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Archives for September 2021

Orion’s Message of Hope

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From Sanctum of the Archmage: The End of the Beginning, by Tony Andarian

He sat for a long time, staring at the floor. She watched him, anxiously searching his face.

“Are you all right?” she asked at last. “That must have been hard for you to watch. I know how much you respected him.”

He lifted and shook his head. He smiled.

“It was the greatest thing I’ve ever seen,” he said. “And the most profound inspiration. It showed me something very important. Something that I think will keep me going, and give me the strength to do what must be done.”

Her eyes opened wide in a question. She didn’t have to ask it.

“It showed me how knowledge, valor, and wisdom can stand against evil,” he said. “No matter how ruthless and powerful it may be. We may not have the strength to defeat it outright, but we can win battles against it. One at a time, through relentless and uncompromising opposition. Until one day, when we win enough of them to turn the tide.”

She looked at him, face eager. “Yes. But how?”

“I don’t know. But he bought us time to find a way. And he showed us the path to finding it. Search for their weaknesses, and learn how to exploit them. And never, ever give up fighting, no matter how hopeless things look or become.”

Sanctum of the Archmage: The End of the Beginning, by Tony Andarian

Log-Line for Dawn of Chaos

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I’ve been reading a bit about “log-lines” recently. A log-line is supposed to be a one sentence summary of your story, usually a novel or screenplay, for “pitching” purposes. I decided to take a few minutes to try to come up with one for the first volume in my Sanctum of the Archmage series, Dawn of Chaos. Here’s my first cut:

The people of Carlissa struggle for survival when a professor of magic summons an army of demons to enforce his elitist ideas on their society, and its maverick bard princess tries to reach the Archmage for the power to defeat them.

Here’s the longer description from the book’s page:

A new constitution prepares Carlissa for an era of enlightenment. The harsh traditions of the past fade, and a promise of freedom stirs the air.

In the space of one terrifying day, that promise is shattered in a bloodbath of fire and magic.

Thousands of years ago, an epic battle was fought between good and evil. The demon lords had opened a door to the realms of hell itself, and their horde threatened to overrun the earth. But the Kalarans, led by the hero Calindra, destroyed their hellgate and drove them from the world.

The Great War has long since been lost to myth and legend. The Church struggles for relevance as the people forget their covenant with the gods. A renaissance of freedom and learning stirs the air in the modern age of Carlissa, led by the royal family, and the wisdom of the Archmage.

All of that comes to an end when a dome of shimmering magic appears in the capital city.

In the chaos that follows, the people fight desperately for survival, and wonder bitterly why the gods seem to have abandoned them. Their only hope lies with the magic of the Archmage — and his, with a young princess who never wanted to rule. She must find the strength to set aside her bard’s calling and take up a battle against impossible odds, or surrender her land and people to the Black Magus and his demons.

Sanctum of the Archmage: Dawn of Chaos, by Tony Andarian