General FAQ

Chanerr hou everyone! Ellie Raine here.

To officially kick off these FAQs, I've compiled a starting list of questions I've been asked for the past few years regarding the NecroSeam books, and I'll post them here now for you to browse. I will be updating this official list as more questions come, so before you post your question in the comments, please look here to see if your question has already been answered!

If you have any questions that are not answered in this list, go ahead and ask in the comments! Don't be shy!

OFFICIAL FAQ:

Q: How do you pronounce...?

Xavier (Za-vee-er)
Octavius (Oc-TA-vee-us)
Jaq (Jah-ck)/ Jaqelle (Juh-kel)
Macarius (Muh-KAR-ee-us)
Accursius (a-CURSE-ee-us)
(Loo-Lucrine kreen)
Kael (Kay-l)
Hecrûshou (Heh-croo-show)
Kurrick (Kiur-rick)
Ringëd (Ren-Geh-d)
Syreen (Sai-reen)
Myra (Mee-rah)
Cilia (Cee-lee-ah)
Taymen (Taee-men)
Vendy (Ven-dee)/ Vendrea (Ven-dreh-yah)
Ysthavon (ees-Tah-von)
Matthiel (Ma-T-yel)
Chai (1. çai (Primary)/ 2. hai (Eastern Grimish)/ 3. Kai (Western Grimish)
Mal (rhymes with pal)
Dalminia (Dal (like pal) min-ia)
Roji (row-jee (soft j)
Crysalette (Kris-AH-let)

Q: How many books are in the NecroSeam Chronicles?

The main series, the NecroSeam Chronicles, is a pentalogy (5 book series).
Thus far, there are two direct prequels to the pentalogy: Princess of Shadow and Dream (which features a young Myra and Serdin), and Princess of Grim (which features a young Willow, Lilli, and the twins).

I have other books planned (and some in the works) that focus on different characters set in the same world, or some that show the backstories of the NecroSeam characters also, but I'll get around to those when I have time.

Q: What were some influences and inspirations for the story?

If you look at my huge collection of fanart sketches and inkwork from my middle grade, high school, and college years (Ages 12-18), just about the only characters you'll see are from Final Fantasy (my favorites being IX, XIV, and Crystal Chronicles), Disgaea: Hour of Darkness (I have SO MANY Laharl and Flonne drawings!), The Legend of Zelda (Link was one of my first action-pose references I would practice with in the super early days. Wind Waker and Twilight Princess were my favorite.), Kingdom Hearts (Naturally), Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas, and Death Note.

Those are probably the stories that had the greatest impact in my life and my storytelling/style preferences. I found some early sketches of Xavier and Willow (she had originally been named Dusk, apparently) dating back 2006 that I'd forgotten about and uncovered recently, and the art style for them is vastly different than what I do now. But it's interesting to see the similarities in my darker style from back then to the more elegant gothic designs I do now. Either way, looking back through my preteen and teen sketches points to a very clear path leading to my most cherished inspirations I adored in my childhood.

Which, I'm noticing after writing all this, doesn't actually mention any novels or shows or movies... I guess I was mostly influenced by video games and anime. *Nervous laugh*

BUT! Some books of note that I absolutely loved growing up: The Dragon and the George, Harry Potter, Series of Unfortunate Events, Artemis Fowl, Godfather Death (yes, the fairy tale, it was one of the first stories that stuck with me), and a WHOLE bunch of Discworld books by Sir Terry Prachett (Mort and Hogfather being my favorite of those).

Some shows: Avatar The Last Airbender, Gargoyles, Dragon Tales, Sailor Moon, DBZ, One Piece, D. Grey Man, Air Gear

Some Movies: Disney's Sword and the Stone, Quest for Camelot, Princess Mononoke, Castle in the Sky, Anastasia, Black Cauldron, The Secret of Kells, The Secret of Nimh, Little Nemo

Q: You know pearls aren't made of emeralds, right? they are two separate gems, so obviously there's no such thing as a 'pearl of emerald'.

I always crack up at this question! When I titled the Ocean realm's lost Relic (and book 3) Pearl of Emerald, I meant for emerald to be a color descriptor. Not what the pearl is ACTUALLY made of.

I get the confusion behind it, but the magic associated with the Ocean realm (i.e. the color of the magic streams that shine when an Evocator with those elements casts them) is green, so--much like the other relics in the other realms--the color of the magic needed to match that country's relic (because I like symmetry). Not to mention, different colored pearls are a natural thing that happens, so it's actually not fictional to have a green pearl. I went through a list of possible other ways of saying 'green pearl' and narrowed it down to three. My reason for choosing 'emerald' as the descriptor was because:

a) "Pearl of Jade" was a close consideration, but it didn't quite have that rhythm of syllables I was looking for.

b) "Pearl of Teal" didn't have a good ring to it.

c) "Pearl of Sea-Green" just sounded silly.

But why a pearl at all? Why not just an emerald?

I mean... how many emeralds do you find lying around in the ocean as opposed to pearls?

Q: Are you the girl on all the book covers?

Weirdly enough, I've been getting this question a lot. It's very flattering, but no, the model is not me. The covers are composed of combined stock images available on websites like shutterstock.com that our cover artist uses. This is the model. The scythe on the covers, though, is a cosplay prop I made myself that our cover artist popped in and added some wicked pizzazz to make it pure magic.

I don't think I'd be comfortable selling a book with my face on the cover. That would be weird as Death for me, I don't know. I'm cool with my teeny tiny one in the back, though. Much less weird.