My workspace

I thought you'd like to see a snapshot of my workspace, just for fun. I've even added captions! :) Click to expand. Enjoy.

From Sacred Knight

Happy Valentine's Day

Never look for the one that "completes" you. Find the one that "compliments" you. 

Never will you be happy if you look outside yourself for your happiness, for that is something only you can give yourself. If you truly believe you won't be happy unless you have this certain someone, you're wrong (grow up - I say!). Its better to look for the characteristics you desire. 

If you've found the one who is your yin to your yang (or vice versa), congratulations! 

If you're still looking, keep yourself busy with the other activities and interests in your life. As I was once told by the Universe, "You can only ever be lonely when you stop doing things." Seriously, do what you love and you'll never feel more fulfilled. Steigan and his story are my passion (and yes, I'm looking forward to spending my Valentine's Day working on his story. Maybe that's sad in some people's book, but I hope someday to find my complimenting partner who will understand that). 

Enjoy this day devoted to love.

Groundhog Day - again

Here we are, a week out from Groundhog Day. I was supposed to write this for that day, but it kind of got away from me, so we're going to repeat.

It is often said that we must learn from history or we are doomed to repeat it. But I ask you, who writes the history?

The victors, right? History is always written by the winning side, from their perspective.

But I would take a position that even the villain in a story believes he/she is correct and doing the right thing. So do the losers of a battle. They must believe that their fight is the one that is right and just. They aren't strong enough to prove it though.

History is always one of those things that has two or more sides. Once time has passed, who is to say if that history is the true history or one built on lies. This is a fundamental point in the Sacred Knight series. A lot of what Steigan "knows" in the first book may or may not be true. That's what the reader will discover in the following books. Steigan himself will be doomed to repeat the past if he can't change it. If you've read book one and are waiting for book two, then I know this sentence has left you salivating! :) Mean author! Yes, I will say that book two is about Saint Steigan's life, but do you know what you think you know? Mawhahaha!

I love my evil laugh! I'm sure that like Groundhog Day, it will repeat again, and again. It's such a paradox. We'll just have to see if Steigan and Saint Steigan can ever escape their paradox. Or will it forever be Groundhog Day on his world?

Peek-a-boo Moon

I admit it. I have a love for the moon.

Just last week I was driving home and looking out the window at the moon (so much for watching the road!). A fast moving storm was pushing clouds over the face of the moon. I'd look up, see the moon, look back at the road (yes, I really was watching), then I'd glance back up at the moon which would now be hidden behind the clouds. It was like the moon was playing peek-a-boo with me. Really cool.

When I designed Steigan's world, I decided to have three moons around the planet. I often wonder how three moons would effect an earth-like world. I wonder what it would be like to sit on Jupiter and watch the moons from there.

I'm half afraid someday someone with some astronomy knowledge is going to come along and tell me that my world just isn't plausible for this reason and that!

Is that a reason to not write the story? No. Not a good one at least.

 If you hide from your fears you'll never get to chasing after your goals. You can't play peek-a-boo with your fears. It's best to stay ahead of them by keeping the action moving forward and your eyes on the road.

Working through your fingers

Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers. --Isaac Asimov

I really like this quote. Maybe because I can relate to it so much. I have to wonder though, does this count when good ideas come to me when I'm driving?

Where do you feel you get your best ideas?

One book becoming two, Part 2 of the tale

I've spent several days now working on the beginning of what will now be the third book in the series. It does feel like a beginning and sometimes I have to stop and remind myself that it is the start of a new book. It's weird because I'm so use to thinking of it as one story arc. But as I've said before, it's all a matter of working the story harder.

Speaking of which, I suppose I ought to explain why I decided to break it into two.

As readers may guess after reading The Three Books (aka book 1), the second story arc is about the life of St. Steigan. There is so much to set up, more of the magical world to build, new characters, etc. Overall, there is a lot! I do work to develop my stories, so there's work to do to make sure you, my fabulous reader, has lots of paths to explore. What is truth and what is a lie? Is this character a friend or a betrayer? What really lies beneath the Temple in the catacombs? I'm sitting here with a wicked grin on my face. Already I'm ready to go get back to work on the story. I love diving into this world! Really, this story is not meant to be read only once. There is enough here to read multiple times and deeper levels of meaning found each time. Wonderful parallels are cropping up between book 1 and 2. I am delighted and surprised each time I discover something new.

Just today, in fact, I started writing about Laurient (see previous posts) and St. Steigan going out to fight the gargaxes and St. Steigan comes up with this brilliant idea to transfer magic to Laurient. I hadn't seen this coming, didn't have it planned, it just popped in there. But it adds so many dimensions to the story. Because of this one thought, I can now spider several more things (like some foreshadowing for events in what will now be book 5) into the story. I love it!

Some of you may be wondering what will happen to the release date of the second book now that the preliminary draft is done. That's coming soon, I promise. The good thing is that I actually finished the draft by the date that I had set as my deadline so right now the story is still on track. As for my working title, I've had to change it because it no longer works. The Saint and the Betrayer, when split into to becomes The Saint (first title) and The Betrayer (second title). Somehow this just doesn't inspire me in the same way. Sigh. However, I have a new plan for the titles. I'm giving it a settling period to make sure I like it, but I'll probably make the title known at the same time I announce the release date for the second book.

So wait eagerly for more to come!

Happy reading!

One book becomes two, Part 1 of the tale

Its official.

The second book of the Sacred Knight series is being split into two books. The decision was made in the dark of night after a weekend of fevered writing. Here it is nearly one on the morning and I reached what I thought would be a chapter end. I've often been asked how to know where to end a chapter and the truth is that there is no one right spot that can be found in the words alone. It's a feeling. Everything I just get this feeling to end a chapter at a certain spot. I was having that feeling come upon me and I was ready for sleep. But as I hit the period on the last word, I had a feeling of real completion, not a feeling of being ready to move to the next scene.

I wasn't really sure that I wanted to end the book there -- it's not really a high note in the story. Could I really stop and leave the readers there? Really? But it felt so final.

So I stopped.