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Writer's pictureKai Strand

Word Weaving – The Inspiration Behind The Weaver

When an author writes a novel, they make up the characters and the story, but the character, setting, story arc doesn’t just appear out of nowhere. There is usually a story behind the story. Often several little stories, which an author tweaks and cobbles together to mold into the main character or the supporting characters. Sometimes they will set their story in a real place. Other times they will create a fictional place that has aspects of places they’ve visited or lived.


In my series, The Story Behind the Story, I share some of the stories behind my stories. Though I have never outright written a person I know into a book, I have definitely been influenced by those who have crossed my path, as well as places I’ve visited or even simply passed through thoughout the many years I’ve been on this earth. Feel free to ask questions or leave comments. I love, love, love to talk books or hear moments of your own life a story might remind you of.


Story Weaving – The Inspiration Behind The Weaver

The Weaver wasn’t the first novel I wrote, but it was the first of my novels to be published. But how did the story come about anyway?


At the time I was a member of a small online critique group called Silverweb. We had a private forum we could post our work to and ask for feedback. One of the members was artistic as well and designed a logo for the forum. A spider’s web, kissed by morning dew, which sat in the upper left corner of the screen.


One day I was searching around for what I wanted to write about next. That in itself is a crazy thought. Now, I have an entire document dedicated to “next ideas.” Each time an idea pops into my head, I add it to the ever-growing document. However, back in the early days I had to put a little more thought behind it. I sat at my desk, my computer open to my critique group’s page and thought, What do I want to write next? The pretty spider’s web glinted at me from the corner of the page. The threads of conversations about the members’ work scrolled out in front of me. And I thougt, I’m glad we are an online group. Can you imagine if this much talent lived in the same town? I would forever feel inferior.


I blinked.


I looked at the beautifully woven web. I scanned the threads of conversation of all my talented storytelling friends.


I blinked again.


That’s it! A town filled with people who tell stories. All the time! They speak in story! And the main character can’t tell anything more than an average story. Of course, she feels inferior. I’ll make it worse for her by declaring her mother the most revered storyteller of them all.


Blink. Blink.


No. Not storytellers.


(Spider’s web.)


Word weavers. People who speak in story. All the time. They're word weavers.


Voila. The Weaver was born. It grew into a story about perseverence and acceptance. And includes one of my all time favorite character moments in Chapter 14, The Third Law, when Mary realizes how to fix her problem – I love it because it’s a play on words, like basically the entire book is. It also contains one of my favorite sub-stories, Little Seed. A very sweet little underdog story, that makes the troublesome gnome-elf, Unwanted, cry.


The Weaver was a finalist in both the Global eBook and EPIC eBook Awards contests. It’s available in hardcover, softcover, and ebook.


And since the residents of the town of The Tales speak in story, it’s only natural that the book should be made into an audiobook so you can listen to them word weave. Here's a sample:



The audiobook has a different cover than the the other formats because I self-published the audiobook, with a cover drawn by my son, Hector McClean. Guardian Angel Publishing is the publisher of the other formats, and the talented K.C. Snider is the illustrator who did the gorgeous cover you find on those.


Subscribe to my newsletter and I will email you an Audible download code for The Weaver (while supplies last)



Or find links to retailers of all The Weaver formats here.


Happy reading.

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