Happy New Year!!

Wedding Bells in the Distance

My brother now has a fiancee. He took his girlfriend of 3 years (Wade) on a walk after supper tonight, and they walked to the Civic Centre, which used to be a school. There's a lighted gazebo out there, and he proposed to her tonight. Then he called Mum, and she, my aunt, my grandma, and I went out there, armed with our cameras, and had them reenact the proposal so we could take pictures to send to Wade's mum. This is a pic of her ring (sorta fuzzy, but you get the idea). 

      Hummmm. Not sure how I feel about all this yet. It's definitely going to be a huge adjustment (even though he's been at home less and less over the past year or two), and I'm really sad that we're not going to have the same close relationship anymore. It hasn't been the same for a while, now, actually. He and Mum have accused me of being unfriendly to and/or jealous of Wade, but I'm not; just distressed that my brother is going to be leaving. Nothing's going to be the same anymore... He's going to have a new life, and I'll just be at home still, going to school and writing. I don't like change, and this is a big one. Oh well. I'll adjust. I know that God will be watching over Brother and Wade (and me), so that's consoling. It's all just part of His plan, and He knows best, so I'll just trust Him and let Him guide my feelings about all this. That's the best way to do it, after all; the safest and most reliable. 

     But enough of my semi-complicated emotions; have a happy New Year! I hope God blesses you richly in 2012, and that you always look to Him for your needs; He will reward you for it, trust me. Hope you all have a fantastic year! :)

Happiness!!

My mom bought me a National Geographic magazine today, and guess what the main article is about? TWINS. I completely, totally adore any and all things having to do with twins (or triplets or quadruplets), so I am VERY excited about this!! It had lots of pictures of identical twins, too (which are the best kind)! Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! Yesssss!!!

Book Three is (Most Likely) Finished!

I finished my additions to the ending of Book Three last night, and while I might add a little bit more, I think it's about finished. Without any more additions, it's 411 computer pages (yay for long books!), and that would be around 462 book pages. It's so epic!!! I love Book Three; it's totally my favourite :D Hope everyone is enjoying Young Falcon, and if you enjoyed it, please post a review on the B&N or Amazon site! Thanks!! :)

A Very Tiny Snippet From Book Two

PG13 requested a snippet from Book Two, so here is a small one. Not much happens in it, be warned, but it expands a little on what happens to Elysia after she's trapped in the river at the end of Young Falcon. It's from the first chapter, 'The Ivalojoki.' Enjoy!

With a ragged gasp, I broke the surface of the water, drawing in air roughly and desperately, frantic for the oxygen to flow into my lungs. Jerking my head to shift my dripping hair out of my eyes, I kicked strongly, though my leg muscles were already tired from all the running Efroy and I had been doing over the past few days. But I had to stay above the water. I could not repeatedly be dragged under by the choppy waters because each time I went under, I had to use all my strength to get back to the surface. I did not know how much longer I could last.

     I gasped as another black wall of water rolled over me like a suffocating blanket, engulfing me and briefly depriving me of air once again. Once above the surface, I coughed up some water, the motion hurting my sides since I was already sore from running, swimming, and fighting to stay above the water.

I’ve got to get to land, I thought in a panic as the rushing current doused me. I looked about on either side of the shore, wondering if the silver-armoured man and his troop were still following me, and to my dismay, the question was answered a moment later as I heard the sound of horses’ hooves pounding along the river bank only a few yards behind me. Gasping, I jerked in surprise, wishing I could find some shelter, but the water continued to propel me on, giving no heed to the precariousness of my situation. The unrelenting water continued to smack my face, causing my exasperation to rise with the continuous battering.

Now I could hear the voices of the men as they came closer. Frightened, I tried to make myself as small as possible and keep as low in the water as I could, but since I was also trying not to drown, it was easier said than done. However, since I was so tiny and I had the cover of the darkness, I hoped I would not be  seen. But since I did not know how well humans could see at night, I was unsure if I would be safe.

Nonetheless, I soon heard shouts from the shore, and I knew that they had seen me. Panic drumming a frenzied beat within me, I struggled to move over to some of the sheltering rocks nearby, but as several arrows hissed past me, I yelped in my terror, forgetting that I was attempting to lay low. None of the darts injured me, though one grazed my shoulder. But as the torrential waters sloped down sharply and hurtled me around a bend, the humans’ voices faded and the arrows ceased, though it took several minutes for my heartbeat to calm.

I was rushed along in the raging river, taking me to safety from the humans, but the waters were relentless, repeatedly pounding my back and face with the battering flow. I fought as hard as I could, but I was beginning to tire with the physical exertion of trying to stay above the surface. I was also encumbered by the added weight of my heavy dress, but I could not pause long enough to get it off, lest I become entangled in it and dragged under the surface. Panting with effort, I paused for a few seconds to just let the river sweep me along, though doing so was dangerous because I ran the risk of getting pulled under by the swift current if I did not fight.

I lost track of time, but after a while, my feet brushed a huge rock that protruded from the river’s floor. Though the rough edge of the rock grazed my shoulder a moment later, I knew I had to grab onto the rock. My fingers quickly sought out the jagged surface and gripped it desperately, tired as they were. I brought myself to a stop and clung to the rock with every once of strength left in me, turning my back to the strong current, which raged around me as it hit me and skipped on its merry way, taking no heed of the bedraggled foreigner.

I rested my head against the damp rock, exhausted from my swim.  My arms ached, my legs ached, my sides ached; in fact, every inch of my body ached. Sighing with fatigue, I tried to make myself relax but could not for fear that I would be swept away; I had to keep a tight hold on my rock.

Taking a deep breath and dragging air into my lungs slowly, I began to wonder about Efroy again. I knew it had been several hours since our confrontation with Roman on the shore, but since that time, I had found no sign that Efroy had been able to escape which worried me greatly. However, I also had no reason to believe that he had not escaped. Either way, he was nowhere to be seen. I had no way of knowing if he was on his way down the river himself or  trying to follow me along the shore to get back to me somehow. What if Roman had killed him? Or taken him hostage? How would I be able to rescue him if that was the case? I could not fight; my cowardly escape at the river assured me of that, and I had little hope of being able to help Efroy escape from wherever he was being held captive. If that was even what had happened, I reminded myself. I did not know for sure what had become of my friend, and until I did, I could take no sensible action to recover him. Perhaps he was on his way to me right now; perhaps he would find me within a few hours.

Hence, I decided to wait. I would find a way to get to shore and stay there until Efroy had either found me, or I was absolutely sure he was not coming. Then I must go and find him. It was a long shot to think that I could do anything to help him if he was being held prisoner by Roman, but I knew I would have to try. He was my friend, after all; I could not just leave him if he was in trouble!

But what could I do? Me, an ordinary, insignificant seventeen-year-old girl from Aseamir who had never even been out of her small town before now and so naïve that it was embarrassing at times. I knew nothing of the world outside of my safe, isolated home, especially nothing of this struggle going on between the humans and elves. Until a few weeks ago, I had not even been aware that there were such things as humans. I had thought they were nothing more than peculiar characters in fairy-tales! Lillian loved reading stories about their ancient civilisations and learning about their odd customs and languages and ways of living, and I admit that I had thought some of the stories interesting at one time, but to actually see real humans in the flesh, here in my beloved country, killing my people and trying to seize control of Yaracina … It was awfully hard to process it all. Was this really happening?

I leaned my head wearily against the clammy rock which was my refuge for the time being, closing my eyes and wishing I could rest my tired mind, but to no avail because unanswered questions, possibilities, and fears plagued me, triggering even more worry about Efroy’s fate and how on earth I might be able to help him. If he was even still alive.

Cringing inwardly at that mere suggestion, I forced myself to push that thought from my mind. It would serve no good purpose to dwell on that particular prospect until there was at least some evidence that could support it. Therefore, until I had even a hint of the likelihood that Efroy had been killed, I was not even going to consider it. I could not consider it, if I was to have any hope of somehow being able to help him. The thought would only drain my strength and paralyse any attempt on my part to rescue Efroy, so it was best if I just stayed away from that idea altogether.

Suddenly overwhelmed with longing for Lliam to come and save me from my predicament, I let a small, cold tear run down my face, barely noticing as a black swell of water slapped against my face and swept the tear away. So overcome was I with heartache to see my enigmatic friend again and hear his reassuring voice. He would know what to do; he would help me.

But try as I might, I could not find Lliam’s mind. Though I searched long and hard and stretched my mind to its limit, he was nowhere to be found, which only made me feel worse and even more hopeless, for I felt that if I could only hear Lliam’s voice, everything would be okay. After all, how was I to figure out what to do all on my own? Would I even know where to begin?  How could I find my way to the place Roman had backed us against the rushing river so many hours ago?

I looked around blearily for a possible escape route, but all I could see upstream and down was the line of unbroken, smooth riverbank, one that afforded very little to grab on to and even less that I could use to hoist myself up out of the river. I came to the conclusion that the only way I was going to get out of this river was to let myself be swept downstream again until I found a shallower, gentler branch of this river or a place along the main bank that provided some foliage or rocks that I could use as handholds. There was nothing for me in this spot.

Taking a deep breath and trying to prepare myself for a moment before letting go, I tried one more time to find Lliam mentally, but to my continuing disappointment, I was unable to do so. Then, letting go of my rock, I allowed myself be swept up in the raging, angry flow of the Ivalojoki, surrendering myself to its current but fighting to keep my head above the water whilst also trying to manoeuvre away from any large, jagged rocks rising above the water. Though I was successful in navigating around the stone barriers most of the time, once or twice, I was not able to stop myself and smashed ruthlessly into the rough mass, causing me to gasp for breath for a moment as the pain set into my body. From that time on, I focused intently on avoiding any subsequent rocks downstream, knowing that my bruised and battered body could not take much more of this.

Finally Home

I am worn out from Christmas o.O I had a cold over most of the break, which was not fun, and to add joy to that, we had about 20 people, including 4 little kids, stuffed into one one-story living room...for several hours! Whew. It was nice to see everyone, don't get me wrong, but the fact that I had a cold made me less excited to be so close to everyone. It was fun, though, considering the circumstances, and I'm glad I got to see them all; unlike some families, we only see my aunt and uncle and cousins once or twice a year. 

   At my other grandparents' house, it was much calmer: it was just my mom, my dad, my brother, my grandparents, and my aunt and uncle. And my grandparents' cat, Scotty :D That was a lot of fun too :) 

    Hope you all had a very merry Christmas!! God bless and protect you this coming year!! :D

Now Available on iTunes!

Young Falcon is (finally) available in eBook format! Yay!! It's on iTunes for $9.99. And if you'd like to review my book, just let me know, and I'll be happy to post it for you (if you're having problems posting it, as some seem to be)! If not, you can, of course, post it yourself ;) Enjoy!! :D

Are They Insane?!?

So, there's this seller that's convinced that people are going to pay over $100 for my book. Stupid, right? (S)he has posted on both my Amazon and my B&N page, offering Young Falcon for $112.18 and $107.92, respectively. DO YOU HONESTLY THINK ANYONE IS GOING TO PAY THAT MUCH FOR A PAPERBACK BOOK???? Oh my goodness...I do not understand some people...

Page 26

Okay, today I'm on page 26. I actually started on page 20 yesterday, but because I wasn't sure I would have any more time to work on it, I posted about page 22. So yeah :) I'm really happy with what I've written so far; Book Four is already epic!! :D And as a random spoiler, Roman is stuck all alone...on a beach. That should keep you thinking for a while ;) I'm also simultaneously trying to finish Book Three, because I'm at the point in Book Four where I can't continue until I figure out what happens at the end of Book Three. *sigh* N.G., I'm thinking I may not be able to do Book Four from Cerwin's point of view after all, because if I did, there would be an entire part of the story that wouldn't have anyone's P.OV. covering it. So we shall see... :/ Hope you're all having a great Christmas break so far; I know I am. Merry Christmas, y'all!! :)

Page 22

I'm on page 22 on Book Four, which is good, because I had been experiencing some literary difficulties. Yay!! :D

Number One!

On the Arboretum B&N Young Adult Bestsellers list, Young Falcon is number one!! :D Meaning, yes, I did beat out Christopher Paolini, Suzanne Collins, and Rick Riordan. God is amazing :D Check out the list here (it's near the bottom)

http://www.statesman.com/life/books/best-sellers-2038383.html 

AHHHHHH!!! That's so awesome!!! Praise God that people are so supportive of my book!! :D

Writing, Writing, Writing...

Ah, it's so nice to be able to write again without having to worry with finals and schoolwork! Thank you, God, for Christmas break! I'm nearly done with the extensions on Book Three, and I've also been working on a random short story (by short story, I mean around 15 pages long) on the topic of arranged marriage, a subject I find very fascinating. Sometimes, looking around at the 'marriages' people are having today, I wonder if we haven't been given too much freedom in that aspect of life. I don't know; I'm still mulling over my thoughts on that. A weird opinion, I know ;) So anyway, I'm loving being able to write again (even though I have a blister on my forearm already because it's been resting on the side of my computer, and it's been rubbing because I've been writing so much....ouch!) Hope you're having a great Christmas so far! G's - so sorry to hear about your deer accident; hope you're able to get the car fixed up easily! :( God bless, and Merry Christmas!!! :D

I'm FREEEE!!!

School is finally out for Christmas break, and I'm SO GLAD!!! I had my Spanish final yesterday, and I'm not really sure how it went, because I didn't study very much...But oh well; I already had a 97 in Coach C's class, so I'm not worried too much. And now that school's out, I can finish my additions to Book Three and continue my work on Book Four. YAY!!!!!!! This makes me very happy :D Also, my brother and his girlfriend are coming home from Virginia on Monday!!! :D Have a great Christmas break, and God bless!! :)

Finals...Ugh

Today, tomorrow, and Friday are finals days for my school. I had English and Chemistry today, Geometry tomorrow, and Spanish on Friday. We get out at noon on finals days, so I've been studying for Geometry from 2:00 to 7:00....literally almost the entire time (I paused for supper). MY BRAIN IS FRIED!!! o.O Ugh. Please pray that I do well on my finals!! God bless, and have a great Christmas holiday! And remember the real reason we celebrate Christmas - Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour!!

Young Falcon is Now on the B&N Website!!

Ok, so, Young Falcon is finally available for purchase on the Barnes and Noble website for a reduced price of $13.64! If you're interested in getting a copy, you can either visit Amazon.com or Barnesand Noble.com to get one! This book would make a great Christmas present for teens in your family or that you know in general, and if you've already read my book and enjoyed it, PLEASE spread the word about it! :)

They're Back!

Amazon is now restocked with Young Falcon, and the books are ready to be sold! Success!! Hopefully some people who weren't able to make it to the book signing will be able to get a copy now, and I certainly hope they enjoy it! By the way, the girl that helped me at my book signing told me that the BEST way to promote my book is word of mouth via social media, so if you've read my book and enjoyed it, PLEASE tell people about it! It would be a tremendous blessing to share my story with your friends and family, so help me get Young Falcon out into the world!! Have a great week, and God bless!! :)

I'm A Little Bit Numb...

...From having been unable to write for the past three weeks. Finals start next week, and I've had three tests and two projects to work on. UGH. When I can't write, my brain literally becomes somewhat numb. Weird, I know, but that's how God made me. I honestly need writing more than sleep; after going to bed at 10:00 last night after frying my brain with chemistry, I laid awake for another hour reading over Book Three and correcting the errors in my first draft, and I felt so much better afterwards!! Haha, what a strange lass I am! ;) So yeah, not enjoying the busyness of pre-finals week, but I'm eager to get them over with so I can get back to writing!! :D Oh! N.B. and M.M. have been reading Young Falcon since they bought it on Sunday, and they both really like it!! Yay!! :D :D

By The Way...

Amazon.com is sold out my book...but for some reason, it only showed that there was one copy available for purchase. Not sure why that is...So if you want to buy a copy of Young Falcon, let me know, and I'll write you down and let you know when more books are available. Thanks!! God has begun a great work, and I'm so excited to see what He has in mind for my little book!! :D

The Results of Day Two at B&N!

Whew! What an amazing two days!! In all, I sold 146 books (and 6 more people have already reserved a copy but were unable to buy them today because I sold out)! So of the $2,880 I made, I get to keep $1,740 of it, which is a good chunk of the money it's going to take to pay for Young Falcon's printing! God is so good!! Many of the people who bought my book were complete strangers, and even some of the people from my dentist's office and my church came. Ahhhh!!! I'm only two days into this job and I'm already in love with it! It's so amazing to see the kids' smiles when I hand them a copy of my book, and to hear that some of them have been inspired to write because of me. :') I'm so blessed to get to experience this; God is great beyond understanding!! Thank you so much to those of you who came out to support me, and I hope you enjoy Young Falcon!! :D

The Results of My First Ever Book Signing!

I am very tired :) 'Twas a long day of smiling, signing, and saying 'thank you,' but it was so FUN!!! In all, I sold 62 books, which I'd say is a pretty dern good start for my little bookie ;) Several people who bought the book were total strangers; gotta love those impulse buyers :D It was so great to see everyone! Several of my teachers came, some of my old friends that used to go to my school, friends that do go to my school, my youth minister, two of the oral hygienists that work in my orthodontist office, and several members of my family! Yay!!!! We went through all 3 of the boxes we'd brought, leaving only 10 books left, so we're going to add those to my count for tomorrow. I'm hoping that even more people will come tomorrow since Encore is singing in the Celebration of the Season festival-thingie. 

    *takes a deep breath* Wow. Today felt so surreal. Kinda like I was just acting for a movie or in a dream or something. I wasn't nervous at all, for which I'm sure I have God to thank, and that was a real blessing. I'm so thankful I got to do this! It was such a great experience!! Not that it's over yet, of course, but I feel like I'll be much better prepared for tomorrow now that I've done my first signing. Thank you so much to those of you who came/are coming; your support means so much to me!!! God bless you, and I hope you enjoy Young Falcon! :D

Tomorrow, Tomorrow!!

My first book signing's tomorrow!! I'm so excited!!!!!!!! I cannot wait!!! My mom's hairdresser is coming to my house tomorrow at 8 o'clock to do my hair, and then we're going to leave for B&N around 12:30, get there at about 1:20, set up, and begin signing at 2!! Whoo-hoo!! Can't wait to see you there if you're coming! :D