In Interview with a Light Bringer

This is the second in my four week series to interview my characters from Light Bringers...hope you enjoy!


Article by Rosepddle of the Telling Point Gazette.

After my interview with Venator Ryan Webb, I was contacted by a young woman claiming to be a Light Bringer. (For those of you who have no idea what a Light Bringer is, your questions will be answered below). Obviously, I was skeptical. Light Bringers have been a rare—if not extinct—breed for as long as I can remember. With the assurance of Ryan Webb that this was not a hoax, I agreed to meet this young lady, because after all, I’m more than a little curious to see if she really is a Light Bringer.

The day before I was set to meet this supposed Light Bringer, I received a call from Ryan laying down the rules. Now, I’m no stranger to rules when interviewing someone. People are always trying to tell reporters what we can and can not ask, but these rules were a little odd. I am not allowed to know her full name. I am not to take any photos, or even bring a photographer, nor am I to describe her too completely. Also, I am not allowed to ask any questions that will lead to her identity. I have to admit, the rules only made me more interested.

I arrive at the designated area, but I am unable to get there first, like usual, and watch my interviewee arrive. We are in a national park on a beautiful fall day. Several Venators, in full combat gear, have created a perimeter. I’m not sure if they’re here to protect her or keep me in line. Her name is Kalie and she is seventeen. I can not tell you what she looks like, other than to say that she is petite and cute as a pixie in jeans and a light-weight blue jacket.

We walk down a path where the reddish-orange leave flutter from the trees. The Venators keep their distance, with the exception of Ryan who walks a few paces behind us.

Rosepddle: It’s nice to meet you, Kalie. This seems like a lot of fuss for a simple conversation.

Kalie: [Jerks her thumb over her shoulder with a smile] He’s a bit overprotective.

Rosepddle: It’s obvious that your safety is important to Ryan. Have you two known each other long?

Kalie: All of my life. I was raised by his— [Kalie is interrupted with a warning from Ryan not to go any further about her childhood information. She opens her mouth, possibly to argue, but then understanding sets in and she presses her lips together.]

Rosepddle: Tell me, Kalie, why did you want to speak with me?

Kalie: Because the Gazette is a respectable paper and I wanted to…well, I don’t really know what I hope to achieve with this interview. I just don’t want to hide any longer. I want to be free to shout out in a room full of strangers that I am a Light Bringer and not have to fear for my life.

Rosepddle: Explain that. Tell us about Light Bringers and why it’s so dangerous for you?

Kalie: Well, I’m endowed with the ability to heal others. And the reason I fear for my life is because people can be irrational when faced with death. I don’t believe the majority of the population wants to hurt Light Bringers. It would be counterproductive. But, imagine if you were sick or dying and knew there was someone out there who could heal you, wouldn’t you do anything and everything to get that person to help you? The problem comes in when people don’t understand the limits of my gift, don’t understand or care that I can be seriously harmed if I’m not strong enough to cure them. Our history has shown that the fear of death, especially when a cure is within reach, can make people do things they wouldn’t normally do. It’s like the mob mentality.

Rosepddle: But it’s more than that, isn’t it? I’ve done some research and your gift can be deadly to people, correct?”

Kalie: Yes. If it’s not utilized correctly, or if it’s used malevolently, Light Bringers can kill.

Rosepddle: Can you show me? Explain to me how your gift works.
[Kalie glances back at Ryan and they communicate something silently. Then, she stretches her arms out in front of her, palms down. White Light rains from her palms and fingertips. The brown grass around our feet begins to grow, lush and vibrantly green. Instinctually, I step back and immediately see how my reaction upsets the young Light Bringer as she shuts down her rain of Light.]

Kalie: This can’t hurt you. There are two facets to my endowment. When I give Light—like what I just did—it heals wounds, regenerates tissue and replenishes living things. The other part of my gift is to cure. [Her hands glow white, no drizzling or pouring this time, just a blinding glove. She turns them, flexing her fingers.] Like this, I can touch you and extract disease, pain or any illness from you and take it into my body. I need water to get rid of any ailments I take from someone. Usually, I just rinse my hands, but any part of me in water will cause the sick energy to leave my body.
What makes the gift deadly is, in this state, I can simply absorb all of your energy, your life force and you will die. [Her hands stop glowing and she folds them demurely in front of her. She seems painfully aware that she has frightened me.] We are misunderstood, ma’am. I’ve been taught to use my gift to help others, but because of the dangers I face from people who want to harm me—before I supposedly harm them—or people who would hurt me or the ones I love to force me to help them, I am forced to hide and I don’t want to any longer.

Rosepddle: Do you have any ideas on how you can be yourself and be safe?

Kalie: We need to make it illegal to threaten, coerce or blackmail Light Bringers into using their gifts. Crimes against Light Bringers should have harsh punishments. I’m not against helping people. In fact, I really want to. But it needs to be controlled and protected. Just like there are laws to protect doctors as well as patients, there should be the same with Light Bringers, but stronger. And just as you need to make an appointment to see a doctor, you should have to make one for me. [She shrugs.] I haven’t really thought it all out…

Rosepddle: Oh I’d say you’ve thought it out plenty and I hope you get all of that and more.

Kalie: Thank you.

Rosepddle: It was fascinating meeting you, Kalie. I hope to get a chance to speak with you again.

She thanks me again, shakes my hand. I am briskly escorted to my vehicle and all but forced out of the park. From my rearview mirror I see Ryan and Kalie embrace. He no longer looks like a soldier, but a comforting friend. Something tells me that there is more to their relationship than what meets the eye.

Midweek Excerpt

In an effort to keep Light Bringers fresh in my mind without over-editing, I’ve decided to post an excerpt every Wednesday. I’m not sure how well the Interview with a Venator went over, but it really helped me know my characters better. It was a good exercise and I still plan to post the remaining three on the next few Fridays.

The weekly excerpts will be roughly 300 words and hopefully give a glimpse of the characters and plot. This week’s scene is from chapter one. Ryan has been hurt at work and has come to his parent’s house so his best friend, Kalie, can heal him. Kalie lives with Ryan's parents because they took her in when she was five.

**~*~*~**

“I’m gonna be sick.” Ryan pushed away from the table.

Before he could rush to the sink Kalie yanked up his shirt and slapped her hand on his stomach. White Light covered her hand like a soft glove. She closed her eyes as a thin sheen of sweat broke out over her face. The need to vomit left Ryan almost instantly. He watched Kalie’s color fade from golden-brown to chalky and greenish.

She pulled her hand away and rushed to the sink. When she turned on the water Ryan thought she was going to be sick. Instead, she cupped her left hand under the flow, letting the water run over it for a minute. Her skin gradually regained its healthy luster until she looked as if none of it had happened. She shook away the excess water, shut off the faucet and turned to Ryan.

“Sit,” she said again, just as calmly as before. “You probably have a concussion.”

Kalie placed her right hand over his forehead and white Light poured from her palm and fingertips like steady rain. This was different than the glowing glove that covered her hand a minute ago. Ryan had to resist the urge to wipe his face as her Light drizzled down on him, but there wasn’t any wetness, just cool tingles.

The emotions pulsing through him felt like nothing he could ever muster on his own. He had the usual physical feelings—the itching and pulling of rapidly healing flesh that tickled his skin. But he also felt love, platonic and strong, at first and it made him smile. Then hot jabs of lust grabbed a hold of his gut, invigorating him, making him want to reach out and touch her. Lately, he felt that stirring more often when she healed him. Ryan shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

An Interview with a Venator

As promised, the first in a four week series of interviews with characters from my novel LIGHT BRINGERS.


Article by, Rosepddle of the Telling Point Gazette

I arrive at the trendy café, Vintage, in downtown Telling Point, before Ryan Webb. It’s something that I like to do with interviews, get a chance to watch people make an entrance when they aren’t aware they are being studied.

I sip caramel macchiato and only wait five minutes for my interviewee. Having only seen a file photo of Ryan Webb, I am not prepared for the utter power that radiates from him. Arguably one of the most powerful Telekinetics in the nation, perhaps the world—I believe he could level the café with a mere flicker of thought—and at only nineteen. His entry doesn’t go unnoticed, especially by the females. It’s impossible not to glance in his direction, standing at six-foot-four, lean, blond and tanned with sparkling green eyes, he certainly garners attention.

He swaggers toward me with the confidence of a much older man. There’s a smile in his eyes until they land on the recorder I’ve placed on the table. Apprehension passes over his face and now he looks his age.

He greets me with the respect of a well-mannered, well-trained soldier. He sits and we exchange pleasantries until the waitress arrives. Ryan smiles up at her and asks for a grape soda. She is flummoxed by his order, in this oh-so-trendy café, but the dreamy way she looks at him makes me wonder if she’d bring him all the money in the register if he asked.

Rosepddle: Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, Mr. Webb.

Ryan Webb: You can call me Ryan. And my Chief ordered me to come.

R: Why’s that?

RW: [Shrugs] ‘Cause I had a few high profile, erm, incidents in the past few weeks and the PR department thought it would be good press for Caligatus Defense Unit and the Venators. Probably shouldn’t have told you that, though.

R: So let’s talk about your career. It’s very impressive that you’ve achieved the rank of sergeant at the age of nineteen.

RW: I’ll be twenty soon.

R: Explain to our readers just what a Venator does and how you became one at such a young age. What’s a typical day for you?

RW: Well, um, Venators are a special ops team of soldiers designed to police the endowed society. I’ve wanted to be one since I was seven, so I tested when I was seventeen and made it into the program. After two years on the job you can take the sergeants exam. [Shrugs again] I don’t think anyone expected me to pass, not even me. There really isn’t a typical day as a Venator. The job is a mix between the marines and police work. Like last month, we tracked down a serial rapist who had the ability to move through solid objects, making him impossible for standard police to catch since he could slip right through walls.

R: That’s a creepy endowment to have.

RW: [His eyes harden at my answer] My partner has that ability. It’s not the endowment that’s flawed, ma’am. It’s the person.

R: You’re right, I apologize. You were the youngest person ever to become a Venator, correct?

RW: Yes ma’am.

R: Did you find it difficult being so young?

RW: In some ways. Venator training is physically and mentally demanding, and being young gave me an advantage with energy and stamina. But then sometimes it’s hard for the older guys to take me seriously. Doing this interview isn’t going to make it any easier.

R: Sorry.

RW: Not your fault.

R: You’re a powerful Telekinetic, is that something that runs in your family? Do you find it helps a lot in your job?

RW: Everyone in my immediate family is a Telekinetic, just not as strong as I am. And yeah, I use my gift quite a bit in my duties as a Venator.

R: Could you demonstrate?
[Before I’ve finished my question, the items on our table are floating. He sits at ease, and if it wasn’t for the fact that I had just asked him, I wouldn’t have known he was responsible.]

R: Not to sound jaded, I really am impressed, but could you do something to demonstrate just how powerful you really are?
[Something nearly undetectable passes through his eyes as everything that isn’t nailed down in the café begins to rise. As squeals and yelps scatter around the establishment, my attention is drawn to the blaring horns and screams from outside. The parked cars lining the block have also risen several feet in the air.]

R: Wow, I stand impressed.
[His smile is quick and slightly embarrassed as everything lowers with quiet grace.]

R: Ryan, what would you like to see in your future?

RW: Well, I’d like to continue to move up the ladder. Maybe make it to Chief one day. And I’d like to make the world a safer place for those endowed people who have to hide their gifts. None of us should have to hide.

[He looks far away as he answers. When I questioned him further on that topic he shakes it off. But it’s obvious he has a deeper reason for wanting safety for all of the gifted society.]

R: Before I conclude this interview, once we add a photo of you to this article, my readers will string me up if I don’t ask if you’re single.
[He hesitates, blushing shyly and then he nods. Yes, he is single, but I doubt he’ll be that way for long.]

R: Thank you, Ryan. I enjoyed speaking with you.

RW: No problem. [He shakes my hand and is out of the café quickly, attracting the same attention as when he walked in.]

Upcoming Posts

So this morning started rather funny. I’m not sure how many of you do this, but I’m hoping I’m not the only one. As I’m working on a novel, (editing, plotting, writing or revising) I often talk it out, especially dialogue. Most of this happens in the shower so I’m alone. Usually while I’m driving to work or walking to my office, I think out scenes in my head—silently. Every now and then I think of things and get so caught up in the scene that I need to speak/act it out.

That’s what happened this morning. I talked—to myself—the entire way to work this morning, mapping out a scene and I didn’t stop when I got on the hospital’s campus, or in the employee garage. I was parking my car, still talking through the scene when I felt someone looking at me. The woman in the car beside me was staring like she thought I should be checking into One-West (our psych ward-lol). I could see that she was wondering if I had a Bluetooth. “No lady, I’m not on the phone, I be a WRITER!” I proudly declared—to myself-lol.

Tell me I’m not alone. We quirky writers have to stick together.

So, anywho, I got this idea from a comment I read here and decided to borrow it for my blog. For the next four Fridays, I’ll be posting an interview with my characters from Light Bringers. The interviewer—my alter ego, Rosepddle, will conduct the interviews for the Telling Point Gazette, which is the fictional city in Light Bringers. The first interview will be with Ryan Webb, a 19 year old member of an elite group of soldiers known as Venators.

Hope you all enjoy!

Accidental Plagiarism…Sort of

Plagiarizing someone isn’t something I worry too much about. First, I would never do that to someone, no matter how fantastic I thought their writing was. And second, between writing fanfiction, novels and short stories, I have yet to accidentally plagiarize someone’s work…until now. Dum-dum-duuuuuuuuum *rubs hands sinisterly*

Actually, I caught myself by the time I’d moved onto the next sentence. My current WIP (which I hope to actually finish by the end of NaNo) is about a girl who has psychic dreams. Well, she dreams of the Headmaster of her private school slipping in the cafeteria and falling in front of everyone. When I mentally wrote it, Headmaster Mannor slipped on mashed potatoes, but when I actually put it on paper, for some strange reason I wrote: I laughed, remembering my dream of Headmaster Mannor slipping on that banana peel. I mean, an actual banana peel!

I’d completed the next sentence after that, and then I stopped and said to myself, “Self, why does that sound familiar?” My self answered that it did not know. So I sat there, thinking about that, staring out of my terrace doors at the gloomy rain and then I was like, DOH!

The second sentence is nearly an exact sentence from Justine Larbalestier’s Liar. Now, I know it could be argued that the sentence in and of itself is pretty non-distinct and no court in the world would find be guilty of using it, but I knew where it came from, and that was enough for me. If I’d read that book years ago and had no real memory of reading that sentence, then I wouldn’t think twice about using it. But the combination of the scene originally being with mashed potatoes, then my changing it to a banana peel, and knowing exactly where I got it from felt too much like plagiarism to me.

Has this ever happened to you…even if it’s a small incident like this?

MEDIEVAL TIMES

It’s dinner AND a Tournament!

I’m not sure if any of you out there have ever been to Medieval Times or even live near one of the few locations in the country. Well, as it was my stepdad’s 64th birthday and he’s dorktastic like we all are, he wanted to go, so mom made it happen.

See, he's waaay too excited-lol


Now, I’m not too into the “Medieval” period, mainly because I have a problem with stinky people and just about everyone from that era looks like they stink-lol. Still, I love movies that have knights, and lords and ladies and DRAGONS!

There were no utensils to eat our food. We drank our soup—tomato bisque or as they say, dragon scale soup—in a pewter bowl with a handle. Then came our roasted baby dragon—or half of a rotisserie chicken. I heard a little kid ask if was really a baby dragon…too cute!

After that we had a small piece of rib and half a potato. Dessert was an apple pastry. Over all, it was a good meal and as close to what they served during that time as I’d want to get to—lol.

So they seat you in sections by the colors of the knights. They were, the Yellow Knight, the Red Knight, the Blue Knight, the Green Knight, the Black and White Knight and the Red and Yellow Knight. We are in the section for the Black and White Knight and he was the cutest knight out of the lot. Yes, this is how I chose my loyalty, by cuteness and overall lustability. I wasn’t able to get a really good picture of him. He was too busy prancing around, tossing roses into the crowd, or he had his back to me.


Although the final battle was a bit canned, the jousting was excellent. Those guys really know what they’re doing. It was a real and exciting. If you’re ever in the area, check it out. But be prepared, it costs a small fortune!

So that was part of my dorktastic weekend.

Yesterday was the first day since the 20th of September that I wrote close to 1000 words on my new wip…well, on anything. I write most on the weekends as my brain is fried when I come home after work. But since my parents moved back in town, I haven’t had a weekend to myself. I’m not complaining because I love having them near, but I NEED TO WRITE!

Now, I’m off to sleep or as I like to say, write in my head. Tell me about your dorktastic weekend.

Catching Fire and Liar

On my quest to read 100 books in 2009, I’ve just finished books number 60 and 61…or is it 61 and 62? No matter, I’ll get the final count later. My point is, I’ve just finished Suzanne Collins’s CATCHING FIRE and Justine Larbalestier’s LIAR.

Let’s start with CATCHING FIRE



I LOVED IT! I’ve read some reviews that say, “hey, we’ve seen this before in the first book”, but I don’t get that. Yes there was another game, but it was so much more in depth, so much more Katness, so much more Peeta, so much more big brother, mutated animals. I used to be tore between Peeta and Gale with Peeta getting a little more of the votes, but now I’m firmly on the side of Peeta. He is handsome, smart, and selfless and he just loves Katness so much. My heart is going to break if she ends up with Gale. But at the same time, I know Gale is a good guy and he really loves her. I think, because of the way the book ended—which I’m not going to say here—the third book is going to be a lot of Katness and Gale, which may make her pick him over Peeta. Granted, she may not go with either of them…I really hate that I’m going to have to wait a year to find out!


Now for LIAR

I’m still confused about this book. This is the first book I’ve read by Larbalestier and I know that I want to read others now. I really enjoyed her writing. It was crisp, clean and we stayed firmly in the main character’s head. The plot of the book is that Micah is a liar and I still don’t know what the truth of the story is. There was a plot point that really threw me and had me listening to the last ¾ of the book with a skeptical ear. Reading the reviews, some people were upset that Micah even lies to us, so we can’t trust the story at all. A part of me thinks this is brilliant on the part of Larbalestier, part of me just wants to know the real story, but I guess it’s fitting to have a liar have you guessing right up to the end.

Oh, btw, I love both of these covers!

Feedback?

I’ve had a nice run of requests for my novel Light Bringers and I’m totally appreciative of all the feedback, although I’ve only really had one agent actually spell out clear reasons why the story didn’t work for them and that was from the awesome Kate Testerman. While I didn’t agree with all of her comments and didn’t make all of the suggested changes, I knew exactly what didn’t work for her and why. Plus, her feedback helped to make Light Bringers better. (wish she would have asked for a revise and resub *pout-pout*)

Well, the rest of the feedback from other agents who have read my full manuscript has been less than helpful. And I’m not saying that in a whinny kind of way, I’m just saying I don’t really know what to do with their feedback.

One agent said that she found nothing really wrong with the story, it was just at the end of the day it didn’t resonate with her. That’s fine. It’s not going to resonate with everyone, but I can’t really take that and make my book better. Someone should totally market Resonating Dust. Just sprinkle it on your manuscript and it will guarantee to make it resonate with everyone who reads it!

*Don’t steal my idea. I’m totally thinking of marketing that!

Another agent said my conflict didn’t come in soon enough for her—that’s constructive and something I can fix, but then she said my main character was whinny and self-indulgent—not much I can do about that. Well, I could but I don’t wanna-lol.

Just had another request for a full from a pretty impressive house so I was on cloud nine when the request came only three hours after I sent the partial. I knew the response would be fast so I’m grateful for that.

He said he thought the premise was great and I had a good frame, but he had concerns about the writing, for example, he didn’t know why Heath needed to be British and what was the deal with me saying Ryan used fruity shampoo on his hair? Does he have an aversion to fruity shampoo or herbal?

Um…WTH?

Heath’s British because I want him to be and it’s MY NOVEL! One of my friends said that he was probably wondering if it will have some bearing on the story, does it move the plot along? Since when does someone’s nationality have to move the plot along? Maybe I’m mistaken, and if I am, please enlighten me, but I don’t see why my choice to have Heath be British should make a difference. I think it’s mentioned twice in the entire novel and shown through his speech. And Heath’s background as well as England will be featured in the third novel. Still, I have no idea what to do with that feedback.

As for the shampoo and Ryan’s “aversion” to the fruity scent, well, that scene was taking place in his mother’s house so he wasn’t pleased that the only shampoo available to him had a fruity scent. He’s a soldier, a macho type guy, and not too keen on showing up for work smelling like strawberries. Most guys would probably feel the same. I’m not sure what to do with that bit of info either.

I’ve just ordered Donald Maass’ book, Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook, so I’m hopeful that the exercises will help me strengthen my novel, maybe even answer some of these unanswered questions I have about this feedback.

As I said, I’m not complaining. I just figured that sometimes when you talk things out with others going through the same thing, they may help you make sense of it, so…HELP!

Ended Up...

A few days ago I was reading an email from a friend. In the email she used the phrase “ended up” a few times. As this was an email, and I am not the type to edit or critique people’s casual emails (and I HATE we people do that to me), I didn’t say anything. Granted, there is nothing wrong with the phrase “ended up” it’s perfectly fine, it just happens to be a trigger for me. When I see it in books it feels very passive. I can’t really say why I dislike it so much, but it just seems like a copout. Show me how you ended up in whatever situation you are claiming to have ended up in.

It’s like saying: Ryan pushed me, and I ended up at the bottom of the steps.

Or you could say: Ryan pushed me and I lost my footing, went ass-over-elbows down the flight of stairs, landing in a heap at the bottom.

The second one isn’t perfect but it’s much more active than the first. So what are some of the trigger phrases, words or expressions that get under your skin when you read them?

Kreativ Blogger

Thank you Amanda @ A Fortnight of Mustard for the lovely nomination!

Seven Things About Me:

1. I’m a trained cosmetologist—not licensed.
2. I used to work in a prison.
3. I’ve written four novels.
4. I lived in Miami for a year.
5. My sister’s nickname for me is Bean.
6. Whenever Ghostbusters is on tv, I have to watch it.
7. I’m in love with Roarke from J.D. Robb’s In Death series.

My nominees…

1. Kestrel Rising
2. Talespinning
3. The Literary Gathering
4. The Lesser Key
5. Write About Now
6. The Writer’s Cocoon
7. Susan Sandmore

The rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.

2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.

3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.

4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.

5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.

6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.

7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they have been nominated.