Favorite Screen Characters Tag

So I've been tagged by both Jaye L. Knight and Morgan Huneke with the Favorite Screen Characters Tag. Truth be told, I was kinda hoping to avoid this, but since I've been tagged, I'll play along.

So, my favorite screen characters, in no particular order.

1. River Song - Doctor Who

River holds a special place in my heart, if only because it was because of her that I resurrected Laura, who is one of my favorite characters. I love characters who are out of sinc with the rest of the cast, and who are brilliant for foreshadowing. "Spoilers Sweetie."

Plus, her arch with the Doctor was so interesting. I may not quite call myself a fan of Doctor Who, but I am certainly a fan of River Song.

2. Bree - Month of the Novel

YouTube videos are still on the screen!

Anyways, I adore the Month of the Novel videos, but I identify best with Bree, the older sister who knows everything about writing (because I totally do, ya know?). I can't count the number of times I've been called by my younger sister, and of recent days, by my younger brother to help them out of a mess that they've written themselves into.

The actress herself is hilarious, may I add?

3. Mrs. Frizzle - The Magic School Bus

I want a magic school bus. 'Nough said.

4. Elsa - Frozen

Again, elder sister here. I love Anna, and I can relate to her bouncy personality, but I like Elsa slightly more. Fun fact about me: Each of my three siblings and I are born in a different season, so we like to pretend with are that season. I'm Winter. Fear me.

5. Larry - Veggietales

Okay, so I'm picking on kids shows here. Fun fact about me: I watch a lot of kids shows. Anyways, I grew up on Veggietales, and Larry has this sense of humor and distinctive voice that just amuses me. And what kid doesn't love his silly songs and on-going banter with Archibald?

(Half-way done. You can do this Kendra!)

6. Madeline - Madeline

I was also a huge fan of Madeline as a kid, so much so that I saved my money and bought all of the dolls. I could/should probably post a picture of them some day. No, they never released all twelve girls, but I have every girl they did, as well as Mrs. Clavel (I can't remember how to spell her name), and Pepito. I also own most of the books.

7. Wesley - Princess Bride

I am purposely trying to avoid characters from movies based on books, because their book version is almost always more predominant in my head, and just confuses me. However, Princess Bride is one story that I've seen more than read, and can we just talk about how awesome and dreamy he is? And he's also Robin Hood (Men in Tights) and unlike other Robin Hoods, he actually uses a British Accent! Plus my aunt dated him for a while. (Actually, it was just a guy who looked like him, but details.)

8. Inigo Montoyo - Princess Bride

"You killed my father, prepare to die."

While I'm on the subject of the Princess Bride, I can't help but also mention my other favorite character from that show. Inigo has such a delicious accent. (And ... I love accents, have I ever mentioned?)

9. Nutcracker - Nutcracker Ballet

I've only ever seen the Nutcracker Ballet on video, so it counts, yes? Yes. Anyways, I believe I've mentioned it before, but I'm slightly obsessed with the Nutcracker, so I can't make a list without mentioning him.

10. GiGi Darcy - Lizzy Bennett Diaries

She had such a small role in the actual book, I enjoyed seeing her come to life in the YouTube series.

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And I'll call it quits there. No, I'm not going to tag anyone. I'm already brain-dead after this. In other news, I'm working on a post about the magic system of Rizkaland, so if magic is something you're wary about, you can read this and see how I've reasoned it out. Not sure when it's going to go up, but you can look forward to it!

Let there be Water and Fire

Greetings fair peoples of the internet. Today's the day ye all have been waiting for. No, not the chapter list. Alas, and alack, but this book did not get chapter headings. Didn't need them so I didn't force the issue. (Have to keep my readers guessing, after all.)

Instead, I'll share the evolution of the cover art! In reverse order, because that's how my computer uploaded them, and I don't feel like rearranging them.

This is, by the way, the binder that contains the notebook draft of the book.

Can we not talk about how creepy Andrew's eyes are in this picture? Thank-you.

And for the record, the doll in these two covers is Nerissa - she was a plot element I threw out years ago ...

And now, for the moment you guys have all been waiting for - the cover art in all its glory!

Cover design by my cousin, Benjamin Ingalls, who doesn't have a website to my knowledge, but is related to Laura Ingalls Wilder. I think he did pretty good, yes?

Okay, done oohing and ahing? You can add the book to your goodreads shelf - or pick it up for kindle preorder. (Yes, I'm aware that Amazon doesn't have the official cover yet - I ran into some technical difficulties when I went to upload it last night.) Today and tomorrow only, it's just $2.99.

Also, the cover will be featured on a number of blogs over the course of today - some of whom took up my offer to interview me and/or Clara and Andrew. I highly recommend checking them out - there were some great questions asked.

Thilly Little Nothings

Morgan Elizabeth Huneke

Writing in the Light

Jaye L. Knight

The Rambling Rose

Flight from the Aerie

Dolls, Books, and Things That Matter

Jenelle Schmidt

Butterflies of the Imagination

Read, Write, Laugh, DANCE

The Destiny of One

A Writer's Heart

Rachel Rossano's Words

Green Fields of the Mind

inklings press

Lianne Taimenlore 
The Splendor Falls on Castle Walls

Scattered Journal Pages

You can go ahead and steal this button to stick on your sidebar - link it to my blog, or specifically to this page. I'm still hammering out details for what I want to do for the tour, but I have an ARC sign-up form posted. (And betas, go ahead and link up if you plan to review, so I can keep track of you.)

Interview with Morgan Elizabeth Huneke

I said I'd be back with an interview with Morgan, so here I am!

About the Book

“No one can mysteriously disappear leaving no trace. It isn’t realistic.”

“You’re right, Emily,” her grandfather said thoughtfully. “It isn’t realistic. However, a good many things happen in this world that are not realistic, things supernatural.”

Emily, Allan, Jill, Joey, and Anna have grown up on their grandfather’s tales of ancestors who mysteriously disappeared from Creighton Hill, the plantation home that has been in their family for centuries. When Grampa’s death forces them to move into Creighton Hill, the truth about the supposed disappearances is the first thing on their minds. Allan, Jill, Joey, and Anna’s, that is. As for Emily, why must they keep at their supernatural hogwash?

Could it be that their family really does just have an unusual history of early deaths? Most people seem to think so. But Grampa’s research has uncovered something different.

When mysterious writing matching descriptions found in ancient accounts begins appearing to the children, they know something’s up. They must find out what really happened to their ancestors, and work together to discover the reason behind the mysterious writings.

Creighton Hill is the first book of the Time Captives trilogy, a tale of faith, family, fantasy, and a fight for truth and freedom.

Buy Now

Kindle ~ Paperback ~ Signed Copy

Goodreads 

About the Author

Morgan Elizabeth Huneke is a homeschool graduate who lives in Georgia. She has enjoyed creating characters and writing stories since early childhood. Her other interests include reading, playing the piano and violin, and politics. She is the author of Across the Stars and The Experiment.

You can connect with Morgan on her website, blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

1. Welcome to Knitted By God's Plan! Can you tell me a bit about yourself?

Hi! I’m a Christian nineteen-year-old homeschool graduate, the author of three books and counting, an aspiring violinist who recently completed her first semester of playing in a student orchestra at a local college, I love kids and babysitting, I tend to spend too much of my sleeping time reading, Walt Disney World is my favorite vacation place, I love American history, have been involved in politics since I was eight years old and recently worked on Barry Loudermilk’s congressional campaign, can almost always respond with a quote from something, and I could probably go on with random facts for a really long time, but I’ll stop now.

2. Tell my readers why they need to go buy and read Creighton Hill right now.

So now you’re telling me to brag on my book? ;) In the words of our illustrious host, it’s a very unique take on portal fantasy. It’s a fun adventure story with mysterious disappearances, long lost ancestors, an oppressed land, many variations on sibling relationships, and a message woven throughout that I didn’t even see myself until I was close to the end. If you like Narnia, Tuck Everlasting, or Return to Gone-Away, you’ll like Creighton Hill, and if you happen to love all three like I do, you’ll love it. Everyone who’s read it so far has.

3. Who was your favorite character in the book?

I’m going to cheat and say Eleanor because she’s one of my favorite Time Captives characters, even though she hardly shows up in book one. I ruined her life and I love her for it. Characters who have a storyline in book one…Maybe Abigail, followed by Joey. (Sympathize with me here, I can’t pick favorites out of my babies.) Abigail’s story was so interesting to explore, and I randomly made a (turned out to be important) decision that she, like me, plays the violin. I didn’t ruin her life as badly as Eleanor’s but I did a pretty good job. Now, Joey’s fun. He’s a ten-year-old boy, and that kind of speaks for itself. He’s my baby boy, and I was both sad and proud to realize how much he’d grown up by the end. He’s also the primary point of view character for book one.

Eh, well, ruining a character's life is part of the job description.

4. How would you say your writing has matured since you published your first book?

It definitely has matured. I feel like my stories aren’t quite as fast-paced as they used to be, though Time Captives is faster paced than the outer space dystopian I’m also working on. I used to zoom through my plots at record speed. I’ve learned a lot about deep character point of view, and about showing vs. telling, and while I can’t promise that I’m perfect at it, I’m certainly far better than I used to be. I also think I’ve improved at what I call the “Once Upon a Time effect,” which is basically using flashbacks to tell the whole story, rather than just the present timeline. I’m still not as good at it as Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, but even they aren’t using it as effectively as they used to. My characters have also matured. Rebellious slave Adriel (Time Captives book two) is a far cry from chivalrous, book language talking, perfect gentleman Felix Walker (Across the Stars), and while I still love Felix, I think Adriel is more realistic.

I agree with you on those flashbacks. They were handled much better in Creighton Hill.

5. Which authors would you say had the greatest influence on your writing?

C.S. Lewis, for sure and certain. Nearly everything I write has a decided Narnian influence, though readers have confirmed (thankfully!) that my writing is at the same time very original. (I’m deathly afraid of accidental plagiarism, solely because of The Story of My Life by Helen Keller.) Martha Finley had a huge influence on my writing style. While her books certainly have many literary flaws, I love the type of old-fashioned language she uses, and the way she structures sentences and phrases. I don’t exactly try to emulate it, but I don’t try not to either, since I quite like it. And I blame the writers at the BBC for making my American characters sound British, and causing me to do extra editing to make them reflect their own nationality. I suppose I should really blame Netflix and ultimately myself, but Doctor Who and Merlin are so good.

6. Any specific books?

Obviously The Chronicles of Narnia. There’s no escaping their influence. :) I would say A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle has colored my writing as well, if only simply by being a childhood favorite. Ilyon Chronicles by Jaye L. Knight inspires me, and Jayrin is just the kind of fictional romance that’s perfect and what I want to write when I finally write about characters who are old enough for that. But really, I’ve read SOO many books in my life and they’ve all affected me in some way, so it’s hard to choose specifics.

All good books, all good books.

7. If you could go anywhere on vacation, where would you go?

Hmm. I’ve already been to Disney World six times (perks of having a dad who absolutely loves that place), so I suppose I should pick somewhere else. Probably the U.K. There are a lot of cool things to visit there, like C.S. Lewis’s house and J.R.R. Tolkien’s house and the Doctor Who Experience in Cardiff, and all the other more history related things over there. My sister is always telling me about all the castles in Wales, and that’s definitely a big draw. Plus, I have a little bit of English blood on my mom’s dad’s side, and even though I’m mostly German, I’d rather visit our English ancestors’ home than our German ones’.

I'm a German/English blend as well! (Fun fact: My Grandma has traced our ancestry back to one of the daughters of John of Gaunt - you know, Richard II's uncle - so that makes me almost royalty!) Personally, I'm a bit more interested in Germany, though.

8. What does your Ankulen look like? ;)

I keep it well hidden from the Polystoikhedron. ;) I’ve never really thought about what mine is specifically, but I obviously have one since I have my imagination. Though come to think of it, I had imagination trouble when I was getting to be a teenager, so I think I must have had a fight with a Polystoikhedron, and won. About when I got my Narnia audiobook set that sits as a backdrop on my desk where I do my best writing…It may not be a typical Ankulen…

Thanks for having me!

Giveaway

Join in the excitement of Time Captives and enter to win a special prize! The first prize winner will receive a signed copy of Creighton Hill as well as a signed copy of Across the Stars, for its anniversary. Second prize is a signed copy of Creighton Hill. The third prize winner will receive an eCopy of Creighton Hill in the eBook format of his/her choice. Giveaway open to U.S. residents only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Character Interview - Emily Hubbard of Creighton Hill

About the Book

“No one can mysteriously disappear leaving no trace. It isn’t realistic.”

“You’re right, Emily,” her grandfather said thoughtfully. “It isn’t realistic. However, a good many things happen in this world that are not realistic, things supernatural.”

Emily, Allan, Jill, Joey, and Anna have grown up on their grandfather’s tales of ancestors who mysteriously disappeared from Creighton Hill, the plantation home that has been in their family for centuries. When Grampa’s death forces them to move into Creighton Hill, the truth about the supposed disappearances is the first thing on their minds. Allan, Jill, Joey, and Anna’s, that is. As for Emily, why must they keep at their supernatural hogwash?

Could it be that their family really does just have an unusual history of early deaths? Most people seem to think so. But Grampa’s research has uncovered something different.

When mysterious writing matching descriptions found in ancient accounts begins appearing to the children, they know something’s up. They must find out what really happened to their ancestors, and work together to discover the reason behind the mysterious writings.

Creighton Hill is the first book of the Time Captives trilogy, a tale of faith, family, fantasy, and a fight for truth and freedom.

Buy Now

Kindle ~ Paperback ~ Signed Copy

Goodreads 

Hey, peoples of the internet! I'm here to help with the release of one of my friend's books. Creighton Hill is a wonderful little story, an intriguing new slant on portal fantasy. Today I'm interviewing one of the main characters - Emily Hubbard, who's not the type of girl who's usually pulled into another world, but made for delightful fun just the same. I'll be reviewing the book over at O.Scarlett on Thursday, and then I'll be back on Saturday with an interview with the author herself.

1. Welcome to Knitted By God's Plan! Can you tell me a bit about yourself?

My name’s Emily, I have four younger siblings who are extremely annoying, and I hate my life. Is that good enough?

2. What do you think of your book?

*snorts* It’s just like all the stupid books my siblings like to read. Fantasy worlds are ridiculous. And that author had to write it from Joey’s point of view. She couldn’t have used Allan or Jill who I occasionally get along with. No, she had to use Joey who hates me as much as I hate him. It paints me as a bad guy when I’m the only one who’s ever anything close to realistic. Maybe the other books are better, I hear she’s using my point of view later on, but this one? *rolls eyes* Sure, maybe my siblings are right that it’s all really happening, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. Because I don’t. They’re sucking me into their delusion. And yeah, I know that’s a quote from The Santa Clause. It’s about the only sensible line in that movie.

3. How would you describe your family?

*raises eyebrows* You want to know what I really think? They’re religious fanatics with ridiculous imaginations, who think they’re better than I am because they’re suck ups to our parents. Or maybe that’s just Joey and Anna. Jill and Allan are even worse religious fanatics, but at least they get onto Joey and Anna for picking on me. Some of the time. Our parents support them. They don’t care that I don’t believe the hogwash they all do, and still make me go to church every week and listen when they read the Bible, but when I disagree they call me rebellious for it. I’m always getting grounded for trying to be myself. I wish I had a more normal family.

4. Why are you opposed to all things supernatural? What happened to you?

*gives Kendra a dirty look* If you call having sense having something happen to me. I believe in what I see with my own two eyes. It’s stupid to believe in anything else like all the religious freaks do. And don’t try to tell me that evidence is all around us in the world. I’ve heard it too many times from everyone. I just don’t see it. And so what if I’d rather be like my mom’s family than my dad’s dead Bible thumping family? See where it got them? In the ground. Or “disappeared without a trace” like Grampa insisted. The people who don’t believe that nonsense are still here. So who do you think I should believe?

5. What's your favorite food?

Finally a normal question. Lasagna. It tastes good and it’s filling, and it’s what my grandma on my mom’s side always makes when we come visit. Chocolate cake is my favorite dessert.

Are you done questioning me? Good, ’cause I’m done.

About the Author

Morgan Elizabeth Huneke is a homeschool graduate who lives in Georgia. She has enjoyed creating characters and writing stories since early childhood. Her other interests include reading, playing the piano and violin, and politics. She is the author of Across the Stars and The Experiment.

You can connect with Morgan on her website, blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Across the Stars Free on Kindle

To celebrate Across the Stars’s second anniversary, and Creighton Hill’s release, Across the Stars is free on Kindle June 8^th-12^th! Check it out on Amazon!

Giveaway

Join in the excitement of Time Captives and enter to win a special prize! The first prize winner will receive a signed copy of Creighton Hill as well as a signed copy of Across the Stars, for its anniversary. Second prize is a signed copy of Creighton Hill. The third prize winner will receive an eCopy of Creighton Hill in the eBook format of his/her choice. Giveaway open to U.S. residents only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Now They Whisper

I'm linking up with Quote Queste, which is a meme that my friend, Miss Melody Muffin, hosts.

This month's quote:

Via Pinterest

Story Setting: In Rizkaland, book two between parts one and two.

"They used to shout my name," Amber muttered bitterly as she stared out at the milling crowd in the courtyard. "They used to appreciate me. The fools."

She had done so much for them, to solve their problems, to heal their land after years of winter's ravage. For a while, they had thanked her, but soon they began take her for granted, and then resent her, saying that she was meddling in their lives.

She was trying to help them! The nerve.

Now another name was on their lips - the name Amber hated. A few fools had been careless enough to mention her to Amber's face. Their last mistake.

But even so, she heard it in the whispers as she passed, saw it in the stares they gave her.

Someday, Amber would meet that girl in battle, and Amber would reveal her for the fraud she was. But until then ...

She gripped the strand of beads she wore, perhaps harder than was prudent - they held some powerful magic, after all.

"And now they whisper it."

The Tela Du.


Interested in Beta Reading Lady Dragon, Tela Du? Click here!

Character Encounters - June 2015

Okay, Character Encounter time.

Sorry about this being so late, I honestly meant to have this out yesterday morning, but then a neighbor dog attacked and killed one of our cats Sunday morning, (and we missed church), leaving my nerves shot for the rest of the day. And then we decided to get my sister's wisdom teeth removed this morning, so basically, life has been crazy.

I've been hard at work trying to put together information for the cover reveal, edit, write book two, and my brain has been exploding with plot for Poison Kiss. It's pretty much come together now, I just need to get it written.

Also: Drive through. Would you like to try an Egg White Delight McMuffin Meal today?

Baaaasically, I've been busy.

But, on to the CE - Where will you be encountering your character this month?

Car Dealership

Because (1) I've been chafing a bit against the fact that I don't have wheels of my own (even my bike tires are flat, though I don't live close enough to anywhere for it to be practical) and (2) I've been in back drive through all this week, staring at a car dealership, and my brain hurts too much to be any more creative than that.

If you are unable to make it to a dealership, and auto repair shop would work just as well.

Cover Reveal - Third Rooglewood Fairy Tale Contest!

If you are at all interested in Fairy Tale Retellings, then you have no-doubt heard of the contests that Anne Elizabeth Stengl hosts. Already have a flood of Cinderellas and Beauty and the Beasts been written - and now it's time to announce the next wave of retellings.

(Because even though there are only five winners, there are hundreds of stories written for each contest, and many of the contestants go ahead and publish their stories on their own. Case in point: my own CinderEddy, which wasn't actually finished in time to enter in the contest, granted)

Rooglewood Press is delighted to introduce their third fairy tale novella contest—

Five Magic Spindles

a collection of “Sleeping Beauty” stories

The challenge is to write a retelling of the beloved fairy tale in any genre or setting you like. Make certain your story is recognizably “Sleeping Beauty,” but have fun with it as well. Make it yours!

Rooglewood Press will be selecting five winners to be published in the Five Magic Spindles collection, which will be packaged up with the phenomenal cover you see here. Maybe your name will be one of the five listed?

All the contest rules and information (how to enter, story details, deadline etc.) may be found on the Rooglewood Press website. Just click HERE and you will go right to the page.

Rooglewood Press’s first collection, Five Glass Slippers is available for purchase, and our second collection, Five Enchanted Roses is scheduled to launch on July 27, and is currently available for pre-order. Be certain to get a copy of each and see what previous winners did with their wonderful retellings.

Cover Illustration Credit:

This cover illustration was rendered by Julia Popova, “ForestGirl.” You can find out more about this gifted artist on her website: www.forestgirl.ru

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And ... now for my own comments. First of all - called it. Maybe I never stated my guess online, but I was about 75% sure that we'd be writing about Sleeping Beauty this year (Other 25% was split between Rapunzel and the Little Mermaid)

Second - I like the cover, though I was expecting more of a pink theme. I don't know why, but Sleeping Beauty is a very rosy fairy tale in my mind (May have something to do with her name - Rosamond/Briar Rose, and Aurora means "dawn" which is again, rather pink.) The gold's growing on me, though. It's quite pretty all the same.

Third ... I've already got a brilliant idea for my entry. (Is it my historical retelling I mentioned a few months back? No - I'm not quite ready to write that one yet.) Truth be told I didn't have the idea until I saw the cover two days ago - and suddenly a title popped into my mind and just grew. It's called Poison Kiss, and basically the jilted fairy decides that sleeping curses triggered by pricked fingers are getting a bit to common and switches things up - within her sixteenth year, she will taste true loves kiss and then die in her lover's arms. This, of course, leaves the youngest fairy a bit confused and after stating the mandatory dilution of "deathlike sleep," adds a unsure "perhaps a spinning wheel shall save her?" I'm not entirely sure how the story is going to resolve, though currently my idea involves Rumplestilskin, Puss in Boots, and the White Cat. It's going to be brilliant.

So there we go - Sleeping Beauty. What's your favorite retelling of it? Are you excited to see it sweeping the nation? I know I am!

I'll be back tomorrow with the character encounter.