The Mystery Blogger Award

 I was nominated by Maith at Maith's Musings and Vanya at Chirps of a Forest Bird thank you so much, Maith and Vanya. 😊

                                                                    The Logo: 

The rules: 

1) Display the award logo on your blog.

2) Mention Okoto Enigma, the creator of the award.

3) Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link to their blog.

4) Answer 5 questions from the blogger who nominated you.

5) Tell your readers 3 things about yourself.

6) Share the link to your best post.

7) Nominate 10 – 20 bloggers and notify them that they are nominated.

8) Ask your nominees 5 questions of your choice, including 1 weird or funny question.

9) Continue the chain!!

Three facts about me: 

1. What inspired me to start writing Fantasy was Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal, J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, as well as Nesbit's writing. And what inspired me to write Gothic Horror were the authors Washington Irving, Mary Shelley, Shirley Jackson, and Oscar Wilde. 

2. I've been drawing and creating stories since I was little. I used paper dolls to play out story-lines. The paper dolls would usually be princesses or mermaids, and I drew them myself. 

3. My favorite Greek goddess is Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, and my favorite Norse god is Loki, god of mischief. 

My Best Post(s): 

I'm going with the posts I had the most fun making and am dividing them into categories. I've done this because my favorite post is different and wouldn't really show the whole blog itself, but instead just a part of it. 

Acting and improv: 

But Soft What Light Through Yonder Window Breaks? and 

Phoenix and Annabelle Get Interviewed For a Villainous Job 

Reviews: 

Play Review: Frankenstein 

Animation: 

Pandora's Box (Animation Project): Scriptwriting, Storyboarding, and Concept Art.

Writing: 

The Fairies or the Faylena (short story). 

Drawing: 

Using Polls to Create Art #1 

(Though singing and songwriting is a thing that I intend to do on this blog, I do not have a post featuring it yet. However, I may have one in the future....) 

Maith's questions: 

If you could travel back in time, which era would you visit? 

(Image from Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenon#/media/File:Akropolis_by_Leo_von_Klenze.jpg)

There are many many different eras in different parts of the world I'd love to visit--way too many to include in an answer to this prompt. But I'll go with a single answer for this: I'd visit Ancient Greece. And I probably would visit the Parthenon and other ancient temples if I went there. 

Which superpower would you like to have and why? 

I've always wanted to be able to shape shift. It just sounds like such an awesome power to have. I mean, I could shape shift into an animal and do things I wouldn't be able to do as a human. 

Also, I may have always wanted this power ever since I read a book about a prince who was cursed to turn into a bird at the most inconvenient times. While it may have been a curse for him, it would be a gift for me. 

What is your biggest and greatest achievement till now? 

I'd have to answer with two things: First, finishing my first draft of The Mystery of the Body Thief, and second, getting into a theatre company that helped me learn more about Shakespeare and acting in general. 

The one book you could read over and over is _____. 

(Images from Goodreads, here and here)

Two books fit this perfectly. One is Igraine the Brave, and the other is The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. I have read both books many times, over and over again, because they are both so good. 

Which artist would you never get tired of listening to? 

Erutan and Karliene. That's two answers, but I usually listen to their music when I write. Their songs are usually covers of music from TV shows, movies, and video games, though they do write their own original songs, which generally have a Fantasy or Gothic feel to them. Also, Karliene writes about women in history. 

Would you rather experience the formation of the universe or the end of the universe? 

The formation. It would be neat to see the Big Bang happen and see the planets form. It would be such an exciting experience. 

                                   Vanya's questions: 

                       What are your all time favorite books?

This is a very tough question, but I'll create a list of books that are my favorite: 

Fantasy- 

The Voyage of the Basset 

Igraine the Brave 

We Goddesses: Athena, Aphrodite, Hera 

Lord of the Rings 

The Hobbit 

Gothic-

Frankenstein 

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow 

Coraline 

We Have Always Lived in the Castle 

The Picture of Dorian Gray 

Epic Poetry- 

The Iliad and The Odyssey

The Journey to the West 

And there are others, but I decided not to include all of them.  Because that would probably take up most of the blog post. 

                                          What is your biggest dream ever?

I long to open my own film company and make my own movies that way. That will be difficult to do, but I think it would be really neat.  I also want to act in my own film version of Hamlet, as Hamlet, and I want to make film adaptations of my novels--acting in them (as one of the characters) and directing them. 

                             What is your favorite thing to do in free time? 

I do acting, singing, songwriting, drawing, animations, and writing--pretty much everything I blog about on here. I also do yoga, mediation, doll customization, and photography. 

                                                     Who is your inspiration?

(Image from Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gates_McFadden#/media/File:Gates_August_2016.jpg)

For acting it has to be Gates McFadden (who acted in Star Trek: The Next Generation as Dr. Crusher). She was the person who inspired me to do acting. 

(Image from Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_William_Waterhouse#/media/File:John_William_Waterhouse_001.jpg)

John William Waterhouse inspires my artwork. And Cartoon Saloon (the creators of Song of the Sea, Wolf Walkers, etc.) inspire my animation. 

Erutan, Karliene (who were mentioned previously), and Johann Sebastian Bach inspire my music. 

And the authors who inspire my creative writing vary depending on the genre. 

Would you rather spend a day in home without doing anything or in some old fort?

   Is the fort haunted? What time period is it from? And what area of the world is it in? Either way, yes I'd go to the old fort and go ghost hunting in it. Maybe stay in it over night and see if I'd see any ghosts. 

I nominate: 

Meri Greanleaf 

McKayla

Maya 

Jasmine 

Jan 

Annika 

and anyone who wants to do it. 

My questions: 

1. Would you rather be a mermaid/merman/merperson for a week, or a fairy for a year? 

2. If you could meet any fictional character, whom would you choose to meet? And why? 

3. What's your favorite song to listen to right now?

4. Would you rather spend a month in a house that is haunted, or in a village that is haunted? 

5. What inspired your current project(s)? And how different or similar is your project now from the thing that inspired it? 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Who inspires you to create art? And would you also like to spend a day in an old fort? 

-Quinley 

Drawings of Heroines (Part 1)

Hello everyone, I thought I should do a drawing post, because I thought it would be fun to post my most recent drawings: 

I thought I should start the post with a drawing of one of my own heroines, Annabelle. 

Since I don't believe I posted a drawing of Annabelle in this style before. 

It took a long time to figure out how to draw Captain Marvel, because her facial shape was one that I don't usually draw. 

A drawing of Dr. Crusher, my favorite character from Star Trek: The Next Generation. 

I really like how this turned out. 

Speaking of doctors (the non-medical and time travelling sort), 

here is a drawing of the 13th doctor. I haven't seen much of her yet, but want to. 

I thought it would be neat to draw her, because she is the first woman Doctor Who doctor ever. 

This is a drawing of Hoshi Sato, a lesser known character from Star Trek. I thought Hoshi was a really interesting character, so I decided to include her in this post. 

I decided to draw Etta, since was a great comedic character in Wonder Woman. However I wish the audience had seen more of her, than just the few scenes that she had. One of the most fun things to draw was her curled hair and her hat. 

This drawing was really fun to draw considering the fact that Brie Larson posted a picture of herself lifting Thor's hammer. I thought why not draw Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel) holding it? So 

that's how I ended up with this drawing, which I am really happy with. 

This portrait was interesting to draw, though I was glad that Carol didn't wear a fancy dress in the movie (particularly since there was no reason for her to wear one, and I don't think Carol is the sort of person to wear fancy dresses). But I thought it would be interesting to see what she would look like 

in a dress that looks somewhat like her suit. 

This is a drawing of Queenie. Drawing the different shadings of this was really fun, and also conveying her emotions.

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Which drawing is your favorite? Who is your favorite lead (or supporting) female character? 

-Quinley 

P. S. The next blog post will be a Character Interview with Oak. 

So be sure to keep an eye out for that! :) 

Announcing my April Project: The Silver Key (+ part two of my Plotting Progress)

Hi everyone, before you begin, I should say it's necessary to read part one of this post before continuing reading this one, because there are some things I said in the previous one that may not mentioned in this one.

Synopsis- 
(I figured out a little bit more of the plot than I did last post.)

At the age of twenty every young man and woman finds out what they were in a past incarnation.

Phoenix has reached that age and went to the record keeper's building, where he received his scroll, 

and a silver key. The key seems to have a mysterious feel to it, he just can't place it. 

At the same time, however, Princess Ashalena has to deal with a problem. A loyal servant of her parents' has been found turned completely to stone, and she doesn't know who or what did it. 

And most of all, why would they do it? 

The characters- 

                                           Phoenix

Phoenix is an orphan who writes poetry and short stories. 

He has a dislike for love poems and romance novels -- he just can't stand them. 

                           Princess Ashalena 

Despite the fact that she will rule a kingdom one day, Princess Ashalena passes her time drawing, since it helps her calm her nerves.


                                 Silverling  

Silverling is a fairy, who I can't say much about without accidentally spoiling the story.
She will show up in the Silver Key...sometime.

(My currently unnamed character)

Though I do not know her name yet, I have a feeling it will come out when I am writing the story.
She is a trained martial artist, and hopes she can use her skill to help people.

(My other currently unnamed character)

I also have a feeling I will find out his name later. 

In a way he is a comic relief character, 

because he hums theme songs that he makes up for the other characters. And he hums them at the worst possible times. 

The world- 

The world has grown since I last posted,
currently there are many creatures other than humans. However, I haven't figured out all of them yet...
                                                   Creatures: 
                                                                  Humanoids- 
                                                        Humans
                                                     Shape-shifters*

                                                     

                                                                       Fairies

(Fairies' real forms are unknown, and they are known to be seen
in multiple ways by many different mortals. The drawing above is one
of the many forms in which a mortal may see a fairy.)

                                                     Mermaids and Mermen

                                                                        Sirens

                                                                 Demigods
                                                                         Non-Humanoids- 
                                                             Phoenixes**

*As well as human shape-shifters there are also animal shape-shifters in this world. In a way all shape-shifters fit into both the humanoid and the non-humanoid category, but the shape-shifters that are born in human form fit into the humanoid category, because the human form is their true form.

** Phoenixes kind of had to exist in this world, because I had to explain why phoenix was Phoenix's name. Plus phoenixes are awesome so why not have them?


And as I said before there are 32 hours in a day which makes the world run a on 16 clock:

(The reason the numbers are moving is that this clock has entered the fairy realm.
Most of the clocks don't act that way unless that happens.) 

                                     The fairy realm 

(Unlike the rest of the fairy realm, the purple object in the distance never seems to change.
It remains the same for everyone who enters the realm and no one knows why.) 

The fairy realm is connected to the world, but very few people can reach it. Some are said to have accessed it through dreams.
If you do manage to get into it, you will find it is quite whimsical, and that the fairy realm will be different for each person.
No one exactly knows what fairies actually look like, all they know is what they have seen themselves.

Story soundtrack 

Last time I posted songs that were part of the story soundtrack, but I didn't post the playlist because I didn't feel like it was ready. Now I feel that it is ready, so enjoy:
The Silver Key (story soundtrack) 

                                                               You can also listen to it here 
**A warning for I Hate Love Songs: slightly strong language (usage of the word "H---"), so if you are uncomfortable with it you can skip that song** 






Since I decided that I would be combining two posts together, I'll get to the plotting progress part of it....

More of my character's Casting Choices  
With this novel, I feel as if casting is in the air, since my characters seem to be a little (over) obsessed with casting actors to play them, or at least to look like them, so...
here are some of my character's most recent casting choices...

                      Gates McFadden as Silverling 

(original un-cropped Image from Wiki, https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Beverly_Crusher?file=Crusher_and_Picard_imprisoned.jpg) 

So, despite Silverling being a relatively new character, she seems to have already made up her mind  about who looks like her and she immediately chose Gates McFadden.
(Gates McFadden has acted in Star Trek: Next Generation, and in several other films and movies. She also choreographed the dancing for Jim Henson's Labyrinth.)


                                      David Tristian Birkin as young Phoenix 

(images from wiki, https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/David_Tristan_Birkin?file=Jean-Luc_Picard%2C_age_12.jpg,
and https://harrypotter.fandom.com/wiki/Newton_Scamander?file=Newt_with_Grindelwald.jpg) 

No, Phoenix did not change actors on me! The actor Phoenix chose this time is no longer a child, so Phoenix is using that actor's younger self. As you can see from the picture both Eddie Redmayne and David Birkin look pretty similar, but I went along with it, since my characters seem to be controlling the story more than I am.

(David Tristian Birkin has guest starred in the Star Trek episode "Rascals" as a twelve year old Jean Luc Picard, and acted in a film adaptation of Les Misérables.)

More gods and goddesses- 
This is continued from my previous post, so I will not be including the same goddesses and gods again. I will be mentioning what inspired me from Norse, Greek, Roman, and Egyptian mythology at the end of each of the descriptions of the gods and goddesses. However, I have not figured out the characters' god and goddess names yet, so I will be referring to them as the god or goddess of whatever they represent.



                                                             The god of comedy 

God of comedy in plays, literature, and songs, etc. 

Both the goddess of tragedy and the god of comedy were born at the same time. 

He rejoices in making mortals (and gods alike) laugh, and loves helping mortals craft their 

plays, songs, and stories.  

(He was inspired by Thaila the god of pastoral poetry and comedy from Greek mythology.) 

The goddess of music 

Goddess of songwriting and singing. 

The deity who is favored by singers and songwriters.

(Inspired by Apollo and the Nine Muses from Greek Mythology) 

                               The goddess of tragedy  

                               

Goddess of tragedies in plays, literature, 

songs, etc. 

She is the exact opposite of her twin brother in many ways, but is willing to join with him for a comedic tragedy, when one is needed.  

The words that she inspires are about tragedy, and she delights in seeing a mortal do a tragic ballad, story, or play. 

(Inspired by Melpomene the muse of Tragedy.) 

(I have not figured out what to call them yet...)

They are the four gods that decide how a mortal's life will play out. 

The first of them sculpts and creates the bodies of all animals and creatures. 

Two of them, a twin brother and sister, write out the lives of mortals, one of them writes the beginning the other writes the end. 

And the last one combines all of the things they did, and breathes the soul into the body, 

and sends them to the stage of life. 

(Inspired by the Fates (from Greek Mythology) and the Norns (from Norse Mythology) 

and inspired by the gods and goddesses from Hinduism or Buddhism) 

Other Gods and Goddesses

I also recently started working on another culture's mythology for my fictional world. 

It's for the race of shape-shifters, who are around nature enough that I thought they would see their gods and goddesses as half human/half animal (like the Egyptian gods from Egyptian mythology).

Here are the ones I have so far (they don't have names so I will be referring to them as the animal they look like): 

The white stag

Creator of the world, and the animals and creatures in it.

The first god to ever exist, and out of loneliness created the earth, 

the forests and the people and creatures in it.  

Also, while doing that she made the other gods as well. 

The Rabbit 

Goddess of love, marriage, and natural beauty

She is a very gentle goddess, who loves seeing people 

happily in love. She also loves seeing mortals with natural beauty, 

and not forced "beauty."

The Peacock 

Goddess of vanity, and narcissism and unnatural beauty.

She is sister to the goddess of love, but is the opposite kind of love or beauty. 

She represents narcissism, unnatural beauty, and the vanity that some people

are prone to show. 

The Butterfly 

Giver and creator of reincarnation 

She noticed while flying in butterfly form through the world, 

that mortals lives were so short and they never got to finish what they wanted to do. 

 So, with a little talking to the white stag, 

she was granted permission to find a way to fix it without making the mortals immortal. 

She came up with a solution which was reincarnation. It didn't make the mortals live forever, 

but allowed them to fix mistakes they had made before, and finish what they wanted to finish. 

And a question for Phoenix: 

And since I most recently got a comment from another blogger in the comments section for part 1, I thought I would allow Phoenix to answer it...since it was directed at him (I should mention that Phoenix thinks people from our realm are fairies.):

Phoenix: "The reason why I don't like food is-- "

Another character interrupts and causally takes food from Phoenix's plate. 

Phoenix: "Hey!" 

Other character: "You just said you didn't like food, so I thought it was alright 

to take the food from your plate--" 

Phoenix: "No, it is not!" 

Other character: "So you like food?" 

Phoenix: "No, of course not, anyway, stop eating my food, please." 

Other Character: "You said you didn't like food...but I'll stop." 

Phoenix: "Thank you, anyway as I was saying, I do not like food, but I like some foods, such as the ones you were eating! But, food is rather difficult to chew--" 

Other character: "I disagree." 

Phoenix: "For me, it is. Alright fine, if you aren't going to allow me to answer this question, I'll...go answer it somewhere else." 

Phoenix walks away from the table and leaves the room, and closes the door behind him. 

Phoenix: "Thank goodness, now I can answer this question in peace." 

Decides to read the question five different ways before answering again...

Phoenix: "As I was saying before, food is difficult for me...to chew. 

And the eating of food, is difficult and not enjoyable, unlike what other people think...

I still don't know why they enjoy eating it. But there really is a deeper reason to this..." (side note: the reason is not a spoiler but merely a fact about Phoenix) "I was sick when I was younger, from a disease of sorts, and no one knew what exactly it was, even I don't know, the disease only went away after a long while. It involved lots of vomiting, and a few other symptoms as well...but the vomiting made it difficult to eat food. Hence why....I don't like it. 

I hope that answers your question, fairy of the other realm." 

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Are you excited for April's Camp NaNoWrimo? 

Does one of your characters share the same distaste for food that Phoenix does?

Oh, and feel free to ask one of my characters a question in the comments. ;) 

-Quinley