By Wes Penre, September 11, 2021
I decided to post the enlargeable fantasy map that goes with the book. This may come in handy, particularly for Kindle reader, so you don’t need to flip between pages all the time.
Dear All,
I have been very busy lately finishing the first book in the fantasy trilogy. and I think I’m before schedule. I said earlier that it will probably be published as a paperback on Amazon.com by the end of September, but I hope to publish it before then. I am currently working on the last details, and then I’m done.
It’s taken almost a year, and that seems to be reasonable for me when it comes to completing a novel of this size because I’m not working on it fulltime. Then, when Book 1 is published, I will start writing on Book 2.
Have a great weekend!
Wes
I haven’t posted an update on the book progress in a very long time. I have been very busy with working on the book and with other projects, as well. However, now I think I have a fairly good idea about when the first book in the trilogy, “Ismaril’s Journey” will be published on Amazon.com. The first book has a final title, which is the same as the draft title, The Book of Secrets.
The editing process takes much longer than to write the actual first draft, something I had to experience to really understand; this being my first novel ever. I must have gone through the draft from cover to cover about eight times by now.
The estimated release will be around September-October 2021. I will post a more exact date as we close in on October. If anything changes, I will also let you know.
Then, it’s time to start writing Book 2, and I have a pretty good grasp of how that is going to turn out. As you realize, these three books build on each other.
Although the final draft is not finished yet, it looks like the book will be about 330 pages long. I guesstimate that the following two book will be of similar length.
Book 2 has the work title, Journeys Between Two Worlds, and Book 3 has the work title, The Battle of Taëlia.
Thank you for your patience!
Love,
Wes
by Wes Penre, April 30. 2021
I finished the first draft of my novel yesterday. At its current stage, it’s 350 pages long, but that might change.
Now, the tedious parts remain; I need to edit it. This means I’ll read it, word by word, paragraph by paragraph, and chapter by chapter with a “magnifying glass,” making grammatical changes and rewriting parts I’m not happy with. Then, I’ll read it again, this time in context, as if I was reading the finished book. While doing that, I’ll make changes where I see fit, until I feel satisfied. Then, it’s time for beta readers. This means a few people read the raw manuscript and give their input. The reason for this is because the author (me) is so involved in the process of their work that they sometimes don’t see some of the mistakes and/or inconsistencies. Is the pace too slow? Too fast? Is it engaging? It’s the same even for very experienced authors. I listened to Brandon Sanderson, who is arguably the most famous fantasy author in the world right now. He goes through his manuscript five times before he publishes his books… I think Tolkien went through the Lord of the Rings a couple of dozen times.
Anyway, it’s exciting, and I’ll probably start the editing process tomorrow.
It’s a trilogy, so there are two books left in the series.
by Wes Penre, April 9, 2021
Hello everybody. I haven’t made an update here in quite a long time, and there is a reason for that. I have just gone through a separation with from fiancé, and I have, since one week back, established myself in a new space–a new apartment.
I am doing fine, by the way, and I am currently enjoying my solitude here. It creates time for me to think and develop my research but also my book. I have, as you can imagine, been very busy the last month or so since my partner and I decided to go different ways. Now, I’m getting comfortable in my new space, and my inspiration is coming back!
This morning, I started writing on the book again for the first time in several weeks. It went pretty well, and I only have three chapters left to write (sub plots) before it’s time to do some serious editing and have beta readers give their input.
The novel will be around 350 pages, as it seems, and it will be the first in a trilogy, as you might already know. There is a lot of work invested in writing and publishing a book if you want to be pleased with the result, and writing the first draft is just the skeleton. Now, it’s time to put meat on the body by editing the whole thing and rewrite whatever is needed. I just saw that Brandon Sanderson, who is one of the most successful fiction writers of our particular time, goes through his manuscript five times before he calls it good. But fortunately for me, I like editing my own work because I can really see how it develops and becomes better and better. The first draft is just a ranting of ideas, really.
So, I’m back on track, and I love working on this project!
Love,
Wes
by Wes Penre, February 12, 2021
This morning, I completed the first draft of the main plot, which describes the part of Ismaril’s journey as far as Book One goes. Now, I’m going to go back to beginning and edit it, while at the same time start writing on the subplots that will be inserted as separate chapters into the main plot where it fits and is appropriate. These subplots–at least in Book One–will not be nearly as substantial when it comes to word count as the main plot, so the most extensive part is now already written.
Thank you for your interest in my work!
Love,
Wes
by Wes Penre, February 9, 2021
I just want to give you a short update on my writing process.
I love writing this novel, and it goes very well, IMO. I write for 2-3 hours every morning, and I have now written ~95,000 words on my first draft (that’s about 310 pages with the font I’m using). But because it’s the first draft, it will fortunately be condensed and reduced during the editing process, or the novel will be very long. However, I only have one chapter left of this particular linear time narrative.
I’ll explain what that means:
So far, I have written the direct linear narrative pertaining to the main protagonist, Ismaril, on his journey north. This narrative will soon be completed as far as the first book goes (The Book of Secrets). Then, I will write and fill in the subplots that will run in parallel to the main plot that’s just about finished. These subplots, although happening in different locations, will eventually intertwine with the main plot.
Hope this makes sense…
by Wes Penre, January 22, 2021
It’s time to give you an update on how my progress. I really enjoy writing this book, and it’s going very well. As of this morning, I have written 290 pages or 83,000+ words of the first volume. I am soon done with the main plot, but I am also inserting a few chapters of subplots that will be significant in volume 2.
After that, the first draft is finished. Then it’s time to edit, make changes, and rewrite. That’s the tedious part. First draft means that the author is just writing the storyline down as it comes out, unedited. It doesn’t matter whether there’s inconsistencies, spelling errors, or grammar errors, etc. It’s just a matter of getting the story down on “paper.” When that’s completed, the real work starts. When I have edited the book myself, I need beta readers and a professional editor go through it, as well.
So, it’s difficult to say when the book will be ready to publish. Because this is my first paperback publication, I’m learning as I go along, but I will keep you updated.
Thanks for your interest!
Wes
by Wes Penre, December 25, 2020
This is a short new excerpt, still from my first, unedited draft. Five travelers are approaching what is remaining of an ancient town, which has been abandoned for thousands of years and is now in ruins.
A few miles from Kirbakin’s tree house, the hills transformed into lowland, and the forest ended. The gnome had steered them back to the path winding north, out of the forest. The land, now surrounding them, consisted of sparse trees—mostly hickory and elm—rising like proud guardians over green and brown plains with short grass and occasional sections of wildflowers in yellow, white, and blue. Although the scenery was bringing back early childhood memories of meadows sprinkled with the fragrance of wild rose and hyacinth and everlasting summers, it likewise gave them a strange feeling that seemed out of place: the wind was chillier than before Dreamwood, as if the seasons shifted quickly here. It was still summer, but it felt more like crispy autumn. The sun was blazing but appeared lower in the sky than what was normal for the time of year—and the light was dimmer. A wind blowing from northwest pierced them with intermittent arrows of chilliness, which forced them to wrap the garments tighter around their bodies.
The gnome stopped for a moment and turned around. Behind him was the forest and the hills that had become so familiar to him over the last centuries.
“Here ends my domain,” he said, “and with it many of my innate powers. Now, indeed, I need to consider the counterforces in the world around me. It’s been so long…”
The others could feel it, too—the lightness of heart they had experienced while still in Kirbakin’s home, now replaced with a dark heaviness. Only this time, the weight seemed more intense than ever before.
“This is Yongahur’s land,” Kirbakin said. “And the farther north we travel, the colder it will be—particularly where his and Azezakel’s domains meet.”
In the late afternoon, they could see buildings ascending in the distance. It appeared to be a town, taking shape like an oasis would in a desert—or perhaps like a mirage. When they came closer, they noticed it was not a populated town—it was a town in ruins.
“Skeleton of a long-lost empire,” Kirbakin said. “In the Age of Twilight, this was a flourishing place, once stretching all the way north to the Eccasion River. This town belonged to good-hearted, peaceful people, who were drawn into wars their hearts did not desire to fight. Their civilization was destroyed, and the few survivors fled. I don’t know whether there are any descendants left in the world. It was so long ago.”
Once they reached the ghost town, they realized why it had withstood the wheels of time. These ancient people had been skilled stone masons, and what had not been destroyed in battles was still standing—proudly raised buildings and towers, bricked with such finesse that it was sometimes difficult to see where one building block ended and the next began. The streets were of cobblestone, mostly overgrown but still intact. As they were walking through, the eeriness of no one there was impacting them—the town was completely desolate, except for a few cawing crows, watching the travelers from rooftops and windowsills, while the wind was whistling as it passed through the alleyways. There were no signs of tools, ciphers, or evidence anywhere of former human inhabitance—time had consumed it all.
“The town of Elchamar!” Kirbakin said. “The world still remembers your name, whilst your people are since long forgotten!”
by Wes Penre, November 27, 2020
This is from the first unedited draft. When we enter the scene, Holgar Stronghand, who is one of the side characters in a subplot, is visiting the city of Ringhall in the Divine Kingdom of Norfold to join the military. He has just ended a visit with the Prince of Norfold and is reflecting back on when he first arrived in Ringhall..
Holgar had never been to a big town or a city before. Compared to Eldholt, Ringhall was gigantic! When he first entered, he had been greatly impressed. In the midst of the city ran a river called Falluin—raging forcefully in certain places while being tantalizingly calm in others. Fishing was important in Ringhall, and as Holgar had been allowed to pass through the guards by the moat, from first having to walk across a long bridge intersecting the river, being escorted passed the iron gates, he was met with a fantastic scenery. The buildings were sometimes huge, and from Holgar’s perspective, they reached to the sky. Almost all of them seemed to be built of yellow and white gold and marble. Even the streets were made of shining marble, exquisite yet massive, and when the light was precisely angled, he could see his own reflection bouncing off the street. Some buildings rose toward the sky, looking like towers, while certain houses were built on top of each other, with some of the upper houses reaching further out, so the tenants could get an exclusive look at the river below.
The river split the city in two. Holgar got a vision of some gigantic God, whom with his or her mighty hands had put a model of a city upon a river, divided it in two, and moved each part to either side of the water. In fact, he was not too far from the truth. Upon the river, fishermen and other citizens were paddling up and down the water—some of them to catch fish, while others seemed to use it to move faster from location to location within the city.
However, the most magnificent was the palace. When Holgar saw it for the first time, he thought he was dreaming. In the middle of the city, a huge royal building made of crystal was rising, higher than any other structure. Multiple stairs were ascending to an overhanging bridge, built fifty feet above street level, leading toward the crystal building. The railings were decorated with pure yellow gold and various symbols, also made of gold. As Holgar had approached the palace, the sunbeams, reflecting on the crystal building, created a prism, which made it look like it was constantly shifting in all the colors of the rainbow. Holgar was told by one of the guards about a legend saying that both the palace and the city were created by Angels long ago, in the Age of Twilight. The guard told him this was the reason why their country was called The Divine Kingdom of Norfold.
After having left Prince Xandur’s office, Holgar was escorted in the opposite direction from which he had entered Ringhall. They descended through many sets of stairs, until they reached a level closer to the river. From there, they took off in an eastly direction, until they stopped before a massive wall with a ten-foot gate, guarded by watchmen, sitting in towers on either side. The approaching escort was expected, however, and knights from the inside opened the gates and let them into the military facility. This was the last day of Holgar’s former life and the first day of his journey into the unknown.”
If you feel inclined, please leave a comment below, and tell me what you think. Let me know if you like it, and if you have any constructive criticism for me, it is also much appreciated!
Wes Penre Books 