Month: September 2020

Character Introduction: Magistra Chara Amulearn

[Image ID: A digitally drawn portrait of an Avian from the neck up. She has a human-like face, dark skin with cool undertones and flecked with orange light, and “hair” of feathers covering his head. She looks at the viewer with a neutral expression. Her plumage is various shades of blue, white, and black. Though not shown in the drawing, Avians have four wings and she wears a loose fitting wrap-style dress and bangles. This portrait was done by @_.par0xysm._ on Instagram! End Image ID.]

Age: 24

Role in the Story: Leader, responsible for the trade of her city and the well being of her people.

About:

Chara is an extremely driven and determined Avian who will work herself until exhaustion to achieve her goals. She’s a public servant, first and foremost, and her focus is entirely dedicated to helping her city and friends however she can use her power and position to do so. She’s idealistic and prizes fairness and justice in her work, and doesn’t approve of people seeing her shaken. Chara keeps meticulous organization and appearance in order to uphold the facade, even if she’s stressing over her responsibility to keep her people well-supplied and well-fed.

Despite her ambition and devotion to her work, her heart is ultimately with her loved ones, and she prizes the work of her brother, Acheran, and the company of her friends in the Laine family.

This is the last of the character introductions for the main characters in my current WIP, Storge, which is in its editing phase! Next up are introductions for my two villains, as well as a list of several important side characters. In the meantime, you can find the other character introductions linked to the Storge page of this blog, and more art on the Gallery page. Thanks for reading! 

Posted on by Etta 0

Character Introduction: Acheran Amulearn

[Image ID: A digitally drawn portrait of an Avian from the neck up. He has a human-like face, dark skin with orange-red undertones and blue highlights, and “hair” of feathers covering his head. He has an angular face, and looks at the viewer with a neutral expression. His plumage is orange red, and his feathers are fluffy and disheveled. Though not shown in the drawing, Avians have four wings, he wears loose fitting work clothing and carries belts and straps full of carving tools. This portrait was done by @_.par0xysm._ on Instagram! End Image ID.]

Age: 21

Role in the Story: Observer, a scientist studying magic though his art of charm making.

About:

Acheran is one of the pacifist Avians living in the cliff-city near Maaren. He is a charm maker – though he can’t perform spells, he’s excellent at sensing magic in his surroundings and channeling it into the materials he works with in order to create his art that functions as batteries for the Atilan to use in their work. He’s extremely curious about the natural world and practical applications of the magic he works with and loves solving problems. When he gets going on a project, he won’t rest until he’s figured it out or someone forcibly stops him and often forgets to eat and sleep as a result of this. Likewise, if something bores him, he’ll avoid it at all costs.

Upon a first meeting, Acheran may seem quiet, clumsy, and disorganized, preferring to avoid conflict and content to sit back and merely observe the world. But Acheran’s connection to his city runs deep through his sister Chara, and his friends in the Laine family, and he must do his best to navigate an increasingly volatile situation, wondering what’s the right thing to do, and if he has the will to commit to it.

This is the one of several character introductions for my current WIP, Storge, which is in its editing phase! If you want to see Acheran’s sister, Chara, make sure you check back next Friday! In the meantime, you can find the other character introductions linked to the Storge page of this blog, and more art on the Gallery page. Thanks for reading! 🙂

Posted on by Etta 0

Starting an Author’s Platform: An Interview with Max Gray

Welcome to my first interview post! *celebration trumpet sounds*

I had the honor of working with Max Gray to talk about how he got started with his author’s platform and how he approaches engagement in the community. Max is a trans writer (using he/him pronouns) who writes contemporary works, almost always with some kind of queer romance involved. He is currently planning a surrealism novel called Plant Life, and is drafting a fanfiction called Superkids.

You can find him on his Website, Tumblr, Twitter, and Instagram @maxgraybooks, and on his Youtube channel!

Question 1: Why did you first start posting your writing online – not just for your current WIP but where did you get your start? The first step is a big one, so I want to hear about how you came to take it.

Max: Well, I actually started out on Wattpad with my girlfriend at the time. I’ve been writing since I was in first grade, but it was always off and on, until my girlfriend at the time and I started writing together, and we posted all of our books on Wattpad. I think the main reason was probably just because we had fun with them, and wanted to talk to other people about the stories and characters. For both Plant Life and Superkids, I started posting about them pretty much as soon as I got the idea. If I didn’t have people actively waiting to read Superkids, and excited for it, I probably would have given up on the story a while ago.

Etta: It’s really cool that you were able to find your community so quickly, and that they’ve been so encouraging to your writing process!

Continue reading →
Posted on by Etta 1

Character Introduction: Grace Laine

Image ID: A digitally drawn portrait of a young girl drawn from the neck up. She has warm ruddy brown skin and dark freckles, dark brown hair in a cloud of tight curls around her head, and large brown eyes. She looks straight forward with a neutral expression and wears a yellow headband with a bow. Though not shown in the photo, she wears an old and simply styled sundress that’s been patched and torn several times. This portrait was done by @_.par0xysm._ on Instagram!

Age: 12

Role in the Story: The Fighter, a Debilan girl who kills magic and resists it all

About:

Grace is generally a very friendly and enthusiastic chatterbox who enjoys the small joys and fun side of life from the perspective of a child and mercilessly teasing her older siblings. Most would underestimate her as a “silly little girl” but she will not hesitate to throw herself into a fight to protect her family or defend their name. She’s stubborn, loud, honest, and unapologetic, even when going against foes seemingly much more powerful than her.

This is the third of several character introductions for my current WIP, Storge, which is in its editing phase. We’re going to take a break from these for just a moment, however, as next week is a very special post! Come back next Friday to read an interview with Max Gray about how he’s developed his author’s platform, and the character introductions will resume with Acheran on the 18th. Thanks for reading!

Posted on by Etta 2