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ben-101-rewrite · 3 years

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Verdona, like most Anodites, spent much of her time on her home planet, Anodyne, ever since she was born. Her peoples' way of life and culture was built around their home and the use of mana, in how they communicate, connect and see the world. So for a long time, Verdona saw no reason to venture far from her home, having no desire to settle someplace else. She was known to visit other nearby planets for fun and see what the locals had to offer, but not once did she feel the need to stick around for long.

That was, until the events of the episode "Moonstruck". Never had Verdona met someone like an Anodite with the spark, who wasn't an Anodite, and yet Max made her see differently. She had had lovers before, with other Anodites, but something about this human caught her attention above the rest. So after being saved by him and declining to come to space with her, she returned home with butterflies in her stomach. The kidnapping had been an unpleasant experience, but something good did come out of it.

So when she got home, getting swarmed by friends and family who had been worried about her, it didn't take her long to share what happened, bubbling every time she spoke about Max. However, the more she talked about Max, the more her friends and family looked off about the whole thing. It wasn't until Verdona decided she wanted to go find Max again, and perhaps stay with him on earth, did some of the other Anodites stepped in. It's not that they didn't want Verdona to be happy, but a lot of them wanted to warn her that loving another alien that wasn't an Anodite was not easy.

This wasn't them looking down on another race, but rather understanding how vastly different they are from most aliens in the galaxy, due to their deep connection to magic and mana. Their entire lives revolved around it, it's how they learn, how they explore, how they connect with one another. However, when trying to love something that lacks those elements, that love eventually fades away over time, or at the very least, becomes hard to live with. There have been many Anodites who have dated other races, and more often than not, they eventually split in the end.

Verdona, being stubborn, says this is different, Max is different, he's just like them, he has a spark even if he doesn't have magic. She was going to prove to them all that she could do this, she would be happy on earth, and she and Max would have an entire life together. She would never leave...

And so, she moved to earth, finding Max, who had just been recruited into the Plumbers, and the two showed a strong bond of love in those early days. Verdona took a more humanoid shape, and crafted herself a human form, so the two could lead a double life. Max supported her whenever she felt homesick, and Verdona would always support him in his rough early days of training. Things seemed to be going great for them, a young couple who were eager to face the world, and show it what they're made of.

Slowly, but surely, Max started climbing the ranks of the Plumbers, taking many missions out in space, and making many friends and work partners, like Phill or Devin. Verdona was known to assist the Plumbers here and there on magic related issues, but she spent a lot of time on earth, enjoying what it had to offer. But...she did have to admit she was a little bit lonely. Since earth didn't have a significant Plumber base, due to the fact there was very low alien activity on the planet, with minor problems like Vilgax showing up here and there, Max was out in space a lot of the time for work. She had tried a couple of pets here and there, but one day when Max came home for the week, she asked about starting a family.

She had had kids before, all Anodites, of course, so she believed she was already fit to be a mother, and Max had wanted to be a father someday. Plus, the two had faced a lot, combatting alien villains, saving some planets, testing the limits of magic, how hard could raising a family be? So after requesting some time off from the Plumbers, Verdona eventually gave birth to two humans twin sons, Frank and Carl.

Max was over the moon, and so was Verdona, though...she will admit, something didn't feel quite right. This was the first time she ever had children that weren't Anodite, and she didn't even know if either of them had the spark that would give them the magic and Anodite gene. There was no way to tell until they were a little older. It made her realises that she doesn't know how to connect with human kids, remembering all those times she connected with her Anodite kids with magic, the core of them all. But that being said, Verdona wasn't one to back down, and she wanted to prove she could do this. And even if they weren't Anodites, they were still her sons, and she would love them regardless.

So in comes Frank and Carl into the world of life, and early on in their childhood, things seemed to be going great still for the Tennyson family. Max and Verdona never hid the fact that their mother was an alien, and that Max worked for the Plumbers, but they made sure to remind their kids that it was a big secret. That being said, kids being kids, they did sometimes blab that their mums an alien, and their daddy has been to space, either to seem cooler to other toddlers and kids, or when they were sometimes frustrated about something. Thankfully, older folks just saw them as kids with big imaginations, and never really believed them.

But it wasn't until Carl and Frank were heading into their teenage years that things started to crack. They weren't ignorant guys, understanding very well that Max's job was important, and that their mother wasn't human, but that didn't mean it couldn't get tiring or...lonely. Max wasn't home very often, far into space battling aliens, and while that stuff was interesting, Carl and Frank didn't really have any interest in following their father's footsteps into the alien world, not right now at least. They liked earth, they liked humans, they liked things being simple and small.

It also didn't help that over the years, Verdona was going distant. She didn't mean to, and she still loved her boys, but...earth was just losing its spark to her, that excitement she fell in love with years ago. Max and her, while they loved each other, seemed to be growing apart, as both couldn't offer what the other wanted, and yet neither was angry at the other and understood this very well, through long talks and peaceful moments together. And as her boys grew, Verdona didn't know how to connect with them anymore, especially since they wanted everyday human lives.

When they were little kids, they use to love Verdona's magic and abilities. She uses to create sparkly balls of light to swirl around them like a mobile to help them sleep, or some nights she would fly them high into the skies to show them the stars. She would share stories about space, other planets and all the aliens she had met, and they would always notice that glint of longing in her eyes. She wouldn't lie, as she did miss those free days up high in space, using her magic to shine brightly across the galaxy.

But she still couldn't get a grasp on the way of a normal human life. She didn't know how to talk to the other mums at school, she didn't know how to be engaged with her children's graduations and celebrations when they were nothing like the fets that Anodites could create, she didn't know how to...be human for them. She had the mask, but she didn't have the soul for it.

And her children did try to connect with her on magic, but without that spark or very least magical aura, they couldn't. Frank even tried to learn magic at one point, after his mum took an interest in the fact he was often able to sense her when she was nearby. Frank use to delve into his mother's spellbooks she had lying around, doing everything he could to be like her, just to make her happy...But he couldn't. Even if this lead to his love of knowledge and reading, magic just wasn't something he could access.

And yet, Verdona stayed. She loves them, she really did, and she wanted to be there for as long as she could. But it wasn't easy, as each day, that urge to fly around back home grew stronger and stronger. That desire to finally connect with someone like her again was always in the back of her mind. Max, Frank and Carl all knew this too, it was easy to tell just by looking into Verdonas eyes, and while they all understood in their own way, especially Max, that didn't mean it hurt that not only did they feel like they were forcing Verdona to stay, but also that she wanted to leave.

Max never resented Verdona for this, though sadly Frank and Carl did feel hurt, upset, deep down feeling like they weren't good enough for their parents, despite how often the two did try and show their love. The family felt divided, as while they wanted to support and love each other, each person wanted something different that the others could not provide.

So while trying to figure out their parent problem, Carl and Frank sunk into their regular human school lives as a way to get away from all the alien stuff. Frank did so by delving into the academic side of things, getting excellent grades, pitching ideas to help the school, and eventually applying to be student president. This is, in fact, how he met Natalie, as she too was running to be student president and was kind of his rival in being the top student. However, it was never a hateful rivalry, as the two were very civil, and it was no surprise when they started showing interest and began dating one day, deciding to be co-presidents.

Carl, on the other hand, jump around every kind of hobby and school-related topic. He was struggling trying to settle into one space, and often built up a lot of stress. Because of this, his mother and brother suggested he try some relaxing activities before hurting himself with stress, and he reluctantly agreed to join a yoga group run by a young girl from another school, who was actually Sandra. It didn't take long for Carl to become a flustering mess around her, finding her to be beautiful, kind and funny, a combo that would make any young teenage boy become a bumbling mess. Luckily for them, she found him charming, and the two started dating.

So, despite their issues at human, the two brothers were heading in a nice direction in their normal lives, even if their parents struggled to keep notice of all the changes and growth. But something was bound to happen, and it all came to a head when the boys graduated at the age of 18.

A dinner was held as a celebration, with other Tennyson families, and Natalie and Sandra were invited. At first, the night went smoothly, Verdona and Max clearly proud of their sons, and Frank and Carl were thankful to have support. But...one thing led to another that night, and some emotions and build up thoughts were finally revealed between, Carl, Frank, Verdona and Max. No one can quite remember how the argument started, perhaps when Max made a subtle reference to his secret job, or perhaps when Frank made a comment on Verdonas old spellbook.

Frank and Carl explained just how much they were frustrated and angry with their parents, stating how hard it was growing up trying to be normal, while knowing this big secret in their family life that no one in the world is supposed to know. They understood why Verdona and Max were the way they were, but that didn't excuse their behaviours and how Frank and Carl felt about the whole thing. Max and Verdona did argue back, understanding why the boys were hurt, but Verdona can't help what and who she is, and that Max's job, while not easy to live with, is important for a reason...Either way, both sides had something to say that night, with Carl and Frank having to now explain to their girlfriends about aliens and such.

So when their graduation day came, things were awkward in the air, with Carl and Frank avoiding their parents, one even making a comment to Verdona that if she really wants to...she can leave, and they wouldn't stop her. And it stun, and made Verdona step back to think about things, taking an entire night to process what to do next.

She felt that there was no good with her staying, only hurting her sons more just by being there, reminding them of the things they don't like about their lives. And deep down...Verdona knew she didn't want to stay any longer. She missed her home, she missed the galaxy, she missed magic, she missed having not to pretend to be an alien she wasn't. She was tired of hiding and lying to herself. It didn't help that, every time she looked at Max, he was ageing, while she wasn't. She couldn't grow old like a human, she couldn't be the mother her sons needed, she couldn't be what the family wanted, even with all the power she had. She had failed them all.

So one day, she left. She gave Max, Frank and Carl each a letter explaining herself, telling them that she loves them, but for the better, she had to leave, for their sakes and her sake. For the next few months, even a year or two, the family was foggy, distant, unsure how to think or feel. In some ways, yes, they agree Verdona leaving may have been the better option, but that doesn't mean they don't love her and miss her. And while she wasn't gone for good, visiting from time to time, like on birthdays or sometimes holidays, things just weren't the same ever again.

While Max still loved Verdona, he was wise enough to know that things change, finding love with a few others, like Xylene, and eventually deciding to retire when the time was right. And while his bond with his sons may always be a little off, he does still try and connect with them now, and they do give him a chance, even if they don't know how to feel sometimes.

Max knows he lost his chance to be a proper family with his sons, but when his grandkids came around, he realised he could at least be the grandfather they needed. And while Frank and Carl still have issues with their father, they can appreciate that he makes their grandkids happy, especially when guiding and protecting Gwen and Ben through the alien world they want to explore.

#Here is what I promised #Ben 101 AU #Ben 101 Rewrite #Ben 10 #ben 10 rewrite #Ben 10 AU #B10 #ben 10 original series #ben 10 alien force #ben 10 ultimate alien #ben 10 omniverse #Ben 10 Verdona #Ben 10 Max Tennyson #Ben 10 Frank Tennyson #Ben 10 Carl Tennyson #Ben 10 Sandra Tennyson #Ben 10 Natalie Tennyson

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writing-in-the-tiny-house · 3 years

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Order of Dust, with Nicholas J Evans

Follow this link to check out Order of Dust:

https://amzn.to/2Vx9LN2

Follow this link to check out The Ones Who Could Do Anything:

https://amzn.to/3ttCvCQ

The following is a transcript for this episode. For the complete transcript, please navigate to the show’s website.

[00:00:00] So I have a very important question for you, my dear friends, and this is how we're starting off this episode. Are you passionate enough about the things you like to do? And because this is this podcast, are you passionate enough about writing to be able to release something bad at first, knowing that you will get better later that going through those trials and going through the process of releasing something is part of the experience of getting better. Then you need to take a second and listen to today's guest, Nicholas J. Evans, who went from writing a collection of short stories in high school that he was convinced nobody would want to read to landing a three book deal today on Writing in the Tiny House.

[00:00:58] Hello. Hello. Hello, and welcome to the show. Welcome to Writing in the Tiny House. I am your host Devin Davis, and I am the guy living in a tiny house who is here to show you that you can write that work of fiction regardless of how busy you think you are. And the perfect example of that is today's guest Nicholas J. Evans. He is 30 years old. He works full time. And in his spare time, when he's not playing with his kids, he writes. And he has a beautiful message to share. And we will get to that message here in half a second.

[00:01:58] As far as announcements go with this podcast, I have teamed up with Editor Krissy Barton, from Little Syllables Editing. She was on the show back in March, and we had a wonderful show. I fully recommend that you go back and listen to the final show that happened in March. She was here with me in the tiny house, talking about the process of editing. Anyway, I have teamed up with her to roll out kind of a new program. And I say that as a way to kind of tease.

[00:02:35] I apologize right now, but I want to let you know that fun things are rolling out, provided things work out according to a specific schedule. Sometimes I get some hairball ideas and sometimes the execution is kind of hard to do, kind of impossible to do at other times. And so we are discovering different ways that I can share my writing with you, my listeners, and also with people who don't listen to this show.

[00:03:10] So basically I have started writing some smaller things. I have blabbed on and on and on about my book about my works in progress, and I still have those. And those have certainly not been like thrown in the garbage or something stupid like that. They have been put on the back burner for a second, just because I am eager to share my writing. On this podcast I blab all day long about the tips and tricks to do it. And so I actually want to show examples. Release something for people to read sooner than a book, sooner than a full blown novel, which can take up to two years or longer to write or produce or whatever, especially if you're not already published through a major publisher.

[00:04:03] And so I have started doing some shorter things. They all tie into the books that I'm writing. They are short stories set in the same world as the books that I am working on too. And these, I am going to put on a schedule. I will tell you more about what that whole schedule will look like in a later episode of Writing in the Tiny House, but be excited.

[00:04:30] This whole process is so fun. Writing something according to a schedule is hard and awesome. And it really gets me excited about writing and it gets me more eager to share it with you, my listeners, what I can do, what I have done, some of the ideas that are in my mind. And so it's not just about advice or guidelines anymore.

[00:04:59] Now we are going to actually have the real written word to share with you on a regular basis. So I will touch base on a later episode to give better explanation and better description as to what all of this is actually going to be. But I wanted to share with you today that things are in the works. And so that's super exciting.

[00:05:26] So without further ado, let's go ahead and meet our guest. Nicholas J. Evans.

[00:05:35] I'm originally from New York and I've moved a lot over the course of becoming an author, and I'm writing novels and writing short fiction, so I lived in Delaware for a brief period of time. And I currently live in Maine with my wife and our three very young children. We have three daughters, all under the age of five and I work full time.

[00:05:56] I travel for work which means I, am not home as much as I would like to, be, but I try and use that time to my advantage. And that's where I work on a majority of my stories. So I work on them when I'm in hotels. I work on them when the kids are asleep at nap times, pretty much whenever I get the opportunity. Even going as far back as to when I started writing short stories, I would work on them on my phone, just so I would have the time during brief periods of the day.

[00:06:22] As you can see, Nick is a busy man and the idea of fitting in writing where you can fit it in is not new to most writers. Most writers do not support themselves with their craft. And so to be working a job and to be cranking out novels in his spare time is something that a lot of us are doing, which is so cool and so admirable.

[00:06:44] And so I wanted to find out a little bit more about his published works and what he's working on now.

[00:06:52] I began writing Order of Dust, which was my debut novel all the way back in 2017. I actually was working on a different novel at the time and I had hit writer's block. It was a completely different genre too. And I was like, I need something to work on. What am I going to be working on, while I'm just sitting here staring at a screen not knowing what to put down?

[00:07:11] So I began writing something that I originally thought I was going to release as a graphic novel. Actually, I began writing it in a script format with the hopes of sending it out that way. and I found that might've not been the right medium. So I turned around and started drafting it into a novel. And then around 2018, I was finished up with the second draft of it. And then I had started sending it out to publishers directly because it was my first work. I didn't want to get anything agented. I didn't think I was there yet. And I was lucky enough to get picked up by the Parliament House for a trilogy for my series. So I was very excited about that and I mean, that led to where we are now with the novel release in 2020, which was a weird time for books to release. It was a little bit of a different experience because everything had to be pushed digitally. We couldn't do signings. We couldn't do cons. We couldn't do anything. so a lot of it had to be just reaching out to different digital agencies to take care of things for us and hope that things were going to go well. Luckily enough, they did go well, which led to me working on throughout 2020 after we were already edited and everything was finished up for Order of Dust. I ended up working on the second novel of the series. And I had just finished a different novel, that I'll go into in a little bit that is actually releasing this September for a different publisher. COVID was very, very unfortunate and working from home was very difficult, but at the same time I was able to try and use as much downtime as possible to really hammer this out and give what I feel like is even a better product than the first novel.

[00:08:48] So the name of the trilogy is For Humans, For Demons, which will make sense in the grand scheme of things? So it's For Humans For Demons. The second, book comes out January of 20 22, no release date on the third, but I am halfway through the first draft of it and very excited. And then, Like I said, I do have another novel coming out with a different publisher in September of this year.

[00:09:11] The For Humans For Demon series is essentially about what if modern religion collapsed Similar to what we've seen in history where different religions end up taking the forefront. And this is about what if it's turned on its head and what if in a modern society what everybody believed to be true ends up not being? And everybody finds out about that truth and the chaos that ensues.

[00:09:36] So bringing that as the larger universe, it focuses on the story of one character Jackson Crow who dies at the hands of the Unascended, which essentially to bring it to better terms a soul in this universe is called a Dust and sometimes they do not ascend for different reasons. So they end up remaining and taking on a host basically. They take over a body of a living person and they hide among people. Jackson was unfortunate for him and his fiance, were assassinated by one of the Unascended, which leaves him with a little bit of a grudge, and he gets the chance from the true higher beings to come back and basically work for them to take care of the issue, which is these Unascended who are hiding as normal people are committing heinous crimes that they are not actually being targeted for.

[00:10:28] So it's all about his story, about getting revenge. And then it slowly opens up to this bigger issue at hand, which is the world around him that is essentially collapsed because people do not have a belief structure anymore. And that goes for all of the different religions and how it affects the different groups of people, which really ends up coming out in the second and the third books

[00:10:52] So I have read Order of Dust and it is a wild ride. It is fast paced. It is exciting. It is filled with action and all of the things you could hope from a book like that. And so I wanted to figure out what was his inspiration to write a book like this.

[00:11:10] I wanted to write something That was, based on religion. I wanted to go that route. But originally when I was doing this, the only idea I had was what if somebody had to hunt people? What if somebody had this job where they had to hunt people cause they were different? And it just kept breaking down until I was like, well, what if he's also different? A lot of the influences for that book came right from graphic novels from monga, from old scifi, noire stories. So things like Philip K Dick or even things like Alan Moore or Neil Gaiman. A lot of inspiration from Yasuhiro Nightow who is best known for writing Trigun in the nineties and Gunn Grave. So a lot of that I want it to kind of mush together and I was like, this would just be something fun. And, and that's what I did.

[00:12:00] Book number two was Wing Clipper, that one releases in January of 2022. And that one is going to break into the larger world. The first book was very focused on Jackson, focused on introducing characters and introducing some antagonist, but the second book really opens up. It is longer. So it won't be as fast of a read. But that was the goal. I wanted to introduce people in a way, almost like what Stephen King did with Gunslinger, the dark tower series. The first book gunslinger is very short. It's a very quick read and then slowly gets longer.

[00:12:31] That was my goal here is I want to get people drawn in and then really open it up in the second and say like look how everybody else has been affected by this. And then the third book right now is called The Arm of the Savior. In the third book, we'll close everything out in a very large scale. I've been building up to something with these hoping that it ends in a larger way than it started, where it starts very narrow, very singular, and it ends more global. And that one does not have a release date as of yet just because the second book's not even out, but I would say that's probably going to be somewhere around, early to mid 2023.

[00:13:07] Now while his trilogy for humans for demons is with one publisher. Nick has done what many successful writers have done. And he is publishing another book under a different publisher. Another publishing house picked him up for this book for this idea. And so. Just depending on contracts and agreements, it is entirely possible for a person to put out work under various different publishing houses.

[00:13:39] And Nick has done that too with his upcoming novel that releases this month, even though in the dialogue here in the audio, it says it releases in September. We get to remember that it is now September and this interview wasn't recorded this month. So please don't get confused.

[00:13:57] The book releasing in September is with a different publisher, Black Rose. What ended up happening was I was working on another while I was doing the editing process for Order of Dust. I wanted to work on something else, but I didn't want to dive into the second book without first working with the different content editors, the line editors to kind of get their idea and feedback on that first book. But I wanted to work on something.

[00:14:19] I had been writing a lot of shortstories, and I wanted to break it up from the normal. And at the time I had just come up to Maine for work. So I was very far away. My wife and kids were down in Delaware. On the weekends I was driving down there 10 to 12 hours to see them and then driving back So it was a lot of alone time for Monday through Friday. And I just felt like I needed to do something with this time, so I wrote the book.

[00:14:43] It's called The Ones Who Could Do Anything. And it's an urban fantasy, but it's mainly just about dealing with struggles. I don't want to give too much away, but surviving after something terrible happens. And it follows just a group of young people who find each other because of their misfortunes and discover that they have some innate abilities that lend themselves to each other. So it's, again, it's something that at first, and this is, this is what I loved when I had brought up to the publisher at first, they were like, this sounds like, like the premise of it, like something that we've read a hundred times.

[00:15:21] And I was like, I know, you know, I'm not trying to give you something that everybody already knows just by looking at the cover of the book. But luckily they were like, you know, We read the first three chapters of it. Can you send us the rest of the manuscript? And when they did, they really like, they're like, this is different.

[00:15:37] As many writers bring out a certain work or certain ideas or bring these different things to life. Oftentimes there are specific goals that they have with these things. And I wanted to find out what was the reason behind four humans were demons and this new book, because they are so different, different publishing houses.

[00:16:06] Different ideas, different concepts. And so I wanted to figure out more about that.

[00:16:11] One thing I would love for everybody to know is everything that I write and put out. I want to be very different. And I think the people who enjoy For Humans For Demons and enjoy that series, maybe would read The Ones Who Could Do Anything and feel like, this is different. It's a little bit darker and more base of reality rather than something that's completely scifi.

[00:16:33] But I want everybody to be open minded to that. I think some of my favorite authors branching from every different medium, have always tried to dabble in that a lot of their books are not linear. Obviously there are authors out there who do release very similar books and they do very well. But when I think of my favorite Neil Gaymon I don't feel like his books are the same. I feel like I pick up any of his books and they're different and that's my overall goal. And I wanted to let people know that right from the start, because I want people to pick up different books and be like, this is different from that one. And I love them for what they are.

[00:17:06] And so came the big question. How did any of this get started? How far back does this go for him? When was the first time he put pen to paper in a creative way? And how did all that go?

[00:17:24] I appreciate this coming up because I don't get to share this a lot because I don't want them to intertwine, but I've been in bands my entire life. I was a musician for most of my life. I'm 30 now. I was in bands all through high school and everything.

[00:17:36] And then in 2011, I was in a band called Nora Stone, and we were a post hardcore group. I say we were, but they're still together. A hardcore group. And we ended up releasing a short EP and it got us on a label. We did a lot of traveling. We did a lot of touring. So were on the road, a good amount. We did Metal Mayhem Festival.

[00:17:56] We did Crowd Surf America with CHODOs and Blessed the Fall. This is all a bunch of Warp Tour bands. But we did a lot of that for a very long time. And after the birth of my first daughter, I realized I had to start dwindling it down. I had already started the career I'm in now.

[00:18:11] And I was like, what can I do? And back in high school, and when we're on the road, I would just write short stories. A lot of it, I'm going to be honest with you. If anybody remembers my yearbook shout outs to to New York, if anybody remembers my yearbook, it asks something about what do you want to do?

[00:18:26] And at the time I want it to be a graphic novel writer. And that is in my yearbook. So I would just create characters, write backstories for them. And that's what I would do on my phone to pass the time is what I thought was fun. So when I moved to Delaware and parted ways with the band, I needed something to occupy my time and I did not want to dive back into music.

[00:18:45] I had done it for too long. I didn't want to start over. I ended up just writing short stories again on my phone for fun. And my wife had actually read one of them and she was like, how come you never release anything? Like, how come you just sit here and write in the notes section of your phone and then delete it.

[00:18:59] And I was like, I don't know. I don't think I have anything people want to read. I worked on something and she read the first draft of it and was like, I really like this. Like, you should just try and get this published. And I was like, I don't think people are going to like it, but okay. And then it got published.

[00:19:13] And then all of a sudden I have my mother, my friends, my family, who were like, you know, I like this. I don't understand why you didn't do this sooner. And I'm like, I, I don't know. You probably wouldn't like what I wrote in high school.

[00:19:23] And so this is actually the take home, this upcoming little statement that Nick makes for me during this interview. And this is why I opened this episode with that question of, are you willing to release something bad or at least release something that requires some refinement and requires some work in order for you to get better?

[00:19:45] My biggest piece of advice, would first, I guess we'll start with one. Right. Even if it's bad, even if you just have a story in mind and you're like, I'm not going to put these words together properly, and people are not going to like this Cause that's where I was at. Write. And then just send it in. Have faith in yourself, send it in and trust me, trust me When I say the publishers are going to tell you when it's bad I've had a lot of publishers. I've had my own publishers tell me it's bad. And that's just part of the process is how you get better. And I've said this in the beginning, but I feel like every time I write something new, it gets better.

[00:20:24] And for new writers, that's going to be the case. The first thing you put out there might not even get published. And then you have to really look at the feedback you got and say.

[00:20:31] Okay. They didn't like it for these reasons. Is it the story? Is it me? Is it something I need to change? But at the same time, you want to maintain your own voice and you're not going to please everybody.

[00:20:42] And eventually you'll get good enough. And eventually the right publisher will come along, have faith in your project and really carry you through the way. And second piece of advice, listen to your publishers. If you're going that route, if you're going self published Listen to your beta readers and listen to the editors that you bring on.

[00:20:58] But if you're going a traditional or an indie publisher route, listen to them. Because most of the time, 99% of the time from my experience so far, they want what's best for your book without removing the parts of the book that make it yours. So definitely just write whatever you can send it in. They're going to tell you it sucks and then listen to them when they tell you it sucks.

[00:21:22] And that is the biggest lesson with developing any form of talent, just like learning to play the piano or learning to play a musical instrument or learning how to paint or draw or whatever. It may be different skills that you have at work. So wing. I don't know. All of these things are talents and talents require practice and paying attention to feedback.

[00:21:49] And so that means that sometimes you get to be brave and you get to write something that may not be great. And you get to give it to a few trusted people in order for them to find the holes in it that you don't see. And in order for them to pick apart some of the clunky things and to offer some guidance and some advice.

[00:22:10] So that, that bit of work can be even better than it was when it, when you began it. And so that is the take home from me to you. If you are looking to seriously get into writing, and it's not something that you do all the time, just start, write anything and then give it to somebody to critique.

[00:22:34] The feedback is the most important lessons. With writing so that you can get better hearing how your work can improve is a very vulnerable space to be in. But it, like I said, it is the biggest lesson on how to do it better and on how to make that specific piece better. So that is it for today. If you are interested in reading Order of Dust or The Ones Who Can Do Anything, go ahead and follow the link in the show notes and you will be able to check those out.

[00:23:09] Otherwise, thank you so much to my patrons who donate to this show every month without your generous donations, the show could not be possible. Go ahead and follow me on social media. My Instagram handle is @authordevindavis and my Twitter handle is @authordevind. Thank you so much for listening and have fun writing.

[00:23:33]

Check out this episode!

#writing #writer #author #fiction #am writing #wip

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nitewrighter · 4 years

Text

Of Blades and Broomsticks Pt. XIX

Good News! The word count in this chapter was big enough so I don’t have to write the thing I’m really scared of writing! Bad news! I’m going to have to write that shit next chapter!

Previous Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18

Read it on AO3 Here

----

“It’s not only the blood of humans, really,” Baptiste explained as the wagon rumbled through rolling hills dotted with haystacks turned silver by moonlight, “Many think it’s only the blood of humans, but since we take the form of beasts, the blood of beasts sustains us as well. Pigs and cows, mostly.”

“And the people don’t hate you?” Mercy tilted her head, mesmerized, “They’re not afraid of you?”

“I like to believe we have settled into a comfortable mutual state of… how does the phrase go—Not poking the bear. To further put people at ease, the comtesse has established herself as a protector of the humans dwelling on her land.”

“A protector,” Mercy echoed.

“Undead beget undead,” Baptiste went on, “Many of my compatriots are not as charming as me, but she keeps them in line. Keeps them from infecting too many of the populace. Those of weaker wills are very… attuned to her.”

“Like an ant queen!” said Junkenstein from the front of the wagon.

“That is a very base comparison,” muttered Baptiste, “An ant queen will expand her nest as much as she can. My comtesse understands there must be balance. A lot of them she keeps dormant indefinitely if they cannot control their thirst. Sustained by pig’s blood every few months or so.”

“How many?” said Junkenstein.

“Oh she stopped counting centuries ago,” said Baptiste, easily, “We keep meaning to run a census on the catacombs but…”

“How long have you been….?” Mercy started.

Baptiste muttered under his breath and counted on his fingers for a few seconds before saying, “I believe it will be 115 years next spring,” said Baptiste, “I actually served back when—” he caught himself and cleared his throat, “I have been honored to serve the Comtesse as long as I have.”

“What were you going to say there?” said Genji.

“Nothing,” said Baptiste.

Genji’s eyes narrowed at Baptiste, “You know we’re allowing for a lot of trust just letting you lead us into your comtesse’s lands.”

“And I am allowing for a lot of trust telling you this much,” said Baptiste, “Some stories are not mine to tell.”

“And your comtesse is fine with you freely sharing all this information about how nice she is and how she has a big army that she can wake up at any time?” said Genji, sullenly running an oilcloth over his sword.

“The spymaster is in control of how much information is allowed to spread through the land. The people don’t need to know there are thousands of our kin lying sleeping below Chateau Guillard. But you? I do not know the full extent of any your powers, so I believe a small hint of what the comtesse is capable of is in order. Now, we too, can establish a mutual state of not-bear-poking.”

“We could probably muck things up for your spymaster blabbing about this,” said Junkenstein.

“Ah yes. But you are foreigners, and, frankly, freaks no one can possibly believe. And most humans will probably try to kill you on sight if they see your… corpulent friend back there,” he gestured back at the monster.

“Don’t listen to him,” said Junkenstein looking back at the monster, “You’re beautiful.”

The monster gave an indifferent grunt.

“But, devin-guérisseuse, you know there is no reason for us to be unfriendly with each other,” said Baptiste.

“Not currently,” said Mercy with a smile.

Genji seemed to be focusing very hard on his sword and oilcloth.

“But this spymaster you mentioned—” Mercy started.

“Ah, a brilliant woman. The most loyal lieutenant of the comtesse, her ambassadress and her master of whispers,” said Baptiste, “We would not have the peace we have now without her.”

“She must have served with the comtesse for hundreds of years!” said Mercy, her face lighting up.

“Six,” said Baptiste.

“Six hundred?” said Mercy.

“Six years,” said Baptiste.

——-

Sombra dismounted from her (well, technically Pharah’s) rouncey and shook out her legs. She had come to a stop in a small village with a still brightly lit inn. She could ask for further information on where the crows had come from here, she decided, but she knew it had to be close by. She knew it was the queen’s doing, and she knew the queen had all sorts of spies and magic up her sleeves, but as far as she knew, the queen hated humans. She was stepping toward the inn when suddenly the door swung open and a man stumbled backward out of it, tripping over the threshold, being sidestepped by Sombra, and falling in a puddle of horse piss.

“She was right! You know she’s right!” the man spat at one of the tavern keepers in the doorway.

“Go home, Henri,” said the tavern keeper.

“So we’re just going to all go home and tuck ourselves into our beds and wait for that bitch to rip our throats out? She killed my brother--”

“You don’t know that,” said the Tavern keeper.

“No, but what I do know is, he teaches his bitch of a wife a lesson, the slut runs crying to the comtesse, next thing we know, he’s gone and no one’s saying anything!”

“If he’s your brother, I’d wager he drowned in a puddle of his own vomit,” said Sombra, briskly stepping past him.

“You--” the drunkard stumbled up from his puddle, swaying, “You’re one of hers, aren’t you?”

“I’m just getting a drink--” said Sombra, moving to step inside of the tavern but she felt a heavy hand clamp on her shoulder.

“I can smell the death on y--” the drunkard kept going before receiving a sharp elbow to the solarplexus, then a hard uppercut to the jaw that sent him reeling back flat into the puddle of horse piss once more. He groaned from where he was splayed out in the puddle.

“...I already hit him,” said the tavern keeper.

“Not hard enough,” said Sombra, stepping in to the tavern. There was a hum of concerned murmuring conversations, but as soon as Sombra stepped in to the tavern that hum fell quiet and she felt every eye in the room turn to her. There was maybe a second and a half of every patron of that tavern sizing her up before resuming their conversations--if Sombra didn’t know any better, those conversations were even more hushed now. As a spymaster, she tended to pride herself on slipping in and out of most places unnoticed, but the air had shifted in here. This was not the murmured din of a tavern she would find on any other night in her comtesse’s lands. Something was wrong. Something was afoot. Fear was in the air, invisible and taut like spider threads. Sombra took a seat at the tavern’s bar, one close to the corner where she could still keep an eye on the rest of the room.

“Someone die?” said Sombra as the tavern keeper poured a sour red wine in a cup for her.

“One of the survivors from Adlersbrunn showed up earlier tonight,” said the tavern keeper, “She had some... warnings. It’s put everyone on edge.”

“Adlersbrunn?” Sombra repeated.

“The town that burned down?” said the tavern keeper, “All those stories--from what I heard, a witch turned into a dragon or some such nonsense, but the way this old woman was going on it was like every horrible thing was happening at once over there.”

“Dementia,” Sombra said pityingly, “These strange times take their toll on the elderly--”

“No, I’ve heard my share of rambles and slurring,” said the tavern keeper, “She was sharp. The way she spoke made you just...” the tavern keeper trailed off, staring into space, then seemed to catch himself. “Sorry,” he said with a slight head shake.

“Did you happen to see where this old woman went?” asked Sombra, sipping her wine.

“Had my hands full getting Henri out of here,” said the tavern keeper, “But it wasn’t even an hour ago--doubt an old woman like her will be going far, this time of night.”

“Hm,” Sombra ran a fingertip around the rim of her cup, “See any crows?”

“Crows?” said the tavern keeper.

“Big flock of them, didn’t see any?” said Sombra.

“Like I said, just getting people to settle down after that old woman’s story was hard enough, if there were any, I didn’t see them.”

“Must have been quite a story. I’d like to hear it---” said Sombra, getting up and finishing her wine.

“Will the comtesse want to hear it too?” said the tavern keeper and Sombra paused mid-sip and her eyes flicked to him.

“You can tell you’re with her,” the tavern keeper kept his voice low, “The way you knocked out Henri--”

“Just a humble servant,” said Sombra with a shrug, setting her wine cup down.

“What will she do? The comtesse?” the tavern keeper asked very quietly.

“What she’s been doing,” said Sombra with a smile, sliding a gold coin across the bar, “Protect her lands.” Sombra adjusted her cloak around herself while stepping out of the tavern and into the night.

----

“You said ‘Vampire,’” said Pharah, looking at Jesse as they rode through the dark forest.

“I did, “ said Jesse.

“There are vampires now? Living-dead, bloodsucking demons? Those vampires?”

“Yes,” said Jesse.

Pharah made a stammering noise for a few seconds, but if there was anything the events back at Adlersbrunn had given her other than a grudge and endless nightmares, it was an ability to accept that certain things she had previously been comfortable to wave off as children’s stories were far more real and far less comfortable. She had been broken in to a new and horrible reality, and she could not stick her head back under the sand any time soon.

“Was she--” Pharah started.

“No,” said Jesse.

“...that’s why you had her show you her neck,” said Pharah.

“Yes,” said Jesse.

“So you’re not going to talk about how you know each other,” said Pharah.

“Ancient history,” said Jesse.

“Jesse,” Pharah said his name in warning.

“We used to work together. Now she works for the comtesse. All you need to know,” said Jesse.

“No it’s not,” said Pharah, “You invited me along because you said if you had to face all these things alone, you would probably die--What good is my help if you’re going to just keep me in the dark?! You won’t even tell me why you’re excommunicated, you--Ah!”

Jesse had suddenly drawn back hard on the reigns, bringing their courser to a sharp rearing stop. Jesse was able to stay in the saddle, but the rearing horse had sent Pharah to the ground with a grunt.

“Oh dear, dear, are you all right?” said the old woman.

Pharah shook her head and rubbed a sore bruised spot on her side, only to look up and see an old woman on the forest road, her hand over her heart in shock.

“Saints preserve us,” she said with a huff, “I thought you would have run me over!”

“Apologies, ma’am,” said Jesse, gently trotting the courser around her, “We’re in a hurry. Come on, Pharah--”

“Just a moment,” said Pharah, feeling at the interior of her pocket and realizing her adder stone had tumbled out when she fell. She looked around desperately, almost sure she had lost it and with it lost the only physical object the Witch Hunter Gabriel had ever given her, when her eyes flicked down on it. Despite being in a dark forest at night, the adder stone stood out like it was in the afterglow of a sunset.

I’ve trained myself not to be dependent on it, but you don’t have that experience, the words echoed in Pharah’s head as she snatched the stone up.

Seek me if you have the sight, the words burned in her mind. Was the adder stone bleeding into her vision just by being carried? Unconsciously, Pharah brought it to her eye.

“What are you doing?” said Jesse.

“Just making sure of--” Pharah didn’t bother bringing down the adder stone from her eye as she turned around to look at him, but she caught the old woman in the periphery of its vision.

The old woman wasn’t an old woman.

With a buck of her shoulder, Pharah swung her rifle into her grip and pointed it at the not-old-woman and the not-old-woman flinched back.

“Woah woah woah!” said Jesse, swinging off the horse and stepping between them, “What did you see?”

“She’s a shape-changer! Like the demon! Get away from her!” said Pharah, backing up.

Jesse took several steps back from the woman as his hand went to the matchlock pistol at his hip.

“They really are yours, aren’t they, Gabriel?” the old woman said with a smile.

“Gabriel?” Pharah could only dumbly repeat the name as the old woman cast off her mantle and her silhouette narrowed and stretched, the wrinkles fading from her face.

“What are you doing so far from Adlersbrunn, Pharah?” a voice spoke behind her and both she and Jesse whirled on their heels to see Gabriel Reyes standing behind them.

“Wh-what?” Pharah’s voice left her breathlessly, tears brimming in her eyes as she lowered her musket.

“You should be back protecting the town,” Gabriel stepped toward her.

“I had to find the witch,” said Pharah, “You couldn’t do it--you had--you were...How are you...?”

“Pharah,” Jesse said in warning, “If the old woman isn’t an old woman..”

“Oh how I love watching them try to figure things out,” said the not-old-woman.

Pharah brought the adder stone over her eye, looked at Gabriel, then dropped it with a flinch, clapping her hand over her own mouth and muffling a scream into it, staggering back from him before Jesse stopped her with a hand on her shoulder to keep her from backing into the not-old-woman.

“Pharah, you don’t understand,” Gabriel started, “It’s still me--”

“No--!” She brought her rifle up, shaking but without the adder stone all that stood in front of her was Gabriel, she could feel her hands shaking on the stock and barrel.

“Well clearly the subtle approach is a wash,” said the not-old-woman, snapping her fingers and letting the glamour drift off Gabriel, revealing his pumpkin head and two blunderbusses with their ember-like glow at his hips. “Shall we do it my way now?”

Gabriel gave an exhausted sigh and raised one of the blunderbusses at his side.

Pharah gasped and raised her own musket in response, only to be shoved out of the way of the fire by Jesse, firing his own matchlock pistol. Pharah let out a wordless cry as both guns went off and Jesse was sent tumbling back by the force of the blast from Gabriel’s blunderbuss, the entire front of his coat red. Jesse’s shot caught Gabriel in the gut, but he only staggered back from the impact, his hand over his gut with the expectancy of agony, to find only negligible pain. Gabriel brought his hand away from the wound in his stomach, looking at what was once his blood, but now looked like liquid fire dripped between his fingers before he felt the wound in his stomach stitch itself together with sparking embers drifting up. “Moira--”he gave a sharp glance over to the not-old-woman.

“Like I told you,” said the not-old-woman, “No death until the Witch releases you.”

“Jesse!” Pharah was at Jesse’s side, turning him over onto his back. He groaned under her touch and she let out a half-sobbing exhale with relief that he was still alive, “Jesse--” she moved to put pressure over the wounds on his chest, “Stay awake.” Jesse just groaned, turning on his side away from her and curling into a ball.

“You should get away from him,” said Gabriel.

“You should get away!” Pharah snapped, hoisting up the musket in his direction with one arm.

“You always did like the ones with fight, didn’t you Gabriel?” said Moira, tilting her head.

“I--I don’t know what you are--” Pharah was stammering.

“You have to believe me--It is me. It’s Gabriel--” Gabriel started.

“Gabriel is dead!” Pharah snapped firing off a musket ball. This one seared blazing white when it caught him in the hip. He looked down at the musket ball, burning and fizzing in his side. Consecrated, yet it didn’t burn him away. Was he not damned?

“Even with blessed lead, your musket has no power here,” said Moira, stepping next to Gabriel, plucking the fizzing white ball from his side and watching as it instantly turned back into an unremarkable ball of lead as she did so.

“You need to get out, Pharah,” said Gabriel, “Go back to Adlersbrunn.”

“I’m not leaving him!” said Pharah, bending over Jesse, “I won’t let you kill him!”

“Well you can’t say you didn’t make your offer--” said Moira with a shrug.

“He’s not going to die,” said Gabriel.

Pharah just hoisted up her musket again, moving to aim it at Moira this time.

“Jesse never told you why he was excommunicated, did he?” said Gabriel.

Pharah brought the sights of her musket down from her eyes and looked down at Jesse, “What...?”

Jesse was still curled in a ball, but twitching now, his low moan of pain giving way to something deeper and shuddering in the pit of his throat.

“You need to leave,” Jesse’s voice didn’t quite sound like his voice any more, deeper, growling.

“Jesse?” Pharah’s voice drifted away from her and she flinched back as Jesse suddenly spasmed hard.

“It was the only way I could protect him, after what happened...” said Gabriel as Jesse’s spasm now unfolded his body, making him arch his back up off the ground, his fingers clawing into the soft earth as he moaned and then suddenly his back arched again, but there was a horrible crack to it now and Pharah flinched back from him, wondering if his own spasms had killed him but still he moaned but it rumbled too much to be a moan, still his chest rose and fell, then crack-shluck, his arms and legs were stretching, bones shifting and contorting beneath his skin.

Crack. Shluck. Crack. Crack. Shluck. Crack.

His ribs were unfolding like you or I might uncurl a fist, making those sickening sounds all the while. Pharah was scrambling back from him, her desire to save him now overridden by the fear and revulsion of what was before her. Coarse dark fur surged over his body as his expanding bones and sinewy muscles finally ripped out from the confines of his clothing. He let out a bellow of pain, the very sound of it contorting as his nose and mouth and jaw suddenly jutted out from his face, strings of drool hanging glistening between two rows of sharpening white teeth as his bellow turned to a roar, turned to a howl. Pharah’s breath shuddered with half-sobs.

Jesse pushed himself up, towering off the ground, standing over her, his chest no longer bloody and drool dripping down from his great maw. She wasn’t even sure how big he was, he just seemed to consume all her world in coarse fur and dripping fangs and those eyes. Those big yellow eyes. He regarded her with those yellow eyes and a snarl as she stumbled up to her feet, gripping her musket in front of her. That low growl stayed in Jesse’s (could she really still call him Jesse?) throat as he leaned toward her, when suddenly there was another blast of Gabriel’s blunderbuss at their feet and the beast flinched back.

“Not her,” said Gabriel, holding a still-smoking blunderbuss. He fired it again at the beast’s feet, making it flinch back again.

The creature’s yellow eyes darted between Pharah, Moira, and Gabriel, then it snarled and took off into the woods.

“Jesse!” Pharah moved to sprint after him but suddenly stopped, frozen, arm still stretched toward him. She tried to will her feet to move but they wouldn’t, she couldn’t lower her arm, her mouth was still open, she could not close it. Purple and yellow light clouded around her like ink diluting in water as Moira stepped around her.

“Even a beastly form like that and you still move to help him,” Moira strolled around Pharah with a tilt of her head, “Is this loyalty or hypocrisy?”

“Don’t hurt her,” said Gabriel.

“Still no trust on your end?” said Moira, brushing her fingers along Pharah’s jawline, her face still frozen, though her eyes flicking around in their sockets. Moira smiled. “Not to worry, Gabriel. I won’t hurt her. She’s meant to protect humans, isn’t she?”

#gency #witch mercy au

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