Brie Tart's Blog

Writing Status: Team CCC: Shopping around to prospective suitors.Dragons and Vampires, Oh My!: Picking away at unfinished rough draft.Exiles of Eire Book 5: Brain juices brewing. Expected sometime in 2025.Heart of Hellfire Series: A makeover is in the works...Patreon Update: No bonuses this month. Got suddenly busy. Some reconstruction is in the works. 
​Favorite Read(s) of the Month: Gilded by Marissa Meyer
Dome 6 by Gail Carriger
​What Happened This Month? I have been doing a routine revision journey, and it's coming along, but so many social engagements! My best friend graduated from law school, another family friend graduated middle school, yet another young friend graduated high school. It was definitely a busy month with loved ones.

Last month I hinted at cool snippets of research. These newer projects are set in a totally different epic fantasy world, but I like looking into real-world history to get some ideas.

Team CCC takes place in a world that was inspired heavily by a mix of ancient Roman culture and an Italian Renaissance setting.

Here's a Roman stew that looked tasty.
The fairy tale that inspired this idea to start with.
A fascinating interview about the role of birds in ancient Rome.
A little about Renaissance universities...

Dragons and Vampires, Oh My! has a lot of influences from the Balkan region of Europe, and is about a trio of medieval bards.

A fascinating video on the history of Wallachia pre-Vlad III (aka Vlad the Impaler).
A tasty-looking vegetarian stew commonly made by medieval peasants.
Some musical insight about fiddling!

Making character playlists isn't really my thing, but...
Here's some mood music.

I hope you enjoy these peeks into the process! ​What to Expect Next Month? ​The plan is to do some reconstruction to go with the new life routines. I'll know more how that will benefit all of you fine people next time!

But first, Happy Holidays! Both secular and religious, with family or friends or none of the above, I hope you had a very festive season surrounded by loved ones and reflection and comfort and rest. And a Happy 2024! May next year be full of bigger and brighter things for your life, whether that's bigger successes, bigger achievements, bigger naps, or whatever would make it brighter than 2023 for your life!

Now, the big announcement for Exiles of Eire is, since that Shelter and Sacrifice is out, I'm going to start building hype for book 5. To help with ending this beloved series on a high note, I'm posting the whole thing on a serial site called Royal Road (think Wattpad, but more focused on fantasy and sci-fi kinds of stories). I'll be posting chapter by chapter, week by week, starting January 6th. 
If you want to reread the series in a new way to catch yourself up for book 5, or tell your friends who might be on the fence to try it for the first time for free, you can find it here!
​
For any new books from now on, I'm going to be releasing them like this, chapter by chapter and week by week. First access to reading the freshly drafted chapters will be on the top tier of the Patreon and Ream I keep mentioning. Then as time goes the chapters will waterfall down to the lower tiers until they're released for free on places like Royal Road. Once they're all done, I'll assemble them into a traditional ebook and paper book and release them on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and other retailers and library services. But Brie, what if I want to support you through Patreon or Ream, but I'm not interested in reading new books chapter by chapter?
No problem! For people who want to join this new part of the Fae Underground journey, but would rather wait for the collected books to come out, there's benefits for you too! 

Each tier comes with polls to tell me what you want for bonus content. This means new full-color character illustrations, new short stories within the Fae Underground universe (which consists of the Exiles of Eire and Heart of Hellfire series so far) will be voted on first. Then the top tier will have first access, and as time goes on the bonus content will waterfall down to the lower tiers. Seeing and reading these pretties will only be available on Patreon and Ream for a relatively long while.

And if you're not interested in participating in Patreon or Ream, don't worry! I'll compile all the bonus content together after making so many of them and release them for purchase as a collection of some kind (more on that when I get there). But this will have the longest wait. 

Anyone who just wants to just toss a coin now and again between books can donate through Ko-Fi. Regular news and updates about anything big, along with and general behind-the-scenes content and memes will still go out in the Fae Underground newsletter and on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter/X. :D

Announcement in honor of Maya's birthday: Shelter and Sacrifice, book four in the Exiles of Eire series, will come out November 15th!

(And a Happy Halloween for those who celebrate!)
She finally made it home, but the threat isn’t over.

Her mom is safe, her job and friends are waiting for her, but Maya still can’t move on from her captivity with the Irish fae.

Daire, the prince who helped her home, came back to Florida with her, and he wasn’t alone. His powerful aunt followed him, and she blames Maya for the civil war tearing Tir Na Nog apart.

Meanwhile, despite the rebellion on her hands, Riona is still determined to find a way to Florida and bring back both her brother and Maya.

But Riona isn’t the only looming danger. A pattern of disturbing attacks and revelations closer to the humans hint at the return of an ancient evil that threatens not only the fae, but everyone Maya loves.

She and Daire must push through their recovery together to save the life they’ve fought for, or lose it all.

Despite recently becoming more of a fan of audiobooks, podcasts were first in my arsenal of ways to occupy my attention during long drives and spurts of chores. There's so many cool ones out there, which is why I have a soft spot for the generous ones who hold author interviews. Here's a couple I've personally appeared on that aired recently: ​20 Questions With Your Favorite Author Hosted by Kelly from Cursed Dragon Ship Publishing, this podcast goes from silly to sentimental with their quest to go beyond the conventional interview format with the authors they bring on. It was a really fun experience! Words That Kill Hosted by Anita Stewart, Words That Kill looks at all the yummy, horrific elements of a story. The topic this episode was "Murderous Betrayal," so you can probably guess which characters came up most often in the discussion...

I released a new edition of Vices and Vixens recently that included some new interior materials: chapter headings, scene breaks, and a new prologue and epilogue that place it as book three in the Exiles of Eire series. The biggest visual change, though, was the addition of a map that goes along with Riona's solo journey.

And if you haven't read Vices and Vixens (or the Exiles of Eire series) yet, this information may contain mild spoilers.
Drawn by the same artist who did Tir Na Nog's official map (the wonderful @aaguireart on Instagram), it depicts western Ireland before the Aos Si became trapped in their Otherworld home. The border has close ups of the places depicted at each corner, and has little wind-swept oak leaves on the upper left side and holly climbers on the lower left.

​The landmarks feature significant points of interest along Riona's quest:

The Village: A small village with a market that sits by the mouth of a gorge rumored to house a pack of Aos Si--either warriors or wild hounds. It's known for the monastery nearby, which used to get along fine with the local wise woman living by the forest, Saoirse. However, once new leadership took over the order of monks, conflicts began cropping up.

Tory Island: A small island to the north without many inhabitants. Legend says the fortress of the great Fomor king, Balor of the Evil Eye, used to be there.

Lough Na Suil: A lake that appears on some days and disappears on others. It was a site of importance for the Aos Si hero Lugh, who slew Balor of the Evil Eye.

The Bog: Just another bog, though history has found plenty of human remains in places like it.

For 2023, I wanted to challenge myself to read more between writing and my various other life responsibilities (audiobooks have helped a lot). With that in mind, I thought sharing reactions between spurts of book news would be fun!

King of Scars and Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo - A solid duology, I loved the new perspectives of Nikolai and Zoya holding this duology together, along with an old favorite, Nina. The myriad of storylines tied together well, though there were one or two twists near the end of each book I wasn't sure about. It got heavy, as this world tends to do, and the fantastical perspectives and commentary on the evolution of war resonated. It's YA, but definitely not a light read. Overall, It's my second favorite section of the GrishaVerse, up there with Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom!

Book of Night by Holly Black - I wasn't sure what to expect from Holly Black's first book targeted at adults. I'm a big fan of her style, and it delivered on all the lush descriptions and character exploration I've come to expect from her. The world building and set up did drag on longer than I liked, and I like a long build up to a big climax, but I stuck with it and it inevitably got its hooks in me, with a couple big twists I didn't see coming. Also a good read, but it's part one of a duology, so I have to wait to see what happens after that strong-emotion-inducing ending.

God of Neverland by Gama Ray Martinez - In the 1920s, Michael Darling has left the secret order he joined that protects the world from the supernatural, and visa versa. But they call him back for one last mission, the youthful god Peter Pan has gone missing, and it has horrible ramifications for children all over the world. It plays with Peter Pan lore, if you couldn't tell, but also sets up this amazing expanded world of its own that borrows from different myths and folklore. Everything paid homage to something, while putting the authors own spin on it. I read this right after Book of Night by Holly Black, and Peter Pan's shadow comes into play at one point, so it was cool how the lore of one book bled into the lore of another. Full of action and fun twists, solid yet whimsical world building, I highly recommend it!

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab - A young French  woman in the 1600s makes a deal with an old god to escape her dead-end future in a small village, only to find that the price of the curse causes everyone who ever sees her or meets her to forget she exists, leaving her unable to leave any mark on the world. This book covers so many heavy topics--time and mental health and love and the true meaning of art/books and the gritty ramifications of being a woman at various stages of history--in such a beautifully tragic yet hopeful way. I cannot recommend this book enough, but make sure you have tissues and a good mindset going into it, because it gets so rich and reflective. And if you can listen to audiobooks, the performance of this one is just as luscious.

Twilight and New Moon by Sephanie Meyer - This one was my vampire-themed book club's pick for the months of January and February (the two months too). It's a reread because I haven't read this series since I was in high school as it was coming out. I had no idea how much the movies were coloring my memories of this book! The first film is a great adaptation, improves the pacing a bit, but also softens a lot of the characters in meaningful ways. For Twilight, I like the book Bella better, but prefer the movie Edward, both the Cullens and Charlie Swan are all equally great in both (though I like how the book goes deeper into the Cullens' histories). New Moon, I wasn't a fan of either movie or book Bella, same feelings about both Edwards, book Jacob is so much better than movie Jacob it's not even funny (by no fault of Taylor Lautner), I like the book Quileutes mildly better than the movie portrayals of Jake's family and friends and fellow wolves, Charlie Swan and the Cullens continue to be great in both, and I have the same feelings about the Volturi in both as well.

Have you read any of these? Do you have any others you think I should add to my TBR? I always love seeing your thoughts. Until next time, that's all for now!

Part of releasing Exiles of Eire's latest edition paperbacks was commissioning a new map for Tir Na Nog.
The frame: a simple frame with ivy vines wrapping around it throughout. At its top left corner hangs a ragged banner that reads "The World of Tir Na Nog." Its bottom right corner is lined with ancient standing stones and what could've been an alter. Nestled in the bottom left corner among a pile of old stones are three of the Aos Si's sacred treasures, the Spear of Lugh, the Dagda's Cauldron, and the Sword of Light (also known as Nuada's Sword). 

Tir Na Nog itself: an island similar to the Ireland humans know full of mountains, forests, rivers, lakes and plains.

North: Uliad, ruled over by Manannan Mac Lir's kin from Emain Ablach (a fortress carved into the cliffs). 

West: Connacht, ruled by Finvarra and Una from their impressive wood and bronze fort, almost a castle, in Cruachan.

South: Mumhan, full of mountains and valleys and ruled by Cliona and Aine. They and their Bean Sidhe attendants live in a valley of lakes with an island of silver apple trees at its center. A solitary gold apple tree rises above the others, shining like a small sun over the land.

Southeast: Laigan, ruled by Brigid from her home in Cill Dara. Rather than a traditional battlement, this smith queen chose an open gathering of great oaks connected by branching paths--as long as her great flame burns at its center, her province remains protected.

East: Midhe, where most of Exiles of Eire takes place while in Tir Na Nog. Despite that this province is technically ruled by Aengus Mac Og from his ancient tomb-like estate of Bru Na Boinne, Tir Na Nog's capital, Tara, lies within its borders. The magical anchor of the entire realm, the Stone of Destiny, also makes its home in this forested region. Midir and his family keep to themselves in Bri Leith's estate of colorful gardens and mounds, charged with protecting the Key Bearer. The infamous Lady of Irons, Riona, has a small grove she reigns over as its only resident within Midir's territory--it is said she stays in her hidden burrow most times, plotting her revenge against her powerful family.

This rendering of the Aos Si world was brought to life by Andrés Aguirre Jurado (@aaguirreart on Instagram).

“A pair of ashen Aos Si faces peeked from under the flap, their lolling mouths bobbing with every motion. The severed heads were tied to the rider's saddle by the once ornate braids of their long hair. These trophies were not old relics of the days when some Aos Si openly roamed the land, claiming bounties for their lord. Their necks had gleaming red edges where they'd been severed. Recent kills.”  - Riona, Shelter and Sacrifice

Researching for Shelter and Sacrifice, Exiles of Eire book four, needed me to look deeper into what the Aos Si were like before the walls of Tir Na Nog closed. I researched into the ancient Celts, since their culture is what has been my biggest inspiration for building the Aos Si.

Sources for what Celtic society was like, especially on continental Europe, are mostly from bias, second hand accounts of Romans who encountered them at the time. Modern research has shown the Celtic civilization to be deeper and richer than these older accounts painted it to be. However, some bloody practices have other archeological finds to support their existence.

​One of these is headhunting. Celts believed that the soul, the essence of a person, was in their head rather than in their chest or stomach. Enemies' and family's heads were saved as trophies and mementos. There's even evidence of a possible "cult of the severed head" existing, being depicted through carved symbols and whatnot. Some Celts became hired mercenaries, and Romans wrote about them being very effective when hired, and the practice of tying enemies' heads on their saddles being a useful way to count how many kills they had made.

In the Exiles of Eire series, Maya and Daire tell the story while Tir Na Nog is in a state of extreme change. But what about business as usual? The Aos Si are an endangered civilization trapped in world caught in eternal stasis, but they still love their traditions.

First off, it's a given that these people love their parties. Any excuse to get together with their plates full of food, their cups full of alcohol, and their ears full of music is worth putting together a big table and holding a feast. Samhain isn't any different in that respect. But it's the most important celebration of the year, so it has to be the longest.

Everyone leaves their homes and goes to the capital, Tara, through the through mirrors set in the standing stones that surround its grand courtyard. Tara's  underground fortress transforms into more of a hotel from that point on until the High King and/or High Queen brings the celebration to an end. How long is that? It can be days to weeks, depending on the stamina of the guests. No one is allowed to take up arms against anyone, though. Spoiling the peace with unsanctioned violence ruins everyone's good time. If guests break the rule, the High King/High Queen grants them a punishment fitting the crime. If the host is the source of the trouble, then they could have a riot on their hands. Bad hospitality from Tara's leadership has inspired anything from public scorn to dethroning.

The big monarch in charge of hosting works with the sacred treasure that supplies their food to deliver an appropriately themed menu that honors the coming of the new year. Traditionally it's heavier fare full of sweet and savory autumnal pastries and meat dishes designed to fuel everyone's fun for the all-day-long festivities. The wine and ale of choice will have cinnamon notes and more of a kick than the rest of the year. Nobody goes home with an empty stomach or a dry throat.

They get the ceremonial pledges and toasts to honored rulers out of the way first. Their feudal style system of government reserves this peaceful time to thank their higher ups. If something important comes up, like an election or coronation for instance, they'll get those political pleasantries out of the way before the real fun starts.

Musicians of all levels are welcome to perform on the open stage, but only the best stay there long. The dance area around the giant bonfire at the center of everything rarely goes completely empty, and that happens during sunup hours when many flee inside to recharge or engage in more intimate entertainment with each other. Anything from line dancing to individual couples showing off their skills surrounded by clapping onlookers can fill it at any given time--sometimes the more exhibitionist crowd will take their antics into NC17 territory.

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into Exiles of Eire's hidden fae society before a certain human came in and proceeded to wreck everything (it wasn't her fault, really, she was just the match that lit the fuse to the dynamite pile they'd been building forever).

Whenever I come to a point in a story where there's heavy use of magic, I usually pause and do a dive into the ancient civilization that's inspiring the current project. Right now the book I'm working on is Exiles of Eire 3, so I went into the familiar territory of ancient Ireland. 

Unfortunately since it was a culture with such a strong use of oral tradition, not much is found to show exactly what their traditions were. But what they did leave behind suggests it played a major role in their civilization. Neolithic monuments like Newgrange and Stonehenge in the British Isles that line up with major solar events demonstrates how important tracking the movements of the sun was to them. The Coligny calendar found in France showed a lunar based calendar the Gauls may have used. They also had their own names for star constellations, taken from Grecian/Roman influences.

While historical specifics can only be speculated at, it gave me plenty of fodder to play with for my fantasy interpretation of the Aos Si.