In the second chapter of SILVER BROWN there is a character known only as Nielsen, who could easily be written off as a throwaway character upon his initial introduction, but gradually becomes more important as the story progresses. There’s a point in the narrative where the shocking truth about him is revealed. I’m currently editing said point, finding it a challenging task that calls for nothing short of a channeling of the inner bard…
This is a practice I’ve been doing almost since the beginning. Bestowing every chapter in a written work with its own title helps to give it some context, methinks. The few words that comprise it can be used to comment on the general vibe of the chapter or give supplementary information, in a way that doesn’t interrupt the flow of the narrative.
My chapters frequently go through several working titles before they settle on a definitive appellation. The chapter I’m editing now sees our heroes visit the top-secret lair of a powerful warlock on the island of ₪KLAVERIOS, who after several rewrites has evolved into someone vaguely like a hybrid of Morpheus (of The Matrix) and the character Q of James Bond fame, with maybe just a smattering of Glinda the Good Witch thrown in. This exhibition-heavy whopper of a chapter’s original working title was:
…AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS LOUSY T-SHIRT
After fully digesting this chapter’s innards and melding my consciousness with its innate atman throughout the editing process, the old title found itself abandoned like an outgrown shell. Replaced with the (somewhat) more cozy WHO IS THE TRAINER? It’s possible the original title might be claimed by another chapter down the road; it would probably fit the next chapter after this one like a glove.
A merrie solstice and happy new year to you and yours. The days will get longer from today until midsummer; here’s hoping they get brighter too. In the spirit of the season, I gift you a little something to help bring about the brightening of those days. Available for download now is a brand-spankin’ new edition of the SILVER BROWN e-book – an edition that encompasses the novel’s entire first act. Compared to the previous edition, this new issue includes two freshly-minted chapters, and several additional graphical enhancements.
My original idea for SILVER BROWN was that it would be a trilogy. I later scrapped that idea, though. Trilogies are great when they’re done well, but not all trilogies are created equal. Some of them kick things off the right way with a strong first installment, but then lose their way and decline in quality with the second and third installments. The Matrix or Ally Condie’s Matched come to mind. So instead of committing to the daunting task of writing a trilogy, I decided instead to compose SILVER BROWN as a single volume in three acts – a narrative structure somewhat comparable to the one George Orwell used in Nineteen Eighty-Four. This first act has an identifiable climatic moment with a falling action serving as a lead-in to the second act. At the same time, not enough loose ends are tied up by the end of it to make it a complete novel in and of itself.
This is probably the last version of the e-book I will publish for at least a year. The narrative starts to take on a noticeably different tone after Chapter Eighteen, delving into topics like the deeper mythology of the Environment, the complicated relationship between the Union and SAAZMOL and the current status of Florys’ father. These are aspects of the story I don’t want to elaborate on publicly just yet. But I think there’s enough here in the first act to get people’s appetites whetted, so I’ll just leave it at that. Oh, and did I mention it’s free? Yeah, I’m letting people download and read this at no charge, ’cause I rock like that.
Click or tap on the book cover below to be taken to the download page. When you get to the download page there’s another book cover there you have to tapclick on to download the actual book. Think of it as the three gates you have to pass through to get to the Southern Oracle. Except there’s only two, and there’s no risk of bodily injury involved in passing through either of those gates. At least I bloody well hope not.
Five and ¾ Senses 