The Tyranny of Contemporary Western-Style Fantasy

Happy 2022, everyone! Mary here, and earlier today I was trying to decide whether to kick off the new year with a fluffy 2021 look-back or a soap box rant. Before y'all say "well, Mary, OF COURSE you chose the soap box," let me mention that I am incredibly lazy, and soap box rants take more energy than fluff. But this is something that's been on my mind for a spell now, and I figured now is a good a time as any to let it out.

The very title of this post might have some of y'all riled up already. Let me start off by clarifying that I very much enjoy Western-style fantasies. I marathon the Lord of the Rings trilogy -- extended edition, of course! -- on the regular and binge watched all 8 episodes of The Witcher's second season within 24 hours of its release.

I've started noticing something about the kinds of fantasy stories that get popularized though. I say "popularized" as a quick way to summarize all the ways in which stories spread beyond a handful of the creator's closest devotees -- whether through big publishing deals, or TV/movie adaptations, or marketing pushes, etc. Because I'm sure plenty of stories of all kinds get told. Yet until they're popularized, few hear them.

Anyway, the type that gets popularized follows a certain set of rules that's been defined as "good writing" by The Powers that Be. And those rules arise out of Western-centric ideas.

At pretty much every convention I've ever been to, there's always been at least one panel on world-building for aspiring writers. The advice is usually some variation on "make sure you have internal rules and stick with them," and heaven knows I've given that same advice a million times (and there's always one author on the panel who spends far too long intricately detailing how he does it in HIS book, but I digress). 

But at a convention I attended a few months back, one panelist said something that stuck with me: "I want magic to be more magical." (Since this is a soap box rant, I'm omitting names so I -- hopefully -- won't insult anyone. Nothing personal here!). This panelist then went on to describe how in a book, the "rules" of magic were inexplicably broken for dramatic effect. Another panelist immediately interrupted with a haughty, "See, that would take me right out of the story." What proceeded was a (rather supercilious) exchange of praise by magic rules-lawyers types.

You know, the kind who want to know precisely how much of which ingredient must go into a potion of what size to do how many points of damage and blah blah blah...

What was lost in all that back-and-forth was what the first panelist meant: "I want magic to be more magical." I would take that one step further and say, "I want fantasy to be more fantastical." 

What do I mean by that? Simply that not everything needs an explanation, that sometimes the mysterious and inexplicable can be impactful because of its lack of definitions. I dare say that most stories about magic from across time and across the world are like that. Do we need some logic behind why Rapunzel's hair could grow so improbably long? Animated fantasy films get away with it all the time... What are the limits of Elsa's wintery powers anyway? Who cares? It's magic!

As a fantasy writer myself, I've always dwelled in a murky in-between. Sure, my magic systems have rules when it makes sense for the stories -- like in the Flynn Nightsider tales, about teens who fight monsters, I defined what weapons can kill which monsters because it added an extra challenge for the characters. But sometimes, I'd rather just let magic be magic.

My last fantasy manuscript takes place in a world where humans live underwater (think the Nautilus navigating between Disney's Atlantis and the Gungan City in The Phantom Menace). The whole thing is so out-of-this-world, any screen adaptation would probably have to be animated. Yet I still got asked about the mechanics behind it all. My answer: Who cares? It's magic!

The people who made those comments were just doing what I'd asked, which was to give me their honest feedback, and this is not meant to be anything against them. But it's a mentality that's been hammered into us by the kinds of media that's been popularized lately, and the kinds of discussions that have come out of them. I'm sure the popularity of gaming has something to do with it. Hey, if you want all your magic battles to have specific, mathematically calculated damage points and whatnot, more power to you. But that's not the only way to tell a story.

I could go on about all the other ways in which contemporary Western-style fantasy is limiting the kinds of stories we get exposed to, but I've already gone on far too long on just one point. So I'll pick one more thing to rant about before calling it a night: Agency. Goddamn agency. 

What is agency in storytelling? Basically, it's giving the main character control of the narrative. It's the Hero's Journey -- which I love! -- or the Great Man theory of history -- which I don't love. It's your knight in shining armor choosing to sally forth and slay the dragon to rescue the princess.

As for the princess? Well, if you're going to tell it from her point of view, you'd better let her control the situation too. Which is awesome of course, but not everyone's story.

Because not everyone has agency. Some are faced with powers too great to defeat, and the story lies in how they survive when they don't have control of the narrative. That's worth telling too.

I'll give a (possibly silly) example: the animated Thumbelina movie from the 1990s. Like all the other little girls in my school, I loved it. I remembered it with the same fondness as the famous Disney movies from that era -- The Little Mermaid and whatnot. Which is why I was surprised to recently learn that critics panned it at the time. One of the reasons? Because Thumbelina had no agency.

I rewatched the movie a few weeks ago out of nostalgia, and poor Thumbelina really has no control over the story at all. She's basically a human trafficking victim: kidnapped from her bedroom and passed from male to male (these are critters so "man" doesn't seem like the right word) when all she wants is to go home and marry her true love. At two inches tall and with no superpowers (unless you count Jodi Benson's singing voice), she's unable to fight back as she's dragged from one unfortunate situation to another. In the end, she gets rescued.

She may have no agency, but hers is still a story of resilience and survival. Is it not worth telling then? I wonder if the reason why so many of us elementary school girls loved it is because we could relate to being tiny and powerless, always being told what to do by others and having virtually no control over anything. The story may not have been the kind of rah-rah-girl-power tale that usually gets held up as a good example for girls (and, again, I love those), but that doesn't mean it wasn't worthwhile.

Anyway, this wasn't meant to be a full-throated defense of the animated Thumbelina (heaven knows that movie has issues). The point is that a character doesn't have to have agency to mean something, yet we've all been hammered with the message that YOUR CHARACTER MUST HAVE AGENCY AND DRIVE THE STORY OR YOU MIGHT AS WELL RIP IT UP AND BURN THE PIECES.

Tyranny, I tell you.

It's easy to internalize these messages -- lord knows I have -- and repeat them over and over until they multiply like omicron (insert "what I see" "what you did there" pie chart meme). They've been repeated so many times that it's become accepted that these kinds of things -- world-building with rigid rules, characters with obvious agency -- are what make a fantasy story "good." You hear this advice, you heed it, you pass it along, and then you use it as a rubric when evaluating other stories (and by "you", I'm including me).

But what is "good" anyway? Who decided what was "good"?

It reminds me of the grudge I have against Stephen King's On Writing not because of anything that's written in there, but because of the number of people who treat it as God, unquestioningly, uncritically using it as the standard by which to judge all writing. It's one set of opinions and advice. Ignoring it won't tear the fabric of the universe.

So, what's to be done? Well, therein lies the challenge. To paraphrase Yoda, we must unlearn what we have learned. Read stories about characters without agency and see how they, too, are valuable, rather than dismissing them out of hand. Stay with a tale where magic is inexplicable, illogical even and feel the impact. Dig a little deeper when deciding what's good, rather than giving knee-jerk reactions based on someone else's rules.

All right, stepping off my soap box now. Good night, y'all.

An Interview with Emily Colin and Madeline Dyer, editors of UNBOUND--Stories of Transformation, Love and Monsters

www.karissalaurel.com

A few years ago I had the great fortune to be invited to contribute to a YA anthology called Wicked South: Secrets and Lies.  Emily Colin was one of the editors of that anthology, and I enjoyed working with her immensely. Luckily, she remembered me several years later and invited me to participate in her newest project, a YA anthology called Unbound, Stories of Transformation, Love, and Monsters, from Five Points Press.

I'm here today with New York Times bestselling author, Emily Colin and her SIBA Award Winning co-editor, Madeline Dyer, to get the details on this forthcoming anthology and find out more about their work on the book. Welcome Emily and Madeline!

When Emily approached me about the anthology, she said the stories should all be based on a theme of "transformation." But before she reached out, there had obviously been a lot of plotting and scheming going on behind the scenes. So, where did the idea to do a group anthology come from, and how did y'all settle on a theme?

 MD: I can’t specifically remember the occasion that we first thought of creating an anthology—it just seemed to be one of those ideas that had been bouncing around our group-chat for a little while—but it was during lockdown in 2020 when we really began to seriously think about it. The five of us in the group-chat (Emily, Lisa Amowitz, Sarah Anderson, Heidi Ayarbe, and I) thought that if we each wrote a novella/long short story, we’d have quite a good-sized anthology between us and also have all the skills we need to bring it to life, as while we’re all authors, between us we also have experience in all the other parts of publication—editing, cover design, interior art, marketing, etc. So, that’s where it started.

 And we settled on the theme of transformation pretty quickly really. We knew right away that we needed a theme that was flexible and could be adapted to a lot of different stories. That was really important as we didn’t want to be too prescriptive or controlling in what we were asking our writers to produce, and so themes that can be interpreted in many different ways (and across different genres too) are great.

Once we had the theme, we drew up a list of authors that we knew who we wanted to personally invite to submit work to our anthology before we put out general calls for submissions too.

EC: I feel like Madeline really said it all! I’ll add that the transformation theme also came from how challenging 2020 (and now, 2021) has been for all of us—that it’s changed every person I know in some ways, both big and small. We wanted to take that transformative energy and direct it into something creative. Our group has been a tremendous safe haven for us—even though between the five of us, we’re located in four different countries (the US, the UK, France, and Colombia), we chat multiple times every day—and we wanted to put some of that positive energy out into the world, during a time that we all need something to look forward to.

For me, there isn't a word better than "transformation" to exemplify the young adult experience, both in life and in literature. Young adulthood is literally the period of transformation between childhood and adulthood. There's so much change during that time, spawning so many experiences, and this anthology seems like a great expression of those various experiences. But having to choose just a few of those myriad stories seems like an overwhelming task! Can you tell me a little about what the process of putting together this anthology has been like from the Editors' point of view?

EC: Oh my gosh. It’s been fun, it’s been challenging, it’s been an adventure. We decided that out of the five of us, Lisa and Sarah would concentrate on design, Heidi would brainstorm marketing ideas, and Madeline and I—since we edit professionally—would take on that side of things. I’m in the US and Madeline’s in the UK, so sometimes coordinating stuff that we had to do in real time—such as having conversations with contributing authors—created a logistical quandary, but we figured it out!

Madeline talks a bit about how the details of the process worked, below, so I won’t go into that too much—but I will say that when you’re working with a diverse group of contributors, in terms of geography, background, styles, interests, experience, etc., it’s important to find a flow with each author. Madeline and I each worked with a select group of the contributors, but sometimes we’d collaborate to figure out the best approach for a given story. I loved this—editing can be a lonely process sometimes. It was lovely to have another editor to bounce ideas and thoughts off, and Madeline is brilliant. I felt spoiled!

MD: It’s been a lot of work! I definitely under-estimated how much work it would be. I write and edit full-time, and I thought at first that this would just be a nice, little side project! How wrong was I! Turns out co-editing an anthology is hard work and so, so time-consuming.

As stories came in, Emily and I read each one and voted on whether to include it (as well as getting Lisa, Heidi, and Sarah to vote too). We marked stories ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and began to think about how we’d work editorially on each story while also preserving individual voices and making the anthology into a cohesive whole. 

When we’d finalised which stories we wanted, Emily and I divided them between us, and we each worked with the authors on developmental, line, and copyedits. And of course Emily and I were each writing our own stories too—we were each other’s editors for those, so that was super fun.

How many stories will the anthology have and what kind of genres can readers expect to see?

MD: We’ve got 12 pieces in this YA anthology, including a thought-provoking contemporary story with an unreliable narrator, a beautifully poignant narrative poem, epic fantasy stories, and some dark and chilling speculative fiction. We’ve also got a number of #ownvoices stories in this collection too.

EC: Well, the anthology’s subtitle is Transformation, Love, and Monsters, so…I feel like that kind of says it all! One of the things I really adored about editing UNBOUND is that the theme ties all the stories together—but within that, there’s so much variety. As Madeline said, there are contemporary stories grounded in our reality, urban fantasy, dystopian fiction, love stories with a twist…the central theme is change, and that’s something that all of the characters in these stories do—for good or for ill! 

Among those 12 stories are the 3 that we've individually contributed as authors. I describe my story, "Of Marshmallows and Monsters", as a slightly fantastical, YA version of Pitbulls and Parolees--a girl seeks redemption for her gruesome past by rehabilitating monsters. Can you both give us a little hint of what your stories will be about?

MD: Sure! So, mine is called “Inside the Night,” and it’s a dark YA fantasy with a contemporary setting. It’s about a mysterious Power in the sky that turns people to stone, and it draws heavily on Greek mythology and the Medusa story, as well as taking a very feminist angle. It’s also #ownvoices for ace rep and chronic illness rep. 

EC: Oooh, yes! Mine is called “Smooth the Descent,” based on the quote, “Smooth the descent, easy is the way.” If you’re familiar with Virgil’s Aeneid, you might recognize that this references the descent into hell. ;) My short story is set in the universe of my YA trilogy, where people live—and die—by the laws of the Seven Deadly Sins. In it, a teenage librarian whose passionate curiosity far exceeds her restrictive society’s limits, and a medic whose desire to heal sends him in pursuit of forbidden knowledge, collide—and, despite the fact that lust is punishable by death, they fall in love. Hijinks ensue.

A little Easter egg—if you’ve read the first book or prequel novella in my Seven Sins series, you’ll recognize that the librarian and the medic in question are none other than my main character Ari’s parents. 

I've read both of the full-length novels in Emily's Seven Sins series (one of which is the soon-to-be-released sequel, Final Siege of the Seven Sins. It's awesome having connections and getting to read advanced copies!) and I'm super thrilled to get to read more set in that world. Along with introducing readers to your writing, what do you hope readers will get from this anthology?

MD: When I was editing the stories in this anthology, my favourite thing was the escapism it offered. These stories are all so different, and we’re covering many different genres while also examining the idea of transformation from so many different angles—the characters are engaging, the stories exciting, the plots surprising. One moment I’m on the moors of Scotland learning about folklore and monsters, the next I’m in an American museum where there’s a mummy on the loose. These stories really just grab you—and so I think (and hope) that escapism will be one of the big things that readers get. Especially in the current climate—escapism is what so many of us need.

EC: I couldn’t agree more! We created this anthology to give ourselves an escape from the crushing reality of recent events—and for me, at least, it delivered! I hope that readers will find that same sense of freedom in its pages—the sense of being transported to a world that exists alongside our own, where each story is a universe unto itself. 

Also, we were intentional, as Madeline mentions, about including a diverse group of authors. The writers in UNBOUND hail from Colombia, the UK, France, Cyprus, and the United States, and their stories represent their perspectives—including LGBTQIA+, chronic illness, and BIPOC representation. I hope that readers see themselves reflected in our characters, and find themselves spending time with kindred spirits as they read.

When, where, and how will the anthology be available to readers?

 Unbound releases on the 15th February, and it’ll be available as a free ebook download on Amazon and other ebook retailers. There will also be hard copies available to purchase from the usual sites and stores too.

Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to me about Unbound and give us a glimpse at the hard behind-the-scenes work the editors have to put into such an undertaking. I'm so proud to be a part of this project, and can't wait to share it with our readers. Find out more about Emily and Madeline here:

Emily Colin's debut novel, The Memory Thief, was a New York Times bestseller and a Target Emerging Authors Pick. She is also the author of The Dream Keeper’s Daughter (Ballantine Books). Her young adult titles include the anthology Wicked South: Secrets and Lies and the Seven Sins series, including the upcoming Shadows of the Seven Sins (June 2021) and Siege of the Seven Sins (August 2021), from Blue Crow Publishing.

Emily's diverse life experience includes organizing a Coney Island tattoo and piercing show, hauling fish at a dolphin research center, roaming New York City as an itinerant teenage violinist, helping launch two small publishing companies, and working to facilitate community engagement in the arts. Originally from Brooklyn, Emily lives in coastal North Carolina with her family. She loves chocolate, is addicted to tiramisu, and dislikes anything containing beans.

Emily is represented by Felicia Eth Literary. You can find her at www.emilycolin.com.

Madeline Dyer is a SIBA-award winning author. She lives on a farm in the southwest of England, where she hangs out with her Shetland ponies and writes dark and twisty young adult books. She is pursuing her MA in Creative Writing from Kingston University, having obtained a BA honors degree in English from the University of Exeter. Madeline has a strong love for anything dystopian or ghostly, and she can frequently be found exploring wild places. At least one notebook is known to follow her wherever she goes.

 Her books include the Untamed series, the Dangerous Ones series, and Captive: A Poetry Collection on OCD, Psychosis, and Brain Inflammation.

Madeline is represented by Erin Clyburn at the Jennifer De Chiara Literary Agency. You can find her at www.madelinedyer.co.uk.

Talking Avatar: The Last Airbender with Victor Catano

A post by Mary Fan

Hey everyone! Mary here, and I'm joined today by fellow author Victor Catano. You may remember him from the #AStarWarADay posts that fellow ATB blogger Karissa Laurel and I did a few months back -- in case you missed 'em, here are Part 1 (hosted by Karissa) and Part 2 (hosted by me). Today, Victor and I are talking about Avatar: The Last Airbender, a 15-year-old animated kids' show that's seen a recent resurgence in popularity since it hit Netflix earlier this summer. That the show was made for 12-year-olds didn't stop Victor and me; as sci-fi/fantasy authors and geeks, of course we had to dive in and see what all the fuss was about.

For me, I had to know what all my fellow geeks -- and more than a few fellow authors -- were raving about (and had been raving about for years). What was this show that was so amazing, it has a 100% score on Rotten Tomatoes? What cartoon could be so perfect, not a single critic spoke ill of it? 

Well, it turns out, one with lots of heart, tons of adventure, solid world-building, and intricate storytelling. Was it perfect? Of course not -- nothing is. But it was well worth the watch.

Below is my discussion with Victor about the show. SPOILERS ABOUND. 

MARY
Avatar: The Last Airbender (A:TLA) has seen a new surge of popularity thanks to Netflix. Its cultural staying power shows that it's more than just a kids' cartoon. Having watched the whole thing, what were your overall thoughts on the show in general?

VICTOR
Avatar was one of those shows that I’d always heard about but had never gotten around to watching. I think it just came out at the wrong time for me. Had it aired 10 years earlier when I was in college, I’m sure I would’ve devoured it the way I did Batman: The Animated Series. I kept hearing how good A:TLA was, but never really had time to wade through Nickelodeon to find it. But since it came to Netflix (and since I have soooo much time now!) it seemed like a great time to dive in.

And my first impression was: This is ok.

Perhaps having been sold on some hype about the GREATEST ANIMATED SERIES EVER I was a little slow to warm to the pilot. Aang is very much a kid early on. Sokka hasn’t yet become the “meat & sarcasm” guy we love, he’s a real jerk early on

But after a couple episodes and once the characters got established, I was on board. Aang's childlike nature becomes a strength, tethering him to humanity as he gets god like powers. Sokka - as I heard described in one YouTube video - literally has the misogyny beaten out of him.

And that’s great, because the series evolves into an incredibly detailed and complex world, that describes the rise of fascism, government denials and secret police, morality of revolutions, and some of the best animated combat you’ll ever see. So, glad I stuck with it through a couple rocky episodes

MARY
Interesting! I, too, had heard of all the hype beforehand and was skeptical going in, but I was drawn into the show from the very first episode. I think it's because I generally like kids' entertainment (well into adulthood, I'm still the first to rush to theaters to see the latest Pixar offering) and have a high tolerance for the kind of "kid stuff" that many find grating (I thought Aang was adorable, and while Sokka was annoying, I just rolled my eyes and accepted his annoying-ness as the consequence of watching a kids' show. Besides, he doesn't get away with any of it).

A:TLA is a unique show in some ways because it's clear that the creators knew from the beginning that they had exactly 3 season to work with, and so were able plan everything ahead of time like it was one long saga, with set-ups and pay-offs, rather than making stuff up as they went along (ahem, new Star Wars). I found it really interesting how the show evolved from Season 1's more typical fantasy-quest-type of adventure to Season 2's deeper explorations of specific places to Season 3's almost static setting that focused more on character growth. Personally, I loved that even small moments from Season 1 paid off in Season 3. What did you think of the overall arc of the show?

VICTOR
Loved the arc! It does have a real Star Wars feel to it, with Book 2 being the strongest overall and 3 being the weakest, although Book 3 is a stronger finish than Jedi.

It’s very cool how threads planted early on are allowed to develop, especially with Aang’s approach to violence and confrontation. Aang is raised by Monks who teach non violence, which he adheres to, except when he gets into life threatening trouble. Then he can take on the Avatar State, a super powered form. However, early in the series he can’t control it and he’s horrified at the damage it causes. This plays out in the finale (spoilers, but why are you reading Avatar analysis if you haven’t seen it yet?)

For three seasons, Aang has been gearing up to fight the Fire Lord Ozai. Every character expects him to kill Ozai. They’re depending on it, so the war can end. But Aang doesn’t WANT to kill anyone. The monks taught him all life is sacred. (And this is where a 12 year old protagonist pays off. He’s young enough to believe in this sincerely) But even his past life Avatar spirits are telling him to end the fire lord! The fire lord is a killer who maimed his own son! But the show respects Aang’s beliefs and It sets up a terrific internal struggle for him

And it’s pretty heady stuff for a tween-geared show to do a 1984 style critique of North Korea and communist China.

There is no war in Ba Sing Se.

Like a lot of fantasy, it’s loosely modeled on that LOTR archetype. Group of adventurers go on a quest and do the thing and defeat the guy. But there is a ton of backstory and world building here that just makes it amazing.

MARY
Agree that it follows a Star Wars-y arc where Part 1 is the initial fun adventure, Part 2 becomes deeper and darker, and Part 3 tries to tie it all together but feels like the weakest installment. I've noticed this arc with a lot of trilogies (including the ones I've written) and I'm starting to wonder if it's inevitable... but that's a discussion for a different time. 

I will say that while I appreciate what A:TLA was trying to do with its ending, I wasn't entirely sold. I felt that Zuko backing down from confronting the Fire Lord because "That's Aang's destiny, not mine" felt a bit too dependent on predestination, and Aang's ultimate ability to solve all his problems with a superpower he'd never displayed before (taking the Fire Lord's powers away, thereby keeping him alive while neutralizing the threat) felt a bit deus ex machina. But then again, this is a fantasy epic, so a little deus ex machina might have been inevitable (Lord of the Rings sure embraced those).

Let's talk about characters! Which character did you most identify with, and why? And was this also your favorite character to watch?

VICTOR
Hmmm...I'm a middle aged guy with a beard who likes to read and drink tea. Who could I possible identify with in this show?

Yes, I stan Uncle Iroh. The wise, kind uncle with an endless supply of dad jokes is exactly who I'd like to be in my old age

Zuko is fascinating to watch, though,. He stars off as a pretty one-note villain. (Must catch Avatar to reclaim my HONOR!) I joked during our Hamilton watch party: who says it more? Hamilton and My Shot or Zuko and HONOR?

But he has such a great arc as a character. Starting off as the antagonist trying to catch the avatar, he breaks away from the Fire Nation to pursue his own path with Iroh. (And I love Iroh's take on destiny. You don't HAVE to do this, even though your family has drilled it into you.) Then, when he has a chance to save Aang from his evil sister, he instead joins her so he can reclaim his spot in his family, but betraying his uncle. Finally, he does the right thing and commits to team Avatar in the end.

Unlike other redemption arcs, this one depends on Zuko acknowledging that the Fire Nation did a lot of bad things. And the others are rightfully suspicious of him! Especially Katara! So it's not the typical we forgive the bad guy because he's cute kind of deal. (Right, ReyLos?)

And the scene were Zuko apologizes to Iroh and Iroh hugs him makes me tear up each time I watch it.

But there are so many great characters here! Funny Sokka! Maternal Katara! Kick ass Toph! Hapless Cabbage Guy!

I'm going to go against the grain and say that I don't care for Azula that much. I find her very one note, especially compared to her two friends - acrobatic Ty Lee and Hot Topic Employee/Knife Enthusiast Mai

MARY
Iroh's a great character for sure! Love watching him. And totally agree about Zuko. I was taken aback at the end of Season 2 when he betrays Iroh to reclaim his spot as a favored son of the Fire Nation - I thought his redemption arc was going to be much more straightforward. But I actually love that they had him backslide first before realizing the error of the Fire Nation's ways and joining Team Avatar. Added a whole 'nother level of complexity and made the turn more compelling - he got everything he wanted and chose to turn away from it to do the right thing, rather than letting go of what he could never have, which was where Season 2 seemed to be going at first. He was certainly my favorite character to watch because of how well he was written. Even in Season 1, when he was more of one-note villain, he had little moments where you'd see that peeking through (I think it was the 2nd episode where he has a chance to take down his rival Zhao while the latter is down and chooses to walk away). 

Azula, I felt, was a missed opportunity. There's been a lot of fan analysis after the fact that digs into her a bit more - the favored child who went mad because she couldn't handle the amount of responsibility she was given, the prodigy who pushed everyone away and ended up terrified and alone. One especially poignant one pointed out that Ozai never loved either of his children - he favored Azula because she was a prodigy, and she spent her life thinking her only value came from her abilities and from not being her loser brother (and so she couldn't handle it when he found friends who appreciated him flaws and all, because she thought perfection was the only way to achieve value). This is all super interesting! But it didn't come through onscreen... it took a lot of overthinking after the fact, and I think storytellers should have to do a bit more work than that.

The character I identify with (and who's generally my favorite) is Katara - surprise, surprise. You know I love spunky heroines! And I definitely identified with her mom-like tendencies (her efforts to keep everything running amid chaos) as well as her struggle to master her powers - loved that you got to see the effort she put into learning her power, rather than the power just magically coming to her (ahem, Rey).
We've spent a lot of time gushing over how awesome A:TLA is, and its praise is well deserved. However, nothing is perfect. What were some parts you found lacking?

VICTOR
There are a couple of things with the bending I wish they would have explored more. THere are the four basic elements of course - Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. But some people can refine these abilities and create new subsets! Like Toph just kinda invents Metalbending, because she realizes that metal comes from ore that comes from the earth. And the creepiest thing I've ever seen in a kid's show - bloodbending. Because blood is mostly water, it can be used to control people.

So it might have been cool to look at more of this. Maybe get more into "darker" kinds of bending. I think they get into this a little more in Korra, but I'm only through Season 1 of that.

And while I appreciate the nature of the three season story, it does feel a bit rushed towards the end. They finale is amazing, but there's a real "when do we get to the fireworks factory" feeling in Book Three. Like, there's a whole episode where Aang has anxiety dreams that's largely unnecessary.

But that's pretty minor on my part.

I did have a question for you, though. In this age where so many white VO actors are no longer doing characters of color (Abu on Simpsons, Cleveland on Family Guy), did any of the casting choices bother you? This is an Asian inspired fantasy world bit the voice cast is mainly white.

MARY
I'm glad you brought that up! I will say, while I enjoy the fact that this is a non-Western fantasy and the art style is very much Asian (I believe it was animated by a Korean studio), I didn't love how the good guys were more white-passing and the bad guys were more visibly East Asian. For instance, Aang and Katara, while certainly drawn in a way that suggests that they are non-white (Aang being coded Tibetan and Katara being coded Inuit), they're given more Western-looking features than, say the evil Zhao and Azula or even Zuko, who after all, is introduced as your run-of-the-mill scarred baddie. Of course, Aang and Katara are also drawn in a very anime style, so... it's complicated? I also didn't love that the Fire Nation is clearly coded Japanese and the Earth Nation is clearly coded Chinese, evoking World War 2 (that part most Westerners aren't taught about) and depicting the former as evil imperialists and the latter as corrupt bureaucrats without really examining the broader world forces (in history) that helped lead to that. But that's asking a lot for a kids' show. Not dinging it, just pointing out that there's a lot to unpack.

As for voice actors. I am glad that there's a movement away from casting white voice actors as people of color. In a perfect world, anyone should be able to voice anyone, but of course, that's not really the case. White actors are routinely cast as characters of color, but you don't really see actors of color cast as white people. In the case of A:TLA, again, all the good guys - Katara, Aang, Sokka, Toph - are voiced by white actors. I believe only Zuko and Iroh are voiced by Asian actors, and both, while great characters, definitely play into Asian stereotypes (the guy obsessed with honor, the bearded proverb-y wise man). 

Like I said, lots to unpack. The show turned out great, but the fact is, it's an Asian fantasy written by white people for white people. Meanwhile, there's never, as far as I can tell, been a fantasy created by Asian Americans in Western TV (let's leave Asia out of this discussion, as this is an American show).

Hey Nickelodeon, if you're listening, the animation rights for my Asian fantasy are up for grabs ;-).

We've talked a lot about this show as fans (and nerds!), but of course, we're also both SFF writers ourselves. As an SFF writer, what were your thoughts on the storytelling/worldbuilding aspects?

VICTOR
Right, ideally the part should go to the best person for the job, but that ignores decades of whitewashing in Hollywood.and how the "best" person somehow always turns out to be a white guy who knows the director.

At least it wasn't as bad as the casting of the horrendous live action movie, where Sokka and Katara were translucently white, blond and blue-eyed.

As to fantasy world building, I think you need to strike a balance between careful planning and leaving yourself room to explore. Avatar has some basic rules:(only the Avatar can bend more than one element, these are the only types of benders) but then allows themselves room to break {or bend them, heh} when convenient and yet they still make sense in the physics of the show. (See: swampbending or bloodbending, where water benders use the water inside something else)

And the nations are very well established. The large Fire and Earth nations are the main combatants in the war, while the much smaller Water tribes are on the fringes and the Air nomads are wiped out early on. They do a great job showing how smaller communities are impacted by this 100 year war - like the Clint Eastwood episode where Zuko gets all Yojimbo to protect some farmers from corrupt Earth Soldiers. It's a well plotted series that still allows time for the characters to explore some of the smaller parts of it.

(Also, for Asian created fantasy created on Asian TV, I am a huge fan of the Korean zombie show Kingdom. It's Ran, but with zombies!)

MARY
I will say, I often envy SFF movies/TV because I feel like they can get away with more than us prose writers can when it comes to convenient worldbuilding. Like, you don't have to describe how Katara goes from barely able to lift a drop to parting the Red Sea... you just throw in a few cool-looking training montages and show it. Or when Sokka masters swordfighting in one day after another training montage. Seeing is believing and all.
Overall the writing is stellar, of course - I just feel like there were some visual shortcuts ;-).

All righty, we could talk about this all day, but it's time to wrap this mother up! Anything you want to talk about that we didn't touch on yet?

VICTOR
Katara should've ended up with Zuko. Ending up with Aang felt too much like she was dating her brother. (For that matter, Aang and Toph would've been a great couple, too.)

And that's from a guy who HATED the ReyLo ending of Rise of Skywalker.

What a fun discussion! Time for my hot leaf juice!

And yeah, totally unfair that tv & movies can just write TRAINING MONTAGE in a script and we have to find a way to make pages of lessons seem interesting and exciting in a book.

MARY
Right?? Totally agree about the romantic pairings, by the way. Zuko/Katara had much more interesting chemistry than Aang/Katara - particularly since Aang's crush on Katara brought out a lot of ugliness that you don't see from him otherwise (jealousy, possessiveness, even a controlling streak), while Zuko's interactions with Katara forced both to grow (Katara's is the trust Zuko has to work hardest to gain; Zuko helps Katara confront and overcome her vengeful side). Aang/Toph would have been fun, I agree! I think part of it's also life stage... Katara very much feels like a high schooler while Aang very much feels like an elementary schooler, and so pairing them up just felt weird. Maybe if they'd flashed forward to five years later, when both are young adults, it could've worked.

VICTOR
Yeah, Aang very clearly is crushing on Katara the way Ia kid would crush on his babysitters. It's puppy love and it just feels like something he'd grow past once Katara wasn't the only girl he knew. And even though she's only 2 years older, she just seems so much more mature. Toph's brashness would be good for ol' Twinkle Toes

MARY
Lol!! Yup! Thank you for a great discussion, Victor! And when we've both finished watching Legend of Korra, we'll have to do this again :-D

Magic, unicorns, and fire nymphs, oh my!

A post by Mary Fan

My turn on the blog again! And this time, I'm going to be a little self-indulgent. Actually, a lot self-indulgent. See, I've got a new story coming out shortly, and I'd like to share a bit about it.

LET ME FLY FREE is a YA high fantasy novella about a rebellious fire nymph named Elaia, who is forbidden from leaving the enchanted forest she lives in because of a centuries-old peace agreement between the enchanted creatures and the humans. Because of the magical border surrounding her homeland, Elaia's world is completely safe... too safe for her liking. Then one day, an invisible monster breaches the border, leaving a trail of death in its wake. Determined to fight back, Elaia soon realizes that the key to defeating this monster may lie outside the world she knows.

Also, there are unicorns.

I'm super excited/nervous about this release because it's my first time writing a f/f couple: Elaia and her girlfriend, air nymph Kiri. I think their relationship is also the most dysfunctional one I've written so far; it's pretty one-sided, and Elaia's not the nicest person in the world. But it was a lot of fun to write, and I hope people find it interesting :-)

Anyway, here's the cover:

And a few teasers I made for #TeaserTuesday on Instagram:

#TeaserTuesday! This is for my upcoming fantasy novella, LET ME FLY FREE, about a rebellious fire nymph in a fantastical world of magic and mayhem. Opening pages are up in the publisher's blog: http://glasshousepress.blogspot.com/2016/05/teaser-time-again.html?m=1 #teaser #book #bookstagram #writing #writersofinstagram #writersofig #youngadult #highfantasy #authorsofinstagram #fantasy #novella

A photo posted by Mary Fan (@astralcolt) on May 17, 2016 at 9:23am PDT

#TeaserTuesday! Here's a bit from LET ME FLY FREE. And yes, there *will* be unicorns :-) #novella #fiction #youngadult #fantasy #writing #writersofinstagram #writersoninstagram #writerofig #unicorn

A photo posted by Mary Fan (@astralcolt) on May 24, 2016 at 5:57pm PDT

#TeaserTuesday! A little moment between fire nymph Elaia and her girlfriend, the air nymph Kiri :-) #bookstagram #book #books #teaser #youngadult #youngadultbooks #fantasy #firenymph #bookteaser #writersofinstagram #authorsofinstagram

A photo posted by Mary Fan (@astralcolt) on Jun 7, 2016 at 10:13am PDT

#TeaserTuesday! Here's a snippet from LET ME FLY FREE... coming JUNE 28! #youngadultfiction #youngadultbooks #youngadult #fantasy #novella #bookstagram #book #books #teaser #bookquotes #writersofinstagram #writersofig #author #writer #authorsofinstagram #authorsofig #firenymph

A photo posted by Mary Fan (@astralcolt) on Jun 14, 2016 at 9:11am PDT

#TeaserTuesday! LET ME FLY FREE will be released in one week!!! #book #books #novella #bookstagram #writer #writers #writersofinstagram #author #authorsofinstagram #authorsofig #authorslife #writersofig #fantasy #firenymph

A photo posted by Mary Fan (@astralcolt) on Jun 21, 2016 at 9:42am PDT

The original e-book release date was supposed to be tomorrow, June 28 (just in time to catch the end of Pride Month!), but that's a bit uncertain right now due to an issue with the distributor. More likely, it'll be out right after July 4 :-).  

And to further entice you, here's an excerpt from an advance reader review:

 "Elaia and Kiri are strong female characters, which Fan writes so well, with seemingly opposing personalities. One might be drawn to choosing a favorite—I liked Kiri—but, really, they are both identifiable and unique in their own right, so why chose one? In reality, the characters, the world, and the themes are so strong and descriptive, you can't help but feel that you are there ... in the Terrestrial Realm flying alongside enchanted creatures... You should read it. " - Jessica (on Goodreads)

Hope y'all will check it out! Click here to add it to your shelf on Goodreads.

3 for 3: Three nerd-tastic trilogies to check out this summer

A post by Mary Fan

Hello again! Resident nerd blogger reporting for duty! And today, I'm nerding up this blog with
recommended sci-fi/fantasy reads, just in time for summer. Of course, these aren't your traditional beach reads, your chick lit and crime thrillers and such (not that there's anything wrong with those). But if you're a nerd like me and would rather bring swords and cyberspace to the Jersey Shore than such fare, then check these out.

They say the best things come in threes, and so here are three fabulous sci-fi/fantasy trilogies I'm recommending. Now, I have a serious case of Series ADD, where I have trouble reading past the first book in a series (even if I really liked that first book) because I'm just impatient for new worlds. So the fact that I read these trilogies all the way through means I really, really like them, so you should really, really check them out :-)

And now, gentlefolk of the web, the trilogies...

The Non-Compliance Trilogy by Paige Daniels

Genre:
Sci-Fi (cyberpunk/dystopian)

Books in the trilogy: 

1. Non-Compliance: The Sector
2. Non-Compliance: The Transition
3. Non-Compliance: Equilibrium

Premise: 

In the not-so-distant future, the government orders all citizens implanted with a chip that tracks them. Those who obey reap the benefits of a technologically advanced society. Those who refuse are herded into the lawless Non-Compliance Sectors, which are run by mob bosses and treated as second-class. Shea Kelly once had a brilliant career in technology, but, since refusing the chip, she now works as a barkeep in a Non-Compliance Sector and uses her computer skills to hack for goods on the black market. The trilogy follows Shea's efforts to both survive and fight for the little guy within the Wild Wild West the sector has become, facing off against ruthless thugs and government goons alike.

Why it's awesome:

• The kick-ass, tough-as-nails heroine, Shea Kelly, is the type of underdog protagonist everyone loves to root for. The story is written in her blunt, often foul-mouthed voice, which gives the book a lot of personality and spunk. Yet she can also be vulnerable and sentimental, making her a brilliantly well-rounded character.
• The world of the Non-Compliance Sector oozes from the page, its grittiness sharply contrasting the gleaming sci-fi technology of the compliant.
• Fast-paced plot full of danger and action
• A memorable supporting cast with some good folks, some bad folks, but mostly folks in between. Particularly noteworthy is Quinn, a tough-guy enforcer who turns out to be more than he appears.
• Related: Moral complexity and ambiguity
• Did I mention that the main character is a female engineer?

Disclaimer: Paige Daniels is my Brave New Girls co-editor/partner in crime. I was a fan of her books before we embarked on that venture. That being said, I cannot guarantee that there was not some bias involved here. THAT being said, this is a list of favorites, and all is fair in the game of favorites :-P

The Chaos Born Trilogy by Drew Karpyshyn

Genre:

Fantasy (high fantasy/dark fantasy)

Books in the trilogy:

1. Children of Fire
2. The Scorched Earth
3. Chaos Unleashed

Premise: 

Centuries ago, the gods chose a great warrior, Daemron, to protect the mortal world from the demonic spawn of Chaos, gifting him with three magical Talismans: the sword, the ring, and the crown. Corrupted by power, Daemron instead challenged the gods themselves and sided with the Chaos spawn in an epic battle against the gods. Though he was ultimately defeated and trapped behind a magical barrier called the Legacy, he vowed to return again someday.

Now, the Legacy is fading, and four children are born to embody one aspect of Daemron: wizard, warrior, prophet, and king. These four are destined to either save the world from Daemron or free him to wreak havoc upon the mortal world. The Chaos Born trilogy follows these four as their lives, which start out seemingly separate, are intertwined by fate, bringing them together in a joint destiny.

Why it's awesome:

• Absolutely AMAZING world-building and mythology, where everything comes together in unexpected ways. Great depictions of the various cultures and civilizations living within this world.
• The four main characters, the Children of Fire, are each fantastic and memorable in their own ways. My favorite was Scythe, a kickass street-urchin-turned-warrioress
• Super engrossing writing style that had me flipping pages nonstop (I think I read the whole trilogy in a weekend)
• Engaging plot that alternates between lush world-building and heart-pounding action without ever losing the pace
• Multiple female and POC characters within this epic fantasy. WHAT!
• Dark fantasy elements with touches of horror that give the whole thing a creeptastic feel
• If you love Lord of the Rings-type stuff but get annoyed at outdated things like lack of diversity, dei ex machinae (did I Latin that right), and religious overtones, then this one will really hit the spot. Dare I say it? IT'S BETTER THAN TOLKIEN. *runs from the nerd rage*

The Reckoners Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson

Genre:

Young Adult (sci-fi/superhero)

Books in the trilogy:

1. Steelheart
2. Firefight
3. Calamity

Premise: 
There are no superheroes--only supervillians. In the not-so-distant future, a star called Calamity appears in the sky, granting superpowers to a select few. But these few, known as Epics, are invariably evil--arrogant and power-hungry individuals who wreak havoc upon the world, killing millions and millions without a thought. Only a few dare stand up to them: a scrappy band of rebels called the Reckoners. David Charleston was only a kid when he witnessed his father's death at the hands of an Epic. Now 18, he's dedicated his life to studying Epics and finding ways to defeat them. Soon, he finds and joins the Reckoners, joining their foolhardy quest to free humanity from the tyranny of those with superpowers.

Why it's awesome:

• An exciting new take on superheroes within a really well-drawn world
• Fascinating characters with interesting backstories
• Main character, David, is a charming nerd with a wry sense of humor, which makes the narration fun to read
• Lots of unexpected twists and turns in the plot
• Related: Stuff that gets set up in Book 1 is perfectly resolved by the end of the trilogy
• Ending was a great payoff to 3 books of build-up

P.S. I'd be a terrible marketer (not that I'm a great one, but hey, I'm trying!) if I didn't at least attempt a shameless plug here. There's one more nerdy trilogy I'd like to point your eyeballs to...

The Jane Colt Trilogy by Yours Truly

Genre:

Sci-Fi (space opera/cyberpunk)

Books in the trilogy:

1. Artificial Absolutes
2. Synthetic Illusions
3. Virtual Shadows

Premise:

Firefly meets The Matrix in this interstellar adventure through the lawless corners of space and the depths of the cyberworld. Jane Colt's once-ordinary life is upended when her best friend, Adam, is kidnapped--a crime she witnesses but is unable to stop. Furthermore, only her brother, Devin, believes her account. The next day, she learns that someone shot her father--and Devin is the prime suspect. Her trust in the authorities shaken, Jane races to find answers herself. Her quest for the truth takes her on galaxy-spanning adventures that unearth more than she bargained for - conspiracies surrounding artificial intelligence, secrets from the past, and dangers her once-ordinary life could never have prepared her for.

Why it's awesome:

• Because I wrote it? *sheepish grin*

Resident nerd reporting for duty!

Hey everyone! Since this is my first post, let me introduce myself. I'm Mary, and I've been coerced... errrr... persuaded... I mean... I've volunteered.... to join Across the Board as a sci-fi/fantasy blogger. Why me? Well, because I am a huge nerd. Not only do I consume sci-fi/fantasy like nobody's business, I also write it.

Why sci-fi/fantasy? Because it takes you out of this world and shows you wonders. It lets you explore new universes and see things unbounded by the rules of this world. And I want magic. I want spaceships, and fairy dust, and swordfights, and alien technology... I want the things I can't find in my humdrum life.

Fantasy is arguably the oldest of all genres, since the most ancient of tales we have all involve the supernatural. Gods and creatures and wizards... From the dawn of time, humans have been spinning stories about things that, rationally speaking, could never happen. Sci-fi, meanwhile, asks the question of "what if" and looks to the future, daring to speculate about tomorrow.

Sci-fi/fantasy also allows people to explore grander concepts - of good and evil, of what makes one human, of true love's power - through tales unbounded by the fences of what's "realistic." In a way, it elevates its characters. They can be heroes in a grand sense, saving the world from the wicked, or proving the power of loyalty, or falling to the temptations of power. The real world is restrained by what's feasible. And it's full of annoying "nos." No, you can't wave your hand and open a portal to another dimension. No, unicorns don't exist, and you certainly can't ride one. It would take you a half a lifetime to reach the edges of our star system - not that you could get funding for it - let alone find alien planets. Which are star-baked rocks of death. So no, you can't meet aliens. No, no, no.

Well, to the Underworld with no. That's what sci-fi/fantasy says. Anything is possible, and as long as it follows its own set of rules within its universe, anything is believable. The really great world-builders make their stories come to life because it feels real, even when physics and biology and whatnot say it can't be. Okay, so Einstein said we can't travel faster than light. Sci-fi writers send their spaceships across galaxies anyway - without time dilation - because it makes for a hella exciting ride. In a way, sci-fi/fantasy is an act of defiance.

Perhaps someday, I'll decide I want to write something that could plausibly happen, here on earth, in actuality, but for now, I'm sticking with my dreamworlds. In fact, at this point in time, I can't imagine not writing something that involves magics or technologies beyond this world. I love to come up with far-fetched ideas and look for ways to make them believable. Hence why everything I've ever written has taken place either in the far future or a distant fantasyland.

Anyway, you can look forward to a lot more nerdy posts from yours truly - about writing, about books, about sci-fi/fantasy stuff in general. And I hope you'll find it entertaining and/or helpful.

So live long and prosper. And may the Force be with you. Meanwhile, I aim to misbehave.

I am an elf.