Hello, and welcome! I am ZmunkZ, or if you prefer, Mike. I am educated in physics and mathematics, I work in software and databases, and I am a student of VFX, writing, 3D CGI, guitar, poker, and a variety of other things. This site is where I go to talk to myself. Note: the FDA has ruled this site unsafe for casual or professional consumption.Vitalia is the project-name for the first book in my tentatively-named The Lunhina Trilogy.
Progress
I’ve just crossed the 50,000-word threshold, which is about 30% of the way through my story. I’ve settled on three viewpoint characters to bring this world to life: Kinius Rydelle is the second son of the King of Doran. He is young, ambitious, a little self-satisfied, and way over his head in the real world. Svaran Mellrysic is a refugee from the Blue War, a lowly maid servant in the Doran castle struggling to help her people any way she can. And Andara Amelin, a young girl who contracts Necroflux and is thrown into the complex world of the infected. This main cast, along with several secondary characters, will help me tell a story of mystery, subterfuge, conspiracy, and danger.
Premise
If you get infected with Necroflux, two things happen: you can use magic, and you die within a year. Well, usually. The Lunhina Transit is set on an Earth-like world with a highly eccentric orbiting moon. Every two years the moon, Lunhina, loops very close to the planet causing a torrent of natural disasters, as well as the production of an extremely rare substance called Vitalia. Vitalia keeps Necroflux at bay, allowing the infected to explore magic for years and decades without succumbing to the illness. But when the collection of Vitalia goes wrong, the world is left reeling from the ramifications.
Methodology
I am modeling my revision process after the “Sanderson” method, which Brandon Sanderson outlines on youtube in one of his recorded lectures:
Draft 1 is a full start-to-finish write through without going back for any changes.
Draft 2 address continuity and cutting: 1) Local Fixes, 2) Foreshadowing, 3) Arc-plot continuity, 4) POV/Chapter rewrites, and 5) Alpha feedback
Draft 3 incorporates big picture issues from beta readers including 1) Re-naming/Terms, 2) Dialogue and POV check, 3) Polish/word choice, and 4) Deep character/plot fixes.
Artwork
This will NOT be the cover of the book, it is just something I was playing with. It depicts a Necroflux-infected hand, as well as Lunhina as seen during a transit:
