Fiction Fire

Tagged

2012-02-28T11:11:00.002-08:00

Ahh, it's been awhile since I've done one of these posts. But John Otte tagged me over at his blog, so I thought I'd give it a go. Here's the rules:

The Tag rules: 1. You must post the rules! 2. Answer the questions and then create eleven new questions to ask the people you’ve tagged. 3. Tag seven (because it’s a magical number) people and link to them. 4. Let them know you’ve tagged them.

1) What is your name?
Sir Christian Miles.

2) What is your quest?
I seek the Holy Grail.

3) What is your favorite color?
Blue, no—

4) What one writer would you want to "sit at the feet of," either living or dead?
Just one? Hmm. Well, I'd love to have a chat with Orson Scott Card. So I'll pick him.

5) What unusual writing habits have you developed over your career?
I'll give you three.
1. I like to have something to chew on while I write. Weird, huh? I've never been much of a pencil or gum chewer, so I eat raisins. And I don't particularly like raisins... they're just the healthiest thing I've got offhand.
2. I love listening to soundtracks while I write. It creates a tempo for my tapping. I've actually separated my instrumental music into folders depending on the emotions I want to evoke in a scene. So I've got a folder called Sad, and one called Scared, and another called Angry, so on and so forth... it does help not listening to "Flight of the Bumblebee" when you're writing something slow.
3. I write best at night, when everything's quiet. Something about the dark atmosphere of nighttime helps keep me concentrated, as I'm not looking out my window at the trees, wondering if I should take the dogs for a walk, or trying to remember whether or not I started the dishwasher...

6) Star Wars or Star Trek?
Good grief. You might just as well ask me which of my arms I like better! Hmm. I'll have to go with Star Wars. My Lego set of Boba Fett's Slave I probably attests to this. And nevermind those prequel movies! Lucas messed up his own canon there, and Jar Jar Binks should never have been born. I did greatly enjoy the latest Star Trek movie, though, and I heard they're making a sequel to it, so I'm excited about that.

7) If you could include one fictional character you didn't create in a story, who would it be and why?
Katniss Everdeen. I'd love to rewrite certain parts of Mockingjay. Hem, hem.

8) What was the last book that you read simply for enjoyment?
I was reading Game of Thrones, which I got for my 18th birthday. The key word here being was. Mr. Martin sure does enjoy his risqué material. It got a little too much for me.

9) Who is your favorite musician?
Adele. I think I'm in love with her.

10) What's the next movie you're looking forward to seeing?
The Hunger Games. I've been keeping a mental countdown to March 23rd for quite some time now...

11) Be honest: did you recognize the first three questions?
Ni! I mean, yes.

And now I'll tag... Leighton Hajicek, Vincent LaVel Moorehead, Mirriam Neal, KM Wilsher, Lynn Rush, Jaime Wright, and Melissa Rose. Now for the eleven new questions...

1) What is the average air velocity of an unladen sparrow?
2) What's a book you've been dying to read but have never found the time to pick up?
3) Favorite TV show past or present?
4) Least favorite TV show past or present?
5) If aliens abducted us all and Twilight was the last book written in a human language, would you preserve it for future generations?
6) Narnia or LOTR (books, not movies)?
7) Favorite Pixar film?
8) Do you have a particular proclivity for pyrotechnics?
9) Should she marry Kokoum?
10) Boba Fett or Jango Fett?
11) If two witches are watching two watches, which witch would watch which watch?

If any of you actually do the tag, be sure and leave me a link to your post in my comments so that I remember to go look at your answers. :)

What a True Writer Is

2012-01-31T13:09:00.000-08:00

I don't want my blog to be a place of negativity or criticism. I'd rather you come here, have a good laugh, and leave with a smile on your face. However, people don't always leave me in real life with a smile on their face, and my blog should be a representation of me, right? (This is, after all, my internet equivalent of a Horcrux...)

So I've come here today in order to share a problem I have with a mentality that some writers have adopted. It's summed up in this quote, which I heard the other day in a writing podcast: "In order for someone to be a true writer, they must sit down and write every single day." *

I've never actually written with
a pen that looks like this.

Now, I agree that it's good for writers to be productive. I like it when I can write every single day. But if I go a day or even a week without writing, I'm not about to feel guilty about it. You see, writers write from their experiences. Whether we know it or not, we write primarily about the emotions we've been exposed to. Our experiences—and our feelings about our experiences—are our greatest assets. They're what shape us. A good book is like an author's fingerprint, unique only to that author. No two people can live the same life, and no two authors can write the same book.

That said, why would you want to turn writing into something you must do to feel good about yourself? The person in that podcast said this: "Writing every single day supports the ideal artistic lifestyle." It's true that writing is an art form, but turning yourself into a machine that pounds out a certain word count every day is not my idea of a true artist. It's just the opposite. When you turn yourself into a robot like that, that's exactly what you become—cold, unfeeling metal. You've ceased to care about living life. You've ceased to gather new experiences. All you care about at the end of the day is if you've reached your target word count or not.

And when you're cold, your writing will most likely be cold, too.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not talking about people who are under deadline and have to pay the rent. If writing is your day job, you should treat it very seriously. Laziness and procrastination should never be encouraged. In the same way, if you're always out "living life" you'll never get anything done. You need to strike a healthy balance between the two extremes.

This is Harper Lee.

Yet this doesn't mean you need to write every day to be a true writer. A plumber doesn't need to fix a toilet every day to be considered a true plumber. Pulitzer Prize winner Harper Lee only finished one novel. And no one is claiming that the author of To Kill a Mockingbird is not a true writer.

So why, in pursuit of some lofty artistic ideal, do we want to strangle ourselves with these false expectations? Unless you are a robot, you'd just be setting yourself up for failure. And robots don't make good writers.

In my opinion, one becomes a true writer the moment they type THE END on their first novel.** This doesn't make them successful or better than anyone else. It makes them a writer. This person becomes an author when a publisher buys their book and they hold that novel in their hands for the first time.

That said, for the time being, when I have something better to do I'm not going to force myself to write. I'm busy with my Senior year of High School, and spending time with my friends before they graduate and head off to college. Maybe everything I've written above is false, and I'm not a true writer yet. But who cares? I'm young. Maybe when I'm old and alone someday, I'll have gathered enough experiences to sit at home and write every day. But let me assure you, even then I will not have ceased to live my life. Because true writers write from the soul, not because they think they have to, but because they just can't help it.

* Emphasis not mine.
** This is a self-condemning definition, as I actually forgot to type THE END when I finished my first novel.

Team Novel Teen Blog Tour - Replication: The Jason Experiment by Jill Williamson

2012-01-30T07:22:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while I get to write a review for a book that I think is really special. Today gets to be one of those days. :-)

It's no big secret that I'm a huge fan of Jill Williamson. I loved her Blood of Kings trilogy, and even got to play Achan in two of her book trailers (I also fell off a horse for her, which should prove my dedication, eh?). And I don't just like Jill because I know her. She's a two-time Christy award winner, which says more about her writing than I ever could.

Though I'll say what I can, just the same. :)

The Story

Click HERE to view
Replication on Amazon.com

Martyr—otherwise known as J 3:3—is one of hundreds of clones kept in a remote facility called Jason Farms. The clones are told that they've been created to save humanity from "the toxic air." But they've been lied to. Martyr has a single wish before he is scheduled to "expire" in a month on his 18th birthday—he wants to see the sky. So he swipes a keycard and escapes Jason Farms in the back of a Doctor's pickup truck.

Abby Goyer's dad just got a job at a mysterious barn in Alaska. She's busy trying to make friends at her new school, and avoiding the school jock's unwanted attentions. But when J.D. Kane shows up bald in her bedroom one night, asking questions about the sky, it throws Abby for a loop. Could her scientist father have started dabbling in unethical practices once again?

My Opinion

Replication is as unlike the Blood of Kings trilogy as a book can get, and yet it retains everything I loved about those books. Clearly Jill is no one-hit wonder, because I never wanted to put this book down.

My favorite aspect of Jill's books are always her characters. Martyr and Abby, whose POVs flip-flop throughout the story, are uniquely interesting and fully-realized. From the first chapters of the book, they sucked me in and didn't let me go. I know I'll be re-reading this book soon, just so I can revisit them.

And I think that's the best thing I can say about Jill's books. Her teenage characters are actually believable. They aren't caricatures. They don't seem like they belong on a cheesy ABC Family show. They're real. And that speaks volumes for Jill's ability as a writer. She hasn't forgotten what it's like to be a teenager, and that alone makes her a formidable contender in today's Young Adult market.

ADD Librarian • Audacious Reader • The Book Fae • Books I Recommend • Book Nook 4 You • Bookworm Reading • Christian Bookshelf Reviews • Fiction Fire • Gillian Adams • Jill Williamson • Katie McCurdy • Kurly Katie's Ruminations • My Story Shelf • The Pen and Parchment • Rachelle Rea • SLY Games • Terri Harr

Team Novel Teen is a group of bloggers dedicated to spreading the word about clean teen fiction. Check out other posts about Replication: The Jason Experiment by Jill Williamson by clicking on the links above, and check out www.NovelTeen.com for more information about Team Novel Teen.

Dealing with Writers Block? Become a pirate!

2012-01-17T12:42:00.000-08:00

Want to find a new way to deal with writers block?

Six months ago Jacob Parker challenged me to a Word War. Whoever wrote the most in a twelve hour period was the winner, and the loser had to sing and perform a song written by the winner.

Well, I lost, and it's taken me six months to work up the courage to make my video. But here it is (finally).

Click here to watch my video!

Embarrassment is a good motivator.

If you like it, please share it with your friends and let me know in the comments below! :)

Author Interview and Book Giveaway - Chila Woychik On Being a Rat

2011-06-23T17:16:00.000-07:00

Today I get the chance to bring an awesome book to your notice. I was fortunate enough to be a pre-reader for Chila Woychik's "On Being a Rat." Chila is the editor of the anthology my novella, The Scarlet Key, will be released in. Stay tuned to the end of this (fantastic) post for a chance to win Chila's book!

On Being a Rat is part memoir, part poetry, part humor, part genius, and all Chila Woychik. So many facets of the woman's personality are on display in this book, it's like getting a glimpse into another person's soul. Now before that sounds too creepy, let me remind you that the cover has a rat and a hunk of cheese on it. The book includes several short vignettes on writing, life, trauma, nature, faith, and a number of other themes.

Here is the endorsement I gave the book: "Chila Woychik has written something truly special. Her memoir, “On Being a Rat,” is as beautiful as it is eclectic. While reading it, I was stunned by Chila’s grasp of language and her ability to craft powerful prose. I appreciated her frank, no-nonsense honesty about writing, faith, and life. At times I even forgot I was reading, because it felt like she was talking directly to me. “On Being a Rat” is inspiring, lyrical, excellent, and infused with (sometimes gritty) truth. In short, it’s as fascinating as the woman who penned it."

Now, I could write much more, but I don't want this post to be too lengthy. Gotta keep your guys' interest, right? So here's a very interesting interview I conducted with the editor & chief of Port Yonder Press herself.

You have the chance to spend the day with any character from one of your favorite books (not one you’ve written). Who would you choose and why?

Anne of Green Gables (Anne Shirley) because I’m absolutely enamored with her personality, but Anne as an adult, like in one of her later books.

What actors would your choose to star in your book-turned movie if you could choose them?

Well, my book isn’t a novel, but if I could pick someone to do a book trailer for it, I’d pick Gwyneth Paltrow because she did a splendid job with the movie, Sylvia, based on the life of author and poet Sylvia Plath. Besides, Gwyneth is pretty amazing in anything.

What is the one book you wish you had written and why?

Annie Dillard’s Holy the Firm simply because it’s the apex of what I consider splendid literarily experimental writing. I love that little book; definitely on my top 5 list.

What are your three favorite books that you’ve read this past year (they do not have to have been published last year)?

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, Kraken by China Mieville, and one by Margaret Atwood that I’m in the middle of (forgot the name).

You’ve invented a new national holiday. What’s it called, and what does it celebrate?

The Chocolate-Bar-In-Every-Belly Day, and what it celebrates is obvious. :)

What is your favorite vacation destination?

I’ve never been there, but I really want to visit Prince Edward Island. I’m hankering for a peek at lovely New Zealand too, because I want to give a friend a hard time over there more than anything else.

God tells you that you’ll never publish another book. Do you still keep writing?

Well, first of all, I don’t believe God “tells us” things like that. The only way I’d believe that was if I chose to believe I should never publish another book, in which case I’d keep writing anyway.

Do you have a favorite Christian band? If so, who is it and what’s your favorite song by them?

I have a bunch. One is Sixteen Cities’ “Sing Along.” Another is Kerrie Roberts’ “Outcast.”

If you would meet any celebrity (actor, author, historical figure, etc), dead or alive, who would you choose and what would you ask him or her?

Emily Dickinson and Emily Bronte, bar none. I’d talk to them about life and poetry and fiction, and ask them how they handled the tough life back then, and why they think we have it so easy today. I’d absorb every second of their movements, their inflections; observe the color of their eyes, their gait, their sadness. I’d want to help their loneliness by being a friend.

What is your latest book, On Being A Rat, about?

In all honesty, it’s a rather strange blend of memoir, poetry, and other random life stuff. It’s a definite “genre mashup,” a book of the heart, a written expression of who I am. It’s totally weird, and it was both the hardest and most fulfilling thing I’ve ever written.

Now, you want to win a copy of this wonderful book, eh? Then leave a comment below with your e-mail address included for an entry. To end this post, I'll leave you with a poem I shamelessly stole from Chila's blog (which you can find here: http://chilawoychik.com).

A legacy lurks within me

bound within each cell—

the longing I have to matter

and passion to do it well,

to tread while leaving footprints

and live while loving hard,

to fight the wakeful sleeping

and benefit from scars.

I’ll fall off the edge of the boat

if I must, and sink beneath the waves

to risk the walk on water

embracing what life gives;

I risk it all for what’s ahead

and what I’ll leave behind;

I’ve nothing more than each new breath

and nothing less than time.

(from On Being A Rat, by Chila Woychik)

Brock Eastman - Author Interview

2011-06-13T20:45:00.000-07:00

Today's the day my author friend, Brock Eastman, has his website launch! The man is a busy fellow, and his first book, Taken, will be hitting shelves very soon. To celebrate, I conducted an interview with him. Be sure to check out BrockEastman.com after you've finished here! :-)

Is writing books your “day” job or do you work someplace else?

I work at Focus on the Family, where I get to have fun with the world renown Adventures in Odyssey brand. Everyday’s an adventure working on such a cool brand as AIO.

When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A paleontologist, I was the only second grader who could spell it. I was inspired by dinosaurs ever since I was very little. My room, toys, books and imagination all centered on dinosaurs. I have several story ideas that hopefully will come to life in the near future.

You have the chance to spend the day with any character from one of your favorite books (not one you’ve written). Who would you choose and why?

Hmmm. This is rather difficult. There are many great characters out there, but I think I’d want to meet Jacob Fileding from Thirteen Days to Midnight. The kid is a normal guy, but he has a super power. It would be great to explore with him—that is as long as he didn’t transfer me his power. Of course I can’t say why I wouldn’t want that because it would ruin the story.

Twitter your newest or upcoming release in 140 characters or less.

A pure adrenaline rush of excitement and mystery. Join Oliver, Tiffany, Mason and Austin as they are hurled through space in pursuit of the Übel.

Obbin is a blue boy from Cobalt Gorge

If you could bring any character from one of your books to life, who would it be and why?

Right now I’d want to meet Obbin. He’s just a lot of fun. And he’s blue.

A group of teens ask you the best way to become a published writer. How do you answer the question?

Finish. I never went to a single writer’s conference, I never took any English courses in college beyond the general requirements. But I did finish a 100k word manuscript which turned into the first two books in my five book series. That alone proved to the publisher that I could get the work they needed done and that I had a vision for where I was going. But most of all—pray! God will lead you; your project has to be His will, and if it’s not it probably won’t happen.

What are your three favorite books that you’ve read this past year?

Frank Peretti’s This Present Darkness, Patrick Carman’s Thirteen Days to Midnight, and last but not least, C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters.

Remember those “classics” that you had to read in high school English class? Which book was your favorite? Which one should no one ever be forced to read?

The problem was I didn’t read them, and I really regret that a lot. I didn’t discover reading until I picked up the forbidden Harry Potter series in college. Wow, I was missing so much. Now I consume books, you should see my shelf of just my favorites. I did read Lord of the Flies, cool but gross.

If you could go to any country, where would you go and what would you do?

I want to go to Germany. My ancestors lived there. I’d visit the castles and the historic World War II monuments as well as the former Berlin Wall.

So there you have it! Be sure to check out Brock's website and Facebook fan page.

The Many Adventures of Mini-Chris

2011-05-09T18:28:00.000-07:00

I was challenged to dig up some childhood pictures of myself. Here's the (captioned) fruit of that labor. :)

Ignoring the naked baby photos (don't pretend your mom doesn't have some of you!), this is one of the earliest pictures I could find of myself. 1995 is scribbled on the back of it, so I'm only two-years-old. Oddly enough, most of my early pictures are of me stuffing my face. It's amazing I didn't grow up to be morbidly obese.

This wasn't my birthday. It was the beanie baby's birthday. I made a big deal of the event, but in retrospect I think I just wanted cake.

A 12" Northern Pike that I caught. Have you noticed my recurring bowl cut? I got it every time at the barber because I thought she was saying bull cut, which sounded cool to me at the time (you should also note my obsession with bison—I was born in South Dakota).

Deep undercover at Pizza Hut. I'd say more, but that information is classified.

Rollerblading in Alaska... on ice... with a snow bank bigger than me in the background. To be fair, though, it was Spring.

That one time I played baseball. No need to tell me how studly I look. I know. ;)

Me and Wes the Monkey in front of the space needle in Seattle.

There. Seven childhood pictures found. Challenge completed. Now to make them into horcruxes...

From Darkness Won by Jill Williamson

2011-04-01T13:25:00.000-07:00

Book Review

Achan and Vrell have come far. They've fought Black Knights in Darkness, freed prisoners from icy cells, escaped the wrath of a bloodthirsty usurper... but now they've found themselves in the midst of a war. Everything hangs in the balance, and if the Crown Prince cannot take the throne at Armonguard, Darkness will consume all the land.

Our final foray into the land of Er'rets couldn't have been better. I don't know how she did it, but somehow Jill Williamson managed to write the perfect last book to her Blood of Kings trilogy. From Darkness Won had me up until 3 a.m. reading. It bonded to my hands the moment I picked it up, refusing to be put down until the last page fell. Five stars and a standing ovation are in order, I think.

From Darkness Won releases from Marcher Lord Press today! And there's no April Fools here. :) You can buy the print version here or the Kindle version here.

Also, there's a Kindle special going on for the first two books in the series. Find out about the sale by going here.

The Candid Confession of a Guilty Youngest Child

2011-03-30T13:27:00.000-07:00

I’m told by my mother and grandparents that I was a cheerful, quiet little boy. Being the youngest of four kids pitted me against the intelligence of people with much more time on me, so—in true survival of the fittest fashion—I devoured all sorts of information on any manner of topics. Science, English, History—anything that could give me an edge of cunning, that could upset the balance of the household hierarchy… you get the idea.

Because of this I had an unusually large vocabulary at a young age. To this day it is a source of pride for my mother that all the other moms were worried their toddlers were stupid in comparison to me, since they were spouting words like dada and mama and not extraneous and ubiquitous (which is a word I still only pretend to know the meaning of). It's obvious to me now that those early days are what prepared me to be a writer.

I wasn’t coddled much as a child. When I was, my brother always made sure to make up for it by teasing or bossing me around—something I assume all older brothers must do. This gave me a very tough skin over time, but it also gave me an unhealthy desire for vengeance. At the ripe old age of six I’d learned how to get my brother back for any crap he gave me. All I had to do was make some terrible thing up, blame it on him, and he’d reap the consequence. Because why would the precious, little (conniving, evil) youngest child ever lie?

I remember one time when my brother had been particularly mean to me. Most of the time he was smart enough not to get caught, so he would come up with ways he could inflict pain upon me without getting found out. This time he’d sent a love note to a girl I was friends with, filling it with confessions of a powerful, burning desire to kiss and marry her, and he’d signed it with my name. After much confusion and embarrassment, where the evidence, I mean letter, had been taken from the girl and buried in the playground (you simply can’t have anyone knowing about love letters to girls at the age of six), I’d gone to my room, found my favorite toy, and ripped it in half.

In retrospect this seems foolish, but diabolically so. I ran screaming to my mom, tears in my eyes. And—holding the fragile remains of the toy (I think it was a Superman figure) in my outstretched hands—I stammered between sobs, “He broke my toy! He broke it! He took it from me and broke it!”

My mom yelled for my brother, accused him, and then my brother said the inevitable, “I didn’t do it! I never touched his toy!” To which my mom demanded, “Why in heaven’s name would Chris break his favorite toy?”

And then, after one delicious, heart-pounding moment, it dawned on my brother what I’d done. “Chris broke his toy to get me in trouble!”

At this I renewed my sniffling, and my mom said, “Enough! I’m telling your father about this.”

Later that night, as my dad led my brother away for a spanking, I flashed a quick grin in his direction. The irony of all this is that my brother was then forced to pay for a replacement toy out of his own piggy bank reserves.

Revenge. Whoever made up that quote about it being a dish best served cold was a complete moron. Though I’ll admit to usually feeling a pang or two of guilt after enacting my elaborate vengeances. Usually.

All the same, I apologize to my brother. Sorry for it being eleven years late.

Inheritance Book Cover and Release Date!

2011-03-23T11:36:00.000-07:00

BOOK FOUR IN THE INHERITANCE CYCLE

WILL GO ON SALE NOVEMBER 8, 2011

I saw this text and the above image on my Facebook page today. Not gonna lie, I hyperventilated a little. It's been so long since Christopher Paolini's Brisingr released. Two years six months and three days, actually. Now we're only about eight months away. So let the countdown begin! *dances in place a bit*

Author Photos

2011-03-14T23:46:00.000-07:00

Hi there, faithful and not-so-faithful blog readers! It's been awhile since I updated you all on my bookish life. In that time I've signed a contract for a novella, tweeted on my Twitter account for the 555th time, ate a mountain of Raisinets, and stressed out about juggling school with my writing (though not necessarily in that order).

Recently my publisher e-mailed me asking for an author photo. The one I sent wasn't a high enough resolution, so I got to worry for a couple of weeks over how to proceed.

Example of a good author photo.

Now I love author photos. Most of the time. There are really, really good ones, and there are really, really bad ones. One of my favorite author photos is J.K. Rowling's. It's an elegantly simple picture, and in it she looks very classy.

Example of a bad author photo.

On the other end of the spectrum is the awful author photo. You know, that headshot that makes the writer look more like a pedophile than a pedantic human being. (Sorry, Mr. Silverstein, but I had to use your photo. It scared me when I was younger. Still does, actually.)

Now, with all this in mind, I set to brainstorming my own author photo. I wanted it to look good and represent who I am. In other words, I wanted it to look professional. And my publisher said they needed it in black and white, so I had to factor that in, too.

The bad thing about wanting a professional photo is that photographers cost money. And I, in keeping with the teen stereotype, am jobless and broke. I found out that it's not a good idea to ask your parents if you can take your Senior photos a year early ("then they'd be your Junior pictures, not your Senior pictures, Chris!"), but it was worth a try. And, being broke, I can't pay a photographer myself. The only money I have is the half-dollar and buffalo nickels my grandpa gave me, not counting the Starbucks gift card I got for Christmas—and a photographer wouldn't take that, anyway, nor would I give it up if one would... this is Starbucks after all.

Quite professional, eh?

So I was set with the prospect of taking my own photo and making it look good through any Photoshop schemes I could cook up afterward. That's how I found myself in the bathroom. See the soap back there? Yeah. You can even tell it's my own arm holding up the camera.

Obviously, this wouldn't do for an author picture. It wouldn't even do as a profile picture on Facebook. So I got on my computer, carefully erased the background of my photo, inserted a public domain snapshot of a blurry wall I'd found, cropped, converted it to black and white, strengthened the contrast, erased my shoulder, rebuilt my shoulder, and voila! Hardly any work at all, right?

Here is the final product...

Could it be better? I'm sure it could. But I'm quite happy with how it turned out, and so is my publisher. It'll go inside the anthology, which is where it belongs, IMO. I hate it when publishers make the back cover of books a giant picture of the author's face. That's one reason I don't read Karen Kingsbury (the other reason being that her target audience is my mom). I can't stand realizing that I'm not only holding a book, I'm holding someone's face. Ick.

Anyway, what do you think of author photos? Do they ruin the magic for you, or sate your curiosity? Definitely the latter for me, though I'll admit that sometimes curiosity is better left unsated. (Yup, I'm talking to you, Mr. Silverstein...)

Interview with Robert Liparulo - Part 2

2011-03-11T11:39:00.000-08:00

Hey there! The other day we got the chance to talk to Robert Liparulo about high school, characters, writing advice, pets, and all kinds of other stuff. Today we’re gonna tackle some of the heavier subjects. So let’s get started!

Robert, can you tell us about how you came to know Jesus?

I was raised Catholic—even went to a parochial middle school—and during one short time when I was about eleven I considered being a priest. I had a falling out with Catholicism in my teens and wasn’t sure what to do about God. A few years into my marriage, my wife and I weren’t getting along, and I felt terrible about it. For the first time in years, I prayed, and I asked God why this woman who I loved so much seemed like a stranger to me. God answered in a way that I can only describe as an audible voice. To this day, I believed I hear Him with my ears as well as my heart. He said, “The reason this has happened is because I’m not part of your life.”
I immediately went to my wife, who was raised agnostic, and told her what had happened. I said I wanted to bring God into our lives, into our marriage. She responded like someone who’d been holding her breath forever and was just told that it was ok to breathe. We went to a Presbyterian church, had a meeting with the pastor, and have walked with Christ ever since. I wish I had been smarter and more faithful to Him in my late-teens and early-twenties, but I’m sure glad He shook up my life and got my attention again.

If you had the chance to change a scene from one of your previous releases, what book would you choose, what scene would you change, and how would you change it?

In Germ, there’s a scene in which a compound that makes biological weapons is bombed in an air strike. If I were to write that scene today, instead of an air strike, I think I’d have the compound attacked by an elite fighting force, a special ops team. It would be cool to have these guys stealthily infiltrate the compound, setting explosives all around, and slowly working their way to the heart of the operation. It was also allow me to have more human/character contact, between them and the good guys who are already in the compound and the bad guys. More now than ever, I’m always looking for ways to build character, to make the characters propel the story forward. By putting more characters on the page instead of anonymous airplanes, I could have done that better.
A few people I’ve told that to argue that the air strike worked because it put the good guys on the ground at risk and it was exciting to see if they’d be able to get out in time. But I think I could have created the same sort of stakes, the same suspense by giving the special ops team the order to kill everyone they encountered.
I’ve talked to the producer who’s making Germ into a movie and he likes the idea. And it doesn’t hurt that shooting a bunch of guys breaking into the compound is a lot cheaper to film than an air strike. So maybe I’ll be able to have it both ways—one for the book and one for the movie.

You get the chance to star in an upcoming film release. What genre of movie would you star in and who would you pick as your costar?

It’d have to be a thriller—a cops and robbers or bank heist story. I love those. My dream co-stars would be Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino, but I’d love to work with Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon as well. I’ve met DiCaprio and Damon, but not DeNiro or Pacino. For some reason, when I get totally burnt out after a long day of writing, I find myself watching the same films over and over: Heat, Ronin, and Bourne Identity. I think the crazy action of those films lets me sort of check out mentally. I also like horror films—smart horror films—but I’m afraid if I were to star in one, they’d want to cast me as the monster.

You’re invited to a White House function, and you have the chance to give a 10-minute speech to the President and the country watching on TV. What do you talk about?

I love what former Australian prime minister John Howard said: “Most Australians believe in God. This is not some Christian, right wing, political push, but a fact, because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.” (Unfortunately the country’s new PM, Julia Gillard, has proclaimed, “I don’t believe in God.”) I would appeal to our president to take a similar stance as Mr. Howard. We are a Christian country, founded on Christian principles, and anyone who doesn’t like that can leave. That doesn’t mean we don’t have tolerance for other religions, but taking God off our coins and out of our schools is just ridiculous. We can honor God and keep reminders of His presence in public places without violating the rights of people with differing beliefs. We need a president who believes that.

Do you have a favorite Christian band? If so, who is it and what’s your favorite song by them?
I’m partial to Third Day. Mac Powell’s voice floors me, it’s so emotive. I had a chance to hang out with him and the band backstage once, and it was great experience, seeing that they aren’t just talents, but Godly men and fun guys. I like a lot of Third Day songs, but I guess my favorite for now is “Call My Name.”
I also like David Crowder, Randy Stonehill, Casting Crowns, Skillet, Thousand Foot Krutch, Jars of Clay, tobyMac. Dreamhouse Kings was a co-sponsor of one of tobyMac’s concert tours last year, which as totally cool.

If you would meet any celebrity, dead or alive, who would you choose and what would you ask him or her?

Well, I’d love to have a conversation with C.S. Lewis, but I’ve read so many of his books and biographies that I feel I already know him. So for the sake of diversity, I’d choose someone else. There are so many people I admire: Winston Churchill, Teddy Roosevelt, Michelangelo. But in the end, I’d love to go through a Dreamhouse portal and meet Martin Luther, who started the Protestant Reformation. The foundation of his Ninety-Five Theses was that God’s grace could not be earned or purchase, but is a free gift. The theme of my next thriller, The 13^th Tribe, is exactly this, so maybe right now I’m especially sensitive to Luther’s teaching.
I can just imagine the two of us discussing theology for hours—days. I think he would do most of the talking, but I’d love to ask him about the nuances of free grace: Is it possible to accept the gift and live by God’s word solely out of gratitude, without ever once thinking, “Doing this makes me a good person; this will bring me closer to God”? Is accepting the gift really all we have to do? I’ve heard that Luther enjoyed a fermented beverage now and then, so maybe we could have this great conversation over a couple pints of ale.

What world issue are you passionate about? Why?

It drives me crazy that there are hungry people in the world. Food isn’t a privilege; it’s a necessity and a basic human right. That there are children, even here in America , who go to bed hungry—I mean with a pain in the gut most of us have never felt—is one of the saddest tragedies I can think of. My family helps out at food kitchens, and I donate to organizations like Feeding America, Freedom from Hunger, and Global Hunger Project. But it’s all just a drop in the bucket. As long as there’s a single starving person in the world, we’re not doing enough.

God tells you that you’ll never publish another book. Do you still keep writing?

I wouldn’t know what else to do. I believe God wired me to write, but if for some reason He says I won’t ever be published again, of course I’d abide by that, but it wouldn’t keep me from doing what I was born to do. Maybe He has other plans for my words—through oration or some other medium, I don’t know.
I believe God wouldn’t give you a gift and desire to do something without also giving you the opportunities to fulfill that desire. That’s why I tell new writers that every one of them could be published and make a career out of writing. They have a strong, God-given desire, and God will be faithful to that desire. They just have to be faithful to it as well. My favorite verse is 2 Chronicles 31:21: “In everything that he undertook . . . he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly. And so he prospered.” To me, this verse unites human endeavor with God’s sovereignty and providence. Seek God and work hard. Often, we forget one side of that equation.

You can visit Robert online at: www.DreamhouseKings.com.

Interview with Robert Liparulo - Part 1

2011-03-09T13:15:00.000-08:00

Originally posted on NovelTeen.com.

Have you ever toured a bookstore and saw a saw a cover that stopped you dead in your tracks? Something that screamed mystery, excitement, and suspense before you’ve even picked it up? That’s what it felt like when I first laid eyes on the Dreamhouse Kings books. And let me tell you, they didn’t disappoint.

Recently I had the pleasure of getting to interview the author of those books.

Best-selling novelist Robert Liparulo is a former journalist, with over a thousand articles and multiple writing awards to his name. His first two critically acclaimed thrillers—Comes a Horseman and Germ—were optioned by Hollywood producers. His Dreamhouse Kings series has been read by thousands of teens nationwide.

Welcome, Robert! What was your favorite subject in high school? Your least favorite?

English—no surprise there. I’d known since third grade that I would be a writer, and sold my first published article when I was in fifth grade, so it comes naturally. By that, of course, I mean it comes from God. For a time, I was editor of my high school newspaper. I used to enjoy writing the essays that most of my classmates hated doing. But I wasn’t a geek about it. I played several sports and had my share of detentions for pulling practical jokes like wedging a VW Bug in the front entrance alcove and setting off the fire alarms. Naturally, I’d write about those things later.

I couldn’t stand math—you know, calculus, trigonometry, those insanely impractical mathematics. Maybe it’s a left-brain/right-brain thing. Unfortunately, my math teacher was also my football and swimming coach. Every poor test score meant a tougher practice. I was dumb as a stone when it came to math, but I could have competed in any Iron Man competition that came along.

It’s interesting that I was ambivalent about history. When I dove back into history for the Dreamhouse Kings books, I realized that it wasn’t history that stopped me cold, it was the textbooks we used. I think one of the requirements of writing for history textbooks was the ability to make even fascinating events dull and lifeless. When I finally got around to finding my own books to learn about history, it all came alive to me. Now I love reading about the past. Too bad those school books couldn’t have been more dynamic; I might have written Dreamhouse a lot sooner.

If you could bring any character from one of your books to life, who would it be and why?

It may be cheating, but John Hutchinson—Hutch—from Deadfall and Deadlock already is alive for me. I modeled him after my best friend since high school, Mark Nelson. He’s the game warden for Cheyenne, and one of those guys who live to be outdoors. If you dropped Mark in any wilderness in the world with just the clothes on his back and maybe a paperclip, he’d find a way to survive and make it out. Along the way, he’d build a mansion out of tree bark and moss. He’s also a good Christian. He and I have a similar approach to the Scriptures. Like C.S. Lewis, we attack them logically and debate the finer points of theology. Ours is really an iron-sharpen-iron sort of relationship.
The story of Deadfall came about because I wondered what Mark would do in a hopeless situation, in which he was isolated from the outside world and facing a bad guy who was terrorizing a small town with vastly more powerful weaponry than Mark had. Yeah, that’s the way my mind works. He would have to tap into both his survival skills and his sense of right and wrong. When I was writing about Hutch, I was really writing about Mark.
Your question is a tough one, because I think all writers fall in love with their characters. It’s hard to choose a favorite. If I could pick one to hang around with for a while, I think it would be David from Dreamhouse, but you’d have to throw in his brother Xander too. Not only do these kids help me remember my own youth, I’d love to talk about their adventures through time, and how they managed to be so brave in the face of all those dangers. They have an internal strength and a love for people that startles me. I’d ask them about that.

You have the chance to spend the day with any character from one of your favorite books. Who would you choose and why?

It’s have to be Robert Neville from I Am Legend by Richard Matheson. It’s been my favorite book since I was twelve. None of the movies based on it has done it justice, but they’ve been good movies in their own right. Neville is a guy who’s learning to live in a world that’s violently different from the one he grew up in. He has no friends, no human companionship at all. He has to know himself really well, and he ponders all the things about mankind that is both glorious and awful. He has to survive attacks from the creatures that now inhabit the world—and the concept of survival, of finding skills and traits within yourself that you wouldn’t have known existed without an extreme situation drawing them out fascinates me. In a very real way, all of my stories explores this. Neville probably wouldn’t have very strong social skills—most likely, he’d be a downright drag, but I’d still to hang with the guy for a while.

A group of teens ask you the best way to become a published writer. How do you answer the question?

Read everything you can get your hands on and finish every writing project you start. Reading exposes you to people and things outside your own little world. It helps teach you about the way other people behave and think and talk. It gives you glimmers of other places and ideas—all things you can incorporate into your own stories. On top of that, you learn what works and what doesn’t in storytelling.
“Finish things” is simple to say, but not so simple to do. Discipline is essential to all writers, but as creative people, we’re easily distracted, often by other stories we want to tell. But if we get in the habit of finishing things, then we have products to show agents, editors, and publishers when the opportunity comes up. The ability to finish is a big question people in the publishing business has for wannabe writers. They’ve seen so many people with great ideas who either can’t finish a story or can’t execute it well. Prove you can right off the bat. It’s the first topic I wrote about on my website of tips for writers, getitonthepage.com.

What is the one book you wish you had written and why?

Is Lord of the Rings too obvious? Besides the adventure, characters, and Christian allegory, I love the way Tolkien structured the story. It takes a while to really get into it, and the level of detail is almost painful to trudge through, but it mirrors real life so that before long, the fantasy world he created feels as real as our own. By weaving real emotions and bits of things we can relate to, he makes us forget we’re not only reading fiction, but pure fantasy. The amount of made-up detail Tolkien put into this story—from the languages to the outfits each race wears—amazes me. I wish I could spend years crafting a story the way he did. Maybe someday.
If that one’s too obvious, then I’d go for Jaws. It’s a great thriller that struck a chord in almost every reader. It changed the way we think of sharks and being in the ocean. It’s permeated our culture for decades; how cool would that be? Peter Benchley said Jaws being his first novel was both a blessing and a curse. The curse was that he spent the rest of his life trying to top himself, and he never could. But I think that’s a problem I could live with.

Do you have any pets? If so, what kind. If not, why?

Logan—named after Wolverine—is a border collie/sheltie mix. He’s a great dog. I’ve taken to calling him B.S. I like the look people give me when I call him that, but it stands for “Bear Slayer,” because he chased a bear off my property. I wish I’d gotten a picture of him nipping at this huge bear’s legs while it was scrambling to get away and snapping at him. David and Goliath of the animal kingdom. I finally pulled Logan back and the bear lumbered away, pretty ticked off.
We also have two ball pythons and a turtle. The turtle doesn’t do much more than eat, poop, and swim. But the snakes are great for ridding ourselves of guests who stay too long. Neither of them has bitten anyone, but we don’t tell people that.

You can visit Robert online at: www.DreamhouseKings.com.

That’s not all! Check back soon for Part 2 of my interview with bestselling novelist, Robert Liparulo.

When life gets you down...

2011-02-09T18:47:00.000-08:00

... roll over and die.

Isn't that the expectation our culture sells to us? "You're young, your future is bleak. Unless you're incredibly beautiful or naturally talented in one of a few fields, you won't amount to anything."

The majority of adults look at us teens as incompetent bums. Meanwhile, it is their choices that lead our nation to disaster. Don't believe me? Take a look at this site.

Depressed yet? It gets worse. Not only is the older generation leaving us a giant mess to clean up, they aren't giving us the tools to do so.

Our schools are failing us. In international education rankings, the USA has received scores around 500 on a scale that goes up to 1,000. How is it that America, founded on Biblical principles, has become nothing more than an average nation?

"Failure is not a single, cataclysmic event. You don't fail overnight. Instead, failure is a few errors in judgment, repeated every day." - Jim Rohn

We're heading down a terrible road, guys, but our generation has the power to change direction. And I'm not talking about the "change" Obama sold our parents on, because the Government can't fix things. Only the people can.

How can we make things better? By daring to be different, by challenging ourselves, by returning to the principles our nation was founded on. If we rebel against the expectations thrown at us, America will be great again. But we have to start now.

"Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently." - Henry Ford

Revamping

2011-02-03T22:03:00.000-08:00

Hey there, everybody!

I'll be posting here a lot more often in the weeks to come. To get things ready for that, I totally revamped the blog. Check it out and let me know what you think.

For the meantime, I've changed my blog's name to FictionFire.blogspot.com, instead of the old My-Ink-Spot title. I just got sick of the hyphens in the address.

Oh, and check the sidebar for a hint about next post's news. :)

Proof that Twilight is Evil?

2011-01-16T14:38:00.000-08:00

I was at Wal-Mart and saw these two books sitting next to each other.

Awesome juxtaposition, huh? :)

75 Questions Book Tag - A Twin Hope

2011-01-11T19:08:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Mirriam Neal for tagging me!

1. What’s your word count? 139,298.

2. How long until you finish? The (flawed and overlong) first draft is finished. More drafts are to come, though.

3. If you have finished, how long did it take you? Oy. Guesstimation? About a year.

4. Do you have an outline? The first thing I did was sit down and write an 18 page outline.

5. Do you have a plot? I sure hope so. :)

6. How many words do you typically write a day? When I'm working on a project? Around 2,500.

7. What was your greatest word count in one day? 10k.

8. What was your least impressive word count in one day? 7. But they were good words. "Blubber" was among them.

9. What inspired you to write? The Hobbit. It opened my mind to new realms and possibilities.

10. Does your novel have a theme song? Acts of Courage by X-Ray Dog. Have a listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hd29rMSPNx8

11. Assign each of your major characters a theme song. Bevin - Heart of Courage by Two Steps from Hell. Jardo - Undying Love by Two Steps from Hell. Gavin - Time by Hans Zimmer. Eamon - One Day by Hans Zimmer. Urozden - Fire by Hans Zimmer (again).

12. Which character is most like you? Bevin.

13. Which character would you most likely be friends with? Jardo. :)

14. Do you have a Gary-Stu or Mary Sue character? I think clichés are fun to play with, especially if you tweak them to surprise the reader. I couldn't pinpoint one Gary-Stu or Mary Sue character, though...

15. Who is your favorite character in your novel? Jardo. He'd probably be upset if I didn't choose him.

16. Have your characters ever done something completely unexpected? Yes.

17. Have you based any of your novel directly on personal experiences? No, not directly. I don't think I could help my personal experiences indirectly affecting my novel, though.

18. Do you believe in plot bunnies? There's a host of them in my brain, gnawing on it right now...

19. Is there magic in your novel? Yes. In my book it's an allegorical representation of power or the imagination. Because magic, like the imagination, can be wonderful–but if one is left in the dark with it too long...

20. Are any holidays celebrated in your novel? Most of the time, my characters are too busy dealing with stuff to think about Holidays.

21. Does anyone die? Yup.

22. How many cups of coffee/tea have you consumed during your writing experience? I try not to drink coffee when writing, because I'd never stop drinking it. I do have snack food, though. Raisins.

23. What is the latest you have stayed up writing? The night I finished my book I was up 'til 6:AM.

24. What is the best line? Idk. How about we make that plural?

Gavin dropped the wilted flower. “Evil is a defiance of nature, thus nature shuns it.”
That makes sense, Jardo said.
Bevin’s head swam. It does?
Naturally.

:)

25. What is the worst line? If I'd identified a "worst line", I would have cut it by now. However...

“What is T.O.O.T.H.?" The dwarf rolled his eyes. "The Order of the Haunted, that's what!”

26. Have you dreamed about your novel or its characters? One of my friends dreamed that he walked through Kelmar, the town Bevin is from. I've only daydreamed about my characters. :)

27. Does your novel rely heavily on allegory? No, not heavily. There aren't many direct parallels, but I do try to hide meaning in my stories...

28. Summarize your novel in under fifteen words. A half-elf teams up with a talking dragon egg in order to free his brother from an infamous warlock. (Yes, that was twenty.)

29. Do you love all your characters? No. If I loved Urozden, I'd have issues. I do sympathize with him, though.

30. Have you done something sadistic or cruel to your characters specifically to increase your word count? Isn't this what you're supposed to do in novels? I missed that memo...

31. What was the last thing your main character ate? Some dirt when he fell off a horse.

32. Describe your main character in three words. Loyal. Conflicted. Audacious.

33. What would your antagonist dress up as for Halloween? Himself.

34. Does anyone in your story go to a place of worship? Yes. But that place of worship has been warped into something it was never supposed to be...

35. How many romantic relationships take place in your novel? Uhhhh.

36. Are there any explosions in your novel? A gate gets blasted to pieces by dark magic.

37. Is there an apocalypse in your novel? Everyone has got their own figurative doomsday they never want to see. The world isn't about to end, though.

38. Does your novel take place in a post-apocalyptic world? Nope.

39. Are there zombies, vampires or werewolves in your novel? There are zombie-like creatures. No werewolves or vamires, though. I'll leave that territory to Stephenie Meyers and her cult of wannabes.

40. Are there witches, wizards or mythological creatures/figures in your novel? All three.

41. Is anyone reincarnated? That's a potentially spolerific question. Generally, my stance is that once a character is vanquished/killed, they're done.

42. Is anyone physically ailed? Yes.

43. Is anyone mentally ill? Mhmm.

44. Does anyone have swine flu? No, but Bevin does see a pig with wings in my book.

45. Who has pets in your novel and what are they? I have a character named Gannel and she has a pet sugar glider.

46. Are there angels, demons, or any religious references/figures in your novel? Yes on all counts.

47. How about political figures? Are there political figures in my book? Yeah...

48. Is there incessant drinking? If there was, it'd be a strange book (incessant means never ceasing, you know. Eventually my characters would all die, or pass out).

49. Are there board games? If so, which ones? Bevin is too busy trying to free his brother from an evil sorcerer to play Monopoly. :P

50. Are there any dream sequences? I guess you could say that...

51. Is there humor? Sporadically.

52. Is there tragedy? Certainly

53. Does anyone have a temper tantrum? People do get angry and come close to losing it, yeah.

54. How many characters end up single at the end of your novel? Most everyone in A Twin Hope is already single.

55. Is anyone in your novel adopted? Yeah.

56. Does anyone in your novel wear glasses? There's a tabby cat seen wearing spectacles at one point, but Bevin doesn't know what they are.

57. Has your novel provided insight about your life? Mhmm.

58. Your personality? Ha! Yes. :)

59. Has your novel inspired anyone? It inspired me to believe I can do anything with God on my side. But besides myself? I'm not really sure...

60. How many people have asked to read your novel? People have asked to read my novel. I suppose I asked my critique group to read it when I posted it. lol

61. Have you drawn any of your characters? Jardo, Specter, and a pegasus named Naphyrus. Other than them, no. I'm terrible at drawing humans...

62. Has anyone drawn your characters for you? No, not for this book. :)

63. Does anyone vomit in your novel? Yup. Going through a portal can be a horrifyingly jarring experience...

64. Does anyone bleed in your novel? What is fantasy without a little blood?

65. Do any of your characters watch TV? They might, if it was invented...

66. What size shoe does your main character wear? Probably a 9 1/2. Somewhere around that.

67. Do any of the characters in your novel use a computer? Nope. Medieval worlds, you know...

68. How would you react if your novel was erased entirely? Well, I'd probably write a new one, implementing any improvements I'd needed to make.

69. Did you cry at killing off any of your characters? Oh goodness L Yes.

70. Did you cheer when killing off one of your characters? Not yet.

71. What advice would you give to a fellow writer? Keep reading, keep writing, and don't get discouraged when your efforts are met with frowns and red ink. It's a learning process, and if you persevere, you'll eventually get somewhere.

72. Describe your ending in three words. Realization. Acceptance. Verisimilitude. :)

73. Are there any love triangles, squares, hexagons, etc.? Sorta kinda.

74. On a scale of 1-10 (1 being the least stressful, 10 being the most) how does your stress rank? I agree with Mirriam here, writing is stress-relieving for me. Except for when I write something really tense, and then (if I've done a good job) I'm relieved when it's over.

75. Was it worth it? Writing my book? Cha. Answering these 75 questions...
... I'll just tell myself it was, that way I don't think about how many words I could've written had I ignored this tag. :)

If you've read this far, you've been tagged! If you decide to do this, be sure and post a link to yours in mine's comments that way I can read and comment on yours. :)

To Darkness Fled Book Trailer UNLEASHED!

2010-11-23T18:04:00.000-08:00

Check it out. A whole host of talented people--the same who made that book trailer for Curse of the Spider King awhile back--banded together to make a custom book trailer for Jill Williamson's second novel. I played Achan.

Anyway, check it out. And if you like it, share it on Facebook or your own blog so that the word gets out about this wonderful book!

NARNIA!

2010-11-18T07:33:00.000-08:00

Tonight I get to see a pre-screening of the third Narnia movie, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader! This thing is mostly just for pastors, but I was invited, too. I'll post here when I have a review of the movie up. :-)

Check out the movie trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwaFwqR0mJo&feature=channel

Feeling Blue...

2010-11-02T19:46:00.000-07:00

Click to unbluriffy. :)

No, this isn't me dressed as a Na'vi for Halloween. It's my Obbin submission for Brock Eastman's currently ongoing contest. I'd encourage you to check it out! You could win $50 and an awesome signed book (and all you have to do is paint yourself blue in photoshop--so it's quite a deal).

Will you do it? That's my challenge to YOU! :)

(oh, and there's only a couple of weeks left to enter, so you'd better hurry)

Meanwhile, I'll go and listen to this song...

P.S. The easiest free way to make yourself look like you've fallen into a porta potty is to use www.Picnik.com. I'll post instructions in a comment below.

Why Most Teens Think the Bible is Boring

2010-10-25T15:50:00.000-07:00

ACFW Conference 2010

2010-09-23T14:22:00.000-07:00

I'm back! Whooooooooo-hooooooooooooo!

If you can't tell from the above cheer, I had a great time. It was a blast. I met so many people who I've looked up to for the longest time (John Olson, Randy Ingermanson, James Scott Bell) and got to connect with people who I've only met online.

The best part about the conference wasn't the teaching. It wasn't the food, either. It was the people. I learned so much just from chatting one-on-one with the awesome (and knowledgeable) human beings I had the privilege of seeing.

The highlight was meeting several of meh peeps from my critique group. I had dinner with the two "founders" of my crit group the night before things really started rolling.

On the left is Jill Williamson, author of the amazing Blood of Kings trilogy and all-around great friend. She led a class on creating a believable sci-fi or fantasy world, which was awesome. In the middle is me, a long-haired goof. And on the right is Diana Sharples, writer extraordinaire and two-time finalist in the Genesis competition (she's also really fun to hang out with).

Here's me with Jeff Gerke, the founder of Marcher Lord Press. If you want to be a writer, do yourself a favor and check out his Tip of the Week column on WheretheMapEnds.com. You won't regret it. Mr. Gerke also gave me his crème brûlée on the night of the awards ceremony (for those of you who are like me, understand that crème brûlée is just delicious pudding with a fancy name. Fillet mignon is in the same boat, and should just be called dainty steak).

That's me with my youth leader, Jaime Sundsmo! See the coffee in her hand? Don't try and take that from her if you ever see her in person. She bites.

... not really, but check out Jaime's blog. It's almost cooler than me. *scoff scoff*

There were too many other people to mention. Maybe I'll get around to listing them in next years ACFW post? :)

Anyway, that was the best part of the conference. Connecting with fellow crazies and meeting friends. I'm looking forward to seeing them next year already (my wallet isn't, but that's okay).

If you want to see what I actually LEARNED, well, check out my e-zine on the first of next month. Oooh, cliffhanger! mwaha ha... ha

Why I've Been Gone

2010-09-13T14:14:00.000-07:00

I'm going to the ACFW Conference later this week! For the past long, long time I've been preparing for this conference. Here's a list of some of the things I've done:

Totally re-wrote my book
Finished a decent Book Proposal
Designed and ordered business cards
Created one-sheets (sale sheets) in photoshop for two of my novels
Figured out HOW to pitch a book to an agent or editor
Figured out how NOT to pitch a book to an agent or editor
Forgot everything I'd figured out
Stressed out
Realized that stressing out is worthless--I should be going to have a good time
Stressed out again, despite the above reasoning
Raised over $1,000 to pay for registration and motel fees (oy vey)

Amidst all of that craziness, I neglected this blog (except for that one post about Wizard Quest). I'm sure you guys understand, though. Add to the above list that school has just started and you get a rather frazzled-looking me.

Ahh, yes. I also went shopping for a business casual wardrobe and a semi-formal suit (but first I had to find out what those two terms meant).

I'm quite proud of my tie.

Wizard Quest

2010-08-22T17:48:00.000-07:00

I chatted briefly about a place called Wizard Quest in my last post, and... well, that's what I'm gonna talk about today.
On one of my recent birthdays my parents decided it'd be fun to surprise me by going out. Normally they just give me my favorite dinner (followed by cake and presents), so this is not the norm coming from them.

Wizard Quest is an interesting place. There's a giant mechanical dragon out front that, when working, roars and moves around. However, it wasn't working while we were there. It just sat slumped at the bottom of a pit, looking dead, and the "Rangers" who work at Wizard Quest cleverly told all questioning children that the dragon was "sleeping".

Yeah. Okay.

This first thing you do at Wizard Quest is pick a name for your Questing Party. Now, to my shame, I don't remember exactly what name we picked (my mom, dad, and brother were there with me). But I do know it was between the Frolicking Fairies (my mom's choice), the Obscene Ogres (my brother's choice), and the Unibrowed Unicorns (obviously my choice).

After picking a name for your Questing Party you're given a list of riddles to solve and sent into a room where several portraits come to life Hogwarts-esque and talk to you. There you find out your quest is to save four lost wizards, and you do that by solving the riddles... which doesn't make sense, but we went with it.

The first blow to your dignity comes when you (literally) have to slide into the first Riddle Realm. Once down there I wandered around, dazzled by how bizarre--and fake-looking--my surroundings were. There's a castle with a unicorn perched on top, freaky-looking gremlin things popping out of bushes, and lots of dazed people stumbling around.

In the game there's four realms, and they correspond to the four elements (earth, air, fire, water). When you solve a riddle, you punch the answer into a computer/thing, which, unfortunately, wasn't working correctly.

My brother got lost in a mirror maze, and, of course, I didn't help him get out. He blundered around in there for awhile, running into the glass, and was crept up on by one of the Realm Rangers.

The Realm Rangers look like they've just come out of some nightmarish renaissance fair. Glitter makeup, costumes that Lady Gaga would refuse to wear, and bird-nest hair comprise their getup. Needless to say, it's not fun to be crept up on by one of them.

After scaring the bejeebers out of my confused brother (who ran into another mirror), the Realm Ranger offered to give me a clue to the first riddle. I hesitantly accepted, because I couldn't quite tell what she was saying. She had a really thick accent, and I think half of what she mumbled was in Russian.

Anyway, to get the clue I had to perform a task for her: I could eat something, or I could go someplace with her--alone. Now, I wasn't about to go anywhere alone with this person, so I chose to eat something. It looked like a cheeto and tasted like barbecue sauce. My brother stared at me as I ate it like I'd gone mad.

As it turns out, there wasn't a clue. The girl just picked up her skirts and ran away giggling. After she left, my brother turned to me and said, "Only God and that elf knows what you just ate," and he was right.

Well this was happening, my parents were working on getting down the slide, which had an unfortunate twist halfway through. After that we solved the riddles quickly, rushing around because, as we quickly found out, we were being timed.

The ranger/elf made her return once we got to the Fire Realm--which looks like the underworld, complete with gargoyles. My brother had his back to a wall, and, as I watched, a door opened up behind him and she popped out of it, babbling incomprehensibly.

Judging by the expression on my brother's face, the average human doesn't know fear until he's been stalked through hell by a non-English speaking fairy, and I say that at risk of sounding politically incorrect.

Other highlights included:

Being suspended by my legs in front of an ogre, which promptly farted up my nose.

Crawling through a tunnel filled with plastic balls with my dad, who said he felt something squishy underneath (we all washed our hands afterward).

Getting lost in the Gnome Depot. Enough said.

Watching my mom debate the Russian fairy-ranger, who seemed to insist the computer/things were working.

We would've saved all four wizards if the computers had been working, but, as is, the Water Wizard had to bite the big one, and we left.

Despite all of this, I had a blast... though I'm a bit surprised I came out with all limbs intact. But what can I say? Near-death experiences can be fun if you let yourself laugh while they happen. Though if you're skittish, frightened of slides, or have a debilitating fear of mechanical dragons, you may not want to go here.

Vote!

2010-08-13T15:22:00.001-07:00

Some of you may have seen this already, but voting has opened for the 2010 Clive Staples award! "Clive Staples" stands for the first two initials in C.S. Lewis name (and I really hope you know who C.S. Lewis is). The CSA award recognizes authors of fantastic fiction.

Anyway, this year my good friend, Jill Williamson, has her book (By Darkness Hid) nominated! Now, I'm not totally biased, so I'll tell you that Donita K. Paul, Andrew Peterson, and Bryan Davis have been nominated as well.

In order for the Clive Staples Award to be a success, there needs to be a lot of voters. However, you can only vote if you've read two or more of the titles listed. Click here to go to the voting page.

Coming Soon are some actual blog posts. Tomorrow is my 17th birthday. My parents are talking about doing something to surprise me... which I'm a bit scared about. Last time they "surprised me" for my b-day, they took me to a freaky little place called Wizard Quest, and many comical (and slightly terrifying) things occurred while there.

But maybe I should save that for my next blog post...

My First Giveaway!

2010-08-05T10:17:00.000-07:00

I'm having a giveaway!

My other site, Teen Inklings, has been going on for over a year now, so I thought it was about time to give something away!

Now I have something to confess... I missed this blog's anniversary. Yeah. By four months (way to go, Chris!!). So... consider this my belated celebration for that!

The giveaway is of an autographed copy of Marlayne Giron's book, The Victor. Click HERE and go through to my e-zine so you can enter. There's three ways to win, and I hope you all enter. Have fun!

:-D

Free Books from Best-Selling author, Bryan Davis

2010-07-22T20:30:00.000-07:00

One of the first Christian Fantasy series' that I read and liked was Bryan Davis' Dragons In Our Midst books (pictured above). They're really great, and if you've read them you know what I'm talking about.

Anyway, I liked the books so much I read each of them twice.
Getting to the point of this post...
Two of Mr. Davis' books are up on Amazon Kindle for free! You don't need to own a kindle to get them, either. Just go here. (Yes, you're supposed to click that.)

This next line deserves jumbo confetti text.

Click on the books and get them for FREE!

Beyond the Reflection's Edge

Eternity's EdgeLet's get these books to the top of Amazon's Free E-Book list (currently, both are in the top ten).

Remember when...?

2010-07-16T20:46:00.000-07:00

Britney Spears wasn't crazy?

When it was Camp Snoopy in Mall of America and not Nickelodeon Universe?

When Disney stars were funny and not all narcissistic prats?

When the GameBoy Color was the coolest thing on earth?

When we had Aaron Carter and Jump 5 instead of Justin Bieber?

When Pop Rocks were cool and not discontinued?

Yeah.

Not all change is for the better.

;)

Snapshot of my Bookshelf

2010-06-28T21:54:00.000-07:00

I was thinking about my last post and how I'd taken a picture of my room, but the angle I took it from completely leaves out my bookshelf! What. A. Travesty.

I decided I needed to remedy that by posting a pic of my fiction shelf, because you don't really get the full picture of me without seeing my love of paper and ink.

These, sadly, are only the books I've had the time to unpack and stick on my shelf. The rest are in boxes still. But the ones shown here are some of my favorites.

For those of us who don't like tilting their head to the right, I've typed the whole list out for ya.

From left to right, Eragon, Eldest, Brisingr, By Darkness Hid, To Darkness Fled, Curse of the Spider King, Venom and Song, The Chronicles of Narnia, Dragons in our Midst, Oracles of Fire, Dragonspell, The Books of History Chronicles, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and Alex Rider: Stormbreaker.

Looking for a summer reading list? The paragraph above is it. ;)

A quick shout out to the fabulous Jill Williamson: CONGRATS on winning that Christy Award for By Darkness Hid! It is well-deserved, and it couldn't have gone to a better person.

Hmm. I'm stunned by the lack of sci-fi on that list. It's all fantasy, and all weird. I hope there isn't truth to that saying about knowing a man by what's on his bookshelf. The most "normal" story up there is about a teen spy who tangos with poisonous jellyfish in a giant water tank!

Know any good psychiatrists? Oh well. I guess sanity is overrated, anyway.

Candid Room Tag

2010-06-22T15:54:00.000-07:00

I got this idea from a friend's blog and thought it'd be fun. The tag: take a picture of your room WITHOUT cleaning it up first.

Okay... here's my room. ::cringe::

Click to make it bigger... if you must. lol

As you can see, I didn't clean my room for you guys. Which is as it should be, because I rarely make my bed even for myself. (I am a teenage guy, remember?)

In case you were wondering, those two little fur balls on the covers are my dogs, Faith and Daisy. They're bichon frises, and both have more personality then me.

The Percy Jackson poster on my wall was just put up last night. I got it for free and thought it was cool-looking. So there it is.

The frilly blue... things over the windows were once my grandma's. I despise them and plan on lighting them on fire someday.

Soooooo, there you have it. I'm tagging everyone who follows my blog, because I think you guys are particularly awesome. :)

Legends about the Sun

2010-06-15T19:21:00.001-07:00

“Every morning," the minstrel said in a quiet voice, "the sun rises from the eastern ocean and sets in the western ocean. Night happens when the sun is traveling through an underground tunnel to reach the eastern ocean once more.”

"Bah!" Miller Dan stepped forward, puffing out his chest like a rooster. “That ain’t how it happens. Me mum told me the sun is made up o' bright orange cheese, and every night the Great Giants of the West pull the cheese to themselves for supper. Then, next morning come, a new cheese sun rises, and the whole process repeats itself!”

(These random and pointless paragraphs were taken from the book I'm editing, A Twin Hope.)

Self-Made Book Covers

2010-06-05T12:44:00.000-07:00

I know that this probably makes me crazy, but for some reason I really enjoy making book covers for my writing projects. Usually before the book is written. Yeah. Strange...

Maybe this is because I really like using Photoshop. I dunno. But I usually have a blast making these pics.

So I thought I'd share them with you. There's three... that I'm willing to show (that only means that the others I've made are awful, and that the human eye can't bear staring at them for longer than a few seconds).

I'll give a sentence after each one describing what the book is about.

A Twin Hope is about a teenage half-elf named Bevin who teams up with a talking dragon egg in order to save his brother from an evil sorcerer.

The Scarlet Key is a medieval Young Adult novella about two teens sent on a mission to save mankind.

Glitter tells the story of a maniac called the Glitter Killer. Only one girl can unmask the murderer before it's too late.

Live Chat with Teenage Author--RIGHT NOW!

2010-05-18T14:45:00.000-07:00

Today is the day of Jacob Parker's HUGE ONLINE PARTY! Follow the link below for a fun time where you could win any of two hundred books!

http://www.livestream.com/kmsong

Jacob is the author of Kestrel's Midnight Song, a young adult fantasy book about a shepherd boy. To find out more about the novel, visit http://www.SongLore.com/

What is a Wizard?

2010-05-12T11:40:00.000-07:00

Some people have asked me why I think it's okay to use words like "magic" and "wizard" inside of my fiction, so I thought I'd write a brief (or not so brief) note about it.

First of all, it's important to know what the word "fiction" means. My dictionary calls Fiction "A literary work based on the imagination and not necessarily on fact." Fiction isn't an evil lie, because Jesus Himself told fictitious parables to the masses while on earth. The word "fiction" is synonomous with the word "fantasy," which is "Fiction with a large amount of imagination in it."

All that has little to do with the word "Wizard" itself, but I think it's important to know that my fantastical storytelling is not sinful (and I've had a woman tell me this).

"Wizard" comes from "wys" (Middle English for "wise") and "ard" (a suffix forming nouns that denote persons who regularly engage in an activity). It literally meant "wise one" in the sense of a sage or philosopher, not occult knowledge. How then did the word get associated with mystic power and sorcery?

I have my own theory on this, which may seem a bit far-fetched, but if you've spent as much time as me studying this stuff, you may find that it makes perfect sense.

The term "wizard" sprang up about the same period that Merlin did. Yes, Merlin. That old man in the Arthurian legends. In some peoples' opinions, Merlin wasn't always the Hokus Pokus sorcerer we know today. Some believe Geoffrey of Monmouth didn't invent him. What they do believe is that Merlin was once a real man. Myrddin Wyllt. A bard, every bit the Middle English definition of the word "wizard" as people would call Da Vinci today. However, as time went on, the character of Merlin grew more and more romanticized in literature, to the point where he is seen as a pointy-hatted enchanter, bewitching the brooms of his abode to sweep of their own accord.

Doesn't it make sense that people would evolve these two things together? Wizards and Merlin? Especially in the medieval culture that blurred such things as philosophy with magic and medicine with witchcraft?

That's how wizards got into the King James Version of the Bible, which was written in the early 1600s. Deuteronomy 18:10-11, "There shall not be found among you [...] a wizard." In that time, the definition of the word "wizard" made it synonomous with a sorcerer (which is somone who uses evil spirits to carry out their will), and was entirely evil.

The definition has changed once again.

New American Standard Bible (1995), "There shall not be found among you [...] a sorcerer."

I'm not quite sure why, perhaps because people decided they didn't need two words to describe the same thing, but the word has evolved into what it means today: A person who uses magic. So you see, whether or not the word "wizard" is currently evil hinges entirely upon the current definition of the word "magic."

My dictionary calls magic "the supernatural." So anything supernatural--the dead rising, donkeys that speak, oceans parting--is magical.

See where I'm getting?

I may be the first to point out that the Bible depicts many odd and fantastical things. In fact, I'd call some things in the Bible far more bizarre than anything I've ever written. A creature covered head to foot with eyes? Walking on water? I'm sure many Christians would scoff at the mere thought of these peculiar things, yet there they are in the Bible.

So, to the woman who told me both fiction and fantasy are evil, you're regrettably misinformed. The Bible contains far more storytelling and imagination than you'll ever get out of me, and the only reason I ever put pen to paper is because I'm made in the image of God, who is infinitely creative, and I felt it's what He wanted me to do.

An Award and a Tag

2010-04-26T18:09:00.000-07:00

Even if I virtually never answer these things, I still like being tagged. Partly because I like getting to know people better through their answers, and also partly because it's just nice to be thought of.

First, here's a cool award Ms. Eldarwen sent me.

Fitting, huh? Now here's my answers to the tag:

If you could write one word, what would it be? Schlimmbesserung. (Noun, a so-called improvement that makes things worse.)

Use one word to describe yourself: Overactive.

What is something random about you/your writing that you'd like to say right now? I printed off my novella and held it today. It's really light. If you work fifty hours on something, it should weigh fifty pounds. Just my opinion, though.

Think up an absurd title for a book: The Escapades of Headless Troll and his Galloping Horse-Bunny.

What is the strangest sentence you can think of? The boy's eyes darted around the room.

What do you write? Anything with an element of oddity. The politically correct term for it is "Speculative Fiction." Don't ask me how the word "speculative" got in there. Maybe because boring people always speculate on why someone would want to write about aliens or elves.

If you had a weird disease and could only make one sound over and over, what would it be? Snorgelplurg! (Imagine how fun it'd be to yell that at people and watch their reactions.)

And now I tag...

KM Wilsher

Nathan Petrie

Lynn Rush

You guys get the cool award up there, too. :)

Here's the rules:

1) Post about the award.

2) Award 3 other people

3) Answer the tag

Thanks for tagging me, Eldarwen!

Sleep Insomnia? Yup.

2010-04-19T00:01:00.000-07:00

Okay, not really. Just lately I can't get to sleep. It's like my brain is hotwired to ONLY fall asleep at 3 AM. For example... it's 2 AM right now and I'm blogging. Seriously. Why am I blogging at 2 AM!?!

It's not because the voices won't leave me alone. Totally cured of that. I used to be schizophrenic, but we're all right now.

*cues freaky alien music*

Here's a picture of a ferret

I always wanted a pet ferret, but my mom would never let me get one. When I asked her why, she said they smell bad.

...

My brother smells bad, and we didn't get rid of him! Yeah... Some things in life just don't make sense. Why is a raven like a writing desk? We nevar do find out the answer to that one. (Hehe, read "nevar" backward.)

Okay, icky story. Last night I crawled into bed and, to my horror, found that there was already something crawling under there! I hate spiders. If I ever see another one in my life, it'll be too soon.

I'm thinking of going back to bed now ...

... but I'd probably be back in five minutes, anyway.

I'm hungry. I think I'll go eat one of my leftover Peeps from Easter.

Here's a picture of two Peeps swordfighting

I think I'd eat the one with the red sword. Then again, blue is a pretty cool color. Purple is my favorite color. NOT because Barney is purple. Barney creeps me out, as does Chuck E. Cheese. I should dye my hair purple... Hmm. Maybe not. I'd look like an alien.

Am I an alien?

Zzzzzz.

Query Madness

2010-04-13T09:41:00.001-07:00

I've found that there's a really distinct art to crafting these little buggers. Which is interesting, considering so much of it is subjective to the person you're querying. One person will sat NOT to insert a Marketing Strategy, as that is for the Proposal, and others will say to DEFINITELY include a Marketing Strategy.

It's hard to give the person exactly what they want, but that's a must. Having to individualize these one page "pitches" is frustrating and takes time, but there's no way around it. Wouldn't it be wonderful if a generic query letter existed? Maybe, maybe not. I can't decide.

But I do know that if you heed the guidelines and take your time, you can come up with something that'll intrigue even the pickiest person. Who cares if you're missing two clumps of hair on the sides of your head? Writers are paid for their words, not their image. And you can always buy a wig.

Interviewed!

2010-04-09T08:42:00.000-07:00

Check out Brayden Hirsch's blog, Write Big, where I was interviewed the other day! If you don't laugh at least once either 1) You don't have a funny bone or 2) My brother's right and I'm not as funny as I think I am. Hmm. Probably the latter, huh?

Brayden's blog address is: www.WriteBig.wordpress.com (scroll down two posts to find the interview with me). He's got some great advice for writers up over there, so scroll down, leave your email in the Subscription link, and bask in Brayden's wealth of knowledge!

To Darkness Fled Book Review

2010-04-01T10:34:00.001-07:00

To Darkness Fled by Jill Williamson (Blood of Kings Book Two)

The second installment of the Blood of Kings series will thrill, surprise, and delight readers just as much as the first. With stellar craftsmanship, the author continues to thrust her characters into a myriad of plot-driven obstacles that will have readers biting their nails late into the night.

The story picks up right where By Darkness Hid left off, with Achan, Vrell, and the Kingsguard knights fleeing into Darkness to escape the wrath of their former prince. They head north toward Ice Island in the hopes that they can free the wrongly accused men imprisoned there. Vrell continues to masquerade as a boy, but she knows it's only a matter of time before she'll either have to reveal her true identity, or abandon the party of questers. Achan, who has only ever known the life of a Stray, wrestles with the decor and responsibilities that come with his newfound authority. As they flee across Er'rets, their bloodvoicing talents and swordcraft excel, but in a world of ever-growing Darkness, how can two teens stay in the Light?

This is the best novel I've read since By Darkness Hid came out, and I'm a fairly voracious reader. I'd recommend it to anyone I know, young or old, male or female, fantasy lover or not. It's just that good.

"Williamson pens an action-packed, imaginative second installment in the Blood of Kings trilogy. All the familiar epic elements and emotions are freshly rendered, with Vrell and Achan especially memorable. The pace gallops along, leaving readers hungry for the concluding book." -Publishers Weekly

Purchase Two Darkness Fled from Amazon.com today!

Alice in Wonderland VS. Percy Jackson

2010-03-20T20:50:00.000-07:00

I watched two new movies recently and thought I'd pit them against each other to see which I think should win the theater cagefight. Sound fun?

---

On one side of the ring we've got Tim Burton's latest work, Alice in Wonderland, and on the other side we've got Chris Columbus' adaption of Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief.

I didn't necessarily like Alice or Percy before going into the theater, so this is as close to an unbiased review as I can give you. Here goes...

Alice in Wonderland

19-year-old Alice returns to the whimsical world she first encountered as a young girl, reuniting with her childhood friends: the White Rabbit, Tweedledee and Tweedledum, the Dormouse, the Caterpillar, the Cheshire Cat, and of course, the Mad Hatter. Alice embarks on a fantastical journey to find her true destiny and end the Red Queen’s reign of terror.

The biggest concern I've seen over Alice in Wonderland is that Tim Burton would "creepify" it with his signature dark style and flair for oddity. This is a family film, and Disney seems to have recognized that fact. I didn't think it was dark at all. The cinematography didn't resemble anything from Burton's Sweeney Todd or Nightmare Before Christmas. As for the oddity... you can't get more odd than unbirthdays and rabbits with watches. In this sense, Burton has stayed very true to Lewis Carroll's original vision of Underland.

All the same, this movie may not be ideal for younger moviegoers. There were a few violent sequences, including a creature getting its eye poked out and another beastie getting its head severed, but these were purposefully non-graphic. The Mad Hatter's look is peculiar, but it falls far short of The Dark Knight's Joker on the creepy scale.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

Teenage Percy Jackson discovers he's the descendant of a Greek god and sets out with friends on an adventure to settle an on-going battle between the gods.

You may remember that I did a post awhile back reviewing the book this film is based off of. You also may remember that I didn't particularly like the book. The movie was a totally different experience. It breathed life and humor into the characters and even improved the plot.

Chris Columbus, the director of the first two Harry Potter films, avoided several of the pitfalls the book held, but while doing so he created a couple others. The sensuality, which is almost non-existent in the book, was upped quite a bit. Also, Percy is rewarded for being disobedient and a word that would've gotten my mouth washed out with soap for saying was spouted twice.

Percy is a relatable character. He stands for friendship and family throughout, and risks his life several times for both. The harpy-like "Fury" in the beginning could scare younger kids, but I think it'd be a fine film for ages 12 and up.

The Winner

Alice in Wonderland only just managed to snag the victory. I enjoyed both movies a lot, and would give them both four stars, but Percy Jackson: The Lightning Thief posed too many problems for me to truly enjoy every aspect of it.

The Genesis Competition

2010-03-03T13:14:00.000-08:00

Shame on me for not posting in so long! The reason I've been so absent these past few weeks is because I've been busy editing the first fifteen pages of my book, A Twin Hope, for ACFW's Genesis Competition. Yikes! I think I've gone over these pages about 25 times... just goes to show that you can never stop improving.

My suggested deadline for the contest is the 15th, but if my manuscript is especially horrible I can go 'til the 31st. Last year the category I'm entering had 45 entries, and the authors of those entries are pretty skillful. It's daunting for me, a teenager, to go up against people who've had years and years to hone their craft when I've only been at it for a year.

It's all in God's hands, though. If I'm one of the five finalists, that'd be great. If I'm not... that's fine, too. The feedback I get from the judges will be worth entering for.

So... hopefully I'll get back into the swing of things soon. At the moment I'm half-zombie because of my edits, but even a zombie can update a blog.

I'm in a Book Trailer!

2010-02-22T18:58:00.000-08:00

Recently I had the chance to make a book trailer for Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper's book, Curse of the Spider King. Of course I jumped at the chance. I thought it'd be cool to make, but the best thing about the whole ordeal ended up being that I got to know a few really cool people. Leighton Hajicek had a hand in everything but mostly stuck to the mind-numbing special effects, and Jon Maiocco composed the face-melting music and even lent his face for one segment of the vid. I myself did the giggle-inspiring archery, editing, and pretty much everything else in-between (with lots of help from a handful of really cool people, including the multi-talented Jacob Parker).

Check it out on youtube here.

What do you guys think about book trailers? Are they effective? I know I've seen some that have achieved the opposite of what they're supposed to. Have any favorites?

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

2010-02-14T10:48:00.000-08:00

A Book Review

I decided to read this book after seeing the movie trailer on youtube. I usually try to read the more popular books that are turned into movies, and The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan was no exception. Actually, I listened to the audio version of this book. The reader, Jesse Bernstein, did an excellent job of voicing the characters.

*Spoiler Alert*

The Story
Percy Jackson has been shipped to several boarding schools in his short twelve years of life. ADD and Dislexia combined with his sarcastic wit don't seem to be serving him well. The book starts with a field trip to a Greek museum, where Percy's teacher, Mrs. Dodds, turns into a harpy-like creature and tries to kill him. It is soon made clear that Percy isn't a normal teenager. He's a demigod, half-human half-god, and his father is Poseidon. After butting heads with an angry minoutar, Percy's mother is turned to golden dust and whisked away. Dead? Maybe, but Percy doesn't think so. He travels with his satyr friend, Grover, to Camp Half-Blood, where he befriends the centaur Chiron as well as many other kids who, like him, are half-blood descendants of the gods. After a bloodthirsty game of Capture the Flag, Percy is awarded a quest. Zeus' powerful lightning bolt has been stolen, by whom, nobody knows, but it's Percy's job, with two friends as his companions, to find out and retrieve it.

My Analysis
The premise of the book, "What if the Greek myths were alive and real in this day and age?" intrigues me. I've always enjoyed studying Greek mythology, and this book does a nice job of making it interesting for the younger generation. The god of war is a biker, Auntie M. (aka. Medusa) lives in New Jersey, and the entrance to the underworld is in LA.
All of that aside, however, did the book deliver?
Well, the answer is complicated. In several aspects it did, and in many it didn't. The teens were never very believable, I was able to predict the conclusion halfway through the book, Camp Half-Blood had an uncanny resemblance to J.K. Rowling's Hogwarts, and the portrayal of "gods" with the dismissal of God (capital G, thank you) is downright controversial for most Christians.
Percy loves his mother and hates his abusive step-father (to the point of christening him "Smelly Gabe"). At the end of the book, Percy is given the chance to "do away with" his step-father for good. After all, he's just an abusive, smelly, poker-playing slob, right? Percy passes the reigns of revenge to his mother, though, and veangeance is played at with a wink and a smile.
Friendship and love are strong throughout, the trials of a monster strewn quest bring out the best in Percy and his friends, and common disabilities, like ADD and Dislexia, are passed off as good things, not bad.

Conclusion
This could've been so much better. There were points in this book that were good and others that were bluntly immoral. I wouldn't recomend Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief to anyone under the age of fourteen, as it was just too problematic. Three out of five stars.

Falling Up Disbanding??

2010-02-04T14:21:00.000-08:00

Yup, my favorite group of musicians has disbanded. Their last concert is going to be in New Zealand... So at least the Hobbits will get to enjoy them. This is really a big bummer because their albums are my #1 writing music. I've tapped the letters off of my keyboard listening to Captiva, and the thoughtfulness that went into their latest and last CD, Fangs, was overwhelming at times (incidentally, Fangs is a Sci-fi book that the lead singer wrote turned CD).

Luckily I got to see them in concert once. Right. Up. Front. It was amazing, because I got there three hours before the show in order to snag the spot in the center. That's a highly coveted area, people. It takes quite a bit of willpower to hold onto it. But it was soooo worth it.

This is the only pic I took that could fit the lead singer in the frame. I seem to remember him doing a back flip soon after I snapped this one. haha

How about you guys? Any music you really like? Let me know, because I need something to fill the void that Falling Up is leaving behind!

Grabbin' My Dance Shoes and Headin' to Chuck E. Cheese

2010-01-16T18:11:00.000-08:00

This post is gonna be about bizarre experiences. Like the ones you can't believe actually happened to you as soon as they're done, and you're kinda freaked out that they did.

One of the these that sticks out predominantly in my mind happened when I was about six years old. I was at a particularly large Chuck E. Cheese's, and the giant mouse himself pulled me onstage to dance with him. This was back in the time when I believed that Narnia actually existed, that Peter Pan really could fly, and that Psalty the Singing Songbook was alive and well. Ya know, when you're six years old the thought that the person underneath the whiskers could be an old creeper doesn't really cross your mind. In fact, when you're doing the can-can with a giant mouse, it's hard to think of anything. Nowadays when that memory surfaces, a shudder runs down my spine. By the by, there's a reason I don't like going to Disney World. Irrational fear of people dressed up as animals? You bet.

My second bizarre experience that I can't believe happened took place during The Passion Play up in Anchorage, Alaska. In the play there's a part at the gates of either heaven or hell (I can't exactly remember which, it was awhile ago) where several demons come sprinting down the aisles screaming like banshees. As luck would have it, I was sitting at the end of my pew near the back, right next to where Demon #3 would be running. Long story short, the poor actor came carneening down my aisle hollering like he was on fire--only to trip over my leg (which somehow got in his way). I'm not sure how my leg got there. It might've been an adrenaline laced rush of instinctual self-preservation. . . or it might've been that I was sleepy and had decided to stretch out. In either case, Demon #3 picked himself up, put his mask back on, and continued toward the stage followed by chuckles from the audience.

As a writer, I'm supposed to be able to draw inspiration from my experiences. But to tell you the truth, the only thing those two stories have ever inspired is a quick laugh from my freinds (albeit a nervous laugh in the case of Mr. Chuck E.).

Now, I know for sure that I'm not the only person weird things happen to. So how about you? Any bizarre experiences hidden in your past? Ones that you've suppressed until now but are finally ready to share with the world (lol)? It doesn't have to be funny, it can be freaky (I've got a few of these, just ask me about a certain magnet-nosed hippo sometime) or sad or whatever you want. I'd love to see 'em, so post yours in the comment section below! I can't wait to read these. . .

The Twilight Saga, New Moon—Movie Review

2010-01-01T18:24:00.000-08:00

I've covered the subject of vampires in previous post, so I'll only write a brief statement here to start things off. At the time I wrote that post I believed that the Twilight vamps weren't evil because they didn't suck human blood. Since then I've found that it's evil to drink any blood—animal or human—because that's condemned in Scripture (I used to think that this was only condemned in the times of the Mosaic Covenant, but I found a passage in the New Testament—Acts 15:20—that clearly states that it's still evil). I'm not about to go off on Stephanie Meyers, but this is one of the few problems I've found in her novels. We have to look at the Twilight Saga as a non-Christian work of fiction, because God would never make a creature that would have to sin in order to live. All of that aside, let's move on to the review.

The Story

The movie starts with one of the most interesting intros I've ever seen on film. Inside of a dream, Bella sees herself as an old frail woman. At first she thinks it's her grandmother, but then Edward Cullin—still in the prime of his vampire induced youth—comes onto the scene and clears things up. Obviously, Bella is concerned that when she gets older Edward will no longer love her. Her motive from the start is to become a vampire in order to spend youthful eternity with Edward. Edward will have nothing to do with it, though, and after Bella is nearly killed by another vamp he nobly decides to leave her in order to save her. After months of reclusive depression, Bella comes back into the world and finds that by getting into recklessly dangerous situations—like cliff-diving and jumping onto a strangers motorbike—she can experience Edward again—albeit in a ghostlike way. Then she meets Jacob Black, a boy turned werewolf, who protects her from all kinds of dangers in Edward's stead. Though it's clear that Jacob wants his relationship with her to progress further, Bella is too enraptured with her ex and goes to Rome in order to stop Edward from doing something very foolish. Once there she races against the clock only to come face-to-face with the Volturi, a more traditional clan of vampires who care for humankind in about the same fashion Nero cared for the Christians.

My Thoughts

Bella's relationship with Edward isn't exactly healthy. This time 'round we find that the reason Edward doesn't want to turn Bella into a vampire is because he believes that all vampire souls are damned. Bella is quick to point out that she doesn't give a whit about her soul, and even tells him to take it because she doesn't want it without him. That's not exactly the type of image I want my generation to see—and let's face it, the Twilight Saga is one of the most influential things of our time.

There's also quite a bit more violence than we had in the last installment. Almost all of it was justified, however, and I only felt it was unneeded on two points. Once where we see a vampire's head torn from his body, and once in a shot where we watch a group of tourists lead toward the Volturi like lambs to the slaughter (we don't see anything, but screams are heard just before the screen goes black). Also, it's implied that to transform into a werewolf you have to be angry.

The biggest issue I had with the movie was actually the amount of shirtless males in the film (I cropped the image of Jacob below). I got a little bit more than tired of watching Jacob and Edward take off their shirts for seemingly no reason other than to dazzle female moviegoers. Point in case: After Bella gets a nasty scrape on her forehead, Jacob peels off his shirt to dab the blood away. Apparently, the director didn't think a handkerchief would be quite as entertaining.

Somehow I ended up liking this movie. The plot was entertaining, if nothing else, and improved on a lot of the things Twilight had me rolling my eyes over. The script and special effects easily outweighed what the last installment had. I felt enraptured watching the werewolves heroically chase down two of the evil vampires (probably my favorite part of the movie) and loved certain aspects of Bella and Edward's relationship (even if I hated others). Altogether my favorite aspect of the story was the character of Jacob Black. He's a teen that struggles but ends up doing the right thing... most of the time. His bravery and chivalry toward Bella was inspiring. Another thing I got out of this film had to do with the Cullens. They're a tight-knit, familyish unit devoted to going against the flow. See what parrallel I'm getting at here? Though it probably wasn't Mrs. Meyers' intention to make the Cullens resemble the Body of Christ, I still got that out of the film... though only in retrospect (and I did have to dig pretty deep).

My final opinion of Twilight: New Moon? If you're into this kind of thing and are looking to be entertained, go see this movie. If you're looking for take-home value, quit looking in theaters, you won't often find it there. All in all it might be better just to read a good book. Like, I dunno, the Bible? ;)

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-26T16:15:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas! I hope you all had a wonderful day of celebrating Christ's birth. I sure did. I've enjoyed browsing through the Christmas posts and I thought I'd highlight a few of my favorites.

Christmas Stories KM Wilsher is an awesome person. What I've seen of her writing is so amazingly cool you just can't not like it! Her blog posts are pretty nifty as well. I'm so grateful I found her through my friend's blog.
Worst Christmas Songs Ever Written Earwen is a very gifted--and, I daresay, opinionated--fantasy writer. Her blog was one of the first that I started following. Her posts--whether they're about centaurs or Robin Hood--have never failed to make me smile.
Christmas, star wars, and my Christmas sci-fi short story Brandon Barr is an altogether cool guy. His Christmas short story completely blew my mind. Be sure to check it out after watching that very strange Star Wars video. (Princess Leia sings. Need I say more?)

I had a great Christmas. My brother got me a really sweet looking American Eagle shirt and my parents splurged to get me a digital camera. They're so cool! In return I gave my brother the two-disk GI Joe DVD and to my parents a new razer and a Susan Boyle CD (Guess which got what).

Anyway, my New Years post is gonna be a wee bit absorbed by my New Moon review, so I thought I'd jot out a quick BlogYear Resolution. Ya know, just to put things in stone. If you guys keep checking back here (and I really hope you do) you'll find stuff about the signed books I own, my two pet bichon frises, my journey through various writing competitions, random life musings and, of course, reviews on Books, Movies and Music--as well as anything else I feel like putting out here!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! You guys are all so very cool. I'm super glad I've been given the chance to "meet" each of you.

Haircuts and Rudeness!

2009-12-21T17:06:00.000-08:00

The aforementioned haircut and rudeness are both mine. I'm not sure if I'm the only one, but when certain petty things happen to me I immediately get grumpy. Point in case: Haircuts. I like my hair long and my mom likes it short. The battle over this subject is titanic--with losses on both sides--and it always makes me grumpy. This is a very bad thing to get moody about, though, as it usually involves meeting a new person.

Enter the executioner (or barber, whichever you prefer).

The executioners are always the same--perky middle aged woman who like to ask you about school, your friends, your hobbies, your dead pet goldfish, and/or your family. They like conversation, but don't like your head to move while you talk. The executioner will first attempt to strangle you with a thin white band before throwing a black tarp over your struggling body. If you're not already dead by this point, they'll either try drowning you with a giant spray bottle or attacking your head with a pair of jagged shears. Eventually they'll get discouraged, force you to stare in a mirror, and put away their murderous intruments. Then--and get this--they want you to pay them!

When I get grumpy my sarcasm tends to rear its ugly head. This is a problem of mine that I am continually working on. Even so, here's a snippet of the dialogue between me and the, ahem, executioner:

Executioner: "Ohhhh, you're homeschooled? You must be, like, really creative."

Me: "Yeah, that's probably why there's a yellow-eyed demon chicken in my book."

Executioner: "You're writing a book? Wow! What, erm, genre is it?"

Me: "Historical Non-Fiction, actually. There were a lot of yellow-eyed demon chickens around the Renaissance."

Executioner: "..."

It's hard to find a really witty executioner, but if you can, you're among the lucky few. I've only managed to find one. Her name is Barb. That earned her one short quip from me, but she repayed it tenfold. Haircuts with her were actually fun--even if she was trying to kill me. It also helped that I didn't come out of the building looking like this...

Unfortunately for me, Barb wasn't there for my last haircut, so I have no clue how I look. The executioner who did my hair this time said she'd retained my hair's "natural jive." The word "jive" makes me think of surfers and energy drinks. Is that a good thing? You tell me.

Also, sorry that this post wasn't very Christmasy. I've got a Christmas post coming up, so hang in there. After that I've got a review of the Twilight film, New Moon (because I finally went and saw it). I think I'll post that one on New Years. You know, because it's New Moon and New Years... yeah, I'm gonna shutup now.

All Aboard The Hogwarts Express—A Book Review In Seven Parts

2009-12-08T10:47:00.000-08:00

Harry Potter

How do you describe a world-wide phenomenon like the Harry Potter novels? It’s very hard, and the author, J.K. Rowling, must have had a hard time topping herself with each installment of the seven book series, and in my opinion she did—her major fanbase can probably back me up on that one.
I’ll admit now that for many years I was biased against these books—hearing stories about J.K. Rowling being a witch and various occult rumors, most of which I believed—but I was wrong… for the most part. I don’t believe these books should be read by anyone, particularly young children, and adults should be sure that their children are discerning enough to know what is right and wrong about the series.
That being said I will warn you of one more thing: The review below contains a few spoilers. If you don’t want to ruin things for yourself, don’t read on.

[Note: The summaries below are the back cover copy off of the individual novels; you can skip them if you’re in a hurry and just read the various issues and key points I’ve laid out. The two pictues were taken from popular Harry Potter fansites]

Year One
Harry Potter has never been the star of a Quidditch team, scoring points while riding a broom far above the ground. He knows no spells, has never helped to hatch a dragon, and has never worn a cloak of invisibility.
All he knows is a miserable life with the Dursleys, his horrible aunt and uncle, and their abominable son, Dudley—a great big swollen spoiled bully. Harry’s room is a tiny closet at the foot of the stairs, and he hasn’t had a birthday party in eleven years.
But all that is about to change when a mysterious letter arrives by owl messenger: a letter with an invitation to an incredible place that Harry—and anyone who reads about him—will find unforgettable.
For it’s there that he finds not only friends, aerial sports, and magic in everything from classes to meals, but a great destiny that’s been waiting for him. . .
If Harry can survive the encounter.

The Magic
The magic of Harry Potter has been debated all along. It is a school of witchcraft and wizardry, right? Not really. Witchcraft, real witchcraft, isn’t used in these books, and neither is sorcery. It’s an interesting fact that the British version of the book was actually called the Philosopher’s Stone and that the American edition is the one who dubbed it the Sorcerer’s Stone. That some people say the Harry Potter books glorify Satanism is laughable. Though they have their problems, they certainly aren’t evil in that respect. I doubt that any of the people crying foul about the spells in the series have ever read any of the books. For instance, one of the rumors I’ve heard about Harry Potter is that the spells the characters invoke are in fact real spells from Wicca. Not so. Rowling made up her spells through a mixture of Latin and her own imagination. A good comparison to the magic in Harry Potter would be the magic in Eragon—a book which many Christian sites endorse.

Year Two
The Dursleys were so mean and hideous that summer that all Harry Potter wanted was to get back to the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. But just as he’s packing his bags, Harry receives a warning from a strange, impish creature named Dobby who says that if Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts, disaster will strike.
And strike it does. For in Harry’s second year at Hogwarts, fresh torments and horrors arise, including an outrageously stuck-up new professor, Gilderoy Lockhart, a spirit named Moaning Myrtle who haunts the girl’s bathroom, and the unwanted attentions of Ron Weasley’s younger sister, Ginny.
But each of these seem minor annoyances when the real trouble begins, and someone—or something—starts turning Hogwarts students to stone. Could it be Draco Malfoy, a more poisonous rival than ever? Could it possibly be Hagrid, whose mysterious past is finally told? Or could it be the one everyone at Hogwarts most suspects. . . Harry Potter himself!

The Characters
The colorful and sometimes eccentric characters in the Harry Potter books are seventy-five percent of the appeal to me. Who can forget the insidious Potion Master Snape, the knowledgeable Albus Dumbledore, or the dastardly Lord Voldemort? You can’t. Once you read these books, the characters stick with you like week old casserole. One of the “problems” people have brought up about these books is the aforementioned Albus Dumbledore’s sexuality. At a Q&A for the last installment of the series, J.K Rowling said that she’d “always thought of Dumbledore as gay”. In all the books, this is never implied. If it had been, it would’ve been an issue. As is… it isn’t. I read the books expecting to see something in Dumbledore’s lifestyle that would point to his being homosexual, but I didn’t see a single thing. Not even once.

Year Three
For twelve years, the dread fortress of Azkaban held an infamous prisoner named Sirius Black. Convicted of killing thirteen people with a single curse, he was said to be the heir apparent to the Dark Lord, Voldemort.
Now he has escaped, leaving only two clues as to where he might be headed: Harry Potter’s defeat of You-Know-Who was Black’s downfall as well. And the Azkaban guards heard Black muttering in his sleep, “He’s at Hogwarts . . . he’s at Hogwarts.”
Harry Potter isn’t safe, not even within the walls of his magical school, surrounded by his friends. Because on top of it all, there may well be a traitor in their midst.

I Solemnly Swear That I’m Up To No Good
Rule breaking is a staple point in every one of the Harry Potter books. Nowhere, in my opinion, is this more evident than in book three. Harry, Ron, and Hermione flaunt about Hogwarts, breaking rules and not paying any attention to authority. Most of the time the rule-breaking is justified by the circumstances, such as in book five, but most of the time it is glorified and there is no consequence whatsoever. In book two, in order to make Polyjuice Potion, Hermione had to steal from Professor Snape’s private cupboards. Likewise, in book four, Dobby the House-elf stole Gillyweed so that Harry could breathe underwater. Neither received any consequence for their actions.

Year Four
You have in your hands the pivotal fourth novel in the seven-part tale of Harry Potter’s training as a wizard and his coming of age. Harry wants to get away from the pernicious Dursleys and go to the International Quidditch Cup with Hermione, Ron, and the Weasleys. He wants to dream about Cho Chang, his crush (and maybe do more than dream). He wants to find out about the mysterious event that supposed to take place at Hogwarts this year, an event involving two other rival schools of magic, and a competition that hasn’t happened for a hundred years. He wants to be a normal, fourteen-year-old wizard. Unfortunately for Harry Potter, he’s not normal—even by wizarding standards.
And in this case, different can be deadly.

Death
Rowling herself admits that Death was the building theme behind her Potter novels. Defeating Death is really at the core of the seventh book. These novels show the afterlife from an interesting—and possibly problematic—viewpoint. Ghosts can stay behind if they refuse to pass on, and are even summoned at different points in the books—especially toward the end of the final book. This is never condoned or encouraged, but neither is it dissuaded. Several characters are killed during the course of the series, starting from the fourth book and continuing to the last. Voldemort makes an amazing villain, but in books five and seven, Harry slips into Voldemort’s mind and witnesses murder after murder. If violence is an issue to you, you may not want to read these books… then again, you may not want to read the Bible’s crucifixion accounts, either.

Year Five
There is a door at the end of a silent corridor. And it’s haunting Harry Potter’s dreams. Why else would he be waking in the middle of the night, screaming in terror?
Here are just a few things on Harry’s mind:
A Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher with a personality like poisoned honey
A venomous, disgruntled house-elf
Ron as keeper of the Gryffindor Quidditch team
The looming terror of the end-of-term Ordinary Wizarding Level exams
. . . and of course, the growing threat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. In the
richest installment yet of J.K. Rowling’s seven-part story, Harry Potter is faced with the unreliability of the very government of the magical world and the impotence of the authorities at Hogwarts.
Despite this (or perhaps because of it), he finds depth and strength in his friends, beyond what even he knew; boundless loyalty; and unbearable sacrifice.
Though thick runs the plot (as well as the spine), readers will race through these pages and leave Hogwarts, like Harry, wishing only for the next train back.

Storyworld
The diversity of our world and the wizarding world is delightfully believable, in a very weird way. For every invention the Muggles (non-magic folk) have, there is a magical alternative. Instead of cars, they have broomsticks. Instead of FedEx, they have owls. Instead of medicine, drugs, and steiroids, they have potions. Rowling, it seems, has thought of everything. While reading the books I found myself wishing I could peruse the shops at Diagon Alley, or perhaps stroll the streets of Hogsmeade. The magical creatures that populate Rowling’s storyworld remain hidden from the Muggles—so things like Unicorns and Crumple-Horned Snorkacks are rare, but can actually exist. Not very often do fantasy books taking place in our world make me wish that things could actually be that way. Inkheart comes to mind. Rowling’s universe is another of those rarities.

Year Six
The war against Voldemort is not going well; even Muggle governments are noticing. Ron scans the obituary pages of the Daily Prophet, looking for familiar names. Dumbledore is absent from Hogwarts for long stretches of time, and the Order of the Phoenix has already suffered losses.
And yet . . .
As in all wars, life goes on. Sixth-year students learn to Apparate—and lose a few eyebrows in the process. The Weasley twins expand their business. Teenagers flirt and fight and fall in love. Classes are never straightforward, though Harry receives some extraordinary help from the mysterious Half-Blood Prince.
So it’s the home front that takes center stage in the multilayered sixth installment of the story of Harry Potter. Here at Hogwarts, Harry will search for the full and complex story of the boy who became Lord Voldemort—and thereby find what may be his only vulnerability.

The Craftsmanship
J.K. Rowling’s craft started out pretty bad in book one, but grew as her series—and her characters—matured. Blatant telling permeated the first few books. For instance, the very first scene that we are in Harry’s Point of View wasn’t really a scene at all. The books were written in third-person limited omniscient, which means Rowling stayed mostly in Harry’s mind, but hopped out every now and then seemingly on a whim. I believe it could’ve been more powerful if she’d stuck with a more personal take on things, as she did for the most part of the later books. Overuse of adverbs in said-tags made me cringe more than a few times. My favorite being “said Percy sanctimoniously”. Rowling’s editor was pretty much absent from the fourth book on. In fact, I think I heard an audible intake of air as my librarian hefted the fifth book into my arms. This made for sub-plots that, though charming, weren’t really necessary to the overall plot of her novels.

Year Seven
We now present the seventh and final installment in the epic tale of Harry Potter.

The Ideals
My favorite—and arguably the most admirable—part of these novels is the idealistic friendship between Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They are the epitome of what a true friendship should look like. The morals in this story are also very strong; Courage; sacrifice; and, above all, love. The trio is willing to die for what’s right, which is a powerful image… for young and old. The ideals of Rowling’s books far outweigh, but do not erase, the few negative elements of the books.

Conclusion

Throughout all seven books I kept waiting for Rowling’s ingenuity and clever wit to hit a wall. I can’t say I was disappointed, though, for she never did. She hasn’t forgotten what it’s like to be a teenager, as so many writers do nowadays, and that added a degree of closeness that bonded me to the story even more. The characters, twists, and mysteries never failed to disappoint, and even kept me guessing beyond the last page. J.K. Rowling has an amazing gift, and I can truly say I’m glad she decided to bestow it upon us “Muggles”. Now, though the final tale in the Harry Potter saga has already been spun, The Boy Who Lived will live on—whether between the covers of a book or in a child’s imagination. And someday, generations from now, people will be able to look back and appreciate Rowling’s work for what it certainly was—a work of genius.

The End

A Christmas Carol

2009-11-28T15:07:00.000-08:00

Thanks for all the comments last post, everybody! Especially the recomendations. Unfortunately I didn't go to see any of the ones you wanted me to. I wanted to see The Blind Side or New Moon, but I saw A Christmas Carol. The family outvoted me. My mom and dad had already seen The Blind Side on a date night, and New Moon, according to my mom, wasn't Christmasy enough. Imagine that.

So we went to see A Christmas Carol with Jim Carrey. I'm a bit biased against this story, I have to admit. It's not the message or anything, but the darkness of Charles Dickens' writing--which has made it into every movie adaption I've ever seen of this story, except one.

I went into the movie theater rather tired of Ebenezer Scrooge, hoping that Jim Carrey would be able to liven up the character from the literary classic in a way I hadn't seen. He didn't. The script was almost word for word out of the book. And Jim Carrey didn't practice much of his improvisations, which he has been known to do.

As for the CG... The buildings of London looked superb. My favorite parts of the movie had nothing to do with the story at all. I just enjoyed flying over the city. The actual characters, though, left much to be desired. Their lip movements didn't seem to fit their words. Oh well.

Am I just being biased? Do you still want to see this movie? Anyway, my family has decided to go see New Moon while my brother is still here. He liked Twilight, and I kinda want to see if the sequel is better than the first movie.

Mischief Managed

2009-11-26T08:10:00.000-08:00

First of all, Happy Thanksgiving! I hope you're having a good time with your friends and family today, as I am with mine. Be sure to eat lots of turkey, but save the crescent rolls for me. ;)

This has been a busy month. I just finished critting one of my writer frends' books, which will be coming out of Marcher Lord Press April next year. I'm only seven chapters into my own rewrites so far, but I'm hoping to pick up the pace soon. One of the really cool things I've been doing this month is making a book trailer for Wayne Thomas Batson's and Christopher Hopper's latest book, The Curse of the Spider King. I'm in charge of the filming (thus the corny picture up there) so I get to have lots of fun. I nearly shot my dad when I filmed that yesterday, but that's pretty much the only dangerous shot in the video... pretty much. (hehe)

I'm ready for the Phoenix Rattler Contest results to get back already. Patience has never really been a virtue of mine, so I'm thinking this is God's way of teaching me. Mid-December seems very far away, but November has really flown past. Which reminds me... I need to write my next E-Zine article. So, yeah, being an impatient procrastinator isn't really working out for me. One of the things I haven't been able to procrastinate about is reading the final Harry Potter book. I don't know how, but after 6 books J.K. Rowling's talent of sucking a reader into her story hasn't dwindled. Keep an eye out on December 8th. ;)

I'm thinking of going to see a movie soon. Not sure what I should see, though. My mom and brother are thinking we should give New Moon a try. Any of you seen that one? I've heard, er, lots about it. Anyway, this has gone on too long. Happy Thanksgiving guys! And DON'T touch those crescent rolls! They be mine.

The Legend of Zelda

2009-11-12T18:48:00.000-08:00

I normally like to keep my posts somewhat writing related, but today is an exception. Today I wanted to talk about video games. I don't play video games as much as I once did, as it is, there's only one title that really catches my eye nowadays. That is, of course, Zelda. The Legend of Zelda games have never ceased to catch my imagination. The puzzles within, along with the storyline and characters, are enough to snag my interest and glue the controller to my hands until I've reached The End. Consequently, the Zelda franchise has been around pretty much since the stone age. Tried and true, it has never failed to dissapoint.

The fact that the Zelda games are set in a realistic fantasy world called Hyrule might have something to do with the games' appeal to me. I never get tired of slashing the Master Sword at the countless number of oddball creatures that populate Hyrule--all in the attempt to thwart the thoroughly cliche (but thoroughly satisfying) Dark Sorcerer, Ganondorf. Playing the latest installment in the franchise on the Wii was an improvement to the old, clunky Nintendo 64 controls, as you can now point Link's bow, steer your horse, and swing your weapons.

The Zelda games have only gotten better through the ages. Take a gander at the graphics from the immensely popular video game classic, Ocarina of Time.

Now take a look at the graphics from the latest installment, Twilight Princess.

Quite an improvement, if you ask me. I was surprised last week when I went to youth group and one of the teens walked over to the piano and started playing one of the highly catchy "Ocarina" songs from the first game. Several teenagers spun around and said, "The Song Of Time!" This just goes to show that I'm not the only geek out there. ;)

Here's IGN's surprisingly well-made April Fools day spoof trailer. In it you can hear a few snippets of the music inside of the game.

How about you? Any video games out there that you like playing? Anyway, have a great day, guys!

Some News + An Excerpt.

2009-10-28T11:18:00.000-07:00

Book one of my trilogy, currently titled A Twin Hope, is FINISHED! I can't tell you how excited I am to have finished writing a book. After I told my crit group the news one person said writing "The End" on the very last blank page of her book felt like finishing a marathon. That's when I realized that I didn't even write "The End" at all! I wish I had. But as an excuse, I did finish it at 4:15 am. Some of the paragraphs at the end were pretty bleary, and I had to pound loud, inspiring music into my ears just to keep myself awake. (Immediate Music is like coffee for the ear drums.)

Today I'm going to write the article for my E-Zine. Usually I finish that about halfway through the month. But I procrastinated lots this October.

I promised an excerpt from A Twin Hope to a couple of people, and I decided I'd post that now instead of the Halloween Review of Harry Potter I was planning on. Jill Williamson posted her awesome sequel to By Darkness Hid for crit. So I'm stuck a third of the way through Order of the Phoenix. Oh well.

I tried to find a Halloweenish excerpt for you guys, and here's the best I could come up with. Enjoy!

The wind howled above the leafy canopy; and the trees bent under
the force of the gale. A crack like thunder shook the forest, and
the ground beneath Bevin trembled. It took him a moment to
realize that a tree had fallen.
"Aaaaghhh!"
Bevin's heart hammered in his chest. Something had screamed. A
high pitched, woman’s scream. What if the tree had fallen on
someone?
Bevin took off through the scraggly twigs to his left to find its
source. Someone was hurt. That type of scream could only come
from a mortally wounded person. A branch slapped his face.
“Stop!” Cedric shouted.
Bevin ignored the Elf.
The woman screamed again. Louder this time. Nearer.
A pale hand slapped down on Bevin’s shoulder and hauled him backward into the darkness. He tried to yell, but his breath caught in his chest.
Four icy cold fingers clamped his mouth shut. “Are you trying to get us both killed?” Cedric released Bevin and peered out from
behind the thick trunk of a nearby tree.
“What're you trying to do?” Bevin swallowed. “Somebody out there
needs our help!”
The Elf turned again and fixed Bevin with an angry glare.
“Somebody out there wants us for supper.”
Bevin’s stomach tightened. “W-what do you mean?”
“Moogles.”
“What’s a Moogle?”
Cedric lowered his voice to a whisper. “One of those in The Order of the Haunted.”
“Huh?”
“Moogles are cannibalistic sprites.”
Bevin stared at the Elf. The Elf stared at him.
“They mimic a woman's scream to attract the attention of those of
a more... chivalrous nature.”
The cloud that had been obscuring the moon faded into oblivion, and the surrounding forest was lit with an eerie radiance. A foggy glade cleared, and there, moving about thirty feet away, was a large grey shape with a long, ringed tail. It crept along with its shadowy face to the ground, searching or sniffing for
something. Quite suddenly it arched its elongated neck and filled the night air with a bloodcurdling shriek.
Bevin’s skin chilled. How could he have almost run to the rescue of such a creature?

[Insert Spooky Moggle Picture]

Magic and Vampires

2009-10-10T21:56:00.000-07:00

I've been noticing a lot of posts lately about Magic and Vampires, Wizards and Witches, and all things fantasy. Because I'm not the type of person to keep quiet when something I love is being talked about (fantasy in this instance) I thought I'd post something about the topic on my blog.

Keep in mind that these are just my opinions and you should read this with an objective mindset.

First up is Magic
Dictionary.com calls magic the art of producing a desired effect or result through the use of incantation or various other techniques that presumably assure human control of supernatural agencies or the forces of nature. Is that in itself evil? No. If that were evil then Jesus casting out demons would be evil. If that were evil Jesus cursing the fruitless tree would've been evil.
There are subordinate types of magic that are evil. Sorcery, Witchcraft, Divination, Necromancy..., those are all bad. What makes them evil is the fact that occult forces are put into play with each of them. As a side note, Black Magic is the exact same thing as White Magic, and both are evil.
I believe that magic in other worlds is fine, so long as it comes from God. That's why I feel fine reading the Lord of the Rings and the Narnia books, as well as countless others. Things get iffy when I hear about a book that has magic taking place in our world, I won't boycott a book like that, but I will practice discernment before picking it up.
If you want to read more about acceptable and inacceptable magic here's an artice that I think does a wonderful job of laying it out: Link.

Second up are Vampires
Dictionary.com calls Vampires a preternatural being, commonly believed to be a reanimated corpse, that is said to suck the blood of sleeping persons at night. Now, that definition is certainly evil. Traditional Vampires, like dracula, were demon-possessed corpses that sucked the life out of people to create more vampires. It is in the nature of a vampire to be evil. However, modern Vampires in fiction are usually not portrayed as being demon-possessed. If they are, then all the Vampires in that book are evil.
Nowadays we've got an epidemic of hunky vegetarian Vampires with a knack for falling into passionate romances with humans. Here's where I say I've got no problem with Stephanie Meyer's books. Since her Vampires have no base in the occult I'm okay with them. If Edward sucked human blood, I'd have a problem with him, but since he doesn't, I'm fine with him. I think that the idea of a Vampire going against its nature is very christian, seeing as how it is human nature to sin and we humans are called to a higher path. Edward seems to me a very noble fictitious character.

Third up are Wizards and Witches
A wizard is a person who practices magic, a witch is a a woman who professes or is supposed to practice black magic or the black art. As you can see, there's a huge difference between the two. I have wizards in my book, and I'm fine with them. They practice magic, and that magic comes from God. Witches, however, I've got a problem with. By being practicers of black magic they condemn themselves. (As a side note, witches or any practicer of evil can be redeemed by the cleansing blood of Jesus.)
Also, I've been seeing a lot of people saying that "wizard" is just the male term for "witch." Not true. Warlock is the male term for witch.

All things Fantasy
Since Tolkien and Lewis, Christian Fantasy has baptized normally evil things and redeemed their natures. J.R.R. Tolkien allowed the Wizard Gandalf to do spells, but Gandalf got his magic from Middle-Earth's God figure. Lewis allowed Pagan deities into his novels. I'm all for seeing evil nature being redeemed through fiction. Most christians are. Though I'd like to point out that some of the people crying foul against Vampires and Wizards are also the ones who love books with Dragons being shown in a good light. There is certainly more Biblical evidence against Dragons, but I'm not going to go into that. (As another side note, I have a good were-wolf and a good dragon in my book.)

So there you have it. That's where I stand on things. Also, I'm not trying to step on anyones toes with this post. I'm just stating my beliefs. I'd love to hear your opinions on these topics, so comment!

A Music Playlist and an Update

2009-10-07T19:25:00.000-07:00

I had some fun today. I compiled a Playlist of 25 songs for my book. Each song has a certain theme or emotion that I used in my writing, and if you listen to them all you can really get a feel for what my book is like. With some songs more than others, of course, but I just plain liked a few of them and couldn't stop myself from including them. If you do listen to them all you'll realize one thing: none of them have lyrics... WELL, not english, anyway, a little bit of Elvish in a couple of 'em. =)

Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see that.

My life has had a couple of additions just lately. Cable TV and Wireless Internet. If this is a curse or a blessing, I've yet to find out, but it's sure to mess with my word count... Speaking of which, my book is almost wrapped up. I say almost 'cause I've still got to finish my last chapter and write an epilogue. I'll be posting the final word and chapter count soon... I hope.

Also today I pre-ordered my copy of The Curse of the Spider King by Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper. I'm really looking forward to this book. By pre-ordering it today I helped the authors in their Blitz Amazon endeavor. It's been fun to watch this book go from 70,000 in the sales ranks to 633. The Blitz isn't over yet, however, and you can help the authors get it to Amazon's Top 100 by preordering it here.

That's all I've got for the Blogosphere today. Coming soon is a book review for all seven of the Harry Potter books... in one post. We'll see how that works out. ;)

An odd fact... And an E-Zine

2009-10-01T12:09:00.001-07:00

Let's start with the odd fact. Ahem... Did you know that more people are killed every year by Ostriches than by Sharks? It's true. You can look it up.

Sorry, I guess I've been reading the Guinnes Book of World Records too much. The main reason for this post is to point you guys over to my E-Zine where I've posted an article of Suspension of Disbelief. Check that out here. I stayed up till 3am last week writing that E-Zine because I couldn't stop! It was lots of fun.

I'm coming back from vacation tomorrow, so be expecting some more posts coming from me. I may even review a book... or something. We'll see.

Three book contest!

2009-09-29T13:02:00.000-07:00

You guys already know I love book contests. Someday I hope to host some of my own, but until then, I'll just post to other really cool ones. A friend of mine, Jacob Parker, is holding a contest for the upcoming book, The Curse of the Spider King, by Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper. But he's not just giving out one book, he's giving away three. This is one of those books that I hope blows the door off of Christian Speculative Fiction in the YA genre, you need to read it.

Jump through the portal.

Here's a blurb for the book.
The Seven succeeding Elven Lords of Allyra were dead, lost in the Siege of Berinfell as babes. At least that's what everyone thought until tremors from a distant world known as Earth, revealed strange signs that Elven blood lived among its peoples. With a glimmer of hope in their hearts, sentinels are sent to see if the signs are true. But theirs is not a lone errand. The ruling warlord of Allyra, the Spider King, has sent his own scouts to hunt down the Seven and finish the job they failed to complete many ages ago.
Now 13-year-olds on the brink of the Age of Reckoning when their Elven gifts will be manifest, discover the unthinkable truth that their adoptive families are not their only kin. With mysterious Sentinels revealing breathtaking secrets of the past, and dark strangers haunting their every move, will the young Elf Lords find the way back to the home of their birth? Worlds and races collide as the forces of good and evil battle. Will anyone escape the Curse of the Spider King?
And here's the book cover. (click to go to the Amazon page)

Free Time?

2009-09-25T10:22:00.001-07:00

In my last post I hinted at some bad news. And here it is... My first ever writers conference has been cancelled due to lack of interest. =(

The good news is that October just opened up on my calendar! But I'm still depressed. The whole thing looked perfect. It was going to be held at my church... Oh well. That's life I suppose. I'll have to save up and look into other conferences. The bummer about that is there isn't many conferences being held in Wisconsin. ACFW is the nearest, but that's the BIG one. I guess I won't get to start out small.

Speaking of ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers), I'm going to be joining in January. And then maybe I'll enter the Genesis competition. Lots of writers have encouraged me to do so, and I'm seriously thinking about it. I think it'd be a great help to my writing... but I've got to raise the money for the entrance fee. I'll manage. =)

In other news, (*cough* look at the picture *cough*) I stayed up till 3am last night to write my next E-Zine, Suspension of Disbelief. Lots of fun, but it needs to be edited. Here's a one sentence teaser: If you take your time to create a world you don't have any trouble believing in, chances are, your readers are going to believe in it too. Huh? Huh? I know, awesome, right? *wink wink* Keep an eye out for the whole article which I'll be posting on the first of next month.

Why is Voldemort Angry?

2009-09-23T22:25:00.000-07:00

Could be because he doesn't have a nose. But here's the more probable guess: SUMMER IS OVER! (Alright, caps off for the rest of this post, scouts honor... though I was never a Boy Scout... Is that relevant?). The days of peace and fun are over folks, it's back to the crazy life now. Er, crazier life in my case.

And now I have a confession to make, I did not reach my goal of finishing my book by the end of summer... I know, shame on me, but I'm nearly done (scroll down to the bottom of the page and look at that little blue bar on the right) and I'm proud of myself. Now I've got the some twenty-five thousand words to write by the end of this month that way I can enter a contest next month. Imagine writing that many words on a clunky old computer when you've got a pile of school to do. Yikes. But I can do it... Hopefully.

Now believe it or not, but there actually is a reason for that Voldemort picture up there. Yep, I'm reading Harry Potter. Now if you're like me you used to (or still do) think that reading a book by J.K. Rowling and being a Christian is like trying to mix oil and water. I don't think so anymore. Though I do think you should make absolutely sure you're a discerning person before you pick up the first book. Be warned: these books are ADDICTING (sorry, but I told you I wasn't a Boy Scout), I started the series just recently and I'm already on the fourth book.

And that's it for this blog post. I received some bad news earlier today, but, hey, that's an entire post for some other time. If you're really that curious, click here for a hint.

p.s. Sorry for all the links. The only two you should follow are the ones in the second paragraph... unless you really want to know what Wikipedia has to say about Boy Scouts.

Eric Reinhold Book Contest

2009-09-12T12:04:00.000-07:00

Now, as you guys may know, I love books. Books are awesome. I'm writing my own, too. And my favorite books are Christian Fantasy. I love it when christian authors write for teens, those books always seem to be the most powerful. Anywhoo, I'm posting here to tell you about a contest to win both of Eric Reinhold's books, Ryan Watters and the King's Sword, and Ryan Watters and the Shield of Faith. Here's the book covers.

Intriguing, huh? Now jump through the portal and sign up for the contest.

Three Favorite Book Characters

2009-08-31T17:57:00.000-07:00

Okay, here's a tag I thought looked really fun. Read the bottom and you'll see why. All three of the book characters I chose because I've lived vicariously through them. I chose popular YA characters because I relate better to teenagers than adults. Anywhoo, here they are...

Peter
- Peter lived during the bombing raids in London.
- Peter killed a wolf to save his sisters.
- Peter got a really cool sword from father christmas.

Eragon (p.s. I like the Inheritance Trilogy, err, Cycle only because of the characters.)
- Eragon has a dragon named Saphira.

- Eragon is a vegetarian... mostly... I think. (Did Christopher Paolini change that??)

- Eragon is only cool because of Saphira.

Alex Rider (okay, so not much I relate to with this character. lol)
- Alex Rider has been 14 for seven books.

- Alex Rider is a spy for MI6.

- Alex Rider can do just about every extreme sport there is.

Okay, what you have to do is pick three characters from three different books you love, pick one picture of each character to post and add three interesting facts about each character. Then, you have to tag at least 3 people.I tag... Nobody, cuz I'm a rebel!

Interviews and E-zines...

2009-08-17T13:01:00.000-07:00

Here's just a quick note about a new blogspot acount I've created, www.teenwrites-ezine.blogspot.com, teenwrites is an e-zine dedicated to helping other teens learn the craft of writing. The E-zine will come out monthly and will include helpful advice specifically for teenage writers. It should be fun... I hope.

The second thing I'd like to mention is the interview currently being hosted on J.R Parker's site, www.yodelingdwarf.blogspot.com. The interview is with best selling author in the CBA market, Bryan Davis. The contest is really quite simple, post a question for the author on J.R. Parker's blog and it might be chosen for the upcoming interview I'm doing with Mr. Davis. Pretty cool, huh? So head on over there and submit a question.

Uh-oh. I've been tagged!

2009-08-14T12:37:00.000-07:00

So, I've been tagged, and I didn't even know it. Sorry for waiting a month and a day, Jacob! =) Here's the answers...

Do you like to write?
Short answer: yes!

What genre?
Speculative fiction (english=anything weird). Young Adult (YA).

Favorite books?
Yikes. There are too many. My shelf is full of them. And I only buy books that I like. Does that answer your question? What? No! Fine. The book that made me want to write fantasy was the Hobbit. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is my favorite Narnia book... That covers the classics. Nowadays, I like anything by Wayne Thomas Batson, Bryan Davis, Donita K. Paul, or Anthony Horrowitz. Does that answer the question? Yes? Good! Moving on.

Do you compose music/write songs?
Umm, no. Music is not my strong point.

Do you like poetry?
I LOVE Dr. Seuss. He's, like, my hero!

Broken a bone?
I've broken my toe right before going to play mini golf. I still went, but it hurt.

Been in a police car?
Nope. But there was this one time--okay don't tell anyone--but I-I... I jaywalked on my way to the library. Shh! Don't tell anyone!

Been on a boat?
Yep. But only one time in the ocean.

Fallen asleep in school?
Considering my school is my house, yes. Every night, actually.

Did you sing today?
Cha. I sing all the time... And I don't care what Simon, Paula, and Randy said, singing is my passion! And I'm going to make it to the top!

KFC, Popeyes, or Church's?
Once I lived in a Church that Colonel Sander's built, they got free KFC chicken for their potlucks. So... KFChurch's!

Chick-fil-a or What-a-burger?
Without a doubt, Chick-fil-a.

Starbucks of McCafe?
They have Starbucks in Barnes & Noble. McDee's didn't have a chance.

What's your favorite time of year?
That's a four way tie...

Do you ever talk to yourself?
No. But the voices do... [cue freaky alien music]

Do you have a favorite treat you like to buy on occasion?
Mmm. Brownie Earthquake from Dairy Queen... drool.

Do you believe the Bible is the literal word of God and is infallible?
Yes.

What's your favorite sport?
That would have to be the local Spring Parade pie eating contest. Actually, I don't really like sports. Could you tell?

What color is your ipod?I don't have an ipod. I have a Sansa thing, and that's basically an ipod... except cheap. It's red.

So now that that's over with... I have no clue. I think I'm supposed to tag someone else, but I'm not going to. If you want to answer this random assortment of q's on your blog, go ahead and take a shot at it!

Music

2009-08-12T10:17:00.000-07:00

If it weren't for music, I don't know where my word count would be. Music is the source of much of the inspiration I muster when I sit down behind a keyboard or pick up a pen. And that's the point of music: to move our soul's and emotions so that we can reflect on the beauty of our Creator.
God uses music. All the proof you need to back up that statement is found in the Psalms.
When I write, I tend to listen to songs without lyrics (unless I know the words really well). Movie soundtracks are great for that, and so is techno music. Just recently I tried listening to Beethoven while I wrote I scene, and I failed miserably. I got to the opening notes of his Fifth Symphony and started cracking up. Imagining a dragon talking to those infamous starting notes was laughable. Moonlight Sonata was a little better, and so was his Ninth Symphony. But better and Beethoven (in my opinion) are Patrick Doyle, Howard Shore, Hans Zimmer, Harry Gregson William's and many others.
How about you? What is the music that inspires you?

What are you tired of?

2009-07-13T18:25:00.000-07:00

In life there are things we encounter daily that bug the hooey out of us. For instance, every time I walk into Wal-Mart and see a Hannah Montana cd/poster/towel/toothbrush/underwear/cereal/clock I fell like pulling my hair out, running away, and screaming. It used to be the same for High School Musical. But at least Miley is prettier to look at than Zac Efron...

So, here are my three things I am tired of.

1. Twilight

I believe every guy I know can vouch for this one. The whole Bella and Edward thing is beyond getting on my nerves. Don't get me wrong, I love vampires and were-wolfs (Mmm, not so much on the vampires) but them being used in this sappy tween-girl romance is enough to make me gouge my eyes out from pure boredom. If you love Twilight, good for you. Just don't talk to me about it. =)

2. Chuck Norris

In a world of interesting and sometimes funny jokes, ones about Chuck Norris are on the bottom of the list for me. I mean, come ON! This guy isn't God people. I hate walking through the guys clothing section in stores and seeing Chuck Norris jokes plastered on the front of every other one.

3. Miley Cyrus

Mentioned this one above. Go ahead and read that part again. I had to suffer through seeing the Hannah Monata Movie twice. Two days in a row. Need I say more?

Now it's your turn!

What are some things that get on your nerves? Things you can't stand, things you wish would just end forever and never come back. Got any?

Book Giveaway!

2009-06-22T16:13:00.000-07:00

The book is called Swords of the Six by Scott Appleton. The cover is intriguing and made me immediately want to pick up the book. High praise all around the place for this book, including endorsements by Bryan Davis and Wayne Thomas Batson. Be sure to check it out. Or you can enter the contest to win the book http://flamingpen.blogspot.com/2009/06/free-book-drawing.html.

Art

2009-06-12T15:56:00.000-07:00

There's something special about knowing that with just your hands and imagination, any work of art is possible. Whether that be drawing a moist brush across a white palette to create a painting, gently strumming a guitar's strings, or even just typing on a keyboard, anything is possible.

As a writer I tend to like that last art I mentioned. Knowing that with every fresh page an adventure awaits gives me an undescribable joy that I couldn't express in words. Or maybe I could. Or maybe I just did?

Take a second and look at the banner on the top of the page. That picture says it all. The sky is not the limit, I believe that fact has been proven again and again with every good Sci-fi novel that comes out. (btw I made that banner. Isn't Photoshop amazing!)

Drawing is another thing I like to do, though the outcome is normally less than pleasing to the eye. That mountain pictured above is something I made in Paint on my computer. The outside is much less interesting than the inside, if I do say so myself. It's Dar'rok Ilvin, the dwarf mountain. And those tiny blue teeth in the background are supposed to be more mountains... In case you couldn't tell.

To all the other artists out there, whether your instrument is a pen, brush, or even voice, I salute you for your accomplishments. Thank you for inspiring us.

Alex Rider

2009-06-03T18:27:00.001-07:00

I have to say the way I found out about Alex Rider is actually quite strange. It started with a mediocre quality video game I got a couple of years ago for gameboy. I played it and actually liked it, though it was really short. Then one day two years later I went to the library and saw the movie sitting on a shelf. I picked it up recognizing the cover and watched it. Then watched it again. It was suprisingly good for a movie about a teenage spy, nothing like the corny Agent Cody Banks nonsense I've seen in the past. More like an adult movie with a fourteen year old protagonist.

That's when I found out it was a book before a video game and movie, a great book by Anthony Horrowitz. I cannot say enough about this series. You can read that back cover and scoff, but when you actually sit down and read the book I promise it will hook you. I've read all seven in the series. And today I found out there is going to be another one coming out. "Crocodile Tears" doesn't have a release date yet, but you can be sure it'll be in my hands as soon as I can get a hold of it.

Now not only am I following the author on Twitter, I'm following the actor who played Alex Rider. (Strangely enough his first name is Alex too...)

I hope Point Blank is made into a film eventually. There's nothing like seeing a story you've imagined turned into film reality...

He keeps all our tears in a bottle...

2009-05-30T19:46:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it seems like God will give us something just to take it away from us when we least expect it. Death has become an unnervingly common experience for me, so common that it's starting to not shock me anymore. I find myself wondering if it would just be better to dig a big hole and bury myself from the world to escape the pain in this world. But would it really be better to never know love instead of knowing love and losing it. I find myself questioning things in my own writing that I struggle with, and though the answers I come up with sound good on paper, it's much harder to have that faith it takes to believe there is a reason for everything that happens. I have lost my great grandma and my other two grandma's in a little over a year. All three of the deaths were relatively unexpected. So what does Jesus have to say about this?

Be still and know I AM God...

Isn't that all we really need to know as christians? That God does have a plan for us, there is a reason for the pains we face in this world, and that the pain we feel in our hearts now will all be worth it in the end. To those that I've lost in this world, I look forward to seeing your faces again in heaven.

Before every end there must be a beginning...

2009-05-29T17:06:00.000-07:00

Why is it that nowadays everyone has to have a blog? You scroll down a website's page and there will be the inevitable click here to go to my blog button.

So now I have one.

Yes, I have a blog on my website, but that one is for book reviews. Now I have a blog for me. My thoughts. And my writing.

Ya know, for a while there I persevered. "Anti confomity!" was my cry, but it was all in vain. Somehow I ended up on the blogspot.com page. "It will only take one minute, and you'll be blogging," the page whispered, its invisible finger beckoning. "Just... One... Minute." I set this up yesterday and this is the first chance I've gotten to try it out. Alright I admit it, I'm slow when it comes to things like these, but at least I try. So here we go... It's time... Let the blogs begin.