#arienna

Shadow Puppets: Describe at least three characters in your project, using only 1-2 sentences for each. Arienna: A gentle young noblewoman who doesn't know her own worth.

Thalia: A rebellious tomboy who longs for adventure and gets more than she bargained for. (Arienna's cousin.) Luke: A big brother and young soldier who doubts himself, and who hides his own pain by taking care of others and making them laugh. (Thalia's older brother and Arienna's oldest cousin.) Jason: A charming young rogue with big ambition, who wants to be powerful, admired, and feared.

Bran: A wanderer and exile with a sweet smile and a kind heart. Arden: A cheerful, motherly young woman who is always ready to help her friends or stand up against enemies.

Roger: A tall, broad-shouldered, quietly strong man, a loving father, and the lord of a small northern province. (Arienna's father.)

Marcus: A gruff, hardened commander of soldiers, who hides a heart that fiercely loves his family. (Thalia's father.)

Merryth: A sharp-tempered, red-headed mother who prides herself on being a prim and proper lady. (Thalia's mother and Roger's sister.) Lady Bethan: A wise, compassionate older woman who is the local healer and a mentor to the other characters.

Daeren: A young squire and lord's heir who worries about morality and the rules of chivalry. (Arienna's older brother.)

7. …has a physical disability.

Fictional representation for disabilities and chronic illness is something that is very important to me, but I didn't intentionally include it in my series. It just happened. Arienna deals with a debilitating, severe, incurable, life-threatening illness. It affects her daily life and ability to function. It also affects her future and prevents her from living the life she would have wanted. I relate to this deeply, since I have severe chronic illnesses and disability as well. Arienna's experience probably came out of my own, though hers is worse than I first thought. 8. …has a mental disability.

I decided to join in the Chesterton Challenge, answering the prompt "Letter." It gave me the motivation to write a letter I'd been meaning to write for years, from one of my original characters to another, at a certain point in their book series. It was fun to explore their daily life between books and to see how they'd express (or hide) what they felt about each other at that point in the story.

4. what is your favourite line you wrote this year?

That's a hard question, since most of my writing is outlining instead of drafting, and I don't usually keep track of which lines are my favorite. I'm going to go with a line from an unpublished poem instead of a novel. I found it while reading my journal last night. My poem is titled "Midas." Here's my favorite line: I keep my feet on the earth and watch the world take flight

While around me, with beauty, the world burns.

5. what is your favourite book/story/poem you read this year?

Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell and Chase the Legend by Hannah Kaye. 12. if your character(s) had their own new years resolutions, what would those be?

Rules: Answer the above question using a scale from 1-10 and include context!

Thanks for the tag, @freenarnian! It's taken me forever, but I didn't forget. This should be interesting to explore.

Arienna, 7/10: She's affectionate with the right people, but she can be a little aloof and distant. She's very sweet, and she is willing to give and receive affection with her family, especially her father, Roger, and a few other people. But often she puts up walls when she's feeling vulnerable, instead of seeking out affection. Sometimes people perceive her as existing in another world, a little bit remote and inaccessible. When she's in that sort of mood, she's less huggable.

Thalia, 6/10: She's very affectionate with a very small number of people--the few family members with whom she acknowledges love and loyalty. But to everyone else, she would be extremely prickly, wild, and easily angered. Later in the series, she changes and becomes a healthier person who is very physically and emotionally affectionate. She's more well-adjusted and happy all-around, in that season.

Roger, 7/10: He can be very affectionate and warm, even though he outwardly appears to be a tough, unemotional type. In fact, physical affection is the only way he feels comfortable giving and receiving affection and warmth--though now that he's a veteran father, he pushes himself to do it in other ways as well, for the sake of his family. He would probably initiate affection only when it seems like it's needed and welcomed, but when people need it, he gives affection.

Luke, 10/10: He's at the top of the cuddle scale. Luke is the big brother who is always ready with a hug, a grin, a joke, and a kind word. And he gives the best hugs.

Bran, 8/10: Bran has been alone in the world for much of his life, but when he has people in his life to be affectionate with, he can be very affectionate. He tends to be reserved in public and warm in private.

Jason, 1/10 -> 9/10: Jason begins the series in a dark place, surrounded by a cold and hostile environment. It's been years since he was loved or had anyone to love. He's tried to become emotionless and cold to avoid pain. He's definitely not cuddly. (Besides, hugs are uncool.) But deep down he needs healing and love. Later, he grows and heals, and he slowly warms up and begins to receive love. At first, love and affection surprise him, and he doesn't know what to do. He reacts awkwardly, and he's stiff and uncomfortable. But he learns to receive affection and re-learns to give affection as well. He becomes very affectionate and even happy. A healthy Jason is very affectionate. Bethan, 9/10: The soft, warm, wise surrogate mother everyone needs. Not everyone has a hugging relationship with her, but she'd welcome anyone with affection if they needed and wanted it.

Marcus, 2/10: He's the tough, crusty type who is usually not affectionate. However, his papa wolf tendencies include a fierce love and affection for his family. He is affectionate with his wife Merryth and his children, Thalia and Luke.

Merryth, 3/10: Merryth can be harsh and prickly, but she might be affectionate if she was in the right mood. She values efficiency and perfection, and she probably doesn't make time to give and receive affection most days. She can be affectionate with her husband if she's in the right mood, but she's not a very affectionate mother most of the time.

I was trying to come up with a different, unique URL that I hadn't used before, partly for anonymity on Tumblr and partly because my long-time URL on other sites was unspellable. I tried a dozen different URLs for Tumblr, frantically trying to get one that wasn't taken, and this was the first one that worked.

As for the meaning... I could tell you it's a reference to Lucy Pevensie. I wouldn't be lying. But that was a double meaning I noticed only after I chose the URL for another reason. A reference to Queen Lucy the Valiant and her cordial is almost a disguise for a different meaning.

This is the only one of the numbered books in my main series that really has a code name or tag line. It started out as a novella, so I call it Book 2.5. But it's really the third book in the series.