[Character Spotlight] #2: Avery Fawns

The leading lady of Whiskey Tea Cafe is the 19-year-old singer and guitarist of the popular rock band 2-Gen Alpha. Introducing...Avoria "Avery" Fawns!

Avery makes her debut at the end of the second chapter when she and the band show up unexpectedly at the cafe. She comes off as laid back, friendly, and somewhat mischievous, especially during her interactions with Hakan. There is also a perpetual air of mystery about her, dispelled only when she performs on stage.

I came up with the name "Avoria" thirteen years ago when I was a kid, back when I used to draw portraits of women--horribly, might I add--and assign them made-up names (although searching Google now tells me that I wasn't groundbreaking in my discovery). For some reason the name came back to me while I was brainstorming characters earlier this year, and after some tinkering, I ended up with Avery Fawns.

Her role in Whiskey Tea Cafe as the protagonist's love interest originally belonged to a character named Kalani Milohai, who is now the protagonist of my debut novel. Avery was actually going to be a supporting character in the novel (which I had planned to be a direct sequel to Whiskey Tea Cafe), but when I started reading about first rights in the publishing industry, I bumped Kalani off this project and moved Avery to take her place.

Regarding Avery's appearance, she actually has hazel eyes and long chestnut hair, unlike what my above illustration depicts. (She is NOT bald! I promise!)

When I draw people as birds, I generally omit clothing and hair because 1) I want to stay consistent with my art style, and 2) I'm actually just really lazy. I usually distinguish females by assigning them head accessories, such as a flower or a bow.

But since I wouldn't want you to go around with the mental image of a bald female vocalist in my story, I drew this extra picture just for you:

Check out those luscious locks!

And to all you artists fixing to nitpick my shading and highlights, I'd like to issue the disclaimer that I draw all my pictures with my trackpad and Paint.NET (which is basically a fancy version of MS Paint).

...Not much of an excuse, huh? Yeah, I didn't think so, either. All right, bring on the criticism!

RELATED POST(S):

• [Character Spotlight] #1: Hakan Kramer 

[Character Spotlight] #1: Hakan Kramer

The protagonist of Whiskey Tea Cafe is a 21-year-old recent college graduate residing in Destin, FL! Introducing...Hakan Kramer!

Hakan appears in the first chapter as the owner of the titular cafe. His personality is portrayed as the calm and collected type, but his sense of humor manifests during his conversations (and bickering) with his best friend Luke Prath. He is described as having tousled black hair, slanted green eyes, assorted Nordic features, and a tall, toned build.

I picked his name out of a book of male names without the slightest clue how to pronounce it. Yes, my brilliance astounds me sometimes, too. I ended up Googling the correct pronunciation and determined it to be of Swedish origin...[HAH-kan]. Basically, just say "Hawkan" and you should be good.

My sister pointed out that he seems very similar to me, which makes sense, considering that he and this entire story are based in part on me and my life. However, there are quite a few stark differences, which I'm somewhat ashamed to admit:

...Wow. I think I've become jealous of my own fictional character.

-J. S. Blancarte

Whiskey Tea Cafe is now posted!

Image by Soa Lee

Yes, I s*** you not...after over a month of delayed promises, I present to you my first posted original story...Whiskey Tea Cafe!

Summary: When Hakan Kramer opens a tea café in a tourist town, his uncanny ability to match patrons with their favorite teas quickly gains him a loyal customer base, including the renowned rock star Avery Fawns. But as Avery's interest in Hakan grows, she begins to pull him into her world, one comprised of rock music, the thrill of fame, and the dangers involving a hidden Biblical race…the nephilim. And he and his tea café are along for the ride.

x-x-x-x-x

 
Please select one of the following links to read the first chapter:

via FictionPress
via Wattpad
via WritersCafe

They all contain the same content, but I recommend the FictionPress version for the simplest layout (and you'll be able to leave a review at the bottom of the page...just sayin').

Why did I upload this story to multiple sites, you may ask? My aim was to 1) gain as much exposure across the web as possible, and 2) make it very difficult for someone to get away with plagiarizing my work. I reasoned that consistently throwing my name with Whiskey Tea Cafe all over the internet would cement me as the original creator of this (prospective) masterpiece.

Please read and leave me a review/comment with your feedback or critique. And for those of you who read my blog, here's a fun fact...

My first novel will be connected to Whiskey Tea Cafe. I need to know that I'm at the top of my game with this story. So when I say read the chapter and give me some honest constructive criticism, I mean...BRING IT!

Thank you for your consideration.

-J. S. Blancarte

The protagonist's gender has been decided!

After several days of equal votes for both genders, one last-minute vote (procrastinate much?) broke the tie! Whiskey Tea Cafe's protagonist will be...

 ...Male!

Last week it seemed like most people were dead set on a female protagonist, and I went, "What? No one wants to read about some dude pouring tea and baking cakes?" However, male votes managed to catch up and both genders were tied until the poll ended today.

I was beginning to wonder whether I'd have to create another poll, come up with a tie-breaker, or draw depictions of both genders dueling each other for the right to be the protagonist.

...Which I did, anyway.

Well, that was my announcement for the day. I've already been writing up the character profiles and plot outline, so the first chapter should debut soon on one (or all) of the fiction websites. My motivation has been waxing and waning since I'm torn between working on my writing career and continuing my futile job search, but I promise you that this story will happen.

-J. S. Blancarte

And the brainstorming begins

Let's get on to business, shall we? Whiskey Tea Cafe will debut in the very near future, after we get some basics down. First, I would like to know what gender my readers prefer the protagonist to be. I have a poll running until June 7 so please cast your vote before it ends. I should mention that the story will differ greatly depending on which gender is chosen.

The plot will involve the protagonist opening a tea cafe in the beautiful Emerald Coast of Florida (an illustration can't do it justice).

Whiskey tea will be the cafe's specialty drink.

Whiskey tea with chocolate chip biscotti

But other than that, everything is up in the air. I will be working on the first chapter while reclining on the white sandy beach with crystal blue-green waters five minutes away from my apartment. The tourist season is currently at its peak here, so I've been somewhat reluctant to venture outside my apartment complex except to purchase food and supplies. Yes, I know, I'm fairly reclusive.

I will also be perfecting my whiskey tea recipe (tea picture above was taken in my home), which means possible incoherent blog posts this next week since my alcohol tolerance post-college has plummeted to the negatives. You have been forewarned.

Right then...if you have any questions, please ask them by commenting or send me an email at jsblancarte[at]gmail[dot]com.

-J. S. Blancarte

Rookie learning the ropes

Besides brushing up on HTML and trying to figure out how to create a banner using my outdated freeware picture program, I've been thinking of a theme I should base my posts on so people will actually be inclined to read them. Unless Whiskey Tea Cafe (the story) becomes a hit in its own right, no one is going to give a flying f*** about this blog.

The problem is that my interests are so widely dispersed that I can't decide which one to focus on. Writing and short fiction are obviously the primary choices, but chronicling my aspired path to the New York Times bestselling list wouldn't be very fascinating reading material.

Journalism is the next choice, but there is a reason I decided to pursue a second bachelor's degree. Although I was a favorite of my journalism professors and my articles were regularly featured as class examples, I have to say that I was dreadfully bored with that type of writing. Journalism wasn't a bad experience at all, and my most distinguished interview was with Jordan Belfort, author of The Wolf of Wall Street, but I simply had no passion for writing in AP style and making the effort to contact people to request interviews.

I'm an introvert, you see, and a lot of my interviews lapsed into awkward silences, feeding my fear that I failed as a journalist and a human being for not knowing how to be socially competent around others.

Me: So, can you tell me any interesting facts about your newly opened organic foods store?

Store Manager: Yes, everything we sell is locally grown. We offer only the healthiest products in the panhandle area and we have bags of complimentary boiled peanuts for our customers to enjoy as they look around the store.

Me: That is certainly unique. How busy does it get on a typical weekday?

Store Manager: Well, it varies from day to day, but we've had the store packed with people several days a week.

Me: Although you just recently opened, how is business thus far?

Store Manager: Oh, it's been great. We don't really have any competition close by, so I think we'll be doing very well.

Me: I see.

*Cue awkward silence

Me (scrambling for the next question): Have restaurant staff members expressed interest in purchasing their ingredients here? (FAIL...should avoid close-ended questions because they cut off conversation.)

Store Manager: Why, yes. We've had many restaurants contact us for deals on bulk prices and all.

Me: Ah, okay.

*More awkward silence

Me (now flustered and not thinking): Are there any interesting facts about your store that you'd like to share?

Store Manager: You already asked that question.

Me: Oh, right...

And it just goes downhill from there. Once the interview is over and I can return to whatever office I'm interning at in shame, I end up writing a pretty damn good article and my supervisor doesn't suspect a thing about my rocky conversation.

So that's why I went back to undergraduate school; 1) to hide from the recession for another year, and 2) to exploit my remaining status as a dependent under my U.S. Army retired father and continue being a parasite to his health insurance plan (plus access to undergrad scholarships). Oh, and to pursue my interest in psychology since the interview aspect of journalism was chipping away at my self-esteem.

And that brings me back to the original topic. I could focus on psychology as a theme for this blog, but it's a very diverse field with numerous specialties that only go over the bare basics in undergraduate school. So while I may not focus on it, some posts may discuss the nature of human behavior (psychology's not all about the crazies, you know).

Well, I really should give this more thought. Also, my coffee is ready.

-J. S. Blancarte

I should be out job hunting, and yet...

...Here I am instead.

Hello. I am a fresh-faced blogger with an impressive track record of failing to obtain full-time employment even though I graduated from college twice (once in 2009 with a BA in Journalism and again in 2011 with a BA in Psychology) and lassoed together a string of practicums, field studies, and internships. I know, I know...networking is the key to landing a job, especially these days.

Unfortunately, that really only registered with me this past April, when I was at the career services center at my university pestering the staff.

Me: I'm graduating (again) at the end of the month and would like to hear your opinion on how effective my network will be in helping me find a job.

Annoyed Lady: Uh...sure, but please keep it short...I'm very busy, you know...

Me: Okay, here is my list. *hands her a list of past supervisors from 2008 and 2009*

Annoyed Lady: *brow furrows* Is this it?

Me: I take it that's insufficient?

Annoyed Lady: There are only two people on here, from two and three years ago. Do you keep in contact with them?

Me: I'm fairly certain I sent them Christmas e-cards this past December.

Annoyed Lady: Would they even remember you?

Me: To be perfectly honest...probably not.

Annoyed Lady: ...

Needless to say, I was ordered told to schedule an appointment with another staff member at a later date. And to get back into contact with my supervisors.

It is now one month later. I have graduated and relocated an hour and a half away, working on my network and sending my resume out to HR offices that didn't immediately bite my head off as soon as I uttered the words "looking for employment" on the phone.

My friends from college haven't really been much help since they are all 2nd Lieutenants in the Air Force (my AFROTC days will be discussed in a future post) and are stingy about referring me for civilian positions because they're concerned about conflict of interests. Which is understandable. I think.

And so, with all this extra time on my hands, I decided to give blogging a try and figure out what I want to share with the world besides my works of fiction and pursuit for white collar glory. It is my dream to pursue a dual career as a novelist and a(n) [insert respectable profession here], but right now my prospects are leaning more toward permanent apartment (read: cave) dweller.

Also, regarding the title of this blog, I wanted to work on a side project. If there is one thing I have absolute faith in, it's my writing. I'm attempting to cultivate a reader base by offering samples of my work online, and for this blog I will be posting stages of a story idea I came up with while lamenting to my sister on the phone about the seemingly dismal future of my career.

I live in a tourist town in panhandle Florida, and amidst the generic ice cream parlors and souvenir shops, the opening of a tea cafe would be a most interesting event. I began to seriously consider the possibility, but no one on my Facebook friends list with a business degree was interested in partnering with me to make it happen. Jerks.

Fine, I'll just write a story about it instead!

I'm a big tea fan and somewhat of a health nut (i.e. I flee from fast food like it's the devil and I cook my own meals from white meat, fresh produce, and other quality products). Yes, somewhat of a health nut. I don't always eat organic, I consume alcoholic beverages every other weekend, and I love desserts.

...Moving on...

In any case, I wanted to leisurely work on a story about a tea cafe that specially offers Whiskey Tea (primarily because it's my favorite drink), and how its business fares during recession. I will probably be uploading the story itself onto a fiction website, but its planning phase will be discussed here.

Anyway, if you have reached this point without skipping any of my paragraphs, I applaud you on staying with me for this long-winded introductory post. And yes, I drew all the pictures myself using the Paint.NET program.

-J. S. Blancarte