A Writer's Week #114: Summer Perspective

Hi again everyone. I hope you've all be having a great summer--I know I have. In June, I decided to take a break from blogging and writing. I'd been going at it nonstop for almost three years and I needed to stop and take stock. Now that summer's coming to a close and my kids are getting ready to go back to school (did I just hear a loud groan form the living room?), I think it's time to get back on the horse and continue my writer's journey.

Before my little vacation, I'd been about 56 pages and 13,000 words into book four in the Deliverers Series, Sparkling Mist of Time. At the time I had some questions about the direction of the book, how short I was worried it was going to be, and whether or not I was going to have to combine my vision for books four and five into one larger series-ending book. Frankly, I was too wrapped up in things to look at those issues objectively, hence my main reason to step back and get a little perspective.

Last week, after not thinking much about writing at all for a couple of months, I printed out the 56 pages of book four and sat down to read it. I have to admit I did so with more than a little trepidation. I thought for sure I'd find the thing was full of holes. Turns out, it held up pretty well. Some of the issues I was worried about didn't seem to be issues at all with the distance of a couple of months.

I edited it pretty heavily, but the overall plot structure this far is sound. In fact, I came up with  a solution to a

situation that had been bugging the heck out of me without having to really think much about it. It resolved itself as I read. I've figured out who's behind all the sparkling mist that's been seeping into troubled worlds. The upshot is that I think I have a firm direction and I'm reenergized to bring the rest of the book to life.

So, I am setting myself a goal of 2,000 words a week. This is the same modest goal that I've had in the past and one that works well for me. Hopefully, I'll be able to write much more each week, but if time becomes an issue, no worries. As usual, I'll keep you up to date on my progress. Have a great week!

Character Interview: The Gatekeeper

Since the release of The Golden Dragon of Ang is only about 14 days away, I thought it would be good to talk with someone who could give us a big picture overview of the Deliverers Series. He's very busy, which is why I haven't been able to tie him down long enough to speak with us. This morning, though, there was a knock on my door and there he was. He said he was finally ready to talk. Who was I to argue? So, here we go.

Greg:  Thanks for taking some time to sit and chat with us.

Gatekeeper:  Well, thank you my boy, it's wonderful to be here, but I really can't sit--too much to do.

Greg:   Yep, I got that. First off, we've received a little bit of information about the current Assignment from Eric, Kate, Hall and Stig. It sounds pretty mysterious. Can you clear things up a little bit, give us the inside scoop?

Gatekeeper:  Hmmm, it is all rather mysterious, I have to admit. You see, this whole situation hit me out of the blue.

Greg:  Out of the blue? I can't buy that, you always know what's going on. But I think we're getting a little bit ahead of ourselves. What is going on?

Gatekeeper:  It's a little complicated. I explained the little I knew at the time to Eric before the Assignment began. I told him about the nature of the sparkling mist and that he should be on the lookout for it.

Greg:  He told us that, but what I want to know is, what's it all about?

Gatekeeper:  To be honest, I'm really not sure. Something bad is happening that could affect the entire universe. Someone or something is using the sparkling mist to disrupt things on other worlds.

Greg:  What do you mean by disrupt?

Gatekeeper:  Undermine the stability of worlds. If one world goes, it could set forces in motion that will topple every other world like dominos. I haven't shared this fear with anyone yet, so please keep it under your hat. This is quite a serious problem.

Greg:  So how are you going to tackle it?

Gatekeeper:  The Deliverers are one of the teams I'm using to combat the situation. In the short time

they've been together, they've had quite a bit of success. They each bring their individual talents to the team and they all work very well together. I'm glad I decided to team them up.

Greg:  I have to say it was an excellent choice. What does the future hold for them.

GateKeeper:  Well, I really don't know, but it appears things are coming to a head. If they are able to contain the situation in the Dragon Islands, then perhaps we can begin to attack the root of the problem if we can just pin it down.   

Greg:  I hope that you all meet with success. After all, if the universe is in trouble it's bad news for us as well.

Gatekeeper:  Well now, I suppose you're right. Ah well, don't worry. I'm sure Eric and the others will win out in the end. All they'll need is courage, perseverance, teamwork and a bit of luck. Now, I really must dash, there is so much that has to be done. It was really great talking with you. We really must do this again soon.

Greg:  That would be great. Good luck with everything!

Character Interviews: Eric Scott & Kate Endria

Happy Monday everybody! With the release of The Deliverers 3: The Golden Dragon of Ang right around the corner, I thought this would be a good time to check in with some of the characters to get their thoughts on their latest assignment. Eric Scott and Kate Endria enthusiastically volunteered to lead things off, so let's check in with them.

Greg:  Hey guys. I'm sure everyone's anxious to learn a little about The Golden Dragon of Ang. What can you tell us?

Eric:  Uh, well, there was a lot going on. I mean all of our Assignments are pretty wild, but we did a whole lot of traveling in this one.

Kate:  That's true. we wound up traveling all over the Dragon Islands.

Greg:  The Dragon Islands? Sounds cool. Why were you traveling so much?

Kate:  We were searching for the Dragon's Voice. He is the mouthpiece of the Golden Dragon of Ang. The Dragon advises the governors of the Islands by speaking through the Dragon's Voice.

Eric:  Yeah, but the last Dragon's Voice died without naming a successor, so that really threw things out of whack. The Dragon Islands were in turmoil wondering if the Dragon was angry with them or had abandoned them.

Greg:  So you thought it was up to you to find the next Dragon's Voice?

Kate:  Well, that's what we thought, but things did not go according to plan.

Eric:  We got a little sidetracked. Funny how that can happen, huh? We got tangled up with these dudes called the Denchi Assassins who thought maybe either Kate or I was the new Dragon's Voice.

Greg:  Were you?

Eric:  Well, we really can't say--we wouldn't want to give anything away. All we can say is things did not turn out like we thought.

Kate:  Oh Eric, of course they didn't. They never do, do they?

Eric:  No lie. Still, I almost feel like just once they should. It might make things a little less stressful.

Kate:  Maybe, but they wouldn't be half as much fun!

Eric:  Kate, if you think being chased by ninjas in black robes and living stone warriors with swords is fun, then you're crazy. Man, girls are sure strange sometimes.

Kate:  Really? What about your girlfriend?

Greg:  Huh? What's this about a girlfriend?

Eric:  She's not my girlfriend, she's just a girl we met, that's all.

Kate:  Her name is Jiao and she seemed very interested in Eric. She mooned over him constantly and kept grabbing his hand and pulling him all over the place. Then there was that romantic boat ride alone in the moonlight.

Eric:  What?! What romantic boat ride alone? Everyone was there. Nothing happened! 

Kate:  We may have been there, but they didn't seem to notice. Besides that's not all. They danced together by the fire.

Greg:  Is that true, Eric?

Eric:  Uh, well, um, yeah--but it's not like it sounds. We were all dancing in front of a bonfire. It was, like, a tribal ritual. Like I said, we were in trouble and she helped us out. We're just friends.

Greg:  Okay Eric. It sounds like this Assignment presented a whole new set of challenges. Besides being chased by Denchi Assassins, what else happened?

Eric:  We learned more about the true nature of the sparkling mist.

Greg:  Sparkling mist?

Kate:  The substance that Selango used to build the virtual tunnel in our last Assignment. He had said that it was a powerful weapon, but we didn't really believe him. Turns out, he wasn't lying.

Eric:  Yeah, it was just about the only time he wasn't. Who knew? Anyway, on this Assignment we find out just how powerful it really is. It's really messed up.

Greg:  Wow, sounds serious. I'm looking forward to finding out more about that. So, do you think this was your last Assignment, or are there more in store?

Kate:  The Gatekeeper made it clear that there is at least one more in our future. From what he told us we'll be learning more about the sparkling mist and how it will affect the course of the universe.

Eric:  Right, things are coming to a head. We're starting to get to the bottom of things. That's going to continue in future Assignments.

Greg:  Well, we're looking forward to seeing it all unfold. Thanks for stopping by to tell us a little bit about it.

Character Interviews: Eric & Stig

In celebration of the release of The Deliverers 2: Order of the Crystal Lion, I thought it would be nice to check in with Eric and Stig to get their thoughts on their latest Assignment.

Greg:  Hey guys. I've been paging through the latest book, and it looks to me like you've had quite an exciting time of things on this Assignment.

Eric:  Yeah, it was really tough. In a lot of ways, I think it was even more difficult than our first Assignment together.

Stig:  I quite agree. Each adventure is challenging in its own way, but I think this one was particularly challenging for myself, personally.

Greg:  Wow, that's saying something, considering you have been on a bunch of missions. Stig.

Stig:  Yes, this was only Eric's second, but it was my 13th. It proved to be very unlucky for me at times. I shudder to think of what might have happened.

Eric:  I don't like to think of it either. This one was an eye-opener for me. I learned that anything

can happen. i always thought, you know, that these Assignments could be dangerous, but that we were sort of, like, protected. But after this one, I realized that the danger is real.

Stig:  It was especially harrowing for me. Although I have always been well aware of the dangers, I'll admit that I may have become a trifle nonchalant about the whole thing over the years. I suppose that what happened to me was inevitable.

Greg:  Why? What happened to you?

Stig:  Hmmm? Oh, well I would not want to spoil anything for your readers--or yourself. You'll just have to read the book.

Eric:  Yeah, I still can't talk about it. Even thinking about it gives me the shivers.

Greg:  Oh fine, have it your way. I'll read the book and then we'll talk. Would it be too much to ask what, aside from this big mystery, was the most scary moment for you?

Eric:  For me it was definitely when Trelango took us all prisoner and wanted to zap me with that machine that added animal genes to your DNA. I'm afraid I can't tell you what happened, though.

Greg:  Of course you can't. How about you, Stig?

Stig:  Oh, well I suppose it was the time when I was flying through the virtual tunnel. It was starting to collapse and the sparkling mist--

Greg:  Sparkling mist?

Eric:  It's this, well, sparkling mist. Selango, the rebel leader--who's Trelango's brother in case you didn't know--built a virtual tunnel underneath Vynistra City. It wasn't real. It was made from this sparkling mist. The mist is really powerful--we don't really know exactly everything it can do.

Stig:  Yes, frightfully dangerous stuff, I'd guess. Selango ought never to have messed about with it. Still, I think that we were able to wrap things up sufficiently so that we shan't hear anything more about it.

Greg:  Let's hope so. If it's as powerful as you say, things could take a turn for the worse if it were to crop up again.

Eric:  You're right. I don't think the universe could stand too much of that stuff floating around.

Stig:  Perish the thought!

Greg:  Well, on that note, I think it's time to say goodnight. Thanks so much for sharing what little you could about your latest adventure. Despite all the mystery, it sounds like an exciting time.