Tiffany Shearn's Blog, page 6

Moving Day

I am glad I finished my November writing goals early because a fair portion of this week was occupied by work and helping my grandmother move. She was living down in the Puyallup area, which is about a forty-minute drive in each direction from where we live. Other family members used to also live in Puyallup, but they moved away this year, so she wanted to be closer to us.

We took her to look at a few options and then compared locations and prices. She decided on one and wanted to move before the holidays, but the final repairs and paint would not finish until after Thanksgiving, so we planned the move for the last day of the month. The early snow falling here complicated matters. We did not want to pay for December at her old place, so she had to move that day. While the movers we booked could still make it, the price would now include a hazard fee. 

My dad and I arrived at her place early. She had done a fair amount of packing in the preceding weeks, but there was still much of the food and cleaning supplies left on shelves and in cupboards. We busted out the boxes and bags and got to work, expecting the movers to arrive at ten am. The appliance also needed to be disconnected, since she had purchased those relatively recently. They were too big for her new place, so we planned to have those dropped off at my sister’s house and we will sell them. 

Because of the weather-related traffic, the movers did not arrive until eleven. By then, we had most of the final items packed, the appliances were disconnected, and we were ready to take out the stuff we would transport in our truck. The two men took a look around and got to work. 

It took them over two and a half hours to get everything packed from her two-bedroom retirement apartment. The process makes me want to clear out some of the clutter in my house; but who has time for that? We drove the forty minutes to the new place and started unpacking. She is losing about two hundred square feet of space. Most of it is bathroom space, but with all the boxes, her living room looked like a storage unit at the end of the day. 

We focused on getting the bedroom clear enough to sleep in, then we went out to a much-deserved dinner with the rest of the family. It was still snowing, but the stuff on the ground was mostly slush, so we were able to drive safely. My sister and I are headed back over today to help with more unpacking and moving furniture. Hopefully, she will feel settled soon enough. 

Have a great weekend!

Series (drafts) Complete!

I still have the epilogue to write, but I have officially completed the first draft of the last book in the Hidden Series! For NaNoWriMo, I wanted to finish this draft and write over 32k words. This officially accomplishes both goals three days ahead of schedule.

Book four will now be set aside for a while so I can do a revision of Hidden Promise based on my alpha feedback. It took about three months for me to do this for Hidden Sanctuary, and I’m targeting having it for my alpha readers in April, my editor in May, and it is due out in June. The timing cuts it pretty close, so I will work to cut two or three weeks off of these deadlines.

Book Four: Then and Now

One of the greatest challenges with this one was that I could not really use any of my original writing. Years ago, I finished a draft of the complete series. I knew where the story was going and many of the stops it would make along the way. Most of the characters were at least rough outlines in my mind. I had over 72k words already written for this portion of the story.

Then, I built it out, starting with Hidden Memory. The world grew. The characters grew. I did it again with Hidden Sanctuary. With Hidden Promise, I had only scratched the surface of the fairy lands and people initially. So, I delved deeper and gave them more.

By the time I returned to the point of the final book, there were too many changes. People were not where they had been. The importance of some places and events shifted. It would have been more effort to squeeze the previous writing into the new form than to write it all from scratch. In the end, I used the former writing as an outline, trashed the writing itself, and the draft ends up at around 107k words.

If I can swing it, the series finale will be available before June 2024. This means going through all of the reviews and revisions. As always, if I can release early, I will.

Interested?

If you are interested in joining the team, know I have openings for ARC readers. The first two books are free on KU. Start with those and leave reviews. If you are still interested, reach out to me, and I can add you to the team for Hidden Promise coming out in 2023.

Happy holidays to all!

Writer’s Block

In honor of NaNoWriMo, I set a word goal of 32k this month, which is about twice my usual monthly target. I checked my progress through the eighth, and I was running behind by about a hundred words per day. The next few days went pretty well. I made up some ground and at least hit my daily goal for the next five days. Then, instead of life getting in the way, writing itself became a challenge. 

My Process

I have my world and character information in a program on both my main computer and our—very old—laptop. This allows me to reference names and descriptions when I bring them back into the story later, as long as I have taken the time to record the information when I first write it. Having the information on both computers also gives me more freedom in where I write. 

I prefer to sit out with my cats. Who wouldn’t!? One of those lap desk trays I could position over the lap cat would be helpful, but I make it work. 

On the laptop, I open a new Word document, save it with a title for the section of the story I’m working on, and type away. When I finish a chapter or two, I spend time on my desktop computer to record information and do the work needed to move the section over to my main document. The task is more than just copying and pasting. 

I use AutoCrit to help me find improvement areas, so I first copy the chapters to the online program. The Grammarly add-on finds the obvious grammar mistakes, so I run through fixing those first. Then I run the AutoCrit reports to identify where I’m too passive, my dialog is too complicated, or I’m repeating words and phrases too much. 

I do not fix everything. This is a first draft, which means I will be revising and rewriting a fair portion of it after my alphas get through it, so I steer clear of striving for perfection. Even the final draft that goes out will never be ‘perfect.’ Trying to write the perfect book only means you will never publish it, so the advice is always to do what you can within reason and get it out there. 

I’m mentioning this process here because the transfer days always take longer than I want, and they take away time from writing more. I could write straight through, but that would kill my progress in December, which would only delay the problem. I’m not beholden to any deadlines or targets for my November goal other than my own drive, so I think it is better to keep my rhythm consistent.

Challenging Week

So, I’m running behind after the first week and sticking to my transfer days. I had a good five days. I could still do this. 

Then. Brain splat. 

I pushed through a tough Monday, but then came a chapter that was NOT working for me. The scene is fuzzy in my head already, and it only becomes more inane as I push through it. Why is this in here? What is the point? Does this sound as dumb as I think it does?

No. Because. Probably. But the chapter is short, and it feels like something should be here. 

So, I pulled out a tool I saw mentioned early in my publishing journey and used brackets. Brackets are these guys: [ and ]. You do not—usually—see brackets in fiction writing, so they are a great, searchable placeholder. 

For the chapter that was not working for me, I wrapped it up quickly and added “[I don’t like this one, fix or remove].” to the end. I also started using this when I did not want to make up a new name for someone. Like “[new dwarf] entered the room.” I search and replace most when I do the transfer, and I will have all of them fixed and out of the manuscript before it goes to beta readers. The bottom line: if you don’t yet use brackets when something is missing, I highly recommend it. 

I’m still trying to finish this rough draft of the final book in the series. The end is so close I can feel it within reach. Then it is off to revisions based on alpha feedback on Hidden Promise!

Emotional Scenes

How do you write emotional scenes? I have seen this question on social media a few times, and it has me thinking about how I feel working through my books.

My emotions tend to bleed over in both directions. The bleed is less often from my life to my stories, but if I am feeling a high level of stress, my writing becomes more scattered. A common way it presents is by me missing my word goals by becoming unfocused and easily distracted as I’m pulled in a million directions at once or simply want to be done with all things computer for a while. High stress or distraction can also hinder the “good bleed” from the story to me, making it more difficult to relate to and feel my characters’ emotions.

There are scenes in each of my books that have strongly resonated with me as I wrote them. I chuckled in giddy delight at some clever quip a character made. I cried with them over a devastating loss. Feeling those emotions with them helps me articulate the moment, to put into words everything they are going through to help the reader experience it with them.

Finale

I’m close to the end of the last book (first draft) in the Hidden Series, and I’m feeling a little emotionally numb. So are my characters. There has been so much effort and coordination, so many reunions tempered by loss. One way or another, the end is near. They need and want this so much, but the event itself is difficult to speak about because even a victory is unlikely to end well.

How do you keep going when you’re exhausted and drained? How do you move forward when every step spells the death of another friend? How do you overcome your terror when failure means destruction?

You go a little numb. You chip away at your sanity and hope what remains at the end is still a person. You pack it away and do what needs to be done, hoping your ability to make rational decisions has not become compromised.

Drama Queen

So, that’s how I write emotional scenes. I get into the same frame of mind and feel at least a fraction of what I imagine my characters are going through. I laugh with them and cry with them. Then, when I’m polishing that first draft, I look for where the emotional bleed pulled me far off track, and I buff out the rough edges. In the end, I hope you also relate to my characters enough to laugh and cry with them too, because I put them through the wringer.

Brain Mush

My brain is a bit mushy today. I think it is from running in a hundred directions the last few weeks. Maybe it is getting to do more people stuff again. Either way, this post will ramble a bit so I can give you some updates across many of those hundred directions. 

Cats!

The vet recommended I look into a shot to manage Big Cat’s arthritis. Based on how he acts, I am holding off for now and keeping that on the back burner for later pain management. However, the research I did made me think of getting him a bed for the winter months. With it getting colder, I wanted him to have something warm to sleep on at night. They warn against using heated blankets and such for people, so I went for a heated cat bed.

I got the large one in case Little Cat tried to join him so she would not push him out. 

He loves it. Not more than my lap (thankfully), but he often ignores the metaphorical dinner bell now to stay curled up in it until he is hungry and gets up to pester me for food. He is super adorable in it, and I’m glad he took to it right away. 

Health

A couple of weeks ago, I got my updated COVID booster, and yesterday I got my flu shot. I have mentioned before that I continue to work through a needle phobia. Both vaccinations went off without a fainting problem, so I count those as two wins. The one from yesterday might be contributing to my brain fog today, but the side effects are relatively mild this time (another win). 

I’m doing what I can and crossing my fingers that I can avoid any additional illnesses as we head into the colder seasons. 

Grandma

Something I have been spending more time on lately is helping my grandmother look for a new independent living facility. My mom’s side of the family used to split between us in the Auburn/Federal Way areas and the other half in the Puyallup area. Before my grandfather passed, they also lived in Puyallup, so it made sense that when she decided to go into independent living that they would look for something there as well. 

Time moved on, and the Puyallup half has now moved to Florida, and she wants to be closer to those of us still living in Washington. I have been researching places closer to us, and we toured some a couple of weeks ago. We did some thinking and negotiation, and she signed onto a new place this week. We will be helping her move into it at the end of November, and everyone is excited that she will be closer to us for visits and events. 

Miscellaneous

We started up our Halloween parties again. I called this one Zombie Halloween because we were essentially trying to resurrect the events of old. It turned out to be a great time. I brought back one of my old costumes. My sister and I made it together about twelve years ago, and it mostly still fits with some strategic cape placement. For the event, I also made some spooky deviled eggs. I am a Miracle Whip person, while my husband prefers mayo, so I did half of each kind. The MW ones looked like mummies, while the mayo looked like pumpkins. 

This is the She-Ra (OG 80’s cartoon) costume my sister and I made. I bought the skirt, boots, and sword.

Another fun thing I tried out this week was making butter (main photo)! I first saw an old butter churn on TikTok, then I saw that you can do it with a mixer in about fifteen minutes. The latter seemed easier, so I went in that direction. It was cool seeing it firm up and the buttermilk getting washed out. This morning, I chopped some garlic and homegrown basil and mixed that in for some homemade garlic-basil butter. I’m freezing it for later use, and I might make some more butter and other varieties to give out for Christmas. 

Thanks!

That is all of my brain mush for the moment except to say that two more ratings came in recently on Amazon, so that puts me at thirty-three total between the two books. Seven more, and I will add that deleted chapter to the website! Thanks for all of your support, and I hope you keep reading. 

TikTok Test

I decided to give the TikTok platform a concerted effort for a while. My goal is a month with a video at least every other day. It has been about two weeks, and I’m waffling on the value.

On the positive side, the tool is well set up and easy to use. There are some advanced techniques, like smooth transitions, that I will never be good at using. However, basic edits and enhancements are relatively straightforward. This includes adding sounds or stickers, adjusting video clip length, and adding text or captions. Oh! And effects. The visual filters are fun to explore.

This is my most popular video yet! It is one of my Halloween-ish-themed posts.

Link

Unfortunately, this medium takes time and creativity. Some time requirements are related to the learning curve, but even discounting that they are a production. I can probably make two or three videos for each weekly blog post. That puts the effort at about equivalent to two blog posts each week.

It might not seem like a lot, but that is about six hours a week I cannot spend writing and editing. The creative side also takes a toll. I need to constantly come up with new ideas for a form and format with which I am not comfortable. Performing for an audience or in front of a camera has never been my forte. I always feel like a goof.

With that said, publication is a business, even if it is very personal for the author. I need to do a cost-benefit analysis for everything I do. Production (writing more books) comes first. Presentation is second, including cover art and blurbs. Finally, don’t forget about promotion. Marketing, advertising, self-promotion, and social media fall into the category.

So, why do it? Because Tiktok is the social media platform of this generation. On top of that, BookTok is huge. It revitalized the paperback industry and catapulted indie authors further onto the writing scene. As with any social media, it is far from perfect, and you need to be careful what you internalize from it, but authors need social media presence.

Till Tok has the potential to be big. If you have a video take-off, you could see sales shooting up as well. Do I continue putting in the time and energy here, hoping I can make it big despite my lack of skill in this area? Probably, but I don’t think I will continue daily posts. Maybe two a week. I only hope the change does not doom my account to the algorithmic pits.

If you want to check out my first attempt at a transition video, I’m going to dry doing one today, so check my account later today or tomorrow! As always, thank you for your support, and if you have time to leave a rating/review on Amazon, I appreciate each one.

Elaria – Elven Woodlands

I previously shared some general information about the elves and their society. You can find that post here. In it, I highlight how crucial the royal line is regarding the elves’ connection to their Woodlands. For today, I will be sharing more about the various woodlands. 

As the elves slowly explored Elaria, they made additional connections to the land. While each Woodland was by no means homogenous, the elves drawn to each place often had similar physical characteristics. This frequently helped elves who did not feel the same depth of connection to their birthplace find their home Woodland from among the others. 

Auradia 

The Auradian Woodland was the first, the origin of the elves. Centrally located on the continent, it bordered the Claw Mountains to the north, savannah to the west, plains to the east, and forest to the south. Elves spread to explore those nearby lands. Their presence made the natural foliage grow strong and lush, and the elves lived plentiful lives. 

Initially, the elves only had skin in tones of gray with dark hair and bright eyes of blue or green. To this day, most Auradian elves have gray skin with undertones of green or blue. As the first Woodland, however, it has disproportionately more diversity than the others. The Auradian elves also see more spontaneous diversity in their children. They have a larger population and bear more children than the others, and more elves leave the Auradia Woodland to find their true home than the number entering.

[image error]Pexels.com" data-medium-file="https://tiffanyshearn.files.wordpress..." data-large-file="https://tiffanyshearn.files.wordpress..." src="https://tiffanyshearn.files.wordpress..." alt="" class="wp-image-872 size-full" />

Gray of skin, blue of eye.

Considering these factors, some elves believe that if the Auradia Woodland were lost, all the elves would eventually fade from the realm.

Derou

The Derou Woodland was the first to be founded by elves traveling from Auradia. It is to the northwest of Auradia, bordered by forest, mountain, desert, and savannah. The warmer weather near the desert made the Derou a veritable oasis with plant life variety unmatched elsewhere in the world. With this bounty, the Derou became the source of several medical discoveries and advancements in their initial years and beyond.

The first to strike out on their own.

[image error]Pexels.com" data-medium-file="https://tiffanyshearn.files.wordpress..." data-large-file="https://tiffanyshearn.files.wordpress..." src="https://tiffanyshearn.files.wordpress..." alt="" class="wp-image-874 size-full" />

Elves initially drawn to the Derou were those with dark gray skin trending toward reddish undertones. Over time, this distinction became more pronounced. Most Derou have skin ranging from very dark to light brown, often with red or gray undertones, and hair and eye colors within a similar spectrum.

Satersa

The Satersa Woodland was founded just after the Derou in lands to the south of Auradia. The new Woodland sat nestled among rolling hills leading toward the ocean. They produced strong wood and fabrics.

Satersa elves had skin tones ranging from blue-gray to yellow-green and had hair colors as diverse. Some called them the “river elves” based on their coloration. These tones have since returned to the Auradia or gone to the Palonian, shifting with the destruction of Satersa.

When the gilar emerged in Elaria, they did so in the southern part of the continent. As they spread across the coast, the Satersa faced an unexpected enemy. They were quickly overwhelmed. The Heartwood was desecrated by the gilar, the royals died in the conflict, and refugees fled to their kin.

[image error]Pexels.com" data-medium-file="https://tiffanyshearn.files.wordpress..." data-large-file="https://tiffanyshearn.files.wordpress..." src="https://tiffanyshearn.files.wordpress..." alt="" class="wp-image-876 size-full" />

Lost. Gone from the realm.

Despite mounting a counterattack, the Heartwood was never reclaimed. The surviving Satersa eventually began to age and die. Children with a direct lineage to another Woodland sometimes survived by making another essential connection to their secondary ancestral land. Since the tragedy of Satersa, the elves have taken precautions to protect and defend the Heartwoods and the royal line of every remaining Woodland.

Travelers, elves who feel drawn away from their homelands, frequently have features drawing back to the Satersa. Blue or green eyes or skin undertones are some of the most common features shared among these elves. The prevalent theory is that these individuals would have belonged to the Satersa Woodland had it not been lost.

Palonian

The Palonian Woodland is the youngest of the four. Its founding was barely a couple of thousand years before the vampires and fairy emerged in Elaria. Situated to the northeast of Auradia, the Palonian sits between two major rivers with plenty of farmland amid the scattered forests.

Last to emerge. Strongly influenced by their predecessors.

[image error]Pexels.com" data-medium-file="https://tiffanyshearn.files.wordpress..." data-large-file="https://tiffanyshearn.files.wordpress..." src="https://tiffanyshearn.files.wordpress..." alt="" class="wp-image-878 size-full" />

Palonian elves have skin tones like oak or maple wood with red or yellow undertones. These pale tones often came with brighter hair and eye colors. Bright red, blond, or chestnut hair. Jewel-bright blue, green, or hazel color eyes. Most of the initial Palonian came from either the Satersa or Derou. These origins still show in the greens and browns prevalent in the appearance of many Palonian elves.

Common

Despite the differences in appearance and distance between them, there is little difference between their societies. They share people and resources in need and work together as stewards for the lands between and around their Woodlands. As more races emerged, the elves did their best to welcome or defend against them as their nature allowed. Though the land under their influence shrank, the elven core remains strong and steady.

You meet some of the Derou in Hidden Memory and explore the Palonian Woodland in Hidden Sanctuary. Also, if you love the books, don’t forget to take a moment to go to Amazon to leave a rating/review. Thanks for your support!

Cat Check-Up

It is that time of year again, time for their annual check-up. Big Cat again had some additional tests to see how his kidneys and other old organs fare. He has had some issues recently: kidney, stomach, and joint.

Big Cat

Big Cat has been doing much better since he started the medicine for his arthritis. He had been struggling to eat and keep food down, losing a lot of weight. I was worried for a while that he would not recover. The medicine helped, though, and he has regained a good portion of the lost weight.

Big Cat posing during cuddles. This is his happy face.

He has more energy and runs around like a crazy cat again. He may not have as much energy as in his prime, but he looks pretty spry and active for a cat pushing eighteen. If only arthritis did not make it difficult for him to squat when peeing, things would be perfect.

Alas, the potty problems persist. I even switched to the biggest litter box available; one in which his whole lanky body fits. Even if he fails to squat, he usually hits the inside wall. It is not as easy as the automated box, but I can handle the extra work.

As far as the tests went, one of his kidney numbers spiked. While it does not appear to be affecting the rest of the things kidney problems can cause, the vet has recommended I bring him in for a BP test. She also suggested I look into Solensia. The medicine is a monthly shot to treat joint pain, and his back legs are definitely tender constantly. None of this is a surprise for a cat his age.

Little Cat

Not much change for Little Cat, which is good since she is only two. She is still a cute ball of fluff with adorable ear tufts. Her favorite pastime is staring out the back door at the squirrels foraging outside. I have started their diet with nuts from our pantry so they come around more often.
She stares out back and chitters at them and the birds. I have been leaving the windows open so she can sniff the fresh air through the screens (during the day). When the weather finally turns—over 70 in October?—she will be so disappointed that I have to keep the windows closed.

Sleepy paws and bedhead. Little Cat is out for her afternoon nap.

Medically, she is all caught up on her vaccinations and free of any concerns. The vet says we should watch her food intake so she does not gain more weight, but she is good. We will keep Little Cat healthy so she can keep pestering and running around with Big Cat. Someone needs to keep him young.

Inspiration

At the Renaissance Faire, I was often asked “what other authors are your books like?” and “what books have inspired you?” I need to get better at answering these questions, but the answers are complex and not well-formed in my head. Some of this is the wealth of possibilities, and some is personal hang-ups. 

Works of Inspiration 

I grew up reading a variety of fiction. Peter Benchley and Michael Chrichton were a couple of my favorite suspense authors. My young adult reading was dominated by Christopher Pike and fantasy reading by authors like Mercedes Lackey and Carol Berg. I also tried to read at least one classic each month, sometimes more if they were novellas. 

While I read a few Goosebumps, Pike was my favorite of the two main options for that target audience age. The Last Vampire series was an amazing arc in his YA offerings. I also loved his adult novel The Season of Passage. Sci-fi, fantasy horror? Yes. I was obsessed and must have read the book at least twenty times. 

On the more general fantasy front, I read—and loved—Lord of the Rings, but not until later; around when the first movie came out. Earlier, I was reading series like the Arrows trilogy by Mercedes Lackey. I consider Lackey “old-school, easy” fantasy. This is my made-up term meaning I see her playing more to the presence of a driving force of “good” without deep or confusing intrigue. I love this. It helps you escape into

another world, you love the characters, and you look forward to the ending. Some of my other favorites from her are the Five Hundred Kingdoms books, the Herald-Mage trilogy, and the Obsidian Mountain trilogy she wrote with James Mallory. I also enjoyed her YA Hunter series.

Here are a few of my other favorites:

Carol Berg: the Rai-Kirah series and The Bridge of D’Arnath seriesJennifer Fallon: The Second Sons trilogy and Hythrun ChroniclesAnne Bishop: Black Jewels World and Tir Alainn trilogyTrudi Canavan: Black Magician trilogy and Age of the Five trilogy

There are more I am forgetting right now. If I remember more this month, I will share for National Book Month on my various social media accounts.

One final note on some of my favorite books growing up regarding the classics I read. The early sci-fi books like Frankenstein and some by H. G. Wells were entertaining reads. I liked The Picture of Dorian Gray. 1984 has one of my favorite quotes—I say “quote,” but it is really an entire paragraph. Finally, my favorite of all the classics I read is The Count of Monte Cristo. Fantastic story. I have read it multiple times.

Where I Fit

Considering the varied influences, it is no surprise that my first series is not written for a particular market. The core of the Hidden Series developed in my mind throughout my college years. Larron’s appearance was 100% influenced by my super-crush on Orlando Bloom.

While there are LotR elements in my books, I don’t think I can say “If you loved LotR, then you’ll enjoy the Hidden Series.” It might be a little like Mistborn, but lighter on the intrigue. It has some similarities to the Lightbringer series, but again not enough for me to call it out. Maybe The Dragon riders of Pern or Trudi Canavan’s works? Those feel closer, but still…

Part of my hesitation with comparing my books to more well-known works is that I am comparing myself on some level to those authors. Imposter syndrome rears its ugly head, and I know I could never be good enough.

It is not true. With the comparison, I am attempting to reference the type of story a reader can expect. Experienced authors were not always as skilled as they are today, either. I don’t know that I will ever think of myself as great, but I think I’m pretty good. That is an accomplishment for me when it comes to confidence.

Your Favorites?

I have shared several of my favorites here. What are some of yours? What did you read growing up? What about now? Let me know here, or on one of my National Book Month posts on social media.

For those of you who have read and enjoyed my books, let me know your favorite part, or leave a rating/review on Amazon. As always, thank you for your support!

Elaria – Elves

The elves are the eldest race to emerge in Elaria. Auradia was their original Woodland, and they spread out over time. Their natural connection and affinity to plant life condensed the power of the land in other areas, creating additional Heartwoods. The first elves to connect to these new woodlands became the conduits through which their kin gave and drew strength.

Hundreds of years passed, and the elves stopped having children. A balance had been achieved. Their lands were at capacity. No new lives entered the world, and no one died. Another hundred years, another, and more. An enemy emerged, and a Woodland came under attack. Gilar spread from the south in an overwhelming wave. Death and life resumed in Elaria.

Connection

Elves have an innate connection to plant life in Elaria, a symbiotic relationship via a feedback loop of essential energy. The elves strengthen the land, helping it grow and providing a rudimentary level of awareness or sense of surroundings. As the energy loops back, it enhances the elves’ essential connection to the physical world and provides for their rejuvenation leading to their immortality.

This essential connection runs through each elf’s respective monarch and heir. Being a conduit is an ability linked to a combination of the bloodline and being bearers of the power. Only a royal who serves as a monarch or heir can pass the ability to serve as a royal conduit to their children. For this reason, an elven royal family line has never extended beyond a third living generation.

The limited number of eligible royals is a vulnerability for the elves. They ensure at least one royal remains within the Heartwood at all times to mitigate the risk.

Society

Words like king, queen, monarch, and royal came to Elaria with the humans. In the language of the elves, the terms used were more reminiscent of ‘trunk’ or ‘stem.’ The royals are the conduit through which -life energy flows. They support and provide structure for the whole.

[image error]Pexels.com" data-medium-file="https://tiffanyshearn.files.wordpress..." data-large-file="https://tiffanyshearn.files.wordpress..." src="https://tiffanyshearn.files.wordpress..." alt="" class="wp-image-807 size-full" />

“The royals are the conduit through which -life energy flows. They support and provide structure for the whole.”

With their central role, the royal family works to ensure their members receive education in a broad range of subjects beyond the basics taught to all elves. These topics cross into politics, leadership, strategy, and similar concepts. The need to protect the line and the additional training frequently places these individuals in leadership positions. However, even ‘leader’ differs from how humans might perceive the term. They guide and counsel when able. They listen and follow when needed. They work and contribute as any other elf.

The smaller, contained communities enable their society to operate more as a cohesive collective. Central, common tasks rotate responsibility. Specific skills and inclinations are leveraged where needed, and continuous learning is encouraged. Elves help and give of themselves freely for each other and the natural world in which they live.

Peace, competence, unity, and support are words often used to describe the elves. Those descriptions go beyond the individuals to who they are as a people. The relative lack of sick and infirm individuals helps maintain a society where everyone can and does help and contribute, while the restricted nature of their reproduction ensures they will not grow the population beyond their means to support.

From an initial, outside perspective, the elven world is idyllic. It is also stagnant. Learning and growth progress slowly. There is no driving need, no urgency. Why rush what you have forever to understand?

Thank you!

I hope this gives you some insight into the elves. You will not see this side of them in the books as much because things shift a bit in times of war. In the past, however, the conflicts were only skirmishes between them and the attacking gilar. My next Elaria post will likely be about the different Woodlands, and I might delve into some of those skirmishes then.

If you enjoy my posts, please like, share, or leave a comment. For those who have read and enjoyed my books, I would love and appreciate a rating/review on Amazon. As always, thank you for your support.