Heartbroken, Hell-bent Heroines

Vii Harding isn't afraid of a fight.

In this newsletter…
✨ Meet Vii Harding
✨ Behind the Scenes Speed Illustration
✨ Flash Fiction and Free Fantasy

Source: Alison Wright Artistry

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Vii’s magic bloomed. Trumpets of silky white bindweed unfurled, their perfume heavy and anesthetizing. “You’re going to try again and it’s going to be different because last time, you didn’t have me.” 

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Vii Harding, a main supporting character of the upcoming dark fantasy, Blightshade, is a self-possessed badass with razor sharp intuition and an iron guard on her heart.

Vii uses her strength to stand up for others. Sometimes that means taking care of her little sisters. Sometimes it means knocking the main character Lorne down a peg when his ego makes him a threat to her friend Tahj.

As a Binding witch, Vii’s magic blooms in the form of bindweed (morning glory.) Binding magic is all about precision and control, allowing Vii to suppress the magic of others, manage impulses, and deescalate emotions.

Source: Canva

But Vii uses her magic most frequently on herself. She learned a long time ago that letting herself fall in love led only to heartbreak and could never happen again. So Vii bound her heart tight and promised herself she would never drop her guard.

Vii is in control. She’s stronger than any fear and too disciplined for any passing crush. But the man who destroyed her heart is back, bringing with him a curse with the power to threaten the only love she still allows herself.

Source: Alison Wright Artistry

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The Official Blightshade Playlist is in the works! With each character profile, I’ll drop a song from the cutting room floor that captures their essence. To get to know Vii better, listen to I Was An Island by John-Allison Weiss

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Vii took her own sweet time to develop. I was nearly two full drafts into the writing of Blightshade before she bloomed from a distant side character into a pillar of blazing light in the narrative. Vii was only her exterior. She was jaded, reserved, and dysfunctional. Lord knows, she still is. But at some point in the second pass, she became more. She became dedicated and protective. A fierce guardian, not only of her wounded heart, but of the very, very few people still allowed near it.

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If the photo credits didn’t give it away, I do a lot of my own artwork for Blightshade and other projects. You can watch the speed paint for Vii’s portrait (with all of my scrapped concepts and anatomical errors) in 21 seconds.

Attention spans are short, so I kept this one pretty quick. Interested in more in-depth speed illustrations?

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If you want more Blightshade, you’re in the right place. Subscribers are the first to get character profiles, bonus content, early releases, information on publication & more.

The nights are long. Escape the dark and the chill with the free Winter Nights Fantasy and Sci-Fi bundle! Witches as a literary vehicle are so up my alley! I’m eyeing The Shadow Rises for a dose of some more sinister witches than Blightshade.

The clock is ticking on the Short Story Smorgasbord. Grab a free quick read before the promo closes on December 15th!

Both bundles include 🖤Multiplicitii🖤 my dark fantasy short about facing the fear of mortality and embracing radical self care.

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