Three Favorites... Again

Day two of the 15 Day Writer's Challenge over at Eat... Sleep... Write. If you're a writer I encourage you to check it out and think about joining us!

Day 2 - Your favorite male author.

Another difficult one that I'll have to narrow down to three choices.

James Herriot

I've never really been a great fan of animal stories. While my family enjoyed the stories of Rascal, and Where the Red Fern Grows, I found them rather boring. I don't remember a time when I didn't like James Herriot though. I've grown up listening and reading his stories, based off of his real life experiences as an English country vet.

We had Every Living Thing on tape, and I think that's probably the most listened to tape there ever was. The stories are certainly worth hearing, but what makes them captivating is the way he writes them.

Not only that, the books make a pretty amazing tv series.

Charles Dickens

Look at this guy. With a face like that, how can you not write a whopping good novel? I've actually only read three of his books and am currently in the middle of the forth, but the ones I have read are amazing. This guy has got to be the master of plot. As I was reading Great Expectations, the first book I've read of his, I was thinking it was good, but by the time I got to the end I was blown away. Things unfold that you never would have expected.

Not only that, the books make some pretty amazing Masterpiece Theater adaptions.

Ted Dekker

I'm not even sure where to start with this guy. I guess from the beginning. Thanks for getting me into this addiction Beth.

Ted Dekker opened my eyes to the world of thriller novels. His was the first books in a long time that I clung to the spine of during the wee hours of the morning. I finished Black overnight.

The awesome part is, he's not only still alive, but he's still writing!

Not only that, the characters on the pages seem so real already, it gives me chills just thinking about a film adaption.

Three Favorites.

I've decided to take part in Lerowen's writer's challenge. I always love it when I discover new writer's blogs. I probably won't do every day of the challenge, but I thought some of the daily topics looked interesting. Such as today's,

Day 1 - Your favorite character you've written.

This is a really hard question. I mean, I've formed some kind of attachment to pretty much all of them. I guess I could probably narrow it down to three though.

Dugan Cealnoor by GeorgiePenn on Polyvore.com

The villain in the fantasy novel I've been working on for a few years. I'm getting ready to re-write it and in the midst of outlining have discovered just how awesome this guy is.

While he was a teenager he was mislead to believe he was better than his peers. As he grew into a man he took action to overtake the kingdom, but was thwarted by none other than his younger brother who later becomes the King. Not willing to fade into myth he takes his revenge by kidnapping his brother's only son and raising him to believe his Father is the real enemy and must be destroyed. All together he's a character with a lot of back story and misunderstandings.

Ranen Ken by GeorgiePenn featuring a black t shirt

Ranen, he's one of the main characters in my 2010 NaNo novel, The Way We Think. This guy can be pretty wild at times, he's another of my characters with a lot of backstory. He grew up in the streets, fending for himself till he was 17. At this time a family took him under their wing and nurtured him, giving him an education and believing that he was a good person. He goes through life's lessons the hard way.

Ella by GeorgiePenn featuring distressing jeans

I started her story based off a series of dreams I was having. I never really finished the story, but she kind of became the character I go to when I feel like writing, but have nothing else to write. I love her quite reserve, yet her will power to survive in a world many would fail in. She sings and plays for audiences, yet she is terrified of people she doesn't know. She can count her friends and family on one hand, but she knows them better than they know themselves at times. She draws strength and confidence from those she loves, but gives them the same, and sometimes more, in return.

Three characters. Three stories. Three favorites.

The Best Antiques Are Old Friends

Everything has been kind of crazy lately. Fin and I have a friend visiting for a few days. Life has been filled with pictures,

and buying awesome old books from antique stores.

Those books would be Kipling: A Selection of His Stories and Poems Volume I & II, and Robin Hood, by Howard Pyle. I love Kipling. I love Robin Hood. 'Nuff said.

I've also been outlining.

Yes. I've finally gotten into it. It helps when both of your friends are also working on outlines. Coffee Shops with inspiring atmospheres also come in handy.

Beautiful People - Grant Fallyn

Now it's time for Beautiful People. The part where Georgie comes out, and talks about a beautiful person. (Yes, that's based of Silly Song's with Larry.)

For those wondering what Beautiful People is, you can check it all out HERE. If you'd like to join us for this months questions, sign the linky HERE.

This month I'm going to be talking about the main character of The Way We Think, my NaNo novel for 2010. Grant Fallyn, the natural leader of the five main superhero's. His power is to know when someone is lying. Grant is the hardest for me to translate what I've got in my head, to paper. He sounds kind of ordinary, but really, he's got a pretty complex personality. He thinks differently than most people, although it doesn't really show until you get to know him.

Grant Fallyn by GeorgiePenn featuring short sleeve shirts

What is his biggest secret?

I guess it would be that he is afraid. As the leader the others are constantly looking to him for advice and instruction, and he fears hurting them by doing the wrong thing. I'm not sure he really knows that this is his biggest secret though.

Has he ever been in love?

There's this girl. Her name is Luna Telmarin... he loves her.

What is his comfort food?

He doesn't really have one.

Does he play a musical instrument? If so, what?

Piano. He's awesome with those ivory keys.

What color are his eyes? Hair?

His eyes are brown. His hair is white. No, he's not old. He was born with white hair. It's not really blonde, it's white. No, he's not an albino. He's just got awesome white hair.

Does he have any pets?

He's got an albino golden retriever named Alby. One of his Dad's friends gave it to him when he was a boy, wanting to be rid of the strange looking pup.

Where is his favorite place to be?

Probably his bedroom, or just any place with his friends. Maybe his living room, when his family is gathered around.

What are some of his dreams or goals?

To get married and have a family, to lead a normal life as best he can. To have a nice house, a beautiful wife *cough, cough* Luna *cough, cough,* and to make his Dad proud.

Does he enjoy sports?

He doesn't mind playing backyard sports with his friends, but other than that, not really.

What is his favorite flower, or plants.

Ferns.

Beautiful People - July/August

Yes, my friends, time, once again, for Beautiful People. Actually, it's past time, but oh well.

If you're not sure what Beautiful People is, check out THIS post.

We're still open for question suggestions! We're keeping a list of all the questions so the ones we don't use this month will be used eventually!

For those participating, as you answer the questions, remember, they are not just a way to share what you already know about your character with others, but also to discover more about them yourself. If you don't know the answer to one of the questions, think about it for a little while. Some of the questions are hard, but finding the answer may just help you get to know them a little better.

Last, but not least, even though some of the questions seemed geared towards non-fantasy kind of characters, I still encourage fantasy authors to see if they can adapt the questions so it'll work for them. If you need to change the questions around a little bit, please feel free to do so. You could also imagine what the answer would be if your character wasn't fantasy. What would they be like in a modern world?

Now, on to the questions!

1. What is his/her biggest secret?

2. Has he/she ever been in love?

3. What is his/her comfort food?

4. Does he/she play a musical instrument? If so, what?

5. What color are his/her eyes? Hair?

6. Does he/she have any pets?

7. Where is his/her favorite place to be?

8. What are some of his/her dreams or goals?

9. Does he/she enjoy sports?

10. What is his/her favorite flower or plant?

Thanks to Hannah Grace and Taylor Lynn for submitting these questions!

Have fun, and don't forget to sign the linky!

Random Bursts of... Random

Hi. Remember me? I'm the author of this blog. This sadly, rejected blog. I'm actually okay with it though, when I decided to start a blog again I told myself it wasn't going to be a priority. I wasn't going to worry about gaining more followers, or posting regularly. I was just going to write. Strangely enough, I've enjoyed authoring this blog more than any others I've ever written.

Summer has been moving rather quickly for me. I just wanted to post a quick update of what's going on for me.

• My family just got back from a spur of the moment camping trip. Spur of the moment as in, my parents woke up Monday morning with the idea, and we left that afternoon.

• I am now an official homeschool graduate. The party was smashing, even for a crazy introvert like me.

• In two days I'm going to see someone awesome. I haven't seen this someone for two years, which is far to vast a time. Fin and I have a mutual best friend who we just happen to think is crazy amazing. She moved awhile back, but she's coming back to visit. For five days. We've got to make up two years, in five days. Life is about to get crazy.

• Beautiful People is coming. It had totally slipped my mind until today, but never fear! We'll hopefully have a new variety of questions posted soon. Speaking of BP, if you have any suggestions for questions, please feel free to comment on either mine, or Sky's blog letting us know what they are!

• If you're looking for a blog to fall in love with, may I suggest Dancing Again... authored by the beautiful Lynette Kraft. I absolutely love reading about her adventures as a mother of nine. She inspires me to embrace the little things in life.

• I've been meaning to really start outlining for draft 2 of Ash Valley for weeks now, but I think I'm finally really getting ready to start for sure. I've had almost the entire summer to break from serious writing, but I'm ready to get back in the groove. I'm thinking 750words and all. Enough casual, I want to get something done.

Before I Kick the Bucket...

Bucket List. A list of experiences a person would like to accomplish before kicking the bucket. I think everyone has one. Even if it's not written down, or viewed as such. Everyone has something they want to do before they die.

I give you, a small section of my constantly growing bucket list.

1. Visit Broadway.

2. Learn to play rare instruments. Like pan-pipes, and a concertina.

3. Direct a play, or movie. (If not both)

4. Ride in a hot air balloon.

5. See Australia, and Ireland. (Strange contrast, I know)

6. Say, "You, you, and you, COME WITH ME!" In perfect context.

7. Publish a book... that I wrote.

8. Leave a bouquet of flowers on someone's doorstep for May Day.

9. Leave someone totally speechless.

10. Write the script for a tv series. (At least the first season)

11. Write a novel entirely on an old fashioned typewriter...

12. Acquire an old fashioned typewriter.

What's on your bucket list? Let the amazing Polka Dot know to enter a huge giveaway!