William Brian Johnson's Blog

I have a friend, BD Tharp that gave me a button."What's this for?" I asked."Butt in Chair," she said.It's reminded me time and time again, that unless I'm staring at a work in progress, I'm not doing much with it. Today, I crunched about 3000 words on my new novel. I had a breakthrough on it and with Spring Break this week, I'm caught up on rest and the brain isn't going 90 to nothing in the wrong direction. I need to make it a habit to write more. Book 3 needs one more polish and it's ready. Book 4 tells the story of Valdir the Smith from the Aristid saga. I look forward to telling his story.What I need is more "Butt in Chair" time.
P.S. the document is slop. This is my first draft and not the finished product. But I am writing.
Hmmm. . . The Song of Valdir? Thoughts?

 Announcing Tikiman and the Viking Podcast.

The Tikiman and the Viking Podcast Episode 1 launched on July 6th.  

Introducing, the Tikiman.  HB Berlow is a long-time friend and collaborator in writing.  He has written the Ark City Confidential Chronicles which can be found here:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08P88KQ5C and has a soon-to-be-released series forthcoming.

In addition to writing, HB is also a cook, baker, and sausage maker.  I've often asked that he write a recipe book.  We've known each other for about 20 years and met when he asked "What are you working on?"That conversation went on for several hours and closed down a writer's convention.  Since we've been in a writing group, hung out at conventions and even read for fans at events.

We hope to discuss writing, the arts, and general creativity in this podcast.  Hopefully inspiring some of you along the way.

Episodes will be launched every two weeks and if you have questions, contact us at tikimanviking@gmail.com.

Here we are with our good friend and writing buddy, BD Tharp.

 The Dark Cry of Aristid

There are two places of danger in Elta:

The Witches Forest. A place of foreboding where the souls of witches put to the stake dwell. Some nights you can hear them call, glimpses of them watching you between the trees, and voices bidding you to join them. Generations have been warned to stay away, but yet, every year someone disappears.

The Delerium Forest is opposite of the witches forest in Elta. A place of madness and transformation for lost travelers. The Allfather created it as a defense of the White Citadel, but as his magic became twisted, so did the effects of the forest. After the Allfather's seizure, all secured routes through the forest closed. Trapping the inhabitants of Elta.

Then far away from Elta is the White Citadel.  Home of the Allfather and the seat of power for Valrborjn.  As the current Allfather wanes, waiting to pass beyond the veil, a search is prepared to find the new Allfather.

The Dark Cry of Aristid is now available through Amazon on Kindle, paperback, and hardback: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BJV3BN3M

Finally . . . I've been talking about it for years.A forgotten village strikes a desperate bargain - and brings down the wrath of the gods.

The village of Elta was once the first protection against giant attacks in the kingdom.  But since the threat has been extinguished, the village has been forgotten... just when the villagers need protection the most.

A late summer hailstorm destroys the crops and livestock that will take Elta through the winter.
The White Citadel refuses aid. To stave off starvation, the local midwife turns to witchcraft forbidden by the Allfather. Lofn summons an ancient entity by accident.

She is found guilty and sentenced to execution. When her burning at the stake goes horribly awry. The investigative arm of the White Citadel dispatches the magistrate during Elta’s endless night
and it ignites a civil war and threatens to start a war between the gods.

The Dark Cry of Aristid is based on Norse mythology and folklore. For readers of Tolkien, Glen Cook,
and Grimdark adventures.

Available for preorder, coming out 10/25 at https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Aristid-William-Brian-Johnson-ebook/dp/B0BJV3BN3M

I just completed the rough draft of a new sci-fi portal fantasy at 40,500 words.

Hello everyone.  I'm currently 9,000 words into the new novel.  If you have time and sanity, write.

Due to the Covid-19 crisis, they have closed down all schools in the State of Kansas until the end of the school year.  I decided to record a lot of the writing instruction I do for my students and put it out there for you.  Watch at your own leisure and peril.  This is the first in the series, Why We Write.

Season 2 of Coffee and Catastrophe is moving along with new episodes coming soon.

In case anyone was wondering, "The Dark Cry of Aristid" was completed July 3rd, 2018 at 11:34pm.

I'm a pantser writer. I don't plot real heavily other than a slight roadmap that I need to go from this part of the story to the next. The side effect is sometimes painting yourself into a corner or writing a scene that truly you didn't see coming. I just wrote that scene and one of my favorite characters paid dearly for. I'm reading the chapter over and over again and the thought is, should I do this? What would George RR Martin do? Probably kill the character and move on. What would JRR Tolkien do? Make the death have a heavy significance. What would Hickman & Weis do? Depends on what was rolled. My character didn't have much defense and stood in the way, so another life would be spared. RIP, my friend. That damnable monster rolled two criticals.