Beautiful People - Prince Hadrian

Hello hello, daring questers! It occurs to me that I have not done a Beautiful People post in quite some time (ahem, since January). In light of that lack, and in light of the fact that:


a) I've been immersed in The Brightest Thread this week
and b) the questions this month couldn't be more perfect for my male protagonist . . .


I've decided to properly introduce you to Hadrian, the precious, frustrated hero of The Brightest Thread!


[For more BP posts, read this one about the female protagonist, Luci, and this one about the villainess, Vyntyri. You can also check out this Dual Character Inquisition, featuring both Luci and Hadrian.]

Beautiful People is a (typically monthly) writing meme hosted by Cait @ Paper Fury (a.k.a ruler of all) and Sky @ Further Up and Further In (a.k.a master of fangirldom). Grab the ten questions, join in, and be sure to leave your link in the shiny little linkup gadget. It's a great way to dig deeper into your characters and meet other writers!

Meet Hadrian, crown prince of Bauglind.

[via Pinterest]

1. What's their favorite place they've ever visited?

Hadrian loves the outdoors. Put him in the royal garden or out in the jungle/wilderlands, and he's the happiest you'll ever find him. The specific location doesn't matter, as long as something is growing underfoot.

2. What's one mistake they made that they learned from?

the streets of Vale
[via Pinterest]

On an errand in the heart of Vale, the capital city of his kingdom, he comes across a merchant harassing a customer and trying to cheat money out of her. Hadrian, already stressed due to prior happenings in the story, is filled with righteous indignation and rather . . . forcibly puts a stop to the merchant's behavior. Later, he discovers that instead of fixing the injustice, he only pushed the merchant into even worse actions.

A flurry of more pressing events hasn't given Hadrian much time to process this, but eventually he'll realize that one can't force morality on another. (Much as he'd like to.) Taking away a merchant's wares or writing a new law won't restore his crumbling kingdom--reaching the people's hearts will.

3. What was their favorite subject in school? Or favorite thing to learn about?

He's quite the horticulturist. Cultivating, crossbreeding, all of it is of interest to him. His latest project is developing the gildleaf: a plant with roots that have medicinal properties. As far as schooling goes, his tutors were never the agreeable sort, but he has a natural inclination toward history.

4. What's their favorite flower/growing thing?

All of them! In his words, "To discover the character of each is a joy. I hope to one day know the intricacies of them all."

5. Have they ever made someone cry? What happened?

He has made Luci cry in a couple of the dreams they've shared (since her enchanted sleep enables her to enter other people's dreams), but the reasons are . . . well, crossing into spoiler territory.

6. Would you consider them a reliable or unreliable narrator?

I would say he's a pretty reliable narrator. Luci a bit less so, simply because of her rebellious side. But Hadrian's a balanced person and a good judge of character. So except for situations when his strong moral compass might blot out the shades of gray in a situation, he's a reliable narrator.

7. What do they dream about at night?

(Do you see how perfect this question is? Do you?! I am delighted.)

Ahem. Hadrian never remembered his dreams growing up, and good thing, too. If that wasn't the case, having a half-ogress for a stepmother might have caused constant nightmares. (Though I wonder if perhaps he did have nightmares that he's blocked from memory. Survival techniques, right?) But when Luci started haunting his sleep, he started remembering his dreams in the morning. They often feature strange versions of real places he's been, like his palace halls, the seaside, or the jungle. And then there's some that are completely arbitrary.

8. They've gone out for a "special meal." What would they eat?

Hearty fare, that's for sure. He likes flavor and new spices and has a particular fascination with fruits and vegetables (obviously) but enjoys wild boar and other protein. As long as it's good food, he's content.

[via Pinterest]

9. Do they have any distinguishing or unique talents?

His penchant for growing things has already been mentioned, so I won't repeat myself.

Hadrian is also an above average swordsman, but he compares himself to Chief Rook, a master of swordplay and commander of Bauglind's army, so Hadrian doesn't think all that highly of his own skills.

He's also great with people. His strong convictions might be off-putting to some, but aside from that, he's very perceptive and--unless provoked--excels in diplomacy. (In contrast, Luci is terrible at being polite. If it weren't for one of the fairies' magical gifts, she would offend a lot more people. Having Hadrian around is good for her.)

10. What's at least one thing they want to do before they die?

Uh, how much time do you have? Hadrian's dreams are lofty and large.

Bauglind is rotting from the inside out (metaphorically speaking), so one of his greatest aspirations is to reverse the decay once he becomes king. He wants to reinstate truth and justice. He wants to raise the oppressed and rein back the oppressors. This is a task that will take a lifetime and more to complete, but he's committed.

A more recent goal is to rescue Luci from her curse. She's stolen his heart, much as she hates to admit it, and he will put aside all other dreams in order to reach her.

On a more lighthearted note, if Hadrian had a bucket list, it would surely include fun, adventurous things like voyaging across the sea, riding a dragon, going spelunking in some dark, forgotten cave, charting the stars, visiting other kingdoms, and turning as much of his palace into a garden as possible.

Hadrian is most likely pleased to meet you, unless you're a duplicitous scoundrel, and he would love to give you a tour of his garden. Any questions for him, ask away in the comments! :)

Subplots and Storylines - May 2017

Transitions are fickle things. Sometimes one hardly realizes that the season of life has changed, and other times one is aware of every minute detail. May was a month of transition for me, slipping from college to "normal" life.

Princess Peach (me) and Mario (my brother)

It started out with exams, volunteering at a Special Olympics swimming event with my classmates, and dressing up as Princess Peach at a church event for moms and their little ones. There was a Mario Kart track set up where kids could drive little motorized cars in a circle, and my brother and I provided the entertainment!

(Ignore my awkward princess pose. And the fact that my crown is falling off.)

On another day, my classmates and the college interns had a barbecue to celebrate the end of the year. We had written letters to God at the beginning of the year, and now we got to open them and see just how far we've come since September.


Then it was Mother's Day. In creative ministry (for college), we worked hard to put up some amazing décor to celebrate all the moms in church. It turned out beautifully. And at home, we had a quiet celebration involving Chinese takeout. (Come on, we saved her from making supper!)


And then I went to an escape room with my peeps from creative ministry! I've never been to an escape room before, but after this, I would LOVE to go again. I tried a castle-themed room with twelve other people. The logic! The teamwork! The tricky puzzles! If we'd had an extra two or three minutes, we would've made it out successfully, that's how close we were.


The middle of the month rolled around, and with it, college graduation! Celebrating with friends and family, looking back on the past nine months, giving a valedictorian speech, and spending the night at a friend's place for the afterparty--all were such beautiful, bittersweet memories.




We graduated! This is me with Jacky, a good college friend who
recently moved back home, hours away from me. *sniffle*

Like I said, May was a month of transitions. So after grad, life has switched gears. I've returned to volunteering in kids ministry at church (which I had taken a break from because of the intense college schedule). I'm back to working four or five shifts a week. And now that my sisters are done school for the summer, life at home has taken on a different pace too. You'd think it would be slower, but oddly, it's not as slow as I was expecting.

Books

Finally // Wendy Mass

Goodness, I'd forgotten how dramatic the twelve-year-old life could be! This was a cute book about the mishaps and missteps that befall Rory when she turns twelve and can finally do all the things on her list, like get her ears pierced, babysit, and go to the mall with her friends. (Talk about a throwback to simpler days . . .) Four stars.

Crazy Dangerous audiobook // Andrew Klavan (narrated by Nick Podehl)

I read the novel four years ago and loved it then. Listening to the audiobook, I loved it again! It's intense, it's endearing, it's a little creepy at times, and Sam Hopkins is just my favorite. I was reminded of how addictive Andrew Klavan's books are! Because I can count the number of audiobooks I've listened to on one hand, I wasn't sure what to expect with this. But the narrator was perfect for this book. Now I need to go find some more audiobooks to listen to on my drive to work. Five stars!

The Purpose Driven Life // Rick Warren

Another college read. We started in September, but we didn't even finish (as a class) before grad, so I finished the final chapters on my own. I'm pretty sure I read it eons ago too . . . Anyway, there were a number of good reminders in here. It's not like I got nothing out of it, don't get me wrong. But I learned the most from the chapters I disagreed with, because they sparked great class discussions. We dug into the Word, bounced perspectives off each other, and learned how to rectify the disconnect between what we saw in the book vs. what we know of God's character and the Bible. Three stars.

Green Rider // Kristen Britain

At Jacky's behest, I began reading one of her favorite series! It felt like the pacing lagged at times, especially in the first half of the book, and later the climax kept looking it was going to happen, but then it wasn't the climax after all. (That could've been just me, though.) But the actual ending helped make up for it, especially when Karigan, the protagonist, started doing more for herself. And I liked the concept of the Green Riders, a group of special messengers/riders with magical abilities. Jacky tells me the series gets progressively better, so I'll pick up book two sometime. Three stars.

Movies & TV

I watched a fair bit of Once Upon a Time and The Flash, as per usual. My siblings and I finished season 1 of OUAT and started season 2. With my parents, I finished OUAT season 2. With just my sisters, we watched some more of season 5. Jumping around the timeline so much is kind of fun, actually. You get a really good contrast of different parts of each character's arc!


My siblings and I just recently finished season 2 of The Flash as well. Somebody help me, I think the pieces of my heart are all over the floor. (Seriously, I need to write a blog post about this show ASAP.)


The grade 6 students of a nearby Christian school made a movie based on a WWII novel, which I got to watch. They did such a good job!

Moana: While not as good as Tangled, this was a fresh twist on the typical Disney princess story. I liked that it was a friendship story instead of a romance. And the songs were fantastic! I've loved "How Far I'll Go" long before I watched the movie.

Doctor Strange: This was awesomesauce, you guys. Quite different than most Marvel movies, yes, but I think that's a good thing. The beginning--wow. Something about the subtlety and atmosphere (and Stephen Strange's awful attitude) really grabbed me. And then the superhero aspect kicks in . . . and there are jaw-dropping visuals . . . and a dash of humor . . . and gahhh, I want the Cloak of Levitation for myself. Can't wait for a sequel!

Writing

I booked my appointments for Realm Makers! Woohoo! It feels even more real now, and the pressure is on to finish The Brightest Thread in time to pitch it.


With college being over, I had some time to pick up Ted Dekker's The Creative Way writing course, so I listened to session 12 and learned more about the four types of conflict. (I've yet to do the workbook part of that session, however.)


In the first half of May, I had a little blip of productive writing time, and then wrote basically nothing until after grad. About 12,000 words have been added to The Brightest Thread, bringing it to a total of 32,824 words. The goal is to fall comfortably between 80 and 90k by the end of June so that there's time to edit a bit before Realm Makers. S.O.S. Please send coffee.

I'll be fine . . . probably. Most of this TBT work has been quite enjoyable, truly, and this week I wrote some positively scrumptious scenes, if I do say so myself.

But still send coffee. I'm going to need it.

So that was May 2017!

Whew! A lot of fun, some hard work. Goodbye to one season and hello to another. And now it's summer, and that means sunshine, gardening, and hopefully more books and more writing.

What about the rest of you? If you're a student, is school out yet? What's on your summer agenda?

Rooglewood Press Fairy Tale Contest: FIVE POISONED APPLES

The time has come once again, my friends, to announce the theme of this year's fairy tale retelling contest hosted by Rooglewood Press, and I couldn't be more excited! The previous three contests have inspired such creativity and talent as writers rise to the challenge of spinning beloved fairy tales into reimagined stories of beauty, pain, humor, and wonder.


And there's much to inspire us again this year. Because the theme of Rooglewood's fourth and final fairy tale collection is . . .


hold your breath






wait for it






scroll down






ignore the fact that you read the title already






keep going






bet you haven't guessed . . .

Snow White!

That's right! With the beautiful title of Five Poisoned Apples, and the even MORE gorgeous cover, I can already tell this final contest is going to be incredible. It seems that each collection somehow manages to top the one before--and let me tell you, the ones before have been pretty amazing! (Five Magic Spindles is sitting unread on my shelf, but shush, it is on my summer TBR list.)

You can find the full contest details and rules right HERE, including the deadline of December 31, 2017.

The cover model must be super talented, because not only does she grace the cover, she's the photographer as well. You can find Wynter Clark's website HERE. And last, but certainly not least, the cover design was once again done by Julia Popova, whom you can find HERE.

***

Let me tell you a little bit about my experience with these contests. If you've been around Adventure Awaits for a while, you may know most of this already, but bear with me.

Back in early winter 2013, I read Anne Elisabeth Stengl's Heartless and fell completely in love. Wanting more, I looked her up and discovered her blog, where I found out she was hosting the Five Glass Slippers contest. The deadline was a month away, but I hastily whipped up an entry anyway. My novella, The Glass Girl, was far from perfect, but I'd had a lot of fun reworking a fairy tale for the first time.

So when June 2014 rolled around, I pounced on Five Enchanted Roses and wrote Blood Rose, a contemporary fantasy-ish thing with a dash of medical science (gosh, was that part ever hard) and angst. Again, it was a boatload of fun! Having the full half a year to work on my entry this time, I got the chance to connect with other hopeful young writers entering the contest, and through that, I made some wonderful friends.

Then in June 2015, when Five Magic Spindles was announced, I dove right in once more. I'd already discovered some important things about myself as a writer, and about the nature of retellings, through the previous contests, but writing The Brightest Thread brought a whole new set of challenges--not to mention a whole new beautiful experience.

Now, after a one year hiatus thanks to the arrival of Anne Elisabeth Stengl's precious baby girl, Rooglewood Press is holding Five Poisoned Apples. I anticipate another adventure, my friends: this one centered around the iconic Snow White herself!

I can't wait to roll up my sleeves and get started (once I finish some pressing work on TBT first).

And if you've got some time and even just one creative bone in your body, I would highly recommend joining me! Seriously, you guys. This contest gives you the chance to submit your work, and not just a short story or piece of poetry like most places accept, but a full NOVELLA. Some entrants even get professional feedback from the judges at the end, which is invaluable. Along the way, you can connect with a community of other writers, bounce ideas off each other, and support each other. And who knows? YOUR name might wind up on that jaw-dropping cover. If it does, you'll also get the chance to work alongside the Rooglewood staff to refine your manuscript until it gleams.

Now wouldn't that be a fairy tale come true?