And Sew we Take Chapter Titles

Via Pinterest

To continue getting all of ya'll excited over Do You Take This Quest? I've decided to release ...

Chapter Titles!!!

That's right, I'm going to tell you all the brilliant titles I came up with for Do You Take This Quest? The not so brilliant ones as well ... but that's beside the point ...


But ... first ...

I didn't do this with Sew, It's a Quest, so I thought that it might be an interesting experitment to post both sets, so ya'll can compare and contrast.

So, without further ado ...

Sew, It's a Quest

1. The Question of a Quest

2. Ready, Set - 

3. Go!

4. Two Things

5. Thieves!

6. Their Story

7. Barn Dance

8. A Cousin

9. Castle Tour

10. The Murals

11. A Ride in the Forest.

12. The Royal Ball

13. True Stories

14. Types of Gems

15. You Called?

16. Robin's First Girl Fight

17. Merry Men

18. Sure Shot ... and Not so Sure Shot

19. A Birthday

20. Cats and Dogs

21. Eric Shows Up

22. Eric's Jailor

23. Chess and other Conversational Topics

24. Escape

25. Time to Leave

26. The Assembly Line

27. The Quest's Inn

Do You Take This Quest?

1. The Lonely Prince

2. Escape in the Night

3. Beauty Sleep

4. Awake!!

5. What's Wrong With the Wedding?

6. Friendly Introductions

7. Out From Behind the Curtain

8. In the Stables

9. Order Up!

10. Travel

11. Search Party

12. Confessions Under the Stars

13. The Back of the Tapestry

14. Tablewood

15. Guess What?

16. Gray Hair

17. The Ball

18. The Paint box

19. Family Ties

20. Maxie

21. The Big Day

22. What Followed

23. And They're Off!

Genius? Yes? No? 

Anyways. You may notice that Do You Take This Quest? has four chapters fewer than Sew, It's a Quest did. 

Heh, heh, heh. It's not because it's shorter. Quite the contrary. At the present second, it's about 5,000 words ahead of Sew, It's a Quest. It just happened to get longer chapters. And more Interruptions ... 

Sew ... What if?

This is something I saw a fellow writer do, and thought a really good idea. I'm going to post all the what if?'s that went into Sew, It's a Quest. Should be fun right?

Note: All of the spoilers are done in white. If you have read Sew, feel free to highlight the empty areas. If you haven't ... ruin your reading at your own risk

Via Pinterest 

What if I could rewrite the Fairy Tales from a Christian Perspective?

What if I begun with Sleeping Beauty?

What if she found her prince to be different from what she dreamed him to be?

What if there was a girl whose Fairy Godmother accidently gave her the gift of Best Swordsman in the World?

What if I threw her into my Sleeping Beauty Story that Has No Plot?

What if the girl had a brother who sews?

What if I made them a prince and princess?

What if I made Sleeping Beauty run away from her prince?

What if she hadn't really been awake, and the Sewing Prince were her true Prince?

What if the Swordfighting Princess and the Prince who had woken the Sleeping Beauty were bitter rivals?

What if he were the prince who helped to reveal the fact that the gifts had been mixed up?

What if she were the princess he was actually supposed to marry?

What if I told the story from the Swordfighting Princess' perspective?

What if I threw in Casperl and the Mountain Princess?

What if the Mountain Princess was Sleeping Beauty's cousin?

What if I threw in puns?

What if I threw in Robin Hood?

What if Robin Hood played Matchmaker?

What if ... 

Sew It's a Quest.

Another tasty egg.

Guest Post ... Jill Anna!

Anne-girl has challenged us to get to know a side character by allowing them to guest post on your blog ... so, after sorting through my ENORMOUS list of side characters, I selected Jill Anna from Water Princess, Fire Prince. She's an important character, but I'm never in her head due to the fact that I only get into the head of said Prince and Princess. Oh, and in her world, c's are used only for the /ch/ sound, and then they are used alone. She got very annoyed at spell checker over that.

Via Pinterest ... but with brown eyes.

Greetings ... it seems as though I have a thing kalled an author ... who has invited me into her world to write about being a karakter. I'm not sure how much of an opinion I can express, however, due to the fact that I was not aware of my being a karakter until I reseived her invitation. Indeed, I was going to ignore the invitation, but Jasmine found it while she was snooping in my stuff, and just had to pester the Water Prinsess with it. The Water Prinsess seemed to know what it was, and seemed to think it was a very horrid thing. She said that there was nothing for it, however, and that I had to go.

I suppose my Author wants me to tell you who I am, and who Jasmine is - for I hear she has already posted quite a bit about the Water Prinsess, which is right, of kourse. The Water Prinsess is the Water Prinsess, after all. But I'm such a nobody - just a lowly servant - I kan't imagine why people want to know about me.

I am a seamstress in the Upper kastle. I wasn't always, but I don't like to dwell on my past, and my Author has agreed that I won't have to. She says that she wouldn't want me to tell about my past anyways, due to the fakt that my past has things whic she kalls plot spoilers. They sound like very horrid things, so I will refrain from telling about my past with gratitude. Suffise to say that I am a seamstress.

Jasmine is my younger sister, who kan't seem to remember her plase. She is the Water Prinsess' personal servant, however. I know not why Lady Roxanne trusted such an important position to Jasmine, but I've heard rumor that Jasmine almost lost the job and was to be sent bak to the the village, but the Water Prinsess interfered. I do not know this for sertain, but it is the rumor, and it seems to me something that both my sister and the Water Prinsess would do. Not that I pretend to know the mind of the Water Princess, but I have spent a good deal of time in her presense while I sewed the clothes she has asked me to sew.

I hesitate to give my opinion of the Water Prinsess, but my Author tells me that I should, and, whatever my opinion be, the Water Prinsess would not shame me for it. I suppose she wouldn't, for she seems to me to enkourage my sister's lack of plase. I hesitate to say this, but I fear that the Water Prinsess does my sister no good favor. The Water Prinsess seems to me a very unladylike person when we are alone in her cambers, even though she acts more ladylike when people might see her. Indeed, just the other day, she did what she kalled "gymnastiks" and revealed her pantaloons for all the world to see! And her only exkuse was that she "normally doesn't do it in a dress!" Ah, if Lady Roxanne or one of her daughters had been thus exposed, they would have been mightily ashamed - but not the Water Prinsess! She also konfesses freely that she has no skill with the needle, which is why she requires my servises. 

However, the klothing that she asks me to sew is my greatest proof of her unladylikeness. She klaims that, due to the fakt that the prophesee requires that the Water Prinsess fight (which it does, I will not argue that), she needs klothing that allows for freedom of movement. However, sinse she is the Water Prinsess, I kannot argue with her desires. I only sit in my korner and sew, and try to keep my sister out of trouble.

And I must express that this is a very strange thing that my Author is having me write on. She kalls it a komputer, and says that the Water Prinsess has one as well. It is a very strange thing, with a glowing skrean and you write on it by tapping "keys." 

I muc prefer a quill pen.

Joan and Pearis

Today I once more bring two characters to the table. However, unlike all of the other times I brought two characters, these characters have only two things in common: they both think they should rule the style, and they're both Princesses of Fronce.

Joan via Pinterest 

Joan is the last of the Sleeping Beauty birthday party attendees that I have left to feature. Her gift was clothing design, and most of what the royalty of her day wore originated in her brain at some point. The fact that Fronce was one of the larger kingdoms helped her reputation and popularity.

However, her popularity kinda goes to her head, so she's considered somewhat of a snob by her friends - the others of the important countries. They're the only ones she'll associate with, but they're also the only ones who don't bow to her every whim and wish. Indeed, they rarely do. She somewhat envies Serendipity, due to the sway that the gray-haired princess has on the group.

Of course, her popularity wasn't enough to save her from the bane of a princess' existence  the politically expedient arranged marriage. What's worse is that she found the prince whom she was supposed to marry to be completely repugnant to her. She found him so much so that she left her engagement ring on her desk for "Safe keeping" when she went to attend the party of the Sleeping Beauty.

Lucky for her, though, the prince she was to marry did not attend the party.

Pearis via Pinterest 

Pearis, though she doesn't know it, obtained her place as the fashion instigator from her great-aunt. Thing is, she doesn't even know that Joan ever existed. She has very much the same personality as Joan, but with one major difference: While Joan's friends served to keep her in check and prevent her from becoming too big-headed ... Pearis's friends well ... only made it worse.

And if you're like, say, a certain Locksely princess who disregards every fashion you come up with ... well, let's just say that she doesn't think much of you.

Eleven times Two!!

I've been tagged by The Mad Elvish Poet and Kiri Liz with the SAME tag ... so I'll just do both in one fell post.

If you are tagged/nominated, you must post eleven facts about yourself.
- Then, you must answer the eleven questions the tagger has given you and make eleven questions for the people you are going to tag.
- Next, tag eleven more bloggers.
- Tell the people you tagged that you have tagged them.
- No tagging back

First, eleven facts about me:

1. I have 14 followers!!
2. Which means we are now ready go to the Lonely Mountain and reclaim it from Smaug.
3. Miss Jack can be Bilbo, since she's my newest follower.
4. I'll be Gandalf, since this is my blog, and I'm not my own follower.
5. The rest of you may squabble over the dwarves. I frankly do not care who is who.
6. Saffron's Big Plan and other Stories (a collection of short stories) is free today. Just look up on my sidebar. It's the top item.
7. I'm not wearing any fingernail polish today ...
8. I ought to paint my toes so that I feel pretty.
9. But then I'd have to stuff said toes into shoes since it's winter.
10. I hate shoes. They're the one drawback to winter.
11. I'd much rather wear leather-soled socks like the Tree Elvings do in my book Infiltration.


Then the questions from The Mad Elvish Poet, since she tagged me first:

1. Go look up "A Spaceman Came Traveling" by Celtic Women. Make sure you get the concert video. Watch it. Did you drool over the dress?  No. Actually ... it's not a color that excites me ... and I don't like strapless. It's a nice dress, yes, but not me. I'm pretty sure I got the right video.
2. When you get a new book, do you smell it?  Yes, and when I suspect that the book that I just got out of the library is new. It is my personal opinion that Amazon needs to create an AromaKindle, that has a slot for aroma thingies that come in New Book smell, and Old Book smell. This also needs to be cream instead of white. They would win so many more readers that way.
3. Have you ever found that book you really wanted in a secondhand bookstore, forgot to check the pages, and gotten home only to find that someone has scribbled in it? How mad did it make you?  I don't really get mad when I find it in a second hand book. What bothers me is when I find a library book scribbled in.
4. If you could be endowed with fluency in any language, which on would it be?  German. I fancy myself the displaced Queen of Germany, so I'm working on a plan to get back my country. Learning the language is my top priority. Sigh, it's not coming too well, though. I also want to learn Latin, Greek, and Hebrew.
5. Do you prefer Tortured, Untrusting, Silent, and Darkly Mysterious male characters, or Open, Gentlemanly, Teasing and Sweet ones?  Since most of my male characters fall firmly into the second category ... I think the answer is obvious.
6. If you could be endowed with the ability to lethally wield any weapon in the world, which one would it be?  The Big Stick. I'm already pretty good with one ...
7. What do you think of my questions in this tag?  They're quite interesting, and, for the most part, weren't that hard to answer.
8. Which of your characters is the most precocious?  That would be Maryanne ... who the only reason I haven't talked about her before is that she hasn't been born yet in the timeline of the series she's in. She's my favorite character though ...

9. What does he/she think of the questions in this tag?  Why, thank-you Kendra, for finally allowing me to talk on your blog, it's so lovely. I don't know why ... Just state your opinion of the questions, Maryanne. Oh, fine ... what's a space man? A man from outer space. Oh. Well, Kendra, I'd actually wear that dress, if it had sleeves, though. People write in books! In my world, yes. You live in a very strange world ... I'm already fluent in many languages. Si, I know. I'd like to learn Samosin, though ... I didn't even know that language existed. I just made it up for you. I now want to learn it. You're supposed to be stating your opinion, not answering the questions. I'm already lethal with both sword and knife. If you chose to be. Of course. 
10. Did you have to censor or threaten in order to get the answer you presented? Only to keep her from talking too long ... As I'm sure you noticed. She's actually a rather cooperative character ... No, I just have you wrapped around my little finger and you let me do whatever I want. No, I don't. We just tend to want the same things for the book. Same thing. You do know that you were only supposed to answer that one question. I do. But I can't let you have all the fun, now can I?
11. What threats to you use against your characters to get them to behave? Do they work? Kendra usually uses us cooperative characters to get uncooperative characters (such as my mom) to do what she wants them to do. Maryanne. I'M the one supposed to answer the questions. Ich mache es so, dass man nicht so hart zu denken. I don't even know what you just said. Te dije que las manzanas buen sabor. Maryanne, if you don't start cooperating, I'll take away your rock. Egg. I'll turn it into a rock. But you want it to be a rock just as much as I do. I can live without it. You're enjoying this Kenj. Admit it. Fine, Anna, but I'm still the one who's supposed to be answering the questions.

Then, Kiri Liz's Questions:


1. What is your third favorite color? Fuchsia. And, coincidentally, it's also the favorite color of my third favorite character. And your second favorite color is the favorite color of your second favorite character ... so why isn't your favorite color gold, since I'm your favorite character? Fine. I'll make Petra my favorite character .... Oh, nevermind.
2. If you could rewrite any scene from any book, which one would it be and why? I'm constantly rewriting scenes from books in my head ... yet I can't call any off the top of my head. Maybe the scene in the Hobbit where Bilbo catches up with the party after playing the riddle game and winning the Ring. The fact that he played a trick on Gandalf always bothered me. Especially since the fact that I know the nature of the Ring. I'd like to rewrite the scene in Il Cavallo Viola where the horse ate the hat. I think he should have eaten a shirt. Maryanne, I don't think anyone else has read that book. It is rather obscure, I must admit. Maryanne, I haven't read that book Your loss. Maryanne ... these are the questions that I'M supposed to be answering. I believe you've mentioned that before.
3. Would you rather live in a old palace, a cottage in the woods, a pirate ship, or a underground burrow? I live in a palace. You live anywhere you put your bedroll. True. But my official home is a palace. Ye s, but which one? Whichever one I'm at at the moment. I'm a traveling princess! Yes, I know. But this was asking me where I would LIKE to live. My uncle used to be a pirate. Maryanne ... Sigh. I'd like to live in an old, abandoned palace, with plenty of stuff to explore ... Oooohhhh!!! ME TOO! Maryanne.
4. How do you pronounce the word "often?" Off-ten? Or Off-fen? It depends on how careful I'm being, really. However you do. I subconsciously obtain your accent. Always.
5. What is your favorite holiday film? A what? The NUTCRACKER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Wow, Kendra, I didn't realize you could squeal that loud. I adore the Nutcracker. My favorite part of Christmas is watching all of the Ballets that we own. I don't care much for the movie-ized versions (such as the Barbie one) but I love watching the ballets. Someday one of my Nutcrackers will come to life and marry me ... And you think that my obsession with that prophecy book is unhealthy. 
6. If you had a book (any book including a cookbook or a research book) published, what would be featured on the cover? Most of my books when I visualize their potential cover art involve a sword. Stuff featured on the cover? What does she mean by that? In my world, book covers have pictures on them. The question is asking what sort of picture I would like on the cover of my book. Don't you want me on the cover? Currently I only have one book where I picture you on the cover. Oh! Cool! You live in a strange world, you know that, Kendra? Pictures on book covers, and people scribble inside. Yes, Maryanne, I am aware of that fact.
7. Where would your dream home be located?  I plan to live in the Golden Castle someday. Deep Breath. 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 34 ... Maryanne, 4 is what ... oh, never mind. You can't count. Anyways, I'd like to live in a tree house. Like Tiger does? Yes, like what Tiger does ... only Tiger doesn't live in a tree until after she gets married, but that's beside the point. She has an apocathary in a tree until then.
8. If there was no such thing as tea or coffee in this world, what hot drink(s) would you consume?  What's coffee Kendra? I cannot find a meaning for the word in any language that I know ... tea, I know what that is, it's what happens when Peter boils certain leaves. A nasty concoction I may add. You may deduct from what Maryanne just said that I do not drink tea or coffee in the first place and would, therefore go on just as I normally do, and drink hot coco and hot apple cider.
9. What one song describes your life/day/mood? "Dyai Iya Li Yiya." Maryanne, I doubt any of the readers know what that song is. And I'm the only one who can understand it, too! Isn't it such fun! Sigh. Okay, I have not a song that I consider my theme song, nor can I call one off the top of my head. Can I pick a psalm? psalms were songs, weren't they? In that case, Psalm 100 pretty well describes me.
10. Peanut butter cookies, snickerdoodles, or gingerbread men? While I do like peanut butter cookies, I don't love them. I don't think I've ever had snickerdoodles, so I'll go with gingerbread men. Actually, I prefer gingerbread houses, but that's another story. What's peanut butter, Kendra? A food that I did not deem fit to give your world. Same as coffee. Oh, but you said that peanut ... Maryanne, just be thankful that I left your world chocolate. Most of my worlds don't have chocolate.
11. What is something you absolutely love right now?
My pets, Ysga and Kanichen ... my mom and day, my Illokeech, and my little sisters, ummm ... Oh, my cousin, even though she hates me ... I absolutely love it when I don't have writer's block. Then you should write me into every book you write Kendra! Then you won't have writer's block! No. And you're not a cure-all for writer's block. Do you know you have more pets than any of my other characters? Yes, and I love them all! And you only have two ... I have a pet shortage among my characters.

Now that that's done, I get to ask questions!

Kendra ... Yes, Maryanne? Can I ask the questions? Ummm ... only if I write the numbers ...

Yay!!!

And you post every single one in English. I don't want my tagees to have to pull up google translate.

Fine!

1. How many knives do you usually have concealed on your person? I'm not going to ask where you conceal them, but if you want to answer that, you may.
2. How many times have you run away from home? Do you ask your parents permission before you do so?
3. What is your rank and station in life?
4. Do your cousins like you?
5. How many siblings do you have and do they like you?
6. How many pets do you have? What are they and what are their names?
7. Can you dance? Sing? Fight?
8. How many adventures have you gone on?
9. You enjoyed them? Right?
10. Can you hop on one foot?
11. How many languages do you speak?

Uhhhh ... Maryanne, I don't think my very many of my fellow authors can properly answer very many of those questions ....

Then tag their characters!

Uhhh ...

I'll tag them for you!

Ummm ...

Elsie and Elise
Seren
The Young Sage
Clara (Uhhh ... Maryanne ... Clara's my character. So, you let her have her own blog, didn't you? That blog is for reviewing classics When are you going ... Nevermind, I'll let you tag her.)
John (He's not technically a character, Maryanne ... So? He's sweet. He's a hedgehog. So?)
Lianne (Maryanne, I'm not supposed to be tagging back! You're not tagging Kiri, you're tagging Kiri's character. You're making me a rule-breaker. I'll take all the blame. Good.)
Snow White (Ah ... nevermind ....)
Hwinny

I think that's eleven ... 

We can pretend it is.

Just Because Tag

I've been tagged! Kiri Liz of Lianne Taimenlore has tagged me in a fun, getting-to-know-you, just because tag! I love tags!


1. Coffee or Tea?  Unlike my sister who adores both ... I hate coffee (love the way it smells, but hate the taste) and don't care for tea. Sometimes herbal teas have been shoved down my throat, and sometimes I've found a fruity tea that I didn't mind ... but that's not often. If I had to choose between the lesser of the two evils, I'd go with tea.
2. You win a thousand dollars!  What would be something fun that you do with it? I'd probably put it in my bank account and let it gather interest for a while ... I'd probably buy the harp I've always wanted ... and would definitely use it to purchase copies of my book ... and I'd use it to fix my car. (the one that our family outgrew when my youngest sib was born, so it's sat in our front yard for a few years, and it's a rather old car ... I'd be the fourth generation to drive it ...)
3. You're given the opportunity for the lead part in a play.  Would you take it? Definitely. I love acting, and the only part better than the lead is the comic relief.
4. Would you rather sing, play an instrument, or listen? I love to sing, but my voice is waaaay off key. I'd love to play the harp (and I own a 15-string lap harp) but reading music gives me a headache ... so I'll go with listening.
5. Are you more of a chit-chat person?  Or sporty? Depends. Some days I like talking, other days I pretend I'm good at volleyball.
6. Did you ever have an unrealistic dream as a child?  If so, what was it? For one of my Nutcrackers to come to life, kill the roach king, and carry me away and make me his queen ... Oh, wait, it's still my dream ...
7. Have you fulfilled any of the dreams that you had as a child?  If so, what where were they? I've become a published author!!!
8. What's that one place in the world that you've always wanted to visit? I've always wanted to visit the castles of Europe. Especially Nuremberg in Germany. I used to want to live in Germany.
9. What book character do you always find yourself imitating? Any that has good lines.
10. What's your favorite season? It's usually a tie between Winter and Autumn. When there's snow, Winter wins out ... but Autumn's better if it doesn't snow.
11. What are some of your favorite blogs to read? Yet Another Period Drama Blog, Scribblings of my pen and tappings of my keyboard, The Inkpen Authoress, Lianne Taimenlore, Eagle Nest Momma, I'm Singin' My Own Song,  etc. etc. You can look on my blog list on the sidebar for a good sample of the lovely blogs I read.
12. How long have you been blogging? Since July of 2009. That's three years ...


Okey dokey.  And then the rules are:

1. Answer the questions.
          Done.
2. If you wouldn't mind mentioning the blog of origin, The Golden Road, and the person who tagged you, that would be lovely.
          Done!
3. Tag 5 to 10 people and let them know you tagged them.

V. Kathie
Rhoswen
The Mad Elvish Poet
Miss Jack Lewis Bailot

... And I, unfortunately, can't think of anyone else that would do it (or I could force to do it ...) so I'll stop there.

Beautiful World I still Need to Name.

Anne-girl is hosting a writer's conference of sorts over at her blog, and today's topic is World Building, or, at least, one of the topics is. Anyways, today's workshop is to personify your setting/world and do a Beautiful People with them. I haven't done Beautiful People yet ... but it's basically answering questions about your characters.

Via Pinterest. The trunks aren't quite right, but, anyways ...

I have many, many worlds in my head, all of them different and crazy. However, I've decided to do the Elven world of my WIP The New Division, which has been on my mind of late. It's seriously underdeveloped at the moment, so maybe this will help!

However, if this world were a person, it'd have to have a split personality! The elves are divided into two peoples, the Harshia and the Lilnia, who are ... very different to say the least.

What kind of music does he/she like? The Harshia prefer music more like the tribal stuff from Africa and the Americas, while the Lilnia prefer more dignified and complicated musical instruments that require great knowledge to play correctly.
Does he/she like to go outside? The Harshia spend all of their time outside, for they don't even have the basic technology of candles, having spent all of their brain-work on developing weaponry, so it's dark inside their huts. The Lilnia, on the other hand, spend much more time inside, out of the hot sun, to preserve their pale skin, and to study their books and develop their varied technologies.
Is he/she naturally curious? The Harshia aren't. The Lilnia ... well, they love learning new things, maybe.
Right, or left handed? I think that if this world were a person, it'd be ambidextrous.
Favorite color? Due to the fact that all plant life is a shade of pink or red, I'll go with those two colors as it's favorites.
Where is he/she from? This world exists in an alternate dimension.
Any enemies? It has a war within itself. The Lilnia and Harshia haven't gotten along since Harsh and Liln, (whose stories are a combination of Jacob and Esau and Cain and Able. Harsh was Cain/Esau and Liln was Jacob/Able)
What are his/her quirks? Let's see, all plant life is a shade of pink or red, trees grow with two trunks, and have ink-black bark. It is said that strange things happen should one walk between the trunks of a tree, so no one ever does it. Never. Ever. Um, there's two moons. The Lilnia use the blue moon, Lilnai, for their calender, while the Harshia are governed by the red moon, Harshai.
What kinds of things get on his/her nerves? Each of the peoples always gets on the nerves of the others.
Is he/she independent, or needs others to help out? The peoples are independent of each other, but are very interdependent among themselves.

My Sister's New Blog!!

Hi! I'm Sarafina! 

And I'm Mariposa! 

And our author says that we can come and tell you all about her sister's new blog!!!!

Ummmm .... Girls, back up here .... I'm not your author, Kathie is.

Kathie's our baby sister.

Ummm ... no, V, then. V's your author. You're going to tell about her new blog.

I thought you were our author, Kendra ...

No ... V is. True, I did come up with you two, and I have written about you ... but V's officially your author.

We like you better Kendra. You understand us.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, but V's your author, and you're just going to have to live with the fact. Anyways, readers, I'd like to introduce ya'll to Elsie and Elise, a pair of twins that I came up with for my sister's sci-fi series. They think they're mine, but they're insane.

We're not insane. We're SILLIONS!!!

And sillions are the definition of insane. I'm well aware of that fact. Anyways, Elsie's the one talking in purple, while Elise is fuchsia. And, girls, weren't you here for a reason ...

We were?

Oh! Yes! That's right! We were going to tell all of your readers about our baby sister's new blog!

Ummmm ... oh, never mind.

It's called I'm Singin' my own song, and it's LOTS and LOTS of fun.

And we like fun.

So come over and check it out, and follow it and give her a nice big kiss and tell her how much you love her.

ELSIE!!! You know V doesn't like kisses. I think I'll take over from here. My sister, V. Kathie Ardnek has decided to start a new blog for her writing. She has a school/Spiritual walk blog, but has recently decided that she needs a blog to talk about her writing.

And to tell all of you all about us!!!

I thought I told you two to be quiet. Anyways, come on over and hit the follow button. She has dyslexia, though, so sometimes what she says doesn't quite make sense, but she has a lively imagination, and loves to make things up ...

I'm Singin' My Own Song

Meg

Via Pinterest

Meg is a character that was mentioned frequently in Sew, It's a Quest and did quite a lot ... yet you never saw her. On the surface, she's Robin's personal servant. She helps Robin to dress when she needs it, does Robin's hair, makes sure Robin's room is tidy, and makes sure Robin is never late for anything. That's what she's paid to do.

When I first mentioned her in chapter 1 of Sew, she was just a filler name I pulled out of my hat. However, during editing (and plot development for books 2 and 5 ...) she took on a personality and became someone who, if Robin's parents hadn't of hired her ... well, Robin would probably be a LOT worse off than she already is. And, since Robin as is happens to be bad enough, we're all glad that Meg was hired, agreed?

Meg was practically an orphan when the Locksley's hired her. Her mother had died when she was six, and her father had recently been lost at sea. Meg was the eldest of three girls. They had a stepmother ... but (as all Fairy Tale Stepmothers are) she didn't like any of the girls. That's why Meg got hired out. Meg hasn't seen either of her sisters since she was 12.

Meg is about a year and a half older than Robin, and pretty much considers Robin a younger sister, and Robin fully reciprocates the sentiment. Yet, though Robin may, Meg never crosses the line of being too familiar with her young mistress, always referring to Robin as Prinzessen. Oh, had I mentioned that she's from Germaine? Well, she is, and she has a delightful German accent which I love.

((Random fact about Kendra: I want to learn German some day. I love Germany. Sigh.))

Where Skunks Belong

Via Pinterest

It's October, and time for another set of Snippets! I've been working on editing Do You Take This Quest? as I believe I've mentioned before. I've also done some scribbling around with my calligraphy pen, and I've worked on some of my more random stuff that I haven't touched in a while and/or just gave a word document on my computer.

So the following will be mostly from Do You Take This Quest? but there will also be quite a bit of other random stuff as well.

Oh, and if you're a fellow writer, and you're wanting to take part in this delightful Snippets thing, just head on over to Katie's Blog and check it out!

If you're curious about any of the stories that the Snippets originate from, you can simply check out my WIP page.



. For several seconds, he just stood there staring hopelessly at the horrid creature as it sniffed the air, then locked its beady eyes on him.
  “Uh … nice … creature …”
   It apparently did not want to be a nice creature, for, at that moment, it sprang forward. The seeming spell that had held Andrew frozen was at last broken, and he squeezed his eyes shut and threw up his hands, in an attempt to stop the inevitable.

- Water Princess, Fire Prince

“Hey, there girl, ya miss me these last hundred years?” Madeleine carefully lifted the latch to Splatter’s stall and slipped in. The appaloosa mare whickered her greeting as Madeleine rubbed the velvety nose. “Of course you didn’t. You slept like the others. I missed you, though. Maxie’s gone, so he won’t be sneaking you carrots anymore. Yes, yes, I know about the carrots. Maxie never could hide anything from me.” She pulled her hand away before her fingers could get nibbled on. “Maxie taught you bad habits, didn’t he?” She sighed as pulled the currycomb off of the wall. 

- Do You Take This Quest

“Don’t Robin me,” Robin snapped. “My brother is completely duped by all of them. Did you see the way he was looking at that Rose girl?”

  “Like a young man much in love with a girl?”

  “He was staring after her like a fool – and she isn’t even pretty!”

  “So, your brother’s a fool?”

  “I said no such thing!” Robin exclaimed defensively. “I said he was acting like a fool. That Sleeping Beauty has him bewitched, I tell you. Utterly and completely bewitched!”

  “And that’s better than a fool for a brother?”

- Do You Take This Quest

With a frown she noticed the crystal statuette that she had given William for his birthday several years before. A smiling cat. She didn’t feel like a smiling mood. Without hesitation, she stood, crossed over to the shelf where it was, took the statuette off of the shelf, and, with her little finger, pulled down the corners of its mouth. Satisfied, she replaced the figurine back onto the shelf. A corner of her mind wondered what William would think when he noticed it, but she didn’t worry about it.

   She’d probably be long gone by then. 

- HaV Academy 

“What is it, Jasmine?” questioned Clara, turning to see what the girl could be staring at.

  There, standing in the doorway, was Lord Erik, and behind him was an assembly of various other nobles and servants.

  “Oh, hello,” she said in surprise.

  “We have been looking for you, Water Princess,” said Lord Erik in a non-judgmental voice. “You did not arrive at lunch.”

  “Lunch …?” 

- Water Princess, Fire Prince

“You don’t have to, as your brother seems quite content. Give it time, Robin. Don’t judge someone on first impressions and the fact their enchantment just happened to take slightly longer than planned to break.”

  “And Robert isn’t judging by first impressions?”

  “That’s different …”

  “How?”

  “Because he’s the one that broke her enchantment.”

  “Well, then, how are we going to break his enchantment!”

- Do You Take This Quest?

“You think it's water, don't you?” said Flewder, eying her. Shasta turned to him, blinking in surprise, unable to form any response. “It's flowstone.”

  “Flowstone?”

  “Flowstone,” he repeated. “Won't drown in it, but it has it's own treacheries just the same. Hard as any rock, but it moves fast. If you don't get across it quick enough … well, no one who's been carried away by flowstone has ever been seen again.”

- The Nine Gems of Virtue

Anthea sighed and slid Five Children and It back into her backpack. E. Nesbit’s trilogy was one of her favorites, not least because she shared her names with the two girls. Even though she knew she was named for her great-great grandmothers, she liked to think she was named for Anthea and Jane of those books. 

- To Perfect a Fairy Tale

“You know something?” said Samson, leaning on the stall door.

  “’Tis possible,” said Madeleine. “It depends on what the something is.”

  “A thought occurred to me while I did my packing,” continued Samson.

  “Really? And what was that? That skunks don’t belong in my room after all?” Madeleine questioned with a raise of her eyebrow.

  “Skunks always belong in thy bedroom,” said Samson, dead serious. “No, what occurred to me is this. We just slept a hundred years.”

  “Really? It finally occurred to you?”

- Do You Take This Quest?

This story is true.

   It's not my story though ...

   It's Yours.

   Once upon a time, you were a poor child in a distant land. Your mother died having you and your father died in the war. In short, you were an orphan.

   What war was it that took your father's life, you ask? Why THE war of course. The war that pitted all the men of the country against the trees. The men had eventually won, but with great losses - your father being one of them.

   Since you were an orphan, you lived all on your own. Well, actually, not completely on your own, for you had your dog - but that hardly counts.

   But wait just a minute, you cry, if that's how I began, how did I get to where I am now? And why don't I remember this?

   Well, be patient my friend, I'm getting there.

- Something random I wrote when I had my calligraphy set out and wanted to write something but didn't know what to write. I may continue it someday ...

Eric lost Robin. He hadn’t meant to do it … but he had turned his back on her to talk to the Duke of Lambra, and when he had at last been able to avert his attention back towards her, she was not there to receive said attention.

- Do You Take This Quest?

If ever Anthea were to be offered three wishes, she knew exactly what those wishes would be. She had read enough books and fairy tales to know exactly what would be the most useful and necessary. Indeed, she had nearly filled a spiral notebook with all the details and specifications of those three wishes.

    And good looks were not on the list.

   True, she wasn’t exactly pretty, for, as her middle name suggested, she was a plain Jane. However, she had read enough to know that looks were only practical for catching princes and marrying them in the morning. She was only twelve and therefore far too young to be entertaining thoughts of marriage – princely or no.

- To Perfect a Fairy Tale

She nodded distantly as she followed him into the living room. The sound of his TV pulled her out of her thoughts. The news was playing, relaying the events of the latest antics of Lavalight and Dr. Frost, the town’s resident hero and villain. Narrowing her eyes, she crossed over to the TV and flicked it off.

   “You really don’t like them, do you?”

   Roxanne turned to face William. “It’s not that I don’t like them, I just don’t like listening to them fight. Go get your shoes.”

- HaV Academy

“Hello, Agatha,” said Madeleine, “yes, I know your name.” She was in a very mischievous mood. Spreading her hands in a mysterious manner, she added, “I know everything.” Agatha’s became even wider than before. “But no, I’m not a fairy, if that was what came to mind. Anyways, Agatha, I’d like you to meet Dick. Dick, I want you to introduce Agatha to Amy. Shira and I need to go check on our horses.”

- Do You Take This Quest?

“Or you to completely confuse young Arthur by running though a list of names he has absolutely no experience?” inserted Madeleine with a raised eyebrow. Without waiting for an answer, she turned to the old man. “Well, Grandfather, is our repertoire of friends and connections large enough? There are more that Sam didn’t get around to mentioning …”
   The old man raised a bushy eyebrow at her. “Grandfather?”
   She and Samson shared quick glance out of the corners of their eyes. “Of course,” said Samson, picking up her train of thought. “Thou art so much older than us, Grandfather, it demandest our respect.”
   The old man seemed about to answer, but Shira spoke, a grin spreading across her face. “’Tis only right, Grandfather.”
With all of them against him, he deemed it a lost cause and gave it up, only sparing the ceiling a pleading glance as Arthur stood there completely and utterly confused.

- Do You Take This Quest?

Solomon and Serendipity

Via Pinterest But he needs blond hair and blue
eyes.

Via Pinterest. But with longer hair done in a
severe bun, and fewer ear peircings.

Let me introduce you to Prince Solomon and Princess Serendipity of Alion. Don't ask where I came up with Alion ... you'd have to read my sister's book ... it's an inside joke.

But, anyways, Solomon and Serendipity are my third set of mixed up siblings.

Notice I did not say twins, for twins they are not. Solomon's her elder by a good five years.

So, then, how did they become mixed up? Well ... I'm not going to tell you, for Serendipity gives a pretty good explanation in the book. I will however, tell you what their mixed up gifts are ... and the results.

Solomon has his sister's gift of the mirth of youth. As a result, he has a very good ... no, an insatiable sense of humor. He knows every joke in the book, and made up half of them. He loves laughing, and is always up to something. He loves doing harmless pranks. 'Tis he that pranks the carriages at the wedding. His goal in life, however, is to get his sister to laugh. 

Serendipity has the wisdom of the gray-haired. She also has the hair of the gray-haired (do you know how hard it is to find a picture of a gray-haired sixteen year-old girl?). She's probably fit in quite well on Vulcan, for she almost never displays much beyond her eyes, her eyebrows, and the corners of her mouth. Once in a while her brother can get her to completely smile ... but that's rare. However, unlike Vulcans, logic is not her law, it's wisdom. Sometimes it amounts to the same thing, but not always.

And I just realized something. I only have four characters left to introduce to you!

Amy and Agatha

Amy via Pinterest. She just needs more
medieval clothing and more violet eyes.

Agatha via Pinterest. She needs more freckles
on her nose ... and possibly shorter hair ...

Today, only one of the characters is a new character. As you may notice from the poll I have on the side of my blog (if you have read Sew, and haven't voted on said poll, I do ask you to do do so) or you may remember if you've read Sew, Agatha was in that book. She wasn't too too major of a character, but she was one that conjured up quite a few words for me and had a few scenes dedicated to her.

However, even though she was in Sew, she and Amy become such good friends so quickly in Take that they soon are pretty much inseparable.

The reason?

They both suffer from the same rare affliction.

They both are Gemdroppers!

What's a gemdropper you ask? Well ... I think I'll just point you to the Fairy Tale I stole them from and evade the question ...

The Fairy in the Fairy Tale was Yifinna ... the blundering fairy. Don't ask me why she likes it, but she'd given the gift out five times before the Change ... and it had been so detrimental to the worth of gems that she had been made to promise that she wouldn't be given out for at least a hundred years passed ... and Yifinna had ... only three (at least ... I'm not sure about Ladies Ruthie and Dianne ...) of the gemdroppers attended Sleeping Beauty's birthday party ... and you know the drill.

However, the gifting had always seemed to be in pairs. Queen Caroline and Queen Esmeralda had been gifted almost at the same time... and Lady Ruthie and Lady Dianne had been gifted almost at the same time ... and both pairs had soon become fast friends and considered themselves almost sisters.

But Amy had been gifted alone ... and the promise had been extracted from Yifinna almost immediately after.  So, as far as she knew, she would never have a close companion to share her affliction and be her closest companion (and *cough, cough* marry the brother of the man she plans to marry).

Sometimes the Author works in mysterious ways.

And, by the way, yes all six of them are named after some gem or another. Virtual gems to anyone who can comment with what said gems are...

Oh, and one more thing! Saffron's Big Plan is FREE for the next five days. If you haven't yet, get your copy now, and, if you would please, share this tasty tidbit of information with your friends!

What does the Bible have to say about Insensitivity

Verses drawn from For Instruction in Righteousness. Verses are in KJV.

Proverbs 27:14 Now how do you like that? You bless someone, and all you get in return is a curse? Now how unfair is that? Actually, you have to read a bit more carefully than that. It's not talking about blessing that is well given ... it's talking about a blessing in a loud voice and in the morning. In other words, they're still asleep, and you barge in there with a "WAKE UP!!! GOOD HEALTH TO YOU!!!!!!" Not very nice now that you think about it.

Romans 12:15 This one's pretty straightforward. Try to put yourself in someone else's shoes. If they're happy, join in their joy. If they're sad ... don't tell them knock knock jokes. Use common sense and be sensitive to their feelings.

1 Peter 3:8 This is telling us that we need to learn to think "What is the other person thinking" then learn to take what they're thinking into consideration for everything we do.

Job 6:14 Have pity, you never know, but it may be the very thing that keeps your friend from teetering  over the edge of rejection of God.

1 Thessalonians 5:14  We must be ready to be whatever a person needs - though not always what he perceives himself to need. But we must also remember to be gentle, kind, patient.

Galatians 6:2 When someone else is in trouble, or has a burden, we need to make sure we come alongside and help them.

Deuteronomy 22:1 Don't hide when a friend or brother is in need of help!

Psalm 112:5 Lend to people who are truly in need. But use discretion.

Acts 20:35 We need to support the people weaker than us - and it feels better to help someone else than to know that you're on the receiving end of help.

Romans 12:20  We need to be sensitive even to our enemy's needs. It not only helps them, it also makes them rethink what they're doing!

Dick and Theo

Via Pinterest
Dick                               Theo

Squeezed between Connia and Enna are Dick and Theo. They're a pair of eighteen year-old twins ... and I had thought they were identical, but when I saw this picture ... I realized they weren't.

I needed a pair of boy/boy or girl/girl twins that weren't identical, anyways.

Prince Theodore Horace is the elder twin by fifteen minutes ... he's the one on the right. Prince Richard Sean Harold is the one on the left.

Theo's gift is a love of words. Correction. His gift is a love of fancy words. He refuseth to use unadorned English ... which makes him an interesting character to write, as I am forced to avail myself of articulations that are not in common use.

Ladybug egg!!

Dick ... knows what every word means, and how it's supposed to be used, and how and when they should be used, and why ... and he's not afraid to confront you if you're getting it wrong.

Thing is, Dick is engaged to a lovely young girl named Amy, and Theo ... he's not really interested quite yet. And in Refrence, the elder has to marry first.

So ... Dick and Amy are always trying to play matchmaker with Theo. So far ... they haven't succeeded.

CE Library - Robin

Via Pinterest

I scan down the shelves, looking for a book to read. There are all sorts of interesting books here ... the question is ... which do I want to read.

There are simply too many here for me to read.

As I near the place where I know my book is - my book ... the words still seem to not go together, even after over a year. There sits my short story collection ... but Sew, It's a Quest is not there. I smile. Some one must have checked it out.

I continue my search for books ... and catch a glimpse of a girl about my age on the other end of the shelves. Normally such a person would not warrant my attention ... but this girl is dressed completely in leather ... and is wearing a sword! I inch closer, not quite willing to start a conversation ... but burning with curiosity  Is she here to read story time? Is the sword real? 

Then I notice something else. The girl fits my discription of Robin perfectly.

I'm just about to muster up the impulsiveness to go over and talk to her (and to tell her that she fits my mental image of my main character) when she suddenly whirls around.

"Who are you!" she exclaims, in a voice that is somewhat too loud for the library - even in the children's section where I am now. "And where am I!"

"Ummm ..." I say, caught off guard. I quickly regain my composure. "My names's Kendra. You're in the library." I hold out a friendly hand. "What's your name?"

She regards my hand with contempt. "Robin," is the only word she says.

I blink. Even the name's the same. On a whim I grin. "Would that be Princess Robin of Locksley?" I ask in jest.

She rolls her eyes. "Of course. Who are you, and how came I to be in this strange library?"

"I'm Kendra, as I said before," I repeat. "And I honestly do not know how you came to be in this library, unless you walked in the front door ..." I trail off as what she said sinks in. "You're Princess Robin of Locksley? As in the best swordsman in the world? Twin sister to Prince Robert, the best embroiderer in the world?"

She eyes me distrustfully. "You seem to know a lot about me."

"Wow ..." is all I can say. This means either one of two things - either I have an adoring fan who is now obsessed with my main character (which is not a bad thing) or ... somehow ... my fictional main character is standing right in front of me.

Link up here!

Character Encounters

In honor of having twelve followers ... I've decided to start doing a monthly character development link-up thingy.

Most of the other character development thingies I've seen involve either an interview or a character to character development.

This is Character Encounter. You, without a bit of warning, run into your character at the place I state. What will happen. Will you become best friends? Will they try to kill you? Will they discover you're their author? Will they remain blissfully unaware of their status as a character?

It's up to you. (and them of course!)

You can do any character you want - if it's historical fiction ... well, figure something out. Maybe they stepped through a time warp? Or you did?

The point is to have fun, afterall.

So ... for the month of October ... you'll run into your character ....

At The Library

Via Pinterest

And not just any library, oh, no. Your public and/or school library.

What are they doing there? What are you?

Write up your encounter on your blog, then link up below!

Oh, and make sure you include a link back to here, so that others know how they can join in on the fun!