An update on the Fantasy Book Project. This week, I have been up at a Middle School Church Camp with my family. So I have spent a great deal of time in the chapel (when no one is there) writing. It’s a big open space and has fan noise which is always comforting to me. It’s not as good as my little writing nook back home, but it also doesn’t have internet, so no distractions either.

Currently, I am nearly on Chapter 12 and am over 25,000 words into the book. That has taken me to page 130 in the text. Along with that info, I am now sitting at 54 total chapters for this “book” in my outline. With that being said, I have already needed to add two chapters to the first 10 I had planned. If things continue, there could well be like 70 odd chapters in total, if not more.

I am considering now if I shouldn’t maybe split this book into more than one. Right now, I am looking at around 585 pages, if I don’t change font size or spacing. At the moment I am using Garamond, 14-size font, single-spaced, same as what this post is written in. That’s a large book. Depending on the type of print book you choose, the maximum Amazon allows is 828 pages, but some formats are limited to 776 or even 600 pages. So I am flirting with the limits of what the printing abilities are of Amazon. I’m not saying I’m not still considering a publishing house outside of Amazon, but really, I am enjoying using their service and so far am very satisfied with it.

As such, I wouldn’t just talk about where I am with the book, without giving you a small taste of what I have been working on. So without further ado, here is a rough draft section from the middle of Chapter 4: The Purpose Sent of what I am tentatively calling Species of the Smoke (still not sure of the title, it’s now changed several times). Side Note: Just some mild background info, a Flemi is a rabbit person and a Cront is a bat person. Not sure you totally needed to know that info, but you would know that at this point in the book. So now you are caught up.

Chapter 4: The Purpose Sent (in the middle of the chapter)

Dasa was back down the stairs in time to see Flarnie, the Pub’s owner, go running out the back door, shotgun in hand. In Bolster Heart, if there was a raid by the Cront or anyone else, everyone was expected to drop what they were doing and jump in to help with the defense, but Dasa had something else on his mind. Charity was at the Temple, and it was late, she would be one of the only Flemi left there. He had to get to her and make sure she was safe. She wouldn’t leave Ashlynn alone during a raid, but was this even a raid? He had never seen this many Cront at one time. Something was different.

The Temple of Ashlynn was only a block down the street, but already, Cront were rushing down among the houses and shops. He ran past several battles that were already happening, but clearly, the Flemi were winning, he passed a dozen dead on street and only two of them were Flemi. In front of him, two of them swooped down at him, their spears were tipped with obsidian and had a wicked curve to the blades. It was nothing for him to slide down on the slick stones of the street, easily passing under their thrusts, his gun was out of the holster in a smooth motion, the two rounds firing off without him even thinking about it. Both took a Cront in the back of their heads and the wings immediately lost their lift.

The bodies rolled and crumpled to the ground, twitching and spasming in their death. Dasa didn’t even wait to see if he had killed them, he ran on. He could see the temple, its bronzed gates stood open, which wasn’t that odd, they were usually open, but then he saw the domed roof. The side of which was caved in, the hole larger than a truck was gaping open. He rushed in through the wooden doors, banging them on the side of the wall, and could hear a battle taking place further within.

It didn’t take him long to get to the main chamber of the Temple, a large silver dome inside a room easily large enough for Flarnie’s Pub to fit inside. He saw something he couldn’t believe, two of the legendary beasts, fighting each other. And in the middle of it, was Charity. Her tiny revolver was making flashes towards the smaller of the two beasts, the blueish one. He recognized the creature immediately, he had seen him once, it was the beast who had escaped a year earlier. No one knew where he had gone, but this was him, Dumont.

I hope you enjoyed this tiny little look at what I have been working on. I’m sure some of it doesn’t make sense right now, but it will. I promise.

D. Michl Lowe