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Where writing takes you
Every book and story I write starts with a simple idea, a little jolt of energy that makes me scratch my chin and go: “Huh,” or toss and turn in bed until I jot it down. I usually begin writing immediately before the initial spark fades away and make sense of symbolism and themes in a later draft. During the first draft, though, I usually go down rabbit holes and follow the research each character requires. For Istahar in Messengers Rising, for example, that meant learning about archeology, which tied nicely with the research I had already done about Derinkuyu from Documentaries and interviews I had watched. The 444 series is woven with mythological connective tissue. I have read as much from the Bible in the past few months as I have read in all my life before that.
TV shows and books like The Last Kingdom and the Viking video game Assassins Creed: Valhalla fueled the fire for the first book in the series, Hefnd. Before I knew it, I was immersed in Norse mythology, gods, giants, Nordic chants, and music. I enjoyed imagining the story as I explored the lands of England and listened to the amazing soundtrack to that game. I began writing this story as an experiment using Kindle Vella to see if I could commit to around a thousand-word chapters weekly. I finished the story in ten chapters, but the story changed (improved) dramatically by the time it went on sale as a book.
With Path of the Hybrids, I found myself again immersed in Mythology, but also Genetic Engineering, reading (and sometimes listening) to Brave New World by Aldous Huxley while I sanded 2 x 12″ pine boards in 100-degree Texas weather to build our bookshelves.
The yet-to-be-named conclusion to the series is coming along nicely. As of this writing, it stands at over 22,000 words. I’m drawing inspiration from our trip to Norway, having a son, a sense of adventure, loss, and grief, and trusting that life works in ebbs and flows. Ultimately, it sorts itself out if you put in the work and allow the higher power, whatever you want to call it, to use you and your talents in its (His?) master plan.
I hope you enjoy what I have in store for you, not only for this series but for the future. There are a lot of projects in the works, which I will post about as they near completion. As always, feel free to email me or comment. Until next time.
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