This book is ridiculous!

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00RGK9XCI

This book "Dear Reader your pet may be a servant of Dear Leader", capitalized on the North Korean drama we had recently with "The Interview". It is very short, but pretty humorous. Have any of you checked it out? What do you think?

-Matt

Dry spell...

Alright, this post really isn't about a specific writing topic. I am just flustered with not being sure whether I should start writing a new manuscript, or continue with my revisions and editing... Boooooo I'm not sure.

What do my fellow writers do when they have a dry spell?! (A writing dry spell...)

-Matt.

Writing for Fun

Alright, so I listened to the latest Writing Excuses -check this sweet podcast out here:

http://www.writingexcuses.com/

It was an interesting topic: Writing for fun.

Often times, as writers, we can get caught up in:
"I need to finish this project simply because it's a deadline to meet."
"I need to write this to make money."
"I can't work on that idea because it is silly and won't make me money."

Sure, there are writers that write just for fun, and there are others who write with the intent to make money off of it, admittedly I am the latter. There is nothing wrong with that. If you are writing to make money, good for you, hopefully it is successful! If you are writing just for fun, good for you! Do what you enjoy! My message is mainly for the crowd who is writing for money.

Don't forget to have fun with it.

My bet is the first time you started writing, was because you found the task fun. If you didn't get any joy out of it, why would you do it initially? You don't want to take the craft that you've worked so hard to polish up, and suck the fun out of it. The day you write begrudgingly, simply because you need to, is the day it becomes a job just like any other job. So, take the time to work on that silly idea, write out a few scenes of that thing you don't think would sell. Because in the end, it's still practice.

Every time you write you polish things up even more for the day you are working on that big seller idea. Brandon Sanderson himself admitted he has plenty of things that he never intends to publish, Stephen King probably has tons of ideas as well that will never be published -not because they can't (that guy can publish anything), but because he wrote them to be silly, to have "fun". I guess what I'm saying is that having fun, doesn't equate to not being productive. At the very least, you are honing more of the writing craft.

Who knows what else you'll discover along the way.

Follow me on twitter! @MattTaylor1776 I will follow you back, I promise. Like and share this post! Comment! Share your thoughts, I'd love to hear from you!

-Matt

"Heedless" is out! and other news.

Well, my short story "Heedless" is out. Book 1 of the Jax Jensen Trilogy. I would post a link to the amazon page, but there are plenty scattered about I don't want to overwhelm you all with links. Book two has gone off for editing. And I have started revising book 3.

As for nonwriting things, I saw the third Hobbit. I'll just leave it at this: I liked the first one in terms of story/progression more. But this one had the greatest amount of action and "cool" scenes. There were plenty of "what the heck" moments scattered throughout though.

On the Warhammer 40k front, I have started a Blood Angels army, those guys look pretty cool. I know a lot of individuals are hating on the codex, but, I actually don't mind it right now!

Did you guys see the hobbit? Any fellow 40k players here? My writing friends, any updates? Let me know!

Follow me on twitter to chat! (I follow back) @MattTaylor1776 , or comment below! Like and share the blog!

Love you all!

-Matt

"Heedless" up for Pre-order!

"Heedless" book one of The Jax Jensen Trilogy, is up for pre-order on Kindle only!

GET YOUR COPY HERE!

LIKE THE PAGE ON FACEBOOK!

"Heedless" Short Story Progress: With pictures of book cover progress.

First concept: Very comic book looking, more cartoon-like

Earlier Concept: Testing out crimson uniform.

Heedless Semi-Final Cover Concept: Black uniform, black duster, medals and badges still need to be added.

Alright so in the next week or so, my first short story, "Heedless", will be up for preorder on Amazon Kindle! My friend Joshua made this lovely piece, you can see more of his work at http://www.joshuapapaleo.com/ .

That is the main character in the story, Jax Jensen. These three short stories I am releasing are going to be a preceding trilogy to a series of novels featuring him and his universe (which I have been calling the Jensen-verse... its a working title...). I can't decide what to call the short story collections, I was thinking "The Jax Jensen Trilogy" so, Heedless would be scrawled across the top, then beneath would read "Book 1 of the Jax Jensen Trilogy". My only issue with that is, what do I do with the longer novels once those are out?"

What do you all think? Eye catching? We are trying to decide what to do with the background, right now, as pictured above, it is just a black to grey gradient. (Or should I say grey-dient -hahaha!)

Anyway, comment below and let me know what you all think! I would love to hear input, if you like the artwork, go checkout my buddy Josh's site, it is still in its early stages, but I know he has some stuff up there right now. He will be doing the next three covers as well!

Follow me on twitter! @MattTaylor1776

I love talking to new people, especially those who share my interests! So, if you want to talk about writing, war gaming, or anything really, just leave a comment, shoot me a tweet, send me a pigeon!

Thanks for reading,

Matt

Finished NaNoWriMo 2014!

I finished NaNoWriMo this year, at a word count of: 50,537 words!

Boy it was a challenge. But it was a good experience, being encouraged to write an entire novel in one month. I didn't really hit that lull some writers get when you hit the mid point in your story, because I didn't really have time to get tired of the idea. I'm glad it's over, it was a great feeling of accomplishment, ready for 2015!

I wrote a novel with a female lead, which was different! It's weird as a male to write a female roll, I'm never sure if how I'm saying something, or the details my character is noticing, is genuinely what a girl would notice. Example: My mom pointed out the waitresses ring tonight at dinner because she thought it was pretty. My dad and I never even looked at her ring or hand to see if there was any jewelry. The novel is set in 1865 America, but the civil war has stalled out since the southern generals used more defensive tactics to mitigate the differences in manpower. The main character is a gunslinger who hunts down monsters, and the magic system in this world is called Cattlemancy, which is temporary augmentations granted by little vials of brewed liquid taken from the cattle and mixed with voodoo Indian rituals to result in a specific enhancement for a certain period of time. Anyway that's all I'm going to say about it for now. Back to formatting my first short story for kindle, will be releasing it later this month! (December)

Did you guys participate this year? What was your experience like? Let me know in the comments below!

Follow me on twitter and I'll follow back! @MattTaylor1776

Thanks,

Matt

Over Half Way Through NaNoWriMo

Alright, I am a little over 25,000 words into NaNoWriMo... a bit behind! Have to step up to writing 2k words per day to finish on time... challenge accepted :P. I hope you are all doing well! Any updates on your NaNo? Let me know!

-Matt

(Follow me on Twitter! @MattTaylor1776)

Tyranid Tuesday

Alright, so some of you may know that I play Warhammer 40k, it is a tabletop war game set in the grimdark future of the 41st millennium! I have roughly two thousand points of Eldar, and with the release of the new Tyranids have decided to start a Tyranid swarm!

It is a daunting task though, so many awesome models, I'm not sure where to start. Definitely out of my comfort zone as far as play style goes... my Eldar are lightning quick and unleash an ungodly amount of firepower... I was to make these nids close combat focused -as their fluff would suggest... if you have never heard of Warhammer, check out the two videos I have linked below... they serve as thoughtful inspiration for science fiction writing, and many writers may find their lore and the other lore intriguing!

Eldar Lore:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64PdT7nnALo

Tyranid Lore:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsHRsuMW9_0

anyway, comment below if you are excited for the new models! Or have found the two videos above interesting/inspiring for any of your world building!

For the gamers out there, I am thinking of making a swarm using the new sporemines. Taking 6 as my troop choice (2x3 units or 3x 2 units) and drop podding in 3 fex. The mines will drop and contain the enemy, or disrupt their lines, then the fex will drop and wreck vehicles and everything else while being covered by the shooting of the pods and the flyrants... think it'll work?

-Matt

Follow me on Twitter! @MattTaylor1776  I will follow back I swear!
Like and share this post, become part of my little writing community!
If you are participating in NaNoWriMo add me to your writing buddies! = MatthewTaylor1776

NaNoWriMo update!

Alright NaNoWriMo is quite the challenge! The best tip I have heard so far is to only stop writing once you know what will happen next... that way when you start back up, you wont be stuck there wondering what to write. Simple, but brilliant!

I am a little under 10k words in... checking out this program called Scrivener... I've heard great things about it, do any of you know how good it is? Recommend it? Avoid it? Let me know!

Hope you are all doing well both in writing and in life... I am feeling motivational today so here is something I always remembered from my health teacher way back in high school:

"Do the best with what you have, and where you are."

So keep at it guys! Share the blog, leave your comments, if you want to write a guest post then sweet! Let me know! Find me on Twitter (I promise I follow back) @MattTaylor1776

-Matt

NaNoWriMo Day 3!

Alright, so we are three days into NaNo... everyone still breathing? Check your pulses. Stretch your legs. Brace yourself for more... MoMoWriMo (More More Write More?)

Anyway, I fell a bit behind due to Halloween. Derek needs more pressure into starting, I think he is scared, so tweet him words of encouragement! @derekdyer_WF

Comment below and let me know how your WriMo is going!

-Matt

Short Stories!

Short stories are a growing trend among all authors, new and published alike. While old publishing methods arguably did not favor production of short stories, new publishing practices with the advent of the eBook market (Here's lookin' at you Kindle/Amazon) are enabling all writers to produce and distribute short works to a massive audience. Here are some benefits of short stories:

Earning Potential: With the ability to put out multiple short stories within a short length of time, and sell them at a price that most full length novels are being sold for. Shorts offer a great way to make quick income. Per word, a short story can make more money than a novel. Shorts also offer multiple selling options. You could sell: Short 1, Short 2, Short 3. Three options right? Well consider a 4th option which won't cost you anything but a few extra minutes, sell a collection of the first three shorts as a value bundle. More often than not a reader will pick up the first short, and if they like it purchase the collection instead of individually buying the other two -which works out great for you, if you stop to consider what is actually taking place.

Bridge Between Novels: Alright, so you wrote Novel 1, and are getting to work on Novel 2. Meanwhile your loyal fans and ravenous readers are chomping at the bit to get at more of your work. To see other aspects of your world, and to be taken on more adventures. You can use short stories to sate the hunger of your followers while you type away at Novel 2, whether its to include short side stories or introduce other characters.

Networking: Short stories offer a great way for you to network with other writers and readers. You can use it to hook new readers onto your work, or to develop writing skills. Plenty of websites like Figment, and Wattpad service thousands upon thousands of new writers and offer readers looking for the next big thing a source to scour. (Shameless plug: My buddy and I who also run the blog "Wordsmiths Foundry" have made an account on Wattpad where we will be sharing shorts/flashfiction randomly. http://www.wattpad.com/user/WordsmithsFoundry)

Male vs Female perspectives!

Alright,

So either because I'm sadistic, or just up for a challenge, I decided to start writing a story with a female lead character. If you guys couldn't guess by my name, Matt, I am a male. I realized something... it's hard.

I had gotten a fair few pages written, and one of my friends who enjoys alpha reading for me decided to read what I had so far. She is also, a girl.

"Matt, this doesn't really seem like a girl speaking."

That was the first thing she said to me! I was like, huh? Then it dawned on me. If you and I both described a car, we would give a different description pointing out different aspects. For example, I may first notice the color:

"Damn, that red is really sexy."

While you may be like:

"Damn, that car has a lot of dents in it. The driver must be reckless."

The fact is, people notice and point out different things. This varies by age, occupation, and as you may have figured out -gender. A cop entering a room may first look for threats, potential hidings spots, escape routes. While carpenter Joe Citizen may recognize the style of cabinets, or how abused the wooden carved handrail is.

Girls, and guys, notice different things first. Whether its a person - "damn that girl has a nice rack" may be a guys first reaction. A girl may be like "that's a cute ear ring, or I wonder what perfume she is wearing -I think it's that *insert some name here* from Victoria Secret."

Or if it's a room

"Damn the fridge is too small, you can't fit beer in that!"

"What a lovely stove. Those blinds are sick, I need to get some of those."

However you write it, guys and girls will have different perspectives and notice different things. They will speak differently, treat others differently.

I'll keep it short today! If you have any input feel free to share! Like, comment, share this blog with your writing friends.

-Matt

Writing habits.

Alright, so I was just thinking about the habits I have when I go and write... specifically, I feel like I can only get good quality writing in either at night, or at the local coffee shop. Also, it seems to help if I have a nice drink such as some milk, tea, whatever.

I'm curious, do any of you have any writing habits you maintain? Do you find you only write well at X time of day? Or time of week? "I only do my best writing on Tuesdays... if I start at 12:05 pm." That's absurd but, hey, someone may have a habit like that... Its all mental... right?

Comment, share, and let me know what your favorite writing habits are!

-Matt

Got my second edit back!

I received the second edit of "Heedless" back from the editor at CreateSpace. Unfortunately due to some cosmic mistake (or just an error on my own) I had resent the firsts draft of the story. So I essentially have just gotten my original story revised two different times.

I probably should have vouched to keep the same editor. Maybe she would have caught the mistake. Either way, I got the service I paid for! At least I can compare both now and see what each editor picked out.

Do any of you have interested editing/editor stories?

Comment below! Like and share!

-Matt

Starting up a second blog with a friend!

A friend and I are starting up a second blog pertaining to writing, "Wordsmiths Foundry". It will be launching by Monday! We will have frequent guest articles, and will be posting two days per week: Monday, and Friday. Check it out! Thanks, Matt!

Posting Schedule

Alright, this blog is missing something... A POSTING SCHEDULE. Thinking Monday and Friday. Good idea? Any day you guys think would be better? Let me know! Comment below!

Interesting Folklore

Alright, so I was stuck trying to come up with some new ideas for future writings... and started looking into different bits of folklore! My buddy clued me in on this recent comic called Manifest Destiny (https://imagecomics.com/comics/series/manifest-destiny). Pretty sweet concept, just ordered the first trade paperback off of The Amazinz. (Amazon...) Manifest Destiny is pretty much Lewis and Clarks expeditions here in America, but with fantasy elements such as minotaurs and other creatures of the fay.

I will give it a read when it arrives and post my thoughts! In other news, Kim Jong Un is missing... for the past month... do you think that has anything to do with James Franco and Seth Rogen?! Thats a reference to their upcoming movie The Interview.

What folklore have you used to help inspire your writings? Anything you would like to share? Comment below! Share the blog! Grow our community!

NaNoWriMo is coming up!

Alright,

Who here is getting ready for NaNoWriMo? When you will fill your month of November by frantically throwing words on paper until you hit your word goal, generally 50,000 words. Full disclosure here, I've never done NaNoWriMo from scratch. Last November I just started halfway through by counting a story I had already been working on... don't judge me!

This year. It begins.

I shall grab NaNoWriMo by the horns, wrestle it to the ground, and pummel it mercilessly until it cries for mommy -or it will be the other way round. (Here's hoping it isn't.)

Anyway, if you have any intention of participating in NaNoWriMo, comment below! How are you preparing? Doing world building now? Outlines? Just brainstorming in general?

http://nanowrimo.org/

Above is the link to the NaNoWriMo website! Check it out!

Good luck to all of you! Don't forget to share this blog, comment, like, whatever! It's a community and I look forward to hearing from all of you.

Happy writing, (Thats my new closing... sounds better than 'thanks!', right?)

Matt

Writing Interesting Characters: Quirks and Hobbies.

Alright, so one thing that I hear talked about a lot, is character creation and making characters that seem well rounded and not flat.

One interesting thing I have learned to do through the various books I have read on the topic, as well as the pod casts and videos I have watched is to give all of my characters interesting quirks or hobbies.

By giving a character a hobby, coin collecting for instance, you add a new dimension to that character. They aren't just existing with only the current happenings of the story to define them, but have something they care about besides the problems in the plot that add more depth. One I have used is dirt collecting. In my fantasy novels, the first mate of the ship -who is a dwarf- collects a little vial of dirt whenever he travels to a new location.

Now to you and me, dirt may seem boring or pointless. But it makes that character seem a bit more real. Why do they collect the dirt? Who knows, he just likes to do it. But I can relate to collecting and so can plenty of others. In real life I like to collect the squished pennies from the penny crushers whenever I travel somewhere new. It gives me something to look back on and remember fun trips I have gone on. My dwarf happens to keep all of his dirt vials in his cabin, on a rack, so maybe he likes to sit down and think about past adventures. Plus, dwarfs and earth (maybe a bit too cliche), am I right?

Besides that, you can use their hobbies to introduce new plot complications, or solutions. Maybe the dirt collector really knows his stuff, so if there's an issue where soil must be identified he can help out and still be believable. Maybe his collection goes missing - bam! new task for the characters to do. Time to catch the dirt-napper.

Anyway, that's just a quick little thought I had on the topic. Wanted to share it with you all, nothing earth shattering or revolutionary, but useful.

Happy writing!

Matt

Warhammer Wednesday! #1

I've decided that Wednesdays will be Warhammer Wednesday! *cheers and celebratory lasgun shots*

I love the hobby and I put a lot of time into it, I know a lot of others out there do as well. So, along with writing why not talk about warhammer sometimes too, right?

I'm currently constructing some Wood Elves. I have about 56 Glade Guard to build... decided to make one unit of 10 Glade Guard, one unit of 15 Glade Guard, and three units of 10 Way Watchers. Figure that gives me a ton of shooting goodness... which I guess makes them like my Eldar in 40k, which if I've never mentioned before, is the Renia Craftworld consisting of a sweet gold and red color scheme. (Side note: Swooping Hawks are awesome.)

Anyone out there play? What armies? 40k or Fantasy? (I'm just trying to get into WHFB hence the Wood Elves...) Comment below!

Dont forget you can follow me on Twitter as well! @MattTaylor1776

-Thanks,

Matt

Here are some useful Hashtags for connecting with other writers on Twitter!

#1K1H (write one thousand words in one hour)
#AmWriting
#AmEditing
#AmRevising
#CopyWriting
#EditGoal
#Editing
#IndieAuthor
#MyWANA (writer’s community created by Kirsten Lamb)
#NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month is held every November)
#RomanceWriter
#ScriptChat
#WIP
#WordCount
#WriteChat
#WriteGoal
#WriteMotivation
#WritersLIfe
#WriterWednesday
#Writing
#WritingBlitz
#WritingPrompt
#WritersBlock
#WroteToday
#WW

Revisions update!

Alright, so the first short, "Heedless" is going through its second round of editing. Pretty exciting, although I'm not sure what more could be changed. If anyone is interested in reading it and giving some feedback that would be great. If there is an artist out there who would like to take the challenge of making a cover, that too would be great.

How's everyone doing? I hope you're all having a great week. I'm trying to find things to write while I go through revisions... easier said than done...

-Matt

Lies of Locke Lamora

Been listening to this on audiobook through the Audible App on my iPhone!

Great story, very interesting. At first, I didn't think I would like it. But after a while it really got moving and caught my interest. If you like heists, this is a great book. Takes place in a setting that kind of feels like Venetian Italy, it has canals with the gondolas and all that good stuff.

I don't really want to say more for fear of spoiling anything, so go ahead and give it a listen. Let me know what you think about it!

-Matt

Got my first line edit back!

Well great news! Editor had good things to say, made some changes that I think will really help the story flow better and tighten it up! 2 more overviews to go. No progress on the cover art though, my last cover artist bailed due to other things he had to deal with, so hopefully I will find a new one soon!

How has everyone else been?

-Matt

Sent "Heedless" off for editing!

Well, title says it all! I sent "Heedless" off for editing. Trying out CreateSpace. The service so far has been great! I shall let you all know how the rest of the process is!

-Matt

Blogger?

So, going through some revisions of my first SciFi short story: "Heedless". I've already completed the second short stories manuscript, "Black Hearts", and am currently working on the third, which has no title yet! I find it interesting getting feedback from all of my alpha and beta readers. You notice that people look at different aspects, and notice different things. Anyone working on any other projects?

On the Warhammer side, I'm almost done painting up my Crimson Hunter, for my Eldar, the Renia Craftworld. Looking pretty good, if anyone wants to see pictures, let me know.

Now about blogger, anyone out there good at formatting this thing? I've noticed some other people have tabs on theirs. I've been trying to figure out how to do it, there is probably a youtube video somewhere I should watch... I just want to divide the blog into sections... such as "writing", "complete stories" and "hobbies" or "misc" and get some semblance of organization here. If you have any insight, let me know!

-Matt

Update!

Well, I was in the hospital for a little under 24 hours. Had a severe case of Pericarditis.

Here is a little bit about what that is: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/pericarditis/basics/definition/con-20035562

I didn't get any new writing done unfortunately. The hospital was literally full so I was in the hallway of the emergency room for about 16-17 hours. The nurses and doctors were all great, the little bed I had was one of those rolling cart things paramedics push around. (If you know the official name of it feel free to enlighten me in the comments!) I finally got my own room an hour before I was released. But I'd rather be home than in a hospital any day! I've been ordered to "take it easy" so no working out or anything like that. I may actually play some WoW... been away from that for a long time but hey, I can't write 24/7. I hope you all are well!

Best wishes,

Matt

Back at it!

Ok, so I had a fever of a little over 102.5 for the past two and a half days... But! I am feeling way better today. Just a stiff neck and a minor headache. I was curious, for those of you out there who write, do you prefer to outline your work completely? Do you discovery write all of it? or a happy medium between outlining and discovery writing?

For me, I prefer discovery writing with a very light outline. I pretty much only write down what the ending will be, but even that is subject to change!

Comment below and let me know!

-Matt

Happy fathers day to all of the dads out there!

I've got a pretty bad fever so I'm going to sleep, just wanted to make sure I wished all of you dads/male role models out there a happy fathers day. Hope it was safe and full of fun!

A quick writing tip for today!

Alright,

I hope you are all well today! I just want to take a second to address an issue I deal with more often than I would like, and that you probably have all had to deal with. WRITERS BLOCK. *queue dreadful music*

Here is a tip that I have found works out pretty well. Figure out what WOULDN'T happen next in the scene. If you start to make a short list of what would not happen, then you will most likely figure out something that would be likely to happen, and therefore get yourself out of your block! Think it sounds crazy? Go ahead... try it out!

More concept art, facial structure/stylistic tests

Facial expressions/style

Concept Sketches! Check it out!

Concept sketches for some of the characters in the upcoming scifi book!

Just some cover (the hat) designs for the main character in the upcoming scifi book, the art is done by my cover artist and talented friend Kyle, find him at here! https://twitter.com/finfix

Here is an example of my writing!

(This is a fantasy piece I had written last year for my first contest. It is set in my fantasy world of Taramore. Give it a read! Enjoy! Let me know what you all think. I literally copy and pasted it from my word document, the formatting seems to be ok. It is 4k words.)

The Book Merchant of Taramore

1

Jun, seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, looked up carefully from her perch above the small encampment of Goblins. She had been in the same prone position atop a fallen pillar overrun with scattered vines and budding flowers for the past few hours waiting for the little tribe to leave their camp. The warm drizzle from the storm which had swept in from the North Imperial Sea only a day ago had left her dirtied white blouse clinging to her skin beneath, an annoying feeling. To make things worse she had left her hair band back at the wagon. Stupid move Jun… this better not be the start of a Tempest thinking of the mighty storm which periodically swept across the vast world of Taramore.

Half-ear, a goblin Jun had nicknamed due to a large chunk of its right ear missing stood and declared something unintelligible. It pointed out into the woods opposite Jun. Finally. Jun thought, watching them leave. There were dozens of forgotten ruins and caves strewn around the island. Most ruins were home to bands of goblins, Bristle Bears, or worse. The ruins large stashes of treasures from the now instinct inhabitants of the island made them popular for explorers. Nu’Ren was the only town on the island, home to a small human population far from the Imperial capital city of Jei’Rellesin and the snobbery of court politics and fashion. The mountainous island was covered in forest, some spacious grassland steppes between mountain peaks, narrow winding trails limited the potential for any heavy traffic stifling trade, and with that any desire of human expansion.

Jun rose into a low crouch, doesn’t look like they’ll be returning. She noted the lack of any shelters or belongings left behind. Her luck had been good so far, goblins being the only real threat she encountered. Last thing I need is to run into another mother Bristle Bears and her cubs. She rolled her eyes recounting her harrowing encounter with a sleeping mother and her cubs she had stumbled on a week back. Imperial might that bear was fast.

She jumped, damp clothes rippling, cold as she fell. Her target was another fallen column roughly ten feet down.

“Bad ide-” She yelped as she hit her target, slipping on a small pool of water which had gathered up in one of the columns dips. She slid down the slope of the column trying frantically to regain any grip she could, gritting her teeth as she hit the bottom of the column and launched forward into the clearing. She landed with a thud, the impact forcing the wind out of her. Not my most graceful descent she chastised herself lifting her head to look around realizing she had managed to hit the only patch of mud in the entire clearing. She stood, brushing herself off, and began her search of the small ruin.

An hour later she finished her search, finding the battered book she had been after, a rare and valuable find. Along with the book she found a small interesting rock and stuffed it into her pocket. Jun turned in satisfaction, heading for her wagon on the mountain trail below. The sun was setting, and she had no intention of being caught outside after nightfall. The sunset was a vibrant canvas of red, gold, and purple –the golden hue was her favorite. A reminder of her mother seventh daughter out of six other siblings, now dead. Her favorite dress had been a flowing golden gown of the late Imperial Raj’nan style.

A large sky ship drifted a few miles out overhead, rather far from Nu’Ren. Odd she watched it intently.

Jun broke from the brush alongside the trail and welcomed the sight of her wagon and the chance to escape the unending rain. Her wagon was large, held up by massive wooden wheels. It had a round blue wooden door set into the front, contrasting from the darkened wood body of the wagon. Two windows adorned the left side under the words ‘Book Merchant’ written in white. The right side had a small compartment, for her bed, which extended out above the wheel base. At the back of the wagon was a large oak cabinet decorated with ornate carvings of far off places. Its shelves were lined with dozens of books and odd artifacts she had uncovered during her countless ventures to different ruins. The contents were protected by a multi-paned lattice door and protective iron bars across the front. Jun unlocked the cabinet and set the book inside. She made her living from selling the rare books found around the island, their contents very popular reading in Talon City, a floating city which served as the hub of the worlds’ academic minds guided in a controlled orbit along the coasts of the great landmasses, stopping near each major population center to pick up or drop off scholars.

She crouched through the door into her wagon. The scent of the various spices she kept along a section of wall hit her senses hard, a familiar scent which brought a feeling of safety and comfort. She lit a small firepot fastened securely against the wall between the two windows on the right, the warmth immediately started to fill the interior. Jun cracked a window above the pillow on her bedroll to prevent the inside from getting too hot and sat along the raised step in the wall that lead to her sleeping compartment, waiting expectantly and eyeing the nooks and shadowed gaps between various things inside her wagon. Where are you? She asked herself. There!

“I see you Snotch… You’re behind the Glimmer Rose.” A tiny gnome like creature about a foot tall shuffled out from behind a small potted Glimmer Rose at the far end of the room. The brilliant sapphire glow of the Glimmer Rose cast over his tiny features.

“How’d ya’ know?” Snotch asked, “I was sure you wouldn’t find me that easy.”

“You hid there a few days ago…” Jun replied, “Don’t you remember?”

“Well,” Snotch hesitated, “No.” Jade Gnomes got their name from their love, bordering near psychotic obsession, with the precious green stone in their name. They were also known for their forgetfulness, and magical tendencies.

“Did you find things?” He half hopped, half skipped over to where Jun sat.

She smiled, “Yes I did! Need to head a bit further up the trail to this larger ruin I heard about the other night.”

“Now?”

“Now.” Jun said.

Snotch stared, waiting.

“I found you!” She said matter-of-factly, “You know that if I win the game, you have to help.” She hesitated, “I did find one thing at the ruin, you may like.” She shifted around, searching one of her pockets and pulled out a small shiny rock. It was worn smooth from years of weathering. She held it out for Snotch to see. His beady black eyes fixed on the tiny object.

“That looks pretty…” He said distantly, hustling forward towards Jun, she pulled her hand back.

“Not yet!” She said, “first get us headed to the ruin.” Jun paused, “then you get this shiny, smooth, beautiful… rock.” She enunciated every descriptive word slowly, rocking the rock between her fingers.

“No.” Snotch protested, taking on the attitude of a small child, which wasn’t too far from the truth despite being quite old for a Jade Gnome.

“I guess I’ll just have to give it to someone else.” Jun started to put the rock away and Snotch flinched.

“Ok!” His nasally voice cracked.

“Good.” She could tell he was being honest. Jun smiled petting the soft tufts of fur atop Snotch’s head. Like most furry creatures, he loved when people rubbed his fur.

Jun walked over to the small table wedged in one of the wagons corners and rolled out a worn map of the island, little tears and various circles and x’s marked the scrap of yellowing paper testifying to its years of use. She pulled a sharpened little stick out from a shelf and dipped it in some ink, the standard method of writing in the Imperial Kingdoms, unlike the Trade Strongholds across the great sea who’s strive for constant innovation had lead them to developing a self-inking stick. Jun wanted one so badly. Someday I’ll get out of here and see the world. She smiled at the thought staring out one of the far windows the panes of glass slightly fogged, obscured by leaves and blotches of rain drops. The light patter of the rain filled the momentary silence.

“Hey.” Snotch stood on the table next to the map, tapping his foot impatiently.

“Oh!” Jun flushed, “Sorry, sorry. Here.” Her finger found the trail they were on following it up the mountain towards a patch of the map which had few markings. She found the spot and quickly circled the small space between two jagged squiggles which represented the mountains. Snotch inspected the mark, following the trail himself. He nodded, confirming something, then muttered some words and traced the path with his finger again. He muttered a final archaic phrase, turning to Jun.

“Rock.” He held out his hand expectantly. The wagon lurched, the wheels creaked gravel shifting as it started to move on its own onto the trail at an angel as it ascended the mountain path.

“As promised,” Jun smiled, stuffing her hand into her pocket, “rock.”

Snotch tensed, excited, Jun plopped the small spherical rock into his hand. He clutched at it and inspected it closely, admiring the deep red veins set against the dark grey surface. Snotch hopped off the table, slowly walking over towards a one of the ground level cabinet doors where he had made a makeshift bedroom. She needed him to make the wagon move, since a pack animal was more than she could afford. Playing games and trading small rocks for transportation seemed like the smarter investment. His rock collection had grown extensively though, forcing Jun to give him a second cabinet for storage. He touched a small jade statue as he passed it that Jun had given him when they first met. The beautiful little lion statuette had earned her countless free trips to various ruins. Snotch proudly displayed the jade amulet right outside his door. Jun hopped up to her sleeping compartment and edged onto the bedroll. She hadn’t realized how tired she was until she had a moment to rest, a wave of sleepiness overcame her and her eyelids grew heavy. The sound of the rain was mesmerizing and the shadows of the splotches of rain hitting the window cast a calming silhouette, which danced on the walls and ceiling.

2

“Wake up!” Snotch jabbed a finger into the side of Jun’s face. She brushed it away, annoyed. “Up! Ogres!” Another finger jabbed into her cheek.

“Not right now I wanna sleep… good Ogres. Sleep.” Her words compiled into an unintelligible jumble. “Sleep. Ogres.” She said again in a tone which sounded like she was really just talking in her sleep.

“Jun!” Snotch squealed angrily, “Up!”

“Ogres!” Jun’s eyes snapped open as her mind pieced together the words and a slap with Snotch’s full weight behind it landed simultaneously across her face. She bolted upright, hand on her cheek and then her head as it smashed into the ceiling which was low above the bedroll.

“Imperial might!” she cursed, rubbing her forehead. She dropped her voice as she thought of what Snotch had said. “Ogres? Are you sure?”

Snotch’s eyes narrowed, “I may be forgetful, but no gnome worth his weight in jade forgets what something many times his size capable of eating him sounds, looks or smells like.”

“Weight in jade really isn’t saying much for you guys…” Jun muttered, what should I do? Ogres are notoriously stupid… or… deceitfully clever, closer to stupid.

“Right outside, there are two of ‘em.” A large shadow broke the morning sun which passed through the two windows on the side of the wagon, soaked from a night of rain. There was a grumble and the wagon tilted to one side and fell back to the trail as one of the Ogres pushed it curiously.

“Wot you think is it?” one of them asked the other.

“Wot you think it is stupid. Wagon o’ course.”

“Don’t call me stupid! Not very friendly Grull.” The first ogre voice took a tone of offense.

“We need to go out there.” Jun whispered to Snotch, who gave her a look bordering between ‘are you crazy’, and ‘you can’t be serious’.

“You first.” He said.

“Alright.” Jun stood, and crept over to the door, keeping her eyes on the two shadows which now loomed through the window, one large eye pressed up against the glass, nose squashed at an angle.

“Grull, I sees it.” The ogre attached to the eye against the window gasped, “It’s one of them lil’ female human.”

            Jun stumbled out the door. Snotch followed behind, and quickly hid beneath the wagon above one of the wheel wells. His face poked out from beneath an edge. Jun straightened, brushing her blouse down over her pants.

            “There it tis!” The ogre, which Jun assumed was Grull, said. The fat lumbering creature pointed a stubby finger at her. He shifted towards her, sweaty dirt covered rolls of fat jiggling slightly as he moved. Jun was impressed to find the ground literally shook faintly with his weight. What have I gotten us into, we could run.

            “It is!” The second ogre backed away from the window and gave his attention to Jun.

            “Tiny lit’l thing.” Grull said.

            “Puny small thing.” The other agreed.

            “Bet she’s tasty…” Grull said.

            “Delicious, I’m sure.” The other added.

“No! I am most definitely not tasty.” Jun exclaimed, putting on the bravest face she could. The two ogres recoiled in surprise.

            “It speaks!”

            “Kinda annoyin’ and squeaky aint it?” Grull added.

            “Look how small I am, and how big you are.” Jun pointed at both of them.

            “Grull, make ‘er stop. I think she’s callin’ you fat.” The first Ogre said.

            “She ain’t callin’ me fat, Skrog. Callin’ you fat.” Grull spat back, “now shut up ‘n think of what we are wantin’ to do wit ‘er.”

            “That’s not nice Grull.” Skrog muttered, pushing Grull, who pushed back violently. Skrog yelped.

            “Wait!” Jun said, “you two are hungry huh?” she shifted from side to side on her feet. “What if I bring you both some food.”

            “Some food?” Grull raised an eyebrow.

            “Lots of food!” Jun waved her arms wide, “some sheep, or.. or a cow or two!”

            “How’d we know you’ll be comin’ back this way.” Grull walked a bit closer and crouched, an uncomfortable few feet away from Jun. She tried not to wince as little bits of spittle sprayed her face, his breath smelled rotten.

            “You know this is the only way-”

            “Don’t trust her Grull. Lit’l humans lie.” Skrog interjected.

            “Shut up! Let ‘er talk.” Grull waved one massive hand at him to quiet down.

            “Thank you.” Jun glared at Skrog. “You know it’s the only way back to Nu’Ren. How else will I get my wagon back there without taking this trail?” Jun hoped she was believable, she knew of a couple alternate routes she had seen on the map, but counted on the Ogre’s not knowing.

            “I ‘unno.” Grull hesitated.

            “I promise.” Jun assured him, Grulls eyes landed on Snotch who had shuffled out from beneath the wagon.

            “Wot about ‘im.” Grull pointed a meaty finger at Snotch, who yelped in fright and scurried back beneath the wagon. Thanks for the backup Jun rolled her eyes. “Can we eats him now, then let ya’ go and come back wit our food?”

            “No, no.” Jun hastened, “no eats’ing him. Or me.”

            “Wot you think Skrog.” Grull turned to him. Jun glanced up into the clouded sky and noticed that ship she had seen just the other day was much closer than it had been. Close enough that she could actually see the sailors aboard. The vessel was a very large, multi-deck ship. Three masts, a small one at the front, the largest one in the middle, and a middle sized one above the aft deck toward skyward. A massive rudder arched over behind the ship, the skeletal framework of the rudder resembled a fish fin, sail stretched between the rudder beams allowing them to steer the ship. The Autumns Dawn was scrolled in beautiful lettering along the side of the bow of the ship, above the four large Lift Stones which jutted out of the hull and enabled the ship to fly. Jun was slightly relieved, seeing three of the sailors leaning over the railing and watching her below, one seemed squat, probably a Dwarf. He was on the right, in the middle was an average sized man who wore a fancy red greatcoat and a black tricorn hat. On the left stood a lanky figure, an Elf, Jun supposed based on the best look she could get from this distance.

            The sky ship was extremely close, its shadow darkened the area around Jun and the wagon. The Ogres stopped talking and looked up.

            “Wots that there.” Grull asked.

            “Looks like a sky ship.” Jun answered. Two of the three figures, the Dwarf and the man in the greatcoat, abruptly vaulted the railing on the ship and jumped over into the open sky bodies straightened with their heads towards the ground. Jun gasped, not sure why they did that, expecting to see them plummet to their death. To her surprise two sets of wings snapped out from the side, three prongs on each side with fabric stretched between them. A tail unfolded from the bottom of whatever the two sailors had strapped to their back, a narrow beam of wood with a miniature rudder-like fin at the end. The sailors lurched and slowed slightly, controlling their descent with skillful maneuvers as they angled their way towards Jun and the Ogres who stood in startled disbelief.

            The two sailors landed with a thud and a splash of water as their studded black boots smashed into a puddle on the trail a few yards away. The wings folded down at the side, and tail retracted into the small round pack strapped to their back.

            “Gentlemen,” The man in the greatcoat tipped his hat forward towards the Ogres, “Lady.” He acknowledged Jun, “Gnome.” He tipped his head to Snotch who had wandered back out again. “I am Sky Captain Havelock Stormbound, owner and captain of the Trade Ship, The Autumns Dawn.” He pointed to the ship which idled above. “This here is my outstanding First Mate, Azar.” He pointed at the Dwarf who gave a quick salute. “Now what seems to be the problem here?”

            “Nuffin” Grull spat, “jus’ helpin’ this lit’l human be on her way.”

            “Now now.” Havelock motioned up towards his ship, snapping his fingers. Everyone except Havelock and Azar flinched as the ship above listed to the side releasing a full broadside. A booming thunder echoed off the mountain pass and treetops. The rumble shaking Jun to the bone as it resounded throughout the valley causing a flock of birds to scatter from the treetops nearby. Jun watched as the puffs of smoke from the rows of cannons along the side of the ship dissipated into nothing. Skrog yelped and started whimpering. “Don’t lie. I think you two were just about to be leaving.” Grull and Skrog exchanged worried looks.

            “I-I think ya’ were right.” Grull stammered, looking down at Azar who rested his hands on the hefts of his pistols, looking decidedly bored and unshaken as he stared off into the forest beyond the two Ogres. “Let’s be goin’ Skrog.”

            “Right Grull.” Skrog composed himself, somewhat, and headed for the tree line.

            “You watch out lit’l-” Grull glared at Jun.

            “Ah! Ah!” Havelock held up a hand towards his ship again, Grulls eyes widened, “on you go.”

            The Ogres left, Jun hurried over to Havelock.

            “Thank you so much.” Jun said, “I wasn’t sure I’d be making it out of that.”

            “Not to worry miss.” Havelock smoothed out his greatcoat and raised his goggles up from over his eyes to his forehead. “I’m looking for something, maybe you could help.” He pointed to the Jun’s wagon, “book merchant.” He added.

            The four of them moved over to the back of the wagon where Jun kept her books, unfurling a protective awning above them to block the rain. She watched Havelock’s eyes as he scanned the shelf, they widened slightly as they came to rest on the book Jun had retrieved yesterday. If she hadn’t been paying close attention she wouldn’t have caught it. Havelock nudged Azar and pointed, he nodded after a moment.

            “What would you like for that one.” Jun looked, “give a fellow trader a fair deal.” Havelock grinned, Jun looked back at him.

            “You aren’t a trader.” She said, sensing his lie.

            “What makes you say that?” He asked, intrigued, “I am.”

            “No you aren’t, I can tell.” Jun smirked.

            “I need to provide for my family. Wife, son and daughter. Trading is where the big money is.”

            “You don’t have a daughter.” Jun called his lie. Havelock looked at Azar, surprised. “You are a pirate. You run weapons between the kingdoms and sell artifacts to Talon City for extra coin. You have a wife and a son, no daughter.”

            “You caught me.” Havelock admitted, “Now how did you know?”

            “She’s either a good liar ‘erself, or a seventh daughter of a seventh daughter.” Azar spoke up in a surprisingly cheery, raspy voice. He ran his beard through his hands and eyed Jun.

            “Seventh daughter of a what?” Havelock looked at Azar.

            “Of a seventh daughter.” Azar finished. “lore has it that the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter is born with special powers, such as the ability to tell if someone’s lying.”

            “Interesting.” Havelock turned back to Jun. He held his arms out in a sign of conceding defeat. “Here.” He pulled a hefty pouch out from beneath his greatcoat and tossed it to Jun, who caught it. A satisfying clinking of what she guessed was coin inside the pouch. She opened it and her eyes widening at the glistening sight of at least a hundred gold coins. The most she had ever gotten for a book.

            “This really means a lot to you doesn’t it.” Jun asked. Havelock shrugged. “It does.” She confirmed.

            Havelock nodded at the coin, “fair?”

            “Fair.” Jun said, tossing the bag to Snotch. Havelock grabbed the book, and gave it a quick look through. The sky ship had dropped extremely low. A large platform with guardrails on three sides, descended from the bottom center of the hull, four thick chains bolted into the corners of the platform clattered as they unrolled and stopped just inches from the ground. Azar started for the platform, Havelock tipped his hat again.

            “Pleasure.” He finished, “have a great…” he trailed off and looked into the sky searching for something, “morning… or afternoon, can’t really tell.” He pointed to the sky, turning to the platform.

            “You want to go?” Jun asked Snotch in a low voice, “worth asking.” Snotch nodded. “Wait!” Jun called out to Havelock, who turned back to her. “Take us with you.” Havelock looked back at Azar, who shrugged, standing on the platform leaning up against one of the guardrails.

            “We have room.” Azar added. Havelock nodded, turning back to Jun.

            “Come on.” He nodded his head towards the platform, “Let’s go then.”

            “Wagon too?” Jun asked.

            “Yes, now lets go, Ive had enough of this rain and smelly forest.” Havelock continued towards the platform.

            Looks like someday is today, she thought excitedly. “You heard him Snotch, lets go then!” She grinned ear to ear, her biggest smile in recent memory.

            “A lot of rocks where we’re going?” Snotch asked.

            “Lots of rocks!” Jun said, “rocks and real adventure.”      

    

 

        

About Me 2.0 (AKA: Do I do anything other than write? Answer: Yes!)

Alright, I figured it would be nifty (yes, I said it, NIFTY.) to write a short “about me extended.” to share some of my other hobbies and interests.

I am 23 years old, from beautiful SoCal, Cali, The land of “Uber”, NOT “Hella” (Southern California). We have two seasons here, Fire Season, and Not.

I have my associates degree in political science. Politics, and how states relate/deal with eachother interest me greatly! When I am not reading fiction, I will usually be listening to (audiobooks are pretty awesome for when you’re at work) a book on politics or some form of history, examples: “Asia’s Cauldron”, “Theories on International Relations and Zombies”, “Guns, Germs, and Steel”, “A History of Warfare.”, and “The Art of War”.

I enjoy paintballing, being outdoors, writing, eating, and modeling. I play a game called Warhammer 40k, which is a tabletop wargame made up of miniatures the player builds and then paints. Once you have all of your minis together you make an army and use a tabletop to duke it out! Hopefully the dice gods are on your side and you roll high (or low depending on the situation.) Below are a few examples of some older models I have done.

I have five pet tortoises, two turtles, and a plethora of goldfish. The tortoises are: Rommel, Rocky, Houdini, Victoria, and Titan. Rommel is the Alpha Tortoise (Yes, they have a pack-like heirarchy, a group of tortoises is called a “Creep”.) he is very speedy (for a tortoise) and aggressive. We call him “Rommel The Backyard Fox”. (Thats a reference to a key WW2 figure, General Erwin Rommel, who commanded the Afrika Korps and earned the title “The Desert Fox” from the allied forces because of his success in Africa.) Another nickname for him is “Top Rommel”, kind of like Top Ramen. Houdini got his name because he digs holes and disappeared the first year we had him, for the whole winter, until popping out the following summer. I will post pictures of them later. If you guys want to see them.

The turtles (who live in the pond with the goldfish) are named Red October, and Calypso. Whenever I can’t find Red October (brace yourself this is going to be terrible.) my search for him becomes “The Hunt for Red October”. Ha?

Anyway, that’s a brief “about me”, covering more than just what I like to write. Go ahead and follow me on twitter! @MattTaylor1776.

Have a good day all,

Matt

Dark Eldar

Grey Knight, Inquisitor Coteaz

Dark Eldar Archon

Two Writing Resources I Find Helpful! (Seriously, you may like them.)

Alright, some of you out there who are looking may be thinking about writing, or already write regularly, may find some of this stuff helpful —I know I have. 

Wikipad 

Wikipad is a very helpful tool I found out about through a podcast I regularly listen to (which is my second helpful item). It is essentially a personal wiki where you can create indepth documents to help with world building and thought organization. You can turn words or phrases into “wikiwords” which are words that also serve as links you can click on to navigate to a fresh page specifically about that item/topic/character. For example, if you have John Smith, you can turn his name into a wikiword and enable it so that when you double click “John Smith” it takes you to a blank page where you can fill out more details about him. This program lets you create a web of ideas and interconnects all of them for your own ease and lets you never lose track of something again!

You can download Wikipad here: http://wikidpad.sourceforge.net/

Writing Excuses

Writing Excuses is a podcast put on by: Brandon Sanderson, Mary Robinette Kowal, Howard Tayler, and Dan Wells. They release 15 minute long podcasts every Monday and cover a variety of topics related to writing, and have special guests on the show regularly. It is a very entertaining and informative podcast to answer any questions you may have!

Check it out here: http://www.writingexcuses.com/ Thanks for reading, Matt.

A little about, me.

My name is Matthew, but I go by Matt. I am a new science fiction and fantasy writer, looking to start sharing my projects with others. My most prominent work right now that I am hoping to edit, revise, and publish on Kindle, is a science fiction piece about a young government agent dealing with the challenges work -and his love life- bring. The working title for the series is “The Department of Inquiry”, the title for the first book of the series right now is undecided… but as soon as I have settled on a title, I shall let you all know! Let’s have an adventure!, Matt. Follow me on Twitter! @MattTaylor1776