February Games

This month’s games were #AuthorConfession, #TheMerryWriter and #WriterlyWIPChat.

#AuthorConfession

1. Well, how do you do? Allegedly I be Drew. I don’t know either.
2. By making myself re-assess what I’m doing, what I want to accomplish, and plan how best to go about it.
3. Getting myself back into good habits.
4. For ebooks – Amazon. For audiobooks – Audible. For physical books, my local @page1books whenever possible.
5. Reflections.
6. Are we talking about to visit or to live in? There are probably a few Ash wouldn’t mind visiting, Middle-earth for one; but if it’s to live in, it would have to be one where his nature would be less of an issue. Maybe the Southern Vampire/True Blood universe
7. “So, what am I supposed to have done now?” I could almost hear the smile in Anja’s voice. “Well, Lord Pavlovitch has suggested you attacked an oil pipeline construction project he has a stake in but I’ve yet to find any proof that such an attack took place.”
8. I’m going to say no, but only because neither of us is entirely sure what it is yet.
9. I don’t have a reason yet but De Vries can’t stand aniseed.
10. Mainly coffee. Or anxiety.
11. I think he would enjoy himself touring casinos in Macau or Singapore.
12. See below.
13. White, I think.
14. Certainly more so than previous instalments. Maybe a 6.
15. Middling, I suppose.
16. Ebook: Darkness Forged – Matt Larkin. Audio: Wonderbook – Jeff VanderMeer
17. Scale of 1 to 5, usually personalized to the book in question, e.g. 4 out of 5 dragon eggs.
18. No idea which one could be considered the best overall but I will say that Twitter has been the best for me.
19. De Vries is a cunning & ruthless opportunist.
20. Last time I saw Ash, he was just reunited with the few members of House Valerius that stayed loyal to him following his arrest.
21. A reptile of some kind, I think.
22. Ash’s eyes are watchful, always moving, looking for the next potential threat.
23. It’s been known to happen.
24. Maybe not a lesson as such but I do hope to explore what it means to lead people and how far people will go to achieve what they believe is right.
25. Important enough that when we house-hunting last year, one of the must-haves was an area that we could turn into my library/reading area.
26. There are a few but since they concern spoilers, I’ll let discretion prevail here.
27. Sadly, pass.
28. In some ways I’m getting better, in some ways I’m getting worse.

#TheMerryWriter

1. I’m Drew. I have several years of experience as an organizer & co-ordinator as well as juggling multiple tasks.
2. In a way, I already have. Since I moved to the US, and particularly on here, I’ve tended to use Drew instead of Andrew unless it’s an official situation.
3. Getting some good writing done earlier in the day, a nice walk with the doggos, relaxing & spending time with Britt in the evening & maybe some more writing later at night. (I’m much more a night owl than she is.)
4. One of our furballs, Clyde, repeatedly flopping onto the centre of the table while Britt & I were trying to put together a jigsaw.
5. Read or enjoy a film.
6. BREAK.
7. BREAK.
8. The main thing, for now, is finding ways to protect his people and stop De Vries campaign to destabilize the Ceteri society.
9. Making myself better, both as a person and as a scribbler.
10. I haven’t settled on music for my MC (I keep thinking of ones, then discarding them) but I have for my supporting character Quinn – Dark Night by The Blasters.
11. Water.
12. At the risk of dating myself; MySpace.
13. BREAK.
14. BREAK.
15. No tattoos or birthmarks, just scars now.
16. No birthmarks but I do have a tattoo, one that ended up bigger than I intended. It was supposed to be just a phoenix on my upper arm. Instead, it goes from the top of my shoulder to midway down my lower arm & the wings spread to the centre of my chest & back.
17. Outside of my day job? Probably my library.
18. The only thing I can think of is playing video games with Casey.
19. Animated films.
20. BREAK.
21. BREAK.
22. Listening to his mother singing.
23. Playing by (or in) the stream at the bottom of our garden.
24. I’ve never been a big fan of cringe comedy.
25. The main one that always gets to me is Fairytale of New York by The Pogues & Kirsty MacColl.
26. I always try to be punctual in people but deadlines can be a different matter.
27. Using made up words (supposably, congratumalations) or unnecessarily pluralizing things.
28. I look better in black and white. Plus it gave me room to include the website/handle.

#WriterlyWIPChat

1. Hi folkses, I’m Drew. As for a guilty writing pleasure, I suppose you could say my habit of putting in in-jokes & references in things like character names.
2. Does it count if I’m still trying to break it? Anyways, I need to get past the whole analysis-paralysis thing, let myself get and just write rather than deliberating over every word.
3. That, one day, he will be as good a leader of House Valerius as his father is. He really wants to be but he doesn’t believe it right now.
4. Without saying exactly what he said (spoilers), Ash regrets lying to the Curia. Things might have turned out the same anyway but it was definitely a contributing factor in him being blamed for De Vries’ actions and arrested.
5. The main one is House Valerius book 3 – House in Exile. And I have ideas for maybe half a dozen short stories set in the House Valerius world. Plus there’s whatever the daily writing prompts on Twitter bring to mind.
6. The only one I’ve specifically mentioned as having an issue with their weight in Lord Von Radu. He’s fighting the aging process but it’s getting the better of him. I suppose we could include Ash’s aunt Sara as well, although that’s pregnancy weight.
7. I feel so far away from even thinking about being published, its not a question I’ve considered.
8. Depends on whether they add anything to the story. Speaking purely for my own work, I have used them (3 in book 1, at least 1 in book 2) and they do (or are supposed to) contribute towards a small sub-plot.
9. I’d say Ash depends on sight the most, with hearing as a close second.
10. I’d found some generic clothes at some shopping center, reasonably priced, unlikely to attract attention. There was nothing to say I couldn’t do exactly the same thing again, albeit in a different city. The problem was either option meant leaving the hotel, such as it was, and my paranoia was making it difficult to spend any more time than absolutely necessary away from an enclosed environment.
11. Given that I’ve already rewritten some of it anyways, I think I could do so again.
12. Casey’s the only one who’s been shown to smoke. although it’s more a stress reaction than anything else.
13. I would try to relax but, if something occurred to me, I’d do my best to write it down.
14. Definitely not. Ceteri rule no. 1 – bodies are to be destroyed as completely as possible.
15. Ebook: Darkness Forged – Matt Larkin. Audio: Wonderbook – Jeff VanderMeer
16. A writer, or a scribbler. The idea has taken root, for good or ill, that I can’t call myself an author unless I have some manner of published work available.
17. “If you don’t want to talk about it just now,” Jodie said. “That’s okay. But you’ll need to talk to someone about it sooner or later. I remember you telling me that I would have to face..,” She hesitated, “what happened to me at some point.” There was a hint of red in her face, maybe embarrassment, maybe anger. “You were right about that. So, this is me returning the advice.” I held up a hand in a gesture of surrender. “You’re right,” I admitted. “But I don’t think I’m ready for that yet.”
18. Well, the intention is to reconnect Ash and Mitsuko during book 3 so… maybe?
19. Fairly sure that Lord Raines is unfaithful to his wife but since he’s a relatively minor character, I don’t think I’ve ever specifically said so.
20. Not sure where this falls on the large-small scale but across the 3 books, there have been close to 50 named characters appearing onstage.
21. Given that the main Ceteri prison is (or was) in Arkhangelsk and that only members of the Curia would be allowed access to prisoners, the only visitor Ash could expect would be his father. If only he wasn’t imprisoned himself.
22. There are one or two general references in each book; stuff on the radio when driving, a night club in book 1, a strip club in book 3. The only specific reference is to Quinn listening to Ry Cooder.
23. Since their current base of operations is quite small (it is a bunker after all), what chores there are tend to be shared fairly equally. The exception would be anything that needs to be done in daylight, since only MacReady can go out at that time.
24. In most aspects, Ash is more like his father. The exception is that he got her height and a little bit of her colouring.
25. I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t questioned it sometimes.
26. Ideally, book 4.
27. The only link I have to promote is my Booknest column.
28. If it ends where I currently intend, certainly not.

As Always, Thanks to the hosts:

#AuthorConfession – J.M. Sullivan & Jessica Julien

#TheMerryWriter – Ari Meghlen & Rachel Poli

#WriterlyWIPChat – Kerri Davidson & Mark Gelinas, Sr.