#AprilWorldbuilders 8/Apr/26: Non-human species and traits?
Fairies average 12 inches tall, with their wings as tall as their bodies. There's six different subspecies, based on what their natural magic element is: airkind, groundkind, waterkind, firekind, coastal florakind and inland florakind.
A woman in her late 30s with silver hair and grey eyes is standing, wearing a pale green dress. She has a series of small marks tattooed along her left arm.
#QueerPrompts 5/April/26: What would your character do for a self-care day?
Karis tends to keep to herself. For a self-care day, she'll indulge in her hobby of sketching. She will travel out to a location, usually outside the town with a sketchbook, sit down and draw.
(Art by Grbaged.)
#AprilWorldbuilders 5/April/26: Architectural style?
For human buildings, it would be 'Early 20th Century Australian' - buildings made from bricks fused together with groundkind magic and tiled or corrugated iron roofs.
Fairy structures are usually wood with thatched roofs, built amongst trees.
Karis has some massive, unresolved grief that's she's been running from. She's hiding it under her steely demeanour.
It's all going to come out over the courses of books 4 & 5 - the armour gets broken down and ripped off.
For me, it's usually the concept first - what is the crime/mystery to be solved? After that, I'll pick which of my core characters is best for it, then figure out where in the series of events the narrative starts.
A fairy with bark-brown skin and green hair is glaring at the viewer, his arms folded. He has several scars.
Yaetherim has several scars and a blunt, snarky demeanour. You'd expect him to be a bit of a brawler. But there's kindness underneath, along with a strong moral code and an aversion to inflicting violence.
(Art by @o8cho.bsky.social.)
I have a folder in Joplin just for these. It's growing.
#FantasyIndiesApril 3/04/26: How do you come up with book titles?
I usually use a phrase from the book itself, or one of the chapter titles. 'Embers of Doubt', for example, was the chapter title in that book where Yaetherim realises that the fatal fire wasn't an accident.
#AprilWorldbuilders 3/04/26: What is their source of water?
Water is taken from the river that flows through Alkentoft. It contains a natural poison known as 'toxicant' which needs to be filtered out with waterkind magic before it is safe to drink.
Noone is sure where the toxicant comes from.
#AprilWorldbuilders 2/Apr/26: What is the local government like?
Alkentoft is a regional capital, which includes the governor's office. The governor must run legislation through an advisory council, composed of randomly-selected citizens who serve for 2 years. Same for the king at a national level.
Thanks 🙂. Been working on this particular setup for about 15 years or so.
A small diesel engine sits on a siding. Behind it is a steam locomotive with the number 7.
A steam tank locomotive is crossing a wood trestle bridge, with a boxcar behind it.
A shay-type locomotive shunts log cars into a siding.
A saddle tank locomotive, number 9, is running backwards with a boxcar coupled to its front.
I'm into model railroading. I post about it as @bvlcorr.bsky.social. I model in On30. This is 1/48 scale, but uses the track and wheels from 1/87 scale models to represent tracks that are 2'6" wide instead of the standard 4'8.5". I've built most of my trains from kits and scratch.
#FantasyIndies 1/Apr/26: Introduce Self and WIP.
I'm Daniel, an Aussie author writing fantasy whodunnit stories. In my current WIP, 'What One Does For Hate', Yaetherim is hired by the innkeepers guild to investigate a series of mass poisonings. He ends up working with his brother to solve the case.
A city with several brick buildings, with fairies flying around. In the foreground to the right, a fairy with white wings sits atop an octagonal mail tower.
#AprilWorldbuilders 1/Apr/26: City/town in your story?
Alkentoft is a regional capital and a major trade port, in the south-east corner of the Kingdom of Rychilla. It's populated by Rychillans (humans) and fairies, as well as elves and humans from neighbouring nations.
(Art by Alexis Quintero.)
Not really. I usually navigate back to the popped-out note in the main window before I close the extra window for it.
I do most of my drafting on the desktop version of Joplin, which can now pop a note out into an extra window. So I'll pop out what I'm working on, then check what I need in the notes.
My stories take place in the Kingdom of Rychilla, which is somewhat democratic. A neighbouring nation, the Jalesh Empire, recently had a revolution and became a republic. During this most of the upper nobility were killed.
This will come into play in future books, including the one I'm writing now.
I've got a process I go through - a set number of iterations, each with different goals (plot, character voice, etc.) once I'm done with those, I'll give it a final read-through then publish.
I'll put it aside for a couple of weeks while working on other projects or hobbies, then return to it with a bit of a fresh eye.
My next step after that is to go through a printed copy of the manuscript with pens and highlighters.
A list of files and folders in the Joplin app.
I use a program called Joplin to organise my notes. It's free open-source software, that syncs across my computers and phone/tablets.
I've got my notes organised into worldbuilding, planning and drafts for the books themselves, characters and a few other categories.
This feels very on point 😊 #writingjokes #reading #writingquotes #amwriting
#QueerPrompts 24/March/26: Siblings in story?
My current WIP has Yaetherim working with his brother, Naeviol, to solve a poisoning case. (Naeviol is the village apothecary.)
They have drifted apart over the last few months. But they understand each other more by the end of the book.
We talked with D.T. Bella, the Aussie indie author behind the fairy detective of Rychilla, blending steampunk, whimsy, and emotional storytelling.
If you love imaginative worlds, this one's for you.
Read the interview with @rychilla.com : writestats.com/d-t-bella-on...
#IndieAuthor #BookSky
Most of my stories are detective stories, but there are moments where things do get physical. In both of my novels so far, the murderer has fled at the end, and the detectives have to chase them down. I don't go into too much detail - it's more about the fight than the visceral details.
The flexibility of fantasy and how well it can be mixed with other genres. I've combined it with whodunnits, and that combo also allows flexibility as there are different crimes that can be covered - murder, kidnapping, robbery, etc.
#QueerPrompts 16/Mar/26: How would one of your characters care for another if they were sick?
Yaetherim worked with his brother Naeviol, the village apothecary, for a while after he was attacked. So he's got basic knowledge of medicine. He'd nurse whoever was ill, using all his experience.
#MarchWorldbuilders 16/Mar/26: Gods in your world?
There are 4 deities:
- Galarus the Creator
- Luxanke the Provider
- Jyndos the Protector
- Vudite the Watcher
Thing is, each religion views the pantheon from a different angle, and none have the full picture.
Yaetherim is a former forest protector (fairy policeman) who becomes a private eye after recovering from a near-fatal assault. His village council won't let him return to duty, due to 'scars on his soul'.
He often works with the town guard (human police) when his cases require it.
A fairy with freckled blue skin, red hair and glasses is looking thoughtful. She is wearing a bowler hat, bow tie and cream coloured shirt.
#QueerPrompts 15/Feb/26: What role does romance play in your story?
In my current WIP, it's the motive for the murder - the victim is killed out of jealousy. Yaetherim also finds out that someone wishes to court him.
But Naeliya, one of my other MCs (art by @o8cho.bsky.social ), is aro/ace.
#FebruaryWorldbuilders 15/2/26: Who makes the laws in your world?
The King of Rychilla makes laws for the kingdom. But they need to be approved by an advisory council of randomly-selected citizens (refreshed every 2 years). Same for regional governors. This was put in place after their civil war.