Between the Lines: An Intro To My WIP

    The fact that I didn't post last week will go without comment. 😐 But I hope today's post will make up for it 'cause I think it's one you've been waiting to read for quite some time now. TODAY, you guys will finally get a peek at my WIP!!!!!! *pauses for cheering* Yes, yes, I know, I've taken way too long to share it with y'all, but I hope this post contains everything you hoped for! In fact, it includes not only a summery, but graphics, snippets, and book covers as well!! Is that satisfactory enough? 😉 So let's dive into my insanity filled imagination and see what this is all about! Drumroll please...

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Yeah, I couldn't resist creating more suspense despite your wait. Hehehehe

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ARE. YOU. READY? 

Well, duh, Victoria, we've been ready for the past three months.

Yeah, yeah, I'll get on with it...

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5...

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4...

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3, 2, 1!

Between the Lines

        

    Awesome, right!?!?! Here are two ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL book covers made for me by the FANTABULOUS Issabelle over at TWN (the one on the left) and my TOTALLY EPIC sister, Lydia (the one on the right)!!!! Thank you soooo much for making those, y'all!!!! 😍😍😍

   Genre: Fantasy

    Word Count: 9,256

    Status:

• Currently writing chapter 5
• Up to chapter 8 outlined
• Edited prologue—chapter 4

    Age Range: 12+

    Summary (Beware: I'm terrible at making these so bear with me.) XD

    One book. Three wishes. And a 500 year old power-hungry wizard out for revenge.

    All Evelyne Myers wanted was a normal life, but that dream shattered the night her parents died and she was thrust into the foster care system. Now, twenty-three homes later, Eve has lost all hope of gaining a loving forever family and is positive that the only thing she can depend on and control is her writing.

    Until the day she accidentally wishes her main character, Valor, to life. 

    As if things couldn't get any worse, the magic book she used to wish him to life is stolen soon afterwards by an ancient wizard with mysterious revenge against her and her bloodline. Now it's up to Eve, Valor, her foster brother, and a few unexpected allies to regain the Book of Wishes, stop this wizard from not only killing off her remaining relatives but also conquering humanity, and wish Valor back into her story before the rest of her world crumbles apart.

    Yeah. *coughs* Also, you may be wondering Magic objects? Three wishes? Creepy wizards? Is this an Aladdin retelling? Weeelll, I'm not sure yet. When I started writing it I saw the similarities come out, but I'll probably have to make them more obvious if I'm gonna pursue that (which, of course, is entirely possible—it would just require a lot more planning.) But as of right now, it's just a normal ole Fantasy story that happens to be somewhat similar to that certain fairy tale. 😉

    But the REAL gem of this baby is....

    My Charries (a.k.a. my precious wittle characters)

    *Squeals* Y'all, don't judge me, but I just love them so much!!!! This is the first story I've written where I've really connected with my characters, so they've kinda taken up a special part of my heart. 😉

  Evelyne Myers (the MC)

 INFJ // 16 years old // Foster teen // Writer // Dreamer // Loves anything pink

Has affinity for scarves // Struggles with making friends // Hates fire // Paranoid // Scarred // Broken 

Seeks comfort in fictional worlds // Fan of Edwin Quill // Hidden determination // Organization Queen //

 Surprisingly compassionate // Doesn't judge people for who they are // Looks between the lines

    Here's a GORGEOUS graphic Issabelle made for me!!! (By the way, sorry if some of these pictures are blurry—I tried downloading them different ways but not all of them ended up nice and clear.)

Valor

Image Credit: Pinterest and Getty Images

ENFJ // 18 years old // Warrior-in-training for the army of Zurovia // Peacemaker

Wants everyone to be happy // Explorer // Slightly naïve // Adventurous // Very social // Looks up to father // Mysterious destiny // Wants to have control over his future // Highly skilled swordsman

Occasionally awkward in foreign environments // Empathetic // Doesn't like disappointing people // Passionate Fluctuating self-esteem

    Another AMAAAAZING graphic made by Izzy!!! (My favorite if I do say so myself!) 😉  

Silas Farryn

Image Credit: Pinterest

ESTJ // 563 years old // Powerful wizard // Obsessed with fire // Wants revenge on Eve's family line // Determined to gain respect // Inwardly broken // Hates rejection // Partially immortal // Survivor // Wants the Book of Wishes // Ruthless // Stubborn // Focused on social status // Values loyalty // Judgmental // Dedicated // Wants to conquer the world

    Well, woulda look at that! Another awesome graphic made by Is! (Let us know which one is your favorite in the comments below!!)

    Evelyne, Valor, and Silas are my three most main characters (if that makes sense), but here are some of my adorkable lil' side characters!! I won't be giving as much info about them as I did above, but I'll still share a tiny bit to give y'all an idea of who they are. 

Conner Stratford

Image Credit: Famewatcher

Eve's foster brother // 17 years old // Straight A student // Most popular kid at school

Owns a Mustang (the car—not the horse) // Caring // Soft-hearted // Sometimes impatient //

100% extroverted // Happy-go-lucky // Slightly overprotective // Basically the older brother I've always wanted #NoShame #WritersCanDoWhatWeWant

Laurel Wilson

Image Credit: All Things Hair

Eve's foster cousin // 16 years old // Prodigy // College student // Technological expert

One of the few people Eve surprisingly gets along with // Good-natured // Daredevil // 

Often at odds with Conner // Has arachnophobia // Sometimes outspoken // Humorous

Edwin Quill

Famous author // Eve's writing role-model // British // Cat person // Curt // Outwardly composed

Inwardly flustered // Tea and coffee addict // A victim // Hates being interrupted // Has calming aura

    Soooo, those are my charries!!! (Well, just a few of them, at least.) 😉Now...here comes the scary part. *sweats* I've decided to share some snippets. Keep in mind though, these are all first draft scenes and always have the possibility of being edited or deleted in later revisions. However, as of right now, y'all will get to read a few of them and I'd REALLY love to know what you think! Seriously, any tips, advice, or opinions you can give on them (both the good and the bad) would be MUCH APPRECIATED 'cause I'm always looking for ways to improve my writing!

    

    Snippets

               Valor wasn’t dead. At least…he didn’t think he was. Honestly, all he was thinking about right now was What on earth is that sparkly pink rat-looking thing in front of me? Which is a completely unrealistic thought when one suddenly gets unbearably light-headed and shiny, passes out, and wakes up in an entirely different environment that looks like a Hello Kitty tornado swept through. Usually someone would think Where am I? or What is this place? or even What happened? But not Valor.

         Instead, he crawled to his feet and took in his surroundings silently. It looked like he was in a bedroom. A very pink bedroom. On the wall across from him was a door cracked ajar which appeared to lead into a hallway. On his left was a bed with a pink coverlet and an uncountable number of pink pillows. On his right was a white desk with a laptop precisely aligned in the middle next to a neat stack of paper. And on the floor in front of him was the rat-looking thing.

         Of course, Valor didn’t actually know what most of this was. And that’s when he actually realized that maybe it would be a good idea to be slightly concerned why he was suddenly in a whole new place that did not look like his world. So he did the only thing that first came to mind and knelt down on the floor again.

         He cleared his throat. “Hello, strange creature. Would you care to tell me where I am?” 

A minute passed and the rat-thing stared at him without response.

Valor cocked his head. “Pardon me, good sir? I asked you a question.”

Another minute passed silently. Valor frowned. Did he offend this little critter?

He sighed. “I apologize if we got off on the wrong foot. I swear I meant no disrespect calling you strange, if that’s why you’re ignoring me.”

Still no answer.

“Fine, have it your way. Perhaps you’re just shy, but I will get you to talk eventually,” Valor said rising to his feet. “If you don’t mind, I’ll just take a peek around myself if you’re so disinclined to show me.” He scanned the room and his eyes fell on the desk. Maybe those papers would tell him something.

Valor stepped around the rat-thing and approached the desk. He picked up the top paper and the first thing that caught his eye was a name. The name. It read: Evelyne Myers. Valor felt a cold chill slither down his neck—the same feel he felt when he suddenly turned shiny and passed out….when he heard a voice in his head say that exact name.

Valor quickly put down the paper and looked around nervously. Whoever this Evelyne Myers was had to be one of the reasons he was here. Maybe if he found her she could give him the information he needed that this stuck-up rat wouldn’t give. Maybe she could even help get him home. But how would he find her?

“Evelyne Myers,” he whispered. Valor started pacing around the room. “Evelyne Myers, Evelyn Myers, Evelyne—.” He paused near the door. That chill was back. Valor grabbed the knob and slowly eased the door open. He glanced down the hall and stepped out of the room. The chill got stronger. A smile crept across Valor’s face. Bingo. He had a lead.

Valor looked back at the rat. “See you later, silent one. I’ve got a lady to catch.” And he would. He would find her no matter how hard it would be. Because once Valor set his sights on something, he never gave up.

*****

A jolt of pain interrupted Eve’s thoughts. 

“Hey, watch where you’re going!” A voice growled.  

Eve stumbled back and looked up. A tall janitor stood in her path glaring at her. Eve swallowed as her gaze shifted to several cleaning supplies that had tumbled off the janitor’s cart. A cart she must have run into.

“S-sorry,” Eve mumbled. The janitor scowled even more.

“You younglings never do pay attention to reality. Always absorbed in your own fantasies that’s what you are.” Wait. Did he just say younglings? Eve held back a snort. In her opinion he would be an oldling with all of his silvery white hair and wrinkles decorating his face.

“I said I was sorry,” she retorted.

“No one’s ever really sorry.” Good gracious. He was even more pessimistic than her. Eve internally sighed. Maybe he just woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. 

“Well, I am. Here,” she said, bending down to pick up the fallen supplies. The janitor’s face hardened. 

“Don’t bother. I can do it myself,” he growled. He grabbed her arm as if to pull her up, but suddenly lurched backwards. The janitor stepped away from her, his face pale and his hands shaking. 

Eve blinked. “Are...are you okay?”  

His head snapped up. Eve felt her stomach flip at his expression. The janitor narrowed his eyes, but not in a grouchy way. 

“Who are you?” He asked suspiciously. Her stomach churned some more. The longer she stared at him, the less...natural he looked. Something was off about him. Something that made her gut scream RUN! 

“Um, I, uh…” Stop stammering and get out of there! Eve side-stepped behind the cart. “I need to go.” She shot him a quick smile (which was meant to be polite, but probably turned into a you’re-creeping-me-out grimace) and scurried down the hall around the corner.

Then she broke out into a full-fledged run.

*****

Hanging out of the window a couple stories high was a girl, not much older than Eve, with beige skin and a long dark braid swaying across her shoulder. 

“Laurel Wilson, you better be careful up there,” Trisha shouted. Eve almost snorted. Careful was an understatement. That girl could break her neck falling from such a height. Laurel grinned and swung over the windowsill back into the house.

“Don’t worry, I’m always careful! Besides, I couldn’t see who was at the door from inside,” she said.

Um. There’s something called ‘using other windows’. 

“Well, I don’t think your mom knows we’re here either,” Trisha sighed. “Could you let us in?” 

“Already did,” Laurel winked. Trisha raised her eyebrows and opened the now unlocked door. Eve stared in surprise and glanced back at the girl, but she had already disappeared from view. Trisha pushed the door open and walked in. Eve followed.

And almost had a heart attack.

Now she knew why this place gave Trisha nightmares. Rugs overlapped each other on the floor, pictures and wall hangings and tapestries literally covered the walls, there wasn’t a single table decorated without at least fifteen different nicknacks, furniture sat on top of other furniture and the books. There were SO. MANY. BOOKS. Books on the floor, books on the shelfs, books on the table, books on the seats, and as much as Eve loved to read, she was pretty sure it should be illegal to own that many. There were probably more here than at the biggest library in the world.

“You still up to this?” Trisha asked. 

Eve tried to flash another confident smile but epically failed. “We are just doing her study, right?” 

Her foster mom nodded and ended it with a grimace. “I’m pretty sure it’s gotten even worse here since I last visited.”

“It has,” Laurel jumped in, coming down the steps. “Mom went to this flea market last week and came back with a car load of items. Her motto is, ‘there’s always room for more’ but I’m pretty sure that ‘room’ has even run out of room. She’s like an Evil Junk Collector.”

“Is it even healthy to live here?” Eve croaked, still getting over the initial shock. 

“Probably not. But I usually stay in my room anyway when I’m not at school. And lemme tell ya, my room is off limits to Mom. It’s just me, myself, and I.”

“Well, it won’t be ‘just you’ for long,” Trisha said, gaining her usual enthusiasm again. “Laurel, this is Evelyne. If anyone can help get your mom’s study back in tip-top shape it’s her!” 

Laurel dramatically sagged with relief. “You’re a lifesaver then! I haven’t gone in there for a month out of fear of getting lost in the clutter or eaten alive by the ecosystem that’s probably developed by now.”

Eve laughed nervously, “Yeah, that sounds slightly hazardous.” 

Laurel smirked. “Trust me. There’s no ‘slightly’.” 

*****

    *hacks* Yeah, those probably weren't the most interesting snippets 'cause well...I'm only on chapter 5 (I'm literally the slowest writer in the world), but I hope they were at least a little decent! XD 

    So yeah, that's pretty much it! BUT, to wrap this up with a bang, I need YOUR help! If enough people would be interested in this, then I'm thinking of doing an interview with one of my characters. Would y'all be interested in a post like that? If so, vote which character you would be most interested in getting to know and tell me in the comments!!! 

    I hope you had fun reading about my WIP and I can't wait to hear what you think of it! 

Tally-ho!

    So, tell me! What are your thoughts on Between the Lines? What's your favorite graphic? Which character are you most interested in? Which snippet is your favorite (if one at all...)? XD Which character do you want to see an interview with? How is your story coming along? Is there any way I can pray for you and your progress on it?