Beautiful Books 2016: Introducing Ever Lost

Good afternoon, Cyberspace! Today I am uber excited to try something that I’ve never done before!!!

“Wait,” you say, “didn’t you do something new last Thursday?”

Why, yes. Yes, I did. Thank you, observant reader. Now buckle up and get ready to be transported to yet another mystical realm untrodden by Smudged Thoughts.

Are you ready? Good. Because today I would like to give to you…

Duhn duhn DUHN!!!

Click here to be transported to another dimension. (Hopefully. [I stink at html programming, guys, seriously])

Now, Beautiful Books is this super fun-looking link-up thingy-ma-bobber that is hosted by Cait over at Paper Fury, and Sky over at Further Up and Further In (and you should totally check out their blogs because they are AMAZING.), and it is basically a way for bloggy writers all across the globe to throw their NaNoWriMo projects out into Cyberspace and introduce them to the world. It is also a really cool way to delve deeper into your plot and whatnot so that you’re not totally clueless as to what to write once November First punches you in the face arrives.

I actually was not initially going to participate in this (*coughstorystealerscough*), but I thought, ‘eh. why not.’

Spoiler alert: ‘eh. why not.’ is basically how I decide everything in my life. Ye have been warned.

Anyway, let’s get on with the Beautiful Book questions!!!

1. What inspired the idea for your novel, and how long have you had the idea?

Ah, yes. Going back to the very beginnings, are we? Such wonders you cannot find that can compare to the roots of a brand new story.

Too bad I forgot all of mine.

Seriously, though. I cannot remember my initial inspiration for this… All I can remember is that I was struggling to come up with something halfway decent to write for NaNoWriMo, and next thing I knew, I had this book in my head.

Weird, right?

Sadly, that is the way it goes with most of my stories. Once I have the idea, I completely forget what inspired me to write it.

For the second part of the question, however, I think I’ve had Ever Lost swimming around in my head since September. So, about a month.

2. Describe what your novel is about!

Do I have to?

Okay, fine; however, this is going to be extremely vague, as I’d like to keep this story under wraps for right now. (why am I even doing this)

Basically, Ever Lost is a dystopian-esque, fantasy-ish, sci-fi thingy-ma-bobbin. I’m kinda scared to actually go into too much detail on this, as it is a story that I’ve honestly never even heard the likes of before, but I shall give you a small snippet of my poorly written snazzy synopsis. (Technically it’s a poem, but let’s just roll with it, okay?)

“All the king’s horses

And all the king’s men

Could not piece their minds

Together again…”

Wow… That actually sounds really weird.

Moving on…

3. What is your book’s aesthetic? Use words or photos or whatever you like!

Okay, so I’m totally paranoid of getting sued by using Pinterest photos, so let me try my hand at using my wonderfully lacking vocabulary:

Sometimes the darkest things shed the most light, and the most innocent of creatures have the most poison. Sometimes the deeper you go, the lighter you feel, and the more you lose, the less you have to gain. Sometimes the ones trapped are the ones set free, and the chained are the ones that fly.

So that was…interesting. Not sure if that sums up my story very well, so here is a picture that sort of demonstrates the story’s colors. (If that makes any sense…)

There weren’t supposed to be butterflies in this story, but I think I might just have to add some now.

4. Introduce us to each of your characters!

Oh dear. This is where this post is going to get interesting.

Alrighty then. So Ever Lost is basically split into a total of four viewpoint characters.

Yeah. I know.

But, despite the risk of having every single one of my hopes and dreams crumble down around me because of poorly executed head-hopping, I have decided to take the risk and hope everything turns out okay.

It probably will not.

Anyway, here are three of them (the fourth is one that I’m not going to give away just yet, as she is my favorite character, and one that I need a little bit more development on…[and also I just don’t want her revealed to the world just yet. {#suspense}]):

Adaline: an eighteen year-old girl whose backstory is as interesting as her present trials; pretty docile in nature, yet has a fiery side (which is putting that very lightly)

Peter:  a scientist who was stripped away from his family at an early age because of his scientific genius

Thao: a young man who was forced to work as a doctor–which is a job he adamantly despises–because of his family lineage

I promise that these characters are much more thought out than what it appears on here.

I’m a decent writer, I swear.

5. How do you prepare to write? (Outline, research, stocking up on chocolate, howling, etc.?)

Nothing like a good howl to get you in the mood to write! Seriously, though, I need to try that…

Anyway, I usually like to do some basic outlining and research before November. This usually includes figuring out my main characters (and some sidekicks if I’m feeling adventurous), plotting out the bare bones of the book, and basically doing any research into things that I need to know.

Like how to murder a man.

This year, though, I’m doing something a little bit different. Most of my plotting has been focused on the characters and how they relate to each other, and not on each and every aspect of the plot. So basically, I’ve got some pretty cool characters and no plot.

I’m not sure how well this is going to work out, actually…

I’m also currently in the process of making a music setlist for my book, which is something I have never done before. I’m giving each character their own song (so far I’ve got songs for Peter and Adaline), and then I’m going to try and sprinkle in some songs that have the tone I want the book to have.

#smart

6. What are you most looking forward to about this novel?

Ooh! Where to begin???

I suppose the thing I’m most excited about is the characters. I just love each and every one so much, and I’m really eager to see how their unique voices blend together in this book. That is, assuming I’m able to give them unique voices, and they don’t just blend into a pile of mush…

Another really exciting feature of this book is the setting. It basically takes place in a single building.

Yeah. One building. For 50,000 words.

Either this is brilliance, or this is madness, and often the two are separated by a very thin line.

I’m also really interested in what little plot I have sketched, and I’m excited to see where this story takes me (assuming I don’t fall into a massive plot hole first…).

7. List 3 things about your novel’s setting.

Going back to the aforementioned setting, let’s dive a little deeper into it, shall we?

Fact Number One– The story takes place on an island (although the island is not really explored that much. Or at all. [One building, remember?]).

Fact Number Two– There is no way out of the building unless you have special authorization, a.k.a. a chip embedded in your left forearm.

Fact Number Three– Most people in this building are being held captive against their own will.

8. What’s your character’s goal and who (or what) stands in the way?

To avoid giving the entire book’s ending and tiny plot away, I shall try to answer this as vaguely as possible.

Each character has their own specific goals, naturally, but they all do share one thing in common:

To wake the lost.

(Whatever this may sound like, this story is not a paranormal sci-fi, so they are not, in fact, trying to wake the dead.)

There are actually a few forces that stand in their way, but the major issue is the main guy in charge, or the ‘big bad’, as some might say. Technically, he’s the antagonist. I’m still debating what to name him, but basically he’s the guy in charge of the whole experimentation that has been going on and is the reason that the lost even exist.

9. How does your protagonist change by the end of the novel?

As Adaline is the very first view-point character, I shall focus on her for this question. And the answer to this is…

Drastically.

Adaline undergoes a very serious change, almost as if she’s an entirely new person. Which technically, she is.

#vague

10. What are your book’s themes? How do you want readers to feel when the story is over?

Ooh… Very good question… I guess Ever Lost’s themes are friendship, finding strength in the hardest of times, forgiveness, perseverance, etc. I’m really not very good at pinpointing what themes I want a book to have, but this one is basically on strength and friendship…

As for how I want my readers to feel… That’s a tough one. I guess I’d just like them to feel a torrent of emotions… Warm and fuzzy because of the realistic characters and their friendships, and then brutally shocked and ripped to pieces eager to read more when the ending comes.

(I’ve gotta pave the way for the sequel somehow, right?)

Another huge thank you to Cait and Sky for hosting this link-up! This was so much fun to do, and I really appreciate the chance to participate!

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That’s about it, Cyberspace! What do you think of my book? Sound like something you’d like to read? Were my answers too vague? Have you done the Beautiful Books Link-Up? If so, leave a link down below so I can take a gander at your NaNo project!

Until next week,

–Kenzie & Chess