#PennedPossibilities 241 — MC POV: If you could relive one day of your life without changing anything that happened, which day would you choose?
Sun: The day that was supposed to be the last of my life.
It's the start of something entirely unexpected, entirely new. I feel as if I was reborn that day, and it would be... wonderful to live through it once again.
Writer Brain in combination with the Aztec Empire. Of course, then it took its own spin.
Fun fact: When the idea crossed my mind, I instantly came up with all nine titles in the series. As I was lying in bed trying to fall asleep, I repeated them over and over to myself, so I would remember them in the morning.
#PhantastikPrompts 28.02.:
"Wie werden Recht und Gesetz in deiner fiktionalen Welt durchgesetzt?"
In Skys Welt herrschen die Priester. Sie entscheiden über alles.
Erst als Sky aus dem Sacred Square flüchtet, kann er erkennen, wie grausam seine Welt wirklich ist. Weil aber die meisten Menschen im Holy Empire davon Vorteile haben, stellen sie das System nicht in Frage.
#PennedPossibilities 238 — How strong is your MC’s sense of intuition? Are they aware of it? Do they ever fear that it’s only paranoia?
Sky really does not have a good sense of people, and little intuition.
That's why he runs away from the one person truly interested in helping him - although to be fair, that was a logical mistake to make. Sky had no idea who he was meeting. (But we readers do.)
Honestly, adding allergies to my Winds and Pillars hasn't exactly been a priority. My chars have enough problems escaping the Priests and their allies.
(I deal with histamine overreactions, so I am aware of allergies and everything.)
But it does inspire me to possibly have a wolf with hay fever in the next book. 😂
#PhantastikPrompts 25.02. Was ist die größte Ungerechtigkeit in deiner Geschichte? Wie geht deine Hauptfigur damit um?
Dass Menschen mit magischen Fähigkeiten wie Sklaven gehalten und im Alter von 25 geopfert werden.
Sky flüchtet vor diesem Schicksal. Und tut sich dann mit seinesgleichen zusammen, um diesen Zustand zu beenden. (Im letzten Band der Serie, das dauert also noch.)
Oh, the Head Priest of Jungle Fortress tends to sleep very well, secure in his position. He dreams of the final step, being called to serve on the Main Council of Priests.
Little does he know that some of his actions will have consequences he can't even imagine. But enraging a certain Pillar was not a wise step... especially since that Pillar has friends now.
#PennedPossibilities 229 — How comfortable is your MC in their body? How do they feel about their height, weight, strength, and body type? How important is being attractive to them?
Sky has never really thought about that. It didn't matter. In fact, he only found out what he looks like (golden curls) when he escapes the Sacred Square. There were no mirrors in his House.
#PennedPossibilities 228 — What is the most mundane action described in your WIP?
Probably eating and sleeping. I mean, it's what people do, but I try to make them talk during eating, at least.
And I just mention sleeping when it becomes important - it will for Sun.
Mundane actions tend to be boring since we all do them. So I try not to dwell on them unless they offer more insight into a character or move the story.
Any recommendations for good SFF/speculative books that are written first person? My wife and I are really enjoying reading the Murderbot books aloud to each other. Part of that is the great writing and sparkling personality of the main character, but I think part of it is also the different vibe of first person writing, where the narrator is telling a story to the audience. I'd like to find more books like that.
She's currently #2 on my Top 10 Epic Fantasy list.
The only reason she's #2 is that I read Janny Wurtz' The Wars of Light and Shadow last. While reading Robin Hobb, she's my #1 and there can be no other.
I've read all 16 books in the Elderling saga 3x, now... and I just gotta say...
The ultimate climax in the final book? I can barely read it, because tears are running down my face like my dog just died.
I've read a LOT of Epic Fantasy. It's basically all I read, so when I say the following, you can trust...
Some authors come close to the combination of EPICNESS and sheer emotional catharsis that Hobb achieves in the last few chapters of her saga...
But nobody has reached those heights, yet.
You have multiple epic storylines converging, and Hobb keeps you in suspense until the last possible moment. You can sense the connections, the shape of the epic structure... but you can't KNOW.
Not until she does her thing in that conclusion.
Then it's like a light-bulb went on in your brain. The connections become obvious in retrospect, and you get chills and the hairs on your arms stand up.
Man, that's just the setup for the wicked catharsis. There's a WHOLE OTHER character-based level -- not plot, but character -- that doesn't become apparent until the very end.
And that's what breaks my heart every time. It's the ruthless combo of epic storytelling and unreliable narration, all being neatly resolved in a couple chapters.
Today's release: Eoghan R. Cunningham's MM fantasy romance Curse of the Dragon’s Eye:
When the last dragon died over a thousand years ago, magic disappeared along with them. Alone and powerless, humanity was left to pick up the pieces of their once magnificent world...
#WordWeavers 2/16. What is your antagonist’s pet peeve?
Let's go with the Head Priest of Jungle Fortress again.
He is really annoyed that the general populace doesn't recognize how much he does for them. I mean, it's not fun having to sacrifice a South every year.
And while the people cheer when he does, they stay away from him the rest of the year, when he doesn't force them to cheer. It's disgusting, really.