Austin Worley

Day 10 #AugustWorldbuilders

Communion with benevolent spirits of faith, courage, or hope is what makes Watchers immune to demonic possession and carnomancy, allows them to nullify magic, and enhances their senses, reflexes, and bodies.

Day 8 #FantasyIndiesAugust

Dreams & Goals: in the short-term, finish “Seven Tears on the Tide” and all the stories for my collection. Mid-term, find the, both publishers. Long-term, I’d love to make a living solely off writing, but that’s firmly in the realm of dreams for now.

Day 7 #AugustWorldbuilders

A few cities in the Colonia have established state-run universities, but most schools are private institutions. The Faith has established a lot of them, ranging from little village schools to the academies where mages are trained.

Day 7 #FantasyIndiesAugust

Arlise still deals with awful dreams, flashbacks, and self-loathing related to her decisions at the Battle of Laufenden, even though well over a decade has passed by the time of “Seven Tears on the Tide”.

Knocked out another drabble this afternoon, which makes three in the last month!

This one’s dark fantasy, heavy on the darkness. It’s also my second experiment this year with stories where Arlise appears in roles other than protagonist.

Day 6 #FantasyIndiesAugust

Arlise would probably read nonfiction. Stuff about history, the mechanics of magic, bestiaries, collections of folklore, etc. Anything that could give her an edge in her line of work.

Day 5 #AugustWorldbuilders

As a noblewoman, Arlise received most of her education from tutors, but when she joined the Order of Watchers, she went through one of their academies to learn about magic, monsters, and how to counter them.

August 3rd #QueerPrompts

Arlise doesn’t make friends easily, in part because she’s lost a lot of them over the years to one danger or another. But the ones she has? She adopts a very “ride or die” attitude towards them.

Day 3 #AugustWorldbuilders

Yes, there are dedicated academies for magic, which is an innate talent but needs an education to use effectively.

In the nations of southern Anura, students aren’t allowed to leave these institutions until graduation to protect the public.

Day 3 #FantasyIndiesAugust

Covers for the three novelettes I’m reprinting as standalones later this year, all done by the fantastic @rachelbowdler.bsky.social

Day 2 #AugustWorlbuilders

Most Anuran universities cover the subjects you’d expect of medieval-esque higher education: literature, law, mathematics, medicine, philosophy, theology, and astronomy.

Some add history and even archaeology, and some of these tracks are specialized.

August 1st #QueerPrompts

Day 1 #AugustWorldbuilders

Generally not. Most societies in Anura aren’t centralized enough for public schooling, and tutors are expensive. Formal schools tend to be reserved for clergy, mages, and dedicated scholars.

Day 1 #FantasyIndiesAugust

Hey everybody! I’m an author of fantasy, sci-fi, romance, and more. My WIPs:

-A rewrite of my military fantasy short “Dusk and Dawn at Laufenden”

-Three more fantasy drabbles

-Prewriting my fantasy romance novel “Seven Tears on the Tide”

Day 31 #FantasyIndiesJuly

Monthly Wrap-up: July ended up being better than expected. Not only did I make it through the first two scenes of my “Dusk and Dawn at Laufenden” rewrite but I also wrote two new drabbles, “A Mouthful of Water” and “Shiver”.

July 29th #QueerPrompts

The existence of an afterlife is ambiguous in Anura. While there are those who’ve claimed to interact with the dead, this could just as easily be spirits or demons who’ve taken on their aspect.

Day 29 #FantasyIndiesJuly

Fun fact: this rewrite of “Dusk and Dawn at Laufenden” is actually the third version of the story. The first was the very first time I ever wrote about Arlise, but it never saw the light of day, so I reworked it into “Dusk and Dawn at Laufenden”.

Day 25 #JulyWorldbuilders

Ruby Isle is dominated by pine trees, and due to its isolated nature has very little in the way of animal life. Mostly sea birds, insects, and amphibious or semi-amphibious critters like crabs.

Day 25 #FantasyIndiesJuly

Free Friday: I finished the second scene of the rewritten “Dusk and Dawn at Laufenden” earlier this week. After some time to collect my thoughts, I should be able to start the third on Monday!

July 24th #QueerPrompts

Arlise is terrible at self-care. Terrible!

Day 24 #JulyWorldbuilders

Dark, gloomy, and more than a little ominous describes the forest on Ruby Isle. Some of this is thanks to the endless storm, some the sheer wildness.

Day 24 #FantasyIndiesJuly

For “Seven Tears on the Tide”

-Arlise and Elain are close, and Elain serves as a confidante throughout the book

-Earc strikes up a friendship with Knight-Brother Robert de Vannen over their mutual love for whittling

Day 23 #JulyWorldbuilders

Most of “Seven Tears on the Tide” takes place in the forest on Ruby Isle.

Day 23 #FantasyIndiesJuly

A few from “Seven Tears on the Tide”:

-Elain admires Arlise as a model Watcher

-Alexos thinks Arlise is endangering the entire unit by going out of her way to aid the selkies

-Blaine thinks Arlise is an excellent match for Earc

Day 22 #FantasyIndiesJuly

“Dusk and Dawn at Laufenden” Rewrite: Drafting, almost done with Scene 2/4

“Seven Tears on the Tide”: Outline

July 21st #QueerPrompts

Often, Arlise dreams about the Battle of Laufenden. Not in detail; it’s usually broken flashes.

Day 21 #FantasyIndiesJuly

For me, hot chocolate.

For my characters, coffee, tea, and chocolate are all high-end luxuries in southern Anura, so they don’t come up often. However, Arlise does drink tea with a side character in “The Skull in the Tree”.

July 20th #QueerPrompts

The moons Mona and Qamara offer light to see and fight by during “Dusk and Dawn at Laufenden”, and the fact there’s a stretch of several hours without them factors heavily into the decisions Arlise makes during the battle.

Day 20 #FantasyIndiesJuly

Hmm…this one’s tricky🤔

For “Seven Tears on the Tide” and the rest of my Watcher stories, it’s probably Knight-Sister Elain Bowen. She offers a good sounding board for Arlise and adds a bit of levity.

Day 18 #JulyWorldbuilders

Arlise used to be a pretty active participant in all kinds of festivities, as seen in “He Who Sows”, but her duties with the Order of Watchers don’t leave a lot of time for them now.