i write the grimdark ...

I finished my line-edits on The Garden over the weekend. I'm reading the manuscript one final time from beginning to end.

This story has been exacting for many reasons. I think it still reads like an American writing about another culture and I hate that. My voice isn't Spanish, it never will be, because I'm not from that culture. I wish I could effortlessly translate all the beauty that I've found in Spanish and Latin American literature to you, but I'm not that skilled of an author yet. So I'll submit this story with humility and hope that it reaches the public nonetheless.

The Garden is about relationships, how we grow apart; how loving someone is not always about understanding the other person, but more often about accepting them--as they are, not as you wish for them to be. It's about the lengths we will go to in order to protect the people we love--friendship and loyalty.

Oh, yeah, and I put a bunch of angels and Daimons and flash and glamour into the story, because I like those things too, but don't lose sight of the fact that the magic is merely window-dressing. The true story is with the men who walk through this tale.

There is a romance here too, between two men whose love has endured the centuries, because I love romance. I think our loves define us, make us better people, teach us to think beyond ourselves.

The novel begins in Jerusalem and ends in Andalucía. There are approximately 116,000 words, forty-one chapters, seven of which are set in Jerusalem and are known as the Ithiel-chapters, the rest of the novel is set in the Garden. This story is nothing like I intended it to be, the tale marched away from early on and, when I quit fighting it, a new theme emerged. I went with it. I'm glad I did. The story that grew from that twist became deeper and more vibrant.

The Garden is not a Young Adult novel by any stretch of the imagination, and I hope that people will realize that from the first chapters--move on if you don't grown-up tales. I write the grimdark, but I write it with light. This story is only for the brave. Now you've been warned.

Bienvenido ...

in a garden dressed in umber ...

... there are now 109,000 words; one new chapter; two greatly expanded chapters; and 114 pages of line-edited finished copy.

Five chapters are devoted to Ithiel, Asaph, and Benaiah.

The rest of the chapters belong to Guillermo, Diago, and Miquel.

The Daimons are daimonic, the angels are terrifying.

Bueno.

still editing and a snippet from The Garden

I'm rounding into the last quarter of The Garden with edits. Over the weekend, I passed one of my favorite scenes:

Belita stood by the window that overlooked the Garden. The yew groaned, a wild and lonesome sound beneath the wind. The scent of Ashmedai’s offering floated into her chamber and offended her with its stench.

“Who burns?” she asked.

Esteuan, said Federico from behind the shield of his newly formed mirror. Esteuan did not return from the offering. Mateho seeks Lope. I say Esteuan burns.

No dissents came from the other mirrors or the vines. The odor of smoke and iron drifted on the mist.

“Esteuan,” she whispered his name but did not detect a response. The stumps on her back twitched as if her phantom wings might lift her to the air. “Esteuan,” she called louder. Her voice rang through the orchard and flew on the wind.

Silence answered her entreaties. His soul did not come. The smell of smoke and iron lingered in the night.

“My brave Esteuan,” she whispered.

This week will see me working on the last quarter of the novel. I'm at 105,000 words and there will be more before this novel is done.

I have two guest posts coming up in the month of October. Stay tuned, I'll be keeping you posted.

Meanwhile, I'm going back to the edits ...

The men in The Garden

Here's a little Saturday fun. I don't normally go looking for actors who fit my mental images for my characters; however, these three men are perfect:

Javier Bardem doesn't fit the physical description for Guillermo, but he has the quiet intensity that I've always associated with Guillermo's character.

Gael Garcia Bernal is my Diago. His eyes are the perfect color and he positively smolders with passion.

I saw some pictures of Carlos Friere when he was a teenager, and he immediately became my Miquel very early in this project.

I haven't found anyone to match my other characters yet, but if I do, I'll post them.

De nada.

pictures from ChiCon

Thanks to everyone who took so many great pictures at ChiCon 7! They're sort of everywhere all over the Internet.

Courtney Schafer has two pictures of the elusive Mazarkis Williams on her blog.

Martha Wells has posted several pics at her blog as well.

Bryan Thomas Schmidt and Al Bogdan have a lot of great shots on their FaceBook pages.

Thanks to Bryan for giving me permission to post this picture. It was taken during the Vivid Characters panel with Randy Henderson. This picture is one of my favorites:

I'm sure the others would kindly give me permission to post their photos too, but I'd much rather send you to their sites.

I was too scattered and still coming down from all the excitement yesterday (read: no writing whatsoever was done). I'm feeling more centered today.

Just a teeny bit of news: I am almost done with the edits on The Garden and am working through a synopsis for Dolorosa. I'm rereading Miserere to make sure I remember all the details of worldbuilding (you'd be amazed at how much I'd forgotten!), then the synopsis will be in full swing.

More later ...

Love is not evil, nor is it dark ...

You've all been so kind in your praise of Miserere. I'm working on a brief prequel, it's a scene I've long had in my mind about Lucian and Rachael when they were younger. I wanted to read a few passages from Miserere before I wrote it; I needed to venture back into Woerld for a little while.

Also if you come back tomorrow, I'll share a snippet from a new secret project I've been working on, something that I'm really excited about.

In the meantime, I thought I might give you a short passage from The Garden.

The Garden is about three men and how they overcome their differences. Oh, and there are angels and Daimons and magic and past incarnations, because I enjoy writing about those things.

And romance. There is usually romance in my novels. I think love redeems us, cleanses us, gives us the grace to become more generous, better people.

I can be a real sap.

Justin at Staffer's Book Reviews debuted chapter one of The Garden, but in that chapter, you didn't get to meet two of my favorite characters, Diago and Miquel.

The Garden takes place in Aragon circa 1348, and in those dark years just before the pestilence and when the Church solidified its power over young Spain, same-sex lovers were burned at the stake if discovered. Diago knows this firsthand. He is older and though many years have passed since the actual event, he is still traumatized by the death of his first lover. Miquel is younger, and like most young people, he sees the world in black and white. He believes that others should accept him even if they don't understand him.

I'd like to introduce them to you in one of my favorite scenes:

Miquel lay facing Diago, one hand tucked beneath his head, the other resting close to Diago’s face. Diago pushed Miquel's black hair aside and traced the fine blue vein beneath his jaw. He rested his fingertip against Miquel’s throat.

This is love. Diago licked his lips.

“The hunger, is it bad?”

“No.” Diago lied, but lies were easier. He took the younger man’s wrist and pressed his lips to the vein, felt it throb against his mouth.

Miquel spoke.

Diago lost his words beneath the beat of his pulse. This is love. I feel his calm heart pound against my lips and want to taste his blood though I will not, I will not, I will not. A drop of sweat wept down Diago’s temple and escaped by the corner of his eye. He drew Miquel close and stroked the back of his scalp gently.

“Did you hear me?” Miquel asked.

“I heard. Guillermo knows about us.”

“He wanted to know if Julian was your lover.”

“Are you afraid?” Please let him be afraid. Let him see the danger.

“I will stand by you.”

Would you see Miquel burn? Diago crushed the memory of Ashmedai’s poisonous words from his mind. “Guillermo interferes where he doesn’t belong. When we sought to bring your soul back to your body, our hands touched, and he saw you and me. He saw the dark love that we share.”

Miquel lifted his head. His smoky eyes burned. “Don’t call it dark, love is not dark.”

“This new magic that Belita has forced on us allowed him see into my mind.” Prying where he has no right to be. Diago glanced at Guillermo; the caballero still slept soundly. “He saw my love for you and I lied.”

Miquel’s gaze hardened. “You murder me. Every time you deny me, Diago, you murder me.”

In its own way, The Garden, like Miserere, is a love story too. Diago calls their love dark, but Miquel knows the truth.

Love is not evil, nor is it dark.

Not when it is true.

Bienvenido ...

An interview at the dynamic Bookworm Blues

I'm interviewed at Bookworm Blues by the dynamic Sarah! We talk about Miserere, The Garden, world-building, religion, and a host of other topics--pop over and say hi if you have minute. We'd love to see you there.

a few notes and links gathered together

The great Debut Authorpalooza is finally over at Staffer's Book Reviews (and occasional musings). I would like to take a moment to thank Justin for putting the event together and making it such fun for authors and readers alike. You can read Justin's summation here.

There is still time to enter for a signed copy of your favorite author's novel and be entered into the Grand Prize Giveaway. The deadline is August 12. Justin explains the rules here.

So who was there? Check out the index of authors, blog posts, and excerpts.

You can read my guest post, Throwing Down the Gauntlet and Chapter One of The Garden.

The VERY big AMA on Reddit was a blast, and you can read it here.

I'll be around, putting the final polish on The Garden (beta readers are a-reading) and working on an interview and a guest post for two wonderful ladies. More on them and their blogs later.

A sneak peek inside THE GARDEN & a blog post

The Debut Authorpalooza continues at the Staffer's Book Reviews (and occasional musings), and this week, I take Monday's slot with a blog post about how I throw down the gauntlet and write the second novel and Chapter 1 of The Garden in its entirety.

Be sure you check out The Staffer's Book Reviews (and occasional musings) for the whole list of authors participating in the Debut Authorpalooza. There is still time to register for prizes and read some awesome excerpts by authors Mark Lawrence, Kameron Hurley, Elspeth Cooper, Courtney Schafer, Stina Leicht, Mazarkis Williams, Bradley Beaulieu, Anne Lyle, and Doug Hulick.

Who is posting when? Check out the full listing here.

a progress report ...

I'm really excited to be on the downward side of my rewrites for The Garden. I have one more chapter that will take some serious tweaks, then the next two are filling in and brushing up what is already there. Some information will move around to make the story flow easier for the reader, but the overall context will remain the same.

It's exciting to have worked so hard on this book and finally see the story come together.

This novel has been such a learning experience for me on so many levels. The story is told in first person:

A night bird cried a sublime song in the garden beyond my window. In the distance, a guard called the watch. Otherwise, the palace slept while I, Solomon, third king of all Israel, lay dying with only an angel at my side.

And third person:

Vicente’s hand lashed out, his palm struck Guillermo’s cheek as if he was an errant child. Guillermo didn’t think about the ramifications of his actions. He swung the bottle. It cracked against the royal señor’s helm. A satisfying jolt traveled up his arm. The stunned expression on Vicente’s face and the roar of the approval from the surrounding men drowned Guillermo’s doubts. Damn the consequences.

The plot isn't complicated, but it is intricate, more so than I've ever attempted to write. Last week it all came together very nicely.

So I'm off to work again. Stay tuned, there are some exciting events coming up these last two weeks of July. I'll keep you posted.