Author Archives: scottatirrell

The first read-through of the Noonday in the North, book 3 of my Absolution of the Morning Star series, is moving along. I’m halfway through chapter 11 of 30. So far, no significant problems, and I like what I see, which is good because I will likely read it a half-dozen more times in theContinue reading “Update and the rise of Koen”

It’s heartbreaking to receive a bad review, but it’s even worse when you realize they’re right. Pride in my work makes this post hard to put down, but as artists, we must accept criticism and squeeze what we can from it to improve our work. In other words, rotten apples make the sweetest cider (sorry,Continue reading “Rotten apples make the sweetest cider”

Has it really been almost a month since my last post? Gosh, it didn’t feel like it to me. With the new job and trying to finish a book, I knew that I wouldn’t be able to post as much, but a month? Well, let me give you an update. The job is going well.Continue reading “Noonday in the North’s first draft complete!”

Time for another quick writing update. The first draft of Noonday in the North, book three of the Absolution of the Morning Star series, is getting very close to being finished. I’m currently at 130,310 words and have about three to four chapters left to write. I hope to finish this part of the storyContinue reading “Noonday in the North update”

For this post, I thought I would take a moment and discuss some of my process for drafting a chapter. Each segment of a story is its own adventure, but there are some typical steps that almost always appear on my journey. As of this post, I’m actually not finished writing the portion of theContinue reading “Drafting chapters”

Well, I’m writing about a blizzard when it’s 90 outside (32 degrees Celsius, and it is only 9 am). My main characters are working through a northern boreal forest called the Devilwood on their way to the Northland city of Thornehold, the seat of Erikson Gray’s maternal grandfather. It is an exercise in juxtaposition. WhenContinue reading “Dog days”

It’s hard to imagine a world without speedy lines of communication or easy means of travel, and this poses particular issues when trying to write medieval fantasy. The Lucardian Empire, the setting for my Absolution of the Morning Star series (map above), is roughly 2,500 miles across at its furthest points, which is approximately theContinue reading “The journey”

Noonday in the North, book three in my Absolution of the Morning Star series, has finally joined the 100k word club! I am now at 100,080 words and two-thirds done with the first draft. I started on February 17th, so I have been at it for about six months. It may seem like a bigContinue reading “Noonday in the North at 100k!”