Winners Annouced

The results of the writing contest are in over at Confessions from Suite 500.  Congratulations on the winning entry by Alex.  Yours truly was nominated for best character names.  Heh, well it's a start; I'm happy to even be mentioned amongst such talented folks.  On another personal note worth mentioning, I believe I'm only one chapter away from completion of the first book in the Protect the Risen series.  Then of course the long process of tweeking, editing and clipping begins.  I'm hoping to have a working manuscipt by the holidays end.

Words and Phrases

There is a terrific post over at Rants and Ramblings about writing habits during the holidays. Her blog post for nov 23^rd suggest we as writers should make a 'holiday plan.' This is a superb idea and not only for the holidays but for all year. However let us stick to the theme she started and only address this busy and festive time of year.

With all the extra activities pulling our attention away from our writing it is easy to lose the drive, the desire, and the momentum of writing. I offer a simple method to combat this through this time of year. Real quick rummage through that desk of yours and grab a small notebook, or heck a blank sheet of paper will work too. Now stick it in the back pocket of your jeans or into a purse whichever is appropriate for you. Oh and don't forget a pen, you'll of course need it.

Okay now the next part is a bit trickier. I want you to tuck back into the desk your ability to write complete sentences. I want you for the next couple of weeks to become more of an observer than a writer. The caveat of course is that I don't want you to completely forget your work in progress, as if you could anyways.

Pay close attention to what you see over the holidays, the scenes, the smells, the colors, etc. More importantly take a moment to really take a close look at people, because let's face it our books are pretty much about how people interact with one another. Even if you are working on a period or fantastical piece where the characters are nothing like the humans in the here and now, one very important fact remains true. The people around you at the mall, the in-laws house, the gas station and the subway are all your potential audience. They will need to feel the connection to the relationships and scenes you depict in a way that they can relate to. Good observation skills can definitely help you. What better time than during the holidays will you have at watching the behaviors of folks you normally don't interact with on a daily basis. You are out of your norm and so are they.

Remember I told you to forego the writer in you, that person inside of you that fights to be an artist. Stop it, just let go and stop trying so darn hard to be poetic with your usage of our incredible language. Instead listen and watch the world around you. Now jot down a single word or phrase to remind you later what it is you are experiencing. Like I said though keep it relevant to you WIP so that when the busy part of the year is over and you get back into the grind, you have some material to work with and help you get back into the swing of things smoothly and easily.

Tough I know, but let me give you an example from my work (Chances Are - Chap 20.)

"The cracks continued to grow and rippled outward from the walls and more Leesermen were tossed off of their feet. The keep, upon a pillar of soil and rock, was then lifted skyward. Upwards it climbed with all of its contents and occupants; dirt spewed forth and stones fell from the cliff face that was being created."

Now this isn't too bad but we can definitely add to it. I'm riding along the rural road out near Jackson GA on my way to a horse show with my wife and I look out the window. The angle of the sun and curvature of the road have aligned themselves just perfectly to make it appear as though the shadow of the horse trailer we are pulling is actually out pacing our truck. It struck me then that the excerpt above is lacking one key detail that would be obvious to the Leesermen army if they were observing the rise of the keep upon the pillar of stone. In my notebook I simply wrote. "Shadow of the keep."

(Be nice on my handwriting, I was in a truck going down the road, lots of bumps.)

Sometime later I came back and added this to the above passage:

"The cracks continued to grow and rippled outward from the walls and more Leesermen were tossed off of their feet. The keep, upon a pillar of soil and rock, was then lifted skyward. Upwards it climbed with all of its contents and occupants; dirt spewed forth and stones fell from the cliff face that was being created.

Dust bellowed out and rolled towards all that stood on ground level. A great shadow was cast downward and grew larger as the keep rose higher and higher. The Leesermen cried out and began to pray as the darkness fell on top of them. The sun was eclipsed and they feared their god's wrath was behind this cataclysmic event."

So yes please set a goal for yourself during the holidays and throughout the year, it is a crucial step to writing in my opinion. You should also certainly reward yourself for reaching those goals, but also make sure to include the tools you'll need to make the goals possible when life gets busy. So you are at a holiday dinner party and have no access to a computer, whip out your tiny notebook and joy down that cool word or phrase that will later add levels of details to to your work to help make it shine.

Also if you are looking for other great holiday advice, check out this blog post over at Confessions from Suite 500 and get some tips on your query.

Madscientist

Today, I wanted to share where I got the nickname Madscientist254. The nickname consist of two parts with vary different origins. So give me a few moments of your time and I'll divulge its conception in great detail. Probably more detail than anyone actually wants, but hey I need a topic to talk.

The first part, madscientist, originated from my best friend Eric. If you have read my bio you'll known that I graduated with a B.S. in Life Sciences, which is basically a biologist. So when I obtained my first job as a researcher my buddy gave me a name placard to put on my desk. I suspect he got it at a place like Things Remembered in the mall. For anyone not familiar with that store it has a selection of nice nick-nac items that you can get engravings put onto. Long story short, he got the word Madscientist put on the placard and gave it to me as a gift. I kept it on display throughout my time at the research facility and now it sits in a nice predominant spot on my desk at home. This was the year of 1998 and I was just getting into needing a internet presence and therefore required a login name for things. What better name to pick than that which sat in my line of sight while sitting at my desk. Yeah I know, real original huh?

On a side note, in case you were doing the math, yes I was on the internet before 98 but not under the name of Madscientist254. I'd guess I was on the net somewhere in my early college years of 92 or 93. You know back when color pictures had not really hit email yet. Folks were still using green screen cmos and unix based systems to transmit messages back and forth to one another. At any rate, originally I had been using the name Cokeman. That name was directly related with my last name. All through college and even to some extent my career folks have just called me by my last name, Koch. The correct pronunciation of which is "coke", like the soda brand. So naturally my nickname evolved into Cokeman from that.

Okay the text part of the name is out of the way, so where did the number part come from? As many folks have come to understand picking an internet ID is a fun challenge, especially when the name you choose is a common name, which apparently Madscientist is. So to understand the number we have to travel back to my college years again. The last few years of university life for me was spent not only deep in the books but also deeply searching for funds. I was fortunate enough to have some terrific friends and roommates that helped me get on-board at the campus police station. It was a pretty swell job too. I helped them with campus events, parking, building patrols, and even some dispatching for the police officers.

As you can imagine communication is very vital organization to a police department. So to keep confusion to a minimal each member of a police department, even the student security officers, were given a number designation. Our department was small and therefore we used three digit numbers to represent us. Mine was 254 and I'd use it for all of my radio transmitting with the base. For several years this number became a part of my daily lingo to identify myself to others I worked with. Naturally it was easy enough for me to remember and truly dear to my heart. So when yahoo told me Madscientist was taken (Dang-it) and that I needed to pick another name I just combined the two and thus Madscientist plus254 were united forever into internet infamy.

Some folks have been amazed at just how quickly I can type the ID of After a decade of using it though, I'd have to say my fingers know where the keys are quicker than my mind is registering. Maybe its the other way around, I don't know but basically it is a subconscience thing at this point. Especially when you take into consideration that I really don't know how to type very well. My fingers don't rest on the home keys, rather they hover over the keyboard like a vulture on the side of the road picking away at the latest roadkill. If I had to figure out what my natural home keys were ...hmmm... let's see... left hand w-d-f-v and right hand n-j-k-p. Oh, and yes I do have to stare down at the keyboard as I type, so I make sure to do a lot of proofreading before I hit the submit key. Gee-sh, I wish everyone did more proofreading, but that is a story for another day.Well I guess we learned a couple things about me today, my name and my typing oddities hope you enjoyed my little diatribe today.
Oh one last thing, the avatar of mr. bunsen. Yeah guess I geeked it whenever I chose that one. Madscientist when typed into the search engine like google returns with lots of odd stuff, one of which is good ole mr. bunsen. Now please don't date yourselves by asking who he is or isn't. Let's just say he's a great character whose adventures with his pal beaker will live on well past their time.

Hobbit 2012

Some other fun news for fans of the Tolkien series:

see this article
also this page

Color e-reader

Again I found some interesting info for e-readers, probably old news but thought I'd share anyways.
(Info copied below in case link goes bad.)

http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-10-...-e-reader.html

• Barnes & Noble unveils color e-reader

October 26, 2010 By MAE ANDERSON and SARAH SKIDMORE, AP Retail Writers


 
Enlarge

Barnes and Noble's new full-color touch screen wireless NOOKcolor is held up during a press preview after it was unveiled at their Union Square store in New York City. The NOOKcolor, which is available for pre-order for $249, will begin shipping around November 19.
US bookstore giant Barnes & Noble unveiled a color electronic book reader on Tuesday, getting the jump on rivals Amazon and Sony. 
The Nook Color features a seven-inch (18-centimeter) touchscreen display and sells for 249 dollars, about half the price of Apple's cheapest iPad and about 100 dollars more than the black-and-white Nook released last year.
Barnes & Noble said customers could immediately purchase the Nook Color, which is powered by Google's Android software and has eight gigabytes of memory, through the bookseller's website with shipping beginning around November 19.
"With Nook Color, we've combined the functionality and convenience of a seven-inch portable wireless tablet with the reader-centricity of a dedicated e-reader," Barnes & Noble chief executive William Lynch said in a statement.
"Nook Color enables Web browsing over Wi-Fi, music, games and much more, but reading anything and everything in brilliant color is the killer app and squarely the product's focus."
Barnes & Noble is the first of the major players in the dedicated e-reader market to come out with a color e-reader.
Sony's Reader and Amazon's popular Kindle both feature black-and-white electronic ink displays. Apple's iPad is a multi-purpose tablet computer that also features a color e-reader.
Barnes & Noble said the Nook Color offers users access to more than two million books, including most New York Times bestsellers.
Newspapers and magazines, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, Rolling Stone, Esquire, National Geographic, Cosmopolitan, Elle and others are offered in full color.
Nook Color users can also surf the Web, check email, stream music over Wi-Fi and load MP3 songs onto the device.
Barnes & Noble said PDF and ePub files can be viewed on the Nook Color as well as Microsoft Office files including Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
Amazon touts the Kindle as its top-selling item but the online retail giant and Barnes & Noble do not release sales figures for their e-readers.

Perfection or Progress

Here's a helpful tip from one writer to the next. When you are drafting that magnificent manuscript make an effort to not get yourself bogged down. Getting hung up on that special word or phrase can be detrimental to finishing your story in a reasonable amount of time. Instead, I implore you to write something down even if it is not exactly linear to your current line of thought. In other words skip it and come back.

Whenever I get stuck you can find '…' or 'xyz' listed in the manuscript. The name of a new character being introduced is a good example; they generally get named xyz until I figure it out. Another example, in Chances Are (chap 15), I originally wrote the following while drafting it:

Gavinar signaled Sir Macimar to join him on the dance floor.

"Macimar, I wish to be left alone for a few moments. See that I am not disturbed while I drink my next cup of mead." He then escorted Fardea to a long table and offered her a chair.

"You sing absolutely beautifully." Gavinar remarked as he joined her.

"Thank you; I was quite impressed by your skill of verse as well." She replied while taking a cup of mead offered to her and Gavinar

She laughed in response, "I'll bet, but you have plenty to offer that isn't related to your voice. I can assure you of that."

He followed her gaze into his lap and laughed back. She …"

(Fardea sings, he joins in having been classically trained in arts and music as a child of the court.… afterward they discuss why each sings.  She learned how to soothe men, and to make them feel at ease with her.  Who could suspect a pretty singer. )

--

'Bamph' came the sound of the ball room doors as they flew open and in burst Red Eye. He was still in full armor surrounded by five others also in full war gear, a sight that made many of the attendees gasp with surprise of the sight.

 

Yes I realize to most folks that is a bunch of gibberish, but to me it makes perfect sense. Let me clarify how it all works; from the above nonsense to a full-fledged storyline. So as you can see I was trucking along with some fun dialog between Fardea and Gavinar and then boom, I ran out of steam. So I tossed in the dot, dot, dot to signify that more was needed there and I moved on. The next part you'll see is a cut and paste section in parentheses that instructs me later on when I'm editing what the overall theme for that little section was. Finally the dash, dash lets me know a new scene or dramatic event is then being written about. Whenever I see the dashes I know that I've transitioned and might need more input either before or after it.

So basically I didn't hesitate when I ran out of steam. I just did the dots and dashes and moved on to another topic. In this case it was describing how Red Eye storms into the room and breaks up the flirting/story time between Fardea and Gavinar. It was days later before I went back and fixed the dots and missing text.

The more finished product is listed below:

Gavinar signaled Sir Macimar to join him on the dance floor.

"Macimar, I wish to be left alone for a few moments. See that I am not disturbed while I drink my next cup of mead." He then escorted Fardea to a long table and offered her a chair.

"You sing absolutely beautifully." Gavinar remarked as he joined her.

"Thank you; I was quite impressed by your skill of verse as well." She replied while taking a cup of mead offered to her and Gavinar from the servant Macimar had prompted.

"My story is an easy one; I was the son to a king. My father saw to it that I was classically trained in such things music and art. There was a time when entertaining was very important to me." He made a slight pause, leaned in smiling, "it always helped with the ladies."

She laughed in response, "I'll bet, but you have plenty to offer that isn't related to your voice. I can assure you of that."

He followed her gaze into his lap and laughed back. She was a fiery woman who was not afraid to hint at her sexuality, a trait Gavinar very much appreciated in her.

"So how did you learn to enchant an audience like that?"

She shrugged slightly, "I'm not sure to be honest. It has always been a natural thing for me." Her eyes drifted upwards as she searched her memory. "Hmph, I can't recall ever learning the trade properly come to think of it." Fardea smirked and continued on. "I have although sat many a night in taverns and listened to the entertainers. I guess I've just copied what I heard."

"Well whatever the reasoning behind your melodic aptitude it certainly casts a certain serenity across a room." He stated nearly bordering on poetic, an effort to impress the beauty before him.

"As you can imagine, soothing a crowded room can be very helpful in beguiling the men who sit in it. I have always found this misleading, for a profession like mine, quite helpful. Who would ever suspect the likes of me?" She rebutted back also trying to impress.

"Certainly not me, if I didn't know you better Fardea Panthrex."

"I guess I shouldn't give away my secrets to the king of the realm." She jested then added with a change of inflection to a more serious tone. "Honestly Al. I mean Gavinar, you probably understand me better than any other has. I hate to say it, but…" She hesitated to finish her sentence.

"What is it? And Fardea, you can call me Al. In fact, I kind of like it when you call me Al. There is just something about that accent of yours that drives me wild." He threw one more flirtatious smile her way.

"Okay Al, here's the bitter truth. A part of me wishes you were still that adventurous soul I met back at sea, on the deck of that galley. A king? You? How is that going work? You forget Al, I know you too!"

***********

'Bamph' came the sound of the ball room doors as they flew open and in burst Red Eye. He was still in full armor surrounded by five others also in full war gear, a sight that made many of the attendees gasp with surprise of the sight.

 
It is hard to always have that perfect adjective or witting rebuttal ready. Sometimes you just stove up and I totally get that. Who cares, move on, at least that's my motto. Haven't you ever done a crossword puzzle and locked up unable to finish it, but then a day later with a fresh perspective you breeze through that empty set of blocks? It's a lot like that.

Besides, who said a writer has to think linear, this is the twenty first century for goodness sake. We aren't all plunking away on typewriters with a bottle of white out ready to douse our pages with. Word processors allow us to revisit any part of our manuscripts on the fly. What is the word they throw around here at work so often, "a green document?" It means that the document is living and therefore ever changing and flowing with the current state of things. Let us make our manuscripts "green" up until we submit them then.

So this method is also handy in another respect that has nothing to do with getting stuck. Rather I get an idea for a follow up chapter. In order to not lose the concepts of where I'd like the story to go I'll jot or type them down in a miscellaneous document. Using the dash-dash concept becomes very handy in this situation, keeping all the different scenes, chapter plots, and characters separate. Later I'll fill in the material that was missed and place them in their correct sequence in the story. As a result, I'll often time work on two, three, or four chapters simultaneously as a result of this methodology.

In my opinion this allows the chapters to become more unified and work more integral to each other. Sure the tempo or flow of the book has to be revised, but at least the content is there. Anyways, not sure this will help anyone but thought I would share. Happy writing!

Flexible E-Reader

New tech to help the e-book market.  link
(text copied in case link becomes broken)

Flexible, Unbreakable, Displays, Coming Soon to an E-Reader Near You

POSTED BY: Tekla Perry  /  Wed, November 03, 2010

Sometimes, it pays to break for lunch.
That’s what researchers at Taiwan’s Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) found out. They’d been struggling for years to figure out a way to manufacture thin, flexible, flat-screen displays. These are the stuff dreams are made of—futurists have long envisioned newspapers and maps we can fold and roll, that don’t break. They just haven’t made it to the mass market yet, they’ve been tough to manufacture cheaply.
ITRI’s been working on that manufacturing issue for years. Its goal was to use standard manufacturing equipment—for OLED, LCD, or electronic paper displays—but sneak a thin layer of film in on top of the standard glass panel. Detach the film from the glass at the end of the process, and bingo, flexible display. ITRI Display Technology Center Director John Chen told me yesterday that that after successfully coming up with a transparent polymer film that could take the high heat of semiconductor manufacturing, researchers struggled to figure out a way to attach the film to glass in such a way that it would stick tight through all the manufacturing processes, but be easy to peel off at the end.
“We failed 63 times in four years,” he said.
And then one of the researchers involved in the effort went out to lunch, to a little creperie in a local market. He watched the crepe maker prepare a crepe, noticing that he didn’t spread the layer of oil to the edges of the pan. The crepe clung tightly to the edges while cooking, but, when it was done, the chef had an easy time popping it loose.
That technique, of adding what Chen calls a “debonding” layer, but not bringing it all the way to the edges of the substrate, worked just as well in display manufacturing as it did in crepe making. ITRI is being honored next week by R&D Magazine’s Top 100 Awards for the innovation. And Taiwanese company AU Optronics Corp. will be releasing a line of e-readers using this flexible display technology in 2011; Chen thinks these will be of particularly interest to K-12 educators, because of their durability.

The Noble Bookseller

So another visit to the dentist (fillings) brings me into the town and I figured I would taste another bookstore while I had the chance. I say taste in jest because I still can't feel any part of my tongue or jaw. Sometimes I wish whatever it is those dentists are using on our mouth could be put into a drink so that we could get our whole bodies numb like that. Wouldn't that be a fun day, wobbly, but fun.

Today's adventure takes me to Barnes and Noble. Thus far I love the way they set up their stores over the Borders store. The only negative thing I can point is that this store is attached to the mall and therefore I don't have a nice window to look out as I work on this blog. So other than that I'm in love with this place. Their stacks are taller so that you feel like a kid in a maze. A maze of books, I mean does it get any better than that?

I forgot to mention in the Borders review that right when you walk in the door the first thing you get confronted with is a display on electronic book readers. I'll have to talk about that in another post, but it is still quite interesting that they are shoving the electronic gizmos right in your face at both stores. Barnes and Noble even had a clerk behind the counter selling them like they are cell phones. Kind of scary, I'll have to keep in mind that this could be my future audience. From what I've been reading in money magazines and other sources the nooks and similar devices are on the rise as well as electronic book sales. So yes there is definitely more to say about this, but on to more review of the store.

Their café is up a short flight of steps, which is great. This vantage gives you a feel of sitting above the books; looking down upon the mass of stories. I bought my coffee, a venti? Whatever language that is; I guess the important part is that it's the biggest size.

Barnes and Noble, like Borders, have the back corner of the store dedicated to music and movies so I guess this is a norm of major book stores these days. I suppose I'm still okay with this. I will give B&N credit they are much more designed to sell stuff. More so than Borders was. Their cashiers are promoting things and their stacks like I said consume the likes of an impulse buyer like me. One other reason I think this place works is that folks are allowed to lookup authors and book titles on computers set up throughout the store. This gives them a freedom from having to wait on store clerks or customer service reps.

I think I'll buy some Christmas gifts from here. Anyone want anything in particular? My parents love books so they will be first on my list to buy for. At any rate, I need to get back to the book. So to quickly summarize both stores are quite similar in 'what' can be purchased, but the flow and set up mof the stores is completely different. The feel of Barnes and Noble is less collegiate and more geared to the professional, in my humble opinion. So I suspect they will therefore sell more books in the long run. Plus being setup attached to the mall will allow them a good source of traffic for the average Christmas shopper.

Just bumped into someone I knew who just came from Books-a-Million, apparently they are remodeling the store getting themselves ready for the holiday season. So stay tuned for a review of them, I'm looking forward to it.

wer-mer-bear contest

I entered a little writing contest over at Confessions from suite 500.  It is a terrific blog and I would encourage everyone to take a peek.  They have some great advice for writers, as well as some terrific taste in books.
The contest was to use a few simple words they provide and come up with a story for them.  The catch is that it needed to stay under the limit of one hundred words.  Here are the words that had to be included: Sky, Light, Betrayal, Pee Wee, and Wings.  They also said that the writer would get extra points for working the phrase "Beware the wer-mer-bear."  So we'll see how I did, I'll let you all know how I faired when the event closes this thursday.  Below is what I entered.  Let me know how you think I did.

It was nearly noon, when from high in the sky above the Fine Light Army, flying on leathery wings was an ominous figure.  Its pee wee body was unmistakable.  Gregern could not believe the betrayal of Stehvan unleashing such a beast upon them.

“Beware-of-the-wer-mer-bear!”  Gregern yelled.

Towsen replied in a troubled voice.  “Surely this tips the scales of success into Stehvan’s favor.  Shoot it down quickly!”

Gregern unslung the magical anajo from his back and loosed a silvery bolt wounding the vile creature. 

“You saved us Gregern, you’re our hero!” Shouted Towsen.

For more entries follow this link.
Writing Contest! | Confessions From Suite 500

Borders

So I’m trying a new experience out today, this will be my first blog within the borders of a Borders Bookstore.  Let me tell you right off the warmed up chocolate chunk brownie is quite appealing, I think I’ll have to get some of that. 

Okay now that I’ve taken care of that let us jump into today’s topic of bookstores.

So is it me or is it a pain in the ass that they have gone and changed the whole format of bookstores on us?  Since when did music and movies pop up in our favorite bookstores?  Don’t get me wrong if there is money to be had from their sales and those funds are what is helping our neighborhood warehouse of literature stay open, then by all means let’s let them keep selling them.  However it is still weird.   

Speaking of weird here is another oddity for bookstores.  I’m sitting in their little café, sipping on my black coffee, (dentist told me no more creamer, eek!) and everyone around me is on a laptop.  Yeah, I have to include myself of course since I’m clicking away on this keyboard. 

I feel like I’ve been teleported back to the early 90s when I was in college rather than a bookshop.  In those days we had to trek on down to the the basement of the dorms to find the computer lab.  Now it would seem as those college kids have metriculated down to the corner bookstores and coffee shops to do there studying.  Don't get me wrong, I mean to come off negative about this, I'm glad the kids are finding a quiet place to get their work done. 

Oh wait scratch that they aren't all students, there is a nice soldier feller in the corner who is ‘reading’ magazines.  I say that in quotes because ever since I sat down he has yet to turn a page or look down at the magazine.  Maybe he is contemplating a big purchase.  Ah, I see now.  His view is certainly nice, I am of course speaking about the cute blonde gal sitting a few tables over.  She is using the ole flash card method of memorization.  I think at this point the poor soldier guy could pass her test as well with all the time he is investing in looking her way.  lol.

So anyways,I've now blogged for a bit and edited my story added in some key details so I'm going to call today productive.   

Brain isn't Braining!

Here I am in the midst of finishing a novel and my writer’s brain is getting plagued with how to wrap things up. It’s hard too, considering all the time invested in not only the dynamic characters, but also the majestic world that was created. So how do I go about getting it all completed in a reasonable amount of time? How do I leave everything in just the right spot so that readers are left in the all desired ‘happy spot,’ where they can’t help but want more? I’ll tell you what I’m going to do; I’m going to take a break.
My brain just isn’t braining! I’ve got too many words and ideas floating around up there to get the adequate focus. The end for the novel is in sight, but to do it justice I need to take a step back. Should I put this in or that, should I save this for the next book or include it now? There are a multitude of decisions that must be addressed.

Maybe I’m waiting for that Ah-Ha moment that will put it all together. Have you ever watched a TV show, House comes to mind, where they are faced with a tough decision or case? Remember how they battle the dilemma the entire show until something not directly related to the case/decision presents the solution. It’s where one event triggers the mind to recall some important factoid that will solve the problem at hand.

So put that idea back into the context of writing a novel. In order to get the needed perspective of the story a mental break is needed. I know what you are saying, just take a vacation. Except we are discussing that gray thing between my ears, and unless I’m going to drown it in alcohol (which isn’t an awful idea) it’s hard to take a vacation from. So what sort of break am I referring to then?

Well let’s keep in mind I’m an author, or at least I’m trying to be, so a break from writing a novel for me is to do what I like to call ‘mental exercises.’ I pick a random topic and just put pen to paper and let the ink flow where it likes. This escape allows the creative nature within me to not go discontented. Furthermore, I’m given time away from the demands of the project I’m working on. Then, if I’m lucky, while writing the mental exercise I could fall into that epiphany state and draw from the external well that which is lacking in the main project.
So do other writers do this? Is this why blogging has become so popular over the past few years?

Moods and Bunnies

(\__/)
(='.'=)
(")_(")o Great Moods Are Like Bunnies... They multiply easily.

Current Project

Currently I'm working hard on a book series called Protect the Risen. Hence the blog name. I envision it to span across three novels: Chances Are, Of Diar Age, and Jaded Mountains.
Here is a quick and small synopsis of the first book…enjoy

Chances Are:
What is held in the magic of the breath, for some like Sam Hauser it is the chaotic essence of luck. In the first novel of the Protect the Risen Series we journey with Sam as he struggles to uncover his own hidden power. Guided by Kaylie, the new love of his life, whose power as a Risen will be sought after and challenged by a growing evil. If they can make it in time, the union of Kaylie and Sam’s bredth magic will help save the kingdom and start a new chapter for the world.
Mistress Therdra discovers a way to obtain infinite power by harnessing the energy of the Risen, but first she must find the key to this destiny. Could it be that the ancient amethyst dragon holds the answer to those dreams? With a newly formed army of death at her side she moves to the Brethen Kingdom from the west to meet her fate.
There are those who hide in shadows pulling the strings of faction leaders and then there are those who can manipulate a lord himself. Ms. Della with her diabolical schemes and vast resources is capable of both and will stop at nothing, not even assassination, to attain her lofty goals.
Meanwhile from the east, while the kingdom is most vulnerable, a man consumed with hatred and fueled by fear, marches his own army to the gates of the great keep. Having failed to seize it once before, Drehas Haverdack has returned with a massive army of Leesermen and siege equipment that is sure to achieve victory. He will be the rightful heir to the throne and only one man can thwart his plans.
Will King Gavinar Blake unlock the secrets to the Relics of Might in time to save his kingdom from these two behemoth forces? If Fardea Panthrex, the deadliest assassin of the Shadowling Guild has anything to say about it he will.

Mare Dither

It was the chatter of branches clashing together that caught her attention; ever alert to what lay hidden beyond the woods of the savannah.  She understood to let complacency into her life was to encourage a danger that had taken so many of her kind.  Her head bent down slightly allowing her a better vantage, her legs readied as the blood pumped faster into the long extremities.  It came again, the sound that had frightened her.  She stood there helpless and frozen to whatever was moving slowly and purposefully towards her.

The mare’s eyes widened as the spectacle emerged from the dense foliage she had hoped would shield her from the imminent threat.  Its tiny frame and oddly familiar coloring made her second guess her initial conclusions of the sounds origin.  Was this creature friend and not foe?  Its shape suggested that it was a not a predator and yet she still felt apprehensive about it.

Several moments went by with no further footfalls by the small being.  It stood as rigid as the large mare, an apparent victim to surprise as well.  Its raised forelegs fumbled a slender limb, pointing it in her direction.  She did not quite understand the significance of the action but it seemed obvious that the upright standing animal meant to communicate with her, the branch in its hands a token of some sort.

The mare lowered her lengthy neck until her brown eyes were aligned with those of her spectators.  The gaze between the two now personal as each was able to see their reflection in the other’s shiny orbs.  Now that she had got a closer look at the creature she understood that its chameleon tree-like skin was loose on its bones.  The subtle shades of brown and green were quite convincing and she respected how such defense would help the little thing blend in well within the environment.  Much like her skin, with large brown spots, the ability to meld into the savannah was an important step in survival for any creature that tended to be prey to the hunters of flesh.

She marveled at how long the animal was able to maintain itself on only two legs.  What an unbelievably useful talent.  She could only imagine the wonders within the canopy that could be hers if she were adept at such a skill. 

Holding the branch in one hand the creature put a foreleg up to its mouth, a singular toe was then placed across its lips.  “shhh.”  A small whisper came as its eyes shifted to the left of her catching sight of something it had seen.

Her neck twisted tracking the line of sight of the other as she tried to ascertain the sudden change of interest in her.  Just over her left shoulder off in the distance of nearly a hundred yards prowled a deadly tigress.  Her mouth gaping open as she lightly panted, her eyes transfixed on a prey that must have been the mare.

The mare felt foolish, she had let the distraction of the smaller animal momentarily take her attentions of her surroundings.  She had let this predator slink up to her desperately close, did she have time to evade it?  Her heart again began to beat heavy in her chest preparing her for the inevitable flight that was soon to take place.

She watched as the tigress, knowing its hunt was discovered and that its prey was soon to flee, broke into an open sprint for her.  The mare knew the tigress savored thoughts of sinking its long fangs into her meaty flank and thirsted for her warm blood that would splash across that gaping mouth. 

An extremely loud blast of noise erupted from back at the small animal’s location.  The mare snapped her head back in its direction.  Smoke rose from one end of the slender tree limb clutched within its forelegs.  A beaming smile commenced and its head lifted slightly in an approving nod.  It then pointed back towards the tigress.

Fearful, the mare knowing she had yet again let this small creature distract her from the perils of the predator took a certain last look over its left shoulder.  Before her lay the limp body of the female tiger its last breathe escaping from that gaping jaw.  The mare’s head dropped in bewilderment; she did not understand what had just happened.  She was thankful, but the actions of the recent events did not add up.

Several bright lights flashed as she returned her gaze to her rescuer.  It was a final spook needed for her to finally get her feet to move under her girth.  With long strides she vacated the area in a frantic dash that was surely more than the small creature could manage to keep up with. 

--

The hunter had put her rifle away and was happy to have snapped a couple of photos before the giraffe had fled.  She understood the poor creature’s dilemma.  She herself was luckily to have sighted the tigress in time to fire off a shot, had she not done so an easy morsel she might have made as well. 

(Thanks for letting me exercise my brain.  I’m still not sure why that popped into my head when I read about your sweater, but it did.  So thanks, I needed the break from my normal writings.)