The Second Loki Files Update

All five finished stories are now edited and released at Feedbooks. Here are the links and the short descriptions again:

Heart of Ice:

Does the Trickster of Asgard have a heart? And if he does, can it be broken? And if it can be broken, what will happen to those who break it? A chance meeting on a rescue mission turns Loki’s world ‒ for the good and the bad. (Warning: it’s a dark story in parts.)

Birth of Gods:

People get wiser as they get older, they say. The Trickster of Asgard, however, never does things the way other people do them. And if one god can wreak havoc on earth, two can do it even better. For Loki it’s merely a question of keeping his brother’s glorious plans in check. For a group of gods long gone it’s a question of finally getting revenge.

Agents of Asgard:

Once upon a time, Asgard had field agents. These days it has the Trickster of Asgard, the right arm of the All-Father. However, even a god has limits. Loki needs help and he knows who can help. It’s a good thing, though, his personal dictionary doesn’t include the word ‘impossible,’ because that is how easy it will be to completely assemble his team.

Blood of Rulers:

The Trickster of Asgard has many jobs: right arm of the All-Father, agent, assassin, spy, scholar, sorcerer, hacker, council member… Now Loki can add two more at the same time: investigator and diplomat. Can he handle looking for a threat to all realms and negotiating a peace treaty at the same time?

Protectors of Earth:

Can the Trickster of Asgard be caught on canvas? A throne anniversary, two stolen paintings, and a ring of smugglers are just three things Loki has to deal with in between standing still for his portrait. A spy network may become a new enemy or an ally. An enemy might turn into a friend. A glorious plan might just work out. And marriage is looming on the horizon…

I’m now working on the sixth story and I have ideas for another one, not a Loki File, but including a Loki as well.

The Loki Files Update

Ok, by now the files have developed a little further. The first story is out for all to read at Feedbooks: Heart of Ice. I’m working on #6, currently named Servant of Life, the fifth is done, so a little addition to the list:

The Loki Files #5: Protectors of Earth

Can the Trickster of Asgard be caught on canvas? A throne anniversary, two paintings, and a ring of smugglers are just three things Loki has to deal with in between standing still for his portrait. A spy network may become a new enemy or an ally. An enemy might turn into a friend. A glorious plan might just work out. And marriage is looming on the horizon…

The Loki Files #6: Servant of Life

(working title, but I think it will stick)

The Trickster of Asgard has been tamed, at least partially. But what will it take for him to sit on the throne of Asgard? Crisis and chaos, that’s what. Disease is sweeping through the realm, but where did it come from and how can it be fought? Ruling was never Loki’s preferred occupation, but when he’s the only one in the family not sick, he has to keep the throne occupied. And he has to rely on his agents to find out what’s going on.

That’s stories #5 and #6 for you. I will publish them at Feedbooks as soon as they are done and edited … which goes for the rest, too.

The Loki Files

That’s the series I posted about below. The one the muse has made me write for weeks and weeks now. While I have no idea when I will have the time to properly edit the stories and publish them, I will at least present them here with a short description and the title. So let’s get going before the muse is back, shall we?

The Loki Files #1: Heart of Ice

Does the Trickster of Asgard have a heart? And if he does, can it be broken? And if it can be broken, what will happen to those who break it? A chance meeting on a rescue mission turns Loki’s world ‒ for the good and the bad. (Warning: it’s a dark story in parts.)

The Loki Files #2: Birth of Gods

People get wiser as they get older, they say. The Trickster of Asgard, however, never does things the way other people do them. And if one god can wreak havoc on earth, two can do it even better. For Loki it’s merely a question of keeping his brother’s glorious plans in check. For a group of gods long gone it’s a question of finally getting revenge.

The Loki Files #3: Agents of Asgard

Once upon a time, Asgard had field agents. These days it has the Trickster of Asgard, the right arm of the All-Father. However, even a god has limits. Loki needs help and he knows who can help. It’s a good thing, though, his personal dictionary doesn’t include the word ‘impossible,’ because that is how easy it will be to completely assemble his team.

The Loki Files #4: Blood of Rulers

The Trickster of Asgard has many jobs: right arm of the All-Father, agent, assassin, spy, scholar, sorcerer, hacker, council member… Now Loki can add two more at the same time: investigator and diplomat. Can he handle looking for a threat to all realms and negotiating a peace treaty at the same time?

That’s it, those are the stories I worked on. I hope the short descriptions sound interesting, since I, personally, think the stories are.

While the muse is not looking ...

Long time no see, I know. But this time it wasn’t a writer’s block, it was the opposite. The muse has been driving me for over a month now, I have just (two minutes or so ago) finished the fourth story in what could become a long series.

Since the middle of April, I have been writing over 100,000 words, spread over four novellas of 22,000 to 31,000 words each. What can I say? The muse was swinging her whip behind my back, keeping me at the keyboard. All stories share the main characters (and, boy, has the cast grown since I started the first one, Heart of Ice), but they are different in tone and, in a way, even in genre.

I think I might just have found the writing method that works for me ‒ thanks to Morgan Hawke for that. And I have found a character with enough possibilities to keep me thinking up new situations to put him in. (He can take it, he’s tough.) Not to mention all the support characters that have turned up already during the course of the four stories. I have a great cast now … and I think it will still grow quite a bit over time.

I have no idea how long this rush might keep or what I might do to the Trickster before it’s over, but he’s had more good than bad times so far … okay, the first story is hard on him, but the rest are far more fun.

I’ll do a separate post later (or tomorrow), presenting the four stories, probably with the text I will put up as description, if I (ever) get to edit them properly and put them on Feedbooks. Stay tuned for that.

Fun Tool for Creativity

I’m the proud owner of my own iPad now … have been, for a couple of weeks already. I really like my tablet, but that’s not what this post is about. It’s about a fun app I found yesterday. It’s called The Brainstormer (App Shopper link, as I don’t browse iTunes through my browser) and will serve me well in the future, whenever I need a spark of inspiration.

The Brainstormer is nothing more or less than a device of three disks, each containing a couple of words that allow you to define something or someone (the app comes with one disk set for general ideas, the one for new animals is free, there’s one for characters and one for places, both at a few cents each). You can also add your own disk sets by making a new one and adding words for each disk. I played with the three additional disks and got the following combinations (by pure coincidence, / separates the disks):

Imagine Animals Disk Set (free additional set):

• Spiked / Mermaid / Great White Shark (I’d love to see that one)
• Segmented / Turtle / Elemental
• Enslaved / Tadpole / Mouse
• Fighting / Venus Flytrap / Jellyfish

People:

• The Mysterious Employer / Cosmic / Master of Ceremonies
• The Puppet Master / Chinese / Emperor
• The Damsel / Psychopathic / Gardener
• The Corrupt Politician / Western / Monk

Places:

• Noir / Stripped / Lighthouse
• Great Depression / Exotic / Bungalow
• Lovecraft-esque / Peaceful / Tomb
• Wild West / Infested / Township

Just trying to combine the words, I can say the stories would be awesome. The main disk set gives basic ideas for stories, too, combined with the other three, there should be loads of strange and amusing things to make. And sometimes, all you need to spice up a story is a mad idea or two.

The Brainstormer, for making wacky stories even more wacky!