Not Dead Yet Newsletter #11

In this edition of the Not Dead Yet newsletter, I'm trying something new: posting a snippet of my writing. I'll also discuss why, in my next book, I'm writing in both 1st-person and 3rd-person point of view. Finally, I mention an article about Doctor Who's cancellation that I wrote on my non-fiction site.

Justice for Timo!

Sympathy for the companion named Timo is a relatively common thread in reviews of Everyone Dies. His passages were fun to write, and like all of his fellow seven companions it was painful to write his demise. I wish I could give him justice, unfortunately he lives in a grim, dark world and the best that I can do is feature him in this newsletter. This fourth chapter of the book is from Temo's point of view.

Timo the woodcutter marveled at the quality of the wood used to construct the table on which their food was served. Black walnut had been cut into wide planks and finished to bring out the rich, dark, chocolate hues. Even stains and knife cuts from years of being used to serve food couldn’t diminish the lovely craftsmanship of the table.

He took another bite of the meat pie on his plate. The crust was perfectly flaky, the meat fresh, and the sauce rich with the luxurious taste of wine. He washed it down with excellent beer served in a tin mug. He had never eaten so well.

He felt a light jab to his ribs. Bram the wrestler had just elbowed him. Timo ignored it, he had beaten the other big man at rock lifting. That was why Timo was here with the other fairground champions — the king had invited them to a meal in his great hall. He could afford to be forgiving of a man he had beaten today.

Bram elbowed Timo again. “You fool,” the wrestler whispered. “The king is making a toast. Raise your cup.”

As Timo raised his beer mug, he kept his eyes focused on the table. He made sure he didn’t meet the gaze of anyone else at the table. He was bonded to the land, and putting eyes on his betters was something his Mum had told him never to do.

The king said words. Timo understood a few of them, but not enough for them to make any sense. The king’s voice sounded trained, but it wasn’t as strong as a town crier’s. Timo tried not to wonder what this meant. Then everyone gave a shout and drained their cups. Timo followed along.

Another man spoke. His voice was stunning, like that of a great singer. Timo wondered if he would sing or give a sermon. Timo understood more of what he said. He said something about the Lich Queen, and Timo shivered at the mention of her foul majesty. Then he took comfort in that he was in the heart of the kingdom and sitting inside the king’s own castle.

The king spoke again for a minute. Then people started to say “aye” one at a time. One, two, three, and higher than Timo could count said it. The last one was Bram sitting next to Timo.

Bram elbowed Timo yet again. “Say ‘Aye,” the wrestler whispered. “Say it loudly, you can’t say no to the king.”

Timo cleared his throat and said, “Aye” louder.

“Well done, gentle woodcutter,” said the king. Everyone cheered. Timo had never felt prouder. The king had spoken to him!

“A gold piece for each of us and employment in the king’s service,” Bram said to Timo, clapping the woodcutter on his shoulder. “All we have to do is survive and live another day.”

Timo didn’t know what ‘survive’ meant, but he liked living. He was very good at it, having done it since the day he was born.

One of the seven companions, Timo's fate is revealed in Everyone Dies.

POV 1st person vs 3rd person

In the sequel to "Everyone Dies", titled "Soldier of the Death God", I originally intended for the book to be written in the 1st person point of view. The plan was that the 1st person writing style would allow me to better explore the mental state of the protagonist, a dark captain of the lich queen named 'Cryptus'.

However, the more the story develops, the more I realize that switching points of view is necessary to tell it. Cryptus has a very nasty blade that can steal souls. With those souls come emotion and memories that will further the story. That means, at times, the story will use the third person for the victims of Cryptus' monstrous weapon.

It is interesting to write a book this way. The theme and plot certainly fit well in the grimdark fantasy genre.

Farewell, Doctor Who

On my personal site I wrote my thoughts about the increasingly poor storytelling of Doctor Who, which has led to its cancellation. I don't think the series failed because it tried to address social issues, but rather that the quality of writing dropped too far to survive.

Read all the books!

Seven companions walk a path no one survives
My grimdark fantasy story, rated 4.7 out of 5 stars on Amazon!
Available on Kindle Unlimited

He survived genocide. Nazis. Stalin. Now he’s being hunted.
Grimdaniel's opinion: Excellent historical dark fiction. Read my review!

Three rules keep a memory thief alive.
She breaks all three in chapter one...

Every Assassin Has a First Bone to Claim
To become a Shadow Assassin, Sullivan must surrender the last pieces of his humanity.

Until my next newsletter on the 26th,
Daniel Roy Greenfeld