Kyle Willey is a Phoenix-based independent and freelance writer and game designer.
Check out his work-in-progress Aspects of Sand, currently being posted in serial format!
Zefra is a shrine keeper in the capital city of Ehram. Far away from home, she devotes her time to the shrines of the gods. But there is trouble brewing. The Kingdom of Ehlil has turned its back on the gods, and the Glassmakers have grown their influence. Their wonders provide a distraction from bigger problems, and the gods grow displeased by their influence.
Aspects of Sand is a fantasy novel written for Camp NaNo in April 2021. This is the first version of it, pre-revision. I started writing two days early, on March 30, to give myself some room so that what you’re reading isn’t a rough first draft so much as a story revisited after a couple days of consideration, but there will still be a lot of rough edges.
This year’s theme is zombies, though it’s technically optional. You’ll find that Aspects of Sand is a traditional fantasy story with zombies, but it’s not focused on the overt horror elements of zombie fiction so much as using them as a story tool. I’m also not much for gore, so expect the zombie scenes to be “mild” compared to what you might see elsewhere.
I’m working from an outline that has a more or less cover-to-cover complete plot, so I expect to complete Aspects of Sand within the month (or at least be over the 50,000 word threshold to be called a novel), but remember that what you’re seeing isn’t a finished novel.
Although this is the first novel I’m making publicly available, it is actually my third novel. My first novel is currently heading into its third revision pass, and the trend seems to be that I write a new novel between each revision. Keep that in mind as you read it, because I hope that I’m no longer a novice so much as a dedicated amateur on the path to being a professional writer.
If you have questions or feedback, leave them in comments! I’m writing this very quickly and many things have probably escaped my notice. I’ll also be updating my blog (available through my Wattpad profile link) every Friday with an overview of my progress and a reflection on my work.