Behind the Ink

Hello there! Here is where you can find the collection of weekly emails in the “behind the scenes” series of my work. Enjoy your exploration, and if you like what you see, consider signing up for my newsletter, of which these emails will be part.

Children of Stone, Children of Ashkaron Book 1

Chapter 1

Ellender’s Nook

Good evening, and welcome to the first edition of Behind the Ink!I finally realized that at least half the reason you signed up for this newsletter was in interest of the story itself, which I have done little to delve into. Today, we’re going to rectify that in a way I hope you will enjoy.

First off, I had a dream last night that I opened the book to do this, as I’m reading the relevant chapter before writing to refresh my memory, and found a blacked out section and two lines of upside down text!! I happily report no such nightmares found footing in the waking world.

A little background, 2016: Children of Stone (originally no series name) was written for the National November Writing Month challenge (now sadly defunct), in which the goal was to write a 50k word novel in the month of November. I had only once met/exceeded that word count, and it had taken a very long time to do it. Not a fast writer, I had no reason to think I could accomplish it, but decided to try anyway, pretty much on a whim.

I flipped through my small category of previous short stories and ideas, but wasn’t satisfied with any of them. Finally, one of those literal shower thoughts hit me, and I saw an image of a man dressed in black, standing among desert dunes, and I knew he was looking for something. What that was I had no clue, and it wasn’t until perhaps the day before we started writing that I had any inkling of what any of it was about.

That was an interesting month. I was still driving almost an hour one way for work, and for a good share of the time I ended up working six 10 hour days a week. My family was entirely wonderful, and generously allowed me to all but ignore them in the effort to make this happen.
As I’ve since come to terms with, my style means I find out at almost the same time you do what happens next. I remember wracking my brain to find some way to meet that 1,500 word a day effort, and not knowing where anything was going. That uncertainty has since become more comfortable and a bit fun.

Suffice to say, an extremely rough 50k word draft did coalesce within the month. (I also managed to complete my OSHA 10 certification, which *coughcough* may not have been prioritized as my supervisors would have liked.)

I loved the conversation between Urig and Asnamad, and salvaged what I could of it for a later chapter, but it’s just not the same. A small change for Asnamad was his eye color. Originally, it was a light, piercing blue. When I later pulled back and took a look at the people we had, he was the only one with that eye color. As much as it would have further marked him as a bit unique, I eventually decided it was better to keep more consistency in their genetics.

Urig also changed over the course of refining the story. I sat down to make a villainous villain who was bad for bad’s sake and just a mean jerk. As I grew a little bit, it became patently obviously juvenile, and wasn’t right for his character or position. The brooding madness we see instead is far more correct, even if a shrinking part of me pouts that it wasn’t what I wanted.

Prologue Part 2 followed new mother Veila and baby Arythas in a facility that comes under attack. Iztu, husband and father, takes them away as a general evacuation is underway, disobeying procedure by splitting off from the armed escort.

We watch them come under attack by the Grak and fend them off, though Iztu is wounded. After escaping, Iztu explains his plan to Veila, to keep their daughter safe.

I liked having this glimpse into both Iztu and Veila, though, as a reader commented, it was weird to have a chapter with named characters that never show up again in any meaningful way in the rest of the book. In the end, it did seem wiser to cut it. I’m still glad to have this little moment of a loving father and doomed mother living in the back of my mind, even if it’s been the better part of a decade since it existed.

Chapter 1 went through a few more versions and refinements, and one of the last was the addition of Vashel’s appearance. I enjoy her part, small as it is, and think it’s great to have a smidge more time with her. It also did a lot to support her character later in the book, and as such was necessary.

I left the guards intentionally vague, as this was not the time to reveal them. I doubt there’s too much curiosity around them at this point, but much better safe than spilt tea.

A very small thing was that for the longest time I used the word “stolid” once in the first few paragraphs to describe the rock formations. Somebody eventually said that it seemed odd and broke immersion. (I can’t tell you how many things had been in place for years, and then weeks before ordering the finalized version, were suddenly an issue!) I checked the definition, and while not perfect, didn’t truly seem at odds. I really loved stolid and thought it felt right, but in the end, I softened my stubbornness to make room for good advice. What’s really funny, is looking through one of the next books, the same word pops up again in pretty much the same context. And I still love it. Haven’t changed it yet, but probably will, in the end. But maybe not till the last minute.

That’s all that’s coming to mind for Chapter 1. I hope you have enjoyed this and I will see you next week with Chapter 2!

Chapter 2

Ellender’s Nook

Welcome to the second installment of Behind the Ink, where we are exploring Children of Stone (CoS) chapter-by-chapter! Here I share the changes, challenges and groans or laughter I remember in creating my first novel, while attempting to keep the spoilers limited for those who haven’t had the chance to read it yet.

Much of the published structure solidified immediately after receiving feedback from my developmental editor, Julie Gray. I could only afford the one pass with her, but it was very valuable. At the time, there was a competition coming up that I wanted to enter, and made a flurry of improvements towards that end with her help. The next chapter reflects, perhaps the greatest changes brought about by that interaction.

For the world, I realized it actually felt pretty empty. It was supposed to, to a large degree, but not quite this skeletal. To liven it up and enrich the surroundings, this chapter introduced the cotris, splin and shisha. Also, this is now the first time we catch a glimpse of the reliable zirik.

While it never made it into the first draft, the original conception of the zirik was as an oasis predator that lurked in the water, using tentacles to catch its prey. I got some weird looks for that. To be fair, I was in a clean up crew at a construction site at the time, and I don’t think there were many creative types around. Any time I bounced an idea off someone, I was given strange looks, lol. There was another feature or two about that zirik that I don’t quite recall now, but they definitely tipped it towards “ridiculous”. After a re-design, the zirik had poisonous bone spikes that protruded from its sides when threatened, which was on display in the original Prologue Part 2. This also ended up feeling unnecessary.

Badjads got a small tweak, implemented late, in the form of the hairless skin “vents” we briefly see on Mala. I got to thinking about alpacas, and how they have a similar feature to help them combat heat, and figured badjads were pretty big and hairy not to have something of the sort.

The second is the anonymous visitor outside Krun’s door at the inn. This was also a “second-to-last phase” implementation, and one I am very happy with. It was fun to attempt balancing intrigue and introduction, without giving things away. Also, Krun initially remembered a rumor that said way too much too soon, so that was moved to another place. Much better.

After learning a little bit more about the viability (and lack of) daggers as a primary close-quarters weapon, I very seriously considered changing Krun’s choice in arms. While I may make daggers a secondary choice in the future, it is both a well-accepted fantasy implementation (sure, it’s an excuse), and just feels appropriate for him.

Sometimes obvious things are oblivious things when you’ve looked at them too long, so a few changes that were suggested by a friend are that Istra was given a little more love in its description, inns and taverns in general had a little better distinction, and I gave our good innkeeper a name. About time, poor guy.

Krun had, for a time, been described as a bit of a collector and reseller of strange and unusual things. This felt far too much like scavenging, which, while he might resort to under necessity, is not who he is in general. He also for a long time sounded very suspicious of the villagers and theft concerns, but this just didn’t fit on any front.

Perhaps most personally, there is a line referencing the guran and the rivuul as “sentinels”. This specific instance is born from the Sons of the San Joaquin’s version of Utah (With One Eye). There is a line in the song that goes, “Sentinel spires of cactus stand, timeless guards of a rugged land”, and it has always felt so beautiful and poignant to me, and Sons of the San Joaquin bring it to life incredibly with their wonderful voices and great harmony. Western music is a highly descriptive, poetic genre, and I’m grateful to have had some exposure to it.

I think that pretty well covers Chapter 2. I wish you a restful day, thank you for being here, and I will see you next week!

Chapter 3

Ellender’s Nook

Welcome to the third installment of Behind the Ink, where we are exploring Children of Stone (CoS) chapter-by-chapter! Here I share the changes, challenges and groans or laughter I remember in creating my first novel, while attempting to keep the spoilers limited for those who haven’t had the chance to read it yet.

I don’t have my rough draft anymore, which would have been great for this series, but technology and I don’t always get along, which has led to some frustrations. Printing copies out used to be prohibitively expensive (so grateful to have my toner printer now!), so my oldest is Draft 2. I’d actually made another good reformation pass on the story, but my drive became corrupted, and this now-disappointing 2nd draft was all I had left. It was very depressing, and I didn’t touch CoS again for a couple of years. I lost my writing music at the same time, which was also very discouraging. Ah well. I have new music now, and am in some ways an entirely different person. About like the work itself. It’s all okay in the end. (Not a spoiler. 😉 )

Enough digression! Chapter 3 saw many changes after my editor had it. Notably, several new and expanded scenes! All of which felt as if they’d always been there once we met each other, and may be some of my favorite parts of the book.

The banter between the shopkeeps was criminally non-existant for too long a time, as was the peek into what, exactly, our good friend Krun risked his life to trade. Quite overdue for our little world. In general, a lot was shored up and more personal. We also reversed Krun’s payment to his helper; for whatever ungenerous reason, it was originally yara candy for standard payment, and the coin for the boy’s honesty. The shopkeep’s dig at Krun about the candy is kind of me making a little fun of myself. Not the last time this happens.

Our mystery woman was given a bit more care, and her better introduction moved up. I don’t want to admit just how much better the setup and interaction between her and Krun is over its original conception. Before, it was quite literally Krun turning down an alley and waiting for her to follow before confronting her, and not one of our better constructed moments. I actually kinda love it the way it is now.

Alas, regarding her, it was suddenly brought up right near the end of everything, that referring to our poorly-dressed lady as a “rogue” wasn’t quite the right term for her situation. While fugitive is more accurate, it’s also less pleasant on the tongue. She’ll always be the rogue to me.

Poor Istra used to have a better chance at good wine. I decided that a 60% chance of tasty booze didn’t sound like much of a gamble, and undermined some of the other village’s specialties. It is still, however, one of my favorites. (Don’t tell Doras or Nezit!)

One of the biggest things that got a tiny nod here, was seen in Krun’s memory of another tavern at another time and place. This one is possibly my biggest facepalm. I always knew Krun was in his mid-forties, and had done the math a ton of times. But, again right before pressing go on the printing, I realized I had calculated Krun’s age and time in the military wrong, misplacing about a decade alongside some other agey/timey factors at play. This rocked the applecart a little bit, the most unhappifying of which was that I had to reduce the amount of time he and Mala have been together. Anyway, originally he’d been long out of the military at the time of the memory, and had faced far less than many around him. This actually works out fine, and feels a bit like like finding a piece of him I hadn’t realized was missing, but it sure made the anxiety spike!

I worked on bolstering some of our background tension, as it is very relevant but hadn’t been properly mentioned. Throughout all of these early chapters, it was interesting to try striking that balance between saying too much by calmly passing off some of our character’s motivations as, perhaps, exaggerations, and not being honest enough. Pretty sure this is very common, but it was still a point I revisited frequently. I wanted to tell a simple story, not out for the twists, turns, and rarely going for the shock factor (editor said that wasn’t what we got), but it deserved to have at least one foot in the game.

I think lastly, it’s worth mentioning just because it makes me happy, that there are several whole paragraphs (small as they may be), that remained the same. It feels like a pretty pushpin in the corkboard that says, “Not everything was wrong”.

Thank you for traipsing down memory lane with me, and I hope you have a beautiful day. See you next week with Chapter 4!

Chapter 4

The Nook

Welcome to the fourth installment of Behind the Ink, where we are exploring Children of Stone (CoS) chapter-by-chapter! Here I share the changes, challenges and groans or laughter I remember in creating my first novel, while attempting to keep the spoilers limited for those who haven’t had the chance to read it yet.

There wasn’t enough going on to justify the time spent with him, she’d said, and it was dragging the story down. So I set out, a bit dismayed, to do as I was instructed. I varied it up by spending more time with Urig, roughly alternating chapters and attempting to bring Krun under control. Instead, after adding all those fun scenes with him, and further developing Urig, this part of the book expanded like a waist size after Thanksgiving dinner. Better stuffed and happier for it. I’ve been highly curious what she would think of it, now, and if she’d be pleased or disappointed. Maybe some random day down the road I’ll get to find out. Regardless, whether or not CoS would have been better off with much less of Krun and Mala, this is a darling I do not regret faking the death of.

Random aside, the bookmark quote, “I reason, I study, I have faith, and I adjust my wagers as necessary.” was chosen because my editor specifically mentioned it and said she wanted a pillow with that on it. While I don’t have the pillow, I nevertheless wanted to give her an invisible, extra thank you and nod.

Vaguely speaking of, I tried hard to keep Urig’s forays into the past and back easy transitions. I still frown about it a bit when I think of it, not entirely convinced I got the balance right. Oh well, spilt, spoilt or sippable, the milk’s been poured. I did enjoy a few of his lines in here, though.

A few introductions were made in this chapter, if a bit offhand. Both pirlo and lyren were among the sweep of new critters, not a one of which have I regretted. I think lizards are delightful, so getting a harmless, small version of them running around was awesome. I also love owls, if a bit uneasily, and it was fun to put a couple of twists on them and toss them in here. Though, that’s not exactly obvious just yet.

Speaking of introductions! For some reason I have more than once found it oddly awkward to actually find a way to naturally refer to Urig’s guardswomen by name. I don’t have much of a theory for it. Poor Imaren and Ameril have been on the wrong end of it the most.

It was fun to finally start seeing more of the stonemen!

Most all the stonemen declared their stonemarks through silent inspiration (or me grasping for the first thing to please come to mind), though Oronda (and later, Morin), were used somewhat to demonstrate the downside of the random nature of their soul-reflected features. I think out of all the stonewomen, our diamond-dusty lady is the one I seriously questioned. I was afraid that maybe I’d made her “too pretty”. “Oh, and she’s got like, main-character energy because, look at her, she’s so sparkly and gorgeous!” On the other hand, diamonds are quite well known for being hard, and in the end, it suits her well. (That, uh, obviously has nothing to do with the next book or two in the series. *coughcough*)

On the subject of pretty, one of the changes made here were their garments, and the differences in the guardswomen’s garb. Again, I had been a little over the top, and initially our privileged four were bedecked with gemstones sewn onto their clothes. That was really too much, so they got a bit of a downgrade. Imaren was likely the most disappointed.

Odepas got a little extra time at the end of the chapter, which I think happened in something like the very second-to-last set of edits. Like you’ve seen with a few other characters, she needed more time to show us a little about herself, and I actually really appreciated the slight nuance in his character that this small interaction brought out in Urig. All in all a very satisfactory bit to see develop. I always had a soft spot for Odepas, though she wasn’t exactly a primary character. Maybe it’s because I love opals, but if I’m being really honest, I think it’s just as much because her name came very easily. I think she was one of the first, and definitely one of the only for whom I didn’t have to go through the ritual of realizing I had a character to name, then holding that nebulous entity in mind and running through the alphabet until something sounded right.

Actually, I think much of their identity is wrapped up in their names, and is usually my first clue as to their personality. I don’t always get it right, in which case they set me straight and I have to go back and address my errors. I have also discovered that certain letters tend to fall into similar roles and personality types, but I’m not going into that in too much detail because it’s potentially a bit of a spoiler, and I’ve started more consciously teasing out other qualities and characteristics that can accompany the syllables. So there! I’ll fool you later.

I think the last major bit of change in this chapter involves our torturers. It’s a small little thing, but did a lot to help set up future interactions and make mental transitions easier and more natural. Originally, it was not specified that the trio was sent back on patrol duty rather than just kicked out of a job. It’s actually kinda cool, how much can be gained with just a line or two.

As you may or may not have noticed, I’ve decided to change the name of my general corner of the email world to The Nook, instead of Ellender’s Nook. You know who I am, and it feels a bit pompous. This way, I think it feels more inviting, and more like a shared space. Unless my scattered brain misses it, this should be the shown title in both my regular newsletter and this particular series.

Thank you for coming along! If this is a weekend day for you, I hope it is as restful or productive as you need it to be, and I’ll see you next week with Chapter 5!

Chapter 5

Ellender’s Nook

Welcome to the fifth installment of Behind the Ink, where we are exploring Children of Stone (CoS) chapter-by-chapter! Here I share the changes, challenges and groans or laughter I remember in creating my first novel, while attempting to keep the spoilers limited for those who haven’t had the chance to read it yet.

In keeping, we had a couple of additions, notably the mobri and the skibb. I have a few little penciled sketches (truly terrible; a stick figure artist looks like a master by comparison) of a few things, and the skibb was one of them. I realized we could really use another type of mount besides the zirik, and figuratively banged my head against the keyboard until it turned up with “giant daddy-longlegs”. I very much appreciate spiders, and while we have a general catch and release outside policy, they still make me uneasy. The two major exceptions being daddy-longlegs and jumping spiders. Heck, I was happy to have something not mammalian, because trying to design anything more than “it has four legs and a tail” was a real drag. I like what they add, and I enjoy a little harmless with my creepy. At least, some of the time.

This may again be lingering influence from Western music and the few movies/series I’ve seen, but it’s hard to separate a desert influence from the image of the mournfully romanctic tumbleweed, if it does belong in a different type of desert than CoS is based in. I also realized we didn’t have any fungi, and I figured why not pair them? It’s not Earth, after all!

That also meant I needed to name the series, and work the planet into that part of the title. I’m not entirely thrilled by what we ended up with, but it fits as an encapsulation of the general theme, and nothing else that came to mind worked better. Maybe I’ll nail it next time.

Back to Krun, we had our first real look at the established calap, which was fun, and I generally enjoyed the scene with Nona. Her name might have, uh, been short for “No Name”. Shameless and Desperate can sometimes have nice babies. She is not an only child, lol.

On a note about kyts, I originally called them “kly”, but it didn’t look or feel quite right. I completely forgot there was a type of real bird by the same name, and felt a little embarrassed when I was reminded. Oh well. The first thing I did when I decided to take writing seriously was rid myself of the pressure to do anything truly new. I’m some odd thousands of years too late to come up with the genuinely novel (no pun intended), so I put my energy into working with the stories that want me to tell them, and accepting that what is unique is my perspective with all of its advantages and limitations. After all, any good murder mystery will tell you it is about how not what.

The term birl (yes, yes, very original) was a hasty last minute addition. I’d finished the first draft of Planned Release Number 4 (Spirit of Sacrifice, an Ashkaron Novel), and by then I’d become very tired of pointing at any unknown feathered flying thing and saying “avian”. I finally accepted they would have a general term for such things and didn’t overcomplicate it, then went retroactive. Such things are one reason I hope to stay at least a series ahead of release, as there are so many things that I discover as we go along. Once it’s in print, such improvements are a little late.

Another place in the walk that was given a bit better attention was the marnhill and the zirik. My mother, bless her soul, sits through all of my rough drafts and has more than once said “You can do better”. This was one of those instances.

I’d noticed the phrase describing the entryway picture contained the term “moody blues”. I smirked a little, automatically thinking of the band by the same name. I’m not terribly familiar with them, but my parents love their music and I have enjoyed what I’ve heard. The moment I read over that particular sentence with Mom, she stopped me to point it out excitedly. So no, it’s not a reference or an homage, but I’m glad that a little thing that sparked a bit of joy in my mother and leaves me with a good memory is in print.

A slightly rueful personal comment is Mita’s secondhand statement that all he can grow is sand. I love plants, but I usually avoid being personally responsible for them as no matter how hard I try, my care seems incompatible with their chances at a long life. I met a man in passing once, who also had possessed a particularly brown thumb. He, however, had delved into biochemistry and related fields, grasped the simple “green math” (not his words) and had experienced wonderful success since. My neurospicy isn’t quite of the vein to send me down the same path, but it was pretty cool to hear, and a good reminder that, generally speaking, any issue can be overcome with the pursuit of understanding. While not the only factor, dedication is the keystone of success, our commitment to which is often tempered by self-consciousness, sacrifice of other valued aspects of life, contentment or simple lack of will. But there I go again. Back on track!

Speaking in general of things that I liked was the new bit of time we spent watching the pirlo. Now, please understand that anything that turns out well I feel very fortunate to have been blessed with. The work and I feel like a collaberative effort, where it needs a medium and I’m happy to feel the words. I always experience a little guilt when I admit that some of them give me pleasure, and I’m trying to learn that it’s okay to let them. After all, if I don’t like what I do, how can I ask anyone else to? So yes, picturing that pirlo perched with keen patience at the top of a spire in the moonlight, embodying both the quiet softness a desert night was capable of, and how that softness could turn to brutality in a moment, and how it is not a majestic image, but a sight that impresses one with some sense of forbidding poise that could only be found in the wild, feels like witnessing art as only the living desert can paint. And I love it.

I had a note about chapter endings, but I think we’ll save that for another time. Thank you for being here, and I wish you a glorious day! If you’re celebrating Easter, then I hope it is a hoppin’ good time. See you next week!

Chapter 6

The Nook

Welcome to the sixth installment of Behind the Ink, where we are exploring Children of Stone (CoS) chapter-by-chapter! Here I share the changes, challenges and groans or laughter I remember in creating my first novel, while attempting to keep the spoilers limited for those who haven’t had the chance to read it yet.

Meanie that he might be, he has his reasons, and deserves a chance to share them. While I’ve liked Urig’s portions well enough, and really love some moments later on, I think this chapter is my favorite regarding him. Having the opportunity to meet Thera is something I’ve lowkey treasured. She’s another heroic background figure, in her way, and contributed so much to the course of our story to a degree that did not get recognition in earlier drafts. There is a layer or two that wasn’t appropriate to divulge in this book, which makes some of these lines hit a little harder, knowing they are there. Perhaps most of all, I liked getting a glimpse of who he had been.

The conversation that takes place in Asnamad’s sanctum is the reworking of the men’s conversation in the former Prologue Part One. Still glad we could save some of it! I yet have my sister’s note, on a line that did not make the transition. The lost line, in context of the outpost barely turning away an attack and our general barging through the doors in a most hasty, agitated fashion, is Asnamad’s first introduction and goes:
“Calm down,” the man said softly, without looking at him, hunched over his work. “The project is safe.” (Lol, I like this guy! – Sister)
I really wanted to preserve it, but there was no reasonable means.

Urig and Thera, Veila and Arythas, Iztu and Urig, Korhm and Istrial, Krun and Mala… Many different kinds of love, and each has claimed mastery over the narrative. Not every outcome is positive, but when you’re dealing with absolute equations, where consequences and reactions are equal to their inception, nothing short of cataclysm can really be expected. Anyway, moving on!

History, history, not so much a mystery! Without Urig in the picture, our “inside” view of the Grak was rather limited to Korhm’s musings. (I know you may not have met him yet, but he’s coming. Two more chapters!) While roughly serviceable, it makes a great deal more sense to have a personal perspective through Urig for our primary understanding. Much happier.

Hard as it is in a way to let it go, now that the story has been let loose in the world, it’s no longer only mine. I’m trying to be better about sharing. After all, at that point, it’s more like creating a ground we can both play in.

Perhaps it’s my late night-wandery brain, but this reminds me of being in a play. I haven’t done many of them, but it was pretty cool, waiting for my next turn to go onstage, listening to the audience and my playmates, around 2/3rds through the story. It was fun, picturing their perspective, how each of us knows only this small part of what’s going on, but they know the whole of it up to that point, catching the nuances and the tensions we aren’t aware of in character. Again, there was so much to love; other people’s lines, mine, the audience’s participation… I think picturing them out there on the other side of that curtain, invisible yet integral, building something alongside us simply by their attention and pleasure, is the best part of the entire experience.

I guess, like writing, it’s the whole reason to get up on the stage. To face the quivering nerves and fear of spectacular, irreversible failure, and the practices that are more stressful and aggravating than much else, for that moment of shared, glorious magic.

Not to mention all the colorful, wonderful, delightfully zany people met along the way.

Until next week, I bid you a most excellent day!

Chapter 7

The Nook

Welcome to the seventh installment of Behind the Ink, where we are exploring Children of Stone (CoS) chapter-by-chapter! Here I share the changes, challenges and groans or laughter I remember in creating my first novel, while attempting to keep the spoilers limited for those who haven’t had the chance to read it yet.

It also gave us some welcome insight to her relationship with her parents, and those brave souls themselves. I’ve always held a lot of sympathy for Veila, and part of me has felt a bit bad for letting her be protrayed in the way she has, yet, these things happen in the real world. People make sacrifices, and sometimes those sacrifices come at costs that are heavily, deeply personal. They may choose to make those sacrifices, and might choose to make them again, given the option, but that doesn’t necessarily prevent them from becoming crushed beneath the weight.

Is it noble, to make such sacrifices? Often, yes. Perhaps always. Yet, true nobility rarely comes without extreme cost, and great, silent tragedy. I think Veila falls into this category. Of course, sometimes such sacrifices are made without the requirement; sometimes, the sacrifices of those we love are ones we would ask them not to make, to let us choose the unknown and uncertain, so they need not be martyrs. The nobility in the willingness remains, in either case. Sometimes, there is also nobility in choosing not to become the martyr, which, I think, is just as important to remember.

Sometimes, sharing the burden is the less selfish thing to do, as backwards as it may feel.

Okay, time for a couple of confessions. For one, remember when I admitted I had issues with being a female fantasy writer? Well, that expanded to thinking Arythas was going to be the main character, and really hating that. I absolutely did not want to be a female fantasy author writing about a female character. I seriously considered fighting the story and changing her to a boy. But, I’d had a lesson in forcing characters into roles they don’t fit in the fanfic I’d written before this, and knew better than to make that effort. Instead, she turned out to be something just as important, and perfect the way she is. CoS was another big lesson for me, in letting go and following where the story led. Fortunately, this one wasn’t painful.

While I still haven’t encountered a great many female authors I’ve enjoyed reading, I’ve since become a little less uptight about the topic, and am slowly settling into the truth that this is my writing identity, and that’s okay. Again, this is all my personal perspective, and none of these opinions are meant as a disparagement of the very many wonderful women writers in the world, and again, some of my absolute favorite stories have been written by them.

Moving on! So, uh, that guy, Namon? Yeah, I might have been struggling to find something to call him, and thought or said something along the lines of, “I need to name this one.” … Name one? Namon! Naturally. Not proud of it, but it still makes me laugh on the inside.

Speaking (loosely) of Namon, that bit where Arythas tracks the stoneman’s commands through the ground was a new touch, suggested by a family member (Brother, I think. It’s been a while.) to help clarify the rules we’re dealing with in regard to the stonemen’s powers. It’s iterated later, but they were quite right in suggesting it would be useful knowledge to have here, where it’s relevant. Plus, it doesn’t need to be concealed, as was sort of required earlier with Arythas’ introduction.

Had another small thought, but it’s a bit more spoilery, so I’ll pare it down to something like, I don’t love some topics, but I thought some of the aftermath of certain things was “bits and specks” of a nice touch. Is that wrong?

A super tiny change here was the addition of mentioning Veila’s pack. There tend be a lot of things like this; little adds or subtractions to smooth things out and make more sense. So far, I’m fairly happy with how things turned out, reading this somewhat freshly with you. There are definitely a lot of things I’m hoping to do better in the next book, and while some of my anticipated disappointments have not met with surprise, some of my bigger fears have found no footing. I’ll take it as a lesson, and a win.

This feels like a good place to talk about chapter endings. I like this one; I’m happy with most of them in here. For me, and maybe (probably) because a lot of what I read growing up was thrillers, I always hated the last minute hook. I just wanted to go to bed!!! But no, you promised I’d be able to wrap it up and tuck it away until we picked up again tomorrow, and then Bam! Now you feel compelled to read more! I have more than once almost groaned aloud, “Just let me go!”.

I understand why, of course, and it may be true that statistically speaking, creating that tension and keeping readers dying to turn the page to find out what the heck happens now makes for better everything across the board, but I like being allowed to put it down. I know I’m going to go back to it, and for me, knowing I’m going to wind up skewered and wriggling on the hook almost turns me away, even though yes, I very much do want to know how things get resolved. Finding that balance is something that’s become important to me. I want the story to be told well enough, to convey its soul and the characters to a true and interesting degree that you’ll want to come back, without tricking you into it. I know I like feeling that it’s okay to rest, and want you to feel that, too. Anyway, that’s my minirant on chapter endings.

A happy announcement! Friend and reader Robert suggested making a place on the website where a collection of the Behind the Ink series can be found, so that new readers can catch up, and established friends can more easily refresh themselves, if desired. I had a big mishap putting this together, lol, accidentally erasing a good chunk of the site, but it’s pretty much put back together, and the new page is ready and updated for your viewing pleasure! It looks a little thin right now, but in a few years it won’t be so sparse. It’s a bit as if we’re growing a memory tree, which I think is pretty cool. Thank you, Robert!

I think that wraps up another chapter. As always, thank you for being here, and I’m excited to go over Chapter 8 next week! To your health and happiness!

To find the complete archives of the Behind the Ink series, please click here: https://ellenderknight.com/behind-the-ink/

Chapter 8

The Nook

Welcome to the eighth installment of Behind the Ink, where we are exploring Children of Stone (CoS) chapter-by-chapter! Here I share the changes, challenges and groans or laughter I remember in creating my first novel, while attempting to keep the spoilers limited for those who haven’t had the chance to read it yet.

Surprisingly, much of the wording has remained relatively the same. There are a couple of spots where that’s definitely not the case, but I still thought it was kinda neat.

To begin with, this chapter was split between Chapters 4 & 5. Four had ended at the spot, “Krun wasn’t certain how to interpret them tonight, and pulled his gaze down from the heavens. Down to the empty desert he was certain his feet would wander till death stilled them, and walked into a future as uncertain as the landscape that surrounded him.”

I know it made 8 a bit on the longer side, but one felt like an extension of the other, rather than a separate chunk of entity. Plus! I finally figured out chapter breaks, lol, which did a lot to make this work.

Despite much of this remaining intact, there were still many tweaks along the way to bring it into cohesiveness. I remember an early conversation with a friend I’ve since lost touch with, pointing out that the floors wouldn’t be wooden. It was just a couple of comments here and there, but she did a lot to help shape the things I realized I needed to pay attention to, and therefore helped build the basis of the world. Getting terms in line with each other in general was annoying. I can’t tell you how many times I’d see a random “townsfolk” or some such, and mentally scratch it out rather furiously as I deleted and changed it to villager, or calling our serving ladies barmaids instead of tavernmaids. Maybe this one wasn’t really necessary, and I wrestled with whether or not to leave in barkeep, but I decided his position made sense with the title, but not the others. Lots of little things like that.

In the same vein, we got a bit more specific with what medicine Krun used after the vorta encounter, instead of completely glossing over it, altered Korhm’s initial impulse in regards to Krun’s situation because before I’d gotten a mental grasp of it all, Korhm was happy to let things play out against the trader, and added the mirror in the Kyt’s Cry to help facilitate introductions.

Introductions… That first conversation had some rough patches. For my own memories, and because it wasn’t absolutely wrong, I repurposed part of an expressed sentiment in the second book. The guys were a bit more judgmental and dismissive of Masand, which really wasn’t right.

I knew the names of our stonemen when Arythas saw them in the previous chapter, or at least, I should say we found them out. They were very much a case of roll through the alphabet a few times until the right sounding combination came together. I was also considering whether or not to be a bit on the nose and name some of them after different types of stones. Baralk, for example, was briefly in danger of being named Basalt. Fortunately I never went down that road.

There were some changes, though. I’ve found that if I get close on a name and run with it, but it’s not quite right, the character will correct me. Grinaut, for example, was originally Grinault. It probably took less time for the L to drop than it did for me to realize my fingers weren’t typing it in anymore. I can be super observant like that.

I had forgotten about it, and this was not a bit that was recycled and repurposed, but Krun had a little something to say that I still like, so I’ll go ahead and share it here, though the lead up conversation was a bit different, so it might look slightly out of place. And it’s an old draft that I’m not altering for this purpose, so it’s a tad rougher.

Krun gave her a small smile. “Life isn’t about living in fear of dying, it’s about making the most of what we have while we are in it, and being humble enough to learn and admit when we’re wrong. This world is a cold and cruel place, and to survive, we must have a degree of the same. But one of our greatest comforts, and a treasure that will never tarnish, is the strength that comes from doing the right thing. Allow me to worry about my future, and I will do the same for you.”

That was it. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the sentiment slipped through elsewhere, but it would be without the intentionality that has led to some lines.

Looks like my last couple of notes here address a critter and a term. Yes, the darja are inspired by coyotes. I love and appreciate nature, but coyotes just raise the hair on my arms. While getting caught by a pack of them may land somewhere in the middle of a list of not great ways to die, it is far from the best. I’d really rather not be caught by a pack of anything, but hyenas and coyotes just have an extra layer of “Nope!” because of their vocalizations. The darja have it a little bit better.

Lastly, I might as well admit it. I’ve never quite loved the term “Grak”. I like the stonemen’s term much better, but as it’s one unique to them, I can only use “non-men” from their perspective. Right up to submitting the final file for print, I was kind of wishing I’d find another word for our icky cannibals, but once again, nothing else came to mind. Oh well. It does have a couple of good sounds to represent them, with the hard consonants, so it’ll just have to do.

I think that’s a wrap! We are now about a quarter of the way through the book together, chapter-wise! 😀 I hope you are enjoying this so far, and I can’t wait to continue next week! Until then, I wish you success with everything you put your hand to, and that any troubles plaguing you become easier. Cheers!

Chapter 9

The Nook

Welcome to the ninth installment of Behind the Ink, where we are exploring Children of Stone (CoS) chapter-by-chapter! Here I share the changes, challenges and groans or laughter I remember in creating my first novel, while attempting to keep the spoilers limited for those who haven’t had the chance to read it yet.

I don’t remember everyone’s ages, or if I had them all worked out, but Grinaut was 24, I think Masand was 25 and I can’t remember if Chaul or Korhm was 23. The one who wasn’t was another 25.

It may end up being a regret, but we expanded travel times in an attempt to carry through the feel of the great size of their little corner of the world, which has led to some, interesting, cascade effects. One of the immediate side effects was improving how fast sand-skating carries them. It is still entirely reasonable, and especially considering the next book, necessary.

One of the hardest things, at least on a surface level, was use of the word “murmur” and its variances. So, many, times, murmur was the best word to use in a moment, but in order to help keep everything clear, murmur absolutely had to be exclusively for the stonemen’s communication. It’s been a real drag sometimes, lol, but totally worth it.

I don’t think it goes under big spoiler, but planned release #4 does not feature the stonemen, though we’re in the same world, and I was still very hesitant to use it.
I was really happy to finally be able to use murmur in planned release #5. I thought I’d finally be able to say other things, but it turned out to be another universe where such basic things as “horse” was not appropriate. *Sigh* Maybe universe number three. Probably number three. And number four. Did I mention there would be four? Anyway.

Speaking of words, something I tried very hard to do was watch language in general and cut out things that didn’t exist in the context of known elements in the world. Not gonna swear I caught them all, but one that slipped through for a long time was “mire”. To my understanding, you don’t exactly find a bunch of mires in the desert. Korhm originally told Grinaut that “despair was a terrible mire”. I think it popped up a second time and we caught it then, too. A quick swap to chasm ‘cuz we got those, and it was good to go.

A short but mentionable bit was Korhm considering the likely consequences of the conversation he overheard, and the very few options the future would hold in store. We didn’t take a moment, originally, to think of how it would affect the others in his squad. Korhm’s a better leader than I was a writer, and now we’ve found at least a middle ground.

I’ve found that, despite myself, there are bits, pieces and reflections of me poking through in ways I had never anticipated or imagined. One of those biggest moments was when I took another mental glance at this whole intertwining, four universe story, and realized it’s a deeply personal conversation. I was actually really annoyed. Oh well. It’ll be what it’ll be.

That’s one of my personal rules, for however long it lasts. Another is not to base any work in dreams. There is a story out there, however, that I may end up breaking this second rule for. Probably will. I’ve got a couple of stories exploring concepts such as , What constitutes innocence? (human sacrifice to assuage an inhuman monster) and the dream one, What happens to the human soul when beauty is lost? (Traveling artists-meets Mad Max-meets Magnificent Seven) But, those have gotta wait their turn. Same as the Sci-Fi with its old ship, grumpy old captain and backwater world with a not-so-backwater threat I’ve been wanting to write forever, but now must also wait its turn.

But I’m all off track again. Good thing we’re just about done! The last note I’ve got is another line I loved in here, Korhm once more:

Only in the very worst of his nightmares had he been forced to kill one of his own. Sometimes the darkest days were the ones where dreams came true.

A bit dark, perhaps, but I always thought it summed up some aspects of what our peeps endure. Well, maybe they aren’t strictly speaking our peeps now, but they will be. 🙂

That’s all for Chapter 9! I know it’s been a bit of a turbulent week for some people in my circle, and if that’s been the case for you, then I hope you find peace today, and better footing in the next. Till next time!

Chapter 10

The Nook

Welcome to the 10th installment of Behind the Ink, where we are exploring Children of Stone (CoS) chapter-by-chapter! Here I share the changes, challenges and groans or laughter I remember in creating my first novel, while attempting to keep the spoilers limited for those who haven’t had the chance to read it yet.

Another quick fix to, um, “fixing” and we were good to go. We had a similar correction in the previous chapter, as I’d used “cement” there, too, in reference to Grinaut losing the function of his eye.

Maybe it sounds silly, but this front and back pair of scenes always made me a little nervous. Grinaut’s near-merge, and coming out of it. I suppose I’m not sure I handled it quite right. Maybe I’m worried about seeming dramatic. Can’t be too bad, one person said it was their favorite part, so I guess it does its job well enough.

While I hadn’t tackled a great many projects before CoS, violence was usually more front and center. I’m not sure quite what the cause/s were, but it always seemed expected to brush against brutality, or at least glorify it a bit, but CoS helped me understand that it is much more effective, and appropriate, as an exclamation point.

Now, this may just be a reflection of the tone, world and story, and a future project may have violence as a focal point, but I understand much better now that it should be in balance with the story’s needs, instead of gratuitously tossing it on like Caesar dressing. Unless, of course, gratuitous is the name of the game.

It also didn’t hurt that my brother commented once that any proficient combatants would make short work of a confrontation, won or lost, rather than anime-ish drawn out pummel fests. His words have stayed with me, and I feel helped my work mature just that bit more. Doesn’t mean there aren’t battles to be fought, but times and places.

Of course, a nice example of the sheer brutality and rather strong violent streak he does possess didn’t hurt anything, either!

And there we have it! I’m really looking forward to the next chapter, and I can’t wait to share something I found hilarious in the second book, but that’ll have to be a next year sharesies.

I’m tipping back the last of my coffee, wishing you a successful week with your particular endeavors. I’ve got a feeling you’ve got a big project, or getting something important to yourself, in the works, and I hope it turns out even better than you hope. Till next week! And Happy Mother’s Day to you wonderful women out there keeping the world turning. Thank you for your patience, love and sacrifice. Literally none of us would be here without you. I hope you feel fulfilled, find a sweet moment or few, and some of that love in return.

Chapter 11

The Nook

Welcome to the 11th installment of Behind the Ink, where we are exploring Children of Stone (CoS) chapter-by-chapter! Here I share the changes, challenges and groans or laughter I remember in creating my first novel, while attempting to keep the spoilers limited for those who haven’t had the chance to read it yet.

Korhm did a bit more of the thinky thinky, considering Arythas, their relative positions, and the real potential of her effect on the world, given his hiccough in finding her. Mostly, this helped to better develop and affirm his motivations, which is rarely a bad thing to do.

And when I’m not wishing I’d done things a bit (or a lot) better, it’s parts like this that make me fall in love with Children of Stone all over again, and realize that it’s all okay.

Plus, it’s Masand! He catches a lot of love around here.

Somebody needed to have the same marked carved into their skullsies as we’d seen Asnamad working on earlier, and (retrospectively) picturing that scene with our Keeper, and that little stone in his hands, beginning everything, I wanted to give that honor to Masand. Unfortunately, it meant that originally, I mentioned him brushing down his bangs to hide the mark. That’s giving me about the same reaction as most people seem to have to use of the word “moist”. Heurghugh!

And yes, it is just as rational.

I think I’ve only mentioned this in person so far, but reading back over this reminded me of the first time tigwans popped into mind. I believe it was late at night, and I remember just getting this idea of a T-rex pig, and it made me laugh. In it went! Our original description had bit more domestic swine in it that we ended up with, and the change is good. Still makes me smile, though.

That description never really made it into my anorexic files on the world. About the third time I went back to remind myself how we were describing tigwans now, I got fed up with looking in the place I was supposed to put that stuff, and copied and pasted the whole paragraph they first showed up in as a reference. I, uh, don’t use them like I should. I’m running into that with one little thing right now as I go over the second book, and I keep Ctr + F’ing my way through three or four different books to find the one keyword that I associate with the description, only to find it in the last place I look. You’d think I’d learn.

While we’re griping, the only correct word for that silly drink of beer has to be “draught”, but it seems not to be an acknowledged, Englishly-acceptable spelling. But I know I’ve read it before! Probably in something older and a bit more British English. This is far from the first time something of the sort has happened, but it gives my fingers and brain the fritz to spell it “draft”. Perhaps ridiculously, I hope it’s clear what I mean.

A few of you might recognize Masand’s snack, the roasted calap in lanuel leaves. Since I got talked into making food from the book for the launch party, this was one of the things I decided to try. I’m still really happy with the seasoning I put together for it. Not something I’d go real far out of my way for, but not unpleasant, and did a nice job of tasting quite foreign. Turned out much better than the yara candy. Bless the soul of everyone who tried to pry the sticky things from their wrappers! You guys are amazing!

I had a couple more thoughts I’d meant to share, but they were more general things than chapter things, so maybe I’ll remember them next week.

I hope you are enjoying the journey so far! I’ve got a few things I’m working on getting sorted out on this end, probably not quick, but there’s no reason for them to interfere with this series, and, while I can be a little slow to reply, I’m here if you ever want to chat.

Have a great weekend, beautiful people!

Chapter 12

The Nook

Welcome to the 12th installment of Behind the Ink, where we are exploring Children of Stone (CoS) chapter-by-chapter! Here I share the changes, challenges and groans or laughter I remember in creating my first novel, while attempting to keep the spoilers limited for those who haven’t had the chance to read it yet.

Scale is something that’s done a lot of sliding in fiddling with balances both perceived and fundamental. Heck, just in trying to get a good grip on it all. Originally, the force Masand finds himself working against was a tenth of what he deals with now. It didn’t make sense that a hive, small or otherwise, would only send a hundred soldiers out to take a village. So a thousand it became. As important as it was to show how strong the stonemen can be, it was also a real good place to show they are not, despite indications, invulnerable.

Striking that balance here, and maintaining it later, has been an interesting challenge, but one that makes me happy. I, uh, might be fighting against some of my personal un-favorite things encountered in Fantasy especially; wishy-washy rules and plugging and unplugging the hero’s/’ powers for drama. Can’t swear I’ve succeeded, but working within grounded rules is an important endeavor, and I hope it shows.

The other was between Korhm and Chaul, as Korhm goes to leave. There was the initial, professional outburst, and then Chaul makes a personal appeal. I think, even though we haven’t had a great deal of exposure to either of them or their relationship yet, this did a lot to show what that relationship is, and really demonstrate just where each of them is at. Korhm, especially, for obvious reasons. As such, I believe this is one of my favorite moments between the two of them. Another one’s not far away. If you’ve already read CoS, I bet you could guess it! XD

There were a few other tweaks, including leveling out a suggested power disparity, as Korhm raised the buried houses one at a time, with Grinaut’s help. Yeah, no. Masand’s pretty great, but he’s not more powerful by factors.

Originally, there were several instances of stonemen sitting cross-legged. Nope, nope, nope! Finally realized that would cut them off from their senses (as I came to mine, lol!), which is a state they would directly and intentionally avoid. All better now!

We also worked to better explore some of Masand’s processes, and increase the creativity in his approach. The reverse whack-a-mole was distinctly new, for example. I often find myself needing to improve connection with bigger fight scenes, and this was no exception. I don’t find it the easiest to “zoom in” rather than “pull out” on what happens with big action, and instead often wind up just trying to cover what all takes place, instead of what it looks like to those on the ground. This was a pretty small warmup, but a good one.

Lol, as I read through the older draft, I left a note about Masand’s stomping. I chuckled to myself as I read the final, and saw that it was still in there. I thought I’d taken all (both?) instances out, but I can see this was left in as the action was not used in conjunction with his singing, but rather as a simple waking up and preparing. That’s acceptable.

Sometimes I’m happier with ending lines than others, and this is a chapter that makes me content. Though, again, had to change “rogue” to “fugitive”. Still don’t love it, but ’tis what it ’tis, and that is the summation of every factor.

I’m toying with the idea of adding in a favorite line from each chapter to this series (or one of!) or two?, so I guess I’ll go ahead and start. See how it feels. Might drop it, might not. If you feel strongly one way or the other, feel free to let me know. I can’t promise it’ll resolve to your preference, but I do promise your perspective will be considered.

If I were to choose a favorite line out of this one, it would be: If he were to be tormented by his deeds, they might as well be done.

I, obviously, have never been in Korhm’s position, but I think we’ve all felt that; the dread, the lingering, poisoning anticipation of something undesired yet inescapable. I think this line gives vent to that, which, perhaps oddly, is a bit comforting.

All right! We’re on the cusp of the next phase of the story! I was nose deep today (heh, yesterday) in editing Book 2, and totally forgot what day it was. Almost didn’t get this together! Stay cool out there, and good luck with everything you tackle. You are tougher than your challenges. Promise. See you next week!

Chapter 13

The Nook

Welcome to the 13th installment of Behind the Ink, where we are exploring Children of Stone (CoS) chapter-by-chapter! Here I share the changes, challenges and groans or laughter I remember in creating my first novel, while attempting to keep the spoilers limited for those who haven’t had the chance to read it yet.

Things like that are a little trickier to catch. It’s a very common description, or at least, a very natural one, and therefore doesn’t jump up and down to remind me that it doesn’t belong in this world. No eagles = no eagle-eyed anything. I’ve found such things in a few places, lol, including overlooking “raven haired” in book 3 for I’m not sure how many passes. Do you ever get mental pictures for things as a response? For me, catching this stuff makes me feel like one of those cat videos, where they’re just minding their own business then notice something to their right that makes them suddenly jump away. Yep.

It’s easier/nicer to be able to say, “Oh right, I remember that name, I know who we’re dealing with”, than, “Oh yeah, that’s right. This is the guy that was mentioned back there.”

Usually when we see Urig it feels personal, or there are personal moments of emotional lucidity that seep through, and I felt that we got to see another angle of that effect here. To see another side of him. I’m really, really happy that we changed the layout and spent more time with Urig. It did a great deal of good, for everyone. I think he deserved to be understood.

There’s a couple of conversation bits in here that were definitely a case of “considering out loud”. I imagine a lot of writers do this, but I don’t actually know for certain. I have definitely found myself either hashing out a thought process, or relaying an examination of options that were or were not discarded and the reasoning behind it, and writing it in. When Ameril asks about letting the Stone Children procreate, that was an angle I assumed would have been considered, considered it myself, and quickly discarded. More important than having the concept stated was giving the reasons for why it had been neglected. The same with Imaren’s suggestion to mount a decisive offensive, though that angle was one I pondered for longer. At the end of the day, 176 soldiers just isn’t that many bodies, despite how many they’re worth.

A fatal miscalculation? Possibly. But I considered this and decided that even if Urig and I were both wrong, it was an interesting reflection of his underlying prime directive, and therefore still had value as a position.

You know what does have a post-it in my brain for this? That silly door, at the end of the chapter. I feel like I went over that thing half a dozen times. “Is it open? Did I leave it closed? Do I need to open it again, then have Imaren close it? Does she close it?!” I think past me is glad not to have to worry about it anymore, lol.

I’m leaving that incomplete because the rest of the line doesn’t have the same feel. Urig never undertook the things he did for praise. He never sought the people’s understanding, or spoke of what costs he shouldered. Things we expect of our great men and women, and while Urig did become warped, he yet had many of the makings of a great man. I don’t think such should be judged for taking some comfort in the idea that someday, some time, they would become understood, and the full scope of their pain and their reasoning revealed to a soul who might honor it.

Chapter 14

The Nook

Welcome to the 14th installment of Behind the Ink, where we are exploring Children of Stone (CoS) chapter-by-chapter! Here I share the changes, challenges and groans or laughter I remember in creating my first novel, while attempting to keep the spoilers limited for those who haven’t had the chance to read it yet.

A lot of small, general improvements in here, with a spare smattering of tiny, big changes.

By size, the most notable change was probably in the early middle of Korhm’s conversation with Arythas, after she hands over her Rama Stone and right before he asks about her life. Truly, I think it’s safe to say, that may have been the one question their entire future hinged on. This moment was the fulcrum of destiny.

Related, Korhm’s impulse to Kill her!, and the quiet companion thought of There is more, was a transition that I wasn’t totally happy with. Am not totally happy with. It’s not bad, but I wish I’d thought of something just a tad more fitting.

Arythas gained a last name! I’ve realized that I don’t tend to remember surnames, unless they are specifically useful. I’m not quite sure what that stems from. There are a lot of people I still think of in last name terms. I know my own well, and it’s meaningful to me, if I don’t feel as strong a historical connection through it as some. Most likely it’s because coming up with a last name means coming up with a second name, when one was bad enough! Also, it’s just not seemed important for where and whom we’re dealing with. This does mean that Miss Alduren is the only Stone Child with a last name. Now, despite the last name thing as a generality, the stonemen as an intentional rule do not have them. I do see that the emphasis on the Stone Children not belonging to anyone is a little lost in the general lack of contrast, but it is what it is.

I didn’t think about it in time, and may have decided it just wasn’t worth doing. Unless a character is usually referred to by a last name, I’m not sure I even think about them as a first name/last name set. Gray, Monk, Kowalski, Kat and Seichan from James Rollins’ work are exactly that (yes, I understand at least most of those are last names, but the example works in reverse for these purposes). I know they have other names, but I couldn’t tell you what they were if it would make you let me come in from the sun on a hot summer day. Icky, sticky, nasty summer.

While I’m being inflammatory, I might as well admit that yes, there were a couple of cath references in here, and yes… I am a cat person. Yes, terrible, and you’re clearly very shocked. Hold the stones! I appreciate pups, too, and love to pet them when they come into my workplace and I miss my sister’s dog, but for living with, I prefer quieter housemates.

Another change was our ending sentence. For a long time, it was “She was more fortunate than she knew”. It never quite added up or felt right, and while I’m not a hundred percent convinced it couldn’t be better, dropping the “fortunate” helped a lot, and was more accurate to the situation.

the character interacting with Korhm had been who I’d wanted to force them to be at the beginning, they would have taken a very different, highly aggressive stance at the outset, and that would have ruined the entire story. Arythas was perfect.

Arythas certainly would have fought, if pressed to it, and other women in the story veeery much would have, but it really is because she is who she is that things progress as they do, and unfold in the manner in which they intended. I was very glad I’d sucked up my pouty brain and let Arythas be. That’s part of the beauty of it, and in life; things happen the way they do because of who and how we are, and who and when we brush against. An alteration in either, and we’d see the butterfly effect.

Speaking of variations and outcomes, one of the most disconcerting things I’ve encountered thus far as a writer, is how the alteration of a moment changes the work. Every day you sit down and write, you’ll think of things differently, use different words, make other connections. Heck, just reading through, and every time I read through, I see something that I think could have been put in a better way. I will always see something and think to put it in a different way, tweak this here, reword that there, and never the same one twice. It’s very mildly terrifying.

I used to leave off in the middle of a sentence, often the middle of a word, so that I would know what I was saying when I came back. A marker pointing down the correct trail. I don’t think it worked a single time. Inevitably, the word or the whole sentence was erased, and new words took their place. Real easy to land in decision paralysis, and hard to ever think of anything as “completed”. When it could always be done better, on a different day, with more experience, it’s hard to set it free in all its imperfection and could have retro-been. Suffice to say, I make an effort to not think about it.

My last note here is of one of Korhm’s thoughts, how he considers the desert a cold and indifferent place. I really enjoyed the small comparison it brings to Krun’s perspective, that of the same being a cruel and unfair place. Very similar, yet strikingly different. I thought it was fun to show that they have their similarities, despite being rather different people. Similar, yet strongly contrasting.

Actually, talking about it with you now, this strikes very interestingly in future events, and this juxtaposition is perhaps far more accurate than I ever had awareness of.

There were a couple of lines vying for favorite this time, but I think I have to give the nod to this one: Humans, it seemed, had a penchant for distorting the natural way of things, their own disfigurement and degeneration the tragic epitome.

I’m not sure what I think about people sometimes. Some days I’m not sure what to make of anything at all. Any example of behavior, goodness and badness you want to look for you can find, in abundance. I’ve been pretty fortunate in life, but like anyone I’ve still seen things and had experiences difficult to classify in the positive. We really are capable of any extreme. While the above line is a simple rephrasing of a sentiment echoed throughout the ages, I believe at the end of the day I am hopeful. If I had to choose, it is more accurate to say that I believe in the goodness of people.

I think my work reflects this. Heck, it probably can’t avoid doing so. I am thinking out loud, after all. I never do well trying to communicate my thoughts to people, representing myself and my ideas. Words run away as if in reaching for them I’m unleashing a natural disaster, facts dry up like mirages and coherence decides to practice magic and pull a vanishing act. I was thinking about this the last couple of days, and the existing clarity became slightly refined. When I write, (not through email, so much) I have time and space to explore thoughts and concepts, to look at things through multiple lenses and find a way to express some portion of it all to others in a way that just might not leave them with disinterested frowns or the withdrawn energy of “that doesn’t make sense”, or of course the dreaded “That’s just weird”. There is, of course, the danger of becoming far too steeped in the limits of a single person’s extrapolations, but it is one I hope that awareness and attempted open-mindedness can nullify, or at least, mitigate.

What I meant to get down to was that I think there’s a lot of hope expressed in the work, and I… (wish, want, desire?) hope that I leave any reader stumbling upon my pages with a feeling of the same.

Well, it looks like I’ve used my word allotment for the day, and probably a bit more – Oh! I decided, in appreciation for you guys and to help settle a routine for me, that the previous Behind the Ink issue won’t be posted to the site until the week after initial release. A solution a bit more fair for you, and one I hope will be acceptable.

See you next week!

Chapter 15

The Nook

Welcome to the 15th installment of Behind the Ink, where we are exploring Children of Stone (CoS) chapter by chapter! Here I share the changes, challenges and groans or laughter I remember in creating my first novel, while attempting to keep the spoilers limited for those who haven’t had the chance to read it yet.

pleasant diversion to your day, and a fun little glance into the book and the processes behind it.

I cannot, after all, say that that I’ve done for you what I set out and intended to. I’ve been seeing, as we go along, that my Swiss cheese brain has a lot of big holes in this area, too, and the truth is I don’t really recall a great deal about the specifics around creating CoS. What I was doing or thinking with every chapter, or having some gloriously clever inspiration to relay. I do still such (or my version of it! XD) when a memory pops up, but I understand this has mostly been an accounting of differences accrued over time, and some of my thoughts on them.

I guess this is covered in that opening statement, so I may leave it, but I’d like you to know… I wanted to communicate that I understand these insights may be lacking, but I am giving what I know how to give, in the spirit of this series’ namesake.

I’m debating changing things a little bit, being a little less hesitant with some of the details and let some of the spoilery-er (rather than spoilery-ish, and yes, I do imagine you facepalming or groaning at my goodest worderage *snickersnicker*) stuff out, as this was created with the reader, rather than the TBR, in mind. Still, I like having these be a bit gentler. I don’t know yet. In the meantime, I’m always willing to chat and happy to answer direct queries (in as timely a fashion I can manage when life acts up!), though in such I will try not to give away too much about upcoming events. 😉

Onward!

I thought about naming our poor example stoneman, multiple times, but this just didn’t seem the time to get that personal. A name thrown in might’ve buggered up the flow, and without more context to the stoneman himself, I think it would have instead been confusing. “Here’s a guy, a named guy, you should totally care about him. Now, this isn’t about him, but the name kinda indicates that, so pay attention because-oh never mind, now be shocked, or at least upset!”

Of course, that could be the same argument for our no-show, Goran the Defiant One, but while his… existence, is in the same vein, his purpose is very different. I stand by him. Fortunately, I never claimed to be reasonable.
There were a few general alterations in here, bringing everything in line with itself. Changing another mention of age ranges (turned out Korhm was originally one of the oldest) and eliminating the overly dramatic term in the statement, “Believe me, I can do it in one fell swoop”. Now, I love the word ‘fell’ in this definition, but the phrase needed to go. Altered things slightly to address a minor little background bit, in mentioning that Veila (Arythas’ mother) begged for her daughter to be spared the marking, rather than leaving it at “Oh, I didn’t know that would happen”. She was wife to Urig’s right hand man and friend, and Arythas was not the first Stone Child born. She’d know, if not at the start.

Added in a few small things, such as mentioning the Stone Children held some unexpressed love for Urig. He was something like a father figure to them, after all, and this did a lot to help define the betrayal and divide they experienced in his actions. Really helped to bolster and understand why some things are conflicting, and, of course, we needed to see why they are obedient to their own detriment, despite it. Also retroactively mentioned the public square, and a moment that Korhm couldn’t bear to remember. Laying a litt-, erm, it ended up seeming useful.

Slipped in the nod, at the end of the chapter, that Korhm’s method of self-soothing was, yes, not the safest thing to do. I got to looking at it somewhere around halfway through this whole long stretch of revisions, and realized that, yes, it has some parallels to the danger Grinaut almost succumbed to. It also ended up being a little useful, but that’s a vague reference for me to know and you to find out someday. 😛

encouraged a misplaced assumption they would play further roles) gives them a hesitant hail, and they all share an awkward drink. Whoever they all happened to be at the time. Oh well. Maybe that’ll wind up in the Untrod Paths bin. There’s a few things in there. I think it’d be fun to release a collection of ‘things that almost were’ some day. If it’s ever relevant or welcome. Perhaps in a decade or two.

I don’t think you’ll find it very surprising that Korhm’s memories here are my favorite part of the chapter, but before I give my favorite line, I’ll mention this one: “The instructor’s words poisoned the walls of the void.” I debated on changing this, multiple times. Poisoned the walls of the void. If called to defend its existence or sensibility, I couldn’t. It simply feels true. I hope that, at least, makes sense.

So what is my favorite line? I’ll give the whole thought, for context, but it’s the second half:

Knowing he was one of some two hundred and forty that felt this way, and one of two hundred and forty that had no choice but to hide it, made his loneliness all the sharper. They were like those stars up there, unlike anything else he could see in the world. Surrounded by their fellows, but forever separate from them.

That a-covers it, I believe. For once, I’m not wrapping this up around one in the morning, propping my eyelids open and rereading the same word three times. Not sure it makes much of a difference in cohesion, in the end, lol! Coffee cup is still empty. 😉 Though truth is I use the stuff more to relax and have something to do while I… do; doesn’t work so great as a stimulant.

Thank you for being here, and I’ll see you next week!

Chapter 16

The Nook

Welcome to the 16th installment of Behind the Ink, where we are exploring Children of Stone (CoS) chapter by chapter! Here I share the changes, challenges and groans or laughter I remember in creating my first novel, while attempting to keep the spoilers limited for those who haven’t had the chance to read it yet.

This was another one where we did a bit of general smoothing out and cleaning up, and altered a tiny thing or two. Perhaps contradictory to what you’d expect, we actually upped Istrial’s sparkle factor. With diamond dust for skin, I think a hundred little glitteries isn’t very reasonable. Of course, the “thousand points” isn’t meant to be an exact, literal number, but it’s still far better.

Originally, this was when we first meet the girls (Chapter 12, for anyone curious), and it was kind of fun to figure out what to give them all for their physical distinctions. I know we’ve already touched on that, but something I didn’t mention was that I retroactively considered designing (or attempting to, lol!) personalities around their respective stonemarks, taking the generally acknowledged metaphysical attributes of their gemstones and using that as a base. While that may have been better world building, it felt restrictive and unnecessary. A bit like genes, while they may be heavily influenced by the specific frequencies their specific stones would be attuned to, they are more complex beings than that, and may demonstrate unexpected characteristics apart from what their parents exhibit.
Now, I can well imagine such a statement garnering some pained, eyelid-fluttering eyerolls, and while I will not attempt to dissuade you from your personal inclinations on such a matter, I will make a brief statement as to why I give such things some consideration.

I think it is relatively safe to say that it is broadly acknowledged as fact that all things vibrate, and all things have frequency. Based off of those two facts alone, it seems entirely reasonable that certain frequencies would be inherent to specific structures (i.e. crystals), and would inevitably interact with other frequencies in measurable, predictable ways, specific to the range of the frequencies meeting.

Of course, there is much that I do not understand, but we’ve seen throughout time that certain disciplines tend to be dogmatic, sometimes zealous, over the protection of the facts as they are perceived, until someone comes along and shows new, irrevocable paths of understanding. Given this, and the simple fact that we make some great guesses, but cannot possibly know all the answers (we see about 0.0035% of the light spectrum; we literally perceive a infinitesimal fraction of the world), makes me inclined to be open minded. Hopefully not to foolishness, but I think there is more cause to be shown that something definitively is not possible, rather than needing to prove that it is.

We also clarified Chaul’s motives in selecting Istrial’s squad as their backup. Not that this aspect needed much help, lol. Oh, and Baralk had gotten his hands dirty being violent towards something or other again, but that was just casting him in a one-dimensional light. He’s a trapped, angry soul, using violence as expression; rather different than a serial murderer.

While I can often draw laughs at home, putting quips on paper isn’t very natural for me. I sure wish I could be humorous, but that’s not a natural inclination. That’s okay. Still, it took a few tries to get Oronda’s little reply to Masand right. I’m pretty happy with it now.

As for favorite line, I will again indulge myself with the lead in. My nomination will be the last sentence. It just makes me snicker to myself, and randomly pops up in my brain on occasion:

(Korhm) Part of him wanted to, a part of his heart that was vulnerable to her, and wished to find solace in the compassion she reserved for those she deemed worthy. The part that Chaul knew would weaken in her presence. Korhm wanted Istrial to share her troubles and heart with him, as he knew she wanted him to do with her. Despite the longing such understanding always tore open within them. Whether they met twice a year, or once in two, the pain was the same.
(Istrial) “Why not? You know I will not judge you.”(Korhm) Curse Chaul for being right.

And there we have it! We’ve got a few things I’m looking forward to covering next week, and in the meantime I’ll be slowly plugging away at prepping the next installment. If I can find them, I might get a little brave and take some pictures of my ridiculously bad sketches of a couple of things in here. That definitely falls into the behind the scenes category, if in a highly inglorious section. Ah well. Maybe you’ll get a laugh out of it. That’d be worthwhile. Best of luck out there, and we’ll catch you later!

Chapter 17

The Nook

Welcome to the 17th installment of Behind the Ink, where we are exploring Children of Stone (CoS) chapter by chapter! Here I share the changes, challenges and groans or laughter I remember in creating my first novel, while attempting to keep the spoilers limited for those who haven’t had the chance to read it yet.

Of course, I can’t help but enjoy Korhm and Chaul’s conversation, brief as it may have been. I had honestly expected there to be a bit more vehemence, at least on Korhm’s side, but that never really carried through. Instead, we saw highlights of how they understand each other and work together; a relationship of respect, despite the recent, unusual strain. And love. Summoning Istrial may have felt like an act of disrespect, but it was certainly one of love. Since their privacy was not invaded, and nothing was forced from anyone, I also don’t believe Chaul’s choice can be classified as disrespectful.

Since it was runner-up for favorite line, I’ll mention that I really loved it when Korhm reminded Chaul that Oronda sleeps on the right, and Chaul states that he remembers. One of those small things that demonstrates care in a big way, from both of them.

I was worried about balance and perception, for a time. I didn’t want it to feel as if our main people were the only ones who were extra special, just because they were main. There aren’t many who have very specific, additional specialties, but we pick up a couple more, and it was never an option to take away Grinaut’s affinity with glass. That added to the contemplation; if he was the only one with a super special gift, then wasn’t that also singling him out? In the end, I believe the story and presentation are grounded enough that my personal concerns aren’t likely to arise in the minds of readers, and there is enough else that goes on to balance it all out. I guess I just want people to feel special because of who they are, not just because of what they can do, though one is an extension and inseparably intertwined with the other. Interesting enough to watch people balance in real life; at least as tricky to put on paper.
We also added that the tunnel was broken, restoring the land. They are tidy people, after all.

Another teeny change was the meeting time. For whatever reason, I thought 2 hours seemed like a nice amount of time to plan their assault. Now, I’m wondering if 15 minutes is still too long. Ah well, it’s not extreme enough to break things, one way or another. Sometimes that’s close enough.

I was pretty tossed up on favorite line, but in the end the forthcoming sentiment won out. I love what it shows about Korhm’s changing perspective, how it’s shaped what he notices, and even how he thinks about it. I also enjoyed how it demonstrated our poor guys (and gals!) truly are capable of being more; locked, as that potential may be, behind the bars of their existence. It’s another small little turning point, as if everything that happens is now another notch traveled by gears set in motion. I sure wanted to put that better, but the words ran away.

Anyway:

The subtle movements caught Korhm’s attention, making him think of the portrait the fugitive stonewoman had made of her mother. Grinaut was an artist, too, though no one had thought of him that way. Perhaps, like the humans, many of them had artistic talents. Talents that didn’t include drawing territorial lines of blood in the hot sands.

I had some other thoughts I wanted to share with you today, but I did the usual thing and figured I’d remember instead of writing them down. Oh well. At least it wasn’t chapter specific. They’ll be back. 🙂

I also just realized how close we are to the end of the month! This one seems to have passed quite quickly. I’m not where I’d planned to be with Book Two, but my brain and I are finally working together, so I hope to do some catching up. Happily, my friend who’s taking a look at it caught some good things, and gives it a big two thumbs up. I got my timeline written up for the second, and realized I need to do the same for the third, see how things line up over the grand scheme of it all. I can see a few tweaks that need tweaking, but we’re in pretty solid shape. More polishing, lol! And hopefully this time nothing will slide out of the woodwork at the last second. XD

Oh! Totally not important, but I thought it was kind of fun. You may already know this, but I just found out that “Sayonara” is a Japanese term! Apparently so is “honcho”, from “hancho”, as in “head honcho”. Also, “skosh” is short for “sukoshi”, meaning little bit. I had not categorized any of those words as Japanese. The world can sure be a funny place. Sometimes even the good kind. 😉

Chapter 18

The Nook

Welcome to the 18th installment of Behind the Ink, where we are exploring Children of Stone (CoS) chapter by chapter! Here I share the changes, challenges and groans or laughter I remember in creating my first novel, while attempting to keep the spoilers (somewhat) limited for those who haven’t had the chance to read it yet.

Alright, let’s get into it! Admittedly, 18 is also not strictly speaking one of my favorite chapters, but I don’t think that surprises you by now. It was necessary, and I found it a very interesting exercise as a character expression tool, but violence still isn’t my favorite part of writing, and that’s obviously kinda the whole point here.

I highly doubt Baralk’s embrace of the task at hand is a surprise, but I think this gave most everyone else a good chance to shine through. Grinaut, involved, effective, yet distant from the work. Korhm, watchful and protective, Istrial practical, if not calculating. Eristice almost playful and Oronda making the big, heavy moves. Masand, limited slightly by his recent injury, still showed through in a strong support function, which, though we’ve proven he can be far more than that, still feels like a natural position for him in such a scenario.

Istrial with her radius of influence, though, I just couldn’t settle on how big to make it, lol. Changed it from 10 feet to 20, then bounced back and forth forever. If I hadn’t closed my eyes and hit go on the print order, I likely still would be.

There were a few changes in here from inception, one of the more notable ones being the mention of the way the stonewomen use the spears Grinaut made for them. Completely unnecessary tools, yet there was not so much danger they could not embrace the gift of them.

Thinking about it right now, I don’t believe those archers initially let that volley fly. Huh. Cool.

Another change here was one of those foot-stomping moments, right at the end when they lay total waste to the hive. I always liked the idea of it; a physical tempo of destruction. But it didn’t hold up in the grand scheme of things, and certainly didn’t fit with the way they interact with the earth at all other times, so it was an easy enough scrap. Besides, I think that moment came out alright without it.

One thing that didn’t change was the chapter ending line. I’ve never really loved it. It seemed dramatic (lol, and there’s all the explanation we need), but it felt as if the wrap up for the devastation required something of the sort. Still feels a little over the top, too obvious, but not inappropriate. Hopefully someone out there likes it; that’d make it worthwhile.

I laugh about it now, but I’d never really realized those last two lines existed. The program I bought for formatting is one that’s designed to stay up to date with current guidelines (Lord knows I wouldn’t begin to keep up!), and that was one of the big things. I went around the house and cracked open a bunch of books, surprised to find the author name and book title right there across pretty much all of them. It wasn’t just me, either. When I told my mom about it, she didn’t believe it, and we laughed once she’d looked through and discovered the same thing. It felt weird to put it there, as if blasting everyone all the time with “This was me! Remember it!”, but there is relief in the idea that my mother and I cannot be the only ones who’ve never really paid such much mind. Our brains work a little differently, but I’m willing to bet that in this case, we’re pretty average.
I ran a small survey and the big capital letters were unanimous (I’ve never particularly loved the small all caps bit), so that was pretty easy. Page numbers were much harder. I’d never imagined not putting them in the bottom middle, but it was suggested to do the corners as that was generally standard for my type of fiction. I went back and forth for a while, and ultimately decided the corners were the easiest way of finding a searched-for page. The book doesn’t need to be opened as far to find the page number, making a quick flip through much easier for the reader.

Also partly for ease, and hopefully flow, I decided to dedicate new chapters to the right-hand page. Again easier to flip through and find, and easy to pick up and start new. I didn’t love the blank page look when an ending chapter wasn’t quite long enough to extend to a left-hand page, nor did I like it when there were only a few lines before going into the next, but on balance it was worth doing. I found out after making the decision that my brother really liked it, as he feels that chapters don’t get enough attention. I’d love to step up the game in that regard, and I’m dreaming of artwork to denote new chapters. Perhaps a scene out of the upcoming text. I wouldn’t mind just having artwork scattered throughout like some of the old books, but we’ll see what comes. Hopefully for the hardcover versions!
A side note on this; we’ll see how things go in the future. Book 2 is about double the size, but should still be printable by most anyone. Book 3, however, is even larger, and though it’s not all fixed up yet, a quick curiosity formatting put it at about 837 pages, significantly over some printers’ imposed 800 page limit, due to spine width restrictions. Might need to change paper quality to something that fits more sheets per inch, and/or tighten up page space by condensing used pages. But that’s a future me problem. 😀

What brought all of this on today was the font. In moving from my standard font, spiral bound notebook to the finished book, I found myself smiling, relaxing into and thinking “I really love this font!”. This also was a toss up, and I was debating between this and one that was narrower and heavier. I don’t recall the names, and while I can dig them up without much difficulty if you’re curious, I doubt there’s enough interest to make it necessary. Anyway, I took another little poll of the few people around me, and it was a pretty big split. The older people in my circle liked the heftier typeset as it was easier to read, and everyone else preferred the lighter font. That was the crux of it; I didn’t want to alienate or make anyone’s experience difficult, but both parties said either was completely legible. One younger person found it easier, as they follow their finger for reading, and the wider, roomier letters helped them digest the text more easily. For myself, I found it easier to read the lighter typeset, and I felt that it better reflected our world, helping set the mood just by looking at it. With ease not a true issue, that last factor alone was worth making the choice for.

I don’t know if any of this effort translates to anyone else, and as I saw somewhere when talking about hiring interior book designers, interior formatting should be as invisible as possible so as not to be distracting. In the end, however, I think the decisions made here are some of my favorite and most comfortable parts of the whole publishing ordeal.

Speaking of favorites, I can’t well say there’s a line that jumps out at me in this chapter, so after some mild debate, I’ll go with this paragraph:

It was a moment of the shortest consideration, then Korhm lanced the earth with strong and deep notes. The rest followed instantly. In a moment, the ground cracked underneath the plateau, a gash that widened and deepened with alarming speed. The plateau groaned ominously as its foundation gave out beneath it, then began to fall. Changing focus, the stonemen addressed the plateau itself and ripped it apart, one seam at a time, until it tumbled into the gorge in jagged pieces.

I do enjoy what our peeps are capable of.

Lol, I was spider-typing that up with one hand, read over it and found I’d accidentally typed “ground” instead of “groaned”. Under a stab of dismay, I flipped back to the page and read it again, afraid I’d missed it in editing. Nope, all good! Just a tonight slip of the fingers. XD

As always, thank you for being here and I’ll see you next week! Good luck out there!

Chapter 19

The Nook

Welcome to the 19th installment of Behind the Ink, where we are exploring Children of Stone (CoS) chapter by chapter! Here I share the changes, challenges and groans or laughter I remember in creating my first novel, while attempting to keep the spoilers (somewhat) limited for those who haven’t had the chance to read it yet.

Admittedly, that and our earlier quote (which is second most popular), “We belong, by virtue of being alive.”, are my biases, as well. I chose the “We belong” for my own bookmark, but it was a tough call. Your least favorite? “I reason, I study, I have faith, and I adjust my wagers as necessary.” There was roughly the same difference in bookmarks taken between first and second place as there was between fourth and third. I just found it interesting. I can’t wait to see what the favorites will be for Book 2, and if there will be such a decisive difference!
Before the major overhaul, putting us directly in touch with Grand General Urig, this chapter (originally 15) was our first slip that there is an active insurrection in the background. Since this early draft is a convenient 100 pages long, this took place 62% of the way in.

If we’re going to be using boring ol’ numbers, then we might as well mention here that we changed the headcount of surviving Stone Children. I stopped breathing for a second, lol, when I came across that today. Ran through the mental files, found the reason, and shared a little laugh with myself. Math doesn’t math if your minuend is the same as your difference. Hey, don’t look at that tab! Yeah, okay, I had to look that up; I do not use math language very often. XD

I guess I haven’t used it as much as I thought. Anyway, I sure wouldn’t want to wear it out, but I gotta tell ya, sometimes, driving home from work I catch an amazing open vista with a gorgeous mountain backdrop, painted in some of the most incredible sunsets. That smoky teal? Catches my breath, every time.

Getting back on track (no, I am not taking bets with myself for how long that’ll last), we did a good bit of smoothing things out and generally cutting down on the almost cartoonishly exaggerated verbage. It wasn’t overwhelming in here, but it was still an awkward growing stage, and fortunately we shook most of that off before stepping out.

I didn’t truly believe it would be an issue, but then I began to wonder if Korhm’s “I know” would look like a complete rip off of Han Solo’s famous line. I hadn’t even thought about it for all the years it was there, but then worry over it began to gnaw at me. I changed it to “Me, too”, continued to agonize, and eventually closed my eyes, held my breath and reverted to the original, because I had not written it with any intention to invoke the Star Wars universe. Besides, what was being communicated was something quite separate.
Lol, now I’m worrying again. XD What’s done is done, and I ain’t gonna change it, so the second guessing can’t become too obsessive. Yay for me! Besides, if someone’s gonna criticize, I doubt that’s what they’d focus on.

I only found one of the images I had in mind to share, so I’ll go ahead and pop it in here. Again, I’m no artist, lol, but this kind of thing really is appropriate for our behind the scenes theme. So, Jeff Brown, our cover artist, asked for a size example of some of the flora next to a person. I chose the guran and the cotris, though, I didn’t get the cotris small enough. Ah well. At least our guy is happy! The other picture is a super poor example of a rough idea of what I’d had in mind for the symbols carved into the Rama Stones. If I remember correctly, I drew them up for a friend I was talking with about the same. He really loved the book, and my brother had commissioned him to do a drawing from it for my birthday. I’m not planning on sharing that one, and I hope you’ll understand. Anyway, his interpretation was a little different from mine, and when he expressed curiosity, I sent him these.

And that is one reason why I don’t bother pretending I can do my own covers. XD

I almost forgot! Favorite line? Kinda obviously the quote about single thoughts bringing change, but you know, one of the sets of interactions that always makes me smile is actually Baralk and Oronda. I really enjoyed seeing that moment of care from our hardened, brutal fella. I’m fudging this space a little bit, because I actually like Korhm and Istrial’s last few paragraphs better, and they sure look better standing on their own…. you know what, it’s a little lengthy, but we’ll just do this:

Oronda leaned against Baralk, her beer-besotted brain not quite interpreting her surroundings correctly. He cracked a joke that made her laugh, the single sound sparking another change in their drunken heads and lightening the mood once more. By the time they made it to camp there was a good deal of laughter and light talk. Baralk helped Oronda to her bedroll before stumbling into his.

As everyone settled in, the desire to sleep overtaking them, Korhm set up a perimeter around the camp, made up of thousands of tiny, rough rocks that would crunch under any intruder’s foot and alert them. Satisfied, and wishing he had shown some restraint at the tavern, he walked back to his bedroll.

Korhm stopped when he saw Istrial sitting up in hers, beside his, watching him approach. The sight made him repress a sigh as his blood warmed, and close his eyes to momentarily blind himself to the way the moonlight shimmered and sparkled on her, accentuating everything he loved about the stonewoman. Korhm lay in his bedroll, facing her.

Istrial slid into hers, looking back at him. Longing shone out at him in her gray eyes, unspoken wishes that could never be granted.

“I know,” Korhm said softly, reaching across the space to stroke her hair.

Istrial took his hand and held it against her cheek for less time than she desired, then kissed and released it, turning over so her back was to him.

Korhm looked at her a long moment before turning over himself, falling into a deep sleep, full of dark, haunting dreams.

There. And it’s not even spoilery. Honestly? I always worried about the chemistry between Korhm and Istrial, though their story is more of a subplot. I was very recently asked by a friend about little Stone Children babies, with these two being one couple in mind, so something wasn’t done entirely wrong. Yay!

Good luck today, and I’ll see you next week!

Children of Men, Children of Ashkaron Book 2

Children of Asnamad, Children of Ashkaron Book 3

Spirit of Sacrifice, an Ashkaron Novel

World Apart, Series Something Book 1

World Apart Redux, Series Something Book 2