Him

Image description: statue of a mother holding her infant child. The child's hand is pressed to the mother's cheek.

This is a story I started working on three years ago. Since then, it has gone through a number of revisions and rejections, and ultimately I decided to let it be as is while expanding on the characters and world in what would become the Kevarya Universe and The Shapeshifter Prince, my project for the upcoming Camp Nanowrimo. Some details have changed since I wrote it; for example, Arkady's name meaning and how he acquires it is very different in this story than in The Man Who Is Revealed. Still, the emotional truth of Him remains an essential part of both Arkady and Thyld's character development.

Content warning for misgendering, transphobia, and attempted suicide.

Him

Confluence & Ode to My Muscles

Image description: A young woman seen from behind, clutching the top of her head. The muscles of her back are strained and ridges of her spine visible. From Pixabay.

I'm taking a break from Kevarya this week to showcase some recently rediscovered poetry from 2015. It's somewhat hard to believe that three years have passed since I wrote these, but in a way, it makes sense, since they had started to fade from my memory.

Both poems deal with the relationship between mind and body, exploring both the positive and negative sides of physical awareness. Confluence contains references to characters you may recognize from other posts, while Ode to My Muscles deals with a topic I've rarely touched upon here: my experience as a disabled person.

So, without further ado, here's...

Confluence &

Ode to My Muscles

The Man Who Is Revealed

Image description: A digitally-painted portrait of Arkady, a dark-haired, light-skinned young man in a black cloak, with a mysterious golden flame in the background. Art by Amanda Grace Shu.

I recently came to the realization that I have posted incredibly little about Arkady fe Normonne, given that he is the primary protagonist of my novel. He has appeared as a secondary character in other excerpts I've posted, but nothing from his own point of view.

That ends today. In honor of pride month, I present you with a short coming-out scene, narrated by Arkady (twelve years old when this takes place) and featuring Sebastian, whom you may remember from A Winter's Ball. Enjoy!

The Man Who Is Revealed

Kevarya: Tales from the Family Tree

Image description: a four-generation family tree showing the genealogy of the main characters in my Kevarya Universe.

If the world of fiction has taught me anything, it's that every high fantasy universe needs a cool fantasy map and an extensive genealogy of its big, screwed-up royal family. Since Kevarya is, at its heart, all about a big, screwed-up royal family, here is my attempt at a family tree, along with some entertaining anecdotes about various members who will likely have no impact on the actual plot of the novel.

Now, without further ado, here's...

Tales from the Family Tree