Ty on the Reality Timeline of Book #5

#IllustrationOfTheDay This is 8 year old Ty in book #5 on the reality timeline. Ty always cries himself to sleep every night because of all his anxieties: he can't stand that people eat animals, that people starve, that... But he always wakes up smiling, making those around him happy. On the reality timeline, he is human with some Saeshell genetics, which gives him a bit of a fairy appearance. Fredrick Docherty, the single father of Ty, greatly loves Ty, but he also spends long hours working in the highest levels of the British government. So Ty always has a bit of an unkempt appearance since he spends a lot of time away from his father. Ty is a bit difficult to raise because he has the emotions sometimes of perhaps a 6 year old but the intellect of a high school student. Ty can read a sheet of music and hear the music in his head. One of the games he likes to play during his times alone is to take the notes into his head for a sheet of classical music and modify the notes to create different songs. Due to Ty's physical immaturity, Fredrick has created a tablet interface to the Cambridge Library Research System so that Ty can satisfy his insatiable thirst for knowledge. Ty lives in Cambridge in the UK.

Book #5, The Owl from Oblivion, will be released on July 3, 2015.
 

5 Star Reviews of Book#1 and #2 on Goodreads

These reviews are from a reader in Australia.

"Again we loved this book as much as the first. So great to be there while Stephan and Tova2 grow up. Now I must confess that I would read book 3 even if my 5 and 11 year olds didn't love it, the story has gotten to me. This is the most original childrens writing i have ever seen and it's good to see books other than things like The Dork Diaries which don't stimulate or ask kids to use their imaginations.
So to Rusty A Biesele, you are an amazing author and have captured our attention, thank you for sharing this with us."

 "This is a great book. Read the comments and agree with most, the few negative comments confused me as i came away with a totally different view of the book and cannot understand how these people didn't like it. I adore the way the story has been told and it was nothing like i imagined when i first flicked through it.
The Saeshell Book of Time makes your children think and I've noticed that my kids space out when they lose interest, my kids are 5 and 11 and they loved it."

Indie Reader Review Book #1

The Indie Reader website has reviewed "The Saeshell Book of Time Part 1: The Death of Innocents" and given it 4 stars.

Review Summary: 

IR Verdict : THE SAESHELL BOOK OF TIME is a well-written story about the possibilities facing the human race as it strives toward perfection. The creativity of this work extends to the print fonts as well as plot and character.

To read the full review, follow the link: http://indiereader.com/2014/12/saeshell-book-secrets/

 

IR Verdict : THE SAESHELL BOOK OF TIME is a well-written story about the possibilities facing the human race as it strives toward perfection. The creativity of this work extends to the print fonts as well as plot and character. - See more at: http://indiereader.com/2014/12/saeshell-book-secrets/#sthash.Y1HtoFzE.dpuf

IR Verdict : THE SAESHELL BOOK OF TIME is a well-written story about the possibilities facing the human race as it strives toward perfection. The creativity of this work extends to the print fonts as well as plot and character. - See more at: http://indiereader.com/2014/12/saeshell-book-secrets/#sthash.Y1HtoFzE.dpuf

The Child Syon - The Master of Time

#IllustrationOfTheDay Syon is the Master of Time on the supernatural timeline yet at times he is forced to live on the reality timeline, abused by alcoholic parents. He is a brilliant child on both timelines, so his perspective leads to a unique perception of time.

On the supernatural timeline, eight-year-old Syon can not only travel in time, but he can alter the flow of the timeline. He also has a piece of the Sophistan life form in him so he can also exert great powers at any particular point in time.

 On the reality timeline, twelve-year-old Syon is the highly intelligent child of alcoholic parents. He controls the gateway between the timelines and he has other interesting characteristics. The house key he wears on a string around his neck symbolizes an imprisonment in an environment of beatings and boredom.

To get the full story, read the upcoming Book #5, "The Owl from Oblivion" which is currently set to be released July 3rd, 2015. 

 

Illustrating Jenny on the Real Timeline

#IllustrationOfTheDay I've been working on an illustration of the real-life Jenny as she appears in Book #5. She is a Federation of the Twenty police officer who is wearing Earth clothes and pretending to be an Earth human. Here she has drawn her Federation stun gun. Only those who know the Federation will know what her Federation of the Twenty insignia means. This illustration gave me lots of anguish. 

Book #5, "The Owl from Oblivion" has two timelines: the supernatural timeline from books #1 - #4 and a new "reality" timeline. The characters jump back and forth between the timelines in the story, which adds quite a bit of interesting twists since on the reality timeline they experience real-life problems which are far more gritty than the ones on the supernatural timeline. 
 

Recap - Book #3

The Saeshell Book of Time Serial Novel (4 Books)

Magical children will rule the Earth with their advanced intellectual and scientific powers. Two young people are betrothed at birth and forced by alien races to serve as the secret King and Queen of contemporary Earth: from the UK, Stefan, a seventh-grade artistic prodigy and from the US, Tova, a nineteen-year-old life sciences genius. Both were raised as humans and left to discover that they will be immortal at age nineteen. Using their emerging magic, they must protect the kingdom of Earth from unwanted alien intrusions. Shy, reclusive Stefan is ripped from his childhood and has eight weeks to learn to rule. Tova must do more than love Stefan — she must keep him sane or kill him to protect humans from his irrational use of his powers.

Book #3: The Saeshell Book of Time Part 3: Paradise Lost
Diabolical plans unfold to force Stefan's ascension. His choice: pass the trials and become King of Earth — or be killed. The corpus of supremely jealous beings would gleefully end his life, save for his passionate mate’s protection. Has a lust for killing been woven into her innocent core? Protection — a two edged sword — she is bound to euthanize him if his mind rips. Fairies are bound to promote love. Will the ambitious Queen of Sophista — The Queen of the Distant Fairies — ruthlessly stab Stefan’s innocence or simply instill Earth survival skills? Will Ty’s father’s dark past break his son’s heart? For the loving couple and their Children of Sophista, has paradise been truly lost? The Federation seeks to dominate. The snakes lurk in the shadows, ready to strike — and so does Atreyeu.

November 17th Diary Entry echoed from Facebook

#amwriting Here I am, ready to edit draft 4 of Book #5, "The Owl from Oblivion", 134,311 words/552 trade hardback pages. I got a new high speed, high volume color laser printer and I finally got to try it out with this draft. During writing/editing, I always work in the 6x9 trade format because it allows room, when printed on regular sized paper, for comments/insertions/added text to be written in. This draft has all the corrections from relatives (who have read large quantities of sci-fi for decades) and changes due to their feedback. The edit of this draft in paper form allows me to see the whole story and how it is coming together. This is the last edit before it goes for the first professional edit. I'm getting pressed for time because I really want to get the feedback/marked manuscript back from the editor before Christmas. The way the professional editing works is that I submit the manuscript and 3 weeks later I get the marked up manuscript back. What's happened in the past is that I read the markups, get furious, and want to throw the whole thing in the trash. I set the manuscript down for 2 or 3 days to let the anger fade and then I pick it up and start work. Besides all the normal English junk that gets marked, the editor is very good at finding the jugular of the story and pointing it out to me. There are usually recommendations on how to raise the tension and drama. So going through the editor comments and making the changes usually takes about 1.5 months but given how long this manuscript is, probably 2 months. When I finally make it through the changes, the book sounds so good! And then I get to start the process again because there will be a second pass made by the professional editor. And then the final proofing pass by the editor. The four drafts so far have been a tremendous amount of work and terrifying because this book is way more intense than any of the previous ones. But that is nothing compared to the real slog that begins with the professional editing process. There is one bit of pleasure in the process. If the editor gets shocked by something they read, they usually say so. I count those. It's like a game scorecard.

Tyco's Father

#IllustrationOfTheDay Tyco's father wrote poetry when he was a boy. The Saeshells found him by following the trail of poetry he gave away.

The Real Paul25

#IllustrationOfTheDay  In this illustration for Book #5, "The Owl from Oblivion",  on the reality timeline, the real Paul25 is lying on the floor of little Stefan's bedroom while Stefan and his mom are sleeping, talking to Sophista and doing some interesting things. Because I added stars to Paul25's neck I now have to go back and change the story at that point because those stars mean something. It means that there are even more interesting things that will be revealed in that scene and plot deepens even more!

#IllustrationOfTheDay Stefan's power suddenly builds and Paul25 tries to keep him from exploding and ripping away part of the Earth's atmosphere.

Early Back Cover for Book #5

Click on the picture to enlarge it.

Here is the early version of the back cover for Book #5, "The Owl from Oblivion." The book's expected release will be July 3, 2015. Unlike the other books in the series, this will be a fairly long one, with the draft manuscript currently at approximately 120,000 words.

Here is the back cover description text as it stands today:

Are dreams the shadows of our lives on another timeline? Stefan’s mistakes in his prior incorporeal life lead Syon, Stefan’s son from the future who is the Master of Time, to shatter time in a universe-shaking catastrophe. They and their friends land onto a new timeline drastically different from their former lives. Stefan arrives as an exceptionally intelligent seven-year-old child that is frustrated and confused. Syon becomes the twelve-year-old son of abusive alcoholic parents. Will Syon’s dad kill him, closing forever for all his friends the portal of time to their supernatural lives — their dreams? As the Earth and the Federation of the Twenty learn completely of Stefan’s supernatural powers and his intent to rule them all, does he want to go back to that life of waiting daggers? How many knives of dissection and conspiring groups of exploitation, both alien and human, await these unusual children on this new timeline? Will these young harbingers of the future ever know happiness?

Introducing Syon for Book #5

The character, Syon, is the Master of Time in the Children of Sophista Book Series. Book #5, The Owl from Oblivion, mixes reality, dreams, and alternative timelines to bring to life the real life struggles of Syon. In some realms he is the Master of Time --- an exceptionally intelligent and sensitive child trapped into a life of big issues, where a single misstep can bring about the end of his life and that of his friends' lives in a super-natural universe. But on another timeline (or is it a dream) he lives the life of an exceptional human child with abusive parents. While undergoing senseless beatings he maintains his connection to his existence in higher realms. The human analogs of his friends from higher realms find him and help him to escape his prison to live a life as a much happier human being. The question is: can he ever be truly just human.
 

Cover Reveal for Book #5, "The Owl from Oblivion"

This is the cover for the 5th installment in the Children of Sophista Book Series, called The Owl from Oblivion. In this book, Tova2 and Stefan begin to assume their roles as rulers of contemporary Earth. We also find out the origin of the wizards' owls---those creatures whose wisdom greatly exceed their appearance. 

For most people, they are simply owls---perhaps a sign of the craziness of the wizard when we see the wizard talk to the owl. But for those who know how to access its wisdom, the owl is more than simply an animal. 

The narrative also talks about how difficult early childhood was for Stefan, when Stefan's intellect far outstripped his emotional maturity---and perhaps the intellect of those around him.

This installment is far more gritty than the previous installments as the culture of the Federation of the Twenty, the fate of Sophista, the strategy and goals of the US Air Force, the attack by the Sun Gods, and the relationship of Stefan and Tova2 with each other and their relatives all swirl together in a crucible of fate and pain, condensing into the Nexus, Stefan. And what of poor little Stefan's (the boy on the cover) life as we see the confusion and pain that shape him in childhood to become the ruler he presently is. But what on Earth does he rule?

The expected release date of this installment is Summer, 2015.

Introducing the Hardcover Version of Book #1

Just in time for the summer doldrums, a new hardcover version of The Saeshell Book of Time Part 1: The Death of Innocents has been released. This version is printed on fine book paper and contains additional illustrations the original paperback does not. Some of the illustrations in this version have been modified by the author, aka me, to more closely match my vision of how the characters in the story appear.

 If you click on the back cover above, it will enlarge so that you can read the book description. 

I've tried to focus the presentation on being more character centric. Even the unused white space has ghostly images filling them.

You'll also find the font of this edition a little larger than the paperback editions for easier reading. This edition is being distributed internationally through the book wholesale network, Ingram. So that means this book will be coming to an online bookstore near you!

As of the date of this post, the following retailers had sales pages for this book. More retailers should pick up this book in the next 60 days.

US: Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-saeshell-book-of-time-part-1-rusty-a-biesele/1119679782?ean=9780990350101
 

Everywhere: The Book Depository (no cover displayed): http://www.bookdepository.com/Saeshell-Book-Time-Part-1-Rusty-Biesele/9780990350101
 

UK: Waterstones (no synopsis, preorder): http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/rusty+a+biesele/the+saeshell+book+of+time+part+1/10958133/
 

US: Amazon.com (2 day delay): http://www.amazon.com/The-Saeshell-Book-Time-Part/dp/099035010X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1402393924&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Saeshell+Book+of+Time
 

UK: Amazon.co.uk (incorrect synopsis, Temporarily out of stock): http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Saeshell-Book-Time-Part/dp/099035010X/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1402393653&sr=8-7&keywords=The+Saeshell+book+of+time

 

Meet Paul25

Click on the picture to read a monologue with Paul25 introducing himself. This first appeared on the books' Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/ChildrenOfSophista

Talent and Destiny

This illustration by Matt Curtis is for a pretty intense scene in Book #4, "The Saeshell Book of Time Part 4: The Ceremony of Life". A quote from the book in this scene: "Such is the fate for all Children of Sophista. For as soon as they see how good life can be, they no longer control their destiny."

Not only is this scene an apex for the dramatic tension in the storyline, but it is also a philosophical apex of sorts. Much of the storyline for the serial is metaphoric for the lives of some gifted children. Usually their talents are shackled or limited in some way (there are a lucky few who might be able to claim otherwise) and a gifted child must go through a sometimes convoluted process of self-discovery to find those talents and then a painful process where they become comfortable using and then developing  those talents. But the stinger the book warns about is that once those talents become apparent, the kid may not be the only one interested in those talents becoming well developed. At points in their lives, perhaps, they feel like screaming, "I am not my talent," because they want to be recognized as a living being capable of fully experiencing life even though the way they experience it may seem quite different or unusual.  So the warning buried in the book is that as the kid discovers the pleasure of being able to use their talents fully, that those talents they love using may become a shackle via other people's expectations that controls what they are forced to become---their destiny no longer is theirs to command. In the past, those expectations might have been set by caring and well meaning people. But today, where the ease of commercial exploitation is the value by which everything and everyone is measured, this forcing of the child's destiny is no longer benevolent but simply profitable.