Character Interview: Stig & Hallo

As we move closer to the release of The Deliverers 3: The Golden Dragon of Ang, our character interviews continue. Last week we spoke with Eric and Kate about the new book, so this week it's Stig the owl and Hallo the dwarf's turn. I can't wait to hear their thoughts.

Greg;  Hey guys! It's great to see you again. We're really looking forward to The Deliverers 3. What can you tell us about it?

Stig:  I must say that it's very nice to see you once more, as well. I'm not sure we can tell you very much about the book as the Gatekeeper has sworn us to secrecy. However, I do believe it's one of our most exciting Assignments yet. It's got a little bit of everything.

Hallo:  You're right about that, birdie! There's all kinds of stuff goin' on, don't ya know. Things happen bam, bam, bam! First we get sent t' this place called the Dragon Islands where there are these five governors--each on has an island they govern ya see. When we get there, we find the dispenser o' wisdom, the Dragon's Voice, has died and didn't name no one t' come after. That had 'em all worked up ya see. Then we get there and they thing Eric might be the new Voice. From there it just gets wild.

Greg:  Wow, it does sound exciting. Is there anything else you can tell us?

Stig:  Sadly, no. As I said, we are not allowed to divulge much of anything. Isn't that right, Hallo?

Hallo:  Sure, sure. Hey, did ya know I get a chance t' hang out with a real Denchi Assassin? His name

is Kang and we done a lot of sneakin' around followin' trails and goin' through magic portals an' stealin' ships. Not that stealin' a ship is a good thing, but sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do. 

Stig:  Yes, well be that as it may that is all that can be said.

Hallo:  We should tell him the rhyme.

Stig:  Oh I don't think so. You've said far too much already.

Greg:  Rhyme? What rhyme?

Stig:  It's nothing really, merely a bit of doggerel--a children's verse.

Hallo:  Not important? It's one of the most important things. It's the final thing the last Dragon's Voice said before he kicked the bucket. Here, I'll recite it for ya:

From the mouth thou shalt hear

The wisdom o’ far off lands

The way t’ truth is clear

Head, then heart, then hands

Lastly, tail will point the way

T’ the world’s end

Then gold shall have its say

An’ foretell the doom o’ men.

There, I bet ya didn't think I'd remember it all, did ya birdie?

Stig:  I don't know why we even bother having you do these things, Hallo, you just seem bent on spoiling everything. I swear you're incorrigible.

Hallo:  Why thankee, birdie. You're right incorrigibibble yourself.

Greg:  Well done Hallo! Thanks for sharing some of your Assignment on the Dragon Islands. Eric and Kate mentioned that the sparkling mist from your last Assignment comes into play here.

Hallo:  Inta play? Well I guess ya could say that, although we didn't want ta let it in t' play with us. It kinda forced its way in, don't ya know. That mist is right powerful stuff, but I can't say much 'bout that or birdie will skin me alive. Instead, I'll tell ya 'bout this other person we met on our travels. Her name is Jiao and she's just about the prettiest little lass you could imagine. She was makin' eyes at Eric for a little bit there, too. Made him powerful uncomfortable. For some reason it didn't make Kate none too happy either come t' think of it.

Stig:  Hallo, that's quite enough. I must insist that you speak no more of the Assignment.

Hallo:  Okay, okay. I wasn't gonna say anymore. I ain't no blabbermouth ya know. Ya can't give away too much 'bout an Assignment--spoils the fun. Besides, I didn't say anything 'bout the livin' stone warriors or the golden sorcoress or the stolen children or nothin'.

Stig:  Hallo!!!!

Hallo:  Oh, er, um, yeah. Oops, I s'pose I just mentioned 'em, didn't I? Oh well, what's done can't be undone--ya just gotta smile an' keep movin' on.

Stig:  I think that's what we better do. Thank you so much for having us over. Smashing fun!

Hallo:  Yeah it was fun all right, but I didn't break nothin'--honest! See ya around!

Greg:  Thanks for stopping by guys. Good luck with your future assignments! Thanks for chatting with us!

A Writer's Week #106: After a Slow Week--Contest!

This week was really slow. so slow, in fact that I almost decided not to write a post this week. But, the main point of the Writer's Week posts when I started writing them over two years ago was to share all the ups and downs in a writer's life. It's always fun to share the highs, but not so much when I have to share the lows.

The fact is, I've been feeling really uninspired for the past couple of weeks. There's no progress to report on the final files for The Deliverers 3: The Golden Dragon of Ang. The Vogels have run into a major bout of the flu, which means that I won't be able to submit the book cover and interior for a while yet.

Meanwhile, I was only able to write about 250 words on the Deliverers 4. I ran into a little sticking point in the plot that took a little bit of thought. That slowed me down big time. The weather was also bitterly cold. Come on folks, it's March, we should be done with temperatures in the single digits for goodness sake!

Anyhow, things they are a changin'. I think the coming week will be much better and I'll be able to get back on track. For one thing, Ana has informed me that things have improved greatly over their way and I should have the final files soon. I also hit upon a possible solution to my plot question, so I should be back to writing my usual 2,000+ words per week (don't quote me on that!). Finally, today the temperature hit 50 degrees. Yes, I definitely think things are turning around.

So, what's the best way to pick up a slow week? With a contest of course. Part of my plot solution included the introduction of two horses that will come in handy to help the Deliverers and their new friend Mathias Keller, or Matty, spy on the British. That's great, but they need names. That's where the contest comes in. I need you to help me name the horses. They pull a carriage at the colonial tavern that Matty's parents own.

To submit the names, go over to the Deliverers Series Facebook page, like the page and private message me with the names of the horses. At the end of March, I'll pick the names that I like the best. The winner will receive a signed paperback copy of The Deliverers 3: The Golden Dragon of Ang, and a thank you for naming the horses in The Deliverers 4! Put your thinking caps on, I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

What's Abigail Reading? Who Was Queen Elizabeth

One thing I've learned about Abigail's reading preferences lately is that she likes biographies. In fact, she just finished reading one, Who Was Queen Elizabeth?, by June Eding. Let's see what she's got to say about it.

Queen Elizabeth was a kind ruler of England. Elizabeth was born on September 7, 1533.  Elizabeth had an interesting life .  She also struggled with many things.  Elizabeth had a little bit of schooling but learned a lot.  Elizabeth also had a rough family. 

Elizabeth had a big family who she cared about. Elizabeth had a big family because she had a lot of mothers.  Elizabeth had a dad named King Henry the Eighth, a sister named Mary, and a brother named Edward. Many of her moms were executed or beheaded.  Elizabeth was born to Queen Anne. 

In the meantime, Elizabeth had private schooling. Elizabeth had a private teacher named Roger Ascham.  Roger Ascham also was an important person in her life. Roger taught her to read, write, and more. Elizabeth was a good student. Elizabeth had a governess named Cat who made sure she had everything she needed like pencils, books, and other things.

Later on, Elizabeth struggled with many things in her life.  Elizabeth struggled with smallpox when she was older and recovered. Elizabeth recovered from smallpox because she was wrapped in red carpet next to the fire. Later Elizabeth was unhappy to kill her cousin Mary Stuart. Elizabeth was unhappy to kill Mary because she had been protecting Mary for almost 20 years and Mary was Elizabeth’s cousin.  One other thing she struggled with is she fought against her sister Mary who put Elizabeth in jail.

As you can see Elizabeth had a big important family which who she loved.  She was also kind and caring to others. She had private schooling and an important teacher, Roger Ascham. She struggled with many things she didn’t like or bad diseases.  

How did Abigail rate Who Was Queen Elizabeth?, by June Eding?

She gave it four out of five dolphins.

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.

A Writer's Week #105: Lights, Camera, Action

This was a very productive Writer's Week. The thing is, I did absolutely no writing. Now how could that be? Well, while I did next to no work on The Deliverers 4, I got a lot done in preparation for the launch of The Deliverers 3: The Golden Dragon of Ang. 

Last week I received the interior layout of the book. This week was spent reviewing it and making changes. It's always amazing to me that with all the eyes that look at a manuscript there are always a number of errors that slide through unnoticed. It was the same way at the magazine I used to work for. We had everyone in the office rereading the magazine before going off to the printer and there were still one or two typos that would appear when we received the finished product.

It's one reason why I never read any of my books after they're in print. I know I'll find a couple of typos and it will drive me nuts. I also tend to second guess myself. I'm not the same writer now that I was when I wrote Sharky and the Jewel. I like to think I've improved. If I were to go back and read that book, I know there would be spots where I would think that I could have worded things better, or where I repeated the same word three or four times over a couple of paragraphs, or spots where i could have inserted a little more action and less back story--you get the idea.

Anyway, I should be receiving the "final" interior layout shortly. I'll review it to make sure the changes look okay, then I can upload it to Createspace. Once the interior is set, layout artist Ana Vogel will be able to set the spine width on the cover and I'll be able to upload that. Then I can order a few proof copies and we should be in business.

My other major project for the week was the writing and production of the book trailer for The Golden Dragon of Ang. I had already done a storyboard and a script, but it was long--almost two minutes. That's still an acceptable length for a book trailer, but only just. The thing was, instead of titles, I wanted the video to be narrated. Because of this, I tried to force too much information into the video. I completed a cut with a lot of pictures and some lengthy narration. It was okay, but I wasn't really happy with it.



I did some cutting and edited down the narration. The final version is a minute and twenty one seconds, which coincidentally is the same length as the Deliverers 2 trailer. It moves along nicely now. I like having narration rather than titles that the viewer has to read--it makes it more like a movie trailer.

 My goals for the coming week are to format the Kindle version of the book. I have all the elements I need to do that, I just have to add the changes that I specified in the pdf layout to the Word document that I'll be converting. I have Daniel Vogel's final artwork and maps. I'm toying with the idea of releasing the Kindle version ahead of the paperback, but I haven't made up my mind. I should also be able to resume writing book 4 at some point next week. I'll let you know how that goes. Here's the video. Peace.