This collection of short stories is an lgbt+ lighthearted/comedic fantasy series where artists, inventors, and carnival performers fill the cast. Each short story in this collection involves friendship or cute love, intermixed with magic, mischief...
The stories in this collection are all based in the world that I'm currently writing for a series of fantasy novels. These stories aren't in the novels themselves, but are extra tales within the series. Usually they involve my main characters, but sometimes the stories are a chance for minor characters to take center stage! Each chapter will be a different short story.
The "Unexpected Inspiration" series is New Adult high fantasy set in a world that's contemporary to our own; imagine if instead of steampunk or Earth history, technology had been powered by magic and then progressed to a time period equivalent to now. It's got romance, comedy, magic, and an lgbt+ cast, as well as paranormal/supernatural elements. If you like fun stories about dorky yet charming characters, I hopefully have you covered.
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Here's a list of the cast of characters who appear in these stories most often:
Adair Cerulean: arcane painter/cartographer whose illusion magic works through art. (Magic is called "weaving" in these stories.) Cheerful, friendly, and sweet, if a little naive. Trans boy. Obsessed with food, particularly pies and desserts. Terrified of heights. Technically the main character of the series and the leader of this misfit bunch of carnival performers. (Center of picture.)
Blythe Bladedancer: knife and blade performer for a carnival troupe when she isn't being their healer. One of Adair's sentinels. As much warrior as healer, she's strong-willed, quick at making decisions, and just as quick to speak her mind. Has a soft spot for those in need. Doesn't fear much of anything, except maybe one of the other dorks doing something stupid that she'd have to rescue them from. (Second from right in picture.)
Etri Celeste: sometimes thief, part time fire and knife act with the troupe, full time sentinel of Adair. (This is a triad culture; sentinels are the bodyguards/spouses to artists.) Stoic, loyal, intelligent. Socially phobic introvert. Has magic that snuffs out light/fire and turns him into a shadow. Doesn't naturally have black hair: what goth boy has is an aesthetic. (Second from left in picture.)
Sol Celeste: fire-breather and fire performer with light magic. An inventor who's always coming up with bizarre ideas that sometimes work, sometimes backfire spectacularly. He's something of a genius ditz: brilliant at inventing things, a completely inept goofball the rest of the time. He's Etri's identical twin and they intentionally play off each other's sun/moon, light/dark theme. (At left in picture.)
Firedrake (Dray): fire dancer who's more than a little obsessed with dragons and costumes. Agender and uses they/them pronouns. Tries to come off as snarky, sarcastic, and serious, but is as much a dork as the rest. Enjoys pranking people. Has fire and mind-manipulation magics that tend to aid the pranks. Blythe's sibling-by-choice, although both are constantly wondering what they were thinking when they made said choice. (At right in picture.)
