Rumours are correct…I’m writing another Blackwood Marauders novel. For those who are not aware, Blackwood Marauders is my weird series of standalone mercenary soaps of which only one (aptly titled Blackwood Marauders) has been published so far.
Yes, you heard that right. They’re mercenary soaps.
To be more specific, these novels follow the tradition I first started in The Agartes Epilogues and then runs with it. It involves characters who don’t get the spotlight–they are not main characters and don’t end the story as main characters. The standalone format means the plot is fairly standard sword-and-sorceries–there is no epic build up, no large scale payoff that affects the trajectory of the world (which Agartes does). Blackwood Marauders concerns itself only with the small picture, with the lives and relationships of the relatively unambitious main characters while the big events in my main epic fantasy series plays out in the background.
The first book, for example, deals with the fallout following Kefier (one of the leads of Agartes)’s murder of Thiar, an officer of his mercenary company. The resulting mess causes a group of mercenaries to flee west and encounter a young, relatively clueless farmboy, Luc. Somehow, Luc isn’t killed and…adventures happen. The story simply shows Luc’s humble origins and his rise to power as leader of a relatively minor mercenary group, and writing it taught me more than I could have ever expected.
“You are not made lesser by your circumstances. It is how you respond that dictates your worth.” –Blackwood Marauders
I see story everywhere. I think there is value in defining a worthy story not just as a narrative about larger-than-life people doing extraordinary things. Framing can be everything, which is a lesson I try to remember outside of my stories. Are struggles a sign that you’re worthless because nothing ever goes right for you, or are they opportunities to learn, grow, and be better? And if you never “win” anything, does that truly mean you’ve lost? Or is the lesson in redefining what a “win” means? Not every story has to end in an epic explosion with the main characters gaining glory and power every which way. Sometimes “success” is coming to terms with your struggles and finding a sort of inner peace with the way things are. Healing over fame. Become whole over riches. Finding love, even if you can never own that love.
I mean this is probably why my books don’t sell that well but anyway…
It’s the one thing that keeps me writing. And why I can look at a project like Blackwood Marauders, knowing it’s never going to amount to anything, and still find peace in the fact that I can wade in there and find everything that reminds me of why I do this in the first place. It’s freeing. It’s such an odd approach to a project, which is why it always tickles me to learn there are people who love it over the rest of my books (there are readers who prefer it to Bitch Queen! I certainly think it is the easiest of my books to get into). For those precious readers–don’t worry! This series is ongoing and I’m working as hard as I can (well, not while writing this blog entry) to get this installment drafted. We’re probably looking at a release date sometime next year once my non-compete for Bitch Queen is done; watch for a cover reveal next summer.
