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{"id":75079,"date":"2009-12-10T17:28:26","date_gmt":"2009-12-11T00:28:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lookingcloser.org\/?p=75079"},"modified":"2012-10-07T19:03:15","modified_gmt":"2012-10-08T01:03:15","slug":"top-5-confessions-about-the-ale-boy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/lookingcloser\/2009\/12\/top-5-confessions-about-the-ale-boy\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Auralia’s Colors Confessions: “The Ale Boy”"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

He\u2019s small, he\u2019s quiet, and he lives with a painful mystery.<\/p>\n

Here are my Top 5 Confessions About Auralia\u2019s Colors<\/em>, Chapter 5 \u2013 The Ale Boy<\/p>\n

5.
\nIn fantasy storytelling, certain details just keep showing up. I wrote scenes for the ale boy before any Harry Potter books had been published. So no, I didn\u2019t copy the idea of a young boy with a distinctive scar on his forehead.<\/p>\n

(Nor had I read The Riddle-Master of Hed<\/em>, which pre-dates both Harry Potter and the ale boy by many years, and the hero of that book has three stars on his forehead.)<\/p>\n

I certainly don\u2019t mind the idea that there is some kind of otherworldly connection between the ale boy and the young Hogwarts hero. But I wonder why forehead scars are such a recurring event in fantasy.<\/p>\n

And hey, what do you know\u2026 something along the lines of an \u201cinvisibility cloak\u201d shows up in Chapter Five as well.<\/p>\n

Weird, huh?<\/p>\n

4.
\nThis chapter marks several significant firsts in The Auralia Thread series. For example: The ale boy meets Auralia for the first time in this chapter.<\/p>\n

3.
\nAnd then, Prince Cal-raven meets Auralia for the first time.<\/p>\n

2.
\nAnother first: The first casualty in the series. (Well, deaths have<\/em> already been mentioned in flashbacks, but here the narrative is interrupted by a scream.)<\/p>\n

1.
\nAnd we see a beastman for the first time. Hmmm. Do you supposed this has something to do with the scream? Be afraid.<\/p>\n

\u2022<\/p>\n

You can order Auralia\u2019s Colors <\/em>at Barnes and Noble<\/a>, Eighth Day Books<\/a>, Third Place Books<\/a>, Elliott Bay Book Company<\/a>, or the independent bookstore nearest you<\/a>.<\/p>\n

$\"auralias-colors-2nd-printing-cover\"$ <\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"