Good or Not So Good, It's MY Story!

I started writing the story of Brunar the Mage, Mordak the sorcerer, and the Guardians waaaay back in 1993.  I've been pretty lazy about finishing the story...I'd bump up against a spot I didn't 'see' in my head and I'd just take a break.  Sometimes, that break would last for years, so I have yet to finish it.  Even so, the characters are alive and well in my head, and their tale is always rolling along in there.  After so many years, I'm so familiar with the characters that they seem like old friends, and I LOVE the story.  If asked about it, I can get pretty excited about the whole thing.  I know what's happening right now, I know what happens 20 years later, and also what happens around 2000 years previous to this tale.  It's an exciting world, and I thoroughly enjoy it.

"An evil sorcerer breaks free of his ancient prison, and it falls to a wise Mage, Brunar, and a handful of untrained Guardians to oppose him.  Using the power of six magickal spears, the Jidaan, Brunar trains his new pupils so that they may be strong in the fight against the unbridled evil and insanity of Mordak.  While one Guardian refuses the call, the others struggle to control their newfound powers and battle Mordak's growing hordes of monsters and vicious, cannibalistic Krell.  When Mordak unleashes his true might, the noble Mage and the Guardians will be fighting for their lives."

Or something like that.  The bad guy is really, really bad.  The good guys are pretty good, all things considered.  They are each skilled at various things, but most aren't fighters, and are hugely intimidated by the task for which they are Chosen.  There are elves (Weya), little monsters (Gholans), big monsters (Killiths), zombies, demons, combat, love, magickal princesses (ok, just one of those), sea voyages, deep, dark forests, cursed cities, and all the other stuff that I've enjoyed about fantasy novels over the last 30-plus years.  I'm writing a tale that I, myself, would enjoy.  So there you go.

The challenge is in getting the rest of it down so that maybe others can read it.  I love telling people ABOUT the story, but I really need to just tell the story itself.  That takes a certain amount of discipline, and although I've only got a hundred other things going on, I'm feeling more motivation lately to devote the necessary time to this project.  I'm almost finished with the formatting for book one, and I have some wonderful folks who have expressed interest in creating cover art for me, so I'm planning to get it uploaded to Amazon.com soon.

I have absolutely no illusions, I am far from the best writer out there.  I'm no Dennis McKiernan, that's for sure.  However, based on what I've read from some of the authors on Amazon.com, I'm fairly certain that I'm not the worst, not by a long stretch.  I just want to paint a picture that brings readers close to what's in my head.  If folks can enjoy the tale even a little bit, then I'll feel as though I've succeeded, and that I've done something worthwhile.  Reviewers can be brutal, but that's fine.  Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.  In any event, I'll soon be able to share it, so folks can think what they may.  Admittedly, I do hope that readers enjoy it.

Lacrosse ends, and now to publish...

Well, today was our last game of the season until playoffs, which for me means that it's my last game this year.  I've got a team going to Tough Mudder on playoff weekend, so I won't get to play again until next season.  There are some indoor games in the summer, but those don't work with my schedule, so now I'll just have to be patient.  Big sigh.  I really love the game of lacrosse.  I don't watch much of it on tv, though I do enjoy it when I can catch a game here and there.  I don't know the college or pro players at all, I don't follow any teams, I couldn't give you a single stat on any game or any player.  It's the PLAYING that I love.

To be honest (though I don't think it'll surprise anyone for me to say this), I'm not the best player.  I've made an awful lot of bonehead plays out there.  Shooting from too far out, dropped passes, bad passes, missed scoops, totally blown faceoffs, the list goes on.  I do have my moments, though.  I've scored in most games this season.  I occasionally win faceoffs rather than lose them.  I've blocked a good handful of shots before they get to Tom, our awesome goalie.  I hustle on defense.  And I love, love, love to knock opposing players off their feet.  It's all in good fun, and if I get knocked cleats-up, I'll tip my hat to the guy who did it. 

Regardless of my skill level, it...is...FUN.  Win or lose, it's always an absolute blast to me, and I plan to keep playing it until I just can't anymore.  Hopefully, that will be many years from now.

In other news, I've finally decided to publish book one of my story.  I've written about the process several times on here, and I'm still not spending nearly enough time on it.  That being said, the first book has been sitting, unchanged, on my laptop for years.  YEARS.  It's doing me no good there, and if I got hit by a bus, it would never see the light of day.  I've been looking over the possibilities of publishing at Amazon.com for Kindle, and I'm liking what I'm seeing.  All I really need to do is get the document formatted and upload it to the site.  I'm working on that process now, and even working a bit on having a book cover created.  I'm hoping to have it uploaded and ready for folks to purchase in a week or so.  I've looked at some of the offerings on Amazon, and read some of the sample books in my genre, and I really think that I can do no worse than they.  Even better, I think.  So I figure it's worth a shot.  At worst, no one will buy it.  At best, folks will.  Since no one's buying it now (as it sits on my laptop), then I really have nothing at all to lose!

More news, we're making progress on moving Jade Mountain.  I'll elaborate on that later...it's getting late, and I'm very interested in getting some sleep.  May you all have good dreams and an even better morning tomorrow.