For the last fifteen days I’ve been participating in a couple of writerly hashtag Q & A games on Twitter—namely, #authorconfession (hosted by @_JM_Sullivan) and #WIPjoy (hosted by @simmeringmind). Each day participants are provided with a new question about their work-in-progress to answer, and it’s a lot of fun both to answer the questions, and hear what other authors have to say as well. So for today’s blog post, I thought I’d treat the last fifteen days of author confessions and work-in-progress joys like the book Q & A’s they are, and list the questions and my answers, which correspond to Warriors of Aralan 7, the next of the series to be published, and its brand-new protagonist Ben. (Spoilers may be contained). Day One #authorconfession Question: Is your main character a prankster? Answer: Ben could be, but the story happens at a time in his life when he's too troubled for things like that. #WIPjoy Question: Introduce your work-in-progress! Answer: This is the story of a troubled 9-year-old named Ben and his path to reconciliation with his father and the death of his mother. Day Two #authorconfession Question: Are you doing Camp NaNoWriMo? Why? Answer: I'm not doing Camp NaNo unfortunately. I have more than one editing project to attend to. #WIPjoy Question: Describe your main character for us. Answer: Ben is a mischievous, troublemaking 9-year-old with big blue eyes rimmed in dark lashes, auburn hair, and an irresistible smile. (I found this image on Pinterest and thought it looked almost exactly like an older Ben). Day Three #authorconfession Question: Three words a character uses to describe the main character. Answer: Ben's friend Mercy described him as a cheat, a thief and a liar once. :P (He did deserve it though). #WIPjoy Question: Share a visual that goes with your work-in-progress. Answer: Ben plays marbles! (Although the clothes are all wrong in this pic since I write fantasy). Day Four #authorconfession Question: What’s your main character’s favorite school subject? Answer: Ben's favorite subject in school is avoiding going to school. ;) #WIPjoy Question: Share a song that inspires you for this story. Answer: Just Be Held by Casting Crowns. It applies more to Ben's father, Allister, but it's part of the story. Day Five #authorconfession Question: Thoughts on bad language in books? Answer: It isn't necessary. “Cursing is small minds expressing themselves forcefully.” There are ways around it. #WIPjoy Question: Share a line of description. Answer: Allister looking on his wife right before she dies. The moment his heart broke. He turned back to look at Ava, and his expression shattered into a thousand little creases of agony and grief. Day Six
#authorconfession Question: Describe your work-in-progress using only emojis! Answer: (You'll have to click here since my website doesn't support emojis, haha). #WIPjoy Question: Name something in your work-in-progress for each of the senses: sight, sound, taste, smell, touch. Answer: Sight: Throwing knives Sound: Clamor of battle Taste: Crusty dried porridge Smell: Warm, green summer forest Touch: Cold hands Day Seven #authorconfession Question: What's your main character's favorite color? Answer: I get the feeling that Ben is a blue kinda kid. #WIPjoy Question: If your story was represented by one item, what would it be? Answer: Throwing knives. Allister, Ben's father, teaches throwing knife lessons, and Ben wants to learn how to use them so bad. Day Eight #authorconfession Question: Finish the sentence: When I write, I... Answer: When I write I give myself over to the story, and bleed my heart onto the page. #WIPjoy Question: If you like _____, you'll like my book! Answer: If you like Jotham's Journey/Tabitha's Travels etc. by Arnold Ytreeide, you'll like Warriors of Aralan Book 7. Day Nine #authorconfession Question: Tell a secret about your work-in-progress! Answer: Well spoiler alert... Ben's mom dies having him, leaving his father, Allister, to raise him alone. #WIPjoy Question: From the main character: most awkward memory? Answer: Me: Most awkward memory? Ben: *squirming* The time I cut off Clare's hair. She was so bossy! Me: I knew you'd say that. Day Ten #authorconfession Question: Tell an important date for your main character. Why? Answer: Ben: My birthday? 'Cause it was the day I was born, and also the day my mother died. Me: Wow that was honest. Ben: #WIPjoy Question: From the antagonist: happiest memory? Answer: Hearst: *laughs* The day I found deposits of Pretiosum ore and formulated a plan to become a rich man off of them. Day Eleven #authorconfession Question: Which element best describes your main character? Answer: The element that best fits Ben is water. Cold, pure, rushing and dashing recklessly... sometimes dangerous. #WIPjoy Question: From a side character: what's the most pain (physical or emotional) that you've been in? Answer: Me: Okay Mercy, you're up. Mercy: *fidgeting* When Ben's father was injured and we thought he might die. For Ben. Day Twelve #authorconfession Question: Has your main character ever had their heart broken? Answer: Oh yeah. If you're a character of mine your heart is going to be broken some time or other. *evil author laugh* #WIPjoy Question: Share a line from the main character about food. Answer: Way more than a line (more like an entire scene) but it involves food. Ben doesn't really talk about food that much. Allister sat his son down in one of the only two chairs in the cottage, then seated himself at the other one. He leaned forward on the table, clasping his hands as he looked at the nine-year-old at his side. It still seemed only yesterday he had had to face his fears of being a father. “Ben,” he began, slowly, deliberately, “I need you to be really honest with me right now.” Benjamin was fast losing the hope that his little acts would get him anywhere. He again appeared sullen as he picked at a splinter on the table. With nothing else to do, Allister took his son’s silence as an agreement to cooperate. “Recently you have been getting into a lot of trouble,” he sighed. “But you haven’t always been that way. Can you tell me why?” Allister caught a glimmer of blue as Ben glanced at him. “I dunno,” he muttered stubbornly. “I asked you to be honest. That’s not honest.” Again, Benjamin glanced at him, then, almost longingly, at the blue sky and sunshine just outside the window in front of him. “Clare annoys me,” he repeated. Allister was having a difficult time staying patient, and his tone grew irritated. “And that’s another thing. You know you’re not allowed to touch my knives. How did you get one? I’ve been wearing them all day.” Ben reached over and slid the top knife out with a self-satisfied grin. “Like this!” Allister snatched the knife back. “Ben!” he exclaimed, “Stop! Do you remember why you’re not allowed to touch weapons?” Ben sat back and heaved a long-suffering sigh. “Because I’m a ‘hazard to my own health.’” Allister sheathed the knife grimly. “Exactly. You’re always covered in bruises and scrapes. I don’t think you need any help hurting yourself.” Ben looked as if he might like to debate that point, but his father ended the conversation when he realized that he was getting nowhere. Allister pointed at the small cauldron over the fire, which he had forgotten to clean after breakfast that morning. “As punishment for cutting Clare’s hair off, you have to scrub that, and then stay close to my side for three days.” Benjamin’s face registered pure disgust when he looked inside the cauldron, which was a mess of baked-on porridge scraps. “Do I have to?” he whined. Allister turned his chair around so he could watch Ben’s progress, and put his hands behind his head. “You wouldn’t have to if you had behaved yourself today. Now hurry, I have to teach knife-throwing lessons in an hour.” Day Thirteen #authorconfession Question: Fast-forward 2o years... what's your main character up to? Answer: Fast-forward 20 years? Ha, Ben's chasin' around a whole passel o' children, and very happily married to Mercy. #WIPjoy Question: From your antagonist: what's your deepest regret? Answer: Me: Deepest regret? Hearst: Me: H: Not dodging that last arrow. M: *snorts* *whispers behind WIPjoy Q. paper* He's dead so... Day Fourteen #authorconfession Question: Is your main character religious? Answer: No. No one in this book is “religious.” But Ben's father does have a real relationship with God as His child. #WIPjoy Question: From a side character: what gives you joy in life? Answer: Me: Okay Mercy, what gives you joy? Mercy: *looks thoughtful* Everything! Me: Yes... yes, you are a happy child. Day Fifteen #authorconfession Question: What's your main-character's favorite holiday? Answer: Ben's favorite holiday is his birthday. He's a 9-year-old boy after all. #WIPjoy Question: From the main character: your favorite music? Answer: Ben's favorite music? I don't think he's heard enough to form an opinion. Aralan is not very arts-centered. And that's it for this blog post! In part two I'll post the rest of my answers, or you can find me on Twitter and read each day's Q & A's as I tweet them. Thanks for reading!
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Welcome!Welcome to Katelyn Buxton Books! I'm a Christian author and blogger, with a passion for writing stories that are not just enjoyable, but also lead people closer to Jesus. Feel free to look around, and enjoy your stay! Archives
October 2021
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