Rhi’s Comments (group member since Nov 12, 2011)

Rhi’s comments from the Q&A with Rhi Etzweiler group.

Aiko wrote: "Maybe not the answer you want Rhi, but it's how I read it. "

Ah, I'm not "looking" for an answer, actually. I just know that this aspect of the story is something that every reader will experience differently. And I was curious. :) I swear, no nefarious plots or ulterior motives here.

[ETA: And you're correct: Jhez doesn't make a specific gender reference to Black until much later in the story. I'm certain that sufficient story/character progression had taken place by that point that the readers would have already securely defined Black by that point.
I'll admit I'm curious as to what influences readers to perceive Black as male without that gender labeling provided from the outset in the story. Is it the M/M label that the story was plastered with before its release? Is it the cover art which, while could viably be depicting a female, is assumed to be male since a female character would not be acceptable in full frontal pose like that?
Socio-cultural stigmas that color our gender assumptions. I'm just curious :) I can't help it.]

Darkm wrote: "I think I will have to read Red book to have a more clear picture, so far I pictured Red as opposed to Black, they feel to me as quite opposite personalities, and this is why I sort of "divided" them. "

*nods* I think Red's character makes an effort to balance Black in the story. As I work on Red's book, though, I find that the character has decidedly different qualities when away from Black's company and influencing presence. It could be a sibling maternal/protective instinct that shows up in BTB. Or it could be a natural tendency Red has to provide balance.
Still doing a great deal of character exploration, not entirely sure. Could be a little of both, I guess. :)

Darkm wrote: "This is an hard question. Black's soul feels a bit more male-like, and Red's one a bit more female-like, but the gender, he was kind of genderless to me.

Sorry, I don't know how to explain it bet..."

When you refer to the character's soul being "male-like" or "female-like"... do you think that Yang and Yin would be better descriptors than actual gender labels?

Black's character is, while presenting in an androgynous fashion, certainly possessing of more Yang characteristics than Yin.
As for Jhez/Red... while I intended the character to have stronger Yin attributes, I don't know if the end result fits that categorization. Red strikes me as more balanced between the two than strictly leaning toward one or the other.

How did you perceive Black's gender?
What attributes or characteristics underscored your perceptions during the reading experience?
Did the perceptions of other characters influence your perspective?

(While I as the artist am curious about audience perception and interpretation, there is no wrong or right in this, obviously. Would love to generate some discussion on the subject.)

Challenging perceptions expressed in dialogue.

I wrote the short piece in this blogpost many years ago, but every time I revisit it, I see something new in it.

So I finally decided to toss it up and hopefully enlighten others ... and maybe engage some conversation.

Too Much Music--Exploring Communication.

Freia wrote: "How is it this me has not joined your group? Sheesh. I have been remiss.

*waves* Hi :D

Oh, that's not an intro is it.

Hi. My name is Freia. Aka Amara, but... don't tell. This iz mah sekrit ide..."

*waves* :)

At the moment? Red's rather concerned with a hole in her favorite pair of variegated red argyles. She is far from pleased.

That the hole was caused by a splinter of shrapnel from a sniper's near miss means little. It's a hole in her thigh high argyles, and someone is going to pay because do you know how expensive those damned things are? Holy hell....

Bookwatcher wrote: "OMG!
I FINISH IT! My review, Blacker than Black

And now I can be a human again :-p do things like sleep, eat, have peace of mind at work
:-p

Sooooo addicting -.-"
I start it, and for 4 days it wa..."

I'm very glad you enjoyed it so much. Jhez is punching me in the shoulder now, saying, "See, I told you, now fucking write MINE damn it."

*laughs*

Aiko wrote: "*give flu to* I've been stuck in bed for 3 days so far cause of it, that shoul..."

That has to be the most considerate, selfless spreading of disease I've heard of. :D

We shall call it the "Bookworm Bug"... it strikes when one has interesting stories to read!

Darkm wrote: "I've started the book and I'm addicted. I wish I could hide somewhere and just read, read, read. SIgh."

Ah! Use a couple sick days maybe? :) Very glad you're enjoying it.

The list of BTB blog tour winners is up over at Haus of Rhi.

Congrats to everyone, and happy reading!

One last chunky excerpt, the rest of Chapter 11 is up over at Bitch Factor 10.

Part 1 of Chapter 11 is up over on Riptide Ripples.

Along with Riptide's little "Why We Bought It" discussion. =D

Chapter Ten, at Louisa Bacio's blog.

Excerpt #4, the second part of Chapter 9, is over at Literary Nymphs.

And over at the Haus of Rhi, the soundtrack for BTB.

Excerpt #3: the first part of Chapter 9 is now up over at It's Raining Men.

Excerpt #2: Chapter 8 of BTB is now up over at Ren's Blog.

Enjoy!

Blog stop #4: Amara's Place has a guest reviewer today. *stares*

I have a guest blog post titled "What's In A Name" over at Jadette Paige.

And last but certainly not least, Top 2 Bottom Reviews has Chapter 7 from BTB, which picks up where Riptide's site leaves off.

Enjoy! :)

Blog stop #3: I'm over at Amara's Place with this huge rambling interview. :)

And pictures.

Aiko wrote: "Nynaeve is Neighniv in my mind ^^

And yes, my interpretations is often colored by my native tongue. And when I'm uncertain I often just make up a pronunciation that makes sense to me.

Oh, about..."

I enjoy hearing the different ways a reader pronounces a name or would. Guess that makes me a bit of a linguist geek or something (only a little) but I tend to select names that will "sound" the way I want them to in the reader's head.