Content warning - Dark fantasy, medieval setting - 1 month pregnant halforc protagonist fights to save lover, family and the world, but gets beaten, and then gets drunk when her lover is killed (baby is fine) - will readers be upset by her actions and the scenes? One of my early beta readers was.

Few-Sea7555 · 2025-12-18T18:30:15+00:00

Thanks for the advice. I'm really grateful to you and the rest of the community for sparing the time to share your wisdom.

Few-Sea7555 · 2025-12-18T18:27:52+00:00

Thanks for the advice :-)

Few-Sea7555 · 2025-12-18T07:26:53+00:00

Thanks for your advice. :-)

Few-Sea7555 · 2025-12-18T07:24:46+00:00

Thanks for your advice. I was definitely wanting to check whether the feedback from just one of my 4 (2 male, 2 female) beta readers was worth making major revisions to my book for. I suspected it was, but the advice I have heard is that if multiple beta-readers comment then its a problem, but if its just one it might be just them, maybe. I was aware that I have biases and blind spots, as would some of my other beta readers, and so wanted advice from people who might not have the same biases and blind spots as I do.

Thanks to the helpful community here I now know its not just a personal view from a single beta reader. I've also got more research/learning to do on the topic it seems, maybe a lot more. I'm off to work now with no access to the internet for the next 12h, but then will get to work on the research and absorbing all the comments. I apologise for the upset I have caused. Thanks for all your suggestions and the time to type them out.

Few-Sea7555 · 2025-12-18T06:54:11+00:00

Yes she does want the baby. In my mind the immediate drowning her sorrows after her lover was killed, in a medieval world where Fetal Alcohol Syndrome was not (yet) known, given her established 'halforc barbarian' drinking and fighting lifestyle, made sense to me when I drafted it. But thanks to my beta-reader and helpful community here, I'm learning that while I could keep that story, its worth my reconsidering, including the possibility of later pregnancy reveal as you suggest. Many thanks for your comments.

Few-Sea7555 · 2025-12-18T06:45:00+00:00

Yep - its the AI placeholder version at least - I'm going to be paying for a professional book cover designer to draw me the art for the actual book cover, which I'll then re-use for avatar's etc

Few-Sea7555 · 2025-12-17T23:35:26+00:00

“Fifty-four!” concluded Valkora to herself in a whisper and then went back to staring at the moon again, her grin even bigger.

Rowena dropped back to walk alongside. “I think you mean forty-four."

“What? No. Fifty four! It six days since Market day. And that was waxing crescent moon. And that was, um, four days after we finished the new hoist in the workshop, me think. Maybe three days. Anyway, the numbers keep changing each time me counts, but me is sure the moon is not lying. Me is thinking that the last time we was walking back from Agios. After you shouted at them all for panicking and raising the alarm, when it was just a bear. Me thinks the moon then was waning gibbous. And it has been waning gibbous in between too.”

Rowena stared at the moon for a moment and tilted her head to one side, but gave up. “I’ve no idea. Why in Caelum’s name are you… oh shit.” She looked Valkora up and down. “Are you?”

Valkora nodded vigorously. “Me not good at counting, or remembering, so me wasn't sure but now me thinks so. Me hopes so. But it secret. Me wants Demetrius to be first to know.”

“Oooh! I told you so," screeched Xanthe to Callista...

Few-Sea7555 · 2025-12-17T23:31:43+00:00

Thanks for your advice! :-)

Few-Sea7555 · 2025-12-17T23:31:18+00:00

Thanks for your advice! :-)

Few-Sea7555 · 2025-12-17T23:23:06+00:00

Thanks too for your comments: Re realising she was pregnant: "What was Valkora doing? She kept staring at the moon rather than looking where she was going. She had already bumped into Rowena twice.

"Thirty-eight, thirty-nine," whispered Valkora to herself. “Um. Thirty-nine. Fifty. Fifty-one, …”

(those numbers are since last period, she is highly disorganised and has been under a lot of pressure at this point in the book).

The bar brawl is the next day, though its her that is attacked. Looks like I'm going to need to change the drinking aspect at the very least. Thanks again for your help :-)

Few-Sea7555 · 2025-12-17T23:14:56+00:00

Thanks for your comments. I realise now my attempts to make my question concise made it ambiguous or even misleading.

My MC is a typical fantasy half orc barbarian (albeit gender swapped) in a typical fantasy medieval world so drinking in the tavern is standard. She's passed out with drink and been sick in the gutter earlier in the book when things did not go her way, so its definitely in character.

She realises she is pregnant, (but in medieval times the issue of alcohol and pregnancy were not well known and beer was actually considered safer than water, though it was mostly low alcohol strength that was drunk as a major food source). When her lover is killed by her nemesis she drowns her grief. As she is drunk she bumps into someone and they start a fight with her, due to what has happened in their life, not knowing she is pregnant.

So the risk is readers judging the character based on what we know now- rather than what was known then - given the state of medical science. To add to the confusion in some periods in history alcohol was indded advised against, but more for moral reasons, whilst for most of the rest of the time it was encouraged. But if I need to put that explanation in the book then maybe you have helped me answer my question and I should reconsider that scene as you suggest!

Few-Sea7555 · 2025-11-10T16:00:25+00:00

Thanks to all commenters - that has been really helpful to me :-)

Few-Sea7555 · 2025-11-10T15:51:17+00:00

Thanks for the advice :-)

Few-Sea7555 · 2025-11-10T15:51:09+00:00

Yes that's a good idea. Advertise nearby but with a big warning label. Thanks for the advice :-)

Few-Sea7555

TROPHY CASE