The Faran Chronicles

Just a quick notice: I updated the glossary with new items. You can read it here . I will be continuing to add new things as I continue writing, so make sure to check back.

Population: 9,540 (As of the opening of The Messenger) Population Diversity Breakdown: 41% Human, 29% Elves, 12% Gray, 8% Orcan, 10% Other Located on the western coast of Amroin, Vivaldi was one a booming fishing village. It hides along a bay hidden behind a set of large stone cliffs, with a large inlet through the cliffs being the only way to reach the Magge Sea. A jetty reaching out to the sea makes traversing through the gap fairly easy for most seagoing vessels, and the bay is relatively calm thanks to the cliffs protecting it from the weather. The town is protected by a pair of batteries atop the cliffs on either side of the gap, occupied by Amroin military. The long range guns have seen some action taking on Ogsan forces as of late, but has managed to either sink or chase off any ships that dare come within range. Because of the height of the cliffs, the batteries have a far greater range than any ships wishing to take them out, and thus has been highly successful in wa...

The Messenger Chapter Three: Extra Hands In this world I had very little left to smile about.   With the war ongoing and my busy schedule delivering what messages I could, chances to actually sit down and enjoy the company of others was a luxury. Dinner at the Dunahan household was one of the few enjoyable things left for myself. With it brought forth a sense of comfort to a situation where neither I nor my hosts, both big and small, had but little. After a quick prayer of thanks, we ate our fill, though most of the meal was spent answering the children’s questions about my recent travels. Not that I minded, I was more than happy to stoke their imaginations with the wonders of the world. They listened admirably, the places I told of sparking smiles of wonder amidst even Marian’s usually solemn face. But, it was at the suggestion of Montre that I relay a particular story that evening, one that I had heard many times in my travels. This particular story was oddly rel...

Name : Marian Danahan Race : Elf Sex : Female Age : 14 Description Marian, or Mary as she is occasionally called, is the spitting image of her mother, with similarly silver hair, though she keeps hers at a much more manageable shoulder-length. She has dark brown eyes, which to some are almost perpetually glaring at things she doesn't like. Overview The oldest child of the Danahan family still living at home with their mother, Noniea, Marian sees herself as being in charge over the rest of her siblings. She can be rather bossy at times, and is skeptical about her younger sibling's actions, even when they're just playing. That doesn't mean that she can't have fun, but she is typically less sociable than the rest of her family. Most of her alone time is spent sketching in her notebook, or reading one of the few library books she's managed to borrow. It doesn't happen often, mostly because she is quite busy helping her mother. She's smart, ...

Name : Noniea Danahan Race : Elf Sex : Female Age : Late 60s Description The widowed mother of eight children. Though she is in her late sixties, she looks as though she were in her early thirties, a common trait with elves. Noniea is hard working soul whom has been working almost nonstop in order to support her family. Noniea has long, silver hair which she normally fixes in a braid. She also has purplish blue eyes, which is unique to her, a trait she has not passed to any of her children. Her elven heritage keeps her pale skin youthful, with small, barely visible freckles on her cheeks. She typically dresses in long, heavy dresses thanks to their coastal living, which can get chilly even during the daytime. Her lifestyle does not afford her anything very extravagant, so much of her clothing has been either hand sewn or heavily repaired. Overview Noniea is a normally quiet person, and some would consider her shy at first meeting. However, once she gets to know you ...

If things looks different now, it's because I tweaked a few settings. I think it looks nicer. Nothing to do with the book or progress, but worth mentioning.

So yesterday I posted the second chapter of the Messenger, and there's a particular location featured in it referred to as the house on Hilstberry Hill. It is the home of the Danahan's, which is somewhat run down since the passing of certain events that took place in the first chapter (no spoilers!) Anyway, I had been sitting on this sketch for a month or two of the Danahan's residence, and I thought now would be a good time to present it. Here it is below: Now, this isn't the best sketch I've done, but it is pretty decent considering the first quick sketch I posted since first acquiring a sketch pad for my computer. The majority of the detail is on the house itself. Everything else in the picture is sort of drawn in with broad strokes, and only there to give you somewhat an idea of what the place is like. The only thing that it's really missing is their barn, which would be on the right hand side of the image just behind the house. Anyway, this small...

While I won't be participating this year on account of needing to focus on The Messenger  and my growing family, I'm always one to give a plug to this event. NaNoWriMo is something I've done almost every year since 2005, and I have the crappy, half written manuscripts to prove it. That said, it's loads of fun for aspiring novelists, and I would recommend doing it even if you decide to start now. I'm mean, it's only the 2nd. You still have 28.3 days to finish a 50,000 word novel. If you want more information, or are wanting to write your own novel, you can head on over to NaNoWriMo.org . Happy writing!

A second chapter appears! Yes, for reals, I have another chapter for your reading pleasure. I know it's sudden considering I haven't done a progress report in a while, but I thought it wasn't going to hurt putting out a little bit more book. Remember, if you have any comments, feel free to leave them below.

Name : Mercher Channing (Alias) Race : Human Sex : Male Age : Mid 30s Description Mercher stands at around six feet in height, having a fit build. He has shaggy brown hair and green eyes. Usually sporting a full beard, Mercher will occasionally trim himself up when the tools to do such is available, which with his profession is rare. He has a singular style of clothing, wearing a brown leather long coat with hood. While he usually leaves the hood down, he will use it during heavy rain or snow. This coat not only keeps him warm, but provides him with a number of pockets which he uses to keep his correspondence dry. He never uses backpacks or messenger bags, as this allows him to have ease of movement during travel. Overview Mercher is a highly skilled wanderer, who operates as a messenger on the island nation of Amroin, particularly in the northern regions. He is proficient with reading and writing, a rare talent for wanderers, which makes his talents even more desira...

So as you probably could tell there's not much going on here at the moment. Well, there's been a lot going on in my household as if late. At the beginning of the month we had our oldest daughter going back to school, which made things busy in and of itself. Normally after a few days we get back into the school routine, and she's been doing great getting up on time and behaving in classes, so that's great. Not really that much of a hindrance, but still takes a little getting used to. We've got bigger problems to deal with. But then we had our son's second birthday. I mean, we didn't plan anything extravagant. He's two. He's not going to remember a whole lot of it. We were just planning to have some family over and give him presents and a bowl of Skittles instead of cake. (In case you're horrified over the cake thing, he HATES cake for some reason.) But while this plan was supposed to happen on the 16th so more people could show up, we ended up...

So here we have an excerpt from the Messenger. This is the first chapter of the book, which I figure is as good a place to start as any. Please enjoy.

The third chapter is currently in the works. "What's taking so long?" You might ask. Well, for one I've been fairly busy in my home life lately, as I have child number 4 about ready to come any day now. We've been cleaning, moving furniture, buying baby things... all of which has taken priority over most other things. As such, progress has been slow going. However, over the weekend I was able to get a massive project out of the way at home thanks to the help of some family. So I may have time to get a good deal of work done in the evenings at home now. Stay tuned for some content updates aside from these rather sporadic progress reports, perhaps even a sketch or two. I may even sample the first chapter. Anyway, stay tuned!

Yes, that's right, the SECOND chapter is complete!

So I haven't gotten a lot of work done lately. Been pretty busy with trying to do work around the house and getting ready for baby #4. So no news as of progress. However, here's a quick sketch of a creature/thing that's featured in the Messenger, which I did in maybe five minutes as a test of a drawing pad. It's not the greatest I've ever done by far, but it gets the point across I think.

Okay, so I was off by a day, but I finally finished the first chapter. It's mostly just a slightly tweaked version of my fourth draft, though it has many spelling and grammar corrections, slight dialog alterations, and about a page less than the previous draft. If you don't mind though, I'm heading for bed. It's been a long night.

After a short family vacation, I'm back at it. Managed to squeeze in a whole page on lunch today. As I do this more often I should be able to get in more per day. Hoping to finish the first chapter by tomorrow.

Got a full page in on my lunch! Woohoo!

Not much work has been done on this over the weekend, but not for lack of trying. I swear everything comes up the moment you want to really commit to finishing a project like this. Hoping to get a good amount done on my lunch today. If I get lunch today.

Actual work on chapter one done. How much done? Not much, but the way things have been for me lately any progress is good progress.

Added a glossary. Still under construction, but you can use it to get an idea as to what the world of Farah is like. You can read it by clicking here , or by using the link in the menu bar to the left. Enjoy!

Wouldn't you know the moment I started this blog I'd start having problems in real life that would keep me from getting any work done on this? For two days I've had things keep popping up that have kept me from working on my book, from computer and kid issues at home to work issues. I barely managed to have time to write the previous post before something came up that halted all other progress. I'm exhausted, I'm irritated, and I'm having a hard time focusing. A real winner of a start, no? Hopefully I can get a few paragraphs tonight in before I crash completely.

The Messenger is a book I've been working on for a very long time. I've worked on it longer than my kids have existed. I've worked on it before I even got married. To say it's been a long time coming is somewhat of an understatement. Some people have read parts of it over the years, and I've always seems to get positive feedback from them, but I haven't ever gotten around to... well... finishing it. Since I've started there has been different versions, different beginnings, different endings, added and altered scenes, but the core of the story has been pretty much the same. It is a very personal story for the main character, Mercher, as well as for myself. It's a story of loss, of personal guilt, of faith, and the unknown. There are a lot of adventure aspects to it, but they are not the focus. The story is told almost exclusively from Mercher's perspective, as he is tasked with delivering a message that could save thousands of lives. Along the wa...

The time has come where I commit myself to finishing the story I've be working on and off for the last few years. I'll need you guys to help to keep me going. I'll be writing as much as I can on my novel, but occasionally I'll be posting status updates and possibly excerpts here as well. I'm also going to be posting illustrations as well, though these probably won't make it into the book and will just be for fun. Remember, if you came here and you liked anything you saw please don't forget to share with others! I'd really appreciate it. And don't forget to share, like, subscribe, follow and +1 my posts! And while you're at it check out my other two blogs, the Lunch Hour Weirdness and Neato! Boy, that didn't sound desperate at all. Hey, don't write that! No! Stop! Heh. Anyway, uh, welcome!