So, as some of you may have noticed… but likely most of you haven't… I haven't been online and around much the last two and half weeks. I am currently being held hostage by my muse! Not that I am complaining mind you. Aside from my sleep schedule being crazy out of whack (just like torture, she wakes me up and sometimes doesn't let me sleep!), I am delighted to have Zarkina actively back in my head.
Who is Zarkina? Well, that is a loaded question! She is not my muse but then again maybe she once was. Zarkina's story is a long one and started 28 years ago when she became my first character in D&D (Dungeons & Dragons, yep I am that geeky!). Her name came about as a derivative of the Russian Czarina. Even as a kid, I was fascinated by my Russian ancestry (I am 4th generation) and I loved the way the title sounded. So, the name was born and soon the Ranger character followed. Through out the years, every edition of D&D gave Zarkina a new character sheet but her personality only matured from that of a child's mentality to one of an adult as I grew older and she grew with me. When I first got 'online,' back in 1992 on….wait for it….. AOL *cringe* I needed a username like everyone else so Zarkina made her first online appearance. Being the gamer I am, I soon found my way to MUDs (text based role-playing games on the PC) and Zarkina followed. Every game I have played, Zarkina has played with me and there are too many to list (though she can currently be found in Rift on Silkweb!).
Now Zarkina has evolved once more. Last March she started telling her story in my book Fates (preview). It was the first time I let her roam free in my head without a character sheet to guide her and boy was I surprised at what she showed me! I could not write the story down fast enough and it grew into a beast. In the end, I had to remove the last chapter and 1/2 just to find a good stopping point. Fates was never intended to be more than one book but Zarkina's tale just would not fit into one novel so the birth of Destiny is here.
Since my muse kidnapped me and Zarkina has my full attention, 16,000 +/- words have been written. This may seem like a lot to write in 2 1/2 weeks to some of you, or maybe not, but if Destiny is anything like Fates, I have a long way to go! Fates landed around 138k but I am not worried about the word count. However, it is a good gauge for my productivity.
So, to all my friends on the Goodreads boards and on Twitter… I have not forgotten you and I do miss you but until my muse is paid her ransom, which I am sure is hearing Zarkina's entire story, I won't be as active online as much.
Best Wishes until I talk to you all again!
P.S. Don't send a rescue party!
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