The Silver Lining

byMichael Kötter via Compfight

by Timothy Deal
August 16, 2013

Post-apocalyptic stories are big right now. As fellow CotW blogger and avid YA reader Natasha Hayden could tell you, the genre’s been big in YA fiction for years. Cultural commentators have recently pointed out that two of this year’s top-rated TV shows, Revolution and Under the Dome, both have post-apocalyptic themes. And of course, zombie apocalypses are still all the rage across virtually every form of media today.

It’d be silly to try to pin down one reason for the genre’s popularity since several valid possibilities spring readily to mind: general anxiety about our turbulent times; dissatisfaction with our technological state; a sense of moral decay visualized in decaying flesh; yearning to simplify things and revert to an earlier, perhaps even primeval, mode of civilization; or simply the enjoyment of a dark, dramatic setting for tense and suspenseful action stories.

But personally, one of the things I most enjoy about reading the post-apocalyptic stories coming from our wonderful Children of the Wells writers is their sense of hope. Even as the world of Lomara crumbles around our heroes, even as the citizens of Jalseion, Thyrion, and Averieom begin to grasp the extent of how their lives have changed, the characters find reasons to hope in their darkest hour. Bron wakes to find Calea miraculously alive. Calea miraculously doesn’t mind. Jaysynn realizes he has a new opportunity to help the citizens of Thyrion. Nyasha finds new purpose amidst the loss of her parents.

There will be plenty of struggles and dark times for our characters in the chapters and novellas to come. But hope will also continue to be one of the important features of Children of the Wells. Hope is the difference — especially in this genre — between an empty, nihilistic tale of despair and an uplifting, if bittersweet, tale of promise. We will work to provide many more of the latter stories in the months and years to come. At least, such is our hope.

The Origins of The Fall of the House of Kyzer

August 3, 2013

In a special episode of his vlog, author Nathan Marchand talks about where he got his ideas for “The Fall of the House of Kyzer.” He reveals how he created the city of Thyrion, the characters’ names, and what his goals were for the story.

If you haven’t started on this new adventure, why not start now?

Enjoy!

Water from the Well

by Laura Fischer
July 12, 2013

Nick’s Note: Next week we’ll be debuting the next novel in the Bron & Calea series, The Doctor’s Assistant, written by Laura Fischer. Here’s her preview of the novel.

First of all, I must apologize to all the Doctor Who fans out there. I know this title makes you think that David Tennant or Matt Smith is going to show up with one of their delightful companions to run around the world of Children of Wells getting lost, making humorous observations, screwing things up, and eventually saving the day. Every time I talked about this project with my family, my sisters would perk up at the title, then deflate when I reminded them that sadly, no, there will be no wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey shenanigans in this book.

The title actually refers to a new character who is introduced in this book, a young citizen of Averieom (a small town right outside Jalseion). Her name is Nyasha, and I do hope that you will come to love her as much as I do. (more…)

Free Ebook – Share the Adventure!

By Nick Hayden
June 28, 2013

We’re excited to have The Fall of the House of Kyzer up and running and The Doctor’s Assistant in the wings, ready to premiere early July. But maybe you haven’t read our first story, The Select’s Bodyguard. Or maybe you have a friend you’d like to share it with. Well, we’ve finally got out ebook version ready for download!

By entering your email below, you get a zip file with a .mobi, .epub, and PDF version of The Select’s Bodyguard so that you can read it on the device of your choice.

It’s free! Download it for yourself! Send it to a friend! Help spread the adventure! It’s just getting started.

[download file=”/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/The-Selects-Bodyguard.zip” title=”The Select’s Bodyguard”]

Kill Your Beauties

By Nathan Marchand
June 21, 2013

Next week I make my authorial debut on Children of the Wells. The next major chapter of the CotW saga comes from my pen: a novella entitled The Fall of the House of Kyzer. Here’s a synopsis:

In Thyrion, power is everything.

But not for Jaysynn, the youngest of the Kyzer royal family who rule the city with an iron fist. He alone is unable to manipulate magic, making him an outcast in his own family. However, General Dracon, himself non-Select, sees the prince’s potential and trains him to be a warrior in his own right.

In the wake of the Cataclysm, Jaysynn is the only Kyzer to survive. Ascending to the throne, he is overwhelmed by the weight of the crown and the devastation of his city. What’s worse, he learns of a conspiracy brewing within his own ranks. Even as Emperor, he feels like an outcast.

(more…)

Welcome Our Newest Writer!

Laura Fischer, our newest author

by Nick Hayden
June 18, 2013

The start of summer has made real life crazy for our writers, but we’ve just about got all the kinks worked out for the next batch of stories.

First, I’d like to introduce Laura Fischer, who’s joining us as both an author and copy editor. I’ve known Laura since college, and all of us at Children of the Wells are excited to have her on board. We’re just finishing up the edits on her novel, The Doctor’s Assistant, the sequel to The Select’s Bodyguard. Stay tuned for coming early July. (more…)

Breaking the Wheel

By Nick Hayden
June 7, 2013

I still hear that voice, faint but constant. I force the door to the next room open, the hinges protesting. The floor above is visible. Two more dead, and one alive beneath the rubble. Grigor. He likes tea. That’s all I can remember of him at the moment, all that sticks. He stares up at the third-floor ceiling. His legs are pinned beneath a cabinet. He’s cut somehow; I see blood pooled beneath his lower body. His lips are moving, and sometimes they make noise. I come to him.

“Do you know where Calea Lisan is?”

He stares at me, confused. Suddenly, his hand is at my neck, fumbling for my collar.

“I had a dream,” he says. “I knew I would die this way.”

* * *

I read this passage during one of my last edits of The Select’s Bodyguard, and for the life of me I couldn’t remember why I wrote it this way. This throwaway character had a dream about his death? There was a story there, somewhere. (This is how I write, with random details I can come back and unpack later if I want.) (more…)

Now What?

So, The Select’s Bodyguard is over. Now what?

First, let me assure you we have a lot planned, and we’re scurrying behind the scenes to get it all ready.

Second, let me take a moment to explain a bit more of our conception of Children of the Wells.

We conceived Children of the Wells not as a series, but as a world, and we envisioned our stories, such as The Select’s Bodyguard, not as complete novels, but as episodes. We were inspired by shared universes such as the Star Wars novels and Marvel comics to create a space where characters can have separate storylines that still affect one another. And we were inspired by serialized TV (for examples, see my last blog) to craft our stories as novellas that act in many ways as episodes. Each has a complete emotional arc but clearly transitions into the next novel. (more…)

Messy As I Am

By Natasha Hayden
May 24, 2013

An early concept drawing for Katrina.

For The Story Project, whose stories are now done but were part of another shared universe with multiple writers, I once wrote a character who was so seemingly hateful of the world that nobody liked her or understood her or knew how to write her. But I loved her.

Katrina was self-sufficient, deeply distrustful of men, hard-hearted, tough, driven, and downright intimidating. What’s not to love, right? She didn’t care if people hated her, thrived on it really. But all that, perhaps much like what we see from Calea in The Select’s Bodyguard, was her persona, the exterior she wanted everyone to see.

When other writers wrote her into their stories, Katrina came across as very one-dimensional: just a mean person no one really wanted to be around. But I saw so much more complexity and potential in her. Where others saw hard-hearted, I saw world-wise. Life had knocked her around a bit until she learned to knock back. Where others saw intimidating, I saw forthright. When there was a job to be done, she did it or made sure others did, no nonsense. Where others saw hateful, I saw hurting, even before I myself had written or even knew her backstory. (more…)

The Sea of Stories

Not mentioned below, though it should be.

By Nick Hayden
May 17, 2013

There’s this poem by Walt Whitman, “There Was A Child Went Forth,” that I studied in high school. The point of the poem is that everything one experiences become part of who one is.

Inspiration for a writer is much the same. Where do I get my ideas? From everywhere.

In previous blogs we’ve discussed some influences that went into our magic system and our cities. We also like to use the blogs so that you can get to know us and we can get to know you. So I thought I’d share some of the influences in my writing, not just for Children of the Wells, but in general. (more…)

After the Cataclysm took our magic,
how do we rebuild?