Novels2Search
MIRRORMUSHA or: How I Doomed the World with a Mirror (but did I?)
Author's Dialogue Series #1: "I Am Totally NOT an Eldritch Being, I Swear!"

Author's Dialogue Series #1: "I Am Totally NOT an Eldritch Being, I Swear!"

Hello everyone! This is KyonoHana – just Hana for short. Thank you for stumbling upon Mirrormusha and reading this far – I appreciate it! And for my 5 current followers, thank you as well for following – it means a lot. It encourages me to keep writing.

I've been busily hammering out all the major protagonists, their mirror powers, and the world-spanning plot from beginning to end these past few weeks. But before we dive into the real meaty part of the story that begins from Chapter 11, I wanted to get my voice out there so you could get to know me a little better as a human (and be convinced that I'm not a faceless eldritch being that types these things with twenty-eight appendages – although I could be, I'm not really tellin'). These Dialogue Series will serve as a window for me to catch up with you and also let you know about the ups-and-downs of my experience writing each major arc. Basically, this is my first (and you could say, rather shy) hello from beyond the void, so... I guess salutations and welcome to the world of Mirrormusha!

Although you've probably observed by now from Chapters 0 through 10, or from my other work The Adventures of Hana and Maine, I particularly enjoy writing works that tell human stories: stories that capture the tragedy and triumphs of characters that are like us, but who have choices to do what we can't with the powers to back them up. This helps me to explore tantalizing opportunities that would otherwise never be able to exist in real life, and how the world could look different as a result of their feats.

Following from that, the fantasy we write could be regarded as an expansion of the imaginary arguments that we win in the shower, and perhaps that's the reason why many elite literary circles deem our fantasy somehow 'below their grade', or to quote one of my old teachers, 'immature'. But what's immature about stories that are courageous and expansive enough to tackle everything from the everyday mundane to epic sagas that span galaxies, and from cozy campfire meals and slice-of-life dialogue to battles that affix the fates of planets with heroic monologues?

I've grown up in the worlds of fantasy and science fiction since little, and have always been in love with them: in fact, they were much more real, visceral, and inspiring to me than the 'real' stories I've been told to read at school and by teachers. This is perhaps the same for you too, and why you are on RoyalRoad as well.

Reading all these awesome fantasy and sci-fi books, I've always thought how awesome it would be if I too could write such stories; if I could perhaps leave an indelible mark upon someone else who too would write their own stories come tomorrow. In many ways, the writers of the many novels I've read probably had the same wish when starting out, and so could've had the others before them, stretching back to the great writers from many world cultures. Before those writers, there probably were weavers of epic oral legends who, seated around campfires in a lonely, demon-haunted world, passed down the epic of their heroes to illuminate the dark and inspire courage in their listeners.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

In this sense, I am but a small link in the chain of many writers. Our shared dream is perhaps twofold: to be remembered, and to write what we want to write. For me, it's a little bit of both, and Mirrormusha is my step towards those two destinations.

Yet, there is a time for everything. Though I've had other opportunities to write, and have published a novel under a different name before, there were seldom moments where I felt truly free to write without restrictions on the subject matter and in unfolding the stories in the direction I wished. My hope is that you get to experience this freedom in Mirrormusha, and enjoy being whisked away to a world at once familiar and completely alien to your senses.

When it comes to the setting, I like placing my characters in rich and immersive worlds that have existed long before they ever stepped foot in them. Mirrormusha, unlike Hana and Maine and some of my other works published under a different name, is not set in a completely different universe or a rendition thereof; it's set in an alternative Earth instead, beginning in 1989 of our time but diverging steadily as a result of actions from the protagonist and the world at large.

Our journey begins in Seoul, South Korea, one of the places in which I grew up, and we will steadily explore other countries and the rest of the world as the story moves forward, with the protagonist unlocking greater uses of her mirror abilities that pits her against forces both spry and new and the unfathomably ancient, drawing inspiration from world cultures, history, folklore, legends, and of course, eldritch cosmic horrors beyond our mortal comprehension.

The RoyalRoad Community Magazine contest on June 10, 2023 finally sparked the impetus for me to put my ideas into motion with its "Mirrors can't eat people", and I have to say: there probably wasn't a better prompt to unify my amorphous ideas! What better way to explore heavy-hitting themes and messages than having the mirror be the instrument and focal point of power for each of the characters, and show how their destinies are bound and shattered by them!

As of the time of this writing – June 19 – all the major protagonists have been established along with the mirrors they wield and the powers they can use, and the next few arcs have been more or less envisioned. Now, all that remains is for me to write with my twenty-eight appenda – ahem, two hands – and for you to read and (hopefully) enjoy.

That being said, I would be grateful if you could follow this story and follow me as an author on RoyalRoad. I welcome your comments, messages, and thoughtful ratings – to quote a Korean proverb, "even a (blue) whale can be encouraged to dance with praise" – so those things would mean a lot to me as a writer.

If you are a fellow author as well and would like to exchange ideas or readership – please let me know too. I will be happy to see where our discussion can go.

Now then, come take my hand, for I have a journey I want to take you on!

"Once upon a time in Korea, there lived a girl named Reza with a mirror of the gods..."

KyonoHana

京の花