#thespacelizard

[memento-morri-writes]

morri!!! i!! finished Running Close To The Wind a couple days ago and i love this BOOK AHHH! catapulted immediately into my favourites list. Avra is such a GREMLIN and somehow still so charming and relatable. he and Tev are perfect for each other they're such a MESS. AHHH!

i had to keep lowering the book to go 'how dare this be so fucking good!' and shake my fist at Alexandra Rowland's skill. and then i'd pick it up and read like 80 more pages in a frenzy. insane book. incredible book. i LOVE IT

(--@space-writes)

YESSSS. I'M SO GLAD YOU LIKED IT!!!!!!!!! I also sped through the whole thing in like, two days, so I very much understand the frenzy feeling.

I absolutely fucking adore that book. The blend of humor and heart and INSANELY CLEVER worldbuilding? Like, HUH???? Can we talk about the worldbuilding??? Sea serpent mating season? And a CRITICALLY PLOT IMPORTANT cake competition? A fucking MASTERPIECE.

And of course, Avra, my most beloved. It is a little bit odd to read about another character named Avra, since my beloved D&D oc for whom I've done a a lot of writing has that name, but I loved him so much, so it's fine!!! And yeah, his relationship with Tev is both hilarious and perfect. The fact that Avra is literally blessed by the goddess of luck and still doesn't believe in luck is so fucking funny and I love him for it.

(Also, I'm aroace and minorly sex-repulsed (I can handle sex scenes and will read them, but they're not my MOST favorite thing and if a book is TOO focused on them/the technical bits of sex, I tend to get a little bit of an ick. But sexual humor is fine, and even funny to me.), and the way this book managed to handle sex and still be unapologetically sexy without veering into explicit sex was just the right blend for me, which was a plus! Not a lot of books can thread that line in a way that works for me, personally.)

Also, in case you didn't know, Alexandra Rowland just finished(?) a kickstarter for a deluxe edition of her next book, which I think also sounds of interest of you, maybe? I'm certainly curious about it! Very different vibes, but I'm very intrigued by the framing of it. (It's called "The Wisdom of Emperors", and has to do with a roman-inspired society and archaeology and queer people in history (including modern takes on them).)

Anyways, I'm glad you enjoyed it!! 💖💖💖💖 I would have been very sad if I hyped it up so much and then you were disappointed, ajsdkadjs.

If you're not Space and you read this far in the ask, this is your sign to go read Running Close to the Wind!!!!!!!!!! It's very good!!!!!!!

[revenantlore]

🫣 for the writer asks! (--@space-writes)

What scenes are most difficult for you to write?

Action scenes of any kind can be a struggle because I lack the ability to visual, so it sometimes takes me extra time and effort to get all the things in the right order and place and confirm that it all makes logical and practical sense

[memento-morri-writes]

boo! trick or treat! (--@space-writes)

Hi Space! Thanks for the ask!! Have a TREAT!! 👻🍬

In High Fantasy WIP, one of the only characters I'm determined to have stick around is an unnamed warlock. Their powers revolve around shadows, including the ability to manipulate the size/shape/darkness of shadows, using someone's shadow to trap them, and creating shadows that leech the life from those who touch them.

They have an... uncertain relationship with their patron, and the patron has been known to forcibly take control of the warlock if they don't do what is asked of them. They live in fear of what they will be made to do next, as well as of losing control at an important moment.

The one upside to their pact is their familiar, a little black cat made entirely of shadows. She is a huge comfort to them, will ride on them wrapped around their neck like a scarf. She can also merge into their shadow to avoid physical danger. Oh, and she has purple eyes, I think.

[memento-morri-writes]

hey morri, happy sts! since i’ve been afflicted with New Character Disease this week and been unable to evict the little bastard, please share with me the character(s) who you most wish would start paying rent for all the space they take up in your brain (–@space-writes)

Hi Space!! Thanks for the ask! <3

Okay, so the two who owe me the most rent are obviously Fallon and Kristopher. They occupy my mind just about 24/7, even if I haven't touched their story in MONTHS. (tbf, I haven't touched any story in months...) And since they're royalty, they can sure as hell afford to pay rent.

The other blorbo who's been taking up a fair bit of brainspace the past few weeks is my d&d character, Rook. I actually have a session with him today!! He's my literal bastard, former noble, current pirate, chaotic bi disaster. I would love to adapt him into a book someday, because I'm so in love with him and his backstory.

But yeah, Fallon, Kris, babies, please pay rent.

[talesofsorrowandofruin]

for the wip folder tag - i would love to hear about East of the Moon and/or Thyestes Redux! (--@space-writes)

Thanks! :D

For Thyestes Redux, see here

East of the Moon is currently a title without a plot bunny; usually I have plot bunnies without titles, so this should be an easy situation to fix :P I have a vague idea that it's in the same universe as Like Snow on Hungry Graves (sequel? prequel? side-story? who knows?) and involves dragons, but that's all 🤷‍♀️

[memento-morri-writes]

hey morri, happy STS! what would be your dream cover style for COS and ATQH? (graphic, classic painted illustration style, photo-edit, handdrawn etc) (--@space-writes)

Hi Space!! Thanks for the ask! And boy is it a fun one!!

I'm very much a Cover Snob (thank you 3 years of graphic design classes + being a Very Opinionated Person), but I also have a hard time visualizing things, so coming up with my own dream covers is kind of hard. But I will try!

So, I actually made a cover for ATQH, which I can't be bothered to find the post I made for it, so I'll just pop it under the cut. But that's obviously not a super professional cover, and it doesn't quite fit the vibes of the story?? Don't get me wrong, I'm proud of it, and I was very intentional with my choices of the graphics I used to make it, but it doesn't exactly scream "low fantasy romance!".

In my mind, the story (or at least Fallon and Kris's romance) is symbolized by a sword wrapped in rose vines. But I feel like that's kind of an over-used set of symbolism (or at least roses and swords separately). Although, that might actually work in my favor, should I ever actually finish and publish the story, as much as I don't like the idea of "fitting in" with people's expectations.

But it seems like no matter what I choose for the cover (be it roses and swords or horses or something else), ATQH is destined to have a photo-edit cover of some sort. I'm rather partial to those myself, also due to my interest in photohop and graphic design in general, so I don't mind that at all.

For CoS, I don't have the aesthetics and symbolism figured out quite as well, so my cover ideas are less specific. But I am rather a fan of the banner I made for the WIP intro. So I'd probably end up with another photo-edit/graphic cover of some sort.

Thanks for the ask @space-writes !!

[memento-morri-writes]

Happy Storyteller Saturday! For a wip or wips of your choice: What’s your favourite shenanigan a character has gotten into, either in the main story or in their backstory? (--@space-writes)

Oooh, this is a REALLY good question. Hmm... let me think, who has the most interesting answers?

There was one time (pre-ATQH) that Hermes snuck his was into a fancy club to celebrate one of his first big, successful thieveries, and he was flirting with this guy, but it turned out he was the son of the family Hermes has robbed, and he ended up having to make a quick escape to avoid awkward questions and possibly getting arrested.

During CoS, Dorian and Ash are making a quick escape from a dangerous situation, and while escaping, they come across a large slug in a cage, who Dorian suspects is going to be hurt for some kind of magical ritual. So while they're running, he just yells "Grab the slug!!" and Ash just... does it?? She assumes at the time that the slug must be important or interesting in some way, but it turns out Dorian just wanted her not to get hurt. And the slug ends up imprinting on Ash and following them around (she screams if Ash tries to leave her behind), and they name her Squish. So yeah, that's how they get stuck with a magic slug with separation anxiety.

As a bonus, I'll talk about one of my d&d characters, Rook, because he's making his game debut in less than 2 hours. He was a pirate, and he was named first mate after the previous one left/died, which was pretty surprising, given that he was the youngest member of the crew. (He was 22 at the time.) And a bunch of the older crew members weren't happy with this. Rook shut them up by saying that anyone who had an issue with him could challenge him to a duel. (My dude kicks ass with a rapier.) But they weren't satisfied for long, and a few months later, some of the crew members drugged Rook's ale at a tavern during shore leave, and sold him to a rival pirate captain. He was her prisoner for two years until he managed to escape, setting the ship on fire in the process. So now he's being hunted by a vengeful captain. He's currently in the feywild in order to join the party, though, so he doesn't have to worry about her right now. But I have it on good word that Arc 2 of the game is going to feature said captain pretty heavily...

[skittidyne]

💫 for the fic writer asks?

💫what is your favorite kind of comment/feedback?

long ones!! i love ones that kinda follow the chapter’s events and comment on multiple things. i also love key smashing and memes - i got super lucky with meme creation comments in my mass effect fic haha.

but yes i love book report comments the most ever in existence