Something you might’ve noticed is that almost all of these books fall under romance. Rose is a romantic at heart, and adores books with romance, animals or adventures. She’d most likely be a big fan of stories like Pippi Longstocking, Black Beauty, and Little Women. If she was into manga/anime, I’d say she would definitely be a fan of series like Yona of the Dawn or Love Me, Love Me Not.
Something of hers that I wish I had, is her attic library. It’s so cozy up there, and she has books that were collected first by her grandparents, then her father and uncle, and now a collection of her own. I love finding books that belonged to my family members and reading them…plus old books have this gentle…almost calming scent and feel to them, and that connection to books is something I definitely share with her character.
If you could recommend a book to one of your favourite characters from the series, which would it be?
As promised, yesterday the EP Songs from Vermin released onto streaming platforms, along with the single Loneliness. I had so much fun recording all of…
Rose’s playlist has a lot of really cute, warm fuzzy type songs, mixed in with some sassier bops both of which are extremely hard not to sing along to.
Her playlist isn’t as long as her uncles, but it’s been catching up while I’ve been editing and re-reading book two.
Not the Girl by Annabel Gutherz is such a fun song. I fell in love with it instantly, and Annabel is an incredibly sweet, human so I highly recommend checking out the rest of her music! This song specifically made me think of Rose and Thompson haha.
Rose is such an adorable bean. The song Eighteen makes me cry, but I also love that it’s on her playlist.
Tomorrow is my novels debut! I’m thrilled! Ecstatic! Totally pumped! I don’t think there are enough words to express how absolutely, incredibly excited I am to have this book out in the world.
I would definitely love to do signings and things in the future but with the pandemic, it’s difficult so instead I’ll be having a small celebration with my family.
This past week was filled with so many wonderful events, and I’m so grateful that I get to share my release with my family and friends.
Thank you so much to everyone who has added Vermin to their reading list, shared posts about it on social media and expressed support. It means so much to me, and I hope you enjoy the book as much as I enjoyed writing it!
If you haven’t already, check out @nuggiedraws on instagram to see the character art she did for the first book. I absolutely adore her take on my characters!
Nicholas Slayden @nuggiedraws
Rose Crispin @nuggiedraws
Roland Crispin @nuggiedraws
Dianna Warren @nuggiedraws
Peter Rissing by @nuggiedraws
A handful of songs featured throughout the series will be available to listen to this week, along with a sample reading!
I can’t wait to share the world of Vermin with you!
I pulled this quote from the first chapter of Vermin. One of my favourite things about this chapter is how it showcases the dynamic between Rose and Roland, which I’ll try to describe here without giving away any major spoilers.
These two interact more like siblings versus an uncle and niece. They have a close relationship to the point where even when they’re rolling their eyes and disagreeing with one another, it’s clear that they enjoy each others company and also respect one another.
Roland as an uncle, versus Roland with his friends is something that I find amusing and enjoy writing. He always seems to be trying to balance being a “responsible adult” and his natural exhausted, yet impulsive self. He’d probably sleep and snack all day if he could get away with it. As I’ve grown with this character, it seems as though Roland has this curated version of himself for when he’s out in public, and even at times struggles to revert back to his natural state while he’s at home. That’s why those scenes where it’s just him and his family spending time together are some of my favourites in this first book, because at a certain point he stops trying to “act” and allows himself to just be.
I think his youngest nephew brings that side of him out the most.
When building my character’s personalities and backstories I like to include as many details as possible. I’ve created character profile pages like the ones in manga, which usually include a list of things like favourite foods, blood type, star sign etc. Not only is it fun but it also allows me to spend quality time with each individual character.
I love watching my characters go from being an idea to a fully fleshed out being…well fully fleshed out on paper (haha).
Each of these types of questions gives me a chance to think about who my characters are. What makes them happy? What frustrates them? Do they have trouble sleeping at night?
I may never use this information, but I find knowing it allows the story to progress naturally. I don’t have to think hard about how each character would respond because I’ve taken the time to get to know them as if they were a close friend.
So…do my character’s have any special hobbies or interests?
Nicholas likes to draw. Many of the things he’s good at he considers hobbies as they were things he used to do with his grandmother. He’s always done them, so he hasn’t acknowledged that he might actually have a talent for them. He can also play music by ear, something that he picked up as a little kid. These are things that actually come up in the novel.
He also loves to explore and make friends with small animals. Mainly frogs or rabbits. He’s known in his family for bringing home new “pets” every once in a while.
Rose likes to read. She’s the type of person who can’t go into a library or a bookstore without walking out with a book. She’ll reread her favourites over and over and will even come up with her own stories to share with her family. Aside from that, Rose collects ribbons that she uses to accessorize with her outfits.
I’m not exactly sure why I always associated her character with ribbons but from day one that’s how I pictured her. I like that she’s a talkative, fashionable bookworm. Even when she reads, likes to read with or to someone. She’s what my Nana would call a little chatterbox…but it’s one of my favourite thing about her character.
Roland plays the piano. He can also play the guitar but it isn’t his favourite instrument. He just likes how portable it is. He quit playing before he reached his twenties and gave up on the idea of being a professional musician. Prior to that he dabbled in writing his own music and was forced by his teacher to sing solos at the school’s Frost pageant. Before that he was shy about playing or singing in public but after he gained a lot of confidence. Performing made him really happy. Now he claims not to have time for it but every so often he’ll sit down and play something.
He doesn’t look anything like Soul when he plays…I thought I should add that. Although it would be funny if he hunched over like that and smiled at the keys.
Dianna likes to travel. She did a lot of it while she was in college, especially between semesters. She’s very adventurous and loves meeting new people, which is mentioned in the first book. She even does some travelling in it! She doesn’t have her own car but if she did, she’d probably spend most of her time on the road. A lot of the time she travels by train. She also learned a new language while she was in university, which comes in handy (but no spoilers!).
I’m not sure if anyone other than Peter would consider this a hobby…but he really likes hanging out at the pub. He likes the food, the people and the music. I don’t believe he’s actually shown hanging out there in the first book but it does mention it a few times. A lot of the time he’ll go there to catch up with old classmates or to kill time. Unlike some of the other character’s Peter has a lot of time on his hands, so he spends it either doing something stupid with Roland (like most bored people), going on the odd date or hanging out at the pub.
Well, I’d say it’s time to get back to work! I’ve been back and forth between recording, work and catching up on my TBR list (which never stops growing!).
I really want to see how much of the sequel I can knock out before the end of the month. If you’d like to see some of my process, I posted some writing vlogs on my YouTube channel.
This one features me painting my home studio, a portion of my manga collection and my sister’s Persona 5 posters haha. The sparkly guy in the thumbnail was made by my niece. He’s a love bug.
Tomorrow is Rose’s birthday so I thought I’d write her a poem. It also started to snow, which made things very fitting. I think snow is pretty but I prefer all the colours of Fall. I do love all the decorations at this time of year though.
I decided to choose Rose’s bedroom, since it’s only in a couple of scenes in the first book.
I’ve always pictured the room having softer blues. Definitely blue wallpaper. It’s her favourite colour, and she wears it often.
Rose has a fairly expansive wardrobe, which she loves to accessorize with ribbons. She has the ribbons organized on her vanity.
She also has a collection of books and stuffed animals around her bedroom. Her books sit on a shelf under her nightstand so that she can read them before she falls asleep.
Question 1: Where is your favourite place to be alone and why?
When it’s cold, the library. In the summer time I like to go to the creek. No one else goes there anymore. It’s a lot nicer than sitting in my room all the time.
Question 2: What is your favourite holiday?
I don’t think I have one. I find birthday’s incredibly fun though. It’s almost my friends birthday. He shares his with a holiday. I’m going to try making him a cake. I just hope my uncle doesn’t eat it before I can give it to him.
Question 3: Describe your family in 8 words.
Warm
Loving
Small
Pesky
Hilarious
Broken
Adaptable
Creative
Question 4: What is something that people make fun of you for?
Um…well sometimes the other kids at school say bad things about my uncle. I just ignore it though. I’m used to it…or well. I just try not to let it bother me.
Question 5: What is the most memorable untrue rumour that has ever been spread about you?
About me? I doubt anyone cares enough. Well I guess everyone at school assumes that Thompson and I are dating but I wouldn’t really call that a rumour and…it isn’t exactly untrue. What I mean is that we have been on a date but we aren’t dating. At least I don’t think we are.
Question 6: Do you have any nicknames? If so which is your favourite and which ones do you hate?
My uncle calls me Flower. It’s such a horrible nickname…but my mother did name me after one. I don’t hate it but it’s a little embarrassing.
Question 7: What are 3 things that you would never do?
Kiss Thompson.
Sleep outside at night.
Go into the basement. It’s awfully dark and smells funny.
Question 8: What’s been on your mind lately?
My friend. He’s very sick…I’m scared he’s going to die.
Question 9: What is your favourite season and why?
I love winter. My birthday’s in the winter. I’m usually sad in the summertime. My parents passed away in the summer….
Question 10: What do you want to be remembered for?
I’m not sure yet. I don’t even know what I want to be when I grow up! I do like stories though. Maybe I’ll become the worlds greatest storyteller or have my own bookshop or a library? That would be so, so lovely.
Ardin Patterson 