Chris Jags's Blog - Posts Tagged "harpy"
It lives!
Or more correctly, "I'm alive."
Man, 2016 was a bad writing year for me. Sure, I snuck Caracal's Harvest out in the 1st quarter, then after that? Nothing worked. I began two books, one which made it to nearly 50,000 words before it collapsed under the weight of too many characters and plot threads, and another which amassed 35,000 words before I decided it just wasn't working out, either.
The biggest problem with both works is that I was looking to expand my audience, rather than write something I cared about. I spent some time after these misfires debating: should I continue my attempts to write something a little more mainstream? Try to raise my profile by pandering?
The end result is that I've purged my desire to expand my reader base for the wrong reasons. Obviously, I hope for an ever-growing audience, but not at the expense of what I love to write. And I love to write pulpy, violent, occasionally raunchy dark fantasy tales based around a parade of weirdos and outcasts.
The good news is, I've been writing something for months now that's really working for me. I can't say when to expect it, because I have a hectic work schedule and sometimes can't write for more than an hour (or less!) a day, but it's coming along well and I'm extremely enthusiastic about it.
I'm not going to share a whole lot about it yet. I will say: anyone who has read my previous stuff might expect the pages to teem with oddball mythological misfits, and they wouldn't be wrong: there will be a harpy heroine! Stern centaurs! Disturbed dryads! Shady fish folk! There will be angst and dark humor, sad moments and sick moments! Mark your calendars!
Except, y'know, don't, because I still have a lot of work to do.
Man, 2016 was a bad writing year for me. Sure, I snuck Caracal's Harvest out in the 1st quarter, then after that? Nothing worked. I began two books, one which made it to nearly 50,000 words before it collapsed under the weight of too many characters and plot threads, and another which amassed 35,000 words before I decided it just wasn't working out, either.
The biggest problem with both works is that I was looking to expand my audience, rather than write something I cared about. I spent some time after these misfires debating: should I continue my attempts to write something a little more mainstream? Try to raise my profile by pandering?
The end result is that I've purged my desire to expand my reader base for the wrong reasons. Obviously, I hope for an ever-growing audience, but not at the expense of what I love to write. And I love to write pulpy, violent, occasionally raunchy dark fantasy tales based around a parade of weirdos and outcasts.
The good news is, I've been writing something for months now that's really working for me. I can't say when to expect it, because I have a hectic work schedule and sometimes can't write for more than an hour (or less!) a day, but it's coming along well and I'm extremely enthusiastic about it.
I'm not going to share a whole lot about it yet. I will say: anyone who has read my previous stuff might expect the pages to teem with oddball mythological misfits, and they wouldn't be wrong: there will be a harpy heroine! Stern centaurs! Disturbed dryads! Shady fish folk! There will be angst and dark humor, sad moments and sick moments! Mark your calendars!
Except, y'know, don't, because I still have a lot of work to do.
Tree Mouth
Tree Mouth, my newest dark fantasy, is a little nuts.
In order to appease the gods, six sacrifices of different races are forced to descend into the underworld, where... well, no one knows what will happen to them.
This story drew inspiration from a number of influences, ranging from the highly atmospheric and enigmatic Dark Souls video games, to fairy tales and mythology, to the kind of exploration-based fantasy stories I used to love reading before Game of Thrones-style political fantasy became the norm. The protagonists (including humans, dryads, harpies, and centaurs) have a few odd species-based abilities to help them on their way, but they aren't heroes, precisely; they are under-powered and unprepared, thrust into a ruined world of madness with little more than determination. Basically, it's a survival-horror-fantasy adventure with an undercurrent of insanity.
Thanks to anyone who checks it out!
The Amazon blurb:
In the wake of the demon uprising, the gods went silent. Scripture ends there: even the priests of the world's greatest faiths cannot say how that apocalyptic conflict concluded.
Centuries later, the six races continue to make annual sacrifice to the gods in the hopes of preventing further bloody conflict. For brash young Jorn and Kiri the harpy, this means a forced descent through the Tree Mouth, the ancient gateway to the world below, a desolate land of fallen divinity and madness.
There is no appeal.
The underworld must be fed.
Available for kindle on April 20th: US, Canada, UK.
In order to appease the gods, six sacrifices of different races are forced to descend into the underworld, where... well, no one knows what will happen to them.
This story drew inspiration from a number of influences, ranging from the highly atmospheric and enigmatic Dark Souls video games, to fairy tales and mythology, to the kind of exploration-based fantasy stories I used to love reading before Game of Thrones-style political fantasy became the norm. The protagonists (including humans, dryads, harpies, and centaurs) have a few odd species-based abilities to help them on their way, but they aren't heroes, precisely; they are under-powered and unprepared, thrust into a ruined world of madness with little more than determination. Basically, it's a survival-horror-fantasy adventure with an undercurrent of insanity.
Thanks to anyone who checks it out!
The Amazon blurb:
In the wake of the demon uprising, the gods went silent. Scripture ends there: even the priests of the world's greatest faiths cannot say how that apocalyptic conflict concluded.
Centuries later, the six races continue to make annual sacrifice to the gods in the hopes of preventing further bloody conflict. For brash young Jorn and Kiri the harpy, this means a forced descent through the Tree Mouth, the ancient gateway to the world below, a desolate land of fallen divinity and madness.
There is no appeal.
The underworld must be fed.
Available for kindle on April 20th: US, Canada, UK.
