Top of the Charts

Posted on by D. D. Wolf

Welcome to 2019!

I hate missing deadlines, especially this early in a new year. However, this one took a little longer because it’s more than my typical post. I wanted to get the introduction just right.

Jagged Characters

A character’s origin story is a staple of the comic book genre that is rarely found in other genres. Main characters receive the most attention, of course, and their origin stories may span multiple adventures. The origin and background of the primary characters in the Jagged Earth will be revealed primarily through novels and short stories. Supporting characters don’t necessarily receive the same extended treatment, but they too have their own stories to tell.

Constance Sorrow from the first Lodge of the Wolf novel, Orchids Ablaze, is one such a character. The name, as many do, popped into my head one night as a perfect name for an old -school blues singer. I really like the concept, but she hasn’t found her way into being a main character – yet. Her big moment in the novel is as a foil for the heroine Fyreplay, but there’s more to Constance than that. For now, here’s where our girl Constance got started… at the

Top of the Charts

The Aurora Aura

Posted on by D. D. Wolf

Excerpt from

“Aurorae Effect Overview” [the Journal of Augmentation Research]

… Human Augments receive their abilities by interacting with an Aurorae Effect. More commonly referred to as Aurora Portals, these shimmering curtains of energy appear at seemingly random intervals and random locations. The portals are not transparent and can be avoided or walked around like any obstacle. Nothing prevents passage from either direction. Objects propelled through the interface are not affected. Animals do not seem to be aware of the portal interface, ignoring them or passing through them with no discernible effect. Only human beings have received Augmentation.

In over 90% of cases a measurable amount of time in excess of that expected for the transition will occur. No pattern to the time interval effect has been determined at this point, but there is always some variation. There is no compulsion to enter a portal and in over 95% of cases an individual passing the threshold experiences no change. Very rare cases have been documented where an individual crossing the threshold does not emerge from the portal at all.

Continue reading “The Aurora Aura” →

Support Systems

Posted on by D. D. Wolf

Everyone should have some type of support system, especially unpublished writers. It is fantastic to have friends that support your efforts in general, but in this day and age extended support systems are critical. I’m sure that certain types of support don’t vary overly much between traditional publishing and self-publishing. Regardless of what or how you write, it is invaluable to have first readers and editors you can trust to tell you the truth about that (supposedly) brilliant idea that woke you up at 4 in the morning. What I write makes sense to me or I wouldn’t have put it that way. That doesn’t mean it makes sense to someone else. It’s difficult to crawl out of my head and read what I’ve written as if I’ve never read it before. That’s especially true when it’s the 14th revision or so!

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A Writer’s Work

Posted on by D. D. Wolf

Last night I was contemplating my blog post for today. I try to reserve a significant part of Saturday for writing endeavours: research, critically reading authors I like, surfing my RPG books, actual writing, etc. I decided that I would post additional The Jagged Earth Lore, probably on the Aurora City IceCats. It’s only a passing mention by Rachel (Twilight Huntress) in Orchids Ablaze, but it’s one of those details that makes the setting larger than a single story.

Then I woke up this morning.

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Emotional Content

Posted on by D. D. Wolf

Enter Bruce Lee

How, you may be wondering, did Bruce Lee pop up in an E3ink post? The obvious connection is through my martial arts training. Mr. Lee was, and is, a most iconic figure in movie and print. Early in the movie Enter The Dragon, Mr. Lee uses a phrase when teaching a student that resonated with me: “Emotional Content”. You’ll find no shortage online of interpretations, instructions and discussions of the meaning of the phrase. At the time, it was an important concept for a young man learning various techniques to dislocate joints, break bones and generally perpetrate mayhem. To me, that scene was about putting yourself into your actions: martial arts as expression, not as an outlet for anger.

That’s the connection, many years later, to my writing. I tend to build actions around characters and then see where the interaction leads. I have a general plan that I’m following, but it’s the characters that are at the core of what I do with words. A character without emotional content is a caricature (see, told you I’d get there eventually).

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Welcoming the New

Posted on by D. D. Wolf

What’s Behind

Part of me is still amazed that an actual book has been produced. Not that I’ve cracked the NY Times best sellers list, but I’m excited to get more material out. Please join me in thanking the S4 team for all their help in 2018 (and 2019 in advance). I simply couldn’t make any of this work without them. Thank you for joining in on the fun.

What’s Ahead

I’m very excited about the possibilities of 2019. The follow-up book to Orchids Ablaze is on the boards; call the plot at 80% at this point. I hesitate to go higher because the characters seem to have their own ideas on how things need to progress. They like to wait until the last minute to inform me, of course, almost always after I’m past plotting and well into writing. It will take some time to translate the plot from board to book, so I have a few Jagged Earth short pieces, more “slice of life” or brief origin stories than anything, out to my early readers and the S4 team. I’ll put the best of them out on the site (and work on the rest) while I’m writing on the “big book”. I’m also planning to put more Story World lore and behind the scenes pieces on the site.

Thank you very kindly

Thank you for dropping by to visit E3ink and The Jagged Earth! Remember that the first round of polls will end on 7Jan and consider letting us know what is on your mind. If you missed them, don’t worry. They’ll come back around, expanded and refined. We want you to be part of shaping what E3ink delivers. We appreciate everyone that has taken the time to visit.

Continue reading “Welcoming the New” →