Curse of the Vampyr || Series: Books Of Baldur's Gate III

This book, Curse of the Vampyr, can be found in the library right before the bridge to Minthara. Since Astarion is my game crush, I had to pick it up. 

Cold beauty? Check.

Pale noble? Check.

Charming, with a bite mark on his neck? Check. 

Yep, that's Astarion. 😊

Actually, that's Cazador. 

Cazador is Astarion's vampire sire. Astarion is only a vampire spawn, while Cazador is a cruel, evil vampire. Not sexy. Not sparkling. Cazador is a psychopathic serial murderer.  

And we Astarion-lovers can't wait to kill him, as he was not kind to his spawn.

Astarion's very real fear of returning to Cazador makes him the only companion who approves of continuing to use your special powers, even when negative side effects appear. 

One of those negative side effects is terrible nightmares. In Astarion's case, nightmares of Cazador:

If you've watched any of the many (many!) videos of Astarion out there, you will have noticed Astarion is a very unique sort of vampire.

"It doesn't look broken. Then again, none of us do."

Astarion is both giggly and sardonic, proud and self-effacing, insulting and sometimes kind, thoughtful and chaotic, brave and fearful, intent on saving himself and interested in the rest of his companions. He's multi-faceted and fascinating. 

And he's actually more of a vampire than Cazador. 

Or rather, Cazador is a modern literary vampire. He is a threat, as in Dracula (1897).

But Astarion is closer to the ORIGINAL literary vampire, seen in Lord Byron's Fragment of a Novel (1819) -- the Cool Best Friend. 

The Byronic vampire is the fascinating, talented guy everyone wants as a friend, and if you're lucky enough to become his best friend, you feel flattered and honored that he chose you. 

The bond this type of vampire shares with his (male in this case) best friend is the most important part of his life (un-life).  His human is sworn to keep the secret of his vampire-ness, but honor is all that binds them. 

You'll notice this is the opposite of a Dracula-type vampire. No hypnosis. No madness and eating bugs a la Renfield. (You'll also have noticed Cazador treats Astarion in precisely this Dracula-defined manner, controlling his body, forcing him to eat rats and insects.)

The Byronic vampire may eat blood, but we never see it. It's not particularly important to his story. They are buddies who travel around together. That's the story as Byron wrote it. 

And that's precisely what Astarion offers. 

So if Larian allows the player character to affect their companions' alignment in Baldur's Gate 3, this will fit in perfectly with vampire canon. 

Swaying Astarion to evil, like Cazador, would make him a Dracula-type vampire. Swaying him to good would make him more of a Byronic vampire. 

I look forward to having a Byronic vampire at my side. 

Hamsters In SPAAAAACE || Series: Books Of Baldur's Gate III

 The Miniature Giant Space Hamster.

Now, being a HUGE Bioware fangirl, the first thing I thought of upon reading this was.... 

Commander Shepard's SPACE HAMSTER! 

If you had Space Hamster as a pet in Mass Effect 2, you can find your hamster in Mass Effect 3 as well. Space Hamster is even in the Citadel DLC!

There is also a Space Hamster in Mass Effect: Andromeda.  

So how could you NOT think of Bioware's Mass Effect when you think of Space Hamsters?

As it happens, this is PRECISELY WHAT YOU SHOULD THINK OF. 

Back in the day, Bioware was the first studio to develop Baldur's Gate games. In both Baldur's Gate and Baldur's Gate II, a ranger named Minsc has a "Miniature Giant Space Hamster" named Boo in his pack.

It is believed that this Baldur's Gate character, Boo, inspired Bioware to include a Space Hamster in Mass Effect. 

If you watched the Citadel DLC video above, you heard Shepard tell his hamster to "Go for the eyes."  This is what Minsc used to say to Boo. 

Space Hamsters. From Baldur's Gate to Mass Effect to Baldur's Gate. The ouroboros Easter egg. 

Thank you for coming to my TED talk. 😉

How Tall is Astarion from Baldur's Gate 3?

On February 2nd, Larian Studios quote tweeted the official Resident Evil twitter account, revealing the height of a certain fan-favorite vampire from their game currently in Early Access, Baldur's Gate III.

Many twitter residents were surprised or saddened to learn Astarion is 'only' 5'9" (or 175 cm). 

Others considered 5'9 to be just right, since it was still taller than they were. Which is not surprising because 5'9 is not that short. In most of the world, it's considered average or even tall.

And this normally would be the end of the story. We have a canonical height, delivered by the official twitter account of the game developer. 

But.... 

Pjenn found this dialogue lurking in the Patch 4 game files. It is UNRELEASED, UNFINISHED dialogue, so I'm only showing the frame containing the pertinent information.  

You will see that here, in the game itself, Astarion's canon height is 5'11" (or 180 cm). 

This is considered tall, no matter where you live. (Google it if you don't believe me.)

So, which is it? Which one are you accepting as canon?

I have a terrible time visualizing size, so I'm happy as long as Astarion is taller than I am. Which means I'm fine with either one. 

Although if I ever write fanfic with Astarion.... I'll probably go with 5'11. My husband is 6'1 and they do say 'write what you know.' 😜

The Ballad of Darien Gautier

Long, long ago, when Elder Scrolls Online first appeared (2014), I fell in love with a character named Darien Gautier.

(Darien is voiced by Jon Curry, of Zevran Arainai fame (he's also the American-accented Inquisitor in Dragon Age: Inquisition, and you've probably heard his voice in a bunch of other BioWare and Bethesda games). So if you easily fall in love with voices, like me, you know where I'm coming from here.)

And---miracle of miracles---he fell in love with me!!!

(YES, although Zenimax won't let you flirt with ANYBODY ELSE, you CAN flirt with Darien. Bless the person who made this possible by working in some flirt dialogue choices. You are my hero.)

So when y'all are about to go up against the huge, final boss, you can get dialogue like this:

(happy sigh)

And you get dialogue about what we're going to do when the fight is over:

As the "beautiful hero of Coldharbour," I was definitely looking forward to a drink and a neck massage. And there was no reason to expect I wouldn't get it. From the moment we became a couple, Darien had been saying we'd be together, that we'd find each other after the battle, no matter what:

So my character is quite invested in this relationship. As well as saving the world, of course. Y'know. That, too.

*big, dramatic boss fight*  *yay victory*

And then.....

DARIEN DIED.

*sobbing*

Except we couldn't find his body so THERE WAS HOPE.

I played all the different sides of the ESO conflict, and I waited.

2015
One day, I was reading all the books in Orsinium, because that is something I do. (There is Important Lore to be found. Shut up.)

ANYWAY,  in the library of the Temple of Ire, I came across this:

Me: *high pitched dolphin shrieks* THIS IS DARIEN ISN'T IT IT'S GOT TO BE DARIEN OMG

*turns over page*

Me: *more high pitched dolphin shrieks*  IT DARIEN!!!

I told everybody on Twitter. Darien was trying to come back to me.

And I kept the faith.

2016
I wander into a Mages' Guild library in Anvil, and there is fellow Darien fangirl Gabrielle Benele, looking for Darien. I'm all like, "I HAVE A CLUE FOR THIS!!!"

So it's not just me. A Darien rescue could be on the cards.

And since then I've been waiting.

Waiting.

2018
In 2018 came the release of ESO Summerset. I was really hoping I'd learn more about Razum-dar, the charismatic Khajiit. Maybe even be able to flirt with him!

But no.

Nope.

Raz is present, but there's very little personal interaction.

And then I heard the Golden Knight's voice and I was like.... Is that...??!!

IS THAT...??!!

Meridia herself confirms that, YES, THE MYSTERY IS FINALLY SOLVED.

Now, you can see by this timeline that Zenimax Online has been playing a very long game here. Respect. I'm disappointed I still cannot flirt with Razum-dar, but RESPECT for remembering that there are Darien fangirls awaiting Darien's return. And for giving us some love:

It was truly nice to interact with him again.

So I did NOT expect him TO DIE AGAIN.

Even though it's been long enough that none of this should be "spoilers," I'll skip over exactly HOW he dies and just mention the important bit:  THIS TIME THERE WILL BE NO BODY. 

I'm like, NO. YOU CANNOT DO ME LIKE THIS, ZENIMAX.

So I hold out hope that somehow Meridia will give him back to me.

Then, at the end of Summerset, I hear a mysterious book has teleported to the victory celebration.

IT'S DARIEN I KNOW IT'S DARIEN

You may want to mute the sound on this clip as you read. That's Rigurt's laughter in the background.
(I adore Rigurt the Brash, it was so cool to meet him again, though his maniacal laughter can be unsettling in this context. The context of IMMA STAB THAT DAEDRIC BITCH.)

All I can say is this better not be the end of Darien Gautier.

Bethesda has announced the upcoming release of ESO ELSWEYR in June 2019. I have wanted to visit Elsweyr since Oblivion (2006) so, yeah, I'm gonna be there.

And my two greatest hopes for this expansion are:

1) I GET TO SHIV MERIDIA. IN THE FACE. TAKE THAT, GLISTER WITCH. GIVE ME MY DARIEN BACK.

2) I get to flirt with some Khajiit. Preferably Razum-dar. But, hey. ANY flirting would be nice.

Because, on that second point, I don't understand why I can wander the open world killing everything in sight, but I can't flirt with anyone. WTF, Zenimax Online/Bethesda?? What's up with that??

I mean, there are tons of games on the market where I can kill things. And some days, that's all I want. Give me a bow and point me toward the draugr.

But what makes an RPG game like Elder Scrolls endure, what makes it re-play-able, what gives it legs and positive word of mouth, is Emotional Investment. I want to care about the characters and the storyline. Throw in some flirting/personal stuff so I can pretend it's not just a linear path, it's something I chose, and thus I affected the world, or our little corner of it.

Let me have my Darien.

Laurence Fox Music

Interview with NICHOLAS LEA

Interview with Nicholas Lea at DragonCon 

Sunday 6 September 2015

Periodically I ask People I Really Like if I can interview them for the segment of my website I call The Chatty Cat Cafe. 

Nicholas Lea being one of those People, I requested an interview at DragonCon. He graciously agreed.

However, you think YOUR DragonCon is busy? I got a glimpse of how busy it can be for the guests.

First, we were going to do lunch, but he never got a lunch break. We rescheduled for late afternoon, but the fans kept coming. 

Mr. Lea - ever humble and self-effacing - was certain people would stop arriving at his table on the Walk of Fame any moment. They never did. He severely underestimates the size and dedication of his fan base. There was always someone who wanted to tell him what they'd seen him in and what it meant to them. 

So we ended up doing this interview in between fan visits on the floor of the DragonCon Walk of Fame. 

Note: Mr. Lea's words are in ALL CAPS just to make this easier to read. He wasn't shouting. Well, except to be heard over the din. :)

EDIT: Changing "Nic" (which should be "Nick") to "Mr. Lea" since it's really presumptuous of me to be calling him anything other than that or Sir. :)

Me: Right. Okay. Pretend we’re at a cafe. What’s your favorite hot beverage?

NL: COFFEE. STRONG. USUALLY WHAT I DRINK WHEN I GO OUT TO GET COFFEE IS DARK ROAST WITH A LONG SHOT OF ESPRESSO.

Me: Do you have any pets?

NL: I HAVE THE BEST DOG IN THE WORLD. I’LL SHOW YOU A PICTURE. HIS NAME’S JIMMY STEWART. HE TURNS 10 IN ABOUT A WEEK. AND WHEN YOU COME IN THE DOOR HE SMILES AT YOU. 

THAT’S HIM SMILING BECAUSE HE’S SO EXCITED.

*shows photo of adorable Jack Russell terrier showing every last one of his teeth in a huge, wolfish grin*

Me: (laughing) He looks ferocious! 

NL: I KNOW BUT HE’S LIKE, HE’S MY BEST FRIEND. I’LL SHOW YOU A GOOD PICTURE. 

*shows photo of same handsome Jack Russell terrier looking straight into the camera with soulful, deep brown eyes* 

I DON’T THINK I’VE LOVED TOO MANY THINGS IN MY LIFE MORE THAN HIM. HE'S GOT THE MOST BEAUTIFUL EYES. I COULD TALK ABOUT MY DOG ALL DAY. 

Me: Jimmy Stewart, you said? Is that your favorite actor or did your dog’s personality remind you of him?

NL: IS JIMMY STEWART MY FAVORITE ACTOR? HMMM….YEAH. YEAH, I’LL SAY THAT. IT’S LIKE SAYING ‘WHO’S YOUR FAVORITE BAND?’ BUT….YEAH. 

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE FILMS.

Me: Of all your roles, which comes closest to your dog’s personality?

NL: I DID A MOVIE CALLED SHOT IN THE FACE THAT YOU’LL NEVER SEE. IT’S A COMEDY. I’M A FUMBLING BANK ROBBER. HE’S AN IDIOT. HE’S A COMPLETE IDIOT. 

Me: But good-hearted we assume?

NL: UMM. SOMEWHERE IN THERE. YEAH.

Me: If money were no object, what would you do?

NL: IN TERMS OF ACTING?

Me: In terms of anything.

NL: OH, I THINK IF I COULD BE DOING ANYTHING, I’D EITHER BE SINGING, PLAYING AND SINGING, OR PLAYING GOLF PROFESSIONALLY.

I MEAN, LISTEN, WHAT I DO, I LOVE. 

BUT I WORKED ON A SHOW CALLED MEN IN TREES, AND THE CREATOR OF THE SHOW FOUND OUT THAT I SING, AND WANTED TO KNOW WOULD I SING ON THE SHOW? I SAID FOR SURE, AND SHE SAID WOULD YOU WRITE THE SONG? AND I SAID FOR SURE. SO WE WENT INTO THE STUDIO AND RECORDED A COUPLE SONGS AND THAT’S AS CREATIVELY FULFILLING AS I’VE PROBABLY EVER FELT. 

Me: You need to do an album. That’s not a question. That’s a command. 

NL: (laughing) DID YOU SEE ME AND DUCHOVNY SINGING ON YOUTUBE? 

Me: Yes!!

NL: IT’S PRETTY FUNNY.

Me: Do you get nervous before going on stage?

NL: TOTALLY.

Me: What do you do to relax?

NL: SMOKE POT. THAT’S THE HONEST ANSWER.

Me: What’s your favorite song to sing?

NL: I’M NOT GOING TO SING IT FOR YOU.

Me: No, no, no... wait. (mock indignation) What? I’m outraged.

NL: I LIKE SINGING THE ELVIS SONG LOVE ME. I WON’T SING IT FOR YOU. BUT YOU’LL FIND IT SOMEWHERE. IT’S A GREAT SONG.

*interviewer stumbles, forgets next question, apologizes for being so nervous*

NL: DON’T BE NERVOUS. HONESTLY, DON’T BE NERVOUS. NOTHING TO BE NERVOUS ABOUT. REALLY. WE’VE MET EACH OTHER ENOUGH TIMES NOW.

Me: You can act, and you can sing. Are you a triple threat?

NL: CAN I DANCE? YOU KNOW, I THINK I CAN DANCE, BUT I NEED TO HAVE SEVEN OR EIGHT COCKTAILS BEFORE I DO IT. AND THAT’S NOT THE MOST….

IF I WERE TO DO IT PROFESSIONALLY…. 

I’M NO CHRIS WALKER, LET’S PUT IT THAT WAY. (laughing) I THINK I’M A PRETTY GOOD DANCER. I HAVE A GOOD SENSE OF TIME. 

Me: So you could be in a musical!

NL: I COULD BE IN A MUSICAL. I’D LIKE TO BE IN A MUSICAL. IN A MUSICAL FILM, NOT ON STAGE. I’D BE TOO TERRIFIED TO DANCE ON STAGE BECAUSE I’D FALL OVER, PROBABLY.

Me: Do you like performing on film better than stage performances?

NL: YOU LEARN MORE ON STAGE. YOU LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW YOU WORK AS AN ACTOR ON STAGE. BUT FILM IS MORE IMMEDIATE AND MORE EXCITING. YOU FIND THAT YOU DON’T NEED TO DO AS MUCH. IT’S LIKE GOLFING. IF YOU HOLD THE CLUB TOO TIGHT AND SWING TOO HARD, YOU’RE IN TROUBLE. IF YOU JUST RELAX AND VISUALIZE AND BE ATHLETIC, THEN SWING EASY, YOU’LL BE FINE.

Me: How did you get interested in golf?

NL: BECAUSE IT’S LIKE ACTING. USES THE SAME SIDE OF MY BRAIN. CALMNESS. CERTAIN KIND OF MENTAL ATHLETICISM AND VISUALIZATION AND TRUST. YOU CAN’T SWING A CLUB WITHOUT KEEPING YOUR HEAD DOWN. THE MOMENT YOU LIFT YOUR HEAD UP TO WATCH WHERE IT (the golf ball) GOES YOU’RE IN TROUBLE. YOU HAVE TO TRUST THAT IT’S GOING TO GO WHERE YOU WANT IT TO GO. 

Me: This is off topic but, how did you hurt yourself?

NL: I ALMOST CUT THE END OF MY FINGER OFF ABOUT A WEEK AGO. GOT SEVEN, SIX STITCHES ON THE END OF MY FINGER. 

Me: (winces) What were you doing?

NL: I WAS TRYING TO PUT UP SOME PLASTIC TARPING AND I HAD TO PUT A HOLE THROUGH TWO PIECES OF PLASTIC USING BRAND NEW SCISSORS AND I WENT (ferociously stabs the air with invisible shears and strikes finger)

I HAD TO GET ON A WATER TAXI IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT AND GO TO THE CLOSEST HOSPITAL AND…. YEAH. IT WAS DRAMA. UNWANTED DRAMA. 

Me: Last question - we spoke of imbibing many cocktails before dancing earlier. How drunk would I have to get you for you to agree to narrate a smutty, erotic audio book for me?

NL: SMUTTY EROTIC? 

I DON’T KNOW. YOU KNOW, I’LL BE HONEST WITH YOU, I HAVE NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT IT. 

BUT… PROBABLY NOT THAT DRUNK. 

This then devolved into plans for world domination procedures for giving him a choice of audiobooks to narrate, before we ended the interview and he kissed me goodbye. 

Whereupon I was a complete professional and did not swoon on the Walk of Fame floor. I am very proud of myself for that.

Although I might possibly have been seen running around in circles on the sidewalk, with flailing Kermit-arms, yelping:

*SQUEEEEE*  NICHOLAS LEA KISSED ME  *SQUEEEEEE*. 

But... let’s keep that last bit between us, yeah?

The End

Interested in audiobooks I already have available? CLICK HERE

Interested in more interviews? Check out THE CHATTY CAT CAFE

Looking for a LIST OF MY BOOKS?

Wondering if the hero on the cover of my latest intentionally bears a striking resemblance to Krycek? 

And if you've seen SHOT IN THE FACE, let me know in the comments!

Chatting with Lovecraft about Sex

SCENE: Young, exuberant REPORTER sits opposite quiet, horror-writing legend H.P. LOVECRAFT in a small New England sitting room filled with spindly antique furniture which has seen much use. 

Reporter: You can't believe how excited I am to be here. There are so many questions, so many questions, that fans and academics have been yearning to ask you. We all want insight into the worlds you created, the fantastic characters and places, the things named and unnamed. So let's start, shall we?

H.P.: Please do.

Reporter: Right then. How is your sex life?

H.P.: I beg your pardon?

Reporter: Describe your sex life for us. Are you homosexual? Are you asexual? Is that why sex is absent from your stories?

H.P.: (*long pause*) When I write weird fiction, I give you weird. When I write horror, I hope to horrify you. I don't write romance. If I wrote romance, I would include romance. Do you ask Edgar Allan Poe why he doesn't write more about lollipops and sunshine?

Reporter: But you created an entire mythology, and a dream-cycle, and no one has any sex in either of them.

H.P.: My characters are generally fighting for their lives or their sanity. Just when, exactly, do you propose they stop and have sex?

Reporter: Right. Of course. So how long would you say it takes you to achieve orgasm?

H.P.: What did you just ask me?

Reporter: These are actual questions people have discussed. Articles have been written. People want to know!

H.P. (*shifts in his chair uncomfortably*): I am a very private person from an era when a gentleman did not discuss such things and a place where being Puritanically uptight and uncommunicative was a sign of eminent respectability. What on earth or in the Outer Darkness makes you think I would ever discuss a topic as intimate as sex with utter strangers? I don't even discuss it with my friends.

Reporter: Aha! So you're squeamish? You don't like sex?

H.P.: (*now really irritated*) Squeamish? Seriously? Have you read my writing? (*sighs*) If you absolutely must know, I take my husbandly duties very seriously. I researched the topic thoroughly before marriage.

Reporter: Researched.... Does that mean you were a virgin? You were, weren't you! You must have a low sex drive.

H.P.: No, I have a modicum of self-control. I live in an age without reliable birth control, when unwed pregnancy is considered an unredeemable social sin. What sort of gentleman endangers the health and reputation of the woman he loves? Besides....

H.P. STANDS, CROSSES TO MIRROR ABOVE LARGE HEARTH

H.P.: You may have noticed, I am not particularly pleasing to the eye. My own mother said I was "grotesque" and advised me to go outside only after dark, so as not to frighten the neighbors. Advice I continue to follow to this day.

H.P. TURNS, SHUDDERS A BIT AS IF TO THROW OFF OLD MEMORIES, AND RETURNS TO HIS CHAIR.

H.P.: Thus it will be of no surprise to you that I was not overburdened with offers from the opposite sex. Sonia was the first woman who ever kissed me, apart from family. Had she not been determined to prove to me I was lovable, I doubt I ever would have known the congeniality of... of the.... (*hesitates, clearly searching for the perfect words*)

Reporter (*steam-rollers over HP's thoughts*): And is your wife satisfied with your performance? In bed? Your sexual performance? I hear she had more experience than you. I don't mean to say she's a slut or anything.

H.P.: (*very formal, with icy anger*) You are my guest so I shan't punch you. But you will leave this house at once.

REPORTER, SUDDENLY COWED AS HE REMEMBERS JUST EXACTLY HOW MANY PEOPLE DIE GRUESOMELY IN THIS AUTHOR'S STORIES, STANDS.

ENTER SONIA, Lovecraft's wife.

Sonia (*smiling*): Wait, don't go. You want to hear about our sex life first-hand, don't you?

Reporter (*looks at HP nervously, stutters*): I...I....ummm....I....

Sonia: My husband is a very sophisticated and conscientious lover who knows how to please a woman. I have to initiate our encounters, yes, but that's because he was brought up to believe no woman would have him and he doesn't wish to impose himself on me.

Reporter: (*backing toward the door*): So he pleases you. That's good.

Sonia (*her righteous anger slipping past her polite smile*): I didn't just say he pleases me, I said he knows how to please a woman. HE HAS TECHNIQUE.

ENTER FANGIRLS, peering in the windows from outside.

Fangirls: Did she say technique? Do you realize how rare technique is, even today?! Get out of the way, Lame Ass Reporter! Lemme see this guy!

Sonia (*approaching Reporter, who is fumbling for the doorknob*): (*accusingly*) You just want there to be sex in his stories so you can read about women who enjoy their sexuality being ripped apart by eldritch horrors.

Reporter: What? No!

Sonia: He doesn't slut-shame, he doesn't denigrate women as a gender, and sex isn't a part of my husband's stories because sex isn't a punishable crime in his universe. So there must be something wrong with him? It that it?

Reporter (*stumbling out the door*): No! It's not like that. Not all men....

Fangirls: (*pouncing on Reporter*) NOT ALL MEN. He said it! He said the thing!

H.P. (*sotto voce to Sonia, who has returned to his side, indicates Fangirls*): Why are they doing that?

Sonia (*strokes HP's hair affectionately*): Ignore them. That's an entirely different discussion.

Reminding y'all about Adam Howden (again)

Adam Howden is supposed to be signing at 12pm and he's on the voice acting panel at 3:30pm.

So. Are you at the London Comic Con - MCM Expo?

Share pictures! Stories! Cool encounters! 

Did you see Matt Smith? Adam Howden? Billy Boyd?

Buy anything awesome?

Tell me in the comments section!

Adam Howden at London Expo 2012

This is Adam Howden.

He is at London Comic Con - MCM Expo RIGHT NOW.

Why aren't you there?

Click for more information

Interview with ADAM HOWDEN

Welcome to The Chatty Cat Cafe!

Those of you who've followed me for a while know I used to post pet-centered interviews under the Cafe title, back on my old blog.

A few of those interviews were saved and appear on my website.

But I haven't done any more....UNTIL NOW.   **trumpet fanfare**

Have you been listening to the audio version of Wicked Beloved and wondered, who is the exceedingly talented and sexy fella reading this? Wonder no longer!

Yes, today the Chatty Cat is privileged to present.... oh, who am I kidding.... Today the Chatty Cat is squeeeeeing like a teenaged fangirl on a half-crazed sugar high because our guest is the one and only:

ADAM HOWDEN

If you play video games at all, you'll be familiar with his work. He's all over:
Dragon Age: Origins
Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening
Fable III
Star Wars: The Old Republic
as well as starring in:
Lost Horizon (Fenton Paddock)
Xenoblade Chronicles (Shulk) (English version)
and
The Adventures of Tintin: The Game (Tintin)

And he has acquired his own Estrogen Brigade from playing Anders in Dragon Age II.

On stage he starred as Malevole/Altofront in The Malcontent, plus he has guested in several television programs, like New Tricks.

Adam in The Malcontent

And, as I said, now he has narrated the audiobook version of Wicked Beloved. (Squee! Such a sexy voice!)

So, yes, right there my gaming and writing worlds collide. 

Luckily I am a professional.

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Ahem.

Okay. Not that much of a professional. (major Twitter crush)

Amazingly, because he is an extra-special, patient, and very, very nice person, he agreed to be interviewed by drooling fangirl me.

So here we go:

Welcome to The Chatty Cat Cafe! First off, tea or coffee? How do you like it served?

Tea, well brewed, milk, half teaspoon of sugar.

The focus here is generally on pets and you’re famous for being a Kind Hearted Cat Lover. Please introduce us to your cats.

I have two black cats. They are called Frankie & Goose. Frankie is very pretty (he's a bit of a girl). He wears a collar & has white armpit hair. He's also a bit chubby. Goose is a bit more rough around the edges, but still very handsome.

How did you come up with the names Frankie and Goose?

I actually didn't have the honour of naming Frankie & Goose. They were from a rescue centre. I think they'd already had several owners before me & presumably one of them named them. They are from the same litter though, brothers, so they've always had each other.  

What are their favorite treats?

Goose likes treats. His favourites are these smelly biscuits called Dreamies, but he's also partial to a bit of smoked salmon. Frankie won't eat treats. Don't know why. He'd rather eat more than his fair share of his normal dried food.

Favorite places for napping?

Goose likes to either sleep on my bed (especially when I've just changed the sheets), or on rough surfaces like wicker baskets. Frankie likes to sleep in enclosed spaces. Under duvets or in his little cat hut, which is like a very small tent. They're both fond of the sofa too.

Which of your characters/performances would you say best represents the ethos of each of your cats and why?

Goose is like a character I played in a play called MARY STUART called "The Earl of Leicester", who was Queen Elizabeth I’s favourite at court. He behaves all smooth & cavalier & is a bit of a user but really he's a bit insecure & needs love & reassurance.

Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. Historical Hottie.

Frankie is more like my character "Anders" who I voiced in the video game DRAGON AGE 2. He's pretty loyal, loving & very determined (especially when he wants to get into a room when the door is closed or under my duvet in the middle of the night) He appears to be a softy but he sometimes goes absolutely crazy like he's possessed (like Anders). He's given me some nasty bites & scratches before.

Anders in Dragon Age 2

Do you get nerves before performances? How do you relax?

I do get nervous before any performance whether it's stage, screen or voice over. I just have to say to myself "you'll love it when you're doing it so get on with it". You just have to dive in & at some point the nerves subside & you start to enjoy the performance.

How do you warm up before performing?

To warm up I do vocal & physical exercise. The vocal involves lots of scales & I will sometimes sing songs. Also I do tongue twisters like repeating "Red Leather, Yellow Leather" & "I'm not pheasant plucker, I'm a pheasant plucker's son. And I'm only plucking pheasants till the pheasant plucker comes." The latter one can sound quite interesting if you mess it up.

I do loads of stretching for physical warm ups.

What's your favorite song to sing?

Songs I might sing to warm my voice up are "Shimmer" by a band called FUEL, "Folding Stars" by BIFFY CLYRO & "Friday I'm In Love" by THE CURE.

If life were a musical, what would be your theme song?

If life were a musical, my theme song would be "Hasa Diga Eebowai" from THE BOOK OF MORMON. It's so funny & outrageous. I love it.

You can act and you can sing - are you a triple threat? Can you dance?

I am possibly one of the worst dancers mankind has ever known, so unfortunately I'm not that kind of "Triple Threat", no. I probably have some comedy value though.

If you had complete artistic control and money was no object, what play/movie/game/book/whatever would you choose to star in and why?

If money was no object & I had full artistic control I would want to write, star & direct a movie about my mother's side of the family living in East Africa in the 1960's. I would play my grandfather. I've been told so many amazing stories of their time there & having visited there myself I want others to see what a beautiful place it is. It's all in my head, I just need to write the bugger ;)

I know you write comedy sketches—are you working on anything currently? Is comedy your favorite genre to write?

I'm hoping to film some more comedy sketches soon. It's hard because you're often depending on other people's availability & there's no budget. But I do it because it's fun. I like writing & performing comedy because I am very childish.

How was recording an audiobook different from recording for games and adverts?

Recording an audiobook takes a lot more time than games or adverts. So it takes a lot of patience on both my part & the sound engineer. You know you're going to be sat at a mic for hours reading aloud, which is not something we tend to do much of in the 21st century, so it's important to try to be as relaxed as possible. Don't get angry at yourself when you cock-up & try to be as prepared as possible.

And lastly, getting back to the pet theme I wandered away from, do you have any advice for someone thinking of getting a cat?

My advice to anyone thinking of getting a cat is to get one from a rescue centre. The chances are it'll be much more fun & intelligent than some inbred pedigree breed & you won't have to worry that people are going to steal it. Also, the rescue centre will have had it health checked, neutered & micro-chipped. There is no need to spend hundreds of pounds for a cat. You can get yourself a wonderful bundle of fluff for the cost of a small donation to the rescue centre.

Thank you so much for doing this!! 

Y'all can follow Adam on Twitter to keep up with his exploits. 

And you can buy his reading of Wicked Beloved on Audible or iTunes.

These are a few of my favorite things...

Jason Spisak

property of EniJoi on dA

I already posted this epiphany on tumblr. But why not here too, right?

I just noticed that many of the drawings of Tom Hiddleston's Loki that I like best, such as the one above, bear a striking resemblance to Jason Spisak, the voice and inspiration for the face of Vulpes Inculta in Fallout: New Vegas -- who is another character I really like.

I think I have just identified my “type.”

Me = Shallow but Consistent 


So. Do you readers have a "type" you prefer?  It's not always easy to recognize in yourself. My sister used to say she loved brunettes, but every single fan-girl crush she had was on a blonde fellow.

Share, my pretties! ;)