Candles Book Club

March 9th to 15th

Alla and mae govannen! Welcome and well-come thou art!

Did you know that J.R.R. Tolkein was a linguist as well as a literature scholar? So many things go into our stories that a fantasy or sci-fi writer almost has to be a scholar themselves! Geology, climate, linguistics, earth sciences, physics, religions, carpentry, mythology, stone masonry; these are as much a part of story as the writing itself.

Admittedly, if you're not building a whole new world you don't need as much of it, but it's still good worldcraft to incorporate important geological features into your setting. Lakes, cliffs, a park with springs, a river or creek (or "crick" as some characters would say) are all unique and useful features.

That's not to forget what story itself is! I tend to like Lisa Cron's succinct definition. "A story is how what happens affects someone who is trying to achieve what turns out to be a difficult goal, and how he or she [or they] changes as a result."

It's a bit wordy for one sentence, but it gets the job done. "Follow no rule off a cliff!" (C.J. Cherryh)

But I digress! Welcome back, those survivors and new inductees. We're about to embark on another round!

Nicole Arlette, of the fairy realm,

Sabine Golde, of the werewolf clan

Etelka-San, of the deepest waters,

Ferret-Bird, of heroes and thieves,

RexEynon, of xylex mastery,

and Kendra Frost, of shadows and spirits.

Alyhaymora has gone off comms, and is awaiting trial in the oubliette. Sad to see it happen, but the krakken was wasting away for lack of protein.

Mission objectives this week are:

The Legend of Allyria, by NicoleArlette

Observations and Deductions: Our benevolent fairy master asks us to focus on any observations and general thoughts.

Group discussion and peer machinations: Would you like to learn more about anything in chapter's 1 & 2? OR What do you think about the pace of the story thus far?

The Lycan King, by TheSabineGolde

Scent trails and tracking: the Alpha says we're looking for general observations while we read, but asks that we ignore grammar. Please.

Pack meeting: Do the first two sections captivate you enough to want to continue reading?

And the rotation begins again with Tempest Kapalina by Etelkasan

Currents and eddies: General/Grammar

And back to the council chamber for: What would you like to see more of?

I'll be tagging in the comments, since our transmission program is on the glitch for those again. These refurbished comms consoles, am I right?