Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Upcoming Series!

Hey all!
Well, I've done it. I'm finally sitting down to begin planning my first real series. This time I won't lose my work like I did with last year's NaNoWriMo novel. I plan on beginning the first draft of book 1 in April and will spend the remaining 2 (since January's almost over) outlining and fleshing out all I want to write to make the process easier. Why April? Well, again, to give me time to plot and plan. And, it's Camp NaNoWriMo. If there's one thing being involved in National Novel Writing Month in November taught me, it's I am not bad at writing while under pressure. Except when it came to school work. O:-) So, once I am all planned over the coming weeks, I can use the event to bust out my first draft.

I actually have a general idea of where I want the first THREE books of my series to go so I'll try and outline as much as I can for all three before April. And then, I can do the July Camp to write the draft of book 2. After I spend May and June finishing and revising 1. I hope to have my first book finished by the end of the year and published through CreateSpace. I just started my account there today.

So, what is this story all about? Well, it's been forming in my head for a number of years. Ever since I used to spend hours role playing online with my friends on various forums.

My main character is a girl named Tara. She seems like a normal teenager going off to college. But, she discovers she is actually from a long line of witches, through the women in her father's family. Through a variety of reasons, this has been kept from her until she goes to live with her grandmother for part of a summer before starting college. Throughout the series, she will have a wide variety of adventures, make friends, and enemies. She'll fall in love for the first time. And, have her first heartbreak. I also plan on writing her into more fan fiction stories like I did here last summer. Since those cannot be published except on the Fan Fiction site without me paying tons of money, we'll call them little bonus stories or something.

I'm 3 chapters into book 1's outline. I don't really have a set in stone title yet. I'm tossing a few ideas around, though. And, I'm not sure if this will be a Young Adult or a New Adult book, yet. Leaning towards new since it's about a college student and I can be a little freer with language and... ahem... romantic details.

So, that's what I'm working on now. More updates here and on YouTube to come as I get more work done.

I'm off to get some more work done before bed. Good night!

Carey

Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Fan Fiction Help! Please!!

Hi everyone.
I need your help! I'm working on an idea for a new fan fiction because I haven't written one in a while and if I don't get it out of my head before March, I won't be able to focus on Camp NaNoWriMo prep!

So, I want to do a Power Rangers/Doctor Who Crossover story. Now, I'm talking the original, Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers from the early 90s that I grew up on. Back when they were good. (Hilariously cheesy watching them 20 years later but when you're a 10 year old kid they were pretty kick ass.) I've written a story with them before. You can read it here if you like. And, I want to do another. I thought combining my childhood favorite show with my current favorite show would be fun because it would be, hopefully, easy to write and, let's face it, an excuse to marathon both shows on Netflix... to get the writing style right for the characters, of course. *insert blush face here*

This is the basic idea of my plot thus far. The Doctor and Clara land in Angel Grove. (Sometime after Name of the Doctor and before Day of the Doctor) And they realize that the Power Rangers are real! Woo! But, there's a problem. Lord Zed has planted a virus in their communicators and, when they went to teleport, they were all scattered throughout time and space. Except one, Tommy. (Don't know why. I just decided to pick him.) The Doctor has to help find and get everyone back because... of some big thing I'll come up with later. Oh, and Zed wants the TARDIS. Now, this is where I need your help. Where do I send everyone? Each Ranger goes somewhere different. A historical time period or some futuristic world. Maybe go all spoof happy and throw in another setting from a TV show or movie. I got a few ideas just in the process of writing this blog but I could really use some more suggestions. Then, I'll post the link in a future post when the story is completed so you all can read and enjoy. I may even give a shout-out to those who help me out!

So, comment below with any ideas. Keep in mind, too, that this is the ORIGINAL cast. Zack, Trini, Jason, Kimberly and Billy. Of course, Tommy but he stays behind and helps the Doctor rescue his friends. Also, this is the 11th Doctor (Matt Smith) and Clara. I've never written for them before but I love their friendship and have always wanted to see more adventures with them but, sadly, Matt Smith's days have come to an end so any new adventures are left for the world of fan fiction. (And the comics my boyfriend lends me)

Thank you so much for reading this! I hope to get lots of ideas from you all. Can't wait to get writing. In fact, I might go start now to at least get a jump on the introduction of the story.

Have a great night!
Carey

Friday, January 10, 2014

Spoiler Free Review: Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

I recently finished reading Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier. I had so many emotions reading this book. Happiness, sadness, anger, annoyance, fear, excitement.

I believe I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars on GoodReads. Partly because I get frustrated with cliff hanger endings and partly because I now have high expectations that the next two books will get better as the story moves on.

The basic plot of the story is about a girl named Gwenyth. She lives in London with her mother, grandmother, brother, sister, batty great-aunt, aunt, and cousin. Quite the full house. Some people in the history of Gwenyth's family get what is called a time travel gene. It begins to show itself between the carrier's 16th and 17th birthday. And, everyone thinks it's Gwenyth's cousin, Charlotte, who has the gene. She's been training her whole life. She knows how to speak in different languages, how to act in different time periods, how to fence, how to dress. But, it turns out Gwenyth is the gene carrier and suddenly she is thrust into this world of time travel and a secret society and a huge secret quest beneath all of that.

The writing was entertaining. I felt like I was inside Gwen's head as she was telling the story. The detail was excellent. I felt like I was in London. I could picture her house and all the locations mentioned quiet well in my head. The flow of the story kept me interested. I was confused reading the prologue, at first, but as the story went on, details began to click together.

Characters. Oh, where do I begin with the characters? I go back to what I said earlier about the wide range of emotions. I could completely relate to Gwen. I thought she was a wonderful character. Some reviews I've read criticize that she is too childish to be 16 because she is over emotional. But what 16 year old girl isn't? And that's on a normal day. Throw in a crazy family, the fact that she suddenly has this ability to travel back in time, and being told she has to go on this super secret mission, I'd be a little emotional, too.

I wanted to punch Aunt Glenda. The whole time I thought, "Is this woman related to Cinderella's wicked step-mother?" Her attitude of "My sweet little girl (Charlotte) is God's gift to humanity and every other child can either kiss her feet or jump off a bridge."

I also loved Lesley, Gwen's best friend. She's so fun and is always trying to help, even though she's not supposed to know about any of this. Gwen tells her everything which is a wonderful thing to have in a friendship. Reminds me of the relationship I have with some of my friends.

I can't say much about the possible villain because that would involve spoilers so I will just say that he creeps the heck out of me so much! I had chills when I read about him.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes sci-fi, fantasy. When I first heard about this book, I was intrigued because you don't see a lot of female time travelers. Doctor Who, Back to the Future, etc. are all male leads. So, this was a fresh change. I also suggest having at least Sapphire Blue on hand because you are going to want to jump right into it as soon as the first book is done.

Let me know what you think in the comments below!
Have a great night and thanks for reading!

Carey

Wednesday, January 8, 2014

2014 Resolutions

So, since we are now a week into the new year, I figure it was time to finally put up my 2014 resolutions. These will include bookish and writing ones as well as general, get my crap together life ones just so I have them all on one pretty little list.

So, first we'll do my bookish ones:
  1. For those of you who follow my YouTube Channel, Goodreads and Twitter, you'll know my goal is to read 50 books this year. This is going to include 5 classics and 5 rereads. I will also be counting audio books. I like to listen to those while I'm working on other projects or driving. I have an Audible.com subscription so that's at least 12 books right there.
  2. I also want to expand my collection. I feel like I've been falling behind in the book world. There are so many books I hear BookTubers talk about and see people write about on Goodreads. I felt, when I began Hunger Games last month, that I was one of the last people to begin reading that series. So, as much as my pocket book will allow, I want to add to my collection of books. I have a good start in a wide range. Young adult, steamy romance, historical fiction, historical non-fiction, fairytale or myth re-tellings. Some of them are stand-alones. Some are parts of series. Some are parts of series that could be considered stand-alones. This will, down the road, mean buying some more shelves. But, I hope to be in a different living situation when that happens. More on that in a bit.
Writing Goals:
  1. Write MORE! AND EVERY DAY! Whether it's just updating my blog or scribbling down an idea in my "Little Book of Big Ideas" journal I got from one of my good friends, I need to get back into writing more. I was doing so well before and during NaNoWriMo and then I think I burned myself out with the holidays. So, I definitely want to get back into that.
  2. Find flash drive with NaNoWriMo novel. Yeeah... I lost that about a week after NaNo was complete. Not good.
  3. Finish said NaNo novel. I was about 2/3 done with the first draft. I don't want to start completely over unless I have to because I don't remember all I had in the story. I do have the outline... somewhere around... so if I have to, I can make an attempt at starting over but I'd rather not if at all possible.
  4. Complete other partial projects- I've been bouncing around with some other ideas in my head. A historical fiction series, a fantasyish series based on an old RP character, maybe a somewhat middle grade-YA story. So, I need to sit down, focus on one and complete it before moving on to the next.
  5. Publish something by the end of the year. And I mean self-publish if that is the goal I'm going for. Better get to it!
Now for my general life ones:
  1. Swim at least once a week- I gotta get back to the pool! With the weather being cold and my health conditions that affect my joints, I hobble around like an old lady. In the water, I feel like me again. So, I need to get on that soon.
  2. Stop biting my fingernails. I don't bite so much anymore as pick. I don't know why. A nervous habit I've had forever. But I think long nails are pretty and, of all my faults, I think my hands are my best feature. I have really long fingers. My Gran always said I could be a hand model. And it would be nice to be able to paint my nails for a date and not get polish all over my skin because of stubby nails. Also, my boyfriend scratched me by accident with his and I realized, when he doesn't cut them, they get long and sharp and guys aren't supposed to have long nails, at least in my opinion.
  3. Learn to cook. This lesson already started last week when I made a surprisingly good attempt at lasagna. I was pretty pleased with myself. So, I want to continue this by trying to cook one meal a week.
  4. Get a passport- I don't have a passport and I need one if I'm going to achieve my next resolution which is...
  5. Travel more! Now, this is actually going to be a lifetime goal. There are so many places I want to see both inside and outside of the US. I want to visit some of my international pen pals some day. But, in order to leave the US, I need a passport. Also, to achieve this goal I need to...
  6. Fix my car. I'm taking it in tomorrow for a much needed oil change and seeing why the wiper fluid thingy won't work. Hopefully that doesn't cost my entire holiday check. Otherwise, I'm in trouble. And then I need to set money aside to fix my rattling exhaust. The car is drivable. Just annoying.
  7. And finally, I need to begin putting money away to move out. Hopefully by 2015. I'm going to be 30 years old this year. And, while there are many benefits to still living at home, I really need my own space. Whether that's getting an apartment or eventually moving in with the Boy remains to be seen. And then I can buy more shelves for my books! Woo!
So, that's it for my 2014 Resolutions. I'm off to get a little more writing done in other forms and then bedtime. Gotta clean out my car before I take it to the shop in the morning.

Have a great night and thank you for reading!
Carey

Monday, January 6, 2014

IT IS SO STUPID COLD!!

So, I had today off and planned to get all kinds of things done like laundry and some cleaning, maybe finally get around to recording my New Years Resolutions video. Yeah... no. Didn't happen because I couldn't leave my bed!

Today and tomorrow have been ridiculously frigid outside. Subzero temperatures, not counting the wind chill. We haven't had that here in many years and I am not liking it one bit. I am the world's biggest freeze baby so it gets under 60 and I'm looking for a way to fly to Florida. My dad was nice and went out to start my car to make sure it would go for me in the morning and spent half an hour trying to get the door to close because it was so frozen. So, I'm going to have to get up extra early in the morning to prepare for that to happen again.

I did get some reading done, though. I'm almost half way through with Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier. From what I'm hearing about the ending, I'm glad I have the other two on the way from Amazon. I think I'll do an unboxing this week. I should have 3 packages coming. All my books from Books-a-Million shipped at once and Amazon in 2 parts. So, once they all arrive I will do a big unboxing/haul video on my YouTube Channel. I haven't done one of those yet. Then again, haven't ordered books online since I've had this channel either, so that may have something to do with it. It is supposed to warm up more Wednesday and get back to normal winter temperatures. Or, whatever normal can be categorized as in the Great Lakes region of the United States- the random and, often, bad weather dumping grounds.

What was really crazy with this weather is that people forgot how to act when it got cold. Yesterday, we were so busy. People were buying water, canned goods, microwave dinners like it was the end of the world! There was no pasta left on the shelves. No meat. Hardly any veggies. It was insane! I had a customer say, "I hope it's just a dusting and not as cold to make everyone feel foolish or there better be zombies popping out of the ground in the morning." Well, neither happened. I was just glad it stayed above freezing long enough for me to get home.

I also escaped the warmth of my blankets to do a little arts and crafts project. I have these glass jars, one large, one small, and I painted them both on the inside with glitter gold paint. When they dry, I'll pour craft sand and some shells inside the big one, place a battery powered tea light in the little one and put them together. If I can't go to the beach, I'll bring the beach to me in a small way. I really like candles. But, I can't light them in my room. So I've been getting battery ones and trying to come up with some fun decorative ways to use them. Pinterest helps a lot. And I don't have to worry about setting my sheets on fire or something.

Tomorrow it's back to work. So, I better get some more reading done and curl up for some sleep. I'm going to leave early for work, too, just because I don't know how the roads will be or how the idiot other drivers will be in the morning. How many weeks til spring? Oh, right. Not enough!