Mixing Science Fiction, Future Fantasy and Magic Into Reality

My current novel is Rumors of War, the first of a series of books called The Deck Const. It takes place eighty or so years in the future after civilization has crumbled. The main character is The Soldier, and he's on an endless quest to find the lost talisman, The Deck Const. Anyway, without getting into all of the specifics, one thing I have found somewhat difficult is to integrate a very serious story of a tragic future with magical elements. The world I have created is one where magic does not exist, so it is not a typical fantasy land, but there are certain elements that transcend normality, such as seers and predestiny. This requires having to walk a very fine line of keeping it real while allowing the fantasy elements to shine through as well in a world where it might just not belong.

To do this, I've revisited the old style of magic inherent in religious history, where clerics would research advanced science to appear to be working magic, yet be following the simple laws of physics and chemistry. In a typical fantasy story, like my Reagul series, you can get away with having a magic user like a sorceror or witch, but when characters are carrying M16s and .357 Magnums, driving around in Humvees, finger waving and doing magic seems a lot more out of place.

One thing I have attempted to do is to keep the main character just as uncomfortable with magic in his world as I am. When something unnatural takes place, he feels it, and the story reflects that in the characters themselves who become very offset by magical elements, like a seer or someone who meets The Soldier and speaks of having known he was going to show up because of a prophecy that was passed down over generations.

The world itself is a lot more fun to play around with, as it begins in San Francisco, continues to Los Angeles and concludes in Las Vegas (for the first book). Each one of these places becomes a caricature of itself by becoming a full blown overrepresentation of what we know about these places (Los Angeles is ruled by movie studios that fight battles with real weapons; the people of Las Vegas gamble their lives on one chance to become nobility or slaves; etc.). The atmosphere of the world itself is extremely dark, and it has been a lot of fun to bring it to light with an equally dark character who is unsure as to whether or not his task in life is for good or bad, having lived most of his life before the quest in very gray areas of decision-making.

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The problems of getting sick in a foreign country

I finally got to see a doctor today, and they ended up admitting me so they could put me on an IV. Unfortunately, they want to keep me for a week in the hospital, and I just don't have the time to do that because there's no way in the world my job would allow me to miss that much time. Yeah, I'm not kidding. It's just not an option. My employer lives in a different world than that of reality, and I can already see how such a request would go over. Basically, it wouldn't go over at all.

So, I'm trying to do the best I can without being admitted into a hospital for a week's stay. My blood tests haven't been all that great, which means something has to be done, and I really am starting to run out of options.

Spending my day off on a hospital bed with an IV coming out of my hand was not exactly what I had intended for today, but I can't really fault them for trying to save my life now, can I? One positive piece of news was that my potassium levels were not actually the problem (something I thought was the case, as this is why I ended up in the ER right before I left for Korea). Same symptoms, different cause.

So, I have to go back for more testing on Thursday, and they'll probably admit me again for another day's worth of IV fun.

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Current word count for Rumors of War: 22516. Took a few days off because of health reasons. Will try to get back to finishing this. On another note, my old agent got in touch with me today by leaving me a phone message. She's going to take a look at The Ameriad, and there's a slight chance she might be representing me again, although it still feels pretty much like a long shot. That's how the whole publishing industry seems these days. A long shot.

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Rumors of War

The second to last book I wrote was the first of a series called Rumors of War, part of a series called The Deck Const. I finally got around to start editing it so I can submit it. This book is already 504 pages long, so I need to cut it down a bit. So far, however, I'm only making it longer.

But I'm completely rewriting it, so it's like it's a brand new novel. So far, I'm up to 4,855 words. That's about 23 pages. Yep, long project ahead of me.

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