Fantasy Careers: Troll Wedding Planner

Fantasy Careers is a blog series where I interview characters from fantasy books about their interesting jobs and unusual careers. Interested in taking part? Drop me a line through my contact form.

Elise: Today, I’d like to welcome Rosa Platantoder. She’s a troll, and the second daughter and tenth child of the Plat-mond family. Welcome to Magic Writer, Rosa. Why don’t you tell us a little about where you live and what your job involves?

Rosa: Well, Elise, I still live at home with my parents, and if my mom has her way, I’ll never move out.

I am the owner of Pretty Lights Party Planners. We are a boutique event coordination company. I run the company with the help of my mother Bethy and with the advice of my Aunt Tilda. You may know her from her own company, Dainty Delicatessens.

Wait, can we edit that part about my aunt? I’m not sure if I should mention her. I’m kind of new to all this. See, I’ve helped plan seven family weddings, and I’m in love with coordinating parties. My parents helped me start my business, but we just opened. I’ve only had one client. It was a wedding, and it was wonderful, but, well, I’m still new to this.

Elise: So, it sounds like weddings are your area of expertise?

Rosa: I guess. And maybe hard to deal with family relationships? You should have seen the battle between the families at the last wedding. Battle axes were pulled, armor was tested.

Elise: Goodness, that sounds quite stressful! What does a typical day in your job involve? 

Rosa: Oh gosh. Most days, I can be found at my office. Dad carved me a nice building from white stone with pillars. We’ve got everything from forest access to a riverway that connects directly to the glacier lakes. I planned for everything from giantesses to pixies. Bethy answers any incoming calls, and I plan the event. Anyone can reach us by mirror at Pretty Lights Party Planners.

Elise: That’s great that you cater for everyone. What is your favourite part of the job?

Rosa: I love the picture of an event. From fire ceremonies to a fairy introduction. I love that moment at the height of the ceremony where the perfect picture happens. So I arranged an ogre wedding. I know, trolls and ogres don’t typically get along, but we can control our warrior nature long enough to plan a wedding. So the bride and groom went through the typical combining of colors and were to be anointed with an elegant broadsword made by Master Smith Afi. Fire from the forge glowed off the blade. At the most perfect moment, Master Afi presented the sword, and the couple became one body, two contrasting halves separated only by one gleaming line of the new sword. Even for an ogre wedding, it was marvelous. A moment a troll would envy.

Elise: So, what’s it like, working with your mother? That must be tricky at times.

Rosa: Yes, Bethy might be considered my employee, but it’s not easy to control a matron troll. There must be a fine art that I haven’t learned. If I had to describe my mother, she’s petite for a troll but fierce and quick to temper. Did I mention that there was a minor battle involving battle axes at the ogre wedding? It was my mother wielding the axe. The axe is my mother’s weapon of choice: that, painted nails, and fifty years of child rearing. Her mirror answering skills need work. We’ve had to replace at least three mirrors so far, but luckily, mom is always ready for a shopping trip.

Elise: It sounds like quite a challenging job. Overall, do you enjoy it?

Rosa: I love my job. Most people don’t expect a troll to go into party planning. Mostly, we are seen as a violent and money hungry culture. My father would not have questioned me starting a jewelry  business or hiring out as a mercenary, but I shocked the whole family with this event planning idea. It’s all I really want to do. I want to decorate and bring people together. I want to be useful. I want to be surrounded by happy people at important moments.

Elise: Did you have much experience at organsing parties earlier on in life?

Rosa: My experience comes from my family. I am the youngest of ten. My seven oldest brothers are all married. I helped with all their weddings. By the time I was ten, mom had given up organizing birthdays and holidays. If I wanted a party of any kind, I had to arrange it myself. When I was in school, I loved theater and I managed one of the plays from props to scenery to lights and music. I loved all of it.

Elise: What made you decide to start your own business?

Rosa: I am the first of the women in my family line to start a business. Sure, Aunt Tilda has her business, but she is married into the family and she’s always been a bit of an outcast, but she’s my favorite aunt. She isn’t stuck at home raising her children. She’s respected, successful, and competent. I want that. I want people searching me out to do what I love. Besides, I don’t have a husband or children. It’s boring to sit at home with nothing to do.

Elise: And is this your dream job?

Rosa: This is the perfect job. The only better job would be doing exactly what I am doing but without any time restraints or marketing. I really don’t like the marketing. Aunt Tilda says I have to do it or get married and leave the working world. I’d rather figure out a way to market than be betrothed to my cousin.

Elise: I agree that marketing can be painful. I have to do some of that with my writing. So, let’s finish on a lighter note. Do you have any funny or embarrassing stories about your job?

Rosa: I’m not funny, and I can’t imagine sharing my embarrassing stories would be in my best interest, but have you ever planned a kidnapping? Turns out it is customary in an ogre wedding. The night before the wedding, I was standing in the cold night. A drunk ogre bride staggers out into the night. Her jealous love-sick groom charges at her, but her brothers tie her up and turn her into the prize for an elaborate game of keep-away. I’m trying to find a way to steal the bride back from her brothers, her groom is attacking me as if I wanted to stop the wedding, her brothers are laughing at me, and my guide to the whole thing hangs out on the sidelines. I’m just glad we all made it out alive.

Elise: Haha, that sounds like quite an ordeal. So, if I want an event planning, what can you do for me?

Rosa: Got any children? I’m waiting for someone to hire me for a birth or maybe a coming-of-age. Something in a dryad style. I have this great idea of a net of silver strands studded with colored glass. Whatever you want, I’ll plan it, even if it’s a banshee funeral.

Elise: I’ll be sure to get in touch! Thanks so much for stopping by today, Rosa. It’s been great fun.

Rosa is a character from a novel-in-progress by author Louise Ross:

ROSA, a troll party planner, is thrilled to be planning her first wedding, but the bride isn’t exactly what Rosa expected. She’s an ogre who wants a pixie wedding. The ogre groom is a traditionalist who earned his right to marry through competition and might and has hardly seen his future bride. The bride would rather hide in the bushes and spy on her groom than get to know him.

With the bride skeptical about her groom and a family warring over the wedding details, Rosa must fix the crazy mess or fail in her first business venture.

About the author:

Louise Ross writes from the Kansas City area. When not crafting or working, she lives in a fantasy world full of action and the ordinary people struggling to live in these alternative worlds.

Find Louise on her website, Twitter, Facebook, or Google+

Note: Leaf image shared under licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/