Cloverpuff does what she can with Time

Why do you disturb my passage, fuzzy mortal?

I'm here to interview you! I'm Cloverpuff, the dimension hopping rabbit.

A rabbit? I do not know what that is.

I'm a rodent from Earth.
Ah! Earth! Robert is from that planet. But he is away now, combing space.

I hop around different novels and interview the characters. It's your turn now. Let's get started, all right?

You bore me.

What's your name?

You do not know? Look into my eyes and you shall speak my name.

Oh... my... Your eyes... Ex-excuse me, Bowman but let me steal your line.They're full of stars! The entire universe is cradled between the constellations in her eyes. Dear readers, I can't describe it... Her eyes, are the birthplace of dreams, the sand in the hourglass, the rise and fall of empires.

Good, good. You are not as dim as you look with that hat.

*Dorky, drowsy-eyed grin.* You are my Goddess.

I am Time, ruler of the universe.

*Gasps.* The goddess Time. You're the first goddess I interview! Do you mind me asking... What were you doing when I came in?

I flow through the universe. I permeat everything and everyone. Without me, you would be nothing. Your life would exist. I am the ruler. The one who stepped up when the Logos abandoned all creation. The one who restored order in chaos.

Yes, but what were you doing right now? When I hopped in?

*Gestures toward bureau sitting in the middle of nowhere.* I was putting on the anti wrinkle cream Robert made me.

If I told you you had to do some spring cleaning right away, what would you throw out?

There is a simple answer for that: I would begin with all of Robert's knick-knacks. Look, I shall show you. *Walks across the emptiness.*

*An entire laboratory slowly appears around her, condensing like ghosts.*

Oh, my! How did you do that?

The laboratory is always here. I hide it so it does not jostle my nerves even more. Look.

*Picks up giant glass decanter.*

This is one of the first items I would banish from my plane. Robert leaves his utensils lying all around, and I trip over them when I am concentrated my flow.

*Points to static bicycle.*

Robert does not even need that. He has only used it once in two hundred years.

*Pauses.*

Yes... I believe it is time for a little spring cleaning.

*Raises hand toward bicycle, hums a deep, sad melody. Tiny blue rays of electricity crackle from her fingertips. The bicycle quivers, rattles and shakes. With a pop, it vanishes.*

Wow! You made it disappear!

I sent it to a different plane. Robert will have to perform many astral jumps until he finds it. The exercise will do him good.


Well, let's continue with the interview. Look deep into my eyes... Do you have any secrets you'd like to confess?

Do not tell me to look into your eyes. They offer nothing but short-lived joy and dreams which will never be fulfilled. Your life is but a speck against the backdrop of the universe. You shall return to the Forge, the birthplace of all True Selves, before my dress completes its next ripple.

Oh... Okay... *Lowers head.* Talk about being a buzzkill. Next question: if you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

Change? Me? I am the ruler of the universe!

And what do you like most about yourself?

Observe my brilliance. Does that answer your question?

Is there anyone you really, really hate? Come on, you can tell me!

I do not feed my loathing, dear... rabbit. It is a hurtful feeling which has damaged me in the past. Although I do feel disappointment for my sister Future. She fell prey to jealousy and conjured up a false Future to show me. I believed her. I never should have. She made me corrupt the one mortal I adored most...

Imagine it's a typical Saturday afternoon. What are you doing?

Your question is irrelevant.

What's your strongest childhood memory? It can be good or bad.
My childhood was quickly thrust off the Logos' lap. But if I had to choose one particular memory... It is the brief period I spent alongside my sisters, Past and Future. We were young, we didn't know what rivalry was. But then Past withdrew from us, closing herself in her memories of days gone by. Her shoulders sagged and her back bent more and more with every new memory weighing over her shoulders. I rarely see her now. It... it breaks my heart. I do not wish to talk about this any longer.

Well, thank you for your time! No pun intended! Before I head back to my dimension, can you complete this sentence for me?

If I could be a domestic appliance, any appliance, I'd be a...

I do not know of this appliance you speak of. I am Time. It is all I wish to be.

Now I'll hop on over to...

Tristan Cross
Frederick Terra, by Shane Jeffery

Click on Tristan to see Cloverpuff interview characters from other novels!

Time rules the upcoming sci-fantasy novel, Serving Time. Stay tuned for more news and character portraits!

The Character Blog Hop - Tristan Cross

This is Cloverpuff, the dimension-hopping bunny! She's been jumping around from one WIP to the next, interrupting the characters and interviewing them. She's a natural-born journalist, and she manages to get answers to all her questions. Because... who can say no to that little face under the hat?

On to you, Cloverpuff!

Hello blog hoppers! My, I certainly didn't expect my hop to bring me here... wherever here is! Nice to meet you. Let's start with the basics, then we'll move on to more complicated questions.

What's your name?

What the hell! Where'd you come from?

Name, please?

Er... Tristan.

I'd appreciate a full name. *Wriggles nose.*

Then I'd have to say Tristan Cross.

What were you doing when I came in?

*Looks down at the wrinkled clothes in his hands.* What does it look like I'm doing? Going through my brother's stuff.

If I told you you had to do some spring cleaning right away, what would you throw out?

What kind of question is that? And how'd you get in here, anyway?

Please answer.

Well, fuck. You got me. I guess I'd throw out that damned throx case--once I get my hands on it. *Drops clothes on the floor and goes back to sifting through the closet.* I know Eneld hid it somewhere. I know he's snorting again. I just have to find the case and then I can make him eat it. How does a smart guy like him end up like this? He promised me he'd quit.

Look deep into my eyes... Do you have any secrets you'd like to confess?

No.

Look deeper... Anything?

Just drop it. Any secrets I might have are in the past, and I'm not proud of them. I moved on.

I'm a dimension-hopping bunny, you have to tell me something.

Okay, okay. A few years ago I used to work for Crimson Quarters. I made a small fortune doing... jobs for them.

What kind of jobs?

If you insist, I can show you. I got a good recipe for rabbit stew.

Moving on... If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I have a bad temper and I usually jump to conclusions. It's got me into a lot of trouble in the past.

And what do you like most about yourself?

I guess it's the fact that I'm an intercolony pilot. I love being the captain of the vessel and having control of everything. Now that I left Crimson Quarters behind, I'm back on track. Damn it. I'm almost back on track. I work for StarCorp now.

Is there anyone you really, really hate? Come on, you can tell me!

I don't usually hold a grudge. I think there are more people out there holding a grudge against me than I remember. There's Therese, from the Triangulate Refuge, there's the entire population of Nightmute... oh, and Alete Freeborne, that ass. I guess I'd have to say him. Never met a bigger ass in my life.

Imagine it's a typical Saturday afternoon. What are you doing?

Saturday? Afternoon? Look, I've been traveling around the Solar System for the last three years, Saturdays and afternoons don't exist anymore. But if I had some time to kill I guess I'd watch this week's episode of E-Wok: Online Cooking with the Pros. Haven't had time to sit down and watch it yet.

What's your strongest childhood memory? It can be good or bad.

*Stops to think for a bit.* I guess my best memory is going to the beach with my mother and my little brother. We used to search for crabs between the rocks. Then we'd all go to this restaurant and share a paella. I miss those days... everything was simple. I had a family. And now? My mother's gone, and here I am, working for StarCorp, going through my brother's stuff to see if he still does drugs. It's ridiculous. Do you know how many shipments of throx I delivered this month?

Er... no.

Five. I deliver the damned stuff and it turns out Eneld's still snorting it. And now I have to tell him it's wrong. Ironic. *Stuffs the clothes back into the closet.* Nothing in here. He must've hidden it in his travel box.

Well, thank you for your time! Before I head on back to my dimension, can you complete this sentence for me?

If I could be a domestic appliance, any appliance, I'd be a...

A Chef-O-Tron 3k. That thing's badass.

Now I'll hop on over to...

Edward Jasper, by Kay Proctor
Piper Toll, by Lanise Brown
Neal Rodríguez, by Marcia Kuma
Emariya Warren, by Kelly Walker
Jingjing Wang, by John Kang
Alistair Leeds, by Shane Jeffery
Time, by Nadine Ducca

You'll find out more about Tristan Cross in the upcoming sci-fantasy novel Serving Time. Stay tuned for updates!

WIP Blog Hop - Serving Time

Hello everybody. Just a quick and simple post today: the blog hop! 

The rules are simple: answer these questions about your work in progress, and link others at the bottom so everybody can hop over to meet them.

What is the working title of your book?

Serving Time.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

I honestly can’t place my finger on it. I started throwing ideas around when I was 12, and the whole universe slowly took shape.

It all began with a short story about two brothers, originally called Tristan and Seth, who ransacked derelict ships to sell off everything they could find. But they pushed their luck too far in the black market and one day they discovered they were one of the System’s “most wanted”. To avoid being caught by the police, they joined forces with Quagga (hey! Give me a break! I was a kid!) to escape their hometown space settlement and make a dash for Earth, the capital of disorder, where anyone with a past can vanish into the crowd.

All the characters, as well as the plot, slowly evolved over the years until, in the summer of 2010, I decided to join a novel writing course and make sense of it all.

Characters changed. Names changed; Seth became Eneld, and Quagga became Verin. Tristan lost his way and became a hired assassin, while Eneld tried to hold on to his dignity as a biorobotics engineers. The plot evolved and became much more intricate. Later on, a goddess, a necromancer and a pack of demons decided they wanted in on the fun. Everybody’s welcome. We’re one big happy family. :-)

What genre does your book fall under?

Sci-fantasy and adventure.

The action is set in a futuristic world in which humanity has spread across the Solar System. Millions of people inhabit colonies in the Jovian neighborhood, blissfully unaware of the supernatural creatures which share their day-to-day life.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

I’ll let the producers make that decision.

No, seriously, I can’t imagine any specific actor playing my characters, but I can imagine them in comic books. Loads and loads of comic books! I’d love that.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

One sentence what?

Summarizing my book is an issue I’ll have to confront very soon. I still haven’t been able to pin down the convergence of various storylines in just a couple sentences.

This is one of the reasons why I’m talking about a WIP and not a completed novel.

In a few weeks, I plan to write a new blog post with all the details of Serving Time—and maybe a few illustrations thrown in for fun!

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I will probably self publish it next year, once I’m done with the edits. I originally wanted to find an agent and attempt the “traditional path”, but self publishing sounds more and more appealing the more I learn about it.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

About ten months. The second draft, which included substantial changes in plot and characterization (I wasn’t happy with the first draft), took me about another ten months. Considering I was working full time and studying a master’s degree, I’m pleased with how quickly I put everything together.

I completed the second draft the last week of August 2012. I am currently editing and making small character and plot improvements.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Serving Time is a fantasy adventure set in a science fiction world, so making comparisons is a bit difficult.

Some details, such as the space colonies scattered across the Solar System, are comparable to the setting in Isaac Asimov’s novel Nemesis.

Certain silly moments in the plot, as well as the characters, are comparable to some of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels and Jonathan L. Howard’s debut novel, Johannes Cabal de Necromancer.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?

Déjà vû—see question two! I honestly don’t know who or what my muse is. Since my childhood, I have always loved writing. It was about time I got serious about it.

I guess that through this novel I want to give my vision of the world around us, of life and death, and inner demons. Because we all have inner demons.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

A fellow CCer said: “I write about necromancy. I write about robots. But I don’t write about necromancy AND robots. That would be absurd.”

Well, roll up my sleeves and call me Sally because Serving Time has both!

Next up I tag:

The Timekeeper’s Journal, by Lanise Brown

The Park, by Shane Jeffery

Jasper City, by Kay Proctor

Precinct 9, by Diane Carlisle