Mortal Kombat's Kitana Drawing.

Today I’m just popping in for a short progress report. I have been squeezing in a few minutes here and there to draw a few lines, or erase and draw them differently. I tried modeling the picture after the picture I had originally posted for the Tessen, but my skills are lacking in a great way in comparison. I think I have all my lines drawn now, so looks like all I have left is some coloring and then I will attempt to do some shading to give it a more three dimensional look.

Once I finish this picture, I am pretty sure I'll be able to crank out a bunch of weapons pictures a lot faster. I'm really getting a hang of the software and this is so much better than my free hand drawings. I will have to go back and replace some of those ugly free hand pictures someday. Like the Hwacha. That is a horrible drawing that mixed my initial freehand sketch with some digital editing. I had no idea what I was doing with this software at that time and I know I can make that picture a hundred times better. I'm very excited that I am developing a new skill alongside my writing. I can't wait to start sketching my characters one of these days.
 
I posted my progress so far down below. It's not perfect, but it's a huge improvement over my last attempt at drawing people. I'll have to go back and tinker with the Terminator: Back to the Future Cover after I'm done with this.

Dare to Dream

Some people don’t dream. They believe that a dream is something unattainable. If you dream you will get your hopes up and life will just let you down. Why would you want to chase after something that will always be just out of your reach? Life is not a dream. It’s dirty and it’s hard. There is no place in the world for dreams. I've heard all these before.

It’s hard for me to understand that way of thinking. I dream, I dream big. I don’t mean I dream that someday I’ll publish a book that I can show to my friends and family and say "I finally did it." No. That’s not a dream, that’s just too easy these days. Anyone could publish a book with just the click of a button, even terribly written ones. My dream is that one day, after I have about 40 books published, people will know who I am like they do King, Rowling or Rice. If you’re a reader, you know these names as well as their faces gracing the back inside cover of their books. I want that. To be known as a writer without being asked.

Still Kicking It (Life and Blog Update)

Me sitting on a gold nugget.

I’m still here, despite appearances, the blog is still alive. I’ve been focusing a lot on the co-writing gig “Welcome To My Imagination” lately. I’ve been drawing weapons for the posts already out there, but I’m really slow at art. I don’t mean to neglect the blog; it’s just been extra crazy. Even my day job has gone nuts. It’s work, what can I do? I’m stuck with it at least until I’m a New York bestseller, then maybe I can move on from working for someone besides my readers. The goal is to someday match my income and benefits with my writing before I resign from the day job, unless I retire first. Retirement is 16 years away, so I’m hoping I don’t have to wait that long.

I am working on a new Weapons and Warriors article. It’s a vicious weapon that was pretty common in Medieval Europe. I can’t wait to share that. Later on I’m going to do a post or two, maybe more, about the Sikhs of India. I’ve been talking with a person who is from India and at the moment I’m reading and watching videos to get a grasp of what the Sikh is about. I’m not sure if I’ll focus on weapons as much, but I am looking forward to writing about the culture. India has always fascinated me. Someday I will have to visit there.

New Year, But Same Old Resolutions

Courtesy of WANA Commons (via Cole Vassiliou)

Welcome to 2013! We have survived the zombie and alien apocalypse for yet another year and the Mayans calendar ending really turned out to be nothing other than them running out of paper. The year of the dragon is almost over. Everyone is thinking up their New Year Resolutions except me. I’m pretty much sticking the goals I had last year. Finish a book or two, publish them, exercise more, eat less, and get back on track with the Weapons Weekly (which I’m renaming Weapons and Warriors). Since nobody ever succeeds with resolutions, including me, I’m just going to call them goals and keep trucking along.

Hey You! I'm Still Here, Don't Give Up On Me Yet

Pic by Cellar Door Films via Flickr: WANA Commons

It’s been too long since I’ve posted a blog. I just wanted to let everyone know, I’m still alive. I’ve been writing/editing, and I didn’t want to bore everyone with the little details of my editing adventures every week. You can’t really call them adventures, more like exercises and self-discovery. I’ve been learning a lot more about writing than I ever knew. I’ve learned more the last 6 months editing than I ever did the 20+ years I wrote and rewrote stories without ever really taking it serious. I have a point, but if you have read this blog, you know I like to ramble randomly sometimes. It’s how my mind works, just random thoughts firing every direction. See, I keep getting off the subject.

*Spanks brain for misbehaving.

Now, back to what I was trying to talk about. I’m still alive. I’ve been a little out of touch lately, and I apologize for that. I’m thinking of starting up the Weapons Weekly in January 2013. By then I should have some more artwork to work with, too. I am hoping to be done with Devil Dog as well by then.

For those of you waiting on Devil Dog, it’s still in the editing phase. I’ve been reorganizing the finale to be more adrenaline pumping than before and I’ve started reworking the beginning under the advice of Kristen Lamb’s blogs on structure. Here they are if you don’t know what I mean by structure.

Anatomy of a Best-Selling Novel—Structure Part One

StructurePart 2–Plot Problems–Falcor the Luck Dragon & the Purple Tornado

StructurePart 3—Introducing the Opposition

StructurePart 4–Testing Your Idea–Is it Strong Enough to Make an Interesting Novel?

Writing Time

Art by Steven DeVon Jones

I have decided to take some time off from blogging. Not for an immense amount of time, but long enough to focus more on the editing for “Welcome To My Imagination” and “Devil Dog” sooner rather than next year. “Devil Dog” will need to go through another round of content editing before it goes to a copy-editor for proofreading. Since I’m scrapping the current ending and rewriting it, I want to make sure it gets as much attention as the rest of the novel.

I will be writing up another Weapons series, but for now, it has overwhelmed my writing time with research, writing and editing blogs. Once the books are done with their editing I will resume writing more weapons and warrior posts. I’ll organize it into sets so that I can continue writing more novels in between weapons series. I have about five different novel series I want to pursue, and I spend 75% of my writing time on this blog. Without sacrificing my time with children and work, there just isn’t much left to get those books done.

I hope everyone understands. It’s been 12 months since I began Weapons Weekly and I think it’s time to give it a short break. Hopefully the editing goes well and I’ll be back to weapons chat soon. This doesn’t mean this blog is dead until then. Since I’ll be editing, I’ll probably have a few random Writers Rambling posts popping up as I either learn new things or just feel inspired to speak up about something.

Thank you for following the blog, and I’ll see you soon!

100th Blog Post! & Lucky 7 Challenge

I’ve been challenged by Lani Wendt Young to reveal a little about myself and a little about Devil Dog. Something called the Lucky 7 MEME, and since I’m not one to pass a chance to write about myself I accepted.

The rules as I understand it are:

1. Go to page 77 of your current MS.

2. Go to line 7.

3. Copy down the next 7 lines (sentences or paragraphs) and post them as they're written.

4. Tag 7 writers and let them know.

Now for the excerpt of Devil Dog on page 77. Unfortunately it's not one of my favorite scenes or one of the most exciting, but it is a turning point in the novel where the reader realizes how the main character is about to have his whole world crash around him.

            Colonel Ramos stops walking and turns towards the pesky woman and her cameraman. He says nothing so the reporter continues on, “The Iranians are claiming he crossed their border with a squad of marines and attacked a military outpost. Destroying two attack choppers and killing close to three dozen men, some were reported as civilians. What do you say in response to that?”

            He starts to turn away again, then pauses and replies, “I believe the President is the man you want to talk to about international relations, even greatly exaggerated stories like that one. Like I said before, his mission was classified, and I will handle it as the investigation unfolds. Good day, Miss?” He waits for her to introduce herself, but she hands the microphone to the cameraman and marches back to her van without so much as a smile.

Now for the questions about me…

Write to the Death!

Some of you may know already, but for those who have not heard, my computer was attacked yesterday by a virus. It was a nasty one, real nasty, like the little growly ankle biter dog that gets your calf as soon as you laugh at its diminutive size and turn your back on it. The kind you want to take a shower after dealing with. Or stab yourself in the face for not backing up your work more frequently. Ok, so I don’t really want to stab myself in the face, not only would that hurt, but it would make it difficult to write with my brain pain split open. Don’t worry, my calf will heal, I have thick skin.

Long story short, I spent hours battling the virus to save all of my work, which included the Weapons Weekly blogs I had written for the next few weeks. So this week, I will be very late, if I post a Weapons Weekly at all. I did not win the battle and in the end, I killed the virus, but he took every one of my documents with him. All of the blogs will have to be rewritten and researched.

If not for having two flash drives that I stored a few things on previously, it would have been a total loss. The last thing I want to do is go back to square one on writing Devil Dog. It was 348 pages before today. The backed up copy is only 311, but that not too bad. I’ll have that fixed in no time. The biggest loss was losing all of my work on Devil Dog 2 and mostly everything on the Warlord.

Writer Ramblings: I Love Haterz

Hate is a strong word, but it has become extremely common and sociably acceptable on the internet today. You can argue that it’s not, but you’ve seen them and their little following. I’m not talking about the internet bully or the trolls. I’m talking about the guy who never has anything good to say. He reviews books or whatever and he really breaks them down and tells everyone who will listen how much he hates your work and will never read your books again.

                       

Ouch a little.

I love that guy. I am not that guy, I can’t relate to that guy. I’ve given tough reviews and most of my toughest were on traditionally published authors, but that is because I expect a lot more from them. I pay a hell of lot more of those books. I am a tightwad. I’m so cheap I squeak when I walk. It’s true; I can’t sneak up on anyone. If it’s not a bargain, I don’t want it anyway. I actually have bought books by an author after not liking his first. I wanted to see if he improved, or maybe the first story just wasn’t my thing and I saw some potential.

Writer Ramblings: Why Should I Not Publish Traditionally?

I don’t believe I’m the next Stephen King, that’s every writers dream, but few of us can grasp the depth and complexity of Stephen King's abilities to ever compare ourselves to him and not feel ashamed. He’s a prodigy. What makes him even more awesome is that he knows this, but does not flaunt it, although he has no problems at all speaking his mind. Most often in the context of writing and writers, he’s absolutely right (Sorry Twihards).

This is not a King worshipping post. I do have a real point here. What is it? Ok, My point is, I am not Stephen King, I just aspire to be like him. I don’t want to be exactly like him. I am my own person with my own stories and none of them are like King’s stories. About the only thing I know my editor has said to me that King’s has probably said to him was, “Tone down the gore a little. Any more brain matter on a wall and it’s going to be too much to stomach.” Okay, maybe my descriptive voice was better than I had expected, in that someone would actually get sick reading about a bullet wound to the head. I got it, no problem. I aspire to make a living writing, just like Stephen King does. Writing stories and doing all the things that come with writing a book and publishing it.

Weapons & Warriors: The Bushidō of the Samurai

Art by Steven DeVon Jones

Way of the Warrior Knight. That is what Bushidō means. It is the code that a Samurai lived by, and if he was honorable, he died by it as well. Some could say it was a form of chivalry, and there are quite a few similarities. Like the Knights of Europe, the Samurai were extensions of the government, nobles in their own right, allowed to deal justice when necessary and known to command troops when capable. Unlike the Knight of Europe, where title and victory in battle were often sought after, the Samurai balanced his violent lifestyle with wisdom and extreme discipline. Riches and status were not his goal.

Bushidō requires that all Samurai must be loyal to the death to whoever they serve. They must remain honorable even when they are about to die. Don’t bother interrogating a Samurai because he would rather die a horrible painful death than dishonor himself. They were trained at birth to be loyal, deadly and practical. They would shed their own blood if they dishonored themselves.

 
Surprisingly, there was no written or spoken code for Bushidō. It was more of a creation of beliefs that evolved over generations of military families. As the child was born, he was destined to be Samurai, and started training as soon as he could walk and understand his lessons. After centuries of families training children in this manner, there was never a need to create a written reference to what the code actually was, it was just naturally accepted and known. It wasn’t until later when historians tried to search out its roots that Bushidō was even named.

Weapons & Warriors: The Kanabō of the Samurai

Art by TL Jeffcoat

Although the Katana and other smaller blades were the most famous and most common weapons a Samurai used, they weren’t the only weapons in his arsenal. The Kanabō was probably the heaviest of the weapons a Samurai trained in. This two handed monster varied in actual length and weight, but there were those made that were the length of a man and were heavy enough that when swung down in a chopping motion they were powerful enough to destroy what they hit.

The thick club-like shaft was usually made with a very strong heavy wood, and sometimes with iron. Then one end was studded with iron spheres. The studs were inserted in rows along the length of each side of the shaft. Once completed it looked like a giant baseball bat with iron balls lined along its length.

There is a saying in Japan that goes “Like giving a Kanabō to an Oni.” What is an Oni you ask? It is basically a mythological Japanese demon that was supposed to be very strong. Strong enough that artistic depictions of them often had them wielding the Kanabō with only one hand. So the saying basically means giving someone an advantage while they already had the best chance; never a good idea.

Welcome To My Imagination (Cover Re-Reveal)

Illustration by Steven D Jones

Just a quick recoloring of the wording. Threw in a little light on the lettering so it doesn't blend into the rest of the darkness too much, but still looks bloody. Increased the size of my name as well so it didn't just look like crimson scribble. It's no longer a crimson I don't think, but that was probably too dark of a red for the darkness of the rest of the cover. This stands out a bit more I think.

Ok, back to revisions for this book, have a great weekend everyone! Don't hesitate to let me know if you see anything that could still use improving.

Weapons & Warriors: The Ninja, The Truth of the Shinobi

Art by Steven DeVon Jones

They were once known as the Shinobi, but just saying the word Ninja usually makes people conjure images of ghostlike black clothed figures sneaking around and killing people without ever being seen. Believe it or not, that is the Hollywood ninja. The true Ninja is shrouded in mystery plenty enough by their own myths and legends that Hollywood has virtually deluded their existence to being magicians with weapons and martial arts. In reality, most ninja started out as farmers and labors. They made their weapons from the tools they used and learned martial arts from monks that had been influenced by Chinese refuges from generations before.

The victim of a real ninja probably looked right into the Ninja’s eyes as he died. More often than not, the Ninja would be so inconspicuous that they could waltz right up to their target and kill him without anyone realizing what was happening until he had already slipped away. They didn’t wear black pajamas. They wore what everyone else in the room was wearing. Blending in like a covert spy. Essentially, that’s what a Ninja really was, a spy who had been trained in sabotage, espionage, and assassination as well as combat.

Samurai were usually the enemies of the Ninja, and Samurai despised the Ninja who did not honor the Bushido code. A Samurai had to face his enemy and state his intentions before fighting honorably, even on a battlefield. A Ninja had no such limitations and because of this, Samurai were often known to hire local Ninja to sow chaos with their enemies and gain the edge without actually getting their own hands dirty and hurting their own honor.

Weapons & Warriors: The Shikomi of the Ninja

There were two forms of Shikomi used by Ninja, the Gatana and the Zue. Both were effective tools used to conceal a sword. The Ninja were well known for hauling around an extensive arsenal, but sometimes that was not always possible. For instance, while walking around in broad daylight among the public, a Ninja could not carry his swords without drawing attention. Or could he?

Once the technology to create thinner blades that wouldn’t break so easily was learned, the Ninja embraced it with a new weapon that was the most ingeniously disguised sword ever made. The Shikomi-Gatana was the more common of the two. When carried around by a Ninja who wanted to appear as a traveler or monk, it resembled a walking staff. A common tool used by many people both wealthy and poor. Once threatened or attacked, the Ninja would reveal the true nature of the staff. In reality, the staff was a scabbard that held a thin bladed sword, which could easily be drawn from one end.

This caught more than one enemy by surprise as the Ninja would often begin the fight using the staff as if it was what it appeared to be, but instead of swatting at the swordsman, he would deflect his sword, moving to the side and drawing his own sword hidden in the staff. Ninja trained well at these types of maneuvers and often cut down an opponent before they realized the Ninja ever had a sword at all.

Weapons & Warriors: The Ninjato of the Ninja

The greatest enemy to the Ninja was the Samurai. Ninja were not weak or poor swordsmen either but they were no match when they drew a katana to fight the masters of the warrior caste of Japan. Despite the vast array of weaponry that Ninja studied, they too studied the art of swordplay. They also mastered it and varied their style to counter that of the Samurai. However many historians believe that the Ninja adopted a shorter version of the katana instead of the bulkier length of the armored warriors. Samurai’s katana were a far superior quality of designed weapons than anything a Ninja could afford, and any Samurai who fell to a Ninja would certainly lose his precious blade to his slayer. Not all Ninja acquired a katana by theft or killing a Samurai, but it wasn’t unheard of. In fact, prying a katana from the bloodied hand of a Samurai was not only a wonderful prize, but an excellent reputation builder among the Ninja. Samurai did not give up their weapons while they still breathed.

Writer Ramblings: Drums of War, er Gaming

“The sounds of the drums echo through my head on the waves of memories as I dream of war. I hear the battle cries around me and the roars of dragons as they fill the skies and rain their fire down on everything beneath them. We mount our wyvern, drakes and brooms and fly up to face the monstrosities that threaten the world. Fearless and proud, our nations unite under one banner. Thousands will perish, but nobody is worried about that, we all return with another life to rise up and battle again. The endless sky of leathery wings must be defeated or all will be lost. And when we are done with the invaders, we will return our attention to the weak Alliance who hate our Horde.”

I wrote this once while playing a game that I love very much. Since I’ve began writing in all of my spare time, I’ve deactivated my account and moved on, but recently I saw a trailer for an upcoming expansion to the game and I’ve began dreaming about it all over again. I played it for years and I even managed a couple of guilds. My favorite till this day was called Red Steel, and believe it or not, it had nothing to do with Russian tanks. The name came from a classic D&D module for a location on the world of Mystara which had a unique resource that was like a fine red dust, but if processed, it could be made as hard as steel and could take on magical properties.



Weapons & Warriors: The Shuriken of the Ninja

Art by TL Jeffcoat

Ninja were known for carrying many small weapons. One of the most famous Ninja weapons in America is often inaccurately called a Chinese Star. I'm not sure where the misplaced title comes from but the Shuriken was primarily a Japanese weapon. What many people don’t realize is that although designed for throwing, there were many masters that learned a technique where they wielded them like knives.

There are literally dozens of designs to the Shuriken. They could be made from virtually anything that a ninja could get his hands on. Many Shuriken where made from coins, washers and other scraps of metal. They were not all just flat pieces of sharp metal. One design was called a Bo Shuriken and it was not round or flat at all. It was a long piece of metal resembling a smooth spike, usually somewhere around a half foot long. These were one the most deadly of the Shuriken as well. The small flat razor types you usually see in Hollywood often created more flesh wounds than fatalities. Without any real weight behind the projectile it would not always dig as deep and therefore not pierce vital organs unless it was a perfect throw and imbedded into the neck or face. The Bo Shuriken however, was long pointed and heavy enough that when it was thrown, it was very capable of achieving the depth of penetration in the chest needed to kill a man. Some Ninja even found ways to hide Bo Shuriken inside the handle of their katana and some Shuriken were designed to be thrown over forty feet accurately.

Weapons & Warriors: The Rajput, Sons of Kings

The Rajput warriors are a noble caste that once ruled portions of India and Southeast Asia. Their reign dates back to the fall of the Gupta Empire sometime in the 5th or 6th century and lasted until 1947-1950 when the final Rajput princes joined their kingdoms with modern India after it achieved its Independence from British rule. They were given the option of joining Pakistan, India or remaining independent. Overwhelmingly they decided to unite with India. Rajput literally means the son of a king and they were born as nobles and trained to fight as soon as they were old enough to learn. They were mentally focused and well respected warriors by all who traveled in these regions. When the British occupied India, they recruited heavily among the Rajput because they admired the warrior culture that they felt could help them with the colonial army.

The Rajput had to defend their lands against many invaders over the centuries. Some of these powerful enemies were the Mongols and Arabs. Despite being outnumbered, they held their ground and repelled almost every invader that tried to conquer them by force. The region ruled by the Rajput was very fertile and productive and was very irresistible to its neighbors. During the 11th and 12th centuries, Islamic invaders constantly troubled the Hindu Rajput. The Rajput fought valiantly but often fought amongst their neighboring Rajput kingdoms as well. This inability to unite caused many problems towards the 1300’s and Islam began to spread throughout their lands. Eventually they allied with the Mughal Empire in the 1600's and remained loyal even after the British supplanted the Mughal power 200 years later.

Weapons & Warriors: The Bhuj of the Rajput

The Bhuj is a small axe that is named after the Indian city of Bhuj. The design is that of an axe, but it is often called an axe-knife. The long blade runs down the steel shaft. The thick heavy blade allows the weapon to chop through virtually anything and the short length of its shaft allows for more agility when in engaged close with an enemy. The bhuj is quite easy to use as much as a thrusting weapon as a chopping weapon. The tip of the blade is sharpened on both edges and is capable of penetrating most armor. This axe was often called the elephant knife because of the elephant head tip on the end of the steel shaft. The ornament doubles as a handle for a thin blade that is hidden in the shaft of the axe.

The Elephant Knife is as deadly as it is decorated. Engravings run along the blades and shaft. The scabbard for the blade is often decorated as well. Despite the weight of the axe, the small size made it easily portable and made for a great weapon against those with spears. The blade could easily snap the wooden shafts of enemies as they were thrust at the Rajput. Another advantage the Bhuj has over other axes was the sword blows against its shaft. Since the entire weapon was made of steel, it would not break if a sword or axe struck the shaft.