Map Reading

“All that I wanted were things I had before.
All that I needed I never needed more.
All of my questions are answers to my sins.
All of my endings are waiting to begin.”

From Circle by Slipknot

When it comes to writing a novel, there are those who let the pen do the walking—wherever it takes them, so be it—and those who need to look at a map first. I am of the latter. Mind you, I draw my own map, but I still try and figure out where I’m going before I set out on the path.

Well, the map has been drawn. I laid out the plot points for Lost Gods – Book Two and I’m really excited. I even have a working title—Mark of the Raven. You didn’t think I was going to call it Lost Gods 2, did you? Or Lost Gods – The Revenge. Ha! Espionage, intrigue, romance and murder. Well, magic, yeah, there’s magic in there, too. This is fantasy we’re talking about. But, as in the first book, magic is just a plot device—a catalyst to keep the story moving. The drama is where it really happens. The emotions of the characters.

So… I imagine you’re wondering what Mark of the Raven… or MotR… is about. Hmm… how much do I reveal… I will tell you this—there’s a war coming. And it will still be on the horizon at the end of MotR. On one side, the members of the Circle of Light prepare themselves for battle. I’ll give you three guesses who’s on the opposite side and the first two don’t count.

I’ve never understood that saying. The answer’s always obvious—something you’d guess on the first try. But if the first and second guesses don’t count… I don’t know. Maybe it’s saying, ‘I’ll give you three but you’re only going to need one.’ In fact, that’s what I’m going to say from now on instead of telling you that two-thirds of your guesses don’t count. It would make more sense if it were, ‘I’ll give you three guesses but the last two don’t count,’ because you’d guess it on the first try and don’t need the last two. Either way, I’ll give you three guesses who is on the opposite front from the Circle of Light, but you’ll only need one.

That wild and crazy tangent out of the way…

There’s one minor character from Book One that gets a lot more page time in MotR. Actually, by the end, she will be a major character. Oops. I gave you a hint there, didn’t I… Oh well. You have plenty of minor female characters to ponder over. I think that’s all the information I’m going to give you right now. No need for a


*********SPOILER ALERT**********

yet. When I get an offer for representation, I’ll post the first chapter. How’s that?

Text Messages from God

“All that I wanted were things I had before.
All that I needed I never needed more.
All of my questions are answers to my sins.
All of my endings are waiting to begin.”

From Circle by Slipknot

I sent out the first query nearly three weeks ago. Now, I’ve sent out a total of thirty-two. Thirteen have come back rejected so far. I’m doing pretty good about staying positive. I know God has an agent out there for me. I just have to find him or her. I do hope that, whoever they are, they accept email queries, because that’s the list I’m going through first—agents who accept e-queries.

God keeps reassuring me, though. He keeps sending me messages that let me know everything will work out. A couple have even been text messages. No. I’m not losing my mind. Twice last week I was driving down the road, thinking about the book and I got behind two different vehicles with a license plate number that began with RVN. To someone else, that might be nothing, but about a month ago, while I was doing my 40 Days of Gradr thing, I was having trouble keeping my mind off the book and I passed a truck stop, at which sat a trailer with Raven Trucking on the side. Tuesday of last week, on the tower, I prayed to have a good day of writing and I heard a crow making a very raven-like sound at a point in my prayer where I had asked God for an answer to a specific question.

All these things, plus my Post 3 Raven story… You can call it coincidence. You can think I’m crazy all you want but I believe God is sending me messages through the raven. And I mean ‘the raven’ as not just a physical bird, but the word, the sound they make, the idea… of the raven. Saturday, my wife had gone shopping. When I got home, she told me she got me something. Her and her mom had seen a t-shirt with ravens on it. God blessed me with an awesome wife.

I’ve thought many times, well, maybe I should be looking for an agent who represents Christian fiction. Lost Gods is not really in that category but I was thinking that the story of how the book came to be and where I am now… eh… it might fit in there on the outskirts of the genre. Now that I think about it, though, I think God has a larger purpose in mind for it than just entertainment for Christians. Exactly what that purpose is, I don’t know yet but the hairs on the back of my neck stand straight up when I think about the possibilities.