Hectic Schedules and Rescue Parties
Photo by Hao Chen on UnsplashOh, gracious—I totally missed last month’s newsletter and came close to missing this month’s too! It’s been a really busy couple of months, more for real-life stuff than for writing, including dipping my toes in the water of a couple of local craft fairs for the first time in years. (Which was fun. And tiring. And very, very hot. But still fun.)
But my characters—aside from the ones in the Chronic Warrior Chronicles—haven’t had a whole lot going on. Although I did make some progress in Mamie’s story—but I left her basically unable to complete a full sentence, so it’s probably not the best time to bring her out for a visit…
So, in lieu of what’s been my normal format lately, I’m going to steal a tag that I saw and loved on the lovely Katja’s blog. Since I don’t have a blog to do these on, I usually skip them, but this one was so fun and interesting—and also partly writing related—that I thought it might fit here, and I already had most of my answers thought through after reading hers. (Like Katja, I’m going to do this twice, once with books I’ve read and once with my own characters.) So here you go, and I hope you enjoy!
#1 - The Reading Version
1) Which fictional villain would be most likely to kidnap you and why?
I’m going to go with Davira from the Ilyon Chronicles. Seriously, that girl is scary. As to why, it wouldn’t take much, since just being a Christian is enough to get you arrested in her kingdom. Although it’d be much more fun if her reason for kidnapping me was because I’d somehow worked my way into the top ranks of the resistance, because then I’d have gotten to hang out with all my favorite characters before I got snatched.
2) Where would said villain take you?
Probably depends on why she kidnapped me. As a generic Christian, she’d probably just stick me in the prison at the arena, but if she thought she could get something out of me, she might put me in the palace dungeon instead.
3) Okay, now you’re in a fix. Which 5 characters (1 per book/movie/fandom) do you want to come rescue you?
I’m assuming from Katja’s answers that the one-per-fandom also applies to the villains, which means I can’t use anyone else from the Ilyon Chronicles, which is sad. But that’s okay, because I have plenty of other choices for this one. So, I will go with:
a) Randal Everard Baltimore (aka Reb) from The Reb and the Redcoats by Constance Savery
If you don’t know why, you obviously haven’t read the book. Let’s just say, the boy is absolutely brilliant at escape plans. And doesn’t give up or leave people behind, which is good, because I’m probably going to be about as helpful in an escape as his actual friend, Tim. IYKYK 😆
b) Caiden Blade from the Stormbreathers series by A.J. Sky
Because the fact that I can’t use the Ilyon characters doesn’t mean I can’t have dragons. I mean, no, Caiden isn’t a dragon, but he’s very tenacious when it comes to fighting for justice and rescuing people from tight spots. And did I mention he comes with a dragon? What’s that? I’m only allowed one character? Then think of Spirit as a method of transportation. Still not allowed? Well, I dare you to stop a camouflaging dragon from tagging along anywhere it wants to. 😎
c) Brent Peterson from the Accidental Cases of Emily Abbott series by Perry Kirkpatrick
Because come on, a spy would be totally useful in infiltrating wherever I was being kept. And Brent has to be one of the best, or his boss would probably have fired him long ago. Besides, I’m sure he’d find a way to snag Emily into the plot, and they make an amazing team every time. Hmm? He’s absolutely not allowed to bring anyone else along? I really believe he’s heard that before, but somehow it just keeps happening… 😇
d) Simon Lee from the AKA Simon Lee series by P.D. Atkerson
Because I can’t really think of a skill that’s needed to break me out of prison that this kid doesn’t have. Hand-to-hand combat? Check. Lock-picking? Check. Annoying the guards so badly they won’t see me slipping away in the chaos? Also check. Actually, I could have had my pick of a number of characters from this fandom, but Lee will always be the first choice for me. 😄
e) Dym Ingleford from Enemy Brothers by Constance Savery
No, I really didn’t mean to pick two characters from the same author, and I don’t know that Dym has any special skills that would help in an escape attempt, but what I do know is this. If someone he cared about was kidnapped, no matter how long it took, he would never, ever, ever stop looking. That is all. 🥰
4.) Explain why you chose these characters.
Oh, whoops. Already did that. Moving on…
5.) Do you foresee any conflicts/problems within your rescue squad?
Hmm. I don’t think so. I feel like most of them are practical enough and chill enough to appreciate the skills and perspectives of the others. Although I can see Lee getting on everyone else’s nerves a bit, and possibly driving Brent a little nuts. (Because you are so one to talk, Brent…) But I feel like in general they would work well together and keep each other motivated. I definitely think I’d be in good hands here.
Which means we are now on to…
#2 - The Writing Version
1) Which fictional villain would be most likely to kidnap you and why?
Most of my villains (when I have them) aren’t exactly the kidnapping type, so my original instinct was to say Gerhard from Quiet Valor. But then I thought of a secondary villain from that series and realized said villain would also be a great choice. However, said villain is also a pretty big spoiler, so I’ll leave it at one of the two of them. As for why, if it’s Gerhard, I assume I have some skill that he thinks will be useful to him. If not, I assume the other villain intends to use me to gain power over someone else she wants to use.
2) Where would said villain take you?
If we were going with Gerhard, probably to an army garrison in Mitterstadt. If not, the possibilities multiply a bit, as the other villain is quite resourceful, if not as directly powerful.
3) Okay, now you’re in a fix. Which 5 characters (1 per book/movie/fandom) do you want to come rescue you?
Okay, I have to admit, this was hard, you guys! Especially because everywhere I turned, I was wanting to pick someone from Quiet Valor and couldn’t. Because so many of them would be awesome, even though it’s not even up for debate that Sallas would be my first pick. But here’s what I decided on instead…
a) Kevin from Code
Because the kid is a literal genius and also does not know the meaning of the word quit. Yes, he’d have to smuggle some of his own tech into this rescue operation, since the Quiet Valor world hasn’t developed computers yet, but I don’t think that’s against the rules, so I would like Kevin on my team, please and thank you. 😊
b) Lanz from Only a Treasure in Worth a Thousand Words
Yes, this is a short short, so we didn’t have a whole lot of time to get to know him. But I did establish that he’s an excellent tracker, and probably also a fairly good fighter, considering the environment we find him in. Plus he’s helped out in the infirmary out of necessity and so could probably handle any accidents that might occur along the way. That’s a lot of applicable skills for a character with less than 2,000 words! So, yep, I will be bringing Lanz along. 😉
c) Brady from The Chronic Warrior Chronicles
I would pick a day when he’s powered up, obviously. (Sorry for the aftermath, Brady…) But tell me x-ray vision is not going to be a major asset in finding me, especially if the secondary villain has me stashed who knows where. Brady comes. 🤨
d) Stephen, aka Steel Phoenix, from The Apex Guard
Eh heh heh…no one said they had to be active WIPs, did they? I have no idea how long it’s going to take me to write this one, but Stephen is definitely coming on this rescue mission. And not so much for his sweet personality (you know I love you for it, Stephen), but for his cybernetically rebuilt body that gives him super-strength and near invincibility. Hey, with all these stone walls around, somebody’s got to be able to smash through them! 😆
And this, friends, is where I got stuck for a long time. Sure, I have lots of other favorite characters from different stories. But for one reason or another, none of them seemed to fit as a member of a rescue team, or had a good reason for being there. Then, after nearly giving up, something reminded me of a character I’d written in a story within a story. So I give you the fifth member of my rescue team…
e) Jake Jetley from One in a Galaxy
And I am cracking up, because it is so funny, but it totally works! If you haven’t read the book yet, Jake is a character in Riley’s favorite TV show, but tell me you wouldn’t want to be rescued by a swashbuckling space adventurer if you had the chance! 🤣 Besides, in that kind of story the good guys always win in the end, right? So I’d be guaranteed to be rescued eventually.
4) Explain why you chose these characters.
Already did, again. Because why do it right the second time when you’ve already done it wrong the first time?
5.) Do you foresee any conflicts/problems within your rescue squad?
Honestly, not at all. They’re all super chill and sweet, so I don’t see what they’d have to argue over. Although they might have to hold Kevin back from doing something reckless without thinking things all the way through. Oh, wait—if it came to one of them having to be self-sacrificing or putting themselves in danger for the rest of them to finish the mission. Yeah, that conversation might go on a while, because they’d all basically throw themselves in harm’s way at a moment’s notice and wouldn’t be comfortable letting anyone else take that place. 😆
Okay, I know that was different. But hopefully it was fun! If you want to do the tag yourself, either with your own characters or other people’s, please be my guest. All the tag rules are on Katja’s blog—which I kind of fudged a little because this isn’t exactly a blog? But I had a lot of fun doing it anyway, and it gave me something quick that I could get out before the end of June.
Oh, and before I go, I have to mention—if any of you are Christian ladies who also write, you should definitely come and join our online writing camp! I’m going for 20,000 words this month, and hopefully some of them will not only be July’s newsletter but also something worth sharing about in an actual writing update.
See you soon!
~ Angie
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