So it's up to you to nudge them in the right direction. Several of my fellow Harper Voyager authors have noticed that they, too, have characters suffering from this predicament, so we are asking your help to pair up our love-lorn souls. We have asked our characters to fill out dating profiles to let you match-make to your (and hopefully their) heart's content - just check out what my two say and then visit the websites of the others (details below) and, when you have found a compatible pair, leave a comment with your choice on the two relevant blogs.
Such fun couldn't be bettered, could it? Well, actually, it could. Everyone who comments is placed in a draw, with each of us offering prizes of a variety only new and penniless authors can devise. In my case, I will send the lucky winner a signed copy of one of the pages of my handwritten first draft of Hero Born, and will retain the winner's details and will send on a signed print of the cover when it is released and Hero Born merchandise when it has been produced; others are offering anything from free books to chocolate.
In fact, dagnabbit, I'll just go wild and offer you two chances to win. If you sign up for my email news, I'll run a prize draw draw for the same set of prizes (those already on the list will be automatically entered.
So, without further ado, I'll leave my characters to put together their dating profiles.
BRANN
AGE:
Brann: 15
Konall: He's 4. He's maybe 15 in years, but he's 4.
JOB/CAREER:
Brann: Apprentice miller, galley slave, page, swashbuckling adventurer.
Konall: Pest.
WHAT YOU DO FOR FUN:
Brann: Stay alive. And buckle swashes, as dashing adventurers do.
Konall: He takes great delight in irritating people. In particular, me.
GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT:
Brann: Staying alive. I seem to be really good at it.
Konall: Staying alive. The gods alone know how he has managed it.
IF YOU WERE AN ANIMAL, YOU'D BE:
Brann: A mighty lion. Magnificent, powerful, majestic and fearsome.
Konall: Dead, skinned and lying in front of a fireplace. A nursery fireplace, as his slayer would have been a toddler.
FAVOURITE POSSESSION:
Brann: A sword. Any sword. I tried them recently and found I'm quite good with them.
Konall: His fingers. He is lucky still to have any of them left after he is allowed a sharp weapon. On that score, probably his toes as well. Maybe his legs. His life, really.
FAVOURITE CHILDHOOD MEMORY:
Brann: Anything involving my brother.
Konall: He's still a child. A small one.
WHO WAS YOUR CHILDHOOD HERO?
Brann: My brother.
Konall: He's still a child. So probably me.
WHAT'S YOUR PERFECT HOLIDAY?
Brann: Not a sea cruise: been there, done that. Thinking of heading south for the sun sometime.
Konall: His whole life is a holiday, in his own simple world where he thinks he knows better than me.
EVER BEEN IN A FIGHT OR PRISON?
Brann: Fights, yeah, a few recently. Does slavery count as a prison?
Konall: An asylum would probably be more appropriate.
GREATEST FEAR:
Brann: Never seeing my family again.
Konall: Having to face the world without me.
WHAT DID YOUR PARENTS DO?
Brann: Father: miller; Mother: miller's wife.
Konall: Bring him into the world. Their greatest folly.
KONALL
AGE:
Konall: I'm 16.
Brann: 70. He was born that age.
JOB/CAREER:
Konall: Heir to Ragnarr, Lord of Ravensrest.
Brann: Professional know-it-all. Professional bore.
WHAT YOU DO FOR FUN:
Konall: Hunt, learn statecraft, prepare to rule, train in all warrior skills.
Brann: Fun? FUN?? Him? Oh, now that's funny.
GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT:
Konall: Too many to mention.
Brann: All in his head. And yes, it is big enough to hold them all.
IF YOU WERE AN ANIMAL, YOU'D BE:
Konall: A bear. The creature that embodies the soul of my people.
Brann: A boar. But not spelt that way.
FAVOURITE POSSESSION:
Konall: My duty.
Brann: HIs hair.
FAVOURITE CHILDHOOD MEMORY:
Konall: Winning the annual weapons tournament for 12-year-olds. When I was 8.
Brann: He was a child? Ever? Seriously?
WHO WAS YOUR CHILDHOOD HERO?
Konall: I don't have heroes. I am a hero to others.
Brann: That one is true. Well, if you spell "others" h-i-m-s-e-l-f.
WHAT'S YOUR PERFECT HOLIDAY?
Konall: I don't go on holidays. I raid.
Brann: He shouldn't be allowed out of the house, to be honest.
EVER BEEN IN A FIGHT OR PRISON?
Konall: Of course. And of course not.
Brann: He would cause a fight in an empty room.
GREATEST FEAR:
Konall: If you suggest again that I feel fear, I'll show you what it feels like.
Brann: If you suggest again he has any feelings at all, I'll probably die laughing.
WHAT DID YOUR PARENTS DO?
Konall: Rule.
Brann: Not enough in the discipline department.
So there are my boys. Now go to the following blogs and find them a date. Please. They really need one.
A.F.E. Smith (author of DARKHAVEN, coming July 2015)
Katherine Harbour (author of THORN JACK, available now)
Nancy K. Wallace (author of AMONG WOLVES, coming May 2015)
Ingrid Seymour (author of IGNITE THE SHADOWS, coming April 2015)
Brooke Johnson (author of THE BRASS GIANT, coming May 2015)
Jack Heckel (author of ONCE UPON A RHYME and HAPPILY NEVER AFTER, available now)
Bishop O'Connell (author of THE STOLEN, available now)
Terry Newman (author of DETECTIVE STRONGOAK AND THE CASE OF THE DEAD ELF, available now)
John Ayliff (author of BELT THREE, coming June 2015)
Lexie Dunne (author of SUPERHEROES ANONYMOUS, available now)
Laura Liddell Nolen (author of THE ARK, coming March 2015)
Christi Whitney (author of GREY, coming April 2015)
Graeme Talboys (author of STEALING INTO WINTER, coming July 2015)
Alison Stine (author of SUPERVISION, coming April 2015)