Bardic Verse

Silver peaks, dragon’s lair,

Fairies guide, ghostly air.

Who can brave to claim them all?

Mighty Turrult ruled littlest Karn,

He and sons, upon devils charmed.

Nordhiem knew none like these since Ardule.

Mount the steed, brazen sword,

Calls of war, enemy hoard.

Turrult thrashed his way to the sea.

Durags run, fires behind,

Flapping wind, storms collide.

Turrult meets his match in wintry foe.

Nords return, numbers sliced,

Turned their backs to sea of ice.

Turramitral draws the line and says no more.

A rare poem - to be found in book three. (Prince of Furies)

Details, details...

The excuse of slow-writing knows no bounds. At 60,000 words, I could pat myself on the back; but many others crush my speed with their dedicated writing schedules. No matter - I have excuses galore. (although, I have given up some activities for Lent that directly influence my own writing schedule - so hopefully I'll get moving here)
Anyone who reads my blog entries, and bless you if you do, may realize that I rarely speak of good writing/criticism/grammar/punctuation. There are plenty that do, and they do it well. To write well takes practice, patience, and a whole lot of opinion -- the friendly stranger sort. My advice to writing well: join a writing group, and there are plenty online to do it. There I learned a lot, and I learned when it was no longer useful. (it is hard to critique chapter five without reading chapters one through four - grammar aside) As you may know, I'm all about world-building and being immersed in a solid story - even if it spans many books.


The experience of writing Epic Fantasy can be grueling. Details are the lifeblood of realism (ok, and writing really good too...lol) And if you don't love it, really love it, I don't know how you might do it. That's were my excuse comes in. I'm describing details of a fortress and realize it may not jive with what I wrote a chapter ago. Then I think, dang! There are a lot of new things going on here to keep up with. (I write from an interior outline, but much of what I put on paper comes out of direct imagination) So I decide, I need to go back a little ways and re-read what I have recently written. So I drop back fifty pages and start revising. A small delay of a week, but valuable to the story.


All writers have there own way of completing a tale:  put it all down and re-write later, give it to others to glean, or don't re-write at all. (the exceptionally talented)  Me? Write some. Re-read some. Revise. Revise again. Revise later again. Anyway, that's part of the toil of world-building, but I'd rather write little else.

Strange searches

What to call this place? Besides, HOME!

How does a writer, or storyteller (in my case), spend his/her free time? Well, aside from Twitter, Facebook, or other ventures to waste precious minutes we should be writing, there are those strange searches.  I spent plenty of time this week looking up druids, shaman, tribal headgear, and synonyms for campfire. Invention is a wonderful thing, but sometimes writing about what we already know is better. History holds within weathered hands a boundless list of human tradition and events that should feed the writer's search for realism. Strange but true, realism is the key to good fantasy. Can anyone say, oxymoron?

Well, now I stand on the slope of Mount Equinox, or more appropriately, the characters I have grown to know so well. Strange rituals, stranger alliances, and an altogether nasty creature called Grunthagamor -- I hope it all makes for a fun read. (and easier whenever my glossary is done)  If you want a hint as to where I am going, chapter two of book one (page 35, hardcopy) describes the Lords of Nordhiem and the accursed Lord Turran-Set. We get to know him better in book three, and I am excited to watch where this goes. Coming soon to a reader near you...

A taste of Book Three

Excerpt : Chapter Four -- Prince of the Furies

Between the grove and what appeared a small graveyard, the shrine rose tall and elegant. The building seemed a newer construction, and smelled of fresh cut oak when Jascha opened the double doors that were solid and stained a reddish-brown. They stepped into the vestibule and its silence held them. The building was square and not large, but adequate for a small village. Light came from stained-glass windows within the main chamber, which was open to them, and rowed clerestory across the nave of the roof. A beam of sunlight streamed into the rear of the chamber onto what appeared a bare table, without cloth or candle; and beside it knelt the girl they saw earlier. Jascha insisted they wait.

Andro studied her from across the room. She appeared statuesque, illuminated by the sun, but innocent and beautiful. As still as an angel in a painting, she startled him when she suddenly turned. In a soft voice she spoke, “Come.” 

Half way there!

Alpenglow in Huork, Nordhiem (or a facsimile of...) 

My goal prior to 2012 was a modest one, and that was to reach my goal of 50k words. That is -- half a book, and half to go. I can safely say, as of this writing, "Prince of the Furies", is at 50,200 words and climbing. Nowhere to go but up from here. Things are getting thick for my crew and trouble is brewing on the horizon. Nothing like a horrible creature to make a troubled year complete.

I will keep everyone posted on the progress.

I am finally, officially on NOOK!!!

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/passage-of-the-acolyte-james-vargo/1103280864?ean=2940013848962&itm=1&usri=passage+of+the+acolyte

The latest review! (part two- Passage of the Acolyte)

4.0 out of 5 stars The journey continues., December 7, 2011
By Scott (Columbus, OH) - This review is from: Passage of the Acolyte, Part Two (Kindle Edition)

Passage of the Acolyte: Part Two by James Vargo continues the journey of Acolyte Greynol to confront his son. So I don't spoil the first book I won't really go into the plot of this one very much. There is a very cool new character introduced that helps to guide the group on the proper path and Leonin meets more of his people.

The book continues on the same path as Part One. It is very well written in the style of a truly epic fantasy world. James continues to use vivid descriptions to give a true feel for the environments that the group travels through. This is a great series for fans of books such as The Lord of the Rings. 

Tis' the Season...

A hint of Book Three (under construction)
Descending the Lord of Huork's keep on the hunt for, the Prince of Furies.

   There is a crispness in the air. All is still and darkness settles in. The first flakes fall. And I'm burnt out. Sad but true, I hit a wall, and that's not too alarming, but this is prime writing season. I set aside time every Christmas for seasonal activities and very importantly -- writing. Yes, in the past the words flowed like an avalanche to fill my pages with awe and wonder, and I look for it to happen again.  But that wall thing comes at a bad time. The time for my blitzkrieg of writing nears. What am I to do?

   First thing first. Set those goals: I hope to be at 50% by New Year's. By then I will have hit that sweet spot in the middle of book three where the table is set and the setting takes a hard change. I plug away, but more sporadically than usual. I am anxious to read this novel through, but for now I just want to get it completed.  Then it is on to revising and a desperate attempt at a glossary. (sorry folks, the names and new characters aren't letting up any time soon)  A glossary will be a God-send for the reader.

   What to anticipate? More snippets, for sure, from the new and the old books. And as things get closer for the new release, I am looking into offering book one for free on Kindle. Until then, both books one and two are still only $0.99. I hope it's worth a look. Season's Greetings everyone!