Clothing Inspiration

I am neck deep in writing Reign of Magic right now, but I thought I’d take a little time off to discuss inspiration–specifically inspiration for character appearances and clothing.

Most of the time in the Timeless Fairy Tale universe, I have a more specific style of clothing I’m following because of the country of origin. (ie: the Erlauf soldiers have their swallow tail jackets, Snow White and Queen Faina follow the Mullberg style of puffed sleeves, female characters in Verglas wear bunads, Lucien wears puffed petticoat breeches inspired by French fashion, etc.)

The majority of my research time is spent looking into historical fashion, but I do try to put unique twists on the clothes whether it’s through color, fabric, or embroidery. I want these clothes to look beautiful in your mind when you’re reading my descriptions, so to do that I also look up various dress and armor designers to help me write with a more theatrical flair.

Fell and Fair These guys are my go-to for armor, ranger gear, etc. They have an amazing Instagram page that you NEED to check out, but they also have a super could Youtube page. That contains both short films and clips that discuss making armor.

Firefly Path Firefly Path makes gorgeous custom dresses and wedding gowns. She particularly enjoys designing fairy and elf gowns, and she’s a bit famous because she’s designed several fantasy patterns that are available at craft stores, including a pattern for a Princess Zelda gown from Legend of Zelda.

Designer Daddy I’ve discussed Designer Daddy before–he’s famous for his gorgeous re-creations of Disney princess gowns. I like scouting out his work, however, because he makes the dresses a lot more intricate and uses amazing fabrics. (Also, I love his instagram page just because I am a huge Disney nerd, lol.)

What designers/artists do you love to follow, Champions? Share your recommendations in the comments below, and thanks for reading!

Meet the Villains

Curse of Magic introduced one of the most crucial characters to the Fairy Tale Enchantress series–and even the Timeless Fairy Tale world: Liliane, the series’ villain.

Really she’s more like the lead villain. She has her henchmen like Suzu and her own son Acri, so by no means is she doing this alone. Liliane was a tricky character to design because I didn’t want her to be a dark, mysterious threat looming in the background. I wanted to ground her character so she was a tangible enemy. Moreover, I wanted her character to be unusual–or something not often seen as a fantasy villain.

So I chose to make my lead villain a female, a mother, and I gave her a beautiful bright appearance. Most books I’ve read that have female characters as villains really vamp it up so they wear dark colors and are more of a temptress type. Liliane is beautiful, but if you were judging only by her appearance you’d say she looks more like a kind enchantress than a seductress of evil.

Also, as I said earlier, she’s a mom. Acri is a little closer to the typical YA villain–except in the way he clearly respects and listens to his mother. And he is about Evariste’s age, so he’s not some pushover teenager who doesn’t know any better. (Which makes you wonder…what does he know that makes him so quickly follow his mother’s leadership??)

I also gave Liliane powers that weren’t inherently evil–her ability to summon any creature she paints gets uncomfortably close to edging in on Evariste’s portal magic. (Though Evariste’s magic is more rare and more powerful.)

All of Evariste’s scenes were painstakingly designed and written to reveal tiny bits about Liliane and her cohorts. (In fact, I spent the most time on Evariste’s scenes–a pattern that looks like it’s going to repeat for Reign of Magic.) So keep a special eye on his scenes, and know that even the Lord Enchanter hasn’t gotten a full measure of Liliane’s depths just yet.

And as a side reference, Suzu is probably the most prominent member of Liliane’s entourage, and you can find her in lots of different Timeless Fairy Tale books–though she’s rarely referenced by name. You’ll get to learn more about her in Reign of Magic–Acri, too, though CoM serves as his introduction and lets you witness his magic. A good start to his future endeavors.

But as you wait for the next book, don’t let Liliane sway you into thinking she’s a shallow villain with no substance. Because that’s exactly what she wants you to think. But if you study her carefully, you might uncover more than you expect.

Curse of Magic: Angelique’s Journey

Today we’re going to talk about Angelique’s personal journey thus far. It was something I so badly wanted to bring up with the first book, but really you don’t see any big changes until Curse of Magic, so now is the perfect time to begin the discussion.

In Apprentice of Magic we saw how Angelique feared her powers. She was wary of using any form of her magic, and did her best to appear unassuming when meeting people. (She also actively held her powers in check, something that normally just isn’t done.) In that way she resembles Rakel of Snow Queen–though there is a stark difference in the why. Rakel tried to appear unintimidating because she didn’t want people to fear her–she never regretted her powers of ice and snow. Angelique, however, did her best to appear unintimidating because she felt she had to mislead people into thinking she was good, when she personally felt like a monster.

Mostly, she spent her time as an apprentice in fear. Not of Evariste, but a general fear of the Veneno Conclave and what they might do to her. At the end of the book she does give herself a freer rein and no longer strangles her magic.

But it’s still not enough.

By the time Curse of Magic, begins, Angelique realizes that her kind but slightly dense apprentice persona won’t serve her very well anymore. Running around alone and chatting with royalty means she needs to exude a certain amount of confidence and competence, or she’ll be questioned–something she can’t afford given her precarious position. And so she takes on the mantle of elegant enchantress–an act my longtime Champions have seen before the in the Timeless Fairy Tale series.

She doesn’t feel the part, but she’s willing to fake it if it means searching for Evariste–and fulfilling her duty as a mage.

But Angelique’s attitude isn’t the only change in Curse of Magic, her use of magic alters as well. For the first time ever she experiences her price and uses war magic without direct supervision. (Not willingly, mind you, but at least she uses it.) She’s starting to progress–because of Evariste’s actions, because she has to help the royal families of the continent, or no one else will.

And Curse of Magic closes with another moment of growth for Angelique. She’s finished with groveling and scraping. She still fully intends to follow Conclave law, but no longer will she allow herself to cower in fear of the Council and what they may do.

She still doesn’t believe in herself, and she absolutely doesn’t believe she’s good, but give her a chance. 😉 It’s only book 2, after all. We still have four books to go!

But Angelique’s journey in this book is especially poignant, because in this story you realize that no matter what Evariste did, he wouldn’t have been able to ease Angelique’s disbelief, anxiety, and hatred of her magic. The progress she’s making is due to a change in her–one that couldn’t have been done no matter how much class instruction she was given.

The fact is no one can see your heart, and no one can judge your worth. No matter how many people believe in you, if you do not it means nothing. The story of the Timeless Fairy Tales is really the story of Angelique becoming a hero. Not because her friends give her a good pep talk, but because through out all these terrible trials, she is learning and growing herself.

So! Any predictions how she’ll grow in Reign of Magic?! 😉