Exploring Character and Place in A Seared Sky #12

Okkyntalah:

This is the 12^th in a series on characters and places featured in Joinings: A Seared Sky. This background information isn’t covered in the book but will enhance the reading experience. For some of my people there are character drawings, supplied by Alice Taylor or myself, maybe a video interview, and accompanying script. I’ll do short pieces of fiction, deepening knowledge of certain minor characters as well.

For the places, I use sections of the map to indicate location or a sketch to illustrate the place, along with a description of the place, as I see it, and, where appropriate, links with characters. Sometimes, I indicate the way of life there with a short anecdote or story.

I don’t reveal any of the main story, either as already published or as written in the series, simply enhance readers’ enjoyment of the trilogy by providing more information. I hope this gives pleasure to those who’ve bought the book and, perhaps, persuades others to take that step.

Pronunciation hints:

Okkyntalah – ock-in-tar-lah

Tumalind – tum-a-lind

Names are pronounced phonetically. But this is my take on them; how I hear them in my head. You may pronounce them as you wish, of course; reading is, after all, active rather than passive.

An interview between the author and Okkyntalah, one of 3 male heroes in the tale:

A young man who grows through the story, but starts off as innocent and naïve, though intelligent, Okkyntalah is a buck looking forward to joining with his beloved Tumalind. A hunter by trade, and definitely an outdoorsman, he is well built, handsome, confident and brave.

SA:         Good day to you, Okkyntalah. I’m going to ask you a few questions.

Okkyntalah:       Ask away.

SA:         You’re a good-looking young man. Do you have any trouble with women?

Okkyntalah:       Thanks, but I don’t know what you mean. I’m a virgin buck. Waiting for the joining ceremony so I can become one with my betrothed, Tumalind.

SA:         Yes. But, in the meantime…well, a young man has certain needs?

Okkyntalah:       Oh, that sort of thing. I’m a Follower. You know what happens if we break the rules. I’m not risking violent punishment for a bit of fun. Anyway, I love Tumalind and she knows how to deal with those urges.

SA:         Tumalind’s very beautiful and much admired on the island. How did a young hunter like you manage to catch her?

Okkyntalah:       We’ve known each other all our lives. Fell in love cycles ago. Tumalind loves me; I didn’t have to ‘catch’ her. We have fun together. Want to be together, want to raise a family. What else is there, after all?

SA:         If I told you there are plans for you that involve adventure?

Okkyntalah:       Adventure? Sounds interesting, and fun. No one’s going to get hurt are they?

SA:         As to that, I’m not able to tell you. But you may be placed at risk.

Okkyntalah:       Risk? I hunt every day. If you’d ever hunted a terzet horn on your own with a spear and arrows, you’d know what risk means.

SA:         How about travel to other lands?

Okkyntalah:       As long as I have Tumalind, I’ll go wherever I’m needed. Just don’t let her be in danger. I won’t stand for that.

SA:         Sometimes a character must do things he doesn’t like, you know.

Okkyntalah:       What are you not telling me? I won’t have my Tumalind put at risk. I won’t! I’m having none of your adventures if she’s in any danger. Understand?

SA:         Well, Okkyntalah, it’s been interesting talking to you. We’ll just have to see what happens, won’t we?

Okkyntalah:       Hey! You can’t just go and leave me like that! I want to know….

SA:         Fun being the director, making your creations jump through the hoops. Not sure Okkyntalah would agree, though.

I wonder if it’s that sense of power over others that makes most leaders into absolute bastards?

Buying links for Joinings; A Seared Sky - 

Paperback, from Fantastic Books Publishing Store

Ebook or paperback from your local Amazon store.

Paperback, post free anywhere in the world, from Book Depository

Ebook via Ask David

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Exploring Character and Place in A Seared Sky #11

Pampahn:

This is the 11^th in a series of pieces on characters and places featured in Joinings: A Seared Sky. This background information, isn’t covered in the book, but should enhance the reading experience. For some of my people, there’ll be a character drawing, supplied by Alice Taylor, maybe a video interview, and accompanying script. I may do short pieces of fiction, deepening knowledge of certain minor characters as well.

For the places, I may use sections of the map, to indicate location, along with a description of the place, as I see it, and, where appropriate, links with characters. Perhaps I’ll indicate the way of life there with a short anecdote or story.

I won’t reveal any of the main story, either as already published or as written in the series, merely enhance readers’ enjoyment of the trilogy by providing more information. I hope this will give pleasure to those who’ve bought the book and, perhaps, persuade others to take that step.

Pronunciation hints:

Pampahn – pam-parn.

Muhnilahm – murn-ill-arm.

Aklon-Dji – ak-lon-djy (think of the Dj sound in the name of tennis player, Djokovic.

Phildrad – fill-drad.

Lasdilyss – lass-dill-iss.

Kaz-Ca-Porlesah – kazz-ka-por-laze-ar.

Names are pronounced phonetically. But this is my take on them; how I hear them in my head. You may pronounce them as you wish, of course; reading is, after all, active rather than passive.

Pampahn, a little isolated and a bit backward, is one of the Followers’ settlements on the island of Muhnilahm. It’s home to Phildrad, Lasdilyss and Kaz-Ca-Porlesah, amongst others in the trilogy. Lying toward the south of the island, it’s bordered by a shallow lake to the west, extensive marshland to the north and mountains to the south. Due east, some leagues distant, lies the Southern Ocean. The nearest settlement to the infamous Point, it’s home to a Village Priestess with a soft spot for the island’s most wanted criminal, the Renegade, Aklon-Dji. Kaz-Ca-Porlesah risks a great deal to befriend this handsome folk hero, but he’s even more at risk in this dangerous relationship.

Phildrad fishes from a coracle on the lake and has developed some pretty unusual recipes to make the food as tasty as he can. In fact, he has a reputation as something of a wonder as far as food preparation is concerned, though he is otherwise considered a rather dull chap. His wife, Lasdilyss, is a pretty woman who devotes far too much of her time to Phildrad’s ungrateful bedridden parents. She is also a sometime lover of Aklon-Dji and a member of his Few.

The houses, in common with most on the island, are built with wooden frames filled in with mud baked and hardened by the sun. They’re painted with oil-based pigments of various colours (mostly natural browns, ochres, and dull yellows), which help keep the rain off. Thatched with reed or with long leaves from the many trees, they generally consist of sleeping areas for the adult couple, separate quarters for any children, and a living area that serves as kitchen, dining and relaxing area. This is a tropical environment, so the windows are open but often shaded by woven blinds. Internal walls are made of woven pliant branches, so light and movement tends to seep through from one room to another. 

External doors tend to be made of rough wooden planks hinged and fastened with metal parts. Internal doors are wicker, like the internal walls. Floors are bare earth, trodden flat and hard by occupation.

Furniture is basic, wooden framed and undecorated in the main. Beds consist of fabric (usually linen) bags filled with down, dry moss, straw or any combination of these, often confined in a wooden frame on the floor. A blanket or covering is rarely actually needed but these are usually made from woven cotton of the spun yarn made from the fleece of a sheep-like wild goat that roams the island.

Household utensils include such items as canvas buckets, cups made from horn and earthenware crockery made by specialist potters. Eating implements are metal, again forged by specialist smiths. Tallow candles and vegetable oil lamps provide illumination after dark.

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Exploring Character and Place in A Seared Sky #7

Dilanthas

This is the 7^th in a series of pieces on characters and places featured in Joinings: A Seared Sky. This background information, isn’t covered in the book, but should enhance the reading experience. For some of my people, there’ll be a character drawing, supplied by Alice Taylor, maybe a video interview, and accompanying script. I may do short pieces of fiction, deepening knowledge of certain minor characters as well.

For the places, I may use sections of the map, to indicate location, along with a description of the place, as I see it, and, where appropriate, links with characters. Perhaps I’ll indicate the way of life there with a short anecdote or story. I won’t reveal any of the main story, either as already published or as written in the series, merely enhance readers’ enjoyment of the trilogy by providing more information. I hope this will give pleasure to those who’ve bought the book and, perhaps, persuade others to take that step.

Pronunciation hints:

Dilanthas – di-lan-thass

Krohtl – krow-tul

Muhnilahm – mew-nee-larm

Ytraa – eet-rah

Names are pronounced phonetically. But this is my take on them; how I hear them in my head. You may pronounce them as you wish, of course; reading is, after all, active rather than passive.

Dilanthas, from Krohtl, Muhnilahm, is a shy girl Chosen to go on the pilgrimage as a Virgin Gift. Here is a short piece about her initiation into womanhood.

All her life, Dilanthas had lived under Ytraa’s Peak, rising tall and dark to the southwest of her home. Her father urged the whole family to make their prayers at the back of the house, so they could see the craggy mountain before and after their acts of worship.

Tomorrow, she must make the journey up to the Plain of Ytraa, surrounding the high peak, and spend a whole sixday with other girls her age. Under strict instruction by the Holy Ones, she’d learn discipline and devotion, earning hard smacks for every failure to do exactly as they demanded.

It wasn’t the prospect of punishment she most feared, though she was certain she wouldn’t pass the sixday without pain and humiliation; it was the way she must leave the town. To walk the entire length of the main road and allow all to see the butterfly tattoo adorning her left breast and, worse, the hummingbird pointing its long sharp beak at the very centre of her womanhood. These were things only her betrothed and Ytraa should see and this exposure was what she most dreaded. After all, naked was sacred.

‘You’ll no be on yer own, lass.’ Her father’s words were intended to hold comfort.

She wanted to make him proud, make that walk with head held high and her whole body declaring her love of Ytraa. Shyness and modesty warred with her desire to do her best for her family and her beloved, as she made her way to the ceremony that would end her life as a daughter and announce her readiness to join and become a wife.

‘All t’other girls your age ‘ave to do same, Dilanthas. Me an’ your father did it when we was gettin’ ready to marry. Think on your pride as a Follower an’ go to yon Peak like our founder did all those ‘undreds of cycles ago.’ Her mother’s words were encouraging; she seemed happy with her life, and she and Father got on well.

It was true that Dilanthas looked forward to the ceremony that would come a few sixdays later. She and her betrothed would take the same route together, leading their families to the Plain of Ytraa, there to join before Ytraa and become as one.

She’d talked with the other girls, of course. They’d be fourteen in total. One by one they’d leave town and head into the hills. They were supposed to go to the Peak alone, but most intended to wait on the edge of the olive grove above the river and travel together.

Dilanthas would be sixth to leave and she’d vowed to follow the rules and make her way on her own. But she’d have to pass the place where they were due to collect and she wondered if she’d have the courage to leave them behind. There’d be safety in numbers. Should they pass an isolated farm, or come upon travellers, she’d be one of a group rather than a girl alone.

She could see the attraction of their intended disobedience. But would she be bad, or would she do as she’d been told, and make a solitary journey? It was considered part of the test.

For now, evening prayers were over and she’d had her last meal with them. Mother had prepared Father’s freshly caught fish with wine, something they rarely had in the house, and the tangy flavour lingered in her mouth. She’d placed her few needs in the rush bag she’d hang from her shoulders at her back. Now, all she needed was a good night’s sleep to be ready for the morning.

The family would take the short walk to the beach. There she’d remove her tabard and present it to her father as a sign of her independence. She’d step into the sea until her whole body was submerged. Then she’d turn and walk past the townspeople to the initiation on the Plain, following the tradition set by the first Follower, as he set out to explore their new home on this island. If she kept that thought in her mind, she might get through the ordeal with less anxiety. She might even feel the pride and joy her father expected her to show.

And, of course, her betrothed would be there, watching. On her return, he’d make the same trip, with the other bucks of his age, and she’d watch them. That was something to look forward to, after all.

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I’ve Started, So I’ll Finish

Cover via Amazon

Those of you familiar with the original black chair torture that is the TV show ‘Mastermind’ will recognise that famous phrase made catchword by Magnus Magnusson.

I generally complete an editing session by doing a full read through, aloud, from a printed text. I’ve discovered that this reveals things missed when editing silently on screen, so it’s worth the effort.

However, I set myself the job of editing the two final books of the epic fantasy trilogy, A Seared Sky, in this way, without really thinking it through. I should, of course, have done book two immediately after I finished it, but I waited until I’d written book three, so eager was I to get the story written.

Those who’ve read book one, Joinings, will know that it’s a bit of a tome, at 700 pages. Guess what? Books two and three are also quite long! Still, I set myself this vital editing task and, I’ve started, so I’ll finish.

This post is to let you know that book two, a typescript of 599 pages, 46 chapters and a little under 200,000 words, is finally ready for the publisher. It’s taken some time and a lot of water to cool my sore throat, but it’s done.

Did I find much? I estimate I made around 180 corrections, ranging from a misplaced comma to the addition or removal of a complete sentence, and everything in between. So it’s been a worthwhile exercise. After all, I want the book to go out in the best possible form for readers. I want them to enjoy my writing, not come to a jarring halt because I’ve missed some sod (odd) typo or used an inappropriate homophone, like ‘bare’ for ‘bear’ for example.

So: on now with book three. I’d originally hoped to have the whole thing done by the end of May, as I have a sci-fi novel knocking at the back of my brain and eager to roam free, but I have my doubts. Life has a tendency to get in the way, doesn’t it?

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