Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Secondary Characters

Hey everyone! This is a new blog feature that I discovered through the blog of my friend Emma. It's called Top Ten Tuesdays. Each week, there's a different book-related theme, and participating bloggers make a top ten list for that theme. I think it sounds really fun, so I hope you all enjoy reading it! This week's theme is favorite secondary characters. As a note, some of these may border on main characters, but I'm defining secondary character as anyone who's not either the main protagonist (or one of the main protagonists, in the case that there's more than one) or the main antagonist. Also, if a character is a secondary character in one book but becomes a main character in a later book, he's still a main character. Thus why Bard Eanrin and Walter Foley, among others, aren't on this list.

http://brokeandbookish.blogspot.com/p/top-ten-tuesday-other-features.html

1. Angela from The Inheritance Cycle. She's probably my favorite character in the entire series, as well as one of the only ones I never yell at. She's mysterious, and yet she's bright, funny, and generally cheerful. Besides, I'm pretty sure it's impossible to dislike a character with lines like this: "I suppose I won't see you for a while, so farewell, best of luck, avoid roasted cabbage, don't eat earwax, and look on the bright side of life!"
2. Captain Valithor from The Door Within Trilogy. TDW is full of very memorable characters, but Captain Valithor undoubtedly tops them all. He's everything a hero and a hero's mentor should be, and the end of The Door Within (the first book in the trilogy) . . . Well, I won't give away any spoilers, but I'll just say that some of his actions make it pretty clear why he's on this list.
3. Cruedwyn Creed from the Legends of Karac Tor series. He's absolutely hilarious. His tall tales, his sword and his attachment to it, his entire personality- I can't give enough. Also, tall tales aside, he has seriously awesome skills.
4. Faramir from The Lord of the Rings. It's kind of difficult to determine who's a major character and who's a secondary character in LOTR, so in the end, I decided to call the Fellowship the main characters and go from there. The main reason I like him is how noble he is. He's willing to risk everything to defend his people and see Sauron defeated, and though he's faced with what must've been a nearly impossible choice, he makes the right decision. 
5. Puddleglum from The Silver Chair. He's a large part of why The Silver Chair is in my top three favorite Narnia books. I love how he's continually predicting that they, their mission, and pretty much everything is doomed, yet he goes on this quest willingly and puts up with Jill and Eustace even after they get more or less insufferable. He sticks by them through the good and bad of their mission, and I don't think it's much of a stretch to say that he's truly a hero by the end of the book.
6. Wizard Fenworth from The DragonKeeper Chronicles and The Chiril Chronicles. He says the oddest things, and hilarity is sure to ensue whenever he's around, but he's still wise and isn't afraid to stand for what's right, even against incredible odds.
7. Daryl from Echoes from the Edge. While I'm a bookworm, not a movie geek, Daryl is a girl after my own heart. And a movie geek who also happens to be something of a genius? Even better. 
8. Mr. Charlie from The Berinfell Prophecies. If you've read the series, I don't think I have to explain. If you haven't read the series, just know that he's awesome and epic and you really should read the series so you can find out why.
9. Peet the Sock Man from The Wingfeather Saga. He's funny, but at the same time, he's a bit sad. And I never saw the twists coming later in his story.
10. King Ealden from The Dark Sea Annals. I wasn't crazy about him in the first book, but I liked how his character developed in the second. Also, he was willing to admit that he was wrong. That takes a lot.

I hope you enjoyed this! Thanks for stopping by!

-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

Favorite Movies Tag

Hello, everyone! I've been tagged by Hannah from The Writer's Window. For this one, I'm supposed to list my favorite movies. Because I love a lot of movies, I'm going to stick with my top six.
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The Lord of the Rings

 If I had to pick one and only one movie to watch for the rest of my life, I would chose The Lord of the Rings. The word "epic" is often used flippantly, and I confess that I'm guilty of doing so myself, but when it comes to The Lord of the Rings, "epic" is anything but an understatement. I could go on and on about it, but that would take a while, so we'd better move on.

 The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Yes, they changed and added a lot. Yes, it was a long movie. But YES, it's still only one step down from the top on my list of favorite movies. One of the things I loved best about An Unexpected Journey was how the dwarves came to life. When you read The Hobbit, you don't really think about many of the thirteen dwarves and how they may very well have their own smaller stories within the bigger one, but in the movie, you're reminded that they each have their own personality, their own story.
 

These next two are pretty much tied for third place:

Tangled
and

Brave
In case no one's noticed, I love fairy tales, fairy tale remakes, and stories that remind me of fairy tales or fairy tale remakes. So, it should come as no surprise that these two would make it onto my favorite movies list. Tangled is ridiculously hilarious and awesome. I love the character growth you see in both Flynn and Rapunzel, all the hilarious lines, and also the fact that they're using a skillet as a weapon. It's probably my favorite Disney movie. (Rapunzel also happens to be my second favorite Disney princess, loosing by an incredibly tiny margin to, guess who . . .)

Yep. Merida of Brave. While a bit more scary and a bit less funny than Tangled, I still love it. I like the whole true love/happily-ever-after dynamic for fairy tales, but it is nice to see something that has a fairy tale feel without romance. Also, I love the way Merida's relationship with her mother develops, and let's face it, Merida's whole family is pretty awesome. Add onto that the fact that, as I mentioned, Merida's my favorite Disney princess (awesome hair+awesome accent+mad skills with a bow and sword+great personality and character development=Sarah's favorite) and it's really no wonder that this is one of my favorite Disney movies.

I want to not go overboard with this, so I'll just do two more movies.

 The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
I go back and forth on which Narnia movie I like best quite a bit, but I keep coming back to The Lion, the Witch, an the Wardrobe. I think it's because, of the three Narnia movies, this one stays most accurate to the book. Also, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is one of my top three favorite Narnia books.

The Princess Bride

 Probably the most quoted movie of all time, not to mention one of the funniest. Also, it fits into the fairy-tale genre quite nicely while still turning some of the usual cliches upside down. (So, it should be no surprise that I like it!) And did I mention that it's incredibly funny?

Well, I hope you enjoyed this tag. Thanks for reading! And sorry for taking so long on this post, Hannah!

-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

Concert!

Hello, everyone! Yesterday was a very busy day. The Go Teen Writers writing retreat was in its second day, my family went on two bike rides in the morning, and best of all, I went to a concert that afternoon! This is my second concert, and I was looking forward to see how it would compare to the one I went to last year. Unlike last year, this one started at three in the afternoon rather than ten in the morning, and it was indoors rather than being out in a field. I'll go more into which I liked better at the end of this post.

I got a ride with a friend's family and arrived not long before the first group, Capital Kings, started at three. I'd heard about this group from a friend, and I liked the one song I'd heard by them, "Never Be Alone". Unfortunately, their performance was a bit disappointing. Their songs seemed to be ok, but their background music was far too loud. Not only did it kind of hurt my ears, it seemed to overwhelm their voices.

Next came Jamie Grace, one of the three artists I was most looking forward to. She definitely did not disappoint! She was also quite a bit quieter than Capital Kings, much to my relief. She played several songs I liked, including "God Girl", "Show Jesus", and of course, "Hold Me". She also played a new song, "Beautiful Day", which I really enjoyed. (Here's hoping that the new song means a new album will follow!)

Villainous Villain Tag

It seems that I've been tagged with another new tag, this time by Dark Wolf! And yes, I promise that I will post more stories eventually, but at the moment, the ending of my next story might make you want to strangle me. So, I have to write a bit more before I can post it. In the meantime, enjoy the Villainous Villain tag!
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(1.) Who is your favorite (or main) villain of the book/series you are writing, and how would you describe his/her character?
I'm going to go with Queen Antoina du Karel from Monster in the Castle. Queen du Karel is beautiful, proud, and extremely powerful. She is the ruler of the remaining Unmen, and is determined to forge a way for her people to come out of hiding and rule the world, with her at their head, of course. She claims to be just and kind, more so than the human rulers, but she has no qualms about using her powers to control those under her or about killing those she can't control.

(2.) What special powers (if any) does this villain have?
Queen du Karel is the possessor of a variety of abilities, most of which lie along the lines of black magic. Her main ability is to manipulate peoples' minds in varying degrees. With most people, she can mess with their senses- for example, making them feel pain and making them see or otherwise discern things differently than they really are. She can also manipulate their emotions in a similar way. Depending on how much protection a person has against her powers, she can even completely control their minds.  


(3.) What was your inspiration for the character?
To be honest, I really don't know, other than I knew that I needed my villain to be a queen with magic powers. I also knew the general idea of how Unmen worked, so I took that knowledge and went from there.


(4.) Of all the villains in your book/series, what distinguishes this villain from the others?
First of all, she makes no effort to hide the fact that she's incredibly powerful- though this is partly because of the setting my characters meet her in. She's also much less opposed to humans than the majority of Unmen are. 

(5.) Even though this character is on the side of evil, what trait does this villain posses that you admire?   
She cares about her family and her people and wants to do the best she can for both. 

(6.) What lessons can be learnt from the character’s story? 
Doing the wrong thing for the right reason is still doing the wrong thing. If obedience is someone's only choice, it isn't really obedience. (If that makes sense.) No matter how powerful you are, Adonai is greater.

(7.) If you had the opportunity to meet your villain, would you do so? 
Probably not. Even if she didn't know I was her author, it would probably result in pain on my end.

And finally for tagging people. I tag:
Dmitri Pendragon
Ryebrynn

Best. Tag. Ever.

 I have been tagged by Jag at From a Jagged Inkwell! This will be fun.
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1. If the main villain of your favorite book/movie/TV series showed up on your front doorstep, what would you do? (Explain who it is first...)
Since it's super hard for me to pick just one favorite book/movie, and Sauron isn't an option (how's a giant eye going to show up on my doorstep?), I'll go with the villain from the book I'm reading now: Hri Sora, the Dragonwitch, from Starflower and Dragonwitch by Anne Elisabeth Stengl.

If the Dragonwitch showed up on my doorstep, my first reaction would probably be to scream. Loudly. Then I'd run for my life, since fighting her would most likely mean getting killed.

2. Now supposing the heroes opposite this villain showed up just after your exchange. What would you do then?
Bard Eanrin and Dame Imraldera showing up to save the day? I'd undoubtedly stop running, first of all. I'd stammer a hello, but most likely, I'd be pretty much speechless for several minutes because I'd be trying to get past the fact that: oh my pumpernickel, I'm talking to BARD EANRIN and DAME IMRALDERA! Bard Eanrin! And Imraldera! Once I'd recovered my powers of speech and the Dragonwitch was gone, I'd thank them several times and probably invite them into my house for something to drink (and possibly eat as well) so I could hopefully talk to them for a bit before they moved on.

3. So... moving on, the heroes defeat the villain (with some help from you, of course- whatever it may be. ;) But the next day, you're just walking along, minding your own business, when you suddenly come across the same villain... who is now lying in the dust severely wounded and unconscious. What do you do?
Is Imraldera still around? Assuming she was, I'd go find her and Eanrin, since they'd know how to take care of her a lot better than I would.

4. Now his minions show up and kidnap both you and him and take you to their universe (or version of your universe, whatever it happens to be.) Your reaction?
Intense terror. And whatever part of me wasn't intensely terrified would probably be thinking something along these lines: Oh my pumpernickel. I've got to be dreaming. Except I'm not. I'm really in Goldstone Wood world. I'd look for a chance to escape as well and hopefully I'd find my way into the Wood.

5. Your fantastic heroes have arrived to rescue you- but now you're faced with a choice. The villain, out of gratitude for your earlier help, (assuming you actually did help him when he was wounded) has offered you a chance to travel back to your own universe. However, the heroes warn you not to trust him. The only other way for you to get back home is to travel with the heroes on a long and dangerous journey... and there's no guarantee that you'll survive.
What. Do. You. Do. 
A chance to travel with Bard Eanrin and Dame Imraldera? Is this even a question? I'd go with them, without a doubt. Dangerous or not, I'd want to see as much of their world (especially the Haven and Rudiobus) and meet as many people as possible before I had to go home. Maybe I could even manage to stick around long enough to be there for part of one of the books! Talk about awesome!

And now to tag other people! I tag:
IDK- http://idk323swop.blogspot.com/
Charlotte- http://windingpassages.blogspot.com/

I'm also feeling rather tempted to write a fanfiction on this now. We'll see if I can find time to do that sometime.