"The Lost Prince" -- Excerpt from "The Ascent of Avedis"

The moment the stars appeared before him Kelson knew the dream was not a normal one. The flickering lights in the sky were too bright, alive as if they were jumping about in some crazed ritual. He recognized constellations; Aihnk with his great jaws open, clawing at the heaven’s in triumph of his return home, and cloudy Sael’s Path, southwest of the moons who were half full, just as they were when he’d gone to sleep. 

No one familiar was near. Not Marinus, Inahra, Caridan, nor Gho or Vohrie or the other thirty people that had joined them over the past week. When he stood, he felt unsteady, as if the ground was tipping underneath his feet. 

There was one presence, though. The night was so dark he couldn’t see anyone among the hard shadows of the trees at first, but he could sense them, in the back of his mind, in the hairs of his neck standing on end. 

“You look afraid. You should be.”

Kelson whipped around at the voice to find his own face staring back at him. No, not his own; the same in shape, feature, and color, yet a different person. Avedis. His hair was longer by a forearm’s length, braided away from his face. His clothes were ones Kelson could not possibly have imagined himself in,  rich and finely made, with intricate details his eyes could hardly follow. “Why should I be? This is a dream.”

“It’s not just dream,” Avedis shook his head, stepping closer.

“What do you want?”

“Hear me out, that’s all I ask. It might save your life.”

Kelson didn’t want to hear much of anything Avedis had to say. What kind of person would so readily invade someone else’s mind, hinting at threats and anger? He took a step backwards, feeling for his sword, though the weight on his hip was missing. Avedis only followed, uncrossing his arms.

“Turn around, and go back to Charisia, or wherever it is you came from. It’s where you belong. There is nothing for you in Ilaquoi except pain and death, I will make sure of that.” 

“I’m just trying to find the truth,” Kelson said, his heart pulsing hard in his chest, “I want to know who my family is, if what Monelly told me is true.”

“The two of us speaking here is proof enough that it is. There is nothing for you in the city. Our father is an evil man, you will get no love from him; our mother is a broken woman, sickly and resigned.” He paused, one of his fists unclenching at his side, tensing as if he were waiting for something to happen. “And I already hate you. I have waited to become king for nine years, and if you think I'm going to step aside and let you have it…"

"I don't want to be your enemy.”

"You already are." 

Kelson’s mind reached for words that wouldn't form. Before he could utter a sound, the trees around them and the stars shivered, and disappeared, and so did Avedis, all of it falling into blackness at once.

He woke with a start, feeling feverish and shaky. His mouth watered as if he were about to be sick. A dull ache rose in his head as he propped himself up on one arm, and looked about the dark camp with panic, trying to separate the visions from reality. 

Through the treetops he could just see the moons beginning their descent, drowning in the predawn glare. There were mounds scattered all around him, his traveling companions still in the throes of peaceful sleep. Dark brown trunks rose up, narrow and high, topped by rounded, ovular caps of fluffy green leaves. A few days before, they had picked up mounts in Shillian. One of the hyuruks grunted loudly when it saw Kelson move and the sound startled him. He pushed away his sleeping roll and approached the hobbled animals. Their earless heads were raised, their eyes sharp, tails flicking away the insects that were rising with the sun.

“Shh, its all right,” he cooed, rubbing the sleek, muscled hide, combing through the thick mane hanging from the animal’s neck. He glanced nervously around the camp, but everything seemed in order.

Even as the dream began to fade from his mind, Kelson felt a darkness pressing in on him, a sense of dread and foreboding more powerful than when he had left Charisia. Was the nightmare just a product of his fears? Had pictures of Avedis’ face created such a potent image of his in his mind for him to see something like that? He pressed his lips to sleek, comforting fur, and felt as though he never wanted to sleep again.

Music for the Moody Writer

Music is necessary for the creative process of many writers and artists. While some creators prefer dead silence, others require a symphony of lyrics, imagery, and sounds to help them generate ideas, transport themselves to a fictitious world, and develop ideas for characters and plots. I always think of my writing music as the background score for my novel. In a way, music gives the writer's brain just enough distraction to focus.

For me, music when writing is a necessity. Aside from sporadic incidents, I always need music that goes with the story I'm working on, and I find wearing headphones also increases my ability to focus. During the actual writing process, I like instrumental music or music with vague or limited lyrics. Alternately, if I'm on a long drive or a six hour weaving shift, I want music with deep and complex stories to help me brainstorm new plots and characters.

I am here today to share some of my favorite writing music in hopes that others will find inspiration for their own stories. 

AFI aka A Fire Inside

Before I write another word about AFI, I must put a disclaimer: this band has been playing on stage longer than I've even been alive, therefore I am no authority on their music nor on goth music/culture in a general sense.

That said, I consider AFI to be one of my favorite bands, if not my favorite. I have been listening to them for about 9 years now, and their songs have seen me through all of the up and downs during such a long period of time. I had a writing block where I didn't create any stories, unless assigned by school, for a solid 3 years. I credit AFI as one of the main inspirations that ended that writing block, for it is the combination of their three albums Crash Love, Decemberunderground, and Sing The Sorrow which gave me the idea for my first novel, and subsequently, the trilogy it developed into. 

If you like dark music with obscure ideas and intense visuals, AFI is the band for you. Each song has enough fodder within it, lyrically and instrumentally, for a short story. If you're more on the sci-fi, technological spectrum, you might want to check out singer Davey Havok and guitar player Jade Puget's side project, Blaqk Audio. 

Anberlin

Unfortunately, Anberlin disbanded in 2015 on mutual terms, but they have an expansive discography that I have spent years exploring. Over the past six or so years, I have acquired their albums two at a time, listened to them until I soaked up every bit of inspiration that I needed from them, and then moved on to the next two. I've found it's practically impossible to get sick of Anberlin albums, especially "Vital" and "Dark is the Way, Light is a Place." When they start to feel worn, I put them away fro a couple months, and then listen to them like new.

Their sound is a very agreeable rock music vibe, and there is a certain timelessness to Anberlin's music that I love. When I'm listening to their later albums, I get a post apocalypse WWIII vibe that always puts new characters in my head. 

God is an Astronaut/Explosions in the Sky

GIAA and EITS are artists that have been mixed randomly into almost all my writing playlists of the past few years. Although generally these bands have no lyrics, the music they create is powerful enough to bring forth stunning visuals in imaginative brains. If I am having a hard time with a battle scene, or I'm trying to brainstorm an epic ending, these bands will help me break through my block.

Veela

I'm not even sure how to find words to describe how much I love Veela. Both her voice and music are otherworldly, ethereal, magical, fantastical. Almost all of her music is free to download from her soundcloud, and her own songs are intermixed with cover songs and collaborations she does with a plethora of EDM/Dubstep artists.

My favorite thing about Veela is that she sings about a variety of subjects aside from romance. Her love for video games, comics, and the sci-fi/fantasy genre comes through clearly in her lyrics. I have created many characters from her imagery that have become hugely important in some of my current series. 

BLVCK CEILING/Sidewalks & Skeletons/White Ring/Summer of Haze

So there is this music 'genre' out there known as Witch House/Darkwave/Vaporwave, to which some would claim these bands belong. I've had an amusing relationship with Witch House since I discovered it in a playlist on my favorite music site, 8tracks.com. I thought it was very complex until I read some articles on the short-lived music genre. There are some people who think WH is some kind of abomination on music, that it shouldn't be taken seriously, and it's true that for the most part many of the bands who are/were part of it have fizzled out quickly.

However, if you're looking for an ominous, creepy, gothic atmosphere to write your urban fantasy, dark fantasy, or horror story, Witch House/Darkwave might be just what you need. I think the four artists I've mentioned above are excellent examples of the genre if there are any, and their songs are what allowed me to create the post-apocalypse ice-age setting of my "Wolfena" series. 

_______

When music is used for inspiration, writing, and prompting, it can be one of a writer's greatest tools. So put together a playlist, slap on your headphones, and open up that word document; let the sounds splash color onto that blank white screen and remove your fear of getting started. 

Aside from the artists I have blurbed about already, here are some other bands with strong atmospheric qualities and loaded lyrics that might help you find that story idea you've been searching for.

Endless Hallway - U2-esque rock and roll

Salamanda - techno/experimental artist music 

Two Steps From Hell - instrumental imitations of movie soundtracks--almost overly epic sometimes

Secret Empire - heavy but not too heavy flowing rock and roll with interesting lyrics

Metric - fantastic light-rock band with feminist vibes and a wonderful singer

Austra - sort of like a more obscure Florence and the Machine

There for Tomorrow - easy listening rock with beautiful vocals and thought provoking lyrics

Tokio Hotel - popular German rock/pop band with a dark, atmospheric sound

Get Scared - a creepy rock band with strong lyrics about depression and mental illness

Daft Punk - everybody knows who Daft Punk is 

Fever Ray - trancey Portishead style music with obscure, psychedelic lyrics 

Halsey - a strong female singer with story-like lyrics 

Massive Attack - a mellow techno/rock band with repetitive, ethereal sounds

Fantasy Indulgence

Writing has always been a form of escapism for me, as it is for so many others. For the three and a half years before I began writing my first novel, the only writing I did was for school. It was a long creative block where I forgot how much I enjoyed storytelling.

When I first ventured into "The Ascent of Avedis," I found a world where I belong. This story and the stories which all center around it have evolved greatly in the nearly 4 years since its inception. I graduated from college, came out as a lesbian, and decided to make writing one of the topmost priorities in my life. Learning that I was gay changed my perspective deeply when it came to storytelling. I began to realize that myself and people like me were abhorrently absent from mainstream media. I searched the depths of Netflix and the internet for every alternative story I could find, and I learned that there is something very particular that people in the LGBT+ community, along with other marginalized groups, are searching for.

We want stories who happen to have gay characters, not necessarily stories about 'coming out.' Those who are already out of the closet live a life just like anyone else. Being gay plays into the day to day of things, but just as often it can be perfectly irrelevant. There's a difference between a 'gay person' and a 'person who is gay.'

The characters in my stories are not 'gay characters'; they are characters who just happen to be gay. Some of them have romance, some don't. I want the people reading my work to feel as if they have a place, like they belong, like they're not alone. As we face both social progression and regression in the USA and throughout the world, sharing stories about alternative communities is more important than ever, and that is my goal.

It is true that I was a different person when I wrote the first manuscript of TAOA, and that piece of writing still reflects that person, but with characters and themes added along the way during my evolution.

I encourage/invite anyone who happens across this little blog post to share their thoughts on this matter. This is an open, reaching out to writers and readers of the LBGT+ community, and a safe space to share.

Welcome to Ismenara.
Read an excerpt from "The Ascent of Avedis."

Welcome To Ismenara

Welcome to Ismenara.

This is a place for people who don't fit in, and for those who need a little escapism to survive the day to day.

Here in this world, you will find a complex magical system, a diversity of humans, and a plethora of exotic creatures to pull you from the mundane and into the fantastical. This series of writing and art is meant to appeal and connect to the LGBT community who is searching for stories in which they can find themselves, and people like them.