Know the Novel Linkup Part One–featuring murderous royals and muffins

Not to alarm anyone, but…October is almost over. Which means November is almost here. Which means–

*alarms self*

*falls over*

Yeah. It’s almost time for Nanowrimo.

Today I’ll be participating in the Know the Novel linkup created by Christine Smith @ Fairy Dust on My Pen. I will be answering the provided questions in an attempt to acquaint you all with my aspiring novel.

(Bold of me to assume my novel will allow itself to be subjected to such an interrogation.)

Let’s get on with the questions, shall we?

1. What first sparked the idea for this novel?

*blinks*

For several of my books I actually have a story about where the idea first came from–a dream, a song lyric, a conversation, etc. But for this one…

Well, I guess it was a few sentences. I sat down to write a random scene with no intention of it ever coming to anything. I just had a few sentences in my head that I wanted to build off of for a few pages.

Basically, it was just this uncle telling his nephew that he thought of him as his own son, but the nephew wasn’t sure how to take it because the uncle had just had his own three sons executed for treason.

Yeah. Because these are the random situations that pop into my head that I decide to write about just for kicks.

Over the next few months, I kept thinking about the scene and started having other ideas and…well, here we are.

2. Share a blurb (or just an overall summary if you’d prefer)!

Well, this is the blurb I wrote at the top of my “planning” word document:

Someone tried to poison the king. A few months later, all three princes were dead.

Were the princes to blame? Was the king?

YOU’LL FIND OUT.

Quality content, right there.

Okay, I’ll try to give you a little more:

After spending his entire life so far living in a remote cottage on the edge of the kingdom, Roland is quite suddenly brought to live at the castle with his uncle and aunt. His parents both died when he was a baby, leaving him the ward of his uncle, the king, but he has been raised by servants and has only met his uncle a handful of times.

Upon arriving at the castle, Roland finds that the three princes, his cousins, are dead, and he is now the next heir to the throne.

No one knows the exact details of the princes’ deaths. Some say they were conspiring against their father. Others say their father murdered them in cold blood. As Roland soon learns, everyone has a different explanation. Everyone has something to hide.

And, if he can’t uncover the truth, Roland’s own life might be at stake.

Wow. That took way longer than I thought it would. Who knew this was so hard??

3. Where does the story take place? What are some of your favorite aspects about the setting?

So…the thing is…

Excuse me for a moment.

*muffled screaming*

Right. So, the setting is a bit…vague at the moment. It’s a fictional kingdom (that I haven’t named yet, what unrealistic expectations you have), and there’s a castle and…

Let’s just say, most of what I write is contemporary. I’ve never written anything with a castle in it before, and I am definitely freaking out and questioning my life choices.

I haven’t even decided on a rough time period. One minute I’m thinking medieval with drafty old castles and broadswords. Then my brain is like, “Ok, but what if they were all running around in frock coats and firing revolvers??”

In an ideal world, I would be able to create some kind of convincing Medieval/Victorian hybrid world, but…yes. It’s going to be a First Draft.

4. Tell us about your protagonist(s).

Roland is what I’m currently calling my main character. (Placeholder name. Placeholder names ALL THE WAY.) As I mentioned in the “blurb” he is the king’s nephew (son of the king’s younger brother). A few facts:

• 14 or 15 years old
• Not at all gung-ho about this whole moving to the castle thing
• Basically a socially inept homeschooler (I’m allowed to say such things, I was homeschooled.)
• Probably a Hufflepuff
• Probably would bake you muffins if you asked
• Used to doing things by himself
• What is this. I haven’t given him any friends. Rude.
• Wants a family, but doesn’t want to be killed by said family (so picky, Roland)

5. Who (or what) is the antagonist?

I can’t actually answer this one. And not because I don’t know! I DO know…Sort of. I’m working on it.

But the fact is, it’s a mystery. A whodunnit, of a sort. So clearly I can’t just come right out and tell you who the villain is.

6. What excites you the most about this novel?

The excitement and the terror are inseparable on this one: It’s a mystery! And I’ve never written a mystery before. So yes, I’m excited. I’m thrilled to be exploring this new territory, but also…

Yes, it’s terrifying.

7. Is this going to be a series? standalone? something else?

Standalone. I have friends who plan series and I just stare at them like, how?? I never come up with ideas that span multiple books.

8. Are you plotting? pantsing? plansting?

Plantsing I guess? I’ve always been very much the make-it-up-as-we-go type, but with a mystery…that wouldn’t really work. So I’m trying to plan. Somewhat. A little bit. (Like, at least figure out the ending?? Maybe???)

9. Name a few unique elements about this story.

…I honestly can’t think of anything. I don’t mean to be cynical. I’m sure there will end up being unique things about it, but at this point…

10. Share some fun “extras” of the story (a song or full playlist, some aesthetics, a collage, a Pinterest board, a map you’ve made, a special theme you’re going to incorporate, ANYTHING you want to share!).

So, I need a working title. And, being the kind of procrastinate-and-stress-over-even-placeholder-names-and-titles person I am, I thought I’d ask for your opinion! Tell me which one you want! Whichever one has the most votes by November 1 (or 2 or 3…or whenever I get to it), I will use on my Nanowrimo profile.

• Three Princes
• Three Dead Princes
• The Fourth Prince
• Four Princes (Three of Whom are Dead)
• The Heir
• A Prince’s Guide to Not Being Murdered
• A Prince’s Guide to Being Murdered
• One Big Happy Murderous Royal Family

There you have it. Tell me which one I should use!

Are you doing Nanowrimo? What are you writing? What genre do you usually write in? Have you ever written a mystery? Why are blurbs so hard?? And, most importantly, what working title should I use??? Do tell!

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