I probably shouldn’t have played The Scorpions like it was a challenge to Sandy. That was most likely my first mistake.
The hurricane hit my area last week, and it had a pretty severe impact on the community. Trees had demolished houses, power lines were strewn about like shoelaces, and some of the people nearby are still without electricity. This is definitely the worst storm I’ve seen in my area in my lifetime, and for a lot of other people I know, I’m sure they feel the same.
To all those who weathered the storm, my prayers go out to you.
It has been very strange trying to acclimate myself to the land of the powered again. We were down for 72 hours, and were doing a variety of things to help get us through the dark hours. We did crossword puzzles, we tortured the cat (lovingly – we rolled her up in a couple blankets and made her a Peanut burrito), and sometimes, we just talked for hours at a time. I’m very lucky to have Rhianna in my life – no matter how long we’ve been together, there’s still more I find out about her every day.
There were things that I missed in those three days, however. My hobbies, for sure… it’s crippling to go cold turkey on video games – I imagine people who quit smoking have an easier time of it. No television except for whatever we had on DVD that we could pop in Rhianna’s laptop. No access to email or facebook… I often forget how much of a social creature I’ve become in the last several years. I felt naked without the internet, and I’m very appreciative to have it back.
It was a struggle to write this past week as well. I couldn’t bring the book to work, because there was hardly any time to work on it, and the day is burning to fast during this time of year that by the time I get home, I can barely see what I’m working on. Even with some of our fancy flashlights, it’s a struggle to really find your focus on a page when you write this small. And none of that even comes close to being out of that comfort zone that I’ve mentioned in previous posts. Seriously, how am I supposed to write without a hair dryer providing magical white noise that whisks me away to another place?
After not writing for three days, I was forced to recalibrate myself. I spent pretty much all of Friday night staring intently at what I’d already put to page, like Michaelangelo stared at the block of marble before it was David. I had to set myself back in that world, and in the mindset to write. The good news is that I’m back in top gear, writing like crazy.
The bad news, if you can call it that, is that my story took on a new twist that’s going to require a little more intensive care on my part. I always neglect moving forward cautiously into the final chapter of my books, and they always end up becoming their own monsters. The Bindings of Fate’s last chapter nearly tripled the length of the chapter before it. As Darkness Falls was doing it’s own thing, but that’s only because of the way I broke up the action. It ended up being about 12 pages longer than the chapter before it.
Now that I’m closing up The Child of the Stars trilogy, I can tell that The Enemy Within is definitely going out with a bang. I may even have another chapter to throw in after the one I’m working on to help me dole out all the secret reveals – and trust me, there are a lot of them. I digress. You want details, I’m sure. All of the characters that you’ve grown to love in these books gets their own little piece of action in this last chapter. It’s an impressive overlay that will have a very cinematic feel. I’m thinking it might push close to 40 pages when all is said and done.
With that in mind, I’m pushing back my previous deadline. I know some people might find it a little annoying, but I’d also like to think that the delay will allow it to grow at a more natural pace. A delayed art can eventually be good, but a rushed job will always be terrible. The new deadline that I’m shooting for is May, 2013. That would mean that The Enemy Within would release on the two year anniversary of The Bindings of Fate’s release.
Furthermore, I had discussed previously that work on the game was going to be finished sooner than I had anticipated as well. Sometimes the people you work with on a team start off with very good intentions, but other things can get in the way. I’m of the mindset that when you’re first interviewing people you’re not meeting them, but rather, a representative of them on their best behavior. With that in mind, development on the game is going to take a bit longer than I had previously expected as well. It’s my goal at this point to try and get Devour completed and ready for release alongside The Enemy Within. I’ll have more details to post over the next few weeks, surely.
Finally, just because one project has a few kinks, that doesn’t mean they all must. Kev and I have been working on a new game that we’d like to unveil soon, and of course, it is Tellest related. Old-school gamers should like it as well, but that’s as much as I’m able to reveal at this point in time. Stay tuned!
Michael DeAngelo
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