First off, if you’ll indulge a bit of self-promotion, it has been just over a month since I put my latest novel, Who Killed Ron Raven?, out there on Amazon. It’s the third in the Constance Series, but it is self-contained; the main things you need to know are that it involves Constance, an angel who I’ve written about before (she once caused an apocalypse by mistake), and it’s about superheroes. Specifically, Ron Raven, who normally has a super-healing factor and can’t die, suddenly finds himself, well, dead. His surviving teammates (and Constance!) try to find out why. There’s supervillains! A giant robot! Dramatic showdowns! Extremely large pastries! You can find it on Kindle or in paperback, here.
On another note, I understand that the LSAT is taking place yesterday and today, and that more than half of the test-takers are doing it remotely. I am officially in Back In My Day territory now, as I took the LSAT in December 2010, and it was all pencil and paper, in person. One section involved a logic puzzle about stained glass windows; I like logic puzzles (I play Murdle on the daily now, you should check it out), but those stained glass windows in particular will haunt my dreams forever. A study tip for any would-be attorneys reading this: speed-reading LSAT For Dummies the week before is not advisable. (It’s a solid book, though).
Writing Update
I’m closing in on 19,000 in the next novel, the as yet untitled sequel to The Ballad of Evinrude and Eulalie, and after sailing around for a bit, the main character, Lady Eulalie, is back on land. I anticipate some sort of reunion with a bad guy from the prior book before too long, and then, a dramatic showdown! with a giant. Roger the angel and Leon from the other side are there too, so they’ll be fun. (In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not really an outline, plotter type of person. I’m a pantser, make-it-up-as-I-go, “hey, what’s this character doing” person. It usually works out.
Closing Time
Incidentally, one series I read all the way through law school was Robert Jordan’s Wheel of Time; it took about a year and a half; I finished A Memory of Light during review for the bar exam. It’s one of the few books I can remember that made me cry (the last book in Lloyd Alexander’s Prydain Chronicles is another). The whole series was just so beautiful. Granted, it’s lengthy, wildly complex, and sometimes I forgot who was who, but even so, beautiful. (I refuse to watch the Amazon adaptation on principle.)
I thought I would quote a random passage to leave you with: this one, from The Gathering Storm where *spoiler* Egwene al-Vere defends the White Tower from the Seanchan, is one of my favorites. (It all makes sense in context. So much context. Trust me):
Adelorna turned hesitantly. A woman in white stood atop the rubble a short distance away, a massive halo of power surrounding her, her arm outstretched toward the fleeing soldiers, her eyes intense. The woman stood like vengeance itself, the power of saidar like a storm around her. The very air seemed alight, and her brown hair blew from the wind of the open gap in the wall beside them. Egwene al’Vere.
So cool. Just… so… cool.
Until next time,
Michael