Sand and Bone2024-03-28T17:39:17Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/tags/sand-and-bone/D. MoonfireCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 InternationalContent Warnings - This Book Contains Death2022-01-21T06:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2022/01/21/content-warnings/As part of my work toward getting _Flight of the Scions_ done, I decided to work on content warnings.
<p>As part of my work toward getting <a href="/tags/flight-of-the-scions/">Flight of the Scions</a> done, I decided to work on content warnings and potentially identifying themes in the story (tags). This is a bigger conversation because I should do this for all of my stories and novels, which is why I want to have a more unified system in place instead of trying to remember what I used where.</p>
<p>I also don't have an answer quite yet for this. So, this post (and potentially a few after that) are me trying to work out ideas for content warnings while seeing of anyone has opinions or suggestions that would help. Otherwise, I'll do what I normally do which is to do my best, then second-guess myself for a year or so, and then revamp it in 2027.</p>
<p><strong>There are some spoilers in this post. Also some references to miscarriage, abuse, and death but no specific details.</strong></p>
<h1>Why?</h1>
<p>Content warnings are critically important to me. They are for readers, not me. I'm telling a story. I have my reasons for that story, I choose or choose <em>not</em> to have specific themes and because I thought their presence (or non-presence) was appropriate for the story.</p>
<p>However, those choices are not for everyone. <em>Sand and Blood</em> is about abuse that comes about from traditions and “the way it always was”. It's about a character who doesn't fit the mold in a culture where most of the people consider him a liability. This is a key part of the story to me, but the last few years have pointed out, it is not something that appeals to many readers.</p>
<p>That doesn't mean I want to inflict that on others who have gone through it. Or, I don't want to surprise them with something horrifying that brings up those memories.</p>
<p>We lost a child. I wrote about it in <em>Sand and Ash</em>. Glossed over, but the speed and horror of that moment was important to me. That empty moment and hole in my life is part of who I am and something I wanted on the page.</p>
<p>I would never ask anyone to live through that again if it is still an open and bleeding wound. Hence, “death of an unborn child” is on the front page of that book.</p>
<p>Another example is that I like erotica in some of my romances (but not all). It is in <a href="/tags/second-hand-dresses/">Second-Hand Dresses</a> because I considered it important to the plot and I also like how it played into Lily's awakening in other ways. But, if you are reading my stories for the traumatized humans, you might not be into seducing the dressmaker in the middle of a restaurant. So, if you don't want to read that, it will be on the first page in clear words so you can skip it.</p>
<p>My goal for writing has always been an attempt to stride for breadth, not depth. I want to show different lives at the same point. I want to show a world where a young man is trying on his first dress at the same time a family is fleeing for their life from magical assassins while another guy is being seduced by a MILF and a cranky forensic mage is investigating a gory murder in a fountain.</p>
<p>Because there is no one genre or theme in my writing, that means I need signals. It can come from genres (which is a related topic), themes/tags, and content warnings. That means I need to me conscious of what I'm trying to communicate since content warnings (like genres) are for readers, not the writer.</p>
<h1>Systems</h1>
<p>I work with systems to help me make decisions. It helps keep me consistent, which is important to me. Also, I have <a href="https://fedran.com/sources/">eighty stories and novels</a>. Most of them should have different warnings and themes, but like the rest of the setting, I should have a so-called “consistent” framework, hence this post and my efforts.</p>
<p>This post is me trying to come up with a system for Fedran's content warnings. Of course that means I might be overthinking or engineering a solution, but at least I can document how I got to whatever I end up implementing so I can learn from the lessons.</p>
<h1>Specificity</h1>
<p>The biggest problem with content warnings I have is trying to decide how detailed I want to be. Many sites just have “death” as a warning. I originally had a more detailed list. Here are some examples:</p>
<ul>
<li>Death of a named character</li>
<li>Death of an unnamed character</li>
<li>Death of a named child</li>
<li>Death of animals both named and unnamed</li>
<li>Death of an unborn child</li>
</ul>
<p>My justification is that these can received in very different ways. A death of an adult may not hit a reader as hard in a fantasy story because it happens so often in movies and books these days. Boromir is dramatic but predictable, even if you didn't read the books.</p>
<p>On the other hand, we have a site specifically to document if a dog died in a book. There was an urban fiction novel I had read where someone had a cat familiar that was being used to maintain a spell, effectively torturing the creature for the rest of its life. That got the book tossed in the “never let the family read it” pile.</p>
<p>Children? Same way. A child dying is worthy of being called out, the very thing that content warnings are supposed to alert the reader.</p>
<p>On the other hand, society frequently discounts the death of seniors. I can't help but look at our world today to see that. While it isn't a theme I'm planning on exploring, I do have my favorite couple of retirees running around in a brick mecha at the end of one minor war and then falling directly into the Mechanical War. I know if they are going to live or not, but it depends on how far I get with my writing.</p>
<p>Then, we get into personal interaction. The entire concept of a named character, someone who has a personality and at least a few pages of time. On the site, they are called “secondary” characters and those are the ones I feel are more heartbreaking. Just look at Boromir's death verses the uruk-hai he killed. One obviously has more of an impact, judging purely from the themes created.</p>
<p>Finally, we have the most personal interaction, the primary character. Since I write single point-of-view stories, you may spend twenty, eighty, or even two hundred thousand words in someone's head to watch them die. If I did it right, it should have major impact and I know there are people who don't read books where the POV character dies at the end.</p>
<p>Given all that, I struggle with “this book contains death”. There are too many cases where one death (an anonymous adult) is just a minor blip in a story while another (say, the main character who is a dog saving his human, e.g., my <em>Old Yeller</em> story) would be banned in my house.</p>
<h1>Axes of Death</h1>
<p>As I see it, I have two axes of death:</p>
<ul>
<li>Primary, Secondary (Named), and Tertiary (Unnamed)</li>
<li>Age Category or “Animal”</li>
</ul>
<p>For age categories, I'm using <a href="https://www.statcan.gc.ca/en/concepts/definitions/age2">this site</a> as a rough guideline:</p>
<ul>
<li>Child (0-14)</li>
<li>Youth (15-24)</li>
<li>Adult (25-64)</li>
<li>Senior (65+)</li>
</ul>
<p>The reason I included “animal” is much the same reason. <em>Sand and Bone</em> has both named and unnamed animals dying. The herd's death is glossed over but the named animal's is a consensual death over two chapters. Again, there is a different impact and something I thought needed to be called out.</p>
<h1>Consolidation or Detail</h1>
<p>Putting it together, I think I have these eleven categories.</p>
<ul>
<li>Named Child Death</li>
<li>Unnamed Child Death</li>
<li>Named Youth Death</li>
<li>Unnamed Youth Death</li>
<li>Named Adult Death</li>
<li>Unnamed Adult Death</li>
<li>Named Senior Death</li>
<li>Unnamed Senior Death</li>
<li>Named Animal Death</li>
<li>Unnamed Animal Death</li>
<li>Main Character Death</li>
</ul>
<p>I would add “Miscarriage” as a twelfth but I'm going to keep that content warning no matter what I end up doing.</p>
<p>Now, I don't want to hurt people so I would err on the side of excessive details. If you saw this in a book, you would a pretty good idea of what to expect. I will probably never write such a book, but then again, the famed Red Wedding is a chapter that would probably set off these triggers.</p>
<p>But is that too much? Should I consolidate it and does consolidation still help. For example, if I break it down to:</p>
<ul>
<li>Named Character Death</li>
<li>Unnamed Character Death</li>
<li>Animal Death</li>
<li>Main Character Death</li>
</ul>
<p>Would the lack of age categories upset a reader? What about?</p>
<ul>
<li>Child Death</li>
<li>Youth Death</li>
<li>Adult Death</li>
<li>Senior Death</li>
<li>Animal Death</li>
<li>Main Character Death (I'm always going to call this out)</li>
</ul>
<p>Would the intimacy of a named character verses an anonymous slaughter have a different response. Likewise, what if I keep all the named and collapse the tertiary deaths into a single entry?</p>
<ul>
<li>Unnamed Character Death</li>
<li>Named Child Death</li>
<li>Named Youth Death</li>
<li>Named Adult Death</li>
<li>Named Senior Death</li>
<li>Named Animal Death</li>
<li>Main Character Death</li>
</ul>
<p>Now, obviously I'm not planning on having a story that needs all of these warnings. But, where do I gloss and where do I detail?</p>
Poem - She Speaks For Death2019-04-24T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2019/04/24/poem/For the twenty-fourth day of National Poetry Month, I have a little spoiler for a novel I'm planning on writing.
<p>For the twenty-fourth day of National Poetry Month, I have a little spoiler for a novel I'm planning on writing. If you read my novels, you can probably figure out who it is about but I could imagine there is something terrifying for any child who speaks for a spirit capable of killing anyone.</p>
<p>She is also one of my favorite side characters.</p>
<p><em>She Speaks For Death</em></p>
<pre><code class="language-poem">She's just a little girl.
Innocent with brown skin and green eyes.
Her words are quiet and infrequent
But terrifying just the same.
When she speaks, she speaks for death.
The full force of the desert behind her.
When she says quiet, then even magic dies.
When she says listen, she steals your air.
When she says no, there is no chance for yes.
Not even the sun and moon
Can refuse her anything.
She's just a little girl
But she speaks for death.
</code></pre>
Poem - Damn the Sands2019-04-15T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2019/04/15/poem/There are three parts to the so-called war between the sun and moon clans: [Mifúno](https://fedran.com/mifuno/). Mifúno is the personification of the desert, kind of a combination of bad luck and death combined into one.
<p>There are three parts to the so-called war between the sun and moon clans: <a href="https://fedran.com/mifuno/">Mifúno</a>. Mifúno is the personification of the desert, kind of a combination of bad luck and death combined into one. In the culture, Mifúno is critical to the survival because everyone lives on her, but they also are afraid to say her name.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The others continued to yell at him, filling the tiny room with overwhelming noise. It beat against him, slamming against his chest, and crushing him with the pressure. Even Hyonèku joined in the yelling, though his weak voice was drowned out by Gichyòbi, Kamanìo, and the dogs.</p>
<p>He waited a few seconds and then drew in his breath. “I am Rutejìmo, and I speak for Mifúno!” His voice slammed against the walls of the room and the power crackled around him. It sparked along Gichyòbi’s weapon and the connection with the pack. Arcs of lightning speared through the air and scorched the stone as a field of brilliant, magenta light surrounded him.</p>
<p>The sound of his voice didn’t echo back. Instead, a suffocating silence draped over the tiny room. A whisper of wind slipped through the cracks of the door, sending streamers of sand cascading across the floor.</p>
<p>Everyone stepped back from Rutejìmo, their faces pale. Rutejìmo stood in the silence. The fear he felt declaring war was completely gone, replaced with a determination to perform his duty.</p>
<p>Hyonèku whispered, “What happened to you, Rutejìmo? How can you speak for her? You’ll… she’ll kill you.”</p>
<p>—<a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-24/">Chapter 24 of Sand and Bone</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p><em>Damn the Sands</em></p>
<pre><code class="language-poem">Damn the sands
Forbidden memories rising up
Choking me in a storm of grit
Of silt, of darkness.
I feel it scratching my back,
Sticking in my hairs
And along my thighs.
Why did he have to die today?
His memories stick to me
Like the grains in my wounds
The throbbing pain
Echoed inside my heart and head.
Damn the sands,
Why did he have to die?
</code></pre>
<p>That doesn't mean people don't get angry when they lose a cherished one. They just can't call her name in anger. So you find poetries and essays talking about ones Mifúno had taken.</p>
<p>So far, the desert doesn't have a concept of reincarnation. Once someone dies, they remain dead until all time.</p>
Poem - He Said Yes!2019-04-12T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2019/04/12/poem/For a little sweetness, I wrote a little poem about a trans girl finding a boyfriend. I figured it was a good unicorn chaser to yesterday's poem but also because there are parts of my world that is accepting of trans and queers.
<p>For a little sweetness, I wrote a little poem about a trans girl finding a boyfriend. I figured it was a good unicorn chaser to yesterday's poem but also because there are parts of my world that is accepting of trans and queers (we all have to have a safe place).</p>
<p>One of the things about how I decided to write my world is that the point of views are limited and biases. However, this means that it came sometimes come off as a certain author making a proclamation that a main character was gay but never having it shown “on the page” as it were.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“A banyosiōu of the night, another runner with a dépa spirit.”</p>
<p>Five years ago, ostracized from his clan, Rutejìmo had become one of the banyosiōu. He was treated as one of the dead, someone who could not talk or attract attention without the fear of being killed. His time ended after a year, and he rejoined the living. For most, becoming a banyosiōu was a punishment for the rest of their short, brutal life.</p>
<p>Rutejìmo knew the courier. They both worked for the same person back when Rutejìmo had been kicked out of the Shimusògo for a year. They were as close as day and night could be, the common bond of chasing a dépa giving them solace. But, Rutejìmo was allowed to return to the living and the other man was not.</p>
<p>—<a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-26/">Chapter 26 of Sand and Bone</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p>I hope that if I get to the stories, like Kanochyòba above, that it will be something special. At least it will be for me, though I suspect knowing everyone's back story will make it more emotional to me.</p>
<p>In this world, the desert is <em>no</em> friendly toward queers. One might say it is rather aggressively determined to shove people in specific sexual roles. This is part of the story of <em>Neither</em> and a few other stories. However in this case, the poem is set in Lorban which is “mostly” accepting.</p>
<p><em>He Said Yes!</em></p>
<pre><code class="language-poem">He said yes!
Yes to me and my shy question.
Yes to me as I tugged on my dress.
Yes to me as I feared the worse.
He said yes!
Yes to me and my chosen name.
Yes to me as others mock me.
Yes to me as I'm ready to run.
He said yes!
Yes to me for who I am.
Yes to me knowing what I am.
Yes to me even when I revealed myself.
He said yes!
Yes to me.
</code></pre>
<p>Of course, there is something to be said that I'm catering to a “diversity bingo” card. I don't think it is, I'm writing about people in my own life and aspects of my own experiences.</p>
Poem - Burnt Hills and Embers2019-04-11T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2019/04/11/poem/I've organized much of my planned [ideas](https://fedran.com/ideas/) for future novels and stories around three phases related to a world war that marks the passage of [Fedran](https://fedran.com/) from a world of magic to one of industry and steampunk.
<p>I've organized much of my planned <a href="https://fedran.com/ideas/">ideas</a> for future novels and stories around three phases related to a world war that marks the passage of <a href="https://fedran.com/">Fedran</a> from a world of magic to one of industry and steampunk.</p>
<p>Phase one are the stories that happen before the battle that heralds the world war, the <em>The Betrayal of Kosòbyo</em>. This is the battle hinted by in <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/">Sand and Bone</a> and will be written in more detail in <a href="https://fedran.com/desert-child/">Desert Child</a>. All of my stories at this point, including <a href="https://fedran.com/second-hand-dresses/">Second-Hand Dresses</a> are phase one.</p>
<p>Phase two are the events during the war itself, up to and including the point where things settle down.</p>
<p>The last phase, which is technically phase zero, are stories that don't really have a place in the world war. I suspect most of them will be placed in one of the other phases.</p>
<p>Now, one of the things with both my style and my interests is that the world war is not going to be “pretty”. I'm not sure how far I go, but there were will be scenes that show the horror of battle, much like I write about the damage abuse can do in my more recent stories.</p>
<p>This poem is related to the phase two stories.</p>
<p><em>Burnt Hills and Embers</em></p>
<pre><code class="language-poem">Stench of burnt wood
Scorched centuries of growth
Crumbling away in burning winds.
The sharp taste of melted wood
Still glowing cherry red
Inside ruined forges.
The gamy scent of burning leather
From the mountain of books
Now only ashes in a pile.
Sweet and savory corpses
Mothers reaching for the children
And children clutching toys.
The salty sting of tears
As I walk among the carnage
On my way to kill the murderers.
</code></pre>
Life Cycles, Second-Hand Dresses 43, and Coming Next2018-03-22T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2018/03/22/second-hand-dress-43/Even though she is no longer in the High Society circles, Lily still has a chance to go to the party to see how Nirih's dress is presented. Nothing prepares her, however, with what else would happen that night.
<p>Even though she is no longer in the High Society circles, Lily still has a chance to go to the party to see how Nirih's dress is presented. Nothing prepares her, however, with what else would happen that night.</p>
<h1>Life Cycles</h1>
<p>I don't like flashbacks. This is partially because of my master plan with this novel but also because I think little hints are better than showing those scenes. However, the duel has always been a big part of this story, but the one in the past and the presented in this chapter. They are both the beginning and the end for Lily, a bracket for her life.</p>
<p>Many of my stories ties the earlier chapters with the first. The last chapter of <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/">Sand and Bone</a> is directly tied into the first chapter of <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/">Sand and Blood</a>.</p>
<h1>Second-Hand Dresses 43: The Event</h1>
<p>Lily is at the party where Nirih is to be presented to society. It is a chance to see how her dress is views and could mark the beginning or end of her career as a seamstress. But the presentation isn't the only chaos destined for the night, other parts of her life are put in jeopardy because of one man's jealousy.</p>
<p>Read <a href="https://fedran.com/second-hand-dresses/">Second-Hand Dresses</a> on my website. You can also subscribe to my <span class="missing-link" data-path="/atom.xml">blog feed</span> or to the <a href="https://fedran.com/atom.xml">individual chapters</a> as they are released to the public. If you enjoy them, please consider becoming a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patron</a> for a dollar a month to read ahead or any of my other unreleased stories.</p>
<h1>Coming Next</h1>
<p>Next up will be <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/">Flight of the Scions</a>. I also won't be giving long posts about the chapters, mainly because I already did it it a few years ago.</p>
More on Hair, Eye Colors, Falling Rain, and Second-Hand Dresses 162017-09-12T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2017/09/12/second-hand-dresses-16/Apparently I wanted to talk about the process of world-building, in specific exploring the repercussions of changing hair color in my world to fit with the image I want instead of what I started with. It lets me move to a world that I want now without breaking the world I've already published. Oh, and Lily goes on a walk.<p>Apparently I wanted to talk about the process of world-building, in specific exploring the repercussions of changing hair color in my world to fit with the image I want instead of what I started with. It lets me move to a world that I want now without breaking the world I've already published. Oh, and Lily goes on a walk.</p>
<h1>More on Hair</h1>
<p>I enjoy world-building a lot. My relatively wide range of experiences lets me play with so many different things. I like it when everything is semi-logical, or at least I know how the events lead up to something specific (like Tarsan's obsession with blondes).</p>
<p>Of course, that makes it even harder when I realize I have some critical flaws in my world-building. Some of this comes from the “logical” follup of <a href="/blog/2017/09/05/second-hand-dresses-15/">last week's post</a> when I talked about wanting more varied hair colors in my world. This wasn't part of my original design of <a href="https://fedran.com/">Fedran</a> since there is a “default” of hair is various shades of brown growing lighter in areas that had shorter summers and darker for the regions with high sun (you know, basic evolution).</p>
<p>Moving away from that also means I have to explain, even internally, how more varied colors work when I don't really have a biological basis to work with. I can always go with “magic happened” but I need a bit more than hand-waving to settle it in my mind.</p>
<p>To add to the complexity, I believe skin color is a factor of environment. It is also integral into my views of racisms in the world since the easiest form of -ism is to have a clear physical different to separate a group by: breasts, beards, skin color, and eye color are all good examples. They are “easy” separators to hang stereotypes against.</p>
<p><em>Side note, I think one reason people get hung up on gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and trans folks is because they mix those “clear” signals. It confuses them and risks a world view build on those stereotypes, so they respond first with anger and hatred (just like the seven stages of guilt).</em></p>
<p>Naturally, I also went with the same hair coloring as those skin colors in our world (since it has much of the same biological reasons for why hair is that color). It seemed like a logical thing, but the emotional driven is to switch to a wider palette of colors (because babies with cyan hair are <em>so cute</em>).</p>
<p>If I say hair coloration is less important to survival, then that coupling can easily change. Insects and birds both have wildly different colors, though mostly in environments where bright colors are useful for defense (jungles come to mind). You rarely see a bright red and purple creature in the middle of the desert. Of course, with magic as a defense, having bright colors could be more useful for identifying friends and foe over longer distances. Given that almost everyone in the desert has violent powers… bright colors could resemble the brightly colored snakes and insects that identify they are poisonous.</p>
<p>And that leads into the typical anime colors with red for fire. Actually, given the day's clan preferences for light greens, yellows, reds, and oranges, that kind of works. Likewise, the night clans are more of the darker colors.</p>
<p>This is important because I consider <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/">Sand and Blood</a> and the rest of the series to be “canon” while everything else is a work-in-progress. I need to make <em>those</em> colors work in my head because I don't want to retcon anything at this point (I'm only three books in).</p>
<p>The exception has to be black. While this would be a “night clan” color, most of the named characters have black or nearly black hair. There are exceptions, Chimípu for example, but for the most part, black. More importantly, black hair needs to be part of the “ideal beauty” for those areas in the book.</p>
<p>I figured that will come from the kojinōmi. The symbols of death are white and gold, that comes up in <em>Sand and Ash</em> near the end and throughout <em>Sand and Bone</em>. Going with the opposite, I could easily say that black represents life. That would give a reasonable purpose for preferring black hair, especially in the traditional areas (one of the plot lines of <em>Sand and Bone</em>).</p>
<p>This also helps me build the world. Colors are very important to people and knowing that black is life and white is death tells me that babies are probably wrapped in black as are wedding colors. Despite it being a dark color, it wouldn't be treated the same as the rest of the night clan (though dark brown is still a day color).</p>
<p>Using this approach lets me keep Kanéko's hair copper (inspired by electrical wires actually) but probably means I might change the other characters in <em>Flight of the Scions</em> to fit. I always saw Maris as a black-haired collie though and she has plots that require her not to have any obvious traits.</p>
<p>My current plan is to have about half of the population stick with earth tones for hair (blonde, brown, and black). The other half will be varied colors but mostly gradients from the various earth tones into the more extreme colors. That fits with my desire for many traits to be on a bell curve. It also means it happens enough that someone won't see a blue-haired girl as being exotic, just “slightly different.”</p>
<h1>Eye Colors</h1>
<p>And that leads to the other problem: eye color. So far, I've sketched out a world where everyone has brown eyes of varied colors except for the desert folk (green) and the vomen (blue). I think allowing multiples colors there would be logical with a wider variety of hair color. It gives a new spectrum for a sense of beauty (“oh love, if your green eyes had the same shade as your hair”) and allow for hints of the future. I already had one character with red-brown eyes (Sinmak) and I think it works.</p>
<p>Having the desert folk all have green eyes is a stereotype and one I realized I don't really need. There can't be “one constant trait” for any race in the world because I really hate “all orcs are evil” or “all villains have hooked noses.” Have you ever noticed almost <em>every</em> bad guy in a fantasy movie has either a wide flat note or a large hook/ridge? There are no button-nosed orcs (except for Fiona from <em>Shrek</em>)… and there should be.</p>
<p>... in a bikini.</p>
<p>... and not shaved.</p>
<p>It took a while to realize I was going down this path of having a single common and obvious trait represent <em>everyone</em> of a given race. That is an injustice to everyone, readers and me, so that flaw needs to be corrected.</p>
<h1>Falling Rain</h1>
<p>I love rain storms. I love the sound of it coming down, the tingle of the air, and the moisture that creeps into the back of my throat. Even when I was walking a few miles to and from school, I have such fond memories of following half-hidden trails in the forest behind the school.</p>
<p>I think that is one reason why Kendrick is a water mage. (Well, that and I love bare-chested men with wet hair clinging to their shoulders.) It fits his personality and also reflects how he faces his problems.</p>
<p>This chapter is about a long walk, though it ends in rain instead of being in the middle of it. It is also a “sequel” chapter leading into what I hope is a wonderfully romantic scene next week.</p>
<h1>Second-Hand Dresses 16: Heading Home</h1>
<p>Lily's struggle to finish her dresses forces her to take work home with her. She is painfully aware of the cost of getting a carriage, so she walks only to be haunted by her own thoughts and lusts.</p>
<p>Read the chapter at <a href="https://fedran.com/second-hand-dresses/chapter-16/">https://fedran.com/second-hand-dresses/chapter-16/</a>.</p>
<h1>Patrons</h1>
<p>My first three novels and many short stories are available for free on my <a href="https://fedran.com/">website</a>. If you like character-driven fantasy, consider checking out some of them. Then, if you like what you read or want to see more, consider supporting me through <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">Patreon</a> or <a href="https://liberapay.com/dmoonfire">Liberapay</a>. There are other ways to also support me, you can write reviews or help boost a single by talking about my writing.</p>
<p>Any money I get goes into getting the books properly edited (the first three have already been through three rounds) and polishing the results while encouraging me to write more. Thank you.</p>
Sex, Endings, and NSFW Second-Hand Dresses 122017-08-15T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2017/08/15/second-hand-dresses-12/This week, I talk a little about my opinions of sex and death as a way of introducing the first chapter that crosses my NSFW threshold.<p>This week, I talk a little about my opinions of sex and death as a way of introducing the first chapter that crosses my NSFW threshold.</p>
<h1>Sex</h1>
<p>The United States has some interesting views when it comes to sex. Publicly, it is something we uncomfortably talk about among wider audiences. It is the source of jokes in movies and when the Sex Ed teacher trying to explain things with a straight face. The news stations mocked all the fans reading <em>Fifty Shades of Gray</em> when it came out, calling it “mommy porn” and relishing when hundreds were sold back after read in private.</p>
<p>One comedian said “sex is a dirty, disgusting things you do with the ones you love.”</p>
<p>The thing is, sex isn't a terrible thing. If given a choice between procreation and destruction, I'd take sex over guns any day. The idea that our country glorifies slaughter and violence in our games and movies, but cringe at even the thought of a nipple or a penis is distressing.</p>
<p>I'd rather read about two people making out than another battle with blood and guts flying (though I do enjoy those also).</p>
<h1>Endings</h1>
<p>It also comes down to the ending. With sex, everyone has a chance to enjoy some fun and they feel good coming out of it. It is playful, and sweaty, and generally healthy. More importantly, they come back to do it again.</p>
<p>Death is the opposite of that. Someone dies, that is it. One person gets a rush of killing and a life is extinguished for that temporary rush. This is something I've thought about for a while, I even wrote about the loss of death in <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-08/">Sand and Bone 8</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The little girl's confessions echoed in Rutejìmo's head in a quiet symphony as he wrote in his book. The hand-bound collections of pages creaked under his hand, the leather thong strained to hold the almost fifty pages of tightly-spaced writing. Over the years, he had added a dozen pages to the collection. It wouldn't be too long before the binding couldn't handle the additional pages, but he thought he had a few more years left before that happened.</p>
<p>Even with his additional pages, he didn't have room to write down any of the stories he had heard over the years. He wanted to detail the joys of the little girl's death, such as the choked story about how she had stolen her brother's toy when he wasn't looking. He had also wanted to write the horrors, like one man's confession for killing his sister. Each one was precious and important. Time would erase their stories and a part of Rutejìmo died every time he forgot one.</p>
<p>He could barely see the page underneath his hand. The dim light of the coming dawn provided only enough illumination to identify that he was writing on the page and his lettering didn't overlap with the line above it. One single line to condense a little girl's life to a simple phrase wasn't enough. After the name of her clan and how she died, there wasn't much left to describe her.</p>
<p>Rutejìmo wanted to write more. Years ago, he tried to, but there were simply too many stories to document. He ran out of paper and time long before the tales ran out.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>With death, stories end. All the beauty in someone's life is snuffed out and the memories are lost. My dad and I talked about the same thing recently, of our decades of thoughts, memories, and experiences that will be lost when we die. There is nothing to save those stories, no way of keeping them around, but they are still precious to me.</p>
<p>(Related, I don't believe in “too much information” because even the most mundane story has a beauty of its own.)</p>
<p>This is important with the events that happened not only in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlottesville,_Virginia#Unite_the_Right_rally.2C_2017">Charlottesville, VA</a> but also other places. There are assholes out there who post how happy they are someone died. I've read the same intent from comments from Palestine or Israel talking about each other, of the <a href="http://blacklivesmatter.com/">Black Lives Matter</a> accounts about yet another death, from a hundred different people talking about their bigotries.</p>
<p>It saddens me that someone wants to end that beauty. Any beauty for that matter.</p>
<h1>Not Safe For Work (NSFW)</h1>
<p>So related to all that, this is the first chapter of the novel where things hit a threshold that I feel the need to warn readers about it. It isn't <em>that</em> graphic, just a bit of dry humping and adultery, but it is those few steps too far.</p>
<h1>Second-Hand Dresses 12: One More Time</h1>
<p>Lily comes home to late to find Hasan waiting for her. He confesses his desire for her and she is helpless to say no as he pressed up against her.</p>
<p>Read the chapter at <a href="https://fedran.com/second-hand-dresses/chapter-12/">https://fedran.com/second-hand-dresses/chapter-12/</a>.</p>
<h1>Patrons</h1>
<p>My first three novels and many short stories are available for free on my <a href="https://fedran.com/">website</a>. If you like character-driven fantasy, consider checking out some of them. Then, if you like what you read or want to see more, consider supporting me through <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">Patreon</a> or <a href="https://liberapay.com/dmoonfire">Liberapay</a>. There are other ways to also support me, you can write reviews or help boost a single by talking about my writing.</p>
<p>Any money I get goes into getting the books properly edited (the first three have already been through three rounds) and polishing the results while encouraging me to write more. Thank you.</p>
Advent Children, The End, Sand and Bone 35, What's Next2017-06-13T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2017/06/13/sand-and-bone-35/After thirty-five weeks, I've finished serializing [Sand and Bone](https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/). The novel has been completely edited and posted. It is released as [Creative Commons BY-NC-SA](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/). On the website, you can download the EPUB, MOBI, and PDF versions of the book. Or you can just read the chapters right on the website.<p>After thirty-five weeks, I've finished serializing <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/">Sand and Bone</a>. The novel has been completely edited and posted. It is released as <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">Creative Commons BY-NC-SA</a>. On the website, you can download the EPUB, MOBI, and PDF versions of the book. Or you can just read the chapters right on the website.</p>
<h1>Advent Children</h1>
<p>One of my favorite movies is <em>Final Fantasy: Advent Children</em>. It talks about the events after my favorite <em>Final Fantasy</em> game. There is still damage in the world; just because the world was saved doesn't mean that the battle is over.</p>
<p>However, one specific fight scene has stuck with me as being iconic. It is when Cloud is fighting the summoned beast in the city. It is too large to jump to the top, but he still tries. It doesn't make it, but he does get high enough that Barratt is able to boost him up. One team member after the other pushes him far beyond his limits so he can finally defeat the enemy.</p>
<p>I love that fight. I love people working together to be more than individuals. In this chapter, there is some of that but in a different way. Like the previous chapter with Tsubàyo and Mikáryo getting him through the night, this chapter is about the people who Rutejìmo touched in his life helping him succeed.</p>
<h1>The End</h1>
<p>This is the last and final chapter of both <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/">Sand and Bone</a> and Rutejìmo's trilogy. For what started as a “simple world-building piece” turned into something a lot more over the last few years. For those who have been reading it since the beginning, thank you. I don't know what else to say, it is a lot to commit to a reader and I couldn't get this far without encouragement and well-wishes.</p>
<p>This chapter ties into two places. In the beginning of this book, you have a warrior coming home after being amushed. Everyone rushes out to help him except for one person. In this chapter, it is Rutejìmo coming home and, once again, only a single person heads the opposite direction.</p>
<p>It also ties into the first chapter of the <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/">first book</a>. As a young teenager, Rutejìmo was sneaking into the shrine that held the remains of the fallen warriors that served the clan. Over the books and years, he was told he would never been one of them but now he's earned that right. He isn't a screw up anymore, he isn't a failure.</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone 35: Shimusogo Valley</h1>
<p>Rutejìmo can finally see his home. After days of running, loss of family and friends, and even his own death chasing after him, he is only a few miles from home. But those last steps will be his most perilous as the forces against him throw everything they can to make sure he never delivers the message.</p>
<p>Read the chapter at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-35/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-35/</a>.</p>
<h1>What's Next</h1>
<p>The hardest part about finishing a series is that I don't have a clear direction. This story is over, though there are many others. I've thought about where the characters go from here, the survivors as they deal with the repercussions of Rutejìmo's message. Some of them are sad and painful, others have a lot more joy to them.</p>
<p>If I write more about Rutejìmo, it will be short stories and novellas about the events in life that I didn't write about. His marriage ceremony, learning about his path, and even the birth of his children. The epic parts of his life are done with this book but that doesn't mean all of his adventures are.</p>
<p>This is an “anchor” novel, it sets up events in the desert during the Industrial War. My future novels could branch out from here either expanding on the lives that Rutejìmo touched, characters who showed up in any of the three books, or plots going on. <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/">Flight of the Scions</a> is the beginning of a series that ends shortly after this one, though not the same type of ending.</p>
<p>Only one patrons has voted for the next novel in the last few weeks, so I'm going to say the next novel is going to be <a href="https://fedran.com/second-hand-dresses/">Second-Hand Dresses</a>. I'll start serializing it next week, though I'll need to figure out how to handle the adult scenes there (I have “on page” sex for that one, which makes me nervous). Like the other novels, the earlier chapters only had beta readers but it will be properly edited by the time I finish.</p>
<h1>Patrons</h1>
<p>If you like it, please review my books or even become a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patron</a>. My first three novels are free on my website. Reviews, conversation, and subscriptions are what pays for the next book. Two of those only require time not not a single dollar but help me immensely.</p>
<p>I do have my books properly edited. By the time I finish serializing them, they have gone through at least two editors and a number of beta readers. The patronage is what pays for that, the more I get, the faster I can finish a book and move to the next one.</p>
<p>Subscribers get access to future novels I'm still working on, including <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/">Flight of the Scions</a> and my <a href="https://fedran.com/second-hand-dresses/">Second-Hand Dresses</a>.</p>
Closure, R5-D4 Plots, Patreon, and Sand and Bone 342017-06-06T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2017/06/06/sand-and-bone-34/We are now at the penultimate chapter of the novel. Only one more left before we get to the end. This is also one of the more emotional chapters for me because it puts a capstone on one of the longer threads that ran through the entire trilogy.<p>We are now at the penultimate chapter of the novel. Only one more left before we get to the end. This is also one of the more emotional chapters for me because it puts a capstone on one of the longer threads that ran through the entire trilogy.</p>
<h1>Closure</h1>
<p>This is actually one of my favorite chapters for many reasons. The biggest is that it brings us fully back to the first novel, <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/">Sand and Blood</a>. It is a closure for Rutejìmo and Tsubàyo's relationship that has been woven through all three of the novels.</p>
<p>I like relatively complex evolution between characters. Of all the characters in the novels, this is surprised me by being the one that has changed the most. I wanted to give it a proper capstone for the end of this book and the end of the trilogy.</p>
<h1>R5-D4 Plots</h1>
<p>Going back to the <a href="/blog/2014/08/16/r5-d4-plots/">R5-D4 Plots</a> and how the novels of interact with each other, this is one of the more blatant references to my plans for <a href="/tags/horse-thief/">Horse Thief</a>, both the characters involved but also the inciting event. We'll see if it works out, it ends up being an interesting story because it ties into the <a href="https://d.moonfir.eus/tags/industrial-war/">Industrial War</a>.</p>
<h1>Patreon</h1>
<p>The vote for the next novel is still open. This is for patrons, even ones who aren't going through Patreon.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/sand-and-bone-is-11286285">Patreon</a></li>
<li><a href="http://discuss.moonfire.us/t/sand-and-bone-is-coming-to-an-end/2281/1">Forum</a></li>
</ul>
<p>Alpha readers for <em>Flight</em> can also jump on it. I'll close the poll pretty much when I start posting the next one, the next chapters of both novels are already done and ready to go.</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone 34: One Last Time</h1>
<p>Rutejìmo managed to survive to the night thanks to both Mikáryo and Tsubàyo but there is no question that he won't survive another one. The only thing left is a single run left, a final run, for a distance more than he had ever made in his entire life.</p>
<p><em>Read the chapter at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-34/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-34/</a>. If you like it, please become a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patron</a> or review one of my previous books. Subscribers get access to all my novels, including the first book of my <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/">next series</a> and my <a href="https://fedran.com/second-hand-dresses/">high-society romance novel</a>.</em></p>
Mikáryo, Datobàpo, Flight of the Scions, Patrons, and Sand and Bone 332017-05-30T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2017/05/30/sand-and-bone-33/We are rapidly heading over to the end of the novel, only three more chapters including this one. We also get to revisit two characters who were influential in Rutejìmo's life as they get one last chance to give their respects and encouragements.<p>We are rapidly heading over to the end of the novel, only three more chapters including this one. We also get to revisit two characters who were influential in Rutejìmo's life as they get one last chance to give their respects and encouragements.</p>
<h1>Mikáryo</h1>
<p>Mikáryo has been in all three of the <em>Sand</em> books. She has been one of my favorite characters. In the Hero's Journey, she is one of the mentors for at least two of them and maybe this one.</p>
<p>I've actually worked out what happens to her next. It isn't a fun ending for the story but it is an important one because it leads into <em>The Horse Thief</em>, a novel about Tsubàyo and what happens after the events of this book. I'd like to write that story but I'll finish the ones I started and see if someone is interested in her and Tsubàyo.</p>
<h1>Datobàpo</h1>
<p>One of the things that comes up frequently when it comes to writing likable characters is: “don't kick the dog.” There is also “don't kill a child” but I had that in the last book with the miscarriage scenes and this one with the little girl who was attacked by the warrior. It isn't a goal, but this is an important scene for me, mainly because I know the decisions behind Mikáryo's choice to sacrificed Datobàpo to save Rutejìmo.</p>
<p>I don't go into detail about how it happens, that isn't important, but it was a scene that I struggled with for a while. It felt right though, mainly for her need to save a young man she loved with all her heart but also because she had a good idea about the messages he carried.</p>
<h1>Flight of the Scions</h1>
<p>This weekend, I went through a couple rounds of editing for <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/">Flight of the Scions</a>. So far this isn't going to be my next novel but I was “almost” done with it, so I finished working on chapters 21-26 to fix some damage I inflicted while reducing the word count. I also went through everything after that point and cleaned up stuff until I ran out of things to focus on.</p>
<p>The novel is pretty much “done,” except that I need to add it into the pipeline. This doesn't really have to happen until the last twenty chapters or so but I figured I'd start by looking for alpha readers now. It doesn't take much for this, I'm not looking for grammar editing. Instead, I want to know about the story. Is it appealing? Were the characters good and interesting? What about the plot? Is something missing? Where was it boring? All those lovely details that can only be revealed with multiple people reading it.</p>
<p>What I can offer isn't much: a willingness to do the same for someone else, a year of my Patreon (well, direct), and credits in the back of the book.</p>
<p>If you are interested, send me an email at <a href="mailto:contact@moonfire.us">contact@moonfire.us</a>.</p>
<h1>Patreon</h1>
<p>The vote for the next novel is still open. This is for patrons, even ones who aren't going through Patreon.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/sand-and-bone-is-11286285">Patreon</a></li>
<li><a href="http://discuss.moonfire.us/t/sand-and-bone-is-coming-to-an-end/2281/1">Forum</a></li>
</ul>
<p>Alpha readers for <em>Flight</em> can also jump on it. I'll close the poll pretty much when I start posting the next one, the next chapters of both novels are already done and ready to go.</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone 33: Pabinkue Mikáryo</h1>
<p>Rutejìmo wakes up to find that Mikáryo and Tsubàyo have rescued him. His death by the poison in his blood is pushed back a few short hours, long enough for him to see the next morning but it comes at a great price.</p>
<p><em>Read the chapter at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-33/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-33/</a>. If you like it, please become a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patron</a> or review one of my previous books. Subscribers get access to all my novels, including the first book of my <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/">next series</a> and my <a href="https://fedran.com/second-hand-dresses/">high-society romance novel</a>.</em></p>
Giveaways, Patrons, Sorrow Rides a Fast Horse, and Sand and Bone 322017-05-23T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2017/05/23/sand-and-bone-32/A busy week as I reach the end of [Sand and Bone](https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/) being serialzied on my website. There are giveaway, decisions, and a call for patrons. Not to mention a short chapter of Rutejìmo night time run.<p>A busy week as I reach the end of <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/">Sand and Bone</a> being serialzied on my website. There are giveaway, decisions, and a call for patrons. Not to mention a short chapter of Rutejìmo night time run.</p>
<h1>Goodreads and Second Run Reviews</h1>
<p>I've started up a <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/238343-sand-and-bone">Goodreads</a> giveaway for <em>Sand and Bone</em>. There is also one on <a href="http://www.secondrunreviews.com/2017/05/book-release-d-moonfire-sand-blood.html">Second Run Reviews</a> for my spotlight there last week.</p>
<h1>Patrons and Future Decisions</h1>
<p>I'm at a crux in a few short weeks. I have two novels that are “almost” done and one of them is going to be the one that I'm going to be serializing after this one. This is one of the few benefits of being a patron, the ability to vote on my next project so here is the choice:</p>
<p><a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/">Flight of the Scions</a>: A YA start for a four-book series about Kaneko, a young girl without any magic who is trying to prove herself to her earth knight father who dismisses her after he learns that she will never follow in his footsteps. During this time, a mercenary group attempts to kidnap her and only her ingenuity and creativity, along with her new friends, can save her from becoming a pawn. This has an adorable dog girl with elemental magic and a telepathic boy with raw information in his mind. It also has an eighty foot telepathic toad and the mercenaries' air ship. The end of this series dovetails into Sand and Bone. The above link has the first two chapters as sample.</p>
<p><a href="https://fedran.com/second-hand-dresses/">Second-Hand Dresses</a>: A Regency-inspired high fantasy romance about a young woman who lost her chance at marriage after her debutante ball was interrupted by a duel going wrong. Nine years later, she is on the cusp of becoming a spinster when both men enter her life and throw it into chaos once again. This is a polyamorous and bisexual piece that is naughtier than my usual fare. This will be a stand-alone novel set in the same universe. The link has three sample chapters.</p>
<p>The poll is both at the <a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/sand-and-bone-is-11286285">Patreon</a> site and <a href="http://discuss.moonfire.us/t/sand-and-bone-is-coming-to-an-end/2281/1">my forum</a>. As a reminder, patrons (even the $1/month) can read all my novels including the WIP of the two above.</p>
<h1>Sorrow Rides A Fast Horse</h1>
<p>I've talked about Fast Trip by James White as one of the major stories that has influenced my life. This chapter is inspired by another one, Sorrow Rides a Fast Horse by Dorothy Gilman Butters. I remember reading this story in the Writing Workshop at Prospect High School back when I was a junior. For some reason, the events in the story really resonated by me.</p>
<p>It is a shorter story, one that doesn't have action, but the looming despair of “Sorrow” chasing after the mother was a beautiful imagery. If I get around to it, you'll see that Sorrow is a horseman in one of potential future stories. It is the same images I saw all those years ago.</p>
<p>How does this relate to the story? Well, death is riding after our protagonist and he knows it.</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone 32: Limits</h1>
<p>With poison flowing through his veins and death chasing after him, Rutejìmo is desperate to make it home before darkness when he loses all power. As the slowest of the runners, he knows he won't make it but he can't stop, not even for the night.</p>
<p><em>Read the chapter at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-32/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-32/</a>. If you like it, please become a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patron</a> or review one of my previous books. Subscribers get access to all my novels, including the first book of my <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/">next series</a> and my <a href="https://fedran.com/second-hand-dresses/">high-society romance novel</a>.</em></p>
Master Plots, Book Identifiers, Wind's Teeth, and Sand and Bone 312017-05-16T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2017/05/16/sand-and-bone-31/It's hard to believe that I'm near the end of the book. Only a few more chapters left. I'm betting I can abuse Rutejìmo a little more before the end though, besides there are a few plots (but not all) to finish up.<p>It's hard to believe that I'm near the end of the book. Only a few more chapters left. I'm betting I can abuse Rutejìmo a little more before the end though, besides there are a few plots (but not all) to finish up.</p>
<h1>Master Plots</h1>
<p>This book and this series don't tie up every plot that was established. This is because of the <a href="/blog/2014/08/16/r5-d4-plots/">R5-D4 Plots</a>. Multiple stories interact with each other and there are some stories that only touch on a plot that is only a vague idea in the back of my head.</p>
<p>I needed a framework for these stories. Some of them (like <a href="https://fedran.com/second-hand-dresses/">Second-Hand Dresses</a>) aren't related to anything other than just showing my love of romance novels, but many of them tie into something bigger.</p>
<p>The problem is that I couldn't figure out what that “bigger” was. I had all these ideas that were going in roughly the same direction but I struggled to see how they tied together. And then I realized it, I'm writing a world war but I'm doing it point-of-view by point-of-view instead of coming up some massive story.</p>
<p>There are some reasons for that. One, I don't think I'll finish. Too many authors come up with these massive plots and then struggle to finish it. I have a skeleton of a master arc (hanging off <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/">Flight of the Scions</a>) and I want to expand on the stories to make it richer. That isn't to say I'm going to avoid some of the later stuff, the events in this book only touch on the first “big” battle that I think would happen.</p>
<p>We'll see if this works. I'm not going to commit to any number of books, stories, or anything else. There are ones that I think would be fun to write (Sinmak) while others that would be… painful to read (Dimóryo). I'm just going to have fun and write what I think is interesting; I figured when I finish a book, I'll let my <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patrons</a> tell me which book is next.</p>
<h1>Book Identifiers</h1>
<p>If you look at the <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/">Sand and Bone</a> page, you'll notice there are numbers in front of the book titles.</p>
<ul>
<li>100-00: Sand and Blood</li>
<li>100-01: Sand and Ash</li>
<li>100-02: Sand and Bone</li>
</ul>
<p>The POV identifier (100) is unique for every character. The second number is the novel, story, or novella in publication order. So if I write a short story for Rutejìmo, that will become 100-03 and so on.</p>
<p>The ones that start with “0”, basically 000-099, are the characters who started off as short stories. With hindsight, Rutejìmo's series should have been 019 so everything was in rough publication order but I'm not perfect.</p>
<p>The other exception is 999. That is going to be my aggregate books, the combined stories that have every other related story in chronological order. I think it will be awesome if it works. I currently only have two in mind:</p>
<ul>
<li>999-00: Fedran (every story in chronological order)</li>
<li>999-01: The Industrial War (my world war and working title)</li>
</ul>
<p>My work with <a href="https://mfgames.com/mfgames-culture/">mfgames-culture</a> is going to be the basis for automatically combining those books together. I think it will be cool, we'll find out. I'm not going to actually create those books until I finish the next novel or so.</p>
<h1>Wind's Teeth</h1>
<p>“Wind's Teeth” is actually an idea from my editor, Ronda Swolley. Originally, I called them the “Dragon's Teeth” but it was just a name. As I mentioned before, there aren't really dragons in my world, just immortal spirits that cause the shells they possess to grow massively large and have dragon-like powers.</p>
<p>Ronda thought Wind's Teeth sounded better and it gave me an idea of what significance they have in the world. I'm not going to say at this point since it is related to a plot idea I'm mulling over but someone had managed to turn it into a large artifact network… before it failed catastrophically. If you are curious, that failure did not create the desert, too many worlds have deserts that used to be something wonderful before “man went too far.”</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone 31: Wind's Teeth</h1>
<p>Exhausted and at his limits, Rutejìmo finally reached the last stop before heading to his destination. He was days from home but he didn't know if he had enough to keep on going.</p>
<p>He didn't have to think about it long when an unexpected person shows up at the Wind's Teeth.</p>
<p><em>Read the chapter at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-31/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-31/</a>. If you like it, please become a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patron</a> or review one of my previous books. Subscribers get access to all my novels, including the first book of my <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/">next series</a> and my <a href="https://fedran.com/second-hand-dresses/">high-society romance novel</a>.</em></p>
Anniversary, Website, and Sand and Bone 302017-05-13T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2017/05/13/sand-and-bone-30/This week has been a lot late, I apologize for that. I decided to redo the [Fedran](https://fedran.com/) website and try to fix a few things. Fortunately, this week is a very short chapter that bridges two important scenes.<p>This week has been a lot late, I apologize for that. I decided to redo the <a href="https://fedran.com/">Fedran</a> website and try to fix a few things. Fortunately, this week is a very short chapter that bridges two important scenes.</p>
<h1>Anniversary</h1>
<p>Today is my seventeenth wedding anniversary. It's hard to believe my wife hasn't strangled me at this point. I'm still remarkably happy that I've been with her so long and that she supports me on all of my crazy plans, even writing.</p>
<h1>Website</h1>
<p>Every time I thought something would take only a few days, I'm horribly wrong. I decided to spend most of the week working on a redo of the website to fix a few things that I needed for my future plans. Sadly, I didn't get done but this weekend I have other, higher-priority, items to work on. It is now mostly functional but there are a few items missing.</p>
<p>I like the new look. The landing pages, like <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/">Sand and Bone</a>, have changed drastically. There are a few missing things, those will get filled in “later”.</p>
<p>The biggest reason I made the change is so I can schedule releasing chapters. Even if I can't write the post, I want to make sure each chapter comes out on time regardless. The new version, based on <a href="https://gitlab.com/cobblestone-js/">Cobblestone</a>, is also set up to run in a build system thought the Fedran website is <em>far</em> larger than any other website.</p>
<p>Going forward, it should</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone 30: Keep Moving</h1>
<p>Devastated by Chimípu's death, Rutejìmo couldn't stop walking. Even without magic to keep him moving or anything for safe, his cries echoed across the desert with every step.</p>
<p><em>Read the chapter at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-30/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-30/</a>. If you like it, please become a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patron</a> or review one of my previous books. Subscribers get access to all my novels, including the first book of my <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/">next series</a> and my <a href="https://fedran.com/second-hand-dresses/">high-society romance novel</a>.</em></p>
A Warrior's Fate, The Noble Death, and Sand and Bone 292017-05-02T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2017/05/02/sand-and-bone-29/I've always said that [Sand and Bone](https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/) was inspired by *Seven Samurai* and *The Magnificent Seven*. I love samurai dramas for many reasons, one of them is you don't always know who is going to survive the piece. At the same time, there are very few "cheap" deaths. For a warrior, the noble sacrifice is one of the best ways to die.<p>I've always said that <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/">Sand and Bone</a> was inspired by <em>Seven Samurai</em> and <em>The Magnificent Seven</em>. I love samurai dramas for many reasons, one of them is you don't always know who is going to survive the piece. At the same time, there are very few “cheap” deaths. For a warrior, the noble sacrifice is one of the best ways to die.</p>
<h1>A Warrior's Fate</h1>
<p>In many times, warriors have a tragic fate. Living in the desert is hard and violent. Most of them end up dead protecting their clan. The important part is that they know it when they become a warrior, though not always consciously. Instead, they are given a choice to be a warrior or an “ordinary” member of the clan.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“My mother told me about the warriors that night. About how Desòchu will never grow old in the valley.” A tear ran down her cheek. “Never have children. He will die out there”—she pointed to the desert—“far from home.”</p>
<p>Rutejìmo toed the ground. He knew she didn't need him to speak, but remaining silent was uncomfortable.</p>
<p>“I cried when she told me that. I wanted to deny it. But, as the years passed, I saw it was true. Every time he went without the others, you could see it in his eyes. He may not come back. If he ever had to choose between himself and the rest of the clan, he would die with pride. It was terrifying that he could do it. One day… one day, I asked him how he could keep running. You know what he did?” She looked up and gave him a sad smile. “He smiled.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I haven't really figured out if the spirits know the future. They don't tap some teenager and say “I'm going to need a warrior in twenty years, you're it.”</p>
<p>I do have prescience in my world. Sinmak from <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/">Flight of the Scions</a> has that ability as does another character in that book, but it isn't the Hollywood style of seeing the future. Instead, it is a measure of probabilities and an intuitive understanding of what is going to happen.</p>
<p>At the moment, I'm leaning that warriors are made from a combination of many factors: their personalities, their potential energy, the possible future for the clan, and the situation when they manifest powers.</p>
<p>Likewise, why most warriors are fated to die comes from another variety of sources, some of them based on sociology as well as psychology. Warriors have powers beyond almost everyone else. They use them, and keep using them, until they get into situations where magic isn't enough. Likewise, the “noble death” of warriors is ingrained into the culture. They expected to die and those who don't are considered less than human. This is one reason why <a href="https://fedran.com/shimusogo-somiry%C3%B2ki/">Somiryòki</a> spent most of his twilight years sitting in front of a fire. He was the shame of the clan despite the injuries that prevented him from running. It also hints about how much <a href="https://fedran.com/tej%C3%ADko/">Tejíko</a> loves him for not ignoring his presence.</p>
<h1>The Noble Death</h1>
<p>I wanted a proper death scene for this chapter, one where the characters got to talk to each other and show their emotions before one passed away. This is one of the proudest moments in the book for me, not for the scene, but because Chimípu got the noble death that I wrote about in chapter one.</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone 29: Shimusogo Chimípu</h1>
<p>Rutejìmo woke up to the results of a massacar but there was no more enemies left alive. Somehow he had slept through the death and destruction. Despite his safety though, there was one death he couldn't sleep through.</p>
<p><em>Read the chapter at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-29/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-29/</a>. If you like it, please become a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patron</a> or review one of my previous books. Subscribers get access to all my novels, including the first book of my <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/">next series</a> and my <a href="https://fedran.com/second-hand-dresses/">high-society romance novel</a>.</em></p>
Violence, Mutual Destruction, Midnight Flight, Pacifism, and Sand and Bone 282017-04-25T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2017/04/25/sand-and-bone-28/Over the last few months, I've brought up the words that Gichyòbi had said about how he was encouraged to save Rutejìmo from violence. This same encouragement was one (but not the only) reason that Mikáryo took pity on him back in [Sand and Blood](https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/). Well, this chapter is why that aspect of the world came into place, all of those ideas and little bits paved the way for this chapter.<p>Over the last few months, I've brought up the words that Gichyòbi had said about how he was encouraged to save Rutejìmo from violence. This same encouragement was one (but not the only) reason that Mikáryo took pity on him back in <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/">Sand and Blood</a>. Well, this chapter is the next logical step for Rutejìmo and his life at this point. I like how plots and stories begin to tie together.</p>
<h1>Violence</h1>
<p>My early writing could best be described as “splatterpunk” or “death porn.” It resembled the <em>Saw</em> and <em>Hostel</em> movies more than anything else because, as a teenager, the two things that fascinated me were death and sex. At the time, I couldn't really write about sex so I focused on death.</p>
<p>I don't really write that anymore though. I felt that my fiction was getting into a groove and I was sinking into it. I wanted to be able to write joy, love, and happiness. I don't always succeed, but my stories (and this novel) are a lot more cheerful than I would have written in my teens and twenties.</p>
<p>That said, <a href="https://fedran.com/">Fedran</a> is not a fluffy happy world. It is dark. There is no rape (and never will be) but there is violence, torture, and disease. Most of it will be kept “off screen” as it were but sometimes there is no avoiding it. This chapter reflects a bit of that, though glossed over, since it is filled with anime violence.</p>
<h1>Mutual Destruction</h1>
<p>It might be obvious (or may not) but there is a code when it comes to the warriors of the desert. They are very powerful. I can easily see where they are abused. Someone who could easily run at speed of sound can do a <em>lot</em> of damage. As would someone who can phase through stone or teleport betwen shadows.</p>
<p>At the same time, when one person breaks the rule, the others will do the same. Again, this chapter reflects that as Chimípu uses her speed and abilities to pretty much her limits to fight.</p>
<p>Being that we are near the end of Chimípu's story, this is the climatic battle for her.</p>
<h1>Midnight Flight</h1>
<p>A number of months ago, I submitted a story for the <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jmmartin/hath-no-fury-an-anthology-where-women-take-the-lea">Hath No Fury</a> anthology. It was actually the events that Chimípu went through to get into this chapter, I thought it was worthy of a story. I want to expand the chapters a little more before I publish it, but it will probably be just into the serialization queue as soon as I do.</p>
<p>I'm sad the story didn't make it, but it just points out that I need to get better at writing. There is so much to learn and improve myself to write something that draws in readers.</p>
<h1>Pacifism</h1>
<p>I'm a pacifist. Of course, that doesn't really describe the full measure of my beliefs. I'm personally sickened by the idea of <em>me</em> attacking someone outside of defense.</p>
<p>I know this because of high school. It was sophomore year when a bully slammed my head into a locker. I tattled on him and he got suspected. I figured blood on my forehead from the edge of the locker justified me reporting it. He disagreed. Later, he threatened repeatedly to run me over with a car whenever I walked home from school.</p>
<p>Fortunately, the threats only last a few weeks but it was a terrible experience. I had to go home, there was only one real route (choke points are “awesome”) and I hoped that if I just kept walking, he would eventually stop jumping his car over the curb and revving his engines.</p>
<p>He finally did give up. He got bored.</p>
<p>During that time, I would spent part of the walk thinking about all the things I <em>wanted</em> to do to him. The violent, torture, you name it. It sickened me instead of making me feel good. I didn't have a problem when a <em>character</em> had those things happened, but when it was <em>me</em> doing it to someone real, it was a different story. There were other incidents over high school which lead up to me almost killing myself but that conflict was there. I couldn't stand myself for wanting to lash out.</p>
<p>I write because it because it makes me feel good. It also ended up being the way I remained sane during this time of my life. I had people revving cars at me, I had people threating to cut my throat in school, and I got shoved from behind but there was nothing I could do about it. When I was put in the same class with the boy who still threatened me, the teachers wouldn't do anything about it. They just told me to stop being a wimp and suck it up. Shut up and take the abuse. Ignore him and maybe he'll stop throwing the ball at your face. Better yet, stop sucking at sports and you won't have trouble.</p>
<p>So I wrote. I wrote out my frustrations, fears, and pains.</p>
<p>Eventually, I got better at it, both in getting the emotions out on the page but also written more interesting characters.</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone 28: Smoke and Honor</h1>
<p>Rutejìmo is at his limits, barely able to run even with days of running ahead of him. He is mentally and physically exhausted. The fear of being alone and in the dark haunt him but there is no one to watch over him.</p>
<p>Despite all that, when he sees the twin smoke of someone who needs him, he doesn't hesitate to go to them. This time, however, there is something far more dire waiting at the smoke than a corpse.</p>
<p><em>Read the chapter at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-28/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-28/</a>. If you like it, please become a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patron</a> or review one of my previous books. Subscribers get access to all my novels, including the first book of my <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/">next series</a> and my <a href="https://fedran.com/second-hand-dresses/">high-society romance novel</a>.</em></p>
Idle Thoughts, Worn Ideas, The Choice, and Sand and Bone 272017-04-18T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2017/04/18/sand-and-bone-27/I've thought a lot about my master plot, the different threads and stories that weave together into where I'm going. Even thought *Sand and Bone* is a single point-of-view novel, it is part of a master plot that I hope to see some day. I'm just doing it novel-by-novel instead o scene-by-scene. However, there is a drawback of thinking about stories too much and I'm afraid of burning out the idea before it can be pried out of my skull.<p>I've thought a lot about my master plot, the different threads and stories that weave together into where I'm going. Even thought <em>Sand and Bone</em> is a single point-of-view novel, it is part of a master plot that I hope to see some day. I'm just doing it novel-by-novel instead o scene-by-scene. However, there is a drawback of thinking about stories too much and I'm afraid of burning out the idea before it can be pried out of my skull.</p>
<p><em>This week's entry has a spoiler for the rest of the book.</em></p>
<h1>Idle Thoughts</h1>
<p>I can't help but imagine what it is like running constantly for hundreds of miles. This isn't much difference than a long drive, where the mind wanders. A couple times a year I head up to northern Wisconsin. It is a six hour drive and I usually pass the time thinking about stories, novels, or working on code. It is both peaceful but frustrating at the same time, my thoughts are boiling around in my head as I think about endless plots and can't write them down.</p>
<p>This is pretty much the same for Rutejìmo. Hour after hour of running with relatively little physical effort. There isn't anything to do but think.</p>
<p>I really like introspection scenes. Coupled with the overwhelming fear of being hunted down and slaughtered by far more powerful clans, there is still a limit of how much terror someone can experience. There has to be a moment of silence otherwise he would break.</p>
<h1>Worn Ideas</h1>
<p>One of the drawbacks of spending hours thinking about stories is that they lose their impact for me. I think one of the reasons I struggle with <em>Flight of the Scions</em> is because I've mulled and worked out the plot of that novel for <em>years</em>. That and the sequels have been polished and worked and I'm afraid to the point it will be nearly impossible to write.</p>
<p>One reason I really want to get the next series written is because it will probably be the hardest. I've thought about it through too many drives, too many lunch walks (before my ankle broke), that I'm afraid all the excitement has faded.</p>
<p>I know what happens in <em>Pack Daughter</em>, <em>Son of Vo</em>, and <em>Desert Child</em>. I've probably gone over every related plot, at least a dozen of the side character's stories over the events, and basically have an idea of every single major person that happens.</p>
<p>Now I have to get it out of my head. That is the part I hate. It is also the part I'm afraid I'm going to fail.</p>
<h1>The Choice</h1>
<p><em>Spoilers in this section.</em></p>
<p>There is one important foreshadowing in this chapter:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>An unwanted picture flashed across his mind, Piròma wearing all white as she stood before a bonfire. A kojinōmi.</p>
<p>Rutejìmo stumbled and lost precious speed. He threw all his concentration on pushing past the flash of agony and regaining the steady beat of running. Tears burned in his eyes, but he bore the pain until he could run again.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This makes a lot more sense with the following from <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-ash/">Sand and Ash</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Mapábyo straightened. “What about Rutejìmo?”</p>
<p>Gichyòbi looked at Rutejìmo. His hand rested on his wife's hip and he stared for a long moment. “I'm strongly suggested to save him.”</p>
<p>Rutejìmo felt a shiver of something coursing along his skin. “A suggestion?”</p>
<p>“It isn't a compulsion, it isn't Wamifūko, but something else. I respond as if you are clan, but I know you aren't. I've seen other warriors do the same. You,” he pointed to Rutejìmo, “will never be a warrior, but there is more than one clan looking out for you. Maybe every clan that walks the sands?”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I like this scene, mainly because of the foreshadowing but also because I've always planned on her fate. She actually has a quote in the <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/">Flight of the Scions</a>, which gives some ideas of her greater fate.</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone 27: A Longer Day</h1>
<p>Haunted by the clans chasing after him, Rutejìmo throws everything into running as fast as he could. As he did, the typical euphoria can't keep his mind from wandering to what was waiting for him at the end, his family and clan. The hope of seeing his boy and daughter are the only things that keep him running.</p>
<p><em>Read the chapter at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-27/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-27/</a>. If you like it, please become a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patron</a> or review one of my previous books. Subscribers get access to all my novels, including the first book of my <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/">next series</a> and my <a href="https://fedran.com/second-hand-dresses/">high-society romance novel</a>.</em></p>
Death Marches; Burnout; Publication Status; Sand and Blood v3; Sand and Bone 262017-04-11T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2017/04/11/sand-and-bone-26/There are moments in life when everything wears you down and you don't think you can move forward. This week, Rutejìmo is experiencing one of those moments as he focuses on burning a body before continuing his journey. I also talk about how the same death march has affected me in my life. Finally, a status update on the *Sand and Bone* publication process.<p>There are moments in life when everything wears you down and you don't think you can move forward. This week, Rutejìmo is experiencing one of those moments as he focuses on burning a body before continuning his journey. I also talk about how the same death march has affected me in my life. Finally, a status update on the <em>Sand and Bone</em> publication process.</p>
<h1>Death Marches</h1>
<p>There is one scene in Elizabeth Moon's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Deed_of_Paksenarrion">The Deed of Pakesnarrion</a> (my favorite book about paladins, has a rape scene) that stuck with me for years. It was the point where Paks is talking about trying to fight on an empty stomach. It wasn't the recallation of the events that got me but the other paladin trainees who were listening to her descriptions. It reminds me of being near the end of a major release of a software project (and I'm currently now). Some people call it the Death March but it is the point where the managers push the developers to keep working “just a little longer” (months) because a deadline has to be meet. This reminds me of the “why can't they fight without food” questions in Pakesnarrion.</p>
<p>I'm so exhausted but I have to get things done. Some of my colleges just wave their hands and go to bed, but I have a tendency to keep working to the point I only have three or four hours of sleep. The strange part of death marches is that I'm still fairly productive because my limiter is getting things out of my head, not as much as trying to solve problems. That said, they are still terrible things because productivity, health, and a whole slew of other problems start to encroach in my life and I pay for it weeks or months after the Death March. It is like Paksenarrion's response of why they can't, how it wears down on you and leaves you stripped.</p>
<p>There are a few places in the last three novels where Rutejìmo portrays the Death March. His purification rituals, to walk naked for an entire day in the desert, has shown up for quite a while. Performing a ritual all night knowing he would be running for his life as first light (this chapter) is another example. It has to be done (I have to keep programming) because something something has to be done.</p>
<h1>Burnout</h1>
<p>Death Marches have been the bane of my professional career. Every time I've burned out, it was at the tail end of a death march that could have been managed better. It was only my sense of loyalty that pushed me to work past my limits that caused me to crash. The first one was in 1994 when I hit this… wall and I couldn't program anymore. Just flat out, one day I went to turn on the computer and just couldn't. I remember crying that day as I tried to find the energy, the desire, the joy that would let me push past the exhaustion. I couldn't.</p>
<p>I remember trying to talk to my boss about it, but she blew me off. It wasn't until a week of stalling later that I realized I couldn't do it anymore.</p>
<p>A week later, I was submitting a college application to the University of Iowa. That set me down a path where I am now, including being married and having children. The very reason I was in Iowa, being with someone for over twenty years, and the happiness I have can be traced back to that day when I stood in my office and couldn't bear the thought of turning on the computer.</p>
<p>Rutejìmo will suffer from this night. It won't go away in a few hours. Instead, the night where he had to burn his wife's mother's body for an entire night and then run for his live will haunt him for the rest of his life. I think that is how things go, I mean I'm still haunted by every burnout that I've suffered through.</p>
<h1>Publication Status</h1>
<p>I'm working on the formatting and typesetting for <em>Sand and Bone</em>. I've been mostly working on <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/">Sand and Blood</a>'s version because it is already written and I have less to focus and have a working example to make sure things look right. The <a href="https://gitlab.com/mfgames-writing-js/">new formatter</a> is working out nicely, the new version has some minor hyphenation differences and comes out ten pages longer but overall it looks nearly identical to the previous LaTeX-based version. <em>I</em> can see the visual differences but I don't thing most readers will care.</p>
<p>Once I finish that, I should have the basic framework for getting <em>Sand and Bone</em> typeset. It would probably take a day or so being that I've already done most of the work. Once I have that, I'll probably send for a proof from the printers next week and see if I can have something in my hands by the end of the month.</p>
<p>Remember, <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patreons</a> can get the print version at cost. The ebook, as with the previous three novels, will be a free download on the website.</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone v3</h1>
<p>While I was working on some analysis on <em>Sand and Blood</em>, I found a typo. It is in bold below.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Rutejìmo couldn't wait until the rite of passage would let him join his brother Desòchu on the sands. There was no set time when the clan elders would allow him to take the rite. He wasn't even sure he would know in advance that it had started. He'd heard of children being plucked from their beds in the middle of the night and tossed into the desert. <strong>Rutejìmo's mother</strong> said her rite started when she was caught drinking too much fermented mare's milk, but Chimípu's father started his with pomp and ceremony.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The correction is just to shift it to another person:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Rutejìmo couldn't wait until the rite of passage would let him join his brother Desòchu on the sands. There was no set time when the clan elders would allow him to take the rite. He wasn't even sure he would know in advance that it had started. He'd heard of children being plucked from their beds in the middle of the night and tossed into the desert. <strong>Gemènyo's</strong> rite started when he was caught drinking too much fermented mare's milk, but Chimípu's father started his with pomp and ceremony.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Why is this a typo? Well, I didn't really flesh out how the desert culture dealt with the dead until the next book, <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-ash/">Sand and Ash</a>. They wouldn't talk about <a href="https://fedran.com/shimusogo-chyoj%C3%ADmo/">Chyojímo</a> because no one talks about the dead until after they are gone.</p>
<p>This is a retcon but a relatively small one for purposes of the plot. This does mean I'll update the version to v3.0.0 because it is a “breaking change” according to <a href="http://semver.org/">Semantic Versioning</a>. If I catch any others during this analysis, I'll include them in this version.</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone 26: A Long Night</h1>
<p>Knowing that he would be running as soon as the sun rose, Rutejìmo spent the entire night burning the body of his wife's mother. He didn't sleep or rest, all to make sure she would have the path she needed into the afterlife. In the silence, he realized that he was closer to a warrior than he thought. There was something that had finally pushed him to be more than the “slowest runner”.</p>
<p><em>Read the chapter at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-26/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-26/</a>. If you like it, please become a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patron</a> or review one of my previous books. Subscribers get access to all my novels, including the first book of my <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/">next series</a> and my <a href="https://fedran.com/second-hand-dresses/">high-society romance novel</a>.</em></p>
Losing Wars; Rites of Passage; Information Overload; Sand and Bone 252017-04-05T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2017/04/05/sand-and-bone-25/This week, I write a little bit about the history of Wamifūko, their shattered mountain that used to be a fortress, and their rites of passage. There is also a question about world-building and these weekly posts. Finally, Sand and Bone gets into chapter 25 as Rutejìmo has to escape the city to burn the body of his wife's mother.<p>This week, I write a little bit about the history of Wamifūko, their shattered mountain that used to be a fortress, and their rites of passage. There is also a question about world-building and these weekly posts. Finally, Sand and Bone gets into chapter 25 as Rutejìmo has to escape the city to burn the body of his wife's mother.</p>
<h1>Losing Wars</h1>
<p>If you haven't gotten it from the previous chapter, the Wamifūko had lost a war a few centuries back. Actually, they lost to the Kosòbyo who gathered up an army, marched across the desert, and throughly trashed them and their mountain fortress. They decimated the Wamifūko, made a few promises to kill every one of them if they ever traveled more than a chain (66.5 feet) from the bottom of the mountain, and then headed back over to their side of the desert.</p>
<p>The Wamifūko didn't take it well but they did try to take over the desert and lost horribly. Over the centuries that followed, they rebuilt their home as a commerce center instead of a war fortress. Well, they didn't have much choice since they lost the top two thirds of their mountain fortress when they lost.</p>
<h1>Rites of Passage</h1>
<p>From <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/">Sand and Blood</a>, readers might have gotten the impression that the Shimusògo's idea of the rite is uniquely brutal (abandon them in the middle of the desert to get magic or die), but it isn't.</p>
<p>In this chapter, we have a little hint of the War's rite of passage:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“The children?”</p>
<p>“We moved them to the council hall. Ópi is currently drawing on the sacred scrolls, but I'd rather they were protected then draw them into this. Snakes can't crawl through stone, but we can't leave them there for long. They aren't ready for it.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>One of my favorite things is looking at magical powers (the ability to phase through stone in this case) and then see how the culture would grow around it. Wamifūko, for example, have spent centuries honing their abilities to go through stone and were previously a violent clan. They would consider defenses paramount. That means ritual spaces are well protected… by hundreds of feet of solid stone that they can easily pass through.</p>
<p>This ties into their rite of passage. They don't abandon their teenagers in the desert, they can't go far enough to get them really lost, they abandoned them inside the earth. Specifically, in a coffin-sized hole a hundred feet from the nearest surface. They either have to learn how to walk through stone or suffocate to death; remember the more extreme the stress, the more powerful the manifestation.</p>
<p>The other aspect is the spirit's choice. In <a href="https://fedran.com/raging-alone/">Raging Alone</a>, there were actually three spirits who were “competing” for Desòchu: Shimusògo, the bird spirit; Hadoramìno, the bull; and Nimimokíro, the vulture. In <em>Sand and Blood</em>, Tsubàyo had two competing for him with him eventually becoming one of the Pabinkúe.</p>
<p>Giving the spirits a choice doesn't really work if they are buried in the ground. Wamifūko allow that choice by waiting longer than most clans before they start the passage. For the clans who allow choice, the rites usually happen in the early to late teens. For the stone clan, however, they wait until their early twenties before performing the rites.</p>
<h1>Information Overload</h1>
<p>It was suggested to me that my posts are overwhelming, not only in length but information. When I first started doing these, I was thinking about writing about the underlying details of the story, what I was going through when I wrote it, or generally just more information for those who want behind-the-scenes for my novels.</p>
<p>I'm a strong believer in “one person is an opinion, three people make a trend, and if everyone says it is wrong then fix it.” So, I have a question for those who read this, do you think there is too much information in these posts?</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone 25: Sneaking Out</h1>
<p>Determined to perform his duties, Rutejìmo has to leave the besieged city to burn the boy of his wife's mother. This could be very dangerous for a pacifistic priest but Gichyòbi is willing to reveal another one of his clan's secrets.</p>
<p><em>Read the chapter at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-25/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-25/</a>. If you like it, please become a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patron</a> or review one of my previous books. Subscribers get access to all my novels, including the first book of my <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/">next series</a> and my <a href="https://fedran.com/second-hand-dresses/">high-society romance novel</a>.</em></p>
Unreliable Narrator; Dragon Spirits; Progress; and Sand and Bone 242017-03-29T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2017/03/29/sand-and-bone-24/This week, I talk about the limitations of third-person limited as it pertains to the master plot. Also, the problem with dragons coupled with why Damagar didn't destroy Kanéko in *Flight of the Scions*. Finally, an update on the finalization process of *Sand and Bone*.<p>This week, I talk about the limitations of third-person limited as it pertains to the master plot. Also, the problem with dragons coupled with why Damagar didn't destroy Kanéko in <em>Flight of the Scions</em>.</p>
<p>Finally, an update on the finalization process of <em>Sand and Bone</em>.</p>
<h1>Unreliable Narrator</h1>
<p>One of the things that readers have asked me is what Kosòbyo is actually doing. There was no question that Kosòbyo was leaving Tachìra but what is he actually doing? Is he changing is allegiance to Chobìre like Rutejìmo says or is he trying to exceed Tachìra's power or even try to bring himself up to the level of Mifúno?</p>
<p>From Rutejìmo's perceptions of the world, there isn't even a possibility that the snake would try to stand on his own or rival the desert herself. It is so far out of his realm of comprehension that he glossed over that possibility during the declaration of war in this chapter.</p>
<p>The reality is that Kosòbyo is the most powerful of the sun spirits, with hundreds of thousands in his clan. With the added boost of the dragon spirit, he is attempting to tap the energies directly from Mifúno and basically making himself a peer to both the sun and moon.</p>
<p>Rutejìmo doesn't know that. Since this novel is written as a third-person limited POV, everything he sees, everything I write about, is from his perceptions. He doesn't have the full story which makes him an unreliable narrator for his own tale.</p>
<p>This has frequently been a problem when I write. No one has the full story, no one really understands what is going on. More importantly, I don't want any one story to give the full picture. Truth is filtered by perceptions and I love show that, or I hope I can show that, as the stories layer on top of each other.</p>
<h1>Dragon Spirits</h1>
<p>An important aspect of the dragons in my world is that they have unlimited power. They don't get tired, they don't die of old age. Most of them switch bodies endlessly until they are caught, captured, and then used as a glorified Energizer battery for some mage's (or spirit's) nefarious purposes.</p>
<p>Of course, that leads into the logical question of why Damagar doesn't crush Kanéko in <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/">Flight of the Scions</a>? If he is a source of unlimited power, not to mention earth magic, how can only a few people hold him off?</p>
<p>The biggest factor is Damagar himself. It takes energy to wake up the various processes that make up his personality. In effect, he can only spin up so many worker processes in a day to avoid overloading his system. At the same time (and in chapters I've written and cast aside), he has throttles that prevent too many from being running at a time (the personality Hunger is a reaper process for example, he has no disk-based swap so they need the ring-0 process to kill out-of-control personalities).</p>
<p>He can't be the all awesome powerful entity in a matter of days or even months. It also takes <em>attention</em> to keep running at full speed. The more attention he spends coordinating processes (personalities), the more conflict and the more likely he activates the reaper processes.</p>
<p>In <em>Flight of the Scions</em>, Hunger is the first killing process. It doesn't wake up but if it does, it goes on a devouring spree, destroying and eating everything in his path.</p>
<p>To avoid this, he shuts down (sleeps) any process that isn't required for immediate survival. You can read that with the various encounters as he is more awake and his communication gets more coherent. I have a time line for each process in that story to reflect his powers.</p>
<p>A fully awake and prepared dragon is a terrifying force. As I envisioned it, the fall of Damagar, the reason he was underneath the mountain, involved thousands of mages and warriors trying to defeat him. Most of them died and he escaped only to burrow under the ground to let his wounds heal (about a century) and hide.</p>
<p>Of course, when you jam a dragon spirit into a castle, you don't have to worry about limiters and throttles. There is no body for it to control. Instead, it just provides raw power for all tortured eternity. There are other problems with it too, but if I ever write the story about the Puzzle King, I'll flesh those out.</p>
<p>That's a different story.</p>
<h1>Progress</h1>
<p>I have gotten the final edits for <em>Sand and Bone</em> from the editor. They are integrated and uploaded to the website. That means that the book contents are pretty much finalized. I'm still asking for credits from my patreons, but otherwise as soon as I get the book typeset, I'll have it on my hands.</p>
<p>Officially, I'll still publish on June 13 but I'll do a few giveaways for <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patrons</a> and subscribers over the next month or so.</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone 24: Declaration of War</h1>
<p>Injured but safe, Rutejìmo has to choose between revealing the terrible secret they have and risking his entire clan or keeping it to himself despite the armies amassing to kill him.</p>
<p>Of course, there is something else terrible going on. Someone he loved has been ambushed and kill. Will he choose to tend to their death or run to save everyone else?</p>
<p><em>Read the chapter at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-24/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-24/</a>. If you like it, please become a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patron</a> or review one of my previous books. Subscribers get access to all my novels, including the first book of my <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/">next series</a> and my <a href="https://fedran.com/second-hand-dresses/">high-society romance novel</a>.</em></p>
Subtle Healing; Progress; and Sand and Bone 232017-03-21T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2017/03/21/sand-and-bone-23/I finally get to answer why Rutejìmo can take so much damage and still be walking.<p>I finally get to answer why Rutejìmo can take so much damage and still be walking.</p>
<h1>Subtle Healing</h1>
<p>One thing I've mentioned before, there is not a lot of healing magic in <a href="https://fedran.com/">Fedran</a>. The reasons are many but it really came down to that I view magical healing as a “cheat” when it comes to games and writing.</p>
<p>From a character's point of view, knowing that magical healing is waiting for them back home or even after the fight (common in D&D games), they make different choices than a single blow could mean the end of their lives. There isn't a risk that “one more fight” could be the last one.</p>
<p>Likewise, having healing between scenes means there is less struggle over the long run for them. It reminds me of dungeon adventures where the party headed back to the camp every other fight, got completely healed up, and came back with a fresh set of spells. The adventures, of course, were relatively stagnant so it was just more of a “can we survive this fight” struggle instead of “will we survive the dungeon.” If you can't tell, I like the latter struggle.</p>
<p>For the reader, on the other hand, it sharply reduces tension. Magical healing, safe bases, and time to recover mean that the threshold for getting through a scene or fight is the limit of tension. On the other hand, I <em>love</em> the long journey that resembles the <em>The Oregon Trail</em> video game (which I <em>loved</em> as a teenager) and less like most modern RPGs.</p>
<p>Fedran is based on anime troupes. This is an opposing section to the magical healing, the characters can take a lot more abuse than the average person and survive relatively unharmed. A punch across the jaw is a love tap and being thrown a quarter mile would result in serious injuries instead of death.</p>
<p>Even with all those rules, occasionally I cheat. One of the frequent comments from readers is that Rutejìmo is a damage sponge. He takes an incredible amount of abuse and manages to walk away from it only a few scenes or chapters later. He doesn't know why or even question it because, from his limited education and point of view, there is nothing that could allow him to survive.</p>
<p>There is. One of the few beings who can heal is <a href="https://fedran.com/mif%C3%BAno/">Mifúno</a>, the desert spirit. The ability to heal is a power her clan has, though it is almost entirely “self only” in HERO terms. They have no control over it, though, only that it happens reflexively. Rutejìmo, as part of her clan even from the very beginning, has taken advantage of that healing without realizing it.</p>
<p>So, why is this important. Like most healing magic, you can exceed its limits. In this chapter, which is one of my favorite, his injuries bring him almost to the brink of death. The desert, though, needs him alive to finish his job, so she had to choose between hiding her healing or letting him die.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Rutejìmo frowned. He had never felt resonance from Gichyòbi before, but the rumble set off itching inside his joints. He ducked his head and winced at the pain from his movement. The blood seemed to have stopped, though he didn’t know why. He reached up and touched his cheek. It came back covered in bloody sand.</p>
<p>His breath came out in a shudder. More sand blew across his skin, kicked up by a breeze he hadn’t noticed before. It clung to his finger and stuck to his face. He could feel it gathering along his cuts and injuries.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I'm very aware of third person limited. Because he has no reason to think about magical healing, he wouldn't know what was going on. The reader, on the other hand, could infer that the desert is healing him at this point. She is because she is also hitting the limits of what she can for him.</p>
<h1>Progress</h1>
<p><a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/">Sand and Bone</a> just got sent out to the editor for the last round of edits. This will make the third round (second with the last editor). Once it gets back and I integrate the changes, I should have the <em>final</em> version of the novel up on my website.</p>
<p>I'll still continue to release it chapter-by-chapter to the public with <a href="https://patreon.com/dmoonfire/">patrons</a> being able to read the entire thing for $1. The $4/month patreons can get a print version of the novel “at cost” (printing and shipping).</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone 23: Asylum</h1>
<p>Rutejìmo finally made it to Wamifuko City. For a man running alone with the most powerful clan chasing after him, a crowded city would be the worst place for anyone to go but his brother knew that he had more allies in the city than anyone else.</p>
<p>That doesn't mean enemies aren't waiting for him. His last-minute rush to reach the gates is halted by mercenaries hired to ensure he never makes the safety of the city and the protection of the Wamifūko.</p>
<p>This is a longer chapter than average, filled with proper anime violence, mind-controlling snakes, and stone magic.</p>
<p><em>Read the chapter at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-23/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-23/</a>. If you like it, please become a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patron</a> or review one of my previous books. Subscribers get access to all my novels, including the first book of my <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/">next series</a> and my <a href="https://fedran.com/second-hand-dresses/">high-society romance novel</a>.</em></p>
Editing; Front Matter; Italics; Sand and Bone 222017-03-15T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2017/03/15/sand-and-bone-22/Sand and Bone is almost ready for publication. Just a few more steps. Oh, and another chapter being released.<p>Okay, I lied. I'm using the automated post images because I'm lazy. I also think they are pretty.</p>
<h1>Editing</h1>
<p><a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/">Sand and Bone</a> is almost finished. I just got the second round of edits from the editor and integrated almost all the feedback from beta readers. Next week, I'll send it back to the editor and I should have the final version soon thereafter.</p>
<p>This does mean almost every chapter of the novel changed, mostly to make it easier to read and clean up those little things I missed. Thanks to my <a href="https://patreon.com/dmoonfire/">patrons</a>, I had assistance in affording this last step.</p>
<p>Once the book is finished, the digital versions will be uploaded and I'll start the print version. It should take about a month. Patrons ($4/month and higher) will get a chance to get the book at cost with a discount for the rest of the patrons. I'll also do a giveaway or two in celebration.</p>
<h1>Front Matter</h1>
<p>I'm also going to add a pronunciation guide in the front of the book. While I'm comfortable with the names, it's been pointed out that not everyone knows the language as well as me.</p>
<p>I also wrote a “previously” for the chapter because every book should have a 1-2 page of what happened in the book before it.</p>
<h1>Italics</h1>
<p>After bouncing back and forth, I decided to change the italics. This came from some really good panels at <a href="http://wiscon.info/">WisCon</a> from bilinguial speakers. Their statement is that marking foreign words with italics made them jarring for native speakers, as if they are changing their tone. I also recently saw a comic that said an italic word is just one that can be skipped.</p>
<p>So I decided to remove the italics for native languages. That means none of the Rutejìmo novels will have italics (once I reformat them) but Kanéko's will have them for at least for the first novel since she isn't comfortable with the language (her learning the language is a plot point).</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone 22: Old Ways</h1>
<p>When Rutejìmo came up to the little girl outside of Kosobyo City, he thought it was strange that the kojinōmi didn't follow the same rituals as he learned from the <em>Book of Ash</em>. It wasn't until he woke up at the spring and had a chance to talk to Atefómu that he realized that the rituals were greatly different in the eastern and western sides of the desert.</p>
<p>He was also surprised and horrified to find out that she sent Kosòbyo hunters after Nifùni. They had caught the courier and killed him but they were unaware that Rutejìmo was still alive. The reasons, though, were unexpected as Atefómu revealed she knew far more about the kojinōmi than he ever realized.</p>
<p><em>Read the chapter at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-22/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-22/</a>. If you like it, please become a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patron</a> or review one of my previous books. Subscribers get access to all my novels, including the unpublished ones.</em></p>
Teleportation; Midnight Flight; Sand and Bone 212017-03-07T06:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2017/03/07/sand-and-bone-21/Rutejìmo is put into a situation where he has to choose his duties to the clan or the ones to the desert. Which one will he pick? And will the conquences be deadly?<p>I love Atefómu, the old woman in this chapter. She represents one of the many archetypes that appeal to me. For her, it is the broken warrior, a woman who had seen everything and no longer had time for the crap going on with politics or among the spirits. If you've been reading from the beginning, there is another character with that attitude, Mikáryo. There are other parallels between the two women, but we won't see that until the next chapter.</p>
<p>Atefómu's clan powers are similar to Rutejìmo's in results but they go about it an entirely different way. While he can move very fast, there is still the physics behind his movement: the wind blow, sand is kicked up, and he is physically exhausted. Her powers, on the other hand, are focused on one of the rarer magics in my world: folding (also known as teleporation).</p>
<p>Overall, as a storyteller and a game master, I don't like teleporting. It is great from moving characters from one place to the other. The problem is that it lets characters move easily around which forces the world to grow quickly; if a storyteller isn't ready enough, it can quickly create an untenable world with flat characters because everything doesn't have enough time to settle, grow, and refine.</p>
<p>Having a character with speed powers also doesn't help. I found that the desert had to grow much faster when characters can do thirty miles an hour and I have one character who can break the sound barrier while running. Naturally, I have <em>two</em> characters who will be able to hit Mach 1 (a certain dog girl in the next novel of that series).</p>
<p>If I had advice, avoid speedsters and fliers.</p>
<p>Atefómu's limitations are much shorter, she can only teleport only as far as she can run while holding her breath. Missing is deadly with a miss, so they only do it in areas they are intimately familiar with every rock, bump, and tree. Most of them also teleporting a few inches from the ground and land to avoid tearing up their feet.</p>
<h1>Midnight Flight Rejection</h1>
<p>I got my rejection from the <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jmmartin/hath-no-fury-an-anthology-where-women-take-the-lea">Hath No Fury</a> anthology. I think it was awesome that the editor gave a respond to every story. Sadly I don't know why it was rejected or if there was any advice, all I know is that it wasn't good enough.</p>
<p>I'll probably look at <a href="https://d.moonfire/tags/midnight-flight/">Midnight Flight</a> a few more times and then release it. It has spoilers for this book as a short story happening during the events here.</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone 21: The Dying</h1>
<p>One of those moments of truth when Rutejìmo has to choose between the safe route home or the potential death. Well, we know what he's going to choose but the reasons and conquences of that choice could affect him for the rest of this life.</p>
<p><em>Read the chapter at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-21/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-21/</a>. If you like it, please become a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patron</a> or review one of my previous books. Subscribers get access to all my novels, including the unpublished ones.</em></p>
Power Discovery; Empowered; Sand and Bone 202017-02-28T06:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2017/02/28/sand-and-bone-20/In this chapter, Rutejìmo has a chance to dole out some wisdom that he has learned over the last few books.<p>This is one of my favorite chapters, mainly because I got to dole out a little wisdom from Rutejìmo's point of view. Every time this happens, I'm surprised. I still see him as both the teenager in <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/">Sand and Blood</a> as well as the man in <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/">Sand and Bone</a>. This is one part that I wasn't expecting when writing a trilogy but I'm strangely proud of how Rutejìmo has grown up in these last few books.</p>
<p>In many ways, I get more into <em>Sand and Bone</em> than the other novels. I think it is because I'm not fond of the “power discovery” phase in fantasy. Yeah, it's great seeing how they get magic but I want to know what they do with it. I want to know what happens when the characters had time to explore their limits and know what they can or can't do.</p>
<p>Of course, that doesn't mean that Rutejìmo isn't discovering new powers, I just focus less about that in the story and more about how he (and the others) use their powers to their fullest.</p>
<h1>Empowered</h1>
<p>The image for this post is from one of my favorite comics, <a href="http://empoweredcomic.com/">Empowered</a>. I love it for a lot of reasons, remarkably starting with the body issues that Emp has with her suit and being a superhero. She also kicks ass, which is awesome.</p>
<p>One of the more enjoyable parts of the Caged Demon Wolf, a supernatural creature that is bound into a bondage belt from a cosmic harem. There is one scene when he is talking to Ninjette speaking about how he sees her when she is young, how she dies, and long after human live at the same time.</p>
<p>In some ways, I feel the same for Rutejìmo. When I write, I see him on the day he dies and the day he was born, I was there when his brother almost threw him off the cliff and the day he was married. I see stories of when he is just a memory in the minds of the clan. Many of these are scenes I've written or planned.</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone 20: An Unexpected Companion</h1>
<p>Following the route that his brother mapped out, Rutejìmo is forced to run alone with the sorrow of Desòchu's death chasing after him. His brother, however, had planned ahead and Rutejìmo finds him with the most unexpected of traveling companions.</p>
<p><em>Read the chapter at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-20/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-20/</a>. I decided to make all of my books free downloads at <a href="https://fedran.com/">https://fedran.com/</a>. Please read and enjoy them, maybe talk about them or throw a review my direction. If you want to read more, consider becoming a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patron</a> on my site or at <a href="https://www.patreon.com/dmoonfire">Patreon</a>.</em></p>
Sand and Bone 19, sorrow, and fear of the dark2017-02-22T06:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2017/02/22/sand-and-bone-19/One of the common themes in the entire series is that Rutejìmo terrified of the dark. But what happens when unknown assassins are looking for him and he is left with the sorrow of losing his brother?<p>More so than any other character in the series, Rutejìmo is afraid of the dark. This started with the events in <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/">Sand and Blood</a> when he finds out that a giant snake was about to eat him to being abandoned in the desert with no light or shelter. It was continued in <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-ash/">Sand and Ash</a> and well into this book. He is terrified of it, to the point that he searches for any light to push back the dark even in his own bedroom.</p>
<p>Now, there are assassins after him and he can't use light. Even the smallest flicker would alert others to his presence. Instead, he has to sit in the dark and hope that others can't find it. He also knows that many of the night clan warriors can see in the dark which means any moment one might be sneaking up behind him to cut his throat.</p>
<p>I love this chapter because of it. The rawness and fear boiling together as he struggles with the other overwhelming emotions, sorrow. I wanted this to be an emotional chapter, mainly because of the action of the previous one. When Rutejìmo runs, he can sink into the euphoria of doing magic (most magic brings pleasure/endorphines in my world) but it crashes when he stops running.</p>
<p>It was that moment that I wanted to focus on, when he no longer had the shield of magic buffeting his thoughts or the drive to keep running. Silence is a terrible thing and this is the first of many nights that will haunt him for the rest of his life.</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone 19: Nightmares</h1>
<p>One of the common themes in the entire series is that Rutejìmo terrified of the dark. But what happens when unknown assassins are looking for him and he is left with the sorrow of losing his brother?</p>
<p><em>Read the chapter at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-19/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-19/</a>. I decided to make all of my books free downloads at <a href="https://fedran.com/">https://fedran.com/</a>. Please read and enjoy them, maybe talk about them or throw a review my direction. If you want to read more, consider becoming a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patron</a> on my site or at <a href="https://www.patreon.com/dmoonfire">Patreon</a>.</em></p>
Sand and Bone 18 and the noble death2017-02-14T06:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2017/02/14/sand-and-bone-18/Along with the others, Rutejìmo ends up running for his life. He sees his friends and families for what might be the last time before he sets off on his own perilous journey. Before he goes, however, his brother has one last thing.<p>This chapter makes me cry every time I read it. It's a silly thing but also emotional for me.</p>
<h1>The Noble Death</h1>
<p>Living in the desert is painfully hard in my world. The Mifuno Desert is thousands of kilometers across and roughly the size of Asia. It has no rivers to speak of, terrifying wind storms, and an unrelenting heat and dryness. There is only one continent in the “known world” and most life is gathered in the 500 km strip along the coast where moisture still reaches the ground.</p>
<p><em>I think, mainly because I never finished the map.</em></p>
<p>There are many reasons for why the desert clans remain in this inhospitable place. Mostly, their magic is here and they have a tight symbiosis with their spirits that gives them what they need to survive.</p>
<p>The last of moisture and rain also means that there aren't a lot of resources. Every oasis Rutejìmo passes is a fortress or shelter created by only a few spirits who used their energy to provide liquid or shade. Every city is carved and crafted by a clan who spent their energies building it. It is very personal, this world.</p>
<p>It is also brutal. The hunt for resources means that clans attack each other with regularity. It was only recently that the clans found an uneasy peace with each other and started to pull themselves out of the sand into the great civilization. The old ways are still there, which means warriors still have powerful magic to defend their clan (and its resources) from attackers.</p>
<p>This realization is part of the fabric of society. It is a failure, a weakness, for a warrior to die of old age. <a href="https://fedran.com/shimusogo-somiry%C3%B2ki/">Somiryòki</a>, his step-grandfather spent the last decade of his life with PTSD and nerve damage from a battle he almost didn't survive. He is relegated to a cave because of the shame that he didn't die in that fight. Of course, with this culture's obsession about not talking about it, he was basically left in a cave to die where no one could see him. Only Rutejìmo's grandmother, <a href="https://fedran.com/tej%C3%ADko/">Tejíko</a>, took care of him much like Mapábyo cared for Rutejìmo in <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-ash/">Sand and Ash</a>.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/">Sand and Blood</a>, Chimípu's biggest struggle was the realization that she was going to die painfully in service to the clan. It was an obvious conclusion, mainly because of this cultural belief that warriors have a “good death”, a noble one if you will.</p>
<p>There is a reason <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Samurai">Seven Samurai</a> was an inspiration of this book. It is about the noble death of warriors and the pain that goes when you lose someone close to you.</p>
<p>The title of the chapter might give you an idea of who Rutejìmo loses.</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone 18: Brothers</h1>
<p>Along with the others, Rutejìmo ends up running for his life. He sees his friends and families for what might be the last time before he sets off on his own perilous journey. Before he goes, however, his brother has one last thing.</p>
<p><em>Read the chapter at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-18/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-18/</a>. I decided to make all of my books free downloads at <a href="https://fedran.com/">https://fedran.com/</a>. Please read and enjoy them, maybe talk about them or throw a review my direction. If you want to read more, consider becoming a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patron</a> on my site or at <a href="https://patreon.com/dmooonfire/">Patreon</a>.</em></p>
Sand and Bone 17, Choice, and Wisdom2017-02-07T06:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2017/02/07/sand-and-bone-17/Rutejìmo has come up to a point in his life, where he has to choose between his own life or dying for the clan.<p>It's a short chapter today but another one leading up one of the more painful chapters in the book next week.</p>
<h1>The Choice</h1>
<p>While I didn't set out to write the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero%27s_journey">Hero's Journey</a>, it is a narrative that this story is fitting into nicely. This chapter is one of them, mainly because Rutejìmo stands on the threshold of the <em>Crossing the Threshold</em>. He has to make a choice to enter a new world and he does.</p>
<p>The important part, and the failure on mine, is that he doesn't think about the choice. A few short paragraphs for what would probably be the most important decision in his life.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“No, it's true, Mípu. The only way to give me a chance to get home in time is to send me in the straightest line, which would make me the easiest to ambush.”</p>
<p>With a sigh, he returned his gaze down to the rocks. He picked one up and rolled it in his palm, struggling with the swelling of emotions. He was going to die. Probably alone in the middle of the desert where no one would lead him to Mifúno's embrace.</p>
<p>Rutejìmo almost threw up, but he managed to keep it down. The answer was obvious the moment they mentioned it. But, it took him a few minutes to quell his fear to let the words out. When he managed to look back up, he could feel the tears burning his eyes. “Let's tell the others we're splitting up.”</p>
<p>He caught only a look of relief and sorrow in their eyes before he looked away.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The failure came back to the reason I wrote this story in the first place. He was supposed to be the “man next to the Chosen One” but in this scene is the hero. Of course, it makes sense since he's the main character of the novel, but I ended up being so happy that the decisions and struggles he experienced up to this point made the decision obvious. It wasn't forced, not the speed he made the choice or the acknowledgement that he was the one most at risk to being killed. Three books leading up to this choice.</p>
<h1>Wisdom</h1>
<p>This chapter also ties in the events of the entire second novel, <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-ash/">Sand and Ash</a>.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I am Fidochìma, and I speak… for no one right now.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>For those who read the second book, the above quote is significant because it says so much. It also pushes Rutejìmo further into the path of speaking for the desert. The one thing I like about this plot in the story is that most of it doesn't have to do with violence. It is happening around him and people are dying, but he continues to be a pacifist despite all the horrors.</p>
<p>Next chapter, I get to show off Fidochìma's fractal archery skills which I think is cool.</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone 17: Splitting Up</h1>
<p>After making a decision the night before, Rutejìmo has a terrible night of nightmares and being sick. When he wakes up, he found out that something changed and it won't be only Chimípu running for their lives.</p>
<p><em>Read the chapter at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-17/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-17/</a>. I decided to make all of my books free downloads at <a href="https://fedran.com/">https://fedran.com/</a>. Please read and enjoy them, maybe talk about them or throw a review my direction. If you want to read more, consider becoming a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patron</a> on my site or at <a href="https://patreon.com/dmooonfire/">Patreon</a>.</em></p>
Sand and Bone 16, R5-D4 plots, and dragons2017-01-31T06:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2017/01/31/sand-and-bone-16/We've gotten to a lovely chapter where two series intersect blatantly and the reader can get a hint of where I'm going with Flight of the Scions.<p>A while back, I wrote about <a href="/blog/2014/08/16/r5-d4-plots/">R5-D4 Plots</a> and that has colored my writing for almost three years. In short, minor characters of one book have a role in other books. This guided me into splitting <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/">Flight of the Scions</a> apart and also tying that series into this one. This chapter is the first clear connection between the two books.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Rutejìmo's papers were old, and the edges crumbled when he touched them. He carefully puzzled through them, struggling with the unfamiliar way the eastern clans wrote their words. The first was a letter written in a rough hand of someone barely able to write, a Kosobyo Mioráshi. It talked about the birth of her daughter, Kanéko.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It also ties a suggestion from my editor. I originally had the tall rocks that show up in all thee books as “Dragon's Teeth” but she suggested I make them “Wind's Teeth.” I ended up going with it and used it as the base for my wind spirits (which are… a secret for a later book).</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone 16: A Second Wind</h1>
<p>Ah, the plot. This chapter is where we find out Kosòbyo is keeping a secret. Of course, this is probably the worst info-dumping chapter in the book. In short, a <em>gyotochizōmi</em> (also known as a dragon) supplies a nearly endless source of magic to anyone who controls its soul (or enslaves it). Almost all of the dragons in the world are captured now, the most famous is the Puzzle King's castle which is powered by one (I might write that novel, it would be a <em>13 Ghosts</em> style piece though).</p>
<p>There is another dragon running around, Kanéko's Big Bad from <em>Flight of the Scions</em>, Damagar. Yep, my favorite eighty-foot, telepathic toad is an immortal god spirit capable of powering a castle or uplifting a megalomaniac spirit into power.</p>
<p>There are other things going on in this chapter, including Rutejìmo crushing Nifùni's spirits by pointing out the truth of his actions.</p>
<p>Read the chapter at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-16/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-16/</a>. All of my books are free downloads at <a href="https://fedran.com/">https://fedran.com/</a>. If you like what you read, please consider becoming a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patron</a> or reviewing one of my other books. Even a dollar a month helps get this edited and properly published. Plus, you get to see how it ends now instead of waiting weeks.</p>
Sand and Bone 15 and speaking for gods2017-01-24T06:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2017/01/24/sand-and-bone-15/Sometimes the simplest of phrases can be the most powerful. To stop a death, Rutejìmo makes a declaration that ruins my entire purpose of writing the series and becomes a hero.<p>This is a short chapter with only two major plot elements inside it. However, it is still one that I think is powerful because of everything I've built up in the last two books. It ties into the events that caused Rutejìmo to be cast out from his clan and also with the very nature of Mifúno, the desert spirit.</p>
<h1>The Great Triad</h1>
<p>As I mentioned earlier, in the desert there are three great spirits, the triad.</p>
<ul>
<li>Mifúno: The desert mother.</li>
<li>Tachìra: The sun spirit.</li>
<li>Chobìre: The moon spirit.</li>
</ul>
<p>These three spirits are the foundation of all society. All magic flows from them (actually from Mifúno into Tachìra and Chobìre and then into the rest of the spirits). It also the basis for the conflict in the desert, justified in the social narrative as the fight for Tachìra and Chobìre over the affections of Mifúno.</p>
<p>While they are called spirits, they are effectively gods in the desert. They rarely interact with mortals and none of them have avatars (gods do not walk the earth in this setting). Instead, they can show their presence through omens and signs.</p>
<p>All three of the triads are also spirits of their own clan. The only difference is that very few people are capable of taking on the power of a god. There are only a dozen in each of Tachìra and Chobìre's clans, twenty-four warriors total capable of tapping directly into the powers of the sun and moon.</p>
<p>When someone says “I speak for”, they are proclamation both their clan and their authority. In this chapter, when Rutejìmo makes his proclamation, he is basically telling everyone that he is following the most powerful entity in the <em>entire</em> desert. He is speaking for the source of all magic, power, and civilization itself. The entire world, as he knows it, is built on Mifúno and her power.</p>
<h1>The Mifúno Clan</h1>
<p>Which leads into the question: how many are in the Mifúno clan. The answer? Three. In the story, two will die within the next few months and there will only be one for close to twenty years before it changes again. Only three people in my entire world are capable of taking on Mifúno's power for even a minute.</p>
<p>This chapter is where I failed to not make him a hero. Three books with the intent of writing a story about the guy next to the Chosen One and I ruined it with only a few short words.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“I am Rutejìmo, and I speak for Mifúno.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Naturally, I had to emphasize that declaration a little more than just a sentence.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Desòchu's feet crunched as he turned back to Nifùni. “I am Desòchu, and I speak for—”</p>
<p>Rutejìmo had to speak; he could not let Nifùni die. Whispers in the back of his head rose up, demanding that he speak. He relented despite everything that told him to remain silent. “I am Rutejìmo, and I speak for Mifúno.”</p>
<p>A blast of wind tore through the shelter, kicking up rocks and sands. It pummeled against all of their bodies. The flames around Desòchu and Chimípu wavered with the air, something that Rutejìmo had never seen happen, and then snuffed out.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I love this scene, not only for the foreshadowing but the details.</p>
<h1>Hero System</h1>
<p>I talked a little bit about using the HERO System for building my characters. Every clan has a theme with their powers, sometimes it's in a power framework, other times it isn't.</p>
<p>Mifúno's powers are pretty different than a lot of clans. She has more meta-magic than any other clan, mainly because she influences every clan spirit. That gives her <em>Aid</em> and <em>Dispel/Suppress</em>. She also has a <em>Major Transform</em> to making someone “non-magical.” In effect, the followers of her clan can permanently remove the magic from anyone.</p>
<p>There is also a vague one about resonance, she is compatible with all desert magic with little or no feedback.</p>
<p>There is also a butt-load of <em>PD</em> and <em>ED</em> as you may have seen throughout the series.</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone 15: Banyosiōu</h1>
<p>Rutejìmo realizes that he is seeing the events from five years ago from the other side. Instead of his brother beating on him before kicking him out of the clan, it was Nifùni who had risked everyone's lives and was going to be declared dead for far longer than a year.</p>
<p>He couldn't have that, but did he have the authority to speak above his brother, the elder of his clan?</p>
<p>Read the chapter at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-15/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-15/</a>. All of my books are free downloads at <a href="https://fedran.com/">https://fedran.com/</a>. If you like what you read, please consider becoming a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patron</a> or reviewing one of my other books. Even a dollar a month helps get this edited and properly published. Plus, you get to see how it ends now instead of waiting weeks.</p>
Sand and Bone 14, felony feedback, the Call, and anime fights2017-01-17T06:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2017/01/17/sand-and-bone-14/This week, we have a lot of violence, destruction, and a really bad idea. I talk a little bit about the mechanics of magic and the Call.<p>This is a big chapter. Like many of my tragedy chapters, it starts with a beautiful day where everyone is happy. It doesn't end that way.</p>
<h1>Felony Feedback</h1>
<p>When I created the world, I wanted a reasonable reason for writing a steampunk/industrial magic world. It also had to answer the question “why haven't mages taken over the world.” My answer was <a href="https://fedran.com/resonance/">resonance</a> which is where powerful magic reacts violently with all other forms of disharmonious energies. In short, powerful mages cause each other pain and artifacts explode in the presence of anyone besides their creator (or someone with a compatible resonance).</p>
<p>Many cities have a resonance. It comes from years of magic seeping into the rocks and wood. A necessary harmony to keep everything from exploding while still getting the benefits of magic. In the desert, it is the clan who claimed them which is why every city, valley, and built-up area is named after a specific clan. The resonance of the clan is the resonance of the area. All energies outside of that can cause destruction as artifacts explode.</p>
<p>There are also laws around resonance. To willfully use powerful, incompatible magic is called Felony Feedback (<em>mashio kajudūfa</em>). It is a crime, punishable up to death or imprisonment based on the amount of destruction that comes from using such magic in close quarters.</p>
<p>Up to this point, Rutejìmo's stories have been relatively isolated as I worked out the details of resonance through short stories. We had a little foray into resonance with <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-ash/">Sand and Ash</a> with Mapábyo running through the city but this chapter has two very high powered fighters causing all sorts of destruction. It is a logical progression and something that is going to happen a couple times in this book.</p>
<h1>The Call</h1>
<p><em>The Call</em> is a concept that completely surprised me in <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-ash/">Sand and Ash</a>. I wasn't entirely sure the thought process that came out of it but it seemed like something that would have formed with the magical guardianship between clan members and their warriors.</p>
<p>I thought of it as hearing my children scream. Most parents can tell if a kid is just running around with high-pitched screams verses the scream of pain. More importantly, a lot of parents know that it is <em>their</em> kid and respond faster than just a generals scream of pain.</p>
<p>The Call is a magical version of that child's cry for help. The difference is that it uses more than just sound waves but also the will of the person doing the cry. It has a compulsion with it, a drive to come and help regardless of what the person is doing. It is a drive, a “must help” that is tied directly into the powers of the clan.</p>
<p>Warriors, like most aspects of the desert culture, have a lot more power than the non-warriors.</p>
<p>Rutejìmo is an exception because of his ties to the desert, we'll be seeing that later. I've written about how he is special in how other warriors treat him, that also applies to who will answer his Call.</p>
<h1>Anime Fights</h1>
<p>One of the things I've noticed is that a number of readers don't like it when I say my novel is anime-inspired. I'm not sure what they mean, but I usually attribute the inspiration to fight scenes that destroy scenery, a certain style of special effects, and the over-the-top nature of actions. Personally, I imagine all the characters as anime (Fairy Tail, Slayers) as I'm writing.</p>
<p><em>This is also my bucket list: to have my novels animated as an anime movie or series.</em></p>
<p>This fight shows that. The powerful parries leave concussion blasts, there are tornadoes of golden fire, and a mile-long fireball directly influenced from one of my favorite martials movies, <a href="http://www.miramax.com/movie/shaolin-soccer/">Shaolin Soccer</a>. When you through in massive mechanical spiders spitting fire and acid and I think I have a fun little fight.</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone 14: Presents</h1>
<p>Nifùni sneaks away to accept the job the rest of the clan decided to turn down. What started as a beautiful but expensive day of shopping for Rutejìmo turns violent when he has to find and save his clan member from being murdered.</p>
<p>Read the chapter at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-14/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-14/</a>. All of my books are free downloads at <a href="https://fedran.com/">https://fedran.com/</a>. If you like what you read, please consider becoming a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patron</a> or reviewing one of my other books. Even a dollar a month helps get this edited and properly published. Plus, you get to see how it ends now instead of waiting weeks.</p>
Sand and Bone 13, Nudity verses sex, Struggling for money2017-01-10T06:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2017/01/10/sand-and-bone-13/Another chapter of Sand and Bone with the clan making a choice to accept the job or not. In addition, a brief discussion about nudity and sex along with one about struggling for money.<p>There are a couple things with this chapter that I found enjoyable. It was more than the interplay of the individual characters but also how they work together.</p>
<h1>Nudity verses sex</h1>
<p>It was touched at the end of <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/">Sand and Bone</a>, but public nudity isn't a problem. It is also not automatically sexual like it is in many parts of the United States. I wanted this scene to show that but also to show how the clan works together when they travel. That includes sharing the shower areas and taking turns.</p>
<p>It reminds me of the shower scene in <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120201/">Starship Troopers</a>. While the scene was pretty much fan-service for the viewers, the characters didn't treat it as a sexual encounter. It just <em>was</em>. Of course, when the US created co-ed bathrooms, it is a big deal. Same with breast-feeding in public. Neither are a big deal if people don't make it so, but a large hunk of the population seems to make it a big deal.</p>
<p>That isn't the case here. It doesn't matter if it is Desòchu dancing naked in the last chapter of <em>Sand and Bone</em> or the clan taking turns with the shower. There is a time and place for sex and the culture understands that isn't it.</p>
<p>Of course, that leads into the cultures who <em>do</em> have taboos against nudity and the warriors' sterility to rant and rave about it. If you read the epigraphs of the chapters, you'll see those voices.</p>
<h1>No rape exists here</h1>
<p>Part of this culture also comes from author intrusion. I decided a while ago that rape doesn't exist in my world. No matter how dark, no matter how gritty I try to get, <a href="https://fedran.com/">Fedran</a> <strong>will not</strong> have it. If I make a reference to it, that is a mistake on my part because it doesn't even enter the consciousness of the characters.</p>
<p>I made this choice for a number of reasons but I felt that I could come up with a story that could show horror without using rape as the mechanism. That doesn't mean people won't get tortured but I won't let sexual violence be that mechanism. Even the torture will mostly be off-page.</p>
<h1>Struggling for money</h1>
<p>One of the common themes in many anime series is running out of money. I don't know what it is, but some of my favorite series all have that including <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyper_Police">Hyper Police</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slayers">Slayers</a>.</p>
<p>I can understand it. Writing is not a rich career. What I made just softens the blow of getting a book out and it remains a labor of love instead of a viable fiscal path in my life. There are times when I'm looking at my balance counting the hours to payday or hoping that one check will get in fast enough that I won't bounce a check.</p>
<p>In some ways, the struggle this chapters has with the hundred thousand <em>pyābi</em> offer is a reflection of my own writing. I take commissioned jobs frequently but they don't advance my career. I can't share them, I can't even say anything more than “I wrote a fifty thousand word commission and it took up my bandwidth for two months.” That is frustrating because I'd rather write a fifty thousand word novel in this world.</p>
<p>I don't though. My <a href="https://patreon.com/dmoonfire/">Patreon</a> is slowly building up (I tripled my subscribers since the first of the year!) but it is a long way to let me give up writing commissions in favor of my own worlds (the fantasy or even the sci-fi one).</p>
<p>I like the idea of the clan being poor like most small business owners I know. They worry about every job, every mission. At the same time, they are willing to buy presents for everyone because it brings joy. They struggle but also share what bounty they do have. I love that about this clan, it is a little thing about a close-knit family and circle of friends that I think makes them special.</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone 13: Voting</h1>
<p>Rutejìmo and the other of the clan finally come up to a choice the next morning. Do they take the job that Nifùni found or trust Rutejìmo's feelings that there is something wrong. Even though both men have a strong opinion about their own choice, it is up to the clan to decide if the job is worth the risk.</p>
<p>Read the chapter at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-13/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-13/</a>. All of my books are free downloads at <a href="https://fedran.com/">https://fedran.com/</a>. If you like what you read, please consider becoming a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patron</a> or reviewing one of my other books. Even a dollar a month helps get this edited and properly published. Plus, you get to see how it ends now instead of waiting weeks.</p>
Sand and Bone 12, HERO system, and pacing2017-01-03T06:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2017/01/03/sand-and-bone-12/We are now into the second arc of Sand and Bone, where things start to speed up greatly and the bloodbath is going to commence. While I'm setting it up, I talk a little bit about pacing for the book and how I use the HERO System to manage my fantasy.<p>One thing I notice is that I take a long time to get to the <em>inciting event</em> of a book. In this case, twelve chapters of building up the characters and personalities all so I can start the crux of the story with a simple meeting in a bar.</p>
<p>A lot of advice says that I should be getting to the bulk of the plot earlier but I really want to establish characters. There are parts of his plot in the first chapter, the disdain from the rest of his clan and their view of his cowardice, but not the “OMG, we are going to die” bits.</p>
<p>I'm not sure if that is the inciting event or not. It is the arc for the entire story though, the man who ran away from combat in the beginning is the one who will be running into a battle despite everything he wanted.</p>
<p>That said, I think this book is paced pretty well. There are not a lot of “side plots” as it were and the story stays focused on a single path, Rutejìmo's. He doesn't have a lot of distractions either, this story didn't fit well with the wandering tale that some writers excel at.</p>
<h1>HERO System</h1>
<p>There was another thing in this chapter that drew my attention.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>He always wondered if his slowness at running and his unwillingness to take a life were somehow connected with his services to the dead.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The answer is “yes.” Internally, I use the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero_System">HERO System</a> (6th ed.) to manage the characters in my stories. This gives me a framework for how they evolve over time (experience per chapter) but also balancing out their skills to each other. It isn't exact and I fudge a lot, but the rough progression helps me frame that aspect of the world.</p>
<p>Rutejìmo's powers have been pretty much set in <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/">Sand and Blood</a> with little improvement during <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-ash/">Sand and Ash</a>. Some of that was building up his attributes and skills but a lot of it was banking toward the powers he's beginning to manifest in this book.</p>
<p>Of course, this is shown in the above quote. It is limiting his services to the dead because he was saving up for a number of high-cost powers, contacts and networking, and social influence. Despite being “weak,” he is actually well known throughout the western region.</p>
<p>He also has always had a very high <code>END</code>, <code>REC</code>, <code>PD</code>, and <code>ED</code> which are all passive attributes that have little physical indicator of their values. By this book, he had quite a number of defensive combat levels (as we'll find out) in addition to his powerful abilities that finally kicked in.</p>
<p>Some day, I might see about licensing HERO or something and writing a source book for these characters, which is one reason I haven't posted any specific details. Not to mention, they are <em>filled</em> with spoilers even in the first chapter.</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone 12: The Offer</h1>
<p>At the end of the day, Rutejìmo is wandering around a too-large city looking for Nifùni who never returned to the inn. Not having a way of contacting him, the rest of the clan had spread out to check out the taverns and stores. Naturally, none of them would consider that Nifùni would have found a night to himself; Rutejìmo's history showed the danger of disappearing in the middle of the night.</p>
<p>Read the chapter at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-12/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-12/</a>. All of my books are free downloads at <a href="https://fedran.com/">https://fedran.com/</a>. If you like what you read, please consider becoming a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patrons</a>, reviewing, or even talking about my book on social networks. Any little bit helps me get the next book out.</p>
Sand and Bone 11, foreshadowing, third person limited, and big cities2016-12-28T06:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2016/12/28/sand-and-bone-11/Safely back at the city, Rutejìmo spends a leisurely day exploring the city. At least until Dimóryo finds him again.<p><strong>There is a minor spoiler in this post.</strong></p>
<p>This is another chapter with little hints here and there. Some of them are for later books while others are foreshadowing of events later in this book.</p>
<p>The most obvious one ties into the limitations of third-person limited. I really like writing with limited point of view, if the character doesn't know it, then it doesn't show up in narrative. That is why Rutejìmo has a much different view of the coastal folk than Kanéko. It also means that it is <em>hard</em> to hint at certain foreshadowing without putting a big sign that says “this is a plot!”</p>
<p>For some reason, I get frustrated when I watch movies or TV and I see a cut or scene that is obviously foreshadowing for later. The main character picking up a weapon or retrieving their pack, Kubo looking at his musical instrument before he is tossed away, in Avatar when they look at skulls of flying creatures and “no one has ever ridden one before.”</p>
<p>One of them has haunted me from the very beginning of this series: Rutejìmo is a damage sponge. The amount of injuries he takes should have killed a lesser man. Actually, it would have killed a lesser man but he has a certain something going on for him and it is subtle. More importantly, he doesn't know it is happening (but I did).</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Rutejìmo walked hand in hand with Mapábyo. The exhaustion from his purification ritual still plucked at his senses, but sleep and a full meal had helped recover his energies. Even his recent injuries, including the cut in his shoulder, had already started to scab over and no longer throbbed.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>As I've mentioned before, there is very little magical healing in my world. When people get hurt, they stay hurt. But… there is healing and recovery magic. It just isn't always obvious. This isn't one of Shimusògo's powers which means his ability to take damage and recovery quickly comes from another source.</p>
<p>Now one that isn't addressed in this book is the talk about the formalized nature of <em>kojinōmi</em> in the eastern cities. I've had a number of readers mention they would like me to put more details into this one, but this is actually for a later book (related to this series though). There is a hint of that also in <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/">Flight of the Scions</a> for one of the epigraphs.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“There are six of the Shimusògo in town, but only one… like me.” He couldn't bring himself to say <em>kojinōmi</em> even knowing it was acceptable. Too many years of not speaking about what he did stilled his voice.</p>
<p>She dug into the folds of her armored fabric before pulling out a notebook. With a brass pen, she wrote something before ripping it off and handing it to Rutejìmo. “You've been requested to present yourself to the other <em>kojinōmi</em> at this address in three nights.”</p>
<p>Rutejìmo took the paper, it was an address. “When?”</p>
<p>Dimóryo frowned. “For dinner, isn't that when you always do those things?”</p>
</blockquote>
<h1>Sand and Bone 11: Recovering</h1>
<p>I remember one of the first times I went to Chicago as someone aware of the differences. It was a huge city and completely different than growing up in Naperville, Aurora, or even West Chicago. The joy of seeing it was a delightful contrast that I also had when I went to Los Angeles and New York. I wanted to put some of that into <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/">Sand and Bone</a> with having the rural clan members see their first “big” city.</p>
<p>You may notice that both this series and <em>Flight of the Scions</em> are set in rural areas. That was intentional because it was easier to develop the world from the more sedate places before diving into the more populated cities such as <em>Muddy Reflections</em> or <em>Clutch</em>. I wanted to work out some of the interplay of resonance, magic, and the way people grow up before throwing thousands into the mix.</p>
<p>Read the chapter at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-11/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-11/</a>. All of my books are free downloads at <a href="https://fedran.com/">https://fedran.com/</a>. If you like what you read, please consider becoming a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patrons</a>, reviewing, or even talking about my book on social networks. Any little bit helps me get the next book out.</p>
Sand and Bone 10 and hair styles2016-12-21T06:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2016/12/21/sand-and-bone-10/Rutejìmo returns to Kosobyo City and finds himself in an unfamiliar civilization that only vaguely resembled his own. Also a little bit on hair.<p>There are certain blind spots when it comes to my world-building. I love dresses though I try not to describe them when the point-of-view characters aren't into them, but I actually notice a lot about sewing. On the other hand, things like hair style are completely over my head. It could be my general dislike for hair on my head or the fact that I can't get rid of it fast enough (I'm getting that “side fringe” instead of going properly bald). But, I don't really think about hair styles when I'm writing.</p>
<p>Sometimes it's forced on me. When <a href="http://www.danhowardart.com/">Dan Howard</a> did the original cover of <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/">Sand and Blood</a>, he gave Chimípu reddish hair. The scene was sunset and everything would be red-tinged but I decided to make her hair reddish because of it. Also, she had straight hair so naturally she had straight hair to match.</p>
<p>Of course, you can't see that with the abstract covers, but the history remains.</p>
<p>Now, as I was going through <em>Bone</em>, I realized that I didn't talk about hair styles. So I started fleshing out hair for the eastern desert, which generics resulted in tight curls and kinks of the straighter hair of the western desert. They have the slight variance of colors also, but that is because I love anime hair.</p>
<p>There are so many lovely details in the world, eventually I'll give hints for all of them. It will take me time, it's hard to keep it all in my head.</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone 10: Westerners</h1>
<p>In <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/">Sand and Bone</a>, Rutejìmo finally makes it back to Kosobyo City. In the many years up to this point, cities were small enough that he could find his way. But the sheer size of Kosobyo City is overwhelming and he quickly becomes lost.</p>
<p>Read the chapter at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-10/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-10/</a>. All of my books are free downloads at <a href="https://fedran.com/">https://fedran.com/</a>. If you like what you read, please consider becoming a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patrons</a>. Even if you don't want to send me money, reviews and chatter on social networks would be <em>highly</em> appreciative and only cost your time.</p>
Sand and Bone 9, a little lesson on Miwāfu, gender in the desert, and speaking for the spirits2016-12-14T06:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2016/12/14/sand-and-bone-09/A grandfather looking for revenge and a man who cannot stop him.<p>The phrase “I speak for” is a common one in the desert culture. It declares authority to speak on the behalf of the entire clan though there are some complexities in how this phrase is written, one that I had chosen not to translate into English while writing the novels.</p>
<p>The base word is <code>sèku</code>.</p>
<pre><code>oi sèku
[begin-sentence, verb] speak
I speak.
</code></pre>
<p>The clan name is actually an adverb but with <code>gi-</code> in front of it for “my clan”.</p>
<pre><code>oi shimusogo gisèku
[begin-sentence, verb] shimusogo clan-speak
I speak for Shimusògo.
</code></pre>
<p>Now, there is also the accent. There are two forms of <code>giseku</code>: gisèku and giséku. Following the general guideline that feminine vowels are restrictive or controlled while masculine is powerful or uncontrolled, we have two definitions of this word hinted by the accent.</p>
<ul>
<li>The feminine version, <code>giséku</code>, is the restrictive one. It means, “I speak for the clan present right here.” This is the most common form of the phrase when entering a city or in the case for this chapter.</li>
<li>The masculine version, <code>gisèku</code>, is the uncontrolled. It is rarely used but implies that the speaker speaks for <em>all</em> of that clan, regardless of where they are located. This is used for when Desòchu kicked Rutejìmo from the clan.</li>
</ul>
<p>As a side note, the easiest way to remember the gender accents in <a href="https://fedran.com/miw%C4%81fu/">Miwāfu</a> is include some of the sexism inherit in the language. The downward accents (grave) are masculine. A hint of remembering this is two guys seeing each other naked usually involve certain… parts pointing down. Likewise, the acute accent is for females and feminine and those parts start to point up.</p>
<p>Now one might ask about non-heterosexual relationships. Well, this is one place where the culture isn't very open. Society only acknowledges one form of relationship, male and female. This is mainly driven by the need for procreation in a very violent world. This drive is embedded into the language and the culture.</p>
<p>Now, there are individuals who don't follow the gender binary. The easiest for the culture are the transgendered but even they are expected to pair up or have long term relationships with transgendered individuals of the opposite gender. In other words, a female-to-male would be expected to marry and procreate with a male-to-female. Society handles the pregnancy much like how Rutejìmo was ignoring while he was “dead,” everyone looks the other way.</p>
<p>The more open societies, like the areas around Kosòbyo, relax many of those rules. Urbanization breaks down perceptions and helps with establishing more open mores; this is one reason why cities in our world are typically more open to different cultures, religions, and lifestyles compared to our homogeneous regions such as the rural states.</p>
<p>Around Kosòbyo, an individual can present themselves as either male or female. Their choice of lovers or marriage needs to be the opposite gender to avoid social pressure, but the more open-minded regions allows a lesbian or gay relationship as long as one is a femme and the other is a butch.</p>
<p>Now, that isn't to say all Kosòbyo are open-minded. Mioráshi from <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/">Flight of the Scions</a> is violently homophobic but we won't really find that out until <em>Desert Child</em>.</p>
<p>There are others who even deviate from those limitations and sexual modes. My best example is Mikáryo who is demisexual. She chose to isolate herself in the desert to avoid conflict with her sexuality and her world view. It was that or be murdered by her own clan for being a deviant. If that goes well, you'll see that in her unnamed novel. There are others I hope to write about, this is one topic that I like to explore in writing even if I don't do “naughty” scenes.</p>
<p>After that little diversion on sexuality, I need to get back to the entire point of this discussion. In this chapter, Rutejìmo almost speaks for Mifúno but pulls back. He doesn't know it, but he already has the right and ability to speak for her. No one has told him he could yet and he doesn't know how to hear the desert giving him permission.</p>
<p>What stops him are the endless stories that all children in the desert are told: no one speaks for Mifúno. In those stories, everyone who even jokes about it ends up dead. The desert kills anyone who tries, usually by some gruesome slaughter that takes out everyone in the area. I usually see these as the Brothers Grimm story tales, complete with blood and gore from the original version.</p>
<p>Unlike Tachìra and Chobìre who effectively claim every clan in the desert by their virtue of granting powers, Mifúno has no desire to be “in charge” of anyone. Or, I see it in a different way that she is the source of <em>all</em> power in the desert by granting it to Tachìra and Chobìre who then passes it on. The intermixing of powers and relationships between these three spirits is the entire source of “magic” in the desert.</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone 9: Greatness</h1>
<p>In <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/">Sand and Bone</a>, Rutejìmo finishes his purification rituals after helping the little girl die. As he walks alone, he encounters the great-grandfather of the girl searching for revenge for her death.</p>
<p>Read the chapter at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-09/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-09/</a>. All of my books are free downloads at <a href="https://fedran.com/">https://fedran.com/</a>. If you like what you read, please consider becoming a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patrons</a>. Even if you don't want to send me money, reviews and chatter on social networks would be <em>highly</em> appreciative and only cost your time.</p>
On #lexember 7, I give you binafichu or using writing in architecture2016-12-07T06:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2016/12/07/lexember/On the seventh day of Lexember, we have a word for writing using buildings and architecture.<p>For the seventh day of <a href="http://www.frathwiki.com/Lexember">Lexember</a>, I have a word for using writing with buildings and architecture. This actually shows up in my current book, <a href="https://sand-and-bone/">Sand and Bone</a> for chapter ten (which isn't up yet).</p>
<blockquote>
<p>He reached the peak of a hill and realized the light had played a trick on him. He thought the brightness meant he was only a few chains away. But, standing on the ridge, he saw all of Kosobyo City spread out before him. The blocks and buildings were arranged in letters that spelled out Kosòbyo. Each symbol appeared to have been designed so there was no question who owned the city.</p>
<p>Individual districts—he didn't know their names—were lit by different colors. The nearest had blue and yellow lights but one of the northern parts was completely red-tinted. Further along, green flames lined the streets of what appeared to be the grandiose part of the city filled with tall buildings decorated in statues and murals. The center of the green light district had a palace easily five stories tall with a massive snake head rising up from the top.</p>
</blockquote>
<h1>Lexember 7: binafichu</h1>
<h2>Pronunciation</h2>
<ul>
<li>binafìchu: /ebi.na.ꜜɸi̥.tɕɯ̥/</li>
<li>binafīchu: /bi.na.ɸiː.tɕɯ̥/</li>
</ul>
<h2>Noun</h2>
<h3>binafīchu</h3>
<ol>
<li>Buildings, landscaping, and architecture that is arranged and designed to show a clan name.</li>
</ol>
<h2>Verb</h2>
<h3>binafìchu</h3>
<ol>
<li>To use buildings, landscape, or achitecture to write.</li>
</ol>
Sand and Bone 8, and traditional verses contemporary worship2016-12-07T06:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2016/12/07/sand-and-bone-08/Chapter eight is a quiet chapter that sets the tone for what will be Rutejìmo inner struggle for the book.<p>This is a quiet chapter. In Dwight V. Swain's excellent <a href="http://amzn.to/2h6WbHE">Techniques of a Selling Writer</a>, it would be called a “sequel” because it has to do with the introspection, regathering of thoughts, and contemplating the events of the previous chapter.</p>
<p>It also highlights some of the disconnection that comes when I learned about contemporary services verses traditional ones. A friend of mine had spent the last few years becoming a Lutheran pastor. She's a good one, from what I hear, but the most interesting part is talking about different congregations view and struggle with the concept of traditional or contemporary sermons. Some of them focus on things like the music or videos while others focus on the hymns or praises. Some congregations try to “inch” into a contemporary one by putting the traditional elements they think are critical into a contemporary one. Those partial steps create an interesting disagreement because other people in the same congregation might think they are ruining the entire point of a contemporary sermon by those tiny steps; naturally they would like to ease into a contemporary one with different elements pulled through. At the same time, there are folks who remain steadfastly in either side and don't like change or don't like mixing the two.</p>
<p>Hearing these stories drew my attention and obviously influenced my writing. Tradition is a powerful thing. I still remember the sermons that I attended as a child and they come up whenever I visit a church. They are far different than the ones I spy when visiting friends these days. There is a language and an art to both that is subtly different by still similiar to one who is no longer involved with organized religions.</p>
<p>This chapter is part of that. Rutejìmo learned how to be <em>kojinōmi</em> through his own struggles with the religion and only a few hints from the <em>Book of Ash</em>. <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-ash/">Sand and Ash</a> is basically that story. Now, he is firmly in the “traditional” version of the religion because he learned how most <em>kojinōmi</em> were taught, by example and social pressure.</p>
<p>The area around Kobosyo City is more modern. Not just the mechanical spiders used as cars, the open city plan, or even the more elegant outfits, but also socially. They've drifted from the traditional approaches to the dead into a more refined—maybe—of doing it. More ceremonial and independent, to say the least.</p>
<p>This is also why Rutejìmo was called. The night clans have been all but eradicated in the region. The local <em>kojinōmi</em> won't tend to them as a group and have decided that their souls could be damned to oblivion for all they care. So when a little night clan girl dies and needs to be guided into death, he is the only one in the region who would sit next to her.</p>
<p>Now, what Rutejìmo doesn't know is that <em>kojinōmi</em> have always chosen day or night. The day <em>kojinōmi</em> only treat the day and the night <em>kojinōmi</em> only tend to the night clans. It is a rare individual who is willing to see beyond the war of the great spirits to treat each side equally. In that way, he is an “old school” <em>kojinōmi</em> which doesn't walk the sands anymore. The old lady from <em>Sand and Ash</em> is the only other one. There will be a third but that won't be until much later.</p>
<p>The entire fight of day and night clans came from the great spirit's fight over Mifúno, the Desert Mother. Both Tachìra, the sun, and Chobìre, the moon, have been fighting over her for centuries. Since every clan gets their power from either the sun or moon, they have been pulled into the fight.</p>
<p>What isn't really told is that this is a result of Fedran's <a href="https://fedran.com/resonance/">resonance</a>. Basically, magic responds violently with magic of a different frequency (for a lack of better word). You can bring two mage's resonance together to avoid feedback but that doesn't protect you against other feedback. It is an entire spectrum which is why Chimípu can't remain in Wamifuko City despite both of them being sun clans. However, the feedback is strongest between Tachìra and Chobìre and, therefore, between all the clans that gain magic from them. Society and culture has formed around this feedback, creating a gulf that represents the fight between day and night clans.</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone 8: Alone</h1>
<p>In <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/">Sand and Bone</a>, Rutejìmo struggles with the differing traditions of being a <em>kojinōmi</em>. Before this, he didn't realize there were different types or what he considered a critical part of tending to the dead, the draining purification ritual, wasn't as important as he thought.</p>
<p>Read the chapter at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-08/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-08/</a>. All of my books are free downloads at <a href="https://fedran.com/">https://fedran.com/</a>. If you like what you read, please consider becoming a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patrons</a>. Even if you don't want to send me money, reviews and chatter on social networks would be <em>highly</em> appreciative and only cost your time.</p>
Sand and Bone 7, coming into power, and the powers of the dead2016-11-30T06:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2016/11/30/sand-and-bone-07/I'm done to only a single weekly serial right now and we pick right up at chapter seven where Rutejìmo learns that all the pain he suffered in the last book comes with an interesting yet terrifying benefit.<p>Now that <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/">Flight of the Scions</a> has end its first run for subscribers, time to focus on <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone">Sand and Bone</a>.</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone 7: Broken Silence</h1>
<p>You know all of <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-ash/">Sand and Ash</a> where Rutejìmo suffers for his self-centered decisions, ends up having a spiritual rebirth, and finds his way as the silent caretaker for the dead and dying? Up to this point, I haven't shown the advantages of becoming a <em>kojinōmi</em>. They don't really have the flashy powers of the warriors or sages, none of the throwing fireballs across the desert or teleporting through shadows. However, they do have a few but powerful abilities. The problem is, no one tells them how to use them or even that they can.</p>
<p>This chapter is also the point where I begin to fail the entire basis of the series: Rutejìmo has power. And not in a small measure like running a little faster, he demonstrates one of the <em>kojinōmi</em> most terrifying abilities right off the bat: how to kill someone with a single phrase by stripping them of their magic and clan.</p>
<p>What I found interesting is that this parallels the events in <em>Sand and Ash</em> except that it is Rutejìmo doing the “killing” and he doesn't even know how he does it. It also ties into a something I wrote in <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-ash/chapter-26/">chapter 26</a> of <em>Sand and Ash</em>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“So,” he said, “what do you think I'd feel if I saw you in danger, Mapábyo?”</p>
<p>Mapábyo shrugged.</p>
<p>Gichyòbi nodded. “Exactly. I don't need to save you. I will because you are Shimusògo and useful to our city. You are also a pretty girl—”</p>
<p>Kidóri glared at her husband.</p>
<p>“—and it is in the city's interest to save those who need it, but it is a choice I made, not a compulsion that commands me.”</p>
<p>Mapábyo looked down. “Oh.”</p>
<p>Glaring, Kidóri thumped her husband with her fist. “He's also not one of Chobìre's shits.”</p>
<p>Rutejìmo smirked at the insult. Chobìre was the spirit of the moon and night. He was also the enemy of everything the day clans stood for.</p>
<p>“Oh yeah, that too.” Gichyòbi rolled his eyes. “But I said that already.”</p>
<p>“Really?” said Kidóri, “when?”</p>
<p>“Yeah, I said it's in the city's—”</p>
<p>“You would do it because it is the right thing.” Kidóri thumped her husband.</p>
<p>“Yes, dear.”</p>
<p>Rutejìmo grinned.</p>
<p>Mapábyo straightened. “What about Rutejìmo?”</p>
<p>Gichyòbi looked at Rutejìmo. His hand rested on his wife's hip and he stared for a long moment. “I'm strongly suggested to save him.”</p>
<p>Rutejìmo felt a shiver of something coursing along his skin. “A suggestion?”</p>
<p>“It isn't a compulsion, it isn't Wamifūko, but something else. I respond as if you are clan, but I know you aren't. I've seen other warriors do the same. You,” he pointed to Rutejìmo, “will never be a warrior, but there is more than one clan looking out for you. Maybe every clan that walks the sands?”</p>
<p>“Plenty of warriors have tried to kill me, Chyòbi.”</p>
<p>Gichyòbi pointed a finger at him. “Don't test me, boy.”</p>
<p>Kidóri pulled Gichyòbi's hand down. “Have you ever noticed that whenever you flee for the city, there is usually half a dozen clans involved in the fight? The last time you were running from those archers, there were at least a dozen warriors on both sides killing each other. Does that seem a bit unusual for a single courier carrying a treaty?”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>When I was writing this book, one of the major complaints I heard was that Rutejìmo wasn't powerful at all, he wasn't a “hero,” or (according to some) not even likable. I don't think I ever intended for him to have these powers but as I worked out the chapters and knowing where I was ending this book, I realized that it was the right place.</p>
<p>This book is where Rutejìmo comes into his full power. It ties into him realizing who he was in the first book, finding his purpose in the second, and finally how he shines.</p>
<p>Read the chapter at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-07/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-07/</a>. All of my books are free downloads at <a href="https://fedran.com/">https://fedran.com/</a>. If you like what you read, please consider becoming a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patrons</a>. Even if you don't want to send me money, reviews and chatter on social networks would be <em>highly</em> appreciative and only cost your time.</p>
Sand and Bone 6, Flight of the Scions 40, and connected plots2016-11-09T06:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2016/11/09/weekly/We are only a single chapter from the climax of Flight of the Scions. I talk about it and how it connects to Sand and Bone.<p>Another week passed and I have two more chapters. Sorry it took so longer, there was something more important to watch last night. There is nothing in common this week but a bit of discussion on how these two actually connect together.</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone 6: Kosobyo City</h1>
<p>In <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/">Sand and Bone</a>, I wanted to get away from the two major locations of the first books. At the same time, I needed to start linking up Rutejìmo's story to Kanéko's because this book is tied to the fourth book of her series (<em>Desert Child</em>). That is a remarkably hard task since <em>Desert Child</em> won't be written for at least three more years, so I have to have the plot hooks for <em>that</em> book in this one.</p>
<p>The Kosòbyo clan is one of the biggest ties between the two books. Kanéko's mother is a Kosòbyo albeit a poorly educated one who's only talent is killing people. That gave me some leeway here to build up the richness of Kosòbyo's culture and society in this book before shocking Kanéko in her fourth book with the contrast with her mother's world (a daughter whose father didn't want her back) and the white world that Kanéko grew up in. In effect, a “everything I knew is wrong” that I feel some folks going back to “their roots” encounter.</p>
<p>Of course, the big question is why Garèo didn't teach Kanéko the “real” society. Well, that ties into his book <em>Kin-Killer</em> and his own reasons for leaving the desert.</p>
<p>Read Sand and Bone 6: Kosobyo City at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-06/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-06/</a>.</p>
<h1>Flight of the Scions 40: Combat Leadership</h1>
<p>This is a beat chapter, a single moment in what would have been a montage in a movie before <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/">Flight of the Scions</a> slides into the climax chapter next week. It is also the point where Kanéko finally confronts her father about her lack of magic.</p>
<p>Read Flight of the Scions 40: Combat Leadership <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/chapter-40/">https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/chapter-40/</a> (subscribers)</p>
<h1>Patrons</h1>
<p>My first two books, <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/">Sand and Blood</a> and <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-ash/">Sand and Ash</a>, are free downloads at the links. If you can, the best ways to help me are: subscribe as a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patron</a>, review my books, or just talk about it on social networks.</p>
Sand and Bone 5, Flight of the Scions 39, splitting novels, and Exalted2016-11-01T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2016/11/01/weekly/I played Exalted for a long time and I knew it wouldn't be long before it showed up in my writing. This week, you can see hints of that.<p>While <em>Sand and Bone</em> is building up the story, <em>Flight of the Scions</em> is in the beginning of the epic fight where there is magic flying everywhere. These are greatly different from each other but they both show my love for anime and the influences it has on my writing.</p>
<p>(There are some excerpt in this one with a bit of spoilers. They are also unedited.)</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone 5: Halfway There</h1>
<p>One of the major themes in <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/">Sand and Bone</a> is the question of how a pacifist survives in the desert. This chapter is a good example since Rutejìmo uses a deadly weapon but won't ever strike the final blow. He can defend himself and will do so but won't attack.</p>
<p>It has been five years since he became a <em>kojinōmi</em> but that doesn't mean he hasn't been learning how to defend himself. There are pepole still trying to kill him and he can defend himself. This chapter show that, along with building the personalities that will be presented in the scenes that happen at the end of the first act.</p>
<p>Read Sand and Bone 5: Halfway There at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-05/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-05/</a>.</p>
<h1>Flight of the Scions 39: The Fall of Lurkuklan</h1>
<p><a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/">Flight of the Scions</a> was my first novel. I had such grand hopes that it could be published and sent it out to quite a few places. As the years went on, the story continued to evolve as I kept rewriting it. First it was Welf and then Kanéko. Each time, I got better but I was also going over the same book over and over again, trying to figure out what I missed.</p>
<p>Eventually, it came down to Harper Voyager. The last place I submitted rejected me and… well, I gave up. I decided to do the self-publish route and started to look into that. I knew it had to be edited, but my first quotes were in the tens of thousands.</p>
<p>To make it more reasonable, I split the novel. However, I couldn't just break it in half because I <em>hate</em> books that end like that. Instead, I decided to go down the middle and split out Garèo's part from Kanéko's. In effect, two novels going on at the same time.</p>
<p>This chapter is where those two plots come back together again.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Garèo sighed. “<em>You're right.</em>” He reached back to the empty sheath in his hand. “<em>Father, I need you.</em>”</p>
<p>Sunlight exploded in his fingertips, spears of it stretching out. Kanéko was glad for her darkened goggles as she saw the dagger materialize in his hand. He unsheathed it and held it tight to his chest.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Garèo is a very competent fighter. Actually, this is the first part of the final climax. Everyone is settled into their powers and they are all somewhat powerful, even the horse, Ojinkomàsu.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>He moved faster than Kanéko thought possible, his feet not even visible on the ground. The sunlight formed a wave around him, spreading out across the fields and kicking up a wall of dust, dirt, and crops. It rose with every rod Ojinkomàsu covered in a blink of the eye. It obscured Kanéko's view of the tower as the stones started to hit the ground, shaking the earth, and her heart lurched when her mother's bow fired one last time and went dark.</p>
<p>She tried to scream, but her voice locked in her throat.</p>
<p>Before her, Ojinkomàsu and Garèo ignited in golden flames. They surged forward, piercing the dust cloud rushing at them. Ojinkomàsu's impact cracked the air and sent out a shock-wave that kicked up boulders the size of houses out across the field behind the tower. The horse burst through the rubble and out the other side, carrying rock and dust after him in a giant vortex.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A lot of the hints of these were in cut sections. We see her father's power in the first two chapters but this is the first time she, therefore the reader, gets to see Maris, Ruben, Tagon, and Mioráshi using the full measure of their abilities.</p>
<p>Mioráshi deserves some commentary. One of my favorite RPGs was White Wolf's Exalted. I loved playing it (though I hated the overkill part of it). I did so for twelve-hour sessions every Saturday for years. Now, she isn't Exalted but the idea of using sunlight for weapons fit nicely into the cosmology I crafted with <em>Sand and Blood</em> and the day clans.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Mioráshi could be seen from a mile away as she perched on the side of the tower and leaned over the edge. Her entire body was bathed in a spear of sunlight that reached up into the sky where it pierced the clouds. The spear flashed every time she fired her bow, a brilliant arrow of solidified sunlight streaking out from her weapon and slamming into Damagar's face and eyes. The air rumbled with the sounds of her bow shots, a beat of pressure followed by a crack of noise. It looked just like the dream Damagar threatened her with.</p>
<p>“Mama?” whispered Kanéko. She had never seen her mother shoot so fast or with anything besides normal arrows, but she could see how her mother spun sunlight into an arrow and fired in less than a few seconds.</p>
<p>“<em>The Kosobyo hóri, your clan's bow magic.</em>”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>What you don't see is that Mioráshi is also cursing at Damagar at the same time. Just insulting him as a way of powering her magic. She uses both.</p>
<p>Through all of this, we have Kanéko, a girl without magic. This mirrors <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/">Sand and Blood's</a> story about the protagonist being weaker than everyone else but there are some big differences. The main one is that while Rutejìmo remains weak and accepts it, Kanéko rises up to face it. All the previous chapters of her learning how to communicate with telepaths, shielding her thoughts, learning how to work with others, and her ability to visualize and abstract is actually her training for this fight. This ends up being a fight between her and an eighty-foot telepathic toad with psionics.</p>
<p>Read Flight of the Scions 39: The Fall of Lurkuklan <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/chapter-39/">https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/chapter-39/</a> (subscribers)</p>
<h1>Patrons</h1>
<p>I give away my books for free downloads. You can get them as EPUB, MOBI, and PDF versions on the website links above. If you like it, consider commenting on <a href="/contact/">social networks</a> or becoming a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patron</a>. The money I get goes directly into producing more books, starting with getting <em>Sand and Bone</em> published and also my future projects.</p>
<p>Reviewing my existing books, <em>Sand and Blood</em> or <em>Sand and Ash</em> would also help me greatly. I suffer from being obscure, very few people know about me but I can't toot my own horn constantly. If you like it, tell others. Thank you.</p>
<p>Speaking of patrons, I'm selling the print versions of both of my books “at cost” for all my patrons who have been with me for more than three months.</p>
Sand and Bone 4, Flight of the Scions 38, and preparations2016-10-25T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2016/10/25/weekly/In the two chapters this week, we have two forms of preparing going on: one for the final battle and the other for a journey about to start.<p>Not a lot of novels do it, but I love the preparing scenes. They are filled with hope and plans for the future but, as a reader, I like it so much better when everything goes wrong. I did the same in <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/">Sand and Blood</a> as well as these two books. In all cases, it <em>does</em> go poorly.</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone 4: The Morning Before</h1>
<p>I'd like to say that this is the last of the idyllic life chapters in <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/">Sand and Bone</a>, but it isn't. However, it is the beginning of Rutejìmo's journey when everything is filled with hope and promise.</p>
<p>I know it really isn't preparing as in packing bags. It is preparing emotionally and mentally. Like most chapters, I think there are some important parts in here. The biggest is the grandparents and the children and how they interact with both Rutejìmo and Mapábyo. This is actually one of the hardest parts of the novel because all four of them are critical for the latter part of the novel but I have to keep the reader aware of them and show Rutejìmo's love alive through quite a few chapters.</p>
<p>A number of people mentioned I'm pretty good at writing children. I hope so, I love the way they see the world, both Kitópi's brashness and enthusiasm contrasting against Piròma's… world view.</p>
<p><em>As a side note, I actually considered writing the two children's stories but I wasn't sure if it would be an engaging story. It is also filled with spoilers.</em></p>
<p>Read Sand and Bone 4: The Morning Before at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-04/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-04/</a>.</p>
<h1>Flight of the Scions 38: Sinmak's Fate</h1>
<p>Like all my novels, <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/">Flight of the Scions</a> deals with the death of characters. Call it my own fear or acceptance of death (depending on the week) or just a fascination with it, it seems to show up a lot in my stories. On the other hand, I really hope that the death scenes that do come up are emotional and meaningful. I don't want to just off a character because it is an even chapter.</p>
<p>There are only four chapters left after this, one is an epilogue. It is also setting up to be… one of the strangest climaxes I've ever written and I'm always worried that I won't pull it off well. It is a hard battle, both for the characters and the writer.</p>
<p>At this point, though, it is just a simple matter of preparing for the battle. Kanéko is as prepared as she can be. Original (back when she was Welf and her earlier incarnations), she was a pacifist. As I wrote the story, I realized that she wouldn't be, she would just consider lives seriously before ending them. This is important when and why she picked up the pneumatic gun.</p>
<p>This also has a scene where she is fully aware of one of her talents, though it isn't magical.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Tagon joined her on the edge of the crater.</p>
<p>Kanéko looked over at him, and then reached down to grab his hand. As soon as she felt the itch of his telepathy, she brought up the image of the gun. It came quickly, like with Ruben, and she focused on it. Images flashed through her head and she continued to pull the construction of the weapon, how to use it, and what it could do. The images flashed through her head and she used it to explode it into parts and reassemble it in her mind.</p>
<p>«Kanéko Lurkuklan, we need to discuss your manners with telepaths,» came the amused thought from Tagon.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This always made me simple since it is the same thing as some teenager picking up someone's cell phone and doing research without asking. In this case, it is using the information retrieval that all Vomen have. Tagon could have stopped her, once he figured out what she was doing, but it amused him that she was so comfortable with using telepahy despite having no magical powers.</p>
<p>Tagon is another hard character to write. He's basically a psionic ninja/ranger though he has hints of the Elfquest's Wolf-Riders (also because the Vomen in <em>Muddy Reflections</em> were also wolf-riders).</p>
<p>Read Flight of the Scions 38: Sinmak's Fate <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/chapter-38/">https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/chapter-38/</a> (subscribers)</p>
<h1>Patrons</h1>
<p>I give away my books for free downloads. You can get them as EPUB, MOBI, and PDF versions on the website links above. If you like it, consider commenting on <a href="/contact/">social networks</a> or becoming a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patron</a>. The money I get goes directly into producing more books, starting with getting <em>Sand and Bone</em> published and also my future projects.</p>
<p>Reviewing my existing books, <em>Sand and Blood</em> or <em>Sand and Ash</em> would also help me greatly. I suffer from being obscure, very few people know about me but I can't toot my own horn constantly. If you like it, tell others. Thank you.</p>
<p>Speaking of patrons, I'm selling the print versions of both of my books “at cost” for all my patrons who have been with me for more than three months.</p>
Sand and Bone 3, Flight of the Scions 37, and epic fights2016-10-18T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2016/10/18/weekly/This week, I introduce the plot for Sand and Ash while Kanéko has the epic fight that I original intended to write.<p>While <em>Sand and Bone</em>'s chapter is a relatively short one today, it has almost as much impact on the plot as the epic boss fight does in <em>Flight of the Scions</em> as we move to the end of that novel.</p>
<h1>November</h1>
<p>Usually, I take November off from writing to do a “fun” project. Sadly, with my backlog of writing, I can't really do that. Instead, I'm going to try focusing on getting my websites cleaned up and get through my commissions.</p>
<p>I might do the “fun” project later (which is to actually create the map for <a href="https://fedran.com/">Fedran</a>.</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone 3: Exhaustion</h1>
<p>One of the things I've gotten better at is introducing the crux of the plot faster and, more importantly, being more obvious about it. In the third chapter of <a href="https://fedran.com/">Sand and Ash</a>, I actually introduce the entire conflict of the story in only a few paragraphs. There are two major plots in this story, both have a nod in this chapter. If you want a hint, the first involves walking across the desert naked.</p>
<p>Read Sand and Bone 3: Exhaustion at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-03/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-03/</a>.</p>
<h1>Flight of the Scions 37: The Germudrir Pack</h1>
<p>In one of the middle versions of <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/">Flight of the Scions</a>, the chapter was actually the first of four battle scenes in rapid succession. I wanted an “epic” conclusion of the novel where the reader felt satisfied with how it ended. Of course, that version also ended in a sad note.</p>
<p>I changed both of those. One, this ends in a happy note. The other is that there are a lot more chapters between this fight scene and the final one. I also got rid of two of the fight scenes (one got moved over to <em>Kin-Killer</em>).</p>
<p>That still doesn't preclude this being my favorite action scene of the book. There is a lot here: a mother's love, friendship torn apart, a thin justification of using a conlang throughout the novel, and a bit of tears. It also has Maris pretending to be Ryu from Street Fighter.</p>
<p>Read Flight of the Scions 37: The Germudrir Pack <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/chapter-37/">https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/chapter-37/</a> (subscribers)</p>
<h1>Patrons</h1>
<p>I give away my books for free downloads. You can get them as EPUB, MOBI, and PDF versions on the website links above. If you like it, consider commenting on <a href="/contact/">social networks</a> or becoming a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patron</a>. The money I get goes directly into producing more books.</p>
<p>Reviewing my existing books, <em>Sand and Blood</em> or <em>Sand and Ash</em> would also help me greatly. I suffer from being obscure, very few people know about me but I can't toot my own horn constantly. If you like it, tell others. Thank you.</p>
Sand and Bone 2, Flight of the Scions 362016-10-11T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2016/10/11/weekly/I never realized how hard it is to reintroduce characters on the third book of a series. At the same time, I love writing about mature characters. On the other hand, I also have a chapter about a very immature young woman and her awareness of psychics.<p>This week is a study is contrasts between two very different character, one who has no secrets left to hide and another one who is just learning about herself.</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone 2: Cowardice</h1>
<p>One of the things I've never read about is how hard it is to create a trilogy. Even in this second chapter, there is all this history of the previous novels that plucked at my thoughts as I tried to figure out how to introduce Rutejìmo to potential new readers while not overwhelming those I hope have read the first two. At the same time, I think I've learned more about introducing a story. In <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/">Sand and Blood</a>, I took four chapters to slowly introduce the Miwāfu names and the formality systems. It was shorter with <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-ash/">Sand and Ash</a> and even shorter with this book. I spent only a chapter on the names and then this one to give a simple introduction of Rutejìmo and his philosophies.</p>
<p>This is fifteen years after the first book. Rutejìmo has fully realized his world view. He knows who he is, though there are moments like this chapter where is is forced to face it once again only to have it confirmed.</p>
<p>Growth stories are fun, but I also like more mature characters. I like when they aren't fumbling to figure out themselves or learning how to use their powers but know their very limits. There aren't many stories where the main character is “comfortable in their skin.” Most of the time, the mature characters are the mentors and soon-to-be victims. He knows exactly his limits, probably painfully aware, but he has no doubt why he runs from danger only to walk back into it.</p>
<p>Read Sand and Bone 2: Cowardice at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-02/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-02/</a>.</p>
<h1>Flight of the Scions 36: Regret</h1>
<p>The problem with being hot-headed is that sooner or later, you realize you made a mistake. Of course, when you are relatively bright and alone, that times comes sooner or later. Kanéko recovers pretty quickly from her brief fight.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A moment later, an itch tickled the back of her mind. It felt like Damagar or Ruben trying to communicate. Holding her breath, she looked across the sky for Maris and Ruben, but didn't see the signs of Maris' flight. She lowered her gaze to the surrounding lands, looking for Damagar hopping toward her but there was nothing for dozens of leagues in all directions.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>My writing group has repeatedly mentioned that I was rather subtle about psychic searches. The hard part about them is that I want to give the reader a hint about them but not reveal that information to the writing. With third-person limited, I can't say “she didn't realize someone was looking for her”. Instead, I have to inject the search into the sentence but then gloss over this.</p>
<p>This time, however, she knows what to look for and therefore this ends up being the least subtle reference to a search.</p>
<p>Continuing the trend of psychic abilities are just like networking, a “search” is basically an <a href="https://nmap.org/">nmap</a>. Most network administrators aren't aware of port scanning, so they don't notice it. This is the same as most people not realizing that physic search is going on.</p>
<p>Kanéko, on the other hand, is rather aware of her own thoughts. She noticed the first few attempts because it intruded on her thoughts, breaking her train of thought. This isn't unlike a administrator noticing a slowdown on their computer and investigating it.</p>
<p>Of course, the biggest question is <em>who</em> is searching for her. It happens to be one of my favorite secondary characters in another novel.</p>
<p>Read Flight of the Scions 36: Regret <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/chapter-36/">https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/chapter-36/</a> (subscribers)</p>
<h1>Patrons</h1>
<p>I give away my books for free downloads. You can get them as EPUB, MOBI, and PDF versions on the website links above. If you like it, consider commenting on <a href="/contact/">social networks</a> or becoming a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patron</a>. The money I get goes directly into producing more books.</p>
<p>Reviewing my existing books, <em>Sand and Blood</em> or <em>Sand and Ash</em> would also help me greatly. I suffer from being obscure, very few people know about me but I can't toot my own horn constantly. If you like it, tell others. Thank you.</p>
Sand and Bone 1, Flight of the Scions 352016-10-04T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2016/10/04/weekly/This week, I start the serialization of Sand and Bone, the third and final book of Rutejìmo's story.<p>Well, time to start something new just as we are getting near the end of something else.</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone 1: Running Away</h1>
<p>Writing series is hard. The first book is easy because there is so much potential but nothing already set in stone. Characters can be whatever they want because they haven't been written except in the author's head. Each book after the first is held down by the weight of the books before it. With this one, I'll admit, I was encumbered by the previous two books both in the characterizations of the individuals of the story but also in the story.</p>
<p>This novel takes place five years later. Rutejìmo is a father now, a happy one that has “found his way” as it were. He knows who is he is and what he is willing to do. Of course, that doesn't mean I'm not going to disrupt it. This also means that the novel is fifteen years, a lifetime, after the events in <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/">Sand and Blood</a>. It is five years after <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-ash/">Sand and Ash</a>.</p>
<p>This “weight” will cause me problems with my plan for <a href="/blog/2014/08/16/r5-d4-plots/">R5-D4 plots</a> but not as much. This series is tightly coupled to the stories before it, but there are other ones that are only loosely touching it that have a lot more leeway in how they mesh together. We'll find out, there really isn't much connective plot at this point though there are hooks in all three of <a href="https://fedran.com/rutej%C3%ACmo/">Rutejìmo's</a> stories.</p>
<p>This novel has a number of influences like the first one (<em>Lord of the Flies</em> and <em>Catcher in the Rye</em>) and the second (<em>Deeds of Paksenarrion</em>, <em>Wizard of Earthsea</em>). In this case, it is the <em>Seven Samurai</em> or its various incarnations such as the <em>The Magnificent Seven</em>. This isn't a romance, it is action and tragedy with strong samurai drama influences. It will also dove-tail into <a href="/tags/desert-child/">Desert Child</a> when (and if) it is written.</p>
<p>Read Sand and Bone 1: Running Away at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-01/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/chapter-01/</a>.</p>
<p>For the $1/month patrons and higher, I've release the entire novel.</p>
<h1>Flight of the Scions 35: Enthusiasm</h1>
<p>This chapter is one that reflects the stress that the three teenagers are underneath. Maris, when Damagar threatens her family, foolishly rushes forward even at the risk of ruining their transportation. Kanéko lashes out because it is the only thing she knows how to do.</p>
<p>These are kids who are cracking and falling apart.</p>
<p>Damagar also understands a lot of the philosophy behind the <em>Art of War</em> and <em>The Price</em> though, and separating the teenagers makes them a lot easier to control.</p>
<p>Read Flight of the Scions 35: Enthusiasm <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/chapter-35/">https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/chapter-35/</a> (subscribers)</p>
<h1>Patrons</h1>
<p>I give away my books for free downloads. You can get them as EPUB, MOBI, and PDF versions on the website links above. If you like it, consider commenting on <a href="/contact/">social networks</a> or becoming a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patron</a>. The money I get goes directly into producing more books.</p>
<p>Reviewing my existing books, <em>Sand and Blood</em> or <em>Sand and Ash</em> would also help me greatly. I suffer from being obscure, very few people know about me but I can't toot my own horn constantly. If you like it, tell others. Thank you.</p>
Sand and Blood 27, Flight of the Scions 32, and mistakes2016-08-31T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2016/08/31/weekly/Life is about failure, it is the only way to get ahead. This week's chapter is about iterative failures. Plus news about Sand and Bone.<p>Mistakes are awesome. One of my beliefs is that no one learns from succeeding. When they only win, then there is no reason to strive to better themselves. In some ways, the second-place person has the easiest time, they have something to strive for. I've seen in business a lot, the first company pays the price for implementing a Great Idea™ but then the clones (relatively) easily duplicate the result.</p>
<p>I've screwed up a lot of things in my life. Some of them were pretty serious while others were relatively minor. I've learned and improved but those painful moments are just as integral to me as the moments when I succeed beyond my expectations.</p>
<p>I wish I could teach my sons that. My eldest already is focused on winning when it isn't the medal or the goal that is important, it is how you get there. It's a lesson I don't know how to communicate other than to demonstrate my failing and how I improve. I think that is one reason I want him to get into video games. I've been playing most of my life, I am good at most platformers but I chose not to be when he is watching. I jump into pits and blow all my lives. Right now, I'm playing <em>Ori and the Blind Forest</em> again with him watching and, more than once, I've jumped into spikes and had to start over.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Daddy, you died.”</p>
<p>“I'll do it right the next time.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>It isn't just one attempt and then I succeed, sometimes it takes me a while. Sometimes I'm honestly missing it (like the elemental stages) and other times I'm deliberately missing. When I first started playing fighting games with my wife, I did the same thing. Well, until she found Button Mashing For Fun and Profit™ and realized she could spam me to death. That's okay, it became an honest fight then.</p>
<p>I think TV shows should show the iterative success/failure loop more often. EDM loves Power Rangers and I see that a lot.</p>
<ol>
<li>Bad guy shows up.</li>
<li>The rangers use their current powers and fail.</li>
<li>They talk or work out their problems.</li>
<li>They gain new skills, abilities, or Zords.</li>
<li>Defeat the bad guy, usually with the phrase “these new powers are great!”</li>
<li>Go back to 1 until end of season.</li>
</ol>
<p>I like that the show demostrates failures, but I don't think I have ever seen a sequence that involved the rangers losing, improving, losing again, and then improving even more.</p>
<p>Iterative failure is critical in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math). My philosophy in coding is Fail Fast which is why there are so many version of Author Intrusion and none of them are done. Each one is an improvement but I'm still learning how to write the tool that I continue to think is critical. At work, I code and build quickly so I can break it; unit tests are awesome for that.</p>
<p>In the end, it is the failures that really count.</p>
<h1>Sand and Blood 27: Pabinkue Tsubàyo</h1>
<p>We are down to the last few chapters of <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/">Sand and Blood</a> and this is the fourth to the last. It isn't quite the climax, we have one more introspection chapter before that happens, but this is where Rutejìmo tries to fight and fails. And he fails more than once throughout the chapter as he struggles to defeat a warrior who had already had a better understanding of his powers.</p>
<p>Looking back, one of the twists of this chapter is a little heavy handed. I created a constructed language for naming characters in this book. It went through a number of iterations before I decided on the grave and acute accents to describe gender. It just made sense that there was a minor plot item related to that gender marking.</p>
<p>Read Sand and Blood 27: Pabinkue Tsubàyo at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/chapter-27/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/chapter-27/</a>.</p>
<h1>Flight of the Scions 32: Exhaustion</h1>
<p>This is an A-team montage but with failure. Like most of my chapters, there is quite a few things in here that move the plot forward. The biggest is how Kanéko puzzles out how to build something she had only read in a book. I love that exploration while building something. It really adds to the depth of her characters because she is capable of solving problems that others don't see.</p>
<p>The one part I'm not entirely sure about is how I present Lopidir and Stubborness. I need Ruben to be able to take on the spirits inside him (that's his power along with telepathy) but it seems sudden because Kanéko doesn't know what is going on in Ruben's head. I'm curious to see what <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patrons</a> think about it.</p>
<p>Read Flight of the Scions 32: Exhaustion <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/chapter-32/">https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/chapter-32/</a> (subscribers)</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone</h1>
<p>I just got back <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/">Sand and Bone</a>'s edit from the development editor. I haven't had a chance to look at it, but I'm hoping to have it integrated with the online version within a week or so. Just as a reminder, Patron-4 subscribers can read it as I edit it.</p>
<h1>Patrons</h1>
<p>I give away the digital version of my books on my <a href="https://fedran.com/">website</a>. This is for you to read and enjoy them. If you like them, please consider supporting me. It can be something as simple as sending me a <a href="mailto:contact@moonfire.us">quick email</a> or contact me on <a href="/contact/">social networks</a>. Feedback is sometimes the only payment I get. If you want to do more, consider reviewing my books or becoming a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patron</a>.</p>
Sand and Blood 26, Flight of the Scions 31, and doubt2016-08-23T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2016/08/23/weekly/This week, both series talk about doubt in different forms: violence and death for Rutejìmo and Kanéko has her questions about her father.<p>This week, we have doubt in many forms. It is something that has inflicted my life in many forms but, like my depression, it is something that I've learned part of who I am. That doesn't mean it doesn't show up in my stories because I like to show a reflection of my own world.</p>
<h1>Sand and Ash</h1>
<p>I'm looking for reviews for <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-ash/">Sand and Ash</a>. It has been out a month and I'm not sure if anyone has read it. It would be nice to have a few reviews, this is the first time I've released a book as <a href="https://creativecommons.org/">Creative Commons</a> and didn't charge for digital copies. If you are interested, please consider reading it or <em>Sand and Blood</em>, it would really help me.</p>
<h1>Sand and Blood 26: Preparing for Battle</h1>
<p>Violence is an addictive concept. Once it is used as an answer, it is <em>very</em> difficult stop using it. You need something like the Cold War and MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) to give us the Long Peace (and New Peace) that we are currently enjoying. But in some ways, WW2 was just the continual escalation of violence from hitting each other with rocks.</p>
<p>This is actually a point where Rutejìmo is caught up with the violence. He's been attacked, his friend has been kidnapped, and the only thing in front of them is revenge. What he doesn't know is that this is also the point where he realizes he doesn't like violence, it sickens him. The actual epiphany never happens in any of the novels, he just gradually fell into the role of a pacifist.</p>
<p>Later, he will look back at this point and hate himself for it. By the time <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-ash/">Sand and Ash</a> comes around, he has acknowledged that he is a pacifist but doesn't have a name for it. Actually, he never gets a name for what he is, he just knows that he has no stomach for violence despite everyone around him willing to accept it as a simple fact of life.</p>
<p>Chimípu is actually that that “common sense” of the desert world. She knows that her life is going to be dominated by violence. She will kill hundreds in her life to defend her clan because hundreds are going to attack them. They are going to try to interrupt the treaties by killing the delivery person, or slaughter the messenger of some critical mission. There is no doubt, in her mind, that the answer <em>is</em> violence.</p>
<p>Mikáryo is the same way (she is also a warrior). Both her and Chimípu's language is about attacking and winning. At least I tried to write that aggression from the beginning of both characters. It is a subtle contrast against Rutejìmo's language which is always less aggressive and more accepting.</p>
<p>The other party I really love about this chapter is Chimípu's hesitation. Even though she's accepted being a warrior and probably dying by the sword, she still has a doubt. There is fear that she may not be doing the right thing. There is also the fear of dying, something she hasn't accepted quite yet. That isn't something I see that often in fantasy books, going into the final climax without having confidence. There are some stories, but it seems to be glossed over and I really like the idea of doubt being one of the enemies.</p>
<p>It is hard to remember that these three are still teenagers. She's a few years older than him, but all of them were kept innocent to manifest their powers and then thrown into a violent world without direction or guidance. She has never killed anyone and I don't think it makes sense that she would be eager to do so.</p>
<p>Rutejìmo's brother, on the other hand, was eager for death in his novella, <a href="https://fedran.com/raging-alone/">Raging Alone</a>. I'm hoping to get that out this year but… things aren't looking good for that until I get a few more <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patrons</a>.</p>
<p>Read Sand and Blood 26: Preparing for Battle at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/chapter-26/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/chapter-26/</a>.</p>
<h1>Flight of the Scions 31: New Plans</h1>
<p>I had forgotten I wrote this chapter. I know we are quite a ways into the book, but I thought it was good to remind the readers about what happened with Kanéko and her father. Originally, there was a chapter before this where Ronamar was struggling with his own doubts by visiting his first wife's and son's grave. That chapter was cut for the single POV plan, but Kanéko doesn't understand what her father was going through.</p>
<p>Ronamar was married near the end of <em>For Glory</em>. He was happy with his beautiful wife who was a combat mage. Between <em>For Glory</em> and <em>For Revenge</em>, they had a young boy who had a strong talent for magic, a “proper” successor for Ronamar's power. I never really wrote up the details of the boy's talent, but he was probably going to be an earth archmage with a talent for folding (teleportation, pocket dimensions). <em>For Revenge</em> is when his wife and boy were assassinated by the same powers who are trying to kidnap Kanéko in this book, not that he knows it.</p>
<p>That was also a cut scene, the Big Bad. Actually, the Big Bad was completely written out of the series by the time I changed it to single POV and had to “fire” a number of antagonists. He's still there, he just doesn't have a name or face because it wasn't that important to Kanéko's story.</p>
<p>Because Ronamar lost his son who had all the talent and he now has a daughter with absolutely none, he is treating her like a china doll. Except that he isn't. He doesn't know what to do other than he loves her so much that he would be willing to risk his lands, fortune, and title for her.</p>
<p>Of course, Kanéko doesn't know that. I considered writing <em>For Family</em> as the third book of the series which talks about Ronamar's struggles during this book but I wasn't sure if anyone would be interested in it. I really want to write <em>Cow</em> first before I go into Ronamar's story.</p>
<p>Kanéko just wanted to prove herself to her father. Her father wants to protect her but doesn't know how. Neither are sure what to do, so there is a lot of doubt and stubbornness that is getting in the way. That, on the other hand, does get addresses later in this book. I just hope it does in a satisfying manner.</p>
<p>Read Flight of the Scions 31: New Plans <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/chapter-31/">https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/chapter-31/</a> (subscribers)</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone</h1>
<p><a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/">Sand and Bone</a> is currently with the first editor (I'm going with a development editor and a copy editor). I had this in my Facebook notifications lsat week.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I just finished reading Dylan R. E. Moonfire's upcoming book, Sand and Bone. It was amazing.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I really think <em>Sand and Bone</em> is one of my best stories so far. The hard part is getting it out and encouraging readers to read it to see if they agree. Regardless, I'm really excited about getting the trilogy out.</p>
<p>The current plan looks like beginning of next year for that book. Mainly because I'm getting a small PR set up but also because Novembers and Decembers are usually pretty rough. The exception is if I get more patrons, they help me produce books faster. :) And patrons will be able to read it before it comes out (it is on my site now).</p>
<h1>Patrons</h1>
<p>I give away the digital version of my books on my <a href="https://fedran.com/">website</a>. This is for you to read and enjoy them. If you like them, please consider supporting me. It can be something as simple as sending me a <a href="mailto:contact@moonfire.us">quick email</a> or contact me on <a href="/contact/">social networks</a>. Feedback is sometimes the only payment I get. If you want to do more, consider reviewing my books or becoming a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patron</a>.</p>
Sand and Blood 25, Flight of the Scions 30, and character depth2016-08-16T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2016/08/16/weekly/Both serials are at a turning point as we head into the conclusion for both. Also a bit about other books in the Rutejìmo series.<p>We are getting near the end of both of these novels. It has been a fun journey but there is still a lot more to happen before the conclusions.</p>
<h1>Sand and Ash</h1>
<p>I'm looking for reviews for <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-ash/">Sand and Ash</a>. It has been out a month and I'm not sure if anyone has read it. It would be nice to have a few reviews, this is the first time I've released a book as <a href="https://creativecommons.org/">Creative Commons</a> and didn't charge for digital copies.</p>
<h1>Sand and Blood 25: Lessons Taught</h1>
<p>We are rapidly heading into the climax of <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/">Sand and Blood</a>. There is only thirty chapters in the novel but one is an epilogue.</p>
<p>This is also a rather packed chapter… for <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-ash/">Sand and Ash</a>. I didn't really know it was going to be when I wrote it. I had also never written a sequel before so I was making everything up as I went. Originally it was just supposed to be a proper romance, but this chapter stuck with me and these scenes ended up becoming Rutejìmo's obsession with Mikáryo which would later lead into conflict of the story.</p>
<p>I also love how this is a scene where Chimípu experiences the struggle of being the greatest warrior of the clan but we only see it from his eyes. Another premise was this story was the main character with the guy <em>next</em> to the Chosen One. Chimípu is the Chosen One, I love that she is the most powerful warrior in all three of these novels. She is faster, stronger, and more powerful. Her final scene in the series is… one of my favorites where she really shines.</p>
<p>This is also a beautiful chapter for a young man who spent his entire life being sheltered from everything that would make an adult. This is really the first time he saw a woman as something other than “just another person”. In a way, it is Roger killing the pig during Lord of the Flies, a symbolic moment where he started to grow up and enter adulthood.</p>
<p>It would be ten years before he actually has sex.</p>
<p>I love romance novels but I don't always want romance in my stories. Later, Chimípu will offer to have sex with him, but turns her down simply because of the memories that came from this chapter. They shape him in a way that will be with him until the day before he dies.</p>
<p>Read Sand and Blood 25: Lessons Taught at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/chapter-25/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/chapter-25/</a>.</p>
<h1>Flight of the Scions 30: Detour</h1>
<p>Like in <em>Sand and Blood</em>, we are heading into the conclusion of <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/">Flight of the Scions</a>. All but one of the players have been set on the page and the final race to the climax has started. There is a lot there, but I love this chapter because decisions are made, Maris is adorable, and Kanéko gets a chance to show her leadership skills.</p>
<p>I ended up rewriting almost the entire chapter. While I love this book, it triggers much of my discomfort. I know it is a good story, but it is missing <em>something</em>. I don't know what it is, I can just feel the sensation in the back of my head while I'm reading it. It could be grammar, pacing, or characterization. Something is wrong, I just don't have the skills or tools to identify it.</p>
<p>Read Flight of the Scions 30: Detour <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/chapter-30/">https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/chapter-30/</a> (subscribers)</p>
<h1>Sand and Bone</h1>
<p>This week, I started the process of getting <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/">Sand and Bone</a> published. It will be a slower publication; I'm aiming for the end of the year. So far, the editor has publicly announced that he thought it was fantastic. I can't argue with that, it gives me hope that this series will end properly.</p>
<h1>Patrons</h1>
<p>I give away the digital version of my books on my <a href="https://fedran.com/">website</a>. This is for you to read and enjoy them. If you like them, please consider supporting me. It can be something as simple as sending me a <a href="mailto:contact@moonfire.us">quick email</a> or contact me on <a href="/contact/">social networks</a>. Feedback is sometimes the only payment I get. If you want to do more, consider reviewing my books or becoming a <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patron</a>.</p>
Sand and Blood 21-22, Flight of the Scions 27, powers, and secrets2016-07-27T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2016/07/27/weekly/Both trios find out a bit of their enemies this week along with revealing secrets for everyone. Plus Sand and Ash is out.<p>This is a rather long post about superpowers, being the weakest, and learning secrets. There is a lot here, but there really is no unifying theme between the three chapters posted this week.</p>
<p>There are two chapters from <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/">Sand and Blood</a> to make up for me skipping last week because I was overwhelmed.</p>
<h1>Sand and Blood 21: From the Shadows</h1>
<p>One of the reviews I got for <em>Sand and Blood</em> was scope of the individual's struggles and what powers they gain. While Rutejìmo is going through a journey of self-discovery, the others are gaining phenomenal powers. This and the next chapter are a good example of that. Rutejìmo is struggling with self-doubt with his poor showing at the fight with Mikáryo when he finds out that Tsubàyo can teleport through shadows on a horse, Chimípu can burst into flames when she flights, and even Pidòhu is capable of summoning the shadows of a wind spirit.</p>
<p>As I have stated, this was a story about being the guy <em>next</em> to the Chosen One (Chimípu). It is about learning to accept weaknesses and find out that there is life in not being the greatest, strongest, and fastest.</p>
<p>Some of this is pulled from my own life. While some people think I'm good at things (programming, obscure knowledge), I am very weak in some critical skills in life. The two obvious ones are my inability to know what emotion I'm feeling except through inference and my inability to recognize people.</p>
<p>That last one has caused me a lot of trouble over the years, not to mention a lot of mocking. My ability to identify someone is fragile enough that makeup is enough for me to not recognized someone. When a coworker dyed his hair last week, I spent three hours struggling with this feeling that he was a complete stranger.</p>
<p>This came into the foreground during the author signing on the 16th. My table mate was an older man who still recognized and remembered his teachers and friends from grade school. And a number of them came up and they talked about the good times while I sat quietly remembering how I couldn't even recoganize my own son just because he had a growth spurt. Or the guilt I feel when I'm going on a date with my wife and shes put on makeup; I think I'm having an affair. Intellectually I know that it is the same person, but it still feels wrong.</p>
<p>For years, I had another coworker who had this amazing ability to remember people. He could remember their names, their histories, and their families. It was practically a superpower for me because I was happy when I remembered his name after a week. He chided me “just to remember” but the techniques he's given, the ones I've read, the years of trying haven't produced that much. I <em>am</em> trying, I just don't recognized anyone.</p>
<p><em>This isn't diminish the sheer amount of stress that I went through on my trip to visit the family a few years back. I honestly was terrified I wouldn't recognized my own aunt when she picked me up at the airport. Thankfully, she called and told me she was pulling up… that helped a lot.</em></p>
<p>I've tried to break through this but it is a major struggle. While others are steadily increasing their writing skills and fan bases, I'm trying to recognized my son's teacher. This is kind of what I tried to write with Rutejìmo's struggle with himself while the others are gaining all these powers; it's a humiliating experience and downright depressing.</p>
<p><em>As another side, I remember smells and voices a lot better. I can't understand words a lot (a different problem) but I usually identify actors on the TV by their voices more than anything else. And I have this really strange sense of smell that has helped me a lot, even when folks change their cologne or perfume, it is a really strong mnemonic for me.</em></p>
<p>There is also a darker tone to this chapter: when Chimípu and Rutejìmo talk about growing old. Chimípu points out that there is only one warrior in the clan who ever “retired.” The rest were killed, usually from a fight. This is actually a nod to some events in <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/">Sand and Bone</a>.</p>
<p>Read Sand and Blood 21: From the Shadows at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/chapter-21/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/chapter-21/</a>.</p>
<h1>Sand and Blood 22: Shadows From Sunlight</h1>
<p>I like stories with power discoveries, as long as they aren't repeated constantly (Spider-Man and Superman both come to mind). I always felt that Rutejìmo's powers came really quickly (the day they were abandoned) but earlier post talk about how forced ignorance actually helps with the this process. He was left specifically in an infantile state just so he would manifest the strongest powers possible. Of course, we don't find out that one reason he was weak was because he actually has the powers of two spirits.</p>
<p>Pidòhu, on the other hand, knew exactly what was going on. So it has taken him this long to even get a hint of power from his clan spirit, Tateshyúso. Having the second spirit was an interesting challenge. While Shimusògo grants the ability to run at high speed, throwing fireballs, and kinetic transfer, I needed Tateshyúso to be complementary but still powerful. Most of her powers don't show up in this book but they have wind control and wind form. Their biggest strength is the ability to take on a elemental-like form that travels in the wind and lets them keep up with the Shimusògo runners.</p>
<p>Of everyone in this book, Pidòhu is actually the second most powerful character. He's the “priest/mage” if I was writing about a gaming group. Chimípu is closer to a paladin/holy champion if you went with the idea of being a champion of a specific god/spirit. But for all his power, he still starts weak and growing in power over time.</p>
<p>Read Sand and Blood 22: Shadows From Sunlight at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/chapter-22/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/chapter-22/</a>.</p>
<h1>Flight of the Scions 27: Change of Clothes</h1>
<p>On the other side, in <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/">Flight of the Scions</a>, Kanéko learns about the villain that I fired from this book. When I first wrote the book, there were two major plots woven together, hers and Garèo's. Since I switched to a single point of view novel, Garèo's part has been deferred until his own book, <a href="/tags/kin-killer/">Kin-Killer</a>. It will be a few years before that book every has a chance to be revealed.</p>
<p>But until then, Kanéko is learning that her annoying instructor killed his own family, had a major bounty on his head, and someone wanted him to stab him with an unnamed sword.</p>
<p>This chapter also introduces one of the antagonists for the next book, <a href="/tags/pack-daughter/">Pack Daughter</a>. Again, in the original version of <em>Flight</em>, I actually identify “Las” with a couple scenes with Sinmak. But with Kanéko's limited point of view, the reader actually doesn't know who they are until it is revealed later.</p>
<p>Read Flight of the Scions 27: Change of Clothes <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/chapter-26/">https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/chapter-27/</a> (subscribers)</p>
<h1>Patrons</h1>
<p>More so in the near future than the past, my writing is supported by <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patrons</a> and donations. Releasing the books as <a href="https://creativecommons.org/">Creative Commons</a> means you can read it before you buy it. If you like it, then consider donating money or subscribing to have access to all my drafts and published novels.</p>
<h1>Sand and Ash</h1>
<p>Speaking of releasing books, <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-ash/">Sand and Ash</a> is now out! The entire book has been completed and posted, along with EPUB, MOBI, and PDF versions. It is also on various online stores, in print, and generally spread out to everywhere but a single vendor (Smashwords).</p>
<p>Some of them charge $0.99 for a copy because I couldn't make it free, but there is a free version on the link above. Please read it and tell me what you think. If you like it, then buy a print version, become a patron, or throw me some dollars. If you don't want to spend money, <em>please</em> review it.</p>
<p>This is a terrifying point. As the last few years of <em>Sand and Blood</em> has pointed out, I don't have a lot of readers. There are a few awesome folks who have read it and reviewed it, but I'm lucky to get a book sold a month after a peak of less than twenty books on month. So many other authors talk about making dozens or hundreds of sales a month. I'm happy to have one.</p>
<p>Making it free doesn't mean I skimped on it. I paid for two editors to go through the books and had a dozen people reading it. I've worked on this novel for years and dropped a large hunk of change on it to make it the best possible book I could produce. I just hope that I wrote something moving enough that it will bring someone joy (and tears) in the end.</p>
Sand and Blood 19, Flight of the Scions 25, and recovering from action2016-07-06T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2016/07/06/weekly/This week, both Kanéko and Rutejìmo are dealing with the conquences of their action scenes in the previous chapter.<p>It is interesting when the two chapters line up. In both cases, the protagonists of each series had just gotten through an action scene. It isn't always true, but these are both followed by an introspection chapter where they deal with the consequences of their choices in the previous fight.</p>
<h1>Sand and Blood 19: Humiliated</h1>
<p>In the previous chapter, poor Rutejìmo peed his pants and watched Chimípu save his ass from a warrior of the night. All of his dreams and hopes crushed in a single moment. This is the chapter at that point, when the full weight of his weakness is brought to bear and he realizes that he will never be a good as he hoped.</p>
<p>Plus Pidòhu starts to manifest his powers but from a different spirit. Tateshyúso is another bird spirit like Shimusògo, but in a much different category. Think Pokemon with the different types of creatures. Actually, in this world, spirits are categories not unlike Pokemon that identifies how their powers are used: Shimusògo runs in front of his clan and they gain their powers mimicking him; Tateshyúso is driven by the will of her clan and the shadows show how they are using her power.</p>
<p>I don't go deeply into the relationship between Shimusògo and Tateshyúso in any of the <em>Sand</em> books. It is kind of a spiritual marriage. The two spirits work together for protection and company and their clan does the same. About half of all the clans are part of that type of relationship with the other half (such as Kosòbyo and Wamifūko) being single and no long-term relationships. There is also a smattering of triads and quads, but they are relegated to the fringes of society because there is a strong “either be single or married” belief in the desert.</p>
<p>Read Sand and Blood 19: Humiliated at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/chapter-19/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/chapter-19/</a>.</p>
<h1>Flight of the Scions 25: A Trade</h1>
<p>This is an interesting chapter. It is a bit weak, but it does bring a lot into the story. The most obvious is how telepathy works in my world. Kanéko is considerably more proactive than Rutejìmo and her request to learn it is a reflection of that. Of course, it could be because Damagar is invading her thoughts at the beginning of the chapter… but, who knows.</p>
<p>We also get to know a bit more about Ruben: why Damagar wants him dead, the part of his name that is part of a <em>third</em> language in my world, and also his desire not to talk about what makes him a threat to every telepathic creature in the known world.</p>
<p>I was thinking about italics when it comes to conlang names. I decided to keep the Miwāfu names italic mainly because this book has plots related to languages and I use notational translation frequently. I'm still waffling over the italics for <em>Sand and Blood</em> but I stuck with italics there until at least <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/">Sand and Bone</a>.</p>
<p>Read Flight of the Scions 25: A Trade <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/chapter-25/">https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/chapter-25/</a> (subscribers)</p>
<h1>Patrons</h1>
<p>More so in the near future than the past, my writing is supported by <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patrons</a> and donations. Releasing the books as <a href="https://creativecommons.org/">Creative Commons</a> means you can read it before you buy it. If you like it, then consider donating money or subscribing to have access to all my drafts and published novels.</p>
<p>Patrons can also read the work-in-progress of the final book of the series, <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/">Sand and Bone</a>. Everything up to chapter fourteen is now up.</p>
<h1>Sand and Ash progress</h1>
<p>The print version of <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-ash/">Sand and Ash</a> has been approved and it is now winding its way through the distribution channels. This is a fantastic moment for me, mainly because I have a <em>second book out</em>. The ebooks aren't quite ready, I'm juggling just a few too many things to get it publish but I'm hoping in a week or so it will be ready.</p>
<p>The biggest distraction is the <a href="http://otherworlds.secondrunreviews.com">author signing on July 16th</a>. The signing is going to be fun, there are going to be thirty authors or publishers (including three from <a href="https://broken.typewriter.press/">Broken Typewriter Press</a>) showing off their books.</p>
Sand and Blood 18, Flight of the Scions 24, seeing in the dark, and violence2016-06-29T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2016/06/29/weekly/This week, both chapters have to deal with the same topic: fighting in the dark. This shows my love of the specific troupe but both stories go about it in very different ways.<p>This week, the chapters actually deal with the same topic: fighting in the dark. There is something about blind fighting that appeals to me. I got lucky in my early years by having fairly good night vision. It help compensate for the poor vision that plagued me until my mid-twenties when I got surgery. However, the appeal of seeing in the dark has remained with me and this chapter reflects that.</p>
<h1>Sand and Blood 18: Quiet-Voiced Threat</h1>
<p>In general, I don't like the idea that the night or moon clan is “evil.” I don't like the idea of evil at all, but it is easy for someone in the sun clan to view the moon clan as evil. I break that notion pretty quickly though since Mikáryo, one of my favorite characters, doesn't slaughter the group. Instead, her attitude will set the scene for her and Rutejìmo's relationship until the end of the last book of the series.</p>
<p>Most warriors, both sun and moon clans, can see in the dark. It is needed since their opponents are functional in the one time they are weakest. Likewise, I see the warriors as capable of storing up energy to fight when their respective spirits are below the horizon. This is why Desòchu and Chimípu can use their speed at night through the next book but Rutejìmo can't.</p>
<p>This chapter is also a chance for Chimípu to show off and begin to explore the powers that only warriors have. The little fighter girl is capable of fighting in darkness with only their powers lighting up the combat. Of course, Mikáryo is a seasoned warrior and Chimípu has only had her powers for a few weeks. And there is only one thing a warrior of the night could do when a young woman of the day clan has been defeated.</p>
<p>Read Sand and Blood 18: Quiet-Voiced Threat at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/chapter-18/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/chapter-18/</a>.</p>
<h1>Flight of the Scions 24: Fight or Flight</h1>
<p>As I mentioned before, healers are pretty rare. Outside of the story, they are a crutch. Inside the story, they have far more powers than closing up a wound or setting a bone. This chapter shows some of those additional spells which were inspired by the physical adepts of ShadowRun. Kanéko gets a chance to see what it is like to be boosted.</p>
<p>This chapter also begins to explore the sheer amount of information that Ruben deals with on a daily basis. Now days, I would say it would be a knock-off from the TV series Sherlock, but I'm still sticking with it. He sees the world in quantifiable metrics and I like that aspect for him.</p>
<p>(In a recent Fate game, one of the players had the power of Hyperanalysis which let her see things like measurements and distances in real time. The hard part is that I had to limit that power because it can be too helpful, as long as it isn't overwhelming.)</p>
<p>This is actually one of my favorite chapters: Kanéko gets boosted, Ruben shows off, Maris learns how to use magic, someone gets to fly, my <a href="https://fedran.com/miw%C4%81fu/">conlang</a> has a plot-related event, and Pahim gets the crap beaten out of him again. And that whole conversation about red balls is just a setup for this chapter.</p>
<p>Read Flight of the Scions 24: Fight or Flight <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/chapter-24/">https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/chapter-24/</a> (subscribers)</p>
<h1>Patrons</h1>
<p>More so in the near future than the past, my writing is supported by <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patrons</a> and donations. Releasing the books as <a href="https://creativecommons.org/">Creative Commons</a> means you can read it before you buy it. If you like it, then consider donating money or subscribing to have access to all my drafts and published novels.</p>
<p>Patrons can also read the work-in-progress of the final book of the series, <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/">Sand and Bone</a>. Everything up to chapter fourteen is now up.</p>
<h1>Sand and Ash progress</h1>
<p>I got a round of edits for <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-ash/">Sand and Ash</a> and I have integrated them. I'm asking for one last round of editing but I should have it by the end of the month which means I'll be ordering copies for the <a href="http://otherworlds.secondrunreviews.com">author signing on July 16th</a> in the beginning of next week. The signing is going to be fun, there are going to be thirty authors or publishers (including three from <a href="https://broken.typewriter.press/">Broken Typewriter Press</a>) showing off their books.</p>
Trigger Warnings2016-06-12T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2016/06/12/trigger-warnings/I've been thinking about Jim C. Hines' post about trigger warnings for a few months now. In the process of re-releasing two books, I decided to do something about it.<p>So, I've been thinking about <a href="http://www.jimchines.com/">Jim C. Hines'</a> post about Trigger Warnings (<a href="http://www.jimchines.com/2016/04/trigger-warnings-are-censorship/">http://www.jimchines.com/2016/04/trigger-warnings-are-censorship/</a>) and writing for a few months now. Coupled with some panels and discussions at <a href="https://wiscon.info/">WisCon</a> of the years, I'm thinking about putting something on the legal page of <a href="https://sand-and-blood/">Sand and Blood</a> (since I'm redoing the formatting in preparation for Sand and Blood's release).</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Some themes that appear in this book: bullying, death of named characters, death of anonymous animals, graphical violence, and verbal abuse. There is sexual attraction but no explicit scenes. There is no rape.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>When I review books, I always mention death of children or animals. And rape scenes, if there are any. I think it is reasonable to do the same for my own books, but I wanted to be explict there wasn't any as opposed to requiring someone to make an inference from my style. This is important because I have previously screened books and movies to make sure those scenes aren't there because people I love have those triggers.</p>
<p>The death of named character and graphical violence was kind of modeled after the G, PG, R ratings of movies. I do kill off characters in my books and most of them get a proper samurai drama death scene. Not everyone cares for it though. In addition, I keep saying <em>Sand and Blood</em> isn't Young Adult because characters die, but it is hard to say that when someone is just picking up the book.</p>
<p>The verbal abuse and bullying are important to me. I have had beta readers put down the books because of those two topics, so I thought it was justified.</p>
<p><a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-ash/">Sand and Ash</a> will be harder though:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Some themes that appear in this book: bullying, death of named characters, death of unborn children, depression, graphical violence, personal tragedy, physical abuse, suicide, and verbal abuse. There is sex but no explicit scenes. There is no rape.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>I don't have a word to describe when people forced the main character back into the desert to die. There isn't a good phrase, but the fact the story is about being one of the “unclean” in the world and a large section of the population not caring if the main character dies or not. I figured that gives a better warning.</p>
<p>The “unborn children” is because of the miscarriage scene, which I've written about previously.</p>
<p>For those who are curious, <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/">Sand and Bone's</a> draft:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Some themes that appear in this book: death of named characters, graphical violence, personal tragedy, physical abuse, and torture. There is sex but no explicit scenes. There is no rape.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Not a lot of bullying in this one, he gets through almost all of it in the previous book. But there is violence and suffering in this book, so I think the warnings describe it pretty well.</p>
<p>Interestingly, <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/">Flight of the Scions</a> won't have any reference to death, tragedy, and sex. <em>That</em> one is a proper young adult novel, I have to admit.</p>
<p>The last point is “There is no rape” line. I don't plan on writing a rape scene by any book. I also don't have it as a viable fear in the world because it doesn't happen. Just like some authors use “historically accurate” to justify rape, I'm using “authors prerogative” ignore it. It doesn't matter how dark or overwhelming a situation, rape won't happen.</p>
<p>Will having a trigger warning ruin a twist? Maybe. But I'd rather ruin a story than have someone hit something that disturbs them. And “death of a named character” could mean a <em>lot</em> of things, you'd have to read the book to figure out how that character dies or if more than one character dies.</p>
<p>I don't see these warnings as catering the overly sensitive folks. I see it as being honest about what I write and letting someone make intelligent decisions if they want to go further. It is about establishing trust with readers through honesty.</p>
<p>I think that is the right thing to do.</p>
Sand and Blood 11, Flight of the Scions 17, Sand and Ash status, abusive relationships, telepaths, and economics2016-04-27T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2016/04/27/weekly/<p>As it sometimes happens, there is no commonality between these two serials. Remarkably, this is also where you can see the difference between the two protagonists. Rutejìmo is introspective and somewhat passive, he makes a lot of mistakes and doubts himself. Kanéko, on the other hand, doesn't hesitate long before coming up with a plan, even if it ends up being a mistake. She may not have magic, but she's observant and bright.</p>
<h2>Sand and Blood 11: Standing Alone</h2>
<p>There is a point in most people's lives where they are at home getting ready for bed or making dinner when they realized they had just made a terrible mistake. They didn't think about it at the time, they just responded, but introspection forces them to reliving the experience and point out every flaw in their being.</p>
<p>This is Rutejìmo's chapter for that. He isn't a bad guy, per se. I see him as not trusting himself, terrified of making waves, or even speaking out for himself. The kernel of being a hero is there, just buried a bit. Obviously, there are some rather oppressive folks he's traveling with. Tsubàyo is right near the top of the people who are most likely to abuse Rutejìmo.</p>
<p>But, why would he go with his bully instead of staying behind? Why would someone willingly go into an abusive relationship? Well, there are a lot of reasons. Rutejìmo was guilty for what he did to Pidòhu or, more importantly, what he felt he was responsible for letting Pidòhu get hurt. There was also the unfamiliar situation where Tsubàyo was a known (the devil you know) but the others weren't. It is hard to break out of a relationship even when others say it is terrible for you.</p>
<p>I occasionally hear someone wondering why someone else would go back to abusive husband or a cruel boss. I think it is the same way. There is a known factor, a rut that has been worn down that gives someone a sense of being even though it is a painful route. There is more than “well, I would just leave.” No, not always. Sometimes, it is just as painful to leave as being verbally or physically abused. It takes a lot to pull away, either it be fear of the unknown, protectiveness of a child (how will I pay for them if I don't have…), or any other factors.</p>
<p>It is rarely as simple as “well, I would have left.”</p>
<p>More importantly, it is cruel to tell someone “you should just leave” as if it was that simple. If it is that important, the better question is, “what can I do for you?” or “how can I help?”</p>
<p>Read Sand and Blood 11: Separate Ways at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/chapter-11/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/chapter-11/</a>.</p>
<h2>Flight of the Scions 17: Nobody</h2>
<p>For a four thousand word chapters, there is a lot in here.</p>
<p>I'll start with the easiest: racism. While I made Kanéko brown, it was only a small part of her character. I didn't want a story about the evils of racism, I wanted a story about a young girl who finds herself in the middle of nowhere and finds kinship where she didn't expect it. But, the color of her skin is there and people respond to it because I think that is how people would. Racism is there, it just isn't the point of this novel.</p>
<p>There is also Maris. I love her. She's adorable, sweet, and brutal. Even though she and Kanéko had a fight, here she is kicking the crap out of people and helping without hesitation. She has no grudges but she's also mercurial to say the least. Her innocence, in many ways, is a great foil to Ruben's seriousness and Kanéko's struggles of being different (racism, lack of magic, being the baron's daughter).</p>
<p>Mixed in there is economics. Ten thousand crowns is basically ten thousand dollars, a rather significant sum. However, given the distance this village is from the rest of the cities, I'm treating the average income of the farmers to be closer to subsidence farmers who are happy if they make a thousand a year beyond feeding themselves. A ten thousand reward for Kanéko, for them, is a <em>lot</em> of money. Probably on the order of someone giving someone in Cedar Rapids a hundred grand.</p>
<p>Even though Sarom Senior knows it is wrong, it is hard to turn down doubling everyone's income for an entire year for the price of one frightened young girl. Obviously, Sarom Junior wouldn't have a problem because he thinks she isn't really human, but there were some cut scenes that talk about the repercussions of their decisions.</p>
<p><em>This has a bit of spoilers:</em></p>
<p>The last point is Ruben power and Kanéko's lack of magic. This is important because Ruben is a telepath and he was looking for Kanéko. Even though she doesn't have magic, Kanéko is receptive to telepaths. Her receptivity isn't magic, it's a passive ability that ties into her creativity. In effect, she is open-minded (relatively speaking) to possibilities that it takes little effort to “plant” the idea in her head. She doesn't resist but she isn't capable of doing it herself. I still feel that fits with the basis that she has no magic.</p>
<p>This chapter has her beginning to pick up on Ruben's mental search for her. I thought it was a cool effect that tied into Ruben's father doing it on a far crueler manner at the end of the book. Sadly, that scene was also cut from this book. But, as a teaser, it has something in common with the demons from Disney's <em>Hercules</em> movie.</p>
<p>Ruben's way of speaking ties into that. She hears him clearly despite his soft voice because he projects telepathically as he speaks. Most people can't pick it up, but her receptivity to it means that he is always clear. His vocabulary is also important; as I see Ruben, he has a stale copy of Wikipedia in his head. He tries to use precise words for his situation, though they usually are longer than your average fare.</p>
<p>Read Sand and Blood 17: Nobody at <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/chapter-17/">https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/chapter-17/</a> (subscribers)</p>
<h1>Sand and Ash</h1>
<p>And just a brief status update on <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-ash/">Sand and Ash</a>. I've gotten feedback from three of the four beta readers and integrated them with the current version on the website (version 0.7.0). As soon as I get the fourth, I'll be finishing up two more quick rounds and then sending it to the copy editor.</p>
<p>If all goes well, I'll have at least one copy for <a href="https://wiscon.info/">Wiscon</a>, but I'm not going to hold my breath.</p>
<p>Not much left on those tasks: the edits and finalize the covers.</p>
<h1>Patrons</h1>
<p>For my patrons, I also posted the another two chapters of <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/">Sand and Bone</a> for their viewing pleasure.</p>
<p>My writing is supported by <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patrons</a> and donations. There are multiple ways to help, but if you like what I write please consider subscribing. All the money is going into getting these edited and released as <a href="https://creativecommons.org/">Creative Commons</a> books.</p>
Sand and Blood 10, Flight of the Scions 16, and gaining powers2016-04-20T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2016/04/20/weekly/Magical talents are one of the underlying aspects of Fedran, but how everyone gains their powers is wildly different.<p>Fedran is set at the beginning of the industrial age, when the age of magic is faltering and technology is taking its place. One of the foundations of the world is that (almost) everyone has a magical talent but the power that talent isn't that important. Most of the population doesn't have useful talents, much like the guy in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Spell-Chameleon-Xanth-Book/dp/0345347536?tag=dmoo-20">Xanth</a> who only had the ability to change his own urine different colors. Those without magic are considered to be “less than human” or developmentally challenged.</p>
<p><em>Slight spoiler in the next paragraph if you haven't read <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-ash/">Sand and Ash</a>.</em></p>
<p>Like many aspects in my world, magic is a evolutionary trait. It originally came as something that enhanced survival, which is why the desert folks are typically more powerful than the ones in the more civilized areas. A good example is Pahim, who can grow flowers in his hand, and Rutejìmo who can run thirty-five miles an hour, throw fireballs, always runs on a solid surface, and transfer kinetic energy easily with other members of his clan. In his culture, Rutejìmo is considered the weakest of his clan. Again Pahim, he is far and away more powerful.</p>
<p>The main reason is that survivability in civilized areas is a lot higher. You don't need to create walls of fire, be able to break the sound barrier, or explode people's hearts when the most struggle you have is getting to work on time.</p>
<p>Over time, magical talents weaken. There are powerful ones, Kanéko's father, Ronamar, is very powerful but he is also from a line of mage-knights, but for the most part, the civilized people (which are mostly white because of physical location) actually have weaker talents but sometimes more useful (such as Falkin's ability to see the profit/loss statements over everyone's head).</p>
<p>One way magic is evolutionary is when it manifests. In most cases, this happens during puberty. If someone has a perfectly safe and quiet life, they will manifest some talent usually based on their interests but would be relatively non-powerful. This would be Pahim's ability to grow flowers or <a href="https://fedran.com/second-hand-dresses/">Lily's</a> talent to color fabric.</p>
<p>On the other hand, if during that time, a teenager is under duress, the resulting power will be significantly more combat or survival-related. We will see that later in <em>Flight of the Scions</em>.</p>
<p>Related to this is knowing that stress causes manifestation makes it harder to manifest. It is hard to have that “I'm going to die” when you also know “that my near-death experience will give me awesome powers!” The knowledge that you will probably survive means it isn't as life-threatening as you think which means less stress.</p>
<p>You may have noticed that both Rutejimo's and <a href="https://fedran.com/raging-alone/">Desòchu's</a> manifestations are very rapid (hours from the moment of being abandoned). This is because the clans are <em>very</em> good at creating powerful manifestations by watching when they were emotionally ready to “pop”, putting them in a high stress environment (abandoning in the middle of the desert happens to be the Shimusògo clan's preferred method), and setting them up to have the most powerful talents they are capable of manifesting.</p>
<p>They are also kept in the dark until then, without any adult even giving a head's up with the events that would happen. Even the dullest kid would realize that powers happen during the rite of passage, which is why most desert children are a bit… surprised it happen. Combine that with a sociey that won't talk about dying or sickness, kills off their elders who drink too much or abuse their spouses, and you have a situation where the children are emotionally and intellectually stunted.</p>
<p>Now, if Kanéko had the potential of a magical talent, this or the previous chapters (in her story) would have been the chapter where she manifested her powers. In a different world, she would have either gained some pretty decent combat powers or water-bending (to use a common phrase). But, she didn't.</p>
<h2>Sand and Blood 10: Separation Anxiety</h2>
<p>One of the complaints I've had about Rutejìmo as a protagonist is that he isn't the hero. He isn't the one leading the pack or making grand decisions. Instead, he is in the back struggling with guilt and questioning his decision. Of course, that stress is the final capstone of his manifesting and he finally gets to see the clan spirit, Shimusògo.</p>
<p>Of course, he has no clue what is going on, so he gets mocked by those who have not manifested their powers.</p>
<p>Read Sand and Blood 10: Separation Anxiety at <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/chapter-10/">https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/chapter-10/</a></p>
<h2>Flight of the Scions 16: The River</h2>
<p>Poor Kanéko. After having her crush betray her for a ten thousand crown reward, she is lost in the middle of the woods with nowhere to go and no ability to defend herself except for her wits. And when she wakes up, she is knee deep in mud next to a river without a clue where her hunters are or how to get back to the Boar Hunt Inn.</p>
<p>In the original version (now in <a href="https://fedran.com/kin-killer/">Kin-Killer</a>), Garèo is in full-blown panic trying to find her. There were two chapters of him running back to the inn and realizing that <em>his</em> nemesis (Cobin) was hanging around.</p>
<p>Read Sand and Blood 16: The River at <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/chapter-16/">https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/chapter-16/</a> (subscribers)</p>
<h1>Patrons</h1>
<p>For my patrons, I also posted the another chapter of <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/">Sand and Bone</a> for their viewing pleasure.</p>
<p>My writing is supported by <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patrons</a> and donations. There are multiple ways to help, but if you like what I write please consider subscribing. All the money is going into getting these edited and released as <a href="https://creativecommons.org/">Creative Commons</a> books.</p>
Sand and Blood 9, Flight of the Scions 15 (again), five chapters of Sand and Bone, and injuries2016-04-13T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2016/04/13/weekly/I reworked chapter fifteen of Flight of the Scions, made another chapter of Sand and Blood available, opened up five chapters of Sand and Bone to subscribers, and talked about ending chapters.<p>This is one of those weeks where a lot of people get hurt. In <em>Sand and Blood</em>, we have a compound fracture in the middle of the desert. This was actually the original idea for the novel, to write a story about my Boy Scout manual's survival chapter which I thought about for a long time.</p>
<p>I like gritty stories. I like seeing people struggling with their injuries and not get magically healed for the next battle. I like damage, mainly because it is one more thing that lets them shine. True nature comes out in moments of stress, not wandering around being awesome (which is why I don't like playing Exalted anymore).</p>
<h2>Sand and Blood 9: Blood and Bone</h2>
<p>Rutejìmo is not a hero. I mean, he isn't the type of person who charges into danger and, frankly, he freezes. I wrote this because I see that <em>most</em> people do that when something terrible happens. Strangers stare at car accidents with horror but they don't <em>do anything</em>. They don't rush forward, they don't run away. They stare in shock. There is a term for some of it, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bystander_effect">bystanders apathy</a> and it is a terrible thing that allows for abuse.</p>
<p>It is hard writing a character that doesn't charge into the thick of things. Instead, he stands there, unsure of what to do. And then later regrets not doing anything because I think others do the same.</p>
<p>Chimípu, on the other hand, is the hero and this is where she shows it. She is the one who goes to help Pidòhu without a second thought. Again, this is part of the basis. Rutejìmo isn't the hero, he is the man <em>next</em> to the hero.</p>
<p>Also, while Chimípu's struggles are about self-sacrifice and serving the clan, Rutejìmo is fighting his personal demons more than anything else. And I'm not talking demonic creatures, I'm just talking the terrified core that exists in most of us.</p>
<p><a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/chapter-09/">Read Sand and Blood 9: Blood and Bone</a></p>
<h2>Flight of the Scions 15: Reward Money</h2>
<p>When I first wrote this, I had a much longer scene than before. Instead of Kanéko just running off as soon as she crushed poor Pahim's balls, there were multiple fights as she tried to escape Cobin and his men. However, those specific scenes were lost somewhere in my historical repositories and I couldn't find it. So, I rewrite the chapter to give Pahim's final blow a bit more detail and to add more to the story. After this, I should be back on track for new chapters.</p>
<p><a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/chapter-15/">Read Sand and Blood 15: Reward Money</a> (subscribers)</p>
<h1>Patrons</h1>
<p>For my patrons, I also posted the first five chapters of <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/">Sand and Bone</a> for their viewing pleasure. This is only moderately edited but it gives a preview of the final tale of Rutejìmo's story.</p>
<p>My writing is supported by <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">patrons</a> and donations. There are multiple ways to help, but if you like what I write please consider subscribing. All the money is going into getting these edited and out faster.</p>
Sand and Ash2016-03-30T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2016/03/30/weekly/Well, this is the end. Yeah, it's a week early, but I decided to post the final two chapters at once. It is a sad moment for me, mainly because there is a lot of me in this novel but I'm also glad that I got a chance to do this.<p><a href="/blog/2015/08/09/sand-and-ash/">Thirty-five weeks ago</a>, on my birthday, I started posting <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-ash/">Sand and Ash</a> on my website. There were a lot of reasons I started posting or my decision to release it as a <a href="https://creativecommons.org/">Creative Common</a> licensed serial. Most of those reasons are still true, over half a year later.</p>
<p>There is a reason I'm woolgathering at this point: <em>Sand and Ash</em> is now completely released. Tonight, I have posted the final two chapters of the novel on the website. In doing so, most of the <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">subscriber-only</a> features disappeared and everything is now unlocked including the full EPUB, MOBI, and PDF versions of the novel.</p>
<p>I love this novel, mainly because it was different than anything I had written before. It was dark and gritty, but also filled with hope and drive. The main character broke down more than a few times, had his heart ripped open, but still managed to stand up and walk forward. He fell in love poorly and died for it, but in the end, he found something far more important than winning some fight or making a girl love him.</p>
<h1>My reasons</h1>
<p>In my original post, I wrote a few reasons why I was doing it.</p>
<p><em>Editing</em>: Every chapter that I posted, I also edited one more time. That gives it at least six rounds for every element, though I introduced a few typos as I went along. Overall, I think it ended up being a much stronger story in the places it was weak.</p>
<p><em>Obscurity</em>: As far as I can tell, this still remains a problem. I've had a few votes on <a href="https://www.wattpad.com/155771455-sand-and-ash-chapter-01-running-alone">Wattpad</a>, a number of retweets on <a href="https://twitter.com/dmoonfire">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://facebook.com/dmoonfirefans/">Facebook</a>, and some loves on <a href="https://ello.co/dmoonfire">Ello</a>. That was great that I got those, but I didn't really gain in interaction. No one asked about the characters or the plot, no discussions or “moars!”</p>
<p><em>Patrons</em>: There was one kind soul who decided to help me out with subscriptions and another who gave me a hunk of change (effectively a year's worth). Those two are fantastic. I was hoping for more, but obviously I'm not there yet.</p>
<p><em>Giving Back</em>: This wasn't listed but it is true. I made this Creative Commons because I wanted to give something to the community and I felt this was a good way to go about it.</p>
<h1>What's next for Ash</h1>
<p>The next steps are going to be pretty simple but take time.</p>
<ol>
<li>I want to go through the novel and document every character, created world, and epigraph. I did this with <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-blood/">Sand and Blood</a> and I thought it created a more interesting world that I used to write this one.</li>
<li>Get a beta reading from a friend. He offered to read it for me and I'm going to take him up on the offer.</li>
<li>Get a final copy editing. This will take a bit of time, but I should have enough saved up to have this edited formally and then get it polished. This is what the subscriptions were going to help with and I'm going to use all the money to get the final polish.</li>
<li>Finish the covers. At the end of last year, I decided to go with a more abstract style of cover that fits some ideas I liked. I hadn't finished the series to prove out the ideas, but I like how it has turned out so far. I need to work on the other covers before I can finish it, but it should be done by the time I get it fully edited.</li>
<li>Get it printed and ready for the author signing at <a href="http://iowa-icon.com/icon41/index.html">ICON</a>. It probably won't be done for <a href="http://wiscon.info/">WisCon</a> unless things go a lot faster than I expected.</li>
</ol>
<p><img src="sand-and-ash.png" alt="Sand and Ash cover" /></p>
<h1>Other plans</h1>
<p>I'm getting ready for the next serial. I'm thinking about making <em>Sand and Blood</em>, the first book, public in the same manner. For those who are interested in giving me feedback, were the notes interesting? Worthwhile to keep going? Or should I just have a short note that there was a chapter and leave it at that?</p>
<p>I plan on starting with chapter eight of <em>Blood</em> on the first week of May. I may switch to a different day though, Sunday? What is the best day for anyone?</p>
<p>I'm also going to post the first ten or so chapters of <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/">Sand and Bone</a> for subscribers on the website. So, if you want to read the conclusion of Rutejìmo's story, please consider <a href="https://fedran.com/patrons/">subscribing</a>.</p>
<p>Next week, I'll be back to <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/">Flight of the Scions</a> for subscribers.</p>
<h1>Thoughts</h1>
<p>For those who have read the novel, thank you. You have made my day.</p>
<p>For those who have retweeted and shared my posts, also thank you. Without you, I would be in that empty room.</p>
<p>And for Susan, who gave me the time to write this, I love you.</p>
Sand and Ash 31, Flight of the Scions 13, living, and dying2016-03-02T06:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2016/03/02/weekly/Sand and Ash hits the epiphany that I originally never planed, Rutejìmo's purpose in life. In Flight of the Scions, Kanéko realizes that she may have made a mistake.<p>I don't always plan things very well, but sometimes when I stumble on a plot, it feels right.</p>
<h1>Sand and Ash 31: An Unexpected Role</h1>
<p><a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-ash/chapter-31/">Chapter Thirty-One</a> is an important chapter for me. As I mentioned in the original outline for the novel, Rutejìmo was suppose to be saddled with Mapábyo as they left the city and the two would work out their personal differences in the middle of the sands. It was a few chapters of talking until they ended up having wild, angry sex and making up.</p>
<p>But when I wrote it, something else happened. I decided that Rutejìmo would be kicked out of his clan and then be forced to be a “non-entity” and all the consequences of his actions. Chapters later, I realized that his struggles to survive opened up a path that almost no one else could take.</p>
<p>Of course, I couldn't really figure out what that path was until I finished <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/">Sand and Bone</a>. Fortunately, I was able to bring that revelation back to this chapter to help finish up this book. And it let me name what he had become: <em>kojinōmi</em>, a priest of the dead.</p>
<h1>Flight of the Scions 13: The High Life</h1>
<p><a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/">Chapter Thirteen</a> is the point most of the writing group started to forgive me. They hated Pahim both times I sent the novel through the writing group. (They also hated her name of Kanek, but that's okay, Pah's annoying).</p>
<p>I think the forgiveness came because she is finally beginning to see that she may have had a mistake. I don't know if this is creating a two-dimensional character out of Pahim, but he's really a freeloading little ass. And the initial thrill of having him kissing up to her is fading when she starts to encounter people who actually respect her as a person.</p>
<p>Yeah, this probably ties from my life a little. Attention, any type of attention, is an addictive thing. When someone says all the right things, it is hard to resist. Even if you <em>know</em> it is wrong, it is so hard to pull away.</p>
<p>But, sooner or later, something happens and you realize that you have to leave.</p>
<p>Let's say… I had that point which is why I live in Iowa now.</p>
Sand and Ash 30, Flight of the Scions 12, foreshadowing, and magical healing2016-02-24T06:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2016/02/24/weekly/In Sand and Ash, I realized that I'm already foreshadowing the third book of the series while Rutejìmo finds unexpected allies while he was dead. In Flight of the Scions, Kanéko meets one of the few healers I plan on ever writing for this world.<p>Now that we are past the depressing post of last week, time to make things a little more positive and cheerful. So, we have a discussion on standing up to leaders (might be a little applicable with today's politics) and why my fantasy world doesn't have magical healers (despite the fact I've enjoyed being a Reiki II sort-of-practitioner for over fifteen years).</p>
<h1>Sand and Ash 30: Shifted Opinions</h1>
<p><a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-ash/chapter-30/">Chapter Thirty</a> is an interesting turning point for Rutejìmo in <em>Sand and Ash</em>. Up to this point, most of the Shimusògo clan had been complying with Desòchu's dictate that kicked Rutejìmo out of the clan for a year. As much as I refer to anyone as an “elder” in the clan, the warriors are the guardians of the clan, both physically and socially. They are the true leaders of the clan (though they never take the highest position that Tejíko has simply because almost every single one will die before that happens) and, in general, people rarely tell the leaders they are wrong.</p>
<p>This is the chapter where that changes, when things get so bad that two people were willing to stand up and speak. From my psychology classes and my own experiences, that is a very hard thing to do. It is so easy to just “follow orders” or not say anything, but sometimes you have to.</p>
<p>While I was editing it, there was one little thing I had forgotten I had written:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>A breeze kicked up around him, sending sand cascading over his feet.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>That sentence has nothing to do with setting a scene or establishing a mood. Instead, that little phrase is one of the foundations of the entire third book in the series, <a href="https://fedran.com/sand-and-bone/">Sand and Bone</a>. I think it's kind of cool that I was foreshadowing an entire book this far into the previous one.</p>
<p>Sadly, the other foreshadowing in this chapter has a far more immediate consequences. There are quite a few of them. Editing now, I can see where I added the little details that tell me “something important is about to happen with <em>this</em> item so I'm going to remind you about it.”</p>
<p>That part, on the other hand, reminds me how much I'm going to hate the next few chapters.</p>
<h1>Flight of the Scions 12: Virsian</h1>
<p>I love Virsian in <a href="https://fedran.com/flight-of-the-scions/">chapter twelve</a> even though she is just a secondary character in this novel. She is special though since she is probably the most powerful healing I have in the world, which is to say, she can repair small injuries, scratches, and bruises.</p>
<p>Healers are very rare in <a href="https://fedran.com/">Fedran</a>: there are no magical restorations, no life-threatening injuries being healed with a wave of the hand or even a day-long ritual, and bones stay broken for a long time. There is magic that will accelerate healing, much like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reiki">Reiki</a> can do today, but the relatively power level of healing is actually at the same level as the “I heard Reiki could do” levels.</p>
<p>Magical healing is a crutch. In role-playing games, it is a way of avoiding “and for seven days, you do nothing” that is tedious for most players. The goal in games is to get them back to the fun stuff, which appears to be slaughtering monsters.</p>
<p>In a novel, as in real life, healing has a different purpose: it slows us down. We are stuck sitting on a bed or trying to get across the room and being forced to face our mortality and fragility. Healing is a point where the despair creeps in and the doubt fills in all the gaps. It is also the point where decisions are made, regrets are given, and life comes crashing down after being held up by the straws of blindly charging forward.</p>
<p>If I established a powerful healer, then I feel that I lose that slow down that is critical for character growth. Fighting is easy, you just have to blindly attack the enemy. Life is hard and scary and painful, it is the point where you aren't sure who the enemy is much less how to move forward.</p>
<p>And I want my readers to enjoy those moments as much as the fighting. I know that much of my growth didn't come during the times when I was up at three in the morning trying to finish some project, but in the days of being burned out that followed. Some of the greatest things in my life came while I was healing: I moved to Iowa, I met the woman who would be my wife, and I found that I could stand up on my own without someone's help.</p>
Sand and Ash 18, Flight of the Scions, and Second-Hand Dresses2015-12-02T06:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2015/12/02/sand-and-ash-18/Chapter eighteen is a short one, but there were some interesting things happening outside of the novel worth talking about including starting to release Flight of the Scions as a Patreon-only reward.<p><a href="http://sand-and-ash.fedran.com/chapter-18/">Chapter eighteen</a> of my fantasy novel, <a href="http://sand-and-ash.fedran.com/">Sand and Ash</a>, used to be longer but I decided to split it in half to reflect the time that passes between the two parts. I used to have it as a section break, but if you've been reading up to this point, you'll probably notice there aren't a lot of them. Ever since I unpacked <a href="/tags/flight-of-the-scions/">Flight of the Scions</a> into separate chapters, I've done the same with my other novels.</p>
<p>One of the themes of this story is that Rutejìmo doesn't push himself. He didn't bother racing into the camp to avoid being the last one, he accepted his weakness but never tried to really go beyond it. Yeah, he will never be faster but some of the underlying character flaws from <a href="https://sand-and-blood.fedran.com/">Sand and Blood</a> remain, he doesn't have the drive to be anything other than ordinary.</p>
<p>That doesn't mean the world has the same intent for him, but <em>he</em> doesn't want to be a hero either. It is mostly conscious at this point, an acceptance, but it took a while of being pushed down before that became an integral part of his personality.</p>
<p>When he finally reaches the crossroads of being something “more,” he doesn't realize it. This chapter, though, is one of those points. He makes a choice, a single choice that didn't require much thought or considering, the events in his life had left so there were no choices left, but we've all seen how he came to this “non-decision.”</p>
<h1>In other words</h1>
<p>The <a href="https://www.patreon.com/dmoonfire?ty=h">Patreon</a> hasn't helped yet. I've had a single one-time contribution but no subscribers. That was honestly expected. This is about trust and reputation, something I haven't had time to establish. No one knows that I'm going to be working on this for a few years (maybe decades), no one knows how passionate I'm about it. The only thing that can fix that is time and effort (write more words).</p>
<p>Actually, <a href="https://www.wattpad.com/user/dmoonfire">Wattpad</a> was in the same position. Sadly, that one has a read counter which I could obsess on. It had a tiny blip, about twelve people have looked at the first chapter and almost no one has read a single chapter beyond that. Again, discouraging after four months.</p>
<p>I knew it would take years for me to build up a readership, but that doesn't stop that hope that I would be somehow different and I would be an instant success (that never happen, it takes years to be an overnight success). But, even intellectually knowing that it would take time, the emotional side was a bit discouraged by the lack of comments or even a single subscriber.</p>
<p>I don't give up, but I do slow down during discouragement. One reason I was working on a programming project last month was to give myself time to pull back and figure out what I want to do. Actually, I also needed to work on that programming project since it will tie into my <a href="https://fedran.com/">wiki</a> site.</p>
<p>So, it wasn't a month lost, but a good chance to focus on something else to clear my head and make sure I understand my near-term plans.</p>
<p>Chances are, I probably won't get a book out in 2016 without more sales of <em>Blood</em> or help from Patreon. Financially, my family comes first and things like my books are secondary. When I started publishing, my intent was to reinvest what I made into putting out more books. That way, <em>Sand and Blood</em> would pay for <em>Sand and Ash</em> which would pay for <span class="missing-link" data-path="/blog/tag/sand-and-bone/">Sand and Bone</span> and then so on and so on. It will happen eventually, but if I don't change anything, it's going to be a long time.</p>
<p>So, I was discussing (let's be honest and call it whining) this on Facebook the other day. I think the problem is the serial, more specifically Rutejìmo himself. The writing group spent years telling me that they didn't care for non-heroic characters. I suspect the same is for readers. I might love the characters and the story, but it is enough off the beaten trail that it probably wouldn't be picked up.</p>
<p><em>Plus, let's me be honest, I'm not a first class writer. I might some day, but I'm still working on that.</em></p>
<p>A friend, <a href="http://www.cassieleighauthor.com/">Cassie Leigh</a> (who I'm going to be publishing her novella next year), gave me a pick-me-up speech that got me thinking. Her suggestion was to publish <em>Flight of the Scions</em> which is more like a typical fantasy novel. At least it has a giant telepathic toad, a heroic main character, and an adorable dog girl. Not to mention a living Wikipedia.</p>
<p>What I realize is that I'm very linear. I was going to hold off posting <em>Flight</em> until Rutejìmo's story was done, even if Rutejìmo isn't going to attract most readers. Nothing says I can't do both, plus solve a problem I think I figured out. One reason my Patreon hasn't been able to help me is that there is nothing that is “Patreon-only”. No subscriber rewards, no implicit bribe to ask people to help. No reason besides just trust.</p>
<p><em>Flight</em> could be that carrot. It is a story I've been writing for twenty years in various forms. It is a great story and one I love. It, like much of my writing, <em>almost</em> made it but was dropped in the final rounds. But, it would make a good bribe. Yes, it won't be in its final state, call it a beta, but it might attract someone to help me get it out.</p>
<p>Given that, I'm going to start releasing <em>Flight of the Scions</em> as a Patreon-only reward. It will probably be on Wednesday, the same time I post <em>Sand and Ash</em>.</p>
<p>I'm going to post on my website, with a link to Patreon because my website is prettier and easier to update as I get feedback, changes, and submissions through the writing group. That will probably take a week, but… it's worth a shot.</p>
Sand and Ash 13, Mikáryo2015-10-28T05:00:00Zhttps://d.moonfire.us/blog/2015/10/28/sand-and-ash-13/Chapter thirteen could best be described as 'tough love,' both in what the main character went through but also why.<p>The <a href="http://sand-and-ash.fedran.com/chapter-13/">thirteenth chapter</a> is the last we are going to see of Mikáryo for the rest of the book. That isn't to say she won't show up in conversations (oh, she is and Rutejìmo is going to get in trouble for it), but her on-stage role is at an end.</p>
<p>Mikáryo is probably one of my favorite characters of this trilogy. She abrasive, rude, and demeaning, but she also has one of the largest hearts. What isn't shown in the chapter (because of limited point of view) is that she does love Rutejìmo, but she can't show it. She had to break his crush on her and it was obvious that he wasn't going to do it himself. The phrase “this will hurt me more than you” isn't something she would say, but when she slapped Rutejìmo and cast him off, that was one of the hardest thing she had done in many years.</p>
<p><em>I was thinking the cover for the next book would be this scene.</em></p>
<p>I know where my characters came from and I have a pretty good idea of where they are going. I know how much abandoning Rutejìmo hurt her. She won't know his fate for three years after this chapter. Three years of guilt and regret is hard to face, even knowing that she did the right thing.</p>
<p><em>Which leads to an observation that new readers may not understand until later.</em></p>
<p>Mikáryo knows what Rutejìmo is becoming. She has seen the same thing happen with two others; one succeeded but the other died. Like with the coming of age rituals, telling Rutejìmo what would happen would make it more difficult for him to succeed or will ensure that he failed. This is a relatively common theme with this trilogy: one cannot know their path ahead of time, they must experience it. She also knows how painful his fate is.</p>
<p>Now, the question is if she thinks he can survive it… well, she has grave doubts which leads into those three years of guilt and regret. Mikáryo is a warrior and Rutejìmo is a pacifist. I feel that it would be hard to have faith that pacifism would work when their entire life is dedicated to the violent defense and protection of her kin. Her sister was murdered by Tsubàyo. Her other sister, a non-warrior, died protecting her husband and Mikáryo's secret (which does not come up in any of the novel, so nah). Her father cast her out of her clan for a week in the middle of a battle. Mikáryo's life is violence, which makes it hard to see how any pacifist could survive the trials she went through.</p>
<p>I even sketched out that moment when she finds out Rutejìmo's fate three years after this chapter. It was painful to write, even in note form, but it's also an important one because it shows how much she cares for Rutejìmo. If I ever write her story (working title of <a href="/tags/shadow-rider/">Shadow Rider</a>), it will have that scene. Not entirely sure how much that story idea could work, mainly because it needs to touch on fifteen years of Rutejìmo's life but also her own struggles which means it would be a novel covering thirty-something years. I might split it into two novels, I haven't decided.</p>
<p>Mikáryo had a tattoo for Rutejìmo made after this scene. It ended up being the only non-horse-related tattoo she would ever have. She had it put on her left wrist, right at the joint and about an inch tall. It was of a man running between two horses, a tooth pendant hanging from his neck.</p>
<p>Outside of the characters and plot, I was in the middle of realizing there was a second story in this novel and fleshing it out. I had to really finish the <a href="/tags/sand-and-bone/">third book</a> before I realized how far it went, but I think intuitively, those scenes fit in with how Mikáryo casts aside Rutejìmo.</p>