Release Day! The Shattered Spire

 

It is finally Release Day for my latest novel, which is a prequel to The Shard, the first novel I ever wrote. Both stories are written to be able to stand alone, though they also mesh well with each other, though set 800 years apart. They do share some characters, such as the wizard Xax, and some long-lived elven characters. Here is the blurb:

The magic of the Spire of Peace has banished evil from the Known Lands for more than twelve hundred years. When a dragon destroys the spire and murders the king, the realm is thrown into turmoil. As civil war looms, can the royal Kaldarion family regain control over the kingdom and restore peace?

Livia, 20, is the eldest child of the slain King Varun Kaldarion. Though the wisest and most learned of the surviving family members, tradition says she cannot inherit the throne.

Balmar, 18, is too feeble-minded to rule, but his uncle, Duke Erol, crowns him anyway in order to appoint himself regent.

Darus, 17, was exiled by the spire's magic due to his bitterness that his father never named him heir. By force of personality and skill at arms, he has risen to command the army of exiles at the fortress of East Gate. Now he plans to invade the realm and take back what he feels is rightfully his by birth.

Imric, 13, was disavowed by his father after his mother died birthing him. Raised by his sister Livia, few in the realm even know he exists. Little more than a pawn in the conflict between Duke Erol and his brother Darus, Imric may hold the key to reuniting the fractured realm.

Summer Move to Luxembourg

 I don't write about my job much, mainly because I prefer to concentrate on my writing. But my career as a diplomat is soon coming to a close, as I intend to retire after one more year, thus allowing me to focus full-time on being a novelist. Since 1993 when I first moved overseas to work at the American Embassy in Moscow, I have been moving every 2-4 years to different countries. It has been exciting, but the process of constantly moving also wears on a person after many years of doing it. So this year, after moving from Rome to Luxembourg, I decided I've done enough with the Foreign Service, and now it is time to try to simply be a writer.

My wife and I left Rome in mid-July and had to do what is called 'Home Leave' in the United States. It's a requirement for US diplomats, so that we don't lose touch too badly with our home country. Home Leave typically lasts about a month and a half. Since our two sons were in Wisconsin, but I was also trying to figure out places that might be interesting for my retirement, we settled on St Louis as the place to stay. It was close enough to Wisconsin for us to easily drive up to visit our sons, but it allowed us to check out whether or not we would like St Louis. This city has the most famous chess club in America, which was a big consideration for me, as I'm passionate about playing serious tournament chess. The photo below is me at the World Chess Hall of Fame, across the street from the famous St Louis Chess Club. 

We were surprised at how much we liked St Louis. I don't think we'd have had such a great experience, except that we lucked out and happened to stay near the fabulous Tower Grove Park. There is a reason this is the one US city park to be designated as a National Historic Landmark. It is easily the nicest park I have seen, and the idea of living nearby (there is also a botanical garden adjacent to it) and getting to walk there every day is highly appealing. There is no guarantee we will settle on St Louis as the place for us to retire, but I'm definitely checking out houses in the park area.

In late August, we arrived in my final overseas diplomatic posting of Luxembourg. It's a nice way to cap my career. It's one of the wealthiest and safest countries in the world. I absolutely love that it has such a brilliant public transportation system, and it is completely free.

The first weekend, a new colleague from work drove my wife and me to see the ancient Bourscheid Castle in northern Luxembourg.  It was a great way to start life in a new country.

Our apartment is very near the center of the small city. The photo below was taken just a short walk away, and it highlights how gorgeous the city is. It is built over multiple levels and everywhere you look there are ruins of old castle walls. You can click the photos to get a better look at them.

My wife and I are definitely happy to get to spend our final year overseas in such a lovely place!

Closure/Continuation by Porcupine Tree

 Since my previous post rating the top songs by Porcupine Tree (which I posted because I'm about to see their concert in Amsterdam) did not include any of their latest album Closure/Continuation, I'm going to rate the new album now. I did not rate it before, because I had not listened to it enough at that point to have fully formed an opinion. I've been listening to the album nearly every day now, so I have a pretty good idea of how each song stacks up. Having said that, I know from past experience that even after a hundred or more listens, I tend to change my mind about songs later due to tiny nuances that begin to stand out to me.

So, I think this new album is probably my second favorite of all of their albums now, right behind The Incident. There may be individual songs I love more from other albums, but it is the overall strength of nearly every song on this album that makes it so good. 

My favorite song so far, after about seventy listens, is Rats Return. It rocks pretty well while also having some really beautiful choruses. I had Harridan second for quite some time, but now I'm moving Herd Culling into second place. There are bits of Herd Culling that don't suit my taste as much as most of Harridan, but there is a vocal section of Herd Culling that is so astonishing and lovely that I find myself listening to this song more often just so I can hear that part again. That means, of course, that Harridan is my choice for third best song. I like so much about Harridan, though it also contains a bit that I really dislike, so that colors my perception a bit. I rate all three of these songs with five stars in my iTunes.

Dignity and then Of the New Day are the next two, both rated as four stars. None of the remaining songs are less than three stars, so the album overall is very strong.

The album can't beat The Incident, though, because I don't rate a single song on that album below four stars, and it contains a bunch that are five stars.