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Stephanie Beavers

~ Always be yourself. Unless you can be a dragon. Then always be a dragon.

Tag Archives: fantasy

Noblebright Fantasy

23 Thursday Mar 2017

Posted by Stephanie Beavers in Writing

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adventure, amwriting, author, books, Calling On Fire, fandom, fandoms, fantasy, fantasy adventure, Fire Within, fun, grimdark, Harry Potter, heroic fantasy, lol, Lord of the Rings, lovebooks, magic, magical, meme, noblebright, noblebright fantasy, read, reader, reading, Stephanie Beavers, writer, writing

One of the first thing people ask me when I tell them I’m a writer is, “What do you write?”

I, of course, tell them that I write fantasy, but unfortunately, that doesn’t really narrow it down much. You see, there are many different kinds of fantasy. So after I say, “fantasy,” I get responses like these:

“Oh, like Lord of the Rings/Game of Thrones?”

Well, kind of, because there are races of magical creatures and it’s a medieval setting and whatnot, but I don’t write epic fantasy, with the massive cast of characters (many of whom die) and all that. Also, in my fantasy, I like to have more magic than those.
lord of the rings you shall not pass meme
Or, “Oh, like Harry Potter?”

Well, kind of, because I like to think I have a similar spirit of adventure and create a fun sense of awe for magic, but mine aren’t really intended to be children’s books, and the setting is not in modern times.
Harry Potter what house are you from
Or, “Oh, like [insert some author I’ve never heard of]”

Er…maybe?

And the thing is, I couldn’t think of a term to describe my kind of fantasy. “Heroic fantasy” is close, as is “fantasy-adventure,” but neither quite nailed it.
Then I heard about noblebright fantasy. It’s something of a new concept, and not a widely-known term (yet?), but I like it. A lot.

Noblebright fantasy centers around good characters who try to do good things for good reasons. Not everything is peachy and happy, but in the end, they’re able to make some kind of difference. There’s hope. There’s magic. It doesn’t have to be a children’s book; in fact, sometimes even a noblebright novel can be quite dark.

I feel like we need this label. If I know a story is noblebright, I know I don’t have to worry about reading yet another story where a good character can’t get ahead and just makes things worse until everything is awful and the characters are all so corrupt you can’t tell the good guys from the bad guys.
noblebright sunlight hope
I like it better when fiction inspires us and brings hope. Life needs a little more noblebright.

If you’re curious to know more about noblebright, I set up a page about it here.

So what do you think, readers? Do you like the concept of noblebright? I know some people love the “gritty” and “grimdark” stories that are so popular today. Are you one of them? Share your thoughts in the comments!

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NaNoWriMo 2015: It begins

02 Monday Nov 2015

Posted by Stephanie Beavers in Life

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author, fantasy, life, NaNoWriMo, novel, SFF, Stephanie Beavers, words, writer, writing

Well, I’ve gone and done it. I’m participating in NaNoWriMo this year. This is probably unwise, given what a crazy month this November is shaping up to be, but here goes nothing. In all honestly, I’m not really expecting to hit 50,000 words (due to aforementioned craziness), but I haven’t been writing as much as I’d like lately, and this should be good motivation.

For those of you who don’t know, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. The objective is to write 50,000 words over the course of the month. That’s approximately 1,667 words per day. That’s many more words than most people will write if they don’t love writing. Writing that many words every day for 30 days… Well, you get the idea. If you want to take a go at writing a novel, I highly recommend NaNoWriMo. It’s great fun to have the support of so many people attempting the same thing at the same time.

My NaNoWriMo novel is a WIP: the working title (and maybe final title, I haven’t decided yet) is Claws of the Curse, and this is the first novel I’ve ever written where I’ve actually started with something of an outline. So we’ll see how it goes. Will it be better or worse? It remains to be seen. Regardless, it’s another medieval fantasy novel that I intend to have lots of fun with. :)

So is anyone else out there participating? What’s your project like?

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Books Needing Love

26 Monday Oct 2015

Posted by Stephanie Beavers in Writing

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

author, books, Calling On Fire, fantasy, Fire Within, inspiration, life, novels, reviews, Stephanie Beavers, writer

Hey guys,

Today I’m taking a break from the usual programming to ask for your help. Yes, you.

As you may know, I’m a pretty new author. I have two books out, and I self-publish. I put in the time and money to make sure I did it right, too, and the end result is two books that I’m very proud of. Unfortunately, most people have never heard of them.

Calling On FireSo here’s what I’m asking. If you read my books and liked them, could you leave a review? You can leave it anywhere you like: the platform you bought the book from (like Amazon), or on other sites (like Goodreads). Reviews are SO important for new authors. When readers look at books, they want to know what it’s about, how much it costs, and how other people liked it. I can control the first two, but the last one is entirely up to you.

If you feel like sharing my books with your friends, that would be totally awesome too.

Fire Within fantasy book cover by DamonzaAnd if you’ve never read (or heard of) my books, please check them out. And The Wolves Danced is a free short story/teaser preceding my two novels, Calling On Fire and Fire Within. If you like fantasy, check them out!

And if you do check them out, or you do leave a review: thank you. It isn’t easy trying to make a go of it as a new author. Writing full time is my dream, and it’s one that you can help make happen.

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Truths About Critiques

19 Monday Oct 2015

Posted by Stephanie Beavers in Fun

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author, cat, cats, entertainment, fantasy, fun, humor, Lackadaisy Cats, Stephanie Beavers, webcomic, writer

Click here for an amazing page of incredible art and masterful portrayals of expression to convey a humorous and enjoyable webcomic page about a child’s first art critique.

Seriously though, it’s amazing.

I love it. It’s relatable to anyone who has ever been a neophyte at anything. We create this thing that we think is amazing, take it to the seasoned veteran for appraisal, and…

Well, hopeful our first critiques weren’t that bad (although some are bound to be), but we’ll catch the gist (maybe), while not really understanding much, and if we’re blessed, we’ll take it constructively, laugh, and do better next time. And our mentors, while strict, will secretly smile at our successes and urge us to do better.

Lackadaisy cats webcomic

And while you’re at it, check out the rest of Lackadaisy Cats, ’cause it’s awesome.

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New Release: Fire Within!

24 Monday Aug 2015

Posted by Stephanie Beavers in News, Writing

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

author, books, Calling On Fire, Esset, fantasy, Fire and Stone, Fire Within, independent author, indiepub, reading, self publishing, selfpub, Stephanie Beavers, Stories of Fire and Stone, Toman, writer

The sequel to Calling On Fire is finally here!

Fire Within is now available!

FireTwo brothers with magical abilities must defeat the evil mage who seeks to annihilate them and everyone they’ve ever known.

For now, the novel is only available in ebook form, but I’m working hard to get it printed as well!

You can buy the ebook here:
Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Smashwords
Multiple formats are available through Smashwords. Other retailers will become available as Smashwords distributes them.

Novel description:

Toman and Esset, the Animator and the Summoner, sacrificed everything in their battle against the evil mage Moloch, and they still failed.

Even so, they’re not willing to give up. Not that they have a choice: Moloch has fixated on inflicting suffering on those they love.

Tseka, a Nadran warrior, has thrown in her lot with theirs. Her race of snake-like people are once again at risk from the evil mage’s cruelty. She’s just not sure she has the strength to be more help than burden. Can Tseka keep up with the brothers, or will she end up a casualty of war?

Erizen, the mercurial mage, has joined their team as well. His knowledge and power are invaluable to Toman and Esset. The only problem: they can’t be sure they can trust him. Will Erizen fight at their side, or will he betray them before the end?

Toman and Esset have new allies and new abilities, but also new scars. Toman’s very soul is crippled. Esset’s new-found power is unpredictable at best and deadly at worst. And Moloch’s power has only grown in turn.

How can they hope to win when the most powerful mage in existence can now call upon the powers of death itself?

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Fire Within: the cover revealed!

01 Monday Jun 2015

Posted by Stephanie Beavers in Writing

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author, books, entertainment, fantasy, Fire and Stone, Fire Within, inspiration, novel, reading, SFF, Stephanie Beavers, writer

Thank you very much to Damonza.com for this amazing cover for my upcoming book!

Fire Within fantasy book cover by Damonza

Look forward to the novel soon!
If you haven’t yet, check out my first book, Calling On Fire, or my free short story, set before the events in Calling On Fire: And the Wolves Danced

If you want to be notified when this book comes out, sign up for my mailing list!

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Avengers: Epic Fantasy Style

30 Thursday Apr 2015

Posted by Stephanie Beavers in Fun

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Age of Ultron, art, artist, author, Avengers, Black Widow, Captain America, epic fantasy, fantasy, Hawkeye, Hulk, Iron Man, Marvel, Quicksilver, Scarlet Witch, Stephanie Beavers, The Vision, Thor, Ultron, writer

Alright, so check out these AMAZING renditions of Marvel’s Avengers, by DeviantArtist theDURRRRIAN. He has transformed The Avengers into what he thinks they would look like if they were in an epic fantasy universe instead of a comic book universe…

Iron Man Avengers Marvel fantasy style
Captain America Avengers Marvel fantasy style
Thor Marvel Avengers fantasy style
Hulk Marvel Avengers fantasy style
Black Widow assassin Marvel Avengers fantasy style
Hawkeye archer Marvel Avengers fantasy style
Scarlet Witch villian Marvel Avengers fantasy style
Quicksilver fantasy style Marvel Avengers
The Vision Fantasy Style Marvel Avengers
Ultron the Stringless Marvel Avengers fantasy style

You should check out his other stuff too, especially if you like Supernatural or The Big Bang Theory.

Seriously though, these are my favorites. Of these, Captain America’s is probably my favorite picture. How about you?

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Game of Rabbit Thrones

20 Monday Apr 2015

Posted by Stephanie Beavers in Fun

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adorable, animal, animals, author, entertainment, fandom, fandoms, fantasy, fun, Game of Thrones, GoT, King's Landing, lol, pet, pets, rabbit, rabbits, Stephanie Beavers, writer

The first 20 seconds are like, “is this just gonna be dumb? It looks like it might be dumb.” But seriously, watch to the end.

Rabbit = 1, King’s Land = 0 (This rabbit is dynamite! …And eats a castle.)

Thanks to icanhascheezburger.

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3 Inch Characters

09 Monday Feb 2015

Posted by Stephanie Beavers in Fun

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author, crafts, custom minatures, D&D, Dungeons and Dragons, entertainment, fandom, fandoms, fantasy, fun, Hero Forge, HeroForge, inspiration, Stephanie Beavers, writer

If you’re anything like me, the website I’m going to link will suck up a large chunk of your time. You won’t meant to. You’ll “just try it.” And then you will lose track of time. You will spent far, far too long on the site, picking and choosing and tweaking. Even if you don’t end up spending any money (you may or may not), you will never get that time back.

This link is to HeroForge.com. Here, you can make models of your characters. Or someone else’s characters. Or really, any little person that you please.

Hero Forge custom miniatures

It’s really quite addicting.

(For those of you who have read my book, yes, I have made miniatures of Toman, Esset, and even Sergeant Warthog. I tried making Erizen, but I ran out of time and didn’t save my progress. And by “ran out of time” I mean looked at the clock and realized I should have gone to bed an hour… or two ago.)

Now, the options aren’t endless, so you might not be able to get the miniature to look exactly like your character, but that’s almost part of the challenge. How close can you get it with the tools provided?

And just as tantalizing is random character creation. The site is designed (I think) to make Dungeons and Dragons characters, so the items etc. are themed accordingly. But for someone like me who just loves fantasy stuff, I can go all out however I like. I have a random Druid that I created. She has horns. Because.

Now, I find it addicting enough just seeing my characters come to visual life (close enough) on the screen, but it is a little tantalizing knowing that you can also have these miniatures created and shipped to you. I will admit that I am tempted. Very. You can even paint them! (Which, of course, would allow you to add details that the designer does not include.)

So what about you, dear readers? Am I responsible for a giant new waste of time for you? Did you get to create something cool? Or is this just all very silly? Share your thoughts!

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What’s Your Superpower?

26 Monday Jan 2015

Posted by Stephanie Beavers in Fun, Thoughts

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author, entertainment, fandom, fandoms, fantasy, fun, humor, inspiration, life, lol, Stephanie Beavers, superhero, superpower, superpowers, writer

This post is not intended to be inspirational (just in case someone thought it would be). This is about those stupid little things that you are “good” at. So I ask, what’s your superpower?

Mine? Probably being cold. That’s right, my superpower is being cold. I can be cold when no one else in the room is cold. I can be cold when everyone else in the room is hot. I’m really good at being cold. Ergo, superpower. I never said it was a good superpower.

icicles cold

My fingers and these icicles are approximately the same temperature 90% of the time.

And at least I don’t have one of the awful “super powers” from the TV show Haven (a good show, btw).

Haven TV series

Haven: Home of the Worst. Superpowers. Ever.

My boyfriend has a cool superpower though; he can move with uncanny silence. He isn’t trying to sneak up on people, but for some reason, we never see or hear him coming. He must have a ninja superpower (he denies this).

How if I had a choice in my superpower, I would choose teleportation. Just saying. In case anyone out there is handing out legit superpowers.

What about you, readers? What’s your superpower? What superpower do you wish you had?

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Calling - Ebook Calling On Fire by Stephanie Beavers!
Two brothers with magical abilities seek to stop an evil mage only to find the fate of an entire race in their hands.
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