WRITTEN BY JLY

KL and I have decided to merge our blogs.

You can find the new one (along with pictures and new updates!) at:

http://turningphrases.blogspot.com

Come visit, please. =)

Best,

JLY

KL and I have been working very hard on the Book of Runes, which we had been hoping to release to aid writers in the application part of Phase 2. However, compiling the version in its entirety is taking rather a long time, so we thought it might be fun to release the information we do have as it becomes available.

Thus, ‘Rune Days’ will be blog updates that give either details about the rune system or characteristics of individual runes.

And without further ado, an excerpt from “Theories of Rune-Casting” in The Book of Runes:

“..It is theorized that at the beginning of the world, magic was abundant, and people were able to use it more freely. However, because such free use was not reliable, people developed techniques in order to be able to control magic. These techniques came to be called rune-casting, and runes were created for that end. Runes became extensions of will and confined the magic into specific energies to perform specific tasks. No one currently alive really understands exactly why people have affinities, just that people do.”

and

“Runes are the alphabet of magic in the world. Everyone has the capacity to use runes, though some are better than others.

The ability to use magic relies on both the caster’s connection to the celestial plane (“affinity”) and the caster’s will (“will”). Affinity is something relatively stable–though it can increase on decrease on rare occasions), while will is something that can fluctuate depending on the person’s personality, experience, fortitude, and stage of life. For the most part, a spell caster’s ability to improve, given a strong affinity, is only determined by his or her own will.”

– JLY

I thought I should update with something more substantial since my last post was an incredibly short post on how pretty my book is and also since KL’s faithful blogging has shamed my lack of such.

I’ve entitled this blog ‘Co-Authors Are The Best’ because I have KL, and KL really is great.I don’t think I would’ve published anything without my co-author. Plus, the question I’ve gotten most frequently so far from the fans who know me in person (read: my family) is:  How do you and KL write together?

And the answer to that is: ‘very carefully’.

Mainly, I set up my computer next to hers in what we like to call our office, and we furiously type at each other’s sides while debating the merits of doing one scene instead of another or having this bit of dialogue over that bit of action, etc. This all usually happens over a stout hot chocolate and a turkey sandwich, and after about four hours of typing for three or four times a week, we have some scene or other to show for our efforts.

For anyone who thinks of co-authoring, make sure you get along together (well, perhaps this is obvious) because you will probably be spending a lot of time with that person.

KL and I write quite well together and continue to do so for about 12-16 hours every week. It might have something to do with the fact that we’ve been writing for 10 years together and are quite familiar with the other’s writing style. It might also have to do that we complement each other, as KL enjoys writing our fighting and action scenes and I enjoy too much our social scenes and world details.

But, I actually think our writing well together also has plenty to do with the fact that we’re on the same wavelength for the most part, and if we’re not, we happily and comfortably discuss what our options are and what we should do. Our best scenes come from both of us, in the discussions where one of us presents a scene or an instance we’d like to write about and we think about how best to substantiate it. That’s what writing SFA is after all–writing about something we really enjoy, or, barring that, something we think would be really funny to do to our characters…

Speaking of writing SFA, I wanted to thank everyone who’s been requesting and sending us their applications! KL and I are enjoying meeting all your new characters, and we look forward to see how they develop!

Best,

JLY

Note: Having SFA on Amazon.com has been a real adventure (hah) in and of itself. For some reason, they have us posted as “Eastridge Academy: School for Adventures” rather than “Adventurers” and have listed KL as a “Contributor” rather than as an “Author”. *shakes head* Silly Amazon.

Quotation of the Week–on figuring out the symbols on Easden’s coins:

KL: “Maybe he should toss a coin to see who goes first. It can’t be heads or tails. Should it be, like, fireworks or wheat-shafts?”

Quotation #2–KL being helpful

JLY: “What should I end my post with?
KL: “Hm…with something clever?”
JLY: “-_-*”

Doubtlessly, KL has beaten me to it, but our book is on Amazon!

I’m absolutely ecstatic…and even more so to see that we have six reviews on the page! I want to extend my special thanks to the people who wrote those (Larry Liang, Drucilla Shultz, Charvale, Aiden Naecea, G. DiStefano, and Generic Pen Name), as well as to those who took the time to view, order, and tag our book on Amazon.

Your support is so greatly appreciated!