death descends upon us all

the only noble soul amidst a pit of vipers—and...

Sat, 23 Mar 2013 21:29:00 +0000

the only noble soul amidst a pit of vipers—and you’re a fucking deserter.

managed to churn out four-thousand words of aow today—this is a great accomplishment for me...

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 21:02:00 +0000

managed to churn out four-thousand words of aow today—this is a great accomplishment for me and should probably be accompanied by some sort of fanfare.

Since it is NaNoWriMo, i would like you to know that I'm still eagerly waiting for whenever you finish this book. It seems wonderful so far and this is just some friendly encouragement to not give up! I am sad that you changed your cast for Rowan- I really liked Katie McGrath :( but it is your character! Have fun this month!

Fri, 09 Nov 2012 13:46:59 +0000

The friendly encouragement is most appreciated! Things are still coming along, fortunately. I’m just a really slow writer and AoW is such a behemoth to tackle anyway—it’s not moving as quickly as I’d like, but as soon as I hit a certain plot point (of doom, because, honestly, that’s when everything falls to pieces for everyone) things should, hopefully, pick up some speed. But yes, I’m always glad to see that people are still interested!

i can’t save your life though nothing i bleed for is more...

Sat, 13 Oct 2012 21:52:00 +0100

i can’t save your life
though nothing i bleed for is more tormenting
i’m losing my mind
you just stand there and stare as my world divides

“There’ll be no battles won against Athas until we...

Wed, 10 Oct 2012 21:57:00 +0100

“There’ll be no battles won against Athas until we blind its general. He may draw the string, but she sets his aim. As long as she incites the spirits’ whispers, we shall fall. Again and again and again, until we are naught but dust.”

“And the solution?”

“Deafen the ears of the seer to rob the eyes of the general. She’ll be well-guarded, true, but she’ll fall to a blade as well as anyone else. It won’t be long before Terik follows suit.”

The blacksmith cried out beside her, his spear piercing the air before he stumbled over his chains....

Fri, 31 Aug 2012 17:59:00 +0100

The blacksmith cried out beside her, his spear piercing the air before he stumbled over his chains. Despite the crack that resonated from the man’s knees, he gripped his weapon with added fervor and swept at her leg with such a force, she was knocked off her feet.

Her chin smashed against the floor, hard enough that her teeth clamped around her tongue, blood beginning to fill her mouth until it became unbearable, the metallic taste foul and inescapable. Spitting off to one side, she pushed up on her elbows, extending her foot so it rested heavily on his spear. He tried to wrench it free, but her leg wouldn’t budge.

She could feel the blood trickling down her jaw, but, in that moment, she didn’t care. Painful as it was, and would be, for a time, she was well-fed enough that the wound would heal quickly.

Pushing her blade forward into his thigh, Leora crawled towards him, the grains of sand scratching at her skin as she went. The man cursed in every way he could, in every language she could (she scowled at his use of the Old Tongue), though his words faded as she gripped his leg, digging her nails into the cut he sported. She wanted to make this one hurt, and hurt he did.

The deed was done.

Five executions they demanded of her, five executions she gave.

progress masterpost

Fri, 31 Aug 2012 17:39:00 +0100

acts of war v1.0

word count: 12,000 [parts of chapters one to four usable]

acts of war v2.0

chapter one: first draft finished [word count: 4,128]
chapter two: first draft finished
chapter three: work-in-progress

the blog’s been pretty lax lately, so if there’s anything people want see/know about the...

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 14:42:00 +0100

the blog’s been pretty lax lately, so if there’s anything people want see/know about the aow universe, by all means, hit me up. i’m just excited (and very, very grateful) that there’s still some interest. i wish i wasn’t such a slow writer, though. alas. c’est la vie. but yes, if there’s something you guys are curious about, i wouldn’t mind putting up some ~stuff on it.

yeah, so I'm still flailing over the part where THIS BLOG IS ACTIVE AGAIN AND HOMG I AM SO GLAD YOU'RE STILL WRITING THIS NOVEL I CANNOT WAIT TO BUY IT (it will be sold internationally right?)

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 07:27:00 +0100

I’m glad people are still interested!

And I’d love to get it distributed to as large an audience as possible, but I have no idea how things are going to go come publishing time—fingers crossed, though.

life’s a game but it’s not fair, i break the rules...

Thu, 30 Aug 2012 06:39:56 +0100

life’s a game but it’s not fair, i break the rules so i don’t care
so i keep doing my own thing, walking tall against the rain
victory’s within the mile, almost there, don’t give up now
only thing that’s on my mind is who’s gonna run this town tonight

another text post from emma

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 16:29:52 +0100

i’m so, so, so happy right now, it’s not even funny.

the beginning of acts of war kind of changed a whole lot and i’ve been putting off rewriting the first chapter for ages now because it just. wouldn’t. come. out. but i’ve got five hundred words down now.

and they’re actually decent.

thank bloody goodness.

gah so next time i decide i want to write a political fantasy somebody stop me

Sun, 26 Aug 2012 08:01:33 +0100

gah

next time i decide i want to write a political fantasy

somebody stop me

i watch the city burn, these dreams like ashes float awayyour...

Mon, 28 May 2012 06:04:23 +0100

i watch the city burn, these dreams like ashes float away
your voice i never heard—only silence, where were you
when our hearts were bleeding? where were you when
it all crashed down? never thought that you’d deceive me

it’s been a while since i’ve updated this blog (still working on the story, however!),...

Sat, 05 May 2012 07:06:00 +0100

it’s been a while since i’ve updated this blog (still working on the story, however!), so, in an attempt to sort of revive it, i was wondering if any of you’d be interested in prologue/backstory type things for the major characters/groups of some sort? whether it be in the form of straight-text posts or gif drabbles or possibly even a video-esque type thing.

“Tell me what to do.” Rowan kept her eyes locked on...

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 07:39:05 +0000

“Tell me what to do.” Rowan kept her eyes locked on the horizon, voice little more than a terse whisper that, to the untrained ear, betrayed nothing, but Caelin knew better. He knew her better.

Shifting his arms so they rested more comfortably upon the stone wall, he sighed. “Alas, I cannot.”

For all the advice he could give her, the choice was hers to make, and hers alone. However deeply Rowan might have buried her heart, Caelin couldn’t presume to speak for it. She wasn’t a child any more, no, those days were long gone. The stakes had been raised, and he could do little more than watch as his bear cub weathered the oncoming storm.

“Then what is the point of you?”

Drawn from his reverie, Caelin winced, his grip on the wall tightening slightly.

“I remember,” he murmured softly, tilting his head towards her, “when you were very little, you came to me in a fit of anger. ‘Good Caelin,’ you said, ‘my little brother arrives any day now, but this cannot be. My dear Caelin, have words with the gods, for I do not want him.’ You were so strong, even then. My little bear, with her marble resolve—I was helpless to stop you, nor did I want to.” The faintest hint of a smirk graced his lips. “I thought you’d be the death of me.” Tearing his eyes from her, Caelin cleared his throat. “I still believe you will be.”

I’d not die for anyone else.

For a time, they were silent, the only sounds coming from the birds above them and the people below. They’d not have another moment like this for a long time, it was something to be cherished.

It was Rowan who eventually broke the silence.

“From what I recall, you endured my every whim and fancy with great ease. I need only have said the word and the deed would be done, your person left entirely unscathed.” She smiled sadly. “You’re not the dying sort.”

“Am I not? Well, that is most fortunate.” He chuckled, Rowan’s own muted laughter joining his. “When Lady Death stands before me, I shall do naught but laugh, ‘begone with you, foul witch, for my sovereign thinks my death improper’.”

Mood swiftly reverting back to something far less cheerful, she pursed her lips, brows tightly knitted together. “Not improper, I fear, but a great blow struck against her.”

Caelin opened his mouth to speak, before closing it once more, an arm tentatively coming up to wrap itself around her shoulder. “I’ll not leave your side, Rowan,” he pulled her towards him, “not yet.”

“I know.”

WHAT ARE YOU FIGHTING FOR? [PART II - THE MEN]

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:24:38 +0000

WHAT ARE YOU FIGHTING FOR?
[PART II - THE MEN]

WHAT ARE YOU FIGHTING FOR? [PART I - THE WOMEN]

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 03:03:58 +0000

WHAT ARE YOU FIGHTING FOR?
[PART I - THE WOMEN]

You won’t be able to lay a finger on her until he’s...

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 15:53:02 +0000

You won’t be able to lay a finger on her until he’s out of the picture. Caelin hasn’t left her side since… well, since. I’d not risk the chance of testing whether his bark is worse than his bite, if I were you.

acts of war [trailer]

Sun, 04 Dec 2011 07:03:14 +0000

acts of war [trailer]

“You’re staying?” Aderyn jumped, shutting her...

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 03:06:00 +0000

“You’re staying?”

Aderyn jumped, shutting her eyes tight in frustration. She didn’t need to deal with him right now.

“For the moment,” she muttered, fists clenched at her sides, eyes refusing to meet his. “I leave for Barrowstone once the summit’s run its course.”

“Oh?”

She could hear the disdain that laced his voice, scolding and harsh, as if she were a little child in need of guidance. Elyan had no right to an opinion, he’d long since lost that privilege, and any favourable feelings she’d once felt towards him.

“And what price did you pay for such a thing, eh?” He leant back against the wall, arms crossed across his chest, an eyebrow raised.

She wanted to kill him, wanted to pierce his foul heart a hundred times over.

He stood, arrogant as the day she’d met him, seemingly unaffected by anything that mattered. She’d been able to overlook his faults once, coming to appreciate them in her own way. Aderyn couldn’t muster such affection any more. No, now the sight of him just made her angry—and sad, so very sad.

“I gave her what she wanted.”

He scoffed.

“And what’ll happen when they say no?”

“One might think it foolish to speak of things they know nothing of.”

She moved to rest by the table in the corner of the room, fingers absently tracing the markings in the wood, willing him to leave.

Elyan was never one for following orders.

He came to stand beside her, close enough that she was put off by his presence, but never quite touching her, his breathing as erratic as her own.

“Good thing I’m known for being a fool then.”

She met his gaze for a brief moment.

“Among other things.”

His hand came to rest on her shoulder, light and unsure, the touch scorching hot in comparison to the chill that gripped the room.

“Ryn—”

Scowling, Aderyn put several feet between them, the burn of his fingers still lingering mockingly beneath her shirt.

“Don’t.”

The howling of crowds outside echoed loudly throughout the room, and yet, she could hear nothing but the heavy breaths Elyan took. She watched the rise and fall of his back as he stood, hunched over the table, hands gripping the wood with more force than it could probably withstand.

“And me?” he murmured, voice breaking as he spoke. “Am I to be our new jarl’s errand boy? Bowing and scraping for the slightest acknowledgement from the woman he loves. I’m not some lowly mutt to be commanded, Ryn.”

Love, the word sounded vile coming from his lips. She wasn’t blind, she’d known about his romantic inclinations for some time now, but she’d never cared less. Elyan could force her to acknowledge his feelings as much as he wished, hers wouldn’t change.

Still, she felt some sense of compassion for the man, however undesired it might have been, and found herself unable to make any satiric remark at his expense.

“You know this world better than I… any ally’s a welcome one, despite their misgivings.”

He turned to face her, eyes full of desperate pleas she chose to ignore.

“If they should find me?”

“Consider your death a settling of debts owed.”