F.J. Freeman
Anime and Video Game Talk; Fantasy Writer by night; Multimedia geek by day
Tag Archives: BOOK
Heavenly Bodies | COVER REVEAL
Book Cover| Artist: Fares Maes
Maes did such an amazing job with the cover, but it’s no wonder since he worked for other licenses such as WoTc, D&D and even Star Wars. I felt Heavenly Bodies to be up there with them, what I mean is Heavenly Bodies, in my mind, deserves the full product features. Movies, merchandise, the lot. Even if that never happens, I know at least that’s what this cover say’s about the series, about those who worked on it, and most importantly about me. I die with no regret’s. So, because of that, the first novel needs a cover that screams. EPIC, FANTASY + 4 ELEMENTS. (because of the story’s nature). Heavenly Bodies is who I am, it’s me as an author putting my heart and soul into words. Heavenly Bodies releases 06.12.20. (I am lucky enough to know Maes personally, if I didn’t I don’t think this cover would ever had happened.)
You can find Maes on facebook, where he post’s art and processes.
Follow the writer of Heavenly Bodies (me) on twitter.
Read a short lore introduction.
Heavenly Bodies releases 06.12.20 More Illustrations soon!
Updates! HB RELEASE DATE!
Hi everyone, here once again taking a little bit of your time.
ONGOING SERIES
Letters to a Future Lover
LTAFL is currently running it’s [season 2] and will now be publishing on [tapas.io], Season 2 will end 06.5.20, then it takes a one week break and comes back 06.15.20. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy the series.
Heavenly Bodies
If you’ve been following along with Heavenly Bodies, it has an official release date now. 6.12.20
As always read a lore sneak peek here.
HB will have a digital first release, then a paperback soon after, use #HB_prj (uppercase) when the book releases to give your opinions on the book. I’ll be reading them. 😉
There are still some things that I need to finish, like making sure the final copy doesn’t have spelling mistakes, but pretty much everything else is done. As the weeks trickle down, I’ll be revealing some illustrations that will go inside the book. All counting down towards a cover reveal. Which will happen sooner towards the release date. (because it’s still not done) edit: It’s DONE!
Soon after I’ll be starting on HB II.
This is the first book I’ll put out so I’m excited.
Non the less that’s the update, I hope you have a wonderful day, and stay safe everyone.
Heveanly Bodies – Geography
Hi there, first off I would like to apologize for the late blog post this week.
As always here are some links you might enjoy.
Last | The Island of Quattor
Previously | Races in HB
More | Heavenly Bodies – Character Introduction | Heavenly BODIES – What’s an Epigraph? [LORE]|Heavenly Bodies – What’s an Epigraph [LORE] PART 2|HEAVENLY BODIES – WHAT’S AN EPIGRAPH [LORE] PART 3
Illustrations | Rae (older ver) | Forest | Catalina | Ramiel
Gliese has four islands around it’s terrain, the only island that has different biomes is Quattor, separated by what seems to be man made walls.
In the Northen Hemisphere of the planet – Quattor and Yiosoros, visited by their vistas and their year long tropical like island weather. Perfect for vacations! Quattor still has a desert biome and an ice biome, because the island is so big and the planet so small it’s common to go from a nice 24 °C to a freezing -12 °C. A harsh reality of Quattor.
Yiosoros is the most hawaiian island of the two, as moisture fills the air, mountains provide warm shadow’s and people tend to go there for a nice tropical escape. AirCaravan or BoatCaravan are available for public travel to this island. People who live in Yiosoros either call it home or think it’s paradise hell on earth.
In the Southern Hemisphere, Lumgrave holds it’s empty vessel for all of those that dare enter it, filled with a sea of trees that go deeper and deeper, until light enter’s no more and animals have to rely on bioluminescence for light, some animals tower taller than the Horned Humans.
Lumgrave goes through the usual season’s. Those that live in Lumgrave accommodate themselves in the first floor of the forest. Where low level monster’s escape. But mostly keep to themselves inside the second floor of the forest.
I know this island might peak your interest, but I’m saving explanation’s, as I already planned to visit this island in book 2. 😉
Omamel is the calmest of the four island’s, people here live of the land and livestock, usually tending to themselves, an island where everyone know’s everyone. Grassy planes, and windmills flock the land, Omamel holds dear to it’s easy life of living, those that want to connect with nature and live a peaceful, slow, daily life tend to flock to Omamel.
Omamel people prefer not to use crystal technology like the rest of the islands. They do have a massive towering crystal in the middle of the island, one day it just kinda sprouted from the underground. It’s left unattended in the outlands.
Oh, I forgot to mention one more thing, a tiny island to the north west of Quattor, now overrun by monster’s and a home base for the Sorceress of the Wind. Plans were already in motion for a certain king to start his own legacy in what is now known as The Badlands, once part of the Yiosoros territory. Now belonging to a certain individual you’ll meet at the very beginning of Heavenly Bodies. 🙂
And well that’s all for this week, once again sorry for the late post, life has been crazy this past two months.
Heavenly Bodies – What’s an Epigraph [LORE] PART 2
Hi there, it’s me FJ, once again asking a little bit of your time.
Like promised this week we dive deep into the second type of magic found in Gliese through the epigraph.
Elementai Magic
Elementai magic is the second oldest form of magic in Gliese.
But, before that we must first understand the belief’s and custom’s of the Ancient’s.
The Ancient Ones
The Ancient Races of Gliese were held together by belief’s of old one’s and god’s of unpronounced name’s, waking dreams, lunacy and dementia.
- “What good are the eyes if the mind cannot see”
Now only known as the sleeping primordial, believed to hold slumber in the center of the observable universe. The Ancient’s adored and held in high regard the primordial one.
They used a runic writing system, that held great power, for spoken and written words were the only thing they needed for magic. Soon though they discovered, through the power of the crystal, elementai magic.
They were now able to control the four element’s, wind, water, earth and fire. But that was not enough for them, they took it even further, through the control of light and dark crystal they were able to find that they could control much more than four element’s, metals and gases like Hydrogen, Lithium, Thunder, Mind and even time itself, ancient’s were able to control what we know as the periodic element’s. Because of their ego and power, they deemed themselves god’s and opposed anyone who said otherwise.
Their ego demanded control, but their id made them fight against themselves.
This is what started the The First Dismal Cataclysm an all out war between the ancient’s, they annihilated themselves, now only the giant’s of souls and a race commonly known as the Horned Humans, towering like giant’s that serve as the architects of Gliese, and their writing system is what remains of the ancient’s.
Written and spoken language
Their runic system, colloquially known as common language, they’re runes that are hard to read, and can signify something when pointed north, and something else when pointed south. That’s why scholars of Gliese developed two scripts that are written above the runes to allow for easy reading. These writing system is commonly used by children and teenagers, the scripts affect how they speak, so children usually speak of themselves in 3rd person, by the time they reach teenage years, they outgrow this, and learn a new script that more closely resembles common language, these two glyph system do not hold the magical property of the cardinal system that runes have.
“A spell is free’d to Gaia”
Elementai magic is commonly used throughout Gliese, defense and elementai magic are property of the people, proficiency’s has to be paid for. The pastoral of magic sealed away text’s of elementai magic being able to control more than the four elements, now only whisper’s and rumors remain of what once was, a legend carried by the wind’s breath states that there exist’s a fifth element, but such thing is only folklore.
An elementai user can have more than one element under very special circumstances.
How does it work?
Fire elementai’s ignite particles from the air and create fire, bending it to their will, attackers of the party.
Water elementai are only able to bend water if it’s physically in the room, healers of the party.
Earth elementai’s have strict rules when and how to use their element, but can use the roots of a tree to attack if they wish to do so, tanks of a party.
Wind elementai’s can conjure powerful winds, while also creating wind blades to protect themselves, rouges of the party.
Elementai magic has a weakness and it’s the other elements, usually seen as a circle that eats itself.
WATER – FIRE – EARTH – AIR (REPEAT)
And well that’s all I have for this week, next weekend we’ll dive deep into cost’s and the different proficiency’s that have been laid out as of Heavenly Bodies v1.0.3.
Heavenly Bodies will release at version 1.0.5, please continue to look forward to it’s 2020 release, more info soon!
Heavenly BODIES – What’s an Epigraph? [LORE]
Hello everyone, it’s me FJ, once again asking a little bit of your time.
Today we’re diving into one of the fantasy concept’s inside of Heavenly Bodies.
The Epigraph.
In simple term’s the epigraph is your connection to magic. Most epigraph’s are inscribed from birth, when the skin is most fragile and moldable, it’s when it hurt’s the least. Inscribing an epigraph as an adult might cause some discomfort.
Gliese, the planet where our story takes place, host’s 3 different type’s of magic’s. Defense, Elementai and Proficiency Magic. Today we dive into Defense Magic.
Defense Magic, in simple term’s, is just that, defending yourself against an enemy, you are however not able to attack or parry with defense magic. Most school’s teach courses to awaken defense magic, but most people are easily able to carry it out just by reaching for an image of safety.
Defense magic is not infinite, as it shrinks with every hit from an enemy, and eventually breaks. This is related to stamina and the conditions a character was born into.
The epigraph, usually inscribed by a witch doctor, has ancient knowledge that is passed on to the cells in your body, and they are able to recall this most basic of magic’s, even if you don’t. So say you’re in a situation of dire distress, defense magic might activate on it’s own.
Defense magic is different for everyone, some might experience it as a bubble force field around them, or some type of mana skin that wraps around their body, other’s project magic armor unto themselves, while other’s might just conjure up a shield.
Some known special cases:
There are reported cases of people projecting defense magic as a loved one that might have protected them, a stoic brother, a prowess father or mother, even a beloved pet, this can sometimes be exaggerated by the magic, converting the image into something like a towering lion or wolf that wield’s a sword, it really all depends on what a person experiences during his or her life. Experiences that leave a mental or physical scar can shape or form a person’s defense magic. A reverse situation also applies. (i.e cases of family abuse) Meaning defense magic is made less powerful by trauma, and those that find themselves in this type of situations might not be able to project their defense to it’s full potential. This is cured or solved by therapy, there are certain criteria a person must meet before advancing to elementai magic, when this are not met an investigation is conducted into that person’s life. Teacher’s, along with the help of a detective, analyze and piece together why that person is not able to reach the full criteria of defense magic. Finding’s are later reported to the pastoral of magic.
Some might have problems projecting their defense, but uttering the spell tlakixtia can solve that problem. There are introverted royal’s who have problems projecting their defense, but you didn’t hear that from me. 👀
Defense magic favor’s the brave, bold and extroverted.
For now that’s all I have to tell you, come back next weekend, as we’ll continue with the epigraph and dive into elementai magic and it’s properties.
Thank you for reading, please continue to look forward to Heavenly Bodies and it’s 2020 release. 😀
Heavenly Bodies – Character Introduction
Hi guys, my name is FJ and I have a book coming out this year, titled Heavenly Bodies!
Exciting!
I wanted to take a little bit of your time to tell you a bit more about it, today we are diving into the main character’s.
There are four MC’s in this series, and two supporting MC’s who are equally important.
We follow Rae Formeen, Catalina Mylo Mylene, Forest Cros Stone, and Ramiel An Ama
Rae is the spunky guy, he’s always looking for way’s to have fun and be mischievous, which can get him in a lot of trouble. He thinks about himself a lot, but when his friends are in danger, he’s the first one to jump into battle. He holds those that are dear to him like family. He’s a keen fire elementai, even though he was born and raised as a beggar. Rae is my personal favorite, but don’t tell anyone.
Catalina is little bit more on the quiet side, she can be naive at times, and not be able to express her feelings correctly, or in a way that might satisfy other’s. But she buries her nose in books, more than she should. She has 4 sister’s and lives in the castle of Lordell, the city of water, it’s to the South of the island of Quattor, the city is located in the beaches of the Purple Mediterranean Sea, she’s a princess to King Mylo. Catalina is a keen water elementai since birth.
Forest, a semi brown skin boy, he lives NorthWest of Quattor, in the outskirts of Dragonmedow, a neutral city, he doesn’t quite reach the outlands though. Forest is by birth deaf, but he’s still able to use magic through sign language, and there are many magic technologies that only appear when needed, and make his life just a little bit easier.
For example: At the dinner table. How do they deal with his parent’s using fork’s and knives and talking at the same time? They can’t use sign’s to talk to Forest while they eat, right? These is quickly addressed through magic. (I don’t wanna spoil it)
He’s is studios to a fault and has always been homeschooled, quickly surpassing his teacher’s, now his brother who lives a city over, in Insomnolence, also a neutral city, is his main tutor. Forest is a keen earth elementai, since birth.
Ramiel is a feisty one, she has dark skin and 4C natural, luscious, beautiful, hair, she deals with shrinkage every day! She was born to a family of nomads who were later adopted into a monastery, now Ramiel lives her life tending to the needs of the monks, and submitting to her father’s ruling, even though she show’s clear mastery of her wind elementai. Ramiel hates to loose a fight, and know’s how to defense herself if need be. She’s relentless to a fault. Her emotional intelligence skyrocket’s through the roof, she’s constantly thinking about what she’s going to say next, and how will it affect those around her, because of this from the very beginning, she hates Rae with deep disgust.
There are two more MC’s
The son of the sun.
&
The son of the moon.
Each of them have their own backstories and emotional baggage that you’ll encounter as you read this entry into the series, and future entires as well.
The son of the sun want’s to change things, go against the grain, and change the way things are done in the Island’s of Gliese.
Meanwhile the son of the moon knows that there’s no changing the way’s of men, especially the way’s of king’s and gods, he play’s a more passive role in the story, but eventually his story does intertwine with one of the elementai’s, who I’m keeping a secret. But most importantly his story is heavily correlated to the son of the sun.
And that’s all I can say because if I say anything else I will be spoiling key plot points for this and future books. For now I’ll leave you with this.
Thank you for stopping by, I will be revealing more information about HB as the month’s go by.
A release date you ask? Sometime before the middle of the year…
Come back next friday for more reveals! 😀
My book is getting a cover?!
Yes, that’s right, you heard it here first folks!
My book is getting a cover, from a really, really cool artist. Who has also worked with Wizards of The Coast and even Blizzard Entertainment. My book is in no way associated with those guys in any way shape or form. But in my mind it does create an invisible link to them, a link by proxy. Since they know and love the work of this artist, maybe when they see my book, they’ll instantly have a connection to it, to the cover at least, not only that, the work that he’s putting into the cover will shine through and elevate my story to new heights.
When is it coming out you ask? I’m not ready to say just yet, but a date has been set.
Look, I don’t have a sob story where I tried to query a million publishing houses and a million agent’s for a million years, and I got rejected by all of them, that is not the case, I queried around 15 publishing (indy and big five) houses and around 20 agent’s, which I thought would be a good fit for my book. The agent’s didn’t respond and I did get rejection letter’s but they were less than 10. I have been trying for the past year, with no luck.
There are many things I could blame, the voice isn’t strong enough, the market isn’t right, many many things. But I do know why not a single agent responded, and that’s because of my name.
Francisco Jose Cirilo Muguerza.
That’s a mouthful right, let’s just stick to FJ. They see a latino name, and loose interest. That is what I think.
That might not be the case, but it’s pretty obvious it kinda is, since most of the agent’s I was querying where white. But I did not find a single agent who wasn’t, so that’s weird. But I digress.
See, I’m 27. I graduated when I was 25 because I got held back a year. I studied animation and visual effects and have been on and off jobs for a while now. I’m about to be 30 and have nothing to show for myself. That is about to change.
So why am I self publishing? Don’t you want to wait and see if someone will publish your book for you? Aren’t you afraid of publishing fiction and having people not pay attention to you? Aren’t you afraid of the stigma that comes with self publishing? – Yes all of those things have and are going through my mind. I’m afraid of what people might say, I’m afraid that they’ll find a word that’s written incorrectly, I’m afraid they won’t like my prose or my voice. Yes I’m afraid of all of that.
But hey guess what, I just don’t have the time, I just don’t have the time to wait for someone else to fall in love with my world the same way I have. I’m currently in the process of re-writing it once more to making sure it’s in tip top shape for it’s release, and I just love this world, I love the character’s and I love that I have plans for the story. I love how it start’s at the end of the prequel, and I love that there’s so much story to tell, I really do. I love the lore, and I love how I see it in my head, I love the magic system, I love the relationships between the character’s, I love the diversity, I love that there’s POC’s, latino’s, gay, transgender, character’s with disabilities, hearing Impaired character’s, and blind character’s. Because hey guess what I have met all of those people in my life, I’ve been close to all of those type of people at one point or another in my life, so they come back into my fiction.
And I think that’s beautiful, and should be shared with the world, no matter what anyone else say’s, the world isn’t ready for such a diverse cast, if you think that way, I’m not writing for you.
It’s 2019, we’re about to enter 2020, literally that number sounds like the future, why are you afraid of different voices? Representation matters, and frankly I get a little bit bored if I don’t see colors in the fiction I consume. A meal with only white bread is a stale meal in my opinion.
See I’m just not gonna wait for someone else to jumpstart my career, instead I have decided to do it myself, because I have the means, and I have the ways, and I’m ready to go, I’m ready to start, because this is my dream, even if I lost it somewhere along the lines, I found it again, and I want it really, really badly.
This might be me self-debut novel, but it certainly wont be the last one. I have plans for this novel series, and I want it to grow into something big, something we can all enjoy, I want you to be able to play and escape in this universe just the same way I did once.
I’m ready, I’m gonna do this, and it’s gonna happen. Stay tuned to my blog, and my socials, other social since I will be teasing the book in the upcoming month’s all the way to it’s release.
Thank you for reading, I hope you’re as excited, as much as me.
Chu, chu! All aboard the hype train we go.
On July 10th, I’ll be buying a domain.
JULY 10th
On July 10th, of this year, I’ll be buying a domain. But what do you mean FJ?
Well, I’ve been developing a project for quite some time. I’ve teased it in the past. It’s a book. And I’ll start to query my submission to people. That will be happening on July 10th.
Maybe I fail miserably and never get this book sold.
Maybe
Soooooo….. I’ll buy a domain, to celebrate, so this blog will most likely go from .wordpress.com to .blog.
That’s right.
It doesn’t make sense
Poetry isn’t it pretty.
You squiddle dee dumb
And you squiddle deedee
Because maybe one day
You’ll squiddle dee dumb
And squiddle deedee
Have you heard
Of squiddle dee dumb
And squiddle deedee
Its doesn’t matter.
It doesn’t make sense.
