BoM/TWS Message Forum

So one thing that's always kept me coming back to Book of Masks for all these years, both as a reader and a writer, is the characters. I feel like there's a very strong cast with most of the people who populate the world being interesting and well rounded. More than anything else, whenever I'm using a character whether it's the character themselves or Will under their mask I like to think about what the character's about. What drives them, what's their story and history? Personally I like using the masks as a vehicle as much for low key explorations of these interesting characters as using them for grander, higher stakes plots.

A few years ago there was a manga series running that I really enjoyed. It was about a subject matter, a sport/hobby, that I didn't have any interest in otherwise but the cast of characters was so strong and enjoyable that it pulled me right in. The author of that series had a line that went something like wanting to write every character as if they could be the star of their own stories as opposed to just "Supporting Character A, Supporting Character B" and so on. It's a mindset that's stuck with me and is something I myself try to be mindful of.

One of the things I enjoy doing -- or trying to do at any rate -- is see if I can write small stories involving characters from BoM that catch my interest. Something like Onward, Towards the Apocalypse was born from that thought: short little pieces involving different character and how they deal with large changes and upheavels taking place in their lives. I was even pleasantly surprised to get a few positive reviews from people who, for all I know, may have never read a word of BoM itself which is nice as it reinforces that thought; that the characters are largely strong enough to stand on their own merits.

So this is something along the same lines; a small story centered around K.C. Petrovic, a character I've always wanted to do something with in BoM proper but can never really find opportunities to slot her in, and what happens when her younger sister shows up at her door one day. It takes place before anything in BoM and is one of those low key, character focused stories. Fair warning, this means no magical shenanigans. Consider it an alternate universe I guess.

It's only two chapters right now though I definitely intend to do more as there's a definite story I want to tell but still, if you have any interest at all read it here: "The Queen of Cool"  and leave some feedback if you so desire.