Are you there Inkshares? It’s me, Tony.

Greetings! Continuing in the theme of my vampire post a few weeks back, I’m going to bring you some Western Esotericism today.

Magical occultism that was highly popular during the early nineteenth century and the driving force behind the magical rules system in the world of The Seventh Age. 

Don’t worry. I’m only going to give you 3 fun facts about it. 

1. L.W. Delaurence (1868-1938) was one of the great tricksters who preyed on the rich. Conning publishing houses into printing books with his name listed as the author and selling door to door pamphlets on hypnotism. Curiously, he founded a Chicago occult society called "The Order of the Black Rose" which worshiped a cigar store Indian.  This allowed him to smuggle in occult supplies for US shipping from Jamaica. Without tax evasion, many hoodoo and other poor occult sects would of died off. 
2. If you want a masters degree in Hermetisicm, regarded as one of the highest arcane spell casting and sorceries in the world, you need only go to the University of Amsterdamn. As of 2008 they offer official programs.
3. Occultism and the rich have always had a love affair. Their parties and association with Freemasons, The Order of the Golden Dawn, and other bodies continue to this day. But one of the most infamous is the 1972 Rothschild Party. I’ve attached some pictures for you. 

Illuminati Ball 1

Illuminati Ball 2

Illuminati Ball 3.... this is the table setting!?

Inspiration for The Seventh Age is taken heavily from these occult societies and their oddities in the shadows. A future update will focus on the other side of the fence: The anarchists. 

First Draft is Complete!

Thursday night at about 10:30 I wrote the final words of the Deus Hex Machina first draft. I had been pressing to get it done by the end of June, and through some help from motivational guru and all around fabulous person Elayna May Darcy (seriously go order  They Are the Last, it’s funding now and it’s awesome), I was able to get all twelve chapters finished on time.

So what happens now? Well, first off I’m going to celebrate with some gaming. Then probably Tuesday I will start working on my short story for Too Many Controllers. After that is complete it’s time to start planning for the Shadow of the Owl sequel, Shadow of the Panther. I know many of your have been waiting to find out what happens to Mylena in [spoilers], and I promise you I haven’t forgotten her.

That’s not to say things aren’t progressing on DHM. My cover designer is already working on comps and I have a developmental editor lined up and waiting. But first, I want to get the first draft in its raw, unfiltered state into the hands of a few select readers to get initial impressions. If you are someone who likes to help make a good book better, I am trying to build a beta reader group. Please email me amanda [at] goldleafbooks [dot] com and let me know that you’re interested. Warning: must love cyberpunk and have an eye for spotting egregious errors in the plot.

Once I have the round done, I’ll head into the second draft and fix anything that stood out to me and my readers (I have a mental list of weak areas I want to shore up). After the second draft is complete it will be off to dev edit land, and hopefully, plot perfection. 

Thanks for following along on this journey. The book is done! Let’s celebrate!