More Post Witch Trial
The series bible is coming along nicely. Not that many care about my progress on that, but after that’s done, the next novel will get underway. I imagine that is what readers want to hear. 🙂
Just finished Jack Kursed. I forgot what a fun novel that was. There are, of course, some things I’d do differently now, looking back. Jack Kursed, for me, is where it started to feel like a true series. By the end of the novel, I’d knew there would be many more, with characters popping up all over the place.
Let’s talk about Witch Trial for a second. Stop reading now, if you haven’t happened to finish it yet. Don’t want to SPOIL anything.
Another Kevin Mishnar story has come and gone. I’ll never claim to be a great mystery / suspense writer, but hopefully I had readers wondering about the direction. Would Kevin and Leese stay a couple? Would they agree that while caring for each other, separation was best?
It’s ironic that one of the characters that grows isn’t even granted a point of view. Alex Teague. I’ve had a few readers tell me he was a jerk in this novel. I didn’t mean for him to come off as such. In a way, he is right about certain things. Kevin is a magnet for trouble, at times. But Alex is put in place by the end, when he realizes he’s not immune to unwanted attention, either.
That’s another mystery that may or may not have had the punch I wanted, but was still a good element. I was trying to paint that Kevin was the target of the villain, and hopefully I got a few Ohs went the truth came out. But again, not a great mystery writer 🙂
I like the subtle changes Kevin goes through, which he’s done throughout the series. He’s young, but puts a lot of thought into his magic. I love the idea of a central place, where he stores everything and make potions. I like that he’s broken down different magic for fighting different things, and uses a variety of belts, depending on what’s needed. Almost anal-retentive to me, but somehow, it fits. 🙂
Okay, the direction of the next novel. The cast is pretty much set, I think. I’ve even got a few scenes done. Some threads will continue off Witch Trial, there are even a few hints. 🙂 I will say I think this might the closet gap in time, in terms of story. I’m purposely vague about time between stories, leaving it up to the reader. But this novel will probably only be a few weeks after Witch Trial.
May 10, 2018 @ 2:26 pm
Mind Slide was the first book of yours I read, still find it interesting and think you could develop some of the ideas in your anthologies
May 10, 2018 @ 2:44 pm
The forgotten child 🙂 A book that stands out, in a weird way. Mind Slide was my first standalone after the success of Dead Living, and BEFORE the Damned and Cursed series really took off. So, not many readers talk about it. 🙂 I’m glad it comes up every now and then.
May 10, 2018 @ 5:29 pm
I’m looking forward to it.
I think the series bible sounds like a great idea. There have been a few times in the past where I thought it seemed like a character’s powers (or age differences) changed from one book to another, or the way they used them changed so that I found myself scratching my head, but it’s possible that I just misunderstood. Regardless, I think consistency is good. I’ll be cheering you on from here.
May 11, 2018 @ 12:34 pm
It wouldn’t surprise one bit if this happened, despite my best efforts. I know I nearly made a few mistakes in the past that I caught. I’ve tried to be consistent with ages. Alex and Alicia are “about” 4 years apart. Leese is “about” one year older than Kevin. 🙂
May 10, 2018 @ 6:07 pm
I enjoyed witch trial, thanks for the hard work! If I had one critique it would be that Kevin came across a little weak. I get the no killing good guy theme, but I feel like he just gets kicked around until he randomly finds something that works and heals himself. Again enjoyed the book (like all the others), just want Mr. Powerful witch to feel a little more powerful.
May 11, 2018 @ 12:35 pm
Now this is an interesting point to me. 🙂 I thought just the opposite. Kevin is SO strong, that he was able to basically solve two sets of problems at the end.
But indeed, I haven’t given Kevin a scenario yet where he can really “let loose”.
May 12, 2018 @ 11:12 am
I definitely see what your saying – versatility is there and you can feel that Kevin has the juice, but the closest I’ve felt to him actually utilizing that power was the warehouse scene in Witch’s Kurse or the cafeteria scene in Demon’s Doorway. He never has the materials he needs to just be a badass witch lol. Given his set up here at the end of Trial it looks like that will be changing for the better, please I’m just desperate for a scene where he calls down a giant lighting storm or something lol. I can see the argument for a more “subtle witch magic” approach though – the results are what matters right? Power isn’t all pyrotechnics. Random rabbit trail: are we going to be see Marie meet Tiffany anytime soon?
May 15, 2018 @ 10:21 am
Yeah, Kevin is still working on his setup, his prep, but the “war room” will go a long way, and he’s not quite done yet. 🙂
As far as when will Marie meet Tiffany, it’s ironic you ask that question. 🙂 I’ll leave it at that.
May 14, 2018 @ 4:35 am
I really liked the book as in it gave me more story on some of my favorite characters. I was just a little confused on why you made Kevin leave when he just told Jack that he should stay even though it was dangerous Kevin even used his girlfriend as an example? I also think you made Kevin take a couple of steps back in his power I still think its ok if he is a little OP he is a really good kid and having to restrain himself makes him awesome! Sorry if its to much but I just really like all of your characters and your stories otherwise are amazing. Again this is just my view as one of your fans.
May 15, 2018 @ 9:29 am
Yeah I should have gone into his decision to leave some more, especially after something similar happened with Jack and Tiffany, that he said he’d take care of. In my mind at least, it was easy for him to make a promise to someone else, but different when he thought he was a target directly. I gave it like two lines of dialog, but should have went further.
But indeed, he will come up with something for both Leese and Tiffany soon. 🙂
May 15, 2018 @ 9:32 am
Oh, and as for his power. I’ll try to do better with that in the next novel (hint as to cast 🙂 ). But the power is definitely still there. With the way he’s planning, the situation that happened in the beginning of Witch Trial, with him being unprepared for a group of witch-hunters, that won’t be a problem anymore. 🙂 It’s the supernatural threats that will be a problem.
May 20, 2018 @ 12:04 am
I enjoyed the book overall, but wish we’d have had a bit of view point from Alex here. I liked your point regarding the Jack Kursed novel. That was certainly the point where this became a series and took on a lot of depth. I will go so far as to say that Jack is one of my favorite characters in any series and I’d put him in with the likes of Bruce Wayne, Peter Parker and Rand al’Thor. Yea, I like Jack that much. He’s a great anti-hero and a character with a lot of depth. One interesting idea would be to do a memoirs of Jack covering his history. Perhaps you could bring in some great guest writers in a similar way to what we’ve been seeing in the Monster Hunter series by Larry Correia. I’d love to see more stories without disrupting the current plot line and that would sure get us some content that I think we’d all love.
May 22, 2018 @ 9:19 am
Some flashbacks with Jack. That would be fun, I think. One event that’s popped up a few times, that I wanted to dig deeper into, was Jack’s time in Germany during World War II. I’d love to dive into how he was captured, what he had to endure, and ultimately, how he escaped.
Regarding Witch Trial, and lack of a viewpoint for Alex, that was by design, but I’m glad a by-product is “We need some more Alex.” 🙂 That half of the story belongs to Leese, but of course, Alex and Cindy are a huge part of her life. The one thing I like to do is give insight to a character through another’s eyes. I liked exploring Alex through Leese.
Although, I will say now, in the next novel, Alex will not be present. (I can’t wait to reveal the cast 🙂 )