Tea Tuesday: Mikasa es su Casa

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*

Mikasa es su Casa

How I found it: I'm back with another fandom set from Adagio Teas. I've had my eye on this one for a while and I'm so excited I finally got it. This is the Attack on Titan set which includes Erin Jeager, Mikasa Ackermen, Armin Alert, Sasha Blouse, Levi Rivaille, and Zoe Hange blends. Attack on Titan is one of my favorite animes and I'm so excited to finally try the teas! This is the same site I bought the Avengers set, Sherlock set, Tolkien set, Avatar: the Last Airbender set, and Doctor Who set from!

The Tea: This is a really pleasant tea with lots of orange. The orange tea and rooibos orange have tangy, tart, spicy flavors that reminds of Mikasa's kickbutt side, the cream flavor makes me think of her smooth, sullen, steady demeanor, and the marigold is sweet like her soft side. The blend really pegs all aspects of her personality. 

I'm definitely going to be drinking this tea while watching the other half of dubbed Attack on Titan. This is also a pretty tea with the orange peel and marigold petals in it. I think Mikasa would drink this tea when she's taking a break from slaying titans.

Serving Recommendations: I steeped this for four minutes and added cream and sugar with cinnamon for an extra spice.

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. 

So how good is it? I really enjoyed this tea. I'll definitely have it again. ^ ^

Have you tried this tea? What did you think of it? Have you seen Attack on Titan? Who'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! :)

Click here for last week's tea!

Soundtrack Sunday: Winter Dance

It's Soundtrack Sunday again! The day where I post awesome music to write to or just listen to for pleasure if you're a fellow soundtrack junkie. This is another track from the Pan teaser trailer. I obsessed over it a little bit. ^ ^' Apparently the trailer is composed of four different tracks. 

One of them I posted last week and here is another one. I love this one because of the mysterious and simplistic music box and vocals then harp and strings add in, but it still keeps that magical tone. It reminds me of fairies or snow or something child-like or possibly something creepy. It's a really unusual piece so I thought I'd share. ^ ^ For more awesome tracks check out my Soundtrack Sundays YouTube playlist!

Have you heard this piece before? What do you think of it? Are you planning to see Pan?

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! :)

Click here for last week's Soundtrack Sunday!

Beautiful Books #3: Let's Talk Editing - Red Hood

This month I'm participating in Beautiful Books for the third time and the last part of the three part link-up! It was so much fun. I'll miss it. Sadness. :( It's a three-month long blog link up hosted by PaperFury formally the Notebook Sisters about the three stages of writing: plotting, writing, and editing in honor of NaNoWriMo. I won NaNoWriMo! Yay! :D I did this link-up last month and the month before, and it was so helpful. If you'd like to do Beautiful Books yourself, check out the Paperfury website. Now here are the questions!

1. On a scale of 1 (worst) to 10 (best) how well do you think this book turned out?
I'd say 7 or 7.5. Maybe 8. It still needs a lot of work, but I really like how the plot and characters are coming. I think it's the best first draft I've ever written. I feel like I know what I'm doing, and it's going to take less revisions than it has before with other novels. 

2. Have you ever rewritten or edited one of your books before? If so, what do you do to prepare yourself? If not, what’s your plan?
Yes, many, many times. I'm currently rewriting my science-fiction novel Subsapien Biomech while I'm giving Red Hood a six week (at least) rest period. I think finally this will be the reworking that will make SB ready. Like I mentioned before, I like letting my work rest before editing. I just discovered this concept a year or two ago and it works wonders. 

I plan on working on the first rewrite of Red Hood next year after I finish the one for Subsapien Biomech. I want to read over the whole book and root out all the weak spots then I'll work on fleshing them out, then work on rewriting it. I actually enjoy rewriting. It's like putting muscles on the skeleton of my book.

3. What’s your final wordcount? Do you plan to lengthen or trim your book?
69,461 words. I wrote 19,433 before NaNoWriMo so I would complete it by the end of NaNo. It will probably lengthen in the rewrite, because the book definitely needs more description, then I'll trim it down to probably around 80K. 


4. What’s are you most proud of? Plot, characters, or pacing?
I think my pacing has gotten a lot better in this book, but I think it's plot. It has a lot of twists and turns, and I love it. 

5. What’s your favorite bit of prose or line from this novel?
There's so much to pick, but this part I really enjoyed, because Mor hated being in this foreign, snow-covered land of Isriki until this part. I even have a song to go with it. ^ ^

Night painted the entire sky black. A trace of green lit a spot among the stars. Gradually more color bled into the heavens until it grew into a green pulsing wave. Then blues, purples, and pinks added into the mix until the swirl formed a rainbow of light. The ice pillar in the center of the village shot a beam of green of its own skyward. The myriad of lights dyed the snow, making the dark, whitewashed world ablaze with color. 
A smile spread on Mor’s face. This must be one of the auroras she’d heard stories about. It was magnificent. This country did have its beauty after all. 

6. What aspect of your book needs the most work?
Description and I feel like the characters and world need to be developed more.

7. What aspect of your book is your favorite?
I really like the characters and plot. I'm slowly getting to know the characters, but the plot I pretty much have solid. It gets even better in the next books to come. I'm planning on making Red Hood a trilogy.

8. How are your characters? Well-rounded, or do they still need to be fleshed-out?
I'm still getting to know them, but I feel like I at least have 50% of them down. They still haven't told me all of their deep dark secrets yet, but I'm pretty solid on how they tick at least the main characters. Side characters need work definitely. 

9. If you had to do it over again, what would you change about the whole process?
I would do more planning than I did. I didn't even expect to write Red Hood this year so I kind of rushed the world building and character development. 

10. Did anything happen in your book that completely surprised you? Have any scenes or characters turned out differently to what you planned? Good or bad?
Oh yeah, a lot things changed, and I got a handful of extra characters, but that's the fun of writing seat-of-the-pants. It came out better than I expected. 

11. What was the theme and message? Do you think it came across? If not, is there anything you could do to bring it out more?
I'm still figuring out the exact theme, and there's probably more than one. That's one thing I really let grow organically in my writing. The theme is trusting in God's plans, not your plans, but there are also themes of wisdom and sacrifice. I think they'll come out on their own. When I write I let God tell me what the theme for the book should be. 

12. Do you like writing with a deadline (like NaNoWriMo) or do you prefer to write-as-it-comes?
I like writing under a deadline. I think it's important to keep one accountable so the book can be finished or you can get tired of the book. That's one thing I really learned this year. NaNoWriMo is way tight for me, and I'm glad it only occurs once a year. XD I prefer to write drafts within three months. 

13. Comparative title time! What published books, movies, or TV shows are like your book? (Ex: Inkheart meets X-Men, etc.)
Red Hood is a mix between the Chronicles of Narnia and the anime Attack on Titan. It has a lot Narnia elements from the fantasy environment, the creatures, the costumes, and the implied English accents, and it has the rough technology, the military organization, and the nearly indestructible enemy like in Attack on Titan.

14. How do you celebrate a finished novel?!
I usually treat myself to something I rarely get like food from my favorite restaurant. I still haven't treated myself, because I got sick a few days before I finished this novel. 


15. When people are done reading your book, what feeling do you want them to come away with?
I want them to be encouraged and enlightened, and I want them to have had a journey they won't forget. I want them to feel like they wouldn't be the same without reading my book. 

So there you have it, that is a bit more about Red Hood. I've finished the first draft this year, and I'm hoping to work on the macro edit and rewrite next year. ^ ^ If you'd like to see a bit more of Red Hood check out the book's Pinterest board, Mor's character interview and Claes's character interview. Thanks for reading!

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

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! :)

You may also like:

Beautiful Books #2: How's The Writing Going? - Red Hood

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

Interview with Claes (Red Hood)!

Questions for Mor!

Interview with Mor (Red Hood)

Wonderful Word Wednesday: Anatine

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. ;) This is a really handy word.

anatine

[an-uh-tahyn, -tin]

adjective

1.) of or pertaining to the family Anatidae, comprising the swans, geese, and ducks.

2.) resembling a duck.

Example Sentence: The Isamaour baby waddled in an anatine fashion through the snow.

The Northern Lights of Isriki

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! :)

Click here for last week's word!

Tea Tuesday: I've Got the Moves Like Jeager

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*

I've Got the Moves Like Jeager

How I found it: I'm back with another fandom set from Adagio Teas. I've had my eye on this one for a while and I'm so excited I finally got it. This is the Attack on Titan set which includes Erin Jeager, Mikasa Ackermen, Armin Alert, Sasha Blouse, Levi Rivaille, and Zoe Hange blends. Attack on Titan is one of my favorite animes and I'm so excited to finally try the teas! This is the same site I bought the Avengers set, Sherlock set, Tolkien set, Avatar: the Last Airbender set, and Doctor Who set from!

The Tea: This tea isn't what I pictured Erin Jeager's tea would taste like, but I still enjoyed it, and it does have elements of his character. I normally don't like lemon grass, but it adds a spunky, zesty, zing that reminds me of Erin's determined personality. The spearmint and peppermint teas add a freshness that reminds me of Erin's softer side and lingering flavor that reminds of the lingering impression Erin gives one. 

The lemon grass wasn't too overwhelming like I've had in other blends which was a comfort for me. The blend reminded me a bit of a lemon coughdrop, but it's still a rounded, unique flavor. It's a light tea that steeps green. I would have pictured a black tea for Erin, but this is still a delicious blend that reflects him. 

Serving Recommendations: I steeped this tea for six 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. 

So how good is it? This is a really unique and delicious tea and it reflects the characters. Four stars!

Have you tried this tea? What did you think of it? Have you seen Attack on Titan? Who'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! :)

Click here for last week's tea!

Soundtrack Sunday: Sun and Stars

It's Soundtrack Sunday again! The day where I post awesome music to write to or just listen to for pleasure if you're a fellow soundtrack junkie. Well this was supposed to go up Sunday but I forgot to click schedule (headdesk). 

Last week the teaser trailer for Pan released and I was just blown away by the arrangement of the trailer, the story, and especially the music. It's a mix of two songs Sun And Stars by Really Slow Motion and I Believe by Christina Perri. I've watched the trailer over fifteen times I loved it so much. I'm so excited for the film. ^ ^ I love the piano at the beginning and the vocals at the end especially. It starts slow then builds into an epic orchestral. I've been listening to this piece so much. For more awesome tracks check out my Soundtrack Sundays YouTube playlist!

Have you heard this piece before? What do you think of it? Are you planning to see Pan?

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! :)

Click here for last week's Soundtrack Sunday!