Kaye Thornbrugh's Blog

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It’s already time again for one of my favorite SFF cons — RadCon (February 16 -18), in Pasco, Washington.

I always look forward to RadCon, but this year, there’s reason: I’ll be in the dealer’s hall! I’ll have paperbacks available, in case you’ve been wanting to get your hands on a physical copy of one of my books.

I’m sharing a booth with the incredible Ty Hulse, folklorist and faerie artist. If you enjoyed the Flicker series, I think you’ll be interested in his work, as well.  His art is enchanting, and I’ve founded his nonfiction books on folklore to be valuable resources.

Be sure to stop by the both, because I have something special for Flicker fans this year: a brand new, free short story. Just visit me in the dealer’s hall to get your copy!

Here’s my panel schedule for the weekend:

Friday, 3:15pm

Understanding the Fairies of Mythology

Using folklore and mythology, this panel will help you understand the most interesting characters in fairy tales, and the fairies themselves.

Friday, 5:45pm

What Makes a Villain?

Enough with the mustache-twirling black-caped giggler. Well-written villainy has been interesting ever since Milton wrote Satan. You can hook your reader into a hero? Great. Now find out how to hook them into a villain.

Friday, 7:00pm

Just Binge-Watched Game of Thrones

You finally did it! You finally sat down and devoted a couple of months to watching Game of Thrones. And you couldn’t be more confused. Let’s get the newbies and the experts together and help those of us who are confused get ready for Season 8.

Sunday, 11:30am:

To Outline or Not to Outline — That Is the Question

Do you sit at your lonely writer’s desk and the words flow, or do you stare at a blinking cursor, knowing the story you want to tell, but it’s just not happening? If you’re staring, you might be an outliner. Come share your techniques that get you from chapter one to “The End.”

I hope to see you there!

** SPOILERS: On Rey and Luke in The Last Jedi **

Since my first viewing on Friday, I can’t stop thinking about how we’re all Rey.

Like Rey, we’re a bunch of “nobodies” who grew up on stories of the legendary Luke Skywalker. We’ve idolized him. Revered him. Built him up so much in our minds that he’s become something of a myth.

Rey spends the first part of the movie following him around, desperate for direction: “Master Luke, we need you to fight the First Order! Master Luke, we need you to save the galaxy! Master Luke, we can’t do this without you!”

And we’re right there with her, waiting eagerly for Luke to wave his hands, do something amazing, and solve all the problems. But he doesn’t.

When Rey realizes that Luke isn’t the perfect hero she always imagined him to be, she’s shocked. Horrified. She struggles to reconcile this new information with her world-view — and so does the audience. It’s hard to accept. Uncomfortable. Frustrating. It feels like a betrayal.

We, the audience and Rey, have to recognize that Luke Skywalker isn’t a saint. He’s just a man — a man who saved the galaxy, yes, but also one who has flaws and failures. It doesn’t make him a bad person. It makes him a PERSON, full-stop. Human. (And, in my opinion, it makes him more interesting than a “perfect” Luke could ever be.)

Luke Skywalker doesn’t owe us anything.

Like Rey, we have to accept Luke’s failures and learn from them. Instead of waiting for a hero to come save us, we have to become the hero and save ourselves. We go on this journey with her, and if we’re open to it, arrive at the same place.

Your heroes are flawed. They’ll inevitably let you down. Life is full of disappointment. Sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you’ll fail.

You have to accept all of this in order to grow up. It’s going to hurt — but you’re going to be all right. You’ll learn from this and you’ll do better.

In the end, Luke does reignite the rebellion — and in doing so, he passes the torch. Just as Rey can continue the fight without Luke Skywalker, Star Wars can transition into a new era (and welcome a new generation of fans).

It’s harder for some of us to accept than others. (Purely anecdotal, but in my social circle, I’ve noticed that guys over the age of 35 or 40 seem to be most put off by Luke’s characterization, while younger men and women are more open to it. Maybe it’s a generational thing?) But it’s what we need to hear.

Kudos to Rian Johnson. His characterization of Luke was brilliant and he achieved exactly what he set out to do.

If you know me at all, you know I’ve spent the last few weeks shaking in anticipation of The Last Jedi. I wanted to share my immediate impressions here. I’m still processing (will be for weeks, probably, good god), so this is a rough, somewhat incoherent analysis.

MEGA SPOILERS, so don’t click to view the full post unless you’ve seen the movie or don’t mind getting spoiled:

Luke Skywalker. Oh man, Luke.

Straight off, this was the performance that I’ve been waiting all my life to see, that Mark Hamill has deserved to have the chance to show us. He’s brilliant. (“See you around, kid.” Oh my god.)

I’m already seeing commentary saying that Luke was out of character, but I disagree. I think fans who feel that way haven’t accepted that Luke Skywalker is more than a myth, more than a legend – he’s a man. Human. Fallible. He failed Ben, and that’s okay.

What I’m getting at is: Luke, Leia and Han aren’t perfect. They’re heroes who saved the galaxy, but in their personal lives, they had weaknesses, flaws, failures. That doesn’t make them bad people. It just makes them people, full-stop. It makes them human, and that’s much more interesting than putting them on a pedestal.

Like Rey, we all have to recognize that Luke isn’t a saint. He’s just a man. And sometimes, instead of waiting for a hero to come save us, we have to become the hero and save ourselves. It’s hard to accept. Uncomfortable. Frustrating. But it’s real.

(Side note: I love how, despite his “eff the Jedi” attitude, Luke carries on the proud Jedi tradition of straight up lying about something important.)

As for Luke’s “death,” it felt right to me. If it felt OOC to you, remember: “If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.”

To use the last of his strength to reignite the fire of the rebellion is the most Luke Skywalker thing he could’ve possibly done. It was tremendous. Beautiful. He is one with the Force now – like Qui Gon, like Yoda, like Obi-Wan. (“We are what they outgrow.” Oh, wow.) We haven’t seen the last of Luke Skywalker. Just you wait.

Moving on to Rey: Y’all know that I’ve spent the last two years insisting that Rey has to be a Skywalker, or the foreshadowing in TFA wouldn’t make sense. But the truth of Rey’s heritage just about knocked me out. It was the best possible surprise.

The idea that a hero can come from anywhere – from nowhere – is a powerful and important message. It’s one that I always like to see explored in fiction; I just wasn’t expecting it from the Skywalker family saga. It’s a fantastic twist, and it feels right. Kudos, Rian Johnson. Kudos.

Kylo Ren. Where do I even begin with Kylo Ren?

Remember in TFA, when Han told Kylo: “Snoke is using you for your power. When he gets what he wants, he’ll crush you – you know it’s true.” And somehow, Kylo did know. You could see it on his face. (Also, it was written in the script.) But all he said to his father in reply was, “It’s too late.”

In The Last Jedi, though, we witness the moment when Kylo can no longer tell himself that Snoke isn’t just using and manipulating him. We see the moment when he realizes that it’s NOT too late. And he sets himself free.

(Side note, when Kylo absolutely wasted Snoke like that, and then he and Rey jumped into battle together, the audience in my theater CHEERED. I almost had a stroke. My heart was pounding so hard that I was dizzy. Nothing in my life has felt as good as that scene.)

I want to be clear that Rey and Kylo’s connection never felt romantic or sexual to me. What I sensed from both of them, beginning in TFA, was a terrible, aching loneliness. They’re each set apart from other people, always have been. When they meet, it’s like standing in front of a mirror, some essential part of themselves reflected back at them. But I think calling it a love connection would be reductive.

Also, like, Rey physically and metaphorically shut the door on Kylo at the end. I think she wants to save him, to help him, and she’ll try if she can – but she’s not in love with him, and he’s not in love with her, either. It’s more complex than that.

Rey was right that Kylo would turn, but wrong about which way. He didn’t turn to her – he turned inward. He turned to his own side. The only person in the galaxy who’s never betrayed him is himself.

For a while there, with Rey, he thought he’d found an equal, someone who understood what it was to be like him – and he did. (When he says that she’s nobody, except to him – I don’t think it was just “negging.” I think he feels like nobody, too, but he wants to matter to someone, and he thought it could be Rey.)  But in the end, he saw that he had to walk alone, just like he always has. Wow.

THE SUPREME LEADER IS DEAD. LONG LIVE THE SUPREME LEADER.

I could never have guessed it would happen that way. Right when we were poised to get a boring Snoke back story, Rian Johnson basically said “Psyche! We’re doing something cool instead!” and yanked the rug out from under us. Incredible.

Up to this point, we’ve only been able to speculate about Kylo’s end game, the destiny he’s reaching for. Now we know: He wants to burn it all down and start over. Vader, Luke Skywalker, the Jedi, the Sith, the Empire, the New Republic: It’s all the same, an ageless cycle, worthless, and he can see it now. The galaxy can only be cleansed with fire. In Kylo’s eyes, there’s nothing left worth saving – not even him. Hell yeah.

(And yet – he couldn’t kill Leia. That’s the one part of his past that he couldn’t bring himself to destroy.)

Side note: I loved all the Hux whump, though I wish he’d been less of a cartoon villain. I’m lowkey obsessed with Hux, and I hooted when he moved to blow Kylo’s brains out, then tried to act casual. Classic. I look forward to watching him spend Ep. 9 actively plotting to kill and usurp Kylo.

Speaking of Hux, I think his survival points toward an interesting new conflict for Kylo. He’s the Supreme Leader now – but what does that mean? How’s he going to handle it? Does he know anything about administration?

At the end, when Kylo was screaming “MORE!” and Hux yelled, “THAT’S ENOUGH!” the soldiers followed Hux’s order. They’re used to taking his orders. He’s their general. They’re probably more loyal to him than to Kylo Ren.

How will that play out in Ep. 9, when Kylo is running the First Order? Also, why did he keep Hux (his bitter ex – I’ll never let that die) around at all, at the rank of general, if he didn’t think he still needs him for something? I wonder if Hux won’t stay at Kylo’s right hand to smooth the transition. I can’t wait to see their dynamic in the next movie.

FINN. You’re doing amazing, sweetie. I found his arc very satisfying. He goes from wanting to escape the fighting with Rey (which is perfectly understandable) to holding firm, planning to sacrifice his own life for the cause when all others had fallen back. He learns self-sacrifice from Rose – and in turn, Rose learns how to be a little selfish. The whole movie, she gives and gives to the cause. She even gives up her precious necklace, without hesitation – but in the end, she keeps something for herself, too. She keeps Finn. She saves him because she can’t bear to do anything else. I was moved (though I don’t think Finn feels the same way about her – much like myself, he’s all Rey all the time).

(Side note: I was SO SCARED that Finn was going to die. Thank god for Rose Tico.)

Poe’s arc was another big win for me. He understands what it means to be a real leader now (and the way Leia passed the torch to him seems almost prophetic in hindsight). Also, one of my favorite tropes is when characters in a military setting learn to respect the chain of command. (I find rigid structure comforting or something.)

I think it’s a very American thing to celebrate “going rogue” and “bucking the system” because you don’t trust your superiors. In a different movie, Poe would’ve been shown to be in the right and Holdo would’ve turned out to be a traitor or something. But in the real world, sometimes you have to suck it up and listen to the person above you, even if you don’t understand why. That’s the lesson Poe learned.

Seeing Leia use the Force was a transcendent experience for me. And I don’t really have the words to describe her scene with Luke – it’s still too raw – except to say how beautiful it is that Luke and Leia had a chance to say goodbye. “No one is ever really gone.”

The Last Jedi is a story about mistakes and redemption. It’s about falling, struggling back to your feet, and fighting on to find your place in the galaxy, no matter who you are. A polarizing movie, for sure, but one that elegantly, beautifully, devastatingly closes the book on the OT and ushers in a new era of Star Wars.

And the rest of it:

Luke milking the fleshbeast… why… I don’t get it… but it was amazing…
alternate title: General Hux and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
I actually loved the chase scene with the giant dogs?? go, my children, you’re free now
PORGS. oh my god, the porgs, I’m so happy
Kylo Ren’s ample bosom just about knocked me out
where was Lando?? I demand Lando. he could’ve made a cameo appearance in the casino
I wanted to see the Knights of Ren SO BADLY and I didn’t get them! however, my long-standing theory that the other knights are students who left Luke’s Jedi school with Ben seems very plausible now. I hope they’ll appear in Ep. 9, maybe as the new Supreme Leader’s guards.
Yoda is still a complete troll (in case you missed it, Rey stole the Jedi texts. they’re on the Falcon at the end of the movie. so when Yoda says there’s nothing in those books that Rey doesn’t already possess, he means it)
the moral ambiguity gave me life
eat the rich
I anticipate a time skip for Ep. 9, so Rey has a chance to train new Jedi and Kylo has a chance to settle into his role as the Supreme Leader
“Do you think you got him?” even after getting Force-choked, Hux just can’t help himself

What did you think of The Last Jedi? And where the hell do you think the story will go from here?

Well, not so much a sale as a giveaway! For a limited time, Flicker is free at most ebook retailers.

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Kindle | Kobo | Nook | Smashwords

If you’ve been waiting to pick up Flicker, this is the perfect opportunity to score a free copy. And it makes a great beach read!

If you’re planning to attend Lilac City Comicon this weekend (at the Spokane Convention Center), be sure to come see me in artist alley! I’ll be selling and signing books all weekend in space D10 (see the red star on the map below):

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I’ll be sharing a space with Ty Hulse, an artist and folklorist, who I was lucky enough to connect with earlier this year at RadCon. If you enjoy my books, or faeries in general, you’ll go absolutely wild for his art, as well as his written works. (He’s published an excellent “Writer’s Guide to Fairies, Witches and Vampires,” which now has a permanent home in my collection of reference books.)

I hope to see you this weekend!

I don’t usually post personal stories on my blog, but I wanted to memorialize a special someone.

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Our sweet Blackberry passed away unexpectedly this week. We don’t know what happened. Maybe he was much older than we’d thought; maybe there was something wrong with his heart.

All we know for sure is that he died in his sleep, in his favorite chair, all stretched out, which means he was warm and comfortable.

The whole family is devastated. We didn’t adopt Blackberry (more commonly known as Blackie) so much as he adopted us. There’s no telling where he came from. He just appeared one day, out of the blue, and decided to stick around.

I feel so lucky to have had that time with him, even though it’s painful to realize that I have to go on without him. He was a big, soft, sweet, beautiful boy who chose us to be his family.

There never was a more magical witch’s familiar.

Sleep easy, Blackie. I’ll love you forever.

Amazon | Kobo | Smashwords

This is not a drill! Lights has been released into the wild. I really can’t tell you how excited I am to share the conclusion of this story.

Lee Capren’s life is complicated. She’s in love with a boy whose heart she broke to protect him, her home is wrecked—and she and her friends have just been arrested for practicing magic illegally.

With the evidence stacked against them, they’re given a choice: serve the Seattle Guild as apprentices, or serve time in prison. The decision seems simple, but the consequences will be greater than anyone can imagine.

Navigating Seattle’s magical scene is tough enough, even before the Summer King requests Lee as his emissary to the Winter Court—a request she can’t refuse. Suddenly, she’s entangled in a conflict brewing between two ancient powers. But there’s more to this faerie feud than meets the eye—and signs point to a shadow from Filo’s past.

The coming storm will destroy all that Lee holds dear, unless she sacrifices everything to stop it.

To everyone who’s followed Lee, Nasser, Filo and the rest of the gang this far: thank you! It’s your enthusiasm and encouragement that kept me typing one word after another, until this story was finally told.

Happy reading!

Grace Under Fire (Gift of Grace #1) by Frog and Esther Jones

My Review: Grace Under Fire, book 1 in Frog and Esther Jones’ Gift of Grace series, is a criminally-underrated indie gem. If you like smart urban fantasy, you’ll find a lot to enjoy about this series.

In the Gift of Grace world, magic users are known as summoners, due to their ability to summon (that is, move around) matter from place to place. Summoning is an incredibly diverse brand of magic; it can be applied in about a million ways, from combat to healing. Unfortunately, summoning is also totally illegal, which means summoners like Grace have to keep their abilities hidden from the non-magical population. The underground network of summoners, called Groves, are like one giant, secret mafia family. (Yes, it’s as cool as it sounds.)

The relationship between Grace and Robert is my favorite thing about this book. They’re wonderful foils—the brash young guy with more raw power than training, and the exasperated older woman who solves problems with cleverness. In fact, Grace Under Fire delivers one of my favorite tropes, rarely seen in the wild: a tough young guy whose mentor is an older woman. (Bonus points if he has to fetch her coffee at some point in the story.) Watching Grace and Robert play off each other, always in unexpected ways, is a delight.

Now, if you know me very well, you probably know that I’m deeply interested in traumatized, emotionally-damaged teenage boys who do magic. That said, it’s no surprise that I’ve become very attached to Robert. He’s an orphan who has bounced from foster home to foster home—and, unbeknownst to him, he’s got some pretty serious magical chops.

I admit that it was hard for me to connect with Robert at first, on an emotional level—but then I realized that was by design. Robert is a very closed-off person. He’s guarded, understandably so. He doesn’t let anybody in right away, not even the reader. I had to get to know him over the course of the story. By the end, I felt like I’d gone on as much of a journey of discovery as Robert himself.

And then there’s Grace, my love and my darling, the light of my life. Grace is an unapologetic foodie with a wild fashion sense. The first time she used her highly-illegal powers to summon takeout from a faraway restaurant, I knew I loved her. While she doesn’t have the same kind of raw magical power that Robert has, she makes up for it with her technical abilities and tenacity.

I have a weakness for stories set in the Northwest, and as such, I can’t say enough good things about this setting. I love Spokane, and it’s so fun to see familiar places become the backdrop of a magical adventure. (Say, is this what people from New York feel like all the time?) Seriously, I’ve never viewed the Spokane Valley Mall quite the same way after reading about Grace and Robert’s epic battle with a demon from another dimension.

All told, Grace Under Fire delivers everything I want in an urban fantasy, in a well-written package: rollicking adventure, a smart magic system, a realistic setting, and most importantly, fleshed-out characters I can root for.

Pick up a copy of this book. You deserve it.

Download Grace Under Fire on Amazon

Add it on Goodreads

With an official summary, to boot! Be warned, if you haven’t finished Brightly–the summary for Lights contains some spoilers:

Lee Capren’s life is complicated. She’s in love with a boy whose heart she broke to protect him, her home is wrecked—and she and her friends have just been arrested for practicing magic illegally.

With the evidence stacked against them, they’re given a choice: serve the Seattle Guild as apprentices, or serve time in prison. The decision seems simple, but the consequences will be greater than anyone can imagine.

Navigating Seattle’s magical scene is tough enough, even before the Summer King requests Lee as his emissary to the Winter Court—a request she can’t refuse. Suddenly, she’s entangled in a conflict brewing between two ancient powers. But there’s more to this faerie feud than meets the eye—and signs point to a shadow from Filo’s past.

The coming storm will destroy all that Lee holds dear, unless she sacrifices everything to stop it.

You can add Brightly on Goodreads here.

I don’t have an official release date yet, but I’ll keep you posted here, and on Facebook.

And it’s a big one: At long last, the first draft of Lights is finished!

I almost can’t believe it. I feel like I’ve been writing this book forever, so it’s a little surreal to be finished with it. I’ve got a few repairs to make before it’s ready for human eyes, of course, and then it’s off to my trusty beta readers.

I’ll have a description ready soon, I think–turns out, it’s hard to get those things exactly right! And I’ll keep you all posted on any updates about publication. We’re so close to releasing this book into the wild, friends! Just hang on a little longer!

In the meantime, here’s a little something from the Lights playlist, which I had on loop while writing the final scenes: “Still Left with Me” by Craft Spells.