So I fully intend on giving Alaric his way; he's going to head up Chapter Nine with some ruminations of his own about his current circumstances. Hopefully he won't commiserate himself into a frenzy. I doubt it; he's a calm sort, a rock, a steady force in the winds of change. Just kidding. If you ever see me talking like that and meaning it, feel free to slap me into next weeks twitterfest.


As soon as I find an acceptable 3-Column layout, I'll start posting some character info. Not too much, mind you -- you still have to read the book to get the real stuff. Tidbits, peeks into their little crazy brains.

And, yes, I do think of my characters as -- well, characters in their own right. They each have voices, whether loud or soft. They work through circumstances much the way an outside person would (and sometimes that takes a bit of serious research and poking around). They may all reside in my brain, but because they have to react in my stories the way you or I would (or that looney guy next door would), they have to be "fleshed out" as it were.

So, yeah, you'll hear from Alaric. And Laraidra, and all the other peeps that make up this wild tale. Because seriously? I have to give them free reign occasionally, so that they may feel more real to the readers out there who actually take their fantasy fiction seriously.