There’s been a minor setback with the cover, and I’ll be posting both here and on my Instagram once everything is settled!
I still wanted to talk about Ink and Foxglove today, so here we go!
What is Ink and Foxglove?
Ink and Foxglove is the beginning of the Chronicles of Whynne, a trilogy taking place in the same realm as the Night King. Rather than following Amelie and Edwyn, the series follows the adventures of Wren Laurent, a former maid and newly minted member of the upper class adopted by the fae family for who her mother once worked. It details her adventures with Luka Kinsley, a young man who she once considered to be the bane of her childhood.
Taking place a hundred years later, there are some differences. Whynne has begun its own little Industrial revolution and begun to move on to the global stage. Science and discovery are very important to the culture of Whynne, especially as they barrel towards their future, and many young men of the upperclass go on trips to perform research for the kingdom. As well, there’s a new king on the throne, Theo, whose appetite for satisfaction and cocksure behavior are… unfortunately reminiscent of his father. Thanks, Edwyn.
The Unseelie are still around, pushed off to the boundaries of society by the former monarchs and looking to reclaim control of the country in whatever way they can. The crown offers rewards for hunting lesser Unseelie, and higher Unseelie, those capable of self-restraint and larger magical feats, tend to avoid the public eye.
Where is the country of Whynne situated?
The country of Whynne is largely landlocked except for an almost minuscule portion that touches the Great Sea. It is surrounded by forest on all sides and has a hilly terrain that many communities have attempted to work around. Ink and Foxglove takes place in the second most populous city, Greenable. The capital of the country is Chines, the largest city and the place nearest the capital, half of it sits in a valley and the other half sits atop a ragged cliff looking over it. Above that cliff is yet another one, the highest point in the land and where the palace sits. Surrounding Chines and the palace is the densest portion of the forest.
There are four countries surrounding Whynne.
The southern-most is Audon, which is small and does not have its own military. Audon has about two cities and abundant farmland, it depends on its neighbors for protection, all of which rely on Audon’s continual existence for agricultural and religious reasons. Audon is completely landlocked, and while they have legends of magic, the population does not humor the idea of magic amongst their people.
Leder is to the east, and also mountainous. It’s a large country and fairly warm. They’re known for fishing, silk, and having a few religious heritage sites. Leder is very interesting because, sporting the highest elevation in the land, they have a large assortment of winged beings in their midst. Leder also shares the same coastline as Whynne, and there are many stories of sailors taking the wrong turn and facing not only the sirens’ call, but also the scream of valkyries. Very few traders and ambassadors go to Leder because of how dangerous its coastline and borders can be.
Haldia. Cold, very cold. To the west. They have their own selkies, though they are different than those of Whynne. They’re very well known for their large puffin population. The further north west one goes in Haldia, the colder it gets, to the point where one’s breath can freeze the moment it leaves their mouth. There’s rumors of a great shipwreck in Haldia’s northern waters, one where a heart of pure ice (belonging to a sea goddess that many Haldians believe in) was lost under the water, a heart which brings magic to the people of the lands and gifts the country with beautiful lights that dance across the sky twice every year. You can see the lights from Whynne, but only faintly.
Eige, just below Haldia. Not too cold, but very wet. It rains about three hundred days out of the year in Eige. A majority of the cities there are canal towns. Eigens believe that the reason it rains so much is that many centuries ago, a Haldian woman fell in love with an Eigen man and offered him her heart. The man cared little for her, sent the heart off to be traded in Leder, and ended up getting shipwrecked on the cost of Haldia. The woman turned out to not be a mere woman, but rather the sea goddess who was enraged by him attempting to sell her heart, and subsequently flooded Eige as a result. The rain is to keep the majority of the country underwater as punishment for his greed.
The Eigen have believed that a day without rain is a lucky one ever since, and are not big on affection.
Whynne and the Rest of the World
For the most part, conflicts in Whynne come from inside of Whynne. With an ironclad forest around the majority of the country and god knows what lurking in there, other places don’t like to bother as much. This greatly offends the king, but it has made members of the general population pretty pleased. Lowell Laurent, Wren’s adoptive father, made his fortune mining gems in Whynne and importing goods from other countries, since foreign traders aren’t fond of going to Whynne.
Five years prior to the start of Ink and Foxglove, however, Whynne has taken to sending diplomats out to form relations with other countries. One is Adam Harlow, who is often successful due to his charming personality and good looks.
Information about the Trilogy
When Will the Chronicles of Whynne be Done?
There are three books in the Chronicles of Whynne, I’ve planned for the last book to come out in July. We may be revisiting the universe of Whynne in future series.
Where are the Polls?
If you’re a newsletter subscriber, you were promised polls. In fact, a few of you asked where they were. For a moment, I thought they might be dorky, but then people asked and I was like, “oh man here we go, making polls.”
And oh boy did I make you polls.
The Whynne poll will be updated and changed as the series goes on, and some lesser characters are mentioned because they’ll be doing more in later books. I did not add upcoming characters or pairs however.
And then I was just curious and wanted to see what you guys thought I would do next. I already have a few ideas, but I’d love to hear from you guys.
“I’d like to do something with social media with you?” or “I have a question about the books?”
If you’d like to do something with social media with me, I’m interested. I only just found out the past week that someone chose to mention me on their booktok and there’s been a few instagram posts lately.
If you want to contact me for any reason, hit the contact form on my website.
Artwork is by Warwick Goble.
B. A. Lovejoy 