20 May 2009

Character profile: Ana

In the interest of allowing you to get to know the characters of the story better, I’ve decided to share some of their character profiles with you ;-) What kind of stuff do you have in common with them?

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Name:  Maria Juana Madrigal

Nickname:  Ana

Birthday: 25 March 1977

Age: 32

Zodiac sign:  Aries

Height: 165 cm

Color:   Used to like blacks, browns, and navy blues, but now prefers a more colorful palette. For example, her latest acquisition is a pair of purple patent heels (see chapter 10) ;-)

Eyes and hair:  Chocolate brown. Hair used to really long (until the middle of her back and usually clubbed back in a ponytail), but now is jaw-length and has light brown streaks (Thanks to Taki---see Chapter 8).

Body type:  Athletic, lean, and rangy (but she hates doing any sort of physical activity)

Food:   Pork shogayaki, Indian food (the spicier the better), green mango shakes, taho and fishballs at UP, ebi sushi

Occupation:  Researcher (field: Physics, in particular Condensed Matter Theory and Correlated Quantum Matter); currently employed by a private research institute

Education: Undergrad at UP Diliman, MS at University of Texas in Austin, Phd. at the University of Tokyo

Interests: Has a secret addiction to romance novels and Pinoy teleseryes; loves Piolo Pascual!

Dislikes:  Natto (Japanese fermented beans), alcohol (she gets drunk easily), the smell of cigarettes

Family:                                   

Antonio and Lucia (parents); Jorge (older brother), married to Lynne (Ana’s college buddy---See chapter 1 and 15); and Miguel (younger brother), married to Felicia (a prominent Cebu socialite); 4 nephews (Antonio Jr. and Jacobo, Miguel and Felicia’s kids, Javier and Lucas, Tanya's younger brothers); 1 niece (Tanya, Jorge and Lynne’s daughter---see chapter 15); Family is based in Cebu and runs a shipping business

Inspiration behind Ana’s character:

Ana’s character was inspired by the impressed ramblings of D., a Pinoy physics scholar from Kyoto University. He attended a conference and one of the speakers was a Filipina physicist from the University of Texas. D was particularly impressed by how she handled herself in the panel presentation, according to him, pang-Ms.Universe ang mga sagot! He also told me about that not too many women are into his field, and that competition can get really tough at times.

Ana’s character is an intriguing blend of strength and vulnerability. As a typical Aries, she is used to getting her way. She’s tough yet compassionate—she hates being treated with kid gloves just because she’s a woman, but at the same time, she love babying the people around her. She can be amazingly single-minded at times too. For example, when she made her mind up to pursue the study of physics, she put all her energy behind it. She’s also a secret romantic, but this wars with her orderly, scientific mind so she does her best to keep it at bay. She can be outspoken about her research, but can also be shy and close-mouthed when it comes to things of a personal and romantic nature, of which she has hardly any experience.

Ana’s appearance is inspired by A., the daughter of a Pinoy musician to whom I am supposed to be (very) distantly related. Her curly locks and her pride in them is exactly the kind of image I was looking for. Ana isn't drop-dead gorgeous, she had a kind of comfortable, old-world beauty that one appreciates over time. Partly due to her single-minded devotion to her profession, Ana really wasn’t concerned with physical appearances. I try to develop that awareness throughout the book—the slow re-awakening of her womanhood (naks!).

39 comments:

nuts said...

di ka demanding, you just want to improve your blogs through others opinion. well, everything is great here.

What makes us common? Love of Piolo! :)

cpsanti said...

hahaha! Piolo is tops ;-) thanks for dropping by!

iteagirl said...

(she hates doing any sort of physical activity)

Me too!! hahaha =)

Have a good day =)

ALiNe said...

Not demanding... medyo need more time to read kasi ang haba .. hee hee! But Easy to read naman :)

Giselle said...

would it be okay if i copy anas trendy new hair style,.
victoria beckhamish,. :)

cpsanti said...

eliza, hahaha! pareho tayo! ;-)

aline, thanks for dropping by ;-) hope you liked what you read

ellesig, go go go! copy the haircut ;-)

jei said...

OMG!!! I will definitely add you to my blogroll. I haven't read the story yet but for sure, I'm gonna read it little by little.

Sweeeet...

Anonymous said...

Not demanding lah..

i just wanna know, are you japanese or filipina?

btw, your story is well written.. i enjoyed it.

Good nite!

maxiVelasco said...

hello. first time here in your blog. nice one!

thanks for visiting my www.healthnbeyond.com blog. really appreciate it. now following your blog here.

have a great day!

www.ovahcoffee.com and www.healthnbeyond.com

Mylene said...

Green mango shake, navy blue, not concern with physical appearance, these are the things we have in common.

Thanks for dropping by on my site and putting some comments. I truly appreciate them. God Bless!

cpsanti said...

jei, glad you liked what you've read so far. coma back soon ;-)

hi chrysanti, i'm a filipina ;-) thanks for dropping by!

maxi, thanks for returning the visit ;-)

onlinemommy, glad to know you've found something in common with my characters ;-)

Zee said...

Wow! this is amazing! I've been hearing a lot about NaNoWrimo too...

love the character details on ana... para namang totoong tao talaga... hehehehe

i read the overview of the story and the love story sounds interesting...

cpsanti said...

Hi Zee! Thanks for dropping by ;-) NaNoWrimo is great fun! Join us this year ;-)

glad you thought Ana's character is believable ;-)

Ciela said...

Hi! It's my first time here. I thought I was reading my novel books. am sad though that I can't read them all now. (quite long eh)
Will be back soon. Thanks for the visit!

tomato cafe said...

fish balls and taho got me. i'll probably get to reading in this weekend. :) hehe.

Team7 said...

i like your blog...i will add you to my blogroll...i definitely think i will enjoy reading your posts...i also love writing...
thanks for your comment :D

mabel said...

wow you really know your character well. i am again impressed. i wish i can write a creative literary piece again.

lucas said...

a novelist in the blogosphere! cool! :)

---
then you should watch it. if you loved the book there's no point of not watching it. hehe! thanks for dropping by :)

lucas said...

a novelist in the blogosphere! cool! :)

---
then you should watch it. if you loved the book there's no point of not watching it. hehe! thanks for dropping by :)

Amelia said...

eating taho and fish ball is what I like most also :)

thanks for sharing and visiting my site ;)

Kim, USA said...

Common stuff? Hmm let me see:
1. First name is Maria too english lang yung sa akin Mary.
2. At the age of 32 I am still single hehe.
3. I am an aries too...oh yes talagang I want my way as in superhighway!
4. Colors..oh yes I used to have brown and black (until now) one time my sister ask me why I like brown and she continued to tell me it is the color of a spinster!! Ngayon may ibat-ibang color sa closet ko hehe.
5. I also get drunk easily.
6. Beauty..ako din nagbobloom ako every year hahaha!!

Thanks for the space Cp!! I got excited nong nakita kung naka-write ka na nang chapter 17 hehe. Can't wait to read more. Keep it up. God bless!

Liza said...

Ana seems to be an interesting woman. I would love to hear more about her being "secretly romantic." Good luck on the book. :)

anney said...

I love green mango shakes, taho and fishballs din! Ayaw ko din ng smell ng cigarettes.

Kikit said...

I like Ana's character, not the typical Pinay you'd see on telenovelas. I like her confidence, passion and most of all, her brains.

Let me guess her favorite songs:

a. Just Another Woman in Love
b. I Know I Need to be In Love
c. Tulak ng Bibig, Kabig ng Dibdib

Tama ba? Hehe :)

gail said...

haha. demanding much? :) wee. haha. enjoed reading your post.

Marlene said...

I need a lot of reading to catch up before I could get into the story. At least Ana has a character. She's an intellectual but deep in her heart she melts line nobody. Keep writing!

Nance said...

i like the way your mind works!
Until recently, my wardrobe was like Ana...getting bolder though, you can now see pink, orange, lime green and purple in my closet. ;)

Lilly said...

She hates physical activity - oh that sounds familiar I like her already.

Meryl (proud pinay) said...

hi thank you for sharing with us infos about yourself. i enjoyed reading your post. thank you for the comment and for the visit by the way. ^_^

ice9web said...

wow! creative writer (^_^)
thanks for dropping by my blog
your articles are amazing!

Via said...

Thanks so much for the kind words c.p. santi! Love the look of your blog! :)

Anonymous said...

Uy, I know who's your inspiration behind Ana! aliw! Cant give my comments pa kasi I havent read it pa. Im at work pa kasi--atodene ;-)D

Pepe said...

Ako isa lang na-noticed ko, yung name na MARIA JUANA, parang tunog kwela na tunog druga kaya medyo may expectations na may nakakatawang part ang story na to.... Pero over-all opinion, ko maganda ang blend ng ideas sa komposisyon.... Kung libro lang to siguradong nakadikit na'to sa mukha ko kanina pa he-he joks lang....! Kumusta ka cpsanti? Salamat sa pagdalaw.... Ba't di mo gawing libro to tsaka i-publish....? Yung nagpapagawa ng mga illustrations sa'kin sa bangkok, sya lang nag-prepare ng lahatlahat tapos mgayon may mga books na sya.... Kasi ako nagi-illustrate just for the fun of it lang, kasi hindi naman reliable pa ang earnings ko from illustrating books tsaka may full-time job naman ako.... Wala ka bang balak na mag--publish....? Basta kung maghahanap ka ng illustrator wag mo kong kalimutan ha? =D Ingatz....!

acey said...

she's an interesting character. :D

Meryl (proud pinay) said...

have a great day! ^_^

Clarissa said...

dislikes:natto and the smell of cigarettes but I love to invite her for a drink!Gusto ko cyang lasingin!!^_^

Keep it going,Cpsanti!!

Chubskulit Rose said...

I love reading pocketbooks and your story is definitely one of a kind that I would love reading.. I have to start from the very beginning or else I'll get lost hehehe..

btw, following your blog na para di ko mamiss story ni ana.. pwede ba sya maging friend hehehe..

Chubskulit Rose said...

Hi Ms. Santi, found you at my wife's blog so here I am.. You're a great writer I believe. Keep it up!

Hope you can visit my blog sometimes, I am following your blog now..

cpsanti said...

thanks for all you comments guys ;-) soooo glad you like ana. hope you like the rest of the story ;-)