The "I'm writing a book" thread

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Pepsi Ranger
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Re: The "I'm writing a book" thread

Post by Pepsi Ranger »

Thanks. A few of the stories on my site are free to read, in their entirety. They actually have their own section called "Free Reads." Anyone who wants to check them out can.
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Re: The "I'm writing a book" thread

Post by kylekrack »

I find a lot of fun shamelessly taking D&D spells and fitting them into my own universe. You can get so much more creative with the actual effects when there aren't gameplay limitations holding you back. Still, it feels nice to have a reference point to keep magic "balanced" in my made-up world.
As if it weren't already beating as hard as it could, Nuora's heart raced faster. In a mindless state, she sprinted forward, and stuck her hand into her satchel. Somehow she found exactly what she needed and crushed a sprig of fir between her fingers. She held her hand out, pointed toward the minotaur.

"Umbra manu!" Nuora's lips muttered automatically.

A phantom skeletal hand sprung forth from Nuora's, enveloped in purple fog. It flew forward with twisting fingers and gripped around the minotaur's thick neck. The minotaur stopped in its tracks and let out a choking roar. It grabbed the hand around its neck and turned to face Nuora with rage in its eyes. Nuora ran forward, squeezing her hand into a fist, and the phantom hand gripped tighter. Now Nuora was face to face with the monster, and she felt nothing but hatred as she looked into its eyes.

"Stop!" she screamed, her voice breaking.

The minotaur released another choked roar and finally ripped the skeletal hand from its neck. The hand splintered then burst into purple smoke. In the same motion, the minotaur brought down the back of his hand into Nuora's face. The blow knocked Nuora nearly to her knees, and she grabbed her face with her left hand. She winced at the pain and the minotaur placed a hand against her chest. He pushed Nuora backward and forced her against the wall of the warehouse. It knocked the wind out of her. She looked up into the minotaur's eyes.

He stared at Nuora in a confused rage. For a moment, Nuora wondered about the minotaur's intentions. This maneuver was not a killing move. He pinned her down as if to get a better look at her, like he was curious. Like he recognized her.

Quickly, however, confusion faded from the minotaur's expression, and it dissolved into pure rage. He lifted his other hand and Nuora quickly jammed her right hand back into her satchel. This time she could not find the ingredient so easily. The minotaurs fist plunged into Nuora's face. It nearly knocked her out; for a moment, all she could see was stars. Then, the world steadied, and she continued searching for a giant bat fang she knew she owned. Another punch, and Nuora's mind wobbled. She felt hot blood stream from her nose. Her conscious voice in the back of her mind wondered if she would simply be bludgeoned to death here.

Finally, her fingers found the fang. With little dexterity, she gripped the giant bat's fang and pulled it out.

"Sanguis translatio," Nuora muttered, then sank the fang into the minotaur's chest.

The minotaur looked down at the fang and watched the haze of magic wrap around the fang and his chest. Blood flowed through the fang and into Nuora's hand, where it soaked into her skin like water on sand. Nuora held still, her hand shaking with strain to hold the fang steady.

It penetrated deeper, and the minotaur stepped back. Nuora found the strength to step forward as his grasp on her chest relaxed. She looked into his eyes, and he looked back. For a moment, the mindless monster was no longer there. In the minotaur's eyes, Nuora saw only sadness. A moment later it was gone, along with his life. Nuora began to sob as she removed the fang and the minotaur crumpled limply to the ground.
The spells are Chill Touch and Vampiric Touch, if you were curious :v: There's a lotta touchy necromancy spells, I guess.
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Bob the Hamster
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Re: The "I'm writing a book" thread

Post by Bob the Hamster »

Very nice!

She better not lose that spell component pouch :D

Also, I am wondering what was going on in that minotaur's head, especially when it seems to recognize her and gets more angry
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Re: The "I'm writing a book" thread

Post by kylekrack »

Bob the Hamster wrote: Wed Nov 24, 2021 12:08 pmAlso, I am wondering what was going on in that minotaur's head, especially when it seems to recognize her and gets more angry
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Re: The "I'm writing a book" thread

Post by Bob the Hamster »

Sooooo, I wrote "The End" after the final chapter of my second novel today.

I still need to give it a couple editing passes, and a couple read-aloud passes, but I will be looking for beta readers before too long.

Also, for anybody who can't commit to reading the whole 75k words, I would also welcome anybody willing to beta read just one or two chapters
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Re: The "I'm writing a book" thread

Post by pjbebi »

Bob the Hamster wrote: Sat Feb 18, 2023 11:57 pm Sooooo, I wrote "The End" after the final chapter of my second novel today.

I still need to give it a couple editing passes, and a couple read-aloud passes, but I will be looking for beta readers before too long.

Also, for anybody who can't commit to reading the whole 75k words, I would also welcome anybody willing to beta read just one or two chapters
I'll read it for sure. no line edits, but I'll try to look out for things that work and don't work.
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Re: The "I'm writing a book" thread

Post by Bob the Hamster »

Cool! I wouldn't expect any line edits, just thoughts and vibes are plenty. I'll send it via email soonish
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Re: The "I'm writing a book" thread

Post by Bob the Hamster »

It is done! My second novel "Flying Eye Goddess" is published! https://books2read.com/flying-eye-goddess
James Selfie With Flying Eye Goddess Paperback.jpg
James Selfie With Flying Eye Goddess Paperback.jpg (1.16 MiB) Viewed 1513 times
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Re: The "I'm writing a book" thread

Post by TMC »

Awesome! I read the first few pages and it's very engaging. I'm going to get a physical copy.
Any inkling of further sequels?
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Re: The "I'm writing a book" thread

Post by Bob the Hamster »

Yay! Does the physical copy show up in NZ Amazon yet? (I know it isn't available in EU yet and I don't know why.)

Yes, the third book is also going to be set in the same world, and it is a murder mystery set at a isolated luxury resort. It also features Catt as protagonist and (untrained) detective. It happens a few years after the events of Thief Acolyte Consort, and it brings back a couple characters from Flying Eye Goddess
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Re: The "I'm writing a book" thread

Post by Bluefeather42 »

Love that cover!
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Re: The "I'm writing a book" thread

Post by Bob the Hamster »

The cover art was a commission drawn by R-Tan from deviantart. Here is a link to his site and the full un-cropped version https://www.deviantart.com/r-tan/art/Th ... -957244559
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Re: The "I'm writing a book" thread

Post by TMC »

Yes, the cover is great; I was wondering that too.

Yes, the book is available on Amazon in NZ. However, I don't think there is a "NZ Amazon", it's just the US Amazon. Unlike Australia which have their own version of Amazon because they have a local distribution center, with a smaller available range.

However, Amazon were charging an absurd amount for shipping (especially compared to free shipping from China...) so instead I bought from Lulu which charged half as much. (The books themselves are cheaper too there, though I wasn't trying to save on that.)
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Re: The "I'm writing a book" thread

Post by Bob the Hamster »

Oh! Yay, I am glad that Lulu worked better.
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Re: The "I'm writing a book" thread

Post by Bluefeather42 »

I recently started writing short stories again, after a year of arguing with myself about it - pulpy, space-adventure stuff.
Also, I'm a member of a very friendly, laid back writer's group that was formerly local but went online with the pandemic and stayed that way, if anyone would like to join let me know and I'll send you the details.
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