Novel: Rider of the White Horse Now Available!

Rider of the White Horse was the first novel I've ever written.  It was published in 2002 by Authorhouse (formerly 1st Library), and is now being prepared in a new edition for CreateSpace.

It is now available and can be purchased on CreateSpace or Amazon.

Synopsis:
The Earth becomes a wasteland, following an onslaught of nuclear war and environmental disaster.  Most of the world is conquered by the mysterious Klokan Empire.  With advanced technology and an army of clone soldiers, they systematically exterminate all remaining human beings in a terrifying holocaust.

One clone soldier becomes gifted with an insight and spirit that sets him apart from the others, and he sees the Klokan Empire for the evil it is.  He defects and becomes Kurt Stone, a deadly agent for the last human nation on Earth.  He turns the tide of every battle, pushing the Klokan Empire back while confronting political schemes and civil unrest.

As Kurt's battles take him across the world and beyond, he follows in the prophecy of the Rider of the White Horse:  a warrior who will defeat evil and save the human race.

This account of post-apocalyptic war features big-scale battles, explosive action, suspenseful drama, endearing romance, and gripping emotions.  This grand tale is now presented in an all-new edition, with improved quality and new notes on the creation of this epic adventure.

Background:
In the 8th grade, I came up with my first truly original novel idea.  It came to me when the class went on a field trip to the Anne Frank exhibit in York.  I was (am) interested in WWII history, and I knew all about the holocaust.  In fact, I had the sobering experience of listening to holocaust survivors speaking at our school.  But it wasn’t until this field trip that I learned of the term “Aryan,” and realized that Nazi Germany was basically a huge-scale (and very scary) eugenics program. 

The biggest lesson about the holocaust was that it happened once, and history can always repeat itself.  Next time, it could be worse yet.  I had a scary notion I had that I was compelled to explore:  if Hitler had cloning technology, then he could have abused it to create his “perfect” race, and he could have truly taken over the world.  The genocide, and the purposeful reshaping of the human race, would have been terrible.  I suddenly had scary visions of a post-nuclear-war landscape, where clone armies were marching around and slaughtering every living thing.

My first few drafts for this story were pretty awkward; it’s hard to find the right starting point and the right voice sometimes.  In those first attempts, I approached my ideas in a straightforward fashion, using literal Nazis as the villains.  I took a lesson from existing science fiction, and made an attempt to veil Nazism with other names and concepts.  Thus, I made them into the Klokan Empire.  The term Klokan was originally a name I designated for a race of aliens, who would have had boney claws and spikes sticking out of their skin.  Since I abandoned those story ideas, however, I cannibalized the name “Klokan” for this story.

Something was still missing, however.  A certain theme, and plot structure, was lacking, and it got to the point where I didn’t know how to proceed with this story.  One Easter, I was reading the Book of Revelation, just out of interest, and that’s when I came across the passage regarding the Rider of the White Horse.  Many of the passages in Revelations interested me, for their metaphorical ideas and intense imagery.  When I read this specific chapter, I realized that it could align perfectly with my story, and I sought to marry them together.  I found ways to connect characters and ideas from the book in with Revelations, to the best of my ability.

From then on, the book pretty much wrote itself.  I barely even remember putting that much effort into it; you know something is good if you have fun doing it, and it all flies by without much struggle or second-guessing. 
It took about a year or two to draft this entire story, and it was all finished shortly after I graduated high school.

Publishing this story was another animal entirely, and I had absolutely no clue as to get any kind of professional writing career started.  When it came to querying or submitting works for commercial publishing, I was totally lost, I didn’t know where to start, and I never found the motivation to invest much research or effort into it.  After some brief research, however, I did come across some new Print-On-Demand companies, and felt they were easy and fairly risk-free.  I was sold on the concept of it, I went through the process, and I got this book published by 2002.

I made very few sales; probably 100 or so altogether.  Publishing was easy through these companies, but promoting these books was entirely up to the authors, and I was terrible at self-promotion.  I tried to host a book signing at the local library, but only had one person stop by.  In the end, it was just friends and family who invested in this book, and maybe a few random strangers.

What few readers I had before enjoyed the book, regardless of its issues.  Now that I’ve taken the time to fix up the wording and grammar, I expect that I’ll be happy and proud of this creation again, and can present it to willing readers with confidence.

Redux Edition:
Starting in 2012, I went through the whole text line-by-line to fix numerous issues with the text.  Most of the wording was re-arranged and re-written for better readability.  The text is no longer so plain and flat.  Redundancy is reduced, grammar mistakes are fixed, and the dialogue is sharper and flows better.  A few chapters were merged together, one scene was cut out, some scenes were made longer, and a few really cheesy parts were rewritten so they work better.  The whole thing is revamped so that it reads better and is more creditable.

In preparing for a new print edition of the book, some new notes were made outlining the book's creation and history (most of which is in this post anyway), and new cover art was made by artist Keyvan Ebrahimi.

Inspirations:
I was inspired by the various stories and films I was exploring at the time:  L. Ron Hubbard’s Battlefield Earth, James Bond movies, and the film Soldier, have all inspired this story.  The name Kurt Stone was inspired by the actor Kurt Russell.  To help visualize and design the various forts and bases that are attacked throughout the book, I designed them with a level editor for the video game Star Wars:  Dark Forces II:  Jedi Knight; doing so allowed me to map out exactly where these characters go and what they experience when traversing through the high-tech Klokan facilities.

There was some music that helped inspire me during the drafting and designing process.  In those days, the film scores for 1997's The Saint and GoldenEye were the biggest things I listened to; they were both quite moody and had a mystique to them, and Eric Serra's music in particular was very appropriately modern.  I discovered that certain CD-ROM video games had music tracks on them, so I listened to the Mechwarrior 2 music all the time; a lot of that has been inspiring for finding the right tone and atmosphere.  As time went on, I acquired more James Bond soundtracks - Tomorrow Never Dies and The World is Not Enough - and select songs, including Rob Dougan's "Clubbed to Death," which I first heard on a Nissan commercial and might be the song that I associate the most with this book.  Other fine songs that have inspired me include Rob Dougan's "Furious Angels," Dave Matthew Band's "When the World Ends," Moby's "Everloving," Sting's "A Thousand Years," Apollo 440's cover of "(Don't Fear) The Reaper," Billy Joel's "Leningrad," Live's "Forever May Not Be Long Enough," PPK's "21st Century," and most recently, Imagine Dragon's "Radioactive." A collection of this music can be heard on 8tracks.

In Conclusion:
The first time I do most anything is usually the worst.  It feels like I've spent more time and effort on this book than any other, because it came out so flawed on the first try, and I had to go back and fix some things.  Now that I've cleaned the work up, I feel more confident in presenting it to readers as a grand piece of post-apocalyptic adventure.  If you do order my book, I hope you'll enjoy it as is.

The Garrison: Excerpt Chapter 6: The Strovnik Army Arrives

Below is a small part of my novel, The Garrison, a fantasy epic about a small castle struggling to hold out against a huge invasion force.  If you like what you see here, buy the entire book on Amazon!
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    Seth, Ghorman, Fastblade, and Leon were at the gatehouse, observing [the Strovnik army's] activity.  Seth had a torch ready at the gatehouse. He hoped that the oil he laid on the grass earlier in the week had not evaporated completely.  As the sky grew darker with gray clouds, he also hoped that it would not rain.
    Seth noticed Harmony standing at the walls.  He wondered if she could she command the skies and hold back the rain.
    His thoughts were interrupted by General Grumman’s approach. Reaching the base of the gatehouse, he shouted, “Defenders of Myriam! I am General Grumman of Strovnik! King Dorrel has sent us to claim what is rightfully ours, and if you hand it over now and surrender everything to us now, you will all be spared!”
    “You shall never have the greater half of the Dark Stone!” Seth taunted. “Nor will you ever see any of us surrender to you! This castle is the final line of defense for Tennence, and it will stand against your entire army!”
    “This is folly! Do you not understand that if you hand over a simple little rock, you will keep your lives, and ensure that you are treated well in Dorrel’s new kingdom! Do you all have a death wish?”
    “There shall be no new kingdom! This is where we draw the line!” Seth shouted back.
    “Be aware that this is your final chance–”
    “No! This is your final chance!”
    “So be it, defenders of Myriam! This castle shall fall!”
    Retreating to the ranks of his men, he raised the Strovnik flag.  As he did so, the entire Strovnik army erupted, clamoring for blood.
    The catapults were set into place, each one loaded with a giant boulder.  Seth knew that it would take many boulders to take down the walls of Myriam, but they were still the biggest concern.  He withdrew his longbow and nocked an arrow on the string.  Fastblade, Ghorman, and Leon did the same, all four of them dipping their arrowheads in oil and setting them ablaze.
    Seth sent an arrow soaring into the air, and it landed on the army below.  It fell on the oiled grass as he had planned, but failed to ignite the grass.
    Seth was perplexed.  Ghorman, Fastblade, and Leon followed suit, with perfect landings on the oil-soaked grass.  The flaming arrows lay burning on the ground, but the grass still failed to ignite.
    “This plan of yours is not working,” Ghorman complained.
    Without a response, Seth nocked another arrow, lit it afire, and released it.  As it plummeted to the ground, it was intercepted by the arm of an enemy soldier, setting him ablaze.  The Strovnik footman tried to flee from the flames, only making the burning worse.  He was forced to the ground by another soldier, who helped him extinguish his burning flesh.
    By that time, the two enemy catapults had fired their first rounds.  Their huge slings hurled the boulders soaring in the air like rockets.  The first boulder hit the base of the castle’s wall, producing an earsplitting crack, but the wall still held together.  The second boulder soared over the wall, clipping it and sending rock chips crashing down its side.
    Seth reloaded his longbow, lit it afire, and attempted to ignite the grass again.  The arrow flew wildly into the enemy formations and hit one of the catapults, lodging itself in the wooden frame.
    Fastblade and Leon unleashed a torrent of arrows onto a group of enemy footmen as they were lugging a battering ram towards the castle’s gates.  Two of were killed, but more men took their places and picked up the ram.
    Seth fired another arrow towards the catapults, killing one of the workers who was loading a boulder into the machine’s giant sling.  Crashing to the ground, it pinned another worker beneath it, killing him instantly.
    The boulder started to roll.  A few nearby footmen stood fast against the giant rock to keep it from rolling.  The stone gained momentum and flattened them as it sped through enemy lines.
    Most of the footmen were able to dodge it, clearing a path for the rolling boulder.  Several of them were still crushed by it.  Those carrying the battering ram were directly in the rock’s path.  Abandoning the ram, they darted out of the way as the boulder snapped it in half like a twig.
    The impact made the boulder stop.  Several footmen tried to salvage either the rock or the ram, but with the ram broken and the boulder so far away from the catapult, they didn’t bother to move them.
    Seth fired a flaming arrow at the fallen battering ram.  The arrow soared towards the log, but instead it ricocheted off of the boulder and it landed at an enemy soldier’s foot.  The Strovnik soldier stamped on the arrow, trying to beat out its flames.
    Suddenly, an explosion of flames burst from the arrow.  The oil had finally ignited.  Fire spread across the grass, encircling the castle.  Dozens of Strovniks were caught in the blaze.  Chaos ensued, as entire squadrons of soldiers were burned alive.
    Several footmen were trapped between the flames and the castle.  Fastblade and Leon showered them with arrows.  The rest of the Strovnik army retreated away from the fire, to their encampment nearby.
    Seth, Leon, Ghorman, and Fastblade joined the rest of the garrison on the wall walk.  A cry of victory resounded through the air as they witnessed their enemy’s demise.
    Seth’s victory cry was brief, however.  The dark sky threatened rain.  How long could the fires last, if dampened by a summer rain?

New Fantasy Novel: The Garrison Now Available!

One of my earliest fantasy novels, The Garrison, is now available to buy on Amazon and CreateSpace!

Synopsis
This short, breezy fantasy epic is all about one small castle with a small group of defenders, all struggling to hold off against massive waves of infantry and siege warfare from an invading nation.  Within the small castle is a relic - half of the mysterious Dark Stone - which the evil King Dorrel covets above all else.  After waiting for years, he launches an all-out invasion on the nation of Tennence, slaying their king and subjugating the kingdom.  One paladin - Seth Chamberlain - collaborates with the wizard Rellore and the garrison of Myriam Castle to muster a defense.  For weeks, the small garrison uses all their might, wit, magic, and strategy to ward off waves of enemies.  In the midst of the combat, Seth falls in love with a witch named Harmony, which strains the tension among the garrison even further.

This novel is briskly-paced with lots of combat and action, scenes of war, drama, romance, magic, and more.

This novel contains quite a bit of graphic violence.  Cursing is mild and there's one sex scene that doesn't go into too much detail.  I would think that teenagers and young adults can handle it, but for all intents and purposes, it's meant for mature audiences.

Background
This novel was originally drafted in 2002.  At the time, I visited Helmsley Castle in England, where they had a medieval reenactment to demonstrate how medieval life, combat, and warfare would have occurred.  This included some fighting demonstrations with daggers, swords, clubs, and bows.  Among the things I learned, it was mentioned that castle garrisons were not all that big at all:  small groups of men could fend off against huge odds using the natural defenses, strategy, terrain, weather, and resourcefulness of a castle.  Sieges could linger on for months like this, and history is full of cases where small groups of men had to fend off against attackers.

In high school, I learned about the different tactics used during siege warfare.  The objective was to force a surrender through attrition; attackers would surround a castle to block it off from the rest of the world.  They could raze all the surrounding farmlands and villages, further separating the castle from resources.  Attacking armies used to use all manner of siege weapons to take down a castle wall or gate.  Catapults and trebuchets would not only hurl stones, but could also toss filth and cadavers into a castle to spread disease.  Siege towers were built as moving towers on wheels, allowing infantry to gain access to the castle's ramparts and interior.  Siege ladders could do the same.  Battering rams could knock down gates.  However, defenders had the ability to throw anything they had at their enemies:  rocks, hot oil, etc.  Castles were often designed to deflect catapult bombardments, usually by making the towers rounded.  Gatehouses served as a highly effective killzone by trapping enemies in between gates and providing vantage points for archers to shoot down on them.  In any given battle, the weather and terrain can affect how armies approach a castle, or how effective the defenders are.

For the battle of Myriam Castle in the book, a whole plethora of these techniques are utilized, in addition to equipping the attacking army with grappling-hooks, and granting liberal use of magic among the defenders.  It took a year or two to draft this novel.  In 2004, I attempted to get the book published through an agent; it went so far as getting edited by a company called My Saint Is An Editor.  I backed out of a contract with the literary agency, after doing more research and finding that the agency didn't necessarily guarantee results.  The book remained in my files for the longest time while I kept busy with my day job and worked on various other projects; only within the past few months did I manage to put the finishing touches on the book by doing more editing passes and getting the graphics finalized.

I drew up maps on MS Paint originally, and they were always rather plain and dorky.  Last month, I posted a contest on Freelancer.com for graphic artists to take my maps and make them better.  After a number of great entries, I picked Sandra Sreckovic's entries as the winner.  Her work is featured in the first few pages of the book, showing in stylish detail how the lands of Tennence and the Realm of the Allied Kingdoms are laid out.

I published the book through Amazon and Createspace.  It took a matter of days to format the book properly, for both print and kindle.  Even though I could probably hire an artist for really good cover art, I opted to make my own cover using a photo I took a few years ago from a MacBeth play in Ripley Castle.  It was a picture of a man sitting by a tree, with a sword sticking up from the ground; I used Corel software to make it black-and-white, to blur out much of the background, and turn the photo into a type of pencil art.  Amazon's cover art software had a theme that cropped and framed the picture with black on the top and bottom of the cover.  This is probably not the best cover in the world, but I felt it was eye-catching, and I did it for free using my own files.

Inspirations
This was the first fantasy novel I attempted, but I had plenty of influences to draw upon at the time.

I've always been a fan of films like Braveheart, which may have subtly influenced my imagination to begin with.  The Lord of the Rings:  The Two Towers was newly-released at the time, so watching the Battle of Helms Deep was quite the inspiration for writing a book based entirely on a siege.  The film The Craft gave me the idea to include four witches in The Garrison, with each one representing a different natural element.  I tried to replicate the events of the novel using the level editor for the video game Warcraft III, but I could never get the scripts to work all that well.  I got to admit that King Dorrel may have been inspired by Arthas in the Warcraft series.

While writing, a few pop songs (primarily Seal's "Kiss From a Rose" and Christina Aguilera's "Beautiful") and a lot of orchestral music provided some ample inspiration (especially the film scores for The Lord of the Rings and Requiem For a Dream).  For some odd reason, Enya's brief track "Epona" is one of the tracks I attribute the most to the project; I think it's a very lovely melody and sound that matches up well with the book's setting.  You can listen to select tracks that inspired me on 8tracks.com.

That's just about all there is to the novel.  It's not the biggest or best thing I ever wrote, but I think it came out well and it is something I'm proud of.  I hope you'll give it a chance and enjoy it.