Saturday 28 April 2018

Beautiful People: Favourites Edition


So I'm back with another Beautiful People linkup questionnaire. This one'll be the last one - at least for a while. So I thought I'd do it, just because of that.

I've got a couple of big assignments coming up next month, one at the beginning and one at the end, so I'm probably not going to be posting any posts really next month. I'm just too busy, so I'm pulling back a bit to hopefully start again once my degree is finished.

Anyway, enough of my wittering. On we go!

Favourite genre to write in?

Fantasy, a hundred percent. I love fantasy. Although I am developing a fondness for sci-fi and magical realism...which is still technically fantasy.

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

Minerva (Asteria) - I think she'd benefit from reading The Hunger Games. The whole theme of recovering from trauma and violence and life being good again is one that I think is really important for her.

Favourite piece of dialogue you’ve written?

I love a lot of the dialogue I've written, but I suppose that I'm pretty partial to this bit:



It's from Ghosts, Doughnuts and Other Related Things, my weird novel that's somehow both the worst thing I've ever written and also the best. Somehow.

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

Because today calls for Sadness(tm), let's go with Minerva.
When she was very young - about six - Minerva wanted to be a historian like her mum. She used to spend hours pouring over books - even though she didn't really understand any of it. 
Now - at sixteen - she's a brainwashed assassin slave and her mum's been murdered. Fun times.

Favourite character name(s)?

I am never happy with my character names, but there are a few that I ended up being genuinely happy with. Some of my favourites are: Calahan Brazier (Asteria), Medea Nakamura (Medea) and Giovanni Lupo (Graylings).

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

Minerva - People taking the time to talk to her and listen to her and be with her makes her feel loved. The last person to make her feel loved - even though she hadn't realised that was what it was - was her best friend, Layla. She also didn't know that Layla was her best friend, that that was what it was called, until after Layla had been murdered. Minerva's full of sadness, guys.

Favourite character you’ve ever written?

I can't choose! I love them all. I guess I'm going to have to go with Will Herrman (The Gatekeeper Chronicles). He's my soft boy book worm and I love him. He was the first character I created that I got really invested in, so I suppose I'm always going to come back to him.

Honourable mentions include: Reinette Bellerose (Ghosts, Doughnuts and Other Related Things), Vivi (my new fantasy series, Narafire),  Ellie Kendrick (The Kendricks),  Jeffrey Waldorf (X) and Ophelia (The Raven and The King). 

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

Minerva - She doesn't own much, so she would have much to throw out. But she'd never throw away her leather jacket (which was a gift from someone she adores). Never ever.

Favourite tropes to write!

Found families! I love found families so much. And just generally friendship. I also love the brooding old/middle-aged man who's super grumpy accidentally adopts child trope. See: my favourite video game of all time, The Last of Us.

Which story has your heart and won’t let go?
Look, I adore all my stories. They're all my favourite. But my favourite favourite stories tend to be whatever I've been working on at the time. At the moment, my favourite is probably either Asteria which I've been working hard on or Narafire which I've been doing a bunch of worldbuilding for and falling more and more in love with.

Favourite relationship between characters you’ve written?

I love the relationship between Minerva and Calahan in Asteria. It's kind of romantic, kind of friendship, but it's all beautiful. My precious kids who are trying to figure out how to be free and fix each other. I mean, it starts with attempted murder, but I swear it gets better.

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?

I should actually write a post about this - I've been planning to. But, in a quick answer, I really want to see more friendship in books. I adore friendship.

Favourite pinterest board / aesthetic for a book?

I really, really love The Raven and The King.



I've put a lot of effort into making it as Aesthetic(tm) as possible.

Favourite time periods & settings to work with?


I love history-based fantasy - particularly Victorian or 1900s era fantasy. I also love medieval fantasy, although I don't write that much of it. I also adore space! Space is so much fun to write!

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

I want people to come away feeling hopeful. Feeling like maybe there's something good in the world and believing that people can be good. I write a lot about light in darkness and I suppose that's the attitude I want people to come away with.

And I want them to feel satisfied. And like they can't tear themselves away from my dorky characters.

And that's the last Beautiful People post. At least for now. Hopefully, it'll restart again at somepoint, but even if it didn't, I've really enjoyed it while it lasted. It's been fun! 

Know The Novel - Within Spooky Wild West

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