Cover of Hemlock and the Dead God's Legacy!

 Here is the work in progress cover art for Hemlock and the Dead God's Legacy!  I'm super excited to unveil it!  We're still reviewing it, but it's very,very close.

I'm still working through the revisions of the ending of the new novel.  All I can say is: "God bless President's Day!"  In a stroke of good fortune I've been granted a precious day off on Monday that I'll be able to use to write uninterrupted!  What timing!

So I'm rushing around like a busy little wizard adding new ending scenes, tweaking things and generally cleaning up the chaotic mess that ending "1.0" was.  I was telling some friends that if I ever try to release any of my writing with a "1.0" version of an ending again, they should physically slap me in the face, and possibly curb stomp me.  OK, maybe the curb stomping would put my ability to revise the ending at risk, so scratch that.  Maybe instead of a plain slap, it could be a gentleman's slap with a leather glove (or something equally dramatic and injury-free) instead.  That would get my attention!

I don't have anything else to share right now.  I'm busy writing and imagineering, and there's not much more to say than that.  I think the release of the new novel is mere weeks away at this point!

Bigfoot Blues

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Whenever I am trying to take a nap I like to put on the TV and tune in to a show about history or the paranormal.  History is good to sleep to because it already happened.  It's not like you're going to miss something if you sleep through it.  Plus the monotone narration is also soothing to the ear.

When I'm drowsy I also like to tune in to these Bigfoot hunter shows.  For one, like history shows, I am certain nothing will happen in the show that I will need to stay up for (come on, they never find anything, do they?).  I also sort of enjoy the traipses through the woods with the UV filter video and the almost juvenile attempts to leverage technology to capture the elusive "squatch".

As a writer, I never want my stories to be snooze-worthy.  And I think this can happen if a story is too reliant on the standard fantasy tropes.  But I also have this need to ground my tales in established mythology, which would seem to conflict with the notion of trying to keep a storyline fresh and innovative.

So how does an author walk the fine line between innovation and mythological resonance?  Maybe further reflection on my affection for Bigfoot shows will shed some light.  Maybe the magic of these shows is the enthusiasm the hunters display as they go about their hunt.  They treat their experience like an adventure--even though the outcome of the adventure is never in doubt.  Somehow these hunters make the viewer suspend disbelief--perhaps only for a few moments, but that's enough.  Maybe they will find a "squatch" this time!  Maybe Bigfoot IS real!

As a fantasy writer I try to suspend disbelief for readers by making sure there are no visible seams in the plot.  Plot seams are the equivalent of seeing the author running around in a cheesy Bigfoot suit.  When the plot is seamless and "organic" I think the reader starts to wonder what might happen next--and by extension feels like anything could happen.  This sense of uncertainty is what makes a novel exciting for me as a reader.  The author may be behind the curtain, but if the curtain is well concealed then the illusory narrative of the story remains seamless.

I've recently been revising the ending of my new novel, and I was feeling really down about it for several days.  I think it was because I was trying too hard to just sew up the plot seams with little regard for subtlety or prudence.  I just had to wait for the right idea to develop organically from plot circumstances instead of trying to "synthesize" something to connect the dots.  As tempting as the Bigfoot suit is for an author, it's best left in the proverbial closet.  Don't worry, the skeletons will keep it company.

Asceticism in Fantasy

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Thanks to Ilil Arbel's fascinating blog post on the Essenes, an ancient ascetic order, for inspiring this post.

Asceticism is a pillar upon which many of the real world's religions are based.  The core concept is that the ascetic is able to be closer to God by depriving themselves of earthly (sensual) pleasures.  In a certain sense fantasy has embraced this concept with the archetype of the reclusive wizard and the fighter that is part of a secret order protecting the weak.  I believe that asceticism in Christianity and Islam is based on these religion's roots in the harsh desert climates of the Middle East.  In these religions asceticism is often thought to produce spiritual virtue.  There is an element of this thinking in the ascetic traditions of eastern religions as well.

I like to take a positive perspective on the spiritual process, and I think virtue leads to asceticism and not the other way around.  When asceticism is believed to be the path to virtue rather than a byproduct of it, I think the door is opened to religious oppression by those who consider themselves enlightened.  I think asceticism needs to be a voluntary journey in order to reap spiritual benefits from it.  Otherwise it simply leads to suffering.

In T.E Lawrence's brilliant work "Seven Pillars of Wisdom" he describes what I consider to be the basis of destructive asceticism.  On the "arab peninsula" the coastal regions were prosperous--but only could support so many mouths.  This caused a continual flow of immigrants to stream inland into the nomadic arab nations of the time.  These nomadic tribes survived in an incredibly harsh environment where asceticism was a requirement for survival.  And the desert could only support so many people via its sparse network of oasis and wells.  So this caused another stream of immigrants who continued north into Syria and Turkey, bringing their ascetic desert values with them.  This simple explanation of the source of asceticism in Islam is the first rational explanation I'd ever heard or read.

In most fantasy the reclusive wizard or fighter seems to be traveling on a more constructive ascetic path where asceticism is a byproduct of altruism, and the hero is voluntarily relinquishing the comforts of society and civilization in order to protect it.  But in fantasy these archetypal figures rarely turn their backs on all of life's pleasures.  Many heroes are quick to enjoy a tankard of ale or a generous pinch of tobacco in their pipe.  So fantasy heroes seem to embrace what I'll term "dutiful asceticism".

I think this theme of "dutiful asceticism" is one of the key, positive moral and spiritual takeaways from fantasy.  I've reached a point in my own life where the patterns of material acquisition that I've practiced for many years are starting to become increasingly unsatisfying.  I am still tempted by these old patterns of behavior (old habits die hard), but now I see them for the pathology that I think they are.  I am far from an ascetic, but I think I can see the beginning of the path that leads there.  I'm not sure I'll ever walk it, but I consider it a gift to even perceive it.  And I really believe that J.R.R. Tolkien and many other epic dreamers out there helped me to reach this point by weaving undercurrents of wisdom into their fantastic prose.

After the Sprint

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As I live I am always searching for a deeper meaning to life.  I am a believer in objective reality and science, so I am searching for something that by the definition of measurable, objective reality will never be found.  Yet I continue to search, and I think the search itself is part of the journey--and maybe the journey itself is the destination.  When I do have spiritual moments, they are often amazing simply because of the way I perceive them rather than being objectively mystical in and of themselves.

When I read I am always looking for themes or signals from the author that they are on the same journey of discovery that I am.  And I have trouble enjoying books that don't wax mystical at some point.  I've heard great musicians described as being able to play between the notes.  This comes close to describing what I am thinking of when I use the word mystical.  The best way to add mysticism is for the author to pour parts of themselves into their book.  I read a good blog post recently where the author urged all writers to write so that they show through in their own writing.  I think this is a great way to think about it.  Since we're all inherently miraculous, if we can write ourselves into the words then the reader will have to have a mystical experience because they will feel the writer infusing the tale and floating over, under and within the narrative of the story.

I think a good litmus test for a writer is whether they love their own work.  This seems a bit like self esteem in that I think the phrase "If you can't love your own story then how can you expect others to love it" applies.  I think some people are perfectionists with their writing--and this can be a negative thing I think.  Love usually involves accepting imperfections, so I think it's healthy to do the same with our stories or else we'd never be "done" with them.  What I've found is that when I write something that I don't love, I feel a strong sense that it could be better.  This feels different than needing to rework, it's more like the scene is too blurry and the focus needs to be sharpened so that its beauty shines through.

My new manuscript for Hemlock and the Dead God's Legacy is in the hands of beta readers.  I am patiently awaiting their feedback (everyone is very busy).  While I've been waiting I've been feeling different things about the manuscript.  First, I think it ends a bit abruptly, so I will be adding an epilogue soon.  But beyond that I have moments where I expect accolades and others where I start to doubt whether the story is any good.  I always pick myself up by reassuring myself that I love the story.  Whether it is better or worse than its predecessor remains to be seen, but I feel like I succeeded in writing it from the heart, and from the most elemental and pure part of my imagination.  None of the scenes were half baked: all were the result of dreams, music inspired visions or moments of true inspiration.  My spirit is inhabiting those pages, for better or worse.

What is a little unusual about this novel is that I felt a titanic urgency to get it completed.  I don't remember feeling this way about the first one.  I hope it doesn't mean that my life is coming close to its end.  I don't think that's the case,  but we never know, do we?  I remember Tarantino feeling conscious of his own mortality after completing Pulp Fiction.  I think I have a similar feeling.  It's almost like part of me has been frozen in carbonite in the pages of this new manuscript.  Maybe what's left behind is now rendered just a bit redundant by the process.  In any case, there's no doubt that strange feelings have been afoot within this writer.  Fortunately, they seem to be abating.  I just hope there's a nice grace period before book three starts to weigh on my mind.

One of the things I'm most excited for people to read in the new novel is an extended sequence detailing the history of the City through the eyes of multiple characters as they experienced these moments.  Some of these events were described in general terms in Hemlock and the Wizard Tower, but now the reader gets to experience them "firsthand", learning a lot about the history of the wizards in the process.  I'm curious how readers will react to one of the main point of view characters in these historical sequences.  Will he be perceieved as a villain or a flawed hero?  I have my own opinion, but I think the presentation is objective enough that there will be some room for diverging points of view concerning this character.

Occult Brain Dump

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I apologize in advance for the rambling nature of this post. It's a bit of a brain dump. But since I haven't posted to the blog in so long, I figure rambling and off the cuff is better than silence...

I've been thinking about the occult and its penetration into mainstream pop culture (and even what the term occult means in the polytheistic, modern world). I remember back to the 80s when Dungeons and Dragons was considered by many to be a gateway to the occult. It's funny how I regularly play D&D and other adventure games where demons are fairly common, yet I still won't mess with a Ouija board. I'm not sure I can reconcile those two viewpoints. I guess I still believe the occult may be real on some level and don't want to mess with it, while at the same time I know a plastic demon figure in a board game isn't going to haunt my house or something.  Disclaimer: I also knock on wood with a frightening consistency.

The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter movies that were made in the last decade probably represent the breakthrough of "fantasy" into mainstream pop culture. Now orcs, trolls, witches, demons and wizards are no longer just a part of shadowy tales from Salem, or the writings of Aleister Crowley. In truth these archetypes had been adopted and neutered by geek culture since Dungeons and Dragons emerged in 1979--it just took the mainstream a few decades to catch up. So how does fantasy enchant and frighten when its iconography has been "neutered"? What I've ended up doing with my fantasy writing is to attempt to make every fantasy creature or character a fully realized "person" who happens to have a fantastic form. Reliance on these aging archetypes without doing so is just boring in my humble opinion. It's a road that readers have been down before--many, many times.

I have a persistent thought that there must be new myths and archetypes waiting to be created. These myths should help us interpret our modern lives like the old archetypes helped people in centuries past. But in this age of instant communication maybe the myths and archetypes will have a shorter shelf life. The way we fall in and out of love with celebrities suggests to me that people are looking to these people to serve as their archetypes rather than myths. What they don't realize is that this turns their celebrities into myths in the process. And then fans become disillusioned when it becomes evident that their heroes are really just "normal" people with a lot of wealth.

I think people are hungry for new myths. Even the myths of religion seem to be failing in this modern age of reason and science. But science alone can't do anything but measure and predict. It typically doesn't provide a framework to map our emotional and spiritual lives. No, I'm still convinced that we need new myths.  I have an instinct that if the new myths are done "right" then they will be controversial since they will be challenging established "conventional wisdom".  My hope is that they will be constructive rather than destructive.

Winter Holiday Book Giveaway!!!

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The excellent fantasy oriented review blog "Indie Book Blog" is hosting a huge winter book giveaway featuring nearly 300 books (mostly e-books, but there are a few physical books as well)!  Be sure to head over there and enter by leaving a comment with your email address.  Ten copies of Hemlock and the Wizard Tower will be featured in the giveaway!

---------- Epic Giveaway Link ----------

News on Hemlock and the Dead God's Legacy

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First, a news update on the forthcoming novel "Hemlock and the Dead God's Legacy".  I've got about four or five chapters left to write.  I thought I would be cutting it shorter than that, but I have realized that I need to add a bit more content to get a good, smooth plot arc.  Of course there is lots of fighting, scheming, and magic in the story.  I think it pairs well with the original story, and I'm certain it is written much "tighter" than Hemlock and the Wizard Tower.  For starters, much of the world building is already established.  And when I do additional world building in this novel it is all told through action.  There are no long passages with world building exposition or long monologues.  I think it will be a much easier read.  I'm going to try and make a final push to complete the first draft before the end of the year.  Wish me luck! 

Next are some brief observations from a journeyman writer.  If you are a writer then they might be of interest.  Your mileage may vary...

At some point I think all writing falls back on established archetypes and societal norms.  This is true of contemporary writing as well as science fiction and fantasy.  Whether a character is a priest, a star ship pilot or a warrior, a reader will form some basic assumptions about the character based on real life and the pop culture stories and myths that have preceded it.

From time to time I've found myself falling into the trap of relying too heavily on "prefab" character archetypes.  I think this is where an author runs the risk of having a flat plot or a cliche storyline.

For example, I was recently writing a sequence where my protagonists are fighting some enemies.  I immediately settled on trolls for the enemies since they are a good fit for the setting.  But I found myself having a hard time getting through writing the chapter.  I was bored with it and I hadn't even written it yet!  It turned out that trolls were precisely the wrong answer for this.  So I erected my mental scaffolding, and went back to imagineering the sequence.  And what I ended up with was far, far better than trolls.  Now I am really looking forward to writing this part!

Authors can derive some support from the conventions of their genre, character archetypes and societal norms; but I think readers are really looking for novel and distinctive stories and characters.  It's not easy to consistently deliver that as an author, but in my experience the results are very satisfying and much more fun to write.