(Last, but not least. Definitely one of the unluckiest characters of the series.)
Kira Grasdon By Kayla Matt
Hair– Black Eyes– Green Race– Human Hometown– Bor’daruk Career– Warrior/Merchant Weapon(s) of Choice– Kusari-Gama Debut Book– Legends of Windemere: Beginning of a Hero
Not a champion or a character that appears in every volume, Kira Grasdon still plays a major player for the heroes. Throughout the series, she takes the role of Luke Callindor’s fiancee, Nyx’s childhood rival, Sari’s adult rival, source of transport, and occasional ally in battle.
The oldest child of the Grasdon Merchant Family, she is not able to go on the adventures, but finds herself pulled into the events as the prophecy gets closer to its finale. Starting as another student at Hamilton Military Academy, Kira is not warrior material. She is clumsy, whines, and complains to the point where people wonder why Selenia doesn’t expel her. At least she appears that way since she is a ‘master of masks’. After a rebellious early childhood, Kira learned to read people and become what they wanted. Her most common facade has been that of a spoiled, bratty noble, which worked for the high class world she survived in.
Things change due to her romance with Luke Callindor and Kira changes the most out of every character. No longer wanting to be what others want her to be, she crafts a new persona that feels natural and meshes with her fiancée. Every appearance shows an evolved version and reveals that she has been maturing, which includes accepting the consequences of some of her bigger mistakes.
Last year I finished editing and started writing a new book for the first time in about 2 years or so. It was kind of nerve-wracking because I had a lot of imposter syndrome and other flavors of doubt. Still, I did it and then it got me thinking about the act of getting back into writing.
It’s weird to be nervous about getting back into writing when I was doing it on some level since I was 15. There were long periods of time where I only worked on outlines. For example, the 4.5 years in Florida were entirely outlining and editing the books I had finished. Still, I was doing something in regards to writing, so I never felt like I was taking a break from it. Then again, I was editing the whole time I wasn’t writing anything new, so why the difference?
This is just a theory and might only pertain to me. Prior to publishing and tasting any success as an author, I was tinkering and dreaming. So, being forced to not touch my outlines and notebooks didn’t mean I was going backwards. I returned to the same position I was in before. After publishing, I kept feeling like any pause on working on my books was a period of time where I hemorrhaged what little progress I had. Not being able to afford cover art or advertising added to this, but not writing anything at all for a long time almost felt like I had given up.
So, the return to writing in this situation felt almost like coming out of retirement. I wasn’t sure if I should be trying. I couldn’t tell if I retained any of my skills as an author or if I was a shadow of my former self. Chapter sections would feel too short or lacking or repetitive or too long or something that made me walk away for a break more often than I used to. Every sentence that didn’t feel right or a plot issue that forced me to rethink the story was like a knife stabbing me in the face. Going in with blind confidence has never been my thing, but this was me writing in spite of a voice telling me that I already failed as an author.
Again, that’s from me and certain events have made me fairly pessimistic about me ever doing well again. For others, returning to writing can bring a sense of relief. I won’t deny that I felt this when I would get into the the story and forget my issues. So, there’s a positive energy coming from returning to writing, which makes sense. An author loves writing and there’s a part of their core that will always want to do it. It simply differs from person to person since we possess different personalities.
I think there’s a difference if you’re returning to a series or starting something entirely new as well. With a series, you can read what came before and get back into the story. It isn’t perfect, but you don’t feel like you’re starting from zero. That’s the case if you tackle a new series. Maybe you have an outline or character notes, which can help. You still run into the ‘new adventure’ tension that adds to the ‘return to writing’ anxiety, so you can become a bigger mess. At least with established books and characters, you have a solid foundation to help you regain your confidence.
In the end, a person who loves writing will eventually return. Whether it be to publish or write for themselves, they’ll do it if the spark is still alive. Doesn’t make it any easier, especially for those who aren’t naturally brimming with confidence. It’s been about 7 moths and I’m still unsure if I still have any of my previous skills. If not then I’m writing something terrible, but I won’t know for a while if ever. That really doesn’t help my confidence, so I’m going to go now.
This little guy is only about 3 inches long and is found deep in the ocean at over 10,000 feet. They were discovered in 2025 using robots in Monterey Canyon. Here are some other facts about this new discovery:
As you’ll see in the pictures below, they’re adorable.
Snailfish have a suction cup on their underbellies to help them attach to rocks.
While they are a fish, snailfish have no scales and have jelly-like bodies to help survive the pressure of their environment.
They also possess special proteins that help survive the pressure.
Before going to the pictures, there is another importance to discovering the bumpy snailfish. It demonstrates how little we have explored and know about our oceans, which are at risk. Every new discovery can help show people that we need to protect the oceans and continue exploring. Some of the plants and animals we find can lead to cures of our diseases or answers to settling ecological problems. More importantly, every animal is essential to their ecosystem. The more we know about them, the more we understand the world we are living in.
I don’t feel like I was successful this week, but I was. Only goals that I failed to accomplish were finishing the April blog posts and tinkering with ‘Phi Beta Files’. To be fair, I’m only 1 away from that first goal and I tried started at the second one. No idea what happened there beyond I had gone out to a bar with a friend beforehand. The bartender had some experimental drinks that she wanted to try and I agreed to be a guinea pig. Wasn’t drunk, but was buzzed to the point of mellowness. Anyway . . .
All of that means I finished writing Darwin & the Joy Path. It got pretty hairy at a few points due to some unexpected appointments. Managed to slip in some writing between those to not fall too far behind. Then, I used Wednesday to write an entire chapter, which I haven’t done in about 2 years. Guess it wasn’t that hard because it was the final one and the final section was the 1.5 page foreshadowing for the next book. I might have to go back to Darwin & the Fate Bracelet for some continuity questions, but I think having this item on a returning character could just be something they picked up over time.
The weather was decent enough that I had fun going out for a few Pokemon events last weekend. I ended up being in the park longer than expected, but only because I ended up socializing. Seems it had been weeks since most players hit the area due to the frigid temps and lingering piles of snow. So, there was a lot catching up and discussing how things might work not weekend. It’s the big end of season event, which spans the entire weekend with a lot of fun stuff to do. This another reason why I was determined to finish Darwin & the Joy Path during this break. Means I don’t have to go 3 weeks with only the closing chapter to do.
All writing basically stopped once my son came home for my half of the break. We went to the zoo on Thursday, but it wasn’t a picture heavy outing. Not that it wasn’t fun, but things are low key there during the winter. My son was observing animals to see if any inspired him to make monsters for a future video game. I’m trying to teach him my tricks for creature creation, which depends a lot on having animal knowledge. It kept him off his phone for most of the trip too, which was interesting. Think he figured out over 30 critters, but he isn’t sharing.
We aren’t having the a lazy break either. Family visited yesterday and he has his own plans today. Tomorrow is supposed to be when we get hit by another blizzard, which goes into Monday. We bought food to make for when we’re stuck inside. You can tell we are working around ‘big events’ to do our own things. I still plan on preparing blog posts and outlining while he is designing monsters and trying to teach himself some basic computer coding. There’s us watching shows together and video games.
Speaking of video games, I did buy the ‘Castlevania’ bundle only to be reminded how brutal the first game from the 80’s could be. No cheats, easy way to farm lives, easy to find health, or enemies who stay dead. I feel like the game is set to hard mode too because I don’t remember taking this much damage from one hit back in the day. I think I can still reach the same place I usually failed. My son got destroyed by the first level and decided he wasn’t into old games. It’s going to be rough when I make an honest attempt.
Next week is going to be fairly crazy. I’m scared to make any goals because of how things are looking. It starts with a possible blizzard, which could give us a snow day. Then, we go back to school/work while there are piles of snow around. Driving will be messy and all the kids are going to be thrown off. Leading up to the Pokemon Go season finale will be nightly events, but the weather and roads might not allow for me to easily get to them. It’s going to all end with the big event next weekend. Last time I did one of those was in November and I ended up getting the bacterial infection over the course of that. Needless to say, I’m a little nervous.
There’s a lot of other things going on too, which I can’t get into. My son is doing better, but the Disney trip debacle still comes up with him asking why the person did it. I have no answer and neither does the person. Feels like much of my parenting time lately has been playing damage control for other people. Tired of trying to explain the actions of others towards my son when I don’t even agree with them. He knows I’m doing my best and trying to be the bigger person, especially since I can’t hide my exhaustion at having to do this over and over and over again. Hopefully, I get a day off from this mess when we’re just hanging out between shovel outings.
(Not 100% certain where the title came from. The poem is about people who live entirely for others. Not the sacrificial types who help those in need. It’s about those who are raised to put themselves second and never attempt to do anything other than support those around them.)
It does seem to be a double-standard. Villains torture people and they are rightfully hated by the audience. Heroes do it to bad guys and most people shrug it off. Touches on how humans can be okay with questionable actions if they are rationalized. Killing bad guys is another example, but torture is even more extreme. Yet, the latter is probably more common than the former.
For some clarification: One can say that putting any type of stress on a person to get information is torture. The hero shooting a bad guy in a major joint for every ten seconds they don’t speak is an extreme example. It’s along the lines of what we would normally think of being in this category. Yet, Batman holding someone over the edge of a building or Punisher putting a gun to a thug’s head are also forms of torture. People seem to gloss over this, which means our definitions differ.
Torture is when you inflict pain and/or suffering on someone as either a punishment or to get information. Note that I made one word bold here. You don’t have to cause physical pain to make it torture. Inducing enough fear and anguish to have someone act against their own interests or give up information counts. Heroes tend to go this route since authors might feel inflicting pain is going too far. It’s rather strange since a physical wound takes less time to heal than mental ones. So, one could easily see how Batman dropping a goon off a roof only to catch them will take longer to recover from than simply being punched in the face.
Still, it is strange how heroes can still get away with it, right? No. Why?
Humans will accept bad things when they happen to bad people. It isn’t only villains getting killed or suffering some karmic backlash at the end. All characters who are shown as ‘bad guys’ fall into a category where they are allowed to be tortured, killed, or put through just about anything. We don’t usually realize this because we are raised on a pure ‘good vs evil’ concept. Good guys always do what is right and win while bad guys always do bad things and get their comeuppance. As long as nothing humanizes the villains to the point of pushing them even slightly towards good, we accept the heroes doing what would normally be unforgivable actions.
You also have anti-heroes who are allowed to get away with a lot. Many would say that this label has to be put on a character as soon as they cross the line. I keep mentioning Batman because I’ve seen him come up in ‘hero vs anti-hero’ debates. Torture ends up being subjective for each reader because they have different lines before they would consider an action as such. So, Batman dropping a goon off a building with a bungee attached would be seen as fine by some and torture by others. Hence, some people will say he can do this with no damage to his hero reputation.
As you can see, this can get very messy and you might disagree with everything I’ve said here. So, what do other people think about heroes torturing villains?
Hair– Purple Scales Eyes– Changes depending on mood Race– Drite Hometown– Visindor Forest Career– Guardian of Visindor Weapon(s) of Choice– Magic and Hallucinogenic Breath Weapon Debut Book– Legends of Windemere: Beginning of a Hero
Originally the guardian of Visindor Forest, Fizzle met Luke Callindor during the warrior’s first adventure. He was already known to Selenia and her students, especially since he routinely appeared in the cafeteria to claim an apple pie. Having learned Tradespeak from a child, Fizzle had some trouble explaining his thoughts, but he still became a vital member of Luke’s team during his time at Hamilton Military Academy. To the surprise of everyone, the small dragon decided to hand over his duties to his cousin and follow his new friends on their adventures.
Fast, cunning, and powerful, Fizzle has proven to be a threat to the Baron’s agents, including the deadly Stephen Kernaghan. His fierce loyalty to the champions has caused him to take the lead and challenge beings that are much stronger than himself. Yet, Fizzle always has a trick in mind or simply attempts to make his enemies ‘go poof’ with a disintegration spell. Outside of battle, his knowledge of magical creatures and lore is essential. Although, he is easily confused when in cities, especially when he sees aspects of society that he can’t connect to something from the wild.
I’m sure most people can think of a story where the heroes are captured and about to be tortured. Sometimes they don’t escape in time, so pain gets inflicted. I did that several times in my two series. Didn’t even think twice though, which now strikes me as odd since torture is horrible. Yet, it’s so common in fiction.
There are three reasons that I can think of for this:
The villain is shown to be ruthless and evil. Most people see torture as one of the worst things you can do, so it solidifies the villain’s reputation. It’s makes cheering for them much more difficult because you have to rationalize these actions. So, authors can do this later in a series if they feel like the villain is becoming more popular than the hero while still being evil.
A hero who withstands torture gets a boost to their toughness. Even if they were proven to be durable and strong before, the readers now see that they can hold up to extreme pain. Think about how we feel about real soldiers who were captured, tortured, and survived without breaking. They are rightfully called heroes and gain respect. So, a watered down version of this happens for the hero.
The opposite can happen as well if you want your hero to break or a supporting character to ‘betray’ without turning villain. For the hero, you now have a recovery arc while they try to regain their courage. It helps if they’ve become so strong and brave that you can’t reasonable write them losing. Now, they’re back to the start. With the supporting character, they may have already been seen as weaker, so them giving in to torture isn’t surprising. It garners sympathy though and allows the villain to get an advantage without sacrificing another character.
So, there is definitely a use for torture in terms of story and character development. It’s still a difficult tool to use because it can be triggering. People who have trouble seeing others in pain might have a hard time with such scenes or turn off to the book entirely. I think this makes the use of torture a gamble and should be considered very carefully before being added. There are other ways to have a villain come off as evil without going this route.
As stated, I’ve used torture before in my books. The champions in Legends of Windemere seemed to find themselves in such situations a lot. Probably the roughest torture scene I wrote was with Luke Callindor, which made me feel gross afterwards. I still stand by it because I needed him to go through a trauma for the rest of his story to make sense, but it’s rough. Taught me that empathy for my characters could make such things tricky, so I had to turn it off for a bit.
So, what do other people think about the use of these scenes? I know many won’t want to go near them, especially if you don’t like specific genres.
Today is ‘World Hippo Day’. I thought I would repost the one about the two types of hippo species. Enjoy.
There are two types of hippopotamuses. First, you have the common one that we tend to think of when we hear the name. The one that is the top killer of humans in Africa and listed as vulnerable. There are about 150,000 in the wild. Then, you have the pygmy hippo, which is listed as endangered and doesn’t kill people. There are about 3,000 in the wild. So, what are the similarities and differences?
Common hippos are large and fat with heads that are bigger compared to their bodies. Pygmy hippos are small with heads smaller compared to their bodies.
Common hippos can run 29 mph while pygmies run 18-19 mph.
Both are herbivores.
Common has a bite force of 2000 pounds per square inch while pygmies have 1800 pounds per square inch. Not bad for a much smaller animal.
Common hippos have thick, fatty skin for protection while pygmy hippos have thin skin to keep cool.
Pygmy hippos are antisocial and avoid attacking while common hippos live in groups and are violently territorial.
Pygmy hippos can reproduce easily in captivity while common hippos have trouble.
Common hippos have no real predators aside from humans while pygmy hippos are hunted by leopards and crocodiles.
Pygmy hippos have shorter legs to help them move through rainforests. Common hippos live in shallow rivers in the plains.
Both species produce a sweat that acts as sunscreen and is antibacterial.
Common hippos are polygamous while pygmy hippos are monogamous.
Both have muscles that close their ears and nostrils when they dive.
Pygmy hippos have a four-chambered stomach while common hippos have three chambers.
Legends of Windemere 