Brian and Michelle Guthrie liked an update for Exile, Magus

Wednesday update time!

Our progress continues to be slow, but with a little over a month to go I’m still hoping we can reach goal. Thanks to everyone who has already ordered as well as those of you who have recommended Magus to others.

Today I’ll move the journey forward a bit to Pentaz & Buscidia’s time on the peninsula known as The Blade where Pentaz spends a few months receiving a bit of formal education in his magicking at a small academy run by the head of a Wilder Elf community. You can read about that starting here in Chapter 31.

The Wilder Elves (pronounced will-der as in wilderness) are seen as savages by most of the more "civilised" elves in the far eastern elven nation of Lanadalaria, and even their less judgemental cousins in Hanaen sometimes regard them as a bit backwards. They live as nomads in the untamed wilds, living entirely off the land and flowing with the seasons. When they do build settlements it is only temporary structures, huts of vine, wicker, and fallen tree limbs which have seen no blade.

While they tend to avoid contact with those who do not live as they do, they are not hostile to outsiders and will often aid those they see in need, albeit secretly when possible. Like all elves they have innate magical talent, though all but their shamans and priestesses use this talent only for blending in and tracking game.

That’s all I’ve got for today’s update. As always thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this bit of insight. For my fellow D&D players my prototype Wilder Elf racial option follows(as with the Dwarven options I presented this presumes you only gain what is listed below, not the standard PHB qualities as well).

  • Ability Score Increase:  +1 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom.
  • Age:  Typically reach adulthood at around 100-120, aging at around 1/8th human rate until then. Their aging slows down significantly at this point, to around 1/40th human rate, causing them to maintain a youthful prime until around 850-900 years. They can live up to 1,000 years, with their aging speeding up dramatically this last century or so to around 1/2 the typical human rate.
  • Alignment:  Chaotic Good.
  • Size:  Medium, stand between 4’7" - 6’2"
  • Speed:  30’.
  • Skill Training:  You gain proficiency Perception and Survival.
  • Weapn Training:  Proficient with Pikes, Shortswords, Longbows, and Shortbows.
  • Reverie: They must sleep just as humans do, but while sleeping they are able to perfectly recall anything from their past through dreams. These memories fade somewhat upon waking, but if a particular aspect is focused upon when starting a Long Rest then immediately upon finishing the rest you can make an appropriate skill check(typically Arcana, History, Nature, or Religion) with Advantage to recall some bit of information/lore.
  • Art of the Chameleon: By concentrating for 1 round you can wrap yourself in magic which causes you to blend in with your surroundings. This provides Advantage on Stealth checks provided that you move no more than 1/2 your Speed. This magic is extremely sensitive to strong emotions and thus cannot be maintained in combat.
  • Life Sense: By actively concentrating as a Bonus Action you can sense the presence and vibrancy of life within a 30’ radius of you. The sensation is most commonly described along the lines of temperature as follows: alive and in good health (Warm); healthy plant life, or animal life in poor health (Lukewarm); plants in poor health, or animals in abysmal health/dying (Cold); and plants/creatures that will die or have died within 1 minute (freezing). Non-living creatures such as undead or constructs, as well as corpses, stones/minerals, and incorporeal creatures are merely voids in your perception with no temperature whatsoever.Since this does not rely on your normal sense you can use this ability while Blinded, Deafened, or otherwise unable to use your normal 5 senses. This does require the use of a Bonus Action every round it is used/maintained. This can be used to detect the presence of invisible creatures so long as that creature would normally be able to be sensed through this ability as described above, as well as to compensate for Blindness. At the start of any turn in which you are using your Life Sense in this way, you choose whether to negate your Disadvantage on Attack Rolls against a single creature or the creature’s Advantage on their Attack rolls against you.
  • Languages:  Sylvan, Elven and 1 of the following – Common, Primordial, Gnomish, Orcish.


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    Brian and Michelle Guthrie liked an update for Murder at the Veterans’ Club

    I’m not dead yet.

    Dear friends and followers, I have been getting back into the groove of active campaigning. I try to keep accurate records, in case things should happen to go wrong ... it also helps to alert me to friends who have promised an order but who may have forgotten. Do not worry: I shall hunt you down.... Er. I mean, I shall send you a gentle reminder. Yes.

    (Seriously though. I really appreciate everything I’ve gotten from you guys so far. Some of you have been hugely encouraging and enormously helpful. In many ways, this will be as much your victory as mine.)

    Meanwhile! I’ve finally managed (after many, many takes) to record a video for the project page. Go take a look!

    What to expect from me in the near future:

    1. A third Peterkin Investigates IF game.
    2. A floor plan for the Veterans’ Club.
    3. A gentle reminder.

    Now, let’s talk about a couple of works around here that I would really like to see getting further on their campaigns.

    1) "Upload", Mark Meredith. I’ve spoken about this before, but it bears repeating: this is some quality noir happening here, for all it’s classed "science fiction". The Thriller Night Syndicate seems to agree, since they’ve named it this month’s pick. It tells the story of Detective Qin (look, an Asian hero! Not that I’m biased or anything!) in a world where people habitually clone themselves to guard against unexpected death. Well, here’s Qin in a newly cloned body, and the story opens in gritty, noir fashion on a crime scene where it’s discovered that the vic is ... Qin’s previous body. Seriously, if you love mysteries (and if you’re following "Murder at the Veterans’ Club", then chances are that you do) you’re going to love this one.

    2) "The Fairy Stepmother, Inc.", Maggie Hoyt. This is a very different flavour, but delicious all the same. It’s Cinderella told from the stepmother’s point of view ... though I suspect there will be a number of twists thrown in. Evelyn, the stepmother in question, is introduced as an intelligent, independent woman, who has to deal with some rather rigid societal expectations; and it’s all told with some delightfully wry humour. Check it out: I promise you the prose will just race along like a drive through the countryside.

    Until next week, friends! In the meantime ... don’t forget!

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      Brian and Michelle Guthrie liked an update for It’s All Fun and Games

      Hi everyone!  Happy Fall!

      Long time, no chat, huh?  It’s been about a month and a half since It’s All Fun and Games went live, and I’ve got all sorts of news to share.

      The first thing is that I was fortunate enough to receive some pretty cool media attention to coincide with the release.  I had a nice sit-down with John Holyoke from the Bangor Daily News, and I was featured both in their online paper and on the front page of the Lifestyle section.  IAFAG also was in a segment on the 207, a statewide public interest show that airs nightly in Bangor and Portland.  It was fun hearing people tell me that they’d seen or read about me.  Look out Kardashians, I’m coming for you.

      I’ve also been out and about for a couple public appearances.  I had my first public book signing at The Briar Patch in downtown Bangor.  If you live locally, make sure you stop on by – it’s a wonderful store filled with books, games, and other things that the little people in your life will enjoy.  And then at the end of August I was the featured presenter the Orono-Old Town Kiwanis (which, having just recently seen Calendar Girls at Penobscot Theatre Company (Season Tickets Still Available!), makes me chuckle at the role of “featured presenter”), where I talked about NANOWRIMO, Inkshares, and all the nuggets of stuff that go into making the sausage we call a novel.

      I had the horrifying experience of being asked by my award winning voice actor, Cassandra Lee Morris, how to pronounce a few words and realizing that I never really thought about how those combinations of letters would actually sound.  Garbaldar is a tricky one to roll off the tongue, and don’t even ask me how to pronounce Gahrauah.  I actually just punted and told her to make something up.  Memo to me – read all future novels aloud before sending them for publishing and make sure the names are actually pronounceable.  If you’d like to read more about Cassandra, you can visit her web page here.  She’s pretty impressive, that’s for sure!

      Sales have remained steady, though they have tapered off somewhat.  Word of mouth is a wonderful thing, so if you know anyone who might be interested in It’s All Fun and Games, have them swing by their Friendly Local bookstore or Amazon and pick up a copy.  Or grab it on an e-reader, or in a week or two the ebook!

      Also, if you’ve read the book, please swing by Amazon, Goodreads, and (if you have an account) Barnes And Noble and leave a review.  They don’t need to be long – “I really liked it” is plenty!  I’m currently sitting at 51 reviews on Amazon, but there were 578 people who preordered the book.  It’ll take just a few moments of your time, and can make a huge difference.  We haven’t yet broken into B&N’s retail stores (which would be instantly several thousand copies sold), but a couple hundred reviews on Amazon and Goodreads would make a pretty convincing argument. 

      In fact, go do it now.  I’ll wait. 

      ….

      See?  That wasn’t so hard, was it?  And now you have a warm fuzzy cause you know you did me a solid.  Speaking of which, I’ve had a number of people tell me that they’ve let the book around their office or circle of friends.  That’s great, and I hope your friends all enjoyed the book too.  Please ask all those folks to leave me a review as well.  3 minutes of clicking and typing is a great price to pay for a novel.

      So, I think that’s all the news that’s news.  You may or may not have received an email from Inkshares regarding new contests.  There are three right now.  Of perhaps the most immediate interest to backers of It’s All Fun and Games are the Geek and Sundry Fantasy Contest and the Crypt TV Horror Contest.  If you’ve got any interest in helping another author fund their novel, here are some suggestions of books written by some of the buddies I’ve met throughout my own contest process –

       A Beast Requires

      Apex

      Arcadia

      Bad Medicine

      Exile, Magus

      Phew!  That was long!  Thank you again for all your support, and I promise not to wait so long between mailings next time!

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        Brian and Michelle Guthrie followed Jason A Jones
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        Brian and Michelle Guthrie liked an update for Illegal

        Just a quick update and some math: we are now up to 620 orders with just 32 days left to reach 750. That works out to about 4 orders a day. Since the last update, 11 days ago, there have been 46 new orders which is right on pace. Thanks y’all!

        These last orders are going to be the hardest, so please do share this book around and encourage your friends to support this project. I’ve created a facebook event you can invite friends to here: https://www.facebook.com/events/336202026717097/

        We are almost there! Onward!


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          Brian and Michelle Guthrie liked an update for Dragonford- The Long Highway

          Summer has come and gone, and it was a surprisingly busy time. In Korea, we are enjoying the fall festival of Chuseok. I was able to spend the day in the mountain temple of Golgulsa for the traditional prayers. On the book front, I have a little piece of world building for you. Every fantasy world needs a map, so I have drawn one! On the left, we start at the city of Greater Riddare, the Imperial Capital. Traveling west from the capital, we make our way past the events of this book, out to our final destination. Through Quidor, which sits on the Great River, into Anthar and down to the edge of the Great Divide, where cultists of the Great Liche Dartaff attempt to summon demons, further west to the vassal kingdom of Rimarov, and its capital city, Sophia, until finally, at the end of the highway, we enter the vast savanna known as the Western Wilderland...
          Enjoy this little artifact in all of its hand-drawn wonder!

          http://i350.photobucket.com/albums/q431/Brendan_Thompson/Map_zpszcxdader.jpg

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            Brian and Michelle Guthrie liked an update for LOUISIANA BLOOD - A Chandler Travis and Duke  Lanoix mystery

            Hi there followers.  

            I just thought I’d send a quick update to all you fans as I haven’t done one for a while.  At present I’m doing my final edit before handing it off to the folks at INKSHARES.  I’m working with the wonderful Sarah Caughie, alias best selling author Sarah Bryant  you can check out her Amazon page by clicking on her name link.  She’s a great choice for Quill members if you want to sharpen up your work prior to sending it off to Inkshares.  

            I’m aiming for a publication date of early in the new year as I opted to avoid the Christmas (other festivals are available) bun fight and give my work the chance to miss being swamped by cookery books!  Also, it would appear that Inkshares is going through various changes, some of which have impacted on the speed of publishing process.  

            Quill members I have been in touch with are finding it difficult to get a publication date from management, and without that information it would not be possible to mount a synchronised marketing plan...something essential for Quill authors in charge of their own campaigns.                       

            A restructured royalty package also came with the possibility of marketing support for Quill  authors.  So until Inkshares has addressed that situation, and become able to give accurate publication dates, I think it best to use the time for editing Louisiana Blood rather than adding to their burden.  When I see things starting to move, and authors I know being given dates I will hand my novel over to Inkshares for final tweaks.

            On a good note I see that Louisiana Blood is number one in the mystery charts!   I intend to make the follow up, BRUGES BLOOD as big a success!    Thank you all for your support, and anybody that wishes to snap up a copy cheap, go HERE.

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              Brian and Michelle Guthrie sent an update for Rise

              Rise received its first industry review!  It was posted on Monday, but I just found out about it today.

              "Science fiction makes "Their world exploded" literal in this ensnaring SF mystery set on various fragments ("shells") of a shattered planet that still orbit around its glowing core. Set up by the Ancients, the shells host colonies of humans who depend upon the infallible technology of their ancestors to survive. But it is starting to fail, and Logwyn, a scribe, is sent by her dragon queen to interview four outsiders from different shells and cultures to piece together why. Armed only with a box whose contents she has not dared to view, Logwyn tries to draw the others out and gather up their separate but linked accounts, hoping to understand why the Ancient computers are losing data. Guthrie neatly if straightforwardly weaves together the four stories, letting events repeat without contradiction (no Rashomon here); his worldbuilding is complicated enough, including the characters’ ability to rewrite the "code" of reality, to require some simplicity of plot. Raising more questions with every answer, this volume should intrigue readers enough to look for the sequel."   Publishers Weekly

              So exciting.  In other news, Inkshares is working hard with Amazon and Barnes and Noble to get the kinks in the release worked out.  Rest assured if you have friends that want to order from these two sites, they still can, especially if they’re after the Kindle version.  They can also go in to a Barnes and Noble store and order a copy there if it’s not already on the shelves. (I can’t believe I get to say that now!!)

              Don’t forget to leave your own reviews and ratings on Goodreads and on the kindle version on Amazon.  And I’m still looking for some unique pictures of where people are reading Rise.
               
              Check out who got his copy reserved!


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                Brian and Michelle Guthrie liked an update for Black Cloud

                Hello! You first 65 followers are the best. I really appreciate you all jumping in early and following the book. Honestly, I’ve had so much more positive feedback than I expected. It’s pretty awesome.

                I shot a first attempt at a promo video for the book last night with the help of a paramedic buddy. I’m not sure how well it went but when I get it edited I’ll share it with all of you and see what you think. At this point I’m at the "gather followers" stage of the game. So if any of you feel inclined to spread the word, I would greatly appreciate it!

                Here’s a little treat for following the book. Black Cloud is fiction but throughout the campaign I thought it would be fun to share little real world stuff from time to time. So here is today’s:

                A couple weeks ago a patient had the following exchange with one of our local ER docs.

                Doc: "So what brought you into the ER today?"

                Patient: "I have kidney problems."

                Doc: "Ok, what kind of kidney problems?"

                Patient: "Well I had a dream that a falcon swooped down and ate my kidneys so I Googled it and it said that means I have kidney problems."

                After the doctor had left the room I asked him what he was going to do. He smiled at me and said, "I guess I’ll check her kidneys."

                As a writer it makes me jealous that you I can’t make up stuff as crazy as that. That’s it for now guys. Have a good one!

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                  Brian and Michelle Guthrie liked an update for Pilot X

                  Hey there, I thought I’d update you on the progress with Pilot X as it’s been wending its way through the publishing process.

                  First our AMAZING cover is finalized. You’ll see it updated on the Pilot X page here. Let us know what you think!

                  Just got the copy-edited manuscript back. Copy edit is where they not only fix punctuation but also make sure the style is consistent and such. It’s less intensive than the developmental edit I told you about back in June. Just tightens things up so it all makes sense and looks good on the page. 

                  I sent that back Tuesday so we’ll hopefully be on our way to proofs and galleys soon!

                  All in all this means we’re still on target for a March 14 release. Thanks again so much for all the support.

                  Cheers,

                  Tom

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