Akeela is unwillingly thrust into an adventure that will not end until she decides to accept her fate and give up on her dream. Maybe even her life.
Okay, so you’re writing along, minding your own business, and suddenly a character drops himself into your story. Seriously! Where did he come from? Why is he there?
She (Tzmet) enjoyed her musings until a short whistle brought her up. "Halt!" she called. After the lurching stopped, she pulled the curtain aside and peered out the window. The breeze ruffled her beaver's hair wig and she shaded her eyes from the setting sun. A figure the size of a five-year-old child stood off the road, alongside of an oak tree.
When I wrote about the whistle, I stopped. Who whistled? I had no idea! But Tzmet knew. How could that be? One of my characters knew another character I didn’t! Ain’t writing fun? So, I had to find out who had pushed themselves into the story.
Unplanned, unexpected characters. They happen. And what an author needs to know is if they will help or hinder the story. I had to figure that out. So, I went to my Good Faerie, Bad Faerie book and looked at other fay creatures. I decided to use boggarts, although those who know this fay race will not recognize them in Fairyeater.
They are a little bigger than a 5-year-old child, about 3-foot-tall, with olive green skin, long brown hair which they pull back and braid, piercing black eyes, and short, pointed beards. The men wear nothing except a loin cloth, preferring to leave their muscular, hairy bodies to the elements. The women, while as hairy as the men except without beards, like to keep themselves more covered, wearing knee-length tunics.
Their diet consists mostly of skunk cabbage and various swamp animals. But they’ll eat pretty much anything they can get.
They have the ability to move silently, and for stealing whatever they set their minds on. They served Riss’aird in his rise to power but deserted the castle before the spell backfired.
Brimridge is the leader and Brimridge is who Tzmet heard whistle. They start out not trusting each other, but an interesting thing happened as the story progressed. They became alliances and then friends. This changed Tzmet’s character arc and also the storyline, and I think it’s stronger.
"I thought I recognized that whistle," Tzmet sneered. "Well, well, well. Brimridge. I wish I could say it's pleasant to see you again."
The boggart bowed. "My lady, Tzmet."
Tzmet snorted. "Stop the pretense of respect. What do you want?"
Brimridge stroked his short beard. His black eyes sparkled. "My lady, I have the utmost respect for you."
"Hmmmm, maybe so, but you have no loyalty."
"I am loyal, wicked lady. But I also have a strong sense self preservation." Brimridge patted his chest. "However, I feel the stirrings of the great and mighty Riss'aird and thought perhaps you could use my services once again."
And after thinking about it, Tzmet decides to let Brimridge and his family to come to the castle. After all, you never know when you might need allies.
She held his gaze for several moments before she spoke. "I may have use for your services. Move your people into the lower chambers of my castle and wait for me."
Where I can keep an eye on you, she thought.
Unlikely friendships. They’re the stuff stories are made of.
We recently asked Fellowship of Fantasy authors what the scariest story they'd ever read was. Here are some of their answers.
Hm. Well, The House of Leaves caused me to have a waking nightmare one night while I was trudging through it (it's a long, difficult book to read), so I'm going to say that. I'd never had a book give me nightmares before.
The Oath by Frank Peretti.
This is a hard question, because there are different kinds of scary, but I'll say first there's a reason THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE by Shirley Jackson is so iconic and the progenitor of the haunted house genre. There's another short story, and I'm so bad because I can't remember the author or the title, but I think of it nearly every time I see a cardboard box on the road, about Native American shapeshifters which have concealed themselves in our modern society, feeding as roadside trash on roadkill -- and the occasional too-curious human.
Tintin and The Seven Crystal Balls ... it had this desiccated mummy that (in a dream sequence, but still freaky) sneaked up on our bold young reporter, Tintin, and tossed a crystal ball at him. There were people in comas and it was all so very very scary for nine-year-old me.
Our authors tell us their favorite scary monsters!
We recently asked Fellowship of Fantasy authors to tell us about their favorite scary monsters. We've gathered some of their answers into this collection of creepy critters for your enjoyment!
Enjoy, and consider clicking the links to investigate the authors further!
​ALL OF THEM. Seriously, I enjoy old folklore and how it ties into universal human emotions and needs. But I have spent the most time writing about youkai (non-human entities in Japanese folklore) and western European fae.
Favorite scary monster of lore: Yzma transformed into a kitten in The Emperor's New Groove. She replaces the bunny from Monte Python & The Holy Grail as the most adorable, seeming innocent creature, that will straight-up murder you. She's cold-sweat terrifying... and with that voice! Not even close.
The Chupacabra for sure. It's a blood-sucking creature--definitely not something I'd want to cross paths with in the dark of night!
The Gaelic Sluagh (sloo-ah), which was said to eat souls and occasionally appeared as a flock of crows.
Were wolves. I'm just a dog person I guess.