First of all, the first doll claimed was Raquel, and her bad-ass vampire hunting self is going to the lucky Averi A.! Congrats, Averi! Raquel will be making her way to you soon, assuming the postal service doesn’t try to confiscate her weapons.
If you didn’t win this time, don’t despair: Three more dolls need homes! And we’ll get that contest started soon — but first, there are some interview questions that need answering. You guys asked SO many terrific questions that I want to get to plenty of them, so I’m just going to “interview” each character as his or her doll is given away. Which makes today “Raquel Day.”
(Note: Spoilers for EVERNIGHT, STARGAZER and HOURGLASS below!)
From Averi: “Do you think that you will be the next Buffy the Vampire Slayer; is that your MO?”
Raquel: “Buffy was banging vampires all the time. I’ll pass, thanks.”
From Precious: “What is it like being a member of the Black Cross?”
Raquel: “Well, at first it was kind of awesome. I was so sick and tired of being scared all the time, you know? Black Cross finally gave me a way to fight back. Plus, I got to be with Dana, which was and is definitely awesome. But lately — since all that stuff with Bianca and Lucas — I don’t know. I guess I’m wondering how much we’re supposed to give up. Maybe it’s too much.”
From Paz: “Now that you know that Bianca is a vampire/wraith. Will you try to look past that and still be her friend?”
Raquel: “Seeing as how I kind of totally turned her in and nearly got her and Lucas killed, I figure there’s no chance she’ll ever forgive me. So that kind of kills the friendship, huh? But I’d do it a lot differently if I had it to do over. Of course, I don’t.”
From Aranxta: “Raquel, how do you manage to always stay so strong and brave??”
Raquel: “Me? Brave? I feel like I’m scared to death half the time. But you just have to be strong enough to keep going anyway; if not, whatever it is that’s trying to keep you down — it wins.”
From Melanie: “If someone wrote a biography about you, what do you think the title should be?”
Raquel: “BAD MAMA JAMA. Okay, that’s silly. But I’d take it. Given how I’m feeling about Black Cross lately — maybe DOUBLE-CROSSED.”
From Harman: “Raquel, you sort of found your soulmate at/in blackcross, what do you think of her?”
Raquel: “Dana’s the best person I’ve ever known. She’s totally courageous — you should ask her about staying strong and brave sometime. She knows how to fight every evil supernatural thing out there, because she’s grown up in Black Cross — but she doesn’t let Black Cross think for her. Plus, she’s hilarious. And gorgeous. I still can’t believe I’m lucky enough to have her in my life.”
From Eniyah: “Raquel, deep down do you really, really love being apart of an exhilarating group such as Black Cross?”
Raquel: “Exhilarating? Try eating oatmeal for 30 days straight and see how exhilarating you think it is then. I admit, though – they really have taught me how to fight, and I’m grateful for that.”
From Jennifer: “It seems like you’re pretty psyched and gun ho about being a slayer but what do you not like about it?”
Raquel: “The early mornings. Oatmeal. Not knowing who to believe or trust. What they did to Bianca and Lucas. Also, oatmeal. Feeling like Dana and I never get any time to ourselves. The kind of cult-like mentality of the whole thing. And did I mention the endless, endless oatmeal?”
From Monique: “In the first books you were so scared to do anything; you didn’t talk to many people. What made you overcome your fears and join the Black Cross team?”
Raquel: “Well, I don’t know if I ever would have had the guts to leave Evernight Academy if it hadn’t been on fire at the time. That kind of simplified things. Once I learned there was actually a group of people out there dedicated to fighting the supernatural stuff that used to scare the hell out of me, though, I was in. … Maybe I should have asked a few more questions first.”
From Camille: “What would you do if the time comes that you have to kill Bianca?”
Raquel: “Oh, my God. I could never do that. Not ever. I mean, it freaks me out that she’s a vampire — I know they’re evil — but I just couldn’t. Don’t make me even think about it.”
Bianca, Patrice and Lucas will answer the great questions you guys sent for them in weeks to come. Beginning, shall we say, next Wednesday, February 16, when I’ll give another doll away! What are the rules for entering this time?
THE RULES:
1) Send an email to evernightclaudia at gmail dot com, with the subject header EVERNIGHT doll contest #2 or similar.
2) In this email, tell me your single favorite scene from the EVERNIGHT saga so far.
3) Also give me a name and address I can use to mail your doll if you win (and yes, I’ll ship anywhere in the world) — and tell me which of the remaining three dolls (Patrice, Lucas or Bianca) you’d most like!
4) Do all this before next Wednesday, when I’ll pick the winner at random, and answer some more interview questions.
Good luck, everyone!
(By the way, if you need to remind yourself of how awesome these dolls are, check out the original post. And for those of you who have asked: Balthazar will wait for his own doll when he gets his own book … in other words, only one short year from now. So keep watching this space!)
Now, because I somehow forgot to post this on the weekend:
The Artist’s Way, Week One: Recovering a Sense of Safety
Not every week speaks to everyone in the same way, when it comes to this book. Some weeks, the program is really dealing with an issue that strikes home; other weeks, it’s not anything you particularly need to hear.
That’s what this week was to me. It’s mostly about identifying the people who have discouraged you from being creative, but I have to say … almost nobody has ever done that. I’ve had the odd flame for some fanfiction I wrote, or a bad review or two on Amazon, but those are just nicks and scratches. This chapter is mostly about administering to the wounded, to people who have really been told that they have no creativity or that it’s a waste of time for them to express it. I know there are a lot of people for whom that’s true, and I’m glad they have the tools in this chapter to help them get past that.
But I wouldn’t say this was a waste of time for me. The chapter doesn’t ask us to only look for the people who discouraged you; it also asks who encouraged you. And I’ve been so lucky and fortunate to have people who believed in me all along the way. I really believe a sense of gratitude is one of the key ingredients of happiness, so reconnecting with that in a big way was amazing.
Onto next week, and “A Sense of Identity” —
