March 2024 News
Happy February.
It’s nice to see temperature rising here in the northern hemi. Winter is Going and I couldn’t be happier. This’ll be brief because writing time is writing time and this post is not as important as Turesia Untamed book 2.
Writing
THE HEATHEN TIDE is well underway. At last I’m in a groove again. I’ve gotten 5,000 new words down this week, and that’s not including this damn post.
It’s been a long time since I drafted, which is nothing like editing and even less like promoting. I’ll tell ya what makes the transition back to drafting easy: Characters whose motivations are crisply defined, and whose dialogue writes itself. They’re rare in my experience but when you find one, you should cling to them like a barnacle to a basking whale’s balls. My character of choice should be obvious for anyone who’s cracked the cover of V&V:
That’s right. The Carcass.
Violence is thirsty work and these bastards aren’t going to kill themselves.
I’ll tell you something else makes it easy to return to drafting: Readers showing interest.
I don’t need an ocean of ‘em. A handful will do. It’s crucial to know that if I complete the tale of Turesia Untamed, someone will be happy I did. (That is not to be confused with the events of book 2 making them happy)
That said, I sure do appreciate every one of you who has let me know you enjoyed V&V, whether by telling me, reviewing it online, or recommending it to someone. You are why the story continues, even moreso than the truck-loads of royalty money I’m having to wade through in my home.
Playing
this digital painting is the work of Dave Rapoza, who is phenomenomental.
A million years ago I made a blog post about my favorite game at the time - Bloodborne. I’ve rediscovered it at last, and introduced it to Boyo (who is 12 and has beaten Elden Ring multiple times).
It holds up. Such an amazing game. Dark and twisted. Violent and horrifying. Now that I’ve played Dark Souls 3 and Elden Ring, I find myself better equipped to deal with the challenges of Bloodborne. I might even be enjoying it more than I did the first time.
Reading
Speaking of a hero with well-defined goals whose dialogue and actions seem to come naturally…
I don’t read a lot of fiction while drafting, for various reasons. Most are probably superstitious. But I am going to finish Sledge vs the Labyrinth, by Nick Horvath, which is taking me too long to read. So far it is violent and spectacular.
I was convinced to buy this book after watching an interview between Nick and Matt from Beard of Darkness. It’s a great interview. Nick has been places and seen stuff.
Watching
Shōgun
Based on the novel by James Clavell,
which is inspired by the exploits of William Adams, aka Miura Anjin, aka 三浦按針
I’ve been stoked about this since it was first announced and so far it’s great. The actor that plays Anjin-san was a great pick, even though he’s only exclaimed “By God!” one time so far.
I have only 2 complaints. One is that they’re drip-feeding it one episode at a time. The second is that they’re racing through the story too fast! I’m on episode two and we’re probably 25% through the book already.
Because I can’t get my Shōgun fix fast enough, I’ve put aside my regular podcast to listen to Ralph Lister narrate the audiobook yet again. I’ve mentioned this book before. I might not have mentioned that Ralph is brilliant. He also narrated the Malazan books, which I’ve not yet read, and the Ash and Sand trilogy starting with Kings of Paradise, which I’ve mentioned before and is facking great (aside from all the ideas of mine that Richard Nell broke into my computer and stole).
What’s your regular podcast?
If you must know, it’s Podcast about List. Sometimes I find myself overburdened with brain cells and this podcast is the perfect remedy.
Next Month
Time will tell. THT will be further along. Kayaks will probably be in full swing.
See you then
That’s it?? I was just getting comfortable here.
You want more of my writing? Go read V&V. Again, if you already have. It’s got great re-read value and I promise you’ll pick up things you missed the first time through. After that go review it on Amazon, Goodreads, and Audible. Yes, all three.
Do it now.
dtl
