Athena Brooks Writes Books

Athena Brooks | Author, aka the fantasy kingdom of Aldea's favorite harried journalist | she/her | AuDHD and trying my best

[athenajbrooks]

Hello, friends!

I'm Athena (or AJ, whichever). I've been writing fantasy novels and short stories for as long as I can remember. My dad told me that when I was little, I returned from the library one day and said, "I didn't like any of the books at the library, so I'm going to write my own." I don't remember that, but it sounds on brand for me, so I believe it.

My main WIP is a middle-grade fantasy series called The Saviors of Aldea (previously Adventurers of the Seven Kingdoms). I'm working on getting book 1, The Forgotten Prophecy (previously The Tablet of Abrahath) (synopsis linked), ready for publication. I'm aiming to have it out for sale by summer 2027. It will be my first published work.

Book 2, The Tablet of Abrahath (previously Tombs of the Fallen Kings) is this half-assembled Frankenstein's monster of a novel. I'm in the middle of extensive rewrites and is driving me up a wall. Expect a ton of anguished posts about it.

I also have an ongoing series called Aurora Borealis, about a girl who befriends her would-be murderer and convinces her to turn her life around and start a music career with her. I don't plan on publishing it, but I might post snippets here.

My favorite books are the Unwanteds series, the Keepers of the Lost Cities series, and pretty much any modern retelling of Greek mythology :)

Nice to meet you all!

-Athena Brooks <3

[FYI: follows, asks, and likes come from my main blog, @amylrox723]

[Updated 4-27-25]

[krebkrebkreb]

if your favorite oc ever broke containment and developed their own fandom, what would the most pervasive discourse about them be?

too beautiful/smart/skilled/strong/perfect/etc

blatantly evil in some way

was mean to someone once

the unforgivable crime of just being kind of annoying

“in the way” of a popular ship

age gap relationship (2-10 years)

age gap relationship (10-30 years)

age gap relationship (30+ years)

a stereotype/“bad representation”

female

op you forgot ______

character is bald / im bald / see answers

Voting ended onMay 6

(i’m not giving a “multiple apply” option on this one. pick the most applicable/what you think would be the most argued about.)

[athenajbrooks]

The Carlarai feels are real 😭

(spoilers)

    “It’s too early to know for sure,” Fira said gently, “but…Carlarai, you may not be able to do magic anymore.”

    Carlarai suddenly felt like she was falling. Spiraling toward the ground like a mortally injured bird. She grasped for any reason why that couldn’t be true.

    “I—No, I—But I…”

    She couldn’t find one.

    A tear spilled down her cheek.

    “I’ll find a way,” she blurted.

    “Rai, I cannot stress enough how important it is not to try.” She stared at her rebellious daughter with an intensity she rarely showed. She spoke slowly, enunciating each word. “Do not try even a single spell unless a doctor says it’s okay. No, not even a weak one. It could kill you. Understand?”

    Carlarai swallowed. “I—”

    “Rai. If you listen to one thing I tell you in your life, make it this one. Please.”

    Carlarai couldn’t think of a way around it. There wasn’t anything she could do to make it not be true. Never had she felt so powerless.

    Her throat was too tight to speak. All she could do was nod and burst into tears.

    She never cried in front of people, even her mom. It just wasn’t her style. She was fourteen now. She wanted to look cool and confident and a little dangerous, and crying just didn’t fit that image. But now, she couldn’t have held it back if she tried.

[gr8writingtips]

writing tip #4057:

you might receive negative feedback on your favourite part of your novel, and i want you to know that it's okay. it's okay for readers to be wrong

[athenajbrooks]

    Alchemy sat on the edge of the cot. Priestess Iliya opened a hand, and a bulbous vial filled with a pale blue liquid appeared in her palm.     “Are you allergic to [potion ingredient]?” she asked.     “No.”     “What about somniviper venom?”     “It’s literally venom,” Alchemy answered.

-The Forgotten Prophecy

[lovestory49]

“It [The Lord of the Rings] is finished, if still partly unrevised, and is, I suppose, in a condition which a reader could read, if he did not wilt at the sight of it…now I look at it, the magnitude of the disaster is apparent to me. My work has escaped from my control, and I have produced a monster: an immensely long, complex, rather bitter, and very terrifying romance, quite unfit for children (if fit for anybody); and it is not really a sequel to The Hobbit, but to The Silmarillion.”

— J.R.R. Tolkien to Sir Stanley Unwin, 24 February 1950. Reprinted in The Fall of Gondolin (via thebookwormunderground)

[freenarnian]

What writer hasn’t finished their first draft and thought, “the magnitude of the disaster is apparent to me”? 

[writeblr-live]

December Live -- Q5

That's it for this month!

If you have anything to share/promote, show us.

(remember to share others’ links!)

This is the promo post.

PROMOTE YOURSELF.

DO EET.

SHOW ME THOSE LINKS.

Hope you had fun and I’ll see you again next month!

--

Aftershow post will be up in fifiteen minutes with question links added to the pinned post shorty after!

[athenajbrooks]

My best accomplishments this year were in my ballet career.

I got cast in a role that has sentimental value to me (click for video!)

(⬇️ that's me on the left)

I also won awards for this performance

[writeblr-live]

December Live -- Q4

Remember this is a live ask event!

What that means is I will be active for the hour, hopping into ask boxes with followup questions as I am able, while encouraging you to do the same.

Answering the questions tells me you are cool with this.

You may answer all questions via reblog, reply, hopping in my askbox or even reposting. Just remember the #writeblr and #writeblr live tags if reblogging/reposting so we can find ya.

We’re here to help rebuild interaction in the community, so get in there and have fun with it!

[athenajbrooks]

Yes--Silverwren!

She has been a dancer and singer since she was little. She was set on going pro, but then The Plot happened. She does a type of dance called Skydance, where dancers use magic to levitate and create special effects. She sings and dances spontaneously all the time, so being asked on the spot to perform would be no big deal to her. She'd nail it.

Alchemy also dances. Even though he didn't have the same access to good training like Silverwren, he's just as skilled as her and the other rich kids, which he's immensely proud of. He would be nervous to perform on the spot. Improv isn't really his thing. He's talented, though, so he'd do okay.

If the other Saviors were asked to sing and dance on the spot...

Carlarai would get competitive and do surprisingly well, despite having zero training, or any interest at all, in performing arts. Silverwren would be outraged.

Cloud would refuse, desperately trying to melt into the wall.

Larael would be right there with him, unless Silverwren urges her to do it with her. She's a clumsy dancer but has a nice voice, and if (IF) she ever loosens up, she'd probably enjoy it.

Keldie wouldn't necessarily do well, but she'd have fun.

[writeblr-live]

December Live -- Q1

Remember this is a live ask event!

What that means is I will be active for the hour, hopping into ask boxes with followup questions as I am able, while encouraging you to do the same.

Answering the questions tells me you are cool with this.

You may answer all questions via reblog, reply, hopping in my askbox or even reposting. Just remember the #writeblr and #writeblr live tags if reblogging/reposting so we can find ya.

We’re here to help rebuild interaction in the community, so get in there and have fun with it!

—

*Taglist for Writeblr Live Reminders, yell at me if you want on/off*

@houndsofcorduff @darkluminosity

@write-with-will @pluppsauthor

@transman-badass @an-indecisive-nerd @aalinaaaaaa

@imsoveryveryconfusedatlife @leahnardo-da-veggie

@bellascarousel @kitcatling @of-potions-and-blades-official

@beloveddawn-blog @sodaliteskull @enbeemagical

@firesidefantasy @andrewbelindo @kitty-is-writing

@athenajbrooks @traderotales @nightmaricwriter

@kingragnarok-writes @overwhelmedfernfrond

@whenthestarsspeak @nykenima @soulsartuniverse

@the-ellia-west @sunflowerrosy

@callsigndreadfrost @writeintrees @sapphire-writes-stuff

@world-of-iridensia @usuallydecentwriter @seaglasswrites

[athenajbrooks]

I'm AJ, and I write teen fantasy. This year, I got the first book in my series professionally edited...then, inspired by the feedback I got, scrapped it and started over with an entirely new plot. It's called The Forgotten Prophecy, and I'm about a third of the way done now.

I also finished another draft of book 2. It's got serious potential and I'm really proud of it!

[elumish]

I keep trying to record something on how books are bad at writing fighting training, and it keeps being like 12 minutes long

[stonecoldspaghetti]

Bad as in prose? Or bad as in how training to fight actually works?

I'm just curious

[elumish]

The latter.

Basically, "more skilled person just beats the person they're training at sparring until the person they're training improves without doing any fundamentals or teaching them the right way to do things" is a cruel and useless form of "training" and only makes sense if you're trying to show that the "teacher" is being cruel or doesn't know how to teach. Showing it as a legitimate and useful form of training indicates to me that the author didn't bother to do any real research.

[rockshitty]

There are sort of two ways to look at it as a trope.

It’s either one of those tropes that has no real world basis, but looks/sounds cool in storytelling and is useful for moving the plot along (see: torture, knocking someone unconscious, a lot of medieval fantasy government stuff)

Or it’s one of those things where the overlap between people who write books and people who practice martial arts is so small that most writers trust the trope blindly and never think past it.

[sourb0i]

Just a few tips from someone who's been doing HEMA fighting (and training) for about a year

-Drills. So many drills. Just doing the same motion, or set of motions, over and over and over until it's muscle memory. And then do it some more. These can be done with another person, so you can get a feel for hitting someone (else's sword), or they might be done to a dummy, or just to the air as part of a series of steps

-there is a surprising amount of reading! A lot of what we do is based on styles that originated in the 11th-15th centuries, and were literally written in manuals for future people to use. Sometimes the explanations and diagrams are very clear. Sometimes they are not.

- There is sparring, with variations on goals. Sometimes the goal is just 'hit each other'. Sometimes you will have specific caveats, like if you both deliver a 'killing blow' at the same time you have to run to opposite ends of the room and back

- Footwork drills

- lots of wrist and arm stretches, both with and without swords

- Moving through different blocks/base positions, and practicing different cuts from each position

- More drills, wearing armor or other appropriate gear

- Weights and cardio training! Both are extremely important for making sure you can 1. Swing your sword and 2. Keep swinging your sword when you're wearing 15 lbs of armor and have been hacking at people for a full 20 minutes

- Learning how to maintain your gear

- Practicing control of the blade- this is usually done by having a dummy target (or sometimes a real person), and swinging with full power but stopping before you actually make contact. Master swordsman can bring their blade within half an inch of their target.

- Even more drills

Obviously some of this is pretty modern, but I can't imagine that it would be incredibly novel even to people from 600 years ago. And if you have any questions, please feel free to ask!

[sourb0i]

Adding onto this with even more things, now that I'm nearly 2 years in and have done a couple of tournaments!

Footwork drills are really important! Learning how and when to move, and shift your weight on your feet, is crucial

When practicing solo I often do so in front of a full-length mirror so that I can actually see what I'm doing

There is also just a lot of sparring. Unfortunately you can't really get good at sword fighting without getting your butt kicked. A lot.

However! A good teacher will give you tips either during or after the fight, or both! A lot of the time it's things like 'you need to improve your footwork more, here are 10 different drills. Go do them.' However, there is also a fair bit of going back over certain 'plays' in slower motion, where they'll tell you exactly what you did wrong and how to fix it in the context of the fight.

Also, just as a side note, unless your character is the progeny of a wealthy lord, they are probably going to use borrowed equipment. It will not fit right. And it will reek with the stench of 1000 sweaty people. And if you train in it enough, when you do get your own gear that actually fits properly and only smells like your sweat, I swear you get 5x better overnight

At some point, everyone develops their own style. I've fought people who love to just make huge stabby lunges, people who make wild flourishes, big guys who just brute force it, guys who look like they'd blow away in a light breeze but are the fastest people you've ever met. It comes over time, and from learning as many different techniques as you can

Not sure how much they did this in Ye Olden Days but almost everyone I've met in HEMA now fights in at least two different styles (usually longsword and Sabre or rapier). As I said above, the more styles you learn, the better you get at all of them; many techniques that you learn from one style are applicable in some way to the other

Thats all I can think of for now, but if anyone has any questions feel free to reach out!

[writeblr-live]

November Live -- Q5

Remember this is a live ask event!

What that means is I will be active for the hour, hopping into ask boxes with followup questions as I am able, while encouraging you to do the same.

Answering the questions tells me you are cool with this.

You may answer all questions via reblog, reply, hopping in my askbox or even reposting. Just remember the #writeblr and #writeblr live tags if reblogging/reposting so we can find ya.

We’re here to help rebuild interaction in the community, so get in there and have fun with it!

--

This is the promo post.

PROMOTE YOURSELF.

DO EET.

SHOW ME THOSE LINKS.

Hope you had fun and I’ll see you again next month!

[athenajbrooks]

My favorite creature I've created is easily the yahmollusk.

It's a giant snail, about two feet tall, and it has the personality of an angry chihuahua. Sometimes they're cuddly, but most of the time they're boiling with unbridled rage...except they're still snails and can only scoot along at 1 mph, and they're also herbivores and cannot eat you no matter how much they fantasize about it.

Some people think they're cute and keep them as pets despite their bad disposition and the fact that they ooze slime all over the furniture.

[athenajbrooks]

We be outlinin' :D

(again)

[athenajbrooks]

Hi there!

Trick or treat!

From

World-of-Iridensia

Hello, welcome! Thanks for trick-or-treating with me!

Great timing! I just finished writing a chapter. I think that means it's snippet time :D

Cloud is visiting a seer to inquire about his unusual powers. Following a tip from a friend, he and the seer both look into the past to see if Cloud's powers are the result of an enchantment.

-------

    Cloud nodded and closed his eyes. He brought a few memories to the front of his mind to help pull himself into the past. Som Rivisen.

    What’s my past? he asked his powers. Did someone really enchant me?

    He let his thoughts wander like Lumesh told him to. They pulled him further backward in time. He saw himself as a five-year-old. As a toddler. As a baby, younger than he could possibly have memories for.

    And then he saw them.

    The image was a thumbnail’s size in the far distance, but Cloud could barely make out two blurry humanoid shapes standing in a room he couldn’t make out.

    Cloud pressed his eyelids tighter together as if his mind’s eye could also squint. He willed the vision to zoom in closer. Almost there, almost–

    Pain.

    The vision shattered, sending fracture lines of pain shooting like lightning through his head. His ears rang. Cloud groaned and blinked, finding himself laying on the cushions as if he’d fainted. The seer’s chamber spun.

    Another groan came from across the table. Seer Lumesh pushed himself up to sitting, clutching his head. “What was that?” he moaned.

    “I was hoping you had an answer,” Cloud gasped, begging the spinning room to please stop before his queasy stomach emptied itself all over the cushions.

    “I might, actually. I’ve heard of this happening, but it’s so rare, I’ve never experienced it myself.” Lumesh paused to wince and rub his temples. “Some people will pay powerful spellweavers to curse secrets they don’t want seers discovering. Extensive curses like that take months to make, and cost a small fortune to commission. If someone indeed enchanted you, they–or someone else, perhaps–really does not want anyone finding out about it.”

[athenajbrooks]

🎃

Hi, ellia! Thanks for the trick-or-treat!

Deleted snippet time! (well, maybe deleted. There might still be a place for it.)

This conversation is between Princess Astrid and her mentor/captain of the Adventurers (the royal family's team of fantasy FBI agents) following some hostages being murdered. Astrid refused the enemy's demands, resulting in the hostages' deaths, and she's struggling with the guilt.

--------

    Laijha bowed in respect before speaking. “How is everything?”

    “Busy, as always,” Astrid sighed. She sheathed her sword. “I spent half the morning seeking insight on the Hiphehounian our questing team met, but, well, I’m not good at Clairvoyance. So, I thought I’d stop by to see how else I could help.”

    Laijha nodded to show he was listening, waiting for her to bring up the recent tragedy he knew had to be bothering her.

    Astrid continued to monologue, “I’m glad to see you, because I had an idea, and I want to know what you think. What if I were to create a specialized Adventurers unit dedicated to opposing Xijikh and those working with him? It would include the Saviors, obviously, but also you, Riptide, Oakwood, Ray…really, everyone who isn’t brand new. I want to put our best on the most important missions. What do you think?”

    Laijha chuckled internally. He knew Astrid well. This degree of hyperfocus was a clear sign she was avoiding dwelling on something else.

    “It’s a good idea, and I’m happy to discuss it later,” he said. “I meant, how have you been since…since the conversation with Xijikh?”

    Astrid deflated. “I don’t want to talk about it,” she mumbled.

    “It seems to me like you need to.”

    Her shoulders slumped. “It’s been a terrible past two days,” she confessed.

    “I haven’t heard about anyone protesting outside the palace, at least,” Laijha said in an attempt to cheer her up. “I assume that means your address went well.”

    Astrid shrugged morosely. “I was expecting my kingdom to be angry with me. I’m glad they’re not, but I feel like they should be.”

    “You acted in their best interest. You refused to let Monr have the Tablet. Only a fool could be angry with you.”

    “That makes Father a fool, then.”

    Laijha raised a curious eyebrow. As precious as those three lives were, King Viir would never jeopardize his entire kingdom for their sakes, and wouldn’t want his daughter doing so, either.

    “What did he want you to do instead?” Laijha asked.

    “He said I made a decision too hastily. I should have had him organize formal negotiations. Maybe a deal could have existed that both saved the hostages and let us keep the Tablet.”

    Laijha snorted. “I doubt it.”

    “So do I, and I suspect my father does, too, but he says I should have at least tried.” Astrid slumped against the wall and crossed her arms.

    “I hope he didn’t punish you too harshly.”

    “He made me give that public address. He also made me ask for High Prophetess Ashanti’s forgiveness, since one of the hostages was a Puunnovthian citizen. As much as I hated every minute of it, I think that’s fair.”

    “Good. You don’t deserve any more than that. Was Puunnovth upset with you?”

    “No. The High Prophetess agreed Monr is the enemy here, not me, thank Abrahath.”

    “That’s a relief.”

    It really was. Surik was right–Aldea couldn’t afford to lose an ally at a time like this.

    “You know what?” Astrid went on. “I think that’s why Father was mad at me: he was scared I’d offended Puunnovth. He hasn’t raised his voice to me since it became clear I hadn’t.”

    “If no one faults you, why do you seem so upset?”

    “People died because of me! And there’s a chance I could have prevented it!”

    Laijha chuckled to himself. It was easy sometimes to forget how young Astrid was. Then she’d say something like this, so full of lingering childlike innocence.

    “Regrettably, this was just one of many sacrifices you’ll have to make for the sake of your kingdom,” he said. "If your mother was right, there’s a war coming.”

    Astrid grimaced. “You’re a downer.”

    Laijha laughed. “I prefer the term ‘realistic.’”

[athenajbrooks]

Trick or Treat! (I am running on coffee and dreams just now so if I already got you do it again anyway it'll be fun)

Yaaaay, an excuse to monologue about my favorite OC! (Not that I need one)

Jmokoh Uwijayi is my little murder baby. She is half demon, controls shadows, and can turn into a dragon. Need I say more?

Well, I'm gonna.

I love her because her story is so tragic. She was born in a country that my main antagonist conquered so he could make it a "feeding trough" for the demons in order to maintain his alliance with them. Jmokoh's parents lived in a little fishing village that ended up being the epicenter of a huge rebellion. The rebellion was sadly quelled, and Jmokoh was taken from her parents in the skirmish. She and several other children became test subjects for the Chimera Project--a secret plan to create supersoldiers by merging Mystic and demon DNA.

Jmokoh became the first successful hybrid. Main Antagonist, Xijikh/Lucioden (kinda the same person, kinda not. Long story), took her under his wing. His only motive was to push her to become the perfect spy and soldier. But Jmokoh, having no family or friends for most of her life by now, latched on to him as a sort of father figure. He used that to his advantage, playing that role to keep her by his side. Jmokoh even turned down a chance to join the good guys because she was afraid to lose the only person who shows her love.

And then Lucioden orders her to fight two of my main characters, knowing she will likely lose. And she does.

I love her so much, but she just has to die. Her death makes her the perfect example of Lucioden's cruelty, of how little he cares for even his closest allies.

I'm planning on writing a spin-off novel about her once I'm done with the main series :D

[darkluminosity]

🎃

Trick or treat!

-athenajbrooks

Hi there! Trick or treat! 👻

I'm going to share the first snippet of a fanfic I wrote almost a decade ago but never posted... it's from Tron: Legacy (post-movie). There's no recognizable elements of the movie or world in this snippet, and I never finished the story, but rereading parts of it brings a smile to my face.

Jackson peered through the pages of his textbook, trying to make sense of the words, but they refused to connect and apply themselves into a meaning he could understand. He closed his textbook and gave up after a few minutes. It was no use.

The school library seemed quieter than normal and quite empty, despite the fact that it was close to finals week. Even so, it was the weekend and most students were out getting intoxicated and wasting the weekend away. Only the most dedicated students were in the library this afternoon. As quaint as the place was, Jackson found the atmosphere relaxing. Except today was different- he couldn’t think straight, no matter how hard he tried. And it frustrated him that he couldn’t figure out why.

Maybe it’s time for a break, he thought, taking out his music player and headphones. Whenever he needed time to unwind, he buried himself in music and sketches. None of his classmates would have picked up on his artistic hobby- they were all studying medicine, which infected every aspect of their waking lives.

All was quiet for about twenty minutes, until a younger student suddenly opened the door to his study room. “Oh… sorry about that. I didn’t think anyone was in here,” he stammered in embarrassment while closing the door. Jackson hardly noticed, too lost in his music. When the door closed, he looked up from his work. This place is so empty today, he thought to himself. It would soon be dark, and he had no real plans for the night.

Just then, a group of students walked past. His eyes met one of them for just a second before the three passed out of his line of sight through the window.

Suddenly it dawned on him why he had such a difficult time focusing on his work.

Remy, who had looked his way for a second, was one of his classmates. She seemed to get along with just about everyone. She had a perfect balance of sweet composure and the fierce tenacity needed for a med student to survive in such a competitive field. It was markedly different from most other med students in their program, who either lacked the discipline to succeed, or were too arrogant to be bothered.

And yet there was something about her that bothered him. She was friendly and upbeat. She also happened to be quite active with the school’s activities committee and regularly took part in community service projects. Sometimes he wondered how she had decided on the medical field; most of her friends were majoring in completely different fields such as business, psychology, or the arts. She seemed to fit in quite well with them, even though her grades reflected a knack for the medical profession. Sometimes people wondered how someone could be so perfect, but she was so genuine and humble that such thoughts were quickly dismissed.

While she had a lot of friends and was outgoing, Remy didn’t seem interested in relationships whatsoever. She was quite attractive, with long wavy hair and large, innocent, almond-shaped eyes. There was no denying it- she could have been a model with her slender, 5’9” frame. A handful of guys had certainly tried to get her attention, but Remy was so devoted to her studies and service projects that none of their advances had worked.

An independent, free-spirited student with discipline and a fierce commitment to the community. What could be more perfect?

What could it be? he wondered. He looked down at his paper.

There, staring back at him with large, dark-lined eyes, was a quick sketch of a woman with short black hair, cropped just past ear length.

[world-of-iridensia]

🎃 Trick or treat!

-athenajbrooks

Hi Athena, it's lovely to meet you.

Trick or treat. The dice shall decide your reward.

1 or 6 - Character

2 or 5 - World

3 or 4 - Lore

Your reward shall be Lore

The distant continent of Therius is covered in verdant forests, flower speckled meadows and several groups of nomadic druids who defend these lush lands.

The Druids of the Therian Glades care for nature and practice various disciplines of nature related to the flora and fauna of the world. They also have the long practiced skill of being unable to be found unless they want to be.

As such those who tread the paths in the forests of Therius must be respectful of the land or face the punishments of their caretakers.

@paeliae-occasionally @an-indecisive-nerd @mysticstarlightduck @illarian-rambling @leahnardo-da-veggie

@thecomfywriter @thearchivistsletterbox @sennasanthia @ominous-faechild @madelinerosales

@gravesmistake314 @fixationsbigandsmall @lexiklecksi @failingghost

If you wish to be added to the Tag List for previews, releases and tag games, let me know in the replies!