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Finally having the brain power to catch up
Ah, the joy of a day with nothing much to do. (Crafternoon postponed because of minor illness) And with some brainpower for a change.
I'm behind on the meme.
17. Favorite protagonist and why!
I dearly love Paul, the Big Bad Wolf from the Gay Christmas Werewolf series. He is very close to a self-insert. He's middle-aged, professional, a bit stodgy, and very burgiosie. He has a plan for his life and rolls along very smoothly, with hiccups on the full moon. Until a sexy English lit professor shares a change-time with him. And then he's thrust into family politics, true love and averting the end of the world. And through it all, he stays placid, stodgy and very much in love with his mate.
18. Favorite antagonist and why!
Sarah Brown, who styles herself Lady Sarah in Curse of the Pharaoh's Manicurists. She is Edward Kilsby's former fiancee, and an adventuress in every sense of the word. I enjoy writing her because she is so politely vicious, so nastily cunning and is generally driven to do anything to become Baroness Withycombe.
19. Favorite minor that decided to shove himself into the spotlight and why!
I'm not sure. I'd say David in the Nikolai series. He tends to take over and be the central character from time to time, like any good antagonist, but if I wasn't careful, he'd eclipse Nick entirely.
20. What are your favorite character interactions to write?
I like arguments. You can tell a lot about about a character by how they fight. Do they withdraw? Do they shout? Do they go quiet and then say something incredibly hurtful? Do they put a gun to their beloved's head and demand?
21. Do any of your characters have children? How well do you write them?
I think only the steampunk lesbians in "Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch have kids. Widows Cat and Amanda have seven kids between them. Some of them get more screen time than others. Betsy, the 8 year old baby of the family, and Eli, who is about 16, are more involved. Betsy is Captain Obvious and comic relief. Eli is in conflict with his stepmother, because he thinks he should be the man of the house and she should be a lady. Hannah and Melissa get pretty short shrift, although we do see them holding off zombies as well as cooking breakfast. Abigail maily takes care of Betsy for her moms. We see very little of Billy. Jack has a good moment with his mom.
22. Tell us about one scene between your characters that you've never written or told anyone about before! Serious or not.
There are none I have never told anyone about, mainly because of the way I write. There are plenty I've not yet written.
One scene I'm envisioning for Lord Withycombe and the Terror of the Frozen North is this. They've pitched camp for the night, Edward and Charlie, Nigel and their guide. Edward and Charlie have nestled into their bedrolls and they're listening to Nigel and Zimmerman bicker. Then Edward gives a soft whistle and six sled-dogs bound into their tent and form a warm, snuffling blanket for them, the noise drowning out Nigel complaining that he's cold.
23. How long does it usually take you to complete an entire story—from planning to writing to posting (if you post your work)?
Totally depends. A short story can take less than a week from concept to completion. Publication can take up to two years. A novel or novella? those can be conceived, outlined and written in a month or three years, depending.
24. How willing are you to kill your characters if the plot so demands it? What's the most interesting way you've killed someone?
I hate killing characters. I'll do it, but I don't like it. Even when we start the story with terminal illness, actually letting that character die makes me sniffle. I like my transgressively happy endings. There are enough "dead queer in the last reel" pieces already.
Most interesting? Take your pick: vivisected and cannibalized, suttee, Jack the Ripper, gunned down by cops in the Watts riots.
25. Do any of your characters have pets? Tell us about them.
The only pet I can think of is Fluffball, in "For Love of Etarin," and he will be the first to tell you the humans are HIS pets. Fluffball is a kitkin, a small black felinoid. He is clearly smarter than his owner, Ruvane, although he doesn't talk. He navigates the space-ship, gets stuck in a box during a bad landing, and takes right to Ruvane's new pet, Etarin.
I'm behind on the meme.
17. Favorite protagonist and why!
I dearly love Paul, the Big Bad Wolf from the Gay Christmas Werewolf series. He is very close to a self-insert. He's middle-aged, professional, a bit stodgy, and very burgiosie. He has a plan for his life and rolls along very smoothly, with hiccups on the full moon. Until a sexy English lit professor shares a change-time with him. And then he's thrust into family politics, true love and averting the end of the world. And through it all, he stays placid, stodgy and very much in love with his mate.
18. Favorite antagonist and why!
Sarah Brown, who styles herself Lady Sarah in Curse of the Pharaoh's Manicurists. She is Edward Kilsby's former fiancee, and an adventuress in every sense of the word. I enjoy writing her because she is so politely vicious, so nastily cunning and is generally driven to do anything to become Baroness Withycombe.
19. Favorite minor that decided to shove himself into the spotlight and why!
I'm not sure. I'd say David in the Nikolai series. He tends to take over and be the central character from time to time, like any good antagonist, but if I wasn't careful, he'd eclipse Nick entirely.
20. What are your favorite character interactions to write?
I like arguments. You can tell a lot about about a character by how they fight. Do they withdraw? Do they shout? Do they go quiet and then say something incredibly hurtful? Do they put a gun to their beloved's head and demand?
21. Do any of your characters have children? How well do you write them?
I think only the steampunk lesbians in "Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch have kids. Widows Cat and Amanda have seven kids between them. Some of them get more screen time than others. Betsy, the 8 year old baby of the family, and Eli, who is about 16, are more involved. Betsy is Captain Obvious and comic relief. Eli is in conflict with his stepmother, because he thinks he should be the man of the house and she should be a lady. Hannah and Melissa get pretty short shrift, although we do see them holding off zombies as well as cooking breakfast. Abigail maily takes care of Betsy for her moms. We see very little of Billy. Jack has a good moment with his mom.
22. Tell us about one scene between your characters that you've never written or told anyone about before! Serious or not.
There are none I have never told anyone about, mainly because of the way I write. There are plenty I've not yet written.
One scene I'm envisioning for Lord Withycombe and the Terror of the Frozen North is this. They've pitched camp for the night, Edward and Charlie, Nigel and their guide. Edward and Charlie have nestled into their bedrolls and they're listening to Nigel and Zimmerman bicker. Then Edward gives a soft whistle and six sled-dogs bound into their tent and form a warm, snuffling blanket for them, the noise drowning out Nigel complaining that he's cold.
23. How long does it usually take you to complete an entire story—from planning to writing to posting (if you post your work)?
Totally depends. A short story can take less than a week from concept to completion. Publication can take up to two years. A novel or novella? those can be conceived, outlined and written in a month or three years, depending.
24. How willing are you to kill your characters if the plot so demands it? What's the most interesting way you've killed someone?
I hate killing characters. I'll do it, but I don't like it. Even when we start the story with terminal illness, actually letting that character die makes me sniffle. I like my transgressively happy endings. There are enough "dead queer in the last reel" pieces already.
Most interesting? Take your pick: vivisected and cannibalized, suttee, Jack the Ripper, gunned down by cops in the Watts riots.
25. Do any of your characters have pets? Tell us about them.
The only pet I can think of is Fluffball, in "For Love of Etarin," and he will be the first to tell you the humans are HIS pets. Fluffball is a kitkin, a small black felinoid. He is clearly smarter than his owner, Ruvane, although he doesn't talk. He navigates the space-ship, gets stuck in a box during a bad landing, and takes right to Ruvane's new pet, Etarin.