Medieval Musings:

Your Newsletter from Paul J Bennett

"This series is nearly as engrossing as LOR but with more humor and not so dark." - Cindy

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When I ran my RPG campaign for Heir to the Crown, there were quite a few battles, just like the book series. I have always liked wargaming, so my first inclination was to use miniatures, of which I have hundreds, and these certainly worked for smaller engagements, but for larger battles, I created maps and counters. Having a license for Microsoft Visio, this software was perfect for my needs. From my laptop, I streamed the map and units onto our TV (we game the living room) and then each player would use the mouse to move their character and troops

Here is a sample of some of the leader units I created.

The number below the leaders represent their attack/defense/movement speeds, while the numbers inside the shield represent their leadership ability. Leadership is the number of units they can command (or sub-commanders who, in turn, can command units) Revi’s pentagram indicates that he is a mage and has magical ability, while Anna has a crown, signifying her position.

Here is a sample of some of the combat units I created.

From left to right we have shortbowmen, medium foot and Dwarven arbalesters. The numbers to left and right of the center symbol represent missile strength and range, respectively. The numbers in the top right corner represent the unit number.

I look forward to sharing more about wargaming in future newsletters, including some battle maps!

Sam Collins the saddle maker is Gerald's first friend in the town of Uxley, and returns again in Fate of the Crown!

Things have been busy this week, despite the holiday; in Canada, we had July 1, Canada Day, while our American friends celebrated Independence day on July 4^th. Carol and I spent the day catching up on some TV shows, including finally watching the last season of Game of Thrones. I hope you, too, had a moment to relax and just enjoy life.

The rest of the week we were putting some finishing touches on two new origin stories for the launch of my upcoming series, The Frozen Flame,  but I also kept working on Burden of the Crown, which now sits at roughly 65,000 words (out of an estimated 120,000). I enjoy working on both these series, as evidenced by my output. I’m producing between 5,000 and 6,000 words a day, excluding weekends and holidays. After all, I have to have some time off to recharge and play with the doggies!

So what can I tell you about Burden? Not much without giving away some surprises. Someone will get married, and someone else might find themselves carrying a child, but I won’t tell you who, you’ll have to wait and see. I

I must also say, I’ve been thrilled with the feedback from the Beta Team on the new series. It’s a very different story from the Heir series, much more magic right from the get-go, and yet my writing style will still be familiar to those that have read my Mercerian books. It takes place in the same world, but in a location far removed from Wincaster.

Until next time, here is a preview of the first few pages of Mecerian Tales: The Call of Magic

(Courtesy of Kobo preview)

Happy Reading!

Check out these featured books that are free, discounted, or new releases. The authors are returning the favour by sharing my books with their readers.

Check out these featured books that are free, discounted, or new releases. The authors are returning the favour by sharing my books with their readers.

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Happy reading from Paul J Bennett,
Author of Epic Fantasy in the Land of Merceria and beyond!