Wednesday, May 23, 2018

"Onyx & Ivory"

Mindee Arnett is the author of the critically acclaimed sci-fi thriller Avalon as well as the Arkwell Academy series and the newly released Onyx and Ivory. An avid eventer, she lives on a farm near Dayton, Ohio with her husband, two kids, and assorted animals. When not telling tales of magic, the supernatural, or outer space, she can be found on a horse, trying to jump anything that will stand still.

Arnett applied the Page 69 Test to Onyx and Ivory and reported the following:
From page 69:
…but the threat of the wilders wasn’t new, just the notion of them banding together. Even still, he couldn’t see their threat being the reason a magist would invent a spell that could kill so quickly. Wilders weren’t to be executed on the spot but taken prisoner for the Purging, a ritual designed to rid the world or their magic once and for all.
The above quote from page 69 of my latest book, Onyx & Ivory, is surprisingly indicative of the rest of the story. It deals specifically with the heart of the external conflict and plot—the ongoing political struggle between the two groups of magic users in this world, magists and wilders. Without giving away too many spoilers, readers will eventually discover that the main difference between these groups is more political than physiological (magicological?). In other words, one group of these magic users, the magists, have been recognized as being useful and safe by the powers that be. They’ve been embraced by society at large and even enjoy a privileged status among the people—hence their ability to invent new spells and use them. The other group however, the wilders, have been deemed dangerous and are forced to live in hiding.

The point of view character in this passage is Corwin Tormane, the second born prince of the high king, and a person who just so happens to be in a position of power. This conversation, taking place with one of the magists, is the start of Corwin’s journey in realizing the politics involved in singling out one group of people or another, and what he might or might not need to do to correct the situation.
Visit Mindee Arnett's website.

The Page 69 Test: Avalon.

Writers Read: Mindee Arnett.

--Marshal Zeringue