2015: The Year of Galria

It's kind of silly to say this, but I've been waiting a couple months to announce this. I'm hereby naming 2015 the Year of Galria. And while that may be a fairly pretentious thing to announce and impose upon the citizens of the rest of the world (or at least, those who read this blog), I'm going to do it anyways, capiche?

What is the Year of Galria, or more specifically, WHY am I calling it that, you might ask?

Simple. This is going to be a big year for Bearion Studios and the world that is my baby.

1. Up to Five New Books this year.

Yes, you heard that right. It was not muffled by wax in the ears. I have a goal for 2015, and that's to release as many as five new books over the course of the next 12 months. Of course, this has the caveat of whether I can obtain cover art in a timely manner. Really, that's what's holding a lot back. 

That an editing.

Here's the expected release schedule that I'm hoping to stick to, but again, bear in mind this depends on whether I can find and afford cover artists for these pieces. At the very least I'm shooting to release two novellas and one full length novel this year. If I get the other two out, bonus. If not, they'll be pushed back to 2016. Release dates are all given as the earliest expected date but will more likely be later in the year!

 

THE LAST STAND: A novella that showcases Lieutenant Dane Trueshot's first mission on his own. You can read a small blurb about it over here. This story takes place between the first two LEGENDS OF GALRIA series of books. (March 2015). Read the first chapter here!

FLAME-SCARRED: A young minotaur tragically loses his home and family to wild fires that sweep across the province. Destitute and with nowhere left to turn, he heads to Mullead where a friend of his father offers him a place to stay in her inn, provided he help her build it first. Over time, he learns of something darker happening in the region that may explain why he lost his family. (April 2015)

LEGION OF SYTAREL (Legends of Galria #2): It's been a year since Dane has left the academy and become a Lieutenant in Rogust's Imperial Army. Tasked with heading up north, Dane comes face to face with the home he left behind many years ago, as well as an old enemy. Meanwhile, Xellik has become the new Warlord of Zugrul, and seeks dominion over the continent. He sets his sights on the Freedom Coalition's holdings, and begins to make his move against the settled peoples of Muriaj. (June 2015)

SERVANT OF DARKNESS: A novella that follows the travels of a dwarven thief named Dougal McMannus and his guild of bandits as they seek to rob the city of Altair of its most prized possessions. This was my 2013 NaNoWriMo winning entry, and since then it has become significantly darker and more fleshed out. (September 2015)

THE SAVAGE'S OPIATE: A tale about someone who is not a hero, of someone who has been hurt and betrayed by society and the people he was supposed to trust. Bartholomew Stoutmantle, an ursar orphaned in the dwarven republic of Olaraa, faces a great many challenges as he grows from a cub into an adult. Child abuse, harassment, and substance abuse are just a few of his demons that he's forced to deal with. This story is remarkably dark and spares no detail in showing how someone who was once good and innocent can become something so corrupted and vile. (December 2015)

2. Sylenthros' Book of Travels (tentative title)

Throughout the coming weeks I'm going to begin making posts about Galria, the world itself, and the people and creatures that inhabit it. All of these will be told from the point of view of Sylenthros Leafsblade, an elven druid that played a role in my first book. I would like to be able to release this every Thursday starting next week, so stay tuned for that.

3. Ask the Author

I'm going to be opening up my Tumblr and Good Reads accounts to allow readers to ask me anything they have on their mind. It can be story related, or more about writing as a craft, or whatever tickles a person's fancy. I want to be able to communicate with my readers, so I feel like this would be a good way to do it. Looks for a post containing links soon!

4. More art!

I've already begun work with some artists to get some artwork of the characters and my world. Expect to see a blog post every time one of them comes out

5. Making our (Land)mark!

For anyone who doesn't know about the game, Landmark the Game is a project by Sony Online Entertainment that's currently in closed-beta. It aims to be a robust building game while including elements such as PvE, PvP, dungeon delving, crafting, and game mastering to let the player realize a fully created world.

I have begun work on one of my first builds, which is a barracks from the upcoming LEGION OF SYTAREL release. I wanted to bring it to life so people could see what vision I had in my head.. at least, as good of one as I can create. Later on, I'll also be tackling a few other builds to bring Galria to life, and in all likelihood once the Game Mastering tools come out, you might see some of the characters from the books showing up on my builds.

I'm hoping that there's plenty more to come, so please keep an eye on this blog for all things Galria related.

How graphic is "too graphic"?

Recently, I finished a short novella that's designed to be an origin story to one of my original characters. It started as a project to understand why the character was who he was. For a bit of background, this character showed up in my LEGENDS OF GALRIA mothership series in one of the original drafts. He's very boorish, constantly seeking stimulation through narcotics, alcohol, or other people, and is an unrepentant Blood Knight (for those not read up on TvTropes, he's a person who loves and LIVES for battle and killing). However, I never had any idea where this character came from.

So I started writing, and as the pen flowed, I found myself writing a tale about a child who had been abused by both society and those that he should have trusted. I found myself uneasy about writing it because I don't enjoy writing about this kind of subject matter, but at the same time, I found it gave justification for how a sweet, innocent child can be twisted and broken enough times that he becomes unashamed of the murderous personality that he adopts. I began writing about a person who had tried to cope, but failed, and in turn began looking to narcotics and alcohol as a means of coping with the slings and arrows thrown at him.

Unfortunately, as I finished the story, I found that things became graphic. I spared no detail in the endless quest to fulfill the objective "Show, don't Tell", and now I have a tale that might rival "A Game of Thrones" for unnecessarily graphic text (Please don't murder me. I just find some of the *ahem* details to be bordering on hard core pornography that I'm just not a fan of).

Granted, there's nothing nearly as terrifying as incest or pedophilia which can be found in Game of Thrones, but I'm sure people would take exception to violence against children. It's a sensitive issue, and when it comes news about Child Family Services, the media is full of examples of abuse that went too far.

My issue begins with not knowing whether I should scrap the story, or merely try to salvage it and make it better. It's such a tough spot to be in at this point, because after 40k words written in the last month, I don't want to give up on the project. I like the character, and the people who have read the story as its been put out have liked the character (and actually feel sorry for him, so that's a win-win!) but as someone who is supposed to be a professional and is in the public eye as an educator, I don't know how such stories would be perceived by other people.

Have I stepped beyond the bounds of what is acceptable and made a story too graphic?

That's the real question, and one I suspect I won't know the answer to for a long time. Fortunately, since this tale in question is supposed to be a side story to LEGION OF SYTAREL, and that alone is almost a year away from seeing release, I have plenty of time to figure it out.

Right?