Stacy Stokes | Judging A Character by Their Favorite Movie

Remember when you were a kid and you could quickly assess anyone by using a series of standard get-to-know-you questions? For me, it usually consisted of favorite movie, subject in school, color and food. If I knew those four things about you, I had a pretty good idea of who you were and whether or not we could be friends. (Owning a Nintendo or having a swimming pool in your backyard was an added bonus.)

This got me thinking about the characters in my recent debut WHERE THE STAIRCASE ENDS. How would they answer these four basic questions, and would they have passed my childhood friendship test? If you’ll indulge me, I’d like to find out.

TAYLOR, the main character

Favorite Movie: Any kind of HEA girl-gets-boy movie, though now she really wishes she’d paid more attention when her parents watched The Five People You Meet in Heaven and It’s a Wonderful Life in case they offered a few useful afterlife tips. She could use them.

Favorite Class: Before last week, she would have said P.E. or history since they’re the classes she shares with Sunny. Now? She wishes she were homeschooled.

Favorite Color: Blue, because Justin Cobb wore it the other day and…sigh.

Favorite Food: Whatever her mom didn’t pack in her lunch that day. Seriously, can she stop already with the Omega-3 vitamin-enriched food overload? She doesn’t care what Woman’s Health said, eating that stuff is not going to make her any smarter. Would she pass the friendship test? Yes, I think we’d be friends.

SUNNY, the (ex) best friend

Favorite Movie: Publically, Mean Girls, because it stars a fellow redhead and she completely agrees that you should never wear sweatpants to school. Privately, she has the The Parent Trap on repeat because she loves when the twins get reunited with their missing parents. If it happened to them, it could happen to her, right? Favorite Class: Lunch, because it’s the best time to gossip and hang out with her fans friends.

Favorite Color: Green, because it looks amazing on her. (Though, to be fair, most colors do.) But her mother always liked lavender, so that’s what color her bedroom is.

Favorite Food: Trident Strawberry Twist Gum.

Would she pass the friendship test? Yes, but only because I wouldn’t want to be on her bad side. Although, if she ever let me see the real her I might be more open.

LOGAN, the boyfriend

Favorite Movie: It’s a four way tie between Hot Tub Time Machine, Jackass 3D, The Fast and the Furious 6 and Tokyo Gore Police.

Favorite Class: Art, because it’s the one class he’s really good at, and P.E., because he gets to throw things.

Favorite Color: It’s a tie between charcoal, because that’s his favorite thing to draw with, and red, because it was his brother’s favorite color.

Favorite food: He’ll eat anything if you’re buying.

Would he pass the friendship test? Some days yes, some days no.

JUSTIN COBB, the crush

Favorite Movie: Anything by Wes Anderson or Quentin Tarantino.

Favorite Class: They’re all pretty decent, but he has a soft spot for English because he likes poetry—it reminds him of song lyrics.

Favorite Color: Probably blue, though he’s an equal opportunity kinda guy so he likes them all.

Favorite Food: Pizza with ranch to dip it into.

Would he pass the friendship test? I think I’m with Taylor on this one. I’d want to be more then friends.

JENNY, the tag-a-long

Favorite Movie: Mean Girls, because Sunny always likes to watch it when she comes over.

Favorite Class: All of the classes she shares with Sunny.

Favorite Color: Green, because it looks so awesome on Sunny! Favorite Food: Salad. No, donuts. No, she should have a salad. Okay, maybe just one donut and then she’ll eat that salad.

Would she pass the friendship test: I don’t think there’s room for anyone else but Sunny in Jenny’s life.

So there you have it, a few of the characters from WHERE THE STAIRCASE ENDS in a nutshell. As for me, in case you’re curious, my favorite movie is a tie between Amelie and The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, my favorite class is creative writing, my favorite color is green and I could eat sushi every night of the week and never get bored.

Thanks for having me!

Giveaway

Readers, now it's your turn! What is your favorite movie, subject in school, color and food? Would these characters pass the friendship test for you? Leave a comment below for a chance to win your own ebook copy of WHERE THE STAIRCASE ENDS. Three winners will be chosen; international entries accepted.

About WHERE THE STAIRCASE ENDS

After her best friend orchestrates the lie that destroys her reputation, Taylor wants more than anything to disappear from her life. But when an accident turns this unspoke wish into reality, instead of an angel-filled afterlife, Taylor must climb a seemingly endless staircase into the sky.

Instead of going up, the journey plunges her into the past. As she unravels the mystery behind her friend’s betrayal, she must face the truth about life and find the strength to forgive the unforgivable -- unless the staircase breaks her first.

About Stacy Stokes

Stacy grew up in Dallas, TX, but has lived all over. After spending time in Austin, Chicago, New York and Philadelphia, she is happy to call San Francisco her home, where she lives with her husband. When she’s not bringing the voices in her head to life, she’s working as a brand and marketing professional in the consumer products industry.

She has a slight obsession with puns (they are, in her opinion, the highest form of humor), which might be linked to the three years she spent studying improv comedy at Chicago’s Second City and IO theaters. She holds a BBA from the University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from The Wharton School of Business. WHERE THE STAIRCASE ENDS is her debut novel.

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