I am in your Amazons, uploading fantasy novels for your Kindles. That was funnier in my head.
I want to say something funny and charming about the book, but OMG, I am tired of looking at it at this point. Time to start nailing down some of my crazy ideas for Book Three, as well as finally putting out the print version of TPWBM. I hope everyone enjoys it.
Hey guys, here’s a little something to tide you over while I finish going over the final edit for Succession of Witches. Let the speculation begin…NOW!! :)
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Sam had been staying at Bob’s Motel on the outskirts of the city for almost seven months, which was a record even for him. He’d lived in cheap motels before, but usually he found an apartment before the three month marker. However, his first few attempts to find an apartment in Sterling had been fairly nightmarish, and at some point procrastinating on further apartment hunting became living at Bob’s for the forseeable future.
It wasn’t all bad. The place was cheap, but the maids did a serviceable job cleaning the place, saving him the effort of cleaning up after himself. There was a free continental breakfast of all the stale cereal you could eat, which might not be very appetizing but would do in a pinch. Most importantly, the room did have one really comfy reading chair, the importance of which was not to be underestimated.
While it could get noisy at night, at 5:30 p.m. on a Tuesday afternoon the place was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Or a bunch of library books, which was what Sam was currently trying to levitate. Taking on a familiar had done what no amount of nagging from Dr. Serenus Zeitbloom and his mother could accomplish: motivated him to practice his magic. He had realized that if he wanted to get Cassie to stop being scared of him, it would probably help if he was a little less scared of himself.
There was a painfully loud thunk as the Sterling Public Library’s copy of War and Peace banged into the ceiling. Sam winced; he shouldn’t be using the works of Russian authors for levitation practice. The book stuck to the ceiling for a moment before falling, and Sam managed to get his hands under it before it hit the carpeting. A banging on the ceiling from the room above made it clear that the hotel wasn’t entirely empty; someone up there wasn’t keen on the noise he was making. Sam knocked gently on the ceiling, hoping the guest above him would take it for the nonverbal apology it was.
After he knocked, he heard a soft thumping noise coming from the wall behind him, from behind the bed. Sam raised an eyebrow; no one was staying in that room. Maybe one of the maids was in there.
He ran his fingers over the worn cover of Tolstoy’s masterpiece, wondering what he was doing wrong. For some reason, it was easier to move the book in big, sweeping movements. Trying to get it to hover just a few inches above the table was what had led to smacking the book into the ceiling. With the big movements, it was just a general release of energy that he didn’t have to think about much, but getting the book to hover required summoning flows of air to manipulate it, and that just didn’t seem to work.
Though some magic could work around the laws of physics, in general it was much easier to work within them. That’s why he knew he must be summoning some kind of wind to power the book’s flight, but he couldn’t see it. In theory, he should be able to see the threads of air energy keeping the book aloft, but he barely saw anything. He could feel that they were there, but when he tried to concentrate on them, it all became a blur.
If he had tapped into Cassie’s magic anytime recently, he’d probably be able to see every single serpentine thread. As far as he knew, familiars were just supposed to provide fuel for spells, not make you significantly better at them. It was one of many ways in which his familiar was atypical, and while he wanted to know why, now was not the time to worry about it.
He put War and Peace back on the table and picked up a much lighter book, actually a children’s book; he’d picked it up because the mermaid on the cover reminded him of Cassie for some reason. Concentrating on lifting the book ever so slightly, he managed to levitate it above his palms for a few seconds before he had to release it and let it fall back onto the table. It was either that, or give in to the temptation to throw it really hard again.
Sam rubbed his eyes, trying not to give in to frustration. He’d all but ignored his magic for close to a decade; it wasn’t exactly a shock that his attempts to attain more precise control over it weren’t going well. The problem was that he didn’t know what he needed to do to improve. Should he just try to levitate his library books over and over again and hope to see improvement, or was it a total waste of time?
On a whim, he turned and squatted to retrieve the room’s copy of the Bible from the lowest drawer of the night table next to his bed. Maybe working with something heavier would be easier, and the motel’s copy of the Holy Scripture was one of those large, annotated versions that was actually bigger than War and Peace. Feeling the weight of it in his hands, he threw it towards the table.
“Stop!” he yelled, managing to summon enough air pressure to stop the book before it fell. For a second, Sam could see the currents: funnels of translucent gold and silver that danced in strange patterns, leaving shimmering dust in their wake….
For some reason, the Holy Bible then exploded in a shower of sparks and singed paper. The force of the explosion pushed Sam down on his backside as smoke enveloped his part of the room. Coughing, he rose to his feet to see his motel room decorated with ribbons of paper from the destroyed tome—and worse, his other library books. When the bible had gone, it had taken all the other books with it, though the table was mysteriously unharmed.
He muttered a made-up word quickly, his marker for time reversal, and the pieces of the destroyed books flew back to the table and began reassembling themselves, paper and leather spines twisting together in a display that was strangely intimate. Within a moment, the books were intact.
That was his life in a nutshell: fail at a task from Magic 101 that a small half-demon child could do, then reverse time to fix his mistake, something only a handful of living demons would even attempt. He’d done a local time reversal, only affecting the room he was in, but he could do much more. He knew from last fall’s adventures that his effective range was miles.
He heard more thumping from the wall next to his bed. Whatever the maid was doing in there, he hoped she would be done soon.
At this rate, he wasn’t going to be a good master for any witch, let alone Cassie. He went to take a look at the mermaid book again, trying to figure out what it was about the female on the cover that reminded him of his familiar (since aside from her dark hair, the drawing of the fishtailed woman looked nothing like the girl he knew), and stopped in his tracks when he realized the book had changed. In fact, all the books had: they were covered with some kind of soot, and once he saw it he could smell subtle, but noxious fumes as well.
“Dammit!” he yelled, not even caring that he had cursed. This happened at random times. Sometimes using magic on an object would do nothing, sometimes it would change the mass or weight, and rarely everything would be covered by this disgusting substance, the residue of black magic. Levitating a book wasn’t a black spell by any stretch of the imagination, but apparently all of Sam’s magic was black by definition; even when he was doing something white magic could easily do, he still ran the risk of dark aftereffects.
He tried to brush the powder off the cover of the mermaid book before it could eat through the paper like acid and destroy it, but pulled his hand away quickly; the stuff was burning to the touch. Not only had he cursed his library books by accident, but the stuff was unusually potent. He wouldn’t have risked the books, but he hadn’t seen the residue in years and he’d honestly forgotten it was a possibility. Or maybe he’d just fervently hoped he’d outgrown it.
Suddenly he felt a chill; he knew he should count his blessings. Imagine if the spell he’d use to freeze time in the city last October had triggered a rare aftereffect…the possibilities were too terrible to even contemplate. Did he avoid an aftereffect that time because his magic was more suited to bigger spells than little ones? Or did he just plain get lucky?
Shielding his hand with an old undershirt, he knocked the books off the table to save its clean wooden surface. The threadbare carpeting below was probably beyond help anyway— let the magical soot eat it up like candy.
As Sam made his way toward the bathroom to get a towel to wipe off the table, two sharp bangs from behind the headboard of his bed startled him. He turned towards the far wall, tense. He no longer harbored any illusions that it was the maid.
He considered casting a spell so he could see through the wall, but given how working magic had gone tonight so far, he decided to quit while he was ahead. It was getting late, and it was almost time to go find that godforsaken club downtown where Dwight’s band was supposed to perform.
Still, Sam thought as he changed into a clean pair of jeans and a T-shirt, he could be sure of two things:
1. He wasn’t going to be able to take out books from the Sterling Public Library anymore.
2. Something was trapped in his wall, and it wanted out. Badly.
Good news, Book Two of the Familiar Series finally has a title: Succession of Witches. More importantly, I have a draft that I’m happy with and I think I’m going to be ready to publish it to Kindle pretty soon. I was disappointed that I couldn’t make my initial holidays 2012 release, so I definitely didn’t want to miss my spring 2013 deadline.
Right now, I need to get some feedback from a small group of prereaders, comb through the draft for typos/grammar errors, (sigh), and make some hopefully minor tweaks. I guess it’s possible I could decide to make some major changes, pushing things back further, but meh, I doubt it. I feel like I’ve been sitting on this one so long, I would need a REALLY compelling reason to do more than polishing edits at this point.
Because of that, this conversation will probably happen:
Pre-Reader: Karen, I liked the book! It was fun. Oh, but I think the pacing would definitely be improved if you just changed it so that—
Karen: SHUT YOUR MOUTH RIGHT THIS SECOND
I’ve decided it’s silly to have separate blogs for all of my projects, so I’m going to move everything, including posts on my books, to my main blog, Otakusphere.com. I’ll keep this one up for a while, but I’m moving all my posts over to that blog. This way, in addition to getting updates on new books in The Familiar Series, you can also check out some of my art and other projects if you are so inclined. Or you could do nothing of the sort, it’s all up to you!
Right now, Otakusphere is in a bit of disarray because I’m busy adding all the stuff to it that should have been there all along, but within another day or two you should be able to check out a ton of stuff, including Sterling, the comic book I drew years ago that The Familiar Series was basically spun off from. Thanks to those of you who have checked out this humble little Tumblr, it was brief but it was fun:)
This late in the game, the lack of even a proposed title for the sequel to The Problem With Black Magic is getting worrisome. The problem is, I hate any title that sounds pretentious, and I also tend to dislike cutesy titles that reference pop culture. These limitations render 99.9 percent of all possible titles off limits.
Since I can’t tell you what the book will be named, at the very least I can tell you what it probably won’t be named; I can’t say these are absolutely ruled out though, because anything’s possible if I get desperate enough.
So here are some of the titles I’ve come up with that are really very bad and probably shouldn’t be used by anyone, but I’ll try to present some of the positives just in case I need to justify this after the fact.
The Problem With White Magic
Pros: A logical progression from the first book; unquestionably accurate.
Cons: Everyone who downloads the book will instantly slip into a boredom-induced coma, because the title is just that dull.
The Problem With Familiars
Pros: Pretty representative of the actual story.
Cons: See: Cons, “The Problem With White Magic.” Besides, do I really want to use “The Problem With…” naming scheme for the whole series? That’s going to get really irritating around book 6.
Magically Delicious
Pros: Catchy, memorable, and shockingly appropriate.
Cons: As a marketing jingle, I have to assume that General Mills owns this phrase. If I try to appropriate it, I will probably be killed by a breakfast-baron assassin and buried in shallow grave next to I-95. My final resting place will be marked by a single spoonful of Lucky Charms.
Kidnapping for Fun and Profit
Pros: Catchy, I feel like I must have heard it somewhere before but it doesn’t seem to have been used as a title for many things, if anything.
Cons: I’m hesitant to use a title without any reference at all to magic, or spells, or demons, etc. I don’t want there to be any doubt that this is a fantasy book.
Solid Spell Society
Pros: Hey, that sounds like Ghost in the Shell!
Cons: Breaking my “no pop-culture references” rule; makes zero sense.
Hot Demon Erotica
Pros: I will sell enough copies to be able to put my future children through coll—well, okay, maybe not. I will sell enough copies to put ONE child through college….public college.
Cons: Totally inaccurate; will be killed by a betrayed erotica fan, my shallow grave on I-95 marked with whips and chains, or some sort of latex camisole thingy—I’m actually not that knowledgeable about that whole scene. Incidentally, this also rules out other racy titles like “Slave To Dark Passion,” and “Fifty Shades of Demon.” Blast.
Memos From Purgatory
Pros: Intriguing; takes things in a totally different direction from the first title.
Cons: This sounds slightly pretentious to me, even though I can’t quite figure out why. Similar titles, like “Postcards from Purgatory,” or “Things to See and Do in Purgatory,” are similarly bad.
Hacking Through The Moon
Pros: Sounds kind of mysterious and cool; came to me in a dream, which is often a good sign.
Cons: This dream didn’t make any more sense than dreams normally do, and I’m not sure how this relates to the story—well, maybe a little, but it’s a stretch. Besides, Deborah Geary, author of “To Have and To Code,” already owns the patent on all computer-based fantasy titles, so this is probably a bad idea. Geary seems far too nice to kill me and dump my body, but she might force-feed me chocolate chip cookies until I get diabetes; that seems more her style.
A Spell Too Far
Pros: I actually came up with this just now, and I kind of like it—simple and unpretentious, I think.
Cons: Maybe a little dull.
Prophecy Girl
Pros: Simple, memorable, non-pretentious.
Cons: Already The name of a Buffy The Vampire Slayer TV episode from…yeowtch…1998. Buffy was 15 years ago, what has happened to all of us? What has happened to the world?
Pale Demon
Pros: To the point, evokes Sam’s character in very few words.
Cons: Kim Harrison already used it in her The Hollows Series, so this one is DOA.
Pros: You know what? FUCK Kim Harrison.
Cons: No, no, I don’t hate Kim Harrison! She seems like a very nice lady- it’s Rachel Morgan you hate! RACHEL!
Pros: That’s right, I hate Rachel. How the hell is she even still alive? Arrrrrgh death to Rachel! DEATH TO RACHEL!!!!!!!!!!!
I seem to have totally forgotten what I was talking about…I’ll have to get back to you another time. I’m actually busy working on a book called…uh…something.
Thank you for coming to The Problem With Black Magic with these important concerns. First, to find out if black magic is right for you, we recommend purchasing and reading The Problem With Black Magic immediately. Not only does it go into detail about all the problems with black magic, but it provides a rip-roaring good time, and certainly a better use of your open time than clipping your toe nails. If you wish to persist in the black magic lifestyle, please consult a warlock (a.k.a. “man-witch.”) Side effects include compulsive brooding, becoming yet more handsome, and constantly asking yourself “What’s happened to me? AM I A MONSTER????” while looking very fetching in a pair of slacks.
We hope this has answered your questions satisfactorily.
I didn’t end up making my self-imposed holiday 2012 deadline for Book 2, obviously. I could have rushed it to try to make the artificial deadline, but obviously, I want the book to be good first and foremost. After taking a bit of a break from writing so I could come back to it refreshed (and also to deal with some real-job stuff) I’m looking forward to finally putting down all the ideas I have for the final part of the book, although I doubt Cassie and Sam are equally enthused about what they’ll have to grapple with.
In other news, I got a Cintiq, a really cool drawing tablet, so it just got much easier to work on book covers and possibly interior art as well. I really haven’t made good on my ongoing threat to post character sketches in this space regularly so far, but now that I have a nice set up for drawing, we’ll see… I never really did feel like monkeying around with my old scanner. That’s just sooooo 1998…..
I put together a playlist on my iPhone for The Familiar Series. In theory it’s supposed to be for writing, but usually listening to music while writing distracts me too much, so I usually listen to it at other times- at the gym, while drawing, and so on. It’s a combination of songs that both deal directly with things featured in the series, like demons (hence the name) and songs that remind me of the series in some other way. Listening to it tends to get me in the mood to work on the books.
I figured I’d post this list here in case anyone else was game to create their very own Demonic Playlist. Warning: A lot of these songs may make you want to dance. Not recommended for working hours. Also, I reserve the right to shuffle and change my Demonic Playlist in the event that more sufficiently demonic music comes out.
Playlist:
Angel- Mezzanine
The Hollow- A Perfect Circle
Park Avenue- Girls Against Boys
Lucky Love (Acoustic Version)- Ace of Base
Shot In The Dark- Within Temptation
Spark- Tori Amos
Magia- Kalafina
Closer (String Quartet)- The String Quartet Tribute to Nine Inch Nails
As Heaven is Wide- Garbage
The Gathering-Delain
A Demon’s Fate- Within Temptation
Somebody Told Me- The Killers
Faster- Within Temptation
Invidia- Delain
Possession (live version, Mirrorball)- Sarah McLachlan
In Love With the Darkness- Xandria
The Howling- Within Temptation
Wish I Had an Angel- Nightwish
Virtue and Vice- Delain
Empty Eyes (Bonus track)- Within Temptation
Overture, Beethoven’s Last Night- Trans-Siberian Orchestra
The Beekeeper- Tori Amos
What You Want- Evanescence
Reptilian- Nine Inch Nails (remix)
Forsaken- Within Temptation
Shelter- Duran Duran
Sinead- Within Temptation
In the Springtime of His Voodoo- Tori Amos
White Wedding, Part 1- Billy Idol
Automatic Systematic Habit- Garbage
Burn My Dread (Last Battle)- Persona 3 Soundtrack
Just Like You Imagined- The String Quartet Tribute to Nine Inch Nails
Sleepwalkers Dream- Delain
Magdalena-A Perfect Circle
Young And Proud- Ace of Bace
The Air Tonight (live version, Live From Chicago)- Phil Collins
Heresy (Blind)- Nine Inch Nails remix
The Dark- Trans-Siberian Orchestra
Demon Seed- Nine Inch Nails
My Mind (Mindless Mix)- Ace of Base
More Human Than Human- White Zombie
Control- Garbage
Immigrant Song (Trent Reznor/Karen O. cover)- Led Zepellin
A Sorta Fairytale- Tori Amos
Yeah, so I like some emo music and some slightly cheesy ’80s/’90s music at times, WANNA FIGHT ABOUT IT?????
NOTES:
-You’ll notice there are a lot of songs by Delain and Within Temptation, which tend to lend themselves to the series for me. Virtually everything on Delain’s three albums could work on this playlist, so it was a challenge to pare it down to just the ones listed here. I think the list could probably use more Nightwish, but I need to get to know their catalogue better.
-I may actually prefer the original version of Immigrant Song to the Trent Reznor cover from The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo soundtrack, but I only have the cover at the moment.
-If you aren’t an anime fan, Magia by Kalafina may seem like an obscure choice; it’s the ending theme to the 2011 anime Puella Magi Madoka Magica. It’s also a pretty spectacular gothic track.
Honorable Mentions: Songs that should be on here but aren’t
Take It Off, The Donnas- This will always be Cassie’s theme song for me, however, I feel weird putting it on the Demonic Playlist because it’s so…non-demonic? Or maybe I don’t want it on there because when I listen to this song I tend to start dancing like a maniac and then nothing gets done, so it’s counterproductive. That’s also the reason why I kept most of the hard-core industrial stuff off of here; it often works thematically, but still jolts me out of the mood.
Back On My Feet, Boom Boom Satellites- Love this song, cannot download it through iTunes; it’s not available for some reason, even though other BBS songs are. I think I will have to deal with Japanese iTunes if I really want to download this song, and that doesn’t sound like fun. Guys, please take my money! It’s much easier not to pirate music when you let me pay for it!
Vicarious, Tool- Another song that really, really belongs on here but Tool doesn’t seem to be available on iTunes in general. I actually have the CD (hey, remember those?) but I have no idea where it is. Yeah, yeah, #firstworldproblems.
