Matthew Schocke

Viridian Awakening - Part XXIII

This update put me through the wringer. 

Please let me know if it did the same for you.. and no, William's story is far from over.

On  a final note:

I'd like to take a moment to acknowledge the work of Linkin Park, which I was listening to quite a bit as I composed the first (very rough) draft of this section. Their song "In the End" could be a soundtrack for much of the action here. A moment of silence for Chester Bennington, please.

The official ...

Viridian Awakening - Part XXII

The Long Ride

Everything is coming down to the wire now. Some things hinted at before are becoming more and more apparent as the tension mounts. 

How far would YOU go for someone you loved?

I hope you all have enjoyed the story so far.  Reading this chapter goes rather well with the Avenger's Theme, especially one of the orchestral covers. Yes, the fight scenes in my head look a lot like (anime) music videos, huge nerd that I am.

Viridian Awakening - Part XXI

And now... Disaster!

Disasters and other stressful events bring out sides of people that usually are not displayed. Sometimes those qualities are good ones, sometimes they are not. 

The Invasion of Ceredor has brought out hidden qualities in most of the survivors. 

And now William. 

Thank you all for your support and I hope you enjoy this as the story moves into its final arc.

Viridian Awakening - Part XX

Here we have it, the calm before the storm of the closing arc of this tale. William starts to understand why people have been acting oddly around him, and I think the reader will as well...

I am slowly getting adjusted to a new sleeping schedule with Runsamok's new job, and only one gout flare-up this month. 

Fanfiction.net never even bothered to respond and explain why NoFP was taken down, so it looks like I will have to re-post it in some form. I just need to figure out how...

Viridian Awakening - Part XIX

or, Foreshadowing, Fighting, a Revelation, and a Conversation!

Hello readers!

The update has a little bit of everything this month. Things are growing tenser in Calinar as William encounters some unforeseen consequences of his and Durana's actions. And don't forget the real enemy...

Remember you will likely see two charges this month, since the May post didn't bill properly, and everyone that responded was okay with making it up this month. Thank you for your continued suppo...

Hello, I'm an Idiot!

You may have noticed something a little different about the last post at the end of May. Namely, I forgot to check the little box that says, "charge for this post". And I didn't notice it until I got close to zero money from Patreon this month. 

Now, I could give a lot of excuses for my oversight, like being upset about the NoFP deletion, lack of sleep, gout flare-up, etc... but those would all be just that: excuses.

The truth is, I screwed up and I'm sorry. Given the number ...

Viridian Awakening - Part XVIII

More on the Aftermath of the batte, some William/Durana fluff, and the origins of the title!

This was literally the first romance I ever wrote. Needless to say, I've polished it up a lot since it was first written. In the end, I think it reflects William's first-serious-relationship mix of awkwardness and desire adequately. What do you think?

What happened to Nightmares of Future's Past?

Before I post the next update to my original story, Viridian Awakening, I'd like to address something I've gotten a lot of questions about.

As most of you know, my fanfiction story Harry Potter and the Nightmares of Futures Past has disappeared from  fanfiction.net. I got an email saying it was taken down for copyright violations involving song lyrics. 

As most of you know, there are no song lyrics in the story. There is one sorting hat song that was written by my wife, ...

Viridian Awakening - Part XVII

aka "Gout sucks!"

Here is the latest update. I had to delay as much as I could this month, not due to writer's block or editor's ennui,  but because of little uric acid crystals deciding that my wrists were their new favorite hangout.

Among my other metabolic follies, I've acquired a propensity for gout. Only lately it's decided to give my ankles a miss and move up into my wrists. Why? I have no idea- I only know it hurts like the dickens. It started in my right wrist and the...

Harry Potter and the Nightmares of Futures Past - Chapter 43 Final

Here is the final version that is going up.  (And a  big thank you to our early access patrons.)

If there are other things you all would like to see for higher tier rewards, please let us know!

Viridian Awakening - Part XVI

The war is heating up... among other things.  There are wheels within wheels and not all enemies are straightforward.

Before anyone says someone could not possibly be that clueless... I've seen worse. I've almost been worse. (Sadly, I'm not kidding.)

Welcome to everyone who joined after the NoFP alert posted. I really appreciate it!

Viridian Awakening - Part XV

Yes, I am literally posting this on the last day of the month. Why, you may ask?

Simply put, gout sucks!

I had a massive flare up this month. This time, instead of my feet and ankles, it went for my right wrist and hand. Yes, I am right-handed. Three weeks of varied medications, guzzling gallons of cherry juice, and lots of creative swearing... and I still can't make a tight fist. 

So. February has been a fun month all around. 

But enough about my real life d...

Viridian Awakening - Part XIV

And now the conclusion of the battle! And aftermath! And backstory!

Okay, enough excitement.

It's been a rough month. Had a new medication prescribed that conflicted with several existing ones, making them not work for a while. The results were not pretty.

We did, finally, figure out what was going on and I'm doing better now. Did you know you can call your pharmacist and get a second opinion? Don't be like me and assume you ate or drank something wrong...

Viridian Awakening - Part XIII

Here's some action to ring in the new year. I hope everyone had a good year, I know this one has been a definite improvement on the health front. Looking back, I have a lot of things to be grateful for. To highlight just a couple...

I'd like to thank Runsamok, AKA Lindsey Schocke, my wife, best friend, and partner in all things. Without her, none of this would be here, including me.  She's the real hero of this story. 

i'd like to thank you, my awesome readers, for your ...

Viridian Awakening - Part XII

More developments in the war for Calinar as William learns a new skill. 

NoFP chapter 43 is slowly grinding it's way towards completion. You'd think it would be easier, but the small army of characters involved says otherwise. Also, tracking all the divergences from canon tends to snowball after a while. Nevertheless, progress is being made again after I beat down a block, so keep your eyes peeled.

Question for my readers:

 I have been looking at what some other writers have been doing on Patreon.  Would you all be interested in me having members see snippets and/or rough drafts  of stories or updates? 

Viridian Awakening - Part IX

The aftermath of battle... a little character development, a little politicking, and making some allies in true shonen fashion. (Beating the snot out of them first.)

I'd really love to hear your questions and comments. Getting your perspective is really invaluable!

Viridian Awakening - Part X

Homecomings and discussions... or, things get a little more serious.

One of the fun things about writing William and Durana is witnessing the mental gymnastics as they try to navigate each other's cultural mores. Add to that the nervous diffidence of someone afraid of saying too much and getting hurt and... well, you get all kinds of awkward.

Of course, my inner Langley just rolls his eyes and grumbles about being too old for this @*#&.

Anyway, I hope you ...

Viridian Awakening - Part IX... or Action? You want Action? We got action!

Okay, now we see the culmination of some of the set-up and world-building... William's first battle. Just remember no plan survives contact with the enemy...

Thank you, my supporters, for your continuing loyalty. Please let me know what you like or don't like. Remember, this story is for you!

Viridian Awakening - Part VIII

More world-building, character development, and a detailed training scene. The mechanics of how the magic works will play a major role in the story, so I absolutely had to make sure it was explained in detail and remained at least somewhat consistent. If this didn't work for you in this update, please let me know where it came up short!

Thank you for your feedback and continuing support!

Viridian Awakening - Part VII

Hello,

Here is the latest update. This has been a crazy month, from walking the first few steps in exactly three years, to getting the Viridian Dreams web host hacked for a few days, to saying "hello" to gout again.

But I'm exiting the month better than I entered, so it's all good!

I'd like to take a moment to dedicate this update to my father, John Schocke, whose birthday is today. He's one of the primary people responsible for getting me into reading (and eventually writing) at a...

Viridian Awakening - Part VI

In this chapter we have some world-building, some philosophy, some character development... and a bit of an "Oooops!" moment.  I hope the conversation with Korobuc makes it more entertaining than a simple info-dump. Also, the differences in how William sees and understands things are starting to become more apparent. 

As always, please let me know what does and doesn't work. The more feedback I get, the more I can improve the story to match what you all want!

On a personal note...

Viridian Awakening - Part V

Hello, here's he latest. I'm still working on getting these out closer to the middle of the month, rather than the end. 

Here we've got some more character development, and introducing some new ones as William explores more of the refugee camp. It's also clear that the crisis has only exacerbated some internal tensions...