A Story Waiting to Happen: Hestium
Literary inspiration from Lizzie Gudkov and the virtual world It seems only fitting that Hestium should be my choice for the launch of Virtual Writers’ new blog, as it is one of the richest locations for the creation of stories and characters I have ever visited. I first read about Hestium at Honour McMillan’s blog in her post Hestium, Another Tiny Gem in Second Life. Advised that it was a quarter of a sim, I dropped by to do a bit of research and see if there was enough material to use for this monthly column. I immediately realized that Hestium takes the same approach as I do with stories. Start with a question. “Who lives here? That is for you to discover. There are clues to be found”. Who can resist such a challenge? The whole place took me by surprise. Except for a small plot that is marked private, this rather small area feels like a whole sim. The space is cleverly utilised, and – as we walk around and discover hidden secrets – many ideas for stories come to mind. In preparing for this column I usually spend quite a bit of time on location. I try to understand the sim from the point of view of its creator. “Wander around and find the stories – they are yours to make and to keep”. A story is made of many different elements; however, when the characters are powerful, alive, compelling, endearing, obnoxious, or absolutely hateful, magic happens – and Hestium is very particular in the way it offers ideas for characters. We are encouraged to explore every little detail to create the “who” in our story. While enthusiastically living and breathing Hestium – imagining the life of the explorer with her travel trophies, the apothecary and the artist, even the vendor by the archway – I totally missed the opportunity to write a column about them. As so often happens in Second Life®, the sim began to change to welcome new imaginary residents. So, without further ado, join me on this journey. Let’s find those new residents who recently decided to make Hestium their home. I’m sure that, when you visit the sim yourself, you’ll find these and many more. “Welcome to Hestium. Please explore – open doors, enter the village houses, look under the beds and open chests.” No writer would be able to resist permission to go anywhere and discover clues! Writers are inquisitive by nature. And if you add the question “Who lives here?”, the scenario is set. I rarely give you a long transcript of the notecards provided by the creators of the sims we visit, however, Boudicca Amat’s words are the best presentation and I wouldn’t be able to come up with anything better! “What is Hestium? It’s a place of refuge for its inhabitants. (…) Who are these people? That is for you to discover. Their homes hold clues to who they might be – sometimes in plain view, sometimes hidden away. Why are they in Hestium? That too is for you...
Read MoreLily by Kewalnam Christ
LILYRED is a metaphysical, metaphorical puzzle, a diverting reverie and a primal nightmare. Devoted to constructing a simulacrum of reality, intended on seducing and enlightening its readers. It’s an extravagantly abrasive novel full of grinding electro, pummeling minimalist hip-hop poetics, and industrial gear-grind. Intentionally off-putting, ranging in syntax and exploring ranges of literary, biblical, and political allusions that are major concerns in our current century. What are the main themes of your book? Love, Joy, pain, reality, dreams, theology, there are many themes, this book serves as a catalyst for our conscious evolution. Who or what inspired your story? I was sitting home, watching this documentary for one of my favorite albums of all time, “Watch the throne”, and the energy I felt watching it, I desperately wanted to give to another. So I started restudying various religions, and ancient texts, understanding where we are as a people, and opening myself subconsciously to the mysteries of the universe around us. It was almost as if these pages were writing themselves; as I began writing, life began imitating art, situations that I wrote in fiction would play out in real life, and I knew that this was bigger than words on a page, this was 3 dimensional art. What do you like best about your primary characters? Their mystery, and authenticity. The book is a character driven novel, and I create these broken but functional characters that mirror the minds of many of us, it’s raw, and nude. What are their worst peculiarities? What are our worst peculiarities? We all seek love and acceptance, sometimes willing to hurt whomever, or even ourselves to get it, that is the answer for the characters as well, it’s real fiction. How does your main character evolve? Don’t want to say too much without giving the ending away, but the character evolves as fast as the reader and vice versa. The main character Lily is this ethereal woman who appears at the beginning tracking in darkness and mystery behind her. Man, saying anything else will give the story away. What’s the principal message you want to send to your audience? It’s time for freedom, this book gives the codes to our freedom, the codes to our liberty. Not just physically but more importantly mentally, we have shackled ourselves to old tired ideals that have rendered us impenitent and weak. It’s time for a revolution and it starts here. What’s the nicest thing anyone has said about your book? “I would highly recommend this. The writing is rich and lyrical, the characterizations full and complete with each person known and mysterious at the same time. We follow each of them through joys, sorrows and growing moments.” Deb Carlin – read more on Amazon. Where can we purchase it? Amazon About Kewalnam Christ The world is at a weird point socially, where a lot of dominoes are being set into place, and what happens over the next couple of years may very well determine the course of the next ten. Enter Kewalnam...
Read MoreThe Luck of the Weissensteiners by Christoph Fischer
“In the sleepy town of Bratislava in 1933 a romantic girl falls for a bookseller from Berlin. Greta Weissensteiner, daughter of a Jewish weaver, slowly settles into life with the Winkelmeier clan. The political climate and slow disintegration of the multi-cultural society in Czechoslovakia becomes more complex and affects relations between the couple and their families. The story follows their lot through the war with its torment, destruction and its unpredictability – and the equally hard times after. From the moment that Greta Weissensteiner enters the bookstore where Wilhelm Winkelmeier works, and entrances him with her good looks and serious ways, I was hooked. But this is no ordinary romance; in fact it is not a romance at all, but a powerful, often sad, Holocaust story. What makes The Luck of the Weissensteiners so extraordinary is the chance Christoph Fischer gives his readers to consider the many different people who were never in concentration camps, never in the military, yet who nonetheless had their own indelible Holocaust experiences. Set in the fascinating area of Bratislava, this is a wide-ranging, historically accurate exploration of the connections between social location, personal integrity and, as the title says, luck. I cared about every one of this novel’s characters and continued to think about them long after I’d finished reading.” — Andrea Steiner, University of California Santa Cruz The Luck of the Weissensteiners is an epic saga set in wartime Eastern Europe. It follows the lives of two families – one Jewish, one Catholic – and their entwined survival amidst the backdrop of the Second World War; first the fascist then the communist invasion and occupation of Slovakia, and the horror of the consequences of war. The reader is transported to a world of deception, fear, distrust and betrayal, alongside enduring love and family drama. Weissensteiners is a magnificent tale of human survival. Author Interview What are the main themes of your book? “The Luck of the Weissensteiners” is about a Jewish family in Slovakia before, during and after World War II. They are mainly assimilated and not very noticeable at first in the multi-cultural society of post-Habsburg Czechoslovakia until Slovakia becomes independent and a fascist Axis power. The book is about the ties between us and what binds us together, be that family, religion, national boundaries, friendship or ideology. It is also about what manifold misfortunes there were during that time – not just the obvious victims. The book is the first in The Three Nations Trilogy, but not a Trilogy of the Twilight kind. It is a series of three books with similar themes, trying to shine a light on the same themes at different times in different Nations. Who or what inspired your story? My grandmother was from Sudeten Germany and forced to leave Czechoslovakia after the war. She never spoke much about it and after my father died I became very interested in the family roots and the history of that nation. During my ‘research’ I read many touching...
Read MoreGeekus Interruptus: A Novella about Geek Love by Mickey J. Corrigan
Marcy Margate has it all: she’s young, rich, and built like Barbie. She isn’t the brightest bulb in the chandelier, but the girl’s got sass and spunk to spare. Plus, she’s sizzling hot. When her marriage to a real live genius starts to dim and grow cool, however, she’s puzzled. What went wrong? Marcy loves her husband, even if Jess Margate is from the planet of the nerds. She decides to play it smart for a change. Using spyware and creative strategy, she plots to find out why her geek has been interruptus. Armed with miniature technology, Marcy plans to uncover the cause for the downtime in their love life. A modern romantic comedy of hot errors and hotter apologies, Geekus Interruptus is a story for our time. Because these days, nerds rule. And geeks have guilty pleasures too, some quite different than our own. What are the main themes of your book? Opposites do attract, and it’s not always a bad thing. He brings out the best in her and vice versa. Often, everybody wins. But it’s not so easy when you don’t speak geek and that’s his native tongue. This is the theme I wanted to explore in Geekus Interruptus. Who or what inspired your story? After reading Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs, I had sexy geeks on the brain. Plus, I live with a young geek. I am struggling to learn the language. What do you like best and least about your primary characters? Marcy is plucky. She’s loyal. She cares. Passionately. But she’s kind of dumb. She’s nosy. And she needs a lot of attention. Did I mention her hormones are wacked? Jess is brilliant. He’s successful and rich. He works. Very hard. But he lives in his head, in his own special world. He doesn’t pay enough attention to his sexy wife. Did I mention he’s a total geek? How does your main character evolve? When she thinks her husband is having an extramarital affair, Marcy takes the situation into her own hands. She has to learn to use that brain of hers for more than shopping and seduction. She also has to re-evaluate her marriage. How much does she love this man? And when Jess is confronted with a situation he doesn’t understand, he must remember how much he loves his wife in order to resolve their considerable differences. Men and women need to get along so we can move the species forward. The good news? It can be done, folks. Couples do it every day. Plus, it can be fun! What’s the nicest thing anyone has said about your book? I love reviewers. Read this from Smardy Pants Book Blog: “This is by far my favorite Mickey J. Corrigan book. So far I’ve only read three of her books and she is HILARIOUS!! I know I will be highly entertained by her shenanigans…I’m not usually one to read stand-alone novellas, but if Mickey J. Corrigan writes it, I’m going to read...
Read MoreMoonless by Crystal Collier
MOONLESS is Jane Eyre meets Supernatural. Alexia’s nightmares become reality: a dead baron, red-eyed wraiths, and forbidden love with a man hunted by these creatures. After an attack close to home, Alexia realizes she cannot keep one foot in her old life and one in this new world. To protect her family she must either be sold into a loveless marriage, or escape with her beloved and risk becoming one of the Soulless. What are the main themes of your book? True love means sacrifice, and embrace who you are. Who or what inspired your story? It was actually a story dream, right off a Dickens reading binge, and suddenly I had this image in my head of a young woman who didn’t fit into her time period or circumstances. She was forward thinking and brave enough to break free from society’s expectations, inspired by a startling murder and a dazzling set of blue eyes. What do you like best about your primary characters? Alexia faces her fears. She recognizes her own naiveté from a lifetime of sheltering, but she isn’t afraid to step into the dark and embrace the possibilities. Kiren would give his very soul to protect those he associates with, and has sacrificed all for the sake of others. His compassion endears him to me. Bellezza is gung ho in her cause, even when it means breaking laws. Her determination gets me. Sarah knows how to laugh off the awful things in life. Miles loves deeper than anyone. He’s learned from a lifetime of patterning that to truly love someone, you have to put their happiness before your own. What are their worst peculiarities? Alexia’s unsure of her place in the world, and vacillating between the powers that govern her life. Kiren thinks he’s always right—because he knows way more than he should. Bellezza kills people. All the time. And loves it. Sarah’s a flirt. Miles is pretty much socially inept. How does your main character evolve? Alexia has always been sheltered and kind of ugly, but she’s okay with that. Belonging to a noble born family, that’s not exactly the most promising circumstances for a good match—which is pretty much her sole purpose in life—or so she’s been led to believe. The night she suddenly becomes stunning, she discovers she’s not only been living under a veil of deceit, but she has abilities that draw Soulless and eternal monsters to her. In order to protect herself and those she loves, she has to make some difficult choices, which I won’t spoil. Throughout the story, she matures into a strong young woman who understands her place in the world. What’s the principal message you want to send to your audience? The truest definition of love is being willing to sacrifice all for the sake of another person. What’s the nicest thing anyone has said about your book? I’ve heard so many nice words, but the best were probably “Brain Candy,” or when someone called Kiren a darker Mr....
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