#TBDWIP

[moondust-bard]

Happy STS! Which character do you struggle to write the most? Which character do you find the easiest to write?

Happy STS (late) to you, too!

This is a tough one for me. So many of my characters come to me intuitively. I just sort of get them, you know? They’re fully fledged, layered and complex beings in my mind. I know this isn’t true for every writer, and it sure wasn’t always this way for me. Only in the last two years or so did my understanding of my own characters start to ‘click’ in a more concrete way.

In The Bloody Divine (TBD) two of the three PoV characters—Vivaine and Evanor to be specific— ‘click’ for me. They’re living, breathing, thinking people—or, at least, as living as fictional characters can be. Mordelia took me longer to figure out,—probably because she’s more guarded, secretive, and stoic. I can already tell I’ll be doing a bulk of the editing in her chapters. So excited for that 😭😂😭

💚Thanks for the ask!💚

[moondust-bard]

happy sts! how would your characters react to quarantine and what would they be getting up to?

Here’s my late reply. Sorry about that! 😬I’ve been in a bit of a weird headspace for the last week or two. Writing-related fun time has been feeling...less fun. Anyway! Here’s how the girls would behave in a quarantine:

Mordelia has no idea there’s a quarantine issued until well after the isolation period has begun. She was barricaded in her makeshift laboratory for a week straight and forgot to leave to do normal human things—like socialize or take in the news. Her girl gang had to drag her out and inform her of the dire circumstances. She nodded solemnly, thanked them, and slammed the door in their faces. Back into the lab she goes! No infectious germs allowed near her delicate chemicals.

Evanor escaped into the woods each to relieve her pent up frustrations with a certain someone 😈. She’s also regularly getting drunk and throwing hissy fits to torment the servants. She’s not the nicest person, honestly.

Vivaine refuses to stay in quarantine. Instead, she’s down in the village tending the sick and calming frightened children. She’s also not slept more than a three hours at a time for a fortnight because her charges need her “more than she needs sleep”.

💜Thanks for the ask! 💜

[moondust-bard]

🖊️

Vivaine was created long before The Bloody Divine existed as a wip. Originally, she was a part of the main cast in another story, but that one got scrapped back in 2018. I still really wanted to use her in a story, though, and it pained me to abandon her character indefinitely. She was so vivid and alive in my mind; Vivaine was one of those characters who walked into my brain fully formed. I’m sure my fellow creatives know how rare and wonderous such an occurance was—how special.

And then Summer 2019 brought The Bloody Divine to life, and I just knew Vivaine had found her new story. She’s always been a priestess. However, instead of a servant to a stern male air god in that scrapped story, Vivaine now serves a serene moon goddess in The Bloody Divine. I think it’s an improvement!

[moondust-bard]

NaNoWriMo 2019 Project Introduction

Announcing my NaNoWriMo 2019 project!

This November I will be working toward finishing the zero draft of my long-standing wip The Bloody Divine. This project is a young adult dark fantasy with light horror elements.

If you like:

• Charming demon gods

• cunning and desperate young women

• blood bargains

• cursed forests

• twisted sisterhoods

• family curses

...this story may be for you.

I plan to post updates on my twitter—and possibly on tumblr, if there’s any interest in that.

What are your plans for NaNoWriMo 2019?

[moondust-bard]

What would push your OC to drink at work, if anything?

😂😂😂

I love this

Evanor drinks A LOT

And since her “job” is technically being a Count’s wife and gestating his demon spawn, let’s just say drinking “at work” is part of the job. She’s a big fan of red wine.

As for Mordelia, well, she abhors alcohol. Her father’s drunken rages warned her off spirits at an early age.

[moondust-bard]

4, 15, and 21 for the bloody divine, and 2, 10, & 14 for lost soul's night! ❤️

THE BLOODY DIVINE

4 what’s the time period and location in which the novel takes place?

It is set in a time similar in tone to the middle ages, in a country modeled after Romania.

15 describe each character’s daily outfit.

I’ll stick to our two PoV characters, because this book has about a dozen characters or more.

Mordelia wears dark, high-necked gowns made from thick, stifling fabrics and smart black boots.

Evanor uses her physical beauty to her advantage. Her gowns are always flattering shades of green, blue, and pink, the silhouettes accentuating her figure. Extravagant embroidery and lacework adorns the sleeves, hems, and necklines. She likes to appear delicate and feminine in order to disarm her audience.

21 which character is the best liar? worst?

Clarissant, one of Mordelia’s maids and coven sisters, is an atrocious liar. She’s the youngest of the six, naive, and timid. Her tells are blatant.

Evanor lies almost as often as she breathes. Her words usually carry some unspoken meaning or twisted manipulation.

LOST SOULS’ NIGHT

2. pick one sight, smell, sound, feel, and taste to describe the aesthetic of your novel.

I’ll answer this for LSN book one only because the aesthetics for each of the five are vastly different.

The expanse of glistening white marble buildings on the horizon, the sight as imposing as it is glorious

The coppery bite of fresh blood, the scent thick and cloying in the tropical air

The echoing roar of feral beasts, a sound rife with barely contained fury

The sour-sweet taste of honeyed pear wine, the tart tang of springtime and wealth

10 what’s a line of dialogue you’re particularly proud of?

Mostly because I love Ashaia:

“This was not my choice; it was my duty—to our family, to our ancestors, to our people’s legacy. I am but one among hundreds. My choices matter little when my actions affect a nation. “

14 which character’s name do you like the most?

This is a hard one. I am really proud of all of the PoV characters’ names. I struggled to name those six girls; it drove me nuts. Simply because hers was the last to be decided upon, I’m going to go with Stellena. If I’m not mistaken, she’s had the most name changes. Thank the writing gods I finally settled on one.

Thank you for the ask Allyn!

[moondust-bard]

Find the Word Tag

Thank you to @fdehbiwrites and @antique-symbolism for tagging me in this!

My words were pale, wind, sun, nature, and tension. Here we go!

TENSION

A sizzling heat more undesirable and hideous than that scorching Vivaine’s fingers spreads across her cheeks. If only her High Priestess were here to witness Vivaine’s latest failures. What would her mentor say to Vivaine then? Vivaine’s eyes slide shut once more as lines of tension stretch along her spine, snapping it straight and unbent.

SUN

They’d risen with the sun and gone about their chores, recited their prayers at dawn, and picked at their breakfasts of porridge and blackberries in a smothering cloud of silence and bowed heads.

WIND

Curling ribbons of blustery wind twined through the bone white yew trees lining the courtyard, their rattling branches scratching against the temple’s glass and stone facade, besieging the grey courtyard with dead leaves and splinters of brittle bark.

PALE

A pale and trembling hand shoots out from beneath the furs and cushions piled atop the colossal four-poster bed, halting the maid before she can draw any closer.

NATURE

Anguished wails and disbelieving shrieks erupt around the Great Hall, echoing off the white marble floors and bouncing between the towering columns. But High Priestess Amarisa, that stalwart, ever-present force of nature, does not raise herself from the ground, nor does she attempt to console her charges. Instead she collapses into herself and joins her sisters in their desolation.

I tag @sarmarble @the-midwrite-oil @canallynwrite and @wolvesofarcadia

Your words are: Blood, black, song, speak, and fury

[moondust-bard]

That is stressful. For your camp nano character ask: character of your choice, 7, 17, 27?

Thank you for sending these!

These are answered for my NaNo project The Bloody Divine

7. What type of bender (Avatar: The Last Airbender) would they be? Mordelia is definitely a firebender. Evanor is an earthbender. Vivaine is an airbender.

17. Are they a night owl, morning bird, or a mix of the two? This one is a challenge. All three wake up early. But if they had a choice, I think Vivainw would be the only true night owl.

27. What is this character’s love language? Vivaine’s is acts of service. Evanor’s is physical touch. Mordelia’s is quality time.

[moondust-bard]

us, the vvitch, hereditary, & get out for the spooky asks!

Answering these for the three PoV characters of my NaNo 2019 project, The Bloody Divine, a young adult dark fantasy book.

Us

how would your OC outsmart their own doppelganger?

Well Vivaine would probably befriend hers, they’d both trip over something, and fall off a mountainside or something. Mordelia would sneak up on hers, strangle her into unconsciousness, then bury her alive on a moonless night. Evanor would opt for good, old fashioned poison in the wine, one to which she’s cultivated tolerance—basically that one scene from Princess Bride. My girls are wonderful humans, as you can see.

The Vvitch

is your OC superstitious? If so, about what?

As a priestess, Vivaine has superstitions based in religion. Too bad they’re all spoilers! Let’s just say new moons make her uneasy, and leave it there.

Mordelia is a woman of science. Superstitions? No, thanks, she says.

Evanor has a few she believes in because she was raised with them. For instance, she can’t stand dead, wilted roses in her vicinity.

Hereditary

is there anything significant that’s been passed down to your OC (heirlooms, genetics, curses etc.)?

Vivaine has an amulet. Mordelia has a certain generic...tendancy. 😈

Evanor looks just like her mother, and also has many of her possessions as keepsakes.

Get Out

what is your OC willing to do to protect themselves and the ones they love?

Evanor is willing to give her own life for her brother’s—or so she says.

Mordelia loves very few, but she’d do anything for the truth—maybe even commit heresy.

Vivaine has a big heart. She would sacrifice much for a stranger in need and offer her own life for those she loves. Self-sacrifice is kind of a problem with her.

[moondust-bard]

3, 6, & 20 for the novel prep asks☺️✨

3. What other stories inspire your novel?

Ooh, let me tell you, because there are many!

* Dracula

* the tale of the demon countess of Anjou

* Persephone and Hades

* Artemis and Apollo’s adventures in greek mythology

* the european witch trials

* The Labyrinth starring David Bowie

* Rumplestiltskin

—and I’m sure I’m forgetting some

6. Who is their closest ally? 

So The Bloody Divine has two PoV characters, Mordelia and Evanor.

Mordelia actually has quite a few allies—an entire coven of them, one might say 😈 Her closest ally for most of her life is the stable boy. Sorin is her childhood best friend. After [redacted], her closest ally becomes Sorin’s cousin, Sigrid.

Evanor isn’t one to put much stock in keeping allies. The person she trusts most is her younger brother Gadriel, though.

20. Tell us about your usual writing method! 

Ha! Usual writing method! Do I have one of those?

I tend to give in to whatever the story wants. Sometimes that means a thorough outline and drafting chronologically. Sometimes it means creating brief sentences starters and prompts per scene and writing whichever appeals to me at that moment. For this story, the latter is what I’vr found myself doing most often. This story is pure chaos, which both scares and excites me.

Thank you to Merielle, the human sunflower, for taking pity on me and sending in these asks!

[moondust-bard]

💛💚 for the writer wip asks?

Thank you for the ask!

Aaaand since you didn’t specify a wip 😈

I SHALL DO ALL OF THEM

YAAAY 😈😈😈

💛: what is the title based on?

Zenith Code: This title is taken from a government-operated program’s secret formula for genetically-enhanced super-human children. The formula is called the zenith code.

Witherwoods: And this one is literally named after the forest into which the main character flees while being chased by what she assumes are bloodthirsty monsters. Obviously I name my books after nouns found in said books.

The Bloody Divine: This one, to no one’s surprise, is pulled from one of names given to a group of badass undead-dead hotties led by an equally attractive demon god.

Lost Souls’ Night Saga: I’ve definitely revealed the origins of LSN’s title on here before. Lost Souls’ Night is a magical event once believed fiction, during which magic users relinquished their souls and their magic for [redacted] purposes.

💚: how long have you been working on it?

Zenith Code: I came up with the premise in 2017, but only really started figuring out the details late into 2018. I have an outline ready to go as soon as I’m ready to commit to writing it. A few early chapters exist— sadly, they’re not the best.

Witherwoods: Again, the outline has been ready since late 2018. I came up with the idea around Halloween of last year. I wanted a spooky, witchy book for NaNo. I ended up choosing a different NaNoWriMo wip, but this one is still one of my favorite in-progress wips.

The Bloody Divine: This is my newest wip, coming into the world early this year. I blame @sarmarble for its inceprion. She encouraged me to give in to the darkness, so I did—and here we are: a spooky, bloody book idea.

Lost Souls’ Night Saga: This baby’s been in my life since 2012. Yes, you read that right. It looked veeery different back then. I’ve gone through 3-4 outlines and 2 drafts since then, only to realize all of them were wrong. In this latest evolution I’ve got various disconnected scenes drafted. I can tell it’s still missing something, so LSN is on hold until after November. I need thinkin’ time.

[moondust-bard]

For The Bloody Divine: 💜, 💞, & 💟. I'll keep it short this time around, in case tumblr is hungry still:p

Aw, now I wanna now what your full message said.

I’m sure it was a lovely message. Curse you, Tumblr!

Anyway!

On we go with the ask.

💜 where are you in the writing process?

I am fast drafting my zero draft—or, more precisely, bleeding into a scrivener document. The current goal is to get what exists in my head onto the page as quickly as possible, letting the creative frenzy drive me. It’s going fairly well. I plan to polish and continue drafting for NaNoWriMo 2019.

💞 which future scene are you looking forward to writing?

Oh, I knew the answer to this one right away. [redacted]’s death scene is going to be so satisfying to write, all dramatic and intense and loaded with slow-burn goodness. It’s also one of the final scenes, so it’ll be a few weeks before I get to it.

💟 how is your style different in this work compared to previous ones? has it more shifted for the story or just developed in general?

My style is gotten darker and richer for this story —if that makes sense at all. Lots of latent violence, manipulation, and weightier themes. I’m holding nothing back, smoothing out none of the sharper edges, and pushing the characters to be as twisty and morally grey as they wish. One thing I can say about this story: not one character is guiltless. Each of them is desperate for something—and that desperation makes monsters of them.