It’s been a hectic time for me. There’s the possibility of a second book, who I want to publish it, research on a massive scale, and facing up to the fact that my job is not as fulfilling in regards to money or satisfaction. I’m making some changes, and when they pan out I’ll be informing all of you. Thanks for sticking with me this long.
The first book Smoke & Mirrors took place on a medieval-era planet. I intended the second book Future’s Twilight to be about a dystopian future, but the story grew into a Star Trek-like formula (visiting planets themed after genres like Westerns & police procedurals). I’ve given thought into shoehorning a book all about the future, but that brings its own questions: can science fiction be science fiction when it’s telling a story about a realm the complete opposite of science fiction? What do you think?
Writing’s funny. You can write up pages in one day and realize they don’t get the right feel for the scenario you’re trying to portray. I have notebooks full of writing I never use. But that’s okay. That’s part of the process. Yes, it’s frustrating to realize your breakthrough is the same thing you written fifty pages earlier, or realize there’s a question of chronological actions and reactions along the story’s path, but that’s part of the writing process. An author is recognized by his failures just as much as his successes, but as long as you keep writing, something good will come out of the mess.
I’ve been editing the whole Sefiros Eishi manuscript, looking for typos. Earlier today I finished editing the book’s third act. About 126 pages done and double-checked. Whew!
My very first interview about my book (Sefiros Eishi: Chased By Flame) just went online. Here’s the link: https://rebeccahowiebooks.wordpress.com/2017/03/12/indie-interview-michael-wolff. I’m very excited about this. Hopefully you will be too.
In Sefiros Eishi, protagonist Mykel’s weapon of choice is twin khatars. Its inspiration came from the katar, a weapon of ancient Indian origin. On this side of the world, people know it as the weapons wielded by Voldo, a character in the Soul Edge series of fighting video games.
At first glance, these weapons look nothing more than a big knife mounted on some primitive arm brace. But the most famous variation of the katar is the weapon where the main blade splits into three blades a la the claws of Marvel’s Wolverine. Very cool.
This is a picture of actual katars.
This is a picture of the aforementioned Voldo of the Soul Edge series, wielding a set of the triple-bladed katar.
The katar is a punching and stabbing weapon, but its uses go far beyond that. The triple-bladed katars excelled in catching and deflecting other weapons. Ancient Indian warriors were armed with katars with both hands, making Indians proficient dual-wielding opponents. That meant they could use one katar to defend and one to attack. They were never out of combat options on the battlefield. The katar is one of the reasons that made Indians the deadliest warriors of their era.
Now I have a little confession to make. Mykel’s primary khatar Ifirit is not actually a katar at all. It is more of a bladed gauntlet. When I wrote Mykel’s combat scenes, I always pictured the gauntlet-fingers compressed together, forming a knife-blade of sorts. That way Ifirit is both a glove and blade at any one time. It may be skirting the definition of the katar weapon, but in my book, the khatar and the katar are distant cousins.
I don’t know why the katar appeals to me. I just fell in love with the design on Soul Edge. The early pics of the Sefiros character had Wolverine’s claws mounted on both hands. But all that changed when I was given a sketch of Sefiros’ ultimate armor (think of the Super Saiyan transformations in Dragon Ball Z) by my good friend Matt Perlot (who also designed Sefiros Eishi: Chased By Flame’s cover) that everything changed. I fell in love all over again. This Ifirit was sinister and powerful and deadly. It molded onto the character’s arm in an intimate and organic way. It was open, naked aggression, and when it came out you knew there was going to be hell to pay. No one had a chance against this weapon.
Thanks for reading.
As of today, a total of 47 Sefiros Eishi: Chased By Flame books have been sold. Thanks for the help, guys and girls (you know who you are).
