Walking Delusions
May. 31st, 2009 11:51 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
n_wilkinsonWalking Delusions is the result of writing without an outline, without direction, depending entirely upon muses, and the whims of an emotional rollercoaster. I started it in the middle of a fight with depression, and used my emotions to fuel the writing. It is acerbic and dark, with no boundaries. There is sex and death, questions about existence, wandering between reality and fantasy, and a dubious ending. It doesn't apologize and it doesn't ask for understanding. And despite it's less than coherent arrangement, and lack of professional effort, it remains one of my more popular stories. I'll never understand that.
My first completed novel in first-person POV, Walking Delusions is told through the POV of the main female character, Anne Jones. She is a perfectly ordinary girl with an extraordinary imagination. When the lines between reality and fantasy blur and cross in a world where what she sees is shaped by her preconceived notions and secret desires, Anne must learn what -- and who -- to trust before losing herself entirely.
I took the oft-used fanplot of inserting an OC character into an existing universe and applied it to original fiction. Like we who dream to be sucked into our favorite video game or anime, Anne accidentally finds herself transferred to another world. Or has she been? Not even Anne herself is sure. Last she remembers is being involved in a car accident. She asks herself constantly: is it a dream, or is this really happening to me? Her journey is no vacation.
Immediately she finds herself in more trouble than she can handle. And without convenient powers or abilities, she's pretty much helpless. An unlucky band of mercenaries stumble upon her and due to the urging of one of its members, they take Anne under her wing. From there, the search for Anne's path back home begins.
The plot is as convuluted as it is complicated. Half the time, I didn't even know where the story is going. And I didn't know how it was going to end until I wrote the final chapter. The setting takes place on a winding path through this otherworld that Anne appears in with varied races and familiar fantasy elements making an appearance.
The four mercenaries are as eclectic as the world itself. Their leader, Melath is an exiled member of the Anoth'di, a race that guards the forest of the Great One, the god of the beginning. Tall and elegant, he is a cold, classic beauty, skilled with both bow and sword. Second-in-command, and often butting heads with Melath for control, is Vincent, the dark-haired and somber member of their group. He hates Anne immediately upon their meeting for reasons Anne doesn't understand. Tattoos line his skin, a warding against the beast that sleeps within his subconscious. The relationship between Melath and Vincent is complicated by the fact that not only are they lovers, but Vincent is also Melath's slave, belonging to him as evidenced by the claiming rings in his ears.
Joining the two is Ryou, a former monk of the Babel Order, one which specializes in language. He quickly becomes Anne's closest friend and harbors his secrets close, Melath claiming that he is the most dangerous member of their group, though his kindness seems to prove otherwise. He has a disease that is similar to leprosy, and the medicine he covers his skin with is all that staves off the degenerating progression of it. He also has a small, clairvoyant gift. And lastly, Ivory is the only female member of the four mercenares, though she beats them all in bloodthirstiness. Ivory is happy as long as their is a battle to be fought and coin to be made. She considers Anne useless and therefore doesn't like her. It doesn't help that she harbors a secret affection for Ryou, whose eyes are only for Anne.
Anne comes to learn, through various events and dream sequences, that the world she has found herself in is in fact one that she has created herself, down to each painstaking detail. She believes herself to be in a dream, except for the startling reality of it, and the fact that she can't seem to wake up, no matter what happens. In the end, Anne is faced with a decision -- to destroy the world she has created, or to let it prosper. The choice is hampered by the memories of her long journey, the deaths of those she knew and cared for, the lives she had ruined along the way, and the life that grows inside of her.
The plot is built around surprise after surprise, so I don't wish to describe more of it into detail. If I reveal too much, it takes away from the enticement of the story.
I am not sure where I can market this fic. It's a fantasy, but it's very dark. It has some light erotica in it, but not enough to be considered erotica. There is evidence of a homosexual relationship, but not even for it to be considered gay and lesbian literature. And the one erotic scene is sorta a threesome but not really, making it unsuitable for the general public.
Still, despite it's limited publishing potential, it is the one that remained the most popular on sites like aff.net and even friends of mine who have read it, still claim it's their favorite. I was pleasantly surprised. I hope to polish it up and at least make it suitable for self-publishing.
My first completed novel in first-person POV, Walking Delusions is told through the POV of the main female character, Anne Jones. She is a perfectly ordinary girl with an extraordinary imagination. When the lines between reality and fantasy blur and cross in a world where what she sees is shaped by her preconceived notions and secret desires, Anne must learn what -- and who -- to trust before losing herself entirely.
I took the oft-used fanplot of inserting an OC character into an existing universe and applied it to original fiction. Like we who dream to be sucked into our favorite video game or anime, Anne accidentally finds herself transferred to another world. Or has she been? Not even Anne herself is sure. Last she remembers is being involved in a car accident. She asks herself constantly: is it a dream, or is this really happening to me? Her journey is no vacation.
Immediately she finds herself in more trouble than she can handle. And without convenient powers or abilities, she's pretty much helpless. An unlucky band of mercenaries stumble upon her and due to the urging of one of its members, they take Anne under her wing. From there, the search for Anne's path back home begins.
The plot is as convuluted as it is complicated. Half the time, I didn't even know where the story is going. And I didn't know how it was going to end until I wrote the final chapter. The setting takes place on a winding path through this otherworld that Anne appears in with varied races and familiar fantasy elements making an appearance.
The four mercenaries are as eclectic as the world itself. Their leader, Melath is an exiled member of the Anoth'di, a race that guards the forest of the Great One, the god of the beginning. Tall and elegant, he is a cold, classic beauty, skilled with both bow and sword. Second-in-command, and often butting heads with Melath for control, is Vincent, the dark-haired and somber member of their group. He hates Anne immediately upon their meeting for reasons Anne doesn't understand. Tattoos line his skin, a warding against the beast that sleeps within his subconscious. The relationship between Melath and Vincent is complicated by the fact that not only are they lovers, but Vincent is also Melath's slave, belonging to him as evidenced by the claiming rings in his ears.
Joining the two is Ryou, a former monk of the Babel Order, one which specializes in language. He quickly becomes Anne's closest friend and harbors his secrets close, Melath claiming that he is the most dangerous member of their group, though his kindness seems to prove otherwise. He has a disease that is similar to leprosy, and the medicine he covers his skin with is all that staves off the degenerating progression of it. He also has a small, clairvoyant gift. And lastly, Ivory is the only female member of the four mercenares, though she beats them all in bloodthirstiness. Ivory is happy as long as their is a battle to be fought and coin to be made. She considers Anne useless and therefore doesn't like her. It doesn't help that she harbors a secret affection for Ryou, whose eyes are only for Anne.
Anne comes to learn, through various events and dream sequences, that the world she has found herself in is in fact one that she has created herself, down to each painstaking detail. She believes herself to be in a dream, except for the startling reality of it, and the fact that she can't seem to wake up, no matter what happens. In the end, Anne is faced with a decision -- to destroy the world she has created, or to let it prosper. The choice is hampered by the memories of her long journey, the deaths of those she knew and cared for, the lives she had ruined along the way, and the life that grows inside of her.
The plot is built around surprise after surprise, so I don't wish to describe more of it into detail. If I reveal too much, it takes away from the enticement of the story.
I am not sure where I can market this fic. It's a fantasy, but it's very dark. It has some light erotica in it, but not enough to be considered erotica. There is evidence of a homosexual relationship, but not even for it to be considered gay and lesbian literature. And the one erotic scene is sorta a threesome but not really, making it unsuitable for the general public.
Still, despite it's limited publishing potential, it is the one that remained the most popular on sites like aff.net and even friends of mine who have read it, still claim it's their favorite. I was pleasantly surprised. I hope to polish it up and at least make it suitable for self-publishing.
