I'm deep into writing my new fantasy, currently titled The Ladies of Bryne Park. Edits for Resurrected Thief are still going on between submissions, but I wanted to write something entirely new. And I'm so incredibly excited about this book.
The ideas were originally a jumble of little snippets and characters I couldn't quite place yet. But it all came together with the unifying thought of "No". Simply put, I was tired of being told what should be in a good fantasy. Tired of all the same examples over and over again. I started saying no to all those ideas, and this book came out of it.
It follows two young women escaping horrifying lives and trying to find freedom. Along the way, they encounter all sorts of magic and mayhem. Any dashing romance? NO! That was the first thing I said no to when I began writing this.
Another fine example came after a little conversation I had while trying to outline one character's motivations and their story arc. It was for the main dragon, and I couldn't quite get their reasons for helping our main characters down. I knew they were supposed to be defensive, but that was it. The person I was talking to immediately said I should have the dragon be a mother defending her eggs.
NO!
Why should that be the only thing a female dragon would defend? Why is that the first thing everyone comes up with when talking about women? Defending their lovers and children? Women can want plenty more than that. So no mother dragons in this book.
In the end, I decided that the dragon would have no gender. It is an inter-dimensional creature after all. This is leading to some interesting scenes and plots. Who knows where else saying no will lead me?
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