Tag Archives: Fantasy

Virdaemn Maps

25 Wednesday Nov 2015

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Haunt of The Wilds eBook CoverMore unartistic maps!

These maps are primarily of the one country Haunt of the Wilds takes place within. The name Virdaemn refers to the entire plane/world as a whole so it’s a little misleading. The country itself is called Nabia.

This first map is the one I used while writing the story. As you can see, it’s all kinds of messed up. My “pass” into the Empire above the country goes straight into the water, I misspelled Neit Valley and I’m sort of falling off the left side of the page because I didn’t realize I needed more space.

I do that often, actually, since my artistic ability is nil so I tend to guess horribly wrong when visualizing spacing. You should see when I write people’s names on their birthday cards–like a little kid would do, the last couple of letters tend to get squished in. Continue reading →

Widow’s Prey

24 Tuesday Nov 2015

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Having difficulties with U, so I’m giving you W instead. They sound close enough I figured I could swap them.

I have a humanoid race in Haunt of the Wilds called black widows. They’re not actually spiders…that’d be a little too weird for me to want to write about. But they are people who essentially feed off their sexual partners, simply in a magical way rather than a gory, disgusting way.

This little vignette was supposed to talk about how black widows do their thing, but it never ended up getting too detailed, which is probably a good thing. So it’s mostly an introduction of what they are and how they’re received by most other people.

WIDOW’S PREY

“They’re everywhere, you know? A lot of folks are getting wise to their ways, but even those who know to be careful could fall into a trap. ’Cause them black widows, they’ll do everything in their power to pretend to be something they ain’t.

“My daughter—”

The man choked on his own words, looking for just a moment as if he would start sobbing. Then he swallowed the emotion with a grunt and sudden fury sparked to life in his eyes, echoing next within his voice.

“Those widows, they pretend they’re human, pretend they’re anything. All smooth talking and smiles as if they weren’t the despicable people they are. How do they live with what they do? Huh. There I go assuming they care about something other than themselves.”

“Your daughter,” I prompted tentatively. Continue reading →

Treaty between Houndmasters

23 Monday Nov 2015

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Following the aftermath of the destruction at the Games, leading members of Families and Packs from both the wild and civilized sides met at a hostel along the original treaty boundary. There, they grudgingly set down new territory lines.

Because of the altered terrain that extended slightly both north and south, the strip of land separating wilds and civilized—the Braken—was spread. Houndmaster ancients had already made the neutral territory large, not only so the space would serve to dissuade accidental trespassing, but also so it could be used as a site for annual games, yet now the Braken extended even wider out of necessity.

No houndmaster or dog could possibly cross without full knowledge of what they were doing. Not only that, but because of the dangers now existing upon the Braken, no houndmaster or dog would want to. Both sides were at least in agreement on one thing—the farther away the territory lines and the less likely sides were to encounter one another, the better. The assumption being that any encounter would result in unfettered bloodshed. Continue reading →

Pack – Excerpt from Haunt of the Wilds

18 Wednesday Nov 2015

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I’ve been doing a daily blogging challenge for the month of November where I post short fiction pieces as teasers for my upcoming release, Haunt of the Wilds. Today, I’ve gotten to P, and since De’vii’s pack is so important to him in the books, I decided to give you a real introduction to his dogs. However, instead of writing new words as I’ve done for most of the letters, below is an actual excerpt taken straight from Haunt of the Wilds. Enjoy!

Haunt of the Wilds Excerpt

Haunt of The Wilds eBook CoverHe’d barely been on watch for an hour, Rid, Wress and Leam all making the rounds in the run-down streets attempting to sniff through the heavy scent of fire and smoke, when the door to the house squeaked open. He didn’t move from where he had propped himself up against the only standing pole that had used to serve as part of the railing. Didn’t need to. A full third of his dogs were facing that direction. And all of them, including De’vii, recognized Caliebb’s scent before he even stepped outside. Mott came running despite the fact she had been circling the nearby rotting buildings with Ens and Wit.

“What are you doing up?” asked De’vii.

Caliebb came to stand next to him, one hand trailing the worn and cracked wood railing. “Wes sort of took over Epsie’s other side and I couldn’t get comfortable.”

De’vii started to straighten, alarm sparking in his body and his mind stretching out to grab a hold of every member of his pack. “Wes is sleeping with Epsie?” Sou was already on his feet and pouncing for the door.

“It’s fine,” said Caliebb. He reached over, looking as if he was about to grab De’vii before he snatched his hand back and shoved it into his pocket. “Mi’saa has a couple of her dogs standing guard over Epsie’s nonexistent virtue. And quite frankly, I don’t think Wes is so bad as to attempt to seduce her when she’s hurting.”

De’vii didn’t share Caliebb’s same optimism over Wes’s character, but he did settle back against the wood, knowing Mi’saa was awake and would be relieving him as soon as she was done caring for her pack. Sou stalled at the door, muzzle swinging toward Caliebb before he flopped down next to Fel on the leaning porch.

“You should be in there too,” said De’vii, turning just enough so he wasn’t completely blocking Caliebb out.

Caliebb tapped the broken railing. “I told you, I couldn’t get comfortable.” Continue reading →

How to Offend a Houndmaster

17 Tuesday Nov 2015

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Originally I was going to title this as Offensive Checklist, however that title truly stinks even though it actually begins with O. But this is O. I promise. It just sort of starts with H… This is a page out of a fictional ambassadorial reference notebook.

HOW TO OFFEND A HOUNDMASTER

Important Notes Concerning Houndmaster Interaction

*Never touch a houndmaster’s dogs!*

This can’t be stressed enough. If there is even a shadow of a doubt as to whether the dog belongs to a houndmaster’s pack, don’t touch. Generally the dog will react unfavorably to you, making it possible for you to lose a hand. Even if that does not happen, the houndmaster will take the act as a challenge. Be prepared for a fight if you make this mistake.

*Do not threaten/joke or otherwise mention the
possibility of taking a houndmaster’s dogs!*

While the occasional houndmaster might ignore you, most will react unfavorably to even the slightest comment about someone else taking over their pack or stealing their dogs. Again, the houndmaster in question will likely take this as a challenge and instigate a fight. Continue reading →

Mother of Dogs

15 Sunday Nov 2015

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Most of my teasers have been more focused on one of my main characters (De’vii) over the other (Caliebb) and there are a couple of reasons for this.

For starters, there are a few reveals surrounding Caliebb that I don’t want to give away. I do have a couple of posts that focus on him rather than De’vii’s world, but I had to be super careful. I would love to delve further into a few things from Caliebb’s past, but doing so is definitely spoiler territory.

Secondly, De’vii’s world and beliefs feature more in the duology, making him slightly more of the main character than Caliebb though both are POV characters.

And thirdly, quite frankly, the only things I want to write about when it comes to Caliebb, I can’t, which only leaves boring, unfun things. Okay, that’s probably not entirely the truth–I actually came up with a couple of neat things I could have done, but they would have required me to go massively on tangents and I didn’t want to do that. I wanted all my teasers to relate directly back to the story in some fashion. But I can’t do that with Caliebb because then I’ll give things away. Argh. It was frustrating.

It just means you get a lot more teasers slanted more toward De’vii, which is probably not a problem because my beta readers said he was their favorite character out of the two anyway.

And that, of course, in nonsensical logic, brings me to a scene that features neither character. Continue reading →

Lone Hound

13 Friday Nov 2015

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By the start of Haunt of the Wilds, De’vii has eleven dogs, but he didn’t always have them all. This is a tiny story about how one of his dogs, Ast, joins his pack. She’s the gray crazy one. Three of the dogs in the novel do not make an appearance in this small story, two because they aren’t born yet and one because she’s not with them.

LONE HOUND

Long before the dog attacked, De’vii sensed something trailing them. She kept downwind, hidden within the foliage, never pushing too close, even when Fel looped back searching for what hunted them.

They all felt a presence though. Even Sif, and she was still tiny enough Rid and Wress flanked her, unwilling to allow whatever might attack them to go for the smallest of the pack. De’vii hesitated for all of a moment, then allowed the confidence within their collective consciousness lull him into complacency, sure in the knowledge that were the dog to attack, they could handle it.

So half the day was spent hunting, Sif getting her first chance at a solo kill while the rest of the pack guarded her back. She ended up needing help—the spindleleg too fast for her still-growing legs—but with a well-placed bite from Fel to the creature’s foreleg, it slowed enough she managed to take it down.

Her rush of satisfied achievement enveloped them all. De’vii laughed out loud and sent back his own pride within the pulse of glowing praise from the rest of the dogs.

And right then, right when Sif stood over her first solo kill, her little teeth blackened with blood and her splotchy coat speckled with debris, was when that lingering damn wild dog decided to attack. Continue reading →

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 →

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 →