Ready for Some Key Magic?
We learn how to use the magic of keys this week plus some big book news.
When you last saw me, I had to leave you so I could go and supervise a locksmith. I want to return to that moment because the locksmith performed some key magic, and I need to talk about it. It was that cool.
Why did my scribe have to hire a locksmith in the first place?
Because the board that controls all the rules for the apartment complex where my scribe lives sent around a letter. They decided that all door hardware had to be gold. But not just any gold because gold is a soft metal and not really suitable to important things like locks and knobs that get used heavily.
They meant that the locks and knobs had to be the very yellow kind of gold color not actually made of gold. Why weren’t the knobs and locks that color already?
Well, they were decades ago when the place was built. When Melinda’s dad changed them the day my scribe took over the apartment many years ago, the previous door knob was brown like someone painted over it. So they don’t know if that was once gold.
But my scribe didn’t want to pay a fine of an unspecified amount that would be charged on an unspecified schedule until the change was made. So she searched for a local locksmith on the internet and called the first one that popped up in her town.
But that locksmith just came back from surgery, so he gave her the number for another locksmith who is covering for him while he’s recovering. So Melinda called that locksmith and he came over an hour later.
He changed the two door knobs that weren’t in compliance.
(The other knob is on my scribe’s tiny storage closet where she keeps her snow shovels. But that closet is not in her apartment. It’s in a common area next to other unit’s storage closets, so the board can see the knob, unfortunately.
Melinda’s dad changed that knob too a few years ago because the previous one didn’t want to unlock anymore. It had one job, and I guess it was tired of it. But I digress…)
After he changed the knobs, he had to do some work on the door jamb because the strike plate didn’t work for the new knob on either door. Maybe because the building is old? So some sanding, drilling, fiddling, and replacing happened until the new knob latched properly onto the strike plate on both doors.
That was when the magic happened!
The locksmith went to his car and returned with a large plastic suitcase. Inside, it had rows and rows of little cubbies full of different sized and colored pins. He then took apart the knob so he could get this metal cylinder out. Then he inserted the key and then replaced all the pins so they lined up with the teeth on the key!
He did this for both knobs! Then he put them back together and demonstrated that the same key now unlocked both doors! It was so cool to watch that and truly like magic, especially because it required lots of trial and error.
If you’ve read any of the Curse Breaker books, then you know that my dad (Sarn) often has to solve magical problems with lots of trial and many errors. If you haven’t read it, consider this your invitation.
Hi, I’m Ran, Sarn’s son from the Curse Breaker Series in case you were wondering.
On to the Book News!
Aside from the expensive visit from a locksmith, we had no other drama outside of the books, which is always good because then my scribe gets more done.
What more did she get done this week?
Since Chaos Reigns is edited and done, she formatted the retail edition and the special edition version!
That means she finally made a decision about the interior and stopped stressing about it. So if you were wondering why you haven’t heard about the interior or seen any preliminary pictures of it, that’s why.
(She still has not formatted Curse Breaker Jousts yet, but I hope that will be next. I will nag her about it if it’s not next.)
The Riders of the Apocalypse story arc is really about the horse-shaped demons called the wraths, not their riders. Their riders are more for decoration really and to get them out into the world because the wraths can’t go into the Mortal World unescorted.
Why can’t they do that?
Because in the Holy Book, they have riders. So they have to have riders in our books too. We would never go against that.
But that opens up interesting possibilities for artwork. Since the demons are horse-shaped, we could have horse imagery.
Here’s a draft of one spread for the book. On the left, there’s a black and white drawing of my aunt, Sovvan, looking like I just summoned her, and she has no idea what’s going on.
She also looked skeptical like that when I told her a crystal ate Papa in Shards For His Gift, book 10 of the Curse Breaker Series. She did NOT believe me even though I never lie. But she did get my papa back from wherever the crystal took him, so it worked out.
On the right, a possible chapter header showing one of the wraths.
So that’s how it’s going. Right now, Melinda would like to do some black and white character art on the left and full color chapter headers. But there will also be some full color full page images too.
So if you like horses, you are in for a visual treat.
Melinda says she’s not doing this because she was a big fan of Mercedes Lackey’s Heralds of Valdemar books. They had mind-talking white horses called Companions. But I know she secretly wants a fantasy book with mind-talking horses of her own.
There is a white wrath named Conquest, who causes considerable trouble for our heroes, and he is a white horse who can mind talk and talk out loud. But he’s not the only wrath my aunt needs to capture.
He just got the most page time. I wonder if that’s because he looks like an evil Companion…
Melinda didn’t answer when I asked her if that was the case. But I think it is.
In other book news, Melinda posted chapters 17-20 of Chaos in Chains for our paid members on Patreon and Substack. You can read them now!
That’s it for this week. Come back next week to find out what new trouble we get into.
Don’t forget to follow our campaigns:
Riders of the Apocalypse: Complete Epic Fantasy Book Series
An angel, an ex-god, & a dragon take on the riders of the apocalypse in 4 humorous epic fantasy adventure books. Follow the campaign to get notified when it launches. (The banner and covers have been updated to reflect the new order you helped me work out in a previous newsletter!)
Curse Breaker Unleashed: A New Epic Fantasy Book Trilogy
An ancient army awakens and the only man who can stop them is the one who set them free in three new adventures full of heart and hope. Follow the campaign to get notified when it launches in 2027. My scribe will write these books next!!!
