realwritercarl

Dragon rider epic fantasy novel Sand and Smoke is getting a new cover + The Battle and Burning cover

My self-published, indie fantasy book called Sand and Smoke, is getting a new cover! In addition, the cover for its sequel is going to be revealed here. Both books are part of the Dragon Destiny trilogy, a magical dragon rider epic fantasy adventure.

Right now, only the first book in the Dragon Destiny trilogy is out. Sand and Smoke is on Kindle Unlimited, can be purchased on Amazon Kindle, and is available as a paperback through various websites. It was published in 2019. It’s a YA (young adult) epic fantasy novel; it’s suitable for children as young as 12, and I’ve had adult readers who enjoyed it as well. I like to think of it as a hidden gem, underrated book in the fantasy genre. Through 2020 and now in 2021 it’s a great book to pick up and start reading if you like dragon rider epic fantasy books. In my opinion, it’s one of the best self-published, indie, or epic fantasy books out there, but admittedly I’m kind of biased.

Here’s the new cover:

Sand and Smoke has two storylines that run simultaneously, and everything comes together at the end. The first storyline is centered around Al Hardin, a nomad and vigilante with magic powers that allow him to control the wind. The second storyline follows Maya Samoralt, a dragon rider hopeful who has to compete with 18 other students for six dragon rider spots. The book takes the best of fantasy genre tropes and puts new spins on them. There’s two different kinds of dragons and magic powers that work in mysterious ways. It’s a kindle unlimited fantasy book and indie fantasy book that’s unique in many ways.

I did a lot of work on the world building in this series. The books also feature a deep cast of well rounded characters. A lot of my readers have commented on the characters. Each main character has a backstory, at least one thing that they struggle with, and all of the main characters have their own strengths too.

Since it’s a young adult fantasy adventure book, the main characters are mostly teens.

Here is the summary from Amazon:

Dragons soar, hopeful riders compete, and from across the desert comes news of a devastating weapon.

Al Hardin is a nomad with a secret. He has a second identity, and a second personality to boot. He calls that other side of him the Silver Bandana. He lives to save others from the gangs of cowboys who wouldn’t think twice before putting a bullet in a person’s head.

In his world, dragons are not an uncommon sight. They’re called the Wesech dragons, and another breed, the magical Sun dragons, live far across the desert. The Sun dragons have bonded themselves to riders. They protect, in exchange for influencing the dragon riders, and their people, with peace.

But when a powerful weapon is built in the desert, disparate characters come together.

A hero made by the death of his mother. A bounty hunter with a sharpshooter kid. A retired legend who feels like a failure. A privileged young man who turns on his father.

And a stubborn girl, fighting for a dragon at dragon rider school, to make her legacy a reality.

If they don’t stop the weapon, it’ll annihilate the riders and their kingdom.

“The world Cota-Robles has created is a fascinating and incredible place full of dragons and magic, secrets and danger. The story contains intermissions throughout that follow the perspectives of dragons as they face their own struggles through scenes that provide a key role in how the action unfolds. Sand and Smoke is a delightful fantasy adventure that has action-packed moments, danger and suspense, humor, and two interwoven coming of age journeys.” – Reader’s Favorite, 5-Stars.

Discover more about the world of Sand and Smoke by reading the book, click here then buy it or read it free on Kindle Unlimited.

If you’ve already read Sand and Smoke, you might be most interested to know when the new cover is coming. I don’t have a release date for it right now; it’ll likely drop without advance warning. If you’re interested in it, keep checking Amazon and/or my website periodically. At the latest, it’ll be coming in August, but there’s a good chance that I might drop it sooner, like June or even May.

As I work on getting the new edition of the book ready, I’m also doing work on the sequel. Battle and Burning is hopefully going to be one of the best Kindle Unlimited fantasy books in 2021. It picks up where the first book leaves off, and I won’t say any more about it than that. Check out the awesome cover:

Some clarification on the covers:

The Sand and Smoke cover features Al Hardin. You can see him with his signature silver bandana, and in the background is a Wesech dragon. They’re both in the middle of the desert. Meanwhile, book two’s cover shows off Maya. Cuicao, the dragon that she’s bonded to, is right on top of her head. Maya’s dressed for battle, and you might be able to tell, by the title, that this book is going to have at least one battle.

The Dragon Destiny trilogy has been my big project for the last few months. It’s perhaps the biggest thing I’ve been working on over the last year. I do of course have many other indie fantasy books that I’m working on. I intend to publish them all on Kindle Unlimited, but it takes quite a long time for me to get them revised and edited. Most of the time that I’ve spent over the last year has been devoted to just getting book two of the series out into the world. I have a whole process I go through, and it takes me a good amount of time, even after I’ve finished writing, to get the story ready for publication.

All that said, if you’re looking for a new Kindle Unlimited epic fantasy book, maybe something with dragons, magic powers, and high stakes action, check out Sand and Smoke. You can find it on Amazon here, or you can click on it in the books menu to find it on other websites. It’s also a great book to buy as a present for a teen or tween in your life.

If you’ve already read Sand and Smoke, make sure you join my mailing list! Hit subscribe to stay up to date on the latest stuff I’m working on. You’ll get updates before anyone else, and sometimes you’ll get exclusive content too.

The Five Most Interesting Questions about Shadow and Bone, Siege and Storm, Ruin and Rising, Leigh Bardugo, and the Grisha Trilogy.

Welcome! If you’re curious about this website, this is part of the Most Interesting Questions series on my blog. I answer the most interesting questions I can find or think of about bestselling franchises, and today I’m going to be covering Leigh Bardugo’s Grisha Trilogy, which starts with Shadow and Bone.

The Grisha trilogy is an epic fantasy series of books for young adults. The Grisha Trilogy/Shadow and Bone explores the Grishaverse, which is another world, separate from our own. It’s kind of like middle-earth in Lord of the Rings, but there’s no elves, dwarves, orcs, or hobbits. The magic is a little bit less powerful, though still very powerful. The events of Shadow and Bone take place in a country called Ravka within the Grishaverse.

If you’ve read the books, you might have picked up on the fact that they take inspiration from pre-industrial Russia. There are old stories inspired by Russian folktales, kings and queens, and the language takes a lot of inspiration from Russian too. To me, that’s really interesting. I love fantasy that takes inspiration from real life, and a world inspired by old Russia is such a unique one.

So, whether you’ve read Shadow and Bone or not, if you’re interested in learning more about it, I’m going to explore the five most interesting questions about Shadow and Bone and the Grisha Trilogy.

Before I do, if you’re wondering about who I am, I’m an author from Portland, OR. I write epic fantasy also, and if you like the Grishaverse and are looking for another good read, I’d encourage you to check out Sand and Smoke, the first book in my Dragon Destiny trilogy, by clicking here.

Q #1) When is the Shadow and Bone Netflix show release date?

A: The Shadow and Bone Netflix show comes out on April, 23, 2021. If you’re wondering about who will be in it, it’s headlined by Jessie Mei Li as Alina Starkov and Archie Renaux as Mal. Meanwhile, Ben Barnes is going to be playing the Darkling. One of the main characters from Shadow and Bone, Nikolai Lantsov, actually won’t be in season one. If there’s a season two, it’s possible he’ll show up then. Also, what has been revealed is that the show will encompass both the events in Shadow and Bone and the events in Six of Crows. Six of Crows is a duology set in the same world as Shadow and Bone, but it takes place in a different country, following a band of criminals in the island country of Kerch, where people from all over the globe mix and mingle. The Shadow and Bone Netflix series will have a lot of ground to cover, tackling both series, spanning a total of five books.

Q #2: What is the best order for reading the Shadow and Bone series or the Grisha Trilogy?

A: In my opinion, publication order is always a good order to go in. Here’s the Shadow and Bone, or Grisha Trilogy, series order: it goes, Shadow and Bone (the first published book), then Siege and Storm, then Ruin and Rising. After that, Six of Crows followed by Crooked Kingdom. However, Six of Crows is a whole lot better than Shadow and Bone. If you’re wondering: can you read Six of Crows before Shadow and Bone, the answer is yes. Bardugo was clearly finding her footing as a writer in the Grisha Trilogy, so it might pay to start the series at Six of Crows. In my opinion, though, the best reading order for Shadow and Bone is a matter of preference. I actually read Six of Crows first, and I really enjoyed the experience of reading that series first, and then diving into Shadow and Bone and the Grisha Trilogy. I think I would have found Shadow and Bone less interesting if I had not read Six of Crows first. Regardless, I wouldn’t advise a reading order for the Grishaverse that starts with anything besides either Shadow and Bone or Six of Crows. Those two books are clearly the best starting points to get into the series.

Q #3: What’s the age rating for Shadow and Bone or what ages is it appropriate for?

The Shadow and Bone age rating, and the Siege and Storm age rating, is 12 and up. It’s a young adult book, so middle-schoolers and high-schoolers are most likely to enjoy it. If you’re wondering about the Shadow and Bone Netflix series age rating, the show hasn’t been released yet as of me writing this, but I’d imagine it will probably be suitable for the same ages; I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s rated pg-13. The Ruin and Rising age rating follows along the same lines. The books are pretty clean overall, there is a suicide in book three, that’s the worst thing that comes to mind for me. There is also a lot of romance in these books, so you should be at least okay with that. If you like romance, then this could be a great series. But be aware that the romance isn’t straightforward, there are a ton of twists and it’s messy and not-exactly-love.

Q #4: Can you give a summary of what happens in Shadow and Bone?

A: I won’t give a chapter by chapter summary, but here’s the gist of what happens. Alina Starkov, an ordinary mapmaker in Ravka, learns that she has amazing powers. She’s a Grisha, which is a magic-user. But she’s not just any Grisha, she’s one of the two most powerful Grisha in existence. The other powerful Grisha is called the Darkling. He takes her under his wing, but she quickly learns that he’s not the man he appears to be. I don’t want to say anything else, because it might spoil the book. If this sounds interesting, then check it out!

Q #5: What characters are in Ruin and Rising?

A: The third book of the Grisha Trilogy features all of the characters you’d expect. Alina and Mal are in most of the book. The Darkling is in some of the book, as is Nikolai. Other characters include Zoe, Baghra, and a whole collection of guys and gals that Alina has recruited to be in her inner circle.

Thanks for reading! If you have already read Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows, I invite you to check out my Dragon Destiny trilogy. I think it’ll appeal to fans of Leigh Bardugo, because it’s also epic fantasy, for young adults, and it has mythical creatures (like the stag and the firebird): it has dragons! The first book in my trilogy is called Sand and Smoke. Read more about it by clicking here.

The Seven Most Interesting Questions about Air Awakens, Elise Kova, Vhalla Yarl, Aldrik Solaris, and the Windwalker

You can buy the full box set from Amazon by clicking here.

Air Awakens is an amazing series of magic books. The protagonist of the series is Vhalla Yarl, a Windwalker which means she can control one of the four elements: air. Air Awakens is also a romantic fantasy series, and Vhalla’s love interest is Aldrik. His full name is Aldrik Ci’Dan Solaris. He’s a Firebearer, which means he can control the element of fire. There are also Waterrunners and Groundbreakers.

Air Awakens is an indie fantasy series. For an Air Awakens age rating, I’d say it’s probably a great book for young adults, like teens. Younger kids might be able to enjoy aspects of it, but the last book in particular gets a bit gruesome at times. I also think that some of the things that the series deals with are best appreciated by those who are at least teenagers. I do think that adults could also enjoy the story. Anyone who loves magic books, fantasy books, young adult fantasy, indie fantasy, they’ll love it! The book is not very original with its magic system, but it is very well written.

By the way, if you’re wondering about who I am, I’m an author from Portland, OR. I write fantasy also, and if you liked Elise Kova’s books and are looking for another good read, I’d encourage you to check out Sand and Smoke, the first book in my Dragon Destiny trilogy, by clicking here.

Now, I’ll dive into the most interesting questions.

Q #1) Who are the Air Awakens characters?

The main character is Vhalla Yarl. She’s from the east, where Windwalkers originate from, though at the start of the first book there hasn’t been a Windwalker in over 200 years. Historically they’ve been hunted and exterminated. Vhalla’s going to change that.

By her side is Aldrik Ci’Dan Solaris. He’s the crown prince of the empire, and his father is the king, while his mother was the youngest princess of the west, before the west got conquered by the south and became part of the empire where this all takes place. His mother is also deceased, having passed away right after Aldrik was born.

Air Awakens‘ Laurel is Aldrik’s childhood friend. Like Aldrik, she’s a firebearer. Fritz is a waterrunner, who is close with Laurel and becomes a good friend to Vhalla too.

Air Awakens’ Baldair is the younger brother to Aldrik. They are half brothers, sharing the same father but they have different mothers. Baldair’s mother is not mentioned much in the books, though she is seen briefly in book 4. Baldair does not use magic.

Air Awakens’ Jax is part of Baldair’s golden guard. The golden guard is kinda like an elite group of soldiers whose charge it is to defend Baldair. He also gives them other missions frequently. The golden guard is filled with some really cool folks, in addition to Jax the guard includes Daniel, Erion, Craig, and others. Jax is a firebearer, most of the rest don’t use magic.

There are a lot of other great characters in Air Awakens, too many for me to name!

Q #2) Do Vhalla and Aldrik end up together?

Massive spoilers here. Stop reading if you don’t want to be spoiled.

Yes, they do end up together. It’s not easy, though. There are sacrifices they have to make…I won’t spoil those sacrifices here.

Q #3) Air Awakens series review, or how good are the books?

Okay, so everyone has their own opinion. But honestly, I feel that the first book is the best of the lot. It’s basically a romance, and there’s a love triangle, with magic thrown in. As the series continues on, it gets more into the action bit of things.

Book two is great as well. There is a huge, huge cliffhanger at the end of book two. So be warned. You’ll probably need to pick up book three immediately afterward. And book three is pretty darn good. Vhalla and Aldrik take their relationship to another level in this book. It’s really satisfying, and though there’s five books to the series in total, it does feel like their relationship reaches a climax in this book.

I thought book four was a bit of a mixed bag. The first half of the book is slow. The action isn’t as prevalent as it was in books two and three, and the romance disappears for a while also. Vhalla does learn a lot about her magic, and the way that magic works in her world. This is necessary for the conclusion of the series, so it’s something to be prepared for and you just have to get through it if you want to finish the series.

The latter half of book four picks up in an incredible way. There are a lot of surprising things that happen, I won’t spoil them.

Book five has its moments, but honestly I feel like it’s the weakest of the whole series. It’s definitely a different kind of book, because in the first four books Vhalla and Aldrik are constantly dealing with the struggle to be together, and there’s a tension: will they or won’t they end up together? First they’re exploring their relationship, then they’re fighting to be together. In book five, there’s none of that tension anymore. They’re together. There are other issues that crop up, big issues. But they’re not things that threaten Aldrik and Vhalla’s relationship, so this was a different kind of read for me.

Q #4) Can you list the Air Awakens series in order?

The first book in the series is obviously Air Awakens.

After that, it goes:

2. Fire Falling

3. Earth’s End

4. Water’s Wrath

5. Crystal Crowned

You can get those five books in a box set by clicking here.

That wraps up the Air Awakens series, which follows Vhalla and Aldrik. However, there are also more series that Elise Kova has written, set in the same world. Air Awakens: Vortex Chronicles is about Vhalla and Aldrik’s daughter, Vi Solaris. It goes:

Vortex Visions
Chosen Champion
Failed Future
Sovereign Sacrifice
Crystal Caged

You can get the sequel series in a box set by clicking here.

Finally, there’s the Golden Guard Trilogy. This series is perfect to read after the first five books, the original Air Awakens series, for fans of Baldair’s golden guard. It goes:

The Crown’s Dog
The Prince’s Rogue
The Farmer’s War

You can get the Golden Guard Trilogy by clicking here.

As of writing this, this is all Elise Kova has released in the Air Awakens universe. However, there is also a new series slated for release. The first book is called A Trial of Sorcerors and it’s due to come out March 4, 2021.

So as you can see, there are a lot of books in the Air Awakens universe. If you happen to have read them all already, or if you’re just looking for something new and different to entertain you, I invite you again to discover my Dragon Destiny trilogy. Book one is Sand and Smoke, click here.

A November 2020 Update on Sand and Smoke, the Dragon Destiny trilogy, and Dragons of Marak

Hey there! It’s been a while since I’ve provided an update about the books I’m working on. Right now, I’m working on two series–the Dragon Destiny trilogy, of which Sand and Smoke was the first book in the series, and Dragons of Marak, which is going to run a bit more than three books, I’m not sure how long it will run though. They’re both high epic fantasy, and Sand and Smoke is available on Kindle Unlimited for free and for purchase on many sites. It’s an indie novel.

By the way, in case you’re not familiar with who I am, hi. I’m Carl Cota-Robles, an indie author and self-published author on Amazon. I mostly write indie fantasy, but I also write indie children’s books with a sprinkle of science fiction. Feel free to check out my books here: https://carlcotarobles.com/books

Sand and Smoke is an indie high epic fantasy set in a world where dragon riders and cowboys co-exist. The sequel picks up where it left off, following characters like Al Hardin, Maya Samoralt, Joel Forquid, and Li Lok, and it also includes some new characters. The sequel to Sand and Smoke is going to be called Battle and Burning, and it’ll be released September 14, 2021. As of now, I’ve finished the first draft and am going to start revisions either next week or the week after. You can pre-order it. For a limited time before its release, I’ve made it available to pre-order for just $0.99. It will go up to a higher price eventually, though. Here’s the pre-order link: mybook.to/battleandburning

So, regarding my other series Dragons of Marak, it’s in a bit of disarray right now. The last month or so, I had planned to work on drafting book 3 of the series, but I wasn’t able to because I had a number of health issues come up. If you haven’t had to deal with anything like that in your life, you’re definitely lucky in at least one way. Last time I had to deal with something like this was in 2016, but it was different than what I’m going through right now. Back then, it was just a lot of pain, and I think what I needed most was rest. Right now, it’s involving a lot of doctors appointments that seem to be never ending.

So…anyway…those health issues are what has affected my plans for Dragons of Marak. Books 1 and 2 have both been drafted, and book 1 has gone through one thorough round of revisions and is now in the hand of some beta readers (sent out a few weeks before my health issues popped up). I’m hoping to squeeze in the writing of book 3 in between drafts of Battle and Burning, but I’m not sure if it’ll happen. Either way, Battle and Burning should be released by September 14, 2021. Dragons of Marak may take a bit longer than I expected.

There hasn’t been any kind of release date announced for Dragons of Marak, and I don’t have any plans to announce any release dates anytime soon. The series will go nicely with Sand and Smoke, though, because they are both young adult fantasy with dragons. While Dragons of Marak doesn’t have any dragon riders like Sand and Smoke does, it does have dragons and people who partner with dragons. The twist is that the dragons actually have special powers that allow them to equip to people as various weapons like a sword, an axe, a knife, a bow, etc. And while Sand and Smoke is told from multiple points of view, Dragons of Marak has just one point of view, and I plan to stick to that point of view throughout the series (well, right now that’s the plan anyway). There’s also a bit more romance in Dragons of Marak.

Over the next month or so, I’m probably going to be commissioning some art for the Battle and Burning and the Dragon Destiny trilogy. For a while now I’ve been dying to commission some art that’s an accurate portrayal of what a Sun dragon looks like. I go into quite a bit of detail about it in Sand and Smoke, so it’ll be really cool to get an accurate drawing made! If you want to see that art and see what a Sun dragon looks like for real, I’ll share it with you if you subscribe to my mailing list. You can subscribe at this link: www.rebrand.ly/storiesbycarl or at the link at the top of the page.

A bonus to being subscribed to my mailing list is that I let you know whenever I have marked down my books. I do this sometimes as a promotion to try and get a higher rank on Amazon and/or garner some reviews.

This is pretty much it as far as news goes at this point in time. The main new things to go down have been that the sequel to Sand and Smoke finally has a title now–it will be called Battle and Burning–and it has a release date: September 14, 2021. Like Sand and Smoke, it’ll be available on Kindle Unlimited for free and on the same retailers. I’m really excited about the artwork too! Can’t wait to get that process started and to see what a Sun dragon looks like.

As a writer, I constantly have ideas popping up in my head for new books, so there’s definitely been a part of me that is itching to start some other ideas. Most of these are dragon related…ha. Though, Sand and Smoke and Dragons of Marak may be it for series that involve dragons partnering with humans. The other couple of ideas I have floating around in my head involve dragons that are also part human. So it’s a different take on the whole thing, less stereotypical, and I also have some ideas about how to combine dragon-human hybrids with other mainstream genres.

Anyway, I can’t wait to dive into revisions for Battle and Burning! The draft I wrote needs some revising pretty badly, so I’ll probably be at it for a couple months before I send it to beta readers. In my opinion, revising is one of the hardest parts of writing, but I’ve learned some tricks to do it well.

PS: Here’s that link to subscribe to my mailing list again: http://www.rebrand.ly/storiesbycarl

The Six Most Interesting Questions about Djinn Tamer Bronze League, Derek Alan Siddoway, A.J. Cerna, and the Djinncyclopedia

Ultimately, I’d say, this would be a great book for those who get psyched when they think about reading a book about Pokemon.

Welcome! This post is part of my Most Interesting Questions series, which means I’ll be answering the most interesting questions I can find or think of on the Djinn Tamer series.

The Djinn Tamer series is an indie gem, written by Derek Alan Siddoway and A.J. Cerna. Djinn Tamer is exciting, action-packed, and it’s an indie fantasy and litrpg book series on Amazon. As the description on Amazon goes, it’s great for fans of Pokemon, Digimon, and Monster Rancher. It’s written by Derek Alan Siddoway and A.J. Cerna, Derek is the author behind the Teutevar Saga and the Gryphon Riders Trilogy which includes Windsworn, Windswept, and Windbreak. Both Derek and A.J. also recently released a new book called God Mode. It’s also a litrpg book. As for Djinn Tamer, the series includes three books called Djinn Tamer Starter, Djinn Tamer Rivals, and Djinn Tamer Evolution. All books are in the Djinn Tamer Bronze League trilogy, and coming up next is apparently going to be the Djinn Tamer Silver League.

By the way, if you’re wondering about who I am, I’m an author from Portland, OR. I write epic fantasy and children’s science fiction. Feel free to check out my books using the menu bar above!

Q #1) What is a Djinn Tamer? What is this book about?

A: A Djinn Tamer is basically a Pokemon trainer. Likewise, a Djinn is basically a Pokemon. In these books, Derek and A.J. have used their amazing imagination to craft a whole new set of Pokemon. The Djinn are really unique, really cool, and easy to love. The main character’s Djinn is basically like a dog or wolf that’s fiery red. Others are like jaguars or bird-like. Unlike in the video games and the cartoon, though, things are simplified a bit. There are only five types: Water, Fire, Wind, Earth, and Plain. Djinn also have stats similar to Pokemon…they don’t play a very big role in the narrative though. Since this is a litrpg book, the authors do list the stats out from time to time, so readers can track this.

Q #2) What is a djinncyclopedia, djinn encyclopedia, or djinn tamer encyclopedia?

A: The Djinncyclopedia is basically the equivalent of a Pokedex. In this series, the main character, Jackson Hunt, gets one straight away (or maybe he has one to start things off, I can’t quite remember). The Djinncyclopedia shows Djinn Tamers information about wild Djinn, their own Djinn, and other tamers’ Djinn. It lets them see stuff like their stats, a description, and the names of the various Djinn they encounter. When it comes to other tamers, though, the encyclopedia does hide some information about their Djinn, so that in the middle of a fight it can’t be used to give one tamer an edge over the other. By the way, Derek and A.J. have an online Djinncyclopedia that can be viewed by anyone who signs up for their mailing list. Here is the link: http://djinntamer.com/newsletter/

Q # 3) When is the Djinn Tamer book 4 release date?

A: As far as I know, there’s no news right now on a Djinn Tamer book 4 release date. One might assume that news of it will be emailed to those signed up for their mailing list. Of course, book 4 will be part of the Djinn Tamer Silver League, given that Bronze League is finished. In the meantime, interested readers will have to check out other books while they wait for Djinn Tamer book 4’s release date. I am an author myself who writes in the same genre and who writes books that are similar in feel to Djinn Tamer. I’d like to shamelessly plug my book Sand and Smoke and my upcoming series Dragons of Marak to anyone who’s looking for a new, exciting read! They aren’t litrpg but they are fantasy with action scenes. Check out Sand and Smoke here: https://rebrand.ly/sandandsmoke.

Q #4) Is there a Djinn Tamer wiki out there?

A: I really think there should be a Djinn Tamer wiki. It’s definitely a series that deserves it. It would be great to have a place to look up information quickly about the different Djinns, and see what they look like. Sadly, I haven’t been able to find a wiki page online for it. Perhaps one will appear in the future. In the meantime, the Djinncyclopedia is probably the closest thing to it, that’s my guess.

Q #5) Is Djinn Tamer a ripoff of Pokemon?

A: This question actually comes from the Amazon reviews. There’s a lot of reviews on Amazon that state this series is a rip-off of Pokemon. It’s easy to see why, after having read the books. The story is super similar, down to a main character who mirrors Ash Ketchum in many ways and a world that resembles Pokemon in almost all aspects; there’s just different names for things. This, I believe, is mostly by design from the authors. It’s definitely not a book for anyone who wants to read something unique, that hasn’t been thought of before! There are books out there like that, books that take something familiar, and put a new spin on it. I usually try to do that with my books. Djinn Tamer instead is for anyone who loves Pokemon and wants to read Pokemon. It excels in bringing that old-timey Pokemon (weird that I’m calling Pokemon old-timey) feel to literature. It doesn’t necessarily bring something new to the table, rather, it delivers something that many people around the world remember fondly to them in a new format, as a book.

Q #6): Who is the main character?

A: Jackson Hunt is the main character. He’s a Djinn Tamer from a small town, just like Ash Ketchum! In fact, Jackson Hunt is a spitting image of Ash Ketchum in many ways. He’s definitely not for everyone. He’s got a lot of teen angst, but on the other hand he does seem to have a good heart. He wants, more than anything, to be a Djinn Tamer in the pro leagues. Ultimately, I’d say, this would be a great book for those who get psyched when they think about reading a book about Pokemon, but for others there are probably better options out there. Overall, it does serve a niche, quite nicely I think, because there aren’t many books out there that evoke that old-timey Pokemon feel like Djinn Tamer does.

Thanks for reading! Now I invite you to check out more MIQ posts below, or my book Sand and Smoke, which is also fantasy, with lots of action and lovable characters. It has dragons, a ragtag criminal crew, and a devastating weapon that must be stopped.

My Writing Process + Sand and Smoke Sequel is Drafted!

Welcome! This is an update on my author blog. If you find yourself here, unsure who I am, let me introduce myself. My name is Carl and I’m an author from Portland, OR. I write epic fantasy and children’s science fiction.

Good news! Today I hit the end on the first draft of the sequel to Sand and Smoke! There are still a number of things to clean up and revise, but if all goes well, I’m really hoping to publish it sometime in August next year. I’ll probably begin accepting pre-orders and reveal the title sometime before the end of this year (2020) by the way.

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So I think there is a trend of writers, authors, traditionally published or indie or self-published, sharing their writing process with others? I thought I would hop on that trend! So here’s some info about how I write.

First thing, every project is different.

My writing project changes a lot. It might seem weird then that I am sharing my writing process. But even though how I write changes with every project, I do still have a process. I have a few steps I go through every time I write something new.

At the most fundamental level, my writing process can be broken up into three steps:

Idea
Write
Revise

Let’s talk about step one. Technically, an idea is just the very, very starting point. It might not even resemble a story. An idea could be, for instance, a boy with a lightning bolt scar on his head. We recognize that as Harry Potter, but someone who knows nothing of Harry Potter would be able to imagine a million different books using that idea. The original idea for my book, Sand and Smoke, was a world with dragons and cowboys in it. Personally, I get my ideas at random times throughout the day. I usually don’t try to force this step. I keep a page of notes on my phone and write down an idea whenever it comes to me. That might be when I’m about to go to sleep, when I’m taking a shower, or even when I’m driving. If I come up with the idea when I’m driving, I usually either try to remember it for as soon as I come to a stop, or I pull over and jot it down. The vast majority of ideas I never actually use. Sometimes, I combine two ideas. I love doing that. If an idea is really good, it will end up sticking in my head, and then I will start to develop it and proceed to the next step. When I first started writing, these ideas were usually just things I thought sounded cool. Such as, in college, when I had an idea to write about a pigeon living in NYC. Lately, I’ve been working harder to differentiate these ideas that sound cool in my head from those that have more commercial appeal.

After the idea comes the concept. The difference between an idea and a concept is that a concept is more specific and actually lays out the bones of the story. For me, this usually involves a lot of character work. Who is the protagonist? What do they want? I try to envision what sort of books my book would go next to on the bookshelf.

In my opinion, it’s smart to give some time to concepting. I usually do it like I’m soaking a pot to wash later. In other words, I don’t just sit down and concept, it goes on in between other things during my day. My version of concepting is pretty much just daydreaming lol. There are exercises that you can do, however, such as loglines, premise lines, or things like that to help with concepting.

I usually do some work with character before I start writing. I’ve found that I’m naturally great at writing plot, but I have to really put in effort to get good characters. Each project, it’s a little different how I build my characters. For some books, I have created whole worksheets with things like hair color, eye color, backstory, love life, etc. Other books, I’ve written monologues in a character’s voice, describing their backstory and who they are. For one of my projects recently, I tried envisioning the characters as people I know, family or friends, and basing their decisions, the way they speak, and the clothes they wear, off of one person.

When I actually start writing a novel, short story, screenplay, or TV pilot, my writing process usually takes me from beginning to end rather quickly. I write consistently, and I don’t worry too much about making things perfect. I do sometimes go back and revise as I write. Lately I’ve been setting deadlines for myself and I’ve gotten good at finishing books by a deadline. Back in college, I remember that I would have deadlines set for me by my teachers, so I think I got accustomed to this. I’ve found that sometimes having a deadline can lead to subpar-quality, if the deadline is unrealistic. The important thing is to remain flexible, but consistent. I’m currently on a schedule writing five days a week, but in the past I’ve succeeded on schedules writing as little as two days a week. If something isn’t working, I’ll re-evaluate how I’m spending my writing time on those days, but I won’t just give myself those days off because for me, consistency is key.

I’ve found that the first draft is about getting the right beats of a story. So, while I might go back and revise, or even adjust my deadline, for something like a protagonist who gets dragged on a quest instead of having their own motivation and choosing the quest, I wouldn’t do the same if my protagonist just said something that was totally out of character. For me, the first draft is about hitting the right plot points in the right way.

In the last step of my writing process, revision, I try to fix any “continuity errors” first. That means anything like a character who exits a room, then speaks as if they’re still in the room, or a character whose name changes midway through the book, or anything like that. Sometimes, I’ll have other changes I imagined while writing but didn’t want to take the time to do yet. I’ll do these changes at the same time. Most of the time, after that, I send the piece to a friend or fellow writer who can provide some critique. After that, it changes a lot what I do from piece to piece.

In general, the time from idea to actually writing can vary greatly. I’ve had ideas before that I don’t work on for years. Sometimes, I’ll start concepting right away. Sometimes, I’ll concept for a really long time and not write the thing. Sometimes, I’ll start writing and decide the idea/concept isn’t worth finishing. Lately, once I’ve invested the time to start a piece, I’ve usually seen it through to the end.

So that’s my writing process! When I am writing, here are some resources that influence how I write:

Dan Harmon’s Story Circle, a great resource for structure. I have this memorized: https://channel101.fandom.com/wiki/Story_Structure_101:_Super_Basic_Shit

Save The Cat! by Blake Snyder, more structure, also breakdown of story tropes and types of stories, and the save the cat trick to make your protagonist more likeable: https://www.amazon.com/Save-Last-Book-Screenwriting-Youll/dp/1932907009

Aristotle’s Poetics, provides an excellent overview of the core components of a story, I think about these components religiously when revising, and frequently when writing.

https://tvtropes.org/ : A website that lists all the tropes in stories that have existed in many mediums (TV, literature, movies, videogames, comics, etc). I’ve used this when I’ve done outlines, but it also has value as just a place to explore every once in a while, to get more knowledge of tropes for when you are writing.

Dragons of Marak, Sand and Smoke’s Sequel, and Writing While Social Distancing

I’ve reached the doldrums of my writing year recently so things are pretty quiet. But I’ll update you with what I have been working on.

While the start of this year was jam-packed for me, I’ve recently been slowing down, as I take things a little more methodically from here on out.

At the start of 2020, I published Middle School Robots. I sent out ARCs, ran a few promotions. I also wrote the first draft of the second book in my upcoming Dragon of Marak series. The series was also called Dragon Monsters Equip until recently, so if you’ve heard me say that in the past it’s the same thing.

I’m not gonna lie, the whole COVID thing kinda set me back. Mostly because it was so shocking. Even for an author like me it disrupted my writing flow. It didn’t inhibit my ability to write, obviously, but it was a struggle at first to keep up the motivation. And a major tool I used before COVID for getting writing done was going out to a coffee shop to do it. Now I can’t do that anymore so I have to find other ways to tune out the distractions at home.

Anyway, I think I’ve mostly figured it out by now. Since publishing Middle School Robots, I’ve shifted gears into a few TV projects, and I’ve also begun a thorough revising of Dragons of Marak book 1. It’s a really good book! Like REALLY good. I’m surprised how much I still love it as I go back and work on it. It’s soothing just to read through it and make some changes.

I recently sent an excerpt from the book to my mailing list. You can sign up for that list at this link: www.rebrand.ly/storiesbycarl. And you’ll receive offers of giveaways, free books, and maybe some more excerpts in the future.

Here’s a little teaser about Dragons of Marak:

Ana Perez comes from wealth and power. But her father, a business tycoon in the land of Marak, hates dragons. That makes things a little complicated when she runs into a water cobra dragon named Cee, and bonds with him. Still, she would not give him up for anything. Marak is a land where the dragons exist in all shapes and sizes. Cee is blue, snake-like, and wet. Others are stony, with turtle shells and dragonfly wings. A few have crimson scales, fur, and long limbs. Some are as large as a carriage, others twice that size, and others as small as a gartner snake. Cee is overconfident, dogged, and charismatic. Ana is smart, good-hearted, and stylish. They form an unbreakable bond. Partners for life. The dragons of Marak can equip to their partners as weapons, armor, or wings. But Cee is more than just an object to Ana. He’s a friend. As she spends time with him, she grows. But there are secrets in Marak. Not everyone sees dragons as friends. Ana’s naive. The wealth and power among her country’s industrialists is a front for small hearts and stubborn men. But Cee’s a rare kind of dragon. And Ana can’t stay blind forever.

So, that’s what I’m engrossed in at the moment.

Even though revisions are taking longer than I expected, I’m planning to start another book soon. I think I will be working on Sand and Smoke‘s sequel. To me, that makes the most sense. And I also have a short that I started work on. It’s a dystopian short, and it’ll definitely be available somewhere when I finish it. If you subscribe to my mailing list, I’ll keep you posted.

But anyway, regarding Sand and Smoke: I always intended for it to be the first book in a trilogy. So I’m thinking that I will make writing the sequel to Sand and Smoke my next big priority.

If you’re a fan of Sand and Smoke, then you might be wondering about how long it will take me to complete the sequel. Well, it’s too early to float any dates, but I will say that the first book took me one year to write, revise, and edit. I started writing it in October of 2018 and published on October 17, 2019. So…maybe the second book will follow a similar timeline? That’s my best guess at this moment in time. But whenever I finish the first draft, I’ll have a much better idea.

In the meantime, there is actually a free short story available, set in the same universe as Sand and Smoke. You can get it by subscribing to my mailing list: www.rebrand.ly/ingridrising. If you’re already subscribed to my list and you don’t have it, just reply to any of the emails I’ve sent you and I’ll send it over!

Another perk of being on my mailing list is that I’m currently planning another giveaway. It’s going to happen this summer sometime, and it’s going to be dragon-themed! I’m sifting through some ideas for amazing dragon books that I want to include. I’m thinking I will include around 3-4 books in the giveaway, and one person who enters will win them all. You’ll be able to enter even if you aren’t on my mailing list…but if you join my list, you’ll get an email as soon as the giveaway starts, and you can also share suggestions for books that you’d like to be included in the giveaway, just by responding to one of my emails.

In the past, I’ve run giveaways successfully for an Amazon gift card, Christopher Paolini’s The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm, and a trio of books including The Secret Lake, a Magic Tree House book, and The Infinity Ring. Depending on some factors, this giveaway may be US-only, or I may be able to make it international and include some other countries. I’m hoping and crossing my fingers I will be able to make it international…but the only way I’ve found to do so thus far, without requesting personal information from the winner, is to give away an Amazon gift card instead of the books. So I’ll have to see. Anyway, it’s probably going to happen in June or July, just to let you know.

So yeah, I’ve mentioned my mailing list a lot in this post. But if you’re not sure about subscribing yet, it’s okay too. That’s pretty much it for now!

The Eight Most Interesting Questions about The Wings of War, Child of the Daystar, Bryce O’Connor, and Raz i’Syul Arro

Welcome! This post is part of my Most Interesting Questions series, which means I’ll be answering the most interesting questions I can find or think of on The Wings of War series by Bryce O’Connor. This is a series where I cover the most interesting questions I can find about various bestselling books, TV shows, or movies.

This post covers The Wings of War by Bryce O’Connor. It starts with Child of the Daystar, and it’s a bestselling Kindle Unlimited fantasy series for adults. In my opinion, it’s one of the best self-published fantasy series on Amazon. The characters are great. The main character is Raz i’Syul Arro, an atherian which basically means a lizard man. That’s right, this is a kindle unlimited book about a lizard man. And he has wings.

By the way, if you’re wondering about who I am, I’m an author from Portland, OR. I write epic fantasy and children’s science fiction. Check out my books here. Since I do mostly write for younger audiences, I should warn that this series has some pretty graphic scenes, so be warned. I’ve left details of those graphic scenes out of this blog post, but if you crack open the books you’ll certainly find them.

At the time of writing this, the series is being read voraciously. The first book alone has over 800 ratings on Amazon. But there still aren’t a lot of questions online about it, so I’m creating my own most interesting questions.

At present, I’ve only read the first 3 books: Child of the Daystar, The Warring Son, and Winter’s King, so before you read below be warned you may encounter spoilers from any of those books. Even though five books have been released in the Wings of War series at the time I’m writing this, As Iron Falls and Of Sand and Snow aren’t covered because I haven’t read them.

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Q #1) What do the other atherians think about Raz?

A: In the first book, O’Connor mentions that winged atherians are rare. Raz is a winged atherian. He also mentions that winged atherians tend to rule over other atherians, often have multiple mates, and are very territorial. I’d therefore assume that Raz could encounter a few different types of other atherians: female atherians, male atherians without wings, and male atherians with wings. Female atherians probably would view him as powerful, and they’d probably stay near him for his protection. Males without wings would probably steer clear of him, recognizing he’s much more powerful than them, or they might agree to serve him if they desired protection. Regardless, those without wings, both males and females, would likely steer clear of trouble with Raz. They’d probably view him as superior in strength, just because he has wings. Males with wings would likely challenge him if he got too close to their territory, otherwise, they would probably just view him as a neighbor and leave him alone. If they knew he consorted so much with humans, any atherian would probably be confused, since they generally live apart from humans. They might view him as weaker for that, but we don’t have too much information on how atherians view humans so maybe not.

Q #2) Could Quin Tern have possibly survived, since Raz didn’t kill him he just left him in the cold?

A: Yes. I think he could have. But did he? I doubt it. I do find it interesting how O’Connor chose to not show his death. It means Tern could always make a reappearance. But he would have to be really lucky to survive the cold without a coat, like Raz left him. If Quin Tern did survive, I think he’ll come back a new, much more dangerous man. He was pretty foolish with Raz in book 2. If he survives, he’ll become as changed as Raz became after his family was murdered by the slavers.

Q #3) How many atherians are there?

A: Good question! I think there are less atherians than humans. Given their biology, atherians wouldn’t want to live in the north. We know that they trade occasionally with the caravans in the Cienbal. But they don’t trade all that often, it seems, because most of the trade in the first book happens between different human caravans. Based on the map, it appears they would have to occupy a pretty small land area to stay clear of humans so often. But how densely packed is that area? It’s hard to say. Ultimately, I don’t think they’d number less than several hundred thousand. But they might number as many as a couple million.

Q #4) Who would win in a fight between Raz and Kaladin Stormblessed?

A: These two are some of my favorite characters so I had to wonder about this. If you’re not familiar with Kaladin, he’s a protagonist in Brandon Sanderson’s Stormlight Archive series. Ultimately, his advantage in this battle would be his speed and lashing ability. With his lashing ability, he could maneuver around large swaths of land much faster than Raz. Raz, meanwhile, probably has a better reaction time, and he is definitely physically stronger. If they were forced to fight in close range combat, I think Raz could take Kaladin down. If they had a large battlefield, Kaladin would have an advantage. Regardless, it would be a hard fought battle. Both have incredible intelligence in the midst of battle. They’re super resourceful, and know how to win against the odds. So it’s hard to say who would win. Ultimately, Raz probably has a little more experience in one-on-one battles, and fighting alone. If Kaladin had the help of Bridge Four, he’d get a huge boost, whereas if Raz had any help, it’d probably make less of a difference cause he’s such a solo fighter.

Q #5) How do the Priests use magic? Is it something that Raz could ever learn? Or something that someone else in the world could learn and abuse?

A: I don’t think this is ever even hinted at. But it seems like the priests get their magic from Laor after they become a priest. The most plausible explanation to me seems to be some item that gives them the power, and if that’s true then new priests would be granted the item’s power when they are initiated. Given that nobody else in the world seems capable of magic, it doesn’t seem like something humans have the ability to learn, rather, it seems like something they must be gifted. Raz could maybe be gifted the power too, if his atherian blood doesn’t interfere with his ability to accept it, but I doubt the priests would ever give him that power willingly. Raz isn’t the type to take it for no reason either. Raz might take it if he had a strong reason.

Q #6) Will Raz ever master flight?

A: I think he has to. We saw him successfully fly at the end of Child of the Daystar. He didn’t actually fly in Winter’s King, but for a moment it seemed like he did. Ultimately, he’s gotta master it since he has wings, and we already saw him do it once so we know it’s possible.

Q #7): What lies north of Cyurgi’Di?

A: According to the map, just the tundra. A tundra is a vast, flat, treeless region where the subsoil is permanently frozen. There could be penguins or polar bears up in the tundra north of Cyurgi’Di. There could also be humans, like eskimos. Ultimately, it seems kind of like a Greenland situation to me. There’s probably not much north of Cyurgi’Di.

Q #8): What did all the bounty hunters who showed up in Azbar after Raz left do?

A: After Raz left, those bounty hunters likely left too. It’s unclear if they would know where Raz was going. Obviously, we know he went up to Ystred. But the bounty hunters wouldn’t have known that. I think they all probably did different things. Maybe a couple stayed in Azbar or went back home. Most were probably pretty set on the bounty from Raz, so they would have tried to follow him. They would probably figure that he wasn’t going south again, since there was so much money on his head. Most of the bounty hunters probably went up to Ystred, but arrived after Raz had already left the town with Talo and Carro. A few might have thought Raz was going to Drangstek, but it’s farther away from Azbar than Ystred is, so it would be a less likely next destination for him. Most probably went to Ystred, but arrived too late to catch Raz.

Thanks for reading! Now I invite you to check out more MIQ posts below, or my book Sand and Smoke, which also is fantasy, with lots of action and lovable characters. It doesn’t feature lizard people, but it does feature dragons. Big, flying dragons. Both the eastern and the western kind.

The Making of Middle School Robots

Welcome! This post is part of my The Making of… series. The Making of… is an in-depth look at each book I write. I’ll examine one book per blog post. I’ll examine characters, story, the concept, individual scenes, and maybe more all in an attempt to give more information than is available anywhere else on how that book came to be. This post will cover Middle School Robots.

By the way, my name is Carl and I’m the author of several books, both epic fantasy and children’s science fiction.

Last month I published my third novel…called Middle School Robots. It’s a book I’ve had in my head for almost 4 years now, and it started as a TV script.

For anyone who follows me on social media, you might have heard that story. But I also want to tell the story here on my blog.

And I’ll include a little more detail here.

And by the way, the TV pilot was first called Ordinary Robots, so I might refer to it as that, or Office Robots, which I called it at some point after Ordinary Robots but before Middle School Robots.

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I wrote it in 2016.

From 2015-2016 I lived in Los Angeles for 10 months. Middle School Robots was written towards the tail end of that, in June.

The sequence of events that led to writing it, however, started in May of 2016, when I got really sick.

I don’t know exactly what I had, but it seemed like the flu. My body hurt all over and I had a 103-degree fever. I got better after about a week of rest, though immediately after the flu I got a UTI.

And as soon as I got over the UTI, I got another issue. The worst back pain of my life.

At the time, I had been driving Uber and working as a freelance Production Assistant on film sets to make money. After the back pain came, I couldn’t do either of those things. I went to urgent care three or four times, and they couldn’t get rid of the pain for me.

It lasted like two months.

And in those two months, I couldn’t drive Uber anymore. I tried once, and after two hours the pain was so bad I had to stop. I also didn’t trust myself to take a PA (Production Assistant) job. I was scared that if I did, I’d have to leave in the middle of it, or I’d hurt myself worse. A lot of the PA’s duties involve manual labor.

And so the only real work I could do was write.

I was working on another project the day I wrote Ordinary Robots, but having trouble finding inspiration.

And I didn’t want to spend time writing anything that didn’t inspire me. Not when my back hurt like it did.

So I wrote something else.

I wrote Middle School Robots.

And I think, looking back on it, I just wanted to create a world I could escape into. I wanted to get away from the pain I had.

I wrote the TV pilot in just one day. I didn’t do any outlining or any character work before writing it. I just wrote it using what I knew about how to craft good stories and my own imagination.

Later I submitted it to some contests. It scored quarter-finalist honors in two contests – Scriptapalooza and Fresh Voices in 2017. It was also nominated for the Courage & Fortitude Award for Fresh Voices.

And then in 2019, I started adapting it into a children’s novel.

But once again, I didn’t go into adapting it with the intention to.

Actually, I was trying to write another book. It was a young adult sci-fi novel, about superheroes. It was based around a Jean Gray type superhero who could control the molecular bonds between elements, thereby creating and destroying anything at will.

I still like the idea of that character. But honestly, she needed more to her character than that power.

And I realized, a couple chapters into writing it, that I didn’t understand who she was beyond a superhero with that really cool power.

And that left me feeling frantic.

Because I couldn’t write the story until I knew.

This was June of 2019.

I wanted to write something, to get another book in line to be published, but suddenly I knew that the book I had planned to write wasn’t something I could write.

And so this caused me to search around for other ideas.

And I had a couple, but the ones I did have were not ready to be written yet.

They were still ideas, and still needed more work. They needed to sit with me longer before they’d feel formed enough to start on.

And then, I realized that what I needed was a story that I had already written in the past.

I had written a few TV pilots. But the one that came to mind immediately was Ordinary Robots, since renamed Office Robots.

In just a few days, I realized that the script was perfect because it was like The Time Twins. It was the same genre, sure the TV pilot wasn’t kid-friendly, but the book could be.

Now here’s the part where I admit to you a dirty little secret. So if you’re a parent reading this to your kids you might want to skip this part.

But Colossal Time, the crazy smartwatch robot in the book, was originally an alcoholic.

It was a TV pilot meant for Adult Swim!

But I changed it so that he was a sugar addict instead for the book.

Ok, kids can start reading again here.

I also changed a few other things. In the TV pilot, there was no mouse. The robots snuck out the front door.

Also in the TV pilot Joe never got separated from Thomas and Alexa. Instead, all three of them encountered the school teachers, who were office workers instead, and then all three of them just went back to the office.

I made Joe get separated to add more danger, excitement, and another layer of stuff to think about to the book. And out of it came some good stuff, I think. The idea of swarms of kids holding smartphones, the tidbit about Alzheimer’s disease.

The other major change I mad was the ending. Originally, Alexa tore up the constitution. But when writing the book I realized that couldn’t be the ending.

When I was writing the TV pilot, I just thought it was funny. But actually, the ending needs to be serious. Because the matter of the robots overcoming oppression is serious, even if there’s a lot of humor at other points in the book.

Overall, I wrote the book over the course of a month, in June alone, using the TV pilot as a template and stealing almost every line from it, then adding a few new ones.

Then, I didn’t touch the book again until late October, when I read it over and made some structural changes I thought needed to be done.

In November again I took a break for another book I was writing, and in December I made the last changes to the book, over the course of three weeks.

I thought I was done with it after that but I did end up making a few slight edits in January before publishing in February.

And, that’s it! After that I published it and now it’s done.

If you read and enjoyed Middle School Robots, I invite you to check out The Time Twins next. It was my first book, and you’ll probably like it too! It has a robot and a smartphone with a time travel app.

The Making of Sand and Smoke

It came about, quite simply, when I asked myself the question: what would a book look like that had both dragons and cowboys?

Welcome and good news everyone!

This is the first post in an exciting new series for my blog!

The Making of… is an in-depth look at each book I write. I’ll examine one book per blog post. I’ll examine characters, story, the concept, individual scenes, and maybe more all in an attempt to give more information than is available anywhere else on how that book came to be.

First up, I’m starting with Sand and Smoke. It’s a dragon-rider western, and it came about, quite simply, when I asked myself the question: what would a book look like that had both dragons and cowboys?

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After that idea came to me, I began to brainstorm. Among my favorite fantasy authors currently is Brandon Sanderson, and I was inspired a lot by his Mistborn series when first starting this book. You should check it out!

In particular, I loved the idea of a crew of criminals working together against impossible odds. So out of that was born the idea for my crew in the western side of my story to take on this terrifying weapon.

At the same time, however, I wanted to make my story very unique and based on things in real history and the world at large. For Sand and Smoke, I did a lot of research and a lot of plotting and outlining. More than I probably have done for any other project. I visited Powell’s in Portland, visited two different libraries, and read through a number of different books about things like the various mythologies surrounding dragons, what life was like in the old west, and world religions.

I compiled a whole document, actually, detailing what things were like in the world I had created, including the food people ate, the religions they practiced, what the educational systems were like, and more.

In the early drafts, the nations of Eltolix and Arus were quite a bit culturally different. Eltolix takes a lot of inspiration from Asian culture and mythology. The Sun dragons are serpentine like Chinese, Japanese, and Korean dragons, and they have magical abilities. Also, the Old Religion of Eltolix shares similarities with Hinduism. Arus, or at least southern Arus, is largely based off the old west with saloons, gunfights, and a kind of lawless feel. And their religion is largely based off of Christianity.

With subsequent drafts, I molded these two cultures together by attempting to add more cultural elements that both countries share. Things like both calling their parents by the terms mama and papa, both referring to their religious centers as temples. In large part, I mixed in elements I could find of Aztec and Mexican culture into both countries. Since they were separated by a civil war 200 years ago, I wanted them to feel like countries that could have once been one and the same, and I have some Mexican ancestry which inspired me.

After molding the world, I created the characters. I did a lot of research on tvtropes.com to come up with some character archetypes that I thought would work well together and weren’t too often used. I rounded out those character archetypes with their own backgrounds and skills.

Then I plotted out the novel, trying to give all of my characters at least one arc, and my major two, Maya and Al, more than one.

When writing the chapters, I tried to advance at least two plot points per chapter. But even with all the plotting I did, there was a lot I realized wasn’t working in the revisions.

Al’s chapters probably went through the most extensive revisions. In the early drafts, I had his power being the ability to dodge bullets. I realized after draft one that that power didn’t work for the purposes of my novel, because of the big reveal about him at the end. So I changed it to him being able to control the wind.

Another major change I made to Al’s chapters was having him meet Li a lot sooner. Originally, he met her about halfway through the book, but I brought that scene up to roughly the quarter-way through mark and I fleshed out her character and background a lot more.

I also fleshed out a lot of Al’s backstory. In the first draft, he only touched briefly upon his mother’s death. But in subsequent drafts, I added a lot of flashbacks to that point in his life. Though I don’t usually like flashbacks, I thought they were important for him in this book. Because they made him much more relatable. Rather than just being a lone boy who’s riding through the desert engaging in battles with gunslingers, suddenly those flashbacks help us to see where he’s come from, and help us relate to him and see the pain he’s gone through.

The idea for the Wesech dragon plot was, like the criminal crew plot, born out of my love for Sanderson. In particular, I was inspired by his intermissions in The Stormlight Archive novels. In addition, based on my world-building I thought it’d be cool to have both western and eastern dragons, so since Maya was already going to be a dragon-rider on an eastern-type dragon, I figured the Wesech’s world would be a good one to explore during the intermissions.

Other novels I read while writing that inspired features of Sand and Smoke included Six of Crows, Child of the Daystar, Stephen King’s The Gunslinger, and Sanderson’s Wax&Wayne trilogy.

One thing I struggled with was how to weave the dragon plot into the main thread, and I did a lot of work in rewrites to make it smoother. Originally there was very little in Al’s chapters about Wesechs in Arus, but I worked to increase their presence in subsequent drafts.

I started writing Sand and Smoke in October of 2018, and I wrote it in spurts until I finished the first draft in April of 2019. I wrote mostly all of Al’s chapters together, and then all of Maya’s chapters switching only sporadically until I got to part 4.

I think the exact sequence I wrote in was all of Al’s part 1 chapters, all of Maya’s part 1 chapters, one Wesech chapter, then all of Al’s part 2 and 3 chapters, all of Maya’s part 2 and 3 chapters, another two Wesech chapters, and then part 4.

In regards to Maya’s chapters, the most substantial change I made while revising was at the end of part 3. Originally, she left the school fairly peacefully, but after notes from some members of my writing group, I realized Vidal would not let her do that. In subsequent drafts, I made her departure much more rocky, and I also made her deal much more with the consequences of her choice regarding Manzin.

While writing the first draft, I was in a writing group here in Portland, OR and shared pages with them, gathering feedback and improving it to some extent as those pages went.

But after finishing the draft and making those changes, I sent it off to my close friend Alex for him to beta-read it, and then made a lot of comprehensive revisions over 3 months: July, August, and September, both working on things that my writing group had suggested which I hadn’t managed to find a way to do before sending it to Alex, and working on things Alex suggested after reading it.

At that point the book became what you can read now. Fully formed and fleshed out with Al having the power to manipulate the wind, the Wesechs plotting something with Arus, and Maya’s single-mindedness driving her to make the choices she does.

If you have already read Sand and Smoke and enjoyed it, I invite you to subscribe to my mailing list for a free short story. It’s about Ingrid, the Wesech on the dragon tribunal, and covers how she gained a seat on the tribunal.