An Update on Arrow and Supernatural: Two Great Episodes

OH MY GOSH!!!

My reaction after watching this episode.

*Spoiler Warning*
So now Tommy finally knows about Ollie.  That scene was intense, and I was watching it with my breath bated.  What's going to happen next?  Dying to find out!

*Spoiler Alert*
A good episode.  This one and the one about their grandfather, Henry, are two of the best this season.  However, it seems this is partly in due to the great supporting cast they keep bringing in and killing off!

Anyways, Meg's coming back after their small hiatus so everythings forgiven.  For now.

BTW, I love the show (die hard fan, guys, like really, really, die hard) but even I have to admit that this season is not the best, so fingers crossed for more episodes like this one.



Music: Daughtry

Writers Block: To Keep a Journal or Not to Keep a Journal

There are several ways to approach this question, really.  In the end, however, it really depends on the writer.  Some people like to keep a journal, like me, of every single idea, while others prefer to only focus on one idea in a particular journal and not wander around with their ideas, and still others don't keep any journal. 

If you're not sure whether you should or not, I recommend trying it.  And don't follow anyone else's rubric for one.  Just write how you feel most comfortable.  When I decided to keep a journal I wasn't sure what to do and wrote down whatever idea came to mind instead of focusing on one thing in particular and using all my energy on that.  My imagination is always working in over time and I don't want to waste any of my ideas or completely drop whatever it was I was working on because I found The Next Best Thing, so this worked perfect for me.  Better then perfect, actually, and I'm on my third journal because the others filled up.

But this may not work for you.  Like I said earlier, some people like to focus on one idea/subject per notebook or journal.  Other's may keep their's like a diary.  Or just write poems.

And then maybe you just don't need to keep a journal.  Stephen King doesn't.  He says that the really good ideas stick around (and he's right!) and why should he write down all the bad ones.  Maybe this works best for you, I know several people who work this way, and I used to work this way.  However, I tend to get attached to all my ideas and like to write them down now.

Where to keep your journal is another big question.  While I mainly use a little notebook at home and when I'm on the move, sometimes I like to keep it on my computer.  I also keep ideas on scraps of paper that lie around pretty much everywhere.  It's a bit scatter-brained.  Computer's are nice because you can keep adding to an idea and never run out of room or mix different notes for things if you don't want.  Physical notebooks are nice because they can travel easier.

Anyways, it is up to you.  Don't forget that when you start journaling (or not).



Music: Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix by Phoenix

Alan Wake and Imagine Dragons: My Newest Obsessions

This game scares the shit out of me.  Well, so do the Creepers on MineCraft, so that isn't really saying much.  But Alan Wake has me captivated.  I cannot put it down.  I have to know what happens next and the greatest thing is that the story is fantastic!  I'm not very far (only episode two) but I'm already dying for the official sequel.  There was a blog told from a new characters point of view made in anticipation of the game.  Check it out at thishouseofdreams.blogspot.com. 

I'm actually listening to Night Visions as I type this up.  I really adore them and can't decide whether my favorite song is Demons of On Top of the World.  They're just so great!

Anyone have any new obsessions?  Comment and tell me, I would love to know!

Writers Block: Character Archetypes Based off Beautiful Creatures

Hey, welcome to a new type of post you should see about every thursday.  I no I'm no bigshot writer with any work published and probably don't have any right telling you how to write, but I have been doing it for a while now and thought I could share some advice because, personally, I'm always looking for some myself.  In Writer's Block I'll post anything I find useful, basically tips and tricks.

This week I was thinking about why authors tend to create similar characters (archetypes) and what really got me thinking about this was Ridley from Beautiful Creatures so I thought I would sort of base the post around the characters from the Castor Chronicles.  No worries, no spoilers here, but if you haven't read the books you might be a bit lost.  See the movie, it's close enough character-wise and much shorter.

Ridley
Character's like her are fun to dress up.  An author can out anything on one of these characters and get away with it because anything looks good on them and the bad-ass attitude can rock any conversation because they are the equal amount humorous and kick-ass.

Link
The stable best-friend is something everyone wants, especially female writers.  They create comic relief and a companion who means a lot without being romantically involved or has familial-ties with the protagonist.  Expendible, but heart-breaking.

Boo
An animal is hard to resist, especially a really cool animal you could never have in real life.  Really, these are just characters created out of selfish reasons.

Macon
Ah.  It all started with the wisest mentor of all- Obi Wan Kenobi (OK, it started before him).  A father-figure/teacher, common among stories with orphans and paranormal romances, help introduce a character into the world and/or magical powers, vampires, werewolves, dragons, lightsabers, castors, take your pick.

Ethan's Father
The missing parent.  If they aren't playing a role like Macon, adults tend to be missing from YA fiction.  Why?  Simple, teenagers don't want to escape into a book where the parents are bossing the kid around like in the real world.  If a parent is present, they A) don't care, or B)the kid fights the man and ends up winning.

That's it for now.  If you enjoy this, please comment and say so!  I really hope it helps.  P.S. Did you see the book trailer for Clockwork Princess?

Book Review: Beautiful Darkness

Beautiful Darkness is the sequel to Beautiful Creatures and as such this is going to be a rather thin review because I can't give away any spoilers.

This book picks up right after the last one, give or take a few days, and doesn't cover a whole year, but rather about a month.  The story has a rather focused plot-line and for the majority Lena and Ethan aren't together, which threw a screw into things.  However the new characters, John Breed and Liv, are neither a breath of fresh air or dead-weights, but were certainly necessary.  The old characters all took steps forward, especially Link, and the plot moved quickly enough.  It kept me breathless throughout the whole thing, and so I give it 5-Stars.  Great read, super excited for the next one, but I'll take a slight detour and read Dream Dark first.

TV- My Obsession, My Life (Away From Books)

So, if you know one thing about me, you know that I love television.  I adore it.  I need an app to keep track of all the shows I watch on a regular basis.  (It's called episodes, and there's a free version, and it's really useful, so go get it on the iTunes app store.)  Anyways, right now I'm in the middle of the winter television season, which means new shows are starting and old shows are in the middle of fantastic seasons, so I thought I would tell you about my thoughts on pretty much every show I keep track of.

Let's start with Arrow, the amazing super-hero drama on the CW.  (In case you're wondering, there's a new episode on tonight!!!)  For a while it was little more then a fluff-show for me, and I watched it because it was good, but the last two episodes for whatever reason, really got me invested in the characters.  I'm just dying for the next episode, and the episode after that, and the episode after that.  So happy that it's been renewed for another season.

Also on the CW is their new show Cult about a show within a show and the superfandom that just aired it's first episode yesterday.  I really liked it and thought the pacing was great, the characters believable, and the hook fantastic (the three things I look for when I watch something).  There is more for them to explore in the show and also the show within a show.  If you're a fan of any show with a cult-like following, you'll enjoy the humor of the show.

Now onto my Sherlock Holmes obsession, which is pretty big.  Not only do I adore BBC's Sherlock, but the American Adaption on CBS, Elementary, is also amazing.  While the episodes aren't exactly parrallel to the books like Sherlock is, Jonny Lee Miller is a great Sherlock and Lucy Liu is an equally great Watson.  Don't knock it even if it can't compete with Sherlock, because in all honesty, nothing can, can it?

 

Haven on Syfy is possibly the best show you're not watching.  It's based on a Stephen King novel, so it has equal parts Horror, Humor, and Romance.  If you like good things, you'll like this show, but start with Season One because you need to follow along with this one.

 

Last Resort on ABC was a six out of five stars show and cancelled way before it should have been.  The finale made me sob into my pillow.  Really.  FREAKING AMAZING SHOW!

 

On NBC there is a little show called Smash that I only watch because I love the music.  Recently I just bought the new CD with all the Bombshell music on it, and I'm already falling for the new stuff.  It fits right in.  The show itself is more of guilty pleasure, and both seasons have their ups and downs.

 

Then my two favorite shows on TV right now are Suits (USA) and Supernatural (CW).  I'm not going to talk about them now because it would go on for pages and this post is already a bit long.

Shows I watch but didn't mention:
X-Files (On Netflix)
Beauty and the Beast (CW)
Being Human (UK) (On Demand)
Grimm (NBC)
The Guild (Online)
Hart of Dixie (Reruns and Netflix)
Merlin (BBC/SyFy)
Once Upon a Time (ABC)
Perception (TNT)
Person of Interest (CBS)
Psych (USA)
Revolution (NBC)
Sherlock (BBC)
White Collar (USA)
Zero Hour (ABC)

Movie Review: Beautiful Creatures

Where the hell is Boo Radley?

That's my first reaction to the movie adaptation of the fantastic, and rather long, book Beautiful Creatures.  I read the book in preparation of the movie, and fell in love with it completely.  So I was so stoked for the movie- the previews looked great, the actors looked great, everything looked great.  Well, it, unfortunately had what I call PJMS, or Percy Jackson Movie Syndrome.  Basically it's a great movie- unless you've read the book.

The movie left out four characters- Boo Radley, Ryan, Marian, and Reece.  Granted, Ryan and Reece aren't exactly major players, but Marian and Boo are.  They actually combined Amma and Marian to create this softer, librarian version of Amma.  It was a bad idea.  While I have no qualms with the actress, she was perfect for the role of Marian, but not the role of Amma.

And while they didn't completely forget about mentioning the fact that Ethan has a dad, he never once showed up.  Ever.

To avoid really ranting, or giving anything away, I'm going to finish it up here.  Yes, you're probably going to go see it because its just one of several YA books hitting the screen and it deserves to be seen, but if you're looking for a good adaptation, this is NOT it.  I apologize on their behalf.  Like I said, good movie- unless you've read the book.

A Valentine's Day Story

Another holiday and so soon!  Very exciting, I hope everyone out there enjoyed the day (or Beautiful Creatures, now in theaters!) and got to snuggle with someone close- whether it be your partner, your dog, or you book/movie crush.  I, personally, snuggled with my dog.

Do you remember that story I posted on Mardi Gras?  Well, in all truth, I came up with it as I went along and I thought I should continue it today, although this will probably be the last you hear of Angela, Jason, and the dragon named Beethoven.  So, in honor of Valentine's Day, here is the same story, from Jason's point of view.  Enjoy!

My Queen, Don't Cry (JASON)
The gym was crowded with people.  Everywhere he looked there were dancers, and lights, and music that pounded in his skull.  She had just disappeared, and he knew he wasn't the only one looking for her.  Besides the mass of students who considered her their idol, the White Man had set his henchmen on her trail as well.  It was about time he told her the truth, but he needed to find her first.

<<The bathroom, under the stairs.>>  Beethoven's voice announced in his head like a loudspeaker.

Pushing past partygoers and a couple making out he made it out of the overcrowded, under staffed, gymnasium and into the hallway where a few other couples were loitering and doing more then just dancing.

The bathroom under the stairs was so old that only the janitors used it.  And the rare person.  Why would Angela be in there?  He grimaced at what could be going on.  The place was notorious for first times.

With a second's hesitation he pushed the door open and tried to hide the fact that he had been terrified that he might not find her- or that if he did find her it would be under uncomfortable circumstances.  But as soon as he shot in he could see her reflection in the mirror.  Her eyes were red, and while it was almost imperceptible, there were splotches on top of her cheeks.  His heart broke right then and there.

As the door shut itself, the outside world dissappeared.  There was no more music, no more strobe lights, and it was just him and her.  Her and him.

As he took in the rest of the room- she hadn't turned around- he saw the tiara Sophia had just crowned her with, in the corner, smudged.  Jason took a step forward.  There was nothing he could ask, nothing she would answer, and nothing he couldn't tell from her appearance.  She wasn't alright.

"Can I help?"  those first words didn't even begin to sum up the churning emotions bouncing around in him.

No answer, but the tears started anew.  He didn't think she even noticed.

He kneeled down and picked up the crown.  There was a dent in the side that he hadn't noticed before.  "Dlo fo srewop, won ti xif," he murmered the anciant Babylonian, fixing it.  The small amount of magic he had was swept out of him.  It would be renewed after a good night's sleep.  Then Jason took the crown and put it back on Angela's head.  It looked perfect.

<<You look beautiful.>> He murmered in her mind.  He hadn't meant to say it, but it had come out.

Angela closed her eyes in the mirror.  <<Beautiful on the outside, ugly on the inside.>> she thought.  Even though it wasn't directed at him, he heard it.

This broke his heart into even more pieces.  He wrapped his arms around her.  <<That's not true.>>

"You're a dirty liar, Jason Smith," he smiled against her hair when she scolded him.  He could hear the tears in her voice.  She had turned to face him now.

He didn't like to see her like this.  He raised one thumb and used it to wipe away the tears cascading down her cheeks.  "My queen, don't cry," he whispered.  He had no idea why he said those exact words, but they felt right, especcially seeing her dressed up like one in her scarlet gown and tiara.

And then she did something unbelievable.  She stood up on her toes and kissed him.  And he kissed her back.  His arms encircled her, getting caught in her raven hair.  This felt right.

But still, <<I need to tell you something.>>

A Mardi Gras Story

Bonne fete Mardi Gras!  Or, as some of you might call it, Fat Tuesday, the day where you stuff your face with all the good stuff.  In honor of this pretty awesome day (and of me finding the plastic baby in my slice of cake) I decided I'd write a little Mardi Gras story for ya'll.  And if you thought the statement in paranthesis was strange, let me explain: a little plastic baby Jesus or king is placed in a slice of cake, which everyone then takes a peice of.  Whoever ends up with the plastic thing gets to be king, or in my case, queen for the day and wears a paper crown.  I am happy to say that I now have a purple crown.  Strangely enough, when I walked into the room I thought to myself "Hey, today I'm going to find the little plastic baby in my slice of cake."  I'm kinda psychic sometimes, I kid you not.  Anyways, here's the story:

My Queen, Don't Cry
Angela looked in the mirror and saw that the splotchs around her eyes had disappeared.  Her whole life she had been cursed with always having them present when she needed a good cry, and a good cry had been a long while in coming.  That made her seem childish, and if she thought about it, it was.  Only little children through temper tantrums and then hid in the washroom by the utility stairwell to hide it.

The sound of another person's presence rattled her and in the mirror's reflection she saw that Jason was now in here with her.  When he opened the door the sound increased in volume, a bone-jarring beat that no one could hear themselves think in, and the strobe lights managed to leak around the corners.  Purple, gold, green.  They were headache inducing.

Jason didn't seem surprised to see the homecoming queen hiding away in the school's only unisex bathroom.  She, on the other hand, was surprised to see him.

Normally she felt uncomfortable around boys, they were intrusive and rude.  Her last boyfriend, Grant, had been that way.  Apparently, the rest of the school didn't get the memo that they had broken up because he had been voted king, right next to her.

The tiara they had given her to wear had been cast on the ground, and she regretted the dent it had acquired, but Angela had never wanted it in the first place.  She wasn't as perfect as everyone imagined, and she didn't like being the center of attention all the time.  Before Jason had moved to the school that had been different, but seeing his reclusive way of life, and meeting a real-life dragon, had changed everything.

Jason came closer to her, but she still didn't turn around.  He didn't ask, Are you OK?, or, What happened?, and she was fine with that.  It wasn't in his nature to ask senseless questions.  Beethoven, the dragon aforementioned, on the other hand, was far from against it.  His voice rang in her mind.

<<Is everything all right?>>

She didn't dignify it with an answer because it would be too complicated and she wasn't supposed to be a complicated person.

"Can I help?" Jason's first words.

Again she didn't answer.  Because he couldn't help, she had to get over this herself.  Work it out herself.  Her fists clenched, nuckles turning white, and a sob rose up in her throat.  Her head pounded with the unreleased energy.

In the mirror she saw Jason kneel down and get something.  The tiara.  He picked it up, brushed it off, and whispered a few small words in anciant Babylon that fixed the dent immediately.  Then he put it on her head.  Like a cruel joke, it fit perfectly, as if it were tailored to belong.

<<You look beautiful.>>  This time it wasn't the dragon in her head.  It was Jason.

Her eyes closed so she couldn't see her reflection.  Beautiful on the outside, but on the inside she was ugly.

<<That's not true.>>  His arms closed around her.

Eyes opening she turned in his arms to look him in the eye.

"You're a dirty liar, Jason Smith," she said, her voice husky and throat raw.  Her nose was plugged as well.  Charming.

His arms came away from around her and a thumb pressed to her cheek.  Wiping away a tear, she realized.

"My Queen, don't cry," he whispered.

And then she did something she could never have imagined doing in a thousand years.  She stood on the tips of her toes and kissed Jason right on the mouth, in the middle of the unisex, utility stairwell bathroom.  They kept kissing even as a couple girls came to clean their makeup.  Someone snapped a picture, but she didn't care, because kissing Jason felt like she was doing penance, washing her sins away, and being reborn.  No longer a dirty bully, snotty, spoiled brat, but someone who could have a heart and rule with it.

The Combined Power of Cellphones and Friendship

When I arrived home today I realized I left a paper I needed to type in my locker.  It's due tomorrow, so of course I had a panic attack and nearly fell to the floor sobbing.  Then I realized, Hey, My Friend is at school for the play!  So I texted her, praying that she was still there.  And she was.  So she went into my locker and took pictures of the paper and then sent them to me.  She's a saint.  Unfortunately, I don't have fancy iPhone of Droid, so I have to squint at my little Pantech.  In the end, I typed my whole paper up by looking at the 1 inch screen of my cell.  Whew.  Gosh, I have a headache.  Anyways, not that you probably care all to much, but that's my story for today.  Don't try this at home, because it's not fun.  Unless you have to.  Like I did.

Book Review: The Raven Boys

4 1/2 out of 5 stars.

So this is Maggie Stiefvater's newest creation and it is very good.  I'm dissapointed I didn't pick it up sooner.  The story focuses around six people, four p.o.v.'s, pyschics, magical ley lines with a faery feel to them, and could work as a psychological thriller.  Basically, it drove me insane and I fell in love with the characters.

This book starts us off with more protagonists then either Scorpio Races or Wolves of Mercy Falls did (sorry, havn't read Ballad or Lament, so I don't know how those compare).  The story line as expressed on the inside cover is really bad sounding and could throw you off because "looking for long-dead king who will grant a wish" sounds cheezy.  There is so much more depth to it then that, and the reader becomes swept up on the search for Glendower (that 'dead' king), trust me.

The main characters are Gansey, Blue, Adam, Ronan, Noah, and Barrington Whelk.

Gansey is the one with the quest for Glendower.  Why?  It's actually a very personal reason, but you don't get the real reason until later in the story when he bares a little peice of himself to Blue.  The shallow reason is that he's good at finding things that are strange and wants to prove to himself that magic is real.  Plausible, but one dimensional.  Gansey is a spoiled kid, though he doesn't try to act it, and he feels responsible for his friend's and their problems.  He's rather eclectic and likes the journey as much as the conclusion of any adventure.  Most important, he attends Aglionby Academy, making him a Raven Boy (hence the title).

Blue is the daughter of a Psychic and lives in a house full of them.  She never met her father, but no big deal really.  Unfortunately Blue herself is not a Psychic.  She just amplifies the energy that helps her family of Psychics do their thing.  On top of being an outsider, ever since she can remember she was told that when she kisses her true love, he'll die.  Depressing.  So, like any sensible person, she decides never to share a kiss with anyone, and never to fall in love.  When she goes with her mysterious Aunt Neeve (who just arrived in town) she see's Gansey spirit (not that he's dead, but that he's going to die in the year).  Even knowing he's a Raven Boy, she knows she needs to get the message to him somehow.  Lo and behold, Adam schedules a meeting with her mother to get information about the Ley Lines.  This is when their lives cross paths and Blue finds that Gansey and his friends aren't that bad and the five of them become thick as thieves on the quest for Glendower (even though Blue's mother forbids her).

So who's Adam?  He's the poor scholarship kid from a local trailer park and an abusive dad.  Yeah, his life sucks.  He falls in love with Blue when he first lays eyes on her, and she like him back.  However, as the story progresses we start to see a little something between Gansey and Blue as well (love triangle... !).  The only thing that really bothered me about Adam was that he had a giant pride.  Really, sometimes help isn't that bad dude, but I do get it.

The other two Raven Boys are bad-boy Ronan (who has a dark past where he found his father dead), and Noah (who is far from what he seems).  Honestly, Noah and Blue were my two favorite characters in the whole story.  One last tidbt about Ronan, though, is his pet raven, Chainsaw.  So not only do they go to a school where the students are referred to as Raven Boys, they are searching for the Raven King Glendower, but Ronan actually finds and adopts a baby raven.  I'm with Gansey: there are no such things as coincidences.

Finally we come to Barrington Whelk.  The evil Lating teacher out for Glendower and revenge for everything that has been taken from him.  He's evil, but he's human, so he makes a very realistic villain.  Glad to have someone to root against.

Anyways, pick this book up because it really is worth the read.  The pacing may be a little slow for some, but the twists are incredible and you'll just about die by the end.  Can't wait for book two in, September is it?

Welcome and Feb. TBR

Hey everybody, welcome to my new blog!  I'm a busy student at a private school who is either working on homework, reading, watching tv, or writing her debut book (which is always changing, btw).  As you can probably tell this is a book blog, but I'll post reviews of particularly awesome tv shows and movies and also snippets from whatever it is I'm writing.  At the moment I read about a book a week, so you can expect a review around every friday or so.  Hopefully more, but definetly at the end of the week.

In this post I'm also posting my Feb. TBR, something I'm very bad at sticking to, so this is very loose.  I've already read Daughter of Smoke and Bone and Beautiful Creatures this month, and I'm currently reading Raven Boys.  On their way to me, from Amazon.com, are the next three book in the Castor Chronicles, so hopefully I'll finish those up, and if I have time I'll dive into Days of Blood and Starlight.  Very excited, hope to post more soon!