This guy’s great at the Patience Game!

Why hello everyone!  I would like to apprise you of a few minor updates.  First and foremost, the book is (and has been) in cue to begin the formal publishing process (line-editing, second readthrough by a professional third party, sizing and formatting, cold readthrough, sending to the printing press, discussing marketing and an ideal release date, etc).  It has been for a little while and is, well, progressing.  Yay for the game of Hurry Up and Wait!

In the meantime, InkShares has rolled out a general policy wherein, if enough interest is generated at a later date,  more good things roll out for the project.  Yay!  I have also updated the quick blurb at the top of the "Funded" page to better describe the book.  If you, dear followers, haven’t checked out the new landing page, I would be honored if this effort was made.  The link is here.  

If you would prefer not to click on the link, the updated text is as follows:  

Surviving abuse leaves no soul unscathed, and this is especially true of Ptielieren, an elite elvish bodyguard involuntarily integrated into an aversive-heavy culture.  Strength can exist absent a ringing victory and weakness does not signify defeat.

The word count available for this introductory blurb is truncated but I think it gives a better overview of the content.  As always, I love emails and direct messages and am always happy to reply to messages on Facebook.  I wish a wonderful day and, to those who celebrate Yom Kippur, may your fast be an easy one.

Every last one of you is fantastic.  I thank you sincerely and truly for helping this dream come to fruition.  The timeline for final production and shipping is fluid, but I am hoping to launch sometime in late Spring, give or take.  This may be as early as February but, as my old boss used to say, it’s always best to under-promise and over-deliver

Speaking of, those of you who won raffles or earned prizes; you have not been forgotten.  They are coming.

To every last one of you, whether you supported this dream with a follow, a recommendation, a review or even a gorgeous, eternally beautiful pre-order:  You are Magnificent.  You have helped to sculpt a wonderful reality.  You have earned my appreciation.

In short, Borehole Bazaar, the first book the Vow Unbroken series, is in the works and being shaped and polished to accept its physical and digital forms.  And a special, extra thanks to everyone who has helped in this process.

Kendra Namednil · Author · edited over 7 years ago · 1 like
Thank you everyone who made this dream reality!  I’ll be pushing to get this published as quickly as possible that y’all might get the sequel super soon!  (Hopefully, I’ll launch that on the day of release for this one!)

Joni Dee · Author · added over 7 years ago
congrats Kendra!!
J. Graham-Jones · Author · added over 7 years ago
Congratulations on being funded! 

I have a new landing page, congruent with having funded!  To me, this is HUGE!!!  Thank y’all for coming on this journey, thank y’all for being amazing and wonderful throughout, and thank y’all for just...

Wow, I’m a little misty-eyed and I can’t think of the words to say.  Thank you just feels inadequate.  Super thank you.  OH!  And the price for a hardcopy is dropped to 14.99 per each.  If you were looking for that break, here it is!

Kendra Namednil · Author · edited over 7 years ago
Today is the very last day of funding, which is great news!  Barring 17 pre-orders being pulled, I’m all set to fund at 4:30 pm tomorrow!  Zero pressure to the three who have pulled out, too.  These things happen and I wish good things to come your way.  To those who have stayed with me throughout, I wish GREAT things to come your way!

These are the last two races.  Hopefully y’all like them!!!
Celenicic

Celenicics are said to be the offspring of humans and the divine light of fallen stars.  The race is truly ancient, with an average lifespan between four and six hundred years.  This race is highly patriarchal,  with modesty and discretion monitored by a head of the family and enforced by his brothers and eldest sons.

Celenicics can be recognized by skin that glows either a soft silver or a soft golden, by hair that is just a little lighter than the air around it, and by their austere outlook.  The natural arcana of the race allows them to discern and manipulate the underlying motivations of those they interact with.  Disassembly is seen as a deep moral failing, as is overeagerness or shifting convictions.

The ideal set by the patriarch is revered and extolled by all of his kin, and any who do not hold to this ideal are quietly removed.  Assassination is a dirty word, but the cleanliness and purity of families is paramount to celenicic ideologies.  Occasionally, a properly stoic hybrid child will be suffered to live, but they are always, always neutered.

In general, celenicics tend to run prisons and legal institutions.  They issued the law that all mutts must be sterile and enforce this with any that come into their system, be they civilized or feral.  Many believe that all humans should likewise be left unable to sully the pure lines, but no magic has yet been fully successful in negating a human’s innate ability to splice its genetic material with that of other races.


Elves

Elves are the most numerous civilized race in the nation.  Through ancient contracts and a historical outlook on finance, they control most of the wealth and have proved quite adept at manipulating the law to their advantage.

The prevailing spoken belief is that all hybrids should be neutered, though there is a certain vanity in those cities whose human populations are heavily saturated with the incredible beauty of elvish blood.  As some bloodlines have a propensity for arcane husbandry, the blending of human properties with other species can be quite handy, which is reason enough to keep the race docile and accepting of their place, even if this means an occasional blemish is allowed to slip through.

This is, of course, true to the natural order of things.  The overall Elvish race was chosen for greatness and they are benevolent rulers, tolerating the occasional petty spats of the feral, uncivilized races and indulging the vanity of gorgons and short sighted intensity of the fallen stars.  Gnomes they regard with quiet amusement, allowing them to claim to be Civilized despite all evidence to the contrary.

Elvish families are carefully ordered into acknowledged offspring and unacknowledged offshoots with no claim to formal title.  Bloodlines are zealously guarded against impurities from other lineages of elf, and those young who do not fit the mold are always set aside as unrecognized heirs to their estates.  Most families have six or seven acknowledged offspring and dozens that would be called bastards by those tasteless enough to do so.  These are given periphery roles in managing the estate and most are paired by their betters in the hope that some of their young or grand-young may be reintegrated into the greater line.


Hello, all!  First off, thank you for suffering through the final countdown of updates.  If nothing else, I hope y’all are enjoying the fluff about the races and feeling good about yourselves.  I write because not writing feels almost physically painful; it’s an itch that MUST be scratched.  I publish because I genuinely care for people and think these stories, the short and the long, may well help them to thrive.  

Whether the words help you to thrive or not, I do wish y’all the absolute best.  Things can be daunting and Life, well, she’s not all-powerful, though she often seems that way.  I’ve mentioned that this story is about surviving abuse when fighting and fleeing aren’t options.  We’ve all had moments like that:  the job we can’t afford to quit, the parent or friend who relies on our care and is not the least bit grateful, the car repair bills that cripple us yet cannot go unpaid...   We come out stronger.  I came out of my ordeals, at first, much more soft spoken and afraid.  Then, as the despair lifted -- I was still living with these hardships -- I found my joy.  It filled me and sustained me and left me much stronger than if I’d never fallen in the first place.

When I was writing this story, that was my intended takeaway.  There are eleven more books in the series, eight of which are fully written.  The last three have important scenes completed and just need the story to fall into place like a cloak around a rider.  Each one has a slightly different emphasis.  Each one was written to be a story of internal growth and healing, even if they are filled with casual traumas.

Anyhoo, here are the overviews for two of the Civilized Races (known to the Feral races as Soft races).  Hope you like ’em!

Gnomes

Gnome, like halfling, refers to a great number of different wingless fae.  The most common variant, the Bwecol, has large heads, heavily rounded features, a gift for manipulating the arcana associated with a specific sense and lives for about two hundred years.  They usually form intricate family ties, all linked to an industry based in their favored sense.  Those gifted in the arcana associated with taste usually band together to form large city or nationwide restaurant chains, while those associated with touch may run the textile industries.

While Civilized Races see gnomes as aspiring entrepreneurs with properly cultured lineages and customs, the race is highly opportunistic and dastardly to those it perceives as enemies, regardless of whether this enemy is Civilized or Feral.  Poison is common, as are layers of forgery and extortion.  The common scapegoat, should blame be placed on a gnome, is whatever halfling family is closest or easiest to target.

All Bwecol gnomes will offer refuge to other Bwecol gnomes, regardless of allegiance, but they expect a favor or sum paid in response.  Additionally, if a young gnome manifests a power not associated with that of its parents, it is given as a fosterling to a family harboring that sense.  These fosterlings are given false documentation declaring an appropriate lineage and often never, themselves, realize they are not natural born to their parents.

Gorgons

Gorgons are a race of predominantly cold-blooded bipeds who exhibit several distinct traits.  First, atop their heads are a number of serpents, most of which are venomous, which writhe constantly and provide a peripheral awareness that is rarely duped.  Second, their skin is lightly scaled.  Additionally, they have forked tongues, elongated fingers, and have about sixty vertebrae, differing in exact number by bloodline.  

Most gorgons are born female, and many do give birth to live young, though some will lay eggs.  This is largely a matter of choice, as the female can induce a shell to form over her two offspring or can simply carry them to term, depending on the temperature she keeps her body at.  The children are raised to be nobles, even if that is not the station held by their mother.

Males of the species often pass for females in polite society and are contracted discretely when a female wishes to conceive.  He then has nothing whatsoever to do with raising the resultant young.  In both genders, much heed is given to the health and robust appearance of skin and cranial serpents.  Most individuals choose to move slowly and gracefully, though this is by no means their only choice.

Hybrids of this species are an unfortunate bunch, often looking sickly or mutated as the internal workings of both parents compete in differing areas.  Generally, they are sterile except with other gorgon hybrids and are often cast out to die young. Their arcane affinity is with transmutative energies and, with direct eye contact and concentration, most adults can turn their foes to stone.

Good morning, everybody!  I have some good news and some bad news.  Well, I mostly have good news.  

First, the bad news.  Someone canceled their order, so I am back down to 269.  Alas, these things do happen and I am greatly saddened when they occur.  I wish that person well and hope they have tons of success and enjoyment with books better suited to their natures.

Now for the good news:  there are four days left until I am officially Quill, The prizes should be getting back from Kinkos first thing in the morning (bit of a hickup there but it’s all sorted now), I received Burning Man tickets (yay!  It’s my first time and I hope it Rocks!),  and I’m super excited that so many of y’all are so awesome!

I’ve got another two races all set and ready to go, if y’like.  Again, these are races in the greater world while this story mostly focusses on just Bugbears, elves, humans and a single gnome, halfling, and goblin.  I hope y’all have an amazing day and that many good things come your way!

Halflings

Halflings is a term that refers to three distinct races, though most outside of halfling culture do not differentiate.  These three races, culturally, have nearly nothing in common and can only produce mules when they hybridize.  The most common in the region’s cities are the Itigrailha, which, again, are called halflings by most folk.

These halflings are usually between three and four feet tall, are incredibly athletic, have catlike pupils and are generally claustrophobic.  They form large family groups that usually control large portions of the skyline in cities and absolutely do not get on with each other.  They are not particularly strong, but they are incredibly talented at climbing, jumping and general acrobatics.

To be cast out of a family is considered a fate almost worse than death, and those who have been banished will often form new family units.  While their families are small, however, they are not able to control even a single rooftop.  The parents of both sides are protective of their young, but not at the expense of their own lives.  When a neighboring family takes over a stretch, they brutally murder all young and elderly too slow to escape, though two strong families will usually avoid fighting and borders are generally well respected.  

In general, both Hard and Soft races presume all halflings to be message runners, and few halflings will tell them otherwise, instead pawning off unwanted deliveries on relations or passing them along to members of rival families.

Humans

Humans are a numerous species with ties to both Civilized and Hard races.  While there are relatively few pure humans, the genetic strain usually burns off all but a few aesthetic tells of impurities.  They are able to adapt to almost any set of cultural norms but are often relegated to the lowest tiers of Civilized society and are usually seen as an amusing but ultimately weak addition to most Hard races.

While humans can and have manifested any number of wild or aberrant arcane talents, most never develop power beyond what can be used as a parlor trick.  Their main and universal arcana is that of fertility; any human can breed with almost any other race.  Those few who are not compatible can be made to be compatible through unholy means.  Any hybrid produced of these pairings is fertile and any offspring, forever more, will be able to breed with both parent species.

Humans tend to choose an ideal and work to attain this at all costs.  This can make them, in places, incredibly powerful.  It can also allow them to survive where all odds claim they should not.  Because of this latter trait, the mythical entity Good Luck is often portrayed as a human female.  

Human young usually are raised by a family unit with heavy exposure to their close friends, after which they are encouraged to spend their adolescence among either Civilized races in the hopes of gaining an apprenticeship or mentorship, or to garner respect among Hard races in the hopes of gaining clout and prestige therein.  Depending on the family’s ideals, youth may also be encouraged to devote themselves to study or to the hearth and home, or any other particular pursuit.

As always, I wish good things on all who read this (and even a few of those who do not).

Oh! And every last one of you inspires me. Your dreams are worth chasing and I know you can make it!

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