Candles Book Club

August 12 - 18

The world consists of so many interconnected things. Religion, Art, Heroic Tales and stories, wars, laws, borders and treaties, music, landscape, magic, technology. It's hard to talk about one without seeping into the others in real life. So to, is it, in fiction.

At least in our genres.

For Urban Fantasy this is especially difficult. What would magic have changed in the world? Would having shapeshifters, elves, or other non-humans have changed government? Borders? Stories? Surely they'd have heroic tales of their own. Flashpoints in their own societies that might have spilled over into human territories.

What would have happened if an honored treaty was disregarded? A disregarded treaty honored?

And would Ska-Punk have developed if California wasn't a thing?

In Fantasy and Sci-fi, the difficulty is on a different scale. How do we create entirely new societies, histories, and cultures without first understanding our own and those around us?

Luckily, unlike the "real world," we can pick and choose which aspects we work on, as well as how deep we want to go.

And after that food for thought, while we while away the time in this cliff-side paradise, let's take a look at some stories that are already in the process.

Danni ( x_luminous_x ) with Taming of the Wolf Prince. Choose which sections you're on and go from there!

Section 11-- Our glowing friend recognizes there are a lot of issues in this chapter, but there is quite a bit of needed information stuffed within. They would appreciate solutions concerning where the info can be shuffled off to other chapters, or presented in a more interesting manner.

Section 12-- What do you think the purpose of this chapter was? Does it affect your understanding of Tamer as a character? When Tamer is theorized to have some sort of trauma and specific kind of love unmet in his life, do this chapter and earlier ones clearly indicate what those aspects are?

Section 13-- How do you feel about the dynamic between Tamer and Lorelei? Would the slower paced, more character interaction focus cause you to drop the book?

And for AnnK ( annkreeves ) with First Delicacy.

So where I'm struggling with "The First Delicacy" is the mashup of lore going on in my story: fae and Nephilim. I added a couple page helpers but I don't think it's working for the average reader. In a nutshell, here are my questions:

1.) Would it serve the story better to focus on faeries alone and leave the Nephilim out of it (or vice versa)? Do you like the religious aspect to this or is it too distracting from the plot at hand?

2.) Are you bothered by how small my faeries are? Do you wish they were just human sized or are you getting a kick out of their tininess? Is the world building in that doing its job?

3.) Any points of confusion about the world or the language I'm using? For example, any place I might simplify language for my targeted teen readers? Point them out inline please.

Also as a note for those Discordant conversationalists (pun intended I have no shame) if you'd like specific types of feedback, or are already aware of issues and don't need anyone beating a dead horse, go ahead and type them in your comment thread and your Mod of Modicus will pin them to be available for all time.