Before the Inktober part of this post begins... (I can't believe it's now 2023!), here is a belated New Year's greeting from my character, Karleon (the god of mischief and prophecy from my series, The Princess Arisias Mystery Series):
I figured I would start 2023, with the final post of the Inktober 2022 series. Even though I find it sad that Inktober is over, it will come back this year!
Let's begin...
Here is the official prompt list for 2022's Inktober:
Day #21 Bad Dog. I drew a Hellhound for this one. They are figures from folklore that are usually omens of death or bad luck.
Day #22 Heist. I decided to draw something similar to a room, that would appear in a spy movie.
Day #23 Booger. The first that came to mind for me was a troll who had nasal issues. This character may appear in the future, and will be given more of a backstory (because at the moment I know nothing about this troll).
Day #24 Fairy. I decided to draw Vonivera, my fay character for this one.
Day #25 Tempting. I drew a snake circling an apple.
Day #26 Ego. I decided I should draw the thoughts inside someone's head.
Day #27 Snack. I simply drew a snack for this one. Taking it literally.
Day #28 Camping. I decided to draw a tent inside what could be considered a haunted forest.
Day #29 Uh-Oh. I drew the Wax Witch from my novel, Dolls of Wax, Eyes of Glass, for this one. It came to mind since the characters probably go "uh oh" when seeing her.
Day #30 Gear. The first thing that came to mind for this one was Galadriel from Rings of Power. Her armor is gear that she gets when she goes to Númenor.
Day #31 Farm. Since day 31 was Halloween, I decided to draw a haunted farm.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Which drawing is your favorite? How was your New Year's? And if you did Inktober in 2022, how did it go?
During this year's NaNoWriMo I am working on the 3rd draft of The Mystery of the Body Thief. So, here is some information about my project and my plans ahead for the 3rd draft (and other drafts) in general.
As a quick update, I'd like you to know that I've updated two pages. I've added a new character for Dolls of Wax, Eyes of Glass which you can see here. And, I've updated the page for the characters from The Princess Arisias mystery series here.
Synopsis-
Genre: Fantasy | Murder Mystery Series: First book in the Princess Arisias mystery series
Horatio wakes up from being in a coma, but he doesn't remember anything that happened before he fell into unconsciousness. All that he remembers is a name, "Arisias!"
Also... Detective Inspector Time finds himself having to solve a case without Princess Arisias. Murders have been happening throughout many different kingdoms, and no one knows who exactly is behind it all.
Characters-
A lot of things have changed about the characters since I last made a post about them, including some of their names, so here are the characters:
Horatio-
Horatio is a servant who works in the castle, and who has amnesia.
He is still discovering who he is, and wants to know more,
for he feels very lost and confused.
Princess Arisias-
Arisias is a princess, who never woke up from her coma, unlike Horatio.
Before the coma she worked as a detective part time, while also fulfilling her role as a princess.
Ophelia-
Ophelia is a healer and a priestess (to the goddess of the earth and the god of air).
She is a quiet, but very kind person. Though she doesn't talk a lot, when she does she always has something thoughtful to say.
D.I. Elyerin Time-
He is called "Elyerin" by those who know him well, and "Detective Inspector Time" when he is working. He is an elvish detective with time related powers from the god of time. D.I. Elyerin Time is currently working on solving the case of murdered royalty.
Cerawen & Vonivera
Cerawen and Vonivera are Arisias's ladies-in-waiting.
Cerawen- is from another kingdom and was sent over to Dragons' Province for undisclosed reasons.
Vonivera- is a fay, who used to be close to Arisias before the accident.
Marigold-
Marigold works for the civil guard and is training to be a detective. She has not gotten there, but she is working towards it. She hopes one day to be a detective like her father.
My Plans for this NaNoWriMo-
I decided to take a long break before working on the third draft. When I finished the second draft, I took some time for reading to get into the mode of writing the third draft. One book I found particularly helpful was Stephen King's On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. I usually don't find self-help writing books useful, but this was really inspirational for me.
In fact one piece of advice King gave was to embellish references/imaginary. King referred to his book Carrie, where he used blood related imagery, which he embellished more in later drafts.
This made me think about the imaginary/references in my own work, that I plan to embellish more this time through.
Since I wrote my post about finishing the second draft, I've come up with fantastical names for the characters: Cerawen, Vonivera, etc.. At this point only one character still needs a fantasy name, and that is Marigold. She has two names, an elvish name and a human name. Marigold is the name she goes by as a human, but since she lives among elves and was raised by an elf, she also needs an elvish name.
I'm also rereading Lord of the Rings for inspiration, and I'm thinking about ways to describe my elves without immediately saying that their ears are pointed. They are pointed, but I don't want to just rely on that imagery to define them as elves. I need to capture that something which makes my elves different than humans, and I want to show that without directly saying that they are elves all the time to my readers. This is something that will take several drafts to figure out how to do, but it is something I've been thinking a lot about recently.
My fantasy world has been built much more, since I last wrote about it.
I'm actually working on a side project, a collection of myths involving the myths of the gods and goddesses of that world. I realized the stories and the myths are very important to that world. And while I have talked about the myths in blog posts, I want to steadily build a collection of short stories. I should add, I was partially inspired by Bardugo's Lives of Saints, for the Grishaverse series. While hers is much shorter than this is going to be, it definitely served as an inspiration.
I've found that it helps to understand the world, because the world will effect the characters' actions in ways, whether unconsciously or not.
So, those are my plans for this NaNoWriMo. I hope NaNoWriMo is going well for everyone else!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Are you doing NaNoWriMo this November? If so, what are you working on? If not, have you re-read any favorite books of yours recently?
I am participating in NaNoWrimo this November, in order to work on the second draft of my novel, TheMystery of the Body Thief. And if you want, you can check out my most recent post about my novel here, given that this post will be answering questions about it.
Also, thank you everyone for sending in and posting questions for the Q&A about my novel. I won't be able to answer all the questions in this post, but there will be a second part of the Q&A, so if you didn't post a question and want to, you still can. Or, if not all your questions got answered or none of your questions got answered they will be answered in the next part. Also, thank you for Fifty-six followers!
Synopsis-
Genre: Fantasy | Murder Mystery Series: The1st book in the Lady Annabelle Mystery Series.
Horatio wakes up from being in a coma, but he doesn't remember anything that happened before he fell into unconsciousness. All that he remembers is a name, "Annabelle!"
Also... Detective Inspector Time finds himself having to solve a case without Lady Annabelle. Murders have been happening throughout many different kingdoms, and no one knows who exactly is behind it all.
My Plans for NaNoWrimo This Year
I plan to continue world-building, editing, and rewriting my novel from where I left off. Originally when I was editing, I edited the story in its chronological order. But then I decided to rewrite it out of order, so I could spend some time on the scenes (and sections) I had skipped during the first draft.
I might add that when I was first drafting the story, I skipped some sections. Most of them were scenes I had trouble writing and/or didn't feel like writing at the moment. But in the second draft, I get to focus on those scenes and flesh them out.
I've also found that the scenes I skipped writing required me to have experiences that I didn't have at the time but have now. It wasn't until the second draft that I realized I was unconsciously writing about experiences from my own life, and why I had to process those experiences before getting them right....It's interesting how writing does that sometimes.
Also, in the second draft, I finally realized what message I wanted to communicate through my story. Neil Gaiman actually said something similar about this in his writing of The Graveyard Book: "It was then, only then, that I saw clearly what I was writing...." He "had set out to write a book about a childhood-- it was Bod's childhood, and it was in a graveyard, but still, it was a childhood like any other; I was now writing about being a parent..." (The Newberry acceptance speech, part five, the Graveyard book) I realize that I am doing a similar thing now, in my story, and that there are some elements I need to tweak in order to get the message through.
In terms of world-building, I have made some progress, and I understand the world better. And it has also helped me understand the characters. When I first started writing, I didn't know Ophelia was going to be a healer and a priestess. I first knew she was a healer, but over time I soon figured out what it meant to be a healer and priestess in her world and that some priestesses are healers. (Not all priestesses are healers, but a certain type of them are.)
So, during this NaNoWrimo, I plan to expand more on world-building and look back on the document where I wrote random ideas I had about the world during Camp NaNoWrimo. I want to see if I can expand on them and flesh them out.
Q & A
And now for the questions from you, the readers, about my novel, The Mystery of the Body Thief.
Question from Elizabeth Knight:
I'm intrigued about what the "body thief" could possibly be, but I have a different question in mind so as not to spoil the book for me: what, if any, kinds of magic are there in the book, and what form does it take?
Ophelia (left) and Vonivera (right), using their powers
There are three different types of magic in the world of The Lady Annabelle Mysteries Series: there is magic given at birth which is usually seen in fairies (though it is seen in other creatures too, like dragons), magic that can be learned (in this particular world you have to become a devotee to a god/goddess in order to learn it), and magical objects (which can be in mirrors, wands, etc.)
There are also very different uses for magic: some magic is used for healing in the world, other magic is used for harm (or to kill), and magic can also be used to solve cases by the detectives in the world.
In the religious beliefs of the elves, magic was given to the world by the gods. (Other magic came to the world through pure trickery.) I am also working on a post in my Look Into a World series on this blog, which I plan to post sometime soon. It talks more in depth about how the magic in this world came to be.
Hi Quinley, I was wondering about Horatio’s personality. Is he quiet and shy? Humble and Gentle, a bit prideful or outgoing? Or just friendly and creative?
Horatio is a bit timid (partly because he doesn't have many friends, and many servants in the castle do not like him), curious, and friendly, as well as being outgoing. If there is something dangerous or mysterious happening, he is willing to get involved in it. (However, he doesn't always know why he is so quick to do that: it seems almost like he does it instinctively or impulsively.)
Horatio also seems not to understand parts of himself, like how he behaves certain ways at certain times. This is partly due to the fact that he has amnesia and doesn't remember his past. So elements about himself seem strange to him that wouldn't otherwise be strange if he remembered his past.
Where’s the setting of your story?
(Image from Wiki Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paul_Sandby_-_Bothwell_Castle,_from_the_South_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg)
The story is set in a Fantasy world. But most of the action in the first half takes place in Dragon's Province, in the castle of Lord Oberon, where Horatio is a servant.
But the setting also extends to the town in Dragon's Province, where events happen such as plays, festivals, and religious gatherings. At different points in the story, Horatio visits the town for different reasons. In particular, he visits the police department.
(Image from Wiki Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tavern_Scene-1658-David_Teniers_II.jpg)
And though this isn't exactly a single place, the characters do visit several taverns (and sometimes taverns that are also inns). I have felt like taverns are also part of the setting of the story. Taverns can be a dramatic setting in the story, since characters often fear being watched by others. Other characters either meet in a tavern (in some cases) or go there to talk when their work is done. (And I may have been also slightly influenced by D&D and Lord of the Rings with the taverns that show up in my story).
One thing I think I should add is that I've been listening to this particular complication of music whenever I write a tavern scene. Though it isn't exactly about the setting in my story, I thought by sharing it I could give you an idea of the atmosphere of the taverns in Annabelle's world.
Ooh my first question is- who is Annabelle? Kinda obvious I know lol, but she seems to be key.
Annabelle in her wedding dress.
Lady Annabelle is a half elf princess who worked as a detective before she (like Horatio) was in a coma. But unlike him, she hasn't awakened yet. She is also the main character in the series. (Though Horatio is taking the spotlight for a short time in this one book, the next book will go back to Annabelle.) She started working as a detective after a murder took place in the castle, and though her father is very against it (because he worries about her safety), she continues to solve cases anyway.
However, her connection to Horatio is unclear. Horatio isn't sure how she and him knew each other -- whether they were friends...or something else entirely -- but at the moment, he believes they were at least friends or acquaintances (given that he has memories of her). But I can't say anything else about that...because of spoilers.
So, I hope that answers your question. Also, I have created a profile for Annabelle on this blog, so if you want you can check out her character sheet here.
Inspector Time- I'm wondering if his name means anything (like time travel or something) or if that's just his name?
Naming wise, When I first created the character, his name was going to be Detective Inspector Thyme, but since I was pretty young when I named the character and had taken the name from the cozy murder mystery TV show, Rosemary and Thyme, I thought the name "Thyme" was Time not Thyme, so I ended up naming him Detective Inspector Time. But since it worked, I decided not to change it.
Character-wise, D.I. Time changed his last name, because he wanted to. His family had had a different last name, but since he wanted his name to be memorable he decided to change it to Time. (This may or may not have been after he got his magic). His extended family though is not very happy with the name change. (Especially because the name change was not done through marriage, and just was done..."on a whim" as they describe it).
When it comes to your question about whether he has powers (time travel related ones that is), the answer is not exactly. Since most detectives or officers in the police department do have powers (though people are not required to have them) he does have powers (and so does his adpoted daughter, Marigold). But they aren't exactly what you think they are. Upon touching an object, D.I. Time has the ability to know what it has gone through and who has touched it. But he can't tell the names of the people who touched it, only the texture of their hand, the way they hold the object, and other feelings like (warmth, cold) he gets from where the object was, how it was made, what it has been through.
The fact that murders are happening in multiple kingdoms is intriguing too. that makes me wonder if Time and Lady Annabelle are part of some far flung agency or detective group, or ?
So, there are several detective agencies working on solving the murders of royalty. This is partly because concerned royalty (who is worried they one of them could be next), would rather have more than one agency work on solving it than a single one. So agencies from all over different kingdoms are working to solve it. Admittedly, this rarely happens, since crime solving is usually limited to one kingdom, but since the life of different kings and queens is on the line, multiple detective agencies happened to get involved.
Annabelle is not a part of the detective agency though. Her father would never let her give up her position of princess to be a detective, though she has gotten herself involved in several different cases, I'd say in a very Sherlock Holmes-like fashion.
Is there any drama in this story? I would like a lot of drama in your story! I love drama!
While the story itself is not a melodrama, there are some social conflicts (drama) and internal psychological conflicts. Gossip often plays a negative role in the social drama, and since this is a murder mystery, there is of course the drama of murder itself and having to look for the killer or killers. There is also magical and supernatural drama throughout the series, as magic plays a role in causing and solving cases. Gods and goddesses often come to the mortals' world, and sometimes they cause a bit of drama whether they meant to or not.
Why are the murders happening in the story? Is it because of money or something else is going on?
That contains spoilers, so you will have to wait for my book to come out in order to figure out who the murderer or murderers are, and why the murders are happening. If I revealed it here, it would remove the mystery from The Mystery of the Body Thief.
...And that's the end of part one of the Q&A, if you would like to get a question or questions in for part two, you can ask them here or comment them down below.
Hi everyone, last April I made a post about this project so I thought that I should make another post about it considering I am still writing it and I entered it into a writing contest called the Wattys. (Also, this is my 100th post.)
Anyway, here is the post:
Synopsis-
Ever since Horatio woke up from being in a coma, things around the castle have been going from normal to strange.
He is also trying to solve a murder that now is beginning to seem more complex than he thought.
Characters-
Since I made a whole list of the characters before in my last post about this project, I am only going to do some of the main characters and not the minor ones. Horatio
A servant who works in the castle, who lost his memory.
Vonivera (previously known as Veronica.)
Lady Annabelle's lady in waiting, and friend to Horatio and Phillip.
Unlike the other ladies in the castle, Vonivera is a fairy, and she finds it hard to fit in.
Phillip
The captain of the guards and the only dwarf in the castle. Also
a friend of Annabelle's who is helping Horatio and Vonivera solve a recent murder.
Detective Inspector Time & Marigold
From left to right, Detective Inspector Time, Marigold.
Two detectives who are trying to solve the recent murders of royalty. Lady Annabelle
A princess who is in a coma, who fell unconscious at the same time as Horatio.
Excerpts-
Vonivera had very annoyed looking expression her face, that she normally had when she was talking about the gossipers and how they talked about Horatio, and the things he had done wrong.
“I am worrying about it, because I care about you, unlike everyone else in the castle.” she said.
-from Chapter 10, Vonivera to Horatio.
“Are you alright?” Vonivera asked.
“Yes…I’m fine..” Horatio said, as he picked up the burnt fire wood, and swept the chimney, which was sooty but not quite as sooty as it had been when he first cleaned it.
“Are you sure?” asked Vonivera, who like usual was hanging around where Horatio was working. She rather liked to talk to him…
“Yes I’m sure…” sighed Horatio, who rather was concentrated on cleaning the chimney…
“You don’t look sure…” said Vonivera.
Horatio sighed, “That’s because I’m cleaning the chimney!”
- from unidentified Chapter. (Though I am pretty sure it is after the events of chapter seven though, but I am unsure...since the labeling of the chapters got confused.)
You can also read the seven chapters that are up here (though I do plan to self-publish it eventually.) the official story soundtrack-
Last time I posted songs that reminded me of the story. But now here is the official story soundtrack:
You can also listen to it here
Some of the songs in this are songs you have heard before in the previous post.
A sneak peek at future songs that will be added into the story soundtrack (playlist):
This song went perfectly with a scene from my story.
(I am not going to say what scene though ;) )
Money, Money, Money by ABBA
You can also listen to it here
I am not sure whether this song will be added to the story soundtrack or a playlist describing one of my characters, but either way it still reminds me of what the servants may think of royalty and money.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Have you ever entered your book into the Wattys? Also, how was your Camp NaNoWrimo?
Love,
Quinley
