Written by Benjamin Medrano

August 20th Update

Today’s update is coming late, because I felt like crap last night and went to bed without writing it up ahead of time. So, Born a Queen is coming along nicely so far. I’ve edited 8 chapters out of (currently) 35, and the document is showing me about a third of the way done. I don’t believe it, as so far I’ve actually added nearly 7,000 words to the original count of 76,000 words.

I will also add that I’m not even to the points that need the full re-writing yet. I’m just barely starting to get to that point in the book. I’ll freely admit I haven’t been quite as dedicated as I needed to be, but that’s because I’ve let myself be distracted by the launch and reviews. I’m going to set that aside and try to get to work this week, though I might go outside and use an app to watch the eclipse tomorrow. I’m in the 90% occlusion range for the eclipse, so I didn’t bother worrying about going toward the middle.

Oh, and if there’s something specific anyone would like to see addressed in the ‘extended ending’ of Halls of Power, let me know. I may not choose to address something, but I’ll certainly listen!

13 thoughts on “August 20th Update”

  1. Wow an eclipse! Too bad I can’t see it…
    Oh yeah Good job, Mr! I hope the book is out soon, and I love the cover art. It looks so comic books.

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  2. The biggest problem was finding a comic book artist who did a style I liked, and which I could afford, but I found them! The Brothers Fraim are awesome.

    For the eclipse, full occlusion is about two hours north of where I live… or more likely, with everyone going up that way, closer to six or eight hours. Crosses all of the United States.

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  3. My only issue with the ending of halls of power was the lack of information on how liveable compromise would look (trying to not post a spoiler). Otherwise I extremely enjoyed the last installment, and the series as a whole, which was a surprise for me given that I almost gave up during the first book given the tone being much darker than I normally like.

    So, thanks for blowing away my expectations and opening up my horizons more.

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  4. I’ve got an idea of what you might be talking about, but if you would send me an email to specify, I’d deeply appreciate it. I’ve gotten one from someone about things they’d like addressed already, and more would be helpful.

    As for the tone of Ancient Ruins… I don’t blame you. I was coming from a dark place in my life, and to tell the story I wanted it /had/ to start out really dark. I’m glad you enjoyed it in the end! It was a major concern for me.

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  5. So it just occured to me. When fate is speaking to his lady he mentioned that the elven nobles used a spell and that spell altered sistina’s fate but to the best of my knowledge what the spell was or what it did was never explained.

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  6. *adds to the list* That is a good one, though considering there are exactly /two/ characters in the series, both deities, who can answer the question, making it fit into the story without being clunky might be… difficult. I’m not adverse to explaining what happened, mind, just that I’m not sure it’d fit.

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  7. I was one of the reviewers that felt that the ending was rushed.

    I have three main questions, one of which really derives from a mid-book development.

    SPOILERS BELOW:

    1. Now that the Jewels have no brands, how are they affected by the forced desire for their master from the mindshards?

    2. Is Sistina’s soul in her new elven body or in the tree? If she has “relocated” to the body, how does she interact with the dungeon? Her previous bodies were disposable, more or less, but I assume this new one is not replaceable since she exhausted her divine energy.

    3. Since Tyria’s brand is claimed by SIstina, how does that affect the two of them? I s Sistina getting a massive mana donation through the brand?

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  8. *adds to the list*

    Fair enough, in all respects… and those are all issues I can address. Not saying anything more, just saying they can be in the extended version, and I’ll try to do so. In email I might flat-out answer, in public I’m staying mum.

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  9. Rofl. A notion just occurred to me Fitness the queen of Beacon has married several women what is she going to do about an heir for when she has to retire and someone else has to take the throne. After all women can’t have children with other women.

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  11. *laughs* Yeah, I hear you there. ^_^

    That’s one of the questions that people have asked for an answer to, and I will state that it isn’t a problem. The problem is figuring out exactly how to tell the readers… see, the answer is fairly common knowledge among elves, so they don’t even worry about it.

    If all else fails, I have my original version of Everium’s inheritance to fall back on. The old kingdom didn’t use marriage very often, so there wasn’t anything like illegitimate children.

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  12. I really enjoyed the Ancient Dreams Series and am looking forward to your additional stories set in this universe.

    I would be really interested to read an extended ending for Hall of Power.

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