Harbinger's Cover Reveal

I know this has all been rather sudden. I announce a project and then two weeks later I'm revealing the cover. But what can I say? Everything has been sudden when it comes to this project. I hadn't even been planning to publish it in 2022 originally, but then I found the perfect cover for this story and somehow all my plans fell apart and new ones collapsed into place and...yup. I'm so excited because I've been putting this story off for about six months now and it finally has been announced, has a general publishing date, and it's actually getting the attention it deserves.

The cover that got the ball rolling was actually a premade cover, I haven't bought a premade cover in five years, not since A Time of Trepidation, Pirates, and Lost Princesses. I had thought that my covers were going to be custom made for all time, but as I said, this cover was just absolutely perfect for it. I couldn't have designed it better myself if I had tried.

It's also nothing like my other covers. You're just going to have to scroll to see, but you may want to switch up your expectations, because this one is just so different and I'm so excited to spice things up.

But enough of my ramblings.

It's time to start scrolling...

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Halfway there...

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I know I'm making you scroll a ton, but I promise it's totally worth the suspense
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Add to Goodreads.

I told you it was different and absolutely gorgeous. And now you can see that I totally wasn't lying. The cover is designed by Fantastical-ink.com.

I don't actually have an official blurb for Harbinger yet (that's almost as hard to write as the book), but here are a couple of sentences stating what the book is about.

In this Nordic epic, gods and Vikings collide as I retell the Volsunga Saga and various myths through the eyes of Loki, the god of mischief, and his bride Sigyn, the woman who will become the goddess of fidelity. There are Valkyries, dwarfs, dragons, deadly rings, love potions, an immortal skald, backstabbing, trickery, shapeshifting, and tragedy.

Coming Summer of 2022

There Will Be Chaos

2021 Wrap-Up

 

And here we are, at the end of another year and I'm feeling retrospective again. So, let's take a look back over the past year and see all that was accomplished.

First let's take a look at what I wanted to get done, then we can compare that to what I actually did.

Here is the post where I stated my 2021 goals.

I did not have many. After the year that was 2020, I was absolutely terrified to get my hopes up for anything. However, this year, I realized that things weren't getting any better (actually, I'm pretty sure that it was worse, but I don't like dwelling on bad things so we won't get into all THAT) and I decided to stop allowing my circumstances to control how I lived my life. Who cares if it was a horrible terrible no good very bad year? I'm still going to do what I enjoy doing and try to work toward my dreams regardless.

Hobbies:

I did NOT read much, currently I'm working to finish my third book of the year, lol.

I played a lot of video games, got Skyrim on my Switch which was a huge mistake. I have no regrets though. I also started playing Dragon Age which *ahem* is a cold, ruthless game and its developers should really feel bad about what they did to me. Still, needless to say that I am thoroughly addicted and will love One (1) Allistair Therin till my dying days.

(image via Pinterest)

And I will defend One (1) Anders till my last breath I literally don't care what he did

(image via Pinterest)

The songs that have been on repeat:

Arcade (Ft. Fletcher)

Hello

Lost My Mind

Kingdom Fall

Where Do We Go

Enchanted

And all three of the Dragon Age credit songs (even though I never actually finished Origins because of Reasons or ever played Inquisition): This is War, I'm Not Calling You a Liar, and Into the Darkness

I drew a lot, most of what I did were sketches, I didn't really do a lot of big projects, but I did draw every day for almost two months at the beginning of the year until bad health and a new job got me thrown off course. Still, it was really fun and I think I grew a lot in my art in that time, maybe I'll try that again at the beginning of 2022. I think I'm really starting to see my style come out which is something I have struggled with since I started drawing. I also got into drawing short comics and discovered that was SUPER fun.

Two pieces I did earlier in the year

Two of my latest pieces

Obviously, there is still a ton more room for improvement, but I'm so proud of how far I have come.

Life:

I have figured out the secret to stressing less. It's called shell-shock. Okay, okay, I'm kidding, but only slightly. So many bad things happened this year, it was like everything that happened in 2020 only xs2, and BOY WAS I NOT PREPARED. But you know what I realized? You're never going to be prepared for that kind of stuff.

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." (Matthew 6:34, ESV)

It took a whole heck of a lot of pain for me to come to that realization when it is literally written out plain as day in the Bible, but what can I say? I'm a stubborn person. But you know what I realized? Everything I have faced, I had the strength to make it through. Every. Single. Time. No matter how terrible it was, I made it through. Now, I'm not saying I made it through on my own. What I have realized is that the reason that you stress over whether you can do something or not is because it isn't time for that yet, you're stressing over a future event and God isn't going to give you the grace to get through that trial until you actually need it.

Everything that I have been through this past year has also made me grow quite confident in what I am capable of and due to that fact the anxiety that has been my constant companion since I became an adult has become surprisingly absent.

My word of 2021 was REGROW and I think I did that beautifully, I mean yeah, I got pruned a whole heck of a lot of times, but I feel stronger and healthier for it.

Writing:

This is honestly one of the things I am most proud of about this year. I mean, I'm proud of all my accomplishments, but considering I had very little in the way of writing plans I far exceeded what I expected.

I wrote so much.

I wrote the first draft of three novels and one novella, edited three novels and a novella and have edited the first halves of two other projects. Here are my specific word counts broken down—and this isn't even counting each draft separately...

26,006 words in Between Gods and Demigods

158,168 words in A Winter Dark and Deadly

93,154 words in Of Stars and Shadows

115,097 words in A Tale of Gods and Glory

In Rage Like the Gods I have written around 200,000 words (this one I'm a little dodgy with the numbers on, but I said I had reached 100,000 in it at the end of last year and it ended up being around 300k words long so we'll go with 200k for this year)

7,800 words in Harbinger of the End

8,700 words in some unannounced side projects

Which adds up to over 600,000 words, beating my record from 2018 of 500,000 words written in a year.

I've also edited almost 50,000 words in A Matter of Curiosity and 75,000 in A Season of Subterfuge, Courtiers, and War Councils

I published three books.

Which is the most books I have ever published in one year. For the most part I was lucky to publish/republish a book a year, with the exception of 2018 in which I managed to do two. So, three books in one year is a pretty big deal for me. And now I'm drunk on my success and hoping to publish five books next year, but shhh...that's spoiling next week's post.

of the three books I published there were:

Between Gods and Demigods, which is only a novella (you can get it for free by subscribing to my newsletter, just follow the tab above), but the cool thing about that is that I started it literally that January and published it in May. That was only four and a half months to go from the first draft to final with edits, revisions, and illustrations all needing to be done.

A Winter Dark and Deadly, honestly this one was huge because I was beginning to think that this book was NEVER going to get done. But it did and here we are and I'm so, so happy with how that story turned out.

Of Stars and Shadows, which I also wrote almost entirely this year, I had about 20k in it starting in June and I went from first draft to publishing it in only six months which I think shows that I'm getting faster at both writing and editing, but more importantly I'm getting better at writing first drafts which makes them easier to edit.

As well as publishing three works, I also been working on releasing my books in different formats. All of my works are now available in hardback. And two of my books are now audiobooks as well.

Also... I'm starting out 2022 with an absolute bang, with a cover reveal for Harbinger of the End. It isn't too late to sign up to be a part of the cover reveal.

Just Follow This Link.

I hope you had an extraordinarily Merry Christmas, and I wish you all a very Happy New Year! See you all in 2022.

Introducing my new WIP: Harbinger of the End

 

(Images Via Pinterest, I take no credit for them)

No, your eyes are not deceiving you. I am indeed writing a book about Loki. This is the secret project I have been hinting about since June, however because it was only a side project, I have refrained (with great difficulty because I have been just busting at the seams to tell you all about this one) from saying anything more about this story until I had gotten a little farther into it. Unfortunately, life and other WIPs got in the way and for several months I didn't even touch it, but it's always been there, chilling in the back of my mind waiting for its moment in the sun.

And that time has finally come. Harbinger has become a main WIP. I've actually decided that it's going to be one of my 2022 releases. It even has a cover. Although I'm not revealing that until January 1st.

Now please note THIS PROJECT HAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH MARVEL. The fact that I imagine Loki as looking like Tom Hiddleston is entirely coincidental.

This is a Viking book based off of the events of the Volsung Saga which is going to be heartbreaking to say the least (if you know, you know) and Norse Myths. It's a story about the dark foreboding of Ragnarok and the relationship between Loki and his true brother (at least according to the myths) Odin (no Loki and Odin are not in any way genetically related, but they did swear an oath of brotherhood and are both descended from frost giants so there's that). It's the story of a Valkyrie named Sigyn and how she came to be the goddess of fidelity. But most of all it is about one extremely chaotic mischievous antihero.

And so, as most tragedies go, this went terribly wrong.

I’m not saying that this is a tragedy, I’m a god, I’m impervious to tragedy. I’m just saying that normally tragedies go wrong, and so does my tale. It is a comparison meant to aid your mortal minds to understanding, but I find nothing about this tale particularly tragic. Amusing? Absolutely. Mildly embarrassing? Mostly just for Odin. Important in your understanding of the tale I am weaving? Well, I wouldn’t waste my breath otherwise.

It's going to be a sweeping tale, similar to the Norse myths in make-up with dwarves, a dragon, mortal heroes, Valkyries, an immortal skald, and of course... trickery. It's a saga filled with romance but also tragedy no matter what Loki says.

Where did I get this idea? I started thinking about how interesting it would be to write from the POV of a main character who didn't actually care if the world burned, that the only thing he cared about were the few people he loved, and the damage he would cause to everyone else for the sake of his loved ones.

I have a bit of a penchant for destruction. It isn’t a problem. Sometimes things deserve to be destroyed. Especially if they are more beautiful than the rest.

That idea coupled with the fact that I am obsessed with the relationship between Loki and Sigyn birthed Harbinger. I mean, just think of it! The god of mischief and the goddess of fidelity. The one who would bring about the twilight of the gods and the woman who stood by his side and tried her best to ease his discomfort until that time came. Like how did that even come about? I sort of see Loki and Sigyn as the Norse equivalent of Hades and Persephone only with less kidnapping. Now I'm not bashing Hades and Persephone! I love a good Hades and Persephone retelling, but it can be a somewhat problematic tale when not handled correctly, not to mention that there are about a gazillion retellings about Hades and Persephone, but I don't actually know of a single book about Loki and Sigyn (if you do, please drop me some recs).

Harbinger is going to be a standalone. It is the first book I have ever written where the story is actually being narrated. It has two POVs, the unreliable narrator Loki and Sigyn who tries to clear things up.

One of the most annoying things about being eternally labeled as a trickster is that there are so many misconceptions about you. And most of them are your own doing.

I'm extremely excited about this story that is trying to claim the title as darkest book I've ever written, and now secret is out.

I'm hoping to release it Summer of 2022 actually. I've decided to start the New Year with a bang and so the cover reveal is going to be on January 1st. If you are interested in helping me out as well as being one of the first to see the cover just go ahead and fill out this form.

But that's not all...

I have another announcement I'm so excited to make. Not just one, but TWO of my books are now available in audiobook.

I've been working with a lot of talented narrators to have my books all turned into audiobook and these two are now available, with many more coming soon!

Know the Novel Part 3: Words Written

(Rage Like the Gods character art done by Paige Coffer)

It is now December, NaNoWriMo is in the rearview mirror and authors everywhere are sighing in relief and struggling to pick up the little pieces of what is left of their sanity after it shattered... or maybe that's just me.

Either way, NaNoWriMo is over. But even though one of my favorite writing events has now ended, it shall live forever in my heart. Or at least it will live on in my heart until I am distracted by something else.

So let's relive a little bit of it, shall we? As I answer questions that are a part of Christine Smith's Know the Novel Linkup.

1. How did writing this novel go all around?

Really, really well. It took me a year and five months to write Rage Like the Gods in all its monstrously huge beauty. It's 300,000 words long and I enjoyed writing every word. Okay, maybe not every word. There were a few points especially as I was trying to wrap it all up where I was left scratching my head and wondering how I was going to manage this, but as a whole I really enjoyed writing this novel and despite its size I never really grew tired or bored of it.

2. Did it turn out like you expected or completely different? And how do you feel about the outcome?

(image via Pinterest)

On one hand Rage Like the Gods has not veered very far from my original idea, which can be found at this post when I first introduced it over a year ago.

On the other hand... while RLtG is relatively the same plot and concept-wise (which does not always happen when it comes to me being a crazy plantser), it did end up being way bigger and more complex than I had originally anticipated. It was always supposed to be a five-book series, that hasn't changed. Although writing a prequel and adding another POV was not part of the plan. Then I was like, what if I write a spinoff series about some side characters met in the series? What if... what if... what if and next thing I know I blinked and not only was RLtG 300,000 words long but there are now twenty books set in Ruskhazar (only six of them are RLtG though, the other fourteen are from different series altogether).

How do I feel about this? On one hand, I feel daunted. But on the other... just so excited. I love how everything fits together like a giant and extremely complex jigsaw puzzle. I'm also so ridiculously proud of how this world I created was able to organically create twenty books. That twenty books was what it took to fully delve into everything that happens in Ruskhazar.

3. What aspect of the story did you love writing about the most? (Characters, plot, setting, prose, etc.)

My favorite part was the characters. I would be lying if I said that anything even came close to being as enjoyable as writing these chaotic folks. Not just my main characters, who are a beloved handful. But my character's love interests and even the side characters were just so much fun to work on. Somehow, they are all so different, with various arcs and relationships all throughout the story and I'm not entirely sure how I managed to have five entirely unique characters and their love interests, and their supporting cast. But somehow... somehow, I managed to do that.

4. How about your least favorite part?

Keeping it as short as I did. I know, that's a joke considering that the finished product is 300,000 words long, but... the thing is, RLtG is that long because I have five separate stories going on. Stories that I had to make certain that I didn't get too carried away with. I kept reminding myself that this is only the origin stories, that I had five more books to help these characters develop and grow, but I'm not going to lie. With everything that happens in this story it was so hard to keep each POV from becoming a book of its own.

For instance, Eirik's POV has severe Robin Hood vibes, and I could honestly have written the whole book on just that, but I had four other stories to tell so I had to keep it from getting too long (it still ended up being 81k whoops...)

5. What do you feel like needs the most work?

The consistency. The problem of writing five separate POVs like five separate books, all over the span of a year and five months is that... a lot of facts changed as I went. Names got switched around and forgotten, some backstories got rewritten, character appearances changed. And that's going to be... yeah that's going to be fun to have to go back through and fix up.

6. How do you feel about your characters now? Who’s your favorite? Least favorite? Anyone surprise you? Give us all the details!

I LOVE my characters and there is no way I could choose a favorite. No way at all. *hugs my five chosen ones even though Dagmy hates all forms of affection*

Thyre and Dagmy are my tough ones, they're the ones who are more than capable of taking care of themselves. They're the ones who have had the roughest time. Sometimes it seems that all they do is lose and lose and lose some more.

Eirik and Meruna are my soft precious babies who must be protected at all costs. They are innocent and pure and funny and sweet.

Azern waffles between taking care of herself and needing to be protected. Poor lass suffers from a split-personality disorder.

And then the love interests? THE LOVE INTERESTS ARE JUST SO AMAZING. I adore and respect good natured Sassa. I will kill anyone who hurts my darling Vrom. Magnar is just as frustratingly stubborn as ever and I wouldn't have it any other way. Hakon always has a witty one-liner and I love me that grumpy mercenary. And Fell is just so dang attractive *fans self*.

And then there's the side cast. I don't have too many in this book what with the sheer number of people to keep up with, but Aoife is Meruna's sarcastic warrior-nun bodyguard who loves eating and I unabashedly adore her. And then there's Bjorn, Eirik's best friend, fellow bard, and partner in crime who loves cheese.

So yup, I just LOVE THEM ALL. I absolutely can't even pick favorites. Now as for least favorites, imma say anyone who has had the gall to hurt my babies in this book. Villains, faithless friends, and rude people. They all know who they are and they ought to be ashamed of themselves.

7. What’s your next plan of action with this novel?

Currently, I'm letting it sit. I like to leave any projects I finish alone for a month or two before I pick up their edits, I tend to find that I can come back to it with a clearer head after that break. And with how big RLtG was I doubt I'll pick it up till February. After that I plan on editing it like crazy and trying to get it ready to be published by November 11th 2022. As for this month, I've started writing the sequel Folly of the Gods.

8. If you could have your greatest dream realized for this novel, what would it be?

Oh, my goodness, I would be the happiest person ever if someone were to make Rage Like the Gods into a TV series.

9. Share some of your favorite snippets!

Currently, I'm terrified of my first draft and how much work it needs, but very well. If you must have some snippets... then snippets you shall have.

Thyre:

"Lebedev has some nice dungeons. Smooth stone walls with curved arches, it’s some fine architecture. Everything is quite clean, the whole area is well lit. One wouldn’t even think of it as a dungeon if not for the bars separating a portion of the room from the stairwell I am led down.

Still, it is definitely the nicest dungeon I have been in. Far better than the government run prison I woke up in the other day where I could barely even see my hand in front of my face, and the whole place stank of sewage and rot."

~*~*~*~

“It’s a very drastic thing to, uh…” he glances around, leaning forward and dropping his voice even though the streets are almost empty right now. “To kill someone.”

“Believe me, it isn’t a drastic enough punishment for the godsforsaken man.” 

~*~*~*~

Meruna:

“A kraken?” I cry, breaking the silence. “But krakens don’t exist!”

I don’t suppose anyone was really waiting with bated breath for my opinion of the matter.

~*~*~*~

“Hang on one god’s blessed second,” Aoife says, which sort of surprises me since that is toeing a fine line of almost blasphemy and she is supposed to be the priestess in training here. “Hasn’t Antonov been dead for hundreds—”

“One thousand, one hundred and fifty-six years,” I murmur.

“What she said,” Aoife says pointing to me. “The point I’m getting at is this fellow is dead, has been for quite some time. And dead men don’t need brides.”

~*~*~*~

“To blazes with this. I was going to tell you, I had a speech rehearsed and everything, but you seemed so against the idea of… well, you know. So I decided that maybe it would be best if I didn’t speak up. I didn’t want to ruin everything between us by saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, but now you’re going around thinking you aren’t even loved and I am over here at an utter loss of words on how to tell you just how utterly wrong you are.”

I shake my head. “What are you even talking about?”

“What a jetting idiot I am apparently.”

“Whatever you are trying to say, just say it already,” I grumble. I’m having the worst day of my life and Fell is over here acting absolutely ridiculous. Getting mad at me for having a rotten lot and now just blathering.

Fell shoots me a look that is half a grimace. “I forgot my speech.”

~*~*~*~

Eirik

I have to admit, I was wondering the reception I would get entering the inn. As an escaped prisoner and such. Although I prefer the term, survivor of a shipwreck. However, no one mentions anything and then I realize that they don’t even know who I am.

I must not have been such a high profile prisoner after all. Pity, I suppose I didn’t have such a good time last night after all.

Also I want to know what right in Skyhold those men had to try to ship me off to the spice mines for a crime that wasn’t even worthy of tavern gossip.

~*~*~*~

I can explore a castle and court Sassa at the same time. I’m good at multitasking like that. For one I can woo a woman and save a village, sing a song and rob my patron blind. I can do bad things, for a good reason. And good things for a bad reason.

I’m the masked wolf.

I’m Eirik the bard.

And somewhere buried deep down, I’m a farmer’s son but I don’t like to talk about that.

~*~*~*~

“I assure you, my lady, you had not needed to go through such extents to get some time alone with me. You only had to ask nicely.”

“I’m not here to play games, I’m here to bring you to justice.”

I shake my head tsking. “Now what did I do to deserve you throwing around such a weighty word before supper?”

“You broke the law,” she grinds out. I can tell I’m reaching the end of her patience or maybe I’m already there. I must admit, I’m a little curious. I’ve never seen this side of her before. My uncle always said that you never knew a girl until you have had her mad at you.

“Barely,” I say holding my finger and thumb only slightly apart.

“Your days of terrorizing are up,” she says crossing her arms.

“Now I know terrorizing is definitely too strong a word to describe my little organization.” I rest a hand on my chest. “I mean look at me! Do you think that I’ve instilled terror in anyone anytime recently?”

~*~*~*~

Dagmy:

“Oh and I suppose that the deserts are so much better than here. I mean with the exception of it being warmer. Although I am still uncertain if escaping this godsawful cold is enough to warrant going somewhere where you could boil alive every odd day.”

I lift my chin. “Perhaps my home is a land of bloodshed and turmoil, where even the simplest herder must be trained to defend himself if a rival clan should attack. But in the very least you know who the enemy is. There you have your brothers and sisters in your own clan to watch your back. And enemies were not forced to live together under false harmony. This land is like a poorly stitched tear in a fine fabric. Sooner or later it will rend leaving a larger hole than there had been before.”

Hakon holds up a finger. “Ooh I like that. I’m going to use that someday.”

~*~*~*~

Azern:

“The undead?” Magnar asks arching a brow.

“Read up on your prophecies man, the end of the world is being brought about by necromancers.”

“Sorcerers threaten the fate of all humanity,” he mutters. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Not all sorcerers. Necromancers. I will have you know that I have never reanimated a corpse.”

“Well, that’s reassuring,” he says although he doesn’t sound reassured at all.

~*~*~*~

Poor Popov, I think of him sometimes and how he tried to have me killed.

~*~*~*~

10. Did you glean any new writing and/or life lessons from writing this novel?

Um...probably? Problem is whatever those lessons were I have already so naturally grafted them into my life that I can't currently think of anything specific. But I can't imagine that I didn't learn something over the past year it took me to write this 300k word long book—apart from proving my hypothesis that my books will always be longer than I first anticipate—it's just that I can't currently think of anything off of the top of my head.