INFORMATION REGARDING NOGGARDS: A “Dark Soldier” Promo

APPEARANCE
Noggards are most similar to serpents, except for their proportionately short, stubby legs. However, they are not the typical size of a serpent, not even for Vaelan standards. Their adult form can sometimes grow to a length of about 12 meters. If these same adults lift their head, it will be over 3 meters tall. Noggard queens are said to be even longer, occasionally growing up to almost 20 meters.

They have something of a covering like scales. However, the tips are sharp at the end. They can sometimes become long enough to make tracks from their belly as they walk. 

Getting Out Of A Writing Rut

I was actually in a writing rut for a while. Bad time to be in one, since I’m on the last draft of a book I’ve been working on for some time. But something brought me out of that rut. Well a few things, really.

The first was the desire just to get it finished: to hold in my hands a hardcover book with a nice ribbon bookmark and a gorgeous cover and realized that all that work meant something.

The second was the thought that maybe someday I would be signing books and that someone would come up to me, place my own book in front of me and tell me how much they loved it, that it was their favorite. I would love to see someone fanboy / fangirl over my book just as much as I do.

The third is really just an extension of the second. I made the things that I’ve struggled with in life a key facet of my writing: depression, rejection, bitterness and loneliness. But though the characters I wrote struggle with many of these same things, I also made a light at the end of the tunnel, a happy ending, if you will. I would love to see someone come up to me to tell me how encouraging that book was for their own personal trials and struggle. I would love to hear that the book gave them the courage to press on even when they didn’t want to.

And finally, I would love to see some people come to faith in Christ through it. Although this is a fictional book in a fictional world, faith and trust make themselves key aspects of the novel. Faith is the very frame, the cornerstone for the entire book. I am not ashamed of this in the least. Now, I suppose you can read the book and see it as just a very nice story about sacrifice and faith and trust. But I would also add that it’s probably not going to be as intricate and interesting a story if you are not seeing it through this light. So hearing someone tell me that it changed their life would be fantastic.

Perhaps I have my expectations too high, seeing as it’s my very first book published. Only about a third of writers get their first books published, maybe less. But I’m obnoxiously hopeful! So I guess we’ll just have to see how big this project of mine gets.

Dark Soldier Sound Snippet

First page of the first chapter is now in audible form! Big things are coming.

British Accents and Excellent Novels

British Accents and Excellent Novels

Click here to hear about me chat very excitedly about the novel I am currently writing. Also, I am writing a completely separate novel for NaNoWrimo. My username there is simply gabrielpenn, so be sure to find me and check out my stuff!

darkveilbooks:

blackwingedgabriel:

Sneak peek at the sketch for the Frost Child, an entity in my upcoming novel Dark Soldier. I get to create a sculpture of it for one of my classes at university.

Yes, I refer to FC as “it” because, well, it’s a genderless demigod and I’m not sure what to refer to it as.

Frost Child, the demi from the first of the Dark Veil books, Dark Soldier. 

Perhaps demigod is not the best term for FC, as it is not born of a god but of a creature just under that level. Imagine the child of an archangel, as that is closer.

Sneak peek at the sketch for the Frost Child, an entity in my upcoming novel Dark Soldier. I get to create a sculpture of it for one of my classes at university.

Yes, I refer to FC as “it” because, well, it’s a genderless demigod and I’m not sure what to refer to it as.

Why YOU Should Follow

blackwingedgabriel:

Why I think you’re all going to love the Dark Veil Saga by the very first book:

 – an antagonist who isn’t aware he’s the villain, and might not be,

 – local plot, because teenager-saves-the-world is getting obnoxious,

 – non-white and mentally ill protagonist,

 – lots of original fantasy creatures,

 – giant freaking swords, because some tropes ARE worth keeping,

 – no glorifying of war/death,

 – unusual and original magic system,

 – mix of Steampunk and Viking culture,

 – near equal antagonist/protagonist point-of-view,

 – and faeries are actually cool.

I’m sure I’ll think of more as time goes on, but that’s just for starters. This book was basically made to break what annoyed me about the entire fantasy genre. But you’ll hear more about it if you follow me on Tumblr or give us a like on Facebook. The first book, Dark Soldier, is planned for release in early 2016. 

Now that I have some more followers, I think this will be good to see.

“I have been a monster, an animal, for all my life…” -Malkeon, Dark Soldier: the Novel

Another character aesthetic post! This time it’s for the character Malkeon.

Follow us for more news on Dark Soldier, a dark fantasy/steampunk novel planned for release in early 2016!

My book illustrator and I are working on what could possibly be the most epic book cover art to date. And it’s for my own upcoming book, which makes it doubly awesome.