characters – Rae Nudson

characters’ christmas trees

One year in college I left our Christmas tree up so long it became an Easter tree (complete with Easter egg lights). For a few years in New York I lived in a 400-square-foot apartment, but I always made sure I had room for my boxes of Christmas ornaments.

Right now I have a small fake Christmas tree that’s roughly three feet high. The lights built into it burned out last year–I might need to retire it soon. For now, I just added extra strands of lights (including the Easter egg ones).

I don’t know what I like more: the twinkling lights, the bulbs of bright colors, or the sparkly garland.

My tree is a Doctor Seuss tree. Its ornaments are too large, and too small, and the giant glitter star at the top makes it a little lopsided. I use (and save every year) the tackiest, most colorful garland I can find. I only wish I could fit more ornaments and lights on my tiny tree (and figure out how to take a better picture of my narrow tree in my tiny narrow living room).

I love my little Christmas tree, and I think it does a good job of representing my unique brand of Christmas cheer–more is more and the brighter the better.

After all, your tree is a reflection of your style. Are you traditional? Modern? Minimalist? Tell it to me in Christmas tree. I love seeing my friends’ (ok, and strangers’) trees. It’s a peek inside their holiday brain–and sometimes there’s a bit of personal history in the branches. I assume this is true for fictional people, too, so what would some characters I’ve met this year have on their Christmas trees?

Jon Snow from Game of Thrones. Jon Snow’s tree on the wall would be pretty sparse. They’d have crow decorations and black ornaments. Some books might be under the tree as a gift to Sam, and it would definitely be covered in snow.

Delirium from the Sandman. Delirium’s tree would be a delight–at least at first glance. It would be rainbow, like her speech bubbles, and it would have whimsical ornaments. I have a feeling Delirium decorated until something else came up, and then she promptly deserted her tree in favor of a new distraction. Or maybe she hit the eggnog a little too hard before she got started.

Bernadette from Where’d You Go Bernadette. Once Bernadette was a great architect. She used recycled materials and wasted nothing. Her tree would be made of materials found around her Seattle home, and the blue glass would be a tribute to her daughter Bee’s trip to Antarctica and the glaciers she saw there.

So how do you like your Christmas tree? Whimsical like Delirium’s? Or maybe upcycled like Bernadette’s?

what would glitz wear

I’m a little more than halfway through Glitz (Kindle here), my first Elmore Leonard novel. I can see why they make great movies. The dialogue is natural and entertaining, and the characters are interesting–from the off-duty detective to the casino’s lounge singer to the gangster’s bodyguard. I like how the women are equal players. Nancy Donovan is smarter than most–if not all–of the men surrounding her, including her husband. Linda is comfortable in her personality and ready to make her own way as an artist. They may have to play a man’s game, but they rewrite a few rules.

These women are sexy, but they aren’t just there for sex. But I bet no matter what they are doing, they look good doing it.

Like Gretchen Wieners, Nancy keeps secrets in her perfectly coiffed hair. She runs a casino with her husband, Tom, and at least one Atlantic City gangster. And she can run circles around them. Nancy is always put together and she is not to be trifled with.

Iris is a young, beautiful girl from Puerto Rico who dreams of being a hostess in the United States. She is spunky and fun but, man, does she have some bad luck.

Linda Moon befriends Iris in Atlantic City. Out of all these women, I’d most like to be friends with her. She has her head on straight and is following her passion for making music. But she’s practical, too, and has figured out a way to make a living by singing in Nancy and Tom’s casino. And, like the rest of the casino, she could be decked out in gold when she performs.

Ladonna is the former Miss Oklahoma. But I’m afraid she’s fallen a bit from when she took the crown. Now we never see her without a drink in her hand, and she’s terrified for her life because of the violence surrounding her. We first meet her drowning in both an oversized sweater and an oversized bloody mary.

I can’t wait to read more about these women, and the rest of the characters. More on Glitz soon!

this post is full of spiders

If you are friends with me on Goodreads you know I am reading This Book is Full of Spiders (the sequel to John Dies at the End). It’s hilarious and fun and about a parasite demon creature that takes over an entire town and turns you into a dead, mindless killing machine. So, pretty much a zombie.

The government places a quarantine on the town, and our heroes, John (the one who dies at the end), David and Amy, try to find each other amid the craziness and break out of quarantine to save the town (John and David can see the invisible parasites because of a side effect of a drug they took a few years ago, so they can tell who is infected. They think). Shenanigans ensue.

But what would I do if I were running away from zombies? Well, let’s start with what I’d wear.

Black so you can blend in with the night. If you can, I’d recommend a ka-pow sweater for added courage. A puffer coat for warmth while you’re on the run, and a watch–for keeping time and possibly for bartering with other quarantine rebels. And you’d definitely need a cross-body purse, with zippers, for hands-free activities like running away.

You should also probably read this Vulture article on sawed-off shotguns, so you know what you’re dealing with.

You know what, we should really get a contingency plan in place.

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: