Meet the Characters: Audrey LeRue

It's still Friday, so technically this isn't late... Unless you're in a later time zone, in which case, sorry. We're going back into the Character Conversations. I only have a few left after this, but I'll probably post more later, since these are very good for developing characters.

Let’s start with your full name.

It’s Aurey LeRue.

Sounds French. Where are you from?

Quebec, Canada. So yes, French, but not the real French.

Have you ever been to France?

No, but I’m saving up money to travel there. It would be awesome to just backpack through the country, away from all the tourists and busy cities.

Sounds beautiful. Would you go with anyone?

If you’re thinking about my parents, hell no. I would rather go with a close friend or two.

I notice you don’t have an accent.

No, we moved away from Quebec when I was seven. I speak French, but I lost my accent.

Why did you move?

A lot of drama with my parents that I don’t understand. I think my dad had an affair or something, but they both deny it. As long as it doesn’t affect my life, I don’t care.

You seem distant from them. Why?

I don’t know. They never seemed to care about me when they made life changing decisions. Like moving away from Quebec to some stupid town in the middle of Canada. They’re also really strict. They won’t let me date, or be out past ten. They refuse to let me go to any parties, and I’m not allowed more than two people over at the same time. I’m surprised they even let me bleach my hair, though I never told them before I did it…

Wait, parties and dating? How old are you?

…I’m almost seventeen.

Kids these days…

Life Update!

I'll continue with the character conversations on Friday (hopefully), because today I'm just too tired. I keep telling myself that I should get used to waking up earlier every morning so that when I have to wake up at five to get to work for the opening shift, it won't be so bad. But then the next day I sleep in 'till ten and my sleeping pattern is messed up again...

Anyway, just a few life updates. I got to train someone on closing shift on Monday. I've been working at Starbucks for almost five months, and apparently they trust me to teach the new people now. It was mostly due to a small scheduling error, where my manager thought someone else was closing, but hey, she didn't change it, so apparently she trusts me. Hopefully I did a well enough job. We'll see when the new guy closes by himself for the first time.

The second thing isn't really an update... or about my life, for that matter. One of my friends, Sarah-Jill, went in for surgery today to get something in her spine fixed. (I'm sorry, but I will never understand all the medical lingo...) She came out alive and well! I just wanted to say that she's an amazing person with amazing friends and family to support her. If you want to know more, check her out here, or her Facebook page here.

Not much else going on right now. Just enjoying the cold and rain here and dreading the coming heat of mid-summer.

Review: A Murderous Procession *SPOILERS*

I'm going to interrupt the character conversations to make a review, as I just finished a book today and I want to write about it before I forget. (even though I completely forgot about Friday's post anyway...)

The book this time is called A Murderous Procession. It's the fourth book in a series by Ariana Franklin, though it's one of those series where each book could be a stand alone. All of her books are historical fiction, and all are murder mysteries. What I love about them is how historically accurate they are. Of course the main character is fictional, along with a few others, but it still has Henry II and mentions of the Normans. After my history class (Europe in the High Middle Ages) I understand a lot of the references and smaller details. It's great for anyone that loves European history, but might be a little too detailed for anyone who doesn't even know what a Cathar is...

Anyway, the main character is named Adelia Agular, a female doctor of death from Sicily. I won't go over the first three books, but by this book, she's been in England for seven years, and is finally going back to Sicily with a procession that includes the English Princess who is going to marry the Sicilian prince. in this group is someone out to kill her though. 

Ariana Franklin is in line with Agatha Christie when it comes to suspense, in my opinion (though I've only read one Agatha Christie book...) Although you have a suspicion at the beginning about who it is, through the rest of the story you begin to doubt and suspect other people. In this particular novel though, at the end I laughed in triumph because I had guessed right, so Franklin might have slipped up a bit here by giving away one clue too early. 

Now the best, and worst, part about this book is the very end. It's a huge cliff hanger. Honestly, someone is on the brink of death, and Franklin just ends it! Then guess what? She dies! Not the character, oh no. Ariana Franklin died in 2011, and never finished the series. I am going to be agonizing over this for months now. The reason why I say the ending is so good is because I didn't really like the character that might have died... and it was beautifully written. No important characters had died for a while, so I think it was called for.

Anyway, sorry for missing my Friday post, and I'll get back into the Character conversations on Wednesday. My next book review may take a while, because I'm now onto a book that's 1,252 pages long... Yay!

Meet the Characters: Blight

Today's character is named Blight. He's most recently stared in the beginning of a short story I began to write for my speculative fiction class. In that story he is a Lamia (Latin for vampire) but other times he is a monster hunter. 

It says here that your name is Blight. Is that true?

It’s what I call myself.

But it’s not your real name? What name were you given at birth?

That’s none of your business.

Alright, fine. What did you do to deserve your current name?

That’s none of your business either.

We’re not going to get very far in this interview if that’s going to be your answer to everything.

People seem to die around me.

That’s a little different from seeing dead people. More like you create dead people?

In a way.

Lovely. Isn’t that against the law?

Some were accidents. Others were just part of my job.

What job?

Security.

Of course. What were the accidents?

None of your business.

…

My parents. And my sister. And my adopted family. And my fiancée. And my best friend.

That’s harsh. I’m sorry for your loss… losses.

I don’t need your pity.

A tough guy like you? Of course not.

I don’t appreciate the sarcasm.

What sarcasm? I’m sure you’re just as stone hearted as your name suggests.

…Of course.

Meet the Characters: Tristan

Welcome to my third Character Conversation. I've finally done a guy, though he isn't much of one... I've written this one a little more like a conversation in a novel instead of an interview, which helps to use show not tell. Show not tell is describing something in a way that doesn't outright say it. Telling would be "he had blue eyes, short brown hair and stood at six feet tall. He was a shy boy that didn't like to talk to people." Boring, right? Below is an example of showing, rather than telling.

Hello, what is your name?

Tristan.

Alright, Tristan what?

Tristan Monroe.

Not much of a talker, are you?

Uh, no.

Well this should be interesting. Tell us a bit about yourself. What do you like to do?

I like to take pictures.

Oh that’s cool. Are you any good?

I think so. I’ve won some competitions and been in a few magazines.

That’s impressive for someone your age… How old are you, anyway?

Eighteen.

You look older. Must be your height. Who do you get that from?

My dad. My mom is short.

Typical. What about your eyes. They’re a very beautiful blue.

Still my dad. Same with my brown hair. He also gave me his terrible eyesight.

Sounds like you’re not related to your mom at all.

Oh, well, uh…

Aw, I’ve gone and made you blush. I’m sorry. It must be hard for you to talk to girls.

They don’t talk to me, so I don’t make the effort to talk to them.

Sounds reasonable. So you’ve never had a girlfriend?

Um… No, not really. Well, not at all, actually…

You’re blushing again. Let’s stop this interview before you bite your tongue while stumbling over it.

Thank you…

Meet the Characters: Abby

Just in time for this blog post. Today I'll be using one of my generic characters. She doesn't come with a set plot, since I've used her on a couple occasions for short stories. She started from an idea for a longer story, and her personality has not changed much from it. So here you are; Abby.

First off, what is your name?

Abby. Well, Abigale, but everyone calls me Abby.

That’s a rather old fashioned name. Does that reflect your mother?

Hell no. Not when she had me, at least. She was eighteen. That slut.

You don’t seem to be on very good terms with her.

We fight all the time. I can’t wait until I’m old enough to move out.

How old are you now?

Seventeen. As soon as I turn eighteen, I’m out of here.

What about your father?

Never knew him. That bastard left my mom and me when I was two.

How sad. Is there any connection between him leaving and your fighting with your mom?

Definitely. Apparently I look a lot like him. I have his red hair and hazel eyes, so every time my mom looks at me, she’s reminded of him. You would think she would get over it eventually, but I guess not.

How does she cope?

We move around a lot. She finds it hard to keep a job, and whenever she loses one, or breaks up with her boyfriend, we move. It’s really annoying, but I won’t have to deal with it soon.

And how do you cope?

With what? My dad? I don’t care. With the moving, I just learned a long time ago to suck it up. I make friends easily, but I never get too attached. Never managed to get a long distance relationship working with a guy though. I blame my mom.

Will you miss her when you move out?

Maybe after a few years. She’ll start missing me after a week though. She claims to hate me, but she’s way too protective. She still makes me call home to make sure I got to wherever I was going safely.

It seems like she loves you very much then.

Ppft, I doubt it. 

Meet the Characters: Arica

Sorry for the late post, it had completely slipped my mind yesterday. 

For the next couple weeks, I'm going to do another instalment, this one to introduce the characters that I have created for short stories or ideas for novels. If you remember way way back, I posted a character conversation. I'm going to be doing similar ones for the rest of my characters.

The first one is Arica. I'm trying to maser her voice, which is supposed to be a farm girl from Victorian England, which means mostly uneducated and not very cultured. This conversation also takes place before any events in the novel, so any hints to the plot are kind of buried ad hidden.

Why don’t you being by introducing yourself.

I’m Arica Mason, daughter of Claire and Andrew Mason.

Very nice. Are you descended from masons then?

I think, but we don’t have any records of our family past my grandpa on my papa’s side.

How interesting. What about your mother’s?

Nothing past my mama and aunt.

So you have an aunt? Is she like your mother?

I’ve never met her, but my mama doesn’t like to talk ‘bout her.

And who do you take after?

My mama, of course. She raised me to be a good girl.

Not a Lady?

My aunt is the lady. I’m just a farm girl.

Where is your farm?

Southern England somewhere. It’s in the middle of nowhere.

And what makes your aunt a Lady?

Well she wasn’t born into it, if that’s whatcha think. She married a rich man.

Does that make her a Lady?

Donno. My mama is always calling her 'Lady Annette', then rolls her eyes and throws her hands in the air.

Tell me more about your mother.

She’s beautiful, even after mucking out the barn. I have her gold air, but mine is never as shiny as hers. She says it’s made of sunshine, and that mine’ll be the same when I get older, and that hers’ll turn silver and be made of moonbeams instead.

She sounds like a poet.

Nah, she just likes things like that. She made me a song once, and sings it to me every night.

Like a lullaby. Aren’t you a little old for that?

I’m only fourteen. ‘Sides, she keeps telling me to remember it. Maybe so I can sing it to my kids when I have them.

How sweet. Do you plan on having kids then?

Need a husband first, and all the boys around here are gross. They’re immature and rude, and half of them are chickens.

Are you saying you’re braver than them?

Course! I can ride any horse, and I once chased a raccoon away from our coop.

How brave of you. What about when you’re older?

Maybe. He has to be strong and courageous though. Maybe he’ll be a swordsmen, and take me on adventures. We can find dragons and elves.

There is no such thing as dragons and elves.

Who says?

Goodbye, Farmor

This is a very belated post for my grandma, who I called Farmor. (Swedish for father's mother) She died a little over a month ago now, and at the funeral I wrote a poem. I mentioned this earlier and how I was planning on posting it. Well, here it is! (finally)

She was a Queen,

more regal and elegant as any royalty.

Her heart was made of gold,

but she shared the treasure

to ensure everyone was as rich as her with love.

She was a superstar,

wearing her oversized sunglasses

as if to hide her identity,

but it was those sunglasses

that would always identify her.

She was a model

who was always the star of a photo,

no matter if that photo

was supposed to be of her or not.

She was the support

of the household, who helped

her children grow and flourish,

and in turn they took her hand

to return the support four times over.

She was a five star chef,

who made sure everyone was settled

and happy before she started her own meal.

Even the pickiest of eaters

could not complain about her food.

She was entertainment and audience combined,

always laughing, even if she didn’t understand

what she was laughing at.

It was contagious. Only the stone-hearted

could not find joy in her presence.

She was a critic,

the very best one would ever find.

Everyone and everything was beautiful,

and to her it was never a lie,

even if you wore nothing but a potato sack.

She was the wind

that blew the clouds away

to reveal the sun behind,

and when the rain was tears,

the sun was her smile.

She was Christmas, Thanksgiving, Halloween

and any holiday in between.

She was the slow unwrapper, who had

little care in what the present actually was,

for she knew the real gift was being with her family.

But most importantly, she was a mother,

who raised her four children to become

mothers and fathers themselves.

And she still is an inspiration,

to overcome obstacles as large as

oceans and countries, or as small as

a bed in a hospital.

My Kryponites

Just like everyone, I have fears. Some of them are normal, others are a little... Well, not normal.

1) Spiders. Or any other bug, for that matter. Although I think I might be starting to get over this fear. A couple days ago I woke up around 7:30 and rolled over in my bed to see a spider just chilling in the corner, about a foot and a half away from me. I just blew it down so it was under my bed, then rolled over and went back to sleep. About ten minutes later I woke up to find it back were it had been. I just blew it back down, then stuffed a wad of bubble wrap in the gap between my bed and the corner, then went back to sleep. Pretty brave, eh? Although I have not risked moving the bubble wrap since then...

2) Deep water. I've probably mentioned this before, but it's actually a pretty big fear. I'm not a very strong swimmer; I failed my level four swimming lessons about five times because I wasn't able to float on my back. After that my parents and I decided that I I knew enough to keep myself from drowning. However, I think my main fear comes from knowing that there are probably thousands of creatures in the water that we have never identified, and even many of the ones that we do know about look like creatures from nightmares. Plus, I don't like not being able to see the ground, which is odd, because I don't have much of a fear of heights...

3) I've recently realized that I have a fear of being annoying... It sounds weird, I know, but I am actually afraid that I come across as annoying to some people. It's why I don't often initiate conversations, because I feel like if someone has not talked to me yet, it's because they don't want to talk. The weird ting is, it's even worse over Facebook, because there someone can actually ignore you and pretend that they didn't see your message. And it makes that annoying sound when someone talks, and I know I sometimes cringe when I hear it over and over and over, especially when I'm trying to do something else.

4) Getting asked out on a date. Holy hell, what do I do! I swear, I would probably just stand there with my mouth open, astounded that anyone would even ask that... It would probably be worse if for some reason some stranger began hitting on me... I honestly have a fear of this because I have no idea how to react...

5) Rejection. I guess this can go hand in hand with the previous fear, even if the situation is reversed. More often it's rejection for anything but emotional stuff, such as for my writing, or for work. I hate asking someone to do something, or for a favour, and then they cannot do it, or don't want to. I end up apologizing over and over just for asking, even if it's really not my fault. Furthermore, it's the fear of letting people down, especially my parents.

So now everyone knows how to manipulate me if they ever want to defeat me for some reason... I really hope no one uses this post for evil...

Interesting Facts and Misconceptions about Myself

So I really have nothing of importance to say today, nor has anything of much interest happened the last few weeks. So, let's make a list! Since I know a lot of people will judge someone by how the look, or just a few of their interests, here are a few lesser known things about me that some people may not know.

1) Yes, I am skinny. No, it's not intentional. When you see me, I am pretty much skin an bones. My wrists, knees and ankles are so skinny that I creep myself out sometimes. This is not a good thing! I am most definitely not one of those girls that starves herself to get skinny. In fact, I've been trying to gain weight so that I can give blood. There are three reasons why I am skinny though. The first is the biggest, and it's just genes. Both my parents were fairly skinny around my age, so I just inherited that. The second is that I'm a super picky eater. Fried food makes me feel sick and unhealthy, and I just hate the taste of burgers. So although I love sugar, I don't actually like the taste of some fatty foods. And the last reason is actually kind of ironic. I'm just so lazy that I would rather lie in bed for five hours straight than get up to find some food. I may be skinny, but I am far from being in shape. I also sleep in very late, so I don't tecnically eat breakfast, but rather brunch...

2) I am not a gamer! I've had about four or five posts highlighting my love of Zelda and Mario games, but that does not make me a gamer, and I don't pretend to be one. People just automatically think I am because I play Nintendo games. To be a gamer, I think I should at least own an xbox and playstation. I have rarely played on either of those consoles, and I have no idea how they work. So yes, I like some video games, but that does not make me a gamer.

3) I am a slow reader. I think I've mentioned this before, actually. I love to read, especially if you find that perfect book. But I do not tear through it lie most people would. I like to savour the book, and I also like to do things other than read. So I read at night, on the bus, while waiting for something, or when in public. but at home I'm pretty much always on my laptop or some other device. However, I love to collect books, and when I find a really good one, I will huddle up for hours and read it. Still, I am a slow reader. If I skip even one sentence, I pretty much have to read the whole paragraph again because it feels like I might have missed something important. This can be good when reading books for class, but unfortunately, most of the time those books are so bad that I zone out and don't even care if I'm missing something. (Remember, I'm a creative Writing student, not an English student)

4) I actually don't care much for Harry Potter... For some reason it seems like if you're a book worm, you need to love Harry Potter, as if it's some staple that you must read. I've read the books, and they were good, but I would never re-read them. They're just not really what I'm into. I didn't really get attached to many of the characters (only the twins, in fact. Not even Dobby) and the plot was simple. It had twists, but it kind of seemed like each book was planned on its own, and it was only until the last few that it seemed like Rowling had planned ahead with smaller details. Even the whole Snape stuff wasn't all that complicated... However, I did like the movies. Still not my favourites, but it's easier to watch all eight movies over ad over than re-read all seven books.

5) I actually do not like radio music, and I'm not trying to be a hipster by hating what everyone seems to love. It's just that all the singers, bands and songs are all the same. They sound like whiny little teenagers who makes up drama just so that they have something to complain about through song. All the songs are about how someone's boyfriend is a jerk, or how someone is giving up on love, or how everyone is pretty and the world is made of sunshine and rainbows. What is the worse is when the artist is singing as if directly to the listener about how he/she loves the listener. No! They do not love you! They love your money. This whole hate for pop music can also stem from my hate of teen drama novels, because they're so plain and too close to reality. I love fantasy fiction novels, and I love songs that are not based off of someone's real experiences, at least not too cliché experiences. I listen to bands such as Rise Against, Cage The Elephant, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Billy Talent, Anti-Flag, Zebrahead, Gob, Illscarlet, Muse, The Offspring, and Weezer. Although I do have a guilty pleasure in some Disney music (the more catchy ones, I don't care for slow music), and I do like several songs by Maroon 5, who have become quite popular.


So there you are, some interesting facts combined with some rants.

Youtube Madness

I've recently started watching Youtube videos again. Every once in a while I will go on a spree, watching every video by one person. Lately I've become addicted with two British youtubers, each with their own channel. The first one is called Danisnotonfire, who I am convinced is my male and British counterpart, as we  appear to be so similar. The second one is AmazingPhil, who, true to the name, is pretty amazing. Their videos are hilarious, and they have a British Accent, so that makes it all the more better. What I find interesting though is that at the end of each of the videos they address the viewer and let them participate in a discussion by asking them a question. I would love to do this too, but I'm pretty sure it'll cause me to loo like I'm talking to myself... Which I pretty much am with this whole blog... But I'm going to try anyway! So, what are some video channels you love to watch? Or maybe some blogs that you read?