Putting faces to names

This is something that we're fond of over at the YA forum on Absolute Write, finding celebrities that look like our characters! It's fun and inspirational. Looking at someone and thinking, "That's so [insert character's name here]!" can, and has for me, refresh your desire to get their stories on paper.

You've heard me whine about them and read some of the hell I've put them through, and now ladies and gentlemen, I give you the characters from VDGP!!!

First off, Gwen. One of the main weapons Gwen has is that her appearance is incredibly deceiving. She looks soft, harmless, and even helpless. Hell, she looks downright innocence. Although, as many of her foes have learned, she's anything but.

Natalie Dormer is perfect for Gwen. She's the last person you'd expect to chop off your head, right? Well, she can. And has.

Next up is Jaiden, nickname Jay. Jay has a more mature look to him and could be described as ruggedly handsome. He knows what he wants and he goes after it. A man of little words with a shady past. He turns heads and knows it. Only one man came to mind for Jay,
Gerard Butler. He fits perfectly in my brain for Jay. I think he would play the strong, silent type beautifully. Now, Gwen and Jay might not look like they fit together, but they are both what the other person needs and that's all that matters to them.

Chris is rebellious, hot-headed, and a major pain in Gwen's ass. Once again, I found a man who just fit.

If VDGP was ever made into a movie, I would insist on Jensen Ackles. He is absolutely perfect.

And finally, Riley is Gwen's only family. He was the only thing that kept her sane when she lost her parents. He's loving, outgoing, and extremely open. Riley is probably my favorite character I've ever written. I've always had a thing for the best friend character and Riley does it better than anyone.

A young Heath Ledger, happy and carefree, is a perfect fit. When he was young, Heath looked like nothing bad had ever happened to him, and Riley is the same way.

So there they are. My characters. Aside from Jensen Ackles/Chris, they all have little things I would change (eye color, hair length, etc.) but other than that, they are what I see when I'm writing. From the teasers I've posted, do they make sense to you or are you sitting there like, "What is she on?"

Anyone else do this? If so, you should do a blog post and leave me a link! I'd love to see what your characters look like to you.



(Look! Two posts in two days!!! I really am trying harder!)

Character CPR

VDGP (Which may have a new title soon) has been dying a slow, painful death. I've almost lost Gwen's voice completely. Hence the blog silence lately. No new writing means no new teasers.

Thankfully, I've thought of a way to hopefully revive this story. I'm going through and writing some Character worksheets (which is probably something I should have done in the first place). So far, I've only done Gwen's but this her voice is already starting to fill my head again. It's a great feeling.

Since I'm still new at 'seriously' writing (meaning trying to make money from it some day), I am still trying to find a way that works for me. I've read blog after blog about other people's methods, and have found one thing in common: ACTUALLY WRITING. Which is surprisingly harder than it sounds. I hope you will all stick with me through this insanely difficult journey that is writing.

So my faithful readers (even though I'm a less then faithful blogger), I am back in the game. Reviving my characters, my voice, and my motivation. Wish me luck. Because Jake Gyllenhaal says so.
And you can't say no to that face.

Teaser

Sorry about the absentness that's been me lately. I've started working double shifts at my job so my online time has been cut in half. I'll try not to let it happen again.

With this teaser, I'm going to reveal what Gwen, Jay, and Chris do for a living (if you haven't figured it out yet). Welcome to the first fight scene.

A flicker of doubt enter my mind. Something was off here. For the most part, vampires were solitary creatures and very rarely banded together. Something bigger then a casual meal was going on here and I was sure we weren’t going to like it.

As if six against three wasn’t bad enough, two more beings exit the woods. These guys definitely weren’t vampires. For one, their skin was red. For another, they had no shot at passing for human. They had tiny spikes traveling down their arms and their faces were warped, void of anything remotely human. I flipped through my knowledge of demons breeds, like turning the pages in a book. My mind quickly found them.

“Chris,” I spoke quickly yet quietly, “Those are Belthrax demons. Guns won’t kill them, only decapitation will,” As I was speaking, I drew my short sword from it’s sheath, wishing it was my gun.

Without thought or discussion, Jay, Chris, and I formed a circle, each facing a different set of vampires. Jay and I made sure that the two demons were on our sides. For the first time tonight, I not only feared for Chris’ safety, but for mine and Jay’s as well. Usually I was so sure of myself and of Jay but this was far for a usual night.

The vampires and demons were slowly inching closer to us. Just a bit closer. We needed them close so we were still near each other, but not so close that we had no room to maneuver and we were effectively trapped. There. I lunged towards the closest vampire.

A Welcome and a Teaser.

First of all, I'd like to say hello to some of the new followers I've picked up. Hello new followers! I can't tell you how awesome I think you caring about what I post is. I've been trying to post more often but real life has a tendency to get in the way. But here's what you can usually expect from me:

1. A post at least once a week.
2. Usually a teaser from my current work in progress
3. Complaints about said WIP
4. Adult content every now and then.
   
5. Annnddd...

Pictures of beautiful men (and yes. I do know this is the real reason y'all keep coming back.)

Anyways, on to the teaser! This is after a hunt and Gwen just got out of the infirmary. Some adult content in this one but nothing too explicit. Enjoy.

Jay motioned me towards him, his tongue slowly licking his bottom lip. Before I made my way over to him, I took my sweet time undressing, letting my hands linger over buttons and drawing his eyes where I wanted them. I ran my fingers in the waistline of my pants before unbuttoning them; my hands skimmed the edges of my breasts before I slipped out of my shirt.

Jay’s gaze went from hungry to concerned when he saw the bruises that decorated my torso. I tried not to pout as he left the bed and stood solemnly in front of me. There was little arousal in his touch as he methodically prodded my wounds. A frown emerged when he took in my bandaged shoulder. He raised his eyebrows in a question. I rolled my eyes then nodded. Peeling away the gauze, he examined my shoulder.

He sighed heavily, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “I’m surprised you are out of the infirmary. From what I can tell, you’re lucky to have use of your arm. That guy really tore into you.”

I started to shift uncomfortably, but stopped myself. Jay didn’t like it when I left against doctor’s order, but so what? It was my life and I was going to do what I was going to do. I met his eyes, daring him to lecture me, “Dr. Galloway didn’t want me to leave, but I wasn’t going to hang around there. I feel fine.”

Suddenly, Jay poked a particularly nasty looking bruise roughly. I gasped and bent over. “Oh yes. You are in top condition.”

I snarled at him and lashed out, but he easily stepped out of reach. He held his hand up in surrender. “I should not have done that. I was just making a point. I apologize.” I gritted my teeth to tell him to fuck off, but his words were genuine and it would have just been childish.

Straightening, I said coolly, “Fine. Just don’t do it again.” We stood there for a moment, both of us unsure what to do.

Jay slowly trailed his eyes down my body once more, but this time his fingers went with it. A gasp escaped me with the sudden change in atmosphere. It was like our little exchanged had never happened. The air was once again thick with passion and heat. Jay’s slow stroke sent small shots electricity down my body and settled between my legs. My breath increased as Jay's fingers did too.

I'm back to teasing!

Told you I'd be back this week. This teaser is the continuation from the last teaser I posted. The main villain, Dante, is tormenting Gwen and Chris. Here we go.


I couldn’t tear my gaze away from Dante so I don’t know how Chris reacted. It must have been with fear because a small smile appeared on Dante’s lips before his attention turned back to me. Another small noise attempted to escape from my lips, but I squashed it. I tried to tell myself that I was braver than this, stronger, but Dante’s presence stripped me of it all. He made me eight years old again, weak and helpless. The thought should have made me anger, it should have made me fight back, but it didn’t.

“The city is really quite beautiful. I have always liked it here. It holds such wonderful memories for me,” he licked his lips slowly, deliberately, as if he was remembering a particularly tasty treat. His fingers stroked my cheek lovingly and I couldn’t help shaking, “But I never imagined you stay here. I thought I had ruined this place for you. Apparently, I gave myself too much credit. But thankfully, I have the chance to make up for it.” He released my face and started to circle around me.

“But there is someone here I was even more surprised and pleased to see. Someone I’ve been missing these past few years.” He sighed longingly. “No matter. My dorato raggazzo* and I will be reacquainted soon enough.” Dante was at my back and leaned forward and whispered in my ear, “I believe you know him as Jaiden.”

I gasped audibly as my knees gave out on me. My stomach heaved and I retched on the pavement. When my stomach emptied, I wiped my mouth and met Dante’s eye. He had a bemused smile on his face and his eyes were filled with pleasure.

Finally, some spark of me flare to life and I forced myself to my feet. After a few deep breaths, I snarled through clenched teeth, “I am going to kill you.”

Dante laughed joyfully. It made me shutter and flinch. When I opened my eyes, his was gone.


*Means Golden boy in Italian. At least according to the website I looked it up on.

So. Whatcha think?

It may be Tuesday, but...

I have no teaser. Why, you may ask? Because I have been writing very little lately.

I work too much. I'm tired all the time. I... I... Shit. I have no excuses. I just haven't been doing it.

Shame on me, I know.

But I'm going to start writing more. I swearz it. VDGP is going really well whenever I do sit down and force myself to work.

Expect an awesome (I hope anyways) teaser next week.

























"Wait, was I mad at Amanda for something? JRM distracted me.... Oh well." *continues drooling staring at JRM*

And so Angie will forgive me,


















If James Marsden doesn't do the trick, nothing will.

Books Read in 2010

January
1. Between Brothers by Lauren Gallagher
2. Graceling by Kristen Cashore
3. Ironside by Holly Black
4. Stray by Rachel Vincent
5. Bridge to Terabithia by Katerine Paterson
6. The Summoning By Kelley Armstrong
7. Halfway to The Grave by Jeaniene Frost
8. Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz
9. The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
10. Deadly Little Secret by Laurie Faria Stolarz

February

11. Masquerade: A Blue Bloods Novel by Melissa de la Cruz
12. Bitten by Kelley Armstrong
13. Fade by Lisa McMann
14. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
15. The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger
16. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
17. Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
18. Flirt by Laurell K. Hamilton
19. Marked by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

March

20. Stolen by Kelley Armstrong
21. Thirst No. 1 by Christopher Pike
22. Vampire Prince by Darren Shan reread
23. Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler
24. Immoral by Brian Freeman
25. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
26. Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
27. Pendragon: The Never War by D.J. MacHale reread
28. Project 17 by Laurie Faria Stolarz

April

29. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
30. Magic Bites by Illona Andrews
31. Only In Your Dreams by Cecily von Ziegesar
32. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
33. Rebel Angels by Libba Bray
34. Would I Lie To You by Cecily von Ziegesar

May

35. Slawter by Darren Shan
36. Pendragon: The Reality Bug by D.J. MacHale
37. Once Bitten by Kalayna Price
38. A Witch in Time by Madelyn Alt
39. Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr
40. The Awakening by L.J. Smith

June

41. The Angel Experiment by James Patterson
42. Bullet by Laurell K. Hamilton
43. Naked Dragon by Annette Blair
44. Don't You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey by Margaret Peterson Haddix reread
45. Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
46. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher
47. Undead and Uneasy by MaryJanice Davidson

July

48. Dime Store Magic by Kelley Armstrong
49. Long Time Coming by Scarelett Parrish
50. The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong