30 Days of Gratitude- Day 9

Today I'm grateful for . . . INCH. The awesome home school group my mom set up! :D Most of our friends come from INCH. It's HUGE and so much fun. We do so many activities with our friends: We do park days in the summer, we go to the YMCA, we go on field trips, we go roller skating, we do so many things. We have lots of different clubs. We get together with our friends a lot because of INCH. And when we're not at INCH, we're e-mailing our friends and texting them. Thank you, Mommy, for setting up INCH! :D

Normal Picture

Silly Picture

30 Days of Gratitude- Day 8

Today I'm grateful for . . . Minecraft. One of my favorite computer games that my brother helped me discovered. The free version stinks, and the paid version is a bit expensive, but it is so worth it. At first I wasn't sure if I wanted to get it, but my brother kept begging me to and he even offered to help pay for it, so I took up his offer and now I love it! I play almost every day. The point of the game is to take your character and adventure around a whole world, killing monsters, creating items, and building structures. You can play on survival mode (where you are able to die) or creative mode (where you have an unlimited supply of items, are invincible, and can fly), or on adventure mode (where you can't destroy or build anything and can die). You can play singleplayer or on multiplayer servers that other people set up so you can play with anybody. My favorite servers are the one my brother and I set up, a Hunger Games server where you go around and kill characters in arenas (which sounds horrible, but is really fun), and a server called Mine-RP which have super nice players and is a regular server where you build and kill monsters. If you want to check it out, click HERE to see the website.

30 Days of Gratitude- Day 7

Today I'm grateful for . . . Taylor Swift. She is a very talented singer and songwriter. I love her geeky quirkiness and how fun and creative she is. Watching videos of her concert and seeing her interviews are always so much fun! :D My favorite album by her is her newest one-Red. But my favorite song by her is Safe and Sound which she wrote for the Hunger Games soundtrack and appeared in the credits of the Hunger Games. I also love the videos of her cat, Meredith, who is super cute! If you would like to go to Taylor Swift's official website, click HERE. Scroll down for pictures and music videos! :D

Happy Election Day! :D

Happy Election Day, everyone! :D Right now my whole family, including Scout and some very loved stuffed animals (*COUGH* Menedy *COUGH*) are watching election coverage, eating food, and playing video games. It seemed pretty close at first, but now it looks like Obama is going to win.

Personally, I'm rooting for Obama. Even if my parents weren't I would. I like that he is for gay rights. And I don't think Romney is very pro-women's rights, so he wouldn't get my vote if I were eighteen. Some people really haven't paid attention to their history lessons. We're practically repeating what happened with blacks and whites except this time it's with gays.

Are you watching the election results? Have fun! :D

30 Days of Gratitude- Day 6

Today I'm grateful for  . . . Harry Potter. I think most of you know how much I love this series. I have literally read the whole series probably thirty times over. I read the first book so many times that it split in half. I love listening to the audio version by Jim Dale who does every single voice differently, I love reading the books, I love taking Harry Potter quizzes, I love talking about it with people and on forums, I love blogging about it, I love watching the movies, I love everything about it! :D I love all most of the characters. The ones that I absolutely despise include Voldemort, Bellatrix, and Umbridge. My favorite characters include Hermione, Dobby, Luna, Neville, Fred and George, Sirius, Dumbledore, and McGonagall. There are so many good quotes in all of the books as well, too many to list, but you can find a bunch of them on this awesome website! :D Mugglenet. If you want to find more of my Harry Potter or J. K. Rowling related posts, you can click on any of these links.

Happy Birthday, Harry Potter! (July 31, 2012)

Book Report--Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (July 21, 2008)

J. K. Rowling (July 28, 2008)

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (September 16, 2008)

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (October 21, 2008)

30 Days of Gratitude- Day 5

Today I'm grateful for . . . Books. I really enjoy reading, especially fiction. I love getting to know each character, bad and good. If a book is really good, I tune out everything around me and get sucked into a different world, one that only exists inside the book. I love reading at the beach, at night in my room, and around the holidays to pass the time. I have a lot of books that I love, too many to list in this post, but if you want to see some I enjoy, there is a list of books on the side of my blog.

Books on my nightstand

30 Days of Gratitude- Day 1-4

My mom gave me an idea to do 30 posts throughout the month of November and each day say something that I'm grateful for. But since this is the fourth of November, I'm a few days behind. So this post will have four things that I am grateful for.

Today I'm grateful for . . . Family. I love spending time with my mom, my dad, my brother, and my dog. I love playing games, watching movies, eating food, and making each day special with them.

Our Family in front of The Three Broomsticks at Harry Potter World

Today I'm grateful for . . . Scout. My sweet, adorable, crazy puppy who loves us all more than anything else in the world. (Yes, even more than meat). I love waking up in the morning and getting greeted by a happy tail and a tongue licking me all over. Coming home is also really fun, too.

Scout

Today I'm grateful for . . . NaNoWriMo. National Novel Writing Month is the best thing that happens in November, in my opinion. Even more than Thanksgiving. Writing is one of my favorite things to do, so a whole month where you get to write all the time? Pretty nice. I especially like going to the write-ins at our local coffee shop.

Today I'm grateful for . . . Kirsten. My best friend in the whole world. Today is her birthday, in fact. (And so is my Grandma's. They share a birthday on my backwards birthday)! Kirsten turned thirteen today. She is super thoughtful and nice and loves to spend time with me and her friends. I love talking to her and hanging out with her and just goofing around. We both love to goof around and be silly. Happy birthday, Kirsten! And happy birthday, Grandma!

Kirsten (Right) and Me

Blog Carnival Winner- Halloween

I only had one person enter this Blog Carnival, so Didi at "Didi Readin' in the Rain" is the clear winner. But I really liked her story. It was creative and fun. Here it is!

A Chill, a Thrill, and a Yard Sale

     I was getting ready to say 'Trick or Treat!' as I knocked on my last door for this Halloween night. As the door opened, I was greeted by a young hand of which seconds after,  pulled me into the unusual house. When I realized that I was inside, I decided to close my eyes, and turn around. Then I slowly opened one eye, then came the other. A witch! I knew it! Just kidding. Continue. It was my friend, Leila. She said "I've tried too hard too keep you safe, I can't leave you now. (still, in being prepared for saying trick or treat...) "Trick or treat....Ahem...I mean: What?! I don't understand."
(Leila mumbling: you know what! I am still working on understanding YOU.......) "Huh?"  "I said I don't understand." "Anyway, there's no time. lock the door, and you will be safe for now. Who knows what could be lurking about on a night like this, especially today. It's a perfect opportunity for the.... never mind. It's better for you not to know. Let's go." She grabbed my wrist and dragged me down to the basement. "I want you to run into that wall. Now! " I looked at her with a puzzled look.
"NOW!" She repeated. "I don't know what you're playing at." I said. "But okay." I started sprinting towards the wall. But instead of crashing, I wheeled around, and ran upstairs. Leila shouted after me "Wait! I was going to eat... I mean... help you! Come back!" After hearing this, I shouted back "NEVER!" The horrifying response I got was a chilling cackle coming from behind me. I knew that the person I was just talking to was definitely NOT Leila. I opened the door, and sure enough, there was something waiting for me...

AAAAAAAAH! Addison slammed the book shut.  She threw it on the floor, stepped on it, hid it under the stairs, sent it through the washing machine, tried to donate it to the library...but nothing could shake the truth; she couldn't bear the suspense.

"Fine," she said, as she slowly peeled open the back cover of the book.  "I'll read it.  I'll finish it."

 I opened the door, and sure enough, there was something waiting for me... my worst nightmare.  An angry mother! Worst of all... My angry mother. 

"Where were you?!" Mom asked me.

"In there," I said, pointing towards the house behind me.

"I told you to never talk to strangers, let alone to ever go into their HOUSES!"

"But Mom, It was Leila--"

"You know telling lies is not allowed!  You're grounded.  Forever!"

"But Mom..."

"No.  You lied. Groundation.  Forever."

"NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"


That was not what Addison expected.  The thrill she had been seeking on this dark spooky night was over.  She dropped the book in the yard sale box at the foot of their stairs, and didn't think twice about her Mom hauling it away the next day.  She settled back into her bed sleepily with nothing left of her fears...until next Halloween.

NaNoWriMo!!!! :D

First of all, Happy Halloween, Everyone! :D We had mummy hot dogs for lunch and Thing 2 made a haunted house for us. (It was really a haunted room, but it involved a chair moving by itself and a dead owl. Very creepy).

But what I really wanted to talk about was NaNoWriMo! :D Today is October 31st, as you all know, so that means that tomorrow is the start of another National Novel Writing Month! My word count goal this year is 40,000. Next year I'll be going for 50,000.

My dad even made these awesome charts to keep track of our word goal. Thing 2's chart was a role playing game theme and Mommy's was "The Wizard of Oz." Daddy's chart is a music note and mine is a sun.

I'm going to be coloring it in with yellow (of course).

I've made a few buddies on the Young Writer's Program website that I have never met, and made a few blogging friends along the way. Most of them LOVE Harry Potter almost as much as I do.

 My story this year is going to be set in medieval times. Every single one of the characters is going to have a few personality traits that are like someone I know. For example, the two main characters of my book (Katherine Fauccet and Kristen Willowfeather) are going to be a little bit like me and my best friend. They aren't going to be exactly like us, but a little. My mom even gave me the idea to have silver tinsel in Katherine's hair to have the shiny aspect of braces, since there was no such thing as braces back then.

My story is going to be called "Secrets" and is going to be about two peasant girls (Katherine and Kristen) who are best friends and find out that one of the queen's maids is plotting a rebellion after they find her diary full of secrets. When they figure out that the rebellion involves an army of evil magical creatures, they decide to go to the Forest of Yojar and try and create their own army of good magical creatures so they can stop the evil maid.

I've been using this awesome website (http://www.namegenerator.biz/) to get some great fantasy names that sound a lot like the characters from Lord of the Rings.

I'm really excited to start NaNoWriMo this year! :D

A B See Photo Challenge

For everyone who likes photography (or wants to get into photography), this post is definitely for you.

I found this challenge on a blog I recently discovered called "Musings From Neville's Navel." It's called the "A B See Photo Challenge." I changed the rules a bit. Here are the rules for myself:

1. The theme of the challenge is the alphabet. For example, when I take photos for "A" the theme must be something that starts with "a." So I could take photos of autumn, apples, anything that is orange, etc.
2. The letters must be done in order.
3. Old photos can't be used. The photos you use must be fairly recent and you must take the photo.
4. You must provide a description for each photo. For example, what the name of the photo is, where I took the photo, and what I like about the photo.
5. Have fun! :D

I will start this challenge soon, and I invite everyone to do it along with me! :D

Blog Carnival-Halloween

Hello, everyone! :D This is my second blog carnival! :D If you would like to see the winner of my first blog carnival, click HERE.

Here are the rules:

1. I am the host of this Blog Carnival, so I get to choose the topic. The topic of this Blog Carnival is "Halloween".
2. Now each and every one of you can write a short story (fictional or true) about Halloween and post it on your blog. You must have a link to my blog at the end of your post. The word limit is five hundred.
3. After you have posted your story on your blog, give me the link to your post, either by e-mail or by commenting on my blog.
4. The end of the carnival is October 31. That's two weeks. You must have steps 2 and 3 completed by then for it to be entered in the Blog Carnival contest.
5. After I have read all of your stories and the deadline has passed, I'll choose the winner of the Blog Carnival contest. The winner gets their story posted on my blog. I am judging based on creativity and just good writing.

Have fun! :D I hope to see you all host your own Blog Carnival sometime. ;)

Haiku Wednesday

So many colors
That autumn brings to us when
The leaves start to change.

Blog Carnival: And the winner is . . .

Thank you to everyone who entered my Blog Carnival! :D The deadline passed three days ago, so if you wanted to enter and didn't get a chance, you can enter my next one, if you would like. ;)

Now for the winner! :D The winner is . . .

Didi at "Didi Readin' in the Rain"! :D Here is her story titled Fear:

Fear

  I was running through the woods, on a dark stormy night. Lightning was striking everywhere within two feet of myself. I had dropped my basket miles back, groceries flying everywhere. My heart was pounding so hard that I thought I would burst any second, and my feet were aching. Who knew that  on a night like this, I would be left alone with wolves running loose and me running for my own life. Every Midsummer's eve, the wolves break through their boundaries, and start running wild to feast on whatever they can get their paws on. I hoped that this year, I wouldn't be that. My parents would never dream of letting their daughter stay home alone tonight, let alone send me to walk to the store. Or so I thought. I never knew that fear could be so strong. Just then, I jerked forward in my bed, exhausted, and all tangled in bed sheets. There was sweat all over my forehead. Phew! It's only a nightmare. 

Congratulations, Didi! :D And the most creative story goes to Julia at "British 'A' Aligator"! Thanks again, and I hope to have even more entrants during my next Blog Carnival! :D

Haiku Wednesday-School

This is a Haiku I wrote for school titled "School"! :D

School

Crayons and pencils,
Markers, paint, paper, and books.
Things you'd find in school.

Blog Carnival Reminder

Just a reminder for everyone that wants to enter my Blog Carnival: The deadline is in two days, so if you have a story you would like to enter, please e-mail me or post a comment! :D For those of you who need to know how to enter, click HERE. Have fun! :D

Blog Carnival

I read about this thing called a "Blog Carnival" and thought I would try it! This is how it works:

1. I am the host of this Blog Carnival, so I get to choose the topic. The topic of this Blog Carnival is "Fear".
2. Now each and every one of you can write a short story (fictional or true) about fear and post it on your blog. You must have a link to my blog at the end of your post.
3. After you have posted your story on your blog, give me the link to your post, either by e-mail or by commenting on my blog.
4. The end of the carnival is October 12. That's two weeks. You must have steps 2 and 3 completed by then for it to be entered in the Blog Carnival contest.
5. After I have read all of your stories and the deadline has passed, I'll choose the winner of the Blog Carnival contest. The winner gets their story posted on my blog. I am judging based on creativity and just good writing.

Maybe you can host your own Blog Carnival sometime. ;) Have fun! :D

Scout's Haircut

Scout got a haircut today and she looks super cute! :D Here is a before picture and some after pictures.

Before (She's sleeping on my stuffed cat, Menedy)

After (Eating a treat)

After (I was holding her treat up so she would focus for the picture)

After (Doesn't she look adorable with her bandanna?!?!)

Comment and tell me which picture you like best! :D

My Second Post Went Live!!!! :D

Sorry for not blogging much lately. Our family went on a week long beach vacation that was AWESOME! It was so much fun. Even the dog enjoyed it. :)

Anyway, this past Thursday my second post went live on thewritepractice.com! :D It's called "Six Ways to Make Your Readers Hate You." Click HERE to see it. It currently has 58 comments, so comment and make it 59. Or 60 or 61 or . . . ;)

The Sorceress Chapter 2

If you haven't read Chapter 1 click here. I'm open to all comments! :D

 Chapter 2

          “Your majesty!” Anya called breathlessly as she ran to the throne room in a buzz of excitement. She opened the doors with such force that they slammed into the wall. The king sat up with a jolt, eyes wide with hope and fear.

          “Your majesty!” Anya said again. “I got it! I got the emerald.”

          The king stood up from his throne and walked over to her as she pulled out the glowing, green stone. The king took it from her and held it up to the light as if he was trying to make sure it wasn’t a fake. He pressed his ear against it, listening for the magical hum that Anya had heard in the woods.

          “So you did,” he said quietly. A wide grin broke out onto his face. “Well done, Anya. Well done!” He patted her back and handed her a heavy sack of coins.

          “This should provide enough food for a month. An elderly woman has generously offered me a small house if I should ever need it. I would like it if you took the house. It would be your very own home, and you could do whatever you would like with it.”

          “Thank you,” Anya said gratefully.

          “The house is in town next to the grocer.” The king gave a sad smile. “But you should hurry. I don’t think the goblins are very happy with you or me. I wouldn’t be surprised if the goblins started attacking the kingdom. They’ll want the emerald back.” He gave a sigh.

          Anya nodded and started to walk out of the room when the king stopped her.

          “Would you be willing to do me a favor?” He asked. Anya nodded. He had already given her so much, it was the least she could do to thank him.

          The king sighed again.

          “I know for a fact that the goblins are going to attack again. We need to keep the emerald safe. We can’t let it fall into their hands again. Would you be willing to act as a guard? I already know about your fighting skills,” Anya blushed at this. “And you don’t have to guard all the time, only some of the time. Is that okay?”

          “Of course,” Anya answered. “It’s the least I can do for all you’ve done for me.”

          The king smiled.

          “Thank you. You’ll start tomorrow from noon to two. Everyday from that point on, except on weekends, you will guard from noon to two. I can promise you three gold coins for payment. I’ll have some of my guards guard the emerald in the meantime. We are hiding it in the castle because the goblins will think that we'll hide it somewhere else since the castle is so obvious a place to put it. You may pack your things.”

          Anya walked out of the room with a feeling of nervous excitement. The king had chosen her, a sixteen-year-old girl, to help guard the emerald. He had hundreds and hundreds of soldiers and servants that could’ve helped, but he chose her. Girls were often discriminated against. Their only purpose was to cook, clean, sew, and do more cleaning and sewing. Anya didn’t mind the cooking, but she hated cleaning and she was horrible at sewing even a button onto a shirt. She preferred the rougher life where she could climb trees and get dirty and wear pants. She loved archery but most of all, she loved sword fighting. She wanted to be the first woman soldier in the king’s army, but she knew it was going to be very difficult. She had been training by herself in the woods. She could now shoot almost any moving target in the exact place she wanted to hit it in and her ability to fight with a sword was even better than her archery. Guarding the emerald would be good practice as well.

          She reached her room in the castle.

          It was a small, but cozy room. It was comfortable enough. There was wooden bed in the corner with a mattress and a fluffy white blanket for when it got chilly and there was a poufy pillow that your head sank into as soon as you touched it. There was a window that had a nice view of the royal gardens and a small bookshelf that held a dictionary, a history book, and a couple other fantasy books that Anya enjoyed very much. They were all gifts from the king. There was a pink throw rug that was no longer soft and clean. It had a nastier, brownish-pink color that reminded Anya of vomit. The brown factor of the color was because of the mud and dirt that Anya tracked in when she walked through her room with her boots on. There was a gas lamp sitting on a nightstand next to a short, mahogany wardrobe that held Anya’s clothes from the king. Above the wardrobe was a mirror.

          Anya looked into the mirror. She was surprised to see how much she had grown since she had taken the time to look at her reflection. Her wavy, light brown hair was longer and windblown. It covered some of her oval shaped face. Her black eyes sparkled and she was taller. She had filled out some since she was no longer starving, but she was still thin.

          Anya dropped her drawstring bag and began to pull out her clothes. She added it to her already bulging bag. Inside the bag she had some bread, a couple of apples, and a chunk of cheese. There were also a few rags inside from an old coat Anya had owned. The rags now helped to conceal valuable objects that Anya occasionally found from pick-pocketers or goblins.

          Anya moved her rug to the side and pried a loose floorboard from the ground. She wasn’t wary of anybody in the castle, but you could never be too careful here in the kingdom. Inside the floor was her quiver of arrows and a bow. There was also a large sack of coins she had earned from the king over the years. She added the gold she had just earned to the larger sack. She wrapped the sack of gold in the rags and put it in her drawstring bag before slinging the quiver on her shoulder and picking up her bow. She scribbled a note to the king and nailed it to her door, letting him know that she had left.

          She set off down the road in the chilly night air. The sun had set completely and she had to find her way by following the lights of lanterns that were bobbing up and down from the people holding them.

          Anya saw the house the king had talked about. It was a small cottage about the size of a log cabin. In fact, it was made of logs. And it was right next to the grocer, a great convenience to Anya.

          Anya stepped inside the cottage and bolted the door behind her. She did not want to be interrupted by un-invited visitors.

          The house was dusty, but was otherwise very clean. Nothing had been left behind and Anya took no time in unpacking. She dug a floorboard out of the ground and placed her bow and arrows, her sword, and her gold inside. Anya set her bag in the corner and was about to settle down for bed when she realized she hadn’t brought any blankets or a pillow with her. She kicked the ground and tried to figure something out. All of the shops were closed so she couldn’t purchase a quilt or a pillow. Maybe she could go back to the castle and get a blanket and a pillow from her bed.

          She pulled the floorboard back up and grabbed her sword. Attaching it to her belt, she ran off back towards the castle. It was a good thing it was just down the road.

          Anya didn’t stop running until she reached the guard at the entrance of the castle.

          “Anya . . . Perriwinkle,” she gasped. In order to get into the castle, she needed to give her name. She thought it was a rather stupid security rule since any goblin or thief could give a false name, but the guards only paid attention to their appearance. The only reason she knew her last name was because when she was taken in after her parents died, there was a photo of her with her name on it.

          Anya made towards the door, but she was surprised when the guard blocked her path.

          “Excuse me,” she said hotly. “But I am trying to get in.”

          “None shall pass,” he said in a gruff voice.

          “But you know me!” she yelled shrilly. “And I know you, Bert."

          “Rules are rules, Anya,” he said. “You know that. My orders are to let no one in after dusk.”

          “But that’s absurd!” Anya argued. “You know who I am, I’m not a thief or a gobl-!” She broke off. Of course. The king didn’t want to take any chances with a thief or goblin getting into the castle at night now that they had the emerald. Thieves and goblins usually attacked at night when it was darker and harder to see. Of course, goblins could see pretty well in the dark.

          “Fine,” she said with a harrumph! “I’ll just go then.” And she set off back down the path towards the tiny house that was now hers.

          Anya slammed the door behind her as she walked into the house, sending a cloud of dust all around the room. She heard a faint achoo! Anya drew her sword faster than lightning and looked around.

          “Show yourself!” she demanded.

          “It’s just me!” a quiet voice said. A shadowy figure stepped out from the darkness.

          Anya lowered her sword.

          “Hello, Ronald,” she said. “What’re you doing here?”

          Ronald stepped into the faint light from a window. Anya noticed his sandy hair was shaggier and covered parts of his eyes. He was even taller since the last time they met. Anya always joked that he shot up straighter and faster than a bean sprout.

          Ronald gave Anya one of his goofy smiles.

          “I heard you were living here now,” he explained.

          “Word travels fast,” she said with a snort. Ronald laughed. Gossip spread wider and faster than wildfire in Stormcastle. The kingdom was given that name back five hundred years ago when the castle was struck by lightning.

          “Mrs. Melly saw you going into this house after she closed up the shop,” Ronald said, jerking his thumb at the quilt shop across from Anya’s house.

          Anya sheathed her sword and kicked the floorboard. The floorboard flipped up and slid across the room. She set the sword down and replaced it.

          “So what’ve you been up to?” Ronald asked.

          “Nothing much,” she said with a shrug. She smiled and poked him playfully. “I got the emerald, though.”

          Ronald raised his eyebrows.

          “Really. This isn’t a joke, right?”

          Anya shook her head.

          “No joke. I got it just an hour ago. The king gave me a sack of gold and offered me this house as reward. Oh yeah, and I’m on guard duty to protect the emerald.”

          Ronald smiled.

          “Good for you.”

          “It’s more than good. It’s great! This is a wonderful start to my soldier career.”

          Ronald gave an exasperated sigh that told her he was tired of this subject.

          “Anya, we’ve talked about this-.”

          “I know we’ve talked about this,” she said impatiently. “You’ve said many times that girls can’t be soldiers, but who knows? I may be the first. I see no point in why a girl can’t be a soldier. What’s the difference between a girl and a boy, anyways?”

          “Well,” he started. “Boys are naturally stronger.”

          Silence fell.

          “See, that’s all you can think of. I’ve trained, I’m strong, and I can fight! Who cares if a boy is stronger than me, I’m still strong and I can handle a sword and a bow and arrow just as well as any boy can. If I challenged you right now to a sword fight-!”

          “You would chop me to pieces,” Ronald interrupted calmly, trying to cool down her hot temper. “But I’m not good at fighting. You know I need training. It’s just not right for a lady to be a soldier.”

          Anya bared her teeth angrily.

          “I’m not a lady,” she said. “I’m nothing like a lady! If I were to chop my hair off right now, I would look and act like a boy. No one would know the difference except for you, the king, your mom, Jane, and Bert.”

          Ronald pursed his lips.

          “I know that. But the king would never allow-.”

          “How do you know what the king would and wouldn’t allow? I’ve worked for him for almost a year now. He knows what I’m capable of. If I have the proper training, I could become a great soldier. I could fight off goblins, armies, and so many other things! It’s just not fair.”

          She broke off and bit her lip, trying to think of another argument. Ronald placed his hand on her shoulder.

          “I know, Anya. It’s not my fault that girls don’t get treated fairly.”

          “It’s not that they don’t get treated fairly,” she replied. “It’s that they’re expected to do normal girl stuff like cooking and sewing and housekeeping. They don’t even get asked if they want to do something different. I never keep things neat and I prick my thumb every time I stick a needle through a piece of cloth. I’m different, Ronald. I’m not like Jane, I’m not like Mrs. Melly, I don’t want to get married. Why can’t I do what I want to do?”

          “I don’t know, Anya. Maybe you’re right and the king will let you become a soldier once you’ve worked for him for a while, but I just don’t think people will like this idea. No lady has ever been a soldier before.”

          “I’m not a lady,” Anya said through her gritted teeth.

          “Fine, no girl has ever been a soldier before.”

          “Because no girl has ever had any interest! At least I’ve never known any girl that has wanted to be a soldier. And no one has ever given a girl a chance. I might be the first girl soldier in history.”

          Ronald shook his head slightly and looked out the window. He knew better than to argue.

          “It’s getting late, you’d better get some sleep if you’re going to guard tomorrow.”

          “What? That’s it?”

          “What do you mean ‘that’s it’?”

          “I mean, you’re not going to talk to me more about this?”

          Ronald looked completely bewildered.

          “What else is there to talk about?” he asked.

          “I don’t know. I just thought we were going to talk more.”

          “We’ve already talked about it. There’s nothing else to discuss.”

          Anya clutched her hands behind her back.

          “I have one more question.”

          “Okay, shoot.”

          “If I’m going to be a soldier, I need some way to convince the king I’m worthy and able enough to be a soldier. Can you think of any way to show him that I’m ready?”

          Ronald sighed.

          “I’m not sure. Just work for him and train in private like you’ve been doing and after a while when you ask him, maybe he’ll let you.”

          Anya nodded, taking this into account. Work for the king, train in private, ask after a while. She was positive that she already had his trust and he knew of her abilities, but she just wasn’t sure if it was enough to let her be a soldier. There was never a girl soldier in an army in history. Would the king break this long and foolish tradition? Or would he keep it, seeing what Anya was capable of?

          “Now I really need to go, otherwise my mother’s going to be worried sick. Bye, Anya.”       
“Bye, Ronald.”

       

Recommended Beach Reads

Our family is going to the beach soon and my mom mentioned wanting to find a good book to read while she was at the beach. Then I got the idea for this blog post. Here are 10 books I recommend reading while at the beach.

1. The Harry Potter Series by J. K. Rowling. If you didn't see that one coming, you obviously have not read enough of my blog posts mentioning Harry Potter. I enjoy reading Harry Potter anytime, anywhere. I never get tired of reading them.

2. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. This book will keep you busy for maybe a day. It's fast paced, exciting, and you can't put it down no matter how hard you try or how much you need to get done. I also recommend watching the movie (AFTER reading the book, of course) if you are the kind of person who is not highly sensitive to action movies and fighting. There's not a lot of blood and guts; the director did a good job with that. I also recommend Catching Fire and Mockingjay.

3. Any book by Tamora Pierce. She's awesome. She writes really good fantasy, medieval, renaissance type of stuff with magic, knights, and strong female characters. I highly recommend the Song of the Lioness series and the Protector of the Small series. It takes me about a day to read any of her books. Sometimes I'll read it in a night, depending on how late I go to bed and how long I stay up.

4. The Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series by Rick Riordan. This series is very cool and got me interested in Greek Mythology. Our whole family spent about a week reading different Greek Myths. There is lots of action, magical creatures, and humor to keep you interested. It didn't take me long to read all five books . . . twice.

5. The Fablehaven series by Brandon Mull. If you like Percy Jackson, you'll probably like Fablehaven. If you like Fablehaven, you'll probably like Percy Jackson. This series also has five books and is all about magical creatures and saving the world from destruction. Again, lots of action, humor, and magic to keep you interested.

6. The Matched Trilogy by Ally Condie. So far, the first book in the series is my favorite. I've read the first and second, but not the third. I'm not sure if the third book is even out yet. This series is sort of like the Hunger Games in the sense that it's a post apocalyptic dystopian book. It's more romance based, though. I read this book while I was at the beach last year and I loved it. I couldn't put it down.

7. The Maximum Ride Series. This is one of my new favorite series. It's by James Patterson and It's about these six mutant kids who were made by scientists. They're part human, part bird, and they have to save the world. TONS of action, lots of sarcasm, and all awesome. There are eight books. I have not read the last one yet, since it recently came out and there are three people ahead of me to read it at the library. There is a little bit of what I think is unnecessary romance, but that is my only issue with this series.

8. The Help by Kathryn Stockett. My mom read this book at the beach and then I asked her if I could read it. I read it and loved it. So good. I also loved the movie. It's set in the 1960s and you read the story from two black maids' points of view and a white woman who wants to be a journalist. It's a sweet story and a good read.

9. Ella Enchanted, Fairest, and Ever. These three books are all written by Gail Carson Levine. They're all great, magical stories that you can't put down. Ever was my least favorite out of the three, but it was still good. I think I liked Ella Enchanted best. Ella Enchanted has also been made into a very good movie.

10. Entwined by Heather Dixon. This book is a spin on the tale The Twelve Dancing Princesses. A magical story with twelve sweet girls. Each girl has their own personality and an important role in the story. I read this book within twenty four hours.

My New Job

As I said in my "Encyclopedia of Me-W" post, I got a new job at thewritepractice.com. It is the best writing blog ever! :D

My first ever post on there just went live. I am so excited to get comments and have people read my post! Each post on this blog tons of comments.

You can check out my post by clicking on THIS. My post is called "Just Write" and for those of you who love writing but can never seem to find the time, this post should help. ;)

Happy Birthday, Harry Potter!

Happy July 31st! A.K.A., HARRY POTTER'S BIRTHDAY!!! :D

So today is Harry Potter's Birthday and I decided that our family should celebrate it. I started off the morning by baking a delicious-looking (and tasting) cake with the words, "Happy Birthday, Harry!" written on it in green icing. I tried to make a cake like the one Harry received from Hagrid in the first Harry Potter book. Hagrid had accidentally squashed the cake so I did the same.

Before Hagrid Sat On It

After Hagrid Sat On It

My brother and I are going to watch "The Prisoner of Azkaban" soon but I wanted to write this blog post first.

By the way, Harry's birthday is also J.K. Rowling's birthday. Happy Birthday, Jo!

Happy Birthday, Harry!

Encyclopedia of Me - W

The Write Practice- The Write Practice is the BEST writing blog EVER. The guy who writes it is Joe Bunting and each post is about writing. At the end of each post, he has a "practice," a writing prompt that you can do and post in the comments. Everyone else who posts their practice can comment on other people's practices and give them tips and ideas. The idea is that each person will comment and help everyone out in their writing. I just got an internship with the website and I am SO excited! It's especially exciting because it's the first time they've hired a kid. Each month I'll write a column and post it on the website. I haven't figured out the details yet but when I do know exactly what's going on, I'll post about it! :D

Webkinz- In my opinion, Webkinz is the best website ever. You buy a stuffed animal that comes with a code, go online, enter the code, and get the animated pet version of the stuffed animal! You choose if it's a boy or a girl, name it, make a room for it in your house, buy it clothes, and go around Webkinz world, playing different games and winning prizes. I have close to 30 pets now and my house is HUGE. My house probably has somewhere between forty and fifty rooms. :D

Wii- Besides the computer, this is my favorite electronic gaming system. We got it for Christmas one year and have lots of games. My favorite games are Super Smash Bros., Horse Life Adventures, Mario Kart, Just Dance, Band Hero, Order Up!, and Harry Potter Legos. I also have Harry Potter Legos for the DS and I much prefer that to the Wii version, but both are fun! :D Whenever friends come over, we usually play one or two games on there.

Winx Club- Winx Club is one of my favorite TV shows. Sadly, the series was discontinued and finding the episodes online is EXTREMELY hard. Most of my favorite shows get discontinued. Winx Club is about a girl named Bloom who discovers she is a fairy. She goes to a school called Alfea and meets four fairy friends: Flora, Techna, Musa, and Stella. Later on, she meets other fairies. The five friends go on adventures and defeat evil, discovering secrets about others and themselves along the way. There are many epic, magical battles and lots of cute, fuzzy animals. My favorite character is Flora, who uses mostly nature magic and is the peacemaker in the group. She's calm and easygoing and loves animals. The best animal is Bloom's pet bunny, Kiko who is ADORABLE. :D

Wizard 101- Another great website. You create a wizard, start at level 1, get different quests, and battle enemies, gaining experience and prizes. You get training points as you level up and gain new spells. There are six different schools from which to choose when you make your wizard: Life, Storm, Fire, Death, Ice, Balance, and Myth. My favorite to least favorite is in that order. I think Life is the best because the teacher is super nice and it is mostly a healing school, so when you are in battles, you are the main healer when you take damage. The Life spells are pretty awesome, too. Storm is my second favorite because the spells do the most damage. Unfortunately, Storm spells are more likely to fizzle than any other kind of spell. When a spell fizzles, it doesn't work and you have to wait until your next turn to use another spell. Myth is my least favorite because the teacher is mean. I don't really have any other reason. XD

Writing- I love to write. It's fun, creative, and I love creating something entirely new. My favorite part about writing is getting to create characters and different worlds. You make your own rules, your own creatures, your own characters. You give the characters any personality you want. You can make them your best friend or your worst enemy. Sometimes I take someone I really like or really dislike, change the name, and make a character based on them. I write mostly fantasy because I love magic. I get most of my ideas from different books or from observing strangers. Today I was playing Dungeons and Dragons with my little brother. He was the DM (Dungeon Master) and I was in this Thieves' Guild when I met up with a bunch of stupid, evil ogres. One of the ogres was talking to me and it fell asleep in the middle of its sentence, which gave me an idea to create a new character, an old guy who falls asleep in the middle of his sentences. For example, my main character could meet this old wizard who was going to give her a quest . . .
Old Wizard: "Your quest is to defeat the golden dragon and bring back one of his teeth. But be careful. Once you take the tooth you must . . ."
He would be so annoying, but so funny. :D

Encyclopedia of Me - A



merchantcircle.com














A Cherry Pie, an Iguana, a Silver Dollar, and a Spitball Fight: It is the third NaNoWriMo book I have written. This is the description written on the back of my bound proof copy:

Stephanie Finkle and Ivy Smith have perfectly normal lives and perfectly normal families . . . until they find out that Ivy's mom is a wizard. A series of events lead to the breaking of a treasured silver dollar that leads to an evil wizard getting his powers back. The world is in peril and it's up to Stephanie and Ivy to save it. Can they keep the world from disaster?

Join Stephanie and Ivy in a terrific, dangerous, and very random adventure to destroy Wizatar and save the world.

I'd be happy to e-mail a copy to anyone who wants one! :D (It isn't edited yet, though, but I will still send a copy)! :D

Alanna: Alanna is the main character in The Song of the Lioness series by Tamora Pierce. It is one of my favorite series and I love Alanna's personality! :D Alanna has to disguise herself as a boy in order to train to be a knight. She has to keep her true identity a secret since girls can't be knights. I recommend this book to anyone. I also recommend any books by Tamora Pierce to everybody, but especially people who like strong female characters.

Annville: We live in Annville and I love our town! :D The picture above is a picture of our little ice cream shop. We know the owner and it's always fun to go there! :D

Adams Literary Agency: The Adams Literary Agency was the first literary agency I sent one of my books to. I sent Fantasya: A Giant Problem to them. They wouldn't publish it, but it was a good start. :D

Apple Pie: Apple pie is my favorite pie. I love eating the sweet apple chunks. I made an apple pie with my grandma for Thanksgiving from scratch. It was sooooo good. My other favorite pies are pumpkin, Toll House, and pink lemonade pie. :D

The Adventure that Started with Nuts: It was my first NaNoWriMo story. It's about a squirrel named Nutty and a chipmunk named Chippy who go on adventures together. I am writing the sequel (The Adventure that Ended with Nuts) right now! :D

How Pixar's Brave Represents What I Love in Books

Our family watched Pixar's Brave yesterday. It was really good and I recommend it to anyone and everyone. This is not a movie review, though. This is merely a blog post about how Brave represents what I love in books. My mom gave me the idea to write this post and it sounded really fun so I thought I'd do it.

1. No unnecessary romance. This is a big one. For some idiotic reason, everyone thinks that all twelve-year-old girls want to read about romance. I mean why?! I'm just not interested in that stuff. At least not now. I want to be a kid and not worry about that stuff. Sometimes I'll be reading a book and it'll be adventurous, funny, magical, etc. and then the author suddenly throws in "and then the girl looks at the boy and it was love at first sight and they lived happily ever after the end!" That's when I roll my eyes and think, Was that necessary? Did the girl/boy really have to fall in love with the girl/boy to make the story work? Sometimes the answer is yes, that was absolutely necessary. There needed to be romance to make the plot work. And other times it's no, that was not necessary. There was no need for the romance. This movie had no unnecessary romance. Which I LOVED.

2. Merida was my kind of heroine. She was spunky; stubborn; strong; and she had an attitude of I-can-do-it-myself, I-hate-girly-stuff, and I-don't-want-to-be-a-princess/lady/fair maiden. She didn't need anybody to save her, she didn't wait stranded in a tower for her prince charming to ride up on his white horse, she did everything herself. Merida is the kind of heroine I like. Just like Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games, Alanna from The Song of the Lioness, Maximum Ride from Maximum Ride, Hermione Granger from Harry Potter, and a bunch of others.

3. Even though Disney collaborated with Pixar on this one, Disney didn't turn Brave into another princess movie like Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty. Although I love Disney's princess movies, I was glad to see a different kind of princess. One who shot arrows through the air and fought with a sword. One who took charge of everything herself.

4. Brave had the perfect mix of magic, humor, and adventure. There wasn't too much of one or the other. It's the kind of movie that's good for boys and girls and kids and adults.

5. It had funny characters. Every book needs a unique/quirky/funny/clueless character to make the story good. If all the characters are normal or quiet or shy, the story becomes boring. Brave had clueless characters, funny characters, troublemakers, and more. That made the movie funny. Some characters like that are Ron Weasley from Harry Potter, Grover from Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and Seth Sorenson from Fablehaven. Pretty much every main character from Maximum Ride is funny or talkative and they are all sarcastic, and Effie and Haymitch from The Hunger Games made the story more interesting.

Seeing Brave was such a treat and got me thinking about all of the books I love and why I love them. It was funny and adventurous and the princess didn't need a dang prince to save her! Thank you for taking the time to take a peek into my confusing mind.