The place? Last night. The time? One in the morning. I was trying to get myself off to the land of dreams, and it wasn't happening.



I don't know where I get this stuff.

We had a magical walk, and I don't know for sure, but it might have ended with splashing in the fountain. At any rate, I've always wanted to splash in a fountain, whether I'm wearing a Batman t-shirt or not.

This dream launched me into sleep. And when I woke up, I made it into a Polyvore set.

I really want a Batman t-shirt now, just so I can wear it on a magical walk by a fountain. And of course, if anything goes wrong, I know exactly what to do.

Keep calm. And call Batman.

i can't stop listening to: This song. 34 seconds of amazingness.




I've never heard of He Is We before. Until this song. I think I might just have to buy it.

I'm sitting here listening to The Saltwater Room by Owl City. What a beautiful, contemplative song.

What is Beautiful People, you may ask?

Beautiful People is an epic tale of right and wrong, death and life, light and darkness. It's the story of how long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, aliens decided to snuff the life out of the world, and how one brave little toaster saved the world. Don't worry, this is not your average story about a talking toaster, it's more than that. We're just trying to figure out what it is, though. Prepare to be amazed, encouraged, uplifted, inspired, and cheered up, because this is a story to remember. I think.

I'm juuust kidding.

Beautiful People is a blog thing for writers that was started by Georgie Penn and I. We realized that the best way to get to know your characters is to ask questions about them, and we wanted to share this joy with the blog world. You're welcome to join in at any time and use however many of the questions that you wish, past or present. Some of these questions may be a bit hard to answer, but embrace the challenge and go for it!

You can find the handy little blog buttons here, so don't forget to link back and sign the linky!

This month's questions were submitted by Taylor Lynn. Thank you!

Writers, here is your assignment. ;)

1. What is their biggest accomplishment?


2. What is one of their strongest childhood memories?


3. What is their favorite food?


4. Do they believe in love at first sight?


5. What kind of home do they live in?


6. What do they like to wear?


7. What would they do if they discovered they were dying?


8. What kind of holidays, or traditions do they celebrate?


9. What do your other characters have to say about them?


10. If they could change one thing in their world, what would it be?

If you listen to Owl City's songs Dental Care and Rugs From Me To You, you'll know that he loves puns and other such wordplays. He also is on Twitter. So it was that I came up with a clever pun and tweeted it to him. (I must say that the mustache bit isn't original, but it's still funny.) I got off shortly after and honestly didn't think anything would come of it.

(@vivid_writer is my public account I use to reply to people who aren't following me. I'd use @lovehascome, but my tweets are locked down and I like it that way.)

Thank you, Owl City. You made my day.

Close your eyes and imagine with me for a moment. (Well, closing your eyes could be a bit difficult while you read this, but bear with me.)


Imagine you’re in a ballroom. The decadence is overwhelming. Glowing light is cast over everything as the band plays soft, serenading music in the background. You’re a bit of a wallflower, but you don’t mind. You’re enjoying watching everyone twirl and dance, so much so that you don’t even care that you’re not waltzing with the rest of them. Your soft purple dress falls around you in graceful folds, and your hair is in a curly updo. You wouldn’t even know how to do your hair like that if this was real life. You see diamonds everywhere - in the chandeliers above your head, in the dangly earrings you wear, and the diamond bracelet on your wrist. The sparkly atmosphere makes it feel all the more magical.


You feel a light tap on your shoulder. “May I have this dance?”


You whirl, suddenly brought out of your reverie. You were so lost in thought that you didn’t see this man approach, but now, here he stands. His hair is in sawdust-colored curls, and he bows slightly. A hint of a smile lingers on his lips. You’re not sure whether to feel afraid or excited at this unexpected turn of events.


You take his outstretched hand as he leads you onto the dance floor. He grasps your hand, and you waltz. Twirling, twirling. You study this mysterious stranger as you dance. Who is he? Where did he come from?


“I believe we were never fully introduced,” you begin.


“I’m sorry.” He smiles, almost mischievously. He doesn’t give you his name, and seems to have no intention of giving it to you. You wait for a few awkward moments, and then you tell him your name. “I know,” he says with a wink.


You can’t think of anything to say, so you keep your mouth shut as the dance continues and finally draws to a close. You stand still as the music fades away, suddenly struck with the realization that you danced with someone who is a complete stranger and seems to want to remain that way. Far be it from you to drag information out of him, but there’s something about him that makes you want to know everything. Maybe it’s the way he smiles... or his bluish-green eyes. Whatever it is, you’re intrigued. And you don’t want this conversation - or, rather, lack of one - to end.


Much to your surprise, it doesn’t. He keeps his hold on your hand and tips his head as he looks at you. “Walk with me?”


You are much too surprised to refuse, and allow him to lead you off the dance floor. Together, you walk out the large double doors onto a balcony that looks just like it came from a Disney princess movie. The stars seem to sing above the two of you, accompanied by the sound of the crickets in the bushes below. You study this man curiously. “Who are you?” You finally ask.


“I am,” he simply says.


“No, I mean... who are you?” you ask again, bewildered.


“Tell me...” He begins, leading you by the hand to a nearby bench. “What’s been troubling you? Your thoughts? Your desires?”


You are speechless. “Um...” Again, you ask yourself, who is he? Why does he seem so familiar? And what is this strange hold he seems to have on your heart?


He just looks at you, imploring you to speak with those beautiful eyes of his. And so you do.


“I’ve been thinking. About God. About life. About me...” You trail off. “Who I’m going to marry, mostly.”


He raises his eyebrows, inviting you to go on. “Yes?”


“No, it’s stupid.” You hang your head. He reaches over and lifts your chin up, and you find yourself looking straight into his eyes. “It’s not stupid,” he whispers. “Not to me.”


Your eyes fill with tears. “I feel... worthless. There are no guys who want to date me. No one to even give me a second glance.”


You turn your body away, but he comes around and kneels in front of you. There is no escaping this man. He holds both your hands in his warm grasp. “What about me?” he asks.


“What about you?” You repeat, starting to get irritated. “I don’t even know who you are!”


“I am,” he says simply.


“You are what?” Your eyes fill with tears again, this time angry tears. You don’t understand this man or anything he says.


Then he says your name. So tenderly. So sweetly. The sound is so beautiful that you want to melt. Slowly, you turn towards him again. “Yes?” you reply.


“Talk to me,” he says.


And for some reason you can’t understand, your heart comes spilling out. All your desires. Your wants. Your needs. Your pain. Your fears. Your hopes. Your dreams.


“And while I have your attention,” you say with a laugh, “I just want to say, I want to know... where is that special guy? Why hasn’t he come yet?”


This man across from you feels like one of your best friends. And in this moment, all he does is blink. So you continue.


“Who is my true love?”


The man stands, and pulls you into his arms. Then he laughs softly. “Well, that’s easy.”


He pauses, and you look up into his eyes. His eyes... you nearly drown in them.


His voice rumbles next to your ear, and you will never forget what he says.


“I am.”

Check this post out @ Beautiful in Christ, and just know this: YOU are beautiful. Because Jesus says so.


I'm also guest posting at Hannah Grace's blog today, so go ahead and check it out here!

Awkward:


- Accidentally locking your biology book in a filing cabinet the day before you have to start reading it. Oops.

- Trivia sessions with the family.

- Being bugged to post on your blog and realizing how long it's been since you've done so.

- Falling asleep listening to your mp3 player, then waking up to find out you've lost it. (Yes, this happened to me today.)

- Being so involved in writing this blog post and also listening to Celtic music that you didn't hear your parents calling you.

- Wearing the same pair of jean shorts over and over. (It's summer. What can I say?)

- Going to a mall in a richer part of town and acting like gawky tourists.

- Realizing it's been about three or four months since you watched a Robin Hood episode.

- Subsequently realizing that you forgot to finish the Merlin episode you started three weeks ago.

- Dreaming about Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman and coming up with an entire episode in your dream that never happened.

- Deciding to write said episode down and then failing miserably at making your script sound legitimate.

- Feeding your pet fish peas just so he won't get bloated. (The peas make him not get constipated, if you get my drift.)

- Will Scarlett.

Awesome:


- Listening to Owl City's song To the Sky on repeat.

- Doing the same thing as the above with his song If My Heart Was a House.

- Toupee or not toupee? That is the question.

- Realizing that you can, after all, fit your hair into a ponytail.

- Watching Voyage of the Dawn Treader with your little sister.

- Plaid shirts. And Converse.

- Blue skies.

- Hearing from friends that you haven't heard from in a while.

- Being alive.

- Feather earrings.

- Finally getting caught up on your biology that you missed while you were waiting for the filing cabinet to be unlocked.

- Inspiring Celtic music.

- Coming up with ideas for your very first villain: Gesparo.

- Italian names.

- Writing like crazy with Ashley.

- Will Scarlett.

- Jesus.

I've been reading this writer's challenge on a bunch of other blogs, and it looked like way too much fun for me not to join in. :) Yep, I'm coming into this challenge 9 days too late. However, I'm coming in fashionably late, and that's what counts. This challenge is hosted by Lèrowen over at Eat... Sleep... Write, so do join in if you feel so inclined!

Today's question is, what's my current writing project? Well, I'll try to answer this question as best I can.

I have numerous projects. Some of them are nameless, some of them are not. Some of them are worked on 24/7, and some of them are worked on every once in a blue moon. You can read about most of these on my Current Writing Projects page, though sadly, those end up being more 'blue moon projects' than anything else.

My writing projects fluctuate due to how much time I have and how much interest I have in that particular story, but I can certainly tell you what I'm working on right at this very moment.

Currently, my biggest project is Avary's story, which is currently bereft of a title. My poor little novels rarely receive their rightful names until they're already mostly grown-up. Until then, I usually refer to them by the names of their characters, as is the case with this one. As you may already know, I have a full outline, mostly, but still several plotholes. Right now I'm working on figuring out character arcs and an overall theme for the story. Fun stuff. :P

Secondly, I usually always have to have a less-serious work in progress going on as I write my more 'meaty' novels - i.e., the ones that actually have a plot. These side projects are usually my brain-novels, the ones that I spill the contents of my brain onto whether they like it or not. My motto for these is, "just write," and as it so happens, these novels usually end up being finished before any of the others, whereas the ones that actually have a plot sit on my shelf for a while. To this day, the one novel that I've finished is really not all that great (you all know it as Reese's Pieces). Yet I have accomplished with it something I haven't accomplished with anything else: I finished it because I wasn't worried about what I was writing. That's what I get for actually trying to write a good novel. *sigh*

Anyway, that brings me to my second current project. It is also nameless, but has been christened "My Keni Story" for reasons I do not know. (In other words, my main character is named Keni, and it stuck. :P) It was based off of a strange dream I had that I turned into a novel. I have no idea where I'm going with it, but I have only the best hopes and plans for the future. I'll give you a hint: it has to do with guitars, Wal-Mart, and Wisconsin.

And then I have my co-writing projects, which take up a category all of their own. One of my greatest joys is to co-write. I talk a lot about it on my blog, so you may already know that I have written a script with my friend Pip, and four novels going on five with my friend Ashley. However, those are all finished, and only mere reminders of the past.

To start off with, I must tell you about one of my blue moon projects called His Messengers, which I am writing with my Pip. You can read a complete synopsis on the Current Writing Projects page, along with my other blue moon projects (oh, my poor novels). Anyway, it's a really beautiful story about Kearan, Elena, and their good friend Jesse, and what happens to them in their magical land of... what was it called again? Ah, man, I really want to get back to writing that story. (Hint, hint.)

Currently, I'm working on a book called Amira with my friend, Hannah Grace. This novel has been in the works for about one or two years now, and we only just started writing it this summer. It's the story of two girls and the magical world they discover - or, rather, dream up. And then there's Justin... and Renna... and Caius... and Fynn... ♥ Ah, you'll just have to read about it for yourself. {Link to the official Amira blog.}

In addition to that, Ashley and I are working on Will and Elle, which is our latest story we've become inspired for. It's about William Farris and Elle Moser, who are best friends and have to deal with being apart when they both go to college. (Our poor characters.) We talk about that a LOT on our blog, too - Ashen Sky Life.

But! This is not a shameless advertisement for my other writing blogs (okay, well, it is, but it wasn't meant to be). I want to hear about your projects! Do tell... tell all.

Today, I'd like to bring to you TWO very beautiful people: Brian and Violet McGuire. They are a brother sister duo who live together on the planet of Emasis. They are in the story about Avary, and are two of the other main characters.

Speaking of Avary's story, I had a good chat with my Pip the other day, who helped me work out some kinks, and then later that night at 1 am came up with a full outline. This novel is coming along and I absolutely can't wait to write it. You'll be getting to hear more about this story and its characters over the next couple of months, starting with Violet and Brian. :)

[you and me] by mountainfireflower featuring cotton t shirts

[the real world] by mountainfireflower featuring a double breasted wool coat

What is his/her biggest secret?
Brian: His biggest secret is that he isn't as strong as he wishes he could be.
Violet: Her biggest secret is that she's afraid to love. She's afraid to get her heart broken again.

Has he/she ever been in love?
Brian: Nope... not yet. ;) However, he does feel a strange sort of attraction for his friend Avary. This may or may not prove to be love in time.
Violet: She thought she was once, but it only resulted in a broken heart and shattered hopes.

What is his/her comfort food?
Brian: His comfort food is a giant steak with a large tumbler full of Dr. Pepper, a full basket of fries, and a piece of chocolate cake.
Violet: Dark chocolate and a glass of milk.

Does he/she play a musical instrument? If so, what?
Brian: Indeed he does! He plays guitar.
Violet: She knows a little bit of piano, but she mostly prefers to sing.

What colour are his/her eyes? Hair?
Brian: Light brown, blue eyes.
Violet: Dark brown, blue eyes.

Does he/she have any pets?
Brian & Violet: They both own a long-haired collie named Fiona.

What is his/her favorite place to be?
Brian: He loves to take long walks in the forest.
Violet: She prefers to be snuggled up in front of her TV with a pair of slippers and a cup of hot tea.

What are some of his/her dreams or goals?
Brian: He would like to touch people with his music, settle down, and raise a family someday.
Violet: She'd like to survive high school.

Does he/she enjoy sports?
Brian: Heck yeah. He's a diehard football fan.
Violet: Not so much a football fan, but she has a secret addiction to major league tennis.

What is his/her favorite flower or plant?
Brian: He loves oak trees.
Violet: Well, what do you know? She loves violets! :P

I hope you enjoyed reading about Violet and Brian as much as I did - because now I love them all the more. :) And I feel like I know them a lot better, too! It appears as if Beautiful People is doing its job. ;) Toodles!

P.S. - don't forget to submit any questions you can think of to either Georgie or me so that we can use them in upcoming rounds of Beautiful People! Just leave a comment if you think of any. :)