Sigh. Finally Chapter 1 is done for City Of Mirrors.

I think i've finished chapter one for City of Mirrors. the word count is around 3400 at this point.
yey me. today added another 503 words.

I think that's enough for now. Gotta work out the next flash back which starts the next chapter.

Kay..

Working on a new (for me) writing style, and City of Mirrors update.

So I added another 405 words to City of Mirrors, yey me! I'm about to introduce a new character. ^_^

In related news, i think for Nanowrimo i'm gonna try and write the story out completely as possible without dialogue and then go back through and fill in the dialogue. Just an idea.

thats about it for now. Still haven't figure out what i'm doing for nanowrimo this year. sigh.

Laterz!

Plot danger and beasties!

So i'm starting to feel that i've gone from making my story bigger to making a different story all together. It seems to be a thin line between the two.

In other news, filling out my beastiary and i'm at like 20 races? i need more, more i tell you!!!

k laterz!

Okay so i've got a plot problem...

I rcently decided to add the Alice in Wonderland plot to the City of Mirrors book and it incedentaly cut out the romantic plot line for the MC. Now i have to figur out how to get a copy of a dead persons memories into the antagonist/love intrests brain. sigh... hmm maybe i can have him try to steal the bunny then get possed, then have the sister die, then have the other sister get the bunny?
...
But then the sister kinda dies for no reason..
..
oh! or maybe the sister dies so the guy can get the bunny instead of losing the bunny first and then dying? sounds good!

and that folks is how i write a story plot!
You're Welcome!
^_^
lol

Superheroes on the horizon?

So, i've known for a while that superheroes were part of my earth universe, but i couldn't figure out their purpose, where exaclty they'd fit in geographically wise, or what exactly they were.

I mean most cites are run by a pantheon of god-avatars. Plus the supernaural community polices it's own.

I recently , we'll say discovered, discovered that superheroes are superhumans and i define them as humans who have access to parts of their brains that base line humans don't have acces to and who develop abilities relating to telekinesis, advanced thought processing speed, and/or enhanced senses.

My superheroes are only those that gain abilities form using parts of their brain. Not from magic, or genetics.

I'll be writing a post about humans and the population of earth in the gates crossing universe soon.

Anywasy, that's it for now.
TTYL

CIty of Mirrors: Writing Journal #1

Hey,
Here's the first entry of my new writing journal for City of Mirrors.
Now I've already made some progress on writing the story and it been sitting at a word count of around 2466.
As far as notes go i've got some written down on paper, but the ones i've got in word processing run around 1480.
Today i added around 264 words in notes. So i'm up around 1750, yes i'm gratuitously inflting my word count. yey me.

Also yey me i didn't realize that i'd written the intro seen to the "vampires" which i was having trouble (writers block).

I've been keeping you updated about my issues with feeling my story's to character interaction driven and not enough action or dramas.

SOOO, i've decided to switch my backstory around a bit, in order to add more drama to the present of the story.
What does this mean for ya'll possible future readers. it means that there's gonna be a heavy Alice in Wonderland theme running through the book, which will carry over a bit into the book featuring Aideen and Miyuki's story. sigh. Hopefully this'll be the only major adjustment that i'll have to fit in.
I;m just happy that i hadn't written anything yet that adding this woulda required a major rewrite.

That's it for today. later i'm gonna reread what i've got since i've obviously forgotten most of the written story.

Anways, smooches!

Oops, it's been awile!

KK,
So I moved to the Big Island, and have been settling in.
My goal is to finish a book by November 1st, so i'll be able to start a book for NaNoWriMo 2014.

I've been lazy tho and i haven't written even one word yet, although i have been doing some research for additional drama and action.

I'll be trying to finish City Of Mirrors before November and here are some changes I've decided to make:

Added an Alice in Wonderland action plot line.
Ran into a problem with the Fey and how long they can stay on Earth and why...sigh that ones gonna give me writers block, i just know it.

Guess that's about it.

Gonna try to do a Blog Journal thingy on my writing progress. It'll try to be someplace where i update ya'll on my word count and my process and tribulations of trying to get this book done.

Wish me luck!

Upcoming Projects for 2014!

Kay so I'm moving at the beginning of 2014, and my plan is to begin writing after settling in.
I've got 5 projects in the works, as those of you who follow the blog know.
My main focus will be on "Wild Cards", "Seeds of Prophecy", "Curses", and "City of Mirrors".
"Heart of Stone" might end up becoming a novella, since the writing style i'm planning on using for it is a bit "fluffy". lol

Anywasy, see. ya'll then! ^_^

The Wild card intro....

-Wild Card-

My mother was Beautiful.

Not the kind of beauty that a girl innocently displays, or the beauty she then cultivates as a woman only to mourn its passing as it inevitably fades.

No my mother was Beautiful with a capital B.

Her’s was the kind of beauty that would draw the eye, and bring a smile to even the most jaded of faces. Beauty that radiated from her, and not just figuratively, but literally since she possessed a magical glow. Again, quite literally.

But as a young girl I knew little of magic and what it meant. All I knew is that she was beautiful, and that someday I too would be beautiful.

How did I know this? You may ask.

Because she would tell me on those few occasions I would sit at her vanity, covered with its brushes and exotic perfumes, and watch her get ready for one event or another.

For a moment before my father came to escort her, she would gently embrace me and tell me that one day it too would be my turn to beautiful.

And oh, how I would long for that day. Lying awake at night in my room thinking of what the future would bring. For I had seen in my mother even at such a young age what beauty could bring.

Beauty which brought light to the darkness.

Beauty that had soothed the frightening beast that was my father.

 

Beauty which had lead strange men to invade our home one night, and smother her in adoration even as they cut her open before my eyes.

*Here ends the intro or preface, i guess....*
For this book i Intend to start each Chapter with a preface simmilar to this written in the voice of a historical or fictional historical figure, think Cleopatra, Alice(of "Alice in Wonderland"), etc. That'll break things up but won't follow the pattern of my other gate's crossing series which preface Chapter with flashbacks. My "Heart" series opens with a flash back prologue, and my Omoria series has no flashbacks at all.

Working on NaNoWriMo and other stuff... ^_^

So i'm still working on the plot to my NaNoWriMo entry. yey me.
i've got pretty much the entire back story, and i've fitted it into Universe 1.
I've also gone ahead and figured out the over arching drama plot in the story so now i just need a few more points of contention to add.

In other news, i started writing Curses, but i stopped cause i got tired in RL so i've only got a few paragraphs down. sad face.

Next up I've been rattling around some werewolf things in my brain that i was initially gonna use for the NaNoWriMo book, but have decided that i'm gonna make it's own series too. Maybe i'll do a spin off character setup.

The NaNoWriMo book comes after book one of the Gate's Crossing series, but before Book 2 of the Gate's Crossing series.

Maybe i post the Werewolf hierarchy soon. smooches!

W/S: Vampires

This weeks "Writing Supernaturals" post is brought to you by esteemed author Katica Locke, who can be located a http://katicalocke.wordpress.com/  .

On Ms. Locke's website she has a number of articles which provide details into her writing process and views on the types of character she uses in her writing.

Below I've reposted with her permission her article on Vampires in it's entirety. Ms. Lock says:

I was brainstorming the other day, working on a plot for my next Suburban Fantasy story, and I realized I hadn’t written an article on vampires yet. I have been a vampire fan for many years–so long ago that I can’t remember what started my fascination. I do remember chasing my little sister around the house as a child, the broken tines from a white plastic fork held tight between my upper lip and gums like fangs. Yes, I was a strange child. I haven’t changed much.
I grew up in the era of romantic vamps, the dark, brooding sort who lament their lost mortality and strive to atone for their crimes, the kind that can be dangerous, but fight against their baser instincts and thirst for blood. That’s the kind of vampire I like to write about.
In my universe, being turned into a vampire is a deliberate act that takes three days to complete. The act of biting a mortal does not turn them into a vampire. The vampire-to-be must either be willing, or held captive. The first step is to have a significant amount of blood removed and replaced with vampire blood. This works best through a transfusion. Within the first twelve hours of the first transfusion, subsequent transfusions may take place, which help speed the process and may be necessary if the vampire donor is young.
After the blood is transfused, the vampire-to-be must remain out of direct sunlight for sixty to eighty hours, depending on the potency of the vampire blood. Exposure to sunlight, for as little as a few minutes, halts the transformation progress. If exposed during the first day, the vampire-to-be remains mortal and can make another attempt to be turned at a later date.
If exposed during the second or third day, the vampire-to-be is stuck as a ghoul and cannot ever complete the change into a vampire. Ghouls are halfway between mortal and vampire–they live longer, are stronger and faster, hear, see, and smell better, are sensitive to sunlight and heat, and crave blood. The will eventually die of old age, but sunlight will not kill them and do not need to feed exclusively on blood to survive.
After the third day, the mortal has become a vampire, though it can take up to a week for their fangs to grow in and sunlight to become fatal. During this transitional period, they are very vulnerable, at the mercy of a terrible thirst for blood, but not yet strong enough to protect themselves. Most die before having been a vampire for fifty years–more than half of those within the first few months.
Vampires do not technically feed on blood. Their internal organs are repurposed, their digestive system transforming into a storage and distribution center. Blood is held in the stomach until needed, then moved into the intestines, where connective blood vessels have attached, allowing the blood to be sent where needed.
Since a vampire’s heart ceases to beat within a few days of being turned, the circulatory system is no longer needed. Veins, arteries, blood vessels, and capillaries are rerouted into one-way streets, taking blood out to the tissue that needs it. As blood is consumed by tissue, it creates negative pressure, drawing more blood to fill the space. Vampire tissue is so efficient at consuming blood that it produces very little waste product. What is produced cannot be removed in the normal, mortal fashion since the system is no longer circulatory. The waste is simply pushed to the surface and exuded in minute amounts through the pores as a slightly waxy substance, not unlike mortal sweat. This waste is virtually undetectable unless the vampire has poor personal hygiene, in which case it builds up on the skin and their clothes, giving them a musty smell that has long been associated with the undead in folklore.
Speaking of myth and folklore, I ran into an interesting dilemma when I had to choose which parts of the vampire legends to keep and which to disregard, and come up with good reasons for both. I decided the religious aspects had to go since few of my books take place on Earth, and it would seem strange for a vampire who had never heard of Christianity to be repelled by crosses and holy water. Also, it insinuated that vampires are inherently evil, which was something I wanted to avoid.
I changed garlic from vampire repellant to simply repugnant due to its strong odor and a vampire’s keen sense of smell. I didn’t see a use for the OCD behavior of needing to untie knots or pick up and count small items that had spilled, like seeds or rice, except as comic relief. In a truly life or death situation, it would seem silly.
My vampires do have trouble crossing moving water, and they can’t touch hawthorn or garnet, though those particular traits haven’t made an appearance in any book yet. Their bodies are cold, right around room temperature, since all metabolic functions have ceased. Heat degrades vampire tissue, so the colder they can stay, the less blood they need to drink. They don’t have reflections, nor do they show up on film or in digital photographs, however, they are not simply absent from the picture, they appear as a blur. In mirrors, they are like a mirage, a hazy, indistinct form seen out of the corner of the eye, but gone when looked at directly. They will die if exposed to the sun, the light burning exposed skin, the heat and UV radiation damaging the tissue until all the blood inside them is used up and their tissue cannibalizes itself trying to repair the damage being done.
They are adapted to feeding on humans, with small, slender fangs that pierce the skin and arteries without tearing out huge chunks of flesh. They are inconspicuous predators, often trying to blend in with their prey. Their saliva contains pain-killing enzymes which act quickly on open wounds. The act of drinking is often pleasurable and even erotic to the one being drunk from–a unique way to subdue a frightened or struggling victim–though not everyone responds this way. Some mortals take no pleasure from it, while others are intensely sensitive to it. Most find that the act becomes more pleasurable with each subsequent bite.
Now, as far them being evil or soulless, I prefer to let my characters be individuals. A kind mortal is going to become a kind vampire (with some understandable issues about his thirst for blood). An arrogant mortal is going to become an arrogant vampire (perhaps with new narcissistic tendencies due to new-found eternal youth). A timid mortal is going to become a timid vampire (or maybe not–maybe his new strength and urge to kill will give him the push he’s been waiting for to tip him over the edge and he goes on a killing spree). I like having the option to develop the characters. Vampire = monster doesn’t leave a lot of room for character development.
Picking a favorite vampire from among my characters is easy–Lucifer, the vampire stallion. He’s every bit the vicious predator, but with almost human intelligence. You can read about him in The Devil’s Hunt and Broken Wings, both free on FictionPress, and in Magebound, available through Amazon.com and other online book retailers.
Second favorite is Julian Marcellos. He’s dark and sexy, with decades of practice in the art of seduction, but still young enough to be insecure about his vampirism. I’m a sucker for that kind of vulnerability in a character; makes me want to huggle them. You can read about Julian in A Crash-course in Kinsa-sitting here on the website, and in the Suburban Fantasy series, which can be purchased from Shadowfire Press.
As far as vampire villains go, I actually have a couple. In Sparkles & Strawberries, Ezarali and Zarik must infiltrate an S&M club run by a sadistic vampire, and in Empathetic Magic (currently unreleased) the heroes must return a lost necklace to Lord Raethen, a crazed teenaged vampire. Of course, there is hope of redemption for Lord Raethen, because I cannot seem to create unredeemable villains.
That’s everything I can think of. I hope you enjoyed reading this article and if you have any questions, don’t be afraid to ask!

I appreciate how Ms. Locke hasn't adhered to common stereotypes when writing her version of the Vampire mythology. She's put a lot of thought into what she wants these characters to be like as well as realizing that the world she has placed them in would have an effect on them and they're mythology.

Personally, Vampires aren't my favorite type of supernatural/paranormal creature, and i studiously avoid fiction in which they are the main character due to their over abundance. Also, i'm more than a little put off by the "blood focus" which is often associated and quit frankly unavoidable when a story is told from a Vampires perspective. 

In my multi-verse, Vampires are relegated to the Gate's Crossing Universe (also known as Earth #1). They are actually part of the Komu (Japanese spider demons) Hierarchy. 

The Komu Hierarchy is organized as follows:
Komu: At the top are the Komu themselves. Komu are always Female, and are "pure blooded" descendents. They live in Japan and rarely leave the compounds which are referred to as nests. There are 4 nests coinciding with the cardinal directions. They consider males disposable.
Pure blooded males ( Master Vampires ): Next are Pure blooded males which the Komu breed with in order to create more Komu, although pure blooded males are also born of such unions. They often have enhanced strength and speed. They are also susceptible to sunlight, but it simply causes severe sunburn and they are capable of remaining awake during the day. They are required to obey the Komu.
 Non-Pure blooded Vampires (Vampires) : These types of vampires are created by Master Vampires. They are also technically undead. While they are not forcibly/magically controlled by their masters, they often trade their servitude for the "immortality" associated with being a vampire. They cannot create vampires themselves, and their ranking within their covens/seethes are based on what they bring in. They have enhanced strength and speed. while the Komu acknowledge the usefulness of Pure blooded males, non pure blood vampires are ignored, in the event they make nuisances of themselves or draw the attention of a Komu they are killed. They are susceptible to sunlight, they are also highly flammable. They "sleep" during the day, although a master vampire can adjust them to be awake during the day but that is at the master vampires discretion.

So that's what i've got on Vampires, Check out Ms. Locke when you have the chance. 
And remember to pick up "Broken Wings" on Smashwords at https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/katicalocke

W/S: Consistency

It might be because i'm Bi-Polar, and part of that is increased OCD like compensative tendencies, but i like structure. As far as that applies to books, I've read A LOT of books and there is structure in what i've read that i expect to continue in the future books i read. People act like people, even when they're not people. Nobody is perfect and those that are perfect don't deal with perfect people so leaks happen and mistakes happen and shit happpens.

So when i read or watch something i expect, and in fact often take for granted, the fact that i can tell you what happens to a certain extent with the story or plot. I expect consitency for the most part. It's when the story starts to go off in unexpected directions that i begin to doubt the writer.

As an aspiring writer of fiction, I believe that the one thing you shouldn't do is ret-con your own characters. Putting them in life changing situations in an effort to change their perspective is fine, but a friend should be a friend and an enemy should be an enemy.
And you should always know where the story starts and where it ends. Hoe you get there isn't the issue it's know when to stop and let it go. If you end up in a situation where your story is beloved and people want more you need to know when to say "it's done. that's all i've got."
Forcing an extension often results in inconsistency.

That's why I often have outlines for multiple books within a series, with the final book ending things.
Gates Crossing is actually two five book series for which the first four books are shared and there are two vaguely, but consistently different versions of the last book.

UPCOMING POSTS: Hey, all. ^_^

So, I haven't been posting things in a minute, but i have been working on stuff. (^_^)
I've got partial outlines completed for "City of Mirrors" and "A Heart of Stone", yey me!

I wanted to start showcasing my writing a bit, but I'm hell'a lazy, and i'd like to present a completed work..andchargepeople...no freebies!!! lol, but seriously all of the books i've started work on are parts of at minimum 4 book series. That's a lot of work to put in for someone like me who can barely get out of bed in the morning, plus any excuse i can find myself for not doing anything is what makes my world go round, so i think about things like eventual sales to give me a reason not to do things. sadface (>_<)

SOOOOO, what i'm gonna do is start a new blog series, tentitively tittled, "Ask TheLostSigns" where i answer the questions of fictious characters and give them my own brand of real life advise. It's gonna be a hot mess.

I'll also be posting another "Writing Supernaturals" in the next few days. I hope it's a good one since i'll be writing about a subject that makes me akward in real life. See random euphimisms in the post.

While i'm trying to do these on a weekly basis I'm gonna figure out a series of "free fiction" i can write for my blog. Hope fully it'll be something i can turn into a series of ongoing oneshot fic-bits that won't neccesarily be about characters you'd like to see in a full book. I.e. you'll be satisfied with a bit of story that has a biggining, middle, and end.

Wish me luck! ^_^

Update: City Of Mirrors -A Gate's Crossing Novel-

Worked on the book a bit this morning and finished the prologue. gah,
 for those of you who don't know i began writing the story down on my computer on April 8th 2012. And as of today the word count is around 2100 words and i have completed the prologue and am part way through the first chapter. Don't ask me how far because i'm having organizational issues.

Anywasy that about it for now. IF i do a bit of editing i'll see about sending the prologue around to interested parties.

Smooches.

City of Mirrors? Where's the mirrors?

So yeah i realized that i kinda spaced on the whole villian part of the plot. He's not really doing any of the things that make him so important to the story, so i need to figure out how to get that into the mix.

I did however decide to cut back on the Hero's "powers", and am still working out why he's immortal, since if it's just based on his supernatural charcteristic there'd be a bunch more of them (immortals) running around then i feel there should be.

That's about it for this series.

Still doing stuff...writing

So yeah i'm still doing stuff with my writing. I have like no focus most of the time.

Update wise, i made a "document" for the therapy series i wanna write. should be fun since i wanna set it up like case notes, and have the dialog/scenes be transcribed recordings of sessions. I.E. it's just gonna be talking without anything resembling descriptions of what going on.

On the Gates Crossing front I hit another road block in the first chapter although it's set up a bit better this time so i should be able to write myself out of it.
i'm thinking i should go in and writ the prologue and 1st chapter cutscene, before i start moving foreward though. also i need to fleshout my plot a bit. It's pretty muc a straight shot from the start to te end and i think it's a bit more stuff to make it interesting. More of the sense of really telling the story and not just streamlining it so it makes sense to someone who knows whats going on, i.e. me, lol, which is where it's at now.

Planning on going in and jotting down ideas for the Omoria series, before they dissapear completely from my head.

Mirror Mirror series is on hiatus because i'm a hot mess and i have to much stuff in my head right now. @_@

I'm gonna try to add to the "companion" books when i umm feel like it? but hopefully a bit more often then i'm doing now. They're for my reference first and foremost so i'm not in a big rush about getting them finished since that's kind of an impossible goal. Plus editing them all the time would be time consuming.

Thats about it for now. kk. smooches!!

Hmm, New Scenes for "City of Mirrors"

Worked on "City Of Mirrors" a bit, and was surprised that a number of scenes needed to be added.

I was under the impression that I knew exactly how the story would unfold, but i guess it's easier to know what happens when you know what happens..>_<
lol

Hopefully I'll be working on the book somemore soon. ^_^