Author: Kimia

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Dear Diary…there were rituals

Alert: May contain spoilers for the adventure “Descent Into the Depths of the Earth”

We passed through an enormous cave, where we caught glimpses of windows and doorways opening off of ledges high above our heads. There must have been ramps or stairs somewhere…unless drow can fly, on top of everything else. On the cavern floor, on our level, we passed a half-dozen lizards – the size of horses, with tethers of their heads, and some kind of tackle lying beside them. They were eating fungus, so I guess some creatures find it palatable. Mikael wanted to make friends with them, but we didn’t want their owners mad at us, so we pursuaded him to move along.

I think Lydia is also homesick for some real food (though Ezekiel points out we’ve only been down here a few days). Rations are all fine and good (and Raven cooks them fantastically), but she was waving her fingers over her food to alter the taste or something (I didn’t know that was a thing). Raven tried some, and told us not to bother.

****

The path ran down into water today. Fortunately, before we examined it for long, a fish man came flapping out of the darkness toward us. Imagine a fish body dropped onto skinny little frog legs, with little flappy arms. Happily, it was much smaller than the slime trail we crossed yesterday, so we didn’t mistake it for an abalath. Continue reading →

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Dear Diary…a brush with undeath

Alert: May contain spoilers for the adventure “Descent into the Depths of the Earth”

We walked all day with Driptz.

He sticks to the back, where the light isn’t so intense, even though Raven made him goggles out of some cloth. I think there’s more than one reason our kinds don’t typically get along too well.

The way is treacherous, sometimes cut by two foot terraces or steps, sometimes slicked with slime or something worse. We came across the corpse of something humanoid, but it’s hard to tell what because the skin is totally transparent. Mr. Drippy says an “abalath” can do that – they’re a fish with tentacles that change skin to be breathable underwater. Apparently that’s not so great if you’re above water. He says they can also mind-control you, and unlike normal fish they can slide around out of the water. Sure enough, a few yards from the corpse we found a slime trail wider than I am tall, crossing our path to duck into a side crevice. Drippy led the way in wiping the slime off his shoes after we crossed it. I have no more words for the creatures down here…the crazy crypto-zoology of the underworld. Continue reading →

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Dear Diary…enemy of my enemy is worse enemy?

Alert: May contain spoilers for the adventure “Descent Into the Depths of the Earth”

I always say the adventuring life is days of soft boredom punctuated by moments of sheer panic. Today made up for our couple days of toiling along ledges beside blackness.

First off, we heard a group of rats running somewhere. Unfortunately, the echoes of this underground space made it so we couldn’t tell where they were coming from. We thought if they were running from something (unusual for so many to travel together, after all) we wouldn’t like the something, either.

I was assessing our rear to make sure nothing was sneaking up on us when It happened. “It” being that I had a feeling that the ghostly elf lady from the Temple of Elemental Evil was standing right behind me – so I whipped around, but it was just Clatrial, so then I felt better. But almost at the same moment, Ezekiel started yelling the most vile things and ran off into the darkness ahead of us. Raven also ran off, while Agnar and Heiron stood still, shaking their heads a little – clearly shocked at what Ezekiel was saying. That was “It.” Continue reading →

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Dear Diary…the echo of water dripping in a cave pool

Alert: May contain spoilers for the adventure “Descent Into the Depths of the Earth”

Had a bit quieter afternoon. The path continued without any passable off-shoots, eventually opening out into a vast cavern. The ceiling was so high our lights couldn’t reach it, and ten or twelve yards to one side, the slab of rock we walked on dropped into a chasm. Off in the distance, things glowed – like some of the sea creatures we’ve seen in murals…likely one of the strange fungi they have down here.

On the edge of the drop-off sat a pyramid of black stone, probably 120 feet tall. Some kind of worn-down path led to it, but I’m sure it hadn’t been used for centuries. I’ve never seen so much dust piled up in one place…there’s no wind down here.

Mikael had summoned his rock elemental for extra manpower, so Ezekiel insisted we investigate the pyramid. He said it smelled like vampires…although all I smelled was something like dry, dry animal leavings.

We disturbed the dust on the path to the pyramid, and hesitated outside the black, yawning doorway to check for traps. Ezekiel finally stepped forward with his cleric senses up, and cast light into the central chamber of the pyramid. We all jumped a little, I think, when a cloud of bats – millions, probably – swarmed out of the pyramid. They poured out of the door, and from some opening on the opposite side, rising like a dark cloud above the pyramid and disappearing into the invisible space of the cavern. Continue reading →

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Dear Diary…the first outpost

Alert: May contain spoilers for the adventure “Descent Into the Depths of the Earth”

I’m not sure how but I convinced Clatrial to a tactical adjustment. We are heading into places that make all my demon and undead memories resurface, and under those circumstances it can be very helpful to have a paladin nearby…say within ten feet or so. But Aliana is an elf and therefore intimidating (and besides she and Ezekiel like to stay together), so I suggested to Clatrial that we could use her help to bodyguard the rear. She make some remarks about that squid man taking me out like a punk, and agreed that if Aliana agreed, it did seem like we needed her…and I was just glad I didn’t have to bring up the lurker that just about ate her whole, as that might not be the most diplomatic thing to discuss.

I also made sure Heiron and I have our cotton wads ready…in case we run into harpies (or harpy-clones). We might be beyond places where such protections help, though.

We started cautiously following the tunnel (fortunately there was only one at this point) until we approached a darkness that was not driven back by the light of our shields. Continue reading →

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Dear Diary…the elves were pulling the strings

Alert: Contains spoilers for the adventure “Against the Giants”

Lydia spent some time studying the magic rings – and sure enough, they have the power to grant wishes! We took some time to discuss the possibilities, and finally we all agreed to save them except for two things:

  • That if Aliana ever died, Raise Dead would work on her (wouldn’t help if she’s incinerated, but Raven points out that’s the same for the rest of us), and –
  • If whoever is carrying the rings dies, that they be transported safely to the vault at Haven (much discussion about that one, but we’ll all be fine if it never comes up).

Raven spent quite some time training with his disciples (there’s quite a passle of them now) and he says the God of gods has increased his knowledge, and that his body is even more under his control than it was before (whatever Monk-ishness that means). Glad he’s in a good mood, and so are Keom and Ronhass.

Keom says Ragni and Agni have yet to nail him with any over-ripe fruit, but poor Brother Muloy got a persimmon in the face. Sirion offered him a paste to protect his bare head from the sun, but he had to wait to check with Master Raven that it wouldn’t be “taking the easy road” or something. Madam Whinney says the monks keep them in produce, and they in return catch deer and cougars in the mountains. Keiran seemed struck by the story of the dragon that was actually a gorgon…but then again I could be completely wrong… Continue reading →

Meet Author Mara Tran
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Meet Author Mara Tran

Indie author Mara Tran asked me to help celebrate the publication of her new book, The Ward. Please enjoy my Q&A session with her – and at the bottom you can find out more about her book and where to find her online! Welcome, Mara!

Family is a huge part of my life, and has had a profound impact on my writing. Tell us about yours. Are they supportive of your author ambitions?

I always tell people that I probably wouldn’t be the writer that I am today without my family. I grew up homeschooled, and my parents were always very encouraging of my siblings and I developing our talents. My elder sister, who illustrated my book The Ward, also has a gift for writing; she and I were always close, and for sure her interest in writing helped cultivate my own. She always took even my silliest story seriously, and we held Author Meetings constantly to talk craft and stories. My dad was also a huge support; he had every faith in my ambition to become a published author, giving practical business advice and never once doubting that I could do it. One of my fondest childhood memories is when my dad would bring home his work laptop and he would let me spend hours typing on it, and he gifted me a USB to keep all my documents on that I still use to this day to back everything up. The support and encouragement has definitely continued as I push through the process of getting my now-published book into people’s hands, always expressing interest and telling their friends all about it. I don’t know that they always understand the eccentricities of a writer, but they accept it – and I think my parents, at least, are used to it by now, because they simply have eccentric children. XD

That’s so great to hear 🙂 (And major kudos for backing up your work – so important!)

What are three things about you that are interesting, unexpected, or unique?

Ahh, that’s a hard question to answer; I don’t know that I’m all that unique. I think one thing that surprises people is that I practiced the martial art Kendo for six years before other priorities took over.

My level of stubbornness when I feel like I’m being peer-pressured is probably unexpected because I’m a relatively quiet, keep-myself-to-myself kind of person and a lot of times that’s mistaken for being a pushover – and I’m extremely difficult to push. XD

And an interesting tidbit might be that I used to have hedgehogs as pets. My first, Bilbo, was my pocket buddy and I’ve never quite gotten over losing him; my second, Despereaux, loved to explore. I never got a third after him because living situation didn’t really allow for it. But someday I might get another one!

I’ve learned to not ask for a Most Favorite Book…but name One Of your most favorite books, and WHY you like it.

Meet Author Mara Tran - Kimia WoodNaming one favorite is almost as hard as picking a single favorite – haha! But the first book that jumped to mind was Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens. This was the first Dickens novel I read, and really introduced me to Victorian writers, and ignited my love for the genre and era. I feel like Nicholas Nickleby offers a good balance of humor and drama, it has some hysterical characters, and honestly how can we not love Nicholas when he beats the evil schoolmaster Squeers for abusing the boys? It has so many wonderful moments and characterization, and the way the plot comes together and Dickens connects his characters is really fun.

Your bio says you’ve had a number of jobs, including librarian and medical office assistant. What are some things you liked about those jobs? Did any of your experiences help you on your path to being an author?

I’ll start with the easiest one, and with a little bit of background. I worked as a Youth Services volunteer at my local library for 9 years – though unpaid, it was every inch a job to me and I was trained in a lot of librarian-level duties because I had plans to become an “official” librarian down the road. Life had other plans, but I still learned so many skills and had the best two bosses in the world who were also extremely supportive of my writing ambitions and provided me with a ton of information and resources in learning about the publishing industry.

My time as a professional Irish musician taught me public poise, and also taught me that for some people stage fright does not get better with experience. Being a bookseller helped me along my path to being an author by teaching me that retail is not for me. XD But I’ve maintained good relations with the bookstore and they’ve become my first bookseller supporters for The Ward!

And in fact, because two of my characters are doctors, working as a medical office assistant was actually very helpful in terms of research. While modern medicine has come a long way from 1888, there’s still so much about policy, attitude, and procedures that has not. Neither of my doctor characters are eye doctors, but I have every intention of putting what I learned about eyes to use in future volumes.

But of course, my ultimate job – being a housewife – has helped the most in my pursuit of being a writer. I finally have energy to devote to my writing, and I really am at heart a homebody, so being able to spend time at home, create my own schedule, pace myself as I need, has been infinitely helpful to my creative mind.

Yes – I could spend every day at home, too, and be perfectly happy! But it’s true we learn so much from being pushed out of our comfort zones 🙂

You say your book is “CleanFictionApproved”. Please tell us what this means, and why it’s important to you.

#ProtectCleanFiction is a small organization that is working to promote books that are free of blatant sexual content and authors who have made the decision to write stories that parents and mindful adults don’t have to worry about. I’ve been a lifelong reader of Middle Grade and YA fiction primarily because I like stories about kids, and it’s rare to find adult fiction that doesn’t revolve around adult content. I’ve noticed the increasing trend to make kid/teen fiction more and more content-heavy, until in some ways adult fiction is almost safer to pick up these days! As a Christian, I hold a strong belief in not only raising kids/teens with age-appropriate content, but also filling our adult heads with good things and not the world’s interpretation of what’s normal and acceptable. I used to run a book blog that a lot of people who were content-conscientious enjoyed, so now as a writer I would like to provide books for adults and teens that they can be assured has no sexual content and implied violence only.

<h4p”>One of the best things about meeting new people is learning what they’re passionate about, and sharing about our deepest held beliefs. Thank you for sharing with us!

If people wish to discover me on the Wide Web, they can find me on my website msha.ke/maratran – and on Instagram under @thereadinghedgehog [and on Goodreads]. Though I’m not nearly as active as I once was, I do still maintain something of a book blog called The Bluestocking Biblio Buttery Blog, where I give short reviews, sometimes longer reviews, book-inspired recipes, and minor life updates. People can purchase The Ward on Amazon.

Thank you so much for hosting this interview, and if anyone wants to drop a line, you can email me from the website msha.ke/maratran.

The Ward

Spring 1888. . . .The Ward, Mara Tran - Kimia Wood

TUYA PAZNIC was left by her father one dark winter night and now, seventeen years later, is plagued with night terrors from something that happened that day—something she can’t remember.

BRAMWELL DEVRASI, a recent medical graduate, is eager to follow in the footsteps of his guardian in heading medical reformation and the treatment of psychiatric patients.

GIDEON PAZNIC thought he lost his wife twenty-five years ago, in childbirth, until a mysterious note arrives one night which drastically alters his opinion.

LUC MONTAGUE is ordered by his master to investigate a series of bizarre crimes in Venisia, whose ritualistic nature is peculiar and suspicious.

When Bramwell and Tuya go to Venisia for the Season to witness the renowned revelries of the Black Masquerade, wherein they are inadvertently drawn into Luc’s investigations, and Gideon searches for his wife—paths cross that spark memories best forgotten, dredge up terrors in the dark, and family conspiracies stretching generations are brought to light.

In the spirit of Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens – family secrets, lost legacies, murder and intrigue abound in THE WARD – the first book in THE BIRTHRIGHT CHRONICLES.

Author Bio

A Pacific Northwest native, Mara Tran has been pursuing the written arts since she was little and would type on her dad’s laptop for hours on end. In her lifetime, she has been a musician, librarian, bookseller, blogger, medical office assistant – and now a fulltime housewife and author. She’s a summer girl, but has learned to appreciate each season for what it brings, and she’s passionate about everything Victorian. Her top hobbies are reading, baking and cooking, swing dance, junk journaling, tea and cheese sampling, and embroidery. Her favorite authors are Wilkie Collins, Charles Dickens, and Jane Austen. THE WARD is Mara’s first published novel.

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Dear Diary…you meet such interesting people in dungeons

Alert: May contain spoilers for the adventure “Against the Giants”

Ezekiel went with Aliana and Princess Shallaria to Gorna, since he wants a professional’s opinion on all our potions we’ve amassed over the years, and I suppose it’s true we’re rich enough to afford that. He hopes someone can recommend a professional in Gorna.

Miss Dree had some exciting news to share with us. She says she and Miss Lysa and the super-energetic guy whose name I forget have been casting Cure Minor Wounds this morning. She says she felt “a stirring in her spirit” yesterday, and after her prayer time this morning (where she always asks for spells, since Father Ezekiel says just because you don’t receive is no reason to not ask) she tried the chant on Miss Lysa’s scraped knuckles, and the power was granted. I have never seen Miss Lysa so excited and forget herself so much that she explained the whole story to us again herself.

(Ragni and Agni have set up a sort of little catapult in the tree house, and have been chucking over-ripe fruit at the druid grove. Madam Moonwhisper assured me they grew some protective boughs and no one could actually be hit, but Leomas said she’s been knocked unconcious multiple times and showed me a broken pumpkin to prove it. I said the pumpkin must be what she used to think with, since it was too big to fit in the catapult, and she was half transformed into a panther when Madam Moonwhisper said Leomas was the one who told her about the ring of truth, and she should have known she couldn’t pull my leg (makes sense that’s why I actually said that out loud…). I asked Ragni and Agni to take it easy on the druids, and besides it’s the pass that enters the valley that we need to defend, and Ragni got very red and said Sirion and Usin made strict rules about firing at the pass after some pilgrims came to be healed of a disease and also needed baths once they got to the fortress. I’m so glad I warned Sirion about the Frost Giants that will be moving in nearby…I can just picture the entire mountain sliding down into the valley, with a sound of soft explosions, strewing rotten apples in its wake… Ezekiel would probably tell me that’s beyond Ragni and Agni’s capabilites, but I’m really not sure.)

Anyway, when Ez and Aliana get back, we leave for the giant fortress. Might not exactly be an early start, but we’re making the effort.

**

We started big, by investgating the wall opposite the illusion that led to the temple. Ezekiel hadn’t seen anything specific while looking at it through the gem; it just made his skin crawl, he said.

We started off by just looking at it…it seemed made of brownish purpleish stone, which really gives the impression of fungus – but not any normal kind of fungus. I wanted to poke it with an arrow, to see if the surface was really solid, but I was invisible…so I asked Heiron to do it, so we could actually see the results.

The wall reacted by spitting out a purpley tentacle, grapping Heiron’s wrist, and trying to pull him toward a gross, clicking, beak-like mouth. No one touches our Heiron – we all sprang into action. But it was the weirdest, grossest thing we’ve seen in a long time. Even Aliana’s sword seemed to bounce off it, like the wall was a giant rubber sheet. I pelted it with arrows, but again, they seemed to not so much as tickle it.

Agnar managed to do something to it…and it lashed him with a couple more tentacles. I think there were ten or twelve flailing about, with unnerving movement patterns. A couple of them grabbed Oaklock and smashed him against the floor, but Ezekiel pulled him away.

Nothing seemed to bother it much (although Tressarian worked better than my bow – maybe it was something to do with magic weapons) until Lydia muttered something and threw out her hand…and the whole thing collapsed and faded. Agnar says in all his uncle’s stories of the underdark, he never heard of anything like this. Lydia thinks it was partly enchantment, since Dispell Magic is what killed it, but she admits it was a shot in the dark, since she’s never seen something like it before.

Once it was dead, we saw the wall was actually a “curtain” of sorts, concealing a suite behind. Maybe those Evil rings the drow had would have let them pass it, like the statues and the violet fungus in the Temple of Elemental Evil, but I for one am not interested in experimenting…even if we hadn’t already killed it. Continue reading →

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Dear Diary…ruining the moment, it’s what we do

Alert: May contain spoilers for the adventure “Against the Giants”

We found the kennel room where they kept the hellhounds, and a couple barracks – one of them equipped for juvenile giants. I don’t remember seeing any of those here yet.

Also found a kitchen with a fire pit that seems naturally heated…as in, maybe a volcanic vent. Ezekiel would have a better idea. The fortress definitely sits on lava in some places – they used a natural vent as a garbage chute. Someone very unhelpfully cast darkness at the mouth of the opening, so if we were not so careful and thoughtful, we might have slid in the grease to a sudden and crispy-fried death in the lava below. Even Raven needed a rope while checking that the chute didn’t lead anywhere interesting.

According to our map, there’s nothing else on this level to explore, so it’s time to take the stairs down…

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How to begin? For starters, splitting the party always makes things confusing.

When we reached the bottom of the stairs, we heard chanting…it could have been giant voices, but it was too far away to be sure. Almost at once, though, we heard hellhounds barking, much nearer – perhaps they scented us.

Ezekiel told me to take my invisible self and run the other direction to check for prisoners that might need rescuing, while the others dealt with the threat at hand. After taking a moment to swap for my ring of infravision, I headed up the north passage.

I passed a room lit with lava (probably the same lava we saw from the kitchen chute), and a couple trolls – but they had no prisoners, and seemed to be minding their business, so I kept on. Not too much farther along, I turned a corner of the passage and found a giant guarding a door. The sound of chanting came much louder from the other side of the wall – right by me – but I didn’t think I could take out the guard and still be sneaky…and I didn’t want to take on the whole group by myself. Continue reading →

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Dear Diary…”I am not a demon”

Alert: May contain spoilers for the adventure “Against the Giants”

I guess we finally got smart. After a couple more giant stone doors that we couldn’t budge, even with the Power of Teamwork, I said, wasn’t it a shame we couldn’t just get bigger. And Lydia dug through her bag until she pulled out a wand and did just that – she made Heiron over twice as tall as Mikael. (Fortunately she made his clothes and muscles match, too.)

At that size, he could open doors all by himself, and he let us into an armory, and a closet-type room full of foul-smelling hay. The prevailing theory is that is where they kept the chimera…I guess even freaks of nature need to sleep and eat somewhere.

I’m pretty excited about the armory – Tressarian and I snooped around in the corner and found a bow that tingles magically. I need to remember to try it out…hopefully it will let me hit things that are resistant to normal weapons. Haven’t met any of those recently, but you can never be too prepared.

Worked our way around until we connected with the passage leading north from the other barricade (we assume, from the patch of darkness floating there that refuses to dispelled by our lights). Seems to be another passage leading west, on our side of the barricade, but the darkness makes it hard to be sure. Continue reading →