Beginning Again.....

 It's been another long while. Almost feels like starting all over again. I was actually shocked to see the date of the last post that I finished and posted. Way too long....

For anyone who's been wondering - I am still here, and am still writing. Though I have only a handful of people waiting on the third installment of the Society in the Shadow of Civilization, I'm really not trying to pull a GRRM on you. OSAS is coming, just not before winter. I'm aiming for before this time next year. If life would only cooperate.

So much has happened, I could write a novel about it, though I don't think it would be very interesting. Mostly, it's been dealing with loss, and strangely enough for a writer, losing people leaves me at a loss for words. 

Slowly, painfully, the words are returning, and I am putting them down again. I have nothing new for you just yet, but, I'm working on it. In the meantime, I'm going to get back to writing here more often again, and will continue sharing chapters of Quest as I continue rewriting it.

Wait a minute, there is something sort of new - The Shadow Watcher and A Shadow in Doubt are now available as audiobooks through Amazon and Audible. I'm working on the paperbacks as well.

For now, that is all I have. I hope all is well with you Dear Reader, and wish you a beautiful day, night or some time in the between....

Roari

Where April Went...

April was a busy month for me again, mostly in all areas of life other than writing. Though, I'm making some progress there, too....

Midnight Rambling: Inspiration. Motivation. Purpose.

When I start writing a story, I don't think at all about themes. Characters and crazy plots, sure. But, themes? Those work their way into the story along the way. 

There are probably more underlying themes in my Society in the Shadow of Civilization series than even I realize. Some are more subtle than others. Maybe too subtle.

On the surface, it's a roller coaster of emotions following a woman who finds out nothing about her life is what she thought it was, and her journey to finding her place in both the real world, and another time. It's also a tale of time-crossed lovers. But, there's more to it than that.... 

Pondering the Life Eternal

(This post is part of the A Shadow in Doubt, ten years later, read along...)

On to day three, and Chapter Four of A Shadow in Doubt....

I posted today's chapter a little while back. (Click here to read it if you haven't yet!) It was an interesting day for Sam, full of pondering.

Happy Groundhog Day! (Thank you, Phil. We'll take an early Spring, happily....)

It's been quiet in my little corner of the webiverse lately. Okay, more like silent. Except for the choir of crickets singing. Do you hear them? Oh, and the wind from this last storm system howling like a rabid pack of wolves for the last three days - that was exciting.

Snow blew in with the pack for about forty-five minutes Sunday. It wasn't cold enough to stick, but just enough to run around in and have fun with the kids. It also brought a mountain of tumbleweeds to our backyard, which was not as much fun. (Picture this multiplied by ten.)

Society (in the Shadow of Civilization) Talk

I've been on a break from the Society since A Shadow in Doubt. Mostly. The timelines, the hopping, the Fore Shadows, and the events unfolding were making my head spin. I have scenes, little bits and pieces, scattered about all over six hundred and seventy some-odd years now. Sometimes the best way for me to stitch the pieces together is to step away and come back later, with a fresh perspective.

So, I wrote something else for NaNoWriMo again this year, then let my brain turn into jelly for most of December. Now, it's eight days into January. Time to get it back together!

Wrapping up 2015 with a Few of My Favorite Things

One the many things my best friend (henceforth to be known as M) and I share is an unhealthy attachment to cats. M's cat, Michonne, had kittens in November, so she had the opportunity for these adorable Christmas kitty pics! (We might have to use them for Christmas cards next year!)

On this day, in 1911....

On December 8th, 1911, my mother's mother was born. She was a beautiful, loving woman, a protestant pastor's daughter, who married a protestant pastor and raised two incredible daughters. She also played hockey, went to business school, and had a keen fashion sense, which occasionally caused

Yes, sometimes it does.

"When it rains it pours."

This Morton Salt Girl mug once belonged to my father's mother. I didn't really know her, but I do remember the visit to Chicago when she gave me this mug and its sister, an old locket with my brother's baby pictures in it and a tiny little metal box, which I keep the locket in.

On days, like today, when it seems nothing is going right, I'll drink my green tea from one of the mugs, and remember I'm only here because she persevered through much more difficult times. I'm eternally thankful she did. She raised her four children and two foster children during/post WWII, and could only buy as much salt or sugar as her ration books would allow. Dad also mentioned something about a Victory Garden once.... Anyway, it helps me keep things in perspective.

When it rains, it may pour, but I will always try to find a rainbow after the storm.

I hope you're having a beautiful day, night, or sometime in the between....
~Roari

Heavy Hearts in San Bernardino

Posted by ABC7 on Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Dozens of families are going through what no one ever should have to, again. Hundreds of others are dealing with the emotional scars of what they witnessed yesterday, possibly for the rest of their lives. My heart goes out to everyone affected by the horrific events in San Bernardino

Character Spotlight: Adjatay - Keeper of the Tree

(Spoilers, maybe? Be warned....)

Sam first meets Adjatay in The Shadow Watcher, and visits him again in A Shadow in Doubt. Though Adja's appearances are brief, he is a key figure as the keeper of the Flamella tree.

According to www.babynamespedia.com, the name Adjatay is of Cameroon/African origin, meaning prince". It was meant to be; in my head, Michael called him Adja, before I even started looking for names. 

Adja was taken in by the Society in the Shadow of Civilization in the mid-eighteenth century, and in recognizing the purity of his soul, he became a sort of spiritual center for Samuel, and later Sam. It takes a special kind of person to live alone in the jungle for more than a century, without going bananas.

Staring at the Stars

Orion Nebula

Today was my father's birthday, he would have turned seventy-eight. It's been over fourteen years, but, I still miss him every day. Tonight I spent some time watching the clouds dance around the stars.

Between summer camping trips and many weekends at one spot or another along Colorado River, we spent countless hours staring up at the sky. He taught us how to read a star map, and used the big, extra-bright flashlight to point out the constellations. I've always been fond of Orion, probably because it's one of the few that shines through the light pollution back home.

Just wanted to let you know I was thinking about you today, Dad. Love you always.


Photo courtesy of user WikiImages at Pixabay.com 

A Midnight Rambling: Getting Nostalgic in Novica

LOML and I had an impromtu date night Friday, and wound up in Downtown Novica, of all places. My hometown, the place I love more than any other on Earth - I drive by at least once every couple of months, but almost never pass through downtown anymore. If you're from Novica, you know you don't drive the "main drag" through Downtown - you go around, unless you have all day. But, we had time to kill,

Where do I get my #Revenge, now that it's over?

I'm ready to start making Xs. No, it's not red. I do my best work in pink ;)

I'd rather get some action in the first chapter...

That's not what I meant! But, now that I have your attention....

Almost Midnight Ramblings....

It's well past midnight in Chicago, and the Blackhawks are in second overtime. It's not quite eleven here, but it feels later, so it's a midnight rambling! And, as I really don't know what I'm rambling about, this could be fun....

Spring Ballet Season - Beauty and the Beast

It is time to start getting excited! "Beauty and the Beast" will be coming to 4 beautiful theaters near you, April...
Posted by Inland Pacific Ballet on Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Random Ramble - the hummingbirds are back!

While I was procrastinating turning on the computer yesterday, I did some watering in the front yard and this hummingbird came to visit. She flew right up in my face, hovered there a second, and darted around the stream from the hose. Then, she landed near the spigot, and proceeded to take a shower.

I posted about hummingbirds last spring, and how I should apply some lessons learned from their daily routine in my garden to my own writing routine. I'm still working on the routine part ... it's getting a little better ... ? Not here, though. I've been neglecting the blog. So, I post a random glimpse of my random routine....

I'm easily distracted, especially by animals - cats, dogs, birds, horses, ducks, rabbits, wallabies. Iguanas, and lizards, too, though I'm not a big fan of snakes. (It's a problem. I may need a support group.) You can imagine my delight when this little bird decided to hang out. Here's a video....  

 
And another....

In conclusion, this post has nothing to do with writing. It's just about this hummingbird, and its cuteness. Because, yes, sometimes cuteness is important!

I hope you're having a beautiful day!
Roari

More Midnight Ramblings

It's actually almost one a.m. here in California, as I start this post, and my mind is wandering away from me again....

Fifteen years ago, somewhere around this time, I would be coming home - either from work or LOML's apartment - and sit up until four or five writing my first (as of yet unpublished) novel/series. It's technically high fantasy, I suppose, and I'm torn between the YA version it currently is, or the Adult version I envision it to be. Now, I really can't focus on much at this hour - but I'm still awake, so I'll blog.

One of my goals for 2015 is to get back to Isiterra. I shared The Tale of the Orbs here several months ago. It was written as part of the back story for what became what I call my Middle Earth. It's actually another planet, in another galaxy far, far away ... (Just kidding ... sort of.) The picture below reminds me of a bad place there....

The orbs, or moons, are the gods of this world - believed to have created life on the shell of another of their kind. No space travel involved, and the inhabitants closely resemble those of Earth, with some slight variations. The different races of "man" are Keepers (human), Siyens (have various powers) and Underdwellers (adapted to live underground but not dwarves, rarely surface, some may have powers resembling a Siyen.) Animals (or crennas) are for the most part the same, but there are some additions, such as the dreaded Kraorack. The "common tongue" spoken by all is English, but there are separate languages I've been creating along the way for each, and dialogue throughout is sprinkled with them. Several words, such as "crenna" are used even in common tongue, because that's what they're called in that world.

The characters live and breathe in my head just as they did then - maybe more so now because I know so much more about them. The map of the world is clearly drawn out in my head - but I've never been able to get it on paper. I'm out of practice with the languages, which I blame in part on the kids for looking at Mommy funny when they walk in on her speaking in Siyen or Northern Underdwellish.  But really, I have to blame Sam and The Shadow Watcher for talking in my ear. Their story didn't require my invention of religions and languages, etc., they're here on Earth.

I did start practicing some Siyen a few weeks ago;"Onae mara ceren senen" - I can save them. I haven't touched the original draft in years - I don't even know what the title is anymore. But, when I last visited it, I decided the beginning needed more character/world building chapters. (Oh, but they're fun, they involve an annual hunting competition, and the heroine nearly gets killed before the real story even begins!) I started them, but still need two more. I think my first NaNoWriMo attempt was the second book, but that is still completely unedited. (I'm actually scared to look at it.) Somewhere, there are outlines for the third and fouth books on paper, but they're in my head too. The most vivid scenes to come to me I've written and tagged for which book and where they belong. They just feel far away right now...

But, A Shadow in Doubt is first. I will have updated release information in the coming weeks. And with that, I'm going to turn in....

I hope you're having a beautiful day, or night, wherever you may be!

Until next time,
Roari

March Updates: Sorting Laundry

I'm pausing from my marathon of fluff and fold this evening to post, since I haven't in awhile. I start posts, and then get distracted, and wind up deleting them because they no longer feel relevant. I guess I just haven't had much to say.

Silence is golden, except when you're trying to get your book out to readers. I know this is important, especially for indies ... so I'm now on Twitter too (@roaribenjamin). It's still very new, so bear with me....



But really, what I need to sort out is the status of A Shadow in Doubt - the sequel to The Shadow Watcher. I was originally planning to release it last Fall. Then, this Winter. Now, I'm hoping for Spring?

A Shadow in Doubt by Roari Benjamin

The original draft was my NaNo 2013 novel, which I wrote before The Shadow Watcher was published. In the process, I realized changes were necessary to book one, which I made. Once The Shadow Watcher was out there, I had to figure out how to get the word out. Side note - nothing will sell nothing, even if it's the greatest nothing in the world. Listen to what everyone else has been saying, and learn from my mistakes: start marketing before you publish, even more so if you're self-publishing. Don't wait to get on social media. I spent so long living in my own little world, I forgot to let the real one know it was there. I'm still playing catch-up.

But, back to ASID.... After getting The Shadow Watcher out there, and fixing some problems, and tweaking the cover, I got back to ASID, and then went back and fixed more problems, and tweaked the cover(s) more. I planned on writing a novella of Jay's time waiting for Sam and Michael to return to release before ASID, and then got side-tracked on the Fore Shadows stories. (Yes, that's plural, too. Escape 2169 is the first. There are drafts of two more, and tidbits of others. Another one pops into my head at least once a week.)

Along the way, there was trying to market The Shadow Watcher, another Nano, and the holidays. When I finally got to reading through it again, I found ASID needed to go another direction. As much as I was set on the original plan, the new one has to happen, and the reason why won't be obvious until much later - another book or in the Fore Shadows, don't know yet. I need to get a dedicated block of time, preferably at the start of the day - even one hour a - etched out here, soon. Who needs clean laundry anyway? (kidding....)

I hope you're having a beautiful night, or day! (I hear the dryer calling me....)

Roari