King's Warrior Read-Along: Chapter 9
Good morning, dear Reader! We're nearing the half-way point of this read-along. I'm trying to stay on top of things, though today's post will be a bit shorter, as I have family in town. (That's probably a good thing, actually... my husband accused me of creating "curriculum length" posts after the past couple aired... LOL So, as we dive into chapter 9 today, I'll try to keep it a bit shorter.
Yole. In this chapter we finally get to see if our suspicions about Yole are correct. I wonder how old Yole is? Or who his parents were? I wonder how Dylanna missed this? (But then, Brant somehow missed figuring out that Darby was a wizardess, and he doesn’t miss much... so I guess everyone is allowed a mistake here and there).
“Or perhaps the outside world has something to teach you.” This was a line we added in the very final draft, and I love it. I love the idea it conveys about humility.
Calyssia. We don’t meet the mer-folk of this world until book #4, except for the glimpses we get through the four wizardesses. But I wanted to give some hints about the differences of their life-spans and culture here. I’ll admit, I pulled a lot of my ideas for the mer-folk from a short fairy tale I read once about the Little Mermaid - I can’t remember which version it was, but it’s the one with the super sad ending where she turns into sea foam instead of marrying the prince.
The healing power of music. Music has always been a big part of my life. I’m not very good at creating music, but I love listening to it. My mom plays the piano, and one of my favorite memories of home is of sitting next to her little upright piano, pressing my ear against it while she played hymns, Christmas carols, classical pieces, and whatever she was practicing for Sunday morning. I’ve found that for me, music may not be playing constantly, but it’s one of the things I turn to when I need to express some deep emotion, but don’t know how.
The dragons’ culture. I wanted to show that my dragons have a completely different culture than the humans. Theirs is a harsh, strict, almost savage society. Rhendak may be one of the more refined and gentle dragons you’ll ever meet - but we’ll get to see him cut loose before the book’s end. I borrowed from many dragons - but mostly I wanted to blend a bit of Smaug in. I wanted to show that my dragons were strong, cunning, intelligent creatures, who had every bit as much ability to be good or evil as any other character.
I’ve been thinking about the question about Aragorn and The Lord of the Rings influencing my story a bit more. I don’t think Aragorn influenced Oraeyn much at all, but he definitely can be seen in Brant. They are both wanderers, both displaced from their homes, both with a dry sense of humor and a mysterious mien. I hadn’t necessarily realized it before, but they are quite a bit alike!
Discussion Questions:
- Have you ever read the version of the Little Mermaid where she turns into sea foam at the end? Have you read other versions? Which is your favorite?
- What is your favorite song to listen to when you’re feeling blue or “down”?
- Have you seen any other parallels between my books/characters and those of The Lord of the Rings?
- When you come to music or poetry in a novel, do you read/enjoy that, or do you tend to skim over it?
- Any questions of your own?