So July marked the beginning of this project. I read a few novels within the YA field (but not in the fantasy genre) and decided to give it a go. I’ve written the first three chapters so far. The protagonist’s name is Lia (at least it is for now). I’m going to try and write the first 5 chapters or so and then work to refine them. I’ll take it slow for now and just see where it runs. Stories tend to mutate from the original ideas as I write them, so I hope to use this blog as a way to vent some thoughts and wrestle through it as I write.
So far, chapter 1 is a flashback chapter. It is a scene that happens when Lia is 8-9 years old and introduces her world, the Abbey kitchen. There’s Pasqua, the cook who runs the kitchen and produces all the meals for the Aldermaston, the head of the Abbey. She cooks for him and his special guests primarily, not for the abbey in general. There is a mess hall for that. So it’s kind of like culinary school – Lia gets to learn all the fancy dishes that would be served to a royal visitor or important guest. Most of the time, the meals are normal, since the Aldermaston isn’t an extravant man. He does have a short temper though. Something happens in this chapter that gives Lia her a first-hand experience with the magic of the Medium.
Chapter 2 begins the plot thrust of the novel, which takes place when Lia is 13. Life at Muirwood is all she knows so far. But she longs for something more.