John Scalzi writes a massively visited blog called Whatever. He has a regular column called “The Big Idea” where authors explain the “big idea” behind their novels. I got a chance to explain the big one behind Servant of a Dark God. Read about it here.
This last June, I stood outside Warwick Castle next to a longbowman and stared up at the massive structure. The curtain walls rose forty to fifty feet high. The great tower soared even higher—one hundred and twenty feet. But it wasn’t just the walls.
The moat. Holy schnitzel, folks, the MOAT.
On one side of the castle, the River Avon provided a barrier. On the other, a dry moat stretched forty to sixty feet wide and twenty to thirty feet deep. Standing at the bottom, you’d be staring up at seventy feet of turf and stone. That’s like staring up at a six-story building—with armed soldiers waiting at the top.
My only thought was: good night, what kind of madman would assault these defenses?
The answer, of course, is almost no one. Medieval sieges were usually about starving the defenders out, not storming the gates in a blaze of glory. Unless you had a trebuchet—which I also saw demonstrated that day.
It was the kind of moment that makes a writer’s brain spark. Assassin, the fourth book in my Drovers series, is set in the capital city of Broniss, which bristles with towers and walls of its own. Standing there at Warwick, I realized: no sane army would attack such walls directly. Which is why the High King of Osson has other dark plans.
Of course, Warwick had more than just military lessons. There was a falconry show where hawks, vultures, eagles, and even a condor soared just above our heads. Here’s a tip. If you go, sit on the benches, not under the tree. The benches are where you get the most flyovers.
There was a dungeon tour that turned into a hilarious series of skits, complete with a plague doctor and a judge who convicted one of us.
And afterward, we went into the city to a Thai place called The Giggling Squid (yes, that’s really its name). The food was amazing.
It was a glorious day, and it reminded me that some of the best research often comes from first-hand experience. Although some things—like being pierced through with a sword—I’m happy to leave to my imagination.
I’m back at the desk now, hard at work on Assassin. It’s turning into a terrific ride, and I can’t wait to share more soon.
Here’s to Ferran, Sura, and Lagash—will they foil the traitor’s plot and stop the hashida’s creature, or will Ferran and the others fail and find all their dreams dashed to pieces?
You’ll soon be able to find out.
Sincerely,
John
Folks,
Servant is now officially released! And for those who have stuck with me I’ve put it on a super sale this Tuesday and Wednesday: 99 cents for the ebook, $12.99 for the trade paper, which is almost right at cost (this is a nice fat book, clocking in at over 500 pages).
eBook (Amazon)
Trade paperback (Amazon)
I love the ebook, but I must say the trade paperback version is gorgeous. The color and illustration at that size by Victor Minguez is just awesome.
Enjoy!
And Merry Christmas.
P.S. Bad Penny is right around the corner.
I just got word from my editor, and we’ve finally been able to agree on the outline!
Let us rejoice.
It took far longer than I’d planned. But I’m happy to move forward. I’ll finish up a couple of things I’m working on right now with the thriller and then begin production next week. I’m estimating I’m going to have to write about 130k worth of new material, which is basically enough to fill a normal novel. If I’m diligent, I can average about 7,500 words a week. That’s not super fast, but I do have a day job. So my initial target for delivering it is September 1st.
It then goes into the publisher machine. I’ll know in the fall what the release date will be.
This will also give me some extra time to develop the premise of the thriller. I hoped to have a rough outline by this point, at the very least the story problem. But it’s not quite there yet. So this will give me a little more cooking time. I’m still hoping to finish BOTH before the end of the year. At least two novels a year. That’s the goal.
My schedule has changed. You can see the updates below. As I said before, LTUE is one of the best writing conferences around. There are going to be quite a few authors there sharing tips on craft and the business of writing. BTW, it’s NOT going to be held in the Wilkinson Center as it has been in the past, but in the Conference Center on the NORTH side of campus. See map below. Find the full schedule here.
Romance vs. Story with Romantic Elements: Injecting romance into saving the world
Plotstorming from Character: In some cases the plot of a book drives the characters. However, characters that instead drive the plot can make for a more compelling story. In this hour, we focus on how to grow your plot from your main characters.
How to Get and Develop Killer Story Ideas
Lessons on Story from THE HUNGER GAMES (and let me tell you, there are a lot of good lessons)
Click the map to see details
James Maxey is a writer I admire. For his work ethic. For the quality of his prose. For his imagination. His story “To Know All Things That Are In The Earth” is one of my favorites. So you can be sure I was pleased to find and read this today.
I will say, in utter candor, that Servant of a Dark God is a work that truly stands out from other fantasy books on the market. What makes this book work so well is that it’s a story about family first, and a fantasy adventure second. Full review.
A number of weeks ago life happened at my day job. I had just started a rewrite of the final battle of CURSE, but life put that on hold. Life got back to normal a few days ago. And a few days ago I began to work on that final battle sequence again. So you’ll notice that delivery targets have changed on the books page. I’m moving under a good head of steam now, and unless life happens again, we should meet those dates 🙂 More than anyone else, I want to get this book into your hands.
