I figured if I'm going to write about longbows I ought to shoot one. Well, there's a right way and a wrong way.
They say (whoever ‘they’ are) that one should write about what one knows about. Okay, fair enough. My new fantasy novel, The Unexpected Traveler, involves longbows. I’d never shot a longbow. As can be seen in another post (here) I borrowed a modern compound bow and shot it off a few times. But a compound bow is a precision machine. The parts being flexed are made of modern materials. There’s a front sight and a rear sight to help with repeatability. The draw weight is precise.
In other words, a compound bow is nothing like a traditional longbow. Read more…
It’s hard to write about something I’ve never tried. The Unexpected Traveler, my new fantasy, uses archery and swordplay as primary weapons of war. Not having fired a bow before, I borrowed this one and got 30 minutes of instruction. Randy Cassingham, of This is True fame, handled the camera.
Yes, this is the one shot that hit the target! We managed to break the nocks off three arrows, and given this is borrowed equipment, we thought we ought to stop while we were ahead!
Reader Chelsey, shown here in a Facebook photo, loves the American Flying Broomstick series
It’s nice to get fan mail. I guess it’s the best part of being an author—learning that other people get as much fun out of the books as I had writing them. Here’s a comment from Chelsey, a young man who lives in Denver:
“Bravo again! I just finished book 2 and can’t wait to snag book 3! I just can’t put them down once I start reading! The books not only make me wish I could fly a broomstick, but as a life-long resident of Ridgway that has since moved away, it is like taking a trip home. It is especially enjoyable to personally know the characters; it often makes all the laughs that much more enjoyable! I spent a large amount of my reading time laughing or chuckling. I think my girlfriend thought I was a little nuts at first because I would just randomly break the silence of the room in tear-jerking laughter! Thanks for all the hard work Dave! Great books! Now its on to book 3! Any plans for a book 4? Best Regards, and Safe Brooming, Chelsey”
I remember Chelsey when he was in high school several years back. He led the team from our tiny little high school that entered a solar-powered car in a national race. He’s a ham radio operator, too. Sharp guy!
Well, regarding Book 4, I have the idea—see the chapters in Book 3 that take place in Manchester, England and you’ll see what it’ll involve. But right now I’ve decided to try my hand at a full-blown fantasy with the working title of The Unexpected Traveler, so Book 4 will be put off a bit.
At last! After months of planning and pondering, my new fantasy book is underway. Under the working title The Unexpected Traveler, the story follows Rainier, an elf who doesn’t want to become king. The unexpected traveler is photographer Peter Wright, a human who thought he was completing one last photo shoot when he runs into Rainier. The first chapter, “The Curious Little Man,” sweeps both our elf and Peter into the land of Orgon and into a heap of trouble. Things have changed while Rainier was away.
As a five senses exercise, think through walking along a deep mine drift (tunnel). It’s a “wet” mine, meaning water drips from the ceiling and down the walls, creating a small stream underfoot. The drift inclines sharply. It’s lit by electric lights every ten feet. What does it look like? Drippy. Light reflected in the water. Shadows. Wood beams laying helter-skelter. What does it smell like? Damp. Dirty. Rotting wood. The plastic smell of your waterproof jacket and pants. What does it feel like? Wet. Cold. Rough rock that leaves bits of sand on your fingertips. Your own sweat. The hardhat pressing into your forehead. Cramped. Claustrophobic. No breeze. What do you hear? Water drops and splashes. Loose rock crunching underfoot. Your breath. The waterproof gear rubbing against itself. Machinery running in the distance. What does it taste like? Well, don’t taste this water–it’s too full of toxic minerals to be healthy!
Fonts made using Scanahand's cool font-making software
Instead of writing a fourth book in the flying broomstick series, I’m redirecting my thoughts to a “full-blown” fantasy novel, complete with a fantasy world. The working title is The Unexpected Traveler and it will have the usual elves, dwarves, dragons, and occasional talking animals. I think I’ve got some cool twists and I’ll be blogging about it as I write.
But…
One cannot write of elves and such unless there is some special language in which they write. Now my elves are not Tolkien’s elves and don’t have nearly as pretty a script, but surely elves don’t use roman characters! I looked around the Internet for runic and other interesting fonts, but nothing comes up other than various attempts to duplicate what Tolkien and others have already done. And given they own those fonts, I can’t use them.
What to do?
What to do turns out to be simple. Why not design my own font? Is there software that makes that easy? Yes. The one I found is called Scanahand (as in ‘scan a [sample of your] hand[writing]‘). Mind you, so far I’ve only been playing with it. But the image shows some things Scanahand can do. The first two lines are simple. I printed out the template that Scanahand provides, then I printed Read more…
Mt. Sneffels Press is a small press located in Ridgway, Colorado, that focuses on local authors. Our catalog is expanding! For ordering information, see the Catalog page.
Mt. Sneffels Press is a small press located in Ridgway, Colorado, that focuses on local authors. Our catalog is expanding! For ordering information, see the Catalog page.