#darkenedtabula

Status report: Well, I have a confession.

I was at the midpoint of DARKENED TABULA.

After starting ever so slowly, my editing and rewriting, as well as the story itself, took off. And it flowed. There were two narrators in this one like DARKCHILDE. It was hard getting used to Ebony's voice again. I was so sure I would go back over her sections again and make more changes. Meanwhile, I found reluctantly that Daniel's voice I nailed perfectly. Again. 

I was getting the emotional beats again. I couldn't wait to dive into Daniel's. I had recently rewatched the cancelled show DOLLHOUSE. One of my disappointments in Season 2 was that as the season progressed, it was clear that Echo, Eliza Dushku's character, was becoming her own person. And that person was on a collision course with Caroline, the person she was before she was forced into the Dollhouse. So what was more important, the body (Echo) or the soul (Caroline)? If they were two different people who deserved to be in the body? To die? It was heady stuff...that if I remember correctly was dealt with in a minute scene in the deleted scenes on the Season 2 box set.

There was a lot of that I saw in Daniel's arc in DARKENED TAUBLA. That would come in handy. 

I had arrived at one of my major plot points. All that I had been building exploded at a meeting between all of the officials that run the dystopian world that I had created. A lot of what I've set up in the novel was set to head off in a new direction. However, I had decided to write a new book. With that in mind, I felt the scene was too major of a scene to explode in Book 3.

It also was Ursula's physical entrance. Her presence was felt all through the novel, but here she stepped onto stage. Without that scene, there was no reason for her to be in the book.

Anyone who has been with me since I've created Ursula knew...that was not happening. Divas got what they want. :D :D 

So I came to a compromise. Now I was about to see...if it paid off...

Status report: I was excited.

It was during watching a new episode of THE BOLD TYPE and before an at-home workout.

I finished DARKENED TABULA.

THAT'S RIGHT!!!! it was hard to believe that I started on it during NaNoWrImO this past November if I remembered correctly. And now it was done.

I said a while ago that I suspected the light at the end of the tunnel when the ending occurred to my mind's eye. As I continued to write, the ending became clearer and clearer. There were still some questions that only my characters had, but I kept on.

So how did it turn out for me?

I admit that it was hard to see where Ebony would turn up. I felt that I had given her a definite happy ending at the end of DARKCHILDE. Not withstanding the twist at the end. Of course, it affected her. And in this book she started it in a good place. But the end...well...that would be a doozy. After all can a relationship survive the presence of old exes...

Meanwhile, there was the actual ending. I was surprised when it came to me months ago. I was also excited.

There was a character that I introduced in a short story that was in my collection DARKENED SOUL: PIECES OF A DARKENED PUZZLE. One with a history with some of my recurring characters. In fact SPOILER ALERT a lot of that history is in my forthcoming novel DARKENED SOUL: THE BREAKING OF CIRCLES. However, I knew he would be a major player in DARKENED TABULA. So much so that the ending and his history allowed for my main character to cross with another recurring character from DARKCHILDE. She made a promise to Ebony. And now...she had a dangerous trump card. However will she play it.

Already excited for Book 4....

And then there was #one...

DARKENED TABULA...Book 3 in my DARKENED series...on sale on Amazon right now...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08DMP47MK/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i3

To remember who you are…or forge a new path… Daniel Westberg was dead.

In order to save the ones he loved from the obsessive wrath of his creator/lover Jared, the Nosferatu Daniel made the sacrifice. Turning his back on the prophecy that claimed he was the ‘One,’ Daniel threw Jared and himself into the sun. All that was left was ashes.

And now…he lives again in Darkened Tabula, Book 3 in the Darkened series. Resurrected at the end of Darkchilde, Daniel discovers himself underneath the futuristic city-state of London, a prisoner of the vicious shifters called Forryn. A pawn in a dangerous game between the various clans and with no memory of his past life, Daniel forms a connection with Eli, head of the reigning clan. However, that growing bond becomes threatened by Daniel’s own desire to uncover the truth of his past. Also a danger to their bond is the mystery of a stranger, one with a familiar lopsided grin and whom presence makes Daniel question his sanity.

Meanwhile in the city-state of Egypt, Ebony, Daniel’s sister and heroine from Darkchilde, is unaware of her brother’s return. She, along with her Nosferatu lover Nicholas, discover something sinister. So sinister that it leads them back to London. Back to government agents intent on discovering the existence of their kind and others. Back to witches and their flight. Back to her maker Ursula and her games, games that involve Victor, current leader of the Nosferatu…and Ebony’s ex…who might be playing games of his own.

Time is of the essence. As the mysterious stranger drops breadcrumbs into Daniel’s mind, hints of memory spring forth. The more he learns, the more Daniel no longer wants to be a pawn.

But…what does he want to be?

The person he used to be…the prophesied One that will bridge the world of the living and the dead?

OR the person he is now…a darkened tabula rasa with a second chance at the life he wants…?

Annnnd DARKENED TABULA is LIVE!!! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08DMP47MK/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1

ABOUT THE BOOK:

To remember who you are…or forge a new path… Daniel Westberg was dead.

In order to save the ones he loved from the obsessive wrath of his creator/lover Jared, the Nosferatu Daniel made the sacrifice. Turning his back on the prophecy that claimed he was the ‘One,’ Daniel threw Jared and himself into the sun. All that was left was ashes.

And now…he lives again in Darkened Tabula, Book 3 in the Darkened series.

Resurrected at the end of Darkchilde, Daniel discovers himself underneath the futuristic city-state of London, a prisoner of the vicious shifters called Forryn. A pawn in a dangerous game between the various clans and with no memory of his past life, Daniel forms a connection with Eli, head of the reigning clan. However, that growing bond becomes threatened by Daniel’s own desire to uncover the truth of his past. Also a danger to their bond is the mystery of a stranger, one with a familiar lopsided grin and whom presence makes Daniel question his sanity.

Meanwhile in the city-state of Egypt, Ebony, Daniel’s sister and heroine from Darkchilde, is unaware of her brother’s return. She, along with her Nosferatu lover Nicholas, discover something sinister. So sinister that it leads them back to London. Back to government agents intent on discovering the existence of their kind and others. Back to witches and their flight. Back to her maker Ursula and her games, games that involve Victor, current leader of the Nosferatu…and Ebony’s ex…who might be playing games of his own.

Time is of the essence. As the mysterious stranger drops breadcrumbs into Daniel’s mind, hints of memory spring forth. The more he learns, the more Daniel no longer wants to be a pawn.

But…what does he want to be?

The person he used to be…the prophesied One that will bridge the world of the living and the dead?

OR the person he is now…a darkened tabula rasa with a second chance at the life he wants…?

Well, time for some good #news, don't you think?

Firstly...I am happy to report that the second round of formatting for DARKENED TABULA was #done!!! FINALLY!!! Great on me!!!

Secondly...a new chapter from it has been posted!!! In case, you want to see the other #chapters, you could found them under NOTES!!! Today is an Ebony chapter. What could happen...hmmm...

Starting the morning with coffee, editing a project, and posting the latest chapter from my forthcoming novel DARKENED TABULA...good vibes...and fun adventure await...

https://www.facebook.com/notes/latorre-mays/darkened-tabula-chapter-2/2888797151239185/

Another day, another surprise.

Today's surprise: CHAPTER 1 of my forthcoming novel DARKENED TABULA!!!

Enjoy!!!

https://www.facebook.com/notes/latorre-mays/darkened-tabula-chapter-1/2868232753295625/

Now...about that teaser...lol.

Teaser 3 from DARKENED TABULA...

Two hovertaxis. A vox through lower tunnels. Then a hop into the lower lower tunnels later, we were back in the tunnels the Forryn hid in. People rarely came down here other than routine maintenance checks. After all, anti-grav technology that held up the Floataves from the ruined Earth below was not easy to come by. I giggled. I knew I should feel bad. However…I thought the test was a success. My speed had greatly improved since Eli had calmed me down and revealed what had happened to me. That as well as the existence of witches would come in handy.

“What were you thinking?” Eli demanded.

I looked at him. While the tunnels were pitch black, my Nosferatu eyes could see as easily as if it was daylight. Eli glared at me. I threw a glare of my own back.

“I was defending us,” I replied. “They would not let us leave.”

“You were too showy, Daniel-san,” Eli said.

“No,” I countered. “I was subtle.”

“Telekinetics are anything but,” Eli shot back. “So are throat cuts.”

“Well, it is not like you could reveal yourself,” I said, standing in front of him. “Did you not tell me this world has cameras everywhere?”

“I did,” Eli said. “So why?”

“I trust your techies can hack a dive bar system.”

“Trust? Coming from you?”

Suddenly, I felt a movement. I turned in time to see a figure shoot up. Claws encircled my throat. Before I knew it, I was pinned to the steel walls. Yellow eyes stared back at me.

It was on its furry hind legs, their position reminiscent of a fawn. Fur popped highly from the back of its torn clothes. It growled, its snout full of long sharply narrow teeth. I would have clawed its face off, however its long arms kept me firmly out of reach.

“So,” the Forryn said in a bestial voice, “who is going to explain what is going on here?”