Author: David V Stewart

Needle Ash – Chapter 5: Ferralla, part 1

, , , , , , , , , , , , 0

Back to Contents Chapter 5: Ferralla   The sun was shining brightly on the plain as Michael, Sharona, and the handful of servants and guards they had brought worked their way slowly down from the rocky pass separating Ferralla and Artalland. The sparse dry oaks on the leeward side of the mountain were little shelter, and soon everyone in the party was loosening collars and removing jackets to cool off. Langelo came riding awkwardly toward them from up the road, his horse (borrowed from one of Michael’s retainers, who slept happily in the wagon) second-guessing his commands and turning this…

Continue reading

Needle Ash – Chapter 4: Turns, part 2

, , , , , , , , , , , 0

Back to Contents “Are we even now?” Michael said. He had let Calot follow the road at his own leisure, but the beast had chosen to walk beside Rabble-Rouser, Sharona’s claimed destrier. Neither of them had spoken to each other yet. The morning had worn on, a light grey rain falling on the traveling cloaks that obscured the face of each, making the silence tolerable for longer than Michael had expected. “You’re quite a bit taller than me, actually,” Sharona said  at length, her face hidden in the heavy wool of her cloak and her head unturned. Michael shook his…

Continue reading

Needle Ash – Chapter 4: Turns, part 1

, , , , , , , , , , , 0

Back to Contents Chapter 4: Turns   Michael’s boots echoed in the gallery, washing his ears with sound as his eyes took in the familiar sights of the citadel, fresh and sharp amid the churning worry in his stomach. Great windows of colored glass stood high above, drowning the hallway in warm light. He passed by the portraits and statues of his ancestors, tributaries to the great river that was his family’s passage through time. The Third Dominion had grown its order and passed away, the Divine Empire had been shattered irreparably, and yet the house of Harthino and their…

Continue reading

Needle Ash – Chapter 3: Strange Company, part 2

, , , , , , , , , , 0

Back to Contents Calasora was a massive city, spanning two sides of the great river Tallaros some miles before it bubbled into a wide delta and emptied into the South Sea. The two halves of the city, West and East Calasora, were joined by great stone bridges held above the slow moving river by columns of black basalt. From the river canals and waterways went into the city, supplying fresh water for the many public fountains that served both rich and poor. At the center of the city, standing from the Western shore to an island in the river, stood…

Continue reading

Needle Ash – Chapter 3: Strange Company, part 1

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 0

Chapter 3: Strange Company   A day and a half after leaving the army, Michael had come upon a little village, nestled in a sparse wood with good vineyards and fields all around. There was no inn as such there, but homely landowner had put him up for a night, recognizing him as the prince. The next day he came upon another town, called Gabora Minor; apparently if there was a Gabora Major it was long lost in the hearty oak woods of the country upland from the village. There he rested in a raucous inn called the Mottled Wyrm,…

Continue reading

Needle Ash – Chapter 2: The Means of Victory

, , , , , , , , , , , , 0

Back to Contents Chapter 2: The Means of Victory   Michael rode to Angelico, relief flooding him as his friend, dirty and mud-caked, opened his visor to smile. Michael opened his in return. “What are you doing here, sire?” Angelico said as Michael reigned in Calot beside him. “Coming to the real battle. How are losses?” “Not so bad so far,” Angelico said. “Or should I say, they could be worse. They didn’t catch us totally unawares. Our squad mage sensed some magic upstream, as it were. But sir, those dragoons aren’t going to do much on that side of…

Continue reading

Needle Ash – Chapter 1, part 2

, , , , , , , , , , , , , 0

Read Chapter 1, part 1 Michael paused beside Gadero, his sergeant major, on the hill and looked out over the battle plain. Calot, as he called his destrier, was anxious and padded the ground beside Gadero’s lighter horse, which was placid, almost sad. The rain was lighter now, a mere sprinkle, and though the sky was leaden he could see clearly the main infantries of the Artallan and Ferrallese armies as they played their lines in the mud. He watched a shield wall fold in the Ferralla line, watched as Johan’s infantry pushed into the gap, only to fall back…

Continue reading

Needle Ash – Chapter 1, part 1

, , , , , , , , , , 1

Chapter 1: On the Battlefield   The sweets of life are enjoyed seldom and by few; But the bitterness of death is tasted by all, and There you find bitterness is another relative thing Among many other relative, mutable things That make a mundane world you call immutable But for the honorable, there is no death; Only a return to the dream.   For dreams to a living man are like gazing through a clouded mirror, whereas the dreams of death are like crystal water Only beyond the hazy veil of the mundane, the old dreams, shall we meet face…

Continue reading

From Concept to Published book in 30 days – National Novel Writing Month #NaNoWriMo

, , , , , , , , , , , 17

I made a decision while making a video the other day on the bootcamp mindset that I was going to do National Novel Writing Month. Of course, being me, I felt I had to up the stakes and the challenge from “writing 50,000 words” to “put out a novel in 30 days.” This process will involve all four phases of book creation (planning, drafting, revising, and publishing) in an extremely condensed and (though limited) intense fashion. NaNoWriMo (as some call it) focuses entirely on phase 2 – drafting, encouraging people to get to that mythical 50k mark in the space…

Continue reading

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them – Movie Analysis and Review (video)

, , , , , , , , , , 0

Awhile back I did a video on what is technically a prequel to the Harry Potter novel series, a movie called Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. With the screenplay penned by series author J.K. Rowling (rather than a screenwriter adapting one of her books), the film is interesting for several reasons. First, it isn’t actually an adaption of Rowling’s book, it is more the story of the fictional character that “wrote” that book, which is a companion book to the main 7 book Harry Potter book sequence. Second, it breaks many of the “Rules” of modern cinema, avoiding the tropes…

Continue reading