OK #AwesomeCharacters, so, in #MistWarden, Chaos Bound, Jessica has a plan to kidnapp the possessed guy. She's gathered all her gear, mind buzzing with a million doubts. She starts backing her parents' car ever so carefully out of the garage… and runs straight into the still-closed garage door 👀💀
…and #MistWarden is no exception, but a murder at the end of Curse Bound brings this into sharp focus in the 3rd book, and in contrast with Neave's disappearance (A missing FN (Native) woman - a group who's killers often escape prosecution in our world 😒💔)
#WriteSky
#MarchWorldBuilders Q22
Jessica technically murders in #MistWarden - The 'shadow' more-or-less kills Chris, then Jess kills the shadow and of course doesn't explain any of this to the cops.
It's a common theme in UF worlds that MCs get a free-pass killing supernatural beings…
#WriteSky
At its heart, #Mistwarden is really about trade routes - Seven worlds connected through one bottleneck that happens to run through the little town of Coldwater, Alberta.
(This series is all about the slow-burn: In romance, and in geo[sic]political intrigue 😁)
#WriteSky
#MistWarden #WriteSky
Quiet comes naturally to Michiru. She prefers to let her actions speak for her, whether in sport, or combat. To the extent she is 'loud' (public speaking, etc.) says more about her nearly unshakeable self confidence than any desire for visibility.
#MistWarden #WriteSky
Drew is not quiet by nature, but racism (he's F.N.) has taught him to move and speak deliberately. He keeps his thoughts to himself unless he's with people he trusts (and even then he rarely says all of them).
For #Mistwarden chars, this is YA UF, so they don't get to wear armor 😁
Jessica would love to be quiet, even invisible, but her tendency to drop and/or run into things tends to always get her noticed (and that's _before_ the horrific visions have her shrieking in the middle of math class 😕)
…and were the shadow drones that doomed the original multi-world collaboration invented on Earth? (And by whom) or somewhere else?
All very interesting questions I hope to explore in #MistWarden Book 4 😁 Though I need to get Book 3 out first (among other, unrelated books, sorry! 😕)
#Febchantment Q19
Magic is so recently returned to Earth in #Mistwarden, that so far, there hasn't been time for any major impacts (there _will be_ in later books 😁)
A careful read of Chaos Bound, particularly the Gatekeeper blurbs at the top of chapters, hints at a time 1000 years before…
#Febchantment Q18 #MistWarden
<redacted> has good reasons for using magic. Though they also create spells just to screw with people who annoy them (which is everyone)
Jessica is using magic because she must, or people will die (the GK makes this clear in 4k and surround-sound visions 😕)
…
#Febchantment Q17
In #MistWarden, the mysterious 'Gatekeeper' entity is a kind of cop (doing it's best to live up to 'ACAB' 🙄), but the only way it can impact the real world is by prodding people (mostly Jessica 😢), but it only barely knows how to communicate with modern humans.
…
#WriteSky
#Febchantment Q6 #Mistwarden
By severity of impact, the most powerful *so far* would be Jessica nearly shattering reality by pushing the shadow drone remnant into the unsuspecting and unguarded gatekeeper (A point of high leverage)
#Febchantment Day 15 #MistWarden
The sample size is small so far, but we've had hints of different 'schools'
Life: Directly manipulate your own life-energy to affect the world. The first talent any aspiring mage needs to master, and the ONLY talent available to non-magic worlds (like Earth was)
…
#Febchantment Q12 #MistWarden
I'm late! but this is interesting: Everyone in Coldwater is new to magic so there's no system, no rules 😶
The two most experienced and active mages are Jessica and <Redacted>. It's obvious they have very different views on magic, both in how to use it, and for what…
#Febchantment Q13
In #MistWarden no one knows how to use the new magic! Trial & error is 😱 'Magic goes wrong' is the _theme_ 😁
💀 Jess nearly shatters reality by hammering on a weak point on the worst day of the year (trying to expel a 'demon')
#WriteSky
#AwesomeCharacters
#MistWarden is YA UF in a generally peaceful setting.
Michiru is the physical fighter. She has the strength, speed and agility. She often protects the others so they can do their parts.
She doesn't like hurting anyone, but she'll use force when necessary.
#FebruaryWorldbuilders Q8: In #Mistwarden there's a gate connecting 8 worlds (Incl. ours). The gate is managed by an entity Jessica calls Gatekeeper (or 'GK'). It decides Jess is it's 'Channel' - It's tool for manipulating this physical world.
...
#WriteSky
#FebruaryWorldbuilders Q7: Ghost Lake, a short drive from Coldwater, is important in #MistWarden. It's a party spot, near the boat launch, and has some nice coves on the other side of the lake (via zodiac) for a semi-private getaway with the boyfriend 😁
...
#WriteSky
...We drew from both Fantasy and SF sources for #MistWarden magic. Fantasy for the magic effects, SF for Jessica's 'mage-sight' showing the 'why' part.
One of our goals was to avoid some common tropes (Silly newb authors 😂) Mostly we brainstormed ideas in the SF model...
#Febchantment Q6 #Mistwarden:
OK, so, mostly we wanted to take poor, autistic Jessica, who HATES change - And turn her entire world upside down and inside out 😁 But since this book a genre horror, we also wanted to give her enough tools to figure out how it works 🙂
#WriteSky
#Febchantment Q5
For #MistWarden (YA UF): Most people (and animals and plants) have ways they express magic, a few are immune, and few have niche traits making them 'powerful'
The exceptions tend to feature most prominently in the stories, but there's no single power scale
#AwesomeCharacters: Scam call?
For #Mistwarden:
Jessica is autistic and has anxiety 🤣 - She doesn't answer unknown numbers!
Drew strings them along to see if he can get them to reveal anything 😁
Michiru hangs up at the telltale 'click' of the scammer's agent connecting. She's too Busy
#WriteSky
#Febchantment Q4
The teens in #MistWarden are trying to reverse-engineer the magic around them with limited guidance.
Jess' starting point is Wicca (from her grandma) - Calling the quarters, casting a circle, etc.
When that doesn't work as expected, she tries a Catholic exorcism rite, in Latin!
…
#Febchantment Q3:
To sum up, magic has been a natural part of the #MistWarden world before, so we're all adapted to it (the whole ecosystem), but we've been struggling along without it for the past 1000 years.
#BookSky
#Febchantment Q3:
There are a few core concepts to #MistWarden magic:
- Magic is returning to Earth after 1000 years, reawakening old abilities among plants, animals, humans
- Magic power can be structured, moved from place to place to create effects (Specific descriptions in books)
#teiteSky
…
Like, we never mentioned autistic rep in #Mistwarden, but looking back, Jessica (as an amalgam of two authors who are autistic) shows so many traits 😁
#Febchantment Q2:
#Mistwarden _has_ a hard framework for the weird and wild magics, but the details aren't explained. A big part of the series is the MCs figuring out what works and what very nearly shatters reality 😬
It's a good thing autistic Jessica LIKES learning complex systems 😁
#WriteSky
#Febchantment Q1:
I'm going to talk about #MistWarden, a YA UF series. I'm working on Book 3 again lately🙂
Magic is returning to our world, starting with Jessica's home town, and she has mage talent!
Unfortunately, the first thing released is a semi-sentient mage-killing weapon 😬
#WriteSky
The #MistWarden (Urban Fantasy) series would fit here :) One of my favourite reviews compared it to the Scooby gang (There's even a dog! 😁) - Which was the kind of vibe we were going for 💕
#SFFChat Q1: Disability has not been a major theme in my books, though a major char in "Collectors" (Querying) is dealing with Long Covid throughout the story, and an MC (Jessica) in #MistWarden is ND.
My Latest WIP "Brothers" features a HoH and Deaf MC, as well as many other chars (I am HoH 😊)
