As for those who cursed me for drawing it out so long, all I can say is... "heh." It amuses me to torture you, have you not learned this yet?
Over the coming weeks and months you'll be finding out a lot more about Demon Road, but I figured I'd answer a few questions now.
For starters, this is NOT the cover.
This is just a nifty holding image we give out so that people can pre-order if they want to. Hence the following link: http://www.pages01.net/harpercollinspublishersltd/DerekLandy-DemonRoad/
The ACTUAL cover, and the new cover artist, will be revealed in due time.
The release date is, as you can see, the 27th of August. Yesterday we said the 28th, but we figured out a way to get it to you a day earlier, and we took it.
Demon Road is both the name of the first book AND the name of the overall trilogy.
It WILL be a trilogy.
The books will be released 6 months apart. This is the way the publishing industry is going, to be honest — especially for children's books/YA. It's a hectic, bruising schedule, which will mean I'm gonna be overworked for the rest of the year, but hey... I'm quite looking forward to it, actually. I always felt bizarrely guilty for making you wait a year between Skulduggery books, so I'm going to see if this way is better.
Ah yes, and it will be Young Adult as well. There's nothing in it (yet) that is amazingly inappropriate for younger readers — maybe a word or two, slipping into older territory — but it's just the overall feel of the thing.
I'm TRYING to write shorter books. I was aiming for a Dark Days length, roughly 80,000 words. I have to write three of these books this year, and I can't have them spiralling out of control like Skulduggery did. I'm currently at 91,000 words. Hopefully I won't go above 100,000, which is roughly where Mortal Coil was. Hopefully.
Right now, I've only signed a contract with Harper Collins UK, which will publish the books in Ireland, the UK, Australia and New Zealand, and Canada. Over the next while, I'll be signing with foreign language publishers also — but for most of them, I'll need to show them the finished book. Harper UK trust me enough to sign a contract with what they've already seen of the book as I'm writing it.
There is absolutely no reason why we shouldn't be published in America as well.
Oh, and yes, I will be touring with Demon Road, but it's far too early to say where.
Posts
4,785 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 4401 – 4600 of 4785 Newer› Newest»(Yes yes Gemma!)
Erica: Not that I know of.
(*beats the eggs with a metal fork*)
(That's three undedicated pages!
*slowly adds and whisks the eggs in the mixture*)
(I think that Erica and Liliana would get along rather well, somehow.)
Liliana: *she grasps one of the heads focused on Onwa, pulling it away, slicing its head off with her dagger, which has also been enlarged*
Hadeon: *it howls in pain, focusing its remaining undamaged heads on Liliana, Silente and Onwa*
Bethany: *she swoops down beside Claire, landing in a roll, her spear forming in her hands* *she immediately thrusts the tip into the stomach of one of the soldiers, spinning it and slamming it into a second*
Claire: *she ducks underneath a blow, slicing one of the blades across the stomach of one of the soldiers, rolling over him when he doubles over* *she knocks a second off the side of the bridge with her telekinesis, stabbing another soldier in the foot, then in the neck with the second blade*
Erica: *raises an eyebrow in silent question*
(Shh xD Liliana has Onwa!)
Onwa: *morths, becoming an even bigger dog*
*bites one head, ripping it clean off*
*keeps an eye on Beth and Claire, flying to avoid being burnt*
Erica: Oh? That sounds.. intriguing..
Hmmmmm....RP ideas....
Tsu: *Boops her nose and kisses her forhead*
You look just as good up-side-down...
Flo: *giggles* So do you.
(*measures and sieves 150g of flour into the mixture*)
Tsu: I do prefer when you're round the right way so I can actually kiss your lips...
Erica: Mm. But would I have my magic?
Flo: *laughs and drops down to the ground*
(I am aware. But I think that Liliana, Onwa and Erica would get along rather well, nevertheless.)
Hadeon: *it pushes Onwa away with its forearms, biting at her with three of its heads*
Liliana: *she breaks one of its remaining necks*
Bethany: *she knocks the remaining soldiers off-balance with a pulse of white energy, giving Claire enough time to reload her pistol and shoot the soldiers* *she takes off again, firing streams of white energy into Hadeon*
(*adds half a teaspoon of baking powder*)
OMG BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP BLIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(Perhaps..)
Onwa: *snarls, biting one of the three heads while Liliana breaks another one of*
*gets bitten by the other and yelps*
*rockets towards it, landing on it, driving a sword deep into its eye, twisting*
(WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT WHAT?!
*folds the mixture with a metal spoon*)
BLIP! :D Blake x Trip!!!! One of the best ships!!!
(Hey duggy xD)
Yup Dugglyn, I'm a genius...
Tsu: That's better...
*Kisses her passionately*
(Oh...
*grates the Orange into the mixture*)
Flo: *kisses him passionately back*
Hey Jai!!!
Hey Gem!!! You are! :D
(I will be back soon.)
Erica: *laughs*
Me? An imp?
(Okay Soph..)
(*grates half of the lemon into the mixture*)
I done some bad bad things
The kind you don't bring up at confession
Somewhere in my life, woah
I took the wrong direction
I swear on my soul
I didn't want to hurt no one
But I got no way to justify
The things I done
If you're good at telling lies
You could be my alibi
And I won't have to atone for my sins
If you're good at telling lies
You could be my alibi
And I won't have to the fall for where I've been
You done some bad bad things
The kind that don't bare to mention
Something inside you died
Now you need some resurrection
If you don't want to go down
Just like the setting sun
You got to find a way to reconcile
The things you done
If you're good at telling lies
You could be my alibi
And I won't have to atone for my sins
If you're good at telling lies
You could be my alibi
And I won't have to the fall for where I've been
If you're good at telling lies
You could be my alibi
And I won't have to the fall for where I've been
I swear some people in the world
They got no moral compass
I know the wicked ones
I feel them walk among us
The hangman begs for mercy
Only when his time has come
Because he got no way to
Rectify the things he done
If you're good at telling lies
You could be my alibi
And I won't have to atone for my sins
If you're good at telling lies
You could be my alibi
And I won't have to the fall for where I've been
I won't take the fall for where I've been
I won't take that fall for where I've been, no
I have seen the firewatcher's daughter
Watching fires burn from smoke to black
There's nothing she won't burn
From Styrofoam to urns, to someone else's ashes in a sack
You can scorch the metal, you can even melt the glass
You can pass the time here, fire lives into the past
An all-consuming flame, that refines and new begins
It'll take your family heirlooms, but it can take your darkest sins
It's a good ol' bedtime story, give you nightmares 'til you die
And the ones that love to tell it, hide the mischief in their eyes
Condemn their sons to Hades
And Gehenna is full of guys, alive and well
But there ain't no hell for a firewatcher's daughter
Erica: Hmm.. and what can a succubus do?
*grins*
*RUNS AROUND LIKE A CARZY PERSON FLAPPING HER HANDS IN THE AIR LAUGHING HYSTERICALLY*
*marches to the beat of Stranger At My Door*
(*watches duggy*)
(I'm a succubus, unless you know what is is you might not want to be one :P
Sexual women predators, wings, fangs, tail.
And I won't tell you what they need to survive but you get the point.)
(xD oh Gemmy, thought you were human?)
*grins at Jai, swaying to the tune if Heroes And Songs*
(*films Dug*
*continues to fold the mixture*)
I meant Aria...but yeah.
*frowns*
*sits down and studies her nails, waiting for the camera to turn off*
*and for all the people to stop staring at her*
(*watches duggy sway*)
Erica: Hm...
(Adam, you know what she'll need to survive, right? :3)
Tsu: *Moves a hand down to her ass and wraps the other around her waist*
If I get murdered in the city
Don't go revenging in my name
A person dead from such is plenty
No sense in getting locked away
Flo: * continues to kiss him*
(*pretends to turn off the camera*
*puts the cake in the oven*)
Erica: And the downsides?
*sloooowly stands up*
*RUNS away singing, and throwing Obama at the crown*
I think it's time we found a way back home
You loose so many things you love as you grow
I missed the days when I was just a kid
My fear became my shadow, I swear it did
Wherever is your heart I call home
Wherever is your heart I call home
Though your feet may take you far from me, I know
Wherever is your heart I call home
You made me feel like I was always falling
Always falling down without a place to land
Somewhere in the distance I heard you calling
Oh it hurts so bad to let go of your hand
**bananas
**crowd
XD
(*chases her*
*takes the cake out when it's finished* WHO'S HUNGRY?!)
ARRRRGHH!!!
*RUNS towards the cake, driving into it, mouth open*
*only destroys/eats part of it, the rest is fine*
YYOU CAN DANCE IN A HURRICANE
BUT ONLY IF YOU'RE STANDING IN THE EYE
OR IF YOU LIVE IN A PART OF THE WORLD WHERE THEY'RE NOT CALLED HURRICANES
(*giggles and posts the video on YouTube* *eats a slice of cake*)
(*laughs at duggy*)
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOW COULD YOU SERI?!?!??!?!!?!?! MY COVER IS PHONE!!!!!
*laughs at Jai* :D
(*frowns at the fact she's being laughed at*)
Erica: Mm..
*Irish dances to Things I Regret, somehow making it work*
4 pints of blood to every 2 pints of syliva to every half pint of sperm. is the amount you would need to intake to survive (daily not meal-ly)
(*frowns* Seri. I like that! :D)
*frowns back*
*suddenly grins, pulling out an energy drink, draining it*
*cackles*
Oops. Meant SEIR!
(Oh no!
*ties the dug down quickly!*)
(@'The Boy' !!!)
(*laughs*)
(that's what a succubus does, they live off life energy and well that gives off the most)
*plays the electric guitar*
I'm gonna to fit in
I'm on the list
I'm gonna to get in
Haven't you heard
Don't you know who I am
I'm with the Joneses
I'm their best friend
I came to saturate the market
To perpetuate the hip kid
I was born so I could fall in line
I'm a legend in my own mind
Can I blend in with your kind?
I need you to liberate me
You the masses educate me
Hold my fist into the air
Declare a social victory
You can own me, you control me
Individuality has never stood a chance against you
Jump into the mainstream
Your revolution
gets in the way of my confusion
I need someone to tell me who I am
To keep me under this illusion
(Ewwww xD)
*shakes violently, before turning into mist, sparking and Turing colors*
(Yes, colORS. Not colours. Pffft!)
(lol
going for a shower, brb)
(Its colours!!! XD)
(Kk Gemmy!)
http://elitedaily.com/humor/guitar-slug-solos-photos/703949/
LOOK AT THIS I SWEAR YOU WILL LAUGH!!
Kk Gemini! ^.^
NO! Colors!
(Okay Gem!)
(I am back.)
Minerve: *she appears close to Claire* Hello, child.
Claire: *she immediately draws and throws three knifes in quick succession into Minerve's face*
Minerve: How very rude. *her hands glow black, and Claire starts to feel the pain of everyone she has ever hurt*
Claire: *she screams, dropping to the floor, hands clutching her stomach* *she starts to cry, before it turns into a growl* *she lifts Onwa into the air with her telekinesis, dragging her through the lava before ripping her limbs off*
Minerve: *she vanishes in a flash of black*
Claire: *she curls up on the ground, sobbing, cradling herself gently*
Hadeon: *it howls before dropping to the ground with a large thud*
(Colours!!!)
How do you make a link?
Onwa: *screams loudly as she's dragged through the lava, writhing and struggling, trying to heal herself*
*gasps as her limbs are ripped off, screaming in agony*
Claire!!!
*flies to her quickly, landing beside her, scooping her up*
Shh.. it's okay.. it's okay..
*holds her close, cradling her*
(< a href= whateverthelinkis > what you want to call the link < /a >)
Guitar Solo faces!!
I'll bbs.
Back!
Heheh...Erica will be turned into that...
(Sue might not be.)
(Apologies, Jaimie, I meant Minerve, not Onwa.)
Claire: *she shakes in Silente's arms, curling against her*
(Ah. Okay. S'fine. Wondered why Liliana hadn't done anything xD)
*holds her tight, curled around her, gently stroking her hair*
Shh.. it's okay Claire, I got you..
*kisses her forehead gently*
It's okay.. I'm sorry.. I'm so so sorry..
Onwa: *morths back into herself, watching Hadeon fall*
Well I kinda hope she will be, it'll be funny.
(For you maybe! XD Msd!)
:P Ok Jai
Yes, It will be funny for me.
(*cuddles Jaimie tightly* Indeed.)
Claire: *she sobs, continuing to shiver* Did... Did I kill that... that bitch?
Bethany: *she lands beside Silente, holding Claire also* You killed her form, yes. Not her entirety, but she will not be coming back for now.
Liliana: *she hugs Onwa* Well done, my queen.
Ember: Good work.
(i made carbonara for dinner -everyone loves it so not just for my mum)
(Um, because it kinda is)
*Walks through the forest looking for Skulduggery*
Aria! where'd you go? You meditate under a tree waiting for someone to wake up and they just wander off like that, weird.
*Hears him shouting*
S-skulduggery?
*Is really pale*
*Walks towards the sound of his voice*
(Um, no we didn't because that's what it is.)
*Walks towards her voice and almost walks into her*
If not for me reading the air there I could have fallen on you.
(I didn't create rule 34 Adam)
*Looks up and sees him*
*Smiles slightly*
How would that be a bad thing?
*Hugs him weakly*
*Has gotten paler and weaker*
*Hugs her* *cocks head* Well by the looks of things it could have made you faint. What's up? Is the demon sigal hurting again?
(the plural of succubus is succubus and yes they do, do you want links ?)
(Not here..)
*keeps holding her close, still gently stroking her hair*
Shh. It's okay. You did good. You did well.
*kisses her head gently again*
Don't worry.. I'm sorry that she hurt you..
Onwa: *hugs her back, smiling*
And you, my Queen.
*fully heals the burns*
N-no...I don't know what's wrong...
*Falls towards him*
(*cuddles Jaimie tightly*)
Claire: *she continues to cry, hugging herself in Silente's arms*
Bethany: *her hands glow white, gently touching Claire's back, soothing the remainders of the pain*
Hadeon: *its heads begin to heal, splitting off into two each, until it has eighteen heads in total* *it roars at them, before vanishing in a flash of fire*
*catches her before she falls* *runs to where the bentley is parked carrying her* *lies her down on the back seat* you need a doctor!
(*hugs Sophs tightly back*)
Shh.. it's okay.. it's okay...
Onwa: Darn.. hydra's, they never do stay dead..
(because you already know the links... cool lol and plus I'm a geek I can find the darkest secrets on the internet, things you think don't exist i've seen :P)
Just popping in briefly, but would any/all of you with Twitter mind doing me a MASSIVE favor? Could you tweet a few times with the hashtags #KCA #VoteLittleMixUK at the end?
(And by a few, I mean, like, a couple hundred oops)
(*time skip to sanctuary doctor?)
(Kestrel, I have a Twitter account but I am not a fan of Little Mix, so I will refuse.)
Claire: *she shakes her head, cuddling close*
Liliana: Indeed.
(I will be back soon.)
(I..would rather not do too.. no offense but I don't usually tweet as it is and I'm not a little mixer..)
*keeps her close, standing up while still holding her, walking over*
..it didn't die did it?
Onwa: No.
*sighs*
Joy..
I like Little Mix . . . um.
*tries to remember Twitter password*
(Sorry for poofing!)
(I am back.)
Liliana: So we need Phraelia.
Ember: It will keep getting stronger and stronger, the longer it is alive.
Okay. So, we're talking to Phaestra and trapping Phraelia in a body, yes?
*keeps cradling Claire close*
I want this over with as soon as..
*holds head high*
And Claire is staying out of it from here on..
As is Beth.
Soy Kes, don't have Twitter and I've never heard Little Mix.
Oh excellent Dugglyn a chance to initiate you.
Do you like, like ballads or faster stuff?
@Dugglyn: O_O You need to hear Little Mix.
They are cool.
Mara was obsessed with them and she introduced Fabi and me and Kes to them. :P
But yeah
they're cool.
@Kes: Hmmm yeah good questioning. :) I was going to recommend one and then I eas like "wait how . . . ?"
*a song
@Stararar: My go to recs are Turn Your Face and Madhouse, but it kinda depends on the person...
But yeah I owe you and Mara my life
@Kes: *laughs* You totally do.
I'm so proud of myself. :P
I want to listen to Little Mix now . . .
. . .
I shall listen to Little Mix now.
Wbd.
Claire: No... I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm perfectly fine... Please let me come along?
Bethany: But... Please? It's my mother...
@Stararar: I'm so glad Madhouse was the one you made me listen to though because I don't think anything else off that album except maybe Love Drunk would've worked.
Ballad? Uh, Idk what that is...
Like Brandi Carlile.
SHE'S THE BEST!!! :D :D :D
@Kes: *laughs* Yeah. I remember at the time I told Mara than I liked a lot of Little Mix songs in a way I didn't like other songs, but that I liked Madhouse like I normally like songs, so as you liked Disturbed too I assumed we'd be relatively similarish and so I recommended Madhouse.
. . .
Why is my memory so randomly selective . . . ?
ballad
ˈbaləd/Submit
noun
noun: ballad; plural noun: ballads
1.
a poem or song narrating a story in short stanzas. Traditional ballads are typically of unknown authorship, having been passed on orally from one generation to the next.
synonyms: song, folk song, shanty, ditty, canzone; More
poem, tale, saga
"a ballad sung in the pubs of Ireland"
2.
a slow sentimental or romantic song.
I think we're talking about the second definition.
OMG this song is so great!!!______!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ah, thanks Star!
(I actually like ballads. Some of them, at least. Not all of them. Rock music seems to be my favourite, however, whether it be heavy rock, punk rock or classic rock. I also quite like classical music, but that depends on my mood, and the classical music I listen to.)
Okay ballad people listen to Turn Your Face and Good Enough
(Sorry, was eating.)
No. I'm not putting you two at risk again. You can see Phaestra, but I don't want either of you in harm's way.
*smooths some of Claire's hair back*
I won't watch you get hurt again.
*looks at Beth*
Either of you.
Onwa: Silente..it is their choi-
DON'T, push me on this Onwa.
Rock people listen to Madhouse.
People who are both, listen to whatever. XD
Rock people, Stand Down is an acceptable alternative to Madhouse, except for that one bit
Pop people, listen to Move
Anyone other people, state what you are and we will specify our instructions especially for you. :)
Uhhhhh R&B people listen to Nothing Feels Like You and...Going Nowhere? Does that count as R&B?
(I do not especially like girl groups in general. For me, they do not seem to work. They end up sounding... cheap? I prefer solo female singers, or duets.)
Claire: Wait... Won't we be going to Phaestra's realm to get Phraelia? Hadeon was destruction in Archeos' realm... Phraelia is life... In Phaestra's realm? We won't be gettibg hurt...
My mom got me a book called How To Speak Brit from the library so now I can understand some of your odd phrases! :P,',','!',',',',','!'!"!"
*sighs, hanging her head slightly*
Yeah.. Yeah.
*carefully passes Claire over to Beth, walking a bit away, sinking down and curling up*
Onwa: *frowns*
Huh. Strange.
*cough*BrandiCarlileandtheTwinsareamazing*cough*
(xD Dug! It's not THAT complicated!)
XD She just saw it and thought of me XD
but you're right, it's really not that different.
@Sophia: I think you shouldn't discriminate like that. Just because most people in a genre may produce misic you don't like doesn't mean they all will.
@Sophia: Yes okay but listen to Turn Your Face. I promise you, it is NOT cheap
(I have just listened to "Turn Your Face". I do not especially like that, either.
Star, in which case it would be safer to say that all girl groups that I have listened to sound rather cheap.)
Bethany: *she carries Claire, sitting beside Silente* What's wrong...?
Liliana: Indeed.
*breathes carefully, shaking slightly*
*shakes head*
Nothing.. I-I just need a breather..
*smiles shakily*
I.. I just.. I don't want you two hurt.. a-and you're doing everything you can to get in harm's way.. I-I can't.. loose you both..
Onwa: phaestra will not be pleased to see us..
Me and my brother were just having a conversation about gow the main main character never dies, and it's totally true. I reason this is because if the character is good enough you want to keep them alive because they're interesting and contribute to the story, and if they're not that good they wouldn't bw the main character in the first place because they're not good enough for maincharacterhood.
Thoughts?
And the other thing is, when in this conversation, which kind of evolved into a debate, when talking about the main character I kept referring to them as 'he' by accident . . .
Which I guess is coz my past two main character obsessions have been Kaladin and Hunter, although I'm sort of wary to call Kaladin a character obsession because what I love the most about him is analysing him, so he's not really on the same level.
But then I realised that most books had male main characters, and when I thought of books that didn't, nearly all the books (the exception being Skulduggery Pleasant) that sprang to mind were those teenage romance books . . . or books about teenagers that strongly involved romance (as in, it's not something that happens alongside the plot or as a subplot, the romance is the main plot or a main plot).
Wait
I just remembered Vin from Mistborn
Okay, that's the other exception, but Brandon Sanderson is on an entirely different level to me, both mentally and physically *points to new book shelf arrangements* so that's okay.
So like
nearly all the books I've read with female main characters have one of the main purposes of their characters being to get with a partner.
And if they don't need a female main character so they can invent male characters for them and the audience to fall in love with with, if they need a character for somethung else, they use a male . . . ?
And you NEVER really have a book with a main romance plot being told from the perspective of a male. There's TONS of romance books with female main characters, and with males . . . none.
(well, none I know)
I think of the books I kbow with male main characters, and I come up with Darren Shan and Gone and Xhaos Walking.
I think of books with female main characters, and I come up with Slated and The Hunger Games and The Mortal Instruments.
. . .
Okay, whilst thinking of book titles there, I remembered the Heroes of Olympus series, which is still close enough to Percy Jackson for Percy to seem like a main cgaracter to me, and is pretty darn romance-focused. I also thought of Divergent and Pure and Ashes, which are all series that have female main characters that arguably have romance as more of a subplot.
But still. Most romance books are written by females and arguably for females (because they try and make you fall in love with the male character).
Which brings me onto my next ppint, but I'll post this first.
@Sophia: Yes. :)
:/ But Turn Your Face is beautiful . . .
(@Star Hm.. interesting..)
("Happiness is just around the corner!"
Too bad the world is round..)
(Either falling in love with the main character or making the readers aroused seems to be the main point of romantic books, I believe. Either one, the other, or both. Romantic books are a little pointless, to me. As, in effect, the main character of a story, I am glad my purpose was not to find a partner.)
Bethany: You won't... But we can't lose you, either.
I dare ask if any of you are around and talking.
@Star: Every Day by David Levithan is mostly a romance book told a guy
Oh wait. A is agender. Nvm, ignore that.
A lot of his books have guy main characters and are about romance. But yeah I get your point.
(Also, the fact that I think of A as a guy just because the main love interest is female even though A SAYS SPECIFICALLY THAT THEY HAVE NO GENDER AND ALSO HAS BEEN WITH A GUY BEFORE MAKES ME SO MAD AT HETERONORMATIVE CULTURE)
*pokes at Loki*
Poking me is hardly going to help.
(*waves at the zaf*)
You won't lose me.. You know you won't..
*twitches a smile*
Death doesn't want me, remember?
Bethany: But if we die... We should die as a family, not apart... And if we live, we should live together. My heart... Cannot take you not being with me...
Claire: I agree with Bethany... We are a family... We live and die like one.
(POOFED AGAIN!
Sorry, last time!)
*sighs, shaking her head*
I won't watch you die.. I CAN'T watch you die.. I'd rather endure all the lows of my life five thousand more times that watch you die..
*looks at her hands*
I just want you both safe..
@Loki: Help what?
Hey Saoirse!
Jesy's bit in Good Enough slays my LIFE
(Hey Kes!)
Bethany: *she kisses Silente's hands* We are safer together than apart.
Liliana: I have a feeling this is an emotionally draining family moment.
She replied and I gave her her birthday gift! °W°
Okay, so I was thinking the other day about how all my favourite characters seem to be male, and I was like, "What is this? Is this just me prrferring male people?" but I don't think it is. I think writers just have a tendancy to write better male characters.
Because as I was just saying, a lot of main characters are male, and the ones that aren't tend to be romance books so tend to have the best character as the one the main character falls in love with . . . who is generally male.
So either the main male character is just plain interesting, or he's written in a way to make you fall in love with him (speaking generally).
And when you're meant to fall in love with the character, the autgors can really put a shirload of effort into making that happen. I mentioned I liked analysing Kaladin, right? Well, you're meamt to lovr him, I believe, and when I first read The Way of Kings, I was like "HOW THE HELL IS KALADIN THIS AWESOME AND YET STILL REALISTIC WHAT IS THIS," and yet when I reread it, I watched more closely and was like, "Ah. Riiiight. He's the same level of awesomeness as is realistic, but he's been written to SEEM really awesome so our heads will explode" (I could rant about that - it's very clever and fascinaring - but that isn't the point). And yeah, so that can happen. So yeah. And yeah. Yeah.
I lost my train of thought . . .
Yeah. So yeah.
Think Sam in Shiver and Augustus in The Fault In Our Stars. So much cooler than Grace or Hazel. No offense.
And I was reading The Infernal Devices one time, and see, thus book series has a stupid love triangle that is the definition of stupid love triangles, and I was thinking about how I couldn't help loving it anyway because it was so well-written and I loved Will and Jem so much.
And then I got thinking about how Cassandra Clare was TRYING to make us love Will and Jem, so she was putting all of her efforts into making them as awesome as possible, but then I thought, "What about Tessa?"
Tessa's the protagonist, and I really rather like Tessa. And it's not like Tessa as a character is just ignored, but I feel that if she were paid as much attention to as Will and Jem were - if the book were focused on getting me to love her - she could appear so much more awesome. But because she's not the love interest, she just isn't focused on in the same way.
And think main female protagonists can often be neglected in this way. Not all - far from all - Slated that I mentioned before really delves into Kyla as a character, for instance - but . . . it just makes me sad.
And as mentioned, I don't know many female protagonists who are written outside of romance. I mean, I know more than I thought I did. I know tge already-mentioned Valkyrie, and I know the already-mentioned Kyla, and I know Tris from Divergent. But idk.
I remember once Derek posted an a link to an article about Strong Female Characters, and about how there was so much focus on showing females were strong, and the author of the article was like, "Strong is so one-dimensional. Can't female characters be characters? Can't they have a whole host of adjectives describing them?"
I guess it also links into how romance is seen as a genre for females and action is seen as a genre for males. :/
But I think there's not nearly as much of a sexist divide as I'm making there out to be. I know almost action-horror books with female majn characters as with male ones, and to have a variety seems to be the most usual.
I was just . . . thinking. And so writing happened.
*sighs and nods, standing up, gently taking Claire again, looks between Claire and Bethany*
Just.. don't die..
Onwa: uck.
And I do not need therapy.
@Star: I love the Infernal Devices, but the only way I can get through them is by pretending the love triangle doesn't exist and that they're all just in a poly relationship instead.
(KASSY! *huggles*)
Also @Star: You know who's a great female character? Plath/Sadie. And WILKES.
@Kes: I think of them primarily as female. Idk why. I try not to, but I only realised this year that tgere are more than two boxes for gender, and as I'm cisgender and am used to thinking of everyone else as such, my subconscious is just programmed to gender things even if my conscious level tells it not to . . .
And, yeah. :) But they're in the minoroty.
Hey Tia!
*hugs the woman (girl????? Ha :) you will always be younger than me :P) of many names*
(I rather think, Star, that if an author would publish a book with female characters who are very weak, they would get complained at for being sexist. So it is safer for authors to a) use male characters, and b) portray female characters as stronger rather than weaker.)
Bethany: I don't plan to. *she kisses Silente briefly, gently, but passionately*
Liliana: We both need therapy.
Hello, everybody! °w°
(*sits down confused*)
Also also @Star: I'm the same with genders, so I try to really make an effort to think of all people I don't know for a fact what gender they are as 'they' but I read Every Day before that, so...
ALSO: Susan, Sibyl, Angua, Cheri(dwarf gender is the STRANGEST thing), and War from Terry Pratchett's Discworld books.
He just died, and I was crying. Now I'm upset again.
(*understands* Seirsha or Saoirse or any versions of that name just. Not the other one. *hides from the other one*)
(Hi Kas.)
*kisses her briefly but passionately back*
Mmm.. good.
*looks down at Claire in her arms*
You okay short stuff?
Onwa: *grunts*
Hardly.
@Kes: I get round the lack of suggestiveness of polyness with the knowledge that in the culture they're in, they'd probably never consider it. Hell, Jem and Tessa managing to not find out what sex is, I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't know what poly relationships were. So I can forgive them. But if it was set on modern days I might want to scream in frustration at them slightly. :P
(Our eyes are placed on the front of our head because it is more important to look ahead than to look back..
*sighs half happily half sadly*)
@Star: Yeah, I know. Plus, they're mainstream enough that it would be really risky and publishers wouldn't allow.
But! My bae Hannah Moskowitz(who you would LOVE) is working on a book that is currently title less, but the tag she's been using to talk about it on Twitter is #polyamorousYA and I am so! Excited!
*ease stress
*facepalms*
@Sophia: Fairy nuff on the romance books point.
I don't read them for those reasons. But reading is different to writing.
And, @Sophia again, fairy nuff on that point too.
:/
But I like weakness in characters better than strength.
So
maybe that's where I'm going wrong. XD
@Kes: :( :( *hugs*
Everyone dies. It's sad they've tone, but better they came . . .
I think if things I gender aeen't female, as well, then they're more male than me . . . so they feel kind of male, and I guess my brain defaults their identity to male because of that . . . ?
Idek.
Why do I even read military stuff????
Dfhwjejdjowndwh
(*cuddles Jaimie tightly*)
Claire: Yep. I'm good. But you're not much taller than me.
Liliana: We're going.
(*shakes head*
One day..
One day..)
*hovers quietly, reading*
*interested*
:)
(*cuddles tightly back*)
I am right now.
*grins, pretending to drop her, catching her quickly, standing straight again*
Onwa: *sighs*
Why must we waste time?
(I rather like character weaknesses too. I think that weaknesses define people more than their strengths. Every single last one of my characters has limitations because of that.)
(*hugs Kas* You okay?)
@Kas: :( *hugs*
:) Hi, Taia.
@Sophia: :P That's what Brandon Sanderson says.
*I realise that 'things that are not female are closer to male than me' point is one that depends upon a rather linear perception of gender, but my brain unfortunately has one of those too.
(*holds Jaimie close*
I dedicate this page to Jaimie, because she is the best sister I can imagine.
I also dedicate this page to Star, because I rather enjoy her rants.)
Claire: *she smiles, cuddling against Silente* Hey. No dropping the one who just killed the goddess of death.
Liliana: Because I think it is important.
I wish to be part of this.....community.
Hey, Taia!
(Hear hear!
Hi Taia!)
@Loki: I thought you already were?
(Hello, Taia.)
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