Update on CURSE OF A DARK GOD – just finished numba 50

ByJohn Brown

I just finished chapter 50 and am heading into the climax sequence.  I have only 9 chapters left, and they should go fast. Right now I’m at 170,000 words. I’m going to finish a little over my target word length, but I don’t think it’s anything I can’t edit back down. 

In this book, Talen has to deal with the fact that he was fashioned to be a tool.  Sugar gets some kick-butt skills.  There’s a little romance. We also get to meet the woodikin, only mentioned in book one, and their wasp lords, as well as a new character named Harnock, who is a sleth blended by Lumen for battle.  There are other bit characters: a woman who reminds me of the Wife of Bath and a some sleth from the Old World. The Bone Faces come back in force. And you get to find out what happens to Nettle. Lots of great stuff. I really think those who liked Servant of a Dark God are going to enjoy this.

Oh, yeah.  And the Dogmen of Toth, some nasty pieces of work.

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  • LTUE schedule

    ByJohn Brown

    Life, The Universe, & Everything is an awesome writer’s and science fiction & fantasy conference. This year’s will run Thursday, Feb 13th through Saturday, Feb 14th and is going to be packed. There will be presentations and panels with Orson Scott Card, Brandon Sanderson, LE Modesitt, Jessica Day George, Lisa Mangum, Larry Correia, and dozens of others.

    For those who missed my presentations at LDStorymakers last year, this is your chance to see them.

    VIVID & CLEAR (Friday at 7:00 PM)
    Despite the often repeated 11th commandment for writers—show, don’t tell—writers NEVER show. They can’t. It’s all tell, tell, tell. The trick is to tell in a way that helps your readers imagine with such vividness and clarity that your story triggers an emotional response. In this hour we’ll explore a number of simple but powerful prose techniques that help you do just that.

    STORY TURNS (Saturday at 9:00 AM)
    Story turns–cliffhangers, rugpulls, plot twists, reversals, surprises, revelations (and more)–are a core part of an exciting plot, pacing control, and making a reader want to turn the page. In this workshop we’ll explore the main types of story turns and how they work so you can use them in your writing.

    I’ll also be participating in the RULES FOR WRITING MAGIC panel (Friday at 5:00 PM).

    For more details about all the wonderful panels and guests, go here: http://ltue.net/Schedule

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    Testicles and the Zing Life

    ByJohn Brown

    Diana Rowland of MagicDistrict.wordpress.com invited me to guest blog. I was happy to provide “Testicles and the Zing Life.”

    Testicles do not taste like chicken.

    I know this thing. At least the ones taken from cattle don’t. But this Nobel prize-winning discovery is not what’s important. What’s important is why I know this. Read more.

    Enjoy!

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  • Servant Now in Paperback!

    ByJohn Brown

    The Stocking Stuffer for LORD of the RINGS readers

    Make someone happy with 624 AWARD-WINNING pages of thrilling ACTION, cool MONSTERS, & wicked MAGICS.

    • ~ Best Novel of the Year Whitney Awards, speculative fiction
    • ~ Engrossing Publishers Weekly
    • ~ Provocative Booklist
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    This book makes crowds cheer*. Only $7.99. Read the first chapter.

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    *tested on a statistically valid sample of gerbils, hamsters, and various other intelligent rodents who all cheered with wild delight at the reading and then asked for more peanuts and crackers

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  • Smith’s Grocery and Servant of a Dark God

    ByJohn Brown

    I’ve just learned that Kroger Food has decided to carry Servant of a Dark God on a trial basis in its Utah Smith’s grocery stores. If it sells well, they will take it nation wide.

    Folks, this is a BIG opportunity for SERVANT. To put this in perspective, Barnes & Noble, the biggest book retailer in the nation, currently operates 775 retail bookstores. For first time novelists in my genre, they usually stock 2-6 copies of a hard back book. (BTW, if after eight weeks the book has sold decently, they will model the book for the store which means when they sell out, they order some more.  Other books that aren’t modeled are not reordered or are sent back to the publisher.) Kroger, on the other hand, operates 2,500 + grocery stores with book sections in them. That’s more than three times the size of B&N! That gives so many more readers the chance to preview the book. Heck, to even know it exists.

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    Also, if you spot the books while shopping at your local Smith’s, please let me know. I’d like to know how widely they’ve been distributed.

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    More info on the American Fork Arts Council Gig

    ByJohn Brown

    Fat head alert.     

    Not to be missed – the most useful speech on writing you will ever hear! Keynote speaker John D. Brown will present ‘Three things you MUST know to write killer stories.’ John Brown is a prize-winning short story writer and novelist. His epic fantasy novel, “Servant of a Dark God” will be released in North America in September 2009. 

    “Most useful” is nice. Let’s hope I can live up to that one.  🙂 I’m looking forward to this event. A lot of other great authors will be there as well as editors from Deseret Book, Covenant, and Cedar Fort. If you’re a regional writer, you won’t want to miss this. Full information here on the American Fork Arts Council council for writers.

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  • Bad Penny Vote

    ByJohn Brown

    For those of you who are thriller readers, which two of the following would you be most interested in?

    Before you make your choice, please note that they’re mockups. Unfinished. We’re just getting the idea.

    Note as well that BAD PENNY is not a thriller of the spy, mystery, or intrigue type. It’s not military, cop, or FBI. It’s not fearful woman-in-jeopardy suspense. It’s not serial killer. It’s Lone Ranger Kicks Butt–a guy outside the law saves some folks and metes out justice. It’s action. And when thinking about tone, if you have the lighter KNIGHT AND DAY on one side and the very serious Jason Bourne or John LeCarre on the other, this one leans towards KNIGHT AND DAY.

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7 Comments

  1. So it will still be a year to two years after you are finished with this first draft before it is offically on shelves, correct?

  6. Man, I can’t wait! Been looking forward to this one since putting the last one down. Good luck!

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