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Checking in 63: 11.12.22

Here we go again.


New Steps

I got my Rocket Book, and it works beautifully. My current NaNoWriMo count is 16396. A bit short of par, but I’m working on that this weekend.


I bought the cover for Desert Home today. I’ll be applying for my copyright asap and then I need to focus on the finishing touches for the editing. Because of NaNo, I have been putting this on the back burner, but I hope to get a good editing block in today.


The Breakdown

The Last Herald Mage trilogy by Mercedes Lackey. Magic’s Pawn, Magic’s Promise, Magic’s Price



Vanyel Ashkevron is a normal young man, who is the oldest son of the Lord of Forst Reach holding in the Kingdom of Valdemar. Vanyel has felt like an outsider his entire life. Being more interested in history and music than fighting and hunting, he doesn’t fit in with the rest of his brothers or his father. When he is fifteen, his father makes the decision to send him to his Aunt Savil in Haven, the capital city. The move is essentially an exile and Vanyel doesn’t imagine his life will improve much. But Haven also happened to be the training ground and home base of the Heralds of Valdemar.


The Heralds are citizens of Valdemar (and other kingdoms) who were Chosen by the Companions, magic creatures in the shape of a graceful white horse with the intelligence of a human, to uphold the laws and protect the kingdom from its enemies. What makes the Heralds unique to the other martial forces in the kingdom is they have some form of Mind Magic. These Gifts include things like Empathy, Fetching, FarSight and the rare Mage gift that allows a Herald to perform spells and magic.


Much to his surprise, Vanyel finds a home with his aunt, the Herald Mage, and love with her trainee Tylendel. Just as he thinks his life will be more joyful than he could imagine, tragedy strikes and culminates in the death of his lover and magical energy forcing open all his channels for every Gift, as well as triggering his Mage potential, making Vanyel the most powerful being to ever grace the halls of the Heraldic Collegium. The trilogy tells the beautiful, remarkable, and often painful tale of his life over the next twenty years.


This is the first fantasy series I ever read, way back when I was in high school. It was also the first LGBT story I ever read. I can’t even begin to explain how good this trilogy is. I read it every couple of years, and I never get tired of it. It has everything a good fantasy series should have. A kick ass magical system, a beautiful world. Politics, adventure, and a reluctant hero worthy of song. It is also as tragic and heart wrenching, as it is tender and funny.


I’m on the third book right now and I know that a particularly painful part is coming up and I’m just not in the headspace to handle that right now, so I’m procrastinating. It definitely makes you feel all the feels.


Living Life

Working on my word count for NaNoWriMo is taking up a fair amount of my time right ow, but I am making time to get outside a bit. The plan this weekend had been to get out and do a hike or two, but it looks like it's going to be a wet and gloomy weekend, much better suited to cuddling up with a book and coffee… or writing. So, here I am after realizing it’s been a month since I get you all an update. Not a lot going on other than the writing and reading with some YouTube mixed in.


As always, thanks for checking out the site, and I hope everyone is doing well. If you feel so inclined, check out my social media.

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