He’s small, he’s quiet, and he lives with a painful mystery.
Here are my Top 5 Confessions About Auralia’s Colors, Chapter 5 – The Ale Boy
5.
In fantasy storytelling, certain details just keep showing up. I wrote scenes for the ale boy before any Harry Potter books had been published. So no, I didn’t copy the idea of a young boy with a distinctive scar on his forehead.
(Nor had I read The Riddle-Master of Hed, which pre-dates both Harry Potter and the ale boy by many years, and the hero of that book has three stars on his forehead.)
I certainly don’t mind the idea that there is some kind of otherworldly connection between the ale boy and the young Hogwarts hero. But I wonder why forehead scars are such a recurring event in fantasy.
And hey, what do you know… something along the lines of an “invisibility cloak” shows up in Chapter Five as well.
Weird, huh?
4.
This chapter marks several significant firsts in The Auralia Thread series. For example: The ale boy meets Auralia for the first time in this chapter.
3.
And then, Prince Cal-raven meets Auralia for the first time.
2.
Another first: The first casualty in the series. (Well, deaths have already been mentioned in flashbacks, but here the narrative is interrupted by a scream.)
1.
And we see a beastman for the first time. Hmmm. Do you supposed this has something to do with the scream? Be afraid.
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You can order Auralia’s Colors at Barnes and Noble, Eighth Day Books, Third Place Books, Elliott Bay Book Company, or the independent bookstore nearest you.
