Introducing Words Beyond Reason

I’ve mentioned before, but every time I write one of these release notifications, it gets just a little harder to do so without spoilers. When I first start a shiny new series, there’s lots to talk about. I can get away with sharing little details about the world building and characters without giving away what happens. But middle books are tough because I don’t want assume someone has read all of the previous installments before discovering this one. In fact, I assume the opposite – that people are most likely to find my series midway through their release schedule.

Still, I want to make every release feel special. And provide just a little extra lore for those who have been following the series since its start. It feels rude to just say, “Here’s yet another installment of Domerin’s life!” and drop a book into everyone’s laps. There should be a nice little cake to go with it!

Since I can’t USB cake slices to all my dedicated readers, I’ve checked back over all the lore I’ve already shared for a tidbit I can safely pull from my writer’s notebook. One thing I haven’t talked a lot about, especially where the Aruvalia Chronicles are concerned, is influences.

People have asked me before where I draw my inspirations. Lots of my stories actually come from dreams, and I build outward from there. But it’s easy for me to find inspiration in everything from books to movies to TV shows to odd things I see happening while I’m walking down the street. And even if I don’t consciously decide to draw on those inspirations, lots of them eventually seep into one of my works.

It’s kind of fun to look back and see which come from where.

Once Upon a Time in the Stars

Domerin is one of those characters that showed up on my doorstep one day and moved fully into my brain. I didn’t really have to reach to find him. But that doesn’t mean I haven’t spent a lot of time delving into my brain to search for his origins. Over time, I’ve discovered two that strike me as interesting.

The first is an anime known as Outlaw Star. I discovered it during my teenage years. It ran on Toonami (Cartoon Network’s afternoon run of anime.) This little scifi story is about an outlaw who bites off more than he can chew and gets involved in the race to find an ancient and powerful location hidden somewhere in the galaxy. Rumor has it that whoever finds this mystical place will be granted their greatest wish.

The main character’s name is Gene, and Domerin gains at least some of his roots from him. Gene is young and reckless, good at getting himself into trouble. He’s an unrepentant flirt, and he mostly lives in the moment.

He and his young sidekick inherit a top of the line (stolen) ship from a colleague and spend most of the series running around the galaxy trying to find money. No spoilers, but eventually the story gets deep enough to make this one of my all-time favorite anime.

Gene is stubborn. He spends a significant amount of time running away from his past. But at his core, he’s a good guy who would rather help people than hurt or kill. And when he gets mixed up in something, he’s determined to do the right thing as well as ensure a lot of innocent people don’t get hurt. Sound familiar?

Incidentally, Mainframe’s real name (Lilliana McDougal) is a shout out to a character from this anime.

Way in the Long Ago

I can trace at least one other distant origin for Domerin, but I have to reach pretty far back in my history.

When I was a kid, I had two VHS tapes of a cartoon called Brave Starr. And I’m pretty sure I watched them until the VCR stripped the film.

The title character is a Marshal by the name of Brave Starr. He’s a Native American who calls upon spirit animals in order to enhance his abilities. (Eyes of the hawk, speed of the puma, ect.) He’s accompanied by his sidekick, who is a horse that is also his mount.

Most of what I know about this cartoon is actually from more recent research. Such as the fact that it was a sci-fi cartoon that took place on a desert planet known as “New Texas” rather than just in the old west. I really only remember one episode. It involved Brave Starr losing his powers and having to go on a quest alone in the desert to regain them.

I never realized this at the time I made him, but one glance at Domerin and the resemblance is kind of obvious. And Domerin does enhance his abilities by drawing on the power of the environment surrounding him, even if it has nothing to do with animal spirits.

Brave Starr was another character who always tried to do the right thing, no matter the situation. He was a marshal, after all. And I’m pretty sure there were probably plots that involved him getting in trouble over the decisions he made. That was pretty typical of cartoons at time.

While I can’t say exactly how my brain amalgamated Domerin into existence, it’s fun to think it might have pulled little bits of him from my favorite past experiences.

Words Beyond Reason is Available Now!

When a thief’s dominance is threatened
They’ll use every trick in their arsenal
Even if it means squaring off against their mother

There’s a beast inside Domerin Lorcasf. When it wakes, it kills without discretion or remorse until everything in his path falls dead at his feet. Holding a sword now makes him a risk – but holding a sword is exactly what he has to do in order to once again save his beloved kingdom from imminent destruction.

To serve his duty – and continue living his life – Domerin needs to tame the beast inside him. But he has no idea how to do that when every time it awakens, it consumes his consciousness and attacks his friends. The queen claims this mad rage is supposed to enhance his channeling abilities – but first he needs to find some way to avoid turning into a mindless killing machine.

Crescent can’t help. He has his own problems since his mother suddenly melted from the depths of his history. Not dead, as he long since hoped, the woman instead appears in the middle of a royal ball to demand Crescent assist with her employer’s dastardly plans – or else she’ll ruin his life, starting with his relationship with Domerin.

Crescent doesn’t believe his mother can succeed. But that doesn’t mean he can afford to ignore her. He needs to show her what he’s become – and what he’s capable of doing. And fast. Because a storm is brewing on Aruvalia’s northern border, and all the resources its protectors can muster will be required to turn it aside.

Grab your copy now!