Kyri and her party had just had an unexpected guest arrive... Chapter 4. Tobimar hadn't recognized the tall Artan, but he knew the name that Kyri gasped as the warrior nearly fell face-first to the polished stone floor. He taught her entire family, including her parents, her brother, and her sister. Kyri reached the Artan warrior, whose deep-violet hair pooled slightly on the floor before him as he sat on all fours, arms and knees supporting him so he looked like a man broken. "Lythos… Sho-Ka-Taida, are [ Continue reading... ]
Phoenix in Shadow: Chapter 2
December 22, 2014 By Leave a Comment
And now that the preliminaries are out of the way, let's get to our main characters! ------ Chapter 2. "Down!" Kyri shouted. Tobimar reacted just in time; the huge serpent's venom sprayed above his head, striking the grass and bushes behind them, almost instantly turning them gray and brittle. "Terian and Chromaias!" If that struck him, he could be killed! Not that getting hit by the thing's immense teeth or caught by coils the thickness of a strong man's thigh would be any better, but [ Continue reading... ]
Phoenix in Shadow: Chapter 1
December 17, 2014 By 7 Comments
And before we get back to our main heroes, we need to look in on a more conflicted adversary... ------ Chapter 1. Aran felt cold, cold inside, so cold that he was able to ignore his fear entirely. There is nothing to fear here, not now. For what I want and what It wants, they must be the same now. Even so, he had to steel himself to knock at the great stone and metal portal which was the Hall of Balance, the innermost area of the Justiciar's Retreat… and the chosen quarters [ Continue reading... ]
Phoenix in Shadow: Prologue
December 15, 2014 By 2 Comments
Now we begin the sequel to Phoenix Rising, Phoenix in Shadow, second in the Balanced Sword trilogy! And we start with a look at the real bad guy in the whole trilogy... ------ Prologue. This is… most interesting. It surveyed the clearing, smoke still drifting from multiple scattered fires which had – mostly – died out by now, dozens of bodies of monstrous, twisted… things lying everywhere, and a huge scar of blackened earth that stretched from an underground opening to fan out all the way to [ Continue reading... ]
Paradigms Lost: Chapter 46
October 27, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Now we come to the end of this adventure.. and the end of the snippets of Paradigms Lost! I hope you've enjoyed them. If you can't wait to read the rest, the eARC is now available at Baen Books! ----- Chapter 46: Explanations "I must confess, Jason, that there are a few things which remain unclear to me." Rebuilding Verne's mansion was taking some time. It had also taken a lot of fast talking to keep Jeri from poking her nose too far in; even though the mansion was relatively isolated, the battle between the [ Continue reading... ]
Paradigms Lost: Chapter 38
September 29, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Aaaaand here comes the second punch of the one-two, Jason. Watch out for pieces of shattered beliefs! ----- Chapter 38: It Was an Age Undreamed Of… The Sh'ekatha, or Highest Speaker, gazed in bemused wonder at the tiny figure before him. Beneath the tangled mass of hair, filled with sticks and briar thorns, two serious, emerald-green eyes regarded him. Across the back was strapped a gigantic (for such a small traveller) sword, three feet long with a blade over five inches wide. A bright golden [ Continue reading... ]
Paradigms Lost: Chapter 34
September 15, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Jason had found Verne a long-lost friend, but... ----- Chapter 34: Reunion Jitters "Guess who!" Two soft hands covered my eyes in time with the words. To my credit, I managed to keep from jumping, though she probably knew how much she'd startled me anyway. "Madame Blavatsky?" She giggled. "Nope." "Nostradamus?" "Do I feel like I have a beard? Try again!" "Then it must be the great Medium of the Mohawk Valley herself, Sylvia Stake!" The hands came away as I turned around. "You [ Continue reading... ]
Under the Influence: The Lord of the Rings and J.R.R. Tolkien
April 11, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky, Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone, Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die, One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne, In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. One ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. There may be no other modern work which has so completely defined and then overshadowed a genre as The Lord of the Rings. Written by John Ronald [ Continue reading... ]
Hugo and other Award eligible stuff, and general update…
January 4, 2014 By Leave a Comment
First, a combination of the holidays and being quite sick (with an annoying gut issue called mesenteric lymphadenitis) has caused me to be unable to contribute properly to my usual postings. I apologize for this and hope to be able to resume shortly. I am now about 1/3 of the way through the sequel to Phoenix Rising, currently titled Phoenix in Shadow, and have started a couple other things. Now, as the year has just ended, it's time to fantasize about getting awards. Yes, I know I don't write the sort of stuff likely to get [ Continue reading... ]
Just For Fun: The Annotated Evil Overlord Part 5
November 18, 2013 By 2 Comments
Herewith is the final part of the dissection of the Evil Overlord list. Back to more "regular" columns later this week! For convenience, I'm including our panel listing in each post. Our Expert Panel We have assembled for this special conference several fine villains who have wreaked havoc throughout the known multiverse. Let's meet them: Virigar. King of the Great Werewolves and progenitor of the species, Virigar is the most-feared monster on all of Zarathan. A soul-eating, nearly indestructible being, Virigar's [ Continue reading... ]
What You’re Saying