NEWS - Charles Mandrake Book Series

Using Obsidian for Writing – How I Write A Novel (As I write it)

This isn't meant to convince anyone to switch tools. Plenty of writers use Scrivener, Sudowrite, Word, Google Docs, or something else entirely. This is simply the workflow I've settled into with Obsidian. Using Obsidian for Writing - I do 70% of the Writing on Mobile Phones Full manuscript writing. My main phone is a current-ish Samsung S23, and the writing-only phone is a Blu G53. Only the S23 has mobile service. I mainly use phones because at least one of them is always on me. It's fast to just get things out, and even though I'm a horrible screen typist, Google Keyboard (installed on both) can usually figure out what I was trying to spell. Most of my best inspiration has started when I'm not in front of my computer. Yes, I do use the computer for long-range editing and writing, but the initial capture and scene creation usually happens…

WRITING

Building a Chapter – How I Write a Novel (As I Write It)

This is the second post that walks through my process of writing a book as I am writing it. It's a guide to what I'm thinking while a go through chapter creation, and how I work. Drawing From Other Sources There are parts of writing that have been influenced by things I've seen in other areas of my life. It could have been something that I read in a book or seen in a movie. It might have also been something I personally experienced in life at one point or another. The idea of time duality is part of the latter group. In chapter two, the idea started out with remembering the opening scene of "Spirit, Stallion of the Cimarron." Specifically it was the sweeping camera and title score (0:00-3:15) that got this chapter started. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzTQQSKfMV0 That was a long time ago for me, and I was an adult, but…

WRITING

Azaya Second Book Started – How I Write A Novel (As I write it).

July 15, 2026 I picked up the pen again and started in on Azaya's second book. Right now, the working title is "Azaya and the Central Expanse." Rather than talk about the book directly, I'd like to share with you some of the actual process I'm going through in writing a book as I'm writing it. A Note About Confidence in Writing This isn't really about the process of writing as much as it is knowing you can do it. If you read the about page, it took me three books and over 60 chapters of writing to gain the confidence that I could actually tell a story, and write it down in a way people actually want to read. This didn't come easy. When I started the journey on October 21, 2025, I had never written a chapter, much less an entire book in my life. I turned to…

WRITING

How Do You Make A Story Feel Lived-In?

This is the first post that covers one of a few of the methods I used when writing the series. It contributes in making the story across all media feel lived-in and like a place that you could actually visit. Throughout the Charles Mandrake series, one of the most apparent feelings that readers get is that the entire world feels lived-in and real. Almost like East Bay and Skelderheim were actual places that you could visit. This wasn't an accident by any means, and I designed it to feel this way. Consistency is the Key to Making a Place Feel Real. Authors, like movie directors know that there are certain things that have to be consistent throughout a scene or over a series of scenes. Like if Johnny puts his phone in his left pocket, shakes someone's hand, and then pulls his phone out from the right pocket, the viewer…

NEWS

East Bay, Maine. The Site and the Build Behind It.

Building a Fictional Town Site that Feels Real The East Bay Maine site started out when I decided that I was going to write Charles Mandrake, Book Zero, "East Bay." The original thought was that I was going to write the origin story for the Trio, Charles, Anna, and Todd, but the project took an unexpected direction on its own. The Premise Behind the Website The first thing I instinctively knew came from the experience I have in marketing and development. This site had to feel like it was a town's website, and I did about six hours of research on small town websites. I found that most of them are either run by the city government and completely put-you-to-sleep boring, or they're run by an organization that has no idea what user experience is, or what people actually find interesting. Creating The Site Vision Before I did anything, I…

NEWS

Update 1: Azaya and The Streets of Skelderheim

Azaya and the Streets of Skelderheim is done, and it was surprisingly easy to write. Once I got started, the story seemed to create itself, and one chapter just flowed into the next.- View the Streets of Skelderheim siteAzaya has a long arc that begins at the end of Charles Mandrake and the Keeper of the Flame (Book 2). From Harrik's ship as it pulls away, Anna watches the fighting on the docks and sees a young girl dart out from the crowd into an open space. Although the girl is unnamed, Book 3, Return to Skelderheim, starts from that moment on the docks, and continues Azaya's arc as a supporting character that becomes a protagonist in her own way.Now in what is book four of the Skelderheim series, but broken off as "Azaya's Skelderheim, Book 1: Azaya and the Streets of Skelderheim", Azaya takes the lead protagonist role. Those…

LOCATIONS

The Mandrake Property

Originally it was called "The Pibbles Place" or "The Observatory on the Hill" by people in town, the property sits on a hill on the west side overlooking the town and the bay. It's been there as long as people can remember, and is the town's only historical site. The white dome of the observatory and attached annex can be seen anywhere in town above the trees. The mansion itself is the largest house in the town, and the plaque on the front gate still reads "Pibble's Property, 1952" Todd and I started coming up to the Annex in late July when we became friends with Charles after he moved in. I think I've mentioned it other places, but it was on a weekend that he just showed up at Mel's Diner and Mel put him with us since it was busy. The friendship that followed just happened, and we…

LOCATIONS

King Crabber’s Pub – Damariscotta, Maine

A Place for Friends and FoodKing Crabber's Pub sits near the bridge, one block off Main in Damariscotta. I've been there a couple times, most notibly with Charles and Todd before we crossed the Portal. It's a tall brick place that you can see from the road when you come down towards the river, the windows lit, and the place is warm and inviting as it sits against the dark water under the bridge.This isn't East Bay. It's a different atmosphere. The kind of place that has fed the town long enough to know it's patrons, and for the town to know the place.Charles, Todd, and I came here one night after the Observatory Array wasn't cooperating and we needed to clear our heads. Todd suggested it, and it sounded good to me as well. That was also the night we found out that Charles was hiding a bunch of…

LOCATIONS

Pier Street Market, East Bay, Maine

Pier Street Market is every bit a small town grocery store that you might expect to find in, well, a small town. Mrs. Beasley usually stocks it with things tourists come in looking for during the season, like Land 'O Lakes butter, and Folger's coffee, but during the winter, or if you look behind the national brands, there's the good stuff that us locals prefer. If you move the butter to the left a couple inches, you'll see waxed paper-wrapped blocks of butter with the Tawnyberry Farms name on them. At the bakery, just ask for Mrs. Johnson's pies rather than the mass produced stuff. And when things are in season, you will almost always find local produce.Todd worked the market as a first job, and stayed there until, actually, I don't think he ever formally quit, not that I think about it. He still works there when Ken Beasley gives…

LOCATIONS

Dockside Salvage

A Packrat's DreamDockside Salvage is probably best described as a "packrat's dream shop," at it sits on dock 9. You get there by walking down Pier Street from the three-way split at Mel's, past the market. Our town is small enough that you can see Dockside standing at the doorway of Mel's.The place was originally one of those small boat repair places, but when most of the business went south to Boothbay, many buildings like that were abandoned. We slowly became a tourist town, and people like Ira Finch purchased the empty places and made them useful again.From the outside, Dockside looks a lot like the other small warehouses and boat repair places here. There's the area where boats can be brought in and worked on. This is where Finch now keeps his mounds of packrattish stuff. Todd and Charles often work after school there moving and organizing things for…

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