In the Mood for a Scare

I don’t know what it is, but as of late I’ve been trying to find things that would shake me to the bone. Anything spooky. Ghost, legends, aliens, bigfoots, you name it, if there’s a story of a boogyman under a bed I want to hear about it. It’s not even October and I’m already gearing up to get myself shaking with fright.

In particular, I’ve recently began to follow two more paranormal themed podcasts. I’ve already been following Aaron Mahnke’s Lore podcast which always thrill me. I know if I want something quick, something surreal and based on a legend he’s the place I go to. Already he’s inspired me and given me ideas on expand my own paranormal novels of ghost hunters in new directions.

One of my new podcasts that I decided to follow is The Paranormal Podcast by Jim Harold. I’m only able to pull up the previous years on my iPod, but obviously as I started looking back I realize Jim has been busy and had the podcast out for a number of years prior. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to listen to all of them, but of the few I’ve already managed to listen to I’m stuck. In particular my first episode I listened to dealt with ‘Black Eyed Kids’ and lets say I should not have listened to it in the dark. It creeped me out and gave me a whole new paranormal case I’ve never knew existed.

So on to the third, or rather the second NEW podcast I stumbled upon. “And That’s Why We Drink.” I seriously just ‘stumbled’ upon it last week. I needed to listen to something while I quilt, and didn’t feel like music or my D&D podcast and wanted to hear more spooky stories. I was on spotify at this point and found their ‘podcast’ area and well, this one was right at the top of the ‘recommended for you’.  I was hooked by episode 2, and I’ve been binge listening to them since. The podcast is not only talking about paranormal events/objects/haunting, but also true crime. So the two hosts share a paranormal story and a true crime story each episode. I’m currently on episode 7 and enjoy listening to Em and Christine. The two are so enjoyable, down to earth and casual in their podcast. They ramble and go on tangents every once in a while and I seriously don’t care. They have this dynamic about them that keeps the podcast fresh. I seriously can’t get enough of them and they just found a new long term follower. Out of all of my spooky listening, these two are the best so far.

But it hasn’t all been podcasts. That being said, those three above are probably the only podcasts I listen to… and still can’t find enough time to catch up on all of them.

The other bit of spookiness in my life currently is a new visual novel I’ve started on the game app “Choices”. For those of you who haven’t heard of it, Choices is an app that have several ‘visual novels’ to choose from… mostly romantic but there are a few mystery and adventure and even on fantasy themed story to follow. In each story there are choices you can make as the main character, those choices affect the end of your story. This is the fourth story on this app that I’m working through and I’m really enjoying this new story called “It Lives in the Woods”. The only issue I have with the app, which I understand why they did it this way – is that despite it binge free, there are choices that require ‘diamond’s to unlock. If you don’t have enough you are unable to take that special path and miss out on uncovering new information, more of the mystery or a weapon you may need in the future. It’s very much a combination of a novel and a game except I never like paying for extra game bits. That being said – I just made my first purchase in this app for extra diamonds… so… they got to me.

It Lives in the Woods is a story about a bunch of high school kids who realize the ‘ghost’ or as they name him ‘Mr. Redfield’ they played with as a kid and most likely the cause of one of their friend’s death as a kid is back. Strange occurrences have been happening in their small town, and all can be traced back to their youth and the woods.

Seriously, just the opening sequences is enough to put a shiver down your spine.

If anyone else has any suggestions of something spooky to either listen to, watch or read, let me know, I’m in the mood and would love some recommendations.

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RE:Mind

Re:Mind

Synopsis:

When high school classmates wake up, they find themselves in a perilous situation — restrained in a large dining room. They want answers as to why somebody is holding them hostage, so they try to think of reasons why they are locked up and, more importantly, how they can escape. Fearing their situation is retribution for a past incident with a classmate, they offer up confessions and point blame in order to figure out who the captor is.

I was searching Netflix for a new show to watch, something strange, dark and mysterious. Low and behold I found this amazing mini-series. The synopsis sold it for me and once I started watching, I couldn’t stop. I finished all 12 episodes in only 2 days – the only episode I’ve yet to watch is a ‘prequel’ that gives us all a glimpse of the student lives before the horror that befalls them.

So, as the synopsis goes, 11 high school students wake up in a strange room – full of odd collections like an oddity shop. Of course, all the girls panic a the beginning. Their feet are locked in a box and they are unable to move – and the twelfth spot is empty. It takes the students time over the 12 episodes to figure out the clues that surround them. Basically they learn everything in the room is supposed to remind them of something.

During their attempts to figure out how to escape there are periods of unexplained strangeness between chimes of 12 from all the different clocks set at different times. When a clock does strike 12 – one girl goes missing. That’s strange enough, the lights go off and then suddenly a girl is gone. At times rats fall out of a suit of armour, oil leaks from the skylight above them, and stranger with a limp, hooded comes to clear the table and serve ‘cola’. All to encourage the girls to remember.

And remember they do. Over time they learn why they sit where they sit, who is missing and possibly why. We learn of bullying, a secret group of ‘Justice Warriors’ that branch onto vandalism, and secret love, crushes and love triangles. Of course as they remember and realize their guilt, blame is pointed at each other, and soon you get the idea that everyone in that room is guilty of something. Even if they did not bully, they still watched and did nothing.

Overall this mini-series is fantastic to watch. Full of mystery that kept me pressing play to watch the next episode to learn more clues, try to figure out who was behind all this and hope the girls get out in time. I

If you are looking for a good dark mystery, full of suspense. I highly recommend this show.

So many ideas… So little plot lines…

For the past several months, my new job schedule had been all over the place. One day I’m up at 5am, the next I’m working until 10:30pm. It left me little time to write anything, anywhere, at all. Now, finally after ten months I finally have a stretch of days off that I can actually put time towards my projects.

But which one to start with?

My paranormal novel needs a new re-write. I need to dive deeper into my main characters, giving them better goals, character arcs and make sure the structure is all there to show when needed throughout the novel. I am desperate to get this done, but I want to do it right. I know many authors struggle with multiple drafts and starting my 5th feels al little depressing. I am still passionate about this story, but another part of me wants to start with the next one in the series and keep moving forward.

Then I have more ideas for different stories swirling around in my head. I have a dystopian/utopian steaming on the back burner. A supernatural Victorian era mystery series idea with a Succubus and Vampire as the detectives. Then a new mystery idea surrounding a fantasy setting with a teenage witch/orphan.

It’s easy to say that ideas come easily to me. Characters, settings, a simple plot or goal for a character to achieve. They are all there, swirling around in my head – but trying to structure them, create a plot worthy to write out, some sort of outline is more fleeting.

Perhaps it’s my doubt, that miserable voice in the back of my head telling me I’m not good enough to write such stories. Or maybe its the countless out projects I want to work on that cloud my mind and make everything more daunting than it really is. Quilting, crafting, writing, reading and gaming that intrigue me. I only have so much time in my day.

Then there is the wedding. Yup. This past December my boyfriend of the last 4 years proposed to me. Not only do I have my writing projects to work on this year, but a wedding to plan. Unlike some girls/women, I have not been planing my wedding since I was a little girl. Part of me never thought this day will come. I haven’t even started planning and feel overwhelmed. As exciting as it is, my free time will be crunched even further now.

For now it’s one day at a time. I have a couple of books on Character Arcs and How to Write a Mystery to read before I start my hand at these stories and novels. I only hope with the more resources I read, the more confident I become and my writing improves with each new draft, idea and project completed.

The Nanny – Movie Review

The Nanny (1965)

Nanny (Bette Davis), a London family’s live-in maid, brings morbid 10-year-old Joey (William Dix) back from the psychiatric ward he’s been in for two years, since the death of his younger sister. Joey refuses to eat any food Nanny’s prepared or take a bath with her in the room. He also demands to sleep in a room with a lock. Joey’s parents — workaholic Bill (James Villiers) and neurotic Virgie (Wendy Craig) — are sure Joey is disturbed, but he may have good reason to be terrified of Nanny.

It’s October, and you know what that means… bring on the horror flicks. With Halloween just around the corner, it seems many are ready to get their frights in. This may not be a typical ‘horror’ film, suspense yes, but not horror. Still, when I stumbled upon this black & white movie on TCM, I felt compelled to watch it – and boy did it shake me to the bone!

The movie starts out innocently enough. There’s a traumatized mother, still morning over the death of her daughter even though her husband and Nanny are to bring home her son from boarding school. The son, Joey, a brat in every sense of the word. We see him pulling a particular nasty prank at the institution before he leaves – of pretending to hang himself in his room to frighten one of the older women watching over the boys. You get the sense that even Joey is disturbed on some level, but the details don’t get discovered until later in the movie.

It’s when Joey sees Nanny that you get the impression that he really dislikes her. At first you just put it towards him being too old to have a Nanny and wanting to prove to his parents that he can be independent. He takes this to a new level when he returns home and refuses to use the new updated room they designed for him, instead taking the spare room that has a fire escape. He refuses to eat anything Nanny cooks, and even makes it clear that he doesn’t want to have Nanny in the bathroom when he’s taking a bath. At first his requests and attitude seem rude and mean, then again he at this early stage he just seems like a bratty kid.

You have to ask why the Nanny is there at all with a kid aged 10… but you see the mother having problems, unable to grasp her emotions, getting overly worked up and relying heavily on Nanny still at her age. We learn that Nanny not only serves Joey (and his late sister) but was also their mother’s Nanny too. There’s a connection that I can understand that the family wanted to keep her on as she’s part of the family.

Joey, in turn makes friends with a 14-year-old girl who lives on one of the top floors of the building. Her father’s a doctor, and she has this ‘Maniac Pixy Girl’ vibe going on. She smokes, flirts with older men and engages Joey in his accusations that his Nanny is a mean person and – lo and behold – trying to kill him. It’s an accusation both Nanny and his mother disregard and really begin to grow concern over Joey’s own mental state. It’s a paranoia that Joey refuses to have. It’s when Joey reveals how his sister died, even though the girl questions his truthfulness of it – you start to wonder if the Nanny is really out to get him after all.

Throughout the movie you’re questioning everything Joey says. He sounds like he’s making this up, but there’s a real fear in him whenever Nanny is around. You think he’s just being a brat but near the end of the movie the truth comes out…. In a devastating and suspenseful way. You learn what happened to Nanny that day the little sister died, the truth she had in the matter and her own attempts at hiding all she did – including trying to hush Joey up in a number of ways.

For a horror flick there’s no bloodshed, no maniac – well maybe one in this movie. Either way it’s a great build up with a disturbing ending regarding a Nanny whom people must trust with their children. For anyone who enjoys old movies and the old style of tension and build up, this movie is great to watch. I highly recommend it.

YA or NA?

I never thought I’d be debating this in my head.

After sending my Paranormal/Urban Fantasy off to a new editor I got an interesting exchange and an introduction to NA (New Adult). I’m now on the fence on how to proceed… the editor gave me the option of moving to NA and introducing more mature themes, including sexual themes or changing the entire setting to High School and keeping with the YA themes/style that it currently sounds like.

Currently my novel is set in a university with a freshmen (aged 18). I created this entire town/university with the idea of exploring themes of starting post-secondary school, creating a blank slate away from parents. It’s a huge moment in anyone’s life and I’m drawing on my own experiences when I moved away from home to start college years ago. But I don’t want to dive into romance or sexual relationships. It’s not the focus of my story which is still a Paranormal Mystery.

I guess I’m confused. Do I write what I like and ignore the market and the editor’s notes on the subject – or do I take her advice and restructure my story?

It also comes down to WHY does NA have to be about sex? Or my character reacting to others and their sexual lives? Couldn’t I focus on the evil spirit instead and deal with my character’s rough background and struggle to share with others her ability to see and interact with ghosts? Sure I have a romance going on the side, but throughout the story this relationship gets sabotaged and it ends on a rough note. It’s something I will deal with in the second book, but for now I want it to end on a more realistic note.

So you see my dilemma – I hope. I’m confused, frustrated and at a standstill until I discover what I want for my book.

Thankfully after talking to a few of my other fellow writers on a Facebook page they assured me that the NA genre isn’t as solidified as I first thought. That there are a few books under the YA genre that do take place in College/University – especially now when students are attending these facilities when they are still 17 & 18. I most likely will grow into some ’sexual’ content with my characters, they are reaching that age, but I don’t want to focus on it – unless I’m specifically writing erotica – which may happen in the future lol.

A question to all those Editors/Writers: How much do you take from your editor? If their advice doesn’t jive with you, do you ignore it and continue with what you want to do or do you give in and make the changes?

Utopian Plot – Maybe???

Some time ago I posted about the desire to write something of an utopian story. It’s been dancing around my head for a while, and I’ve brainstormed a few ideas – mostly what a utopian society would look like to me; what would it include, how would the people survive, and what would make it so ideal that to many it’s a paradise.

Tough questions that need answering. I think I’ve cemented my world, most of it. I have the utopia setting in the cities and how they work not only a self-reliant communities but also putting the focus on the good of the community/world and away from personal gain that would be the corrupting factor. Clean, reusable energy is used throughout the cities, and even in transportation – which I’ve limited to internal city trains/streetcars and external transport vehicles that ship excess material/food/technology to other cities. (I’ve basically got rid of the personal car and hop that everything inside the city can run on public transportation.)

I’ve also created a spark of a conflict. Not everyone in this futuristic time period would want to live in a utopian city – there are always rebels of some kind and thus they have branched off into their own network of towns but end up preying on the cities and their convoy’s, making leaving a city more dangerous and less likely to happen on a regular basis. Of course with futuristic technology and holo-displays/video chat, there’s little need to travel anyways lol.

But despite working out some groups and the basics of the world, I still lack a real plot or in particular a real conflict. I mean how can a utopia have conflict? My first idea of my main character being an outsider to the city, a scanner who works for those in the lower ends/underground markets may work, but it’ll show the darker belly of the utopia society, which would obvious exist, but I feel if I start with that, I’ll make the utopia sound more like a dystopia… or somewhere in between. I’m holding on to this idea, in the end it may take a form of an “Indiana Jones”, “Tomb Raider”, “Uncharted” story instead. Which can work, but I’ll need to work out my “McGuffin” first.

Originally I had an idea that I dismissed but is coming back to me now with new potential. I watched an anime called “My Lie In April” with a heart wrenching and tear draining ending. I loved the music theme and wondered if I can do something about it in a futuristic setting. In this story/plot, I have my main character as an overachiever with a musical talent that many applaud but she herself lacks the heart of playing. In this futuristic society children/teens are given career tests to help them focus on their future path, this MC has talents enough to pursue a life in music or a life in any other field. Her mother is pushing towards politics – like herself, impressing on her family name and tradition that helped formed this particular city into it’s utopian self.  The MC has no heart for either career path and is placed in a state of emo limbo on what to do with her life.

Her friends take her out one night, I’m thinking musical friends whom she competes with on the ‘orchestra’ stage, they take her to one of the underground pubs, somewhere they aren’t supposed to be (given age and status), where live bands perform. There they meet a band made up of Nomads from the last nomad convoy that arrived earlier that day. The lead singer/guitar player is full of life and energy that creates a spark in the MC. It is afterwards they discover they know one another from childhood when the guitar player girl and stayed in the city to complete a year of schooling before traveling back with her family. As they fill each other in on old times, the guitar girls asks the MC to play with them, which she refuses.

From here I have an idea of the MC learning to find the heart in her music with the help of the guitar girl, ending with a choice of following her friend as a nomad to sing at different city pubs for money, or to remain in the city. She could still play music but it won’t be the same without the guitarist. The conflict arises when her mother learns of these late night shenanigans and gives her an ultimatum about either staying in the city or leaving, if she leaves she’ll be disowned.

Perhaps a bit over-dramatic… but I feel the MC needs to make a tough choice on whether to follow her heart or stay the path that is safe and secure. I’m also not sure what type of music the MC would play; instrumental I would think the piano or maybe the violin, something sophisticated for orchestra/symphony use but could also transfer into a rock band. The second idea would be her own set of pipes or voice…

This story is still miles away from being written, and I doubt I’ll find time to research and fill in the blanks before this year’s nanowrimo, but I’d love to hear any feedback on my idea so far.  Also, any ideas on what your utopia would look like?

Plain Kate

Plain Kate
By Erin Bow

“PLAIN KATE lives in a world of superstitions and curses, where a song can heal a wound and a shadow can work deep magic. As the woodcarver’s daughter, Kate held a carving knife before a spoon, and her wooden charms are so fine that some even call her “witch-blade” – a dangerous nickname in a town where witches are hunted and burned in the square.

For Kate and her village have fallen on hard times. Kate’s father has died, leaving her alone in the world but for her cat, Taggle. And a mysterious fog now covers the countryside, ruining crops and spreading fear of hunger and sickness. The townspeople are looking for someone to blame, and their eyes have fallen on Kate.

Enter Linay, a stranger with a proposition: In exchange for her shadow, he’ll give Kate the means to escape the town that seems set to burn her, and what’s more, he’ll grant her heart’s wish. It’s a chance for her to start over, to find a home, a family, a place to belong. But Kate soon realizes that she can’t live shadowless forever – and that linty’s designs are darker than she ever dreamed.”

I’ve picked up this book from the author herself after listening to one of her talks set up by our local NaNoWriMo writing group. I enjoyed her talk and been meaning to read this book earlier – but you can guess how many books I have on my pile I need to read. It has also been a while since I read a YA book, I enjoyed the easy read and was able to get absorbed into the characters, setting and magic so easily. A great book with a strong heroine!

The story starts with a brief history of Plain Kate, how she received her nickname and her abilities as a carver. Able to carve before she could hold a spoon, she uses the knife as an extension of herself able to carve the charms the townspeople buy to protect their homes from dark magic and curses. Her relationship with her father, the carver of the town, is close and full of love. He teachers her to carve and she claims to be a master cover before she is twenty. But her father warns her of how people view her, a young girl with talent and skill with the knife is unusual and even at a young age many whisper ‘witch-blade’ behind her back. They believe her skill and talent is witchcraft. But Plain Kate decides to keep on carve despite the whispers and looks she receives. However, her peaceful life is short-lived when the town is overcome by a darkness, a fever that causes many to die – including her father.

Left alone, Plain Kate tries to keep her life moving by living in the town square in her father’s old stall, carving the charms that people need and are willing to buy. Not everyone in the town is against her, and she is able to make by for a couple of years. To help her with her loneliness is her cat Taggle, one of three kittens she found the first night she slept in her father’s stall.

Eventually a new wave of darkness and hard times approach the town Kate lives in, a fog that makes people sleep and never wake up. Soon, she is suspected again for being a witch. But before drastic measures are taken against her Linay enters the town, pale and white-haired, he offers her a deal, a way out of the town, her heart’s wish for her shadow. Eventually Kate gives in and he takes her shadow – and in exchange her heart’s wish comes true, her cat Taggle can talk.

Yup a talking cat which is the best thing in this book!

Plain Kate soon finds herself amongst a group of Roamers who takes her in. She carver her charms to sell in the next town they come across, she also begins to piece together the identity of Linay. She befriends a girl a little younger than her and for once Kate thinks she’s found a place to belong, but her shadow grows smaller, and soon she would be faced to tell them the truth of what she did. Before she can explain her true situation with the Roamers, the fog approaches them, and in the fog a being appears.

Leaving two of the Roamers on the verge of death, in the sleep that can’t be waken, Kate is assumed a witch and is burned – or tried to burn. She escapes and runs into the clutches of Linay once more. She pieces together the story, the revenge Linay has in store and why he needed her shadow. Appalled, Kate tries to stop him.

This story was so enjoyable to read, I loved Kate so much, her troubled life, her friendship with Drina, and even the feelings she had toward Linay, whom she blamed for a lot of her hardships. By the last three chapters I was crying my eyes out. Even though Kate is still just a young girl, maybe a teenager, she is compelled to save a town that burns witches. She is deterred to stop Linay from using her shadow to do harm to others. I find that admirable, and courageous.

I also extremely enjoyed the talking cat, Taggle. He gives the book a humours tone as he address situation as a cat would see, but also in humanistic ways. He gives Kate companionship that she desperately needs throughout the course of events.

Then there is the world, full of superstition and magic, the use of charms to ward these magics off, yet also condemning any sort of healing magic that might help them. It’s a fine line by the sounds of it. Despite much of the faceless people Kate comes in contact with, I like that there were still those who knew Kate and were willing to help her, to pay for her services and even give her stale bread or food if they had extra. The village we started in, you get the sense of community and you do get upset that despite growing up in the town Kate is still forced to leave it because of superstitions.

Overall, this book was an enjoyable read. I loved the characters so much and the magic in the world. For those looking for a light, fun read, I recommend this book. Let me know if you cry has hard as I did!

Ghost

Ghost
By Piers Anthony

Back Cover:
Starship Captain Shetland feels like a ghost on his on planet: Earth is an energy starved madhouse of compulsory sex and forced interbreeding, where eating meat and casting shadows are felonies – and spacers are hated as power “wasters”. In fact, Shetland’s life is dedicated to finding new energy for Earth – a search that takes him into deepest space. And deepest time. For Shetland is commander of the Meg 2, a time-ship assigned to explore the void beyond the universe. What Shetland and his crew find are – ghosts. First the ghost of the ship’s dead chemist. Then ghosts of dead planets, dead stars, dead nebulae. A galaxy-sized black hole – the ghost of a cosmos, the ghost of all reality… and beyond it, beyond the spectre of Time.. The most powerful, terrifying, malignant ghost of all…

It’s been my mission for some years now to get my hand on ‘classic’ sci-fi, authors I’ve missed reading growing up, who have mapped out much of the science fiction genre before my time. I’m not sure if Piers Anthony falls into that category or not, but when I picked up this paperback at a used book sale I felt drawn to it. Ghosts and Space – two of my favourite genres together in one book. I had no idea who Peirs Anthony was, or what this book will be like. Overall it was an interesting read, a little over my head in places once the crew and Shetland began talking about time, physics and other heavy science theories, but I managed to pull myself through the hard sci-fi moments to enjoy the storyline and plot behind everything.

The book follows Shetland, a Captain from the space program of Earth. Earth is in an energy starved state, getting to the point where all public transportation has shut down. People now have to travel by their own method to work, bikes, walking, or a new peddle driven aircraft bicycle hybrid. (It’s only in the beginning but I still can’t get that image out of my head). People grow wheat in their front yards instead of grass, and vegetable gardens in the back. Even eating animals, meat of any kind has become almost unheard off as too much energy is used in the process of killing, butchering and cooking meat. At first when I read this opening chapter about the way earth has become, I wondered if this was some sort of dystopian/utopian environment! I have to admit, the idea of it all intrigued me and made me wonder if such a lack of energy resources would really cause such a shift in social outlook. Because of this shift, there was no pollution, people were healthier. Any extra weight would single you out as a ‘waster’. What’s more is the introduction of the ‘Miscegenation Act’, where it now became illegal to have offspring with a person of the same race. A government way of destroying the ‘racism’, but it is later talked of how the Act really prevents people from having kids another ‘waste’ to the social environment.

Now, sex is prevalent in this new society, as long as it is voluntary, age doesn’t seem as big of an issue either. Yet, sex is now separate than reproduction, and those that break the law in the reproduction stage can be dangerous, not just to be an outsider of the society, but incarceration, or worst. Anthony’s futuristic earth has an interesting balance of someplace that could be for the better for the human race, while also having several issues that seem almost too big to deal with. All this description of Earth seems a bit off at first, given this is meant to be a story set in space, but all the issues from earth are still relevant as the story develops as many members of the crew are young and grew up in this new environment. They bring with them the issues that cause a lot of strife and stress that can be detrimental to their end goal.

Their goal, or Shetland’s goal in particular is use the new time-ship (yup we’re time traveling!), the Meg 2 and search for the remains or find out what happened to the crew of the Meg 1, previously sent out into the void of future space to find a pocket of energy that can be brought back and used on Earth. Now time travel in this novel is different from any others I’ve read. The group can only go forward in time, then back to their present in order to avoid any conflict with interaction with their own time stream, and to keep them on point as to not go too far in time one way or another a psychic is used to hone in and keep his mind on the beacon. The beacon is their connection back in their present time. It was when the beacon of the Meg 1 went out that they knew something went wrong. Now the beacon is delicate and because of the mental connection can be influenced by stress and emotion from other members on the ship.

I don’t want to give too much away in this story, there is a lot of science and theories passed around through this book that are all very interesting but slightly out of my level of understanding. A lot happens to Shetland as he and his team travel through time, millennia at a time and the void approaches. There are disruptions, flickers in the beacon and a death on a crew member that Shetland has to cover up for the sake of the beacon to get everyone home. Even that doesn’t because easy when they pass through the void and encounter the ghost of galaxies, their answer, but also their downfall.

From here on out, it gets confusing.

This ghost entity/matter they encounter can conform to their will, which they test out by creating a fictional, but not fictional animal out in space that comes alive with this matter. After that the ship falls away and every member of the crew interacts with the matter both consciously and subconsciously as it twists and forms into whatever the person wants. Castles, armour, food, a chessboard…

I told you it gets confusing, but still enjoyable.

I’ll leave the end for you to find out if you choose to read it, which I hope some of you do. It’s a interesting story and will make you think. The issues of race, sex and an energy crisis explored in this book is enough I think for everyone to read at least once. This has been the first sci-fi book I’ve read with a ‘black’ main character (Shetland), yet because of the issues surrounding race, it is important that is brought up in the beginning of the book, Anthony even goes into detail on race on each member of the crew to signify future issues that could arise.

Like I said, this book was a great read and I’m so happy to have found it. I turns out my boyfriend has other books by him on the bookcase, so I look forward to reading more of his books in the future.

One of those days…

… or months really.

I mean to say that despite a new growing deadline to finish the fourth draft of my Urban Fantasy/Paranormal by September – I have found myself working on outlines for other novel ideas. Some of my efforts are towards adding details to a first draft, prepping it for an overhaul of a re-write, while the rest of my efforts go back into a particular character that never leaves my mind.

*Sigh*

It seems my day job is finally starting to die down in hours and stress by July. I hope that means I’ll get into a better routine for writing. As it stands, being on my feet all day exhausts me and as much as my mind is ready to type, my body won’t let me most days. It doesn’t help that my schedule is all over the place. This is the first week that I’ve got the same hours 6 days in a row. Who knows, by Friday I may have tackled another few chapters if things continue as they are.

On a side note, I’ve discovered a new outlining program available on Amazon put together by an author named K. M. Weiland, called “Outlining Your Novel”. The program is based on her book of the same name. Basically instead of filling in the spaces she provides in the book, you now can create multiple projects, without working about filling out a book and having to buy a second. I’m new to her newsletters but find her articles and blog very interesting and helpful. I find this program a great way to put all those scattered bits and pieces of a novel idea together into one comprehensive outline. I’ve yet to see a project to completion, but I’m enjoying the steps i’m taking along the way.

As you can see, a new program means huge distraction from what’s really important. By inserting pieces of a past NaNoWriMo novel into it, I’ve found myself asking more questions and diving much deeper into the personality and characters of my story, not to mention working out a better structure for the all around plot. Let’s hope the second draft is much more organized and coherent than the first.

In other news I’m getting overwhelmed with games to play. I’ve been downloading a few games for my PC and there are so many for my PS3 and now PS4 I need to finish! Every time I feel that I’m satisfied, I find a new game that’s calling my name, or my boyfriend suggests one of his that I’ve never played before. Video Games are great for inspiration for me, but also a great distraction when time is already limited on my end.

Here’s a list of a few games I’m in the middle of:

PS3: The Force Unleashed, Deathspank, Final Fantasy 6, Life is Strange, Skyrim

PS4: Uncharted 4, Lego Avengers, the newest Star Ocean, Fallout 4

PC: Syberia 2, Knights of the Old Republic, Death in Paradise, The Falconers, Don’t Die Together, Stardew Valley

It’s a wide assortment of games, which I like but daunting at the same time. I’d love to finish a few first before starting something different, but doubt that’s going to happen. I should write out a few reviews though, some of these games are a lot of fun and would love to share my opinion of them. It’s my first time playing games like Fallout and Skyrim, so getting the hang of an open universe is problematic for me, so I’m sure my opinions of them my differ from everyone else.

It’s a lot to take in, but I hope I can find room to see to everything that’s on my plate. Summer has officially started, so maybe there’s a chance of moving my laptop outside for a few days. Will that help or be a further distraction? I have no idea. Take care and enjoy the nice weather!

Weight Loss Challenge – Update

Back in January, I posted about my goal this year to lose weight and become healthier. It’s been over five months and I’m proud to say that I’ve lost just over 18 lbs and 42% towards my ultimate goal. It’s been challenging and these past five months included a number of set backs, of gaining a pound here and there and struggling to keep on track.

What really seemed to help me out was when I started working again. This time, I’m not at a desk all day, but in retail – on my feet – for a good 8 hours. I tracked my steps and on average I was doing close to 20k steps a day – I’ve since changed departments and am in an outdoor Garden Centre doing even more running around. I haven’t clocked my steps there yet, because I’m worried about breaking my fit bit with all the stones and bags of mulch I have to haul around, but I should try to see if I’m getting more steps in now or not. But the point is, I’m much more active. Meaning I’m burning more calories. Unfortunately it also means I’m able to eat more….

I’m still working on my snacking and food portions. When I’m working I don’t need to worry so much as I’m burning most of it off, but when I’m not working I do try to make a conscious choice of eating lighter and not so much starch and fats. I’m trying but it’s hard when you’ve bought a bunch of unhealthy snack food and chocolate to help you overcome the stress of your day at work. I’m still a work in progress… but I have noticed a change and so have others.

I’ve gone down a pant size and I’ve also managed to go down another belt hole. People (my parents) noticed an impressive change in my face and neck where the excess fat/weight has disappeared – always the place I’m least worried about – but my waist is getting smaller so there is hope that I’ll get to my goal by the end of the summer. Of course the challenge continues on keeping the weight off once I’m there.

I’m quite happy with my results so far, and I’ll be sure to share any more positive updates in the future.