More Archaic Words

Greetings! It's been awhile since I shared a few more of my favorite archaic words I try to use in my writing. Tonight I would like to cover some archaic samples of greeting others. As usual, I used the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary and an (online) glossary book written by Shakespeare. Enjoy!
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Good morrow = Good morning 
(13th cent. noun)

Good day = Good day (said before noon)
(12th cent noun)

Hail or Greetings = Hello or Salutations
(13th cent noun)

God ye good den or Good den =  Good evening or good day (said after noon)
(according to The Works of William Shakespeare it means "God give you good e'en")

Good e'entide = Good evening or good night 
e'en = evening + tide = A time or season. Often used in combination: eventide; Christmastide; Shrovetide. (13th cent. noun)
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Next post will be samples of saying good-bye.

New Extended Realmwalkers Video

I just created a new version of my original Realmwalkers video. After some editing and a few extra pictures, I came up with this. I hope you like this better. A special thanks to my friend, Vince, for his help with "Quality Control."  I owe you a Starbucks, buddy!

Realmwalkers is on sale at Amazon.com!

I just found out that Realmwalkers has a special promo price now! Not sure how the folks at Amazon.com came to the new price, but it went from $18.95 to $17.06. That's almost two dollars off! If you have been waiting for the price on this novel to go down, now is the time to take advantage. 

Here are some of the testimonies I have been getting:

It's easy reading..meaning it's a fun story, interesting characters and it's not this deep reading that I have to keep reading each line over and over to understand. Some books are full of such verbose sentences/paragraphs that I get lost halfway through and have to start the sentence over again. The characters are familiar so I can picture them so easily, which is awesome! - Maryanne of Riverside CA

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Done with the book! Awesome! I liked it very much! Now you need to write a sequel with new adventures of Hilo, Felucia, Alain... need I go on??!! I want more!! Sequel! Sequel! Sequel!  - Amanda of Lake Havasu, AZ
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I've really enjoyed reading "Realmwalkers". I've read it more than once and continue to become imersed in the story and enthralled by it's cast of characters. It has a lot to enjoy: Heros and Villians from another planet, pirates, Elves and Gnomes, romance, battles on land and sea, a snowball fight and a beautiful Goddess.
The only problem I have with the book is that there is no sequel
Something for everyone to like. Give it a read. - Vince of Hamilton, OH

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The author has me drawn into the story and I feel as if I am actually there, living this saga. The drawings are magnificent! I anticipate every moment, and can't wait for the next chapter to unfold!!  - Pauline of Hawley, PA

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I really enjoyed this story. The characters were well developed and interesting. The settings were described in enough detail to give me a good visual image, but not overly described. The conflicts were believable and urgent enough to keep me engaged to the end. I definitely recommend this book.  - Layne of Lake Havasu, AZ

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What an exciting book with lots of great adventure and fun. Look out Harry Potter! This is the next up-and-coming new series. Would like to see it made into a movie. - Michele of Lake Havasu, AZ  

Realmwalkers has a new fan and this one can sew!

I met a new Facebook friend the other day who purchased Realmwalkers and enjoyed it so much she was inspired to create a similar outfit that resembles Solita, one of the main characters of the book. Her name is Pauline Cortez and she enjoys medieval history and fantasy. She is also a talented seamstress! She creates various medieval costumes which you can see at her FB page. Here is her version of Solita's outfit.

Sir Krymson's Prayer

Networked Blogs Morning News for Today

I just received an email from Networked Blogs and I am sorry to see my free promotion of last weekend is now being shown...three days too late. Well, the promo did well and I got a lot of responses. I do apologize if you are coming here to download the ebook. The Priestess and the Ravenknight is still available to all at Amazon, but it's now back to $2.99. I didn't know my blog would be featured today.

Since you are here, I hope you'll look around at my artwork, short stories, poetry and news about my books and events. I am always looking for new friends and readers and that's why I joined Networked Blogs.

I hope you have a good visit and become a follower. Leave me a link to your blog if you would like me to visit.

Take care and keep writing!

Another Freebie Weekend!

The two day promotion last weekend just didn't seem to be long enough. I have met with friends who missed out on the event and wanted to download my new ebook. For those of you that still want to get a free copy of my ebook novella, The Priestess and the Ravenknight, please click on the link below and it will take you straight to the Amazon webpage where you can get it for FREE.today, tomorrow and Sunday! It's supposed to be available all day long from midnight to midnight. Make sure you are paying ZERO cents when you purchase the ebook there.  Some of you may have bought this ebook before, but this is the latest version with a new graphic and it's now seven chapters long instead of five. 

http://www.amazon.com/The-Priestess-Ravenknight-ebook/dp/B00B9EQS2K

FREE Today, tomorrow and Sunday!

I realize not all of you will have a Kindle, but Amazon.com does offer a free app here Free App for non-Kindles  With this app you can read your ebook on a PC, laptop, Ipad, Iphone, etc...

Enjoy the ebook and please please please review it at Amazon! Have a great weekend!

Free Download of The Priestess and the Ravenknight eBook

www.amazon.com/The-Priestess-Ravenknight

      A mysterious deity takes over the dark elven city of Espion, bringing mass executions and unholy sacrifices. In the face of the new god’s reign of terror, rebels still loyal to the Mother Goddess of Tiaera remain in the once peaceful medieval city, determined to help those captured by or hiding from the usurper’s Host of Wrath. Serving in Espion's army, Ravenknight Krymson Larolin is torn between his sworn duty and the seemingly absent goddess, until he finds himself protecting the High Priestess of Espion — a revered follower of the new god. The Priestess and the Ravenknight is a tale of courage, love and loyalty that is now available at Amazon KDP. 

Everyone is invited to download this Free Ebook at Amazon.com today and tomorrow till midnight (April 20-21st).  

If you have previously bought or borrowed this ebook before it is worth checking it again as I have made some changes to it. Click on the link above to get to the Amazon webpage for this ebook.

How I create my graphics...

I have been busy working on a graphic and thought I would share with you what it looks like as I am making it. I have decided not to do any illustrations for submission with my next manuscript, working title "The Sirens of Swansong". As I have posted before, I intend to write only and avoid any cover art or illustrations. Nonetheless, I desire to do ONE graphic to decorate my three ring binder and to inspire me while I write. My notebook contains all my research notes, glossaries, maps and outline. And my binder needs a graphic sooooo....

Here is the image of Lyrica and Dalyn, my two main characters. After Googling "sirens" and "mermaids" I came up with what I think Lyrica will look like. She is Tiaeran siren and one of the guardians (angels) of the Mother Goddess. After several name change I decided Lyrica would be my final choice and this character will use her singing as a power to affect friends and enemies as needed. Dalyn is a carpenter turned pirate.

I started this graphic with a pencil sketch then inked it with an artist's fine point marker. After I have the main details drawn, I scan it and open it up in Adobe 10 Elements. I check all the details careful and clean any mistakes or spots I find. I make a black and white copy and a color copy and begin coloring using the many wonderful tools in Adobe Elements. After a couple of hours of relearning this program and using my new Wacom tablet I come up with this:

To save me a lot of time, I found a neat and free wallpaper background online. Remember this is only going to decorate a three ring binder and so any short cuts are acceptable for this piece. Depending on how long this takes to finish, will determine whether I will go through the trouble of also creating a background. As you can see, this graphic is still not finished. There lots of white areas that still need to be colored. Stay tuned for the next post when I finally complete this.

If you have any questions about my graphics, feel free to click on the COMMENTS link below or email me.

The Priestess and the Ravenknight updated

As some of you may know, I have updated The Priestess and the Ravenknight recently.  Those of you who have purchased this ebook, do not fret. I will be making this ebook available for FREE in the next week or two and I will post news about it's availability just as soon as I figure out how to do this at Amazon. It will only be free for a day or two so please keep checking back or email me at evmedina@dragonling.com.

The cover is the same and it's still going to be a Kindle version that you can buy at Amazon.com for only $2.99. If you don't own a Kindle ebook reader, don't forget that you can also get a free app that will enable you to read this free ebook on your PC, laptop, tablet, Android/iphone. One thing you will notice is that the novelette has grown from five chapters to seven. I also added one more graphic to the ebook.  If you own a Nook or some other reader that requires an EPUB file, I have it in that format. I am looking to see how I can send this file without going against my contract with Kindle. I can't see how Kindle would hold me to not selling the EPUB file if their app doesn't work on EPUB readers. Till I find out what to do about that, you can still get the ebook to read on your PC, laptop and smartphones.

The-Priestess-Ravenknight-ebook

Why did I re-do this ebook? Well, I did it mostly because something kept nagging me that it wasn't really finished. I asked some of my readers for feedback and most were happy with the way it ended, but once I changed the ending and added more text to the story they seemed happier with the changes. All I know is that I could not rest until I took the time to pull up the file and work on the story once again. I also decided to include two chapters of Realmwalkers for those who haven't bought the book yet. I saw this being done with some novels and thought this would be a good idea.

For those who wish to know, KABAM was not very active this year. Not many people attended and a few authors were missing. The weather was nice and I got a good table to set up my books. There was music, food, drinks and vendors at the park. I suspect the date might have had something to do with the event not being so crowded as in the past. I had a good time while I was there and gave out a lot of bookmarkers, answered questions and met some really nice people there. It also gave me a chance to promote The Priestess and the Ravenknight.

Now that the snowbirds are gone and the heat is here, I can now focus on writing my next novel and get ready for some swimming. SPLASH!

KABAM Book Festival

Now that we are in spring and the snow birds are leaving our fair city in droves, it is time for one more major book signing event in the city of Kingman (about an hour's drive from here).  Kelley and I (as well as other members of the LHCWG) are driving up there to attend the event again this year. There will be lots of authors to rub shoulders with, food, entertainment and one more chance to promote Realmwalkers before the heat turns my attention to swimming and writing indoors.

The festival lasts for days, but we will be up there next Saturday,  April 6th from 11AM - 4PM. 

Mark your calendars! If you are in the area, stop by!

Metcalf Park

315 West Beale Street
Kingman, AZ 86401

Community: Kingman
 

View Map | Get Directions

KABAM Book Festival Info and Event Schedule

Archaic Words for the Day

Abide = Tolerate, await, to remain stable or fixed in a state, to continue in a place, to accept without objection

Middle English, from Old English ābīdan, from ā-, perfective prefix + bīdan to bide; akin to Old High German ir-, perfective prefix — more at BIDE

Synonyms:  stay, dwell, hang around, remain, stick around, tarry

First Known Use: before 12th century

Befall = To happen as if by fate , occur

Middle English, from Old English āwiht, from ā ever + wiht creature, thing — more at aye, wight

Synonyms: be, happen, betide, chance, come, come about, come down, come off, cook, do, go down [slang], go on, hap, occur, pass, transpire

First Known Use: 13th century

As you will = (adv archaic) Expressing obedience: as you wish or as you like

I have found a nice website today I Bequeath Thee for those that would like to know more words. I will post such links as I find them so that you can peruse the glossaries, as you will. :)

The New Portal of Light URL

Jack Shepherd, co-author of Realmwalkers, has changed the location of his Portal of Light blog mentioned in the Dedication Page of our novel.  Please make a note as needed that his blog is now...

The Portal of Light: Potential Realities

http://rakkav.blogspot.com/

Archaic Words of the Day

I hope to kick off the sharing of some of these words with three of the most commonly used in Tiaera. As many of you who have read Realmwalkers and other writings in the past, I like using words that are considered archaic - meaning that they are very old and rarely ever used anymore. When I began writing fantasy fiction years ago, I learned that English or Old English became known as Common in Middle Earth and D&D worlds. This makes it possible for various races and peoples to be able to communicate. Universal Communicators were not yet invented like the ones used in Star Trek. So aside from the elves speaking their elvish and the dwarves speak their dwarvish, etc... almost all in such fantasy worlds grew up to speak some Common (or universal language). Those of you who enjoy writing historical fiction/non-fiction might find these archaic word posts useful in order to give that Old World feel to your stories. I welcome any comments from you.

According to a WOW wikia: "Common is derived from the Dungeons and Dragons roleplaying game. In that game, the Common tongue is a lingua franca, or a universal language, spoken natively by humans and bilingually by other races. The concept is derived from Westron, the "common tongue" of Tolkien's Middle Earth, hence the name. It is the language of humans, halflings, half-elves, and half-orcs . The Common tongue also has great hints of the Icelandic tongue."

When John and I began RPing and writing stories, I started doing more research about archaic words and I find them very fascinating. I recognized many words from the King James Bible. But I wanted Realmwalkers to be easy to read while incorporating words that the Tiaerans spoke whenever they used Common. I tried to use words that were used before the 15th century, the earlier the better.  I usually checked such words with the online Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

So here are few words to start us out today.

Afore = Before  
chiefly dialect

Middle English, from Old English onforan, from on + foran before — more at before

First Known Use: before 12th century

Aught = Anything, all, everything, at all
Middle English, from Old English āwiht, from ā ever + wiht creature, thing — more at aye, wight

First Known Use: before 12th century

Beseech = To beg earnestly, to implore
Middle English besechen, from be- + sechen to seek

First Known Use: 12th century

Blog Interview & Hastings Book Signing

Hello friends!

It's been a very busy month with several book signings in the area. The next one is at Hastings Books, Videos and Music next Saturday from 11 - 3PM. This is the Lake Havasu Store located at 321 Lake Havasu Ave. N.  (928) 680-7272. I will be signing copies of Realmwalkers and promoting my new ebook, The Priestess and the Ravenknight. Stop by to visit with me, ask questions and get out of hot mid-day heat at Hastings this Saturday. Is it summer already? Really? What happened to spring?  Hahah!!

I have also been invited to Virginia Nelson's Guardian's Hangout blog when she posted an author's interview about me. If you wish to see it click here: Guardian's Hangout  I hope you find it interesting and inspiring. Virginia also resides in Arizona. Maybe one day we can meet in person. She seems like a very busy lady and is currently doing a blog hop this month.

Keep on writing and stay in touch!

My First Video!

I have been meaning to do this ever since Realmwalkers was published but was worried about the cost of the service. Well, time has passed and so this morning, I have saved some book money to see about getting a video made. During my web search this morning, I discovered a service called Stupeflix.com. I looked around the site and decided to try it.

After trying so many different programs in editing, graphics, ebooks and publishing, I dreaded the problems and frustration I was about to endure with this video creation service. But there was none of that at all! I LOVED IT!  It was easy to learn and I was making my video in no time. This took me a couple of hours to make, but it because I wanted to take the time to be creative and have fun with it. I highly recommend anyone to try Stupeflix if you're thinking about getting started with video creations. You can always upgrade and move on to more complicated programs later.

If you want to try them out, you get a free HD video when you register. Please use my referral link if you read my post and want to check them out: http://bit.ly/13YzwOq  Thanks!

Archaic Words of the Day?

As some of you know, who have read Realmwalkers, archaic words were often used in the dialogue of Tiaerans.  I use the word "archaic" instead of "Old English" and will explain why.

Over the years, when reading historical novels and watching historical dramas on TV, I learned to appreciate and enjoy the words of old that are no longer commonly used today. Then AOL came along in the 70's and chat rooms were invented. I discovered the graphical chat rooms called "The Realms." What a joy it was to find beautifully decorated webpages filled with icons of AOL members talking in Old English, or what I thought was Old English. In any case, I jumped in and created my own realm through self-teaching and The Dark Forest Realm was created.

Dark Forest Realm map by EV Medina

When Jack and I decided to write a book together, I began to study more about the use of Old English only to discover that such was not really what we are all used to. The kind of Old English we hear in movies these days is a watered-down version of Elizabethan English or Early Modern English.
Even though we created a medieval world, Jack and I agreed we needed to keep Realmwalkers easily readable, so we made changes as Artistic License would allow. Not wanting our book to read like the King James Bible, we removed all the thee's and thou's and only used "thy" infrequently. But in an effort to keep the flavor of an ancient world, we checked various glossaries and dictionaries to show the Tiaerans spoke using words that were used around the 12th-16th centuries. I know I spent much time during the writing process to look up many many words in this endeavor.

Lately, it has come to me that some of these words should be shared here from time to time in the interest to educate and explain how the words were used in Realmwalkers.  I hope you wordsmiths find it interesting and entertaining, especially if you are an avid reader of historical novels.  Even roleplayers (RPers) may find this helpful with their roleplaying in MMORPGs or RP websites.

As I like to explain aspects about Tiaera here through my artwork and stories, brief posts on the Tiaeran "Common" language may also be of interest. Let me know what you think of this idea. I welcome your comments and suggestions.

Renaissance Festival Book Signing

Greetings Good Friends!

I am back from my trip to Phoenix and Apache Junction where I was invited to have a book signing at the 2013 Arizona Renaissance Festival, thanks to my friend and fellow author, Ann Chamberlin.  Here are some photos as promised.

 

 I worked up to the day before the trip sewing and getting last minute items to complete my costume.

At the motel Saturday morning before driving to the festival.

The morning was really nice, cool and sunny.  My husband, Lee, and I has stayed the night in Phoenix and then drove to Apache Junction where hundreds of cars lined up on US60 to enter the festival parking lot. Once inside the renaissance village with my rolling crate of books and book signing necessities I got to work setting up the table located outside Lady Ann Chamberlin's Book Shop.

You can see the table with the red and white tablecloth at the front. I was so glad it was shady there as the day got hotter as time passed. It was hard to believe it was winter as temperatures rose into the mid-seventies.

Passer-byes grew steadily in number until the road in front of me was filled and sitting at my table became impossible. So many passed by without stopping as there was so much to see. It was steep competition out there with so many talented merchants and entertainers vying for people's attention. I read that there were over 200 merchants and thirteen stages of entertainers plus a large variety of eateries and rides at this year's Renaissance Festival.

I stood to stretch out my hand and called out to grab people's attention. "Smile and sound excited," I kept telling myself. My aggressiveness paid off.  One person led to two, then three and more. People began to circle around my little table as I showed them my drawings and books. It was a good place to sell "Realmwalkers" and despite the competition and despite the fact that I am a new and unknown author, I sold eighteen (yes, 18!) copies in the six hours I was there. The only time I got to sit down was for signing the books and my poor feet were killing me. The throbbing still haunts me just to remember. Anyway, it was a good event and I met many people who enjoyed medieval fantasy books. Ann was pleased with how well the event went. 

The left photo shows my little feather brooch on my black velvet hat. I even took links from my belt to make the hoop earrings and hat brooch. If you look close enough, you might be able to see how the sides of my black surcoat are laced up with red/green ribbons. I almost lost a thumb while hammering the grommets into place. LOL! I was warm and comfortable while I pitched my book to the many visitors there that day.

Lee stopped by to check on me and brought me some lunch. He strolled the faire and even passed out some business cards. My friend, Vince, suggests I get Lee to wear one of those sandwich signs to promote the book signing next year. HAH! I don't think so. After the book signing, he helped get my rolling crate back to the car and despite my aching feet, I spent about a half hour wandering around the faire to see what was new.

There were the same events and artisans I have seen from previous visits. There were souvenir shops, rides, jousting, dancers, comedians, performers, and artists. I saw artwork there that made my drawings look like doodles. Such talent! I drank some cold Pear Cider and felt right at home in my scribe costume. It was a wonderful time!

The Priestess and the Ravenknight at Amazon!

I am very pleased to inform you that my latest story, The Priestess and the Ravenknight, is now available at Amazon.com. The events of this story take place in the capital city of Espion, Sangrey (land of the dark elves) some time before what took place in Realmwalkers, and introduces two of my dark elf characters. I call this a medieval fantasy romance novelette and it is my first solo endeavor. Jack (co-author of Realmwalkers) helped me with some editing and proofing, as did other dear friends Vince and Brett. Thank you all once again!

The ebook costs $2.99 to download the Kindle version. There is no printed version and it's not going to be sold anywhere else for now. I have joined Amazon's KDP program where Prime Members are able to borrow this ebook for free! Non-Members can buy it and download it in just a few minutes. I am trying the Prime Program out to see how it works so I won't be selling any copies of this ebook here at my blog. Instead, please click on this book image and it will take you straight to the Amazon webpage to learn about my newest ebook: The Priestess and the Ravenknight.

If you don't own a Kindle eReader, Amazon now offers a FREE App for your device so you can download and read Kindle books. Click the image below to learn more about this app.

Phoenix Renaissance Festival 2013

Well met, good friends!

Now that the holiday season is finally over, it's back to business with book signings and this year I am very lucky to do one at the Phoenix Renaissance Festival which takes place next month and runs for several weeks. As the brochure indicates: The Festival is an explosion of sights and sounds in a 30 acre village with the King and His court, castles and cottages, shops and pubs, and over 200 artisans with open air shops, plus twelve stages of non-stop music, dance, swordplay and comedy to enchant every age.

Last year I met a book dealer there, dressed in period costume, by the name of Ann Chamberlin.  She is the author of a number of books including: The Woman at the Well,  The Joan of Arc Tapestries, and Leaving Eden. A very friendly and talented lady, she invited me to join her this year by having a book signing right there at her shop. I was happy to accept. I would love to help out there at her book shop. I guess I better brush up on my Renaissance English! It will take some planning, but we have already set up a date for that day.

Realmwalkers Book Signing

at the Phoenix Renaissance Festival

February 16th!

I don't have a time yet but it will be around 10:30 - 4:00. 

I have already started sewing my cloak and outfit as it is winter and the weather can be anything from sunny to cold and rainy.  Lee and I enjoy going to the fair every two years or so. It is one of the best I have ever attended.  If you are in the area, I hope you will stop by at her bookstall and say hello. As a matter of fact, I better find out what that stall is called. When I do, I will post it here. 

I also have a couple of other book signings and craft events I plan to attend in the next few months which include Hastings Books and The Book Exchange. The dates will posted here as usual and I hope to see you if you are in the area. Be safe and keep warm this winter. 

Now I need to get back to my sewing!