A few weeks ago, I gave you a nicely decorated Tolkien-like version of the map depicting the Realms, the fictional world setting where the action and fun in The Betrayed takes place. While aesthetically pleasing and possibly intriguing, the new map did not add any details or reveal any new places. We shall remedy that in a jiffy.
Here’s something rather neat for you. As you know, my fantasy universe of the Realms has a map. It’s in the book, right there at the beginning. In the true spirit of olden times, I kept the map rather simple and vague, depicting only the major border lines and the bigger cities, so you get the feel where you are, but not the exact coordinates. No GPS in The Lost Words, I’m afraid. Still, due to semi-popular demand, I decided to create a special version of the map. Available in HD, or at least a big size with lots of pixels, you get the map in lovely colors, antique fonts and runic symbols. Oppan Tolkien style!
All right, we have boldly marched into a new year. As a present for you reading my stuff, I gave the first book in my epic fantasy series for free, for three days, on Amazon.com, in its Kindle format. Pretty much the same thing we did to celebrate Dedoimedo’s sixth birthday. So no that we’re done with the partying, let’s take a look at the results.
This year, the holidays come early, because I have a gift for you. Starting midnight Pacific Time on December 19, which would be approx. 16 hours from now, The Betrayed, my first book in The Lost Words epic fantasy saga, will be free for download for three days. In order words, you get a free e-copy of my book.
Holy barnacle! I have finished the third book in the series. It will be a while before you see in the stores, but the entire text is there. Exactly 105 days after starting the second book, I have completed the third one, with 240,000 words written, averaging more than 2,000 words a day, although most of the writing was done on weekends. Moreover, I have successfully beaten my usual autumn-winter writers’ block, as there’s none, and I have never been more pumped about writing.
Yup, I just got interviewed again! Anyhow, a nice fellow by the name of James, A.K.A. Cirias, who runs the fantasy slash speculative fiction blog fantasybastion.com, agreed to interview me, with the questions focusing on my book writing. If you’re interested, I recommend you hop by the yonder site and take a look at another facet of my lunacy. For those of you with the attention span of a newt, I kindly added this excerpt.
As someone suffering from a mild case of OCD, order and consistency play an important role in my writing. Things have to be meticulous, in every shape or form. However, when you are trying to write a book, sprawling over four hundred pages with some 50 chapters and perhaps 150K words, even the most obsessed author will begin to lose track.
Today, I want to talk you about the fictional world setting shown in The Betrayed, better known as the Realms. For those of you who may have read the book, the little map at the beginning of it probably raises more questions than answers them. So let us talk a little on what the map gives us, and perhaps also briefly touch on the topic of how maps ought to look in a fantasy book. P.S. Some spoilers may occur without prior notice, so watch it if you intend to read The Betrayed one day.
A short post, but full of excellence, so to speak. I have some good news to share with you, dear readers. The Betrayed was selected for a review and feature in the August 2012 edition of the Reviewer’s Bookwatch, by Midwest Book Review. Here’s the official quote.
Ladies and gents, some really good news! Last week, I have finally and fully completed writing the sequel to The Betrayed, which will become a second book in The Lost Words series, to remain unnamed at this point. Draft one was already complete last month, but then I set about reading and fixing little things, a touch here and there, polishing some of the sub-plots, adding an extra ounce of flesh and lore to make it more believable and interesting.