Fun Stuff
Here you can read a sample from chapter one, view videos, and find out more about the novel.
Sample from Chapter 1
The creature landed atop the hill, gazing at the small house through white, bulbous orbs from within its wolf-like head. Its body, which was nearly identical to a vulture’s, shifted slightly to the right. The winged monster’s lips slowly curled into a snarl, fanged teeth bared at its prey. The scaven would be feasting on Human flesh today.
From within his house, Malachi moved from the window he had been peering out of. He looked over at Relm, who held his wooden bow in one hand and a single arrow in the other.
The scaven stared hungrily through the glass of the house, its stomach growling as it prepared its next move. Its heart leapt as the solitary door of the house began to creak open. Wings ready to lift off, it eagerly waited to attack its prey as soon as flesh was revealed.
Relm stood on the other side of the slightly opened door, being careful to remain out of sight. Adrenaline coursed through his veins. He loved the feeling. He had hunted scavens many times before—he had even killed a few felakahn—and today would be no different. They always fall, he thought briefly. Closing his eyes, he readied his bow and allowed his instincts to take over.
One second. That was all the time the scaven had to look upon its target. One second to enjoy the thought of tasting Human meat. One second to prepare for its deathblow. Then its life faded. An arrow, shot from the Human nearly fifteen meters away, had pierced through fur and feather. Its brown body wavered while green blood trickled down to its talons. The scaven collapsed, hunted by its own prey.
Malachi heard the twang of Relm’s bow. He looked anxiously toward the doorway, seeing only his son’s back.
Relm slowly walked back into the house, fingering the bow’s string lightly. “I’ve killed it.”
Videos
Fun Facts
• A key character in the novel, Talgamare, was originally two separate characters: Jonlak and Rexall. To aid in the story, the two characters eventually turned into one.
• The idea for the different fonts came from a note that Relm originally wrote to his father (the sequence was later cut). In the note, a different font was used as Relm's handwriting. When I first wrote a Dekaloth speaking, I added a different font as the creature's voice. More fonts were later added to different creatures.
• The Gatekeeper character was based on a stage character (of the same name) from The Wiz.
• The inspiration for the flying Panthaile creatures came from a cover of C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in which Lucy and Susan are riding atop Aslan's back.
• Six different fonts are used in Protect, helping you to "see" which characters are talking.
• It took two and a half years to complete the first draft.
• There are 59 pages of material that needed to be cut from previous drafts. Ironically, a character that was cut altogether was named Cutlek.
• Up until the end of 2008, the novel was called The Protector. It was changed in order to prevent confusion from other titles of that same name.
• The idea for the different fonts came from a note that Relm originally wrote to his father (the sequence was later cut). In the note, a different font was used as Relm's handwriting. When I first wrote a Dekaloth speaking, I added a different font as the creature's voice. More fonts were later added to different creatures.
• The Gatekeeper character was based on a stage character (of the same name) from The Wiz.
• The inspiration for the flying Panthaile creatures came from a cover of C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in which Lucy and Susan are riding atop Aslan's back.
• Six different fonts are used in Protect, helping you to "see" which characters are talking.
• It took two and a half years to complete the first draft.
• There are 59 pages of material that needed to be cut from previous drafts. Ironically, a character that was cut altogether was named Cutlek.
• Up until the end of 2008, the novel was called The Protector. It was changed in order to prevent confusion from other titles of that same name.
Map
Click to enlarge.
Fonts Used in the Novel
Here are a list of fonts that are used for when various types of creatures are speaking.
• Humans: Times New Roman
• Dekaloth: Lucida Blackletter
• Velopens: Monotype Corsiva
• Legarthans: Copperplate Gothic Light
• Panthailes: Harrington
• Other: Book Antiqua
• Humans: Times New Roman
• Dekaloth: Lucida Blackletter
• Velopens: Monotype Corsiva
• Legarthans: Copperplate Gothic Light
• Panthailes: Harrington
• Other: Book Antiqua
Rough Drafts of the Cover
Click on each picture to enlarge.
