L.Y. Levand's Blog, page 12

You are the Light of the World Bag ^-^

I took this picture for New Year's, to use as the header image here, but I just had the idea to use it with the verse in Matthew chapter five. ^-^ What do you think?

You are the Light of the World by Duahcal
Create your own cheap personalized tote bags.

Fruit on a Notebook! :D

I was planning on doing this yesterday, but I forgot. >.> I've been really busy, lol. I'm hoping to get back into doing more posts on this blog, instead of just focusing on my test prep one, but I'm not sure how that's going to work, lol. But here it is!

When I went to visit my grandfather last year, he was growing these in his backyard. ^-^ These ones weren't ripe, but the ones that were were delicious.

Grapes Notebook by Duahcal
Find more Grapes Notebooks at Zazzle

Holiday Paper! ^-^

I was going to post this earlier, as in, last week, but I was having some issues with Zazzle, and it's late. v.v Sorry!

Snowy Holiday paper by Duahcal
View more Holiday Wrapping Paper at zazzle.com

Want Your New Year's Resolution To Stick?

This is the time of year that people are making their resolutions, and also the time when some people refuse to make them, because they feel those resolutions won't stick. They won't be able to stay with it, and they'll fail.

Well, it is possible to keep one, and I've put together this list of  six tips to help you pull it off this year! ^-^

1: Don't make a huge one , like completely changing your lifestyle. If it seems too big, you'll put it off, and put it off, until it's too late. Choose something a little less humongous. If you want to be healthier, then resolve to add more healthy food to your diet, or start a simple exercise routine. (Key word: SIMPLE)

2: Be specific! You want to be nicer to people? Pick one nasty reaction to get rid of and focus only on that.

3: Plan your success. You want to succeed? Then you need a plan. You want to be healthier or lose weight? Your end result should be within reach by the end of this year. Choose twelve simple steps, one for each month, that put you closer to your goals.

4: Work your plan. Your plan will not work if you don't follow it. You could have the most amazing and detailed plan in the world, and it will do nothing if you let it sit. With that said, don't be so neurotic you have to follow it all the time, or beat yourself up for not following it exactly.

5: If you fall, get right back up. If you fall and stay down there, what happens? Nothing, right? So get back up again. That goal should be worth it to you, and if it's not, then you need to find a better one, or some motivation.

6: If you mess up, it's not the end of the world! Everyone messes up. No one is perfect, and no plan goes off without a hitch. Expect yourself to mess up a few times, and forgive yourself.

When Snow Makes Pretty Pictures...

...the pretty pictures make cool stuff!

Another remnant of the snow from a while ago. ^-^ I made the white transparent; I thought it would make a pretty cool effect that way.

Snowy Branch Makeup Bag by Duahcal
See other White Bagettes Bags at zazzle

Review of Cornerstone by Kelly Walker

Cornerstone by Kelly Walker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I scour the kindle free books section as often as I can, looking for good books to read. This book was, at first, not one I would have given five stars. But as I went through it, it grew on me. And, more than that, it surprised me.

There were a few spelling and grammar errors, and at times the dialogue was pretty stilted. But all that said, it was worth it. The reason those errors really stuck out was because it was, for the most part, error-free.

Emariya was okay as a character. She was fairly realistic, even if a little cliche. I didn't much like Garith or Torian, though. I did, however, find Khane and Reeve intriguing. They were far more realistic than Emariya, Garith, or Torian. Torian and Emariya were both all right. Not great, not bad. But Garith bugged me. He seemed to let his feelings for Emariya get in the way of his logic, again, and again, and again. I definitely had a few facepalm moments while reading his parts in the story.

At first, because of my undecided opinions of the main characters, I was going to write this book off as a good one-timer, decent enough for a three-star review, but probably not good enough for me to go looking for the next in the series.

And then I found out who the villain was.

The instant I read the section about who the villain was, I saw new depth to the story. I thought I had known what was going on. With many of the fantasy books I read from the kindle free books, I can figure out what's going to happen. I thought I had this one figured out, too. But I didn't, and that's why I'm giving this book five stars.

It surprised me so much that I had to set it aside and think (and gape) about it for a while.

Congratulations to Kelly Walker, and I hope you continue to surprise other readers as much as you surprised me!

View all my reviews

Braced For Impact (Free Fantasy Short Story)

"We can't just lock them out," Beenie said.

"They're going to see the door," Theta wailed.

"We have to let them in," Dew said.

"We'll just have to figure what to do about the gnomes later," Beenie said.

"Whatever we're going to do, do it fast!" Theta exclaimed.

Beenie threw the door wide, and gestured wildly for the approaching squad to go faster. "Come on," she whispered. "Faster!"

They looked frightened, but they saw that she was holding the door for them, and they tried to speed up.

"Hurry," Dew whispered.

The gnomes were coming fast. It was only a matter of time before they saw where the squad was going, and then they'd all be in trouble. Just as this thought crossed Beenie's mind, one of the gnomes in the lead gave a shout and pointed with its stick.

"Oh, no," Troy moaned.

"They've seen us!" Theta exclaimed. "Hurry!"

The squad put on a burst of speed. Beenie, Theta, and Dew stepped to one side as the others hurtled into the opening. They closed the door, and leaned against it, bracing for impact.

"Go tell everyone!" Beenie cried. The second squad, a male fairy, a female fairy, a robin and a crow, nodded, and raced down the tunnel. The baskets Beenie and her friends had dropped rolled berries all over the floor.

An instant later, something heavy banged into the door. It opened a crack, and then slammed shut as they heaved against it.

"Not good," Troy whimpered, bracing himself on the floor and leaning all his weight against the door.

Isomorph Update - And A New Project

I finished the first round of editing on Isomorph two days ago, and I'm waiting for my mother (beta reader #1) to read it and insert her lovely (and hilarious) notes into the text for me to find when I come home from work. Hopefully she gets it done quickly so I can give a copy of that to beta reader #2! ^-^

Since I finished with my first batch of editing, and I can't do anything else with it until I get it back from beta readers, I've started a new project. A new book. :D

Sometimes, before I start writing, I can see everything exactly the way I want it in a book. Whenever that happens, I know I'll have an easier time of writing it. This is one of those times.

I'm not going to tell you the title (because I already have one) and I'm not going to tell you anything about the characters - yet - but I can tell you this: It's a bit darker than most of my other stuff. And it's written far differently than all of my other stories. Meaning, I'm writing in first-person, not third. All of my previous attempts to write in first-person have fallen flat, and I ended up hating them and starting over in third. That hasn't happened this time.

I've chosen a song for it, which I hope will give you an idea of what I'm going for. It is a fantasy, but that's all you get for now. ^-^

I Got My Wish!

Remember a few weeks ago when I mentioned wishing for snow? Yeah, we got snow. ^-^ And lots of it!

Snow Scene Poster by Duahcal
Browse for more wall art on Zazzle More to come! Do you like scenes, like this, or macro, like the flower earlier this year, better?

Review of The White Tree, by Edward W. Robertson

The White Tree by Edward W. Robertson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I...am not sure what to think of this. It was...different. The description was well done, and made it easy enough to imagine the scenes. The story itself didn't particularly catch my interest, though. Nothing really seemed to happen until towards the last section of the book.

It's a story about a boy named Dante, who wants power. He steals a book, and thereafter the owners of the book try very hard to kill him. He runs, of course, and manages to survive by killing anyone who comes after him. At some point, he decides he needs help, and hires someone to guard him. That's how he makes his first friend, Blays. They journey around, fighting for survival, until Dante finds someone to teach him about the powers and stories in the book he stole. This man then sends them on a mission to kill a woman named Samarand.

Dante and Blays go to the city where Samarand is, and infiltrate their way into the place she lives using lies and the power Dante's discovered from reading the book.

Toward the end of the book, Samarand, a powerful priest(ess) takes a group of priests to the north, where they try to awaken the god they worship, Arawn.

If I had to describe this book in one sentence, I think it would be "Dante's journey to, and obsession with, power." Not typically the kind of book I like to read. And the power Dante finds and learns to use sounds disturbingly like necromancy. It was rather darker than I expected, and at times depressing.

As far as content goes, there was quite a bit of questionable language, and a lot of murder and gore. Other than that it was pretty decent.

The best part of this whole book was the banter between Dante and Blays; it was very easy to forget that they're boys, until you read them snapping at and teasing each other. I'm not planning on purchasing the next book in the series, but for those who like this sort of writing, it may well be an excellent choice.

View all my reviews