Tag Archives: Auran Chronicles

Auran Chronicles #3 – 1st draft done!

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At last! At long last, Weave Born, the third and final part of the Auran Chronicles trilogy, has now reached that critical milestone of having the first draft completed.

And there was much rejoicing.

It’s been a tough slog getting there. There was so much to do in ensuring all the various plot strands resolved as planned that it became a long and arduous process in reaching “The End”. I’ve put Seb and co though the ringers on this one, and it’s probably the darkest of the three, but hopefully I’ve done the characters justice and served up a fitting ending for a story that’s been bubbling away for many years.

There’ll be a little break now — perhaps even ten minutes — before I crack on with the final draft. This will be a one pass edit before passing on for external editing and beta readers. The aim is still for a Winter release, but I won’t be committing to a month just yet.

Right – time for a well earned beer.

 

Auran Chronicles #3, interview and new cover

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So, Auran Chronicles #3, “Weave Born”, is in the last 20,000 words of the first draft. The end is in sight, all the characters (those still standing) are in their right places on stage to see this thing out.

And there was much rejoicing…

It’s a strange feeling now. Although it’s taken only (only!) a year to write the three books of the Auran Chronicles, the actual story has been sat in my head for years. So it’s with a mixture of excitement and sadness that I near the end. I’m still planning on sticking to the ending I’ve had in mind all along, but may apply a slight tweak or two after receiving some stern instructions from Mrs D as to who I’m allowed to kill off (and who not, more specifically!)! In the end, though, I’ll stay true to the characters and their journey. Seb has gone from the “every man” to the potential saviour of the whole universe, Sylph has perhaps gone through the most severest tests of all after losing everything she’d ever known, and Cade, well, if you read Consensus Breaking you know Cade isn’t in the best of places right now…

Weave Born contains the same mix of swords, sorcery, mythology and horror you will have come to expect from the Auran Chronicles, all ramped up to the max for this final instalment. Keep an eye out for it November/December time!

In other news, I’ve taken part in an author interview with the delightful folks at Outlet Publishing. You can find the interview here. Thanks Caitlin!

And finally, you will have noticed the new image on this post. I’ve actually gone and changed the cover of Consensus Breaking! I didn’t really like the previous cover. I didn’t like the way Seb was facing away from the viewer, and it didn’t scream “urban fantasy” enough for me, compared to others in my genre. I’ve amended now, courtesy of Novak Illustration. Hope you like it!

Oh, one final thing. A couple of folks have asked what’s next after Auran Chronicles is done. Well, without giving much away, I’m going to have a change from the urban fantasy genre, and have a couple of books lined up in the techno/thriller/horror genre. Thing Michael Crichton meets Stephen King, and you’ll get the picture. I’m going to write a series in the same universe, keeping the same protagonist. The stories will be stand alone, but there will be an underlying mythology underneath that will link them all together. Watch this space!

Not read Message Bearer, the first in the Auran Chronicles? Get it HERE now, only $0.99 (or equivalent) and #free on Kindle Unlimited.

Auran Chronicles #3 Update

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“It’s all our fault. Nazgath. The Sharding. This. It’s all our fault.”

And so continues the Auran Chronicles. In the final part (yes, it’s going to be 3 parts) of the trilogy, a war that has spanned thousands of years and destroyed countless universes finally comes to an end over seven nights, here on Earth.

Book 3 sees Seb trapped on a world far from ours, seeking to finally understand where he came from, who he really is, and who the hell is the red serpentine warrior that referred to him as brother at the end of Consensus Breaking? Cade is now a balsheol, a terrifying daemon warrior under the control of Nazgath, and Sylph and the rest of the survivors from Sanctuary continue to fight a losing battle against the ever growing sheol threat.

And through it all, a strange malaise has fallen upon humanity. Known as the Fugue, it is slowly draining the Unaware of their connection to reality. No one understands why, or how, this is happening, but all are agreed that the final outcome will not be a good one.

As Nazgath’s forces gather for the final assault that will rid Earth of its last defenders against the sheol, Seb battles across terrifying and alien worlds in order to find his way back. The only question is, will there be anything left when he returns?

That’s book 3 in a nutshell. I’m 40,000 words in now, with another 50,000 to go. I know how it ends. I’ve always known how it ends. This story has been 15 years in the making and I’m glad I finally managed to get it down on (virtual) paper and do it justice.

Now all I need to do is finish it 🙂

It lives! Auran Chronicles #2, out now!

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It took six months, some frustrating twists and turns during a very tricky second draft, and a bit of a scare with a way-too-optimistic pre-order date, but I’m finally glad (and relieved) to say that Consensus Breaking, the second of the Auran Chronicles series, is out now.

Following immediately on from the end of Message Bearer, Consensus Breaking follows Seb, Cade and Sylph as they deal with the fallout of their actions. Without spoiling anything for anyone who hasn’t read Message Bearer, it’s fair to say that what transpires is far beyond what any of them realised.

Book three is under way now, and I’m really looking forward to bringing the Auran Chronicles saga to a fitting end for all concerned. It’s been a story lodged in my head for years, and it’s been a challenging and thrilling experience putting it to (virtual) paper, thanks to the wonders of Kindle publishing.

Consensus Breaking is available to buy now from Amazon. Hopefully you’ll drop by and pick up a copy, and if you like it, I’d be most grateful if you could drop a review on Amazon and/or Goodreads.  If you don’t like it, please feel free to let me know why, so I can improve in future works.

The Consensus is broken. Magic is returning to the world…

When Seb and his friends are found by the very mage Families that they’d been seeking, he begins to think that his luck is turning at last, that he’s finally found somewhere to continue the journey he began with the Magistry.

Unfortunately, returning to this secret world is not the homecoming he thought it would be, and when rumors of another faction surface, one that is welcoming the newly awoken without prejudice, Seb is torn between his loyalty to his friends and to those of his fellow magi. He must make a choice. One that will have repercussions far beyond the internal struggles of the Aware.

And across the Shards, a new force is rising, a shadow from before the Weave itself. Long thought defeated, it soon becomes clear that the sheol were just the vanguard of a much greater terror, one that threatens the very foundations of reality.

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Auran Chronicles #2 is almost here!

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Long time no speak!

It’s been a while since I posted, so thought I’d better raise my head above the parapet to let the world know I’m still alive.

So, what’s been happening? In summary – Consensus Breaking (Auran Chronicles #2).

After finishing the first draft of Consensus Breaking I made the mistake of putting it up for pre-order almost straight away. With hindsight, this was a bit of a mistake, as, although it gave me a deadline to work to, it also hung over me like the Sword of Damocles whilst I cracked on with the inevitable rewrites. The pressure was a bit too much, and caused a few sleepless nights in the process.

Anyway, lesson learned for the future.

And finally, the end is in sight now. Consensus has been through two  bouts of proof reading (thanks everyone!), and it’s with two more proof readers as we speak to try and catch all the errors, typos etc that I always miss.

So – * drum roll* – Consensus Breaking, book 2 of the Auran Chronicles, is officially out on the 27th May, but depending on the changes required from the last proof reads, I may release it earlier.

If you like an urban fantasy mash-up of the Matrix and an adult Harry Potter, then check it out:

The Consensus is broken. Magic is returning to the world…

When Seb and his friends are found by the very mage Families that they’d been seeking, he begins to think that his luck is turning at last, that he’s finally found somewhere to continue the journey he began with the Magistry.

Unfortunately, returning to this secret world is not the homecoming he thought it would be, and when rumors of another faction surface, one that is welcoming the newly awoken without prejudice, Seb is torn between his loyalty to his friends and to those of his fellow magi. He must make a choice. One that will have repercussions far beyond the internal struggles of the Aware.

And across the Shards, a new force is rising, a shadow from before the Weave itself. Long thought defeated, it soon becomes clear that the sheol were just the vanguard of a much greater terror, one that threatens the very foundations of reality.

Consensus Breaking is the second book of the Auran Chronicles, a dark fantasy adventure series from M. S. Dobing.

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Auran Chronicles #2 Cover and Title Reveal

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So, book 2 of the Auran Chronicles is officially called…

*drum roll*

Consensus Breaking

For those of you who’ve read Message Bearer you’ll know what this refers to, but in summary, the Consensus is basically the Observer-based reality that forms the core of the magic system of the Auran Chronicles, and if it’s breaking, well, that can’t be so good, can it? 🙂

For a more detailed overview of the Consensus, see my earlier post on the Auran Chronicles magic system.

Anyway, on to the exciting bit. My new cover is ready, courtesy of Novak Illustration, and you can find it below, hope you like it.

Consensus Breaking is currently penciled in for release for May 2016.

Message Bearer is still available on its current $0.99 promo here.

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Message Bearer Reviews

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We’re approaching 3 months since Message Bearer was let loose amongst the world and I’m pleased to say it’s managed to obtain some decent reviews as well. In the interests of sharing the love, it only seems fair that I share this good feedback now, before anyone sneaks a one star review on to Amazon 🙂

Review from Paranormal Bookworms Unite (5 Stars)

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Yep that’s right! This is a five star book easily!

Seb is introduced into a world he never thought existed when he is drawn to a place. He seems to be drawn to many places. The most recent place he was drawn to changed his life forever. He never thought that he would find this much out about the world, let alone himself. He doesn’t know how to handle it at first, but then things take a huge change when he learns to control an unexpected power that he can channel.

I was caught up in this book. This book has so much action, that I found myself fighting sleep night after night as I read on. When I gave in to going to bed I found myself thinking about the book, and wondering what would happen next. I fell asleep thinking about the book, and woke up thinking that I couldn’t wait till the time came when I could pick up the book again, after other life issues were taken care of course. It is not often that this happens with a book. Only a book that I am so thrilled to read could cause this reaction out of me. I also found myself talking to my boyfriend about the book. He is not a reader, but still humored me, because he knows that reading makes me happy. I happy to declare this book as a favorite of mine.

If you are looking for an action packed book that is high fantasy, and has a good load of paranormal excitement thrown in then give this book a shot, because chances are you will not regret reading this one. That is how thrilling this book is. Do not miss out!

Review from Ingenius Cat (4 Stars)

Boy meets girl, girl is killed by demon, boy discovers he’s a wizard and is trained by secret demon hunters.

The protagonist, Seb, is nearly killed when he tries to save a woman from a demonic creature from another dimension. She dies but inserts what could be a highly important message in his brain. Naturally, the bad guys now want to capture Seb. Luckily for him, he’s picked up by the other side instead, and they decide to train him in magic so they can retrieve the message.

What could be a thoroughly cliche plot is lifted by a good dose of skulduggery: the bad guys are bad, but there aren’t any straightforwardly ‘good’ guys. From an engaging opening, the story romps along with plenty of action. Possibly too much action, because I was getting a bit bored of fight scenes and was glad of the break when magic training started. Indeed, I would have been happy to have more of that, since the magic system is quite original and interesting.

What others are saying about Message Bearer:

“It was immediately obvious that the author had a fully realized mythology for the reader to uncover through the plot. The real-world setting is northern England, which is wonderful because most UK-set urban fantasy takes place in London and this was a refreshing change. But there is an entire universe behind this one, and in fact there are multiple universes with a rich history and the vast scope and ambition is pretty astonishing. The impressive thing is that everything fits together perfectly.”  (Amazon.com)

“What a fabulous read. The first chapter draws you in with action and mystery, and its a wild ride from there. Great world building, look forward to reading more!

Not only a well thought out story, but the prose is careful and endearing.” (Amazon.com)

If anyone is interested in being a reviewer for the Message Bearer in exchange for a free review copy please drop me a mail at mike@msdobing.com

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Halfway there…

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So I’ve passed the 50,000 word mark now, and am approaching 60,000 at a good pace. With a target of 100,000 words (Message Bearer was 101,000), it’s looking good.

I’m coming into the back end of the middle section now too, which is a great relief. It’s this area that always sags and where the story seems to meander all over the place as it strives towards that end goal. True, I have my “must have” scenes that link the story together, but the path getting there can be a confusing spaghetti-like mess of random scenes, conversations and characters that appear in one chapter only to never be seen again.

Thankfully, the beginning of the end is in sight. I’ve just written a pivotal sequence of scenes that not only ramp up the tension significantly but also explore in much greater detail the mythology of the Auran Chronicles.  There’s a lot of history behind the magi and the Weave, and it’s nice to delve even more into that, especially when it relates directly to our protagonists. Obviously there’s going to be a heavy amount of chopping, changing and re-aligning for the second draft, but I’m happy the end of the story as envisaged in my synopsis is on track, even if all the stuff in between hasn’t quite so stuck to plan 🙂

The problem now, if indeed, it is a problem, is that not only am I almost certain that the story requires four books not three (although I really want to get in done in three) , but in expanding the world significantly in book 2 I’ve also introduced a new bunch of characters, of which at least two I’d love to spin off into their own series, or at least, to steal a Disney term, an Auran Chronicles “anthology” story or two. Aside from Cade, the half-daemon Brotherhood warrior who so deserves his own story (mental note – Auran Chronicles: Born of Blood), we also meet Shimmer, a Borderguard from the barren lands that exists between shards (the shattered worlds of the Auran Chronicles), who has a fascinating back story of his own that I can’t wait to explore.

So all in all, definitely a good problem, the challenge is, which one to write first?

Anyway, must dash, last night I left Seb several hundred feet up in the air with the ground rushing to meet him. I didn’t know how he was going to get out of this one, so just left it like that. It seemed a good idea at the time, but as I stare at the flashing cursor I’m not so sure. The joys of writing I guess!

 

40,000+ words reached. Bring out the plot-doubt monkeys

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So, progress on book 2 has been slightly slower than I would’ve liked, but hey, that’s the Christmas holidays for you. I did try and get some writing done but in the end family and good times won out, and rightly so, too.

Anyway, I’m back in the saddle now. I’ve been churning about 1000-1200 words a day out for 5 days a week since Christmas so that Scrivener bar is growing nicely.

Unfortunately though, my evil nemesis the plot-doubt monkeys have made their first appearance. These evil creatures tormented me throughout book 1, challenging the logic of the plot, making me think that the story I was trying to tell was too tricky to pull off at my level of ability. I ploughed on of course, but only managed to finish the book after a good few months off inbetween drafts.

It’s different this time I think. I don’t have the same fears I had before. I know once I get to the end of this draft that I can fix whatever issues I’ve created getting there. That’s the joy of editing after all and to be honest I’m quite looking forward to it.

Instead, I’ve made the mistake of doing too much alternative reading whilst I’ve been ploughing ahead with this draft. Normally this isn’t a problem, but I’ve also been reading books in genres similar to mine.

Big mistake. Big. Huge. (To coin a line from Pretty Woman)

The doubts that come from this are such questions as – “Is my world rich enough compared to X”, or “has this concept been done before?”.

I’ve found myself second guessing more than I would normally do. Previously I didn’t really consider other books like mine, or fear that my story wouldn’t match up to those. But reading a couple now as made me rethink certain story elements that I perhaps wouldn’t have before.

There’s no real way to unthink (that should really be a word) what I’ve pondered reading these books, but going forwards I’ve made a decision not to read in my genre whilst head down in a WIP. It intrudes too much on my own world and makes me actively tweak the story to avoid potential similarities to others. Stupid I know, but there you are.

On the flip side I’m generally happy with where I’m at with book 2. The story is coming along well, and Seb and co have just had a massive WTF moment that I really enjoyed writing. This sets the scene for the second half of the book now that hopefully leads into the gripping conclusion (well, it looks gripping in the outline) I’ve planned.

So…*opens a window*…Away with you, plot-doubt monkeys. Fly, fly away!

monkeys

Paperback edition out now – at last

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Well, after 14 attempts (and several shouting matches with my computer screen) at converting my proof manuscript into a pdf that looked right in the CreateSpace digital viewer, I’m pleased to say that I’ve finally managed to get Message Bearer out and available in paperback as well as Kindle.

I don’t expect many sales from this version, the price required for PoD (Print on Demand) seems a bit on the excessive side to be cost effective, but at the very least I get to own a few “real” copies that I can share with friends and family.

Also, I learned a few lessons formatting the word document to be fit for use on CreateSpace, and found a few good links in the process which I’ll add to the blog later as these proved to be a godsend! I thought I knew MS Word until I encountered this particular challenge!

Anyway, I digress, the link is below. If you prefer your books in dead tree format then please take a look 🙂

PS – I need to link the ebook and paper versions together on Amazon, as at the moment they don’t appear as alternate options for the same book. Yet another challenge on this self-publishing roller coaster!

Amazon.com

Amazon.co.uk

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