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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*

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. :)

Goodbye March (Massively Late)

Goodbye March (Massively Late)

Posted on by R.M. Archer

Well, it’s halfway through April and I haven’t written a March overview yet. Sounds like me. Well, better late than never, right?

March’s Reading

The first book I finished in March was Spindle, which I had started all the way back in January or February. It wasn’t my absolute favorite, but it was pretty good.

I also finished The Last of the Mohicans, which I hesitate to add since it was a book I read for school (and it’s also mega, mega boring), but I read it, so it’s on here anyway.

March’s Writing

Rebellion Ever After was my main project in March. My aim was to get it to 60k before April, but that didn’t happen. I got to 40k, though, which is good.

I also wrote a short story in March to go with it, and that was a lot of fun. It follows one of the MC’s dreams as she’s asleep in her stasis chamber, and she’s the only one there except a SRV-droid, so there’s a lot of description and not as much dialogue as I usually write.

April’s Writing

Since it’s halfway through April already, I’ve already gotten some writing done. Namely I’ve written 32k in my Camp Nanowrimo novel, The Heart of the Baenor. This story is really interesting to write because I’m specifically working toward putting in more description and internal dialogue since those are things I tend to struggle with in my writing. The description part is made easier by the fact that HotB takes place in Kaloris, which I’ve fleshed out considerably more than some of my other storyworlds. The well-developed world also helps with character development and so forth.

Other Fun Stuff

I’ve been working on editing my book House of Mages, as you know from January’s wrap-up/February’s welcome, and working toward getting it ready for publishing. Well, I got a cover on March 22nd and I’m sooooo happy with it! It’s perfect! And it was a premade one, so it didn’t cost as much. I got it at The Book Cover Designer.

Now I’m looking toward getting an editor for when I finish my third draft, which I haven’t even started yet because I haven’t finished my second draft. I really need to do that.

Anywho, who wants to see my beautimous cover?

Tadaaaaaa! Oh yeah, and I finally settled on a pen name: R. M. Archer, as you can see above. ^-^ I’m so happy about all of this! It’s amazing! I could be published before the year is out! *squee!* Yeah, I’m happy. ^-^ And in honor of this momentous occasion, how about an excerpt from House of Mages? Just a short one.

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They walked through the tunnels for several minutes before emerging on the surface. But it wasn’t anything like an earthly surface. The ground was black, the sky was stone-like with stalactites hanging from it, and the whole atmosphere was penetratingly dark.

The castle that loomed in front of them was especially dark. Whatever material it was made of seemed to absorb what meager light there was, and the towers were like cold stone claws that would reach down and crush or impale her at any moment. The gates were bent outward like ribs, and the small dank breeze seemed to make them shift like there really was a beating heart behind them.

Lian shuddered.

“Do we have to go in there?”

“Of course. That is the Conqueror’s castle.”

Asphodel led the way up to the gate and Lian followed, trying to seem more courageous than she felt.

As they passed through the gates and walked up to the front door, Lian tried to quiet her rapidly beating heart. It felt like a caged animal trying to break free, making her feel like her chest would explode.

She survived the walk to the front door however, despite almost running into Asphodel when the demoness stopped suddenly to pull the bell rope. Its gong was eerie and melancholic almost causing Lian to shiver again.

The door slid open soundlessly and the two of them entered, passing through several corridors. The only sound was that of Asphodel’s heels clicking on the odd black floor.

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This is one of my favorite parts of House of Mages. There’s actually description! Anyway, I hope you liked it. :)

This post has gotten kind of long, so I’m gonna go now. See ya!

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The Book-Room Challenge

The Book-Room Challenge

Posted on by R.M. Archer

So several of my friends from the Christian Teens Together! thread on the NaNoWriMo website have done a challenge called the Book-Room Challenge in which they describe three of their books as rooms, and I’ve just been nominated by Leila of Inspiring Ink’lings. Thanks, Leila!

Rules:

  1. Describe three of your books as rooms. They can be finished or unfinished, but they must be your own.
  2. Write one of your favorite books to read as a room.
  3. Tag five other people. (This one’s going to be tricky for me.)

Continue reading “The Book-Room Challenge” →