it whenever he's in a foul mood) and, originally, it was going to be a lot more light-hearted. As it stands, what happened to the injured person isn't something I like. However, I'm still in the "story writes itself" mindset and I don't want to break the flow or change what has "already" happened.
That said, currently, I'm attempting to prevent the story (and thus, the series) from taking a very "GRIMDARK" turn and treading lightly not with WHAT I'm writing but with HOW it's being written...
Sunday, July 21, 2013
A humble request to my friends.
Friends, family and acquaintances, I need your help. I need your help to make Unda Vosari: Legends a success.
This is not the kind of thing I enjoy writing and I dislike having to do so in any capacity.
I love being an author. Ever since I sat down and started toying with the idea of writing a novel about pirates, I fell in love with every aspect of Unda Vosari. The characters, the story, the setting and every other facet the Unda Vosari series is something I've enjoyed pouring my heart and soul into. There's very little I would change about Unda Vosari and there is nothing more that I would like than to keep writing. I want to tell an epic story about the world of Unda Vosari and every person in it, from kings and queens to pirates and merchants.
A lot of people have enjoyed hearing about me talk about what I've written and what goes into it and the ideas I've had. People have talked to me about what they liked, what they didn't like, how they enjoyed watching the characters evolve and the story grow. I've seen people boggle at how I've managed to create a half-dozen unique stories that run concurrently and weave into and out of each other and want to learn more, see exactly what the Unda Vosari series can grow into.
Right now, though, I'm facing a harsh decision and it's one I can't really make on my own.
Unda Vosari: Legends is good. I dare say it's potentially on the cusp of great, and I know it can be better. I want to be able to take what I've written to a professional editor that will look at every aspect of the novel, from the pace, flow and scope of the story down to spell-checking and proof-reading. They'll take what I've written and make it better. After that, I want to be able to take it to a professional marketing company and see to it that this polished work of art is put it where it's accessible to people who would enjoy reading not only the first novel but future novels as well. I want to be able to hold a book that's been reviewed by newspapers and magazines and say "This newspaper thinks my book is great and they recommend it to everyone" or "This fantasy periodical has endorsed my novel as a great book to read."
I need support to make all of this happen and bring a new series with an exciting, edgy and adventurous story to the literary world. What I need is a chance to push this series above and beyond what it's at right now. What I've done so far is only the beginning. People have only seen the bare bones of an entire series of novels I want to publish, and I have every desire to see it through to the very end, but I can't do it without your help.
I want to do all of that and more, but I can't do it myself.
I've spent years writing and rewriting and polishing and pushing myself to keep at it, because it's something I believe in. I want everybody else to believe in me too, which is why I'm asking for your help in bringing this novel to the world as something we can all be proud of. Every single person who donates to the project at $15 or more will have their name in the book with my own personal thank you. You will be immortalized as the ones who brought the first novel to the world and helped the beginning of an epic story I desperately want to see pushed to the end. I'm asking you, please... Pledge, share and let everyone know that there is a new fantasy series coming that you want to see succeed.
Without your support, I'm not going to be able to show the world what an epic series Unda Vosari can be.
Please go to this page and please share this post. Thank you to everybody for doing everything you can to help me continue doing the one thing I truly feel passionate about.
http://igg.me/at/UndaVosari/x/3855457
This is not the kind of thing I enjoy writing and I dislike having to do so in any capacity.
I love being an author. Ever since I sat down and started toying with the idea of writing a novel about pirates, I fell in love with every aspect of Unda Vosari. The characters, the story, the setting and every other facet the Unda Vosari series is something I've enjoyed pouring my heart and soul into. There's very little I would change about Unda Vosari and there is nothing more that I would like than to keep writing. I want to tell an epic story about the world of Unda Vosari and every person in it, from kings and queens to pirates and merchants.
A lot of people have enjoyed hearing about me talk about what I've written and what goes into it and the ideas I've had. People have talked to me about what they liked, what they didn't like, how they enjoyed watching the characters evolve and the story grow. I've seen people boggle at how I've managed to create a half-dozen unique stories that run concurrently and weave into and out of each other and want to learn more, see exactly what the Unda Vosari series can grow into.
Right now, though, I'm facing a harsh decision and it's one I can't really make on my own.
Unda Vosari: Legends is good. I dare say it's potentially on the cusp of great, and I know it can be better. I want to be able to take what I've written to a professional editor that will look at every aspect of the novel, from the pace, flow and scope of the story down to spell-checking and proof-reading. They'll take what I've written and make it better. After that, I want to be able to take it to a professional marketing company and see to it that this polished work of art is put it where it's accessible to people who would enjoy reading not only the first novel but future novels as well. I want to be able to hold a book that's been reviewed by newspapers and magazines and say "This newspaper thinks my book is great and they recommend it to everyone" or "This fantasy periodical has endorsed my novel as a great book to read."
I need support to make all of this happen and bring a new series with an exciting, edgy and adventurous story to the literary world. What I need is a chance to push this series above and beyond what it's at right now. What I've done so far is only the beginning. People have only seen the bare bones of an entire series of novels I want to publish, and I have every desire to see it through to the very end, but I can't do it without your help.
I want to do all of that and more, but I can't do it myself.
I've spent years writing and rewriting and polishing and pushing myself to keep at it, because it's something I believe in. I want everybody else to believe in me too, which is why I'm asking for your help in bringing this novel to the world as something we can all be proud of. Every single person who donates to the project at $15 or more will have their name in the book with my own personal thank you. You will be immortalized as the ones who brought the first novel to the world and helped the beginning of an epic story I desperately want to see pushed to the end. I'm asking you, please... Pledge, share and let everyone know that there is a new fantasy series coming that you want to see succeed.
Without your support, I'm not going to be able to show the world what an epic series Unda Vosari can be.
Please go to this page and please share this post. Thank you to everybody for doing everything you can to help me continue doing the one thing I truly feel passionate about.
http://igg.me/at/UndaVosari/x/3855457
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Self-publishing and the readers.
People keep asking me why I don't send people to the publisher page and why I prefer to handle the buying and shipping of the novel myself. Lemme explain.
When you use print-on-demand publishers, there's three prices they set.
Now, if somebody mails me $16.99 plus the cost of shipping, I go throw that in a bank account and pay the publisher. I get the book a couple of weeks later and I start a-mailin' copies out.
Why is this all better? Why do I prefer the last method, which takes more work and more effort on my part? Isn't it enough I've written the damn book? No, it isn't enough.
One, it's more reliable for me. I know where the books are coming from, I know where the books are going, I know I can track them. If things get lost, I can raise holy hell. All you have to do is sit back and poke me every couple of days to find out how things are going.
Two, I get a bigger profit. I get my copies of the book in a few weeks (between 5 and 15 business days) and then turn around and ship it out at whatever speed you want it (general, ground, air, express, whatever you send me money for). I can make STUPID amounts of money bulk-ordering and doing the shipping myself. It's FANTASTIC how many numbers are on the left side of that decimal point. If I place an order of 575 copies, there's even a comma! That's profit! I get to keep that much money!
Three, if there's an issue, if it's damaged, if it's on fire when it's put in your mailbox, you only have to deal with me. This is the important one to me. I've often said (and will continue to say) if you don't like the book, don't buy it. I have said many, many times that I would rather give the book away to people who enjoy it and get paid after the fact but that isn't financially an option (well, paper-form anyway, I can email everyone and their dog whatever electronic version they prefer). If you get a copy of the book and hate it, and you've slathered it in barbecue sauce and tried to feed it to your dog and that didn't work so you've shredded it into confetti and your cat won't shit on it so you've mailed it to Rip Taylor and he refuses to even throw it on the ground as confetti, you can mail it back to me and, if I have the money, I will gladly refund it to you. At the very least, I will gladly accept whatever criticism you have to shovel down my throat as I weep mournfully over the barbecue-covered shredded copy of my book.
That's why I prefer to handle everything myself.
When you use print-on-demand publishers, there's three prices they set.
- The "public" price: THIS is the price that third-party resellers have (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, places like that). Expect books to run at least $5-$15 more than the cover price before shipping - the publisher wants full cover price for this book, after all, and the third-party resellers want their cut too. For retail purchases, I make $2.14 The publisher has no idea where the book is after it leaves their warehouse and I doubt the resellers do either (though some may). Shipping generally takes over month or so, if not more. By far the stupidest of the three options.
- The "private" price: Literally, the "cover price" of the novel plus shipping bought directly from the publisher. The publisher knows where the book is and can generally tell you. It's delivered depending on what you decide to pay for ($4 for 5-15 days, $9 for 3-5 days, both of those don't include printing times). I have no idea where the book is. I don't know where it is or where it's going and for everything I've written, I think I may a solid $6.54. It's all good but this still isn't the best price for both the author nor the reader.
- Third is the "author" price. I pay them directly the cost of printing, shipping and their fee. All in all, for a book the size of Unda Vosari: Legends, it comes out to $8.82 before shipping to me, before discounts for bulk orders.
Now, if somebody mails me $16.99 plus the cost of shipping, I go throw that in a bank account and pay the publisher. I get the book a couple of weeks later and I start a-mailin' copies out.
Why is this all better? Why do I prefer the last method, which takes more work and more effort on my part? Isn't it enough I've written the damn book? No, it isn't enough.
One, it's more reliable for me. I know where the books are coming from, I know where the books are going, I know I can track them. If things get lost, I can raise holy hell. All you have to do is sit back and poke me every couple of days to find out how things are going.
Two, I get a bigger profit. I get my copies of the book in a few weeks (between 5 and 15 business days) and then turn around and ship it out at whatever speed you want it (general, ground, air, express, whatever you send me money for). I can make STUPID amounts of money bulk-ordering and doing the shipping myself. It's FANTASTIC how many numbers are on the left side of that decimal point. If I place an order of 575 copies, there's even a comma! That's profit! I get to keep that much money!
Three, if there's an issue, if it's damaged, if it's on fire when it's put in your mailbox, you only have to deal with me. This is the important one to me. I've often said (and will continue to say) if you don't like the book, don't buy it. I have said many, many times that I would rather give the book away to people who enjoy it and get paid after the fact but that isn't financially an option (well, paper-form anyway, I can email everyone and their dog whatever electronic version they prefer). If you get a copy of the book and hate it, and you've slathered it in barbecue sauce and tried to feed it to your dog and that didn't work so you've shredded it into confetti and your cat won't shit on it so you've mailed it to Rip Taylor and he refuses to even throw it on the ground as confetti, you can mail it back to me and, if I have the money, I will gladly refund it to you. At the very least, I will gladly accept whatever criticism you have to shovel down my throat as I weep mournfully over the barbecue-covered shredded copy of my book.
That's why I prefer to handle everything myself.
Friday, July 12, 2013
The Societies of Unda Vosari!
What kind of lives do people live outside of the main story? This was something that popped up earlier while randomly wandering through Unda Vosari files in a forgotten folder on my hard drive. Questions naturally formed and ultimately, they deserved answers. What kingdoms trade with what other kingdoms and what goods do they produce? Why are they willing to trade them with certain kingdoms and what do they get in return? What lifestyles exist in the Unda Vosari setting and how do they live day-to-day and how are they relevant to traders and adventurers?
The large majority of the first Unda Vosari novel takes place on the seas and in ports. Often, I'd wondered to myself what life was like outside those ports, where the large majority of the money came from trade, and I had to actually sit down and figure out what each kingdom had to offer before I could figure out who was trading what to whom, which would tell me who inhabited each kingdom and what their lives would be like. Of course, I'd always had a general idea but when it came down to it, it wasn't fleshed out enough for my liking until tonight. I finally sat down and figured out what life was like for the world.
DeMunt is the largest of the kingdoms and one of the two oldest of the six. Given their location north of the mountains on the largest continent in the kingdoms, it's natural that they, along with Cormel, are responsible for the majority of mining operations and would likely be the richest kingdoms (producing more gold and jewels than the other four kingdoms). Both kingdoms have ties with the dwarves in the mountains (as much as one can be affiliated with the loosely-gathered dwarven clans) and have offered both land- and sea-based protection in exchange for the right to mine and harvest the mountains.
DeMunt has had a long-standing rivalry with Rosnet, the other of the two original kingdoms, and the large majority of their goods are put towards their military (giving them the strongest land-based military of the six kingdoms). Because of that, Cormel is the most prosperous of the kingdoms, followed by DeMunt. Cormel is also second in naval might only to Rosnet. With DeMunt focusing on defending the land, Cormel has offered assistance defending the seas to DeMunt in exchange for both monetary and military compensation.
South of Cormel is Vilio. With a decidedly unique style (a mix of Persian and Asian, to paint a broad stroke), Vilio has a very eclectic community that offers both art and martial prowess (being a hub for those who can use and wield chi effectively as well as those who can create art unlike the rest of the world). Fighters from all over the world seek out monasteries in Vilio for combat training, just as bards and historians head to Vilio for their wealth of knowledge, art, stories and legends. Due to that influence over the cultural aspect of the kingdoms, Vilio has strong financial ties to the other kingdoms.
West of Cormel and Vilio are the kingdoms of Cederlord, on the southern edge of the kingdoms, and Octavia, in the center of the kingdoms. Cederlord is home to the elves and the more natural magic, as well as the largest wood-producing kingdom of them all. Their mastery of nature-based and divine-based magic affords them a lot of unique opportunities when dealing with the other kingdoms as they are predominantly the most successful of the kingdoms when it comes to controlling animals, tending to the wounded, dealing with spirits and wielding the elements. As such, their need is almost always in demand.
Octavia, the newest of the kingdoms, is home of the most skilled and successful of the arcane mages as well as the more craft-oriented professions. Rivaling Cederlord with magical prowess, the craftspeople of Octavia are known for creating the strongest and sturdiest of tools, weapons and armor which lends the mages of Octavia better quality goods to enchant and infuse with spells far more powerful than most mages outside of Octavia are capable of casting. This affinity for crafting and casting has forced the other kingdoms into trade with Octavia, a more "socially conscious" kingdom than one would expect. However, their skill has bred contempt and corruption within their ranks, and Octavia is just as well known for their nefarious and dubious behavior when dealing with outsiders.
Finally, that brings us to Rosnet, the second of the two original kingdoms. With their own forest in the north, and their long-standing traditions of seeking perfection, their ability to craft entire fleets of near-perfect sea-vessels has given them the well-known reputation of being the mightiest force on the seas. Their mages, while far from perfect, have managed to gain and keep a strong foothold in both the natural and arcane practices, with regards to war, and are well-equipped to handle whatever crafting needs to be done within their kingdom. However, their haughty demeanor and strong sense of self-reliance has given them an almost xenophobic lifestyle, and they are reluctant to, if downright opposed to, trade involving the other five kingdoms.
Once I'd figured out the above, I had to figure out what life was like on a day-to-day basis.
DeMunt, for example, being predominantly mining and military, would have strong trade routes between its cities and less likely to suffer from attacks by bandits. However, given the size (and age) of the kingdom, there are likely a large number of untraveled routes plagued by disillusioned military, bandits and vagabonds. Shipments of ore and jewels along the coast are well protected by the naval fleets of DeMunt and Cormel but land-based shipments are more likely to be attacked. Despite the military might, there simply isn't enough military to go around, so the larger land-based caravans are more likely to be targeted. Unfortunately, land-based routes can move more goods and are considered a necessary evil (especially considering the naval advantage Rosnet has over DeMunt). Cities themselves, at least inside, are generally secure. Sure, there are thieves and beggers (who generally keep to the back alleys and less-traveled trade routes), but the military presence ensures that trouble is kept to a minimum. Each city is given a watch that generally patrols the major routes into, out of and through the city and that's generally enough to keep the various laborers, traders and craftsmen content. On the outskirts of any given city, generally within a few hours travel, there are a number of small, temporary settlements ranging from a single tent and a couple of horses to entire clusters of caravans protected by bodyguards. Most of the time, these are due to either an inability (due to being too poor or being wanted by the law) or an unwillingness (due to feeling uncomfortable in large cities or not wanting to spend money) to stay in town.
Cormel is a much smaller kingdom and less populated, but equally as wealthy, affording them many more opportunities to distribute wealth among the craftsmen, laborers and traders. Their abundance of gold also allows them to trade more freely with the other kingdoms, and as such, Cormel is widely considered the more glamorous and prestigious of the kingdoms to live in. Crime is far lower than the other kingdoms (although not unheard of, since their wealth naturally brings an outside criminal element along with the gold from the other kingdoms) but the military from DeMunt (as well as the various heroes and adventurers from other kingdoms) keep the criminal element in check far better than DeMunt and Vilio. Trade is generally done with small groups of wagons (smaller than an average caravan) carrying a higher-quality good (generally from Octavia), but more often than not, these people will find sanctuary in the inns and taverns of the bustling cities instead of opting to remain on the open road. Of course, outsiders from DeMunt or Vilio are known to set up camps outside the cities for various reasons (either an inability or unwillingness to stay in the towns, just as in DeMunt, although it is less likely that natives will be unable to pay for a room). Curiously, cities in Cormel do have a city watch but the majority of the crime is both committed by and handled by adventurers (both native to and visiting Cormel).
Vilio is the smallest of the kingdoms, as far as land goes. Trade in Vilio is generally kept small, as the various wares they provide are generally more exotic and more expensive than the other kingdoms, and as such, many traders are unwilling to bring large amounts of goods all at once. Outside the cities, monasteries dot the landscape, offering both sanctuary and danger. However, the number of adventurers and mercenaries is large, given the number of monks that hail from Vilio, and there is a surprisingly large underground black market. That said, there is next to no provided security outside of the cities, and off of the established trade routes, it is hard to know whether or not that caravan up the road is going to be friend or foe.
Cederlord offers a unique lifestyle. Predominantly composed of elves, the various cities of Cederlord are all but entirely surrounded by forests and inhabited, to some degree or another, by a plethora of archers, rangers, druids and clerics of all faiths. Off the established trade routes, crime is all but unheard of in Cederlord, simply because the natives of the kingdom watch out for their own with frightening ferocity. Despite the dismemberment of the kingdom itself, resulting in a series of independent city-states, the cities still consider themselves one kingdom without a governing body, and as such will still fight and die to protect themselves from outside threats. With the growing scarcity of elves due to the long-standing invasion by Rosnet and Octavia, the inhabitants of Cederlord have always remained united against threats both internal and external. Even inside the wooden cities, crime is all but unheard of. Cormel and Vilio have the strongest ties to Cederlord and likewise seek to aid and protect the kingdom and the highly valued druids and clerics, as well as keep the trade of wood coming from Cederlord. In fact, it isn't unheard of for Cormel and Vilio to actively pursue criminals from those kingdoms (as well as any other) should they commit crimes in Cederlord.
Octavia, as the newest of the kingdoms, was created by disenchanted and disillusioned craftspeople from DeMunt, Cormel and Vilio. As such, they tend to be more brutish and angry in demeanor and their cities reflect that. Bandits and thieves run rampant in the cities and extortion may as well be the regional past-time. Corruption exists everywhere from the highest of the nobility and royalty to the lowest of the traders and merchants. Curiously, despite seemingly being at war with everybody, including themselves, they provide a unified front against outsiders. A common phrase among the inhabitants of Octavia is "I against my brother, my brother and I against my cousin, my cousin and I against strangers" and indeed, that is the very foundation of the kingdom. From the outside, this seems counter-productive but from within, the constant strife with each other strengthens the kingdom as a whole and enables them to survive when surrounded on all sides by potential (and often constant) enemies. Travel along the established trade routes is relatively safe on the condition one isn't opposed to paying hefty "tolls" to travel safely and life outside the city is harsh for those who have no gold or goods with which to barter. Of course, those who do not are generally the ones making life unpleasant for those who do and this is taken to the extreme for outsiders. For inhabitants of the kingdom, gold is constantly flowing in due to the quality (both mundane and magical) of the goods and services provided by Octavia. For outsiders, however, Octavia is a den of vice and greed, and the benefit of security and law only seems to extend to the natives. Outside the cities, sprawling expanses of plains are taken up by packs of roaming bandits, well-armed caravans escorted by thugs and bodyguards and large, shifting settlements of makeshift tents and houses, all put up and taken down as whim and necessity dictates.
Finally, Rosnet is the most stable, reclusive and hostile of the kingdoms, with regards to outsiders. Whereas Octavia strengthens itself with internal strife and turmoil, Rosnet has all but solidified itself against all threats, internal and external. A society built on regime and war, the streets and trade routes, and indeed, even the wilderness of the kingdom, are well-policed from within. One of the few kingdoms to openly partake in the slave trade, all other crime is all but unheard of simply out of fear of harsh penalties and an abundance of civilians (both free and slave) willing to collect on bounties. Worth mentioning is the fact that part of the longevity and durability comes from their slave trade - instead of training and practicing and honing a particular skill or craft, the inhabitants of Rosnet have found it much easier to simply force those who have already honed their preferred skill or craft to continue doing their skill or craft, the alternative being certain death (or worse - the ability for magic to keep a human body alive, or bring it back from the dead, as well as inflict inhuman amounts of pain on both mind and body, in addition to more mundane methods of coercion, tend to convince even the most staunch and resolved individuals to cooperate). With all of this common knowledge, it is completely unsurprising that Rosnet has few willing allies, Octavia among them, but Rosnet seems content to play the part of villain since their kingdom has enough security and stability (as well as the ability to renew their ranks through slavery) to do so openly and freely. Outside of Rosnet, the only kingdoms known to tolerate slavery (regardless of how condoned it is in general society) are Octavia and DeMunt, although DeMunt doesn't tolerate it so much as turn a blind eye.
The majority of the kingdoms have a very simple structure.
Common laborers are the ones digging in the mines, tending the fields, harvesting the woods and making the food. Craftspeople include those using the materials gathered by the laborers to create weapons, armor, clothing, ships, jewelry and tools for the laborers. Merchants are those who buy and sell within a given kingdom, generally on a local or regional level whereas traders are those who buy and sell larger quantities on a more global scale (with other kingdoms, generally, but this can include larger kingdoms like DeMunt or independent city-states like Cederlord). Nobles are the ones with money and land. As such, the nobles influence what is made (by ordering what land and resources are used to create what) and can indirectly influence how a region thrives or fails based on their own decisions. Of course, the royalty would like to see a given area flourish so there is no small amount of politics included in the interactions between royalty and nobility. Some kingdoms (Cormel and DeMunt, primarily) have guilds that agree to and set prices for the various goods (food, clothing, jewelry, weapons, armor, masonry, tools and luxuries) and those guilds answer to (and are generally comprised of) the nobles and richer, more skilled and well-renowned craftspeople.
Naturally, there are a few "vanity" guilds, generally one or two for each major profession and societal roles. Generally, fighters, monks, psions and barbarians tend to stick to their own, since they're the more confrontational of the classes. On the other end of the spectrum, the various spell-casters (druids, shaman, priests, clerics and paladins) do their best to avoid physical confrontation. In some of the larger cities, nobles have formed their own guilds, and in almost every city, bards, minstrels, assassins and rogues each have at least some unified front with which to fence stolen goods and swap legends, stories and warnings. To top it all off, some of the individual professions (smiths of various goods, masons and bankers) have begun coordinating not only on local or regional levels but attempting to form a guild that operates across kingdoms).
This isn't all there is to it, but it is, naturally, a great place to start. Unda Vosari: Confrontations (the second novel) will explore all of this a bit more at points... whenever it gets around to getting released.
The large majority of the first Unda Vosari novel takes place on the seas and in ports. Often, I'd wondered to myself what life was like outside those ports, where the large majority of the money came from trade, and I had to actually sit down and figure out what each kingdom had to offer before I could figure out who was trading what to whom, which would tell me who inhabited each kingdom and what their lives would be like. Of course, I'd always had a general idea but when it came down to it, it wasn't fleshed out enough for my liking until tonight. I finally sat down and figured out what life was like for the world.
DeMunt is the largest of the kingdoms and one of the two oldest of the six. Given their location north of the mountains on the largest continent in the kingdoms, it's natural that they, along with Cormel, are responsible for the majority of mining operations and would likely be the richest kingdoms (producing more gold and jewels than the other four kingdoms). Both kingdoms have ties with the dwarves in the mountains (as much as one can be affiliated with the loosely-gathered dwarven clans) and have offered both land- and sea-based protection in exchange for the right to mine and harvest the mountains.
DeMunt has had a long-standing rivalry with Rosnet, the other of the two original kingdoms, and the large majority of their goods are put towards their military (giving them the strongest land-based military of the six kingdoms). Because of that, Cormel is the most prosperous of the kingdoms, followed by DeMunt. Cormel is also second in naval might only to Rosnet. With DeMunt focusing on defending the land, Cormel has offered assistance defending the seas to DeMunt in exchange for both monetary and military compensation.
South of Cormel is Vilio. With a decidedly unique style (a mix of Persian and Asian, to paint a broad stroke), Vilio has a very eclectic community that offers both art and martial prowess (being a hub for those who can use and wield chi effectively as well as those who can create art unlike the rest of the world). Fighters from all over the world seek out monasteries in Vilio for combat training, just as bards and historians head to Vilio for their wealth of knowledge, art, stories and legends. Due to that influence over the cultural aspect of the kingdoms, Vilio has strong financial ties to the other kingdoms.
West of Cormel and Vilio are the kingdoms of Cederlord, on the southern edge of the kingdoms, and Octavia, in the center of the kingdoms. Cederlord is home to the elves and the more natural magic, as well as the largest wood-producing kingdom of them all. Their mastery of nature-based and divine-based magic affords them a lot of unique opportunities when dealing with the other kingdoms as they are predominantly the most successful of the kingdoms when it comes to controlling animals, tending to the wounded, dealing with spirits and wielding the elements. As such, their need is almost always in demand.
Octavia, the newest of the kingdoms, is home of the most skilled and successful of the arcane mages as well as the more craft-oriented professions. Rivaling Cederlord with magical prowess, the craftspeople of Octavia are known for creating the strongest and sturdiest of tools, weapons and armor which lends the mages of Octavia better quality goods to enchant and infuse with spells far more powerful than most mages outside of Octavia are capable of casting. This affinity for crafting and casting has forced the other kingdoms into trade with Octavia, a more "socially conscious" kingdom than one would expect. However, their skill has bred contempt and corruption within their ranks, and Octavia is just as well known for their nefarious and dubious behavior when dealing with outsiders.
Finally, that brings us to Rosnet, the second of the two original kingdoms. With their own forest in the north, and their long-standing traditions of seeking perfection, their ability to craft entire fleets of near-perfect sea-vessels has given them the well-known reputation of being the mightiest force on the seas. Their mages, while far from perfect, have managed to gain and keep a strong foothold in both the natural and arcane practices, with regards to war, and are well-equipped to handle whatever crafting needs to be done within their kingdom. However, their haughty demeanor and strong sense of self-reliance has given them an almost xenophobic lifestyle, and they are reluctant to, if downright opposed to, trade involving the other five kingdoms.
Once I'd figured out the above, I had to figure out what life was like on a day-to-day basis.
DeMunt, for example, being predominantly mining and military, would have strong trade routes between its cities and less likely to suffer from attacks by bandits. However, given the size (and age) of the kingdom, there are likely a large number of untraveled routes plagued by disillusioned military, bandits and vagabonds. Shipments of ore and jewels along the coast are well protected by the naval fleets of DeMunt and Cormel but land-based shipments are more likely to be attacked. Despite the military might, there simply isn't enough military to go around, so the larger land-based caravans are more likely to be targeted. Unfortunately, land-based routes can move more goods and are considered a necessary evil (especially considering the naval advantage Rosnet has over DeMunt). Cities themselves, at least inside, are generally secure. Sure, there are thieves and beggers (who generally keep to the back alleys and less-traveled trade routes), but the military presence ensures that trouble is kept to a minimum. Each city is given a watch that generally patrols the major routes into, out of and through the city and that's generally enough to keep the various laborers, traders and craftsmen content. On the outskirts of any given city, generally within a few hours travel, there are a number of small, temporary settlements ranging from a single tent and a couple of horses to entire clusters of caravans protected by bodyguards. Most of the time, these are due to either an inability (due to being too poor or being wanted by the law) or an unwillingness (due to feeling uncomfortable in large cities or not wanting to spend money) to stay in town.
Cormel is a much smaller kingdom and less populated, but equally as wealthy, affording them many more opportunities to distribute wealth among the craftsmen, laborers and traders. Their abundance of gold also allows them to trade more freely with the other kingdoms, and as such, Cormel is widely considered the more glamorous and prestigious of the kingdoms to live in. Crime is far lower than the other kingdoms (although not unheard of, since their wealth naturally brings an outside criminal element along with the gold from the other kingdoms) but the military from DeMunt (as well as the various heroes and adventurers from other kingdoms) keep the criminal element in check far better than DeMunt and Vilio. Trade is generally done with small groups of wagons (smaller than an average caravan) carrying a higher-quality good (generally from Octavia), but more often than not, these people will find sanctuary in the inns and taverns of the bustling cities instead of opting to remain on the open road. Of course, outsiders from DeMunt or Vilio are known to set up camps outside the cities for various reasons (either an inability or unwillingness to stay in the towns, just as in DeMunt, although it is less likely that natives will be unable to pay for a room). Curiously, cities in Cormel do have a city watch but the majority of the crime is both committed by and handled by adventurers (both native to and visiting Cormel).
Vilio is the smallest of the kingdoms, as far as land goes. Trade in Vilio is generally kept small, as the various wares they provide are generally more exotic and more expensive than the other kingdoms, and as such, many traders are unwilling to bring large amounts of goods all at once. Outside the cities, monasteries dot the landscape, offering both sanctuary and danger. However, the number of adventurers and mercenaries is large, given the number of monks that hail from Vilio, and there is a surprisingly large underground black market. That said, there is next to no provided security outside of the cities, and off of the established trade routes, it is hard to know whether or not that caravan up the road is going to be friend or foe.
Cederlord offers a unique lifestyle. Predominantly composed of elves, the various cities of Cederlord are all but entirely surrounded by forests and inhabited, to some degree or another, by a plethora of archers, rangers, druids and clerics of all faiths. Off the established trade routes, crime is all but unheard of in Cederlord, simply because the natives of the kingdom watch out for their own with frightening ferocity. Despite the dismemberment of the kingdom itself, resulting in a series of independent city-states, the cities still consider themselves one kingdom without a governing body, and as such will still fight and die to protect themselves from outside threats. With the growing scarcity of elves due to the long-standing invasion by Rosnet and Octavia, the inhabitants of Cederlord have always remained united against threats both internal and external. Even inside the wooden cities, crime is all but unheard of. Cormel and Vilio have the strongest ties to Cederlord and likewise seek to aid and protect the kingdom and the highly valued druids and clerics, as well as keep the trade of wood coming from Cederlord. In fact, it isn't unheard of for Cormel and Vilio to actively pursue criminals from those kingdoms (as well as any other) should they commit crimes in Cederlord.
Octavia, as the newest of the kingdoms, was created by disenchanted and disillusioned craftspeople from DeMunt, Cormel and Vilio. As such, they tend to be more brutish and angry in demeanor and their cities reflect that. Bandits and thieves run rampant in the cities and extortion may as well be the regional past-time. Corruption exists everywhere from the highest of the nobility and royalty to the lowest of the traders and merchants. Curiously, despite seemingly being at war with everybody, including themselves, they provide a unified front against outsiders. A common phrase among the inhabitants of Octavia is "I against my brother, my brother and I against my cousin, my cousin and I against strangers" and indeed, that is the very foundation of the kingdom. From the outside, this seems counter-productive but from within, the constant strife with each other strengthens the kingdom as a whole and enables them to survive when surrounded on all sides by potential (and often constant) enemies. Travel along the established trade routes is relatively safe on the condition one isn't opposed to paying hefty "tolls" to travel safely and life outside the city is harsh for those who have no gold or goods with which to barter. Of course, those who do not are generally the ones making life unpleasant for those who do and this is taken to the extreme for outsiders. For inhabitants of the kingdom, gold is constantly flowing in due to the quality (both mundane and magical) of the goods and services provided by Octavia. For outsiders, however, Octavia is a den of vice and greed, and the benefit of security and law only seems to extend to the natives. Outside the cities, sprawling expanses of plains are taken up by packs of roaming bandits, well-armed caravans escorted by thugs and bodyguards and large, shifting settlements of makeshift tents and houses, all put up and taken down as whim and necessity dictates.
Finally, Rosnet is the most stable, reclusive and hostile of the kingdoms, with regards to outsiders. Whereas Octavia strengthens itself with internal strife and turmoil, Rosnet has all but solidified itself against all threats, internal and external. A society built on regime and war, the streets and trade routes, and indeed, even the wilderness of the kingdom, are well-policed from within. One of the few kingdoms to openly partake in the slave trade, all other crime is all but unheard of simply out of fear of harsh penalties and an abundance of civilians (both free and slave) willing to collect on bounties. Worth mentioning is the fact that part of the longevity and durability comes from their slave trade - instead of training and practicing and honing a particular skill or craft, the inhabitants of Rosnet have found it much easier to simply force those who have already honed their preferred skill or craft to continue doing their skill or craft, the alternative being certain death (or worse - the ability for magic to keep a human body alive, or bring it back from the dead, as well as inflict inhuman amounts of pain on both mind and body, in addition to more mundane methods of coercion, tend to convince even the most staunch and resolved individuals to cooperate). With all of this common knowledge, it is completely unsurprising that Rosnet has few willing allies, Octavia among them, but Rosnet seems content to play the part of villain since their kingdom has enough security and stability (as well as the ability to renew their ranks through slavery) to do so openly and freely. Outside of Rosnet, the only kingdoms known to tolerate slavery (regardless of how condoned it is in general society) are Octavia and DeMunt, although DeMunt doesn't tolerate it so much as turn a blind eye.
The majority of the kingdoms have a very simple structure.
- Nobility generally exerts sway over (or is swayed by) the royalty.
- Craftspeople are given orders by the nobility.
- Merchants sell their goods for a price determined by the nobility.
- Prices for goods (which is influenced by the nobility) are based on supply and demand.
- Taxes are collected by the royalty which, in turns, pays for basic services like protection and travel.
- Traders ensure goods that are needed from outside sources are bought and sold for fair prices.
- Common laborers dictate what is needed depending on lifestyle and what they're hired to do.
Common laborers are the ones digging in the mines, tending the fields, harvesting the woods and making the food. Craftspeople include those using the materials gathered by the laborers to create weapons, armor, clothing, ships, jewelry and tools for the laborers. Merchants are those who buy and sell within a given kingdom, generally on a local or regional level whereas traders are those who buy and sell larger quantities on a more global scale (with other kingdoms, generally, but this can include larger kingdoms like DeMunt or independent city-states like Cederlord). Nobles are the ones with money and land. As such, the nobles influence what is made (by ordering what land and resources are used to create what) and can indirectly influence how a region thrives or fails based on their own decisions. Of course, the royalty would like to see a given area flourish so there is no small amount of politics included in the interactions between royalty and nobility. Some kingdoms (Cormel and DeMunt, primarily) have guilds that agree to and set prices for the various goods (food, clothing, jewelry, weapons, armor, masonry, tools and luxuries) and those guilds answer to (and are generally comprised of) the nobles and richer, more skilled and well-renowned craftspeople.
Naturally, there are a few "vanity" guilds, generally one or two for each major profession and societal roles. Generally, fighters, monks, psions and barbarians tend to stick to their own, since they're the more confrontational of the classes. On the other end of the spectrum, the various spell-casters (druids, shaman, priests, clerics and paladins) do their best to avoid physical confrontation. In some of the larger cities, nobles have formed their own guilds, and in almost every city, bards, minstrels, assassins and rogues each have at least some unified front with which to fence stolen goods and swap legends, stories and warnings. To top it all off, some of the individual professions (smiths of various goods, masons and bankers) have begun coordinating not only on local or regional levels but attempting to form a guild that operates across kingdoms).
This isn't all there is to it, but it is, naturally, a great place to start. Unda Vosari: Confrontations (the second novel) will explore all of this a bit more at points... whenever it gets around to getting released.
Thursday, July 11, 2013
The pantheon, a couple of new races and the origins of everything.
I got into a discussion with Andrew tonight about the pantheon of Unda Vosari, and how they related to the various sources of power that some of the inhabitants possess. I also decided I should drop a few hints and, for those familiar with the story, a teaser or two.
Magic, of course, is the study of arcane powers. Words, phrases, gestures, symbols and material components fuel magic. People use it to launch fireballs at each other. It's pretty much a given that any work in a fantasy setting is going to include magic.
Then there's mana. Where magic is commonplace, mana is much more rare. In fact, until later on in the series, mana is all but unheard of and mistakenly confused with magic simply because they look similar to the outside observer. The difference is in how the effects are created.
Magic, as stated, uses magic phrases, gestures and material components. Mana is a more primal aspect of magic, less reliant on the world around the user and more about the focus and intent of the user internally. Where magic requires you to make a gesture and say a magic word, mana simply requires you to focus your will. It may require a gesture or spoken word, but that is simply how the wielder chooses to exert his will at that moment, and unlike magic, the gestures or words will never be the same between two people.
In the middle of the spectrum is chi. A curious power related to both magic and mana, chi requires force of will, verbal and somatic components. Monasteries will teach monks how to focus their will and exert it on the physical world, but the verbal and somatic components will generally be similar (the Ur example would be the cliche "Hi-ya!" and matching foot stomp that seems to come with every open-handed karate chop). However, true masters of chi will have the focus and force of will to bypass those requirements. That said, chi still falls firmly under the domain of mana (while having a regimen similar to magic, although it is decidedly more rigid, and spiritual, than magic could ever be).
I decided that instead of one "all-powerful entity" that sort of just created everything, there'd be two, and the pantheon would be more familial than "Omnipotent being creates slightly less omnipotent beings." At the top are Avo and Avia. They gave birth to four children (Aversio, Mikhailai, Mannox and Delaine). That's actually the end of the familial aspect of the pantheon, but it is the core of it. Mikhailai created the humans, Mannox created the dwarves, Delaine created the elves and Aversio began to shape other aspects of the world (literally creating divisions between order and chaos, separating light and dark and generally forming the world). Mannox and Delaine imbued three people with some of their power and welcomed them to the pantheon (Adina, Ramius and Sini) and those three helped inhabit the rest of the world (Ramius created the giants, Sini filled the lands with plants and animals and Adina created the various monstrous humanoid races). Sini had one daughter by Mikhailai, Lori, and she was responsible for creating magic.
Meanwhile, Aversio had taken a far less familial route, simply finding humans that seemed to personify aspects of the world. Odium, Dolus and Ultio were each chosen to personify chaos, order and mana (respectively) due to their control over (or influence over) their respective fields. Odium took a bride, Ira, and with her created the Caligo. Dolus likewise took a bride named Talio and created the Tirith. Finally, Ultio took a bride that, to this day, remains a mystery, but she gave birth to one person. She had a son.
He grew up to be a man named Veln.
Magic, of course, is the study of arcane powers. Words, phrases, gestures, symbols and material components fuel magic. People use it to launch fireballs at each other. It's pretty much a given that any work in a fantasy setting is going to include magic.
Then there's mana. Where magic is commonplace, mana is much more rare. In fact, until later on in the series, mana is all but unheard of and mistakenly confused with magic simply because they look similar to the outside observer. The difference is in how the effects are created.
Magic, as stated, uses magic phrases, gestures and material components. Mana is a more primal aspect of magic, less reliant on the world around the user and more about the focus and intent of the user internally. Where magic requires you to make a gesture and say a magic word, mana simply requires you to focus your will. It may require a gesture or spoken word, but that is simply how the wielder chooses to exert his will at that moment, and unlike magic, the gestures or words will never be the same between two people.
In the middle of the spectrum is chi. A curious power related to both magic and mana, chi requires force of will, verbal and somatic components. Monasteries will teach monks how to focus their will and exert it on the physical world, but the verbal and somatic components will generally be similar (the Ur example would be the cliche "Hi-ya!" and matching foot stomp that seems to come with every open-handed karate chop). However, true masters of chi will have the focus and force of will to bypass those requirements. That said, chi still falls firmly under the domain of mana (while having a regimen similar to magic, although it is decidedly more rigid, and spiritual, than magic could ever be).
I decided that instead of one "all-powerful entity" that sort of just created everything, there'd be two, and the pantheon would be more familial than "Omnipotent being creates slightly less omnipotent beings." At the top are Avo and Avia. They gave birth to four children (Aversio, Mikhailai, Mannox and Delaine). That's actually the end of the familial aspect of the pantheon, but it is the core of it. Mikhailai created the humans, Mannox created the dwarves, Delaine created the elves and Aversio began to shape other aspects of the world (literally creating divisions between order and chaos, separating light and dark and generally forming the world). Mannox and Delaine imbued three people with some of their power and welcomed them to the pantheon (Adina, Ramius and Sini) and those three helped inhabit the rest of the world (Ramius created the giants, Sini filled the lands with plants and animals and Adina created the various monstrous humanoid races). Sini had one daughter by Mikhailai, Lori, and she was responsible for creating magic.
Meanwhile, Aversio had taken a far less familial route, simply finding humans that seemed to personify aspects of the world. Odium, Dolus and Ultio were each chosen to personify chaos, order and mana (respectively) due to their control over (or influence over) their respective fields. Odium took a bride, Ira, and with her created the Caligo. Dolus likewise took a bride named Talio and created the Tirith. Finally, Ultio took a bride that, to this day, remains a mystery, but she gave birth to one person. She had a son.
He grew up to be a man named Veln.
"How to be successful as an author" and why I want you to shut the hell up.
Kat Heckenbach recently posted a pretty "common sense" blog post I felt like mentioning here because it's completely true.
Do any kind of search online for writing and marketing tips, and you will find about fourteen gazillion articles on blogs touting advice on how to be successful as an author.
Most of them say essentially the same things:
Learn and hone thy craft.
Get critique.
Edit-edit-edit.
Start thyself a blog.
Join Facebook, Twitter, and/or other social media. Promote thyself there, but don't be obnoxious about it.
Get thee an Amazon author page and establish thyself on Goodreads.
Y'know, while it may be good advice, it isn't. Not when there's such an abundance of "authors" all struggling for the same recognition. Sure, there's different demographics (the day I write a romance novel is the day I tattoo "I <3 TWILIGHT" on my scrotum in hot pink right before I commit seppuku) but in the end, there's only so many people who enjoy reading. Let's go down this list and point out the flaws.
Do any kind of search online for writing and marketing tips, and you will find about fourteen gazillion articles on blogs touting advice on how to be successful as an author.
Most of them say essentially the same things:
Learn and hone thy craft.
Get critique.
Edit-edit-edit.
Start thyself a blog.
Join Facebook, Twitter, and/or other social media. Promote thyself there, but don't be obnoxious about it.
Get thee an Amazon author page and establish thyself on Goodreads.
Y'know, while it may be good advice, it isn't. Not when there's such an abundance of "authors" all struggling for the same recognition. Sure, there's different demographics (the day I write a romance novel is the day I tattoo "I <3 TWILIGHT" on my scrotum in hot pink right before I commit seppuku) but in the end, there's only so many people who enjoy reading. Let's go down this list and point out the flaws.
- Learn and hone thy craft.
There's only so much you can learn about writing. If your sentence structure is well-written, you don't have to spell-check every third word, you know how to use proper punctuation and you're familiar enough with the language you're writing in, there isn't a whole lot to learn aside from "how to tell a better story." - Get critique.
This is easier said than done. As I said above, there's only so many people who enjoy reading and trying to find people who are interested in your work and trying to find those people is a feat in and of itself (especially when you're competing with larger, more popular authors who have established themselves as proven entertainers in the literary field). - Edit-edit-edit.
Editing your own work. This is a point of contention I've got with a lot of other authors. People will constantly say "You need to edit what you've written and make it better." Sure, that's a great idea but there's plenty of authors who have been sitting on a finished piece of work for quite a while, and they literally don't see how else they can improve upon it. Without the ever-elusive critiques (see point two, above), this can be considered a brick wall; running into it over and over and over isn't going to accomplish anything. - Start thyself a blog.
Hi! Welcome to my blog! On top of this, I've got the Unda Vosari wiki that I use for updates (and free stories). So far, I don't see this helping a whole lot. - Join Facebook, Twitter, and/or other social media.
I've got a couple of Facebook pages going on and a TVTropes page as well. Still not interested in diving into the Twitterverse quite yet... (Update: See sidebar. Twitter.) - Get thee an Amazon author page and establish thyself on Goodreads.
Got the Goodreads page going on but am wary about Amazon Author Pages because they rather enjoy "exclusive rights" to things... I'll go on about that later.
In short, doing all of these things is the same thing everyone else is doing, so what's supposed to make you stand out as an author?
Good question, and I believe the answer is originality. For every Harry Potter, Twilight or Hunger Games "tribute" that's out there, there are an overwhelming number of stories that are truly original works. For every character that's nothing but a blatant ripoff of something that's already out there that's been done before (and to death, I might add), there's a herd of original characters with a personality and history that's never been seen by the world. For every knock-off of a popular story, there's something worth reading.
A good friend of mine, Andrew, has written at least a hundred thousand words (if not plenty more) for Last Mage (and I've read a good bit of book one, and as someone who isn't a huge fan of modern fantasy, I've got to admit, it's not only a damn good read, it's a truly original fantastic story that deserves to be published). I, personally, have written close to a million words worth of fiction, information and notes on Unda Vosari alone (not to mention things completely unrelated to Unda Vosari). I can point out another half-dozen would be authors on Facebook that I personally know that have written a substantial amount (if not professionally, for their own enjoyment of the craft).
Sadly, I don't think most of those will never get read, and I don't think it's much to do with the works themselves. I think a good portion of it is what society's done to itself. We've become attached to "shiny special effects" ('lo, Hollywood!) and "amazing computer graphics" (I'm lookin' right at you, first-person shooter developers). The world has let itself become lazy, wanting nothing more to be spoon-fed this month's ration of pap and stupidity. Frankly, the half-dozen unmentioned authors up there may as well take everything they've written and change it just enough to be compared to Harry Potter, Twilight or Hunger Games - people would buy it.
I don't want to do that. I want those authors to be able to tell original tales and stand out based on those merits. I want those authors to be successful not because they were carbon copies of something that's already been milked to death but because they had thoughtful, exciting stories that they came up with by themselves.
Then someone sends me some lists of "tributes" for popular works that are just going to push the original, good stories out of the way.
Nothing on the list of things to do "to be successful as an author" can fix that.
Monday, June 24, 2013
Back to work, slacker!
I've been uninspired.
It isn't that I've been uninspired, it's that the right kind of inspiration hasn't hit me. I've got a bunch of projects I COULD be working on but the things I need in order to actually write them are elusive.
See, Unda Vosari was a great big game and while I've taken that ball and ran with it, what I'm lacking is the inspiration I had while writing the game (and then playing in it). The same is true with Venomheart. I like feedback. I like people asking me what's going to happen. I like people asking me about the setting. If I could answer four or five questions a day about Unda Vosari as a whole, I would get an absurdly large amount of work done a day.
As it is, sitting here by myself with nothing but some music and some Word documents open is not good for creativity.
However, like a good little soldier, I've been writing. In fact, in the two years since my last update, despite not having finished anything (except the first third of Unda Vosari: Confrontations and about 60,000 words in Unda Vosari: Chronicles), I have been busy. I've began writing again and looking for inspiration elsewhere, as well.
The thing is, ultimately, I know what I need in order to get the creativity flowing and that's for enough people to give a shit about what I've written (and am writing, and want to write, and what I haven't written but still related to Unda Vosari) to want to ask questions. Give feedback. Find out what's going on and not just assume I'm sitting behind a monitor somewhere typing away and banging out the next two novels.
Also worth noting that I've abandoned Dark Corners and have released it for free... That's on the Unda Vosari website now, and although it isn't finished (because the stories themselves aren't finished), it does shed some light on what's going on post Unda Vosari: Legends but pre Unda Vosari: Confrontations.
That said, I'm getting back to work. I'm forcing myself to do it, but if anyone's out there (is anyone out there?), I wouldn't mind some feedback and questions to help me focus more on the world as a whole and not "ugh, I gotta write another boring paragraph about something that isn't important to me right now."
I want to be able to explore the world and think about things I haven't thought about, but someone's gotta prod me to do it.
Meanwhile, I've opened up a Cafe Press shop for Unda Vosari. Help me make some money, folks.
It isn't that I've been uninspired, it's that the right kind of inspiration hasn't hit me. I've got a bunch of projects I COULD be working on but the things I need in order to actually write them are elusive.
See, Unda Vosari was a great big game and while I've taken that ball and ran with it, what I'm lacking is the inspiration I had while writing the game (and then playing in it). The same is true with Venomheart. I like feedback. I like people asking me what's going to happen. I like people asking me about the setting. If I could answer four or five questions a day about Unda Vosari as a whole, I would get an absurdly large amount of work done a day.
As it is, sitting here by myself with nothing but some music and some Word documents open is not good for creativity.
However, like a good little soldier, I've been writing. In fact, in the two years since my last update, despite not having finished anything (except the first third of Unda Vosari: Confrontations and about 60,000 words in Unda Vosari: Chronicles), I have been busy. I've began writing again and looking for inspiration elsewhere, as well.
The thing is, ultimately, I know what I need in order to get the creativity flowing and that's for enough people to give a shit about what I've written (and am writing, and want to write, and what I haven't written but still related to Unda Vosari) to want to ask questions. Give feedback. Find out what's going on and not just assume I'm sitting behind a monitor somewhere typing away and banging out the next two novels.
Also worth noting that I've abandoned Dark Corners and have released it for free... That's on the Unda Vosari website now, and although it isn't finished (because the stories themselves aren't finished), it does shed some light on what's going on post Unda Vosari: Legends but pre Unda Vosari: Confrontations.
That said, I'm getting back to work. I'm forcing myself to do it, but if anyone's out there (is anyone out there?), I wouldn't mind some feedback and questions to help me focus more on the world as a whole and not "ugh, I gotta write another boring paragraph about something that isn't important to me right now."
I want to be able to explore the world and think about things I haven't thought about, but someone's gotta prod me to do it.
Meanwhile, I've opened up a Cafe Press shop for Unda Vosari. Help me make some money, folks.
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.
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!
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!
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.
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!
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!
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.
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!
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!
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!
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.
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.
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