Do You Take This Cover Art!!!

Today ... You finally get to see the lovely picture that Brooke painted for Take's Cover art. I'm not going to show you the actual cover (Haven't seen it myself yet, and probably doesn't even exist, I only just shipped the picture off to Cousin Tenya.)

Soooooooooooo ......

Wait, no, that's not Brooke's Painting. That's my Drawing.

Let's try this again.

UUUUUUUUUUUUUHHHHHHHHH..... Even worse?

Let's try again?

JUMPROPE!!!

Can we all be glad that my pictures will not be the ones on the cover?

Okay, let's try this one more time ....

Ah, there we go. Oh, I can just stare at this all day long. I want it framed and on my wall. This is the picture that will form the background of Take's cover art.

And we all give Brooke our hearty thanks.

Or BroYo, as she wants to be called.

Question for readers of Sew. Which Sword do you think is who's?

Sneek peek pictures!

I'm just going to share a few pictures with ya'll and make you guess what they are ...

They're from the picture Brooke (a friend of mine) painted for Take's cover art. Once I find my camera, I'll share the full thing with you. (I had to take these with my webcam)

Would you believe me if I told you that Brooke had never heard of a Star Lilly before I asked her to paint this for me?

Do You Take This Tag?

Amy Dashwood has issued a tag for her loyal writing followers to complete. It's actually for her half-nano thing she's doing, but she says that even if you're not doing half-nano, you can still do the tag. I decided not to do my NaNo project, as NaNo this year was book 3 ... (I've given up on NaNo. There is NO way I'm going to complete it and get Take published ... but anyways) and I'm not ready to disclose details about it yet. But I'll do Take for ya'll.

Soooooo .... without further ado ...

~What's the name of your project? When did you first come up with the idea? And how long have you been working on it?

Do You Take This Quest? 

The series was sparked some time in the spring of 2010. Mom and I hashed out the plot of this book in one night some time in the spring of 2011. I've been working on and off on it ever since.

~Sum up your novel in five words or less.

Find allies. Home for Wedding.

~Who is your favorite character?  Tell us about him or her.

In this book Madeleine was my favorite. She's an artist and the lost aunt that Robin and Robert were looking for in book 1.

As characters in whole, Robin outranks Madeleine in my favorites. But for this book, I had a hard time capturing Robin, and so Madeleine outshone her.

~Where does your novel take place?  What time period?

In Bookania, a medievally fantasy-y world. The main locations are Briton castle, Upontime Castle, Winthrop Castle ... and Skewwood.

~Do you have a theme song for your story?  What is it?

Unlike most of my books, this one actually does. It's Here comes the Bride!

~What's been the hardest part to write so far?

Getting it started and getting it ended. Oh, and the middle. That was tough. Yes. Sigh. This whole book has been a headache. There were scenes, even entire chapters, that were fun, and even got onto the computer screen relatively quickly .... but that wasn't the rule.

~Which chapter was your favorite so far?

I think I'll go with chapter 20. Unfortunately I can't share what it's about, as it's the climax of the book.

~Can you share one of your favorite snippets?  (One you haven't shared on your blog already)


  When they at last caught up with Robin, she had reached the castle gates. She had her sword out and was threatening the guards. “If you don’t let me in!” she shouted, “heads are gonna roll!”
  “That’s what we are we are afraid of,” replied the captain of the guard.
  Eric caught ahold of Robin’s arm. “Robin,” he said, “I don’t think making threats is the best way to get into the castle.”
  Robin froze, then turned to Eric. “Oh, that’s right,” she said, in a subdued voice. “There’s a magic word.” Then she turned back to the guards and said, in a desperate voice, “Please! Please open the gate!”

My brother runs around quoting this. It's funny listening to him trying to imitate Robin and Eric.

~Are any aspects of your story drawn directly from your own life?  Give us an example.  

I can't say it's very much inspired by my RL, but there is a scene towards the end drawn from an incident that happened on Thanksgiving of ... 2008? (9?). Anyways, it was the year that my all of my cousins were down. (they live waaaaaaay north of us, so when they visit, we say they come down.) In short, two of my cousins were arguing over whether or not he should eat the pie filling that he had on his plate. As I was plotting Take, I knew that this was an antic that Solomon would pull, so ... I shoved it in.

~Your main character gets dumped into a big city in the modern era (or if you're writing a contemporary work, he/she gets dumped in medieval London).  How does he/she respond?

I think Madeleine would take it in stride and marvel at all the strangeness of our modern marvels. (she wouldn't think them magic, though.)

~Who's the funniest character in your story? Tell us why! Give examples! Support your argument.  :D

In theory or in practice?

In theory, Solomon was supposed to be the funniest character. He has the "Mirth of Youth" afterall. But, while he does have some great jokes (and hilarious antics such as refusing to eat his pie filling ...) He didn't get enough screen time to really shine.

In practice ... I don't know. Possibly Samson and Madeleine when they get into a word war. Or maybe the old man. He can be pretty funny.

~If you were forced to eliminate a character from your story--just wash them clean off the slate--who would it be?

Probably Enna. She doesn't do much.

~Do you plan on writing a sequel to your novel?

I'm considering doing so ... *hastily shoves list of the first 20 titles of the series back into purse ...*

They say eleven is the perfect number ...

Wait, no, that's seven. Oh, well.

Anyways, I've been tagged by that elevens tag yet again, this time by Katie.

Rules: Post eleven random facts about yourself, answer the eleven questions the awarder has given you and make up eleven questions for your awardees to answer in return. Tag eleven fellow bloggers, and notify them of the award. Also, no tag-backs.

Eleven Facts:

1. I have this bad habit of reading the wikipedia page of any book/slash movie I'm interested in as soon as it comes out.
2. I also tend to skip ahead and read the end before I get there.
3. People say that this ruins the reading of a book. I don't think so. It's more like having a map so that you don't get lost. I don't do this with mysteries, as much as I do adventures.
4. I get to have thanksgiving twice. Once with my mom's side of the family (the day of) and once with my dad's side (usually a day or two after. This year it's today.)
5. My aunt was surprised the other day when she found out I knew about love triangles.
6. I lowered prices to the minimum price on all of my books for Black Friday.
7. I may leave them at those prices until after Christmas.
8. Madeleine and I look a lot alike.
9. I don't know if my hair is blond or brown. It's somewhere in between.
10. I like funky socks
11. I like singing Christmas Carols while watching fire works for the fourth of July.


Eleven Questions:


1. Do you outline before starting a novel? If so, how extensive an outline do you create?

The closest I've come to outlining is writing a one-page summary of Do You Take This Quest? (which I didn't follow in the least) and the notebook versions of some of the Rizkaland Legends, which were/are more of a rough draft than anything else. This doesn't mean I don't plan the book - I do, but I never put those plans on paper.

2. Do you profile your characters to flesh them out and make them as realistic as possible? If so, would you share the template or basic outline you use?

I've been known to interview them, and have, at times, written down every thing I know about a character in a notebook ... but that's not often. I prefer learning about my characters through roleplaying and the actual writing process.

3. How do you balance the busyness of life with your writing goals? (Give a girl some advice here.)

Frankly, this is a mystery I have yet to discover. I oscillate between periods where I focus on my writing to the detriment of my life, to periods where I focus on my life to the detriment of my writing. It drives my mom nuts.

4. Do you force yourself to finish a writing project before starting on a new one?

Sometimes ... I'm not often very successful at ignoring the other really interesting stories that I have in my arsenal

5. HOW IN THE WORLD DO YOU CONTROL THE PLOT-BUNNIES?!

I allow myself to muse over for a while, give it a title, add it to my WIP list, scribble down snippets in notebooks, perhaps even give it a computer document ...

It depends how focused I am on other projects.

6. Once in a while, we all write characters that scare us for one reason or other. How do you deal with these characters and the emotions they evoke in you?

I give them a weakness in the the form of one of my pliable and/or cooperative characters. Example: Amber, the villain of the first two books of the Rizkaland Legends is ... well, not a nice character, and she doesn't like me. However, her husband, Granite, is still good, as his heart was not tainted by the evil that overcame her, and, he somewhat keeps her in line.

They're complicated ... which is one reason she is pretty much my favorite villain. (as well as my oldest, but that's beside the point.)

7. Bronte sisters or Jane Austen?

Austen. They're both good, but I prefer Austen's lighter style.

8. Peeta or Gale? (This has everything to do with everything.)

Despite my usual weakness for gray-eyed men (seriously, folks, among my FMC's Love Interests, there is an overwhelming majority of gray eyes) ... Katniss belongs with Peeta. She and Gale are too much alike, and it is my firm conviction that opposites ought to attract. Besides, she and Gale look too much alike, and, ever since reading chapter 11 of Elsie's Womanhood, I've not liked my literary couples looking like carbon copies of each other.

Just one of my quirks, ya know.

9. Do you people-watch? Do you find this inspires you to create more relatable, three-dimensional characters based on your observations?

Ummm ... I do people watch my family and close friends ... but beyond that, not really, or, at least, I don't do it on purpose.

10. Do you write best when warm and cozy indoors, or outdoors with the sun in your face and the wind in your hair?

When I have a notebook, I like to take it outside. But when I'm writing on my computer, I can't see what I'm writing if it's too bright, so I have to work on it inside or in the shade. And the shade doesn't always work.

11. How do you keep your writing new and original? How do you avoid falling into cliches?

Uhhhhhh ... I actually don't worry too much about it. Indeed, I'm as like as not to use a cliche for humor purposes. Although I tend to mix up my cliche's ... for instance, my warrior princess, instead of marrying a peasant, ends up marrying the dashing prince who's purpose in life is to rescue all of the innocent maidens.

But I really don't worry about it. If I have a story burning in my heart, I write it. There is nothing new under the sun, and I know that, no matter how hard I try to write something new and different, someone else has already used my idea ...

But that doesn't mean that, if I discover that what I'm writing is similar to someone else's, that I don't make every effort to make sure I'm not simply writing their story a second time. If I discover that there is another book that may or may not be what I'm writing, I will, if at all possible, get my hands on the book and read it, and make sure what I'm writing is different.

..........................................................................

Me Questions:

1. What is your #1 literary irk? (mary sue? RPS (rebellious princess syndrome)? Pink flowers?)

2. Do you have an accent?

3. How hard is it for you to imitate accents?

5. Ice Cream or Peanut Butter?

4. How long is your WIP list (P - planning)?

6. Kindle, nook, physical or other?

7. What is your opinion on arranged marriages?

8. What is your favorite number?

9. Pepperoni, Salami, Baloney?

10. What are you thankful for?

11. Did you notice anything strange about 4 and 5?

If you're reading this, consider yourself tagged. I don't feel like hunting down tagees.

A reason to be Thankful

((Note: Amazon may not have changed the prices yet. If you pull up the link and the prices are still 3.99 and 2.99, come back later. They should all be changed by tomorrow, unless you live outside of the US.)

This is the time of year that everyone has large notebooks out and are frantically scribbling down every reason they're thankful.

(Or is that just me? Oh, nevermind.)

Anyways, I'm going to give ya'll yet another thing to add to your lists.

 99 cents.

You read that right - the Kindle version of Sew, It's a Quest is available for only 99 cents. For how long? I haven't decided yet. Probably until Christmas.

But ... I think I'll make ya'll even more thankful!

 99 cents.

Yup, I've got the short story collection for only 99 cents too. How long? See Sew. 

Hummm..... oh, I know of one more thing I can do!

  FREE!!!

Yes, actually I'd been planning this for some time now, unlike the others which were impromptu.

So, what are ya'll waiting for ... oohhhhhhh!!!!

I just thought of something else!

I've decided to drop the prices of the paperbacks, as well!!

  $4.50 

You can get the Short Story Collection for less than five dollars! 

 

 $5.99

And Sew is only a dollar and a half more!

(BTW, if you get a paperback, I do ask that you buy it through Createspace. My royalty there is about a dollar more than from Amazon, and I'd be getting next to nothing from Amazon thanks to the reduced prices.)

Sew, It's some Trivia

I had so much fun doing up trivia for Do Take This Quest? that I think I'll do some for Sew, It's a Quest as well. How does that sound?

Sounds like fun?

Alright, then, I'll get right on it!

•  - It went from initial idea to published in less than a year an a half.
•  - I chose to do it for YWP NaNo 2010 because, of all the stories I had running around in my head, it was the best thought out and, at the same time, not very worked on.
•  - I had worked on it that summer, under the title No Longer a Dream where it was going to be from Rosamond's perspective.
•  - At the time, the series title was going to be called Beyond the Ever Afters.
•  - Robin came to me complete with name, basic back story, and basic appearance one day when I was folding laundry.
•  - Eric was originally going to be named Araclee.
•  - Robert was going to be named Rednal.
•  - They're both glad I changed their names.
•  - I deleted an entire chapter October 31st.
•  - I finished the rough draft before 7 AM November 30th. It was 30,017 words long. My goal had been 30,000.
•  - After writing a few chapters/scenes that had evaded me the first time I wrote it, it was about 42,000 words.
•  - I cut the last chapter out because it was anti-climatic. It worked better as the beginning of Book 2. This brought it down to 38,000.
•  - Robin stole the personality of Clara from Water Princess, Fire Prince, which has forced me to rewrite Clara's character.
•  - Sew, It's a Quest has actually inspired at least on person to actually write a book (beyond my immediate family) I know this because she commented on one of my posts. This comment came on a day that I was in the depths of frustration and wondering if I should just scrap the whole idea of writing and get a job selling apples instead, so it was a real encouragement.
•  - Another title I considered was The Needle and the Sword, but it didn't quite work.
•  - There wasn't a single pun in the book until I decided to name it Sew, It's a Quest. 
•  - The Punch Line was the first pun I came up with to put in it.

Do You Take This Quest Trivia

Hey, I just thought you guys would like to know some interesting things about the writing process of Do You Take This Quest?

You know, to continue getting you excited about it's publication in (hopefully) two and a half weeks.

So, here you go, some interesting facts.

•  - While writing chapter 2, I had the opening of the new Prince Caspian movie playing in my head. Thing was, up until my writing of it, I had not even considered the fact that they were similar.
•  - Then as I reflected on it, I realized that Arthur and the movie version of Caspian have quite a few things in common.
•  - My mom and I hashed out the initial basic plot in about two hours while Dad and my younger sisters were at Wednesday night church, sometime in the spring before Sew, It's a Quest was published.
•  - Before that, Book two was going to be what is currently book five.
•  - I tried the titles Sew, It's a Wedding and Say Yes to the Quest before finally settling on Do You Take This Quest. Say Yes to the Quest was the shortest lived. 
•  - The old man is mentioned in Sew, It's a Quest.
•  - I tried two different openings before I finally tried starting with Arthur.
•  - I didn't come up with Arthur until December, when I was reading the current opening aloud to my mom (because I was stuck), and she questioned the reasoning behind a certain character's behavior, and we realized that there was a bunch of Back History that involved the old man.
•  - Thyme was a spur of the moment addition when I realized I had no idea how the old man was going to convince Mordreth to talk to him. It since became a crucial element of the book
•  - There is one scene that I had written ahead of time, but when I got to it, I ended up writing completely differently. Funny how that happens. Part of the reason it was different was the addition of the old man, the other part was some back story I added to Queen Charlotte.
•  - I think of Do You Take This Quest? as a lavender book, despite the fact that no lavender is ever mentioned.
•  - Chapters 3 and 4 cover events that were originally the last chapter of Sew, It's a Quest. 

Why I like the Kindle.

The Kindle (and ebook in general) debate is a fierce issue these days. For the longest time I was on the "Against" side.

But then my mom got one and I got to mess around with it. Later, a friend sent my sister and I an older version for us to use. I'm the one who mostly uses it though ...

Now I can honestly say that I am a thorough Kindle supporter. I can't say anything about any of the other ereaders, but I do love the Kindle.

Reasons:

1. Font size control. I like to have my Kindle set on smallest possible print size. My mom, on the other hand, has bad eyes, so she uses a larger print. She can't read print books anymore, but she loves the Kindle. My mom also says she likes that there is no curvature to the page.

2. Small. My Kindle has over three hundred books. Mom's has ... over a thousand, I believe. Imagine trying to carry that many books around in physical format.

3. Forces me to read the book in order. I have this horrid habit of skipping ahead, and this sometimes leads to me missing large portions of the book. Reading on a Kindle forces me to read a book in order.

4. Free Books. Most of the classics are available for free on Kindle, and many authors (such as myself) offer their books for free on occasion. I can glean plenty of books this way.

5. Email feature. It costs too much for me to print out my books so I can edit them that way, but I can send them to my Kindle and it has pretty much the same effect.

6. KDP publishing is free. 'Nuff said.

Of course, I do miss the smell of books, and my Kindle has two spots on the screen and likes to freeze every other day ... but all in all, I actually at times prefer a Kindle. Physical copies are best for re-reading, but Kindle is best for initial reading.

Note: I'm not trying to change anyone's opinion of the Kindle, I'm just stating the reasons for my change of opinion.

You Do Have Your Speech Prepared?

Via Pinterest

Time for Snippets! My writing was pitiful last month, I must confess. Most of what I did write wasn't exactly genius material, and what was genius tended to be portions of the story that I would much rather keep under lock and key. Not only that, a good deal of my writing was in notebooks, for Water Princess, Fire Prince, and therefore isn't as easy to just copy paste it.

That said, going over what I wrote, I found a surprising number of stuff I could post. So, anyways, here you go.

Note, Snippets are hosted by Katie on her blog, Whisperings of the Pen. If you're interested in joining the insanity.


  “I’m not scared of Dr. Frost,” countered Roxanne, not in the mood for their long-running joke.
  “Most people who have been captured by a super villain twenty-seven times …”
  “I’ve been captured far more than twenty-seven times.”
  “The fact still remains, most people who have been captured as many times as you have would be afraid of the super villain.”
  “Actually, you’d be surprised. Most people who have been captured as much as I have aren’t most people. They were never scared in the first place, and each subsequent capture only serves to make them less afraid.”

- HaV Academy

  During the Great Depression, it was not an unusual thing for a small baby to be left on the doorstep of an orphanage by parents unable to provide for the tiny life. It was not even unusual for multiple children to be found at the same time.
  But it was unusual for them to be found wrapped in silk blankets, with jeweled necklaces around their necks.

- The New Division

(Jasmine is walking backwards)
  "Keep that up and you may find yourself falling off a cliff again," the Fire Prince pointed out.
  Jasmine blinked and glanced behind her. "I don't think there cliffs inside the Kastle."
  "Well, even if there aren't, you could still run into someone."

- Water Princess, Fire Prince Notebook Version

  “Hey! I almost had him across!”

  “Well, he’s back at the beginning now.”

  “Hmmmm … well let’s see how you like this one …”

  The voices were muffled behind the curtain, but one was unmistakable as Robin’s. Eric didn’t even hesitate before he pulled back the curtain to see Robin and a brown-haired young man that Eric recognized as her cousin, Edward. The two were seated across from each other at a small table, on which sat a chess board. On said chessboard were chess pieces, but the game that was being played was unlike any game of chess Eric had ever seen before.

- Do You Take This Quest?

  

  Ian Dially sighed and walked over a put a hand on his daughter’s shoulder. “No one likes going to HaV Academy. If they do … they need their priorities straightened.”

  “The people who run HaV Academy need to get their priorities straightened,” said Roxanne.

- HaV Academy

  

  As they resumed their trek through the halls, he added, "You do have your speech prepared, don't you?"

  Andrew froze and glanced at the Water Princess, who looked equally bewildered. "Uh ... speech?"

  "Your address to your subjects, of course," explained the Wind Prince, as if the answer were obvious. "I take it you have not then? Very well, I suppose you'll have to come up with something on the fly."

- Water Princess, Fire Prince Notebook Version 

  “They rule our lives, Will. Our home, our greatest enemy, our best friend … and we can’t rebel.”

- HaV Academy 

  Their King is a man called Yoan by the other peoples. He is a great, powerful Alatian, but his greatest pride is his approachability. Anyone may come to him with any petition, at any time of day. His other title is the Alatian word for Father. His wife is called Queen Veyla, and she puts as much pride on her mothering as her husband puts on fathering. Her other title is the Alatian word for mother. They have no children of their own, however, a fact they mourn.

- Some world building for The Nine Gems of Virtue.

  A solitary tear slipped out of her eye as she made her way through the labyrinth of tunnels that she had made in the mountain. She’d not see him for another four years either. And she’d be changed. For good or evil, she’d be changed.

  She’d no longer be simply Roxanne Jade Dially. She’d be a hero … or a villain.

  And she didn’t know which one she dreaded more.

-  HaV Academy

If you want to know the story behind the titles and snippets, check out my WIP page.

Spaghetti

I'm a little piece of spaghetti.

Runnin' away from a yeti!

I'm as scared as can be,

While I'm trying to flee.

Yeah, I'm a little piece of spaghetti.

Eleven Questions.

Thank you Bekah, for tagging me in this fun post. Unfortunately, I'm terribly busy right now, so all I'm going to do is answer the questions - skip the 11 facts, my own questions, and the tagging. Hope you understand, but, I'm terribly busy.

1. Hunger Games or Harry Potter?

I have read neither, but based on what I've heard of both series, I don't plan to read Harry Potter, and I do plan to read the Hunger Games. A friend owns the first book, and she plans to lend it to me.

Interestingly enough, my mom enjoyed Suzanne Collin's Gregor series. Or, at least, it's one of the books she frequently refers to when she and I are plotting my books.

2. Lord of the Rings or Narnia?

Much as I would love to say that these are a tie ... I love Narnia more than I love Middle Earth. I was initiated into Middle Earth first ... and I was convinced for the longest time that I would hate Narnia. (don't ask, long story. Has to do with the cover art of the copy we own, and a misunderstanding of a radio show that was discussing it ...) but once my mother actually got me to watch the BBC movies ... I've been an adoring fan ever since.

However, Middle Earth is not far behind.

3. Movies or books?

I enjoy books and movies on separate levels. However, if forced to choose, I pick books, simply because they can be longer, you can get to know the characters better ... and they're mobile.

4. What kind of music do you listen to when you write, if any?

If I happen to put in music while I write, it's usually classical.

5. Winter or summer?

Winter, hands down. Summer is torture.

6. Cursive or print?

My handwriting is actually almost in the middle. There are some words that I never pick up my pen to write

7. Keyboard or writing by hand?

I will begin a book in my notebook, and write around various scenes ... but they soon upgrade to the computer.

8. If the villain from your favorite movie/book series right now came walking through your front door as you're reading this question, what would you do?

If the White Witch came in my front door ... I'd realize why it's suddenly cold outside.

Then I'd get my big stick.

9. Mexican or Chinese food?

Chinese. I adore Chinese. I could eat Chinese all day long and be perfectly happy.

Mexican ... I like tacos ... and taco salads, but I'm not one for spicy.

So Chinese any day.

10. Cake or ice cream?

I prefer the taste of ice cream, but the cake likes me better. I'm somewhat sensitive to milk, though not as sensitive as I used to be.

11. Candy or chips?

Chips. They're slightly healthier.

Unless you're talking about Dots ...

Technical Issues

Hey, I'm just popping in to ask a quick question. (Editing and Writing have be bogged down to do anything more than quick.)

You see, the other day my aunt asked about a post on the O.Scarlett! Blog ... and so I pulled up my blog (since that's the link I have memorized), clicked the O.Scarlett tab on the top ...

And nothing happened. When I tried the Clara's Classics tab and my Official Site tabs ... they got nothing too ...

So, my quick questions (It's turned into two questions as I type):

1. Do you go anywhere when you click those three tabs?
2. Have any of my fellow bloggers noticed this on any of their blogs?

Sigh. If this persists, I'll ... figure something out to put the links somewhere else ... Sidebar buttons, maybe.

CE Bedroom - Shira

Via Pinterest

Today has been a long day. Between formatting book 2, and writing book 3 ... my brain is a mess. As I close my laptop and slide it into the cabinet where I keep it, I wonder if I'll be able to get up in the morning. I've been writing a trifle longer than I had intended.

I take off my glasses and put them on the table beside me. I'm about to turn off my bedside lights when a voice startles me.

"What dost thou think thou art doing?"

I look up and see a person who looks like a blob of white. I scramble for my glasses. I just took them off ... what did I do with them ...

"I'm ... uh ... what are you doing in my room? I'm trying to go to sleep here - and I thought I'd locked the door ..." I yawn to prove my point.

"Thou hast left Maddie still without her paint box, and blank walls drive her crazy as thou well knowest," she accuses, ignoring my question. "And, yet, at the same time, thou hast pushed Max over the wall."

"I pushed Arthur over the wall," I contradict.

"I don't like the name Arthur."

I finally find my glasses, and get them on my face. I draw in a sharp breath as the girl's features sharpen and become recognizable. She's short and delicate, with white-blond hair and blue eyes, dressed in a white dress. I draw in my breath - I do recognize that face. "Shira!" I exclaim.

"I'm still waiting for an answer. Are you going to resolve those two issues?"

"What are you doing here! You're supposed to be in the book!"

"I've come to tell you that you have stopped in two of the worst places you can stop in both books," she crosses her arms over her chest. And I want you to resolve them. Now."

"I can't," I counter. "I've already turned off my computer. I've already been writing too late - that's probably why I'm seeing things. Maybe in the morning." Without waiting for a reply, I take my glasses back off, put them back in a safe place, turn off my light and pull the covers over my head."

Next thing I know, I'm on the floor, Shira on top of me. "Fix those scenes! NOW!!!!"

Yowch ... I suddenly feel for Robin, who managed to feel Shira's wrath in book 2. Shira is much stronger than she looks.

"Please," I say. "Let me sleep. I've already turned off my computer, and I can't turn it back on until five. If you want me to finish those scenes, you should wake me up then."

"Fix those scenes!"

"Okay, okay, I'll fix them in a notebook ... just ... get off of me."

"You'd better hurry." She gets off of me, and I scramble over to my desk and grab a "Random Stuff" notebook and randomly grab a dull pencil. She stands over me as I write:

Purple penguins danced all around Arhtur. They were very cute ... He liked the brown one best. He decided to name it 

"KENDRA!!!"

I look up and meet her intense glare. "I'm drop dead tired and my brain is fried." I tell her. "If you want me to write something that makes sense, you'd better let me sleep first."

"Fine," she says. "I'll wake you at five." With that, she picks me up and tosses me back into bed. After carefully positioning my alarm clock so that she can see it clearly, she looks over all of the notebooks I have strewn across my desk. She finally selects one and opens it up to read.

I sigh and pull the covers over my head to block out the light. She obviously isn't going to go anywhere until the scenes have been resolved. Next thing I know, I'm asleep.

...

To join in on the fun, click here!

Character Encounters - November 2012

Much hearty thanks to Kiri Liz for this lovely button.
Feel free to put it on your post somewhere, if
you'd like.

'Tis November, time for Character Encounters. October's was, for me at least, a success, with a total of three entrants (beyond myself ...)

And no, that wasn't sarcasm you heard. I'm really quite pleased that three people were willing to put up with my insanity and play along.

Anyways, hopefully more people will deign to take part this month, despite it being NaNo and they're having to type at breakneck speed just to cough up 50,000 somewhat-coherent words. Unlike me, none of you can prewrite your post because you know what you're posting about. *cough, cough*

But anyways, speaking of NaNo, I'm going to make a stipulation for anyone participating in NaNo this year. (If you're one of the balers, you can disregard this). You must use a character from your NaNo novel. There, not so bad, right?

So, what are you waiting for? Go forth and write your post so that you waist not another moment of precious NaNoing time.

Oh, you're waiting for me to tell you where you need to run into your character? You need that little detail.

Oh, fine, I'll tell you.

Today ....

(drumroll please ...)

you meet your character in ....

Your Bedroom

Via Pinterest

You've had a hard, hard day of writing. You've at last decided to call it a day and sink into your welcoming pillows and blankets ... but such is not to be.

Your character is waiting for you ... and they're not content with you abandoning the story in such a crutial point!

Dun, dun .... DUUUUUUNNNNNN!!!!

Sorry, just couldn't resist the sound effects.

Just make sure you provide a link back to here so that others can join it the fun!