More Ramblings by Yours Truly

 So, I had this post all planned out about what my purpose in writing is... but... I have a deadline to finish Baby, It's Cold Outside by tomorrow (Doing it for our home made version of NaNo, but in January,) and I'm basically swamped. On the upside, the novel is nearly 50K! Everybody jump up and down! Okay... you don't really have to do that. So, I'll try hard to get that post up by next week, or either later this week!

 Also, starting next Thursday I'll be blogging every Thursday at Randomosity Writers! A group of young writers will be posting- the first to come February 1st, so check it out!

 Lastly, I'd like to show you guys a lovely cover-mockup a fellow writer made me for Prince's Quest. I love it! Thanks Elizabeth!

 Sorry for the short and rambling post! Hope you've all had a wonderful Tuesday!

~ A rambling author

The Tide of Unmaking: A Review

 Well look at this! It's my third Tuesday in a row, and I'm still posting. Let's hope I can keep this up. Now that I've started to make sure I post every Tuesday, it makes me want to post more, so you might be getting a bonus post later this week. :) Today, I'm reviewing The Tide of Unmaking by Wayne Thomas Batson, and Christopher Hopper. This is a personal review that I decided to write.

Back Cover: Seven years have passed since the Lords of Berinfell - Tommy, Kat, Jimmy, Johnny, Autumn and Kiri Lee - watched the horror of Vesper Crag wash away, as well as their fallen kinsman, Jett Green. But with Grimwarden in exile, the realm of Berinfell finds itself ill-equipped to weather the coming storms. Kiri Lee begins to whisper of ghostly visitations. Taeva, Princess of the Taladrim, desperately seeks out the Elves of Berinfell to rescue her kingdom. And the genocidal Drefid Lord Asp launches his campaign to conquer Allyra. And Earth. But far worse still is a consuming terror on the horizon: an unstoppable force that threatens to devour all creation and all hope. Nations will crumble, loyalties will be tested, and even the might of Berinfell’s Lords may not be enough to stem The Tide of Unmaking.

  If you've read this blog, you probably know that I'm a huge Wayne Thomas Batson fan. I own just about all of his books, and add the ones I don't have to my Christmas and Birthday lists. He and Christopher Hopper have done a great job on this series.  I loved the first two books to death, and highly anticipated the third until it came out this year. I received it for Christmas from my parents, to my excitement. Pretty soon I began to read.

My Thoughts: TOU was written very well. I loved the characters, as always, and the action was fantastic. As I was nearing the the end, though, I was afraid some of the threads I'd been following since book one weren't going to get tied off. For example, one of the characters is liked by two others, and I wanted to find out who ended up with him, though I had a slight idea. I hoped til the end that they were going to reveal this, and several other loose ends. But they didn't. They left a bunch of loose ends. After flipping to the back, I saw they wanted to give their readers a chance to write the stories. I didn't take this well. After putting so many emotions into reading this book, I didn't get the entire payout I wanted. I actually cried a little bit. But don't tell anyone that. ;) After I fussed, I put the book aside for a few days, and today I'm reviewing it. Looking back, I think Mr. Batson and Mr. Hopper had a good idea. It could be interesting to see what the fans write, even if I don't get to see how things end up from their perspective. And now, I realize, if I ever have the inclination, even I could write the next book. I probably wouldn't do as well as the original writers, but perhaps if I found someone to write it with me, it would be pretty good. Isn't it every writer's dream to get to write part of their favorite series? Maybe. Maybe in the future. But my greatest opinion on this book is that I loved it, even if the ending was a disappointment to me. I guess that's what being a fan is.

Violence: Fantasy violence, like you'd expect from a book like this. There's sword fights, and archery, etc, and people are injured or killed. Other things happen that take life. There's mention of dead bodies.

Romantic stuff: Nothing bad. Mainly it shows the love of married couples for one another, and then the elves who think about the people they like/love. Some characters are finally able to confess their love.

 Final Opinion: My greatest opinion on this book is that I loved it, even if the ending was a disappointment to me. I guess that's what being a fan is.

I give this book five stars.  

A Home in Drayton Valley: A Book Review

 Today I'm reviewing A Home in Drayton Valley by Kim Vogel Sawyer. I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

Back Cover:

A dream of a better life...
A tragedy aboard a wagon train...
A tentative agreement...
Will it lead to love for two seeking hearts?


Hoping to escape the poor conditions of 1880 New York, Tarsie Raines and her friends Joss and Mary Brubacher and their two children set off for Kansas aboard an unusual wagon train. But when tragedy strikes on the trip across the prairie, Tarsie is thrown into a partnership with Joss that leaves them both questioning God and their plans for the future.

As their funds dwindle and nothing goes as planned, will they give up and go their separate ways? Or will God use their time in Drayton Valley in a way they never expected? ~


 I liked this book. Historical fiction can be hit and miss for me. For example I love Francine Rivers novels, but some books just don't appeal to me. I wasn't entirely sure what to expect with A Home in Drayton Valley, but was pleasantly surprised. It didn't take me halfway through the book to start enjoying it, but instead I was immediately drawn in by the characters, and the storyline.

 Tarsie was easy to get to know. She was all business, and wanting to take care of her sick friend. Yet she loved God, and tried to follow His voice.

 Joss was a hard case, but still managed to worm his way into my heart. This man really loved his family, but he had flaws that can only be fixed by The One who fixes all things.

 Mary was the sweetest thing, and I loved the children, especially the youngest boy.

 I don't want to go into too much detail, because I really think you should read this book to get the whole feeling of it; the heart, the story, the love. After reading some slower books, this was a breath of fresh air. The story kept me rooted, wanting my favorite characters to turn out well, hoping for a happy ending, knowing the book deserved one. I'm so glad I read A Home in Drayton Valley. It isn't exactly an "action packed" book as far as that goes, but this story has more going for it. It isn't just a romance, it isn't just fluff. No, this book has some meat to it- both spiritually and as far as the story goes. Mrs. Sawyer did an excellent job, and I look forward to reading more of her books in the future.

  I give this book five stars.

~ a rambling author








 

A New Year of Resolutions

 It seems like every year, people have a ton of resolutions. I have my own resolutions, but I'm not trying to do anything crazy that I won't be able to accomplish. Here are a few things I want to do this year.

1. Write everyday, and finish a novel, or two, or three.

2. Be healthy. Walk, and drink vitamin c, and a mug of hot tea!

3. Read at least 30 books.

4. Blog every Tuesday.

5. Draw closer in my relationship to the Lord.


Number One. The Prince's Quest is almost finished! I took part in an event called the 100-4-100 writing challenge, where everyone tried to write 100 words for 100 days. This added quite a bit to my word count. I'm already past 60,000 words. I hope to finish it very soon. I also would like to finish at least one other book. I hope this turns out well, and I can start rewrites/editing.

Number Two. What it says. ;)

Number Three. For some people, reading thirty books isn't hard. And it isn't so hard. But when you've got so many other things you need to/could do, sometimes you can lack in your literary reading. But this year I want to read a lot. Especially since reading is so important to your writing.

Number Four. I'm a terrible blogger. It's time I got down to, hence today's blog post. I'm going to do my best to blog every Tuesday that I'm home. It shouldn't be too hard, it's only once a week!

Number Five. I love the Lord. But, like everyone, I want to draw closer to Him, learn more of Him through His word and prayer. You can never draw too close to God, and I just want to keep drawing, closer and closer to him. The Lord is good.

 So those are a few of my resolutions. I'm excited for this new year, and to see what things God has in store for me. 2012 was an amazing year for me. God opened so many doors, letting me do things I only dreamed of. I'm sure 2013 will be even better. Thank God for a new year!

~ a rambling author

The Next Big Thing

Firstly, I apoligize for my lack of posts. It's been a busy couple of months. If I get a chance I'll cue you into all that was happening in a later post. For now, let's say a lot of writing has been going on, and Prince's Quest is almost done! Now onto the subject of my post...

 The Next Big Thing blog hop! Okay, so this is one of my first blog hops. My friend RJ tagged me. Well sorta. She tagged whomever wished to try it out, and since I'm so excited about my new project, I volunteered. This blog hop is about your newest project. So here we go!


Title: Baby, It's Cold Outside

Where did the idea come from?: It's interesting the places you can get ideas from. During the Christmas season, whenever I got up in the morning/went to bed, I'd turn my alarm clock radio on to play Christmas music while I dressed etc. One evening, I was writing some words in Prince's Quest, when the song 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' started playing. One line stuck out to me. "Say, what's in this drink?" Suddenly my mind was racing. Did the guy in the song drug the girl? But why? Is he some type of creepy serial killer? Or... could there be another reason? It didn't take long for the plot to formulate.

Genre: Er... this is still blurry. I'll say Thriller/Suspense/Adventure.

Short Synopsis: Samantha Barlow returns to the town of her childhood, filled with an urge to visit her best friend until high school- Paul Brandon Mullins, and confront some of the demons from her past. He’s excited to see her, invites her to his living room, and before they know it, night is growing near. They sit by the fire, chatting and drinking hot chocolate, when Samantha says she should leave. Paul reminds her that it’s cold outside, since snow began to fall a few hours before. He insists that she at least have one more cup of chocolate before leaving. She agrees at last, and in a few moments grows drowsy, wondering just what was in that drink.
 Samantha wakes in a basement, accompanied by Paul who seems to be reliving a memory from the past. With the door locked, temperature dropping, and no way out, how far will Brandon go to relive his memories, and the horrible things that happened in them?

 My theme is God's love can cleanse all fears.


How long did it take to write the first draft? The first draft is still being written, but I hope to have it finished within a month or two.

What other books in this genre compare? Uh. I'm not sure what books. Maybe some Dee Henderson, or Terry Blackstock novels? The plot reminds me of crime shows, though.

Agency Representation: None as of yet.

What actors would play your character in the movie version? I've never considered the actors... this should be interesting...

 Maybe for Sam, my main character... Amy Adams? But with green eyes. This is the person that comes to my mind when I try to think of an actress.

 This is Jung Yong-hwa, a South Korean actor. He's basically the perfect Richard Lee, especially when wearing glasses and hat like the photo on the right. Except Richard doesn't have earrings. ;) Richard is a really sweet guy that it doesn't talk about in the synopsis, but he's actual a big part of the story. Kind of the light in darkness. But enough.

This is the hard one. I'm thinking either Nicholas Hoult,  or Jake Gyllenhaal for Paul. I'm leaning towards Nick. I mean... does this not look like the perfect disturbed young man? No offense to the actor...

 So still thinking about that. Three more characters to go.

 Detective Patrick Walker. Yes it's the SHIELD guy. Actor's name is Clark Gregg. This is the guy on the case in my story. Couldn't find anyone else for the part.

And lastly, Alex Pettyfer and Elle Fanning as Sam's younger siblings Charlie and Danielle.

Who or what inspired this WIP?: The song 'Baby, It's Cold Outside' as well as many other things. You never know what's going to inspire you. Look for stories everywhere, it may just surprise you! I never expected a Christmas song could inspire me to write a suspense story!

 This was so so much fun! I loved finding people who remind me of my characters! And telling about the crazy things that inspire me. A year ago, I wouldn't have dreamed I'd be writing suspense. I'm more into medieval fantasy. But things will surprise you! I hope you enjoyed this quick glimpse into my newest project!

 I tag whoever wants to do this, like RJ did. It's a lot of fun!

 ~ A rambling writer.