So, I'm a bit late in the day posting it. Maybe a little more than a bit. But the video took longer than I expected to convert and upload, due to being better quality than my normal videos, and when I was finally able to upload it, it was minutes before I had to leave for my uncle's birthday party, and I misplaced my brain when I got back.
But I think I've found my brain now, so have a video:
Do click through, leave a like and a comment, and consider subscribing. If you do subscribe, it could qualify as an entry in an awesome giveaway!
I also would like to note that I am in the process of moving away from blogging into vlogging. I'm not abandoning this blog, but ... talking to the camera means less hand cramps, and I get enough of those from regular writing as it is (Currently hard at work trying to finish Worth and The Seven Drawers for their publications in August and October, respectively). So, yeah, if you want more frequent updates from me, check out over there. I'm going to be talking about fairy tales a lot. And I may do a stint of reading through Sew, it's a Quest. Wouldn't that be awesome?
Just five days before the release of Water Princess, Fire Prince! Have you preordered your kindle copy yet?
Today I'm sharing some worldbuilding and a related video I filmed last year but didn't get around to posting. Enjoy!
Rizkaland is a cylindrical world, divided by seven
mighty bodies of water, known as Riva, into six islands and the mainland. It
has no magnetic field, so compass directions are referred to as up, down, ea
and wea. Each of the six islands and including the mainland, run
from the very top of the world to the bottom, though they differ greatly when
it comes to widths. They are separated from each other by Rizkaland’s seven
Riva.
Klarand
As of the time of Water Princess, Fire Prince, many
of the islands were still uninhabited. Of the inhabited islands, however, the
most important was Klarand, with served as a barrier between Amber’s Island,
and the mainland.
Klarand is divided naturally by mountains and
forest into four sections. Upper Klarand is mountainous, and the inhabitants
are predominately miners and soldiers by trade. Lower Klarand is predominately
forests, and men there are hunters and tenders of animals. Both Ea and Wea
Klarand are flatlands, and are populated with farmers. In its very center
stands the Kastle, an impregnable fortress build directly into a mountain by Alphego
himself.
Rizkaland
The mainland of Rizkaland is the largest portion of
land in this world. In its center stands Loray, a circular castle built around
Alphego’s Hill, which is where Alphego stood to create this world.
The mainland is predominately farmland with
scattered forests.
Rintae
The desert island of Rintae was largely uninhabited
at the time of Water Princess, Fire Prince, though a few nomadic tribes
had wandered in through from other worlds.
Isle
of Talking Beasts
The name of the Isle of Talking Beasts is a slight
misnomer, as the only talking beasts that live there are the magnificent
horses. It is a jungle island, thick with trees other vegetation.
Chinok
The mountainous island of Chinok was uninhabited,
and in truth, unnamed at the time of Water Princess, Fire Prince.
Silink
Literally translated as “narrow,” Silink is the
narrowest island in Rizkaland, scarcely a mile at its widest. It is mostly
sand, and is uninhabited.
Amber’s
Island
Also known as the Isle of Banishment. Little is
known about the geography of this island, for none who have step foot on this
island have ever returned, save Amber and her husband Granite. There is a guise
on this island where, should you step foot on it, you cannot leave again for
another five hundred years. The people of Klarand and Rizkaland send people to
this island as a form of capital punishment.
Okay, and here it is, as promised, a vlog where I answer questions about The Ankulen.
And to reiterate what I said at the end, during the month of August I will be running a series of posts about various worlds (Such as Middle Earth, Narnia, Dinotopia, The Land of the Fallen Rainbow ...) that have influenced my own worldbuilding. Anyone who does such a post themselves (Just make sure you include in the post what it's for) and comments somewhere on my blog with the link will be entered into a drawing for a free copy of The Ankulen, though I cannot say at the moment whether it will be physical or a PDF. It will depend on how my finances are looking come September 5th. (Thanks Jack for this lovely idea)
As a result, I will be posting the character encounter tomorrow, and there is a possibility that you will see two posts out of me on some days.
On September 6th, I will be holding an Ankulen themed blog party (I'm babysitting on the fifth, and I don't have internet at my aunts house). As always, there will be a drawing for a PDF file of the book that day too, so if you don't win the first, you'll have a second chance. I will be putting together another Q and A vlog, so please send me more questions (whether by email or comments, I don't really care). And there will be a show-off-your-Ankulen post, for which I'll need you to send a picture of you wearing a piece of jewelry that you don't mind being called your Ankulen, (mine is the ring that you see in the video) as well as your pen name and the name of your world.
More details will be coming as soon as I have them, since I don't have a button put together. I want something to do with the cover art and - gasp! - I don't have a cover art yet. (Can you hear the frustration in my voice. The photo editing program that my cousin gave me is giving me fits, and I can't come up with a good picture. I'm about to take a water hose to my driveway and MAKE myself a stream (which was my original conception.)
