Diana_Regolizio - Profile

At first the creature in this chapter was simply called a “shadow monster,” but then I thought I might introduce other sorts of shadow monsters to the universe so I needed a more specific name for this one. Going off of the idea that you want to avoid being touched by them, I decided to call them “Grippers.”

Did you know this whole novel was written in two months? That’s the fun fact for this chapter; I couldn’t think of a “behind the scenes” moment more specific to this installment.

The last moment in this chapter was inspired by the very real time I was eating a bagel with avocado spread, and made eye contact with my crush at the exact instant some of the spread got on my lip. I wanted to be playful and maintain that direct eye contact while licking it off. Halfway through the action I realized it could be interpreted as provocative, so I got embarrassed and covered my mouth, laughing. Not knowining why I was laughing, but already amused, he asked, “What?” I said, “Don’t look at me.”

Before a I had clear idea of Rowan’s character, I was gonna have him straight-up mercy-kill this stranger to put him out of his misery. It would’ve been dramatic, but that’s a pretty morally gray thing to do and that’s not how I want him to come across.

It’s canon that the Ivory King is a confused old man and that’s why he motions for Lily to kneel far before the ceremony calls for it. It definitely 100% was not a continuity error I couldn’t fix bc I have no access to these chapters once they’re published.

Fun fact: the seed inspiration for the look of this scene - the desert, the king, the weirdness - came from a scene in the Magicians, in which Margo trips on lizard in the desert and sees her friend Eliot singing and dancing a full musical number, always just out of reach.

Ahh! I require resolution! More!

!!!! I thought it was gonna be that she killed her parents, but that’s also pretty brutal

Poor Everett. Liam’s a fun character though.

OoooOOOOO

Fun mooody beginning, the vibe is heavily established.

Yay!

Fun backstory for Jaspers parents. Love stories! Love stories for everyone!

OMG SHES GOLDILOCKS

Awesome start! I care about the characters, and I want to learn more about this world and how their magic works, and what their marks mean. I want Hel to do well and gain some confidence in himself.