#Mallory Forbane

[author-a-holmes]

Good Lines Tag

Thank you @avrablake for the Tag. I've not seen this one before but I love it, so I'm going to pass it onto a few people...

Tagging forward, with no pressure, to; @faelanvance @charlesjosephwrites @authoralexharvey @acertainmoshke @queen-kass-the-writer @sylhorn @ashen-crest @world-of-fire-and-flight-admin @afoolandathief @fictionalbullshitter @artbyeloquent @ettawritesnstudies @sleepyowlwrites @duckingwriting @kaiusvnoir and @tisiphonewolfe. Also anyone else who wants to play, consider this an open tag.

Rules

What's a line that you're tremendously proud of writing, and what's a line that's just out-of-context ridiculous?

CW for the snippets: One talks about death and dying. The other talks about womens monthlies.

Line I'm Proud Of

It's a line Andric Roche says to Lizzy in Changeling, and I remember writing it, pausing and going. "Wow. Where did that come from?". It's stuck with me as a very quoteable line, and it's one of my favourites in Changeling.

"Survival is always about chance, Lizzy. Everything in the world wants to kill us. Even time."

Out-of-Context Ridiculous

I wasn't sure what to share for this one, but then earlier this evening (May 9th) I was doing a bit of writing practice with some characters from a future book and one of them spat out a line that's just perfect.

"Are you asking me to... to speed up my moonflow?!" she hissed out, and something on her face or in her voice must have warned Nik how close he was to igniting her fury because his hands raised fully, palms out, as he shook his head.

[verald-chronicles]

Mallory Forbane

[verald-chronicles]

Nik: We all know which of us is more invested in this relationship. Mallory: Don't be ridiculous. I confessed how I felt before you did. Nik: Ah, but I was attracted to you first. Mallory: Well, that— Nik: And I pursued a relationship with you first. Mallory: That's not— Nik: And— Mallory: And which of us was the first to say 'I love you'? Me, that's who! Nik: I proposed first! (Pulls out a ring) Mallory: Well, I— Wait… What?!

@faelanvance

[author-a-holmes]

Belated OC Kiss Week

I was sick when Kiss Week was on this year, and I was very VERY much looking forward to those prompts.

So I'm taking advantage of the fact that I need some promotional posts next week across all my socials, and completing the prompts a month late.

And I'm loving some of these prompt fills I've come up with tonight.

My favourite part about OCKissWeek is that I get to play with characters that are either on the back burner, or who don't always have POV scenes of their own within the main books I'm working on.

[author-a-holmes]

Belated OCKiss24; #7

Prompt: "Dare"

Nikalas Greyson & Mallory Forbane

“So tell me to run. Or dare to sit and watch what we’ll become.” — Ivy by Taylor Swift

His hands were shaking.

Clenched into fists so tight, Nik could feel his nails tearing into his palms, the pain allowing him to focus past the burning desire to tear her heart from her chest.

“Get. Out.”

It was a growl. A warning. All he could manage, but she never took orders from without a fight and her blue eyes sparked with indignation that made him want to groan.

She was stunning when she was angry, but if she didn’t listen to him...

Nik had never faced the full power of his mothers’ curse. To kill that which you love. But the madness creeping into his mind now...

“Oh no. I don’t know what ridiculous idea you’ve gotten into your head now, but I’m not—”

Her gasp as he slammed her backwards nearly broke him. Fists crashing against the stone wall on either side of Mallory’s body was the only restraint he could summon.

“For once in your life, could you listen to me?” he snarled. Begged. Snarled.

This weak little human had brought him to his knees, and while there were any number of creatures he could protect her from, Nik couldn’t protect her from himself.

“You idiot,” she muttered, and he snapped his gaze up from her booted feet in time to watch her roll her eyes. No fear. No disgust. Just exasperation.

“Mallory...” he growled, but the woman silenced him with a kiss. Soft and light and unlike any kiss she’d bestowed on him before.

“You won’t hurt me,” she promised, pulling back, and he could feel her power leaking out into the room as her eyes began to glow and the pull of the curse faded. “Magic won’t let you."

Hey there!

Do you like my writing? Feel like supporting me so I can write some more? Check out my debut fantasy novel ‘Changeling’.

It’s available in Ebook at all your favourite online retailers, and in Paperback, and Hardcover from Amazon.

Changeling’s Ebook is 50% off between March 16th-22nd 2024, so grab your copy today!

Would you like to check out some more of my writing for free?

You can grab the prequel novella to Changeling, “Whatever Happened To Madeline Hail?” by signing up for my newsletter.

I also send out Flash Fiction pieces exclusive to my newsletter subscribers, and you’ll be the first to hear about sale prices, cover reveals and blurbs for all my future book releases.

[author-a-holmes]

🌙 and 👻 for the October ask game!

Thank you for the ask hun! (Link to the Ask Game; Here)

🌙 Moon: Do any of your OCs have dark backstories or secrets they’re trying to keep?

I had to give this one a bit of a think because I have such a cast of characters now across several projects lol.

No one in the Fey Touched Trilogy has a dark backstory, and I don't think they're keeping any huge secrets. Everyone HAS secrets, of course, but nothing earth shattering...

I think the biggest "secret", that's no longer really a secret for anyone who has read Changeling, if Lizzy's mixed parentage. But even that wasn't neccessarily something that her mum, Madeline, was intending to keep from her forever.

👻 Ghost: Can you tease some wip ideas that have been haunting you/something you want to write in the future?

The Chronicles of Verald.

I've described this project to my best friend as "The idea that is standing behind me, in the shadows at the corner of the room, grinning widely, while holding a baseball bat."

It's so freaking intimidating to me, but I've just got this GUT feeling it's going to be ridiculously fun to write.

It's going to be a series of Romantic Fantasy books, a minimum of nine, possibly as many as 12, that follow a character called Mallory Forbane who is a Viken. Vikens are rare and the only people who have the ability to manipulate and edit curses cast by Volvar, the spell-casters of the world.

The other lead character, Nikalas Greyson, is a Draugr, cursed to immortality, his curse is mutating and he requires the help of a Viken every few centuries to manipulate the curse back into a bareable state.

Nik's going to be a Morally Grey character on the darker side of that spectrum, and I really want to lean heavily on the rivals-to-lovers trope between him and Mallory over the course of the series.

But this beast is such a monster, I'm not even letting myself work on the outline properly under Fey Touched is complete. I have a metric tonne of worldbuilding for this already, and character outlines, and backstories, and plot details, and original cursed creatures/monsters. I've even outlined book one, because I was doing something different with my outlines and wanted to see if the idea was even viable... but then I've put it away, but it's constantly on my mind.

I have a dedicated sideblog for this project, and I just reblog stuff that makes me think of the story or gives me vibes or idea's, so it's definitely what I'd call an active project, even though I'm not currently working on it in any meaningful way.

[author-a-holmes]

Belated OCKiss24; #7

Prompt: "Dare"

Nikalas Greyson & Mallory Forbane

“So tell me to run. Or dare to sit and watch what we’ll become.” — Ivy by Taylor Swift

His hands were shaking.

Clenched into fists so tight, Nik could feel his nails tearing into his palms, the pain allowing him to focus past the burning desire to tear her heart from her chest.

“Get. Out.”

It was a growl. A warning. All he could manage, but she never took orders from without a fight and her blue eyes sparked with indignation that made him want to groan.

She was stunning when she was angry, but if she didn’t listen to him...

Nik had never faced the full power of his mothers’ curse. To kill that which you love. But the madness creeping into his mind now...

“Oh no. I don’t know what ridiculous idea you’ve gotten into your head now, but I’m not—”

Her gasp as he slammed her backwards nearly broke him. Fists crashing against the stone wall on either side of Mallory’s body was the only restraint he could summon.

“For once in your life, could you listen to me?” he snarled. Begged. Snarled.

This weak little human had brought him to his knees, and while there were any number of creatures he could protect her from, Nik couldn’t protect her from himself.

“You idiot,” she muttered, and he snapped his gaze up from her booted feet in time to watch her roll her eyes. No fear. No disgust. Just exasperation.

“Mallory...” he growled, but the woman silenced him with a kiss. Soft and light and unlike any kiss she’d bestowed on him before.

“You won’t hurt me,” she promised, pulling back, and he could feel her power leaking out into the room as her eyes began to glow and the pull of the curse faded. “Magic won’t let you."

Hey there!

Do you like my writing? Feel like supporting me so I can write some more? Check out my debut fantasy novel ‘Changeling’.

It’s available in Ebook at all your favourite online retailers, and in Paperback, and Hardcover from Amazon.

Changeling’s Ebook is 50% off between March 16th-22nd 2024, so grab your copy today!

Would you like to check out some more of my writing for free?

You can grab the prequel novella to Changeling, “Whatever Happened To Madeline Hail?” by signing up for my newsletter.

I also send out Flash Fiction pieces exclusive to my newsletter subscribers, and you’ll be the first to hear about sale prices, cover reveals and blurbs for all my future book releases.

[author-a-holmes]

Belated OCKiss24; #6

Prompt: "Reach"

Nikalas Greyson & Mallory Forbane

“I reached for you, but you were gone. I knew I had to go back home. You searched the world for something else, to make you feel like what we had. And in the end, in Wonderland, we both went mad.” — Wonderland by Taylor Swift

He’d been teasing her.

How he’d found her childhood journal, Mallory would probably never know. What had possessed the creature over a thousand years old to read her childhood journal, Mallory was certain she’d never understand.

All she cared about, in that moment, was making sure he didn’t read any more of it. Especially aloud!

The thing about Nikalas was that he didn’t have all that much on her in height. An inch. Maybe two. So when she lunged for the bound papers, his only option was to lean back.

She stretched up onto her toes. He curved his spine. And suddenly they were nose to nose, breath mingling, laughter still on their lips as she chased him.

She chased him. For once the tables had turned and he seemed to realise it the same moment she did.

He’d made her laugh. On one of the worst days of her life. And despite the way she could see desire glimmering in his gaze, Mallory got the distinct impression he’d done so without any pre-mediated ulterior motive.

And a few pebbles crumbled off the wall she’d placed around her heart. More fell when she realised he hadn’t taken advantage of the way she was pressed against him. His free hand hadn’t fallen to her hip, and his stance didn’t soften, didn’t bring his lips to hers.

No. Mallory did that.

And as the kiss exploded across both their senses, the childhood journal was quickly tossed aside and left forgotten. Lost amongst the leaves scattered across the forest floor.

Hey there!

Do you like my writing? Feel like supporting me so I can write some more? Check out my debut fantasy novel ‘Changeling’.

It’s available in Ebook at all your favourite online retailers, and in Paperback, and Hardcover from Amazon.

Changeling’s Ebook is 50% off between March 16th-22nd 2024, so grab your copy today!

Would you like to check out some more of my writing for free?

You can grab the prequel novella to Changeling, “Whatever Happened To Madeline Hail?” by signing up for my newsletter.

I also send out Flash Fiction pieces exclusive to my newsletter subscribers, and you’ll be the first to hear about sale prices, cover reveals and blurbs for all my future book releases.

[ideas-and-inpo]

Character A: Mallory Forbane

Character B: Nikalas Greyson

one of my absolute favourite tropes is where character A asks character B "why are you doing this for me? why do you care so much? what do you get out of this?" and B just gives them a sad smile and says "isn't it obvious?" with THE MOST affection possible, just so obviously head over heels in love that it's almost ridiculous that A hasn't realised it yet. just fuck me up why don't you

[author-a-holmes]

Belated OCKiss24; #6

Prompt: "Reach"

Nikalas Greyson & Mallory Forbane

“I reached for you, but you were gone. I knew I had to go back home. You searched the world for something else, to make you feel like what we had. And in the end, in Wonderland, we both went mad.” — Wonderland by Taylor Swift

He’d been teasing her.

How he’d found her childhood journal, Mallory would probably never know. What had possessed the creature over a thousand years old to read her childhood journal, Mallory was certain she’d never understand.

All she cared about, in that moment, was making sure he didn’t read any more of it. Especially aloud!

The thing about Nikalas was that he didn’t have all that much on her in height. An inch. Maybe two. So when she lunged for the bound papers, his only option was to lean back.

She stretched up onto her toes. He curved his spine. And suddenly they were nose to nose, breath mingling, laughter still on their lips as she chased him.

She chased him. For once the tables had turned and he seemed to realise it the same moment she did.

He’d made her laugh. On one of the worst days of her life. And despite the way she could see desire glimmering in his gaze, Mallory got the distinct impression he’d done so without any pre-mediated ulterior motive.

And a few pebbles crumbled off the wall she’d placed around her heart. More fell when she realised he hadn’t taken advantage of the way she was pressed against him. His free hand hadn’t fallen to her hip, and his stance didn’t soften, didn’t bring his lips to hers.

No. Mallory did that.

And as the kiss exploded across both their senses, the childhood journal was quickly tossed aside and left forgotten. Lost amongst the leaves scattered across the forest floor.

Hey there!

Do you like my writing? Feel like supporting me so I can write some more? Check out my debut fantasy novel ‘Changeling’.

It’s available in Ebook at all your favourite online retailers, and in Paperback, and Hardcover from Amazon.

Changeling’s Ebook is 50% off between March 16th-22nd 2024, so grab your copy today!

Would you like to check out some more of my writing for free?

You can grab the prequel novella to Changeling, “Whatever Happened To Madeline Hail?” by signing up for my newsletter.

I also send out Flash Fiction pieces exclusive to my newsletter subscribers, and you’ll be the first to hear about sale prices, cover reveals and blurbs for all my future book releases.

[author-a-holmes]

I try to keep my cast fairly balanced, but I've voted female characters, female writer, because I usually START with a female character and build the plot, secondary main's, and supporting characters around her.

For Fey Touched it's Lizzy, and in the initial draft of the story Booker was her female best friend.

Stolen has Stella at the lead, and while the cast is slightly male-leaning, it's more because the secondary characters are Reilly's support network first.

I haven't developed the cast lists for my other projects as extensively, but the main characters are Krysis who is a female grim reaper, and Mallory Forbane, another female lead.

Writers: do you normally write female or male characters??

Recently I realized that, as a girl, most of my characters are usually boys. That let me to question why I was doing that, and I think it's because it kinda gives me a sense of freedom. Like, as a writer, I'm intrigued to explore different perspectives and worlds I wouldn't be able to in real life, so I guess writing male characters is kind of my "what would it be like being a boy?". So now, out of curiosity I want to see if this happens to any of you or you just like to write from what you know.

Also, please join my other ongoing poll if you haven't voted yet!!

If anyone would like to share more about their characters, I'd be very happy to know.

Happy writing :)

[ideas-and-inpo]

Nikalas Greyson/Mallory Forbane Inspiration

When days are dark darling, remember, my love for you won’t go away…

David Ramirez

[author-a-holmes]

Accurate for...

Lizzy/Andric

Stella/Reilly

Mallory/Nik

Probably Krysis and Jack too, looking at this pattern.

Me? Have a Type? No idea what you're talking about lol...

I am a WHORE for “the love is requited, they’re both just idiots”

[verald-chronicles]

These are brilliant!

Mallory to or about Nik;

2 / 9 / 13 / 17 / 18 / 19

Nikalas to or about Mallory

1 / 7 / 8 / 12 / 16 / 21 / 22

writing prompts! you could've just punched me instead of speaking edition

all invented by me

"Don't fool yourself. We're not good people."

“No matter how much it kills me to see you bleeding, I’ll always be here for you.”

"We want a dumb club that exists for no other reason than that we’re all lonely kids with too much time and way too many emotions to not become delinquents. If we didn’t pretend to stash alcohol or punch each other once or twice a week, that’s what we’d all be. You know we would.”

"Don't agree with me, fight with me. Don't leave my adrenaline hanging, hurt me back. Don't you love to be enemies with me?"

"I'd really like it if you could have feelings about each other independent of how you feel about me, actually."

"I'll just sit here outside your body waiting until you're ready to poke your head out. Take your time."

"Maybe I'm not good. Maybe I haven't been good for a long time. Maybe I want to do something about it. What the hell do I do about it?"

"You're doing gentle things with your hands. Towards me. It's throwing me off. Give me a second and I'll be fine."

"Shut up, we're all imperfect and trying. Just because you're fraying a little faster doesn't mean you don't deserve to be patched up. So shut up."

"Crying hurts. I don't wanna hurt, and crying hurts."

"We're all looking at the same stars, and there's plenty of room for you to hang your wishes up there. Plenty of room for you to sit next to me here, too."

"You are not a knife. You are strong walls and windows with locks and a door that opens. You are safety and a defense, but you are not a knife."

"I can't just sit around doing nothing, but nobody really wants to let me do anything or go anywhere because you're still mad about it. So if you could be mad on the inside and let me have your support again, I think everyone would benefit."

"You wanna know why I understand? You were willing to kill to get sent here. I was, too."

"Most of the time we have to just push aside personal needs and do what's best for everyone. Sometimes, though, we can stop. I think we have to. I think we have to take small moments to breathe and let go. You taught me that."

"We’ve already lost more people than we needed to and we absolutely cannot afford to lose you, too. I can't- if you do not come back, I will not survive.”

“I’m not pretending! Don’t act like you really know me. You don’t know everything I’ve done, everything I’ve been through. I think I know myself enough to say when I’m okay or not."

"Your self-destructive tendencies aren't cute, okay? They stress me out and tear a little more into this trust that we're supposedly building. I don't want to friends with a pile of ashes."

"I pushed myself too hard last night because I always push myself too hard where others are involved. Do you get it? I was worried about you."

"They don't really want me around. I'm a disturbance. You're the one who wants me back. Say that. Tell me you want me. That's what I really wanted to hear, anyway."

"It doesn't really matter what I say, you'll take it the wrong way, because you want it. You want a fight, and I'm not going to give it to you."

"What do you want me say, that I regret it? There's no time for regret. I'd do it again. I refuse to apologize for the decisions I've made that can't be reversed. I'd rather just make better ones now."

"I'm not going to kick you out. I'm not going to make you welcome. I'm not going to be cruel to you. I'm not going to engage with you. I'm letting you stay. I don't care about the rest."

"You keep trying to feel my pain for me, and I can't allow that. Like my choices or my consequences, my pain is mine. If you want to hold my hand, that's great. But stop trying to save me from my demons. That's not your job."

"Yeah, of course I want to know you. Because I'm trying to love you. I can do that better if you're not just a paper cutout of a person. Color yourself in, tell me about it, and regardless of preferences for technique, I'll love you for existing. Okay?"

[verald-chronicles]

.... *Nervous Laughter*

@faelanvance - Nikalas Greyson with Mallory? 'Kalas with Mallory!