Month: January 2018

I officially have a book. I passed 81k words this week and we’re still not close to the end, so those looking for a long book rejoice. I still plan on releasing Li’ve after Sarin’s War. You might be reading it before I’ve written the ending.

This weeks chapter moves the plot forward as the Angels plan their course of action. This sets up a coming naval battle. I don’t have much experience writing these kinds of fights and it’s tricky trying to tell it from Kita’s point of view as she won’t be directly involved. In the past, I think I’ve done a good job of making the bridge of a ship interesting. I hope I can continue.

Chapter 23 also introduces a new Angel. I know I was lamenting having a big cast last earlier, but she was planned from the beginning of the book. Her name is Jammer and is an electronic warfare specialist and fighter pilot. I didn’t have anything special picked out for her wings, so I made them violet and yellow. I’m open to suggestions if you have a color scheme you’d like to see. Besides being an EWS and pilot, Jammer is transgender, male to female. This is the first time I’ve tried writing such a character. I did my research, so I hope I got it right. Anyone interested in reading an excerpt please leave me a note in the comments.

There are times when Kita’s behavior paints me into a corner. It’s happened to me before. If you remember Unbalanced Kita gets upset with Kamikaze and goes on a rampage burning towns and villages. Cowboy has to go after Kita and drag her back so Re’drum could wipe Kita’s memory and let it be a lesson for Kamikaze.

This time around, Kita is feeling threatened by all the other gods being more powerful than she is. This feeling is mutual after Kita demonstrates a new power that she refuses to share with the others. Kita bullies many of the Valkyrie Angels to the point where they leave. She also gets into a drag down knockout fight with Sarin, putting her in the medical ward. Kita feels threatened by Sarin’s success and that she is a god.

I have a better vehicle for bringing Kita back in line this time around. Tina points out the behavior to Kita, but Kita denies it. It’s not until Kamikaze comes and tells Kita she’s leaving that Kita sees the error of her ways. Kita can’t convince Kamikaze to stay and this shakes Kita hard enough to make her realize she needs to change. Kita does change, returning more to the friendly loving person she usually is. She did get a new outfit out of it. See the image below.

I was reading an article about mistakes authors make. This wasn’t the usual list and I forget the second item because it wasn’t a problem. The first item was too many characters and looking at the cast at the moment, it could be a problem. There are like twenty Angels around. I think I’ve mentioned Hawke once this book. In defense, many of these characters have been featured in past books in the series so I expect the reader to already know them and care about them. For the Valkyries, I’ve made a point of trying to feature them so readers can either get to know them or remember them from the Irruption series. In this book, I have sent five Angels away to help lessen the number of Angels people have to keep track of. It’s a problem I have, but not one I see my way out of.

Some chapters write themselves and chapter 20 was so large I decided to divide it into two chapters. I’ll unbox that statement since it’s two thoughts in one.

Chapter 20 is now dedicated to the Angels dealing with the fallout of Kita and Kylee AND Kita’s ability to control a new force that can’t be detected in the equation and has the power to trap a god. Powerful stuff that puts the other gods on edge, especially since Kita doesn’t feel like sharing.

Chapter 21 is the triumphant return of Sarin and the cast of characters from Sarin’s War. Sarin’s group is a nice small mix of old and new characters that should slide in with the Angel’s with Kita. The problem for me is having to juggle nearly 20 Angels and not let the reader forget anyone. Which I’ve already done. I’ve forgotten about Tina for a large section of the book and when I go back and edit will have to add her back in. Her role in the series has been one to mediate between Kita and the elder gods and there hasn’t been a need for that lately, but she will later in the book.

When I write I don’t have an outline or notes, I let the story flow. I do have checkpoints that I keep in the back of my mind and the reunion of Sarin and Kita was a big one. Both have big personalities and as a writer I just let them bounce off each other. It was good for the first ten minutes when they reunited. Then it became a contest of will for control and power. In this series, Kita hasn’t been very nice to her lovers and it continued with Sarin. Unlike Cotton, who was a good person, Sarin, being evil, refused to put up with it. Sarin’s always stated that she’s as good or better than Kita. You can give me your opinions in the comments. And now that Sarin has become a god, she sees herself as Kita’s equal. Kita doesn’t think so and tells Sarin as much. This fight manifest’s itself as a fight about Kita’s other girlfriends. Sarin doesn’t like the idea, especially that the other girl is Defiance (if you remember from Rebirth Defiance talks about her and Sarin). Kita tells Sarin her girlfriends aren’t going anywhere. So we get a battle of wills, which Kita wins, but not before dying.

Death for Kita has always been a good vehicle for transforming her and allowing her to grow. I believe it was Omega that said it’s easier to work on the body when it’s dead. In chapter 21 we see Kita growing again and I’ve hinted a little bit at what she’s to become both here and in the book. For those looking for a spoiler here you go: There’s more beyond Infinity and Kita’s figured out how to tap into it. I’ll explain more as I get deeper into the book.