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T is for Tale.

If you’ve been reading most of my posts this month, you’d have noticed that I’m a little obsessed with figuring out how everything works in the Labyrinth.

When I started writing the Tales of the Onyx Labyrinth last year, it was sparked by a dream and I decided to just write chapters as ideas come to me. I knew that the Labyrinth was dangerous, I knew that Daphne was going to get into a lot of trouble for loving a man out of her league and I knew that I wanted to write a happy-ever-after. But everything else… *shrugs*

I thought I’d be okay with not plotting everything. But I ran into difficulty when Daphne left the Onyx Labyrinth and I didn’t know where she’ll go next.

So now I’m doing proper worldbuilding and fleshing out all of my characters. We’ll see if that helps.

Because it’s a Wattpad project, I thought I’d do all of the behind-the-scenes stuff on the blog for a bit of accountability (my trilogy usually takes up the bulk of my time and other stories get neglected) and to show how an idea goes from “Daphne flees for her life” to an entire story filled with danger and unexpected allies (Fleeing from Grey is still being edited, though I had planned to have it published a week ago – I’m not sure it’s ready yet, but it’ll be up in May on Wattpad).

Now you know: under the Labyrinth tag and category you’ll find a lot of info on this project.

I’ve already covered how certain things work in the Labyrinth and how certain creatures differ from their topside counterparts, e.g. the Phouka. I’ll be continuing this worldbuilding project on Sundays and on Thursdays (if it’s folklore-heavy) – though it won’t be all my blog will be about: I’ll still do my usual schedule and the usual topics, this is just to change things up a bit.

I’m hoping that in time the Labyrinth tag and category will be filled with how things work in the world of the Onyx Labyrinth.

On Pinterest I’m also making boards for each creature and place I use in my writing. I’ve already done a few (like the one I did for the Phouka) and they’re really helping with keeping all of my research and planning in one place.

Oh, I’m also busy translating the Tales of the Onyx Labyrinth into Afrikaans and publishing it on INK and on Wattpad – I’ve published one story and it won a competition on INK and caused the book to be #1 in what’s hot in Fantasy in the first week of April on Wattpad (it’s still in the top ten).

So what is the Tales of the Onyx Labyrinth about?

English blurb of Tales of the Onyx Labyrinth:

In a brutal world where living to thirty is the exception, a teenaged Faery girl has to face the consequences of loving a man out of her league.

Daphne loves Brandon.

The Duke of the Faery Court living in the Onyx Labyrinth is fated to marry a princess from another Court to save his people.

But he loves Daphne, a Guardian of the Court.

Fae live underground in a Labyrinth that stretches beneath the surface of the entire planet. They are cut off from the true Fae-way – and immortality.

Will Daphne and Brandon forsake their love to save their people, or burn for treason?

Afrikaans blurb of Verhale van die Oniks Labirint:

In ‘n wrede wêreld waar dit die uitsondering is om tot dertig te oorleef, moet ‘n jong Feë vrou die gevolge dra van haar verhouding met ‘n man bo haar stand.

Daphne is lief vir Brandon.

Die Hertog van die Feë Hof wat woon in die Oniks Labirint is bestem om met ‘n prinses van ‘n ander Hof te trou om sy onderdane te red.

Maar hy is lief vir Daphne, ‘n Beskermer van die Hof.

Feë woon ondergrond in ‘n Labirint wat onder die oppervlak van die hele planet strek. Hulle is afgesny van die ware weë van die Feë – en onsterflikheid.

Sal Daphne en Brandon hul liefde versaak om hul Hof te red, of brand vir verraad?

It’s exactly the same thing, though for some reason I get chills when I read it in Afrikaans. Maybe it’s because there isn’t a lot of Dark Fantasy in my mother tongue… Perhaps that’s why it’s so popular on Wattpad?

 

For now, the only story in the Afrikaans book is Die Beskermer, but that will be remedied very soon.

As for the English stories, here’s the list in reading order with the main creature to look out for in brackets (the link will take you to the original folklore post of that creature). Happy reading.

The Guardian

Running Scared (Caìt Sìth)

The Dark Muse (Leannan Sìth)

Inferno (Dragon)

Creature of Dissent (Grogoch)

Mischief and Misdirection (Phouka)

Beauty Underneath (Elves)

The Beginning of the End 

Fire in the Dark 

Though I had started out with the idea of writing one story a month – and kept to that schedule for most of 2016 – the second part of the Labyrinth’s story is a lot more difficult to write. Perhaps because it isn’t just about Daphne anymore…

As I continue writing this story, I’ll do updates on the blog about how it was written, the playlist I listened to, the folklore that inspired it, the lessons I learned while writing it and, of course, why the reader should care what happens to a Guardian in a Labyrinth so far beneath the surface of where we live.

I know this is the kind of thing that people pay for on Patreon, but I’m not sure I’m comfortable with expecting money for sharing a bit of my writing journey – especially since I’m definitely not comfortable with sharing cut scenes, unpolished pieces and having someone else tell me what my story should be about. But maybe that’s just me. Thoughts?

What do you think of this new feature on my blog? Do you think this will help me to finish the Tales of the Onyx Labyrinth this year? Have you noticed how stories have different receptions in different languages?

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