Hey, everybody. It’s a beautiful day in my part of the world. I’m enjoying my peripheral view of the deciduous trees, awash in sunlight, while I incorporate into my manuscript feedback from one of my beta readers.

Here is an excerpt from the chapter on which I’m working. It wasn’t part of the feedback, but I can’t help but tinker every time I read through the book and I’m pleased with the results:

"Ada tried to cover her nose and mouth against the hot stench of rotting refuse and the lingering smell of Ray’s sewer bath, but she couldn’t. She kept her visor up because having it down trapped the noisome stink. There was no escape. Breathing through her mouth was no alternative to using her nose; the detritus was as palpable as it was rank. She retched and retched again, but managed to swallow down the hot bile that burned the back of her throat."

Pleasant, eh?

I’ve got two people who said they’re still reading and will have remarks for me, soon, and I still owe Cara Weston a copy as she volunteered to take a look at Disintegration. I’m hoping to at least add the inestimable Rich Cernese’s feedback before I send it. What’s halfway between beta and alpha? I like the term "gamma reader" but that’s (paradoxically) going backwards.

I recently finished beta-reading the first half of Cara’s She is the End. I look forward to getting the other half; it’s one of the books about which I’m most excited. You should check it out.

Hey everyone! I’ve just posted Chapter 9 of The Gods That Keep Them. In this chapter, we finally start to see what Ceean’s powers are when she and Yintal encounter a giant in the wilds. Please leave a review and recommendation! And don’t forget to preorder a copy today!

Dear friends and followers,

It has been a while since my last update. August has been quiet; I admit to having distanced myself somewhat from the campaign. And now I’m just back from spending the last two weeks out west visiting mom.

This is my mom’s dog, Ernie. Ernie is sad because "Murder at the Veterans’ Club" has not yet hit the magic 750 mark. Poor Ernie.

So, we’ll be ramping up again over the course of the week and be back in full gear by week’s end. I hope I can count on your support.

In the meantime, I’d like to draw everybody’s attention to the following projects:

1) "Tantalus Depths" by Evan Graham. I’ve mentioned this book before, and I’d like to reiterate my support. It’s got horror, intrigue, mysterious outside forces, a feel for the ensemble, and solid prose. Every so often, there’s a book that will please readers who normally dislike the genre, and I think this might be it.

2) "The Darkest Places" by Byron Gillan. Here’s a book I’ve been excited about for a long time. It’s a classic cosmic horror as Lovecraft did it, and is set in the 1920s to boot. And yet, not derivative: Gillan promises a more thoughtful examination of the concept of "the Other", and that has me excited all over again.

3) "The Seventh Age: Dystopia" by Richard Heinz. Heinz has been around much longer than I have, and his first book, "The Seventh Age: Dawn", is slated to hit the bookstores in January. "Dawn" dealt with the return of magic to the modern world; "Dystopia" explores the ramifications some years down the road. I’ve worked with Heinz in "Too Many Controllers", and I can tell you he knows how to craft a story and how to tell it. With "Dawn" and "Dystopia", I promise you won’t be disappointed.

And now, I’d like to leave you with this video of me reading Siegfried Sassoon’s "Aftermath". How do I sound? Not too awful? One day ... one day! ... I shall finally get a book trailer up on my project page. Until then ... have fun! Keep reading!

Hello Ladies and Gents!

Let me first say thank you. Thank you for following Monkey Business. I cannot tell you how much it has meant to me that over 400 people elected to follow this book. My first book. I love those silly little monkeys and I always will. The same goes for all of you.

But if we could look to the future for a moment, I would like to introduce my new book.

Obviously it’s called Black Cloud. It follows a paramedic and his partner through eight very intense days in their lives. Let me be upfront, this book is not Monkey Business. While it is often funny, it’s also cynical, dark, gritty and heart-breaking. I think it’s a pretty honest look into the experiences and perceptions of many of us who work in emergency medicine. Also there is a lot of cursing. I mean a lot. Just be forewarned.

Currently it’s in the draft stage. It is my goal at this point to gather followers. This book has been entered in the Inkshares/Scott Free Launchpad Competition. That means if it were to make it into the top 25 the book will be in a funding contest beginning on October 4th. If it doesn’t make it into that contest I plan to run a funding campaign within in next couple months anyway.

So please click one of these links and follow this project and if you have a few minutes, read the first chapter. You might get a kick out of it.

Oh and while I’m invading your inbox, let me just put this here:

Monkey Business is doing pretty well on good old Amazon today so if you haven’t picked up a copy yet, go ahead and grab one for $0.99. Tell your friends, tell your lovers, tell your baristas and bartenders. If you’ve already bought a copy, mosey on over and leave a review. I’m certainly not at 100 reviews yet but 52 is pretty good!

Thank you all for everything you do and everything you are. You beautiful, book-loving bastards.

- Landon

First off, when I talked about the Sartval earlier this week I meant to link the chapters of Magus they appear in as well.  They first appear in Chapter 10 and Pentaz’ full experience with them ranges from there to Chapter 17(a span that also covers his introduction to Buscidia).  So if you want to read a bit more about that savage race of dwarves in action click the link above.

After a bit of a wall my campaign has started to pick up a little steam again, though we’ll need a great deal more if we’re going to make it so I’m hoping I can convince more of you who have followed but not ordered yet to do so.  As stated at the beginning of the campaign, for every 25 readers I’ll post a new chapter.  We’re only 8 more people away from the next chapter, and if we can hit 100 readers by 9/18 I’ll post 3 bonus chapters beyond those for each set of 25 people.

Moving on from the sales pitch though, I’m continuing my discussion of the different types of dwarves in my world.  Next on the list are the Ansvari, their representative in Exile, Magus being Talari.  She’s a bit of an intellectual, explorer, and a more knowledgeable magus than Pentaz, and she’s pictured below in the wonderful new art from Lho Brochoff.  She doesn’t come in until the last act (quarter really) of the story, but if I get to post the bonus chapters mentioned above I will release 3 of those featuring her.  She is one of the main characters in the sequel - Exile, Hunted, and most every Exile book to follow.  I’ve linked this previously but I feel it deserves linking again in case you want to read an interaction from her childhood between Talari and her grandmother.

The Ansvari as a people are perhaps the least traditional Dwarves.  They tend to live on wide open plains or sylvan glades, organized into loose tribal societies unofficial led by an elder and/or shaman(sometimes this is the same person).

They are a hunter/gatherer people who hold the spirits of nature, both elemental and otherwise, in deep regard.  They don’t necessarily worship these spirits, but they always respect them.  In truth they have much in common with the Wilder Elves, though they do put more importance on physical prowess than the Elves.  Many Ansvari practice at least minor household magic, though not to the extent of the Elves.  They also tend to be a curious people, though they usually limit their fields of study to those of the natural or magical world.

The bulk of the Ansvari tribes originally lived in a region of the Melexi empire now occupied by southern Zaltruscas and western Hanaen.  As the Zaltruscan empire spread it demanded that the Ansvari cede their land and pledge their allegiance to the Empire.  Most refused leading to a ruthless invasion by the Zaltruscans.  In the conflict over half the resisting tribes were eradicated, prisoners executed in town squares or made to fight hopeless battles in the arenas to serve as examples.

Those tribes which survived only did so by fleeing east across the World’s Cleft River and taking refuge in the free Counties of Hanaen.  Some of these tribes have found welcoming homes there, though a few such at Talari’s tribe, the Niajiry, are forced to live as little more than squatters in a county whose lord detests them.

I’ll leave my description of them at that, and as with the previous Dwarven subgroups I’ll post up a prototype of a 5th edition D&D racial option of them for anyone interested.  As for the rest of you, I want to once again thank you for your time and support, and my sincere wish that you keep reading and enjoying.

• Ability Score Increase:  +1 Intelligence, +1 Wisdom, +1 Constitution.
  
• Age:  Typically reach adulthood at around 60-70 years and live up to 450-500 years(though most die in battle before this).
• Alignment:  Can be any alignment, but most commonly are NG.
• Size:  Medium, stand between 3’10" - 4’6", though on vary rare occasions there may be an individual who reaches as tall as 4’8".
• Speed:  25’.
• Cantrip:  Choose any 1 from the Druid or Wizard list.  If chosen from the Druid list then Wisdom is you spellcasting ability; if chosen from the Wizard list then Intelligence is your spellcasting ability.
• Armor Training:  Proficient with Light armor.
• Weapn Training:  Proficient with Pike, Rapier, Longbow, and Shortbow.
• Tool Training:  Proficient with any 1 of the following - Leatherworker’s tools, Weaver’s tools, or Woodcarver’s tools.
• Skill Training:  You are proficient with 3 chosen skills from the following list - Arcana, Nature, Perception, Religion, Stealth, and Survival.
• Languages:  Common, Dwarvish and 1 of the following - Draconic, Elven, Primordial, or Sylvan.

Also, to those of you who have been reading these D&D options each time, I would like some input.  A good friend of mine who has been playing in my D&D games for over a decade recently suggested I start taking advantage of the OGL to release a portion of Exile, Magus’ world for purchase online as a campaign setting.  Would this be something you’d be interested in?  Message me either here or through my Facebook page to let me know(or through Twitter - @thoasoold, but I’m bad about forgetting to check Twitter messages).