The Wrath of Carthage

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) takes place in November, and after failing to write anything of substance all year I'm finally going to sit down and commit myself to putting down another 50,000 words on a novel.  I've done it the last 3 years in a row (successfully), and I'm trying for a four-time win.

This year's novel is tentatively entitled "The Wrath of Carthage," and it is a continuation of my "West of the Warlock" series, and a direct sequel to last year's "Unforsaken," which is finished in a rough-draft cliffhanger fashion.  In fact, the story of "Unforsaken" leaves so many loose ends and unfinished threads lying around that I may end up merging these two books into one volume when it's all over, but for the moment I'm writing this as a second "novel."

So, what's this one going to be about?  Well, I don't want to give away too much, as it also continues some unresolved issues that are revealed in "The Man Who Shot Thomas Edison," the 3rd West of the Warlock novel that has yet to be released (details about its prospective 2014 release will be revealed in the Martinus Publishing Newsletter in November; to sign up, go to www.martinus.us and click the "Newsletter Sign-Up" button on the left side of the page).

Here's a quick blurb for The Wrath of Carthage:

The "West of the Warlock" saga continues into the roaring 20's. An ancient relic is uncovered, the key to unleashing an untold evil upon history. The mystic allies of fallen Carthage lay trapped in the past, and the unwitting meddling of elven mobsters could change the fate of the world. Earth's only chance lies in the hands Joella Talus, Boron Grimes, their ragtag band of allies, and some old foes. Failure means slavery and slaughter, yet to assure success, it could mean the demise of one of their own.  Dare they make the ultimate sacrifice to assure their future's survival, or will love condemn their world to oblivion?

This two-book set (Unforsaken/Wrath of Carthage) is not so much a departure from the "Fantasy Western" format as a continuation.  We get to see some old favorites like Joella Talus and Ron Grimes in old age, and see what the last 46 years have done for our heroes.  It's fun to explore what magic in the twenties would be like, and—as you might expect from a West of the Warlock novel—we'll have appearances from some famed historical figures (including J. Edgar Hoover and Presidential candidate Al Smith).

So, November's going to be a busy month for me.  I plan to have the backlog of Martinus Publishing anthology submissions read and decided upon by the end of October, so my calendar will be clear.  Sometimes I miss the days when I could just focus on my writing, and extraneous distractions didn't stand in the way.  Oh well, at least I'll get something done next month.  See you in the trenches.

NaNoWriMo Win #3

So, here we are, 30 November 2012.  It's the last day of National Novel Writing Month, and once again I have pulled it off by writing over 50,000 words in 30 days.  Bully for me!  Third try, third win.  Cue applause.

Of the three years I have participated in NaNoWriMo, this has been my slowest.  The first year, I finished a day early.  Last year, I blew right through it and was done a week early.  This year, however, my writing pace was beleaguered.  I just had too many things going on, and different roadblocks that kept getting thrown up in my face.  That, and I was writing a novel that I had to keep researching on and off in the middle of the process.  That slowed me down.  Then, there was the whole shutdown of Hall Brothers Entertainment this week that could have put me in a pit of depression and been a good excuse to give up and fall short, but I didn't.  I rallied toward the end and marched across the finish line on this, the final day of the competition.

So, where do I go from here?  To be fair, winning NaNoWriMo is only the beginning, and "Unforsaken" is nowhere near complete.  This book is looking to be more of a 100k novel than the 50k I currently have, so writing will continue this winter.  There are some other things that are going to slow my pace now that I'm not under pressure to reach a specific goal in a short amount of time.  Since this is the 4th book in a series which still hasn't seen the second book released yet, there is no rush to complete it.  If I have it done in a few months, I'll be happy.

Here's to another fruitful year.  Check this blog tomorrow for some exciting news!

Doing it Again: NaNoWriMo 2012!

It's that time of year again: Another November, another National Novel Writing Month challenge!  For those of you who aren't familiar with the concept, it's an exercise where thousands of writers around the world each attempt to put down 50,000 words to a new novel in 30 days (the month of November).  I have participated in this for the last two years and succeeded at each attempt.  This will be my third try, and this year's novel is going to be another sequel.

After great deliberation, I've decided to write "Unforsaken," the 4th book in my "Fantasy Western" series, though rather than a direct sequel, this will be a departure from the first 3 books.  This one will send us forward, into the Roaring Twenties, giving us a new perspective on how this parallel universe shall progress.

Here's a quick synopsis of the proposed work:

45 years have passed since Joella Talus lost the love of her life.  All those long years, she has fought through adversity, challenged her status in the world by leading suffragette movements and living independently.  Yet, now, as an aging elvish lady, she pursues the only thing that truly matters to her; the man that she lost all those years ago.  To save him, she will have to recruit an eclectic array of allies, from the human grandson of the dwarf Boron Grimes, to the half-witted sheriff of the ghost town of Selwood, and the descendants of her would be suitor, the scandalous Solen Lucca.

As Joella moves ever closer to her goal, of rescuing the man of her dreams, dark forces conspire against her.  Devil worshipping witches, haughty Warlock Guild operatives, bootlegging mobsters, even an undead US Senator; they all will stop at nothing to thwart her.  Yet, can the forces of evil truly stand strong enough to overcome the driving force behind Joella's grand design?

This is something I was planning to write earlier.  I came up with the initial idea for this book last winter, shortly after completing the 3rd book in the series.  However, other projects got in the way, and all I ever got done was some plotting, and a "chapter," which is more of a prologue.  This is something I really need to write, as the 3rd book ends as something of a cliffhanger.  It would be unfair for me to write something else at this time, and leave the series unfulfilled.

In 2011, I finished NaNoWriMo a week early, and I hope to do as well this year, but with everything going on in my life there's no telling.  I will strive to do my best again, and refuse to accept defeat, or dehands for that matter!  I know, that pun really doesn't work.  Back to the drawing board...

Keep track of my NaNoWriMo progress here.

New Discoveries Forthcoming

On Friday, I won National Novel Writing Month with a little over 50,000 words written in "The Six-Gun Conjurer."  After 25 days of solid writing, it was time I took a little break.  I still have a few scenes to write, and the big finale to complete, and I'll get to that in a few days, but it's sometimes good to sit back and take a breather.  Creativity takes time.

Anyway, yesterday morning I finally got around to activating my subscription to Ancestry.com.  A few months ago, I purchased a copy of their Family Tree Maker 2011 software, and it came with 3 free months of full access to their site.  There are a lot of things they have in their database that you can't find elsewhere, and it is helping me to uncover more bits of information about my various family lines.

Here are just a few highlights of what I've uncovered so far.

New information has already cropped up concerning my Robinson line.  It turns out that William V. Robinson was a Civil War Veteran.  He signed up as a Private with the New Jersey 6^th Infantry Regiment, and ended up as a Sergeant with the 8^th.  I also found his death record, stating he died on 28 July 1910.

Joseph B. Robinson, as it turns out, was a house painter in Camden, New Jersey, until his untimely death on 18 March 1918.  He died of Tuberculosis.  I'd been unaware of this information, as Joseph ran off on his wife and daughter about 20 years earlier.  Joseph's older sister, Mary J. Robinson, also died of TB on 10 December 1904.



John Julius Kirton



I found WWI army enlistment cards for two of my grandmother's uncles, Hugh Wiley Counts and Milton Counts.  I'm sure there are some interesting stories to be had there, though I haven't had the chance to hear too much from my Counts cousins recently.

In addition to these discoveries, I am finding more data that substantiates my earlier findings.  I've also found a few photographs of interest, including my father's parents' yearbook photos from the University of Michigan, and a picture of my mother's father with the Glee Club from his freshman year at East Orange High School in 1933.

There is much more to uncover, so I'll get back to it.  I expect to resume work on my writing projects in a few days, after I've dug up enough family data to satisfy my curiosity and compose a few more posts.

The Finish Line

I hope all of my fellow Americans had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday, and that my non-American fans had a good day all the same.

Today, I expect to cross the 50,000 word mark with "The Six-Gun Conjurer," which means I will have officially won the National Novel Writing Month challenge.  Though, the story will not end there.  I expect the rough draft will run another 5k, possibly even 10.  After that, I'll spend a little time revising and perfecting the manuscript before moving on to another exciting project.  I have something in mind for my next work, and I'll share more about it in December.

Sneak Peek: The Six-Gun Conjurer

It's day two of National Novel Writing Month, and right now I'm well ahead of schedule, with nearly 4,300 words written in my latest book, the third volume of the Fantasy Western saga!  The Six-Gun Conjurer is coming together nicely, with some all new characters and old favorites.  As things progress, I'll share a snippet or two of the work here, but only a few short passages.  Keep in mind, this is raw text, unedited and fresh off my keyboard.

In this piece from the book's opening sequence, we get to see a new member of the cast meeting a very special guest!

            There was something familiar about the man sitting beside him.  The sandy-haired fellow had a stern, serious look on his face, and didn't seem the kind to crack a smile often.  The relatively youthful look of his body placed him somewhere around thirty, and the smooth hands revealed he wasn't one for manual labor.  That, and the quality suit he wore revealed him to be something of a businessman or educated professional.

           Clarence let his curiosity get the better of him, and he felt the urge to introduce himself.  With a slight adjustment of his body, he managed to present a hand for the other man to shake, which he did with a strong grip, but no words.

            "So, what brings you out to Selwood?" Clarence asked, hoping to get some information out of the silent man.

            "Business, and an old friend," the man said.

            "What a coincidence.  It happens I'm traveling to see an old friend, myself," Clarence said.

            "Really?" the man said.

            "Well, more than a friend, actually.  The man practically raised me after my mother died.  It'll be good to be back."

            "Not your first trip to Selwood, then?" the man asked.

            "No, I've been here a few times," Clarence replied.  "Though, I mostly grew up in Kansas.  We didn't move out to Nevada until seventy-six.  I only spent a year in Selwood before going back east to college, and haven't been back since."

            "College?  You wouldn't happen to be wrangling for a job offer, would you?" the man asked suspiciously.

            "No," Clarence said.  "Why ever would you think that?"

            The mustached man sitting across from him cleared his throat and caught his attention.  "Hey, buddy, don't you know who this guy is?"

            "No, who is he?" Clarence asked, adding a questioning look.

            "That's Thomas Edison."

There you have it, the first sneak peek at "The Six Gun Conjurer."  Get ready for more might and mysticism in the Wild West, coming soon!

If you'd like to keep track of my writing progress, be sure to visit my NaNoWriMo page!