By Nathan Marchand
May 30, 2014
I read a book in college that advised authors to write minor/secondary characters in such a way that the characters acted as if the story was written about them. This, the book claimed, made them dynamic and interesting, thereby enhancing the story. (I’d say it might make them steal the scene, but I digress.)
Lomara is a bigworld full of stories. We knew from the get-go that the main Children of the Wells novellas wouldn’t be able to tell all of them. There were little nooks and crannies that could be filled but didn’t need to be. Recently on the CotW blog I compared this saga to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which includes blockbuster movies and short films. The main stories are in the blockbusters, but the short films complement the movies by filling in little gaps. This collection you’re about to read does exactly that—fill in the gaps. Consider it a gift to you, faithful readers, as part of our first anniversary celebration. Thanks for your support over the past year!
Some of the stories you’ll read are little “untold tales” of how the Cataclysm affected Lomara and its inhabitants. Others explain key plot points that were only implied in the novellas. Regardless, all of these characters are connected to the saga’s big heroes. It’s one reason we chose Destinies Intertwined as the title. John Donne famously wrote,
No man is an island,
Entire of itself,
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
That’s certainly true in Children of the Wells. In the coming months, you’ll see just how true it is.
Each story in this collection is tied to a particular CotW novella published in the last year. Our staff writers—plus our editor extraordinaire, Natasha—each took a stab at writing one, but not for his respective novella. We like challenging ourselves as artists and expanding our horizons. The rule was to take a detail from the novella and expand upon it. That was easier to do with some than others, but we did it.
You’ll read about:
- The backstory of the soldier who took Calea’s arm, written before The Well’s Orphan was conceived.
- The lengths the Kyzer family went to bear Select children.
- A scientist forced into religion who has paid the greatest price for her beliefs.
- The many nights Kyrie waited alone with her thoughts.
- A clairvoyant religious zealot who gathers a community of followers.
So read on and see how everyone in Children of the Wells is interconnected.
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