The Enchanted Castle

Posted in Books by

Title: The Enchanted Castle

Author: Edith Nesbit

Pages: 304 pages (e-book)

What I Thought: This is a pretty good book.  For the most part, I seem to be on a children/YA kick, which is fine with me.  Anyway, The Enchanted Castle is about 3 children, Gerald, James and Katherine, who discover the castle while they are on a school break.  They came across a princess, who tells them the castle is full of magic.   

It started off a little slow, but I still found the beginning to be very enjoyable.  I got bored in the middle of the story, and wanted to stop reading, but I kept reading it in the hopes that it would get better.

I did like the part where the kids were trying to find the Ugly-Wuglies a place to stay and ended up at the Temple of Flora.  I also liked the magic in the novel.  It wasn’t very obvious, but it was mentioned.  Plus, there were mentioned of greek gods and goddess, who have a role towards the end of the book. 

I’d have to say that the beginning and the end were my favorite parts of the book, with the middle being the boring part of the book.  However, it was an easy read, and I loved that ring was the source of the magic. 

Rating: I give it a 3 out of 5.

Blake Jackson

Posted in Character Spotlight, Turning Point by

Blake Kyle Jackson is Kiora’s dad.  Even though he doesn’t show up too often, he still plays an important role.

He’s the Secretary of Education, studied Politcal Science in college, and taught at a community college.  I still need to fill in some background info on Blake being an educator, because I feel like if you’re going to be the Secretary of Education, you would need to have experience as a superintendent and such. 

Anyway, he was married to Charlotte, until she committed suicide.  He lied to Kiora about it, telling her that her mom died in a car accident because he wanted to protect her from the fact that her mom had some issues.

He’s pretty calm and quiet, but also very protective of friends and family, especially his daughter.

His favorite colors are green and blue, he likes cats and horses, and his favorite holiday is Thanksgiving.  He likes football and basketball, golfing, and watching CNN.  He likes listening to jazz.  He hates stretching, candy and rollercoasters.  

He does have a tendency to want to fix things and make sure everything is okay.  And he wants Kiora to have what he never had. 

I unfortunately don’t have a detailed profile on Blake, which is something I need to do.  Plus, he’s not really in the novel enough, which I need to change.  I can still write him in, I just need to go back to what I’ve already written and get him in there.  After all, he is why they had to move to D.C., so it would make sense for me to write about his job, and actually show him there.

I Hate Weird Dreams

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The last few nights I’ve had some really disturbing dreams.  They definitely were not nightmares, but still very disturbing.  They were disturbing enough to keep me up at night- I honestly didn’t want to get back to sleep after each one.   don’t remember most of them, but I thought I’d share the one I do remember. 

A couple nights ago, I had this dream right before I woke up, which is probably why I even remembered it in the first place.  So this guy is at a cafe, sitting outside.  On the table there was what appeared to be a bottle of wine.  Instead of wine, however, it turned out to be blood that he poured over raw meat, which he then ate.

It was so weird, so I decided to do some dream analysis courtesy of Dream Moods Dictionary.  I’m not going to share everything, just the highlights:

  • Blood: seeing blood represents life  and disappointment.  Dreaming about drinking blood represents a fresh burst of vitality and power.
  • Meat: seeing raw meat represents obstacles/discouragement that I will come across as I achieve my goals.  It may also reflect raw emotions and my untamed, animalistic nature.  Eating meat suggests that I’m getting to the heart of the matter, recognizing my instinctual energy, and seeing others achieve what I’m still aiming for.
  • Cafe: A cafe represents my social life, and may reflect that I need to call some old friends and catch up with them.
  • Eating Alone: It signifies loss, loneliness and depression.  It may reflect feelings of rejection, feeling excluded and cut off from family ties.

According to my dream, then, I’m feeling depressed because I see other people doing the things that I have yet to accomplish.  But by accomplishing the goals I have set for myself, I’ll come across a lot of obstacles and discouragement.  And I need to cut off family ties to do it, apparently.

The raw emotions bit was pretty telling, mostly because I’ve been feeling some very strong emotions lately.  This is what I get for writing in my journal right before going to bed- bits and pieces of my journal entry from that night led to me dreaming about it.  

It wasn’t until I actually looked up what everything meant that I started to get even more freaked out.  Of course, writing about it right before going to sleep is probably what brought it up in my dreams.  But still, it’s frighteningly accurate of what I’ve been feeling the last few months.

This is why I don’t like to analyze my dreams- mostly because I get too caught up in what it all means, and I drive myself crazy trying to figure it out.  It shouldn’t really happen this time, since it seems to be the result of me journaling.

Guacamole

Posted in Flash Fiction by

I actually did something besides work on Turning Point!  I’m really excited about this.  I actually found the prompt for this over at Flash Fiction, and I thought I’d share it.  It’s © Nicole R., so don’t steal it or anything.

Title: Back In The Argument

“So today, we’re going to look at some bungalows,” Katie said. 

 “Why?” asked Ryan. 

 “We have to live somewhere, and I thought it would be nice to live near the beach.”

 “I don’t really want to go gallivanting around town just because you want to see a halcyon,” Ryan retorted. 

 “But I love the beach!  And I thought you did too,” she said quietly. 

 “Not enough to live near it,” he answered.

 “But think about how convenient it would be!” she insisted. 

 “I don’t know what’s going on in that pretty little head of yours,” he said, “but you are not the empress of this house.”

 “My parents always told me I was their little princess,” she said.  “And I want to live near the beach.”

 “For the record, most girls grow out of it,” ryan said.  “It’s not normal.”

 “Are you saying that I am acting aberrantly?” she said.  “Wait, did I use the word aberrant right?”

 “You did,” he said.  “And yes, that is what I’m saying.”

 “But we can eat guacamole all the time at the beach!”

 “We can do that now,” Ryan said.  “Besides, if we move, we won’t have an avocado tree.  We’d have to buy them.”

 “I will not be deterred by that!” she insisted.  “We love guacamole.”

“I give up,” ryan said.  “You can go searching for your bungalow by yourself.  And for the record, Katie, I hate guacamole.”

Hagrid

Posted in Character Spotlight, HP & The Giant Prehistoric Chicken by

I love Hagrid. He’s tied for the glorious title of being one of my favorite characters from Harry Potter, along with Hermione and Luna.

One of the biggest reasons why I love Hagrid so much is because Hagrid is the one who told Harry he was a wizard.  He told Harry about his parents, and took Harry to Diagon Alley.  So overall, he was the one who introduced the wizarding world to Harry, even buying him Hedwig as a birthday present.

I love how Hagrid accidentally lets things slip, like when he told Harry that the first task in the Triwizard Tournament was dragons, or all of the things he said about Fluffy, and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and Nicholas Flamel.

I love that Hagrid is so friendly and kind, showing loyalty to both Harry and Dumbledore.  Hagrid’s also really protective of Harry, which isn’t a surprise to me, mainly because I think Hagrid sees Harry as a fellow orphan.

I am so glad that Hagrid made it through the series.  Losing Dobby, Hedwig, Fred, Tonks, Dumbledore, Lupin, and Sirius was sad.  I don’t think I could’ve handled it if Hagrid died.

Hagrid’s affection for magical creatures is (especially the really dangerous ones), at times, really amusing.  He tends to think they’re harmless, even when they’re not harmless.

Hagrid’s kindess and loyalty is something to be admired, and we do have that in common.  While I’m not the biggest animal person, I have a soft spot for cats and horses.  I do like the zoo, even though I don’t go as often as I should.

What I find rather ironic about me liking Hagrid is that he’s a half-giant and I’m not even 5 feet tall.  So while Hagrid tends to tower over most people (especially Hogwarts students), he would really tower over me.  Not that size matters, because Hagrid really is a softie, but it’s still pretty amusing to me.

In The President’s Secret Service

Posted in Books by

Title: In The President’s Secret Service: Behind The Scenes With Agents In The Line Of Fire And The Presidents They Protect

Author: Ronald Kessler

Pages: 265, paperback

What I Thought: It was a pretty interesting read.  It alternated between stories about the different presidents and the background/history/culture of the Secret Service. 

The book delves into how the Secret Service is understaffed, and cutting corners in protecting the president, vice-president, and other VIP’s.  There are quite a few mentions of the Secret Service bowing down to the people they protect.  There’s a story of how Mary Cheney (one of Dick Cheney’s daughters) had one of her agents removed from her detail because he wouldn’t drive her friends to a restaurant. 

The whole cutting corners thing is a bit scary: there were several instances throughout the book where it’s mentioned that crowds were allowed into events without going through the magnetometers, which were shut off early in order to get the crowds through. 

There were a lot of stories from past and present agents, and it gave some insight onto what they thought of the presidents and the agency they work for.

I actually found the anecdotes really interesting: Jimmy Carter would go into the oval office early in the morning to make people think he went into work early…and then take a nap.  Or how Nancy Reagan didn’t like it when her California friends got their magazine subscriptions before she did. 

Rating: 3 out of 5.  It wasn’t organized well, and it was somewhat difficult to find the info I wanted.  It was also repetitive, especially in regards to how the secret service is cutting corners and how management treats the agents.  However, it did give insight into what it’s like to be a secret service agent (at least to a certain degree), and the timeline of the secret service was pretty useful.

I’m not sure how much of it I’ll end up using, but it was a pretty good read.

If Only…

Posted in General by

Image Courtesy Of photocult

I love this picture.  I can totally see myself living in some cottage by a lake, just writing away.  Not necessarily this house or this lake, but a cottage (or house or cabin, whatever) on some lake.  By the way, I found the picture here, in case anyone is wondering.

Moving on, I know it’s stereotypical.  Writer alone in the woods or out in nature somewhere, just writing away.  Ignoring the hustle and bustle of the world, honing their craft.

It does have a certain appeal though.  Mostly because writing at home is something I’m finding more and more difficult.  I can’t afford to go out to a coffee shop everyday, even if I got something really cheap.  I don’t mind being productive in the middle of the night, especially since that’s the best time for getting anything done.  The house is quiet, because everyone’s sleeping.  However, it’s not practical, because I do need to sleep, no matter how weird my sleeping patterns are.

The only problem is that I tend to get at least some inspiration from the world around me- from interesting people I see, from overheard conversations, weird questions…if I completely isolate myself, I would lose part of my inspiration.

Maybe…it could be a vacation house!  And on vacation (if I ever take one), I could go there!  Or a long weekend, perhaps.  You know, when I’m not working on that list of things I want to do before I die.  I think I may be on to something…

A Letter To Plot Bunnies

Posted in Letters by

Dear Plot Bunnies:

We need to stop this love-hate relationship we have.  Right now, I hate you.  The last thing I need is a bunch of ideas that I’m never going to work on, just like all of the other projects I said I would work and then never did. 

Yes, I love NCIS, and while I would love to write a fanfic involving McGee, DiNozzo and/or Fornell, I have 4 Harry Potter fanfics that I keep telling myself I’m going to work on.  I don’t need to add 3 more to that!

I also don’t need to start planning something supernatural either.  Or something mythological.  One of the aforementioned fanfics fits that description moderately well.

I like these ideas you keep springing on me, I really do, but I have enough projects that I want to work on. 

The only thing I can agree on is the idea of flash fiction.  Writing something shorter may be what I need to start working on everything else.  For that, I do commend you. 

But I’d really, really appreciate it if you could somehow figure out when I need you.  You show up at the worst possible times.  Perhaps you ought to try listening? 

It was nice talking to you, plot bunnies.  I hope we can work everything out.

10 Things I Want To Do

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I feel like a lot of people have a list of things they want to do before they die, so I thought I’d share my list.

  1. Go to Times Square for New Year’s Eve: I know it’s really cliché, but it always looks like so much fun.  And every year, I tell myself that I’m going to go.  One day, one day.
  2. Finish a novel: My ability to actually finish a novel is very debatable at this point, but someday I will actually finish one, instead of stopping at around 50k.  Even if it takes me the rest of my life to actually finish one, I will.
  3. Visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter: It’s a must for any Harry Potter fan.  After all, what Harry Potter fan doesn’t want to make the trek over to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter?
  4. Go to England: I’ve always been fascinated by England, and I would love to go there.  Maybe I need to publish a best-selling novel, and then I can go on a writer’s retreat there.  This would require me to actually complete #2, and then publish it… 
  5. Alnwick Castle: this is the castle they used in the Harry Potter movies.  I do have a thing for castles, and this one…is the only castle on my list.  But castles are pretty awesome.
  6. Have my own personal library: I would love to have a mini-library in my house.  I doubt I could convince my grandma to let me turn the computer room into a library, but perhaps when I’m on my own…
  7. Learn to bake bread: making my own bread scares me, but I want to learn.  It doesn’t look hard, but it seems so…time-consuming, which is the thing that scares me.
  8. learn another language: my attempts at learning spanish failed, but I would like to speak another language besides english.  Spanish would probably be the best choice, as I’m at least familiar with it, and I wouldn’t have any problem with it.  French and Italian are also on my list.  French, because I’m part french.  And I’m not sure why Italian is on my list, but it does like slightly similar to spanish, so I might not have too much trouble with it.
  9. Visit the Smithsonian: I love museums, and honestly, the Smithsonian seems so cool. 
  10. Ireland: I’d love to go to Ireland, mostly because I’m also Irish.  And Ireland is also really interesting.  It looks so pretty in the pictures I’ve seen. 

It’s A Wonder I Keep Writing

Posted in Turning Point by

I don’t go back and re-read anything I’ve written very often.  I’ve been doing that recently, and they’re really not that bad.  Sure, sometimes I want to find the nearest cliff and jump off it, or bang my head against a wall repeatedly, but it still amazes me what I can actually come up with in a month. 

I have some funny stuff from Turning Point, so obviously the weird things I manage to write aren’t exclusive to November.  It is pretty interesting to me that Turning Point is the only one I’ve managed to work on.  For some reason, it’s the only one that I’m attached to.  Of course, it is the only one I’ve ever planned, which might have something to do with it. 

  • “Let me change your mind,” kiora said.  “I will.” (Is there a wall I can bang my head against?  Besides, why would Blake agree to let Kiora change his mind?)
  • “You can bever tread too much harry poiterr.  (there are no words)
  • “I thought it had to be dry to dit.”  (Dit is the contraction of do it.  In case anyone was wondering.)
  • “Why do you have to do it befoe your hair dries?” (I love inventing new words, and befoe is one of my favorites!)
  • “What’s with your hair?” asked kyle.  “It’s not fizzy.”  (I should hope not, that sounds terrible.  And by the way, it’s not frizzy either.  Which is what I think Kyle meant to say.)

I do know that with writing, stuff like fizzy hair is going to just…come out.  It’s also the reason why I do one reread (if that).  But…it does make me smile, which is becoming more rare for me.  Anyway, I’m still surprised at what I manage to write.