Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Stuff About World Building


Charmed and Dangerous finally hit the shelves today, and I figured I’d blather about world building a little. Not because I’m an expert, but reading the other stories in the anthology I kept going oh, that’s brilliant, I wish I thought of it! And it started me thinking about world building. So much of what makes a speculative fiction story solid is behind the scenes.

One Hex Too Many centered on magic, the fae only got a mention, but they were already in the background, waiting for their chance to step out. They’ll get that chance in the sequel. Here are a few tidbits about them.

In this world magic is real and paranormal creatures share it with humans. The history if this reality was much similar to ours up till the industrial revolution. At that junction the encroachment of human technology forced a portion of fae kind deeper into hiding, some withdrew completely—they might have even gone extinct, though one never knows for sure. Others responded to the challenge by stepping out of the shadows, make their presence known beyond all doubt.

As you might expect, humankind had a mixed reaction to the arrival of these emigrants of another dimension. Preternatural Beings (official term) still haven’t fully integrated into human society, but the Fae Rights League is working hard to change this. Some fae do better than others.

The strength and resilience made ogres perfect for strong-arm jobs from body guards to mob enforcers. The drawback of employing ogres is that you can buy only their services, not their loyalty. That belongs only to their clans. Ogres are also smarter than they look, and are staring up their own businesses—something not all humans find agreeable.

Trolls are as strong, if not stronger, than ogres, but their solitary nature and idiosyncratic ways keep their interactions with humans minimal. They are masters of adaptation a can seamlessly blend into their environment. Griffin Park, across from the river from New Sky is the home of sever rock trolls and forest trolls. There’s at least one city troll living in Faetown, but he spends the daylight hours looking just another brick wall.

Well, that’s it for now. I might prattle on about goblins and pixies at some other time.

Charmed and Dangerous is available on AmazonBN - iTunes - Kobo - Smashwords (ePub) - Payhip (multiformat, accepts PayPal)

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