#WordWeavers 10.1 — Tell us what you’re working on now.

#WordWeavers 12.17 — How many hours of sleep a night does your MC average?

Good question! My MCs are vampires, so they're actually snoozing during the day. They might average anywhere from 5-9 hours of sleep per day.

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#WordWeavers 12.18 — Does your antagonist save money or spend it?

Isma does. He's as rich as could be, and also older than most of the vampires lingering in the world. He's an "old world" vampire and thus has accumulated a lot of wealth over the years.

Duncan has nothing, and it doesn't bother him at all. He hunts, feeds, steals, etc. He's fine with the way things are.

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#WordWeavers 12.19 — What’s the first thing readers learn about your MC?

From the first page, readers learn that Lord Alistair MacKay is an author, and one who lives in a castle. Then we meet a close friend of his, a werewolf, and also learn that he's *still* in love with someone he was once in relationship with.

But the very first thing is that he's an author who loves what he does, creating mystery (and romance) novels from that wonderful mind of his.

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#WordWeavers 12.20 — What’s the first thing readers learn about your antagonist?

That the b*stard is a waste of breath. He's an awful man. You learn that within the first few minutes of meeting him. He's also rather dramatic, and you learn that right away as well. He's so theatrical and melodramatic.

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#WordWeavers 12.21 — Does your antagonist treasure people or objects more?

To Isma, people *are* objects. They're just things to be used and abused.

To Duncan, he doesn't "treasure" anything. There is only the hunt, feeding, the kill. He'll manipulate anyone willing to listen to him as well. He treasures himself.

They aren't just antagonists. They're villains.

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#WordWeavers 12.22 — If the inciting incident never happened, what would happen to your MC?

The "inciting incident" in this instance is actually Fenella returning to the castle after nine long years of traveling the world. If she never came home, he would have gone on with his life, would have been as miserable and as grumpy as usual, would have kept writing, Hati would have been his best friend (which she remains to be), and that's that. But Fenella returned, and his life turned upside down. Love lost was love returned to him again.

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#WordWeavers 12.23 — What’s the first and last line of dialogue for your MC?

First line: “Hati… Must you frighten me so?”

Last line: “Somehow, we survived.”

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#WordWeavers 12.24 — What is the gift your antagonist brings to the world?

Debauchery, murder, and madness. Yep, that's about it.

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#WordWeavers 12.25 — What is the gift your MC brings to the world?

Beautiful art and marvelous novels. He's a creative man, and life leads to boredom if he isn't kept busy.

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#WordWeavers 12.26 — If you had a personal muse, what would they be like?

I already have one, and she's lovely. You can find her here: @aperfectsong

(Maybe that was a silly answer, but hey.)

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#WordWeavers 12.27 — What does your SC or LI dislike most about your MC?

I can say this about most of the SCs... Alistair's a grumpy bastard when you let him fall into a mood. It's hard to pull him out of it as well.

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#WordWeavers 12.28 — In the end, do your characters stay together or go their separate ways?

Oooh, spoilers! *River Song voice*

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#WordWeavers 12.29 — Do you tend to write in a certain season or geographical location?

Not necessarily, but I will add something to this... My favorite time of year to write is definitely autumn. I'm always excited when it's a time of year that comes up in my stories. It's such a beautiful, colorful season, and I can't resist good descriptions to set the mood.

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#WordWeavers 12.30 — How has your writing been this year? Any achievements, wins, or lessons you want to celebrate?

It's gone *really* well, and I'm feeling very lucky for the people I surround myself with. My friends have helped me get here. I came in the top three (took 3rd place) in a huge writing contest and also published three stories in magazines over the last few months, two for original SFF work and one for #DoctorWho tales. I'm feeling pretty proud of myself for that.

#WritingCommunity

#WordWeavers 12.31 — Give another writer a New Year gift! Either buy their book or say something you like about them, their story, writing etc.

I try to do this on the blog for my podcast whenever I get the chance, but today's the day I mention a close friend of mine yet again. She's one of my favorite authors, and I've also talked about her work *so much* on my podcast's blog.

Everyone please go show some love to @QuokkaMocha! She deserves all of it and more. Her storytelling abilities are so refreshing, her writing is incredible, and I adore the characters she creates. She also writes fanfiction as well! Above all, she's also one of my best friends, one of the funniest people I know (don't take a sip of water around her if she's about to tell a joke), and I'm so thankful for all of our conversations and chats. If you do nothing else today or tonight, please take a peek at the link I'm posting as well.

Please boost this post to bring in a wider audience for her and to gain more attention for her work.

Check out her amazing books here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/J-M-Taylor/author/B0F6KFVBHL?ref=ap_rdr&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true&ccs_id=8f61dc7e-74cf-4c48-b9e4-fc07df67adec

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#WordWeavers 1.1 — What are your wildest (writing-related) dreams for this year?

*nervous chuckle*

It's just getting "Wings of Quiet Longing" done, I think. Let's start with that one, shall we?

#WritingCommunity

#WordWeavers 1.2 — How does your MC talk? Describe their voice and speech.

Both Alistair and Fenella are from Scotland. To say anything else regarding Alistair would be a major spoiler and I have readers here on Mastodon, so I can't elaborate. But yes, Scottish slang and all that, while it's normally written into my stories with Glaswegian characters, is gentler and more muted in this one for a wider audience. After all, it's not a story for The Thick of It featuring Malcolm Tucker, so I'm taking a different approach.

Alistair has a slower, deeper cadence. He's rather funny at times as well. Fenella hides behind an air of mystique, flirtatiousness, and witty cynicism. Their accents are rather thick as well, same as everyone in the area.

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#WordWeavers 1.3 — What does the way your MC talks reveal about them?

His age. You can tell by the some of the things that Alistair says that he's far older than he lets on to the mortals, for the obvious reasons.

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#WordWeavers 1.4 — Describe an uncomfortable situation a character experiences.

It's right about to happen in the next chapter I'll upload. I'll post a tiny spoiler here, and it's *very* uncomfortable for everyone.

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#WordWeavers 1.5 — Tell us about something funny that happens to a character.

Alistair gets frightened by Hati in the very first chapter, just as she's introduced and you learn that they're close friends. Also, I had to laugh as I was writing Fenella's return in a later chapter. His jaw was practically hanging on the floor in complete and utter shock. Fenella, after seeing Hati at the door, even assumed that they were a *couple* or lovers. Oh, boy. Hati was quick to shut that idea down and explain that they were just close friends. All funny moments.

The story: https://archiveofourown.org/works/71555861/chapters/186282006

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