"The River Mists of Talry" Spellmonger short now live

Folks, I know the silence has been deafening, but it has been legally advised and, thank goodness, is now over.  I published the 40-odd page short "The River Mists of Talry" yesterday, and it's available on Kindle for a mere $.99.  It's a bit of a departure from the rest of the series as it is told in third person, not first.  It deals with a little adventure Tyndal had in Minalan's home town before he joined his master at Timberwatch.

As to the silence . . . as I said, I was advised by my attorney to "go dark" during a process.  The whole tangled issue involves one of my children being abducted (and safely returned) and the aftermath, which has been significant.  I've written tens of thousands of words in the last six months, but alas most of them have involved legal papers and police reports.  Because of the delicate nature of the issue, I was advised not to make so much as a facebook posting (not that I do Facebook, the Evil Universal Time Suck), much less publish anything, including a blog post, under my own name.   Needless to say, I cannot comment on any legal case or on-going investigation, so while I appreciate your words of support, I can't give any details.  For Reals. It's like That.

It was frustrating.  I didn't stop writing (Magelord nears completion, but I don't want to give a date...let's just say that I'm working on it furiously) and I didn't stop composing (slightly different processes), but real life stress and anxiety, anger, frustration, and righteous indignation all take a toll on the creative process.  The good news is that ultimately all this crazy bullshit will make me a more "colorful" writer.

In any case, that's the reason, there's the story, and yeah, I'm cranking on Magelord.  More updates as I can give them.  Thanks for your patience.  And thanks for reading my stuff.  I promise to make lots more of it as quickly as I can.

Terry

Comments

  1. Speaking of Evil Universal Time Suck, I am creating a TVTropes page for The spellmonger series, and I could really use some help (at the risk of sounding like I am using this page for my needs and not Terry's)

    it can be found here

    http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Literature/TheSpellmongerSeries

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    Replies
    1. I should probably apologize for sounding callous, posting about TV tropes after a bombshell like that.

      soooooo

      add to my previous statement that I thought the short story was AWESOME, and that I am very glad that your child was returned.

      I think I speak for all of us fans when I say,

      I hope to see magelord out soon!

      Delete
  2. I've heard a lot of excuses from authors on various topics, and I have to admit, this one is one of the most valid I've heard. Even trumps broke my hand. As for me, I'll be happy to accept it at face value, and I'm happy to hear everything worked out and your child was safely returned. I'd recommend keeping them locked in the cellar for now on for safeties sake though :).

    Very glad to see the new short published, and looking forward to the next short and Magelord.

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  3. Sorry. Not sure I really believe a word.

    "I didn't stop writing" and "I'm cranking on Magelord."

    So please give us a date.

    Howzabout, two posts on your own blog within a week. Record!

    One to tell us fluff.

    One to tell us what's what.

    "been legally advised and, thank goodness, is now over." So no limits now then. You could perhaps give us an honest date for Magelord. 2015, 2016?

    mako

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    Replies
    1. Seriously??!!


      I'm not really sure it matters whether or not we (let alone YOU) believe what he just said! Were you there?

      The man just went through emotional and legal hell, and you just start insulting him like this?

      Stop being a troll you jerk

      Delete
    2. Howzabout you quit being such an asshole.

      Delete
    3. Sweet Jesus, are you serious? Intellectually I knew that there are people out there who have the capacity to be utterly callous pricks, but to read Mr. Mako's complete disregard for Mr. Mancour's plight is honestly quite unfuckingbelievable. It's not like you're the only one whos been frustrated by the delayed deadlines and blog silence. Being a complete shithead at this time isn't going to make Magelord come any faster. Seriously. Even if you don't believe him, Magelord will come out when it's finished. Not before. So wait patiently like the rest of us. Asshole.

      Delete
    4. In the defense of Mako...

      Terry is a fiction writer. This is his job, and he never attested that anything he says on his blog is truth.

      The Kidnapping of a child is news. It may not be news immediately, but it becomes news before or at the time the case is resolved. Go find a story of a child kidnapped in Durham, North Carolina in 2013. I couldn't. This doesn't mean it didn't happen, it could mean he doesn't live in NC, but his profile says he lives in NC, so obviously, something is not right somewhere.

      A successful blog is a blog controlled by the author. I'm not talking about moderating, I'm talking about controlling the flow of conversation. This can't be done without at least two posts a month. The author writes something...about anything, and only responds to the people that stay on topic. This forces fans to play along if they want recognition by the author. Yes, these blogs generally require about thirty minutes of the authors time a day, and some seem to get caught up in it and spend hours a day on them.

      Promises were made and deadlines were not met. This ruffles feathers, and in the rest of the world results in lost jobs and occasionally lives.

      As far as the rest of it goes, yeah, he let his emotions type for him, but looking at it analytically, this is really a compliment. It is the people who go black, that have given up and may never return, that hurt an authors sales. Every fan, no matter how irritating or uncouth you may find them, is supporting the same author you are and should be treated with respect regardless of how they blow off steam. Otherwise it turns into a flame war and someone has to go in and delete all the emotional touchy feely things you wrote about each other, and your defense of the author may end up losing him a sale.

      Delete
    5. Actually there is no defense.

      I suppose the nice thing about forums is that you can say things, like Mako did, that would get you punched in the face in real life.




      Delete
    6. And as for professionalism.

      I picked up a copy of "The Wheel of Time" when I was 10 years old, and read it. Around a year later "The Great Hunt" came out. A year after that the next book came out, and then the next one.

      It got to the point where I would go into the bookstore weeks in advance of the next book's publication date, hoping that the booksellers would put the next book out early by accident.

      Then the time between books coming out started becoming longer and longer. A year and a half. Then two years. Then when I was in college 3 years once. Before going back down to two years.

      Then the author died.

      I know exactly how it feels to eagerly anticipate a new book. With the Rothfuss's and Martin's out there almost every fantasy fan does. Not every author is a Brendan Sanderson or Stephen King who can churn out new books every few months.

      But unlike spoilt children, we've grown used to it.

      Delete
    7. ...you would be right if we were still five years ago.
      Now with e-books a LOT of content is being published every day(good or bad) and the model to follow to have sucess is not Rothfuss nor Martin but B.V Larson, just to cite one...we live in another world entirely compared with the one that was only five years ago.In this world information end promotion of your work are everything because there are so many other authors that are doing it,and each little thing help.
      what i'm trying to say is simply that NOW publishing a book in over a year(and still nothing definitive,may be 2 years)is not a feasible way to success,because in that same time readers will have found tons of other works and more prolific authors that manage to keep theyr interest; yes the ones who REALLY loved your works will be back and buy the occasional new book,but that's all.

      Delete
    8. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    9. To Fox
      Maybe your right, and maybe your wrong. Though I personally disagree with you, I have no problem with you posting them here, since you did so in a polite and appropriate manner

      What Mako said was another thing entirely. This is not really even about the content as it is about the TONE. Its one thing for a fan to chew out an author for having a dry spell. It is quite another for said fan to hurl insults and DISBELIEF at said author in the wake of something as immensely traumatizing as a CHILD ABDUCTION!!

      And then Swanson has the gall to defend Mako by saying that he made it up? Based on the fact that the abduction wasn't reported in the MEDIA??? That is just beyond the pale, and beneath contempt.

      One other thing.

      "Every fan, no matter how irritating or uncouth you may find them, is supporting the same author you are and should be treated with respect regardless of how they blow off steam. Otherwise it turns into a flame war."

      I would probably agree with this statement if wasn't missing one key element.

      We have an obligation to treat the author with as much respect as our fellow posters!

      Delete
    10. Besides not every child abduction gets in the news.

      A friend of mine married a man from Honduras. They were happily married for about six years, then one day they had a major fight.

      She went off to work, he was supposed to drop of the kids at school before going to work himself, instead he left the country with them.

      Was it in the news? No. This kind of thing is considered by the news to be a domestic dispute. Was it horrible on her. Yes.

      Delete
    11. I never said he made it up, I said I couldn't find any evidence to substantiate what the author said. This is not the same thing as calling someone a liar, and it isn't the issue.

      The issue is this high and mighty, holier than thou attitude I'm seeing here. I never would have felt the need to defend anyone if three other posters didn't start preaching about how terrible a person Mako was for venting and expressing his opinion about what he thought of the delay. If posters hadn't started in with the name calling and harassment immediately and just offered the author their support, which they still haven't done, it would likely have gone a lot farther with Terry then the rabid dog routine.

      I don't really care if you like what someone has to say on a blog or not, Mako wasn't the one who broke the content policy for posting in blogger, that was the first three people who responded to his post.

      Harassment: Do not harass or bully others. Anyone using Blogger to harass or bully may have the offending content removed or be permanently banned from the site. Online harassment is also illegal in many places and can have serious offline consequences.

      So keep that in mind when you decide to write your next post. You are free to disagree, but when you attack another poster, it is harassment. This is Terry's blog so I'm sure he has moderator privileges, he doesn't need any attack dogs ripping into his customers because THEY were offended. Let him decide what he finds offensive and deal with it as he chooses.

      The purpose of this blog, is to keep the customer informed, and allow the customer feedback. It isn't so we can call each other trolls or jerks or assholes.

      Delete
    12. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    13. First of all. I did offer my support.

      "add to my previous statement that I thought the short story was AWESOME, and that I am very glad that your child was returned.
      "

      second of all, you did not say you believe he made up the story.
      what you said was

      Terry is a fiction writer. This is his job, and he never attested that anything he says on his blog is truth.

      That sounds like an accusation to me

      3rd: Your right, this whole thing is about someone braking the bullying policy, but that person was mako. Not me.

      For the last time, this is not about him venting his frustrations. I even agree with him. Terry has been waay behind on his promises about magelord. But even if I had been willing to post my frustrations online, I still wouldn't have said something that blatantly insulting, disrespectful, and hurtful. That's not criticizing, that's flaming!

      Delete
    14. Terry IS a fiction writer, or did you think his books were non-fiction. If that is the case I suppose you might need professional help. (note: I never said you need help. Stop reading what you think people say and read what they actually said.)

      Terry never once on this blog that I can find attested that everything he said was true, I don't actually doubt the events he described took place, which my first post should attest to, but it really isn't important what I believe. I also couldn't find evidence to support his claim, so I couldn't post a link to confirm his story, which I also pointed out in my second post. Terry has made promises he didn't keep, so regardless of what I believe, Mako was not without a basis for his beliefs, valid or not.

      What is important is that this is the second person you harassed in the last several months. The first one I saw was when you started in on Fox for that innocuous comment about SOON. Every time you do this, your little groupies jump in and back you up making the harassment worse.

      No one has the right to harass anyone on this forum. Even a moderator only has the right to remove objectionable material. You're the one in the wrong here Aaron (spelled the name right) because as hostile as Mako may have meant to be, he never once said anything disparaging about Terry outside of that he didn't believe his word was good, and that he doesn't post enough.

      You on the other hand began the name calling. Name calling made worse by flakes, and then worse again by damy. This is bullying and harassment. It is behavior designed to make other people feel small and put them in their place. It is crap that doesn't belong here.

      Delete
    15. It isn't harassment.

      Technically the term is "Shaming." There is a major difference.

      For an example of the difference: if someone in this forum had been an African American and Mako had used the "N" word in reference to them

      - If we had found out his real name and email, bombarded him with personal insults over and over and over again. This would be harassment.

      - If on the other hand we pointed out to him that his language and thoughts were unacceptable by any standard of human interaction, and maybe get a bit vocal and crude in our expressions of this. This would be shaming

      Now I know that you are probably telling yourself that using hate and offensive language is different than somehow insulting someone else grief and pain and you would be right.

      But I also sincerely hope that if something truly awful happens to Mako or yourself, maybe a loved one murdered, a family member kidnapped, a wife, sister, daughter or mother raped, whatever, that you never run into anybody with the same level of compassion and social niceties you seem to be exhibiting.

      Delete
  4. It's a little hypocritical of me, but I like the authors' responses far more than what the other bloggers have to say. My personal favorite being Lev Grossman's 'I'm going dark because you are a distraction, so suck it' (I'm paraphrasing and it's a very polite "leave me alone", but you all should read it and judge for yourselves.)

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  5. I remember there being some insane, selfish, inhumanly cruel and otherwise morally disgusting comments about how Terry should be writing more and publishing more, but this is just unbelievable. Seriously, are some of you people 8 years old? Do you have no concept what it means that your child is in danger? If my daughter had been kidnapped, I wouldn't be able to eat, much less write. And some of you people dare to say that you don't buy it? Seriously, even if this is a troll (please tell me it is), it takes a rotten kind of person to make that joke. You realize bothering people in this manner doesn't hurt other people, but it does show you to be disgusting?

    Now, Terry can't comment on any of this, but I'm guessing that the kidnapper was someone he knew well, maybe family. Statistically it usually is. That would also explain why he was able to write instead of going nuts and looking for who he needed to kill. It also explains why he needs to continue keeping quiet. If it was family, there could be quite a lot of legal trouble going on, much less all the drama and stress and gloom that comes with that kind of thing.

    Long story short, Terry has been going through an awful lot of awful stuff, and he's still suffering from it, and still will be for some time. Show some understanding, and for the love of all that's holy, at least pretend to have more patience than a hungry dog staring at bacon.

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    Replies
    1. Bacon? Bacon! Where?

      I was 8 years old once, hated it, glad it's over. Does that count?

      Seriously though, I empathize with Terry and his plight, but understand the frustration of those who feel let down by the delay as well. I'm glad he threw me a bone by publishing "The River Mists of Talry", but I'd much rather have had some bacon. It's tastier.

      Delete
  6. Looking back on this wall of text, I think its pretty clear what happened.

    What we have here Mr.Swanson, is a failure to communicate.

    I, for my part, understand that you were never talking about Mako, but about me. From your perspective, I was pretty much a flamer.

    P.S. What exactly was that crack about my name? That is how I spell it.
    But you, Mr. Swanson, have to understand that by coming into this the way you did, you appear to be taking the position of defending Mako, rather than trying to get me to shut up, and most of the posters on this page would probably agree with me saying that what Mako said was unacceptable.

    I accept that you can empathize with Mako. I can too. But even in situations like these, there is a line you cannot cross without giving serious offense.

    That doesnt make anything I did anymore acceptable, but it is a FACT.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Eh? Oh, that was actually poking fun at Exo for misspelling it back in March.

    Nothing more to say other than I think Terry is a big boy and should he wish to, he could, with the written word, stand to his own defense and write circles around us, or just remove us from his blog completely. I don't believe that he requires anyone to protect his reputation, his honor, or his word. Should he choose, he is more than capable of posting comments of his own whenever he pleases. If he needed help, he'd appoint a moderator.

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  8. Glad to hear your life is moving towards a more smooth ride.

    Right! Back to business!

    Have you had any creative urges towards Trask's Odyssey lately?

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  9. Mr. Mancour,
    Do you have a updated est. for the last short story and the release of Magelord? I am happy your problems where successfully resolved and I wish good things for your family in the future. I am eagerly awaiting the next book.

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  10. I'm thankfull for all your hard work and hope to read magelord shortly

    regards

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  11. while we wait, I would like to ask something that has been bugging me for some time now.

    Terry's books, while absolutely superb in worldbuilding, characterization, action, and really all the other really important parts of telling a story, have always had many spelling and grammatical errors. A word missing here, a place or a person referred to by the wrong name there. The most specific example I can come up with is the dead god's name.
    is it Sheruel, or Shereul? Because I have seen it spelled both ways numerous times in both books.

    Don't get me wrong, I have enormous respect for Terry as a writer, and I am not criticizing him for publishing his novels with these errors. I am simply asking if anyone knows when or how he plans to fix them.

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  12. Terry appears to have a good editor (or is a good editor), but it looks like he does his own copy editing. If he is paying a copy editor, he needs to get a refund. I'm assuming he lacks a copy editor, which costs anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a grand and a half depending on who you go to and what additional services you may want from them. A lot of copy editing firms are willing to format e-books for publication, etc. and try to sell service bundles rather than a single service.

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    Replies
    1. And it can cost a LOT more, but a good copyedit that involves more than one pass, for a full-length novel, is quite pricey.

      Agreed that he shouldn't be paying a lot for what he's getting, unless the draft is in terrible shape when he hands it to the editor. And then, well... you have to compensate people when you do that to them. :)

      Delete
  13. Terry, sorry to hear about your child. I am glad that they are safe now.
    My question is when are you going to get Trask off that slow boat? I am a big fan of the Space Viking series and I hope you will get back to it soon.

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  14. How's it going on Trask's Odyssey

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  15. Aaron Schwartz

    I still haven't read Magelord.

    Abuse me as you will. Asslick as you will.

    I still haven't read Magelord :)

    Mako

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  16. And: AS, you wrote on 24 June: " you just start insulting him like this?"

    Please quote my insults.

    Here are yours, and those of your minions.

    "Stop being a troll you jerk"

    "such an asshole"

    "Asshole"

    "would get you punched in the face in real life." Threats of violence even ☺

    " if someone in this forum had been an African American and Mako had used the 'N' word in reference to them" -- "Flakes," I just did not do that. Sometimes imagination is good, what you did there was not.

    Oh, and something about "dogs."

    Mako

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  17. Whoops: I missed "callous prick." Don't know how I let that one get by me :)

    Mako

    Oh, and, and...: "at the risk of sounding like I am using this page for my needs and not Terry's." I forgot to mention the sound of bullet striking own self righteous foot...

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