Archive

Audio Preview of ‘At Any Cost’

By Natasha Hayden
September 18, 2014

destinies-entwined2As you wait for the release of New Wells Rising, our latest Jaysynn story, by Timothy Deal, (very, very soon!), I thought I’d remind you of some of our extra content. Our first five novellas from our two storylines have bonus stories that accompany them, collected in a volume titled Destinies Entwined. Though not strictly part of Bron and Calea’s or Jaysynn’s stories, they are glimmers that might give you insight into their world.

For instance, did you ever wonder how the Emperor of Thyrion could have six out of his seven children be Select when Selection is random and limited to a mere five percent of the populace? Nick Hayden’s short story “The Firstborn” answers that. And closely related is my own story (the only thing I’ve written for Children of the Wells, so you must read it!), “At Any Cost,” about a scientist forced into religion and the huge sacrifices she makes. (Remember the hermit’s cottage in The Doctor’s Assistant? This story answers how it got there and makes a few surprising connections.) In fact, I want you to read my story so much that I’ve recorded the beginning of it here to whet your appetite. If you like it, you can “buy” the ebook for whatever amount you wish (minimum donation is $0, you do the math) here.

Enjoy!

Destinies Entwined Now Available!

By Nathan Marchand
May 30, 2014

destinies-entwined2I read a book in college that advised authors to write minor/secondary characters in such a way that the characters acted as if the story was written about them. This, the book claimed, made them dynamic and interesting, thereby enhancing the story. (I’d say it might make them steal the scene, but I digress.)

Lomara is a bigworld full of stories. We knew from the get-go that the main Children of the Wells novellas wouldn’t be able to tell all of them. There were little nooks and crannies that could be filled but didn’t need to be. Recently on the CotW blog I compared this saga to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which includes blockbuster movies and short films. The main stories are in the blockbusters, but the short films complement the movies by filling in little gaps. This collection you’re about to read does exactly that—fill in the gaps. Consider it a gift to you, faithful readers, as part of our first anniversary celebration. Thanks for your support over the past year! (more…)

What Jaysynn Kyzer and Captain America Have in Common

By Nathan Marchand
April 25, 2014

Not Jaysnn Kyzer.

Not Jaysnn Kyzer.
From imdb.com

In the writing world, people like it when you compare your work to something else. It helps publishers figure out how to market a book. We here at Children of the Wells would’ve driven them crazy. We honestly weren’t sure how to describe this saga, let alone compare it to anything. We were different from the start. Serialized webfiction written by multiple authors instead of by one. Stories written as complete novellas instead of one chapter at a time.

At first, the only comparison we could make was to comic books, which are serialized stories in a shared universe, but that certainly won’t apply once we implement our new publishing plan.

Then while working on a special project celebrating our first anniversary, I finally figured it out.

Children of the Wells is like the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). (more…)

By Your Powers Combined

By Laura Fischer
March 21, 2014

Modern business: Team work

 Kevin Dooley via Compfight
Absolutely nothing like our meetings.

We’re coming up on our one-year anniversary here at Children of the Wells. It’s amazing to look back and see how far we’ve come–and to look forward and see how far we have yet to go. Our plans are many, varied, and not exactly concrete, so look forward to lots of interesting twists and turns in the stories to come.

But there’s something to be said for taking reflection at a milestone, too. To celebrate our (mostly) successful passage through a year of writing and posting, we’ve decided to publish a short-story anthology. The idea is to have one short story connected to each of the published novellas. They could be missing scenes, scenes from different perspectives than the ones offered in the published novellas, or stories based around new characters only loosely connected to already-published events. I’ve read the story for The Doctor’s Assistant, by our story editor, Natasha Hayden, and it is excellent in every way. I can’t wait for you all to get to read it. (more…)

Controlled Falling

By Natasha Hayden
January 24, 2014

I’ve been blackmailed and coerced–I mean, encouraged and motivated–to write a short story for Children of the Wells. It isn’t for one of the main plotlines, but it does connect in a small way to The Doctor’s Assistant and to another short story for CotW. Both these stories, among others, will be revealed later this year. Keep an eye out. 

(more…)