L.Y. Levand's Blog, page 14

Spying it Out Free Fantasy Short Story)

"It'll have to be just us," Beenie said.

"Poor Matthias," Theta said sadly.

"Hey! You're not supposed to be in there!" Dew was squalling from the doorway. "Did you find him? Hurry up and come back out before someone finds you!"

Beenie sighed. "We'd better go tell Dew before she bursts something important."

"Her windpipe," Theta said.

"Or her lungs," Beenie added as Dew increased in volume.

"Let's go," Theta said, flying back to the door. She opened it, and both saw Dew hovering there and looking frazzled.

"Where is he?" Dew asked, darting around them and trying to see without going inside. "Did you find him? I'm going to yell at him so much when I get hold of him." She paused for a moment, just long enough to see the expressions on Beenie and Theta's faces. "You...didn't find him, did you?" she asked.

Beenie and Theta both shook their heads.

"...oh..." Dew said softly. "Then...I guess...I guess we'd better get going then, huh?"

"Yeah," Beenie said. "Let's go."

The two fairies and the now quiet hummingbird flew down the hall outside of the washrooms, and toward the secondary exit of the catacombs. They flew through the exit tunnel, and out into the open air.

"So what first?" Theta asked.

"Why are you asking me?" Beenie asked. "How should I know?"

"I don't know. But we've got to start somewhere."

"We could look at the walls first," Dew suggested. "See if there are any gaps or anything."

"Good idea," Beenie and Theta said together.

They were hovering outside the entrance to the tunnel, discussing this, when Beenie heard something. She whirled around, and saw a small gray squirrel poking his nose out into the sunlight.

"Troy?" she said. Theta and Dew fell silent, and turned around to see who she was talking to. "What are you doing here?"

He scurried forward, and then sat back on his haunches. His whiskers trembled.

"I'm coming with you," he said.

"But you can't fly," Theta said.

"I can climb the trees," Troy said. "I can keep up."

Beenie landed lightly in front of him. "Troy, why do you want to come? You've never wanted to before."

"Well..." he hesitated. "When the attack happened, I just ran. I'm tired of being afraid, so...I want to come."

There was a heartbeat of silence before Dew spoke. "We are missing a fourth member," she ventured.

"Theta?" Beenie asked.

"I don't mind, if he can keep up and not get caught," she said.

They all turned to Beenie. "If you're sure," she said slowly.

Troy's tail perked up, but he didn't bounce up and down or squeal with delight, and Beenie couldn't blame him.

"Then let's go," Theta said.

Beenie nodded, and when the fairies and Dew took to the air, Troy bounded up the nearest tree.

They made for the Ring, with Troy leaping from tree to tree to keep up. Maybe he'd finally found his courage after all, Beenie thought with a surge of pride.

When they got closer to the Ring, Troy had to stick to going from one tree trunk to another, because the branches caused too much noise, and he fell slightly behind. But Beenie slowed down so he could catch up, and so did the others.

And then they were close enough to see the walls. The gnomes had been very busy in the hour or so since they had taken it. Gnomes covered the walls, making improvements, patching holes, and building it higher. The squad moved around the perimeter, hiding behind branches as they spied it out. There were no weaknesses that they could see.

They retreated a safe distance so they could talk.

"No weaknesses," Theta said. "I don't think we'll be able to take it back. We don't have the numbers."

"Not to storm the walls, maybe," Beenie agreed. "But what about from the catacombs? We'd have a way right inside if we could get through."

"But then they could follow us right back inside," Theta argued.

"Yeah," Beenie said. "But at least it's an option, right?"

Theta frowned, and then nodded. "I guess we'd better do a fly over," she said. "And we're supposed to make sure..." she trailed off without finishing her sentence.

"Yeah," said Beenie. "Let's go. Troy, you'd better stay here. They might see you." He nodded, but his whiskers twitched.

The two fairies and the hummingbird took off, flew high enough to hide in the tree branches, and then flew over the Ring. All three scanned the ground and then looped back to join Troy.

"Well?" he squeaked as they landed next to him. "What was it like?"

"I don't think there's any chance we can take it. At least, not like it is now," Theta said. "They're blocking off the catacomb entrance. They had the same idea Beenie did."

"And?" Troy asked.

"And..." Theta looked to Beenie.

"He's dead," Beenie said softly. All four hung their heads. Beenie thought she had never seen anything as sad. He was definitely dead.

"So what now?" Troy asked.

"We go tell what we saw," Beenie said.

Review of Forbidden Forest, By Tenaya Jayne

Forbidden Forest by Tenaya Jayne
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book is pretty predictable. The main relationship certainly was. I was a little disappointed that the political aspects took a back seat to the romance; it seems as if the author was trying to create an epic fantasy, but got caught up in the romance bits.

I thought that Syrus was a little too juvenile, especially for a vampire who is supposed to be of high rank. A love for gummy bears, while unique, doesn't help me find him a particularly great character. Forest I liked more. She had real spirit, although I think it was overdone a little in places. The relationship between the two also seems a lot like it was between two teenagers; the constant fighting and mood-swings seemed to go a little too far. They are both highly emotional and sensitive characters.

The writing itself was quite good, and the way the book was assembled made it interesting, despite the predictability. Again, my biggest issue was the teeny-tiny part played by the political intrigue. Perhaps the author is waiting to bring that into the next book, but it did seem as if this story was written only for the romance, and everything else took the back seat. I think that the massive forces moving in the background could have used a lot more space, and made a more well-rounded novel.

What I really liked was the back story for Forest, and the way her reactions are colored by it. That I enjoyed. I also liked how little there was in the way of sexual content. What there was wasn't particularly graphic or descriptive.

I probably wouldn't spend money on the next book; I'm not a big romance book reader, and it seems like that's the way the author is going. The whole story looks like it's going to be centered on the relationship between Syrus and Forest. But I think that for people who enjoy that kind of novel, this would be an enjoyable one for them.

View all my reviews

Book Review of The Descent Series 1-3, by S. M. Reine

The Descent Series, Books 1-3: Death's Hand, the Darkest Gate, and Dark Union: An Urban Fantasy Omnibus by S M Reine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After reading a few books that were passably good, this one was a pleasant surprise. I've been lurking in the free ebooks section on Amazon, so half the ones I get are by indies. I don't have a problem with indies; I'm an indie. But most of them that I read have some writing issues that bug me. This one did not have those. I got sucked in at once, and the dialogue was well done. Not stilted like I've seen before.

The content was...well. There was some very strong language used in sections, and some sexual scenes. They weren't super-graphic, like some of the things I've read, which was a relief. But they were still there, so I wouldn't say this was a children's book. Maybe older teen, young adult, if they can handle that kind of content. It's that kind of content that kept me from giving it five stars; the writing itself is, in my opinion, excellent.

I enjoyed this, and I'm very glad I downloaded it. The characters are interesting; I particularly liked Elise. She was refreshing. I wouldn't say she was different, but like I said, I'm coming off a few predictable books with stereotypical characters.

Another thing I really liked about this is that if you want, you can read the first book and stop there. It's a decent story in and of itself. You don't have to read the next two if you don't want to in order to get a good story.

View all my reviews

This Week's Featured Art Product! :D

This week's featured art product is a lamp! :D Perfect for decorating your home. ^-^

Sunset Lamp by Duahcal
Browse more Sunset Lamp-In-A-Box Lamp

Nutrition and Diet: Plan of Attack, Part Two (Health Blog Post #15)

Did you do your homework?

If not, head back to the last post and get started. :) Because this week we're moving on to help you with that meal-planning you did last week.

Quick recap: Last week I had you put together a shopping list of things you use in your home for meals. I also gave you a series of tips to make it easier.

Now we're going to get started on making that meal plan you have more healthy. Are you ready? Good! Then let's get started. :)

Get your meal plan and grocery listNow. What do you have for sides with your meals? If you have a lot of pasta or other starchy sides, replace one side per meal with a vegetableNow replace one side per meal with fruitLook at your main dishesFind a way to lessen amounts of butter, fat, salt, or sugar in your main dishesMake these changes on your grocery list for the week
Keep in mind, though; if your family doesn't like the fruits and veggies you pick, they aren't going to eat them. Make sure you get fruits and veggies they like, or they'll go to waste!

Next step; reading ingredient lists.

If you live a busy life, you probably don't have time to cook everything you eat at home. In that case, you need to learn to read ingredient lists for ready-made foods, so you can get the best of them.

Tip#1: Avoid hydrogenated oils. The FDA is going to be phasing out trans fats and making them illegal, but until that's been accomplished, they're still in our food. Anything with hydrogenated in the name is something to be avoided, since it causes heart health issues later if you get too much.

Tip#2: Avoid sneaky sugars. Manufacturers have lots of sneaky ways to get sugar in your food that isn't actually labeled 'sugar.' Fructose, high fructose corn syrup, cane syrup, cane syrup solids - things like that have a way of making it into our food. But they're really sugar, with another name. Imagine how much sugar is one item that has all of those in varying amounts!

Tip #3: If you don't recognize the ingredient, you probably shouldn't be eating it. I know that's hard nowadays, but it's not a hard-and-fast rule. It's something to strive for.

Tip #4: The longer the ingredient list, the worse it is. The more things it has in it, the less actual food there is. If it reads like a chemical list, do you really want to eat that?

Tip #5: Heard of MSG? Try to avoid it. It makes things taste better ; to some extent. If you've ever tried to savor the taste of a Doritos cool ranch chip, it doesn't taste so good for very long. Whereas real food will continue to taste delicious for much longer. Avoid it, and your taste buds will get more sensitive. Which means you'll be able to taste the goodness in real food, instead of chemicals. :)

Follow these few alone, and your food intake will be better. If you want more, then check out Eat This! Not That! (They really are awesome - did I mention that?)

Oh - and don't forget. Your portions! Heard of portion distortion? Yeah. That's when your portions are far bigger than they need to be. Make a fist. That's about the size of your stomach. Now spread out your fingers. That's how big your stomach is when you're full. Not too big, is it? Keep that in mind when you're eating! Cravings are not hunger. If you are really hungry, anything will do. And you probably won't want cake, or cookies. Steak will probably sound a million times better if you are truly hungry.

And remember; veggies have fewer calories than highly-processed junk. So you can eat more with less caloric impact. You can fill up that stomach without wasting calories on garbage. And then guess what happens? You start losing weight! :D

Good luck, and let me know how it goes. If you're having any issues with implementing your new plan, let me know and I'll see what I can do to help you out. :)

Book Review: The First Book of Demons by Raquel Dove

The First Book of Demons by Raquel Dove
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Not a kid's book. Just...not a kids book. If I'd had a better idea of what kind of content was in this, I probably would not have gotten it, free or not. But with that said, it did keep my attention through the whole thing. The writing was decent enough that I didn't put it down and say 'no way.'

While the story itself was...interesting...some of the things important to the story and plot weren't introduced until the exact moment they were needed, and that makes me wonder just how well this book was planned out by the author. Some of those things, such as (view spoiler)[ the inner beast and what does and does not control it (hide spoiler)] could have been introduced sooner, and then the section where it was necessary would have been more dramatic and better executed.

There was a lot of bouncing around; chapters skipped whole sections and left you guessing about what happened until it was explained. The chapters were also surprisingly short. I can understand having a huge cast of characters, and how it's sometimes necessary; but I really think the jumping around could have been lessened. Even a sentence or two could have eliminated some of that, at least.

All in all, I don't regret getting this. I will probably not read it again, and I don't plan on seeking out the next book. But I do see some talent, and some good books coming at some point in the author's future.

View all my reviews

The Search (Free Fantasy Short Story)

"Matthias!" Beenie called.

"Matthias?" Dew said, flitting backward and forward, searching for her friend.

"When was the last time anyone saw him?" Theta asked.

"He wasn't with us when we came out," Beenie said. "Was he with you?" she asked Dew.

"He was," Dew said. "We came out together to see what was going on, but I lost him after that. I joined another squadron to help, because I couldn't find any of you."

"You don't think-?" Theta turned to Beenie. she was biting her lip, and her forehead was wrinkled in a frown.

"He had to make it back," Beenie said. "Where else could he be?"

"I don't know," Theta said. "We'll just keep looking. He has to be here."

They scattered in three different directions to search the compound. He wasn't in the main sleeping room, where everyone else was. Dew had already checked under all the beds. Beenie went to the kitchen, Theta made for the storage rooms, and Dew went to check the washrooms. She couldn't go into the male half, but she could call from outside and see if he was hiding in there.

There were a few creatures and fairies in the kitchen, but no sign of Matthias. Beenie even asked if any of them had seen him. None of them had. She went back to the sleeping room, and found Theta there. When Theta saw Beenie, she shook her head.

"He's not in the storage rooms," she said.

"He's not in the kitchens either," Beenie replied.

"I waited outside the washroom for ages," Dew said, zooming up next to them. "I called and called, but no one answered."

"He would answer, wouldn't he?" Theta said.

"He'd better," Beenie said. "Did you go inside to check?" Beenie asked Dew.

"Of course not!" Dew exclaimed. "That was the male side!"

"Did anyone answer you when you called? Even to say he wasn't there?" Theta asked urgently.

"No," Dew said, sounding confused.

"Let's go," Beenie said, and Theta nodded.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Dew called as the two fairies flew away toward the washroom. If there was no one in there, and no one answering, then they could go and check. If she found Matthias hiding in there, Beenie told herself, she would shake him until his feathers fell out!

"Wait, you can't go in there!" Dew called, following them into the hall.

"Watch me," Beenie said.

"Watch us," Theta corrected. "If he's hiding in there we'll find him."

"And if he's not?" Beenie asked.

"Then we'll just have to go without him."

Beenie wondered if her expression was as grim as Theta's. If he wasn't there, then that meant...

They banged through the door to the washroom, and halted just inside. It was completely empty.

"He must have been..." Theta said softly.

"Up top. Something must have happened to him," Beenie finished.

They exchanged glances as Dew arrived at the door and started calling for them.

This Week's Featured Art Product is....A Wallet!

This week's featured art product is a black wallet, with a black-and-white pic of the beach. :) I'm thinking about doing a series of wallets...any thoughts or requests?

Beach Wallet by Duahcal
Shop for additional wallets at zazzle.com

Nutrition and Diet: Plan of Attack, Part One (Health Blog Post #14)

Sooo....what did you do for your homework last week? Yes, I'm sounding like a broken record, lol.

So, this week, we're going to design a plan of attack. You already have your three rules, right? And your fitness plan? So next, we're going to help you redesign your diet.

Meal Planning! Crash Course!

If you're like my family, meal planning is a huge challenge. No one wants to stick to the menu, and they eat things that aren't supposed to be eaten for two or three days yet. So, tip #1 . Don't plan breakfasts; get what you know people eat, and stock up.

Tip #2: Plan lunches and dinners, and plan on having hungry people rummaging through the kitchen in search of snacks. If you don't want them to eat that watermelon for a snack, then get them something else to munch on.

Next, make a list of things your family eats, or likes to eat, several times a week for dinner. (And don't worry about being healthy right now; we're just learning to plan meals at the moment.) Once you have this list, you have the basis for your grocery list.

Tip #3: Get your notebook and make a list of days of the week. Then decide which of your meals from your list you're having for each day.

Go Shopping!

Put the things you need for meals on your grocery list, and then go get them. Remember, you have a list for a reason. Do you really need those impulse purchase items?

Tip #4: Take a family member, split the list, and see who can finish and find the other first. This reduces impulse purchases, and decreases the time you spend shopping.

Make sure that you have plenty of pack-and-go lunch items if you work full-time or your kids take cold lunch to school.

Tip #5: Packing lunches ahead of time, like planning dinners, helps you put together healthy meals at a time when you're not prone to cravings. This ensures you eat healthier, since you're less likely to cave in to the urge to eat junk food.

Once you have your menu planned out, and your items purchased, you should have a better idea of how to make your planned meals healthier. Don't worry about making them healthier this week. If you didn't already plan a menu, you need to get used to doing this first. One step at a time!

Tip #6: Don't do everything at once! Break it down into manageable bite-sized pieces so you don't give up before you've finished.

Next week we'll start on a list of things you can do to improve your meal plans. :) Do you have any ideas? Post them below!

A New Plan (Free Fantasy Short Story)

"We need to find out what happened to Peter," Horace said.

"But he's...dead," Kara said softly. "We saw it."

"If there's even the slightest chance he might still be alive, then we have to find out for sure," Horace replied. "And we're going to have to find out if it's possible to take back the fort."

"Are you suggesting we spy it out?" Beenie turned from the two squirrels to see Mort flutter up next to them. "Is that what you're saying?" Mort repeated.

"Do we have any other choice?" Horace asked.

Most of the others had dispersed to be with their families, but the few still close by didn't hear the whispered conversation. Both Horace and Kara had kept their voices down. Mort had not, but no one turned to listen to him. Beenie decided that they had all gotten used to ignoring him, and turned her attention back to the discussion.

"I think it's something that needs to be done," Horace said. "This is a war, and we have to do something. The food we have down here won't last forever. We can't hide forever."

"But spying?" Kara asked. "What if someone is caught?"

"We have to know what's going on," Horace insisted. "If there's another way to find out, I'd like to know what it is."

Kara fell silent, and her whiskers drooped. Horace sighed, and touched her paw. Kara nodded at him, and Beenie assumed that was the female squirrel's way of letting him know she was all right.

"We'd have to send fairies or birds," Horace said importantly, oblivious to the exchange between the two squirrels.

"It makes sense," Horace agreed. "They'd be able to see more from the air, and they'd be less likely to get caught." He glanced at his mate, and Beenie saw Kara relax a fraction.

"Shall I ask for volunteers?" Mort asked.

"I'll go," Beenie said at once, without thinking.

"Me too," Theta added.

"Hey!" Dew called. "Are you making decisions without me?" The hummingbird flew over to join them, and cocked her head at them, waiting for an explanation.

"We just volunteered to spy out the gnomes," Theta said.

"And you're going without me?" Dew asked, aghast. "We're a team, remember?"

Theta and Beenie looked at each other before turning to Horace and Mort.

"I don't see why they can't do it as a team," Horace said after a moment of thought. "They've trained together already."

Mort looked from Beenie, Dew, and Theta to Horace and back again. "But...but they haven't completed their training," Mort complained.

"We just have to be quiet, and careful," Theta said. "We won't have to fight if we don't get caught."

There was a long moment while the others thought it through and exchanged glances. Then, finally:

"All right," Mort grumbled. "Just don't get caught."

"Spy out the Ring, find out what weaknesses there are, and see if you can find out what happened to Peter," Horace said.

Beenie and Theta nodded.

"We'd better find Matthias," Dew said. "He'll be unhappy we decided to do this without him."

"He's unhappy all the time," Theta replied.

"Well...yes...he is, isn't he?' Dew said with a sigh. "But even so..."

"Let's go find him," Theta said, her sigh easily matching Dew's in depth.