Monthly Archives: September 2023

3 posts

In Sleep You Know Chapter by Chapter Intro

ISYK Readthrough Podcast

If you’ve been around lately, you know that I’ve been teasing this for a bit! This podcast is a readthrough of In Sleep You Know, one chapter at a time, by me in my cozy and magical bedroom/workspace. I’ve got a short intro to check out before the chapters start, if you’re interested.

This podcast, like Magic All Around, is available on both YouTube and Spotify.

Transcript:

Welcome to In Sleep You Know, chapter by chapter! I’ll be reading aloud one chapter per episode with the goal to eventually compile as a self-released audiobook in the future.

I’m Christiane Knight, the author and creator of the urban fantasy slash contemporary fantasy series Stories of the Eleriannan. In Sleep You Know is the first book, followed by Cast a Shadow of Doubt, which is a sequel but can work as a standalone. A Third Kind of Madness, the third book in the series and also a standalone, will be out in 2024. The books are set in a version of Baltimore MD USA – my hometown – where there are a few divergences from the one I live in. A few of the streets have different names, and there are places in one version that aren’t in the other. They both share some of the same quirky aspects and serious challenges.

Oh, and the city in the books has magical beings living amongst us.

I should clarify that with “as far as I know” because who knows what actually hides in the unexamined corners of the Baltimore where I live? Of course, that’s the premise I worked from when writing In Sleep You Know. Our main guy Merrick is an unfocused musician with no real drive to do anything with his life. He’s got imagination and wits but no vision – not until he stumbles into a party, uninvited. That’s a poor choice when it’s thrown by Fae and on Halloween.

He quickly makes friends and enemies, and finds himself swept up by this small Fae court – The Eleriannan – as their hope to revive their house and reconnect with the world of mortals. Only one problem: they have to convince a recalcitrant Merrick to fully get with the plan. And if they can manage to bring him into their fold, there will be even more challenges to face, including magical foes that no one thought to warn him about.

This story features references -both subtle and not – to classic stories about Faerie, faerie lore, and Child Ballads. I also create some of my own Fae creatures, like the delightful dancing trees called the Ffyn, the much more unpleasant ArDonnath, and the downright creepy trio of sisters known as The Ladies, always seen together and ready to dig around inside your brain to see what makes you tick.

Music is very important in the Eleriannan world and in my stories, too. It builds atmosphere, brings people together, and sets scenes. It’s a specific kind of magic in both my tales and in my life and I make it obvious! Each chapter has a song for chapter title and they’re compiled together in a Spotify soundtrack for you. I’ll make sure to include each song through a snippet when possible and a link to the track. Studying the lyrics will give clues about why that particular song is connected with that chapter.

I don’t want to give away too much before I start reading, because I think the beauty in reading or listening to a story is discovering it as it progresses, but I do want to tell you that there’s something I call the Fae Directory available on my website – it’s under the books dropdown at christianeknight.com and it lists characters, places, and magical objects with a little background and pronunciation guide as needed.

I’ll also have a discussion going on discord with anyone who is interested in talking about inspiration, references, and so on in the story. If you’d like to join – it’s just getting going, so you’d be one of the founding members! – you can get the link at bio dot link slash xiane. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure that url is available in comments for you.

Chapter readings will start in October, which is appropriate as that’s when In Sleep You Know also starts! I hope you join me for Chapter One and all the chapters to come!

You can also subscribe/listen on Spotify and take the podcast on the go – find all episodes [this one and future ‘casts] at:
https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/insleepyouknow

Magic All Around Podcast: Intro!

Magic All Around Podcast

Magic All Around is one of TWO things I’ve been brewing up behind the scenes – the other is the chapter reads from In Sleep You Know, which will be coming soooooon.

Here’s my teaser text for the podcast:

Magic All Around brings all the pieces of me – DJ and music lover, artist, and writer – together in a podcast. Episodes will feature discussions about where I find inspiration in music, art, crafting, and writing, and how all those aspects blend together to convey the mystery of what I call Magic Seeking. I’ll also be talking about updates and giving excerpts from what I’m writing and working on, as well as news about other writers, artists, and musicians – especially indies – all in a casual and fun style! I focus on hopepunk, classic & contemporary SFF, post-punk, fae and mythology, & more.

I’ve also got a new radio show in the works, keep a lookout for when that drops! I’ll make sure to update here, of course.

Magic All Around Episode 1: an intro

TRANSCRIPT

I’m Christiane Knight. I sometimes go by Xiane or Xi, and you can call me any of those. I’ve written two books – soon to be a third – in a series that focuses on Fae magic, subculture, politics, and music, set in my hometown of Baltimore MD USA. I’m an old-school punk with a deep dip into goth, and I’ve been involved on-and-off with DJing, running goth spaces, being in bands, and writing for and publishing ‘zines since the 90s.

I’m an artist, and I do two different arts for a living. One is blending highly textured fibers and making yarns from those fibers using ancient techniques turned modern, then sometimes creating finished objects from those yarns. The other is crafting fantasy stories filled with hope, [mostly] set in modern times. They’re obviously nothing alike.

Or are they?

The joke I like to tell is that I spin tunes, fibers, and tales.

Did you know that you can tell a tale through a mixtape or playlist? And making a yarn can be a way of telling a story, too, if that’s how you approach it.

A good DJ can invoke a multitude of emotions through song choices and can work the room through experiencing them in a transformative way. It’s why going to a club can feel so cathartic – your whole being gets involved in the process when it’s done correctly.

And storytelling has specific rules and skills that come together, just like the steps to creating a yarn, to build a story that works and can weave itself into your being.

These three pastimes require patience and work put in before the actual product or performance. A good DJ will often curate a list of potential songs before their gig, and they spend time practicing and reviewing new tracks. A spinner needs to procure or process their fiber, with a mind to colors and textures they want to bring together in the finished product, and how that product will come together to create another object. Writers spend a lot of time researching, plotting, developing characters, and more before they ever delve deeply into actually writing the story.

All of them create magic! They take their materials and transform them into something greater than the parts.

It gives me great joy to bring all the pieces of me – DJ and music lover, artist, and writer – together in this podcast. You’ll get to see and hear how all those aspects blend together to help me create my art and convey the mystery of what I call Magic Seeking.

What’s Magic Seeking? At the surface it’s just as advertised: looking for magic hidden in plain sight, lost in the everyday hustle and bustle. It’s a way of seeing the world by Paying Attention – not letting oneself tune out with devices or other distractions and being there in the moment, looking at all the bits of life that we often disregard.

Want an example?

My partner lives in DC, an hour away from me. I would spend a lot of time on MARC trains and the Metro because of that, and I decided that instead of focusing on my phone, I would pay attention to the world whizzing by the window.

Things I saw included:

large groups of deer, eagles, herons and cranes

several camps of unhouse folk that were well hidden unless you knew where to look

amazing graffiti

and a volunteer tomato plant growing right at the tunnel exit of the Union Station Metro like a tiny miracle

Magical moments don’t need to be grand to be profound. They just need to knock you out of your normal day-to-day and give you a sense of whimsy or joy.

There’s a magical moment that Lucee and Cullen share in Cast a Shadow of Doubt that comes directly from an experience that I had. I won’t tell it here but you’ll know if you’ve read the book, because it’s a perfect example of what I’m talking about.

So this intro has already covered some of the things I’ll be talking about, as well as telling you a little about me, the weirdo who does the writing and now the talking.  I’ll also be talking more about the music that shapes me and is reflected in the stories I tell, including pulling out a track from different indie bands to highlight on the regular. By the way, did you know that I have an online streaming radio station at xiane.org? I’ll be doing a show there that does the same but with less chatter from me. Keep tuned for when that’ll start up.

And of course I’ll be speaking about my journey as a writer and author, and talking about In Sleep You Know, Cast a Shadow of Doubt, and the upcoming book A Third Kind of Madness. One of the things I’m most excited about is that I’ll be doing a serial chapter read from In Sleep You Know, something that’s been requested repeatedly! Those will be starting soon and I’ll have them available in video and audio form.

A quick note before I go: today’s little intro is scripted, because having a script is great for getting comfortable. And I didn’t plan much for background, etc, because I wanted to not be precious about it – getting it done is better than fussing over every detail, at least when getting started. As I go along things will get more professional. I GUESS. But expect the feel of this cast to be exactly what it is – me chatting with you from my little bedroom studio, probably with an unmade bed and definitely with a mess beyond the camera that you can’t see. We’re being REAL here, and that means you and I are just hanging out and having a chat where I’m going to be dominating the conversation.

Tune in for my first real episode in about 2 weeks, and then expect to get my first chapter read from In Sleep You Know soon after that. Until then, keep seeking magic!

You can also subscribe/listen on Spotify and take the podcast on the go – find all episodes [this one and future ‘casts] at: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/christiane-knight

A collage of sea, scenic, and building images in film frames with the text September Updates overlaid.

September 2023 – full of hidden magic

Magic All Around Podcast Novel Updates

I’ve been busy enough to keep me from updating here until now, which is great for me but leaves you a bit in the dark, doesn’t it?

What’s been happening?

A quick recap from August:

  • I finished the first draft of ATKOM and then did several rounds of revisions. It’s off with the editor right now, then I’ll get it back and revise some more.
  • In Sleep You Know was cut from SPFBO. I’m extremely glad to have had the experience and to have met so many excellent indie authors and book reviewers through the process. As a reader, I can say with all confidence that there’s no better place to look for your next reads than from the 300 contestants. I’ve filled up my own library with titles from SPFBO and I can’t wait to see who is chosen as the ultimate winner!
  • I applied for a couple of opportunities but I can’t say more until I know more. Oooh, secrets.
  • I added new merch to the Ko-Fi in the form of Fae Baubles – hand made jewelry from me!
  • In the interim while I wait on edits/revisions, I came up with another idea that I can’t wait to share with you…

Introducing the Magic All Around podcast/vlog!

I played around a little bit with this idea when I first published In Sleep You Know, looking for various ways to converse about writing, books, and other related topics. You might have seen those couple of videos on my YouTube channel! Because of life considerations getting in the way, I didn’t get very far with the experiment that time, but as I’m in the editing/revising phase of book #3 and I have more time and energy to spare, I devised this plan to bring together a handful of things that I love and that I think are relevant to my creative world… plus…

I’m going to be doing chapter reads from In Sleep You Know!

So many people have asked for this, how could I say no? I enjoy reading aloud anyway, so this will be a treat for me to do, and I’m hoping that it’s entertaining for YOU!

I haven’t set a schedule yet, but I’ll have readings as both a video and audio option. If you’re a Ko-fi supporter, I’ll make the chapters downloadable for you as a supporter perk! If this project goes well, I’ll be able to create an audiobook type of experience, which is one of my dreams for my series. And if it doesn’t… well, I’ll have a good time!

Here’s some of the other things that Magic All Around will cover:

In the Music @ The Maithe segment I’ll talk about tracks/bands that’ve recently caught my interest, and I might go on a bit about how they fit into my overall literary world, too. Art & Mystique will be about the inspiration and influence I find in the arts, expressed in a variety of ways. I’m pretty excited about these two because they’re the backbone of my inspirations.

Crafty Charms will encompass all the different things I’m working on and how they tie into my literary world, too. Expect everything from Fae-inspired fiber arts to the character dolls and miniature world of the Eleriannan I’m slowly working on creating!

Magic Seeking is a peek into the philosophy of my life: finding magic in unexpected places, often ones you pass by every day. That’s both in a physical and metaphorical sense! And of course, Words & Writing is when I talk about what stories I’m working on, and other writerly updates.

I’m hoping to start recording these very soon, along with bringing back radio shows over at Radio Xiane and some other creative offerings, so keep tuned. I’ll announce here, on Ko-fi, and via my newsletter. Expect episodes to be full of me being my ridiculous self, which is either an issue or a selling point, depending on who you are! 😉

That’s all I’ve got for updates for now! I wanted to mention that if you’re interested in being an advance reader/reviewer for the upcoming book, make sure to sign up on the ARCs page to get on the list!