Confessions with Rot Thammavongsa

Part II of IV in a series of "interviews" with characters from my upcoming novel, Ghosty: An Inappropriate Tale for Young Girls. (BTW I could use some major help with the title.) Also check out the interview with the novel's protagonist, Bingo Elkins.

Today's interview is with Rot "Rose" Thammavongsa, Bingo Elkins' personal assistant/bodyguard/assassin.

Your idea of happiness: Serving my employer. What else? I dare not speak it.

For what fault do you have most toleration? There's an old Thai proverb, Nam-dtann-glad-mod...krai-ja-ohd-dai. ("Sugar near ants...who can restrain themselves?")

Your favorite heroine in fiction: Moll Flanders.

Confessions With Bingo Elkins

I'm impatient for NaNoWriMo to start, so I've included a preview of some of the characters who will be featured in the novel I'll be writing next month: Ghosty: An Inappropriate Tale for Young Girls. (I may tinker with the title.)

The questions are taken from an English-language confession album which was later answered and made famous by French author Marcel Proust. Vanity Fair adopted and adapted the "Proust Questionnaire."

The first interview is with the novel's protagonist.


What you appreciate the most in your friends: Loyalty, old egg! It's a rummy shame when a chum lets you down, what?

How you wish to die: As I've been toddling along in the afterlife for nearly eighty years now, this question gives me the pip somewhat.

Your favorite occupation: Well, I can tell you it's not running my corporation and what not! I have coves that can do that for me. If I had my rathers, I'd be biffing the old tennis ball or having a round of golf. Alas, noncorporeal hands make that dashed difficult, so I have to seek other adventures.

NaNoWriMo in 11 Days!

Only 11 days until NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month)! If you don't already know, it's a month-long writing contest to produce a 50,000-word novel...in a month. The prize?

Having written a novel.

I'm extremely excited about getting started. I've written a novel before, but it took me 6 months to write it, and a dozen failed attempts before that. As a writer, I tend to worry too much about things being perfect (why else would it take me a month to write a simple short story?) so I'm going to take Stephen J. Cannell's advice and throw that albatross out. Knowing that what I produce on such short turnaround will largely be crap seems decadently delicious to me for some reason. I'm ready for rock'em-sock'em, freewheeling fun!

My buddy is a 3-time winner as well, so I have to admit...the competitive juices are flowing, too. Unfortunately, he's not entering this year. Too bad! That would have been cool. However, my lovely girlfriend is also an entrant, as well as my little girl (in the Young Writers Program--she's 7).

More to follow.