Sketching the Imaginary Friends, part 2

I've been having too much fun with this sketching project even though some of my pictures end up a little heartbreaking if you have read the books they came from. I'm not sure what I'll do with these yet other than find the proper cable so I can hook up my scanner and make digital copies of them. That will also give clearer and more colorful images than the camera on my phone can offer.

Ariana Achara and Rastaban Eryaucra (before The Abyssal Night)

Thora and Solace Achara (Shards of Chaos)

River and Onyx (Shards of Chaos/Echoes of Oblivion trilogy)

Saruza Starsinger (Echoes of Oblivion trilogy)

Arden Masiona and Aerlya Metavanya (Sand into Glass)

Lirit Narsimor (Shards of Chaos/Echoes of Oblivion trilogy)

Ember and Moth (The Abyssal Night/Echoes of Oblivion trilogy)

Zella Thula and Rassa Buananor (Arrow of Entropy). This
is based on a specific scene a couple chapters into the book.
Hands still vex me, but I think I'm improving at drawing them.

I've been photographing my line drawings before I color them in and occasionally I like those better than the final versions. Here are some of them.

I started with Rassa, then added Zella behind him.

Arden and Rassa ended up looking similar, which was intentional since they're related.

Lirit started out wearing pants but my 3 year old insisted she needed a skirt.

The Achara twins were adorable and I was hesitant to color them.

Moth's Story

I've added Moth's short story to the page tabs, or you can read it here. He was fifteen years old at the time of this story, so it takes place about a decade before his introduction in The Abyssal Night. If you haven't read the Echoes of Oblivion trilogy and aren't into spoilers, I recommend not reading it yet, since it details a familial relationship between two characters that comes as a revelation in Shards of Chaos.

In the meantime, I'm not editing or writing a whole lot right now because I'm on painkillers and waiting for kidney stone surgery, which should happen on Monday. I did write a couple journal entries by a character who was addled on painkillers when he wrote them and I'm working on a short about Exi's emergence, since she was dealing with a lot of pain when she went through it. No editing on Arrow of Entropy for now, though. Not a good idea to do final edits when I'm medicated, even though my brain wants me to.

Smashing!

It took me four days, but I finally have reformatted all five books and uploaded them onto Smashwords. I've been meaning to do this ever since my KDP Select expired, but ran into a string of illnesses and a lack of energy. The books are currently pending review for the premium catalog, so hopefully they'll pass all the formatting requirements and be available at other retailers soon. For now, you can buy the ebooks at either Amazon or Smashwords and the print copies at either Amazon or CreateSpace.

Ebooks on Amazon:

Mayfly Requiem

The Abyssal Night

Shards of Chaos

The Shattered Veil
Shadows of Absolution

Ebooks on Smashwords:
Mayfly Requiem

The Abyssal Night
Shards of Chaos
The Shattered Veil
Shadows of Absolution

So, what's next? Well, a couple of things. I ordered a couple paperback copies of one of the books to run another Goodreads giveaway. It starts on the 19th, so  watch out for that. I also made up some nice little business cards to hand to all the random people I speak to in random places about my books. Those should be in my hands soon. Mostly, though, I just need to get over this infernal cold so I can finish writing Sand into Glass. I hope it doesn't break my laptop again. I also have been working on my vegan cooking blog a bit.

Order and Chaos

I am often asked the intended reading order for my series. Some people choose to read Mayfly Requiem first, but frankly, it can be a little difficult if they haven't read the trilogy first. Lani is a narrator with a lot on his mind and a sometimes-archaic vocabulary. When you've read the trilogy first, it is easier to see how the history and characters fit together in the overall scope of the world. The series is still enjoyable when read out of order (except the trilogy, which wouldn't make sense out of order), but your perception of them may be altered.

None of my books fit neatly into the epic fantasy genre. There are no dragons, vampires, elves, or werewolves, no absolute good or evil. I merge elements of philosophy, dystopia, and superhero fantasy with memoirs, adventures, and hostile takeovers by ambitious leaders. I create my own creatures such as the winged scavenger rychan, the forest guardian ketrow, the jungle-dwelling aerfen, and the civilized and fox-like Tenjeri.

The recommended order of reading is as follows:

1. The Abyssal Night (Echoes of Oblivion #1)

2. Shards of Chaos (Echoes of Oblivion #2)

3. The Shattered Veil (Echoes of Oblivion #3)

4. Mayfly Requiem

5. Shadows of Absolution

The Echoes of Oblivion trilogy is the story of two brothers, one whose ambition may destroy the world and the other who has always been caught in a shadow but still searches for a light. Meanwhile, the Geophorians, a culture of priests with superhero-like powers, is being systematically exterminated because of a culture of fear created by the older brother and his ancestors.

Mayfly Requiem is the prequel to the trilogy and reveals several intersecting characters and historical events (the creation of Ganebra, the Mage Wars, and meetings with younger versions of Lucienus, Tordian, and Faraban). It is the confession of a fallen immortal named Lani, a Time Child sent to Malora along with his twin to act as a sentinel for the Elements. Since this book covers 2,500 years of Lani's history, it can be a bit unwieldy, but it is much more manageable when viewed as a series of short stories, each depicting a different era in Lani's life.

Shadows of Absolution takes place about sixty years after The Shattered Veil. It is the story of a young woman who thinks she has nothing left to live for and how the Time Child Bethel helps her find a purpose. I describe it as a post-apocalyptic epic fantasy adventure and occasional coming-of-age love story. The love story aspect is quite unconventional, but I'll let you discover why on your own.

I have three more books in various stages of writing and planning to follow the first five. They make up a loose trilogy spanning 4,500-5,100 years after the original five books and the first should be out in 2013. Each book is told by a different character in three consecutive generations of post-human Malora, now called Melor. The first is told by the glassmaker Arden, the troubled youngest son of Bethel. The second is told by Tesji, an awkward elemental mage on an adventure while his dreams call for destruction. The third is told by the reclusive light mage Zella as Oblivion begins to wake.

The work-in-progress Emergence trilogy is:

1. Sand into Glass

2. The Crystal Lattice

3. Arrow of Entropy

I'll leave you with that for now. My laptop is in need of repair for a loose power jack so I'm about to be briefly sidelined again.

Paperbacks Available

All four books are now available in paperback! The trilogy is currently live on Createspace and should be live on Amazon in the next day or so. Mayfly Requiem is also available in paperback on Amazon and Createspace and as an e-book on Amazon. I'm not sure why the thumbnails are so fuzzy.
zy

Paper!

These lovelies arrived at my doorstep yesterday.  I need to do another set of proofs after I hunt for typos because I don't like the paragraph style on these, but I'm really happy with them otherwise.  I have a mere two chapters left on SoA, then I can take a break before editing and work on these pretty babies.  It is so amazing to have them in front of me.  They finally feel real, something I never felt looking at the e-books.

W is for Welcome

Welcome to Evergreen and Indigo!  Thank you for joining me.  I'm almost at the end of the alphabet, so I'll be going back to normal posts soon.  

If you are an indie author, I want to hear from you.  I'd love to interview you and feature you on this blog.  Go here and send me an email.  Help me promote you!

I've also interviewed a couple of my own characters just for fun.  I may add more in the future.  Check them out here. 

I am in the last sequence of The Crystal Lattice, but it will be a while before it is released.  I need to publish in chronological order instead of the order I originally wrote the books.  Once I finish the last twenty pages of rewrites, I'm going to put it away for a little while so I can finish Absolution.  I've always alternated books like this so I can look at the final edits with fresh eyes and make sure overlapping characters sync up before I send them to my proofreader.

The original written order was:  The Crystal Lattice, Echoes of Oblivion trilogy, Absolution, Mayfly Requiem.  Chronological order is:

1. Mayfly Requiem
2. The Abyssal Night
3. Shards of Chaos
4. The Shattered Veil
5. Absolution
6. The Crystal Lattice

So, while you are waiting for me to finish the last two books in the sequence for you, I'd be extremely grateful if you'd do something for me.  Please like and tag my books on Amazon, 'like' my Facebook page, follow me on Twitter, and leave me reviews on Amazon and Goodreads.  Leave me comments on my blog posts and tell me which characters are your favorites so I can feature them here.

Thank you for wandering through Malora with me.  I appreciate your companionship on this strange journey.

M is for Malora

A sketch of the Malora continent.  The scale is highly inaccurate.

Malora is the world inside my head and the setting of my six books (Absolution is only partially set in Malora).  By the era of The Crystal Lattice, the name has morphed into Melor, but significant change is to be expected after 4,803 years.  I did not include a map in my books because I lost it.  It will likely appear in second editions later on.  The map of Melor is significantly different, as the earth priests had a bit of fun with the landscape in the fifty years between The Shattered Veil and Absolution.  Nalune is gone, the Liban Hills are now a labyrinth mountain range claimed by the Baku, and the Marsora Range has shifted eastward beyond the ruins of Lunamar.

The continent of Malora consists of seven countries, as of the beginning of The Abyssal Night.

Ganebra - capital, Lunamar.  Landlocked country in central Malora.  Ruled by King Rastaban, the latest monarch of the 2000 year old Eryaucra dynasty.  The landscape is primarily plains, with Lake Nalune at the center and the Marsora range to the west.  Former temple city is Meridian, but Geophorians were banned from the country after Valariban Eryaucra's ascension.

Maritor - capital Heren.  Southwest Malora.  Ruled by King Achernar until Rastaban negotiated him into a lordship.  Varied landscape, including tropical forests in the south, the Amari Desert in the central region, and plains along the coast.  Geophorian temple cities are Fruithill and Dunewind.

Rashomanon - capital Cascades.  Central-west Malora. The hidden temple city of Cascades is the only settlement of significant population in this treacherous mountain region.  Ganebra considers Rashomanon too dangerous a landscape to bother with.  Temple city is Cascades.

Rimara - capital Narsalon.  Northwest Malora.  Tundral plains and evergreen forests.  The volcanic island Arka is off the west coast.  Temple cities are Nighthollow and Skyspire.


Lusifal - capital Lusarna.  Northeast Malora.  Forests and plains to the south, hills and highlands in the center, redwood forests and tundra in the north.  The Harkanaya archipelago lies off the northeast coast.  Temple cities are Icelight, Northwinds, and Moonhaven.

Anor - capital Loya.  Central-east Malora.  Delta swamps and forests. The mountainous island of Liefan is considered part of Anor.  Temple cities are Riverbottom, Reedwater, and Starfall.

Kira - capital Tiva.  Southeast Malora, including the island Kiribar.  Tropical climate, wetland delta in the northeast.  Temple cities are Palmshore and Wavecrest.

Addendum:  Thanks to Kevin Rau for interviewing me today for his website.  My interview can be found here.

Snippet: Shards of Chaos

 Desert sands, desert winds, desert fire. Aumua was earth and fire, the only one of the Web to be two lesser Elements at once. He appeared empty, but he was not barren, for everywhere was life, life and death and frenzied existence hiding in the shade and in the shadows. He was dry but not dead, and life sprang from oases and lonely cacti. Aloes, jumping mice, miniature foxes, scorpions, snakes, palms, desert of the mind, desert of the soul. The Amari Desert was a refuge of wonderful, strange life.

Dunewind was an illusion, a fabled mirage. It rose from the desert only when it wanted to be found. Dunewind had the temperament of a small child – very open and trusting, but only to those it knew and was comfortable with. When Dunewind decided to trust someone, it rose in a magnificent oasis from an endless ocean of sand and wind. To everyone determined distrustful, the city was a glimmer on the horizon, and sometimes a swirling vortex of sand in the distance. No matter how far one walked toward it, it never got any closer. Those allowed into the secret sanctum of Dunewind were rewarded with a magnificent sandstone city surrounding a freshwater spring. It was the last great refuge of the Geophorians. Only a few scattered, hidden villages remained elsewhere in the world.