Hello all!

Be forewarned....this post is going to be very, very long.

My apologies, but it was either that or several separate tag posts! All of the tags in this post and in the next one came to me during Camp NaNo, hence they were made to sit in the waiting room while *other* stuff got done first (cough cough Rebellious Writing cough cough).

The tags that will be featured in this post are: The Dual Character Inquistition Tag, The Character Karoke Tag, and the Of Rising Authors tag.

Onward to the first stop!



Tag #1: Dual Character Inquisition Tag

So Rachel @ R's Loft tagged me for the Dual Character Inquisition tag an embarrassingly long while ago. You can view her answers here. And Melissa @ Quill Pen Writer tagged me again during the last week of July. You can view her answers here. Thank you both!! Sorry this has taken so long to put up!

Rules:
1. Pick 2 characters (hence the dual in the name)
2. Include pictures of them. (At least one of each)
3. Answer the questions (hence the inquisition in the name)
4. Tag at least 3 bloggers

The Characters:

You'll probably recognize these two!



Yes, these are two of my characters from "The Apple in the Snow"! This is Eirwen's father, King Aneirin and her stepmother Ceinwen.

The Questions:

1. Who inspired these characters?

They were inspired by the Kings and Queens from various Snow White stories, but a lot of individual characteristics (like Ceinwen's green dresses) were inspired by Pinterest.

2. What is their weapon of choice?

Aneirin's weapon of choice is his longsword. As a Welsh king in the Middle Ages, he would obviously lead his armies into battle.

Ceinwen's best "weapon" is probably her tongue. Nuff said.

3. Have they been physically violent with someone? What instigated it?

Well, Aneirin has been in some nasty battles when his kingdom of Glywysing was invaded by the Danes, so yeah, he's been physically violent. Does he like it? Not in the least.

Ceinwen doesn't harm people physically. Her method of warfare is emotional manipulation.

4. Are they more of a rule-follower or a rebel?

Aneirin is definitely a rule-follower. He's also the kind of person that will give the person the inch, if you get my meaning.

Ceinwen is more of a rebel. She believes that the world revolves around her desires, so if the rules doesn't suit her, she doesn't follow them.                    

5. What kind of child were they? Curious, wild, quiet, devious?

Aneirin was a quiet child. Eirwen was kind of like him as a child.

Ceinwen was definitely a devious child. She was always trying to manipulate her family and friends into doing what she liked and getting what she wanted.

6. Where would they go to relax?

Aneirin's favorite place is the forest that borders the Perllan, which is a decaying apple orchard that is attached to the castle. It's a quiet place to escape to when Ceinwen gets on his nerves.

During the story events, Ceinwen insists on building a water feature in the middle of the late Queen Heulwin's garden. It is here that she relaxes.

7. Do they have a temper?

Aneirin does have a breaking point, but you really really really have to push him. And then you better clear out for a few days.

Ceinwen sure does! Being a rather self-centered young lady, she does not like it when her will isn't fulfilled.

8. Would they be more likely to face their fears or run from them?

Aneirin, after gulping a few times, will face his fears.

Ceinwen will collide with them head on.

9. When they are upset, do they turn to other people or do they isolate themselves?

Aneirin, like most men, will isolate himself to calm down.

Ceinwen, like most women, will seek out Sarnai or another one of her maids and vent to them.

10. 3 things about where they live (broad or specific).

They live in a stone castle.

Their living quarters are on complete opposite ends of the castle. Ceinwen never took Queen Heulwin's bedchamber - Eirwen inherited it after her mother died.

The castle has an extensive garden layout - which include the Queen's gardens, the kitchen gardens, the herb gardens and other gardens....

So, who do I get to tag.....find out at the end of this post!

Onto the second stop!



Tag #2: The Character Karoke Tag

Anna @ A World Through Her Heart tagged me for the Character Karoke Tag a few weeks ago. You can view her answers here. And I'm sneaking some bonus questions from Juls's post here. Thank you both!

For this tag, I'm going to switch it up and talk about another one of my WIPs, temporarily named Caoimhe. You can find out more about it on my page "My Muse's Works in Progress".

Rules:
1. Thank the person who tagged you.
2. Answer the questions.
3. Tag any number of people.

It's your OTP's wedding day. What is the song that plays during their first dance?

If the OTP from my book ever made it to the present day, this version of I Won't Give Up by Jason Mraz would probably be their wedding song.


But, as they probably will not leave Alldermaere, I think that this song would be better suited for their "couple's dance".



What song(s) describe your protagonist?

The song that best describes Caoimhe is the song "Wunderkind" by Alanis Morissette.


Now do you recognize it?? LOL.

Any instrument players or characters with ties to music?

Aderyn, a good friend of Caoimhe's, is a really great singer. There are probably some families with other ties to music, but I don't know just yet. Caoimhe has tried to pick up a musical instrument during her education, so far it hasn't been going well.

Go-to songs for battle, romance or intense scenes?

I have a lot of songs for intense/battle scenes, but I'll give my four favorites here:

A Warrior's Fate by Antti Martikainen



Falls of Glory by Brunuhville



Song of the Lonely Mountain - both the Peter Hollens and Neil Finn versions.


Wolf Blood by Adrian von Ziegler. This one is the one that I use a lot for writing Caoimhe.



I have different songs for romance. I'll give three here:

Birth of Love by Brunuhville



White Rose by Peter Crowley



Bound by Adrian von Ziegler



What song matches the first scene of your book?

The first scene is Gail being a typical teenager, being on her devices and IMing her best friend Maeve Carwyn.

I think that the perfect song for that scene is the song "Home" by Phillip Phillips.

I'll put the Peter Hollen's version, as I like it better.


If your book was made into a TV show, what song would be the intro?

The introduction or theme song of Caoimhe would be Adrian von Ziegler's song, Prophecy.



This was the very first song of Adrian's first 2-hr Celtic compiliation, and the first song of his that I had ever listened to. It was listening to that 2 hr playlist for the first time that my muse really went loose for the first time - creating the story of Caoimhe in the process.

If you received a call from an agent saying you're being published, what is your celebratory song?

My celebratory song would be The Call by Regina Spektor


If you're wondering why this song is familiar, it played at the end of The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. I love this song a lot, and it captures a lot of my sentiments if I ever got my book published.

As for tagging...please be patient, I still have one more tag left today!


Tag #3: Of Rising Authors Tag

I was double-tagged for this tag too! Middle Earth Musician (a fellow cabinmate of mine from NaNo!) tagged me for the "Of Rising Authors" Tag. You can view her post here. Jane Maree (my cabin leader!!) also tagged me on Monday, so her questions (the ones that didn't match MEM's) will be included as bonuses. You can view Jane's answers here. Thank you both!!!

I'm switching back to "The Apple in the Snow" for this tag, so here we go!

The Rules:
1. Thank the person who tagged you.
2. Answer the questions.
3. Tag 4 people.

The Questions:

1. Do you listen to music as you write?

Yes, I love to listen to music as I write. It's great for capturing the emotions that I want. Biggest problem usually is that the song is too short.

2. If yes to Q1, what genre? (Bonus: Lyrics or no lyrics?) 

It depends on what I'm writing. Celtic is a favorite for most of my works.

Lyrics sometimes help, sometimes don't. Like I said, it depends *shrugs*.

3. What song do you think is your WIP's theme song?

It's called Y Gog Lwydias (a Welsh song, translates to The Grey Cuckoo). The lyrics don't really have much connection to the story, but it's such a pretty song and it gets me in the mood to write The Apple in the Snow.

This is the closest one that I managed to find on Youtube. I like the Sian James version much better.



4. Who is the MC in your current WIP?

In my current WIP "The Apple in the Snow", the MC is named Eirwen. As I've probably explained to death now, she's the princess and heir to the throne of Glywysing. In the story events, she is just about to celebrate her age of majority (which is 18). With this big birthday coming up, she will take on her full duties as the female co-rule of Glywysing.

5. What is their (MC's) deepest, darkest fear?

Eirwen fears that she will never be a good queen to her people, that she'll fail. She feels that she is not prepared to take on her full responsibilities, in spite of her numerous talents.

6. What is your favorite scene that you've written in your WIP?

Writing the beginning snippets was my favorite, so far anyway.

7. Do you enjoy writing from a child's, teen's or adult's point of view?

Ah....

I've only really written from a teen's point at this point. So I'm kinda biased toward that. I'm experimenting with young adult though, we'll see how that goes.

8. Do you prefer first or third person point of view?

Third person, most definitely. I write in a more omnipotent style, which doesn't really work in a first person story.

9. What writer do you think handles action scenes the best?

Hmmm....that is a good question.

I'll probably go with J.R.R. Tolkien. His action scenes are gripping.

10. What is the best book you've read about writing and who wrote it?

Ahhh....I've actually not ready any books about writing except for my English textbooks. And believe me, I can skip those.

Bonus Question from Jane: Do you like to write from all genres, or do you stick with one? 

Umm, I'm kinda in the middle on this one.

There are genres that I won't touch (dystopian being the main one).

But I have been experimenting with multiple genres - historical, contemporary and fantasy.


So now, I've finished all the tags....except to tag people! 

FOR ALL TAGS - It is open season. Take one, take all, it's your choice!! 

I know...I'm taking the easy route. But with everybody finishing up summer, I don't want to add any more blogging to everybody's to-do lists.

Stay tuned for part 2 of Tag-Catch-up!

Scribblingly yours,

Catherine