first draft stuff!

Hey all. I have some very rough unedited stuff from the new novel to show you. This book is a prequel to No Deadly Thing, set far back in history. There probably won't be a direct bridge to the events of Ashrinn's world, but this one needed to be done so I could figure out the cultural basis for the Wolfen. 

Again, this will probably change with edits, edits, and moar edits, but here's a sneak peek anyway:

6 Sky waited at the foot of the temple, gazing up at its steep sides. The masks carved in to the cliff face at the top caught the sun each day, the leering faces glowing gold and red in turn. The humans came out in to the ball court at high noon to play the sacred game, presenting offerings and tithes to the Lord of the city. Their chanting reverberated even in to the caves of the Bat wayob, stirring the soulchangers and mundane kin alike.

The human priests wove golden feathers in to their capes and coats and heaped praises on the Lord and his council, calling down the light and its blessings. The jungle made it easy to revel in signs of life. Everything from the bright birds to the chattering monkeys to the moist, warm air reminded the humans that the days belonged to them.

But at night, the humans hid and cold hung between the trees like funeral cloth. The mortals sensed that the moon belonged to the wayob and to women, when the path to Xilbaba stood open. 6 Sky knew that if they won the city from the Jaguar people, she would be headed to that same Underworld soon enough. She looked up at the White Path, the trail of stars that made up the branches of the sacred ceiba tree, the Raised Up Sky. She felt no fear. How could she, when the glory of the gods and goddesses was right there for the naked eye?

She stood straight and proud as her mother tucked white flowers in to her hair and hung sacred jewelry around her neck. The gold and jewels felt heavy and cold. Yet, her heart felt hot in her breast. Already 6 Sky could imagine the void child holding it in her claw, still beating, ready to be eaten.

Update + new book in the works

Hi guys. Yes, I'm still alive. I have to be careful about how I use the internet for my own health, but things have been getting steadily better. Every time I identify a trigger I gain power over it. Anything that contributes to my autonomy is a plus.

Now that said, I've started the next book. I'm going backwards in time and fleshing out the mythology that informs the present in terms of the Twisted Tree world. This could turn in to a trilogy all its own. If you're in to really immersing yourself in a big world with a lot of things happening, this is truly the series for you. Technically it's urban fantasy but as I go forward as an author it becomes apparent to me that these works have more in common with epic fantasy than anything. They're quite character driven and probably always will be.

I bet many of you have manuscripts that suck. They sit in bottom drawers and on closet shelves, tucked away in shame somewhere. Well, so do I but I'm going to mine them for good ideas and apply my current skills to them. This book (books?) is one of those stories. It's turning in to something I'm proud of. Once I'm a little more solid as to where I am going plot wise, I'll post some excerpts.