I was invited to join a “Meet a Character” blog tour by Faith Blum, an author of Christian Western Fiction, and F.P. Spirit, author of Medieval Fantasy. (Gee! I got two invites. Ain't I special? *wink, wink*)
Faith's book, A Mighty Fortress, primarily follows Joshua, his sister Ruth, and Jed, an outlaw. Jed wants out of the lawless life he has sunk into, but he wonders if he is in too deep to be able to escape now. Joshua and his sister Ruth are traveling by Stagecoach to join their parents in Montana, that is, until Jed and a gang of outlaws attack the stagecoach and send Joshua and Ruth fleeing for their lives into the wild Wyoming and Montana territory. All three are running -- the hunter and the hunted. What will happen when they meet? Although Western fiction doesn't really turn my crank, I found this book to be a powerful Christian story right from the very first chapter! If you like Western books, and want a heart pounding story with Christian values, then look no further - this is the book for you. And guess what? It's the first of a series. *yay!* Please check out Faith’s book and website!: Website/blog: http://HymnsoftheWest.tk and www.faithblum.wordpress.com Her book - A Mighty Fortress on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GPDQVC2 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HymnsoftheWest Twitter: https://twitter.com/Faith_Blum The Heroes of Ravenford is a brand new start to a brand new fantasy series, one of which I am very excited about! It follows Glolindir, a young elf of a diminishing race, and his struggle to find his purpose in his world. I won't say too much myself, because I *Plan* (note, I said PLAN) to post my review of it very soon. So, I will just give you the synopsis for now: "Magic is Easy or so Glolindir thought, until he came face to face with his first live monster. Casting spells was not so simple with death breathing down his neck. His story might have ended there if not for three gifted youths: Seth, the mysterious halfling with the moves of an assassin; Lloyd, the spiritblade whose fiery swords are whirlwind-fast; and Aksel, the gnome whose very touch can heal. Yet that was just the beginning of their adventures, for dark shadows loom over the little town of Ravenford. The townsfolk quickly turn to these newcomers, who may indeed be their only hope. From the old ruined keep southwest of town to hidden caves in the western hills, through dark tunnels, secret passages, concealed rooms and magical mirrors, they must face mythical monsters, evil creatures, and dark wizards, each more perilous than the last. Can they rise to the challenge and become the Heroes that the people of Ravenford so sorely need?" Please check out Spirit’s book and website!: Website: fpspirit.com His book: The Ruins on Stone Hill (Heroes of Ravenford Book 1) Read his "Meet a Character" blog post: http://fpspirit.com/2014/06/23/meet-my-character-blog-tour/ ------------------------------------------------------- MEET A CHARACTER 1) What is the name of your character? Is he fictional or a historic person? Keegan is his name, and fiction is his game (though, I might add, he is quite real to me)! He is a Wovlen, a very old, diminishing race of people known for their hardiness, confidence, brutality, and skilled dragon slayers. 2) When and where is the story set? In a world, not our own. Most of the story takes place in three different places in my "make-believe-world": 1) A city called Elinralis, capitol of the country Anuran, 2) A place in the wild called The Dragon's Plains, 3) And the adjoining forest to the plains called The Dragon's Forest. 3) What should we know about him? Keegan was orphaned at the age of twelve. However, what is truly special about Keegan is that he was adopted right after the death of his family by Pharrgon, a golden dragon. Yes. His adopted father is a dragon. For 13 years following his family's demise, he was raised and trained by Pharrgon to survive in the wilderness and to become a formidable warrior. 4) What is the main conflict? What messes up his life? Though Keegan's story started long, long before his time when the Wovlen kingdom fell to an evil red dragon, it really took a tailspin when Keegan's family and village was massacred. Keegan witnessed the brutal death of his father at the hands of a "scarred man". The survivors of the village were scattered, and Keegan fled into the dreaded Dragon's Forest where he met Pharrgon and thus, his destiny. 5) What is the personal goal of the character? Since the massacre and witnessing the death of his father, Keegan has only had two goals: find his missing friends and family and avenge the death of his village. In book 1, The Dragon's Son, Keegan's first goal was met. However, his second goal is about to take a drastic turn in the 2nd book when he finds out that the person responsible for the death of his father and mother goes far beyond the "scarred man" (the man who killed his father and lead the attack on his village). Finding out the deeper truth widens his perspective and raises his goal to new heights. But Pharrgon warns him that vengeance is not his to take. Vengeance belongs to another. So, what has his goal become? What is he supposed to do? Needless to say, the 2nd book has Keegan pretty confused through most of it. 6) Is there a working title for this novel, and can we read more about it? Yes. The 2nd title is "The Dragon's Due". Would you like a snippet from The Dragon's Due? Of course. I thought you would. Here ya go (note: none of this has seen an editor yet, so please forgive the rough-ness of it): A light mist rose up from the ground in a perfectly green forest. The green grass was cool and soft under Keegan’s bare feet, and the smell of fresh moisture in the air was cool and inviting. Silence reined throughout the green forest, perfect silence assured Keegan everything was peaceful there. None of his troubles followed him to this place. None of his worries or fears haunted him. Perfect peace and silence wrapped their gentle arms around him in this forest and set his mind to rest. From the corner of his eye, Keegan saw movement in the trees. He turned and watched as a feminine figure quietly walked through the trees, touching each of the trunks, looking all around herself searchingly. Her golden head and dark blue dress stood out against the green of the forest, and her glowing pale skin shown brightly, but her sparkling, emerald green eyes matched the surrounding forest exactly. “Erewhon,” Keegan sighed as he spoke her name as he walked toward her. She paused and looked at him, her eyes growing wide “Keegan! Oh, I am so glad you are here!” she opened her arms and meant to rush to him, but suddenly stopped “But it is only a dream. You are only a dream. You aren’t real!” her face changed from joy to despair instantly as tears filled her eyes. Keegan’s face grew somber “Princess Erewhon, what is the matter?” he asked. “It is no use to tell a phantom in a dream.” Erewhon said sadly, hiding her face in her hands “Oh Dayspring have mercy! I shall be lost forever!” Keegan stepped up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder before reaching up with his other hand and gently pulling hers away from her face so he could see her clearly “I am here, my lady. I am no phantom.” he grew puzzled as he witnessed overwhelming despair written across Erewhon’s face “Why are you afraid and so sad? This is a peaceful place. Can’t you feel the relief it brings?” Erewhon’s lip trembled as she looked into Keegan’s eyes “I have felt it, and it has brought me comfort, but I know I cannot stay.” she took Keegan’s hand tightly in hers “Keegan, I have been captured and carried away from Elinralis. I don’t know where I am at, but shadow men are holding me captive.” Suddenly the forest shook and rippled, liked still water when a stone has been dropped into it, and the trees and light began to disappear. Keegan grabbed Erewhon’s hands tightly as the green forest changed to a late night scene with the two moons almost midsky, shining their pale light across a yellow plain Keegan knew all too well: the Dragon Plains. Erewhon shuddered “This is where I am being held captive!” she gasped “But I won’t be for long. The moons are almost high.” she looked up at the sky. “Who is holding you captive? What for? Where are they taking you?” Keegan asked. Erewhon began sobbing and trembling “I don’t know! Men or shadows, they call themselves wraiths, are taking me to a person they call the crystal queen. Keegan, I am so scared!” Suddenly, a transparent shadow in the shape of a man appeared next to Keegan and Erewhon, filtering out the moon light and casting a shadow over the two of them. Chilling whispers in an ancient language began to echo all around. The scene of the Dragon Plains seemed to bend and then tear, like someone cutting through a painted canvas. With an unearthly scream, a large, black gloved hand appeared through the tear. “I told you there would be consequences for trying to escape!” a voice roared before the hand grabbed Erewhon by the throat and yanked her through the hole “I also meant it for dreams, princess!” “Keegan!” Erewhon screamed in terror as she disappeared. Keegan yelled in anger as Erewhon’s trembling hands were yanked from his, then everything, the moon light, the Dragon Plains, even the very air around him completely disappeared. Keegan began to gasp for air as he was left in a black void filled with eerie whispers chanted in an unfamiliar language. He fell to his knees, holding his hands up to his neck, trying to find a way to breathe. Before he passed out, a dragon roar echoed in his ears and shook the ground under him. 7) When can we expect the book to be published? My goal is to have it done by November/December 2014. However, this is ME we are talking about. My hopes, goals and plans don't always go according to my plans, so.... we shall see how this works out. *fingers crossed* ----------------------------------------------------- Now, as part of the tour, I need to tag a couple of other authors! Thanks for reading and, please, check these other authors out! Sherrilyn Polf is an Christian author of Historical Fiction and Children's Books. Currently, she has 4 books in a WWII series called "The Engineers of Flight", with a 6th one on the way. They are "a side of WWII that has not been presented before...". Her Website: http://sherrilynpolf.weebly.com/ Her books: On Amazon in Kindle and Paperback Elaine Littau is another author of fiction, working with romance and western mainly. She has a very large selection of books to choose from! All of her books are very powerful testimonies of God's strength which can pull us through any storm and get us through any crisis. I would not recommend them for young readers, as the contents can be somewhat traumatic. However, if you like Frank Peretti and Western fiction, then I can only assume that you will really like her books! Her Website: http://www.elainelittau.com/ Her Books: on Amazon in Kindle and Paperback ![]() So, my mother directed me to this really neat personality test online. I decided to use it on my characters in my book and stayed up till 3:30am doing it. I had a blast! It was amazing how accurate the test was! 7 out of 8 characters in my book all came up with completely different results, and what was scary is that the results were very accurate. What was even more scary is that none of my characters shared the same personality as me. Wow... It really helped me with building my character profiles last night....even though I did stay up till 3am to do it. Anyway, if you would like to try it for yourself, or for your characters, here is the link and my results! The free iPersonic Personality TestMy Personality Type: The Groundbreaking Thinker Groundbreaking Thinkers are charming, enthusiastic persons. They really bubble over with energy and like to take centre stage. They love variety both professionally and privately. Groundbreaking Thinkers tackle changes consistently with their optimism and firm belief in their own abilities; they are always on the look-out for improvement possibilities. Their excellent communication skills are of great advantage to them here. They approach the world with curiosity and openness and master new situations with a great deal of talent for improvising and with resourcefulness. Their spare time is taken up with a large number of hobbies; most Groundbreaking Thinkers like to travel in order to gather as many different impressions as possible. This personality type is unbeatable at discovering new possibilities. In their work, Groundbreaking Thinkers highly rate challenges and diversified tasks. They cannot stand routine and too detailed work. They love to astound others with bold ideas for an original, new project and then leave it up to the others to implement them. Hierarchies, rules and regulations arouse their opposition and they love outsmarting the system. It is vital to them that they enjoy their work; if this is the case, they quickly become pure workaholics. Their creativity best takes effect when they work independently; but they are very good at motivating others and infecting them with their optimistic nature. Conceptual or advisory activities appeal especially to Groundbreaking Thinkers. It can happen that some people feel somewhat duped by their flexible, spontaneous nature. Their sociability and enterprise ensure that Groundbreaking Thinkers always have a large circle of friends and acquaintances in which activity plays an important role. As they are mostly in a good mood, they are popular and very welcome guests. Grumbling and peevishness are unknown to them. However, they do tend to be a little erratic and unstable when it comes to obligations and this makes them appear to be unreliable to some. Groundbreaking Thinkers are very critical and demanding when it comes to picking a partner because they look for the ideal relationship and have a very concrete picture of this ideal relationship. Mutual aims in life are very important to them. They do not like compromising and would rather remain alone. For the partner, it is often a challenge to have a long-term relationship with a Groundbreaking Thinker. Groundbreaking Thinkers need a lot of space and diversity or otherwise they become bored and feel cramped. Types who are rather more traditionalistic often have problems with the willingness of Groundbreaking Thinkers to take risks and their often crazy, spontaneous actions. However, if one can summon up sufficient flexibility and tolerance for them, one will never be bored in their presence and will always have a loyal and faithful partner. Adjectives that describe your type extroverted, theoretical, logical, spontaneous, rational, innovative, intellectual, open, independent, curious, enterprising, analytical, clever, enthusiastic, venturesome, inventive, energetic, sociable, optimistic, non-conformist, creative, freedom-loving, charming, able to get enthusiastic, self-confident, communicative, capricious, inconsistent, outgoing ![]() I have been asked by several people "What is a Role Playing game and how does it work?" I can just see that my role playing buddies are reading this with open mouths of shock... Yes, guys, there is a few people out there who have no clue what a RPG is. That's OK. Role Playing is to assume the attitudes, actions, and discourse of another in a make-believe situation, or in an effort to understand a different point of view or social interaction. Children role play when they play cops and robbers, nurse, or mommy. Authors role play (to a point) when they build the history, personality, and characteristics of a new character for a book......... okay, so authors really do role play as they write a fictional novel. Period. They are just doing it alone, instead of with a group of people.... Role Playing can be done in person with someone else, on video games, or, more popularly, in literary form. Literary form can be done via instant messaging, email, or in public forums online. Two popular places for Role Playing is ProBoards and InvisionFree. Other popular places for "RPing" is in the forums of online games and online adoptable sites, such as Dragon Cave, Chicken Smoothie, and MagiStream. (If you know of any young people who want to role play, or who might be watching while you role play, I would suggest those last three links. Not only are they more fun, IMHO, but they are child-friendly.) A Role Playing Game, or RPG is a game in which players create and assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting and collaboratively create a story/stories. Players determine the actions of their characters (sometimes lovingly called "Charries" or "Skellies") based on their character's personality and characteristics (called characterization). The actions of each character may succeed or fail, according to the rules of the RP and the actions of other players characters, and their choices often shape the direction and outcome of the story. Books, movies, and games are often used as a base for role plays because they already have a plot, and a world (setting) that they take place in. Players can either play established characters from those books/movies/games, or they can create original characters instead to replace or exist alongside the original characters. RPG's can also be completely original. The owner(s) can create an original world, peoples, and back story, then add original characters to that. In my experience, these are the most fun, because they allow more freedom for creativity. Since I enjoy literary RPGs, they will be the ones I will be talking about. Joining a RPG: First, you will need to fill out a character form, or Skeleton, for the character(s) you will be playing. These may be original characters, or established characters from a book or movie. Most literary RPGs require you to fill out a character form and most of them supply you with a form that the owner(s) have created. It will look something like this: ~Character Forum~ ~-Down To Basics-~ Full Name:: (your character's whole name will go here) Nickname:: (if your character has a long or weird name, put the shortened version here.) Gender:: (man or woman, male or female...) Species:: (this is for fantasy or animal based RPs where you say if you are human or elf, dog or cat, etc.) Age:: (put your character's approximate age here...) ~-Get To Know You-~ Relationship status:: (Single, engaged, married...) Hometown/country:: (If countries and cities are listed, your character will come from one, so you will list that here.) Preferred weapon:: (Depending on the type of RP, your character may be limited to only medieval weapons, or your character could be allowed to have something like Ironman's suite...) Personality:: (Now we start "fleshing out" your character: is he/she a dominant type, or a submissive type of person? Is his/her temperament sanguine (pleasure-seeking and sociable), choleric (ambitious and leader-like),melancholic (analytical and thoughtful), or phlegmatic (relaxed and quiet)? Go into as much detail as you can, but don't overdo it.) History:: (Where does your character come from? Who was his/her parents? How did they get to this point in their life? What in their life has formed their personality? Again, put as much as you can, but don't go overboard. Some people put nothing, and others put too much. Just try to stay in-between.) Other:: (Any extra details that don't fit into the above categories such as favorite clothes, past times, or pets, go here.) ~-Aren’t You Lovely-~ Height:: (What is your character's approximate height?) Weight:: (basic weight?) Hair:: (color, short, long, wavy, straight? What style do they keep their hair in?) Eyes:: (color, shape?) Looks:: (Here you put more. You either put a picture that explains your character's looks the best, or you describe your character in as much detail as you can: muscular? Curvy? Long legs? Short waist?) Once you are accepted into the RP, then you must not be shy: find a reasonable space or place or scenario to fit your character into, then jump in and start playing! Sometimes, it won't be easy to find a spot, and you may feel like your character is teetering and wobbling all over the place, but keep at it, make good posts, and you will fit right in soon enough! And then, you will be immersed in a whole new world, ready for your hands, and the hands of others, to mold it...
![]() I have noticed something: my brothers are growing up. They are starting to get handsome and cute. They are starting to look (and smell) masculine. And they are starting to eat the house to the ground! They are entering their teens and turning into men. I knew this would happen someday. However, it never occurred to me until somewhat recently that there are girls out there who are about the same age as my brothers - girls who have only two things on their mind: boys and prince charming. Girls now are not that different from girls I knew when I was little. The girls I knew in the past would melt if they saw a cute guy. They would dress to get his attention. They would act really weird to get his attention. They would ditch me to get his attention. They would ask me for help to get his attention. They would talk to me about him for hours. They always wondered if he had noticed them. They would try to be alone with him. They would almost break down and cry if they saw him with another girl. They would try their name with his last name, draw hearts with his name inside, try to go to all the social gatherings that they knew he would be at.... and, of course, they would try their very best to get his attention while they were there. What a stressful, tiring lifestyle. I thought it was dumb then. I think it is REALLY dumb now. Any more, if a girl starts talking to me about a boy she is “crushing on”, then I try to have a serious conversation with her and get her to start using her brain for logical thinking. She does not need to worry about dating until she is ready to get married, she won’t be old enough to get married until she is at least 17, she needs to let the guy chase her (not the other way around), and she needs to choose a guy who has a heart for the Lord, is a hard worker, and who respects his family. Then I tell her that she needs to work on her relationship with her family, because if she can’t get her relationship right with her parents and siblings, then she won’t get it right with a husband. Now as my brothers are starting to turn into those cute boys I used to see girls swoon over when I was younger, I find that I want to be less graceful with those silly girls who see wedding bells if a cute boys smiles at them. I suddenly feel a snarling monster crawling at the edges of my heart. It wants to lash out if I ever catch a young girl trying to get my brother’s attention for her own selfish reasons. I’m having dreams at night of the girls in my past trying to get my brother’s attention, and I dream that I walk up to them, give them a “high-five-in-the-face” and push them into the dirt! I thought I was a protective older sister before, but now that my brothers are getting older, I find that I am a VERY protective older sister. Don't get me wrong now: I want my brothers to get married. If I am going to be a happy old maid who lives in peace and quiet by herself and has nieces and nephews to dote on, then I want all my siblings to get married. I seriously do! I love my siblings, but I don’t want to put up with them in the same house forever (and I ain’t gonna move out of the house just because I’m “22 years old and should be out on my own”. Bah!). Besides that, I think it is good for a man to get married. I want each of my brothers to have a wonderful wife that loves him, does her best to serve him, stay under his authority, and raise his children in a Godly way. I also want extra sisters that I can get along with, talk to, visit with, hang out with, and drive crazy. BUT… I want God to show my brothers who the right girl is, not a girl to show my brothers who she thinks the right girl is. God knows my brothers better than I do, and I know He can bring the right woman to my brother’s attention…without the woman's help (including this woman). However...that being said... If I ever see a little chick trying to flirt and/or dress in ways to get my brother's attention, I totally intend to grab her, sit her down, and put the fear of God in her! Bar none! I won’t be mean (maybe)... but at least I will possibly start making her use her brain for THINKING, instead of focusing on silly little romantic thoughts. Looking back at the girls I knew when I was little, and knowing how girls think, I suddenly find myself polishing my baseball bat with eager fingers. Usually, when I polish my baseball bat, it is to prime it for some boy's face. But this time, it is not being polished for boys who are looking to get my attention - it’s for the nasty girls who will start looking to get my brother's attention. |
Kathryn FoglemanAuthor of the fantasy series, Tales of the Wovlen, Kathryn spends a great deal of time in the world of her imagination, having tea with fire breathing dragons, writing books on flying space ships, and practicing her mad scientist laugh with gusto. However, on occasion,she returns to this world just to play with her dog and blog about her fun. My BookGrab a Button!![]() Archives
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