This is a really fun game; we've been playing it in P.E. lately. My team - me, G.C., and R.R. - are the ultimate champions, meaning we won the tournament we played yesterday. We rock! :D
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Unstuck!
I'm unstuck on my story! WHOOOOOOOO!!! :D And in case you're wondering - cause I've been getting this question a lot lately - my book's at the printer right now and will be available SOON. If you want to buy one, please let me know! Thanks! :) Oh, and I burned my finger in Chemistry today. We were doing a lab where we have different chemicals on Q-tips and hold them over an open flame, and I was putting a Q-tip in the tongs with which we were to hold the Q-tip over the flame, and...well...I accidentally touched the really hot tongs...Now I have this white burn on my finger, and it HURTS! So yeah...just thought that'd make your life more interesting ;) Have a good day!
Monday, September 26, 2011
Kinda Stuck
Ok, so I'm having difficulties - I'm almost right to the most epic part of Book Three, and it just won't write!!! Erggggggg. I'm not gonna say I have writer's block, 'cause I don't believe it exists; I'm just not feelin' it. I am literally a few sentences away, and I just can't find the inspiration! Wah! I hate it when this happens :( See, when I don't feel like writing, I don't, cause if I don't feel like writing, what I try to write doesn't come out well and I'll end up trashing it anyway, so why even waste the time? I wish I would hurry up and feel like writing, though; I wanna get to this part! Ugh. How about y'all pray for me? That'll help! :)
Friday, September 23, 2011
Final Proof
Got the final proof of Young Falcon (printed out) in the mail today, and I have to read the whole dern thing again and get it back to the printers in Minnesota by tomorrow o.O Uggghhhhh, I've read the book SO MANY TIMES!! Not that I don't like it, but I can practically quote it to you now. Oh well... *sigh* Wish me luck, and keep praying! God bless! :)
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Just Had to Share
I found this saying whilst on Facebook, and I love it SO much, and it's so very true! 'If you dance with God, He'll let the perfect guy cut in.'
3 Things
Ok, first off, it's my brother's 20th birthday today!! YAY!!! Happy birthday, Scotty!!!
Second, I had two teachers and a few students ask me about Young Falcon today, including a few I didn't know even knew I was writing a book, much less publishing one. This makes me happy, because I know that someone had to have told them about it! :D My friends PG13 and G.C. told me that they each mentioned my book to someone at their church, and that that person now wants to buy my book! YES!! Thank you, guys! :D I now have 47 people who have specifically told me that they'll buy a copy of Young Falcon. I feel so loved! :D
Third - G.C. is starting to become...nicer o.O Now, I've known G.C. since 3rd grade, and I don't think she's ever once complimented my hair or anything. She did today. I almost died of shock ;) She also commented M.M.'s shoes, and J.R.'s shirt. Where is this coming from??? She's also been hugging people and being a lot more affectionate, which I greatly appreciate, but it just makes me curious. She's a new Christian, so perhaps this has something to do with it. After all, God's done far bigger things than this! It's an awesome change, either way :D
So yep. My life is epically amazing right now :)
Saturday, September 17, 2011
It's Raining!
OH MY GOODNESS, IT'S RAINING OUTSIDE!!! :D :D In case you don't understand why this should excite me so, it's because I live in Texas, which has been in an exceptional drought (the worst possible category) since May, and we've had the hottest summer on record of any state in the United States, ever. That's why I'm so excited ;) Praise God for His faithfulness and provision!! Now, I'm going to go outside and dance in the rain :D
Friday, September 16, 2011
Thank You!
Just wanted to thank those of you who have always supported me and my books, even when it seemed like they were never gonna get published, and thank you for always being interested and excited about the various news I've shared with you. God has really blessed me through y'all. So Mia, Kalena, Priscilla, Nicole, Mrs. G, Preston, Julia, even Travis - thank you so much! You guys are amazing :)
I Really Want to Do This
When I get my copy of Young Falcon, I really want to just go through it and make all these little notes in the margins about why I put that phrase in, or what inspired me to write that scene, or that little foreshadowing piece that only I understand...So I don't forget in future years. It'd just be fun to make my own little comments and notes and such :D
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Young Falcon's Printing Begins
After signing the authorization and order forms, Young Falcon begins printing tonight! Whoo-whoo!! It'll be about 4 weeks until it's available to buy, and the price will be $18.95. Oh yes, it's happening!! :D God is so freakin' awesome; how cool is it that I get to write this beautiful story, using the talents He's blessed me with, and get the book published so I can share it with y'all?? My God rocks! Hopefully you will enjoy this story as much as I loved writing it; I've learned more about life, love, and my amazing Saviour through writing these books than all my other experiences combined, and I wouldn't trade that for anything in the world. So excuse me as I go squeal with excitement :)
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Jeff Bridges Has Invaded My Computer
Also, I'm not nearly failing Geometry anymore! YAY!! My last quiz, which I took after being tutored for almost an hour by my teacher, brought my grade up 10 points 'cause I got a 98 on it. PRAISE GOD!!!! :D
Ah, good times... :)
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Yet Another New Snippet From Young Falcon
Here's a new little snippet from Young Falcon. Enjoy! :)
From the Chapter 'Yaron'
I woke that night to the sound of someone coughing. Listening hard, I finally determined that the noise came from several cells away. I said hoarsely, “Hello? Is anyone there?”
No one answered me, but I heard something, as if someone had shifted. Frowning, I squinted into the gloom, trying to pick out a person’s shape in the blinding dark, but I could see nothing. I waited a few minutes and then decided that no one was going to answer, if there was anyone there at all.
I sighed and slowly lowered myself back to the floor. I lay on my back and stared dismally up into the darkness, wishing that I did not feel so alone and cut off from the rest of the world. I was captive in a stone prison in crushing darkness for an unknown reason, and I could do nothing to free myself.
The realisation suddenly brought a lump to my throat and tears swam across my eyes. I gave a short sigh, blinked away the tears, and sniffed. I did not want to cry, not yet.
A long while later, I heard another small noise. I sat up, propping myself on one elbow, listening and strained my ears, trying to hear something—anything—else. I realised then that it was because I did not actually want to be so alone as I was feeling—I wanted someone else to suffer through this with me. However selfish that may seem, it would certainly make me feel much better if I knew someone else was going through the same torment I was.
“Hello?” I said again, softly.
Again, there was no answer.
I lay down again, closed my eyes, and let my weariness overtake me. A short while later, I drifted into a dreamless sleep.
Much later in the night, though not yet dawn, I heard another cough from the person in the cell down from me. It was hard and forceful, and it woke me from my light sleep.
I propped myself on one elbow again and waited, not saying anything. It was then that I noticed the light. The moonlight shimmered down through a tiny, jagged crack high up the wall, illuminating floating particles of dust, making them look like tiny, buoyant gems. I paused a moment to admire this of glimpse of beauty amid the gloom, the little specks playing aloft. I supposed that the storm had finally passed, else I would have noticed the light before. I sighed, wishing for a large window through which I could see the stars. But the little light with which I was provided was so precious and magical that I did not mind not seeing the stars; the sparkling dust in the dark of that infernal cell was almost as wondrous.
Then I tried to see through the dark again, squinting. I hoped the light would help, but it did not much. I could faintly make out a shape darker than everything else in a murky corner of the prison, but I was not sure that it was anything more than a shadow. I rolled onto my stomach and went to sleep again.
The next morning, I wakened with a start. I sat up swiftly, unsure what had awakened me. I gazed around the prison with a darting glance, and seeing nothing unusual, I relaxed.
I absently massaged my right wrist, which was sore from when Gornhelm had shoved me in here and I had thrust my hand out to save myself from a fall. It was slightly purple and ached, but other than that, I was virtually unharmed from his rough push. My other wrist, the one that had been bruised from the fall during my capture, was mostly healed now.
I heard a small noise, and instantly my eyes found the source. I blinked in surprise.
A boy was partly concealed in shadows several cells down from me, out of the light. He looked only one or two years younger—if that—than I. He was sitting with his knees pulled up to his chest and his head down, his face obscured from view. His body was wiry and lean, but he looked muscular.
Baffled as to why a boy so young was locked up in here, I blinked a couple more times. Why on earth …? But he’s so young! Why would he be in here? He’s obviously a captive, too, but … why would they want such a young boy? Surely he can’t be of any use yet.
I sat against the stone wall and tilted my head back, studying the ceiling. Then I gazed briefly at the small crack and finally back at the boy.
I started. Even in the dim light of the prison, I could see the boy’s eyes locked on me. With a wildness to them, he looked as if he were a feral animal taken from his home and caged in a lightless world and left there to waste away, and I was his only hope of escape.
The rest of the day, I avoided looking his way, but the few times I did happen to glance at him, his stormy eyes were always on me. It made me feel uneasy.
When I did manage to forget about the boy for a while, I became intensely bored. I stayed locked all day in the prison, with nothing to do, nothing different to see, and nothing to eat. I was hungry by noon because of my deprivation of regular, good meals over the past ten days, but no one ever came with any food. As an elf, I could go for almost a week and a half without food, but regardless, I had become ravenous.
I sighed and absently fingered a rough stone. Coarse and gritty, it provided some distraction from monotony, but I soon got tired of fiddling with it. This heavy dose of boredom was taking its toll on me; to escape it, I even dozed throughout the day several times.
When night came, I reluctantly resigned myself to the hard floor again, wishing fervently for a blanket, at least. As I lay motionless on the cool floor, I wondered about the boy again. He had said nothing the entire, gruelling day, but then, neither had I.
I felt sort of a connection to him since we were both stuck in this god-forsaken prison with no food or water, and we were both away from our homes. I just wished I knew his name. I sighed and closed my eyes, letting all thoughts empty from my mind.
“Who are you?”
The question was barely audible in the silent expanse of our confinement, but I heard it. My eyes flew open, unsure if he had actually spoken, or if I was just imagining it. But I knew I had heard it.
I supported myself on one elbow as I sat up. “I’m Elysia. What’s your name?”
A long, deafening stretch of silence followed and then: “Yaron.”
I looked over at the cell that Yaron was supposedly in, but I could not see anything. Then the boy came into the light. The only emotion displayed on his face was that of wariness and caution. It was like trying to read a stone.
I came forward until my face was an inch from the steel bars that formed two of the walls of my cell. “What are you doing here?”
Yaron watched me with suspicious and intelligent brown eyes. Then he answered my question: “I’m locked up here until I’m old enough to join the queen’s army.” He brushed a lock of gold hair from his face. His eyes were wary.
“Why?”
He gazed at me guardedly. “Because I can fight. I can use a sword better than most people in this troop, but it’s only been recently that I’ve been able to beat them all, and I have. Of course, it’s only thanks to my extra training outside of here that I’ve been getting better. Gornhelm stopped my training here nearly a year ago, but now I can defeat all of the men here … Comundus, Phallax, Eston, Janek, Pyralus, and—”
I stopped him, confused. “Who’s Pyralus? There’s no one in this troop named Pyralus.”
Yaron frowned, his dark eyes narrowing and becoming surprisingly flinty. “Yes, there is. He has blue eyes, and he’s friends with that other boy, Veryan. He …” Yaron broke off when he realised that I had no idea whom he was talking about. “But … he was with them when they left.” I could see that the fact that I had never met this Pyralus before had unsettled the boy.
I wondered who Pyralus was and why I had heard no mention of him from Veryan or any of the men in the troop. The boy seemed so sure he had been with them, and I felt that Veryan would have mentioned him at one time or another.
When I looked back at Yaron, the boy was sitting again in the corner of his cell, half turned towards me. The moonlight shone on a knotted scar across his lower back. I opened my mouth to speak, but Yaron spoke first: “Do you know how I got here?” His voice was low and emotional, and it struck a chord of pity in my heart.
“No. Tell me.”
“I was captured. Right from my home. The troop, with Gornhelm at the head, came to my village to search for new recruits and demanded that I join. I had participated in the trials to qualify, and they all said I was the best they’d seen. But my parents didn’t want me to go, and I didn’t want to either. So Gornhelm pretended to honour our wishes and leave, but that night, they came back and attacked our home. Veryan set it on fire. Pyralus killed my mother and my father, and then they both dragged me out of the house. They left my parents to burn in the house, so there would be no evidence of what they had done. Gornhelm suspected that I would try to leave to avoid being recruited, so he took me then, when I was thirteen …
“There was a training incident soon after they captured me that convinced Gornhelm that I was not as skilled nor as strong as he thought, so that’s why he keeps me here in the prison. And so I won’t try to leave … Every two months, a man from another troop comes for me and takes me to one of the army camps for two weeks of training, and then I come back here. As I said, if it weren’t for that extra training, I wouldn’t be getting any better. It’s been like this since I came, and so it will be until I’m old enough to become a soldier. This winter, my three years of training will be up, and I’ll be forced to join the army.”
Yaron was then broodingly silent, and I took that to mean he would say no more on that topic.
No one answered me, but I heard something, as if someone had shifted. Frowning, I squinted into the gloom, trying to pick out a person’s shape in the blinding dark, but I could see nothing. I waited a few minutes and then decided that no one was going to answer, if there was anyone there at all.
I sighed and slowly lowered myself back to the floor. I lay on my back and stared dismally up into the darkness, wishing that I did not feel so alone and cut off from the rest of the world. I was captive in a stone prison in crushing darkness for an unknown reason, and I could do nothing to free myself.
The realisation suddenly brought a lump to my throat and tears swam across my eyes. I gave a short sigh, blinked away the tears, and sniffed. I did not want to cry, not yet.
A long while later, I heard another small noise. I sat up, propping myself on one elbow, listening and strained my ears, trying to hear something—anything—else. I realised then that it was because I did not actually want to be so alone as I was feeling—I wanted someone else to suffer through this with me. However selfish that may seem, it would certainly make me feel much better if I knew someone else was going through the same torment I was.
“Hello?” I said again, softly.
Again, there was no answer.
I lay down again, closed my eyes, and let my weariness overtake me. A short while later, I drifted into a dreamless sleep.
Much later in the night, though not yet dawn, I heard another cough from the person in the cell down from me. It was hard and forceful, and it woke me from my light sleep.
I propped myself on one elbow again and waited, not saying anything. It was then that I noticed the light. The moonlight shimmered down through a tiny, jagged crack high up the wall, illuminating floating particles of dust, making them look like tiny, buoyant gems. I paused a moment to admire this of glimpse of beauty amid the gloom, the little specks playing aloft. I supposed that the storm had finally passed, else I would have noticed the light before. I sighed, wishing for a large window through which I could see the stars. But the little light with which I was provided was so precious and magical that I did not mind not seeing the stars; the sparkling dust in the dark of that infernal cell was almost as wondrous.
Then I tried to see through the dark again, squinting. I hoped the light would help, but it did not much. I could faintly make out a shape darker than everything else in a murky corner of the prison, but I was not sure that it was anything more than a shadow. I rolled onto my stomach and went to sleep again.
The next morning, I wakened with a start. I sat up swiftly, unsure what had awakened me. I gazed around the prison with a darting glance, and seeing nothing unusual, I relaxed.
I absently massaged my right wrist, which was sore from when Gornhelm had shoved me in here and I had thrust my hand out to save myself from a fall. It was slightly purple and ached, but other than that, I was virtually unharmed from his rough push. My other wrist, the one that had been bruised from the fall during my capture, was mostly healed now.
I heard a small noise, and instantly my eyes found the source. I blinked in surprise.
A boy was partly concealed in shadows several cells down from me, out of the light. He looked only one or two years younger—if that—than I. He was sitting with his knees pulled up to his chest and his head down, his face obscured from view. His body was wiry and lean, but he looked muscular.
Baffled as to why a boy so young was locked up in here, I blinked a couple more times. Why on earth …? But he’s so young! Why would he be in here? He’s obviously a captive, too, but … why would they want such a young boy? Surely he can’t be of any use yet.
I sat against the stone wall and tilted my head back, studying the ceiling. Then I gazed briefly at the small crack and finally back at the boy.
I started. Even in the dim light of the prison, I could see the boy’s eyes locked on me. With a wildness to them, he looked as if he were a feral animal taken from his home and caged in a lightless world and left there to waste away, and I was his only hope of escape.
The rest of the day, I avoided looking his way, but the few times I did happen to glance at him, his stormy eyes were always on me. It made me feel uneasy.
When I did manage to forget about the boy for a while, I became intensely bored. I stayed locked all day in the prison, with nothing to do, nothing different to see, and nothing to eat. I was hungry by noon because of my deprivation of regular, good meals over the past ten days, but no one ever came with any food. As an elf, I could go for almost a week and a half without food, but regardless, I had become ravenous.
I sighed and absently fingered a rough stone. Coarse and gritty, it provided some distraction from monotony, but I soon got tired of fiddling with it. This heavy dose of boredom was taking its toll on me; to escape it, I even dozed throughout the day several times.
When night came, I reluctantly resigned myself to the hard floor again, wishing fervently for a blanket, at least. As I lay motionless on the cool floor, I wondered about the boy again. He had said nothing the entire, gruelling day, but then, neither had I.
I felt sort of a connection to him since we were both stuck in this god-forsaken prison with no food or water, and we were both away from our homes. I just wished I knew his name. I sighed and closed my eyes, letting all thoughts empty from my mind.
“Who are you?”
The question was barely audible in the silent expanse of our confinement, but I heard it. My eyes flew open, unsure if he had actually spoken, or if I was just imagining it. But I knew I had heard it.
I supported myself on one elbow as I sat up. “I’m Elysia. What’s your name?”
A long, deafening stretch of silence followed and then: “Yaron.”
I looked over at the cell that Yaron was supposedly in, but I could not see anything. Then the boy came into the light. The only emotion displayed on his face was that of wariness and caution. It was like trying to read a stone.
I came forward until my face was an inch from the steel bars that formed two of the walls of my cell. “What are you doing here?”
Yaron watched me with suspicious and intelligent brown eyes. Then he answered my question: “I’m locked up here until I’m old enough to join the queen’s army.” He brushed a lock of gold hair from his face. His eyes were wary.
“Why?”
He gazed at me guardedly. “Because I can fight. I can use a sword better than most people in this troop, but it’s only been recently that I’ve been able to beat them all, and I have. Of course, it’s only thanks to my extra training outside of here that I’ve been getting better. Gornhelm stopped my training here nearly a year ago, but now I can defeat all of the men here … Comundus, Phallax, Eston, Janek, Pyralus, and—”
I stopped him, confused. “Who’s Pyralus? There’s no one in this troop named Pyralus.”
Yaron frowned, his dark eyes narrowing and becoming surprisingly flinty. “Yes, there is. He has blue eyes, and he’s friends with that other boy, Veryan. He …” Yaron broke off when he realised that I had no idea whom he was talking about. “But … he was with them when they left.” I could see that the fact that I had never met this Pyralus before had unsettled the boy.
I wondered who Pyralus was and why I had heard no mention of him from Veryan or any of the men in the troop. The boy seemed so sure he had been with them, and I felt that Veryan would have mentioned him at one time or another.
When I looked back at Yaron, the boy was sitting again in the corner of his cell, half turned towards me. The moonlight shone on a knotted scar across his lower back. I opened my mouth to speak, but Yaron spoke first: “Do you know how I got here?” His voice was low and emotional, and it struck a chord of pity in my heart.
“No. Tell me.”
“I was captured. Right from my home. The troop, with Gornhelm at the head, came to my village to search for new recruits and demanded that I join. I had participated in the trials to qualify, and they all said I was the best they’d seen. But my parents didn’t want me to go, and I didn’t want to either. So Gornhelm pretended to honour our wishes and leave, but that night, they came back and attacked our home. Veryan set it on fire. Pyralus killed my mother and my father, and then they both dragged me out of the house. They left my parents to burn in the house, so there would be no evidence of what they had done. Gornhelm suspected that I would try to leave to avoid being recruited, so he took me then, when I was thirteen …
“There was a training incident soon after they captured me that convinced Gornhelm that I was not as skilled nor as strong as he thought, so that’s why he keeps me here in the prison. And so I won’t try to leave … Every two months, a man from another troop comes for me and takes me to one of the army camps for two weeks of training, and then I come back here. As I said, if it weren’t for that extra training, I wouldn’t be getting any better. It’s been like this since I came, and so it will be until I’m old enough to become a soldier. This winter, my three years of training will be up, and I’ll be forced to join the army.”
Yaron was then broodingly silent, and I took that to mean he would say no more on that topic.
Friday, September 09, 2011
Busy, Busy, Busy
Have to do my geometry project this weekend, as well as read over Young Falcon for the last time to catch any stray punctuation or errors before it's sent to the printer. Had an exhausting week at school...ugh. Some of my friends are being extremely annoying, and I'm just glad the week's over...*exhales deeply* I hate being busy o.O
Wednesday, September 07, 2011
Success!
Ok, I finished my chemistry project on sulfur (I picked sulfur because it's going to be important in one of my later books; isn't that just like me to pick a project because it relates to my books? Haha!) and I'm so glad, because now I don't have two projects hanging over my head for this weekend...only one! Yes!!
I'm also writing a bit on Book Three, which is very good, because I'm getting SO close to one of the most epic parts in the book!! Ahhhhhh it's so intense; I cannot WAIT to hear what y'all think of it when you get to that part!! :D 'Course, you have to get through Young Falcon and Book Two first... ;) But I promise, it will totally be worth the wait! Update on Young Falcon, by the way - it will be available for buying in approximately 4 weeks (I'll let you know the exact date when Ms. Hara tells me). So excited for you to be able to finally read my book! I really hope you like it; I think you will :) Keep praying; your prayers have been a huge help, and I know God has blessed me because of your support! God bless. :)
Tuesday, September 06, 2011
I HATE MATH!!
There are no words to describe how much I HATE math!! After only 4 weeks of school, I'm only 9 points away from failing Geometry, and I have an 89 in Chemistry. Now, some of you may think, an 89 - that's not bad! It's extremely bad for me!! The lowest grade I've ever gotten on a report card is a 91, so an 89 is not ok! It's like I got ever single ounce of English and History skill possible and absolutely zero math skills. Ugh!!!! And I have a Geometry and Chemistry project due next week...on the same day...just kill me now! :'(
Monday, September 05, 2011
The Party and the Lake
Well, I just got home from Salado, where I went last night after spending all day at the lake with the G's. It was a very amazing day! I had a wonderful time seeing all my friends, and even though I'm badly sunburnt and can barely lift my arms over my head, it will definitely be a fantastic memory.
The Back-to-School Bash, which was Saturday night, was ok - definitely NOT as good as last year. There just wasn't much to do. But my good friend M.D. came and I hung out with her on the playground, along with some other friends, for most of the night. Then I went home with the G's, and we watched a few episodes of Avatar and then went to bed. On Sunday, we picked up N.G's friend K.M. and took her with us to the lake, and until about 3:00, it was just the three of us, P.G., and P.G.'s friend Michelle. We went out on the lake, and N.G. went skiing, and they all went tubing, except me. Just wasn't feeling up to it, for some reason. But it was so fun watching them! :D It was very windy, and therefore they were bouncing all over the place and falling off. At 3:00, everyone else came, even T.C., whom we convinced to stay. (He had come only to drop off his older brother, who is P.G.'s boyfriend) So glad he could stay! It was his first boat and tubing experience, and I think he really enjoyed it. :) Then we had dinner, P.G. opened presents, and then Mr. G took me home. Great, awesome weekend! :)
Friday, September 02, 2011
Weekend Fun!
Going to my school's Back-to-School Bash tomorrow night, and then spending the night with the G's and going to the lake with them for P.G.'s 16th birthday on Sunday. It's gonna be so fun!! G.C., J.R. (who is back at my school, by the way), T.C., and some other of my best friends are gonna be at the Bash, so it's going to be awesome, even though there's NO way it can be as awesome as last year - it rained incessantly last year, and we stayed outside almost the entire time! IT WAS SO AMAZING!! <3 But it should be fun anyway, even if it won't be raining ;)
No homework, either!! Yesssss!!! Awesome weekend coming up; praise God for friends, Back-to-School Bashes, rain, and love! May the Father bless you this weekend and have a safe holiday!!
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