Word Count Wednesday - New Tales From Midhgardhur!

Hello everyone,

     Well, when last I updated Word Count Wednesday, I was working on "The Gorgonades Shipwreck," and I was up against some serious editing challenges. For example, the story was for a contest with a 2500 word count limit, and I was at 3524 words and counting. Final word count of the first draft was close to 5000 words, and I needed to cut it down to less than half of that!

     I am happy to report that with some help from my wonderful wife, Tanya, I accomplished the mission! I was stuck for a long time at about 2600, having cut out a couple of sub-plots, several major characters, and some scenes I really loved. At that point, I was so burned out from re-reading the same words over and over, and hacking away at my manuscript, that I really needed a fresh set of eyes (thanks again, Tanya!). But the thing I love about editing for a word count goal like that is how tight the writing becomes after a while. Redundancy is pared away, fat is trimmed, and you're left with a far leaner, heavier-hitting story. I was really happy with the way it turned out, and finally clocked in at about 2460 words!

     So, the story is finished, and submitted to SIA for their "Mythic March" story contest (started in March, but deadline is April 30th, 2019, with winners to be announced in early May). I also posted "The Gorgonades Shipwreck" to Tales From Midhgardhur on Channillo (you can read it there now, if you're a subscriber!), and added it to the manuscript for the forthcoming Tales From Midhgardhur, Volume III. 

     Yes, the manuscript for Volume III is finally complete! I had to wrestle a bit with the new system on Amazon for submitting books (I used to do it in Create Space, now defunct, and then have Kindle Direct Publishing, or KDP, base the ebook on that version. Now I had to fight with KDP's new system a bit, and it involved deleting the table of contents from the ebook version, but I got it done!). Both paperback and Kindle versions of Volume III are under review and should be released soon, I hope!

     Also, speaking of Tales From Midhgardhur on Channillo, the series was understandably listed as "Postponed" since my lack of a computer meant I couldn't update it regularly from November until now. I wrote to the fine folks at Channillo and asked them to put the series back on "Ongoing" status, which they have done, so I'm back on the map! I'm very glad to say my readership is growing again - thanks to all my new subscribers! "The Gorgonades Shipwreck" is available there now, and I finally posted a long-term project there for May 1st ("Wolf's Head," first in a series called "Runestones of Rys" intended for a zine that never happened - I'm still going to do the series, anyway!). And while I am working on other projects, I want to make sure Tales never becomes inactive for long, I'm finally posting "The Tale of Halfdanur the Black" (June) and "The Tale of Ingjaldur the Mad" (July) there too (previously only available in the collections Tales From Midhgardhur, Volume I and Tales From Midhgardhur, Volume II, respectively). So, current and upcoming schedule so far:

April - "The Gorgonades Shipwreck" - available now!
May - "Wolf's Head" (Runestones of Rys, Part 1) - available May 1st
June - "The Tale of Halfdanur the Black" - available June 1st
July - "The Tale of Ingjaldur the Mad" - available July 1st

     I'm still trying to get back in the habit of writing every single day, and hope to start thrashing out some stories that have been languishing for far too long!

      One last thought - what great fantasy (besides mine!) are you reading right now? I'm always reading when I can! Right now, I'm loving Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James. It's African-inspired fantasy (rather than European) and it is definitely unlike anything I have ever read before! I'm not very far in, but I would recommend it! I hope i finish it before Tad Williams' Empire of Grass (the new Osten Ard book!) comes out next month - I have it pre-ordered from Amazon!

Happy Reading! Skál!
~ Colin Anders Brodd

Wikia Entry of the Day - Ingjaldur's Crown

Hello everyone,

     Today's new entry on the Midhgardhur Wikia is "Ingjaldur's Crown", a ring of standing stones carved with magical runes that appears at least twice in the Tales From Midhgardhur - once in the eponymous story "Ingjaldur's Crown" (found in Tales From Midhgardhur, Volume I)  and mentioned in "The Tale of Ingjaldur the Mad" (found in Tales From Midhgardhur, Volume II). The runes carved on the stones hold secret spells for tapping the energy of the lands of Midhgardhur and the lines of power that connect special places (ley lines). For more, check out the entry in the Midhgardhur Wikia! 

Happy Reading! Skál!
~ Colin Anders Brodd

Word Count Wednesday - The Trade, The Mad King, and The Giants!

Hello everyone,

     Once again it is Word Count Wednesday! So, I finished one project for Tales From Midhgardhur on Channillo - "The Trade" - which weighs in at about 6280 words. It was a piece I've had rattling around in my head for a while, and finally had to come out. It is scheduled to post on Channillo on Friday, 6/23/17. I also started another piece, "Luck of the Lytlingar," which doesn't really have a word count yet - it's still in the sketching/outlining stage. About time one of the "Little People" of Midhgardhur gets to be in a story! These would be my May and June installments, and then I'm working on July before Camp NaNoWriMo gets here!

     I now have enough of the Tales for a Volume II, except that I liked the way the first volume ended with a novella ("The Tale of Halfdanur the Black" - also available as a Kindle novella!), and I wanted to do that again. I wasn't sure I had another story like that right now, but it turns out that I do - I've started work on "The Tale of Ingjaldur the Mad", which currently weighs in at about 2180 words. I'm hoping to hit at least 20,000 before I'm done, though that may be overly ambitious. Midhgardhur's "Ingjaldur the Mad" is based on our world's pyromaniac king, Ingjaldr hinn illráði, and is usually cited in my world as the reason why the Sviar have no king. Incidentally, Ingjaldur has appeared in the "Tales" before, in the story "Ingjaldur's Crown", which also features Asa Oathkeeper. 

     Speaking of whom, I should remind you that I already announced my Camo NaNoWriMo project for this July - a sequel (at last!) to The Saga of Asa Oathkeeper! The tentative title is "Asa Oathkeeper Among The Giants," and will feature a journey to Jotunheimur - the World of Giants! This project has no word count until July - then, hopefully, watch the word count soar! (Hopefully better than a leaf on the wind!)

     Lastly, I am still working on the final (?) edit of Ormsbani. I had been getting some great feedback from the Armadillo Authors' Workshop, but then I ran into some car trouble and had to stop going for a bit. Last Thursday I resumed my attendance, but accidentally left my work at home, so no new feedback or edits! How sad! But I do intend to go tomorrow, and I've already packed my pages. So if all goes well I'll be there - if you're an author in the Phoenix, Arizona area, by all means come on down to the Armadillo Grill down on Camelback on Thursdays from 7 - 9 PM and join us! 

     I think that's it for tonight!

Happy Reading! Skál!
~ Colin Anders Brodd