Character Interview: Ryker and Olivia from "Burnt"

Ryker and Olivia are the King and Queen of Seiovania, father and mother to Darius and Rowan.

This is the final interview for Burnt: The Story of the Fire King, well so far. I might change my mind at a later date. Again: I am the interviewer and I'm going to try not to reveal too much. Yes this is a duel interview so "R" is Ryker and "O" is Olivia. Onward!

Basic Information: Ryker Lupine
Age: 28 and up over the course of the book
Occupation: King of Seiovania
Country:Seiovania
Parents: Both are dead and he never really told me their names.
Siblings: Four year younger brother Ryden
Children: Darius and Rowan

Basic Information: Olivia Lupine
Age: 24 and up over the course of the book
Occupation: Queen of Seiovania
Country: Seiovania, originally whatever country was almost destroyed by an Ice Mage centuries ago.
Parents: Dead
Siblings: None, that she told me of.
Children: Darius and Rowan

Physical Description: Ryker Lupine
Height: Six feet and seven inches or so
Weight: 300lbs of muscle
Hair color: Black, thick, and to the shoulders. Starts graying at the temples
Eye color: Black
Skin tone: Pale
Other: Thick bushy beard...and if this sounds a lot like Darius you know why.

Height: five feet and seven inches
Weight: 135 pounds, slender
Hair color: Golden/blonde
Eye color: blue
Skin tone: tanned (think a bit lighter than Spanish decent)
Other: Huh. None.

The Questions
What is your idea of perfect happiness? R: My people's happiness. O: My children's happiness. *Look at each other*

Um, okay. What about your own happiness? R: A king is not a king if he does not have people. If I do not try and make my people happy then I have no people. O: I agree with my husband, of course, but I would prefer our children to have some form of happiness before taking on the responsibility of the throne, especially Darius. *sighs* And Rowan is such a sensitive child.

What's the major differences between your children? Physical differences aside of course. R: Darius is powerful, serious, and thoughtful. Not to say that Rowan is incapable of deep thought but Rowan would rather play than take lessons. I know Rowan pays attention to the lessons though. Rowan is stubborn, sensitive, and a bit emotional at times. O: I agree with that but I do not think Darius is as strong as everyone thinks. Physically, yes, but he is going through overmuch and it is difficult for him. Rowan, so, *sighs* is not meant for Kingship.

Really? Why not? R: *looks at Olivia but nods* Rowan would come to resent the throne because of certain circumstances and would destroy Seiovania, though not intentionally. Darius, he can learn to control everything in his life and take the burdens necessary when he becomes King. Rowan cannot. O: *nods, wipes a tear from one eye and Ryker takes her hand.*

It must be difficult to raise two exceptionally different children and be proper rulers. R: It is and we cannot get into it much as it would give overmuch away. *grins* But the Kingship always comes first then everything else. It is difficult to be a parent when you are not there. O: But it cannot be helped. We all have duties that we sacrificed ourselves for and those duties are important. We would let down many people if we did not do as we are supposed to.

If you could do something differently, what would it be? R: *thinks* I do not think I would do anything differently. It would all lead to the same circumstances and there was no better way to handle certain things as they came. O: You would not take back certain things at your coronation? *grins slyly* R: *flushes then smirks* No, not even that. I would do that twice over. O: *giggles*

Ah, yes, that. *laughs* One last question: What is your motto? R: Strength, integrity, and love: the Lupine motto. O: *grins* They are good words to live by.

*stares then smirks* Right. Thanks. R: You are most welcome. O: And to you.

The King and Queen of Seiovania, parents of Darius and Rowan the main characters in Burnt: The Story of the Fire King. If you really want to know what happened at Ryker's coronation, well, you're going to have to help me get this thing published.

Until next time: questions, comments, rage, rants, and whatever else can be directed to the comments. Don't forget to check out my Kickstarter and help a writer out.

Character Interview: Rowan from "Burnt"

Rowan Lupine is Darius Lupine's two year younger brother. They're as different as, well, their physical description says. It's kind of a Lupine thing, okay? Their parents: Ryker is tall, pale, bulky, dark haired with black eyes while his wife Olivia is tall, tanned, blonde, blue eyed, and slender.

The Lupine crest is dueling wolves: a black wolf and a white wolf more specifically so the Lupine's tend to marry someone who is their complete opposite physically to kind of bring the crest to life. I might eventually try to sketch the thing.

Anyway, this is interview number two for Burnt: The Story of the Fire King. Again, I'm going to try to do this without revealing too much and yes, I am the interviewer. Onwards.

Basic information: Rowan Lupine
Age: changes from four to 26 in the book
Occupation: Second Heir to the Throne of Seiovania
Country: Seiovania
Parents: King Ryker and Queen Olivia
Siblings: Darius who is older by two years

Physical Description
Height: About six feet even, let's say five inches shorter than Darius
Weight: 180 pounds, so slender.
Hair color: Silver, waist length and straight.
Eye color: Blue
Skin color: Tanned
Other: He has burns on the left side of his face that he covers with his hair and can't grow a beard to save his life. He's as similar to Olivia as Darius is to Ryker.

The Questions

What is your idea of perfect happiness? Being me.

What does that mean exactly? Hm, well, as the second heir to the throne I should be allowed to do whatever I want. I should be able to travel, dress how I wish, love who I wish, all that. But certain things have made it impossible for me to be me so I have to pretend until Darius is King.

Why until then? Well, when he's on the throne, married, and has a child then I don't really matter anymore for preserving the line and all that.

That makes sense. So who do want to be? Me but not, well, not the way I am now. I'm fairly sure I can't say much more or else it'll destroy the story, correct? *sly grin*

*Laughs* Okay, okay, you got me there. We wouldn't want to do that. So, besides being you, what do you want most out of life? *dopey grin* True love.

Awww. Have you ever been in love? Mmm, I thought so once when I was ten and two seasons old but that was, well, I can't say lust because someone of that age doesn't know what lust is. It wasn't love. We kissed, it was wonderful, but it wasn't love. When I saw that person many seasons later the feelings I had weren't there because I know what love is.

That's sweet. What's it like to be in love? *blushes* I thought we were trying not to reveal too much?

Hey, I didn't say who your lover is or the circumstances in which you meet or anything. I mean unless people have been following my Twitter *Rowan gives a confused look*, ah, don't worry about it. Anyway, what's it like to be in love? Complete and utter acceptance no matter what and knowing that even if you're scarred, wrinkled, lose a limb or begin to lose your mind because of age, that the person will love you forever and a day. That's really important.

Trust me, I know. *Rowan giggles* So, what's your motto? Oh, hm. Oh! Strength, integrity, and love.

*Laughs* Darius said the exact same thing. Did he? Well it was something father may have mentioned overmuch.

Good to know. Thanks. *grins* You're welcome.

There are a lot more layers to Rowan than what's here and Rowan's the kind of character that might make a bit of history. Possibly. He's definitely not a typical main male character. Anyway, if you want to learn more about Rowan, check out my funding campaign so Burnt: The Story of the Fire King can be published. It's totally worth it. ;)

We may or may not be talking to more characters but until then: questions, comments, rage, rants, and everything else can be directed to the comments.

Character Interview: Darius from "Burnt"

If you actually look at the cloud tag (or whatever) for "Character Interviews" you'll come up with three other posts I did way back in 2012. The interview for the character of Leopold came first and it's funny to look back and see how much my writing style has changed.

In that interview with Leopold I said that I always do character interviews. Eh, not so much anymore. I interview them in my head and the information sticks. I do still have a notebook stash with all my old notes and everything I've ever written. It's taken up two dresser drawers now. Yep.

Anyway, I decided to do character interviews for the characters from Burnt: The Story of the Fire King. Why? Well, I'm procrastinating on editing the novel itself, finishing up the memorable lines for book 13 of the mystery/thriller fiction series, and summing up Burnt. I can multi-procrastinate, yes.

Enough rambling. I'm going to try and do this without revealing too much and yeah, it's like I'm actually talking to them. Deal ;) Here we go:

Basic information: Darius Lupine

Age: Changes from 6 to 30 in the course of the book.
Occupation: Royalty
Country: Seiovania
Parents: King Ryker and Queen Olivia.
Siblings: Rowan who is two years younger.

Physical Description
Height: When he's done growing up, about six feet and seven inches, perhaps a bit more.
Weight: 300 pounds, all muscle. Yeah. He's a beast.
Hair color: Black and to the shoulders
Eye color: Black. No really.
Skin color: Pale
Other: He has a full on beard that goes over his collar a little bit and he took completely after his father in looks. People often think that Darius is King Ryker.

The Questions

What is your idea of perfect happiness? When everyone I love is happy, including the people of Seiovania.

That's a lot of people. You know that not everyone can be happy, right? I am aware of that. It has been a long time since I was considered naïve but I would like to think that I can help get people as close to being happy as I can.

Lofty goal. Why do you want everyone to be happy? Someone has to be.

Don't you think you're deserving of happiness? Well, yes. But my happiness will always be directly related to my family.

Speaking of, you're the Heir to the Throne of Seiovania. What's that like? It comes with much pressure to be perfect. It also comes with knowing that sometimes you will have to sacrifice pieces of yourself in order to run the country well. There is much responsibility and many lessons to learn.

What are you willing to sacrifice to run the country well? Whatever I need.

Wow. That's noble of you. Father expects it as does everyone else. I am the eldest son and heir to the throne. I do not want to let my father or anyone else down.

Even just a little bit? Wouldn't you rather be free to do what you want? Of course. But I would regret being able to do whatever I wished for the sake of greed or selfishness. The throne comes first.

You seem sad. *sighs* There is overmuch to do.

I understand. One last question. What is your motto? Hm. Strength, integrity, and love.

That's, totally you. Thanks. You are most welcome.

Darius, ladies and gentlemen. If you want to really get to know him, hit up my funding campaign to get Burnt: The Story of the Fire King published and you'll get to read all about him sometime next year. With any luck.

Next time we'll talk to Rowan, Darius' two year younger brother. Until then: questions, comments, rants, rage, and other can be directed to the comments. Don't forget to check out the funding campaign and help a writer out.

NaNo Prep

October is half over so Nation Novel Writing Month 2013 is creeping closer. For the veterans (those who have done at least one NaNo event) we know what we've got to do. For newbies, not so much. So I've made a list (or something) of what a newbie (or veteran) can do to prepare in the coming days. Of course this is based mostly on my writing style and it might not work for everyone. Also these tips appear in the order I thought them in, not necessarily the order they have to be done in. Lists make things easy to read. Anyway, here we go:

1) Know what you're doing: Kind of obvious right? I mean you can't do anything until you know what you're going to write. Is it romance? Fantasy? Sci-fi? Crime fiction? None of the Above? All of the above? Some made-up genre that combines other genres? Figure out what your story is and it'll help you with a lot of the other stuff you'll need to do.

2) Who are you? I mean this in two ways: who are you as a writer and who are your characters. Let's do the characters first, okay? You need to know the goals, challenges, weaknesses and strengths of any major character including good guys and bad guys. Don't worry too much about description right now (unless they're missing an eye which is a weakness) but concentrate more on who your character is and what they want to achieve in the story.
As for you: What kind of writer are you? Are you someone who can write for hours on end (welcome to the club) or are you someone who writes for 15 minutes, breaks for five, writes for 15, etc? Can you pump out 10K or more in a day or are you limited to the bare minimum? Knowing how you write is important during NaNo because along with planning out your novel you've got to be able to plan out how you're going to reach the 50K.

3) So this happens, then this: Start planning out what happens in your novel. This is where the pansters mainly go "ah heck with it" because they usually only have a vague idea in mind, sometimes not even an ending. The planners will start making chapter by chapter play by plays depending how much they plan. THIS IS TOTALLY DEPENDANT ON YOU AS AN AUTHOR AND NO ONE IS RIGHT OR WRONG. Yes it had to be shouted and yes it's dependant on the tip above.
I fall in between: I NEED to know my ending but I don't need to know every detail before I write anything. Most of the time my characters will lead me along and fill me in with subplots. The only time they didn't was in Testing Grounds and I coulda killed 'em.

4) Organize: make sure that along with your story work-book (or Word Doc) you've got somewhere to jot down some notes. You need to remember who's dating who, what your character looks like and all the subplots going on at one time. It's a lot to remember so don't feel bad or whatever if you can't remember it all. Make sure everything is organized in a system that works for you and easily accessible whenever you're writing.

5) The Inner Editor: MOST people will tell you to shut off the Inner Editor. I'm simply going to say this: if you've learned to work with it then don't shut it off. If you can't work with your Inner Editor then shut it off. I mention this because there's still two weeks before NaNo. This is the time you should be using to learn how to write without the editor if you have to and getting their den ready so they don't bug you if you can't work with them. AGAIN: TOTALLY DEPENDANT ON YOU. This is where knowing who you are as a writer helps.

6) Research: anything that you need to research this way you don't have to go to Google in the middle of a writing session to figure out how many police officers are in a certain city so you can make your made-up city seem more realistic. I just did that during the writing session before this blog post. ;)

7) Have a plan: and I don't mean just for your novel. Plan out when you're going to write, where, and for how long. This goes back to number 2 because you can't figure out where, when and for how long if you don't know what kind of writer you are. For me I know I can only write weeknights. On the weekends I'm planning to write all day from 8AM to about mid-night. So I've informed the people who might bug me not to bug me. They'll message me sure, but they won't expect a quick response.

8) Make sure that everything is done: As in if you know you've got a paper due in the beginning of Nov., get it DONE before November. If you know you're moving, pack the things that can be packed away before November. If you've got family coming, pencil them in at a time you don't normally write (that's reasonable). If you've got a trip planned (right here), make sure you've prepared as much as you can before the trip so you're not scrambling the day or two before. Less things to do = less stress = more writing.

9) Go with it: Don't be afraid to change your writing times, your plot or anything else if something comes up. Life happens, characters want to go in a different direction, and we don't have complete control over everything no matter how much we think we do. Just go with it especially if it can't be helped. Try to make the best of it.

10) Have fun: NaNo isn't about killing your hands/wrists/brain and exhausting yourself to get 50K. It's about having fun while writing. So don't think it's the end of the world if you "lose" because really everyone who writes anything when they haven't before (or even if they have) is a winner. If you can't make the 50K then you've got whatever you did get when you didn't have it before.
Unless you're used to writing huge amounts of words in a short time don't try to tackle OVER 50K. It won't end well. BUT if you find yourself over 50K with more story and some days left in the month feel free to keep going. And welcome to the "overachievers" club...which brings me to my next point.

11) Overachievers and you: For the love of all that is NaNo DO NOT be afraid, intimidated, jealous, mean towards, etc, the overachievers. We're all writers working towards a goal. There's no need to call someone who's "won" NaNo in week 1 (or day 1) a cheater. And just because someone has "won" NaNo doesn't mean that they're immune to plot/character/novel problems.
I understand jealously (heck I'm jealous of the people who can get a million in a month but I still like them), I understand the intimidation, and all that other stuff but none of it is an excuse to make someone feel bad about getting over 50K. None of it is an excuse to make your regional overachiever leave the region because of stress. It's happened, I saw it happen to someone I know well(ish) and it's not fair for anyone.
It will make the overachievers reluctant to help you if you need help (I know I am once the bar is full) and that's bad for everyone involved. The overachievers are likely some of the best motivators in NaNo: they know what it takes to get 50K, they know how to get 50K and they're willing to help you get 50K if you're not insulting them or making them feel bad for being over 50K.
On that same token if you are ahead of the game it's no excuse to make fun of someone who might be struggling. You motivate, you help, and you cheer. You don't bring down, tease, and ignore. NaNo is not a competition against other people. It's a competition for yourself. You're "competing" to force yourself to write more, faster. NaNo is not around to bully people who are ahead or behind you.

12) Know the rules: of the forum. Take a brief look over them and make sure you're not posting things in the wrong place or breaking some other rule. If you're not sure go for the best place that you can think of. Ask a moderator: they're nice and they don't bite. Also make sure you know how the site works so you won't be struggling to find something or someone during the month. This is the time to do it so don't be afraid to do it. We were all there once so we're not going to think you're stupid for asking something that's obvious to us.

That's all I can think of right now. I'm always willing and free to chat so if you find me on the NaNo forums don't hesitate to PM me, reply to a post or generally chat. I might take a while to respond and PM'ing is probably the best way to get a hold of me. My name on the forums is Dairenna and this is my avatar:

 

 

I'll see you all there and until next time comments, questions, rants and generally anything else can be directed to the comments.

Character Interview: Lysandra

As stated in a previous blog, I'm featuring another character interview on this blog. This is the second of a series of interviews I've done with more characters than most people would consider healthy. Last week Leopold paid a visit to the blog and this week, it's his twin sister Lysandra from Tale of the Twins Book 1: Gathering and Destruction.

Without any further rambling, here we go:

Basic Information:
Age: About 3,000 years Race: Vampire Occupation: Working to join humans and vampires as one cohesive unit and ferreting out the vampires who want to enslave humans.

What motivated you to join humans and vampires? It is horrendous how some of my kind treat humans as mere fodder as if they are nothing but cattle. Your kind is much more than just my kinds’ sustenance. Without humans there would be no vampires and vampires seem to forget that.

What do you mean by that last statement exactly? What I mean is that if were to merely gorge ourselves until there were no humans left, there would be nothing left for us to eat. My kind also seems to forget that without humans doing all the work, we would not have most of the things we take for granted before the war. It was humans who made the great arts, it was humans who made the technological advancements and it was humans who are willing to do the physical labor of rebuilding the world. We vampires merely watched.

Good point. Moving along, describe yourself in four words: Most people would call me intelligent, aloof yet kind-hearted and deadly.

I was thinking more of you telling me what you thought of yourself. It is the same thing. The ones I trust do not lie to me so I believe in their opinions.

Right, well, what’s it like being Leopold’s twin? Leopold is annoying, loud and obnoxious. He generally likes to play by his own rules and tends to follow the haphazard beat of his own drum. Despite it all, he is caring, a little insane and keeps life interesting. I can honestly say that I have never been bored in all my 3,000 years of life. Even when we were alive, he still had the same ability to be both annoying and lovable at the same time. It is quite the talent.

Does it bother you that he’s more magically inclined? It bothers me at times, yes. Then again, he cannot use the range of weapons I can. We each have our own talents that compliment and complete the other.

Has he ever prevented you from having a relationship with another male? Not intentionally I am certain. I have not been interested in having any kind of relationship with other males. Vampires do not have sexual desires so there is no need to seek out the opposite sex to fulfill certain needs. We are dead after all.

So why do some of the younger vampires seem so crazed? Because they were born in a different time. Some older vampires were born in times that did not focus on sex while the younger breed was bombarded with it.

That makes sense. What’s your favorite part in Tale of the Twins? Minus any spoilers mind you. I have two favorite parts for differing reasons: creating our family and the final fight.

Usually vampires don’t seek companionship, why create the family? Well, Leopold and I needed help to save the world.

Right, any final words to give to the world? Stop repeating the same mistakes over and over again. It can become extremely tedious cleaning up after all of you.

Thanks for the insight. You are quite welcome. Though I do not think many will heed it.

Yes, they are opposite in a lot of respects. If you want to learn more about them, you'll have to check out the book. Next week we'll see what it's like inside a flea's mind and will hopefully survive the maze.

Just a note: I'll be working on a series of more "tips and tricks" posts for both authors and non-authors. Also, I'll be doing an update of sorts of what I'm working on (novel-wise) and how far along I've gotten in my writing goals for this year.

If you have any really important questions for Leopold, Lysandra or anyone else you can think of (including me), feel free to post in the comments. I'll do my best to answer.

Until then I leave you with this quote:
"Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested."
-Francis Bacon

Character Interview: Leopold

For those of you who don't know: I keep every idea I've ever had, every note I've ever taken (story wise) and all other paraphernalia having to do with writing in a dresser drawer and a few binders. Actually, I don't think anyone knew that.

Regardless, now that you do I'll forge ahead. Last week (Thursday) I mentioned that I write character interviews. Why did I mention this? Well, I found some. They were hand written, half in and half out of the margins of a notebook at the bottom of my notebook stash. Yes, I'm the strange woman with a notebook stash.

After reading a few, I decided to type them up because ink fades and there's some good stuff there. I spent the weekend reorganizing my dresser drawer and my binders before typing up a few of my old interviews. I realized that instead of interviewing from the third person, I pretended that I was actually speaking with the character in question.

Does that make me a little crazy? Eh, maybe. I don't really mind because at the very least, it keeps me entertained.

Anyway, enough with the rambling. As stated in the title, here's Leopold from Tale of the Twins Book 1: Gathering and Destruction

Basic information:
Age: About 3000 years Race: Vampire Occupation: Saving the world.

What motivated you to save the world? Boredom, actually, Lys wanted to and I just went along with it.

Do you often just go along with what Lysandra says? Most the time, yeah. She is the brains of the group for a reason. I’m just around to look good and provide back-up *laughs*

Okay...describe yourself in four words: Hmm, only four? Damn. Um, hm. Oh! I’m a gun-crazed, magic-wielding, ass-kicking vampire.

You cheated. No I didn’t, I just like double words. A lot. Yeah. Can I say ass-kicking during this? Not that I really care but I figured I’d make sure.

Yes you can. Now, next question: What’s it like being Lysandra’s twin? Lysandra can come off as all cold and distant but she’s really not. She cares a lot about her family, well, namely me and er, the rest of the guys but, um, I lost my train of thought. It kind of like blew off the tracks. Anyway, it’s kind of cool having her as a twin, I mean, we’re connected and all that B.S so I’m never really alone. Actually, that’s a good and bad thing depending on the situation. I kind of wish she’d of been male too because I’d love to totally freak the Hell out of people by just randomly going by my twin’s name. That’d be awesome.

You only want her to be male to screw with people’s heads? Yep. I like messing with people, it’s fun.

Is that why you act so strange? Naw, I just act weird because I am weird. It’s one of those things, you know?

Not really but regardless, what’s your favorite part in Tale of the Twins? Without spoilers mind you. Aww, no spoilers? Damn. Well, I’ll say one word then: Abby.

That’s actually really sweet. Yeah, I’m a sucker for keeping pets.

No pun intended? Pun totally intended.

I should have known. Any final words to give to the world? This is where I should be saying something poetic and thought provoking. Screw it. I’m the best character, love me and enjoy my craziness.

Thanks, I think. No problem, it was my pleasure.

For those of you who don't know who Leopold is, you just met him. Of course if you want to read the story he's in just pick up a copy of Tale of the Twins here.

Who's Lysandra? Well, his twin of course. I'll post her interview sometime next week. Until then I'm going back to writing my fingers off and wandering around in my fantasy worlds. I might tell you about the trip at some point, I'm sure it'll be fun.