Monday, December 31, 2012

2013 Projected Reading List

 As there has been a change in plans, and I shall not be seeing The Hobbit until tomorrow after I get out of work, and that will make tomorrow very busy, I have decided to post my projected 2013 reading list tonight.
I shall only be posting the first 40 books on my list, and it will not necessarily be the order I actually end up reading them. Also, as it did happen this past year, this list could change in both number and content. You have been warned!
As with the last list, + denotes a re-read, and = denotes non-fiction.

  • Jane Austen's Letters=
  • Pride and Prejudice+
  • Lady of Milkweed Manor
  • The Fairest Beauty
  • The Apothecary's Daughter
  • The Night Dance: A Retelling of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses"
  • The Girl In The Gatehouse
  • Beauty Sleep: A Retelling of "Sleeping Beauty"
  • Northanger Abbey+
  • Water Song: A Retelling of "The Frog Prince"
  • To Die For: A Novel of Anne Boleyn
  • Princess of The Midnight Ball (Princess #1)
  • Wives and Daughters
  • Entwined
  • The Secret Adversary (Tommy and Tuppence #1)
  • The Goose Girl (The Books of Bayern #1)+
  • What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew=
  • The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Vol. 1
  • The Inimitable Jeeves (Jeeves #2)
  • That Hideous Strength (Space Trilogy #3)
  • Victoria: May Blossom of Britannia
  • Till We Have Faces
  • Violets Are Blue
  • Kristina: The Girl King
  • The Widow of Larkspur Inn (Gresham Chronicles #1)
  • Shirley
  • Murder On The Links (Hercule Poirot #2)
  • Mary, Queen of Scots: Queen Without A Country
  • Anastasia: The Last Grand Duchess
  • Oliver Twist
  • Howl's Moving Castle (Howl's Moving Castle #1)
  • Snow White Blood Red (The Grimm Diaries Prequels #1)
  • Carry On, Jeeves (Jeeves #3)
  • Manuscript For Murder
  • El Dorado: Further Adventures of The Scarlet Pimpernel
  • Romeo and Juliet
  • Little Dorrit
  • A Girl Aboard The Titanic: A Survivor's Story=
  • The Secret Holocaust Diaries: The Untold Story of Nonna Bannister=
  • Hercule Poirot's Christmas (Hercule Poirot #20)
Now, let's see how many books I actually manage to read this year, and if this all of this list makes it through. ;-)
Happy New Year, everybody! :-D


Sunday, December 30, 2012

2012 Reading List Finished

  As it's only a day or so until New Year's Eve, and I shall most likely be busy that day, I have decided to post my completed list of books I read in 2012 now.
It turned out that I read many more books than I had originally planned and the whole list changed in exactly which books I would read. If you want to refresh your memory as to which books I originally intended to read this year, you can check out the post here. I must say some of the books stayed the same, but many left and more came in. I originally had 25 books picked out, and it expanded to 50!

Now, before I begin the list, I must give you a little bit of a key:
* denotes a book I did not finish (usually due to some sort of moral objection)
+ denotes a re-read
= denotes a non-fiction book

In order of first book of the year to the last:

  1. Darby O'Gill
  2. The Invention of Hugo Cabret
  3. A Christmas Carol/The Chimes/The Cricket on The Hearth
  4. The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society #1)
  5. Men of Iron
  6. Tuesdays At The Castle (Castle Glower #1)
  7. The Gammage Cup (The Minnipins #1)
  8. Wonderstruck
  9. Out of The Silent Planet (Space Trilogy #1)
  10. The Mysterious Benedict Society and The Perilous Journey (The Mysterious Benedict Society #2)
  11. The Iron King (The Iron Fey #1)*
  12. Cat Among The Pigeons (Hercule Poirot #32)
  13. The Mysterious Benedict Society and The Prisoner's Dilemma (The Mysterious Benedict Society #3)
  14. Back Home+
  15. Austenland*
  16. Lisa and Lottie
  17. The Night Circus*
  18. Perelandra (Space Trilogy #2)
  19. The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict (The Mysterious Benedict Society #0.5)
  20. David Copperfield
  21. The Murder At The Vicarage (Miss Marple #1)
  22. The Wind In The Willows
  23. The Merchant's Daughter
  24. Daddy Long Legs+
  25. The Soldier's Cross
  26. I Want It Now! A Memoir of Life on the Set of Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory=
  27. Finally and Forever (Katie Weldon #4)
  28. Behind Jane Austen's Door=
  29. At The Sign of The Sugared Plum
  30. The Mysterious Affair At Styles (Hercule Poirot #1)
  31. Life In A Medieval Village=
  32. Only A Novel
  33. The Scarlet Pimpernel
  34. North and South
  35. Beyond Downton Abbey=
  36. The Angel of Music Part 1: The Enchanted Violin*
  37. Elizabeth I: Red Rose of The House of Tudor+
  38. Sanditon/The Watsons/Lady Susan
  39. The Diamond Secret: A Retelling of "Anastasia"
  40. Heartless
  41. An American Guide To Britishness=
  42. Brave: The Junior Novelization
  43. Clockwise (Clockwise #1)
  44. The Nutcracker and Mouse King/The Tale of The Nutcracker
  45. Extricating Young Gussie (Jeeves #0.5)
  46. My Man Jeeves (Jeeves #1)
  47. Number The Stars
  48. Asking For Trouble (London Confidential #1)
  49. Sew, It's A Quest (Bookania #1)
  50. Dragon Slippers (Dragon Slippers #1)
That's the whole lot!
New Year's Day or so I shall be posting my projected list for 2013!
See you then! :-)


Wednesday, December 26, 2012

The Post Christmas Post

I hope you have all had a wonderful Christmas!

My Christmas was a little unusual for me, but not bad.

Our Christmas started on Sunday night, having a Christmas dinner (with gingerbread for dessert) and opening presents with my sister and her  family. It's always so much fun to watch my nieces and nephew going through the stockings my mom puts together for them, and opening their presents. :-)
We all got things we love! I got my dad a DVD of The Black Shield of Falworth, which I'd dare say is his favorite movie. My mom got a Nook Glow and lots of Barnes&Noble gift cards.
I got, from my parents, the BBC Classics complete Jane Austen collection DVDs and Little Dorrit DVD! :-D And there was much rejoicing! :-D
Unfortunately, my sister wasn't feeling well. :-(

Christmas Eve I had to work. :-P But, thankfully, it was quite slow and I got out fairly early with plenty of time before having to head out to my grandparents' house. Unfortunately, my sister still wasn't feeling well, and neither was her husband and the youngest. Fortunately, we were able to pick the older two kids up and bring them with us. They had a blast! And they got a small foozeball table from my grandparents, which was a big hit! I got a Barnes&Noble gift card, which was completely spent before I went to bed that night. (I bought four Nook books)
Our dinner was the traditional Christmas Eve at my grandparents' house dinner- Pizza Hut, KFC, chips, and cookies. Thankfully, my dad agreed to make a cut veggie tray to bring. I don't mind having a slice of pizza or a piece of fried chicken...but, please, give me something healthier on the side than potato chips! I didn't have any of the sweets, either. I've had a sore tooth (with a possible cavity) for a week, and I knew that would not be friendly.

Christmas Day we didn't do anything! That was the most unusual part of the holidays for us. Normally we would have a get-together on my dad's side of the family in the evening for snacks and desserts. This year, however, they had it Sunday evening, and since we had already planned our little family Christmas for that night (as it was the only night possible for both sides), we couldn't go. So, we spent the whole day in the house watching Christmas movies (and me reading) and such. My dad had to work that night, anyway, so we wouldn't have been able to go anywhere, really. (He works third shift)
And I ended up having an upset stomach, but it's better now.

Then, today, I had to work again, of course, and my parents went over to visit my dad's mom for a while so she wouldn't go the holidays without seeing them at all.
And, I have to wait a whole week before I can get into the dentist. :-(

Over all, it was a good time. My mom, sister, oldest niece, and grandma also got to go to the Nutcracker on Saturday! My niece won four tickets. :-) They had a very nice time. And I only have one gift to return or exchange...a nice button down shirt my sister got me- it didn't fit quite right. :-P

Now, on to New Year's! I shall finally get to see The Hobbit!!!! :-D

See you all next week! ;-)

Monday, December 17, 2012

Guest Post at Old Fashioned Charm

That's right! I've written my very first guest post.
Miss Laurie asked me to write a post for the Jane Austen Birthday Assembly that is going on at her blog Old Fashioned Charm and a couple others.



You can go here to read my post- Jane Austen and Me! :-)

Friday, December 14, 2012

JABA Jane Austen Tag


As part of the Jane Austen Birthday Assembly event (JABA), Miss Laurie of Old-Fashioned Charm has posted a Jane Austen tag questionnaire, which I have decided to answer. :-)

1. How did you meet Jane Austen?
My first introduction to her, as far as I can recall, was when my sister did a research paper on her. However, I had not interest in Miss Austen at the time, and paid no attention. Foolish me.

2. In which order did you first become acquainted with and read Jane Austen's novels?
I'm guess you mean what order did I first read the books? In which case, it was Emma, Persuasion, Sense&Sensibility, Pride&Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, Love and Freindship (and her other juvenilia in one book), and Sanditon/The Watsons/Lady Susan.

3. Rate Jane Austen's major novels from your most favorite to your least favorite and tell why.
Northanger Abbey,  Pride&Prejudice, Sense&Sensibility, Emma, Persuasion, Mansfield Park. NA is my favorite, though just barely above P&P, because I love the youth and banter of Catherine and Mr. Tilney and I understand Catherine's sometimes wild imagination. MP is my least favorite mostly just because of how slow it is and I don't care for some of the characters.

4. Which Jane Austen hero/heroine couple is your favorite and why?
I'd have to say, along with it being my favorite of the books, Catherine and Mr. Tilney- because I love how they interact together.

5. Which hero/heroine couple is your least favorite and why?
Marianne and Colonel Brandon....I just can't get over the age difference.

6. Have you read any of Jane Austen's Juvenilia works? Which ones?
Yes, I have! All of them! I own them all in one book in my NOOK library. (Yes, I'm one of those people :-P )

7. If you could change the name of one of Jane Austen's characters who would it be and why?
I really don't know that I would change any of them- at least, I can't think of any off the top of my head.

8. Have you ever introduced someone to Jane Austen?
I tried to get one of the girls I work with interested in her, but she just wouldn't take the bait.

9. If a new film about her life was made, which actress would you want to play Jane Austen?
I'm afraid I don't pay enough attention to actors and actresses themselves to really be able to choose one.

10. Pretend you're having a weekend party at your very own country house, which Austen characters (up to five) would you invite and why?
I think I would invite Elinore Dashwood, Fanny Price, Catherine Morland, Mr. Tilney, and Mr. Knightley because they are the ones I think enjoy things along the same line as what I like  to do, so we could have fun together- whether lively or quiet.

11. In your real life have you ever attended a Jane Austen themed event, party or ball? Or have you hosted one yourself?
No, I have not done any of those things, but I would absolutely love to.

12. Suppose you were given the opportunity to ask Jane Austen two questions: one in connection with her real life and one about her stories. What would they be?
Do you like chocolate?
Do any of your characters like chocolate?

:-)

Return of the Snippets


I know it's been months and months since I last did a snippets post, but, then, I haven't had anything new to post without giving away too much of my stories... until now, that is. In this post-NaNo season, more snippets have come my way, and I now pass them on to you. :-)

If you don't know what Snippets is all about, it's a lovely monthly writing post event sort of thing started by Katie, which you can read about here at her blog.



“You know, you’re the one who’s supposed to be doing this,” Talitha pointed out to Daniel, as she stood in his kitchen the next morning, flipping pancakes. “What happened to getting in practice and showing your abilities to your sister?”


“He tried showing his abilities to me,” Michelle responded, “You don’t want to see what happened.”

~So She Dances




“Well, somebody has to come up with something,” Talitha pointed out, “Otherwise, we’ll all just end up sitting around doing nothing, or waste the whole day watching TV.”


“Is that so bad?” Daniel asked in typical male fashion.

~So She Dances




She turned to Michelle and asked, “Don’t you just love how figure skating is like ballet on ice? It’s so beautiful and fluid.”


“And cold,” Michelle pointed out.



“True,” Talitha agreed emphatically. Cold was not her friend. “But I think it would be fun to learn, anyway. I wish I could.”

~So She Dances



“Oh, lots of things,” Talitha went on to list some of her dreams. “To visit most of Europe, to spend a few months in the British Isles, to write a book, to build my dream house, to act, to sing, but,” she added, her voice betraying how much more the next item was important to her, “what I really, really want to do is to dance.”

~So She Dances



Soon, with the excitement of having a break, several of the people were goofing off- doing silly dances with the music. Talitha and Melissa couldn’t help but laugh at the antics of Daniel and Matthew, but Michelle just shook her head in embarrassment over how idiotic her brother looked. She hadn’t quite yet grown out of the embarrassment years. Still, eventually all three of the girls were joining the rest of the dancers being rather silly, themselves.

~So She Dances



“In general, I think I would say, when an opportunity like this comes along, one should take it. However, you do need to make sure you’re doing the right thing, and staying within the peace of God. Don’t take any opportunity that takes you out of that peace, no matter how amazing an opportunity it may be. And don’t let excitement cloud your judgment in that area.”

~So She Dances




I think that's enough for now. Don't want to give all the best in one go. ;-)


Wednesday, December 12, 2012

What Happened


I know, I know... NaNo ended weeks ago! But I have a good excuse to be so behind on telling how things went. Honest! I was sick, from Thanksgiving Day onward, with what had to have been an extremely bad cold or a more mild flu bug. I'm mostly better now, but it affected my inner ears (but no infection) in a way that my equalibrium is still quite off- not good for working in a restaurant. Admittedly, I did forget about putting up a results post without having been sick this past week, but it's here now. :-)

So, I started out fairly well. I got in my daily amount and even had a few days where I got in more than the daily 2k. Not that I didn't struggle a little when I was at the slower points- believe me, quite a bit of drabble was written. Still, I got myself to struggle to the start of the main plot point... and that's when it hit. I got what had to be some sort of writer's block. Did I have ideas for writing? Yes. Did I know how to get to them and get them out? No. Very frustrating. So, I started to drag out one chapter and write mostly drabble and "legal cheats" again. In fact, I'm still in that same chapter. Then, when I thought I could finally get myself to move on, I got sick and just couldn't focus well enough to write good stuff. So what did I write? More drabble and "legal cheats". :-P
Thanks to those things, I did make it over the 50k line, but not nearly as far in the story as I wanted to be. Not to mention hardly anything of quality in the last several thousand words. Much will be chopped out in editing. :-P

I do think I got some good moments in there, though, and I shall be making a Snippets post (probably tomorrow) with some of those. So keep an eye out, if you're interested. :-)

And since all that, I am recuperated- minus my ears- and busy busy busy with Christmas coming and other events. More posts shall come soon! I promise! ;-)

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

From The Jazz Side (NaNoWriMo 2012)


So, it's here again. Tomorrow starts the most panic ridden and crazy month of the year, and it's all due to the  challenge we put upon ourselves. That's right! Tomorrow starts NaNoWriMo. (see the end of this post to get a glimps of my cover for this year ;-) )

Some of you are giving advice for dealing with NaNo from a planner's point of view, and that's great! But for those of us who are more on the Jazz side, instead of Classical, (see little to no planning) I thought I would give a little advice of my own. (I know it's the day before, but people do still jump in within the first few days of the event.)

If you're like me, and cannot make and stick to an outline for the life of you, that's fine. I find doing so lets creativity and inspiration flow much better than with such boundaries. Not that creativity and inspiration can't flow with an outline, but for some people, like myself, it tends to be too restricting....we end up focusing on sticking to it more than letting creativity thrive. However, I do recommend some planning. I don't know that even I could write completely by the seat of my pants- no plot, no thought out characters, no scenes already planned out in my head and possibly noted down somewhere.

So, as I said, I do recommend a little bit of forethought, and have a page (written or on your computer) where you keep all this info. Write down your character's bios, facts about your story's setting, and even descriptions and/or bits of scenes that you want to add into your story later.

I know this is general advice, but- pace yourself. Pace yourself, but also strive to reach more than the average. I recommend a daily goal of 2,000 words a day. It's a pretty reasonable amount to strive for on a daily bases, it's not too much more than the 1,667 words of the 50k split evenly, and it gives you a bit of a cushion... you know, just in case you have to miss a day or you have a day of massive writer's block. ;-)

Don't be too hard on yourself. Don't focus on just the quantity, but try to get the quality in there, too. At the same time, don't be scared to write a bunch of drabble if you're not getting the right inspiration for the quality at the moment. Drabble can always be edited later- and it boosts the word count. ;-)

Take time to chill out and relax. If you get too stress, it can drastically stifle the creative flow. Set aside time each day or every few days, depending on  your life's schedule, to do something you enjoy. Read a book, paint a picture, play a computer game- whatever it takes. A couple hours of that can spur days of creativity.

That's all the advice I can think of for the moment...a lot of that goes for both the jazz writers and the classical, and is pretty typical advice, but you probably can't hear some of that too often.

As for me, this year I have a little more structure than normal. Considering my story is based off of the Josh Groban song So She Dances, I have the lyrics for a rough outline- not that I won't be switching around a few of the lines...for storyline sake. I'm hoping this story will cooperate more like Hwinny's Story did, giving me both quality as well as quantity; not  like Naji's Story which put up a fight over both. :-P

If you would like to see a little more info about this story, I have a few posts hanging around here giving some hints. ;-)
You can also check out my NaNo page, and feel free to buddy me, if you'd like. ;-)

And here is the grand blog unveiling of the NaNo version of the So She Dances cover art. :-)


Saturday, October 27, 2012

Hwinny's Eleven

So, Hwinny was tagged by Kendra's character Marryanne for the Elevensies tag going around.
This is a little strange for me, as I don't usually let my characters speak for themselves (they prefer to be represented, you know), but I suppose there is a first time for everything.
Hwinny has requested to dispense with the eleven facts, and stick only to the questions. In order to get her to even do this (especially since I woke her up from a long nap), I agreed to the request.

Can we just get this over with?

In a moment. We have to get through certain formalities, first.

Hang formalities!

And what would Lady Nory say to that?

Considering everything, I don't think she would be happy- but this is one of those times where I really don't care...and I know Naji would be cringing if she heard me say that.

All right. Fine. Here are the questions. Are you ready?

No, but here goes:

1. How many knives do you usually have concealed on your person? I'm not going to ask where you conceal them, but if you want to answer that, you may.
I don't usually keep a knife on me, unless absolutely necessary, but, when I do, it's only one. After all, one is all you need if you know how to use it right.

2. How many times have you run away from home? Do you ask your parents permission before you do so?
Well....what do you count as running away? I suppose I did run away from my guardians home and college, but I don't know if that counts. Besides, that was actually running to home, not away from home.

3. What is your rank and station in life?
In the mortal world I am a college student and a youth ministry assistant. In Faerie, I am a princess.

4. Do your cousins like you?
Oh, yes! They like me very much. 

5. How many siblings do you have and do they like you?
I always thought I was an only child, but it turns out I have a twin sister. She's the only sibling I have, though, and I think she likes me...she doesn't always approve of my adventures, but she ends up joining in with me and I think we've started becoming the sisters we were born to be.

6. How many pets do you have? What are they and what are their names?
I don't have any personal pets, unfortunately. I should remedy that.

7. Can you dance? Sing? Fight?
Well, I've had to learn more dancing than I was already able to do, once I got to Faerie. I don't know that I can say I'm entirely proficient, but I think I do fairly well. Yes, I can sing, though not enough to go professional. Fighting is a whole other matter... I had to learn, and I can defend myself, but I don't think I could lead a battle or anything- I'll  leave that one to Caleb.

8. How many adventures have you gone on?
Oh, goodness! I suppose it was all one big adventure, but there were a few smaller adventure type segments in there.

9. You enjoyed them? Right?
As much as anyone who's grown up in a somewhat mundane human life and suddenly thrown into all that can, I suppose.

10. Can you hop on one foot?
Maybe?

11. How many languages do you speak?
English, of course, and I did take a couple years of French and Spanish in high school, but I don't think I retained much of anything. Besides, those languages are no use to me here in Faerie, unless a courtier wishes to practice their knowledge of the mortal languages...which freaks me out, because I don't remember them very well- except, English, of course. I'll have to refresh myself on those eventually. Right now, though, I'm steeped in trying to learn Faerie. Not easy, but not as hard as I thought it would be.


Is that it?

Yep, those are all the questions.

Okay.....good....I'm out of here! I'm going back to sleep!

Hwinny! Pardon her, please. I don't think she's in a very good mood right now. :-P
And since Hwinny didn't leave any word of whom to tag, I'll just leave it as is. Sorry. :-(
But if you want to consider yourself (or one of your own characters) tagged, feel free, and here are some questions. You can answer them via post (please let me know if you do) or via comment. :-)

1. Paper or plastic?
2. Red and gold or blue and silver?
3. Potted plants or cut flowers?
4. Favorite lesser known (or completely obscure) fairy tale?
5. Cake or pie?
6. Do you wish the Grand Duchess Anastasia had actually survived?
7. Roses or daisies?
8. What is your favorite part(s) about Fall?
9. What is your favorite Christmas tradition(s)?
10. Do you still own VHS tapes?
11. What is the best food accompaniment to tea, other than scones?


Sunday, October 7, 2012

Let Me Show You Around

This  is all explained again in the following videos, but I decided to spin off of Miss Laurie's bookcase tour and make a video tour of my own. Only I did my movies, as my books are fairly scattered at the moment. (I really need to fix that :-P )

I will warn you, this turned out to be quite long, so I split the tour into different segments. Each segment is labeled with what sort of movies (the highlights) are covered in that video.

Part 1- Intro, Narnia, Lord of the Rings

Part 2- Fairy tale movies, Hallmark collection, American Girl and Mandie movies

Part 3- Jane Austen, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Anne of Green Gables/Road to Avonlea

Part 4- Doctor Who, Merlin

Part 5- Literary, Braodway Musicals, Movie/MGM Style Musicals

Part 6- Miscellaneous/Classics/Animated....anything that didn't fit into another category, Conclusion


If you made it through all that, good on ya! I know I talked too much. :-P
Any questions or anything to add, just leave a comment! Or anything you want to comment on, leave a comment as well! :-)

As I said in the conclusion, I do want to do my books, eventually...I don't know when it will be, though.
Also, I hope to do a period costume tour via my paper doll collection. I've got some pretty good ones. ;-)

As for now, NaNoWriMo approaches, and our focus goes to that!


Thursday, September 27, 2012

Autumn Princess- A Poem

As we are in this Fall season, I keep thinking about this poem. I wrote it back when I was in high school (making it over ten years old!), and it was dedicated to my cousin Rachael.
I hope you all like it. :-)
(And I've decided to share this poem in Katie's October Snippets.)


Autumn Princess
by Rebekah Porter


Princess of the Autumn,
To make her crown,
Around her head
Flaming leaves surround.
Waiting in the woods,
Down the paths she walks,
But when people see her,
Some know not
To Whom she talks.
She thanks Him for everthing,
From the brown of her hair
To the gold of her dress.
She knows that she must sing,
For each thing in her life
He did bless.
May she be a witness,
Her light ever strong,
That people see God's love
In this princess.
That it last
Her whole life long.



Artsy Award

The lovely Kendra E. Ardnek has awarded me the Artsy Award. :-)
I feel special! :-)



Rules
1. Normally this is where it says "thank the person who gave you the award and leave a link to their blog etc. etc." Well, you can do that if you want. I mean, if you like the award and you're glad you got it and you can do that. Or you can just copy this and have people listen to me rambling. :)

2. Answer the five questions set out for you and make the next five questions for the people that you nominate. 

3. OK, so usually there's a "NO TAGBACKS" rule. I'm here to say that in #3 of this award you can tag or not tag or whatever you want to do. Agreed? Agreed. ;)


The questions I have been asked:


1.) What is your opinion of Grape flavored Candy?
I suppose it depends on what it is. I've never been a big fan. Sometimes it tastes a little too close to Dimetap. :-P

2.) What is your second favorite color?
Well, I have so many favorite colors it is hard to say what my second favorite would be...I really couldn't say.

3.) Which is more important? A good plot or good characters?
Neither is more or less important than the other. They both enhance each other, really. One could have a good plot, but if you have bad characters, it really ruins the story. At the same time, if you have a bunch of good characters, but a rubbish plot, a person may get through the story, but I doubt they'll pick it up again. They are both equally important.

4.) You just found out that your neighbors are from Mars and that they have a device that removes your plot ideas out of your head and they're publishing them. What are you going to do about it? (If you don't write ... then how about the artwork you're planning to do?)
I shall find The Doctor.

5.) Do you enjoy being random.
I can have my random moments, I suppose, and enjoy randomness on occasion, but I'm really not a random person.


My questions for others:
1. Apple cider: Hot or Cold?
2. Mr. Darcy or John Thornton?
3. Favorite flavor of ice cream?
4. Are you participating in NaNoWriMo?
5. What is your dream job/life?


I think all of my friends deserve this award!
So, I am not going to tag anybody specific.
However, if you would like to do a post, feel free, as you are all awarded!
Or you can just answer the questions in my comments....and there are some of you I would love to see answer these. ;-)

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Spiritual Themes of The Silver Chair

I'm really surprised I never posted this here yet. I should have ages ago.
Some time ago, a younger member of The Lion's Call (for those who don't know what that is, it is a Narnia fan site, more book based, and I am a staff member there) put out the question of what is the Christian spiritual theme of The Silver Chair (book 4 or 6 of The Chronicles of  Narnia). As SC is my favorite of the CoN, and I had in recent years started looking into the themes, myself, I posted the following list in answer. I thought some of you might like to read this, and I would love you hear any comments or any other themes you all may like to add! And, maybe encourage you to find the various themes of the other books as well? ;-)




Christian Themes of The Silver Chair

When you think about it, it's about redemption and the Christian life in general:


  • How the children were calling to Aslan because he was calling to them (we reach out to Christ because He reaches out to us) 
  • The scene at the river being Aslan offers relief to our thirst (Jesus offers us Living Water, also see the story of the woman at the well) 
  • That there is no other stream (Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, there is no other way to the Father) 
  • To lay down selfish pride to live a life of righteousness (Jill apologizing to Aslan for showing off) 
  • To live in the Word (learning and memorizing the signs) 
  • To follow that which God has called us to do (the quest to find Rilian) 
  • To not fall into temptation 
  • To be aware that Satan will try to deceive us (the LotGK) 
  • That grace is offered to us when we fall, and that, as long as we get back up from our fall, we can still accomplish God's plan for our life 
  • To live as like a Christian no matter what the world says (Puddleglum's speech) 
  • That when we walk in the Word out of God's super-abounding grace there is freedom from bondage for us and those we minister to, and that we have power to break any attack of the enemy (breaking Rilian's bonds, destroying the chair, snapping out of the LotGK's spells) 
  • That Christ's blood has defeated death to bring us life eternal in Heaven (Aslan's thorn pierced paw, spilling the blood into the river to bring Caspian to life in Aslan's Country).


Anywho...those are most of the one's I've found...there could still be more.



Wednesday, September 19, 2012

September Adventures


I know September is not over yet, nor is everything that is to be done this month done, but I thought I should post a bit of a catch-up.

I shall start this month's events on the 4th. Oh that interesting event. I, on that day, got my very first ever bee sting! One day short of a perfect 29 years sting free! And of all things, the yellow jacket got inside my shirt...while I was lying on our couch. How does that happen? How does a yellow jacket get, not only in the house, but into my shirt?! Needless to say, I hope that never happens again. :-P

Wednesday the 5th was my birthday. Yes, I am now (and have been for a couple weeks) officially 29. One year away from 30. That really is a scary thought. I could barely imagine myself in my twenties, and now I am close to thirty! But on to the day itself. I did work, as I had decided not to request off this year, and it was a good thing, as they had given me Labor Day off- which is extremely unusual. However, it pretty much turned into a day off anyway, as I was only at work for an hour before they realized how slow it was and told me I could go. So, I went to Starbucks and got my free birthday drink (a pumpkin spice blended creme frapp), visited my Moshu at the place he is at for post surgery rehab (but he was alseep the whole time), and went home. My parents gave me a Whitman's Reserve sampler (2 chocolates- delicious!) and $25! And I got $25 from my mom's parents- normally they only give $10, but this higher amount was under stipulation that I use it to get my driving permit renewed....again. I also got many birthday greetings from lots of my friends (thanks to all!) and I actually got some greetings from some of my family members who usually don't remember! (lovely!)
What was really the most interesting part of the day was this: When I got home I got on my computer to check the price of North&South on DVD, as that is what I had been wanting to get with my birthday money. Since I had gotten less than I was hoping for because of the express wishes of my grandparents toward their gift, I had to see if I could still afford it. Lo and behold! Barnes&Noble had just started a sale that day! 50% off! I could afford N&S! Plus a couple more books of historical paper dolls (American Family series by Tom Tierney- Federal Era also called the early republic (American fashion contemporary of Engand's Regency and Europe's Empire) and Civil War (representing the North- I already have family of the Confederacy)  to add to my collection. So, I made my dad take me back out to the bank so I could deposit my birthday money right away, in case the sale was only a 24 hour one (which it was not, but better safe than sorry). I definitely call that the grace of God! :-D I think the person at the bank saw on my ID that it was my birthday. He didn't say anything specifically, but he gave me a couple suckers. :-) All in all, it was a good day. :-)

Thursday was an extremely slow day at work again. Friday (7th) my sister was supposed to come over right after dropping her older two kids off at school, and help me clean up my room as much as possible before she had to go to work. I even got up early, expecting  her around 8:30. She was late! Doesn't that figure? But, even with the lost hour or so, we got quite a bit done. We went through all of my clothes and came out with two whole large trash bags full of clothes that don't fit me anymore to be put into a garage sale. We also came out of the room with one and a half large trash bags full of various items that could not be considered for anything anymore but trash. (You may now, rightly, guess that I do not thoroughly clean my room very often.) We got all, except a very few, of my books put up into my bookshelves, and it is quite full! I shall have to take a picture of them, for you could not put another book in if you wanted to. I'm afraid there is still quite a bit to do. This is all spurred on by the fact that we have to move out of our house (20 years in here, now) and into an apartment by next summer, due to bankruptcy. But we won't get into that.
That afternoon I visited one of my friends from The Lion's Call, who is going to college in my city. We had quite a nice chat, and she had brought me some soap and a lip balm and a small lotion from her family's business! They are wonderful! I highly recommend them. The rest of the evening was spent babysitting all three of my sister's kids. No easy feat, I assure you.

Saturday I got to meet, for the first time in real life, another one of my friends from TLC! (Lil' Princess, or more commonly and affectionately known as Lil', Lilly, or Diamond Lil') We got to hang out at the mall for a couple hours (while my parents were busy working on cleaning out our attic), and we had fun! Of course, Barnes&Noble was our first stop. Book lovers must put priorities first. We looked at lots of books, and Lil came out with a new C.S. Lewis book- and, lovely generous Lil, bought me North&South in paperback! (okay, so I finished reading it for the first time [via my Nook] over Labor Day weekend, and it's one of those ones that doesn't leave you alone after you finish....I still haven't been able to fully move on to a new book) We went on to look in at many shops, including tasting the tea samples at Teavana and smelling all the candles we could at Yankee. :-) It was a wonderful day spent with a new old friend. :-)

Sunday (9th) was my Bunica's birthday, and the whole family got together at one of my aunt's house for dinner and family photos.
The rest of the week was filled with work, which has picked up a little, but not much, and finally watching a bunch of DVDs I had purchased since Christmas but hadn't watched all the way through. I still have to watch N&S.

Now, I'm trying to avoid catching my mom's cold, and Artprize opened today. We're not going to Artprize until Monday or Tuesday next week, but I can't wait! It's really fun seeing all the creative works of art. I especially want to see a holographic art picture of a dragon I heard is on display. It's a great way for me to exercise my own artistic skills in my photography. ;-) I love taking pictures of both the art and the venues.
And this Saturday is the first day of Fall! I love it! I can't wait!
I can't help but agree to what many of our lovely friends have said about Fall being the most productive season for writing. I've recently been getting  ideas for So She Dances again, and can't wait for NaNoWriMo! One idea has to do with The Christmas Waltz. (If you don't know the song, here you go.)

So, that's all for now! More shall arise as we get closer to NaNo, I assure you. ;-)



P.S.
Somebody remind me to got to the Secretary of State's office on Friday to get my permit renewed, please!

Sunday, August 19, 2012

The Scarlet Pimpernel- Movie to Book Comparison

As I have just finished reading The Scarlet Pimpernel this morning (or what will most likely be yesterday morning by the time anyone reads this), I decided to do a brief (very brief) comparison of the movie and the book. (The 1982 movie version, of course.) Though, as I liked some things from the movie better than the book, and some things from the book better than the movie, I don't know if this will turn into a true comparison, or just my giving my opinions.


What I liked about the movie, which I saw first, was that they gave some of the background of Sir Percy and Marguerite, which is only briefly covered in the book. This obviously means they made some stuff up themselves, based off of the little information given in the text, but it works.
I also preferred the movie's version of how Chauvelin discovers the identity of the Scarlet Pimpernel. To me, the meeting in the library between The Scarlet Pimpernel and Marguerite was better than the bland dinner room scene in the book. Even with the discussion that happens after she and Sir Percy arrive home, it was so much better in the movie. Her telling him, without knowing it, everything that really happened, bringing him to finally forgive her. I loved it.

What I liked about the book was, first, that I did not get annoyed as easily with Sir Percy's personality. Perhaps this is because the book is almost all about Marguerite's part of the story, and we do not always see and hear Sir Percy? But I have to say I absolutely loved the book ending! From the moment Marguerite finds out who her husband really is, onward. I think it showed Marguerite's newly found love for Sir Percy much better- the fact that she would go through all those hardships to find her husband and ensure his safety speaks volumes more than the typical sword fight at the end of the movie with practically no sign on Marguerite's side of her new, fiercer love.

The toss-ups were these:
1. I don't know which plot line I preferred- the book's rescue of the Count de Tournay, or  the movie's rescue of the dauphin.
2. The fact that Sir Percy does not say "Sink me!" anywhere in the book! I didn't know whether to feel disappointed or triumphant in that fact. :-P (Hate me, if you will, but it did start to annoy me in the movie.)

Have any of you both seen and read? What do you think?

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Authors Are Humans, Too- Elizabeth Rose Guest Post

Today I have the great pleasure of hosting Miss Elizabeth Rose of Living On Literary Lane while on her blog tour promoting her new book Violets Are Blue. She has honored our presence today through a guest post

Authors Are Humans, Too


nose in a book
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When I tell someone I'm writing a book, he or she approaches me with wonder and a slight bit of distance. Almost instantly, I am shelved in their mind as Untouchable. I'm writing a book; I couldn't possibly understand when they complain about the hard test in Chemistry. I'm writing a book; I probably finished my homework (and the extra credit assignment) a week before it was due. I'm writing a book; therefore, I'm different. 



The generally held opinion about authors is that we are born with some measure of genius surging through our veins. Somehow we managed to glean more intelligence, more creativity, more artistry than the average person. That formidable task called Writing a Book is kept on holy ground, and only the most fortunate of them are allowed to tread along its shores. And once you have written a book, your talent is doubled. Trivial diseases such as writer's block strike the unexperienced: whenever a true author sits down, golden words flow from his pen. He never lacks inspiration — why, it's practically served to him on a silver platter — and the whole word is straining to read his books the minute they hit the shelves. In a matter of minutes, this human being with a penchant for ink has turned into a demigod.



Let me tell you something, readers: that's simply not true. 


To be sure, I'm not exactly the dictionary definition of average. I prefer tea to coffee, pens and notebooks to company, I don't own an iPhone, and I'm not a huge fan of shopping malls. But when people at my tutorial think I (and all authors in general, for that matter) am perfect, I can't help but laugh hysterically. You should see me on the days when I stay up too late watching The Young Victoria and can barely drag myself out of bed. In those circumstances, my mind is consumed with the adorableness of Albert and Victoria, and whether or not I should have some toast with my breakfast. I certainly won't be offering up doses of authorly wisdom at the breakfast table, I assure you.



The average person enjoys the excuse that authors are more than human because it relieves him of any responsibility. If a writer possesses talent far beyond that of a typical human being, there's no hope for the rest of us. Writers are experts — that's why they craft stories so brilliantly. They were born to write literature that takes its reader's breath away, and the rest of us  just weren't. Therefore, we can't possibly be expected to produce such wonderful, poetic stories.



The truth is, budding writers are fearful. I say this with such certainty because I was once — and in many ways, still am — a new writer. We are scared to death of being compared to the greats and being found lacking. We worry we won't gain much interest or exposure. And our worst nightmare is being the author of that one book that sits in the library and collects dust while readers wait months just to get their hands on the latest bestseller.



What I had to learn over these past several years is that what I write is not going to be error-free. And that's all right. It will take many years for my writing to reach the height at which I want it to be; I may never attain it. But I still keep writing. Because, at the heart of it, I don't write because I want to be featured on talk shows and become fabulously wealthy (though I certainly wouldn't mind that). I write because I love it. I love the smell of ink. I love meeting characters that become my new best friends. I love the icy rush that crashes over me when I've written something that feels wonderful. And I'm certainly not perfect. I procrastinate way more than I should (right now, I really need to be folding those delicates). I write chapters that horrify me a few days later. It's all a part of the writing process.



Unfortunately, you can't possibly know this unless you actually start writing. Tie a weight around your fear and toss it into the sea (let's just hope there aren't any smugglers nearby to rescue it). Sharpen your pencils, shut down the Internet, and don your scribbling suit. Your writing will not be perfect at the start, but it will improve with time. And most important of all, it will be yours.


. . .

Elizabeth    RoseElizabeth Rose is a follower of the Most High who seeks to live every day of her life in accordance with 1 Corinthians 10:31. She loves all sorts of books (the thicker the better), is convinced that Irish Breakfast tea is the closest thing this world will get to heaven, dances until her feet ache, stays up until all hours writing, wears pearls at every opportunity, and obsesses over Les Misérables and The Scarlet Pimpernel. In May 2012, she self-published her first book, Violets Are Blue. You can find her on Literary Lane, most likely with The Count of Monte Cristo in hand, and ink on her fingers. 

Saturday, August 4, 2012

Without The Classics- A Literary Testimony

(WARNING: I ramble :-P )

Can you imagine what it would be like to grow up without the classics?
I can. It just hit me the other day that I really did not grow up surrounded by them like many I know here in the blogsphere. Before you think I was raised in a completely ignorant home, let me amend my statement a little. I was not completely without any classics in our house, but the ones we did own fell into three categories: 1. Children's Classics, 2. Fantasy Classics, 3. Science Fiction Classics. I know many of the books we had could be counted into all three categories.
We had The Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, The Secret Garden, The Wizard of OzJourney to the Center of The Earth, The Princess and The Goblin, The Princess and Curdie, At The Back of the North Wind, Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and (the only one I cannot place in one of those three categories) Daddy Long Legs.
As you can see, I can name them off rather easily- I did not look at anything to remember.

There was no Dickens, no Bronte, no Austen, no Elliot, no Scott, no Gaskell- not even Shakespeare! Though, we did later acquire the Anne of Green Gables series and A Little Princess.
It was not because my parents did not approve of those authors and books- on the contrary! But they themselves had not really grown up reading them, so they did not hold much interest in buying and reading them as we were growing up. I am really rather sorry for that fact. In a way, I wish they had so I would have gotten into reading those wonderful works much sooner than I did.

I didn't even read any Alcott until I was in junior high, and I did not even try venturing beyond her books and the Anne books until high school. (Okay, I also admit, I have the t.v. series Wishbone, which came out when I was in junior high, to thank for really starting to spark my interest in eventually checking out the classics)
The first true non-children's classic I actually ever read was Jane Eyre, and I was in high school. I read it after seeing both the 1940's movie starring Orson Welles and the 1983 BBC production starring Zelah Clarke and Timothy Dalton. We bought it in between those viewings at a home school book fair, along with The Hound of The Baskervilles, Robin Hood, and The Oddessey. (More classics!) And it was my sister reading it first, along with the first movie that sparked my interest in trying it. However, my first attempt was a failure. I didn't get beyond the first few pages. But after I saw the BBC production, which my sister had bought, I was sparked to read the whole thing, and this time I got through it! Unfortunately, I still tended to refuse to expand my literary horizons to more classics. While my sister continued on to include Austen with the modern books in her reading list, I stuck with Alcott and Burnette (and the original Elsie Dinsmore books) and modern books. I was of that unfortunate persuasion who thought Austen must be dull. How wrong I was! And how much I stunted my own literary growth! I was proud of my accomplishment in reading Jane Eyre, but I thought that was enough as I had not the regular encouragement to read more classics. Of course I had some classics in my high school literature courses, but the fact that I was forced to read them, and I found them dull, did not help encourage me either.

It was not until I was not only out of high school, but after I had graduated from Bible school (and I did read The Phantom of the Opera while I was there) as well that I finally found out how wrong I really was.
When I had joined at The Lion's Call, a Narnia fan site where I am now staff, I found so many others talking about all these great BBC period dramas based off of the classics, and I had to check them out! Yes, period dramas saved my literary life! It  is they who sparked my interest a few years ago in finally reading all the classics I can get my hands on! And I think I have done somewhat well- though I still have far to go. Of course, I had to start with Austen, and I am happy to admit she is wonderful! For a few years now, I have been a great fan, and have expanded even further. So, while I do tend to read modern books the most, I have a couple Dickens books under my belt and a few others and I'm reading more classics all the time. I am currently working on The Scarlet Pimpernel.

So, my friends, if I am unable to place something out of the classics or am lost about a book, do not worry, I am learning! And I am doing my best to catch up on the period dramas, too. I'm loving every minute of it. :-)

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

My Deepest Apologies (Finishing Something July)

I'm afraid I shall only be answering the first two questions of this week's Actually Finishing Something July's questions....
The answers to those questions will explain my post title, and why I completely missed the last set of questions, and more.

You’ve little less than a week left in the challenge. Now that the end is in sight, do you think you’ll finish your goal?


Ha! I wish! In fact, that's the point of this post....

For me, the last week and a half has been so chaotic that I’ve hardly had the time to sit down, let alone write. How have you balanced life’s craziness with your writing goals? Late night writing? Scribbling down a few lines while waiting in the grocery check-out line?

That's just the thing- I didn't balance it. The last two weeks have been crazy for me, as well, and now I'm trying to catch up on all the things I put off during those two weeks. I'm afraid I'm beyond the ability of staying up late anymore (it really does affect my health rather negatively if I stay up past 1:30 a.m.), and most nights I was falling asleep on the couch by 10:30 or 11! I barely had time to get every day things done....let alone editing or reading or anything I had hoped to do! And I even failed my driving test....(29 years old and I can't miss a cone in a parking lot when backing into a parking spot???!!!)

Anywho, here is what I am now proposing to do:
As I have no really pressing obligations in the month of August, except hosting Miss Elizabeth Rose on her blog tour on the 13th, (just my brother coming up to visit from Texas, but he'll be doing his own thing, so it should take no time away from me) I plan to actually get that first edit finished by the end of August! A month late, but one does what one has to do.
Likewise, as I shall be doing my editing in August, I shall not be able to do the August Camp NaNo session I was hoping to do. Therefore, I plan to do a NaNo-like session on my own in September. (Maybe Megan will be able to join me then? And if anyone else would like to, as well, let me know and we can make our own little event!) I shall be working on The Not-So-Secret Hideaway.
Then, I shall have October to relax, read, enjoy the local Fall activities and the season in general, and let my imagination start wondering into the realm of So She Dances in preparation for the regular November NaNoWriMo event.
And then I shall collapse. :-P
Shall I actually accomplish all this? We shall see, but that's the plan.


And speaking of hosting blog tours! Don't forget I recently interviewed Miss Amy Dashwood on her tour! Check it out!