This week’s podcast is about the launch of my new serial, The Shadow Phoenix Saga, and spent most of the podcast episode talking about the struggle to create content in the current state of things. I discussed how to find what you can contribute to the cause and how to find your place in it.

I can’t wait to talk to you about these topics.

Labyrinth of Souls is one of those stories that you don’t intend to write, and then you realize you are doing it.

While I was working on the back stories for several characters and groups, I just started writing more and more about them and their back stories. At a certain point, I realized, I was really making an outline for a series about them and their history. It had all of the drama and twists and turns I like to put into a story, so I asked, why don’t I just write this real quick?

It hasn’t been easy to set Dragon in the Snow aside while I write this novella, but they will both benefit from the project.

With Labyrinth of Souls, I’m testing out a few new ideas about how to tell the story and especially how I want to get into the characters themselves. The result has thrilled me, and I hope you enjoy it too.

Jodhaa is one of those characters who has wandered around in the back of my head for years. I’ve tried to find her story for all that time. When I started work on Dragon in the Snow, I knew this was the story for her.

So Why write Labyrinth of Souls?

Raih and Jodhaa are such fresh characters for me. They each have qualities I admire, and that scare me a little. Most importantly, I haven’t read anything with characters like them. They are more vulnerable than the typical fantasy character, and have such different personal histories. That makes them even more interesting together.

My biggest concern about writing this story is that I cannot stop comparing Sunsuulyn Academy to Hogwarts, and since I am making those connections, I know other people will too. Magic in Ash Dancer is so different from Harry Potter, as is the history of the world. That makes these two magic schools so different from one another. That comparison falls apart quickly.

The real reason I chose to write Labyrinth of Souls is that I love to write, and I want this world to be so much bigger than just a novel, or series of novels. So many stories are swirling around in my head, and I want to tell them all. That isn’t realistic, but I want to tell as many as I can.

This world is so full of life, I only hope I can do it justice and bring it to life in a way that people will enjoy reading. Welcome to the world inside my head. Let’s have some fun.

You can read Labyrinth of Souls as I write it on Wattpad.

Originally published at www.ashdancer.com.

Ash Dancer is an Epic Fantasy/Wuxia series

Most know what Epic fantasy is. Images of The Lord of the Rings, The Shannara Chronicles, and A Song of Ice and Fire flash before our eyes. But what is Wuxia?

Wuxia is Chinese Martial Fantasy.

While you many not be familiar with books like Fox Volant on Snowy Mountain or Heavenly Blade Dragon Saber, but you may have seen movies like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon; Hero; House of Flying Daggers; The Duel; or The Assassin.

I have always felt uncomfortable using that term to define my fiction since it doesn’t take place in Ancient or Medieval China, or even on Earth for that fact, but I love so many elements this type of fiction from the Sects, to the Fighting Styles, to the types of stories told. My fiction is so heavily inspired by this genre that I feel like I need to say that it is Wuxia even if only in homage.

So what is Ash Dancer?

In eons past, the breaches came. Our world burned. Beings alien to Talamh poured through. Nation rose against nation, people against people. Everything changed. In those dark times, the ancients forged a weapon to defend us all, the Ash Dancer.

Wars turned to occupations, occupations to nations, but the breaches never ended. They ravage the world to this day. Unpredictable, unstoppable, the sky, sea, or land erupts with violent fury. At any time, a breach could destroy us.

Where is the Ash Dancer? The last chosen soul died years ago, and none have risen to take his place. Without the great healer, our world crumbles. The ashes may just consume us all.

Delve deeper into the world at AshDancer.com

Origin of the Story

Labyrinth of Souls is one of those stories that came out of no where. I hadn’t planned on writing anything like this, especially since I am working on a full length novel. As I worked on the back story for some of the characters, I fell in love with their story, and I thought, “That would make an interesting story, but it would take a lot to turn it into a novel.”

That is when I realized that it would make a good novella that I could write quickly. Part of me was concerned about taking a detour in the middle of writing the novel. I would have ended up writing a lot of this material anyway. It is important for me to know so I can understand the characters and their relationship with each other.

I started writing the story as The Faith of the Summoner, but with the first scene a character called said they where entering Labyrinth of Souls, and I changed the name immediately.

So, the story found its voice, and the writing began:

After a life filled with calamity, Raih is sent into a mystic labyrinth to find her path where she is attacked by a strange creature; but when she is injured by the beast, she must learn to tame her inner chaos, before the beast returns to finish them off.

You can read early drafts on Wattpad.

Raih

Raih, The Summoner

Raih is a character that I have been developing for about 3 years. Over that time, I discovered more about her, but her backstory was always foggy. I tried to fit her into several stories, but she never really fit.

All that changed when I started writing Dragon in the Snow. I had a dream about her role in the story and her relationships with several characters. She now had a home.

One of the relationships that mattered most was her relationship with Jodhaa Bhai, which is the heart of the Throne of Embers stories.

Raih is a unsure about her place in the world, but wants to find a way to be more than her past should allow.

Check out her story on Wattpad.

Jodhaa Bhai, the Mystery

Jodhaa is a character that came partially out of history and partially from the wonderful movie Jodhaa Akbar, but who isn’t tied too closely to either.

Jodhaa

Jodhaa is a strong character who knows who she and where she came from. What I love about her most is how she looks several steps ahead before she acts.

Where Raih is the heart of the story, Jodhaa is the soul. She is a mysterious figure. I honestly don’t know what all I can say about her without giving out too much about her story.

Learn more about Jodhaa in the early drafts of Labyrinth of Souls on Wattpad.

25% Written

I am so excited that I am a quarter through the outline for Labyrinth of Souls, and it is turning out to be the type of story I love to write. Even though I know what is going to happen, it is still finding ways to surprise me.

The characters are so alive to me, and the world is filling in.

Part of me wishes I could attend Sunsuulyn Academy. I am not sure what I would find in the Labyrinth, but I feel like my experience would be more like Raih’s than Jodhaa’s.

The early draft is up on Wattpad, and I would love to get your feedback.

Imagining a spirit world

One of the most challenging things about Labyrinth of Souls is imagining what the spirit world should be like. To be honest, it is hard to shake the imagery of Miyazaki’s Spirited Away, and Final Fantasy X’s Guadosalam. These two keep coming to mind as I try to develop the setting further.

Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke are top of my mind, but I don’t what copy someone else’s work. This part of the story is so important to get right.

I have a few ideas, but it I’m not sure exactly how it will look in the text. I am more certain about the tone in the scenes than the imagery. I have to just play around with a couple ideas and see what works.

The Fool dances, his arms swing to and fro to the click clack of the cogs and the whistles of steam. He throws his body around like his legs cannot bare his weight. His limbs, like ribbons on the breeze, flop around without care.

Should he hit his fellows, he laughs.

“’Tis, but the madness,” he says.

A slap to a face. A punch to the chest. “’Tis but the madness, and nothing more”

His legs sweep like a scythe, tripping the wise and the proud. The brave and the coward alike fall at his feet.

“None shall stand, the madness demands, all will falter and fall. ’Tis but the madness, and nothing more.”

From hall to street to hill to stream, the Fool makes his march a mockery of all. He moves like the wind. He hits like a storm. He laughs. He cries. He calls out in rage.

His words are hot as a desert day, yet cold as frost in winter. Fear, laughter, pain, and joy echo from his lips like prisoners escaping their bonds. They frenetically race down the track of his screed, jockeying for a place in the lead. Neck and neck, they thunder down the thoroughfare, giving insult and injury to each the same. None is safe from the jabs and insults. Nothing sacred, nothing saved.

“’Tis, but the madness,” says the Fool, “And nothing more.”

Armies and schools, the wise and the fools all fall down before his hideous gaze. His anger like steel, while with laughter he reels, as he lures the children into the fields.

“Truth is a lie, the lie is truth,” the Fool laughs and sings, “You ask the why, but I mock the proof. ’Tis, but the madness, and nothing more.”

Like a lion’s roar with mock gold mane, the Fool decries all work as vain. Vanity is the all in all. Beware the teeth hidden with his maul. He jests to cover the world in shadow, and blind us all to what is real. Confusion covers the halls of power. Pain is the only thing they feel, when seduced by the liar whose song sounds so sweet.

Beware the Fool, whose eye on self hides the world with his lies. He dances the spiral to raise the hells, but distracts the blind with his tingling bells. The world risks collapse so long as he cries, “‘Tis the madness, and nothing more.”

I am so excited about how this has turned out. So much of this map is hand sculpted and painted. I didn’t expect it to take so long to get to this point, but the world kept revealing little secrets to me from the Ashkelon desert to the great salt seas. I really feel like I understand the world better than I would have if I hadn’t taken the time to make the map.

While none of them are marked on this version of the map, many of the nation states have resolved themselves too.

Building this world is different from others.

Ash Dancer isn’t the first world I have built, but it has been a very unique experience so far. I feel less like I am crafting a setting than I am recording a world. It is a strange experience. I can’t really explain it all too well, but it feels like they want their stories told.

I fell in love with this story when it first jumped into my head, but I have never experienced anything like this in all my years of writing. I have read accounts of other writers who have had this sort of thing happen to them. I never thought it would happen to me, though I have always hoped that it would.

This story is so near and dear to my heart. I can only hope that I can share it in a way that you love too. More draft chapters of the book should be posted soon. Let me know what kind of features and story elements you want me to explain more. Together, we can bring this world to life.

I always wanted to write a story with a character named and inspired by Tiresias from Greek Mythology. When I started writing Dragon in the Snow, Tiresias popped up again.

I’ve never used Tiresias because the name is not an easy one to fit into a story. That is when the character stepped forward and Tiresias became Tyrese, the Blind Mage who sees more than anyone with sight.

Tyrese is a member of the Order of Nabu Saa. I really want him to be a different kind of wizard, and that is going to be a challenge in execution as much as concept. We’ve all read so many different stories about magic users, and I want to try something else with him.

What will that look like? I’m really not sure, and that excites me. I have a few ideas about where I want this to go, but I will say the there are two songs I can’t get out of my head when I think about Tyrese and the Mages of Nabu Saa.

If you haven’t heard Eppic and TeraBrite’s version of Dark Horse, listen to it. Eppic rewrote the rap and made it a more prominent part of the song.

I would love to get your ideas about what you would like to see. Remember, the book is still taking shape.

[caption id=”” align=”alignnone” width=”1563.0"]

Test image to try to inspire more story.[/caption]

Throughout the day, I probed the idea and even made a test cover to see if I could find any inspiration in what I can only call a notion. That is a very generous way for me to describe this wisp of an idea that I had by midnight. But I really wanted to write something, anything.

At about 1 am, I sat down in my office to start writing and the words and images started flowing. The characters and world came alive to me. I can’t remember a story that flowed out of me so easily.

This isn’t the book I was planning on writing. This isn’t even the setting I thought I would be writing in, but the story presented itself so aggressively I had to give it a try.

Fascination is more important to me than than inspiration. I really need to be captivated by an idea for the images to form easily. I can write when I am not in love with a story, but the stories are harder to do, and I find it hard to get into the character’s head. Fascination is a funny beast.

I hope Dragon in the Snow continues to flow this easily, but I know it will have challenges like every story does. The best part is, I don’t know how the book will end, but I have a funny feeling it does.

If you want to read along with the draft, check it out here.

Enter Ronan Keon

Ronan popped into my head and said, "I am a survivor from the lost city of Parthalan.  I was there when it fell.  I tried to save it, to save anything... but in the end, it all fell apart.  I hate what the moon brings."

I perked up immediately.  That is interesting, and I recognized that last phrase.

H. P. Lovecraft wrote a vignette called, What the Moon Brings, on June 5, 1922 that starts with the line, "I hate the moon."  It is a gastly short about unspeakable horrors bleeding into the world through the moon light.  The story is powerful and evocative, but it posed a problem for me.

I already have a dark fantasy setting.

Dragons of Night is my contemporary, dark fantasy setting.  Was Ronan a new character for it?

No.  Images of a man in Alexander McQueen inspired clothes with a sword on his back and a staff in his hands didn't fit well into Dragons of Night.  Then it hit me.

Steampunk Sword & Sorcery Wuxia!

I could write the story as a Sword and Sorcery, a genre I love, and that a lot of you have asked me to work in, while at the same time breaking from several conventions of the genre.

The swordplay and organization in the world will draw on Wuxia and Jedaigeki sources rather than European legends and Romances.  This may not be new for anime or manga, but I am not familiar with much prose fiction like that.  The idea of writing an anime type sword and sorcery is exciting.  I allow myself a lot more freedom than I would have ordinarily to do things differently.

The setting will eschew (I use that word in honor of Mark Twain) medievalism with a world resembling  Steampunk, Westerns, Swashbuckling fiction, and Gaslight fiction.  No squabbling nobles, royals, or the like.  The stories will be about individuals rather than nations at war, and the stakes will be personal.

Characterization will be as important as the Action/Adventure elements.  Many Sword and Sorcery stories miss that part.  I am not saying that I will be perfect with it, but I really want the stories to be character driven.

Now I had it.  A seed for the setting, a character, and some genre rules to build from.  Our Solemn Hour is starting to take shape.

The Final Fantasy Connection

I chose that particular vid for Our Solemn Hour for a reason.  It starts to build the visual tone poem for the world I am wanting to create.

I pitched the world to Brian by saying: Imagine Final Fantasy meets Lovecraft if it were written by Robert E Howard.  That is super high concept, but it helps to bring together a vision until I get the setting bible done.

If I can pull this off, it will honestly be my favorite thing I have ever written.  I hope you all enjoy the process as I blog about it and the stories as they come out.