Language of Worlds Linkup// Announcements

Okay, so this is actually my first Language of Worlds Linkup I've done even though I've been meaning to do this since Liv first started it *whistles innocently* Now that I have a blog I no longer have an excuse to forget to write it (or put it up). And so without further ado, I give you the language of my worlds.

I chose my Irish faerie story Of Gold and Iron for this linkup since I've been doing a ton of editing in that of late. And I actually found an old document where I had begun to answer the questions for a previous Language of Worlds linkup, I don't remember which one but I think it might have been November? I decided I would include that one too even though that part of the linkup has already ended because I'm a rebel. The old linkup is first so you all can get a good idea of what the story is before we move onto the details of who my main character is. And since the book is titled Of Gold and Iron you're probably going to notice a font color scheme (unless you're color blind like my brother, sorry there, bro...)

1. What first sparked the idea for this novel?

Actually, this idea was first sparked by a dream that I had one night. In it, my brother and I were kidnapped into the faerie world and well… things happened, but I can’t say what cause spoilers. I kept the idea pretty close to the dream itself. So you'll find out as you read the story.

Most of the time, I don't remember my dreams well, but my brain was so taken with this one that it actually had me dream that I woke up and took a shower so that I could brainstorm and piece together the stuff that didn't work because... dream logic.

It was a really weird dream, but it worked out. It worked out.

2. Share a blurb!

So... I'm not overly enthusiastic about this synopsis (Translation: I'll probably be changing it in the future) but this is the one I've got for right now.

Never Trust a Faerie...

Jaye MacCullagh and her brother Thomas are the next generation of gifted humans tasked with protecting the human world from the Otherworld, the home of the faeries of Irish legend- which actually aren’t really a legend. Except Jaye isn’t gifted. When she was born, it appears that she was overlooked by both the Seelie faeries who bless the Guardians and the Unseelie faeries who kindly bestow curses on them. Still, she’s not about to let anything as inconsequential as a lack of a gift keep her from continuing the family business.

But when Jaye and Thomas find themselves trapped in the wrong world, they realize that they need a faerie escort to guide them safely through the dangerous faerie courts and help them find a way back home. Enter Ravven Crowe, an arrogant solitary faerie who is being held against his will by these pathetic humans. But even a captive faerie is a dangerous one.

Things quickly go from bad to worse when Thomas is enslaved by an Unseelie faerie. In order to save her brother, Jaye must become the Fair Assassin, a human warrior who wields the Blade of Gold and Iron and is allowed to kill faeries. But to win this title, she will have to first pass the tests given to her by the faerie courts that don’t want her to succeed. Tiptoeing a fine line between war and destruction, Jaye is forced to do the one thing that she knows she cannot. She must trust a faerie. Her life and humanity depend upon it.

3. Where does the story take place? What are some of your favorite aspects about the setting?

This is a portal fantasy so some of the world takes place in a small town in a Midwestern state. Most of the book, however, takes place in the twisted, enchanting faerie Otherworlds. A place brimming with magic where even humans can find eternal life- assuming they live long enough, that is.

I love the magical and dangerous feel of the Otherworlds. Literally everything about it can kill you, but it does so while being so beautiful. And maybe what kills you could be your salvation instead... 

Another of my favorite aspect of this world are all the many different types of faeries that live there. I based this off of Irish mythology and let me tell you… there are apparently a lot of Irish faeries. And let’s not forget the faerie courts! There are five courts Summer, Winter, Spring, Autumn, and Undersea. Figuring the motives of these courts and their kings and queens has been so much fun! I tied this world in with the faerie world of a short story I wrote that was titled A Feast of Starlight which took place about a thousand years before this book. So figuring out how all of the characters from that story and the history tied in was so much fun.

The Otherworlds...

Pictures via Pinterest

4. Tell us about your protagonist.

My protagonist is Jaye MacCullagh.

Pretty much how I imagine her to look.

Picture via Pinterest

She's a seventeen year old Guardian, who has dedicated her life to her family business. She hates faeries, but she does so because she feels betrayed by them since they never bestowed a gift on her (or so she thinks... *trails off with evil laughter*) unlike all of her family before her. Jaye struggles with feeling inadequate because of this. I know this sounds a little cliche, but I'm going to assure you now. Jaye is not going to discover some sort of dormant super special flashy power. She may have something *zips lips*. But whether this blessing is a curse or the other way around remains yet to be seen. She does however have the ability to wield iron, the faerie's one weakness so that is handy. Especially when it comes to threatening faeries which she is not above doing.

She's feisty, even if she is only strawberry blonde, and likes to consider herself smart. More likely than not though, she's really just smart mouthed. 

  

5. Who (or what) is the antagonist?

Oh, this question is slightly difficult to answer considering I have quite a few antagonists and they are all equally bad, but I do not have a main one. I have both faeries in the Winter Court and the Spring Court who cause quite a bit of trouble for my main charries. But also, my main characters are in a way their own antagonists since they really cause 85% of their own pain. So Jaye is her own antagonist, and Ravven is her antagonist. And she's Ravven's antagonist, and he's his own antagonist...

As I said. I have a lot of antagonist in this book.

Isn't that collage so heartwarming? Mwahaha!

Pictures via Pinterest

6. What excites you the most about this novel?

First off, the faeries. I LOVE faeries, they are so twisted and dark and faerie-y. You never know their true loyalties until it's too late. So the number one thing that I love about this story is figuring out how to take a normal regular favor that a human wouldn't think twice about, and apply faerie logic to it. What could they possibly have had to gain from doing this? Because they would not have done it otherwise.

Secondly, and this is kind of going to come out weird, but the end of this story is TRAGIC. And that actually really excites me. Mostly, because I would say that the theme of this series is redemption/resurrection. Like I said, my characters are their own antagonists and it is a messy, ugly journey that I am super excited to write.

7. Is this going to be a series? Standalone? Something else?

It’s going to be a series, but since I’m notorious for creating super long-will-they-ever-end-?series that are never finished because they’re so long, I’ve decided that it will be a trilogy. Do I second guess my choice every single day? Yeah, pretty much. 

8. Are you plotting? Pantsing? Plansting?

Um… honestly, I’m not entirely sure what I’m doing. I started off plotting the story, but I only plotted the very beginning. When I made it to the middle I pantsted and even though I knew where the story needed to go, I never wrote it down or actually outlined it and stuff. I just had it in my head.

9. Name a few things that makes this story unique.

That’s a tough one to do without spoiling anything. Hmm… I think that the way that I classified all the different types of faeries into the courts was pretty unique. I took a lot of different faerie myths and twisted them around to create my own world.

I would say that the whole plot circling around a human trying to become the faerie's elite assassin is pretty unique. At least, I've never come across any stories like that.

I also have quite a few twists that I hope add to the uniqueness. 

10. Share a fun “extra” of the story (a song or full playlist, some aesthetics, a collage, a Pinterest board, a map you’ve made, a special theme you’re going to incorporate, ANYTHING you want to share!)

Oh, well, sheesh. So already said what my theme was, but here is my Pinterest Board for this story. And my Spotify Playlist.

And now some collages and quotes about my main characters. Because really all I need is more excuses to make collages!

Pictures via Pinterest 

Pictures via  Pinterest 


"I know, some Guardian I am. Faerie hater by day, anxiety ridden teenage girl by night."









"With everything that is going on, I want to feel safe around him. I want to feel like I have one ally. But that is not a healthy thing to want. Not when the person I wish were my ally will very likely stab me in the back if I let down my guard around him."

Picture via Pinterest

So that was the first Language of Words, the one that I filled out while I was still actually writing it. Here is the new one now that I've finished the first draft and have been spending the past couple of weeks editing it!

I was going to focus on Jaye with this next linkup, but now I realized that I already said so much about her, so I'm actually going to talk about my male lead, Ravven Crowe.

In five words or less, how would you describe your character? Oh, hmm, let me thing about this I would probably use these five words to describe Ravven... faerie, alone, lost, manipulative, wrong.

When do they see an opportunity for self-improvement? Ravven doesn't really think he needs to improve. He thinks that he's perfect. He's sort of vain that way. But, there is a certain very HUGE event that happens to him that will force him to reconsider himself. BUT I CANNOT SAY ANYMORE!!! *ignore me crying over here and just move on to the next question*

How do they view themself (good, evil, neutral, etc.)? In Ravven's eyes, he is good or in the very least even if he views himself as evil he won't care because he is so selfish. He knows that some of things he does are questionable, but as long as he gets what is best for him in the end, he did the right thing. Classic faerie logic.

Is there a story that inspires them? What is it? Even if Ravven would never admit to it,  he would have me say that he is inspired by nothing but himself (thank goodness that he isn't in control here), he is actually greatly inspired by the story of his parents' love. Much more than he will ever say.

What proverb or quote they identify with? Um... so this isn't one that Ravven himself would choose to identify with, but it definitely works for him. Oh, stars above does it work.

NO, I AM NOT CRYING, I JUST HAVE ALLERGIES!!!

Picture via Pinterest

What does their standard day look like? A standard day with Ravven would include him wandering aimlessly through the Autumn Court, mostly plotting. Sometimes going out of his way to avoid other faeries. Occasionally he'll visit his dad and his two or three friends. Then he goes back to his solitary wandering and tries to find some way to wash the evidence of their company from his existence.

When they picture their ideal day, how does it go? Um, so it's hard to say because Ravven's real goals are kind of a huge secret of the story. But I would say that in Ravven's ideal day, every piece that he has ever crafted falls perfectly into place and he definitely gets the thing to happen.

Do they have a favorite memory? If so, what happened? As an immortal who is more than three hundred years old, Ravven definitely has a lot of memories. I would say that his favorite is probably one of his mother teaching him how to control his magic.

Where do they see themself in five years? Ravven doesn't think about the future. Since he is an immortal faerie, it's infinite. So I suppose he sees himself doing exactly the same thing he is doing now, completely unchanged. If he's managed to accomplish his goal, that's great, but if not. Well... he has time.

What is their life dream? I'm not going to say what Ravven would tell everyone his life dream is, because honestly deep down I don't think that's what he really wants. What he really wants is to belong and, whether he admits it or not, to be loved.

So that's the end of the Language of Worlds linkup. Hopefully you guys enjoyed learning more about my story and my characters. MAN some of those questions were so hard.

Pictures via Pinterest

Anyway... now with that done, I actually have TWO and a half announcements for you all. They are:

1. I wrote a flash fiction piece! I'm calling it Chained Magic, but it doesn't really matter. Anyway, you can find it here. It should be the first story listed, but if not, it's the one under 'Nicki Chapelway'. I would super appreciate any thumbs up you want to give my story. Read everyone else's stories or write your own story while you're at it and join in on the fun!

2. A Certain Sort of Madness is FREE on Kindle starting today and lasting until the 28th. A countdown of sorts for when A Week of Werewolves, Faeries, and Fancy Dresses will go on sale on the 29th.

1/2. This isn't really an announcement but keep an eye out for A Winter Grim and Lonely it should be published any time in the next two weeks.

That's all I've got for now. What do you think of faerie stories? What is your favorite book about faeries that you've read yet? What is your favorite mythological creature (in case you couldn't guess, faeries are mine)? Comment Below!!!