TIM SUSMAN
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Introduction: The Price of Thorns
🕑 Added 2021-02-24 21:17:48 +0000 UTCThe next book I'm working on takes place in a new fantasy world and features folk tales, animal transformations, magical beings, and at the center of it all, a down on his luck thief. I've been thinking about this story for years and finally got started writing it last year after working through some elements at a writing retreat last summer. What I love about it is the ability to tell folk tales throughout, the idea of a multicultural fantasy world (some folk tales are inspired by the Arabian Nights, others by the Grimm Brothers tales, others by still other lands--there are many kingdoms in this world and they all have their own traditions), and--of course--talking animals. There is a small community of people who have been turned into animals, called "former humans," who are integral to this story.
Here's the pitch as it currently stands:
Nivvy, a thief in his twenties, has reached what he thinks is the low point of his life, strung up on an archaic wheel after being caught stealing in a little desert town in the middle of nowhere. There he meets Bella, a woman also down on her luck, who tells him that her kingdom has been stolen from her and she wants him to help her steal it back. With no other prospects, he accepts the assignment. Soon enough, he learns that Bella is more than just a wronged woman; she is very dangerous indeed. But by that time, Nivvy has gotten the wrong end of some transformation magic, and Bella may be his only hope to restoring his old life...
Next week: The beginning of the story!
