It’s two days until Christmas, and I have another noblebright author with a great deal for you!
Melinda Kucsera writes epic fantasy when she’s not being kidnapped by dragons or chased by other fictional dragons. And her trilogy, The Curse Breaker is on 99cent sale this week! She got a BookBub Deal! Well, let’s get to know what she has to say to our questions. Then we’ll return to that.
What does Noblebright mean to you?
- Noblebright means hope. Since it’s the opposite of grimdark, the world can get better. Characters can improve their lives and put to right all that’s wrong. That’s how I approach it, and that hope is in all my books and series.
Tell us something(s) about your story that shows us a glimpse of how you express that in your books.
- Belief is power in my books. When things are at their darkest, sometimes it’s the smallest thing that can turn the tide, like a mage believing in himself and casting the spell even if he’s not sure if it will help. In a noblebright world, even the smallest things help.
That’s something that really resonates with me. We’ve got to try – to believe – even when what we see seems to defy that. That’s what Faith is, isn’t it?
Give us a quote, a scene, or a theme from your book that feels ‘bright’ to you.
Here’s an excerpt from my book, Curse Breaker Faceted, that feels bright to me:
“But I must do something. She needs help.” Sarn worked his boot off while he dangled there, held aloft by a ghost.
Even Bear couldn’t argue with him. She did need help. The Queen of All Trees was sagging, her defenses falling. The tentacles struck faster than she could dodge. Light bled from scores of wounds marring her once-perfect bark, dimming her numinous beauty.
No, she can’t fall. She never has, not in any age, Bear said as the Queen of All Trees stumbled. Bear lowered Sarn.
“I can help her. I know I can.”
What can you do against such reckless hate?
“Believe in all that’s good. Believe in her.” Sarn peeled his son off him and thrust the struggling boy into a surprised Bear’s paws. Then he pivoted and slammed his bare foot onto one of those submerged circles. He had nothing left but belief, and maybe that’s all he’d ever needed.
“Shayari needs her heroes. I need a hero to believe in too. And I believe in you,” he said to his Queen.
At his words, white magic exploded from his core and ignited those circles. They were made of unkindled lumir crystals and they woke at his touch. His belief slammed into her, magnified by those circles. It returned the power she’d used to heal him last month and the belief she’d placed in him then.
The Queen of All Trees glowed sun-bright, and her light burned away the remaining tentacles. Their ashes piled up on shore. But that black mist eddied around them, stripping any remaining magic as the glow of those circles died out. It would harm her too if she left the lake.
Ooh, I like this one!
In the interest of writing about hope, courage, and redemption, it’s sometimes necessary to write some of the darker things in the world. What are some of the harder themes to tackle that you find, in books you’ve read or in your experience writing?
- I don’t like writing about characters who kill people, but I’ve had to tackle that in a couple of books where the villains had a serious power advantage over the heroes and no good ways to stop the villains for much of the story arc. Hope was all that got the heroes through those books.
Not many people mention this one! I’m glad that you did!
What inspires you to write Noblebright?
I love heroic fiction, especially Tolkien’s work, and his Lord of the Rings trilogy is a noblebright masterpiece that shows how hope and beauty can triumph if friendships are true. Reading his works had a profound effect on me. I wanted to write hope into every line like he did, so my books could leave the reader feeling triumphant too when the heroes won.
How does writing stories about noblebright themes affect the way you present characters, such as villains or protagonists?
I have a hard time writing about true evil because in a noblebright world where things can get better, even the worst person can change. So I feel like every character needs to be written so that redemption is possible if they take action toward it. But the reverse is also true. Characters can take actions to thwart that redemption and make it difficult to ever turn back to the good side. I have that situation with a character in a series right now. He’s turning away from the light at every opportunity.
But heroes also need to keep taking action to be good. So it can be a double-edged sword, but I love the challenge.
How do noblebright themes affect or express themselves in your worldbuilding?
It created a complicated mess because the past is full of people doing things to the world to make it harder for the evils of other ages to resurface in the future. So I have layers of past mistakes and reactions to them that created really weird structures, landscapes, and magic, but the characters can change their world, so that can all change.
What are a few books by other authors that really speak out to you as Noblebright?
I learned everything I know about writing noblebright fantasy from reading The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien, Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar series, and The Death Gate Cycle books by Margaret Weis, Tracy Hickman. They wrote it before it had a name.
I think, very often, things are written before they have a name, and definitely before they have this name. I really enjoyed Valdemar, too!
Thank you for sharing this with us, Melinda! I loved reading it!
About Melinda
Melinda Kucsera writes epic fantasy adventures when not being kidnapped by dragons or chased by armies of fictional creatures. She leaves the running of her newsletter to a cast of lovable characters who hog her inbox. (We do, on occasion, rescue her, so we get more page time and books.) Enough about her, it’s us you’re really interested in, her cast of characters. Join us every week for a new story at http://www.mkucsera.com/welcomecharacters
You can Sign Up for Melinda’s Newsletter, or check out her Website, YouTube Channel, or Patreon.
Curse Breakers, Books 1-3
On sale for 99cents from Dec 22nd to 29th!
Magic is forbidden in Sarn’s world — but when he wakes up in a dark and dangerous new place, he must use the power he once kept hidden to return home to his son.
Curse Breaker Books 1-3 features the first three books of the Curse Breaker Series in one action-packed boxed set, starring a loving father, his young son, and the people and monsters that dwell in an immersive world of intrigue and adventure.
Get Curse Breaker Books 1-3 now if you love found family, reluctant heroes, and magical mayhem, then this is the book for you!
Again, those are 99cents this week of Christmas, 2023, so this is a great time to get them if you think you might want them!!
If this intrigues you and you’re a reader, author, or otherwise interested in noblebright, you’re invited to the Noblebright Alliance Discord!
And, if you’d like to do a spotlight with me as an author, or provide feedback on what you’d like to see as a reader, check out this post and get in touch!
Enthralled By Love 