Dave Reed's Blog

The Raven Queen Nightmare Catcher

Several weeks ago in Dark Tidings, I teased a subscriber-only giveaway. As the prize, I commissioned Joe Allgaier to create a one-of-a-kind Raven Queen-themed nightmare catcher for me. (I’ve always thought the term dreamcatcher was a mistranslation or just misnamed—nobody wants them to catch good dreams, just the bad ones. Right?) The inspiration came from a question I asked Dark Tidings subscribers about one nightmare that they wished they could slay forever. The answers that respondents shared were chilling. I’m in awe of my REEDers’ nightmares. They make my own seem pedestrian by comparison.

Anyway, this is what it looks like hanging over my bedroom window. He did a grand job. The attention to detail is great. I asked for a very simple design: raven feathers, bone white beads, four sword charms, and a raven perched on a crescent moon.

I’m very pleased with the outcome.

My only sadness is that it spent just one night on the lakeside windows of my bedroom.

I hope Sarah M. is pleased, too. She was the fortunate REEDer who was selected by dark ritual to receive the nightmare catcher. I shipped it out to her remote, undisclosed location yesterday. If UPS keeps its promises, it will arrive at her door before this blog post is published.

Although this isn’t the first REEDer-only giveaway, it’s the one that I’ve enjoyed the most so far.

I look forward to many more to come in the future!

If you’re not a subscriber yet, but you like free stuff and dark content, join all the REEDers by subscribing to Dark Tidings. In addition to regular giveaways, music and book recommendations, updates on the book I’m writing next, all subscribers receive the free gift of the prequel, Death Descends, and the companion story, Righteous Disobedience, as part of their free newsletter subscription.

Like Raven Queen, Arise, both Death Descends and Righteous Disobedience are also for sale at all major ebook retailers. The audio books, narrated by the lovely and talented Amy Bentley, are available wherever fine audio books are sold.

First Fight Scene ~ Raven Queen, Arise

The story up until this point in Chapter 4:

Illyria is sharing a memory with Z’nnek to explain why she must be returned to the sun-kissed lands to right egregious wrongs.

The other sexual playthings, men and women, were all adorned with scars and bruises in addition to the chains and phallus brand of their slavery. They were Elysians, Azzarreans, and many other races. Their tormentors pulled on the chains that dangled from uncomfortable-looking piercings that connected all their erogenous zones. At least two of the victims had fresh, bleeding wounds.

No one else, not even the victims, seemed to object to the abuse.

But I did.

My spurs jangled a warning through the pavilion as I strode through the jumbled furniture, kicking clothing and other debris aside. I grabbed a fistful of the blond sadist’s hair, rolled him over my hip, and heaved him across the room. I didn’t bother to watch him fall.

The free highlands have always rejected the Elysian custom of slavery. We have never kept slaves. Any who escaped to the highlands were free men and women. Woe unto any slave stalker who ventured into the hills seeking a reward for an escaped slave. I’d put down one such bounty hunter myself last year. I’d dreamed of someday leading the Temple to abolish such customs in Elysia.

So, it wasn’t the slavery that surprised me. Not really.

I wondered what Z’nnek would think of me and my naive memories.

Tales of depravity among the priesthood in Elysia, which were spread by traveling minstrels, had seemed absurd, exaggerated. Temple Judges shouldn’t have allowed it. Most highlanders dismissed them as fanciful rumors born of bardic imagination. I certainly had. Who would tolerate being abused so? And why? The stories and innuendo in songs and poems had been mild by comparison with this flagrant abuse here and now. Romantic tales of bedslaves sold in Azzar and elsewhere who seduced royalty and priests for emancipation were nothing like the reality. Life, it seemed, wasn’t always the way it was written in a book or sung to a pretty tune.

The Temple Guards took my full attention as they recovered from their surprise. They drew their weapons and weaved their way toward me through the mess. Somewhere out of sight, a man howled. The stench of burning flesh briefly overpowered the acrid incense. I drew my spatha and unhooked my bola, setting my back to the nearest tent wall. I idly twirled the bola and grinned at the nearest guard.

If you liked this brief selection, read or listen to the entire book to enjoy Illyria rise from the grave to queen of the underworld.

Raven Queen, Arise is available wherever ebooks, audio books, and print novels are sold.

If you’ve read the book, please do me a solid and review the book!

Spoiler: The mad goddess of magic, frenemy of the Raven Queen

Araeda’h the Goddess of Magic (airt by Midjourney)

Here be spoilers. You have been warned.

The story so farThe Mad Goddess of Magic (original Kickstarter art card by Epic Made)

Araeda’h, the self-styled goddess of magic, is ancient. She was still a young mortal when the Seventeen hosts of warrior-angels selected from among aeons of souls produced by Godforge charged through Heaven’s Gate in an effort to retake their ancestral home. Araeda’h lived her life and died while the Seventeen fought their long and bloody war for Heaven, and lost. With no gods to claim her when she died, Araeda’h awoke in her afterlife an aimless shade without purpose or guidance.

The story of how she came to claim the phoenix mantle from her dead creator will be told someday. The Litanies and Tales of how the goddess of magic reshaped Godforge in the wake of crushing defeat of the Seventeen and the resealing of Heaven’s Gate will be told someday. But not yet.

Writing Araeda’hThe Mad Goddess of Magic (by JP Mavinga)

Writing for such a powerful character is both fun and challenging. Araeda’h fun to write because she’s so different—both different from me and different from everyone else in the story. Treating her mental health, her trauma, and her memory issues with respect is important to me. She’s not crazy for the sake of being crazy—if you’ll pardon the cliche, there’s a method to her madness. More than a plot device, Araeda’h represents the best potential and the worst derangement possible for all of us. Her choices shaped the world that Illyria was born into at least as much as the original creator.

Among the oldest living mortals, she is younger than the high gods and the old. The demon lords predate her, but she thousands of years older than the next eldest among the small gods. There was a time, before she was betrayed, when she even held sway over the high gods and the old. Achieving the characterization of an impossibly wise and experienced and mighty character who is still human enough to have foibles and make mistakes is an enjoyable challenge.

Where she’s beenAraeda’h in her prime (airt by Night Cafe)

Araeda’h appears in the prequel Death Descends in all her power and majesty as a goddess in the prime of her power. With the aid of Goerranu (the goddess of secrets and lies), Araeda’h engineers the ascension of Z’nnek (god of the unclaimed dead) in an attempt to unbreak the world. Between Z’nnek’s ascension and the ascension of his bride, Illyria (the goddess of vengeance), Araeda’h made a tragic error in judgment which resulted in her fall from power and entrapment within the prison pages of the Book of the Forbidden. The unsung Litany of that Tale will be told someday. But not yet.

Eight thousand years later, in the time of Raven Queen, Arise and Righteous Disobedience, Araeda’h appears as the mad goddess trapped within her prison, the Book of the Forbidden. She is both friend and enemy to Illyria and Conseca. As a frenemy, she is powerful and mysterious, whimsical and deadly earnest. Her one desire is revenge upon the one who betrayed her. If she can escape her confinement of eight millennia. If she can remember who the traitor is.

Where she’s going

Araeda’h is a central character in Raven Queen, Ascend (still in progress at the time of this writing). Many of her early miracles will be revealed in that book. She will continue in her role of frenemy for Illyria and others in the future. I very much want to write the story of her rise and her fall and many other moments in her life. Her life needs to come full circle and her betrayal repaid.

If you haven’t had a chance to meet Araeda’h, she first appears in the prequel (before she goes mad) and the companion story which are both free to subscribers of Dark Tidings. The mad goddess also features prominently in Raven Queen, Arise.

Like Raven Queen, Arise, both Death Descends and Righteous Disobedience are also for sale at all major ebook retailers.

The audio books, narrated by the lovely and talented Amy Bentley, are available wherever fine audio books are sold.

Spoiler: The goddess of secrets and lies, frenemy of the Raven Queen

Here be spoilers. You have been warned.

The story so far

Goerranu first appears in Death Descends when she tries to tempt Z’nnek from his quest to rescue Ru’mael’s shade from the demon lords of the underworld. Despite her power as the goddess of secrets and lies, she is unable to enthrall him, which earns Z’nnek her respect and admiration, and frustration. Still, in partnership with Araeda’h, the goddess of magic, she aids Z’nnek in his coup to dethrone the demon lords Baal, Raam, and Sett. You can see Goerranu in all her glory on the original cover art by Caterina Kalymniou for Death Descends, whispering in Z’nnek’s ear while Araeda’h reclines in the foreground resplendent in her role as grandmother (many times removed) of the new god of the unclaimed dead.

Eight thousand years later, give or take a few, Goerranu enlists Illyria as her latest tool in her quest to recover Araeda’h’s prison from the high gods’ minions. Early in Raven Queen, Arise, Goerranu takes advantage of Illyria’s urgent mistake in rising from the dead without a chaperone from the underworld. She aids Illyria in secret, extracting from her a simple promise to visit her in the doomed city of Uurrukk in exchange for her help. Throughout the first book (and the rest of the Temple of Vengeance quadrilogy), Goerranu plays many roles in Illyria’s story. But despite her frequent assertion that she and Illyria will be best of friends, Goerranu most often finds herself in the familiar role of frenemy.

I commissioned several pieces from different artists which include Goerranu for art cards included in the hardcover Kickstarter. This first is from Epic Made and originally imagined to be the cover of Death Descends featuring Araeda’h and Z’nnek at the gates of Nethe. It didn’t quite capture what actually happens in the book, but it’s still fun to see the progression from sketch to completed artwork with Goerranu hiding in the foreground to attempt to subvert Araeda’h’s plans.

At the same time, I gave J-P Mavinga the same visual direction for the prospective cover, and his vision is a bit different, as you can see.

The next is from Epic Made featuring the rebel goddesses. Goerranu whispers secrets, and possibly lies, into the ear of her erstwhile compatriot, Mawzi. You can see the evolution from sketch to finished product.

Given the same visual prompt, J-P Mavinga chose to interpret the rebel goddess a little differently. You can see the evolution of his concept from sketch to finished product.

Writing Goerranu

Creating Goerranu is fun. She’s an evolving character who has assumed several archetypes along the way so far: the Goddess, the Trickster, the Shapeshifter, the Temptress, the Oracle, the Ally, the Prophetess, the Witch, the Villain, the Crone, and (briefly) the Queen. She will certainly reprise many of those roles in the future. And she’ll assume many more new ones in her immortality. I’ll just hint here that she’s very likely to take a turn as Victim, Sorceress, Usurper, and Heroine in future stories.

I imagine her personality as an Enneagram 4 wing 5, an Individualist and an Investigator. Her verb is subvert: she subverts others’ plans, including Illyria’s; she subverts others’ expectations of themselves and of her; and she subverts the high gods religion of the Litanies with her own Tales. Her strengths are Futuristic, Strategic, Significance, Ideation, and Input.

Because she’s an unusual source of antagonism and support, Goerranu will be evolving as a frenemy for Illyria for a long time to come. She has a significant role in the supporting cast throughout the Temple of Vengeance quadrilogy.

Where she’s been

No one truly knows the goddess of secrets and lies, the teller of the Tales, and shadowy agent of her own agenda—perhaps not even herself. Born on Godforge after the thirteen hosts followed Preema through Heaven’s Gate to reclaim the ancestral homeland, Goerranu is a daughter of the desert wastes of Cimarron. In the internecine politics of the oasis kingdom, she learned early the value of being clever and secretive and better informed than everyone else.

Though she ascended before the Litanies were written, Goerranu was aware that other gods roamed the world. As a mortal woman, she traveled to the mountain city of Uurrukk to learn from a demon prophetess named Uilianna. In time, she became the demoness’s lover and high priestess. When Uilianna refused to bow to Amuun’s authority and pay homage to the high gods of the newly-ordained Litanies, Goerranu was among the collateral damage when Uurrukk was destroyed. She awoke, ascended and unclaimed, and powerfully motivated to oppose Amuun and her coterie.

Goerranu was barely a goddess when Amuun brought the old gods, including Urth, to the world to keep order and maintain the veil. She spent millennia in hiding, spreading her Tales to create myths and legends, and to aid other small gods in ascending beyond their mortality…all in service to her secret war against the tyranny of the high gods and the old.

Along with Araeda’h, Goerranu was instrumental in setting Z’nnek upon his path to immortality in Death Descends. And she was the first to greet Illyria when she returned to the sun-kissed lands to rise from her own grave in Raven Queen, Arise.

Where she’s going

Goerranu has many more plots to meddle in before she embraces death eternal. She plays a central role in the upcoming second book in the Temple of Vengeance quadrilogy, Raven Queen, Ascend.

If you haven’t had a chance to meet Goerranu, the prequel is free to subscribers of Dark Tidings.

Death Descends is also for sale at all major ebook retailers.

The audio book, narrated by the lovely and talented Amy Bentley, is available wherever fine audio books are sold.

Spoiler: The bedslave who became the first priestess of the Raven Queen

Here be spoilers. You have been warned.

The story so far

Conseca maern Azzar first appears in Raven Queen, Arise when Saeverra tempts Illyria with salvation from the slaughter planned for the highland clans. Conseca is a bedslave who is being sexually abused by Saeverra’s older brother, Deffaen. Without knowing who Conseca is, Illyria objects to her mistreatment and proceeds to fight all four of the Chosen of Tyrr, their guards, and the entire Elysian Foreign Legion before she is killed.

When Illyria returns from the dead, Conseca demands to go with her newborn goddess. Unbeknownst to Illyria, Conseca has appointed herself first worshipper and aspiring priestess—which we learn from Conseca herself in her own story, Righteous Disobedience. The pair travel together, chased by the Chosen and the Temple Guard, surviving two ambushes and finally reaching Illyria’s home in Alamar Forte.

Conseca plays a major behind-the-scenes role in Raven Queen, Arise. Though grateful for her service, Illyria remains largely ignorant of the service Conseca renders her during the four days that Illyria lies “dead” in her temple. During those four days, Conseca struggles with her own insecurities and overcomes the resistance of men and gods to convert Illyria’s kinfolk to the worship of the Raven Queen during the events of Righteous Disobedience (a companion story to Raven Queen, Arise).

During her own tale, Conseca meets, woos, and beds the demigod Memad, a thunderbird and scion of the storm god, Vayan. Here you can see the pair together painted in three different versions by two different artists. Left to right: Epic Made and JP Mavinga. I love them all. Epic Made painted the first as a Kickstarter art card. JP painted the second as the original cover of Righteous Disobedience—but after he read the books, he was inspired to improve upon his already amazing work.

Ultimately, Illyria anoints Conseca as her priestess in recognition of her devotion and service. That scene is captured her in two different versions by two different artists. Left to right: JP Mavinga and Epic Made. I love them both.

Writing Conseca

Conseca is a challenge for me to write because she is so different from me in personality. She’s a loving, peaceful person at heart—which you probably can tell I’m not. She’s been beaten down to be passive by life and adopted it as a survival strategy. I love writing her for that reason, and because she’s so passionate. She is lukewarm about almost nothing. The worst insult Conseca could pay to anyone is to be indifferent about them.

I imagine her as an Enneagram 1 wing 2, a Reformer and a Helper. Her verb is shame: she shames others, including Illyria, into action; she bears her own shame, often wearing it like armor; and she inflicts shame upon her enemies. Her strengths are Belief, Adaptability, Responsibility, Relator, and Harmony.

Because I love her character, I’m always actively looking for new ways to include her and imagining stories of her own.

Where she’s been

What we know of Conseca is that she was born to wealthy parents in the mountainous, hedonistic land of Azzar, famous for its exquisite metalwork, its bottomless gemstone mines, its rare red-haired beauties, and its well-trained bedslaves. Azzar is the only source of priceless purple diamonds.

Her parents were so ashamed of their bankruptcy that they committed public suicide, leaving Conseca the eldest child at age twelve to care for her younger siblings in the ruins of their mismanaged estate.

Rather than starve on the underground streets of Azzar with her siblings in the ruthless and materialistic society of Azzar, Conseca sold herself into slavery to obtain enough coin to buy her siblings into a better life than subsisting as gutter rats.

Traded from one owner to another over the years, Conseca mastered her trade and herself. Purchased by Saeverra to be shared with her brothers during the Spring Festa massacre of the rebel highland clans, Conseca found herself squarely in the path of destiny when the Raven Queen stormed into her life.

Where she’s going

Conseca’s tale is far from over. She is a fiery zealot for her goddess and her struggles to expand the fledgling faith of the Raven Queen beyond the rebel highlands will be the subject of the future book Righteous Indignation.

If you haven’t had a chance to read Conseca’s story, it’s available for free to subscribers of Dark Tidings.

Righteous Disobedience is also for sale at all the major ebook retailers.

The audio book, narrated by the lovely and talented Amy Bentley, will be available in late 2023 wherever fine audio books are sold.

The Damsel in Distress Problem

TL;DR: I came not here to praise the trope, but to bury it. Just not for the reasons you might think.

A lot of people have deconstructed, lampooned, or otherwise whined about the Damsel in Distress trope and its misogynistic underpinnings. All of that is valid and true. I’m not going to dispute any of that. I personally prefer my damsels to be of the self-rescuing type.

But I’ve been thinking a lot about my writing career of late, what motivates me to write, and the types of tropes that I am drawn to and enjoy. It’s no secret that I love vengeance stories and antiheroines. It will surprise no one that I’m a Scorpio or an Enneagram 8. I picked up a journaling habit a few years ago at the suggestion of one of my writing coaches. The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron was a massive sea change for me creatively. I’m almost superstitious about it now—I feel weird on those days (like today) when the day conspired against me to keep me from the practice. [It’s totally because he’s more ADD than a meth-squirrel, not because “the day” conspired against him in any way whatsoever. —ed.]

Anyway, as I journaled through some of the exercises recommended by Claire Taylor in her book Reclaim Your Author Career, I discovered something about the Damsel in Distress trope (for me) that I hadn’t know before.

It’s not about the damsel.

I realized, finally, as a much older man, that all my life it could be (and has been) driven by a response to ANYTHING in Distress. Literally, _________ in Distress gets my attention. Fill almost anything into the blank and I’m down for it. But why?

As it turns out, for me, the Damsel in Distress trope is a promise. No, not of a fair damsel to have my way with. I’ve already got one of those—and she’s the only one I want. The trope is a promise of conflict—literally the promise to fight oppression, tyranny, and a Bad Guy or Bad Gal or Bad Person, whatever—I’m easy. Implicit in the formulation of the trope is Perfectly Moral Reason to Fight Someone.

Turns out I don’t even care what or why. Just that there’s a Good Reason® to pick a fight with someone who deserves a pounding. The damsel is free to do whatever she wants when it’s all over. A damsel isn’t even strictly required. You could call it the He Needed Killing trope or the Somebody’s in Trouble Again trope. I’m here for it.

Huh.

The most pure expression of this that I can think of in story is the obligatory White Hat in old spaghetti westerns. The heroic cowboy never gets the girl. She might want him to stay, but he always rides off into the sunset in search of another Something in Distress to rescue.

Turns out, all that it takes to get my attention is to shout, “Oh, look! A windmill yonder!”

If you like the Damsel Rescues Herself from Distress trope, give Raven Queen, Arise a read to witness Illyria start her quest to right all the wrongs.

Book Recommendation: Sons to Keep by A.S. Etaski

You think you want the Matriarchy?

You can’t handle the Matriarchy.

Born a healer into a culture obsessed with power, Irrwaer had few prospects beyond changing bandages and emptying bedpans. Among the matriarchs, sex is power. Sex is magic. Irrwaer knows nothing of either. But she longs to…

Etaski delivers a portrait of drow society that Wizards of the Coast can only hint at in Dungeons & Dragons. Obviously fearful of the Puritanical censors, D&D will never show you the true darkness of the depraved, demon-worshipping dark elf culture.

But Etaski does.

She drags you down into the underdark beneath the world and fucks you on the altar of the Spider Queen. That’s the only path to becoming a Priestess of Braqth and a power to be reckoned with in your own right. Because that’s the only way to get your own half-breed demon son to keep.

Read the prequel for free. Own the rest and love them all.

We are all shapeshifters.

You don’t have to be a writer or storyteller for this to resonate. Let’s discuss how we all shift between archetypes and why it’s important to recognize this aspect of ourselves. Within the context of story, of course. We are all simply the sum total of the stories we tell ourselves.

As humans, we tend to believe that we have a fixed identity and personality that remains constant throughout our lives. However, the truth is that we are all shapeshifters in the psychological sense. We change archetypes based on our current circumstances and setting.

My current audio book listen is on this theme, The Courage to Be Disliked, which is an intriguing parable that explicates Adlerian psychology—as introductions to Alfred Adler’s life work, it’s pretty good. Which means that it’s been pissing me off as daily listen during my commute, so of course I highly recommend it to you!

These archetypes are patterns of behavior, personality traits, and symbols that are deeply ingrained in our psyche. I started thinking about this when I bought Katie’s new book, Writing Archetypal Character Arcs. Not long after, I saw this post from my Story Grid peeps on the same subject. Clearly the universe is goading me to speak my mind about it. Probably because my debut novel was based on the premise that memories are magic, and without them we’re not who we are. Yes, there were also literal shapeshifters in Raven Queen, Arise, too.

The Concept of Archetypes

Archetypes are universal symbols and patterns of behavior that are present in all cultures and societies in some form or fashion. They’re known by different names or merged together to produce a different gestalt. But they are deeply rooted in our psyche and are often associated with myths, legends, and folklore. In my books, I discover them as I write (the ice queen, the tyrant king, etc).

In my current editing project, Conseca entered as a sexualized variant of the virgin or maiden archetype (depending on which word you like or which is funnier, because she’s a former bedslave) who over the course of Righteous Disobedience transforms into the priestess archetype with flavors of the seer or prophetess and shades of the tactician.

Archetypes are not conscious constructs but rather unconscious patterns of behavior that influence the way we perceive and interact with the world around us. I don’t set out to write archetypes—that’s a recipe for tropy and weird. But after when I’m done writing, characters that don’t feel authentic are flat-ish because they don’t evoke an archetype or four. That’s when I go back to books like Katie’s and other cheatsheets to figure out what to fix.

My man Carl Jung was the first to introduce the concept of archetypes in psychology. He believed that archetypes are essential for understanding the human psyche and that they play a crucial role in shaping our personality, behavior, and emotions. According to Jung, there are several archetypes that are universal and present in all cultures, such as the mother, the father, the hero, the trickster, and the wise old man.

Of course, Carl—being the Pollyanna that he was—kinda skipped over or skirted around my personal favorites: the villain and the monster.

Shapeshifting between Archetypes

As humans, we all have the potential within us for all archetypes encoded into our Homo narrans genes. (I have talked before about how we stopped being Homo sapiens after the Toba Event and evolved into Homo narrans, right?) The archetype that we embody at any given time depends on our current circumstances and setting. For example, you might summon the courage to be the hero when faced with a challenge or adversity. Or you might assume the maternal aspect of the caregiver when taking care of a loved one.

We shift between archetypes depending on the roles we play in our lives, such as a parent, a friend, a coworker, or a romantic partner—sometimes in the blink of an eye. My warrior-queen is most often mild-mannered and genteel, but threaten or abuse a child within her awareness and you’ll meet Grendel’s mother.

Trust me on this, you do not want to meet Grendel’s mother. Even if you’re Beowulf—he almost didn’t make it. If the unknown author hadn’t gifted Beowulf a handy magic sword just lying on the floor of the cave, there’d’ve been no need for the dragon later.

Shapeshifting between archetypes is natural and necessary. I don’t believe they’re masks. They’re survival adaptations to different situations and roles in our lives. However, none of our archetypes are permanent. They can come and go with emotion and hormonal changes. And we can consciously choose to embody different archetypes and to develop new patterns of behavior and personality traits. (Alfred Adler would like me to remind you that all you need is the Courage to do so. Yes, he talks to me sometimes. So what?)

The Importance of Recognizing Our Archetypes

Recognizing when someone steps into or out of an archetype can help us gain a deeper understanding of ourselves and others. Spotting patterns of behavior that may be holding us back or causing us to feel stuck in our lives is a valuable skill. By recognizing archetypes, we can consciously choose to shift between them and to develop new patterns of behavior that are more aligned with our goals and values.

Next time you’re stressed, ask yourself: In this moment, am I the hero, the villain, or the victim? Which do you want to be?

We are all psychological shapeshifters, constantly shifting between archetypes based on our current circumstances and setting. Recognizing and understanding our archetypes can help us gain a deeper understanding of ourselves and others and can help us develop new patterns of behavior that are more aligned with our goals and values. Embrace your inner shapeshifter and explore the different archetypes within you!

How to Use Archetypes to Understand Yourself

Recognizing your archetypes is the first step in understanding yourself. You can start by identifying the archetypes that resonate with you the most. Take some time to reflect on your past experiences and the patterns of behavior that you exhibited in different situations. This can help you identify the archetypes that you embody most frequently.

Don’t focus on how you felt, instead focus on what you did. The archetypes that we admire most (the hero, the queen, the king, and so on) feel fear but act as if fear does not exist. The hardest archetypes to embody require Courage. Those are the archetypes we usually admire and root for the most.

Once you have identified your archetypes, you can start exploring them in more detail. Decide which ones you want to keep and which ones you wish to expunge. Read up on the different archetypes and the qualities that they embody. This can help you gain a deeper understanding of yourself and the patterns of behavior that you exhibit.

You can also use archetypes to set goals and make positive changes in your life. For example, if you find that you embody the caregiver archetype frequently, you can set goals to develop other archetypes, such as the hero or the explorer. This can help you break free from patterns of behavior that may be holding you back and can help you grow as a person.

This flowchart is a recent favorite of mine by Liz Fosslien that I picked up from LinkedIn a week or two ago. It’s a graphical representation of what we all expect the hero archetype to do.

Using Archetypes to Understand Others

Recognizing archetypes in others can also help you gain a deeper understanding of them. By identifying the archetypes that others embody, you can gain insight into their patterns of behavior and their motivations. (Adler wants me to remind you that “You can’t change others. That’s not your task.”) But recognizing the place their behavior is coming from can help you feel less threatened and attacked.

For example, if you have a coworker who frequently embodies the hero archetype, you can understand that they are likely to be motivated by challenges and opportunities to prove themselves or even feel threatened by YOU. By recognizing this, you can work with them in a way that is more aligned with their motivations and goals.

In the immortal words of Seth Godin (paraphrased), you’ll be happier if you treat other people’s behavior like the weather.

All the Way to the Bitter End

Recognizing archetypes is an important aspect of understanding ourselves and others. Without self-understanding and self-acceptance, we’re doomed to suffer the same archetypes and patterns for the rest of our lives. We are all psychological shapeshifters, constantly shifting between archetypes based on our current circumstances and setting. By recognizing our archetypes and consciously choosing to shift between them, we can develop new patterns of behavior that are more aligned with our goals and values. Embrace your inner shapeshifter and start exploring the different archetypes within you and others!

If you haven’t read the prequel to the Temple of Vengeance quadrilogy, it’s yours for the taking, Death Descends (Temple of Vengeance Vol 0.1). Grab yours today!

Righteous Disobedience will also be free to newsletter subscribers when it’s released.

And, of course, Raven Queen, Arise, the first book in the Temple of Vengeance quadrilogy is available at your favorite retailers everywhere!

Barely Controlled Chaos

In writing milestones, I’ve finished the next novella in the Temple of Vengeance series and it’s off to my editrix. Once she’s had her way with it, the ebook will ship to YOU and to my lovely and talented narrator to produce the audio book for those of you who prefer them.

Novellas are part of my process now. What can I say? I’m more of a natural intuitive writer than a rigorous plotter. As a bipolar-ish bear, I vacillate between the two: part designer, part discoverer.

What that means for you, is more free novellas as I figure things out on the page. All the novellas in the Temple of Vengeance will always be free to subscribers. The next one up is Righteous Disobedience (Temple of Vengeance Vol 1.1).

What happened? Well, back in 2020, I finished the first (RQA1) in a way that I didn’t anticipate—but really loved. This means that I’ve had to spend more time back at the drawing board. (In case you’re curious, I escalated the power level for the Raven Queen waaay faster than originally planned. But discovered her reverse harem along the way.)

Anyway, I figure out a lot of things as I go, so I’ve found that writing “side stories” and prequels as novellas helps me realign the plot of the Temple of Vengeance quadrilogy in a way that I’m pleased with. All of the events in Death Descends and Righteous Disobedience have a direct impact on the story** and the plot** of Raven Queen, Avenge. And, I promise, that book two is coming as fast as I can write it well.

If you liked any of those, I know you’ll love what’s coming next in book two in Illyria’s eternal quest to right all the wrongs.

** The difference between story and plot are significant for me. I mean them in the same sense that Lisa Cron defines them in her writing craft books. Plot is the external events that happen to the heroine. Story is the internal change that happens inside the heroine. Both arcs have to happen (for me) to truly enjoy a book, which is why I write that way. Not everyone does and that’s OK. I’m here to give you the best I know how.

If you haven’t read the prequel to the Temple of Vengeance quadrilogy, it’s yours for the taking, Death Descends (Temple of Vengeance Vol 0.1). Grab yours today!

Righteous Disobedience will also be free to newsletter subscribers when it’s released.

To airt or not to airt: Some thoughts

As someone who has spent thousands and thousands of dollars to commission art surrounding and inspired by my novels, I’m deeply committed to human artists. Caterina Kalymniou, J-P Mavinga, and Epic Made have all produced some amazing commissions for me. Such as my covers (by Caterina) and the Kickstarter art cards by J-P and E-M. They all do beautiful work. They produce reliable, predictable work. They also take a lot of time to do so. (And they’re not cheap! But definitely worth the every penny to me.)

Still it’s fun (for me) to play with Stable Diffusion and DALL-E. I have no illusion that so-called airt is going to replace human art…not ever. Things will evolve and grow. New hybrids and chimaera’s will be produced. Not too long ago there was a holy war between so-called photo manipulation cover artists and “purist” painters. Before that, there was a long-running spat between digital freehand painters and 3D artists—maybe still is. Dunno. Don’t care.

I’m going to continue to explore and experiment with airt, because it only costs me my playtime. I’m also going to continue to commission new original paintings from my human friends. Both make me happy.

Here’s a couple random things that Night Cafe produced for me from the simple prompt “raven queen triumphant” (no postwork) and while imperfect, they definitely capture the vibe I was hoping for. I’m sure I have a lot to learn as I play with all the different options in Night Cafe, Midjourney, and Diffusion Bee.

If you’d like a free read evokes that kind of vibe, the prequel to the Temple of Vengeance quadrilogy is yours for the taking, Death Descends. Grab yours today!

Righteous Disobedience will be free to newsletter subscribers when it’s released.