Throwback Thursday

Hi guys! Guess what. I remembered that it is Thursday, and I have planned posts on Thursday. So here, on time,  is your Throwback Thursday post.

These snippets come from 2009, when I was 13 years old. *shudder* There's some pretty lousy ones this week, and I can hardly say that I was a little child and didn't know any better. I was a teenager for crying out loud. Anyway, I've found that 2009 was apparently a very busy writing year for me, because there are a pack of stories with 2009 scribbled on them, so I'll be splitting them into two posts. Here is the first round.

 2009

The Chronicles of Tashba

Now before we go on, you need to know a bit about this pair. They live on the island of Tashba. And if you started from the center of the island and walked north, you would reach the ocean quite quickly. But if you walked south, you would never reach the sea no matter how far you walked. Nor if you walked east or west.

I'm going to let you in on a little secret. The Chronicles of Narnia was my favorite thing ever at this point in time. However, the story (miraculously) was not a complete rip off of Narnia. (I was learning guys! It had begun to occur to me that I should write original characters and plots!)I don't remember much about the story world I created for it, but this snippet makes me like it quite a lot.

The Alyx Bane Files (original)

“One thing, miss. These murderers aren’t likely to follow rules of weapons. Many will be illegal, leaving us at a slight disadvantage. They’ll have explosives and....”

Alyx cut him off and casually stated. “Then eliminate the disadvantage.”

By the end of the week, the armory (Alyx’s room) was filled with weapons. Rifles, hand guns, machine guns, silencers, grenades, tranquilizers, and many other things that may or may not have been legal.

Ah yes. The original Alyx Bane Files. I have since started to write it over again, and it is decidedly less Artemis Fowl meets A Series of Unfortunate Events. I still wish I had her house though. Besides her impressive (borderline illegal) arsenal, she has a secret lab in the basement. Pretty cool, huh?

Borderline? Is that what you're calling it?

Andy Thompson

Dear Diary,

Yesterday was my twelfth birthday. Aunt Phyllis came over for a ‘surprise.’ She had a ‘most wonderful gift’ to give me. I’m to go live with her and ‘become a lady.’ I find this simply appalling.

 The sarcasm is strong with this one. The whole story wasn't wrote as a diary, but each chapter began with an entry. I was still under the impression that being a lady was a dreadful thing. I also seem to remember having a fascination with mining towns at that time.

The Jay Marie Western Adventure Series

Luke grinned. “I reckon you better go rescue Tucker.”

“Tucker. He’s here?”

Luke nodded. “Since you weren’t around, yer ma’s got him inside giving him a haircut.”

Ah yes. A boy getting a haircut. That is most certainly something he needed rescuing from. It's a dreadful business. Boys should have the ability to get hat hair. Anyway, this story was largely my own, though I think I originally got the idea for Jay from Missy Lahaye from the Love Comes Softly movies. She morphed dramatically from the movie character though, and was a complete brat, I might add.

Will and Jessica

The next day Jessica felt fidgety. She feared someone might notice something about her and their plans be exposed. She somehow made it through the day, but the night was even worse. Anticipation was a churning ball in the pit of her stomach. Anticipation and anxiety. Though the workers here were kind, she and Will would most certainly be in trouble if they were caught trying to run away.

Who doesn't love a good orphan story? This one was actually an orphan train story. I loved the little gang of hoodlums I had created and set loose on the streets to pick pocket unsuspecting business men.

 

Falicia Calden

He shook Stacy's hand, then Nancy's. Ichabod hissed at him. Rand curled his lip at the cat and hissed back.

Did I ever tell you that I went through a phase where I was in love with Canadian Mounties? This story right here is proof.

Rachel Scott.

They made their way down the country lane. "So, what did you want to tell me?" She asked.
Holden flushed slightly. "I didn't want to tell you anything."
"Then why..."
Holden cut her off. "I wanted to give you this." He handed her a choker made of black ribbon, with a small glass gem dangling down from the center. "Happy birthday."

You know what is so odd for me? I remember writing this scene. I remember exactly how it looked in my head. It was dark out. She was wearing a blue dress. There were stars, and the road was lined with trees. Why is none of that in this scene? I have no idea. I do know that I started this story shortly after reading Roses for Mama.

Kinly Hardin

We were the youngest outlaws in the history of Texas. Law men hated us, other outlaws respected us, and men who worked with Jack Dutch came to fear us. We were cagey as coyotes, canny as foxes, wild as mustangs, vicious as wolves, quick as rattlesnakes, and- if threatened- just as deadly.

So, funny story. The characters described in this atrocious piece weren't outlaws. I kid you not, they weren't. I just really liked this piece (I cannot for the life of me see why) and wanted it in there, so that's how the story started.

Gwen #1.

The Queen sat down and began to cry. Her husband had just died in battle, and now she would die, having a terrible allergy to peppermint.

I have tried to write this Gwen girl so many times. She eventually turned into the main character from The Riders of Carstindad, but this was the first story I had planned for her. Peppermint was murderous in every version of this story I ever wrote. I don't know why. I think it was because I hate peppermint, and the Baudelaire children are allergic to it in their series, and my cousin always claimed he was allergic to onions and would die if he ate them, so I combined all those threads and smashed them together in this laughingly tragic scene.  

Ryder Dorrance

"Do you want me to introduce you to her?"
I shook my head. A second later Rachel Stone came walking up, pretty as a picture, still staring at me. She stopped directly in front of me and I quickly looked away.
"I feel like I should know you." She said frankly. "What's your name?"
"Ryder Dorrance." I mumbled.
Her eyes widened with recognition. "You!" She hissed. "You threw a toad in my lunchbox!"

I'm pretty sure this was my first attempt at writing in first person, and I really hated it at first. From this we can gather that I use the name Rachel too much, as it has turned up in two of the snippets I've given you so far for this year. I'll also let you know, that Ryder has a hopeless crush on her at this point, and feels like his life is ruined when she recognizes him.

Alright, enough of this nasty business. That's all I'm going to share with you today. Have fun with the ridiculous scribblings of a brand new teenager.

Sisterhhood of the World Bloggers Award

 

So, Wild Horse nominated me for this award. Much thanks goes out.

 

Rules: 

• thank the blogger who nominated you, linking back to their site. 
• put the award logo on your blog. 
• answer the ten questions they’ve set you. 
• make up ten new questions for your nominees to answer. 
• nominate ten people.

 

The Questions:

What is your favorite story no one has ever heard of?

Oh boy...that's a hard one. Most people haven't heard of Green Rider. It's not my favorite story, but it's one I definitely like that no one ever knows about.  

Your life is now the last movie/TV show you watched. What was that? And are you happy or worried?

 Alright, my life is now Grimm. I'm happy, but also worried. There's a lot of freaky things running around in that show. If I have access to the weapons in Nick's trailer, I'm just fine.

 

You are about to be marooned on an island. You get a pistol and a book. Which book?

 My Ultimate Guide to Survival, thank you.
 

Favorite type of cookie?

 Chocolate Chip. Undercooked, with milk chocolate chips. None of those semi sweet things.
 

Do you dance in the rain?

I haven't I a long time, but when I was little, I used to sing and dance in the rain. I'd sing "Praise The Lord, Praise The Lord, let the earth hear his voice" at the top of my lungs.
 

What do you look for in a friend?

Someone that I feel comfortable talking to about real things, and who is comfortable talking to me. Someone who doesn't think they are better than everyone else, and someone who isn't afraid to get out in the world. I don't want to have to drag them behind me in everything. We need to go into world domination together.
 

Now that I am King (or Queen, maybe), will you bring me cookies?

No.

(Or woman)
 

The longest you've gone without sleep?

 Well, lets see...36 hours I believe.
 

What do you know about New Zealand? 

 It replaces Old Zealand...Or would it be just plain old Zealand?

 

Tell me something you are scared of.  

Hmmm, well, I'm mildly afraid of heights. Not like Four is, but mildly. I'm incredibly afraid of failure.

Okay, I tag

Bethan Downs

Skye

M

J

Jillian

.....

Guys...I know it said ten, but I just want to go to bed right now. I have sixteen followers. Let's hang the rules, and just say all of you are tagged. All of you! Tag, you're it!!

 

Here are the questions:

 

1. Are you doing anything out of the ordinary in honor of Valentines Day?

2. What time do you usually go to bed?

3. Will you help me in my quest for world domination?

4. What are the key elements needed to make a story your favorite?

5. What time do you usually get up?

6. Do you venture outside in the cold or bundle up with chocolate and a book?

7. Is there a book you have started, and want to finish, but just can't make yourself sit down and read it? *cough* The Death Cure *cough*

8. Do you hate the interstate?

9. Do you have a favorite person from history?

10. Is there something I should know? ;)

 

 

 

Valentines?

Hello darlings (said in my best British imitation)

How are all you lovelies this fine day?

I happen to be befuddled.

My Mom-Mommy said something the other day about ordering my Daddy-kin his valentines day present. And I stopped. I actually stopped and thought
Are Valentines still a thing? Do we still do that?

Now I know little kindergarteners still like to get those boxes of Scooby Doo and Hello Kitty cards that say ridiculous little rhymes that make everyone feel so special...just like everyone else who got identical ones. My mom is a bus driver and she comes home every Valentines Day with her purse overflowing with sticky loving tokens from her little passengers.

(I kid you not, I had this valentine as a small child...I still probably have some..)

But are real valentines still a thing? You know the kind I'm talking about. The anonymous ones. The kind me and my best friend used to make for the special someone we adored that week. The ones with paper hearts glued to the front and ridiculous handwritten poems inside. The ones that never got send and ended up piling up in an old folder in the desk, only to be discarded years later.

The ones that you get for that special someone, strategically place, and hope they guess right as to who gave it. The kind you give in hopes of getting one back. Do those still happen? I don't know.

My mom and dad are married (is that a duh? I think that's a duh), so they have to give each other gifts...honestly I don't think my dad is getting her anything, but you get my meaning.

But what about the rest of us? Are valentines dead?

I suppose I still have a bit of time to decide.

Loss and other dismal things

Hello all!

Well, yesterday was dismal I'm afraid.

The winners to the Rooglewood Press contest were announced yesterday. Mine was not among the.

I'm not too upset though. It was fun to enter, and I like the story I have and plan to use it in the future. So not a loss, really.

And as for the Super Bowl...well...The Seahawks didn't win! Yay!! And both quarter backs got sacked. Yay!!

I did change my stance on who I was rooting for, and ended up hoping the Seahawks would win. I'm not at all tore up about it, but I do wish they had lost smart. The last play call was just...just...ugh. It was ridiculous.

We were supposed to have a potluck and a church service at the nursing home yesterday, and then go to Pastor's house for the game, but we had a mini blizzard (not the kind you get at Dairy Queen) and church got cancelled, and the game party. That means I have a pan of nutella brownies, and homemade snicker bars laying in my kitchen. Which is very dismal indeed when you consider that I'm trying to eat healthy at home. It's not at all dismal when you consider that they are both so good it's painful.

If that wasn't dismal enough, Katie Perry was dismal. I sat on Pinterest all through the halftime show.

How was your weekend? Hopefully not as dismal as mine. Did you watch the game? Did you consume ungodly amounts of caramel and chocolate? Do tell.

Forgetful Friday

I should just admit defeat right now, instead of thinking I can possibly post things consistently on the proper day. Obviously, Throwback Thursdays are supposed to happen on Thursday. But thank heaven for Forgetful Friday (yes I did just make that up), because that is when I get to post things that I should have posted before, but forgot to.

Soooo, here are Thursday's throwback snippets. These come from 2008, when I was twelve.

The Mystery in the Lagoon

Two hours later they pulled into a long tree lined driveway. At the end was a giant white house. It was really old and had a large porch. There were trees on all sides. Sarah saw a movement at one of the many windows. She stepped out of the car and pulled her suitcase out of the trunk. A silver haired woman dressed in a dark skirt and a white blouse appeared on the porch.” Hello Debbi, Mike.” She looked at Sarah. “Sarah,” she said stiffly, “I’m your aunt Margret.”

From this piece I can tell you that I was absolutely obsessed with a book called Christina's Ghost. That is where I got the inspiration for the house and scenery, and Aunt Margret is the aunt version of the uncle in the book. I also clearly was thinking of her more as a great aunt than just an aunt, because she's old, and Sarah's dad (who is supposedly Margret's brother), is young.

 Keoma

My name is Alex Smith, and I’m going to tell you a story about a horse.

I just watched Flicka for the first time. If I would have continued and typed up all three pages I got wrote of the story, you would know that.

Kipp

That meant either the ship had gotten hopelessly lost, or she was stranded on an uncharted island. Unfortunately, she found the latter option more likely. She dumped out the rest of the bag. A whistle, rope, matches, half a peanut butter n jelly sandwich, and a bottle of coke in her lunchbox. Not much.

Ah yes. My survivalist phase. At this time you wouldn't find me without string, paperclips, pencil stub, paper scrap, at least two pocket knives (one a Swiss Army), a flashlight, and a whistle in my pockets. (I'm not kidding. It weighed a pound) My survivalist handbook was my favorite thing to read, and this story was my chance to put all my vast knowledge out on display...I don't know why she had a Coke with her. I hate Coke, and none of my characters have ever been allowed to drink it. (except Leslie from The Dynamic Duo. She was from Colorado. I had to give her quirks) 

I always just call this one Maddie Lewis (I promise, I did not get her name from mine...please believe me) But the 'official' title page that I drew for it says it is called His Love Endures Forever, so....

“Say what you want ‘bout me, but mark me, one more cruel word toward Nathan and I’ll shove you outta this buggy.” Maddie was furious.

“What a rebellious girl. Yelling at and threatenin’ her elders.” Mrs. Price scolded. “I hear you sympathize with the blue coats. A little Miss Yankee yourself.”

 I was in love with this story at the time. When I read through it to find snippets, I can't remember why. It was exhausting trying to write a southern accent, and as you can see, I failed miserably.

In unfamiliar territory.

She pushed back and looked up at him. “We have to get out of here.”

Riley smiled. “we will.”

“No, you don’t understand. We have to get out.”

Riley started to get confused. “I know.”

“No. We have-"

 “What do you mean?” Asked Riley in bewilderment.

 Mandy took a deep breath. “If I die in here, that leaves Jana Okeridge all by herself with Tye. And we can’t have that. Tye’s done nothing bad enough to deserve that.”

I was still obsessed with the Sadie Rose series at this point. I had finally acquired the whole series, and had realized I couldn't plagiarize it so blatantly, so this series was born. I actually still like it quite a bit, but it's bad. Mandy and I still both love Tye though, and  I refuse to give up on him.

Kidnapping on the Bar H

“I want to wash this blood off. I don’t want Ma to see me like this.” Mandy walked down to the creek. She pulled out her shredded handkerchief and scowled.

Tye knelt beside her and handed her his. “Here.”

She smiled at him. “thanks.” She dipped it in the water and began scrubbing her face.

She looked at Tye. “Did I get it?”

“Little more here.” He said, touching her cheek. “There.”

Mandy finger combed the tangles out of her hair and rebraided it. “How do I look?”

He studied her and smiled. “Pretty.”

 *soft angelic music* One of my first romantic scenes.

(This one may have been from 2007- there was no date on it, and it comes first in the Mandy "series")

Gunshots on Oak Creek

Mandy started cheering for Riley. “Come on Riley! You can do it!”

Riley’s arm started moving don. Mandy bent down and whispered in Riley’s ear. “He’s just a farmer. He can’t beat you.”

Really, I don't understand why I would write this. I love farmers. We can do anything!

There you go! I had so much traffic on the last post like this, I figured I had better follow up on it, even if it is late. Thanks for reading!

Everyone Panic!

Guys!!

Rooglewood Press moved up the announcement date from March 1st to February 1st.

The five winning stories are going to be announced in three days!!

I don't know how to handle this information.

Dance? Cry?

I told Minion 1 that this either means that they had fewer entries than they planned, or they had so many horrible entries that the choosing was ridiculously easy.
I'm not sure if either of these possibilities are supposed to offer me hope.

Facts remain facts though, and we will find out one way or another on Sunday.

I will be away from the internet most of the time.

I am excited. I am terrified.

A Dilemma

 

I have a dilemma readers. Of epic proportions. The Super Bowl is this Sunday.

And I don't have a team to cheer for.

When I found out it would be the Patriots and the Seahawks, I fully planned to root for the Seahawks.

But. That dreaded word.

I then discovered that Russell Wilson did an add promoting Obamacare, and basically said that it was the best option out there.

Now, I don't care what your views are on our president. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But I find Obamacare a hard pill to swallow, because it is blatantly funding abortion. Abortion is something I never will stand behind.

Russell Wilson claims to be a Christian, and I can't say yay or nay on that, I'm not God, but I can't stand behind someone who supports the murder of babies (even in a roundabout way)- even in something as trivial as a football game. Now I know he is only one man on the team, but I've just never been a Seahawks fan anyway.

Moving on to the Patriots. A) They're cheaters. And I don't really care too much about them deflating the footballs, because they've been cheating for years and everyone knows it.

But Tom Brady.

 

That man. I just can't.

Every time he opens his mouth something arrogant comes out.

And he hurts my eyes. I'm just saying.

Not to mention the Pat's ALWAYS beat my favorite teams, and they cut Tim Tebow.

So I have two teams that I despise. What to do? The super bowl is the biggest game of the year. I wait and plead for it for months. Now I'm supposed to root for no one? Me and my family have been discussing it for weeks, and we all know we really need to have a team picked, because my pastor invited us and several other people over for the game. I need to have a team!

So...I have decided to stake my allegiance with the Patriots.

Make note of this people, because it will Never, EVER happen again.

 

This support of the Patriots is more of a disguise though, as I will ultimately be cheering for the best pass rush. Every time a quarter back gets sacked, hit, or roughed up in any way you will hear me (well maybe you won't hear it, but I will be) screaming in victory. I don't care which one it is, I will be happy.

No matter who wins I'll be able to say

"Well, I'm glad the Seahawks didn't win."

Or, "I'm sure glad the Patriots didn't win."

 

I suppose this could be seen as a good thing. No matter what I'll be happy with the loser.

 

Oh if only it could have been Green Bay or the Colts!