Commented on Tales From Midhgardhur:
   "Thank you! The character of Gydha had appeared in a novel set in the same world which I had written, called "The Saga of Asa Oathkeeper" - when I mentioned that I was going to be starting a short story series on Channillo, my wife said, "Oh, I really hope we get to find out more about Gydha someday - why is she so evil? Why do her eyes glow red sometimes?" So the very first story I did for Channillo was fulfilling her request to give some of the background -the secret history - on the evil Queen Gydha!"
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4 years ago

Commented on Broken Eagle:
   "Hmmm, some real intrigue! Interesting! I'm looking forward to seeing where this is going . . ."
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4 years ago

Commented on Broken Eagle:
   "So far, a story well told, and one that holds my interest on many levels. Also, it is great to find historical fiction that shows understanding of the period like this!"
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4 years ago

Commented on Broken Eagle:
   "The word "alea" is literally a gaming die. The verb iacere, here in the form "iacta est," is literally to throw. The expression alea iacta est is literally "the gaming die has been thrown" . . ."
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4 years ago

Commented on Broken Eagle:
   "Really good stuff. But why the spelling "dye" in the title instead of the generally accepted "die"? Is it a British spelling of which I am unaware? If so, is the plural spelled "dyce," or the more usual "dice"? That confused me a bit!"
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4 years ago

Commented on Broken Eagle:
   "Always nice to see correct use of Latin in any context, really!"
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4 years ago

Commented on Broken Eagle:
   "Very impressive so far. The tension between the various faiths is something I'm exploring in my own work (which is more loosely-historical fantasy rather than historical fiction). You give the flavor of the various languages of the time, as well, which is nice."
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4 years ago

Commented on Broken Eagle:
   "An intriguing beginning! I'm looking forward to reading more!"
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4 years ago

Commented on Untested:
   "At least Kella seems to have it clear that the sick boy didn't do anything wrong . . . Nialdaman's point that Lord Perrin will probably not be a good influence on the boy if he were to be healed is well-taken, but that's still not the boy's fault!"
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5 years ago

Commented on Untested:
   "Is there a reason why the first half of "Not Ready To Be Free" repeats "Uncertainty"?"
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5 years ago

Commented on Tales From Midhgardhur:
   "Thank you! (I'm assuming you meant "interesting" in a positive way!). The World of Midhgardhur is primarily a Norse fantasy setting, but I had previously written some unpublished material that linked the equivalent of Britain with the Norse setting, and so I had worked out my own version of the Arthurian cycle for the setting. Most of that material is now lost (I've moved across the country since then, among other things), but it did inspire me to write this for a friend whose birthday is close to the traditional Beltane and who had an obsession with Igraine when she was younger."
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5 years ago

Commented on Untested:
   "“You would place your trust in a woman?” he asked incredulously. “A magic-using woman. Are you really so foolish?” Lord Perrin's casual misogyny makes him an excellent villain. He's still sympathetic, since he appears to be motivated primarily by caring for his sick child, but wow, he's unlikable!"
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5 years ago

Commented on Untested:
   "I really enjoyed this installment. Looking forward to reading the next one!"
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5 years ago

Commented on Untested:
   "I liked this one. I like that the motivations seem clear enough, but one cannot be sure - Kella seems motivated to do what Lord Perrin asks in order to see her mother again, Lord Perrin seems motivated by concern for his son . . . but the reader cannot be sure what's really going on. I actually have a similar setting in one of my stories ("Purity") in which two women are summoned to a lord's keep to help heal the lord's son, though the story is very . . . different. Out of curiosity - are the books in your world printed, or hand-copied manuscripts? I couldn't get a sense from this installment, but I wondered whether Lord Perrin collecting books on healing magic is like collecting printed volumes relatively easily available, or if he's collecting the life's work of scribes who painstakingly hand-wrote them!"
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5 years ago

Commented on Untested:
   "I love the way you work in often-overlooked sensory details, like scents, into your scenes. Good technique - love it!"
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5 years ago

Commented on Untested:
   "I enjoyed this first installment. Looking forward to reading more!"
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5 years ago

Commented on Tales From Midhgardhur:
   "Thank you! I really appreciate the comments! "Dark Valkyrie" and "Courtship" are further explorations of the character of Gydha, who appeared in my first novel, "The Saga of Asa Oathkeeper" (there supposedly really was a Gydha who married King Harald of Norway, but I'm sure the real was was not the demonic creature I've made my character out to be!)"
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5 years ago

Commented on Tales From Midhgardhur:
   "Thanks for reading and thanks even more for commenting! I definitely wanted the ending to be a bit of a shock (hopefully not too gory, despite the obvious ick factor). Radhvaldur has not appeared in the Tales before, but he may again . . . I got to like him, too! A little behind the scenes on this one? My original draft was almost 5000 words and contained a LOT more characters and scenes. I want to enter it in a contest with a word limit of 2500, so I had to pare this one down to about half its original length (final version is about 2460 words). Slicing it down to such a trim version intensified everything. It was a little agonizing - I always find cutting what I wrote very hard - but I liked the results!"
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5 years ago