Of Music and Dragons and Other Such Magic

Hello. Allyn-a-Dale, here, because Danielle’s too tired to feel like talking but still wanted a blog post written, and we all know to whom this task in such cases fall.

That’s right: To her characters.

In fairness, though, I’m much of the reason behind this post in the first place. You see, she somewhat recently came across another blogger’s post centered around The Imagine Dragons Book Tag (to be explained shortly), and I happen to feel something of a soul connection to multiple Imagine Dragons songs, these days (to be explained or elsewise made evident following the eventual publication of #CamelotWIP). And so it is with less shady side-eye than usual that I take on today’s wordsmithery.

So, The Imagine Dragons Book Tag. The rules are fairly straightforward:

– Link back to the tag’s creator (R’s Loft)

– Thank the person who tagged you (We encountered the tag on the blog of The Story Sponge, and quoth she, “If you are reading this and you think it looks like fun, consider yourself tagged!” So tagged we are. Our thanks, Sponge!)

– Answer the questions (a more-or-less simple matter of matching books to the titles and themes of songs by music group Imagine Dragons)

– Tag as many or few people as you like!

As is tradition, all books or short stories used in this post will hail from the ever-expanding works of author Danielle E. Shipley. And because I am bound as a bard to bring music to the masses, be assured that I shall link to all the referenced songs for your listening pleasure. With that, onward we go!

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Gold – A Book Where the Main Character Has a Curse (or gift that seems like one)

For stories built upon literal curses, what first comes to mind is the first of the Wilderhark Tales, “The Swan Prince”. The eponymous main character, Sigmund, is bespelled to spend his days as a human boy and his nights as a great gray swan – and by no means is he the only key player in the plot with a life complicated by a witch’s curse, for such is the everyday risk you run in the world around Wilderhark Forest.

Less literally, there’s Solwen, also known Balladry Sol, from Danielle’s latest Wilderhark world release, “Windows and Sol”, whose extraordinary affinity for music comes with the curse-like burden of social deviation – for girls, ‘tis said, are not meant to be minstrels. (I doubt that would have stopped Father deciding to raise me as one, had I been born a girl. But then, what use has Father ever had for people telling him things can’t be done?)

Friction– A Book You Resisted Reading Writing

Speaking of Father (which I do not do absolutely all the time, I’ll thank Will Scarlet to remember before he complains to the contrary), there was a certain resistance to the writing of Gant-o’-the-Lute’s origin story, “The Sky-Child”. Not that Danielle wasn’t interested in writing it; she was just more interested in writing other things first. (Mostly things centered around her character obsession of the time, Edgwyn Wyle.) Father was, shall we say, not pleased with the dawdling delay. (Never let it be supposed that the Luc vs. Annabelle standoff  in “Inspired” came from nowhere.)

And on the subject of “Inspired”, I might mention Annabelle’s notable reluctance to complete her novel’s “Phantom of the Opera”-esque short story, “The Manta and the Mask”. Though I myself cannot but be drawn to the story’s chilling artistry, to dance such darkness upon her laptop’s keys was the most emotionally challenging task Annabelle had yet faced as a writer. One might perhaps not have blamed her for abandoning the project; but bless her courage, she could not abandon its tragic hero.

Monster – A Book with a Negative Character Arc

Perhaps this calls for a reference to one of Danielle’s less-often-spoken-of published stories, “Sundown” from the “Manifest Reality” horror anthology. Though protagonist Claudia’s hellish descent down the road of vengeance isn’t one to be emulated, Danielle certainly found it satisfying to write. (As satisfying as it would have been to pull a Claudia on the world and its irritations? Possibly not. But life is compromise.)

And you’ll not have read it yet, for it has not yet been released (stay tuned), but the arc of a certain character in “The Once and Future Camelot” may or may not take a turn for the negative, when all’s said and sung. One never knows, with wizards.

Demons – A Book Where the Character Has a Secret

Well, there’s a broad question, for you. Characters with secrets make the fictional world go ‘round. See again: “The Swan Prince”, built upon the secrets of Sigmund and Sula. Or “The Once and Future Camelot”, where a certain knight has been sitting on a bomb of deceit that’s not far from detonation. Or, a chilling favorite, the bloody secret of Thackeray Kyle, the Vampire Hunter, in “So Super Dead”. That one gave Danielle nightmares, when first she wrote it. ^_^

Hear Me – A Book You Love That People Don’t Seem to Know About

Based on the sluggish activity on its GoFundMe page, not nearly enough people seem to know of picture-book-in-progress “The Princess and the Moon”. And that is a true pity, for it’s a darling story with endearing illustrations by artist Hannah Vale. If you loved reading of Laraspur and Lumónd in the “The Sun’s Rival”, or if you simply have a soft spot for sweet children’s stories brought to gorgeous life in watercolor, then this is a project to get behind.

America – A Book Set in Your State/Country

Again, “Inspired” would fit the bill. Most of it takes place in the area of St. Louis, Missouri – or in Annabelle’s head, which physically amounts to the same thing. Then there are my Outlaws of Avalon stories, largely taking place in and around the Faerie isle of Avalon – which, many would be surprised to learn, has been hiding out for some while in the American Midwest. And forget not “So Super Dead”, which, when not set on the moon, sees most of the action in Las Vegas, at the Hoover Dam, and in assorted nameless little towns in Wyoming.

Whatever It Takes – A Book Where the Main Character Won’t Give Up, Despite the Odds

Perhaps the most impossible odds were those in “The Seventh Spell”. You think magic gone wrong is trouble enough? Stir a tangle of time travel into the mix. Honestly, were it not for Father having been his usual miracle self in the midst of the mayhem, I don’t expect a happy ending would have had a prayer.

But for a more everyday sort of bravery, there’s none better than Balladry Sol. She is very much as the blurb describes her: ‘A girl with an ear for music and a heart determined to follow wherever it leads, no matter what forces of man – or of nature – stand against her.’

Hear a snippet of Balladry’s minstrel manifesto in this video

Walking the Wire – A Book with a Hard-Won Romance

I could answer that. Or I could highlight a theme every bit as meaningful, yet severely underrated: Hard-Won Friendships. …Or, mayhap more accurately, Hard-Won Queerplatonic Relationships. (Feel free to look it up. One basic definition can be found here.)

In “The Queen’s Lady” (from “Beyond Her Infinity: Tales from Across Wilderhark’s Great Sea”), we had Moon Melody, determined to act as Morning Joy’s champion at any cost. I defy any fairytale prince to do better by his princess.

And “Reality As We Know It” (from “Our Hungering Hearts”), gave us Row, a lad too good for any world that housed him, and caregiving companion to the deeply troubled Heartsinger. If anyone can out-friend Moon Melody (not that it’s a competition, of course, but if it were…), it’s young Rowan Charles.

Thunder – A Book That Rattled You

We’ve no idea, yet, if or when Danielle will get around to publishing it, but writing that one mega-manuscript’s Santa Claus murder scene strongly affected her.

Boomerang – A Book You Keep Coming Back To

Well, it’s not every book that inspires her to revisit it as a picture book, so we’ll name “The Sun’s Rival” again.

Bad Liar – A Book with an Unreliable Narrator

If we interpret that to mean narrators who purposely withhold information, the two that come to my mind are the librarian from “Date Due” (“Our Hungering Hearts”) and Morganne le Fey from “The Once and Future Camelot”. Each one thinks themselves so much the wiser than the rest of us, why trouble our heads with vital details too early in the game?

If, however, ‘unreliable’ is used to mean ‘narrators who aren’t trying to lie, they just don’t know the truth’, that’s more reminiscent of Rowena from “A Mind Prone to Wander” (“Our Hungering Hearts”). That poor soul could hardly tell the sky from the Clouded Sea, and she knew it.

Digital – A Book with Lots of Tech/Computers/Video Games

I don’t know about ‘lots’, but “The Ballad of Allyn-a-Dale” – (which, I’ve been told to remind you, is available for free here, through the end of the month) – introduced me to a minivan and a radio, all of it in a technological league well ahead of the fairytale world I’d lately left.

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And with that, we’ll call this round of The Imagine Dragons Book Tag complete. If you wish to play in your own webspace, consider yourself tagged, and feel free to share the link in the comments below, that Danielle might discover where your imagination (and/or dragons) took you.

Now for a minstrel bow – *hat sweeps low* – and a merry farewell.

~ Allyn-a-Dale