Bruce Launches a Patreon!

Guess what? I’m writing another novel. Wahoo! Two novels, actually, but it’s taking a lot more time than I’m used to. What gives?

In the past, and with the aid of deadlines imposed by my previous publishers, I've published 10 novels. 

 

Shelf of previous novels

Without a deadline imposed on me, I've finished… 0 novels (though I've started two).

See the problem? I've got the aforementioned 2 novels I'd like to complete, but it's easy to let my RPG-writing day job take up all my "writing spoons" without a novel-writing deadline to motivate me to make mental space for both.

WHICH IS WHY PATREON COULD BE JUST THE TICKET! (Ahem.) Please consider joining me. I'm always looking for a good accomplice, collaborator, or co-conspirator.

In addition to other Patreon perks for my patrons, I’ll be providing excerpts from in-progress novel chapters, short stories, and game design work, as well as occasional thoughts and strategies on writing fiction and RPGs. Most perks will be for patrons. But not always. In fact, this being my launch day, I face the prospect of getting the word out to anyone who might want to lend a hand. So, I’m sharing this excerpt widely! (And you’d have my thanks if you helped me spread it around a bit, too!)

Excerpt The Ark Of Broken Dreams:

The shadowy stairs and a man who wasn’t there dissolved as I opened my eyes. Bird song and dawn light feathered the pine canopy overhead. My hammock swayed a bit, probably momentum left over from a bit of unconscious thrashing. Realization calmed my quick breaths and thudding heart. My shaky laughter filled the campsite. 

Across from the dead campfire in her own hammock, Shiela Gilbert watched me, her head poking from the top of her sleeping bag. “Why so happy?”

I smiled, actually glad to see her for once. “I just had a nightmare that scared the living shit out of me. I’m laughing because it wasn’t real.”

Her mouth quirked as she considered. “Hmm. Haven’t had one of those for awhile.”

Field geologist Shiela Gilbert was a no-nonsense achiever with little tolerance for ephemeral “crap,” as she called it. Things like the interests and concerns of other people, for instance. Or whatever nonsense they dreamed about at night. What got her excited was the discovery of new mineral deposits, stratification, subduction zone maps, and other things geological. Otherwise, she tended to tune others out.

“I still get bad dreams,” I admitted. “From time to time.” Though not usually ones so real. The dream reminded me of when I was a kid and stayed up late watching Creature Feature. A habit that had inevitably led to nightmares: blood stains on the floor that wouldn’t come out, mud men that pulled you underground to some unspeakable fate, and dead faces staring in through second story windows.

Although the nightmare I’d just had was completely new. I’d been watching something called “DEVILTRY” on tv. The show’s title had animated, then slithered right out of the screen into the real world, morphing into a sort of demonic dragon-thing. Whose teeth, though made of letters, were horrifyingly sharp. I ran, only to come face to face with something on the stairs.

You know those specks that sometimes float on the surface of your eyes? The little phantom dots, floating around that you can never quite focus on? That’s what the man coming down the stairs was made of. 

Yeah, like I said. A bad dream.

Thanks for reading! Please check out my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/brucecordell

And The Winners Are . . .

A few weeks ago I announced a contest to give away one of my novels performed by John Pruden available on Audible.com (three Abolethic books, and two Sword of Gods books). 

Well, that contest has run its course, and the three winners have been selected! The winners are as follows:

Ken Hart (@KenofGhastria on Twitter) gets an audio copy of Plague of Spells!

Doug Hopkins (@combatadvantage on Twitter) gets an audio copy of Sword of the Gods (Book 1)!

Randall Newnham (@coffeeswiller on Twitter) gets an audio copy of Plague of Spells!

I'd like to thank everyone who entered for your interest in these books. 

Stardeep: A Forgotten Realms Novel

A message summons Kiril Duskmourn back to the hidden dungeon of Stardeep, a message that finds her a full decade after she fled her duties there. Kiril has no choice but to respond. How can she do anything else?

The message is, impossibly, from the long dead man who's soul is trapped in her sword Angul.

Hello! Thanks for your interest in my novel. If you'd like to purchase a copy, you can do so in one of the following 3 ways.

1) You can get an audiobook of Stardeep (performed by John Pruden) at Audible.com.

2) You can get an ebook copy of Stardeep on Kindle, Kobo, or Nook.

3) You can acquire a used copy of Stardeep at a hard-to-beat price.

4) You can also get a new copy of Stardeep, but that'll cost a bit more ;-).

Stardeep is a stand-alone novel, but the a thread of the story continues in the Abolethic Sovereignty trilogy!

One of the stand-out characters in Stardeep is Kiril Duskmourn. Here's what I once wrote about her:

A Profile of Kiril Duskmourn 

Kiril Duskmourn is on the run. She flees the honors she once attained, and the memory of noble deeds she accomplished. She seeks to outrace the price she paid for her triumph: the loss of her love, and then, the loss of her innocence.

Kiril has blood on her hands, and redemption lies beyond her grasp.

So she wanders, a hard-bitten, drunken sellsword perpetually a few drinks from oblivion, courtesy of the bottomless whisky flask strapped to her belt. She curses and swears her way from one day to the next, unable to put behind her the tragedy that changed her life.

How could she forget? After all, strapped to her other hip is the sword Angul. Angul's unforgiving steel contains the soul of her dead lover, a soul stripped of all darkness, doubt, and mortal failing. In Angul burns a righteousness that surpasses worldly virtue. His light burns away all doubt and shades of gray, bathing his wielder in warm, certain, and lethal clarity. When one wields Angul, no wrong is too small to punish.

It was Angul that drove Kiril to the crime she flees to this day. She hates the blade and what it made her. Yet, she yearns for it, too, for it is her last and only tie with her lost love. To give up Angul would be to give up the only thing she still cares for.

Now, a message summons her back to the hidden dungeon of Stardeep, a message that finds her a full decade after she fled her duties there. Kiril has no choice but to respond. How can she do anything else?

The message is, impossibly, from the long dead man who's soul is trapped in her sword Angul.

Follow Raidon Kane

Wouldn't it be cool if we could interact with our favorite novel characters in real life? Well, short of a schizoid break or some sort or reality rip that seems rather unlikely, all things considered, I bring you the next best thing:

Follow and interact with Raidon Kane on Twitter. Raidon is the character appearing in four of my D&D novels. Experience events inside his head as events draw toward the finale in Key of Stars!

You can find the Twitter feed here; just hit the FOLLOW button:

bit.ly/raidon

Tome Show Podcast Appearance

The folks at the Tome Show (a Dungeons & Dragons news, reviews, and interview program) where kind enough to review Plague of Spells and City of Torment, then interview me in the bargain.

It turns out reviews and interviews on the Tome Show are in-depth and far-reaching.

In fact, having just listened to the episode in which I appear, I'd liken it to one of those DVD Criterion extra discs, which delves into the material to provide a deeper level of understanding of both the story and the intent, motivations, and inspirations behind the story.

Which means, if you haven't read Plague of Spells or City of Torment yet, I recommend you just let me tell you Will Wong's "short short version" of the review: They're both good books; you should buy them.

On the other hand, if you've read the two novels or you don't mind learning a couple plot points ahead of reading them for yourself, head over to the Tome Show site or iTunes and download the episode. Few interviews have previously pressed me so closely!

Book Nook with Bruce Cordell

City of Torment is available at fine booksellers everywhere!

City of Torment, Book 2

I have gotten so caught up in my presence in Twitter, Facebook, and even the new Wizards community that I've neglected my touchstone online presence, what should be "Bruce R. Cordell headquarters;" my blog.

Which means I've failed to announce (here on my blog) the release of the 2nd book in my ongoing trilogy, City of Torment.

City of Torment picks up immediately after Plague of Spells. Japheth was forced to make a desperate play, and Raidon Kane is none too happy. But of them all, Anusha has the most to lose; her mind and soul is dragged down to a City of Torment, and baring a miracle will serve as food for the eldest aboleth!

What do others think? Check out this review at Grasping for the Wind, for starters!

On (writing) Vacation!

Yes, I'm on vacation! I'm a little ways into week 2 of a 2 week vacation from designing D&D for Wizards of the coast.

What fun, relaxing activities am I happily engaging? Why, finishing off a novel, the third one in an FR trilogy dealing with aboleths and other Far Realm nasties. Oh yes, I know how to par TAY on my time off.

Seriously though, I have been digging living the life of a "writer" over this last week. Sure, some days are harder than others. Some days I mess around online, updating twitter/facebook, and writing community blog posts when I should be writing. But, everything's coming along great. I'm hitting the daily word count I've set for myself. And even this far in, I'm finding synchronicities and plot easter-eggs I left for myself by purest of accidents which turn out to be exactly the plot twist I wanted all along.

So... back to it!

Audible Reading Chapter 7 Plague of Spells

Wizards posted a podcast of me reading Chapter 7 of Plague of Spells HERE. Take a listen! (there is about a 10 second gap in the middle as of this posting, hopefully that'll be fixed up soon enough).

-http://media.gleemax.com/podcasts/DnD_Episode32b.mp3

Fantasy Book Critic on Plague of Spells

Many thanks to David Craddock and Robert Thompson at Fantasy Book Critic for their review of Plague of Spells HERE.

An excerpt:

The warrior monk's Spellplague-caused trauma temporarily renders him an amnesiac, and this loss of identity puts the reader on equal footing with the character. Though Raidon has appeared in other Forgotten Realms works, not much is known about him at first: he has a daughter, and he is a creature bounty hunter. As Raidon regains his memory and searches for his daughter—Did she survive the Spellplague? Raidon doesn't know, and neither do you—the reader is able to follow Raidon step for step. The result is an easily forged connection with the character, as well as the world itself.

Plague of Spells Reviews

In the spirit of book promotion,I sent out my author copies of Plague of Spells to online sites that review fantasy novels about four weeks ago. Now, the reviews are coming in! Take a look:

Grasping For the Wind

The Beezer Review

Graeme's Fantasy Book Review

Take a look at what the reviewers are saying!

Plague of Spells: Ruins of Starmantle

Another bit of Plague of Spells novel promotion, this time in the form of a fragment of the narrative turned into a D&D encounter you can add to your game!

In this scene, Raidon Kane comes upon the city of Starmantle, but finds it has changed much since his last visit . . .

Starmantle was gone.

In its place was a madman’s fancy. Translucent emerald
spires reached from the earth in wild abandon. Each hummed
a single flutelike note. In their thousands, the spires produced an
atonal melody that clawed at sanity.

If you're a subscriber to DDi (and Dragon and Dungeon magazine), download the PDF.

If you're not a subscriber . . . I apologize. As the author, I'd hoped to make this a purely promotional piece for Plague of Spells, but Dungeon saw it as premium content that its subscribers should have the benefit of, which I understand. So, if you really want to see this scene of the book come alive as a D&D encounter, consider it another reason to take the plunge and subscribe to DDi.

Find it here at:
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/duad/20081203

Plague of Spells Released Today!

Guess what? The novel Plague of Spells is officially released today. (In good Shadowrealm company.)

For a taste, download the free first chapter here.

If you'd like to talk about the book, you can do so in the comments here, in the comments at plagueofspells.com, or on other online forums I'll find links for.

Reviews are pending, but please provide your own, I'd love to hear it!

Plague of Spells Chapter 1 (and author interview)

Download a free copy of the first chapter of Plague of Spells here!

If you want, you can also read my answers to several interview questions regarding the novel.

It's all right here: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/4spot/20081201

Plague of Spells Dec 2

The final cover for Plague of Spells has appeared on Amazon. Very nice! In two more months, the Abolethic Sovereignty shudders towards a long-foretold awareness. Will you be ready?

Progress To Date

I am making progress on Book 2 of the Abolethic Sovereignty trilogy. Book One, Plague of Spells, is due out this November. The second book is due out next October, in 2009.

I'm a little more than a third of the way through Book Two. My first draft is due November 1. Assuming I can keep my hand in the pie every day, so to speak, scribbling 500 words here and 500 words there, I should be home free.

Just to be on the safe side, though, I took two weeks off from Wizards at the end of October to make sure I have 10 completely free days to devote to writing. Better safe than sorry.

32,000 / 90,000 (35.6%)

Plague of Spells Cover

This caught me by surprise, but it looks like the Plague of Spells cover is finished. Finished, and updated on Amazon, even!

I wonder if color reproduction on this art piece is accurate to the actual cover. The the blackish goop snaking into the frame from the lower right to strike the figure should be more blue in color, and more fiery in composition. I hope the actual cover is true to that description, but if not, not the end of the world. (Just as the Year of Blue Fire/the Spellplague isn't the end of the world for Faerûn . . . For some creatures that linger beneath Faerûn's catacombed mantle, it is just the beginning.)

Either way, I dig how this cover looks.

I'm already 25k words into the 2nd book of this trilogy. I'll be glad to see this first one hit the book stores.

Stardeep's Kiril Duskmourn

I'm home this week outlining a new book. As I was going through old notes, I found a character profile for Kiril Duskmourn, one of the main characters in my novel Stardeep. This was slated to show up on Wizards' publishing page in December to promote the book, but I don't remember seeing it.

Late's better than never, right?

A Profile of Kiril Duskmourn

Kiril Duskmourn is on the run. She flees the honors she once attained, and the memory of noble deeds she accomplished. She seeks to outrace the price she paid for her triumph: the loss of her love, and then, the loss of her innocence.

Kiril has blood on her hands, and redemption lies beyond her grasp.

So she wanders, a hard-bitten, drunken sellsword perpetually a few drinks from oblivion, courtesy of the bottomless whisky flask strapped to her belt. She curses and swears her way from one day to the next, unable to put behind her the tragedy that changed her life.

How could she forget? After all, strapped to her other hip is the sword Angul. Angul's unforgiving steel contains the soul of her dead lover, a soul stripped of all darkness, doubt, and mortal failing. In Angul burns a righteousness that surpasses worldly virtue. His light burns away all doubt and shades of gray, bathing his wielder in warm, certain, and lethal clarity. When one wields Angul, no wrong is too small to punish.

It was Angul that drove Kiril to the crime she flees to this day. She hates the blade and what it made her. Yet, she yearns for it, too, for it is her last and only tie with her lost love. To give up Angul would be to give up the only thing she still cares for.

Now, a message summons her back to the hidden dungeon of Stardeep, a message that finds her a full decade after she fled her duties there. Kiril has no choice but to respond. How can she do anything else?

The message is, impossibly, from the long dead man who's soul is trapped in her sword Angul.

Deaths and Births

Don't worry, I'm not talking pets or humans.

I'm talking, first, my 5 year old 17" Mac Powerbook. It died this weekend. This machine has seen hard use, day in and day out, running 9+ hours a day. It is the tool I used to write pretty much everything since 2003. I will miss you, Mac Powerbook.

On the lighter side, I finished the 2nd draft of a Forgotten Realms novel last night (on my wife's computer). I started this one last March, turned in the 1st draft in December, got back comments, and here we are in February, done! I'm not sure I can divulge the name yet, as it hasn't yet appeared in a catalog or on Amazon.

I have two weeks free before I have to get to work on the second in the trilogy. Perhaps a new laptop solution will find me before then.