Ask Away

You guys are constantly PMing me on Goodreads asking about specific characters, so here's a way for you to ask them...specifically! (I am so lame lol). Anyway, to start things off, below is an "interview" with Luka, a new character if mine and the lead in the upcoming book, Beguiling Trickery. Then, after that, is one with Thayer from the Underworld series! People have started asking Hadrian things, so he's been answering!

Keep in mind, if you haven't yet read these books, there may or may not be spoilers. Nothing substantial, but figured I'd warn you anyway!

Have something to ask Hadrian, Ferris, Spencer, Bane, Shia, etc.? Go for it! :)



Ask Luka:

1.) How do you see yourself?

As awesome. Maybe a bit cunning, if I'm being honest, which I so rarely bother with.

2.) What are some of your hobbies?

Screwing with people. Other than that, I don't really have time for hobbies. I'm too busy chasing after this one particular girl. Annoying.

3.) Do you have a sense of humor?

I'm all humor. Period.

4.) Are you right or left handed?

That's a stupid question, but left. Obviously.

5.) What do you have in your pockets?

Wouldn't you like to know?

6.) When, and where were you born?

A long time ago. And not here.

7.) Were you popular as a kid?

Define popular. Everyone knew my name, anyway. But I pissed most of them off...

8.) What is your best memory?

An encounter with a volur.

9.) What is your worst memory?

An encounter with a volur.

10.) Who are your friends?

I wouldn't call Odin my friend, but I wouldn't call him my enemy either. That about sums it up.

11.) What's your most treasured memory?

The first time I met Kenna. I had no idea what would end up happening between us.

Ask Thayer:

1.) Are you generally introverted, or extroverted?

Introverted.

2.) If you could choose, how would you want to die?

I am Death. I can't die.

3.) What is your most valued possession?

My polaroid camera.

4.) How close are you to your family?

We all live in the Underworld, so close. I suppose we get along well enough most of the time.

5.) Are you prone to arguing, or avoiding conflict?

People are prone to avoiding conflict with me.

6.) Are you spontaneous?

Spontaneity can get you killed.

7.) What are three words that best describe you?

I. Am. Death.

8.) If you had to choose one person to be stranded with, who would it be?

The Ferryman Grim. He annoys me less than almost everyone else I know. But I might end up killing him anyway if we're stuck there for too long.

9.) What three words would someone else use to describe you?

He. Is. Death.

10.) What is your type romantically?

Blondes.

11.) If you could have one chance to undo something, what would it be?

Probably falling for my brother's girlfriend and starting a war that killed hundreds of my people. That, or the time I tried kale. Actually, maybe that second one. Remind me never to take food advice from Hypnos again.



Ask Hadrian:

1.) What was the most interesting encounter you had with another god, besides your brother?

There was one with a couple of love gods...but I don't think I'm supposed to talk about that, seeing as how it was removed from Unbound. BUT I can talk about the time Hephaestus made the moves on me. That was pretty interesting. Unfortunately for him, he wasn't my type. I still got the invisibility helmet he promised to make me though, just for a regular favor, as opposed to a carnal one.

2.) What's your favorite flavor of coffee?

Who says I drink coffee? Just kidding. Of course I do. Caramel.

3.) Are you friends with the trickster god?

No. In fact, if they had souls I'd send my brother after him and then lock him in Tartarus. Actually, I have tried to do that. It didn't stick. Despite being a total jerk, he's got friends in high places. Really high. Like, another planet high.  

4.) Which living person to you most admire?

Why do they have to be living? All the people I admire are dead. Except for maybe a particular Gravewalker. Let's rewrite the question. Which DECEASED person do I most admire? That would be Plato. We speak often.

5.) How do you deal with stress?

Poorly.

6.) What's something you aren't good at?

Is that a joke?

7.) Do you have any allergies?

Why? Hoping to poison me?

8.) What is your full name?

Hadrian "Hades" Hale.

9.) Who is your worst enemy?

It's a tie between Persephone who wants something she can't have, and Micah St. James, who has something I want. I hate them both, so they're both enemies.

10.) If you could have one wish, what would it be?

That I never met Persephone at the river, probably.

11.) For you and Ferris: Do you guys sleep?

Ferris: Like around?
I  don't think that's what she meant.
Oh, then yes....and yes. Until I met Quinn, of course.
Basically, yes, we sleep. We just don't need to often. We mostly do it to help pass the time. Dreaming, that's a different story. We can dream with a little help from Hypnos and Morpheus but otherwise...

12.) What's your biggest pet peeve?

Gravewalkers. Just kidding. Sort of. My biggest pet peeve is when someone says the name Micah. 


Ask Lily:

1.) What is your greatest strength?

My friends. They've always got my back, even when I'm leading them across the country or into faery infested realms.

2.) Are you an optimist, or a pessimist?

I'm an optimistic realist. Acceptance is key...just takes some time getting there.

3.) What's your favorite food?

I love pizza. Who doesn't live pizza? (Think they'll have some in Sidhe or Bevain?)

4.) Do you feel responsible for anyone besides yourself?

...I feel responsible for everyone. I'm the Dreamer, remember? Stupid prophecy.

5.) You're the first girl who's been asked a question. How do you feel about that?

Awkward, actually.

6.) Describe your ideal vacation.

Probably somewhere loud, loud enough that I can't hear myself, or my friends for that matter, think. And somewhere that will keep me up all night! No having to worry about dream visitors if I'm awake! Maybe visiting a place during a huge event or holiday, so like, New Orleans during Mardi Gras, or if Breck and Bran want to get away too, Beijing on Chinese New Years. Basically, I'd want to dance the night away and think about nothing and no one.



Ask Ferris (aka Charlie):

1.) What is your favorite memory as a Reaper?

Definitely wearing a cowl to hide my skeleton head as my boat magically rows itself--super creepily slow--down the river.

Just kidding. I really liked being around in the 1920s. As a Ferryman I live forever, and those were fun times. I was often too hungover to do my job properly...but let's keep that part between us. What Hadrian never knows won't hurt me. ;)

2.) What's the hardest part about being a Reaper?

Starting out caring that you're watching everyone around you die, and then slowly realizing pretending you don't is part of the job description. Why do you think Ferrymen tend to turn towards sarcastic humor? Grim and I are both mirror examples. 

3.) How long can you stay away from the Underworld?

As long as I need to. I live there, but I'm not bound to it. Plenty of Ferrymen live topside, actually. Being that I'm Hadrian's righthand, however, I tend to remain below. When I'm not off doing my job, of course.

4.) What's the number one thing you value above anything else in the world?

Loyalty. Not really a thing, in the literal sense, but that's it.  Being that I've lived for a very long time, I've seen a lot of betrayal. Loyalty is rare, and definitely something to be valued.  

5.) What's the hardest thing you've ever done?

If I told you, I'd have to reap you. ;)


Ask Tempest: 

1.) If you could live in any book, which would it be, and why? 

This sort of depends...Does any book mean an entire book series? Or just one book specifically? And if I lived in that book, would I still be completely myself, or would I also have cool powers/abilities like the other characters in said book? Because, while I'm not a huge fan of the Harry Potter books (please don't kill me!) it would be cool to live in them IF I got to be a witch. If not, then blah. Or Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey world. If I could be a faery from that universe, I'd totally be into living there. If I was still just me though, I wouldn't even know faeries exist so then it would be sort of pointless. Sorry, I picked apart this question too much. ;) Honestly, I can't think of a stand alone novel that I'd want to live in...All of my favorites that don't belong to series are books like, Wuthering Heights, Life of Pi, The Road, etc., none of which would be a very pleasant living place so....We'll stick with the series. Hopefully that counts. 

2.) If you could spend the day with anyone, dead or alive, who would you spend it with and why?

I'm not really the kind of fan that likes meeting celebrities. They're just people, after all, only with much cooler/exciting lives currently. Though if I had to pick someone, it would be Ed Sheeran. I'm a huge fan, and he get's to travel and see a lot of cool things and meet a lot of other cool people. But I wouldn't want to do some random meet and greet type situation, if that makes sense...

3.) Can you name some of your favorite authors?

I picked up my first Nora Roberts book when I was thirteen, and while I'd been reading my whole life, it was mostly picture/chapter books up until then. She really got me interested in exploring different genres and types of writing, so hands down she's one of my favorites. Another is Sherrylin Kenyon--I used to be obsessed with the earlier Dark Hunter books, and Gena Showalter. I also love Julie Kagawa, Jennifer Armentrout, and Walt Whitman. It's a bit odd though, because my favorite books were written by other authors... I'm a conundrum. :/

4.) Top 5 all-time favorite books?

-Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.
-The Road by Cormac McCarthy.
-Life of Pi by Yann Martel.
-A Sicilian Romance by Ann Radcliffe.
-Nevermore by Kelly Creagh.

*Walt Whitman is seriously one of my favorites though. His poem, To You, is amazing.*

Ironically, I read a TON OF TEEN FICTION and ROMANCE, yet these books, which are for the most part in the literary fiction genre, are my all time favorites that I could pick up and read any time any where.


5.) If you could spend the day with any character in one of the books you wrote, who would it be and why?

Crap, that's tough. I love all of my characters, and it'd be really cool to meet any one of them. I think really though it'd be a tie between two. I'd want to meet either Hadrian or Ronan. Hadrian, because he'd have to let me tour the Underworld (I did create him, after all) and I could hopefully convince him to let me visit some of the people there, maybe some I know. In a less morbid/depressing answer, it would be Ronan, because he's so twisted and dark and complex. I'd love to pick his brain in person. Plus he's gorgeous. There's that. So, yeah, either Hadrian or Ronan. I'd be fine with either.

6.) What are your beliefs on what happens to us when we die?

I definitely believe there's something that comes after this, that whole "energy can't be destroyed" thing. I'm not sure I believe in a traditional heaven though, certainly not one with cherubs and pearly white gates, but definitely another place separate from this one. I also without a doubt believe in a hell. Is it all fire and brimstone? Probably not, but it's got to be horrible, right? I mean, it's hell. It would suck if it was like, say, the river of woe or something equally terrifying, but I don't really think it's Tartarus or the underworld the way the Greeks believed. So...I definitely believe in something after, and hopefully it's something good and heaven-like.

7.) Does music inspire your writing, and if so, do you have a playlist?

I used to do this thing where I posted specific playlists for the books I wrote, but I took them down because no one really seemed all that interested. So, yes, I LOVE music, and it does often inspire me, not just during my writing but with pretty much all other aspects of my life and art (I also draw, do photography, and write music/poetry. I used to sing in a "band" but you could barely call it that. Actually, if you're curious, you can check out my instagram: @TempestDraws). I have loads of playlists, but for the most part when I'm working I like to keep things condensed. A lot of the times I'll either put the same album on repeat, or I'll just place a single song on repeat, that way there's music in the background, but I'm not getting distracted from my writing. Like I said, I love music, so as much as it inspires me, it can also distract me. I'll start staring off into La-La-Land listening to a song and realize I lost four minutes I could have been writing. I also have extremely eclectic tastes. I pretty much love all genres.

What about you guys? What type of music do you listen to?

8.) What is your writing process like?

Generally, I just sit down and let my fingers do the "walking". I plan a little, so that I have a rough idea of a concept and what I want the story to be about, though that sometimes changes along the way. My NaNo book this year, for instance, was supposed to have an element of the paranormal, however that got wiped away real quick. It just didn't flow with the story or the rest of the characters. With Unhinged, the book actually started out as a rough concept about a girl wanting to get her boyfriend back but falling for a new guy in town. This guy was not Hadrian Hale, and had no relation to Hades or Greek mythology at all. In fact, his name was Tate, and other than being an open-minded weirdo, there wasn't anything supernatural about him. I can't tell you exactly when the story decided to change, but somewhere on the first page I already knew it had. Then I created a new character and a new concept and let the rest go from there. I try not to over plan anything. The best thing about writing is when the characters take control and end up saying and doing things that even surprise me. If everything is plotted and planned out, then it feels like I'm confining them, and therefore confining my creativity. Sometimes I listen to music when I write, but I'll try to keep it on the same album or song to keep from being distracted. And I never force it (except when it's NaNoWriMo time!) So some days I'll end up writing over 6,000 words, and other's I won't write anything. I might even go days without writing a single line, then come back and bash out five chapters. It really depends on when inspiration hits me. At times, I'll even keep more than one project going so that if I hit a wall with one, I can move onto another until the writers block is gone. I currently have 8 unfinished projects, for example.

Sorry, my answers are always massively extensive.

9.) What's a character of yours you had to give up, or leave out of a book because they just didn't work?

I've got a few. A lot of the times I'll try to save them and then move them over to another story, or I'll drop them off at the Adoption Society page on NaNoWriMo.com (which is a great place to pick up new ideas and new characters if you're ever blocked!). I've had entire books that just fell through chock full of characters. A few of them I've even gotten pretty far into. My senior thesis, for instance, was over fifty pages of a paranormal novel I've never finished, and I started a book back in High School for a contest (which I won) and have dabbled in that, adding more chapters here and there etc, ever since, yet have no intention of ever completing and getting out there. I also have one about demons and sirens from Greek lore, which was started before Unhinged was ever a concept in my mind. I might eventually get back to that, as the main male character, Shilling, is probably one of my all time favorites. Then there's Rover, who originally intended for the Underworld Saga and is a Reaper. I posted him to the Adoption forum when I realized I had too many Reapers to juggle already. I might end up bringing him back later on, maybe in one of the novellas or in the Trickster Trilogy somewhere. Who knows. There's Tate, who I mentioned in my previous question response, and recently, Cage. He was intended to be a golem in my NaNo book, The Grief Thief, however, after writing the first two chapters I realized that the story wouldn't work with an unexplained supernatural element. I had to remove him and now the book is a plain old Teen Romance, which I've never done before. There's always an element of paranormal, supernatural, or Sci-Fi in one of my stories, so as you can imagine I'm trudging along through The Grief Thief now. But Cage is definitely someone I want to hold onto for future use. I'm just not sure where I'd use him yet. Maybe he'll even get his own book, something I'll develop around him. I still want to write something with a golem, so there's a chance anyway.

Actually, ironically, a publisher wanted me to drop either Syd or Quinn from Unhinged when they read it because they said having two wasn't necessary. I thought about it, almost did it, and then decided not to. The story I wanted would have been drastically changed if I'd taken away one of them!


10.) What's your favorite holiday tradition?

Probably picking a tree for Christmas. We don't get ours until around the 16th of December, but then we always go out and pick a tree together. No plastic for us! I always love doing that. The decorating I'm not as into anymore, but we still cover it in tinsel which is fun. I also love Thanksgiving. We always do just the family and my dad cooks.

11.) What's another career besides, or with writing, you'd like to be doing?

Up until the sixth grade I thought I was going to be an artist, an equally low paying, hard to break into job. I've always been really into art though, and growing up that was always something my parents told me I was going to be. I guess as another career I'd like to be doing that. If writing didn't work out, and I got to do it, then sure. The only thing is I really only like drawing what I feel like, so while I do commissions and stuff, it's not as enjoyable. I guess another cool job would be acting. I'd love to be an actress. If I couldn't write the stories, at least I'd be able to "live" through them! 

12.) What was the hardest character for you to write?

Fortunately, I'm one of those authors whose characters tend to write themselves. I don't usually have to force anything, or even over plan a characters personality, etc. Half the time, I don't even plan their basic features, like whether or not they're blonde or have green or blue eyes. Those details usually end up popping in there when they're needed without me having to put much thought into it. That being said, it's really hard for me to think up a character that was difficult. A book in its entirety, that's something different. The book I was writing for NaNoWriMo this year, for instance, completely got away from me. The Characters were all cooperating, but the story line itself just got out of hand. I suppose if I really had to choose a character though, I'd probably have to go with Quinn, from the Underworld. She wasn't hard to write, per say, but it was hard trying to work her into the story more. Syd sort of decided to take center stage in the second and third book, so when I was doing edits I had to go in there and make sure to give Quinn more face-time. She just didn't really want to interact with anyone, which made it a bit hard. Really though, that's not that big of a deal.

13.) Out of all the books you've written which one did you find the most challenging!

There's a book that I wrote last year and haven't published (I might never publish it in fact) called Ulalume. That was by far the most difficult book I've ever written. I don't usually read back a project until it's finished, but with that book I started and scrapped everything at least five times before I finally found a foothold. The first draft is still pretty messy, and it deals with some heavy issues. Because of that it was difficult to get the characters right, and not pour too much anger or grief into them.