Passion

While I did not get any writing done on this most recent camping trip, I did find lots of reading time.  Thusly, I finished Passion by Lauren Kate.

This is the story in the series I've been waiting to read from the very beginning.  If you have read any of the books in this series you know that Daniel and Luce have been cursed to never be together.  All the while Daniel remembers every life and every death Luce has endured.  And each time they come together their love grows stronger.  In this, the third book in the series, Luce has found a way to view many significant past lives with Daniel.  Each time she witnesses her past life she learns a little more about how deep their love is and learns to love Daniel even more.

I quite enjoyed this book.  After itching to find out more about their past lives together I finally got to read an entire book about it!  There was a time that I started to worry about the structure of the book because it seemed to just be about life after life and nothing else.  While I thoroughly enjoyed each story and life they shared together, I wondered if it would become too monotonous.  However, I felt Lauren Kate actually handled it pretty well.  There was plenty else involved in the story and all the while an underlying current of suspense that the reader just can't seem to pinpoint.  Not to mention, who doesn't love a collage of love stories all in one book?

If you are a fan of the Fallen series (as I know many of you are) this will be the book you've been waiting for!

The Young Princess and the Frog

A young princess sat on a rock pleasantly eating her cookies.  She pulled each one from a small princess lunch pale and delicately bit into each one before smiling as though she were being filmed for a commercial and they were the best cookies she’d ever tasted.  There is no reason to say they weren’t, they looked delicious. 

While this young princess in her pretty purple tutu sat eating her dainty cookies a small amphibian of sorts leapt upon her lunch pail.

The young girl’s mouth flew open as a scream escaped her lips.  As this happened, a cookie flew from her hand and landed in a nearby bush.  She immediately stood up without much grace or composure and began looking for the lost cookie.  They must have been the best she’d ever tasted to not let a single one of them go to waste.

She crawled on her hands and knees searching for the little lost morsel and when it was finally found she brushed it off and smiled as though nothing had happened.  The cookie seemed as good as new and she lifted it to take the first bite.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” the frog croaked.  It was actually a rather distinguished croak.  As if this were an English frog instead of one residing in the marshes of Australia where the princess lived.

The princess paused, the cookie halfway there.  She looked back at the little green thing still perched on her pail.  “And why shouldn’t I?” she asked.

The frog blinked though she could hardly see it.  She though it looked so peculiar sitting there and staring at her.  It eyes bulging off the top of its head and almost gawking.

“That cookie has fallen into a bush.  It can no longer be eaten.”   The frog sounded absolutely insistent.

“But I like these cookies, and nothing seems to be wrong with this one,” she said gesturing toward the cookies that was still only inches from her mouth.

“Well you see,” the frog continued.  “I don’t much care for people who eat food off the ground.”

“Why should it matter to you?”  The princess was growing impatient.  This frog had disrupted her excellent afternoon and soiled one of her precious cookies.  Besides, nothing was wrong with it now.

“If you’re going to kiss me, I rather you didn’t eat food that has fallen on the ground.”  The frog continued to stare but now seemed to be growing a bit uncomfortable for some reason.

“I don’t see why it should matter if I kiss you after eating this cookie.  It’s clean now.  See?”  She held the cookie to the frog and all he did was look the other way.

“Curious.”  That was all the frog could say.

“What is?”

“Most princesses are severely startled when I mention the kiss.  Many of them run away screaming.”

“And what’s curious about that?”  The princess had contorted her face into a questioning annoyance.

“You my sweet, are not running.”

“It’s not very ladylike to run in a dress.”

“But are you not frightened because I’m green and amphibious?”  The frog glanced once again to the side, as though he were confused and uncomfortable again.

“Oh I was at first, but you seem so distinguished and proper.  I have no need to fear you.”  The princess was growing disinterested.  Conversations like these were so tiresome.

“You are not afraid of kissing me?”  The frog had almost grown hopeful.

“Oh of course not!”  She exclaimed with a sweet, musical laugh.

The frog let out a joyful ribbit.  “I have finally found my princess!”

“You have?” the princess asked.

In a few quick bouncing strides the frog was directly seated in front of the princess.  “Yes, my sweet, you may kiss me now.”

The princess let out another giggle.  “You are quite silly my frog.  I am much too young for kissing.  I am only ten.”

The frogs face fell, his last chance was flitting away before his eyes.  “In frog years I am ten as well,” he said in a moment of desperation.

“Perfect!  We must be friends now,” the princess gleefully responded.

The frog let out a deep sigh.  He was almost resigned to accept his fate forever.  “Princess?”

“Yes, my frog?”

“Why will you not kiss me?”

The princess laughed.  “Oh my sweet frog, I simply cannot kiss you yet.”

“Why not?”

“Because you will be too old for me when you become a prince and you will still have to wait for me to grow up before you can marry me.”

The frog tilted his head and blinked.  “Who said anything about marriage.”

“Oh, my frog your are so silly.  Didn’t you know that’s how it works?”

He looked at the young princess before him.  She smiled and waited for him to answer.  How could he have never realized it before?  Of course that’s the reason he had become a frog in the first place!  The other princesses were much to shallow to realize this. 

The frog looked into the eyes of this princess and saw a beautiful young girl who would soon turn into an even more beautiful woman.  It was obvious she adored him.  Her blue eyes gazed at his.

He took another bouncing stride onto the princess’s lap.   She laughed that beautiful laugh of hers.  He quietly whispered to himself, “Yes, I have found my princess.  I will wait for you.”

The princess held out her hand and the frog leapt on.  “Come my frog, we have cookies to share.”

Beauty Queens

As you all probably know, it took me forever to read this book.  Many of you are probably thinking that's rather uncharacteristic of me and I'd have to agree with you.  I usually read books much faster.  Let me first say that it wasn't because I hated the book and it was painful to get through it.  The writing is fantastic.  However, there were some parts that were difficult to get through.  I'll list everything for you.

Reasons I Liked the Book:
-It's very well written.  Libba Bray really is an incredible writer.
-There are many issues in this book that teenage girls face everyday and they need to know they can conquer their trials.
-It was funny and incredibly original.  The format of the book provided the lighthearted element.
-The characters were well thought out and had very distinct personalities.
-Excellent suspense (better toward the end of the book)
-Teenage girls are told by media, friends, relatives, etc that they're not beautiful enough and they need to be someone else's idea of perfect.  This book makes it clear that's not true.  Everyone is beautiful in their own way and that's how it should be.
-Pretty faces come with brains and feelings too.

Reasons I Didn't Like the Book:
-Lesbian and transgender issues (I realize these are current issues, but that doesn't mean I want to read about them.)
-Shocking heterosexual sex scene
-Frequent use of the "F" word where it wasn't necessary.

There really were some good morals and principles taught in this book.  I didn't always appreciate the way these morals were taught.  One thing this book does is make you take a step back and look at who you really are.  Do you like what you see?  Would you rather be someone different?  Look different?  Be true to yourself.  Become the best version of yourself.

Beautiful!

I just have to say, I love it when books have a beautiful cover!  This is going to be the new cover for the paperback version of Matched by Ally Condie.  Great book, intriguing cover... all around fantastic.

Amusement

Here's a little story I wrote for my writer's group yesterday at our first meeting.  The task?  Write in the second person.  This is what came out.  (No editing has taken place yet, this is the free write version.)

You walk to an amusement park.  The colors of the lights on each ride force you to squint even though it’s night.  As you walk through the gate you give the ticket office your money another kind person stamps your hand and you are suddenly filled with the most thrill you’ve had since your 7^th birthday when you got the toy you wanted so badly.  You know what that toy is.  Certainly no thrill on any of the rides could match what you feel in this moment when that ink marks your hand. 

You blow on the stamp to make sure it’s dry and you don’t smudge the perfection of it.  Even though it’s not perfect.  In fact, the ink is quite illegible.  But, to you it’s perfect.  It’s possible that you actually do feel like you’re seven years old again playing with that new toy.  But, today you are twenty-five. 

The rides all glimmer before you and you can see them so much more clearly now that you are inside the park.  Nothing can stop you from the thrill of these rides.  They seem to stand so tall before you and you wonder if they’re actually safe.  But, you only wonder that for a moment.  You’ve never actually heard of anyone getting hurt on a ride.

Are those your friends you see?  Yes!  There’s Margaret, Ben and Mark.  They all stand there with expressions as gleeful as your own.  Except for mark.  Amusement parks don’t seem to hold much joy for him since the incident on his own seventh birthday.  His was not as great as yours.  Some people still talk about Mark’s incident.  They say the park had to shut down the ride to be cleaned.

You look at Mark and bite your lip remembering the story.  You were there, and though you didn’t see them shut down the ride you know it was a definite possibility.  As you make your way towards your friends you see Mark shake a little white bottle in his hand and smile back at you with an expression that says, that’s not happening again.

“Hi!” Margaret says to you.  She looks as though she may burst from the excitement and it feeds your own.

“Which one first?” you say.

“All of them,” Ben says in his gruff voice.  Ever the enthusiast.  And also that one friend who just doesn’t know where or when to stop.

“I say we start at that one,” Margaret says pointing to a gigantic structure to your right.  She’s jumping up and down now, her blonde curls bouncing and dancing in the lights of the park.

You take a deep breath realizing the immensity of the ride.  It’s massive and seems to touch the sky.  Suddenly you feel as though you will burst as Margaret looks about to.  “Race you there,” you say and dart off toward the line.

You hear their footsteps behind you, but you don’t look back.  You’re not the best runner after all.  Steadiness on the feet is how you win the race.  Somehow you make it there first and the ride is even bigger than it looked before.  The line isn’t long and in just a couple of runs it will be your turn.

“Oh I’m so excited!”  You don’t have to look at her to know who said it.  It’s possible she hasn’t stopped repeating the phrase the whole time you’ve been in line. 

Watching the ride take off with a bundle of passengers has made your heart race and you almost feel like you are in the car with them ready to take off.  Then you hear their screams.  The shrill scraping of their voices ripping through their throats.  Yours feels scratchy now too, even though you didn’t scream.

Beads of sweat appear at your hairline and suddenly you don’t know if you could really do this.  What if you end up in the small percentage of those who actually die on the rides in the amusement park?  What if the car you are strapped to with no hope of release is suddenly rocketed off into the never-ending blue sky and only falls back down after it has touched the balance of earth and space?

Your line inches forward and you don’t think you have the courage any longer to face your friends.  They will see the sweat and the watering eyes and now is not the time for panic.  You’re not even on the ride yet. 

You watch the next car full of people with joy spread across their faces and wonder why none of them seem afraid.  Wait!  There is one girl with long dark hair who appears as terrified as you feel.  You almost shout, “Wait!  She doesn’t want to go!”  Somehow you are able to restrain yourself, though you feel the words attempting to escape the back of your mouth.  Then you realize she’s just a young girl.  If you were to yell that out everyone would know that you are afraid to ride the ride that children are allowed on.

Suddenly, you’re standing at the gate.  You know you’re going to be next and silently pray the car will never return.  Maybe they will be the ones who get stuck up there and you will not longer have to go!  Then you hear it.  It screeches a low moan.  Your vision is fading, your heart collapsing.  

The passengers, full of smiles and grins and giggles, push up on the restraint in front of them.  How could they?  How could anyone be so willing to ride something that would put them in danger?  You can’t do it.  Then the gate swings open and you feel your legs moving toward the car.

The seat is awkward and low, but you sit in it anyway.  What are you doing?  The restraint comes down on you and the worker comes to check if the restraint is in place.  You wish he hadn’t done that.  Now you know there is a little bit of space between you and the harness.  You were blissfully unaware of it before now.  Maybe not blissfully, but more so than now.

You feel the car lurch forward and you feel as though you may scream as you heard the other passengers do.  But, you keep it inside you.  Before you realize what’s happening you are hurled forward at the most incredible speed you’ve ever before experienced and you can’t help yourself.  You scream a cry that could wake the graves of the next town.  You flip this way and that way.  Your hands cling to the bar in front of you and you feel yourself weightless for seconds at a time.  Beautiful exhilarating seconds.

Your hands release the bar in front of you, the wind on your face is intoxicating and you cannot help the laughter that escapes. 

In one swift second it’s all over.  Your car is pulling into the blackness of the tunnel you started in.  The restraint is lifted and you feel heavy.  You stand and stumble slightly, but the grin is still on your face.

When you turn around you see the same expressions on your friends’ faces.  You say, “We gotta do that one again.”

Everyone Should Read This

I took a one day break from my other book to read The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch.  Usually, I don't read much by way of non-fiction.  Many of you read my post about writing non-fiction.  I have always thought there is a time and a place for non-fiction by way of self help.  Normally I pass by the section without so much as a wave of recognition.  I'm not very good at seeking for help, especially when I need it.

Because I don't really read in this genre willingly, it took this month's book for my book club to read this one.  I have to admit, it was so worth it and completely inspiring.  Sometimes we don't always realize we're looking for help when we find it.  Because of this book I've realized I just need to step up to the brick walls in my life and realize that there's always a way to get to the other side and reach our childhood dreams.  Since there is a child within each of us, these dreams are not really that far-fetched.

My favorite message from the book: "The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something."  If you want something strongly enough you will find a way around, over, or through the wall.  Sometimes I forget how badly I want something because the wall is blocking my view.

Randy Pausch was a professor at Carnegie Mellon.  After only being married eight years and with three young children he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer which is almost always fatal.  This book shows not only how he lived the last months of his life, but how he lived his entire life.  He wasn't going to let the biggest brick wall he'd ever encountered stop him from achieving and living how he always wanted.

Superhero

As promised, here is a little snippet from my new story.  Hope you enjoy!

“See that hot guy over there?” I say to Stacey as I stand up from the table in the cafeteria.

She rolls her eyes.

“Remember how he’s my boyfriend?”  I continue standing and make my way over to him.

Tyler isn’t the guy you might find attractive, but I don’t really care what you think.  He’s my boyfriend and I love him.  He’s tall, lanky, dark hair, and over all pretty average looking.  Until he smiles.  And there’s that smile now.  He totally makes me melt.  I can’t help giving him a gigantic grin back.  I try to be coy, but it never works.

“Hey you,” I say when I reach him.  He has a tray of food in his hands, but he doesn’t let that get in the way of planting one on me right there in front of everyone.  They’re all used to it by now. 

“Can’t you guys go somewhere else to do that?” someone from the cafeteria calls out.  Guess they’re not as used to it as I thought.  You’d think that two weeks of seeing our relationship bloom people would stop with the snide comments.  Guess not.

With a relationship as happy go lucky as we have you might think it was one of those happy stories.  One of those that happens like this: boy and girl meet, go on date, hold hands, kiss, smile, happy still.  It was actually nothing like that.  He would have nothing to do with me.  Okay, that’s not really true either.  We didn’t really want to associate with each other. 

It was a mutual decision made long ago when a girl said something mean to a boy at recess and he punched her.  He thought he had super powers…and I didn’t believe him.  I taunted him endlessly.  But let’s not dwell on something that happened so long ago.  Everything is obviously different between us now.

All right, I know you’re dying to find out how everything changed between us.  But, I have to warn you this story doesn’t start pretty.

Lazy Days

You're probably all wondering why it's taking me so long to post anything lately.  It's summer!  I should be reading like crazy because I haven't much else to occupy my time.  The truth is...I'm wondering that myself.  I'm reading an amazing book right now and I still love to read.  But, for some reason I'm just not getting it done.

On the upside, I discovered a new idea for a book.  Unfortunately, not the ones I'm already working on.  This one is a comedy, but I suspect it will have a deeper meaning behind it as well.  Stay tuned for little snippets of My Boyfriend, Superhero.  (Or something like that.)

I hope you're all having a fantastic summer and that you're all reading fantastic books!

Can You Keep A Secret?

Can You Keep A Secret? by Sophie Kinsella

This book was so enjoyable!  I have to admit it felt a bit slow at first, but once it got going it held my attention and I couldn't put it down.  My friend Jernae recommended this book to me a while ago and I was finally able to read it.  And I was certainly not disappointed.

Whether you know it or not all of you are acquainted with chick lit.  It's just like a chick flick in book form.  This one felt pretty real to me, for the most part.  It didn't feel trite and insignificant like others in the genre can be.  The story was solid and so cute!

It is the story of Emma Corrigan.  She wants so badly to succeed in her job and get that promotion she's been waiting for, but the her chances aren't looking good after the last meeting she attended.  In a stroke of luck, she's upgraded on her flight home from that meeting.  The unlucky part?  She's afraid of flying and in a bout of turbulence she honestly feels she's going to die.  In that turbulence and amidst the screams of the other passengers she turns to the man sitting next to her and without thinking divulges all of her deepest secrets!  Of course, she never thought she'd see that man again, thank heaven.  When she arrives back to work the stranger she spilled everything to is there!

I recommend this book to anyone who needs a fun cute story and is ready to laugh.
Happy Reading!

Felt So Good!

For the past couple of weeks I've been taking a break on my novel and writing bits of other stories.  I was getting so frustrated with my novel because nothing seemed to be working right.  All of the characters were flat and boring, save for one.  Who just happens to be the main love interest later on in the story.  The only scenes that have been working are the ones where he is present.  Okay, that's not entirely true, other scenes have worked out well too.

The biggest problem is my main character.  For some reason I just couldn't get into her head.  Since the story is written in first person from her point of view, it's kind of vital to know what she's thinking.  She a great strong character, but everything just seems to be happening too easily for her.

Yesterday, I pulled the story out again and just started writing and trying to add some more depth to her character or even to the other characters to enhance her.  Next thing I knew five pages had stumbled out of me!  Hooray!  I think I may be back on the novel train!

Sapphique

I thoroughly enjoyed this book.  Sapphique is a sequel to the book Incarceron.  After my last post you're probably wondering if I'll ever read fantasy again.  This one has a decent cover though, don't you think?  Well, This just happens to be a fantasy book, but it's not high fantasy (which still moderately frightens me).  There are no elves, dwarves, trolls, or anything like that.  This one actually teeters more on the edge of steampunk.  If you don't know what steampunk is let me know and I'll do a post on the genre.  It's actually kind of neat!

**SPOILER ALERT**

Finn is now living outside of Incarceron, the largest prison in the world.  He realizes it may not be anything he thought it would be.  The blackouts and fits are getting worse and his memories still haven't come back.  Claudia expected that once Finn was released from Incarceron, he would remember he's the rightful heir to the throne and claim his kingdom.  She still doubts that he is the real Prince Giles and her betrothed.  He's different, a prison rat.  Queen Sia, his stepmother and the person who ordered him sent to Incarceron, memories erased, still doesn't want Finn to be crowned.

Meanwhile, Keiro and Attia are still trapped in Incarceron, and the prison grows steadily angrier that one of it's inmates escaped.  Finn promised them he would find a way to release them, but he hasn't yet and they don't know how much longer they can wait for him.

Will Finn and Claudia be able to take their kingdom in spite of the Queen's death threats?  Will Keiro and Attia ever escape the prison and stop Incarceron from getting Out?

All right, so, that was kind of a long synopsis and it really only spoiled bits of the first book, and not so much this sequel.  As I said before, this book was rather enjoyable.  The characters were well used and thought out and it was a perfect end to the story.  Each of the characters uses their wit to conquer the problems that arise.  The war is won by the ones who aren't afraid to think, and take risks.  Catherine Fisher does a really excellent job of showing that Finn in the rightful prince.  As he adjusts to the world a little more, I was able to see how he truly was the perfect prince and how he will make the kingdom great again.

There were times when I had to go back and re-read because I couldn't quite figure out what was going on or who's point of view I had just dived into, but it wasn't too much of a hindrance.  Had the first book still been fresh in my mind I think it would have been easier.

Books by the Cover, People by the Book

I know the saying, "Don't judge a book by it's cover."  I've actually been known to use it now and then, because I think there is tremendous value in seeing something for its contents and not what it's wearing.  However, I still find myself a bit embarrassed to wander into the science fiction/fantasy section at the bookstore.  It's pathetic, but I still find myself looking down the aisle first to see if anyone is there and then decide whether or not I want to go down that road.  Frequently I see the stereotypical balding, mid-40s man with glasses completely enthralled in the synopsis on the back of a poorly designed book cover.  Now, I have no doubt that the book is good, but do I want to be caught reading that?  Then I wonder if I'm as weird as I think they are.  I'm sure they are delightful people, and I have, on occasion, seen a very attractive mid-20s guy wrapped up in the same books.  If the attractive guy is down the aisle I generally tend to glance around and see what else I could be viewing--besides his perfectly formed shoulders.  I also wander down if there is no one there to see me actually pick up a book or two.

Why is this?  I can guarantee that some of you out there have thought the exact same things about some of these books.  Am I right?  You see the busty redhead in leather thrusting a sword into the air, lightning striking its tip.  Or, there's the spaceship gliding through space with lasers defeating the evil emperor of a foreign galaxy.  I just can't get myself to pick up these books because they have such awful covers.  I see them and automatically think mid-40s, bald, glasses, loner.

Have you noticed it's usually just the adult books?  Young adult books (for the most part) have really intriguing covers.  If the cover isn't interesting a teenager simply isn't going to pick it up, let alone read it.  There are some books that I have heard are excellent, but I can't get myself to read them because the cover makes them look cheesy and not worth my time.  It actually took quite a bit of coaxing for me to read the Uglies series because of the covers.  The new covers look splendid!  And...the content was much better than the cover.  Still one of my favorite series. 

I will admit, I'm getting better at giving books a chance despite whatever an artist has done to the cover.  There's probably a lot of good out there I'm missing.  I quite like science fiction when the story is well written and the same goes for fantasy.  I know I shouldn't judge, and I'm happy to admit I'm getting better.  Remember it's not the author who designed the cover.  Someone else did. 

Shannon Hale once said not to let anyone get to you about what you read.  Read what you love and don't ever let anyone tell you not to like something.

Uh... Okay

So, the post mysteriously re-appeared!  I only noticed this after my dear friend Amanda was still able to view it and sent it back to me to re-post.  I posted it again only to realize that it's there.  All I have left to say is... Happy Reading!  Hope you all have a wonderful day and that your posts return to you as well.

Grrr!

All right, so I'm a little upset.  Yesterday I wrote a stellar book review of Beautiful Creatures that I'm sure you would have all enjoyed immensely, but thanks to Blogger's maintenance yesterday it was erased.  So, I will attempt to recreate it for you at some point today.  I can almost guarantee it won't be as good, because that's just the way things go.  Stay tuned!!

A Little Something I'm Working On

This comes from a project I started for a final project in one of my writing classes.  I've loved writing it and never expected it to go as far as it continues to go.  It started out as a short story and, let's face it, it just keeps going.  This is just a little taste of it.  By now, I'm sure you all know how much I love to write dialogue, so of course this taste is a bit of dialogue for you.  If you want to know more about it I'll be glad to let you know! :)

“How did you find me?” I asked him for what seemed like the millionth time.

“Untie me and maybe I’ll tell you.”

Flustered, I turned my head away.  I knew I wasn’t going to get that answer out of him.  I’d asked him several times since he came here.  He refused to answer it, yet it still felt like he was just taunting me by not telling me.

“Is that really all you want to know about me?” he said, annoyed.

“What?” I said.

“That’s all you’ve asked me since I woke up tied to a water heater.”

“Well-“ like an idiot, that was all I could say.  I could feel my cheeks turning red.  I never thought about where he might have come from or what he had gone through.  I looked at the scar on his face.  It started at his left temple and curved down his cheek and ended just above his chin by the corner of his mouth.  It came from somewhere and somehow, but I never thought to ask.  I never cared until that point.  The animal was still inside me because I’d chosen to take care of only myself and not care about anyone other than myself.  I realized I’d let the hate take me over as well.  I noticed he had several other scars on his arms and neck.

He caught me looking at them and I turned my head away once again.  “You wanna know where they came from?” he asked.

I shook my head, not sure if I wanted to know what gruesome things happened to him.  “Where did you come from?” I asked.

He gave me a side smile on the side that wasn’t scarred and I realized there might have been a time when he was attractive.  “I’m from a community about twenty miles west of here.”

My head shot up and our eyes met.  “A community?”  No one lives in communities.  At least not that I knew of.  I didn’t think anyone could live together anymore.  It never even occurred to me.

“Yeah.  It’s not a big one, but we do alright,” he said with a shrug.

I was still shocked.  “And you all…get along?”

He let out a small laugh before he said, “Yeah.”  Something passed over his eyes when he looked at me then.  It was almost like sadness, but not for himself, for me.