Category Archives: Literature

Randomness

Four random things about my life:

* We made smoothie-Popsicles this week:

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* And Mom, Michael, and Lucy made pizza:

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Little Brother ALWAYS hides when I point a camera at him!
Little Brother ALWAYS hides when I point a camera at him!
The finishing touches
The finishing touches:

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It tasted sooo good!

* The writing’s been going slow lately, as I’ve been reading more.  I just checked out two books from the library: “Beowulf” translated by J.R.R. Tolkien and “The Princess and the Goblin” by George MacDonald.

* “Searching For His Name” is coming along though…

My writing desk
My writing desk

…slowly but surely and in little hops–a paragraph at a time maybe–but coming along nonetheless!

Brownie-points to anyone who can copy my cursive/italics into the comments! :-)
Brownie-points to anyone who can copy my cursive/italics into the comments! 🙂

When I get done writing this, I’m hoping to start a story that I’m writing just to put on my blog!

 

Happy Friday!

Old Favorite

‘No!’ said Thorin.  ‘There is more in you of good than you know, child of the kindly West.  Some courage and some wisdom, blended in measure.  If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world (243).

-“The Hobbit” by J.R.R. Tolkien

Anchored

“Thy resolution may fluctuate on the wild and changeful billows of human opinion; but mine is anchored on the Rock of Ages” (345).

-“Ivanhoe” by Sir Walter Scott

This is one of my favorite books!  I flipped through it yesterday and read all the things I’ve underlined–and then some.  All its faults taken into consideration, I’d forgotten how much I love that book!

“Into The Dragon’s Lair” #1

So: this is the exciting thing I promised you all yesterday! 🙂  I’m going to be posting a story I wrote a while ago on here, chapter by chapter.  Below is the prologue.  I will try consistently post every Tuesday (I think they’ll be 6 parts), but if I miss a day I’ll fudge and post it late (or early, if I see it coming).  I thought you guys would appreciate that more than my skipping a week for the sake of regularity. 🙂

This story takes place in 2012, which was current when I wrote it!  I think my writing style has improved: at least it’s more emotional; this seems a little dry when I read it now! 🙂 (which I did last night–yes the whole thing… at one time.  I’m afraid you guys will have to be more patient.)  They’re also longer now–don’t worry though, the story parts are longer than the prologue! 🙂

This book is dedicated to Spencer, who gave me the inspiration for this story while he and I were having an adventure in the woods.  We were actually geocaching and I happened to be holding the G.P.S. so he called me his “navigator”–which you’ll see later in the story.  Which I guess would make me the tech-savvy one–which is a great joke, as I’m helpless around computers without Spencer or Dad.

Thank you, Spencer; for inspiring a great (if a little dry) story and for all the tech-support you give us girls while Dad is at work.  You’re awesome!

Special thanks also to my readers Savannah, Ariel, Skylar, and Jaidyn.  I came up with this idea on my own, but their stories motivated me and gave me inspiration.  Thanks, girls!

Now without further ado and probably-boring-for-the-rest-of-you acknowledgements, here’s the story:

 

:-: INTO THE DRAGON'S LAIR :-:
:-: INTO THE DRAGON’S LAIR :-:

PROLOGUE:

The year was 1866 when grandfather Rothfuss found a gold and diamond mine only a mile from his home.  But in 1867 a very large and terrible dragon called Grizzled stole all the gold and diamonds, and flew away with it to a place in South America called Bolivia.  Traveling was very hard back then, and Bolivia was very, very far away, so the Rothfusses thought they would never see their treasure again, and Grizzled would lose it in the jungle, and it would never be seen or admired again.  Were they right?

Thank You!!!

I actually got 26 comments on my last post!  That might be a record!  Thank you for your in-put!

Most people said that they liked hearing about China, Michael and Lucy–which is what I post about the most anyway, I think.  Someone said they liked the quotes I post; and I got votes for my tags “Adventure,” “Middle Earth,” and “Frozen.”

Thank you all for your help, I’ll keep this in mind as I post in the future!  In the meantime, I received a request recently for a quote from “Searching For His Name”; and, as I’m never tired of dumping things I wrote on people, I thought I’d give you all a whole list of quotes from things I’ve written.  Here goes:

This shows that the King… (though a very wise king) did not have much experience with dragons: for all of them are greedy and none of them are likely to go away when they know there is something left to get if they stay (8).

-“The Captured Princess Series: The Great Battle” 2013

In it he now kept the dark, eastern sword… this sword was strong and deadly, and Joshua had decided not to use it for practice or for play-fights (31).

-“The Ebony Sword” 2013

(This is one of my favorites of all the things I’ve written.)

And I just finished writing one of my favorite parts of my work-in-progress:

They all had their hair down now; and it was flecked with shimmering pin-points of white, like snowflakes on a black mitten or stars in a dark sky (103).

-“Searching For His Name” 2015

Sorry, guys; I know this is kinda’ girlie.  The whole book’s not like that.  Honestly.  Just read these!

Hmm… 2013 must’ve been a good year for writing!  I started S.F.H.N. that year too! 🙂

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We got a TON of snow last night.  All seven (SEVEN!!!  Whoot whoot!) of us went out this morning to play in it; and Mom made hot chocolate when we came inside! It tasted SO good! 🙂   You can see pictures here, and though I didn’t get any of us outside, I’m hoping to post some I took of the snow soon!

Random: have any of you noticed that when we say this morning (see above, which is why I thought of it) we say it like “thi’ smorning” not this_morning.  Weird.

Yes, that’s the kinda’ thing I think about.  Call me crazy.

Another Quote

“Once, long years ago, I thought I could set a canoe-load of my people free by breaking the bands at my wrists and killing the white man who held the weapon.  I had the strength in my hands to do such a deed and I had the fire within, but I didn’t do it.”  “What held you back?”  Amos shook his head.  “My hand was restrained and I’m glad that it was, for the years between have shown me that it does a man no good to be free until he knows how to live, how to walk in step with God” (161, 162).

-“Amos Fortune, Free Man” by Elizabeth Yates

Forever Right

“…Once I heard His voice, I could not endure the thought of living without it.”  The king leaned forward.  “Now you truly interest us.  How do you know it is the Infinite [allegorical God-figure] who speaks?”  Did Tek An believe she was deluded?  Most likely.  “I know the Infinite’s voice because He tells me everything I don’t want to know, sends me where I don’t want to go, and asks me to fulfill tasks I consider impossible.  Above all, He is forever right” (101).

-“Prophet” by R. J. Larson

“Counted Worthy”

I recently read “Counted Worthy” by Leah E. Good.  It was a really good book!  It takes place in the future, in America… an America we’re probably heading towards if nothing changes.

Heather Stone’s mother was shot by a policeman when found delivering re-printed Bibles to other members of the underground church, and though no one blames her, Heather knows it’s her fault.

After Mom died, my books kept me grounded.  I had distanced myself from the people and activities that had once filled every free moment.  I cut as many ties to the underground network as I could.  I attended church because conscience compelled me.  I continued to smuggle Bibles because I couldn’t help myself.  Everything else, I   shoved into the past (6).

The trouble starts again when the Agency tracks a smuggled Bible to the Stones’ house–a Bible Heather brought there.  Her father tells her to run and stays to be arrested… so Heather can escape.

Having already lost her mom, she can’t handle the pain of losing her dad too.  Forced to leave the house she grew up in, Heather struggles to live without them; helped by her devoted, very protective, “brother-friend” (58) Bryce; an old friend of her parents, Miss Lucy; and other members of the underground church.

Bryce promised Heather’s father he would take care of her if anything happened, and encourages her to just stay safe and not try too hard to help her dad.

Laying low isn’t getting us anywhere (124).

Heather decides to act.  She starts with a simple attempt to bribe policemen into freeing her dad, and finally ends with deciding whether or not to execute a desperate plan that could save her father and make the people press the government to give them back their rights, or only hasten his sentence and send herself and everyone helping her to the same death.

Spencer and I had read Miss Good’s blog for a while when she self-published “Counted Worthy”, and I was afraid that having “talked” back and forth in the comments with her would keep me from getting “into” the story, especially being an author myself–it did not!  At least once while I was reading I stopped and reminded myself of that to calm myself down!  It’s very good, but very intense.

I usually read books that take place in an earlier time period, but I liked that this was more modern because I could relate to Heather so well.

This book took all the fear out of death for me.  I mean, I wasn’t just cowering around fretting about the day I die–but it really made me think about it and realize that death truly is only the beginning (228).

Another way this book inspired me is that it made me want to memorize more scripture.  I guess I’ve memorized a lot of long passages, but it made me want to learn shorter sections and keep them memorized.  Near the end of the book the main character gets in a conversation with a police office who starts asking her questions about her faith, and Heather just starts rattling off Bible-verses.  It makes a better argument somehow when you can actually quote God’s word and not just summarize.

“Let no man deceive himself,” I quoted.  “If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.”  The man squinted at me.  I smiled, glad for the many hours spent memorizing verses (209).

“Counted Worthy” is the first novel that Miss Good has published, but she is obviously ready: the plot is very mature (but not complicated), and the writing-style is enjoyable.  I especially loved the dialogue!

You can purchase your own copy from Miss Good’s blog, which I linked to above.

Miracles could still happen, right?  We served the same God as Daniel, David, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.  We also served the same God Paul and Stephen did (188).

Christened

Thank you all for your help with naming my character!  I decided what to call her last night, so without further ado, allow me to introduce you to…

(Drum-roll please!)

Allison Willow Pearl

Most of you actually liked Allison the best, but Willow was not second; I just liked it! 🙂

I actually wasn’t going to worry about her middle name yet, but I just starting thinking about middle-names the other night for her siblings and Allison Willow just came to mind.

I came up with a few fun facts about her to share with you guys:

* First of all, that there are 18 kids in her family, not 17 like I said.  In my defense, I did make up the one I forgot last.

* She has 4 older brothers and 4 younger brothers.

* She has 2 older sisters and 6 younger sisters.

* She was the youngest until her family started adopting–just like me. 🙂

* There are three seventeen-year-olds and two eighteen-year-olds in the Pearl family, but Allison is the only nineteen-year-old.

* Her namesake, Allyson, was the second-oldest of five girls.  She comes into my story “The Captured Princess Series.”

Thank you all for your help!

“The surging waters, the bright maple leaves, the even brighter flames; the  memories of the pleasantness and the horribleness of their journey–all faded and Peter was back in the present at once.”

–“The Captured Princess Series,” Book 4: “With Home So Far Away”

Help!

Thank you all so much for praying for Michael!  He is doing pretty good.  He was walking on his heels yesterday so he didn’t have to step on his foot… we tried to explain that he only had to walk on ONE heel and could use the other foot normally, but I don’t think we got that across. 🙂

Thank you all so much for your suggestions with “Searching For His Name”!  I think I’m going to use Savannah’s idea of something like a glowworm.  I came really close to using one of Ellen’s, but I couldn’t figure out how to work them into this particular story.  I had a feeling it might be Ellen or Savannah… probably because I knew they both made up stories too! 😉  Thank you for all your suggestions, they were great!

And I’m actually needing more help with one of my stories:

I made up this family that I’m probably going to write a book about someday, and I need help naming one their daughters.

She is 19, cheerful, energetic, and kind.  She has red/blond hair and brown eyes, and she loves animals.  You will find her quietly sitting and doing needle-work with her sisters one minute, and then outside racing horses with her brothers the next!

This family has 17 children (I know, I know; I just like big families) and she is one of the 4 biological children.  Which means that they’ve adopted 13, so obviously she is accepting and trusting.

She is sweet and kind, but also playful and she loves to tease!  I came up with four different names I could use, and I can’t decide which one suites her the best… which is where you guys come in!  The names are:

* Allison

* Apple

* Sparrow

* Willow

I like both the A-names because she has two brothers about her age whose names start with A, and then they would match.

I like Allison because I wrote another book that takes place in the same country (which I made up, by the way) and there’s a princess in it named Allyson that she could be named after.

I like the name Apple because it’s unique!

Anyone who knows our family well will know why I like the name Sparrow and why it makes me think of adoptive families! 🙂

And I like Willow because I read a book once that had a picture in it of a “Willow Fairy” that was very beautiful, so it now sounds pretty and peaceful to me.  I also like it because her biological sister (the only other girl in her family that was named by the same people) is also named after a tree.

 

Please comment and tell me which name you like the best!  I’m not going to just-use-the-one-with-the-most-votes-no-matter-what, but I might and I think it will help me out.

Thanks!