2013, The Year of Scary Happenings, in a List

Alright, people, this is my last post until next year :P Aren't New Year's puns awesome! This really is my last post in 2013, though, so I wanted to do something cool. It is kinds of cheesy, too. I'm going to make a list of all of the good things that happened this year! It probably won't be chronological.

2013 in a list

 (Come on, you guys had to know it would be a list)

 

- The year started with a Merlin addiction! Seriously! When the clock struck 12:01 we were watching Merlin! It was the very first BBC America show we had ever seen, and by the third episode we were all hopelessly addicted.

 

- On February 20, 2013, I wrote my first blog post. It was on my mom's birthday and I was watching The Wizard of Oz as I blogged. I've come a long way since then.

- I made several Blogger friends, as I lovingly call them! They are Cait and Mime, Caitria, and Jonnah! I've also met Jack Baillot since then!

-We went on vacation! I got to go to Lexington, KY, Petersburgh, KY, and Cincinnati, OH! Cincinnati is the farthest North I've ever been. I also got to ride a horse for the first time while in Lexington. I realized my love for it that day! Too bad there's no where to ride around here.

-We started visiting different churches. This was scary for me especially! I'm an introvert and for four years I hadn't met any new people or had a reason to try and make new friends. I also had been going to the same church for about eight years!

- We visited North 10th Street Baptist Church. We instantly fell in love with it! We knew way more people than we realized! Soon after, we joined.

- In August, I went on my first Youth Trip with the 10th Street youth group. I hadn't met hardly any of the people in the youth group and decided to get on a bus and ride a total of 4 hours on a bus with them! On top of that, we were going to a water park then Lambert's to eat! I was terrified (being an introvert and all) so I made two of my best friends tag along! I actually had a great time!

- In September, I started playing keyboard for the praise team at church. I had only played in front of people once! So, of course, I was scared (I'm beginning to see a pattern here)! But, I did great and I still play every Sunday! Praise Team practice on Sunday afternoons is pretty much the highlight of my week every week.

-In October, I was drafted into the church Christmas program. The director decided to film it instead of doing it live. That was a ton of fun! I played the teenage lead and the next month or so was extremely busy!

- Also in October, I turned 16! I still don't have a license (I've had bad experiences. They weren't my fault and were never serious, but I'm still scared), but I'm working on it!

-In November, we wrapped up filming the program. I also went to go see Thor 2! It was awesome!

-My honorary baby brother was born in November, too! We went to the hospital with our friends and mom, her pregnant friend, and I stayed up all night! And mom and I stayed up all of the next day! There were complications with our friend and the baby, but they were all soon taken care of! Now, I have the explain why I call the baby my honorary baby brother! Our friend doesn't want to have any more kids (she lost one last year and had tons of trouble with this one). So, she told me and my brother that we have to be Logan's (her new baby boy) brother and sister. My brother will let Logan call him Bubba, but I refuse to be called Sissy! It's because of a little inside joke between our family and Logan's family. I told Logan's mommy that I would be sis, big sis, J, JorJor, JoJo, but NOT Sissy. So, while he still can't talk, he's my honorary baby brother and I'm calling myself his honorary big sister!

-I met several new people through NaNoWriMo, which I did not win. Some of them are: PJ, AJ, Olivia, River, Andrew, Tame, Erin, Britt, Iris, Flame, Pendragon, Myth, and several other. Those are their forum names, btw.

- In December, we showed the Christmas program to the church and did our choir cantata, which I sang soprano in. Again, terrifying! But, both were a huge hit!

-We went to see the Hobbit 2! BEST MOVIE OF 2013!!!! I'm reading the book now because December 2014 is too far away!

- My honorary baby brother turned one month old! He also had his first sleepover! His mommy had to go to the hospital, and we had him for three days and two nights! Mom and I got almost no sleep. but, it was interesting! Practice for when I'm older, huh ;P

-We went to my grandma's for Christmas. It was fun!

-On Christmas day, I met my Australian step-cousins for the first time (again with the meeting new people! I honestly don't know how I managed!)! The younger one, Austin, and I talked pretty much the whole time they were at my grandma's house. What can I say, we had sixteen years to catch up on (we're both 16, and the other one, Dallas, is 17-18. I'm not entirely sure)!

-And now, on New Year's Eve, I sit here writing this post.

And there you have it! My year in a list! Looking back,  realize my year has been full of meeting new people and scary things. Both of which are definitely related!

If all goes well, you guys will be reading my next post on a fresh background! I'm revamping my blog for the new year!

Talk to you guys next year! ;P

Book And Insanity Linkup Part 2

Ok, so here's the writer part of the linkup!

 

And the rules:

1. Grab the Book and Writing Insanity button above! (Or link to our blog, notebooksisters.com, somewhere in your post.)
2. Pick a set of questions. We have TWO sets. One for writers. One for readers. (Psst! You can do both if you so wish it.)
3. Copy the 20 questions below. You can use all of them or just pick out a few!
4. Add your link to our marvellous linky widget below. It'll be open all of December.
5. Visit AT LEAST the blog linked up in front of you. (The point of linkups is to meet new bloggy friends and squeak over books/writing together. Plus who doesn't like comments? Share the love!)
6. WE LOVE BOOKS!!! (Okay, that isn't really helpful, but who cares?)

 

(Remember: Answer these questions out of what you've written this year!)

1. How many books did you write this year? (Estimate your overall wordcount for us too!)

I didn't actually write a full book this year. I did write lots of short stories. I probably wrote a combined total of about 150,000 words. Not much, but I went through about four months where I had absolutely no motivation to write whatsoever.

 2. Which was your favourite to write?

So far, Midnight Run has been my favorite to write! It's set in 2015 and it's a sci-fi novel about time travelers! What's not to love?!

 3. Which was the hardest to write?

A Truly Mythical Story (that's my working title. I'll change it when I come up with something better) has been the hardest so far! I've been working on it for a little over a year and I just can't get it to work. I have about 30,000 words and can't get motivated to write any more of it.

 4. Tell us about you favourite Male Character you wrote this year!

That would be either Shaun Fields from Midnight Run, or Amicus Fortis from A Truly Mythical Story (that will be ATMS from now on)! Both of them are the main male characters.  Shaun is a caring person. Amicus is too, but on a much larger scale. Shaun only shows it in situations where he's going to lose someone he loves. Amicus shows it all of the time. Amicus is a fighter, where Shaun hates any kind of violence. Even when it's to save someone he loves. 

 5. And how about your favourite Female Character?

By far, that is Midnight Storm! She's a kick-butt kind of girl! She's not the "I'm so tough nothing can phase me" type, but she is a particularly strong girl. She's also a genius! She broke the code for time travel and invented a time travel machine! She also invented inter-time travel comms units! No matter where you are in time, the comms unit connects with the other person!

 6. Can you introduce us to some awesome sidekick(s)?

Finnegan Birdle, aka Finn, from ATMS! He's a very nervous/cautious person. He has several nervous ticks. A friend of mine said he reminded her of Pippin from The Lord Of The Rings. I'm not so sure I see it, though.

Also, Emmet and Eddie, aka the Twin Terrors. They are red-headed twins. Emmet is a total jokester and is always getting into trouble! Eddie is a bit softer and nicer. When he's hiding something, though, he becomes a jokester and trouble-maker like Emmet. He hides behind the jokes and snark.

 7. Any romances in your writing? Which couple didn't go together as expected?

In ATMS, I originally had Georgie, the FMC, and Finn together. I very quickly realized that wouldn't work. So, I put her with Amicus.

Shaun and Midnight are together in Midnight Run. They have a very close and mushy relationship, but there is a very good reason for that. Midnight is quite insecure, so Shaun has to show his love for her often.

Robyn and Emmet in MR are also together, but they don't like to admit it or show it. Mainly because Shaun is an overprotective brother bear when it comes to his twin sister.

 8. What's your favourite Pinterest Board for one of your books? Can we see some pics for the book they inspire?

I don't really have a pinterest board for my books. I just screenshot the pictures so I have them even if I don't have Wi-Fi. You can see pictures, though! I'll post them at the end to avoid formatting problems!
 9. What challenges did you compete in this year? (NaNos? Personal goals? Challenges run by

other blogs?) And how did you go?

NaNo. I got 25,020 words. I'm still happy about that! I also competed in the Go Teen Writer's 100 for 100 challenge. 100 words for 100 days! I completed it with a total of 34,176 words! Triple what I needed to get!

 10. Show us the full cast in pictures from one of your books.

Again, I'll post them at the end.

 11. Epic quote(s) you wrote?

“You think I’m scared? Go ahead, pull the trigger.” (This was said while a gun was pointed to Midnight's head in MR. All of the quotes will be from MR)

“My dear Midnight. You’ve grown up since the last time we saw each other.”

“Grown up? Me? I suppose I have. Having to run for my father for the last two years and being on my own must have changed me some, after all.”

 “Don’t you realize? I’ll get you in the end.”

 “You’ll have to pull that trigger for that to happen. I won’t go willingly any longer. I entered this world kicking and screaming, and I have no problem leaving this world the same way!”

“Do you really think you can win? Honestly darling, why are you fighting against the very force that created you?”

“Because I like to! Seriously, why do you think? It’s the principal of it. You locked me up for all of my life. I finally escape and get my own life, and you come along and try to ruin it all! Well, I’m not letting you do that anymore!”

 12. Last word from your manuscript(s)! Go!

Doesn't an go.

 13. First sentences from your manuscript(s)!

Cardiff and Is everything about you black, white, and red?

 14. Show us your favourite funny scene!

In this scene from ATMS, Georgie, her brother Gin, his wife Gwen, Finn, and Amicus are having breakfast. Ron and Willow are Gin's kids. The scene was inspired by my own fear and hatred of frogs.

I heard the kids out back squealing and laughing. Ron had frog and he was chasing Willow around with it. A few minutes later Willow came running into the house and jumped into Gin’s lap. Seconds later Ron ran into the kitchen and was holding the frog in Willow’s face. She was squealing and Gin was failing at getting frog. He finally grabbed it and then it jumped into the floor. Then things got chaotic. Gwen jumped onto the counter and kept yelling at Gin to get it and take it outside. I stood up in the chair and started yelling at the boys, who were trying to find the frog, telling them where it was going.

      “By the plant!” I yelled. Then,
      “Beside the broom!”
      “Now it is in front of the door!” But every time they would try to grab for it, it would jump away.
      “Oh, for the love of Pete! Would you boys just corner it and grab the thing! How in the world did you catch it anyway, Ron?” I asked.
      “I snuck up behind it and just grabbed it,” he said.

      “That is it!” The boys all yelled in unison.
      “Amicus, it is by that chair,” I said, pointing. Everyone got quiet as he snuck up behind the frog and grabbed it. Everyone shouted for victory! I opened the back door and Amicus came to it.
      “Here! You want it!” He stuck it in my face. I squealed and run to the opposite side of the room.

      “Amicus! That is what set the frog loose in the house! You better just put it outside and leave it there!” I warned.

 15. Show us a snippet of dialogue you're proud of.

Refer back to the dialogue I put under the epic quotes question.

 16. Tell us about some funny typos or writer-bloopers you've had this year!

I keep making the typo of Midinhgt instead of Midnight!

 17. What has writing taught you about yourself this year?

That I like a lot of action! And that I love snarky and funny characters.

 18. Best piece of writing advice you learnt this year?

Write the book that you would love to read.

 19. Anything big on the horizons for next year? Plans to query? Publish? Edit?

I want to finish and edit Midnight Run and possible query for an agent if I finish editing next year.

 20. Tell us a bit about a book you're super excited to write in 2014!

I'm planning on compiling a book full of medieval stories. Possibly writing some fairytale rewrites. I also want to write my own version of the King Arthur story. I may not get to all of them next year, but I want to try to.

Ok, for the cast of Midnight Run! Drum roll, please! *plays drum roll*

Karen Gillian (right) as Midnight! Give her blue eyes and not as much make up and there's Midnight!

Emma Watson (left) as Robyn! She is pretty much perfect for the part!

 Luke Benward (Right) as Shaun Fields. Maybe give him a couple years. He's 17 where Shaun is 21, so he's not the right age here, but in a couple years he'll be perfect!

David Henry (left) as a possible Jacory. I have two choices for Jac and I'm not sure who I like better.

Gregg Sulkin (right) as another possible Jac.

These guys are Max and Charlie Carver (left) I know absolutely nothing about them and I don't know what movies they've been in, but if you gave them red hair they would look like Emmet and Eddie. Emmet would be the taller one on the left, and Eddie would be the shorter one on the right.



Now, as for pictures that remind me of my story, all of them are on my phone and I can't post them right now, but I do have one picture that goes with a future scene I'm doing!

I'm going to do a pirate ship scene for the simple fact that Karen Gillian is in this picture and I cast her as Midnight! I was looking at pictures of her since she's who I picked, and I came across this one. Since Midnight's a time traveler I figured this would be perfect!
 

I have to go now! The impending ice storm and power outage is supposed to hit tonight and I have a few more last minute preparations to help me last a week without power.

I'm trying to come up with a catchy signature way to say bye, but since I haven't yet I'll just say bye.
BYE!! 

Book And Writing Insanity Linkup

I'm doing a link-up!!!:) 
Cait and Mime over at The Notebook Sisters is hosting a link-up/giveaway!

   

Here are the rules:

 

1. Grab the Book and Writing Insanity button above! (Or link to our blog, notebooksisters.com, somewhere in your post.)
2. Pick a set of questions. We have TWO sets. One for writers. One for readers. (Psst! You can do both if you so wish it.)
3. Copy the 20 questions below. You can use all of them or just pick out a few!
4. Add your link to our marvellous linky widget below. It'll be open all of December.
5. Visit AT LEAST the blog linked up in front of you. (The point of linkups is to meet new bloggy friends and squeak over books/writing together. Plus who doesn't like comments? Share the love!)
6. WE LOVE BOOKS!!! (Okay, that isn't really helpful, but who cares?)

You will have to go to their blog to get the button. And to add your link to the "marvelous linky widget".

 

There are two sets of questions, one for bookworms, and one for writers. I'm going to split them up into two posts! This one will be the bookworms questions.

 

1. What was your overall favourite book this year? (Yes. Pick one.)

Pick one? You guys are always so mean with your tag/link-up questions! Just kidding. Ok, now, I would have to say Scarlet by Marissa Meyer. Gosh, I feel like I've betrayed all of the other books I loved!

2. Favourite debut(s)? (Author must have been first published in 2013.)I honestly don't think I've read any books by any authors that were published for the first time this year. I need to change that!

 

3. Which books did you reread this year?The first and second Series of Unfortunate Events books and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Both were just as good as the first time I read them!

 

4. Favourite cover(s) this year!Scarlet by Marissa Meyer, United We Spy by Ally Carter, and Unremembered by Jessica Brody.

 

5. Worst cover(s)?I haven't seen any bad covers this year!:)

 

6. What self-published books did you read this year?I don't know. I'm not sure that I've even read any.

 

7. Which book(s) gave you a massive hangover?Cinder and Scarlet by Marissa Meyer! I read them both in the same week and for a whole month after I couldn't even pick up another book! The Dreamhouse Kings Series did the same thing!

 

8. Best standalone you read?Unremembered by Jessica Brody!

 

9. Biggest book(s) you've read this year?I'm currently tackling Divergent by Veronica Roth. That's the biggest so far. I'm not one who tends to read very big books.

 

10. Book(s) you followed the hype for and then loved!The Heist Society!

 

11. Most disappointing book(s) you read this year?Dark Eden by Patrick Carmen. I've read several books by this author that I loved! I expected the same for this book. It was significantly below my expectations.

 

12. Favourite leading-female character?Scarlet (Scarlet by Marissa Meyer), Cammie (United We Spy by Ally Carter), and Kat (Heist Society by Ally Carter).

 

13. Favourite leading-male character?Kai (Cinder and Scarlet) even though he made dumb decisions, Hale (Heist Society) even though I don't know his real name, and Xander (Dreamhouse Kings Series.

 

14. Best romance(s)?Scarlet and Wolf! And Cammie and Zach! And Rachel and Solomon (United We Spy)!

 

15. What book(s) hit the DNF list? (Did not finish.)Merlin: The Lost Years and Maze Runner. Not because I didn't like them. It was because other books demanded my attention.

 

16. What book(s) did you read out of your comfort-zone?20,000 Leagues Under The Sea by Jules Verne. It was for school and I never even finished it! Add it to the above question in your head.

 

17. Which author did you read the most from?Robert Liparulo (I still don't know how to pronounce his name)! I read his whole Dreamhouse Kings Series in a week! Here's a cool little story: He has am e-mail me thingy on his website! Me and my friend emailed him about who should play in the movie adaptation (if there ever was one) and to tell him how much we loved the books! HE E-MAILED US BACK!!!!!! We basically screamed in excitement! He told us he loved our cast ideas and that a movie was in the works! It has only been optioned, though. We plan on printing a copy for ourselves and framing them for our rooms! We Were totally fangirling over that one!!

 

18. Top 5 books you'd recommend from all the books you've read this year?Cinder and Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

The Dreamhouse Kinds Series by Robert Liparulo (yes, I'm counting that as one book)

The Gallagher Girls books by Ally Carter

The Trackers books by Patrick Carmen

Unremembered by Jessica Brody

 

19. How many books did you read this year all up?

Maybe 50? I'm not really sure. I don't really count.

 

20. What's a book you're hugely excited for coming out in 2014?!

Cress by Marissa Meyer!!!!! I preordered it Monday!!!!

NaNoWriMo Is Over!!

NaNoWriMo is officially over! I know I promised this post would be up three days ago, but I figured I deserved a break from any kind of writing!

I didn't write 50,000 words, but I'm still proud of myself for even trying! I got a total of 25,020 words! That beat last years word count!

TIME FOR SNIPPETS!!!!

To set his up, the foretold 'bay guys' have come for Jac. He fled to London like he was told to.

It was just getting dark and I decided to find a hotel. I called for a taxi and was just about to get in when I saw a flash of red hair and felt someone bump into me.

“Never mind,” I told the cab driver.

I checked my pocket, and sure enough, there was another letter.

 Jacory,

 They’ve come for you, haven’t they? That’s why you’re here. Don’t worry. And don’t be afraid of the dark. No one will hurt you. I can assure you of that. Quite a few metaphorical bombs are about to be dropped on you, so brace yourself. Also, just remember, we won’t hurt you. We only want to help you.

      Now, walk into the tall, black building in front of you. Walk up to the front desk, and say: Time is not a straight line. I’ll come get you after that. 

 It will be fine,

                                                      CS

 

Here Midnight is explaining time travel to Jac.

“Ok, explain to me again how this works?” They explained time travel to me yesterday, but I had no clue what they were talking about.

“Right now, just know that you set the date, time, and location on the wrist ark, synchronize it with whoever is going with you, and hit the red button,” Midnight explained as Robyn hit buttons on my wrist ark.

 “Kind of ironic that you hit the red button, isn’t it? Usually you hit the green button, and the red button does something bad.”

Here, Jac, Midnight, Shaun, and Robyn have take a trip to 1883 Paris to board the Orient Express!

I looked down at myself and notice that my clothes were changed. I was now wearing the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen! I recognized it from pictures that Robyn had shown me during one of her time period obsessions.

 “Robyn! Did you put me in a ‘dodo’ suit?!” I complained. Everyone burst into laughter and wouldn’t tell me why. I assumed it was because of how I looked.

 “It’s a ‘ditto’ suit, Dumbo!” Robyn smacked my arm.

This is only a few paragraphs after the 'dodo' suit conversation!:)

“Robyn?” I asked.

 “Hmm?”

 “Does Grandma Taylor know that you stole her drapes to make a dress?” I teased. Shaun and I laughed.

 “That was a good one!” He said.

 “No. I hope you don’t mind, boys, but I used camel hair to make your suits.”

 “Shaun and I stopped laughing abruptly. Surely she wouldn’t use the wool we were allergic to.

 “Hey, Jac, are you getting itchy, too?”

 “Sort of?” Our eyes bulged in horror.

  “Just kidding. That’ll teach you to mess with me, though!”

Alright, that's all you get for now. More snippets will be posted as I write, though:)

I'll probably post a few time over the next week because I'm doing a couple link ups!:)

Actually, forget I said that! It will probably be within the next few weeks! We are expecting an ice storm to hit tomorrow evening and they are saying that the power will probably go out. If the storm is anywhere near as bad as 2009, we'll be out of power for at least a week! If that happens, say a little prayer for my sanity! I'll try to post again today, or tomorrow before the ice hits!

BYE!!!