Well, The TwinBlades and the DoomChasm Brigands is a novel that I wrote over 4 years while I was in college. I thought it would be interesting to tell the tale of how I came to come up with the idea and how it became a full fledged novel.
You can buy this book at Amazon.com by the way:
http://www.amazon.com/TwinBlades-DoomChasm-Brigands-Charles-Spring/dp/1425974066/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1383919503&sr=8-10&keywords=twinblades
At the age of 20, I became obsessed with a British television program called "Knightmare". In this show, teams of 4 kids would be sent through a chroma-key dungeon to complete various quests (the format very reminiscent of choose your own adventure novels). One day, I opened up several windows on my computer screen and I set about the task of creating a mock style adventure for myself. And, I remember writing this line:
"The wagon train came to a stop at a town called Turnas. I had been traveling with the caravan for about 7 months.My throat was feeling rather dry, and I had not had a good bath in a long time. My green tunics, my trousers, and my boots were covered in dirt stains, and my short brown hair complemented my short brown hair gracefully. I was going to love that bath."
Now, I wrote that paragraph with the intent of it continuing into a Knightmare-style adventure. But, I stopped for moment and looked at it. I thought to myself: "What is this character's story? What is his name?"
I didn't know it then, but I had just stumbled upon the idea for my first novel.
Now, I wanna be clear: I never wanted to be a writer. I was going to school to be a math teacher (which I did finish and I did for a few years). This...just happened. I had certainly been trained in how to write stories and how basic story structure worked. So, I knew how to write stories.
I originally wrote a story that was so bare-bones it barely reached 15 pages. It was just my characters, the problem, the resolution...done. Over time, I just started adding more and more information to the story: more background of characters, expanding on descriptions, and even ideas for stories that would continue with those characters beyond that.
One of the first creations beyond the first character (whom I named "Trevor") was a partner for him named "Gerald". And, I will freely admit, they were gay partners at first. Why? I was in the midst of my own coming out process, and part of this process, inevitably, is to cover yourself in a cloud of complete and utter gayness. Everything you do is gay, gay, gay. I will admit, I bare no hate towards those who do such, but I do completely understand how vulgar such things appear. And I will freely say now, I feel that, while it is important to have a sense of pride in who you are as a person, to do so to the detriment and alienation of the culture around you....isn't right.
But, I digress. So, I had written gay characters. They loved one another, they had sex in one chapter, and they had this epic grand adventure. Over time, the story kept getting bigger and longer, and I finally stopped with a story that was roughly 40 typed pages long (one of the longest pieces I had ever written).
I eventually moved into an apartment, and I still had the novel I had written. It finally occurred to me one day: why not publish it? I could not find any reason not to, so I set myself to the task of finding a publisher. I ultimately went with Authorhouse. (www.authorhouse.com) They are a self publishing firm, and I called them and got more information on the actually process you go through.
So, I was all excited about publishing. I had verified that a novel with gay characters was not an issue for Authorhouse (as it turned out, they had novels published with some graphic material).
I was, however, past the "OMG gay" phase of coming out, and I had settled into a far more normative lifestyle. And, with that, came a revelation: not everyone really appreciates the gay agenda or appreciates having it through in their faces. And, I was OK with that. I had to admit even reading what I had written, the idea was so preposterous to begin with, I didn't think I could really swallow it as a reader. So, I set about the task of rewriting parts of the novel to essentially remove the gay aspects. Ultimately, the two characters simply have a deep bond that could expressed through the term "Bromance" (this bond, btw, is much more deeply strengthened by a pair of items that the two acquire, but you will have to read to find out about that).
So, after removing that, I realized that a major part of the story was gone. So...I went darker. I made a point of having the story have a very deep, dark, but ultimately good message about the harshness of life. When I look back seeing the first and final drafts next to each other, the comparison is shocking. The final version not only was more mature as a piece of literature, but more mature in terms of respecting it's audience.
Also, I had to change up story elements so that, when I got around to writing sequels (I had planned 5 it got knocked down to 4). Once I had written and published the first book, I cannot really contradict myself afterwards. So, I had to watch what I had written.
So, I contacted Authorhouse again, and we began to start publishing. After a month or so, I got my first copy (yes, I took pictures). Oh, what a moment! To have my own copy! Of MY book!
I purchased many copies of the novel for myself so I could give to friends and family (Authorhouse is a POD service. They only print a book when purchased). I remember my family's faces when they unwrapped my book for Christmas, and how my friends felt seeing my book for the first time.
Oh, and I just remembered. One of my close friends read my novel in one of it's earlier incarnations. He said, and I quote: "This is a well written piece that drones on like a high school essay. " He was right, but I never forgave him for that. I signed his book copy, and wrote that comment in it.
So, that is how I wrote The TwinBlades and the DoomChasm Brigands. I hope you've enjoyed my tale, and I hope you check out my novel on Amazon. You can currently get a softcover or a kindle version!
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