Her full name is Fiona Rose Bartulli. For me, Fiona has been a favorite name of mine ever since one of the members of one of my old favorite bands named his daughter that. I'd been holding onto the name Fiona to use for a while, and when I started BCII, I thought, "This story better stick around, because Fiona is too good a name to waste." Well. Yeah. It did. And it worked.

In canon, her mother, Chloe, also has the middle name of Rose, so that's where she got that.

2) How old are they, and when were they born? 

19, almost 20. Well, um, today, actually! June 6th.

3) Describe their physical appearance. 

Fiona is 5'2" and somewhat thick-bodied--she's basically not a size zero. Despite this, she's generally tiny and can curl up into small spaces. Her hair is red and shoulder-length. She usually wears graphic tees, sweats, hoodies, and sometimes jeans. (Converse, too.) Though, because of her job as a violinist, she has to dress up more than she'd like. She has dark blue eyes.

(Bonus questions: 1. What is their race/nationality/ethnicity? 2. Do you have a picture of them? If so, include it!) 

Fiona's white and about as pale as they come. She's American, though she has roots as both Irish and Italian, with maybe a little English thrown in there. (Bartulli is an Italian name.)

I sure do! Several pictures, actually.

4) Describe your character's personality first in one word, and then elaborate with a few sentences. 

One word? I know I helped make these questions, buuut... uh, this is going to be hard.

The one word is frustrated. Frustrated with life, with where she's going, with herself, with other people, and life circumstances.

Fiona is an INFJ and constantly torn between her head and her heart. I saw a pin here that says, "It is a most distressing affliction to have a sentimental heart and a skeptical mind." That literally just sums her up. She's constantly torn between feeling and not feeling, being cold rather than being open, and being rational instead of emotional. Her instinct is to stuff her emotions down; she doesn't like talking about or dealing with them. At her worst moments, she's abrasive and rude. At her core, though, she wants to be loving and open. She's just scared and hurting, and isn't willing to be vulnerable with just anyone, if anyone at all.

5) What theme song(s) fit their personality and story arc? 

Oh man. There are a lot.

Catch my Breath - Kelly Clarkson
Breakaway - Kelly Clarkson
What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger - Kelly Clarkson
Celebrity Status - Marianas Trench
Perfect - Marianas Trench
Porcelain - Marianas Trench.

So basically, Kelly Clarkson cubed, and Marianas Trench cubed. How weird.

6) Which one of the seven deadly sins describes your character? 

Anger.

7) If they were an element (fire, water, earth, air), which one would they be? 

Fire.

8) What is their favorite word? 

Home.

9) Who’s one person they really miss? (It could be someone who’s passed away, or someone they’re not close to anymore, or someone who’s moved away.) 

She misses having a good relationship with her mom.

10) What sights, sounds, and smells remind them of that person?

The sky and warm summer days, playgrounds with sand pits (it reminds her of playing in the sand with her mom when she was younger), the ocean, spaghetti, and Italian words.

(I made this two years back for a BP post for Fiona I never posted. We have come full-circle.)
x x x x x

join us!

Go here to find out more about joining Beautiful People!
character copyright Sky Walden, 2014

It's that time again, folks! (Finally, am I right?) BP is BAAACK.

If you haven't heard of it, Beautiful People is a meme I started with Georgie Penn a couple years ago. It's put up monthly and is designed to help you get to know your characters. Two summers ago, it went on hiatus due to busyness and life circumstances. But now Cait from Notebook Sisters, and I, are bringing it back! (Find out more about the relaunch here.)

The way this works is, every month we post a list of ten questions for you to answer about your characters. If you'd like to participate, simply choose the lucky character of your choice, answer the questions about them, and post it up on your blog. (If you'd like to use them as a private resource, that's acceptable as well, but the primary design of this is a link-up.) The linky is down below for you to sign. And it makes it extra lovely if you go around and meet other participants of the meme by commenting!

Here are the blog buttons:

<a href="http://www.furtherup-and-furtherin.blogspot.com/"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLi7d70trKBkGDOiD5Htz1ZrHlTyWSWTM4-vDCcVpRIdfDS6jv_cPeOe6l6bAk0Lh26YWTyrREDJ8ZHEzA1mTH-8UPDM2UW-s17hIgO1PT4GEAUvgwoFTc4WtBVaZGQWywgXGpnVEPGY8/s1600/Beautiful+People+Blog+Button+-+Option+6.png"></a>

<a href="http://www.furtherup-and-furtherin.blogspot.com/"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW4TxOj92VmSK_xcWd6ogrwV7tn3UN_GyZ0Q5ztJ2IaXhyphenhyphenISXQphtuFUwZFd3PsASdRGng14rRwyikseRkDKm1DH-aRvrSF44TEa7l_R9pjGNRbS8PCQcIQzRPTyi0GsP3yH-3DyT6S0w/s1600/Beautiful+People+Blog+Button+-+Option+2.png"></a>And without further ado... here are this month's questions! Extra special thanks to Arende and Emily for their questions! (Questions #4 and #5 were borrowed from Charahub.com.)
1) What is their full name and is there a story behind why they got it? 
2) How old are they, and when were they born? 
3) Describe their physical appearance. (Bonus questions: 1. What is their race/nationality/ethnicity? 2. Do you have a picture of them? If so, include it!) 
4) Describe your character's personality first in one word, and then elaborate with a few sentences. 
5) What theme song(s) fit their personality and story arc? 
6) Which one of the seven deadly sins describes your character? 
7) If they were an element (fire, water, earth, air), which one would they be? 
8) What is their favorite word? 
9) Who’s one person they really miss? (It could be someone who’s passed away, or someone they’re not close to anymore, or someone who’s moved away.)
10) What sights, sounds, and smells remind them of that person?

Now go forth, and answer! I'm so excited to read all of your answers! Have fun, and don't forget to sign the linky!

There once was a book called Because I'm Irish. This book is my book, and I love it dearly. Here's the thing: it's kind of my baby. I have a ton of novels, but there hasn't really been one that has stuck around and nagged at me as much as this one has. It's also the first one with an actual sequel. An actual sequel that's finished.

Yes, that's right. Because I'm Irish got a sequel, as you might remember from last year's camp. It was called Because We Can. And I continued writing it, somehow, by all miracles of miracles. (I have so many abandoned stories it's not even funny.) And I somehow managed to keep writing long enough to where I actually finished it. At 12:08 Mountain Standard Time on June 3rd, I finished Because We Can.

Here's the other thing: like Because I'm Irish, I have another baby... the main character of Because I'm Irish, Fiona Bartulli. Like her book, few characters have gotten under my skin and STAYED like Fiona has. And it's kind of funny, because June 6th is her birthday. She'd probably be 20 if we're going by the canon timeline, but time is relative anyway. In real time, it's been about two and a half years since I created her. (I started Because I'm Irish in December of 2011.)

She started out as basically a self-insertion character--which means she was practically based off of me. Until she started to get her own voice. And likes. And feelings. In actuality now, we're different and yet the same in a whole bunch of ways. (Our personality types are only off by one letter.)


If you had asked me back on December 20th of 2011 if I thought that this little story I was working on would a.) become a trilogy, and b.) mean so much to me now, I don't think I would've believed you. But seriously, guys, this is one of my favorite stories. The characters are written into my brain and heart and soul now, and I don't know if I'll ever be able to get them out. I'll be writing and editing and thinking about them for a very long time. Maybe, just maybe, even the rest of my life.

So here's to you, Fiona Rose Bartulli and Because I'm Irish and Damian and Keith and all you Irish dudes and the tour bus and Irish cliffs and violin strings. You mean so much to me. Thank you for all you've done in my mind and my heart for the past 2 and a half years. Here's to many more.

{the third book's stats}

{synopsis}

"It’s only been a month since Fiona Bartulli got shot in the shoulder, and she’s still not over it. The ghosts of her past  follow her wherever she goes, especially because they’ve got the wrong man behind bars. She and her closest friends search for the evidence to set things right, while fearing the reappearance of the real murderer who has gone off the grid. Even though she’s been told there’s nothing to fear, she’s still running—from the man who wants to kill her, and from herself. On her search for the truth, Fiona breaks down, and she wonders if anything in her life will ever feel sane again." (Spoiler alert: It won't. Not until the end of the third book, anyway.)

{now what?}

I assumed that I'd need a break from these characters after finishing Because We Can. However, after going through post-book-finishing depression, and unsuccessfully trying to start another novel, I finally caved in and just started writing about this crew again. I am now working on the third installment of the Because I'm Irish series. Title pending. Suggestions welcome. The super secret detailed formula for titling these things is "Because + Pronoun + Verb or Noun." Yup. Creepily (but not too creepily, you feel me?) stalk my progress on this book by visiting www.mywriteclub.com, which is a fantastic writing motivator. Aaand that's all, folks!