tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85710355867628905162024-03-20T16:58:42.123-07:00Tales of the Darksome ThornJeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235943449298948837noreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571035586762890516.post-48446277913072569952023-04-17T18:12:00.000-07:002023-04-17T18:12:29.903-07:00Where to Find Darksome Thorn<p> There are now two online distributors you can use to get a copy of <i>Darksome Thorn</i>. </p><p><br /></p><p>On Amazon, </p><p><a href="https://a.co/d/4YAeyly" target="_blank">E-book</a> for $5</p><p><a href="https://a.co/d/edTwTQG" target="_blank">Paperback</a> for $17.50 </p><p><br /></p><p>On Lulu.com, </p><p><a href="https://www.lulu.com/shop/jeremy-higley/darksome-thorn/paperback/product-2z7g4y.html?q=darksome+thorn&page=1&pageSize=4" target="_blank">Paperback</a> for $29.75</p><p><a href="https://www.lulu.com/shop/jeremy-higley/darksome-thorn/hardcover/product-9n4vz8.html?q=darksome+thorn&page=1&pageSize=4" target="_blank">Hardback</a> for $38</p><p><br /></p><p>Aside from the e-book of course, these books are all POD (print on demand), so it might take a few days before they ship. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: right;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="487" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_N91wSGnT-8" width="587" youtube-src-id="_N91wSGnT-8"></iframe></div></div><p></p>Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235943449298948837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571035586762890516.post-63716562972510337542023-04-12T18:27:00.000-07:002023-04-12T18:27:01.376-07:00Cinematic Book Trailer for Darksome Thorn<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='345' height='287' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyJPZ3N78FDSKUjyjl1lhMt4eND7YOw-r1ebopWlKng1hjPs3lWdYagLZFejAKehUOq22e8YICIgL6_rTSToA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><br /><p></p>Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235943449298948837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571035586762890516.post-86810194537510739312022-12-30T16:09:00.000-08:002022-12-30T16:09:01.253-08:00<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnE4EbTxUF6MzlFzIpB0DK7jS50t0pFIiDDUSYzmAgaOkFhOZSe6W2JnOuYALGNs_--gqg5PPCyq-7TDXXygCQH1qMg-8XvlFm4sU6m4K1v4MNPlRSXyzQlDEX6jUDyUJCI-zpulFdBfspe-K0ANnJAy330IO6cByZjUFDgS3lUSR0crXgJ5DlmwEQ2A/s5400/Darksome%20thorn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5400" data-original-width="3600" height="536" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnE4EbTxUF6MzlFzIpB0DK7jS50t0pFIiDDUSYzmAgaOkFhOZSe6W2JnOuYALGNs_--gqg5PPCyq-7TDXXygCQH1qMg-8XvlFm4sU6m4K1v4MNPlRSXyzQlDEX6jUDyUJCI-zpulFdBfspe-K0ANnJAy330IO6cByZjUFDgS3lUSR0crXgJ5DlmwEQ2A/w357-h536/Darksome%20thorn.jpg" width="357" /></a></div><i><p><i><br /></i></p>Darksome Thorn</i> finally has a new publisher. Me. Thank you for your patience while I work on improving and expanding the story to get it ready for self-publishing. If you felt the original edition ended a little abruptly, I agree! Here's the full story. If you haven't read <i>Darksome Thorn</i> yet, this is the ideal place to start. Welcome (or welcome back) to the world and magic of <i>Darksome Thorn</i>. <p></p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Darksome-Thorn-Tales-Book-ebook/dp/B0BR8RZW5C/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3ROYV19W1DWEQ&keywords=darksome+thorn&qid=1672445263&sprefix=%2Caps%2C556&sr=8-1" target="_blank">You can purchase the Kindle or paperback versions here. </a></p>Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235943449298948837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571035586762890516.post-70339910107102370492022-12-28T07:28:00.004-08:002022-12-28T07:28:55.622-08:00Darksome Thorn Cover Art by book_design on Fiverr<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_-oqGZkIo4Mkq_N95AibSyzupAk4PTmGKHbhQs3giC8Dq9eOtUPFaaWHuMX5wYFpw7plqTmv20bWFUx3eZgF0vqVSHoPJyrlt6o_dDqlcTc3nEDPrDw6D19lk8AZTE0i6WHsg0kkUGlQn4npYjUJ0PqjT4y47iptdM5ucieDLnC4vUErjah-o6mgi8Q/s5400/Darksome%20thorn.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5400" data-original-width="3600" height="874" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_-oqGZkIo4Mkq_N95AibSyzupAk4PTmGKHbhQs3giC8Dq9eOtUPFaaWHuMX5wYFpw7plqTmv20bWFUx3eZgF0vqVSHoPJyrlt6o_dDqlcTc3nEDPrDw6D19lk8AZTE0i6WHsg0kkUGlQn4npYjUJ0PqjT4y47iptdM5ucieDLnC4vUErjah-o6mgi8Q/w582-h874/Darksome%20thorn.jpg" width="582" /></a></div><br /> <p></p>Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235943449298948837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571035586762890516.post-90674636726701905702020-07-25T19:13:00.001-07:002020-07-25T19:20:06.730-07:00Nifty Newly with Tony Paul de Vissage<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW4727bs20SGz1_USkImqRusGG1zD5Cy1lsAtdD72ZhyZw7fg70PGXg-jEP84l6ExKLKnAWRen6zPuSF36QShXs_FNNTKesx4NzuhtdlqOPHBX6Rw27elKLav9NmyeCYu6acQIbBlEaAq5/s1600/Newly+Nifty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="376" data-original-width="1244" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW4727bs20SGz1_USkImqRusGG1zD5Cy1lsAtdD72ZhyZw7fg70PGXg-jEP84l6ExKLKnAWRen6zPuSF36QShXs_FNNTKesx4NzuhtdlqOPHBX6Rw27elKLav9NmyeCYu6acQIbBlEaAq5/s640/Newly+Nifty.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Please welcome back to <i>Nifty Newly</i>, vampire expert Tony Paul de Vissage! He's here to talk about his newest novel, <i>Forever, My Vampire</i>.<br />
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<b>ABOUT TONY-PAUL de VISSAGE</b><br />
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A Southerner of French Huguenot extraction, one of Tony-Paul de Vissage's first movie memories is of being six years old, viewing the old Universal horror flick, Dracula's Daughter on television, and being scared sleepless—and he is now paying back his too-permissive parents by writing about vampires.<br />
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This was further inspired when the author was kidnapped by a band of transplanted Romanian vampires who were sightseeing in the South. Having never seen a human who wasn’t frightened of them, they offered to pay his way through college if he would become an author and write about vampires in a positive manner. He agreed…and the rest is history.<br />
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Several of T-P’s novels have won awards and he hopes his current story, <i>Forever, My Vampire</i>, will be a winner with readers, also.<br />
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<b>QUESTIONS FOR THE AUTHOR</b><br />
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<b>What's the title of your new book?</b><br />
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<b>T-P: </b>My latest epic (said in all modesty, ha-ha) is <i>Forever, My Vampire</i>, a light-hearted story of how an Irish town handled their vampire situation…not once, but twice.<br />
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<b>What was it about this story that excited you most?</b><br />
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<b>T-P: </b>Taking the vampire story and putting in a new locale. As well as making it into a gentle satire. It’s more whimsical, filled with Irish lilts and brash Gaelic characters…though it does have its shivery moments. It also pokes fun at all the clichés with which the movies have filled the vampire tale…the villagers descending on the manor house, the vampire being fended off with garlic and stakes, the cornered vampire cursing his attackers…<br />
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It’s all there, as tongue…uh, fang…in cheek as you can get without being a cruel burlesque.<br />
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<b>What inspires you, both as a person and as a writer? </b><br />
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<b>T-P: </b>Just about anything. A weird-sounding word. A silly situation. A dramatic blog. If it gives me the least little heartstring-tug it could be turned into a narrative of some kind.<br />
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<b>How do you generate ideas? Where do you like to look? </b><br />
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<b>T-P: </b>See above. :-) I also read a great deal and, before this current crisis, went to a lot of movies. Often, I’d read or see some situation and think, “I could do that better,” or “I’d do that differently” and proceed to write it out and turn the idea into a novella or novel of my own.<br />
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<b>And last of all, what does your perfect day of writing look like? How do you create the right kind of physical and mental space for creative work? </b><br />
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<b>T-P: </b>That’s not difficult nowadays. Since I’m in seclusion except for necessary trips outside, it’s either 1) read; 2) watch TV; 3) write; or 4) eat. Out of the four, I generally fall asleep if I read or watch TV, and eating is going to put on the pounds, so I prefer to write.<br />
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<b>FOREVER, MY VAMPIRE</b><br />
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In 1821, the good men of Balleywalegh drove a monster from their midst…or so they thought.<br />
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Now, it's 1926 and a light again shines in the deserted manor house window. The vampire has returned…or so they think.<br />
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Karel Novotny has the same name as the fiend, but he can't be a vampire…can he?<br />
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The girls of Balleywalegh adore Karel, especially Seamus Flannery's daughter Brigid, but when the lasses come down with a mysterious ailment, and their fathers start sharpening their stakes, Seamus has to discover the truth fast, or Karel may not survive to become his son-in-law.<br />
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Will the real vampire please stand up?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b>EXCERPT</b><br />
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Novotny trod on the brake pedal and brought the Stutz to a rolling stop, setting the handbrake. It was a large, unwieldy affair, a long bar protruding from the floorboard<br />
As he looked across at Brigid, sitting demurely in the passenger’s seat with her hands in her lap, he wished whoever designed the vehicle had thought to put that specific piece of equipment somewhere else.<br />
“Do you have a suitor, Brigid?” It was something he should’ve asked earlier but decided to do so now, better later than not at all. “Some local boy who’s hanging around waiting for you to come back from the cinema with that cheeky foreigner? Someone waiting to take a swing at me, perhaps?”<br />
“Isn’t that a bit impertinent?” She looked away as if he’d insulted her.<br />
“Well…”<br />
What was the right thing to say?<br />
“I mean, have I asked you about your past loves and…” She looked stricken. “Oh, Karel, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to mention that.”<br />
“No, that’s no more than I deserve.” At last she wasn’t angry and he definitely wasn’t going to be. “After all, I did tell you my sin…or at least one of them, anyway.”<br />
“You mean, there are more?” She was smiling now.<br />
“More than you know and…I should shut up before you say you never want to see me again.” He inhaled quickly, going on in a rush, “Brigid, do you like me?”<br />
“Of course, I do.” She turned a coy gaze on him, actually fluttering her lashes.<br />
“Good, because I like you.” He found he was breathless.<br />
“I’m glad of that.” She looked amused.<br />
“No, I mean I like you… More than like, actually.” He’d always considered himself so masterful when it came to speaking, but suddenly, he couldn’t say what he wanted to. “I… I’d like to kiss you.”<br />
He placed a hand on her neck, thumb gently stroking the softness of her throat.<br />
“Do you know what I like?” Her eyes met his without blinking.<br />
“What?” He was startled by that direct stare.<br />
“A man who does somethin’ instead o’ just talkin’ about it.” She shut her eyes, pursing her lips…those luscious, pink lips…<br />
He pulled her to him, leaned forward and kissed her. The damned brake lever was in the way and he had to clamber onto the seat and somehow lean over it to reach her. As he pressed his lips to Brigid’s, Karel silently cursed the Stutz’s designer, wishing he had put the bloody lever anywhere else. He lost his balance, falling forward so he was partially reclining on the seat as well as on Brigid, his free hand braced against the inside of the passenger door.<br />
Well, the brake lever was keeping any action below his waist from happening, anyway, which, considering the way he felt about the girl, might be a good thing.<br />
In the midst of the lustful feelings struggling to escape, he stifled a desire to laugh.<br />
That’s a hell of a condom…all iron and steel and hydraulic tubing.<br />
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<b>LINKS FOR PURCHASE</b><br />
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Available in eBook, Kindle, and paperback at: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08DC5VSBY?pf_rd_r=KZ2SEJ67M6ZQYNEV81E3&pf_rd_p=edaba0ee-c2fe-4124-9f5d-b31d6b1bfbee">https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08DC5VSBY?pf_rd_r=KZ2SEJ67M6ZQYNEV81E3&pf_rd_p=edaba0ee-c2fe-4124-9f5d-b31d6b1bfbee</a><br />
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Coming soon in AudioBook.<br />
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<br />Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235943449298948837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571035586762890516.post-10005846521548840292020-01-04T14:15:00.003-08:002020-01-04T14:15:53.477-08:00<img src="https://c10.patreonusercontent.com/3/eyJ3Ijo2MjB9/patreon-media/p/post/32795557/53d51b66adfc4630a9cca4ebe9dc71c9/1.jpg?token-time=1579305600&token-hash=VR7OY1peEZi8zSkzenjmhhEHRxzmZWp0UKpBMhMRAqs%3D" /><br />
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<a href="https://www.patreon.com/posts/happy-new-year-32795557?utm_medium=post_notification_email&utm_source=post_link&utm_campaign=patron_engagement&token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWRpc19rZXkiOiJpbnN0YW50LWFjY2VzczpjNWFhYTEyYy01ZDIxLTQ1OWEtODdlMi0wM2ZlMjVlMjU0ZTEifQ.d70Zy0u59XUPLVlpq4BD9cohHPByMDYgc4nYk3f5eaM">https://www.patreon.com/posts/happy-new-year-32795557?utm_medium=post_notification_email&utm_source=post_link&utm_campaign=patron_engagement&token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWRpc19rZXkiOiJpbnN0YW50LWFjY2VzczpjNWFhYTEyYy01ZDIxLTQ1OWEtODdlMi0wM2ZlMjVlMjU0ZTEifQ.d70Zy0u59XUPLVlpq4BD9cohHPByMDYgc4nYk3f5eaM</a>Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235943449298948837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571035586762890516.post-5647628456149625822019-07-16T08:15:00.003-07:002019-07-16T08:16:28.516-07:00Videos and News to ShareThere are two videos on YouTube right now I'd like to recommend.<br />
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First, if you read my review on Cobb & Co's <i>Robin Hood</i> musical and wish you could have seen it while they were performing, you're in luck! A video of their performance is available through the Spanish Fork 17 YouTube channel, and I've embedded the video below:<br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IksuqXnx5FE" width="560"></iframe><br />
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Also, I made a video based on my Lore Survival blog entry to try and drum up more interest. I got to use a lot more card art for the video, so please give it a look:<br />
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<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hfD-3hhIGHs" width="560"></iframe><br />
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And in even better news, the first draft of the new <i>Darksome Thorn</i> novel is complete and ready for editing and revision.<br />
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Thank you again for all your support. :-)Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235943449298948837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571035586762890516.post-10656959731971611012019-06-19T16:50:00.001-07:002019-06-20T01:03:19.054-07:00Review: Cobb and Co.'s Robin Hood: The MusicalRemember a year ago, when I drove eight hours to see a play produced by Cobb & Co.?<br />
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<a href="https://assets.alignable.com/events/pictures/medium/500408/1558458116_20190420_130059.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="1558458116 20190420 130059" border="0" height="200" src="https://assets.alignable.com/events/pictures/medium/500408/1558458116_20190420_130059.jpg" width="320" /></a>Well I did it again. And it was just as glorious as I remember.<br />
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It wasn't the same play. They rotate their offerings a truly impressive amount for a theater company that centers on original productions. Also, I made it to the first week of showings, which means you might well be reading this in time to go see the same show I did, with the same delightful cast.<br />
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If so, I truly hope you do. This company's work is too special not to share with everyone you know.<br />
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If you do go, here are some things you can expect.<br />
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This Robin Hood, played by John Cobb, is a bit more nuanced than your average fare. He's easily the most compelling Robin I've seen. I dare say we've seen Robin Hood as a reluctant hero, but I've never felt that struggle quite this poignantly. John plays Robin more like a Prince Hamlet, with fascinating vacillations that aren't just played up for drama. They make sense, and they follow naturally from Robin's first scene and his first song, "How Can a Fella Get Ahead in Life." And yet for all that, the vacillations and uncertainty wouldn't have worked nearly as well without the rock steady influence of Little John.<br />
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This Little John stands out as one my favorite parts of the experience. If I could sum up Jade Higley's performance of Little John in one word, it would be "presence." Wherever he's standing is the center of the stage, and the rest of the cast, dressing, and props all lean toward him as if drawn by gravity. Even at his most quiet and self-assured, you can sense power behind every move he makes. And when he finally does let loose and roar, you might well experience the same goosebumps I did. Or maybe you'll run and hide. I won't be surprised either way.<br />
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I won't spend too much more time calling out individual performances, except to add that Michelle Adams's Maid Marian was warm and clever, had the best singing voice on the stage, and her chemistry with Roslyn, played by Hannah Cobb, was nothing short of delightful. Michelle could have carried the play on her own merit, and though she had as much stage time as most other characters, I wanted more. I still want more.<br />
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<a href="http://www.cobbcotheaterproductions.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Robin-Hood-on-bridge-300x240.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.cobbcotheaterproductions.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Robin-Hood-on-bridge-300x240.jpg" /></a>Also, Christian Hansen's Constable stole the show. Because of course he did.<br />
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The choreography was fun and fluid, easy to follow, yet still inventive and full of surprises. Little John's quick foot jab at the beginning of the play shows up again at the climax without fanfare, but to great effect. Bows, swords, and quarterstaves find their way seamlessly into both dramatic action sequences and comedic slapstick. And what about the archery, you might ask? Well there's no arrows in those stage bows of course, but they still pull off a few classic Robin Hood trick shots. This <i>is</i> a Robin Hood story after all.<br />
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The performances will keep you glued to your seats, but it's Cobb & Co's music that keeps people coming back, and <i>Robin Hood</i> was no exception. The audience clapped along through a number of merry ditties, and the standout pieces had to be songs like the previously mentioned "How Can a Fella Get Ahead in Life," the hilarious "Naughty Sheriff of Nottingham" (that pun has three layers; can you find them all?), and the one that turned Sherwood Forest into its own character, simply named "Sherwood." The lyrics tend to either be fun and whimsical or sweet and thoughtful, but they excel in both categories. In fact, I still have a couple tunes stuck in my head a week later.<br />
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Tickets are just ten dollars, but you can do better. They accept donations on Patreon now too, or if you just want a few snacks to keep you company in the theater seats, concessions are always a great way to support a theatrical company. Either way, please go check them out and then let me know what you thought!<br />
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Look for times and dates of performances, as well as info about future productions, here:<br />
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<a href="http://www.cobbcotheaterproductions.com/" target="_blank">http://www.cobbcotheaterproductions.com/</a><br />
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<br />Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235943449298948837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571035586762890516.post-83090840938486655622019-05-02T14:40:00.003-07:002019-06-11T11:19:33.867-07:00MTG Multiverse Survival Guide: Quick TipsInspired by this Quora question: <a href="https://www.quora.com/If-you-woke-up-in-the-multiverse-of-Magic-the-Gathering-what-would-be-your-strategy-to-survive">https://www.quora.com/If-you-woke-up-in-the-multiverse-of-Magic-the-Gathering-what-would-be-your-strategy-to-survive</a><br />
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Suppose you woke up and find yourself somewhere in the Magic the Gathering multiverse, on one of the many planes. What would you do? Where would you go?<br />
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There’s lots of options here that depend a great deal on which plane you ended up on.<br />
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<a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/giYVJp0e6eKQ-bPl5vv2Kf7yfld5UWjPfzZjcjp5LI5DYUsK4qheEIVZAXk_Vu6Y60k2uUMxDPee5gWDNHJNNBLy32cgIi8OVgswBhi8Jq8GU1Oy1Ke2axf6rdkNMdIm-f2xFOhf" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/giYVJp0e6eKQ-bPl5vv2Kf7yfld5UWjPfzZjcjp5LI5DYUsK4qheEIVZAXk_Vu6Y60k2uUMxDPee5gWDNHJNNBLy32cgIi8OVgswBhi8Jq8GU1Oy1Ke2axf6rdkNMdIm-f2xFOhf" style="border: none; transform: rotate(0rad);" width="320" /></a>If you land on Ravnica for example, you might go watch a Rakdos show, or visit one of the Selesnya sanctuaries. If you land on Gobakhan you’ll want to pick up some diamonds from the sand, because they’re literally everywhere. If you’re on Kaladesh you’ll probably want to find a steampunk pet of some kind to follow you around, and if you happen to be on Ixalan it would be cool to meet some of the domesticated dinosaurs and maybe make a friend.<br />
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Lots of things to do. :-)<br />
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First things first though. If we assume you’ve landed on a random point in a random plane in the multiverse, it follows naturally you probably didn’t land in a city. Unless you landed in Ravnica, where the city covers the entire planet, you will probably find yourself in one of the many vast expanses of untouched wilderness, filled with enormous baloths, ravenous wurms, and vicious drakes. And worse things. Much worse things.<br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-872f52fa-7fff-e4bf-4bd1-61c209202718"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img height="456" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/adBVozZvJC0MaLb_rFr8-NzC7LzEgIQ987UGggT-S6ZZ76glsmpL9yhPnKYUyXgApWWBsmS7DZF6kiNPyp0keoCXBUuyavoaulwlmNkJCI9pgZ9-yHWStfxaL24CPVhUFmHLHFrr" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="624" /></span></span><br />
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Ah, nature. :-)<br />
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So what should you do if you want to survive the night? In most planes, the first thing you’ll want to do is find civilization right away. How to do that is going to depend on the plane though, and of course you have to survive the local wildlife long enough to make the trek all the way to the nearest village.<br />
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Discussing each plane in turn will take time though. I’m hoping to cover that in later entries, but for now, here’s some quick and dirty tips for surviving as an unarmed, unmagical human who just woke up in the Magic the Gathering multiverse.<br />
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1. The first priorities in any survival situation are water, food, and shelter. The easiest way to find all three is to find civilization, as just about every plane we know about has some kind of civilization (though not all). There are of course some spiritual or mental planes where you don’t technically need any of these things. Let’s not worry about those yet.<br />
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2. Keep an eye on the weather. Some planes are plagued with dangerous weather patterns such as manastorms, voidstorms, diamond storms, lavalanches, stone rain, fire rain, and of course, elemental activity. On these sorts of planes shelter becomes an even greater priority than normal.<br />
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3. Avoid the larger wildlife, most of which will eat you if it finds you. There are a stunning number of apex predators in the multiverse, so many it makes you wonder how sentient life ever evolved here. Avoid open spaces, watch your back at every turn, and basically don’t relax until you can find friendly sentient life.<br />
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4. Also, don’t trust your previous understanding of how nature works. Even familiar looking creatures might work completely differently, depending on where you landed. Watch animals closely before approaching, looking for unexpected fangs, wings, and other oddities. Avoid corpses, which might not be completely dead. Try to figure out which plantlife is sentient and which isn’t before gathering firewood or building a shelter. In fact, you should probably ask every branch and stone for permission before picking it up, just in case.<br />
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5. If you have to live in the wilderness for a bit, trust plains or islands over forests or mountains, and forests or mountains over swamps. Avoid swamps at all costs. Plains and island creatures (white and blue creatures) tend to be a bit friendlier to innocents.<br />
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6. Find a village right away and ask for directions to the nearest city. If there are no cities, ask for a sanctuary. Use signs and pictures to convey your meaning if you can’t find the right words. You want to make it clear you are not a warrior or adventurer, you need a safe place, and you don’t know anything.<br />
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7. Make sure you know the language before you head to a large city. You might find you know the language right away, and you might not know why. There’s no lore explanation for this, but every plane seems to speak the same language despite thousands of years of history and very little cultural sharing. The answer, of course, is because of magical influence between the planes, so my best estimate is if you don’t know the language right away you will probably be able to pick it up really quick.<br />
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8. Don’t travel alone if you can avoid it. Travel with a companion or even a caravan, as there is bound to be someone headed to the city eventually who can help keep you safe, if only from your own ignorance.<br />
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9. Once you’re in a city, avoid the obvious danger zones: cults, gangs, and warclans. Remember: you are an unarmed, unmagical human and a foreigner. You are a target. Try not to stick out too much. You don’t want to end this trip as a necromancer’s undead minion, and that is very likely if you can’t watch your step.<br />
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10. If you can learn some magic, do it, but not at the risk of joining a sketchy organization. There are a lot of different forms and sources of magic in the multiverse, so the quicker you can learn, the quicker you can find a place in this plane’s society. Find your niche.<br />
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11. Be tolerant. Racism is a huge problem on many planes, but you can’t afford to get caught up in it. Some planes don’t have humans, and on others the best connections you can make might not be human. Try to understand, and at the very least try not to offend. You can’t afford to be too picky about allies in a world where the isolated get eaten, beaten, turned into the undead, or all three.<br />
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12. Speaking of which, join a team. Maybe not right away, but once you’ve learned a bit about the city you’re in and how the plane is divided into its respective parts, find the part that appeals to you most and seek it out. You’ll learn faster that way, and have someone to watch your back.<br />
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<b>Sources</b></div>
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For images: </div>
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<a href="https://scryfall.com/">https://scryfall.com/</a></div>
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To learn more about each plane: </div>
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<a href="https://mtg.gamepedia.com/Category:Planes">https://mtg.gamepedia.com/Category:Planes</a></div>
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Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235943449298948837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571035586762890516.post-76548969987289545782019-03-20T10:34:00.000-07:002019-03-20T10:34:07.682-07:0080,000 words and climbing! Today <i>Dead Forsworn</i> reached my goal of 80,000 words! There's still a couple chapters left of story and a great deal of editing to do, and with the planned combining of the two novels into one I suppose we could have declared an 80,000 words milestone 50,000 words ago, but still!<br />
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Things are coming together in an exciting way. :-)<br />
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It seems appropriate actually that the 80,000 word mark fell at the same moment as an important character death. No spoilers, though! You'll find out soon enough.<br />
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Thank you for all your support in this joint adventure!Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235943449298948837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571035586762890516.post-40666847168804549932019-02-02T19:28:00.002-08:002019-02-02T19:29:00.988-08:00Young Artists and Phagim<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ySi02LBJo1JJiBU7Fn02VVBx9tTzkocmFXlIeqdj_3emvQJeJyR6o96Tq9w7tqn4JRTkAEpet1rtY78BvqBZn8ebLB1jUo1ODg5n4082XAbEeaLUct_fYfl9lj-PNTEhQtiNJQrWHzPX/s1600/Phagim+-+Rebekah.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="116" data-original-width="157" height="146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ySi02LBJo1JJiBU7Fn02VVBx9tTzkocmFXlIeqdj_3emvQJeJyR6o96Tq9w7tqn4JRTkAEpet1rtY78BvqBZn8ebLB1jUo1ODg5n4082XAbEeaLUct_fYfl9lj-PNTEhQtiNJQrWHzPX/s200/Phagim+-+Rebekah.png" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiel_4Eqwo8Zv-JZOHrVs03CHkPLefoX9abctLX6eiqWOyUvtLC9FpILdzhkjBpZ-dxkV-c40DiECUHTbivgcZTAtDt77wobbACcBjhTDCrmaKV_bZ1XTLBXDyDgh0onGiMqzYlsACbeLqX/s1600/Phagim+-+Haley.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="96" data-original-width="152" height="126" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiel_4Eqwo8Zv-JZOHrVs03CHkPLefoX9abctLX6eiqWOyUvtLC9FpILdzhkjBpZ-dxkV-c40DiECUHTbivgcZTAtDt77wobbACcBjhTDCrmaKV_bZ1XTLBXDyDgh0onGiMqzYlsACbeLqX/s200/Phagim+-+Haley.png" width="200" /></a></div>
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Thank you to my family's homeschool group for reading <i>Darksome Thorn</i>! Rebekah and Haley both decided to recreate the <i>phagim</i> from the book, and I love how they turned out. :-)<br />
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<br />Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235943449298948837noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571035586762890516.post-42212016673085424282018-09-12T16:44:00.004-07:002022-12-29T22:18:10.284-08:00Darksome Thorn Updated, Expanded, and For Sale on Amazon!<i>Darksome Thorn</i> is now available on Amazon in Kindle and paperback versions. This is an expanded, improved edition, almost twice as long as the previous novel. You can find it here: <div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRB819R8/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=">https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRB819R8/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=</a></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWIfNpzPKOK19SPFUygSbB1n8C6JPtwu4AbaBKgCp0UQZ051TOxa2u7u0n9DY6qhAOTIhWiuE45qyFNINx5t1alY_e6PBvM2pQmFHrNRjvc4sdEVxh-7Ys5idzUqOoJrmi0m97EaQA__jMZlF6MDRIoUL0Ur-wmOc9MY6TYwbxCk4b33gDYbbMbSlXNg/s5400/Darksome%20thorn.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="5400" data-original-width="3600" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWIfNpzPKOK19SPFUygSbB1n8C6JPtwu4AbaBKgCp0UQZ051TOxa2u7u0n9DY6qhAOTIhWiuE45qyFNINx5t1alY_e6PBvM2pQmFHrNRjvc4sdEVxh-7Ys5idzUqOoJrmi0m97EaQA__jMZlF6MDRIoUL0Ur-wmOc9MY6TYwbxCk4b33gDYbbMbSlXNg/s320/Darksome%20thorn.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div>Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235943449298948837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571035586762890516.post-68228140214881370402018-08-28T16:32:00.000-07:002018-08-28T16:34:55.486-07:0010 Lessons from My Latest Dwarf Fortress ExperienceThe story of my most recent fortress is a little too depressing to explain in detail. In fact, here is an actual quote from an in-game report: "Diagnoser cancelled sleep: too depressed." Ever feel like the game you're playing just got a little too real?<br />
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So I'll just share a few things I learned from the experience. Farewell, Peakedtowns!<br />
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1. If fifty people volunteer to come live at your fortress for the purpose of "eradicating monsters," don't expect them to actually be of much help. Also, hide the drinks. </div>
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2. When dwarves say "deep metals," they mean "DEEP metals." Deep enough I never actually found any. </div>
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3. A local elvish retreat might seem a good place to send a raiding party, but only if you don't mind filling your pastures with cougars, foxes, and the occasional grizzly bear. </div>
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4. Speaking of pastures, don't try to put caged goblins out to pasture. It doesn't work. </div>
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5. I also learned what veteran players mean when they say "tantrum spiral." It's not pretty. </div>
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6. When your broker ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. As I watched him punching a cow out of sheer frustration, I realized: this is a broken dwarf. A broken broker, if you will. </div>
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7. Sending all your military out of town right before a tantrum spiral and an accidental "pasturing" of four goblins is just bad timing. And again, those volunteer Monster Slayers you permitted to move in? They're still useless. </div>
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8. You might think you're safe because the last invading goblin fell into the river and is currently in the middle of an underwater battle with an echidna. But you're not. </div>
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9. Insanity, possession, depression, and hauntings do NOT mix well. </div>
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10. If you tell a hundred dwarves to crowd into a small meeting room underground during an invasion, they will listen. They will complain so much the game starts to lag, but they will listen. </div>
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Wish me better luck next time! :-) </div>
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Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235943449298948837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571035586762890516.post-71597417975650144912018-08-25T15:20:00.004-07:002018-08-25T15:20:56.682-07:00Interview with Camille's Harem<div class="" data-block="true" data-editor="cnr3n" data-offset-key="4pnpe-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; white-space: pre-wrap;">
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<a href="https://deow9bq0xqvbj.cloudfront.net/image-logo/1862491/Camilles_Harem_Logo_Season_1_All_Effects_Low_op_1400p_2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://deow9bq0xqvbj.cloudfront.net/image-logo/1862491/Camilles_Harem_Logo_Season_1_All_Effects_Low_op_1400p_2.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span data-offset-key="4pnpe-0-0" style="font-family: inherit;">Camille's Harem recently released a podcast we recorded together a year or two ago, about my experiences while publishing my first book. Big thanks to the Harem for such a fun and engaging interview! </span></div>
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I hope I can record with them again sometime! It's been too long. :-) </div>
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Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235943449298948837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571035586762890516.post-43589885844795228842018-08-16T20:51:00.000-07:002018-08-16T20:52:06.896-07:00Cry Wolf<br />
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<a href="https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/022/174/412/a5a3835f187f7839114f8a5136443b19_original.jpg?w=680&fit=max&v=1533796727&auto=format&q=92&s=dab830bbe5bdf32dd7884850491d0498" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Final Image" border="0" height="200" src="https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/022/174/412/a5a3835f187f7839114f8a5136443b19_original.jpg?w=680&fit=max&v=1533796727&auto=format&q=92&s=dab830bbe5bdf32dd7884850491d0498" width="149" /></a>About a year or so ago, a friend of mine asked me to try out a game he designed. He called it a microgame, a take on the story of the boy who cried wolf. We played it several times in the next fifteen minutes, and I was having a blast! You wouldn't expect that much variety and suspense out of such a simple game, but that's exactly what I found.<br />
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Well, now <i>Cry Wolf</i> is complete! You can bet I jumped to be one of the first backers on Kickstarter. With beautiful artwork to match the classic theme, the game should be shipping in early 2019, and as of this post it's just over 50% backed. Please help us bring this game into the world!<br />
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Such a beautiful beginning for my friend's aptly named company,<br />
Game Warden.<br />
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<a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/108814750/cry-wolf-a-micro-game?ref=aqob4b">https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/108814750/cry-wolf-a-micro-game?ref=aqob4b</a>Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235943449298948837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571035586762890516.post-79706513203791264612018-07-13T11:00:00.003-07:002018-07-13T11:02:06.536-07:00Review of Cobb and Co.'s The Three MusketeersI don't normally drive eight hours to see a play, but after watching Cobb and Co.'s latest showing of <i>Three Musketeers</i> at Angelus Theater in Provo, I might have to make a habit of it. Cobb and Co. is a theater production company spearheaded by John and Ruth Cobb, writer and director respectively, who excel at producing fun, original works for the stage. It's a family business full of talent (think <i>Surviving the Applewhites</i> meets <i>Little Women</i>) and a passion for making audiences ROTFLOL. There really isn't a better word to describe my personal reaction.<br />
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Shenanigans and swordplay abound in this comical, musical adaptation of Alexander Dumas's classic <i>The Three Musketeers</i>.<br />
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It feels odd to observe, regarding a play titled <i>The Three Musketeers</i>, that the Three Musketeers stole the show. But they kinda did. D'Artagnan is a delightfully fascinating character, likable in every way and yet designed to deliver a painful character arc through all the laughter. When his idols come on stage, though, the orchestrated chaos that ensues is nothing short of gleeful. At least half of the most sizzling dialogue in the play comes from their witty banter, delivered during fun and energetic swordplay that makes you wonder how they can keep enough breath to continue singing at full volume. But they do. It's a talented act, and the songs are a huge part of the appeal.<br />
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The songs, written by John Cobb and composed by Karol Cobb, have more than enough range to round out a play of this length and depth. Between melancholy love songs, rousing Broadway-style numbers, and powerful reflective pieces (I'm looking at you "White is Blanc and Black is Noir"), I really wish they were selling CDs at the entrance to the theater. I'm no music critic, so I can't speak for the technical achievements and performative prowess of the singers and composers... wait, yes I can. Gimme more!!!<br />
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My favorite moments in the story include the rendezvous between D'Artagnan and Constance, a blessedly clueless romantic pair who stumble around each other with delightful, but poorly aimed sincerity. It's like a first date, in fact it is a first date, just... more so. The masquerade much later in the play has a very different tone, alternating layers of intrigue and ludicrousness as D'Artagnan dances/bumbles his way around spies and traitors. It thickens the plot, it adds nuance to the conflict in D'Artagnan's developing character, and it presents a beautiful spectacle. After that, choosing a favorite action scene is just impossible. The choreography is tight but never confusing, with a liberal dose of whimsy to remind us that the actors are having just as much fun as we are.<br />
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There is always a danger with well-written comedy that the performance will undercut the actual story. Thankfully, none of the actors have that problem. They can play for laughs, it's true, and you will be laughing at the antics and the slapstick and the snappy dialogue, but the character portrayals are as sincere as you'll ever find on the stage. There's a purity in the story that warms the heart, even as you're watching the Musketeers and the Cardinal's guards chase each other across the stage and down each aisle of the theater. Is it fun? Yes. Is it engaging and entertaining? Double yes. Does it betray an encouraging sensibility that's both humane and edifying at the same time? Why yes. Yes it does.<br />
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Come see it.<br />
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The next Cobb and Co. production is an original adaption of <i>Prince and the Pauper</i> in August at the Utah Renaissance Fair. If you want to know when <i>The Three Musketeers</i> will be back, or what other productions the Cobb and Co. Theater company are working on, go check their website: <a href="http://www.cobbcotheaterproductions.com/">http://www.cobbcotheaterproductions.com/</a>. </div>
Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235943449298948837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571035586762890516.post-18208351943094887452018-03-24T13:25:00.002-07:002018-03-24T13:25:37.639-07:00In this latest interview with Alicia Dean, I tease some details about the book I'm working on, <i>Tales of the Darksome Thorn: The Dead Forsworn</i>. Come check it out!<br />
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<a href="https://aliciadean.com/2018/03/22/author-interview-with-jeremy-higley-new-release-son-of-dark-book-1-of-the-darksome-thorn/">https://aliciadean.com/2018/03/22/author-interview-with-jeremy-higley-new-release-son-of-dark-book-1-of-the-darksome-thorn/</a>Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235943449298948837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571035586762890516.post-88046519279328929392018-03-14T04:38:00.002-07:002018-03-14T04:38:35.663-07:00I was recently privileged to do an interview with Crystal Benedict. Come check it out at: <a href="https://reviewsbycacb.blogspot.com/2018/03/interview-son-of-dark-by-jeremy-higley.html">https://reviewsbycacb.blogspot.com/2018/03/interview-son-of-dark-by-jeremy-higley.html</a>Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235943449298948837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571035586762890516.post-51090887690075867442018-01-29T19:41:00.003-08:002018-01-29T19:41:51.391-08:00<i>Tales of the Darksome Thorn: The Son of Dark</i> was just featured on the South Branch Scribbler!<br />
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<a href="http://allanhudson.blogspot.ca/2018/01/class-act-publishing-guest-authors.html">http://allanhudson.blogspot.ca/2018/01/class-act-publishing-guest-authors.html</a>Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235943449298948837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571035586762890516.post-21004325025764620262017-11-18T17:00:00.000-08:002017-11-18T17:00:02.120-08:00Interview with Robb White<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiraiT5XL9vKsy2OCNUPD4A-PyxXpi4qLcOavJNPwnF46NeVt8fCGAHBLqeHxIw18HyO1SoXY-tWPB3aIHW6RQVUcsVIjpaZz0wDOAbfAxBSOhRAxP71o-x9EpsMxGHOolniGPOrl23ECcO/s1600/Newly+Nifty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="376" data-original-width="1181" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiraiT5XL9vKsy2OCNUPD4A-PyxXpi4qLcOavJNPwnF46NeVt8fCGAHBLqeHxIw18HyO1SoXY-tWPB3aIHW6RQVUcsVIjpaZz0wDOAbfAxBSOhRAxP71o-x9EpsMxGHOolniGPOrl23ECcO/s640/Newly+Nifty.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Please welcome to Nifty Newly our newest Class Act Books author, Robb White!<br />
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Under the names Terry White, Robert White, and Robb T. White, Robert White has published dozens of crime, noir, and hardboiled short stories, and three hardboiled private-eye novels. A lifelong reader of crime fiction, he published his first story in Gary Lovisi's Hardboiled magazine. Since then, he has published several dozen crime stories, and a collection of mainstream stories in 2013. An ebook crime novel, "Special Collections," won the New Rivers Electronic Book Competition in 2014.<br />
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White was born, raised, and continues to live in Ashtabula, Ohio.<br />
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<b>Hi Robb! Let's get started...</b><br />
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<b>If you got a catapult for your birthday, what's the first object you would launch with it? </b><br />
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This question really appeals to my darker nature. I think of plague-riddled corpses launched over medieval battlements in a siege. I do have two or three personal candidates I’d love to see strapped into such a device, but I’ll let my better angel dictate a different answer. A pumpkin.<br />
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<b>When did you first discover you were a writer? </b><br />
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I know it smacks of false humility to say I don’t consider myself a writer, but the truth is I’m reluctant to attach that honorific to my name. I don’t deserve it. When I think of the writers I have read and admired deeply over many years, I cannot put myself in their company. For a while, I had an agent in New York City who valued my writing—or at least a couple of the characters in a thriller manuscript I’d sent her, and she embarrassed me by calling me a writer. I’m happy to be considered a producer of “entertainments,” and if my novels are liked, that’s all very nice. But real writers are another breed altogether. I’m not obsessive about my writing and that should disqualify me. <br />
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<b>If you crawled into a chrysalis today and began to metamorphose, who or what would you be when the chrysalis opened?</b><br />
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You might guess I’d say “writer” after that prior response, but the truth is I’d be the quarterback that would finally save the Cleveland Browns.<br />
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<b>What invention do you most appreciate? </b><br />
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The remote. The inventor should be given a Nobel Prize.<br />
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<b>If you were a superhero, what would be your weakness? Your personal kryptonite? You can tell us what your powers would be too. :-)</b><br />
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I grew up on Superman comics and sat glued to the tube when George Reeves played him. I would possess all his powers except X-ray vision—who needs that? But boring through mountains with my fist, grabbing twenty-foot crocodiles on the Zambia River just when they go to snatch a zebra, that’s my idea of a great time. Sorry to say, I’d allow humanity to continue its backstroke in the cesspool, which is all we seem able to do as a species. I wouldn’t hurt those crocs, by the way. I’d swing them by the tails and skip them like stones gently across the surface. I would fly all over the world, mostly avoiding people and cities. I’d see every place in 501 Must-Visit Destinations. My kryptonite would be my self-confidence: when would my magical powers fail? What if they failed at the moment I grabbed one of those killer crocs by the tail or just as I was about to chest-bump a hippo? Besides, I’m afraid of plane travel. I could never feel secure flying at 30,000. Self-doubt’s a weakness Superman never had.<br />
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<b>Let's talk about your new book! </b><br />
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<b>When did you first start working on <i>Dangerous Women</i>? </b><br />
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It never occurred to me at first to write stories specifically for a collection like this from a woman’s point of view. Most of my characters are male since I began writing in 2011. But if you’re thinking of crimes as plotlines for your characters, how do you not have women involved, and not for mere “relationship” purposes? I grew up with five sisters, so I have no illusions about women. Take away the biological differences, maybe a small subset of genetic differences—for example, spatial perception which favors males or early communications skills which favors females—and we’re the same in our beings. The long and short is two years ago I realized I had enough stories for a collection and so I decided to shop them and was fortunate to find Anita York of Class Act Books.<br />
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<b>What sort of books and other media have influenced your writing and storytelling? </b><br />
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At two different times in my life I was influenced by specific kinds of novels—mainly, the novels of Dostoevsky. <i>The Possessed</i> even more than <i>Crime and Punishment</i> or <i>The Brothers Karamazov</i> had a great influence on me as far as portraying evil goes. Stavrogin and Svidrigailov are two of my all-time favorite amoral characters. The other belongs to a certain summer when I came under the influence of the existentialists, especially Camus. <i>The Stranger</i> is a work that doesn’t age even though existentialism as a philosophy belongs to another time. As for other media, I’m a devoted crimedog when it comes to shows like <i>48 Hours</i>, <i>Dateline</i>, or the programs on Investigation ID. I like to observe the mannerisms and speech habits of real cops.<br />
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<b>Do you have a favorite character in <i>Dangerous Women</i>? </b><br />
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Regina Frontanetta in the first story is a prizefighter and private eye, two occupations I admire and could personally never have succeeded in. First, her courage is self-evident; most people in life think they have a certain amount of it, but in fact few people do. We’re mostly sheep when it comes to risking life and limb. Getting hit in the face takes a special kind of person and she’s very smart, which is a quality I also admire. A close second is Natalie Sparks in the final story “Huffer Girl,” but she’s young and facing her first real test of courage.<br />
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<b>What character would you consider most like you? </b><br />
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I hate to say it but some of the male characters in my stories who wind up getting their butts handed to them by women or their own stupid decisions are most like me. I’ll pick one. The clueless narrator in “Diana’s Perfect Patsy” will do.<br />
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<b>Writing a book is a big accomplishment. What do you like most about this book? What drew you to write it? </b><br />
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I like the idea that my female characters can be as greedy, carnal, and interesting as males, and I hope I portrayed some of those characteristics throughout the stories. What drew me to write it is, in part, a desire to balance the opposites in my own nature. My “good” female character first appeared in some of my hardboiled stories alongside Thomas Haftmann, my series private eye. Annie Cheng, an FBI agent from an earlier work, is a “good” character, as is Jade Hui, a protagonist from a forthcoming novel. I took the former’s name from a young woman in China who had impressed me when I was visiting Beijing in 1999, and I meant her to be good, intelligent, resilient. I wanted to balance the Annie/Jade type with some other types who were not so good and a few who were corrupt or downright evil.<br />
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<b>Thank you so much for your time! </b><br />
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My thanks, Jeremy.<br />
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<b>Blurb for Dangerous Women</b><br />
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Weaker sex? Not hardly!<br />
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The female is definitely deadlier than the male. Short stories about ladies who can hold their own.<br />
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<b>Excerpt:</b><br />
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Be careful what you wish for, Regina.<br />
Her mother’s words. Sometimes she could hear her mother’s voice in the house.<br />
The <i>Vindicator</i> piece on Bodycomb’s death was two paragraphs.<br />
He was found floating in Lake Milton, a popular summer resort area for fishermen seventeen miles east of Austintown just off the Interstate 80 overpass. Shot by a small-caliber weapon in the back of the head. The important information was in the second paragraph: Bodycomb, it noted, was running a dog-fighting network among three states: Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia for a loose-knit West Virginia crime family connected to the Pittsburgh LaRizzo family.<br />
Damn you, Leo.<br />
She was blowing through caution lights, ignoring the honking of cars, as she beelined for the office on Market.<br />
Like a script from a cheap thriller, he was there, wearing the same clothes and unshaven, big jowls dark with stubble, pong of body odor in the overheated single room.<br />
“You promised me full disclosure, total honesty,” she said.<br />
She threw the paper across his desk.<br />
“Here it is in case you missed it.”<br />
Be calm, Regina, she told herself. She wasn’t going to lose her temper and a new job in that order.<br />
“I did and I meant it, Baby,” Leo said.<br />
He glanced at the paper sideways and pushed it back to her. He’d obviously read it.<br />
“You asked me—no, you demanded I call somebody. I did,” he said.<br />
He disgusted her with those wagging jowls and big stomach. She noticed his belt was undone and a patch of curly belly hair exposed.<br />
“I suppose you’ll tell me when the mood strikes.”<br />
“I meant the second case—your next case,” Leo said. “Full disclosure, just like you want.”<br />
Her indignation petered out at the prospect. “So tell me about it,” she said.<br />
Bodycomb was moving in on Donnie Bracca’s territory with his dog-fighting, Leo said.<br />
“He can kill all the dogs he wants in West Virginia,” Leo said. “But Donnie B. controls gambling around here.”<br />
“Donnie Bracca was your real client all the time,” Baby said.<br />
“It’s like this, kid. They don’t blow each other up in cars no more. Gentlemen’s agreements, all nice and polite. But rules have to be followed. Bodycomb went rogue.”<br />
She bit back a retort: You mean, like your own father?<br />
Leo went on, waxing large, a hopeless Mafioso lover, although a real mafia man, a made man, could see Leo couldn’t be trusted. But even the Aryan Brotherhood used outside associates to get things done. Leo could be useful if you couldn’t buy a cop or scare off an investigative reporter snooping in shady politics or business deals.<br />
She didn’t feel bad about Bodycomb’s death. After all, she'd wanted to kill the guy herself.<br />
“Damn it, Leo,” she said. “You should have told me this in the beginning.”<br />
Baby moved in the direction Bodycomb’s vehicle had taken. After a couple hundred yards through meadow grass up to her knees, she stopped and listened. Moving on, she dodged stunted bushes that popped up out of nowhere to snag her clothing. The foliage grew less dense. She found the parallel ruts of the Road Runner’s tracks and kept moving, straining her eyes to see light ahead. If Bodycomb was hiding assets from his soon-to-be ex-wife, he was taking a lot of trouble over it.<br />
After five minutes of faster walking in the grooves, she heard barking coming from the right. She saw the first glimmer of light in the distance. The terrain was sparse but small slopes refracted the light source so it appeared and disappeared with every rise of the ground. A single dog barking became two, then three and finally a pack. Beneath their howls, men’s voices.<br />
When she got close enough to make out words, she lay flat on her belly and put the binoculars on a cluster of men beside a ramshackle barn surrounded by cages of dogs in the beds of trucks beside a squared string of light bulbs a dozen feet from the ground. It looked like a crude boxing ring for backyard brawlers.<br />
Its purpose became clear in the next few minutes. It was a dog-fighting pit.<br />
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<b>Buy Link:</b><br />
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<b>Publisher’s website (for paperback):</b> <a href="http://www.classactbooks.com/component/virtuemart/cat-murder-mystery-suspense/dangerous-women-8472017-10-14-23-36-05-detail?Itemid=0">http://www.classactbooks.com/component/virtuemart/cat-murder-mystery-suspense/dangerous-women-8472017-10-14-23-36-05-detail?Itemid=0</a><br />
<b>Amazon (for e-books and Kindle):</b> <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076GCNMQ5/">https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076GCNMQ5/</a>Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235943449298948837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571035586762890516.post-29666790961652190102017-10-31T23:10:00.001-07:002017-10-31T23:13:30.415-07:00My sisters wrote and performed this piece! Happy Halloween!<br />
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzGPJ3TaV5w">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzGPJ3TaV5w</a><br />
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It might interest you to know that in the world of Duskain, the god of death is named Heem. He sends fiery snakes to gather the souls of the dead who are unwilling to go east to Haven and face judgement.Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235943449298948837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571035586762890516.post-65982750640129331312017-10-26T00:10:00.000-07:002018-02-27T13:34:31.020-08:00If you've ever played Dwarf Fortress, you're familiar with the crazy things that can happen when you let loose a team of dwarves in a randomly generated fantasy world. The goal of the game is to establish and maintain a fortress, keeping it alive, healthy, and wealthy for as long as possible. The simulation of the world around and inside your fortress is intensely detailed, even insanely so. To get an idea, just keep reading. My first experience with Dwarf Fortress was an exercise in wonder, and I'd like to share it.<br />
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Also, please keep in mind the one motto that all Dwarf Fortress players eventually learn: "Losing is fun."<br />
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Part 1: The Reign of SenseSaint the Giraffe<br />
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RoastedTreaties was my first fortress. It was built in a hot jungle climate, with stagnant surface water and a lot of fruit trees. I tried to follow the wiki's suggestions for a first fortress closely, and things went quietly for the first several seasons. So quietly, in fact, that when I first started engraving tombs for my dwarves, one of the first carvings was of a legendary meal that the cook had made the previous winter. My engraver had exquisite taste.<br />
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Another interesting side-effect of following the wiki, though perhaps it was just a quirk of my own luck, was the way dwarf children were born in RoastedTreaties. Almost every baby was born while his mother was climbing the long central staircase that connected every level of the fortress. The baby would inevitably fall down the flight of stairs to the very bottom floor, and the dwarf mother would have to go chasing after him.<br />
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I was inexperienced with the game, so when a dwarven teenager went into a fey mood and took over a workshop I was confused and uncertain. What was I supposed to do about that? I let him work for a while, and built a second workshop so my other dwarves could continue crafting mugs and bracelets to trade with. I finally looked up what was going on, and was shocked to learn that if the fey dwarf didn't get all the materials he needed he would go insane. I checked the workshop. He wanted glass? How do you make glass? I scrambled to get the right materials, but I was too late. The teenager went insane, and started wandering the fortress, harmlessly babbling to himself. I felt bad, so I tried to make sure there was always sufficient food and drink for him. It didn't matter. He died of dehydration a month or so later, all while sitting at a dining table next to dwarves who were eating and drinking to their hearts' content.<br />
<br />
This whole time the fortress was under a sort of siege by giraffes. They were not being violent or anything, but I had a number of dwarves gathering plants who would run away the moment they saw one. My inexperienced hunters would shoot off a couple bolts in their general direction, invariably missing, and then run for their lives. The big, brooding ungulates were distracting and unnerving everyone.<br />
<br />
Everyone, that is, except for one ambitious farmer. Apparently he was sick of planting plump helmets. So, one day he threw away his shovel and picked up a tin crossbow, ready to catch him some giraffe for dinner. I don't remember this dwarf's name, but the battle that followed was certainly unforgettable. I read the report at length. After shooting, and missing, the farmer threw down his crossbow and began punching, kicking, and biting the giraffe. He beat the poor thing until it was a mess of bruises. After three days of endless punishment, the giraffe finally snapped. It vomited all over the dwarf, coating him thoroughly, and then kicked him three times. The farmer died immediately, his chest a gory mess.<br />
<br />
The giraffe, however, went on a rampage. Three kills later, he had earned himself the name of SenseSaint, and RoastedTreaties truly was under siege. Dwarves could not go outside without SenseSaint trying to run them down and trample them to death. Though food stores were plentiful for now, I knew this could not continue indefinitely. I trained up a military, with the sole purpose of tracking down and killing SenseSaint the Giraffe.<br />
<br />
I decided to err on the side of overwhelming force, and trained up ten marksdwarves. The result was a bit anticlimactic. They shot at SenseSaint from a safe distance as the beleaguered giraffe ran for his life. Sure enough, not a single bolt hit. I think one might have grazed the animal's cheek. He ran off the board and never returned, so I sent the dwarves back to train until their archery skills improved.<br />
<br />
Part 2: Attack of the Pristine Bean<br />
<br />
With this crisis ended, another began. The mother of the dwarven teenager who had died, a cook named Mosus, fell under a similar spell of obsession. She took over a workshop, and this time I made sure to check on her and get all the materials she needed. I like to imagine she continued the work where her son had left off, though she ended up needing very different materials. The result of her efforts was a wooden bracelet named StilledTattooed. At first I was excited to see my dwarves' first artifact. Then I saw the engraving. A large, sleeping forgotten beast.<br />
<br />
To this day I'm unsure whether the game mechanics actually include prophetic warnings, but I took this as one. I trained up the military some more, preparing for invasion. Sure enough, not a year after the prophecy of Mosus was given, an enormous one-eyed lizard Titan showed up on the edge of the map.<br />
<br />
By this point I had built an enclosing wall around my fortress, complete with mechanical drawbridges at each of the cardinal points. I sent a dwarf right away to push the lever in the dining room that would lift the bridges and secure the fortress, but he was too slow. The Titan was within the walls of the fortress, slowly plodding around, as if looking for prey.<br />
<br />
Well, I hadn't trained up this military for nothing. I mustered the troops. The first bolt actually hit! And then chaos broke loose.<br />
<br />
For some weird reason, this Titan could spit spider webs. He could also run really, really fast. My troops were overwhelmed, and quickly slaughtered. There was so much blood that a bystander named Ingus Sterusfikod turned vampire and made her first kill in the middle of the fray. In front of ten witnesses.<br />
<br />
The battle raged from the surface down to the third floor. Citizen dwarves rushed from the dining room to join the fight, including the cook, Mosus, who it turns out was quite handy with a mace. Finally, after the stairwell was literally rolling with severed pieces of dwarf, a lucky dwarf landed the final blow. Bostu Berrydives the Pristine Bean (that's what the dwarves named him) shuddered, took his last breath, and died.<br />
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Part 3: Mayor Vampire<br />
<br />
The death count was around 30, about half the fortress's population, and cleanup was complicated by depression, a shortage of coffins, and the spiderwebs clogging up the stairway. The new mayor had fallen prey to a cage trap, and when he finally went insane (I never could convince the dwarves to free him), Ingus Sterusfikod became the next mayor. She was killing a dwarf every couple months at this point, and though I made sure she was convicted for every kill, even the ones without witnesses, the worst punishment she ever received was a beating. Thinking her political influence was preventing her from being executed (I've since learned that dwarven justice requires a prison and a hammerer), I replaced her as mayor and assigned her to the military.<br />
<br />
I had smelted a lot of gold at this point. I was making toys out of the stuff, for the thirty or so children to play with. I knew that sooner or later goblins would come, so I carved fortifications into the walls and prepared for the assault.<br />
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I was not disappointed. Unfortunately for my plan to get rid of Ingus, she had fallen into a trance a month or so before the invasion, and was still finishing up as the first goblins climbed over the walls. My soldiers performed admirably, though I was shocked to discover my walls were not keeping them out very well. I determined I needed to improve my defenses. I decided to build a moat.<br />
<br />
The problem with the moat was that my fortress was much bigger underground than it was on the surface. The moat penetrated the first level at several points, so I dug it deeper so any goblin trying to jump in would fall to his death. It was not a foolproof plan, but I didn't know how to undig a moat. By the second invasion the moat was ready (or so I thought), and my tenacious vampire friend Ingus was on the front lines (or so I thought).<br />
<br />
The discovery of the weak point in my defenses was quite comical, looking back. Just before the goblins made it to the walls, I found a miner stuck in the moat and instructed him to dig his way out and head inside. He did, and then went straight inside through an entrance I hadn't known existed. The moat had exposed a ramp, straight down into the training rooms on the first level, and I had completely missed it. I scrambled to move my armies in that direction, but the goblins were not so courteous as to attack in one place. They split up and attacked from multiple directions, some climbing down the deep pits to the second level, some climbing over the southern wall, and the largest contingent going straight for the unnoticed ramp after my homeward bound miner.<br />
<br />
Ingus Sterusfikod ended up seeing very little of the battle that followed. She stuck around the southern wall, killed one goblin, and then stopped fighting in horror at the blood she had spilled. Why this disturbed her so much I'll never know, as she had already drained the blood out of enough dwarves to make Snow White a single woman, but her delicacy probably saved her by keeping her on the surface. The bloodiest part of the battle took place on the first and second floors, with dwarves who had no business being involved. My population of 150 dropped down to about 70, 40 of whom were children.<br />
<br />
Roastedtreaties was winding down. I doubted they could survive another invasion of that magnitude. I built a wall to block off the ramp into the training room, and constructed a platform along the wall with ballistae. Ingus kept working with wood when she wasn't training with the rest of the militia, and for the time being she wasn't killing anyone. I knew it couldn't last, but I was grateful for the reprieve. If she survived another invasion, maybe I would give her a chance, find some way to isolate her from the rest of the dwarves so she could keep working on the things she loved.<br />
<br />
The next invasion came like clockwork.The drawbridges went up. My militia deployed. The ballistae were loaded. Though all the preparations were in place, I had little hope for my fortress. I had only twenty half-decent troops against an army of at least 80 goblins, trolls, and beak dogs. The fortifications would not hold.<br />
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In the end, they didn't have to. Possessed by a sudden and unexpected battle lust, Ingus ran up the ramp to the ballista platform and leapt off into the midst of the goblin army. The fight that ensued was the stuff of nightmares. The report describes her biting into the heads of trolls and shaking them until their spines snapped, then tossing them aside. She fought like a tiger, destroying well over a third of the goblin army, including all the captains, all by herself. She finally collapsed on top of her own personal pile of corpses, unconscious, and bleeding from every single part of her body. The vampire had turned mayor, then soldier, than craftsdwarf, and now, finally, into a war hero.<br />
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The rest of the goblins who managed to infiltrate the fortress were picked off by the remaining militia, the traps, and some tavern-goers who happened to have their weapons with them. After I'd organized a quick civilian militia to pick off a couple stragglers still loose in the fortress, I went to check on Ingus. Miraculously, she was still alive. I deliberated over helping the dwarves find her. I had been trying to kill her, after all. My better side won out in the end, and I sent the doctor to go rescue her.<br />
<br />
Part 4: The End of Roastedtreaties<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, the battle did not turn things around. My fortress was just as vulnerable as ever, and more goblins would be coming soon. Ingus was lying in a hospital bed, attended to by dwarves who had no thread or soap with which to help her (my bad; it has taken me an embarrassingly long time to figure out what sheep are for in this game). The walls of the hospital were quickly covered in blood and pus from ruptured infections, then vomit from unprepared visitors, then miasma from the decaying bodies of those who didn't make it, and for whom I could never build coffins fast enough. Ghosts of the unburied wandered the halls. When Ingus died a few days later though, a crippled mess of wounds and infection, I made sure there was a coffin open for her burial.<br />
<br />
There were only fifteen or so adult dwarves left, a small squadron of survivors. The forty children played with their gold toys, running back and forth among the rows upon rows of filled coffins on the fifth level. Perhaps I could have fended off one more invasion, for their sake, if it hadn't been for the werelizard.<br />
<br />
I'd never seen, or even heard about werebeasts in Dwarf Fortress. I worried I was facing another titanic monster like Bostu, so I quickly threw up the drawbridges when I saw him enter the map. I mustered the military, in case he decided to attack the fortress. He didn't, though. Instead, he found two dwarf children playing in the only pool of water left on the map, far outside the city walls. He killed them mercilessly, and though they fought him tooth and nail and injured him severely, the end result was unavoidable.<br />
<br />
I was mad. I'd seen enough misery among my dwarves already. I threw open the drawbridges and sent my militia out to face this child-killing freak. My dwarves wrestled him to the ground as he bit and tore at their arms, and then they crushed his skull with their fists. The injuries (on their part) were minor. I imagined I was ready for the next invasion.<br />
<br />
I was so blind.<br />
<br />
The next invasion came, and with it, the full moon. Two of the dwarves who had been bitten turned into werelizards themselves, just after I had mustered the militia to the surface. With all the soldiers busy fighting monsters among their own ranks, the fortress stood no chance. The goblins rushed in and laid waste. Unwilling to watch all those children die, I ordered the survivors to abandon Roastedtreaties and flee into the wild.<br />
<br />
I decided I would build another fortress, a safer one. One that wouldn't rely on external fortifications, spaced out so far as to be indefensible. One with multiple stairways, so my dwarves would never be stuck in the lower levels because of spiderwebs or monsters. One with a proper hospital, so dwarves could be healed properly after bloody battles with the enemy.<br />
<br />
And, preferably, one without any giraffes.<br />
<br />
<br />Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235943449298948837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571035586762890516.post-80364343516084594222017-10-19T12:38:00.003-07:002017-10-19T12:38:22.438-07:00New interview! <br />
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Beverly Bateman just published an interview with me on her blog! She wanted to know my thoughts on animals and their place in literature. I had fun with it, so please come check it out!</div>
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Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235943449298948837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571035586762890516.post-52154055716934698512017-07-19T18:53:00.000-07:002017-07-19T18:53:36.910-07:00Dragon BornA new dragon was born in Duskain last night...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJgeaUK_1Ngp38XNwmPDRem8GxYhtKAqTPefAfNbJa8-wZB8bjoLQKUYyseWHjkOzeC92MIXy27kcNpA1vf6jXXGMcBHt2C8ADTOnA-ZkuCcjXAV3MSYlHCPd1MpaMT4wG38jwWmHXrm4X/s1600/attacking-dragon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1503" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJgeaUK_1Ngp38XNwmPDRem8GxYhtKAqTPefAfNbJa8-wZB8bjoLQKUYyseWHjkOzeC92MIXy27kcNpA1vf6jXXGMcBHt2C8ADTOnA-ZkuCcjXAV3MSYlHCPd1MpaMT4wG38jwWmHXrm4X/s320/attacking-dragon.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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What should we name him? Comment below!</div>
Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235943449298948837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8571035586762890516.post-51507726298871787362017-06-22T21:36:00.000-07:002017-06-22T21:36:51.337-07:00Nifty Newly, featuring Juanita AydletteJuanita is a fellow author from Louisiana. Her first novel, <i>It's in the Blood</i>, is a paranormal fantasy/romance released by Class Act Books in 2016. She loves dogs, and is excited to be working on the sequel to her first book. Please welcome <a href="http://thesouloffiction.com/" target="_blank">Juanita Aydlette</a> to Nifty Newly!<br />
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<br />
<b>What's the title of the book you're working on?</b><br />
<br />
I am working on part-2 of <i>It's in the Blood</i>, entitled <i>Blood Ties</i>.<br />
<br />
<b>How many books have you written? Published/unpublished? What genre? </b><br />
<br />
I have actually written three novels—published one. I love romance, fantasy, suspense, thrillers, paranormal and whatever. The other two books are a paranormal, and a suspense. After working with my editor from Class Act on my first book, I'm going to re-work them before submitting them. I wrote them a long time ago and put them on the shelf.<br />
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<b>What inspires you, as a writer? </b><br />
<br />
I lived in my own fantasy world as a child, and now I'm bringing that world to life.<br />
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<b>How do you come up with names? </b><br />
<br />
Wow! They sort of pop up most of the time. I do try to pick names from a certain era or culture that I'm writing about.<br />
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<b>How do you come up with ideas? </b><br />
<br />
A good question. I read a lot, trying to come up with something that I think would be different. Some of the ideas, however, might offend my church, so I try to be careful about what I write. I like to take past events, sometimes, and extend on the actual facts, you know—take them in a different direction from the original story. Not always does it work...<br />
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<b>Why is originality important in fiction? Or is it important? </b><br />
<br />
I think originality is important, because it brings out the real creative mind of the author—really tests your skills.<br />
<br />
<b>What would you consider a good example of originality in your fiction? </b><br />
<br />
Most fiction I feel is combined with true facts, and there will be a pinch of my life story in all of my future fantasy books, whether it's a wish or and actual fact. Since I've traveled a bit and experienced how people of different cultures live, I feel I can possibly bring something different to my stories.<br />
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<b>Thank you so much for your time, Juanita. Happy writing! </b><br />
<br />
Thank you for having me. It's been great talking to you.<br />
<br />
<b>To support Juanita, check out this excerpt from her first book, followed by links to purchase her work and explore her websites. </b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVakYdMpRU5LO1NM4Jhc7gwehWO_lqtJmz5I5ON936KAt0ytboIj3dMBI_cC4ka5KehLZtfkenAdw0xUnoHXxnF9FsOWJTu1QFf1JQy2Wqqx1YF5mUPa4bVUHpo4Dw1MFjr0lBujchX4LE/s1600/ItsInThedBlood.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="311" data-original-width="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVakYdMpRU5LO1NM4Jhc7gwehWO_lqtJmz5I5ON936KAt0ytboIj3dMBI_cC4ka5KehLZtfkenAdw0xUnoHXxnF9FsOWJTu1QFf1JQy2Wqqx1YF5mUPa4bVUHpo4Dw1MFjr0lBujchX4LE/s1600/ItsInThedBlood.jpeg" /></a><b>Blurb:</b><br />
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Never stare at a green-eyed, shirtless hunk. Gabrielle Madsen is drawn in by such a pair of eyes that captures her soul and leaves her a prisoner of an addictive kind of love--not that she's complaining. But her educational trip turns out to be more than just a fun-filled summer escapade.<br />
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She’s faced with a life-changing decision that could affect the world around her. Her discovery of this ancient, legend-come-to-life proves to be deadly, but her heart can’t break away. She and Josh Van Ness fall in love and must battle the forces that want to keep them apart.<br />
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<b>Excerpt from <i>It's in the Blood</i>:</b><br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“This is the Kikuyu tribe,” Josh explained. “They live isolated from the outside world and they’ve hunted successfully in this area. They have practically no contact with the world beyond this jungle.”<br />
“How did you find them?”<br />
“They found me,” he said. I wasn’t quite ready for an explanation, so I decided to save all my questions until after the adventure.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“We made it just in time,” Chris shouted. She took my hand from Josh and led me over to a group of women who were carrying bowls made of mud. They smiled as they reached for my hands.<br />
“Don’t be afraid, they only want to paint us.”<br />
I looked around for the guys and they had a head start—already being slathered in red and green. They had removed their shirts and were wrapping themselves with garments made of hides. Josh had a tattoo of a tiger over his heart. I tried not to stare at it when I gave him my dad’s shirt. Chris handed me a straw skirt, and the ladies proceeded to cover us with mashed berries. It turned our faces and arms a pretty shade of purple.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“How will we get this off?” Chris didn’t answer. She simply laughed and removed her blouse—exposing her breasts.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Oh, no! I’ll do the paint thing but that’s as far as I’m going.”<br />
“Suit yourself.” She shrugged. “Maybe next time.”<br />
“Maybe not.” We were nearly unrecognizable when they finished our makeover and so were Josh and Mike.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>After our severe camouflaging, the natives formed a circle around a pile of smoldering branches. Drum beats echoed, splitting the air. The women began a sensual dance, swaying their heads back and forth with their hands placed on their sides. They lowered themselves into a squatting position, singing and moving their midsections in synchronized rhythm. Though it was all foreign language to me, their song was soothing to my ears. Their nimble bodies made contact with their partners while never breaking the rhythm of the drum beats. The men cradled the women as they succumbed hypnotically to their harmonious chants.<br />
Without warning, Josh joined the circle and danced with them. His movements were perfectly in sync with theirs. His skin glimmered with perspiration, and his pierced navel ring circled with an embarrassing invitation. I glanced away. He then ran over and grabbed my hand, pulling me back to the circle of entranced dancers.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“No!” I shouted above the drum beats. Mike and Chris were right behind me, prancing and following Josh.<br />
“Come on Gabby, have fun. We come here all the time,” she said. “Josh sometimes spends the night here.”<br />
Josh was then holding me close—my stomach smashed into his—a little closer than I had planned to be. With his face just inches from mine, he held his mouth open, inhaling deeply and sucking the breath right out of me.<br />
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>“Do you?”<br />
“Do I what?” he asked. He bit down on his bottom lip.<br />
“Spend the night here sometimes.”<br />
“I have, a few times—when I needed to get away from things.”<br />
“You’re not afraid at all, are you?”<br />
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<b>Find out more about Juanita at:</b><br />
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<a href="https://twitter.com/JuanitaAydlette">https://twitter.com/JuanitaAydlette</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/juanita.aydlette">https://www.facebook.com/juanita.aydlette</a><br />
<a href="http://thesouloffiction.com/">http://thesouloffiction.com/</a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/Class-Act-Books-279355422086332/?fref=ts">https://www.facebook.com/Class-Act-Books-279355422086332/?fref=ts</a><br />
Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/JuanitaAydlette" target="_blank">@Juanita Aydlette</a><br />
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<b>Buy Links: </b><br />
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Publisher’s website: <a href="http://www.classactbooks.com/component/virtuemart/cat-fantasy/it-s-in-the-blood-716-detail?Itemid=0">http://www.classactbooks.com/component/virtuemart/cat-fantasy/it-s-in-the-blood-716-detail?Itemid=0</a><br />
Amazon: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Its-Blood-Juanita-Aydlette-ebook/dp/B01KEC287G/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1471477043&sr=8-3&keywords=It%27s+in+the+Blood">https://www.amazon.com/Its-Blood-Juanita-Aydlette-ebook/dp/B01KEC287G/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1471477043&sr=8-3&keywords=It%27s+in+the+Blood</a><br />
Smashwords: <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/658257">https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/658257</a><br />
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<br />Jeremyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01235943449298948837noreply@blogger.com0