The Time Has Come

As you can tell from reading my blog, I'm a bit of a hopeless blogger.  I'll be honest, I started it mainly because the "publishing world" said you should have a blog if you are an author.  But I'm on Facebook, Twitter and I have a website and I find it very hard to keep up with them all and write and run my business.

So after much deliberation I have decided to close the blog at the beginning of next year.  Thank you for following me, it has been a pleasure to talk with you but the time has come where I feel that I can no longer give my blog or you, the follower, the attention you both deserve.

I will still keep everyone updated on Facebook and Twitter.  My Website will be updated also.

So on that note, I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy and prosperous New Year.

Who's Who?

Okay, the time has come to have a little fun.  I'd be absolutely telling porky's (that's lies to my non-UK readers) if I said I never dreamed about having my books made into movies.  I think that every single author out there would want to see their imagination and stories come to life with real people on the big screen.  This can always go two ways, though.  The film company could make a complete pig's ear of it, like... no I won't mention the films about an angsty teenager and her sparkly boyfriend. Or make an undisputable awesome success of it, like Harry Potter.  But dreaming is all part of the creative process and us authors are nothing if not creative.

Anyway, getting back to business.  Over the past few months, since the Custodian series took off, I have had several readers contact me asking who I would cast for each character, and giving me their opinions who they think would be good actors to play the parts.

So without further ado I am going to list my favorites.  I haven't listed all characters because I just can't think of people for the smaller parts, ie Amy and Zoe, Uncle Leo and Nicki etc etc.

I would love to hear your comments.  Who would you like to see playing the various characters.  Most of mine are English actors, mainly because I'm a Brit and I know them better, and also because the stories are set in England.  But I am open to all suggestions, this is just for fun after all. 

Some of these suggestions are from my readers.  When they suggested the names, I instantly thought they'd fit very well.  So I can't take credit for the whole list :-)

Faedra - Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley from HP)

Faen - Bradley Jones (Arthur from Merlin BBC) or Sean Biggerstaff (Oliver Wood from HP, reader suggestion)

Jocelyn - Tamzin Merchant (Played Darcy's sister in Pride & Prejudice) Great minds think alike, Mandy :-)

Henry - Colin Firth (although maybe a bit old but he's my favorite actor)

The King - Gerard Butler or Sean Bean (reader suggestion)

Vivianna - Katie McGrath (Morgana from Merlin) or Mila Kunis (reader suggestion)

Draconis/Savu - Rufus Sewell or Jason Isaacs

Kernunnos - Patrick Stewart (reader suggestion) I like Sean Connery but I think he's too old now.

Etyran - Tommy Dunn, a Perry Ellis model.  I saw him in a magazine and Etyran was born.  He is the only character in my books for whom I had a face before I started writing.

Janessa - Emma Thompson (all other suggestion greatfully received)

Rowan - Liam Neeson or Ewan McGregor

Well those are all I have for the moment.  Please leave your suggestions in the comments section.  In the meantime I shall keep dreaming about that call from Warner Bros, or Paramount or... 

There are lots more new characters coming up in my 3rd book, The Cypher Wheel. 

Interview on The Fairytale Nerd

I was very kindly invited to do an author interview on The Fairytale Nerd.  Pop on over and take a look.

http://www.thefairytalenerd.com/2011/10/day-fifteen-of-31-days-giveaway-author.html#more

The Biggest Compliment

I just had to share this with everyone.  I walked into rehersals one night and had to do a double take when I walked past this young lady.  She is one of the young friends I have made this year while rehersing for The Wizard of Oz.  She was reading a copy of The Amulet when we started the rehersals.  It was a copy with the original cover (I have since changed it to the blue cover to run with the series).

She then took it upon herself to create a t-shirt of the book cover.  I was so flattered.  How cool is that?

This young lady is very creative and loves all things fantasy.  She even made a "Firebolt" from Harry Potter.  She did such a good job, she was asked to make the Witch's broomstick for our show.

Thanks for the compliment, Sydney!

Rhinestones and Lashes and Glue, Oh My!

I'm the one on the right :o)

Yesterday was the first full dress rehersal for the play I am in.  Anyone like to hazard a guess as to what it might be?  Anyway, I got to wear false eyelashes for the first time in my life.  Not only that, they were lined with rhinestones.  My eyelids have never looked so blingy!  You can't really see them in this pic, but I'm assured they look amazing under the stage lights.  My friend (standing next to me) was bound and determined that Glinda was going to sparkle, even on her eyelids. 

The best part is, I get to dress up like a fairy princess for several more dress rehersals and six performances.  Living in cattle country, I don't often get the chance to dress up really girlie and I'm lovin' it.

I'm an active member in our local theatre.  We are so lucky to have a real theatre in our tiny town.  I believe it was built in the 1920's.  But when I found out they were doing my favorite musical this year, I did everything, short of bribing the director, to get the part I was born to play.  Performances start next week and I'm so excited.

Being in the theatre surrounded by all that creative energy is something I relish.  I decided to give my writing a whirl during rehersals while not on stage. To my surprise the story just flowed with all that energy around me. I open up my laptop and my fingers just fly across the keyboard.

There's usually a fun anecdote or two to share during this time, also.  For example:

Something chuckle-worthy happened at rehersals on Monday.  I haven't lost any of my English accent, even after living in the States for 10 years, so playing the part of Glinda enables me to 'ham it up' a bit on stage.  Well, backstage I was talking to one of the Munchkin's mothers when a teenage lad (who obviously didn't know me) butted into our conversation with "You can stop talking like Glinda now, you're not on stage anymore."  When I told him "this is how I talk" he gave me a strange look and walked off.  I'm still not sure he believed me.

Do you have any all time favorite characters you would like to play?

Admission

Okay, I admit it, I'm a hopeless blogger!  It's been over a month since I shared anything with you.  But, in my defense I would like to state that in that time I have moved, been remodelling, having an addition built, rehearsing for the part of Glinda in The Wizard of Oz, been running my business, and, oh yes, let's not forget, writing the 3rd Custodian Novel.  Phew!  So I ask forgiveness if my blogging isn't up to par.  I'm not complaining, though.  I do admit all this stuff going on at once can get a little overwhelming but it's also very exciting.

But enough about my hectic life.  I would like to tell you the story of what happened when I was down in the dungeons of Norwich Castle (as promised).

To get to the dungeons you first have to walk through a room filled with all kinds of torture instruments *shudders*.  Then through a room where 'my' talking heads reside, along with a couple of cells with manequins in, just like I described in The Emerald Staff.

My guide was about to take me down into the actual dungeon when she noticed the lights were off.  I looked down the stairs leading to the god forsaken hole in the ground and it was black as pitch down there.  I really did shudder then.  My guide explained that the light switch was up in the guard's office and told me to stay where I was, while she went and turned them on. 

She left, leaving me all alone surrounded by cells and unsavory looking wax heads, which just got my imagination flowing.  After a moment I started to hear chains rattle and people moaning.  It was the most forlorn sound I'd ever heard.  Suffering and misery was apparent in the sounds resonating around the room.

The strange thing was I wasn't spooked.  My first thought was that the guide had turned on a CD while she was up in the guard's office to add to the atmosphere.  She had told me there would be a guided tour of the dungeons shortly after my private one. I just assumed they did that to give people a better idea of what it would have sounded like in the days where people were locked away and forgotten about.

A while later the guide returned and I mentioned to her how I thought the CD of moaning voices and rattling chains was an excellent idea.  She gave me a strange look and said, "We don't play any CDs down here."

Talking Heads

I thought you might like to meet Hardyman, Stafford, and Thomas from The Emerald Staff. If you look carefully, those aren't their real names but I chose names that were very close to actual. I decided against using their real names just in case a relative of their's is still living somewhere. These "unsavory looking characters" do actually reside in Norwich Castle. My friend, Lisa and I, decided over a cup of tea, that it would be a lot of fun to make them talk. I have to admit it was one of the most fun scenes to write.

I did do a little research on them, though, and found out some interesting stuff, provided what I found was actually linked to the persons to whom these heads belonged. You can never be 100% sure when they are so old.

Sorry I don't have a picture of Molly (not her real name, either) That would be something, to get a picture of her, but I'm assured her alter ego's ghost does roam the castle.

I'll have to tell you what happened to me when I was left in the dungeon room, where the heads are, (by myself, I might add) while the guide went to try and sort out the lights. It will probably give you goosebumps, so I'll leave that for my next post.