Miranda Atchley's Blog, page 45

Book of The Week #30 "A Tangled Web"

A Tangled Webby L.M. Montgomery
Over the years, 60 Penhallows have married 60 Darks. These two families have formed a clan and its members are expected to marry into each other's families. The clan is full of characters, yet one in particular stands out; Aunt Becky. At 96, Aunt Becky isn't long for this world. Yet her tongue continues to spit fire and she forgets nothing even on her death bead. Most dread an encounter with Aunt Becky fearing that she will drudge up some sordid detail of their past, yet there is one thing that brings almost all living members of the clan to her levee; the jug. This jug has a romantic history behind it and Aunt Becky has been in its possession for years. All members of the clan crave a chance to own the infamous jug and hope that when Aunt Becky dies it will be left to them. Yet as a seemingly last jab at the entire clan, Aunt Becky has decided that Dandy Dark, the least expected member of the clan, will be the keeper of the name of the jug's recipient with instructions to reveal the name after one year. Aunt Becky spouts off a laundry list of things that would keep a person from receiving the jug, yet also admits that these things may not affect her decision.
Over the course of the year, many things take place. Gay Penhallow, much against the clan's wishes, falls madly in love with and becomes engaged to an outsider, Donna Dark surprises everyone by falling in love with Peter Penhallow and vice versa. And the age old question of why Jocelyn Dark left Hugh on their wedding night still hangs in the air.
This is the first adult novel I've read from L.M. Montgomery. I rented a copy from my local library and am surprised to find the edition I read labeled YA. This book certainly isn't YA. Though not terribly vulgar, it does have a few curse words and hints at some mature subjects. It's different to read after having read her young adult novels, but this is a really good book. I just recommend keeping it away from younger readers.
I'm kind of on the fence as to whether or not to label this book a romance. There is plenty of romance in lot of the stories, yet some are not romantic and I feel like that isn't the main focus of the book. The main focus seems to be how this jug affects the lives of the clan over the course of a year. I could be wrong, though. 
This book has so much going on, yet ties in well together. Each chapter deals with a different story of one or more of the clan's members. My favorite characters were Gay, Donna, Peter, Jocelyn and Hugh. Even though I wanted to roll my eyes at Gay some of the time, I still found myself curious as to what would happen in her part of the story. Donna and Peter's story was probably the most romantic and I love the tragic romance of Jocelyn and Hugh's story. I was curious as to how all of these stories would unfold and was happy with all of their endings.
Aunt Becky is quite a character. She's so hateful and says such mean things, but one does come to feel sorry for her just before her end. And Nan Penhallow is like that evil soap opera character that you can't help but watch. She's so spiteful to sensitive Gay simply because she thinks it's fun. I was pretty glad that she wasn't in the book more than she was.
I think the title "A Tangled Web" is perfect for this novel. So many of the stories within the book are tangled and even the clan itself is tangled with 60 Penhallows having married 60 Darks.
All in all, I think this was a great book. It's quirky with humor, tragedy and romance. A lovely read.

I give this book a 4 out 5.

Work In Progress Update 1/25/2016

(Close to how I picture Abi.)
Happy Monday, readers. Hope your week is off to a good start. Today I'm checking in with a little update on my work in progress. At this time, editing is taking place. It's slowly but surely beginning to shape up and become a more cohesive novel. I'm currently calling this novel "A Castle In The Sky" though I'm not entirely sure that that will be the ending title.
The book is about Abi Hensley who has grown up in a wealthy family in San Francisco. She loves books and wants to be an author, yet her parents expect her to marry. After a disastrous attempt at arranging a marriage between Abi and an Earl, she leaves her home in San Francisco to go to New York in pursuit of her writing dreams. Yet things may not be quite as easy as they seem.
As I've said before, this is my favorite thing I've written so far. It's hard to imagine loving a project more than I love this one. I love the era, I love the characters, I love the storyline and the message. It's just right up my alley.
I'm starting to look at cover ideas. I have a feeling this one is going to be much different. In the past, my sister-in-law (who is a photographer) has taken pictures and edited them to make a cover, but this time I think we're probably going to use a stock image.
I'm shooting for a spring release (late April) which really isn't too far away. I'm so ready for you all to read this, but I'm being a little selfish and keeping it to myself for now. ;-)
Thank you for stopping by today. You'll never know how much it means to me. See you tomorrow with a new Book of The Week.

-Miranda Atchley

Favorite Word Friday #12 "Everlasting"

Everlasting 

adjective  ev·er·last·ing  \ˌe-vər-ˈlas-tiŋ\

:lasting or enduring through all time

Everlasting is a beautiful word. It has such an ethereal sound to it. I really love this word. When I think of everlasting things I of course think of heaven. Love can also be everlasting (especially when it is God's love). Another thing that of course comes to mind when I think of this word is Rising Fawn's E.P. Everlasting Songs . That's one of my favorite things to listen to.
Everlasting is wonderful word.
Hope you all have great weekend! See you next week for book and writing talk.

-Miranda Atchley

(Definition taken from the Merriam Webster online dictionary)

Eisley - Marsh King's Daughter

 



Hey guys. I've been editing my new novel and doing daily chores (boring! haha)  so I didn't write an official blog post for today. Instead, I thought I'd share a song I've been loving lately with you all. Eisley is one of my absolute favorite bands and I feel like you can't go wrong with any of their songs, but this one has been one of my favorites lately. It's got a sort of 1920s swing/jazz type of sound. So neat, right? It makes me want to through on a fringe dress and swing dance!



Hope you're all having a great day. What's dominating your iPod at the moment?



-Miranda Atchley

Endless Stories

Sometimes it feels like there simply isn't enough time to write all the stories in my heart. Story ideas are constantly popping up and I wonder when I'll ever get a chance to write them all. That feeling is both splendid and a bit disappointing, but I'm choosing to focus on how wonderful it is. I can't wait to see what stories lay in my future.
I've just really been feeling thankful this morning. Last night I got a lot of editing done and it felt so good. That feeling reminded me of why I love my job (even though writing seems too lovely to be called a "job") and I consider myself very lucky to be able to do something I love. Not everyone is able to or takes the chance to do what they really love, but I think you should at least try. Things may not be quite the way I want them to be right now, but I feel like I'm definitely on the right track and someday things will work out.
Hope you're all doing well this week. Thank you for stopping by today. Talk to you soon.
-Miranda Atchley

A "Little Women" Read-Along

Hey everyone, hope you're all doing well today. I'm popping in to share a nifty read-along with you all today. Suey, Jenni and Kami are hosting a Little Women read-along! It takes place the entire month of February and in March there will a watch-along of the 1994 film adaptation.

I am really excited about this. I read Little Women for the first time when I was fifteen and it's one of the only books I've ever read in one day. It truly is a wonderful classic and a book I would recommend to anyone. And I'm so excited about the watch-along. I received the 1994 version of the film for Christmas last year and I looooove it (Christian Bale as Laurie= amazing!).

Schedule for the read-along:

Chapters 1-17 from February 1-10: Discussion post Feb. 10 on Suey's blog
(Twitter chat Feb. 10 at 7:00 pm Mountain.)Chapters 18-33 from February 11-19: Discussion post Feb. 19 on Kami's blog
(Twitter Chat: Feb. 19 at 7:00 pm Mountain.)
Chapters 34-49 from February 20-29: Discussion post on Feb. 29 on Jenni's blog
(Twitter Chat: Feb. 29 at 7:00 pm Mountain.)

A date for the watch-along has yet to be set, but will take place in early March.

Anyone is welcome to participate! If you'd like, you can sign your blog up here. Throughout the month we'll be chatting and tweeting using the hashtag #LittleWomenRAL.

This sounds like a lot of fun. Hope to talk with you about this beloved classic!

P.S. If you'd like to download the book on your Kindle, you can do so for free here.

-Miranda Atchley

Book of The Week #29 "Celebrate! Tis The Season"

Celebrate! Tis The Season by Amber FlorenzaIt's December 1901 and in the Bernstein home, all holidays are celebrated.  When her cousin Kitt comes from France to live in the Bernstein's lavish English home, Amie is at first unsure, but the two quickly become chums. Together with their family, they celebrate Hanukah, Christmas, New Years and Valentine's Day, all the while singing, learning to play the piano from Oncle Gad, following Annie Montgomery, getting sweet treats from Cook and playing detective.  Yet amidst the fun and festivities, darkness from anti-Semitism and the African warm loom. Can they manage to make the holidays fun with all the sadness in the world?
This was such a sweet book. I love the early 1900s setting and think Amber did a good job of depicting the era. Amie and Kitt have such fun adventures. All of the characters are very life-like and relatable. And I love the faith elements and message of hope in God throughout the book. I had planned on reading this the week of Christmas, but I was sick and didn't get around to it. Yet it was just as fun reading it in January (as it does mention New Years and Valentine's Day).
All in all, this was a very nice light hearted story that I would recommend to anyone looking for a fun holiday read or just good story for any day of the year.
I give this book a 4 out of 5.

Missing Fan

It's true that my heart was broken in twoon the day I said goodbye to you.And I'll carry an ache in my chestuntil Jesus makes everything new.-Until We Meet Again by Showbread
Today marks one year since my grandmother passed away.
It's been a difficult year, but I think I've learned that I'm definitely a lot stronger than I ever presumed to be. I'm a giant worry-wart and I had worried about what life would be like without her. Sometimes it's awful, like when I want to call her and tell her something, or as I've been working on this new book and making lists of all the people I need to reserve copies for. She was always the first person on the list, but now she's not. But then sometimes you're okay because you just have to be. You can't stay depressed and just give up; you have to keep going.
I think the more time passes, the more thankful I am for all the memories I have with my grandmother. Not everyone is lucky enough to have spent as much time with their loved ones as I spent with Fan. And she taught me so much and gave me so much confidence. Things like that are so valuable.
So here's to you Fan. I love you more than I ever thought I could love anyone and I miss you more than I can express. But because of Jesus and all the things you taught me, I can keep going and live the life you always wanted for me. Thank you.
-Sissie

A lot of people ask why I called my grandmother Fan. For those who don't know, it's because when she became a grandmother, she want to be called grandma. My mom had a Fannie Farmer cookbook and said, "Well, will they just call you Fannie Farmer?" Fan said, "Yep," and she's been Fan ever since.  And she had pet names for all the grandkids and Sissie (Sis the older I got) was mine.

Favorite Word Friday #11 "Kind"

Kind
: having or showing a gentle nature and a desire to help others : wanting and liking to do good things and to bring happiness to others
Kind is a word that the world needs more of.  Everyday terrible things happen, but good things also happen every day. An act of kindness can go a long way. It can turn around someone's day. I can turn around someone's life.

I'm thankful for words like kind.
-Miranda Atchley
Definition taken from the Merriam Webster online dictionary.

Editing Blues

I'm not going to just come right out and say that I hate editing. No, that isn't right; I do not hate editing in its entirety. There are lots of times when I find it rather enjoyable, just like the first draft and final draft and all the places in between. But I feel like sometimes it's kind of hard to really get into gear when it comes to editing. Especially when you're someone like me who hasn't been extensively trained in editing which at times can make it a bit hard to know what needs to stay, what needs to go, etc... Yet I firmly believe that when it comes to writing, the best teachers are the stories you read and I tend to look at those as guidelines for what works and what doesn't. Honestly, folks, if you've lived one day or read one story, you can write a book. Really. It isn't that hard.
My goal is to get this book out in April. I'm using the 26th as my deadline. I really want to get some promotion done before the release as well as a blog tour (if you'd be interested in participating, please send an email to mirandaatchley7@gmail.com). At the moment I'm calling the book "A Castle In The Sky" yet I don't think that will be the final title.
I really need to get into gear and get lots of editing done. I have a feeling it can be accomplished. ;-) Prayers and good vibes are appreciated.
-Miranda Atchley