Tales From The Night Garden: Lemon Balm
January prompt dump
I've been answering these about my artist portfolio project / novel I'm co-authoring with my best friend since the beginning of the year on socials. I was on a hiatus from tumblr during, so here's a dump of January's answers, beneath a Read More because this is going to be long.
The Prompt List:
Introduce yourself and your WIP/Story/Book
Artemis Quinn here (most people online call me vamp). My current WIP is a contemporary dark fantasy, called Lemon Balm: Tales From The Night Garden Vol. 1. We hope to have it published by the end of the year.
Cypress Borne has a relatively easy life in New York City before they're bitten by a dog and life turns upside down. Two years of tests, therapy, and a life that's spiraling down the toilet later, he decides to pack it up and move upstate to an abandoned church away from the noise and people. Little do they know, the church isn't abandoned, but rather occupied by a vampire, hoping to die and rotting in a coffin.
Acanthus Sylene has lived a long life, and has lost the spark for it. Embroiled deeply into the politics of the World of Shadows, they have abandoned their duties to The Night Garden, a refugee path they forged. But something changes when a lost, scared, ignorant werewolf shows up on their door.
Both are looking for answers, but somehow, they find each other. In the process, they may have put their lives -- and potentially the Night Garden -- at risk.
(Skipped days 2 and 3)
4. Are your characters optimistic/pessimistic about the future and why?
Most of my characters skew pessimistic, largely because of the circumstances they're sitting in. Acanthus is cautiously optimistic until a particular canon event that leaves them numb. Cypress struggles with optimism, but does their best to keep a positive outlook.
5. Event that shaped your characters-
Oh, boy. This is super spoiler-y so continue with caution.
Cypress' father left before they knew him, and their mother is an on-again, off-again drug addict. Growing up with one absent and one negligent parent gave them the personality they have; fix everything and don't admit when you have problems or ask for help.
Acanthus' first companion was captured and burned at the stake in front of them. This leads to them starting the Night Garden.
6. MC's favorite memory--
Cypress' favorite memory is Acanthus and Cypress' first game of tag. Acanthus' favorite memory is their dance on Cypress' birthday.
7. BFFs/LI/Side Character's favorite memory
Acanthus and Cypress' are both MCs AND each other's LI, so let's go for BFF's favorite memory. Avery's favorite memory is Acanthus jumping up on a table and singing pirate shanties with the pack.
8: gif, audio, or description of how your characters feel about their past.
Cypress:
Acanthus:
9. How did your MC and your BFF meet?
Welp! Avery may or may not have been passed out, bleeding next to a lake.
10. Free Friday/Share a Snippet
I wanted to be able to stand in a crowd without getting heart palpitations over the thought of some disembodied cough. I also wished, more than anything, to be able to leave this position, but what was I going to do? It’s hard to interview for something that would let me work partially remotely with a six figure salary. Here I was trapped by my own 401k as a prisoner to my own comfort. What a paradox.
11. Are your characters content with their lives at the beginning of the story?
I'd say that Cypress is content until the inciting incident. Acanthus is not content, but is complacent. They've resigned themself to a life of isolation and loneliness. They don't show up until later, but Azalea loves her life, and so does Avery. Lykaia and Conan hate their lives for different reasons but they're definitely not content.
12. Best advice a character gives your MC
Azalea to Cypress (paraphrasing) - You and Acanthus aren't so different, stop sulking and try to talk to them. They may surprise you with their answer.
Azalea to Acanthus - “The phone still works, Acanthus. Please, take it. It’s still serviced. My phone numbers are programmed within, and we can keep a faster and better track of each other this way than with letters.”(Azalea's kind of the voice of reason in this book, I'm realizing.)
13: Something unique about my story's world that I like
Not one "faction" is universal. There's people within the groups of witches, within the groups of vampires, and within the groups of wolves that don't agree with the status quo and actively try to change it and help each other.
14. Describe your world using only one sense (smell)
Vampires all have the smell of decaying leaves when they're trying to be threatening, sharp and sweet. Acanthus is Oakmoss and the crystal clear stream running through the forest, and petrichor. Cypress is cedar, campfire smoke, and whiskey. The packhouse smells bright and clean, and the kitchen always has the lingering smell of bread and lemons.
15: GIF/audio or description of your characters' thoughts on extraterrestrial life
Cypress would have an existential crisis and ignore its existence for months.
Nothing really surprises Acanthus anymore, though.
16: Is magic real in your story's world?
Yes, it's based on the four elements, light and shadow. Anyone can be a Witch, and these powers are latent in most people, but not everyone can awaken their power. Once awoken, magic can make someone nearly immortal.
Earth witches are healers, but they can also reverse their powers to drain. They tend to be proficient with potions and can read auras, because they can pick up on the vibes of a person really well through vibes of a person really well through energy transfer. Their Night Garden code is Sage.
Fire witches are incredibly destructive and as a result are very rare. That particular magic seems to be a recessive gene, and not many witches have the fire gift in the first place. Fire witches need to be very careful of their emotions or their powers can lash wildly out of their control. Their Night Garden code is Woolflower.
Chaos witches (AKA light) have the power of retaining important knowledge and amplifying others' powers. This may seem trivial, at first, but it's incredibly useful. One of the most important chaos witches to the story is incredibly proficient in poisons, and uses this power to track down a certain poison used against one of the characters. They can also read auras, and a lot of them tend to focus on practical forms of magic (potions, protection spells, kitchen witchery.) Their Night Garden code is Fireflies.
Shadow witches can read intent and are pretty good diviners. These are the seers and the spies. They can tell the truth of a matter based on their powers, and they can tell when someone is hiding something. They also can feel when danger is approaching. Their powers are very heavily reliant on instinct. Shadow witches are also excellent manipulators and can bend people to their will, much like vampire mesmers. Their Night Garden code is creeping ivy.
Water and blood witches are also diviners, but they are more about fortune and personal growth. They can control the flow of water and weather, and the most powerful of these witches can read fate within blood. Those powerful enough to be blood witches can also direct the flow of blood and use these abilities to completely decimate their enemies. They are some of the most feared witches, along with shadow witches. Their Night Garden code is Bleeding Hearts.
Wind witches are the last element and, much like fire witches, can be incredibly destructive. They can also control elements of the weather and, when wind and water work together, it can be disastrous, or life saving. Some stronger witches can control the temperature of their winds and mimic the burn of fire witches. Their Night Garden code is Lavender.
(Skipped the 17th)
18: How did you develop your MC's fears when writing their character?
My co-author was the one who developed Cypress, so I'll stick to Acanthus. One of their main traits that they started with was loneliness, so I thought a good internal conflict would be that they also had a fear of abandonment. They're constantly at war with the dichotomy of wanting to be close to people, but pushing them away so that they can't get hurt. In some ways, Acanthus is also terrified of people getting to know them, and then once they're comfortable enough in their truth, the person getting bored/uncomfortable and then turning away and leaving them. This comes from the thought of vampires being an allegory for queerness -- it's a common trauma that a lot of LGBT+ people face, to lose friends, family, and otherwise, once they stop hiding who they are.
19. Would any of your characters be a fair ruler in your story's world?🤣 Let's just say this is a spoiler and that some particular characters try.
20. Any fight for social change in your story?
Absolutely. There's an element of dismantling the system quietly from within (The Night Garden itself), and an element of personally getting involved to change something you feel is unjust. There's also an Overarching theme of change starting by challenging tradition.
21. Inspiration for injustices in your story.
There's a massive civil rights disparity in the real world that likes to pretend it's about tradition. We took that and added elements from history of segregation, xenophobia, and forced co-dependence between groups of power and marginalized groups to create the power dynamic between wolves and witches.
Vampires are an outlier that are disliked by the system, but somewhat benefit from it, and are too divided to band together as one unified force due to infighting and bad actors. Essentially, the injustices mirror real world injustices, and if you squint, you can probably see what those are if you're an activist or knowledgeable enough.
22. GIF/Audio/description of what gives your characters hope.
23. Any real life names or locations in your story?
Tons. NYC, Saratoga Park, Central Park, Halsey Ave, Gardiner, New Paltz, Catskills, Chicago, Lomira.... The story is contemporary dark fantasy set in our world, so plenty of real-world places pop up.
(Skipped the 24th)
25. Biggest Difference between you and your MC/Characters
Well, the biggest difference between me and Cypress is that they're a bona fide jock and enjoy exercise. The biggest difference between me and Acanthus is a bit harder; I'd say probably that they're very confident in their own inner power and what they can do, and they waste no time using it when they need.
26: Did anyone you know IRL influence aspects of your characters?
Yes. There are bits and pieces of people we know and love in all of our characters. Cypress holds a lot of my co-author's fiance, and there's a character later on in the series who is based on my husband. The rest are less direct, but still take elements.
27: Funny moment with a side character
There's a moment towards the end of Lemon Balm where Cypress gets attacked and has his leg burnt, and after, Avery and Acanthus are trying to convince them to stay put by playing Go-Fish. This results in Cypress and Avery chanting for pizza until Acanthus reminds them that ordering takeout to an abandoned church when they're supposed to be undercover might be a bad idea. (And then makes them pizza.)
28. Do your characters believe in destiny?
I won't speak for Cypress (they're mainly my co-author's character), but I believe that Acanthus doesn't. If they believed in destiny, then a lot of their own work and merit would be entirely discounted, and a lot of their grief would be justified in ways that they wouldn't be able to stomach.
29: GIF about the lunar new year or how you feel about 2025.
30: Any side characters get their happy ever after?
In book 1, no. But there are some things that happen through book 2 that result in Avery and Lykaia both eventually getting happy ever afters, and Azalea has the potential for one, and Conan eventually even gets potential. So like.... Eventually?
31: January Wrapup--
It was a month that thoroughly kicked my ass. I had to slow down because of wrist issues, but I also got a lot done, too, despite not completing everything on my list.
finished the professional edit of the first half of Lemon Balm part 1.
got the 2nd half of part 1 ready to edit.
finished multiple illustrations
reopened art commissions
finished a commission resulting in a happy client
designed a logo for wax & wings
Night Garden illos
Finished the Lemon Balm cover