TBR Book Tag! (With gifs, because, why not?)

For once, I am getting to a tag really quickly. If the world goes out of orbit, or something explodes - I wasn't involved . . .

Bogdana the Booknerd tagged me for The TBR Book Tag. And honestly, it's probably the easiest tag yet (my to-read list is HUGE). So, thanks Bogdana, and be sure to check out her great book blog here! (All images and gifs belong to respective copyright holders. Book cover photos are from Goodreads.com)

1. How do you keep track of your TBR pile?

Shikamaru is my spirit animal (and I love this gif)

Uhhhh . . . I don't really keep track, it's too much effort. But Goodreads helps a lot! It tells me what I want to read, so I don't have to be bothered to remember ;P

2. Is your TBR mostly print or ebook?

Print. I have a few ebooks to read, but I usually ignore them unless I am stuck in an office waiting room, or standing in a super long line (both things I try to avoid, as a matter of principle)

3. How do you determine which book from your TBR to read next?

I stage a mini Hunger Games.
Actually, I just grab a handful, read the blurbs, and then decide on whatever looks the most interesting.

4. What book's been on your list the longest?

Probably Anna Karenina. I think it's been on there for about 11 years. I just haven't found the time.

5. A book that's on your TBR list just because of the cover?

I'd love to say that I never judge a book by it's cover, but we'd all know that's a lie. Usually I am a cover + blurb + subject person, but here is the last cover that caught my eye. I basically check out anything with samurai, ninja, or otherwise Asian inspired. This cover was an instant addition.

<---- Child of Vengeance by David Kirk

It's a novel inspired by historical samurai Musashi Miyamoto. Sold.

6. A book you recently added to the list?

The Girl with Ghost Eyes, by M. H. Boroson. I stumbled across it thirty seconds ago. Go read the description and pre-reviews - it sounds awesome.
Aaaaand, it isn't out until November.

7. A book [on your list] that you never really plan on reading?

Well, usually I only add books that I plan on reading. But I'm not so naive as to think I'll actually get to all of these books (a girl can dream). *Flicks through Goodreads looking for likely candidates . . .*
Probably The City of Ember. It's MG, and I've heard pretty mediocre things about it. And though I've been a lifelong dystopian fan, I'm starting to get sick of the genre (sad, isn't it?).

8. A book on your TBR that everyone has read but you?

I don't know about everyone . . . but The Host by Stephenie* Meyer has been on my TBR for 4 years,  and I have a bunch of friends who loved it (even if they despised/didn't read Twilight). I read Twilight, had a good laugh, and proceeded to forget about it. I'm not really interested in any more Meyer books, but because my friends love The Host so much, I feel like I should give it a shot, you know?

9. A book on your TBR that you're dying to read?

Still cracking up at the gif*


Winter by Marissa Meyer. I have loved every second of The Lunar Chronicles since I snatched an early copy of Cinder. I'm really excited to see how everything finally goes down.

10. An unpublished book on your TBR that you're excited for?

Other than Winter, the book that I'm the most excited about is Anne Bishop's Marked in the Flesh (The Others #4). Every time I think about it, I'm in agony. I want the book to come out, but I don't want it to be March, I just want . . . the book to come out now.

11. A book on your TBR that everyone recommends to you?

Dune by Frank Herbert. It's another one that I've been planning on reading but never quite get around to. And everyone I know (that's read it), thinks I would really like it. It's not that I don't believe them, it's that I think "Okay, if I'll like this, why don't I save it and pick up something totally unknown." I love the unknown.

12. How many books are on your Goodreads TBR shelf?

As of today, 505. And that isn't even counting the ones that I was too lazy to add.

So, have you read any of these books? What book has been on your TBR list the longest? Is there a book that you want to read (but you think you never will)?

*Did you know that she spelled her name Stephenie instead of Stephanie? I had no idea.

Beautiful People for Writers: June Edition

Link

So this will be my second time participating in the "Beautiful People for Writers" meme (hosted by the fabulous ladies of Paper Fury and Further Up and Further In. If you want to know what the meme entails, click here. It's basically a meme full of questions that participants answer for their book characters.

This month's theme is "Parents" (they assure me that guardians/mentors count too)
This is interesting, as my current novel is about two adults without parents, but who do have mentor/quasi-parent figures that influenced their characters.

So I'll start with a little context: My novel (tentatively titled "The Last Coffee Shop," follows the mishaps and adventures of coffee shop owner, Madeleine "Mads" Capot. You can read a little more about her here. 

There is a core group of important characters, but the other major character is Luc Garou (one of many fake last names). Luc is the "mysterious bounty hunter" alluded to in my other "Beautiful People" post. Since he is almost as important as Mads in this story, I decided it was time we gave him some "screen time." I am going to answer the questions for both of them this time around.

1. Do they know both their biological parents? Why/why not?
Mads: Mads never met her father, and her mother (Lisette) died when she was fourteen. Her father left before she was born (presumably he never knew that her mother was pregnant). Mads was raised by her grandmother, Heloise, who is youthful, charming, and elegant, but was never the most adept parent.

Luc: As far as he knows, he never met his father, and he has no idea who he [his father] is. Luc's mother died in childbirth. Luc was raised in a literal underworld (a post-apocalyptic den of vice in the former Parisian catacombs), so he never had a real parental figure until he was an older teenager. Alien mercenary and con man, Captain Graynard Peck, takes Luc in and basically teaches him how to do a lot of illegal things.

2. Have they inherited any physical resemblances from their parents?
Mads: Mads is biracial, so her skin is completely different from both her parents. She looks basically nothing like her mother, though her expressions and mannerisms are similar. She takes after her father (more than she realizes), and wears her hair in dreadlocks like he did.

Luc: He has his mother's eyes: deep, startling green, He also has her athleticism. Other than that, he has no idea.

3. What’s their parental figure(s) dress style? Add pictures if you like!

Copyright: MARVEL comics

Found here

Mads: I picture her dad as Marvel's Blade (comics, not movie) meets Mel Gibson's Mad Max in looks/style. He wears functional and protective clothing scavenged from the ruined world, and he has that menacing survivalist vibe. However, he keeps a classy element, to remind his people that he's in charge. (Plot twist: Mads has no idea he's alive)

Her mother was the polar opposite. I picture Lisette in looks and style to be a lot like this picture of French actress Melanie Laurent.

Found here

Found here

Luc: Luc's parents were descendants of apocalypse survivors as well, but unlike Mads' mother, they didn't grow up in the carefully preserved Springs Village. Instead, they grew up in the vice dens below (what used to be) Paris.

I assume his father was a rake, a wastrel, and charming. And tall. Most likely in debt. But he's a figure of mystery.

Luc's mother was a courtesan and accomplished dancer. It is unknown how she felt about this.

4. Do they share any personality traits with their parental figures? And which do they take after most?
Mads: Mads is stubborn like her mother, but her pragmatism, resourcefulness, and commanding personality come from her father.

Luc: Luc is a chronic liar (almost to the point of illness). Whether this is due to his genetics, upbringing, or his con man mentor, who knows? As Luc was raised (and had to fend for himself) in a seedy environment where he couldn't trust anyone, or be vulnerable, he developed a malleable, adaptable persona that changes with circumstances. Even he doesn't know what he's really like anymore.

5. Do they get on with their parental figure(s) or do they clash?
Mads: Mads and her grandmother but heads on a lot of things. However, they love and respect each other, so they can work things out before it gets serious. She never really understood her mother, who was detached and disinterested most of the time.

Luc: Luc and Graynard have a sinking sand relationship: it looks solid until you step on it. Their mutual loyalty is rarely questioned, but that might be a mistake. Nevertheless, Graynard is the only one who hasn't deserted/put a reward out for Luc by the time the book starts

6. If they had to describe their parental figure(s) in one word, what would it be?
Mads, describing Heloise: Regal

Luc, describing Reynard: Duplicitous

7. How has their parental figure(s) helped them most in their life?
Mads: Heloise raised Mads, and has always supported her. She has also given Mads room to run The Last Coffee Shop (and her own life) as Mads sees fit.

Luc: When Luc crawled out of the sewers, beaten to a pulp and near death, Graynard took him aboard his ship. When Luc survived, Graynard taught him how to find his way in the larger universe. Now, as Luc is the brains of their operations, Graynard has shifted to a support role.

8. What was their biggest fight with their parental figure(s)?
Mads: Mads and Heloise had their biggest disagreement when Mads was a teenager. Heloise thought that they should hire someone else to run the shop until Mads was older. After they settled that, they haven't had a real reason to fight.

Luc: Graynard and Luc's biggest fight has not happened yet (pre-novel). They've had business disagreements (especially when Luc did something foolish, like robbing an emperor or digging up a potentate's grave), but their true falling out involves major plot points.

9. Tracing back the family tree, what nationalities are in their ancestry?
The novel's world is a parallel earth, several centuries after apocalyptic events that destroyed 99.9% of all life. I use variations on place names and nationalities, as if our present is a near-mythical past.

Mads: Mads' mother and grandmother are English and French. Their family could trace its roots back centuries to royalty. Mads' father's ancestors came from (what was once) the island of Barbados. He has no written record of his family, but his deep black skin and powerful build suggest African origin.

Luc: Luc's mother, at least, was a Russian-French fusion. She was a ballerina, and the women in her family have passed the art/skill down since before the apocalypse (needless to say, it isn't the legitimate Russian ballet, but you get the point). Luc's father was French, or so Luc assumes.

10. What’s their favourite memory with their parental figure(s)?
Mads: Mads' best memory of her mother is from when she was quite young, and Lisette hadn't been so distant. Lisette spent hours teaching Mads how to care for the Shop and their farming complex, starting with the bees and ending with making mochas (and many other drinks). That was the happiest part of Mads' childhood.

Luc: Luc has few happy memories associated with parental figures. However, he does enjoy memories of previous scores and successful cons with Graynard.

"In Which I Am Flummoxed by Beach Reads (and Excel at Creative Procrastination)" - A Love Letter (not the title of a Panic! at the Disco song)

All of the images in this post are copyrighted and belong to their respective owners. I am making zero money off of this blog, and off of them. And MARVEL, if you ever see this. I love you.

I could say that I've been neglecting my blog because of New York. That would be true. 

I could also say that it's because I've been crazy busy since I got back, which is also true. However, I've been avoiding the Internet because I've been trying to read as many books that could possibly pass for beach reads as possible.

Confession: I never read at the beach, I swim

Confession: I have no real idea what people read at the beach

I assume it's a lot like what people read on vacation, but I'm not sure. When I'm on vacation, I'll read whatever I was reading before I was on vacation, be it an ARC from work or a dry tome on genetic engineering, or whatever subject I happen to be researching for a novel.

Anyhow, I'm supposed to be writing reviews and recommending beach reads. Not for my blog, but for the women's magazine that I contribute to on a monthly basis. It's aimed at professional Michigan women of diverse tastes, so I always try for maximum variety in my book suggestions. This is great: it makes me read outside of my normal taste zone, and makes me better at my job (bookselling!). I really do understand that not everyone has reread The Lord of the Rings almost every year, and even more so, I understand that not everyone wants to read gritty, post apocalyptic novels with gallows humor and dry social commentary.* This is a wonderful thing-we are all different.

So today I had the day off from my real job, and I made myself stay home and read. This sounds wonderful, until you realize that I was trying to read about ten different books that I had zero interest in. They were not bad books. Someone would be interested in them. That someone was not me.

I succeeded in finishing a couple, which is a testament to the writers' skills. I can freely add these to my recommended beach reads, no reservations. But now that I am sitting at the computer, I don't feel like writing reviews at all. I'd rather work on my current project-a post apocalyptic humor/adventure novel that is silly and snarky and full of duels (wits and weapons), sci-fi tech, criminals, and coffee love.

Or I could be watching Daredevil (the Netflix series, not that dreadful movie). I only have 1.5 episodes left, and I am constantly distracted from what I am doing by wondering what will happen in that finale. It is pathetic.

But this post was not supposed to be about Daredevil.

I Googled beach reads (I do this every time), and found the answers unsatisfactory and banal: Gone Girl,** Beautiful Ruins,***The Notebook, ****The Fault in Our Stars*****

I could go on, but you could probably fill in the rest of this list with most of the pop book hits of the past decade. Some of the suggestions were interesting (And the Mountains Echoed and Where'd You Go Bernadette? for example, both of which are on my to-read list). But the problem was, even the interesting ones aren't sitting on my floor, waiting to be grabbed. So I considered going to the library.

But no, I was wearing holey jeans and a scrub top******and I didn't want to change. [As excuses go, this is pretty bad, but there you go]

I also knew that when I got to the library, I would see all the shiny books, forget which ones I wanted, and grab shinies like a magpie in a silver shop. And they would be about monsters, or chosen ones, or ninja assassins, or flying people. They would not be books that land on Real Simple's beach reads, or even BuzzFeed.

I try to limit myself to only one book about ^^^^^ per month. Variety, remember?

So instead, I starting reading a book about a woman who was fifty-six and had a falling out with her daughter about a television show. There was architecture, and family drama, and there were bizarrely attractive men sprouting out of the ground, like daisies (not exactly, but you get the point).

And I thought "How is this any more plausible than Harry Potter? How are these financially stable, uber-talented, attractive and successful people any more relatable than Bilbo Baggins or Elizabeth Bennet?

Answer: No. They are not.

I am twenty-six. I work at a bookstore. I write books, read books, and will watch (almost) anything MARVEL. I live with my sister, and if I don't budget scrupulously, I will not be able to pay my rent or buy food. I chain-drink tea and coffee, and sometimes I wear make-up.

Of the above characters, I relate the most to Bilbo. He's cranky, he lives in a hole, and he's enamored with elves [see my other posts]. I love adventures, but I am usually burned out before I embark on one, and decide to stay home instead. I have waited roughly twenty years for a stubborn wizard and a pack of dwarves to show up, but if they did, I would probably be a perfect beast, and if they raided my (lean) pantry, I would be irate. But I would go with them anyway.

This is probably more than you ever wanted to know about me, and if you are still reading, you get a gold star. 

But back to the point (I know there was a point): all novels are fantasy!

And before you wave that super-realistic holycrapsorelatable! thisbookjustgotme! or that thisbookissogritty! sorealandraw! can'tyoujustfeelthedirtthroughthepages,man? at me, hear me out. (I'll restrict myself to two examples)

EXAMPLE 1: I have never met a bizarrely attractive man in my life (sorry, every man I have ever met). They might exist, but they don't grow out of the ground, fall from the sky, hang out in my library, or live anywhere near me.*******In fact, sometimes I suspect that they are brewed in a secret S.H.I.E.L.D facility. And the women in the book never seem to notice that this is strange and unusual, instead they spend pages staring at the guy in excruciating, TMI, cringe-inducing detail . . .

AND DON'T EVEN GET ME STARTED ON UNREALISTIC WOMEN! THIS IS OLD NEWS AND HAS BEEN HOTLY DEBATED ELSEWHERE. I am specifically addressing the book I just read.

EXAMPLE 2: Most twenty-somethings through thirty-somethings that I know are:
A. Back in school because paper DECREES they need more if they want to get their dream job
B. Only wish that they were financially secure enough to have their own studio/fancy car/condo/dream house
C. Have student loans
D. They are married/engaged-to [if they aren't single] absolutely normal (wonderful) people who aren't secretly spies/master hackers/wizards/billionaires or whatever, and would never concoct schemes to kill them [this is something I'm sure we're all grateful for].


So those are examples directly addressed to the contemporary realistic fiction that I just read. There are more, but I could write an essay and I have not done enough research for that. I need way more footnotes, and quotations.

But my point remains: regardless of why or what you read, all fiction is fiction, and all fiction is fantasy of a sorts.

Even if we lived a world where we got Hogwarts letters or visits from Gandalf, we'd have to obey the rules of that world, just like ours. I always think about this while reading Jasper Fforde's lovably loony Thursday Next series. They are crazy and chaotic and wonderful, and I would love to live in them. But what if that meant I couldn't have other worlds too? What if books there weren't books here? Call me crazy, but I'm a writer, and this is the sort of thing I like to consider when I'm supposed to be writing reviews.

If you had to give up every book you'd ever read, and the whole world you've experienced, but you could have a totally uncertain life in a book-world of your choosing [no guarantees that you would survive, meet Mr/Mrs. Right, be chosen for an adventure, etc], would you actually do it?

Think about it.

Say what you will, we read for a lot of reasons. To know that we're not alone (you saw that coming, I'm sure). To experience things we'd never want to (really, who wants to be kidnapped and slung over an enemy horse, headed to who knows what terrible fate?). For sheer entertainment. But at the end of the day, if the book is scary, or miserable, or crazy, we can leave. It is the ultimate no-strings relationship. Books never ask for anything, but they give a lot. And after the book, there are people to talk about it with, there is an author to doggedly follow (stalk), and there are often feelings to deal with. There are Pinterest boards and Tumblr posts, and whole websites to make.

I love fantasy-as-a-genre because it is shameless. It says, "this isn't real, but I can make you believe it." It challenges your perceptions of reality, and often exposes deep, universal themes and truth. And it is fun.

But I will not force anyone to read it.

And because I know that not every successful, professional woman would like to read about monster hunting, I will read more books about successful, professional women. I will evaluate writing and plots and characters, and be better able to relate to more people.

All of this will help me as a bookseller (and I hope, as a person). But when I finally hit "send" on those reviews, I will dig under my bed for the first book with a monster or a wizard on the cover, and I will forgive every single overly-gifted orphan or bizarrely attractive man, and it will be wonderful.

So, do you have any good "beach reads" to recommend? Do you believe a beach read is anything more than just a book you bring to a beach?

 And how do you feel about the fantasy genre? Do you think that all novels are fantasy novels? Have you ever met a bizarrely attractive man, or are all your twenty-something acquaintances financially stable and ridiculously accomplished? I NEED TO KNOW

FOOTNOTES:
*I honestly love books like this. That may mean I have issues. But even I get tired of them sometimes.
**Really? I couldn't stand that book. I figured it out by chapter three, then made it through pages of vomit-inducing characters to find out that I had been right about the plot all along, and that there was no plot twist at all. Made me so mad.
***Sooooo boring. We read it for book club. It was sentimental and full of annoying characters and I Just. Didn't. Care.
****Never read Nicholas Sparks. Never seen one of his movies. Never plan to. But I know why Ryan Gosling is iconic.
*****Preposterous, pretentious, sentimental, and over-rated. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great, and yes, I read it for book club. I felt horrible because I was the only one present who hadn't felt a thing the whole novel.
******I do not work in the medical field. My dad had to wear scrubs when I was born, and he gave me the top as a momento (sweet, huh?). No, I don't look good in them.
*******In this respect, I refuse to believe they exist until I've seen one. Not on TV. In real life. If they are hiding in basements, I don't think I want to meet them.

#TBT-Book Review: The Blue Sword

So, continuing on with book reviews, I decided to do a review of one of my all-time favorite books, The Blue Sword, by Robin McKinley.

Sometimes I reread a book I read as a kid/teenager and reevaluate it. Sometimes this turns out to be a mistake, but never when I read Robin McKinley.

My first experience with her books was when I was around eleven, and probably too young to really grasp all the nuances and complexities of her writing. I read The Hero and the Crown because the cover had a red-haired girl* wielding a sword, on a horse, facing a dragon. To a Lord of the Rings and Star Wars girl, this was all the incentive I needed to pick it up. I was drawn in by Robin McKinley's lyrical prose and her fascinating fantasy landscape. Naturally, after Hero, I picked up The Blue Sword, which gets me to today's review:

This is the cover of my copy. It is one of the better fantasy covers out there, in my opinion

In The Blue Sword, the recently orphaned Harry Crew arrives in the mysterious desert land of Damar to live on the generosity of her brother's friends. Awkward, too tall, and not really proficient at anything, Harry is restless and drawn to the strangeness of the desert around her. Her people (the Homelanders-very much like the English in Imperial India), have an uneasy hold on the wild territory around them, and an innate suspicion of their close neighbors, the Free Hillfolk (they resemble Bedouins, with magic powers, and they are awesome).
  When the king of the Free Hillfolk, Corlath, comes to ask the Homelanders for help again their mutual enemy, the Northerners, it sets things in motion that neither Homelanders or Hillfolk could imagine.

  Corlath (and some of the Hillfolk) have a sort of innate magic, or kelar, which grows stronger with emotion. As the heroine and protagonist, Harry also has this kelar, and finding out the how and why is part of the plot, so I won't spoil it. Suffice it to say that Corlath's kelar often "demands" he do strange or rash things: in this case, it tells him he needs to take Harry for the Hills. Harry's destiny is tied to both Homelanders and Hillfolk, and ultimately she must reconcile both those sides of herself, and bridge the way for others if they are to defeat the Northern hordes. If she becomes an awesome, legendary-sword wielding hero while still retaining her personality and identity, then you know you are reading a Robin McKinley novel.

What works/what I liked:

1. Harry. I can relate to her, you can relate to her, and she's authentic (minus the kelar, of course). She is a strong female character who is defined by her own personality, and acts like a real person.**
2, Robin McKinley's style and sly humor. Her use of language is lovely and easy to read. She is neither flowery or bare with her description. She never writes down to her readers, and there is no instant gratification. Her books are not typical YA.
3. Hillfolk culture. They are warriors, they use swords, they are proud and honorable, they have a wonderful relationship with their horses and other animals, and I could go on. I only wish there was more.
4. True Hero Fantasy. The Blue Sword is the real deal. Hero fantasy, as a genre, follows a young hero/chosen one from their usually unremarkable start, follows their training for greatness, and then establishes them by testing their skills/powers/heart, etc. Sometimes is is refreshing to read a book that isn't trying to be too clever.
5. Harry and Corlath's relationship. From prisoner/guest and reluctant kidnapper, to rider and king, to *spoiler* couple, they are one of my favorite fictional pairs. They manage to be equals (though Corlath is a king and Harry has the disadvantage), have disagreements, and be friends in a way that sold me. I am not a romance person, and honestly, The Blue Sword  has very little romance, but I found their relationship both compelling and believable.

What didn't work/what I didn't like:

This is harder, like critiquing your friend, but here goes:

1. (See #3 above) I wanted more Hillfolk. More culture, more history, more character development outside of the main ones. I could probably read a whole book about Damar's history and not be bored.
2. (See #4) Like most hero fantasy, Harry gains a lot of her powers/abilities through it being her destiny to have them. I know I said this was one of the best parts above, but it is also one of the things I don't like as much. Harry's time training and developing her powers is not long enough, and I would have liked to see it be harder. (It's not easy, per se, but, well . . .)
3. More Aerin. I know this is why you read Hero, but in my opinion, both books could use more of that legendary figure :) After all, Hero ends with the beginning of her legendary period.
4. More Corlath. Obviously, this is Harry's story, but I love Corlath, and I would have liked to know more about him. We know the essentials (like Harry does), but he is funny and grim, and fascinating, and a great character in his own right.
5. The Northerners. They are bad, mysterious, and witchy, and they want to destroy everything, but we really don't know much more. I know this is explored elsewhere, but I would have liked to know more about them.

Overall: 4.5 out of 5 stars-It isn't as good as Hero, but it is still one of my favorite books ever!

This was actually kind of hard!

Footnotes:

*I love red hair. Always have. And sometimes cover art is accurate.
**I do not like heroines who become strong by basically acting like a man. I also don't like period piece heroines who internally rant about the unfairness of their period-correct pastimes/clothing/mores in a modern fashion. It isn't realistic, and it isn't fair to the many strong women who have lived and died in the past. That's all.

Thanks for reading, and feel free to add books you reevaluated from childhood in the comments.

I'm Still Kicking . . .

Okay, so I knew starting a blog was a bad idea :)

   What happened RIGHT after I started: I got a job, and worked about 50 hours right off. Then, I had a custom glove order (Awesome!) that needed attention. And then I got a great book idea and went deep into the abyss of inspiration. This was also good, but intense. So today I am revisiting everything I have neglected in September. It's a long list.
    So hello, I'm back.

    Shealynn, from Shealynn's Fairy Shop and Blog, kindly featured our work in a wonderful blog post here, where you can enter to win a set of Elven Handflowers, and a $10 gift certificate to VirvatuliDesigns.

   Anyhow, another thing I've been behind on is the 30 Day Drawing Challenge I started back in July. I got stuck on Day 6: Favorite Book Character, which is an almost impossible task. After much deliberation, I narrowed my list down to 23 pivotal characters that I loved. Then I decided to draw ALL of them, but as chibi, instead of as full blown out pieces. I selected two of them, one male, one female, to illustrate in Manga/Fusion style, which is, of course, a mixture of Japanese Manga and American/Western art styles. For these two, I selected Sabriel, from Garth Nix's Sabriel, which is one of my favorite books as well.

 It's the story of a young school girl who lives next door to an old kingdom filled with magic, among other things. Her father is the Abhorsen, an anti-necromancer, who puts the dead back instead of calling them up. Sabriel receives a message from her father, who is caught in Death (conceived as a giant river, with different gates and levels, sort of like Dante's hell meets the Greek underworld). He sends her his sword and his bells, the tools of the Abhorsen's trade.
   Though she's terrified, and worried, Sabriel goes into the Old Kingdom, and encounters one horror after the next on her way to her father. It's a great story, and the characters are awesome. I drew Sabriel just as she is confronting one of the dead.

  You can see the picture full size here

    The second picture is of Tom Imura, from Jonathan Maberry's coming-of-age/zombie apocalypse novel, Rot & Ruin.

Now, I never would have picked this book up if not for a review I read in a literary mag. Just look at the cover, and it's about zombies (boring) and coming-of-age (worse than zombies), two things I--as a reader--have never liked in my fiction. But this review said it was more heart, less gross, and that the central story was really about two brothers' relationship in a hostile world, and that the older brother was a modern Samurai. I was intrigued, so I gave it a shot. Now it is another one of my favorite books.

    So Tom Imura. He's not the main character, rather, he's the main character's older half-brother. He's a complex guy with a story that unravels throughout the novel, showing us (and his brother Benny), that Tom is not just a calm, peaceful man who kills zombies. He's a hero, self-sacrificial, and he's got quite a past. His parents were Japanese American, which makes his Samurai thing more believable, and is a standout for YA post-apocalyptic fiction.

   I depicted Tom as he is in a memorable part of the novel-dressed in pajamas, a rain slicker, and barefoot, with his katana-on a rainy night as he heads to rescue his brother Benny, and other townspeople, from invading zombies. The aftermath isn't humorous, but the idea was, and I am in serious doubt as to Tom wearing plaid pajamas, but who can choose their look after the apocalypse, really?

       Soooo, who were the rest of the 23 characters? Here's a list with links to the books they came from-and silly categories to excuse the fact that I couldn't narrow them down. Stay posted for their chibi portraits as I color and upload them.

1. Favorite Wizard: Gandalf, from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, by J. R. R. Tolkien
2. Favorite Couple: Eowyn and Faramir from the above
3. Favorite Elves: Luthien and Nir, the former from the Silmarillion and the latter from In the Coils of the Snake, by Clare Dunkle
4. Favorite Drama Queen: Howl from Howl's Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones
5. Childhood Favorite: Aerin from The Hero and the Crown, by Robin McKinley
6. Current Favorite: Sydney Carton from A Tale of Two Cities
7. Favorite Revolutionaries: Enjolras from Les Miserables and Cinna from The Hunger Games
8. Favorite Jane Austen Character: Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice
9. Favorite Dark and Tortured Character: Edmund Dantes from The Count of Monte Cristo
10. Favorite Antihero: Mordred from The Book of Mordred, by Vivian Vande Velde
11. Favorite Character I Identify With: Sophie from Howl's Moving Castle
12. Favorite Assumed Vampire: Silas from The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
13. Favorite Thief: Gen (Eugenides) from The Queen's Thief series, by Megan Whalen Turner
14. Favorite Monster Hunter: Europe, Duchess of Naimes, from The Monster Blood Tattoo Series, by D. M. Cornish.
15. Favorite "Dreamboat": Corlath, from The Blue Sword, by Robin McKinley
16. Favorite "Odd Couple": Artemis and Butler, from the Artemis Fowl Series by Eoin Colfer.
17. Favorite Governess: Jane Eyre, from Jane Eyre

So there we have it, a list of a few of my favorite characters. All of the books they belong to are HIGHLY recommended reading, ;), so check them out.

      Anyhow, that's all for tonight,

                     Ciao,

                         Rebekah