Questions for Serra!

Hey, everyone! I'm doing the first character interview of the year! Yays! But I need questions. This interview is with a side character who leans toward the villain side of the scale from my science fiction series Subsapien. I'll tell you a little about her.

Serra is a fifteen year old girl owned by the company Rota. She is called a grafting which is a human infused with animal DNA. In her case, she has shark and stingray in her. All her life she has been trained to be a weapon. That's all the scientist told her she could do. But deep down inside all she wants is a family and to be with her secret love Sting.

Since scientists raised her, she's never known her parents and until recently all she has known were the labs she grew up in. She loves the world outside of the cruel labs and envies the happiness of regular people living there all the time.

Some of her abilities include breathing underwater, super strength, poisonous barbs that extend and retract from her wrists, and the ability to sense the electrical signatures of people via her Ampullae of Lorenzini (electroreceptors from sharks which disguise themselves as freckles on her face). The scientists force her to use these abilities for their means, though she rather just be swimming or spending time with her few loved ones.

Two other graftings, Sting and Able, are her only friends since she is quiet and doesn't like to talk to many people in fear of making trouble. Though Sting is abusive to her, she endures his treatment. Years ago she met him before the scientists changed him into a psychopathic monster, and she desires that somehow in some way she can bring back the kind boy she once knew.

Check her out on DeviantART

Leave your questions in the comments and she'll answer them Saturday the 31st!

If you liked this post, come back every Saturday for more writing advice, character interviews, book reviews and more! On Sundays I have Soundtrack Sundays where I post a new score piece, Tuesdays are Tea Tuesdays with tea reviews, Wednesdays I have Wonderful Word Wednesdays where I post a new vocabulary word, and Fridays are Fan Fridays where I post tags and other goodies. To help support my dream to be an author follow this blog, like me on Facebook, watch me on deviantART, and follow me on Pinterest and Twitter. If you want to know more about my books check out them out here. Thank you! :)

Soundtrack Sunday: Bauklötze (Attack on Titan)

It's Soundtrack Sunday again! The day where I post awesome music to write to or just listen to for pleasure if you're a fellow soundtrack junkie. I've just finished watching the second half of Attack on Titan dubbed. Watching the anime again and doing the Attack on Titan tea blend reviews has made me want to listen to the music. 

While going through the OST, I stumbled upon this gem again. It is called Bauklötze (pronounced BOWK-lot-zuh) or Buildling Blocks.This song often plays in very emotional parts of the anime. It is sang in German and has awesome lyrics. I'll include the English translation below. The lead singer, Mika Kobayashi, has such a powerful voice that conveys such emotion. That combined with the strings, drums, and clacking noises make such an interesting combination. I just love it. You can listen to more epic music in my Soundtrack Sundays YouTube playlist.

It is like the game with toy blocks

I am carefully building with bricks

It is like the game with toy blocks

I take a look at my empty box of bricks

You break down my wall suddenly with dirty hands

On that day it was an ardently crimson sunset

I hid the bricks from you

Sad memory of my childhood

Is that the destroyer or the creator?

With the blaze of hatred we wield the swords

Is that our fate or our will?

We will fight until this hot wind takes our wings

It is like the game with toy blocks

I am carefully building with bricks

It is like the game with toy blocks

I take a look at my empty box of bricks

You break down my wall unsuspectingly with dirty hands

I put nothing into the box of bricks

I do not want to lose anything

I hid the toy blocks from you

I am once again carefully building with bricks

Have you heard this piece before? What do you think of it? Have you seen Attack on Titan?

If you liked this post, come back every Saturday for more writing advice, character interviews, book reviews and more! On Sundays I have Soundtrack Sundays where I post a new score piece, Tuesdays are Tea Tuesdays with tea reviews, Wednesdays I have Wonderful Word Wednesdays where I post a new vocabulary word, and Fridays are Fan Fridays where I post tags and other goodies. To help support my dream to be an author follow this blog, like me on Facebook, watch me on deviantART, and follow me on Pinterest and Twitter. If you want to know more about my books check out them out here. Thank you! :)

Click here for last week's Soundtrack Sunday!

Beautiful People: Authors

Beautiful People is back in the new year! Yay! This is a link-up hosted by Paperfury and Further Up and Further In where you answer questions about your characters. I participated in Beautiful People #1, #2, #3 and the villain special last year, and Beautiful Books #1, #2, and #3. I kind of love this link-up. ^ ^' It's really helped me explore my characters in my books. This month is the author edition where the questions are directed to the author in this case me. ^ ^' If you'd like to participate in this link-up yourself, check out either Paperfury or Further Up and Further In to see how. Here we go!

The manga version of me.

1. How many years have you been writing? When did you officially consider yourself a ‘writer’?

I have writing for about ten years (as in a completed my first novel to start), but I didn't consider myself a writer until I was sixteen, and I went to a writers conference. I discovered the writer community, author Bryan Davis taught me that writing is an art form, and I saw what it took to become a writer. Then I thought to myself, "This is what I want to do."

2. How/why did you start writing?

Technically I've been making up stories since I could dictate. This stemmed from my mother reading me stories and teaching me how to make up stories and then me becoming an avid reader despite my slow reading pace. I like a lot of books, but I wanted a book that had everything I wanted it in so I decided to write my own. 

I didn't start writing until I got around eight. I wrote and illustrated a fragment of a novel called "John and His Adventures." So original, I know. Then I completed my first novel at eleven called "Aladyne". Yes, I know it sounds a lot like Aladdin, but it was pronounced A-lah-deen. I dreamed to be the youngest writer ever. Yeah, that totally didn't happen. 

As I got into my teens, I just enjoyed creating stories, and I couldn't get them out of my head. I used to call my best friend every day at lunch to tell her my new book ideas. Now my reason for writing is I want to minister to people through my writing. So it's changed over the years as I've matured.

3. What’s your favorite part of writing?

That's a hard question to answer. I really enjoy creating characters, but I also like discovering new scenes while writing my story. Thirdly, I like hearing how my books have impacted others. I'm not published and my books and characters have already made an impression on my betas and people who read excerpts of my writing. Those three give me the most drive to a be a writer.

4. What’s your biggest writing struggle?

Waiting. Waiting for feedback from betas or critique partners. Waiting to hear back from agents. Waiting for God to deem it the right time for me to be published. Waiting for things to happen that are out of my control is the most agonizing for me. I can shove through writing a draft until I'm exhausted, I can read writing blogs and writing skill books until my eyes hurt, and I can edit other people's work until my hands are sore. But I can't make people like what I write or make people publish me. I can only try my best.

5. Do you write best at night or day?

Night definitely. I'm a night owl. I like the moon and the stars and everyone being asleep, but me. I like turning all of the lights off and just burning candles while I'm really hard core writing. It's peaceful to me.

6. What does your writing space look like? (Feel free to show us pictures!)

I write on an oak desk my family randomly gave me surrounded my by geek posters (Some signed by the actors. Squee!) with books and candles close by. On the desk is my sketch book with my latest sketch of my characters.

7. How long does it typically take you to write a complete draft?

About three months. Any time I let it stretch too long I start tiring of the story, and when I write too fast I feel too stressed. I almost died during NaNoWriMo. 

8. How many projects do you work on at once?

I usually work on one at a time then switch to another project while I'm waiting for one to rest before editing. Then I go back to the former one.

9. Do you prefer writing happy endings, sad ones, or somewhere in between?

I like somewhere in between. I can't stand sad endings and too happy endings are a bit cheap. I like the characters to end up happily, but they suffered loss along the way. 

10. List a few authors who’ve influenced your writing journey.

There are quite a few, but I'll try to keep it to a reasonable length: Bryan Davis, Jill Williamson, C.S. Lewis, Steven James and J.R.R. Tolkien. I talked about this in more detail in another post. 

11. Do you let people read your writing? Why or why not?

I do, but I'm selective. I usually don't let my family read my writing. Only one of my cousins has read a full novel of mine. I let betas read my writing, my writing buddies, and people I let critique it. But I don't let just anyone who asks read it, because often you let them read it and they either rip it apart or don't ever actually read it. Learned that the hard way ... I'll be more comfortable when I get published because no one can change it, because it's already published.

12. What’s your ultimate writing goal or dream?

I'd like to be able to support myself off of my writing, and I hope it helps others. When I'm published, I'd like to do a lot of touring since I love traveling. My wild dream would be for my books to be turned into a movie, but that's slim. 

13. If you didn’t write, what would you want to do?

I honestly don't really know. Writing is what I feel like has been my destiny to do. I guess if I didn't write, I'd pursue my art more. Perhaps graphic design.

14. Do you have a book you’d like to write one day but don’t feel you’re ready to attempt it yet?

I have NA Steampunk Romance in mind, but considering I haven't ever been in a relationship (Haven't found anyone suitable. Being part of the 1% INFJ clan bites sometimes.), I don't feel ready to write it. It's not a big hindrance though since I have several other books to work on. I just have plenty of ideas in stock.

15. Which story has your heart and won’t let go?

Subsapien. I have been working on this book for nearly seven years. It isn't my first novel by far, but it has me in an iron grip. Some people have told me not to work on it, but the characters and themes are so close to me that even after working on another book for a while I bounce back to this one. I'm determined to get this baby published.

Well that was a little about little weird me. Actually I'm not that little, I'm 5' 9", but that's beside the point. There was my segment, Author Origins: Stori Tori. I hope it was somewhat interesting to read. Thank you for stopping by!

Have you done this link-up? What are some of your answers to these questions?

If you liked this post, come back every Saturday for more writing advice, character interviews, book reviews and more! On Sundays I have Soundtrack Sundays where I post a new score piece, Tuesdays are Tea Tuesdays with tea reviews, Wednesdays I have Wonderful Word Wednesdays where I post a new vocabulary word, and Fridays are Fan Fridays where I post tags and other goodies. To help support my dream to be an author follow this blog, like me on Facebook, watch me on deviantART, and follow me on Pinterest and Twitter. If you want to know more about my books check out them out here. Thank you! :)

The Art of Characters: Protagonists

Welcome to Stori Tori's Blog's first ever link-up! I've wanted to do one since I've been participating in Paperfury's since they seem so much fun.

This link-up focuses on your characters from the outside and how your character's description can tell a lot about your character. I'm hoping this will not only help solely writers, but also writers/artists to draw their characters more. I'm going to do a new link-up on the second Friday of the month for three months, and if I get a lot of participation (which I'm guessing will signal you all like it), I'll continue. I hope you enjoy it and you learn some more about your characters!

How to Do It:

Step 1.) Find three pieces of art that describe your character. This can be your own drawings or cosplays or sculptures, someone else's art (with their permission and/or crediting of course), celebrity pictures, or a combination of the three.

Step 2.) Answer the questions below about your character's description and link back to this blog so if anyone else wants to participate they know where to go.

Step 3.) Put it all in a blog post or deviantART journal.

Step 4.) When you post it, link up here and you're done!

The Questions:

1.) What does your character's eye, skin, and hair color tell about him/her?

2.) What does your character's hairstyle tell about him/her?

3.) What does your character's default outfit tell about him/her?

4.) Does he/she have an object(s) he/she carries around a lot?

5.) Does he/she have any particular scars or birthmarks?

6.) Does he/she have any piercings or tattoos?

7.) How does he/she carry themselves? Shoulders back? Eye contact? Eyes down? Slumped shoulders?

8.) What is his/her default expression? Smiling? Frowning? Solemn?

9.) Does he/she wear make-up or face paint?

10.) Does his/her physical appearance change at any time? For example: If they have a power do their eyes glow or hair turn blue?

The Link-Up:

An InLinkz Link-up

If you liked this post, come back every Saturday for more writing advice, character interviews, book reviews and more! On Sundays I have Soundtrack Sundays where I post a new score piece, Tuesdays are Tea Tuesdays with tea reviews, Wednesdays I have Wonderful Word Wednesdays where I post a new vocabulary word, and Fridays are Fan Fridays where I post tags and other goodies. To help support my dream to be an author follow this blog, like me on Facebook, watch me on deviantART, and follow me on Pinterest and Twitter. If you want to know more about my books check out them out here. Thank you! :)

Wonderful Word Wednesday: Niveous

It's Wonderful Word Wednesday again! Do you as a writer ever struggle finding that perfect word to describe something or you want to shake your writing up with some new words? Each Wednesday I post hand-picked descriptive words for writers and other vocabulary nerds out there. ;) Here is the first Wonderful Word Wednesday of the year! I thought with all the cold this would be an appropriate word for this time of year. 

niveous

adjective

1.) resembling snow, especially in whiteness; snowy.

Example Sentence: The Isamaour's white skin was as niveous as his homeland.

This picture reminds me so much of Mor traveling across
Isriki in her book Red Hood. I love the
starkly contrasting colors. Credits go to the respective artist.

Have you seen or used this word before? What do you think of it?

If you liked this post, come back every Saturday for more writing advice, character interviews, book reviews and more! On Sundays I have Soundtrack Sundays where I post a new score piece, Tuesdays are Tea Tuesdays with tea reviews, Wednesdays I have Wonderful Word Wednesdays where I post a new vocabulary word, and Fridays are Fan Fridays where I post tags and other goodies. To help support my dream to be an author follow this blog, like me on Facebook, watch me on deviantART, and follow me on Pinterest and Twitter. If you want to know more about my books check out them out here. Thank you! :)

Click here for last week's word!

Tea Tuesday: Sasha Sosho Sishi Seshe Sushu

I'm not really a coffee person. I prefer tea, and I know a lot of fellow writers love tea, too. But have you ever wanted to break out of the Early Grey or English Breakfast norm and try something new? Well, let me help you find some cool new teas! If you need a little hot and flavorful boost to help you reach your writing goal or you're just a lover of tea or you'd like to try some tea but aren't fond of the stereotypical types, these Tea Tuesday posts are for you.

This weeks tea is ... 

*drum roll*

Sasha Sosho Sishi Seshe Sushu

How I found it: I'm back with another fandom set from Adagio Teas. I've had my eye on this one for a while and I'm so excited I finally got it. This is the Attack on Titan set which includes Erin Jeager, Mikasa Ackermen, Armin Alert, Sasha Blouse, Levi Rivaille, and Zoe Hange blends. Attack on Titan is one of my favorite animes and I'm so excited to finally try the teas!
This is the same site I bought the Avengers set, Sherlock set, Tolkien set, Avatar: the Last Airbender set, and Doctor Who set from!

The Tea: This tea is the blend made for Sasha Braus aka Potato Girl. She is some much needed comic relief for this otherwise extremely intense show. Her biggest traits are her very large appetite and love for food such as bread, deli meat, and of course, potatoes. I'm not sure if because she's in a post-apocalyptic citadel she's ever had chocolate, but this tea is definitely chocolaty. 

The chocolate tea and cocoa nibs give a double portion of chocolate flavor; the hazelnut tea gives a pleasant bitterness like the tea version of hazelnut coffee (I'm sure Sasha has had hazelnuts what with the German-influenced environment meaning the walls are probably in Europe where hazelnuts are native to). Lastly, there is a hint of vanilla from the honeybush vanilla tea. Overall, the tea has a very strong, bold flavor.

Though I'm sure Sasha would love chocolate if she ever gets the chance to taste it and hazelnuts hint at her food obsession and her nutty personality, I'm not seeing much else about the tea that reflects on her hyper side or any other parts of her food obsession. This tea isn't exactly what I'd picture for a Sasha blend.

I laugh out loud at these scene every time.

Serving Recommendations: I steeped this tea for four minutes and added cream and sugar.

How much is it and where can you get it? You can find this tea at the Adagio website. I bought this tea in a sample set which was about $22 including shipping and you get a goodly amount of tea since you only need about a teaspoon per cup. Some of these teas you can buy individually for about $10 a pouch. 

So how good is it? It's a good tea, but the flavors don't stand out to me and it doesn't reflect Sasha very well.

Have you tried this tea? What did you think of it? Have you seen Attack on Titan? Who's your favorite character?

Bonus! If you are a first-time Adagio customer I can send you a $5 giftcard! Ask in the comments for details! (This is no joke and no catch I seriously can. It's part of the amazingness of Adagio Teas)

If you liked this post, come back every Saturday for more writing advice, character interviews, book reviews and more! On Sundays I have Soundtrack Sundays where I post a new score piece, Tuesdays are Tea Tuesdays with tea reviews, Wednesdays I have Wonderful Word Wednesdays where I post a new vocabulary word, and Fridays are Fan Fridays where I post tags and other goodies. To help support my dream to be an author follow this blog, like me on Facebook, watch me on deviantART, and follow me on Pinterest and Twitter. If you want to know more about my books check out them out here. Thank you! :)

Click here for last week's tea!