Thingishness ... Oh, and a shiny sale!

Oh, hello internet, fancy meeting you here.

Just thought I'd pop in with something of an update. I'm currently at my Grandparents (finally) learning how to drive. It's been interesting. So far I've only driven over one curb and backed into one stump, so I think I'm doing pretty good.

I've been hard at work editing LDTD, and hope to send out part three to my beta readers either today or tomorrow. We'll see how it goes. This month I'm also going to make an effort to write an EXTREMELY rough draft of book three, because I need a rough draft to find out what the story's actually about. We'll see how that goes, too

I graduated last week! As in, I now have a highschool diploma. FINALLY!!! We had a ceremony at church and it was awesome. I do, technically, still have some science and history and the Research Paper still to do, and when I finish them, it'll raise my GPA, but now I have a shiny diploma that I can hang on my wall and I can stop answering "It's complicated" when people ask me if I'm still in school. #Awesomness.

And Now the Shiny Sale. Which I completely forgot about until just now.

Remember last year with the Read to Win thing where some authors and I all ran 99 cent sales over the course of the summer. Well, it's ba-ack!!! And this year, better than ever! Instead of just week per book, almost all of the books will be on sale for ALL of the summer. Can't beat that, can you?

Oh, wait! You CAN!!! If you review any of those books during the sale on Goodreads or on your blog, you can be entered to win a HUGE amazon gift card. Now you can't beat it.

Look at all those books that are on sale! Six of them I know for certain to be good. And LOOK WHAT MY BOOK IS!!! That's right folks! This summer, you can get WPFP for just 99 cents!!!

http://www.homeschooledauthors.com/2016/06/read-to-win-2016.html, and we'll be posting group posts there over the summer. It's going to be Awesome. (And if you didn't read that in Rainbow Dash's voice ... Sorry, my sister loves he show.)

Um, things?

Wait a moment? Weren't we just in September? Um ... why are we now half-way through October? How is my baby sister suddenly six years old? (Honest question, because this week is her birthday.)

What happened to this little thing????????

TIME FOR AN UPDATE!

First of all: As all of you know, I was working on school and I was doing really well ... but looking at my writing schedule earlier this month, I realized that, if I'm going to succeed in entering the 5 Magic Spindles contest, I need to have the story written by the end of October at the latest, and if I'm going to have Lady Dragon, Tela Du out by this time next year (I'm looking at maybe September 15th as a release date. Maybe.), I need to have it written by Christmas. And in order to do that, I need to have at least part 1 finished by the start of NaNo.

For both of those goals, I need to write about 6,000 words on Poison Kiss, and maybe a bit more than that for Lady Dragon, Tela Du. By the end of October.

So. I'm pushing School back to the back burner, and will instead be sacrificing January and February to its cause. This is the time I spent on Kingdom's release this year, and it was the time I was considering giving to the collection ... but I'm afraid that that will have to go on hold as well. I'm not sure when that will come off of hold.

I will continue working on school this month, I need to take notes for the research paper while I still have the books out of the library, and I want to have my Chemistry book finished by the end of December. Not sure what I'm going to do with math, The graphs and I aren't talking right now, and I'm not budging until they agree to be nice to me.

I am planning a Rizkaland themed party during the week between Christmas and New Year's, celebrating ten years working on this series. Not sure what all I'm going to do with it, but I do know I'll have character Q&A's and a fanart contest. Feel free to suggest ideas. What would you like to do for the party?

But, yeah, the current word count for Poison Kiss is 6,850, though I'm currently stuck on a scene involving some backstory. Word count for LDTD is 14,005, and Amber is about to give a speech. Also, have I mentioned how much I'm enjoying writing a younger Ritis? In all the previous drafts, I only got to write him after he was old and beaten. I just wrote a scene between him and Amber, and he's such a wise, brave soul.

So that's what I've been doing, and what I will do.  Once more, what would you guys like to do for the party?

Upity Datity

So I've been chipping my way at school these last few weeks, and I'm sure all of you are eager to hear how I'm doing.

I'm doing quite well, thank you. And your prayers have been very much appreciated.

For those of you who are my friends on Goodreads, you may have noticed that I've finished Biology and have moved onto Chemistry. Apologia is an interesting curriculum. On one hand, I enjoy how thorough, and Biblically based it is, but on the other hand, I frequently feel like I'm being talked down to. Not a fun feeling - I get that I'm doing this curriculum four years late, but do they seriously have to explain every little detail? I knew what Work was back in elementary school studying simple machines. And seriously, every book uses the "push the wall" analogy. Can't someone get creative and use Mjolnir instead? Just a thought?

History is coming, and I'm using Streams of Civilization . I actually only started it last Thursday, and I decided to back up to the start of the second volume, which meant back to the Renascence. It's slow reading, but I did read three chapters over the course of Thursday and Friday. Since this is the book that fits in my purse, (I ... have a big purse, though it's not quite big enough for my science books) this is the one I take with me places.

Algebra II is coming, though I've flow through everything I already knew and have necessarily slowed down. Also, taking expressions on and off graphs annoy me. I don't mind them so much if they're already on the graph and I merely have to answer questions about them, but, they're annoying. Don't get me wrong, I love math, but if equation graphs and theorems were to be excluded from my education, I wouldn't miss them. If you want to keep track of me on Khan Academy, you can check out my profile.

And finally, the research paper. No, I've not started it, but I have settled on a topic: The Printing Press. I need to get to the library before I can focus on it, though, so I'm hoping to get started next month. (And maybe have Chemistry out of the way. Possibly?)

I've also turned a hand towards cleaning my (incredibly messy) room, starting by going through my closet. I get a lot of my clothes second-hand and hand-me-around, so I've accumulated quite a bit. Including stuff that I've never actually worn and doesn't actually look good on me. So I'm getting rid of it. I have a french fry box and a half filled ... and I've still not made a dent. Ah, well, I'll keep chipping.

I've not worked on Bookania or Poison Kiss as much as I'd planned. I've not pulled up my Bookania documents, though I really need to work on "Gift Exchange" which is about a third of the way through. Also, and I've been meaning to bring this up, but I'm working on revising Sew, It's a Quest for the sake of the collection, so if you have any issues, be they plot/grammar/spelling/you name it, with the story, now is the time to let me know about them so I can see what I can do about fixing them. Let me know in a private email, however - kendraeardnek@gmail.com.

Poison Kiss is stuck on the introduction scene between Auralea and Edmund, who is the love interest. Also the apprentice to the court physician.

Lady Dragon, Tela Du has made a bit more progress, but Laura sent me off topic talking about some weird language and now I need her to put us back on topic.

I did make a mock cover for LDTD, so people have something to catch their eye on Goodreads. I rather like it. I'm not entirely certain what the importance of the four-pointed star is, but I also put them on the title reveal button, so maybe they'll play in as important? I don't know. As I've said, I keep a loose hand on my plot when I write.

And I've come up with an idea for the official cover that I really like. Obviously, I can't use the exact same theme as WPFP, but I have something similar and equally symbolic planned. Now just to see if I can pull it off.

For those of you who may be wondering how the release of WPFP went, oh, it was awesome. Let's just say, I've made more sales these last two weeks - including on some of my other books - than I usually make in six months. And SEVERAL people have read my stuff with the Kindle Unlimited stuff. At least eight or nine people read WPFP based on the page count report I'm receiving. Someone read Take and Kingdom yesterday.

And I recently realized that Christmastime this year will mark ten years of work on Rizkaland. I may have to throw a party. We'll see how it goes.

((And for fans of Ilyon, can we just squeal about the cover of Samara's Peril? I still love TKS's better, but this one is gorgeous, too. Dragons!))

The Sob Story of My Life: Or, The Reason I haven't Graduated Yet

Or, The Reason Why I'm About To Take an Internet Hiatus.

Blog interviews this last year or so have gotten increasingly harder. Why? The first question, the almost certain "Tell me a bit about yourself." Why? Because I want to put down the fact that I'm homeschooled, and that I'm 20 ... and then it gets embarrassing. You may have noticed my clever wording of "20 and homeschooled my whole life" that I used throughout the blog tour.

Because I can't say homeschool graduate, and people expect that of a 20-year-old.

It's difficult in real life, too. People ask me if I've graduated, and I answer "It's complicated," because no, I haven't dropped out, but I'm not technically in school either. I quickly tack on a "but I've published six books" and they're usually more impressed after that, but still. That underlying "I haven't graduated yet - what kind of author doesn't finish high school?" hangs awkward in the air.

And honestly, I wonder what my younger self, say eleven or twelve years old, would think if she were to meet me. You see, I had big plans for my education. I was going to be done with "school" by sixteen, and then use my Timothy Award that I was going to win in AWANA to help pay for college. And I was on track for it, too. I started school a year and a half early, so eager was I to learn new things, and I was crunching through my AWANA handbooks every Wednesday. I was smart enough for it, that's an undeniable fact.

But somewhere about twelve, I began to let my study get away from me, and by the time I was sixteen, I could barely focus on it.

I don't have much school left to do: A research paper for English (I have no idea what I'm going to write about), two half-credits in Science (Chemistry and Biology, I've gotten about halfway through each), a half-credit in math (Algebra II), and modern history. (Post Revolutionary war - present.)

I'm not here to ask for pity, make excuses, or anything like that, I'm just going to tell my story - to stand before you guys as human instead of the perfect authoress I try to pretend to be. Because I'm not perfect, and neither has been my life.

Until I was five, my life was pretty normal. As I said, I even started school a year or so early. There were bumps in my life, I'm sure (such as my sister being in and out of the hospital with Asthma), but for the most part, the bumps didn't faze me. It was the adventure of life. But that year, my dad, a computer programmer, lost his job. He got a second, even better one quickly enough, but it only lasted six months.

And so, that year and a half was spent with a LOT of moving - first from our house in Colorado, down to Texas to stay a few weeks/months with my grandparents, then back to Colorado because dad had a new job, and then back down to Texas "temporarily" which became a permanent state of flux for the next two and a half years where we went back and forth between my two grandparents.

Divorce is one thing that I've never had to live through, thank the Lord, but these few years was close to it. We spent Saturday through Wednesday with my dad's parents, and the rest of the week with my mom's. My dad stayed permanently with his parents, because we had two and half rooms in their house, and only one with my mom's parents (toward the end, they were also housing my aunt and her family).  Mom was trying to not be in the way and give both sets of parents time to spend with us, since this was "temporary" and we were suppose to move far away again.

Finally, an uncle died, and his wife decided to gift us with her trailer home, and we spent the next six weeks or so fixing it up so we could live in it, during which time, we practically forgot about school. However, once that was done, we had a stable home, and we didn't have to be moving twice a week.

About 18 months later, when I was ten, I gained my younger brother, which meant a major rearranging so we had room for him.

However, aside from that, this was probably the most stable period of my life for some time.

Then, when I was twelve, our Dad lost his job again. This set in motion several years where our family literally dreaded spring as:

When I was thirteen, our mother suffered a nasty miscarriage. Miscarriages were nothing new in our family - but this one occurred later in the pregnancy than the others - in what she had previously considered the safe zone. This miscarriage was so bad, they had to take her to the hospital - where she was given a painkiller which she was allergic to. We almost lost her. She spent the next several months in a deep depression, during which time V and I basically had to run the household on our own.

But the year I turned fourteen was probably the worst. In February, mom discovered she was pregnant again - which meant she had to take things easy again - V and I took over the household once more, my Grammy was going to help. But just a week or so later, my grandparents (to whom we still lived next door to, mind you), gained custody of a two-year-old to whom the word "no" was a foreign language.

And then, the day before Mother's day, my Grammy collapsed. We rushed her to the hospital, but God took her home within twenty-four hours. This sent our whole family into a tailspin. Grammy was one of those special women who managed to have her whole world revolving around her as she took care of everyone, and without her, it took us a bit of time to find our equilibrium again, especially for one aunt.

My baby sister was born, and then just six weeks later, we nearly lost her, my brother, and mom in a car accident. They all survived, miraculously, but the repercussions continue to this day.

The next spring, a family friend had complications following the birth of her youngest, so for the next eight weeks, we added four extra kids to our household during the week, one of whom is special needs.

Please note that during this time, my Dad was, for the most part, unemployed. He reffed during basketball and volleyball seasons, and he had a few temporary jobs, but nothing full-time.

The spring I was sixteen, Dad had a heart attack. Fortunately, basketball season had just ended, and he survived it, but we went into yet another tailspin. It was months before he was back on his feet.  Mom doesn't drive, and we did without a lot that summer.

During this time, I always turned to writing as a form of escape, as a way to control something in a life that was way out of my control. This was the year I discovered NaNo, and in specific, the NaNo forums, the roleplays in particular. And, well, let's just say that I got a bit addicted. Mom thought I was doing school, but I would be there instead. This lasted at least six or seven months, while my parents tried to find a way to keep me off of the site, but I worked around it until my dad put a block on the term "NaNoWriMo" on our internet. Said block exists to this day, which means that if a URL contains that term, I can't pull it up. Mere "NaNo" is fine, which is why it's what I use when blogging.

I've said before that I published Sew rather on a whim, and this is the reason why: I felt desperate. I wanted a way to help bring in a bit of an income, and I really wanted to start my journey to fame and fortune.

With publication came a shift in my own attitude. I began to think of myself as an author rather than a student, and I'd fallen so far out of the habit of school, it was almost impossible for me to focus. I made progress, and I'd devour the subjects I was interested in, like History (until modern times) and English.  (I was really on a roll when it came to math too, until I was introduced to theorems in Geometry.)

When I was seventeen, we housed the whole family of our family friends, while they were going through a rather crazy move, for about six months.

Just as my life was evening out and I was gaining more time to work on things, I got my job, which ate up all my time. You guys know most of the rest of the story.

So, long story short, I'm not graduated, though I'm nearly there. And it's not because I'm stupid, but because I'm easily distracted or hyper focused, and I often use that as an excuse for laziness. That's why I'm going to disappear from the internet for the next few months. Because I've been dividing my time too much. I'll post from time to time here on my blog - such as posting the research paper for you guys to grade. (BTW, I have no idea what I'm going to write it on, so any ideas? I'm considering the ear, because my last research paper was the eye.) And I'll probably keep up with Goodreads, and some Facebook. But if you see me anywhere else (or you see me posting too much on Goodreads or Facebook) you have my full permission to ask me how I'm doing on graduation, and quietly guilt me back to work (because I am easily distracted).

And I do plan to devote exactly thirty minutes a day to writing - ten minutes each to LDTD, Poison Kiss, and the Bookania collection (because I have books 3.5 and one and half a short stories left to write). Because each of those projects have a looming deadline I still need to meet, so I need to continue to be making progress. I'll be using a timer on these projects, and I tend to write faster if I'm going against a timer, so hopefully I'll get some good words.

So farewell! I hope you guys won't miss me too much - I know I'm going to miss all of you. I intend to be graduated by NaNo, so hopefully I'll be back by then. If I'm not, I'll have to reevaluate my life.

My Great Plans ...

First off, if anyone is interested, I'm giving away a free kindle copy of Trust over here. All you have to do is comment asking Molly a question about her writing or something else of that nature.

With everyone laying out their plans for 2014 for all the world to see, I've decided to join the band wagon.

First off and most importantly, school. I want to be done with high school by the end of spring. Hopefully, that won't be too hard, as that only involves finishing two and a half Apologia science books (Physics, Chemistry, and half of Biology), mastering all of the math section of Khan's academy,  finish all of the states in U.S. Geography, and watch a lot of videos about history. The math will probably be the most difficult, not necessarily because I'm not good at math, but because it's the most involved. Can't wait. (Although I may have forgotten a subject. Mom is welcome to remind me if I have.)

Frankly, I should have been done with school two years ago, as I started kindergarten at four (I was bored with preschool). But I distracted myself with writing ... and look where I am now. Of course the fact that I like to squeeze every drop I can out of any particular subject didn't help. I probably have a college education in some of the subjects that interest me.

Secondly, which I'm sure you're far more interested in than my education, my writting goals. Since winter and spring will be dedicated mostly to learning, don't expect any books to appear on Amazon. However, I do want to publish at least two books this year.

Firstly I want to release the short story collection that I promised last year. The four - no, five, I added one - short stories are still unfinished, though at least I have very good progress on all but "Saffron's Even Bigger Plan." I just can't figure out how to get that one started, though I foresee it becoming quite a sweet little story, just like its predecessor. The other four stories are coming along not too badly, though I keep getting stuck on them. I have only two more challenges planned for "CinderEddy," and the next two are the exciting ones. Maybe once I get to them, it'll just fly out of my fingers. "The Sun Jewel Adventure" is coming along nicely, though I haven't written on it in a few days. No fault of its, however. I've been focusing on another project. "Woodcutter Quince" is about to have Eric show up, and I'm pretty sure that scene will work out beautifully. "Gift Exchange" however ... well ... it has a cover art! (Lower left-hand corner)

I also want to publish My Kingdom for a Quest this year. Having become frustrated with what I had written for NaNo'12, I have started over in a notebook. I'm liking how it's coming together this time, far less choppy. Although, the other day, I noticed a weird pattern in the Bookania quests. In book 1, R&R escape a castle in chapter three. In book 2, Arthur and the old man escape a castle in chapter 2. In book 3, there's a castle escape in chapter 1! And each time, the stakes surrounding that escape are higher. Very interesting, and definitely not done on purpose.

I also have a few book that I intend to finish. Water Princess, Fire Prince is so close to being done (maybe five chapters if I really stretch the upcoming battle scene) I'd like to be done really soon so I can write up a plan of attack for draft two and begin it. And maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to publish it come fall of 2015. And then I'll cry because I'll have to say good-bye to Clara and Andrew because they won't be back until book 4, and that'll be only a cameo appearance. But then I'll get to work with Petra, and I do miss Petra. And Ashna. Sweet, sweet Ashna. I've missed her interesting outlook on life. Oh, and Summer ... can't forget Summer ...

Some of you may have heard me mention that Miss Jack and I are writing a book together, Worth of a King, which is coming together quite beautifully. We've decided that we're going to make it a goal to finish its first draft by the end of the year. The last two chapters came out pretty quickly, so at the moment, we're both pretty optimistic. Although I dreamed the other night that she completely messed up the story. I was pretty annoyed with her for a few minutes until I realized that it hadn't actually happened ... and that I still hadn't sent her my chapter, so it was frankly impossible.

I want to finish my NaNo from last year. I'm over half-way, but without the NaNo oomph, it's become buried under some of my other projects. I need to get back to it, because I really do love the story and all of the characters, even John, who was, admittedly, a bit flat. I'm sure he'll improve in later books.

I'm not going to break this down and schedule myself like I did last year.

Last year I wrote over 180,000 words (give or take) This year, I'm gonna try for 250,000.

As for reading goals, I read nearly ninety books. This year, I'm going to try for 150, and I want to make sure I read a very good variety of books, including contemporary which is, quite frankly, my current out-of-comfort zone.

I also would like to make it a goal to publish at least two reviews on O.Scarlett each month. I'd like to do more, but since I'm currently the only one of the original trio still doing it ... Hum. Maybe I should look for another partner? Clara has declared that she intends to publish at least one review a month over at her blog. I told her good luck. (But really, I need to get back on the ball with that blog.)

On another note, I've been considering steeling an blogging idea from Anne Elizabeth Stengl. Actually, I've been considering it since last year, but anyways. You see, last December, she did a read through with her first book, and she did another one this December with her second book. Here's her blog, if you want to see what she did (you only need to go a few posts back, since she only just finished.)

I was thinking of doing something similar with Sew, It's a Quest this February. If you'd like me to, comment below with your pleas. If enough people ask, I'll be back later with more details!

The Rowa: A perfect world?

Attention!!! Due to the fact that I just got a job babysitting my cousins on Thursdays, my Birthday Bash has been moved to the 22nd.

The Rowa is my oldest world. I've been working with it, living in it, changing it, developing it since I was ... seven? Yes, I think I was seven.

It's gone through a LOT of changes, as This Story demonstrates. I've set many stories against its backdrop - some innocent, like the story above, some not so innocent. My main character (whose family has pretty much been my one constant) has had pretty much every adventure in the book, and has had skills ranging from cake making to herbalism.

However, as it now stands, the Rowa is my interpretation of what the Church would be like if it was pretty much isolated from the world (which is called Limbo). In other words, it a bit of a utopia.

And, since one of my school assignments is to design my vision of a utopia, I feel justified in presenting to you some world building.

Via Pinterest - The word "Rowa" means
Rainbow in the old Elven Tongue.

The Rowa is inhabited by elvings, which are half elf and half ... they don't know actually. All they know is that it isn't human. The Elves came from a dying world (Rizkaland, if you're interested) and the others ... they had no memory of where they came from. God is called Yshew, and there is a physical mark of whether or not you follow Him - the Rings.

The Rings showed up about a year or two after V and I came up with the elvings themselves. I don't remember whether it was V or me, but one of us had a cheep plastic ring and we wanted to add it to the book. We tossed around ideas for what the rings would do, (including growing plants) and we finally settled on communication. Basically, if Tiger wanted to talk to Mary, and Mary was out in the fields while Tiger was still in the apothecary, all Tiger would have to do is close her eyes, picture Mary's face, and wait for Mary to realize that Tiger is trying to contact her.

Since then, the Rings have become far more important, so important that I almost could have given Infiltration the title Ring of Faith instead. (Oh, grrr.... now I want to change the title ...) Elvings did not always have Rings. When the world was young, it was called Rolimbo, and there was no physical difference between those who follow Yshew, and those who don't. When Yshew built the Hedge, however, which divided Rolimbo into Limbo and the Rowa, He judged the Limboians - and gave the Rings to the Rowans.

With the addition of the greater importance, the Rings have acquired a few more abilities, such as being able to grow an Elving's name-flower or the leaves of their name-tree. The most important ability of the Rings is that it helps with an Elving's life-work. If an elving is an herbalist, it helps her to determine whether or not a particular plant has medicinal properties or not, if an elving is a Eagle Flier, it helps him not get lost. This is mostly done by changing the color of the gem, but some life-works also involve the heating of the gem (such as bakers). They also slow the Elving's aging to one-fourth the rate of the Limboians.

(Years, in the Rowa, are the length of two of ours. So if a Rowan tells you that he's 12, he only looks 6, but he's really 24)

The Rings come in two main categories: Rings of Innocence and Rings of Faith. They do pretty much the same things - communicate with family and friends, grow name-plants, and help with the life-work. However, they mean different things. The Ring of Innocence is given to a child by his or her ma or pa (usually ma ... um, yes, I was highly influenced by Little House on the Prarrie growing up ...) as soon as he or she is born. They will wear this Ring until their twenty-fourth birthday when their Ring fades and they are given the Ring of Faith, usually by their Pa. However, while the receiving of a Ring of Innocence requires only that your parents believe in Yshew, the Ring of Faith requires that you believe in Yshew.

If you don't receive your Ring of Faith, you're exiled to Limbo ... and is considered dead. Nothing lives in Limbo you see.

The Ring is worn on the ring finger of the left hand.

Naming in the Rowa is simple. First names are flowers for girls and trees or bushes for boys. Middle names only exist if the name is break-up-able (such as Mag Nolia, Tiger Lilly and White Oak) and in the early days of world building, it didn't even happen then. (Tiger was Tigerlilly for the longest time). Sometimes an elving will go by both, such as White Oak. Other times an elving will use a form of their first name as a nickname (such as Maggie). In rare instances (in my book at least) they will go simply by their middle name. Last names are handed down the same way ours are, and are based on the Animal Kingdom (Bunnitoes, Elkhyde, Skunktail, Beavertoothe ...). An Elving woman will change their last name upon their marriage.

Via Pinterest

Via Pinterest

Housing in the Rowa is divided into two types - hole and tree, as demonstrated above. All elvings prefer one or another, though they can tolerate either. It has been noted that Tree Elvings tend to be more adventuresome than their hole-preferring fellows. The holes can be used for generations (and there are some notable holes that are said to date back to the days before the division), but the trees are used for 50-100 years at the most. Any variety of tree is used, for the the Rings of the Tree-Builders are capable of growing trees larger than natural, and faster than normal.

Via Pinterest. 

Elvings choose their Life-work at a young age, usually before the age of twenty. If they choose the life-work of one of their parents, it's likely to be even sooner than that. Their Life-work is, in simplest terms, their occupation. It's what they do to help out their community. Some Life-works are common - such as the Farmers, Gardeners, and livestock keepers. Indeed, probably over half of the village is comprised of those. The Seamstresses, Builders (whether they be Hole-Builders or Tree-Builders), Bakers, Baxters, Teachers and the like.  Depending on the size of the village, there may be five to twenty of each of those. Then there are the rarer jobs, of which there are usually no more than two (the master and the apprentice) at a time. There are a few extremely rare Life-works, such as that of the Finder, who tend to be only one to every hundred villages. These include the Doctors, Herbalists, and the Scribes. No Life-work is looked down on. 

Most Life-work belong to just men or just women. Women's Life-works include Gardeners, Seamstresses, Baxters, and Herbalists. The Farmers, Builders, Bakers, Doctors and Scribes are always men. There are a few either-or's, such as Finders and Livestock-keepers, and some of them, such as Herbalists and Doctors, Bakers and Baxters, and Farmers and Gardeners, are merely different sides to the same coin.

There are a few Life-works that are family specific, such as the Scribes and Eaglefliers. The Scribe will aways hand down his Life-work to his eldest son, and all Eaglewing boys are trained as Eaglefliers.

Eaglefliers are the messengers. They are so-called because they ride eagles. (And they must be light-weight to do so, which is why the task is kept in the family.)

No one is paid to do what they do. They do it because they enjoy their Life-work, because of their love for one another, and because of their love of Yshew. The Doctor and Herbalist don't hesitate to cure anyone who comes to them sick, and the Farmers and Gardeners do not hesitate to share the food they grow with those who do things that are not food-related.

Children start school at the age of eight, where they learn the three r's. History is taught by the Scribe on Sundays, which is the day of rest. On that day, no one works (unless it is an emergency) and they instead gather at the Great Hall (the oldest, largest hole in the village, and whether they are inside or outside depends on the whether) to listen to the Scribe read.  Children graduate to fully study their Life-work at the age of twenty-four. How old they are when they are considered masters of their Life-work depends on the Life-work, but it is usually between the age of twenty eight and forty-two.

There is no king in the Rowa. Every village functions pretty much on its own. Neighboring villages tend to be friendly with each other, and the Eaglefliers fly constantly between them. Once or twice a year they'll meet with each other, and it's not uncommon for them to intermarry with each other. When another village is in trouble, surrounding villages will offer whatever help they can give.

Via Pinterest

Villages themselves are governed by a board of elders, which is comprised of every man over the age of sixty. The only exception to this is the Scribe's apprentice, and sometimes (in rare cases) the Scribe himself. Every elder has equal vote, but the Scribe's words carry more weight than the others. The Scribe is the keeper of the legends, prophecies, laws and such, and the recorder of anything important that may be decided. His closes equivalent in our world is a pastor.

If a man or woman refuses to work, they are first examined for their reason why. If the Elders deem their excuse faulty, they are denied the services of their fellows. If they are married and have children, their family is also denied services. If they continue to be stubborn, they will be exiled out of the village - though they are allowed to stay inside the Rowa. Their Ring, however, is discolored by a dye (kindly provided by the Herbalist) that marks them as lazy.

If an Elving is caught stealing, or is convicted of murder, the penalty is death. Executions are done by making the offender drink a painless poison (again provided by the Herbalist). This is not a often-used punishment, however, as offences are rare, as children are taught from an early age to abide by the ten commandments (though they don't call them that.) The ones who don't learn usually end up being the ones who do not get their Ring of Faith.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

And that's pretty much everything. So, yes, that's my personal utopia. However, I do not believe that we will ever have anything that good in our world. We don't have a Hedge separating us from the world, nor do we have Rings to mark us as Christian. Limbo, which is, contrary to Rowan belief, still very much alive, is in a constant state of disorder.

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!

How Can I Avoid Selfishness?

A report I wrote at 15.

Selfishness is the root of both hatred and the love of money. Jesus once said that “The love of money is the root of all evil.” That makes Selfishness a deadly trap to fall into. Therefore it is of utmost importance to avoid it. The question is, how?
There is the acronym JOY. It stands for Jesus then Others then You. This is the recipe for selflessness, which is the opposite of selfishness.  The best way to avoid any bad habit is to identify its opposite, then replace the bad with it.
Whatever situation you might be in, your reaction should not be “How can I benefit me?” but, “What can I do that is pleasing to Jesus,” and then, “How can I benefit others?”
Most people think that being served is the key to happiness. However, those who know would tell you that it is those who are being served are the most miserable. They have nothing to do that is constructive, and therefore are most often bored. The servants, however, if they are not grudging, are most often the happiest.
If you grudge service, that’s being selfish. One way to become selfless is to make a conscious decision to serve, and do it with a happy and willing heart. Whenever you catch yourself being selfish, stop, and make a conscious decision to change your attitude.
Don’t, however, don’t delude yourself that you can do this all by yourself. No one can. Selfishness is a trait of Self. Self cannot be conquered alone. You must have God’s help to conquer Self.
Therefore you must ask God’s help to avoid selfishness. Even if you use all the tricks in the book, you can never overcome selfishness without God’s help. You must ask him for his help and ask it daily, hourly, or even minutely if you need it. And you must earnestly seek your goal, don’t play two-face, and hold back parts; that’s being selfish, too.

My Personal Love Chapter

This was a school assignment to personalize 1 Corinthians 13. I wrote it at 15.

.......

Though I am skilled with my hands, and make scarves and hats with ease, and give them away without a thought as to money, if I do it out of pride and not love, it profits me nothing.

Though I write the best stories in the world, and donate all the money I make off of them to charity, if I don’t do it out of love, it’s worthless.

Though I have a very high IQ and know all sorts of odd facts, and teach them to others whenever possible, if I do not love, I am just a bag of hot air.

Love is long suffering, and always is doing nice thing for others, love is not jealous of the things of others, love is not prideful.

Love does not make scenes of itself, does not seek to benefit itself, does not get angry easily, and does not think that which does not please God.

Does not take joy in sin, but in that which is true,

Forbears in all things, has faith in all things, expects all things, perseveres in all things.

Love never is driven out of course, unlike predictions, which will be rendered completely useless, or languages, that end, or science, which will come to nothing.

Our understanding is incomplete, as is what we foretell.

They will be done away with when perfection comes.

Once I was a child, and I did childish things, now I’m growing up and begin to do womanish things instead.

Right now, we don’t see things completely, as if through a glass, but someday I will know as I am known.

There are three great traits, unshakable belief in God, expectation is God’s grace, and love. Love is the greatest

Don't you just love eggs?

How Does God Want us to Treat the Earth?

I wrote this at the age of 15.

How does God want us to treat the earth? That question is debated all over the place. Does one have to sell everything they have and go into the woods and live on nuts and berries? Does one have to go to all sorts of rallies and such and leave a ton of trash at the Washington Memorial grounds?

And I’m not being silly with that second one, as that seems to be the environmentalists’ normal mode of function. I’m making a point. Some of the so said most concerned people about the earth, really care the least.

Pretty eggs ...

So how should we treat the earth? What of the first option I gave? In actuality, while I don’t believe it would really hurt, it isn’t necessary. You can help take care of the earth just as well in a house as in the woods.

A first suggestion for taking care of the earth is to conserve and reduce. Don’t use more than you have to. Buy things that have as little packaging as possible. Keep your heating and cooling as close to the outdoor temps as possible. Turn off lights when you leave a room. Turn off water when you don’t need it. Don’t use your refrigerator as an extra air conditioner. Walk or ride bikes over riding in a car when possible. I’m sure you can be creative enough to come up with more ideas.

A second suggestion is to reuse and repurpose. Coffee cans and cereal boxes make great beginnings for craft projects for kids. Buy things, like shampoo and cleaners, you can take the bottles and containers back for refills whenever possible. Make things last as long as you can.

A third suggestion is to recycle. For some people this is the simplest, for others, the most difficult. This is because of where they live, usually. Some places and communities provide you with special recycling bins, and send out recycling trucks to take your recycling away. All you have to do is sort your trash. In other places and communities, all you can recycle are aluminum cans—and even that’s a hassle.

Another suggestion is to watch where you throw your trash. No, the side of the road might be convenient, but it is not an appropriate option. Throw your trash in designated trash cans and recycling bins. On top of that, if you see trash on the ground, pick it up and put it in a designated trash can or recycling bin.

Don’t trash the earth, but you don’t have to go live in the woods either.

What does the Bible say about Being a Peacemaker

An essay I wrote at 15

“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God,” (Matthew 5:9). This is from the Sermon on the Mount, particularly from the Beatitudes. Obviously, Jesus thinks that this is important. If Jesus thinks this is important, I think that we should think it important, as well.

That’s why mom has had us studying it in school.

One way to be a peacemaker is to not blow up at other people. Don’t start arguments, and don’t give others reasons to start them with you. Be nice to others and practice the golden rule, do unto others as you would have them do to you.

Notice: not what they did to you. This is another part of peacemaking, not swinging back when someone else starts the argument. It is very hard to do sometimes, though.

A third way to be a peacemaker is to smooth out pre-existing fights. Mediating between two non-talking parties is an excellent way to do this. This is the hardest way, as it doesn’t personally involve yourself, and you always have the greatest amount of control over yourself. Try to stay out of other people’s conflicts, though

I’m not saying the first two are easy, it isn’t, but at least it’s only you that you are trying to control. And you don’t sound like a goody-goody in someone else’s fight. The second is probably the easiest, as you aren’t personally, yet, the one blowing up, yet you are still part of it. The hard part is that this usually involves taking the blame. Most people don’t like this. I know I don’t.

Taking the blame is a good way to effect the first, as well. Saying, “Your fault, your fault, your fault,” is just going to ruffle the other’s feathers, and make them even more defensive and angry. Taking the blame is hard, but is usually worth it.

But don’t be a doormat. Make yourself known, but do it in a soft voice and not an accusing one. Be honest with yourself. Was it your fault? If it was, say so, but if it honestly wasn’t, don’t lie. That just complicates things. However, you can offer to take the punishment for it.

Don’t respond to teasing, and don’t tease. Teasing is one of the best ways to start arguments.

Pride

Essay I wrote at 15.

“Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall,” (Proverbs 16:18). That’s pretty harsh. I personally believe that that means that pride isn’t a very good idea. I’ve met a good many people who agree.

Pride is the feeling that you are better than others. It can spring from many things, such as a talent, appearances, money, or perhaps even friends or family. You might be prideful because you got a compliment on how you look, or you won an essay contest. Perhaps you have relatives who came over on the Mayflower, or your best friend is the richest girl in school. Perhaps you are proud because you have better morals than someone else.

But pride, as I said before, isn’t a very good idea. The question, then, is how should you avoid it. Jesus often said that if one wanted to be the highest in heaven, he would have to be the least on earth, so that would indicate that humility is something we should really strive for.

First, identify your area of pride. If you don’t know what you’re fighting, you won’t be able to fight. What are you proud of? Your house? Your prize? Your freshly baked cookies?

Now, think of how there might be someone or something better. It might not be in your personal sphere, but I will assure you that there is someone or something. Another idea is to think of your own short comings. I believe short comings are a gift from God (and the Apostle Paul agrees), as they remind you that you are human and therefore not perfect. Maybe your parents ignore you most of the time, maybe you flunk at English, or maybe the dress you tried to make was a horrid attempt.

Now, repeat the process. Pride is a sneaky thing. Just when you think it’s gone, you’ll find yourself proud of your humility! Now what a fall is that. There are some people who are self-convinced that they are the most humble people in the world, when in actually they are completely prideful.

Here’s a method of identifying your area of pride that I completely don’t recommend: ignoring it. If you ignore your pride long enough, you will find yourself falling (see verse at the beginning). You might loose your house and find yourself homeless. You might come in last place in the next contest. You might burn your next batch of cookies beyond recognition. There is only one benefit to this method of identifying your pride—the object of your pride will now be nonexistent! Or, at least, not as big a threat.

What Does the Bible Have to say about Not Being Trustworthy?

A Companion essay I wrote to What Does the Bible Have to say about Being Trustworthy, at age 15.

The Bible has a lot to say about the untrustworthy person. He is the kind of person who would steal and lie and cheat. He is lazy and unreliable. He doesn’t have very many friends because no one is able to entrust him with their secrets because, when they do, he often uses those secrets against them.

A thief is untrustworthy because they are prone to taking things that don’t belong to them whenever the owners are not looking. They have to be watched at all times and cannot be left alone. The Bible says, (Eph 4:28)  “Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.”  Liars are untrustworthy because they don’t always tell the truth. People never know if what they tell them is believable or not. Even if the liar tells the truth, one doesn’t know that for sure. The Bible says, (Pro 19:5)  “A false witness shall not be unpunished, and he that speaketh lies shall not escape.”  A cheater is untrustworthy because they are prone to not playing games by the rules. When they win, the other players are often resentful because they don’t know if the win was genuine or not. The Bible says, (Lev 19:11)  “Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to another.”

The lazy person is untrustworthy because, when given a job, the one in charge of him doesn’t know if the job will get done. The boss often ends up having to do the job himself.  He is unreliable because no one knows that he will do what he says he will. The Bible says, (Pro 18:9)  “He also that is slothful in his work is brother to him that is a great waster.” The sluggard is not liked, (Pro 10:26)  “As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him.”

God does not like the untrustworthy person. If you will notice, every reference I have given is negative. “Don’t steal,” “liars will be punished” “don’t cheat,” “sluggards are wasteful,” “sluggards are not liked,” they say. The general message is “don’t be untrustworthy”. There are more, for I have barely scratched the surface, but every one carries this message.

If you want to have friends, be trustworthy with the secrets they tell you. No one likes to have a friend who will spoil surprises, spread embarrassing information, or allow others to have information that will invite teasing. Think about, would you like a friend who does that? If you don’t (and I’m fairly sure you don’t) don’t be one who does.

Live up to your promises. If you say that you’ll arrive with the cake a 2:00, arrive with the cake at 2:00. If you say that you’ll make something for someone, make it. An untrustworthy person will not keep his promises.

Don’t be untrustworthy. Untrustworthy people really don’t have all that much fun.

What Does the Bible Say about Being Trustworthy?

A report I wrote at the age of 15.

The Bible has a lot to say about the trustworthy person. He is the kind of person who leaves other people’s stuff alone, tells the truth, and plays fair. He is diligent and reliable. He has many friends because they able to entrust him with their secrets because, when they do, he guards them carefully.

When left alone, one does not have to watch the trustworthy person. He can be trusted not to take things that don’t belong to him. The Bible says, (Eph 4:28)  “Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.”  The trustworthy person’s words can be believed. There is no second guessing or wondering how much of what he says is lies, he tells the truth. The Bible says, (Pro 12:19)   “The lip of truth shall be established for ever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment.” His wins are genuine, his money is fairly gotten. No one doubts it.

When given a job, he gets it done decently and in order. No one has go behind him and do it over. The Bible says, (Pro 12:24)  “The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute.”  He is well liked, (Pro 22:29)  “Seest thou a man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.”

God likes the trustworthy person. If you will notice, most of the references I have given are positive. “Don’t steal, give,” “the reward for truth is great,” “diligent people get to be in charge,” “diligent are well liked,” they say. The general message is “be trustworthy”. There are more, for I have barely scratched the surface, but every one carries this message.

If you want to have friends, be trustworthy with the secrets they tell you. No one likes to have a friend who will spoil surprises, spread embarrassing information, or allow others to have information that will invite teasing. Think about, would you like a friend who doesn’t that? If you do (and I’m fairly sure you do) be one who doesn’t.

Live up to your promises. If you say that you’ll arrive with the cake a 2:00, arrive with the cake at 2:00. If you say that you’ll make something for someone, make it. An untrustworthy person will not keep his promises.

Be trustworthy. Trustworthy people always come out on top.

Jericho and the Fiery Furnace

I believe that I've mentioned before that this year for Wednesday night church, we've been going through and studying Hebrews 11.

Well, last week was the last night of our summer program, and so it was time to wrap things up.

The week before, we had made puppets.

So this week, we were going to do puppet shows.

The problem was, they had forgotten to do up backgrounds.

So ... operation youth group for instant art.

Each of us in the youth group did one picture. However, there aren't very many of us down there, so that makes for not so many pictures.

I did Jericho.

Closeup of people marching.

And going back around the other side.

I even remembered Rahab's scarlet cord.

Random guard on the top of the wall.

Oh, and speaking of Rahab, here's the lovely lady now. She's the puppet I had made. 

I was just about done with my Jericho picture when a revelation was made.

They'd forgotten to get someone to draw the Fiery Furnace.

I volunteered.

Furnace is on the left, statue for bowing refusals is on the right.

Furnace on it's own.

Super skinny Statue. Did you know that the statue was 60ft by 6ft.

As I said, skinny statue.

My Jericho was actually the most complicated background of them all.

Unless it was the Aztech altar for Cain and Abel.

No, I don't have a picture of that.

It was interesting, though.

Via Pinterest

6. In the original version, King Herold was not Analyssa's father, but a king who had conquered her people and who was trying to marry her off and get rid of the dragons in one swoop. I changed him to her father because I realized that it would make for a stronger story.

Ashla and the Wind

I just discovered this in my old English notebooks. This is dated July 10, 2010. I was supposed to be writing a somewhat scary scene with original descriptions.

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

A cold wind wrapped around Ashla, as if trying to be a blanket. It was, however, being very unsuccessful.

Ashla had to reach home quickly. If one stayed out in the cold too long, Eracre, the Cold King, could claim him. Those who had been claimed by Eracre were never heard from again.

"I - must - get - home," she said, through blue lips. Was it her imagination, or did she hear a low, evil laugh? No, no, it was just the wind.

"Ashla ..." the wind moaned, "beware ... Eracre ... comes ..." She peered into the icy mist before her. Could she see her home? She had to read her home soon, or Eracre would claim her. She glanced over her shoulder. Was that a wolf-drawn sleigh? And was that Eracre himself in it?

Ashla pressed harder against the wall that the wind had become. Suddenly, it gave way. She was on her doorstep. She was home. Was that Eracre she heard, howling in the distance, or was it only the wind?

No matter, she was home, and she was safe.

Via Pinterest

7. Despite their evil, the Wyrmen are intelligent, and they're very good at twisting human minds to go the wrong way.

Want to be Beautiful?

I believe that there probably isn't a girl in the world who doesn't want to be beautiful. Well, here's a few tips from people from all over the world and all through history to make you such!

Bind your feet really tight so that they don't grow much and they stay really small. You might have to break some of the bones to do so, but it's so worth it!
 - Women from China.

Squeeze your head while you're a baby between two boards so that it will be narrow, and put a jewel in front of her face so that she's be cross-eyed. When she's older, you can file their teeth to points and put bits of pyrite and jade in them.
 - Mayan Women

Tattoo your lips and the skin around them black.
 - Natives from somewhere in the orient.

Put rings around your neck.
 - Giraffe People of Kayan People and the Zulus

Put holes in your ears and make it stretch and stretch until the bottoms of your ears reach your shoulders.
 - Natives of the Easter Islands.

Wear a Corset and powder your face with white lead!
 - Women of medieval and renascence and civil war eras and eras in between and some past ...

Please note that I do not endorse any of these methods and that you should only follow them at your own risk.

Richard The Lionheart

Tammy: Hello, folks, welcome to the Past Times! I’m your host, Tammy Turnback, and with us today is the famous Richard the Lionheart.

Richard: Good day.

Tammy: You are one of the few English Kings known by your epitaph, the Lionheart, rather than your number, which was the First, wasn’t it.

Richard: I was.

Tammy: Tell me, what did you do to earn this honor?

Richard: Well, you see, I fought bravely in the Crusades and was a good leader of my army.

Tammy: I see. You were a devoted Crusader?

Richard: Of course – I wanted to serve God and win my place in heaven. If a crusader died on a crusade, it was said that they would go straight to heaven.

Tammy: I see. And why were you fighting these Crusades?

Richard: You see, the Turks had taken over the Holy Lands, and wouldn’t let us Christians go there for pilgrimages, so the Pope ordered us to do something about it. Mine was actually the third Crusade.

Tammy: Oh, I see. And how long were you on this crusade?

Richard: The crusade itself lasted three years, but then, en route back to my own kingdom, the Duke of Austria captured me and put me in prison.

Tammy: Oh, dear.

Richard: It was two years before I finally got out – and my brother John paid my ransom. When I finally got out, King Phillip of France sent John a letter saying “Look to yourself, the devil is loose.” John hadn’t been being very good of a king, you see, and I had to go put him in his place.

Tammy: And you came back and were hailed a hero.

Richard: You could say that. But I did have to forgive him and I even named him my heir.

Tammy: Why, if he were such a bad king?

Richard: You see, I considered him a better king that my other option, our nephew, Arthur, who was still young, and was being influenced by Phillip of France. I considered having a bad king who would keep our lands a better option than a king who was influenced by another king and would give our lands to him. I knew quite well how bad Phillip’s influence could be.

Tammy: Really?

Richard: Yes, you see, when I was young, before my father, King Henry II died, Phillip’s father, Louis VII,  influenced my brothers and I to rebel against our father. Phillip wanted to weaken us, you see. Our second eldest brother, Henry the younger, was influenced the worst, since the he really didn’t have much to do, as Father ruled the lands he had “given” Henry the younger. Our eldest brother, William IX, had died at the age of two from a seizure, so he really didn’t count.

Tammy: And the rest of you didn’t have it as bad.

Richard: Yes. I, for instance, had been given Aquitaine, which had been our mother’s land.

Tammy: Your mother was Eleanor of Aquitaine, wasn’t she?

Richard: She was. She was actually nine years older than our father – he married her for her lands. She had been married to King Louis VII, but had divorced him because he was away on crusades too much, and they had only had daughters.

Tammy: I see.

Richard: I actually liked Aquitaine better than England – England was such a wet rainy place, I wished I could have sold it off when I was raising money for the crusade, but I couldn’t find a buyer.

Tammy: Really? But you were the king of England – how could you not care about it.

Richard: I didn’t like it. Too wet and rainy, for all I cared, John could keep on ruling it. I actually spent no more than six months of my ten-year reign actually on that dismal island. Couldn’t even speak that barbaric tongue, English. I was dignified, and spoke French.

Tammy: Really?

Richard: Yes. Also, my wife was the only English queen to never set foot on English soil – at least, not while she was queen.

Tammy: Really? And who was she?

Richard: Princess Berengaria of Navarre, which was part of Spain. I had been betrothed to Princess Alys of France, King Louis’s daughter by his second marriage, but I didn’t want that tie to France, besides, there were rumors about her and my Father, and I didn’t like them.

Tammy: I see, so you married this Berengaria instead.

Richard: Yes. She was very beautiful. Married her before I left on the crusade, and even took her with me most of the way. I was a busy man, though, and didn’t have much time for her when I got back from prison, never saw her again.

Tammy: Oh, I see.

Richard: And when I died, they didn’t even think to send for her to come to my bedside. They called my mother though – and I died in her arms. My mother later got buried beside me.

Tammy: Which brings us to how you died, how did you die?

Richard: I was in France, laying siege to a city I wanted, and one of the men in the city shot me with a crossbow. I died. My body was buried at my father’s feet, but my heart, which was said to be twice the size of the heart of a normal man, was buried at Rouen in Normandy.

Tammy: And thus ended your reign.

Richard: Yep. It would later be written of me that, “I was a bad king, a bad husband, but a good soldier.” I liked fighting, I was good at it.

Tammy: And that’s all the time we have for today, folks, see you next time on the Past Times!