Blaine & Taran, getting reacquainted

Posting here has been light, but for good reason. Book Two of the Endless Wars series is seriously underway.

My wife is a remarkable woman, and knows when I've been writing heavily. She knows that it's kind of like talking to your pitcher during a no-hitter, and she just goes on acting like everything's normal, but she'll wear a certain kind of grin after noticing that the OpenOffice/Word file has been open on a particular computer for a few days, and wait for me to approach her about it.

I'm truly blessed by the Maker to be married to another writer. She understands the soul-farming that goes on, and that while it's an exorcising process, it's also a very dark process for me. I don't write about the things that make me smile. Taran and I seize each other and plunge down a rabbit hole that is made more for Showtime than ABC Family.

She lets me stare him in the eye while he and I arm-wrestle for control of my soul. While we face each other down, I pour more and more of my accumulated poison into him. As he writhes in agony, I guide him and help him to deal with it.

This has been going on for over a decade now, and I'm starting to think that she secretly hates Taran. That's fine by me, because I'm his biggest fan, and I understood the dude better than anybody.

The most interesting about writing a sequel, though, is fan feedback. I've been shocked to find that readers generally found Nigel to be their favorite character. While that was really surprising, as I think the guy is sort of a lovable scumbag, it works since this book is very much his book, and his story.

Additionally, I was less surprised that some people found Taran to be a bit of a whiny fuck. Looking back, I agree, and now I'm torn between how much I let reader feedback impact his personal arc and what I've had planned for him for a while. I can tell you, without spoilers, that he's just not meant to be a terribly happy person in his present circumstances, and that things are gonna get even darker for him.

I had a funny moment with my wife tonight, as I mentioned off-handedly that Taran is MUCH darker in this book than the last, and she actually gasp-laughed. 'Are you kidding?' she asked, 'He was already uber-dark in the first novel!' I kinda shrugged. The reason that the other characters exist is to help Taran carry the load, but he's not programmed to share.

Anyway, I was banging keys on here to distract myself while I figured out what the hell to do in the next scene, and now I've got it. If you guys loved any of the characters from the first book, just wait 'til you get a load of the three new folks that are being unveiled in this book. Just like in the first book, they're all sharp personalities that integrate and show new sides of all characters.

That, and there just might be a Nicole appearance.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about, please go here and buy a book (paperback/ebook) if you love big damn stories with big damn heroes.

-Blaine