The Harry Potter Alliance

Meet the Bloggers: The Rogue Victorian

“Writers aren’t people exactly. They’re a whole lot of people trying so hard to be one person.” ~F. Scott Fitzgerald

Mr. Fitzgerald clearly had me in mind when he wrote that quote–fifty years or so before I was born. My name is Kara O’Brien, and besides being your devoted blog-team leader, I am a writer, singer, poet, student, sometime-dancer, full-time day-dreamer, and continual confusionist. I collect books and hobbies, and characters who refuse to stay in my head where they belong. Occasionally they get away and can be seen roaming about the streets.

On an average day, I can usually be found drinking tea, singing, listening to music, and wandering around with my nose in a book. Frequently all at the same time. I gave up on being normal at about three days old, and have since then dedicated a large amount of time to perfecting eccentricity. I have been known to appear at movie theaters in chain mail, pool parties in tea dresses, and dairy farms in lace. I frequently go to school in full Victorian rig, just because it confuses people. I adore long words and obscure historical facts, and I love nothing better in the world than the smell of very old books. In fact, I rather think Mr. Pratchett may also have had me in mind, when he said:

“When it came to odd, [she] didn’t just take the cake, but a packet of biscuits, too, with sprinkles on top, and also a candle.” ~Terry Pratchett, Wintersmith

To be fair, I can say that I came by some of my eccentricities honestly. My family and I live in Conifer, Colorado, on a very tiny farm with some sheep and goats, four dogs, many cats, and a large number of noisy chickens. In the past, our family has included as many as nine cats at a time, a milk cow, two doves, and a ferret. We also have a bobcat, several bears, and lots and lots of elk that come by to visit.

Oh, and we have a very, very extensive collection of wrackspurts and nargles. Yes, we seem to collect those.

When I’m not reading or studying madly for some test or other, I tat and needlefelt, and dream up wonderful stories, which I usually forget before I write down. I am about to start my freshman year at the University of Colorado, Denver, where I am majoring in Vocal Performance and Creative Writing (practicality is NOT one of my great virtues), and where I currently head up a quidditch team, and an HPA chapter called The Hogwarts Irregulars.

I discovered the HPA on a dark and stormy December night, almost three years ago, and I knew I had to be a part of it the moment I saw the main page. Stories have shaped my life more than almost anything else in the world, and helping to make that magic come true is something I cherish every day. Stories have the power to introduce us to parts of ourselves we’d never meet otherwise, to allow us to see the world through other people’s eyes, and to take us to times and places we’d never, ever be able to see without them. To me, stories are the greatest magic that exist anywhere, and every story I come in contact with leaves a little of itself with me forever.

So when people jokingly ask me if I escaped from a novel, I tell them, “don’t be ridiculous.”

I escaped from many novels. And a bunch of short stories, and some poems, and a whole lot of TV shows and films.

And I go on escaping every day.

I am currently working on my own novel, several short stories, and the material for my first album. In between, I do a ridiculous amount of homework, spend way too much time on the internet, and have re-occurring dreams of running away and joining a theater, or a circus–whichever comes first. In the meantime, I love meeting new people, and hearing their thoughts on the life, the universe, and the Imagine Better blog. You can find me on twitter and Goodreads as TrickShadow, and on tumblr as The Rogue Victorian.

I would love to meet you, so look me up, or leave a comment! Until then, I’ll leave you with a final quotation from a great author, who–I am certain–had all of us at the HPA in mind when he said,

“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine, and at last you create what you will.” ~George Bernard Shaw.