Miranda Atchley's Blog, page 49

Stephanie's Story

Stephanie's Story was my first novel, released in the spring of 2014. It was originally published with Instantpublisher (print copies) and Smashwords (e-book copies) then later in the year 2015 published with Createspace.
Summary:Stephanie Green hates the way she looks. She’s always been bigger than other girls her age and is getting fed up with looking different. She’s been told that it’s what’s on the inside that counts and God loves her no matter what, but these days, she isn’t buying. After yet another unsuccessful day at the mall, Stephanie vows to shed some weight before her high school graduation- no matter the cost.But the diets she tries just don’t seem to work and soon Stephanie finds herself at her wit’s end. She’s convinced that this is necessary and she can’t be happy until she is thin. But she’s in for a rude awakening when God uses an unlikely character to get a vital message to Stephanie- before it’s too late.
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Enjoy a sample of Stephanie's Story!One I  look at all the displays as I pass them by. Rows of expressionless mannequins stand before shop windows wearing the latest fashions without a care in the world. With a defeated sigh, I think about how I wish that could be me.  In a matter of seconds my friend and I walk through the exit doors of our local mall. Even though it’s a million degrees out here, I’m thankful to be outside. The further I am from the glaring lights of dressing rooms, loud and thumping music and overwhelming cologne fumes, the better. As we approach my friend Hayley’s car, I think to myself how strange it is that two best friends can go shopping together, yet come out with totally different things. Hayley’s bag is filled with colorful shirts and perfect fitting jeans, the usual things you’d expect from a teenage girl. But my bag is pretty sparse and contains only two plain t-shirts and a pair of flip-flops. Hayley is pretty ticked at me for not buying much, but I don’t see why. It’s not like I didn’t try. When Hayley found a pair of jeans that she felt were “the ones,” the absolute perfect pair for me, I willingly marched into the dressing room and tried them on. Too bad they didn’t live up to our high hopes. They were so tight I felt certain that I’d die before I got out of them. But somehow I managed to peel them off without tearing any of the fabric. While folding the detestable article of clothing, I solemnly vowed to do whatever it takes to lose weight before my high school graduation in May. “I know you have body issues Stephanie,” says Hayley as she brushes her dark hair out of her face. “But you need new clothes to wear.”“It has nothing to do with body issues, whatever you mean by that,” I say, feeling slightly hurt. “I just happen to have hated everything we found today.”“Yeah, sure; even that pink and black blouse?” she asks with a skeptical look.I roll my eyes as if Hayley has no idea what she’s talking about. But actually, she hit the nail right on its nasty little head.The truth is I probably do have some body issues. I really do not like the way I look. And if a genie were to magically escape from a bottle and grant me three wishes, I’d use my first one to swap bodies with one of my friends- or maybe Jenifer Lawrence.You see, I’ve always been heavy. Ever since I can remember, I’ve been fat. Hayley and our friend Amy try to tell me that I’m not fat, I’m just pleasantly plump; whatever that means. But I know the truth. How I can deny it?  Especially on days like today when I have to shop for clothes in a world that’s made for people size six and under.But anytime the subject comes up, I get pretty defensive about it. Who wants to openly admit that they’re fat? Not me. But I feel totally rotten each time I snap at someone for talking about my weight. In my mind it’s better than crying like a big baby in front of everyone. So yes, my discomfort with my looks is the main reason why I didn’t buy school clothes today. But can you really blame me? I mean, the clothing selection for the girls my size is next to nothing unless you’re heading off to clown school or turning eighty-five.  “I’m sorry, Stephanie, that was pretty low,” Hayley says as she unlocks her car. “But seriously; what are you going to wear when school starts? A garbage sack?” “Very funny, but I already have plenty of clothes,” I say as I sit down in the passenger’s seat. I feel like a broken record; I’ve been trying to explain to her all day that the world won’t end if I don’t have a brand new wardrobe by the time school starts. “I’ll just wear what I wore last year. Most of my clothes still fit.”Hayley doesn’t look convinced. She’s probably thinking about how sloppy I’ll look wearing my faded t-shirts and jeans filled with holes. “I’ll survive. Trust me.”“Whatever you say,” she says with a sigh.As we pull up to the restaurant we both agreed on, I think about how different Hayley and I are. We look nothing alike. My average height and thin, unimpressive blonde hair are the exact opposite of Hayley’s tall and lean frame, long dark hair and olive complexion (all of which she chalks up to her Greek heritage). She’s such an exotic beauty; someone you’d expect to be a model. But she’s too into the whole tough-chick persona to ever even consider becoming a cover girl.And on top of all that, our personalities are like day and night. Hayley’s a ball of energy and can be a bit rough around the edges if you get on her bad side. And while I’m not a shy person, I’m pretty reserved and mellow. My friend and I do make an odd pair.We sit down at a booth and study the menu. The smell of the restaurant and the sight of pizzas on the tables surrounding us are absolutely tantalizing. I would love nothing more than to just pig out until my stomach aches. But after the way things went at the mall today, I’m feeling even more self-conscious than usual.“What do you want on the pizza?” Hayley asks from across the table. “I don’t know,” I hesitate. “Maybe just cheese?”My friend looks at me with a rather dumbfounded expression, her grey eyes round as saucers. “Why?”“I don’t know….”I say feeling a little uncomfortable at this point. Who knew suggesting a plain pizza would be such a sin?“That’s fine with me; it’s just a little unusual. I thought your favorite was Canadian bacon.”So when the waitress takes our order, we go with a medium cheese pizza and two diet Cokes. Once our order arrives, I only eat two slices when I really could go for another. I figure I may as well start cutting down now. Besides that, I really don’t want to look like a hog in front of Hayley and the rest of the people in the restaurant.Since I’m sleeping over at Hayley’s tonight, we decide to rent a movie. “I’m in the mood for a good horror flick tonight,” she says as we walk towards the movie kiosk just outside of the pizza joint. She loves watching scary movies. It amazes me how she can sit through one of these movies and yet she totally flips if she sees a spider in her room.  We look through all of our options on the tiny touch screen of the kiosk. Movies of all genres pass by until we reach the horror section. Hayley taps on the new releases and we read the descriptions. There’s one called The Haunted Summer and it’s about some girl that spends the summer in a haunted cabin. The picture on the cover shows a girl who looks badly beaten and bloody. She’s wearing a really skimpy outfit with way too much cleavage showing. The girl is so skinny a good gust of wind would probably blow her away. Jealousy grabs ahold of me briefly.Thankfully, Hayley doesn’t seem too interested in this one so we go onto the next. She’s already seen all of the movies in the horror section, so we move on to the comedy section; my much preferred preference. We finally decide on a movie and make a quick stop at a convince store on the way back to Hayley’s house. That girl has a huge sweet tooth so she pulls out the big guns. She loads her thin arms with cartons of ice cream and boxes of all sorts of candy along with potato chips and cans of soda. “Don’t judge me,” she says defensively when she notices my eyes bulging at the sight of all the junk food. I can only laugh at this.Once we’ve settled down in front of the small TV in Hayley’s room, she arranges all of her snacks in front of her so she can munch on them during the movie. She pleads and begs me to eat some ice cream or candy, but I refuse. As of today, I’m cutting out all sugar from my diet in hopes of shedding a few pounds.“Oh come on, Steph. One fun sized Milky Way won’t hurt,” Hayley says in between bites, waving a miniature candy bar in my face.“Oh yes it will.” I’m determined to resist temptation, no matter how hard it is. And believe me, it is hard.With a shrug of her shoulders, she finally decides to give it up. I watch in envy as she tears open a bag of Doritos. I wonder where all those calories go that she’s consuming; definitely not to her hips like they do on me.The movie turns out to be pretty corny, but good for a laugh. Towards the middle, Mrs. Meyers, Hayley’s mother, knocks at the door. As she enters, she asks about our shopping trip. Hayley puts the movie on pause and gathers all of her shopping bags. She shows off the things she bought as her mom “oohs” and “ahs” over all the pretty clothes. “What did you get today, Stephanie?” Mrs. Meyers asks me as she gathers the clothes so she can wash them. I was afraid she would ask this. “Oh I found a couple things,” I say. “Mom, she barely got anything,” Hayley interrupts. She grabs my bag off the floor and shows Mrs. Meyers my purchases. “Well, it’s better than nothing,” Mrs. Meyers says smiling. I think she’s trying to be nice. She’s probably thinking, “What’s wrong this girl?” Okay, maybe not. But who knows? “Yeah, but Mom, what will she wear when schools starts?” Haley asks with her brow creased in a concerned expression.  I think she’s taking this harder than I am.“Well, honey, I’m sure she has plenty of clothes. She’s wearing some now, isn’t she?” Mrs. Meyers replies in a matter-of-fact tone. “And she did get a few things today. Besides, she still has a week to find more clothes,” she adds with a warm smile. I smile at her and say “Thanks,” feeling relieved. It’s then that she tells us that she and her husband want to take us, along with our friend Amy, to an amusement park the next day. “One last hoorah before school starts,” she says. Now, I know it may sound a little on the childish side, but I get pretty excited at this. I took a job at a local bookstore this summer so I haven’t had much free time. A day with my friends sounds pretty nice right about now. Plus, a day away from our sleepy town wouldn’t hurt either.Just before we hit the hay, we put Hayley’s cell on speaker phone and call Amy. Listening to it ring, I feel a little doubtful as we wait for her to pick up. Usually, amusement parks and such aren’t the type of thing Amy really goes for. The last time we all went to one back in the eighth grade Amy fainted on the tilt-a-whirl. But to my surprise, she jumps at the suggestion, claiming she’ll lose her mind if she has to spend one more day at home with her little brother.Just before lying down on the cot in Hayley’s room, I call my house and ask for permission. Mom is asleep so I talk about it with Dad. After making sure where exactly we’re going and I have enough money to pay for my ticket he grants his permission.I don’t sleep very peacefully during the night; the cot is not the most comfortable bed in the world and combined with the hot and sticky air, I toss and turn throughout the entire night. When I wake up in the morning, my hair is stuck to my face and neck and my shirt is soaked. But despite all of this, I’m in a fairly good mood. When I see the sun in the orange and pink sky peeking through Hayley’s window, I decide to go ahead and get up. After a quick shower and change of clothes, I pack up my things so they’ll be ready to go when we leave. I even break out my bible and read a few verses before anyone wakes up. I feel pretty guilty because I’ve kind of been ignoring my bible lately. But I think God will understand.Soon after I finish a set of verses in Philippians, Hayley rolls out of bed and I follow her out to the living room. It doesn’t take Hayley and her parents long to get ready since it looks as though they did a lot of preparation last night. In a matter of minutes, we’re out the door and on the road. Turning down Pine Street, the first thing I see is Amy’s head of bright red hair. It would be hard to miss her in a crowd with the shroud of orange-red curls sprouting from her head. Poor girl’s been teased about her flaming locks ever since she started going to our school back in sixth grade.“Hey, everyone,” she calls as she climbs into the van. She smiles broadly, her silver braces that she got last spring glittering in the morning sun. Sitting in the back of the van, Amy tells us about her stay at her grandparents’ house. Their farm usually isn’t the most exciting place in the world so normally there isn’t much to tell. But this summer her grandpa hired a college guy to help out and she has to tell us all about it. Once she’s told us every word of every conversation they had, we’re fresh out of things to talk about.Still sleepy, I pull a blanket over me and turn on my iPod. As I listen to an old Fall Out Boy album, my eyes grow heavy and I eventually drift off to sleep.I wake up just as we’re entering the town where the amusement park is. As we pull up to the entrance gates, I whip out my extremely high SPF sunscreen and begin smearing it onto my face and limbs. Feeling greasy but protected, I pull my hair into a sloppy ponytail, knowing there isn’t anything else I can do with it, as Mr. Meyers tells us all to “Hop on out.”Once out in the middle of the concrete park, my friends and I get in line for one of the roller coasters. Looks like getting here as soon as the park opened didn’t get us out of having to wait in ridiculously long lines. There looks to be around thirty people ahead of us. The sun beats down on us and I feel the sweat beading all over me. What I wouldn’t give for cold bottle of water right now. Actually, a blue raspberry slushy sounds way better, but that goes against my stupid diet. The line moves slowly and I begin to grow impatient. In front of us stands a man chatting away on his cell phone while his two bratty kids duke it out over whose turn it is to play on their iPod. Their whining is so high pitched and annoying I feel like my nerves are going to explode. I seriously consider bailing to go find something with a shorter line, but I figure if I’ve waited this long I may as well stay until it’s our turn.The line inches forward and I can see that our group will be next to get on the ride. The man in front of us takes a break from his conversation long enough to tell his kids that the girl gets to play with their precious iPod until the ride comes. The boy, obviously ticked at this, folds his arms over his chest and turns his back to his father. The man doesn’t seem to notice; he just stands there talking on his phone.To pass the time, Amy shows us pictures of her stay with her grandparents on her phone, which is almost as boring as standing in line doing nothing. As I look at a picture of Amy with her grandma, I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn to see the little boy that’s ahead of us staring up at me.“Do you have a baby in there?” he asks, pointing towards my mid-section.I can’t believe my ears. A sick feeling washes over me; it reminds me of the time one of the girls in class elbowed me in the gut at recess in the first grade. It’s like I can’t breathe. Did he really just ask me that?“Shut up,” I mutter, feeling humiliated. It’s a totally lame response, but it’s the best I can come up with under the circumstances.“Sorry,” he snickers, obviously already aware that I am not with child.  “Hey kid, you’d better apologize,” Hayley yells into his face.The kid narrows his eyes at her. “I don’t know you. I don’t have to do what you say.”“Hey, jerk!” Now Hayley is yelling at the kid’s dad. “You need to make your son here apologize to my friend for being so obnoxious.” Her face is pinched in an angry expression. By this point I’m ready to find the biggest rock ever and take cover.“Hayley, just drop it. Okay?” I whisper.“Daddy, these girls are bothering me!” the little brat whines.With a sigh, his father tells whoever is on the other end that he has to go and turns to my friends and I.“What’s the deal here?” he asks in an irritated tone.“Your kid here was picking on my friend because of her weight,” Amy shoots back.I swear I can see a trace of a grin on the man’s face. This jerk is probably the one who taught the kid to act this way. He quickly erases his smile and rebukes his son. “Son, apologize to the girl.”“But dad…” the boy whimpers.“I mean it, Jason.”The kid won’t look back to me. “Sorry,” he mutters.Finally, the roller coaster winds down the tracks, slowing to a halt at the ticket booth. We wait as the previous group files out and we’re motioned by workers to load onto the machine. I make sure to sit as far as away from the little menace as possible.I walk all the way to the end of the coaster and take a seat at the caboose, while Hayley and Amy sit in front of me. I listen to Amy hyperventilate, trying her best to breathe, while Hayley whoops and hollers. A few moments later, the man from the ticket booth comes by and buckles everyone in.Steam lets out just behind me and the big machine starts with a jolt, causing some to giggle and some to shriek. My mind is too preoccupied to do either. In the final moments before the coaster moves, I try my best to brush off the incident I endured in line. I tell myself that this little kid doesn’t know what he’s talking about so I shouldn’t let it bother me. But that’s easier said than done. As the roller coaster climbs slowly up the tracks, I take deep breathes, relaxing my body. I imagine that the stress leaves my body with each exhale and the tightness in my chest loosens. As the machine reaches the peak of the tracks, it halts for a tense moment and I can hear voices laughing and squealing in front of me. I inwardly promise to let it all go with the free fall.

Combinations by Eisley

Combinations is the second studio LP by Eisley. It was released on August 14, 2007 by Warner Bros.
I became a fan of Eisley about three years ago when I first heard the song Smarter. Since then, they've become one of my most favorite bands and I've slowly collected the majority of their discography. It may not be my favorite album by the band, but I do enjoy it. It's got the same creative spin that all Eisley albums hold, with a few different twists. Songs like "Many Funerals" and "Invasion" have a darker sound while "Combinations" has a very mysterious sound. A lot of the songs remind me of some classic novels. Like I always think of I Capture The Castle when I listen to "Go Away." "Ten Cent Blues" has a bit of an Alice In Wonderland feel to it, "I Could Be There For You" reminds a lot of fans of the Bennet sisters in Pride and Prejudice and "If You're Wondering" reminds me of Wuthering Heights.
The songs include:
Many FuneralsYoung and agile | Seaside born | My parent's here I dear mourn
InvasionSomething's not right | I can feel it inside | Something's not right
Taking ControlWhen we get down | If we get down | We'll get up again
Go AwayGo away | Go away | Leave me on my own
I Could Be There For YouYou'll never contemplate that I am near | And help goes unseen | You're the cave admitting whom you chose | And I could be there for you
Come Clean Mr. Heart I don't believe in you | Just come clean all around me | With your head bleeds and your nose bleeds, too Why do you wanna fall to pieces?
Ten Cent BluesAnd I looked to see that it was she | Just some abandoned little crook like me | Adieu , adieu and fare thee well | This was the ending plead
A Sight To BeholdLet's break the walls down and found how to live | Cause you and I have so much to give
CombinationsPass the evening | Bring tomorrow | How could we know | The night would bring us into daylight | Combinations all around us
If You're WonderingIf I'm wondering then you'll show me | If you're wondering I know
My favorite songs on combinations are: Go Away, I Could Be There For You, Come Clean and Ten Cent Blues
I hope you all enjoyed this post. Thanks for stopping by.
-Miranda Atchley 

NaNoWriMo 2015 Update #3

It's week three of NaNoWriMo. We're now at the halfway mark. I hit 25k on Sunday. But I didn't get much further than that yesterday. There's been some things going on in my personal life that have kept me busy/distracted over the past few days. Friday, I wrote over 2k words and that helped me to not fall back behind quite so much. Today I'm going to try to get ahead again to help myself out a little. Maybe if I can do this for a couple of days I'll finish on time.
As far as the story goes, a lot of the time it pretty much writes itself. Sometimes it lags as any story does, but most of the time I can easily figure out what's next.
And this kind of goes without saying, but why in the world would they make November national novel writing month?! I mean, there's Thanksgiving, people have midterms. They're shopping/preparing for Christmas. Why didn't they pick January when it's freezing and dark and everyone just wants to stay inside and drink hot tea and write? Okay, that's enough ranting.

Here's to being halfway done with NaNoWriMo 2015. I'm excited to see where it takes us by the end of the month.
-Miranda Atchley

My Little Corner of The World

Hello, and thanks for stopping by! My name is Miranda Atchley and I am a self-published author. I've been writing since my early teens and published my first book at age 19. Most of my days are spent in front of my computer writing. I love writing and reading and words in general. Books are pretty much my life. I was always encouraged to read growing up, and my grandmother (whom was one of my best friends) told me tons of stories growing up and I believe this sparked some of my love for writing. I really fell in love with reading around the age of fifteen by reading Christian young adult books like Beverly Lewis' Holly's Heart series and Melody Carlson's Diary of a Teenage Girl series. These books were big influences on me and lead me to eventually write my own young adult books. From that point on, I began reading almost any book I could get my hands on. I've just always been hungry to read as many books as I can. I love books of any kind and read most genres, but my favorite genres are fantasy, historical, and contemporary.

When I'm not writing, you can usually find me reading, watching my favorite shows, hanging out with my family, sipping tea, painting, or taking a walk. I'm a lover of all things whimsical, fairytale-like and retro. To name a few, some of my favorite things are:
books* words* Gilmore Girls* Downton Abbey* tea* Showbread* Eisley* Anne of Green Gables* Tim Burton* retro things* October* the moon* Jane Austen* clouds* dinosaur fossils* Halloween* fairies* the color pink* The Chronicles of Narnia* peacocks* anything black and white* Victorian houses* flowers* pumpkins* cats* rain* pretty lights
So welcome to my little corner of the world, everyone. I hope you'll enjoy your stay. Feel free to join the conversation anytime you wish; I'd love to hear from you.
-Miranda Atchley
Email me at: mirandaatchley7@gmail.com
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My Books

Book of The Week #21 "Blue Like Jazz"

Blue Like Jazzby Donald Miller
"I used to not like jazz music because jazz music doesn't resolve. But sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself...... I used to not like God because God doesn't resolve, but that was before any of this happened."
Blue Like Jazzis a non-fiction, memoir style book on Christianity from a non-religious perspective. It is comprised of stories about Donald Miller's life as he grew up in Texas, moving cross country at the age 21 to Portland, Oregon all the while searching for what true Christianity is really like. After growing up in the church, becoming a youth pastor who didn't feel like he should be at all, Donald wonders what it's really like to be a Christian, because he doesn't think he's really experienced it. He looks for God everywhere he goes and finds answers to his questions from almost every person he meets, be they Christian or not.
I loved this book. I really did. I enjoyed it even more than I had expected to and I had pretty high expectations. It's like poetry meets nonfiction and that's a wonderful thing. I just really like the Donald Write's; he has a lot of talent.
The book is one of the more honest books about Christianity I've read. A lot of people would think it's "edgy" for a Christian book, and they're right; it is. It doesn't sugar coat or gloss over things, it tells you pretty much like it is. Miller is open and honest about many of the thoughts and feelings he has had throughout his life and while I may not agree with all of his views and opinions, I appreciate his openness and honesty.
I think every human being should read this book. They really should, because it could benefit every human being on this earth. It covers just about every aspect of life in an honest, non-judgmental way. I really feel like everyone could get something out of reading this book.
All in all, Blue Like Jazz is a beautiful book about something that when practiced in its intended manner, is a beautiful thing. I would recommend it to anyone on the planet.

I give this book a 5 out of 5. 

Favorite Word Friday #6 "Enchanted"

Enchantedverb en·chant \in-ˈchant, en-\:to attract and hold the attention of someone by being interesting, pretty, etc...:to put a magic spell on someone or something
I seriously love the word enchanted. It is such a majestic word. It reminds me of fairy godmothers and forests and magic. Narnia and places where lovely things happen. It's such a beautiful word. Anytime I think of the word "enchanted" I think of pretty things and good things, things that spark the imagination and pave a way for creativity. For these reasons, enchanted is one of my favorite words.-Miranda AtchleyDefinition taken from the Merriam Webster online dictionary.

NaNoWriMo 2015 Update #2

It's now week two of NaNoWriMo. It's becoming harder as I reach the middle of the book, what a lot of writers like to call "middle muddle." Though the story line becomes more exciting toward the middle as things start changing for the main character and that is fun to write about. One of my main issues is trying to keep up with all the accuracies, especially considering this story takes place almost a hundred years before I was even born and the main character comes from a very different background than I do. Yet we have quite a few similarities, so that helps to keep things in balance as well as keeps me from losing my mind.
I hit the 10,000 word mark Friday and that was exciting. I don't know when I've ever written that many words in one week on a single project before!
I swear, coming up with names is so hard for me! It's probably my least favorite part of the entire process and the thing that gives me the most trouble. It's especially hard to come up with names for main characters because I want to pick the exact right one since people will remember them the most and I type them so much. Though I know there are websites for baby names, there should totally be a website for naming characters, too. One where you can type in what your character looks like, the period the book takes place in, the character's personality, etc... That way you could find a name that really fits your character. It's the same thing with the title. I very seriously doubt this book will officially be title "A Castle In The Sky", I just picked that because I had to pick something and I think that sounds really pretty (I heard dreams called "a castle in the sky" once and since then I've always wanted to title a book that. It will have its moment eventually, just most likely not now.)
So that's my NaNoWriMo update for this week. I hope you enjoyed reading. Thanks for stopping by!

-Miranda Atchley

NaNoWriMo Update #2

It's now week two of NaNoWriMo. It's becoming harder as I reach the middle of the book, what a lot of writers like to call "middle muddle." Though the story line becomes more exciting toward the middle as things start changing for the main character and that is fun to write about. One of my main issues is trying to keep up with all the accuracies, especially considering this story takes place almost a hundred years before I was even born and the main character comes from a very different background than I do. Yet we have quite a few similarities, so that helps to keep things in balance as well as keeps me from losing my mind.
I hit the 10,000 word mark Friday and that was exciting. I don't know when I've ever written that many words in one week on a single project before!
I swear, coming up with names is so hard for me! It's probably my least favorite part of the entire process and the thing that gives me the most trouble. It's especially hard to come up with names for main characters because I want to pick the exact right one since people will remember them the most and I type them so much. Though I know there are websites for baby names, there should totally be a website for naming characters, too. One where you can type in what your character looks like, the period the book takes place in, the character's personality, etc... That way you could find a name that really fits your character. It's the same thing with the title. I very seriously doubt this book will officially be title "A Castle In The Sky", I just picked that because I had to pick something and I think that sounds really pretty (I heard dreams called "a castle in the sky" once and since then I've always wanted to title a book that. It will have its moment eventually, just most likely not now.)
So that's my NaNoWriMo update for this week. I hope you enjoyed reading. Thanks for stopping by!

-Miranda Atchley

Book of The Week #20- Big Fish

Big Fish *by Daniel WallaceEdward Bloom is a man that has lived a life full of incredible adventures. Or so he says. His entire life, Edward's son William has heard fantastic tales of his father's life, from humble beginnings, to great success. Edward has done everything. When he was born, Alabama got its first rain in forty years. As a teen, he was the strongest boy for miles around. In the army, he saved. As an adult, he became a successful businessman, later buying his own town. Yet the only proof anyone has of these things are the stories Edward has told time and again. As his father's life is drawing near its end, William feels as though he knows nothing of him because he has heard no facts about Edward. William becomes frustrated with his dad, whom continues to tell jokes and stories even as William begs him for the truth.
I first watched the movie Big Fish before I even knew that it was a book. I really enjoyed the film, so I of course was interested in reading the book. I enjoyed this book, though I didn't love it quite so much as I was expecting to. The movie was wonderful and really resonated with me on an emotional level. The book has plenty of depth; it just misses some of the tones that are in the movie. One factor is that the closing song is "Man of the Hour" by Eddie Vedder, which was the perfect song for this film (and in my opinion, Eddie Vedder was the perfect person to write a song for this movie). Also, this type of film, which is full of fantasy and larger than life stories, is a movie that is right up Tim Burton's alley. He really did a good job on the film.
There are some differences between the movie and the book and in these instances I feel that the movie portrays Edward in a better light than the book does. I won't give away any spoilers; just suffice it to say that Edward comes out as more of a hero in the movie, whereas he makes some bad choices in the book. Perhaps this is another reason why I like the movie better.
Though it may sound like I didn't like the book Big Fish, I really did. It's full of humor, warmth, fantasy and depth. I just really enjoy the atmosphere of the movie and felt that it was a little lacking in the book.
I give this book a 3 out of 5.

*Since I write young adult novels, I've decided to add a mark to specify a more mature novel. Most books I feature are Christian (though some are not), but some are intended for an older audience. So if you're under 18, consult your parents before reading these picks.

NaNoWrioMo 2015 Update #1

As I type this, we're four days in on the 2015 NaNoWriMo challenge. It's coming along better than I was expecting. 1,667 words per sounded so scary at first and I still find myself intimidated by that number at times, but I have reached the goal each day so far. Prayers that this momentum holds up are greatly appreciated.

This NaNoWriMo holds a lot of first for me. It's the first historical story I've ever written. It's the first time I've attempted to write a 50,000 word novel. It's the first time I've ever outlined (even though I've only outlined a few chapters) before writing. And though in the past I started a few stories that were written in third person, this writing style is unusual for me. But it is so fun. I really am enjoying
writing this story though at time it can be a little challenging.
If you would like to read the first chapter of this novel, you can do so on my NaNoWriMo page. Keep in mind that this is a very rough draft and editing won't take place until December (NaNoWriMo rules). So that means things might not sound quite the way I want them to and there may be a few missing words, etc... But you'll get the gist. Hope you enjoy!
Okay, gotta go. Still got around 1,000 words to go for today (I'm trying get a little bit ahead) and Wednesdays are always busy for me because of mid-week church services. See you guys later!Thanks for reading.
-Miranda Atchley