Beautiful People - Favorites Edition

The Beautiful People blog link-up is saying farewell (for now, at least). I've had such fun joining in over the last few years, exploring my characters and getting to meet those of other writers. It's sad to see this meme go, but it's been a great ride, hasn't it? To wave goodbye, the inimitable Cait @ Paper Fury and Sky @ Further Up and Further In are doing a throwback edition with a bunch of favorite questions! Let's jump right in.

Favourite genre to write in?

FANTASY. Really, I love almost everything under the wide umbrella of speculative fiction, but fantasy is my literary homeland. (In fact, I wrote a whole post last summer about why I love it and why it's important, which you can read HERE.)

What book (a real actual published book!) do you think your character would benefit from reading?

Well, if we're talking about the characters of my sort-of-WIP* The Brightest Thread, then Luci should read The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood by Charles Perrault. For obvious reasons, of course. She might find hope that her sleeping curse can be broken.
Hadrian, on the other hand, should not read that fairy tale, because Perrault's prince barely has to lift a finger to rescue the princess, while Hadrian has a long and difficult road ahead of him. Instead, he could try Raven's Ladder by Jeffrey Overstreet. I think he'd find much common ground with the main character, King Cal-Raven.

*I say "sort of" because I've barely had time to work on it lately, and yet I still claim #amediting on Instagram, so . . . ?

Favourite piece of dialogue you’ve written?

Hw can I answer that? Dialogue is one of my favorite things to write, and there are way too many fun snippets I could choose from! But for the sake of continuity, let's stick with The Brightest Thread, and I'll try to find something not too spoilery . . . Ah, how about this one from chapter one?


Queen Riar pressed closer to the cradle. "We thought you were—"


"Dead?" Vyntyri wove between tables toward the front. Commoners shrank back on all sides.


"Or locked in enchantment," Riar replied. "You've not been seen in fifty years."


Vyntyri laughed, a smile on her pale lips. "How happy for you then, to discover neither tale is true. Still, was it not . . . rude of you, Riar, neglecting to invite me to your daughter's christening?"


Riar's face tightened. "Forgive me. I am not in the habit of inviting dead people to parties."

What did your character want to be when they grew up, and what did they actually become?

Luci just wanted adventure out in the rolling green mountains of Iror. She wanted dragon flights and travel and the freedom to roam. Instead, she spends decades trapped in sleep, with only the warped adventures found in other people's dreams to keep her occupied. They are stranger adventures than she might find in the waking world, to be sure, but they aren't real.

Prince Hadrian wanted to grow things. He wanted to grow his garden and grow his kingdom—and to marry the two goals by helping the sick and oppressed in Bauglind with the medicinal plants he nurtures. But Bauglind is in pretty bad shape, and there are those who would make it even worse if they got the chance, so he becomes strong, noble, and unyielding. He becomes king material, even if he doesn't believe he's ready for the crown.

[via Pinterest]

Favourite character name(s)?

I love finding the perfect name! Okay, correction, I don't always love the search—the poking and twiddling and combing through baby name sites, the dictionary, and Google translate—but I love it once I've found the right name that clicks with the character.


In TBT, I'm quite fond of Luci's name. First, because I find the shortened version sweet and simple. Second, because her full name, Alucinora, is actually inspired by the Latin word alucinor, which means to dream/wander in the mind.


I also like Reverie, because it's as whimsical as her character. And Queen Riar, because it's a bit like briar, as in Briar Rose. And Aleida, just because. Also Hadrian just because. How about we say that pretty much ALL the character names are my favorite?

What makes your character feel loved, and who was the last person to make them feel that way?

Luci feels loved when she's understood and truly seen. The last person to make her feel that way was either Aleida, her kingdom's fairy steward and her dearest friend, or Hadrian (depending on which point of the story we're talking about). But after certain spoilery events, Luci has trouble even letting herself be seen, and so closes herself off to love in all of its forms.


Hadrian, too, feels loved when he's understood, but also when he's believed in. There aren't many people who make him feel that way. Reverie, who is his kingdom's fairy steward, believes in him wholeheartedly. And a doctor in the slums of the capital city shares his vision of a better kingdom, and thus believes in him too. But Luci becomes the only person to truly understand his heart.

Favourite character you’ve ever written?

Gosh darn it, WHY would you make me CHOOSE? I have favorite protagonists, antagonists, side characters, allegorical characters, favorite everyone!

Fine.

If I must . . .

This sounds like a copout answer, but it's true—Luci and Hadrian, individually and as a couple, are among my favorite characters ever. That's one reason I still love TBT, even after almost three years of working on it off and on. They each carry a little piece of me, pieces I never intended to plant within them but somehow did anyway. Each took on a life of their own, until they felt like living, breathing people in my mind.

If your character were permanently leaving town, what would they easily throw out? What would they refuse to part with? (Why?)

Luci would throw out her harp. She hates playing music anyway, even if she's fairy-gifted to be perfect at it. She'd refuse to part with the little model dragon hanging from the ceiling of her room, because it's ugly and imperfect and represents freedom to her. Plus, she'd probably want to take along the roughest, hardiest dress she could find. After all, if she's leaving home, she's bound to encounter some adventures for which her royal attire is not suited.

Hadrian would gladly throw out any of the fancy trappings of princehood, but he'd keep his sword, his plants, and his gardening notes. The sword because he enjoys swordplay (but not the real reasons that demand using it—those times are unwelcome necessities); and the plants and notes because he's just a plant nerd.

Favourite tropes to write!

Any trope involving dragons. Royalty, lost or otherwise. The power of true love, but in a non-cliché way that's actually grounded in a genuine relationship and meaningful sacrifice. Good vs. evil against a sweeping fantasy backdrop. Shapeshifters. Elemental powers. I'm also still attached to the stigmatized Chosen One trope, guys. (In the back of my mind, I've been brewing some ideas for how to subvert that one and make it more believable and interesting. Nothing's fully formed yet, but I will return to my poorly-named Journeys of the Chosen series one day.)

Which story has your heart and won’t let go?

The Brightest Thread, absolutely. It's the kind of story I love, full of so many story ingredients that excite me, populated by characters who (as I mentioned before) feel real, and so naturally I'm head over heels for this thing!


But the Journeys of the Chosen series (you might remember me chatting about The Prophet's Quest and The Prophet's Key many, many moons ago) won't let me go either, no matter how many times I put it aside. I know I'll return to it one day, and I know that when I do, it's going to be the biggest, baddest, awesomest rewrite in my entire writing history! It's a humongous project already, so it will take a lot of work to tear it down, find the gold in the rubble, and rebuild it from the ground up. Honestly, that's what it needs. And I think it has the potential to be one of those passion projects or soul-works or whatever you might call an idea that's so big and so close to your heart that it makes you gulp.

[via Pinterest]

Favourite relationship between characters you’ve written?

Luci and Hadrian are just too precious for this world and I adore them together! But since all I've been doing is gushing about TBT, we'll just keep moving right along now.

Toni Morrison once said, “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” What are the books that you want to see more of, and what “holes” do you think need filling in the literary world?

So many! I could write a whole post about this topic! But here's a short version:

• I want speculative fiction that feels REAL. I think that's one reason tropes become tired and worn—because they're presented in a flat, two-dimensional way with little care given to what it might really feel like to be a "chosen one," to be a superhero, to be sent to another world, to fight in a battle, or anything. I want all my senses engaged, I want the emotion to pop, I want the world to be so beautifully balanced that I forget it's the product of the author's imagination. This kind of cohesiveness is a tall order, but it's often the missing ingredient in books I read.
• I want more family relationships. Parents and siblings are usually missing, dead, or dysfunctional.
• I want characters to stop withholding information for no other reason than to increase the tension. #guiltyofthisone
• I want fantasy with lower, more personal stakes. You don't have to save the world every time. #guiltyagain
• I want clean, yet gritty, books that take mainstream YA by storm. Yeah, Christian authors, I'm talking to you! I want you on the NYT bestsellers list, I want you to be the talk of the bookish community, and I think it's possible for you to get there without being preachy or weird. Without slamming people who disagree with your worldview, and without feeling the need to write a conversion story in every single book. (Although there is a place for that.) (Okay, I really do need to write a post on this, because I have ALL THE THOUGHTS.)

Favourite pinterest board / aesthetic for a book?

I made this collage for The Brightest Thread while participating in WIP Joy on Instagram this month!

Favourite time periods & settings to work with?

Eheheh . . . medieval fantasy? It's a comfortable, fun setting to work with for me, but I want to keep broadening my horizons and finding new cultures to inspire my fantasies too! I deviated a little bit with Mirrors Never Lie by writing a primitive Nordic-inspired culture.


Real historical time periods intimidate me, because you could lose yourself in research for months! Modern day North America is easier, but I'm still learning how to make things sound probable and authentic. (And how to research real settings better.)

When people are done reading your book, what feeling do you want them to come away with?

I love this question! When readers turn the final page of The Brightest Thread one day, I hope they sigh and smile softly. I hope their hearts are full. I hope they feel a little braver when it comes to opening themselves up. I hope that the weary and disillusioned find some hope. I hope they dare to dream. I hope they feel noticed, seen, and loved. And I hope they feel like they've come home after a heart-pounding adventure.

Well, we've come to the end. What's your favorite character, friends? (That you've written, if you're a writer, or that you've read about, if not?) What kinds of books do you see a need for? And to Beautiful People, I bid you adieu!