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Let me just note right away that no, I am not going to stop writing Slave Breakers just because I've got a new story. I love writing Slave Breakers; I am of course going to finish Intake Counselor (abandon my girls at this crucial juncture? never!), and I owe y'all some comfort after that last heart-pummeling Quen/Jesse interlude, and there are a lot of other good stories to tell in that 'verse, so I'm definitely not abandoning it. Those characters and that world are very close to my heart. It's just exciting that I also have a new world to write in.
( cut for faintly gushy ramblings about y'all and about starting something new )
So: I am going to go ahead and post the first chapter of a story called "The Maiden," in what I'm tentatively calling the Daughter universe. Please note that there is no pressure to like it; it's entirely possible that this new thing is not your "thing" in the way that Slave Breakers turned out to be so many people's "thing," and that's okay, because primarily of course it's my "thing," or I wouldn't be writing it.
A quick couple of words first about what sort of thing it is. It's matriarchy, as I noted in my voice post, and it's also fantasy. The reason for introducing a fantasy element (besides "for the hell of it," which is also a compelling reason in my book) will, I hope, become clear over the course of the story; I hope it doesn't impede anybody's enjoyment. I'll just say this: the big difference between this alternate universe and my other one is that Slave Breakers was an alternate universe that evolved differently from ours for no particular reason except maybe a butterfly flapping its wings at some point; this one evolved differently for a very particular reason, and it also branches off from ours at a very specific point. Again, I'll get into all this over the course of the story; I guess my point is just that yes, I am going somewhere with this whole thing.
Also, yes, it will eventually pass the reverse Bechdel test, in that there will be men having a conversation that is not about a woman. ;)
Anyway, without further ado, here's the first chapter. As always, all thoughts and feedback are more than welcome, and if you've got questions or spot problems, please let me know, as it's best to catch these things early. I sort of went with the Baz Luhrmann "charming hodgepodge of anachronisms" strategy in Slave Breakers, but seriously, I suck at imagitech. If I was the Connecticut Yankee I would have been like, "...I can re-create large chunks of Edna St. Vincent Millay's poetry from memory?"
Okay really without further ado now.
( The Maiden, chapter one )
( cut for faintly gushy ramblings about y'all and about starting something new )
So: I am going to go ahead and post the first chapter of a story called "The Maiden," in what I'm tentatively calling the Daughter universe. Please note that there is no pressure to like it; it's entirely possible that this new thing is not your "thing" in the way that Slave Breakers turned out to be so many people's "thing," and that's okay, because primarily of course it's my "thing," or I wouldn't be writing it.
A quick couple of words first about what sort of thing it is. It's matriarchy, as I noted in my voice post, and it's also fantasy. The reason for introducing a fantasy element (besides "for the hell of it," which is also a compelling reason in my book) will, I hope, become clear over the course of the story; I hope it doesn't impede anybody's enjoyment. I'll just say this: the big difference between this alternate universe and my other one is that Slave Breakers was an alternate universe that evolved differently from ours for no particular reason except maybe a butterfly flapping its wings at some point; this one evolved differently for a very particular reason, and it also branches off from ours at a very specific point. Again, I'll get into all this over the course of the story; I guess my point is just that yes, I am going somewhere with this whole thing.
Also, yes, it will eventually pass the reverse Bechdel test, in that there will be men having a conversation that is not about a woman. ;)
Anyway, without further ado, here's the first chapter. As always, all thoughts and feedback are more than welcome, and if you've got questions or spot problems, please let me know, as it's best to catch these things early. I sort of went with the Baz Luhrmann "charming hodgepodge of anachronisms" strategy in Slave Breakers, but seriously, I suck at imagitech. If I was the Connecticut Yankee I would have been like, "...I can re-create large chunks of Edna St. Vincent Millay's poetry from memory?"
Okay really without further ado now.
( The Maiden, chapter one )
