Character Interview Ramblings

December 8, 2012 D.A. Adams 3 Comments

I’m playing a little catch up today. As part of The Worlds of Wonder blog hop, here is a character interview with Roskin from The Brotherhood of Dwarves series:

Dianne from Washington – Roskin, tell us about your home and what made you leave?

My kingdom is a wonderful place, full of talented, intelligent dwarves. We have some of the finest poets, musicians, artists, jewelers, and masons you could hope to meet, but for me, I always felt there was more out there, above ground, and I needed to see for myself what the bigger world was like. Maybe it was the elf in me calling me to the forest. Maybe it was youthful curiosity, but the drive to experience the upper world was incessant, so I had to follow it.

I hear you’ve had a difficult time along the way. Did you ever lose sight of your goal?

It’s not so much that I lost sight of the goal as the goal changed. At first, I wanted to find the statue. Then, after I was taken into bondage, I simply wanted to escape. Once Crushaw and the other liberated the plantation, my goal became to return home and make things right in my kingdom. I learned that my original goal was selfish and superficial, so that goal became insignificant to me as I realized that my kingdom, the Kiredurk people, and my friends were far more important.

What was the biggest hardship you faced and why?

Being beaten by the overseer for trying to escape. I was helpless to do anything, and the pain was indescribable. These scars on my back are a reminder each day of the orcs’ cruelty and of the reality of slavery. It was also the first time in my adult life I “met” my mother, so in a way, something good did come out of it.

Tell us about the most interesting person you met, and why he/she was valuable to you.

I can’t narrow it down to one, so I’ll give you the top four in no particular order. Molgheon because she taught me what real courage and loyalty mean. Crushaw because he taught me about leadership. Kwarck because he taught me to embrace my elven gifts. And Rewokog because he taught me a better system of government and economics for my kingdom.

Andi from Georgia – What was the one moment that you would say has changed you the most?

Being captured by Torkdohn and sold into slavery. Up to that point, I was spoiled and pampered. Then, everything was stripped from me, and I was reduced to scrounging for rotten scraps on bare earth. While I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, it was the best experience that could have happened to me because it forced me to appreciate the blessings of my life. I needed humility to see clearly and learn the lessons Kwarck and Crushaw were trying to teach me.

If you could go back to the beginning, before anything had happened, would you still have made the same choices?

Yes, because all of my choices, even the worst ones, have led me to who I am now, and the person I am today is much better than who I was then. I’ve learned valuable lessons along the way and am smarter, wiser, and stronger for them.

Scott from Tennessee – Who do you consider to be the most dangerous threat to your existence?

Without a doubt, Torkdohn. He is a traitor to all dwarves and doesn’t deserve to be called one. Some day, he will pay for all his treachery.

Carolyn from Georgia – When you become King, what is the one thing you would change or do?

I hope to encourage a system of commerce like the Marshwoggs employ, one where each Kiredurk is more than just a subject to the king, but an active, free member of society with tangible ownership of his or her trade and skills. That is my goal for the kingdom.

Alicia from Texas – Being a poet, You would probably have your own opinions, observations, philosophies of life and the world around you, what are some of those?

Life is either pain and sorrow or triumph and joy, and the only difference is attitude. Everyone gets knocked down. Everyone suffers. Some choose to wallow in misery, but others choose to rise and overcome. I hope at the end of my time for others to see me as a beacon of light and hope, as one who has learned and grown from mistakes, as one who overcomes turmoil, as one who leads by example.

You were once looking for a legendary statue that represented the brotherhood of the dwarves. Do you think it would help stop Master Sondious and return your father to the throne?

I can only say Master Sondious is bound by his oaths. By Kiredurk law, if he violates his promises, his claim to the throne is gone, so if my father awakens, he reclaims the throne. If Master Sondious denies him treatment or causes him harm, the throne reverts to me. The statue is a symbol of kinship and camaraderie among all dwarves, but a symbol is not as powerful to a Kiredurk as the rule of law. To us, laws are what separate us from cave trolls and rock wolves, beasts that live off base instincts. Laws are higher reasoning, tried and tested through ages to be fair and impartial. The rule of just law will restore my kingdom to its proper balance, not a material object.

Kristie from Tennessee – So I get to page fifty, barely into chapter three and I’m thinking to myself, “Holy crap, what is this guy thinking?” I know you seriously considered turning back early in your adventure. Did you ever take a moment sitting in that cave and asked yourself, “What have I done?”

I have since suffered self-doubt and questioned my own decisions. But at that point, no, I was too blinded by my own ambitions to second guess myself. It took the humility I mentioned before for me to accept my foolishness and learn from my mistakes. Sitting in that cave, I would’ve sacrificed all of my friends’ lives to fulfill my quest because I was fixated on external possessions and personal glory. I had to learn the value of what’s inside and accept the fact that the good of others is greater than the good of self before I could see beyond my own desires.

I’m curious about something. I mean no offense, but seeing as your father is Kiredurk and your mother Loorish, did knowing this exacerbate your fear of sitting on the council and eventually the throne? It seemed interesting to me that you have this taste for adventure, but was hesitant about leaving the kingdom? Or, was it the simple thought of filling the boots of the great leaders before you? I can see how the Kiredurk part of you would want to stay and be duty bound, but I can also see how the Loorish part of you colored your perspective of responsibility.

I’m a living paradox of duality. The dwarf in me yearns for the stone and darkness of underground, but the elf craves sunlight and greenery. I’m bound by a sense of duty to law yet enticed by freedom. It’s an exhausting tug between two poles that I struggle with daily. I’m not sure what the future holds or if I’ll ever find balance between these two halves of myself, but I promise that I will strive to make sure the choices I make are always what’s best for the people who depend on me. In that manner, I search for wisdom first and hope for the clarity of thought to see beyond my own desires into the larger scope of what will benefit both my kingdom and my elven kin. There are many hardships left to overcome, but I will face them all with the courage and dignity of my ancestors.

This character interview first appeared on Bunny’s Reviews, May 5, 2012.

General Posts

Wednesday Afternoon Ramblings

December 5, 2012 D.A. Adams 3 Comments

I’ve been an educator for 14 years, over a third of my life. When I first began, even as a lowly graduate assistant, I had near autonomy in the classroom. There were basic course guidelines, but virtually all of the design was left to my discretion, from day to day instruction to essay prompts. The rationale was that in the marketplace of ideas, effective educators would thrive and the rest would weed themselves out.

For the first couple of years, I struggled to find my stride. Like most young teachers, I thought my job was to cover as much ground as I could. Then, I figured out on my own that students learned much more if I focused on essential fundamentals and strove for quality in those basics. My real job, as I learned, was to teach people how to teach themselves.

I hope it doesn’t come across as too arrogant to say that for many years, I was a great teacher. Dozens of students came back long after my class was over, when there was no incentive to do so, and thanked me for helping them succeed in college. I’m deeply proud of the work I did and the lives I touched.

Today, I’m a shell of that person. The system has burned me out and used me up. I still try to give my best, but I simply have little left. I feel it when I try to lecture, when I grade, when I trudge out the door dreading each day. There are numerous reasons for my burn out, and I’ve written about them quite often. One of the biggest, however, is the slow erosion of autonomy.

Each semester, the state dictates more and more of what we do in the classroom. Each semester, we have less authority over what and how we teach. The trend is toward homogeneous curriculum. In theory and on the surface that sounds reasonable, but anyone who knows anything substantive about education should be able to tell you that the key to effectiveness is adaptation to specific student needs based off specific instructor strengths.

I hate hating a job I once loved. I miss leaving the house each day thrilled that I get paid to share my knowledge and passion for a subject I adore. I miss getting to work one on one with students, knowing not only their names but their specific writing deficiencies, too. I miss feeling like what I do actually matters.

Today, we as educators are stuck between bureaucracies that see us as disposable, replaceable commodities and students who see us as obstacles to success. There simply aren’t words to convey the sadness, frustration, anger, and sense of betrayal I feel over what has been done to my profession.

Part of me wants to hang on for one more year to have my retirement vested. It’s not much money, but it’s enough that I’d like to have it. Part of me wants to walk away today. All of me recognizes that I have to get out soon. My primary goal and focus has always been to write, and somehow I have to make that happen now. I’m not sure how I’ll break through the locked gate, but somehow, I must. There simply isn’t any way I can continue in this system under these conditions.

Humor

Tennessee Volunteer Ramblings

November 27, 2012 D.A. Adams 3 Comments

Breaking News: Vols Fans Anxiously Await Naming of Next Coach They’ll Hate

The excitement around Knoxville is palpable as football fans await Athletic Director Dave Hart’s scheduled press conference to announce UT’s next head football coach. Talk radio is abuzz with rumors and speculation on who the next scapegoat will be, and some fans have already created signs for the home opener calling for the coach’s resignation.

“It’s just great to have so much anticipation,” says Slosh D. Frat III, a third year freshman and lifelong fan. “Since Dooley got fired, I haven’t gotten to hate a coach for a whole week. Knowing that there’s a new guy just days away. Well, I just almost can’t stand it.”

Asked if there’s any chance he’ll like the new coach, Slosh was contemplative.

“If it’s Gruden, I’ll give him until spring ball before I turn on him. Other than that, I’ll pretty much start screaming for him to be fired that afternoon.”

Other Vol fans echo the sentiment.

“We have a tradition to uphold,” says Iggy Norant, long-time talk radio enthusiast. “Around the nation, we are known as some of the loudest, most uninformed sports fans in college athletics. ESPN has long heralded us as the dumbest, and we have to keep up that tradition. I’ve been a part of running off two head coaches and one coordinator already, and I can’t wait to run off the next guy!”

When asked how the fans’ rabid and rampant intolerance for rebuilding a program mired in mediocrity might impact future recruiting, Norant was incredulous.

“Recruits don’t care who the coach is!” he bellowed. “They come here because of the school’s tolerance of criminal behavior.”

Officials at the university were unavailable for comment, as they were conducting a seminar warning the student body of the perils of butt-chugging. However, in a prepared statement, the school states that it is ready to fire the next coach as soon as boosters give them the approval and the funds to pay off the buyout clause.

Amid the speculation, two names have surfaced as leading candidates for the position. Jon Gruden, Super Bowl winning coach and current Monday Night Football color guy, is considered the fan favorite because of his deep ties to the university, including his marriage to a former UT cheerleader and his cousin’s best friend’s neighbor’s plumber helping institute butt-chugging on fraternity row.

“Jon’s practically an alum,” beams Norant.

However, one name has both sports fans and scientists excited. According to an unnamed source with close ties to important people associated with big-time boosters, geneticists at the university have cloned General Robert Neyland from hair fibers and plan to have his growth accelerated in order to have him ready for recruiting season.

“I’m not sure who this Bob guy is, but he doesn’t have much experience at the SEC level,” Norant said. “We fans will have him on a very short leash. It would be kind of cool to have a coach with the same name as the stadium, though.”

With that, Iggy Norant excused himself, stating that it was time for him to call into the first of the five talk radio shows to which he’s a regular contributor.