Maria Levato's Blog

Hiya! Welcome back to Nerdology 101. I’m Indie Author Maria Levato, author of The Fate of Angels and Demons, anime lover, kinky weirdo, and more. This week I wanted to take some time to discuss pirating. In recent days, there’s been a lot of commotion about the new Avatar the Last Airbender movie, The Legend of Aang, being leaked. I’m not here to make anyone who watched the leaked movie feel bad, but to educate consumers on the impacts of leaking and pirating from the POV of the artist.

What is Pirating?

Pirating, in this context, refers to the distribution or consumption of media through unauthorized channels.

What does Pirating Look Like?

Pirating takes many forms. No matter what medium—television, books, etc.—pirating exists across it all. In literature, we most often see it discussed through the lens of advanced reader copies (ARCs) being leaked or resold or LLM’s scraping pirated books that were distributed on the internet for training. In TV, it more often looks like what we see here. A movie or TV show is posted online without the authorization of the studio that produced it.

Most consumers, when they consume pirated materials, aren’t intending to cause harm. They merely want to read or watch something they enjoy. From the consumers end, this isn’t going to do any real harm to the extremely wealthy studio or publisher that produced the media they’re consuming. That is true to some extent. It’s highly unlikely Warner Brothers or Simon and Schuster go out of business on account of pirating. Media giants like the ones I used in this example aren’t the only ones impacted, though. Behind the production of any type of media, there’s usually a team of creatives who depend on the royalties for their livelihoods. Those creatives are who I’m here to talk about.

What Impact Does Pirating Have on the Artists?

First, I’d like to make clear that when I say artist here, I’m using it as an all-encompassing term. Musicians, animators, writers, and any other type of art of can produce is included in this. Piracy impacts us all.

Artists are usually paid via a system called royalties. Royalties are the percentage of the price that go to the artist. This can look a variety of ways. I can’t speak for all artists, but for authors, this is kind of what it looks like:

Bookstores place wholesale orders either directly with us or through a mass distribution platform like Ingram. Our royalties are a percentage of that order.

We consign books with a bookstore (shifts the upfront cost of ordering and shipping the books to us) and they pay us a percentage of the retail price when it sales.

We order books ourselves at a wholesale/author price and sell them at a mark up (retail price) and the difference is our profit (this is the model my special edition of The Fate of Angels and Demons works on).

Our books are distributed to online platforms (Everand, Kindle, Hoopla, Libby, etc.), and we are paid for reads (page reads, borrows, this can look different based on platform).

Other kinds of artists may not have these exact models, but something similar-ish.

The problem this creates for the artist is that, if a piece of media is distributed in a way that isn’t able to be tracked, we never get royalties. Even if, for example, someone bought an ebook from us and we made royalties from that, then they posted it online after the fact for others to read, we’d still not be getting royalties for all those other reads. This isn’t the same as letting a friend or family member borrow a physical book or your kindle/nook to read something. With the internet, we’re talking about hundreds, thousands, and sometimes millions of consumers consuming material we made without being paid for it. Sometimes, pirated versions are consumed more than the legally distributed versions and we’re literally making nothing off the hardwork we put into creating it.

There are even some circumstances so extreme that artists have stopped producing new work on account of it. We see a plethora of examples in the world of indie authors, but we also see it in larger forms of media. Anime, in particular, comes to mind for me. As read in this article, Japan as a whole has lost billions in revenue because of the large scale piracy of anime. While this sucks for their economy, it sucks even more for the artists, writers, and animators who work hard to create these anime. A number of shows have been discontinued because piracy made it so they could no longer afford to produce them. So, not only does piracy harm the aritsts livelihood, it harms consumers of the media because it makes it impossible to produce more of. If you want that next book, next season, next song, whatever it may be, the best way to get it is to make sure it’s worth it to the artist to make.

Wait, so this effects me too?

Yup! It’s not just the artist. It’s you too. How many times do you hear fandoms raving something along the lines of “We want ____ spin-off.”

For Naruto fans, it’s a Minato or Itachi spin-off show.

For ATLA fans, it was an gaang as adults show.

For different fandoms, it looks different, but pretty much every fandom has one.

In ATLA (as an example), they had finally given us what we were asking for. A studio was listening to it’s fans, which we beg them to do constantly. But then someone leaked the movie, which isn’t the fault of the fans, but mass consumption of it that hurts the studios bottomline and the artists livelihood, will discourage this studio and others from listening to their fandoms again because it sets the precedent for future leaks on this sort of large scale that they can’t be sure their fandom will condem.

Luckily, I have seen in, in the case of ATLA, more than a few creators say they support the artists and won’t be watching the leaked movie. Hopefully, ethical influencers have been able to influence enough people away from watching the leaked movie that this doesn’t turn into a giant loss for the studio and artists who worked on it.

What if I already consumed pirated material before I knew the impacts?

Your intent, like most consumers, probably wasn’t malicious. Please don’t feel bad. Instead, focus on doing better. There are a few simple steps you can take going forward.

Stop consuming pirated material immediately and fully.

Report pirating sites to the copyright owners or their agents. Most authors, publishers, etc. have some sort of method to contact them available. For me, it’s the contact form on this website. You can find it on this page. Some other ways to report it are through publisher websites, through the agent an author has listed, or through a studios website. Once they’re made aware, they can submit a DMCA, as explained here.

Buy it. Yes, I know you already watched/read/listened to it, but if you can afford to, buy it so the artists get paid.

If you can afford it buy it, borrow it from a legitimate free source. I’ll provide a few in the next section.

Review it. If you’ve accidentally consumed pirated material, reviewing it might help legitimate versions get more attention. Goodreads and retailer websites are great places to leave book reviews. While reviewing absolutely does not justify continued piracy, if you genuinely didn’t know how harmful was an consumed it before reading this, reviewing it would definitely help offset some of those damages. Artists depend a lot on reviews, particularly for visibility. The more reviews something has, the more the algorithms will recommend it to other readers who might enjoy it. This is particularly impactful if the material came from a small, up and coming, or indie artist of some kind since they’re already likely to be struggling to get a substantial amount of reviews.

Okay, now what are these legitimate platforms where I can consume media for free while still supporting the artists?

Libraries! Libraries! Libraries! They don’t just have books. Go to your local library.

Overdrive and associated platforms. Overdrive is a distribution platform. They own Libby, Kanopy, and other platforms. All you need is a library card! It’s a great place to find media that is free to you. They have an assortment of media types too. Music, TV, movies, and of course books (ebook and audiobook).

Hoopla. Much like Overdrive’s platforms, Hoopla is a digital service that runs through public libraries. They offer just as many different types of media, but all on one platform!

Openstax. While both Overdrive and Hoopla offer plenty of educational media, as well as media meant for entertainment, Openstax is a great place to find free, properly liscenced textbooks. Perfect for AP/college students looking for some extra study, or homeschoolers.

Khan Academy. Looking for educational material for the K-12 levels? Khan Academy is free!

Library of Congress. The LOC has a whole catagory of “Free to Use” media. These are things in the public domain. There is no longer a copyright holder for them, so you can consume it, or create something new from this media without worry. Most of the things in here are older, but old isn’t always bad.

Conclusion

So, now ya know! I hope this post taught you something about royalties, piracy, or free resources you can use to consume media. I’ll see you back for the next segment of Nerdology 101 next Friday. Until then, have a nerdy week!

Hi, loves. Welcome back to Nerdology 101. I’m Maria Levato—writer, nerd, bunch of other weird shit. This week, I’m going to tell you what my favorite quotes from my own book are and why I love them so much.

“…children whose ribs are entirely too visible forced into labor by men who wear their greed like a badge of honor…”

I think it’s pretty obvious what group of resource hoarding individuals I had in mind when I wrote this. Let’s not pretend it isn’t. In truth, this quote sticks out to me because it’s relevant. There’s this constant back-and-forth in the bookish community about if books are political (HINT: They are, always.) To that end, here’s another “non-political” quote.

“They have every right to be angry at the centuries of oppression directed at them.”

I know. There’s no possible way this could be relevant to—I don’t know—Black people or any other group of marginalized people, right? I mean, I’m Mixed, but there’s just no way an author’s identity could impact the way they write, right? Hmm… I wonder about that.

“Shut up and let me eat this thick fucking ass, Seshen.”

Oh, come on. It’s just as great line. It encompasses the kink, the spice, the fun, and the pleasure that I love about this book. It’s hot.

“Because I’ll do anything,” He snaps. “I will burn every kingdom and torch every village in this gods-forsaken realm, just to get a moment with you.”

Again, hot. But also… Not to protect her, just to see her for a moment? This is what I love about Michael. He’s understood from the jump that Lilly does not need his protection. The most valuable thing he could give to her as a romantic interest was the consistency and intensity of his love. It was the one thing she didn’t already have and couldn’t attain on her own.

“It feels like being told I’m crazy after I told someone I’m crazy, only to go crazier because they make me feel crazy for it.”

This scene goes to the heart of it all, in a lot of ways. This line in particular is hard to ignore, especially if you’re a woman. There’s a reason gaslighting is such a widespread discussion when it comes to feminism. I think a good amount of us can probably identify with what Lilly is feeling here. We’ve all, at some point, likely questioned our sanity on account of someone who called us “crazy” or “too emotional” or whatever else for simply having emotions they lacked the emotional intelligence to cope with the existence of. It’s all too common an experience and I think it’s what makes Lilly’s character shine so brightly. Her whole thing is that she acts, primarily, based on her emotions. In a way, her character arc revolves around her accepting that it’s okay to lead with heart and fight with mind. It was my answer to this growing thing in fiction where women are only labelled as “badass” if they’re emotionless, calculating, closed-off, etc.

Note:

Obviously, the switch element of this book is one of my favorite elements. The reason I don’t favor spicy lines from moments where Lilly is dominant when it comes to marketing is because it is EXTREMELY difficult to convince the algo’s of the internet to push content that displays obvious depictions of femdom because for some stupid ass reason we (collective, as a society) still seem to have a problem with seeing FLR dynamics in any form of media, even if it’s within the context of a switch dynamic where she’s only the one in charge part of the time. I think it’s ridiculous, but the best way to combat it is to market the book based on what will get pushed so people read it and gain the exposure to women-led power dynamics. Thus, if you’re reading this, you should know much of what I don’t market is equally as great as the rest of this.

Nerdy people! Welcome back to Nerdology 101. I’m Maria Levato, your hostess that LOVES to do the mostest. Quick briefing: I’m an indie author and this is my blog. I just released my 3rd book, The Fate of Angels and Demons, on April 1st. It’s part of a series of interconnected standalones. You can find the paperback and ebook at a bunch of major retailers, check linktr.ee/marialevato for that. Or go to the store page of this website for the special edition hardcover. This week, I want to talk a bit about works yet to be released so you know what’s coming next.

The Next Book in this Series

The next book in this series is called The Depths of Bloodshed and Purgatory. It will follow Lilly’s younger brother, Callian, as he faces trials all his own and finds love along the way. I’m planning to self-publish this one like I have the other books in the series. It’ll be the forth book in The Islands of Rune Universe and there’s only one more book in it after it, though there’s some spin-offs of it I could write eventually. I’ll actually be finishing the first draft the same day you read this. After that, I’ll give it a thorough once over on my own before I send it to my editor, Robyn. I am planning to do another special edition of this one with BookVault, which will also be available in the store once it’s released. The paperback will, as always, be available at major retailers through IngramSpark. However, I do plan to switch things up with the ebook a little. I’m not a fan of Amazon, the way they treat authors, or their consistently problematic owner. Thus, it’s unlikely I’ll use KU. There are similar platforms, though. Kobo in particular comes to mind. Is that something you’d like to see, readers? If so, just drop me a comment, DM, or whatever so I know that’s the right direction. If not, tell me what your preferred alternative is. I’m likely to go with whatever is best for readers already engaged with my content.

A New Series

For months now, I’ve been hinting that I’m planning to start another series up. The title of that is going to be The Harem of the Heavens (HOTH). I don’t want to go into too much detail about the plot of it yet, but the title should give you some insights on it. This, I plan to query with, though. The draft is currently in developmental editing with the same editor I mentioned before. I’ll polish it out as much as possible and hopefully start querying it in Fall/Winter. I’m still working on my final comp titles, but think Record of Ragnarok x The Bachelorette for this one. Yes, I know neither of those are books, but they are what I was thinking of when I came up with this idea and they paint a VERY clear picture if I do say so myself.

Conclusion

Plenty of more awesome stuff is on the way. While you wait for it, go ahead and give The Fate of Angels and Demons a read. I’ll see you back next week for another segment of Nerdology 101 too. Until then, have a nerdy week!

Intro

Hey readers, writers, and bookish people of all kinds! Welcome back to Nerdology 101. Today is now our 23rd post and the 1st one to happen after my new dark romantasy book, The Fate of Angels and Demons came out. I’m going to take a moment here to just say YAYYYYYYY! I’ve been so excited about this book release for so long. I’m overjoyed to see it on the market finally! Everything about TFOAAD has been emotional for me, from writing and editing, to design, launch, and release. My body, heart, mind, and soul have been poured into this wonderful story and no matter what these insights look like, I have no regrets about that.

Perspective

For point of reference, I’m going into writing this blog post just as blind as you’re going into reading it. Usually, I write my blog posts the Saturday before they post. This time, however, the topic makes that impossible to do. Instead, I’m writing the intro, perspective, and what to expect sections that I don’t need the actual insights for on Saturday and the insights won’t actually be plugged into it until the day of the post so I can provide you with the most up-to-date, vital information about how my new release is actually doing. This post will go up at the normal time, Friday at 3PM EST, just like every other Nerdology post, but I won’t know what it’s going to say until the morning of. I might be getting on here to tell you all that I’m totally flopping, that I’ve managed the ever-elusive miracle of viral success as an indie, or anything in-between, but I’ve already announced my topic on IG and Bluesky (my two largest followings) so there’s no backing out now. I’m not one to back down from a challenge.

What to Expect

In this section, I’ll go over the catagories of the insights I’ll be sharing:

Sales, broken down by edition (ebook not included. I’m unlikely to be able to see ebook sales on the IngramSpark dashboard that soon after release since they take roughly 2-3 weeks to appear in my sales reports).

Engagement, how the posts about the book are doing on IG, Bluesky, and TikTok.

Reviews, reviews are always available on the reviews page of this website, but I’ll talk about how many I have, the books current ratings, and what that might mean for the books long-term success.

Stock, are there any brick-and-mortar stores that have the book or have ordered it to my knowledge?

Events, the amount of interest I have from stores/conventions/etc. (This is the only section I know a little bit about ahead of time, obviously, since it requires me to schedule said events. Be ready for a huge announcement in this section).

Marketing, what’s working for me and what isn’t?

Places where I could use additional support from people who want to help me reach more readers.

Conclusion, an overall assessment of how the book is doing.

* Exact place I stopped writing pre-release.Sales

Okay! Here we are. It’s Friday morning about 10AM now. So far, 4 special editions have sold at $30 each ($120). I haven’t seen any paperback sales come in on Ingram yet, but that’s not entirely surprising for me. The special edition exists as an alternative for people who want a physical copy and I see why most people would opt for it because it’s freakin’ gorgeous. I do know of two ebook sales even though, as I stated in my explanation of this I can’t seem them quite yet. They came who people who tagged me or showed me their orders. At $6 each, that’s an additional $12 . Thus, I’ve made $132 in sales so far. I’d say that’s pretty good. I paid $150 for my cover, so I’ve almost made that back in just a few days. Of course, there’s still a long way to go before I actually make my money back, but we’re off to a great start, in my opinion.

Engagement

Engagement is up! In part, this is due to the fact that I finally got up the nerve to make some reels with me in them. My reach and engagement have gone up since. I still solidly suck at social media, but again, I think we’re moving in the right direction. In the last 30 days, I’m reach 3.3k views on IG with 224 interactions. On TT I’ve at 2k views and 102 engagements, which is awesome since I just started using the platform a week and a half ago. On Bluesky, it’s hard to say what my views or interactions are since they don’t have analytics insights like IG or TT. I can say that it remains my largest following at 912 followers.

Reviews

I sent out 25 ARCs for this book and 6 reviews have gone up on Goodreads, giving me about a 24% rate there (which is normal for an author in similar positioning to myself, from what I can tell). Of those reviews, 2 have rated the book 5 stars, 2 have rated it 4 stars, 1 has rated it 3 stars, and 1 has rated it 1 star. Overall, that’s a 3.67 rating so far for this book. Across all of my books, though, I have 25 ratings and reviews that average to 4.12 stars. This is one of the areas where I can say I’m definitely still struggling a lot. For those who don’t know, Goodreads doesn’t really recommend a book to people until it has 25 reviews (title specific, not overall for the author). Getting more reviews would go a long way toward increasing my natural reach.

Stock

There are no brick and mortar bookstores I know of that have stocked The Fate of Angels and Demons at this time, though this is something my PA and I have recently turned our attention to.

Events

So far, I have two conventions on the books for this year. One is Smoke and Embers in Thunder Bay, ON this October from the 23rd to 25th. The other has yet to announce my attendance officially yet, so I’ll refrain from doing that so we can announce it at the same time. It is a pretty major con, though, so I’m excited about it.

Marketing

I’ve tested a few strategies so far. IngramSpark’s email promotions, BookBub Ads, IG ads, and free marketing opportunities. Of them, not only is the free stuff free, it works better than any of the paid advestising FOR ME. Instead, the highest impact form of marketing that I’ve seen is actually not coming from me at all. As they say, word-of-mouth is the best type of marketing. Posts from platforms like the Indie Author Collective and Little Lost Bookshoppe & Beyond, as well as from individuals, have done me a great deal of good. You can see a lot of the posts others have made about me and my book here in my media and mentions corner where I’ve collected and embedded the posts I’ve seen.

Support

If you’re a reader looking to support me, here's the key takeaways (in order of importance) of how you can best do that.

Order the book, in any format.

Review the book, whether you loved it or hated it, leave your honest review.

Post about the book online. Even if you don’t have a large following, this acts as a vital form of social proof that tells the alghorithms people are talking about the book.

Conclusion

The Fate of Angels and Demons is doing good for a newly released, self-published novel, but there’s still so much room for improvement. I plan to continue working on things from my end, and I hope, dear reader, that you will continue supporting me from yours. Thank you. Hope to see you back next week for another segment of Nerdology 101. Until then, have a nerdy week!

Hello, nerdy beloveds. Welcome back to Nerdology 101. I'm your host, Maria Levato, and this week you’re going to discover the why behind my writing. Let’s get into some Nerdology!

The Official Bio:

Every author has one, here’s mine. As seen on the homepage of this website, this is my official bio:

“Maria Levato is an author, BIPOC woman, and disabled veteran. She has written three books as an indie author, The Islands of Rune (2023), Journey to Rallem (2025), and The Fate of Angels and Demons (2026). Maria also writes the Nerdology 101 blog on this website.

Outside of her writing, Maria serves the writing community in other ways. She’s the chair of the PRO Advisory Committee for the Romance Writers of America and an ambassador for the Washington, D.C. chapter of The Authors Guild.”

You didn’t come here for that today, though, did you? You want the goodies. So, let’s move right along.

The Fun Bio:

Oh, babes, you’re in for it now.

Who I am and what I do are two very different topics. While my work is a huge part of who I am, there’s so much behind the scenes that doesn’t make it into the bio. If you can’t tell by the name of this blog, I’m a nerd. Niches are my thing. Most nerds, being moderately sane human beings, pick a niche and stick to it. I, however, never have and never will claim to be sane. Thus, I have somewhere in the realm of 5,000 niches I consistently obsess over and another 1,000 or so that come and go with the wind. There are certain core ones that, in my mind, are all interconnected and lead back to a single hobby: Culture. Whether it’s fiction or non-fiction, a national art museum or a ren faire, writing or folding Reese cup wrappers into flowers so I have an excuse to eat a whole bag of minis, deep diving on mythology and history, or passionately raving about current events because I think we should treat people like people, it all comes down to culture for me. I don’t care which culture; I love them all.

Cultures humanize people in a way few other things do. Cultures surrounding race, ethnicity, and nationality are often what we think of when we think about culture, but under each comes a plethora of subcultures that make the experience even richer. Some of the favorite examples in my life now are Black Goth/Alt/Punk/etc. culture (music like Magnolia Park, collectives like Punk Black, events like Blerd Con, etc.), nerdy culture, Irish resistance music (like Chasing Abbey), Indigenous empowerment culture (music like Young Spirit, stores like Eighth Generation, etc.), and even kink/BDSM. Exploring these subcultures has always been what interests me most because it’s such a fun, supportive, and connective way to widen my own perspective. So, there I went, deep into the nerdom where I eventually discovered all of that stuff I love. The books, the anime, the art, the travel, these spaces are where I feel most like myself because so many other people are also free to be themselves in it.

Of course, then I grew up. Life happened; it sucked. Somewhere in there I lost track of who I was. What do we do when we lose something? We retrace our steps. Where had I last seen myself? Why, in the nerdom, of course. After remembering how happy this stuff made me, I was like, “hey, you what sounds like a fun way to cope with life?”

“Writing stories about nerdy shit and sex!” My brain replied.

It wasn’t really what I had in mind, I was thinking something wayyy less demanding, but my brain insisted so that’s what I did and now I love it. Three books later here I am explaining to you how a childhood love of culture resurfaced as the unhinged, smutty coping mechanism I sell to other people who are also fond of unhinged, smutty coping mechanisms. It’s really a full circle kind of thing. I love this life, though. It allows me to be connected to all the awesome things that I love by creating and adding something to the bookish subculture and wider nerdy community.

That’s pretty much the summary of how I became a writer and why I choose to write diverse, creative, outside the box, spicy fantasy books. You should give my newest one, The Fate of Angels and Demons, a read. The special edition can be found HERE and the paperback and ebook formats can be found HERE. Hope to see you back next week for another segment of Nerdology 101. Until then, have a nerdy week!

Heys! Welcome back, dearest nerdy readers (lol). Thank you once again for joining me. This week, I want to take some time out to go over some standard nerdy terminology. My hope is to make our communities more accessible to those who are curious, but still trying to find their footing. With that being said, let’s get into some Nerdology!!!!

Quick Search Info (as always, listing for anime and books are longer. I’m more personally involved in these nerdoms. I game, but I don’t game nearly enough to know everything about the subject):

Terms used in this blog

Terms used when talking about Anime/Manga

Terms used when talking about Books

Terms used when talking about Gaming

Terms Used Frequently in this Blog:

Here’s some general nerdy terms I use (non-specific to the niches that fall under the nerdom):

Nerdom - The nerdy community as a whole. Meant to combine nerd and kingdom.

Nerdology - The name of my blog. Technically, it can mean the study of the nerdom (people, culture, etc.).

Both of these terms are used by others within the nerdom, so they’re good to know.

Anime Terms:

These terms mostly have to do with anime/manga:

Anime - An animated show or movie made by Japanese people.

Manga - A serialized style of story that is often the basis for anime made by Japanese people.

Shonen - Anime or manga targeting young boys. Most of your mainstream anime fall under this umbrella (Naruto, Bleach, Demon Slayer, My Hero Acadamia, etc.).

Yaoi - Anime featuring a love story between two men.

Yuri - Anime featuring a love story between two women.

Harem - A single male character ends up with multiple female love interests.

Reverse Harem - A single female character ends up with multiple male love interests.

Ecchi - An anime or manga with a lot of fanservice or sexual content.

Isekai - An anime or manga where the main character dies and is reborn into a new world.

Slice of Life - An anime of manga where the story is based in every day life.

Josei - Anime or manga made for adult women.

Seinen - Anime or manga made for adult men.

Mecha - Anime or manga featuring robots.

Shojo - Anime or manga primarily made for young girls.

Note: A lot of these definitions have gendered definitions, but anyone can watch and enjoy any of them. Many do. The only real difference is in the fact that anime targeting boys/men focus on action/adventure and anime targeting girls/women focus on romance/emotion. Many of the action/adventure still have romance in them. Many of the romance/emotion still have action in them. I’ve watched anime that fall under all of these and more at some point or another. Please remember to be inclusive.

Bookish Terms

Romantasy - The combination of Romance and Fantasy, usually in equal parts. (Romantic fantasy and fantasy romance are terms for if the book leans more one way than the other).

Dark Romance - Romance books featuring a lot of dark, potentially triggering content. Dark in this case meaning high spice, kink, and sexually explicit content. (In same cases, like the term Dark Romantasy or Dark Fantasy, people may use the word dark to describe dark storylines, gothic settings, etc, or they might still be describing the spice. For clarities sake, I describe The Fate of Angels and Demons as Romantasy with Dark Romance like spice so there’s no mistaking that I’m talking about the kink/sexual content in it).

HEA - Happily ever after

HFN - Happy for now (usually in reference to a series where the couple ends the book together and happy, but it’s implied that things might not stay that way).

FMC - Female Main Character (there can be two FMC’s in sapphic/WLW romance)

MMC - Male Main Character (there can be two MMC’s in gay/MLM romance)

*I was recently asked about nonbinary characters. Just saying MC since “main character” isn’t inherently gendered might be okay. Alternatively, if you want to specify that the character is nonbinary, NBMC . Ultimately, though, I’m not nonbinary. I can’t decide how they want to be referred to in fiction. These are just options that are available for speaking inclusively in the interim. If a nonbinary person would like to share their preferred term for referring to a nonbinary main character, they’re free to send me a message via the form on the home page of this website and I will update this based on that. The same applies to other gender identities. I do read a range of works written by nonbinary people, but I really haven’t seen a specific term emerge for characters, so please feel free to correct me.

One Bed - A popular book trope where love interests end up at an inn, hotel, shack, or some sort of sleeping place on their journey and there’s only one bed so they just have to sleep together and usually also end up sleeping together.

Enemies to Lovers - A popular book trope where the love interests start out as enemies. Similar terms include friends to lovers, which means the characters start out as friends and become lovers.

Side Character - Character that isn’t the main character.

Smut - Books with a lot of spice. (The word smut does not mean the book lacks literary value, is porn, or anything of the sort).

Spice - Sexually explicit content in books.

ARC - Advanced Reader Copy (Ebooks or physical books sent to readers to encourage early reviews of a title that is not yet released).

ALC - Advanced Listener Copy (An ARC, but it’s an audiobook).

Beta Reader - Early readers that provide an author with feedback early on in the manuscripts development.

NetGalley/BookFunnel/Booksprout - Platforms for distributing, finding, and receiving pre-release ARC’s and ALC’s. Netgalley is best for large publishers and popular books, but is also the place new ARC readers are most likely to be rejected. BookFunnel and Booksprout are cost-friendly alternatives mostly used by indie authors. On all of these platforms, the reader pays nothing.

Indie Author - Independent author. Self-publishers or those with small presses.

Trad - Shorthand for Traditional publishing.

Gaming

TTRPG - Table top roleplaying game (like Dungeons and Dragons)

MMORPG - Massively Multi-Player Online Roleplaying Game (like Genshin Impact).

RPG - Roleplaying game. Game where you assume the role of a fictional character and have a real impact on the storyline and character development.

First-Person Shooter - A game where the primary mechanic is shooting (like Call of Duty).

Open-World - A gaming world where you can wander freely and without restriction.

Sandbox -A gaming world that is inbetween Open and Closed world. You have a degree of freedom, but not total freedom.

Cozy - A relaxed game (like Stardew Valley).

Farming - A game where growing food/materials is the primary focus (like Stardew Valley).

Otome - Romance games, primarily in the anime/manga style (like the Ikemen games).

Okay, we covered quite a few terms here. There are still a lot I haven’t talked about, but these should be enough to help you start connecting with the nerdom and engaging in conversation without feeling totally confused, or start engaging with a part of the nerdom that you haven’t previously. I’ll see you back next week for another segment of Nerdology 101. Don’t forget to stop by the STORE and buy a copy of my book, The Fate of Angels and Demons, coming April 1st. Have a nerdy week!

Nerrrrddddsssss! I missed ya. Welcome back to Nerdology 101. If you’re new here, good. This week is for you. I’m Maria Levato. This is my website and my blog, poke around if you want to get to know me. This week, though, you can call me sensei because I’m going to teach you all about Level 1 of the Nerdom. Want to watch anime, but don’t know where to start? I got you. Want to join the raving lunatics over on BookTok, but struggling to figure out where to start? You’re in the right place. Want to start gaming but aren’t sure what games align with the things you already like? Right this way. Let’s get into some Nerdology and find you the nerdy haven you long for!

What is a “nerd”? Like, what does being a nerd truly mean?

We use the word nerd so loosely. It’s meaning has evolved a ton over time. Depending on who you’re talking to, you could get any of the following definitions:

A smart person,

A smart person, but specifically one who’s niche is in a STEM subject,

Someone who consumes a lot of media (any format), that doesn’t fit into the mainstream,

Someone who consumes specific formats of niche media,

Anyone with a niche/special interest.

My answer? All of these people are nerds. Just like any other self-identifier, the word nerd is open to interpretation and the community isn’t a monolith. Personally, I’m a nerd by all but one of these definitions. (I have all the love for you, STEM nerds. Doctors, medicine, research, I’m all for it when done ethically. It’s just not the thing that excites me). For the sake of this blog post, though, let’s focus on the niche media people since I can help you all out the most.

What is “niche media”?

Niche media is something that a majority of people probably haven’t heard of or consumed. For example, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is mainstream. They were giant, blockbuster films that most people have probably come into contact with (or at least that was the case, but post Endgame there was a pretty big dip in Marvel viewership). However, the Marvel comics are where I would say niche starts. Most people, in general, probably know they exist, but don’t read them. Yet, within the comic-reading community, most people have probably read a Marvel comic. This can apply to anything. Anime is pretty mainstream these days, but I’d still consider it niche-ish since it hasn’t become something a majority of people watch yet. Within that, though, there’s a giant difference between Naruto and One Piece, which are substantially closer to mainstream, and Kamisama Kiss, which is niche no matter how you cut it. So, as you can see, there are levels to the concept, but in general, niche media pertains to obscurity. It’s not a perfect definition, but it is one I think makes a solid benchmark definition for someone starting out.

So, where do I start?

Ah, the age old question. Most of these lists, from what I’ve seen, recommend whatever is most popular even if it isn’t aligned with your interests or if it’s just not attainable for someone who doesn’t already do this. I’m not going to do that. Instead, I’m going by subject matter. Under each subject, I’ll make a few nerdy recs. You can look at them all, or if there’s a subject you think you’re more likely to enjoy than others, you can just look at it. The subjects will be fantasy, romance, and action.

Fantasy

Books:

Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkien (best for those who are okay taking some time to wrap their heads around the world and diving into a series. No romance or spice).

Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor - Xiran Jay Zhao (best for those who want an easy, short, single book read. No romance or spice.).

Lore of the Wilds - Analeigh Sbrana (best for those who want a series, but one that’s easier to wrap your head around if you’re new to fantasy. Has romantic element, no spice).

Our Vicious Oaths - N.E./Nia Davenport *author uses both (best for fantasy w/ romance and spice).

Anime:

Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood (Best if you’re looking for a single season, quick watch with minimal fluff).

Seven Deadly Sins (Best if you’re looking for a good balance of action, emotion, and goofiness that has multiple seasons but isn’t too long).

Bleach (Best if you’re looking for something long but also easy to watch).

Games:

Genshin Impact (Best if you’re looking for easy gameplay, open-world, great storytelling, wonderful animation).

Pokemon (Best if you’re looking for easy, digestable, turn based combat w/ open world exploration, low complexity) - Least Challenging.

D&D Online (Best if you want customizable characters and storylines in an open world setting) - Most Challenging.

Romance

Books:

The Love Con by Seressia Glass (Best for no spice & FM)

I Think They Love You by Julian Winters (Best for low spice & MM)

No Boy Summer by Amy Spalding (Best for no spice & FF)

Lights Out by Navessa Allen (Best for moderate spice, dark humor, & MF. This is also the only rec in this section with multiple books).

Anime:

My Happy Marriage (Best for convergence of romance, fantasy, and historical, ongoing, currently 2 seasons. MF).

Sasaki and Miyano (Best for BL, 1 season).

Citrus (Best for FF).

TV:

X.O. Kitty (Best for multiple seasons, romantic ups and downs, teenage loves, and discovering oneself)

Outlander (Best for long watch, multiple elements/crossover, spicy, can be graphic/violent).

Bridgerton (Best for multiple romances across multiple seasons, spicy).

Movies:

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before (Best for multiple movies & follow through after the romance is made official, no spice).

After (Best for multiple movies, some spice, and high tension).

Five Feet Apart (Best for emotional damage, no spice).

Action (Not many recs here. Just some anime. Action isn’t really my area of expertise).

Record of Ragnarok (Best for back-to-back brutal battles to the death).

Naruto (Best for if you want awesome fights and you’re willing to wait for them).

Bleach *again (this show has an amazing animation style that makes it’s fights legendary, but again, you have to wait for them).

That’s about all for this week, loves! Hope this list helps you find your way into the nerdom, or if you’re already in it to discover something you haven’t already. See you back next week for another segment of Nerdology 101. Until then, have a nerdy week!

Welcome back, nerds! On this weeks segment of Nerdology 101, I’m sharing a little short story I wrote after a trip to Ireland a few years back. It is definitely minature (5400 words), so it should be a quick read that’ll let you get to know a little bit of my style. This piece is paranormal romance. It was better suited than my usual romantic fantasy style since it was never intended to be anything but a way for me to express my love for Dublin after my trip. Still, I thought it might be cool to share it. Also, I never gave it a title. You’re welcome to suggest any ideas you have in the comments.

Story

Stepping off the plane, I relish in the fact that I’m back on Irish ground. It was an eight-hour flight from JFK. I won't deny that I'm exhausted, but that doesn't inhibit my excitement as I rush to grab my luggage off the carousel. I fidget, impatience overcoming me as I wait for it. Luckily, it's only about fifteen minutes before the suitcases full of clothing, hygienic musts, and magical ingredients arrive. After I have it, I step out. There's a line of taxis waiting to load passengers. The yellow sedans are lined bumper to bumper, each with drivers that patiently await travelers. Many of the engines start when the hoard of arrivals I’m surrounded by emerge from the airport. I get into one and my assistant files in the other side, then addresses the driver. "We're heading here."

The driver looks at the written address Shi hands him on a notepad. He must know the place because he starts driving without plugging it into the GPS. As we drive, I stare out the windows at the luscious greenery and beautiful buildings in Dublin. It isn't long before we arrive. When I enter the hotel, there's a bit of apprehension. I wanted to keep most of my money for activities, so I opted to book the cheapest hotel in the area. I hoped that wasn't a mistake.

As the concierge greets me, I look around the lobby, then head over. It doesn't seem too bad at all. I check in and head to my room. It's small, but clean and comfortable. Shi and I will be fine in here. While Shi unpacks, I focus on clearing my mind. I take a long, deep breath. Inhale, one... two... three... Exhale, one... two... three... My intentions become clear to me as the racing thoughts of the day-to-day fade until they're far, far away. My desire is the foremost thought in my stilled mind. Now, I know what materials I need. Wandering around the hotel room, I search for the supplies I need. First, to the bathroom. I collect some fresh water into my silver chalice marked with ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs I had inscribed onto the metal. To purify it, I light a match, then toss it inside. I know from experience how effective fire is as a purifier. This isn't the only ingredient I need though. I wander until I spot a cabinet to the left of the hotel’s microwave sitting on the small kitchenette counter. Shi rolls his eyes. "I just put that away, Kita."

I hum. "And now I need it."

He scoffs, but I can hear the smile behind it without even looking his way. I collect rosemary, a protective herb that only allows positive forces into my life. Next, some thyme. It complements the rosemary well since it’s great for spiritual healing and also acts as a secondary safeguard. Of course, I can't forget the cinnamon either.

Finally, I’m done. I add all the selected materials to my chalice and set it on a makeshift altar. I light the candles on the sides of it, then align the two candles and make a triangle from them and the chalice. I choose a rose quartz from my crystal collection and set it meticulously in the center of the triangle.

Having set the altar, I take a few more of those long, deep breaths before chanting a ritualistic blessing over it. "O', I beseech thee, heed my call. Make my will into fate, accept the offering I make on this day."

With that, my altar is set for the day.

After showering, Shi, and I head straight out, ready to explore and get some food. He found this small restaurant about a block away. It was on the same side of the Liffey our hotel was. PHX Bistro was its name. This is our first date. I've known him for years, but this feels different. It's not like I'm just going to hang out with Shi, my childhood friend and present-day assistant. Suddenly, he's a man and I'm a woman. We don't know each other in that sense. Of course, that isn't to say that I don't want to get to know him in this new way. It's exciting. It's just that I wish it were easier. His asking me out seemed so random. It happened on the plane as we crossed the Atlantic. It's as if he just got tired of searching one day and decided to settle for me. He was usually so non-committal, prioritizing attraction and hook-ups. None of the others resembled me in personality or appearance. I can't help but wonder if I'm just the easiest option to pursue now that he's randomly decided he wants to settle down.

I sit down across from him at the candle-lit table, observing the atmosphere of the restaurant. It's not too busy inside, but not too quiet either. The place he chose is nice enough; intimate and romantic. I particularly like the red decor. Red is my favorite color. He smiles.  "Hey, Ki. You look great."

 My heart flutters a bit, but I make sure the only thing he sees is an eye roll. The waitress asks for my drink order before I can reply. After looking over their comprehensive selection, I settle on a wine. After she walks away, I mutter. “Flirt.”

A mischievous smirk graces his face. Has he always been this beautiful? That jawline is so sharp it could pierce vibranium, if it were real.  "That I am, but at least you know that I'll only be flirting with you from here on out."

"I hope so. I'd hate to think that you're just using me as a placeholder until someone more ideal comes along."

His face distorts until nothing but disgust is visible. "I would never. Don't you know you are the ideal."

"I am not."

He laughs so hard it blows out one of the candles as he takes my hand. The soft scent of the vanilla smoke fills the air between us. "You are everything to me, Kita."

I could hear the sincerity in his tone. This was Shi, the man. In that moment, I finally knew that this wasn't a game to him. He wanted me, and damn, did that make me want him.

The waitress returns before I can lose myself in the moment too much. We order food too. Then, a dessert. That was amazing. Everything was amazing. I make a note to habitually recommend it to anyone I know who may visit the area. After that, Shi takes me to the Museum of Literature in Ireland, the place I was most excited to go as we were planning. I was in absolute awe as we made my way there. The architecture is so grand and old. I missed Ireland so much. There's a unique energy here. Everyone is friendly and seems happy. It's a city, but not like back in New York. Here, nature and city life find this balance unlike anything I've ever seen.

When we make it to the museum, my fondness for Dublin further intensifies. I fall in love with it all over again as I wander through the exhibits aimlessly, being sure to carefully observe every amazing piece. From the Gaelic Language Movement and the fight for freedom of speech, to the first copy of the first edition of James Joyce's Ulysses, it is all amazing. Still, there was one piece even more inspiring. Looking up at the ceiling you find pages filled with endless red markings, edited manuscripts from great authors whose names will be remembered for centuries more. I think to myself, "My story isn't bad. It's just unedited."

It's the sentiment I think the piece is meant to give off.

After a while, we return to the hotel and relax some. For all the fun of the day, we were here on witch business and tomorrow wouldn’t be as pleasurable. We rest well in separate, queen beds. Some part of me wonders if some day we will be booking single King rooms instead of Double Queens. It’s a nice thought to dream of while I rest, at least.

The next morning, Shi and I get down to business. Our business involves the Onyx Witch, known for her dark magic and dictatorial rule in her territory. She oppresses quite the number of witches, and our job is to find out what her ultimate goals are and see if we can’t protect those she targets.

We head to Dublin Castle first. To most, this is a gorgeous tourist attraction that commemorates the inspirational history of Ireland. However, those of us with the ancient magic of the Celts coursing through our veins know that there is much more to this palace than meets the eye. As we tour the beauty, we pass a guarded hall, prohibited to most visitors. The guard is one of the Onyx Witch’s own though. He verifies my identity via my magic signature and allows me enterance so I can have an audience with her. He prohibits Shi from entering though. He offers the excuse that lower-ranking magic wielders shouldn’t be allowed on this sacred ground I’m about to enter, but I see it for what it is. The Onyx Witch is up to something, and she wants us separated. I have no choice but to allow her to think she is trapping me though. I give Shi a nod and he settles. “I’ll wait for you here, Kita.”

I nod before heading off down the hall. When I get to the entry way to the Onyx Lair, I open it magically and cross over. I find the Onyx Witch sat upon her throne of ash and bones waiting for me. She wears a black cloth that is barely long enough to be called a dress. At least she bothered to cross her legs. She looks to me, “Kita, what brings you to my domain?”

“I’ve come to demand that you cease your oppression of the Herbal Witches in your territory at once, by order of the Interdisciplinary Council of Witches.”

A scowl forms on her face. “I will do no such thing. Since you’re here though, won’t you do me a favor and die for me?”

She attacks with a force so great it could break the barriers and bring down the palace in the non-magic realm. It would kill many and destroy a vital piece of Irish history. I can’t allow that to happen. I reinforce the barriers with my own magic right away, but I can’t protect myself and hold them at the same time. The energy expenditure leaves me all but defenseless. Shi, being keen enough to sense the magic from across realms, acts from the other side. I may outrank him, but he knows that Onyx is much stronger than even I. Getting a sense for the situation, he takes over holding the barriers to give me half a chance to escape with my life. When I feel the weight lift some, I know it. He’s come through for me. I don’t waste a moment before I launch the best counter spell I can muster with such little time and energy. It doesn’t do much, but it does give me a moment to teleport myself back to Shi.

The Onyx Witches rage increases though, causing the barriers to fracture even further. It’s too much for Shi to hold. It’ll kill him. I grab hold of them with my magic again. It takes everything I have to push her back, but I manage, albeit temporarily. That seal I cast won’t hold her for long and I’ve drained myself too much. Without a doubt, I’ll have a case of magic deficiency, which will likely kill me in no time.

Shi and I retreat back to the hotel, and he wards it the best he can. He tends to me enough to extend my time about twenty-four hours, giving us one day to come up with a solution.

I rise from my hotel bed as pain pumps through my body with an intensity I have never experienced before. Oh, how I long to get my hands on that grimoire. It may be the only way. As I walk out the door again, Shi follows, trembling at my side. “But Kita,” he must have realized by now what I’m thinking, “the grimoire of the Jade Witch is said to hold unspeakable power. It’s too dangerous!”

“It’s too dangerous not to!” I hadn’t meant to snap at him, but we both know what would happen to me if I don’t get it. “That grimoire is my only chance at survival, and without me, what’s to keep the Onyx Witch from killing the rest of the Herb Witches. I only have a day left before the disease takes me.”

He sighs. “Yes, twenty-four hours sounds about right. It was a large spell to cast singlehandedly, most witches would have already died of magic deficiency. I’m amazed that you even have the energy to search for the grimoire.”

I walk alongside him, feeling my body already weakening. “That’s true. I may not, but it’s the only way, Shi.”

He seems absorbed in his thoughts as he fails to respond. My attention falls to the details of our surroundings to distract myself as we walk, heading for the teleportation point at the top of Arthur’s Seat. The endless daisies remind me so much of my younger years, training with my covenant in these very fields. Who would have guessed that I’d grow to be the strongest of us, especially given how horrible I was at practical magic? The memories are bright ones, albeit slightly embarrassing. The sound of our laughter can still be heard with each whistle of the winds. This is my home. Without the grimoire, I will fall, and it will burn. I must try.

“There may be another way, Kita.” Shi starts, interrupting my peace. “The Diamond Witch, what if we went to her. She creates antidotes for Magic Deficiency Disease.”

I think a moment. Shi isn’t entirely wrong, but there’s no guarantee that the Diamond Witch is actually capable of making a sufficient antidote for MDD this severe. Healing is more of a side gig for her than a specialty, whereas I know for a fact that the Jade Witches grimoire has a solution because my predecessor told me about it. “No, Shi. If we do that, we risk being told no. We could just lose time by taking that detour. The grimoire is our best bet.”

He nods, accepting my decision as we approach the teleportation point. Immediately, he summons the space-time portal. It looks quite like a blackhole and can be intimidating for inexperienced witches, so I’m not surprised when he winces at the sight of it. We hop through the portal to the abandoned Jade temple. ‘

This temple is in Cairo, Egypt, where the Jade Witch once lived. She fell many centuries ago, but her work still echoes throughout the world. It is probable that she was the most skilled witch to ever live. Her temple reflects that too, even after all this time that it’s been abandoned, it remains spotless. Her menial cleaning spells must have been powerful enough to survive without her constantly feeding them. It’s amazing. Who knows what else her grimoire may hold. If we manage to find it, it may even tell me how to defeat the Onyx Witch myself. If I recall, Onyx was around back then too. She was one of Jades enemies, as she is mine now. I’m sure whatever magic of Jades still exists here will bless me and help me find the answers I need. After all, if I can stop Onyx, Jade may finally be able to rest in peace.

Shi and I search the temple, top to bottom. Yet, in all the tomes and information, the Grimoire of Jade is nowhere to be seen. We don’t give up though. Instead, we search and search, over and over, until eventually, Shi spots something promising.

“Kita, look!” His exclamatory tone reflects the hope he must be feeling. My eyes dart his way, and I see it, a distorted wall. It’s a magic one. Only the most skilled of witches would have noticed it. I’m proud that he had grown enough to see it. I approach the wall, observing it for a few moments.

“You’ll have to do it, Shi. I can’t. I might kill myself faster if I expend much more magic.”

He removes the magic, and we enter into a library filled to the brim with grimoires. Every last one of them were hers. Finding the one we needed in the twelve hours we have remaining would be challenging, to say the least.

We both start scanning the grimoires. Shi moves through them faster than I because he can use magic to help him, whereas I can’t right now. As the hours pass, we both grow nervous that we won’t find what we need on time. All the while, I grow weaker and weaker until I’m not even able to help.

With only one hour left on the clock and myself barely conscious, Shi calls out. “Kita! Kita! I found it.”

He starts to prepare the spell right away. I fight my weakening body to stay conscious just in case he has to as me anything. He does, a few times, and with just thirty minutes left, he’s ready. Shi heals me using its spell and once again, I can fight the Onyx Witch.

Shi

She stands before me and I’ve never been so happy to see her. Her long, kinky curls flow like a waterfall.

“Kita…” I sound so scared, like I’m the one who was dying. “You’re alive.”

The emotional rollercoaster that is her presence; it tears me to shreds. Yet, that quick-witted mind is somehow oblivious; or perhaps its insidious, using her feigned ignorance to make me delirious. It's like Dionysus intoxicated me with the wine called her soul. Every touch is an unwelcome rush of unbridled lust. I can't live without her; she's a must.

“Yeah, Shi.” She takes my hand. “I’m alive, you did great. Thank you.”

To describe her is to steal the air from my own lungs, a heart attack and a stroke rolled into one.  Every emotion is a more difficult one. So complex that I can't even deny that she's one. She's poetry and literature. She's every beautiful thought that I've ever sought. I'd try to resist her, but it would be for naught. Heavens, how does she make me so distraught?

Kita

            Out of nowhere, Shi kisses me. I have no idea what was going through his mind, but I’m glad it was. He saved my life, but more than that, the way he looks at me is just so intense. How could I not fall for him?

            My lips intertwine with his as I kiss him back. It means everything to me. I don’t know how it escaped my notice for so long that he and I belonged together, but right now, it’s abundantly clear as he takes me into his arms and holds me against his chest.

            We stay like that for quite some time before he finally lets go. “So, now what?” He asks me that as if I have any idea.

            I think a while, then look up at him. “We keep reading. Now that the pressure is off, we read through these grimoires until we find something that will help us stop Onyx. No idea is too out of the box. Theorize about how every single one of these spells could be used against her until we find something that works.”

            For three days and three nights, we did exactly that. It took some work, but in time, we found something. It was a risky spell that could just as easily backfire and kill us, but it was our best chance. Jade called it Sever. The spell is exactly as the name implies. Through the power of twelve witches, a full coven, the spell would sever the tie between the target and their magic. However, Jade noted that if the twelve weren’t strong enough, that the spell could decide to sever them from their own magic instead. That’s the thing about spells, there is always some risk. This one was especially unique though. Not many spells required this much risk. Where the hell would we find twelve witches willing to risk losing their magic? Or ten at least, considering that Shi and I would cast with them.

            “We should make a list of twenty witches we think might. Ten that are ideal and another ten that are possible alternates to the ideal.”

            Shi nods, but I continue before he says anything. “Furthermore, if at least five of the ideal ten don’t consent, we can’t risk it. The plan will be dead in the water, and we’ll have to find another way. We can’t risk our power if we are likely to fail because then we can’t fight her either. So, we need to choose wisely.”

            Shi agrees. “Okay, well… Want to start with the New York convent? We know them best.”

            I shake my head. “And every last one of them is lower ranked than you. That would be pointless. They won't have the amount of power we need. We should start with the Dublin Herb Witches. They are her targets, so they are the most likely to want to take this risk.”

            Shi and I get to work, throwing out everything we know about the witches in the Dublin Herbal Sect. We narrow it down to four possibilities. First, the Head Witch of the Hedge Witches. She’s especially talented and had a history of taking huge risks anyway. The only issue is that this might be asking too much. She’s the only reason her people aren’t already obliterated. She’s their best defense. Asking her to do this would be asking her to risk abandoning them and I’m not sure it’s ethically okay to even put her in this position.

            The second option wasn’t ethically bad, but it was less ideal. This witch was young and while her talent is immense, her lack of experience could be dangerous in these circumstances. Given that Shi was casting too, I worried that having two inexperienced people casting with us on talent alone wouldn’t go over well at all. Besides, it would do little to convince other experienced witches to go along with us.

            The third was better. Experienced. but even younger than the second. He had been casting since a young age, thus experience was there, as was talent, but at only thirteen, we would be asking a child to carry the burden and risks adults should be taking and that doesn’t set right with me at all. It’s even more unethical than asking the Head Witch. In my mind, I knew it’s not a road I could ever bring myself to take.

            Finally, the fourth. He was about our age, less experienced, but not inexperienced. He presented no ethical dilemma either.

            Shi sighs. “I say the Head Witch as first choice and the fourth guy as back up. She is more ideal magically and frankly, that’s what we ought to be making choices based on.”

            As much as I hate to admit it, he’s right. “Okay. Put it down.”

            We repeat this process several more times with witches from Japan, Nigeria, Venezuela, Italy, and Bahrain before completing our lists of ideals and alternatives. Geographically, it was all very scattered, so we split up. Shi would work from Egypt out to the east, and I would work from here out to the west. Then, we’d meet back in Dublin to gather the last witch.

            It takes about a week for us to gather them all. We were able to maintain communication throughout it though. Granted, it was all very businesslike and left me missing just being able to talk to him for enjoyment. Besides, we still haven’t had the chance to define our new relationship dynamic and that bothered me more than I’d ever admit out loud. Ultimately, we managed six of our ideal, which I didn’t think was too bad. I decided to focus on that success during the long flight back to Ireland rather than my anxiety about Shi and me.

            Upon our arrival, we all gathered at the Herb Witches hideout in Wicklow, a beach town to the south of Dublin. There, we presented her and our alternative with our idea. “Well, it is bold. You’re right to believe it’s our best shot.” She sighs. “Your point about possibly abandoning my people is well taken, but if this plan has a higher chance of success with me taking part, I must. Besides, I primed my people for my downfall long ago. They know what to do if I fall.”

            With that, we had our full team. We took some time to get to know each other’s abilities better knowing that it would help with breaking down and assigning the many components of the spell we will need to prepare. First, Shi and I explained that we are caster-types from New York and would do best focused on the part of the spell that required us to break down casting dynamics and plans.

            Naturally, the Head Witch of the Hedge Witches was the best choice for herb and plant gathering since it’s her specialty. So, we let her focus on that task. Especially given that I haven’t even heard of most of the plants and herbs listed in Jades grimoire.

            Then, there was the summoning-type witch from Japan. He would be responsible for figuring out the safest way to summon the Onyx Witch into the center of the casting circle to cast the spell. With him, we paired a barrier-type witch from Italy. She’s the daughter of the witch who cast the wards around the Vatican, so I have no doubt that she can figure out how to keep Onyx from attacking us while we cast.

            A spirit-type witch from Nigeria focused on figuring out how to contain the magic energy in this realm alongside a second barrier-type from Venezuela who would help her pin it so it the massive amount of magic energy didn’t leave our immediate surroundings and her people. They would work closely with the previous team as well.

            Finally, the witch from Bahrain who specialized in dark magic would act as a consultant to let the rest of us know how things may differ when dealing with Onyx who also uses dark magic, except much less responsibly. With her, was her assistant, which she never worked without. They reminded me of Shi and I a lot, but with much less annoying romantic and sexual tension interfering.

            Nearly a month passed before preparations were fully completed. All the while, we bore witness to the suffering of the Irish Herbal Witches. It broke each and every one of our hearts to see how our delay had harmed them, costing so many their lives, but we knew we couldn’t be hasty with a spell like this one. We would have but one shot at this, and if we failed, many more would die as a result.

            With the date of casting set, we had a few days while we waited for the new moon. Many assume more powerful spells all require a full moon, but no real witch thinks that way. It all depended on what the purpose of the spell was and for this one in particular, a new moon was perfect since what we wanted was a new beginning for the Herb Witches of Ireland.

            We took the time to rest and prepare ourselves mentally for what was to come. While we did, I thought it best to talk to Shi. If this went bad, I didn’t want to leave any unfinished business. Besides, he deserves to know how I feel one way or another.

            Together, we go on a brief walk for the privacy. Although, I used fresh air as a thinly veiled excuse to create said privacy, I’m sure he, and everyone in our vicinity, knew better. Once we were alone, I spoke. “Shi, there’s something we should discuss.”

            “No. Don’t, please. If you say it now, it’ll feel like a goodbye. I don’t want it to be a goodbye, Kita.”

            “But Shi…”

            He stops me. “But nothing, Kita. You may be my teacher, but I simply can’t listen to you here, gorgeous.” He turns and kisses my forehead. “If things go bad, die knowing I knew what you wanted to say and that I will find you in the next life so we can say it there.”

            Unable to argue, I relent. “Fine. As long as you know.”

            “I do.” He paused, “And you know too, right?”

            I can’t help but smile. “Yeah, Shi, I know.”

            Soon after, we return to the hideout. We ate with the group in the closest thing to a feast the Hedge Witches could offer in this hideout, then partied until midnight before passing out and resting well before the next night came ushering in our potential doom with it.

            The next night, around ten at night, we began the casting. Each of us trying our best to do our part. First, the summoning, followed by the various barriers. Each of which were successful. This was our shot. The herb witch lit the fire and began burning the herbs she gathered. Meanwhile, the dark witch and her assistant began to cast their half of the spell. Shi and I would do the second half when they were done.

            About fifteen minutes passed before that time came. Shi and I stepped up and started casting. We knew it was working when Onyx, yelling irately, began to thrash against the barriers the others were helping to hold in place. She was getting scared.

            Our half of the casting took about another fifteen minutes and then it was done. The Onyx Witch, powerless, fell to the ground. Several of us tested to make sure it wasn’t a ploy before lowering the barriers and calling the Council to take her into custody.

            They arrived within minutes and carried her off with little congratulations. Jerks. Nevertheless, those of us who helps cast gather is a group hug. The Head Witch cried as she realized her people were free again. Once more, they could enjoy the lush Irish greenery and live as their ancestors did. It was for that reason; I knew her tears were of joy and relief.

            After everyone passed around hugs and celebratory words, we went and gathered the herbal witches and escorted them and the Head Witch back to Dublin Castle where they joyously reclaimed their territory. We all stayed the remainder of the night, exhausted from the casting, but the next day, everyone went their separate ways. We would remain close friends, but it was time for us all to return to our own peoples.

            As for Shi and me, we decided not to return to New York. Instead, we petitioned the Council to let us reopen Jades temple in Egypt citing the need for her knowledge and magic if anything like this happened again. They agreed, though not without slapping us with a list of bounds and expectations. It wasn’t like we wanted anything like what Onyx did. Our temple was for the good of all witches, so it didn't bother us much to have to play by their rules.

            One month after opening it, I named Shi’s training completed and certified him to teach others. With that, he enlisted others to train in our temple’s ways. We were doing so well that by the end of the second month, we had nearly one-hundred member witches.

            Then, one night, he and I had dinner to celebrate. To commemorate our first date, we teleported to Dublin and went back to PHX. There, he finally told me he loved me, but he made it worth the wait by doing it on one knee while offering me a ring. Of course, I said yes. We could hardly wait to get married, but there was so much tradition to focus on that it took our temple nearly a year to prepare.

            Impatiently, we waited, and soon enough we were married. Our closest allies, the Herb Witches of Ireland, were perhaps as happy as we were during the wedding. Not that Shi and I could look away from each other long enough to celebrate with them.

End.

There it is! If you enjoyed this piece, I highly recommend checking out some of my books. I have so much more space when writing novels to play with story elements I just don’t in a short story. To get you started, check out The Fate of Angels and Demons! For the special edition hardcover, visit my STORE. For the paperback and ebook, you can find it at just about any major retailer. I’ve accumulated some of the links to those HERE to make it easy. I hope to see you back for next weeks segment of Nerdology 101. Until then, have a nerdy week!

Hello, my readers. Welcome to this weeks segment of Nerdology 101. This week I’m going to be talking about the sexualization of anime characters (yes, this does mean I just went on a week long ecchi binge). Let’s get into some nerdology!

Since the beginning, anime has had a habit of making some pretty hypersexualized characters, but especially female characters. Let me make one thing clear now: I’m not against it. I think sexualized characters can be great. If you’ve been reading my blog, books, or really anything I make, you probably know I consider sex needlessly tabboo and fully support the use of it in media of all forms. My point here pertains to how it’s done, not the fact that it happens at all.

From Rias and the girls in High School DxD to Monster Musume’s band of sexy fiends, there are some pretty iconic female characters that happen to be highly sexualized. I love many of them. However, these harem anime consider hypersexualization a convention of their genre. Let’s think about Kamigami no Asobi or Meiji Tokyo Renka for a moment though. These are reverse harem anime. I love them both just as much as I do the first two I mentioned. The concept of a reverse harem anime is that it’s the same genre with the same conventions, but just reverses the roles by making the story about one woman and multiple men. Yet, we don’t see sexualization happen quite as clearly. Instead, reverse harem anime tend to experience hyperromanticism. This reinforces some gender stereotypes I’m not too fond of. Why is it assumed that women and other male-attracted people don’t also want to see the ecchi portrayals of characters they’re attracted to? There seems to be an understanding that women can want sex because in harem anime the women are often the aggressors, but when the roles get reversed suddenly a strange form of purity culture seems to be implemented.

Don’t get me wrong here, we’ve certainly seen some anime that sexualize both male and female characters with ease. Fairy Tail is actually a great example of that. It was slightly more subtle with the male characters (Grey being the exception, there was nothing subtle about that) than it was with the female ones, but characters like Laxus, Freed, and Jellal all underwent some form of sexualization too, but anything even close to what Mira, Erza, and Lucy did. Still, I think this is one of the better examples of what it looks like to spread the fan service out a little across genders.

In the end, I love my ecchi anime. I just wish, in a way, the distribution of what ecchi entails was a little more even. I think it’d be good to see, especially in harem and reverse harem anime which fall under the wider romance umbrella, both hypersexualization and hyperromanticism being evenly distributed regardless of which audiences are being targeted. My solution is to keep the Mimi Marquez’s (Rent) of anime, but also add a few more Magic Mike’s (Magic Mike).

Another point worth exploring is that we also see a similar phenomenon across forms of media. My focus is just on anime right now because I was binging it. While I did just point out two highly sexualized characters of different genders, I think we can all name a plethora of female characters like this but most likely, far less male ones. It has a lot to do with why smut is far more important than people give it credit for. In good literature, you make the reader think about things they may not have otherwise thought about. I think the way men are portrayed in smut is the only time we see men get sexualized in a genre the same way women do no matter the genre or medium. Contrary to what many would argue, that’s cultural commentary in and of itself.

Sex will always be political as long as the world continues to reinforce this stupid idea that men want it and women are it whether they want to be or not. It is already weird enough that people want to decide who other people are and aren’t allowed to have sex with, what gender they are and how they’re supposed to act according to it, but trying to dictate who’s allowed to want sex and who’s allowed to be sexualized based on their gender only makes it all weirder.

Glad we covered that. I hope it makes you think a little more about how characters are sexualized in any sort of media you choose to consume. While you think on it, why don’t you head on over to my STORE and order yourself a copy of the special edition of The Fate of Angels and Demons. Or, if you prefer, you can also order the paperback and ebook. Click HERE for links to multiple retailers. It’s my new book and, let me assure you, both my FMC and MMC are very sexy switches who do lots of kinky stuff together. See you back next week for a new segment of Nerdology 101. Until then, have a nerdy week!

Hey there! Welcome back to Nerdology 101, the blog where no nerd is left unsatisfied. I'm your host, Maria Levato. This week, I thought we'd talk about writing the tough decisions.

Every writer comes across a point where their character must make a decision. They have to go down one road or another, but sometimes they refuse to cooperate. I recently had a character that remained indecisive from the beginning of the draft right up until the end of the story.

Of course, it made for an awesome character arc because the build up to this moment has been quite the journey. However, we reached the point where a decision had to be made. Presented with two options that had similarly good outcomes for her, but potentially devastating ones for those she cares for, my FMC finally had to make her decision about which one of them she was going to hurt. Yet, when it came down to the wire, she went radio silent on me.

It didn't surprise me when she went quiet. She's a stubborn character with a bit of a bratty side. I had expected that she might throw a tantrum when she had to make this decision. So, here's how I dealt with it. Let's get into some Nerdology!

My FMC is quite used to having her way. Not because she's spoiled, but because she's powerful. Quite frankly, most of the other characters are terrified of her! When she gets stuck having to choose between two things she wants, she doesn't know how to cope. As the author, it's my job to coax her back out and help her make the decisions without speaking for her (It works best for me when I see the character as fully autonomous. I'm not sure if all writers do this, but I do.).

To do that, I write everything. It all comes out. Every moment up until the statement declaring the decision gets written. All the emotions, all the things they say and do leading up to it, everything gets on the page. Then, I write the first part of the statement. To oversimplify it, "I choose ____." At which point, all the character actually has to do is give you one answer or another. One I get answer A or B, the why flows post decision.

My point: Don't let the characters decision paralysis stall the story. 

Let them make the decision on the moment because that's probably what's happening on the page. In most instances, you don't need their decision until very last moment. Give them all that time so they can answer intuitively.

Think of it like going to a restaurant. You know you want something from X place but you don't really know what until you get there and look at the menu. You might even order the same thing you always do, but you'll stare at that menu anyway, and you probably won't actually decide until the waitor/waitress walks up and asks if you're ready to order. It's a realistic and relatable thing for a character to do. Don't you agree?

Thanks for stopping by Nerdology 101. Check back next week for another segment. In the meantime, don't forget to pre-order my upcoming release, The Fate of Angels and Demons. Have a nerdy week!