Summer of 2013

This was (yet again) stolen from nevillegirl over at "Musings From Neville's Navel."

Image From This Summer

I haven't taken many pictures this summer, so I'll show you my three favorite images I've found online.

I LOVE this one. I also LOVE "Bohemian Rhapsody."

So I took a quiz recently and found out that I'm a Hufflepuff . . . hmm . . .

This is just too cool.

Favorite Quote From A Book I Read This Summer

"You look like a protagonist." from Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. (By the way? Best book I've read since Harry Potter. And you know how much I like The Hunger Games, which used to be my second favorite book. It's that good).

This Summer In One Word

Awesome.

Most Popular Review This Summer

Ha, my most popular book review from the summer actually isn't one I wrote! Nope, it's Karoline Kingley's East of Eden book review by John Steinbeck. :) Great job, Karoline!

Top Two Books I Read This Summer

1. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell.
2. How I Lost You by Janet Gurtler.

Two Things I’m Looking Forward To This Fall

1. The "Catching Fire" movie on November 22!!!!! :D And my dad already promised to take me to the midnight premiere, so I'm especially excited!
2. Allegiant by Veronica Roth comes out on October 22! I hope our library gets it soon after it comes out. (Really soon after).

Three New Obsessions This Summer

1. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell (can you tell that I like it)?
2. The band "Imagine Dragons" (especially THIS song, which I discovered after watching the trailer for "The Host" over, and over, and over again. Thanks to my pen pal for introducing me to more of their stuff)!
3. Is it weird to say my book, Cosmo? Because I'm having tons of fun writing it. :)

Most Popular Five Blog Posts Overall This Summer

1. Writer's Camp--Day 3. (Day 4 is coming soon)!

2. Interview With Em Garner + Giveaway

3. Harry Potter Meme

4. The Open Letter Challenge

5. ABCs of My Awesome Life

Five Things That Happened This Summer

1. We went to a Taylor Swift concert. (SQUEE!!!!!)
2. Our family's best friends moved here (though they're more like family than friends).
3. Our friends (mentioned on the line above this one) joined us on our beach vacation.
4. I got a few new writing gigs: one at "Positive Writer," another at "The Book Chewers," one at "As a Teen Writer," and a recent internship at "Adventures in YA Publishing"! :D
5. My brain nearly blew up (because of THIS. If you haven't heard about this you either don't like Harry Potter or you do like Harry Potter and have been living under a rock).

Six Songs That I Listened To Far Too Often This Summer

1. "Safe and Sound" by Taylor Swift featuring The Civil Wars (Always).
2. "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons (This song is too cool).
3. "Clarity" by Zedd featuring Foxes (Thanks to the radio and my brother. It's not my favorite--mostly because of the annoying, heavy dance beat in the middle, but parts of it are unique and pretty cool).
4. "Gone" by Ioanna Gika (This is not a well-known song at all, but it was in "Snow White and the Huntsman" and I loved it. It's now constantly stuck in my head, but no complaints there).
5. "Cups" by Anna Kendrick (I even learned how to do the cups. I can't listen to this song without going through the motions, cups or no cups)!
6. "Poison and Wine" by The Civil Wars (This song is haunting).

How was your summer? Leave a comment! :D

East of Eden Book Review

by Karoline Kingley

East of Eden is considered John Steinbeck’s masterpiece. Although this is a grand compliment
seeing as his other works remain among the most famous books in American literature, it is an accurate judgment nonetheless. Allow me to say, that I had attempted to read Steinbeck in the past, and found it difficult to read past the first few chapters of The Grapes of Wrath and Of Mice and Men. This book, however, is different. It’s my new favorite novel just to give you an idea.

This review may be longer than others but I will do my best to concisely describe this 600 page masterpiece.

East of Eden is a story about the battle between good and evil. A retelling of the biblical account
of Cain and Abel, this story shows the struggles among different generations who must choose between what is in their blood and what is right.

One defining trait of this book is the fact that there doesn’t appear to be one main character, for each person is assigned their own day-in-the-sun in the story. The reader is first introduced to the standard of goodness, Samuel Hamilton. An easy-going story-telling Irishman with a holy-roller wife, Samuel is a sage even when a young man, and his fathering tendencies seem to beckon the weak and weary to take refuge under his wing. The author first introduces his point when we see how each of Samuel’s children manifest a different aspect of their father. It is not until the reader meets Charles and Adam Trask, that they realize generational curses are just as common as generational blessings.

Adam Trask has an older brother, Charles whose brooding countenance and violent tendencies
cause Adam to hate his own kin. Despite his harsh upbringing, Adam is naive and void of direction. Therefore, when Cathy (slash Kate), the epitome of all evil induces Adam to marry her, Adam’s life falls to further shambles. Cathy is what some folks might refer to as “a bad seed.” Even when a child there is no goodness to be found her. However, she does posses an uncanny perceptive ability. Cathy knows that while she possesses something nobody else has, all other humans have something she doesn’t. This desperation leads her to live purely for herself. After all, how can somebody with no regard of right and wrong possibly care for the feelings of others? Consequently, when Cathy bears Adam two twin boys, Cal and Aron, she leaves her husband.

Cal and Aron grow up to be as different as brothers could be, both in appearance and in disposition. Aron is handsome, kind-hearted and compliant. Cal on the other hand, has a more dark and brooding countenance, born with the same lenience to deceive that was in his mother. These stark differences of course demonstrate a similar relationship between Adam and Charles.

As the story unfolds, the reader begins to wonder whether there is hope for Cal. Cal loves his
brother and desires to be good, but he acknowledges that he has a greater tendency to sin. Like
his father, Aron is naiive and childish, even as an older teenager, and for that reason he cannot cope with the realities of life. Cal on the other hand, is concentrated on conquering his sinful nature. The reader rejoices when Cal rebels against the selfish blood born in him, and defeats evil.

Through the parallelism of characters, Steinbeck demonstrates how family traits can manifest
themselves for better or for worse. At first, the reader is nearly deceived based on the example of Samuel Hamilton’s children, that it is an excellent thing for children to take after their parents.
But Cal and Aron have been borne into a different legacy, and Cal takes the step that none of his relatives did by conquering the evil woven into his nature.

The battle between good and evil is something all mankind can relate to, and the author has
gifted the realm of literature with this encouraging account of a war which was won. Although the story itself transcends the attempts of most authors, the writing itself is a pristine example of how to write descriptive passages. My only caution is that THIS IS NOT A CHILDREN’S BOOK! I would highly suggest you be at least fifteen (preferably sixteen) before attempting to read this. Other story elements would probably be better enjoyed at that age anyway. I only offer this warning because it is necessary. There were certain passages and story features that were even a little hard for me to handle. In conclusion, everybody, writer or not, should read this book.

I would give--are you ready for this?--a 5/5 to East of Eden!

About Karoline Kingley:

I'm a 16 year old who enjoys writing, reading and blogging if course! I blog at "As a Teen Writer."

Friday the 13th Surprises

Happy Friday the 13th! :D Instead of the unluckiness today is supposed to bring, I got lucky and was able to interview Marissa Meyer!!!!! (Yes, the author of the incredible book Cinder)! Here it is:

1. What inspired you to write Cinder?

It started when I entered a writing contest a few years ago in which the host had listed about ten random prompts and writers had to choose two of them to include in their stories. My two prompts: set it in the future and include a fairy-tale character. My contest entry was a sci-fi version of Puss in Boots and I had so much fun writing it that I thought I would try to do an entire series of sci-fi fairy tales! (The ironic part of that story is that only two stories were submitted for the contest—and mine didn’t win!)

A couple months after that I was drifting off to sleep when the lightning bolt struck: Cinderella… as a cyborg! I crawled out of bed and spent about an hour brainstorming and jotting notes. Thus, The Lunar Chronicles was born.

2. Wow, that's an awesome story! I'd love to read a sci-fi version of Puss in Boots. What are your top three favorite novels?

Only 3?! Let's see...

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling
3. Fire by Kristin Cashore

3. You have good taste. ;) What is your favorite thing about writing?

Getting to work in my pajamas! Oh, and seeing fanart of my characters - I LOVE that!!

4. Yes! Working in your pajamas has to be one of the best things about writing. What is the hardest thing you've had to do in your writing?

Every now and then you have to kill off a character that you really, really love. I don't know that it ever gets 'easy' to do it. One book that I'm working on that will follow the Lunar Chronicles has an incredibly heart-wrenching death scene in it. I cried like a wee child when I wrote it.

5. Killing your characters is a little bit like killing yourself. It's always so hard! What is the best piece of advice you could give to teen writers who want to get published?

Have fun with it!! There will be time to worry about agents and editors and book deals later, but when you're first getting started, the only thing you should be thinking about is writing the story that appeals to you and enjoying the process of imagining and creating. Writing is work, but it can also be a lot of fun.

Thank you so much, Marissa! :D

The Open Letter Challenge

I am participating in the Open Letter Challenge writing contest organized by Josh Irby. The following letter is my response to An Open Letter to You from the Rest of the World.


Dear World,

You say you need my story. But why? What makes mine so special?

Everyone has a different story I suppose. But there are billions of people in the world, which means billions of stories. Why should I share mine?

I'm sure lots of people have a dog, a little brother, and a mom and dad. I'm sure lots of people like chocolate and peanut butter. I bet a lot of people also have a favorite stuffed animal that's worn, so dirty it has changed color, but loved all the same. And I'm positive there are lots of girls like me out in the world who dream of becoming a published author.

So what makes me so special?

Everyone has a story to tell. Everyone. Every single person in the world has a story deep inside them waiting to be written, to be told, to be shared. But why should we share it? Couldn't we keep it to ourselves?

But we shouldn't. We can't. Imagine if J.K. Rowling had written the entire Harry Potter series and never shared a word of it. Imagine if she'd taken Harry, Ron, Hermione and all of the other beloved characters to the grave. No Hogwarts, no movies based on the books, no Harry. J.K. Rowling has offered us writers so much inspiration. Imagine if that inspiration never existed. I'm sure lots of our stories would be immensely different.

Imagine if Suzanne Collins never shared The Hunger Games. The entire dystopian genre would never have been this popular without it. Jennifer  Lawrence would never be known as Katniss Everdeen, the girl on fire and none of us would be waiting in line for the midnight premiere of "Catching Fire" in November.

See what happens when we share our stories? We impact lives. We inspire  people. We change history. By sharing just one story, your story, we allow others to share their stories. It's all one gigantic domino effect, and each of us is a domino. Don't let the chain of events stop with you. Continue it, and who knows? Maybe you'll become the next J.K. Rowling.

Sincerely,
A domino with a story to share

On Bashing Blogging Ruts

So my fantastic blogger friend nevillegirl post THIS about figuring out how to have an awesome blog. I think it's super helpful (especially seeing as she has over 212 subscribed to her blog by e-mail at the moment).

While I read the post, I put mental checkmarks near each suggestion.

• Post frequently. Check. I try to post at least three times each week, sometimes more, sometimes lest.

• Try to post meaningful stuff. Half of a check. Most of the time I try to post stuff I think people will care about, including myself, but I have a weakness for memes. Especially about books. And writing. And Harry Potter.

• Ignore the people who say, “Well, I don’t think you should write about ___.” Check. I haven't had any of those people, luckily.

• Make your blog easy on the eyes. Check. It's colorful and creative---like me--but it's not over the top. I tend to avoid those kinds of blogs.

• Communicate with your readers, and make it easy for them to communicate with you. Check, check, and check! :D I very much encourage comments and--in general--I try to respond to every single one I receive, even if it's a quick, "Thanks for commenting!" or "I'm glad you enjoyed it!"

• Make your blog easy to navigate. Check. I have a search bar, blog post archives, and tags to click on. If you're having problems finding a post, I'm not sure what else to do.

•  Vary the content of your posts. Uh . . . 

Yeah. That was what I was leading up to.

When I first started blogging, I had a ton of variety. (I also had a schedule back then and little blogging experience). I don't want to have a schedule. I like the element of surprise and spontaneity. And I think blog readers do, too, in general. But the downside of not having a schedule is that you can easily fall into a blogging rut.

Recently it seems like I'll I've been blogging about is writing, books, and memes about both things. Sure there might be an interview in between or a quick link to something fun, but usually those things are writing and book related, too. These are both activities I'm passionate about, and I think you should show your passion for those activities, but reading about these things day after day after day can get tiring for people.

Of course I'm not tired of these things, but I'm sure a lot of you are. (Well, I don't know. Are you)?

When I realized all of this, I got an idea. Ding! *Cue lightbulb above head* What if I conducted a survey?





How about it readers? What do you want to hear from me? Maybe a post full of quotes I like? Posts about things I've been up to lately? Pictures I've taken? The choice is yours! :D The fate of my blog is in your hands (so don't mess it up).

Another idea I had to conquer this infernal blogging rut is to ask people to guest post on my blog. If you have an idea--any idea at all--for a post on my blog, send me an e-mail at themagicviolinist(AT)gmail(DOT)com and we can talk it over! :) I hope to get lots of responses from you all!

How I Like My Eggs . . . Er, Books

Prompt: How do you like your eggs . . . er, books? Make a list of your usual reading locations, a list of favorite genres (substitute authors if you wish), and a list of reading snacks. When you're done, try combining items from each list. Which combo sounds best to you, right at this moment? You can take this as far as you like and make multiple combinations for all occasions.

Locations
1. My bed underneath all of the covers, surrounded by all fifty-something of my stuffed animals.
2. On the couch, with my dog.
3. In the reading nook in my room.
4. In the car on long road trips.
5. Outside in the grass.
6. In the library.
7. At the coffee shop.
8. Outside on the porch.

Genres
1. Fantasy
2. Contemporary
3. Dystopian.
4. Medieval Fantasy
5. Young Adult

Snacks
1. Any kind of cookies
2. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups
3. Hot Cocoa
4. Milkshakes
5. Ice cream
6. Milk
7. M&M's

The combo that sounds best to me right now is a good fantasy book, with a chocolate peanut butter milkshake, in my bed underneath all of the covers, surrounded by all fifty-something of my stuffed animals.

How do you like your books? Leave a comment! :D

I Should Be Writing

But I'm having way too much fun on this website! :D You paste some of your writing (a blog post, article, novel, short story, poem, etc.) and it shows which author matches your writing style!

I put in my last blog post and got Stephen King. (Yippee)!

I put in The Sorceress and got L. Frank Baum. (Nice . . .)

I put in Fantasya: A Giant Problem and got Margaret Mitchell. (WOO HOOOOOO)!

I put in Secrets and got . . . (drum roll please . . .) J.K. ROWLING!!!! (*Does a happy dance*)

Who do you write like? Leave a comment! :D

Another Writerly Meme

Stealing this from Beth at "Rainbows and Penguins."

What was your first-ever piece of writing?

Gosh, it must've been this short story I wrote when I was around six about a ball and a frisbee. The ball and the frisbee wanted to play together. The ball suggests catch, but the frisbee points out that he doesn't have any hands. The frisbee suggests frisbee, but the ball points out that he doesn't have any hands. The ball says, "I know! Let's race! You can roll and I can bounce!" So they race until it's time to go to bed. The End.

How old were you when you first began writing? 

Around six, so for about seven years now.

Name two writing goals. One short term & one long term.  

Short term: Finishing Cosmo before NaNoWriMo this year. 

Long term: Getting published. ;)

Do you write fiction or non-fiction?

99.99% of the time it's fiction, but once in a blue moon I'll write non-fiction. Very rarely. Extremely rarely.

Bouncing off of question 4, what's your favorite genre to write in? 

Fantasy, fantasy, fantasy.

One writing lesson you've learned since 2013 began.

Getting critiques can be hard sometimes, but it's so worth it.

Favorite author, off the top of your head!

J.K. Rowling.

Three current favorite books.

Currently? Harry Potter 1-7, The Hunger Games, and The Host. But best books I've read recently are Wonder, How I Lost You, and The Revised Life of Ellie Sweet.

 

Biggest influence on your writing {person}: 

For a person that I don't know (but wish I did know): J.K. Rowling.

People that I do know: My parents.

What's your go-to writing music?

It depends on the book I'm writing (each book has a different soundtrack) but Taylor Swift is always great. I love listening to the music from the album "The Hunger Games: Songs From District 12 and Beyond." Classical music is great, too.

List three to five writing quirks of yours! Little habits, must-haves as you write, etc.

1. There always seems to be a scene in a forest (if it's a fantasy novel).

2. Most of my main characters are nerds.

3. A boy named Jamie keeps popping up.

4. My bully always has one or two "minions" who just stand there and do nothing.

5. Every single antagonist of mine has a raging temper.

What, in three sentences or less, does your writing mean to you?

I am a god. I can create new worlds, new people, friends that always stay with me, magical creatures, and anything else I can dream up. The sky isn't the limit: my imagination is.

Tag, you're it! :D Leave a link to your post in the comments (if you decide to do one).