Deeds of Their Past

[mcarss]

Nathan—a man who lives life in shadow and solitude—finds himself hunted due to an old assignment. While awaiting his execution, he crosses paths with a towering brute, forming a powerful bond of friendship, loyalty, and love. Alone, they struggle to stay ahead of their fate, but together find the strength to escape the deeds of their past.
 

If this sounds like something you’d like to read, the following could be considered spoilers.

* * *

Deeds of Their Past began as an experiment in creative writing. I wanted to tell a story from the “bad guys” point of view, and have the good guys appear as the villains. Nathan and Brohm are murderers, amoral at best, but I wanted to have the reader to root for them.

Originally meant to be a short story with some smut sprinkled in, it grew beyond anything I could’ve imagined. After writing three chapters (around 6.5k words), the story and characters had taken on a life of their own. I’d lost control of the narrative. Instead, I felt more like a transcriber, watching and describing the unfolding story.

This was before I was aware of the term “pantser.” 😅

Upon rereading this while posting the chapters here, I have to admit I found myself cringing at the writing. I think it could be kindly described as workman-like. It does the job of telling the story, but man, if there’s an opposite to purple prose, this would be it. The story’s blunt writing style was an overreaction to a few novels I’d read at that time. I recall yelling, “get on with it!” in response to their ponderous storytelling.

I learned so much while writing Deeds, though. The sequel to Nathan and Brohm’s story, titled Strength of Fate, certainly benefits from that experience. The world is richer, the characters more nuanced. And I allowed scenes to breathe instead of always rushing the characters along.

Early on, I found myself needing a map to track Nathan and Brohm’s travels. After finding some royalty-free map assets, I loaded up Photoshop and built this:

While the map doesn’t have any measurements to provide a sense of scale, it was enough for me to calculate travel times. My thumb against the screen dictated one day of travel by horseback. I know . . . very accurate, right? 😬

While writing, I kept eyeing an Albert Bierstadt painting I had mounted on my wall.
https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/a-storm-in-the-rocky-mountains-mt-rosalie/rQFn_yMzurNDsQ

This became inspiration for Nathan and Brohm’s travels through Dead Man’s Pass. I also shared it with artist Ryan Wardlow, whom I commissioned to create the wraparound cover art for the printed novel.

I mentioned earlier that this story was meant to be a vehicle for smut, yet the finished story contains none. Why? I found myself unable to objectify my characters in that way. I felt it cheapened the story I was trying to tell. Instead, I was enjoying the sexual tension growing between them. Also, let’s be honest: a good sex scene can be hampered by poor writing, and I didn’t want to destory my story just for some raunchy sex. Even when they finally get the chance (at the very end), it’s off-screen. Best to leave it to the reader’s imagination.

All that said, if you’ve read the story and wanted to support my work by purchasing your own copy (either ebook or paperback), you can get store links here:
https://books2read.com/b/deeds-of-their-past

You can also get the ebook for free at Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/341104

In your shopping cart (before the checkout page), use coupon code V3MB9 for 100% off the price (free).

Have any questions or thoughts you’d like to share? Don’t hesitate to ask. Thanks!