Please join me at Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Writerfor my third interview as part of Black Lion Virtual Book Tours. Billy asks me: "What is your favorite part in BOUND BY DRAGONSFYRE? What was the hardest part to write?" Find out why the major set piece that takes place at the falconer's cottage is the answer to both of these questions. The young hero of my book is the falconer's apprentice, and in this section of the story the day time hunt at which he's accustomed to serving runs long. The nobles appear to have no intention of leaving, and all Scorpius and his master can do is bear witness and pray that they're not tainted by the nobles' cruelty.
The Next Big Thing is a blog hop, where a published author or unpublished writer is given the opportunity to answer ten questions about their current WIP. They then tag four more writers, who will post about their respective WIPs the following week and pass this invitation on to four more writers to keep The Next Big Thing going.
In November 2012 I was tagged by sci-fi suspense authorCharlene L. Robertsfor the blog hop, but at that point I was just finishing up NaNoWriMo. So I thought, I'll get to that in December. In December, I was tagged by contemporary romantic suspense-with-a-humorous-twist writerJanet Corcoran. Hmm, I thought. Christmas. No one will be able to do this one right now. I'll wait on that. January sped by as my day job made the diplomatic use of staffing challenges stretch to the breaking point. No extra energy left to do much blogging. All my energy was flowing into my work in progress, where blissfully my infatuation stage continues, sweeping me up into the story so that I can't wait to get back to it. This month,Kate Robbinstagged me and I'm ready to introduce you all to my next big thing.
1) What is the working title of your next book?
It has an actual title so I'm only going to refer to it as Scorpius Book 2. The title will be revealed once I start doing the promo for the book, late this spring/early summer. As the working title suggests, it follows the further adventures of Scorpius, the falconer's apprentice turned lord's man from my dark fantasy Dragonsfyre series.
2) Where did the idea come from for the book?
This is going to sound rather sinister, but those who know me are familiar with the manner in which stories generally come to me: in vision-like bursts of emotional scenes deep in the heart of the main character's black moment. Unfortunately for Scorpius, the scene that burst forth took place in a shadowy dungeon with screams ricocheting off the stone walls. Because I was heading into series territory for the first time, this pantser had to map out the plot according to my favorite framework, Save the Cat Goes to the Movies. It was important to figure out what kind of story I was telling. Strangely enough, once I broke down the story elements of BOUND BY DRAGONSFYRE (Scorpius Book 1) I surprised myself by discovering I was writing a Whodunit. I don't even read or watch mysteries/thrillers/suspense. Not too often, anyway. I do love BBC's Spooks/MI-5. And The Prisoner. Once I began work on mapping out Book 2, it wasn't too long before I realized I was writing a Monster in the House story.
3) What genre does your book fall under?
The Dragonsfyre series is in the dark fantasy genre, long a favorite of mine. It's also a political intrigue series, with court intrigues of the Eighth Dominion providing the backdrop to Scorpius' journey.
4) What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
There are a few new characters in Book 2, including this captain of the guard whom we first meet as a young cadet at a military school. To be truthful, this character made two brief appearances in Book 1, but he takes center stage in Book 2 alongside the woman whose fate is intimately entwined with his. The actor who would play the guard captain with secrets that must be kept hidden for the sake of the dominion is Daniil Strakhov, a Russian stage, television and film actor.
In a realm where magic was outlawed by a religious order generations ago, this noblewoman's powers as an adept would lead to her execution if they were ever revealed. Not even her powerful family would be able to save her. Not even when her powers might be the only way to save the dominion from the ravages of dragon's fire. This noble adept would be played by Indian actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
The noble adept is cousin to Lord Thibault, second son of the Duke of Pruzhnino, and Scorpius' master and best friend. A radical choice of bride ignites his world in political upheaval, leading to grim consequences for his bodyguard when he is put to The Question. Will Thibault's loyalty to his wife's people be paid by Scorpius' screams? Lord Thibault would be played by English stage, television and film actor David Oakes.
Once raised to be a noble though never claimed from the nursery, apprenticed out to a falconer and then trained to serve Thibault as his lord's man, Scorpius learns to stay beyond reach of blades and of corrupt noble schemes. His vow to serve his young master descends into a brutal ordeal when Thibault's enemies use any means possible to get what they want. To protect him, Thibault spirits Scorpius to his cousin's Keep, only to embroil Scorpius in a fight for which he has no defense--a fight for his heart, one in which the guard captain becomes a dangerous and unpredictable rival. Scorpius would be played by English stage, television and film actor Richard Armitage.
5) What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
In the Eighth Dominion, the sacred powder known as dragonsfyre burns away lies, bringing terror to a stout heart when the fate of a kingdom comes down to one man, one secret, one pledge to serve even unto death.
6) Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I'm a self-published author who puts together a creative team including a professional editor, graphic designer and formatter when I bring my books to readers.
7) How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
I wrote it in several disconnected sections. I first began writing this adult character of Scorpius several years ago following a writers' retreat, spurred by exercises given by Renee Field and Lilly Cain. I set that aside to begin the boyhood back story for Scorpius, which then became serialized fiction featured weekly on my blog. When that in turn became BOUND BY DRAGONSFYRE, I returned to the adult story line and ran with it during NaNoWriMo. I'm now revising Book 2.
8) What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
It's a thrill to say I've been compared to George R R Martin by several reviewers. Mercedes Lackey fans would enjoy this series, as well as anyone who enjoys watching The Borgias.
9) Who or what inspired you to write this book?
When I saw Richard Armitage's performance in North and South, I knew he would come to me as a character inspiration at some point. When it turned out to be Scorpius, I was ecstatic. I adore Scorpius.
10) What else about the book might pique the reader’s interest?
Once the book is released, there will be a book trailer which I directed--produced by Charlie Mac Productions--to go along with it. Here's a sneak peek of the Scorpius Book 2 costume which my costume mistress mom created:
Here's how the book trailer for Book 1 turned out:
Travis at Trav's Thoughts invites everyone to lay down a short set of music that takes their fancies for his 5 on Friday meme.
This week's set belongs to Scorpius, the main character from my NaNoWriMo 2012 project. Book 1 of my Dragonsfyre series follows Scorpius from age 7 until he becomes a lord's man bodyguard by age 19. In Book 2, Scorpius enters his 20s only to find the Eighth Dominion is a far more dangerous land than he could have imagined when he apprenticed with the falconer.
For a taste of what Scorpius and the others were up to during NaNoWriMo, check out my snippets posted for yesterday's Thursday Thirteen.
1 - Only the Lonely - Frank Sinatra
2 - I Will Not Bow - Breaking Benjamin
3 -In the End - Linkin Park
4 - Poison and Wine - The Civil Wars
For those who have been reading my blog for awhile, you'll know that Scorpius has an uncanny resemblance to Richard Armitage, featured in these clips from North & South.
As you can see by the badge in my sidebar, I crossed the 50,000-word finish line for this year's NaNoWriMo writing marathon last Friday.
At 7:00 pm. With 5 hours to spare.
Compare that to the first year that I did it, with 15 minutes to spare, chasing midnight!
Congratulations to my fellow NaNoWrimers, wherever you may be.
This week, I'd like to share a bit of what I was working on during that writing frenzy. This is straight from the NaNoWriMo unpolished manuscript, not counting a few alterations made to avoid spoilers.
Xaviero - we first meet him as a military cadet, then rejoin him as the captain of the guard for Lord Visigard and his family
Elysande - cousin to Scorpius' master, Lord Thibault, daughter of Lord Visigard. We meet her first as a vision appearing to Xaviero, then as a little girl at the Nursery which raises noble children, and later still as the highly-sought-after daughter of Lord Visigard
Scorpius - former falconer's apprentice, now lord's man for Thibault of the House of Pruzhnino
Thibault - second son of the Duke of Pruzhnino, noble family of the Eighth Dominion
1 - The officer pulled Xaviero to his feet, already turning
to head for the door. That’s
when Xaviero was struck with a vision. He always
required touch to gain the sight, to see that which was hidden from most. The
grip of his hand upon the officer as the man made to leave was enough to warn
Xaviero that he must not let the officer open that door. Dragging back upon the man’s arm with
all his weight, Xaviero cried, “No, Sir! No!”
2 - He could feel the gravel
digging into his legs as he knelt in this ancient forest clearing, could feel
the coolness of the stone dragon against his shivering flesh. When he looked up
into her gaze that looked at and through him, he knew once again that she was
meant for him. The realization that he must wait for her burst through his body
like a geyser. Xaviero heard himself
moan in the midst of his vision, and he twisted his head back and forth, trying
to wake himself out of it. Yet he came to at the feet of his commanding officer
and the dormitory steward, both staring at him in the chill light of dawn.
3 - Xaviero watched this odd
toadying behavior from the officer and realized this new boy must be the son of
a high-ranking noble. Heavy disappointment settled in his chest. As the son of a decorated
officer from a military family, Xaviero had a respected pedigree here at the
officer’s training school, but he was outranked by any nobility from the start.
His brief sense of finally having the chance at a friend and ally vanished
among the greetings offered by the nearly-blushing officer. Just who was this
fellow, anyway? Keeping his head high and his gaze trained ahead of him in
proper military form, Xaviero stole looks from the corner of his eye at his
would-be friend.
4 - An eerie sensation raised the hairs on the back of
Elysande’s neck. In the distance, a horrid sound of swooshing wings made her
wish she’d never heard anything so large and terrifying. Her little legs ran as
fast as they could, but the flap-flap of the enormous being dwarfed the efforts
of all of them. Nurse and
the guards had only managed to herd the children as far as the little roofed
garden house with no walls that Elysande liked to pretend was a palace. There
was still all the lawns and the flower gardens to pass through before they got
to the safety of the double doors that led to the breakfast room. The massive flying thing hung in the
air overhead, casting them all into shadow. Nurse and Elysande stopped running,
since it made no difference now. They could never hope to get away from it.
5 - “You should have read the dragon signs.” “There
were none, my lord! It came from nowhere.” “Dragons
don’t come without signs!” Papa said, kicking the guard in the ribs, lifting
him up with the blow to roll across the carpet of the drawing room. Nurse
pulled at Papa’s hand. “Please, my lord! It was I who should have seen the
signs. I have more experience with them.” Papa turned and flattened Nurse with
one sweeping blow. He stood over her, shaking in outrage. “We are the closest
parents here to the Nursery,” he said. “But we will not be the only ones here
come to see whether we needed to collect the remains of our sons and daughters.
If I were you, I would not be here to greet them.”
6 - “Who sent the messenger we intercepted?” Xaviero asked. The man
shook his head no, starting to whimper in expectation of the next cut. Instead,
Xaviero stood and laid on a series of hard slaps across the man’s face. With his
second sight, Xaviero could see inside the man’s thoughts as long as he could
focus intently on the person’s eyes while touching some part of the body.
Reaching down to wrap his hand around the man’s throat, he waited for the
prisoner’s eyes to open in terror. Once he
could see inside the fellow, Xaviero relaxed within himself even while
maintaining his iron grip upon the man’s throat. He followed the trail of the
prisoner’s mental barriers to locate the crack he needed. He could
see clearly what the man’s worst fears were. Easily done. So very easily. Xaviero
released the man’s throat and gave him a few moments to choke and gasp and
fight for breath. Circling him slowly, Xaviero said nothing, every now and then
stopping to bend his mouth close to his ear, but this time inhaling deeply as
if the prisoner was a fragrant blossom. The man
recoiled from him, jerking in his bonds to try to keep Xaviero in his sights.
Xaviero therefore kept one step ahead of his sightline. “Who sent the message we intercepted?”
he kept asking.
7 - He came to her in a surly mood, so that she was obliged
to order him to her room later that night. It saddened him, but it was all worth it. He was very close to getting what he
needed from the prisoner. He would do whatever it took to get the name of
whoever sent that messenger they’d intercepted. Whatever
it took. The look
on his lady’s face when he arrived a good deal later than their agreed meeting
hour was priceless.Taking a
deep breath,
Xaviero continued on into her chamber with his customary swagger. Yet his skin
now washed over with cold bumps. “You
forget that we arranged an earlier meeting, Captain?” she said. He bowed
his head in acknowledgement but said nothing. “If there
was something of far more importance, then of course I must wait. But if you
must know, waiting has put me out of sorts.” He bowed
at the waist like a servant. “Apologies, my lady.” “I will
accept your apology after you have paid for your insolence,” she said, turning
on her heel and walking away from him. He knelt then, figuring it would be the
best place for him to be once she turned back to regard him. As though
she knew he needed marks on his body in order to convince the prisoner to
confide in him, Lady Elysande walked towards him to strike him backhanded across the cheek. He
straightened as much as he could on his knees, lowering his gaze yet keeping
his head held high. No need to feign wounded pride. He was, after all, working
to preserve her family’s place in the Eighth Dominion’s hierarchy.
8 - The torment was so extreme that often just the mention of dragonsfyre to a prisoner would yield results without even bringing the hard-to-get powder out of its holding box. Her guard captain passed her the belt from around his waist, knowing the powder was in one of those pouches, and knowing that he was destined to inhale it only a few moments from now.
Perhaps they shouldn’t go through with this. Maybe there was another way…
Xaviero placed his hands over hers and nodded once. She crouched and opened the pouches, laying out the silk cloths, the vials on top of the silk, the siphons beside those.
Her captain walked the last steps to the dragon statue. He turned with his back to the stone form, beginning to undress with trembling fingers. Walking to join him, Elysande gently brushed aside his hands and finished undressing him, pulling and tugging and slipping his cape, his doublet, his tunic and leggings free.
There he stood, breathtaking in the moonlight. He knelt with his back to the statue at the base of the carved rock. Taking one wrist in hers, she encased it in the manacle chained to the statue.
Repeating the action with the other hand, she secured her captain to the base of the dragon statue, face out for the ordeal. He knelt in the moonlight, his eyes in shadow.
Turning away, she returned to where she’d placed the vials and siphons. She took up the first of many, as this ordeal wouldn’t be over for some time, once begun. When she turned back to her captain, the moonlight shone down on him as he waited bravely for her. The sight of so much courage humbled her.
If he had the courage, surely she did, too. Elysande took each step that brought her closer to her captain as if it were her last in this world. In her hands was the box containing the orange dragonsfyre powder, and once she blew that into her captain’s face, his excruciating ordeal began.
9 - The weight of the magicke
circle deepened, and for a moment she was certain she could no longer stand.
The sound that deafened her silenced. Gazing across the invisible
circle into the purple-blue eyes of her captain, it seemed to Elysande that she
had always been here, in this timeless moment. She had always worn this gown,
had always been this age, had always raised and opened her arms wide to embrace
the magicke that was hers to command. Yet something made her turn
her head to her right. Looking for something that was not there, Elysande felt
a great sadness. In that moment she
knew she’d always been waiting for the thing that was missing.
10 - She held her arms wide as
Xaviero did opposite her, creating a circle of power she could feel but not
see, not the way she saw her ribbons of pain. Her hair whipped back and forth
as though she stood in a windstorm. The force of the magicke tried to push her
down into the dust, but she held firm, stumbling at times but keeping her feet. For a moment fear broke
through, grasping at her like someone drowning. She searched for Xaviero’s
gaze, but his head was tipped towards the sky, his mouth moving with the words
of the spell he intoned. This was it. This was what
they’d both been working towards for so many years. She would not let him down,
not her dear captain. She wouldn’t let any of them down, not her estate, not
the Eighth Dominion. It appeared that Xaviero
struggled against the same force as he reached for the pouch that held the
vials of pain essence hooked to the belt running across his chest. His
movements slowed as though he trudged through a deep river. Elysande’s arms pushed down
too low to keep the circle going. The pressure on both of them lifted as the
energy faltered. Xaviero quickly grabbed the pouch but looked in alarm across
the space between them. She used every ounce
of her strength to straighten her arms into the position he needed. Immediately
the whirlwind that buffeted her returned. Xaviero withdrew the first vial.
Elysande’s heart beat quickened as the moment they’d been working towards for
so long drew close.
11 - It seemed to take an
eternity, but finally the guard pulled his head free of the tub. As he knelt
there fighting for breath and dripping over himself and the stained floor, his
master refused to answer their questions. A tone of pleading laced Lord
Thibault’s voice, which sent a spear of terror through Scorpius’ chest. If he were the one putting
his master to the question, he would clearly see there was a chink in Lord
Thibault’s armour. Scorpius fought to stop the protest from rising in his
throat, but the sounds came anyway before the guard dunked and held him again. This continued for longer
than Scorpius could hold his breath. His body snaked and surged against the
guard but he would not let him go. A dim sense of shouting joined his own
underwater cries before some of the water seeped into his lungs. Then he slammed onto the
stone floor, coughing and seeing stars. Lord Thibault shouted and
struggled against arms that held him back. The cell door opened and a figure
entered.
“You,” his master
said, all the fight going out of him. 12 - Lord Thibault kicked hard
and threw the noble to the floor. The guards surged forward, taking hold of
Scorpius’ master once more. Lord Thibault fought against them as though he had
not been coming to this cell for weeks of torment, watching Scorpius suffer and
growing more pale and lined by the day. He fought as though he’d
just arrived here, a wild beast of outrage even though he was outnumbered four
to one, and now facing an attacker who could actually inflict harm. Scorpius
watched his master in detached fascination, as though his lungs didn’t burn and
his knees and shoulders didn’t ache. The noble closed in on Lord
Thibault, backhanding him so hard his master’s teeth glistened with blood as he
smiled. “That the best you can do?”
his master said, eyes gleaming with fury.
“No,” the noble said,
giving him a series of brutal punches to the gut that lifted Scorpius’ master
off his feet.
13 - “I’m certain I shall.” Lord Thibault’s grin faded, his
eyes shadowing with the truth neither of them spoke aloud. Well,
Scorpius would have no regrets. Not now. “I want to
thank you, my lord.” His master
shook his head, no. “If
Richolf were here, I would thank him, too.” “He
deserves your thanks, but not me.” “I thank
him with all my heart for fetching me to live at the falconer’s cottage, and I
thank you, my lord, for giving me the life I dreamed of living.” “But you
dreamed of returning home, of being claimed. I know you did.” “I dreamed
it when I didn’t know who would have come for me. You know I never would have
gone with him.” “If you
had told them back there in the cell--” “We’ve
been over all this, master. I would take it all again rather than align myself with that man." “All of that
hitting about your head must have loosened something inside of it.” “I’m telling you I’m grateful. Now are
you going to lay there among the grazer shit and take it like a man, or aren’t
you?”
Participating in the yearly writing marathon known as NaNoWriMohas become a tradition for me and many of my writer buddies. It's a very helpful tradition that will result in the rough draft of a book for me - in this case, Book 2 of my Dragonsfyre series.
Here's what I've been doing during Week 1 of NaNoWriMo 2012: 1 - Feeling the infatuation glow of rushing into the arms of my characters.
2 - Fighting the urge to write well.
3 - Loading a plot template into my manuscript document, one that I'd crafted a few months ago in preparation for NaNoWriMo. I'm not a plotter by nature, but the requirements of writing a political intrigue series pushed me out of my seat-of-the-pantser comfort zone.
4 - Writing scenes out of sequence in order to shake me out of my urge to write neatly and well.
5 - Allowing myself to go deep. Writing more than I normally would allow, in order for a scene to take me somewhere unexpected.
6 - Watching footage of actors that I've 'cast' as my characters, in order to get the feel of their body language and sounds of their voices 'downloaded' into my psyche.
7 - Going without sleep. Having taken part in the 3:15 Experiment, a month-long poetry-writing challenge which requires participants to wake up at 3:15 am for the month of August and write poetry, I realize that for me, the hazy sleeplessness of NaNoWriMo acts as a way for my subconscious to take over and allow deeper creativity full rein.
8 - Noting my word count publicly on Facebook and on my NaNoWriMo page, as well as on my local writing chapter's NaNo loop. Keeps the excitement of group participation front and center, rather than writing in the normal solitary writing cave of everyday practise.
9 - Cheering on my fellow writer buddies as they pile on the word counts.
10 - Watching footage of period dramas, fantasy films or fight sequences as needed, when I need to immerse myself in an emotion or a scene mood.
11 - Go for a walk so I can think.
12 - Listen to music while I ride the bus, so I can run scenes through my head.
13 - Be willing to go wherever my muse takes me, regardless of my own preconceived expectations.
Are you taking part in this writing marathon? If you've never done one before, would you consider doing it next year? You might end up with a book at the other end.
Champion of the Arts - I write historical and paranormal fiction, as well as poetry. I love to showcase creative works by artists of all stripes. Blogging from Nova Scotia, Canada
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