all alone, he's holding his breath half to death

+ What's on: The Bird and The Worm, by The Used

It's been a while since I listened to this song, but I love it dearly. If I had to chart out a list of five songs that are good for getting into Neil's headspace, this would be the book I start the trilogy with. 30 Seconds to Mars' "Capricorn" is another really useful one. I used to waste a lot of time putting together playlists for the Foxes. Had songs for all of the individual characters, then songs for the relationships. At one point it was almost 6 hours long before I realized I was letting it completely out of hand. I think I trimmed it back to, uhhh, 3. Then I attempted making playlists for each individual book, but that didn't work out so well. Anyway: it's a fun way to procrastinate. I don't do it anymore, because I don't have/use iTunes anymore. Now I just play SWTOR.

But that wasn't really what this post was supposed to be about.

Have received an update of sorts from the betas. I'm surprised they're still speaking to me; they are amazingly tolerant people. Kidding, mostly. I kind of dropped a 100K-word project on them in the tangled mess between midterms and finals. Not to mention impending graduation, a couple full time jobs, and two international trips. Ahaha, a considerate author I am not, but at least I am a master of bad timing? They are glorious people and I love them to death for putting up with me. ♥

By the looks of things Raven King should be ready to go in July. Thanks for your patience, lovies, and I promise I'll be more communicative with King's Men progress. (More prolific, too, as several backstories can't be posted until Raven King is out. Too many hints of spoilers. At least you'll have something to read while waiting?)

There was something else I wanted to say, but I don't remember. I'll assume it wasn't important.

Kevin and Andrew

+ What's on: Come What May, by Scene Aesthetic

This back-story takes place roughly two years before the start of Foxhole Court, during the twins' senior year at Macon High School in Columbia, South Carolina. The Ravens offered Andrew a contract with them but were rejected. Now they've come in person to see why.

Apologies if it reads rough; the original version was from Andrew's POV and I rewrote it with the help of copious amounts of wine.

you're getting used to the rocks at the bottom

+ What's on: Let it Hurt, by Rascal Flatts

- I'm sorry, lovies; I don't have new news on book 2. As soon as I do you'll be the first to know. I promise I'm working on it! Trying my best with book 3, too, but book 3 is kicking me in the teeth at every available opportunity. There's an entire chunk I'm ripping out that'll affect everything from the middle onward. I also seriously want to rearrange part of the timeline because it'll make more sense if it's flipped, but unless I handle it right I'll wreck my fragile relationship.

- Regarding the aforementioned relationship---yes, the trilogy is supposed to have one, and it will, it's just the slowest thing in the entire world. You might've noticed while reading book 1 that Neil has a couple trust issues. Those are kind of bogging everything down and frustrating the ever-living hell out of me. If I could just throw these two at each other I swear I would.

- In between the hair-pulling and story-wrecking I'm working on the back-stories. There are a couple I never got around to writing and a couple I have to rewrite from scratch on account of the changed relationships and such, but. Some will be up before book 2 is released, others will have to wait until after. Half of them are the meet-and-greets: Kevin meeting the twins, Andrew meeting Coach, etc. Eventually I want to edit Renee & Andrew's story. It's Renee's POV of the cousins' freshman year and last I checked it was some 25,000 words long. That's definitely going to have to wait.

Some real-life nonsense:
a. Still working at the call center, but at the start of the month our project switched from paying us per call to paying us per minute of what they call production time--that is, time we're actually on the phone. Since we're inbound only and can't control the call volume, no one on the project is happy. I suppose the real riots will start when we see our first paychecks. Should be interesting.

b. Went to Universal Studios Orlando to see the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Absolutely amazing. Not looking forward to getting that credit card bill though.

c. Picked up Star Wars: The Old Republic because my sister is into it. Gives us something to do together besides rant about our respective uncooperative stories. Nothing says stress relief like force-choking one's enemies.

Dan Wilds & David Wymack

+ What's on: Gothic Messiah, by Future World Music

All of the impossible things of the Foxhole stories, all of the liberties I've taken, all of the convenient, self-indulgent bloodbaths--and Wymack is still one thing I find the most unbelievable. In the best of ways, but still. He is probably the only positive father figure I will ever write.

I can't tell anymore how strong his presence is in the book; I've rewritten the trilogy so many times I can't always tell how much has been left on the cutting room floor. I read and reread but I read between the lines to the dozen-odd backstories, the hundred-odd scenes I've pulled and set aside. All I can do is hope he shines through as the one piece the Fox line cannot exist without.

One Fox in particular would be nothing and no one without him. I've always loved Dan & Wymack's relationship, but every draft pushes it further and further into the background. A couple years back I tried to write Dan's story for NaNoWriMo. I never got far, just barely far enough to win NaNo, and I regret that. I wanted not only to have a "girl power" sports story but to have more time to explore their relationship. It's too personal to be father/daughter, too devoted to be coach/captain. D.W. & D.W.

Also: Dan is also the only Fox who knows Wymack's story. Wymack and Neil touch on Wymack's family in Raven King, but only in passing. Dan is the only Fox Wymack's ever felt compelled to explain himself to in full.

Here's how they first met. It's a little rough, because I've never properly edited it, but. Also, it was written so long ago the timeline is off a little bit, but the general idea is still the same.

Exy : Rules and Regulations

+ What's on: Back to Black, by Amy Winehouse

With many thanks to Z, who pushed me to rewrite this and then checked/rechecked the mess I dumped on her lap. Any remaining mistakes are mine. If I've forgotten anything, please let me know.

Icarus is flying towards an early grave

+ What's on: Icarus, by Bastille

... I think I'm done with the Exy rules & regulations worksheet, but waiting to hear back from Z on whether or not I've left something major off. Even drew you guys a chart in PSP for how the court looks at starting serve.

 ... Realized I am still misspelling Edgar Allan's name. My brain is convinced it is "Allen" not "Allan" - which means even The Foxhole Court went out there with it misspelled. Le sigh. Have uploaded a corrected version. One day I'll get this right, I swear.

 ... Talked to the younger sister about designing the Ravens' logo for the book 2 cover. She doesn't have the vector software she used for the paw, but she thinks she knows a way around that.

Exy : A History of the Sport

+ What's on: Was it a Dream? by 30 Seconds to Mars

It's questionable how believable this is, but hey. Umm. Liberties of writing fiction? I don't know. Also, it got longer than I intended it to be. Oops. I'm still working on a post about how the game is actually played - the last time I wrote out the rules was years and years ago, and I think it was on paper.



Tetsuji Moriyama and Kayleigh Day met while studying sports management abroad at Fukui University (from University of Connecticut and University College in Dublin, respectively). Exy began as a lark: first an idea, then a class project wherein they recruited classmates and friends to be guinea pigs, and then spreading to after-school teams when they interested enough people.