Hemlock and the Wizard Tower Permanently Free

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A few announcements about Hemlock and the Wizard Tower:  first and foremost, it is now free across all platforms in the US (I'm still working out how to offer it for free on Amazon's international sites).

Second, I've gone all "George Lucas" on your collective posteriors and re-written the beginning of the book.  Why?  Well, if you've read the book recently, then you may remember that it was a bit difficult to "get into".  After some recent, candid feedback, I've finally admitted to myself that the first chapter had some severe issues.  It was very heavy on backstory and it was particularly flashback heavy, which several reviewers had commented on.  Although most readers grow to enjoy the flashbacks, I feel that their onset was too abrupt and extreme, and therefore I've dialed them back a quite a bit at the beginning.  Plus, there was the matter of Hemlock's confrontation with the 'legendary defenses' of the Tower.  Many months ago I said in an interview that there was no reason for those sequences to be flashbacks rather than part of the action.  Their origin as flashbacks came from the seat of the pants way I wrote the book.  For this revision I ended up integrating them directly into the action.

You may wonder if there are any new scenes.  The answer is yes.  There is a new scene between Safreon and Hemlock that sets the stage for her entering the Tower against his wishes, and there's also an action scene detailing her encounter with her first Tanna Varran (rather than recalling this encounter as a flashback).

I really think it's a positive revision, and, to be honest, I wish I'd done it a year ago.  Better late than never, I suppose.  For those of you who want the revised version, I will be asking Amazon to offer an update (and Smashwords always offers updates, if you bought there).  For those that can't or won't update, I also plan to post the revised first chapter here on this blog.  Keep an eye out for the link in the toolbar, above.

I'm dubbing this new edition of Hemlock and the Wizard Tower "4th edition".  Just so you know, I've made a vow not to go beyond a 10th edition.  Of course I haven't ruled out non-numeric editions (eg: "Ludicrous Edition").  Like any good politician or lawyer, I've left myself a loophole!

Quatrain

It wasn't that I was particularly inspired or otherwise motivated to begin this treatise--rather it was a strange compulsion that compelled my fingers to rest upon the keys and begin to type.  The typing was frictionless--words flowed unbidden and unhindered, and played upon the kaliedescope of virtual paper like swans floating on a technicolor lake.  They were white in their purity, but no conclusions resulted from their conveyance.  They were immobile: zero force, but their potential energy was palpable.  Something was forming and I couldn't tell what.  Now I see, though.  Words exist in harmony with thoughts and thoughts exist in harmony with music and music exists in harmony with the beats of the cosmos.  There is no beginning or end: only a blending of one into the other.  Polychromatic joy is all that is left when one takes a holistic view.  And I do.

It was upon this flimsy framework that Tiberius Bach was born.  Conceived in a stream of notes and born into a silicon typewriter that framed bytes that formed words but were really just a bunch of zeroes and ones when it came right down to it.  Another frame of reference thing, surely.  But Tiberius floated there and his embryonic form slipped from timeframe to timeframe.  He plotted to have a plot.  He schemed to have a theme.  But none of these were guaranteed and he accepted his limitations.  TB understood that his existence was tenuous.  He thinks that chaos will be his guide and he's write.  But upon the sixty spines of the temporal dragon he ignores the warnings and jumps into the pool of night.  He isn't scared of the anti-infinity there and when death reaches out a skeletal hand TB grabs it.  And so his life/death begins again and he stands on the checkerboard and screams out "Mate!".  But there is no King.

Multiple eddies of the unconscious begin to form around him and the white and black squares fade away.  Suddenly he is fringed in blue and and the Quatrain looms ahead.  The headlight mocks him as it approaches, though he is beyond reproach.  Nonetheless, TB steps aside as the wooden planks of a platform form underfoot and the rushing air whooshes, and then there is silence.  A glistening, black railcar looms in front of him.  He steps aboard knowing full well that there is nothing else to do.  Somewhere a whistle screeches and the iron will shudders to life.  He wanders through a dimly lit car full of boasting brocade that seems wondrous and mysterious--like a heaving bosom--but a passing light spoils the illusion.  TB sits wearily, for the passage into being has tired him.  Tinny vocals fill the train car as he tries to relax.  But his heart is pounding relentlessly in time with the dull sound of of the tracks that glide by beneath steel wheels.  He thinks of the conductor for a moment.  But he's wise enough to sit and wait.

Insular feelings enclose him.  There's still time to listen to Dante and abandon hope.  But there's a station ahead.  It calls to him like a carrion bird.  It holds his greatest pleasure and his descent into madness.  Suddenly, the duality repulses him and he yearns for the yin-yang singularity of the checkerboard.  But there is no shelter in absolutes in the station.  Only putrescent corpses animated and dancing to a thousand songs simultaneously.  Surely the minstrel is a madman, yet the dance continues, and the corpses seem none the wiser.  And how they laugh between wails of agony.  "Is this all I can hope for?" thinks TB.  As the train stops he is filled with purpose.  I conducts his own invisible orchestra with a feral ferocity.  Song number one thousand one joins the party and many decaying faces turn toward him.  He plots to kill the minstrel.  "I am greater!"  But when he finally focuses on the orchestra pit he sees a thousand versions of himself dressed in bloody tuxedos and shooting the finger.  The conductor laughs from behind him and kicks him in the back.  TB hits the platform hard and the ego-sense is knocked right out of him.  "That was a close one," we muses.

On Villainy II

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I've been reflecting on villains again during my ramp up to writing Book III of the Hemlock series.  A TV show we're watching caught my eye because I think they've actually gone overboard in the villainy department.  We are in the tail end of the latest season of this show, and I've been feeling oddly disengaged from it as compared with prior seasons.  In this show, through various plot developments, all of the heroes have temporarily left the vicinity of the villains, and conflicts are playing out within the two separated groups.  I think this is a narrative mistake.

When you have a conflict between two sympathetic characters I think the reader is almost by definition less engaged than when the conflict is between a sympathetic character and an un-sympathetic character.  And I think the same is true of conflicts between two un-sympathetic characters.

In this TV show, there were actually three villains and an unsympathetic but somewhat less villainous fourth character.  As the plot developed, the fourth character reacted to abuse by the other three by going psycho.  So now you have a very unsympathetic character raining down crazy on three other villains.  As the three react by weeping and further abusing one another, I am finding myself feeling apathetic.  I just don't particularly care whether these villains are suffering.  I don't have a character that I'm identifying with in the struggle.  I'm disconnected.  I imagine the intent of the writing is probably to have the viewer enjoy the irony of the other villains being tormented by another villain, but it's just not working for me.  It just seems like a sad spectacle.

I think a good, compelling story should always be underpinned by a strong conflict between heroes and  villains--especially in epic fantasy.  And I am actually critical of my own work in this department.  I've been a big fan of shades of gray villains, but this recent experience has made me re-think how I'm presenting my villains and my conflicts.  Rest assured that Hemlock "Book III" will have a very strong conflict between hero and villain.

On the book III front, I'm in the process of assembling snippets of writing from the various scenes that are coming together in my mind.  I think I'm getting close to the point where I could create a chapter outline, but I'm debating whether I should.  I don't want to loose the magic of "pantsing" so I will probably wait for a good block of time to present itself, and then just start writing.

Action Brings Good Fortune

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Today is one of those days where writing feels like a labor instead of a liberating trip into the exalted sky of the mind.  You may be wondering why I am bothering to write then?  A fair question.  I'm writing because I am hoping that by doing so I may again discover that spark that will lead to inspiration.  There is a passage in the I-Ching that was quoted by Syd Barrett in a Pink Floyd song, and has stuck with me over the years: "action brings good fortune".  I've found this to be true in my life, so here I am listening to some secret, magical music and writing my way in search of The Muse like a desperate man stumbling through a hedge maze.

I try to take a zen approach to my writing.  And I really can't complain about feeling uninspired because I had a very fruitful writing week last week.  My unconscious must have been digging for story ideas, because by this past Friday I was creatively spent.  I haven't hit a creative nadir like this in quite some time.  I guess the lows come with the highs...  In response I've just hunkered down and tried to have faith that the feeling will pass.  I do find it disconcerting to feel so powerless.  I sometimes find myself wondering whether there's a chance that inspiration may have passed me by for good.  But it always seems to come back.  I feel it's important to respect and cherish the magic in the creative process.  I think taking things for granted is one of the biggest risks in life, and maybe a core source of writer's block.  Historian Arnold Toynbee once said: "nothing fails like success".  So I always entertain my doubts--I never try to squelch them.  It means that I'm never truly comfortable, but I think it also prevents me from falling into habits that could lead to unfortunate outcomes.

Life is often like a hedge maze.  I like to think that, if we're wise, we sometimes find ladders to look over the walls, and help ourselves to determine the right choices.  But sometimes--inevitably--we are forced into choices that are less informed.  Life comes at us like a wild-eyed, axe-wielding Jack Nicholson, and we don't have the luxury of long, measured decisions.  Again, "action brings good fortune".  Brain locking into analysis paralysis at these moments is usually far worse than a quick decision.  The Jack Nicholson in my life is usually my day job, which often causes me to dash and stumble through my writing life.  But Jack is a necessary and positive component of my existence, despite his demonstrable insanity.

I'm getting fairly close to being able to start writing Hemlock Book III now.  That's actually a fairly amazing statement since my intention has been to take several months off before starting to write.  But completing Book II hasn't left me with the same feeling of satisfaction as completing Book I did.  Book II has a bit of an "Empire Strikes Back" syndrome going on.  The events of Book III are pulling me forward like a tractor beam.  I just have to write them as soon as possible!  Like the early onset of spring here on the east coast of the United States, it seems that I'm in the process of an early resumption of earnest novel writing.

Well, this blog post is almost over now.  And I think it had a purpose after all.  I certainly feel better for having written it.  Thank you for reading it!

Go Big or Go Home

 I've started working on Hemlock Book III.  So far it's been equal parts intimidating and reassuring.  On one hand, I know what to expect in terms of process.  I'll be reusing the process I used with Book II.  And this time I'm closer to the end of the story arc that I have planned for the series, so there is less uncertainty about plot and structure.

But Book III is probably going to be the final volume in the series... My magnum opus, if you will.  That aspiration carries some baggage with it.  And some of the things that will happen in this installment...  Well, I guess it won't surprise you that they will be epic (it IS Book III, after all).  But this book is going to be unconventional.  I'd even go so far as to say it's going to be experimental.  But I don't mean experimental in the sense that I'm unsure of the outcome.  I have the utmost confidence it will be the final part of the series that  I set out to write.  I use the word experimental to express the level of deviation it will represent from the structure of other fantasy books I've read.

As the snowboarders like to say: "Go big or go home."

I think this is the cool thing about being an Indie.  If I had a publishing deal and approached an editor with this concept, I have a feeling I'd be gently forced to do something safer.  It's nice to be able to get my unfiltered vision out there, and have an opportunity for it to reach readers directly.

Initial reviews of Book II have been very positive, and that feels great.  I'm having a harder time marketing this time around though.  My energy level for social networking and other marketing has been low, lately.  I remember slipping into the marketing role much more effectively after Book I was completed.  I'm not sure what is different this time around, but since I seem to be more energized to write than to market, I'm going to "go with the flow".  Maybe I'll need a break from writing at some point, and the marketing hat will re-materialize on my head.  For now, it's full-on "imagineering".

One final note: I recently posted a free short story called "The Gene Priest" here on the site.  Check it out if you haven't noticed it.  It's linked from the menu bar.

Knight Vision

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I've continued to indulge my Bigfoot fetish over the past few weeks.  I watch a television show called "Finding Bigfoot", and I always enjoy it.  Despite being skeptical that Bigfoot are real, I enjoy the possibility that they could be real; and watching these people who seem to genuinely believe they're real makes it easier for me to suspend disbelief.  Plus, I enjoy the vicarious experience of the wilderness expeditions, and the thermal images and use of night vision give the whole enterprise a distinctly sci-fi feel.

Watching these Bigfoot researchers also has another effect on me.  As I consider their work and watch their endeavors, it gives me a hint of the potentially illusory nature of my own life and perceptions.  If these educated people can devote their lives to the pursuit of something that is not supported by any irrefutable, empirical evidence, then certainly some of my own anxieties could be similarly misguided.  If held to the same loose standard as Bigfoot evidence, maybe the cold, hard aspects of our reality could be seen as comfortingly fictitious.  Perhaps I don't need to go to work every morning, pay my bills, do my taxes and go grocery shopping.  Maybe the widespread discord I read about in the news isn't real.  Maybe some day Bigfoot will pull up in an El Camino and beckon to me with a hirsute arm extending out from a chrome-bordered window.  The El Camino will be a UFO (of course), and we'll fly up to Venus and meet the Venutians.  They will inform me that all of my daily responsibilities and concerns are meaningless, and tell me I should just write 24x7.

All kidding aside, sometimes it's comforting to perceive your life as an illusion.  It can all get so intense.  The Buddhists say that life is an illusion, but they don't mean that it's meaningless.  On the contrary, being born as a human is supposed to represent the result of a series of spiritual evolutions.  And the purpose of this grand illusion that we call life is supposed to be our continuing spiritual evolution.

But some people perceive the insanity of life, and they decide that nothing matters.  I think many people--especially the more intelligent among us--are secretly existential nihilists.  That's one thing you have to give the Bigfoot researchers credit for: they are passionate about their quest.  Whether they are figurative Percivals or Don Quixotes is open to debate.  I suppose there's also the possibility they are figurative Rasputins.  But I'm inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt.

So, when I'm watching the Bigfoot show, I feel an almost serene detachment from reality.  And maybe the thing that I like about the show is that these people are believing in an illusion, and then trying to prove it's real.  I'm doing the opposite in my life:  I'm accepting that empirical reality is "real", but at the same time I'm desperately trying to prove it's an illusion.  Or, to put it another way, I'm trying to experience that there is a duality intrinsic to empirical reality that cannot be measured or quantified.

It's clear that weird stuff happens in quantum physics.  There's that experiment with quantum entaglement where the act of perceiving a particle is the only thing that gives it a determinate charge (to anyone who knows physics, I apologize for this clumsy explanation).  So, at the quantum physical level, perception does literally equal reality.

And I found this quote in a United States Central Intelligence Agency study:  "People tend to think of perception as a passive process. We see, hear, smell, taste or feel stimuli that impinge upon our senses. We think that if we are at all objective, we record what is actually there. Yet perception is demonstrably an active rather than a passive process; it constructs rather than records "reality." Perception implies understanding as well as awareness. It is a process of inference in which people construct their own version of reality on the basis of information provided through the five senses."

I think this passage explains the mentality of the Bigfoot researcher quite well.  Every falling branch becomes a Bigfoot "wood knock".  Every unusual howl in the night becomes a sasquatch call.  But who am I to question them for that when I try to interpret every bad thing that happens in my life as part of a spiritual journey?  In a way, I don't think that much differently than they do.  And maybe that's why I feel like I'm among friends when I watch their show.

Hemlock and the Dead God's Legacy Released!

The sequel to Hemlock and the Wizard Tower has been released!  Amazon Link. It is priced at $0.99 for one week in appreciation of those who have been waiting for it and giving me encouragement during the process of developing it. It will rise to $2.99 around 4/1/12. I can sure use some reviews and/or "Likes" if anyone is so inclined!


Hemlock and the Dead God's Legacy

Hemlock realizes that the life of a leader is more complex and tiresome than she anticipated. Feeling burdened by her many responsibilities, she yearns for the freedom of adventure. When Tored arrives from the Witch Crags with information about the likely location of another powerful Wand, she seizes the opportunity to embark on a new quest.
Before she leaves, she entrusts a secret book into the possession of Merit, a mechanical gnome who is developing an affinity for history and lore. Merit begins to uncover an ancient narrative in those dusty pages--and he soon realizes it's the tale of the creation of the Wizard Tower itself!
Meanwhile Hemlock and Tored begin what they expect will be a simple quest to a mysterious vale nestled deep in the Witch Crags. But the adventure has several surprises in store for them...
Will Hemlock understand her ever evolving role amidst rapidly changing circumstances? And can she unite the City in time to resist the menace of the legacy of a dead God?