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September 27, 2014 + Characters, fantasy, Fiction, Inspiration, literature, Movie, Novel, Opinion, rules, Urban Fantasy, video games, Writing

Elves

by Jim

As you can imagine by my written work so far… I love elves. They’re are some of my favorite mythological characters… but over the years, there have been different incarnations of them. So which one is the right one? Well technically speaking, there is no right or wrong in Fantasy… and I can say that with a straight face after watching Jeremy Irons in Dungeons and Dragons!

In all seriousness though, everyone has their own interpretation and any one of them can be labelled as ‘correct.’ So where did all of these different variations come from?

In early works, specifically the old norse legends, elves (or ælf, ylf, alp, alpi, elpi, alfr depending on time period and region) are known for having dark skin in many cases, piercing eyes, and are almost flawlessly elegant. They are known for being evasive and deceptive in these stories. There is no reference to whether or not they have pointed ears and given that the characters have a hard time identifying them, it seems likely their their ears are either concealed or similar to humans. They do share many traits with faeries, brownies and pixies, which would lead one to believe that they were all one mythical form at one point.

Hrolf Kraki’s Saga description of elves:
“He sat up and hauled back the fell. There lay a woman in a sheening sark. Never had he seen any this beautiful. The straw hardly cracked as she rose to her knees and smiled at him. Full breasts and hips thrust against her garment, shone through it; their sweetness overwhelmed all winter chill and stench, he was suddenly drown in summer. Raven’s-wing locks flowed past a face pale and strange, too cleanly carven to be wholly human. Her eyes were the unblinking gold of a hawk’s.”

Despite no reference to pointed ears, Skyrim’s version of the elf seems to fit the description:

Now I’ll admit that this is not how I see elves, and there are other perfectly good examples. Take a Mid Summer Night’s Dream…

From Shakespearean times, the word elf saw use in English as a term loosely brelated to the French fairy. It also became associated with diminutive supernatural beings like Puck, Robin Goodfellow, brownes, and even pixies were associated with them. Which may have given author J.K. Rowling the inspiration for her version of elves:

It logically makes sense… but this came from Shakespearean times and, like the Roman’s borrowing from the Greeks, things get distorted. So since I don’t subscribe to the more intelligent and useful version of Jar Jar Binks idea… let’s move on.

Moving forward into modern times, dealing with Tolkien and his Middle Earth. Here we have several incarnations of elves… including, oddly enough, at least one without pointed ears. In his stories, the elves are created as a separate race by the Gods. Near as I can tell, they were meant to be a sort of angel that was not meant to remain forever.

Tolkien, thankfully, tried to go back in some ways to the original designs… though I think he may have pushed the feminine button a little too hard… and apparently I’m not the only one who thinks so.

Following Tolkien’s popular depiction of elves… we now have a plethora of different renditions to choose from, some of them good… others are just downright cartoony! Everything from the early incarnations in Dungeons and Dragons, to later appearances in Warcraft, Dragon Age, etc.

So I realize that I still haven’t answered my own question; which version do I believe is accurate. Well, in my book, Magnifica, elves are much like humans. They are warm blooded creatures that share many of the same traits with our species. They are capable of producing offspring with human partners, so their internal biology isn’t too much different. However, the few elves that are not infected with the Ulium disease, outlive humans by almost 80 years. They are light eaters and have a sixth sense that allows them to detect magic and communicate with nature on a much more personal level than humans. They are about the same height as humans and slightly stronger on average.

So what do they look like? Well if you read my post on creating rules for your story? One of my rules was that everything had to be as realistic as possible. In other words, it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to buy that some of these creatures could exist. I’m personally not at all fond of the anime style, while at the same time, the Lord of the Rings version has ears so small that a strategically placed hairdo can cover them… which I suppose you could argue is why early versions don’t mention there ears.

That said, in my personal opinion, the best version comes from a Skyrim mod I often use in my games. This is what I picture when someone mentions an elf:

The ears aren’t too long but stick out just enough to be pronounced, they’re as tall as any human, their skin is slightly tanned while at the same time nearly flawless, so it covers all the bases mentioned above. Again, this is all opinion-based so feel free to disagree with me. I won’t take offense!

You may notice that I didn’t mention Christmas elves… honestly, I just don’t think they fit in here. Given that St. Nicolas’ legend stems from Asia minor, which is a good distance away from the Nordic areas, I’d be more apt to believe that Christmas elves are more closely related to a version of dwarves given that they’re portrayed as being very short, and manual laborers. Maybe I’m thinking too much into this? Well either way, that’s my two cents.

See you on the flip side!
-Jim

September 26, 2014 + advice, Fiction, Inspiration, literature, rules, Uncategorized, Writing

Sequels

by Jim

Lately a lot of remakes have found their way onto the market. For the most part none of them have been any good. Think about it…

Most of the Disney sequels… Ghost Rider 2, Everything after Jaws, the supposed new Ghost Busters move (yup, I’m projecting), Men in Black 2, Men in Black 3, The Exorcist 2: The Heretic, Both Matrix Sequels, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, The Ring 2, Lost Boys 2, Love Never Dies (Phantom of the Opera Sequel… DON’T WATCH IT!!) …What do you mean they made sequels of the Butterfly effect!?

As you can see, we have a lot of really bad examples to choose from. So why are they so bad, how do they keep getting green lighted? Well, let’s start at the beginning.

As far as I’m concerned, there are three types of sequels; the direct sequel, the indirect sequel, and the forced sequel. Two of them stand a decent chance at being good… one has almost none. Care to guess which? Let’s go through them:

The Direct Sequel
Some stories are not stand alone. 1.5 to 3 hours (movies) and 80k-100k words (novel) aren’t always going to be enough to tell a complete story. It’s unrealistic to throw everything into one massive book or extremely long movie… especially given peoples’ average attention span these days. Writing a second book or movie is a logic step in the progression of the story. Now that’s not to say that sequels can’t fall flat on their face, The Matrix was a prime example of this. However, when it is done right, the story can flow almost seamlessly. Good examples of this are The Empire Strikes Back and The Lord of the Rings.

The Indirect Sequel
So when I finished my first book (Divinity) and submitted it to a literary agent, the first question out of their mouths was ‘Do you plan on writing any sequels?’ Stupid me, I answered no! My reasoning was that I was done with the story. All the loose ends were tied up and my lead characters had struggled to the point where they deserved their happy ending. So why ruin that?
Well needless to say, I never heard from that agent again… So then I got to thinking, how could I do a sequel without actually disturbing the Happily Ever After ending that I had set up for my characters. The answer came to me pretty quickly; An entirely new story, featuring new characters, but set in the same world, around the same time as the first story. This could set the stage to have some characters from the first story make appearances! Huzzah! I’d discovered a work around.
This is the way sequels to complete stories should be done. It makes sense, you have a world people enjoy reading about and, no doubt there are several aspects of this world that still need to be explored. New places or takes on certain events. Have your audience see them through fresh eyes and let the characters that have already been through enough, have their happy ending. Dragon Age did this beautifully with ‘The Grey Warden’ and then the ‘Hero of Kirkwall.’

The Forced Sequel
Now we reach the bottom of the barrel. This is where you have a complete story, a good story, a story that needs no extras. Stories like Jurassic Park, The Phantom of the Opera, Most of the Disney movies that got sequels, and The Never Ending Story.
So how do such bad movies get green lighted? The answer maybe more infuriating and simpler than most people think. While sometimes it’s a legitimate attempt to expand a great story and look at characters in a new light… more often (like 99.99% of the time) its…

Yup… that’s right… It’s a money grab, NOTHING more. It’s an attempt to cash in on an otherwise successful title in the desperate attempt to turn said title into a franchise and it very rarely works. See publishers and movie studios don’t want stand alone stories anymore. They want something that they can continuously make money off of. So if they see a title do extremely well, a sequel is almost inevitable. Whether the story needs one or not.
Unfortunately their little ploy works! The reason for this is that most of us know right off that the sequel is most likely going to be bad. We’re not stupid, for the most part. We’re just hoping against all hope that the writers and producers weren’t JUST seeing dollar signs and are actually going to give us something great. By the time we realize that it’s just another mindless money grab that has ruined our image of the first movie, it’s already too late. The studio/publishing exec’s have cashed the billion dollar cheques that we gave them to satiate our curiosity. Thus no statement has been made and they now have the money to trash yet another great movie.

Hope this helps and makes people think twice about knowingly subjecting themselves to bad stories.

Catch you on the flip side!
-Jim

September 26, 2014 + fantasy, ficiton, Fiction, literature, Uncategorized, Writing

Thought of the Week: Now That I’m Published…

by Jim

Hi all, wanted to give you the chance to take a look at another newcomer to the published author scene. Please take a few minutes from reading through Magnifica 😉 to check this out!

Satis Writes

It’s been quite a while since I’ve had much to say here, and I’m sorry for that. I’ve been through one of the worst summers in recent memory in terms of battling my depression and possible bipolar diagnosis, and it’s been a daily struggle to even get out of bed. Work has been utterly exhausting, and in the little spare time I’ve had, I’ve tried desperately to dedicate myself to my book.

Having said that, I am still here, and I’m hoping to be around a little more than I have been lately. There was a time when I posted several times a week, and while I can’t quite commit to that level of activity yet, I would like to get back into the swing of things. I remember the wonderful feeling of knowing someone else has read your words, whether they be of hope or despair, and I of course…

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September 25, 2014 + Book, Fiction, John Carpenter, literature, Movie, Novel, Opinion, Romance, True Story, Worst

Least Favorite story ever…

by Jim

There is really no way around it. I kind of knew that this was unavoidable. There are a couple of stories that really irk me, but this one, in movie form takes the cake. This story, to me, was so bad that it actually inspired me to start a movie blog a few years ago… the blog didn’t do so well so I abandoned it. So I’ll basically take what I wrote there and try to add a little as I go. Bear with me, I can already feel my blood boiling.

The Vow (2012)

Now I know what everyone is thinking;
“Of course he’s going to bring up a girl’s movie. He’s a guy who’s into fantasy and action.”
No! I’m okay with romantic movies. I still enjoy 50 First Dates and Valentine’s Day was a cute movie in it’s own right. I actually bought my wife a copy of Just Like Heaven… and City of Angels is a guilty pleasure. I give stories a fair chance and don’t judge just because it’s from a specific genre. This one however, drove me crazy to the point where I was pretty much yelling by the end of it. Thank God I didn’t pay money to go see it or I might have had a coronary!

My wife turned it on one day because she wanted to see it. Being a good loving husband, I decided to give it a chance. Within minutes, I was regretting that decision.

So by now you’re probably asking yourself why does he find this movie offensive to the senses? It’s a cute love story, what’s your issue? Well… let’s take a look…

SPOILERS AHEAD!

So the movie starts off with this young couple enjoying a night out on the town. They are getting ready to drive home when their car get’s hit. The husband, played by present heart-throb Channing Tatum… (Soon to be Gambit in X-Men Apolcalypse… kay…), is unharmed while his wife, Rachel McAdams, suffers a traumatic brain injury and loses her memory.

She is brought into the hospital where it’s revealed that she’s lost a large chunk of her memory, but not all of it and actually mistakes her husband for a doctor. It’s not long before her family gets wind of what’s going on and comes to her aid. At this point, you find out that her and her family have a troubled history, which is why she moved into the city. The worst part about this set up is that the last thing she remembers is being engaged to another man.

This results in the ex showing up again… most likely contacted by her parents, and the girl throwing herself at her ex behind her husband’s back. All the while, she is treating her husband horribly while he tries to help her recover.

I’m going to stop there for a moment. This is a major problem for me. Let me explain, despite her losing her memory and being indifferent to the guy she learns she’s married to, her husband does everything (and I mean everything) to help her heal and make her comfortable. He also shows some class and doesn’t tell her why she left her family, which is revealed later that her father, played by Sam Neil, had an affair with one of her friends, and her mother is living in a delusional world where her family is more important than the individual feelings of herself, or her children. The mother basically seems to be in a hypnotic state of denial!

So, back on track, Rachel’s character treats her husband like crap, and eventually leaves him to go back and be with her family. Yes, it’s Tatum who finalizes the divorce, but it’s her pushing away and her family’s constant pressure that prompts him to make that decision. So now, pretty much the last few years of his now-ex wife’s life is being undone. Tragic, I’ll admit. I’d probably have gone insane at this point if I were in Tatum’s shoes.

So eventually she discovers that she’s been manipulated by her family and their misdeeds are brought out into the light… Her father’s actions and her own desire for freedom are why she left home in the first place and moved to the city. So now that we have that realization, does she go back to her husband apologetically with tears in her eyes and beg his forgiveness? Nope. That’s what a person with a heart does. That’s what someone with feelings and emotions does… does she even tell her family off? Nope…

So what does she do then?

SHE ALLOWS THE DIVORCE TO GO THROUGH AND LET’S HER FAMILY CONTINUE TO MANIPULATE HER!! She gives up her art and goes back to school because… that’s what daddy told her to do, and pretty much goes back to the way things were, completely forgetting that her father had sex with one of her friends… wonderful. Channing man, I’m starting to think you were better off without this… woman. She’s officially hit the rewind button on life and years of progress have been LOST!

So eventually events, probably similar to ones that happened before she lost her memory, happen again and she realizes, once again, that school isn’t for her, and she moves back to the city, once again, to continue working on her art. She tells her father that she’s not leaving because of him, it’s just something she has to do… and God bless your heart if you believe a word of that.

So she moves back to the city, ‘coincidentally enough’ not too far from where her now-ex-husband lives, but doesn’t go to see him. Which, for once, is the right thing to do! Seriously, you wring a human being through the blender, stomp on his heart, and spit on the remaining pieces, at least have the decency to let the guy live his life! So maybe she has a redeeming quality…

Until…

Six months go by and she continues to work on her ‘art.’ One night outside a shop the couple used to frequent, Channing runs into his ex-wife who tells him she’s moved back to the city. She tells him everything that’s happened… and like a total sucker, he takes her back! Are you freaken serious!? Her family doesn’t like you, she all but cheated on you, she treated you like crap and left you high and dry and your taking her back? Seriously any person, any REAL person, would have scoffed and walked away.

Okay, if it’s not painfully obvious to why by now why I really hate this story, then let me lay it out for you:
1. Ladies and Gents, you can’t abuse your loved one, cheat on them, treat them like crap and expect that they’ll just take you back when all is said and done. I don’t care what the excuse is. If the person has any self respect at all, they’ll laugh at you for even trying.

2. Decisions people, you make them, you have to live with them! There is a saying “You can’t go Home again.” It’s truth.

3. If someone manipulates you, it’s probably not the best move in the world to put your trust in those people!

There is no character development here at all. What we see is a character revert to a previous time and then regrow to where they were when the movie started. That’s not development. Not a single person apologizes for the wrong they’ve done. I get not holding something over someone’s head for the rest of their lives. Forgive and move on, but when you’ve NEVER apologized for it in the first place, and then make no effort to come clean with the skeletons when someone has put their trust in you… that’s reprehensible! The father doesn’t apologize for being an adulterer, the friend doesn’t apologize for being a slut, the mother doesn’t apologize for being dillusional and allowing her father to manipulate her, knowing full well what’s going on. The ex doesn’t apologize for being a douche, and the wife doesn’t apologize for being a cheating abusive witch, to the one somewhat respectable human being in this movie who actually deserved one!

God… the entire time I was watching this movie, I kept thinking back to an episode I saw (Of Law and Order I think), where a young woman walks in on her family who has been brutally murdered. After an intense investigation, it turns out that her family manipulated her out of her life and marriage after she suffered amnesia in almost identical fashion to this movie. The difference: The daughter got her memory back a few years later, saw that her husband had married another woman, realized what her family had done to her AND MURDERED THEM! This would have been a better and probably more realistic outcome, and one I was waiting for the entire time! But it never freaken happens!

This fantasy of a movie gives off the impression that there is no consequences for your actions and you can treat people like shit and they will still come running back to you. The entire time it’s trying to paint Rachel’s character as blameless… this is something a neo-feminist would write!

Yes I understand that she had amnesia, she was confused and alone, etc. But see that’s the thing, she knew she was still married when she threw herself at her ex, she knew her husband was struggling to care for her. Did she care? Hell no!

The worst part? This movie was based on a true story. I looked it up, I did the research, yes the woman in that stories put her through hell, but at least there it was explained that it was from her head injury and not because she was stressed out by what was going on around them. As it turns out, they didn’t like this re-telling of their story because it left out a major key element in what kept them together; faith.

That’s right, all reference to religion was completely abandoned. Want another shocking fact? All of the family turmoil that went on in the book and the movie dealing with her father’s unscrupulous behavior and interference in her life and marriage… was pure fiction! That’s right, none of it really happened! They had the support of their families and were able to hold together through everything.

The lead woman in fictitious story is a total witch for no explained reason and there is nothing redeemable about her character. It would appear she showed her true colors of what caliber of person she was when she lost her memory.

Seriously, I’ve seen some bad romance stories in my time but this… this is mind numbingly bad, it’s reprehensible and it’s intolerable. It’s not what would really happen unless the guy was a pathetic fool, and it really pissed me off! It’s not charming, it’s not romantic, I hope it burns in hell as no doubt her fictitious adulterous father will.

I’m going to stop now before I actually give myself a coronary. Feel free to disagree… but to me, this story will be hard to top!

September 25, 2014 + Book, Characters, Dean Koontz, Fiction, horror, literature, thriller, Writing

Favorite Story?

by Jim

What you mean besides the ones I write? Just kidding!

That’s… a tough call to be honest. I’m very picky about the things I read and often restrict myself to Fantasy/Folklore and Sci-Fi. My collection includes things like the Elder Edda, Hrolf Kraki’s Saga, The Frithiof Saga, and a lot of Tolkien.

However if I had to choose a favorite out of everything I’ve ever read, I’d have to dive back pretty far. It was an Autumn night in 1999 when I was suffering through my High School fall reading list to find a book that I would enjoy. To my surprise, I stumbled upon a Dean Koontz Novel posted by one of my professors. Not really a fan, but happy to see something other than the classic fiction pieces and normal drab that most people wouldn’t pick up outside of a classroom, I bought the book.

Not a day goes by where I am not thankful that I did….

This is an old one 1995 and falls out of the normal genre I usually stick to. Thrillers and Horror stories while great, aren’t usually my cup of tea, but something about this one got me hooked.

It’s not one book, but a collection of stories from Koontz. Most of them were the average fair from Koontz. They were good stories, as you’d expect from such a great author, but one specifically grabbed me.

The actual story, Strange Highways, which the book was named for:

Synopsis (Wikipedia):

“Strange Highways” (novel): a failed author returns to his hometown after many years to attend his father’s funeral, only to find himself suddenly and inexplicably thrust back through time to relive a traumatic event from his past, and possibly to find redemption. In the introduction, Koontz lists the Centralia, Pennsylvania mine fire as an inspiration for this story.

It’s a story of a man given a second chance and the opportunity to change his fate. The only problem is that he has to face down someone… or something that is pure evil.

I can’t give too much away because I really think that everyone should give it a read. It’s not a long story, so it won’t take a long time to get through. The characters are great, the twist as to who the bad guy is, is somewhat expected, but Koontz still keeps you on the edge of your seat while the author faces it down.

The female lead character, I’ll admit, is pretty much your typical damsel in distress, but she’s mysterious enough to be likable by herself. All and all it’s a great story, the main character starts off as somewhat drab and dismal, but you grow to appreciate his life and sympathize with him. By the end, if you aren’t warmed by what happened to him, you have a heart of stone. It really is a classic style adventure that leaves you satisfied at the end. For this short story alone, the book is worth the $2 price tag on amazon. I highly recommend picking it up. It really is amazing what can be packed into a short story.

If you follow my advice or have already read it, I’d be interested to hear opinions, whether you agree with me or not!

Catch you on the flip side!
– Jim

September 25, 2014 + Cover, ficiton, Fiction, Inspiration, literature, rules, Uncategorized, Writing

Character Complexes

by Jim

Developing a great character can add to… and in some cases save a story. However in almost every movie or book, certain characters always fall into different archetypal roles. How many of us have gone to the movies, seen one particular character and been like ‘Oh yeah, that guy’s not surviving this movie!’
Well, there’s a reason for that and it is because that character fits into one of many molds that movie goer’s and readers are all too familiar with. I’ve developed my own names for each of them over time with some of the more famous and/or notorious examples. Let’s explore them one at a time, shall we?

The Obi Wann Kenobi complex
Star Wars certainly didn’t invent this one, but it’s definitely the most well-known example. This complex belongs to a character, usually of advanced age who is the moral “right” in the story. S/he usually takes on the mentor role and provides words of wisdom to our main hero. This person can be incredibly powerful or incredibly feeble, it usually works either way. It also doesn’t matter if this mentor uses kind nurturing or tough love.
The main problem with this character is that he or she is actually a hindrance to the main hero. This is because the hero cannot truly grow and become strong and independent as long as he is still under the mentor’s wing. As long as the mentor is still around to protect the hero, the villain is usually kept at bay and the hero remains unchallenged. Thus this character will almost always be the sacrificial… (for lack of a better term) lamb to help the hero development.
Other examples include:
Dumbledore (Harry Potter)
Mufasa (Lion King)
Qui Gon Jinn (… Episode 1)
Captain Pike (Star Trek/Darkness)
Whistler (Blade)
Bambi’s Mother (Bambi)
Yoda (ROTJ)
Juan Sanchez Villa-Lobos Ramirez (Highlander)
One could argue that Gandalf from LOTRs also had this complex as Frodo thinks he’s dead, but he actually survives, so I kept him off the list.

The Conflicted Villain Complex
I’m not going to lie, I love this one. Arguably the best characters I’ve ever read/wrote about or seen in a movie, suffer from this. A character who falls into this category doesn’t always start off as evil. Often they are exposed to horrors during their lives that twist them into what they have become. Others take up a cause or try to alter their destiny and go to extremes to make what they desire most happen. Ironically, in most cases, the exact opposite of what they wanted happens and they are left broken and having to face the decisions that they made.
In most cases they are teetering on the edge of insanity and/or are dealing with an internal conflict where their previous good selves are still fighting to come back. Often times, they can come back and are successfully saved. Many become the true heroes of the story by realizing their error at the last possible moment and come forward to save the day, often sacrificing themselves in the process.

Unlike the one-dimensional villains that we are all used to, it’s often hard to tell where characters who suffer from this stand. It is also much harder for people to not relate to these characters and sympathize with them, often more so than the hero of the story. Characters like Maleficent (Sleeping Beauty) or Scar (Lion King) while well done, really don’t have a whole lot to them.

Examples:
Darth Vader (Star Wars)
The Dark Phoenix (X-Men)
Artimesia (Rise of an Empire)
Harvey Dent (The Dark Knight)
Gollum (LOTR)
Javert (Les Miserables)
Frollo (The Huntchback of Notre Dame)

The Ra’s Al Ghul Complex
Okay, you could argue that this is the same thing as the Obi Wan Kenobi… which is why I was hesitant to mention this. It’s basically the Obi Wan Kenobi complex with a single provision; the mentor is either a dark character, or one with an opposing viewpoint and s/he is someone that the hero will eventually need to confront and/or kill in order to grow and succeed. In some of the better stories where this complex appears, the mentor turns out to be the actual villain.
Examples:
Kreia (Knights of the Old Republic 2)
Tolwyn (Wing Commander)
Palpatine (Revenge of the Sith)

The Greek Tragedy Complex.

I name this one as such because, too often in Greek mythology, we see characters get their fate revealed to them which then sets them on a quest to prevent said fate. In every case, we see those trying to cheat fate actually directly causing it to happen through their own actions. Oedipus is a perfect example of this; it is foretold that he would kill his father and marry his mother. He leaves his family, runs off, and then kills someone who crashed into him. He then marries that man’s wife… come to find out that those were his real parents.
Basically a character that falls into this category is desperately trying to do good, he wants to save someone or something, but every time he tries to do good, his actions cause more evil. The character who has this is usually not a strong character. It’s someone who either has tunnel vision, is single-minded, and/or has no dynamic qualities at all.
A Character afflicted with this problem is cursed with knowing the outcome of a situation and/or his own fate or that of a loved one. Like Oedipus himself, when these character’s learn of what is to happen, they do everything they can to escape what is to happen.
The problem is that these characters are willing to do anything, and I mean anything to change the outcome. They often become so blinded by desperation that they don’t see what effect’s their actions are having. In the end, their actions are what causes the foreshadow to come true.

A perfect example of this is Anakin Skywalker in Revenge of the Sith. He has a revelation that his wife is going to die during childbirth. It’s unclear whether his friend Palpatine planted this image there to drive him down the dark path, but I always suspected that this was the case, especially since he begins to temp Anakin with the promise of a power great enough to prevent people from dying.

Anakin is desperate and willing to do anything to prevent the death of his wife. He goes to the point of sacrificing his own soul to keep her alive and safe. The problem is that she becomes so overwhelmed with sadness over what he has done, that she looses the will to live and dies anyway.
Though we can’t say for certain she would have survived had Anakin not fallen to the dark side, I think it’s a pretty safe assumption. At the very least, her chances would have been better.

Oddly enough, despite these characters being weak, they are actually easy to relate to. How many of us wouldn’t go to extreme lengths to save someone we care about or change a fate we find undesirable?

Now keep in mind, not all characters fall into these categories, but in my opinion, some of the best do. You have the quintessential good guys and the one-dimensional villains as well as a plethora of other characters, but these were the ones that have always stood out the most to me.

September 24, 2014 + Artist, Cover, Graphic design, Inspiration, literature

My cover artists

by Jim

They say don’t judge a book by it’s cover and that’s good advice… but a good cover helps whet interest and attract an audience. I’ve been fortunate to work with some truly incredible artists who have helped bring my work to life.

Cover Art by Christina Pankievich
My cousin and a truly wonderful artist. She was nice enough to take care of the first cover for me and I am greatly appreciative.

Cover art by Helder Olivier

Another great artist. When my cousin was unavailable to do the cover, I put a post out on my facebook page for a graphic designer and he immediately came up. He was a wonderful person to work with, his art is terrific and, as you can tell from this, he has quite the pension for jewelry design. I highly recommend checking out his page!
Helder‘s page

Cover art by Brett Warniers.

Every artist that I have worked with over time has been an absolute joy. Last and by no means least is the insanely talented Brett. His cover art broke the simplicity mode that I had confined myself up until now, thinking that it was the only way to attract attention… I was wrong and he showed me that.
He came recommended by a close friend and after seeing his other work, I could not refuse his talents. His work really speaks for itself and he has accepted the monumental task of creating the cover for the biggest work I’ve ever put out: Divinity. I can’t wait to see what he comes up with.

Brett’s Page

Tina is unfortunately (or VERY fortunately depending on which side you are on) very busy with other projects and doesn’t have a page anymore. However Brett and Helder are accessible through their pages and their art work is well worth the money! You will not be disappointed.

September 24, 2014 + advice, fantasy, ficiton, rules, Urban Fantasy, Writing

Rules…

by Jim

I heard someone talk about this a while back and I 100% agree with the thought process here. When you begin writing, the first step in creating the world that you’re setting your characters down in is to determine what can happen and what can not happen.

Remember the basics; Who, what, where, when, why, and how?

Let’s take me for example. I write historical fantasies. One of my major vices is people who get historical details wrong, or try to place their story in a time that actually happened, alter a lot of history, but expect everything that happened in history to still flow normally.

“It’s said that if you bend but one blade of grass, you run the risk of altering history.”

You’re not going to tell me that certain things just… happened, changed history from how we know it, but everything proceeded normally. Sorry, that’s too much to buy for me. Now if your goal was to create an alternate future where some things are the same, but there are small differences between our world and the one you’ve created, great! That’s something I would love to read about.

So when I write my historical stories, one rule that I absolutely must follow at all times;

Nothing can happen in your story that would change History. Your story can influence historical events, but only so much in that they influence events to happen AS THEY ACTUALLY HAPPENED! Otherwise, you’re going into a type of story that, in my opinion, falls outside the realm of historical fantasy/fiction.

So back to basics:

Who? This applies to both Historical and Fictional Characters.
What? Historical Events.
Where? A place of historical importance.
When? A time period of historical significance.
How? … well for me, I make sure that my story influences events so that they happen as they should.
Example: One character in one of my stories is moved by the events in the story that he lays down his sword and refuses to take up arms again. This actually happens in this character’s history and results in a major historical event.
The other option I use is to essentially keep the story out of History’s way. Essentially this means that the story happens in a setting that really never made it into the history books or was simply never chronicled.

All of this is just one example of rules that can/should be used when creating a story. I’m not saying that there is a specific set of rules that need to be followed. You create the rules and you stick to them. It not only helps continuity, but it keeps the readers understanding of what’s going on intact.

Another good example is Magnifica. If/when a character dies, why can’t the enchanter just snap his fingers and bring said person back to life?
Well because that falls outside of the enchanter’s rules.
Enchanters can’t interfere with the nature of the Universe. An enchanter tainted by darkness cannot effectively use healing powers. The use of dark enchantments corrodes the soul and will result in the enchanter’s eventual death. In 2013, there are no enchanters to learn from, so anyone who discovers that they have powers are limited to what information they can find on how to enchant… and there isn’t much information left.

Rules are a useful tool to staying on course and explaining why a story involving super natural elements can’t be solved with the flick of the wrist.

What happens when rules are overlooked? Well… as much as I lament using this as an example…

Perhaps the biggest plot hole in one of my favorite movies that was never explained. Why couldn’t they just ride the Eagles to Mordor?
Unfortunately it’s the one that fan boys like to pick at, but it could have been resolved if a rule was put into place to explain it:
The Eagles feared Mordor for some reason.
Sauron had some kind of force-field in place to prevent them from getting there and it would only collapse once he was dead.
The orcs had large ballistas that could be used to shoot down the Eagles so it wasn’t worth the risk.

Any one of those would have been fine, but instead it was never addressed.

So yeah, rules in a story that the characters must follow are very important and it’s a good idea to have them spelled out early on so that there isn’t confusion and it doesn’t look like your just making things up as you go later on. Good foreshadowing also helps with creating rules.

So that’s my 2 cents. Hope it helped!

See you on the flipside!
-Jim

September 24, 2014 + advice, Inspiration, literature, Music, rules, Urban Fantasy, Writing

Inspiration?

by Jim

So a lot of people ask me where my inspiration comes from. Where do I get my ideas, how do I decide what happens to each character?

Well it really depends on what day it is and what part of the story I’m writing about. I’ll explain a little bit more in-depth as we go…

First off, Lia’na, one of the most beloved characters I’ve ever written about was actually based largely on my wife’s personality. She can be feisty, independent, and very saucy at times, so I did the best I could to emulate that in my story. The result was a very multi-dimensional character that got pretty decent reviews. So character creation can really depend on experience and emulating the people around you, it’s not a must, but it is one way of creating their personalities.

Of course this basing them on people you know and love comes with it’s own set of problems. As the character grows and faces adversity, it can be hard to do anything that injures the character. This is because often times when you’re envisioning the character experiencing hardships, it’s not too much of a stretch to see the person that character is based on in the same situation. Without giving too much away, this is why I struggled so much with Tears of the Fallen. One of my cousins said basing that character off of my wife was an epic mistake… and now I see why. So all I can say is be careful and try not to let the person your basing the character on know that your basing it on them. It can lead to an uncomfortable situation if you put the character through hell.

So that covers character, but what about plot points?

Well to be honest, the main plot point: Love, tragedy, revenge, etc. I always have ready before I ever get started. I know what the story is going to be about long beforehand. Often it’s a different take on a plot I saw in a movie or a game I played, but just as often, it’s something that just randomly popped into my head. Once I have that, I can begin writing. I have a library of characters to work chose from that I’ve already created in my mind it’s just a question of whether or not the story will fit them (Tersa, your day is coming, I promise!!!)

So what about the secondary plot points? Say the death or dismemberment of a character, or a change of heart…
My answer there is music. Yup, it’s that simple, when I’m writing, I listen to a lot of music. To me it’s not the lyrics as much as the melody and the notes chosen by the singer…

Let me give you a few examples… (Warning!!! I’m a metal head!)

Rhapsody- March of Time

Listen to the opening female vocals and the chorus line. Listening to the overall mood and tone made me picture a bittersweet memory, like something you look back on fondly, but that also causes you a good amount of sadness. After coming to that realization, I made the decision to kill of a character in one of my stories and to put a lot of emphasis on how that person’s death affected the other characters. That alone helped set the stage for a third adventure that I hadn’t even counted on.
Into the West – Peter Hollins (I’m more partial to this version than the original.)

This is one of two songs that I listen to when I’m dealing with intimate moments. This song helps me write about loving care, like when a character is in pain and another character is trying to comfort them. See how it fits?
Russel Crowe – Stars

Okay, before anyone goes nuts, I know how people feel about Russel Crowe’s performance as Javert, and no, this is not my choice version of the story. I prefer the Irish rendition starring Jeff Leyton. That being said, there is something… touching about this version of the song. Ignore the lyrics, listen to the melody and the music in the background. To me, it sounds almost like a lullaby. I’m sure that everyone will think that this is crazy, but this is what I listen to when writing a part dealing with mentoring or parenting, and honestly, it fits perfectly.

Other songs I listen to for inspiration for things like fighting scenes or finales include:

From one of my favorite bands ever:

As well as a plethora of things like Dragonforce, Luca Turili, Nightwish, Within Temptation, Ancient Bards, and Fairyland. Things like:

So now that I’ve increased everyone’s playlist exponentially (you’re welcome), I have one more to show you. If you’ve read my explanation of where my inspirations come from and you’re still scratching your head (don’t worry, you’re not alone), then I have a little exercise for you:

This is, in my opinion, one of the most fantastic musical numbers that somehow no one knows about! Start at the 2 minute mark, close your eyes, and listen, just listen. See what pops into your head (aside from this scene from the movie). What do you picture happening? What does the song mean to you? When you hear the tone of the music, how does it make you feel and if you were to create a story around it, what would it say?

Anyway, I hope this helps and hopefully gives other writers or writing hopefuls out there a few more tools to work with!
Catch you on the flip side!

-Jim

September 24, 2014 + fantasy, ficiton, Urban Fantasy

James Harrington’s Magnifica: The Last Enchanter, Chapter 1

by Jim

“I don’t know about this, sister. Are you sure?”

“Yes Roselyn, their story needs to be told.”

“I doubt many will believe us.”

“I know that, but we owe our friends as much. If it wasn’t for them, our world might not exist anymore.”

“Ariel … I hope you are right…”

“Let’s begin.”

Chapter I

“Toby, get up! You’re going to be late for class!”

Toby’s eyes shot open and he sat up quickly without thinking. His head impacted against the top bunk, making a loud thud, “Ow, f…!”

He slammed his fist against the bed frame before glaring at the person who had roused him. His roommate stood at the door pointing a stubby finger at the clock on his wall, “Come on man, it’s 8:45! You know how Professor Arias reacts to tardiness.”

Toby shook his head as he fixed his dark brown hair, “Gishan you’re a dwarf, don’t you have a stone somewhere to bang?”

The stubby teen crossed his arms, “Oh funny! Because all dwarves are miners, right? At least we live more than a measly hundred years.”

“All right, all right,” Toby sighed, “I’m sorry.”

Gishan smiled as he shook his head in disapproval, “What would you do if you didn’t have me around?”

“Find a less annoying roommate!” Toby shot back.

Once the pain went away, Toby stood up and looked around. His dorm room was a mess. Clothes and empty beer bottles littered the floor, the posters were falling off the wall, and the beds looked like they hadn’t been made in months.

Toby could have cleaned things, but he was used to it being this way. He quickly grabbed a shirt off the floor and threw it on over the wrinkled jeans he had been sleeping in. He then grabbed a pair of sandals and slid them on his feet.

“Really,” Gishan scoffed, “sandals in February?”

Toby looked up at his roommate as he strapped them around his ankles, “How warm has it been out recently, 60 degrees?”

Gishan shrugged, “Still too cold for me…”

Once Toby was ready, he grabbed his books and joined Gishan at the door. He easily towered over the dwarf by at least 2 feet, “Okay I’m ready, let’s go.”

“I think it might be time for a laundry run.” Gishan sighed as he scratched his chin stubble.

“Too much trouble,” Toby replied, “besides, weren’t we just at your parent’s house?”

“Yeah,” Gishan chuckled as he turned to the door, “well… we could always do it ourselves?”

Looking at the piles of laundry that were almost completely covering their floor, Toby had a sudden change of heart. He hated having his roommate’s mother help him with laundry, but the pile had grown to the point where their small washers wouldn’t do the job. Plus he knew his uncle would never help him out with it.

“Fine…” Toby replied in a defeated tone. “Why don’t you give your parents a call and see if they would like a visit this weekend.”

Gishan laughed, “Thought you’d see it my way.”

He then turned to the door, “Come on, we’re going to be late.”

Toby followed his roommate out the door and down the hallway. Unlike their room, the hall was almost sterile with beautiful carvings of heroic figures on the walls and newly polished hard wood floors.

The building was quite old as was evidenced by the musty smell and the old style steam heaters that lined the hallway. Most of the residents had lost count of how many times the clanking and hissing of those heaters had kept them awake.

Toby had been known to spend hours inspecting the carvings on the walls trying to determine who they were of, but there was no time for that now. The two friends raced down the hall, flew down the front staircase, and found themselves in the main courtyard.

It was another unusually warm day at Arcanus College in North Boston. The sun shined down over last remaining piles of snow from a pre-Christmas storm. It had been the only snow they’d seen that year.

Various students, both dwarven and human made their way to various engagements and classes across campus. Everyone was dressed as though it were spring weather. Most had on jeans and t-shirts, but still kept jackets with them just in case.

The main building was almost a quarter of a mile across campus, though it seemed longer than that to Toby. By the time they reached the building, their classroom door was already closed. They were late.

Gishan shrugged, “Well we could just chalk this up as a sick day?”

Toby shook his head, “No way, today we’re learning about the second war of the Alliance. It’s the big one, and I don’t want to miss it.”

“Fine,” Gishan replied, knowing that there was no point in arguing, “but I never got what you loved so much about these fairy tales. They happened thousands of years ago. Hell, we don’t even know how much of these stories really happened and how much is mythology. Why did we even take this class? What does ‘Survey of Pre-Western Civ.’ have to do with either of our majors?”

“It’s one of the last core requirements I need to graduate.” Toby answered only half paying attention. “You can go back if you want, but I’m going in.”

Gishan shook his head, “Whatever dude, right behind you…”

The two of them slowly opened the heavy wooden door in an attempt to sneak in unnoticed. They proceeded into a lecture hall with over a hundred students in attendance and tried to find open chairs in the back of the auditorium. Their plan failed however, when a gruff voice from behind made them jump, “Ah Gishan Nemog and Tobias Arrigan, so glad you could make it.”

The two friends turned to see that Professor Arias had been watching them the entire time. The man towered over the two boys with his arms crossed under his black robes. His white hair was indicative of dealing with students like Gishan and Toby a little too long, “That’s what now? Three times you’ve been late to class? We haven’t even been in session two weeks!”

“Sorry Prof,” Gishan replied, “we um…”

“Were up drinking rock salt vodka all night.” Arias interrupted, finishing his sentence. “If you lay off that dwarven swill, you might actually make it to class on time.”

Soft chuckling could be heard around the room as the professor turned back to the board, “That’ll be a five page paper, typed, single-space, due on Friday for the two of you. I want you to examine the significance of the Second Alliance War with emphasis on the Ulium Plague.”

“The Elven plague.” Toby whispered to Gishan as they sat down.

“I know!” The dwarf spat back. “Believe it or not, I do pay attention.”

The professor glared at them both, “Glad to hear it. Now if you two don’t mind, I have a class to teach.”

Toby nodded, “Sorry professor, it won’t happen again.”

Professor Arias rolled his eyes as he turned back to his board, not believing a word of anything they said, “All right open you books to…”

“Excuse me…” A faint voice chimed in from the back of the room. “I’m very sorry I’m late.”

The whole class turned to see who had spoken. The professor’s eyes followed the voice to the back of the room. Standing at the door was a young woman with fair skin, big bright hazel eyes, and long blonde hair. Her bangs were partially braided and tied around the back of her head to keep her them out of her eyes.

Toby’s eyes widened as he saw her standing behind him. Her slender body and beautiful face made it difficult for him to turn away. Then he noticed her pointed ears that stuck out on either side of her head and were only partially covered by her hair. He quickly turned back to face forward. No way…

An air of disgust came over the room as Professor Arias looked at her with scornful eyes, “Ah this does seem to be the day for tardiness… Well, who are you?”

The girl spoke with a light accent that wasn’t recognizable to most of the class, “My name is Lia’na of the White Water Clan. I just transferred to Arcanus this spring and signed up on the last day of open registration.”

She walked down the aisle to the professor and handed him a piece of paper. He took the sheet and only half-glanced at it, “Oh very well… Looks like I’m going to have to have a few words with the people at registration… take a seat Leena.”

“Lia’na, sir.” She said softly.

“Noted.” The professor replied. “Take a seat so we can get started.”

Lia’na emotionlessly nodded, “Lien ni, Professor.”

She turned to look for an open seat and spotted one near the back of the room. The moment she sat down, the students around her moved away or turned their desks so that she couldn’t see their faces. She looked down at her books and pretended not to notice.

Toby couldn’t believe his eyes, “Are you seeing this, Gishan, an elf, here at Arcanus.”

Gishan snorted, “Not many of those sharpys left. Wonder what brought her out of the woods?”

“No idea,” he replied, “but what’s up with that name man, sharpy?”

Gishan grinned, “Yeah, sharpy, as in they have pointed ears? Their ears are sharp, get it?”

“Yeah I know what it means jackass,” Toby replied in an annoyed tone, “but what’s your damage?”

“Elves and dwarves have never gotten along. Do I need a specific reason?” Gishan shot back.

“Whatever.” Toby whispered, not wanting to drag this out. “I thought elves had their own colleges.”

“Well she’s here now.” Gishan said with a growl. “Just keep her eyes off me. I’ve heard they can bewitch you.”

Toby shook his head, “Oh relax Gishan, I don’t think she’s going to come anywhere near you. Where do you get this stuff?”

“Let’s just say that historically, elves haven’t been too kind to my people.” Gishan replied.

Toby chuckled, “I thought you said that you didn’t know how much of those stories were actually true.”

Gishan didn’t reply opting to eye Lia’na for a few moments before turning back to Professor Arias as the lecture began. Toby was mystified by Lia’na’s appearance. Even though she dressed like any normal girl in their early twenties, her fashion sense was quite elegant and what most people had come to expect from an elf. She wore a white blouse that had short, puffy sleeves, a square neck, and seemed to drape down over her stomach like a dress. Her black jeans had odd, stiched-on, designs going up the legs that seemed to shimmer in the sunlight.

Lia’na noticed that Toby was looking at her and returned his gaze. He quickly turned his attention back to the front of the room, hoping Lia’na hadn’t seen him staring at her. She smiled and went back to straightening out her books as class continued, looking up every so often to see if she could catch him staring again.

September 23, 2014 + fantasy, ficiton

Magnifica’s Characters

by Jim

So I thought I’d give you all a chance to become familiar with the characters in the story for those of you who have not yet had a chance to pick it up.

Tobias Arrigan: Toby is your run of the mill overachiever. He currently attends a small private college with dreams of becoming a doctor some day, specializing in inter-species genetics. He was orphaned at a young age and sent to live with his paternal uncle. Even as a child, he knew that he was unique, but he could never figure out why.

Gishan Nemog: Toby’s best friend in the world. This young dwarf grew up with Toby in Natick, Massachusetts before Toby’s uncle moved to Brookline. Like many dwarves, he has a devil may care personality, which is reflected by his appearance. He puts on a tough front and doesn’t let things bother him, however he is extremely protective of his family, which includes Toby, whom he has all but adopted as his brother.

Tom: A somewhat timid boy around Toby’s age. He has very strong opinions, but is too often satisfied with letting others speak for him.

Michael: An arrogant young man from an extremely well to do family. His attitude is nothing short of smug superiority. He does not like elves at all and does not believe that they should be going to school at human institutions, given his own dark past.

Lia’na of the White Water Clan: One of the few female members of her clan. This beautiful young elf is extremely headstrong, and determined to do things her own way. She openly defied her clan’s elder and left the Elven reservation to attend school. She is very mysterious with a past shrouded in darkness.

Professor Arias: He looks like father time and has the attitude to match, according to his students. This man is an expert at history. Things are how he says and he doesn’t care what anyone thinks, period. Toby and Gishan have been known to annoy him on an almost continuous basis.

Auro: A few years Lia’na’s elder, he looks at her like a little sister. He was denied the right to ever take a mate of his own, and chose a life of celibacy over exile. He took up the sword as a sentry to protect the White Water Clan.

Masarabi: The White Water Clan elder. Extremely opinionated, pompous, and arrogant to a fault, she has runs her clan her way and doesn’t respond well to disobedience. She prefers subtle responses to challenges as opposed to outright commentary.

Aritem: A member of the Northern Clan and a descendant from aristocracy. His family is still extremely powerful and he is convinced of his own superiority. Many speculate that he would respond violently to being challenged, especially by a non-elf.

Giselle de la Fuente: Little is known about her. She showed up on campus and quickly befriended Gishan. All anyone knows about her is that she and her family have a troubled past and no longer speak.

Alistair: A mysterious man, over 15,000 years old. The FBI has been investigating him for years, attempting to piece together a case of identity fraud that surrounds him. He is extremely wealthy and powerful… and he holds many of the answers to Toby’s past, though Toby may not want to know the truth.

September 23, 2014 + fantasy, ficiton

James Harrington, the man, the author, the one who’s posts you’re reading about!

by Jim

Hello all and welcome!
My name is James Harrington, and this is my blog. There are many like it, but this one is mine and I hope that you will find it interesting.

So… let’s start off with a little about me, shall we?

First off, I am 31 years old as of this month, I am Boston-born and raised, and among the last generation of the Mission Hill born of my family. I graduated the University of Massachusetts with a degree in History. I had every intention of becoming a teacher, but being a strong right-wing conservative/libertarian, the extreme left wing views of the professors, as well as the political indoctrination of the school system left me disillusioned, resulting in me following a different career path.

I now work in the healthcare system where I support the technology side of things… but that’s not what you’re hear to read about.

So as no doubt everyone who has come here knows, I am a published author. My work includes both Historical Fiction and Urban Fantasy. Currently, the Magnifica trilogy is my only published work.

I started out writing short stories and fan fiction. I did have some successful publications in school papers and won a few essay contests here and there, but never really had a major break through back then.

In college, I had all but abandoned writing until a few friends began playing a Star Wars Role Playing Game. For those of you who don’t know what that is, basically you sit around a table telling a story and each person takes on a character in that story. Each person makes decisions along the way that affect the outcome.
Back on topic, said friends didn’t have a story and were getting nowhere coming up with one to launch their adventure. At that point, I took some time out of my schedule and began writing them a complete story that they could use as an adventure. It was a big hit and before I knew it, I had become their dungeon master. To be clear, I’d never played one of those games before and had no interest in them, but the guys loved my writing, so how could I say no?

Over time, I began taking the adventures that I had written for my friends and compiling them in a word document. Once we stopped playing, I went to work patching the adventures into a complete story. I printed it and had them read it. The story was a hit and my first novella was born.

Unfortunately, I knew it couldn’t be published because I simply couldn’t afford to pay royalties to Lucas Arts and any other number of sources that I had borrowed from. So I kept the story in paper form and gave copies to anyone interested in reading it.

It was around this time that I decided to really challenge myself. I knew I could write long stories that people were interested in, but I had never taken on something completely original, at least not to this level. Most of my original work up until now had been short stories. If I was going to come up with something completely original, it would have to be about something I knew a lot about. So I sat back and thought to myself, “What do I know a lot about?”
Three things popped into my mind; history, theology, and mythology.

“Of course!” I thought to myself. It was all so clear. So I sat down and after listening to a lot of Epic/Power Metal, I began working.

Within a few weeks of reading, writing, and listening to more metal, Divinity was born. I spent the next few months polishing it up and then spent the next year submitting it to literary agencies. As you can imagine, there was little to no interest in it or a first-time author with no significant credentials.

This did not stop me from writing through as I went on to work on an entirely new book series: James Harrington’s Magnifica. The first book, The Last Enchanter, took a new spin on Urban Fantasy. As a major fan of all things Tolkien, Elder Scrolls, Elder Edda, and more, I wanted to try something new. Modern day stories featuring fantasy creatures had been done before, but those stories mostly consisted of aliens, vampires, werewolves, wizards, or ghosts. There really weren’t any of the classical elves and dwarves living among society.

After a good year of writing, The Last Enchanter was complete and submitted for publication. It became my first success, which spawned two more novels in the series. Having now established myself as a writer, I could now revisit Divinity and begin work on getting my original novel available to the public.
So that’s about where I am now. Hopefully I have not bored my soon-to-be audience too much.

My books are available at the links below, or at your local bookstore (hopefully):
Magnifica: The Last Enchanter:

Magnifica: Tears of the Fallen

Magnifica: Gravestalker

Divinity: TBD