The Jolly Genre Jubilee Tag + The HonsTEA Tag

So, I decided to do another double tag post. Because both these tags involve writing or have questions about it, I thought it made sense to include them in the same post.

For the first tag: The Jolly Genre Jubilee Tag, I was tagged by McKayla at Tales of a Triple Threat. Thank you, McKayla. :D 

The Rules-

-Thank the person who tagged you

-Leave a link back to the creator 

-Answer the questions honestly, and include at least one gif of a pelican 

-Tag 3+ friends to do this tag on their blog 

(Gif from Giphy) 

I misread the rule at first and for some reason thought you wanted to find a gif of a seagull (and was going to reference "Seagulls Stop It Now"). Then I realized after I had found a really cute seagull gif that you actually wanted one of a pelican....

                                                       So, anyway let's begin: 

What is your favorite genre of fiction to write?

I have two genres I write in a lot: Fantasy and Gothic.

 

I have been writing Fantasy for a very long time. My first novels were in this genre. Specifically, the sub-genre of Fantasy I tend to write the most is High Fantasy. I love spending time creating different worlds, species, and magic systems. 

I started writing Gothic more recently, and I am enjoying it very much. I am writing my first Gothic novel right now, titled Dolls of Wax, Eyes of Glass. 

What genre would you NEVER get caught writing.....EVER?

(Felix is against the genre of Gothic (even though he is in a Gothic novel)...So, I felt this was fitting for this question)

I think YA fiction. Not that I have anything against it, but right now I can't imagine myself writing a story in that genre. Partly because I tend to write stories with older protagonists (or younger protagonists). However, one day I could write a story with young adult main characters, but at the moment I don't have plans to. 

I also don't want to write a book that is romance only. I usually like books that have a subplot of romance, but don't have the book centered completely on that.

What fictional genre feels most like home to you?

It's a mix of High Fantasy and Gothic for me. I like them both for different reasons, and I find them comforting for different reasons. 

I like High Fantasy because I can escape into different worlds of my own imagination, and I can imagine what it would be like to have magic or be another creature (that isn't human). 

What I find comforting about Gothic literature is that I can make myself scared in a fun way, and not scared or stressed in a real way. This is important to me with the world being so unpredictable right now.

If you could transform your life into any genre of your choosing, what would it be?

(Elm (left) and Oak (right) who are characters from a Fantasy story of mine)

High Fantasy for sure! I want to live in a world where I am a shapeshifter or an elf, where magic is everywhere, and where adventures await. It just seems super fun and something I would really like to do. (At this point, this answer probably isn't surprising to you.)

What genre does your real life resemble at the moment?

Interestingly, my life is like a Gothic novel at the moment. There is a lot of fear regarding the unknown, and everything is a little bit unpredictable, so of course it would fall into the gothic genre.  

(Image from Goodreads, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/89724.We_Have_Always_Lived_in_the_Castle?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=3jautJsjTN&rank=1)

 I would say in terms of Gothic stories We Have Always Lived in the Castle is what it closely resembles.  I would have preferred it to be like The Picture of Dorian Gray or Frankenstein. But nope, my life happens to be like We Have Always Lived in the Castle. 

What's a genre you're interested in writing, even though you've never written it before?

Science fiction, I like Star Trek so I've always wanted to write a novel in that genre, however, I haven't gotten around to writing one yet. 

What genre is your most recent plot bunny and where did it come from?

I have two plot bunnies that have been hanging around. They are...

The third book in the Lady Annabelle Mystery Series. I had an idea for a third book in my head for a while, and now I finally know what is going to happen in it. It is a Fantasy/Murder Mystery. The novel was inspired by a mixture of different songs, though I had a bit of an idea in my head for what should happen before inspiration struck. 

The second is The Haunted Sketchbook, which is Gothic and Historical Fiction. It (like Dolls of Wax, Eyes of Glass) was inspired by a nightmare. And I plan to write it once I finish Dolls of Wax, Eyes of Glass. I also plan to delve more into the details of the story in later posts. 

How many genres have you written thus far in your writing journey?

Be prepared, the list is long...

Fantasy, murder mysteries/crime fiction, fan fiction (in comic form), super hero (also in comic form), gothic, historical fiction, romance (as a subplot), contemporary, humor/satire, retellings, poetry, a little bit of science fiction (if we count my numerous fanfics of star trek), ghost stories, spiritual (All Is Not Lost For All Begin Again is in that genre) and so many more. 

I tag... 

Elena 

Maya

Skye

Lanie  

And anyone who wants to do it. 

the questions (for copy and pasting purposes): 

1. What is your favorite genre of fiction to write?

2. What genre would you NEVER get caught writing.....EVER?

3. What fictional genre feels most like home to you?

4. If you could transform your life into any genre of your choosing, what would it be?

5. What genre does your real life resemble at the moment?

6. What's a genre you're interested in writing, even though you've never written it before?

7. What genre is your most recent plot bunny and where did it come from?

8. How many genres have you written thus far in your writing journey?

For the Second Tag: The HonsTEA Tag, I was tagged by McKayla at Tales From a Triple Threat and by Elizabeth from Autumn Ink. Thank you, McKayla and Elizabeth. :) The tag was created by Nie at From Nie.  

                                                                         The badge: 

                                                                     The rules- 

- no lies allowed. if an answer is too shameful to expose you may substitute the answer with a gif/image of someone drinking tea. 

- there are optional bonus additions to questions but these are not for the faint of heart. if you complete the tag having answered every question + the bonus additions (no gifs used), you are dubbed a certified tea chugger, and you deserve a badge to show the world that you are not afraid of a steaming hot cup of TRUTH. tag at least one other person (a tea party with just one is not very fun. trust me.) untagged persons are more than welcome to fill it out as well (nothing cooler than crashing a tea party). 

     what is a 'bad' (generally disliked) movie that you actually love?

(Image from Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantastic_Beasts%3A_The_Crimes_of_Grindelwald#/media/File:Fantastic_Beasts_-_The_Crimes_of_Grindelwald_Poster.png)

This is generally disliked movie because the lore of Harry Potter was altered and distorted. Since I had only read the first five books of Harry Potter, it didn't bother me or affect my enjoyment of the film.  In fact, I viewed the movies as a series unrelated to Harry Potter franchise. (I also enjoyed the first Fantastic Beasts film, which is why I wanted to see the second). 

In regards to the issues involving the characters and lore, I didn't even know who Nagini was until I looked the character up later, so  I was unaware of the controversy about what Rowling did to the character. My first thought was that she was a new character, who happened to be able to turn into a snake, not that she was going to be Voldemort's (evil) pet later...😬  But if you think about it hard, there are so many things wrong with Rowling's choice to do that with Nagini....

(Image from Pinterest, https://www.pinterest.com/pin/the-niffler-is-back-as-you-saw-in-the-trailer-and-the-niffler-may-have-babies-eddie-redmayne--459719074460137904/)

But ignoring those elements, I honestly only watched (and rewatched) the movie for Newt Scamander (who is one of my favorite fictional characters), the (baby) Nifflers, and the other beasts. There were some things about the movie that did bother me, but it is very fun to watch nonetheless. But I should say, I don't agree with or support Rowling's recent controversial behavior. I just like the Fantastic Beast movie series.

                             what is your most shocking reading habit?

     Eating snacks while reading. However, I only do this with books I own, and I make sure to wipe off my hands before turning a page. Annotating could also be considered a shocking habit. In academic settings it is accepted, but not everyone approves of writing in a book. 

                              tell us the number one lie you write in your posts.

        I...don't have an answer for that. Not that it is too revealing to share what lie I could have had. But the only lie (which wasn't really a lie) I can think of, is me saying "it reminds me of something that happened to me last summer" in this post as opposed to saying "it reminds me of my surgery that happened last summer." So not really a lie. 🤷 Just me being overly ambiguous about what happened that summer. (I wonder if the readers who read that post when it first came out had wild ideas as to what actually happened when they read it because I was so ambiguous about it, just curious...) 

(Ophelia drinking tea to wake up in the morning)

                          So I shall have to post a drawing of someone drinking tea...

tell us the worst character name you've ever thought up. {bonus: share a character name you find ridiculous in a book/movie}

(Lauralas and George...Totally not Legolas and Gimli)

This isn't so much the worst name as a purposeful play on the name Legolas Greenleaf. But it still sounds silly. It's Lauralas Greenfield. The character, was a comic relief character within a group of comic relief characters in my first (finished) novel, Tess Short (book one). They were created both to be a parody of the Fellowship of the Ring and to be comic relief from the stressful action. 

And answer to the bonus question. This is not a bad name, but, I always (even though I hadn't read or watched Game of Thrones) found the name "Jon Snow" to be a little odd, because it's so ordinary. Every time I heard it (from people who liked the show) I always thought it was spelled "John Snow." So there is nothing wrong with the name, it just seems out of place in a Fantasy setting. 

                         what is the real reason you procrastinate writing your work in progress?

         Generally because I have schoolwork or an (academic) deadline I have to complete. It isn't really procrastination, just a need to get the stuff that is more important done first. 

Also sometimes I have other non-writing related projects I'm working on, like videos I film of myself acting (Shakespearian acting, improv, etc.), or animation projects (for example an animated short film), or even writing a song. So once again, it's not really procrastination when it comes to working on those, but, it is sometimes the reason why I am not writing my current novel at the moment. 

                                             what is a genre of music you secretly love?

(Elm (left) and Sebastian (right) performing a song together) 

Everyone on this blog knows I enjoy this music style, but I do not (usually) tell this people who aren't on my blog this. So, this isn't a secret or a surprise to you, but to the rest of the world it is... 

So I like a lot of folk music with Celtic and/or medieval influences. My favorite music tends to be inspired by mythology, folklore, or a fantasy story of some kind. Since it is hard to look up those exact words on a Google Search to find the music I am talking about, I am going to give you examples: 

And that is not to say that I am ashamed that I listen to it, I am happy that I found a music style that I love, but I have gotten some weird reactions from people when I tell them what music I listen to and that it isn't mainstream music. 

if you're a plotter, what do you really think of pansters? and if you're a panster, what do you really think of plotters?

Honestly, I tried pantsing before and failed at it, so I am very amazed and in awe of people who can do that because I cannot. I get really stuck if I do not plan ahead for what is to happen next. Though, I am usually very good at improvising on stage, on paper it's much, much harder. 

share at least three lines of dialogue from one of your first writing projects {bonus: give us the good stuff. your most gruesome butchering of the English language)

I will be sharing two for the first question, from my first ever novels:  One that was just called "my novel" and was never finished and another Tess Short (Book One), which was my first completed novel (first draft-wise not editing wise). Since I have really two first novels, I thought I'd share excerpts from both. Here is the opening (unedited prologue) for Tess Short (Book One): 

Mr.short was considered a normal Hobbit which means not going out on adventures with elves , fairies or dwarfs or any creatures of any sort. Until he did , which I may say is a story for anther day. 

“I don’t understand why he would want to go on a adventure” said Mr.Largefoot. 

“Adventures are a waste of time also” he added. 

“ and You miss a lot of meals…” added Ms.hairyfoot. folding her laundry into a pile. “But I can’t see why he would run away with that elf like that” 

I do actually want to rewrite this novel, given that I really like the characters from it and want to make it less of a...Hobbit rip off. I'm not sure when I will rewrite it, though. Sometime would be nice; maybe in the future. 

And then the novel which I simply called "My Novel" (which was unfinished). I stopped part of the way through (because I had writer's block), but it was the story Oak was originally from. Once again this is unedited: 

the mist was around the rocks of the beach you could hear the soft sound of a flute playing. but out of the peace and quite a dark looking ship came in. the flute playing stopped, the girl who was the holding the flute got up from were she was sitting, 

“What is that doing here?” Delphi said. 

she could hear voices inside, she climbed onto the ship, “Now were should I take over first??” a man who seemed to be wearing a crown, but she couldn’t make it out. 

...The king was not very stealthy in regards to taking over the kingdom...At all. 🤦 (I'm pretty sure he rolled a natural 1 on stealth).  Also question (to my younger writer self): "If Delphi is half siren and there are probably other sirens around, how did the king not get lured to his death?" I mean, if he did get lured to his death, all the characters' problems would be solved...easily. 

                                                            * * * * 

And for the bonus question, even though I shared two, I felt spelling-wise this was hilarious. This is from The Case of Confusion, the novel that didn't end up working but introduced me to the characters who ended up being in my current novel (The Mystery of the Body Thief):

"I thought we had solved it!!” said Phillip. 

“Well..How could I be sure, and it wasn’t me it was Time” said Annabelle. 

“Now your blaming the most famous dective in the world!!” said Phillip.

“Actually I think he is only famous in this kingdom not very much anywhere else” 

“Well still your blaming a famous Dective!!” protested Phillip.

I spelled "detective" wrong twice. So, anyway that is all the snippets I will be sharing from my past novels for now. 

                        tell us the title & artist of the last song you listened to. 

The last song I listened to was: "No One" by Miracle of Sound ft. Karliene . 

                   which beloved book/movie character do you dislike & why?

                   I have a few book characters I really dislike, but I will go with this one...

(Image from Twitter, https://twitter.com/HorstPhoto/status/540959859043500032)

  Anna Karenina. I really wanted to like the book, because I liked other classic Russian books like Crime and Punishment. But I could not enjoy Anna Karenina, because I loathed the title character (and her adulterous-horse-racing boyfriend, Vronsky) with a burning passion. And I just couldn't sympathize with her at all...I somehow could sympathize with Raskolnikov, who is a murderer, but not her. 

                       tell us the title & topic of a post you have left in draft. 

                                                 "There is no 'correct' way to be creative" 

   This was me basically writing a rant about "set down rules" for creativity, and how there is no one way to do something creative. I may actually revise that post and post it sometime in the future, though in its current state, I can't really post it.  

what is a book you pretend you've read/would like to read but know you never will? {bonus: share a time when claiming you've read a classic/well known book didn't end well}

I do not have an answer for this one because...I tend to read a lot of classic books and I know I am going to eventually read one in the future. I didn't think I would ever read Dracula (when I was younger) and I am currently reading it, so...I can't really make plans for what I won't ever read in the future....

Also I've never really claimed to read a book I hadn't, I've had strong opinions about books even if I hadn't read them (but had read a summary), but never pretended to have read them. 

(Matilda drinking tea)

So I guess, I'll have to post an image of someone drinking tea....Since I didn't quite exactly answer the question. 

tell us the title & topic of the most embarrassing post you've ever written. {bonus: include. the. link.}

I don't really find my old posts embarrassing so much as funny (sometimes). I do look back at my older posts just to see how I viewed different things when I was younger.

(A drawing of a nameless evil villainess which was included in the post) 

 I wrote a post the first year I ever did NaNoWriMo called November Novel writing!! (and other fall things). Not only did I talk about the writing I was doing in it (though never talking about what I was writing, just that I was writing), but I posted a drawing and I also included a short book review in it. In that post I say (I highlighted the repetition): 

"Inkheart by cornelia funke it's very good so far. the story is very interesting and complex. The characters are very interesting and have very interesting characteristics. I also love that the characters talk about books."

I didn't really describe why the characters were interesting, I just repeated that they and the story were interesting over and over again. Also,  I find this line to be so funny (once again, I highlighted the repetition): 

"mostly I have been writing and writing, and more writing." 

I for some reason find this funny. I mean it's not wrong: I was doing a lot of writing. I just wish I had told people what I was writing. Though, I suppose to say it now. I was writing the first attempt at The Lady Annabelle Mystery Series, which I called The Case of Confusion. That attempt didn't really end up working, but in the end I created The Mystery of the Body Thief, which did end up working. 

(The drawing of the nameless villain has nothing to do with the story I was writing. I should add, I just included it in the original post...because).  

I tag: 

Mary Kate

Gauri 

Maith

Annika 

And anyone who wants to do it. 

the questions (for copy and pasting purposes): 

1. what is a 'bad' (generally disliked) movie that you actually love?

2. what is your most shocking reading habit?

3. tell us the number one lie you write in your posts.

4. tell us the worst character name you've ever thought up. {bonus: share a character name you find ridiculous in a book/movie}

5. what is the real reason you procrastinate writing your work in progress?

6. what is a genre of music you secretly love?

7. if you're a plotter, what do you really think of pansters? and if you're a panster, what do you really think of plotters?

8. share at least three lines of dialogue from one of your first writing projects {bonus: give us the good stuff. your most gruesome butchering of the English language)

9.  tell us the title & artist of the last song you listened to. 

10.  which beloved book/movie character do you dislike & why?

11. tell us the title & topic of a post you have left in draft. 

12. what is a book you pretend you've read/would like to read but know you never will? {bonus: share a time when claiming you've read a classic/well known book didn't end well}

13. tell us the title & topic of the most embarrassing post you've ever written. {bonus: include. the. link.}

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------What is your favorite genre to write (or read)? And do you have a genre of music you secretly love? 

-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 NaNoWrimo Novel 2021: The Mystery of the Body Thief (+ P.1 of the Q&A)

                                                   

                                                  Greetings Adventurers! 

I am participating in NaNoWrimo this November, in order to work on the second draft of my novel, The Mystery 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: 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. 

               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. 

                         Questions from Elena Denver at A Handful of Stories: 

     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). 

You can also listen it to here

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.

                                  Questions from Greg at Book Haven 

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. 

                        Questions from Grace Thomas at  American Girl Dolls Chat Club 

    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.  

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Are you doing NaNowrimo this November? If you were to have powers, what type of powers would you like to have? 

-Quinley