Technically I'm supposed to just post these and let people ask me whichever ones they're interested in.

But, my friends, I find that prospect tiresome and likely to lead to a compulsive checking of my notifications, which I hardly need to be endorsing.

Besides, when have I ever cared about technicality?

So I shall simply do whichever of these I feel most like answering, and if y'all (miraculously) care enough to ask about one that I don't answer, I'll answer it for you in the comments.

and yes, it says fanfic, and no, I won't be doing my paltry few fanfics.

A. How did you come with the title to A Cold Cry?

I almost skipped this question, because I'm really hazy on how I come up with my titles at all. Not to mention bad at coming up with them. XD But A Cold Cry is interesting because the title undoubtedly shaped the story.

See, a Wattpad friend messaged me about a prompt contest, and I thought, okay, if I join this contest, what will I write about? It would obviously take place in Legea, because that narrowed the playing field to a region I was comfortable and familiar with. It needed to include a personification of winter to tie in with the prompt, preferably a bad personification because that would be so much more fun.

So with these vague story concepts bouncing in my brain, and the beginnings of Carras taking shape (though I originally thought Culathan might be female), I took pen and wrote down a few title ideas. Things that sounded wintry and mysterious. A Cold Bondage. A Cold Cry. (Still have the paper to prove it.)

And that title turned out to be way more of an anchor to the story than I expected. It lent structure and thematic elements as I completely pantsed my way through the book. (People would be like, "I can't wait for what comes next" and I'd go internally "hahaha I have no idea what's coming next, at least not for seven more chapters") It's really the first and only time I've written a story around the title.

B. Any of your stories inspired by personal experience?

Ummm. I prefer to say, "Helped along by personal experience." I draw on all kinds of experience (especially emotional) in my writing, but I've yet to take something from my life and say, "I want to make a story out of this." My life can stay where it belongs, right here on Earth.

C. What member [character??] do you identify with the most?

Okay. *cracks knuckles* Here's the thing. I identify with all of them.

When I'm in a character's head, I'm going through what they're going through, thinking what they think, feeling what they feel. This goes for reading, for real-people interaction to a lesser extent, and for writing to a greater extent. My whole mode of operation is identifying with people. I am so many different people in the space of a day, there's no earthly way for me to tell you which one I identify with most.

D. Is there a song or playlist to associate with [insert story]?

Ah, gone the days when my exclusive writing music was the ROTK and "Celtic Planet" CDs. I've found many, many songs that suit my stories to greater or lesser degrees, though entire playlists are a bit beyond my reach.

Have a sample (extra-spoilery titles blacked out)

F. Share a snippet of one of your favorite dialogue scenes you've written and explain why you're proud of it.

Just one? :O

***

"I, Hagluin, command. What is it to you, and who are you that you ask?"

"General Anadarn of Orden, or follower of Begoreth to you rabble." His lip curled up in disdain, but his eyes were still shot with anger. "I am Gorhond Rul, and if any man has a right to demand speech from you doom-ridden shapeshifters' thralls, it is I."

Hagluin's eyes searched Anadarn's face keenly, and dropped in reluctance. He planted his sword into the earth and locked his hands about the pommel. "The name Gorhond Rul is known to us," he said. "So, speak, Lesser Man; what is the word from the Ordenian camp?"

"I bring no word," said Anadarn low and hissing, "save that of castigation. I demand of you an explanation."

"Of what, son of the weaker menfolk?" retorted Hagluin insolently.

"Curb your tongue," snapped Anadarn. "Do you realize what you did last night?"

"Certainly. We attacked the camp."

"And that is all you have to say for yourself?" Anadarn ground his teeth. "Why, in the name of Holcearor himself?"

Hagluin glanced up at the sky. "Well do you speak that name, O Lesser Man, and take heed how you speak it. Did you not feel the darkness in the night? We did what it spoke into us. You, a Glumintorian, should know this."

***

Everybody's insulting each other in this scene. Captain Anadarn is an ordinary human, and sees himself as higher-level, more refined, than the brutish, curse-enslaved Wild Men. "Doom-ridden shapeshifters' thralls" is about 40% accurate and 60% total slur, since not only are werevultures NOT shapeshifters (and would probably slit Anadarn's throat for saying so), Wild Men aren't actually doomed to serve werevultures, but the werevulture king.

On the other hand, the curse that bound the Wild Men to that king had a fringe benefit of making them taller and stronger than the average human, and they see themselves as "enhanced" humans, hence Hagluin's repeated rude address to Anadarn as "Lesser Man".

All in all, I just love how much clashing culture/values leaked into this scene without me even trying. I love how Hagluin calls Anadarn out on his irreverent use of what's basically the devil's name. I love how Anadarn keeps trying to get them to admit they acted with imprudence and Hagluin just goes, "We were being evil, why aren't you happy?"

I do love me some villain writing.

H. How would you describe your style?

Ohhhh. Oh boy. How do I do that when my style flips on its head depending on who/what I write?

I asked my fans, which was self-gratifying but not ultimately helpful.

"Epic."

"Tolkienesque/Classical."

"A blend of classical and old fashioned high fantasy prose, heavily character driven without over detailing and elegantly flowery in description."

excuse me while I go cry somewhere at this amount of love

I would say the main thing that defines my style consistently, no matter what I'm writing, is my effort to describe things accurately and succinctly but in a way that you wouldn't expect. So that you come away seeing something ordinary with new eyes.

I. Do you have a guilty pleasure in fic [reading or writing]?

Fam, writing IS my guilty pleasure. And I'm not ashamed of any of my reading tastes, so not sure how to pull a guilty pleasure out of that either.

I do get special delight out of indulging in fictional language. (I'm sure none of you would have ever, ever guessed that) Writing an interaction between people with a language barrier is like CANDY for me. Could do that stuff all day. I adore inserting untranslatable words into casual dialogue and letting people guess at them from context.

Or sometimes translatable words.

***

She chortled with gleeful abandon, and he swept her up and sat her on his lap. "Filiga, kirre, I am going to go to my father shortly. I have no love but you, my only, my ruis thira thineta. We must be betrothed at once."

***

Uhhhh yeah. Like that. *grins*

Those irresponsible children are Mordred's parents for anybody who's curious.

J. Write or describe an alternative ending to Sorrow and Song.

Don't. even. get. me. started.

(spoilers for SAS: Winds Rise & Path of the Tempest in the following paragraph)

Some months ago, my sister and I spent an afternoon inventing a very elaborate, very detailed, very tragic alternate-universe of Sorrow and Song where Jedediah Crayes fails to turn King Henry back from attacking Rodron. They're at full-blown war when Ailean and Caithrana arrive with the news of the King of the Werevulture's attack, and King Henry literally can't live with his mistake, and the KoW's forces easily crush the various countries one by one (though Delgrass holds out with surprising toughness). Without the returning army to save them in the nick of time, Orden City and Ceristen fall. Mordred dies, so there's no-one to rescue Berethar and he's brought to Midrak, from which Jedediah Crayes eventually rescues him and the two of them who've lost everything basically try to wage this guerrilla resistance. Jeddy initially spirits Derek and Douglas away from the army and sends them on to Edivernel, but Derek dies there and Douglas is Mega Depressed and yeah there was tons more. We came up with some way they were gonna try to kill the KoW but I can't remember what it was, just that Berethar (who's basically in Complete Broody Ruthless Revenge Mode by this point) didn't believe it would work.

K. What's the angstiest idea you've ever come up with?

See above? Lol.

I dunno, I've never tried to quantify angst. Mordred-angst gets pretty rough.

Grant Eagle's storyline is pretty much all angst -- the guy loses his father, sees it as his fault, hopes to die in the war but doesn't, makes two semi-friends before the war ends and he goes off to be a loner for the rest of his life...

Any alternate-universe paths for Berethar are complete, utter, total, no-holds-barred Angst.

I can think of a pretty awful future moment in SAS (ONE WORD, NIGHT...)

Let's say I'm a walking angst generator and leave it at that.

L. How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

0. Unless I'm dissatisfied with the chapter, it goes up as soon as I've finished. I don't do the proof-reading thing.

M. Got any premises on the back burner that you'd care to share?

Have the prologue for Son of the Seer, my next big project after SAS:

***

You want a story, my friend? Sa, sa, stories are my trade. For a few coppers...

But no, you ask for a story of old Legea, of the time before the changing of the eras; and those are their own reward in the telling. Keep your coppers, my friend, and sit.

For I will tell you of the werevulture who was not a werevulture, and the father who had no son, and the king who did not want to be a king.

I will tell you of the things that are past.

But as is the way of tales, the threads entwine with the threads of other tales, whose part must be told if the whole is to be understood. To know the story, one must begin before the beginning.

This tale begins with Iloras.

***

R. Are there any writers that you consider an influence?

Rosemary Sutcliff, J.R.R. Tolkien, nightwraith17

S. Any fandom tropes you can't resist?

Gonna ignore the "fandom" part.

"Helm's Deep" trope. Please and thank you, with lots of pre-eucatastrophe angst on top.

T. Any tropes you can't stand?

I hesitate to say I can't stand a trope when there's generally a good spin that can be put on it.

But I do not, do NOT, DO  N O T like when I start reading a book and the first thing the heroine does is whine about how she hates embroidery and wants to fight and somewhere in there we have to get a mention of how awful dresses are and just ghgngnngn *dives under blanket*

*peeps out*

I like dresses

U. Share three of your favorite writers and why you like them so much

just... just... THREE????

*growls* FINE

Ellowyne

My sister and I talk periodically about how much we love Vanna's worldbuilding. Her characters are hands-down fantastic, and her ability to craft emotion and tension remarkable. Not to mention she's funny and thoughtful and intelligent and one of my best friends.

Silmarilz1701

Silz is approachable, genuine, chatty, best Tolkien expert ever, and so great at creating characters that resonate. Also one of my best friends.

Illeandir

I'm sorry I'm coming back to finish this tag after like 5 hours of patchy fevered sleep and I'm not sure where to begin with this awesome person who shares my family's exact sense of humor and writes insightful stuff that breaks my heart and if you tell me I have to have a limit on best friends SORRY NOPE

X. A character you enjoy making suffer.

All of them.

Y. A character you want to protect.

All of them.

Z. Major character death -- do you ever write/read it? Is there a character death you can't tolerate?

I don't think you can be much of a reader and avoid reading major character deaths. As for writing, yeah, in my side stories (not so much in the Ceristen Series)

Well, that was fun. If you read this, but especially if you were tagged, feel free to do it, either the conventional way or whatever way you feel like.