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Author Insights
1 Nov 2011 Once again Halloween has come and gone and the brisk Idaho winds have decided to rend and tear at the cool decorations
all over town. I love the holiday season, but of course my wallet hates it. So, my manager and wife (do I really
need to differentiate between the two?) has plugged me into several signings this season to give Awakenings a final push before
Plague is released early next year. My goal from the outset of Plague was to take everything good from Awakenings and
make it, bigger, badder and meaner. So if you like the three-way face-off in Plague, with a dragon-demon battle in the
back drop, envision something bigger, badder and meaner happening in Plague. Oh yeah, you're going to love it.
In regards to the website changes, there are a few reasons why I've
trimmed down on the information. Keeping it updated regularly has become something of a difficult chore, in addition
to my day job, writing Plague and developing Shades of Reality. I won't mention the other projects I have in the lists,
but there are a few. So, to keep things a bit easier to stay on top of, I have archived some of the information.
I will still update it when time permits, for those of you who are interested in reading about the races, character bios,
types of magic and such, but it just cannot be done on a regular basis. 5 Oct 2011 Plague has been brought to the front burner once more (for the last few weeks) and is progressing wonderfully.
I have spent a lot of my 'free time' tinkering with the game Shades of Reality (based on the Racial War Saga Fantasy series
of course) and with each new idea, a slew of problems arise that have to be dealt with. I'm currently working on
the leveling system for the RPG portion of the game, and it is turning out to be pretty awesome. For example, when dealing
with experience points, in many games, I've observed that the constant progression makes keeping track of it not only increasingly
difficult, but increasingly disheartening. So when you finally obtain level 15, you discover that you need 1,350,000
xp... One MILLION?? So, one would naturally start doing the math: "If I'm at 560,000 right now, how many of the
3-D's (dragons, demons or dieties) do I have to kill to make level 16?" I've come up with a simple fix to that
problem. Though I'm not certain whether or not it has been done before (like most things), I'm excited to
announce that 2,000 was the magic number. 2,000 is all you need to gain a level, any level. You see, I asked
myself a simple question: If the level tracks the progress, why do the xp need to keep going higher? The answer, use
xp like currency and purchase your next level. So, when you obtain 2,000 xp, you can buy the next level.
You give 2,000 xp back to the GM and he will say "Add one to your level". The fun stuff happens when you find
out what comes with each level (though I am not going to divulge that info here). This has also helped me fix the whole
level cap issue; the one where someone tells you how high of a level you can reach before you have to cash in your chips and
become an NPC. In Shades of Reality, you won't have a cap. Get as high of a level as you want. Building Shades of Reality is fun, and actual publication is still a long time out, so lets get to the
real reason why you revisited this website: Plague. Yes, it's true, Plague has once-again been delayed. It's okay
though, it'll be worth the added wait time. I'm still pushing hard to get it completed this year, but the reality of
it all (pun intended) is that it will likely not see the printing presses until the first quarter of 2012. Meanwhile,
feel free to peruse the sight. I have listened to the feedback of many and removed a lot of the seemingly endless amount
of information that was proving to get a bit out of hand. I enjoy doing the Author Insights to show where
my mind is at when I update the site, so I've decided to keep this page. And of course, to those that
have helped me out along the way, I am going to keep their links up for all to see. However, if you're interested in
the Magic, Races and other little secret things I throw onto this website, you'll just have to dig a little deeper now. 31 July 2011 Thank you all for your patience! It has been quite awhile since my last update.
I have had family visiting throughout the past 3 months, I have had elbow surgery and of course, I have been working on several
projects for the Realm of Reality. Firstly, I have temporarily paused production of Plague to make sure that I have
a quality product to bring to Fandemonium (Idaho's version of Comic Con) this coming weekend. Not only will I spend
some time on the panel, but I have a table or two set up where there will be T-shirts and tumblers, pins and of course books
for sale, but what I am most excited about, is the unveiling of Shades of Reality. My TCRPBG (hmmm... too much?
Trading Card Role Playing Board Game...) will be exposed to public scrutiny for the first time. For those of you who
aren't all that interested in a new game, I have not forgotten you. As a sign of good faith, I'll leave you with
this short story about the lovely Shaygin and her mount Ashfeather. Enjoy!
Click to download "Grandeur"
17 May 2011 Learning to juggle a full time job in the Air Force while stepping
into the world of writing has been a challenge. Sometimes I just have to ask myself, "Where do you
get the time for that?" Things I used to enjoy such as like gaming, reading or catching a movie, all
seem like they're leisure's of the past. I've realized that if you really want something, you work at it until you get
it. I pass by the RPG store everyday on the way home from work, stopping only rarely to look around at the things
I used to have time for. I hear the kids playing video games in the living room and the sounds of movies or TV
shows coming from my room where my wife has flipped on a primetime show. But as I sit writing, the ambient
sounds fade and my focus pinpoints as I fall into the Realm of Reality and the story plays out like a vivid 4-D movie.
The smell in the air, the sluicing lava flows, the multihued Rainbow Braid... all of it is there, waiting for me to return
to my little chair in my little den, and like a historian, write what I see. I'm envious of the things people
do with the excess free time people seem to have, but when I take a 'lazy day' and find myself wandering back to
the computer to let some of the ideas escape onto the pages of one project or another, I realize that I am doing what I love
to do. In the Air Force I work with mechanics, many of whom go home after a day of work and proceed to pull the
engine, tweak the timing or change the oil on their cars, trucks or motorcycles in their free time. Which begs
the question, if you love to do it, and it is work, is it free time you're using to pursue your love? Or are you
truly working yourself too hard? To the 'work-o-holics' out there, I say if you love it, keep doing it. If you
find yourself thinking about the timing belt when you're supposed to be 'relaxing' while you watch that TV show, perhaps watching
that TV show isn't what relaxes you. Listen to your 'gut' and go change that timing belt. Perhaps you will
sleep a little better that night and feel refreshed in the morning. I will caution you though, not to take on too many
projects or your relaxation time will become work!
Plague, Book 2 of the Racial War Saga (5 February 2011) As you can tell by the Plague page on
this website, I have been working diligently to get the second installment of the Racial War Saga. I'm hoping to have
it completed before I head oversees on what I believe will be my last "HUAH" in the military. I'm pleased
to announce that the editing process has, at long last, begun so look closely around the website for a little snippit...
soon. I'll try to be sneakier in hiding it than with the past excerpts. I'm sure you've noticed the "Under
Construction" page. That is not the page you're looking for... oooh, bad geek, get back in there! Don't worry,
no one has access to it but me at the moment. When I'm done, you'll be the first to know (that is, those that have been
added to the email list of course). Artwork for Princess is well
underway, and she is looking amazing. Plague,
Book 2 of the Racial War Saga is coming together nicely. Get ready for a whole lot more of the action and adventure
you so unexpectedly loved in Awakenings. In Plague, Zariah and Eldorion find themselves in situations where they are
both forced to come to terms with their pasts. Kalil discovers that his bond with the spirits of Treggalythori
and Vik'Torr is more than just carrying around extra baggage, but it comes with some powerful benefits. Princess finds
her way back to the love of her life, but is it too late to reconcile? And to answer many of the more delicate readers,
I think you'll be happy with some of the more 'romantic' story lines. However, I have not toned down on the gratuitous
violence at all, in fact some of you may not want to read some of the stuff about the Thorns of Chaos. A Signing In early November 2010, I had the pleasure of spending some time near the entryway
of Hastings, where the staff was friendly and courteous, but the patrons were awesome. I signed a few books and fielded
quite a few questions about Awakenings, the Racial War Saga, writing in general, and even a few about my tenure in the
Air Force. I was able to meet many people who shared a love for things mythical, magical and fantastical, as well as
a few who were... not-so-curious about a new fantasy world. I won't get into religion in this forum, so I will simply
state that fictitious dieties are just that, fictitious. Escapism is very real however, which seguays
beautifully into the Realm of Reality. Thanks all of you wonderful folks who spent some time discussing demons,
dragons, elves and magic with this hopeless fantasizer. To those of you who have sent the emails requesting to be added
to my update list, you have been added. To those who smiled into my wife's camera, I'm happy to announce that I was
finally able to pry her weapon of choice from her hands and extract the pictures before she snatched it back! Give it
a few seconds to load, there are ten pictures.     
    
Hello again, for the second installment of Author Insights,
I'm going to give away some spoilers. In case you haven't noticed, I enjoy putting 'Easter eggs' in my stories.
If you think you know what they are, click below and highlight the area to see the invisible text and discover a few of my
little secrets. There are more than listed below, see if you can find them... Begin highlighting here... 1.) The character Kalil is loosely based on my favorite superhero: Superman (Kal'el). He is the
last of his tribe, having been sent away by his parents before they were killed, he floated down the Kryptin River (Krypton
anyone?) and was 'adopted' by two kind-hearted people amidst a city in turmoil. 2.) Kalil is forced to mature quickly in the northern Frostholme (even
more in Book 2). As a stranger among the Frost Dwarves, internally he is in his fortress of solitude. 3.) The last word or words of each chapter are also the chapter title. 4.) The last word of the last chapter is also the
title of the book. "Out of Awakenings" is the chapter title, and the last thing Eldorion says. Awakenings
is the title of the book. 5.) Eldorion is named
after my son, Rion. 6.) The goddess D'Aryasia
is named after my daughter, Aryasia. 7.) The
two children in chapter 4 "Kico and Chilo" are based on my two step-children, whose nicknames are "Kilo"
and "Chico".
As I continue to write Book 2 of the Racial
War Saga, I have found myself reviewing Awakenings for obvious reasons. There are a few things I would like to share
with you all about it, beginning with the following small excerpt from Chapter 10 of Awakenings:
Introducing Brinn
Isn't he just the cutest? I'm sure that
many of you can relate to this wonderful character. In just a few short sentences I think everyone's ten-year-old came
to life within this little furball... well mine did. There are other child characters, some adolescents, but Brinn plays
a large role in hopefully giving the reader some insight as to why (and how!) Raek is so patient. Yes, for those
of you who were wondering, Brinn is the younger brother to Jerrem (the student slain early in Awakenings).
Keep your eyes on this little guy, he may have an important place in the overall story...
About the Author A.J. O'Connell was born and raised in Clearwater, Florida
then moved to Anchorage, Alaska for his senior year of high school. From there, A.J. joined the Air Force to see the world.
Athletic at a young age he played football and baseball, joined the wrestling team and even studied martial arts. Despite
his extracurricular activities he enjoyed many weekends indulging in marathon role-playing adventures with friends. At age
14, A.J. began designing a role-playing game and world of his own which quickly replaced the classics he and his friends occupied
their time with. Gradually the world fleshed out, the races evolved, the high intensity adventure and martial combat became
the mainstay of their action packed adventures and the rules of magic within Reality solidified. Finally, at age 33 his wife
convinced him to write a book, and during his third deployment to Iraq in 2007/8, A.J. did just that. His first book Awakenings,
is a fantasy novel based in the Realm of Reality where two worlds have come together as one. The magical races such as elves,
dwarves, feline fialt, dog-like marichoa, aquatic merlochs and the mighty drakes born on the world called Bastion begin a
fearsome struggle against the jealous humans of Citadel. The humans, who were not allowed to know of magic or the gods grew
despondent and have begun an invasion to conquer not only the lesser races of Reality, but to defeat the gods themselves.
A.J. enjoys high-powered, 'Monty Haul' epic creations which make the characters seem super human with their natural and not-so-natural
abilities, weapons and talents. Welcome to a new world, the First World in existence... welcome to A.J. O'Connell's world.
Working on Awakenings was a new and very exciting experience for me. I can now attest that editors
are difficult entities to... deal with, though working with the artist in bringing the characters to life has been very fulfilling.
Throughout the series I plan to tell a unique, stand-alone story with each novel, while maintaining the integrity of
the overall plot. That being said, book two will begin on Chapter 11 with Dezrak and the refugees from Orielle as they
make their way into the Mountain Dwarf city Dif Gazrak.
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