Tag: Drama

Introducing Senatora Pelia

Here’s a brief interview with Senatora Octavia Pelia, one of the new characters in Copper Centurion. Don’t forget to check out Brass Legionnaire on Kindle and on Nook! http://bit.ly/MU6Gv1


This is D.O. and I’m coming to you live from the halls of the Imperial Roman Statehouse here in the center  of Rome. With me is one of the youngest members of the Roman Senate, and by far it’s most unique one. She also happens to be the first major female character introduce in Copper Centurion. Thanks for taking this moment to meet with us, Senatora Octavia Pelia.

P: Can we hurry this up? I’ve got a committee meeting in ten minutes, and I’ve got to talk with the other senators about this expedition to Nortland and….

D: Excuse me, there’s an expedition going somewhere?

P: *Levels an angry glare at me and sighs* I suppose I can tell you about it since there’s no way you’d let anyone else know. Yes, there’s an expedition in the works to go north and punish those pesky Nortlander savages for their destruction of Brittenburg. That’s the official line, anyways.

D: What’s the unofficial line?

P: High command is stuck in a political battle between the career and political officers. We’ve just barely managed to get a career officer in charge of the expedition, but the vote was so close I don’t know if it will manage it in the full senate. This expedition would be a fine way for some political imbecile to truly *part censored due to language unbecoming a young woman of Roman breeding and standards*.

D: I… I never knew you felt that passionately about this…

P: My father was a career officer. I blame his death – on the field of battle, no less – on those political idiots he couldn’t remove from his supporting armies.

D: Ah, I see. So I can take it you plan on voting against whatever political appointment is proposed to lead the expedition?

P: Yes. Rumor is that they’ll try to vote through General Minnicus – As though anyone would want that man in charge after the debacle back in Brittenburg. Did you know that he nearly got our Crown Prince KILLED? By rights, that man should be in chains. And to place him in charge of the same legion that contains the primus imperio Constantine Appius again would be sheer foolishness.

D: Sounds like you’ve got a thing for this Prince.

P: *Blushes and glares at me* What is this, a drama worthy of Virgil? I’ve never even met his highness, much less talked with him. How could I have a ‘thing’ for him?

*Bell rings

P: If you’ll excuse me, a vote is being called for, and I don’t want to miss it.

D: Thanks for talking with us anyways, Senatora! And now check out this fun fan art from Hazel West. Thanks Hazel!

How the Hunger Games Movie Stacks Up to the Book


Greetings to all my returning and all my new subscribers!

Today I wanted to briefly look at how movies inspired by books compare to the books themselves. A bit of background on me, I can be nitpicky about my movies, but I consider myself a fair assessor of accuracy in most regards.

I was fortunate enough to catch The Hunger Games last weekend as I was coming back from a weekend trip. We were able to see it in EFX – Enhanced Movie Experience – not sure how much of a difference it made, but no matter. The theater was packed. Entirely. Good thing we got there a bit early! While waiting for the movie to start, I got a chance to see many, many previews. Nothing memorable (at this time), but I do remember that it took the movie nearly 20 minutes to start! argh!

Regardless, I was struck by the background and scenery done for the movie. It really fit perfectly in to the idea of Appalachia being the basis for District 13. Actually having been to many parts of Appalachia myself, I can attest to the authenticity of the depiction (if government and social services cared not at all for the populace) in the older, run down, and more rugged parts.

Setting? – Check

Rue, played by Amandla Stenberg, during a training scene in the movie.

Characters – Did they match the characters invented by my imagination? That’s hard to say, but also not fair to judge. I think that every reader creates an image of what they are reading in their own minds, characters, setting, etc. Some people dislike seeing movies based on books because the characters in the movie won’t be their own (Or even having characters illustrated in their story! See the Illustration Conundrum post for that discussion)

I thought the actors/actresses playing the parts did an excellent job, and (Spoiler if you haven’t read the book) Rue’s character and subsequent death scene were very touching. I read the book a while ago, so that part stood out vividly to me because I hadn’t remembered it much from the book. Goes to show you how emphasis on certain parts can change the perception of the audience. (On a side note, there were tons of people insulted at the number of African Americans portrayed in the movie, which is not only ridiculous that some people still harbor these feelings, but also stupid because that’s exactly how Suzanne Collins described the characters in the book itself!)

I thought the director did a good job trying to bring life into the world and move the story along without eliminating too much of the story. That being said, I thought the first part of the movie dragged on…and on… and on. But it was still interesting to see the world of such a well loved book come to life. There were other movies that have done a worse job of transferring from book to movie (Read the actual ‘Man on Fire‘ book at some point. You’ll be really confused!)

Loved the movie, loved the books too. Would give it an 8/10 stars because of the slow pacing at points. Also, got to sit through an entire movie with a talkative two-year old in front of us. Not the movie’s fault, but just saying! Check it out, totally worth seeing!
Ciao!

The Basement Purge – Short Story

The Basement Purge is a screenplay/short story about toys in a basement trying to avoid ending up on the selling block at a yard sale… Read on to learn more!


We’re starting to add a new function to Modern Papyrus that embraces the other side of literature – writing. Modern Papyrus authors will be adding their short stories to the website in the following days and weeks. Take a look and check it out! 🙂 Please remember, all content created here is original and should not be used without the express permission and agreement of the authors.

The Basement Purge

Characters: Clay person, lion king animal, micro machine, legos, large army man, children, adult as hands/moving boxes

Scene 1:

Scene opens on a cluttered basement: A pair of hands moves boxes around, a slow pan centers on a pile labeled “for yard sale” the pan continues, passing a box of army men, animals, scattered legos, other debris…

Narrator/Clay Person: Every spring, in households near and far, comes a tradition that causes grief in many a toy’s heart. The Spring Yard sale.

Camera focuses in on one particular box….tilts down to focus inside box.

Lego man walks over to large army man.

Lego: Did you hear the news? The Petersons are at it again. This is the third yard sale in three years! They’re trying to get rid of all of us!

Army Man: Ever since Bradley left for college, they’ve been down here, purging us, sending us away, donating us! It’s horrible! I heard that Game Boy got sold to that kid down the street, you know the one who can’t keep anything in one piece? And Sue, the stuffed bear, got donated to charity. The Big truck took her!

Lego man: We gotta warn the others. Lets get outta here. (Builds stairs with legos)

Continue reading “The Basement Purge – Short Story”

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