"Magic of the Heart" Pre-release Q&A · 9:05pm Aug 27th, 2019
A few days ago, I put up a blog post annoucing the final book in the "Shipping and Handling" trilogy, titled "Magic of the Heart."
(That post is here if you're looking for it.)
As promised, this is a little Q&A post with some preliminary details about what to expect. This post contains no spoilers,, it's just information about the fic itself, not the plot.
Q: A new "Shipping and Handling" story? How does it fit into the existing chronology?
A: This series has always been designed to try to run alongside the show's canon events, contradicting as few of them as possible, although obviously it's hard to be perfect about that. "Magic of the Heart" begins approximately three years after the end of "Hocus Pocus". This means, at the start of the new story, Dinky and her friends from the Academy, who were 14-15 at the end of the previous book, are now 17-18 years old. In regards to canon, the previous two stories took place around the start of Season 3. This one, as it is several years in the future, it going to take place between season 8 and 9, meaning the School of Friendship and all major canon events prior to that have happened, but Celestia has not yet asked Twilight to rule Equestria, and Grogar has not yet gathered his legion. There's also a prologue and epilogue, which take place many, many years later, long after season 9 and, for that matter, after the whole lifespan of most of the canon characters.
Q: "Shipping and Handling" and "Hocus Pocus" were very different types of stories, despite being part of the same series. What can we expect in "Magic of the Heart?"
A: A little of both, honestly! This story makes an attempt to focus (roughly) equally on Ditzy and Dinky, instead of just one or the other. We'll see more of the crew from Equestria Speedy Shipping Services, as well as more of Dinky's Academy friends. If I had to classify the actual plot into a genre, though, it's definitely more on the exciting, adventurey side, so I'd expect storytelling more similar to "Hocus Pocus" than to "Shipping and Handling". The story will be full of elements from both fics though, including, but not limited to:
-Ditzy's shipping assignments
-Dinky's magic classes
-Lighthearted character development scenes
-Unicorns dueling, described in detail
-Sad or emotional bits
-Tense, action packed segments like those near the end of Hocus Pocus
It's really quite a hodge-podge, but hopefully that's what keeps it interesting. I've spent a lot of time on the outline making sure the plot is coherent thoughout all the chaos.
Q: How long is "Magic of the Heart?"
A: I don't have an exact number right now, but my guess is... really long. Probably longer than "Hocus Pocus." Right now, the plan is to have 20 chapters, plus a prologue and epilogue, but this is subject to change.
Q: What is the story rating?
A: Everything on my page so far has been rated Everyone, but "Magic of the Heart" will be rated Teen because of:
-Occasional mild swearing
-Darker story elements (in a few spots, mostly near the end)
-Some innuendos and comments with questionable implications (Dinky and her friends are on the tail end of puberty, what do you expect?)
-Possible character death
Just be aware of this, so it doesn't catch you by surprise when this story is a tad harsher than its predecessors in spots.
Q: So when will the story begin?
A: I'm about to send the first chapter to my editors, and it'll be posted basically as soon as they're done with it. I'm not gonna give an exact date, cause that's dependent on their schedules, but I think it's a safe bet to say you'll see the prologue and chapter 1 uploaded sometime within the next week.
That's all for now! I'll be back soon with the beginning of Ditzy and Dinky's next adventure. Once it begins, I hope you enjoy, and I always appreciate comments telling me what you think, or your reactions or theories, or just anything really!
~PRB
--Spade
I'm looking forward to reading this very much! I might have to go and reread part of Hocus Pocus but I'm ready for this story to continue!
I can't wait! I loved Hocus Pocus. I remember enjoying Shipping and Handling as well, but I just really love Hocus Pocus and re-read it constantly. I should re-read both to prepare for this!! The cover art for Magic Of The Heart looks wonderful.
5112950
I'm so glad! I love Hocus Pocus and I'm thrilled to hear when people adore it.
Dinky, Clarity, Scuffle, Honeydew, and all the others begin their next adventure soon!
"-Possible character death"
Darn, I wish you hadn't said that. Now I have to decide if I even want to read it :P.
Thanks for the update--I'm so excited to read this story!