“Fun With Thornspell”: We Have A Result!
On August 1 I began “Fun with Thornspell”, in which I asked readers to tell me the Thornspell character they would most like to have a standalone short story written for, or about—as well as why, based on that character’s exploits in the Thornspell story.
And I asked three judges, introduced here, to decide which character, from amongst the suggestions you’ve put forward, I would get to write a short story about—to be published here on the blog with a dedication to the selected commenter.
The competition closed on September 1 and the judges all went into a huddle (coughs: waited for me to get done with copyedit on The Gathering of the Lost and get my act together!) to decide which comment would be “the one.” Because as with Highlander (so long ago now, but so good: the Kurgan, serious claims to best badass ever!)—“there can be only one!”
But now we have a result and the winning comment is:
- from Andrew on August 4, the first day of “Fun with Thornspell”:
“Well I would like to see a short story about Rue.
There is a lot that could be said about her struggle against the Magravaine’s spell, and her efforts to help Sigismund while her own power (or most of it) remained bound and fettered by the 100 year sleep.
That and her own relationship to Fae and Faierie could make for a really interesting story.”
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The comment ranked second came:
- from June Young, again on August 4:
“For a Thornspell short story, I’d like to see something with the Margravine (Farisie) and her sister, Syrica, the Queen of Faerie. Before the Margravine came to this world and created the Sleeping Beauty.
Specifically Page 288-9 (hardback version)- an old sorrow. What got the Margravine started or helped her towards what she became?
She obviously didn’t start out this way.”
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And the following comments were ranked third equal:
from Dru on August 11:
“What about Syrica?
Hers is an interesting story. Staying hidden for a hundred years. Thwarting the Magravine’s plans despite the risk.
There has to be a story or two there.”
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And from Luke on August 25:
“Yeah, Balisan’s “the man”, but I’m going for a story about the good fae, because when you think about it she was staunch, countering the death spell and then hiding out for a hundred years to see things through.”
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Interesting that the two comments ranked 3rd equal were both for Syrica! And the overall top-ranked comments from our judges were for female characters.
So there you have it: I shall be writing a short story about Rue, which I hope to bring to you within the next month to six weeks (as per my post of September 1.) I think it will need to be soon, before I get too wrapped up in writing Daughter of Blood (The Wall of Night Book Three), which I suspect may quickly become an all-absorbing project!
And thank you very much to everyone who participated—it was fabulous to get so many wonderful comments and suggestions. Who knows, Daughter of Blood allowing, there may even be a similar event for The Heir of Night in the not too distant future …
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Just to remind you, our three judges were: (in alphabetical order by first name):
Beth Miller: Beth Miller works at Writers House Literary Agency in New York, where she is the assistant to my agent, Robin Rue—and as such was amongst the first people out there to read and love Thornspell. She is also a writer in her own right; her first novel, Into the Scottish Mist, was published by Wild Rose Press in 2010 and you can read my interview with her here.
Peter Fitzpatrick (Fitz): Fitz was another early reader of Thornspell and has been an integral part of my writing journey since he has designed both my Helen Lowe on Anything, Really and Thornspell websites, as well as designing the map for The Wall of Night series—for which he was nominated for a Sir Julius Vogel Award for Best Professional Artwork earlier in the year.
Sharon Stogner: Sharon is an avid reader, follower of a number of blogs such as the Supernatural Underground, and a book blogger herself on the ismellsheep book and movie site. Sharon was also an early enthusiast for both The Heir of Night and Thornspell.
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For the first chapter of Thornspell, click here
To listen to a reading, click on this link:
Well all I can say is that “All credit to the other teams, but Thornspell (and me!) was the winner on the day”.
I am very much looking forward to reading the new story.
Who knows where it will go?
Cheers
Andrew
Getting into the World Cup spirit there, bro, but I’m good with a story about Rue. But will it be a tale “of two halves?”
Well, I am not sure where the new Rue story will go yet, or whether it will be a tale of two halves, but I’m already playing with a couple of ideas–so now all I have to do is write it! 🙂
Congrats to the winner and thanks to Helen for letting me be a part of the contest. It was fun 🙂
Sharon–thank you for being a judge and helping make “Fun with Thornspell” a success.:)