#difficult characters

 There’s Hashirama. I love him ever since Orochimaru Edo Tensei-d him for a second time in July of 2013 so Sasuke could ask him the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything. (or what shinobi and village means, same difference) Instead of telling him it’s 42, Hashirama sat down on the ground cross legged, ignoring a sulking Tobirama and a war waging on nearby and told Sasuke the story he always wanted to tell. It was about Madara, aka Gift of the Divine. He told a tragic love story, of two boys giving up on their honest dreams and feelings and making wrong decisions. How Sasuke made any kind of decision based on this story was always beyond me.

 When I write Hashirama, I tend to let him go on about Madara. He’s a happy character as long as Madara is around and he can ignore any problems. I like Hashirama’s blind faith in Madara and find it tragic how he let it (and generally all his light-hearted idealism) go when he was left with no other choice but kill him. But – that’s what we have fanfic for, to correct the mistakes these characters make in canon!

 Writing Hashirama is easy most of the time. He’s the one I relate to the most, so channelling his thoughts as I see them is a mostly straightforward job, whether I went for the happy-sunshine side or the darker I-would-kill-anyone-for-this-village one. (I have been asked if I hate Hashirama when I explored this dark part of him. No, I don’t.) He mostly does what I want him to do, and we can get from point A to point B in the plot. Maybe it takes longer than expected, as we take detours around how wonderful Madara is, but as long as it’s up to Hashirama, we get the job done.

I would be free to write all day long. 

If Ever I Should Love You: Spinster Heiresses #1 by Cathy Maxwell #NewRelease @AvonBooks @MaxwellCathy

Cathy Maxwell returns to the blog today with the first in a new series, the Spinster Heiresses and what a start this book is! Please read on for my review of

If Ever I Should Love You

Cathy Maxwell has managed to surprise and delight me with this new title – taking two characters who are far from the norm and unafraid to be wholly unlikable on first impression and yet, somehow, are difficult to…

This is Will: 

David knew he should be happy and join in the cheering, but he couldn’t shake the feeling of dread that was building in the pit of his stomach. He stared at the water for a long time, silently debating whether or not it would be better for him to just throw himself off the edge so he wouldn’t have to endure this. Ultimately, he decided that it wouldn’t be a pleasant way to die. Instead, he snuck a  glance at Tessa and, seeing her occupied, slipped away from the rail. He immediately collided with something warm and soft.

“Sorry,” he grunted.

“It’s all right,” a soft voice said in his ear.

David raised his eyes to look at the person he had run into and was met by a pair of blue grey eyes framed by extremely long eyelashes. He sucked in his breath; he had never seen such beautiful eyes before. They reminded him of the sea. They belonged to a boy David’s age. His facial features were thin and angular and very delicate, and yet there was something sensual about him. His dark hair was braided behind his head in a single plait that fell down his back to between his shoulder blades. David’s eyes traveled down the boy’s thin frame and he gaped at the boy’s outfit; a thin white tank top that showed off his navel, a pair of low-cut extremely tight jeans, and earrings in his left ear from the base all the way to the tip. He never dreamed of dressing like that; his parents would not approve.

“Hey,” the boy said, flashing David a smile that was all teeth. 

“H…hi,” David stammered.

“Aw, don’t be nervous. I don’t bite.” He gave David a wicked smile. “Unless you want me to.”

The only thing David could do in response was blush.

“David!” Tessa’s voice trilled in his ear as she suddenly appeared at his elbow. “There you are. I thought you had run off on me or something.”

Ha, I wish, David thought.

“No, I’m right here,” he said, forcing a smile.

“We’re going to explore the ship. Would you like to come?” Tessa said.

“I’d love to,” David said. “I’ll catch up with you in a minute, okay?”

“Okay!” Tessa said brightly. “We’ll be in the Starlight Lounge.”

David watched her bound off into the crowd and then pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to ward off the headache throbbing between his temples.

“So, your name is David, eh?” a voice murmured in his ear, causing him to jump.

His heart raced as he turned towards the boy again; he had completely forgotten he was here. They stood only inches apart and the boy’s breath was warm on David’s neck as the boy continued, “Nice to meet you. I’m Will.” He jumped again as Will’s soft lips brushed his lips for a light kiss. “See you around.”

Will gave him another wicked smile and sauntered off, leaving David feeling very bewildered with his hand on his cheek where Will kissed him.

Alright, so I’m about to go and finish my word count for the day in creepy Edmund’s POV. What better way to do that than listening to his playlist of seductive and manipulative songs?

*turns on and cringes instantly*

Yeah, so his playlist is the one that I have the most difficulty getting into. There are songs on there I legitimately like, but I find myself skipping through most of them like 85% of the time. Even though I would argue that they still pretty accurately describe the core of who he is.

Thankfully, I have no problems writing when listening to this song.

Pretty Girl by Sugarcult

Most meaningful lyrics: “It’s the way that he makes you feel/It’s the way he kisses you/It’s the way that he makes you fall in love.”

I’m not sure what to say about this choice. It spells out everything you have to know about this character without touching on the explicit details of how he does it. It’s also validating somehow, the singer constantly reminding me how awful Edmund is. It’s kind of nice in a sad way.