Lydia Howe's Blog, page 43
April 7, 2015
F is for Face Painter
Y'all, I get more story ideas than I'll ever be able to use. For this A to Z Challenge I'm sharing some of these crazy and random balloons with you just for the fun of it. The posts will be set up like a backcover blurb or a newspaper article. Sit back and enjoy!
With their enemy breathing down their neck, spies Antique and Emma need a a subtle way to communicate without blowing their cover. With their every move being watched they aren't even able to connect to put a new plan into place.
Recalling their childhood code, Emma joins a traveling circus and is soon able to put her artistic skills into practice as she gets a job as a face painter. What no one realizes is that the beautiful artwork being done on their skin is actually messages they then unknowingly pass along.
The Face Painter is a story of mystery, danger and daring skills, combined with a large dose of comedy.
* * *
So, this is totally not my style of book, but the concept sounded like fun. What about you? Is this your kind of read?
With their enemy breathing down their neck, spies Antique and Emma need a a subtle way to communicate without blowing their cover. With their every move being watched they aren't even able to connect to put a new plan into place.
Recalling their childhood code, Emma joins a traveling circus and is soon able to put her artistic skills into practice as she gets a job as a face painter. What no one realizes is that the beautiful artwork being done on their skin is actually messages they then unknowingly pass along.
The Face Painter is a story of mystery, danger and daring skills, combined with a large dose of comedy.
* * *
So, this is totally not my style of book, but the concept sounded like fun. What about you? Is this your kind of read?
April 6, 2015
E is for Echo
Y'all, I get more story ideas than I'll ever be able to use. For this A to Z Challenge I'm sharing some of these crazy and random balloons with you just for the fun of it. The posts will be set up like a backcover blurb or a newspaper article. Sit back and enjoy!
Note: This idea is a story I am actually writing. It's on hold for now while I focus on some other books, but I look forward to migrating back to it one day.
In a land where twins are outcasts, identical princesses masquerade as one girl, Rylie, heir to the throne, a secret not even their father knows.
Known as echos, twins are thought to be a sign of either a dark family history or the foretelling of some disaster. Therefore, whenever echos are born, the whole family is forced to flee to the City of Outcasts, or worse, to death.
Through the queen's ingenuity and the loyalty of a handful of servants, the truth about the princesses is hidden and they grow up knowing that one day it's their duty to change the mind of their people. As they grow older though, they realize that their hardest conquest will be their father.
Note: This idea is a story I am actually writing. It's on hold for now while I focus on some other books, but I look forward to migrating back to it one day.
In a land where twins are outcasts, identical princesses masquerade as one girl, Rylie, heir to the throne, a secret not even their father knows.
Known as echos, twins are thought to be a sign of either a dark family history or the foretelling of some disaster. Therefore, whenever echos are born, the whole family is forced to flee to the City of Outcasts, or worse, to death.
Through the queen's ingenuity and the loyalty of a handful of servants, the truth about the princesses is hidden and they grow up knowing that one day it's their duty to change the mind of their people. As they grow older though, they realize that their hardest conquest will be their father.
April 4, 2015
D is for Dictionary
Y'all, I get more story ideas than I'll ever be able to use. For this A to Z Challenge I'm sharing some of these crazy and random balloons with you just for the fun of it. The posts will be set up like a backcover blurb or a newspaper article. Sit back and enjoy!
They call me Dictionary. Mom said she found me reading a chapter book for the first time when I was two. Dad said I was critiquing his work reports when I was five. My older brother Jack started asking for my help with his college assignments when I was eight.
Some people think it must be exciting to be a genius and I guess it is sometimes. Mostly though, it just feels normal. That is until the FBI decided they would be able to use my intelligence to help with one of their cases. Who works for the FBI when they're ten?
Of course I wanted to do whatever I could to help the general population so I agreed. Mom freaked out, but Dad thought it would be good for me. Jack was sworn to silence which he could barely uphold (hey, who doesn't like it that their older brother is proud of them?) and thus my new life began.
My Code Name is Dictionary is a humorous Middle Grade book told from the perspective of ten-year-old genius, Abigail Willams. With dry wit, misunderstandings and a good dose of brilliancy, Abigail enters the world of the FBI during the day and then comes home at night to solve her own cases with Jack as her side-kick.
* * * What about you? Do you like books where there's a really smart kid?
April 3, 2015
When Life Hands You Lymes #65 and Update
So, this isn't going to be the usual Friday When Life Hands You Lymes post. That's because, well, there's been a lot of changes happening with WLHYL. This post is going to be full of change, information, numbers and all that kind of good stuff.
See, when I started writing WLHYL in January of 2014, I knew it was going to be a difficult book for me to write and therefore I would need some kind of accountability to keep me going. That's why I chose to post segments on Noveltea each Friday.
I quickly realized that wasn't ideal because while I do plot, my plots are very basic and subject to a lot of change. That meant that I'd randomly realize that I was sharing a storyline with y'all that was going to change and morph and become something totally different. Or I'd go off on a bunny trail that had no conclusion.
I can't properly explain why Madalyn's story has been so difficult/rewarding/challenging/everything-else for me except to say I feel her pain. I've been through what she went through and I want to help the world understand what it's like and that's a huge responsibility. I went through years of being misunderstood while trying to find a diagnosis for a mysterious illness that stole my strength. How do I put that into words that convey the correct emotions without turning it into a whining fest? Plus, there are so many people out there who are still struggling with Lyme disease. I want to help encourage them and make sure I don't compromise the reality of Lyme disease for sensationalism or by romanticizing it.
Sometimes while writing I'm worried that what if people think this is my story? What if the people I know personally try to figure out which character they are? Because this isn't my story. This is Madalyn's. The two of us are very different. By the same token, I did go through a lot of the things Madalyn goes through and so it's difficult being open about them. It's painful ripping up the past. Sort of like cutting through scar tissue. It hurts. But it's necessary.
At the beginning of this year I looked back at what I had written and was appalled by my pervious writing. So I changed tracks and "started" at a new place in the book. That's because I knew Madalyn and her story and her life so much better after working on it every single day for a year and I was ready to get serious. I also wrote a better plot.
Near the middle of February I sat down and got a lot of writing done. I coasted along with posting that on my blog for the next few weeks while tinkering around and trying to figure out what I was really doing with WLHYL. Then near the end of February I sat down and I buried myself in Madalyn's world.
I would sit on my chair in my office, choose a point in my plot that matched the emotions I felt I would be able to properly convey at that time and write for hours. I ended up with a folder on my laptop that looked like this:
Another thing I did in March was gather all the different stories and segments I had written about Lyme disease and put them together. Here's a breakdown of what I had to work with:
In 2014 I posted 41,882 words of WHLYL on Noveltea.In 2015 I posted 15,224 words. And I had 50,518 words that I wrote during this week in 2013. The storyline is totally different but it's all about Lyme disease so I knew I could use some of the emotions. I also had 7,307 words from various blog posts I had written about Lyme disease in 2013 when I still had Lyme disease. I knew there was some of those words I could use.And last of all I had 2,654 words from blog posts from my sister's blog that I wanted to use.
That meant I had 117,585 words to work with and read through and weed out. During this past month I spent hour after hour copying, pasting, deleting, changing, revising and re-writing. I probably ended up cutting out about 50,000 of those words so I had around 68,000 words to work with. Then I added probably around 43,000 words which means WLHYL currently has almost 111,000 words.
So, pretty much... All of this to say that the story has changed. A lot. I've finally figured out when the story starts, how long it goes for and what is supposed to be included, although I'm still trying to figure out just where the story ends. Which brings me to my next point:
I don't actually have more segments to share with you right now. I know. Ouch. That's because I didn't continue writing after the last segment I posted. I just began over again. Sorry for all the confusion, people!
The good news is that I can share parts of the story. So now for the 65th segment of my fictional story When Life Hands You Lymes...
We slip and slide down the red earthen bank, bubbles of joy dancing around my heart. I close my eyes and feel the luscious sea wind blowing in my face, tugging my hair that frames my face and tickling my nose. I open my eyes when I feel someone tuck their arm through mine. “This feels like a movie, doesn’t it?” Katie asks. Her voice is relaxed, happy. I nod as I feel the beauty enveloping my soul. “Are you two coming?” Jason waves at us from down closer to the beach. “The water’s refreshing, come join us!” Darrick extends the invitation. “Refreshing?” Katie cups one hand around her mouth to shout at them. “Don’t you mean freezing?” Katie and I skip toward the swelling waves. “It’s all the same thing in my book,” comes Darrick’s quick reply. Jason already has the picnic blanket laid out by the time we reach him. “Here, my lady.” Darrick leaves the waters edge to come over and give me my violin case. “Would you delight us with some music?” I laugh at him, I love it when he gets in his old fashioned mood. “Of course, kind sir.” I do a curtsey then reach for my musical instrument. I put Whimsy on my shoulder and close my eyes with gratitude. This is the most perfect of perfect days. Katie and I are both wearing white dresses complete with lace, ruffles and bows. I’m with my siblings about ready to enjoy a picnic on a gorgeous beach on Prince Edward Island and I’m about ready to dance my thoughts away on the cords of my violin. I open my eyes as I begin a jaunty tune, wanting to etch every moment of our time into my memory bank. We’d all agreed no cell phones or electronics would be allowed today, so the pictures I store in my brain will be the only ones I have and I couldn’t be happier. We’d also agreed no talk about Emerson Airlines. This was our day to relax. To exist. To just be outside of Emerson Airlines, outside of connecting with the rest of the world. When I’m done with my brisk tune I switch to a deeper cord and play a reminiscent melody of childhood years gone by. I infuse my music with every emotion I’m feeling and when I finally finish the piece off with a flourish, I’m greeted by applause. “That was beautiful, Madalyn.” Jason appears almost shocked as he takes the violin from me and carefully sets it in it’s case. “You’ve improved by leaps and bounds since I last heard you playing. “It’s no wonder, too.” Katie leans back against the blanket. The wind has died down by this time, producing a calming atmosphere. “She’s so dedicated to her music it often puts me to shame.” Now it’s my turn to be surprised, I want to dispute the claim, argue that no, Katie’s far more serious about Emerson Airlines than I am about anything, but I hold back. Maybe there is truth to what she says. “I remember before you were born,” Jason takes a carrot stick out of the basket and munches on it. “Mom knew back then that you’d be musical because you’d always start kicking and moving around whenever there was music playing.”
* * * I would be delighted to hear what your thoughts are and I'm sorry for the crazy switch up and change. I've seriously been trying to figure out what to do about posting the story on my blog for the last month or so. Hopefully my solution works fine. Thanks for hanging in there with me, y'all!
See, when I started writing WLHYL in January of 2014, I knew it was going to be a difficult book for me to write and therefore I would need some kind of accountability to keep me going. That's why I chose to post segments on Noveltea each Friday.
I quickly realized that wasn't ideal because while I do plot, my plots are very basic and subject to a lot of change. That meant that I'd randomly realize that I was sharing a storyline with y'all that was going to change and morph and become something totally different. Or I'd go off on a bunny trail that had no conclusion.
I can't properly explain why Madalyn's story has been so difficult/rewarding/challenging/everything-else for me except to say I feel her pain. I've been through what she went through and I want to help the world understand what it's like and that's a huge responsibility. I went through years of being misunderstood while trying to find a diagnosis for a mysterious illness that stole my strength. How do I put that into words that convey the correct emotions without turning it into a whining fest? Plus, there are so many people out there who are still struggling with Lyme disease. I want to help encourage them and make sure I don't compromise the reality of Lyme disease for sensationalism or by romanticizing it.
Sometimes while writing I'm worried that what if people think this is my story? What if the people I know personally try to figure out which character they are? Because this isn't my story. This is Madalyn's. The two of us are very different. By the same token, I did go through a lot of the things Madalyn goes through and so it's difficult being open about them. It's painful ripping up the past. Sort of like cutting through scar tissue. It hurts. But it's necessary.
At the beginning of this year I looked back at what I had written and was appalled by my pervious writing. So I changed tracks and "started" at a new place in the book. That's because I knew Madalyn and her story and her life so much better after working on it every single day for a year and I was ready to get serious. I also wrote a better plot.
Near the middle of February I sat down and got a lot of writing done. I coasted along with posting that on my blog for the next few weeks while tinkering around and trying to figure out what I was really doing with WLHYL. Then near the end of February I sat down and I buried myself in Madalyn's world.
I would sit on my chair in my office, choose a point in my plot that matched the emotions I felt I would be able to properly convey at that time and write for hours. I ended up with a folder on my laptop that looked like this:
Another thing I did in March was gather all the different stories and segments I had written about Lyme disease and put them together. Here's a breakdown of what I had to work with:
In 2014 I posted 41,882 words of WHLYL on Noveltea.In 2015 I posted 15,224 words. And I had 50,518 words that I wrote during this week in 2013. The storyline is totally different but it's all about Lyme disease so I knew I could use some of the emotions. I also had 7,307 words from various blog posts I had written about Lyme disease in 2013 when I still had Lyme disease. I knew there was some of those words I could use.And last of all I had 2,654 words from blog posts from my sister's blog that I wanted to use.
That meant I had 117,585 words to work with and read through and weed out. During this past month I spent hour after hour copying, pasting, deleting, changing, revising and re-writing. I probably ended up cutting out about 50,000 of those words so I had around 68,000 words to work with. Then I added probably around 43,000 words which means WLHYL currently has almost 111,000 words.
So, pretty much... All of this to say that the story has changed. A lot. I've finally figured out when the story starts, how long it goes for and what is supposed to be included, although I'm still trying to figure out just where the story ends. Which brings me to my next point:
I don't actually have more segments to share with you right now. I know. Ouch. That's because I didn't continue writing after the last segment I posted. I just began over again. Sorry for all the confusion, people!
The good news is that I can share parts of the story. So now for the 65th segment of my fictional story When Life Hands You Lymes...
We slip and slide down the red earthen bank, bubbles of joy dancing around my heart. I close my eyes and feel the luscious sea wind blowing in my face, tugging my hair that frames my face and tickling my nose. I open my eyes when I feel someone tuck their arm through mine. “This feels like a movie, doesn’t it?” Katie asks. Her voice is relaxed, happy. I nod as I feel the beauty enveloping my soul. “Are you two coming?” Jason waves at us from down closer to the beach. “The water’s refreshing, come join us!” Darrick extends the invitation. “Refreshing?” Katie cups one hand around her mouth to shout at them. “Don’t you mean freezing?” Katie and I skip toward the swelling waves. “It’s all the same thing in my book,” comes Darrick’s quick reply. Jason already has the picnic blanket laid out by the time we reach him. “Here, my lady.” Darrick leaves the waters edge to come over and give me my violin case. “Would you delight us with some music?” I laugh at him, I love it when he gets in his old fashioned mood. “Of course, kind sir.” I do a curtsey then reach for my musical instrument. I put Whimsy on my shoulder and close my eyes with gratitude. This is the most perfect of perfect days. Katie and I are both wearing white dresses complete with lace, ruffles and bows. I’m with my siblings about ready to enjoy a picnic on a gorgeous beach on Prince Edward Island and I’m about ready to dance my thoughts away on the cords of my violin. I open my eyes as I begin a jaunty tune, wanting to etch every moment of our time into my memory bank. We’d all agreed no cell phones or electronics would be allowed today, so the pictures I store in my brain will be the only ones I have and I couldn’t be happier. We’d also agreed no talk about Emerson Airlines. This was our day to relax. To exist. To just be outside of Emerson Airlines, outside of connecting with the rest of the world. When I’m done with my brisk tune I switch to a deeper cord and play a reminiscent melody of childhood years gone by. I infuse my music with every emotion I’m feeling and when I finally finish the piece off with a flourish, I’m greeted by applause. “That was beautiful, Madalyn.” Jason appears almost shocked as he takes the violin from me and carefully sets it in it’s case. “You’ve improved by leaps and bounds since I last heard you playing. “It’s no wonder, too.” Katie leans back against the blanket. The wind has died down by this time, producing a calming atmosphere. “She’s so dedicated to her music it often puts me to shame.” Now it’s my turn to be surprised, I want to dispute the claim, argue that no, Katie’s far more serious about Emerson Airlines than I am about anything, but I hold back. Maybe there is truth to what she says. “I remember before you were born,” Jason takes a carrot stick out of the basket and munches on it. “Mom knew back then that you’d be musical because you’d always start kicking and moving around whenever there was music playing.”
* * * I would be delighted to hear what your thoughts are and I'm sorry for the crazy switch up and change. I've seriously been trying to figure out what to do about posting the story on my blog for the last month or so. Hopefully my solution works fine. Thanks for hanging in there with me, y'all!
C is for Challenge
Y'all, I get more story ideas than I'll ever be able to use. For this A to Z Challenge I'm sharing some of these crazy and random balloons with you just for the fun of it. The posts will be set up like a backcover blurb or a newspaper article. Sit back and enjoy!
Growing up in a competitive family inspires siblings Dylan and Rebecca to spend their last summer before Dylan heads off to college in one huge competition. The rules are simple: Each week one of them gets to issue a challenge and the resources allowed to be used to accomplish said challenge. Dylan and Rebecca both have to document the steps they took to do the challenge, as well as the end results. Each Sunday they have a panel of sixteen people who vote for the winner of that week's challenge.
With challenges like Make a scrapbook of your favorite family vacation and Camp out for three days in the woods with only one backpack of supplies plus a tent, it's not long before the whole family gets involved. But when they branch out to the community with challenges such as Write personalized cards to everyone in a nursing home and Give a needy house a remake by painting it, it's clear they're going to have to find back up.
In a heart-warming tale of sibling love, family togetherness and a whole community rallying around each other, The Summer of Challenges is a quirky and laugh-out-loud read.
* * *
What about you? If you got to choose a challenge, what would it be?
Growing up in a competitive family inspires siblings Dylan and Rebecca to spend their last summer before Dylan heads off to college in one huge competition. The rules are simple: Each week one of them gets to issue a challenge and the resources allowed to be used to accomplish said challenge. Dylan and Rebecca both have to document the steps they took to do the challenge, as well as the end results. Each Sunday they have a panel of sixteen people who vote for the winner of that week's challenge.
With challenges like Make a scrapbook of your favorite family vacation and Camp out for three days in the woods with only one backpack of supplies plus a tent, it's not long before the whole family gets involved. But when they branch out to the community with challenges such as Write personalized cards to everyone in a nursing home and Give a needy house a remake by painting it, it's clear they're going to have to find back up.
In a heart-warming tale of sibling love, family togetherness and a whole community rallying around each other, The Summer of Challenges is a quirky and laugh-out-loud read.
* * *
What about you? If you got to choose a challenge, what would it be?
April 2, 2015
B is for Believe
Y'all, I get more story ideas than I'll ever be able to use. For this A to Z Challenge I'm sharing some of these crazy and random balloons with you just for the fun of it. The posts will be set up like a backcover blurb or a newspaper article. Sit back and enjoy!
Jenny Smith's eagerness to learn makes her a favorite among her teachers. Her happy disposition and willingness to help anyone makes her a favorite among the students. What no one realizes is that she goes home each day to a one room shack where she lives with her little sister and illiterate father who struggles to survive in a world that values literacy.
Jenny hides her father's secret as she helps him fake it. From reading to him each night to teaching him to write his signature, Jenny is driven by one goal: To learn enough so she can teach her loving father to read and write.
Then they are evicted from their home and the threesome start out on a cross-country road trip looking for a better job and a new life.
Believe is a story of love, family loyalty, trust, hope and most of all the belief in the ones we're closest to.
* * * If you wrote a story about believing in someone, who would that person be?
April 1, 2015
March 2015 in Review
What I Focused on In March
1. Working on my book, When Life Hands You Lymes 2. The release of my book, Cool Critters of the Ice Age 3. Revamping Noveltea 4. Planning and working on a baby shower for my best friend
Birthday Challenge & Dream List Update
Birthday Challenge: 2. Write 1,000 words for 23 days in a row {Completed}
7. Write a card a day for 23 days {I'm going to count this as completed. I missed three random days during the whole month, so I might try again...}11. Read the Proverb of the day 3 months (not in a row) {All 3 Months Completed}13. Go to bed before 10:30 23 times (not in a row) {I'm guessing I probably got around 4 of these in}17. Reach 100,000 words on WLHYL {Completed}23. Write monthly reviews on my blog within 5 days of the end of the month whenever internet is available {Yes}
Dream List: 12-11-14 Read the "Proverbs of the day" every day for 3 months {Completed}
Reading Update:
Fiction: 20
Non-Fiction:0
Reviews: 0
I've discovered that when I'm focused on writing, I also like ramping up on my reading. I think that's because I'm incredibly inundated with words and the more well-crafted stories I read, the more inspired I become. It's as if the more I write, the hungrier I am to read.
And, as far as non-fiction goes, I did read some, I just didn't finish any books...
Traveling:
2 NightsNew countries and states: None
What I've been Learning:
I've been learning a lot this month about my writing. I've been training myself to sit down and work and focus with the time I have. It's been good discipline to do what I need to do, not always what I want to do. I've been trying to get around 7 hours of writing work in each day. That hasn't always happened, but it's a good goal to shoot for.
I've also been learning that sometimes what I want to do doesn't coincide with what I'm supposed to be doing. I'm working on having a looser hold on my hopes and dreams so that I'm working with God instead of fighting against Him. I want my life to bring Him glory.
This month I've had some struggles with the book I'm writing. There have been a lot of issues I've had to go through mentally and emotionally while working on this story and over all it's been really good for me, but I'm eagerly awaiting the day I'll be done with it. I really have grown a lot though, so it's been good. It's been a journey of learning to receive the grace that God is extending to me, because goodness, I'm so hard-headed at times.
Other Things:
I have glasses now (and I can truly say I see the world differently...). I worked on another book with my adopted parents. I co-hosted a baby shower for my best friend (and of course I got lots of books for the baby). I saw the first signs of spring. I started doing the Top Ten Tuesday Link-up. And I lived. I breathed. I learned. And I grew (not physically, thankfully).
It's been a busy month. In fact, I can hardly recall all that I did during this month. My brain seems to be fogging over each time I try to figure out what happened this month as apposed to what happened during February...
* * *Now it's your turn! What did YOU do in March?
1. Working on my book, When Life Hands You Lymes 2. The release of my book, Cool Critters of the Ice Age 3. Revamping Noveltea 4. Planning and working on a baby shower for my best friend
Birthday Challenge & Dream List Update
Birthday Challenge: 2. Write 1,000 words for 23 days in a row {Completed}
7. Write a card a day for 23 days {I'm going to count this as completed. I missed three random days during the whole month, so I might try again...}11. Read the Proverb of the day 3 months (not in a row) {All 3 Months Completed}13. Go to bed before 10:30 23 times (not in a row) {I'm guessing I probably got around 4 of these in}17. Reach 100,000 words on WLHYL {Completed}23. Write monthly reviews on my blog within 5 days of the end of the month whenever internet is available {Yes}
Dream List: 12-11-14 Read the "Proverbs of the day" every day for 3 months {Completed}
Reading Update:
Fiction: 20
Non-Fiction:0
Reviews: 0
I've discovered that when I'm focused on writing, I also like ramping up on my reading. I think that's because I'm incredibly inundated with words and the more well-crafted stories I read, the more inspired I become. It's as if the more I write, the hungrier I am to read.
And, as far as non-fiction goes, I did read some, I just didn't finish any books...
Traveling:
2 NightsNew countries and states: None
What I've been Learning:
I've been learning a lot this month about my writing. I've been training myself to sit down and work and focus with the time I have. It's been good discipline to do what I need to do, not always what I want to do. I've been trying to get around 7 hours of writing work in each day. That hasn't always happened, but it's a good goal to shoot for.
I've also been learning that sometimes what I want to do doesn't coincide with what I'm supposed to be doing. I'm working on having a looser hold on my hopes and dreams so that I'm working with God instead of fighting against Him. I want my life to bring Him glory.
This month I've had some struggles with the book I'm writing. There have been a lot of issues I've had to go through mentally and emotionally while working on this story and over all it's been really good for me, but I'm eagerly awaiting the day I'll be done with it. I really have grown a lot though, so it's been good. It's been a journey of learning to receive the grace that God is extending to me, because goodness, I'm so hard-headed at times.
Other Things:
I have glasses now (and I can truly say I see the world differently...). I worked on another book with my adopted parents. I co-hosted a baby shower for my best friend (and of course I got lots of books for the baby). I saw the first signs of spring. I started doing the Top Ten Tuesday Link-up. And I lived. I breathed. I learned. And I grew (not physically, thankfully).
It's been a busy month. In fact, I can hardly recall all that I did during this month. My brain seems to be fogging over each time I try to figure out what happened this month as apposed to what happened during February...
* * *Now it's your turn! What did YOU do in March?
A is for Andrewsarchus and Other Such Creatures
Happy April! Today is the first day of the A to Z Challenge. A week ago I asked y'all to help me choose what my theme for 2015's challenge would be and then I had fun watching the votes come in. I'm happy to announce that Random Story Ideas won, and so here I am with the first post of April!
Y'all, I get more story ideas than I'll ever be able to use. I thought it would be fun to share some of these crazy and random balloons with you just for the fun of it. These posts will be set up like either a backcover blurb or a newspaper article. Sit back and enjoy!
A is for Andrewsarchus and other such creatures
Imagine a book with a main character who has a quirky fascination where all of her conversations, interests, and ultimately her life, center around people, places or things that starts with the word A.
From her dream of one day having andrewsarcus as a pet (yes, he's real), to her love of anchovies and avocados to her nightly habit of going out and looking for Andromeda, this character (is it any wonder her name is Anna?) is driven by the letter A. Even to the point where she get's all As in school, applies for a job with Amazon, changed her last name to Aaton and moved to Aruba.
source Life is absolutely amusing and absorbing until Anna gets attached to an amusing, appealing and adoring little girl who she wants to adopted but who has a lisp which makes it impossible for her to say the letter A.
In an effort to help her new daughter over come her lisp without feeling extremely overwhelmed, Anna decides to remove all the words that begin with A from her spoken vocabulary for the next two years... Read all about it in: The Bizarre Adventures Escapades of Anna Aaton.
* * * What about you? What's your favorite word that begins with the letter A?
Y'all, I get more story ideas than I'll ever be able to use. I thought it would be fun to share some of these crazy and random balloons with you just for the fun of it. These posts will be set up like either a backcover blurb or a newspaper article. Sit back and enjoy!
A is for Andrewsarchus and other such creatures
Imagine a book with a main character who has a quirky fascination where all of her conversations, interests, and ultimately her life, center around people, places or things that starts with the word A.
From her dream of one day having andrewsarcus as a pet (yes, he's real), to her love of anchovies and avocados to her nightly habit of going out and looking for Andromeda, this character (is it any wonder her name is Anna?) is driven by the letter A. Even to the point where she get's all As in school, applies for a job with Amazon, changed her last name to Aaton and moved to Aruba.
source Life is absolutely amusing and absorbing until Anna gets attached to an amusing, appealing and adoring little girl who she wants to adopted but who has a lisp which makes it impossible for her to say the letter A.In an effort to help her new daughter over come her lisp without feeling extremely overwhelmed, Anna decides to remove all the words that begin with A from her spoken vocabulary for the next two years... Read all about it in: The Bizarre Adventures Escapades of Anna Aaton.
* * * What about you? What's your favorite word that begins with the letter A?
March 31, 2015
Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Non-Fiction Books On Your To-Be-Read-List
This morning I'm linking up with The Broke and Bookish for their Top Ten Tuesday weekly feature. This week's prompt is: Ten Books You Recently Added To Your To-Be-Read List. My problem is my list hasn't changed much since this post. Therefore I thought I'd change the prompt to: Ten Non-Fiction Books On Your To-Be-Read-List because even though I read a lot this month I didn't finish any non-fiction books so I need to ramp up my non-fiction reading during April.
**I don't have links for most of these books because I'm running on tight Internet usage**
1. Go Teen Writers by Stephanie Morrill and Jill Willamson I've already read this book, a lot of it more than once. But me oh my, it's so helpful! Totally worth re-reading several times.
2. Finding the Core of Your Story by Jordan Smith Same with this book. Amazingly helpful when you're trying to really tack down just what your story's about.3. The Plot Skeleton by Angela Hunt I have a hard time with plots and it's been a while since I read this book, so I thought it was time for a re-read. 4. Evoking Emotion by Angela Hunt Can you tell that I'm pretty focused on writing at this time? Yep. 5. Leadership 101 by John MaxwellTo all you people who might be new to Noveltea, I'm a big John Maxwell fan and almost always have at least one of his books part-way eaten. 6. Be a People Person: Effective Communication by John C. Maxwell I'm part way through this book and figured it was time to finish it off.
7. Getting Things Done by David Allen Ahem. This book isn't exactly my cup of tea. I'm reading it for work and eagerly await the last chapter. 8. Love Does Bob Goff I started this book and OH MY WORD. Yeah, you should read it. Mr. Goff has such a unique outlook on life and it's so inspiring.
9. Pushing People Up by Art Willams This is a book that was recommended to me and I have it waiting in my office, all ready to gobble up. I really like Mr. William's writing style, so I'm excited about diving into Pushing People Up. 10. Hand of Providence by Mary Beth Brown This book was recommended (and given) to me by my mom and since that doesn't happen extremely often (and since Mom's amazing), I'm eager to read it for myself. * * * What about you? Do you have any books on your non-fiction reading list? Do any of these books look interesting to you?
**I don't have links for most of these books because I'm running on tight Internet usage**
1. Go Teen Writers by Stephanie Morrill and Jill Willamson I've already read this book, a lot of it more than once. But me oh my, it's so helpful! Totally worth re-reading several times.
2. Finding the Core of Your Story by Jordan Smith Same with this book. Amazingly helpful when you're trying to really tack down just what your story's about.3. The Plot Skeleton by Angela Hunt I have a hard time with plots and it's been a while since I read this book, so I thought it was time for a re-read. 4. Evoking Emotion by Angela Hunt Can you tell that I'm pretty focused on writing at this time? Yep. 5. Leadership 101 by John MaxwellTo all you people who might be new to Noveltea, I'm a big John Maxwell fan and almost always have at least one of his books part-way eaten. 6. Be a People Person: Effective Communication by John C. Maxwell I'm part way through this book and figured it was time to finish it off.
7. Getting Things Done by David Allen Ahem. This book isn't exactly my cup of tea. I'm reading it for work and eagerly await the last chapter. 8. Love Does Bob Goff I started this book and OH MY WORD. Yeah, you should read it. Mr. Goff has such a unique outlook on life and it's so inspiring.
9. Pushing People Up by Art Willams This is a book that was recommended to me and I have it waiting in my office, all ready to gobble up. I really like Mr. William's writing style, so I'm excited about diving into Pushing People Up. 10. Hand of Providence by Mary Beth Brown This book was recommended (and given) to me by my mom and since that doesn't happen extremely often (and since Mom's amazing), I'm eager to read it for myself. * * * What about you? Do you have any books on your non-fiction reading list? Do any of these books look interesting to you?
March 30, 2015
Nostalgia Attack: Indonesia
A happy and delighted Monday morning to you! This week is already shaping up to be pretty crazy and I'm excited. It always feels so good to sit down at my computer and blog after taking a two day break from blogging. (Woah, I sound like my world revolves around blogging...)
Today, folks, I'm going to give in to my nostalgic side and post pictures from this time last year. (Yes, it's true: You can be nostalgic about things that happened so recently.) A year ago I was on a grand adventure where I flew to the other side of the world and surprised my best friend, lived with her family for a month, documented her engagement by taking pictures while hiding in the greenery, and made thousands of wonderful memories.
While in Indonesia I not only got to live in the future (it's pretty amazing being eleven hours ahead of the world back home) I also got to eat some of the best food in the world. Mainly the fruit and rice. There were so many different kinds of fruit that I'd never even heard of before. How crazy is that? Convincing the five other girls I was living with to go fruit shopping in the pouring down rain was so much fun.
Our month consisted of hikes to waterfalls, eating at cute restaurants surrounded by rice fields, climbing up mountains, riding on the back of motor bikes and pick up trucks, hundreds of games of Rook, drinking coconut juice, and water fights.
Indonesia is by far the greenest place I've ever been. The sheer amount of vegetation literally overwhelmed me and at times made me claustrophobic. It was gorgeous. It was amazing. The next greenest place I've ever been to was Hawaii, but even the places I visited in Hawaii weren't as green.
I'm not sure when I've seen anything that compares to the beauty of mountains. From the Smokey Mountains in Tennessee to the Swiss Alps in Switzerland to the peaks in Durango, Colorado, to the Andes Mountains in Peru, to the mountain we climbed in Indonesia, the word fills me with a feeling of splendor and majesty. I'm so very, very thankful for the chance to have climbed the mountain not once, but twice.
The second time we climbed the mountain was in the dark, which added the the adventure and provided an experience unlike any I've ever had before. By the time we reached the top of the mountain we were all shivering and huddled together on the blankets we had brought and eating hot soup and watching in vain for the sunrise that was hidden by a thick covering of fog. (Two of my friends got engaged on the mountain top though, so it was well worth it.)
The first time we climbed the mountain though, the view was beyond amazing. We could climb down the side of the mountain a few feet and sit there, gazing at the world and feeling the peacefulness of the day seep into our souls.
We went with the children from an orphanage and sitting at the top of the mountain, basking in the deep sunshine and eating snacks while watching them joke and talk together made my heart happy.
These five girls provided me with so many wonderful memories and I feel very blessed to have been able to spend a whole month living with them. Even more amazing is that I get to see and spend nearly every day with Sarah now, a gift I used to only dream about.
When we weren't climbing mountains or exploring a green world, we had a delightful time in the kitchen: cooking, doing dishes and of course bobbing. I'm not sure how or when or why it started (let's just chalk it up to my randomness), but bobbing in the dish water became an almost nightly event. We would seriously have a line of people waiting to take their turn. It was fun trying to find interesting things to bob with from cloves of garlic to little lemons. An egg was a challenge that ended with a near-disaster, but fun nonetheless.
I'm so very, very thankful I had the chance to go to Indonesia for a month. I'm even more thankful to now have Sarah as my neighbor and will forever be grateful for her getting married and moving so crazy-close. Plus, of course, I have to extend my gratitude to everyone who put up with the very random me for a whole month. (Ahem.)
What about you? Do YOU like being random? Climbing mountains? Eating fruit? Being nostalgic? I'd be delighted to hear. Plus, don't forget to vote here .
Today, folks, I'm going to give in to my nostalgic side and post pictures from this time last year. (Yes, it's true: You can be nostalgic about things that happened so recently.) A year ago I was on a grand adventure where I flew to the other side of the world and surprised my best friend, lived with her family for a month, documented her engagement by taking pictures while hiding in the greenery, and made thousands of wonderful memories.
While in Indonesia I not only got to live in the future (it's pretty amazing being eleven hours ahead of the world back home) I also got to eat some of the best food in the world. Mainly the fruit and rice. There were so many different kinds of fruit that I'd never even heard of before. How crazy is that? Convincing the five other girls I was living with to go fruit shopping in the pouring down rain was so much fun.
Our month consisted of hikes to waterfalls, eating at cute restaurants surrounded by rice fields, climbing up mountains, riding on the back of motor bikes and pick up trucks, hundreds of games of Rook, drinking coconut juice, and water fights.
Indonesia is by far the greenest place I've ever been. The sheer amount of vegetation literally overwhelmed me and at times made me claustrophobic. It was gorgeous. It was amazing. The next greenest place I've ever been to was Hawaii, but even the places I visited in Hawaii weren't as green.
I'm not sure when I've seen anything that compares to the beauty of mountains. From the Smokey Mountains in Tennessee to the Swiss Alps in Switzerland to the peaks in Durango, Colorado, to the Andes Mountains in Peru, to the mountain we climbed in Indonesia, the word fills me with a feeling of splendor and majesty. I'm so very, very thankful for the chance to have climbed the mountain not once, but twice.
The second time we climbed the mountain was in the dark, which added the the adventure and provided an experience unlike any I've ever had before. By the time we reached the top of the mountain we were all shivering and huddled together on the blankets we had brought and eating hot soup and watching in vain for the sunrise that was hidden by a thick covering of fog. (Two of my friends got engaged on the mountain top though, so it was well worth it.)
The first time we climbed the mountain though, the view was beyond amazing. We could climb down the side of the mountain a few feet and sit there, gazing at the world and feeling the peacefulness of the day seep into our souls.
We went with the children from an orphanage and sitting at the top of the mountain, basking in the deep sunshine and eating snacks while watching them joke and talk together made my heart happy.
These five girls provided me with so many wonderful memories and I feel very blessed to have been able to spend a whole month living with them. Even more amazing is that I get to see and spend nearly every day with Sarah now, a gift I used to only dream about.
When we weren't climbing mountains or exploring a green world, we had a delightful time in the kitchen: cooking, doing dishes and of course bobbing. I'm not sure how or when or why it started (let's just chalk it up to my randomness), but bobbing in the dish water became an almost nightly event. We would seriously have a line of people waiting to take their turn. It was fun trying to find interesting things to bob with from cloves of garlic to little lemons. An egg was a challenge that ended with a near-disaster, but fun nonetheless.
I'm so very, very thankful I had the chance to go to Indonesia for a month. I'm even more thankful to now have Sarah as my neighbor and will forever be grateful for her getting married and moving so crazy-close. Plus, of course, I have to extend my gratitude to everyone who put up with the very random me for a whole month. (Ahem.)
What about you? Do YOU like being random? Climbing mountains? Eating fruit? Being nostalgic? I'd be delighted to hear. Plus, don't forget to vote here .
