Chapter 17 Excerpt!

Here is a short excerpt from Chapter 17. Temujin is dreaming about his future and speaking with God:

    I laughed and agreed. I could still hear Bo’orchu guffawing when I slipped into my dreams.
    I was standing on a high dais and there were people as far as I could see. They were chanting a name that I could not understand. I felt movement to my left and when I glanced over, I recognized the face of God.
    He spoke, “Temujin, this is what you will control when you are done. Look well, my son, and see how powerful you are.”
    I peered out over the crowds of my people and saw that they went for many kilometers in every direction.
    I asked, “All of this is mine to rule?”
    “Yes. You will be the mightiest Khan to ever rule in Mongolia. You will even overthrow China. All of these people will look to you for guidance and care. It is a great responsibility but I believe you can do it without a second thought.”
    I was awestruck by the enormity of the task and felt the weight of my nation on my shoulders. I asked, “What if I fail?”
    He chuckled and answered, “You will not fail. I chose you because you are the only one who can succeed. Beware of Jamuka; his heart has been injured by your actions and he will try to kill you, believing that you are out to kill him. Show kindness and compassion for those that are misunderstood or weaker than you and always remember that I will guide your hand.”
    “I understand. I have much to accomplish. May I ask you a question?”
    “You just did.”
    “Yes, sir, I did. I am sorry. I will just ask the one I want the answer to. What name are they chanting below?”
    “Genghis. You will be Genghis Khan. It means supreme conqueror.”
    “Ah. Thank you.”
    “You are welcome. Remember what I said and you will prosper.”
    I woke with a smile on my face and thoughts of Jamuka in my head. It hurt that my anda was trying to kill me but I understood his motivations. My Börte was not a prize to be won but I supposed he would just try to kill me so he could take her for his own. He would be surprised when she did not want him.

And, a surprise excerpt from Chapter 18, which was completed yesterday:

    I was sleeping in my tent one night when a great commotion arose not far away. I stood up so quickly, I managed to tangle myself up in the fabric and ropes and fell with a mighty crash to the ground. I cursed, slowly extracted myself from the mess, and hurried over to see what the noise was about.
    I found Temuge locked in a struggle with another man that I did not recognize and hurried over to help restrain him. After we had him tied, Temuge began to ask him questions about who he was and what he was doing sneaking around the camp at night, peeking in tents.
    I took a seat nearby and listened and watched; noticing that the man never took his eyes off of me and never said a word.
    Finally, when Temuge was tired of talking and getting no responses, he flung himself to the ground near me and heaved a great sigh.
    “He won’t talk, brother. What do I do now?”
    I smiled at him and patted him on the shoulder before rising and stepping over to the man and leaning down close to his ear.
    I said, “Are you working for Senggum?”
    I heard a sharp intake of breath and I smiled.
    “Yes, you are. I am going to ask you one time what his plot is. If you do not tell me, I will cut off your toes one-by-one until you can no longer stand.”
    Again, I heard the sharp intake of breath.
    “You know I will make good on my promise, don’t you? I am going to remove the rope from your mouth now and you are going to talk. Do you understand?”
    He nodded.
    I removed the rope and the man poured forth with a story that made my anger boil like a river of fire. He told me Senggum never intended to allow Wang Khan to make me a promise of marriage to my bastard son, that since our counsel six days prior, he had been poisoning the Khan’s mind to me, that he was sent out just after we left, by Senggum himself, to orchestrate my capture so that I may be ‘dealt with’ in whatever manner Senggum decided to deal with me, and that Jamuka had recently been to visit the Khan but was turned away and took counsel with Senggum instead.
    I thanked the man, put the rope back in his mouth, gave orders for Temuge to watch the new prisoner, and took a walk to ponder the information given to me.

This is all for today. I hope you enjoy it!! 9am, off to write!

Until next time, WRITE ON!!

Jo

Motivation

For all you writers out there, what is your motivation for writing a book? Is it fame? fortune? the need to tell your story? the need to tell someone else's story? I am curious what makes you all tick.

For me, it is the telling of a story that may have happened inside a story we all know. Everyone knows that Genghis Khan took over most of Eurasia and everyone knows he had a wife, a daughter, and four sons. Everyone knows that Jamuka was his best friend until something happened that made him leave Genghis and begin to conquer on his own in direct competition of his friend. My brain starts ticking when I hear stories like that. I want to know why they had a falling out of that magnitude. Don't you?

Over the span of my life, when I have heard stories other people tell, I have always filled in the gaps with tales of knights, dragons, love, and betrayal. I used to sit in the mall and write people a new story in my head. I have gone through many learning processes in my life to learn other skills because writing was never deemed useful; like reading. My father used to say, "Put down that book and do something with yourself. You are wasting your time on nonsense." Reading and writing were considered bad form and he had the idea that reading the encyclopedia was the only way to learn.

B.S.

Things I have learned from books:

1. How to be a better person
2. How to cook things I could never have done without the instruction
3. Historical facts
4. Human interaction
5. How other people tick
6. How to be comfortable in my own skin
7. Other people have it worse sometimes
8. How to be patient and understanding
9. How to forgive and overlook
10. How to use my imagination to feel, be, and see what the characters feel, are, and see

and so much more!

I would like to send a huge shout out to the following authors as a thank you for taking the time to sit down and tell me a story:

J.K. Rowling (violence is not always necessary)
Stephanie Meyer (true love is all encompassing and can survive anything)
C.S. Lewis (be good down inside)
J.R.R. Tolkien (your friends that are true will help you through anything)
Piers Anthony (being different is okay)
Anne Rice (be comfortable with yourself)
Alice Borchardt (history can be interesting)
Christoper Paolini (always believe the impossible)
Robin Cook (hospitals are crooked)
Fern Michaels (women are strong)
Suzanne Collins (fight like every day is your last because it could very well be)
Stephen King (reality in writing can make you feel)
The Brothers Grimm (fairytales give hope and a moral lesson)
Shakespeare (it is not the language but how you use it)
Every author that has ever spent their time writing a story (perseverance pays off)

Well, that's it for today folks, off to write some more!! I hope this post got you thinking!

Until next time, WRITE ON!!

Jo

Book Festivals are Amazing

Well, Savannah was beautiful but the best part about it was the person I was with. I don't think I would have enjoyed my time in that city nearly as much without him by my side. It is rare to find someone who enjoys the same things you do but, once in your life, you will meet someone with whom you can enjoy all of the things that you both love and even be introduced to some new things you never knew you loved via the association. IF you ever do, you should hold on with both hands like your life depends on it. If you find one and lose them and then find another, you should count yourself VERY lucky.

On to the events: We went to an amazing restaurant, took a walking tour of Savannah architecture (amazing), went to St. John's church (he is catholic so this is a HUGE deal for him), listened to Lulu Powers speak about her book From Food to Flowers (I am one of those people that loves cookbooks), and listened to some wonderful live music while holding hands and canoodling. I have never enjoyed myself more.

While I didn't get to meet Mr. Stephen King (the event was sold out), Ms. Lulu was interesting and I got a look into the success story of a chef who published a book. She was very forward about not being a writer and I began to wonder how many passions you could put into a book. I have discovered there are many:

1. Poetry
2. Photography
3. Cooking
4. Storytelling
5. Business
6. Art
7. Travel
8. Nonsense
9. Love
10. Despair
11. Poverty
12. Historical Events
13. Self

and so many more! Too many to list! I realized that, no matter what your passion is, there is a book in you somewhere. You just have to find your genre and make it happen.

I have had so many stories in me my whole life, I have always written. While art, photography, and cooking ARE passions, writing fiction is what I was born to do. I think good writers can be trained but I think GREAT writers are BORN and just have to take the time to master their craft.

I am off to continue the story that my heart wants to tell. I cannot help but model Temujin after my boyfriend and the love he has for Borte is the love I hope he has for me; it IS the love I have for him and it drives much of my tale.

I hope you are all blessed as I have been but I don't find it likely. What I have found is rare, beautiful, and made of the stuff you usually only read about...

Until next time, WRITE ON!!!

Jo

Itchy Fingers

My fingers are itching with ideas I had over the weekend and I can't wait to begin writing again today. This has been one of the most difficult undertakings I have ever attempted - second only to graduating college. I have re-written the beginning of my book three times before I decided I was ready to continue with chapter 1. Since the prologue, the book took on a personality of its own and has literally flown out of my fingers. I hope to write at least three chapters this week, possibly four. My goal is to get it ON paper then tweak it and roll it around in my head for a while.

I am going to the Savannah, Georgia, book fair this weekend and I hope to be introduced to some new writers and some inspiration. Savannah is so beautiful and for them to have a whole weekend dedicated to books, well, they won me over even more. I am an avid reader as well as being a writer. I have a huge library of books and am always on the lookout for another great read.

I hope you are all excited that Temujin is about to have the sweet taste of revenge on his tongue yet again! My focus group loves it when he acts in the name of justice and they say they punch the air on occasion when things go right for this young warrior. That tells me he is, not only likeable, but that they are rooting for him to win. That's my kind of character!

I had an idea for a young reader's series yesterday and logged it in my idea book. I will make plans for the writing of the first one once this one hits the e-readers. I am lucky that I can write. I am thankful for the gift every day. For all of you writers, do you keep an idea book? I am curious to know just what others do.

Time to get to work!

Until next time, WRITE ON!!

Jo

Chapter 15 is Complete!

I got chapter 15 written yesterday and WOW, what a story! There is a special twist that happens in this chapter so I won't be posting an excerpt. I will give you a taste of chapter 16, where Temujin finally gets to pay some old enemies a visit and gets a little more revenge on people who have wronged him.

Poor Borte is left behind during his conquests! What do you think she will do to occupy herself while her husband is away? Only one way to find out! I know, I know, I am evil and you hate the suspense, right? Haha!

I can't wait to dig in and take a big bite out of chapter 16 this weekend. I ship my most recent work off to my focus group (I call them bookaphyles) today and can't wait to hear their comments. I know they are anxious to hear more of the story and just that makes the whole thing worth it.

I have a story to tell, if just one person enjoys it and learns a little about history while they are at it, I will be satisfied.

To the writers who read this blog, let me tell you that just producing a rough draft of a manuscript is an accomplishment you should pat yourself for every day. How many people that you know have ever written more than 200 pages of ANYthing in their lives?

Smile and know that you have done something great by enriching the life of someone else through your words.

Until next time, WRITE ON!!

Jo

Chapter 14 is Written!

Yesterday, I was a machine and I cranked out over six-thousand words. Arguments and strain and betrayal and threats and oh man was it an awesome day!

I am feeling very good about my book today. I can't wait to publish it and let the world read this story that will have you punching the air with your fist and saying, "YESSSSSSSS!" one minute, crying into your pillow the next, then laughing hysterically at the antics of some of the more unique characters. I am filled with the emotions my characters experience and I am loving the roller coaster I am on.

My characters sleep with me at night and whisper their thoughts in my ear. They sit with me when I drink coffee and tell me their personal stories. It took me ten chapters before I truly knew them, but the journey has been worth every reward they have bestowed upon me. We have fought together, cried together, been terrified together, and even celebrated together on occasion.

I think the best thing about this whole story is that it has been based on history. Though some of the situations, some of the characters, and all of the character makeups are totally fictional, what Temujin and Borte went through before they were allowed to be together in reality just blows my mind.

I can't wait to share parts of the next few chapters. If you are reading this blog and have a moment, go back through the posted excerpts and have a look-see.

I will have this book IN your hands by the beginning of June (hopefully much sooner) so keep your eyes open and glued to this blog for an exact release date if you are as excited as I am.

Until next time, WRITE ON!!

Jo

Chapter Outline

Well, I got my chapter outline done today. I wasn't sure how quickly the plot would progress until I got chapters 1-10 out of the way but I have a pretty good grasp of the story now and how it has decided to breathe. Here are all of the chapter titles and they tell a bit about what happens by name.

I am not listing summaries because, in my FIRM opinion, summaries are spoilers and you do not want to miss the upcoming action in this book! So, without further ado:

Prologue
Chapter 1 – The Business of Wives:
Chapter 2 – Of Plots and Abandonment:
Chapter 3 – Metamorphosis
Chapter 4 – I Run, I Hide, I Die
Chapter 5 – Slaves
Chapter 6 – Escape
Chapter 7 – It’s Me Again
Chapter 8 – Training
Chapter 9 – Marriage
Chapter 10 – Bloodlust
Chapter 11 – To War
Chapter 12 – Revenge and Recovery
Chapter 13 – My Love
Chapter 14 – Goings and Comings
Chapter 15 – A Son is Born
Chapter 16 – The Tatars
Chapter 17 – Homecoming
Chapter 18 – Domination
Chapter 19 – Assassination
Chapter 20 – Rivalry
Chapter 21 – Ultimate Betrayal
Chapter 22 – Friends and Foes
Chapter 23 – Hunter
Chapter 24 – Borte
Chapter 25 – Fire Burns a Mighty Path
Chapter 26 – Seizure
Chapter 27 – Friendship
Chapter 28 – Genghis Khan

And, there you have it!!

I hope this puts some excitement into you for the upcoming excerpts!!

Until next time, Write ON!

Jo

Chapter 13 Excerpt!!

As promised, a little snatch from the middle of Chapter 13!!

    When I woke, her eyes were open and she was touching my hair and looking at me with such reverence on her face and such love in her eyes that my whole body tingled and my heart beat faster. I smiled sleepily at her and pulled her close. When she stiffened against me, I cringed inside and wondered if we could ever again be as we were. Those thoughts saddened me a bit but I decided to put them aside for the moment and just enjoy the closeness of my wife.

    I rose and called for Jamuka to come and sit with her while I went to find her some decent clothing. I hunted through the yurts until I found one that had been abandoned and had the touch of a woman on the inside. I sifted clothing until I found suitable attire and loaded my arms down with garments before heading back to the place I had left my wife.

With Temujin terrified to leave Borte's side, it makes one wonder how he manages to become Khan, doesn't it?

There is much betrayal still to come. Read what one of the critics said:

"I also really like Temujin’s character development. He’s a little clumsy and unsure of himself right now, growing from that colt-ish young man into something more. It’s nice to see an author make the reader take that journey with the character. It’s frustrating to me when I read about someone being perfect from the get-go." ~ B. Henderson

This story does, indeed, take you from an awkward nine-year-old's perspective to that of a full grown man's. I thought it pertinent to allow the book lover to grow up with the little rascal so they could have a better understanding of why he loves his wife the way he does and why he has so much trust in his anda.

I hope you are all chomping at the bit for the book now! More updates tomorrow!

Until then, WRITE ON!

Jo

Back to Writing!

It's been an interesting couple of days but I am jumping back on the wagon today. Time to crack down and produce some more literary fiction for all you folks to consume!

I was nervous about writing chapter 12 but now that it's under my belt, I feel really good about it. Running the roads for the last two days has left me drained but super excited to get on with the story today.

We will see how it goes!

I will update a little later, gotta go help Jamuka formulate a plan to get what he wants. I just hope my friends aren't on vacation today and will acquiesce to pay me a visit. It's been a MOST excellent week and things in my personal life are going well so I was able to get my housework done. Ha! No rest for the weary but at least everything smells lemon fresh!

Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Building Up & Breaking Down

It's kind of a funny thing I have going here with my main characters. I find myself building up relationships only to have them break down in the worst way after a chapter or two. Conflicts are running amok (love that word) and the ultimate betrayal of friendship is right around the corner.

In Mongolia, during the period when this story takes place, they sometimes had an honorary brother called an anda. It is a huge thing to break trust or betray your anda so when it happens in this story, it's not something to be taken lightly. I will show how the love of a woman can tear down men and make them mortal enemies until death; no matter how close they started out.

Some people say it seems a bit unbelievable. I say, if it is possible, it has been done; we just don't know it happened. Someone needed to tell this story of love, betrayal, and the ultimate sacrifice. I'm just glad Temujin allowed it to be me.

Until next time, WRITE ON!!

Jo

Excerpt Chapter 12

An excerpt from yesterday's chapter:

I walked up and put my mouth to his ear and allowed myself to revel in the fact that he was trembling in fear of me before I hissed, in a low whisper with a deep, guttural sound, “No. I told you I would spare your family. Watch what I do to your brothers and be thankful you loosed your tongue.”

    With that, I turned and strode to the smallest child remaining in the line. I raised my sword and cut off her head in one motion. Her father screamed and made promises to end my life before I had him gagged and moved on to his wife. I told my man to hold him so he could watch what his actions had brought down upon his family. I knelt down to the weeping woman and raised her chin.

    I looked into her eyes and asked, “Do you love your husband?”

    She nodded.

    “Did you love your child?”

    Again, she nodded.

    “Do you know why I am going to kill you?”

    She began to cry harder and nodded her head vigorously.

    “Let your husband know what a filthy pig he is and how you are dishonored by his actions against my wife.”

    She screamed, “I cannot believe you would do this to your family! You have brought down the anger of God by stealing another man’s wife! Why must you have been so full of greed? You have disgraced us all!”

    I cut her throat and let her fall into the dirt.


My character took a terrible turn for me yesterday and his actions seemed a bit despicable to me at first. When I talk of him murdering children, I get a little sick. However, he promised to make those men never forget his name and to make sure that no one would ever dare touch a member of his family again. I'm guessing this did the trick if those men went and spoke of the atrocities committed in the name of vengeance.

Jamuka makes his first turn in this chapter as well. We shall see what he does with his newly recognized feelings and how he decides to win the heart of the woman he loves.

Writing chapter 13 today, possibly. I may let it stew a day or two...

Until next time, WRITE ON!!

Jo

Revenge

Today is all about revenge. We are going to slaughter them all. They have stolen her and we are going to get her back with much bloodshed. There will be no mercy. :)

I can't wait to get started today and have been building this up for a few chapters. Let's see how it goes!

You may get an excerpt tomorrow :)

Until then, WRITE ON!!

Jo

Cruising Right Along

Well, chapter 10 is complete! I promised you a list of the chapter titles thus far and I am delivering on that promise today.

Prologue
Chapter 1 - The Business of Wives
Chapter 2 - Of Plots and Abandonment
Chapter 3 - Metamorphosis
Chapter 4 - I Run, I Hide, I Die
Chapter 5 - Slaves
Chapter 6 - Escape
Chapter 7 - It's Me Again
Chapter 8 - Training
Chapter 9 - Marriage
Chapter 10 - Bloodlust
Chapter 11 - To War

That's all I have written/started so far. When we get to the part about revenge, there will be much bloodshed in the honor of love and retribution. I am so in tune with Temujin right now, I feel his anger and desire revenge as much as he does.

I hope everyone reading this blog will be looking forward to the resulting book. I am almost halfway there and the story took over. A minor character had the nerve to walk in and make himself a major character without my permission but he adds a certain something to the story line and could not be denied his desired status.

I am falling in love with each of my characters and when I kill them, it will hurt. You'll understand why when you meet them.

Until next time, WRITE ON!!

Jo

Unbelievable! Chapter 9!

I have completed Chapter 9! It has all the components of a truly thrilling chapter: Love, Loss, Sex, Arguments, and Rage.


This poor couple just needs to be left alone so they can finally be together! There have been so many things that have come between them. I may give them a whole chapter dedicated to loving one another. Then again, what fun would that be?

I may give a short list of chapter titles here soon so you can get an idea of how the story flows.

A problem that I am experiencing is, I am living through my characters, in my story. I am filled with loss when a loved one dies, filled with love when they share kisses, and filled with anger when they want to kill. I don't know how to shake it after I stop writing for the day but maybe this is the basis of excellent writing. I cried for a full hour last night because of the end of Chapter 9.

I wonder how many other writers have this same crux to work through and how they do it. Do you give in to it and allow it to consume you or do you have a way to get your head out of your book and back into reality?

Just being 34 years old, I have probably only read a few thousand books in my lifetime, but I constantly find myself being drawn into the world I am reading about and feeling what the people in the stories feel. It becomes a hard slap back to reality when the story is over but I do it over and over again. Why?

I have been lucky to find a living fairy tale in my significant other (may every woman be so lucky) and often find myself comparing my love to that of Cinderella and Prince Charming :)

Well, Chapter 10 is on the agenda for today, gotta run!!

Until next time, WRITE ON!

Jo

Chapter 8 is Underway

Chapter 8 is now well underway. It's odd, but this story is now writing itself. My protagonist is having a time of it. His dreams keep giving him warnings of the future but he is having a hard time deciphering what they truly mean. Symbolism is running rampant.

Did you know that Temujin/Genghis believed he spoke to God? With everything he accomplished in his life, that might just be believable, eh?

I like twists and turns thrown in here and there where a good story is concerned and since I don't need ALL of the details (because this is mostly fiction from my own head) it's fun to write and let my imagination run rampant.

In my opinion, excellent fiction always has some link to reality. While some of the characters are real people, and most of the relationships are true, it's what your imagination can do with what's left out that makes all the difference.

Let's take JFK as an example. We all know he was shot. We all assume his assassin was captured. However, conspiracy theorist say LHO was a patsy. Now what IF it wasn't LHO at all? What if LHO was an alien and so was JFK? What if JFK was a rogue alien who was too much in the public eye and needed to be silenced?

Let's say that JFK was an alien enemy and LHO was his best friend and the only person other than JFK who knew the truth. LHO was then not trying to kill Kennedy, but was trying to kill the aliens plotting to kill JFK. LHO just missed his target because he was afraid to shoot innocent people an couldn't tell who the aliens were until it was too late. Now you have something to write about!!

Stories are all around us every day. You just have to be willing to take the leap and write about what you can IMAGINE the story to be from the missing or suspect information.

Well, I am off to allow my fingers to tell more about the greatest love story of all time.

Until next time, Write On!

Jo

The Story Behind the Book

In my first semester of college, back in 2004, I was required to pick a historical figure and write a research paper about him or her. I was lost as to subject matter so I asked around. I got a lot of responses but my favorite one was that I should write about Genghis Khan. When I asked why, the person responded, "Because the man conquered more of Eurasia than anyone in history and it will give you a lot of subject matter."

I ran with the idea because I agreed and had always been interested in powerful people (the next semester, I chose Queen Elizabeth I). I began my research by reading everything about Genghis that I could get my hands on. I discovered that the person who made the suggestion only knew of Genghis's conquests and nothing about his actual family or relationships therein.

I wrote my paper and got an A.

During my great many readings on the subject, I stumbled upon an odd sort of fact: Genghis had a best friend that ended up being his mortal enemy. I wondered at why. I thought to myself, "There MUST be a story there. Real or imagined."

This is where the idea for the book "Yassa" came from. I have always been an avid reader and my overactive imagination decided to take my thoughts and run with them.

After changing my major, taking a leave from school for health reasons, and completing my Graphic Design degree just last May, I am excited to say that "Yassa" is finally going to be a reality.

Everyone has at least one great book in them. I have many more than that.

Today is a writing day. Getting my story out of my head and onto paper is the biggest challenge so far. I will write all of chapter 7 before giving up to sleep.

Stay tuned, blog readers!!

Write on!

Jo

Welcome to Yassa Book 2012's Blog!

Welcome to the blog that is all about the book! Yassa. My name is Jo Michaels and I am the author of this whirlwind love story. Here I will update folks on the progress of the book and what sort of walls I come across. I may also write about how I move past certain obstacles that end up in my way for one reason or another. I have an elite team of readers providing me with feedback on a weekly basis and hope to find a fantastic editor sometime in the future.


I fully intend to do the artwork and typesetting for the entire publication myself. Publication date will be set at a later time but I am fully scheduled for a late April/early June release (digitally). Check back here often for excerpts from the book and to keep abreast of the latest feedback from my glorious readers.

I am going to start you all off with a bit of a teaser. Here are the first two paragraphs of the book:

            He screamed, louder this time, as Temujin cut off another one of his fingers. I involuntarily flexed my own in response to the act. I had never seen a man fight like my friend had last night. It was like something other than his own mind was working his muscles, causing him to strike and slash like a harbinger of death. It made me appreciate that I had made a friend of him and not an enemy. When he began to peel back the man’s skin from his body, I almost vomited. I took a few steps away and turned my head.

            We had snuck into the Merkit’s camp under the cover of darkness and took them by surprise. There was little fighting. Temujin had been given 20,000 soldiers by the great Wang Khan, leader of the Kerait tribe, in order to decimate the Merkits. Temujin did so with excellent war tactics, stealth, and swiftness. Wang Khan came to watch. I believe it was so he can use Temujin as a weapon of war. After our escape from slavery, Temujin has proven himself a mighty warrior with a very steadfast composure. If the legends are true and he was born grasping a blood clot, a sign one is destined for something very great, he would be a mighty weapon in anyone’s arsenal. Wang Khan has recognized this and, I believe, is cultivating it for his own gain.

If you like what you have read here, make sure and mark your calendars, nook readers!! More is coming soon!

Write on!

Jo