Sitting in a hotel writing this from Board Game Geek Con. It's been a relaxing few days playing board games with friends and making new acquaintances.

There's been a ton of stuff going on around the homestead that have kept me from writing regularly, but the irregular writing is making some progress.

Most of my updates are on facebook these days, so feel free to friend me on there if you're watching for book updates. (You can find me as Cebelius Writes)

Unfortunately, one of the reasons I came to this con was to see my Godson, but apparently he didn't get his leave request submitted in time so ... he didn't make it. Which SUCKS.

I was really looking forward to seeing him. Oh well.

Other than the book and the con, there's not much going on in my life that's of any consequence that y'al'd be interested in. I'm on a self-improvement kick, which is a flippant way of saying I have committed, absolutely, to dropping all my deadweight, of which I have approximately fifty pounds remaining. Have been in the gym for the past four months give or take, which has given me bigger legs, a deeper chest, and broader shoulders, but those changes are hard to see because I'm too damn fat. So that's the goal. Staying in the gym to keep from losing muscle while I trim the pounds.

I want to get back to (and then surpass) my Kuwait days. Dead serious about it too. Even though I'm at a convention, I have not broken my diet with one POSSIBLE exception (I had a bowl of taco meat which may have had too many carbs. :/ ) But all in all I'm staying on track.

If you're interested in board games, some of the ones I've played and enjoyed over the last few days include Bin'Fa, Bulwark, Western Legends (Made it to the final round of a tournament but came in second :/ ) A game called East Indiamen (which had SHIT instructions but was a fun game) and Dicetown. Picked up one called War Chest that I'm keen to try out, along with another called Speakeasy.

It's been a fun weekend.

Book 2 of the Celestine Chronicles is now for sale!

If you enjoyed my first book, Mask of the Template, you'll PROBABLY want to pick this one up, as it continues the story. If you do decide to give it a try, thanks very much!

Rod of the Heart

Going over it one more time before sending it off for proofing and beta reads.

Man this has been an adventure.

SO much more going on under the hood being an indie author than I had planned for, and I've been planning for the better part of two years. Those of you who followed me here saw at least two or three other projects fail to take off before Mask went the distance.

Getting nervous again, but for slightly different reasons.

First book I was nervous would just kind of disappear without a trace. A few folks here liked it but I had no real idea if it would have broader appeal.

NOW I'm nervous because I need to make good on the promise that book 1 made. I think Book 2 will be a worthy successor, but only the readers can tell me for sure.

SUPER interested in what the beta reads will tell me.

I am now legitimately able to claim the title "Best Selling Author"

I'm number one in my primary categories.

Wow.

Thank you.

TAKE A LOOK AT THIS YO!
TAKE A LOOK AT THIS YO!
TAKE A LOOK AT THIS YO!
TAKE A LOOK AT THIS YO!
TAKE A LOOK AT THIS YO!

And for posterity NUMBER ONE HOT NEW RELEASE IN MY CATEGORY! HOODY FREAKIN' HOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

I hate facebook on general principles, but there's no room for pride when it comes to promoting my work, so I set it up, and I'll be on there fairly regularly for at least the next little while.

After a few days it's looking like the book WON'T just fall through the floor and be forgotten, so I'll continue promoting it as best I can and any of you that have facebook accounts and aren't shy about hitching your wagon to a guy who does monster girl harem fantasy (WHAT WOULD YOUR MOM SAY!?) come find me.

FAECBUK ACK HERE

In other news, I'm up to four reviews now (all five star, which is REALLY cool) and also-boughts is starting to populate, which is fantastic.

I'm about ... let's see ... 37K words into the second book, which will now DEFINITELY see the light of day thanks in large part to the support I've gotten here.

Y'all are great. Thanks.

Mask of the Template
Mask of the Template
Mask of the Template

Got my first review for Mask of the Template.

While the book has earned some money, this first review is a serious milestone that I admit I was beginning to bite my nails about.

Why you ask? Because many people (myself included at times) search Amazon entries in 'star' order, or in order of the quality of the book according to reader reviews. No reviews means the book doesn't show up AT ALL when Zon is searched this way.

So this review, in terms of reader search patterns, puts me on the map. I can now be found by people who are looking for quality.

So, yeah

FIVE STARS BABY! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

I know not everyone will like the book, and not all the reviews will be simple unadulterated awesome, but there's something about this moment for me.

My first review on the first book I ever put out there for the world to read.

Five stars? I'm SURE I don't deserve that, but dammit, I'll take it!

WOOOOOOOOOO Buy my book! :P

Mask of the Template
Mask of the Template
Mask of the Template

Mask of the Template

Go grab a copy! If you like it leave me a review! Signal boost me if you're inclined!

But thank you so much in any case for taking the time to check out my work.

I have worked on getting a book out for quite a while now, and I really do hope that for those of you who like harem fantasy, and monster girls, that this one was worth the wait.

Man this book was a blast to write, and I'm already about a third of the way through a sequel. If the book does well on Zon, there will definitely be a series!

Mask of the Template
Mask of the Template
Mask of the Template

So the latest update is this:
mac mini up and running with a copy of scrivener and vellum? Check.
Cover typography done? Check

I could regale you with stories (and probably an impressive list of the curse words I used) getting this little mini mac set up, but we'll skip that.

RIGHT NOW, in another window, I am working on setting up a mailing list, so that I can have an easy way to communicate stuff like - oh I don't know - updates on when the next book is coming out and such, without relying on watches here.

Some of you are just watching me because my wife is awesome - I know you are don't lie - and I don't want to bother y'all with too many updates about stuff you don't care to read.

I considered setting up an entirely stand alone website for this, but given it would be completely divorced from all the people who've demonstrated an interest in the work so far I figured that'd be a bit, well, stupid. So I'm settling for the mailing list. If I'm lucky, one or two people who haven't seen this book yet will find it and give it a shot.

Best guess on when it's going to hit Zon?

Tomorrow? Friday? I really do just want to get it out there as quickly as I can now that all the tools are in place.

Those of you who've been waiting patiently for this, thank you SO MUCH.

I will be posting the cover image here with a link to Zon when the book goes live so that those of you willing to support me can pick up your copies (and hopefully leave me a review!)

So the image for the cover of Mask of the Template is done.

Once the typesetting is finished, all that'll be needed is a last run through in Vellum to format it, and it'll be ready to go to Zon.

So excited.

I hang out on picarto a lot while I'm writing, glancing at the art but mostly just watching the chat go by.

I've noticed something over the last few months, and it concerns me.

What the ever lovin' fuck is with the baby speak? With names deleted to protect the guilty, here's some shit I just saw in a stream today:

the birds were being an screm
...
YAYS!!!
...
Birb screm, it happen
...
sounds like berbs

In case you couldn't piece it together, the owner of the stream had to go and deal with her birds. BIRD is not a big word. Neither is scream.

Folks, real talk here. This is not cute. It just makes you look stupid. These people are native English speakers and/or completely fluent. Second/third language as English? Sure, misspell your shit and still get MAD props for learning someone else's language well enough to communicate. Particularly English. This shit is hard to learn for most folks that don't grow up with it.

Are you one of those baby furs with a diaper fetish? Then sure, talk like this and give the game away. I could maybe pass that off as being subtle, if creepy af.

Not your second language? NOT a baby fur?

Speak as though you like being credited with at least the bare minimum level of intelligence we like to see in grown up human beings.

There are other ways to be cute that don't absolutely scream "TRYING TOO HARD PLEASE LOVE ME OH GOD I'M SO ALONE!"

Wanted to get that off my chest.

Carry on.

Putting things out one chapter at a time is smoothing out the editing process, so that's good.

I may miss a few days in the next few weeks, have to go see to funerary arrangements and whatnot.

I really like this book, so I hope y'all do too.

Will post again when I have more to say. Here's the blurb (again. :P )

Not all heroes go to heaven.

Victor Mack was born poor, grew up tough, and died hard. When he woke up in a sea cave with only the clothes on his back and a bullet scar, he didn't know where he was, but he knew it wasn't heaven.

On the run from inhuman creatures unlike any he's ever seen, Victor's desperate attempts to stay alive lead him into the arms of a willowy dryad who tells him that his new life won't be any easier than his old one ... but it will at least involve women. Potentially lots of them, but there's a catch.

Known on Celestine as a template, Victor's humanity not only allows him to exchange power with anyone he sleeps with, his genes are key to the survival of the eldritch races of his new world. But the fiercely competitive eldritch don't typically leave their lovers alive long, and aren't accustomed to taking 'no' for an answer.

The average life expectancy of a template on Celestine? Three days.

Forced to rely on others for help, he sets out in a desperate bid to gather allies before one of the elder races finds him and ends his second chance at life. With a magical mask, the help of a lonely dryad and a mixed-up minotauress, and raw fortitude, he must be brave, cunning, and good with the ladies if he has any hope of living through the month.

All the while an ancient evil bent on the destruction of Celestine exists in the north, and its influence is spreading ...

Sorry, kinda lost my shit yesterday.

My wife took care of me. (Thanks hon.)

My dad is dead.

Just looking at those words makes part of me want to cry. I've shed tears on and off all afternoon. I have no idea how long it will continue.

However it occurs to me as I slowly but surely drink my way into oblivion tonight that I am, in fact, a horrible person. Every thought I have about my father comes laden with self-analysis.' As a writer, how would I describe this feeling?' 'So this is what it feels like when people write 'hot tears.' This is how it really feels.'

What kind of son thinks like that? Even as another wave of tears threatens to fall I have to ask myself, "How would I write this?"

What kind of SHIT human being thinks like this?! Why can't I just bawl and drink and rage and sleep like a normal human being. I wonder, am I sick? Am I a sociopath? I can't even see these words clearly through a haze of water in my eyes but still, I wonder, is this relatable? Could I describe this feeling? Is there verisimilitude? Does ANYONE relate? Does ANYONE feel this way? Or am I sick? Am I the one destined to not understand? Am I insane?

My father is dead. I loved him despite his problems, despite his weaknesses and his temper and his arrogance. Insofar as I am capable, I loved my father. I truly respected him. I learned from him. I am who I am today BECAUSE of him. Why can't I just cry for him?

Why must I write? why must I analyze? I know why. It's because I don't relate to people. I don't really understand why people do the irrational, stupid things they do. I wish I did. It would make me a better writer if I knew. If I could see.

So I sit here in the midst of my tears, wondering how I can get closer to the human condition. Wondering if people who lose the people precious to them actually spend some time thinking about how their experience relates to the experiences of others.

This isn't new. This isn't unique. In fact it's the opposite of unique. It's practically universal. All children lose their parents, who live long enough.

My parents divorced when I was four years old. My dad cheated, my mother didn't take it. I still remember being sat out in front of a movie while they went into the back to fight. They fought about everything. Money is the thing I remember most. It's the thing I remember. They fought about money. I wonder if my memories are right. I wonder if I could recall clearly if I would remember hearing accusastions. I can't even spell anymore. I just tried accusations ten times and I still have that squiggly fucking line... and then I got it right in one. Fuck it. Moving on.

Yet still I loved my father. I felt the fear of him when I did wrong, and I rememeber wishing I was half so strong as he was. Two full tours in Vietnam as a scout. Purple heart, who knows what other medals. I'll never be able to hear all his sstories. He hated talking about the war.

Right now I'm listening to Cats in the Cradle. It's on repeat. It's a cover though. Ugly Kid Joe. Fuck Cat Stevens, that god damn commie shit. Back to my father.

They changed the rules during Vietnam. Did you know? My father went through what you'd see in Full Metal Jacket. It was worse actually, back then. When he came back though, some boots had died during training, and public opinion had turned against the war, and the military. His third tour was supposed to be at Paris Island as a DI. He slapped the back of the head of a recruit who was bouncing in formation. Two weeks later he was in Guantanamo Bay. His country fucking betrayed him.

They trained him, asked him to train others, then stabbed him in the fucking back, and he never lived it down. You know how they say, "Once a marine, always a marine?" Yeah, no. I wanted to join the marines when I decided to join the military. I asked my father about it. I'll NEVER forget what he said.

He said, "Son, they don't make Marines anymore. These days, they just teach you to die in a different language. Join the Air Force. At least then you'll have some skills you can use after you get out."

So I did. I did just what my father suggested. I joined the Air Force. I've never looked back with regret on that decision. I did well. I served my country, and after I got out I banked on the skills I got. My dad was right. He wasn't always right, but he didn't steer me wrong. I learned from him. If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be half the man I am today, and goddamn it, I'm a MAN. I SUPPORT MYSELF. I SUPPORT MY WIFE. I OWN MY OWN FUCKING HOUSE. I don't make any god damn excuses. That's the kind of man I am. And I'm just a pale imitation of the kind of man HE was.


My dad is dead, and I can't even really see the screen right now, so I'm going to stop before I get myself in trouble. I hope I can live a life that he would be proud of. I hope that someday I can say I understand people. I think he did, and he hated them. He HATED people, it was obvious just listening to him, but he'd give the shirt off his back to anyone he thought needed it. I'm not half so empathetic. I don't understand.

I went to war, but I didn't bleed. I never, not once, saw the face of my enemy. Not like he did. He lived life in a way I never could. In a way I probably never will.

I miss my father. I'm crying for him right fucking now. I can't stop myself. I'm a fucking mess, sitting on my front porch and happy to be hidden by the bushes in my garden. I'd be ashamed to be seen right now.

I love you dad. I'm so thankful that it's not up to you where you wind up. Because I know you went to heaven. It kinda makes me laugh to think about you sitting in front of St. Peter. Saying, 'This can't be right. I shouldn't be here.'

You should be there Dad. You really should be. You're the only reason I ever made it. All your mistakes, all your arrogance, and courage, and bitterness. All if it made me who I am to day, and if you go to hell, Fuck it I'll fallow you. If you don't make it, no one should make it. I get to be selfish just this once. You made me, and because of you, I'm gonna make it, so thank you.

Thank you dad. For everything.

Not all heroes go to heaven.

Victor Mack was born poor, grew up tough, and died hard. When he woke up in a sea cave with only the clothes on his back and a bullet scar, he didn't know where he was, but he knew it wasn't heaven.

On the run from people that walk upright but clearly aren't human, Victor's desperate attempts to stay alive lead him into the arms of a willowy dryad who tells him that his new life won't be any easier than his old one ... but it will at least involve women. Potentially lots of them, but there's a catch.

Known on Celestine as a template, Victor's humanity not only allows him to exchange power with anyone he sleeps with, his genes are key to the survival of the eldritch races of his new world. But the fiercely competitive eldritch don't typically leave their lovers alive long, and aren't accustomed to taking 'no' for an answer.

The average life expectancy of a template on Celestine? Three days.

Forced to rely on others for help, he sets out in a desperate bid to gather allies before one of the elder races finds him and ends his second chance at life. With a magical mask, the help of a lonely dryad and a mixed-up minotauress, and raw fortitude, he must be brave, cunning, and good with the ladies if he has any hope of living through the month.

All the while an ancient evil bent on the destruction of Celestine exists in the north, and its influence is spreading ...

Yay finished.

Whew.

Now for thoughts on the blurb.

I am not yet a successful author, so feel free to disregard all the following as the ramblings of an interested party, not those of one with proven success. The following is a summation of my own meandering research, and should be taken as such. If you fail an english lit class because you paid more attention to this than the inane babbling of a boring-ass professor who probably ALSO has never sold anything worth reading in life, then shame on you (but let me know because that'd be endlessly amusing).

Three things sell a book on Amazon. Presuming of course you've got eyes on target. (Getting eyes on target is a matter of keyword selections, categories, advertisement, etc. Skipping all that nonsense for now.)

1) The Cover. Anyone who says different is a lying sack of liar. Awesome covers sell shitty books all the time. Shitty covers keep awesome books in the six and seven figure rankings. Need a good cover. Got a line on that, but it may take a while. Good thing I'm not in a rush. Need evidence? What I have personally is anecdotal, but over the years I always have gotten more hits on submissions that have art attached. So why am I not doing that now? I'm testing keyword response. (those of you who've been paying WAY too much attention will know I've been adding keywords to all of my new submissions as I go along, seeing if any one of them hits popular search parameters. I'm well aware that these results probably won't carry over into Zon, but I'm curious ... and I'm digressing. Back to topic.) When I do have cover art, I will probably delete and resubmit the first four chapters one at a time using that art, and see if I can chart the difference.

2) The Blurb. Will be covering this shortly.

3) The Look-inside. Which is comprised of 10% of the total work in the case of novels. I will be going over my first ten percent until I am so sick of it I probably quote it in my sleep. (I'm sure my wife will love that.) It needs to be hooky, it needs to have the reader wanting to know what happens next. It has to sell the voice of the book and the competency of its author. It has to start delivery on the promise made in the blurb.

So, my personal thoughts on the blurb.

Right now I'm fairly certain that the title of the book will be Mask of the Template, Book 1 of the Celestine Chronicles. Still not sure about Celestine. May change the name if I find something that trips my trigger.

Once the reader has seen the cover (and as a consequence not dismissed the book out of hand) the next thing they'll look at is usually the blurb. The blurb is essentially a pitch to get the reader to buy the book. It is similar but not identical to the 'back of the book' description that goes on trade press stuff.

"But Ceb! Isn't it EXACTLY like that?"

Not ... really. First of all, BoB copy is usually a bit shorter, but not 'elevator pitch' short. Back of the book copy also tends to be more an editorial of what one will find inside the book, whereas a blurb attempts to get one a bit closer to the story. BoB copy tends to follow a certain formula that provides things like hook, hero, backstory, new normal, a twist, and a good unanswered story question. A blurb can do all that too, but it's allowed a bit more freedom depending on a variety of factors including whether or not its a standalone or in a series. If the former, or first in a series, then it should probably adhere a bit more closely to BoB form, but if it's second or later in a series (particularly a successful series) one can get away with a bit more voice, and a bit less specificity.

The blurb - unlike BoB copy - is usually written in the same voice as the book itself. First person narrative? First person blurb. So on. I have chosen to write in third limited for this due to the need for me to explore thoughts and feelings of characters other than the protagonist. So the blurb I'm writing will also be third limited.

Also unlike BoB copy, a blurb is typically taken as a sample of the author's writing ability and style. If you have sloppy grammar or misspelled words in the blurb ... you're fucked. Not catching every mistake in a 100K novel is one thing. Not catching every mistake in a 400 word blurb is disastrous. The blurb should be polished to the point of absolute perfection.

Another key difference is that if you DO screw up a blurb ... you can fix it. AND YOU MUST FIX IT. If you find a mistake in your blurb, that means YOUR HOUSE IS ON FIRE. Put it out. Once BoB copy is on a physical book, stick a fork in it: it's done. (and so are you.) Since I'm only releasing an e-book edition for now, I don't have to worry about that.

Now. *dry rubbing of the hands ensues* Let's take a crack at a blurb for Mask of the Template. I will probably post my result in a min-update later, all by itself. I just wanted to put my thoughts on the process down before I begin. Wish me luck.

Should be about finished with Celestine Chronicle in the next week. If it takes longer than that it'll be for unforeseen reasons.

I've really had a good time writing this, and I do anticipate cleaning it up and putting it on Zon at some point. Will need a cover first, and haven't yet decided whether or not to have it professionally edited or just do it myself. If I do it myself I'm sure there will be mistakes in there, but if I have it edited I'll be out a wad of cash, so who knows. Also a little squeamish about turning lewds over to an editor, I must admit.

Things I'm considering (List is here mostly for my benefit so I don't forget some of this shit):

1) Adding more POV chapters for folks OTHER than Victor. I have a few toward the end, but I may be able to increase emotional engagement if I have a few more to explore Laina's or Shy's thoughts/feelings.

2) Changing Shy's name to something else. Want to keep it short and sweet, but Shy is too close to She, and as I read through certain dialog I find myself stumbling when Shy is talking to another female, or with another female present.

3) Adding LitRPG elements. This is pretty much purely for the sake of reader engagement, but I'm not sure it's necessary considering the audience. Still, adding enough cross-over to engage those readers may bring in more readers, and allow me to tweak some keywords Still on the fence about this, but the story set-up does allow for it.

4) Title. Still not sure what I want to name this. It occurs to me just now that Celestine is a bit close to ... wtf is it ... Uncle Google! TO MY AID! .... ah. Princess Celestia. Not the sort of connection I care to make. (No ponies were used in the making of this smut.)

and lose a week?

Last week was like that. I went to work, made that money ... but didn't get a damn thing I wanted to get done accomplished.

Nothing.

Nada.

Yet I don't feel that the time was wasted. Sometimes ... it just feels like you get more out of living life without a plan.

Nevertheless, I HAVE a plan, and I need to get back to it. (Besides, my wife is back in town. Maybe being without her just leaves me feeling a bit aimless.)

for the next segment of CC. I had about fifteen thousand words that I just wasn't happy with, so I scrapped it and went a different direction.

Going to make sure (at least as sure as I care to be) that I'm moving the right way before I post. Another week tops.

of Celestine Chronicles tomorrow.

Going through and editing a few things, changing a few key plot points, all the rest of that jazz, principally to make the world a bit easier to move through.

As far as I know there was no major drama to detract from the experience and the new venue was pretty cool.

I have to ask though: was anyone else REALLY annoyed with the bathroom doors they had in the rooms? They were neat the first time I saw them, but the sliding doors proved more a nuisance than a feature.

Also have never encountered a cold water tap that made me wonder if they had an ice water tank somewhere feeding the line. The hot was BLISTERING, and the cold was FREEZING. (which is awesome by the way)

Met some new folks, and fck Texas weather.

Overall a good time was had.

You know, if you're gonna be there.

Smoke curling upward
Embers dance delirious
Song after darkness

Crossroads and Mountains
Mist upon the still meadow
Lost to the morning.

Dreaming Eternal
Shall wake from blissful slumber
Forgetting fondly.

Emptiness awaits
How much I desire her touch
Nothing remembers.

Eternal delight
Smiling in serenity
Skull on the seashore.

Well, finished is a bit strong of a word.

I got the draft done. Still waiting on the cover, and going to try something a little different this time for beta reads.

Suppose I should back up a bit and say that the last series (in which I wrote two books) is shelved. After consulting with beta readers and doing some hard thinking, I've decided to let Otherworld sit for a while. I need to do some serious world building. Right now it sits uncomfortably on the fence between epic fantasy and sword and sorcery. Since the thing people mentioned most as being a problem is the character interaction, I'm going to let the books rest until I can look at them with fresh eyes and tweak things. While that's happening I'll build out the world.

So instead I decided to make my start in a slightly different genre, litRPG. Since this journal is somewhat divorced from my authorial efforts, I'll go ahead and detail why for the curious - and to remind myself later on.

LitRPG is a fairly new genre, it's booming, the audience is HUNGRY, and the overall quality of writer in the genre, with notable exceptions of course, is fairly low. The bar hasn't been set so high that I have to really wonder if my wordsmithing is up to the task. Presuming I can gain a following for my work there, I can probably expand it further when I later make a serious go at epic fantasy.

To that end I've written the first book and have begun outlining work on the second. Once I get my mailing list set up I'll begin parceling the samples out on a few sites: wattpad and royal road. My hope is that people will be interested enough to follow the sample back to my author webpage, and from THERE they'll have an option to join the mailing list and, at least initially, my beta read group.

That's the plan anyway. We'll see how it holds up.

So It's been a while since I went to a con to actually BE AT THE CON. I've gone to a few and wandered around on my way to somewhere else, or before going back home, but this time damnit I bought a room.

Wyla and I will be there. Wyla's got a wall slot for the art show! Wooo!!

I may or may not volunteer to do security at the con. I always used to love doing it at A-kon, but it's been years since I actually made a time commitment to a convention, so I'm a bit on the fence about that one.

On a related note, I do want to thank all those of you who asked to beta read my novel. I've shelved it for the time being to concentrate on a slightly less ambitious project in another genre. I still want to work with the idea, but I believe I need more practice before I can do it justice.