My NaNo: Supporting Characters

This month is dedicated entirely to NaNoWriMo, since that's what I'm furiously working on as you, my lovely readers, enjoy these posts.  Today I was planning to introduce and interview Beila's family, but since she already told us a good deal about them, I thought I'd tell you about the other characters.  I can't find them to request an interview, but I *can* share the little information I have on them.

{via}

 

Francis III, Duke of Brittany

 

Born to King Francis I and Queen Claude, Francis was the first royal son and heir to the French throne when he mysteriously disappeared in August 1536 at only eighteen years of age.  The creatures in the tunnel seem to be connected to this long-ago event, and the man himself, somehow... but Beila will have to figure that mystery out herself.

 

(photo is over here)

Louna

The first person who, after much searching, Beila finally discovers in the tunnels. But who is this mute young girl? Where did she come from and why is she here?

 

{via}



Unnamed Prince

 

A man without a name.  All Beila knows is that he, too, is connected to this prince and these tunnels - and that she just might love him.  But how is she to be with a man that she only sees in her dreams - literally?

 

(photo over this-a-way)

 

Adele

 

Louna's young mother, a shy, quiet widow without many friends.  She befriends Beila, though, in her way.  Beila can tell the woman is despairing, but why?  Of what?

My NaNo: Story World Map

This month is dedicated entirely to NaNoWriMo, since that's what I'm furiously working on as you, my lovely readers, enjoy these posts. Today I have a map I sketched in Paint of the tunnel world in which my story's set.  You can click on it to get a better view, but I won't be answering any questions!  ;)  That would ruin the fun!


 

 

My NaNoWriMo Pinspiration, Week Two

This month, I'm working on NaNoWriMo, so all posts will be writing-, story-, or Nano-related and written a month before they're posted. Thanks for understanding, and I hope you enjoy the Pinspiration posts replacing The Pinterest Report for November.

Click the images to go to their pins.

You can find me on Pinterest here.

All images are off of Pinterest and are linked to their original sources from that site.

My NaNo: Beila Durand, Main Character Extraordinaire

This month is dedicated entirely to NaNoWriMo, since that's what I'm furiously working on as you, my lovely readers, enjoy these posts.  Today I have my NaNo's main character Beila Durand here for an introduction and interview.

{You can see a photo of Beila here.  I'd post it, but I'd rather be safe than sorry with Shutterstock copyrights...}

Hello Beila!  Welcome to my blog.  Will you please introduce yourself, give us the basics?  Of course!  I'm Beila Durand, city girl and book lover.  I'm not sure what else to say!

Well then, tell us about your family.  Well, there's Father.  He's in his fifties, has a lot of well-trimmed gray-white hair, and is a brilliant lawyer.  Really, his work is his life and it suits him.  Then there's Damien, my older brother.  He's twenty-three and really sweet - like a second father to my sisters and me - with brown hair like Father used to have and blue eyes like Mom.  He's actually engaged to a redhead named Felicity.  I love her hair, her name, her voice - oh, I can't wait to be her sister-in-law!  Haha, anyway... then there's Viviann, our youngest sister.  She looks most like Father and me, with her brown hair, but her's isn't as curly as mine or Lizzie's so she straightens it.  Her eyes are the darkest in the family.  Viviann's the kind of girl who just wants to grow up already, and she tends to be snappy or downright mean.  She doesn't intend to be like that.  I think losing Mom has affected her the most.  Speaking of which, I forgot Mom! She was dazzling - long, curly blond hair and beautiful blue eyes.  She was the only one in our family who had any interest in gardening, which I guess is why I still love it so much.  Most of my memories of her involve working on our gardens or attempting to cook with things we'd grown together.  She never was the greatest cook... haha.

You've talked about gardening and mentioned you love books.  Why don't you tell us more about your hobbies, your interests?  Okay.  I told you about Mom and gardening.  We used to live in a more rural area of New York, where we had an actual garden with sections for flowers, herbs, vegetables, et cetera.  When we moved to New York City she and I taught ourselves together how to garden in small spaces and containers.  Now I mostly just grow edible plants, but I still keep a rose plant.  Red roses were Mom's favorite, and they've become mine too.  As for reading, well, I don't really have a genre preference.  Of course, I like books with merit - I'm not one for comics or books with bad language, poor writing, or any of that.  I just can't enjoy the story when errors or improper conduct is staring me in the face.

The only other hobby I have would be watching musicals.  I especially love The Sound of Music (who wouldn't?) and Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera.  Also, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is great.

I was planning to ask more questions, but it seems you've given us a good amount of information in those two answers.  I have just one more, then: can you give us a picture of your ideal or favorite outfit?

Ooh, that's a hard one.  I'm very particular about what I wear!  So many trends these days are tasteless... but anyway, here's a casual outfit I love:

 

That's really cute!  Thanks for coming Beila, and I can't wait to see what happens with your story!

My NaNo: Cover Image and Back Cover Copy

This month is dedicated entirely to NaNoWriMo, since that's what I'm furiously working on as you, my lovely readers, enjoy these posts. Today I'm sharing with you the cover I've created and description I've written for my story.  It's not exactly perfect, but it works for now!

In this retelling of Beauty and the Beast, Beila Durand's just an ordinary girl from New York City when her father's job takes a plunge, forcing the family to move to her childhood home in rural Rome, New York. She doesn't mind the country until strange dreams plague both her and her father. When she sets out to find the source of the dreams, she discovers a world of tunnels and secrets unlike anything she's ever seen. Who are the invisible beings that guide her through this world? What is the terrible noise plaguing this dark world at night? Why do the tunnels and the man in Beila's dreams seem to call to her, begging her to uncover their mysteries?
 

I also have a cover created by Ruth Ackiv for my official NaNo page:

 

 

What do you think, my lovely readers?  Does it pique your interest?  Would you be likely to pick it up in a bookstore or library?

 

My NaNoWriMo Pinspiration, Week One

This month, I'm working on NaNoWriMo, so all posts will be writing-, story-, or Nano-related and written a month before they're posted.  Thanks for understanding, and I hope you enjoy the Pinspiration posts replacing The Pinterest Report for November.

 

 Click the images to go to their pins.

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

You can find me on Pinterest here.

All images are off of Pinterest and are linked to their original sources through that site.

Today's The Day: November First

Today begins the madness, the craziness, the insanity and lack of sleep and complete ignoring of the people around us that is NaNoWriMo.  (National Novel Writing Month, for those unfamiliar with the tortuous November tradition.  As a side note, if you're a member and logged in, you can click here to see my NaNo page!  I take buddy requests too.)

Click the image to go to the site.

Last year, I was pitifully new to NaNo.  Not so this time around.  I've been researching, taking notes, making maps, interviewing characters, making Pinterest boards, designing Spotify playlists, and otherwise preparing for a month and a half.  Today I dedicate every minute possible to beginning the monumental task of carving out at least 50,000 words in 30 days.

This is huge for all participants, but especially for me - not only because I've never written a story longer than 13,500 words, but also because last year I did the youth program.  Which meant I set my own word count goal of 20,000... and still lost.

This year, I am so determined to win, I worked ahead on all other tasks and projects I can; pre-wrote and scheduled every blog post that will go up this month (yes, I'm actually writing this post in late September); mega-outlined my story; and made a sign for my bedroom door to warn my family members: