The Story of Notebooks Continued

A couple weeks ago I came to you with a collection of notebooks that I had purchased but wasn't sure what I wanted to write in them. You guys offered your suggestions based on my WIP list, and here are the results.

Blue went to Cayra, natrually. I haven't started writing it, but I'm looking forward to it.

I know that no one actually voted for this story, but it's been wanting me to write it. That blue stripe is supposed to represent a river. Rivers are an important part of the book.

With only one exception, everyone voted for pink to be To Perfect a Fairy Tale. To tell the truth, I've been a bit hesitant about this story, not being exactly sure where I'm going with it ... but I had a nice long conversation with my mom the other night, and now I'm REALLY excited to get this book written.

Wait, you don't remember there being a green? Well, I found some more of these notebooks at a different walmart the other day, so I picked up a few more. Unfortunately, I accidentally got wide ruled, but I'll live with it. Green went to the entire trilogy, because I don't see the books being very long. Haven't started writing them, though.

Ever since Kathryn submitted her version of this book's first chapter, I've been very excited to get back into Jessica's summer. I'm really pleased with how this cover came out. 

Fun fact: Because this notebook was too dark for permanent markers to show up on, this one is done in nail polish.

Why the wings in this picture? Well, you'll understand it once you read it. 

Also, nobody tried their hand at the treasure hunt, so nobody gets to read Woodcutter Quince. Oh, I guess it's just as well, since I've realized that there is a portion that I need to completely rewrite. One of Doranna's scenes. She needs more than internal monologue. I know what I'm going to do with it, but haven't gotten around to it. Maybe tomorrow.

And, I set up a which character are you quiz for The Ankulen on Buzzfeed. Go try it out and let me know who you get!

I plan to do a Bookania Princess one next ...

Avast Ye Mateys!

Via Pinterest

I just received a wee bit o' news last night that today be national talk like a pirate day. Now I missed out on this lovely hollyday last year, but the year before, I cellybrated wi' a treasure hunt, as I know all pirates love a wee bit o' treasure.

Now, the rules be simple, I'm gonna post some questions below, the answers to which ken be found somewhere's about me blog in the last year. There will be clues as to which post contains the answer in the question, so read carefully.

The winner will be the first person to read Woodcutter Quince, which I finished in th' wee hour of this morning. If you're one of those rare people who haven't read Sew, yet, I'll also send along a PDF of that, since it's meant to be read as a prequel, and not as a standalone. (And if'n ye want to do the favor of givin' me some feedback, that would be rightly appreciated.)

Now, on to the questions.

1. What did me mateys and me become obsessed with breedin' over th' events of Th' Elvin'?
2. How does Robin fetch the Attention of People?
3. What be Nixa's element?
4. What be Purple to match 'er Shirt?
5. What do I do when I be Bored at Night?
6. What did the Doorkeeper call 'erself the last time she kem to Earth?
7. What be Delaney's advice to future rulers?
8. Where did I find the Land o' Magic?
9. What does Obsidia think of her marrying Delaney?
10. What be the Pixie's greatest fear?


Just comment below wi' your answers, and I'll be back on Monday to let ye know who gets to read Woodcutter. The winner will be the one who answers the most questions right, though if there be a tie, well, I'm open to multiple winners.

CE Bookshelf - Petra

Via Pinterest. But with glasses

A crisp British accent interrupts my work.

"See, Kendra you can write a book where people don't randomly disappear and are forgotten about."

I glance up from my computer at Petra, who's seated on my pillow pile that sits in front of my bookshelf, reading Sew, It's a Quest.

"Actually, a character does disappear and is forgotten about by all but her cousin and love interest, but that's not until the end of the book."

Petra's head shoots up, and she glares at me in horror for several moments. "Kendra, you have issues."

"I know, so do you, like author, like character."

"Oh, like that's any help. Honestly, I got the worst author."

"I beg to differ with you there. I know of some other authors who are pretty mean to their characters. Also, your sisters disappearing and being forgotten about was their idea, not mine. I didn't want to do that to you."

She frowns at the book, then turns me a raised eyebrow. "Are you admitting that they did exist? Because it would be nice if you are and I can know that I'm not crazy after all."

I sigh and shake my head. "I can't tell you that. You're just going to do as Laura suggested, and see what happens."

"Laura dumped me in a world where grass is purple and now people are expecting me to fight this crazy dragon lady. Apparently, if I don't succeed in killing her, she'll kill me. I've never killed anything bigger than a bug in my life!"

Taking a deep breath, I reach under my desk, pull out a white binder with three notebooks inside it, and walk over to Petra and hand it to her. "Why don't you read this?"

She squints at the title. "Water Princess, Fire Prince. Rintaya already had me read it."

"She had you read the Rizkan version," I correct. "But this is the story that I'm writing about them. I thought you might want to see the humanized version of their struggles."

She frowns, opens the book, and settles back down into my pillow pile.

Dissatisfied with her silence, I crouch down and lay a hand on her shoulder. "Look, I know you've not led the best life, and it's going to get harder, I can assure you. But I have a wonderful ending planned for your story. Perhaps it's what you're wanting, perhaps it's something much better, I can't say. Don't give up hope, but don't let your misery consume you, either."

"Yep, that's what everyone keeps telling me. Especially that Laura."

I wince, knowing how much Laura values Petra's opinion of her. "You're one of my favorite characters, you know that?"

"I'm trying to read. Leave me alone."

Sighing, I walk back over to my desk and pull out her notebook. I'm about to rock her world even more, and even though she's not prepared for it, I know that it will be best for her.

The Love of Pears

Via Pinterest

"There are days when I tire of fish, leaves, and nuts."

Lucin looked up from her place at the river to see that Erica was no longer fishing, but was sitting cross-legged on her rock, staring into the distance.

"But what else would we eat?"

Erica sighed and shook her head. "Where I come from, there are other things. Other sorts of meat and ... fruit."

Lucin couldn't even imagine eating any other sort of creature than fish, but, "What's fruit?"

Eric cocked her head to the side. "It's something like a nut, but instead of a shell, there's a sweet fleshy stuff around it, and you eat that instead of the nut. Most people just throw the nuts away."

"That doesn't even make sense."

"I know, that's what all of you tell me, but you have no idea what I would do for a pear right now."

"A pear?"

"It's a type of fruit, my favorite kind," Erica explained. "But I haven't had one in, oh, I don't know how long. A hundred years maybe? They haven't been in season."

"Oh."

"Maybe I should just let him kill me again - then I might actually get a pear."

"But we need you here!" Lucin protested.

"I know you do. That's why I return, no matter how tired I am of the fish and the nuts and the leaves. My love of pears does not outrank my love for this people."

She winked slowly and pulled a string out of the water, and Lucin gasped as she saw that there was a fish on the end of it. "I have some tricks up my sleeve, Lucin. I'm the Eternal Queen, after all."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, so there's my linkup for Rachel Heffinton's Chatterbox this month. For some reason, my characters only get inspired to talk about her topics if they involve food. I'm not sure why. Anyways, this is for The Eternal Queen, a story I'm looking forward to writing when I get to it. 

Beautiful Villains - Roxanne

Via Pinterest

I haven't participated in any of the recent BP's, but since this month's theme is villains, and I love my villains, I decided that I had to go ahead and jump on the bandwagon.

I'm answering the questions with Roxanne, who, when she wears her mask, is a Supervillian and goes by ROCKS. She's actually the protagonist of her story, but since the last time I did a BP, I did the antagonist on a hero's set of questions, I think I can get away with it. It's either her or Amber, and I'm having difficulty finding a picture of Amber. (It's not that I don't have one, I have several, but ... internet troubles.)

For those of you who are coming in off the link-up and don't know the premise of HaV Academy, let me refer you to this post. Enjoy.

1. What is their motive?

To stay out of trouble. And the only way to do that is to conform to the system and play the part of a villain.

2. What do they want, and what are they prepared to do to get it?

She wants to be left alone and to live a normal life. But as a Super, she believes that she can't have both. Since being left alone outranks the normal life, she does the best she can to conform to all of the rules so that the Academy has no reason to interfere with her. And since that means having at least one fight with her brother a month, and kidnapping a civilian at least every four months, well, then that's what she does.

3. How do they deal with conflict?

Not well. Either she explodes with an earth-shaking (literally earthshaking, since her superpower is rock manipulation) fury, or she just kinda folds in on herself. Either way, she never really faces her problems.

4. Describe their current place of residence.

She has two. As Roxanne Jade Dially, she lives in an apartment she shares with her twin brother, Riley, but that's mostly for show. Most of the time, she stays in her Lair just out of town. Her lair takes up an entire mountain, and features an elaborate labyrinth of tunnels that only she can navigate, mostly because she changes the layout of those tunnels on whim.

5. If they were writing this story, how would it end?

The thing about Roxanne is that she doesn't know what she really wants. Yes, she wants a normal life, but she doesn't know the definition of normal. I don't think she would give it the same ending I have planned for the story - mostly because she doesn't think she deserves the ending I have planned for her - but I don't know how she'd end it. It's likely she'd change the beginning so that she never had a power in the first place, but then there wouldn't be a story.

6. What habits, speech patterns, etc. are unique to them?

When nervous, she fiddles with whatever rock is nearby. Most people don't realize when she's doing this.

7. How do they show love? What do they like to do with/for people they love?

She responds in two ways: Either she opens up to you and will actually smile in your presence, or, if she believes that her Superness and the fact she's a villain might endanger you, she'll completely shut you out in effort to protect you.

8. Do they have any pets?

Only if pet rocks count. She's not an animal person.

9. Where would they go to relax/think?

To her lair. Specifically, to a large room that she and her brother (who happens to be the plant-powered Hero of the town) have set up a large garden and orchard. (Yes, underground. One of the facets of her power is that she can manipulate the atoms of the rock to allow light to pass through.) She and her brother spend much of their time there, pretending they're actually normal people.

10. What is their weapon of choice? (FYI: words, eyes/looks, and fists count as weapons, too.)

Her rock powers, naturally. However, this is usually against her brother. The rest of the time, she just glares at people.

Purple, to Match Your Shirt!

It's been forever since I last did a dedicated snippets post. On the same side of the coin, it's also been forever since I was doing substantial writing. But since my computer is having internet issues, I've had plenty of writing time. So, here we go: a snippets post. Hope you enjoy!

I was debating back and forth whether or not I wanted to share the snippets from Rizkaland book two, but I decided they were so go, I had to. They're under the working title of The Dragon's Return, which stood as the book's title for at least two years. It's been changed to fit better with Water Princess, Fire Prince, but I won't be sharing the current title yet.

Via Pinterest

Arthur inched towards the pile and nudged a sword with his toe. There were so many … and any one of them …

“Must I remind you that we don't have all day?”

Goaded, he grabbed the hilt of the nearest sword – a two-handed broadsword – and spun around to face her.

She rolled her eyes. “Put that thing down. You clearly haven't been trained in anything requiring two hands.”

“Is it that obvious?” he asked, lowering the sword back onto the pile.

“Yes, it is.” With an impatient sigh, she kicked a sword with her boot, sending it spinning until the hilt collided with Arthur's foot. “Just use this one.”

- My Kingdom for a Quest

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And what a subject for it to be changed to! Sure, Casperl had always dreamed of a prince someday coming to him for advice about the Mountain Princess, but now that someone had … well, all of Casperl’s planned speeches disappeared with the wind.

“Um … she’s a princess …”

“Really? I hadn’t guessed.”

“But …”

“Come now,” said Eric. “That’s an established fact. Everyone who’s at least heard of her knows that the Mountain Princess is a princess.” 

- "Woodcutter Quince"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Who are you?” Petra suddenly thought to ask.

“I’m complicated,” the girl admitted, her voice echoing eerily all around them. “Most people know me as Laura the Doorkeeper. Alyce – and Mrs. Withawie – were just names I wore.”

“The Doorkeeper?” Petra tried not to think about the fact that the girl had just implied that she had been her own mother.

“I control the doors between the worlds,” Alyce – no, she had called herself Laura – explained. “It was a talent I was born with, though there are many days when I wish I hadn’t. But we won’t get into that now. Jump!”

Petra didn’t even think about it. She jumped.

- The Dragon's Return

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“This is the road we were supposed to be on,” she declared one morning, jabbing a finger at the map that she had stolen from Eric's pack. “Isn't it?”

Eric glanced at the map. “Yep, I guess it is.”

“And this,” she added, moving her finger, “is the road we are on?”

“Yep, I guess it is.”

She shot him a brief glare, then jabbed her finger at a spot between the two roads. “If there was a path here, we could be on the main road in no time, and it'd save us so much time!”

- My Kingdom for a Quest

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Bad news, I fear,” Mynna admitted, pulling at an especially difficult tangle. “Several of our merfolk have gone missing.”

“Missing?” cried Queen Letitia, setting herself down onto the sand next to Mynna. “How?”

“We aren’t sure, for there has been neither rhyme nor reason, or even a pattern. First it was a soldier on a scouting mission, then a servant at her chores, a singer, another soldier, and this morning … Shelly! From her own bedroom.”

“Your sister!”

“Yes, Mother and Father are quite at a loss for what to do.”

- Mermaid Footprints

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Is she your sister?”

Roxanne’s mouth slammed shut as she realized that her brother wasn’t even paying attention to her, and was instead talking to a dark-haired guy who was, admittedly, quite good looking.

“Yeah, and she likes to complain. Especially when she’s in a ‘they’re going to make me a villain, aren’t they?’ mood,” Riley explained.

“Well, she’d make a good one.”

“My hobby is building torture chambers for our dad,” Roxanne explained.

- ROCKS

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I can't believe Mordreth hasn't found us yet.”

Leo rolled his eyes as he dumped an armload of sticks on the fire. “I can, Gavin. We're still here, aren't we?”

“But he – he always struck me as a more efficient person than this.”

“Viziers and Kings are always less efficient than they appear,” Leo pointed out. “Especially when you're hiding right under his nose.”

- My Kingdom for a Quest

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Welcome to Rizkaland, Petra!”

Petra sounded started at the greeting. It sounded like Alyce – Laura – but the voice was deeper. She scrambled to her feet and turned to find herself face-to-face with what certainly looked like an older Laura.

The girl’s nose wrinkled. “Am I older?” she asked. “It happens a lot. I’ve been through so many doors in my life, I honestly no longer have any idea how old I am. Oh, don’t worry about yourself. It’s your first door. First doors never mess with a person’s age.”

Petra swallowed. “So … purple grass.”

“To match your shirt,” Laura pointed out. “Rizkaland is a world of color. You’ll get used to it quickly enough. Only drink blue water, though. Other colors can have nasty side effects.”

Petra blinked. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

- The Dragon's Return

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kath didn’t respond, as they had reached the pool. Instead, she stripped off her coverup and ran over to the diving board. “Youngest first, right?”

“How about most obnoxious last?” asked Clara.

“You know, we could always go shortest to tallest,” Kath mentioned. “That way you go fist, Clara. Although we can achieve the same effect going oldest to youngest, though that would mean I go last.”

Rhoda sighed. “I can’t believe we go through this every single day. Kath, just get up there and dive, since you’re already there, and then Clara can go, and then I’ll go last. Why must this always be so complicated?”

- Water Princess, Fire Prince

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Arthur glanced back, but Grandfather seemed serious, so he looked back up at the guards, and shouted up to them. “Hey, would you mind lowering the drawbridge? I – I mean my friends and I – would like in?” Even as he said it, he knew he sounded pathetic. The guards rarely listened to him, and never from this side of the gates.

“You'd like in, lad?” jeered one of the men. “Do you hear that? He expects us to lower the drawbridge because he'd 'like in.' Who do you think you are, lad?”

Arthur faltered. Usually they knew who he was – even if they didn't heed what he said. He glanced back at Grandfather, who stared at the guard impassively.

“That's your prince!” Robin shouted up at them. “You really shouldn't talk to him like that!”

“Our prince, eh?” said the guard. “An old man spirited him away in the middle of the night. The vizier believes him dead.”

A chill went down Arthur's spine. That would be just like Mordreth, wouldn't it?

“He looks plenty alive to me!” Robin declared. “Ooh! Nice sword!” Of course she would notice the sword. “Not sure why you'd keep it out here, but to each their own.”

- My Kingdom for a Quest

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Uh, excuse me sirs,” she spoke up. “I think I’m lost.”

They both turned around and eyed her for several seconds. “I should say you are, miss,” said the man on the left. “Tell me, what malady has befallen you that has forced you to take on the garb of a man?”

Petra glanced down at her T-shirt and jeans. “Um, this is actually how girls dress where I come from. I’m not from around here.”

“That’s obvious,” said the man on the right.

- The Dragon's Return

Character Encounters - September 2014

Hey there folks! Sorry about dropping off the face of the earth for a while. I had every intention of doing lots of blog entries, but when I got to my cousin's house, my computer wouldn't connect to the internet. My tablet connected fine, so I was able to keep up with most of my online life through that, but blogging on a tablet is difficult, so that just ... didn't happen. But now I have my computer connected, so a blog post is NECESSARY.

As those of  you who are my friends on facebook know, I've gotten a LOT of writing done, especially when it comes to typing up what I already had in notebooks (a snipppets post WILL be coming), so I don't regret being without internet, but I have missed you, my lovely readers.

Anyways, to the topic of the title. The character encounter place.

The Bookshelf

Since most writers are readers first, and pretty much everyone who does this challenge is a reader, I believe this should be easy. Encounter your character, and involve a bookshelf.

As for the bonus challenge level, make it a character who has an accent.

I'm in an accent mood at the moment.