Archive

The ‘Dream Cast’ of a Children of the Wells Movie (Part 2)

By Nathan Marchand
June 4, 2015

June at Children of the Wells is sequel month, so all of our blogs the next few weeks will be continuations of last month’s blogs. Since I wrote about the actors I’d love to see play the then full cast of the Jaysynn saga characters, I’ve decided to do the same for the rest of the major characters, including the new ones introduced in The Call of the Watchman by Nick Hayden. Hopefully, this’ll beat the trend of the sequel not being as good as the original.

Lights! Camera! Nerd out! (more…)

The ‘Dream Cast” for a Jaysynn Movie

By Nathan Marchand
May 7, 2015

Believe it or not, I’ve been meaning to write this blog for several weeks, but it kept getting delayed by either computer problems or book releases or what not. Anyway, hello again, Wellsians! (Okay, not my best attempt at creating a name for our fanbase).

I decided I’d have a little fun with this blog. When I studied professional writing with Dr. Dennis E. Hensley at Taylor University Fort Wayne (where most of us Children of the Wells creators met, by the way), he suggested that fiction writers should “cast” their characters, i.e. select photos of actors they could see playing the character(s) if their story was made into a movie. I’ve done this with several of my projects over the years, and it’s helped me to keep an image of the character in my mind (I’m a visual person, anyway).

It shouldn’t surprise you that I did this when I wrote The Fall of the House of Kyzer, which I’ve talked about before. However, since then with the help of Tim (who created several new characters), I’ve “cast” most of the major players from the first trilogy of Jaysynn novellas. It won’t take you long to notice a bit of a pattern with my selections (as in, a nerdy one). Also, these are only how I (and Tim) see the characters. You are free to picture them however you like.

So, without further ado… (more…)

New Year’s Resolutions, Character-style

It’s a new year, which means it’s time for New Year’s resolutions! We decided to contact our delightful Children of the Wells characters–we’re authors; we can do that–and see what their goals are this year.

Calea: Stay alive. Or don’t. One of those. I don’t care which.

Bron: Relentlessly follow and protect Calea, no matter what she says or does to me. Wait–that was last year’s resolution. Let’s see. How about…own a dog?

Nyasha: Invest in a hard hat.

Jaysynn: Get a mask. And a cape. Girls love capes. Also, a theme song. I seriously need a theme song.

Kyrie: Have “the talk” with Jaysynn. He should know that just because I turn him invisible, I don’t want to be.

Mic: A few months ago I would have said, retire in peace. Now? How about keep Jaysynn in one piece?

Amira: Perfect shooting people while singing songs to my baby–what I like to call bull’s-eye lullabies.

Gunny: Goodness! I don’t know. I’m just happy to be alive!

Dracon: What’s my New Year’s resolution? The same one I have every year: try to take over the world!

 

There you have it, folks, the hopes and dreams of our fictional characters! See, they aren’t so different from you and me after all.

 

Creating Jaysynn’s Merry Men (And Women)

by Timothy Deal
September 25, 2014

new-wells-rising cover finalI am pleased to announce that the third book of the Jaysynn series, New Wells Rising, is now available! After the many delays this novella has experienced, it’s quite a relief for me as the author and for all of us as a team to finally get it published in ebook format for everyone to enjoy.

Believe it or not, the latest installment in Jaysynn’s story began about a year ago as work on The Rules Change was wrapping up. I still half-jokingly blame Nick for getting me involved with Jaysynn #3. He and I were talking about what the next Jaysynn novella should look like and I mentioned that it would be good for Jaysynn to begin attracting some followers, to build the base for his own small army to one day perhaps challenge series villain General Dracon. Nick agreed and commented that Jaysynn needed a core group of warriors to lead and inspire, much like the Biblical leader David had his band of “mighty men” or Robin Hood had his standout figures among his Merry Men.

That comparison fired my imagination since I’m a big fan of Robin Hood stories, especially the classic novel adaptation by Howard Pyle. There’s a series of chapters in that book where Robin first encounters such memorable characters as Little John, Friar Tuck, Will Scarlet, and Midge the Miller’s Son (okay, not as many people remember that guy). Several of these encounters have a rocky start given Robin’s penchant of teasing and antagonizing strangers in Sherwood, but each end with the new character becoming a sworn friend and member of the Merry Men. (more…)

Platonic Cuddling

By Nathan Marchand
February 14, 2014

Creative meetings for Children of the Wells are often—as in, always—strange. In a recent one, Laura brought up characters in a Band of Brothers fanfiction who cuddled to stay warm. I then coined the term “platonic cuddling” (I think it was me, at least), and it became a running joke for the rest of the night.

I bring it up because at this point our characters are more likely to engage in “platonic cuddling” than any sort of romance. (more…)

A Lament for the Arrogant

By Nick Hayden
February 7

Next week, we’ll be premiering our third Bron & Calea novella–The Well’s Orphan. The story so far has been largely personal, detailing how Bron, Calea, and their new companion Nyasha deal with the effects of the Cataclysm. The Well’s Orphan is no exception. In fact, it is the most personal story yet.

The Well's OrphanI wrote The Select’s Bodyguard and I had not planned to return so soon to write on the same storyline, but after Laura delivered Calea a crushing blow at the end of The Doctor’s Assistant, I felt compelled to return. Because, you see, I care about Calea. (more…)

Characterization in a Shared World: Behind the Scenes of The Doctor’s Assistant

by Laura Fischer
October 11, 2013

The Doctor’s Assistant is almost finished being posted as I write. Perhaps when you read this, it will be done. That will be the final marker of a long journey from conception, to outline, to rough draft, to editing and proofing, to final publication.

I very much enjoyed the journey of writing that book. As I said in my last blog here, this project succeeded in breaking a long dry spell in my writing. As of today, I have written more than 150,000 words this year, not all of them fiction and not all them worth reading, but certainly all of them worth writing. So here I’ll take a break from my other projects to reflect a bit on the journey behind me, just as Nyasha and Calea and Bron are now forced to do. (more…)

The Origins of The Fall of the House of Kyzer

August 3, 2013

fall-of-kyzer-cover1In a special episode of his vlog, author Nathan Marchand talks about where he got his ideas for “The Fall of the House of Kyzer.” He reveals how he created the city of Thyrion, the characters’ names, and what his goals were for the story.

If you haven’t started on this new adventure, why not start now?

Enjoy!

 

Messy As I Am

By Natasha Hayden
May 24, 2013

katrina

An early concept drawing for Katrina.

For The Story Project, whose stories are now done but were part of another shared universe with multiple writers, I once wrote a character who was so seemingly hateful of the world that nobody liked her or understood her or knew how to write her. But I loved her.

Katrina was self-sufficient, deeply distrustful of men, hard-hearted, tough, driven, and downright intimidating. What’s not to love, right? She didn’t care if people hated her, thrived on it really. But all that, perhaps much like what we see from Calea in The Select’s Bodyguard, was her persona, the exterior she wanted everyone to see.

When other writers wrote her into their stories, Katrina came across as very one-dimensional: just a mean person no one really wanted to be around. But I saw so much more complexity and potential in her. Where others saw hard-hearted, I saw world-wise. Life had knocked her around a bit until she learned to knock back. Where others saw intimidating, I saw forthright. When there was a job to be done, she did it or made sure others did, no nonsense. Where others saw hateful, I saw hurting, even before I myself had written or even knew her backstory. (more…)