Mother’s Light is the title for the first full-length novel by Rick Hayes, currently in that cycle of sort-of finished draft in need of editing. In September 2023, it stood at 275 manuscript pages. 152,000ish words. 3.04994x Nanowrimos! The outline for a second draft looks good to me. If you are reading this, chances are very high that we know each other personally. If the story below sounds intriguing and you have the time, feel free to contact me for my next round of sharing. Any feedback on this adventure is welcome.
Online Foreword
Hello, friends! I started answering writing prompts on Reddit in the middle of an extended period of extra free time at home in 2021, thanks to telecommuting and covid lockdown. I set up a subreddit to try microblogging again, but that host has its pros and cons. My collection of short “flash” fiction, each prompt response initally restricted to 10,000 characters, has a fun exercise in fast-paced writing, often posted within a few hours to play the Reddit upvote game a little.
Then came Mother’s Light. I had a few ridiculous roleplaying characters lying around unused, and I started setting a scene in a tavern somewhere, run by a young proprietor all by herself. Phoebe’s importance to the story that emerged around her was obvious from that humble start. To be here now has been a little over two years of intense internal lockdown. It will be fun to devote to time to more than one hobby again. This website is also part of the process of poking my head out of the cave and waving at the humans again.
Back Cover Copy
The Machine Elves called it the Scrambling. The Dwarves were less concerned with ancient history. Most people just needed to know that a giant bird of fire long ago rose for the first time. And when this Firehawk fell, horrible destruction was visited upon everyone. Many plants and animals, and the very land itself, were profoundly changed, rendered almost unrecognizable. In time, though, civilization regrouped and regrew.
The truly fanatical would claim that the spirit of our planet woke violently that day. The stories of what followed for any who encountered Great Mother’s scars convinced most that they were right. Then, prophecy warned of the inevitable return of the Firehawk, and the Three that would face it. We were not expected to survive a second time. Many factions, men and beast alike, sought to be the first to find the prize, the Egg.
Such global and cosmic concerns were far from young Phoebe’s mind, as she prepared the Mountain Goat Pub for the busy harvest tourism season. The town of Lubin was a common destination along the Great Road for people traveling from the ferries across the Western Arctic Sea. Curious tavern guests, strange visitors from far away lands, and creepy men in the shadows were all plenty enough for her to worry about, but Phoebe’s personal life was also a complete mess, and at least two secrets were about to boil over. The journey ahead to make it alright again promised thrilling adventure, horrible choices, and a few shots at redemption and healing. As Wilcott might say, it was a road trip!