Saturday's One Line (6)

‘I have had a long road…’ Torrullin paused and then leaned in close and whispered only for Neolone’s ears, ‘far, far longer than yours.’

Authonomy Comments (6)

'This is excellent. I was hooked from the last three words of your prologue - 'He was wrong', that made me laugh just as it sent shivers up my spine...honestly, there is just such attention to detail, yet smooth flow of prose and realism of setting. You write with your own voice. I look forward to see where you take this. All the best with getting published. You really deserve it!' - Ani

The One

‘Goddess.’ Levin started to shake. ‘We heard of the One; he is Nemisin’s foretelling! One such as I will come, ages hence…and we tried to kill him!’

Vannis was grim. ‘You cannot kill him. No one can kill him. He is Immortal, he is Enchanter, Destroyer, Keeper of the Dragon, Dome Dragon and, Levin, I have never told anyone this- he is a Walker of Realms. However, that is his tale. All you have to remember is that he will do what must be done to the Dragon Neolone and then you must remember you are Valleur and he is Vallorin, with a bloodline to continue the Valla heritage. Somewhere along the way Atreidi will need to acknowledge him as supreme ruler, for he will not cast you adrift. He does not expect automatic loyalty; he will wait for you to discover it yourselves. Despite what I revealed, do not fear him…not as his name implies.’

‘So we should fear him?’ Levin said softly.

Vannis frowned and scrubbed at his face in irritation. ‘I am not explaining well…’

‘Perhaps the Vallorin can do so. Where is he?’

Vannis sighed again. ‘Gone.’

Autumn

Tuesday's One Word (5)

Sundered

- Break apart or in two, using violence

Saturday's One Line (5)

'I do believe, boys, your father aims to, er, appropriate a ship,’ Cat murmured.

Authonomy Comment (5)

'...this definitely has the feel of a different world...It's very readable, good voice and I feel part of the action. The plot deepens in chapter with the unexplainable deaths. Some of your descriptions are excellent, 'leaves skittered across cobbles, driven by gusts of contrary wind' I like that one.' - Charlie

Glittering Darkness

And one day they gazed around and noticed they had chased all life away, out of the universe, and what hadn’t fled, they had annihilated. They were alone.

Finally they paused. A truce was declared.

It didn’t last long, but it was lengthy enough for certain things to come to pass.

Such as the lone emissary despatched through a doorway into an alternate reality, a thinning of the spaces discovered when the birdmen were belatedly tracked. His mission was to locate the Q’lin’la and to bring them back; magic still lacking had to be learned. Darkness desired the sorcery of ultimate supremacy. In their single-mindedness they hadn’t understood the Q’lin’la wouldn’t have that kind of power.

The emissary did not return.

Such as the telling by Queen Rianna, twenty-third of the title. She foresaw the coming of a powerful leader, one who would lead the Light over all shadows, eventually to overcome the Dark eternally. She foresaw there would come a time when the Kallanon would exit their realm in search of this leader, and she foresaw, too, that their enemies, the dark Dragons, would follow, bringing their ages-old wars into that other, perhaps undeserving reality.

She told only her heirs that the One they sought would not be a Dragon.

The wars resumed, intensified, and continued without end.

Grinwallin

This photo reminds me of the city of Grinwallin in Tales of the Valla.

Tuesday's One Word (4)

shielded

- protect, hide or concealed from danger or harm

The Power of Positive Thinking

Point 1: I am not one for self-help books. It's the one shelf I tend to walk on by quickly in a bookstore; I'd rather read about sports, and, folks, that is something I hate doing.

Point 2: Many writers amateur and professional suggest, nicely and sometimes not-so-nicely, to read certain books on style and grammar, etc.

As far as the craft of writing goes, yes, there are books that teach the basics, but they should NEVER be the bible you follow when you write. I believe rules are made to be broken if you want your voice to be unique.

Self-help for writing- take it with a pinch of salt. If you know your grammar and have a good vocabulary, you are already halfway there. The rest is your voice.

And now to my real point: The Power of Positive Thinking.

To succeed in this competitve environment of publishers, agents and readers, you need the tools of the mind. And this is the one area I move away from my stand about self-help books. You have to believe in yourself and your work, you have to visualise your work in published form for it to be published. This is not rocket science and many would mutter they already know that. I would agree and did...and then took it a step further.

Read these three books and tell me if I am wrong:

The Secret - Rhonda Byrne

Think And Grow Rich - Napolean Hill

Feel the Fear and do something about it - Susan Jeffers

I am still reading and taking it all on board, but already I feel far more positive for the future. One of these days Gathering of Rain will be in print!

Saturday's One Line (4)

‘Cease your chattering. I am here for the Q'lin'la, nothing else.’ Torrullin looked at Vannis, but there was no feeling in his eyes.

Authonomy Comments (4)

'What a riveting read! I really liked the prologue and found it intriguing, which surprised me because I don't usually like prologues. Great first chapter, providing the reader with just enough to stay interested and providing questions the reader will want to read on to get answered. The only question I had whether or not Rain as a sorcerer, but that was answered at the end of chapter 3, not a sorcerer but a necromancer.

This is my favourite book on Authonomy so far. Gathering of Rain will spend time on my shelf.' - Laurie

Darkness

When the forces of Darkness

Outnumber those of the Light

Then goodness will flee.

And life will become as nothing.

Hark, poet, to your actions,

Not your words.

Tanos, Lord of the Guardians, his diary - a note in a margin

A place to think...

Tuesday's One Word (3)

broadsword

- A sword with a broad blade and (usually) two cutting edges; used to cut rather than stab

High praise!

Michael D Scott is a fellow writer on Authonomy and has offered this high praise.

Follow the link (title of this post) to see what I'm talking about.

Thanks, Absolution!

By the way, Michael has some astounding work up also!

Saturday's One Line (3)

Taking a deep breath, suspecting unrealistically a traitor in their midst, Vannis handed his sword to Kylan and unbuttoned his shirt, pulling it wide to reveal the Dragon.

Authonomy Comments 3

'I'm generally someone who skips past the sci-fi section at the bookstore. Too whimsical, too self-indulgent for me. Then I read this and wondered what I had been missing. This is beautifully written, excellent selection of words and not so 'off with the fairies' so a novice like me can still have an enjoyable read.' - David

Sleeper

Nothing exists in a vacuum. Goddess help her
Children when the Sleeper returns…for he
Will awake only when we give him reason.
Beware your dark thoughts, my friends, for that
Is enough to reach out through the spaces of
Worlds to find him. He will hear you!

An excerpt from the speech of theHonourable Peacekeeper Le Moss Mar Dalrish on the day the Domes of Xen III came down forever.

Man and Nature

Tuesday's One Word (2)

banality
- a trite or obvious remark

Saturday's One Line (2)

The darkling glanced once at his dead companion, at his sword lying beyond reach, and turned and vanished through the door.

Authonomy Comments

'Science fiction and fantasy are my weakest areas, I don't read a great deal in either genre...I've read 5 chapters and dipped into later chapters with a sense of awe at the power of your imagination. From the blue skinned woman in chapter 2 through to the explanation of the gestation period of the Giantis in chapter 10, the words kept flowing in a relentless stream. Your descriptive passages are impressive and occasionally remarkable, but it is the power of your imagination that dominates this book. Hugely impressive writing and very enjoyable. A very pleasant surprise for a reader who should perhaps evaluate his choice of reading and consider more books of this nature, although unlikely to be of this quality.' - Jared

'May I say what a beautiful novel you have written? Your start is captivating and the names...Jesus, I am a sucker for good names! Vannis, Rain, Medaillon...the way they roll off your tongue!' - Shriya

Authonomy's Editor Desk in the Fantasy genre

Gathering of Rain is at number 9!

Authonomy's All-time Fantasy List

Gathering of Rain is at number 18!

Music and Colour

As they walked, the music commenced; the beautiful spiritual melodies of the soul, once heard, forever yearned for when silenced. It grew in volume and intricacy with each chamber and each colour. Silver, rose, magenta, pale moonlight, saffron, turquoise, starlight, emerald, violet, palest blue, glaring orange…on and on it went, and with it the music. Voiceless angels, whispering flutes, crooning violins, transcendental, the distant notes of holy song, a celestial dirge. It was and it was not. Ancient philosophers had regarded the universe as a type of music, with different harmonies, octaves and notes, perfect in its creation, with patterns weaved in amongst the greater song…and perhaps they had been right. Hearing the melodies was akin to feeling the nature of all things, and it went far beyond feelings…for feelings were too subjective. Here there was objectivity, neutrality, logic, and yet it led and led, it created, and it could not be denied.