Posts

Excerpt from chapter 1 of Tiger Eyes and Dragon Teeth, my first epic fantasy novel

Image
Chapter One—Who am I? Light. Glorious, blue prisms of light sparkled off every leaf and branch. Thick, powdery sap burbled slowly inside the crystalline tree. The Great Sapphire Tree of Jaria was one of only a few hundred sapphire trees that were still known to exist. Its leaves were hard and thick as sapphires, its branches like iron bars. Such trees were rare, most having been harvested long ago. I brushed the leaves with the tips of my fingers as I passed the tree, and stooped to get to the cave behind it. I hadn’t made the climb to see the tree, rather to get at the cave and a likely source of milk bulb. I leaned down with a lamp, sniffed the air and listened. A soft scuffling noise reached my ears. Heart thumping, I touched the hilt of my knife, sheathed at my belt. ‘Who’s there?’ I asked. A faint growling rumbled off the wall of the cave. It was too deep and throaty to be a treelion. I guessed it was something more like a rock panther or maybe even an icetiger. I tried to keep my...
Post a Comment
Read more

Non-binary fiction writing

Image
I'm writing book 7 of The Psion Saga and there are a lot of sections in the point of view of a non-binary character named Riftweaver. I relish a challenge and pushing my skills with British English while embracing logical and necessary change.  I found myself using the term 'themself' instead of 'himself' or 'herself' and having to cancel the auto correction offered by Microsoft Word to 'themselves'. I wanted to check what I'm doing is right, so I asked Microsoft Copilot this: AI prompt: With a non-binary person would this grammar be ok: Rift pulled themself up into a sitting position. Copilot's answer Yes! "Themself" is a grammatically acceptable reflexive pronoun in this case. While "themselves" is traditionally used more often, "themself" is increasingly recognized when referring to a single non-binary person . So, "Rift pulled themself up into a sitting position" is correct and aligns with inclusiv...
Post a Comment
Read more

DragonAge - The Veilguard

Image
I am about a third of the way through DragonAge - The Veilguard, playing as a warrior. I made him look like the character from my books, Talon.  I love how expressive BioWare have made the characters, especially your hero, Rook. Before this game, my number one favourite game of all time was DragonAge Inquisition, followed up by Final Fantasy X. I have also been a long-term player of World of Warcraft, since vanilla.  I loved Horizon Zero Dawn and got partway through Horizon Forbidden West. I appreciate games like the Ark Survival series, Valheim and Conan Exiles for the setting and survival aspects, but find them a bit too hard. No Man's Sky occupied me on multiple platforms for hundreds of hours. But there's nothing quite like seeing your character up close and personal in the movie cinema-style cut scenes and live action of BioWare's masterpieces. The dialogue feels believable. The characters are well-rounded. There's sometimes a bit too much talking and not enough op...
Post a Comment
Read more

Why do Americans use different English spelling from the rest of the world?

Image
As authors, it behoves us to know whether we are writing in British English or American English. The choice between the two often comes down to the locality of your publisher, or if you are self-publishing, to personal choice.  Pick one and be consistent. That's my advice. Because I am Australian and Australia is a Commonwealth country, I write in Australian English, which adopts British spelling, not American. It is endlessly frustrating when, despite choosing Australian English as my language in Microsoft Word, the spell check continues to put red squiggles under every word that the Americans decided to change. I found myself asking why did those pesky Americans do this? It's so inconvenient. The differences in spelling between American and British English primarily stem from historical linguistic changes and efforts to standardize spelling in the 18th and 19th centuries. Here's a brief overview of why these differences developed: 1. Noah Webster's Influence The most ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Having fun with my son and some AI with Firefly

Image
My son and I had some fun tonight with Firefly, Adobe's AI. It's changed a lot since I last used it. The prompt: A boy who loves frogs on Saturn. The generated image: Often AI gets a few details weird. It especially struggles with hands and feet. I took it into Photoshop and used generative AI and some manual touching up with the paintbrush, healing brush, dodge and eraser tools. I first fixed the frog feet, which don't look right in the original. After fixing the AI-generated frog feet: Photoshop really struggled with the top foot of the frog on the right, so I copy-pasted its other foot and changed it a bit to deal with that. Then I noticed that the boy's right hand and foot are not looking right. So I used generative AI to fix both of those in Photoshop as well. Here's the result: There are a few other oddities I touched up quickly. Not putting any serious time into this, as it's just been for a bit of fun. See if you can spot them! Peace!
Post a Comment
Read more

How to write a 100K novel in four months

Image
Alikai Bronach, high fantasy author (chibi-style AI generated by BING Dalle) Is it possible to write a 100K novel in four months while also working at your full time job? Yes! Absolutely! Here's how: I've been writing novels since I was 14 and am now in my forties. After having kids, I took a big break in writing, but now I'm back with a vengeance. I have a day job, but in my spare time I write. To be more specific, I plan then I write. Planning is not for everyone. I get that. For me, however, my creativity is freed when I have done the planning beforehand.  Pelsha, a member of the Kriite warriors guild (AI image generated with neural.love) When I come to write my new adult fantasy novels, I know exactly where I am going. The story tells itself as I'm going, so the plans will always change, but the essence and the logic is already nutted out. I'm going to share what I do in case it is helpful to somebody else. If not, that's OK. Each to their own. Nyno, a commo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Help me pay for professional audiobook narration

Image
https://gofund.me/320de4a7 Hi, my name is Alikai Bronach and I am the author of the epic fantasy series for new adults (16+) The Psion Saga. Books 1 and 2 were published in 2023 and book 3 in 2024. Here's the link to buy book 1 Tiger Eyes and Dragon Teeth:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CG833L64 I have drafted books 4 and 5, and am writing book 6. There are 3-4 more to follow. I have had this story inside me and partially written, in various forms, since I was 14 (more than 20 years!). During high school it was one of my obsessions and dreams to become a published author. Now that I have achieved (self) publication in print and ebook format I am keen to see it published with professional audiobook narration, but I need your help to finance it. Book 1: Tiger Eyes and Dragon Teeth https://play.google.com/store/audiobooks/details?id=AQAAAEDiAnRChM Book 2: Strike of the Skyearls https://play.google.com/store/audiobooks/details?id=AQAAAEASuCX4JM Book 3: Claws That Cut Both Ways https://pla...
Post a Comment
Read more

I drew one of the dragon characters from my YA high fantasy series

Image
  This is Emperor Ciera, a skyearl, a furred and feathered dragon. He is 20 metres long and I've drawn a horse for comparison. The oldest and largest living skyearl on Chryne, Ciera is of the Keltoar breed and is over 300 years old. The battle seat on his neck is large enough to carry three people. Skyearls range in size from a large cat to a Ciera's size. They live in Tanza, the most successful Kriite nation in Chryne. Skyearls are a civilised species with their own language, culture and hierarchy. Most can speak a variety of human languages aloud. They are born with psionic powers and can use the waves to communicate telepathically with each other. Once a skyearl has bonded with a single human they become a Sleffion-kin.  In addition to using the waves for communication, skyearls can draw water molecules from the waves and breathe them out of their mouths, creating artificial clouds called shrouds. Some skyearls can also transport a hard white substance from the waves that i...
Post a Comment
Read more