Spooky month is over, and that’s always sad, but it’s my cue to continue working. You see, I usually take the last week of October off because it’s almost my birthday during that time, so, to me, November 1st is the same as January 1st. It’s back to work and don’t stop until you’re about to drop … or at least until I hit a good stopping point. Whichever comes first.
There’s an odd thing happening, though. I’ve made it clear to just about anyone who would listen that I’ve been dying to get to volume three, and I’m certainly happy to write it now that I’ve made it here, but something strange happened over the course of the past few years that have diverted my attention: another story idea.
It’s strange, but this new story has been consuming even more of my imagination than Magi of Gaia usually does (which is no small feat), so I decided to take some time during my break and put some ideas to paper. It was fun and surprisingly fulfilling, just like when I write of MoG. For now, I want to work on it a little longer, until I either feel the urge to write it fade or finish it entirely. Of course, I’m not done with MoG. I’m not even having any sort of writer’s block with it. I could get back to work on it right now, but I’m drawn to work on this other story.
What kind of story is this new one that is hijacking my attention? Surprisingly, it’s a more kid-friendly book aimed towards middle schoolers to high schoolers. It’s not so concerned with fighting, but there’s still magic involved as well as my specialty of characters slowly growing over time (especially the main character). It’s set in our world at modern times, but where magicians use magic in secret.
The main character is a young girl named Aliyah who lives with her father, a work-from-home writer, and mother, who is almost always out of state working. Aliyah has recently moved and finds it difficult to make friends, mostly due to her shyness. As a result, she’s often alone both and home and school, playing a game on her phone. She’s slowly getting used to the idea that she might be what they call a “loner”.
Her father is a loving, yet strict, parent who primarily writes books on riddles, and he often shares his riddles with her, just for fun when she was younger, but now that she’s older and quite good at solving them, he often uses her to test out new ideas to see if they’re too easy or too hard.
One day, her father decides to go to the library for research material and talks Aliyah into coming with him. There, Aliyah comes across her father’s books and is struck by how strange it is to see his name on a book in a library. She ends up grabbing a few of his books and sits down, flipping through them, recalling be told most of them, and often helping with others.
While she looks through the books, feeling a bit nostalgic, a woman walks up to her and starts a conversation. Aliyah doesn’t know her and has trouble communicating through her shyness, but holds a small conversation as she admits that she likes solving riddles and thinks they’re fun. The woman seems pleased by this and offers Aliyah a book of riddles that she was looking to donate to the library, but figured Aliyah would like to enjoy it first. Aliyah isn’t comfortable with accepting a stranger’s gift, but when the woman insists, Aliyah gives in and accepts it, figuring it’s just a normal book.
Of course, it isn’t a normal book, and the moment Aliyah opens it, she finds herself in a strange, stone room—a place she will get to know very well over time as a spirit well. Here, she’ll work to solve increasingly difficult riddles and trials, gain a new magical ability for each level she passes, and, through accident, incident, or sheer effort and personal growth, make some friends along the way, in terms of both humans and spirits.
There’s a lot more to the story than this, but that’s the general opening. What is a spirit well? Who was the woman that gave Aliyah the book and for what purpose? What kind of magic does she gain and how will they affect her trials? What happens if Aliyah uses magic in public? There’s much to learn, but if you’re interested, let me know. I’ll be working on it either way, but it’ll be nice to know if there is a desire for this type of book. It may be aimed at a younger age group, but it should be entertaining for all ages.