Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Wonderful Word Wednesday: Chthonian




It's Wonderful Word Wednesday again! Do you as a writer ever struggle finding that perfect word to describe something or you want to shake your writing up with some new words? Each Wednesday I post hand-picked descriptive words for writers and other vocabulary nerds out there. ;) I thought this word was so cool!

chthonian  
THOH-nee-uhn
adjective  
1.) Classical Mythology. Of or pertaining to the deities, spirits, and other beings dwelling under the earth.

Example Sentence: A chthonian howl echoed through the night.

Werewolf!
Have you seen or used this word before? What do you think of it?

If you liked this post, come back every Saturday for more writing advice, character interviews, book reviews and more! On Sundays I have Soundtrack Sundays where I post a new score piece, Tuesdays are Tea Tuesdays with tea reviews, Wednesdays I have Wonderful Word Wednesdays where I post a new vocabulary word, and Fridays are Fan Fridays where I post tags and other goodies. To help support my dream to be an author follow this blog, like me on Facebook, watch me on deviantART, and follow me on Pinterest and Twitter. If you want to know more about my books check out them out here. Thank you! :)



Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Tea Tuesday: Playboy




I'm not really a coffee person. I prefer tea, and I know a lot of fellow writers love tea, too. But have you ever wanted to break out of the Early Grey or English Breakfast norm and try something new? Well, let me help you find some cool new teas! If you need a little hot and flavorful boost to help you reach your writing goal or you're just a lover of tea or you'd like to try some tea but aren't fond of the stereotypical types, these Tea Tuesday posts are for you.

This weeks tea is ... 

*drum roll*

Playboy



How I found it: This is another one of Adagio Teas' fantastic fandom blends. Their teas are so good and it's such a cool idea to do fandom blends! Though all the blends are available individually, this set was available for one weekend only and I snatched it up. I wanted an Avengers blend set since I found the site! This set is called Hero Recovery and includes Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, The Incredible Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye blends. This is the same sight I bought a Sherlock set, Tolkien set, Avatar: the Last Airbender set and Doctor Who set!

The Tea: It's the Tony Stark aka Iron Man tea! He's tied for second as my favorite Avenger. I can't decide between him and Cap. ^ ^' Trademark of any tea with lapsang souchong in it, this tea is very strong almost coffee-like. It has a follow of ginger and hint of caramel and chocolate from the tiger eye. It's a very fragrant tea, but the tastes really pop after its brewed. It reminds me of a fancy coffee drink Tony probably gets on a regular basis from Starbucks or some other high-priced coffee shop. He seems like a latte or macchiatto sort of guy. I think he'd give this tea a shot.



Serving Recommendations: I steeped this tea for three minutes and added sugar and cream.

How much is it and where can you get it? You can find this tea at the Adagio website. I bought this tea in a sample set which was about $22 including shipping and you get a goodly amount of tea since you only need about a teaspoon per cup. Some of these teas you can buy individually for about $10 a pouch or $4 for a sample tin.

So how good is it? This was really tasty tea. A bit strong for me to drink on a regular basis, but I definitely will empty the tin in the future. Four stars!


Have you tried this tea? What did you think of it? Have you seen The AvengersWho's your favorite character?

Bonus! If you are a first-time Adagio customer I can send you a $5 giftcard! Ask in the comments for details! (This is no joke and no catch I seriously can. It's part of the amazingness of Adagio Teas)

If you liked this post, come back every Saturday for more writing advice, character interviews, book reviews and more! On Sundays I have Soundtrack Sundays where I post a new score piece, Tuesdays are Tea Tuesdays with tea reviews, Wednesdays I have Wonderful Word Wednesdays where I post a new vocabulary word, and Fridays are Fan Fridays where I post tags and other goodies. To help support my dream to be an author follow this blog, like me on Facebook, watch me on deviantART, and follow me on Pinterest and Twitter. If you want to know more about my books check out them out here. Thank you! :)

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Soundtrack Sunday: Sky Dream (Avengers: Age of Ultron)




It's Soundtrack Sunday again and I have an awesome track for this week! Any geek who is anybody knows the Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer is out. I'm so excited! But what floored me the most was the absolutely fantastic music in the trailer. They combined "I've Got No Strings" with the following epic piece to make a haunting tone. 

Unfortunately I can't find an official track with the two combined (If anyone finds it, please let me know!), but this track is pretty epic on its own. It's a very emotional piece with pensive piano to start then it builds into full orchestra finish. This is perfect for a triumphant scene or a battle scene while writing your story. Check it out! For more awesome tracks check out my Soundtrack Sundays YouTube playlist!



Have you heard this piece before? What do you think of it? Have you seen the Avengers?

If you liked this post, come back every Saturday for more writing advice, character interviews, book reviews and more! On Sundays I have Soundtrack Sundays where I post a new score piece, Tuesdays are Tea Tuesdays with tea reviews, Wednesdays I have Wonderful Word Wednesdays where I post a new vocabulary word, and Fridays are Fan Fridays where I post tags and other goodies. To help support my dream to be an author follow this blog, like me on Facebook, watch me on deviantART, and follow me on Pinterest and Twitter. If you want to know more about my books check out them out here. Thank you! :)



Saturday, October 25, 2014

Beautiful Books #1: Let's Talk About Books - Red Hood





This month I'm participating in Beautiful Books! It's a three-month long blog link up about the three stages of writing: plotting, writing and editing in honor of NaNoWriMo next month which I believe I'm participating in this year. ^ ^' The book I'm going to be working on this year is my steampunk fantasy Red Hood. If you'd like to do Beautiful Books yourself check out the Paper Fury formally Notebook Sisters website! Now here are the questions!

Picture that looks like my werewolf Faol. He's actually that shade of blue.
1.) What came first: characters or plot idea? Are you a plotter or a pantser?
I'm a mix of both. I like to plot out the landmarks in my story using the Three Act structure then I let the story do its own thing in between. For me nearly always the plot comes first then the characters introduce themselves. This book followed suit.

Mor
2.) Do you have a title and/or a “back-cover-blurb”?
As mentioned before the title is "Red Hood". The blurb is rough, but I'll probably get a better idea of it after I finish the book.
 A werewolf huntress in training strives to be a legendary hero like her mother and grandmother before her and fight against the gigantic werewolves plaguing her home, but when werewolves obliterate her village, her grandmother is murdered by a human, and her mother tasks her with delivering secret documents about the Red Hoods to a translator, the teenager's plans are changed. When a good werewolf offers to help her along, she begins to doubt everything she knew about her organization and the war.


3.) What wordcount are you aiming for when your novel is finished?
I'm estimating at about 70,000 words give or take. That's usually how long my first draft will go.

Dina
4.) Sum up your novel in 3 sentences.
Red Hood is a steampunk fantasy about a teenage girl and her journey to being a woman and being closer with Christ. With her two best friends and a captured werewolf she travels through the world of Silfurlund to deliver mysterious documents her grandmother died to protect. On the way, she encounters werewolves, conspiracies and magical creatures as she strives to achieve her ultimate goal of being a legend like her mother and grandmother before her.

5.) Sum up your characters in one word each.
I don't know all the characters that are going to be in the book yet but I'm going to sum up six important ones.
Mor: Firey
Claes: Calm
Dina: Cautious
Faol: Humble
Bethia: Desperate
Nzelt: Driven

Claes (Chris Zylka)
6.) Which character are you most excited to write? Tell us about them!
I think I'm the most excited to write Claes. When I wrote my first scene with him, I got this connection. I'm excited to write my main character too, but I think Claes is going to become my little side character baby. He is very calm and quiet, but has a depth and honorable sense to him I admire. He's an introvert and an artist so we relate. I like how despite his hardships he is a tender individual.

7.) What about your villain? Who is he, what is his goal?
My villain is Nzelt the Vulture. He is an Isamaour which is a magical race that lives in the country north of Silfurlund and has been attacking Silfurlund for fifty years. He has the magical ability of conversion native to his people. He can transform matter into something else. For example: he can turn an iron rod into a dagger or a log into a club. He is known to the people of Silfurlund as the Warlock, but not many have actually seen him. He is in control of the werewolves after Mor though his motives are a bit more noble than Mor has been lead to believe. Unfortunately his exact motives are spoilers.

Bethia (Peyton List)
8.) What is your protagonist’s goal? And what stands in the way?
Her personal goal is to be a Red Hood, but the story goal becomes that she has to deliver special documents to a translator in the fantasy world's capital. What stands in her way are werewolves, a natural disaster, regular humans, and even fellow Red Hoods at one point.

9.) What inciting incident begins your protagonist’s journey?
In this world, werewolves are nine-foot wolves with mechanical parts and they've been soldiers in a war against the main character's country for half a century. When one comes out of nowhere and warns the protagonist of an attack on her home, that's when things start to heat up.

10.) Where is your novel set?
In a steampunk fantasy word set in about the 1850s, meaning the world has rudimentary technology and guns. The whole world is called Imyndold and the books (I'm planning to make this a trilogy) take place in three countries: Silfurlund, Isriki and Ardalamh. Silfurlund has similarities to Scotland and Germany while Isriki is based on Iceland. Ardalamh I'm not sure yet. Red Hood, the first book of the series, takes place primarily in Silfurlund and Isriki.

The forest near Mor's home.
11.) What are three big scenes in your novel that change the game completely?
I'll try to keep this spoiler free and some of these scenes may change by the end of writing the novel. Scene number one is when Mor witnesses her grandmother's death. Her world completely shatters in that moment and it's the no turning back scene. Scene number two: is when she witnesses a former enemy tortured and she's starting to doubt her former beliefs. Scene number three is when all her loved ones are taken away and she finally has to have faith in something at the beginning she never would.

12.) What is the most dynamic relationship your character has? Who else do they come in contact with or become close to during the story?
This also may change as I'm writing the book, but I really like the relationship between Claes and Mor. Claes is the water to her fire. While she's talkative, he's quite. While she's aggressive, he's gentle. I like their connection and how he is very calm even when Mor can be a bit brash. There is another character relationship that really builds in the story, but that's spoilers. Any others I'm not sure yet. ^ ^'

13.) How does your protagonist change by the end of the novel?
I'm still not totally sure yet because I usually let these things grow on their own, but I believe she becomes more patient and open-minded.

Sielgair, Mor's dog
14.) Do you have an ending in mind, or do you plan to see what happens?
I have an ending in mind, but I have nearly no subplots so I have lots of twists and turns to await. The ending is going to be pretty awesome if I do say so myself.

15.) What are your hopes and dreams for your book? What impressions are you hoping this novel will leave on your readers and yourself?
I hope to get this one published. Usually I don't know the themes of my stories and there may be more, but this one seemed to stick out, and it's the thing that made me to decide to write this book as opposed to another I had in mind.

Mor is very set to be a Red Hood. Her whole life is bent on it, but she doesn't become one the way that she wanted to. I felt like an often shrugged aside concept is God taking your plans and making them better because you waited even if that waiting means a tragedy before you can reach what you feel God wants you to do. That's really been on my heart for my life and for Mor's.

So that is a bit about Red Hood. I'm hoping to finish the first draft before the year is out. *crosses fingers* If you'd like to see a little more about the story you can check out Red Hood's Pinterest board. Thanks for reading!

Are you working on a novel? What do you think about this one?

You may also like:

If you liked this post, come back every Saturday for more writing advice, character interviews, book reviews and more! On Sundays I have Soundtrack Sundays where I post a new score piece, Tuesdays are Tea Tuesdays with tea reviews, Wednesdays I have Wonderful Word Wednesdays where I post a new vocabulary word, and Fridays are Fan Fridays where I post tags and other goodies. To help support my dream to be an author follow this blog, like me on Facebook, watch me on deviantART, and follow me on Pinterest and Twitter. If you want to know more about my books check out them out here. Thank you! :)


Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Wonderful Word Wednesday: Pavonine




It's Wonderful Word Wednesday again! Do you as a writer ever struggle finding that perfect word to describe something or you want to shake your writing up with some new words? Each Wednesday I post hand-picked descriptive words for writers and other vocabulary nerds out there. ;) I found a gem for this week!

pavonine
adjective
1.) of or like a peacock.
2.) resembling the feathers of a peacock, as in coloring.

Example Sentence: An aurora painted the night sky over the Isriki lands in pavonine shades of blue and green.

Photo credit: David Dyet

Have you seen or used this word before? What do you think of it?

If you liked this post, come back every Saturday for more writing advice, character interviews, book reviews and more! On Sundays I have Soundtrack Sundays where I post a new score piece, Tuesdays are Tea Tuesdays with tea reviews, Wednesdays I have Wonderful Word Wednesdays where I post a new vocabulary word, and Fridays are Fan Fridays where I post tags and other goodies. To help support my dream to be an author follow this blog, like me on Facebook, watch me on deviantART, and follow me on Pinterest and Twitter. If you want to know more about my books check out them out here. Thank you! :)



Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Tea Tuesday: Exiled




I'm not really a coffee person. I prefer tea, and I know a lot of fellow writers love tea, too. But have you ever wanted to break out of the Early Grey or English Breakfast norm and try something new? Well, let me help you find some cool new teas! If you need a little hot and flavorful boost to help you reach your writing goal or you're just a lover of tea or you'd like to try some tea but aren't fond of the stereotypical types, these Tea Tuesday posts are for you.

This weeks tea is ... 

*drum roll*

Exiled



How I found it: This is another one of Adagio Teas' fantastic fandom blends. Their teas are so good and it's such a cool idea to do fandom blends! Though all the blends are available individually, this set was available for one weekend only and I snatched it up. I wanted an Avengers blend set since I found the site! This set is called Hero Recovery and includes Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, The Incredible Hulk, Black Widow, and Hawkeye blends. This is the same site I bought a Sherlock set, Tolkien set, Avatar: the Last Airbender set and Doctor Who set from!

The Tea: Thor is my favorite Avenger and this delightful tea definitely suits him. ^ ^ It has a natural warmth to it from the toasted mate (pronounced mah-tay), gentleness from the ceylon sonata, and an exotic zing from the apricot. The apricot reminds me of a lightning zap or perhaps an Asguardian fruit. The toasted mate also contributes for the thunder and lightning flavor with the light ceylon sonata like rain. One odd thing is the tea does dispose a small powder from the mate into the water, but it doesn't effect the taste. This blend definitely reflects Thor's personality and abilities. I wonder if he'd like it better than coffee ...


Serving Recommendations: I steeped this tea for four minutes and added sugar.

How much is it and where can you get it? You can find this tea at the Adagio website. I bought this tea in a sample set which was about $22 including shipping and you get a goodly amount of tea since you only need about a teaspoon per cup. Some of these teas you can buy individually for about $10 a pouch or $4 for a sample tin.

So how good is it? This is a unique blend with an usual, but delicious flavor. Five stars!



Have you tried this tea? What did you think of it? Have you seen the AvengersWho's your favorite character?
Bonus! If you are a first-time Adagio customer I can send you a $5 giftcard! Ask in the comments for details! (This is no joke and no catch I seriously can. It's part of the amazingness of Adagio Teas)

If you liked this post, come back every Saturday for more writing advice, character interviews, book reviews and more! On Sundays I have Soundtrack Sundays where I post a new score piece, Tuesdays are Tea Tuesdays with tea reviews, Wednesdays I have Wonderful Word Wednesdays where I post a new vocabulary word, and Fridays are Fan Fridays where I post tags and other goodies. To help support my dream to be an author follow this blog, like me on Facebook, watch me on deviantART, and follow me on Pinterest and Twitter. If you want to know more about my books check out them out here. Thank you! :)

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Soundtrack Sunday: Infinite Potential (Doctor Who)




It's Soundtrack Sunday again and I have an amazing piece to show you all. This is a fantastic emotional score from Doctor Who Season 7. The music for the show got steadily better and by season five it was phenomenal. This is one of my favorite tracks from the scores. It has such beautiful, raw emotion in it and it's brought me to tears several times. The horns and violins just pull at the strings of your heart. This is must listen and perfect for that sad or triumphant or bittersweet scene in your novel. Enjoy! If you'd like to listen to more epic soundtrack music, check out my Soundtrack Sundays YouTube playlist.  


Have you heard this piece before? What do you think of it? Have you seen Doctor Who?

If you liked this post, come back every Saturday for more writing advice, character interviews, book reviews and more! On Sundays I have Soundtrack Sundays where I post a new score piece, Tuesdays are Tea Tuesdays with tea reviews, Wednesdays I have Wonderful Word Wednesdays where I post a new vocabulary word, and Fridays are Fan Fridays where I post tags and other goodies. To help support my dream to be an author follow this blog, like me on Facebook, watch me on deviantART, and follow me on Pinterest and Twitter. If you want to know more about my books check out them out here. Thank you! :)



Saturday, October 18, 2014

Interview with Able (Subsapien) 2




Me:
Hey, everyone! This week I'm doing another character interview. Interviews done with characters are a character building exercise, plus they're really fun. This week's interview is with Able from my science-fiction series Subsapien. Thanks to everyone who contributed questions! They're great. Now on to the interview. *turns in chair to Able* Hi, Able.

Able: 
*sitting in the chair next to me, voice is undeveloped* Hi!

Me:
Ready to answer questions? 

Able: 
Ready!

Me:
Okay. *has laptop on my lap* First question is from Maddie Jay: Oh my word I love him!  Do your tail and wings etc. show all the time? 

Able:
No. I can make my tail invis'ble or tuck it down my pants, and I can make my wings invis'ble too or put them under my shirt and pants. *stretches wings* They are out right now.

Me:
Second question is from Cassidy Clayton: Squee! Able!! Okay. Hm. Now for a question or two ... What is your favorite food?

Able:
Cookies! I love cookies. Oreos are the best. *grins*

Me: 
*laughs a little* The next one is from Maddie Jay: What is your favorite toy?

Able: 
My ball. *holds up red rubber ball* I love it. *hugs it, nuzzles it*

Me: 
*smiles* All right Maddie Jay and Cassidy Clayton both ask, what color kitten would you like?

Able:
I like the orange stripy kind.

Me:
All right. Here's one from Ruth Blomgren: HI ABLE! Firstly; you're ADORABLE! I want to hug you! Sorry, I know that's weird coming from someone you can't see, but I love you and can't wait to learn more about you. Secondly; I have several questions, if you don't mind. I asked Matt a couple of these, but some are just for you.  

Able: 
*frowns a little, shakes it off* Hugs? I love hugs. I want to hug you too. *smiles*

Me: 
Aw. Now for the actual question: What do you like to eat, do and go; what's fun to you whether you're with friends or alone?

Able: 
That is a lot of questions. Um. I like to eat cookies and bacon and fish, I play with my ball and go where the Masters tell me to. Playing with my ball is always fun. 

Me:
 Next question is from Maggie: Hi Able! 

Able: 
Hi!

Me:
*smiles* Do you have a favorite part about being Peter Elias' bodyguard and companion?

Able:
I like having a friend all the time.

Me:
This one is from Krissy Aleman: ABLE! *flails* (Give him a hug from me, ok?)

Able: 
I like all these people that want to give me hugs.

Me: 
*laughs a little* Do you like playing with Peter? What's your favorite thing to do with him?

Able:
I like playing with Master Peter Elias most of the times, but sometimes he wants to do everything his way. I like to play pretend games, but he is always the hero and I am the bad guy.

Me: 
I see. Another from Ruth Blomgren: Who is your best friend and who is your worst enemy?

Able: 
Bryce or Master Peter Elias is my friend. My enemy is Matt. He is bad. *frowns, growls a little, tail thumps against the chair*

Me:
Hm. This one is also from Ruth: How do you typically act around others and how does it differ than when you're alone? 

Able:
I do not know ...

Me: 
This one is from Maggie: Would you rather spend time around people or be alone?

Able:
I like being with friends. Lonely is not fun. *sticks out bottom lip*

Me: 
I know I created you, but you're adorable. Another from Krissy Aleman: I know that you love balls, but what do you like to do with them?

Able: 
*counts on fingers* I bat it around, I play fetch, I bounce it off walls ... Lots of stuff. 

Me: 
Also from Ruth Blomgren: What are your greatest fears and happiest thoughts? What calms you down or makes you angry?

Able:
Um ... I do not know ... I do not want to die. Kitties make me happy. *matter of fact* My ball and drugs calm me down. The sci'tists give them to me if I am upset or bad. Stubbing my toe makes me very angry.

Me:
*nods* This is another one from Ruth Blomgren: What is your favorite childhood memory and what is your earliest memory?

Able:
Um ... *looks up in thought* I think my favorite memory is when I first got my red ball. I love my red ball. I was not so lonely after I got it. My earliest one is when the sci'tist stuck this needle in my arm and it made me feel very bad. It was not nice.

Me: 
Aw.

Able:
It is okay. I am a big boy now and I can take all the needles. *nods firmly*

Me:
Yes, you are. She also asks: What are your morals, beliefs?

Able:
What are those?

Me:
What do you think is good and bad?

Able:
Oh. Good stuff is when you obey the Masters and bad stuff is when you do not.

Me: 
I see. This one is from Krissy Aleman too: Have you seen the sports that people play on TV? Do you want to play any of them?

Able: 
Yeah, I have seen some. I would like to play soccer, but I do not think I will get to. *shoulders droop*

Me:
Hmm. Last question: Have you ever been swimming? Wait, can your metal arm even get wet?

Able:
I have been swimming lots of times. My metal arm can get wet. It is water p'oof. Master Peter Elias and me go swimming in Master Judah's pool when he wants to. I have fire swim trunks. They are my favorite.

Me:
Well that is the last of the questions. I hope you all enjoyed them. You can check out Able's first interview here. If you have any more questions, leave them in the comments, and if I get enough I can do another interview. And this is for everyone. *sets laptop on my desk, stands up, opens arms* Hug.

Able: 
*grins, gets up, gives me a hug, he's taller than me*

Me: 
*hugs him tight*

Able:
*squeezes*

Me:
*grunts, strained* Not too tight, Able.

Able:
Oh. Sorry. *loosens grip*

Me:
*keeps hugging Able* Bye, everyone!

You may also like:

If you liked this post, come back every Saturday for more writing advice, character interviews, book reviews and more! On Sundays I have Soundtrack Sundays where I post a new score piece, Tuesdays are Tea Tuesdays with tea reviews, Wednesdays I have Wonderful Word Wednesdays where I post a new vocabulary word, and Fridays are Fan Fridays where I post tags and other goodies. To help support my dream to be an author follow this blog, like me on Facebook, watch me on deviantART, and follow me on Pinterest and Twitter. If you want to know more about my books check out them out here. Thank you! :)