I also believe it will help me regain focus and get back into writing mode. Sadly, this means I also have to stop listening to audio books during my two hours driving back and forth from work. Like many others, my writing style tends to be influenced by the authors I'm listening to. MFLI written by Terry Pratchett would definitely be different than MFLI written by Jim Butcher or Cherie Priest. Though my voice is my own, we all in every medium are inspired and influence by someone.
Book one, I can say was heavily influenced by Jim Butcher, though not so much that it was not a Marcel Alexander book. I wish to keep that feeling and develop more as an individual with book two. Book two is off to a promising start and like the Dungeons and Dragons games I run, has already veered off the beaten path. The core is to explore more of the city, its history, its people and continue plot-lines left unresolved in book one.
Which means it's time to find the right music and immerse myself into my world. Luimere lives and breaths and changes in my head. I have the bullet points of the story I wish to tell. Its just the matter of connecting the dots and staying clear of the distractions.
Hopefully soon I will be releasing Violet Eclipse: A Time In Shadow-Part 1. I'm currently waiting to hear back from fellow writer ,Jesse Kulla, who is proofreading/editing it for me. That is all for now.
Progress Report-
MFLI: The Machine- 7822 word count
The Violet Eclipse: A Time In Shadow-part 2 - 1512 word count
How about another sample from Book 2?
We
both entered my Athena and after a few moment of allowing the steam
to build in its engine we were off. Highland park was not to far away
from my home and with the street nearly empty of steam powered cars
or horse drawn carriages. We made the trip in under ten minutes. I
knew we were at the right spot when the patrol airship came into view
quietly hovering over the scene like a watchful owl.
I
pulled the car over to the side of the road and we hiked the rest of
the way on foot. I showed the officer guarding the alleyway my
consultants badge and he allowed us through. The Luimere Police force
had come to summoning this ex-cop for grunt work when clues ran dry.
They were unaware of my heritage, but joked about me being a hound
that never lost a trail.
The
smell of the body reached my nostrils at the moment we reached the
alley. It had not been dead long and there was the distinct smell of
something acidic. Though knowing what I knew that smell was not from
acid touching bare flesh. We ventured further into the alley. From
the corner of my eye, I could tell Cristabella was surveying the
surrounding.
Jarred
was standing over the body at the end of the alley. Jarred Belgum was
the product of a chocolate-skinned mother and orcish father. He stood
just under seven feet tall and was built like a prize fighter. Even
now in his late forties he was a force to be reckoned with. He was
dress in a brown and tan suit and a bow-tie, his wife's doing, she
had at thing for bow-ties.
“Jarred,
what is that thing growing on you face?” I asked pointing out his
mustache that had merged with his muttonchops forming a large mass of
black hair on his face.
“You
are one to talk with that tie, pretty boy”
I
looked down for the first time realizing I had put on the
unreasonable bright red tie with gold imprints. I shook my head.
Jarrad
looked over at Cristabella who was surveying the alleyway. I saw a
small smile touch the corners of his mouth.
“Seriously
Marcus, You brought your date to a crime scene.”
I
let of a small laugh. “Cristabella is not my date. She is a distant
relative and my assistant.”
She
looked over at us, the light of the mechanical torches dancing off
the reflective surface of her amber colored eyes.
“Right...
a wood elf relative.” He said rolling his dark eyes.
“I
did say distant,” I said with a smile. “All pleasantries aside.
What do we have here?” I asked looking down at the naked corpse.
“The
victim was shot and stabbed but looks like he was in a brawl before
that. He is bloated and puffy about his face and there is something
not right about the wounds. The strange thing is that who ever killed
him took the time to strip him naked and dug the bullet out.”
I
looked over the body and sniffed the air. The wounds were swollen and
by the smell of it filled with pus. Symptoms commonly seen from
severe allergic reactions. I tapped a small button on my goggles and
pulled a small vial and tweezers for my jacket pocket. The tapped
cause the tiny gears within the goggles to go into motion and change
the enchanted lenses. The goggles were another gift form Lucy.
The
lenses changed to the set of adjustable magnifiers. I knelt over the body
and focused on the blade wound. With the modified sight in addition
to my all ready impressive vison, I scanned the wound. I hoped I
would find a tiny sliver of what I believed the murder weapon was
made of. After a moment I found what I was looking for a tiny spec of
silver. I removed the piece of metal and put it into the vial.
“What's
that?” Jarred asked.
“A
clue for this personal case, I've been working on.”
“So
it's evidence. You honestly think I'm going to let you walk out of
here with that?”
“Jarred,
it not evidence if one knows to look for it. I'm just putting some
pieces together. Like I said it's personal.”
“So
you and the lass here are working on a serial murder case and don't
think to get the actual authorities involved. This is not the first
body like this I've seen over the years, Marcus.”
