12. Side character POV: What do you find difficult to say to other people?
Jack, "I find it difficult to get close and personal. It makes my job as guardian of souls difficult because I'm not that good at comforting confused people whom I bring home. Although I'm often sarcastic, I'm also not good at criticism. That should be constructive and not hurtful and I have a hard time getting this right. Luckily I work alone, that makes things easier--for my 'victims'."
He laughs.
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12. If you write novels, would you consider a short story, and vice versa?
I don't really know how to write good short stories, how I could convey a sense of my SF or fantasy world in such few words. Good short stories always leave me wanting to read more and if there isn't anything more I'm disappointed. I could perhaps imagine writing a short about an established world as a teaser or lead-in to the next part of a series etc. I love writing microfiction though.
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11. What's your top advice to an aspiring writer?

Write the story that's inside you and think about the technicalities later. Get yourself a good beta reader and don't dismiss lightly what they say even when your returned manuscript looks--and makes you feel--like you're in first grade again and your teacher had too much red ink. Write and don't let yourself be discouraged by 'well-meaning' commentary.

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11. What would you do if you met your antagonist?

I would chuckle to myself inside and hope he doesn't sense my amusement because I know his story and he does not. I hope he doesn't know who I am though, in that case I'd run. Fast. Well... as fast as I can manage anyway.

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10. What are your thoughts on em dashes?
I like them as attention-getters in long sentences. Commata tend to swallow content in long sentences, em dashes don't. Overall I try to use short sentences to get away from the German-style spaghettis sentence.
I hardly ever use parentheses in fiction. Sometimes colons and semicolons, often three periods. Also: I use the em-dashes without the space. Strictly edited fanfic archives with detailed style guides hammered that in.
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10. Is writing dialogue easy for you? Why / why not?
I love writing dialogue, the characters don't need to be grammatically correct all the time and it's a good opportunity to show their voice. Of course there's always the problem of everyone sounding like me and that's something I struggle with sometimes. So I'd not exactly call it easy, basically all writing is difficult for me but I do love to write it and often write microfic in dialogue only.
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9. MC POV: What do you hate the most about the author?

SC Jack says, "The other day I mentioned how delighted I was that our efforts are chronicled. However, from what I can see so far, the author is doing this 'reimagining' thing you sometimes see in historical records. She is putting feelings into our hearts and words into our mouths that aren't ours. Well, not entirely. Although she comes pretty close, I give her that. Maybe if we told her more details, she'd improve?"

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Day 8: Did you like to read as a child? Which books were your favourites?
Yes. I taught myself to read when I was five because I was tired of waiting for adults reading to me. We were quite poor so new books for me were luxury and the best gifts you could give me. I got all the nature and animal stories I could find from libraries. I read everything I found in the house: fairy tales, harlequin romances, SF books, everything.
Forever favs: Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse.
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8. What do you pay attention to when describing your characters’ surroundings?
I
t depends on what is important for the character at that moment.
For landscapes I try to be as accurate as possible in our world, checking maps, images, videos. In other worlds I try to have somewhat realistic settings. Likewise in urban settings or houses/dwellings. Unless there's a reason I wouldn't describe every chair and table. But if they block an escape route for the MC, I might.

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64. Break up your MC's life (thus far) into 3 chapters and give each of them a title.

Whew, finally done catching up.

I could only break up Stevie's life into two chapters:

1. Before
2. After

For Robin it's easier:

1. The Thing
2. The Child
3. The Pawn

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63. What is the most offensive thing your MC has ever heard anyone say?
Robin has been called many things from that thing to moron. The first hurt deeply, the latter he could shake off.
Stevie has been called an offensive term by General Quinn but it's not so much the term but the way he looked at her as if she were something icky he just stepped in.

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62. MC POV: If you had a "do-over" button, what one event in your life would you like to have a second chance at?

Stevie: "I wouldn't leave that prison where Mum was murdered... but no, that's not realistic, is it? I should have paid closer attention to what Mum was doing, worked on, troubled with. I was just too self-absorbed..."

Robin: "Maybe I should have been completely honest with Stevie from the start. But I'm not certain. It's not only about me..."

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Catching up 61. Write about something your MC frequently forgets.

They're both perfect, they don't forget things! 😎

No, seriously, I'm drawing a blank here. I don't know. Have to think about it if that could add something to their character description.

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(I can't seem to post this today with my blahaj.zone account which I normally use for the PennedPossibilities)

7. Share an image of a favorite book cover design, other than your own.

I like many designs, modern, retro, you name it. Can't list them all.

I've always loved this particular version of cover art for Jean Auel's Clan of the Cavebear by artist Geoff Taylor. There are many other cover versions, good and bad, but I loved how well the picture covered an important aspect of the book. I also love Geoff Taylor's wildlife art, check it out: http://www.geofftaylor-artist.com/

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7. Why did your villain become a villain?

He was used and abused as a child and youth and wants payback big time. I know that's cliché but there's more to it that's at the heart of the story, so I won't go into details to not spoil my 2 1/2 potential readers. 🥰

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6: Do you hide easter eggs in your work? Give some examples.

I had to look up easter eggs in writing. I can't say I like the idea much. Maybe because I'm too dumb to find these easter eggs. I wouldn't have the slightest idea how to write them. I also dislike pop culture references (personal reason, long story 😛.) I sometimes include a tiny reference to a genre classic here or there, but more as a tribute than anything else. Sorry, no easter eggs to hunt in my worlds.

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6. When is a detailed description necessary and when is it better to skip?

I wrote yesterday that I like to read descriptions. I'm not too fond of writing them though because I always think what I write as description is clunky and too much. Yet, to set a mood, maybe at the beginning of a chapter or section, they work well if not overdone. And if they are necessary to understand the scene. Or if they add something: colour, character information and such. Balance is key!

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5. Do you have an intended audience for your writing?

Mostly myself and my beta reader (a good friend.)
And everyone else who likes to read somewhat classical fantasy with a dash of adventure and romance and who isn't bored by reading a long story. But I never think about that when I write. Getting some kind of feedback is nice though, so I'll put it out somewher--if I'm ever happy with it myself--for the kind of audience described above.

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It depends on the setting. For the fantasy WIP I'd describe the clothes they get in the new world in some detail to point out the differences. Small things like that make them realize that they've left home. They dress up to meet royalty, that's described. If it gets romantic and they realize how breathtaking the love interest looks in that outfit, or if the weather changes, or... so, quite a bit. 😁

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4. What's your beverage and snack of choice when writing?

Coffee. More coffee. And chocolate but rarely, I don't usually snack while writing, too messy.
When I write in the evening/night: red wine. I won't last for more than a glass anyway, my keyboard is a good pillow.

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