Archive

104 Days of Boredom

By Natasha Hayden
July 1, 2016

A couple years ago, my family was introduced to Perry the Platypus, his evil(?) nemesis, and 104 days of summer vacation. It was glorious! From the 3-year-old to the 33-year-old, we all loved it. Still do.

"I know what we're going to do today, Ferb!" From Disney XD website

“I know what we’re going to do today, Ferb!”
From Disney XD website

But I always wondered…from what calendar did they come up with 104 days of summer vacation? (I suppose, if that’s the only thing that had me scratching my head, there’s something wrong with my logic.) It certainly wasn’t from Indiana’s! In our county, we’re lucky to get 66, and the push seems to be for school year-round. Why?

What’s wrong with a good ol’ lazy, long summer? What’s wrong with ditching the books and hours of boredom? You certainly don’t see Phineas and Ferb doing homework (unless they’re reading a building manual). While I wouldn’t generally take my notes from a cartoon…why don’t we for a moment? (more…)

Coming Soon to a TV Near You: ‘Children of the Wells: The Series’!

by Nathan Marchand
April 1, 2016

After months of secrecy, I’m proud to announce on behalf of all of us here at LocoNotion Media that Children of the Wells will be adapted into an epic TV series—once we choose one of the three offers we’ve received.

How’d this come about, you ask? Well, I get to rub shoulders with lots of people in showbiz whenever I go to Gen-Con and other conventions (did you think I just sold books and cosplayed at these events? Pshaw!), and since my networking skills border on being superpowers, I managed to get word around about our premiere contemporary post-apocalyptic fantasy series. Interestingly, I’ve been approached by three producers, who all came to me because they love our books. (It might also be because Nick is awesome). The only problem is…they all have some crazy ideas about how to adapt them to screen. (more…)

A Disturbance in the Wells

By Gregory Meyer
December 18, 2015

“Every human down in Humanville liked the Star Wars Universe a lot,
But the Greg, who lived north of Chicago, did not.”

As the world waits with baited breath for Star Wars: The Force Awakens, I find myself in a strange situation. See, what I’m about to say will most likely ostracize me from both my fellow Children of the Wells writers, as well as geeks everywhere— I am not a Star Wars fan.

I see you picking up those rocks to stone me. Now, now, let’s not get carried away. Put them down and let me finish please. All of them. Yep, I still see that one you have hiding in your pocket. I’m waiting. Okay, now where was I? (more…)

Our Series Trailer is Here!

By Timothy Deal
September 25, 2015

So you’ve been looking for a way to introduce people to your favorite post-apocalyptic modern-fantasy multi-author webfiction series, but just describing its genre leaves you short of breath. How are you going to get your friends excited for Children of the Wells without talking their ears off and making their eyes glaze over, thus turning them into creepy Van Gogh zombies?

The answer is: show them our book series trailer! That’s right, we’ve created a special trailer that highlights important characters and ideas from Children of the Wells that newbies will want to know. Check it out now:

Did you enjoy? I certainly hope so. Making a book series trailer was something we had talked about doing for quite awhile, but as the main video producer on the team, I knew what I wanted to do for the trailer would take some time to pull together.

The biggest challenge was getting enough people to voice all the characters I wanted to include. For expediency’s sake, I wound up recording Jaysynn’s lines myself and recruited ladies from my family to record all of the female characters except for Calea, who was voiced by CotW editor Natasha Hayden. Bron was voiced by my senior pastor, Stuart Kruse, and the rest of the voice actors were recruited via freelance website fiverr.com. (Apologies to a few others who were either recast or whose recordings didn’t mix well with the others. You know who you are. Sorry!)

Thanks to these folks’ help, I like to think we put together a truly cinematic trailer to promote our little corner of the webfiction world. If you know anyone who enjoys post-apocalyptic stories, modern-fantasy, multi-author works, webfiction, or any combination thereof, show them our trailer and get them hooked!

Gregory the Terrible Reader

By Greg Meyer
July 24, 2015

As promised in my last blog, I completed The Return of the King earlier this week. The last three chapters were something special and brought the whole series full circle in a way most series can only dream of attaining. Most people I talk to can’t believe this was my first time reading through the series, considering its renown as a classic, beloved by millions. Why would a fantasy fan such as myself wait so long to get around to reading one of the greatest fantasy series ever written? Time for another confessional blog, though this time it’s a little less soul-baring.

The truth is back in my younger years I was a terrible reader. Oh, I could read, mind you, from a very early age. Just ask my Grandmother, and she’ll tell you the story. Back in grade school through middle school, I’d often check books out of the library and devour them. But once I reached eighth grade, I left public school for homeschooling and lost my daily access to a school library. Sure, I could go to my town’s public library and check out books, but I didn’t have a driver’s license and it was far enough that I didn’t want to walk there just to check out books. When I did go, I had too many choices to pick from but no guides to tell me what I should read. (more…)

The Allure of the Dark

By Natasha Hayden
July 3, 2015

Our library is having a superhero-themed summer of reading, where even the adults get to participate a little. For an entry into the grand prize drawing, I had to write a tiny paragraph about who my favorite superhero is and why I like him/her. I will also get to do the same with my favorite villain. I found it hard to pick my favorite superhero and explain in 20 or so words why. I ultimately picked Batman and Green Arrow, similar characters who thrive on their thirst for justice, their ingenuity, and their own human skills and strength. Characters who must hide their goodness behind the masks of rich, shallow, uncaring men, when they are really anything but. I admit, my understanding of these characters is based almost solely on Christian Bale’s movies and Stephen Amell’s TV portrayals, but their interpretations have impressed me. Daredevil from the dark, gritty Netflix show is growing on my list of favorites now, too, though he’s a bit of a different sort of character (not rich, and possessing super-senses my other fav’s don’t).

Oliver McQueen. (Not Jaysynn) From arrow.wikia.com

Oliver Queen aka Arrow. (Not Jaysynn) From arrow.wikia.com

Though Daredevil is possibly the darkest of the superheroes (his show is, anyway), Green Arrow and Batman go to dark places, as well. While Superman is all light and Wonder Woman is truth, these others are creatures of the night and shadows, vigilantes in cities that are more corrupt than not, administering justice according to their own rules and laws. Is it right? Is it moral? What I like about these characters, especially Arrow and Daredevil, is that they struggle with these questions but are always guided by an internal moral compass that points straight and true. You know that whichever way they choose, they will always save lives and the bad guys will pay.

But the question the library posed got me thinking, what is it about the dark that is so appealing? Why do I like Batman more than Superman? And why are the villains in stories some of the most interesting, compelling characters? What’s so fascinating about Lex Luthor in TV’s Smallville? Why is Regina, the Evil Queen, my favorite character in Once Upon a Time? Why is Loki, a villain, one of the most fun characters in the first Avengers movie?

Is there something wrong with me, or with all of us as a culture, that the dark overshadows the light? I think the answer is both “yes” and “no.” Our culture does gravitate toward darkness and evil, and it is not a healthy fascination. Witches and vampires and other mythological creatures, once purely evil, are now sympathetic, beautiful beings. I do find it interesting that to make them more palatable, we create goodness in them, but the allure of their power is what really attracts us, and power can be a dangerous, corrupting force. There’s a danger, too, in thinking that all dark heroes are above corruption, that somehow they are inhumanly able to shut out the darkness while living in the midst of it…because when we begin to emulate them, we will find we are not so incorruptible.

But is all shadow evil and irredeemable? Perhaps not. Though the show doesn’t share my Christian worldview, my favorite example of this is Regina in Once Upon a Time. She has become the show’s moral center, and she began as the most evil one of all. Love changed her, and though she’s still tempted by the dark side and still rough around the edges, she’s the voice of reason when the show’s supposed heroes are making very unheroic choices. Basically, she’s a balanced human being. She feels the pull of evil, knows its destructiveness, has learned from her mistakes, and chooses to live in the light, even though she would be more powerful in the dark. And isn’t that the choice we have before us every day? To rise above our mistakes and choose light, even when we live in dark times. To be light, even though our souls might be smudged by dark.

I think we gravitate toward the dark because it’s familiar. We more fully understand a heart torn in two directions than one guided purely by light and goodness. Superman is above all of us, but there’s a little Batman in each of us.

Anyway, that’s one simplistic way to explain my own fascination with the dark. I believe we should be aware of what we are absorbing in our entertainment and aware of how it affects our moral compass, and so, as you absorb our own stories on Children of the Wells, where we have our own brand of superhero, I implore you to think. In all that you read or watch, I implore you to do just that: think. Don’t go mindlessly into the dark.

In Search of a Soundtrack (Part 2)

By Nick Hayden
June 18, 2015

In honor of the summer movie season, we at Children of the Wells have dubbed June “sequel month,” and so we’re writing sequels to last month’s blogs. Nathan already cast even more characters for a CotW movie, and now I’m back to fill out the soundtrack for that movie.

Last time I tackled mainly Bron & Calea-related themes, so now I’ll add my picks for Jaysynn and his band of merry men (and women). As before, I’ve limited myself to music found at OCRemix.org.

Jaysynn’s Theme:

With a title like “Anthem of Exile,” based on the theme of two princes, this was a no-brainer. I prefer the first half for Jaysynn, with its lonely but noble sound. I’m not sold on the jazz organ, but beggars can’t be choosers. (more…)

In Search of a Soundtrack

By Nick Hayden
May 28, 2015

Let me warn you at the start–this is a self-indulgent post.

Creativity and music have always been connected for me.  Most of my best ideas come while listening to music. And by music, I usually mean songs from OverClocked Remix. If you don’t know what that is, let me explain: Overclock Remix is a depository for more than 3000 remixes of video game music (VGM). The standards on the site are quite high, so if it shows up there, it’s usually good. And since my day job is in an office, I often find myself  listening to its ridiculously large collection of songs as I process paperwork.

Even before OverClocked Remix was a thing, I listened to Final Fantasy soundtracks for inspiration. Such songs capture so much emotional and story potential in a few minutes, it’s hard not to find something triggered if you’re listening for that purpose. In recent years, I’ve even written a number of flash fiction stories, many based on songs from Final Fantasy X.

So, when Nathan decided to share his ‘dream cast’ for a Jaysynn movie, it was only natural that I hunt down an appropriate soundtrack for Children of the Wells. (more…)