Recommendations

Occasionally I make a visit to one of the local bookstores with the intent of actually buying something (not as frequent as I would like, but hopefully this year changes that :) ). My habit is head for the Tolkien books first, see if anything is avaliable aside from the books I already have. So far I've got three full collections of the trilogy, two of which are boxed sets and one comes with a companion book. The third set are single books are are so worn from repeated readings. I also have a single volume of the trilogy which I refuse to even crack open since it's a 50th edition and I don't want to ruin its beauty. Along with those I have The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, The Children of Hurin and The Lost Road and Other Writings. I don't often see anything other than the trilogy, The Hobbit and the Silmarillion but you never really can tell. After that I scour through the rest of the Fantasy section to see if there's anything of interest, and if I find nothing there a quick browse through the store. It stops if I find a book or two I like.

About a year ago I was going through the store, found nothing and so was on my way out when I stopped by one of the sales tables. It was mostly hardcovers, all sorts of genres but what caught my eye was a book titled Sebastian by Anne Bishop. It was a name I've never heard of before, but the reviews touted her as new talent so I just put it to that. Wasn't a purchase I regretted at all, so if you see this book in your book store or decide to do some shopping on Amazon and love fantasy, pick up this book. Sebastian is wonderfully fresh and imaginative, a very unique world. And Bishop's writing style is beautifully descriptive without being overbearing. It's very easy to get absorbed into and connect to the characters. By the end I couldn't wait for the release of the next book, though I don't know why I didn't think of searching her out to see when that was - especially considering the techie that I am. Well it's out now, and as soon as I'm able I plan to grab it - the title is Belladonna, for anyone who's curious. Aside from Sebastian, Belladonna was my favourite character so I'm really stoked that the sequel focuses more on her. If anyone's already read it, tell me what you thought!

Nemesis Now

All my life I've always had a habit of collecting things. Not always a good habit, especially when you're a kid coming home with pockets full of rocks or leaves or something, hehe. I used to drive my mom nuts with the stuff I used to collect, so it's been a struggle for as long as I can remember to not hold on to junky stuff or crap I really have no use for. Still a bit of a struggle, but I'm far better than I used to be. 90% of the stuff I'm hanging on to is really just a matter of I haven't taken the time to actually go through it, and figure out what to do with it. Hoping to curb that too. Well now I finally have an outlet for it:

Nemesis Now faeries! This collection is absolutely amazing. I love the wings especially, and you can see how some parts have a leafy shape to them which I've not seen elsewhere. Gives them a unique look. They also glow in the dark, believe it or not! The edges of their wings are painted with a clear glow-in-the-dark paint, and some of the finer details on them are painted also. They actually look pretty cool - I wish I could photograph them.

This was one of the first ones I got, Virgo being the second. Not only do the edges of her wings glow, but also that large star she's sleeping on and all the little ones too. I adore her hair. I'd love to go that long again, but the problem is that I wouldn't be able to find someone to colour it :) I'm back in my redhead stage, and I give thick hair a new meaning.

Virgo, one of the Zodiac faeries from the 2008 collection. My astrology sign is actually Cancer, but Rhonda didn't have Cancer in at the time. Virgo's rather lovely though, and I plan on collecting the whole lot anyway :) Along with her wings the flowers in her hair and at her feet all glow, and some of the edges of her dress glow as well.

My latest addition! This one is called "To Catch A Falling Star" and I just fell in love with the forest green. I'm not sure what aside from her wings glow just yet, but I'll wager it's likely all the stars.

New Year, New Beginnings

New year should be a start of new beginnings, both personal and otherwise. For me it's finally getting myself in gear with a lot of things. I have a beta reader for Redemption, which will help me finish that story because I know she'll hound me if I don't :) In the meantime the job hunt is on, and I have a hopefully promising prospect on the horizon. So yay for that! I'm also combing the Bewares & Background Check forum over at AbsoluteWrite and putting all of that info into an excel spreadsheet. Every agent, agency, publisher, vanity and scammer listed. Even the ones that don't handle my chosen genre (fantasy). I figured it would be helpful since I can easily sort by a number of things like service (publisher, agency, agent), whether they're legit, things like that. And it saves me the trouble of trying to remember if someone reps/publishes fantasy or not, since I'll have it marked down. If anyone would like a copy once I really get it underway (or now) just let me know. It's really easy to enter the info and I'm always happy to share resources :) So far I'm up to 8 possible contacts.

Also with the new year things with my local NaNo group are going to pick up again. We're thinking of doing our own version of the Night of Writing Dangerously to help support our own local chapter as well as HQ. It's ambitious I'll admit, but I think it'll be a lot of fun. The original plan was for February, but I think we'll be moving it because that doesn't look like it's going to be enough time to plan. I'd rather us take the time to plan this right, than rush it and possibly ruin it. It should be loads of fun though! Maybe we'll wait for the good weather and have it outside, haha

Redemption - Excerpt

From Chapter 3-

When night had fallen Kaylisto had gone down to the room they were given and went to sleep. The mage told her she had some things to see to, supplies she had to restock and such and so would be down later. The excitement of the day had worn the girl out more than she had realized, and she fell asleep to the soothing sounds of a well fed fire in the large fireplace and dreamt strange dreams.
She could see her parents; though she didn't know their names, somehow she knew it was them. Her father was a strong and proud man, wrapped in robes denoting him as a priest. He attacked with all the strength a priest possessed, which to the uninformed or uneducated may not have been thought to have been much. But the defense was only control to help her mother and defend her like she was defending him. She cut into enemies all around her with an unyielding fury. Her armor seemed to be illuminated with light, her shield blocking attacks as her sword delivered them. She was surrounded by scary undead creatures but she showed no fear of them as she engaged them, combining combat prowness with the magic and spells avaliable to the paladin. Kaylisto could see her holy book fastened to her belt and swinging about with her movements, and she noticed it shone whenever her mother cast a particular spell or used a specific ability. Kaylisto guessed she had memorized whatever the spell or ability was, and thus didn’t need to open the book in order to use it. Though the girl knew that paladins had spells that could heal themselves and their comrades, any and all healing was done by her father who used his own spells to help keep her alive. In return, her mother used her own abilities to keep the majority of creatures away from her father. Kaylisto knew this was basic knowledge; priests could wear nothing more than robes, as their strength lay in their spells to protect them. Paladins were trained in strength mostly to be able to bear the heavier armor to serve as their protection while they dealt or took the blows of opponents. Together her parents seemed unstoppable, and no wave of enemies was left standing very long once her father and mother took care of them. As the dream played on, she could hear King Magni's words speaking to her:
"Faith is a strong force that many enemies will be hard pressed to contend with."
Kaylisto knew that her mother had faith, could see it when she called up her spells and saw the force with which they did their damage. The priests and paladins at the Cathedral had impressed upon her that knowing a spell of such holy calibre was only half the battle; you had to have the faith to go with it.
"But know this, young Kaylisto; faith alone can not save you every time. You must also have strength, skill and the will to stand up for your faith."
She could see this too, in both her parents. Her mother never ceased in the use of her holy spells and abilities. And although her father had an arsenal of shadow spells at his disposal (as any and every priest did) he used them less frequently. They relied on the powers of the Light that they possessed, and their strength and will helped them wield it. She was seeing first hand what King Magni had tried to tell her during her visit to Ironforge.
"Know this; as a paladin, your faith will be challenged more than any one walking a number of other paths. A paladin must know when to fight..."
The waves of enemies seemed unending. Exhaustion soon began to show signs in the faces of both her parents. Kaylisto began seeing more clearly the place in which her parents were making their stand. A small encampment in a place that looked quite wrong. Like the land was sick. The encampment was under attack, and there were not enough people to help guard it. Her mother and father seemed to be the strongest and perhaps only defense against the onslaught. There seemed no choice but to fight.
"There will be enemies that will come into your path and try to make you doubt your faith in the Light, but if you’re faith is strong they will not shake it. Your strength, your defenses, all of it will rest in your convinction of faith."
As the creatures died down, Kaylisto could see someone who she took to be the leader of the enemies approaching. The rest of the encampment were beginning to leave, and she could see that most of them were injured, those less so were helping those who were more so. Her parents were the only thing standing between them and the enemy. They were helping the others escape out of harm’s way. She could hear the voice of the creature in her mind, a chilling voice taunting her parents to give up, the Light had forsaken them, there was no Light to fight for here. She saw her father’s hands flex, saw her mother's hand grip the hilt of her sword all the more tighter, both frowning as they listened to the tirade of the creature. They were not wavering, they were not faltering. In fact it looked like they were getting angrier the longer the creature went on in his condemnation of the Light and its weakness. At the pinnacle of his tirade, her father gave a loud wordless cry and struck at the creature at the same time her mother charged him, blade ready to strike and a spell on her lips. But this was a stronger creature than those they had fought before, and they also had the handicap of exhaustion. And in that moment, Kaylisto finally understood all the stories the paladins and priests had told her of those who gave their lives for the Light. SHe understood what it meant to sacrifice yourself in the name of the Light, in the name of faith and for the sake of another person. They stood, unwavering in their conviction as the creature struck her parents down though they did not go without a fight. But the people they had defended had escaped, and managed to elude the fate of her parents this time. With tears streaming unbeknowst to her down her face, Kaylisto had finally learned the fate of her parents.

Comment, critique, tell me what you think :)

The Obligatory First Post

I always hate these posts, but I guess you got to start somewhere right?

Well a little about me...I'm 25, been writing almost all my life. Apparently my first foray into the writing world was grade one, where I wrote this long (well, long for a first grader) journal entry about my grandparents' farm and the horses and all this cool stuff. Sadly, the only true part about it was that they did have a big property :D In my defense though, there were farms around them that did have animals so it's not like it was totally made up. I always had an active imagination, so I guess it had to find an outlet in something. It wasn't until grade six when I really started getting serious about my own writing, and I have Mrs. Stanful to thank for that. She was tough but encouraging and she helped shape a lot of the tools I needed to really grow in my writing. Would I have gotten serious otherwise? Who knows. But my goal to be an author stems from her class, and I'll always be thankful for it.

I participate in NaNo, and have ever since 2002. This was my seventh year participating, sixth year as an ML for my region and my sixth win. 2003 I decided to be the ML for my area (which at the time was under Elsewhere) and it was very much trial by fire. I also didn't win that year. In hindsight I wish I would have taken advantage more of the help of others, but you live and learn. My city became its own region the year after, grown ever since and I couldn't be happier. We're an awesome region. That reminds me we have a write-in tomorrow. I still have all my mss right from the first year; it's fun to see your progress. I remember thinking my first novel was fantastic at the time, though looking back on it now I can see all the work it needs. It's really cheesy, but I'm not abandoning it because it's a great concept and I plan to give it a revise. One day Prophecy, one day.

Right now my mind's focused mainly on two projects: Redemption, and House of Amberwind. Redemption is a fantasy story that revolves around a human orphan named Kaylisto, who becomes a paladin and follows her journeys into the world. Her ultimate goal is to discover the truth of her parents, who she's never known except through a couple of dreams, but along the way she encounters many friends, a few foes, things that challenge her faith and becoming things she never imagined. Right now World of Warcraft references abound in it, but those will be coming out in revisions. It was a handy little handicap during NaNo (I was writing 3 novels, cut me some slack :P ) and right now my focus is more on getting the first draft written. After that I'll focus on my worldbuilding, the story is just demanding to be written. House of Amberwind is what I hope will be a project similar to Warcraft: Day of the Dragon and other similar WoW-based books (same idea as the Star Trek books). It focuses around the noble (and fictional) House of Amberwind, a family of High Elves whose lives are shattered when the death knight Arthas comes storming through the land of Quel'Thalas. The only survivors of the destruction of the House are the lord's three daughters - Kaena, Shakira and Layla Anora. They go from nobility to commoners to fighters as each girl makes her way out in the world with two common goals in mind: the restoration of their House, and revenge against the man who destroyed all they loved. So Blizzard, if you're interested let me know ;)