March 2020 Updates

Sante Fe National Forest - some greenery to help our entry into spring

Thank you for joining me again this month!
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February’s productivity came in multiple ways: I made progress toward the audiobook for The Alterator’s Light. I don’t want to spoil too much at this point, but I’ve hired a local performing artist from Kansas City who will do a fine job reading the book. The timeframe for the audiobook’s completion is not set, but I envision the audiobook version becoming available by the end of the year.
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The Blighter’s Shadow (book two of The Rune Cycle trilogy) is moving along, and the book’s cover art is continuing. I also met with the cover artist as I move into the second half of the book. She will work on the interior art, too, which will include additional chapter symbols and a map (or three) of the towns and cities described in the Rune Cycle. A visual representation of locations will supplement the textual descriptions.

My sci-fi book, Adalaj, has been on hold, but in March, I’ll be putting the initial chapter on my website for your preview.

​The reader question for this month:
Out of your own writing, who is your favorite character?
Simply put, I don’t have a favorite character. In some respects, all of the characters are creations of mine, so choosing one character would be like saying I have a favorite child. 😊

I do always enjoy writing about a given character while I am focused on a particular person or a group. It is fun to put myself in the mind of a current character, albeit for a short time, to help myself flesh out their motives, desires, and personality. I try to view each character from the reader’s perspective, so that I can help the character become more lifelike.

Even the “bad guys” and evil characters require me to take on their mindset while I am writing and editing their chapters. Obviously, that can be difficult, but I feel that it is necessary. Basically, I try to envision why someone would behave the way they do.

There is the idea that no one really thinks they are doing the wrong thing, even when the vast majority of the population would be appalled by their actions, such as murder or torture. I try to think of why a character would perform an appalling act. How have they convinced themselves that murder or torture is acceptable, at least to themselves? And how can they continue to live with themselves knowing that the majority of the world will hunt them down and/or imprison them for the act?
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That rationale has been made a bit easier by my study of philosophy, ethics, history, and current events bolstered by a focus on human behavior and science.
Next month’s question:
Why I am writing The Rune Cycle?
The answer to that will become a mini-essay, so stay tuned.

If you have questions for future posts or newsletters, please be sure to shoot them my way at dan@danbrigman.com. You can also find me on Twitter at @brigmanauthor and on Facebook at Dan Brigman, Author, or on my website, www.danbrigman.com.

Thanks again for your support! Besides taking the time to read my newsletters, you can visit the following links to create a review of The Alterator’s Light. Creating a review is quick and offers potential readers insight into what you thought about the book.

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