Books

Demon Lord of a Small Village: Volume 2

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After a bit more prodding on than originally expected, Volume 2 is finally released. Continuing the tale from shortly after Volume 1‘s epilogue. For a project that began 3 years ago, and has drafts of 7 volumes in various stages of completion, hopefully the third volume will be out with much less of a gap.

Now available on Amazon

In this action-packed continuation of the series, Lucious and Seraphim face new challenges as they fight to protect their homeland from the relentless legions of Lorica. Now as acting village chief, Lucious must rally his friends and even raise the enemy’s fallen to turn the tide. Meanwhile, Seraphim steps up as a key leader in the rebellion, navigating a path towards the fortified city of Nelloran. Joined by refugees and an enterprising lich, our heroes set off to bring Margrave Tiberius to justice, not knowing that the Goddess has far more in store for them.

Will Lucious become the next demon lord or fall at the hands of Lorica? Can their ragtag band of villagers and undead horde triumph over the powerful legions? The fate of Cerulea hangs in the balance as destiny calls. It’s time for the demon lord to rise up and answer his people’s call.

As might be obvious from the synopsis, Volume 2 ramps up the action and is full of much antics by our favorite heroes as they face the next step in their journey.

One of those beautiful things

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After being teary eyed thanks to NCIS S18E9 Winter Chill, I decided this was a poem worth remembering.

When I die

Give what’s left of me away

To children

And old men that wait to die.

And if you need to cry,

Cry for your brother

Walking the street beside you.

And when you need me,

Put your arms

Around anyone

And give them

What you need to give to me.

I want to leave you something,

Something better

Than words

Or sounds.

Look for me

In the people I’ve known

Or loved,

And if you cannot give me away,

At least let me live on in your eyes

And not your mind.

You can love me most

By letting

Hands touch hands,

By letting bodies touch bodies,

And by letting go

Of children

That need to be free.

Love doesn’t die,

People do.

So, when all that’s left of me

Is love,

Give me away.

— Epitaph by Merrit Malloy

That truly is a beautiful epitaph, if I’ve ever heard one.

The Saint of Steel series is definitely worth reading

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A mention because it was so good, I lost sleep over it: Paladin’s Grace was an awesome book. Literally, that may be the worst thing that I can say about it. Paladin’s Grace isn’t quite fluffy romance and isn’t quite murder mystery or legal drama, but does weave a delightful tale; or perhaps you could say, it’s the kind of romance story that I enjoy.

Stephen and Grace make an excellent pair, but we are also rewarded with something that I’m very fond of–the witty supporting characters. I’m pretty sure that Istvhan and the bishop’s antics alone make the book worth reading. I’m not really fond of highlighting passages in novels, but found myself marking quite a few of them. Also, laughing my ass off in spots.

One of the things that I also particularly applaud is the level of veneer. We don’t need a detailed view to experience the pathological horror that Grace’s backstory may imply, nor the trauma that Stephen has suffered, but the characterizations and details that we do encounter weave what’s necessary. Plus, to be honest, I kind of love how that sometimes manifests itself.

Seriously, the paladins guarding the bishop made me cackle so much. Imagine a bunch of bored paladins discussing how to stab people with statuaries and the occasional oversized hat. Not to mention the knitting and other flavorful oddities.

Yep, I think my reading queue has shifted for a while. I’m not sure if the next book, Paladin’s Strength, will be as spectacular, but I plan to find out. The worst case is I lose a few hours sleep over reading late into the night. Fortunately, it’s the weekend coming…

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In one of those rare cases where I don’t fizzle out mid season or totally binge the series, I think that I’ll Become a Villainess Who Goes Down In History is making my anime worth remembering list.

Its protagonist is a bit more unique in being both a baddie and a good-hearted type, in a kind of beautiful balance. Simultaneously able to make your inner child go “That’s so cool!” while also wanting to slap yourself in the head at the main character’s antics. Also, the ending is kind of awesome.

From the looks of Wikipedia, it seems translations of the light novels on which it is based have just started to be published in English as well. Hmm, more temptation for the backlog…

Reading streak

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An eventual side effect of my goal of reading a little bit every day has been the obvious: to make it an entire year with having read something every day. Typically, I use the kindle reading insights for keeping a tab on this, and have for a few years now.

Well, last year, that every day for a year effort was kind of thwarted, more by software issues than absence, despite being a bit hectic. Today however, I kind of smile–my reading streak shows as 719 days in a row, 122 weeks in a row. So at long last, I’ve completed that goal.

And ya know what I plan to do next? Read another book!

Text version 1.04

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An updated version is uploading, as I’ve finally finished reviewing on my kindle. This is the last planned update to the ebook text for the time being. Further edits, likely being based on feedback or if I happen to spot a typo.

The delta between v1.03 and v1.04, is that optimizing the formatting for readability and the smaller screen of a kindle is now complete for chapters 5 onwards. A few minor corrections have been made, most of them in chapter 9. If you don’t see a version code on the copyright page, your device has yet to download the latest update.

Going to take a break for a while. But soon, I will return my attention towards preparations on volume 2 of a Demon Lord of a Small Village. My goal there is to have it ready sometime early next year, preferably with greater optimization in place, now that I know better how Amazon’s tools differ from my actual Kindle’s rendering.

To those handful of readers out there, I hope you’re enjoying the first book :).

A small update to the text

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An updated version is now live. A few typos have been corrected, notably “Epilogue” (🤦‍♂️) and “dace” in part of chapter 3. For anyone with the usual automatic book update enabled, these should roll out shortly. There’s also the manual option. In the future, I think I might add a ‘text version’ code to the copyright page.

Most other changes are adjustments to the paragraph splitting and capitalization in various passages. There’s a fair bit of difference between Amazon’s preview tools and actual device rendering, making it easier to review on my Paperwhite with its small screen.

As I continue to work through the kindle edition, interspersed with my regular reading, there may be other fixes. But I’m happy that misspellings have been rare. Yes, of course you always find them after deciding you’ve fixed them all :).

Demon Lord of a Small Village

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So, there’s been a project that I’ve been kicking around for a few years. It originally began as a story idea that grew from another idea for a light novel, and took on a small life of its own among my pastime of typing words into a computer. When I was reaching the end of the experiment, I found myself wanting to continue that tale, and well, by the time I was working on the second major story arc, I was already thinking of publishing the first one as a traditional ebook in order to share it with a wider group or creating a new section on my website to host the series.

In the end, I decided to focus on a Kindle release.

Now available on Amazon!

As Lucious lay dying on the battlefield, he never could have imagined that his final moments would lead him to a meeting with the breathtaking goddess Luna. She needed a champion’s aid in saving her realm of Cerulea, but it turns out there is just one problem with saving the world – she needed him to become the demon lord!

Reincarnated into a world full of swords and sorcery, Lucious is left in the tutelage of the goddess’s devotees, from whom he learns all manner of magic and martial arts. He spent his childhood in the demon’s village of Nefharoh, preparing for a future confrontation with humanity’s summoned hero.

Meanwhile, the half-elven Seraphim grew up traveling across Cerulea with her merchant parents. At first, she believed that Lucious found her annoying, but as they spent more time together by the river, they became close allies, supporting each other, and their friendship blossomed with the passing years.

However, life remained peaceful in the quiet village of Nefharoh as time passed. Seraphim inherited her father’s business, becoming a successful merchant herself, while Lucious resigned himself to living an ordinary life, believing that he would never be called upon to face down the hero. When Seraphim needed protection for a special delivery to the capital, Lucious joined her on the road, unaware that this journey would push them both closer to their destinies and to each other.

Recently, I turned my attention from ideas on volume 8’s story to preparing the first volume for publishing, specifically having a professional book cover made. While the general flow of the story hasn’t changed since my original creation, significant editing and cleanup has gone into publishing volume 1, along with writing a new chapter bridging the first and second acts.

The more I’ve worked on my little hobby, the more I’ve enjoyed their adventures and the characters that join them along the way. Volume 1 focuses on the protagonists and introducing them and their world, setting the stage for the rest of the story arc and those that follow it.

I’ve written a fair bit of stuff for fun over the years, but I usually talk myself out of taking it any further than a short story. Well, this time I managed to talk myself in the other direction. Over time it’s gone from a small concept to a complete work with a length similar to the light novels I often read for fun. Here’s hoping that some readers out there will enjoy Lucious and Seraphim’s antics, and be interested in later volumes.

Perhaps I’ll add a section to my website as a place for books I’ve written…assuming I can talk myself into sharing the rest of my stories, lol.

As a side note, ordinarily I don’t earn anything if you click links on my site. Never had any interest in that sort of thing since this place serves as my journal. But obviously as the author of the book, this scenario is a tad different :).

Victoria of Many Faces, Vol. 1 (light novel)

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I read Victoria of Many Faces largely because I enjoyed one of the author’s other books, Soup Forest, and decided to pre-order the moment that Amazon notified me about the coming title. It turned out to be an excellent choice, and I almost binge read the book in about two or three sittings. In fact, the only reason it took three days is because I decided on the second, that I really did need to sleep 😅.

Victoria is perhaps one of the more interesting light novel characters that I’ve encountered. Fleeing the organization, she ends up settling in another country and becomes embroiled in various antics–which eventually lead to her efforts to lie low becoming more complicated as time goes on. But we see a character who’s done some not-so-great things choosing to deviate from what they were trained to do because they choose to follow their heart. Even from the very beginning, Victoria recognizes that her course of action would be ill-advised and if she were still an operative would have to avoid the risks that it incurs. Faced with that, Victoria makes her own choice about what is right and that moral compass sets her on a beautiful course.

I love that the actions Victoria takes are her choice, and often bring about the major shifts in the plot. As a light novel, Victoria of Many Faces is often amusing and intriguing, and honestly I laughed so hard during the pub scene with the cat….I love so much that it’s even captured by one of the illustrations. The follow up in the bakery was superb, with there “Don’t you want to ask me something? / Do you want me to ask? / No” moment ending with the two laughing like loons. It’s very much like a shared story over cake, and plays off the incident with such comedic beauty.

Throughout the story, Victoria’s interactions with other people define what becomes the new “Normal” for her. By making it a slice of life tale, I think the story captures well why such shifts in Victoria’s life lead her towards finding happiness in such unlikely actions.

The ending in particular was rather beautiful, and after having seen several of the character’s aliases and efforts at concealing her true identity, Victoria’s exchange with the captain is especially poignant at the end. I’m glad that when all is said and done, she is able to reveal both her true self and the name hidden behind it all.

Overall, I would say that the protagonist is more realistic than most LN characters tend to be while remaining a vehicle for the story, and that makes her a wonderful counter-point to the various antics she gets wrapped up in. Victoria of Many Faces becomes a fairly warm slice of life / action comedy with a bit of romance here and there as the volume progresses, and it works really well IMHO.

I’m rather looking forward to the second volume, and hope that it proves as entertaining as the first was.

Dahlia in Bloom

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Of late, I’ve found myself in that odd spot of reading a series where I think, maybe I should switch series or nah, give it a few weeks and I’ll be caught up 😄. Last night as I started volume 8 of Dahlia in Bloom, and I’m reminded that it’s going to be a while. Based on Wikipedia, I believe that volume 9 was released in Japan back in December, so it will probably be summer time by the time an English translation lands.

I’ve really enjoyed the series so far, perhaps because in many ways: it’s protagonist and I have similar natures. Dahlia’s antics as a craftswoman and a certain joy in cooking, are things I’m rather able to relate to and the series makes for a good slice of life. The side thoughts of both Dahlia and Volf also remind me of the experience of first love, which sprinkles a nice touch on the romance side-plot that just makes you want to root for the lead characters, and sigh with the supporting cast.

In volume 1, the story begins with Dahlia Rossetti about to move into a new house the day before her wedding. Only, as it turns out her fiancé, Tobias, has suddenly found “True love” with another woman and leaves Dahlia holding the bag as it were. The out pouring of friendship and support from those around Dahlia is wonderful, and quickly snowballs into the craftswoman forming her own trading company to support both herself and the development of new magical tools. It’s a big leap, but she resolves to hold her head up high and follow her dreams as a magical toolmaker even if that means becoming chairwoman of the Rossetti Trading Company.

When she encounters Sir Volfied, crawling out of the forest battered and bloody from being carried off by a wyvern it isn’t long before the chance encounter with Volf and Dahlia’s own nature, brings her into doing business with knights of the Order of Beast Hunters at the castle. At first, Dahlia is merely trying to use her talents to make Volf’s expeditions with the beast hunters easier. But of course between Dahlia’s ingenious crafting and Volf’s unexpected salesmenship, business is soon booming. Dahlia’s desire to bring people happiness through her magical toolmaking, soon finds her products in demand with both the knights at the castle, and with commoners and nobles alike.

Along the way, there are many bits of amusement and slice of life joy. Volf becomes a frequent dinner guest at the tower that Dahlia calls home and workshop, soon coining the name, “Green Tower Diner” and wishing she would open a restaurant — good food and drink abound. Not to mention the experiments in trying to produce a magical sword, which range from the mildly terrifying Sword of the Dark Lord’s Minion and the unnerving “Creeping Sword” all the way to the Galeforce Blades when you combine the insanity of a knight and a magical toolmaker 😅.

The story takes itself mostly seriously, but like any good series: isn’t afraid to take itself humorously either. I especially enjoyed that when Dahlia is called to the castle to advise the knights on stamping out athlete’s foot amongst the order of beast hunters, she finally looses her cool when the senior knights are about ready to chop off their legs and have the temple regrow them and she’s just trying to convince them to properly clean their bath mats. And of course there’s what happens when Volf implies that if her father had the condition and she knows so much about controlling the infection, surely she must have shared the knight’s plight as a young woman. The reaction of the senior knights is awesome, and quite frankly the artist’s rendition of the look on Dahlia’s face is kind of priceless! The issue of course tends to pop up from time to time, with one of the nick names chairwoman Rossetti has received being “The goddess of athletes foot” once youngsters shorten out the part about eliminating it, lolololololol.

For bonus points, each volume ends with an epilogue about Dahlia and her late father, Carlo. Often relating to some magical tool they worked on in her youth and revealing aspects behind the curtain that are flashed back from the old man’s point of view. Ranging from great amusements like Dahlia trying to create a hair dryer as a child and accidentally creating a flamethrower, or having to dismantle a prototype kotatsu because her father was treating it like a turtle carrying its shell around. Likewise, plot points beyond that abound. See, Carlo Rossetti had a plan to support his daughter Dahlia even after he was gone to his early grave. In part of this, we have the running gag of sorts first brought up by the vice-guild master of the merchant’s guild in volume 1, and well, you’ll just have to read the book if you want to know more 😝