An Unexpected Beginning

Fay Tale is my first finished novel. It was also never meant to be written.

Not as in forever cursed, unable to see the light of day meant to be unwritten. But I’d simply never had the idea before.

I was deep in the middle of nanowrimo on a series I’d had planned for forever. And then my brain took a hard left into ‘wouldn’t this be fun to play around with?’ territory. I’d been writing shared cyclical stories with a friend for awhile now. But that was just something for us. I wanted a book I could publish. Something I’d written and finished on my own. But my poor, pummeled brain desperately needed a break. And so 30,000 words of Fay Tale was born.

Like most novels written during nanowrimo, Fay Tale required a lot of deep editing once the intial word vomit was complete. That and about half the story which still needed to be written. But after much sweat, tears, and fear I finally found a ‘good enough’ version of the story. Your first anything is full of mistakes, less-than-perfect scenes, and so-so writing. But the most important part is that you have finished.

I thought I would have a transcendent moment when I finally, after years and years of spinning my creative wheels, finished a book. Turns out you’re still the same anxious, perfectionist person you always were. Just with a shakily crafted love letter to hand out to the universe.

Where did the Idea for an Ogre Main Character Come From?

Any number of places, really. Orcs by Stan Nicholls was the first book I ever read from the viewpoint of an orc. Obviously, orcs are not always the same as ogres, but the unexpected shift in viewpoint was enough to get my creative gears whirring. Along those same lines, I have often found myself wondering about the perspective of the more ‘creature-like’ denizens of most fantasy worlds. It is very human of us to assume that the more human-like a creature is the more deserving it is of telling its story. Fay Tale is just one story in a long line of attempts to tweak the narrative from human-centric to a broader inclusion of sentient characters.

First Cyclical Novel

As this was my maiden voyage into cyclical novels, I started off changing the original names of all my characters into something that either reflected their true names or was a close substitute. Part of me regrets the lost of continuity, but at the same time it was a learning curve of someone who wasn’t quite sure writing multiple stories about the same characters would work out so well.

But now that I’m more confident in my choices surely I could change their names back, yes? You’re not wrong…but I’d already given Maidd a name that was a pun so I refused to change it back solely on the basis of my sense of humor. It’s important to know which hills to die on, after all.

What’s in a Name and Other Fun Facts about Fay Tale

Some of my favorite parts in Fay Tale involve the found family elements. Also any scene that involves Lily or Bremen just because of how fun it is to write someone who consistently gets into trouble and attempts to cute their way out of said trouble. Or hide. Hiding is an excellent option.

I also enjoy listening to Angelis scold Seris. (Don’t tell.) And it should go without saying that I love to torture-er, involve Maidd in so many ridiculous catastrophes. This poor ogre is just trying to make a living wage and a certain sadistic author keeps throwing vampires, princesses, and sassy cats at him. Bless his big ogre heart.

But my very favorite part of Fay Tale was coming up with the title. I adore puns, much to the chagrin of all around me. So coming up with fantasy story involving the Fay and having them be extremely fatal to all and sundry around them was an opportunity no true pun master could bypass. Thus, Fay Tale was born. I regret nothing :D

Fay Tale the Book vs Fay Tale the Series

Surprise! Fay Tale is not just a book, but a series! Book 1 is finished and Books 2-4 are currently in drafts. My mind tends to work in series so when I say I’m writing a book it usually means I’m writing 3+ all at the same time. My happy little intuitive-creative brain hops around from a piece of dialogue from the first book all the way to the boss fight of the final book. Is it crazy? Yep. Does it take a lot longer? Double yep. But it’s how my brain works. And so it behooves me not only to accept it, but find ways to cultivate my particular brand of creating. To trust the way I do things no matter how far off the main stream I might be swimming.