Somewhere in my deeply twisted writer’s soul, I knew I needed this. It’s why I dubbed my novel “Bill” and anthropomorphized him in the post, “Early Stages of a Novel – A Love Story“. I knew I needed to introduce my NaNo novel to the world, but I didn’t know paperfury.com had just the stuff to do it until today.

    1. What inspired the idea for your novel, and how long have you had the idea? The inspiration was somewhat less straightforward than a dream of a flash of lightning – it was a slow assembling of creative ingredients in my subconscious that finally staggered out into the sunlight in the emaciated form of nearly-a-novel-idea sometime in July of this summer.
    2. Describe what your novel is about? About, eh? About, about, about… yeah. Well, the overarching series is, fundamentally, a love story. This book, which will be book 1 (assuming it goes well), is about an amnesiac who begins recovering memories of his earlier years… about a millennium ago.
    3. What is your book’s aesthetic? Fresh baked sweet rolls, sawdust, whiskey, Viking ships, cozy sweaters, small town charm, peculiar jewelry, fluffy cats, lavender hair, and cozy B&B.
    4. Introduce us to each of your characters!Pinterest is a gold mine for this story!

    Protagonist of this book is one Godric Dorial (not his given name). A tall fellow who needs to figure out where he came from, why he came from, who he was then, why magical things are happening to him, and why in the name of Sam Hill he got hit by a train and ended up in the hospital. As he discovers answers, they start to smell like the ocean.

    Elizabeth Blackmore. A synesthetic empath with a Masters degree in Behavioral Psychology. She owns The “B” a.k.a. Blackmore’s Bakery, Bed & Breakfast, but before she inherited the family’s B&B, she was starting to make a name for herself as an interrogator at the FBI; she still consults with them on occasion. Her… unique gifts are somewhat peculiar. One might even say… ‘magical’. And that magic smells like baked goods.

    Byron is Elizabeth’s twin brother. Equally, but differently gifted, he chose to pursue business ventures instead of the human mind. They take turns bailing each other out of trouble. He owns Byron’s Bar, just off Main. While neither the bar or the “B” makes enough money individually, the twins pool resources and manage to get their taxes paid every year. Barely. He has a talent for falling ass-backward into puddles of luck (just not financial luck). And stumbling into Godric as a bartender is one of the best things to happen to his business. He keeps this picture up in his bar to remember.

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    He’s on the left, Godric on the right. His talent smells like different flowers. Elizabeth is often frustrated by Byron’s failed romantic adventures with…

    Yvetta: one of three functioning “Magi” on the east coast (she, Byron, and Elizabeth). A former aspiring supermodel, she is drop-dead gorgeous, and she uses her beauty to hide a scarily deep intelligence. Yvetta has the ability to draw beauty out of anything… or anyone, and it smells like different vintages of wine. She is persona non grata for most of this novel, but when she makes an entrance, she does it a combustible flare with which she is naturally graced.

    1. How do you prepare to write? (Outline, research, stocking up on chocolate, howling, etc.?) Making homemade hot cocoa. Old school. Like with the cream and milk and chunks of chocolate simmering on the stove. At least that’s how I did it a few NaNos back. Now… I’m outlining and pinning and trying to wrap up my current novel so that I can dive into NaNo undistracted. I may be doing a cheat day in October because I have a brother getting married on November 1st. I know, I know, I shouldn’t let a little thing like my best-friend brother marrying my best friend stand in the way of 1,667 words, but we’ll see what happens.
    2. What are you most looking forward to about this novel? Getting the characters just a little tipsy. Godric doesn’t remember any different kinds of alcohol, so when he volunteers to help tend bar for Byron… things get hilarious.
    3. List 3 things about your novel’s setting.This story’s setting is so entwined with the plot that I really can’t separate one from the other, but since home base is the “B”: Elizabeth’s Bed & Breakfast is covered in books, her kitchen always smells of sweet baking and coffee, and the fire pit in the back patio is so coated in warm memories and good stories that it seems to glow whether the fire is lit or not.
    4. What’s your character’s goal and who (or what) stands in the way?Godric wants to remember who he is, where he’s from, but Elizabeth simply doesn’t have those answers… and it isn’t long before he realizes that he simply wants to stay with the Blackmores. Naturally, I have to destroy that situation with extreme prejudice.
    5. How does your protagonist change by the end of the novel? It might be easier to list the ways he doesn’t change. He goes from waking up, memoryless, in a hospital (and speaking Old Swedish, at that) to being in full command of both his thousand years of memories and the changes in character which occurred during his six-month stay with the Blackmores. His amnesia began healing a fundamental flaw in his psychology which had been festering since the age of 12. He goes from the Godric Dorial of legend to a whole new animal.
    6. What are your book’s themes? How do you want readers to feel when the story is over?There are a lot of positive themes in this tale.Healing comes best in quiet moments. Forgiveness is better than revenge. Doing the right thing always pays off – even when some of the consequences are bad. As to what I want that last scene to do to a reader’s heart? The internal monolog should go something like, “Eeeeek! No. No, no, no, no, no! Godric what? Oh… Oh, man. Oh, no! *sob* That… that is so sad. Wait. No! Godric don’t just leave her…! Okay. I can survive this. I am going to be okay. I can recover emotionally. I can… there’s gonna be a second book?” At which point they throw the novel across the room in a combination of joy, fury, and anticipation of resolution.

    Check some visual inspiration: https://www.pinterest.com/nomadtroglodyte/novel-magi/

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