Saturday, May 21, 2011

The Creation of Worlds

The Creation of Worlds
By Jen Wylie

One of my favorite parts of a new work is creating the world it takes place in. Sometimes the differences between 'our world' and my invented world are few, mostly the differences being magic or what beings are there. But not always.
In my novel Sweet Light which comes out June 1st, I made an entire new world. I had maps and lists of countries, cities, peoples, saying, foods, everything. I spent years playing around with all the little details, many of which never really made it into the story, but it was still fun!
My new short story series also has a new world. Unlike the world of Sweet Light though, it is drastically different from what we could consider 'normal'. Needless to say, I'm having the most fun EVER (excuse the pun) creating this world as well. Though technically, Ever is not a world, but a place. I wanted Ever to be bizarre, crazy, and also wild and dangerous. Part of its deadliness is that nothing is normal or known. At least not to someone from earth. My character does her best to describe the crazy world she has been banished too, and I have a great time coming up with her descriptions of things. For example when she lands in Ever she falls on the border between two drastically different environments, a desert and a jungle. “The sand is pink. Not the washed out pink of granite, but clashed-really-bad-with-my-hair bright pink.” The jungle she describes as “one colored by some crazy kindergarten kids, maybe.”
Did I mention I have kids? I do, two boys, 7 and 9. They love to help with the world of Ever and though I don't really have a problem coming up with ideas, I ask for their opinions sometimes. They like helping invent creatures just as much as landscapes. Such as something crossed between a puppy and a squirrel, but blue. :) Ever also has killer ducks, which every reader so far has thoroughly enjoyed. They came to be due an inside joke, my best friend has a killer duck...though it isn't green.
I'm very thrilled the series will be six stories long. Misha, my main character, stays in the Rainbow Jungle for the first two shorts, however in the 3rd she travels to the Tall Forrest. I'm sure many interesting things will happen there!
I hope you all enjoy the worlds I create! Happy reading and thanks so much for having me today!



Short Story Series: Tales of Ever

Published by Echelon Press

About the Series:
Tales of Ever is part of a new short story program being put out by Echelon Press.
Electric Shorts is a pilot program for reluctant readers. Each series contains six short stories presented once per month as electronic downloads (eBooks), much the same as a television series. At only $.99 each, the short stories are affordable for all walks of life.
Tales of Ever is a fantasy series written for young adults (13-17 year olds) and one will be released the first of each month.
#1 Banished released March 2011
#2 Fire Girl released April 2011.
#3 Shadow Boy released May 2011
#4 The Lost Tree coming in June!

Series Blurb:
Welcome to Ever.
Ever, a deadly realm where feared, powerful and dangerous magical beings are banished. Though very large, it is not a world but a magically created prison. You can’t break through its circular boundary. Who, or what, made Ever? I’ve no idea. They were powerful, and cruel. That is all I can tell you.
Ever is like and unlike every other world. Nothing is safe. Safety is a dream. Ever is a nightmare. Few survive their first day. Nothing is what it seems. If something appears safe, it isn’t. If something appears dangerous, well it is, but probably more so than you think.
Ever has no sun, no moon, no stars at night. Time is told by the ever changing color of the sky where portals open, dropping new inhabitants, or new terrors. Time does pass. Don’t worry, you won’t get old. You won’t live that long.
The landscape changes without reason form dessert to jungles. The flora isn’t safe at any time. There is food, if you can find it without getting eaten yourself. Most plants and animals are poisonous. So is the water.
Are you afraid? You should be. This is the end. It gets worse of course. Remember the portals? Do think angels come through? Rarely the innocent do. Mostly, it is people of evil, people too powerful to kill. Their magic works here. The creature’s are worse.
Do you understand? Well you will eventually, or you’ll die. There is no escaping Ever. Ever.

#1 Banished Blurb:
My life was normal. It sucked, but it was normal. At least until I got this new power. I can control fire. It would be cool if it wasn’t so dangerous and if I knew how to use it. Pretty much my sucky life took a nose dive once I got it. Yup, everything gone. I suppose I should be thankful some uncle I never heard of took me in. Turns out the whole family isn’t normal and my power is a lot more dangerous than I thought. I thought things couldn’t get any worse. I was wrong. They banished me to Ever.
If I’m lucky, I might survive my first day.

Buy Links:
Omnilit: http://www.omnilit.com/product-banished-519511-234.html
Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/44865
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Banished-Tales-of-Ever-ebook/dp/B004Q9TX4A
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Banished-Tales-of-Ever/dp/B004Q9TX4A
B&N: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Banished/Jen-Wylie/e/2940012206961/?itm=1


Bio:
Jennifer Wylie was born and raised in Ontario, Canada. In a cosmic twist of fate she dislikes the snow and cold.
Before settling down to raise a family, she attained a BA from Queens University and worked in retail and sales.
Thanks to her mother she acquired a love of books at an early age and began writing in public school. She constantly has stories floating around in her head, and finds it amazing most people don’t. Jennifer writes various forms of fantasy, both novels and short stories. Sweet light is her debut novel to be published in 2011.
Jennifer resides in rural Ontario, Canada with her husband, two boys, Australian shepherd a flock of birds and a disagreeable amount of wildlife.

My website: www.jenniferwylie.ca
My blog: http://jlwylie.wordpress.com/

3 comments:

Margaret Fieland said...

Jen, loved the post. When you create a world, what's the first thing you think of? History, geography, culture?

Magdalena Ball said...

Sounds like a fantastic series, and it sounds like world making is lots of fun for you Jen.

Karen Cioffi said...

Great post. It is an amazing thing to create entire worlds.

Best Wishes for your series success!