Entry #5: All Hallows Write

October 13, 2017

Rules: 1. Give a brief description of your novel before proceeding 2. Do not use the same character for more than 2 answers

Description of my novel, Jack:Rise of Faerie Jack is a young Warden; a man trained by The Academy to destroy Unseelie. The menacing, dangerous creatures are roaming the city streets of Vancouver, and they have deviated from their normal routine of sifting through dumpsters or stalking people with the intent of devouring them. Now the Unseelie are hunting Wardens, and the body count is rising.

Rivers, the old headmaster of The Academy, suspects a snitch in the school. Someone is trading information with the Unseelie. The Headmaster recruits Jack to return to his old school to help them find the traitor. When Jack finds himself walking the same halls he did as a teenager, he realizes things behind closed doors at the school are just as bad, if not worse, as they were during his own studies. It soon becomes obvious that things are not quite as they seem.

As the bodies start piling up, and people Jack thought he had stopped caring about need his help, he must decide if he is willing to put his life on the line. He is the most formidable Warden The Academy has ever trained. Even though he never graduated, he is a force to be reckoned with, and he alone is the only one powerful enough to put a stop to this whole charade- but it might cost him more than his life. It might cost him everything he thought he knew, and then some.

1. It’s Halloween night, what is your protagonist dressed up as? Jack is an isolated (lonely, really), sarcastic, too-cool-for-school kind of guy. Convincing him to dress up for Halloween would be like pulling teeth. If he was forced (in other words, if the girl he has had a thing for over the last couple years- Jenny- pleaded with him enough) he would probably do something simple and irritatingly witty. Like slapping a name tag on his chest that said ‘Bob’. He would parade around pointing at his chest and declaring himself as ‘Robert’ for the night strictly to irritate his date. Poor Jenny.

2. Who in your cast refuses to dress up and shows up at the Halloween party without a costume? This one goes to Veronica, also known as Vee. She’s a badass Warden, just like Jack, but she takes everything very seriously. While Jack would eventually be able to make a joke out of the evening, Veronica would arrive in her classic long sleeve black V-neck, black leggings, black boots, and black jacket. Her lips and nails would be red, and she would stand in the corner with a glass of wine quietly judging all the other guests for their costumes. They’re all adults, after all. And parties are so childish. Especially with people dying every other week. Fools.

3. Which character wears the most outrageous costume, and what would it be? Definitely Maurelle. She’s a sassy, beautiful Fae from the Queen’s Seelie Court. She also has a thing for Jack, despite how confusing she finds him to be. She would probably arrive dressed as her enemy, one of those of the Unseelie Court. She would find it hilarious, but all other attendees at the party would be put off by her poorly timed humour. The Unseelie have been killing everyone’s friends, after all. Jack would probably pull her aside to quietly tell her that her costume was his favourite- regardless of the fact that it was in poor taste.

4. On Halloween, werewolves, zombies, and vampires are on the prowl. Which of your characters gets caught in their clutches, and which creature do they subsequently turn into? That would have to be Nate. He’s a goofy seventeen year old kid who is in his final year of studies at The Academy. He’s a bit naive and believes in people a little too much, so he would easily be tricked by a seductive female vampire. All she would have to do is smile and wink at him, and he’d follow her into the bathroom, or dark alley, firmly believing that he was about to get lucky. Four minutes later he’d have her fangs in his neck and be well on his way to becoming a vamp himself.

5. Who wins the contest for best costume? Nate would probably take the cake for this one too. He would throw on a pair of dark jeans, dark boots, a black T-shirt, and an old leather jacket. He would walk around the party with his hair an untamed mess and his forehead permanently creased in a scowl, and people wouldn’t even have to ask what his costume was: he would dress up as Jack. And Jack wouldn’t find it funny at all.

6. Who hands out toothbrushes to the trick or treaters? Old man Rivers, the Headmaster at The Academy. He’s a sour guy who doesn’t condone fun. He would put toothbrushes in kid’s baskets/bags/pillowcases/etc just to be an ass. And to remind them that he owns them. You know, because he’s a nice guy.

7. Which two of your characters decide to pair up and do an Angel & Devil costume together? Marx and Stevens. They are some of Jack’s oldest friends from when they were all kids at The Academy, and in the ten years since they graduated, they have been inseparable. Marx is a grumpy guy who isn’t too keen on Jack being back at the school, and makes his feelings known, while his boyfriend Stevens is eager about the idea of the three of them becoming friends again. Stevens would be the mastermind behind the costume, and only after days (or weeks) of sucking up and begging, would Marx ever agree to go to a party dressed as a devil. But, eventually he would concede and Stevens would be victorious. And, at the party, Jack would constantly remind Marx how stupid he looks. He would also probably stand between them all the time and make endless jokes about having a devil on one shoulder and an angel on another. No one would laugh except for Stevens (and Veronica when no one was looking).

8. Someone is too scared to even attend the Halloween party. Who is it? This would be Jesse, also known in the book as ‘Small-Bladder’ (a name bestowed upon her by Jack himself. If you want to know why, you have to read it when it comes out!). She is a permanent stress case who is intimidated by the littlest of things, and attending a Halloween party seems like she would just be asking for trouble. Instead, she would stay in her room at The Academy and relish in the solitude of not having her roommates around. She would probably spend the time studying. She takes herself very seriously.

9. Who overdoses on Halloween candy and ends up sick? Reggie. He’s another Warden at The Academy. He’s a kiss ass to old man Rivers and he’s terrified of Jack. He would probably be deliberately avoiding Jack the whole time by hanging out at the snack table and stress eating.

10. Which character would most likely place a curse or a hex on someone… and who would they curse? Maurelle would most definitely rise to the occasion of placing a hex on someone. She is Seelie, after all, and games and tricks are her favourite pastime. She would struggle with choosing only one person to hex. She would want to hex Jack more than anyone, but they are on thin ice and she wouldn’t want to damage their ‘friendship’ any more than she already has. So she would probably pick someone she knew Jack didn’t like, like old man Rivers. She would hex him into doing something embarrassing all night long- like singing Halloween songs in place of the band, which he would dismiss impatiently with the wave of his hand. She would make sure Jack knew that the whole thing was her doing, and since he’s so ‘mature’, she would win brownie points for it. Jack would probably pull up a chair front row and throw popcorn/candy bars/whatever was on hand at the old man while he sang.

That was so much fun! I haven’t done a writing tag before, and doing one that was Halloween themed seemed so fitting for right now. Each answer is very true to what each of my characters are like. If you choose to do this tag, please send it to me somehow! You can go to the contact me page to send it to me via email, or you can tag me in Instagram or Twitter! I would love to read them!

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Until next time, XOXO Rebecca