Character Spotlight: Bastian Dennell

Today we have a lovely spotlight on Bastian from The Midnight Show by Sarah Pennington!

https://www.amazon.com/Midnight-Show-Sarah-Pennington-ebook/dp/B08B1RV653/

Bastian Dennell may not be the best-known or most experienced private investigator in Innsjøby, but that doesn’t stop him from doing his best to solve his clients’ cases. He has a knack for noticing the right thing at the right (and sometimes wrong) time and a genuine desire to help others by uncovering answers, solving problems, and, most importantly, finding and speaking the truth. Because of all this, while his track record might not be lengthy, he’s been fairly successful in his work.

 

As Bastian neared the Carousel Club, where he was to meet with his newest client, he paused to compose himself. Private investigators didn’t go about grinning and whistling like a common sap any more than they danced in the streets. Or, at least, they didn’t when they met with clients. Bastian studied himself in a reflective shop window. He combed his fingers through his dark curls, then adjusted his cap to a rakish angle and tugged on the lapels of his best jacket, straightening it. Someday, he’d save up for a few decent suits and a nice hat, but for now, this would do. He practiced a steely ice-stare, then a confident smirk, and settled on the former before strutting up to the door.

 

As a relatively young and unknown member of his profession, Bastian is very conscious of how he comes off to others. While he’s currently too broke to afford the nice suits and hats he feels a private investigator should wear, he puts serious effort into adopting what he thinks is the right attitude and expression. When working with clients, he often hides excited smiles behind a steely stare and exchanges cheerfulness for sharp-edged sarcasm. He doesn’t like it, and the act slips a little more often than he realizes, but he won’t get anywhere if people don’t take him seriously.

 

[Bastian] smiled wryly to himself. If helping out old birds always brought such luck, every man and woman over the age of fifty would probably have so many people bending to their whims that they wouldn’t even have to walk if they didn’t want to.

   

Most old birds, of course, weren’t Granny Starseeker or her kind. Bastian took off the glasses and folded them up pensively. What would he have seen, looking at her through them? He could guess — a woman, beautiful and ageless, wearing her wrinkles like a mask, with the threads of fate ready at her fingertips. His father had spoken of them by the name the Cormont academics used — Premiére Foire, First Fair — and claimed they were agents of the Divine who helped weave the destinies of kings and princesses and heroes. His mother had called them Fateweavers and said they tested the hearts of those chosen for great tasks, no matter their nobility. Bastian saw no reason why both couldn’t be true. At this particular moment, he was more concerned with the fact that one of them — or multiple of them — apparently deemed his case significant enough to interfere. Not that he was ungrateful for the help, but now he had a nasty feeling about whatever lay ahead.

 

The son of a Gallish immigrant and a Solorele native, Bastian grew up with stories of fey and fair folk from one side of the ocean and spirits, monsters, and shifters from the other. And while he’s not specifically a magical investigator, he’s used those stories to help him solve more than one case. But his knowledge is hardly exhaustive, and there’s a great deal in the world that his parents’ stories never even dreamed of . . .

Review and Mini Interview: The Dark King's Curse by Wyn Estelle Owens

 First off, let me just say, I haven't finished this book yet! I'm working on it, really I am, but honestly right now so many things are happening in my brain. So far, I'm loving it. I'm intrigued and my interest is piqued. I want to know what happens next, and I want to know now!

I promise to update my review soon!!!

In the meantime, enjoy this mini interview!

1: Is there a character you just love to hate or one that you think comes across as a very misunderstood individual?

A character I love to hate? Hmm, I’d have to say that would be my villain. Because of his situation and how he became the person he is now, he tends to make me very mad, at a rate unsurpassed by any villain I’ve written thus far.

2: What was your favorite part about worldbuilding?

Figuring out how I wanted the Gates of the Realms to work. I didn’t fully figure it out until very late in the process, but it was really fun. The scenery especially was delightful to imagine.

3: Did your story take any major twists that veered away from your original plot (With or without your permission)?

Lots, actually. Two characters, for instance, showed up later in the plotting process but quickly took over most of the story. I find that especially amusing as these two characters that showed up late and out of nowhere have turned out to be the fan-favorites. Otherwise, it was small things, like pieces that had already been there for a while suddenly shoving themselves into the spotlight and informing me they were actually important and could solve all my problems. Which was quite nice and helpful of them, as I was driving myself insane trying to figure things out.

 

Guest Post: Writing Allegorical Fairy Tales by Tricia Mingerink

 Writing Allegorical Fairy Tales – Guest Post by Tricia Mingerink

Note: This post was taken from a post I did on my own blog last year. You can find it here.

 Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines allegory as “the expression by means of symbolic fictional figures and actions of truths or generalizations about human existence” or as “a symbolic representation.” A synonym for allegory would be parable or fable, which would be stories with a moral or theme.

In Christian fantasy when we talk about allegory, we usually mean a story that is a symbolic representation of Christianity. Or, as the parables in the Bible are usually defined, “an earthly story with a Heavenly meaning.”

Often, Christian storytellers won’t tell a full allegory, but will opt for writing a story that has some allegorical elements. This means that much of the story is there for the story while some parts of it have a deeper meaning. Another way of thinking about it is that there is the book level story going on, then there is the allegorical story going on buried beneath.

Stories with allegorical elements could also be called suppositions. They are basically a giant “what if” question. This is how C.S. Lewis wrote The Chronicles of Narnia. He staunchly resisted the idea that they were allegories and instead called them suppositions. They are his answers to the question, “What if God created a world called Narnia with talking beasts and moving, talking trees? How would Jesus Christ be revealed in this world?”

Thus, stories with allegorical elements hinge on the fact that God is an unchanging God. Even if the how changes so that the setting is now a fantasy world with talking animals or singing trees, God as He is revealed in the Bible does not change.

But, should a Christian write an allegorical story? God, in His good pleasure, made this world the way it is for a reason. Should we even dabble in speculating on how God would be presented in a different world?

It’s a weighty question. A question that should be asked. But, I think, it is a question that should be asked of any Christian fiction, not just speculative fiction. Because any Christian fiction, whether it is historical fiction or Biblical fiction or romance or contemporary, steps into interesting territory. Is the writer playing God by deciding who is saved in the book and who isn’t? What about having God answer prayers in the book? Deciding which prayers are answered? It’s enough to make a Christian terrified of writing any Christian fiction ever.

But stories are important. A large chunk of the Bible is told in stories. True stories, yes. But the fact that stories were included shows that stories are an effective way God communicates with us. He could have inspired the Bible to be written as an exposition of doctrines. Yet, much of the Bible is in story format, and even many of the exposition parts of the Bible are grounded with stories. While exposition connects with the head, stories connect with the heart. That’s the power of stories.

There are fictional stories in the Bible. Nathan the prophet tells David a fictional story about sheep to open David’s eyes about his sin. Jesus spoke in many, many parables, and all of those are fiction.

But what about allegories? Should those be attempted? Aren’t those perhaps a little out of the bounds of this world?

As mentioned above, parable is actually listed as a synonym for allegory. It could be said that Jesus spoke in allegories when He told parables.

In a rather interesting parable, Jesus told the story of Lazarus and the rich man where the rich man in Hell can talk to Lazarus in Heaven (Luke 16:19-31). There are many differing doctrines on Hell and Heaven in Christianity, but most would agree that there probably isn’t communication between those in Heaven and those in Hell. So not only did Jesus tell a fictional story, it is a fictional story with elements that don’t happen according to how God is pleased to order this world.

Not only that, but our God is a fantastical God not confined by the laws of nature He is pleased to work through and control in the world we see around us. The Bible is filled with miracles and wonders the likes of which we don’t see around us today. But just because we don’t see things like a world-wide Flood or people being raised from the dead or wooden staffs turning into snakes or the sun standing still in the sky doesn’t mean they didn’t happen or that God is no longer powerful enough to do wonders like that anymore. He is still a powerful God. A fantastical God who can perform wonders beyond our imagination. Historical fiction can’t capture that in the way that fantasy can.

Besides, the concept of symbolic representation shouldn’t be that foreign to Christians. That is, after all, what most of the Old Testament is. The sacrifices were symbolic representations of Christ. David was a type of Christ. The Old Testament is filled with “types and shadows” that pointed to redemption in Jesus Christ. In other words, while the Old Testament is true stories that really happened, God is so in control of history that all those true stories are also God’s allegories to be examples for us (I Cor. 10:11).

This, then, is what Christian authors are mimicking when writing allegories and stories with allegorical elements. We are using a story-telling and truth-telling pattern God has already established in the Bible. These stories function much like the Old Testament in that they use pictures, types, and symbols to point to God.

So, yes. I firmly believe Christian can write and read Christian fantasy stories and allegories. The Bible is filled with stories of all genres, everything from true accounts to fiction to, yes, even speculative fiction and stories containing “fantasy” elements that display God’s power over the Creation.

When I set out to write Dagger’s Sleep, I quickly learned that writing an allegorical story is downright terrifying. When writing The Blades of Acktar, I was mostly writing ordinary Christian fiction, just set in a place that doesn’t line up with any country, place, time, culture, or era in our real world. In Christian fantasy circles, this genre is often called kingdom adventure because it is an action-adventure that doesn’t have any elements that aren’t normally found in our world, yet it is set in a made-up country.

Merging fantasy with Christianity is a tricky business (thus this entire blog post). Things get complicated quickly. Was I effectively pointing to God in the allegorical parts? Were the allegorical parts saying what I thought they were saying and not accidentally making a different point altogether? What if the allegorical parts ended up too cliche? The point of writing an allegorical story, after all, is to be able to do things that you can’t in Christian historical fiction or other similar genres. Were the story parts and the allegorical parts meshing into one story that felt organic instead of forced?

Honestly, if I were a smarter author, I probably would have avoided writing anything even remotely allegorical. They can be stomach-ulcer-inducing worrisome to write. And even harder to market and sell.

Dagger’s Sleep and its sequels Midnight’s Curse and Poison’s Dance are allegorical stories, rather than full allegories. They have plenty of adventure, dangers, and elements to the story that aren’t part of the allegory but are there for the entertaining story. The series can be read as just stories.

But as I was writing, I discovered that fairy tales lend themselves very well to allegorical writing. The original fairy tales were often used to convey morals and lessons and were rarely mere stories for entertainment. They are filled with themes of temptation and humility and good ultimately winning over evil. They are, in a sense, already allegorical. It didn’t take much to emphasize that a little bit more.

Whether you read Beyond the Tales as simple fairy tale retellings or you read them for the allegorical elements, I hope you enjoy the stories!

Poison's Dance: https://www.amazon.com/Poisons-Dance-Dancing-Princesses-Retelling-ebook/dp/B0873YZKZS/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=poison%27s+dance&qid=1598450939&sr=8-1

Review: Wrought of Silver and Ravens by E.J. Kitchens + mini interview

Athdar Owain is a hunted wanderer, one determined to keep his secrets and the treasure he carries safe at all costs. When he rescues the Kingdom of Giliosthay’s prince from raiders, he’s rewarded by being forced into the king’s elite Silver Guard. While this gives Athdar a temporary home and some protection from those hunting him, it also makes him responsible for the young prince, who still bears curses from the raiders, and seven enchantress princesses with curses as mysterious and dangerous as their brother’s.

Princess Thea of Giliosthay is a Realm Walker. Betrayed by a trusted guard, her rare gift of enchantment is used to curse her brother and trap herself and her six sisters into a nightly dance with dragons in a secret Realm. The Realm’s prince has the ability to take and twist her magic for his own purposes, and Thea fears what those might be. For when one dances with a prince, a kingdom might be at stake.

Athdar alone can save them, but to trust enchanters is to risk exposure. And Athdar isn’t sure where his loyalties lie.

Wrought of Silver and Ravens is a clean Twelve Dancing Princesses retelling set in The Magic Collectors story world.

This book has the most fantastic worldbuilding going on... The detail and the history built into this place is superb. And for the most part, I don't even get lost, which can happen sometimes with high fantasy. Instead, I'm over here rolling through this book and loving it. The characters are super awesome, and honestly, I'm still not sure whom to trust and whom not to. There's a complexity here that can be really hard to get a hold of, but I think we've got a winner here, folks. That being said, I definitely want a prequel and a few sequels. The magic is perfect, not too allegorical but also not too creepy. Classic good versus evil, except now there are grey areas like in real life and that makes the words just pop and the story come to life. I've read a lot of fantasy, and this... this is good stuff right here. Totally recommending this. Like... my feelings for this book are similar to the feelings I get from Patrick W Carr (Which are good feelings... I'm sure I've expounded on him at some point on the blog) Well done!

As always, though the book was complimentary, my opinions are dreadfully, and enthusiastically honest.

Link to Goodreads- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53937054-wrought-of-silver-and-ravens

https://books2read.com/u/mglo7v

INTERVIEW:

1: Who was your favorite character to work with and why?

This is such a tough question! I love so many of the characters. But I guess I have to say Athdar. I don’t know exactly why but he really came alive and brought other characters to life with him. He’s an introvert who’s lost his family and for various reasons (some real, some prejudice, some a matter of him being pretty independent) doesn’t trust easily. I really enjoyed his growing relationship with the Silver Guards, especially the captain of the Silver Guard, Galen, who has a fatherly affection for Athdar and who has to put up with a lot before Athdar comes to admit he’s pretty fond of Galen too.

 

2: What is your favorite part of the writing process?

Daydreaming about the story and then writing to figure out what happens next. Sometimes, I can daydream scenes and connections, and sometimes I just need to sit down and write to find out what happens. I enjoy it when things take an unexpected turn and end up so much better, even if different, than what I first thought. I originally had one paragraph of Athdar’s journey from where Galen finds him with the kidnapped prince to Doromou castle, but then I decided to re-write it to introduce some of the other Silver Guards more naturally, and I’m so glad I did because things happened I never would have thought of and the characters developed so much better. One bland paragraph became a couple of exciting, character-filled chapters. Also, I love it when I get to visualize in my mind (and hopefully help readers visualize) really cool scenes or scenes I think readers will want to think about again later because they are funny or romantic or tug on your heart for some other reason.

 

3: What do you hope will resonate the most with readers?

Hmm. I write stories for entertainment and not for a message, but the characters or stories always end up having something to say despite that. For Wrought of Silver and Ravens, two things stand out to me, one from the story overall and one from Princess Thea. The first involves the setting; it’s the ancient world—one of war and sickness. Death was common for all ages, but those who lived, lived. There’s not a lot of death in the story, but each character has experienced the death of one or more loved ones and the threat of attack or attacks themselves. That was just a part of life. I guess it ended up being a reminder to me that the things that are happening in 2020 aren’t really all that unique, that plenty of people throughout history have faced pain, suffering, and the threat/occurrence of violence and sickness and kept going. So can we.

 

The second one involves Thea. She’s confronted with dragons, which aren’t supposed to exist. Prince Cerav claims they are men transformed into dragons, which isn’t supposed to be  possible, at least according to what Holy Scripture says … or what she was told it said. I’m not exactly the most logical person or clearest thinker at times, but I think studying logic, learning to go to the source rather than merely go with what others tell you, and studying apologetics are very important things to do. With the recent death of apologist Ravi Zacharias, it just seemed fitting to strengthen the thread where Thea has to handle a challenge to what she believes and make other tough decisions.

Review: The Dancing Princess by Kendra E Ardnek

Plagued by nightmares for the last few years, Katrine only wanted answers. Instead, she finds herself trapped in a tangled web of melody as she tries to free a cursed king and his brothers. No one deserves existence such as theirs, but dare she risk her very life? 

THIS BOOK!!! I don't think I've ever wanted a novella to be full length more in my life! The characters and plot stole my heart and I didn't want it to be over. I honestly think that this is my favorite short fantasy ever right now. I don't even know where to start! I feel like the characters were so gripping and I wanted to know more about them. The magical elements were superb and now (not for the first time in my life) I seriously want some magic powers. The plot- okay I'll admit I've never read the original fairytale- but still, I'm pretty sure this is everything I didn't know I needed from a dancing princesses story. How so many twists and turns can be fit so well into so few words, I don't know. But I think if you're going to read just one of Kendra's shorter works you should pick this one!

You can buy it here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08B8Z6CLW?ref_=dbs_m_mng_rwt_calw_4&storeType=ebooks

Add it on Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50512612-the-dancing-princess?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=sjstNMsn9e&rank=1

I received an ARC of this book for this blog tour, but as always you have my enthusiastic honesty.