Never Have I Ever: Book Edition + The Bookworm's Tag

Since these two tags seem very similar to each other, I decided to do a double tag post. 

For the first tag: Never Have I Ever: Book Edition, I was tagged by Annika at Annika Larraine, thank you so much, Annika, this tag looks so fun. 😄

The rules- 

 -Link back to the original creator: Madame Writer

-Link back to the person who tagged you

 -Answer all prompts

-Add one more prompt of your own

-Tag at least five people

-Don’t lie!

-Have fun!

The questions-

Never have I ever: Read a Later book in the series first.

Actually I have, a couple times. I did it either without realizing it or because the book in the series was the one I bought, and I wanted to see if it I liked before I read the first book. 

Never have I ever: Burned a book.

Never, and never want to...Poor books! Plus, there are so many negative connotations behind burning books. So I don't know why anyone would think it would be a good thing to do. (I mean it's usually related to censorship, and I really don't like censorship). 

Never have I ever: gone into a shop to buy one book but came out with many.

Yes! That happens a lot. 

Never have I ever: loved a book when I was younger but hated it when I was older. 

I haven't really had this happen as much. I have had books that I don't like as much now that I'm older, but I've never outright hated a book. 

                      Never have I ever: read a book I knew I’d hate.

(Image from Goodreads, https://www.goodreads.com/book/photo/41865.Twilight)

Yes, I've done this with... Twilight. A lot of people around me liked it. I knew I wouldn't really like it if I read it. I tried reading it but never finished it. I couldn't relate to Bella or Edward, and I didn't want either of them to get together. I also really didn't like Meyer's version of the vampire. Give me a vampire that isn't super strong and sparkly but is scary instead!

Never have I ever: wrote a fan fiction about my favorite book.

Yes I have actually. It was in comic form (made on Pixton), but it was still a fanfic. 

Basically it was a fanfic of Percy Jackson but with my original characters: 

Here are a few of the characters I made.
(Also please excuse the spelling errors. I made this comic before I started editing my writing). 

While I wouldn't call Percy Jackson one of my all time favorite books, it was at least a book series I really like, though there are some critiques I do have of it now. 

Never have I ever: dressed up as my favorite literary character.

I have multiple times, usually for Halloween, though more recently I dressed up as Sherlock Holmes for a monologue (that I filmed and posted). And I dressed up as Victor Frankenstein for a comedy sketch scene. 

Never have I ever: hated a book by an author I love.

Yes, it is unfortunate when it happens. 

Never have I ever: skim read a book.

Accidentally I have, but yes. Usually after I do that, I go back reread and annotate. 

Never have I ever: pretended to read a book I haven't.

I don't think I have. 

I know I shouldn't do this, but sometimes I have strong opinions about a book even though I haven't read it. I can get into trouble in conversations with people who like the book...I should probably read the books before I critique them. 

Never have I ever: read a book without the dust cover.

Yes I have, a couple times. 

Never have I ever: had a book boyfriend/girlfriend.

Yes, I think the reason why I did it was because everyone else my age had or has a boyfriend. (I actually don't want a boyfriend, at all.) I found that I felt of left out of conversations with friends. So, I would just say, "Legolas is my boyfriend" or "Raoul from The Phantom of the Opera is my boyfriend," just so I could feel included in the conversation. Side note, you have no idea how many silly arguments arise out of saying a fictional character is your boyfriend, partly because someone else then wants the fictional character as their boyfriend. 

Never have I ever: picked up a book based on the cover alone.

A couple times, some with good outcomes others with not so good outcomes...

One bad outcome in particular was Matilda Bone. I thought the book seemed like it may be good based on the cover...And then I read it, and it turned out not to be. 

Never have I ever: read the end of the book before the beginning.

No, I try never to do that. However, I do sometimes have to read summaries of books (classic books) in order not to feel lost when reading. 

Never have I ever: read a history or anthropology book for fun.

All the time, and while this isn't a book, I am listening to a history podcast about Chinese history for fun. 

Never have I ever: participated in a readathon.

No, but I want to. But I am a slow reader, so I'm not sure I could. 

Never have I ever: bought multiple books in a series before reading it.

I have, actually. I have a lot of Heroes of Olympus books on my shelf that I still need to read...

Never have I ever: written in a book.

Yes, I annotate in them, that's one of the ways I stay focused while reading. 

Never have I ever: filled up an entire bookshelf and have to have stacks of books balanced precariously throughout different rooms.

Yes...That happens a lot, more in my bedroom, and less in different rooms around the house. 

Never have I ever: loved a book most people don't like. (Annika's question) 

  

Yes, but it depends on which friend group I am in. I have been in groups who love the said book, and I have been in groups who loathe the said book with a burning passion. 

One incident in particular happened with a book I really love, Frankenstein. I was in a group who loved the book, and then I was in a group who had to read it for school, so didn't like it at all. 

And my question: Never Have I Ever: Liked the movie adaptation of a book more than the original book. 

I tag: 

Elizabeth 

Sadie 

Skye 

Victoria 

MiddleEarthMusician 

Bailey

The questions + my own question (for copy and pasting purposes):

• Never have I ever: Read a Later book in the series first.
• Never have I ever: Burned a book.
• Never have I ever: gone into a shop to buy one book but came out with many.
• Never have I ever: loved a book when I was younger but hated it when I was older. 
•  Never have I ever: read a book I knew I’d hate.
• Never have I ever: wrote a fan fiction about my favorite book.
• Never have I ever: dressed up as my favorite literary character.
• Never have I ever: hated a book by an author I love.
• Never have I ever: pretended to read a book I haven't.
• Never have I ever: skim read a book.
• Never have I ever: read a book without the dust cover.
• Never have I ever: had a book boyfriend/girlfriend.
• Never have I ever: picked up a book based on the cover alone.
• Never have I ever: read the end of the book before the beginning.
• Never have I ever: read a history or anthropology book for fun.
• Never have I ever: participated in a readathon.
• Never have I ever: bought multiple books in a series before reading it.
• Never have I ever: written in a book.
• Never have I ever: filled up an entire bookshelf and have to have stacks of books balanced precariously throughout different rooms.
• My question: Never Have I Ever: Liked the movie adaptation of a book more than the original book. 

And here is the second tag: I was tagged by Victoria at Soli Deo Gloria. Thank you so much, Victoria! 

                                                                    The Logo: 

The Rules

Thank and link to the blogger who nominated you. 

Include the tag graphic in your post! 

Answer the ten questions the blogger asked. 

Nominate five to 10 bloggers. 

Ask your nominees ten book-related questions!

Don't feel obligated by these rules. 

(Most importantly) Have fun! 

The questions: 

Which book have you read that you wish you had written?

That's a hard question. You see, I don't exactly wish I had written someone else's book (because I feel like that would be stealing). I wish that I was around the time when, for example, epic poetry was being written, so I could write an epic poem, not someone else's epic poem, but my own epic poem. 

And I've also wished I could write like Oscar Wilde, Edgar Allan Poe, Washington Irving and Mary Shelley at different points. But I've never wanted to have written their work. (Unless in writing their work, I could add elements/tropes that show up in my writing? But on the other hand...Would that really benefit their fiction by doing that...?? It helps mine and strengthens mine, but would it work for theirs??) 

Anyway, despite my long ramble about that, I'm just going to choose two books off the top of my head to answer this question with: Frankenstein and The Picture of Dorian Gray are books I would have wanted to have written. 

What is your favorite classic?

Usually I would answer this with a Gothic book from the 18th or 19th century, but I am going to answer it differently this time... 

(Images from Goodreads, here and here) 

So, two of my favorite (classic) epic poems are The Journey to the West and The Odyssey. I started (and am still reading) The Journey to the West. I really like the religious elements (mainly Buddhist religious elements, since the protagonists are Buddhist monks, but there are mentions of other religions too). And I also like Sun Wukong. He is one of the main reasons I really like this book. 

For the Odyssey, I really enjoy it, because I love Greek mythology, and I like how the gods influence the plot and help or stop Odysseus in getting home.

What is one book you want to see made into a movie?

So, I have several books that I want to see made into movies (really, books I would like to make into movies myself). Most of them are classics, but there is a book I wish they would make into a movie, which is... 

      (Image from Goodreads, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/613866.Igraine_the_Brave?                                                  ac=1&from_search=true&qid=EIZ7XQHJun&rank=1) 

Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke. A movie was made of Inkheart, so I really want there to be a movie for Igraine the Brave. However, I want to be the one to make the movie, since for a screenwriting class I took, I decided to turn the book Igraine the Brave into a script for a movie. 

If you had to burn any book on your bookshelf which one would it be? (I know, I'm so mean.) XD

I am thoroughly against the idea of burning books, because it is often linked to censorship (which is very harmful).  I know I've said that before, but it's important...Also, why are these questions so obsessed with book burning?? 

But...Let's say I had to burn a book for whatever reason because something horrible would happen if I didn't...

                                                                       (Images from Goodreads, here and here). 

I would burn either Matilda Bone or Tuck Everlasting. Both of these books I despised (and I am not over extracting), since I really disliked the protagonists in both these books and wasn't rooting for them. 

In Winnie's case, I was begging her to leave the Tucks (and to stop flirting with a boy who is older than her). And in Matilda's case I was groaning about her being so judgmental and prejudiced. 

Anyway, if I met either of these characters I would not be friends with them. 

Which book inspired your love for reading?

(Image from Goodreads, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5907.The_Hobbit_or_There_and_Back_Again)

So, the first novel that I read after I learned to read was The Hobbit, which then inspired me to read Lord of the Rings, and then after that inspired me to read other long books (like The Odyssey).

Would you rather spend a day with the author of your favorite book or spend three hours with the main character in your favorite book?

I would spend three hours with the main character from my favorite book, though spending time with the author would be fun too. I feel like getting to meet the main character would be so neat. 

What is one book you have re-read before?

(Image from Goodreads, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35031085-frankenstein?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=AW4g6jfpO8&rank=1)

So, I tend to reread a lot of books. As it turns out, if I like a book I will likely reread it more than once. But I will go with Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. I have reread it at least twice, since it is one of my many favorite books. (Actually, I probably have read it three times, but I am not entirely sure...) 

Which book brings back the most childhood memories?

Okay, so there are several books that bring back childhood memories for me. (I could make a long list of all the books.) But I am going to go with a different answer than I would normally for this and say... 

(Images from Goodreads, here and here) 

Holly the Christmas Fairy and The Faraway Tree. I loved both these books. I loved the character of Holly in Holly the Christmas Fairy. (They should really write more books with her. I'd read them.) And in The Faraway Tree, I really enjoyed the adventures the children had in the different worlds that come to the  tree. 

What is your favorite romance trope?

I don't tend to like romance alone as a genre. That is, I wouldn't usually seek out books that are just romance (though there are exceptions to that), so I prefer it as a subplot in a story. 

But...my favorite has to be the trope of Forbidden Love. For some reason it shows up a lot in my writing, and I have no idea why. But given that I like writing it, I also like reading it...depending on how well it is done of course. 

Audiobooks or no audiobooks?

(Technically Arcasia (the blog's mascot) could not listen to an audiobook, since those things don't exist in her world. (Unless you count people performing epic poems, but that isn't the same.) But since I have no recognizable characters from the modern world, I decided to just go with it). 

Audiobooks for sure. This is because I like the idea of someone telling a story to me. It's just so relaxing. So, when I'm tired, I find them easier to read than normal books. 

I tag: 

Galatea at Blooming Elephant 

Gauri at Brighter Alleys 

Elena at Life is a Beautiful Ride  

Hailey at The Girl Behind the Camera 

McKayla at Tales of a Triple Threat 

Artemis Crescent at Artemis Crescent 

Annika at Annika Larraine 

My questions:

1. What's your favorite sub-genre of Fantasy? And why? 

2.  What is your favorite book series? And why? 

3. Who is your favorite fictional character and who is your least favorite fictional character?

4. Would you rather get stuck in the world of your favorite book and not be able to return to the real world or you're in the real world but you're stuck permanently in the body of your favorite character? 

5. What's your favorite genre of books to read? And what's your favorite book from that genre? 

6. What's your favorite Fantasy trope? And why is it your favorite trope? 

7. Do you have a favorite myth or fairy tale? If so what is it? 

8. What is your favorite novel? And what is the opening line of that novel? 

9. What types of bookmarks do you use? Random pieces of paper, hand-made bookmarks, or something else? 

10. Do you write annotations in your books? Why or why not? 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Have you ever written a fanfic about your favorite book/book series? And do you have a favorite romance trope? 

-Quinley 

A Look Into a World #2: How Magic Came to the World (The Lady Annabelle Mystery Series)

                                                   Click here to read the first post in the series. 

                                                                       Happy Holidays everyone!

This particular post is for the world of the Lady Annabelle Mystery series. These posts have helped me so far to know the world better. Also, in case anyone is confused and wondering why the gods from All Is Not Lost For All Will Begin Again are involved in something from the Lady Annabelle mystery series, that is because I ended up moving the gods (except the Creator Goddess, who will be modified) to that world, due to the setting change in All Is Not Lost For All Will Begin Again. The gods seemed a bit out of place, so I moved them to a series that seemed very in keeping with their nature.  

Along with the world-building series on my blog, I will also be occasionally posting articles on World Anvil  about this world. So sometimes when a Look Into a World post is published I will also post a World Anvil article that is related to it. I have an article that goes along with this post called "The Festival of Magic," which I will be linking on the world-building page on this blog. (You will see it under the "World Anvil" section of the page) and I will update you about it in a blog post. 

Anyway, on to this post: 

        How Magic from the Gods Came to the World- 

Nisis (left) and (young) Karleon (right) 

Two trickster gods were involved in bringing to the world magic that is not inherited at birth. Their names were Nisis/Nyro and Karleon. These two trickster gods were very fed up with the fact that the King and Queen of the gods were hoarding all the magic and were unwilling to teach the mortals any. 

So, Nisis/Nyro and Karleon came together and formed a plan to get the magic and give it to the mortals. Karleon played a role in distracting the god who protected the magic, while Nisis/Nyro took the magic down to the world and gave it to the mortals. The mortals were really happy about this; the king and queen of the gods were not. 

While Karleon escaped punishment, Nisis/Nyro did not. Karleon told the king and queen of the gods that he completely misunderstood the plan that Nisis/Nyro had "told him" and didn't think the magic of the gods would come into the world of the mortals. In contrast, Nisis/Nyro got banished to the world of the mortals for a few years so they would learn from their "mistake." Though there are variations on this myth (some where both the gods get punished, and some where Karleon is the one who gets punished instead of Nisis/Nyro), all end with Karleon and Nisis/Nyro not being on good terms. In the version of the myth I'm following, Nisis/Nyro got banished because the other gods worried they would take on the form of their loved ones (since Nisis/Nyro has no clear form other than that) to escape punishment. So this was the reason for their unfair punishment of Nisis/Nyro. 

After Karleon and Nisis/Nyro released magic into the world, the king and the queen of the gods decided to put restrictions on how much magic the mortals could have at once. This is because it turned out the other gods were very unwilling to take their magic back. Hence they created rules for becoming a devotee to a god or a goddess. This made it so that the gods whose magic was in the world was limited and had to be taught. The king and queen did this because they believed the other gods would be too vain or not feel that the mortals were worth their time. However this backfired, because the gods whose magic was given to the mortals spent a lot of their time teaching them the craft. 

And out of this event came the Festival of Magic. It is celebrated biannually given that there are two different assumed dates for when it happened.  These two dates are in the middle of spring and the beginning of winter. 

                                  Magic given at birth- 

The species who have this are fairies, elves, and some other creatures. According to the religion that is predominant in Dragon's Province, the gods created them to have these powers and gave a little bit of their magic to those creatures. 

For the fairies, the gods decided to give them the ability to make themselves "invisible" (though in reality they go to another dimension). This is a power that every fairy has, and the gods gave it to them so they could protect themselves if they were in grave danger (to hide from their attackers or from wild monsters). 

For the elves, they were given better eyesight and hearing than humans, as well as a better connection to the gods. While they may not be able to turn "invisible,"  elves can spot a god within a crowd of mortals or see a god when a human couldn't. This also links them to the major religion in Dragon's Province, where the gods teach mortals magic. 

                                   Enchanted Objects- 

An enchanted mirror

There are many different kinds of enchanted objects: one being enchanted crystals and jewels. If one believes the legends, then out of spite Karleon made all the jewels have different powers. (Some versions written by Elven scribes who don't have to mine in cold and damp mines say this is a  "blessing;" most others call it a "curse.") Karleon thought it would cause confusion for mortals (dwarves in particular) and that it would be fun to watch. To this day, no one is quite sure what the powers of enchanted jewels and crystals are, and in mining them people have to be careful or they could be cursed by them. 

There are also objects that are less dangerous and unambiguously blessed by the gods. These are considered sacred and can grant certain powers. Some are even said to be given to certain heroes on their journeys. 

One notable magic object is a magic mirror, which can have different abilities. Usually they can used as a way to look at different areas of the world or see the true nature of a person.  Fairy dust is also commonly described as being an "enchanted object," because it can be used in many ways: as a dye, as a way to find fingerprints, and for other uses. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What magic exists in your Fantasy world? And which way would you like to get magic? 

-Quinley 

I Finished the First Draft of Dolls of Wax, Eyes of Glass!

I finished the first draft of Dolls of Wax, Eyes of Glass on December 10th!  If you want to find out more about Dolls of Wax, Eyes of Glass I recommend checking out this post where I talk about the plot, the characters, and stuff like that. In this post I will be talking about what I am going to be doing next with the story. 

                                     Let's begin: 

                                                Synopsis- 

Genre: Gothic Horror | Historical Fiction 

Maltida Moore was found dead at the castle, her brother, Felix, is missing. No trace of him was found except an eyeless wax doll made in his likeness. What happened at the castle is unknown, but it is as if something evil is lurking within it...something evil is causing these terrible events to happen.

Excerpts- 

"They say to write thoughts and feelings down, or else they will be lost to time. This, is what happened to me. And what I feel I must do now. 

Or else any thoughts or emotions I felt during this time will merely be twisted and turned in various ways into a different story of someone else’s imagining, and not of the truth. Which I will tell you now."  

- Chapter one, Matilda tells her side of the story. 

"Perhaps it was my imagination or something else entirely, but I was certain I saw a shadow move across the room and then disappear. I blinked for a moment, as if thinking that would clear my vision and whatever it was that had crossed my path was gone from my vision, but not from my hearing…For I was certain I still heard foot-steps in the distance and, laughter— well to be more specific giggling, like child-like giggling, like whatever had crossed my path had played a prank on me, and was happily giggling in the corner at my reaction." 

- Chapter seventeen, Felix tells his side of the story. 

What's next for Dolls of Wax, Eyes of Glass? 

This novel is going to be the first one that I publish (or self publish), before I publish The Mystery of the Body Thief. This is because this novel doesn't require a ton of world-building in order to get through to the second or third draft. There is micro-worldbuilding but that is with the castle and areas where the characters are. 

A lot of Gothic books have detailed descriptions of where the characters are, and I am pulling from a theme that has been used for a while which is "the house/place where the characters are staying seems alive."  I also found that an issue with the first draft was the pacing. I mostly outlined what was going to happen, but most of it felt like it went too fast. In the finished product the book it is going to go much slower and be more descriptive. I want to spend more time on details like the appearance of the castle. I also want to focus more on how the castle is crumbling. 

In rewriting there will be some things that will remain the same, and also some issues in terms of plot holes and such that need to be fixed. For example I am going to need to add in an extra character to explain a plot point. One element that I wanted to keep some similarity with was the inspiration for the novel which was...my nightmare. 

Also, an aside. Which isn't exactly related to the book itself, is that I plan to use this blog as my author's site when it gets published. This is partly because there is years worth of content about my characters and stories on my blog, and I would love for readers who discover me through my books, to have something to look at or read involving the characters from my stories. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------What's your favorite element of Gothic literature? And have you ever written or read a ghost story? 

-Quinley 

My Art From Inktober 2021 (Part Three)

                                       

                                                       Click here to read part one and part two. 

This is sadly my last Inktober post for 2021, but, I will be doing it again next year, so stay tuned.

                                            Once again, here is the prompt list for Inktober 2021: 

                                                 

                                                    And here are the rest of my drawings:

Day #21 Fuzzy- I interpreted this as having a fuzzy memory. So I drew my character, Horatio, from The Mystery of the Body Thief. Horatio has amnesia, so, I decided to go a little abstract with the design of his fuzzy memories. 

Day #22 Open- I interpreted this as being open to the spirit world. I decided to draw Matilda Moore from Dolls of Wax, Eyes of Glass with a silhouette of ghosts behind her. 

Day #23 Leak- I interpreted this as having magic leak out of a magic lamp. 

                                Day #24 Extinct- I decided to draw a dinosaur. It was very fun to draw. 

                          Day #25 Splat- I decided basically to draw a drawing of an abstract painting. 

#26 Connect- The movie The Mitchells Vs. The Machines was originally called Connect. So I decided to draw the dog from the movie (part of the drawing references a joke that shows up in the movie). 

#27 Spark- A drawing of my character, Riona "Fire," she was the first character that came to mind when I thought about the word "Spark." She can turn back and forth from being a human and a phoenix, so I thought the prompt would fit her. 

#28 Crispy- At first I didn't know what to draw for this prompt, so I looked up the definition of Crispy and one of the descriptions of the word was about bacon. So I decided to draw that. 

#29 Patch- I decided to draw a rag doll. 

I think this doll belongs to one of my characters, but I'm not sure which one. 

So, because of that I'd love to hear your suggestions about which character should own this doll in the comments down below. 😉

#30 Slither-  A drawing of the Norse god, Loki, and the world serpent. 

#31 Risk- This is a drawing of the final chase scene between the Headless Horseman and Ichabod Crane from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. In this drawing Ichabod is going to be taking the risk of crossing the bridge to get away from the horseman. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Which drawing is your favorite? 

-Quinley 

How My NaNoWrimo Was (+ P.2 of the Q&A)

                                                                          Click here to read part one 

                                             Greetings Adventurers!

I thought I should let you, the readers, know I recently did an interview with Elena Denver over at her new blog, Life is a Beautiful Ride. If you would like to check out my interview with her, you can do so here. 

But back to this post. Once again, thank you to everyone for sending in questions for the second part of the Q&A. And for those who participated in NaNoWrimo this year, I hope you had a good NaNoWrimo!  

Even though I will post a synopsis for those who don't know what my novel is about, I do suggest checking out this post about it. It will give you more info about my novel, The Mystery of the Body Thief, as it is the most up to date post about it. 

                                            Synopsis- 

 Genre: Fantasy | Murder Mystery  Series: The 1st 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. 

             How My Writing Went this NaNoWrimo-  

So, my rewriting and editing went pretty well during this NaNoWrimo. I felt as if I made some progress on the story, and though I am far from being done with the second draft, it feels very good to have a part of it done. During this month, I worked partly on my novel in order to get more of it written, and in the second part of the month, I worked on writing a play for a contest. I usually focus on one project per month, but this month I decided to divide my focus. Since I'm not done with the play, I plan to continue working on it into December. 

In terms of world-building, I began working on the clothes of the officers in the police department...

Made using Hero Forge 

Ever since I figured out what the healers'/priests' clothes look like, I have been thinking about designing the clothes for the officers in the Dragon's Province Police Department. I have been thinking about what different officers in different positions wear. Currently, I am using Hero Forge to get the general idea of what they look like. In the future, I do intend to draw them, but I find things like these help. I had also been thinking about modifying the design of the uniform on the left, because I realize how impractical that skirt would be in situations like running after a criminal. Also, I was thinking about making it look a bit more like Tauriel's outfit from The Hobbit, design-wise. 

So, I decided to brainstorm some more and came up with a new design. Here is the modified version of the outfit from the left. It's still not the end product, but it is getting closer:

Made using Hero Forge 

I have also decided that different color schemes in the uniform designate status of the officers. Officers have different positions, which are shown by the color of clothes that they wear (among other things). 

At one point during this NaNoWrimo, my computer crashed, so, it made it very difficult to write. During that period, I spent a lot of time writing on paper and repeatedly using a prompt a writing teacher of mine had given me. At the time, I was struggling to rewrite a scene that I wanted to add more depth to. 

I've also found that writing on paper allows you to be a bit more social with people while you're writing. While I like sitting behind a computer to write (because it doesn't make my hand tired), I feel writing on paper while sitting around a table and talking can also be nice. You can talk about your story sometimes while writing your story or just intermittently engage in conversation. 

It also allows you to be a bit more thoughtful with what you're writing. Often when I am typing, I feel like I am not thinking about every single word as I am writing it. 

(My writing and The Six of Cups). 

The prompt I used, that my teacher gave me, was using Tarot cards to get inspiration. At the beginning of NaNoWrimo, I had used them to figure out which scene to write. But during the time without my computer I decided to use it to add more depth to a scene: in particular, what a character should be thinking of. I ended up getting Six of Cups, which means nostalgia and happy memories. The card really helped me add depth to the scene (which, without spoiling my novel, I can say was about losing someone you loved).  

                                  Q&A

                          Now here is the second part of the Q&A!

If you see any of these [] on a question, that is because I edited it, in order to make it make sense in the post.  (Except for Maya's question. That one I didn't edit). 

                                 Question from Roberta at Offbeat YA  

Like Greg [in the previous post], the "murders happening in multiple kingdoms" premise intrigues me. I assume that you meant different worlds (like human world, elf world, fairy world, etc.)...or did you literally mean "kingdoms"? I know the right word for "worlds" would be "realms", but it still got me wondering.

This is fairly complicated to explain, so I will do my best in describing it. 

There are realms outside the world of the story, and elves and fairies come from these. Elves are somewhat related to fairies, but they are less ethereal, because they are trapped in the physical realm whereas fairies can shift back and forth between the physical and nonphysical. (To outsiders they appear to turn invisible, but in truth they are actually in another dimension.) 

In contrast to elves and fairies, humans, dwarves, and dragons (among other beings too) are believed to have originated in the world where the story takes place. Over the centuries some elves began mixing and living amongst humans (which is the reason why the elves and humans believe in the same gods and goddesses), whereas the fairies tended to distance themselves from humans and other "earthly" beings. 

So, there are still elves, fairies, and otherworldly beings that live in different realms in the world of the story, but most of the murders take place in the "earthly" realm. 

                                                Question from Anonymous: 

What is the weather like in these kingdoms? Is there a connection between our world and theirs? Is it distant in time or place or planet or dimension?

Dragon's Province (the kingdom the characters are in most of the time) goes through all the four seasons. However, there are kingdoms that don't have four seasons and tend to stay either warm or cold most of the time. 

As to whether there is a connection to our world, it isn't an older version of our world (unlike Tolkien's Lord of the Rings), though in the first draft of the story it was...kind of that. (I wanted an excuse to quote Shakespeare.)  But in its current state, I would describe it as being another realm or planet. Because it is a whole different world from where we are, the politics, the religion, literature, and everything that comes out of it is very different. 

                           Question from Grace Thomas at American Girl Dolls Chat Club 

How does Lady Annabelle look like? Are you going to draw a picture of her?

My drawings of Annabelle from 2017 to 2021.

I have actually been drawing Annabelle since 2016, because that was when my first attempt at writing the series started. (But the drawings of her start appearing on my blog in 2017.) If you look in the archives of my blog, there are a lot of drawings of her. 

I've also dressed up as her... 

Me posing as Annabelle (for the profile photo you see on the sidebar). 

I've also made some avatars of her using this Lord of the Rings doll maker, which unfortunately doesn't work anymore because Flash got removed from browsers:

Because I've shown you what she looks like, her appearance is pretty self explanatory, but I'll describe it anyway. Annabelle has red hair that is a little bit past shoulder length, brown eyes, pale skin, and a beauty mark on her left cheek. 

                                             Question from Maya at Pretty Little Scribbles :

    What are some difficulties you've faced (character-wise or plot-wise) while writing your book?

 

I think writing in the third person has been difficult for me. I don't intend to change to first person because I feel it wouldn't work for this particular story, and I feel I need to get better at writing in third person. 

I have been facing two other difficulties in writing. The first is giving each of the characters in the story a unique voice. So far I am succeeding in that, but I worry about the reader blending the characters together if they sound too similar. 

And the second difficulty is the fact that I don't have names for the types of spells in the world and for the gods and goddesses in the pantheon. This will be changed in later drafting partly because this isn't the last draft. But still it is a bit frustrating to have to put stuff down like "fire spell" or "earth goddess" if I do not know what the names of the spells or goddesses are. 

   Approximately how long have you taken to write your book (and where are you now as of NaNo 21?) [ps. it's been really fun reading about your book so far!] 

I'm going to guess that I came up with the idea in 2017 and began writing in 2018.  

(This is because I tend to come up book ideas a year before and take the time to plot before I write). 

I finished writing the first draft on November 5th 2020 and have been working on the second draft since sometime in 2021. (I believe I began rewriting before Camp NaNoWrimo.) 

As for NaNoWrimo 2021, as of right now I have gotten to my word count goal. 😃

 

                                                           Question from Anonymous: 

                              How many kingdoms are there? What lies beyond their borders I wonder??

At the moment, I am still working on the geography of the kingdoms in The Lady Annabelle Mystery Series. I plan to make a map for it eventually; I can't give an exact answer right now but I will have one in the future. 

There are multiple continents in the world, which are each divided up into kingdoms. But the kingdoms  in this story are in a single, large continent (which can be traveled across by horseback, carriage, etc.). 

(Image from Wiki Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Robert_Henri_-_The_Reader_in_the_Forest_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg) 

As for what are beyond some kingdoms' borders. Often (but not always) forests form the border of a kingdom. These forests are usually full of untamed mystical creatures: some are gentle, but others are dangerous.  

Once I create a map for the different kingdoms in The Lady Annabelle Mystery Series, I will do a follow-up post about it. 

                                                    

                                                           Questions from Don:

           Does Annabelle as a detective use Sherlock Holmes techniques to solve crimes?   

While Sherlock Holmes is an awesome detective (and I'm sure she shares some (unintentional) similarities with him), Annabelle has her own ways of solving crimes. 

However, there are two similarities in their practice of solving crimes. They both use deduction and disguises. 

                                    Will [Annabelle] and Horatio be more than friends?

It is possible that they were more than friends. I cannot answer (for spoiler-related reasons) whether in the future they will be more than friends. Horatio believes they were just friends (but given that he has amnesia, he cannot be completely certain). However, other characters in the story have thought at different times that Horatio and Annabelle could have been secretly in love...

                    What if Horatio and Annabelle are brother and sister separated at birth?

That is a possibility too. However, Horatio would have to be an illegitimate half brother of Annabelle if that was true (because Horatio is an elf, and Annabelle is half elf half human). This is a possibility, but I can't really give you a direct answer, because that would remove mystery from the story. 

...And that's the end of the second part of the Q&A. Thank you to everyone again for sending in questions. They were really fun to answer. 

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             How was your NaNoWrimo? And do you like to draw pictures of your characters? 

-Quinley 

My Art from Inktober 2021 (Part Two)

You can read part one here 

                                     Greetings Travelers! 

Here is the second part of "My Art from Inktober 2021" series. This is my first year doing Inktober, and I had a lot fun drawing these. 

Also, as a reminder, if you would like to get a question or questions in for part two of the Q&A for my novel, you can ask them here. 

Other than that, let's get on to the post! As I said before in the previous post, this series will be divided up into segments of ten drawings per post, with eleven being the final one. 

                                          Here's the prompt list for this year's Inktober: 

And here are more of my drawings from Inktober:

Day #11 Sour, I decided to draw a Sour Patch Kid candy along with several other candies (some you would probably get from Trick or Treating and others probably not).  

               

             Unlike the other drawings this one did not have a pencil sketch drawn under it, this was entirely done in makers. 

Day #12 Stuck, I decided to draw Rapunzel stuck in her tower. I had several other ideas of what to draw for this prompt, but in the end I decided to draw Rapunzel. 

Day #13 Roof, I drew a house in a silhouette, I decided to make the house look eerie. 

Day #14 Tick, I decided to draw a list with tick marks, and I went the fantastical route making it a Fairy Tale knight's to-do list.

Day #15 Helmet, Here I drew the Greek god, Hermes. He has a very cool looking helmet and I thought that would be perfect for the prompt. 

Day #16 Compass, I decided to draw something "piratey."

Day #17 Collide, I had an idea for a crossover of sorts between the characters Elm (left) and Oceana (right). (these characters are in the same world, just different stories unlike the crossover I drew in Using Polls to Create Art.) Oceana used to be a Naiad and knew Elm, they would practice singing together. Elm and Oceana would try and figure out where the magic of Elm's singing voice came from (since Elm doesn't know...yet), so they were friends, and then Oceana got cursed by the goddess Demeter and got turned into a siren. 

Though it is very hard for them to meet each other again, with Oceana sinking ships and all, I thought it would be cool if their worlds collided reuniting the two of them. 

Day #18 Moon, Here's a drawing of the Greek goddess Artemis, the goddess of the hunt and moon. I thought the prompt "Moon" was fitting for her. Also the character designs for Artemis and Hermes, are from my animation project Pandora's Box. 

Day #19 Loop, I decided to do a yoga pose that reminded me of a "loop." Also the whole setting is based on a memory I had of doing yoga during winter in a warm yoga studio, where it was warm and cozy inside, and really cold outside. This felt really nice to me, so the drawing was based on that. 

I also kept the color palette limited, and used mostly blues, grays, and browns. With a little bit of purple and gold, but not as much. 

Day #20 Sprout, For this I was inspired by "Jack and the Beanstalk". 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Which drawing is your favorite? And what is your favorite yoga pose and/or Greek god/goddess?

-Quinley