My Fictional Crush

(Sorry for posting so late today, but today ended up being much busier than I expected. Without further ado, the post)

Some people crush on actors. Some people crush on people in real life (psh...that's overrated). Me? I crush on characters from books. When I was in middle school, my love darted between Jacen Solo and Wedge Antilles, both from the Star Wars universe. But in high school and beyond, my crush lies with one fictional man, Mat Cauthon.

Mat Cauthon from the Wheel of Time. General of the Band of the Red Hand. The player of the Horn of Valere. Prince of Ravens. Pretty much awesome. Unless of course, you've never made it past the first three books of the Wheel of Time. Then you're thinking "What? She likes that dagger-crazed freak?"

Yes, Mat gets off to a rough start in the Wheel of Time, but when I first started reading it the first 8 books were already out. I read them all in a relatively short period of time so I watched Mat develop from the possessed, treasure obsessed boy into the man who leads hundreds of men in battle (and wins).

Mat has many qualities that I actually do prize in a man. He's laid back, has a sense of humor, and a strong sense of responsibility (though his sense doesn't always line up with the other characters in the book). He is loyal to his friends and to his men.

However, there are a lot of qualities that Mat has that I would not appreciate in other men.

For one, he's such a player. And he's a gambler (though to be fair--is it really gambling if you know you're going to win?). He's a troublemaker and he curses a lot. None of these things are what I prize in a guy.

But I think they work very well as qualities of Mat, and they make me love him more. Probably this is because I am in his head. I know exactly what he's thinking when he does these things I don't like. However, its possible its a little bit of a bad boy complex. I have never liked real bad boys (honestly, badness is just unattractive), but Mat is mischievous, and a troublemaker/mischievous boy is my equivalent of a bad boy.

So there you have it. My confession. I adore Mat Cauthon of the Wheel of Time.

How about you guys? Anyone out there have a book crush?

My Favorite Fictional Couples

In the theme of love, today we're going to discuss my favorite fictional couples, the love stories and romances that make me feel warm and fuzzy.

I'm pretty honest with most people that I don't like romance novels; however, that doesn't mean I don't like romance. I just like romance that occurs in the greater plot of a novel. So here are my favorite couples, my top three romances in fiction.

Third Place: Vin and Elend
Book: The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson
Elend is a bookish lord's son. Vin is a tough street urchin. And yet, they are amazing together. I think one of the things I love about Elend and Vin is that they are so much better together than they are apart. Vin makes Elend strive to be the man he should, a lord who really can lead. Elend makes Vin less rough, wild, and street, a woman who can take care of not just herself but also care for others. They are better together than they are apart.

Second Place: Ella and Char
Book: Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levin
Honestly, when I want to read a good romance, I read Ella Enchanted. Most might think that's strange, since its a middle grade novel, but there is just something awesome and pure about Char and Ella's romance. Ella is a spunky girl who is trying to live with a ridiculously awful curse. She doesn't expect Char to save her, like so many traditional fairytale girls do, but expects to save herself. Char is a serious, responsibility driven prince who is doing everything he can to become the king he should be. And though Ella and Char can exist apart, like Vin and Elend, they are better together.

First Place: Meg Murry and Calvin O'Keefe
Book: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (and many many other books)
Meg and Calvin. What can I say about Meg and Calvin? Two genius misfits who found they weren't alone. Neither is perfect. Together they are an unstoppable team. And the best part? They grow up, get married, and have a ton of kids. They live happily every after, for realz. And that's awesome.

So how about you? Do you have favorite fictional couples? Who are they and why?

Valentines Day

I don't normally post non-Book Review posts on Mondays. I'm trying to stick firm to my Tuesday and Thursday schedule. However, today is a special day. I day I hold in esteem above all others.

That's right. It's my birthday.

Oh? Not what you thought I was going to say? Well, it's true. My birthday also corresponds to a ancient holiday of love*. In honor of that holiday, this weeks posts will be love themed. In the meanwhile, lets talk about the true meaning of this holiday: my birthday.

I really really really love my birthday. Some think its a little unnatural. And some find it odd since I generally complain about the placement of my birthday, mainly the day it is on. Having a Valentines birthday can really suck. It means your friends and family would rather not spend time with you on your birthday; they would rather spend time with their significant others. It means that sometimes they forget to get you anything, because they spent so much money on those very same significant others. And in general it just sucks.

But I still love my birthday, because my birthday is my day.

When I think about it, I blame my love of my birthday on being the third of four children. When you're in the middle and chronically younger than half your family, sometimes you can feel like you're not important or just a small cog in a large mechanism. For 364 (or 365 on Leap Year) days a year pretty much everyone is more important than I am. And I'm cool with that. I try not to be selfish. Other people are important. And other people have bigger, more important problems than I do. But on my birthday, for once, I get to be number one. Theoretically.

Theoretically, because my birthday is Valentine's Day, which is a holiday when people are supposed to focus on their romantically loved ones.

Since I can't fight Valentine's Day, I long ago embraced it. I've made it my holiday, my day, so that really when people celebrate with their loved ones, they're still celebrating me. Because it's my day.

And that's sort of appropriate. If you look at name meanings, the books will tell you that Amanda means beloved, but its more than that. In Latin if I say "Sum Amanda" I'm saying "I am Amanda" but I'm also saying "I must be loved." It's like a command.

So go out and celebrate your Valentine's Day. Enjoy it. Live it up. And remember, it's my day. :)

*To all the people out there who think Valentine's Day is just a made up holiday, look up Lupercalia. People have been celebrating love at around this date for over 2,000 years. So it may be made up, just not by Americans.

Love

This week love is in the air, for our very own, dear Miss Alisha is now engaged. (WOOOOOO!!!!) So in honor of this joyous occasion, I am posting about that most elusive thing: love.

Or at least, love as it applies to one of my characters in one of my novels.

I like to know where and how all my characters are going to end up, even if its not mentioned or particularly important in the story. Sure, my MC in Spirit Riddled is 12, but I know who she's going to marry when she grows up (I'm not telling!), what her career is going to be (and it's not just a gendarme), and how many kids she's going to have (not telling that either, so don't ask). It may seem extraneous, but knowing this future information helps me to know how to write Jess now. It helps me to know in the long run where she's going--to know the woman she is one day going to be--so I can write her more accurately at the age of 12.

However, as you may know from a previous post, Spirit Riddled is undergoing quite a few changes. Some of those changes involve the story line for the entire series. And these changes have affected the love life of one of my important characters.

Aaron Mage, Jess's guardian, is currently without a wife-to-be. He can't be an eternal bachelor, because he is going to have kids down the road, and those kids are important in the grand scheme of things (yes...I think too much). In order to have these kids, he needs a wife.

So today, I want you and me to work together to create a wife for the ever awesome Mage. Yes, this requires feedback and commenting. (I'm looking at you, Michael Gabriel, Jennifer, Alisha, Meredith, and others who have actually read Spirit Riddled). However, I don't want you to be left out if you haven't read Spirit Riddled, so here is a brief character description so you can join in the fun.

Name: Aaron Mage
Occupation: Royal Adviser
History: Mage started his life as a thief but has worked his way out of the streets. He is now the royal adviser. Like Jess (our MC) he has magical powers, but because society views those powers as caused by demons, he is much feared. He is extremely powerful, and at times seems to have unlimited powers (though that's not true). He has taken Jess off of the streets, introducing her to normal society. His goal is to make his nation accept magical people and to one day start a school for kids to learn how to handle their powers.
Attributes: Very intelligent. He connived and manipulated his way off the streets and basically taught himself how to read. Temper. In his younger years he was known for his temper but he's been working to control it. It still occasionally flares up. Stubborn. It's hard to make Mage change his mind once he's decided a course of action. Prideful. Arrogance characterized him in his youth, and though he's mellowed with age, its hard to not be prideful when you're pretty much awesome. Loyal to a fault. Once he's your friend, he will always be your friend--despite how bad you may treat him.
What he's looking for in a wife: someone who understands his passions and is not afraid to help him take children (like Jess) off the streets. She doesn't necessarily have to have powers, but she has to understand that despite his powers he's still human. She has to be willing to look beyond her society's norms and see that magic doesn't mean demon possessed. She has to be able to accept a more nontraditional view of family that accepts wards and adopted children.

So now it's your turn. Can you help me create a wife for Mage? What sort of attributes should she have? What position in society should she come from? What sort of career should she have? How has she overcome her society and fallen in love with Mage? Ok...you don't need to get that descriptive, but any ideas you guys can through out there to help me creative juices get flowing would be greatly appreciated.

What sort of woman would marry Aaron Mage?