Welcome to Mikada

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I am a fantasy author. For the longest time, I didn't even like Sci-fi because (a.) it usually involved aliens, and I had issues with them and (b.) I honestly believe Jesus will return before we get good and into space.

But then two things happened. First, I discovered Lewis's Space Trilogy and the wonderful non-alien sci-fi's that some of my lovely friends have written. And then my sister discovered Star Trek. Mom was actually trying to introduce me to the TV show, but, sigh, I just don't have to commitment for a TV series. But my sister, she does. (Although it did clear up my confusion of the fact that Captain Picard was not Kirk without hair. For some reason I thought they were the same person)

Now I'd been trying to get my sister to use her imagination again - she has a wonderful one, but she allowed a Polystoikhedron to get in it or something. And one day she proudly showed me a document she had started on the Win'95 laptop we shared at the time. About a girl crying in a garden. An alien princess crying in a garden. Whose name was Kathie (And that's why I call my sister by her initial, don't want to confuse her with her character.) and she was also the captain of a starship.

I was a bit skeptical, but - hey! - I was all for her using her imagination again so I encouraged her to keep writing. Which she did. She kept growing and develloping this world ... and she added in elvings ... which I was very skeptical of, since I had had inverted-sphere plans for them, but since, as she pointed out, the elvings were hers first (even though I did most of the meaty worldbuilding) I let her put it in that universe. The story kept growing and changing. I pointed out that since she had her best friend (more on this lovely person tomorrow) as Katie, Kathie's twin sister, she ought to have her bestest big sister in there somewhere as well. And, not to be outdone, I had to be a twin as well.

Now, I would have been content with being the librarian princesses at a planet that Katie and Kathie visited, but instead, she made me (us ... Elsie and Elyse ...) the elder half-sisters of Katie and Kathie, and the librarians of the Eagle (their ship). And since I wanted her to write me correctly, I started giving her tips for the development of their mother's people.

Now, I might have stayed content with letting my sister putter around writing these stories, if it weren't for Anne-Girl. She has this habit of posting plot ideas with no warning or explanation, and I misunderstood one and thought she was suggesting a contest. And so I started thinking about the second one, and how perfect it would be as a bit of Silivock history, and by the time she straightened me out about the fact that it wasn't a contest, I really didn't want to let this inspiration go. So I changed it up a bit, made it something of a reverse Princess and the Sage (Another of Anne-Girl's book), and Silivock born. Then we realized that Cayra was part of Mikada culture and then I came up with Sing, Aling. It was decided that Infiltration and its sequel would be better marketed as part of this series, and when all was said and done, I had five books! And then my NaNo last year ended up being part of this universe, and it was even better!

So, yeah, that's how I've morphed from pure fantasy to being partially sci-fi.

Since this post has gotten so long with this explanation, I'm going to give you a post about the culture of Mikada in another post. In the meantime, pop over to Abbey's blog, where you can read an interview with Elsie and Elyse, the twins version of myself, and then over to Miss Melody's to read about Lillillil, the princess that poor Rikkard is stuck teaching in Silivock.

Q and A with my Characters

And now it's time for me to post the answers that my characters gave to the questions you asked them. Some of them were easy to get answers from ... others ... not so much. Robin was a bit miffed that she got picked on. I told her that it was because people liked her. She replied that they were meddlesome people who wanted to put their noses where the don't belong.

In the end, however, she answered the questions.

Thanks to everyone who asked questions, most of my characters enjoyed this.

From the Bookania Quests

Robin:

Robyn Hoode asked: Was sword play instinct, or were you trained?

Um ... that's not something I've ever really considered before. I guess you can say it's a bit of both, since I did have lessons. Actually, Father's had every swordmaster in Bookania come to teach me. But, at the same time, I pick it up so fast, it may well be instinct.

Hmm ... I'll have to think about this one.

Miss Melody Muffin asked: How difficult was Snow to train?

Well, as I tell my mother, I didn't break my neck in the process. But I did tear a few dresses. (I think that's what finally convinced Mother that letting me wear pants was a good idea)


Miss Melody Muffin also asked: Do people ever mix up yours and Robert's names?

Uh ... no. Not that I know of, at least. Well, Kendra does sometimes, but she's Kendra. She mixes up everyone's names.


I asked: Why do you like to put swords in the ceiling?

Because it annoys my opponents.



Robert:
Miss Melody Muffin asked: Because you sew so well, will you make your bride's wedding dress?

It's bad luck for the groom to see his bride's wedding dress before the wedding, so no, I won't make my bride's. I make my sister's wedding dress, though. And Kendra says that, once word gets out of my skill, I'll probably be in high demand.


Eric:
Miss Melody Muffin asked: How many times a day do you and Robin argue when you are together?

Her, almost hourly. Me, not so much.


Samson:
Miss Melody Muffin asked: Are you often teased about singing soprano?

Not so much as thou wouldst think. It wast not thought out of the ordinary until my speaking voice started deepening, and by then ... well, have I mentioned that my twin sister is the strongest person in the world? There aren't many people who wish to risk her anger.


Rosamond:

V. Kathie Ardnek asked: What was your first impression of Robin and Robert?

Well, I wast most grateful to Robin for chasing away the thieves that assailed me, and thought Robert most curtious, even though I thought it strange at first that his sister wore a sword, but not he.



From Infiltration 

Tiger:
Miss Melody Muffin asked: Do you have an herbal use for roses?

Of course. The flowers can be boiled to produce a relaxing steam, and the hips are high in what Vitamin C, and are good for dispelling poisons from the body.


Snap:
Miss Melody Muffin asked: What is your favorite dessert to bake?

Actually, Zinnia handles most of the dessert baking we do ... but I do enjoy making fruit bread that we make during the Month of Blessings.


From The Rizkaland Legends 

Clara:

V. Kathie Ardnek asked: Who is your favorite author?

Not Kendra.

Seriously, I don't read any book that isn't at least forty years old, and most have to be at least a hundred.

My Favorite author, though, I'm not sure. Maybe Jane Austen ... or Robert Louis Stevenson (Kendra ... why are you smirking? You haven't even read any of Stevenson's books all the way through) ... perhaps Mark Twain or Charles Dickens ... There were a lot of good authors in the past ... and no, Kendra, you don't even come close.


Andrew:
V. Kathie Ardnek asked: What is your favorite subject in school?

Oh, I don't know. Maybe science, since I'm good at it.

Though that's mostly because my dad's a scientist and he's been teaching me all sorts of odd facts since forever. Seriously, I could already recite the first half of the periodic table when I entered kindergarten.


From my sister's Sci-fi series. (Because there are two characters there who think they're mine) 

Elsie:
V. Kathie Ardnek asked: Why do you prefer Kenj over me?

Because the moon rises in the west.

Kendra just understands me better than you do, V. You're always pushing me to backstage and locking me into the library and throwing me in the brig. Kendra's the one who likes to jump on pillows with me. 

Oh, and popcorn tastes good. Especially with melted sugar!

Valentine's Advice from my Characters

First off, please head over to this blog: http://lilyjenness.blogspot.com/2013/02/tcwt-february-blog-chain-post-in-which.html where Sew, It's a Quest was reviewed yesterday.

Now, onto my regular programming ...

I've decided that since today is Valentine's Day and my personal experience when it comes it comes to romance is next to nil, I'd let my characters give their advice. Some of them took the opportunity to be humorous ... others decided to be serious about the subject. Some characters based their advice on something they actually said in the course of the book, others, I'm not sure where they got their advice. If you don't recognize a character, there are a few on here that I have not mentioned before, some are from future books in the Bookania Quests, others are from my side projects... anyways ... without further ado ...

Terrible picture, but it's the most romantic thing I could find
in my stash. I have a picture I drew of Clara and Andrew, but
I couldn't find that ...

(Ladies first, of course)

Robin: A sword is good for fending off annoying princes and irritating young lords. Unfortunately it doesn't prevent new ones from appearing.

Jen: He doesn't have to have shining armor to be your knight. A Robin Hood outfit works just as well.
(Not that she has a Love Interest. She doesn't ... she's talking about some of her imaginary friends)

Clara: Find someone who can make up for your weaknesses and you can make up for theirs. You don't have to exactly alike.

Serendipity: Judge not by first impressions. The Heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, who can know it?

Jill Anna: If you put a mistletoe muffin under your pillow at night, it's said that over the course of the next day, you'll meet the person you are to marry.

Maryanne: Dump a bucket of water on his head. It solves all problems.

Collie: You might be immune to love, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you won't be noticed by men.

Love: Forget it.

Edna: There are two different types of love. Me-centered and other-centered. Me-centered love is a bad reason to get married.

Madeleine: If he gives you spiders and skunks, come up with creative ways to return the favor.

Analyssa: Find someone who'll stand by your side - oh, and take your mother's advise. Mothers are smart people.

Lillillil: Eat wizzle soup for supper.

Elsie: The moon blew up and turned pink!
(And she's not even my character! Well, not completely ...)

M'Kay, now, Gentlemen, you may have your turn! (Not as many of my guys volunteered for this, but anyways)

Andrew: Tread carefully.

Samson: If thy parents arrange thy marriage, it is best to content thyself with the girl they chose and not torment her with spiders and skunks. She might retaliate.

Eric: You don't necessarily have to go gallivanting all over the country looking for your enchanted princess. She may be hiding right under your nose.

Jakob: Girls are funny creatures, never say what the mean and you often can't make heads or tails out of them. Just nod and play along, and eventually she might make sense.

Rikkard: If you find yourself the tutor of a girl who's convinced your in love with you and her father's the king ... well there's little hope for you.

My Sister's New Blog!!

Hi! I'm Sarafina! 

And I'm Mariposa! 

And our author says that we can come and tell you all about her sister's new blog!!!!

Ummmm .... Girls, back up here .... I'm not your author, Kathie is.

Kathie's our baby sister.

Ummm ... no, V, then. V's your author. You're going to tell about her new blog.

I thought you were our author, Kendra ...

No ... V is. True, I did come up with you two, and I have written about you ... but V's officially your author.

We like you better Kendra. You understand us.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, but V's your author, and you're just going to have to live with the fact. Anyways, readers, I'd like to introduce ya'll to Elsie and Elise, a pair of twins that I came up with for my sister's sci-fi series. They think they're mine, but they're insane.

We're not insane. We're SILLIONS!!!

And sillions are the definition of insane. I'm well aware of that fact. Anyways, Elsie's the one talking in purple, while Elise is fuchsia. And, girls, weren't you here for a reason ...

We were?

Oh! Yes! That's right! We were going to tell all of your readers about our baby sister's new blog!

Ummmm ... oh, never mind.

It's called I'm Singin' my own song, and it's LOTS and LOTS of fun.

And we like fun.

So come over and check it out, and follow it and give her a nice big kiss and tell her how much you love her.

ELSIE!!! You know V doesn't like kisses. I think I'll take over from here. My sister, V. Kathie Ardnek has decided to start a new blog for her writing. She has a school/Spiritual walk blog, but has recently decided that she needs a blog to talk about her writing.

And to tell all of you all about us!!!

I thought I told you two to be quiet. Anyways, come on over and hit the follow button. She has dyslexia, though, so sometimes what she says doesn't quite make sense, but she has a lively imagination, and loves to make things up ...

I'm Singin' My Own Song