Chapter 13: The Girl in the Bottle

This has been one cray ride, and now we are on chapter thirteen of

 If you still have yet to buy the book, then just do yourself a favor and pick it up. Paper back or E-book

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It has been pretty back and forth with Ty and Rebecca about what her position is in the story. We see here as the protagonist, the hero. But Ty sees her as the girl he has feelings for, and someone who doesn't understand all the danger he knows.  So writing this dynamic was hard. I didn't want to beat a dead horse and continue to be all "no... you can't be with me... no... don't go..." but at the same time, these are real issues (you know, except for where they are in a fantasy world, of a fictional book). I want people to have fears, and I want those fears to come to the surface in unexpected ways. 

That's why Ty pushes Rebecca away, why he struggles with doing the right hing and doing what he wants. And if Rebecca has learned anything thing in this, it's that she has the power to deal with what ever comes her way. So she will stand and fight, even if that means crying in the arms of a man she fell in love with in the period of a day.

quick story-

The first time I ever told my wife I loved her, we were sitting in my car outside of her parents house. We had just celebrated our one year anniversary (yeah I know long time) and we didn't want to say goodbye. We listened to Anberlin's "Cities" album and talked for a few minutes. When I began my tiny speech (which I had rehearsed like a thousand times) I began to shake. My teeth jittered inside my head. My arms held onto the steering wheel and I'm sure the car itself began to rumble from the shivers that I had been overcome by. I looked her in the eyes and I spoke the words, I love you. 

My wife began to tear up and she placed her hand on my cheek and she smiled. "Oh Tyler. I love you too." 

Joy exploded within me. I think I shook not out of fear, but out of pure adrenaline. I think when something is real, and true and outside yourself, your body will react to it. Trying to hold back the scream of celebration, my body was shaking from anticipation, and from being in a moment that will be for every one of the greatest in my life. 

Joy, Trish and Aar are back! Wooooooo! I love these girls so much, they are so fun to write. While we were gone on our journey with Rebecca and Ty, Ara began to develop feelings for Darcy, and when they came back, she realized how much she missed him. It's a bit of a doomed to fail relationship, but Ara is a strong gal, and she needs someone to make her happy.  I think it's fun for characters to develop off page. We want characters to grow, but sometimes it feels like we only want them to grow with our approval. Ara is fun and spontaneous and happy, though she is a bit annoyed with Joy and Trish most of the time. Which is why she would fall for a charming guy like Darcy, he's... well he's a cat, and who doesn't love a furry cuddle ball like that. 

First: Super awesome battle right?! But more on that in a second. 

Now, We have our answer to Irony! If you didn't catch my  reference in this chapter then I will elaborate a little. I love the movie, The Guardians of the Galaxy. In the final fight scene, there is  apart where Chris Pratt's Character distracts the bad guy with a dance off. And it was amazing! I loved it so much, that I decided to do that a little, in my own story.  

HA HA! I love it. 

Anyway, back to the battle! Dark Magi verse good Magi, Pixies and Faires and Sprites verse Zomblins!

Oh, whats a Zomblin? That's right, it's a goblin that is dead, and then brought back to life and is now a zombie! To me, at the very least, this is hilarious.  Because just when you think Rebecca is getting a hang of this world, something stupid like this happens. She then has to readjust what she understands and try to come to terms with it.

Rebecca's visions and dream are a bit of deus ex machina, but I think it's kinda understandable. As Rebecca's stress levels, and emotions peak, the more likely she is to tap into what ever powers she might have. which is why I wanted to give her the vision of her and Dona. By teh way, you might have been pronouncing "Dona" wrong this whole time. It's not Donna. It's a shorten form of the name Sedona, which is my sister's name. 

So it's pronounced like Donut, but with an "Ah" sound instead of "ut". Ha! You fools! I have treicked you all! Ha ha!

Soundtrack song - Aminals by Baths (yes I spelled is right.)

Appreciation:
To all of you who have been following the book and the blog, you are the greatest people I know. And I hope that one day we can chat in person about all the thing you think about my book.

T.W. Clawson

Chapter 12: Facing Demons

There is so much to go over from Chapter Twelve of

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To start things off, I love names and their meanings.The symbolism behind a name and how that mixes with the personality to which the name belongs. Enduring a name that is given to a person, or becoming what the name entails is the decision of a lifetime. In this case, the name came after the ghost had formed.


Kame Malory - The name begins in African origin. Meaning desolate, in this book the name is identified with a character that is unwanted and rather unlike. While Malory comes from French translation of Malore', meaning unfortunate one, unlucky. 

This character, Kame, has a rich back story that isn't divulged to much in this book, but is indeed quite extensive.  A magical person, Magi or not, she was some one with a Spiritual Connection gift and didn't know how to properly use it. When she died, a very very unfortunate way I might add, she called to herself the spirits of the dead that had been rejected and torn from this world in pain and anger. Then imprinting her spirit on the house (for private reasons) she created a presence that occupied the house. 


This Ghost that we have seen was a sad and lonely creature that wanted only love. When Rebecca began to understand it, she realized that the pain was self inflicted and that how Ty saw Rebecca stirred up something inside the spirit. It was enough to help Rebecca take mercy on the creature and give it a good farewell.


Some of you may have noticed it, and I won't spend a lot of time on it cause I don't want to be too obvious about it, but I had a small C.S Lewis allusion . I'm a HUGE fan of C.S. Lewis and his book, The Great Divorce, is one of my absolute favorites. That's all I will say on the subject. Hope you found it, and if not... happy hunting. 

Neal and Ty are not so different. Ty was basically raised by this man, and his entire sense of magical ability is based on what Neal has taught him. So naturally Ty woudl be pretty close to Neal, and they woudl share a lot of the same techniques. But to a finer point, they think alike. Both are emotionally driven and have a sense of honor and duty.

While I get really tired of bad guys always being from the origin of the character (mostly in movies, but it happens elsewhere as well.) I feel like seeing what Ty could have become is important. Neal is a living (or not so much living) embodiment of what Ty should have been.  He has a Physical enhancement sort of magic, with Telekinesis and that Neal has nurtured and trained. He was Making the two siblings into assassins, which means Ty was slowly being cut off from the world. That was, until he realized how much he loved his Sister, and then he met Rebecca.


I really Love the fighting in this book. Because It would be so much fun to watch on screen. It would be a martial arts movie with a sense of magic and romance. These two fighters, Ty and Neal, have the ability to cause more than physical pain. They can send the mind into a place where it is torturing itself. But it requires a massive amount of energy from their spirit.

The mark on the figures come from the idea that channeling one's spirit is a very intentional action. Like bowing when a person prays, or a runner puts on shoe, the mark indicated that there is a specific action that is going to take place. The fighting style that goes along with that would be a lot of fun to watch, because everything is so incredibly focused and willful. Like my favorite fighting scene ever. In IP Man, where he takes on ten of Japans best Karate students.

Now we know! We know what Ty did to his sister, he put here in a bottle! OH THE IRONY! Is it irony, I'm not actually sure. I will have to look into this, and maybe we will find out the answer in next weeks chapter!

By the way, the Grumpa... yeah, he's biased on a real person. I just don't wanna say who it is. But if ever there was a person who would be represent the leader of Goblins... then this person would... you know who you are!

Soundtrack song time! 84' Sheepdog by As Cities Burn

Appreciation time!
Literally Jesus Christ. You have been dealing with me since I was born, and you're always there when I need you. Thank you for the gifts you've given me. Stories, Rebecca, family, and Laughter. Please don't ever leave me, come closer and tell me more.

T.W. Clawson

Chapter 11: To Dance with a Spirit

And the story continues in Chapter Eleven of

 

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I absolutely love the song "And the Waltz goes on" written by Anthony Hopkins.  I one time listened to this song fifteen times in a row, because I was obsessed with the feel of it. It makes me want to grab my wife and swing our hips through out the room, holding hands and smiles. It's such a fun and lovely tune, with a small spark of sadness and a sweet romance that lingers through out it. 

I know that this book will never get so big to demand or even justify a movie, but it would be amazing one day to see these characters come to life. And if it were to happen, if this small story were to ever make itself known to the golden screen, or even silver screen, heck the bronze screen... I would love to see this song become the theme song to the whole thing. Like Harry Potter's little toy box tune, or Star War's gigantic trumpets. A waltz I think, is a great musical metaphor for the relationship that these two have.

Naturally, I have made this the soundtrack for the chapter. 



A couple lines I wanna talk about in this chapter.

The first being about looking back on life and cringing. I DO THAT ALL THE TIME! This was me hoping to put that out there into the world and people respond with, 'Oh yeah, that totally makes sense, your justified for all the stupid things you've done."
Guys, behind this super cool and epicly awesome exterior, is a guy who is crumbling to pieces with inadequacies. If you read this book and only get one thing out of it, make sure it's this.

You're wonderful, and have the potential to be epicly awesome, don't let your past dictate your future, instead, be willing to adjust to be better than who you once were. The truth is, your going to do great things, no matter who you are. Seriously, you, right now, the one reading this with the funny looking thing... you, you have the spirit of greatness inside of you. Be willing to accept it and change the world.

I was once told something that has effected my personal beliefs quite a bit. It's universal, it doesn't require much to understand the metaphor, but I will explain my take on it. 


It's easier to turn a moving semi-truck than one sitting still.

You move, you try, you reach and you become something, and along the way, God (or fate, or the universe, or what ever you think it is that directs our lives, even if it's yourself.) can show you the right direction. standing still will not amount to a better life. It will only give you a good view to watch life pass by.

Don't be worried about what you have done in the past, that you think might hold you up from doing something in the future. As well, don't fear for the future, in that you might make a mistake and cringe at it. All you can do is move forward and do the best you can.

The second line is just the break in the scene. Because I really would love to go into a haunted house with Bill Murray. Not that I think he could really help me with ghost hunting, I just think it would be a blast.

                                                             My favorite Bill Murray film. Scrooged.


Appreciation time.

@AngelinaMaharani - For randomly finding my book and voting on it. I hope you continue to read, and vote and tell your friends about it.

@BaconJargogler - For randomly following me, and making me feel good about myself. Please let me know what you think of my book.

@iamherzaaJk - For randomly adding my book to your reading list. I hope you get to it soon, and I hope you will vote and comment and share, because that would be amazing. 

You three have now idea what you have stumbled into\, and how much your stumbling means to me. Seriously. Thank you.


T.W. Clawson

Chapter 10: Escape

What in the world do we do with what we just read in chapter ten of 

For the love of holy egg-rolls, go buy my book before you read this post! 

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Or... maybe just read it on Wattpad for free...

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This is one of my most favorite lines from anything I've written. And this is a big deal in the book. Though it's kinda sandwiched between a cool magic spell from Ty and an abandoned Chinese restaurant.  

I'm a huge fan of fan art. HUGE FAN! Unfortunately the image above is something I whiped up for the blog. So it's not really fan art. And I pulled the drawing from Pinterest, so it really REALLY doesn't count. But maybe someone out there who might be a fan of this book so far, and has some artistic talent, might doodle something up. Either way, I'm a fan of just checking out fan art. 

So, we left the Magi Temple, and Rebecca knows they will be back some day... We traveled down to the Gold Dragon again, and it's abandoned. 

Here we got to see Ty use a little more magic to get himself into the building. Along with that, we see that he still isn't the type of person who is willing to disclosed everything to Rebecca. We have learned that he was raised by someone out side of the order, and trained by a dark Magi. Which means he has certain habits and instincts that keep him from doing the right thing all the time. 

What I love about Ty and Rebecca is that they pull at each other so much. Ty is continually reminded of Rebecca's goodness and innocence. While Rebecca sees a guy who is a whole new world. She sees the darkness of that world and accepts it as a whole. They make each other better, Ty specifically meets a person who does the right thin all the time, while he is constantly reminded of the bad things he has done.

Also, I didn't point this out before, but the The Gold Dragon is a real place. It's in Canby, Oregon and  it was the first place I ever went to dinner with my wife's family. It's a wonderfully delightedly place to eat, and it is immediately where I go when my wife is sick. It's her comfort food.

It's not as abandoned and out in the middle of nowhere like it is in the book. But it really does have, as my wife put's it, "Holy Egg Rolls".

While they are driving on the road to the Gold Dragon again, I'm pretty sure Norah Jones "Come Away With Me" is playing on the radio. But like an acoustic version. Like slower and quieter, so that if they weren't talking and arguing and such, then they would probably fall asleep to her voice.  

I hope you guys liked this chapter, and I hope you love Darcy too. 

Soundtrack for the chapter - Warm Foothills by Alt-J

Apprechiation: 

Ellie Kyllo - who went out of her way to make me ask her what she thought of the book.  

Jay Hisey - Who went out f his way to tell people about my book. You have no idea how much that meant to me. 

My Aunt, Who started following me on Wattpad, then left a review on Amazon, and always greets me with a smile, you kindness is never lost on me.    

Rebecca - Who said this week "you know what we should do when we're rich because of your books?" and that was the most uplifting thing you have ever said.  

See you next week. 

T.W. Clawson

Chapter 9: Discoveries

What a big chapter, what a cliff hanger for 

 

Go now! Go buy the DERN book, before you miss a great chapter like this one!

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Hold the PHONE!

"I love him." WHAAAA! Holy sweet mother of Aunt Jamima! 

Here's the thing, real quick. I am just as much thrown by some of the things that I write as you might be. I'm a paying customer to the roller coaster of a ride that is my stories and I'm taken back by some of the things that happen as well. 

This was one of those things. I knew that I wanted these to to end up together. (Seriously not a spoiler when you realize my name is Tyler, and My wife... Surprise! Is Rebecca... you do the Math.) but the fact was, I had no Idea how I was going to have it happen. Who was going to kiss the other first, who would acknowledge the feelings, who would do what. But as the story evolved, especially in this chapter, I saw that Rebecca indeed was the one what would realize what she was first. 

See, She is some one new when she comes out of the Vision of the Phoenix. She has seen something that defines her and as she starts to come back to the real world. She is the Phoenix, she is an extension of the spirit of Faith in this world. And She loves Ty. 

I believe in love at first sight, 100%, but that doesn't mean every one will have that. I don't think these two had that. There was some slight attraction, but I mean... Rebecca's not going to instantly start hitting on a miniature guy in a bottle, so it would take some time. They would need to realize what the other one means to each other, before they could feel love. And When Rebecca found out that she was the Phoenix, the small whisper in the back of her head that told her she was attracted to Ty, suddenly became a blaring horn. 

I love the end of this chapter because it kinda comes out of know where, and yet it still feels right. At least, to me... the writer... and creator. But it's what we want, the feelings are there from the beginning. These two are destined to be together. We all know it. Rather than putting in a weird twist where they don't end up together, I thought it would be cooler to make it literally their destiny. That they can get past it, and get to the greatness that their love will create. 

This is just the beginning though. It was a whisper, a small slight whisper that will have resounding effects. So make sure you stick around to see what those ripples in the water will be. The ride has only just begun for the relationship. 

 

I'm a huge fan of the imagery of the lamp post and and the bench. It is neither the first, nor the last time I plan on using it and it always have something to do with The Phoenix Haungfeng. The vision of The Phoenix was fill with a massive amount of metaphor and analogy. From Rebecca's entry to the spirit realm, to the Phoenix appearing. Even in Rebecca's exit, I used My favorite Passage of The bible as a tool for creating a way out. 

Micah 7:8 - Do not gloat over me, my Enemy. Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, The Lord will be my Light.

If you decide to go back and reread the part when Rebecca has spoken with The Phoenix, you will probably see the resemblance. And if you don't see it, or care to go back... then...

Moving on.

Did you notice Lady Erin's reaction to the Gremlins? just wondering.

This was the first time you really see a good amount of magic in the book. And man was it fun. You will notice that Tim is a not a big fan of the magic, where Erin is like the freaking Avatar!

 




The whole process of Magic in my book is something a little personal. It's not just the sort of thing anyone can pick up and do. For one, it's already a small group of people born with magic ability in their blood, then to add on top, its split into different schools that allow for different actions to be taken.

I have grown up reading comic books, X-men specifically, and watching Avatar: the Last Airbender. These were huge inspirations for what these people can do in my story.  While Tim is a Protector, he uses magic to aid in a form of combat, Lady Erin is an Element Commander. She uses her spirit to command the world around her, faith like a mustard seed...

There are people would can do variations of some, and are strong in one, and weak in a another, but at the end of the day it's about the personality of the person, and their own limitations. You can see that Lady Erin is first an Element Commander, butstill has some power in Spiritual Connection. As well, you can see that she has to touch Rebecca to initiate her magic. The whole process is very physical, and requires a great deal of strength and power to do over distance.

Schools that are shown in this book (have already or have yet to come [no spoilers... mostly]).

Elemental command. 



Physical enhancement.


Mental manipulation.


Dark Fallen Magic.


Spiritual communication.  

Stick around to see what Ty is, cause yeah, That's coming up real soon.

Chapter sound track - Handshake by Two Door Cinema

Apprechiation:
Last week I was depressed, and I didn't appreciate anybody. This week I'm more depressed, but I understand that I can't make this a habit.

I want to say I appreciate my Wife, Rebecca. She has always been an inspiration to me, and continues to make me want to be a better man. I write because i want to make money, I write so that I can spread the word of God, I write because is my only validation, but I can only write because I have some one as precious as Her to remind me why I do it.

I also want to thank my family members who have started telling me their opinions, of the book. I can tell that some of you are just telling me what you think I want to hear. And Others might actually like this book, but The real test to seeing if you like it, will be if you recommend it. To me, that's then best way to show your love. Thank you Shawn, Joyelle and Grace. You guys are the best.

T.W. Clawson

Chapter 8: The Magi Temple

Whoa! What was all that? Did you catch everything in Chapter eight of  

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Today's soundtrack song - Hunger of the Pine by Alt-J

The Magi Temple, was a gloriously romantic thought. An entire building, a whole monastery in the heart of a city. Sitting on the top most floors of a massive skyscraper. I'm absolutely in love with this idea. If I every make a billion dollars, I know the first thing I'm buying... A rebuilt hanging gardens version of a Mayan pyramid in a building in Portland, Oregon.

Besides my lofty goals of Rowlinghood, I feel really excited about this setting, because it's so new to me. The idea that an entire organization can fit into the urban setting like this makes it so much more magical and brings out the curiosity that I had as a kid visiting new places.

The whole idea came to me when I watched an Anime called Towa no Quon and in it there is a safe house in a penthouse, which is an open field. It was beautiful and so cool. So I deacided to take it a little further.



What I loved about it, is that it's so accessible, it's in the city and apart of it. But it's secluded, and hard to find. This a great place to set up a monastery, and to keep an eye on the world with out the world keeping it's eye on you.

The mains building in the penthouse should look a little something like this:


We have no idea what the hanging gardens really looked like, but these artiest concepts are a great reference. And I feel like Lady Erin is someone who would have taken meticulous care to create the space that honored her family.

And Speaking of Lady Erin, here are some imagies that inspired her and her Husband Tim the Protector.









Lady Erin and Magi Tim are based off of my wife's sister and Brother-in-law, there names... Erin and Tim...

I wasn't trying to stretch it to far with their characters. These tow are pretty important in the book, as well as my wife's life. Lady Erin is kind and smart and takes a liking to Rebecca, just the way an older sister would. Tim is strong and faithful, helping Rebecca find her way, and being a strong arm her life.

These are things that I see in Erin and Tim in real life. And I wanted to portray their importance in the book. I didn't want to flaunt some where names or make the characters any more magical than they will be.


I want this world of magic to be revealed like a curtain in Rebecca's life. As if she could have known it was there all her life, if she just looked hard enough. But now, being on this grand adventure, she is getting small bits of it at a time, and soon it will fully reveal to see a new and exciting part of the world that she had never known.

While I think Ty is the one that will ultimately introduce her to the world, I believe it will be Tim and Lady Erin that pull the curtains back for her. They will be the ones that stand on the for front of her introduction.

But we will see next week... won't we?

Appreciation :
You know its really funny, this week i was pretty depressed, because I started a contest to give away free stuff. A free shirt every week, and then in a few weeks, a grand prize with a whole bunch of stuff. people just had to start following me on Wattpad, and my followers just had to recommend my book to their friends.
I was saving thsi space for teh new followers, and the people who had been following me from the beginning, and who ever won this weks prize.
unfortunately, no one participated.  so I'm not feeling very appreciative this week.

T.W. Clawson

Chapter 7: Visions and Dreams

Hope your satisfied with the latest installment of 

 

If you have yet to read Chapter Seven, feel free to head to my website to buy the book.

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So what did we learn here today friends? Hmm? HMM? Anyone?

We certainly learned that when you are pressed for time, and out of ideas, you can really make something happen. Not sure yet what it was that happened but it indeed happened.

This was a filler chapter of the book. It was transitional, and almost non important, unless you think that massive amounts of foreshadowing are important... then its kinda super important.



I really am not a fan of this chapter. Mostly because of the awkward conversation that Rebecca has with the police officer. It was thrown in there as a way to introduce something more important. Something that will continue to play a big part of not only this book, but also the series. (yes.. I said series.)  But the conversation was, while I think important,  it was hard to write because I hated the idea of being stuck in this situation.

But at the same time, and again, people don't speak perfectly. So this conversation felt a little forced, because it was. It was weird and unwarranted and I hate it, but it's really important.

Plus, with the scene in the Gold Dragon we seen something very important. Rebecca's vision. Not Ty's. This is the first time Rebecca has really done anything out of a normal human being's skill set. And while she denies her belief in the Phoenix, we see here that in her mind, she might believe that Ty is the Gold Dragon. It's just something to think about.

As I promised last week, real quick. The Pheonix Haungfeng is named differently than how it would be in real life. The whole premise of The Phoenix started as two separate birds, The male Feng and the Female Haung, then within Chinese lore, the two became one and were representative of the female equivalent to Long the Dragon. The Phoenix was then named Fenghaung.

Simply put, I didn't agree with the idea that the masculine name should come first for a now feminine character. So I reversed it. I'm not trying to rewrite history or anything, it just made more sense for me to make the switch, than to hate the name for ever.

We are starting to see more of what magic is in this world. And I wanted to make sure people understood where I stand on the whole subject. Because I have been witness to some of the evils that persuade our world, I didn't want to give it credence or favor within my story. I love books like Harry Potter, and Lord of the Rings. But I think people can misinterpret the magic that they use in those books for something like we have in the real world.



I wanted to make sure that if even if people wanted to say that my books are representative of the real world, they could see that there is something different with the magic that runs along side it. But again, this story is fiction, and the characters are fiction. The magic that they use is based on an exaggerated idea of faith in this real world. That's all it is.

By the way, I am a really big fan of Justin Flom for a video he posted. Talking about his craft and how people have called him out for being a tool of Satan. If you like cool guys who do magic tricks, then check him out.
https://www.facebook.com/justinflomofficial/

The sound track for this chapter: Endless Fantasy by Anamanaguchi

Appreciations:

This one is kinda lame, but honestly all my followers on Wattpad. I am starting contest for you, to help you win some cool stuff.  I hope that you will engage and win, cause it means that you care about my work.

Thanks.


Well, I will see you guys next week right here for Chapter 8...

T.W. Clawson