Character Interview: Roran Brance

Character Interview: Roran Brance

Posted on by R.M. Archer

Today’s character to interview is the main character of Dark Queen Rising, and you may recall that he was mentioned in Clissa Hiara’s interview.

Roran: *comes in and takes a seat across from the interviewer* Good morning.

Interviewer: Good morning. How are you?

Roran: I’m doing well. How are you?

Interviewer: I’m doing quite well. Shall we get started?

Roran: *nods*

Interviewer: What is your name?

Roran: Roran Brook Brance.

Interviewer: How old are you?

Roran: Twenty-three.

Interviewer: Do you have any siblings?

Roran: I have a younger sister named Aria.

Interviewer: What is your job?

Roran: I’m a council member in the Trell Province.

Interviewer: Are you an introvert or an extrovert?

Roran: I’m an introvert, but I love people.

Interviewer: What is your favorite food?

Roran: Freshly baked bread. My mother is the baker in Autherion, and her bread is the best.

Interviewer: What is your favorite color?

Roran: Golden brown.

Interviewer: Why?

Roran: It’s the color of fields and fresh bread.

Interviewer: Do you prefer books or movies?

Roran: Books.

Interviewer: What is your favorite book?

Roran: The Lord of the Rings.

Interviewer: What is your favorite animal?

Roran: Horses.

Interviewer: Why?

Roran: They’re beautiful, powerful, and useful.

Interviewer: Is there a job you’d rather have than the one you have now?

Roran: I’d rather go back to working on the Brance farm.

Interviewer: What are your hobbies?

Roran: Reading, gardening, and horseback riding.

Interviewer: What traits do you look for in a potential wife?

Roran: Kindness, generosity, a love for God, and a good cook. *smiles at the last one*

Interviewer: Which of these is the most important to you, kindness, intelligence, or bravery?

Roran: Kindness.

Interviewer: And honesty or selflessness?

Roran: Honesty, but selflessness is a close second.

Interviewer: What is something you can never leave the house without?

Roran: *lifts his wrist to show a leather cuff* I got this from my dad when I was twelve. It didn’t fit me then, but I’ve grown into it.

Interviewer: *nods* That’s the last question. Thank you for your time.

Roran: You’re very welcome. *smiles and shakes the interviewer’s hand before leaving*

My Writing Role Models

Posted on by R.M. Archer

There are certain authors that I look up to and seek to emulate as I write, as I’m sure there are for every writer out there. The list for each writer is unique and even when they overlap their reasons for looking up to an author can be entirely different. I’ve always found it interesting to learn who friends of mine look up to in their writing, and now it’s my turn to write a post on it. I’ve never really been the best at answering questions like “who is your role model” or “what author do you think your writing style most emulates,” so we’ll see how this goes.

A few authors I look up to are Wayne Thomas Batson, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis (a couple of classic answers, I know), Andrew Peterson, Livia Blackburne, Terry Brooks, and Marissa Meyer, and I’ll go into why I admire each of them in the rest of this post.

Wayne Thomas Batson

Wayne Thomas Batson (or, as I like to call him, Batman) is not an author that many people have heard of, but he’s who I always tell people is my favorite author. One my favorite things about him is his ability to craft interesting characters that you can really connect with and get attached to. I know with his The Door Within and Dreamtreaders trilogies the characters felt like family on the first read-through, and then rereading the books was like going to a family reunion. Except that family reunions tend to have a sense of awkwardness about them because there are those family members you only see at these family reunions and you don’t know them very well, while Batson’s characters aren’t like that. They’re like those dear aunts and uncles and cousins and grandparents that you see all the time and are super close with. It’s really, really cool, and that connection is something I’d really love to be able to give my readers with my own characters.

And aside from his writing, he’s just a cool guy. He’s a Christian middle school teacher, and he’s really open to talking with fans, as far as I can tell. He opened a forum for his fans to chat with him, though he’s not been on it in a while, and when I messaged him asking for writing advice once he was really laid back and friendly in his reply. That’s how I’d like to act if/when I have fans of my own. :)

J.R.R. Tolkien

I know this is probably what everyone says when they mention Tolkien on their list of writing role models, among other things, but I admire Tolkien’s worldbuilding. Worldbuilding is something that I find fascinating, even though I’m not always the best at it. His world is rich and incredibly well thought out, and has an entire written history behind it. Another thing is his ability to write noble characters. Aragorn, Samwise, Faramir, Eowyn, they’re all noble, deep, rich characters. They have numerous layers (particularly Eowyn and Aragorn, among these examples), and they’re really interesting to read about. A lot of my characters are more morally grey, and while I like these characters as well, it’s often nice to have at least one or two of these truly noble, good characters because they’re just such good characters.

C.S. Lewis

Believe it or not, Lewis almost didn’t make it onto my list. However, there is one aspect of his writing that really means a lot to me, and that is the childlike wonder of his books. That childlike wonder is something that my early books had a lot and that as I’ve grown up I seem to have grown out of, and it’s something that I’m constantly trying to regain in at least a few of my books. For some of my stories, for instance those set on Themar, I like the more mature (in style, not content), almost harshness of what I tend to write now, but for others I wish I could recapture that wonder and it’s something I really struggle with. So I seek to write “childish,” wonderful stories like C.S. Lewis did.

Andrew Peterson

Andrew Peterson is author of The Wingfeather Saga, among others, and I really like that series because of all of the humor. It constantly has a layer of humor and that same childlike wonder that I mentioned before, and yet it also manages to be serious under all that when it needs to be. It’s a really interesting mixture that is really enjoyable to read. I’m really bad at writing humor into my stories, so that’s something else I’d like to work on.

Livia Blackburne

Livia Blackburne is extremely good at worldbuilding. I read her book The Midnight Thief and within seven chapters I was fully immersed in the world. She did a very good job of subtly working in that worldbuilding so that it wasn’t overwhelming or huge chunks of description, but enough when it was needed to make the world seem real and important.

Terry Brooks

Terry Brooks’ Shannara series is probably one of my all-time favorites because it goes on and on and on and I never get tired of it. The world is such that I could spend years and years in it and probably never know all there is to know about it, and the characters are nearly always likeable. The excitement to go back in and learn something else about the world or read about someone else saving the Four Lands again and the long Shannara family tree is something that I’d like my readers to feel as well with my stories (although of course not with The Four Lands and the Shannaras.)

Marissa Meyer

Have you seen that pin on Pinterest that says “You know a writer is good when they can build a villain’s backstory sad enough that you feel bad for them no matter how horrible they are”? Well this is exactly what Marissa Meyer did in her book Heartless. I highly recommend you read that book because it is so. Good. She creates lovable characters that you can really get attached to and root for. And when she writes witty characters… *insert heart-eye emoji here* Carswell Thorne from The Lunar Chronicles and Jest from Heartless are high on my favorite characters list, because they’re witty and flirtatious and I love witty, flirtatious characters because they’re so much fun to read. Her writing is just excellent, and I love her books.

 

Now, these are the professional, fairly well-known authors that I look up to and admire, but they’re not the only ones. I have writing friends that I look up to as well, some of them published and some not. Probably the two who I most look up to in my writing groups are Melody Jackson and Miranda Marie, who are both published authors.

Melody is another excellent writer, she has published three books – The Dragon Within, Dragon’s Bane, and Dragon’s Might – and I’ve actually only gotten around to reading The Dragon Within, but I really liked it. The characters were enjoyable, the worldbuilding was good, DRAGONS!, and a half-human half-dragon character is totally awesome. In addition to writing great books, she has also encouraged me in my own writing and helped me get through rough patches in my writing and she’s just a really good friend and supporter and stuff like that, so a big thanks to her. :)

Miranda is probably one of my biggest role models. Her book Echoes, which is slated to come out in mid-October, is a favorite of mine even though I’ve only been able to read half of it. The imagery and poetic writing style she uses in this one is captivating, and the characters… Ahhhhhh. I need to know what happens next! I’m so eager to read it when it comes out! But in addition to being an excellent writer, she’s also a strong Christian and her amount of faith is something I don’t feel like I’ll ever measure up to, but it’s something I’d like to grow in and that I really admire her for.

 

The Dust Thief – Short Story Sunday

The Dust Thief – Short Story Sunday

Posted on by R.M. Archer

This is a short story I wrote a while ago as a backstory for one of my characters. It has a sad ending, fair warning.

 

Chapter 1

He stepped into the bustling tavern, looking around at everyone and looking for one man in particular. After a moment he saw him, sitting alone in the corner, his hood pulled low over his face. Leo walked over to him and took a seat across from him at the table.

“I have the dust,” he told the go-between, pulling a vial from his cloak and handing it to the man.

The man took it and looked it over.

“This is not what the master requested.”

“What do you mean? It’s the Glowmine Dust. I got it for him just as he requested.”

“No. He asked for the barrel, not the vial.”

“I’m sorry. I must have misheard.”

“There is no mishearing when it comes to the master, understand? If you mess up, he is not forgiving.”

“I will make it right.”

“You’d better. You have half an hour to retrieve the barrel of Glowmine Dust. That is all. After that I must return to the master. I will either have what he wants or I will not. You better hope that I do.”

“Half an hour?! That’s impossible! It cannot be done!”

“And yet it must. If I were you I would leave now so that you have the most time possible. Go.”

Leo nodded and rushed out of the tavern toward the Glowmine where he’d gotten the vial. He’d have to steal a barrel, and he’d have to be quick about it. But it was mining hours, and the miners would be everywhere. He’d just have to hope that they weren’t alert. They were usually absorbed in their work, so it shouldn’t be a problem, but Leo still worried.

He entered the mine and crept along the wall toward the Dust chamber. He reached the chamber without running into any Miners, which seemed odd. There should have been someone on that route, yet there wasn’t. He reached the Dust chamber door and peered in through the keyhole. That was why he hadn’t run into anyone. All of the mine council members were assembled in the Dust chamber. When there was a council meeting, all the miners were sent to the Delta section.

“…Gone.”

“Why’d they take a mere vial of Dust? Why not more?”

“The stuff is potent. They wouldn’t need much. Probably they didn’t want to go to the trouble of getting a larger container.”

Leo sucked in a breath. They’d found the vial missing. But why? It was a mere vial.

“Potent stuff” the one council member had said. But it just glowed. Right? Maybe not…

Leo jumped as the council members began heading for the door and ran off down the corridor, exiting the mine and running all the way back to the tavern to talk to the go-between.

“Did you get it?” he asked.

Leo shook his head, out of breath.

“They found the vial missing. They’re going to come after me. I couldn’t get the barrel.”

“The master will be very disappointed in you. I’ll just have to tell him you were sloppy. I wouldn’t want to be you when he finds out.”

The go-between stood up and prepared to leave.

“Wait! Please! If the miners find me they’ll kill me! You can’t just leave me!”

“I can, and I am. The miners are your problem. You were sloppy, now you’re paying for it. Now if you’ll excuse me I must inform the master of your failure.”

Leo watched as the go-between left the tavern, leaving him alone to sort out his problems.

 

Leo headed home, stepping in the door to see his little brother Axel running up to hug him. He smiled as the little boy wrapped his arms around Leo’s legs.

“Hey there, buddy.”

“Hewwo, Weo. I wuv you.”

“I love you too, buddy.” Leo patted Axel’s head.

“How was work?” Leo’s mother asked, walking in, wiping her hands on a dish towel.

“It didn’t go so well. I think I got fired.”

“You think?”

“It’s a long story.”

His mother nodded and placed a now-dry hand on his shoulder.

“It’ll be all right.”

Leo nodded, not so sure.

“Thanks, mom.”

She gave him a reassuring smile and picked up Axel, carrying him with her into the kitchen.

“You want to help me fix dinner?” Leo heard her ask Axel.

“Yeah! Cooking!”

Leo smiled and headed to his room, taking a seat on his bed and picking up a notebook and opening it. His schoolwork for the day was written in black ink and he sighed. The work never ended.

“Leo, would you like to help with dinner, too?” his mother called.

“Will it get me out of schoolwork?”

His mother laughed.

“Just for tonight, since you had a rough day. But this is a one-time deal.”

“Thanks, mom.”

Leo closed the notebook and set it aside, heading into the kitchen. Axel was standing on a stool mixing up a salad, half of which was ending up on the floor, and his mother was kneading bread dough, flour dusting her apron, face, and hair.

“What do you need me to do?”

“You can put the cake in the oven.”

“Cake? What’s the occasion?”

His mother laughed.

“It’s your father’s birthday, silly.”

“Oh, it’s his birthday already? I didn’t realize.”

“Obviously.”

He smiled and picked up the cake pan, sliding it into the oven.

“When is dad getting home, anyway? He’s late.”

“I asked his boss to assign him some extra work and keep him busy until supper’s ready. I didn’t want him to see the cake too soon.”

Leo nodded and walked over to Axel, tickling him.

Axel laughed and almost knocked the salad bowl off the counter.

“Oops,” Leo said, laughing and picking up the toddler, swinging him over his shoulder, and tickling him some more.

“Don’t forget to let him breath in between,” his mom said with a smile, grabbing the rolling pin and starting to roll out the dough.

“I won’t.”

He let up on the tickling for a moment and then started at it again, loving the sound of his brother’s laughter.

“Stop it!” Axel said through his laughter, “Please!”

Leo stopped and set Axel on the ground.

“I wuv your tickles, Weo.”

Leo smiled.

“And I love tickling you.”

Axel smiled, lighting up his whole face.

“I wuv you.”

“I love you too, buddy.”

Leo kissed Axel on the top of his head and turned to his mother.

“Anything else?”

“Can you grab the tomato sauce?”

“Are you fixing pizza?”

She smiled.

“Your father’s favorite.”

Leo kissed his mom on the flour-covered cheek and walked over to grab the tomato sauce from the cupboard, glancing out the window as he did so. He started. There were half a dozen black-clad men looking in.

“Mom, are we expecting company?”

“No, why?”

“No reason.”

He handed her the tomato sauce, forcing a smile, and headed for the back door, stepping into the yard and walking over to the men.

“Who are you?”

“We work for the master.”

“What are you doing here?”

“Waiting.”

“For what?”

“You’ll see. Go back inside before we’re forced to hurt you.”

“Not until you tell me what’s going on.”

“I’m afraid we can’t do that. Go inside.”

“No!”

Leo heard the back door open and fear gripped his chest. They couldn’t come outside. It wasn’t safe.

He ran back to the door and almost collided with his mother. She put a hand to her chest.

“Goodness! What’s the matter?”

“You can’t come out here.”

“Why not?”

“You just… You just can’t.”

“But I need to pick my oregano for the pizza!”

“I’ll do it. You go back inside.”

She looked at him, befuddled.

“All right…”

She turned to head inside, glancing back at him in confusion before entering. He let out a sigh of relief.

He walked over to the oregano bush, trying to keep an eye on the men at the same time, and picked some of the herb, heading back inside with one last look over his shoulder. As he stepped inside, one of them smiled. It was a smile that chilled him to the core, and as the door swung shut he shivered.

 

Chapter 2

“Here’s the oregano,” he said, handing it to his mother.

“Thank you,” she replied with a concerned smile. “Why did you want me inside so bad?”

“No reason. I just didn’t want you out in the cold.”

“Leo, it’s March. It’s not particularly cold.”

“Still, it’s chilly, and I know how easily you catch cold.”

She pursed her lips.

“I do not, and you know it. I very rarely catch a cold, or any sickness for that matter. What’s going on, Leo?”

“I’ll explain it all later. Let’s just enjoy the evening, shall we? There’s no reason to worry dad. Or for you to worry, for that matter. It’s nothing. Let’s just forget the whole thing.”

She looked at him suspiciously for a moment more and went back to the pizza.

“Who are the men outside?” Axel asked.

Oh no. He saw them.

“What men, honey?” their mom asked.

“The men in black that are standing in the yard.”

She looked out the window.

“Oh dear. I’m not sure.” She turned to Leo. “That’s why you didn’t want me to go outside, isn’t it? Who are they?”

“I’m not entirely sure, but I have a bad feeling about them and I didn’t want you to be put in danger.” It was almost the truth.

“Thank you for trying to protect me, sweetheart.”

She smiled over at him, a tight smile that told him she was still worried.

“Of course.”

“Can you get Axel cleaned up and take him over to see your father? Maybe you three can go to the market and keep your father busy.”

Leo hesitated.

“But what if the men decide to attack you? I can’t leave you alone.”

“I can take care of myself. Run along. You don’t want your father coming home early.”

“I’d rather he come home early than you be hurt.”

She sighed, opening the oven and sliding the pizza onto the rack.

“All right. But can you please get Axel cleaned up anyway? Maybe the two of you can play a game while I finish supper.”

“A game! Can we pway Hunters and Knights? Can we?”

Leo smiled down at Axel, who was jumping up and down next to his legs.

“All right. Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up.”

Axel beamed and skipped off down the hallway to the bathroom. Leo glanced back to his mother, who gave him a reassuring smile, before dutifully following.

 

Leo finished washing Axel’s hands and face just as the front door opened.

“Daddy!” Axel yelled, running out of the bathroom and back toward the kitchen. Leo followed, though at a significantly slower pace, and saw his father entering the kitchen with a smile and picking up Axel, while his mother gave him a disapproving look.

“You’re not supposed to be home yet,” she said.

“Sorry.” He sniffed the air. “Is that pizza I smell?”

“Pizza and chocolate cake.”

“Thank you, Mia.”

She nodded.

“It’s the least I can do for a man who’s put up with me for fifteen years.” She smiled.

He set Axel down and walked over to her, kissing her forehead.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Leo looked down at Axel.

“I’m not sure this will ever not be awkward.”

Axel looked up at him and nodded.

“Yeah.”

Leo chuckled.

“Do you even know what that means?”

Axel shook his head.

“Dinner will be ready in about ten minutes. Why don’t we do presents while we wait?” Mia suggested.

“That’s a good idea,” Leo agreed, picking Axel up and carrying him into the living room.

Mia and Xavier followed, taking a seat on the couch next to their sons. Mia reached over the arm of the couch and picked up three packages, handing them to Xavier.

“Here you go. Axel got excited and wanted to give you two presents. Leo forgot it was your birthday.”

Xavier gasped, feigning shock.

“How could you forget?!”

Leo laughed.

“Sorry, dad. I knew it was coming up, but I didn’t realize it was so soon.”

Xavier reached over and ruffled Leo’s hair with a smile.

“It’s all right, son.”

He looked down at the packages.

“Which one should I open first?”

“Save mine for last,” Mia requested.

“The wittle one! The wittle one!” Axel said, bouncing up and down.

Xavier opened it with a smile to see a rolled up piece of paper. He unrolled it and started to read the scrawled print.

“No, daddy! I sing it!” Axel took the piece of paper and began to sing the song he’d written.

“Daddy, I wuv you. I wuv you a wot. I’m so happy it’s your birfday, and I wanted to sing you dis song. I wuv you, Daddy. I’m glad you’re my daddy. I hope you’re wif me fowever. I wuv you.”

Xavier smiled over at Axel as the song finished.

“That’s very sweet. I love you too.”

He reached over and hugged the little boy, who was beaming.

As he began to tear open the second gift, the back door slammed and several sets of footsteps sounded in the kitchen, coming toward the living room.

“What on earth?” Xavier said, setting the packages aside and standing up, facing the kitchen as the men from the back yard stormed in, each with a dagger in his hand.

“Do not mess with The Master!” the lead one declared, walking over to Xavier and attempting to slit his throat. Xavier caught his hands just in time and held them back.

“Protect your mother and brother!” he yelled to Leo, who was already standing beside his mother, clutching Axel close.

“Resistance is futile!” one of the men said, walking around to Mia and cutting her throat.

Leo stared at the blood in shock and clutched Axel tighter.

Xavier’s arms began to give.

“Protect him! Protect Axel!”

Then his arms gave way and his throat was cut.

Leo stared at his parents’ still forms and then looked at the men, who were closing in.

“No. This can’t be happening.”

The men stepped forward and tried to wrench Axel from his grasp.

“No! Weo! Don’t let them take me! Weo! Hewp! Pwease!”

Leo had tears running down his face as he tried to keep a grasp on his brother. But he wasn’t strong enough. The men took Axel and cut his throat, discarding him on the couch and sneering at Leo before leaving.

Leo screamed and fell to his knees next to his brother, sobbing.

I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t save him. I let him down. I let them all down. I wasn’t strong enough. It’s my fault…

He sat there crying until he couldn’t take it anymore and then ran out of the house and didn’t stop running until his legs gave out a couple of miles outside the city.

I have to get away. I have to leave.

He sat there only as long as he had to and then started running again, never looking back.

Character Development

Character Development

Posted on by R.M. Archer

Character development is something that I really enjoy in writing. I enjoy getting to know the characters, being surprised by them, falling in love with them or being repulsed by them, some of my characters even scare me. Characters are the first thing I notice in a story, because they’re the main part of the story, possibly even more than the plot itself. They’re who the story centers around and you have to be able to at least tolerate them for the entirety of the book. Unfortunately, I’ve read some books that I could only go so far as to tolerate the characters of, or whose characters downright Continue reading “Character Development” →

Farewell to July

Farewell to July

Posted on by R.M. Archer

Hey guess what! This makes three monthly wrap-up posts in a row! Hooray!

July’s Writing

July was Camp NaNoWriMo, as most if not all of you know, and my project was to finish The Heart of the Baenor. I did not accomplish that goal, unfortunately, but I still made my 20k goal and even upped it to 40k and won that. I started the Dark War Trilogy, against my better judgement, and I’m really loving it so far. I adore the characters, as with many of my stories.

In addition, I started a dystopian story that I’m keeping on a back burner as something to work on when I’m really stuck with something else, and I began a collaboration story with my best friend set in Wonderland, which we’re both really excited about. The basic premise is that key Wonderland characters are dying, and the eight MCs have to take their places, which begins with a quest for relics for each of them. It’s really fun.

July’s Reading

I’ve read a lot this month. I finally managed to get to my library, which resulted in a stack of books to read, and I’ve finished all but one of those.

The first thing I finished was High Druid’s Blade by Terry Brooks, which is the first in his latest trilogy, I believe. He may have started another one since. It was really good, and I gave it four stars on Goodreads.

After that was Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, which was excellent. Five stars for that one.

Next was Enclave by Ann Aguirre (Ann without an E! D:), which got three stars. It seemed a bit too much like Maze Runner for my taste and finished on a sufficiently tied-up ending, so I don’t plan on reading the next one.

I also read Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard, which was pretty good. Four stars.

Before Red Queen, actually, was The Giver by Lois Lowry. I absolutely fell in love with that one. It’s one of few books that made me feel. I nearly cried near the end, and that’s something that happens even less than feeling in general at books.

I also read Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas, which I technically finished in August, but most of it was read in July, so I’m listing it here anyway. I’ve been trying to get a hold of this one for a long time so I could read it, and I was finally able to get it from my library. It’s usually checked out the times I go to the library. :P I really liked this one, too, and gave it five stars. There were a few things I could have done without – sporadic language, some suggestive dialogue, gore that went a bit farther in-depth than it needed to – but overall it was really good. There was a love triangle, but it was well-handled and I could tolerate it, even though the MC gravitates toward the wrong one, in my opinion.

If you’d like to see reviews of any of these books, let me know and I’d be happy to write them. :)