7 days left!  All funded, but if you’re looking to jump in, I’d love it if you did!

These are two more of the races in the world.  I will say that this first book focusses on elves (specifically Sophielecent elves and their wards) and bugbears but is peopled by a plethora of rich and fascinating cultures.  Below are two more.  Tomorrow, I’ll have another pair up!

I wish y’all a fantastic time with everything in life!  I’ve been blown away by the support and genuine love expressed and wish, in whatever way I may, to reflect that same affection back into the community.  Know y’all go forth with my blessing, in addition to the myriad others you’ve earned.    

Trolls

Ogres are typically a cave dwelling, largely solitary race, though they have a history of getting on very well with orcs. They are highly social with one another and have rich cultural provisions for visitors to their ranges. Their communities, if such a term can be applied, are composed of dozens of small territories and a central neutral zone wherein they may come to gather and intermingle.

Ogres require precision and order in their lives. Any deviation in the normal ebb and flow of their territories is seen as a mortal offence and they usually hate the clutter humans create. Nonetheless, if a mutt stumbles onto a range, it is often adopted and trained to properly exist within the culture.

Unlike other races, ogres are raised in an intricate manner, spending a little of their youth with each of the mature adults bordering the central neutral area. There is not so much a culture of dominance as a culture of rigid territorial rights. Banishment is normalized; if an ogre reaches adulthood and no territories are presently available and unclaimed, they are sent away. These individuals either gravitate to the city, find acceptance in another cluster of territories or begin their own cluster, if an area has space for this. It is usually from these new clusters and from the city dwelling ogres that mutts occur. Being highly social, they do not enjoy isolation and will take comfort in interacting with small homesteads and with clearly defined neighbors.

Additionally, ogres are inherently gifted with changing the flow of arcane energies, which makes them masters at crafting the arcane bombs favored by the kalutai. A proficient, older ogre can usually negate all arcana in an area surrounding it with nothing more than a burst of concentrations. Conversely, they can cause arcana to surge in a region, creating wild growth and genetic instability in local flora and fauna at will.

Hobgoblins

Hobgoblin society is fiercely matriarchal, with males performing periphery tasks and usually being lighter and slighter of frame than their female counterparts.  They make up for this by generally being a little taller than the women, and the males are usually very easy going with all races, be they Hard or Soft, while the women tend to be hypercritical and slow to trust.  

Hobgoblin women, as with most Hard Races, select their mates.  Unlike most other races, these pairings, usually made for life, are just as likely to be made between differing genders a they are to be between a male and a female.  Genetics are not valued overmuch and a mother often has chldren sired by many different males, though her designated mate will be the father figure -- or secondary mother figure -- to her young.  While both parents raise their young, the entire community sees to the wellfare of all hobgoblin children as a matter of course.  It is often said that there are no hobgoblin orphans, just children with a new set of parents. The culture also values architecture, mathematical concepts and sculpture.

Hobgoblins usually range in height from a little over six feet to a little under seven, have mottled, two toned skin, like light reflecting off a river, and regularly intermingle with other groups of Hard races.  While protective of any area wherein their young roam, they do not maintain rigid territorial barriers and often allow intruders to trespass without incident, provided the interlopers move off without causing undue harm.  If they seem inclined to linger, a few males will be sent out to test them for general levels of friendliness and, if they are fairly docile, will often incorporate their settlements or migratory routes into the community’s territorial range.

Just a quick one for now.  Prior to my campaign I had stated that for every 50 followers I would upload a new chapter, and this first week of the campaign/contest has seen me sprint past 350 followers.  That means I’ll be uploading at least 1 chapter tomorrow.  I’d also been debating with myself whether or not to continue uploading chapters since I already have quite a large amount posted.  Truth is that I like sharing my story and world too much not to keep uploading.  Since I’m now in a campaign though, from this point on I’ll be basing chapter uploads on number of new people who’ve ordered rather than number of followers.  For every 25 new readers I’ll upload a chapter, and since we’ve already hit 25 readers that means I have a 2nd new chapter to upload.  I’ll be uploading those tomorrow.

That’s all I’ve got for now.  Look for a real update on Tuesday, and as always thanks for your time and keep reading!

There’s a lot of double and triple meaning in A Beast Requires, mostly because I’m twisted like that, but also because I so strongly believe in the power of words. There is one that will always stand out to me, as it towers over the fountain plaza outside the constabulary.

Why a flying pig?

They’re my spirit animal. Ok, sure it’s a little bit because I grew up in Cincinnati. I know, right? Queer kid growing up in the concrete sprawls of John Boehner country? No wonder I escaped the moment I had the chance.

See, when I was a kid I loved writing. Loved it more than anything in the world. Problem was, I couldn’t write for shit. My words, they made no sense. Letters were backwards, the spacing was off, and I couldn’t form sentences to save my life. So you can imagine the responses of my parents and my teachers when I told them I wanted to be a writer. 

I’ll write a book when pigs fly.

It’s taken me the better part of four years to write A Beast Requires. I’d show people the original draft, but it’d make no sense unless you spoke the secret language of my pencil scratch. The time put in was worth it. I think I’ve managed to write an amazing book, one that I hope will make you laugh, and occasionally scream at Albicon’s poor choices. For those that have backed me, thank you. And for those still considering, I hope you sign on and help make this dream become a reality.

- Jay

Hello again, readers!

A few days ago, I wrote to let you all know I did not intend to ask for a campaign extension. Now I’m writing to let you all know someone out there believes in this project so hard, they worked their magic and convinced me to accept one anyway.

My initial intention was to put Devil’s Call in a drawer and move onto my next project. Not query agents or self-publish on Amazon or something, but just let it go. Let me tell you real quick why, on second thought, I’m glad I didn’t.

This year has been trying. As I mentioned in an update at the campaign’s commencement, this spring I experienced a severe, acute depressive episode that culminated in a suicide attempt, and I spent a considerable amount of time in the hospital as a result. I’m currently in outpatient treatment for alcohol dependence (39 days clean!) as well as generalized anxiety that worsened as a result of my not self-medicating anymore. Depression and alcoholism didn’t kill me, but they sure are eating up a lot of time that would have normally been allocated for promoting my ass off.

That said, waiting for the "right" time to pursue this project isn’t an option, as life doesn’t give two licks whether I’m ready or not. Both the manuscript and I are improving day by day, and I want this book to make it to Quill not for my own gratification, but because so many people have helped it get this far, and I really feel as if Devil Call is Inkshares’ book.

I can’t top that last gif, so I’m going to sign off with more heartfelt thanks and my standard "spread the word on Tweetface, it helps" message.

Y’all are the best,
J.

Nine days and about eight hours left!  Next race in the countdown!