Character spotlight: Falconer and Sersi

His real name is Dar Macabon and he lived on the planet Chyssia as leader of the royal guard for many years. Then his team was framed for the murder of the king and they were forced to flee to protect their infant princess. Because Chyssia is where the game of Chess really originated, they were called chessmen without a king and the name stuck. They became the Chessmen, fighting to go back home.

Dar earned the name of Falconer when he rescued an injured red falcon in the mountains. But this was no ordinary bird. Her name is Sersi, a mystical falcon and very rare. Being highly intelligent and capable of speech were only the beginning with her. Sersi is an amateur spell caster and getting stronger every year. For the sake of her team she specializes in healing magics, but her combat prowess is nothing to dismiss. Her power dive comes with a peal of thunder and red lightning. She can fell a thick tree with one pass.

Dar has power over the elements and weather. He can generate storms and manipulate elements in any form. He can make earth churn like water and shape fire into anything  he can think of. He can generate micro winds for shoving people out of they way or full force hurricanes. In a major fight he prefers lightning but is highly practiced in every angle of his abilities.

When it comes to his team, Dar is deeply concerned with their innocence and the effects of being forced away from home. His leadership is firm yet caring and conscientious. Sersi is in love with him but keeps that fact well hidden, hoping to one day change form to a humanoid woman for him. Together they inspire a team loyalty that surpasses most similar hero teams.

Dar's most notable drawback is his personal guilt over what happened to his team and the situation they are in.  He feels he should have seen the whole thing coming and no one, not even Sersi, can convince him otherwise. (Avoiding spoilers, you'll just have to read Chessmen to find out.) Dar also prefers to avoid combat if possible, but he isn't afraid to deal punishment to anyone who earns it.

Falconer and Sersi in combat are a fearsome force to behold. If he doesn't have to worry about his teammates, he and Sersi can clear a battlefield of minor threats in seconds. He can obliterate heavy artillery and possibly even throw it into orbit. Both of them can fly in space with assistance of Sersi's magic and Falconer's ability to carry an aura of sustainable atmosphere with him. He can channel lightning in space, but the lack of other elements restricts his abilities.

Their dedication to the princess is stronger than any known bond and they protect her with their lives. The only thing more powerful is the drive to take her and the team back home.

Changing covers

Yes it's time for me to make some changes. I've been rehashing how I'm trying to sell my books and I've gathered some tips. Fact is, even if you are a respected or reputable artist, you need to know a few things about how layouts are done. You also need your cover to accurately convey your story. It also helps if it doesn't look like a child drew it. I've come to the decision that the critics I recently spoke to must be right. So it's time to make changes and recirculate. On top of that I will be adding quite a bit of extra advice like setting up a mail list. I have some ideas for it and I will be looking to make getting my email a fun thing to do.

As for the covers, well, let's take a look at the first novel of the GZ series, Chessmen.

I've realized that the problems are almost too many to list. My book isn't about Chess rather a royal guard of a distant planet. They come to be called "Chessmen".  They are heroes. That's what I do. Heroes. I wanted a near comic book appeal for the story while accenting the planet they are from. Well, I should have sought more advice at someplace like KBoards.com a long time ago. Still I will with this new cover.

Well, what do you think of it? I'm hoping that showing two actual characters from the book will make it clearer what they reader is getting into. I'm quoting a reader in a blurb at the bottom. I think that should be okay. It has the comic appeal I'm going for and simplifies. I'll be looking for what people think of it. Do you like it? Is it appealing? Tell me your thoughts in comments.

More teasing on the board game!

As most of you know, I've been busting butt to put together this board game. Plans are still in high gear and it all looks very promising. Today is a special treat. You get to see the cards and what they do, but only a few of them. Nothing is finalized yet in how they look except for one thing. Recently I took votes on doing the artwork with or without borders on the cards. It wasn't overwhelming for one side over an another but a decision has been made. The cards will not have black borders. They will be 'open' in their artwork. I think that will allow me to make the artwork bolder and have it overflow in unique fashion. One thing you can be sure of and that's lots of color.

As a little recap on how the game is played. You start out by picking good or evil as your side of the balance. You get a character type and goal given to you at random. The first person to complete their goal is the winner! But how does this happen? Well, you make moves on the board and every time you make a move you reveal a card from the top of the main deck. Whatever jumps out at you is what you have to deal with. Today, I show you just a few things that will jump out of that deck at you. Ready?

EVENTS: An event is something that can affect everyone or just you. Either way, they shake up game play often. One of the craziest events is the Reality Warp. Reality Warp makes you roll a dice for every card you have to risk it vanishing into the aether. The only things you don't lose are your personal character type and your goal. Everything else is fair game. It's just one of the many things that can change the whole game in the blink of an eye.

TRAPS: Walking into a trap is never fun. You'll have to roll your d20 often to escape them. But some traps can work in your favor. Some traps will hurt other players if they are close enough to you on the board. Take the Explosive device for example. Sure, you get hurt, but so does everyone else. If you goal is to cause damage to other players (<spoiler!) this could be a win, unless it kills you of course.

POWERS: Hoping to get stronger as you travel the board? You may get a power while you are out wandering that helps out your game. Beware, everything is easy come easy go, so make sure you make good use while you can.

ITEMS: Don't you wish people would quit littering the universe? You never know what you'll find out there. Maybe some body armor or a sword? Who knows. But items are geared to make you stronger against the threats you'll face.

ARTIFACTS: While hard to get your hands on, artifacts can make you powerful and even complete a goal (<spoiler!). They can allow you to cast powerful spells or just bump up your numbers.

Then there's the Characters and Beasts that come out at you. Depending on your alignment of good or evil, you will either fight or recruit them as allies. There will be more on them later. I hope this whets your appetite for game play. Stay tuned because there will be more to come! Remember to click on the pictures for a closer view!

Character Spotlight: Durgan of the Iron Hand

When Durgan the Minotaur got ticked off at an army of warrior demons, he didn't stop fighting until all of them were dead. That took him more than a few days to accomplish but it earned him the status of legend in cosmic eyes.

Brahmakar, the god of Minotaurs declared Durgan of the Iron hand to be a legend and blessed him. No single source of damage may harm him twice in 24 hours. So, if you want to throw down with that Minotaur, you better have a lot of weapons or hit hard enough to shatter mountains. Durgan doesn't go down easily at all.

Durgan stands over 8 feet all covered in rippling muscle. His horns have pierced the armor of tanks and never broken. He can toss 40-50 tons with ease.

His metal hand is magically indestructible and breaks about anything it hits. How he lost that hand is an unknown story as of yet. Maybe he'll tell it in Chessmen 2 (in writing stage now).

Durgan travels with another legend, a Faerie named Lorelei. The two are the best of friends. Sometimes it seems like she serves as his conscience or adviser, but she likes to just bug him a lot of the time.

Durgan knows little in the way of fear or restraint and is low on patience. It's best to be short and direct about what you want with him. Boring him is never a good idea. As a hero, Durgan hard to figure out. It seems more like he reacts to his own rage over what the bad guys happen to be doing, but Lorelei helps him a lot with that. Lorelei longs for the days they were known adventurers. Those days slowed and stopped because Durgan didn't feel challenged anymore.

In Chessmen 2, he and Lorelei will be joining the fight to help the Chessmen.

Character Spotlight: Major Xeroh

Major Bjonn Xeroh (Zero) is is from the planet Ruwano, just like Viro. He's loud, boisterous and over confident. In equality to those traits, he's also a major dork. Fortunately for the good Major, he has great power to back it all up. Viro thinks he's a blowhard, but it's unknown if Viro knows they come from the same planet.

The Major left his planet to escape constant misuse of his powers. He didn't want to be part of Ruwano's violent military force or experiments. He wanted a more noble purpose and found it on Chyssia. People weren't sure what to make of the man who never shows his face, but his cheerful attitude won them over. As for never showing his face, the Major is a military deserter on Ruwano and wanted for trial. That's something, even his closest friends don't know about him. Now he's devoted to the Chessmen and woe to anyone who would harm their child princess.

Major Xeroh's power is the source of his awesome confidence. You'd be confident too if you were a cumulative mimic like him. What does that mean? Not only can he use all the powers of his friends, except Messiah; but he can use the cumulative strength, speed and reflexes of everyone within 50 or so yards of him. What does that mean exactly?

Take ten men who can all bench press 300 pounds. Put the Major near them and he can instantly bench press 3000 pounds. If all those men can run 20 mph, the Major can run 200. You literally add the specifics of all those men together, but there's more. When Major Xeroh mimics abilities, he also enhances them by about 25% so he's even faster, stronger, and more agile than before. He can also control what powers he uses, and never uses a power that would change his shape. The more people you send at him, the more powerful he becomes.  So how do you beat a guy like that?

Major Xeroh cannot mimic academics. Magic users have a distinct edge against him and heavy weaponry can hurt too (unless he's already too powerful). The trick is not to mob him at all. One attacker with the right weaponry or knowledge in combat could outfight or outwit the Major. He has his own strength and agility that is residual of using his powers for years and allows him to fly in space, but that's considerably less than it could be if a whole force attacks him.

Major Xeroh revels in being a hero and doesn't mind letting everyone know that fact. The last thing that makes others around him curious is the eye lens. It's actually a scanner that shows him people,s powers and lets him see where people are who might be hiding in the bushes.

While his loud attitude may be annoying, he's possibly one of the most powerful of the Chessmen and a great ally.

Character Spotlight: The Falconer

Dar Macabon, the Falconer, is the stoic leader of the Chessmen. He earned his name when he became spiritually bonded to his friend Sersi, the falcon. He served as the leader of the Chyssian Royal Guard for several years before his team was framed for the king's murder.

Duty and honor are everything. That's why he'll give his life to protect the infant princess or hopefully give her home back to her one day. When someone told him his crew was like chessmen without a king, the name stuck. He decided they would be known as the Chessmen. As it turns out, Chess (or Chyss as it's called on Chyssia) is a training game for the Royal Guard. So the name had further reason to stick.

Falconer is a lord class elemental. He can control weather patterns and elements at will. He can even convert one element into another at molecular levels. He can shape stone, throw lightning, ignite objects, or dissolve them into air. He can summon tornadoes and hurricanes or just a lazy afternoon breeze. Being deeply in tune with nature, Falconer can feel it if so much as a twig is snapped on a nearby tree. Falconer can fly but cannot exist in the vacuum of space without assistance. Falconer is also an adept hand to hand combatant.

He prefers to learn as much as he can before fighting if possible. Unfortunate events have tested his resolve sorely since having to flee Chyssia. Like his crew, he's been pushed the limits by constant attempts on his and the princess's life.

As the leader of the Chessmen, Falconer has earned the loyalty of his crew by being loyal to them. There isn't one member of his team he wouldn't stand by in the most terrible of situations. This seems especially true when it comes to his friend, Helshred. Helshred, the Teri-Moor was the one officially framed in the murder of the king. Falconer knows better and will not stop short of death to prove it.

As a trivial fact; Falconer's eyes are blue, but they change in shade due to how he's feeling. The darker they get, the more you should worry.

Falconer won't rest until it's finally safe to take the princess back home.

Character Spotlight: Songcutter

Don't let the fact that he's blind fool you. Songcutter has the mystical senses to catch you off guard. When the Chessmen land on the planet of Timbak, they meet Songcutter and his giant friend, Yxee (eYix-ee). Becoming good friends, Songcutter helps the Chessmen protect their infant Princess.

This man is a bard. Bards use magic to cast amazing and powerful spells. Each chooses their own instrument but they can sound like a whole orchestra if necessary. Songcutter has a very unique instrument in the songsword. The songsword works as it is swung or angled through the air. It's possible to cast a spell in the midst of a sword duel! Isn't that cheating? Not according to Songcutter. His spells even a lot of odds against multiple enemies.

His bardic prowess is not his first defense of choice. The people of Timbak are well known for their martial arts mastery in what they call Shikitsu (She-keet-sue). Songcutter isn't a Grandmaster, but close enough!  His chi is powerful enough shake the ground fifty feet away.

His senses allow him to handle life and moving around better than sighted people do. He can sense the use of magic within about a mile. He can sense the change in energy nearby when someone is about to appear due to teleportation or magic. No one on Timbak can sneak up on him and it's been tried. Arrows fare little better as he catches them or swats them out of the air. Not only can he hear the twang of the bow from a hundred yards away; he can hear the entire flight of the arrow as it draws in close. He also has a mild sense for the presence of evil.

When things get really lively and there are lots of enemies around, Songcutter has one more weapon at his disposal; a laughing ninato sword. The laughing ninjato is a straight martial sword that is magically animated. It can fly through the air and attack opponents of your command. While doing this, it fills the air with an eerie cackling laughter to un-nerve your enemies. When done with it, command it back into its scabbard and you're on your way. And no, the laughter doesn't interfere with Songcutter's senses.

Songcutter and Yxee are the guardians of a small village that takes in the Chessmen. They're peaceful until threatened, loyal and trustworthy. Songcutter and his village are willing to risk their life for a Princess they had nothing to do with.

Character Spotlight: Sersi, the Mystic Falcon

Sersi is the magical friend and partner to the Falconer, leader of the Chessmen. Her magical prowess and aerial combat ability have served and saved too many times to mention.

Sersi is highly intelligent and capable of communication through telepathy with anyone she wishes. Most of the time she talks to Falconer, who she has a secret love for. Her intelligence takes opponents by surprise as she can quickly out-think or out-maneuver most. She's also an adept mage with a limited number of spells. She primarily uses her magical skills to heal but she has a decent arsenal of combat spells.

Like any falcon, Sersi is deadly fast. In a dive she can break 250 miles per hour until she casts her dive spell. At that point she becomes a red thunderbolt that can knock down even large targets. She also uses her magic to enhance an attack with her razor sharp talons. That attack has been known to pierce armor. She can cast a force field spell that covers a small area and anyone within. Sersi is always trying to improve her magic.

Sersi loves Falconer very much, but her magic is only strong enough to let her show it in his dreams. He has no idea it's her. Sersi hopes to one day master her magic enough to transform into a beautiful woman. Until that time, she is with him everywhere he goes.

For the Chessmen, Sersi is scout, healer and air support. You can read all about her in Chessmen: Opening Moves available on Amazon and Kindle. Catch the link in the upper right to my author's page!

Character Spotlight: Tick Tock

 

Don't let the strange name or friendly face fool you. Tick Tock is about as deadly and cunning as they come.

No one knows his real name, how he got his powers or where he comes from. Yet, he makes quite an impact with everyone he meets. Tick Tock works for Victor Darksong and the mercenary team, The Darksiders.

If you look into his eyes, you'll see fractured realities reflected in them. He carries a clock staff that he made himself. It has more than one odd effect for in or out of battle. His blue robes act as strong armor, absorbing some of the strongest blows while flowing like silk.

Tick Tock's most incredible ability is that he literally cannot be stopped from anywhere he wants to go. He moves through walls, protective spell barriers, and people as easily as the air. This is because he exists on multiple dimensional planes at the same time. He can shift himself between them at will to go where he pleases. This can also make it difficult to put your hands on him. There's no such thing as keeping Tick Tock out of anywhere. He can also warp realities around him for devastating area effects and damage.

His greatest enjoyment is his trap clocks. He builds them for all manner of terrible events. He builds them to explode, cast spells or merely capture. After dealing with his inventions, you'll never pick up a shiny looking watch next to the road again. He takes great pleasure in the building of his time pieces. Just look around you on any given day and see how many clocks you can count, even digital ones. Then think about none of them ever being innocent time pieces again.

Tick Tock  carries special rank with the Darksiders. Only Victor can give him orders. None of the others dare to make suggestions to the old man. They are far too afraid of him. They worry that he'll shunt them into another nightmare dimension and not bring them back.

There are rumors that he is the distant future and evil version of the hero, Dimension Man, but this has never been confirmed. As of writing this, the two of them have never met.

Tick Tock is one of the villains in my novel, Chessmen: Opening Moves! See the link to my author's page above right to find out how to get your hands on it! (Click on images for larger view)

Character Spotlight: Viro of the Chessmen!

With the long null state that this blog wound up taking, I thought long and hard about how to manage my time and still bring good things here for you. Well, I think you'll enjoy the Character Spotlights, giving you and inside view to the characters of GZ. Today, we're looking in on a member of the Chessmen. You can check out his adventures in my novel, Chessmen: Opening Moves. It's available on Amazon. (Click on images for larger view)

Yes, that pic is of Viro, but he didn't always look that way. Viro was an astronaut sent on a mission to investigate a new energy source on a distant star. Unfortunately, the energy turned out to be a strange radiation that overtook his ships controls. As the radiation flooded his craft, he was headed for a nasty crash landing. Overwhelmed, he blacked out.

The next time  he opened his eyes, he was surprised to find out that he still lived. While his own people were unable to save him, another race of beings was nearby. The Cyborians had nothing to fear from the radiation so they intercepted his craft with a powerful tractor beam and pulled him to safety. But the damage had been done. In order to save his life, he had to be put in a containment suit. They warned him, should that suit be breached, the intensity of what he had become, could wipe out all life on any given planet. The very thought made him wish he hadn't been saved at all.

Viro couldn't return to his people. He preferred that they believe him to be dead. So he took to wandering the spaceways, trying to figure out what to do with himself. In his travels, he discovered that he could force some of his viral power out of his suit and  that it would do whatever he commanded. This made him think that there was some better purpose for him. He just needed to find it. Eventually, he came across the planet, Chyssia and befriended a member of the Royal Guard named, Haley. He joined the Royal Guard and now, with the Chessmen, fights to protect their orphaned Princess.

The viruses Viro can emit will literally do almost anything he can think of. He can dissolve solid steel into a puddle. He can override the computers of a starship. He can even heal wounds or possibly regrow someone's missing limb. Even with all the practice he has had, Viro is still working out all the things he can do. His only limit is his energy levels. At times, he must rest and recharge. He is sustained by energies of the universe around him or by dissolving items with his power to absorb.

Viro's containment suit is a powerful suit of armor. It can withstand heavy damage and gives him some extra strength. He can fly through space and lift a thousand pounds.

While his face can be seen inside the green fog within his helmet, it is thought that there is very little left of his original body. Some think what he's been through is why he's so sarcastic and surly in nature. Haley will say not to let it fool you. Underneath it all, Viro is a caring person and devoted to the Chessmen and the Princess completely. Of course, if you ask him, he'll tell you he's often annoyed with the antics of Chessmen member, Major Xeroh.

While you won't find a more serious member of the Chessmen,  you won't find one more unshakable in purpose either.

Spotlight: Helshred

Helshred is a member of the Chessmen and in my novel of the same Chess name. He's a character who's bound to get your sympathy vote and amaze you at the same time. I never realized just how much this would be true until I had a couple people read the story.

Helshred is a Teri-Moor, a race of beings with 3 eyes, four strong arms, and prehensile tail. In his picture you can see a jagged scar on his head. It's because of that scar, Helshred remembers nothing of his past before the Chessmen.

Helshred was found on a mountainside by Falconer, leader of the Royal Guard. Helshred's gauntlets were found to be permanent in nature; bonded to him. Once conscious he could only say what seems to be his name. He can say a few more words than that now.

Helshred proves to be a very special member of the team as they run in order to protect the infant Princess. At anytime, the Teri-Moor is ready to leap into battle with those intimidating blades and a shout of his name. I don't want to give away too much about Helshred, so to learn more you'll have to read the book and I'm seeking agents soon.

Spotlight: The Teri-Moors

I didn't intend on Teri-Moors to become one of my major alien races, but there is growing interest in them, thanks to Chessmen. I actually made them as a cousin race to the Orcanians and they are very similar in several ways. The Orcanians are for another time, though. Today, it's all about the Teri-Moors.

As you can see from illustrations, Teri-Moors have three eyes, pointed ears, four arms and a tail in addition to a muscular build. They have no hair anywhere on their bodies and their eyes have a silvery hue in addition to any other colors. They are a space age cousin to the Elves, but they don't go out of their way to claim any kinship. They prefer to keep to themselves. They aren't part of any alliances and were at war with the Orcanians for many generations.

Teri-Moors are pretty strong, as in lifting small cars strong. They can easily wield a weapon in each hand over a hundred pounds. Their tails are prehensile, giving them the same ability as their hands. So it's not uncommon to see a Teri-Moor in combat with five weapons going. You might think that's hard to concentrate on, not for them. Thanks to how those three eyes are positioned, Teri-Moors have excellent eyesight with broadened peripheral vision. Their hearing is even better. Finally, there's one more thing that makes a troop of Teri-Moors especially dangerous; teleportation.

The trinity of these races; Teri-Moors, Orcanians, and Perithins are all long range teleporters. All of them train excessively in using their teleportation and other attributes in combat. Teri-Moors are especially brutal warriors. All males are expected to be able to take up arms and fight. Females can fight too, but they do so closer to home so they can protect children and elderly.

In technology they have starship capabilities but none of the major technologies (Dimensional, Time, Reality, Genetic). Even so, they have a fair armada of ships. It's not their ships attackers should worry about anyway, it's being boarded. Thanks to the extra arms and tail with heavy training, Teri-Moors are easily able to take on multiple opponents. They actually consider being outnumbered quite funny.

The leader of their race is a Chieftan with several Chief's under him to govern various tribes. Religiously, Teri-Moors have abandoned religion because the god they had used them for bloodsports with two other gods. Any weapons or documents of those times are sealed and outlawed.

As you can see, I have a few characters and if you peruse my fan page or deviant art page you can learn more about them. Perhaps they'll get their own spotlight soon? I'll take requests.

Guest Artist: Brian Rogers!

Known best as Labguyinwa on Deviantart.com, Brian is my first official guest artist for Galaxy Zento. He perused my characters and something about Victor Darksong said, "hey, try me!". And let me tell you, you can see the result. We have hopes of another artist jumping in to do inks, but that's for another time. Brian did a great job of making Victor look grim and gruesome. Victor is also one of the villains from my Chessmen novel. How fitting a first is that?

But enough about that, more about Brian! Brian is an artist of many talents. He's been doing the art thing since 1980 and been on Deviantart for two years.

He does professional caricatures, comic strips, and various other comic art. He writes a strip called "North by Northwest". You can check out his work HERE (there is one naked elf so mature notice just to be on the proper side). As you can see, Brian is a family guy with a dedication on page to his lovely wife, Michelle. His favorite part of doing his art is any inspiration he can give to youth.

Now, I'm going to hand out hint and promo here. As I write this, he's doing a sale on black and white caricatures for ten bucks each! You can contact him at labguyinwa@gmail.com! So, if you would like to get one for your loved ones this holiday, now's your chance! Here's the link to his caricatures folder HERE!

Now, finally, I post my version of Victor Darksong so you can see both of them. Big thanks to Brian for being the first guest artist!

Now, how about you? Can you do my characters? Pencils? Inks? Colors? Waterpaint? What ever you got, show me! Whether you want to get in for fun or show me how it's done, the guest artist project remains open! Any medium is fine from crayons to acrylics! I only ask that there are no adult themes. Contact me about any character info you want to know. Just peruse through my characters and see which one challenges you to draw him or her! Dirty secret: I have the most trouble drawing the ladies *shrug*. See my characters at the facebook fan page or my Deviantart page.

Who will I get to write about next? Will it be you?

Chessmen sample!

Here is a portion of Chapter one of Chessmen: Dangerous Moves. I hope you enjoy it.

The Queen of planet Chyssia is dead. She died in childbirth while her infant girl survived. The humble and peaceful people of the planet were wrought with grief. The Queen was loved greatly amongst her subjects and her death came as a great shock. Nothing would sooth this pain for some time. Even the proud beauty of their world; the luminous grasses and high red mountains, could offer no comfort or peace.

The Falconer has served proudly as leader of the Royal Guard for two generations. He stood just outside the door with the King, while the Queen labored. When the Chancellor came out to report her death, the Falconer had to catch his King who crumpled toward the floor. As his beloved monarch cried and asked how this could be, it pained him to have no answer. Falconer’s mind raged in turmoil.

He went to the top of the highest spire of the castle, where he took time to think and reflect. This was, to him, the most peaceful place in all the kingdom. He could gaze out upon the beauty of the land and clear his mind. This time, the mind clearing wouldn’t be so easy. There were things that didn’t make sense about the Queen’s death, but Falconer couldn’t put a finger on it. The Chancellor had reported her death as natural from complications in child birth. Despite those findings, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something evil was involved. So he needed to think and think hard. It had now been three days since her death and he felt like the clock was ticking toward some horrible event. He took a deep breath and closed his silvery eyes. He felt the wind course through his ash white hair and press against his chest. Up there, he could let go of everything and just be one with the air and sky. In his mind, he only saw the smile of the Queen and the face of the infant Princess. He breathed deep and hoped for some answer to come to him, but it was only the sound of the wind. His eyes snapped open as he felt a pair of small feet land on his shoulder. Sharp talons rested against thick black cloth but didn’t pierce through. His spirit-mate, Sersi, nudged his right temple with her beak.

“You still fretting?” she said in his mind.

“Yes,” he answered aloud, not even thinking about their psychic bond. He stared out over the countryside.

“It’s a terrible tragedy, I know. But we don’t have any proof of our suspicions. Shouldn’t we concentrate on protecting the ones that are left?”

“Sersi, you are right, as usual. I just needed to clear my head. We should get back down there now.”

She fluttered away from his shoulder, “See you there!” and she dove fast toward the courtyard below. Few creatures anywhere are as fast as a falcon in a dive. Sersi dropped like a missile toward the ground below. In only a second or so, she spread her wings and lightly landed on the head of a statue in the courtyard. She made flying look ridiculously easy. Sersi craned her neck to look up and watch Falconer.

Falconer gazed down at the courtyard, hundreds of feet below and let go of the pole he stood by. He and Sersi were no strangers to heights. For that matter, no one in the castle was. The entire royal palace was built into the high cliffs of the red mountains. It could only be reached by airship. Falconer leaned forward and let his body yield to gravity. Air rushed past as he sped toward the ground head first. His clothes rustled and wind filled his ears. The courtyard below grew quickly in visual size. The rounded stones of the courtyard floor seemed to reach for him as he plummeted. With a few yards before impact he slowed, turned his body and gently landed on his feet.

“Always catching yourself at the last second,” Sersi chuckled.

“It’s good practice for the reflexes,” Falconer replied, “And as I remember, it’s a trick you taught me. Come, let’s go and check on the King.” He held out his left arm and Sersi fluttered down and landed on it.

Writing and rewriting

It's a constant process. You may get all the way through your writing project and realize some portion needs a total rewrite. Maybe the opening isn't working for you or something just doesn't match up to the character. Either way, rewriting is a necessity in all writers' lives.

Currently, thanks to having a couple people to read and critique, I've discovered that the opening to the Chessmen, just doesn't work. It doesn't have enough of a hook to keep the reader into it. The idea was sound and makes sense, but I've likely just chosen the wrong place for it. So, it's back to the drawing board for the opening. Not too much trouble really. I know what I'm going to do.

What I did, was explain what Chess means to the planet Chyssia. As I've discovered, explanations as openers just don't cut it. Not enough action and not enough of any hint to what's coming in the real story.

What your writing has to grab a reader from page one. The very first sentence can make or break you. Well, maybe more like the first paragraph or page, but you get the point. Of course you have to consider your audience and what they may be looking for. People who want romances aren't necessarily looking for an opener with someone fleeing down a hallway in stark terror (unless that's what the story involves, of course).

That's the bottom line, what is your story and what emotions do you want to convey? How can you stir up your reader and keep them interested? So that's where my rewriting is. I am about to go through my book again to look for derailments and fix the opener. That's the process of writing. You tweak it until you get it right.

Soon, I'm going to go into another series of characters that deserve attention to explain how interaction gave birth to many new characters. I also want to do something interactive with my universe to get people involved. The idea for this came from that other group of characters.

Till then, be sure to visit the fan page for Galaxy Zento! New art posted there daily! And, as always, support autism education and awareness.

The Chessmen novel

When the Chyssia Royal Guard are framed for the murder of their king, they have no choice but to flee. Falconer knows that the real killer will also take the life of the infant princess. In order to save the princess and possibly his whole world, he must regroup the scattered Royal Guard, face mercenaries and assassins, and find out the truth behind a plot bigger than his home world could ever know.

That's The Chessmen and, as you can see from the illustration, it's pretty serious in Falconer's world. The plan currently is a series of books on the Chessmen and what they do in order to clear their names and save their entire solar system. Yeah, more than just their planet is at risk. You don't want me to tell you everything right here do you?

I've completed the first book which is a small novel but only the tip of the iceberg. Work on layout for the second book is underway now.

So, who do you see in this picture? Well, you see Falconer diving from an airship to rescue the Princess. Above him circles his friend, a mystic falcon named Sersi.

In the Zento universe, Falconer is what's called a "lord class" elemental. That means he has control over weather patterns and elements. He can generate fire or freezing air at mental command. He can control the shape of stone and wood too. Sersi is highly intelligent and knows a few spells as well as a couple of very special aerial combat maneuvers. At the Zento fan page on Facebook, you can see illstrations of several characters from The Chessmen.

The title is yet also under consideration. Currently we are considering "Chessmen: Dangerous Moves" but who knows? Galaxy Zento: The Chessmen is also a possibility.

There will be far more to come out of the Zento universe than just the Chessmen. There are lots of stories, both short and novels in the works. Who are the Chessmen going to meet? Well, you'll just have to stay tuned to eventually find out!