Onward and Forward.

The query letters have been written. Synopses have been created. Now, submissions have begun. Can our brave, slightly insane characters hack it in the world of agents? Will Axel threaten publishers into compliance? Will Ajax find a way to make this book a marketing success? Hopefully, we'll find out soon.

In the meantime, keep your eyes out for posts on our top secret, shiny new project...

And the test results are in!

Bringing the New Year in with a Beta Draft of Remember the Alamok, a few special folks are getting copies of the manuscript to read. It is terribly exciting when someone who has had no involvement or prior exposure to the project gets to read it! Will they like it or not????

And just as the suspense was about to kill us...

Beta Readers 1 and 2 have reported back. Not only did they make it all the way through the book (without encouragement or pestering, I might add...), they liked it! In fact, I heard those words that and author longs to hear..."When do I get to read the next one?"

So, spirits buoyed by the positive response, RTA is one very big step closer to that ever elusive Final Draft!

And just to show what a nice person I am, in celebration, here is an excerpt...



"Axel took a deep breath and tried unsuccessfully to convince herself that the man in front of her would not look better with her dagger embedded in his eye. The thin stiletto she'd taken off a man from Goren last year, which was strapped to the underside of her left wrist, seemed like a good choice. It would just fit through the socket far enough to scrape the back of the man's skull from the inside. The fingers of her left hand twitched a bit, but she restrained herself in the interest of doing her job. Business before pleasure. Still not convinced that the inside of his head didn't need a good scratching, Axel decided that waiting until after she was done in Veltan would be acceptable."


 

 

Ajax Kakosgrower

Mayhap' I've been a bit tardy introducin' ya to this fine friend a'mine. But here ya go:

Ajax Kakosgrower:

A quiet man with a thirst for knowledge, Ajax Kakosgrower manages to stay amidst the action and adventure of life as a monk, a pirate, and an adventurer without leaving too many clues about himself. Although he resided at the Ternjac monastery for a lengthy time, his role there and any possible connection he may have had with ongoing raids of Northern Alpha's farms and estates, suspected to be instigated by the monks, are unknown. His talents include fluency in several languages--including archaic ones, production of fine crops and fine Alphan vintages--made with unearthly grapes--and an ever increasing knowledge of history, legend, and politics. He has been an embezzler, a scholar, a farmer, a sailor, and an adventurer; handling even unknown situations with a grace many would attribute only to those of a royal bloodline--which has led to much speculation about his sketchy ancestry and lineage.


An' just in case yer longin' fer a bit more knowledge of this spectacular lad, here's an excerpt from his tales:

Ajax ran toward a sheltered grove of overgrown, gnarled trees. He slowed as he entered the thicket, careful to avoid the thorny branches that protruded and tangled. Ajax shivered as he fought his way to the center of the thicket, remembering the gnawed jaw bone he’d found only days earlier. He hated to enter the place after dark, but he could not allow the monks to discover his treasure. He walked for five minutes before he reached his destination. Even on a moonless night, as this night was, he found his way easily.The small clearing in the midst of thorn bushes , brambles, and stones had probably been the place in which the pagan altar had stood. He shivered again before forcing himself to take a deep breath and relax. He felt his way toward the center of the clearing with his bare feet. None, save the most sophisticated magician, could find him here. In fact, no one in his right mind would enter the forbidding thicket. Rumor was, the nasty cluster of thorns and stunted, half-dead trees had grown on a horrible place. Before the Alphans had colonized the north, another ancient people had roamed the cold, forested reaches of the great continent. A people known for their hunger. They had practiced a violent religion in which mutilation and pain were used to purify the worshipers. This particular place had been the site of a yearly cannibalistic ritual.

Axel Nightblade

No more waiting! Character bios are here! And to start, here's a bit about one of the main characters. Meet Axel Nightblade!

Little is known about the rogue formerly known as Axel Chen. It is suspected that in the years since she left her home, she has gone by various colorful monikers, such as: Nightblade, Nagaeye, and The Blade Who Cuts In Darkness. These are only a few examples of the many identities that Axel has used. What we do know is that no matter what she is called or where she's at, trouble is nearby. Axel is not a woman who treads lightly. Quick to anger and even quicker to start cutting, she has a reputation as a mean and violent renegade. A loner by nature, her only known friend is the pirate known as Reg. She gives allegiance to no king or place, but she once had family in Alpha and her roots run deeper than she knows.

Can't wait to read more, right? Well, just to prove I'm nicer than Axel, here's an excerpt starring the Butcher of Martha's Bay herself!

 

"Stop!" commanded Tiber in vain. Their dread of the blood-soaked figure with the wide grin and the manic laugh overpowered any loyalty or lingering fear of their captain. "I'll have your bloody hides for this!" he shouted after them, shaking his fist in rage.

"Me first," said Axel, slowly walking towards the captain. Ajax and Reg were alive and free. She turned to them and said, "There's a pack at the bottom of the ladder. Prep the skiff. I'll be along in a moment."

She scowled as she realized that the black rag over her eyes was covered in blood so that she could no longer see well. She pulled it off and threw it to the ground in disgust. Having burnt off most of the kakos in her system, the sunlight was merely painful, no longer blinding.

Upon seeing the black eyes focus on him, Tiber turned and ran.

Axel laughed as she threw the dagger. "You can run, captain, but you'll only die tired." The dagger imbedded itself in the fleeing man's leg. He fell and rolled over only to see her standing over him, hands on her hips and death in her eyes.

"I warned you, Tiber. For times past, I even gave you a second chance. But nonetheless, you chose to betray me. What do you have to say now, old friend?" she said the last with a sarcastic twist.

She allowed him to stand. He favored the bad leg, but managed to stay upright. He sputtered the usual dribble, uselessly begging for quarter.

"Who are you?" he asked, curiosity and fear mixed in his face

"Don't waste my time with stupid questions, Tiber." She held out her hand.

"It…it's true," he stuttered. "You are…"

"My sword," she commanded, cutting him off.

He slowly took off the belt. But as he handed to her he pulled it out and made a desperate downward swing. She stepped sideways to dodge it. She rolled on around him as he came forward with the force of his strike. A forceful boot to his rear knocked him to his knees and the sword from his hands.

 

 

 

 

E is for Excerpt

In a galaxy far away...

Wait. Rewind. Start over.

Here is a breathtaking excerpt from chapter 18. Have our protagonists stumbled onto a mystery?

“Toward the south,” he muttered, scanning a long line of glyphs, “entrance…” He looked up, gazed toward the horizon. The glyphs were definitely Clinian. Perhaps there had been an outpost of the Clin Empire near the rock formation in the south. Which meant there had to be resources somewhere in the vicinity—or had been, at one time. He turned back toward the glyphs. Read a few more lines.

“Dragons?” he whispered, afraid to speak the word aloud. The scrolls had suggested…he jumped as a breaking wave sprayed him with seawater. The storm would be fully upon them within the hour, there would be no time to read of a forgotten civilization that had died at least a thousand years ago. He scrambled to his feet and sprinted toward the small rock enclave where he’d left Axel and Reg...

We've officially obliterated our original 65,000 word goal.

We've filled over 200 pages with tales of swords, magic, and intrigue.

We've even custom designed Remember the Alamok bookmarks.

So, when in the world are we going to get around to posting new, awesome, exciting stuff on the blog?

Well, funny you should ask. Today actually. We are posting new exciting awesome stuff today.

--C.