June Q & A (Patreon)

I know you probably can’t get into too much detail for certain reasons but has the Market ever opened a gate to a pre-existing world? For example, Westeros? Middle-earth? Gotham?

If it exists, the Night Market has access. One of the reasons I came up with the concept of the Night Market is because it allowed for crossovers in our Pathfinder and RPG campaigns. When our group got waky and wanted to kind of experience something new or we wanted to do a mash-up of some of our favorite characters, I wanted a place that we could all use to easily provide that. Everyone in my group switches off DMing every six months so sometimes we ended up doing little crossovers just because we really wanted to be with another character for a bit. Caliban, Chrysanthemum, Noctine, Taliesin, Anemone, Reese and Elias are all characters either from RP’s that are written or ones that are played out, in fact.

So yes, I think it is quite possible gates are open to those worlds. Because let's face it. I have a major obsession with Peter Pan. I really want to figure out a way to bring that in. :)

Will we get to confront Lucinda? She’s vile to everyone else overall and she did technically try to kill us.

Oh Lucinda. There is going to be a lot going on with Lucinda in the upcoming book.  There are going to be plenty of opportunities to talk to her, confront her, agree and disagree with her.  Depending on how you play things out, this will allow you more access to certain RO’s. I’m very excited for her involvement and also incredibly curious to see what everyone thinks of her due to their own experience instead of through the eyes of the RO’s.

Is vampirism a human only thing or can other beings be turned?

Any type of creature can become a vampire, humanoid or not.  I think it is more common to see a humanoid vampire because of pre-conceived notions.  Becoming a vampire is usually a very sexual thing so most vampires are turning ones that they are sexually compatible with. This does leave the ability for elves, orcs, dwarves, etc, to all become a vampire.  When you get into beasts, it might get a bit more complicated. Though, I wouldn’t say it is unheard of.

Do any of the characters speak more than one language?

Technically, you do. I don’t remember if it was clear or not in the WIP but the Night Market translates for everyone.  With people coming in from all over, there is no way they are all speaking the same language. So, they speak their native tongue, and the Night Market translates, leaving the person to hear the language they understand.

That being said, it does mean that most people have no reason to learn a different language.  The only one who knew multiple languages before entering the market, would have been Belladonna. But it was just remedial Latin.

Does the Market have mass transport (trains, carriages, airships) or does everybody just have to hoof it/ride privately transport?

It doesn’t. Which is designed a little bit on purpose. With a lack of transportation, the Velvet Guard is able to keep things under control a bit more. If something like transportation was implemented, the market is far too vast for them to be able to keep up. As it is, there are paper animals that people sometimes ride and those animals are highly regulated by the guard.

But, I am thinking it might be a bit fun to start introducing those kinds of things in the next book.

How powerful would our Lamplight be at supposed full strength? Could we tell the Barons to effectively get lost?

Spoilers!!!

Yes. I don’t believe that Lamplight knows the amount of power they actually have when connected with their whole form.  I don’t even think the entire form realizes how powerful they were. Compared to a lot of worlds, they are a baby. When they first awoke (back in the beginning of the market), the ones who guided them through the revelation of their power, may not have had the world's best interest at heart. But more of that will hopefully be coming to light soon.

If their paths had led them to the Night Market differently, what would the RO's have ended up doing, personally or job-wise?

I think Hazel would have always been on this same path. She probably wouldn’t have taken over her mother's shop, but I think she would have always been in a helpful role and would have opened a shop to put her magic to good use within the market.

Milo would most likely own a bar. Or maybe Malcolm would own the bar and he would work as bartender. I don’t think Milo is someone though that would stay at one job for long. He would have become a jack of all trades, perhaps in a bit more of a respectable way. But I do not believe you can take the fae out of Milo. I think thievery would have always been involved.

Gabriel would have pursued relief work if he had come to the market with intention. He would have tried helping the refugees and spreading the faith of the Knowing.

Malcolm would have been an artist if he had the chance. He did try for a while but he didn’t have a lot of support and couldn’t make a go of it.

Belladonna is who we would have seen the most change from. Instead of coming to the market and making her way up through the ranks, I think we would have seen Bella pursue love.  She would have been looking for companionship. On top of that, Belladonna has always had a thirst for knowledge. I think she would have found other cultures fascinating and begin to learn about them. Eventually, I think we would have seen her in a mediator role. Helping to solve differences between cultures and have them live within the market in unity. Overall, she would have been a far softer individual.

I don’t know if it’s been answered before buuut what are the ROs thoughts in the final moments of MCs life?

Hazel didn’t believe it at first.  She was in denial in those initial moments, thinking it was all a dream.

Gabriel’s only thought was getting to the MC. Carving a path to them in order to save them. He was certain there was something he could do as long as he got there in time.

Belladonna had no thought. Only rage. She didn’t quite know what was going on but she did know that blood was going to spill and she was going to bask in it.

Malcolm wasn’t there but when he found out, he only thought of regret. That he should have gone.

And Milo’s only thought was that it wasn’t supposed to be this way. Why did it have to be this way?

What is Mr. Billow’s favorite treat? He deserves ALL the treats tbh.

Hazel is convinced it is sweet cream. Honestly, the cat loves rock candy.

What’s a skill/talent/hobby the ROs wish they could do?

Hazel really wishes she knew how to ride horses and just be better with animals in general. She is obsessed with animals but has no talent with them. Billows is the only animal that doesn’t run from her in fear.

Milo wishes he knew how to play an instrument. He loves music and he loves dancing and would have liked to broaden that part of his life.

Gabriel wishes he knew pottery. Strange but he loves a good piece of ceramic.

Belladonna wishes she knew how to write. She loves books but she cannot write to save her life.

Malcolm wishes he knew how to dance. He is terrible at it, no matter how hard he has tried to learn.

What would the ROs do if they met a clone of themselves?

Hazel would absolutely become best friends with herself. Having another person who thinks like her and can do all the tasks within the apothecary? That would be wonderful.

Gabriel would be convinced that it is some sort of sign from the Knowing. And, with permission, he would extract the clones grace to try and get back home. But, if the clone is thinking along the same lines, they probably would do that as well, which would lead to a very circular argument.

Malcolm would meet his clone and wish them well but not really want them a part of his life.

Belladonna would use her clone to become a figurehead so she could have more time to read and pursue personal interests.

Milo would kill his clone. Maybe sleep with them first. But for sure kill them.

Do the ROs suffer from nightmares? If so, what are those dreams about?

Gabriel and Hazel don’t really suffer from nightmares. Hazel blocks them with tonics if they become a problem and Gabriel rarely sleeps enough to dream.

Milo suffers from a lot of nightmares. If you are on his route, it is hinted at that he sometimes goes a very long time without sleep because they get so bad. Hazel has to provide him with tonics and even then, they sometimes get through. His nightmares usually are about the things he’s done. During book 1, it was about what he was going to do to MC and the guilt that was plaguing him from that. After Malcolm died it was dreams of Malcolm telling him he should have saved him. But in general, it is dreams of his father. He has been terrified of seeing that man again and even more terrified of becoming him.

Belladonna has nightmares of her world burning when she becomes too stressed. Sometimes she dreams of her parents and the looks on their face as she ran for a gate. Her nightmares tell her that her fathers final moments were being disappointed in her choice for life as opposed to choosing her family.

Malcolm has nightmares of Lucinda. He wakes at night, convinced that Lucinda is in his house. Or that she has someone managed to get in. Sometimes he wakes in the middle of the night to throw out all his food and herbs, thinking his mother has gotten in and messed with them. Even after she died, he still did this

If the night market is dependent on imports for its survival (for food for example), how is closing the night market completely a viable solution for its survival?

It’s not. Milo even knows it is not. But, with everything else going on, the solutions he had on hand wasn’t given him any better alternatives.

Now, that is not to say that the market cannot provide its own food. They struggle to provide it to the capacity that is needed but they can provide some. So, with the gates closing, the world isn’t in danger of completely going hungry. But, it cannot last this way forever. A fact that Milo is very aware of. But, the first step was just getting the market to stop tearing itself apart.

What was your inspiration for the night market? and/or for the ROs?

I don’t know if I had any one thing that I looked at and decided I wanted to emulate.  My brain kind of does this thing where I toss around little bits and bobs and until something sticks.  Looking back, I can say that I watched Spirited Away around the time I began writing the Night Market. But I’m pretty sure I had already created the concept then? I can’t remember. For the RO’s, I didn’t have any one type of person that inspired me. I just started writing characters that I would enjoy writing.  Which, kind of bit me a bit because I really struggled to write some of them every chapter because there just wasn’t enough conflict to give them ample screen time.

The only one character that had inspiration was Belladonna. I wanted to write a character kind of like my OC Chrysanthemum but a bit harsher.  I just like writing that type of woman the best.

Milo may have been inspired by my love for Peter Pan and tragic antiheroes but I also am just a sucker for that kind of writing so I knew it was going to get tossed in there somewhere. LOL

What inspired you to start writing in general? You have such a lovely way with words, like super evocative descriptions that just transport readers into your worlds and it's so fun and inspiring

I have written for as long as I can remember. I think I’ve spoken a few times before that I wrote a story when I was in the fourth grade, passing it around in a blue spiral notebook to my friends. As an adult, I have rewritten that very story to become something more. I’m hoping to publish it one day.

But what made me really really want to write? That’s a story that I’ve actually been struggling with

So, I was a Buffy the Vampire Slayer kid. I loved that show. I loved Angel and Firefly. I was part of the server that crashed when Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog went up. The dialogue and world building spoke to my teenage heart. Not only that, but, I lived in a very small town. To see stories of strong females was an example that I sorely needed in my very religious driven school.  I idolized Joss Whedon. The way he was able to twist words. The very way he made characters that you felt were so very very real. It influenced my writing more than anything else. I remember an interview once where he said that after you’ve written a scene between two characters, you should delete all the narration and then go back and read it the next day. If you can’t tell who is talking, then your dialogue isn’t strong. I have used that technique countless times.

When it came out that Joss Whedon wasn’t the kind of idol I should have? I was heartbroken. It messed with me a lot. Because I can hands down say, that he was my influence. I don’t know if his wok made me want to write professionally but it was what gave me a passion for stories.  Knowing now that he wasn’t a man that was kind to women. That he took the things he said and did and saw no fault in them, hurt. I was crushed when I heard it all. Because how could I take advice, how could most of my teen years, be shaped by someone like that?

I still struggle with it at times. I can’t really fix what shaped me during a time when I had no idea of the full picture. I think that’s what helps ease it all a bit.  I have also come to the decision personally, that the content can live outside the person who created it. Because in anything, movies, TV shows, comics, books, there are so many other people involved in the creation. The fans and the community built around it are also a big part of the experience.  So, I still say I am a fan of those shows, but I condemn the man.  I do plan to take the good that I was taught however and go out and try to turn that situation into something much better.