Those of you who are subscribed to my newsletter know that I've been working on a Top Secret project for several months now. I've been very stingy with information about it, and for good reason. This project was a gift. A present for one of my nearest and dearest friends, who also happens to be subscribed to my blog and newsletter. Ergo, I couldn't share much about it.
But the gift has been given, and now I get to spill all the beans about this project that I feel head-over-heels in love with.
May I introduce Song of the Wind, a 32,000 word novella about trust.
Song of the Wind
You’re going to lose your betrothed and your brother in the same day.
Aria's life is turned upside down when her betrothed and her brother die in an accident on the kingdom's borders. With her brother's death, the power of the wind now passes to the next heir: Aria herself.
But by law, Aria must be wed by her 18th birthday or the heirship will pass out of her family. And that same power will eventually kill her because of it.
There's only one problem: Aria's birthday is mere days away, and the man she chooses to wed would destroy not just her kingdom but those around it.
Aria would sacrifice herself to save her people. But what if she doesn't have a choice?
The Inspiration
Like I said, this was a story for a friend. She actually came up with the idea, based off of an old WIP of mine that she really enjoyed. I tried to write it once (that was Project: Avian for those of you that recognize that XD), but it kinda petered out at about 100 pages. I decided I couldn't write someone else's story and began looking for other ideas.
But as my friend's graduation came up, I decided I needed to get her a very special gift. Something she'd never see coming, something she'd not be able to get from anyone else, something she could take with her into college. And really the only thing that fit all that... was a story.
So. I went back to her idea and started over. I wrote for her. I wrote what I thought she would enjoy, not a broad, public market. I wrote for the story and not the word count. For the joy of memory and not the technicalities of a "good story". I wrote from my heart and poured memories and laughter and conversations into it.
And when I finished... I was so happy with it. I still am. The characters actually worked with me for once instead of shanghaiing the plot halfway through. The world was easy to write and, even better, I was able to drop Easter eggs about that old WIP my friend had read. Betas (both writers and readers) gave a whole lot of positive feedback and not much criticism.
And her sister did the illustrations and a sibling of mine made a map and I got a cover.
So I printed the book. I gave it to my friend. And she devoured it in a couple of days and is asking when I'm going to publish it. Which... I'm not going to answer. ;P
The Cast
One of the best parts of the story was being able to have whatever characters I wanted. The three main characters were all created from scratch, but four of the side characters were based off of me, the friend this was for, and our sisters, 'cause we always hang out together. Getting to put us on this kind of a story was a blast - and writing our interactions put a whole new spin on my perspective on our relationships. Y'all gotta try this sometime. XD
Anyway. I figured I'd introduce the cast to you guys: their role in the story, name meaning, word I based them off of (or basic personality for Aria 'cause I didn't base her off of a word XD), and the snippet of the first time we meet them. :)
Aria
She's the main POV character and the person on the cover. Her name means "air" or "song/melody", among other things, which both played so well into the story. She's a hard character to describe in just one word - she feels a lot of emotion but hates showing it; she's selfless but proud; she's determined and refuses to give up but is perhaps a bit too stubborn for her own good. XP So maybe... paradox?
It's hard to get a snippet of when we first meet her, since she's the main character, but... it is what it is. XD
The messenger wore red.
Aria shielded her eyes against the bright sun, squinting at his waist. Am I wrong? But no, the scarlet cloth was unmistakable. Her stomach twisted.
Red meant blood.
The messenger swooped to a landing a moment later, scooping even more wind into her face. She stepped forward with a greeting, but it died on her lips the moment she saw his face.
Ashen. Gray.
Afraid.
“What’s wrong?”
“My lady…” the messenger paused, gulping down air. She noted the sweat on his brow and the way his wings trembled. He had pushed himself hard. Almost too hard.
Unease bubbled in her stomach.
Aria took another step forward, gaze flitting down to the crimson scarf and back up into his hazel eyes. “Yes?”
He squared himself and met her stare. “It’s your brother.”
Her mind froze on the words and for a moment she forgot to breathe until she once again looked at the messenger’s scarlet scarf.
Aden.
Lightning zinged through her body. Blood rose to roar in her ears. Without pausing to hear the rest, Aria spread her wings and leapt into the sky, leaving the messenger far behind.
The achingly blue heavens swallowed her up before she leveled out and tightened her wings, cold wind biting at her nose. Aden. Hang on, I’m coming.
Keyan
He's the "love interest", per se. Though... not really. A little bit. It's complicated. XD Keyan means "ancient, enduring, king, foundation, a symbol of pride". He's not necessarily based off of just one word, but every time I wrote him my brain got stuck on the tenth Doctor Who's hair.
When I first started writing Keyan, he was... bland. Really difficult to work with, really hard to pin down. I couldn't get him to work. And then the Doctor Who Hair® got stuck in my brain and suddenly Keyan clicked. XD No idea why. He's not much like the Doctor at all aside from occasional nerdiness, but... what can I say? Sometimes the hair is what makes a character. XD
Aria stared. “Why so many royals?”
“Because we need them and they need us.”
The voice belonged to a newcomer who pushed aside a curtain of ivy to step inside the little tree haven.
“Hi Keyan!” Kenneth bounded forward. “Look who’s awake!”
Keyan. So this was their leader. Aria looked away before he could catch her staring. He didn’t look much like a leader, with his broad frame completely destroyed by the mess of hopelessly windblown black hair standing up on his head. But Aria recognized his voice as the one that had promised to watch out for the tree just before she blacked out, so that must mean something.
“Hi, Twerp.” Keyan grinned at the boy, reaching to muss his hair and missing as Kenneth ducked away. “I see that.” He returned his gaze to Aria. “How are you feeling?”
“The headache is going away.” Aria glanced at his sweeping black wings. “You’re from Ithir?”
He nodded and moved toward the table.
Karthik
He's the villain, and he's awesome. XD Poor guy was so much fun to write. Villains should not be this amusing, I'm telling you. But my betas say he was a great villain, so points for him. XD Karthik means "self-serving", which is perfect on so many counts. *chef's kiss* His one word was "charm". ;)
“Stay back, m’lady.” Karthik, the royal physician, moved a reddish wing in front of the cot, his face tight with anxiety not befitting his youth. “Give him room.”
“Is he-” Aria stopped herself, pushing back the flood of terror threatening to take control of her body. She cleared her throat. “Will he recover?”
Karthik glanced at her, and his green eyes flickered with doubt. He hesitated, but replied, “I’ll do my best.”
Kenneth
Kenneth (nicknames include Thud, Bounce, Net, Twerp, and Pipsqueak) is the side character I loosely based on myself. He's a 12-year-old ball of irresponsible disaster whose name means "born of fire" and "handsome". Neither of them necessarily fit him character wise, but my name in real life means "handsome" (among a whole truckload of other things), and Lasair, his home, is the kingdom of fire. So it kinda fit. XD The one word I based him off of was "mischievous". He's a blast to write. Doesn't have much of my calmer, more thoughtful side, but eh. Who cares? XP
(Technically when we first meet Kenneth is the same time we meet everyone else, and it's a little chaotic because of many reasons. So I'm giving you Kenneth's introduction instead of his first appearance. I'll do the same for the other side charries.)
“Nope!” The keeper of the new voice popped into view, ducking beneath Revika’s wing to stand in front of her. He crossed his arms across his scrawny chest and straightened with pride even as his voice cracked on his next words. “You’re in Lasair, in my home.”
Blinking, Aria looked around her. “You… have your own home? How old are you?”
“Twelve,” the boy replied, as if it were the best age in existence. “I grew it all myself.”
“All of it?” Aria repeated doubtfully, glancing at the trees that had to be at least a hundred years old.
“Well… more like cultivated it.” The boy grinned and tossed his dirt-brown bangs out of his eyes. “Someday I’m going to get a garden in here too, but for now I’m just working on shaping it all.”
“Uh-huh.” Aria frowned at him. “Aren’t you a little young to be living alone?”
“Eh.” He shrugged at the same time another voice called from beyond the bush wall, “Yes!”
Yara
Another side character, but she was based off of the friend I wrote this story for. And her backstory is *chef's kiss* So much fun to write all that angst. XP Yara means "water lady" and "lamb", which once again fit where the character is from (Ríos, kingdom of water, per se) and matched up with my friend's real-life name meaning. The one word I based her off of apart from my friend was "noble".
Two more Aves were there: a tall girl with platinum-blonde hair pulled away from her face and draped down her shoulder in an elegant braid, and a man seated at a low wooden table with a streak of glimmering green accenting his dark hair and matching the gleam in his iridescent feathers. They both glanced up as Revika led the way, the boy trailing slightly behind Aria.
She swallowed. “None of you are Asmanian.”
“No,” agreed the tall girl. She swept a white wing at one of the logs that seemed to be used as stools and benches. “Help yourself.”
[Spoilers, so I'm cutting this section out XD]
An awkward silence fell while Aria drained her cup of herbs and water. The boy eventually broke it. “Right - introductions! I’m Kenneth-”
“Net, actually,” interrupted the tall girl.
“Thud,” added the man.
“Or Bounce,” finished Revika with a laugh. “Take your pick, or add one to the list.”
Kenneth - or Net, or Thud, or Bounce - glowered, but the tall girl picked up where he left off. “He’s from Lasair, in case it wasn’t obvious. You’ve met Revika. This is Dusan of Temen, and I’m Crown Princess Yara of Ríos.”
Aria felt her eyebrows shoot upward as she automatically looked at Yara’s arm. Sure enough, a pale blue band circled her bicep like a tattoo, pulsing faintly. “Crown princess?”
Yara nodded.
“Then what…?”
“What am I doing in Lasair?” She sighed. “It’s a very long story.”
Dusan
Ahh, Dusan. He was hard to write, mostly because he's a very secretive character. Another side character, by the way, based off of my sister. Dusan means "God is my Judge", which fit kinda) with my sister's name but otherwise had really nothing to do with what actually happened in the written story. It fits a bit of Dusan's backstory and future, but nothing anyone but me would know. XD I based him off of two words: "secretive" and "moody".
Unfortunately, I already introduced Dusan at the same time as Yara. And he doesn't really have many more snippets. So... have a favorite quote of mine. :)
"Move," Karthik growled. "Make me," Dusan growled back.
That one quote encapsulates both of their characters so beautifully. *happy sigh*
Revika
Revika was one of those characters that I instantly connected with but that didn't stand out too much to me anyway. *shrugs* She was the last side character, based off of my friend's sister. Her name means "princess" and "like a sunray" which fit on so many levels I can't even explain them all. XD The one word I based her character off of was "bright".
“Hello?” she called, and squinted against the pain that shot through her head.
The chattering from the other side of the bushes ceased all at once, then someone appeared at the opening of the bushes in front of Aria.
“Good morning!” she said, a smile splitting her tanned face. “How are you feeling?”
Aria blinked. “You aren’t Asmanian.”
“No.” The girl brushed a hand across her glossy, golden-brown hair as one of her bronze-colored wings twitched. “I’m Revika, of Prakash. And you are?”
Aria shook her head to clear it. “I’m sorry… am I in Prakash? I thought it was hotter than this.”
There's so much more to Song of the Wind than this, but I'll stop boring y'all now. ;P I'll close with one of my favorite quotes:
Karthik was still hurting over the death his father had suffered as a physician on the battlefield. Keyan had lost his little brother but had made his peace with that, then shared that peace with Aria. Karthik was bitter; Keyan had forgiven. The death of Karthik’s father had created a monster that wouldn’t rest until his perceived enemies felt his pain as well; the death of Keyan’s brother had created a man that wouldn’t rest until no one else had to feel that kind of pain ever again. And that was what made Karthik the villain and Keyan the hero: their choices. They’d both been struck with the same tragedy, but one had chosen to become a victim and the other to rise above it. -Song of the Wind
Would you be interested in a book like this? What is one of your favorite gifts you've ever received? Ever given? Is it okay to base a character almost entirely off of someone else's hair? What do you think of the cover?
Until next time,
Take courage, pursue God, and smile while you still have teeth!! ^_^
AHHH. THIS IS SO COOL. AND THOSE SNIPPETS. (Especially that "move/make me" quote... 🤣) Your characters just feel so vivid and lifelike and lovable!! (Even the villain sounds exciting hahaha!!) Congratulations on finishing the story!!!
I still love this story so much! I'm so glad I got to be a beta reader!!