My 9-year-old son just published his first book! Quest for Aeloria is a sword and sorcery fantasy novel intended for readers aged 8 to 12.
Join the Adventure, Unravel the Mystery, Save Aeloria.
In the enchanting kingdom of Aeloria, young Milo’s life takes a dramatic turn from rooftop escapades to a daring quest against tyranny. Born with extraordinary cat-like abilities, Milo, along with his friends Lara, the astute strategist, and Ethan, the ever-jolly companion, uncovers a dark secret that could change the fate of their kingdom. Under the oppressive rule of King Jochen Sassy, their playful days morph into a race against time to reclaim their home.
Guided by the wisdom of the wizard Iliandor and armed with an elemental blade, the trio embarks on an epic journey. From deciphering ancient rituals to navigating hidden passageways, they confront dangers and betrayals at every turn.
But time is a luxury they don’t have. The rare celestial event that could seal their success is fast approaching, and missing pieces of their puzzle remain. Will Milo’s cat-like prowess, Lara’s keen intellect, and Ethan’s unwavering loyalty be enough to overthrow a king and restore peace to Aeloria?
“Quest for Aeloria” is a riveting tale of bravery and friendship. It’s an adventure that captivates and inspires, weaving a story of a young hero’s journey to save his kingdom and define his destiny. Join Milo and his friends as they fight to restore peace and bring a new dawn to Aeloria.
This enchanting middle grade fantasy book is intended for readers age 8 to 12. It was a collaborative project written by E. S. O. Martin and her 4th grade son, Wade Patrick Martin.
How “Quest for Aeloria” Was Written With The Help of ChatGPT
Note: This is an edited excerpt from the publisher’s note at end of the book, explaining how my son and I co-wrote this novel with ChatGPT.
Quest for Aeloria is a sword and sorcery fantasy novel written by Wade Patrick Martin and E. S. O. Martin, with ChatGPT as part of Wade’s 4th grade school assignment.
Wade came up with the concept for Milo, a kid with cat-like abilities who needs to battle an evil king. Wade’s inspiration for the character arc of Milo is the Eragon series by Christopher Paolini. Ultimately, Milo is a typical young fantasy hero, following the Hero’s Journey.
Milo
Wade’s mother, the writer E. S. O. Martin, acted as prompt engineer, typist, and intermediary with ChatGPT4, which is a large language model artificial intelligence created by OpenAI.
The purpose of this project was to take a creative piece of writing from concept to publishing, while experimenting with blending human and machine storytelling. Wade acted as the director.
Since Wade is a child and knows what children like, he made creative decisions about what would happen in the global story, how the characters would behave, and what types of things they would say. It was particularly important to Wade that there be some comedy relief in the story, and that was how he created the character of Ethan.
Ethan
After coming up with the concept of the story, Wade and his mother asked ChatGPT to generate a twenty-scene outline for the book. They edited the outline to make sure they liked the story. Then, they started writing the book.
Their writing process was to review their outline notes, see what details they could come up with, and then ask ChatGPT to fill in the rest. As they were writing the story, they abandoned five of the outline scenes, and ultimately figured out how to tell the story in fifteen chapters instead of twenty.
Lara
Then, they read through the book, and made edits so that the story would have better continuity. They rewrote a couple of chapters. They ran the book through a grammar checker and a plagiarism checker. They also asked family members to offer edits.
They asked ChatGPT to generate illustrations and book cover designs. Then they edited the images and created the book jacket using Canva and Photoshop.
When they were finally ready, they published the book!
If you would like to check out Quest for Aeloria, it is available in ebook and paperback on Amazon many other stores. Check out the book page.
Among the Slavs, there are a variety of creation myths. One of them is of the Cosmic Egg, which represents the potential for life and the genesis of all we know.
The Cosmic Egg: A Universe Waiting to Hatch
Our story begins with a void—a vast expanse of nothingness where the seeds of the universe lays dormant. Within this primordial emptiness, a miracle occurred. An egg formed, and within this egg lay the seeds of all creation. It held the raw materials and forces necessary for the birth of the cosmos.
The Egg Cracks Open and a Universe is Born
The moment the Cosmic Egg cracks open marks the Slavic mythological equivalent of the Big Bang. As the egg’s shell fractured, it didn’t merely break apart; it gave structure the the chaos within.
The upper fragment of the shell ascended to form the heavens, like a vast dome across the sky.
The bottom part of the shell formed the Earth—a vast cradle that held all the mountains, valleys, rivers, oceans, and plains.
The Egg and Slavic Spirituality
The egg is a powerful symbol in many cultures. For the Slavs, it the egg was seen as both the beginning and the container of life, its breaking open was a metaphor for the sometimes chaotic process of creation. The belief that the upper shell contained the sky and the bottom shell contained the earth mirrors the dualistic nature of the world, where balance was achieved by the interplay of opposing forces.
Life and Humankind Sprung From a Rooster’s Egg
One of the myths about the creation of life in that when the universe was first created, it was completely barren. The gods wished for there to be more, so they send down a rooster which lay an egg of immense power. (Roosters don’t lay eggs, but whatever. We’re talking magical creation myths here, so there doesn’t have to be any logic.)
This egg cracked open and its golden yoke spread across the land. Everywhere the yoke touched, life sprang forth. A vast diversity of rivers, mountains, plants, animals, and humans arose from this golden yoke.
Faberge and Pisanki Easter Eggs: Modern Celebrations of the Cosmic Egg
The Cosmic Egg has remained an important symbol in Slavic culture. Its enduring legacy is most visible today in traditions and customs surrounding Easter Eggs, where Christian and pagan beliefs have blended.
In Slavic cultures, there is a long tradition of dying and decorating eggs in the spring that pre-dates Christianity. Archaeologists have found decorate clay and egg-shaped stones that date back to the 10th and 13th centuries, but the tradition of dying and decorating spring eggs is speculated to be at least a thousand years old.
There are many methods of decorating eggs, from pickling, to using wax and dyes, to watercolors, to oil paints, to removing the yoke and creating an egg-shell masterpiece by carefully breaking away parts of the shell so that it resembles lace.
The gold and silver Faberge eggs of Imperial Russia are perhaps the most famous decorated eggs.
I remember every Easter, there was a great deal of ceremony around placed around dying our “pisanki” Easter eggs.
First, the eggs would be hardboiled. Then, my grandmother would fill a vast pot with beets, red onions, and berries to dye the eggshells red. The eggs would be set aside to dry and cool. Then, we would use a sewing needle to scratch designs into the shell of the egg, which created white lines on a red background. We would draw geometric designs, and sometimes floral and tree patterns—symbolizing the World Tree, the rebirth of spring. By the end of this egg-decorating process, our fingers would all be stained red from handling the eggs.
Our spectacular designs did not last long, though, for these beautiful creations were intended for our traditional Polish Easter breakfast. (If you are planning on eating the eggs, it is very important to only use non-toxic, natural dyes.) We would pass around the basket of colorful eggs, each and break them apart, and eat them with salt and horseradish, nourishing our bodies with this vessel of life—a symbol of spring, of renewal, of the Cosmic Egg.
If you would like to stay up to date on my Slavic Spirits blog series, feel free to sign up for my Reader’s Club newsletter. You will also receive updates every month or so on my works in progress.
Contracts and Consequences: Beyond Rumpelstiltskin
In Spinning Silver, Naomi Novik weaves a compelling tapestry that reimagines the tale of Rumpelstiltskin, infusing it with profound themes of debt, the complexities of contracts, and communal ramifications. This novel, one of my favorite among Novik’s works, is a masterpiece of storytelling, resonating deeply with its exploration of historical and cultural themes.
At the heart of the story are three remarkable female protagonists.
Miryem Mandelstam, a young Jewish girl, takes over her father’s failing moneylending business, showcasing an acute business acumen that not only saves her family but also draws the attention of supernatural beings.
Wanda, a strong village girl, becomes Miryem’s assistant, offering a perspective grounded in the hardships of poverty.
Irina, a Duke’s daughter, faces a demonic threat in her betrothal to a possessed tsar, adding a layer of political intrigue and danger.
The story masterfully intertwines these women’s lives, as they challenge societal norms and navigate a world rife with prejudice. Novik’s narrative skillfully addresses anti-Semitic themes through Miryem’s experiences, drawing a parallel to the historical treatment of Jewish moneylenders. The Staryk king, embodying a harsh winter, symbolizes the natural and supernatural challenges they face, while the demon Chernobog adds an element of chaos and danger.
What sets Spinning Silver apart is its deep exploration of what it means to pay one’s debts, both in a literal and metaphorical sense. The novel delves into the intricate nature of contracts, highlighting how agreements can have unforeseen and dangerous consequences for individuals and their communities. This exploration is done with a sensitivity and intelligence that brings a new depth to the familiar fairy tale.
The novel is suitable for young adult readers, balancing its darker themes with an absence of overt sexuality or violence. The romantic elements are subtly woven into the narrative, enhancing the story without overpowering it. Novik’s storytelling is nothing short of masterful, with a narrative that is both intricate and accessible, full of heart and rich in detail.
Spinning Silver is a testament to Naomi Novik’s skill as a storyteller and her ability to breathe new life into old tales. It’s a book that challenges and enthralls, perfect for those who appreciate a story that combines historical depth with magical wonder. I highly recommend Spinning Silver to fans of Novik’s work and to anyone looking for a novel that combines rich storytelling with meaningful themes.
If you want to learn about more books like this, don’t forget to sign up for my VIP Reader’s Club for more book reviews, articles about slavic lore, and updates on my current works in progress. As a Thank You for signing up for my Reader’s Club, you will receive a FREE story from me, showcasing my own work in this slavic fantasy world.
My book is available in ebook, paperback, and hardback from Amazon.
Check my book page for the latest updates on other platforms.
Want to read an excerpt?
What follows is the preface to my collection to help you determine if this book might appeal to you or someone you know.
PREFACE
I’ve dedicated this collection to the memory of my grandpa Herbo. Whenever he visited, he would take me to a used bookstore and buy me stacks of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror paperbacks. We read many of the same series together and we’d talk about the books for hours, sitting in the driveway in his well-kept Toyota Tacoma.
I once asked Grandpa Herbo why he didn’t like reading reality fiction.
“My life is real enough,” he said. “Why would I want ‘reality’ in my entertainment?”
Fast forward to 2023. I get it now, Grandpa.
I read somewhere that the word “apocalypse” means “a revelation.” First there is the catastrophe, then a reassessment, then a new beginning. Many of the stories in this collection are about those moments of revelation—the twist in understanding where what you thought was real turned out to be just a story in your head. For many of us, the past few years have been a time to take stock and think about whether the things we were doing before are still working for us.
Each of these stories is a time capsule of my subconscious at a particular time in my life. These stories were written over a span of about seventeen years, from my early twenties to my late-thirties. This period covers college, graduate school, moving across the country (multiple times), marriage, becoming a parent, illness, the deaths of parents and grandparents, financial struggles, career successes, and failures.
I wanted to collect these stories all in one place.
Some of these stories haunted my hard drive and my brain for many years. It is time to exorcise them and put them all together in one volume, so other people can enjoy these dark little beauties.
A Tale Woven from the Threads of Friendship, Magic, and Slavic Lore
Every so often, a book comes along that feels like a revelation, a window into worlds unknown yet strangely familiar. Naomi Novik’s Uprooted is one such rare gem. It’s a story steeped in Slavic folklore, infused with a magic that’s both exhilarating and terrifying.
For me, it was more than just a read; it re-ignited and validated a passion for Polish and Slavic fantasy that I had ignored for far too long.
Uprooted whisks us away to a world where magic is as real as the earth underfoot, and danger lurks in the malevolent Wood bordering a quiet village. Every ten years, the Dragon, a powerful wizard, takes a young woman from the village as payment for protecting them.
The story unfolds through the eyes of Agnieszka, an unlikely heroine chosen by the Dragon. But this is no simple tale of heroism; it’s a complex weave of friendship, loyalty, and the battle against an encroaching, corrupting evil.
Novik’s narrative is a masterpiece of storytelling, blending a rich, character-driven plot with a vividly realized magical world. The Slavic myths of dragons, haunted forests, walking trees, and Baba Yagas woven into the story sparked a new appreciation and hunger for this genre in me, much like discovering a hidden path in a well-trodden forest.
For readers who like a little romance in their fantasy, there is definitely some enemies-to-lovers sexual tension going on between Agnieszka and the Dragon. (There is some sexual content, so this book is probably for adults.)
However, one of my favorite parts of the book was the deep, loyal friendship between Agnieszka and her best friend Kasia. Their loyalty and support for each other, in a world that’s falling apart, resonated deeply with me. As a writer and reader who cherishes strong, complex female relationships in literature, Uprooted felt like a treasure trove.
Novik’s skill lies in her ability to create a world that’s immersive and fully realized, and in creating female characters that are heroic, practical, and full of heart. Her writing is clever, masterful, and imbued with compassion that’s often missing in high-concept fantasy.
For those of us who have followed her work, Uprooted stands out as a testament to her prowess as a storyteller. Her exploration of Slavic mythology is not just a backdrop but an integral part of the narrative, making the story rich and authentically grounded in folklore.
In Uprooted, Novik has crafted a narrative that feels both timeless and timely. The infusion of Slavic lore into the fantasy genre provides a fresh perspective, filling a gap many of us didn’t know existed. It’s a reminder of the power of stories to transcend boundaries, offering a glimpse into a rich cultural tapestry that’s often overlooked in mainstream fantasy.
Uprooted by Naomi Novik is more than just a fantasy novel; it’s a journey into the heart of folklore, friendship, and the fight against darkness. Its blend of Slavic mythology with compelling characters makes it a must-read for fans of the genre.
If you, like me, are captivated by stories that weave magic with realism and bring folklore to life, then Uprooted will not disappoint.
If you want to learn about more books like this, don’t forget to sign up for my VIP Reader’s Club for more book reviews, articles about slavic lore, and updates on my current works in progress. As a Thank You for signing up for my Reader’s Club, you will receive a FREE short story from me, showcasing my own work in this slavic fantasy world.
Welcome to the beginning of 2024! Hurray! I’m still alive! And if you are reading this, then you are still alive too!
I thought I’d take a moment to reflect on some of my milestones and accomplishments of last year.
I’m not a full-time writer, so the writing I do is mostly woven in and out of my other responsibilities. But I have identified as a writer and storyteller since I was 9 years old, and I have been working steadily towards that passion ever since then.
What We Talk About When We Talk About the Apocalypse…coming January 30, 2024!
I drew illustrations for my forthcoming short story collection, What We Talk About When We Talk About The Apocalypse. You can read about my artistic process and view some of the drawings in this blog post here. I loved the process of illustrating my short stories, and I think that I definitely plan on continuing to incorporate art into my future works somehow.
My manuscript for What We Talk About is finally finished!
Here is a photo of me holding a sample copy, which arrived just in time for Christmas. I have a few little proofreading edits to make, but the book will live and be ready for sale on Amazon, January 30, 2024.
It’s very exciting to finally have a publication date! This collection has been a labor of love, encompassing the last 17 years of my work, and it’s so exciting to have all my stories from a particular era of my life collected in one spot.
One of the short stories from that collection, “Prove It” was published online at Club Chixculub. You can read or listen to me reading the story here, on their website, along with many other wonderful short stories. I have to say, I love the spooky music the editors have behind the audio-recordings of the short stories.
Experiments with ChatGPT
I was interviewed for “The Imaginary Possible” podcast about my experiences with ChatGPT. You can read my blog post about it and find a link to listen to the interview.
I have to say, the more I play around with ChatGPT, the more excited I get about its potential. I have been experimenting with integrating it more into my workflow, in various different aspects of my writing. (Although this blog post was written completely by me.)
As part of my son’s 4th grade schoolwork, he and I co-wrote a middle grade fantasy chapter book with ChatGPT4. This is part of the California Common Core requirements to take a piece of writing from concept to publication — but it was also a wonderful opportunity for us to learn how to blend our human skills with this new technology.
This project was really interesting, because I have never co-written a book with anyone before. (My only co-writing experiences are from school, where I ended up doing all the work and the bums I was partnered with took half the credit.) It was interesting to co-write with my own child and with an AI. It was delightful!
The majority of the credit for this project belongs to my son. He was the director, the creative engineer, the final decision-maker. It was his story idea, his vision. My role was basically to act as a typist, and as a facilitator, guiding my son through asking ChatGPT the right questions.
We told Chat our concept and asked it to create an outline for us. We edited the outline until we liked the story. Then, we drafted the book, one scene at a time, by adding our ideas to our day’s scene, and then asking Chat to fill in the rest.
The results were surprisingly good! Definitely on par with some of the Scholastic chapter books my son has checked out from the library.
After the first draft was done, we took the book through several editing passes, and multiple Beta readers to get their feedback. We are considering adding illustrations to the book and hoping to publish it in 2024.
I can absolutely see what a major disruptive technology Large Language Models like ChatGPT are going to be for creativity and education. For certain types of work, you would be hard pressed to tell the difference between what was written by a human and what was written by a computer.
In a lot of ways, it reminds me of a book I read a few years ago called The Most Human Human: What Talking to Computers Teaches Us About What It Means To Be Alive, by Brian Christian. I read this book many years ago, but it feels incredibly prescient. In this non-fiction book, the author talks about the Turing test and how it is inevitable that computers would pass it (which AI has) and that his personal challenge in taking the test in 2009 was to come across as more human than the computers.
We humans liked to separate ourselves from other animals by saying that we could “reason” better than they could. Where do we fit now that we have created machines that can reason better than us?
I’m definitely thinking about revisiting this book.
In the past few months of playing with ChatGPT, it’s definitely clear that it’s going to replace some jobs — probably a lot of jobs. And that’s scary.
I have no idea what the future holds, but I’m hoping that AI will help create more new opportunities than it will destroy.
I think I’d be more freaked out if wasn’t so darn helpful.
For example, I’m really excited about ChatGPT’s illustration function that it can do. I’m a passable artist, but I can definitely see myself using illustrations in places where I wouldn’t have used illustrations before. I’ve asked ChatGPT to help me with my fiction writing by helping me outline a new series I’m noodling on. I’ve asked it to help edit my scenes. I’ve asked it for help in generating marketing material. It’s just so useful. The more I play with it, the better I get asking it the right questions so that I get the result I want.
I have been planning my own “career pivot” with my fiction writing.
My 17-Year Creative Pivot
For years, I’ve been struggling to define myself as a writer and to make a specific decision about my audience and my voice. I waffled between literary, contemporary, fantasy, horror, and romance.
During the past two years of working on my short story collection, I have been doing some soul-searching on what my personal “Id list” is. The term “Id list” is based on Jennifer Lynn Barnes’s lecture to the romance Writers Association about finding what sparks joy for you and writing that. (Fans of Marie Kondo’s Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up will also be familiar with the “sparks joy” concept.)
Going through my bookshelves in 2021, I found out that a lot of the books I read did not spark joy. Most of them felt like homework. So I donated them all, and started only reading books that excite me.
And you know what? I read so many more books once I started picking books that gave me pleasure rather than books I felt like I was supposed to read in order to seem smart and writerly. In 2022 I read more than 140 books, and in 2023, I read more than 120 books. That’s more than double than what I previously read each year!
I also created a master list of all my story ideas — more than 500 of them! I held each idea, and started asking myself if I actually wanted to write this, or if it was just a fleeting thought that appealed to me intellectually, but which had no passion connected with it.
The more I interrogated my own ideas — particularly by trying out some concepts in the form of outlining, or scenes, or as short stories — the better I got at determining which ideas really thrilled me, and which ideas I was ready to let go of.
I had been holding on to some of those project ideas for a long time. Years.
And I’ll be honest: it felt really liberating to quit some of them.
The fastest way to finish a project is to quit it.
I know some people feel tremendous sadness at the thought of quitting a project—especially if it’s one they’ve nurtured for a long time. But for me, quitting most of these ideas felt like a huge relief. I was no longer shackled to the brain-children of my twenty-year-old self. I am a vastly different woman now than I was then. At last, I’m free to pursue the things that excite me now, today.
I think part of my easy-come, easy-go attitude comes from the fact that I have so many ideas. There’s more where that came from. Ideas are limitless. It’s time that is limited.
I still wanted to pay honor my past. And that is where my collection What We Talk About comes in. This book is an homage to past experiences and anxieties. This is the best of what 20-37-year-old me could come up with. These are the finest gems. The darkest, most haunting tales. And I’m so proud of that project.
But I’m also looking forward to what I will be doing next.
During NaNoWriMo, I started writing a new collection of short stories, tentatively titled Beads of Amber. These stories are Polish-inspired fairy tales, historical fantasy, and speculative fantasy stories inspired by some of the bedtime stories I remember being told by my mother and grandmother.
I’m reluctant to give it a publication deadline, but this is definitely the direction I see myself going in the future.
I’ve also started brainstorming a fairy tale romance series set in this Central European fantasy world, specifically having to do with the local legends of certain cities. The Dragon of Krakow. The Mermaid of Warsaw. That type of thing.
To keep you readers in the loop of my changing focus, I’ve been doing my best to blog a little more regularly. I’ve been blogging almost weekly since October, and this is a habit I hope to continue.
I hope to provide more book reviews of books that have a similar focus to what I’m working on, so that while you wait for me to write my next book, you can find a sampling of other works that I find inspiring, and which have a similar focus to the projects I’m working on.
I’m also toying around with doing a sort of “Monster Guide” blog series of all the fantastic Slavic fairy creatures I’m learning about. I’m tentatively planning on titling it Slavic Spirits, and it’s a project I hope to launch in 2024.
If you are interested in following along on my journey, please consider signing up for my Reader’s Club newsletter. As a Thank You, I’ll send you a free copy of one of the short stories that will be included in my Beads of Amber collection.
I hope your new year holds many wonderful things for you.
