Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Nine Princes in Amber - The Voice of Corwin


Nine Princes in Amber 
Author: Roger Zelazny
Publisher: Avon Books, 1977
First Published: 1972
Genre: Scifi

Amber, the one real world, wherein all others, including our own Earth, are but Shadows. Amber burns in Corwin's blood. Exiled on Shadow Earth for centuries, the prince is about to return to Amber to make a mad and desperate rush upon the throne. From Arden to the blood-slippery Stairway into the Sea, the air is electrified with the powers of Eric, Random, Bleys, Caine, and all the princes of Amber whom Corwin must overcome. Yet, his savage path is blocked and guarded by eerie structures beyond imagining; impossible realities forged by demonic assassins and staggering horrors to challenge the might of Corwin's superhuman fury.

Sunday, February 17, 2013

At the Movies: A Good Day to Die Hard


Movie: A Good Day to Die Hard
Stars: Bruce Willis, Jai Courtney, Sebastian Koch, Yuliya Snigir, Radivoje Bukvic
My Rating: 3/5

What I liked~


The unstoppable tank-truck and how McClane stopped it. The mother of all tank trucks is after his son, and John goes after it...in a mini truck. When that get's destroyed, he goes after it AGAIN...in a Jeep. And he still wins. LOL. Seriously!

Jack/Jai's eyes. I'm a sucker for pretty boys with pretty eyes. Sue me.

A quirky villain (Bukvic). He doesn't want the unstoppable tank-truck to go faster, he wants it to fly! ...And fly it does.

What I wished they'd done~

Less stiff dialogue. I mean, it's an action movie. I don't expect lines and lines of beautiful prose, but come on. You killed the chemistry with that dialogue. What could've been an awesome John and Jack McClane 'vacation time' in Russia, came off as two actors trying and failing to play father and son. On that same note, the jokes could have use a facelift as well.

What I loved~

The sheer amount of car destruction in the first 10-15 minutes, which both made me want to weep and laugh maniacally, and the big ass military choppers bringing on the rain ♥

Thursday, February 14, 2013

My Plans for Valentine's Day

To give...Valentine Mailboxes! I went a little crazy when I saw these on Pinterest and had to make some. They look small but I put 2 heart-shaped lollys, four chocolates, and a box of candy hearts in each...and there still was space!


To receive...chocolates, cookies, ice cream, and heart-shaped pens that light up when you write, but overall lots of hugs and kisses and love :)

To treat myself by...Painting my nails a saucy red; picking a romantic book and drooling over a book crush; popping in a couple of movies and dream of impossibilities, like boys who say "As you wish" or "You have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love...I love-I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on"; And most importantly by remembering a woman doesn't need a man to be awesome, kick some ass, and bravely say "I am Merida Amy, and I'll be shooting for my own hand."

Happy Valentine's Day!

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

A Wizard of Earthsea - Fear the Wizard, not the Magic


A Wizard of Earthsea
Author: Ursula K.Le Guin
Publisher: Bantam Spectra Books, 1975
First Published: 1968
Genre: Fantasy

Ged was the greatest sorcerer in all Earthsea, but once he was called Sparrowhawk, a reckless youth, hungry for power and knowledge, who tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death's threshold to restore the balance.

Monday, February 4, 2013

The Next Big Thing

Huzzah! I've been tagged by Lauren over at Unwrittenlands to do this awesome meme. If there's one thing a writer likes it to be asked about his/her current WIP because then we can talk your ear off for the next hour or two (except when it's The Publishing World Powers that Be and then we all go blank...).

In this meme, each week an author provides his or her answer to the ten questions below and then tags five additional writers, each of whom answers the questions on the subsequent week, again tagging more writers, and so on. So! Here are my answers :)

1. What is the working title of your next book?
Out of Control (A MYTH novel #1)

2. Where did the idea com from for the book?
It came from having to come up with an idea for NaNoWriMo 2011. As with most of my stories, it started with a scene I imagined and a main character: A human girl that wanted to go to a school for supernatural teens. Of course, the kids there treat her as the outsider she is. The idea and the scene have both evolved drastically since then. She's no longer a human but a hybrid of two supernaturals, and she's having trouble controlling her deadly draining power which still makes her an outcast.

Now that I'm about to start on revisions, I'm sure some things might still change.

3. What genre does your book fall under?
I've been calling it a YA Paranormal Romance, but I feel it still needs extra sizzle in the romance department ;)

4. What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition?
Oh wow. This is a fun question. The only two characters I've had an actor in mind for since the beginning are Jayson (my vampire) who I've always seen played by Xavier Samuel and Liam (faery that gets killed by Annabel) who I know must be plated by Nick Roux. I haven't thought much about the others, but lets give this a try!

Maybe Dakota Fanning as Vinnie (my fire faery) because she's so petite. OH! And after watching Hairspray, I've definitely begun imagining Caleb (my wolf) as Diego Boneta (totally in love with his hair). As for Annabel (witch and heroine) I honestly don't see anyone playing her, but if Emma Stone wants to go red-head again or Ellen Page wants to dye her hair a bit, then I'm all for it!

5. What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
After accidentally draining her best friend, teenage witch Annabel Ray gets sent to MYTH, a school for supernaturals, to learn control over her rare power, but Annabel's fears get in the way and after draining a classmate she becomes the main suspect for the mysterious student attacks at school.

6. Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I admire those who go down the self-published road, but I'd like for mine to be represented by an agency simply because the publishing world can be so intricate and overwhelming.

7. How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?
A year, two months, and ten days...but who's obsessively counting, right? I started with a 50k NaNo novel, which I then split in two and reworked most of the first part to be book 1. I could've had a new draft done sooner, but I've been taking it slow, working 30 pages a month, then taking a month-long break during residencies at SHU so that all I learn there seeps in.

Last week I went back to read chapter one and I couldn't believe the difference in my writing. I believe revisions will be a pain but they'll be fun!

8. What other books would you compare this story within your genre?
Hahaha I wouldn't compare it with any story, but I'd say it has a bit of Harry Potter and Hex Hall, with maybe a slice of Vampire Academy, and a sprinkle of technology thrown in the mix. I was once told it was X-men meets Twilight...I've worked hard since then to correct that....

9. Who or what inspired you to write this book?
There's no specific person or thing that inspired me. It's a bit of everything that I love in books: boarding schools, beautiful and intricate world-building, romance, intrigue, supernaturals, strong heroines, swoon worthy heroes, hilarious sidekicks, unexpected villains, magic, and technology.

10. Who's up next?
All my writer friends have all been tagged already! So, If you stop by and are a writer, you've been automatically tagged. Yep. That's right. Now get answering those questions and when you have your post, drop by again and leave me a link so I can read your answer :D

Saturday, February 2, 2013

At the Movies: Warm Bodies


Movie: Warm Bodies 
Stars: Nicholas Hoult, Teresa Palmer, Analeigh Tipton, Rob Corddry  
My Rating: 4/5

What I liked~

The actors. They all did such wonderful jobs bringing the characters to life! Hoult played R to perfection. Teresa's expressions were flawless. Analeigh did an awesome as Nora, the funny but badass friend. Last, but not least, Rob Corddry delivered some of the best lines.

The ending. Holy crap I think I like the movie ending better than the book! *hides* Seriously. The fall. The kiss. The shot! (which elicited a jump and a gasp) If I'd hated the movie, I would've still bought it for that last scene alone.

What I wished they'd included~

More of R's commentaries. The book has such great lines and while they did include some of his thoughts and dialogue lines in the movie, I felt some scenes could have benefited more from R's thoughts. Like, his inner dialogue could have easily given more depth to his struggle about comunicating with Julie and then confessing he was the one who killed her boyfriend. His inner dialogue could have also been used to explain his theory about why the zombies were turning back. There were many opportunities for his thoughts to be used. The scene would be playing and I'd be waiting for that awesome line and it never came. Most scene are just R sitting there being all sexy zombie and not delivering awesome thoughts.

What I loved~

R's eyes/ Nick Hoult's eyes. If you don't swoon over his eyes--with and without contacts--you need to check yourself and see if you're not turning into a Boney. So, yes, though there's an excess of 'silent scenes' at least I got to stare into his warm dead eyes ♥