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shepherds-of-haven · 9 months

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went to my town's teeny tiny library for the first time today (just moved!) and spotted We Have Always Been Here!!! i was so excited to see it out in the wild- especially since the library is so teensy! i pulled my sister over said 'look!! i follow the author on tumblr/patreon!!!' and pulled my copy out back at the house to show her!!

AAAAA this is so cool to hear, thank you so much for letting me know! 🥹 It is really wild to see the book in places I don't expect; I went into a tiny independent bookstore while on a roadtrip in a different country once and I was shocked to see the book on display in the window, like :O And seeing it in a library is the absolute best: libraries (especially teeny tiny ones) are my favorite places, so that's so cool that you saw it there! Thank you so much for reading WHABH and sharing that you saw it with me, that made my day!! 💖💖

#my friends and family have made it a little game to check every new bookstore and library they happen to visit lol it's very sweet #and it's usually like an 80% chance it'll be there so far! which is so surreal but I'm very grateful! 🙈#We Have Always Been Here #WHABH #novel #original novel #me #personal

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strangevoyages · 2 years

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It’s been one year since the release of my debut science fiction thriller novel, WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE–and what better way to celebrate than with the brand-new paperback edition of the book? 😉🚀

And even better, let’s do a small giveaway to commemorate the occasion! The prize is a free signed paperback copy of WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE, a WHABH bookplate, and a Shepherds of Haven bookmark of your choice!

Rules:

1) Be a follower of my author blog, @strangevoyages, and like and reblog this post with the hashtag #we have always been here! You get an additional entry if you leave a comment about your favorite moment or character from the book in your reblog as well! :-)

2) The deadline is August 31st, 2022 (11 PM MST).

3) Entrants will be assigned a number, and the winner be selected via random number generator. The winner will be messaged for their preferred shipping address here on Tumblr, and a new winner will be selected if there’s no response within 72 hours.

Additional guidelines: Entrants must be 18 years or older to be eligible. The signed book can only be mailed to a US address, but should an international follower win, they’ll be sent a swag pack of both WHABH and Shepherds of Haven stickers and bookmark merch instead! This giveaway is in no way sponsored, endorsed, or affiliated with Tumblr or any entity other than myself.

That’s all! I hope you’ll join me in celebrating the one-year anniversary of my debut novel and the release of its paperback version! Thank you so much for your support! ⭐️

Links:

Author site

Hardcover, paperback, and e-book editions

Audiobook

#We Have Always Been Here #Lena Nguyen #science fiction #science fiction author #scifi #sci-fi #sff #speculative fiction #sff author #debut author #author #novel #debut novel #whabh #daw #daw books #penguin random house

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366daysoflife · 3 years

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we have always been here (p.I)

(Support me! https://www.patreon.com/shilohhelberg)

Instagram

#art #lgbt #lgbt+ artists #digital art #support artists #artists on tumblr #wlw #line art #artists #artwork #sapphic #my art #whabh series

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shepherds-of-haven · 6 months

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howdy! just wanted to let you know i love your work! i read We Have Always Been Here and am currently listening to the audiobook. thanks for sharing a wonderful and captivating story!

Hi there, thank you so much for reading (and listening to!!!) WHABH and for sharing your very kind words about it, it truly means the world! 🥹💖 You made my week--thank you again!

#We Have Always Been Here #whabh #novel #original novel #!!!#lovely #<3

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shepherds-of-haven · 1 year

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hello!! i just read your book "we have always been here" and i just want to say that i love it very very much. i picked it up on a whim in the scifi section, read the summary and the first page and was so so intrigued. it has provoked so many cool trains of thought for me. thank you for writing and publishing it.

Hi there, thank you so much for sending me this message! 🥺💖 I'm so happy that people are reading WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE and enjoy it--it was my first foray into true science fiction and it always helps so much to hear that people liked it! Thank you so much for your kindness, I'm truly honored! ❤️

#We Have Always Been Here #novel #WHABH

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shepherds-of-haven · 10 months

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hii! i'm a new author working on my first if, and i'm really not doing great tbh. shepards of haven is (my current hyperfixation) sosososososo good and so expansive and just generally the best thing ever and i'm aware that you've been writing this story for years and that's probably why it's so amazing but i'm not having a fun time over here and i was wondering if you have any tips for worldbuilding or if you could share like a general overview of your process? thank you so much :))

Hi there, I'm sorry to hear you're not feeling great about your project at the moment! I think my #writing advice tag could be helpful to you, since that's where I stick all the posts and answers about writing tips and worldbuilding advice from this blog, as well as my @strangevoyages blog, which is exclusively focused on my authorial career and writing-related tips and tricks, so it might be easier to parse through for advice! This post I wrote last year, in particular, could be helpful for worldbuilding, as well! (As well as this post for my general tips for beginning writers of interactive fiction!)

On top of all that, though, I think the best piece of advice I can add on for you is to be patient with yourself! As you mentioned, I've been working on Shepherds for over 20 years now: it was basically the first story I ever wrote, and I still haven't published it in a complete form yet. My first novel, We Have Always Been Here, also took about four years to complete, and in that amount of time, I burned it completely to the ground and started it over from scratch FIVE TO EIGHT TIMES before I got so sick of looking at it I just had to submit it. And I thought I would start my second novel directly after that, starting a few months after WHABH's completion in 2019. It's been four years since then and I'm still figuring out the world and characters of that second novel, to the point that I've also started and completely scrapped the story three or four times... I didn't even settle on the main cast or their names until earlier this year, so that's like 3 years where I didn't even know their names, let alone how their world worked. 🥹 And in the last four years, I've still only gotten as far as about ten chapters on this series, and my most current draft is only at four! (And I'm about to scrap some of that and start over again... 🥹)

At some point, you finally iron things out and the story details settle and actually click, and then you might be off to the races--but you've got to give yourself the time, patience, and understanding to actually get there first! I know that things can feel frustrating when it feels like you've run up against a wall or you just aren't feeling inspired, but letting things simmer for a while just allows the flavors of your story to complexify and deepen. You're creating a whole new world in your head, so give yourself a break! It takes time. Like a good soup, sometimes you have to let it sit on the stove for a bit and bubble away without poking at it impatiently and wishing it would hurry up or dumping ingredients in it to make it cook faster. In the meantime, consuming media that inspires you or that you genuinely love and enjoy--without turning it into the work and chore of "research"--might uncork or illuminate something you didn't even know was brewing. That's what I most often do when I'm feeling uninspired! I just leave everything where it is, meander away, watch or read or play something that intrigues me, and that often naturally sparks inspiration when I'm not thinking too hard about it. A watched p(l)ot never boils, so to speak!

I hope that (and my other posts linked above) help you in some way. Good luck with your writing and again, try not to be too hard on yourself! You're not alone, every writer feels this way: it's just a part of the process, but one that we can mitigate by giving ourselves time and patience. :) And thank you for the kind words about Shepherds, I'm glad you're enjoying it!

#writing advice #writing #writing tips #redirect #strange voyages #tips #advice

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shepherds-of-haven · 2 years

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Hi Lena! I was wondering, which of the characters are most popular among your friends/family who have played shoh?

Hi anon, you might find this a bit weird, but I have never shown ShoH to any of my friends or family--they all know I'm working on a game, but I won't tell them what the name is or anything about it! 🥹😂 This is my modus operandi as an author and has been since I was young... I'm an extremely solitary writer, to the point where my professors and thesis directors would comment on it: even when I was in grad school, they knew I just sort of put my head down and did my own thing once left to my own devices, and that's when I do my best work! My creative process just tends to be really introverted and independent: I know what I want to accomplish and, while feedback always cheers and motivates me, I don't feel inclined to share with my non-writer loved ones until the whole thing is done! Even my editor and agent are aware that I don't talk about or share snippets of in-progress stuff; they just get the whole behemoth in its finished form at the end, or they get nothing! 🤣

So I don't talk about what I'm working on or show it to anybody in my offline social circle until it's completely finished and published! I can't explain exactly why, but I hate talking about my work or am very shy when it's the main topic of discussion (except in workshop/class/professional settings), especially when it comes to friends and family--even though they are beyond supportive, loving, and encouraging! It's a me thing, not them. So I avoid sharing it at all costs until it's done, set in stone, polished to its best form, and there's nothing to influence/change/doubt anymore because it's out there and pretty much out of my hands! (For example, I don't think I could write Chase or Tallys's thirst trap FWB routes as freely if I think there's even a chance of, like, my little sister or something reading along as I write it, so I just treat them as completely separate, divorced worlds and do whatever I want with total freedom until it's too late to worry about it!) It's worked out so far!

The only one who really knows about Shepherds is my partner, but he hasn't read beyond the Prologue because he always gets stuck reading the first chapter of something and then having to wait literal years on the edge of his seat until I'm done with the whole thing (this is happening with my current novel, too); because I always want to see his reactions to the final product rather than being "spoiled" while it's a WIP! But that means he gets teased with a really tantalizing beginning and then has to wait on agonized tenterhooks until I decide to end the torment. 😃 The only exception was when I was writing We Have Always Been Here: after several months of writer's block and tearing my hair out over it (and before I'd gotten my agent or editor), I finally caved and asked him to read what I had, we hashed it out, and I had an epiphany and completely burned that draft to the ground and started over. (Its main premise was fundamentally flawed, hence the writer's block: if you've read WHABH, you'll be interested/similarly mortified to know that the first version had aliens in it.) Then he read the new manuscript before I submitted it to my agent, and then read the book again when it came out, so in the end he had read three versions of the same story by the time it was published. So there were no surprises left for him, which wasn't as fun for me! He was thrilled to do it, but I wanted to see his awe and excitement and 'wow!' reactions when I was finally finished and proud of the final product, not when I was in the weeds with a draft I was ultimately going to slaughter anyway. 😂 So for Shepherds and everything else moving forward, I'm not letting him read anything until it's done!

We have joked here and there about livestreaming his reactions when he finally gets to read the whole thing for the first time, because I just know he's going to be shook and his reactions are always the best 🤣 I've kept all the big story details quiet to really get the most out of his patience, so he will be going in pretty much completely blind... All he really knows is that Blade's stock was initially the highest among fans, and his character went 👀 when meeting Tallys for the first time, but I truly don't know what else will happen with him beyond that... I'll be sure to keep a log when that time comes, if people are as curious as me!

Thanks for your question!

#me #personal #writing #Shepherds of Haven #We Have Always Been Here #long #long post

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shepherds-of-haven · 2 years

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I saw a post about how you used to hate second person, and that got me wondering how you felt about other narrative POVs. the patreon short stories are in a restricted 3rd person, with the exception of some kind of virus, which is epistolary so it basically has to be in first person. and WHABH is in third person. is there a reason why you don't use first person as much?

All of my favorite books growing up were written in either limited or omniscient third-person, so I think it's just naturally the POV I gravitate towards the most! I don't tend to personally like writing in first-person simply because I find it too limiting: it's hard for me to naturally introduce world-building details or exposition while in the perspective of someone who's lived in that world all of their life (because I, throughout the course of my everyday life, am not thinking something like, "I head downstairs and root around for breakfast, finding one last banana in the fruit bowl. Bananas are generally yellow fruit with a thick peel imported from South America, but this one is from Florida, a neighboring state, and therefore a little more green."). It's like, why is the character thinking that? Who are they explaining that to, because surely it can't be for the benefit of themself? It just doesn't feel natural for an inhabitant of that world taking time out of their day to think about or explain how things in that world work, and as someone who generally writes fantasy or science fiction worlds that need a lot of explanation, it's just not a mode that I'm naturally comfortable with. (I only get away with it in Some Kind of Virus because, as an epistolary to someone in an imagined far future, Brightburner has to explain things that they presume won't make sense to a future reader.)

I also find first-person more limiting when it comes to the personalities and psychologies of other characters as well as the larger plot: you're restricted to the perceptions of the narrator, which may or may not be accurate, so you're often having to deal with a meta narrative (the larger world and story at play that the narrator may not be aware of how they fit into) as well as the direct perceptions of the main character themself. Other characters might have histories, secrets, or mannerisms that they would never explicitly state or explain to someone else (like the main character), but which would be important for the reader's understanding of their characters or the larger story. A character who seems exclusively silent and surly with a main character might be completely different to their family or lover behind closed doors, which is an important character detail that the narrator might never get the chance to witness or find out for themselves (but which would be very easy to allude to in third-person POV). It might be unrealistic for a self-professed oblivious or obtuse thirteen-year-old main character (like a Caine) to perceive the subtle love triangle or professional passive aggression between other adult characters in a scene, or to realistically have the knowledge to keep up with some really complex political situation going on. Etc., etc. I think first-person necessarily makes the main character the central focus of the story, almost to an exclusion of everything else, and I like floating around with large casts and their dynamics as well as larger plots that might be taking place in multiple places or timelines, rather than staying fixed with just one limited point-of-view, realm of experience, and state of mind--at least more often than not.

The latter part is something I also sometimes struggle with in second-person: knowing the Shepherds so well means I often wish I could relay their thoughts or off-screen actions more directly, but have to rely on the perceptiveness and guesswork of the MC rather than stating it outright! (For example, MC might notice if Blade clenches his fists in a scene, but a first-person or second-person POV can only guess or interpret what that action means, using the MC's particular understanding and realm of experience, whereas sometimes I long to simply state it outright as a third-person narrator--especially since Blade's obviously not going to be forthcoming about it to anyone!) There are just a lot of layers involved, so I tend to prefer the larger freedom of third-person POV more!

Also, there's this whole thing with narrative distance and first-person past POV that I don't need to get into in detail--but in short, first-person limited stories told in the past tense always somewhat spoil whether the narrator lives or dies, which is a consideration that third-person stories don't really have to contend with. In LOTR, when you read about Frodo leaving the Shire in third-person, you're like "Damn, that dude could legitimately die at the end of this trilogy!" There's a certain amount of mystery and suspense there. But when you're reading about Katniss's first-person past perspective in the Hunger Games, as in, "I drew my bow and fired at so-and-so," you already know she's going to live at the end of the series, because otherwise how would she be telling you the story, or writing it all down for posterity? There are ways to get around this--epistolary narratives can cut off mid-way, and obviously you don't know what happens to the narrator after the story ends, but you do know that the Hunger Games didn't kill her, and that she survived the events of the story long enough to tell the whole tale. This is basically a clumsy way of saying that first-person POVs introduce the question of where the narrator is in time, in relation to the story (are they telling it six months after its events? four years? what prompted them to start telling the story, and to whom and for what purpose?) and exactly what they're choosing to include or omit in the story itself. If they have the benefit of retrospection and hindsight, that means the details they choose to share, highlight, or deflect are very deliberate, and at some point you have to wonder why they're keeping the reader in the dark about certain things if they (having already experienced the entirety of the events) already know what truly happened and why.

It's just a lot of different layers that I find get circumvented in third-person limited or omniscient, so that's why I prefer other POVs over first-person! That isn't to demean first-person narratives at all--I think first-person narratives can be much more difficult and complex to pull off well because of all of those considerations--but it's just not something I personally read or write a lot!

Thanks for your question, and I hope that makes sense!

#me #personal #writing #first-person POV #POV

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shepherds-of-haven · 3 years

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Shepherds of Haven

Shepherds of Haven is a dark fantasy interactive fiction game. In it, you play as a Mage living in a world where magic is outlawed and your people—those possessing supernatural powers—are oppressed and reviled. The world is ruled by humans who believe in science, technology, and industry: at best, you and your kind are nothing more than a fairytale, and at worst you are the state’s greatest threat.

Thus, using magic has been illegal for centuries. But after years of persecution, you are suddenly offered an opportunity to use your powers for good: demons are now returning, and the world needs fighters like you to protect the population from their invasion. Guns and bullets do no good against monsters pulled from primeval nightmares; only your people and your supernatural powers have the ability to fight fire with fire.

So you join the Shepherds: an order of elite heroes and fighters comprised of the very people the world once feared more than the demons themselves. As a Shepherd, you’ll solve magical crimes, slay demons to protect the citizens of Haven, and build your reputation throughout the capital. Explore the world of Blest, recruit allies and factions to join the Shepherds’ cause, find romance and companionship, investigate mysteries, lead rebellions and exorcisms, and uncover answers to the crises plaguing the world. Where are the demons coming from? Where have the gods or God gone, if they ever existed? Who are you, really?

And will you be the world’s true savior... or will you be its ultimate downfall?

Customize your protagonist: choose names, gender, sexuality, appearance, weapon, magic specialization, educational background, racial heritage, and much more

Play as male, female, or non-binary; straight, gay, bisexual, or pansexual; as well as aromantic, asexual, aro-ace, or allo

Thousands of choices and role-playing variations: build your character’s personality and worldview from the ground up, test your loyalties and morals in every chapter, and make meaningful decisions that will change the story and world of the game in large and small ways

15 companions to recruit and befriend, each with their own unique story

10 romance options (5 male, 5 female) and 2 one-night stands/flings

Fulfilling friendship and romance routes, culminating in dozens of different possible endings for each major character, as well as diverse endings for the protagonist, their relationships, and the state of the world

An ever-changing codex, character guide, journal, inventory, and stats page that grows and adjusts as you play

A hubworld-style exploration system between chapters: interact with the city and explore the world on your days off; take quests or side jobs; train; shop; gamble; pray; read; and spend time with or date companions between story missions

Dozens of mechanical secrets to reward your playthrough: achievements, a new game+ system, a save system, unlockable art, collectible trading cards, room decorations and souvenirs, a planned “stupid mode,” and planned DLC

Much more!

✨ Play Here ✨

Completed Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3

Approx. 270,000 words

Last Updated: August 2021

FAQ

⭐️ Play here ⭐️

Prologue, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9 [In Progress]

Approx. 1,101,000 words without code

Last Updated: March 2024

Currently only available to testers and Patrons until the beta build

Game Info

Demo

Navigate

FAQ

Characters

Short Stories

Character Template

Original Soundtrack (Volume 1)

Original Soundtrack (Volume 2)

Feedback

Report Bugs

Track Bugs

Social Media

Patreon

Ko-Fi

Discord

Redbubble

Tracked Tags

#Shepherds of Haven, #shoh

If you like my interactive fiction work, please consider checking out a hardcover, paperback, e-book, or audiobook copy of my debut novel, a science fiction thriller called WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE, published by DAW Books and Penguin Random House! Read more about it here, here, and on my website, or check out the links below!

Links for WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN HERE:

Penguin Random House

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Audible