Tag Archives: adventure fantasy

King Leamain

12 Thursday Nov 2015

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K is for King Leamain, the man given responsibility for first treating with houndmasters and bringing a portion of them north out of the wilds. This bit of history marks why there is a disconnect between the wild and civilized sides of houndmasters–those who refuse to work with other races and those who have come to live among them (mostly) peacefully.

This bit of history is important for a second reason as well, because two of De’vii’s dogs are named after Leamain and his sister Katarita.

KING LEAMAIN

During the Maddened Age, when the giant wurms still claimed a wide swath of territory across the continent of Nithe in Nebrae, natural selection had created races adept at surviving.

Some fought. Others hid.

There were the animas, who could, and would, call upon the drakes to protect them from the wurms. The crakfins, those luminescent people who made their homes in the craggiest of the cliffs and took to the water when the wurms lumbered past. The renpters, who could rip their own skin off and feed the cursed flesh to the wurms and use the wurms’ bodies to build walls of rippling flesh. The batarai, with their long, thin bodies and frail wings that took them to heights the wurms couldn’t reach. Then there were the black widows, eager to steal every talent and ability they stumbled across, giving them a range of advantages.

And, of course, the houndmasters who reigned in the deepest, darkest of the forests and who took great enjoyment out of bringing down the wurms who dared cross into their territory.

The humans who were first thrown into Nebrae through an astral portal did not have thousands of years of genetic disposition to fight the wurms. They brought skills that were different and useful, yes, but without the specific focus that would give them immediate advantage when the wurms attacked. This meant many of the first humans, criminals tossed into Nebrae from their own plane, became wurm fodder. Continue reading →

Job Board at a Doghouse

11 Wednesday Nov 2015

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AS SEEN ON A JOB BOARD IN A DOGHOUSE IN CRAFTON

PEST CONTROL

“Hoppers are overwhelming the farms in the foothills again. Will pay per set of ears. You keep the skins. Multiple farms in need, see back for addresses.”

“A feline has taken up residence outside my fences and is consistantly eating from my herd. Houndmaster and pack can keep skin and will be invited to stay within our house. Dogs welcome.”

PEOPLE
Written underneath are the words:
who can’t help themselves

“Tracker: Looking for a pack to help find a runaway. He is thirteen, human, has been taught fundamentals of masking trails and is potentially suicidal. Full offer on back is for his safe return. Will pay half of offer if you can retrieve his body if he has done the unthinkable. Please hurry.”

“Messenger: Need a runner for between the mines. Younger houndmasters preferred.”

“Tracker: Need help finding a thief. Room has been locked off and untouched so scents are preserved.”

DANGEROUS

“Hunt: A large hellion drake has come south out of Feloc’s Canvas. We are looking for multiple houndmasters to help take it down, preferably those who have worked together before. Amount on back is first offer. Pay can be negotiated.”

“Hunt: Murderer. Skilled swordsman. Has fought houndmasters before. Double pay if he is brought back alive to be executed. Dead works too.”

“Escort: I need to safely get to the Ruins of Matoxi for research. Will be staying approximately twelve days, then needing help returning safely to Crafton. Will pay all travel expenses plus hazard pay. I have a mage on retainer who can help mask us from drakes if activity is spotted. Experienced houndmasters only.”

PHP
(Pack Helping Pack)

“Three houndmaster pups needing a good home. Their dam and sire were killed on a job up near Feloc’s Canvas. Oldest is nine—she has three dogs and is capable of hunting common game. The two younger are six and five. Neither has started on their packs yet, but both are in shape and obviously were well-cared for by their parents.”

“Sick dog needing specialized medical care. Have to go south and need a second houndmaster to help support my pack on the trip. Can pay.”

“Lost pup. Last seen playing near the downtown emporium outside the mage arena. Too many scents made it impossible to track her down. Sketch included. If you have any info on her, please give it to the doghouse owners. She is lost and scared and isn’t communicating effectively within our consciousness. Please do not contact me solely to mock me—I already know I messed up.”

Scrawled across the bottom of the board, some of the words partially hidden by overlapping jobs, was: Contact doghouse owners for more information on any job. Sample contracts available for select jobs.

And hanging below that, written by a left-hander if the slant was any indication, was: We reserve the right to not post requests by those who have abused houndmaster or dog in the past.

This was for J in my A-Z Wilds Duology Challenge. Just a few sample job board offers as an idea of what might be found on one. They are usually posted in doghouses within the cities so they are only part of civilized houndmasters’ lives. This is a teaser for my upcoming novel, Haunt of the Wilds, now on pre-order for .99c.

Inflorescence Within the Wilds

10 Tuesday Nov 2015

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One of my favorite things about writing fantasy, and probably the biggest reason why Song For The Wilds eBook CoverI love it so much, is world building. I’m a huuuge fan of stories that don’t simply rely on reader expectation and instead go beyond the norm to create a world with its own rules. I’m especially happy when the stories set within the world actually follow the rules the author sets down.

I don’t feel as if it’s too hard either. A detail here. An original animal/race there. Historical tidbits. Hints of conflict in places outside of immediate setting can open the reader to the world on a macro level. Tiny details within the setting would help build up the world at a micro level.

World-building is just straight-up fun.

Of course, it’s best to temper it so words you’ve been using for months or years don’t completely confuse readers, but that’s one of the reasons I like to mix made-up names/words with everyday words since that seriously helps to ground me when I’m reading fantasy.

One of the things I did in Song for the Wilds was to create a couple of new plants. They don’t exactly have huge parts in the novel, but it was fun to do to give those tiny extra details to help create the houndmasters’ home. I didn’t do animals so much except for during my extra teaser stories, but that was because the duology was already damn long and I’d already introduced so many places and people and I didn’t want it to get too confusing. Plus, they would have just been throwaway mentions and that just wouldn’t do. Also, dogs kind of have the spotlight, what with the houndmasters, and I didn’t want to take away from that either.

So for I in my A-Z Challenge, I’m doing a weird take on a botanical listing where I wrote tiny snippets (with random houndmasters as POV) in order to give an idea of each plant.

Blackflower Vines

When I was young, I used to run through the vinery, letting the blackflower vines snake across my shoulders, leaving them oscillating in my wake. As I grew older, I learned how to soften my passage, my dogs keeping their barking to themselves as they growled and snarled within my mind, raging for the kill, their bellies seemingly in a constant state of need. Continue reading →

Haunt of the Wilds (Chapter One Excerpt)

09 Monday Nov 2015

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Haunt of The Wilds eBook CoverI went the easy route for H in my A-Z Challenge since the first novel begins with Haunt :) I’ve been doing teasers for my upcoming novel duology during the month of November and today marks the day I give you the actual first chapter from Book 1.

It’s a little over 5k words, but introduces both main characters and A LOT of dogs. I won’t blame you if you don’t remember all the dogs’ names. I only put them in the first chapter because 1, they’re vastly important to De’vii and 2, because I wanted my readers to know I was referring to a dog when I mentioned them again.

That’s also the reason why I have different naming techniques between houndmasters and dogs, to make it easier to know which I’m introducing/talking about during the story. It’d be weird to be reading along and suddenly having someone you thought was humanoid to be barking or butting their head into your crotch, etc. You know, things we all do normally :P

Haunt of the Wilds: Chapter One

He’d been out of the scene for a few months—running hard down trails past the Braken getting his pack prepped and practiced with the two new pups—so when he arrived back in the biggest doghouse in Crafton looking for a job, he’d anticipated being met with excitement. Not annoyance. And certainly not from Mi’saa.

“De’vii, De’vii.” Her voice was deep for a woman, but it fit her well, accentuating the corded muscles that ran from her neck to her calves. She kept her hair cut short, a leftover lesson from when she’d caught it on one job and almost had her scalp ripped off. She was lounging on the low couch, one of her dogs stretched out beside her, another two curled up on the floor and three more circling the area in guard positions. “You little shit.”

“Good to see you too, love. May I introduce the two newest members of my pack.” De’vii flicked his fingers, although it wasn’t necessary for Wit and Ens came forward with just an encouraging thought.

Mi’saa barely spared them a glance, narrowing her eyes up at him. “You cut out on me.”

Damn her rudeness. De’vii stroked Wit’s neck, sending comforting thoughts the dog’s way, making sure he knew he hadn’t done anything wrong. Ens was a different matter altogether. He sat glaring at Mi’saa and likely would have snarled had most of his bad behavior not been bitten out of him by Fel, Kat and Sou during the last months. He was still chafing, De’vii knew that, but he was better in public now. Especially at a doghouse where the fur flew and the scents of blood and fury permeated the air, promising a dogfight for good behavior. And any houndmaster or nocturn hound worth their weight didn’t just relish a fight, they lived for it. Continue reading →

Games Survival Kit

08 Sunday Nov 2015

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google plus 1080x608For G in my A-Z Wilds Duology Challenge, I created instructions for a Games Survival Kit. For a good long while, an annual event was held in between the territories of wild and civilized houndmasters and dogs. They were called the Lo’fel Games and were focused on mending the violent hatred between the two groups.

This story is a teaser for my upcoming novel, Haunt of the Wilds, on pre-order now for only .99c.

Games Survival Kit

CONTENTS

1 bark-made map
1 schedule of events
1 large bag of dried jerky
2 small bones
2 bottles of Runner’s Heart alcohol
2 pouches of ilarm pollen powder
1 blindfold
3 packets of unscented oil

These kits are meant to help you navigate your way through your time at the Lo’fel Games, especially if it’s your first time. If you need further help, please look for one of the volunteers. They will be wearing thick strands of blue-painted blackflower vines around their arms.*

The front side of the map shows the main staging area for the Lo’fel Games. The pup grounds have been moved into the center to help keep the pups protected. The sands to the far west are for only those houndmasters and dogs who have qualified in preliminaries. We don’t want too many bloodbaths here and equal fights are always longer and far more fun to watch—if you’re not as good, keep to the east sands where you damn well belong.

The back of the map shows the runner paths that extend into the lower mountains. We have a handful of volunteers along the foothills, but will only be sending one late-night med-team through the paths to pick up anyone who has fallen or become too hurt from random fighting to continue during that day’s races. Race at your own risk. Continue reading →

Fight for Dominance

06 Friday Nov 2015

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Originally, I’d planned on writing just a description of a doghouse to give the impression on what one was like inside The Wilds Duology. Aaaaand then I wrote a story. So for F in my A-Z Challenge, I give you Fight for Dominance, a short story walkthrough of a doghouse, written in second person, something I rarely ever do. This is a teaser for my upcoming novel, Haunt of the Wilds (gay romance/adventure fantasy) on pre-order now for only .99c.

FIGHT FOR DOMINANCE

You can probably hear the raucous laughter streets away, the noise drifting through the dark city as if beckoning you onward. You might notice a young houndmaster or two running with their packs nearby, pups jostling one another in their excitement. They come out of the shadows and disappear as quickly, paying no mind to anything or anyone else. They aren’t silent either, their passage documented with shouts and barks and boots scuffing against hard ground.

As you approach the doghouse, you hear an occasional howl of triumph. People spill from the entrance, bleeding, yet happy, as they head next door to the doctor who has taken up shop because location, location, location. You wait for the houndmasters to step away, listening to their byplay of the fight, one of them so animated despite the bite mark on his arm that he waves his hands through the air to mimic the takedown.

The door to the doghouse has been cut in two and if you’re not careful, a dog will come bounding out from the bottom half and likely bowl you over. He might gnaw upon your clothes if you don’t immediately roll out of the way because he’ll be high on the fight. You’ve been warned. Continue reading →

Echoes from the Past

05 Thursday Nov 2015

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Haunt of The Wilds eBook CoverFor anyone who read Fateful Hunt (yeah, yeah, probably no one cause it was damn long and m/f), you’ll recognize the two names mentioned below in this letter. I wrote Fateful Hunt for fun back when I was knee-deep in editing The Wilds Duology. That story was about the day when De’vii’s parents first met, De’vii being one of the two leads in my upcoming novel Haunt of the Wilds.

So for E in my A-Z Challenge, I give you Echoes from the Past, a letter from De’vii’s dam to his sire, sent a long time before the duology begins.

ECHOES FROM THE PAST

Me’nor,

Remember last time we hunted in the Braken? When you became angry all over again because I started without you? I remember. My pack showed yours up in that hunt and you complained like the city dog you are, whining and carrying on about rules. Ha! As if the wilds respect your pitiful rules.

Remember afterward, when you climbed on top of me because you had something to prove? I was more than accommodating. Aren’t I always? Any wild dog would be happy to have my time and attention. As a tame creature, you should be slobbering your thankfulness.

And then! You had the gall to leave me wanting, thinking it hilarious to rut and run like the incapable dog’s method of revenge. I have never been so disappointed in you.

That was why I didn’t return the last few times we agreed. I sent Yal later to see if you came into the Braken for me, and you had, your scent and your pack’s scent spread all across the Braken as if searching for me. Yes, I found your little presents and attempts at apologies. Dark’s honest truth, I was surprised you kept coming after I didn’t show. Then I remembered how much of a stickler you are on your promises.

I admit…your persistence enthralled me. No wild dog has ever remained so interested even after my apathy has been made known.

I made the decision then to cease my fury over your cruelness, deciding I would meet you once more on the Braken to give us another chance. But directly afterward, I found myself in a position to make a different sort of choice. This one wasn’t so easy. I had family insisting on one thing, my pack insisting on another and my own mind torn over the subject because I didn’t know whether your dislike of all things wild would keep you from understanding.

That was last skyclad.

I planned on meeting you today instead of writing this letter, but something came up so I’m sending Yal with this note instead. I want you to know that what I referred to will always take precedence over you because I trust you and your pack to be able to take care of yourselves—though that might be overestimating your abilities since half your pack are still pups. And you can tell Nat and Alo I said that.

Regardless, the choice I made last skyclad is an overreaching one that will effect that future you talked about. The future you actually believed in when I didn’t, the reason you still keep to that promise you made me.

So before I make the run into the Braken to see you again, I have to ask, Me’nor, do you think you can handle being the sire to a half-wild child? Or should your pup never set foot in the Braken?

-Da’lil

De’vii (Character Interview)

04 Wednesday Nov 2015

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I did a character interview for one of the leads in Haunt of the Wilds (gay romance/adventure fantasy novel) yesterday, so it’s only fitting I do one for the second lead. It’s a coincidence that their names happen to land next to each other in the alphabet, but useful in this case. Haunt of the Wilds is on pre-order for only .99 right now.

De’vii – Character Interview

Eleven dogs—twelve if I count the houndmaster—sprawl across my office. Huge, beautiful creatures. Muscled. Intelligence shining from their eyes and their teeth baring dangerously whenever I shift too close to one or other of them.

“Protective, aren’t they?” I say to the houndmaster.

He shrugs, a feral grin spreading on his face. “Only natural. That’s Kat’s pup you keep almost hitting with your chair.”

“Oh!” I quickly readjust, moving away from the nearby smaller dog. I wouldn’t have called him a pup, but he was definitely still growing given the size of the others. Then I clear my throat and check my notebook. “So, De’vii…”

He scowls and points down by my feet where my boots have come quite close to the sole gray wolf among his pack. She growls but doesn’t move. I immediately tuck my feet under my chair and hold down a return glare, deciding not to mention the fact that I could barely breathe in my own office without almost touching one of his dogs.

“Right,” I say. “Why don’t you tell me about what makes your dogs special?”

De’vii snorts, then slouches on the bench seat, his hand absently rubbing the hound beside him. A salt and pepper dog with probably the gentlest disposition of them all. “You mean what makes them different than the puny creatures you live with?”

“I guess,” I hedge.

“For starters, they are smarter. More than most humanoids as well.” He laughs a little mockingly. “Though that’s not as hard as most think. And, of course, we can communicate within our combined consciousness, making us a perfect fighting unit.” He lifts his lip in a slight challenging snarl.

“I would imagine. From what I’ve heard, people—meaning other houndmasters—greatly prefer you on their side in a fight.” As De’vii’s grin returns, I add, “But they also balk when I ask whether they enjoy working with you. Why is that? I would have thought you’d have plenty of houndmasters wanting to work with you.”

De’vii releases a quiet growl, the sound echoed by his pack. “Because they’re biased cowards. Afraid I’ll go wild on them.”

“Would you?”

His response is nothing but a self-satisfied smirk. Continue reading →

Caliebb (Character Interview)

03 Tuesday Nov 2015

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For C in my A-Z Wilds Duology Challenge, I wrote a character interview with one of the two leads in Haunt of the Wilds–a gay romance/adventure fantasy novel.

Caliebb Renaveri – Character Interview

He takes up little space on the bench seat, as if trying not to call attention to himself. His blond hair seems darker in the muted light of the office, as if shadows stain the strands.

“Caliebb, it’s so good to meet you,” I say. “Your name, it’s a bastardization of Caleb, isn’t it?”

His smile is tentative. “If you say so,” he says. “I think you would know better than I considering you’ve had such a huge role in creating me.”

“Eh, it doesn’t work exactly like that. People sort of…”—I wiggle my fingers through the air as if to mimic the magic of the process—“create themselves. I just try to listen.”

His smile turns patiently disbelieving, but he doesn’t contradict me. Continue reading →

Broken Promises

02 Monday Nov 2015

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Haunt of The Wilds eBook CoverB in my A-Z Wilds Duology Challenge! B is for Broken Promises, an excerpt from the fictional textbook, An Understanding of the Planes, written for schools within the northern Empire mentioned in the duology. This is a teaser for my upcoming release, Haunt of the Wilds, a gay romance/adventure fantasy novel. It is on preorder now for only 99c. Coming December 3rd :)

BROKEN PROMISES

Overview of the Sixth Plane: MOIR

There are not many who travel into Moir, the death plane, and live to tell of it. Those who do, the people who are foolish or brave enough to open themselves to the horrors of walking among the essences of the dead, seeing the oceans of souls sweeping across the sky and watching the kings of darkness swoop within the empty voids sliced into the barren landscape, those people are never the same. They return with tales of a starless, treeless world, of races who relish pain and delight in misery, yet a film covers their eyes as they tell their stories and a bleakness seeps out from their souls.

The next chapter concerns what we know of Moir from those who have returned. Continue reading →