The World of the Vein

Last post here: We've changed addresses (sorry)

2010-10-29T21:09:00.000-07:00

Greetings, Bearers!

First of all, I owe all of you a big apology for not updating my blogs here. Prior to last month, I had no problem whatsoever accessing this site from my work computer (I do it on my down time; don't worry, honey :D ) and did all of my posting from there.

Now, all of a sudden, this site is blocked, and I'm unable to use it. And for now, we don't have high speed Internet, so I haven't the ability to post at home the way that I'd like to. Needless to say, I was less than happy about the sudden blockage that occurred. Especially since The Summoning of Old Velt is now available on Smashwords.com.

That's right! You read it right; it's finally, truly, really, done and posted! :D

(I will pause for a moment while all of you let out your "It's about time, J. Dean!" exclamations)

But, because I can no longer post here regularly, I've been forced to change addresses. The address for the new blog is http://enterthevein.wordpress.com which will detail all of the information that's coming out about my works. Head on over and see what's going on, including the links for The Summoning of Old Velt! It's up, and a few more stories will be posted shortly. So I've not quit writing or anything like that. As long as God gives me breath and working fingers, I'll write, and keep writing.

So go on over and follow the Vein at the above site!

In the meantime, time for me to hit the sack (It's waaaaaaaaaay past my bedtime!) and get up early, and hopefully write a bit more while I'm at it!

Thank you all for your patience, and for coming along with me on this adventure. The best of the wild ride in the Meridian is yet to come for us!

See you in the Vein!

J. dean

Sweet "home" Chicago

2010-08-21T09:16:00.000-07:00

Greetings, fellow Bearers!

No, Chicago's not my home, but it's nice to be here with my son (a devoted Bears fan, which makes Sunday afternoons in our house really interesting, because I'm a Packers fan, my wife is a Patriots/Dolphins fan, and my daughter is a Seahawks fan). We're going to a preseason Bears/Raiders game, and getting in a little bit of sightseeing in the meantime. I have little doubt that my son will be taking up residence in the Windy City as soon as the opportunity presents itself...

Just as an aside, if you've never been to Chicago, go. It's definitely worth the time and money spent to visit. If I had the time and patience, I'd updoad some pictures, but I'm not too sure this hotel computer will permit that.

Well, the writing for The Summoning of Kran is on hold, but the book is already nearly halfway done. I think choosing to write at night has really been a good decision, as it's made it possible to get more done. Of course, that means I bite the bullet a little bit with regard to getting as much sleep as I like (I'm an early-to-bed, early-to-rise kind of guy), but more gets done without having to worry about stopping for the sake of an incoming class at school.

Editing for The Summoning of Old Velt looks like it will be completed by the end of September, and by then I hope to release it on Smashwords for all to see. I can't wait to get it out; the ideas I get while writing and editing are pretty contagious (if I may say that while still being understood as being humble :) ), and I get anxious to share them with all of you.

In the meantime, keep getting The Summoning of Clade Josso out to your friends via word of mouth. More happy readers contact me every month and tell me how pleased they are. I respond to them the same way I do with all of you in general: let the rest of the world know about it!

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

Summer goes on, and so does the writing!

2010-08-05T06:22:00.000-07:00

Greetings, fellow Bearers!

Well, there's good news and not-so-good news. Let me start off with the latter: I've not been doing too well on editing The Summoning of Old Velt. In part, this is tied to the good news, but it's a bit frustrating for some of you as well as me. But trust me, I will get going on the editing soon.

Which leads me to the good news: The Summoning of Kran, my third novel, is going on quite well! I've been really pushing myself on writing this one, and it looks like I'll have this novel finished before the end of this year, which is really cool, because Clade Josso took about a year, and Old Velt took even longer. Granted, a lot of that has to do with the difficulty of scheduling writing along with working a full-time job; when you're not writing as your primary source of income, then you have to set aside your desire to convert ideas to words in order to make sure that you can keep putting bread on the table.

Don't get me wrong: I'm a teacher, and the job is a good one. But there's something-contagious, for lack of a better word-that keeps me writing. Unless you enjoy writing, there's no other way to describe it. You have to put down what's in your head on the paper, or the computer screen. If you don't, you'll go nuts. Maybe that's why H.P. Lovecraft came up with Cthulhu: he put off writing for too long. Heck, if I did that, I'd start seeing squid-headed monsters too (Speaking of which, I wonder what some of my students will be like...).

Anyway, work is coming along. It's slow going in some ways, but moving along in others. I've not forgotten about you, my loyal readers. More will come, just be patient and keep enjoying what's out there!

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

A new interview done...

2010-07-07T18:05:00.000-07:00

Greetings, Bearers!

While summer continues on and I push ahead with finishing my editing of The Summoning of Old Velt while writing The Summoning of Kran, HERE is a nice little interview which I did courtesy of Debra Martin and David Small, who were kind enough to set aside a little space for me to talk about The Summoning of Clade Josso on their website (Thank you both very much, Deb and Dave!). Enjoy the interview, and let the word get out about Clade and the Bearers!

I have a couple of other things on the plate as well, some of which I can't quite discuss yet (it might end up being a good thing), but unfortunately it's put a dent in my short story writing. So for those of you waiting for my next short stories, I apologize that they've been put on hold for now. But I promise that I WILL get back to them, and not wait too long for it. Hopefully, I'll have some real nice ones for you to read before the summer is up.

So, keep reading, and keep enjoying!

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

Summer calls...

2010-06-15T09:17:00.000-07:00

Greetings, Bearers!

Summer is on its way, and with it comes open doors for writing and promoting for me! This will be a great opportunity to spread the word about Clade Josso, as well as finish editing Old Velt (over halfway there!), and dive into writing Kran! Due to the haphazard nature of Summer, though, it'll be difficult for me to post more regularly, so my blog count will be a bit reduced in June, July, and August. Take heart, though; I'll be back in September, with two more novels completed (I plan to have Kran edited a little faster; God willing, it will be). Also, there will be a booksigning that I'll be a part of at the Great Lakes Crossing mall in Auburn Hills, Michigan, sometime in July. I'll put the date up and send out bulletins for all to see!

So I hope that all of you will enjoy your summer as much as I plan to enjoy mine, and keep reading. More will be on its way!

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

A brief comment on the upscaling of prices...

2010-06-04T07:13:00.000-07:00

Greetings, Bearers!

For those of you who like to read Ebooks, there's a bit of news that you need to be made aware of. The rumble on the Internet is that Amazon.com is changing the royalty option for authors. In summary, it's this: if the Ebook authors will up their prices to $2.99, then Amazon will give them a better royalty per sale.

Now, I begrudge no fellow author who ups their price. If you think about it, paying 2.99 for a novel is still a good deal, especially when the paperback version of that same novel runs between seven and nine dollars a pop. Furthermore, unless you're one of those stubborn folk who prefer the feel of the paperback in your hand (like me), as opposed to using a Kindle, a Sony e-book reader, a Nook, or any other such device, you'll appreciate the savings you get, as the reduced costs of Ebooks over and above their physical counterparts adds up over time. So for my author friends who go with the change in price, best to you.

But for myself, I will not do that. Not right now, at least. My goal in getting Clade Josso and the world of the Vein out there is not simply for profit. Do I want to make money on this? Absolutely. But first I want to establish a base of interested readers, and that means putting accessibility to the first novel over and above making money at this point in time. What that means is that I'd rather entice more people with the novel, even if that means not pulling in as much for royalties-and that's fine with me for now.

So, for now, Clade Josso remains at 99 cents. Perhaps in the future, I will release three or four of the Ebooks in a package deal for $2.99, or do something else of that sort, but the drawing of an audience is my priority for now. Again, a big thank you to those who continue to purchase and download the book! Tell other people about it!

Until next time, see you in the Vein!

J. Dean

Visualize the Cloud Specter...

2010-05-20T11:05:00.000-07:00

Greetings, fellow Bearers!

This little gem-or nice piece of imitation gem, at least-comes from the Kindleboards forum. I was describing what it would look like to see a Cloud Specter, and came up with THIS for a visualization of what Clade was seeing when he encountered it. Check it out and tell me what you think!

Til then, back to editing and writing!'

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

Clade Josso now available in a store near you (if you live in Michigan)...

2010-05-17T09:07:00.000-07:00

Greetings, fellow Bearers!

And a good weekend it has been! I apologize for not putting up too much in the past week or so, but it's been a bit of a struggle trying to get the editing done for OLD VELT, as time and interruptions have not always been cooperative. But I do have great news for all to read!

Last Friday (The day after my birthday-a great present for me!) I took a trip down to the Great Lakes Crossing in Auburn Hills, Michigan, for the purpose of...

(drum roll...)

(more drum roll....)

(more and more drum roll.......)

(Okay, that's enough.)

Distributing Clade Josso!!

That's right! The Great Lakes Artisan store, across from the Rainforest Cafe in the Great Lakes Crossing Mall now has available paperback copies of The Summoning of Clade Josso! A big shout out to Mr. John LaCroix for permitting me to set up shop there!

I have to tell you: there's a thrill to personally delivering your product to a store for sales. To know that your product-your book, or whatever you work on-is available for the general public to peruse and physically pick up is very exciting. Granted, it's not Borders or Barnes and Noble, but it's a start. So if you're down that area, I hope you consider stopping in and picking up a copy!

Well, back to editing Old Velt, and writing more on Kran. In the meantime, enjoy what's out there for you!

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

...and the editing goes on... and on... and on.....

2010-04-23T07:33:00.000-07:00

Greetings, fellow Bearers!

Well, as my title suggests, the first round of editing for Old Velt goes on, as I slog through and make corrections here and there to the text. Fortunately, I have somebody waiting in the wings for the second round of editing, so that way things that I missed the first time will be spotted. I did all of the editing myself with Clade Josso, and while I'm happy with the overall result, there were still a few literary smudges and cracks here and there which I see now in retrospect-nothing major, mind you, but little improvements that could have been taken care of had somebody else read the manuscript. With Old Velt, such a problem will be easier to avoid, as another pair of more objective eyes will be scanning this manuscript.

On another note, I'm prepping another short story for Smashwords, entitled "A Walk in the Woods," which is a little bit of a left turn for me. I'm writing something from the viewpoint of a woman, in part to challenge myself on style, and also in part because this story works better from a feminine point of view. That in and of itself makes me a little bit nervous, as I don't consider what I write anything near "chick-lit" in substance. But the story's coming along well, and it shouldn't take too long to get the meat and potatoes of it down and refine it with a once-over.

And Kran is coming along, although not as quickly as I'd like :(. The advantage of writing at home is that it can be very relaxing and easy to churn out words-when nobody else wants your attention. The bad news? Well... everybody wants your attention. That's great for family building, but it stinks when it comes to getting further in the novel! But I've got an idea or two that should guarantee me a little bit more of a window to write, and the pages should be filling soon.

So, hang in there and spread the word about Clade Josso to your friends, relatives, neighbors, and extra-terrestrials! And thank you again for your support and reading!

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

Editing and working

2010-04-15T06:40:00.000-07:00

Greetings, Bearers!

First of all, the good news: Clade Josso has been getting some good download time for the past few weeks! Again, as always, a big welcome and thank you to those of you setting foot in the Vein for the first time! I hope you enjoy this world I've created as much as I've enjoyed making it!

Old Velt is in the process of being edited-by yours truly, of course. That's the drawback to self-publishing: editing your books means that, unless you're getting a LOT of business or have a substantial amount of money, you have to edit your own books. Believe me, I'd rather pay somebody else to do it: it can be tedious. But seeing as how I can't, well...

On another good note, though, I'm starting up the third novel, and Kran will be arriving soon in the Vein to start his journey to the Vein. This one's going to be a fun one to write, and I'll be putting up an except soon for your enjoyment.

So keep reading, and tell other people about the Vein!

Until next time, see you in the Vein!

J. Dean

OLD VELT is Done!!!!! (Well, sort of..)

2010-04-01T08:07:00.000-07:00

Greetings, fellow Bearers!

And what a great day it is! The sun is shining, birds are singing, snow-blowers are being put away for the season, baseball's almost ready to start... And The Summoning of Old Velt is now fully written!! Of course, it still needs to be edited, but hopefully I'll have an assistant with this one. We've not finalized anything, but I'm in a pretty generous mood, because to be honest, editing a book can be as much work (if not more) than writing one, and I'm not so sure I want to tackle that by myself again.

Besides, I'd rather be spending the time working on the next novel, which I intend to do this coming Monday. The next character coming up will be Kran, who will be a VERY different character, one that is a bigger departure from Clade and Old Velt, because Kran's motivation for coming to the Meridian is not as... shall we say, pure, as the motives of the first two. (Insert evil twirled mustache smile here). But let's not spoil too much before we begin.

So, until next time, once more I thank you for supporting me in the purchase of Clade Josso, and welcome the new converts to the world of the Vein! I hope you enjoy the ride!

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

A preview of THE SUMMONING OF OLD VELT

2010-03-19T06:17:00.000-07:00

Greetings, fellow Bearers!

March madness is well underway for those who follow NCAA, but I've got my own kind of "March madness" going on here. The drive is on for me to finish The Summoning of Old Velt: The Second Descent into the Vein, and in that spirit I'd like to present the prologue to you in its entirety here. This hasn't been given a thorough editing yet, so keep in mind that the finished product might look a little different than what's posted here. Check it out and tell me what you think!

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

The Summoning of Old Velt, Prologue

The four of them were situated at the corners of the small table, hunched forward, staring intently at it in the glow of a dingy green lamp which hung overhead, swinging precariously from a cord fastened to the apex of the tent. Three of the men were dressed in deep black battle clothing: heavy, durable shirts and pants which fitted comfortably to their bodies, overlaid with separated sections of equally black metal plating. Around their waists were wrapped utility belts, upon which were fastened various devices and tools, none of which were being employed at this time. Three pairs of mud-encrusted midnight boots on their feet completed their uniforms. Their helmets had been set in a corner of the tent, seen as little more than bulbous, spherical shapes clumsily stacked upon each other.

The fourth man did not share their choice of wardrobe. Atop his head stood a rather tall deep blue top hat, with a brim that curved upward on the sides. The shade of the hat turned out to be a precise match for his choice of dress-a uniform sporting multiple colored pins of various geometrical shapes and sizes which ran nicely in two vertical columns upon the left breast of his jacket, while the right breast sported a scarlet design that bore resemblance to an abstract interpretation of some kind of flying creature. On the top front section of his sleeves ran four gold stripes that cut diagonally away from his shoulders. Encircled around his waist was a black utility belt like those of his companions, although his carried only three encased items. Below him, his pants, a solid blue as well, flowed down to a pair of boots not unlike those of his three companions, save for the lack of a clinging mess of filth to mask any of the ebony shine.

Without a word, in a moment that seemed to hang in the air as long as the stretch of silence, they focused their attention solely on the object that had been set on the table in front of them, as if they were expecting it to perform some sort of supernatural trick before their very eyes. But the perfectly rounded, deep blue sphere did no such thing, instead blankly staring back at them with a faint hint of their own reflections. No strange movement, no strange sounds, no lights, nothing; it simply lay upon the table, as inert as it could be.

A distant double thump of thunderous impact ended the silence.

"So," spoke up the blue-dressed man, adjusting a pair of wire-rimmed spectacles which sat upon his nose. "This is it?"

"Yes, sir." Replied the the man to his left, a fellow with little hair remaining on his scalp. "As ordered by Home Command."

Blue-dressed man gave a nod, his hand leaving his spectacles and momentarily stroking the whisker covered upper lip and chin. "You said you lost twelve men in the process?"

"The enemy hit us hard, sir." Balding-man replied. "Two platoons and a Drifter escort came in fast and hard. We were forced to retreat."

"I understand." Blue-dressed man replied. His eyes looked up at the three men sitting across from him. "Never easy to lose good soldiers."

"No, sir, it's not." The icy voice came from the man directly across from him, possessing a head full of curly black hair and dark eyes, holding a chiseled scowl on his face.

"Something on your mind, soldier?"

"Permission to speak bluntly, Commander?"

Blue-dressed man nodded his head, the top hat slightly tilting forward.

Curly-haired man pressed his lips together impatiently before beginning. "Sir, I don't like the idea of losing lives over superstitious fables."

"Mind your tongue in the presence of the Commander, Footman!" snapped the third fellow, who looked a great deal older than any of the other three men, with a head capped with thick, white hair, and a craggy, creviced face.

"No, it's alright." Blue-dressed man held his hand up, gently waving off the defensive posture taken by white-hair man. "I can't say that I fully blame him for feeling that way." He looked hard at the man across from him. "You're not a religious man, are you, Footman Navar?"

"I can't say that I am, sir. Not really."

"Wanna know something? I am a religious man, a very religious one, and I fully relate to how you feel." Blue-dressed man broke into a generous smile. "I'm a disciple of Foun-Lyot. I firmly believe in Lyot and the Prophet-Scribes, but I also believe that wars are won with more than just leaps of faith. So you're not alone in feeling that way."

Navar's face broke into a humbled grin. "Thank you, sir, for letting me speak my mind. Not all of the Front Line Officers are willing to hear us like you are."

"You're quite welcome, and thank you for speaking up," smiled the Commander, leaning back in his chair with a satisfied, mustache-covered smile. "But back to the issue at hand; fable or not, H.C. wants this brought back as soon as possible, and we've got reports coming in that a North Bloc battalion-probably the same one that sent in the platoon you've engaged-is coming this way. We'll need to pull up and fall back; we don't have the soldiers or equipment to establish a serious front here-not yet, at least."

"Will we be re-locating to reinforce one of the other fronts, Sir?" Asked white-hair man.

"I don't know, Prat. More than likely, yes, but right now H.C.’s all fixated on bringing this thing back first and foremost. This little ball here is all that matters. To be frank with all of you, I almost got the impression that the rest of us were expendable." He glanced at bald-man. "You didn't happen to find instructions on how to use this thing as well, did you, Drave?"

Drave-the bald-man-gave a modest chuckle. The other two smiled. Outside, another report of thunder cracked through the air, this time accompanied by a distant glow of white.

As the other three turned to look at the illumination, the flap to the tent opened. A man dressed in the black battle armor of his fellow footmen burst in. "Commander Velt! Incoming Enemy!"

The four of them stood up, Velt's hand absent-mindedly snatching the small sphere from the table. "Troop make-up?"

"Scout report says at least three footmen platoons, with mobile blast Rovers and two Drifters."

Velt locked eyes with Drave. "Signal a defensive retreat. How many cannon mounts do you have set up."

"Two up here, and two in the valley."

An unintelligible utterance that came off in a less than pleasant tone spat from Velt's mouth. "That's not enough. Not if they've got Drifters coming in with those rovers." He looked at the others. "This won't be pretty, gentlemen."

The tent sat upon a flat clearing of hard packed dirt, which sloped gently in all directions save for one side, which abruptly dropped into a winding valley. Down in that valley, made visible by jostling portable lamps revealing shadowed movements, were the scrambling bodies of soldiers, clad in their black armor, picking up items that lay on the sandy floor of the valley, barking orders and confirmations, forming up in orderly arrangements-most, in preparation for departure, but some climbed the valley bank opposite the tent and prostrated themselves upon the ground, fidgeting with equipment in their hands. Two of the soldiers hoisted themselves into deep C-shaped seats seated atop tripod bases, above which were positioned the long, straight barrels of their heavy weapons.

Velt and the other three emerged from the tent, which sported two more of the same weapon turrets on either side. The Commander quickly reaching for one of the items upon black belt that encircled his waist: a cylindrical object. "Where are your transports?" he asked with irritation.

"Sent up the valley for a supply run." Prat replied, helmet coming down upon the woolly white cap. "We weren't sure how long we'd be here."

The Commander frowned as Drave spoke up "They've been contacted for return, sir. Should be here within the hour."

Velt pulled on the ends of the cylinder, which responded by elongating. He brought one end up to his open eye, and peered through while thumbing a small stud on the cylinder's reflective side. Through the lens, the view shifted from vague darkness into a sudden explosion of color, with various shades of blue defining distant hills, trees, and other pieces of landscape. Amidst the tranquil blue came a swarm of frantic bipedal red forms, accompanied by larger, box-shaped shapes that smoothly plodded forward. He thumbed a second stud on the telescope, which superimposed a series of green numbers at the top of the enhanced view. The numbers steadily dwindled in value.

"They're gonna be cutting it close, aren't they?" Navar asked nervously.

Velt tilted his head back, bringing the telescope skyward. "It's not the ground troops that we need to be concerned about. If they've got Drifters, we're going to have a hard time with-there!!"

The Commander's free left hand snapped his finger upward in the direction that he had been looking through the telescope, which had revealed a massive red shape in the air-an oblique spheroid of red, under which was tethered a smaller rectangular structure.

"The Drifters?" Prat asked.

"One of them, at least. Get those cannons prepped; the transports will need cover fire."

Navar and Drave did so, hopping into their seats, their hands activating monitors located dead center on their control panels.

"Sir," called Navar. "It's out of range. Our cannons can't hit it."

Before Velt could speak, Prat answered for him. "I believe the Commander is more interested in using the cannons for countermeasures than he is for knocking the Drifters out of commission." He turned to his top-hat wearing superior. "Am I right, sir?"

"Quite right, Lead Footman. Com those two turrets down in the valley for firing coordination. Your primary concern is nullifying the firepower from that Drifter."

"What about Lobbers from the Rovers?"

"We've still got a little time before they get in range. A Drifter's Corkscrew can do a whole lot more damage to us than half a dozen Lobbers. Contact your heavy gunners down there. Have them set up their blasters for suppression fire. When it becomes absolutely necessary, we'll redirect the cannons to add support."

The cannon mounts came to life with movement, both by the tent and in the valley, as the machines obeyed the console commands of their operators. The turrets adjusted accordingly, swiveling freely in vertical and horizontal arcs. Near the valley cannon tripods, several dark figures could be seen maneuvering long-barreled weapons into position.

"Still a negative visual on the second Drifter, Commander." Drave called out. "Scout report could be wrong on that."

"I doubt it, Footman. Drifters rarely travel alone. That second one is out here somewhere; might be out of range, or still on the ground, but you can bet that it'll turn up soon. Keep an eye out for it."

Through the tar-draped sky, a point of white light punctured through the black, briefly illuminating the silhouette of the Drifter behind it in a lightning-like flash, followed by a sweeping rumble that rolled past the soldiers. Velt could feel the rattle of his back teeth, tingling his mouth. Drave filled the air with the words which had already come to the Commander's mind.

"Incoming! Corkscrew!"

The light in the sky grew rapidly in size, its appearance indicating a spiraling motion as it decreased the distance and altitude between it and the targeted evacuators below.

"Burn it, gentlemen." Velt ordered sharply.

"Open fire!" Prat called out.

The cannons let loose, hurling elongated pulses of bright red energy toward the approaching projectile, the initial shots falling far short of the target, exploding in bright orange and crimson spheres. More pulses were hurled, more misses. The Corkscrew continued its path, now within range, and passing through the blasts which defiantly continued to fly upward, cutting through the night air. Velt could hear the cannon operators speaking to each other, picking up the distorted voices of the operators in the valley which came through the modest-sized speakers, and saw the big guns which effortlessly adjusted their positions, all the while repeatedly releasing their molten energy projectiles into the air with an audible throom! that accompanied each shot.

Two of the shots-from the valley cannons, Velt guessed, although he wasn't completely sure on that-found their mark, colliding with the menacing white weapon. The result was a sudden flash of white, a brief glimpse of an expanding, blinding ball, radiating from where contact had come. The light cast upon the terrain below projected a brief daylight-like image upon the back of Velt's eye, followed by an annoying ocean of blurred green, occluding his vision with a blotch which was slow and reluctant to recede.

Somebody in one of the cannon mounts let out a triumphant whoop. Velt couldn't help but smile at that.

From a distant point on the ground ahead, a green bolt left the earth, leaving behind it a faint, glowing contrail which traced its path.

"What are they doing?" Prat asked. "They're not close enough to hit us with the Lobbers yet."

The Commander continued to watch the green bolt, following its arc with his eyes, watching as it slowed in the air, then fell, increasing in its size and brightness. The Lobber crashed into the ground with a thunderous explosion, spitting flame and smoke from the point of impact.

"I don't think it was meant primarily as a targeted attack." Drave remarked, "They're clearing a path for their foot soldiers."

"I think you're right." Velt added. "Contact the heavy gunners. Let 'em burn."

"Heavy Squad Two!" Prat barked into his console. "Lay down suppression fire at will!"

The gunners obeyed. White hot bubbles launched from half a dozen weapons, not nearly as impressive in size or power as the cannons, but effective in their own way, dashing through the air just above ground level, and finishing their flight in a deadly flash.

"Keep those gun cycle rates under forty percent." Velt added, raising his telescope. "Dead charge packs don't help our cause." Prat forwarded the order.

"Commander," Navar spoke "We're not hitting anything."

"We don't have to, son. We're not trying to win a battle; just buy time for evacuation. All we want to do is keep them off our backs until we can get clear."

"Visual on the transports." came a warbled voice over the com system.

Velt turned his head toward his right. A pair of bobbing yellowish lights could be seen heading in their direction. Ahead, two more green Lobbers began their ascent into the air. Another Corkscrew lit up the sky. The cannons hastily sent out their crimson pulses to meet it.

"Get those troops moving to meet the transports! Adjust the suppression zone to a crescent-twenty formation!"

Prat relayed Velt's words. Below, the gunners no longer fired directly ahead in unison; the footmen on the ends had adjusted their line of fire outward ten degrees on either side. widening their field of effectiveness. Another bright blast filled the sky as the second Corkscrew detonated prematurely, being struck by the defensive blasts of the cannons.

"That Drifter's staying out of range!" Drave called out.

"We've kept it from getting a Corkscrew in here. That's all that matters!" Prat answered.

Velt gave an unconscious nod. But where is that other Drifter?

The Lobbers collided with earth, this time much closer to the camp.

"Enemy soldiers are in range of the gunners now." Drave said.

"Divert those valley cannons to supporting the gunners." Velt ordered. "But be ready to redirect quickly in case that Drifter lets loose again."

"Yes, sir."

Three more Lobbers launched, now accompanied by a series of silver needles that stabbed through the air. "Looks like we're in their rifle range as well." Navar scowled.

"Troops are loading up on the transports now." came a voice on the com.

"Redirect all cannon fire to suppression. Order the heavy gunners to get out of here."

"Heavy Squad Two, defensive evacuation to transports! Repeat: defensive evacuation to transports!"

The white bubbles decreased in firing frequency, changing in their points of origin. The dark forms of the burly men who had been working those weapons rapidly stood, picking up their massive guns and starting down the valley, toward the four pairs of now stationary headlights, returning fire as they went. Velt watched them go, still amazed at the size and strength of the men in that unit: easily moving and carrying a heavy rifle that probably weighed more than half as much as Velt himself weighed. These fellows could move them, toss them, throw them over their shoulders as if there was nothing to it. Intimidating to watch, but comforting to know that these same men were on his side in a fight-and they were as accurate with their aim as they were strong with their arms.

The Lobbers landed in range of the camp. Pandemonium landed with them.

It was the third Lobber that caused the most damage. The first two had dropped early-still close enough to be wary of, but not inflicting any serious damage, sending a mildly concussive wave through the air that thumped angrily against Velt's chest, making him stumble a bit, but leaving him otherwise unharmed. But the third one found its mark, planting itself squarely between the valley cannons, knocking both over, and leaving behind dead machines and their equally lifeless operators. The heavy gun squad dropped to the valley floor in disarray, the men feebly attempting to get themselves back up in order to continue their retreat. They had moved away far enough to avoid lethal damage from the Lobber, but the force of the explosion had been enough to knock them off their feet.

It had been enough to do the same to Old Velt as well. On his hands and knees, he looked upward, seeing the shadowy forms of the advancing enemy crawl across the land, still letting loose with their weapons, sending silver streaks of death in his direction.

Over the com, the generic footman's voice came again. "Transports one and two are fully loaded and away."

The Commander looked at the three footmen who had remained with him. "Get to the transports! Get moving when you're aboard, with or without me!"

"Commander-"

"I said with or without me, no exceptions! Get moving! Now!"

Prat, Drave, and Navar did as they were told. Velt ran back to the tent, now having to move more erratically-the small arms fire was now cutting through the air around him, and a well placed shot would end up killing him. He snatched up a rifle laying in the corner of the tent; then, after taking a brief and frantic look around to make sure nothing vital remained, pushed through the tent opening, patting the sphere in his pocket for reassurance that it had not been left behind.

Out he stepped, beginning to plod after the others, who had begun the descent down the side of the hill. A dropping flash of green, followed by a large explosion, stopped him. The Lobber had created a crater of considerable size in the ground, cutting Velt off from the others, who had been shaken, but had also advanced far enough away to avoid becoming serious casualties. They picked themselves up from the forced fall, and slipped into the valley, toward the lone remaining transport. Velt rose shakily from the earth and let out a curse, immediately backing away from the immense hole, unconsciously retrieving his top hat, which had come off during his fall.

A white pinwheel appeared in the sky above him. A Corkscrew.

The second Drifter.

It had plotted a wide circle around them, and had come up from behind. Now it was almost on top of them, and let loose its deadly weapon.

"Clever move," Velt softly said aloud to nobody. Even now, as the weapon came bearing down upon him, and any chance of escape was essentially nonexistent, he had to internally tip his hat to the strategic planning of his enemy. How long had they planned to sneak attack with this Drifter? A day before they moved in? Two days? Drifters were slow vehicles, which was why they were used primarily at night. During the day, they would make for easy, large targets. But at night, they could quietly sweep in, under cover of darkness, and easily position themselves within range of their devastatingly powerful payload, and launch their Corkscrews, easily decimating targets as large as a modest size city-or as small as a temporary platoon camp.

Just like this one did. And it had begun its course long before Velt's intelligence scouts had reported that an attack was coming, which meant that this Drifter above him-this one which would kill him-had taken an extremely out-of-the-way path in order to get here. A risky thing to do, especially in this area, which wasn't that far away from the front lines of the war. But it paid off for them.

Like I said, clever move.

The ground below him glowed from the brilliance of the approaching projectile. He took a fast look at the transports-They were leaving. Good-and then stared bravely into the face of the thing plunging through the air, dropping straight toward him. This would be it. His career, his life-all over in a few seconds. Strangely, he did not seem to be afraid. Perhaps it was because he knew that something like this might happen to him one day. Or maybe it was because he was too mentally preoccupied with the safety of his men that the idea of fright for himself didn't have an opportunity to cross his mind. In either case, the finality of all of this did not alarm him; he had been good in following the Path of Discipline given by Lyot. He had suffered, as Lyot had suffered. He had been charitable, as Lyot had been charitable. He had let go of self, as Lyot had let go of self. And now he would be One with All, as Lyot had become one upon his deathbed.

It was probably better this way. No wife or children to leave behind, no feeling of regret at not being able to say goodbye to them for the last time, or to anyone else for that matter. Mother and Father had died at the outset of this war, while Old Velt had still been young and innocent. As for Jolly Cohle, he'd be fine. Velt's uncle who had reared him was safe and secure, back in the heart of the South Bloc. It was just as well; Jolly Uncle Cohle was too old to be of any use to the war now, and even in his youth, his service amounted to little more than functioning as a cook during his five years of enlistment, back before the war had become as volatile as it was at present. He had done his job shaping the young Velt into the mature Talusibat he was now, and had functioned as a good substitute for his parents, albeit one who could be very distant at times, both emotionally and physically. When Velt had become old enough to go out on his own, choosing military service, Jolly Uncle Cohl gave him a handshake, a credit slip worth a thousand parrs, and a brisk "Take care, Velt." That had been it: not an unfriendly gesture, but not exactly the warmest expression that could have been given, either.

And not the worst of turnouts; after all, it had been Velt's experience with his uncle that in part had spurred him on to find out about Foun-Lyot. He had his uncle to thank for that.

Unconsciously, his hand reached once more into the pocket, wrapping itself around the strange sphere they had found. Velt chided himself slightly; he should have made sure that one of the others had taken the sphere in order to get it back to H.C. No matter now; they wouldn't get it. But then again, neither would the North Bloc. That brought a little comfort to him.

Lyot bless me...

He shut his eyes, squeezing the hard object as the Corkscrew smashed furiously into the camp...

From the window of the last departing transport, Navar, Prat, and Drave, along with several other black-clad soldiers, watched through the window as the camp area became devoured by the Corkscrew's detonation. A mushroom of cloud and energy erupted, engulfing the hill, sending a visible wave outward. The wave crashed into the transport, rattling the vehicle and its passengers, and for a terrifying moment, Drave thought that the force would be enough to kill all of them. But the shock subsided. They looked back out the rear window, and saw nothing but a cloud of ash and smoke where the hill and camp had been. The hill no longer existed.

Drave looked sadly at the others, who could see each other only by hints of small green light panels in the otherwise dim troop compartment of the transport. Prat shook his head, then maneuvered himself toward the front, where a driver and passenger were seated, making calculations and communicating with the other drivers.

"Open a channel to H.C." Prat murmured. "Send this message: Acquired object destroyed during engagement with North Bloc battalion. At this time, a full casualty assessment is incomplete. But... Commander Velt is presumed dead."

The driver and passenger looked at each other. The passenger gave a solemn bob of his head.

A new short story and a disclaimer to go along with it....

2010-03-18T10:10:00.000-07:00

Greetings, Bearers!

Once again, I come to you with some good news: I have finished and published another short story on Smashwords, entitled "Nick." Considering that I've gotten over sixty hits on it in about two days, and all of that with very little advertising, I'm pretty happy! Makes me feel pretty important-either that, or people are pretty desperate to read something free ;) (I'm kidding... I appreciate those of you who like my free stuff as well. It's fun to write, although it's not my main focus).

Now, I need to put up a disclaimer about "Nick," because of how it's categorized. When I set up the settings for the story on Smashwords, I clicked on the option "My book contains adult content." But this is NOT-I repeat, NOT-because this story is erotica. It does have reference to an affair, but I set this up so that it would be done tastefully and still convey the understanding of what the protagonist did in the story. Just to let you know up front, I don't like writing erotica-at all. Call me a prude or whatever, but I prefer implied reference over explicit explanation. Erotica to me distracts from the story, and as far as I'm concerned, cheapens it. I realize that not everybody shares my opinion on this matter, nor am I demanding it of anybody else, but it's a point I'm not changing my mind on.

Why I DID categorize it as having adult content is because the story has an element of gruesomeness to it that's not found in my other stories. Overall I'm not too fond of gory elements. If you give me a choice between a story that emphasizes scary vs. a story that emphasizes splatter effect, I'll take the scary movie anytime. However, I will use gore if it fits the story, and there's a bit of it in "Nick", enough to describe what's going on, so if you're a super-squeamish person, this one might not be for you.

So enjoy the short story, and I'll be back tomorrow with a little bit of a treat for you.

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

Special offer this week only!!!!

2010-03-08T07:43:00.000-08:00

Greetings, fellow Bearers!

Actually, this particular blog is addressed more toward those of you who have not yet purchased The Summoning of Clade Josso, but rather have come across my site through one of my short stories or poems.

In taking advantage of the promotion to read an Ebook this week, The Summoning of Clade Josso will be offered this week only for 50 cents if you use the promo code below. Check it out, and if you like it, pass it on!!
Promo code: RAE50
Description:

A young man arrives in a place forgotten by history on a quest to save his family, and learns that his mission is part of something bigger than he had ever imagined. Aided by mysterious strangers, and pursued by monsters and malevolent enemies, he must acquire his goal-a treasure sought by Seven Beings from Seven different Worlds, but can only be used by One.
Reviews:

“Good characters, good plot, very entertaining. I can't wait for the next the one! My only complaint is that the second book isn't out yet!!
“I'm not real big on fantasy/sci-fi, but thought I'd give this book a try. …VERY well written and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it! J. Dean does an awesome job of describing the action, environment, and beings in the book... Can't wait for the next one!”
–from Amazon.com
“Clade Josso is not my type of book. I generally am not a huge fan of fantasy books but I gave this one a try after the author posted here. For whatever reason, the book has grabbed me and I plowed through the first half yesterday. Imaginative action and interesting commentary on politics and religion are tucked into the writing. FAR better writing than I expect from a first time indie author.”
-from Kindleboards.com

So again, check it out, and enjoy! Old Velt is nearly done, and will be soon edited and placed onsite for you to enjoy!

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

Well, you can't win 'em all, but...

2010-02-26T10:18:00.000-08:00

Greetings, Fellow Bearers!

So I gave the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards a shot. Unfortunately, I didn't make it past the first round :(. But one of the other contestants said that it's more based on how well you wrote your sales pitch than the actual novel itself. That's something I'll have to consider, because I don't consider myself much of a salesman-type person, and sales pitches aren't something I spend a lot of time working on. Oh well, it was worth the shot. And it was fun to try to do as well!

On better notes, I was recently featured at the Indie Spotlight website, a place for indie authors to get recognized. Doing these interveiews are a LOT of fun for me, and I hope to do some more in the future! I've also sent some submissions to Pop Culture Zoo, Compulsive Reader, and a couple of other places that I hope to get responses from in the near future, so hopefully the word about the Vein will spread!

And again, a big thank you goes to all of those who have been purchasing Clade Josso. I hope that you're enjoying the book, and tell other people about it in the process!

Clade Josso submitted to Amazon contest...

2010-02-11T09:06:00.000-08:00

Greetings, fellow Bearers!

Well, I come bearing (hopefully) grand news today: at the end of last week, I submitted The Summoning of Clade Josso to the Amazon's Breakthrough Novel Award Contest. This is a shot for people to become exposed en masse to the novel, which would be awesome. To tell the truth, I'd be perfectly happy with just getting a bigger exposure for the novel, win or lose the contest. Perhaps, God willing, it'll happen.

On another note, the short story "10:15" has become (for me at least) a runaway hit! over 70 downloads in three days: considering I'm not a big time author who's well-known, I'm pretty happy about that! If you are one of those who downloaded and liked the short story, please check out my other works as well. Even though Clade Josso isn't a horror novel, it does have some elements of horror to it that will appeal to the horror fan.

So, in the meantime, thank you for reading, keep the downloads coming, and enjoy my increasing library of works!

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

Prepping another short story...

2010-02-05T08:26:00.000-08:00

Greetings, Bearers!

While OLD VELT is wrapping up, I thought I'd let you know that I'll be posting another short story on Smashwords in the next week or so. This one is called "10:15", another one about an incident taking place in a school, still maintaining a horror element, although it's different than "Fraidy-Cat" on a few levels. All I need to do is get the cover for the story ready (Smashwords won't put stories on their premium catalog lists unless you have a good cover), and finish some minor formatting points, and we'll be ready to go.

While I'm thinking about it, another round of "thank yous" goes to those of you who continue to keep "Fraidy-Cat" and the other stuff I've put up on Smashwords popular. It's still getting downloaded and read, which is very cool to see.

And for those who have downloaded CLADE JOSSO lately, a thank you and hat off to you as well. I'm hearing good things from people who have read the novel. If you happen to be one of those people, please don't hesitate to put up a review on Amazon or Smashwords-the more, the better!

So keep up the good work, and I'll get back to working on OLD VELT!
See you in the Vein!
J. Dean

A slight correction..

2010-01-28T09:02:00.000-08:00

Greetings, fellow Bearers!

Whoops! I need to make a slight correction to my previous post! When I said that I had not read any of the Dark Tower series, I was referring to the Stephen King novels themselves. I have, however, read one of the graphic novel prequels to the series, entitled The Gunslinger Reborn which was penned by Peter David. Quite a read.

Sorry, that's the kind of guy I am. I like to be understood literally. :D

Anyway, back to work! See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

Cubs and inquiries

2010-01-26T08:02:00.000-08:00

Greetings, fellow Bearers (and inquisitive minds)!

This week, I want to touch base on two things. First, I've got a poem dedicated to the Chicago Cubs. Any of you who are diehard Cubs fans who lament the century plus of heartbreak brought on by the Northsiders of the Windy City, this one's for you. Don't worry: one day they will do it.

Funny enough: I don't live in Chicago, and having grown up in Michigan, my team was the Tigers. But I caught this documentary on HBO called "Wait 'til next year," which tells the story of the Cubs and the ups and downs they've gone through. Even if you're not a baseball fan, it's an interesting watch. And while baseball isn't my favorite sport, that documentary resonated with me. Last year I went to see the Cubs play the Tigers in Detroit. Great game, although I and my son were forced to leave by the fifth inning (Ever felt humidity in Detroit? It ain't fun). People have asked me who I would root for if the Cubs and Tigers ever met in a World Series. My response? I'll let you know when it happens :D

Second, I've been receiving several requests from people who have asked me to try to describe what sort of fantasy the World of the Vein embodies. This is a difficult one to answer, because anyone who has read The Summoning of Clade Josso will tell you that it's not your typical Tolkien-style fantasy. In other words, you don't have knights and elves and orcs and dragons and what not. While I appreciate the influence Tolkien has on the fantasy world (and let's face it: he deserves a lot of the credit for it, if not almost all of the credit), I didn't want to go in that direction. That's been done by enough authors in my opinion.

What I wanted with the Vein was something fresh and different. Something that blends the past and the future, and has a completely unique look and feel. The beauty of this is that you have a world and a story which stands out in a very unusual way, because there's nothing to compare it to. The drawback, however, is that it's difficult to relate the World of the Vein with anything else out there, because there's nothing to compare it to. That's why I tell people "You just have to read the book."

I suppose that, if there were to be any comparison to make, the closest concept I could compare the Vein to would have to be Stephen King's Dark Tower series, but even this falls short, because from what I understand (I've not read much of it, so I'm going by what little I know), King still relates his fantasy to elements of the "real world," such as New York City and Topeka, Kansas, both of which are found in his series. The hero, Roland, is a gunslinger-a cool concept, I admit, but a very different character in development and motive than the Vein's Clade Josso.

I would certainly welcome anybody who has read both King's novels (or at least The Gunslinger) and mine to put up a comparison of the two. I've intentionally refrained from reading any of King's DT works because I've wanted to keep mine as orginal as possible. Granted, if I did read his novels, it wouldn't change what I have planned, but I think I'll wait until my work is all finished.

Besides, knowing my past with Stephen King, I'll end up dropping off the end of the earth if I start reading anything of his (That's a BIG compliment to Mr. King-I can't put his books down :D )

So, until then, check out the work put up on Smashwords, and Old Velt WILL be finished up soon. Promise.

Until then, See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

100 plus downloads on Fraidy Cat!!!

2010-01-20T07:52:00.000-08:00

Greetings, fellow Bearers!

Today we celebrate a milestone! "Fraidy-Cat" has been downloaded over a hundred times! Okay-I'm still a long way off from being mentioned up there with the fiction greats of our time, but it's a start! Those of you who have helped to make this happen, I thank you from the bottom of my heart; it's pretty cool to see people enjoying what you've written. If you get a chance check out a well done review of "Fraidy-Cat" on the Redadept blog, a literary review site whose author was kind enough to take a look at the story and give me a beautiful yet honest review (And I did it without having to bribe anybody! :D )

Time is finally freeing up for me in the meantime, and I've been able to push forward on OLD VELT, which has been a good thing; people have been asking me frequently when the second Vein novel will be done. Be patient, boys and girls: it's getting there!

See you all in the Vein!

J. Dean

Back in the Swing of things....

2010-01-13T07:29:00.000-08:00

Greetings, fellow Bearers!

Ah, back in the saddle again, working hard. It was a great Christmas and New Year's, but as fun as it was, I'm glad it's over. Up here, in the not-so-Great White North (Michigan), it's COLD! Okay... granted, it's cold all over, no doubt. But where a friend of my wife lives (A bit south), at least there isn't as much snow. It's not fun trying to drive on slick roads, folks :( Spring can't come soon enough for me. BTW, check out the new SHERLOCK HOLMES movie if you get a chance!

Anyway, check out a couple of more things I've put up on smashwords for your reading pleasure, at least until OLD VELT gets finished. The first is an attempt at poetry, entitled Jungle Prey, which is something I sketched out when a little free time came my way; not enough to work on my Vein novel, but enough to put into print a stab at poetry. Admittedly, I'm not a poetry person. It's hard for me to stay within meters and rhyme schemes and what not (I once did write a sonnet, however, about why sonnets should be done away with). There's one other poem I might put up; a little diddy about the Chicago Cubs, but I'm waiting until some more work on my other stuff can be finished.

The other recent entry is a short story, most of which I wrote over the summer, entitled One Favor Before You Go..., which is a nice little horror piece that I had considered making part of something larger, but for now have shelved, in part because the Vein is more important, and also because I'm not sure I want to be known primarily as a horror writer (Not that I don't like the horror genre, mind you. It's a fun genre, just not my first genre of choice). This one is a "Set your own price" story.

More has been finished on OLD VELT, but it's still not quite done yet. Alexis De Tocqueville once wrote that "in a revolution, as in a novel, the most difficult part is the ending." How true that can be! But have no fear, my friends; I'm working on it, and will have it done for your enjoyment!

Until next time, continue to read and review! Don't hesitate to put your comments up here, there, or anywhere about my writing! The more the better!

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

Christmas is coming....

2009-12-22T10:44:00.000-08:00

Greetings, fellow Bearers!

Yes, it's almost that time, when Yours Truly gets as pathetic acting as any young child in that I absolutely LOVE to open Christmas presents! You should see me around the house; my wife has to be very careful about where she puts my stuff, and swears my children to secrecy. Yeah, I'm that bad. :D

The downloads for Fraidy-Cat keep coming in, and it's great to see the interest in it. As stated before, if you liked Fraidy-Cat, but have not yet read The Summoning of Clade Josso, I encourage you to take a look at it. I hope to have another free short story for you to examine after New Year's, and will of course continue work on The Summoning of Old Velt.

In the meantime, I hope you get as good an assortment of presents as I usually get! Of course, we'll just forget about that outfit my mom got me a few years back... beyond that, no problems ;)

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

More open doors!

2009-12-18T08:10:00.000-08:00

Greetings, fellow Bearers!

First, for the many downloads of "Fraidy-Cat" which have continued since last week, a big thank you needs to be repeated! I've been getting great feeback from people on the story, which has been a great confidence builder for me. If you've liked the story, feel free to pass the word on to others, by Internet and by word of mouth. It's free to download, so you'll definitely get your money's worth :D And also feel free to put up a review of what you've read so far on Smashwords. Let the world know what you thought!

I've come today to tell you about a couple of doors which have opened and have given me an opportunity to expand the audience. The first is a site called "Author's Den," which is a centralized Internet spot for writers to showcase their talent. I joined up with them yesterday. The other is a "mobile reader" website, similar to the Kindle Board website, which involves those who prefer their text to be laid out digitally-you know, all those hi-tech gizmo type people :D

Come check out these sites, and enjoy my work, as well as the work of others. Soon OLD VELT will be joining CLADE JOSSO in availability, and we will go further in to the Meridian, taking one step closer to our ultimate goal.

Until then, See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

Wow!!!! Thank you so much!!!

2009-12-15T08:50:00.000-08:00

t.Greetings, fellow Bearers (and short story enthusiasts)!

What a great response I've gotten over the weekend! "Fraidy-Cat" was downloaded over thirty times in three days (That's a lot for an indie author!). Those of you willing to take a look at the story, thank you so much! Feel free to post a review of the story on the smashwords.com website, and if you liked it, spread the word about it! Also, I invite you newcomers, if you've not done so already, to consider looking at The Summoning of Clade Josso as well, and whet your appetite for a new kind of fantasy epic

While I'm still working on the Vein novels, I've also been setting aside a little time every few days to work on short stories as well. The nice thing about doing this is that it keeps my writing fresh, so that I'm not burning myself out on just the Vein books. While writing is fun, it's like anything else: you need to diversify your time and focus, so that you don't end up with burnout. The short stories are a chance for me to change gears and pace, and that's good for a writer... well, good for me at least; I can't speak for everybody on that one.

So thank you all once again. Hopefully, I'll have another omnibus entry to put in before Christmas, so that a little bit more of the Vein can be revealed to all, and Old Velt will be that much closer to being finished!

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

And now, a nice side dish for you to enjoy...

2009-12-11T08:53:00.001-08:00

Greetings, fellow Bearers!

While you are patiently waiting for THE SUMMONING OF OLD VELT to be finished, I have a little treat for you. As I've said before, I don't consider myself to be a horror writer, per se, but I did put out another short story, available for your free perusal, on Smashwords. Below is a link for you to check it out. If the link doesn't work directly, cut and paste it into your browser's address bar, and it'll take you there.

Okay, I've had long enough to breathe. Back to the grind with the novel!

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

Free short story: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/7144

Omnibus Entry: The Meridian

2009-12-04T10:22:00.000-08:00

Greetings, fellow Bearers!

Below is the information about the Meridian, the central location in which the events of THE SUMMONING OF CLADE JOSSO take place. I was hoping to attach it as a file, but unfortunately the formatting of this site does not permit me to do so. So until then... Enjoy!

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

The Meridian

The Meridian is an expanse which serves as a connection point for Seven different Worlds which exist in seven different universes. Made up of a diverse conglomeration of climates and terrains, the Meridian is not a planet per se, but a flat region that undergoes a planet-like cycle, with a white sun that occupies the sky during the daylight hours, and a starless purple night during the evening.

Prior to the great schism between the Heretics (also called the Blindmen) and the members of the Sect of the Awakened, who were loyal adherents to the deity Balys-Crahly, the Seven Gates which corresponded to their respective worlds were easily and freely accessed by the Seven Races. Anyone could travel to and from the different worlds; and the Meridian was appraised as an important central point of commerce and community, as well as a mystical place full of unfathomable wonders and mysteries. Although not originally intended to be a place for permanent residence, the Meridian had several settlements spring up throughout its regions, mostly near areas which provided for agricultural and commercial business. The wildlife of the Meridian had a benign relationship with the beings of the Seven Worlds, in addition to an already harmonious community of the multitudes who interacted with each other in their business and travels.

But when the schism occurred, all of this changed. The harmony and unity degraded into a terrible war, during which a series of dark changes overtook the Meridian and its inhabitants, and eventually spilled into the Seven Worlds. Although the exact history of the events that happened is sketchy (as many of the historical records were lost after the schism), what is generally known is that, during the war, the Meridian became a shadowy, forlorn world; its wonders and wildlife transforming into dangerous and nightmarish terrors. Great monuments and cities of a united civilization became desolate ruins, falling victim to the unbridled lusts and hate of the Meridian citizens, corrupted by the dark evil that spread over the land; or becoming empty shells of their former glory, changed by things more mysterious and hideous.

The war between the Sect and the Blindmen came to a head at the center of the Meridian, where the Sect initially seemed to be successful in defeating their foes during a fierce battle. But the Blindmen were not finished; before being banished from the Meridian, the Blindmen, through means unknown to the Sect, were able to successfully capture and imprison Balys-Crahly in the Vein, a little known “para-world” which is accessed from a portal located in the heart of a thick Wood in the central region of the Meridian. Though ultimately beaten in the end, the Blindmen had inflicted their damage. A great, impassible, cloud-like barrier, referred to as the Edge, filled the Meridian perimeter, sealing off the gateways to the Seven Worlds. What followed was mass panic among the remaining beings in the Meridian, resulting in a bloody, chaotic struggle, carried out by those motivated either by fear of what had happened, or by lust for power. Due to the sudden harshness and hostility of the Meridian creatures, those beings who survived the Sect-Blindmen war and the following lawless massacre took refuge in the cities, setting up improvised governmental structures, most of which were eventually taken over either brazenly or covertly by the Orders, which began to form shortly afterward. The arrival of the hostile Orders forced the remaining Sect members in some of the cities to go into hiding, as the Orders viewed the Sect as a potential threat to their power base.

Now, centuries after the great schism, the original inhabitants of the Vein have vanished. The once conventional access to the Meridian from the Seven Worlds through the original gateways is impossible; the gates on each world are shut fast (and in some cases, hidden). Nor can any within the Meridian leave, as the thick, cloudy Edge engulfs those who try to find the gates. Inhabiting the cities are “pact-makers”, those who lived in the Seven worlds, who have agreed to an accord which brings them to the Meridian upon their death in a type of afterlife. The only other beings permitted entrance to the Meridian are the Bearers, and it is prophesied that Seven Bearers will come, one from each of the Seven Worlds, and travel through the Meridian to the Vein, where they will release Balys-Crahly and restore the Meridian to its former state of peace and paradise.

Out with the Turkey, in with the tree....

2009-12-03T07:03:00.000-08:00

Greetings, fellow Bearers!

And here it is, the most festive time of year. Got your Christmas shopping done yet? Nope-neither do I. I'm not quite a "last-minute" shopper, but I don't get the gifts in August, either (No foolin' on that; I know people like that who do their Christmas shopping before leaves change!).

I think that part of it is because I really don't believe the Christmas season starts until after Thanksgiving is done. One of my big pet peeves is walking into a store after Halloween and seeing Christmas stuff up. For crying out loud, can't you WAIT ANOTHER MONTH!? It's not like there's some sort of shopping ban between Thanksgiving and Christmas! Put up THANKSGIVING stuff for Thanksgiving, and CHRISTMAS stuff for Christmas! Keep the holidays in their respective seasons, and let us in the consumer world keep our sanity! (Only YOU can prevent Christmas burnout! Only YOU!)

Well, I'm happy to report that I've been able to get a decent amount of time to work on OLD VELT, the second novel in the Vein series. I'm also happy to see that people are purchasing CLADE JOSSO as a Christmas gift for others, and have sold some signed copies to that end. Also, I understand that the VIRTUAL IMAGININGS short story collection has also been doing well, which of course benefits breast cancer research. See? Authors make Christmas shopping easy! :D

Well, back to work for me. I'm continuing the Vein omnibus, and will have some entries ready soon to post. Until then, continue to enjoy preparing for Christmas!

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean.

Preparing for Thanksgiving

2009-11-24T09:51:00.000-08:00

Greetings, fellow Bearers!

Ah, Thanksgiving is in the air. If you're anything like me, you're looking forward to that plump, sumptuous turkey spread out on the table, with all of the fixin's on the sides-and then, afterward, if you're like me, you won't want to think about eating turkey for another two months afterwards. I get a bit tired of turkey leftovers after an extended period of time. That's why having the number of a good local pizza place is recommended for the Saturday after Thanksgiving :D

Alright, after this holiday break, I intend to get back to putting up stuff from the omnibus. Sorry to say that I don't have any artwork yet for anyone to see, but the verbal descriptions will hopefully turn out to be a pleasing set of teasers for those curious to venture into the world of the Vein.

May you all have a happy Thanksgiving, and have much to be thankful for!

See you in the Vein,

J. Dean.

Life in the way...

2009-11-18T08:45:00.000-08:00

Greetings, fellow Bearers!

Ugh.

Unless you're doing well enough to call writing your primary career, then you have the same problem I do: that it can get awfully difficult to find the time to sit down and write. One of the things I've learned about myself is that I write better when I have larger, uninterrupted blocks of time. Mind you, it doesn't have to be THAT long (about 45 minutes to an hour will do if the creative juices are really flowing), but too little time leaves me little room to put anything of decent substance down for the Vein novels. If I find myself losing time, I have to resort to working on my short stories, as they don't require me to necessarily put as much organizational thought into them. Admittedly, I envy those writers who can work with sliced up time periods to write their novels; they are far better and more disciplined than I am.

So, while progress occurs with my short stories, Old Velt is stumbling along. I hope to have my schedule pretty much set in the next couple of days, so that this almost-finished novel can be finally done, edited, and ready for print and digital text.

In the meantime, I'm also continuing work with the Vein omnibus, and have possibly found somebody who may be able to do some artwork for me. That's pretty exciting, because I'd really like to see the images of the Vein come to life, particularly through somebody who has good skills with art. With me, I'd get last place in a kindergarten stick figure contest :D

For those who have recently made purchases of CLADE JOSSO, thank you very much! It was very encouraging to see a few sales made recently! I hope you enjoy the book, and invite you to continue on with us into the Vein! For those who haven't done so, as with most of my blogs, I'll include purchase links for the novel down below. Also, a big thank you to those who have bought the VIRTUAL IMAGININGS short story collection. Your purchase goes toward a good cause, and we thank you for it.

Which reminds me, I need to get reading my copy of it.

So off I go, trying to write, market, and read-oh, and I guess I could put some time in on my other job while I'm at it too ;)

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

THE SUMMONING OF CLADE JOSSO: THE FIRST DESCENT INTO THE VEIN, available at Amazon.com, and Smashwords.com

VIRTUAL IMAGININGS now in Paperback.

2009-11-09T07:21:00.000-08:00

Greetings, fellow Bearers!

Well, Old Velt is coming along, although admittedly not as quickly as I'd like. That's okay; I've been able to put some time in for some short story writing. I've got one done that I hope to share with you in the future. It was probably one of the fastest written stories I've done-and admittedly, it wasn't totally original-I gave a nod to Mr. Ray Bradbury in some of its elements. But it's being proofread, and once I get permission from the proofreader, I'll be looking for a venue in which to put it up for public consumption.

On another note, the hard copy version of the short story anthology VIRTUAL IMAGININGS is up and running on Amazon.com (AVAILABLE HERE). For those of you who prefer old fashioned paper books (like me) instead of digital text, you can get the collection of short stories put together by me and other writers in that form now. Remember, all profits go toward research for a cure for breast cancer, so it's good reading for a good cause. The idea of putting together another collection is being discussed already, and from what I hear, we've already sold quite a few copies, so that's great to hear!

Well, when next I post, I hope to be focusing more on the work in the Vein. As good as it is to do the short stories on the side, my main drive is fleshing out the continuing adventure of Old Velt. Again, a thank you to those who have purchased the book, especially for the four new purchases on smashwords! If you like the book, tell others about it!

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

Interviews and Interviews: my kind of fun!

2009-11-05T06:53:00.000-08:00

Greetings, fellow Bearers!

I have a couple of interview links for you to check out. I really like doing interviews most of the time. It's fun talking about the novel and about writing. Once you get the jitters out, it's not so bad; just pretend like you're talking to your best friend about your work-and if that doesn't help, pretend your best friend is dressed in a clown suit :) .

Here is a FACEBOOK INTERVIEW that I did for Flint talk radio last summer, archived on facebook. You get to see my ugly mugwump on camera. Bring your vomit bag if needed ;)

The second one was an inteview via Email, and will be found at the Aspiring Mangaka and Writers Club on December 29th-a nice little Christmas present for myself and for all of you.

So enjoy the interviews and get the books (Links are provided below, and at the end of every post)!

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

Buy the Summoning of Clade Josso On paperback at Amazon, For your Kindle at Amazon, or At Smashwords with multiple digital text options.

Whoops.... Call me Mr. Short-term memory....

2009-11-03T10:00:00.000-08:00

Forgot to add the link for the VIRTUAL IMAGININGS. That's what I get for trying to do too much at once. My apologies.

Okay, NOW here is the short story anthology that I've been gloating about: LINK TO VIRTUAL IMAGININGS

This is the address for the digital copy. The hard copy paperback should be available soon. I will be happy to put the heads up for it as soon as it comes through!

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

VIRTUAL IMAGININGS, a short story that includes one of my pieces, now available.

2009-11-02T06:46:00.000-08:00

Greetings, fellow Bearers!

More exciting news from the homefront! The short story anthology VIRTUAL IMAGININGS is now available on Amazon! This is an eclectic assembly of works from various authors assembled together for your enjoyment. All proceeds from this book will go toward research for a cure for breast cancer.

I had a great time helping out with this project. The other authors are very talented writers, and for me to include one of my stories in this analogy is a real honor, because the people with whom I collaborated are REALLY good writers, who know their stuff. My piece is entitled "The Accordion", a short little creepy story that was inspired by a real-life incident told to me by one of my students.

It's really amazing what kind of inspiration you can get from real life. When I first started writing, I tried to go way off the deep end in trying to get ideas. What I've learned since then is much better: all you have to do is take a situation in real life-preferably one that you have personal experience with-and "twist" the situation just a little bit. Not only do you make it easier on yourself in some ways, but you also relate to your audience a whole lot better. Stephen King and Ray Bradbury were very influential on me in that regard; they are both masters at doing this.

The other thing that helps is not growing up :D. I learned that from Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who said that he stopped growing up at eight years old. Keep that young imagination, and you'll never starve for ideas.

So check the book out and enjoy it! And like everything else: if you liked it, tell other people about it.

Well, until next time, it's back to work for me. Like a moron, I left my flashdrive with the second Vein novel on it back home (ask my wife about my amnesia-particularly when it comes to "honey-do" lists). Instead, I'm starting up another short story for one of my students. I tell ya, if you want great ideas for short stories, work in a junior high or high school for a while and get to know your students. You'll get lots of material to work with.

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

CLADE JOSSO now available on Smashwords

2009-10-29T11:00:00.000-07:00

Greetings, fellow Bearers!

I'm very excited to report that I have just updated CLADE JOSSO and have re-sent the manuscript to Amazon. But more exciting than that... wait for it... wait for it.. I'm on SMASHWORDS! Yes, that's right. THE SUMMONING OF CLADE JOSSO is now available on Smashwords for just 99 cents. For those who are unfamiliar with it, Smashwords takes book texts and supplies them in digital format for people who use computerized readers like the Sony or Kindle ones (I, unfortunately, am not quite wealthy enough to afford one; got this thing called "eating" that I have to prioritize first :D ). However, there is also an option which allows you to purchase the book and read the text directly on your PC or Mac, which is a nice alternative to have available.

At the end of this blog entry is a link to the Smashwords site. Check it out and enjoy!

In the meantime, I'm still waiting with bated breath (or is that "baited" breath? Might need some Scope) for the short story analogy to be published. Keep an eye out for VIRTUAL IMAGININGS, which is supposed to be available in both digital text and hard copy. All proceeds for the short story analogy go toward research for a cure for breast cancer, so when the book comes out, I'll link that as well so we can buy a copy for a good cause and a good read!

Well, next update will (hopefully) be in a few days. Until then, check out the Smashwords link!

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

Smashwords link: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/5338

Weekend calling...

2009-10-23T10:05:00.000-07:00

Well, didn't get a whole lot accomplished in writing this week, unfortunately. But I have been working on the re-edit of CLADE JOSSO, still cleaning it up for publication on Smashwords for the kindle owners. Hopefully, that will broaden my audience a bit as well, since Smashwords gets in with Barnes and Noble.

Inspiration comes in the funniest ways for a writer. For me as a teacher, it's the lives of my students which they share in detail with me-whether or not I want to hear it. Got another inspiration from a student who apparently has no love at all for anything scary. That's giving me some great ideas *evil grin* although horror isn't really my strongest genre.

Something I've learned about writing, though, is that if you know how to cross genres and do it tastefully, you can get a much broader audience. CLADE JOSSO is hardly a "horror novel" per se, but it does have within it elements of horror. Same with the science fiction; I'm much more comfortable labeling it as "fantasy" than science fiction, but there IS an element of scifi to it. You've got to be careful doing this, though, because if you're too scattered with your work, you'll end up attracting nobody. There's a saying that goes "A master does not do a thousand things; he does one thing a thousand times." Pick and master a particular genre, and THEN you can move on to expanding your genres.

Well, that's all for now. I'm still waiting for the votes on putting up sections of my Omnibus for perusal, but from what I've gathered from others personally, it's a good idea to do so anyway. Let me know your thoughts on this!

And now, it's time to get ready to ditch work and say hello to two days of family, fellowship, and FOOTBALL!!

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

Addendum: Our collaboration website discussion.

2009-10-20T10:51:00.001-07:00

Almost forgot-if you're curious to learn about the update of our Short Story Anthology, you can follow along with it here at http://www.kindleboards.com/index.php/topic,14396.0.html to see how it's going.

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

Writing, writing, exhaustion, and more writing.

2009-10-20T10:13:00.000-07:00

Oh man, this is what I get for working too much...

Last Saturday, I decide to go out and take care of yardwork. Good idea, right? Sure-until it leads to sinus problems :-( . Well, that's what I get for doing my house duties. Gotta shake it off and keep going.

Good news on the short story collaboration I'm involved with-the stories are collaborated! I believe the proofreader is finishing the once-over, and the cover designer put forth her ideas for the cover. It's pretty exciting, being a part of this. Not just for the exposure it will get all of us (nice though that is), but also because the proceeds will be going to a worthy cause, which is a good thing for everybody as well! The authors I'm working with are very good indie authors, and although I've not read all of their works, I get the impression (based on the postings they do) that they know how to write and write well (I don't have a kindle yet. Me too poor right now) :D

On the other hand, things have slowed down a bit for CLADE JOSSO right now; I'm trying to get my foot in the door regarding book clubs. If you happen to know of any book clubs that enjoy fantasy/scifi and have a flair for the unusual, send them my way! Again, those of you who have begun your descent into the Vein, thank you very much! Those who haven't-come on in!

By the end of this week, I should be putting up a few pieces from the Omnibus, which is being written along with the second novel of the Vein (Fish or cut bait, right?). Hopefully they'll serve to pique some interest in the distant observers of the Vein world, and draw them in to my nefarious trap!... *pause for maniacal villain laughter*

Ok... back to work.

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

C'mere, I've got a question for you...

2009-10-15T09:33:00.000-07:00

Greetings, fellow Bearers! (If you don't know what a Bearer is, you need to get a copy of CLADE JOSSO to find out! :D )

I'm working on a few side items, and would LOVE to have your input on a couple of matters.

1.) I'm in the process of putting together a sort of Omnibus of the world of the Vein. The entire Omnibus is going to take quite some time to finish (I'm going this alone for now, and at this point I don't have an artist to help me create images-believe me, you don't want to see my pitiful attempts at pictures!), but I've considered pasting finished sections of the Omnibus up for people to read. If this sounds like a good idea to you, let me know.

Which leads me to my second matter...

2.) If you or anybody you know is good at art, and you think they'd do a good job at putting to image the elements of the novel, feel free to send them my way! I'm afraid I can't pay a whole lot right now, as the book needs to sell some more copies so that I can get some $$$ to pay people for services and.... well, you know the cycle. But for those of you who have the novel, tell others about it, especially if they have artistic abilities!

Well, that's all for right now. Again, those of you who have bought the book, thank you for doing so. For those of you who haven't-what are you waiting for? Come and join us in the adventure!\

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

THE SUMMONING OF CLADE JOSSO
Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/Summoning-Clade-Josso-First-Descent/dp/1439222738

Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001S2RBFG/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=486539851&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=1439222738&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0PHS4NY392Q5Z9S7XCVD

Kindle:

New site and Exciting news!

2009-10-14T08:04:00.000-07:00

So here we are, with a new blog site! I welcome those of you who are first time visitors, as well as those of you who are carry-overs from the myspace site! I'm pleased to bring to you a new place for blogging!

How much nicer it is to have a blog site which doesn't get blocked at work! Don't worry: for those of you who are productivity-minded, I only work on this on downtime. Same with the second novel, which is getting closer and closer to being finished every day (Pause for cheers and applause).

Right now, between the next novel, the three bands I'm working with (http://myspace.com/episodicmusic, http://jasoneaton.org, and a third teacher band whose website I don't have right off the top of my head), my full time teaching job, and my family, I'm one busy fellow. Nevertheless, I will certainly keep you apprised with updates on the Vein Project, including progress on the novels, booksignings, etc.

Right now, some great news to share with you. Currently, several authors-myself included-who publish works for Kindle readers are in the process of putting together a short story anthology and putting it out for people to purchase, with all proceeds going to a charity or worthy cause (I think that we're putting the profits toward breast cancer research, which is certainly a good cause!). My submission is a short story called "The Accordion", a semi-horror story inspired by a humorous incident that happened in the life of one of my students. With her permission, I shaped what she told me and turned it into an eerie short story, which I hope you will soon be reading.

So for those of you who have purchased THE SUMMONING OF CLADE JOSSO, thank you for doing so, and keep telling others about the book! If you've not yet done so, The book is available through Amazon.com, or if you are a kindle reader, an earlier version is available through Kindle as well (The direct links are provided at the end of this blog, under my signature). And hang in there, Old Velt is on his way!

See you in the Vein!

J. Dean

The Summoning of Clade Josso: Amazon Links:

Hard copy:http://www.amazon.com/Summoning-Clade-Josso-First-Descent/dp/1439222738

Kindle:http://www.amazon.com/Summoning-Clade-Josso-descent-ebook/dp/B001S2RBFG/ref=cm_cr_pr_pb_t