Tools of the trade...

Top image: If a character hasn't come to life for me, sometimes I have to sketch them out. I made a quickie character card and tried to flesh out Aidan's friend Robby, and then later, Merewen.

2nd image: 3 cool things on this page. First, in the midst of a manuscript, invariably logic problems arise--if Aidan was in Yewland on Monday, how can he possibly be in the Blue Mountains by Tuesday? That kind of thing. Some problems are more vexing than others, but I write them down either way. Otherwise, I'll forget, and the story suffers.

Then, you'll notice that I had a huge problem with my chief villain. Initially, I had given him the name "One of pure light," which in the old language would be "Paracrist." But a smart friend pointed out that having ANYTHING that even remotely sounded like Jesus…associated with the villain is a BAD IDEA. Whew, glad I have smart friends. Where was my brain? You can see me struggling with every root and medieval sounding alternative. But, as you see, Paragor won out. Funny how now, it seems like it could not be anything else.

And finally, see the little drawing of Pennath Ador, the mountains of glory. This is my favorite rendering of that icon of the story. I have a wonderful friend who actually commisioned a silversmith to fashion a lapel pin with those mountains on it.