Fable & The Verbivore

Moriah is an active and supportive member of the Instagram writing community. We connected with her on social media, due to her hilarious reels about the writing life and beautiful aesthetics. Her short story “Tail of Hope” has been featured by Havok Publishing and several short stories have been selected to be published within Twenty Hills anthologies. Her debut novel Heart of the Sea (HOTS) was released on August 2nd, 2023.

The elevator pitch for her magical pirate adventure story HOTS is: Nerisa Elliot’s sister was taken by a darkness that’s trying to take over all five kingdoms. In order to save her, she has to steal the fastest ship in Easterly that’s captained by Cyrus Crow, but Cyrus has been ordered to kill her in order to gain his freedom from a malicious queen.

Moriah’s also working on a collection of short stories focused on a FMC in the late 19th Century London who has the ability to see ghosts and goes on a journey of self-discovery while solving supernatural crimes. This project is being published through Twenty Hills Publishing and is expected in 2024.

You can connect with Moriah on Instagram at @moriah.chavis and on her etsy shop at MoriahChavisAuthor.

Books and Movies Mentioned:

Heart of the Sea by Moriah Chavis

Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

The Giver by Lois Lowry

What Darkness Fears: An Anthology (Black and Gold Anthologies) by Anne J. Hill, Lara E. Madden, Savannah Jezowski, Crystal Grant, Beka Gremikova, D.A. Randall, AJ Skelly, Kat Heckenbach, Effie Joe Stock, and Kristiana Sfirlea

The Never Tales: Volume Two by Anne J. Hill, Hannah Carter, and others 

Notes:

The Verbivore talked a bit about Issa Rae and her work, but slightly misnamed both of her series. Her webseries is The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl and her HBO series is called Insecure.

In our original MasterClass conversation, the Verbivore mentions that we’ve referenced some of Masterclasses free articles in preparation for some of our podcast episodes and that they can be a great writing resource. Here are several that we’ve used for previous and upcoming episodes:

- How to Write An Action Scene

- How to Use the Snowflake Method to Outline Your Novel

- Mystery, Thriller, and Crime Novels: What’s the Difference?

- How to Write an Adventure Story

- What’s the Difference Between Middle-Grade Fiction vs. - - Young Adult Fiction?

- Writing 101: 6 Ways to End Your Story

Previous Podcast Episode Mentioned:

- Episode 110: Something that's improving our writing - MasterClass

Books Mentioned:

- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

- Verity by Colleen Hoover

- Book Lovers by Emily Henry

- Caraval Trilogy: Caraval, Legendary, and Finale by Stephanie Garber

- So Not Meant to Be by Meghan Quinn

- Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber

- The Ballad of Never After by Stephanie Garber

- Writing the Breakout Novel: Insider Advice for Taking Your Fiction to the Next Level by Donald Maass

Masterclasses Mentioned: 

- Malcolm Gladwell Teaches Writing

- Margaret Atwood Teaches Creative Writing

- Dan Brown Teaches Writing Thrillers

- Issa Rae Teaches Creating Outside the Lines

- Steve Martin Teaches Comedy

- Amanda Gorman Teaches Writing and Performing Poetry

- Billy Collins Teaches Reading and Writing Poetry

- Neil Gaiman Teaches the Art of Storytelling

- Roxane Gay Teaches Writing for Social Change

- Joy Harjo Teaches Poetic Thinking

- Amy Tan Teaches Fiction Memory and Imagination

- Es Devlin Teaches Turning Ideas Into Art

- Corey Damen Jenkins Teaches Interior Design

- Kelly Wearstler Teaches Interior Design

Music from: https://filmmusic.io
’Friendly day’ by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
Licence: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Notes:

The Verbivore mentions episode titles Midnight, Blink, and The Girl and the Library. That last episode should title have been The Girl in the Fireplace.

Books and Films Mentioned:

- Doctor Who: The Complete Fifth Series

- Four Weddings and a Funeral - Directed by Mike Newell

- Love, Actually - Directed by Richard Curtis

- Knotting Hill - Directed by Roger Mitchell

- Bridget Jones’s Diary - Directed by Sharon Macguire

- Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason - Directed by Beeban Kidron

- About Time - Directed by Richard Curtis

- Underworld - Directed by Len Wiseman

- Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn

- The Hunger Games Trilogy (The Hunger Games | Catching Fire | Mockingjay) by Suzanne Collins

- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowlings

Music from: https://filmmusic.io
‘Friendly day’ by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
Licence: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Notes:

Here are a few articles and videos we referenced for this conversation:

- Ted Ed Video “How to write descriptively - Nalo Hopkinson “

- MasterClass Article “What’s the Difference Between Metaphor, Simile, and Analogy?”

- MasterClass Article “How to Write Deep POV: 8 Tips for Using an Immersive Point of View”

- MasterClass Article “How to Write Descriptive Sentences”

- Pen and the Pad Article by Liza Hollis “What is Descriptive Language?”

Books and Films Mentioned:

- The Art of Noticing: 131 Ways to Spark Creativity, Find Inspiration, and Discover Joy in the Everyday by Rob Walker

Music from: https://filmmusic.io
‘Friendly day’ by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
Licence: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Notes:

Books and Films Mentioned:

- Happy Place by Emily Henry 

- Book Lovers by Emily Henry

- Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood 

- Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman

- The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

- Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

- Flawless by Elsie Silver  

- Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert

- Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibber

- Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

- The Wrong Mr. Right by Stephanie Archer

- That One Night: A Pucking Around Prequel Novella by Emily Rath   

- Pucking Around by Emily Rath

- 7 FIGURE FICTION: How to Use Universal Fantasy to SELL Your Books to ANYONE by T. Taylor  

- Captive of the Horde King (Horde Kings of Dakkar Book 1) by Zoey Draven

Music from: https://filmmusic.io
‘Friendly day’ by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
Licence: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Notes:

In this episode, we reference back to several podcast interviews and/or panel episodes and personal episodes that we did this year that were a particular pleasure. Here are a few:

- Episode 168: Interview with Mae Wagner

- Episode 173: Why read romance novels?

- Episode 175: Writing sex scenes w/ C.L. Walters and Kieran (Kate) Lamoureux

- Episode 180: Creating when life is hard

- Episode 182: The Wistful Wild w/ Stephanie Ascough

- Episode 183: Interview with Anne J. Hill

- Episode 188: Neurodivergence and Creativity Part 1

- Episode 190: A panel on neurodiversity and creativity w/ River Ari and Kieran (Kate) Lamoureux

- Episode 192: Interview with Heather Caliri

- Episode 197: Lord of the Rings Character panel discussion w/ Kieran (Kate) Lamoureux and Stephanie Ascough

Music from: https://filmmusic.io
‘Friendly day’ by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
Licence: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Notes:

The Verbivore opens by sharing a definition for the term derivative. Here is that definition as well as the source:

- “(Typically of an artist or work of art) imitative of the work of another person, and usually disapproved of for that reason”

The Verbivore mentions a page on author Rick Riordan’s website that discusses his influences and whether or not his Percy Jackson series was influenced by Harry Potter. Here is a link to that page.

In this episode, the Verbivore references back to several TED-Ed videos which were also part of last week’s podcast episode. They are:

- TED-Ed The Norse myth that inspired “The Lord of the Rings” - Iseult Gillespie

- TED-Ed Plato's allegory of the ring - Alex Gendler  

- TED-Ed The myth of Arachne - Iseult Gillespie

- TED-Ed The myth of Hercules: 12 labors in 8-bits - Alex Gendler

- TED-Ed - The myth of Cupid and Psyche - Brendan Pelsue

Books and Movies Mentioned:

- The Lord of the Rings Book Set by J. R. R. Tolkien

- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - Directed by Peter Jackson

- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - Directed by Peter Jackson

- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - Directed by Peter Jackson

- The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

- Harry Potter Box Set (Books 1-7) by J. K. Rowling

- Percy Jackson and the Olympians (Books 1-5) by Rick Riordan

- The Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard Series Books 1 - 3 Collection Box Set by Rick Riordan (Sword of Summer, Hammer of Thor & Ship of the Dead)

- The Sword of Shannara Trilogy by Terry Brooks   

- The Dark Tower 8-Book Boxed Set by Stephen King

- A Game of Thrones Book Series by J.R.R Martin

- Game of Thrones: The Complete Collection - Directed by Various Creatives

- Uprooted: A Novel by Naomi Novik

- The Graveyard Book by Neil Gailman, Illustrations by Dave McKean

- People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry

- When Harry Met Sally - Screenplay by Nora Ephron; Directed by Rob Reiner

- The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy - by Megan Bannen

- You've Got Mail - Screenplay by Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron; Directed by Nora Ephron

- Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

- Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold by C. S. Lewis

- The Beauty and the Beast by Marie Le Prince de Beaumont

- Spin the Dawn (The Blood of Stars) by Elizabeth Lim

- Unravel the Dusk (The Blood of Stars) by Elizabeth Lim

- Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Music from: https://filmmusic.io
‘Friendly day’ by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
Licence: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Notes:

In this episode, the Verbivore references several TED-Ed videos in this conversation. They are:

- TED-Ed The Norse myth that inspired “The Lord of the Rings” - Iseult Gillespie

- TED-Ed Plato's allegory of the ring - Alex Gendler  

- TED-Ed The myth of Arachne - Iseult Gillespie

- TED-Ed The myth of Hercules: 12 labors in 8-bits - Alex Gendler

- TED-Ed - The myth of Cupid and Psyche - Brendan Pelsue

The Verbivore also references a quote from Tolkien’s forward that’s included in the 2nd edition. That is:

- “An author cannot of course remain wholly unaffected by his experience, but the ways in which a story-germ uses the soil of experience are extremely complex, and attempts to define the process are at best guesses from evidence that is inadequate and ambiguous.”

We also mention several MasterClasses. They are:

- Neil Gaiman Teaches the Art of Storytelling - https://www.masterclass.com/classes/neil-gaiman-teaches-the-art-of-storytelling

- Ron Howard Teaches Directing - https://www.masterclass.com/classes/ron-howard-teaches-directing

Books and Movies Mentioned:

- The Lord of the Rings Book Set by J. R. R. Tolkien

- The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

- The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien

- Beowulf: A Verse Translation by Anonymous 

- Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis

- Harry Potter Box Set (Books 1-7) by J. K. Rowling

- The Complete Fables by Aesop

Music from: https://filmmusic.io
‘Friendly day’ by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
Licence: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Notes:

Stephanie is an author of fantastical and thoughtful stories and poems. Her independently published fantasy debut YA novel A Land of Light and Shadow was released in May ‘20 and a collection of fairytale retelling short stories were published under the title Flower and Cloak in January ‘22. Stephanie also published a collection of fairytale inspired poems on February 1, 2023 under the title The Wistful Wild: Fairy Tale Poems of Longing and Ferocity which also features poems from authors - Stephanie Escobar, Caitlin Gemmell, Cortney Joseph, Jess Lynn, and our own Fable - Beth Stedman.

Stephanie has an author newsletter where she talks about her life and what she’s currently working on (available here) and you can connect with her on Instagram at @author.stephanieascough and on her website at StephanieAscough.wordpress.com. We highly recommend checking out her honest, thought-provoking, and whimsy-filled Instagram posts, which is how we first connected with her.

Stephanie has been a guest twice on the Fable and the Verbivore podcast for an author interview and in an episode ealier this year talking about The Wistful Wild poem collection. Here are those episodes:

- Episode 50: Interview with Stephanie Ascough

- Episode 182: The Wistful Wild

Kate is an author of dark fantasy romance and contemporary fantasy stories. Her short story ‘Daughter of Darkness & Son of the Sun’ was published last year in the Worldsmyth’s Darkness & Moonlight anthology and her short story Deconstructed won first place in Tribus Polaris’s 2020 flash fiction contest. Kate published her Greedy: A Lust & Lore Novella on April 14th, 2023 and is currently working on her debut novel The Guardian (Book 1 of The Terramica War planned trilogy).

Kate’s website is KieranLamoureux.com and her Instagram account is @kjlamoureux.writes. We’d highly recommend checking out her bibliophile posts, atmospheric pictures, teasers of her current work, and the flash fiction pieces located in her Instagram stories. We also love her open and candid posts about her personal life and creating as a neurodiverse writer. Her website also lists the micro editing with heart services that she provides - line editing, copy editing, proofreading, and pitches, blurbs, and synopses – as well as her current rates.

Kate has been a guest twice on the Fable and the Verbivore podcast as part of panel episodes earlier this year - with one episode talking about writing sex scenes and another on neurodiversity and creativity. Here are those episodes:

- Episode 175: Writing sex scenes

- Episode 190: A panel on neurodiversity and creativity

Towards the beginning of this episode, Fable mentions a post that Kate had on Instagram about the male friendships in this series. That post can be found here.

In this conversation, we reference several different quotes from the LOTR books. They are:

Sam: “His thought turned to the Ring, but there was no comfort there, only dread and danger. No sooner had he come in sight of Mount Doom, burning far away, than he was aware of a change in his burden. As it drew near the great furnaces where, in the deeps of time, it had been shaped and forged, the Ring's power grew, and it became more fell, untameable except by some mighty will. As Sam stood there, even though the Ring was not on him but hanging by its chain about his neck, he felt himself enlarged, as if he were robed in a huge distorted shadow of himself, a vast and ominous threat halted upon the walls of Mordor. He felt that he had from now on only two choices: to forbear the Ring, though it would torment him; or to claim it, and challenge the Power that sat in its dark hold beyond the valley of shadows. Already the Ring tempted him, gnawing at his will and reason. Wild fantasies arose in his mind; and he saw Samwise the Strong, Hero of the Age, striding with a flaming sword across the darkened land, and armies flocking to his call as he marched to the overthrow of Barad-dur. And then all the clouds rolled away, and the white sun shone, and at his command the vale of Gorgoroth became a garden of flowers and trees and brought forth fruit. He had only to put on the Ring and claim it for his own, and all this could be. In that hour of trial it was his love of his master that helped most to hold him firm; but also deep down in him lived still unconquered his plain hobbit-sense: he knew in the core of his heart that he was not large enough to bear such a burden, even if such visions were not a mere cheat to betray him. The one small garden of a free gardener was all his need and due, not a garden swollen to a realm; his own hands to use, not the hands of others to command. 'And anyway all these notions are only a trick, he said to himself.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

Frodo: 'It's a pity Bilbo didn't kill Gollum when he had the chance.'

Gandalf: 'Pity? It's a pity that stayed Bilbo's hand. Many that live deserve death. Some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends. My heart tells me that Gollum has some part to play in it, for good or evil, before this is over. The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many.'

Frodo: 'I wish the Ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.'

Gandalf: 'So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides that of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, in which case you were also meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

“A time may come soon," said he, "when none will return. Then there will be need of valour without renown, for none shall remember the deeds that are done in the last defence of your homes. Yet the deeds will not be less valiant because they are unpraised."

She answered: "All your words are but to say: you are a woman, and your part is in the house. But when the men have died in battle and honour, you have leave to be burned in the house, for the men will need it no more. But I am of the House of Eorl and not a serving-woman. I can ride and wield blade, and I do not fear either pain or death."

"What do you fear, lady?" he asked.

"A cage," she said. "To stay behind bars, until use and old age accept them, and all chance of doing great deeds is gone beyond recall or desire.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King

We also referenced several movie clips from the films in this conversation. They are:

- LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring - The Death of Boromir

- Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) - I Am No Man Scene | Movieclips

- LOTR The Two Towers - Gollum and Sméagol

Towards the end of this episode, the Verbivore references a funny conversation between the actors who played Merry (Dominic and Pippin (Billy Boyd) on their podcast where they talk about lines where they’d put a cuss word into the LOTR films - including the “Fool of a Took” scene in Moria. Here is that video clip:

- Billy & Dom Discuss Profanity in Lord of the Ring Quotes | The Friendship Onion with Billy & Dom

Books and Movies Mentioned:

- The Lord of the Rings Book Set by J. R. R. Tolkien

- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - Directed by Peter Jackson

- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - Directed by Peter Jackson

- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - Directed by Peter Jackson

- The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

The Hobbit trilogy - Directed by Peter Jackson

- The Hobbit Movie (1977) - Directed by Jules Bass and Arthur Rankin Jr.

- The Proverbs of Middle-earth by David Rowe

- Tolkien - Directed by Dome Karukoski

Music from: https://filmmusic.io
‘Friendly day’ by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
Licence: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Notes:

The Verbivore references several quotes from this series. They are:

- “Fool of a Took! Throw yourself in next time and rid us of your stupidity!" - The Fellowship of the Ring film

- “You cannot pass," he said. The orcs stood still, and a dead silence fell. "I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass. The dark fire will not avail you, flame of Udûn. Go back to the Shadow! You cannot pass.” - The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien

- [Galadriel] said, turning to Sam. 'For this is what your folk would call magic, I believe; though I do not understand clearly what they mean; and they seem also to use the same word of the deceits of the Enemy. But this, if you will, is the magic of Galadriel. Did you not say that you wished to see Elf-magic?' - The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien

- “And now at last it comes. You will give me the Ring freely! In place of the Dark Lord you will set up a Queen. And I shall not be dark, but beautiful and terrible as the Morning and the Night! Fair as the Sea and the Sun and the Snow upon the Mountain! Dreadful as the Storm and the Lightning! Stronger than the foundations of the earth. All shall love me and despair!…

I pass the test. I will diminish, and go into the West and remain Galadriel.” - The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien

Books and Movies Mentioned:

- The Lord of the Rings Book Set by J. R. R. Tolkien

- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - Directed by Peter Jackson

- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers - Directed by Peter Jackson

- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - Directed by Peter Jackson

- The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

- The Hobbit trilogy - Directed by Peter Jackson

- X-Men Tilogy - Directed by Brett Ratner, Bryan Singer

- The Silmarillion by J. R. R. Tolkien

- The Hunger Games Trilogy: The Hunger Games / Catching Fire / Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins  

- Harry Potter Box Set (Books 1-7) by J. K. Rowling

- Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D - TV Series

- Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame - Directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo

- Caraval Trilogy Box Set: Caraval, Legendary, Finale by Stephanie Garber

Music from: https://filmmusic.io
‘Friendly day’ by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
Licence: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)