#ttab

First of all, sorry if you asked this a while ago!! I never get asks, so I rarely check the ask box.

I am writing a fantasy novel called The Truth About Brazings. It’s the first book in a planned four part series.

In short, it's about a girl who's trying to find out why her town's history is so strange, but ends up getting dragged into a war between two groups of fey living in the forest.

The story begins with a girl named Alvie Willynde who lives in a small town in Ontario called Brazings. Brazings has a local folklore tradition that's uncommon for Canadian towns. Stories tell of settlers seeing and interacting with moving plants, talking animals, and strange, inhuman people. When Alvie was a child, she started taking notes and researching all these stories, intending to find out the truth behind them. Were they real? If so, who were these people? Are they still around?

At the beginning of the book, Alvie befriends the new kid in her class, a boy named Kearney Lakeside. Kearney’s family is actually one of the families that founded Brazings, and they figure in a few of these legends. They’re always protectors guarding Brazings against any threat from the strange people and things hiding in the trees.

Unbeknownst to Alvie, there is a strange masked man named Cerin watching her. He seems to be under orders to take her to his master, a mysterious man named Dwyer. Cerin doesn’t know why Dwyer is interested in her and it perplexes him.

That's basically the first two chapters. Most of the book is dedicated to introducing the characters, Brazings, and the world hidden in the forest. As I mentioned earlier, Brazings' big secret is that there are fey in the woods, and the series revolves around exploring their world, what they want with Alvie, and exactly who Cerin is.

Some drawings of Alvie! She always carries a notebook. She also doesn't like skirts, but I love drawing her in dresses anyway.

And here's Cerin! He wears a mask pretty much all the time, but his face is my worst-kept secret.

And here is their first real interaction. It was unpleasant for both of them.

And here's Kearney, one of the only characters I'd trust to babysit.

And here's Cerin’s master, Dwyer, and the other fey leader, Nimue. These two represent opposing forces and have been rivals for centuries. Both want Alvie for their own purposes, but Nimue also wants to keep her safe and allow her to be a child as much as possible.

So...that's a general description of my book. I didn't want to include any major spoilers, but there is a lot more going on. There's way more on my Instagram:

What is your darkest fear about writing?

My mom finding it, wildly missing the point, and deciding that enrolling me in talk therapy is non-negotiable lol

Choose a passage from your writing. Tell me about the backstory of this moment. How you came up with it, how it changed from start to end.

Gonna scroll it back to Till Things Are Brighter, which no one whose followed me in the past year has read because I last updated in ~February 2021~ but which is still the work I'm most determined to finish

I hadn’t meant to tell you so much. [Growls] There’s too much of a risk of Magnus pulling it out of you and accelerating his plans, or out of my dreams since you’ve made it a proper Statement , but apparently knowing when to stop asking questions isn’t a power granted to any Archivist. Next time you can’t stand not Knowing, just ask me to write it out. Statement fucking ends.

(From the end of chapter 9, for any who want to read my beloved magnum opus bc of this passage lol)

(cut because I am at heart a rambler)

“YOU. ARE. NOT. SPECIAL.”

To the shock of everyone present, including herself, Oak jerked backward, stumbling on a loose floor tile. Ravana actually followed her, and amazingly the dryad continued to retreat from the tiny noblewoman now brandishing a finger up into her face and projecting her voice with the power trained into orators, opera singers, and anyone who might one day have to shout orders on a battlefield.

Thanks! It's actually the name of a character in TTAB!

Nyneve is an omniscient, reincarnating being who is one of the people in charge of running the universe. She seems like a normal teenage girl...until you get to know her. She's got a strange personality and doesn’t really prioritize the feelings of other people because she's more concerned about everything happening the way it should. She can't afford to consider what people want.

Has anyone here seen Galavant? It's one of my favourite shows 😆 I took some funny lines from it and drew my characters saying them. This show's chaotic energy is well-suited to these idiots. It's actually a really good way to practice expressions! I'm planning on doing some more at some point, so stay tuned!

Note: Nimue does not have a dragon. Yet.

The Lady of the Lake

It occurred to me the other night that I haven't drawn Nimue in her element in years, so I had to fix that right away. This was a great opportunity to experiment with a few things! The colours are less saturated than usual, giving it a more realistic feel, and I had fun colouring the water and figuring out the lighting! Also, wet hair. I'll be doing more of that later.

Not pictured: Nimue holding her healing supplies and rolling her eyes in disgust.  Cerin has no regrets.  The best part is that Cerin has two thousand years of experience in archery.  So, if this was an accident, it can only mean that Merlin was being an idiot and this was his fault 😆 And Nimue KNOWS

I might post some extra memes later, because I have lots for these two individually, just none that describe their relationship.  They get along pretty well.  They're both strange and they like hanging out with Alvie.