Cynus

"All right Kirra, what is our next step?" Lady Alsha asked as they stepped out of the tavern and onto the busy street. It was late afternoon and the city was bustling with people going about their business, doing all they could to make use of the fading daylight. There wasn't a great deal of daytime left for them to continue their investigation, and if they made the attempt after nightfall, they were sure to attract a great deal of attention. Kirra remained undeterred by the lateness of the

That must get aggravating! If I lost keyboard control, I would literally lose my mind.

Sorry to hear about the computer troubles. Does that happen often?

Great question! Since I don't want to spoil the surprise, I'll simply say that it will be addressed in a future chapter. Unfortunately, not until Chapter 13 (I just checked to be sure). Even though it'll be soon in the Salidar portion of the timeline, we have to address a few things with Styx's progression and Kirra's progression.

I'll do my best to explain my reasons for writing the scene as I did, though I did write it a few years ago and might not be able to defend it properly, heh. Prism was trying to do as little damage as possible, because if he leaves the guards alive, the theory is there will be less incentive for Salidar to hunt him down. Prism is gambling that Salidar won't risk resources going after a dangerous opponent who only battered and bruised his soldiers but left them alive. I could go into how he doesn't like to kill, that he prefers disabling opponents in general, but that was what I tried to communicate through the action itself. As a writer, I wanted to give Grim the opportunity to show that he was willing to go against his pacifistic tendencies when he had to. I also wanted to use it as a talking point for Grim and Prism, to give hints at the nature of their relationship to each other. As for Styx... well, you're right. I honestly didn't think that through properly. My only defense (and it's not a good one) is that I released this story because I was sick of it sitting on the shelf, not being used, and that I'd write it differently if I did so today. I don't think I'd make the same mistakes with Styx's character if I took another go at it. I appreciate the critical feedback, and I'll do my best to apply it in the future. Thanks for keeping me on my toes.

Then you must've felt right at home!

I don't think there will be one, but it could happen!

Mistborn is a great book! I honestly didn't have it in mind when I originally wrote this, but I can see why you'd draw a correlation. I've had the fortune of meeting Brandon Sanderson a few times (Even played a game of Magic with him), and I'm a huge fan of his work. I'll take the comparison as a compliment, and love your analysis. Kelsier will forever be on my list of favorite fictional characters of all time. I love your observations on Maxthane, and those are great things to be asking about. What will happen between him and the demon? They're playing with forces none of them understand, but they've also prepared as much as they feel they could have before this meeting. Is it potentially just Max's youthful naivety making him nervous?

To all of you, I sincerely apologize. I wrote out a long response to each of you just a moment ago, but for some reason after I hit add comment, it all disappeared. I can't recall all the words I wanted to say, and I don't know if I could do it justice again on a rewrite. It's bad enough it took me a year and a half to respond to all of you... Dammit, your comments are so good, too!

Your line of thinking is spot on, and you're heading down the logic path I hoped the readers would take. Questioning the state of the world. Wondering who is right and who is wrong. Asking if maybe the good guys aren't quite the good guys anymore. Are they? We'll see, won't we? Nothing is simple, and certainly not immortality.

Greg's one of my favorite straight-boy characters I've ever written. He even gives Dante ("From the Cup of the Worthless") a run for his money. I think one of my favorite things in writing this and "Fearless" was the experiment in parenting. Since I'll never be a parent (by choice), It's interesting to play with the ideas and wonder what it might be like.

They do seem to be a positive influence for each other, don't they?

Words to live by, certainly. We must be willing to sacrifice our pride and misconceptions to see the world as it is.

The best risks are those of the heart.

I hope the scenes to come hold up to that. It's something I've always been nervous about with this story.

If I allowed myself to read gay bad boy fiction, I wouldn't get any work done.

So, honest question here: How do you feel about the combat scenes? These were, in fact, the first in depth combat scenes I ever wrote. Now we've had several of them, and I'm curious if you think they're appropriate in length and description. If not, what would you like to see more/less of? Note: There will be no alterations to anything in Shadow Honor as a result of this conversation, but it could help me with the rest of the series.

So, what I'm currently working on is sort of a prequel, following Prism in his youth. I had always intended to write the series that way, with one story set in the present, and another set in the past, alternating back and forth. It seems a little unorthodox, but it will end up explaining a great deal of Prism and Grim's backstory. As for the description of honor, I think this might've been the point where i officially named the book. Thanks! Those questions are both great, and certainly timely. A large piece of the puzzle is waiting around the corner, but the rest won't be given until the end. And yes, our dear Prism has just made himself into Gandalf. Poor Styx Frodo doesn't know what he's gotten himself into. Oh, Grim has suffered a great deal, that's about all I can say there. Though as I was saying up in response to BlindAmbition's comment, the next novel will be centered around Prism and Grim's backstory. I personally don't think that counts as a spoiler, right? The Neredos question is a good one. Veil? Also a good question, and I can't wait for you to meet her. As for how far off the end is? Yeah, it'll be awhile. My original plot called for seven novels. We'll see how true to that I remain. Only because of responses like these have I decided to write the rest of the series. I'm going strong. I have a lot of work done for book two and some written for book three already. With any luck, there won't be any delay in continual posting of the chapters once we finish up here.

Styx landed gracefully upon the rooftop, making hardly a sound at all. His glide hadn't taken him far enough to get out of Salidar's palatial complex, and the real test of his abilities was about to begin as he tried to avoid the guards to escape. He crouched and moved as quickly as he could toward the edge of the roof before peering over the side, searching for any sign of movement below him. Salidar's men were among the best at stealth that the Shade had to offer, but Styx didn't have to s

Thank you! I really appreciate those compliments. I actually started my writing career as a short story writer, but it's been a long time since I returned to it. It felt good to exercise those muscles again.

Now that you mention the Abba song, I can't help but be reminded of the episode of Malcolm In The Middle where Malcolm and Reece both think the other is gay, and they have a brotherly show of support in the form of a dance off to "Take a Chance on Me". I'm always glad when my stories make people think of music. Yay! Good to hear it kept you interested!

Indeed! And that's how we all escape into the Otherworld Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the differing themes. Thank you for the comment. I don't thing everything needs to be a deep analysis. If it's an enjoyable read, that's still great to hear.

Hopefully Jake will come around in the next few years and find happiness in his own way. But I think Ian will be set without him... Happy Valentine's Day! I'm glad you appreciated the twist. Thank you! I really hope they do. They might come back for more. This is actually set in my hometown and I had a specific coffee shop in mind for it. Who knows? Maybe the setting will inspire me further?

Thank you! This was a lot of fun to write. That's exactly what I was going for. Thank you! Precisely! I'm glad you understood. Thank you!