It's A Twister!

Hi all! Brookie was awesome enough to do a character interview with me over at her blog. You can check it out here if you'd like.

Now, on to my blog post.

Today is the anniversary of a gigantic storm that hit here a while back, and it's shaping up to be some really terrible weather (might keep my friends and sister in your prayers, as the camp does not have a storm shelter).

As a writer I have some weird quirks. I talk about people who don't exist as if they do. I spend a lot of time talking about MC's, WIP's, POV's and other strange abbreviations. And I often suffer from lack of sleep because "my muse won't go to sleep".

I've also got a severe weather escape plan that is a lot different from everyone else's.

I have a tornado bag.

Yep.

Do you know what that is?

You guessed it.

A bag that I bring with me to the basement when we think a tornado is going to hit.

 

In the past this bag had a lot of CD's, books, posters, and special t-shirts all packed into it so tight  that I probably would be too weighed down by it to make it to the basement (the doors are outside of the house), but the tornado couldn't lift me up anyway.

As I've gotten older and more insane in my writing it's evolved into holding thumb drives, tablets, folders, sketchbooks and journals. The thumb drives have all of my short stories on them, and my two novels that are actually finished. But I only have paper versions of all of my current stories, not to mention all of the stories I wrote when I was younger.

Since there is no way in heck I could ever re-create them if a tornado tore through my house and scattered them across the country side, that also means there is no way in heck I will ever leave the house without them.

Sometimes I still try to fit a t-shirt, book, or CD in there if I think there is room, but I restrict it to the autographed ones now. Sadly, I can't fit my guitar in a backpack. And I don't think my mom will let me keep it down there year round. If she gave in on that front I'd probably just move my whole bedroom down there and then there would be no room for us when the storm hit.

It's a daunting task trying to get just the papers in there.

I have to convert this-

(there are two shelves like this actually)

 

Into this-

It doesn't zip at all when I'm finished. I leave it at the bottom of the staircase so I don't fall on the way down and get crushed under the weight. So, if you hear about bad weather tonight, you know exactly what I'm doing.

 

Semi-Blue Summer

It rained last night and so everything is green out, but I'm feeling a little bit blue. Just a tad.
Minion 1 is heading off for a week of fun insanity at Bible camp. And I won't be going with her. I'm too old to go this year.

 It really stinks graduating a year early because then all your 18 year old friends are still going to proms and camps and what-not and you're here like "I'm the same age as you, but no one will let me come because I'm in college".
There is a chance I will be helping lead the music during one of the weeks of camp this month and I'm really hoping that works out because I'll get to see some of my younger-still-in-highschool buddies.

So what does all that mean for me? It means I'll probably have to mow the lawn while she's gone. And I'll have to do her chores. And it means me and Minion 2 will have to find something to talk about, because Minion 1 is always our main girl. The Minions talk to each other (middle child on down) and The Gang talks to each other (Middle child on up).
 I'm sure she's going to have fun though. She's all fired up for her first year of being able to take part in paint ball wars, and senior camp always gets really cool speakers and extra activities to do that the younger, larger groups don't get to.
We're trying to squeeze a little more work out of Minion 1 before she heads off for a week of laziness. We've got some cows to move this morning as soon as I get her home from a doctor appointment. (If you or your siblings are going to camp with her this week, don't freak. It's only a cold)

Why is it that when kids get older they're suddenly thrown out the door on their own? I'm not talking about literally kicked out of the house to live alone, but I mean more of in society's eyes. For those of you who are graduated, you know what I'm talking about. We turn 18 and suddenly we're out of youth group. Out of Sunday school. Out of camp. Out of all the teenage groups that there are. Why is that? To me it seems like the most crucial part of our lives. We're old enough to do some things now. We need to have some help making these decisions about college and relationships and careers. But we're suddenly an island. Our support group of friends that we used all through those pimple infested young teen years is suddenly gone. Adults made sure we had people to interact with and talk to when we were first becoming teenagers. Why not when we're first becoming adults? The second one is a lot more scary in my opinion. The stakes are so much higher at this point. Do people forget that there is a transition in there? We don't feel like adults yet. But we really don't feel like kids anymore either. Don't throw us out in the deep end. Let us wade in. With some buddies.
My mom and dad have talked about this several times and have talked about trying to help me find some stuff we can do. So far we haven't, but I've got a few ideas I'm going to try to push through this summer and fall.

I guess that's my rant for the day. You might be happy to know that Maggie slept through the whole night without trying to get in the tent at 2:30 in the morning, and she is a compulsive chewer, and likes to play tug of war. She has started chasing cats instead of running away from them and the pig by the barn still scares her. She saw her first cow the other day and didn't like that very much.

Because of two nights of rain, there is several inches of water in my tent so I've been forced to sleep inside this weekend. Despite the suffocating heat in my bedroom, I have been getting a lot of writing done. I would venture to say Blaze is 99% done, and I'm 50% done typing it onto the computer for my wonderful beta readers to receive.

This week while Minion 1 is gone I'll be working on riding my 3 year old horse Flint, and getting him ready for his first year at the county fair. Saturday I have a 4-H shooting match (my first ever) so I'll be practicing for that as well. I'm not very good at shooting clays that are going left to right yet. But I'm getting there. Every other position the clays get shattered, so I'm close.

Goodbye for now! Enjoy your Monday.

Lazy Blog Post

There's another contest going on over at Teen Words of Steel and since all the entries have been turned in, I thought I'd share mine with you. (You can vote on them if you're a follower of the blog. I think there's three entry's, and I really like the other two) They gave us three prompts to work with, same as last time, so you guys can click the link if you want to see them.

Life is crazy busy, so I apologize to my non-writer followers for just tossing out hoards of pictures and writing stuff. I've been kind of running around like a chicken with my head cut off (did you know they run when their head gets cut off? You have to chase them around with a fish net to catch them, and sometimes they chase you!) and haven't been able to nail down a solid blog post topic about normal life. I will hopefully get one this week though.

Also, an official hi and thank you goes out to my four google+ followers. I nearly fell out of my chair when I opened up blogger and the number had jumped from 1 to 4.

 

                                                                     ......I mean,

Anyway, here is my entry:

Water. Water everywhere. All around her. Inside her lungs. Salara forced her eyes open, surprised at the clearness of it around her. Currents pressed against her and she moved her arms and legs, trying to stabilize herself so she could get her bearings. Below her was black shimmering darkness, above her, white light. She kicked, propelling herself upward. She needed to get up there. She knew that. No panic came with the knowledge. The water swelled underneath her and she broke free of the surface. Coughs shook her and she forced air into her lungs. There was a beach just ahead. She swam for it, her feet finding sand. Her dress was heavy as she stumbled out of the shallows.
“Salara!”
She turned to see Tanner running down the shoreline. There was none of the blood and pain she’d last saw him in. A smile broke across her face and she hurried to meet him. “Hi!”
He barely skidded to a half and pulled her into a hug. “You took forever.”
She snorted playfully. “It’s only been…”She squinted. “Two years?”
“Seems like eternity.” He shrugged and released his hold on her.
She smirked and ran her eyes over him. “You don’t look so angelic.”
“That’s because I’m a saint, not an angel.” He tapped her forehead. “You should know that.”
She giggled and he grinned crookedly. “How’s come it had to be drowning? I mean, of all the ways to die, you drown?”
Salara looked sheepish. “I didn’t mean to.”
He shook his head with fake graveness. “Seems pretty horrible.”
“I don’t remember.” She tipped her head and looked out at the water. It seemed to stretch on forever.
Tanner stepped to her side and pointed out at it. “See the stars?”
She grinned when she saw the winking lights and hanging constellations suspended in the inky blackness on the surface. She craned her neck up toward the sky but Tanner shook his head.
“They’re not reflecting. They’re down there, underneath. We’re just on the other side.”
She stared in awe until he turned her back toward the land. On the horizon, she thought she could see the outline of buildings, shining blindingly in the light. Tanner slung an arm around her shoulders. “Enough gawking at the stars. Come meet their boss.”

I Know This Girl Named Maggie Mahoney

Ladies and Gentleman!  Boys and Girls! I present to you,

Maggie!

Fattest, cutest, most energetic tub of six week old red heeler pup you can find.

 

She just got here Tuesday night, all the way from St. Joseph, Missouri.
Since then she has managed to spend two nights in the tent with us (only one of which was planned).
The first night, we put her in the box where she immediately conked out and we thought sleeping would be a cinch. At 2:30 AM, she woke up and started racing laps around the tent, so we put her in her dog box in the barn.

Last night we had her sleep outside of the tent. She didn't like it at first (she crawled under the tent, under my back), but she went to sleep pretty quick. Sometime late (I had turned off my ipod, so I don't know the time) she started crying and bouncing off the door, so I let her in. She wouldn't sleep in the box, so I let her sleep next to me. She's just like a toddler. You roll over and she gets up and snuggles closer. I had to make sure not to squish her all night.

In the morning she wanted to tussle (I'm assuming that's why she was gnawing on my hand and blankets, cause she sure didn't want to go outside), so I played with her till I got tired then put her outside again.

She already comes to her name, and barks at cars when they pull into the driveway. She's been going with us all over to check cows and fix fence. Me and the minions had a horse judging competition yesterday (got pretty purple ribbons, our team places third, and Minion 2 got fourth place at only her second time judging), and our coach was all upset we didn't bring her with us. I didn't know we could bring a dog to judging. ^-^ She doesn't like the chickens yet. They scare her.

        Her ears flop when she runs           She's not too sure about the cement pig      or the cats. They're terrified of  her

Needless to say, the entire family are happy campers.

 

If you'd like an explanation for the title click....here

Book Review- The Scorch Trials

After weeks of trying to read, I finally got this book done. Minion 1 is already trying to talk me into reading the next book in the series, but I thought I'd better share my thoughts on this one first. (and I've got a list of other books I want to read first.)

Here's the blurb from Goodreads:

Solving the Maze was supposed to be the end. 
Thomas was sure that escape from the Maze would mean freedom for him and the Gladers. But WICKED isn’t done yet. Phase Two has just begun. The Scorch.
There are no rules. There is no help. You either make it or you die.
The Gladers have two weeks to cross through the Scorch—the most burned-out section of the world. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them. 
Friendships will be tested. Loyalties will be broken. All bets are off. 
There are others now. Their survival depends on the Gladers’ destruction—and they’re determined to survive.

Oh boy. How to rate this thing? I'll go ahead and give it four hearts.

♥♥♥♥

This book topped Maze Runner for scary moments. And it could very easily be described as a roller coaster. Every chapter led you up to a disaster, and then backed off. Then you'd start the next chapter all ready for the worst to happen. Sometimes it didn't. Most of the time it did.
There were a lot of twists and turns in the plot. Some of which I called early on. Some caught me totally by surprise.
Some characters I started out hating, I ended up loving. Others I grew to hate even worse. Some characters I thought I loved I found out I despise.
It can go on the shelf section marked Cliff Hanger Ending, but I suppose that's acceptable since it's part of a series.
It's a very nerve wracking book to read. Always trying to outguess the insane characters (or should it be the insane author? I don't know. Either way, it was done brilliantly)
The descriptions of things like Cranks, lighting storms, and metal blob monsters were flat out creepy.
Made the reader want to check the ceiling for any silver goo.
I know it may sound like it, but I'm not dissing this book at all. If you like to be tension filled, and scared out of your wits every four pages (the chapters are only 4-6 pages long, so you get plenty of excitement and anxiety attacks throughout the book) it's a great book to read. I liked that aspect of it even better than the Maze Runner. And yes, I am going to read the last book, even though I keep telling Minion 1 it's not going to happen. I got to get a little fun out of the mental torture don't I?

Leibster Award

Ahh!!! I've been nominated for the Leibster Award! (Sorry, I'm really excited) I've been reading other peoples version's of it for years and always thought "I'd like to do that" and now it's happening!! Thanks Brooke Faulkner for nominating me. The rules for this Award are as follows:


Thank and link back to the person who nominated you
List 11 facts about yourself
Answer the 11 questions asked by the blogger who nominated you
Nominate 9 bloggers who have fewer than 200 followers (you can’t nominate the blogger who nominated you)
Ask them 11 questions
Let them know about the nomination.

So here are the 11 facts about me.

1. My bedroom has no less than 19 posters in it.
2. I have been accused of biting the dentist and threatening to scratch the doctor- neither of which are true.
3. I am getting a new puppy on Monday or Tuesday!!
4. I really, really wish I was born with an older brother.
5. I believe dragons and unicorns were real at one time in history.
6. I'm only five feet tall :(
7. My shoes size is TEN!
8. I will only sleep on the left hand side of the bed. No exceptions.
9. I chew gum all the time, except when I'm nervous.
10. I really love to do eye makeup on myself and anyone else who will let me.
11. I get in trouble for reading all the time.

And here are the 11 questions I'm supposed to answer.

1. Do you like Nutella?
 I loooove Nutella. Never even tasted it till last year, but now I love it. Don't keep it on hand though :(

2. How many animals do you have?
   Well, I have like 8 farm cats, my new puppy is on the way, six horses, two cows that are mine personally- but there's a whole herd I help take care of.

3. Rock or classical?
 Rock. Every time.

4. What time period do you wish you had been born in?
 In the 1800's. Either around the Civil War, or else like Westward Migration. I also think the Great Depression was a cool era. Hobo's fascinate me...

5. Have you ever kissed a chipmunk?
 Never even seen one.

6. Would you rather eat and write inside or outside?
That all depends if it's windy or not. Usually I like to eat inside because of pets. But I like to write outside as long as my pages aren't blowing all over. I'll do both anywhere though ;)

7. Have you ever thrown your mashed potatoes up against the wall?
Maybe.....

 8. Which hero would you like to have save you and/or marry you?
Murtagh!!! Or like...superhero? If we're talking superhero's, I'm gonna have to go with Iron Man. Just to save me though. Not marry.

 9. Have you ever watched Jonah or The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything (VeggieTales)?
I've only seen Jonah once or twice, but I love(d) The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything. I have the Relient K version of the song on my ipod ^_^

 10. Chocolate or cheese?

11. What is your favorite genre to write/read?
 That is so hard to answer. I go through phases in what genre I read? Like each season. A few months out of the year I only read western, then I only read dystopia, or fantasy. I guess my tops are dystopia, fantasy, and western. I like to write fantasy/midevil and contemporary, but I'm really trying to experiment in most of the genre's right now.

I only have seven bloggers I follow that have less than 200 followers, so here they are.

I nominate-

1. Bethany from The Ramblings of a Young Author http://ramblingsbybethany.blogspot.com/2014/05/dear-mr-knightley-book-review.html
2. Rachel from The Inkpen Authoress http://inkpenauthoress.blogspot.com/
3. Gillian from Of Battles, Dragons, and Swords of Adamant. http://ofbattlesdragonsandswordsofadamant.blogspot.com/2014/05/orphans-songgood-news-on-publishing.html
4. Sarah from Inklined  http://inklinedwriters.blogspot.com/
5. Skye from Ink Castles http://skyehoffert.blogspot.com/
6. Andrea from Fantasies and Fountainpens http://fantasiesandfountainpens.blogspot.com/
7.Georgianna from Before my pen has gleaned http://georgiepenn.blogspot.com/

My questions are:
1. If you could only read, or only write, which one would you choose?
2. What is your favorite kind of pop?
3. Tablet or keyboard?
4. Favorite book you've read this year?
5. Do you have pets?
6. Ever rode a horse?
7. Something crazy you would like to do someday.
8. Do you like to draw?
9. Country or Rock?
10. Do you like sports?
11. Where is the farthest you have traveled from home?

Writing Contest Entry

The gals over at Teen Words of Steel are awesome enough to be hosting a writing contest. They gave us three prompts to work on (you can click on the link to see them), and a 600 word limit. This is what I came up with :)

Mia peeked out the stable door, eyes searching for any movement. Behind her, the gray mare blew through her nostrils.

“Don’t like me, do ya?” Mia glanced back at her, speaking softly. “Let’s go, girl.”
She stepped through the door into open space and started for the clump of trees, some three hundred yards off. She walked briskly, tugging on the lead, narrowing her eyes at the amiable plodding of the mare. “C’mon horse.”
“Don’t even bother.”
Mia turned quickly, right into the grip of a town officer. “Let go!” She yanked back and dropped the lead, taking off, only to be dragged to the ground. Leather straps pulled tight around her wrists, biting into her skin as she thrashed.
“Just stop fighting. You know the drill.”
She scowled and staggered to her feet as he pulled her up. “Yeah. You haul me off for Q&A time.”
The officer didn’t respond, just pulled her down the gravel lane in to town. Within minutes, Mia was pushed through the documentation process. There was nothing to update. She’d been in there just last week. The officer let her into a questioning room and she took a seat at the table. A good twenty minutes passed before another officer came in.
“Why is it always you?” He sighed.
“Good morning to you too, Jeffrey.” She rolled her eyes.
He sat down across from her. “What are you doing here?”
She shrugged and tipped back on the chair legs. “I think it’s cozy here.”
“Mia.” He said sternly.
She frowned at him. “He caught me trying to steal a horse.”
“Why?” He leaned forward.
“Because she’s slow and stubborn.”
“No. Why were you trying to steal a horse?”
She let the chair come down with a crack. “To ride away on.”
He looked at her a long minute. “This is your fifth offense this month. By law you’re supposed to be sent to a correction camp.”
Mia smiled slightly. “Great.”
“No it’s not!” He smacked his palm onto the table. “Tell me what happened. Maybe I can work things out.”
She shook her head emphatically. “I got myself into this mess, I can get myself out.”
“Mia, let me help you.” His voice turned pleading.
She leaned across the table, bound hands sliding toward him. “Let me go. Please. I have to go.”
He shook his head slightly, confusion evident in his brown eyes.
She dropped her voice to a whisper. “Gregor’s Law.”
His eyes widened and she gave him a pointed look, silencing any words he had. “I’ll be a mother in a few months.” She said softly. “Let me go.”
He cleared his throat and nodded, standing quickly. “That’s all. You’ll be sent out to camp by morning.” There was an urgency in his voice, like he couldn’t wait to get out of there, away from her.
She tipped her head slowly, hoping she didn’t look hurt. “Is that all you have?”
He glanced at the door then crossed to her. “No.” He bent and pressed a kiss to her lips quickly. “I’ll come find you. Stay out of trouble.”
She gave him a smile. “I always do.”

Happy Memorial Day to you all. I'll be spending mine with family. We have a tradition of going out to the cemeteries with the flowers, and then they came over to our house (we can see our house from the cemetery), and have grilled burgers and pie. It's a good time had by all. Have a good weekend!