The 99-Cent Halloween Score of the Year!

Happy Halloween from me to you!

The Kingdom and the Crown

(The Kingdom Chronicles, Book 1)

Kindle Edition

October 30 - November 5

$ 0.99

Amazon.com

June: The 99-Cent Kindle Month

Looking for something to read over the summer that won't cost you all of your vacation money? Need something to read while you travel, lounge, or bathe yourself in the sun? Then this is the month for you.

I've selected June 2014 as a 99-cent Kindle Month--meaning that throughout the course of the month you will be able to pick up each of my books in Kindle edition for just $0.99 USD.

It all takes place on Amazon.com.

So mark your calendars and miss out:

The Kingdom and the Crown (Kingdom Chronicles, 1)

June 5-10, 2014

 


The Elements and the Exodus (Kingdom Chronicles, 2)

June 16-22, 2014

Mimgardr (Oblivion's Gate, 1)

June 23-29, 2014

Top Five "Feels" So Far

Have you ever found yourself yelling at a book or movie screen? Have you ever cried over the death of a character? Have you ever longed to get revenge on a fictional villain? Have you ever felt "the feels"?

It seems that whenever we see a good movie or read a great book, there are always characters our hearts go out to. Some people may become more emotionally exposed than others (crying, yelling and what have you), but we certainly respond to the characters' experiences with empathy and sympathy and invest ourselves in their welfare, especially if we find ourselves intimately connected with them.

About a week or so ago, I received an email about "the feels" experienced by one reader as she read each of my books. It was one of my favorite fan emails thus far. But there was a catch: this email also came with a challenge, a very good challenge.

"Now that you know how much I love these stories and how big of a sucker I am for them, can I give you a challenge? I challenge you to write a blog post where you list your top five feels moments from the books you've published so far, including both the Kingdom Chronicles and Oblivion's Gate. That's something I'd really love to see..."

It was quite a challenge, but I accepted it, and at last my five are ready. Are you ready? I hope so, 'cause were we go.

S. R. Ford's Top Five "Feels" (So Far)

5. "Fallon was gone" (The Elements and the Exodus)
Three tragic words that kindle feelings of panic, terror and fury. The group has just won a major battle, the world is bright and cheery, a whole city is singing for joy, and everything should be happily ever after; but no. While no one is paying attention, Shunul appears. He reveals that they've played right into his hands, and in a fell swoop he kidnaps Fallon. There is no trail to follow--there's not even a hint that Fallon's still alive, and yet the world sings on merrily, oblivious that anything has happened. 

4. Axsem (The Kingdom Chronicles)
I can never get over how much I love Axsem's entire character. This may be cheating a bit, but I count him as one large "feels" moment. Everyone has a story they never want to tell, something they wish they could forget but can't because it makes them who they are. Imagine what it would be like to know that you were the only surviving piece of something that was once great and good, something you had to watch sink into decay and destroy itself. Imagine you had to survive by living on only promises and faith that something good was going to come. Imagine how that would define you. In the Kingdom and the Crown Axsem first appears bitter and hateful--a racist man covered in thick emotional scar tissue, but as he is forced to recount the downfall of his nation and aid in its rebirth, we see the true Axsem emerge from the guilt, heartache and loneliness. Axsem, to me, models the strongest type of person. Yes, he may have lost his way and let darkness and pain overcome him for a time, but in the end he proved to be one of the most kindhearted people one could ever hope to meet.

3. Dan's Dream of Alice (Mimgardr)
The relationship between Dan and Alice Barker is beautiful. Any two siblings that share a bond like these two is lucky, and any who deliberately push away such an one are foolish. The story Dan tells of Alice in Mimgardr is so tender and loving that when he closes with the statement "She was my Christmas, Aaron, and now she's gone," your heart can't help but ache. And that feeling only multiplies when he dreams of her a few chapters later. Right before Alice passes through the gateway into Hafenu, leaving Dan alone in the darkness, you get to understand just how he and Alice feel about each other and the pain of their separation, feelings many people around the world perfectly empathize or sympathize with.

2. Zarrys's Revocation (The Elements and the Exodus)
There are really only a few experiences that I think generate more intense feels than the death of someone you love dearly, and this is one of them. At the end of the Kingdom and the Crown, Zarrys had become perfectly familiar with Vagahem (a GOD), had been filled with power and light, had a strong connection with a companion, had seen his post-mortal parents, had been crowned king, shown a vision of potential future events, and topped it all of by taking Namine's hand in marriage. It was really a cloud nine moment. However, as book two goes along, we watch Zarrys's personality contradicting with his better judgment until he makes a mistake that costs him everything. All of the goodness he had been given is torn away from him and he is left to wallow in the same darkness as Malystryx. His power, foresight, connections, influence--everything--is stripped away from him. Can you imagine what that would be like? Can you imagine the hellish agony?

1. The Death of Ilia (Mimgardr)
Why does this beat the rejection of a god? Because that's something I don't think any of us can perfectly empathize with. None of us have known a god intimately and been given earth-bending powers and psychic connections and then lost them. But there are many out there who have lost a spouse, and that pain is exquisite.
In the case of Dan and Ilia, though, it goes a bit deeper into feels territory. When the Battle of Mimgardr begins, Dan's family is gone, his friendships are wavering, he thinks his in-laws have rejected him, his self-esteem is shot, and the list goes on. In the midst of the battle, he learns that he's a pawn in Morgan's plan and is being sacrificed to destroy the Fallen. Finally, at the end of the battle, victory is won and Dan is actually hailed as a hero by the Asketillians. Perhaps things are going to be all right. But then a man appears and attempts to stab Dan in the back while his guard is down and is only stopped by Ilia who appears between them and takes the blade through her stomach.
The last anchor in Dan's life begins to slip away from that moment on: the murderer escapes, Ilia's mutation is revealed, and any hope of a healthy relationship with Merlin is obliterated shortly before Ilia dies. Then Merlin is killed and Dan, marked as a murderer, flees to his island with Ilia's body, hoping beyond hope that he can still revive her.
Not only did Dan lose his bride that day in Mimgardr, he lost everything, including himself. Tell me that doesn't hit you right in the feels.

So there you have it. Those are my top five "feels" (so far), out of the many I had to choose from.

Now I turn the challenge to you. What are your top five "feels" from my books? Answer in the comments section below, or shoot me an email!

Happy reading!

The Twins' Mother

This last week I was talking with a reader about Kimira and Raeleen and answering some questions about their upcoming roles in the Kingdom Chronicles series. Then suddenly my new friend changed topics on me and blurted, "Was Kalea's companion white?"

I was surprised by the question and didn't have a chance to regain my conversational footing before my friend expounded with, "According to genetics, it would take a black dragon (Damos) and a white dragon to produce a black and a white offspring. So was Kalea's companion white?"

Now this person is thinking intelligently! However, I answered that the well thought out assumption was in fact incorrect. Kalea's companion was not white, and would be introduced later in the story along with other dragons. I then explained that the twinship of Brazor and Rokai goes much deeper than simply the dual fertilization of a single egg and basic genetic rules. Rokai and Brazor, like their companions Zarrys and Fallon, bear specific markings and traits that pertain to signs and powers, including physical traits that have been buried in their bloodlines for generations.

It was an excellent thought, and I am loving the fact that I have readers who are digging into the back stories in hopes of finding little golden nuggets. As I've said before, I'm one for complex characters, characters who each deserve a series of their own. I'm also a fan of telling things in their own due time and not rushing into too much revelation. These books have barely scratched the surface of Brazor and Rokai's story, and the same is true of Raeleen, Kimira, Namine and Kirah as well.

The coming books will bring to light much of the individual characters' back stories and personal developments. The story isn't over yet, and I hope you'll be there with me till the very end.

The All-Seeing Floor of Pukwan's Temple

The Kingdom Chronicles draws its inspiration from the endless realms of fantasy and religion; but because the series carries no singular religious affiliation, I love seeing the ways that people from all over the globe choose to connect the story and characters to real world things and places. So often the allusions they make teach me more about my readers than about my books.

One aspect of the book that is based on religious writings is the throne room in the Temple of the Crown, where the throne is carved with representations of their planet's present solar system, two fire-breathing dragons defend the throne (though needlessly), and the very floor has the ability to reveal anything the Great Vagahem wishes to see: things past, present, or future in as vast or minute a scope as He desires.

There are long discussions about every part of the Temple of the Crown and Mount Ryel that could be had, but today I want to focus on the throne room floor only.

When I created this aspect of Pukwan's temple, I drew from verses and writings of both Judaism and Christianity. References such as: "The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool" (KJV Isaiah 66:1), "...and beneath his feet was...like the appearance of the heavens..." (Pentateuch, Exodus 24:10), "...thy walls are continually before me." (KJV Isaiah 49:16), "...but there is no God beside me, and all things are present with me, for I know them all... And it came to pass that Moses looked, and beheld the world upon which he was created; and Moses beheld the world and the ends thereof, and all the children of men which are, and which were created;... For behold, there are many worlds that have passed away by the word of my power. And there are many that now stand, and innumerable are they unto man; but all things are numbered unto me, for they are mine and I know them." (Moses 1:6, 8, 35.), "and I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire:" (KJV Revelation 15:2), and my final example, "but they reside in the presence of God, on a globe like a sea of glass and fire, where all things for their glory are manifest, past, present, and future, and are continually before the Lord" (The LDS Doctrine and Covenants 130:7). There are many others, and too them I added my own thoughts and expectations.

If a being is all-powerful, all-knowing and ever present, there really is nothing to put limits on it except itself. There is no one who can give it boundaries or limitations. Essentially, such a being would be an unstoppable force and an immovable object, living far outside the captivation of space and time. To perfectly contemplate the grandeur of a god is a feat that no finite human could ever accomplish, for we know of no such condition as infinity, only the limits we face in and of ourselves; everything we know is governed by some law not its own and has some sort of a limit. Therefore, no person will ever have the ability to prove or disprove the existence of a god unless a god chooses to reveal itself to us and prove that they do in fact exist.

This being the case, if a god did exist, I would imagine that such an infinitely powerful being would also be the most perfectly compassionate since everything that has come into being, including time, space and the laws of nature, has done so by the god's sanction and appointment. In essence, it created the game, which means it also created the rules and their loopholes and has the power to transcend them all for its own purposes.

These thoughts and others, along with the verses noted above, all played into the creation of Pukwan's all-seeing floor. Using the special surface as a medium, Pukwan is able to open up a view beyond time and space to display anything He so desires. Instead of having to preserve His kings on a journey across time and space constantly, He can simply throw open this fantastic window and show them as a distant observer something they could not otherwise behold. He knows the limits that He has placed on His mortal kings, and so He utilizes means whereby He can give them a glimpse of His knowledge or purpose without destroying, harming, or frightening them. The all-seeing floor is just as much a manifestation of compassion as it is a tool of instruction and revelation.

What do you think? How have you interpreted Pukwan's character in the books so far? What expectations would you have if you were to interact with an eternally infinite being, a god? Please leave a comment, and take them anywhere you want to go. I don't care if you believe in a god or not; if you don't, just pretend for a minute. What if they did exist? What would they be like?

The Right Hand of the Devil

Many people, when they read The Kingdom and the Crown for the first time, assume that Malystryx represents the devil himself. The only thing wrong with this assumption is that it's wrong. The end of the book and The Elements and the Exodus reveal that Malystryx is merely a pawn in the hands of much more adept and sinister foes.

Malystryx started out as the Crown Prince of the Vagan Kingdom. At the time his name was Zulacon. In rebellion against established tradition, he abandoned his rights and duties to the throne and joined a revolt that would culminate in a massive civil war under his leadership.

During the greatest battle of the war, he fought with his brother, the new crown prince, and by means of godly intervention was defeated. Then he and his followers were cast off and cursed, becoming the Uhuu-malush. The Uhuu-malush then turned against him and made him out to be the reason for their destitution. They drove him away and chased him, threatening to kill him. Taking refuge in the mountains, he wandered and searched for ways to sate his wounded pride until he came in contact with the king-demon Shunul.

With promises of power and dominion Zulacon sold himself to Shunul, becoming a servant and being renamed Malystryx. Part of the price was the sacrifice of his own body by means of dark magic. From then on, Zulacon Malystryx became the right hand of the devil, so absorbed into the darkness and the will of his master that he oft times claimed Shunul's goals and actions as his own.

From chosen Vagan prince to Right Hand of the Devil, the life of Zulacon is a sad tale; but it is an important one as well. Without Malystryx, the course of history would have been very different for Uhuu-malush and Vagans alike.

What do you think about Malystryx and his life story? I wanna hear and read your thoughts. Does anyone have any good fan art of him? That would be a fun thing to see too. Please leave a comment.

Infatuated with Naminé

I don't know if an author should be picking favorite characters from the worlds he creates, but I know I have. One thing I love about writing is that the characters you create develop a life all their own; they grow and evolve far beyond what you had intended or sometimes even wanted. Some of them you will love, others you will hate; it just happens. One of my favorite characters is Naminé from the Kingdom Chronicles.

Three very important people inspired much of Naminé's original creation, especially the aspects of her personality and pieces of her behavior. After that, I put incredible amounts of time and care into figuring out exactly who Naminé was meant to be. I thought I had it all figured out, but then Naminé took a life all her own and started down her own path.

When we first meet Naminé in the books, she is called by the name Naomi. Her gentle soul bears a presence of innocence and timidity. She is easily frightened and in many ways dependent on the people around her for confidence. The Human-Vagan war and the lifestyle of her childhood have certainly scarred her on many levels. But as the book goes on and we watch her gradual transition from Naomi to Naminé, we get to see what lies beneath her fear--we get to see the fireball inside her. When free of fear or solely compelled by it, Naminé reveals the deeper, more aggressive part of her personality. She becomes forthright and assertive about her opinions. As one reader put it, "She becomes quite the little firecracker."

In addition to her personal development, I love the relationship she has with Zarrys. At the core they are very similar personalities; however, they express themselves almost oppositely: where Zarrys is quick to lash out in anger, Naminé is more patient and careful; where Zarrys is just, Naminé is merciful; where Naminé is bold, Zarrys is timid; and so on. They balance and rely on each other even more than they yet realize, and to me that's what makes them such a fit couple.

To sum it up easily, I think Naminé is a character that endears herself well to everyone. She's easy to connect with and easy to love, which is why I think she's such an integral part of the story to so many readers. What do you think? Who are some of your favorite characters, and why?

The Outpost of Yerhan

The city of Yerhan was established as nothing more than a military outpost on the southern side of the Zulacon mountains, intended to maintain the great road that led north into the Vagan empire. Over time, the outpost would grow and grow until it reached the limits of Vagan law. At that point Sharhan was established, and eventually it, too, would grow until it was filled to capacity.

"Filled to capacity?" someone asks. "What does that mean?"

Unlike our cities, which continue to expand and grow out over more and more land, Vagan cities are built from the very beginning to accommodate a specific number of number and no more. When the city reaches capacity, the populace is divided and a new city is built. In the Kingdom Chronicles: Book 3, you'll have the opportunity to learn exactly how large Yerhan and Sharhan are, their relationship to other cities in the Vagan kingdom, and how the Vagan kingdom was kept at a clockwork.

I'm very excited for readers to learn more about the inner working of a civilization that transformed a wasteland into a paradise. There's so many cool thing to share. So stay tuned for clips to come.

Ooo! Plot Twists, My Favorite!

In my opinion, the best moment in a great story is followed by the words:

"NO WAY!"

It's not the big climactic battle, the heroic victory, the villain's plotting or demise that gets me. Oh no. It's the plot twist. It's the moment where the whole story gets turned on its head, where the unpredictable happens. I love it when you've been led to believe one thing the entire story, then all of a sudden get blindsided by the fact you had failed to consider.

Some of the best plot twists, I think, come after many, many minor twists. I love it when a storyteller knocks off several possible twists you might be thinking of as you read, watch or listen before knocking the wind out of you with the real plot twist. By that point you're so sucked in to a particular self-conceived expectation that the plot twist leaves your jaw dangling.

"No way!" from Disney's Wreck It Ralph

Here are some well-executed character-related examples:

- The King-Candy-is-Turbo reveal from Disney's Wreck It Ralph.

- The Hans reveal in Disney's Frozen.

- The Scabbers-is-Wormtail twist from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban.

Then there are the "And they lived happily ever----Wait a minute!" plot twists, like these:

- Here's a relatively cliched example to start; the overlooked surviving monster egg/baby.

- Loki's appearance at the end of Thor, after he supposedly died, when the Tesseract was revealed. 

- "Fallon was gone." - from my own book The Elements and the Exodus.

Plot twists are what make stories interesting. They're what grab the attention of readers and bring out the demands for a sequel. What are some of your favorite plots twists? and why?

Review-This-Book Kindle Sale -- January 30 - February 5

Calling all fantasy readers and reviewers! 

I've written many times about the importance of reviews in the world market. They give people a better understanding of what they're buying before they buy it, from the perspective of regular people like them. Well, I find myself caught in the review tide, and I need your help.

I want to share my books with more people around the world. I want to see more people fall in love with the characters and stories. But I need to get more reviews to help me do that. SO...

I'm throwing my hat into a Review-This-Book kindle sale.

The sale will last from January 30th - February 5th on Amazon.com.

From January 30 thru February 2 at Noon, both series starter books, The Kingdom and the Crown and Mimgardr, will be just $0.99.

From February 2 at Noon thru February 5, the price of each book will go up slightly to $1.99.

The goal of this sale is to spread the books around and draw in more reviews. If you've already read my books, please take a few minutes to leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads. If you haven't read them, don't miss this chance to pick up a great book.

Links to each Kindle book page can be found on the right-hand side of my blog. Simply click on the cover picture under the heading "Kindle". You can also check them out on my author site HERE. There you can read the entire first chapter for free if you wish and still find the links to Amazon.

Thanks for helping me spread the word and for writing reviews. Have a blast reading!

Phase One Wallpaper Promo

In follow-up to my last post "Fans, Assemble!" (which I'm still hoping to get more of your comments on), I want to show you a couple of the cover-inspired wallpapers that have been put together. I like them because they're simple. What do you think?

Unfortunately, these promos are too small for you to download right now. We're still in beta. ;)

I'll start with this one, for the Kingdom and the Crown:

 And this one, for Mimgardr:

What do you think? Comment below.

Fans, Assemble!

This is going to be short but very important. I am working on a project, and in order to get it done right I need your help.

Here's what I'm working on:

I'm pulling together an assortment of Kingdom Chronicles and Oblivion's Gate paraphernalia that fans of the two series will be able to collect and share with their friends. Phase One of that plan includes creating more memes, quote pics, and wallpapers (Like the one to the right). All of these Phase One treasures will be free to download, like, share and pin.

Here's where you come in:

I want these piece of official fandom material (that sounds fancy) to bear your influence. So, I need you to write in your favorite moments, images, lines and quotes from all three of my books. All of them. There's no limit on the number of submissions. In fact, the more you send in the better. I just ask that your submission contain as much detail as possible (character, book, chapter and maybe even a short why). Please send them in either on a comment below or an email via the contact link to the right of the screen.

Also, feel free to offer ideas and requests for other fandom goodies that you'd like to see come along with Phases Two and Three.

Thanks so much for your help! You fans are important to me, and I want to include you as much as possible.

Klalumpelo!

The Polysemy of Love

In modern English love has become a very restricted word. I've been taking polls this last week and found some interesting results. Though it could have a multiplicity of definitions, we often use love for just three: 1) love for a significant other, 2) love for family and 3) love of objects, which would be better expressed using a verb like treasure than love, but oh well, we do it anyway. Love must be clearly understood in its usage or it can lead to embarrassment, teasing and awkward silences. Hence the only way we commonly use love in addressing a friend is when we treasure them more like an object or simply appreciate having their company. (e.g. Two friends talking to one another about a third friend. One exclaims brightly, "Man, I love that kid.") We often restrict ourselves to words such as like, simply so that a usage of love won't be misunderstood. Even 'I care about you' is taken to mean the same as the full-blown 'I love you' in most cases, as a phrase of complete and sole dedication, which stops people from using it. And let's not even touch the complete phrase 'I love you.'

Why is love such a treacherous polyseme in English? We have words like affection and charity, but we wouldn't say 'I affect you' or 'I chare you,' because affect means something different and chare isn't really a word. Treasure sounds funny (I treasure you), and we only hear appreciate on rare occasion because it doesn't really mean what we're trying to say. It is as though English employs no way to specify one's love without a complex, explanatory sentence or a whole heap of awkwardness to go with it. What's wrong with this broken language? Why are we so afraid of love?

Maybe we just need more words for it that help us better express our feelings. In Greek there are words like storge, philia, eros and agape, which demonstrate types or levels of affection and love. Hebrew has seven words for love--I'm told anciently it had more--and Chinese has several words too. In fact most languages I've studied have multiple words (verbs specifically) for love that define it to a specific degree. So why not English?

In Vagan, there are seven words for love. However, they are different than the seven words of Hebrew. Vagan love words all share the same root, three characters best anglicized as 'chez'. A differing vowel syllable added to the first of the root gives chez its proper meaning. For example, as we learn from Zarrys in The Kingdom and the Crown, ochez (oh-chez) is equivalent to the singular dedication and affection--the love--found in a relationship between husband and wife. And whereas achez (ay-chez) would express the type of love one has for a friend, uchez (oo-chez) would imply the love of a child for its parent and awchez (aw-chez) the love of a parent for its child.

That's just four of the Vagan words, and already we've alleviated part of the stress love is under in English. So maybe we need to dig into the English past and find some words that have been long forgotten. Or maybe we need to create some new ones. Or perhaps we could simply grow up a bit and cut the belief that the word love is only a proposal of sex or marriage, which is how most people I polled this week would take it if a friend told them they loved them, especially a friend of the opposite gender. Maybe one of those changes would help balance things out. Or maybe I'm just up in the night and everything is fine just the way it is? What do you think? How do you feel about using the word love? Comment below and let's talk.

A Personal Tip Concerning Vagan

First, for those who don't know, Vagan (not Vegan) is a language I created myself to be used in the Kingdom Chronicles. I built it from the ground up, giving it its own rules, alphabet, everything. For an example of how it sounds and looks anglicized, pick up a copy of either Kingdom Chronicles book. For an example of how it looks, check out the door on the cover of the Elements and the Exodus.

Although I built Vagan myself, there are still some tricky bits to using it. There are words and sounds that don't exist in it, many synonymous English terms that only have one translation in it, some single English words that have up to ten translations in it, and rules of grammar and punctuation that are entirely different. Vagan is a fun language to use, but making sure that English things don't slip in or transliterate unwanted can be tricky since English is my dominant language and Vagan is far from common use.

So to combat the issues I've had when readers have asked me to translate something for them, I've made use of a personal tip: Never be afraid to double-check yourself by writing it down or checking the dictionary. Until I finally earn my own horde of geeks (I use that term respectfully and excitedly), who all want to learn Vagan, I'm speaking and writing it by myself; so I have to make sure that I don't use it incorrectly or the whole language goes down the drain.

A Peek into Naminé's Perspective

Klalumpelo! And good morning! It's good to see you again.

Yesterday I listed several questions that you can expect answers to in the Kingdom Chronicles: Book 3. I also verified the intended length of the book. I hope you enjoyed that information and were excited by it because today I have a surprise for you. I've brought you... an excerpt... from Naminé’s perspective!

I don't want to say too much about it, so I'll just give you a little background and let you read. The following clip comes fairly early in the book and sets the emotional stage for the chapter. One thing I particularly enjoy about the portions of  this story told from Naminé's perspective is that you get to really see inside her head. Throughout books 1 and 2, most of what we've gleaned about her personality has been through Zarrys's interpretation. Well, now it's her turn to give us some insights into herself and Zarrys. I know several of you out there have expressed to me the kinship you've felt with Naminé over the passing books, and I hope that getting to take a step inside her mind will help you understand and love her all the more.

I have one favor to ask of you: After you've read the clip, please leave some feedback in a comment below. Whether it be a comment about the text itself, your feelings about exploring other perspectives, or even just a grammar correction (this is a drafting copy after all, and it was transferred to a blog template), I don't mind. I just want to hear your feedback. So, please honor me with that gift.

And with that, let the excerpt begin:

     The warm breeze took Naminé’s flaxen hair for a partner as it danced around the room. The young queen sat in her father-in-law’s floating throne looking up through the open hatch in the roof. Her mother-in-law’s gem-studded, golden hairbrush lay forgotten in her lap. Heavy thoughts weighed upon Naminé’s mind, bringing her very low, yet she listened quietly to her husband’s irritated tone as it echoed down around her. Zarrys had discovered a secret hatch while studying the tower’s schematics, and ever since the roof had become his retreat when he sought for a moment of privacy.

     A set of heavy boots was making its way up the winding stairs below, and Naminé knew who was coming simply by the sound of each footfall. She honestly wished the visitor would turn around and go away. They had scarcely returned to Yerhan an hour prior, and she knew this was not a good time for company.

     “Your Majesty?” General Dagah called up through the primary hatch in the floor. “Your Majesty, may I come up?”

     “Yes, General,” Naminé answered as sweetly as she could while trying to conceal her feelings. “Come in.”

     Dagah stepped up quietly and looked around the divided room. He scanned the curtain that split the room in two, obviously in search of the king. His armor and cape were dusty, and the man had not shaved for several days. After the initial scan, he bowed to Naminé politely. “Good evening, my lady.”

     “Zarrys will be down in a moment,” Naminé excused, reclaiming the brush and pulling it through her hair carefully.

     “How was your journey?” the general asked with a patient smile.

     “Your soldiers were right,” she answered. “The people of Goram were ready for us to come. Nearly the whole city has followed us back.”

     “So it was the whole city,” Dagah concluded to himself. “It’s causing quite a tumult down there, trying to find the right homes for them. That’s why I’ve come. I need your husband’s council.”

     “Tread carefully, General,” she cautioned softly, turning her gentle eyes up toward the ceiling once again. “This hasn’t been a good day for Zarrys. Fallon weighs heavily on his mind--on both our minds.”

     “You’re still fighting it then?”

     “Fighting what?”

     “The truth.”

     Naminé was instantly offended. “Excuse me?”

     “Your Highness, Fallon is dead,” Dagah replied. He tried to speak softly, but irritation overflowed his tone. “He was killed that day by some bit of power. It’s honestly no different than the hundreds of other soldiers who were killed that day. And while mourning is proper, you must recognize that Fallon has been gone for nigh on three months. The king has duties to tend to, duties that are here, now. He must let go of Fallon before denial loses him the entire kingdom.”

     “Have you ever lost a person close to you, General?” Zarrys demanded fiercely, dropping into the room just as Naminé opened her mouth to rebuke the outspoken military man. Zarrys’s white hair and robes billowed in the air as he descended, and they settled in a disheveled manner when his sandal shod feet found the floor.

     “King Zarrys,” Dagah blurted quickly, dropping into a deep bow.

     “I didn’t order you to bow,” Zarrys snapped sharply, checking the position of his diamond crown. “I asked you a question.”

     “Zarrys, I—”

     “Have you? Have you ever lost someone close to you?” Zarrys demanded again. The king took an aggressive step toward Dagah, and Naminé quickly slid to the edge of her seat. She dropped the brush behind her, ready to intervene on Dagah's behalf even though she was just as upset as her husband.

--Excerpt taken from The Kingdom Chronicles: Book 3 by S. R. Ford. (c) 2014. All Rights Reserved.

I hope you enjoyed that and are excited for more to come. Please don't forget to comment.

Until tomorrow!

Silence Broken

S. R. Ford. (c) 2012. All rights reserved.

Good morning!

In November I posted that I had marked the Kingdom Chronicles: Book 3 for extensive renovation. Since then I've been pretty quiet about what's going on. If that has been torturing you, I hope you'll forgive me. I've held my peace up to this point because I haven't been entirely sure what all of the changes would equate to. But now that things are taking form, I want to share some of what you can look forward to in book 3.

As I said, things are coming along pretty well now. I'm not finished yet and probably won't be for a few months, but things are coming along much better than before. I am much more satisfied with the way this version of the story is playing out. The writing is much more complex and intriguing than the original drafts, which means the story flows along much better for the reader.

Over the passing weeks I've received numerous questions regarding the book. Several have asked about the length of the book (whether or not it would be longer than book 2, and whether or not each book in the series would be longer than the last), and I can honestly say, "No. They will not keep getting longer." In fact, book 3 is shaping up to be around the same length as book 1, the Kingdom and the Crown. It may end up a bit shorter; we'll have to see. Don't worry about ending up with books 1000s of pages long. It isn't likely to happen, and it certainly isn't planned to.

Many of you have asked questions about what will happen in book 3. Unfortunately, I'm not quite ready to give you the answers yet. I'll have to leak them to you over time. But of all the questions I've been asked, let me list the popular ones that will most certainly be answered in book 3:

- What are Shunul and his armies going to do next? Do they need time to regroup?
- How will Zarrys build and establish a new nation?
- How will they rebuild a ruined city? What will the new city look like?
- "WHAT THE [censorship] HAPPENED TO FALLON? WHERE IS HE? IS HE DEAD?"
- What happened to Nathan and Bartholomew, and how is their family taking the betrayal?
- What will become of Brazor?--And Kirah and Kimira?--with Fallon gone?
- With Prozon gone, what will become of Fiona?
- What happened to Mount Ryel? When, if ever, will it reopen to Zarrys?
- What kinds of things did Zarrys the First hoard in his towers? And why?
- What are other Vagan cities like? Where are they? What condition are they in?

These questions and more will be integral parts of the story, and some of them have farther reaching implications than you might think.

I hope that's enough to catch your interest for the day. Tomorrow, I have a much nicer surprise for you, so make sure that you follow by email or remember to come back by. Don't forget to Like my Facebook page, follow me on Twitter and Pinterest, and leave a review on Amazon, Goodreads, etc. Your support means the world to me.

Good morning!

Kingdom Chronicles III Undergoing Plot Change

Many of you writers out there will know what it feels like to be typing along anxiously while suffering from a nagging sensation that something isn't quite right. You instinctively know that even though the story is coming together there's something out there that could make it even better. It's not necessarily writer's block you face, but simply a force of misunderstood inspiration. Well, this is the manner in which the last several weeks have been passing for me. That is, until three days ago.

Three days ago while I was reading through my notes and studying the Vagan languages and civilizations I realized that there was something more I wanted you readers to get from this next installment in the series. To help me explain, let's take a step back:

From the very beginning, I've wanted readers to be right there alongside the Kingdom Chronicles' characters--to experience what they experience, to feel what they feel, and to think what they think--all the while remaining connected to the main protagonist, Zarrys II. The writing style, chapters, paragraphs, and words are all fashioned in and of themselves to forward that role.

Aside from Shunul and all of his mischief, two of the greatest "villains" I wanted to incorporate into these books are the Villain of Self and the Battlefield of Change. Throughout the Kingdom and the Crown and the Elements and the Exodus our good friend Zarrys has been suffering through some deeply rooted self-centeredness issues. His perspective is very limited and at times childish. Most of his outward concern for others is rooted in his selfish desire to defend himself and his happiness.

Zarrys is very much a teenager, one who was raised without a strong home nor much level of self-understanding, and yet within a matter of months he finds himself confronted by wars, demons, creatures, relationships, histories, a throne, and a mantle he never expected to find along his destined path. Zarrys is required to make enormous changes in his life, to transform himself from a lost, confused boy to a prophet and king in the service of Pukwan. Likewise, all of his companions are being asked to make drastic changes of their own. Unfortunately, changing your nature doesn't happen instantaneously. They must work at it the same way everybody else does.

Take Zarrys's teaching abilities for just one example. Is Zarrys a very effective teacher? Most certainly not. In Book II, for example, chapters XVIII and XIX give us a good look into one of Zarrys's early lessons (and a very important lesson at that). The lesson is too long, too deep, too all over the place, and too aggressive. Zarrys tries to unload his entire mind on his would-be students, and then he mistakenly expects them to have retained everything from that lesson for the rest of the book. (All of you teachers out there are cringing. I can hear it.) Teaching is just one field in which Zarrys must allow himself to learn and grow. It is a cycle you will be able to follow throughout the books in the series.

As I've thought about these several pieces of the story and their relevance to all of the characters in it, certain points have taken on greater prominence while others have diminished. A stronger side of the Kingdom Chronicles' plot has shone out all the clearer, and I've decided that some changes need to be made. Hence, I am going back and even starting over in certain areas.

What can you expect to see from these changes? More perspectives, better and more character development, changes in writing style, and even changing interactions between characters, just to name a few.

Got any thoughts or questions? If you do, hit the comments box below. I would love to get a good conversation going.

Thank You to a Fan

Klalumpelo, everyone!

Yesterday, I was pleased to be introduced for the first time to Kingdom Chronicles fanart. The works come from MermaidDottie's page on deviantART and were inspired by The Elements and the Exodus. Since she gave me permission do so, I'm going to say thank you to MermaidDottie for her creativity by sharing her interpretation of Zarrys II with you. Here it is:

Thank you, MermaidDottie, for sharing these creations with me. I hope I will get to see more in the future, and that your initiative will inspire others to share with me their interpretations of the people, creatures, and worlds I've created.

Everyone, please remember that this piece of artwork is a copyrighted creation and that those creative rights ought not to be infringed upon. Feel free to view MermaidDottie's deviantART page by following the link here: ~MermaidDottie.