Monday, April 23, 2012

The Dragon's Spine - Another Excerpt

When I was writing The Dragon's Spine I wrote three flashback scenes. I wanted to add a bit more to Krullus's back story and history, and I thought this was the best way to do it. Also, I rather like flashbacks - I'm not sure why, but I find them useful, interesting, and if used well (which I hope I have) they don't feel like you're shoving information down a reader's throat. I know I hate that feeling as a reader (and a consumer). So, this is the last of the flashback scenes, and the last of the excerpts from The Dragon's Spine that I'll be putting up here. I hope you enjoy.

You know you don't have to go, my son,” his father said. The man was older now; weak with age and illness.
The young man was now just that – a man. His red hair was wild and long, down to his shoulders. His face sported the beginning of a fine beard.
You remember I asked you a question a long time ago,” it was a statement from the young man, not a question.
I remember, my son,” his father replied. “It was 'why do people kill other people?'. We spoke about it a couple of times.”
His son nodded, fastening his chain armor securely. He picked his sword off the table, testing the new blade's balance, before sheathing it in his scabbard.
It was something I'd hoped to answer properly before a day like this came,” his father continued. “So you'd be ready.”
I think you answered it as best you could, sir,” the young man said.
But it wasn't really the answer you were looking for.”
The young man looked to his father, placed a strong but kind hand on the older man's shoulder.
It taught me something, though,” he said. “You taught me something important.”
And what is it you've learnt, my son?”
Sometimes the answers we receive are not the ones we want to hear. But they are answers just the same.”
His father nodded, his gaze following his son as he picked his pack up, tested its weight, and slung it over his shoulders.
The important thing is to ask the questions we need to ask, and to deal with the answers we receive as best we can,” the young man said. “And if we can, to find a truth we can live with.”
Why do people kill other people, my son?” his father asked after a long pause.
It doesn't matter what other people do,” the young man said. “I cannot control that. I can only control my own actions, and answer for them when asked.”
His father thought about this, as his son made his way to the door.
Why will you kill other people?” his father asked at last.
Because I must,” Krullus said as he left, closing the door behind him.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

The Literary Challenge

I have accepted a challenge from a fellow writer +Vince Kingston. We both have novellas out (as per our Gentlemen's Agreement I have linked his novella here) and we both got to talking about them. Not that either of the novellas are bad (hell, I think mine is the best thing I have on Amazon to date!), but we have challenged each other to rewrite the other's novella!

I don't think this kind of literary competition has ever been tried before (if it has, be sure to let both of us know), and I, for one, know I am taking it seriously. I'll keep you posted as to how I am going, and I'll even let you know how +Vince Kingston is going.

Strap yourself in - this ought to be fun!

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Disheartened

Writing isn't all reviews and sales. It's not all great fun, hammering away at the keyboard, watching the words and images in your mind appear on the screen and having that feeling that you've created something good, something that people might want to read, and actually enjoy.

There's a lot of crap that goes with it to. Some of it is stuff that you can control, and some of it isn't. Most of the time I like to think that I can tell the difference, and not worry about the stuff that's beyond my control, and just get on with the stuff that I can. But, I'm only human. Things happen. Things get to me.

I've moved house (hell, I've moved interstate) and I'm still getting settled. My new bed only just arrived today, I've still got crap scattered across the floor of my room (I need to add some more furniture so I can put it all away), I still haven't got a job (I've had a couple of interviews, and Easter did get in the way, I suppose), and I still haven't got into a routine here (it doesn't help that my flatmate is a shift worker).

So, I guess maybe I've been dwelling on things instead of just getting on with things.

Sales of Eria have dried up. I had a couple of "solid" months, with February being the best of them. I was positive. I thought maybe things were picking up. March was just awful. This month hasn't been much better. Maybe all the people that are going to buy it have already done so. Maybe all the friends and family had finally caught up with it, and that's it. I released The Dragon's Spine and I was pretty happy with it. It felt good writing it, and it reads well. If anything, I think it's better than Eria. I think, as a writer, I'm getting better. Sales of The Dragon's Spine, to be honest, are just woeful. Maybe people are just sick of me talking about it, building it up, or, after reading Eria and about the novella, they just aren't interested. Maybe they are put off by the 99 cent price tag.

There are a lot of maybes in there, and, at the end of the day, I just don't know. It's disheartening, really. It just seems like another thing that's not quite going right for me at the moment.

I know I should just dust myself off, get back to "writing the good write" (which was my status message on some IMs for a while), and let things flow. But there's always that nagging little voice in the back of my mind that asks whether or not it's worth it.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

The Dragon's Spine - An Excerpt

With The Dragon's Spine now being available from a variety of sources (see here for information) I realized that Amazon doesn't actually provide the Look Inside option for this like it did for Eria. So, I decided to make another except available. The first excerpt can be found here. Enjoy!


Do you remember once asking me why people killed other people, my son?” his father asked.
His son, now in his mid-teens, almost as large a man as his father, nodded.
Back then we were hunting animals. Since then you've learnt that sometimes we don't just hunt animals. Sometimes we have to defend against animals. Like the wolves that attacked the sheep flocks outside of Stalam last season. Or the bears that were killing travelers on the road to Tenford a few years back.”
Didn't we have to hunt the bears?” his son asked. “We tracked them down, like we would the animals we hunt for food.”
True,” his father said. “We did track them, and use all the skills we use when we hunt. The difference was our motivation.”
His son thought this over for a while before speaking again.
We hunted the bears because they were hunting us,” he said. “We don't normally hunt them for food. We hunted them for our survival.”
Exactly!” his father said. “In some cases we kill other people for survival. There are situations when we have no choice. If someone attacks us with the intent of killing us, we either defend ourselves, or we die.”
His son nodded again. His father could see that he had other questions to ask, so he continued.
That doesn't answer the real question you asked, though, does it, my son?”
No, sir.”
I think the important thing to consider is the motivation behind the act of killing,” his father said. “Killing a person is about emotion. For some the emotion is greed – they want what the other person has. For others it is hate – they don't like the other person. People kill out of fear, envy, vengeance. Kings send whole armies of people out to kill others to satisfy their emotions.”
Why do the armies fight?” his son asked. “Each soldier doesn't feel the same emotion of the King.”
True,” his father said. “Other emotions drive the soldiers. Loyalty, pride, patriotism. Sometimes, though, they fight because they need to feed their families, or, if the King is wicked, to protect their family from him.”
He looked at his son for a long time before continuing.
At the end of the day, what I said to you the last time still holds true, though. Some people kill simply because they can.”

Wednesday, April 4, 2012

A Lot Goes On (But Nothing Happens)

I've had a song by Ben Lee stuck in my head lately. The title is ripped from the chorus of the song. Most of you will probably not know who Ben Lee is, but that's okay. I can wait here while you open a new tab, search him out on Google, and maybe watch a YouTube clip or two. I find, despite his age (and I know age doesn't mean squat sometimes compared to talent and ability) that some of his stuff is rather insightful.

I've moved house. I made the long drive north (about 16 hours all told, that I managed in one go) to be closer to my daughter (who I may or may not get to see more often now), to increase my chances of finding not only a good job, but one that pays good money (I've had a couple of interviews for one job that will pay more than I've ever been paid before), and to get away from the place I was staying (things were becoming a little crowded and claustrophobic for me). One of my friends once (well, more than once, but you know what I mean) that it doesn't matter where you go, or who you spend your time with, you're always there, and you have to learn to love yourself. Most of the time I tolerate myself, but I'm pretty sure that's not what she means.

I'm still really settling in here - it hasn't even been two weeks yet. I still need to make the space I have my own, get back into a bit of a routine with my writing (which, sadly, has been on the back burner trying to get settled here), and get a bed (something which is a more expensive endeavor than I had thought).

I'm well and truly no longer engaged. I'm not really sure where I am even at with that relationship. I still love the girl, want to spend the rest of my life with her, but she's in the USA and I am not, and she's in a state of transition (after a fashion) herself. I spend some of my days sad, lonely, and wondering what I'm doing. Is it any wonder I want to escape into a world of fantasy that I (mostly) control?

The Dragon's Spine is now up for sale at a variety of places. The Amazon link is at the top of the page (and through the magic of technology, you can just click on the name!), as is the Eria link. You can also find it at Drive Thru Fiction and Bygone Futures. I've teamed up with the wonderful Vince Kingston from Bygone Futures for this, and future projects, because I like what Vince does, and he's a wonderful guy. You should check out his stuff. I think he's really going to go places. The Drive Thru Fiction and Bygone Futures versions include a couple of formats, because not everyone has/uses a Kindle or Kindle software (or so I've been told). Eria will also be re-released through both of those sites soon, so, if that's been a concern for some people, be concerned no more!

Lastly, but not leastly, there is already a wonderful review of The Dragon's Spine on the Amazon site (but you would have noticed that when you clicked on the link to check it out, right?). I've said it before, and I'll keep saying it until people tell me to stop (well, maybe once or twice after that) - I love reviews. They really give me a warm and fuzzy feeling. It's great to know that someone not only enjoyed something that I've created, but they also took the time to tell the world at large about it.

Okay, that's me done rambling again. Hopefully the next update will be less of a ramble, and by then (hopefully) I'll have some exciting writing news, a new bed, a job, or a combination of those things.