Introducing Each One’s Wayward Niece – Available Now!

When I decided to revive Everyone’s Child from my list of previously abandoned project files, I didn’t have a lot to work with. I only wrote 11,000 words worth of narrative before giving up the first time, and they skipped around quite badly. I also didn’t write any notes for the project, aside from a handful of potential chapter titles. I pretty much started with three character names and a rough idea of where I intended the first book to end.

That might sound daunting for a serious project intended to span six full-length novels. But I’m no stranger to pantsing. Although I tend to write outlines for all of my major novel projects now, I didn’t always. The entire Mystical Island trilogy was written without a plan, as were the first few books of the Eternity’s Empire series. I’m sure I originally intended to pants this entire project, probably for some long ago NaNoWriMo attempt, it just didn’t pan out.

One of my first decisions after reviving this project was to go at it with a plan this time. That meant creating notes out of the information I had available. And since my stories flow outward from my characters, I decided to start with the small list of names scribbled in my first draft. I actually don’t tend to name a lot of characters that early, so I felt fortunate to have that much of a starting point.

Lucky for me, each of the names also corresponded with a POV character. And I wrote just enough from each character’s perspective to get some sense of who I wanted them to be. If you’ve read the first book in the Everyone’s Child series, you’ve met all three of them already. Either way, it seems time for a formal introduction.

Elayith

The main character and central figure of Everyone’s Child is named Elayith. She is the daughter of Everyone’s Mother, the ancient creator goddess said to have given birth to all the world’s sentient races. Of all the gods that built – and eventually abandoned – the world in which this story takes place, Everyone’s Mother was the most highly revered and heavily worshiped. Making her the only goddess still remembered by most of the population.

As the daughter of a goddess, Elayith is a unique. She is also the center of a prophecy supposedly spoken by her mother prior to her disappearance. Raised by the church, Elayith has spent her entire life preparing for the fulfillment of her mother’s ancient promise, and that has left room for little else.

As a result, defiance has become a central part of Elayith’s personality. She’s a firebrand, and she isn’t afraid to show it. She’s determined that her fate will one day be her own to determine, regardless of the way she was raised. She speaks her mind and rarely considers the consequences of her actions (sometimes to quite disastrous effect).

But also due to the strict nature of her upbringing, Elayith isn’t always certain who she is – or wants to be.

The most fun part of putting Elayith together was building her appearance. She has dark skin and midnight hair speckled with the twinkling light of stars (evidence of her divine heritage). But that is where her distinctive characteristics end. Since she is half-goddess, I didn’t want Elayith to look too distinctly like any other race. For example, she has the stocky build of a dwarf but also the pointed ears of an elf. Thus she has characteristics of several traditional fantasy races blended into a perfect mix.

Jaolyn

Probably my favorite character in this project is Jaolyn. Compared to Elayith, his history and stature are mundane. He was born to a large but relatively poor family that lived in a small settlement, and it’s likely his parents were relieved when he manifested mage talent because it meant they didn’t have to figure out what to do with him.

In addition to magic, Jaolyn studies archeology. He spends most of his time digging through the dirt of the past, uncovering ancient relics and lost knowledge so that they can be catalogued and shared with the world. Depicting his archeological studies has been one of my greatest joys. Partly because it allows me to tap into my nerdy love for the study of ancient history. But also because Jaolyn’s world is still very much a world in development. Civilizations have risen and fallen before the one in which the story takes place.

Archeology is an old practice. For as long as civilizations have existed, we have attempted to penetrate and explain the past. Imagine what might have been considered ancient and precious history to the Romans! We can trace the practices of early archeologists because we have their notes and collections. But we also know they didn’t follow the best methods and often made mistakes – even though their efforts led to our modern science.

It has given me great joy to throw curveballs and outright wrong information into my story to show that Jaolyn studies an older, more outdated form of archeology. He also isn’t without flaws; at some point during his studies of ancient and forbidden practices, Jaolyn came into contact with something he shouldn’t. Something powerful. And a small piece of it tags along with him, threatening to expose him to future danger.

Seri

Last but not least, Seri has proven to be one of the most interesting characters I have ever written. She is an elf. But it is obvious from the way she acts that she’s quite young. We tend to think of elves as being wise beings with long lives and ample experience to draw upon. But Seri is early in the development of her wisdom, and she may not have made all the best choices along the way.

Like Jaolyn, Seri grew up in relative isolation to a family of farmers. She only ever left her home because she manifested mage talent and needed to travel to receive training. This first glimpse of the wider world left her dazzled but also thirsty for a more exciting future than that of a simple farmhand.

That was when Seri met the Watchers, a cryptic and secretive group of mages who hide in the shadows and monitor the rest of the world. The Watchers believe the world is supposed to fulfill some grand purpose – and they will be the ones to usher it into existence. The Watchers move through the shadows of all kingdoms and even practice magic differently than prescribed by the mage council.

When Seri joined the Watchers, she gave up all ties to her home and her family. She willingly severed those ties in hopes of achieving something great. For she is desperate to write her name upon the history of the world and be forever remembered.

But the path to glory, like the path of prophecy, is more difficult than it might initially seem. And Seri isn’t always sure which path leads to wisdom and which leads to obscurity. Her conflict, and the choices she makes while navigating it, make her a fascinating character to work with.

Each One’s Wayward Niece is Available Now!

One companion may stab her in the back – but another will be just as happy to stab her from the front…

Elayith walks the path of prophecy, but she does so almost entirely against her will. The only reason she agreed to undertake the task her mother left for her was to get the church’s priests off her back. As soon as she proves their expectations wrong, she can start living for herself.

Or so she thought before she and her companion inadvertently awakened three spirits from the long forgotten past who derailed her introspective journey with a series of demanding tests. Now Elayith questions every step, praying her path will lead to freedom but dreading it may instead lead to more responsibilities.

Meanwhile, Seri, the Watcher who invisibly mirrors the half-goddesses steps, fears she may have missed her chance to leave a deep impression upon the world. Everywhere she looks, history has been made without her. Now she’s desperate to find a place where her glory can shine.

Torn between the half-truths presented by her order and the change that flourishes in her charge’s wake, Seri balances on the knife-edge of betrayal. But who will earn her ultimate loyalty – the Watchers who hope to drive the world toward a higher purpose, or the goddess who has no idea she exists?

And what of Jaolyn? The mage has already made one pact with the shadow that lives within him. Can he find a way to fulfill his oath and free himself from the creature attempting to corrupt his will? Or is he doomed to suffer a fate worse than death?

Grab your copy here!