Iron Druid Chronicles

So I'm still sick, but I just got finished reading books 1-5 of the Iron Druid Chronicle by Kevin Hearne. It's a very well thought out series. I'd reccomend it to people who enjoy urban fantasy.

http://www.kevinhearne.com/

My one point of contention is that I'm not very big on seemingly random killings off of existing characters with lots of "screen time" unless they're written in a way that lets you know in advance they're going to die.
I also don't care for characters who end up switching sides without any precoursing activity that the reader can easily identify as shifty behavior. Ie. if you're gonna be a manipulative bastard BE a manipulative bastard.

I'm too sick to do stuff!

I don’t know all the rules for to and too, but i know that i’m sick. The fever headache I’m sporting is not conducive to writing so i’m taking a break to get well. I’ll be back for next weeks “Ask TheLostSigns”,
Smooches.

Ask TheLostSigns is going on hiatus this week.

I'd luv to spread my wonderful advice to those fictional characters in need, but sadly i'm either hella sick or seriously depressed, cause i'm actually actively avoiding doing it this week. seriously i'm not even gonna try to make some excuse or push it back. I'm just not gonna do it so it stops weighing on me.
Next week i'll hopefully be back with an intsallment.

*The above statement is why i have trouble remaining employed as well. At first i'm super excited and then shortly there after i'm consumed by cripling dread. Hopefully i'll be recovered enough to be creative in time for Free Fiction Tuesdays.

Smooches

Omorian days of the week

The days of the week on Omoria are as follows.

Monday- Moonsday
Tuesday- Earthsday
Wednesday- Watersday
Thursday- Airsday
Friday- Firesday
Saturday- Starsday
Sunday- Sunsday

So the the first three installments of Free Fiction Tuesday all take place on Earthsday, as will the next installment. Then I'll skip to Fireday and the magic test, then Sunsday and the ball.

Omoria is basicly earth in that the planet is the same size, the same distance from the sun, and tilt on the same axis. Omoria's sun is roughly the same age as Earths.
Omoria has 3 moons. 2 Of the moons are the same size as earths moon and lie on the same path as Earths moon, although they are roughly a eigth of the sky apart, so they "chase" each other across the sky. The third moon is located farth away and again is about the same size as earths moon. It's distance from Omoria makes its size when viewed from the planets surface roughly half the size of Earths moon or half the size of Omoria's other two moons. So it hass two regular sized moons and one smaller moon.

Omoria also only has 3 continents. I have a map, but I'll make another one that i can post online.
The central continent is home to Neder in the wset, Worshan in the East, and Rymal in the South. It's shaped roughly like and "X" with the top to legs representing Neder and Worshan, and the bottom too representing Rymal.
Susmar is located on the northern continent and is shaped like an upside down "u", and is locate over the northern pole.
The southern continent is not located over the southern pole. It is home to the refugees from Terra.

I think that's enough information for now.
Question are appreciated and welcomed.
Smooches!

Free Fiction Tuesdays: Seeds of Prophecy (Part 3)

 This week's installment completes the scene started last week. It's a bit long, i guess. I haven't done any editing so i'm sure there are a bunch of mistakes at the moment. I'll be posting some stuff this week to go along with this post, IE. a "what's what in Omoria series". lol I hope you guys like it. As always feedback is appreciated. Smooches.

 (Continued from part 1 in last weeks installment of Free Fiction Tuesdays)

“Very good, Mr. Lanae. We do in fact have many foreign students such as yourself, who much like you and your sister, will be experiencing different cultures in addition to studying their abilities in preparation for positions they will hold later in their lives.”

Sighing out a breath in relief that his answer had been satisfactory, Tobias raised his head to catch a pleased smile directed at him from the Headmistress’s mouth.

“Now Miss Lanae, since your brother so gallantly volunteered to answer my first question you can answer my second. “

Darting a glance his sisters way, Tobias wasn’t surprised to see her paling. In fact she was paling rather quickly, so he leaned over and touched her arm in solidarity. His gesture seemed to startle Phiobe out of her abrupt stupor, and giving him a relieved smile she took a few shallow breaths before speaking.

“Yes, Headmistress.”

 “Good. What do you know of me?”

Slightly disconcerted by the question Phiobe took a moment to answer, and when she did it was with a questioning voice.

“You are Knoirys Imsenko, Headmistress of The Universal Academy of Magical Arts, also known as TUAMA, in Neder.”

“That is correct. What else?”

Unsure as to where this line of questioning was heading Phiobe’s face began to take on a look of confusion. To Tobias the heavy pause and pinched lines between her brows was a dead giveaway that his twin was going over everything they had both learned about Headmistress Imsenko , her thoughts probably racing in their effort to find the answer to what was obviously not a simple question, but a test of sorts.

“You are obviously Susmarian, Headmistress. Your eyes mark you as being of the ruling class… Although in all honesty, I haven’t seen eyes quite like yours before which leads me to think their effect is not simply your Susmarian heritage. I’ve been told you’re a Dream Mage of the highest caliber, which probably explains why I’ve heard you referred to as The Starless Dreamer. You’re also an Elemental Master, having shown at least a Wizards level of competence in the eleven elements.”

By the time she had finished speaking Phiobe restless fidgeting made it obvious that she wasn’t very comfortable under the scrutiny of Headmistress Imsenko.

“Your information is accurate, Miss Lanae. I do in fact hail from Susmar, and I do belong to a very esteemed family, but that will have no bearing on my position at this school. As far as my eyes are concerned, part of what you’ll be learning here a TUAMA is that certain types of abilities have physical manifestations. In my case because of my strength as a Dreamer my eyes bear this appearance. There are other manifestations some far stranger than mine, but those are things you will be taught in your practical magic courses… My dear, something under your coat appears to be trying to escape.”

Apparently Phiobe’s continued fidgeting had agitated Ubrin, causing the child sized creature to journey forth from beneath her clothing, where she had hidden him, to investigate.

Taking in Ubrin’s turtle shaped face, it’s leathery skinned humanoid body, clawed hands, and shell covered back Headmistress Imsenko took a moment to glance at the file she had been reading when they entered her office. She then turned back to Phiobe where she sat with Ubrin in her lap, after picking him up to curtail his wonderings.

“I was not informed you would be bringing a…pet. I’m sorry to inform you that they are not allowed in the dorms and that you will have to seek out alternative lodgings for it.”

“Him.” Tobias quickly rushed to say, seeing the look of growing trepidation on his sister’s face.

“Excuse me, Mr. Lanae?”

“Him. Ubrin is a him, and he is not a pet. He’s a ground swan, and my sister’s Shouhana. They cannot be separated.”

It was obvious that the Headmistress was slightly taken aback by Tobias’s forceful tone, but he couldn’t help it when defending his sister’s best interests.

“Cannot be separated? I find that very unlikely, Mr. Lanae. It is the strictest policy of this school that pets are not allowed to stay in the dorms.”

“Then we will have to make other arrangements. My sister must not be separated from her Shouhana under any circumstances; it is the will of our goddess.”

Tobias was upset that they wouldn’t be able to stay in the dorm, but his sister’s wellbeing trumped whatever previous plans had been made. Reaching out across the gap between their chairs, Tobias took her hand and received a smile in gratitude, before he turned back to face the Headmistress.

However, the look on the Headmistress’s face was not the anger he had expected. Instead he found the Headmistress had slightly tilted her head to the side and was looking at them in an almost quizzical way.

“What do you mean it is the will of your goddess?”

Withholding a sigh of exasperation, for Tobias had assumed that the Headmistress of such a renowned center of learning would already know the intricacies of his sister’s position Tobias spoke carefully in response to the Headmistresses question.

“As you already know, Tsurans share a close bond with the Spirit of Wood. So close in fact that when one of our people is in need and invokes the goddess she will often assist them in some way. Phiobe and I are twins, and at our birth there were…complications. Our birth mother is the High Priestess of Viridpla, the voice of the goddess among our people. This closeness gifted me with a stonger connection to the goddess then most of my people, but it left Phiobe with pieces of herself missing. Don’t misunderstand, there was nothing wrong with her physically or mentally, but spiritually she needed more than what she was born with.
So the goddess gifted Phiobe with Ubrin.”

“How did this gifting take place?”

“The High Priestess told us that the goddess called all the creatures that would come to Phiobe to her. So for many days all sorts of strange creatures, fearsome beasts from the wilds, and gentle domestic animals came to where Phiobe was kept. Then one day all the animals departed the infant Phiobe’s side and a large ground swan matriarch appeared. In the matriarchs arms was what appeared to be a runt of a ground swan liter, Ubrin. He would have died, but after being placed next to Phiobe it became obvious they were meant for each other, that they were Shouhana. They complete each other. So I hope you can now understand why their being separated is unthinkable.”

For a few moments the Headmistress was thoughtfully silent before pursing her lips.

“I am unfamiliar with this term, Shouhana… but listening to your explanation it bears a remarkable similarity to something in the magical community we call a Familiar. Natural Familiars, if that is what Ubrin is for your sister, are exceedingly rare. However, Familiars in general are quite common among magic users.”

“Does that change things, Headmistress? If Ubrin is a Familiar?” Phiobe said, the hope obvious in her words.

“Yes child, it does indeed. There are special rules regarding Familiars. They are not considered pets, and so they are allowed in the dorms, but they are not allowed to wonder freely upon the ground of the school. You will be responsible for… his care as well as his behavior. Is that understood?”

The way Headmistress Imsenko was looking at her made it quite clear the woman wasn’t actually asking a question as much as letting Phiobe know that while Ubrin would now be allowed to stay in the dorms with them, if he caused trouble they would find themselves in quite a different situation.

“Yes, Headmistress.”

Gathering a few packets of papers off her desk, the Headmistress handed them to Tobias and Phiobe.

“Moving along then, these are your welcome packets. Inside you will find your initial schedules, as well as copies of our schools policies. You are scheduled for testing and class placement tomorrow, Firesday. Sunsday night is the New Term Celebration Ball. Attendance is mandatory for foreign students. I will be seeing you there.”

A soft knocking sound carried across the room before the door opened to reveal a young man with shockingly red hair.

“Ahh, good timing, Reginald. Mr. and Miss Lanae may I introduce Mr. Werth. He will be assisting me by giving you a tour of the campus and showing you to your dorms in the Foreign Students Housing Quarter.”

With that the Headmistress once more turned her attention to her papers making it clear they were dismissed.

Saying a soft “Thank you” before quickly gathering their packets, Tobias followed Phiobe and their unexpected tour guide through the Headmistress’s outer office and the halls of the Administration building until they had reached the entrance.

Reginald gave them a smile before opening the door and walking out into the daytime sun. Taking a deep breath and his sister’s hand, Tobias and Phiobe stepped together into the unknown.  

W/S: Alternative Universes Vs Multiple Universes

This week on Writing Supernaturals, I'd like to talk about Universes and how that relates to authors as well as readers of Supernatural/Paranormal fiction.

Now there are a lot of different types of Universes that authors of fiction create. For this post were gonna set aside historical and present day fiction, since those don't carry supernatural/paranormal elements and go straight to those that do.

First off we'll discuss Present Day Paranormal universes, which most people often associate with Suburban Fantasy.

 A well known example of this type of story is Charmed. It featured supernaturals, but for the most part took place in a time when humans were about as advanced as they are in real life.

Now another type of story that shares some similarities with this type of universe is the type of present day paranormal fiction where the paranormals have been "exposed" and so everyone knows they exist, although not necessarily in a way that accepts them. And example of this would be the Rachel Morgan Series by Kim Harrison.

This type of universe takes a bit more work in my opinion, since it requires that the author take into account not only changing the history of earth, but also changing the views of the human race. This can either go really well or really badly from a believability stand point.  Ie. how exactly do you keep the supernaturals from taking over the world, without making it so that the human race would have already killed them out of xenophobic fear?

I personally didn't think i had any series which took place in this type of universe and then i realized i did. For me this would be my Gate's Crossing, Heart, Matchmaker, Curses, Superheroes, Demon, and Therapy series. And as an author this type of universe normally takes only a bit of a historical rewrite as adverse to an actual from scratch world.  The reason i consider this to be the case is that while certain  elements of the universe are hidden I.E. the magical etc. People are well aware that there are superheroes.

 

Next we've got Fantasy universes. This is fiction for which the author creates a new world which has it;s own history involving the supernatural/paranormal. Lord of the rings would fall into this category, were as Narnia would fall into the category of present day paranormal since the main characters hail from England.

This type of universe plays by your rules. You can feature as many "out there" ideas as you want and although you don't necessarily have to explain them it's often a good idea to stay consistent in what you decide to do.
For me this would be my Omaria universe which is being featured in my Free Fiction Tuesdays posts.

~*~.

Now that we've gone over some basic universes, we run into a bit of an overlap a lot of the time. We have authors who write story where all different types of universe are rolled into one because different planets in the same universe have different rules. I personally think i'd have a hard time keeping things organized in my brain if i wrote a universe like that, which is true considering that my Gate's Crossing series has a large amount of fantasy world characters who pass under the radar, while also containing places where there are well known superheroes.

but say you're a writer and you want to write stories in all different types of supernatural genres?
The solution is one of two things.

Alternate realities/dimensions/universes or Multiple realities/dimensions/universes.

Alternate Universes are pretty common place. when you read a story and the Fey live on the "other side" of the veil? that's an alternate universe.

What I've done with my series is set them in alternate versions of earth, which the "gods" can travel between at will but aren't easily traversal by anyone else.
These would be:
 Earth (the Gate's Crossing series which share the majority of human history as we know it).
 Omaria (in which scientific advancement has stalled around the 1800's and for which history is completely different form earth is the culture given it's magic-centric focus.).
Terra ( which was scientifically-centric to the point of abandoning all forms of spiritual for the physical until they destroyed their planet and got busted back to the stone age. Apocalypse style.).

This way they are all connected to each other and really take place in One large META-UNIVERSE, cause that's what works for me.

Multiple Universes are also a route some people take. This is when you start a new series and it has nothing at all to do with the previous universe you worked in. Lot's of authors do this, especially if they get tired of working on a particular series's universe. They'll go in and start from scratch.
At this point in my writing because of the way I've created my universes, i wouldn't be comfortable going the multiple universes route. I've got enough on my plate with the meta-verse i've got, and even one universe has a lot of stories to tell.

Anywasy I wish everyone luck finding the type of universes that's right for them. Until next week.
Smooches

Writing Supernaturals delay... sadface

I got caught up in reading a book, so there might be a delay until Sunday for this weeks Writing Supernaturals. (>_<) this is because I'm just heading to bed now, 8:38 am, and i don't know if i'll be up in time to write it before midnight.
If I do It'll be up, if not expect it tomorrow.
Sorry in advance,
Smooches