#Moryann

[moryann-stolen-stories]

Moryann Sailor's Rhyme/Proverb

So, I'm not working on Stolen right now, but as I was falling asleep last night I got a little rhyme pop into my head. Which is how almost all my poetry arrives, and why I'm useless at writing it consistently.

But this one was super cute, and it fit with the coinage I've worldbuilt for Moryann (copper bits, silver strikes, gold coins, platinum pieces). It also helps to explain why beachcombing is a common job, in coastal towns, for the poor of Moryann.

I'd also love to include it in a prequel short story I've been toying with for this series too, so maybe it'll make it's way into a book eventually. For now it's just a worlddbuilding fragment I wanted to share.

Sea travel is common in Moryann, so when Sailors spot stormclouds on the horizon they'll mutter this under their breath, and toss the appropriate 'payment' into the sea.

~

Toss a bit toward the beach,

and a strike into the surf.

Give a gold up to the ocean,

lest she come for you herself.

[author-a-holmes]

Happy Blorbo Blursday! Would you tell me about your smartest OC? How do they use their talents? Do they suffer any repercussions because of their smarts?

Hi! Hello <3 Thank you for the questions <3

If we're talking intellectual smarts, then my answer has to be Myris Orinan from my Stolen Stories series. He's a member of the inner circle of the thieves guild of Antillune.

Also, he's a bona fide genius.

Myris is a forest elf, and he's also a wizard, who has trained, and mastered, all four elements. That's rare enough, but because he's capable of using all four elements, he's also able to cast the 5th element, healing magic.

Myris knows over half a dozen languages. Due to some torture in his past that damaged his vocal chords, Myris is non-verbal, but that didn't stop him creating his own language using hand-symbols. He painstakingly taught this language to his husband, Tanar, and many of the other members of the inner circle.

Recently, he's put his talents to use in research. He's an academic at heart, and is never more happy than when he's studying a new topic. His most recent area of study is Alchemy, because it was an alchemical substance that damaged his throat, and he believes if he can master the use of alchemy, he may be able to craft or create a cure.

As for suffering repercussions due to his intelligence, he has very few true friends. While his vast knowledge always had him as a bit of an outcast, his thoughts and ideas too complex for many to follow, Myris has found that since losing his ability to speak verbally and explain his concepts directly to the listener, the people he can count amongst his friends has also dwindled.

He's delighted when my main character Stella is not only interested in his work, but is willing to learn his own personal language to help the two of them communicate more easily.

[sublimegiverpanda]

🌊

...,

[author-a-holmes]

Hi detective love

Pick one (or a few) ocs and describe a typical outfit. And, of you're feeling fancy, a nicer outfit for some event. Reference photos are optional.

Hello Sleepy, darling <3

How. How did you know that I'm actively working on compiling Artist Reference Sheets for my characters right now? :D

I don't actually have any set up for my Fey Touched project (yet!) but I do have some for Stolen, specifically Stella and Reilly.

And, since I know you've expressed an interest in Stella before, lemme share some of her preferred outfits...

Shoving it below a cut because it's image heavy <3

Stella Korazon (Stolen)

By choice, Stella dresses for simplicity and effectiveness. She dresses in muted browns to help her blend in, and likes clothes with pockets to keep her thief tools easily to hand.Her boots are her most expensive item, because she travels across Moryann. They have to be sturdy, hard wearing, comfortable, and also silent when she’s breaking into people's homes.

Her leather trousers are also well worn with travel. Stella’s pants are laced closed, and also have lacing on the lower half of the leg so they can be adjusted around boots, or for riding.

For shirts, Stella is partial to long tunic style shirts. Usually in linen or wool, and still in muted tones although she sometimes departs from brown to other natural dyed colours such as greys, greens, or blues.

Her tunics are usually long enough to hit the pubic bone/half way down the ass. The sleeves will be narrow, or tight. She can’t have loose sleeves when picking pockets. The reference image below has open sections on the sleeves, but they might also be solid fabric. Her shirts are really the area Stella has a variety of styles.

The neckline could be wide, as in the reference image, or it might be close to the neck, or it might be v-neck and laced.

Stella also wears a thin brown leather belt. It’s long, and wraps around her waist twice, before being tied off in a loop-like knot.

Attached to her belt, usually on the left hand side, is one small brown leather pouch. It’s where she keeps her thieves' tools.

Stella's never really had an opportunity to wear a nice outfit to a special event, until Book Two, Takeover.

I send her and Reilly to a ball and have to put my scrappy little thief into a gown so I may or may not have put my Highschool textiles design class to use and drawn her a dress...

The dragonfly brooch is worn on her hip and can be used to hold back the skirts to give her a larger range of movement. Additionally, hiding beneath it's tail and wing segments, this dragon fly is hiding an intricate set of lockpicks.

The lovely Knutty (@knuttydraws) accepted a commission of Stella (And Reilly) based on these details, so I'm just going to show that picture off at the end, because I never get tired of staring at it...

[author-a-holmes]

Dedicated WIP Side Blogs

A couple of months ago I got very frustrated with Tumblrs tagging system not bringing up everything related to my WIP when I searched my own blog.

I decided to make a dedicated side blog, and reblog everything I'd shared so far in one location so that it was easy for me, and hopefully future readers, to browse through and find things.

I went through my entire archive of posts on tumblr, one post at a time, and reblogged anything I'd posted about my WIP, Stolen. While I was doing this, I realised that I also had posts about Fey Touched, and brief mentions of my other projects...

So I made dedicated side blogs for them too.

All of my dedicated side blogs are linked in my pinned Writeblr Intro Post, but in case anyone reading this is interested in following a specific project of mine, and missed those links, I'm attaching the information below the cut and will be reblogging this post monthly for the foreseeable future.

Reblogs and shares of this information are, of course, more than welcome <3

The Fey Touched Trilogy

The Fey Touched Trilogy is my debut series. It's a Romance Portal Fantasy following Lizzy Hail, and her best friend Booker Reed, as they try and track down the exact cause of Lizzy's mothers disappearance.

When they two fey pass through a portal into the mortal realm, they do not expect to find and be hunted by kavians, the rabid and monstrous cousins to the vampires.

Saved from a near-death situation by Andric Roche, and taken to a vampire safe haven, it's up to Lizzy and Booker to convince the vampire to help them, or give up on finding the answers they travelled so far to find.

A Little Touch of Magic

A Little Touch of Magic will be a series of vignettes. Short stories following the main character, a witch by the name of Lucille Corrobane.

As we follow her journey training to become a fully fledged member of her family's coven, she's bound to discover the darker side of magic, and just how deeply within it her family is entrenched.

A Grim Awakening

A stand alone novel, 'A Grim Awakening' is going to be an Urban Fantasy that will follow the story of Krysis, a grim reaper who seeks an end to the monotony of her eternal life.

Rumors of Grim Reapers being killed lead her into the city of London, where she stumbles across a paramedic with the burgeoning powers of a minor deity.

Jack Sanger has ability to catch the souls of his patients and revive them from the brink of death, and against all odds it makes Krysis curious.

Jack is new and interesting, but his powers could lead Krysis to stumble into more trouble than she can handle, especially when there's another minor deity stalking the city, who abilities are far from benign.

Stolen Stories

Stolen, and it's subsequent sequels, are the stories closest to my heart.

When Stella Korazon, a talented young thief, finds herself unexpectedly alone, she had to find a way to navigate a path through the world of Moryann without succumbing to the more dangerous corners of the land.

Instead, she stumbles into the middle of a war between two thieves guilds. Manipulated into working for one side against the other, she has to find a way to keep herself alive long enough to escape the vine-like clutches of the city.

Stolen is planned to be a six book romantic epic fantasy. My manuscript for book one is already complete, but publication is being delayed until I can afford editing for a 145k book. Book two, Takeover, is approximately 1/3rd completed too.

The Chronicles of Verald

This is my newest project, and is therefore the one most liable to big changes, and plot/worldbuilding fluctuations.

The Chronicles of Verald also intimidates the hell out of me because from the moment I first conceived of the idea I knew it was going to be huge.

My map is the biggest map I've ever made. My plot spans a longer time period than I've ever covered. Even the bare bones of my worldbuilding is bigger than I've ever tackled, and I've been forced to create a bestiary for my own reference... and I've barely scratched the surface.

Verald is going to be a long-spanning epic fantasy series (My current outline suggests at least 9 books), including everything from curses, and witches, to monster fighting, rivals-to-lovers, with deaths and rebirths. Vampires, and witches, and werewolves, oh my!

I don't have a synopsis or blurb to share just yet, because I'm still figuring all the details out but it's going to be glorious, and I'm very excited about it.

[author-a-holmes]

Favorite things tag game

Rules: Share a photo of your OC’s favorite weapon, landscape, drink, and animal. Then change one of the categories and pass it on!

I'm going to change "drink" to "Season" (Spring/Summer/Autumn/Winter/Custom to your world!)

Tagging forward to; @queen-kass-the-writer @faelanvance @afoolandathief @sleepyowlwrites @ashen-crest @avrablake

@whispersintheparchment Thank you for the tag, darling! Since I know you've got a soft spot for Stella and Reilly, I'll answer for the darlings <3

Stella Korazon

Weapon; Dual Weilded Daggers Landscape; The open plains of Moryann. Drink; Fresh, clear, spring water. Animal; Horses

Reilly Mosswolf

Weapon; Short Sword Landscape; Cities! Antillune specifically. Drink; Ale Animal; Desert Falcon (Original Creature, the Image is a Kestrel)

[author-a-holmes]

What's your favorite part of making a title?

Heya hun, thank you for the ask. Hope your Saturday went well.

I don't always figure out the title, sometimes they just come to me, but whether it's that easy, or whether I have to do some brainstorming sessions, my favourite part is always figuring out how it ties into the themes or plot of the book.

(Edit: I went on a bit of a tangent here, so I'm gonna shove it under a cut...)

So, for Stolen, there's the obvious connotations where the story is about thieves, and severral thieves guilds, etc. But it's also a romance where once character steals the others heart. But there's also a sub-plotline running through the whole series that is built around theft of something that changed the very makeup of the magic in Moryann. So the theme "Stolen" goes several layers deep through the book, and series.

For Changeling/Darkling/FeyTouched I wanted the titles to reflect the tone of each book, more than specific themes. The words I used for the titles have very specific definitions, which play into the tone of each book in the series, and I include those definitions as almost an epigraph.

And Faith of the Grim used to be titled "A Grim Awakening", but after a bit of market research I found there's another series by the same name so I had to change it up. I originally chose Grim Awakening because there's lots of things the main character, Krysis, realises throughout the course of the book, but when I had to change the title I knew I wanted it to refocus on the connection she builds with the second main character. It's her faith in him that resolved the plot in the book, but there's a secondary layer again in that the faith, and the things Grim Reapers believe in shape the afterlife that gets explored through the book too.

[author-a-holmes]

Happy Blorbo Blursday! Which one of your characters would benefit from modern medication the most? If your characters are modern, what medication would help them that they're not on?

Hello! Thank you for the ask ^_^

Just going to CW and TW for mental health discussion, trauma, torture, agoraphobia, and destructive coping mechanisms, although I don't go into detail about any of them they are mentioned in relation to my characters here.

Most of my WIPS have magic and so many, if not all, physical illnesses have a magical, herbal, or science based treatment. And while not it's often not a cure-all, it's usually a better treatment than real-world modern medicine would be able to supply.

Having said that, I do feel like Moryann, the setting for my book Stolen, could do with some serious mental health professionals. In particular, I think my Wizard Myris could make some use of that as he has some mild agoraphobia and ptsd from some torture in his past which was the cause of his lost voice.

But he does, at least, have his own coping mechanisms in place.

I feel like the person who would benefit most from a long series of therapy sessions is probably Reilly Mosswolf. He has night terrors, and a lot of trauma from his childhood. Both his parents and his sister were murdered (different times, different events, different people behind their deaths) and he doesn't like getting close to people as a result. He doesn't do well with looking after himself when left to his own devices, but Reilly also doesn't cope well with being "mothered" as he puts it.

He also has a bad habit of being self destructive as a way to cope, such as getting drunk or getting into bar fights. But he is trying and he does get better over the course of the books, I just think he'd benefit from a mental health professional giving him better ways to cope with his issues.

Disclaimer: Answered August 12th. Scheduled for September 13th

[author-a-holmes]

Hi detective

I'm doing blorbo Friday, so what food preferences your blobos get from you, and what do they not?

This is a great question, but I feel like I'm going to have to give a super boring answer.

I am SUCH a picky eater that I think if I based any of my characters food preferences off me it would get very irritating for a reader lol.

I think the closest I can get is that, off the top of my head, I can't think of any characters who are vegetarian or vegan. Which is probably an unconscious bias on my part because I can, personally, imagine a meal without a meat as sustantial portion.

They Fey of Arbaon are used to fresh and unprocessed foods, and their diet is probably more primarily fruits and vegetables, with smaller amounts of meat, but they'll still eat most things.

As for Stella and Reilly in the Stolen Stories, they'll both eat anything. They've both been starving too many times to be picky about their food.

This has given me idea's for some of the other characters though, in book three. The setting is a desert, so I'm thinking about the cuisine in that part of Moryann now, so thank you :D

Disclaimer: Answered August 10th. Scheduled for September 5th

[moryann-stolen-stories]

Stolen Stories;

Prequel - The Lost Mosswolf

Book One - Stolen

Book Two - Takeover

Book Three - Origin

Book Four - Loyalty

Book Five - E

Book Six - N

The Stolen Stories are a Romantic Epic Fantasy series. The manuscript for book one, Stolen, is already completed, but I didn't want my first, bumbling, foray into the world of self publishing to be done with this series.

This series, and the characters of Stella and Reilly specifically, are my darlings, and I love them too much to use them as a learning experiance.

A combination of learning, and finances, means that I don't plan to publish Stolen until the first half of 2025. With six books in the series, at two books a year, the Stolen Stories publication should span 2025-2027, with the prequel "The Lost Mosswolf" replacing the Fey Touched Trilogy's free prequel story on my newsletter.

The Lost Mosswolf

Blurb Pending

Stolen

It had been a long couple of weeks for Stella Korazon.

When a simple pickpocket job that goes horribly wrong sends her entire life spinning into chaos, Stella must figure out how to navigate the treacherous world of Moryann alone.

Finding herself in the City of Antillune she is quickly pulled into the middle of a brewing war between two thieves guilds when she finds herself coerced into stealing from Guild Master Mosswolf.

Surrounded on all side by rogues, liars, spies and betrayal, it's a constant struggle to know who she should trust, but standing in the heart of it all, can she find somewhere, or someone, to call home?

Takeover

Blurb Pending

Origin

Blurb Pending

Loyalty

Blurb Pending

E- Currently Unnamed

Blurb Pending

N- Currently Unnamed

Blurb Pending

[author-a-holmes]

Underwing Challenge Day 4

"What’s the world of your WIP like?"

(Event Link) - (Day One) - (Day Two) - (Day Three)

Welcome to the world of Moryann!

Book one takes place over a very small portion of the world. Chapter one happens in the small town of Erast. Senan is mentioned briefly during the beginning of chapter two, but by the end of chapter two Stella is in Antillune, and that's where the rest of the book takes place.

Antillune is one of the main cities in Moryann, and one of the biggest trading ports in the realm.

It's a sprawling city that has various 'levels'. Upper Antillune is literally a level above the rest, full of stone houses owned by the rich of connected. Lower Antillune is home to the majority of the city, the merchants and residents. The outskirts are a scattering of abandoned houses, or farmland that's been reclaimed by the wilderness as it's been many centuries since farming want the main income for the citizens of Antillune....

Then there's the back streets an alleyways. These connect all parts of the city, but are only frequented by those who know how to use a blade. Even the city guards will only enter the back streets in a group, and they belong to the underworld inhabitants of the city.

As for Moryann as a whole, there's a lot to explore and I'll eventually be sending Stella and Reilly to the four corners. The map's a little on the sparse side as I create and fill it out through writing. If I need a town or location I write it into the book, then add it onto the map... and right now, the book has been mostly centered around Antillune.

The north is ruled by the Fae and home to the snow Elves. The central plains plays host to the Ogre Clan and the tribes of Plains Elves.

The Forest Elves reside in the southern forests, and in seacaves along the coasts.

Orcs and Goblins ousted the Dwarves from their mountainous homes years ago, so while they can be found in the westernmost mountain range Dwarves, like Humans, can be found Moryann wide.

The Desert Elves used to travel the entire western area of Moryann, but their entire races was killed in a battle several hundred years prior to the start of Stolen. There are only a few remnants left alive, most of whom die in suspicious circumstances, like Reilly's mother.

The city of Pad-Cedae in the Western Deserts will be the location that Book 3 focuses on...

and I know that Book 4 will take Stella and Reilly into the Icy Northern Wastes that make up the Fae kingdom.

[author-a-holmes]

hey sorry for skipping yesterday, but here's one today to make it up! what kind of magic does myris do? how did he learn? how do wizards get to be a wizard? are they born into it or can they learn it? :o

Apologies for the delay in answering hun, I've been absolutely consumed by Mass Effect! I did stumble over a new method of editing that's got me back on my writing bullshit though so thank you for your patience!

MYRIS!! and my Magic Systems!

Yes, you did read that right, I said systems. Plural. There are three in Moryann, and Myris can actually use two of them.

Let's start with Elemental Spellcasters...

Elemental Magic

Elemental Spellcasters are born, not made. Amongst the various races of Moryann, Elemental Spellcasters are born with varying regularity.

For example All Fae are Elemental Spellcasters, but amongst the dwarves you will have a spellcaster born, on average, 1 every 3000 births. Desert and Snow elves have a 50/50 ratio of spellcasters, and Plains and Forest elves, have a spellcaster born every 1/1000 births.

All Spellcasters are born with a connection to one elemental magic, but as they grow and their powers, potentially, grow stronger they may connect with a secondary or even tertiary elemental magic. Some spell casters never do, but those that do can then be considered by the College of Wizardry.

Lurra casters have access to earth and plants. The physical world and nature, and can also manipulate bodies and organs as they're a physical natural structure.

Tulli casters have access to the air. This includes the wind, breeze, hurricane force gales but also clouds and the ambient temperature. They can make the very air heat up or drop to freezing temperatures.

Vuure work with light, that includes fire. They can play with light and shadow, firelight and the lightning in storm clouds.

Nettu casters work with liquids and fluids. Water, blood, slime or chemical mixtures.

Anyone born with elemental magic is known as an "Elemental Spellcaster" or just "Spellcaster", but while all Wizards are Spellcasters, not all Spellcasters are Wizards.

To earn the title and recognizable robes of "Wizard" you must have attended the Wizards College in the South of Moryann. It's spaces are limited, and they will only even consider applicants from Spellcasters who have access to a minimum of two elements.

And while it shouldn't make a difference, tutelage at the College is also not cheap, so acceptance is usually dependent on having the funds, a sponsor, or connections within the College already. In rare cases the College will accept a student who has neither of those things, but has an early mastery over their magic that they're not willing to pass up.

Myris had a sponsor, but the College would have accepted him for study anyway, as Myris is one of only a handful of Spellcasters who can access and use all four elemental magics, and this actually gives him access to a very rare fifth element.

Kurro is healing magic. It requires mastery of the four base elements because the body is made up of so many micro-systems. Lurra for the physical body, Tulli for regulating the various systems keeping a person alive, from their internal temperature to the breath in their lungs. Vuure controls the electrical signals in the brain, while Nettu focuses on keeping all the internal fluids running correctly.

Kurro was discovered by Wizards of the College and they guard the secrets of its use jealously so not only must a spellcaster be able to control all four elements to use it, they also have to be College trained.

Besides Myris, there are maybe 2 or 3 other wizards in all of Moryann who can use Kurro to heal people, and while it's fast and effective, it can sometimes react explosively with Alchemical Magics.

So in answer to questions 2, 3 and 4; Myris was born with his magic, but as he and it grew stronger, he was accepted and trained by the College of Wizardry, changing his title from "Elemental Spellcaster" to "Wizard".

As for question one, I've only half answered it. Myris can do Elemental Magic, but he is also a Student of Alchemy.

Alchemical Magic

Alchemical Magic uses the magic of the world of Moryann, and it's comparable to a science, except that the ingredients used are from magical fauna, flora and fungi.

It is a magic that is studied, and not born to, so anyone can learn it, but it's often unstable and explosions in labs aren't uncommon. Any race can learn alchemy, but most don't bother for anything more than simple medicinal potions or treatments.

Alchemical magic is on the rise at the time my books are set, however, as spellcasters seem to becoming less common.

Myris, specifically, studies Alchemy because it was an alchemical concoction that damaged his throat and destroyed his voice. He seeks to understand it and he believes if he can discover and recreate the mixture that injured him, he might be able to reverse engineer a cure.

[author-a-holmes]

Hey!!! Here's a question for the underwing challenge: I really like the detail about Reilly's tattoo from his forest elf heritage! Does it appear over time, or did he get it tattooed on his skin? Do all forest elves get a similar thing? Can it be 'read' by people if they learn the language?

Ah! Thank you! This is actually a very interesting question for me to answer!

Most Forest Elves are born into a clan, and when they come of age they get their family history, and a little of the clan history where it’s relevant to their family, tattooed from shoulder to wrist in written Elven. It can be read by anyone who knows written Forest Elven (which is a distinct dialect from Desert, Plains, or Snow Elven).

The tattoos are formed using a special ink made from plants but the recipe is a closely guarded secret of each individual clan. The colour of the ink alone usually tells other Forest Elves which clan your family comes from, or at least the most recent generations.

It doesn’t appear over time, and it’s usually the head of the family’s responsibility to keep tract of important events and changes, and then inform the clan leader of the changes to the tattoo when the next person in the family is old enough to receive theirs.

Reilly’s, however, are a tiny bit different.

Forest Elves require permission of the clan leader to leave the clan for any reason, the clan is the most important thing, and the Forest Elf clans have grown even more protective since the Desert Elves were massacred several hundred years prior.

This may be a little vague as it’s treading close to spoilers territory but; Reilly’s father asked to leave the clan with his wife and children, and to settle somewhere else, but was denied permission. He chose to do it anyway but this meant that he and his family were considered to have ‘abandoned’ the clan.

Reilly, and his sister Eryn, were no longer considered part of the clan, and therefore not entitled to the tattoo’s detailing the family and clan histories.

Reilly wanted them to honor his fathers memory though, so he created his own using normal black ink. Reilly’s tattoos are in Forest Elven, but they are copies of what he can remember of his fathers tattoos, plus and his own additions. The important things he’s experienced since his parents deaths.

Eryn also chose to have them added, but she only wanted the family history from when they split from the clan, rejecting the clan in the same way the clan refused to accept them.

No forest clan would recognise Reilly’s tattoo’s as coming from a clan.

.... and after writing “clan” that many times, I feel like I need to name some of them, just to make it easier to talk about :D

[author-a-holmes]

🎸 or 🌹?

Hello! You've tempted my muse with two, so I might have to just... answer both ^_^

Guitar "I didn't know you could-" (insert secret talent/hobby) Answering for Andric/Lizzy from Fey Touched Trilogy. Fey Touched Trilogy Taglist: @jezifster

Rose: "You smell like-" ("eww take a shower", if that fits them better) Answering for Stella/Reilly from Stolen Stories. Stolen Stories Taglist: @josephinegerardywriter @strangerays

General Taglist: @faelanvance @noirepersonal @queen-kass-the-writer

Prompt Response One - Guitar

"Lizzy!" Andric called, his voice sharp with warning, but she could hear the underlying concern too. It was the only think that stopped her from snapping back at the vampire.

It didn't stop her shooting him a dark scowl as he approached, and she saw his lips tighten with instant regret.

It soothed her temper, but she didn't let her scowl waver.

"You scared me," he muttered as he came to a stop at her side, and the concern in his eyes as he ran them over her, seeking out injuries, finally had her releasing her irritation.

"I was just walking—"

"You can't. You know that. Outside the clan's walls—"

"Kavians stalk the forests shadows, just waiting for an unsuspecting fey to stumble into their jaws. I know. You've mentioned. Repeatedly."

Her voice was bitter, and she shoved her hands into her pockets, glaring out at the woods and trying to ignore the slowly growing grin she could see on Andric's face from the corner of her eye.

"Oh! I didn't know you could actually listen," he teased and Lizzy snickered a soft laugh.

He could always do that. Make her laugh. No matter how irritated she was, and no matter how annoying she found his ability.

Even now, she was frustrated that she wasn't able to maintain her anger in the face of his teasing, but Andric's arm curling around her waist washed the last of her temper away.

"I always listen," she promised, and he hummed, part agreement in the sound and part disbelief.

"I always listen to you," she corrected, and his fingers tightened on her hip, pulling her into a hug as she let her head rest against his shoulder.

She might be temporarily caged, but at least she wasn't caged alone.

Prompt Response Two - Rose

For all that the Cedae desert ran along Moryann's western coast it was still blistering desert sands as far as the eye could see.

And Stella hated it.

It was constantly too hot, and no amount of refreshing ocean breeze could cut through the sweltering temperatures.

With Reilly at her side, she could ignore the near constant discomfort. He was a pleasant distraction from the reality of the situation, but he'd been gone for a week.

Busy tracking down a guide who could lead them across the next stretch of desert without them succumbing to the scorching wastes and lack of water. Stella hadn't realised just how much she would miss him until he wasn't by her side every time she turned around.

She didn't hear the horse in the cortyard of the safehouse, but she did hear the footsteps on the stairs. Recognising Reilly's steps just in time to turn to the door with a smile.

He didn't stop in the doorway, just came into the room and moved towards her, wrapping her in a hug, and leaning down to press a kiss to her lips before so much as a 'hello' had time to escape her.

He'd missed her, she could taste it in every touch, and in the way he sighed against her skin. Lips moving from hers to trail across her jaw until he could lay his head against her shoulder.

It was a soft tenderness that Stella didn't quite know how to handle. It was unexpected and new and she felt her hands flutter uncertainly, before gently resting against his shoulders.

Quiet words of affection flittered through her mind, but as her fingers shifted up to stroke through his hair, reality crashed into her and she wrinkled her nose, stiffening in his arms.

"Reilly..." she growled, and she could feel his shoulder shake with quietly supressed mirth before she shoved against him, separating their bodies.

"You're soaked with sweat!" Stella hissed, eyes narrowing when he simply tightened his hold around her waist.

"This is worse than after a training session!" she complained, shoving at him ineffectively, and her voice taking on a slight whine "Urgh! You're sticky! You're sticking to me! Go and take a bath, spirits damn you!"

Reilly only let her escape after she started squirming in his hold, and his laughter was loud and as irritating as the sparkle in his deep black eyes.

He submitted to her demands, but only after tugging her into the bathroom after him, and despite her many varied complaints, by the time the pair sank into cool water, washing away the desert sand from each others forms, Stella couldn't find it in herself to truly mind.

[author-a-holmes]

Writeblr Introduction

Greetings!

I thought it was about time I put together a proper Writeblr Intro Post.

My name is Arista, or Ari, but as long as it's polite I'll answer to pretty much anything. I'm an English writer in her 30's, currently living with my cat Litha, my dog Bumble, and my mother-turned-flatmate.

I am a voracious reader, and although I dabble in writing all sorts of genres, I always seem to cycle back round to Fantasy of some sort. It's very clearly where my heart lies.

To find out more about me, please check out my About Me page on my tumblr, or shoot me an ask! I'm always open to questions, asks or tag-games.

A brief run down on my current Works in Progress can be found below the cut, along with relevant Tags, and an @-list.

If you'd like to be added to any of my lists, then please leave a message on this post.

(Edit: Apparently my "#Tag Game" tag isn't showing any posts when I search my blog, so I've made a Masterlist Page with direct links...)

Taglist for Tag-Games

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Relevant Tags: #Tag Game

Taglist For My Writing Exercises

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Relevant Tags: #Writing Exercise

Stolen is the first book in the "Stolen Stories" Fantasy Romance series. The series will follow the journey of Stella Korazon as she fights to find her place in the ever turbulent world of Moryann.

Official Blurb

It had been a long couple of weeks for Stella Korazon.

When a simple pickpocket job goes horribly wrong and sends her entire life spinning into chaos, Stella must figure out how to navigate the treacherous world of Moryann alone.

Finding herself in the City of Antillune Stella is quickly pulled into the middle of a brewing war between two thieves guilds when a recruiter for the guild known as Vine coerces her into stealing from their rival, Guild Master Mosswolf.

Surrounded on all side by rogues, liars, spies and betrayal, it's a constant struggle to know who she should trust, but standing in the heart of it all, can she find somewhere, or someone, to call home?

Relevant Tags

#Stolen #A Stolen Story #Stolen A Stolen Story #Stella #Stella Korazon #Reilly #Reilly Mosswolf

Taglist For Stolen

@/josephinegerardywriter , @/strangerays

Current Status

First draft complete. 32 chapters, 146k. Currently undergoing edits, and I'm working on Chapter 3 right now - Updated May 23rd 2021

Takeover is the second book in the "Stolen Stories" series. Set several months after the end of book one, the rival guild Vine is beginning to cause trouble within the City of Antillune once more, threatening the peace Stella has found within Reilly's guild.

Relevant Tags

#Takeover #A Stolen Story #Takeover A Stolen Story #Stella #Stella Korazon #Reilly #Reilly Mosswolf

Taglist For Takeover

@/strangerays

Current Status

First Draft being written. Currently on Chapter 11 of an estimated 32. Wordcount sitting at; 41k - Updated May 23rd 2021

EFey Touched is my project for July Camp Nano 2021. It's a YA Paranormal Romance about a young Fey, Lizzy Hail who decides to leave the Fey realm for the mortal realm to find her mother, who recently went missing.

She drags along her best friend, Booker Reed, but the mortal realm isn't only home to humans, but also Vampires and their insane cousins, the Kavian. Lizzy and Booker quickly find themselves entangled in the world of the vampires, high school and budding romance, all the while still determined to track down Lizzy's mother.

Relevant Tags

#Fey Touched #Lila Isabelle Hail #Lizzy Hail #Booker Reed #Andric Roche #July Camp Nano 2021

Taglist For Fey Touched

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Current Status

First Draft being written. I'm doing an update on Tumblr every time I complete a chapter (Tag; #Fey Touched). Since this is a Camp Nano project, it's moving pretty quickly and I'm hoping to get the first draft (66k words) finished by the end of July.

Projects on Hiatus

An Urban Fantasy Romance Interactive Fiction project that I work on intermittently when I need a break from the world of Stolen.

Blurb

When the demons broke into our world from their realm, and the covens joined their powers together to trap them within a single city, your training as a witch got put on the back burner.

Still, untrained though you may be, you cannot help but use your magic to assist a young woman and her son when they are being harassed by demons.

Should you walk away? Yes. Do you? No.

That decision propels you into the center of events. The woman you save is a Seraphim and the demons want her dead.

Why they are hunting all Seraphims within the city, you don't yet know, but what you do know is that the Covens are rapidly running out of time if they intend to banish the demons forever.

Relevant Tags

#WotW #WOTW Interactive Fiction #Words of the Witches IF #Dashingdon #Choice Script

Taglist For WotW

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Current Status

Slow going because this is a side project. I'm about 1/4 of the way through the prologue, but a lot of coding happened in the first few thousand words, due to entering in variable genders for the four romance options - Updated May 23rd 2021

[author-a-holmes]

@scoutdrafted

This answer is for number 19 - if they were approached by a lost child?

I'm gonna stick with the theme I picked up in the first reply, and take a sampling of characters from across my projects <3

Tags;

@josephinegerardywriter @strangerays @whispersintheparchment @jezifster @faelanvance @noirepersonal @queen-kass-the-writer @athenswrites

Indre Larieth, Stolen

I had to do Indre for this one, because she's half snow elf. I don't get much time to wax poetic about snow elves in the first two three books of the Stolen Stories. Tthey live in the mountains to the north of Moryann that form the border between the frozen wastes where the Fae rule, and the rest of the continent.

Snow elves appear to outsiders as cold, and aloof, but it's only because their natural body temperature is so low, that the touch of other warm-blooded races can feel uncomfortable, or even painful, so they keep their distance.

Indre, being half snow elf, has the same kind of aloof detatchment, so the idea of a lost child approaching her is simultaneously adorable and hilarious to me.

"Can you help me?"

The voice was quiet, and hesitant, and it took Indre a moment to glance around for the source, before her eyes lowered to the small child standing at her feet.

The girls head barely came up to her hip, and she was gazing up at Indre with red rimmed eyes, sore from recent tears.

Indre stiffened, uncertain how to handle the tiny person, but when the girls lower lip began trembling she clasped her hands together in the small of her back, and gave a tight nod.

"I suppose. What's the problem?"

As she spoke, her eyes were already scanning the market for the childs family. She hated coming into the market, detested the busy press of bodies as harried shoppers gave no thought to personal space, but it had been nessecary and her fixed glare meant most people kept their distance.

Such a glare had no effect on a child this young, but Indre also couldn't see any potential guardians hesitating to approach.

"I can't find grandpa," the child sniffled, and Indre pressed her lips together to smother a sigh.

And yet...

She had promised her help.

"Very well," she responded, stepping away from the shadowed alcove she'd been tucked into, taking shelter from the heat of the midday sun, "where was the last place you saw him?"

The child didn't follow her, and Indre turned back to meet the girls wide eyes. "Keep up, or else you'll get lost in the crowd again," she warned, and the girl scrambled to follow, walking close enough that Indre had to force herself not to cringe back.

"I saw him by a table of wood carvings, but then I was stroking a kitten and when I turned back he was gone," she explained, and Indre watched the girl turn her face up, eyes boring into the side of Indre's tensed features. "Can I hold your hand?"

A beat of quiet, puntuated only by the bustle of the crowd as Indre considered the question. It would be easier, she knew, but she wasn't willing to put herself out that much for a strange child in the street, and without glancing down at the girl she gave a single shake of her head.

"No. The wood carver is this way. Keep up."

Andric Roche, Fey Touched

Andric is such a soft touch, any lost child would have him wrapped around their little finger faster than you could say vampire.

Andric is the older brother, so he taking care of someone younger than him, and potentially more vulnerable, comes naturally to him. It's something I actually struggle to write, it's not something that comes naturally to me, so I lean on my beta readers heavily for anything to do with taking care of children.

Jack Sanger, A Grim Awakening

Jack is a paramedic, so the first thing he'd do is a lost child approached him is to make sure that they weren't injured. He'd make sure they'd eaten recently, and get them something to drink. Maybe tell jokes, or make them laugh, and then when they were relaxed, trusted him, and he could set them in front of the tv, he'd call the authorities.

Friends in the police force, if the child wasn't injured. Friends from the hospital if the child was. Jack's rather law abiding, at least at the beginning of A Grim Awakening.

Stella Korazon, Stolen

Stella grew up on the road with her Da', like most scrappers in Moryann. At the start of Stolen, it's the only life she's ever known.If a lost child approached her, and their family wasn't easily found, Stella would probably take the child to the Scrappers to be adopted into the fold. To be raised by them into the life of travelling herbalists, theives, and scam artists.

Later in the story, as she comes to see that the Scrapper way of life isn't the only way to do things, she'd probably be more inclined to play with the child while someone else (Dara or Reilly) looked for the childs guardians.

In quite a lot of ways, Stella's very young at heart herself, so entertaining a child is something she'd find very easy.

Thomas Walcott, Fey Touched

It's a little bit of a cheat, me choosing Walcott, because this is a situation that technically happens in Changeling. Thomas Walcott is the headmaster of Speculo School, and when he's faced with two runaway fey, one of whom is underage, he decides to help them.

For a price.

He's an old, old, vampire, and he didn't get to that age by squandering his advantages.

"...We can decide how to proceed from there.”

“Alright,” Lizzy said slowly, eyes narrowing in open suspicion, “but I can sense a ‘but’ in there.”

“You’re a clever young woman, Miss Hail,” the headmaster responded, smiling slowly, “the ‘but’ is that in return for my help, you two will need to do something for me.”

“Like what?” Booker asked.

“Stay at Speculo School.”

“That’s...” Lizzy stumbled, and shook her head slightly as though the words would make more sense after rattling around her mind for a moment. “Why?”

“Firstly, because while you say that no one is looking for you, and I believe you... the tensions between our realms are high right now. The last thing we need is for one of you to end up hurt or worse, and for the Court to believe that we did nothing to prevent such a thing and use it as an excuse to break negotiations.”

Booker groaned loudly and slumped back in the chair, “And they would,” he muttered, even as Lizzy wrinkled her nose.

“And the other reason?”

“You’re under eighteen, and should finish your education.”

“You want us to enroll here? Actually attend classes?” Lizzy spluttered in surprise.

“I’m over eighteen,” Booker repeated, and Walcott shot him a look of open amusement.

“Barely.”