Meet The Characters Of My Upcoming Novel!

Meet the characters of my upcoming novel!

Who’s Who: Denken

He’s the whispering voice in the back of your mind, urging you to take the leap. The epiphany that strikes at the most unexpected moments. The stirrings of creativity and the muttering, meandering train of thought running through your mind late at night.

Unfortunately, it’s tricky to say too much about Denken without venturing into spoiler territory. Chaotic, flirtatious, powerful and dangerous, he’s an expert in stirring up trouble. But mischief doesn’t quite cover it this time...

I have the best partner ever <3

Did I drop my sketchbook facedown while working with ink? Yes. Is that going to stop me from posting this picture I drew of Gloucester, the main character from @aliiveswrites book The Winding that is coming out October first and is available for preorder through @literary__wanderlust ‘s website?? 😏 https://www.instagram.com/p/Cg0di-3M0z5/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Enter the world of The Winding

A story needs a setting and for The Winding, that comes in the form of the Lower Lands. And more specifically, the great city-state of Frettchen. But what’s the deal with both of these? Let’s get into it!

The Lower Lands

The Winding takes place in a technologically-advanced world governed, at least in the immediately relevant region known as the Lower Lands, by powerful city-states. Once a mighty empire ruled from the western sea to the mountains far to the east, across the wide deserts. This empire fell long ago, as empires tend to do, and the free cities rose in the aftermath. The name ‘The Lower Lands’ strongly implies the existence of some ‘Upper Lands’, but no one in the area knows much about that. No one who has ventured past the mountain range that forms the northernmost border of the region have ever returned. There are tales, faded into legend with time, of travel north during the time of the empire, but that was long ago.

Frettchen

At the centre of the Lower Lands is the city-state of Frettchen. As one of the oldest cities in the Lower Lands and the former capital of the old empire, it holds a great amount of history, centuries-old buildings standing alongside modern skyscrapers. It’s a place bustling with commerce, tourism, art and entertainment. There’s a strong foundation of religion as well, but the government of the city has long been a secular one.

Yet in recent years, this separation of church and state was thrown into disarray when the High Minister, leader of Frettchen’s religious affairs, succeeded in attaining the position of Lord of the City-State, cementing his place as chief of secular affairs as well. A charismatic and clever man, he holds his power in an iron grip.

The South Cities and the Nordlands

To the south of Frettchen lie the aptly-named South Cities, a conglomeration of smaller cities whose power and influence rest primarily on their bustling trade agreements with the other city-states and strong textile and fishing industries.

To the west is the ocean, to the east is the great desert, and to the north are the Nordlands. The latter is another tight-knit group of cities, whose relations with Frettchen are tense, but relatively stable for now. Their most famous contribution to the Lower Lands was the invention of the perpetual engine by a Nordlander engineer some 100 years ago. This engine runs on clean energy and is used primarily in vehicles.

Technology

Advanced clockwork is also a major aspect of technology amongst the city-states, incorporated into everything from phones to televisions to household appliances.

Zane Zephyr, clockmaker extraordinaire and reluctant god-rescuer, wants to let you know that my fantasy novel, The Winding, comes out in two months!

In a world of gods and monsters, the future rests on a toss of the dice.

Mikalai Gloucester doesn’t believe in gods. Until the day one nearly gets him killed, and magic turns his life upside down…

You can pre-order The Winding from Literary Wanderlust’s online bookstore HERE!

If you’re in North America and want to support an independent bookshop, you can find ones in your area through Bookmanager.com, which connects a vast network of indie bookshops, and pre-order it through there!

There will also be an ebook version available from LWL’s onine bookstore on October 1st!

EXCITING NEWS!! My book, The Winding, has an official release date! Look out for it from Literary Wanderlust on October 1, 2022!!

Keep an eye out here for more updates over the next few months! I am SO excited to introduce you to the characters and world of The Winding!

I’m on Goodreads now!

While The Winding isn’t up on the site yet, you can come check out what I’ve been reading and what books I’ve really enjoyed. 

Find me HERE!