Yes, curious on those names...hmmm.

As far as going back and forth between worlds and such things as that...well there are some "people" in book II doing some more of this in weird and bizarre ways...

Suffice the say that the boundaries are slightly more porous than most wizards believe...

That's my goal. There are a number of factors that aren't particularly tied to the writing of the story.

Issues like editing/consistency (the longer the arc goes on, the more consistency editing there is) and where to put the next break point.

The break point is a function of both the story (where does it make sense) and ebook economics. Many people prefer shorter/cheaper/faster books to the classic "tome" The question is, does it work for the story? That was a huge issue for book 1, how/where to break the story.

Yes, I know it's very cliff hangeresque...but at least where it breaks, it presents a "breather," a punctuation point. This is snowball type story, it's very hard to put a "break" or a "brake" on a fast moving snowball.

The other factor is how much time does promoting the current book take and what does my "day job" look like timewise.

I think the ARC and beta reader ideas are actually pretty good ideas. That can help a lot. Objective readers who haven't lost sight of the story due to all the letters on the page. At some point in the editing process, my mind went numb.

So I think I will definitely due something along that line.

If this is for volunteers I would like to proof it. TIzzy has my soul per contract so a little work won't hurt all that much. It'll be fun.

Edited by user Monday, May 12, 2014 3:31:30 PM(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

Sign me up as well.

Eh... I'm sort of 50/50... On the one hand I'll gladly pay for a well edited ebook that doesn't have inconsistencies, typos or mistakes in it, but on the other hand how can I be sure that it doesn't for certain? Oh well... Sign me up for the beta test if you need any testing. I'll do it for the credits anywhere in the book :)

Does it have to be a close relation? Most of my relatives live some ways away from me and I find that personally it would be easier to sacrifice random strangers. Not for moral reason's mind you, but you only have so many relatives and it takes months to make a new one once you run out. Strangers can be found in abundance and it is much easier to hide a connection between you and your victim if they are chosen purely by chance, not that i have experience with this sort of thing.

Well fortunately, your soul is already taken thanks to the authors payment to me of the souls of the first 100 people to sign up on this site. I've got the mailing list and am working a Runic Email to capture your souls.

Now as far as relatives. Quality control. You see, that's the thing. A demon's gotta have standards and all.

If you just give me random "stranger" souls, I might end up with a Kardashian, or worse...like David Hasselhoff or something...So that's why I'm thinking a relative, someone with good genetic potential, since obviously they are related to someone sophisticated enough to read Into The Abyss and know the importance of signing up on the website.

Well, first, have you heard Hasselhoff sing? He is (was) a huge singing sensation in Europe...the land of Eurovision...

Plus he'll bring his talking car and Pamela Anderson...who was a pre-Kardashian, pre-Paris Hilton celebrity. Have you seen VIP?????

Are your friends talented and wise?

Although if they are friends with someone who wants to sell their souls...then they probably aren't very wise...so I guess you don't have to answer that.

A good friend will work. Significant Others also work. Although, since you might end up spending all eternity in the Abyss together, you will want to make sure that they are really "Signficant."

Well, just because you don't know your true name doesn't mean you don't have one.

Earth has VERY low mana levels. Almost as if some greedy deity created a huge church and went around sucking up all the mana on the planet so magic wouldn't work any more.

Well, I'm pretty sure there a few quasi-monopolistic deities running around with insurance plans. Including one that offers 3 completely different plans!
I do know of some that offer reincarnation...that's also popular in Astlan.

But yes, in Astlan if you don't have an agreement with a deity, you are pretty much on your own. Of course, if you are a high level necromancer you just turn yourself in to a Lich, and the rest of your family into revenants or similar.

I also heard stories about wizards that went around trapping the souls of people in swords and other magic items. Hence--Intelligent Swords....

Never seen one myself though.

I know I wouldn't like it if my pipe kept talking to me...

Well thankfully, I don't have any.

At least I don't think I do? Hmm, do I have secrets? Have I told myself?

I can't think of any secrets I have. Am I keeping them a secret from me even?

Hmmmm......