Michón Neal's Blog, page 29

Character and Song Six: Jeffery Beale (Jean Claude Michel)

Jean Claude is the man Queen Aeryn left Mark Ashton for in the history of the Allison Dutch series. At first, there is much bad blood between Jean and Mark yet eventually they settle into a strained relationship. Jean spent time as a rock star before Queen Aeryn died the last time and Riel is a big fan of his. He is a logmin vampire, which means that he is sensitive to the sun and can’t reproduce sexually (because he’s, you know, kind of dead). Mark teases him about this constantly. He was lucky enough to be the former companion to Mark Ulf (who I’ll tell you about in a later post) which is why he knows so much about Queen Aeryn’s previous lives. With his blond hair and mood-matched eyes, he can usually be found donning a suit. He is obsessed with Queen Aeryn and is rather vain. He tends to be stalkerish and even though his eyes change colors with his mood it is difficult to know what he is thinking. He reveals very little of his time spent time-travelling with Mark Ulf or what is to come in the future (frustrating Queen Aeryn to no end). He is the son of Gena Michel, whom Queen Aeryn absolutely hates. And for some reason, he loves discussing suicide and depression with Queen Aeryn. The only song creepy enough to fit him is Chester Bennington’s “Walking Dead”.

Character and Song Number Five: Stuart Jalenais

Stuart is the Black Tree version of Mark Ashton. They share a lot in common, from their looks to their personality. Mark Ashton’s clan may even be the source of all Jupiter vampires. Who knows; his family certainly sleeps around enough for that to be true. Although it is a mystery why Jupiter vampires are only male. However, Stuart is the lover to Mark’s fighter. Stuart tends to be a little calmer and nicer. He’s one of two Ambassadors of Saturn and he shows up in the missing book two (unknown title) to guide the Black Tree crew. Unfortunately, his love for one of the crew’s enemies tends to get them all into trouble. He’s extremely flirtatious, making moves on nearly every female (it’s actually built into his name, Stuart as in “the steward”). He’s intensely jealous and desires everyone’s attention to be on him constantly. See, on Jupiter, each vampire who shares a certain name has a specific type of personality. All Stuarts are meant to serve in some capacity. As another example, all Greggs are really, really good at sports and all Jefferys are perfect gentlemen. Stuart tends to ride the middle, being neither entirely good or evil but just very troubled. Yet his power of charm and seduction is practically unrivaled amongst the group, which is why his song is “Remember Me” by Wiz Khalifa ft. The Weeknd. This is due to the fact that he’s a whore and no one cares, because he’s a sexy ass vampire named Stuart!

Character and Song Number Four: The Great Karia

Karia appears first in book six, Sweet Revenge, of the Black Tree series. This is a guy you never want to encounter. He was created for the sole purpose of destroying entire worlds. He is the universe’s only tenth stage virus, which means that he can infect anyone and anything. It’s only a matter of rearranging himself into the most effective form to pass from one person or being to the next. He can destroy a world in a matter of weeks, which makes him the most fearsome virus to have ever existed. Currently, he takes on the humanoid form of a Jupiter vampire, with dark red hair and dark green eyes. Sometimes he is known to take the form of a snake, perhaps linking him to the god of gods, Mardock. He can usually be seen sporting leather. Mark Blue’s family absolutely hate this guy, and with good reason. Their own planet was nearly wiped out by him hundreds of years prior to the events in the BTS. It is for this reason that “Professional Griefers” by Deadmau5 and Gerard Way seems to fit him.

Obligatory Promotional Post-75% Off My Works

I’ve never really been one for marketing. I am clueless when it comes to that but I am learning. Anyway, I’ve been using this new resource called Wave Cloud. And they gave me a nifty little coupon. If you have an account on Wave Cloud (or want to make one) all seven of my books will be available for 75% off for a while. Wave Cloud (My page on Wave Cloud) is an up and coming site that connects readers directly to the authors they love. That means you’ll be able to ask me questions directly as you read along. I think that’s pretty cool. Use this code to purchase the books: v2ktabvt. And if you don’t want my books, there are many other authors on there and you’ll have a better chance to get in touch with them. Keep in mind the coupon is only for my works, other authors may have their own. It will only work for the first 100 readers and it only lasts for 90 days so get cracking!

Character and Song Number Three: Damon Allishuan Richman

Damon is by far one of my happiest characters. He first appears in the Black Tree series. He is destined to marry the Evanalca-the perfect woman. But first he had to wait, two lifetimes mostly on his own on a dusty planet. He is the only one Mikassa fears but no one knows why. Damon garners respect anywhere he goes and accepts things as they are. Obviously he’s one of my favorites. However, his past is complicated. That’s why Anything Can Happen by Ellie Goulding reminds me of him. It’s sad yet hopeful, with joy triumphant in the end.

I never meta eulogy of an idea I didn't like

Reblogged from atheist, polyamorous skeptics:

In dealing with periodic depression and even moments of feeling invincible, powerful, and brilliant (which I know I am not), I sometimes have this sensation of this overwhelming sense of certainty concerning the thoughts which inhabit my mind.  When I feel confident, I believe it.  When I feel powerless, I believe it.  And sometimes, not often but significantly, I have another kind of experience associated with a different kind of certainty; not of the nature of the world, but of my relationship to it.

Read more… 1,493 more words

Like Shaun, I have many of these moments of connectedness, like I can see how everything fits together. Yet like him, I was able to suspect that feeling from religion or spirituality. If anything, I just see that connection as seeing life as life. For me, it's a surreal realization that myself and others are alive and how strange that is. But as yet, there is no satisfactory answer to why this is. This is getting tangential but "why" is the most interesting question. You ask it and run up against that boundary where you have to say, "I don't know". The brain is very good at making things seen complete, so moments like this remind me that even consciousness has limits it can't get around. That's kind of cool.

Character and Song Number Two: Marie Delan

Krewella-Killin It is the song that reminds me of Marie. We first meet her in The Life of Allison Dutch. She is the youngest member of the Lycan Ten, the governing body of all werewolves. She is feisty, she is bold, and she is not afraid to kill. She sets her sights on Aeryn’s heart and takes on a responsibility no young person should ever have to. She is one of my favorite characters for her consistency, logic, and she is one of the few who aren’t crazy. She was an absolute joy to write and perhaps we’ll see her again in another series.

My Truth...

Reblogged from candycoatedreality™:

For over a decade, I struggled with unexplained weight gain AND the inability to lose the excess pounds even with diet and exercise; all this weight kept inching its way onto my 5’ 6” frame slowly but surely taking up what felt like permanent residence. How was this even possible? I was a tiny kid and in middle school had my “chubby” moment for about half a second and then really thinned out to 125-150 pounds in high school and college (for my height my ideal weight is 150-160).

Read more… 1,691 more words

I struggle with PCOS as well. I spent years something why every time I menstruating I would want to kill myself and I'd be filled with this incredible rage that had no source. It want until the year I had my child that I discovered I had this awful condition. I had been infertile before but that year I five a wonderful doctor who found out what I had and gave me fertility drugs. I never felt better than when I was pregnant. I began eating better and for once I felt healthy. This is a struggle (one of many I mentioned in The Loudest Voice) that will continue throughout my life. Its also made me think about why I feel more male than female. This condition certainly adds to the feeling but it is separate from my gender identity (I know many of you may not understand that). This blog post sums up the lengths people have to go through to lessen the damage of something going out of whack for no reason. Its a reminder that you never know what someone else may be going through so just be kind.

Character and Song Number One: Riel

I’m not really going to introduce my characters in order. I’m just going to write about whoever I like the most that day.

I want to start with Riel because he’s such a loud character. He is first introduced in The Life of Allison Dutch. He’s a blond, green-eyed scaroth vampire who meets Queen Aeryn during a vampire rave. He is the sex god of the scaroth race; basically he is so tops at sex that people (even vamps) can’t stand being with him for long. As soon as I created him, I heard Mindless Self Indulgence’s “Shut Me Up” in my head (warning-if you are not familiar with MSI, please do not listen to this song at work!). It just seems to embody everything that this crazy guy is. Riel Shancus was such a fun character to write and I’m definitely thinking of going deeper into his story sometime. If you’d like to know whether Queen Aeryn could handle him, check out the Allison Dutch series, available on Kobo, Goodreads, Createspace, just, like, a lot of places. I should probably add links to all of the sites on my info page. Yes, I think I will.

Alas, I cannot reveal too much more now about the insanely high-energy Riel. Of course, as always, if you send me questions about any of the stories and/or characters, I’ll totally reply to you in the end of the next published book.

Integrated Living Series Part Three: The Home in Your Head

People often want really nice homes. They stem of setting it up, adding personal touches, and maybe even having a family fill it up. Yet there’s another home each one of us had that we forget about. It’s the one in our head.

No matter what, the brain is an inescapable part of our lives. Until we die, it remains a constant. Perhaps because it is so it teens to be overlooked. It is taken for granted. No spring cleaning is done, no close examination of the ways we link ideas together occurs, no awareness of the foundation we build on can be found. Education is supposed to take care of this yet few successfully apply organization to their own mind.

The very seat of our experience is rooted in reason. Through all of the complicated and entangled associations we design in our brains there remains a set of rules that are always at play. This is our home. These root ideas determine every other choice we make. We will follow the logic of these reasons because that is how we evolved. The better the reasons, the fuller the life.

It is hard work to follow each thought to its source. This if probably why many people will settle for only digging halfway before giving up or saying good enough. They will examine one area and lave another untouched. The irony is the dread they feel for exploration will manifest every unexamined corner of their consciousness. The less they know of the shape of their first home the more room for fear remains. That’s due to the fact that if you aren’t watching it, it naturally falls into disrepair. It becomes unsafe by virtue of the lack of maintenance.

For a few years now I have been walking through my home to find out what it is made of. I take note of repairs that need to be made, additions I’d like to create, and rooms that are just fine as they are. I swore to myself I’d take nothing for granted and that means all of my ideas and reactions are up to be tested as well. Is there anything cooler?