Yo! I'm probably going to be delisting my books from Draft2Digital in the near future, at least once I can find a good alternative distributor. In the meantime, if you wanna buy my books somewhere other than Amazon, now would be the time to do so! #BookSky 📚💙

Today's work music: The Isle Dragon Roars Main Theme (Music Box ver.) A pleasant, relaxing but also somewhat mysterious tune to vibe to. www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_V8...

#AntagonistApril Before Theryl's existence, before even the Divines and the Shayta, two great forces opposed one-another: Azava, the first deity, and a being whose name is now lost to time and is thus now referred to only as 'The Other' by those that still remember it.

#AprilWorldbuilders Seers use a form of miraclecraft that allows them to invoke the sun and moon for visions. Feathers from the sun bird can be used to gaze into the future, while feathers from the moon bird can be used to glimpse the past.

Someone is missing.

#AntagonistApril The Shayta by and large consider Seekers to be thorns in their sides. Just as the Shayta themselves use monsters, the Divines use Seekers. The so-called champions are regarded as little more than pawns in the endless proxy war, though some stand out more than others...

#AntagonistApril I don't have any pictures to show, so I suppose I'll give a brief description of each of the Shayta.

#AprilWorldbuilders As stated last time, there are no stars in Theryl. That said, some do hold the belief that the day of the week or the month in which you were born can affect things like one's temperament or talents.

#AntagonistApril The Shayta are extraordinarily powerful; strong enough to rival the deities of Theryl. They can twist the laws of the one in ways that defy logic and understanding. The only thing holding the Shayta back is the fact that they're imprisoned in the underworld...

I find myself dropping media a lot more often than I used to. Shows, books, games... It's become a lot more difficult for me to slog through anything that starts losing my interest.

#AntagonistApril Monsters are loyal to the Shayta mainly because they have no choice in the matter. They are created as extensions of their masters' will and have no real ability to defy it... Humans who worship the Shayta, however, do so of their own accord.

#AntagonistApril Given that the Shayta are mostly trapped in the underworld, they don't have much choice to rely on others. This usually means either sending monsters wreak havoc on their behalf or manipulating mortals into enacting their will.

#AprilWorldbuilders Theryl actually doesn't have stars. The moon is a giant bird/demigoddess who illuminates the night with her gentle blue glow. Phela's light has a soothing quality to it, which helps mortal minds drift off to sleep... Oh, and her feathers allow seers to gaze into the past.

#AprilWorldbuilders Holites tend to value community very highly. Your whole town/tribe is your family, and the needs of the group tend to outweigh those of the individual. Outsiders, including those from other tribes/packs, are usually regarded with a degree of hostility or suspicion.

Been slacking on April prompts lately. Need to catch up on #AntagonistApril tonight.

#AprilWorldbuilders As I've said before, bloodcats essentially serve as the equalizers for Hol's ecosystem. They keep the population of other species in check and even safeguard areas of wilderness from human expansion. Of course, bloodcats can also occasionally become problems themselves...

#AntagonistApril As stated before: the Shayta are the creators of all monsters in the world of Theryl. Monsters are by and large created to be mockeries of life created by the Divines. They usually resemble amalgams of animals and objects with anatomies that don't wholly make sense.

#AprilWorldbuilders In Theryl, one's profession and patron deity typically determine their funeral rights. Artists are buried, warriors are cremated, performers are set adrift at sea, or in lakes/rivers. This is universally true across nations.

#AprilWorldbuilders Bloodcats are respected and feared across all of Hol. Humans and animals alike know not to trifle with them if it can be helped. The beasts will likewise leave human settlements well-enough alone if they're not provoked.

#AntagonistApril There aren't really any joke or comedic antagonists in the Seeker Saga. Comedy relief tends to be something I reserve for the more good-aligned characters.

Picked this up at the library the other day. Not usually my exact cup of tea but it was a fun little #yuri read.

#AntagonistApril The Shayta don't exactly have 'right-hands,' as it were. The only technical exception to this is Rabas, who has his Raballa; four intelligent monsters that act as his spies throughout Theryl. Like all monsters, though, the Raballa are simply tools to be used...

#AprilWorldbuilders Both Elux and Hol tend to be a bit wary regarding outsiders/foreigners. Elux in-particular has very strict immigration laws, while most tribes in Hol will dismiss outsiders outright the majority of the time (though exceptions can sometimes be made for merchants and priests.)

#AntagonistApril The Shayta have monsters and cultists. The former are by and large disposable pawns who exist only to kill and destroy until they're stopped. With a few exceptions, monsters don't really have the capacity to think too hard about their roles.

#AntagonistApril I suppose it depends. The Shayta themselves don't really have anything to lose. They'll gladly sacrifice countless monsters, their own spawn, to achieve their aims. A few of my human antagonists are willing to give up everything, even their own lives, for their goals.

Convincing you to read my novel by the first sentence. Share yours if you want! I'm going to cheat a little here and share the first paragraph of Fateseekers instead, because the first sentence isn't much on its own lol.

#AprilWorldbuilders Well, the reason why I've chosen to focus on bloodcats, specifically, is because one is technically responsible for kicking off the plot of Truthseeker. The beast Sulfur encounters at the start of the story winds up being hugely significant in ways she could've never imagined...

#AprilWorldbuilders Bloodcats primarily feast on medium-sized animals. A common prey species for them are yazelles, whose glowing antlers make them easy to hunt. That said, bloodcats will even hunt other predators at times, such at tigers and even humans that dare to get too close to their turf.

#AntagonistApril Most people view the Shayta as pure evil, nothing more. However, there are those who see them in a different light; those who crave power or loathe the imperfections of the world. To such individuals, the Shayta offer magic, and the end of all things wrong with the world...

#AprilWorldbuilders Bloodcats are considered to be the apex predators of Hol. That said, they are also exceptionally rare. Some believe that the bloodcat's purpose in the ecosystem is to keep all the other beasts of Hol in check; an equalizer created by the goddess Eminess herself.

A small excerpt from my upcoming novel, in which the protagonist tries to teach her new companion handspeak:

#AprilWorldbuilders Bloodcats have heightened hearing and eyes that can see well in the dark. However, their sense of touch/feeling is somewhat dulled on account of the fact that their thick fur acts as a buffer for things around them.

#AntagonistApril I mean the Shayta being trapped in the underworld and trying to escape is sort of the core conflict of the entire Seeker Saga. One of them technically has managed to get free, but is far from reclaiming its full strength...

It really cannot be understated how important it is for writers to understand Chekov's Gun.

Been a minute since I self-promoted, so if you'll permit me... #BookSky 📚💙

#AntagonistApril The Shayta are by and large understood to be the ultimate evil. They are the progenitors of all monsters and sorcery, they seek nothing more than the complete destruction of the world, and will often tempt mortals to wield forbidden magic in exchange for power.

#AprilWorldbuilders There are no sapient non-human species in Theryl (unless you wanna count the Divines and Shayta, I suppose.) That said, there is a lot of unique architecture. People have built structures underground, on water and into cliffs depending on what's available.

#AprilWorldbuilders Things a bloodcat can do: fell a tree with a single strike, run fast enough to cross the savannah in about a day, and withstand blows that would be fatal to most other species. Needless to say: you do not want to piss one of these things off...

Today's work music: Gravity (From Fantasian: Neo Dimenion.) www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7u1...

#AntagonistApril Now this is interesting. The Shayta themselves don't really have a notion of 'good' or 'evil.' They view Theryl and all life inhabiting it as a farce. They seek its destruction because they believe the world as it exists is unnatural, as well as out of spite for the Divines.

So it's been a chaotic few weeks and I haven't gotten as much reading done as I had liked, but I am slowly making my way through #Infernulls by @infernulls.bsky.social. Already loving this dysfunctional party's shennanigans.

Drop some MASKS 🎭😷🖤🤿👺

I wrote a thing over on tumblr. Maybe go check it out? It's a short, quick little thing I did for the Seeker Saga. leilandgoldwell.tumblr.com/post/8133771...

#AprilWorldbuilders Bloodcats are extremely aggressive. They rely on their size and immense strength to overpower foes. A bloodcat can endure quite a bit of punishment before it goes down, especially since its thick fur offers a degree of protection. Its claws and teeth make short work of any foe...

#AntagonistApril Drey regards Rabas and his minions as nothing but pure evil, and he's not really wrong in his assessment. They all desire nothing but the total destruction of the world, after-all. Not the most morally complex villains, but not every villain really needs to be.

#AntagonistApril The first of the Raballa Drey faces in Sunseeker is Himur, the Watcher Above. His goal was to defeat the Seeker and stop Drey from interfering in his master's plans...

If you see this, drop a hero with a sword.

#AprilWorldbuilders I suppose I'll shine a light on bloodcats: the apex predators of Hol. These ferocious felines are named after their dark-red fur, and they can grow to be as large as bears. Bloodcats are known to be strong enough to fell a tree in a single strike when provoked.

Question to my fellow authors: does anyone else sometimes act out the motions when writing fight scenes?

#AntagonistApril The biggest villains in Theryl are the Shayta: four insanely powerful beings who are regarded as the progenitors of all monsters and magic. They seek nothing but the destruction of Theryl and the deaths of the Divines.