Born in a magickal world, but raised in ours, Alistair finds himself waiting for his magick to manifest so he, and his best friend Beth, can return to their magickal home, but when that day finally comes, are these two ready for what comes with it?
I was engrossed in reading the Author’s Earning Report and it was stated, several times by numerous legacy houses, that the major publisher’s excuses for financial quarterly and yearly downturns were due to a lack of Blockbuster titles. It seems they all bitched about their hopes being dashed when they counted on huge breakouts, with series potential, failing to pull them out of their financial woes. Guh. Never mind about economic forces or poor management, or overly high e-book prices. They insist that they were disappointed because of unfulfilled expectations. That is coming insufferably close to blaming the authors. What’s the matter, Big 5? Your ambulance chasing failed to scoop up a best-selling self-published author? Then fire your scouts. Yah....rant over.
Magic with a cost is a great tool for storytelling, because it reflects the real-life challenges people struggle to overcome every day. To surpass our limitations, we must give up something that’s holding us back. To gain something new, we must sacrifice something else as an investment. Et Cetera.
In my current draft for this story, Diesel can whisper a word of power, tap his bronze sword, and give it +1 fire damage––all without any long complicated rituals, blood sacrifices, or a loss of HP.
Still, there are costs for his magic. Some of the costs are material–– things like time, focus and energy––while the other costs are much more abstract––debt, duty and a butterfly effect where the consequences of his magic ripple out through the world and return his way. That’s something I hope to make much more clear as I continue posting revised chapters for "Cold Iron Crossing".
