Alien Sick Days

Hi guys!

I’m convinced I need to change blogging to a day other than Wednesday. Every time Wednesday rolls around something rolls in with it that annihilates my ability to put together a proper blog post. 

Overdramatic, you say? There are far more dramatic people in the world than me. I assure you. 

I’ve been fighting a migraine since Lorie was born. I thought it was from the spinal, but the doctor says it shouldn’t last that long, and figures it’s my hormones. Her solution was to “force the migraine out of my body.” Like I’ve got some kind of alien parasite or something. 

We tried a couple rounds of prescription meds with no success, so yesterday they had me come in for IV fluids and more meds to perform the exorcism—I mean migraine purge. 

Wonderfully, it seems to have worked and I’m currently headache free. Which is really saying something because since I got home last night my body has been conspiring to cause me as much stress as possible. 

Such as the fact that my left eye swelled up like a balloon. Not even joking. It was nearly shut, my eyelashes disappeared, I couldn’t close the eye without it putting massive pressure on my eyeball. I spent the whole night looking like a cyclops. Or maybe more like a banished fire nation prince. Because the rest of me was still pretty. 

Went to sleep only to wake up two hours later with massive stomach flu problems. Pretty much camped out in the bathroom from midnight to five, and then snagged about an hour of sleep before everyone woke up and needed attention. 

To top that off, my eye is still swollen. If it sticks around much longer I’ll have to develop an interesting backstory for it. Because “it randomly blew up and I have no idea why” isn’t all that epic. 

One thing is certain. I am thankful for the Nick Jr channel, the fact that newborns sleep all the time, and that the alien migraine seems to have found a different host. 

All gifs from Google

The State of the Realms

Hello everyone! 

Still no baby, just in case you’re one of the people who keeps asking me. I promise, I will announce when she is born. I will not be waiting weeks to mention it. 

In a random burst of inspiration (nesting hormones?) I’ve been madly revising The Mad Hatter. 

I’m actually pretty much certain it’s the nesting hormones driving this effort. Which is a double edged sword. On the one hand, its spurred me to add multiple new chapters and beef up the word count, working my way to the halfway point in about five days. 

On the flip side of that though, there have been multiple times where I was just about to dive into a new scene when suddenly I was struck by an inescapable need to wash all of the baby clothes and fold and put them all away. Now. 

It’s been a bit of a rollercoaster. 

Things are progressing nicely though. In the most exciting news, it received a new title. The Mad Hatter is now The Queens Three. 

Which brings me to the next notable change: Bunny and the Queen of Ravens now each have their own points of view in the story. 

It’s been super fun and super difficult to dive into each of their personalities and give them distinct voices and reveal more of what makes them tick. It’s not perfect, but I’ve gotten some good feedback and can’t wait to flesh them out even more. 

It’s really fun getting to spend more time in the fae realm (which needs a real name) through them. 

Molly’s boyfriend, Matt, got a new name. He’s currently Brett. There were too many M names running around the place. I’m not sure Brett is the winner though, so it might change again before I’m through. 

The word count is creeping up. Not quite where I want it, but it’s definitely improving. 

One thing that’s been a relief (and worrisome) is I haven’t found any major plot holes or useless threads. A few clarifications and tweaks yes. But gigantic glaring issues? No. It’s rather strange. 

But then again, it comes with the territory. 

One Baby To Rule Them All

Hey guys! 

Do you ever get into one of those ruts where you want to accomplish SO MUCH that you actually don’t accomplish much at all?

That’s kind of my life right now. I just have this weird feeling of urgency. Like I need to get everything done right this instant. But in the last week or so my body has also decided it’s actually pregnant. I’m kind of at baby girl’s mercy, and I just have zero energy. 

Basically, all I want to accomplish is edit Mad Hatter perfectly in one fell swoop, slap out the entire draft of Viking, read like eighteen books, clean the house, make all the decor,  listen to my music, get some sleep, and eat all the snacks. 

What I’ve actually done is not read a single book in months (except a smidge of beta reading, which was very fun), not touched the Viking document at all, ate a few snacks and then puked them back up, listened to Barney sing the same stinking song over and over, and have a Hobbit and Lord of the Rings marathon, thereby ruining any chance of sleep. 

Can we talk for a second about the awesomeness of Viggo Mortensen? The man is a phenomenal actor, that’s all there is to it. 

One thing I did manage to accomplish though is reaching the halfway point—maybe a smidge over—of my Mad Hatter edits, in three days. Which is kind of terrifying me, because it feels way too easy, and I’m liking how it’s turning out, so I’m absolutely convinced that I missed something horrifically obvious. Probably due to lack of sleep. 

Really kinda sorta ready for baby girl to arrive. Not that it will help much in the sleep department. But I should be able to move a bit better.

Sorry for the ramble. One does not simply blog while pregnant and sleep deprived. 

Another Month Bites the Dust

So....it’s November already. I’m kind of in shock. 

Have things gone according to plan? Absolutely not. Has everything under the sun happened in the space of three hours? No, but it feels like it. 

What went on:

October brought two trips to the pumpkin patch, which was super fun. My sisters took a bunch of pictures of me that I’m assured were super cute, but they haven’t actually sent any of them. So just know, I looked stunning. 

Harvest was completed! It was a little rough. Things weren’t great due to some of the weather mishaps that struck early this year, but they could have certainly been worse, and we’re all glad to have the corn in the bin instead of buried in a snow bank. 

It did snow. Only a skiff of it, that melted in a day, but Henry was thrilled with it. 

My mother in law came for a week and we worked on painting the ranch house we plan to move into. There’s still a ton to do, but I’m so thankful for all of her help, and I’m hopeful we will be moving in the near future. 

I was supposed to finish my line edits of Blood and Dust in October, but alas, I did not. I’m close though. Should be finished this week and I can put together the new and improved synopsis and proposal. 

Karen was here for Halloween, so she got to enjoy trick or treating with Henry. We only made it to about ten houses before the grumpy little pirate got cold, but that was more than enough candy for me and him to share. 

My oven, can opener, hot water heater, and bathroom fan all quit at the same time. I was thinking I should write a survival manual or something, but my secrets aren’t that great. Call the electrician. Buy a manual can opener. And make sure you have all the extra kitchen appliances. Electric griddle, toaster oven, crock pot, instant pot—get it all. Can’t go wrong with microwaveable food either. Well you can, but you know. Survivalists can’t be picky. 

My sisters came over for a Halloween sleepover. We watched Shutter Island and The Woman In Black. Both excellent, edge of your seat movies, with terrible, throw up your hands and scream into the void endings. 

I don’t even know. It feels like everything came crashing down in October and now everything is hanging in limbo November, waiting to see what happens next. 

I’m not doing NaNoWriMo. I had planned to work on Mad Hatter for it, but like I said—things didn’t go according to plan. 

I’m ready for Thanksgiving. I don’t even know why, I just know I’m ready for it. Comfort food. 

I also want to sleep for a week, but no one can seem to accommodate that. 

Oh well. Such is life, I guess. 

My dad and sister both have birthdays coming up this month, and I’m trying to find birthday presents, but apparently what I want to get doesn’t exist, oh and by the way, Christmas shopping is coming up too and I’ve got no time and money so if someone could just put me out of my misery, please and thanks. 

Current Mood: 

The Book Spooktacular Linkup

Hi guys! 

Thank you to everyone who promoted and took part in my giveaway last week! 

The lucky winner is Jennylyn G! 

Ink Calamities and The Mad Dragon Hatter are having a blog tour this month called the Book Spooktacular and the first is a linkup of all the fall things. 

It looks like fun, and you can join the linkup on both of their blogs. 

Today I’m joining in and answering their autumn infused questions—though I’ll warn you, it’s going to be unorthodox. 

The Autumn List

1) movie with all the autumn vibes

So...I can’t actually think of one. But the movie I start craving come autumn time is Centennial. It’s a 24 hour mini series, and my family always watched it in the winter, but I’ve been pushing my viewing date up earlier and earlier every year. 

2) song that you associate with autumn

The Best Day by Taylor Swift 

3) book with ghosts

Christina’s Ghost by Betty Ren Wright terrorized me as a little kid. I loved it, and read it probably fifty times. 

4) scariest movie you've seen

Lights Out. Practically slept with the lights on, and turned on every single light in the office at work the next day. 

5) the best autumn quote

I’m so glad I live in a world where there are October’s —Anne of green gables.

6) book cover with all the autumn vibes

An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson. Those colors.

7) your favorite candy of the season

Peanut butter cups. Always. 

8) movie or book with themes on death and rebirth

Uh...let me look at my shelves. I don’t grasp themes easily you guys...I got nothing. My bookshelves are too young adult and straightforward. The Bourne Identity. Everyone thought he died. He comes back and makes life interesting for everyone. That’s obviously a death and rebirth theme. 

9) Youtube channel you associate with autumn

To be honest I haven’t kept up with a YouTube channel since 2013. 

10) your favorite fall beverage

Apple Cider!! Down with pumpkin spice! Anarchy!!!

So there you have it. My take on all things autumn. Hop on over to the participating blogs to read much better answers than mine. 

The Girl The Sea Gave Back- book review

Hello all! 

It’s time for mass celebration, because I actually remembered that Wednesday is blogging day. 

Today I’m going to review The Girl The Sea Gave Back by Adrienne Young. I just finished it last night, and I’m just a little bit lost on what I’m supposed to do with myself now. 

This is the companion novel to Sky in The Deep. It takes place in the same world, with many of the same characters, but ten years later. Here is the blurb. 

For as long as she can remember, Tova has lived among the Svell, the people who found her washed ashore as a child and use her for her gift as a Truthtongue. Her own home and clan are long-faded memories, but the sacred symbols and staves inked over every inch of her skin mark her as one who can cast the rune stones and see into the future. She has found a fragile place among those who fear her, but when two clans to the east bury their age-old blood feud and join together as one, her world is dangerously close to collapse.

For the first time in generations, the leaders of the Svell are divided. Should they maintain peace or go to war with the allied clans to protect their newfound power? And when their chieftain looks to Tova to cast the stones, she sets into motion a series of events that will not only change the landscape of the mainland forever but will give her something she believed she could never have again—a home.

I’m going to give this book four stars. 

The story was there. I loved the twists and turns it went on, and the characters were great. What the blurb doesn’t tell is that we actually get to be in Halvard’s (Fiske’s younger brother) point of view for half of the book. It was an interesting dynamic and I loved how distinct the two voices were. Tova’s perspective was full of eloquent words, deep analogies, and nature references, where Halvard’s voice was much more straightforward and to the point. It was very fun seeing the different details each of them picked up as important. 

I thought the plot worked really well, especially the big twist right at the end. Really there were only a couple minor things holding this book back from being a five star for me, and maybe they’re just personal preference. 

It was a little bit harder to read. Besides having alternating viewpoints, it also jumped around to different years and places, so I had to slow down and pay attention a bit more to where I was. It made sense though. There was no head-hopping or anything that heinous, just a different style that I had to think about a little more to comprehend what was going on. 

Some of the things with world-building confused me. I know she probably didn’t have the idea for this book while writing Sky in the Deep, but there were aspects of the magic and culture that were never mentioned in Sky, and yet everyone knew them in this book. It just felt a little disconnected, because a lot of it was never explained through the eyes of a character who was just learning these things, so I didn’t really understand it all. 

I had one issue with Tova, in that her excuse for the whole book was that she didn’t know these bad things were going to happen. Which was odd to me, because the instant the Svell wanted her to cast the stones, I knew what outcome they wanted, and I knew they were going to act on it and kill people. I don’t really see how she couldn’t have known that. If there would have been just a line or thought as she was casting the stones to clear up her confusion about it, it would have been much more believable. 

This probably seems like a negative review, but I promise, it’s not. All of these things were actually very minor in the grand scheme of the story. The plot and characters all came together nicely, and I was thrilled to get to see a bit of Fiske and Eelyn again (even though it wasn’t nearly enough. Never enough Fiske). 

It was fun to be in characters heads who weren’t battle thirsty. One thing that was so gripping about Sky was that everyone was after blood. The Girl The Sea Gave Back takes that same culture, but flips it to a different perspective, and that gives the whole book a fresh, yet familiar atmosphere that was super fun to read.

As far as content goes, there wasn’t much. Nothing sexual at all, no language, and very little detailed, gruesome violence. They fight, sure, but there weren’t many gritty details. Like with Sky, there is talk about gods and prayers and sacrifices. I personally don’t mind as long as it’s in a world that isn’t our own, but for others who disagree, know it’s in there. “The gods” actually play a much more active role in this book than they did in Sky, which was a bit odd to read, but it worked out. Other than that the book was squeaky clean. 

Hopefully this review hasn’t scared you off from reading the book. It was good. It was worth the read, and I’ll be reading it again. The main issue was I went in with preconceived notions based on what Sky in the Deep had been like. The Girl The Sea Gave Back is a totally different style and angle, and once I came to grips with that I was able to plow through the book and love every second of it. Give it a try! 

Have you read Sky in the Deep or The Girl The Sea Gave Back? What did you think? What good books have you read lately? I need a cure for a book hangover. 

The Best of Friends

 

This post could be more aptly titled: The Value of Great Non Judgmental Friends When You’re an Angry Little Troll.

 

But that would have been too long.

 

First of all, I very much am an angry little troll, and I do have fantastic friends who don’t judge. They’re great to have.

 

There you go, end of the post.

 

No, but seriously. Yesterday was an off day for me, and I still haven’t entirely got it out of my system. It all started on Monday, to be honest, when I saw the announcement on Facebook that someone I thought I’d never have to see again was coming back to my town. (This is why my husband says Facebook sucks. I can’t exactly argue in times like these.) Seeing that post rankled with me, but I wasn’t exactly in troll mode yet. I talked to my buddy Michaela on Snapchat that day, and we didn’t even have to talk about the bubbling hostility brewing in me. We talked about life, and babies, and I felt instantly better and made it through the day.

Enter Monday night.

I dreampt that I encountered that person in Walmart, and they started trying to visit with me, and said we should hang out. To which I responded:

I’ve forgiven you enough to not kill you on sight, but we are never going to hang out again.

Charming, am I right?

Which led to said dream character asking what they’d done to me, and me reading them a riot act on what indeed, and resulted in them throwing a punch and me taking them down, tearing out their hair extensions, and being arrested by Walmart personnel.

…..

I woke up from that furious.

I know it was a dream, but it was so close to reality I couldn’t shake it.

Then I started going over our budget for January and preparing February’s and a few things from that were being a thorn in my side, as is usually the case with money. It just runs through your fingers like water, no matter how hard you try to grip it.

Then the dear husband came home at noon and casually mentioned a few things that have been ongoing with his work for a long time now, and that was the tipping point.

I turned into a troll.

I managed to keep my cool on it until he was out of the house, because he can’t handle his dearly beloved transforming into a hideous wart infested creature before his eyes.

At which point I hopped on the Marco Polo app. If you don’t know, it’s a video chat app that lets you record a video as long as you want and send it to someone. Like snapchat without the time limits, and no typing. It’s great because you can just get all your words out with no interruptions. I literally probably ranted into that screen for an hour, and sent it to my friend Victoria.

She responded pretty fast, and didn’t tell me I was being a troll. She told me she got it, and a few of the ways she could relate, and that sometimes she turns into a troll too (Ok, she didn’t use those words, but).  It was lovely, and the conversation was able to shift to Valentine’s Day and more pleasant topics.

After that I was feeling much better, but still a little cantankerous. There were still a few stubborn warts that hadn’t faded.

So I texted my doppleganger Lana. She’s the tall Minnesotan version of me, or I’m the short Nebraskan version of her, we haven’t quite decided, but we essentially think with the same mind.

When I text Lana a rant session, my phone literally converts it to a document to send to her.

She loves it, which is good, because I don’t think it will ever stop.

She called me a little later and after saying hello, asked if I’d wanted to kill anyone lately.

“Every day,” I said reverently. “But I’ve refrained all year.”

“I am so proud of you.”

And then the conversation took off, and we talked about everything under the sun, from meal planning, the similarities between how we treat her dog and my son, and being adults.

We came to the conclusion that it’s a strange thing how it seems like minute ago we were fourteen years old and hated everyone, listening to our screamo music, and wearing strange outfits, to now.

For the record, we still hate mostly everyone, but I have a husband and child, and she’s moved to a completely different state and has her own house.

Yet we still feel like fourteen year olds.

We’ve now scheduled weekly phone rant sessions, so we don’t drain our batteries down so bad, trying to recap everything that’s happened in the months since we’ve talked.

All of this pointless rant to say that my friends are the best. They let me vent to them and be insane, and get worked up about a dream, and they didn’t say I was being irrational. They waited until I was in a stable frame of mind before they told me to just trust God and pray about it. (Great advice, but ill received when I’m in troll mode)

My dear sweet son was up until one this morning, so it’s incredibly likely I’ll be making the rounds with these wonderful friends at some point today, because when I’m this tired, the troll king reigns supreme.

I know I should technically be the troll queen, but there are no dazzling images of that. Who wants to look at that?

 

And I mean, lets be honest, who doesn’t like a little Jareth now and then? Even if he is technically a goblin, not a troll.

 

The moral of the story? I don’t know. Facebook is bad.  Dreams aren’t real. If you’re gonna be a troll, at least get some friends who know to feed you crackers till you come down. You won’t regret it.