The Muse-ic Writing Blogfest!

Over at Aleatoire there is a blogfest going on that was actually yesterday, but as I didn't find it until today, I will post now, hopefully not missing it by too much.  Sorry!!


You were supposed to pick a song and write something that was inspired by it.  Whatever it may be.  I struggled with mine, I just tried to write without thinking too much about it - just let the song take me away.  So here goes:

Kary drug her feet down the dusty road, her feet blistered and bleeding from the many miles she had walked. All she carried with her was her father's ring, a journal from her mother, and the clothes on her back. The sun seared her already burned skin. Her mind was heavy with dark thoughts of all she'd lost, of all she'd never get back. The only hope she had left in her empty heart was for someone to take her out of her misery. If she knew how, she'd do it herself. Everyone she loved was dead. The world was dead. She was dead.

Being dead wasn't new to Kary. This was her second time around. When she sold her soul to the Big Guy, the deal was simple. Do his bidding until he let her go, or her family would die. Whenever that would be. Now her family was dead; she had a little less motivation to help the tyrant that was Mr. S. Kary stopped, looked at the sky, and screamed through the dust clouds.

“YOU'RE MINE, S! IT'S OVER!” She unclenched her fists and fell to her knees, tears cascading to the ground. Her hands burned on the molten asphalt, but she left them there; she needed to feel the pain. She looked at her father's ring on her left middle finger; a silver band with a cross cutout in the center. She'd left that cross in plenty of people's faces with her sharp left hook. “For you Daddy.” She reached for her mother's journal she had stashed in her back pocket. Such a small, tattered thing, most would hardly think it was beautiful. But Kary knew every word on the old brown pages, every curve of the letters written from her mother's delicate hands. “For you, Mom.”

With all she held precious in her life right there in her hands, she vowed to do anything to stop Mr. S. from doing this to someone else. He didn't deserve to be the King of the Underworld. Not if Kary had anything to say about it.

The song/music video that inspired this short blurb is "New Low" by Middle Class Rut.

Hope you enjoy it!  It's a really great song, IMO.

Inspiration Comes in all Forms...

So if you have been following my blog at all (thanks, btw!) you will have noticed a slump in my creativity.  Life has kept me so preoccupied that creativity has been a less than a last thought.  However, lastnight I had an epiphany.  I was playing my VERY favorite game, Sims 3, when I realized my favorite part of any game is character creation!  I thrive on picking out how my character is dressed, what their personality traits are, and what their house looks like.  I like deciding what they have to eat, what they read, and where they work.  Perfect for trying to write a story about a person! 

So I paused the screen of my game, and started writing about what I saw.  I saw Egyptian vases, leather couches, marble statues.  I saw an easel, a vast bookshelf, and maroon carpet.  It was amazing!  To have your thoughts visualized, but backwards! 

I'm so very excited to have found this path of inspiration!  Now the possibilities are endless.  Well mostly, as Sims 3 only has so many combinations. :)  But it is a starting point!  Off I go to create!!

-Charlie-

To Blog or Not to Blog?

Well, as it seems to be the usual, it has been awhile.  I seem to be going at a pace of blogging once a month.  I used to blog everyday.  How does this get away from me all the time?  I think it started to become a job instead of fun.  I have so many things on my plate that blogging was just low on the priority list. 

Hmph.

To blog or not to blog?

Winter's Respite Readathon! 17Jan-23Jan

Well I have found another read-a-thon!  I'm so excited!  I love read-a-thons!  It's being hosted by Michelle at The True Book Addict <---That's the starting line post!

I have made my very hopeful list of books I intend to read, and as I only found out about this at 2 am this morning, I'm already behind.

Here is my list:

-Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
-Percy Jackson and the Olympians - The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
-The Woman in Red by Eileen Goudge (finishing it)
-Room by Emma Donoghue

Short list, I know, but sort of realistic for me.  I might actually complete them all!  I do have to do other things though, like go to class and clean and stuff.  But I'll try!

Good luck to everyone, hope you have fun!

Potter-Thon Update! (And review)

It is already the 19th of January, and I have only just finished the first book in the Harry Potter series.  I had surgery last week, so that slowed me up.  Either way, I finally read a Harry Potter book!!  And I'll do a short review of it now, before I forget.
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This book has been reviewed a zillion times, so my review may not hold any weight.  I will, however, still share my opinion.

It's no secret that J.K. Rowling hit the jackpot when the idea for Harry Potter took over her brain.  She has successfully crafted a series of stories that have enchanted all ages for over a decade.  I can now include myself in this group!  Of course I have already seen all the movies, but as it is with most movies made from books, the written word prevails.

J.K.'s words are creative, humorous, and full of emotion.  She expertly describes the world from her mind so that all who read can experience it for themselves.

I finally started reading the book for a reading challenge over at Pure Imagination, but will finish the series because of J.K Rowling's fantastic writing.  She made me care about the characters, and I must see then through to the end.

To all who haven't read Harry Potter, (however few that may be), get to it!  You really are missing out.
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More updates for the Potter-Thon soon, as I'm starting The Chamber of Secrets in a few minutes!

Potter-Thon!

Yesterday marked the beginning of the Potter-Thon over at Pure Imagination !!

I couldn't start yesterday; I couldn't get to the bookstore to buy any of the books. :(   I know, I know, it's crazy not to own the Harry Potter books.  Not even one!  So today I'm off to the store to buy them and commence with the reading!

I'm so excited!  I've only been waiting a million years to start reading them.  I guess I figured that I'd wait until I saw all the movies, but there's only the last part left to see.....

Anyhoo, I'll try to update every week, probably on Sundays, of where I am, how I feel about what I've read, and see what you all are reading!

If you haven't signed up, head over to the SIGN UP PAGE .

Now get reading!

Triple Threat: Hunger Games Trilogy Review!

I finally finished The Hunger Games trilogy.  As you'll read, I was totally blown away.  What an amazing series!!  Here are the links to the GoodReads blurbs for each of the books so you can find out what they are about.  It's a little long to put each synopsis here.

The Hunger Games

Catching Fire

Mockingjay


The Hunger Games Trilogy Review

The Hunger Games:

I had no idea how this book would affect me before reading it. I could not predict that it would change my expectations of books I intend to read. Suzanne Collins has written a book that leaves me almost wordless. Almost.

I felt so connected to Katniss and her world; felt as if I was there with her in the arena, battling for my life. The descriptions of everything were so perfect, I could see what Katniss was seeing, what Peeta was feeling. The other tributes were so real I felt for them when they died. Though this is fiction, it felt as though the world of Panem could be a place that actually existed.

Now I know some of you might be asking yourselves, “Is this book really as good as you say, Charlie?” Well, I recommend to all of you to read it yourselves. Always be your own judge. But trust me, all the bajillion people who have read it and loved it can't be wrong.

So off I go to read Catching Fire, the second book. Hope it's as good as this one.

Catching Fire:

This book rocked me to the core! It was so emotionally charged I couldn't stop reading it for anything. I think I stopped once or twice to use the facilities, but other than that I couldn't stop turning my electronic pages.

After the first one, I didn't think a second book would keep pace. I was wrong! Catching Fire did that and more. With twists and turns that kept coming, I had no idea what to expect. I don't want to give anything away, but just know that Suzanne Collins did a fantastic job creating this world and all of it's intricacies.

Katniss's emotional journey was expertly crafted. Her inner fire leaped off the pages and kept me enraptured through the whole book. Peeta's steadfastness to stick through his love for Katniss was so heart wrenching, it was as if I could feel what he was going through. It is so refreshing to read a book with characters I can actually care about.

The only thing that frustrated me was Katniss's back and forth game with Peeta and Gale. But it is part of what kept the story interesting, so it's not that big of a deal.

Overall, this book was amazing, shocking, and moving. If I could personally thank Suzanne Collins for writing it, I would. It was so fun to read, and it has been a long time since I've read a book I couldn't put down, even forgoing food breaks. Maybe since The Hunger Games.

Again, you must read it for yourself. And I hope you do.

Now, I'm off to read the next book, Mockingjay. I bet it's friggin awesome!

Mockingjay:

Wow. Just wow. I can't believe how good this book was. I can't believe how much stuff happened, and I can't believe how it ended. Simply amazing. I don't want it to be over! I want to keep reading about Katniss, and Peeta, and Gale, and all the others. I actually cried while finishing up this book; the events were so moving.

I am completely blown away at how good this trilogy was. I am again wordless. I just sat here after finishing it, shocked. Thinking, how did Suzanne Collins do this? How did she make such magic? Everyone should read these books. They tell a fantastic story of love and war and how those conditions change people's lives.

 

I can't wait to read these again. I've never re-read a book before, but I reread the Hunger Games to prepare for the other two. And I'd do it again. 

Nook Color!!

The Nook Color has changed my world.  I thought when I got the first Nook, everything was different.  But this new Nook, well, it has shattered all that.  As soon as you turn the thing on it amazes.  It's bright, colorful, and you can touch the screen.  You have to touch the screen.  It begs you to touch the screen. 

You first have to go through a quick and easy setup process, which is made even easier if you already have the B&N account set up and all.  But after that is over, it's off to the exploring!  The first thing I did was personalize the background (I picked the white snow with paw prints and red ribbon - fitting for December).  There are only a few stock backgrounds, but there are many websites out there with free downloadable ones.  But you are supposed to be able to set your personal pictures as the background, I just haven't figured it out yet, I've been too busy reading! 

The next thing was picking out what books I was going to read first, then setting them on my home page (the main and biggest part you see here.)  I've picked out several that I need to finish and some more that I plan on starting.  It's a fantastic way to organize the books, because you can see them right there, staring at you, waiting to be read.  There are no lists to go through, just the bold covers of the books.  It's wonderful! 

So you're probably asking, what's the big deal, I can read on the Nook (or other E-reader) I already have - it does the same thing, sort of.  Well my advice to you is to keep reading.  This Nook is like a mini-Ipad.  Without the apps.  It surfs the internet with ease, although the only thing that does bug me is how tiny the words are when you are looking at a full page.  But you can easily zoom in and that problem is fixed.  I tweet, facebook, and blog (mostly read blogs) all from my Nook Color.  I can turn it sideways for better viewing, and it's almost as big as my netbook's screen. 

It's lightweight, easy to hold, though as you can see I do have a cover for it - makes me feel better about carrying it around.  This is one of the best Christmas presents ever, and would make any book reader squeeeee! with excitement. 

So to wrap up, simply put, this Nook Color rocks.  I don't have really any drawbacks to comment on.  It's user friendly, organized, colorful, and fun.  Better get to the store and get yourself one - they may just run out!

------Charlie------

NaNoWriMo Day 30

Well bloggers, it's been 30 days of NaNo craziness.  30 days of oblivion to anything but writing.  For me, 30 days of failure.  I only really wrote two days out of the 30, and only got 2,454 words written.  It's just a mess! 

They say success is found through failure, but I don't feel like I'll be successful with writing any time soon.  They also say that writing is a battle.  A battle against laziness, procrastination, and fear.  This year, I was afraid to use a "bad" idea for a story, so I procrastinated from writing anything, and then I just got lazy and wrote nothing.  All I did was think about writing this fantastic story.  But thinking doesn't get the job done.  The positive thing I learned for next year is how not to be lazy, not to procrastinate, not to fear my ideas.  I at least came up with a good idea finally, and will continue writing it now that the NaNo pressure is off.  It's almost the same thing that happened last year.  I only made 5,000 words during November, but in December I wrote 13,000 more words!  Still didn't meet the goal of finishing that novel.  But so I keep on learning stuff about myself.  I'm not very good at finishing.  Maybe that'll be my New Year's resolution: Finish What You Start.  We'll see I suppose.

Anyway,  I'd like to stop ranting now about all that.  I'd also like to get back into blogging.  This blogging once a month crap has got to stop!  I lost a few followers in all this mess, so I'd also like to quit doing that.  Not that followers are the only reason I blog, but they are so very nice and so very important to me.  I appreciate sooooo much all the support I have recieved from my followers. 

There I go again, off on a tangent.  This is supposed to be a writing and book blog, but some of my life gets thrown in here too.  I could only hope to one day be as big as some of the blogs I read out there.

Alright, I'm going to sign off, as I can't seem to stop blabbering.  Plus I've got to get to the reading of my current book:

The Woman in Red by Eileen Goudge

Gosh it's a fantastic book so far!!!  I recommend it.  I'll most likely be doing a review of it as well.  I do have one question:  How do you review a book that your audience might find offensive or inappropriate to them?  There are a few books I would love to review and recommend, but not sure how they will be taken, as they are pretty controversial.  Any help with this would be great!  Hope you all did better than I did in NaNoWriMo.  Talk soon!


----Charlie----

NaNoWriMo Day One!!

Good Morning!  It's time for me to start my NaNoWriMo story!  I fell asleep at like 1030 lastnight, so I didn't make it for the actual midnight kickoff.  But I'm all ready!

I've got my first cup of NaNo coffee....

My bunny slippers are ready...

And so is my keyboard!!

So off I go!  Good luck to all of you as well!!