The Select's Bodyguard -

Not Calea

by Timothy Deal
May 3, 2013

Since we had a request for some spoiler-free insight into the world and magic of Children of the Wells, I will talk a bit about how we developed our system of magic for the series. Of course, if you’ve read the latest chapter, you may think the timing odd, but bear with me. After all, this discussion may shed some light on previous or upcoming flashbacks (hint, hint, tease, tease).

One of the trickiest things when it comes to fantasy world-building is setting up a system of magic. If your world is going to feature magic at all, the writer typically needs to establish some rules for how it will work. Even the TV show Once Upon a Time — which follows fairy tale convention where spells can or can’t do things according to the needs of the plot — always follows at least one underlying principle: in the Enchanted Forest, magic always comes with a price. The price varies according to the power of the spell (and again, the needs of the plot), but the price is always there. Consistently following this rule helps the writers keep the fairy tale magic a bit more grounded and believable within the context of their story. (more…)

Nick Hayden

By Nick Hayden
April 19, 2013

Shock. Disaster. The world ending.

And then what?

That was the primary question I had when I started writing The Select’s Bodyguard. In our world-building meetings, we had created the event that demolishes much of Jalseion. But that’s not story. That’s setting. What was the story?

Bron and Calea are the story.

I won’t try to recount how exactly the two came about. (Well, it’s not the first time I’ve written an initially unlikable, domineering woman, oddly enough. Or a somewhat, what shall we say, “single-minded” man.) In any case, from the beginning they were intertwined, two powerful personalities rotating around each other like binary stars.

The duality of Bron and Calea, in fact, structures the entire novel–the way the chapters jump in time and perspective and tense.

You’ve just started to uncover the details of their relationship with one another. Hopefully you’ve started to love them or hate them or feel something about them. Because, in the end, as much as I love Jalseion and the various aspects of the world, this story is about them.

But they’re fictional. You, dear reader, are not. (I hope.) What questions do you have? What would you like to hear about in these weekly blogs? About the world? The art of creation? Why that fellow Rodion’s name reminds you, somehow, of Greedo from Star Wars?

You’re behind the scenes with the author. What intrigues you?

I mean, besides my handsome face and charming wit, of course.