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
Friday, September 28, 2012
Blog Carnival
I am 21-year-old author, actress, daydreamer, voracious reader, introvert, klutz, fangirl, and overuser of tape. I love the impossible (which might explain my obsessions with YA novels) but I dip into the real world . . . occasionally. I’m a big fan of dogs, Broadway musicals, and bittersweet endings. When I'm not hunched over a laptop writing a new story, you can find me onstage in whatever theatrical production I've allowed to take over my life. I am a contributor to the “Fauxpocalypse” anthology and the author of “Instructions for Flight” and “Ghost Light,” both collections of poetry. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram at @KateIFoley.
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Scout's Haircut
Scout got a haircut today and she looks super cute! :D Here is a before picture and some after pictures.
Comment and tell me which picture you like best! :D
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| Before (She's sleeping on my stuffed cat, Menedy) |
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| After (Eating a treat) |
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| After (I was holding her treat up so she would focus for the picture) |
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| After (Doesn't she look adorable with her bandanna?!?!) |
I am 21-year-old author, actress, daydreamer, voracious reader, introvert, klutz, fangirl, and overuser of tape. I love the impossible (which might explain my obsessions with YA novels) but I dip into the real world . . . occasionally. I’m a big fan of dogs, Broadway musicals, and bittersweet endings. When I'm not hunched over a laptop writing a new story, you can find me onstage in whatever theatrical production I've allowed to take over my life. I am a contributor to the “Fauxpocalypse” anthology and the author of “Instructions for Flight” and “Ghost Light,” both collections of poetry. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram at @KateIFoley.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
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 . . . ;)
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 . . . ;)
I am 21-year-old author, actress, daydreamer, voracious reader, introvert, klutz, fangirl, and overuser of tape. I love the impossible (which might explain my obsessions with YA novels) but I dip into the real world . . . occasionally. I’m a big fan of dogs, Broadway musicals, and bittersweet endings. When I'm not hunched over a laptop writing a new story, you can find me onstage in whatever theatrical production I've allowed to take over my life. I am a contributor to the “Fauxpocalypse” anthology and the author of “Instructions for Flight” and “Ghost Light,” both collections of poetry. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram at @KateIFoley.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
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.”
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.”
I am 21-year-old author, actress, daydreamer, voracious reader, introvert, klutz, fangirl, and overuser of tape. I love the impossible (which might explain my obsessions with YA novels) but I dip into the real world . . . occasionally. I’m a big fan of dogs, Broadway musicals, and bittersweet endings. When I'm not hunched over a laptop writing a new story, you can find me onstage in whatever theatrical production I've allowed to take over my life. I am a contributor to the “Fauxpocalypse” anthology and the author of “Instructions for Flight” and “Ghost Light,” both collections of poetry. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram at @KateIFoley.
Thursday, August 23, 2012
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.
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.
I am 21-year-old author, actress, daydreamer, voracious reader, introvert, klutz, fangirl, and overuser of tape. I love the impossible (which might explain my obsessions with YA novels) but I dip into the real world . . . occasionally. I’m a big fan of dogs, Broadway musicals, and bittersweet endings. When I'm not hunched over a laptop writing a new story, you can find me onstage in whatever theatrical production I've allowed to take over my life. I am a contributor to the “Fauxpocalypse” anthology and the author of “Instructions for Flight” and “Ghost Light,” both collections of poetry. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram at @KateIFoley.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
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. ;)
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. ;)
I am 21-year-old author, actress, daydreamer, voracious reader, introvert, klutz, fangirl, and overuser of tape. I love the impossible (which might explain my obsessions with YA novels) but I dip into the real world . . . occasionally. I’m a big fan of dogs, Broadway musicals, and bittersweet endings. When I'm not hunched over a laptop writing a new story, you can find me onstage in whatever theatrical production I've allowed to take over my life. I am a contributor to the “Fauxpocalypse” anthology and the author of “Instructions for Flight” and “Ghost Light,” both collections of poetry. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram at @KateIFoley.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
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.
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!
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.
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| Before Hagrid Sat On It |
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| 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!
I am 21-year-old author, actress, daydreamer, voracious reader, introvert, klutz, fangirl, and overuser of tape. I love the impossible (which might explain my obsessions with YA novels) but I dip into the real world . . . occasionally. I’m a big fan of dogs, Broadway musicals, and bittersweet endings. When I'm not hunched over a laptop writing a new story, you can find me onstage in whatever theatrical production I've allowed to take over my life. I am a contributor to the “Fauxpocalypse” anthology and the author of “Instructions for Flight” and “Ghost Light,” both collections of poetry. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram at @KateIFoley.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
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
I am 21-year-old author, actress, daydreamer, voracious reader, introvert, klutz, fangirl, and overuser of tape. I love the impossible (which might explain my obsessions with YA novels) but I dip into the real world . . . occasionally. I’m a big fan of dogs, Broadway musicals, and bittersweet endings. When I'm not hunched over a laptop writing a new story, you can find me onstage in whatever theatrical production I've allowed to take over my life. I am a contributor to the “Fauxpocalypse” anthology and the author of “Instructions for Flight” and “Ghost Light,” both collections of poetry. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram at @KateIFoley.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Encyclopedia of Me - A
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| 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
I am 21-year-old author, actress, daydreamer, voracious reader, introvert, klutz, fangirl, and overuser of tape. I love the impossible (which might explain my obsessions with YA novels) but I dip into the real world . . . occasionally. I’m a big fan of dogs, Broadway musicals, and bittersweet endings. When I'm not hunched over a laptop writing a new story, you can find me onstage in whatever theatrical production I've allowed to take over my life. I am a contributor to the “Fauxpocalypse” anthology and the author of “Instructions for Flight” and “Ghost Light,” both collections of poetry. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram at @KateIFoley.
Monday, June 25, 2012
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.
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.
I am 21-year-old author, actress, daydreamer, voracious reader, introvert, klutz, fangirl, and overuser of tape. I love the impossible (which might explain my obsessions with YA novels) but I dip into the real world . . . occasionally. I’m a big fan of dogs, Broadway musicals, and bittersweet endings. When I'm not hunched over a laptop writing a new story, you can find me onstage in whatever theatrical production I've allowed to take over my life. I am a contributor to the “Fauxpocalypse” anthology and the author of “Instructions for Flight” and “Ghost Light,” both collections of poetry. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram at @KateIFoley.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
The Sorceress
I am writing a new book called "The Sorceress." Here's the first chapter. Tell me what you think! :D As you already know, I am open to all honest criticism.
Chapter 1
Anya ran through the woods, fear beating against her heart in a rhythym worthy of a drum.
She wiped sweat off her forehead, breathing hard. She was sure the goblins had seen her. How could they not have noticed the immistakable glint of green as she stole the emerald?
Anya quickly climbed a tree and removed her pack. She pulled out the precious emerald and clutched it tightly, hardly daring to believe that it was real. Was this the actual emerald she had been attempting to steal for months now? Anya pressed her ear to the emerald. Sure enough the familiar buzz of energy that meant the emerald was real was there.
Anya replaced the gem carefully, wrapping it in the cloth she had with her. She closed her pack and slid down the tree, scratching her elbow as she went.
Anya heard a branch snap and leapt behind a bush, landing lightly on her feet. She moved a few branches out of the way so she could peer through at what had just followed her.
Ten naked green creatures were running through the woods on all fours. They were extremely skinny and their arms and legs were long and fragile looking. Their ears were long and pointed like an elf’s. Their eyes were small and always black. Their voices were either very high-pitched or very low. It was never in between. They were obviously angry.
Anya squinted her eyes and strained to hear what the goblins were talking about. They were speaking in loud whispers. One goblin was pushing another goblin to the ground agrily and seemed to be accusing him of something. The other eight were huddled in a circle and were talking a little more calmly. They seemed to be plotting something.
“I told you to stay by the emerald!” a goblin said to another goblin lying in the dirt. “Where were you when you were on guard?”
“I-I- was guarding the C-Captain,” the goblin in the dirt stammered. “H-he needed p-protection.”
“No he didn’t, you brainless git. We can get another Captain. What we can’t do is get another emerald!”
“Please! Please!” A goblin armed with a smaller version of the sword Anya held pulled the goblin off of the terrified creature cowering on the ground.
“Stop wasting time, Snorc,” the deep-voiced goblin growled. He grabbed Snorc’s arm. “We need to find the human.”
Snorc pulled his arm away from the other goblin and bared his teeth.
“I want to make sure I don’t get punished for this,” Snorc said. “When we inform the Captain of what happened, I want it to be made clear that I didn’t do anything.”
Goblins, Anya thought. Always looking out for others.
“We might not have to tell him anything if we find that girl fast and get the emerald back.”
“You don’t understand,” Snorc protested, fear visible in his eyes. “You don’t have to be scared of anything. The Captain won’t punish his second in command. You don’t know the means of torture he punishes us with.”
“I know full well what the Captain does for punishment,” the goblin retorted. Anya saw his ugly green face draing of color slightly. “And I agree full-heartedly. Now let’s get a move on.”
Anya waited with baited breath for the goblins to gallop off into the woods. Unfortunately, they were going the same way Anya needed to go to get to the King’s castle.
Anya peeked around the bush for any remaining goblins and, spotting no danger, set off down the woods, landing lightly on the balls of her feet. Anya sticked to the shadows, hoping if she ran into trouble that the goblins wouldn’t notice her in the darkness.
Any noise that Anya heard made her jump: a squirrel scurrying across the leaves, a bird singing loudly, an occaisonal deer that snapped a branch in half.
The woods were darkening faster and faster as the sun set. The trees rich with leaves blocked out most of the sunlight, making it harder to navigate the large woods.
Anya had no trouble though. She could walk through the woods with her eyes shut and her feet would take her right where she needed to go. Anya couldn’t keep track of how many times she had walked this path. She had come to these woods many times to hunt for food with a poorly made bow an arrow before the king had sought her help. Those days were the worst. Anya remembered the times where she had to beg for scraps from the garbage can and people felt bad for her and tossed her change for food. She remembered when her ribs were poking through her skin and half a loaf of stale bread was a feast. She remembered a soldier coming through the woods on horseback and watched her fight off two goblins that had swords. She remembered his stunned face as she finished them off with a flourish. The soldier didn’t explain anything but told her to climb on behind him. She was taken to the castle and was given a bath, some proper clothing, and more food than she could ever imagine she’d be able to eat. Then she was brought to the king and the soldier was right next to him. She listened to the soldier explain to the king was he had seen her do and how she seemed to glow when she was fighting. The king had listened thoughtfully and then told her all about the emerald and the goblins want to take over the kingdom. He had told her that the emerald gives the holder magical powers and that the king needed it back so the goblins wouldn’t over throw him and leave the kingdom in ruins.
Anya made it out the entrance of the forest and saw no goblins. She hurried down the lane and into town where most of the shops were closing up for the day. She ran to the castle and the guards let her in, closing the gate behind her.
Chapter 1
Anya ran through the woods, fear beating against her heart in a rhythym worthy of a drum.
She wiped sweat off her forehead, breathing hard. She was sure the goblins had seen her. How could they not have noticed the immistakable glint of green as she stole the emerald?
Anya quickly climbed a tree and removed her pack. She pulled out the precious emerald and clutched it tightly, hardly daring to believe that it was real. Was this the actual emerald she had been attempting to steal for months now? Anya pressed her ear to the emerald. Sure enough the familiar buzz of energy that meant the emerald was real was there.
Anya replaced the gem carefully, wrapping it in the cloth she had with her. She closed her pack and slid down the tree, scratching her elbow as she went.
Anya heard a branch snap and leapt behind a bush, landing lightly on her feet. She moved a few branches out of the way so she could peer through at what had just followed her.
Ten naked green creatures were running through the woods on all fours. They were extremely skinny and their arms and legs were long and fragile looking. Their ears were long and pointed like an elf’s. Their eyes were small and always black. Their voices were either very high-pitched or very low. It was never in between. They were obviously angry.
Anya squinted her eyes and strained to hear what the goblins were talking about. They were speaking in loud whispers. One goblin was pushing another goblin to the ground agrily and seemed to be accusing him of something. The other eight were huddled in a circle and were talking a little more calmly. They seemed to be plotting something.
“I told you to stay by the emerald!” a goblin said to another goblin lying in the dirt. “Where were you when you were on guard?”
“I-I- was guarding the C-Captain,” the goblin in the dirt stammered. “H-he needed p-protection.”
“No he didn’t, you brainless git. We can get another Captain. What we can’t do is get another emerald!”
“Please! Please!” A goblin armed with a smaller version of the sword Anya held pulled the goblin off of the terrified creature cowering on the ground.
“Stop wasting time, Snorc,” the deep-voiced goblin growled. He grabbed Snorc’s arm. “We need to find the human.”
Snorc pulled his arm away from the other goblin and bared his teeth.
“I want to make sure I don’t get punished for this,” Snorc said. “When we inform the Captain of what happened, I want it to be made clear that I didn’t do anything.”
Goblins, Anya thought. Always looking out for others.
“We might not have to tell him anything if we find that girl fast and get the emerald back.”
“You don’t understand,” Snorc protested, fear visible in his eyes. “You don’t have to be scared of anything. The Captain won’t punish his second in command. You don’t know the means of torture he punishes us with.”
“I know full well what the Captain does for punishment,” the goblin retorted. Anya saw his ugly green face draing of color slightly. “And I agree full-heartedly. Now let’s get a move on.”
Anya waited with baited breath for the goblins to gallop off into the woods. Unfortunately, they were going the same way Anya needed to go to get to the King’s castle.
Anya peeked around the bush for any remaining goblins and, spotting no danger, set off down the woods, landing lightly on the balls of her feet. Anya sticked to the shadows, hoping if she ran into trouble that the goblins wouldn’t notice her in the darkness.
Any noise that Anya heard made her jump: a squirrel scurrying across the leaves, a bird singing loudly, an occaisonal deer that snapped a branch in half.
The woods were darkening faster and faster as the sun set. The trees rich with leaves blocked out most of the sunlight, making it harder to navigate the large woods.
Anya had no trouble though. She could walk through the woods with her eyes shut and her feet would take her right where she needed to go. Anya couldn’t keep track of how many times she had walked this path. She had come to these woods many times to hunt for food with a poorly made bow an arrow before the king had sought her help. Those days were the worst. Anya remembered the times where she had to beg for scraps from the garbage can and people felt bad for her and tossed her change for food. She remembered when her ribs were poking through her skin and half a loaf of stale bread was a feast. She remembered a soldier coming through the woods on horseback and watched her fight off two goblins that had swords. She remembered his stunned face as she finished them off with a flourish. The soldier didn’t explain anything but told her to climb on behind him. She was taken to the castle and was given a bath, some proper clothing, and more food than she could ever imagine she’d be able to eat. Then she was brought to the king and the soldier was right next to him. She listened to the soldier explain to the king was he had seen her do and how she seemed to glow when she was fighting. The king had listened thoughtfully and then told her all about the emerald and the goblins want to take over the kingdom. He had told her that the emerald gives the holder magical powers and that the king needed it back so the goblins wouldn’t over throw him and leave the kingdom in ruins.
Anya made it out the entrance of the forest and saw no goblins. She hurried down the lane and into town where most of the shops were closing up for the day. She ran to the castle and the guards let her in, closing the gate behind her.
I am 21-year-old author, actress, daydreamer, voracious reader, introvert, klutz, fangirl, and overuser of tape. I love the impossible (which might explain my obsessions with YA novels) but I dip into the real world . . . occasionally. I’m a big fan of dogs, Broadway musicals, and bittersweet endings. When I'm not hunched over a laptop writing a new story, you can find me onstage in whatever theatrical production I've allowed to take over my life. I am a contributor to the “Fauxpocalypse” anthology and the author of “Instructions for Flight” and “Ghost Light,” both collections of poetry. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram at @KateIFoley.
I Got Tagged!!! AGAIN!!! :D
Maxim at I Don't Eat My Drumsticks tagged me so now I am doing this blog activity again!!! :D Here are the rules:
1. Post these rules.
2. Post a photo of yourself and then write eleven things about yourself.
3. Answer the questions for you in the original post.
4. Create eleven new questions and then tag three people to answer them.
5. Go to their blogs and tell them you have tagged them.
1. Post these rules.
2. Post a photo of yourself and then write eleven things about yourself.
3. Answer the questions for you in the original post.
4. Create eleven new questions and then tag three people to answer them.
5. Go to their blogs and tell them you have tagged them.
Me With My Brother Right Before Our Homeschool Groups' Saint Patrick's Day Dance (Sorry For The Squinty Eyes, The Sun Was Bright) ;)
1. I love randomness.
2. My favorite TV shows are American Idol, Amazing Race, Modern Family, Big Bang Theory, and Wizards of Waverly Place.
3. I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE (and did I mention LOVE?) Harry Potter! :D
4. I'm saving up for my own laptop! :D Only about $240 to go. ;) :P
5. Did I mention I LOVE Harry Potter? ;)
6. My favorite magazine is American Girl.
7. I play violin and piano.
8. A few days ago, I submitted two stories and a poem to the Stone Soup magazine. Hopefully they publish it. :D
9. I submitted my story "Fantasya: A Giant Problem" to the Adams Literary Agency. I hope they publish it! :D
10. I think Potter Puppet Pals is hysterical. ;) :D
11. I have an iPod touch and use it daily to listen to music while I type my stories. :D
Maxim's questions for me:
1. What is your favorite band? The Civil Wars. Their music is haunting and I love the harmony between the boy and the girl. They also did "Safe and Sound" with Taylor Swift, one of my favorite songs by her! :D
2. Who is your favorite singer? Taylor Swift. She is an incredible singer and songwriter and she is very take-charge. She's also nerdy which is cool! :D
3. What is your favorite game? My favorite BOARD game would be Settlers of Catan or Harry Potter Clue. My favorite COMPUTER game would be Webkinz! :D
4. What is your favorite thing to see outside? Animals, the sky, the clouds, and trees.
5. If you could see any movie in 3D, what would it be? Any of the Harry Potter movies or the Hunger Games.
6. What is your favorite shoe brand? I don't have one, but I love sandals and Converse. :D
7. If you could force your sibling to do something, what would it be? Hmm . . . I'd force my brother to like Taylor Swift. XD
8. What is the worst thing that ever happened to you? Probably twisting my ankle. :P Very painful.
9. What is the best thing that ever happened to you? Ooooh . . . I can't decide! Some very very good things that have happened to me are getting a puppy, going to Harry Potter World, meeting my best friend, being a part of INCH, I could go on and on. :D
10. What is your favorite outside activity? During spring and summer and fall: playing Capture the Flag and going to the park. During the summer: swimming. During the winter: sledding and playing in the snow. :D
11. What is your favorite thing to draw? Animals, nature, smiley faces, peace signs, hearts, stars, swirls, random doodles . . . ;) :D
My questions for the people I tag:
1. What is your favorite band?
2. What qualities do you dislike in people?
3. What do you do when you are sad?
4. What do you do when you are angry?
5. What is your favorite stuffed animal?
6. What is your comfort food and drink?
7. If you could have any one superpower, what would it be?
8. What do you want to be when you grow up?
9. What is your favorite book?
10. What is your favorite movie?
11. If you could add any one decoration to your room, what would the decoration be?
I now tag Get Well Jake, Redpunzel, and X Marks the Spot! Have fun! :D
3. What is your favorite game? My favorite BOARD game would be Settlers of Catan or Harry Potter Clue. My favorite COMPUTER game would be Webkinz! :D
4. What is your favorite thing to see outside? Animals, the sky, the clouds, and trees.
5. If you could see any movie in 3D, what would it be? Any of the Harry Potter movies or the Hunger Games.
6. What is your favorite shoe brand? I don't have one, but I love sandals and Converse. :D
7. If you could force your sibling to do something, what would it be? Hmm . . . I'd force my brother to like Taylor Swift. XD
8. What is the worst thing that ever happened to you? Probably twisting my ankle. :P Very painful.
9. What is the best thing that ever happened to you? Ooooh . . . I can't decide! Some very very good things that have happened to me are getting a puppy, going to Harry Potter World, meeting my best friend, being a part of INCH, I could go on and on. :D
10. What is your favorite outside activity? During spring and summer and fall: playing Capture the Flag and going to the park. During the summer: swimming. During the winter: sledding and playing in the snow. :D
11. What is your favorite thing to draw? Animals, nature, smiley faces, peace signs, hearts, stars, swirls, random doodles . . . ;) :D
My questions for the people I tag:
1. What is your favorite band?
2. What qualities do you dislike in people?
3. What do you do when you are sad?
4. What do you do when you are angry?
5. What is your favorite stuffed animal?
6. What is your comfort food and drink?
7. If you could have any one superpower, what would it be?
8. What do you want to be when you grow up?
9. What is your favorite book?
10. What is your favorite movie?
11. If you could add any one decoration to your room, what would the decoration be?
I now tag Get Well Jake, Redpunzel, and X Marks the Spot! Have fun! :D
I am 21-year-old author, actress, daydreamer, voracious reader, introvert, klutz, fangirl, and overuser of tape. I love the impossible (which might explain my obsessions with YA novels) but I dip into the real world . . . occasionally. I’m a big fan of dogs, Broadway musicals, and bittersweet endings. When I'm not hunched over a laptop writing a new story, you can find me onstage in whatever theatrical production I've allowed to take over my life. I am a contributor to the “Fauxpocalypse” anthology and the author of “Instructions for Flight” and “Ghost Light,” both collections of poetry. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram at @KateIFoley.
Friday, May 18, 2012
100 POSTS!!! :D :D :D
This is officially my 100th post on this blog!!! :D :D :D Congratulations to me! :D I will now celebrate by doing a jig and singing at the top of my lungs and eating some Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and some other stuff! :D Or maybe I'll just stick to the jig . . . ;)
I am 21-year-old author, actress, daydreamer, voracious reader, introvert, klutz, fangirl, and overuser of tape. I love the impossible (which might explain my obsessions with YA novels) but I dip into the real world . . . occasionally. I’m a big fan of dogs, Broadway musicals, and bittersweet endings. When I'm not hunched over a laptop writing a new story, you can find me onstage in whatever theatrical production I've allowed to take over my life. I am a contributor to the “Fauxpocalypse” anthology and the author of “Instructions for Flight” and “Ghost Light,” both collections of poetry. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram at @KateIFoley.
Thursday, May 10, 2012
I Was Tagged :D
Mary at Coffee, Yarn, and Words tagged me so now I am doing this blog activity. Here are the rules:
1. Post these rules.
2. Post a photo of yourself and then write eleven things about yourself.
3. Answer the questions for you in the original post.
4. Create eleven new questions and then tag three people to answer them.
5. Go to their blog and tell them you have tagged them.
1. Post these rules.
2. Post a photo of yourself and then write eleven things about yourself.
3. Answer the questions for you in the original post.
4. Create eleven new questions and then tag three people to answer them.
5. Go to their blog and tell them you have tagged them.
 | ||||
1. I am homeschooled and I'm part of the home school group my mom set up where I met my best friend.
2. There are five people in my family: my mom, my dad, my brother, me, and our adorable shi-chon puppy named Scout (who is technically not a person but I think she counts). ;)
3. My favorite food is sushi and my favorite drink is pink lemonade.
4. I've been to the midnight release of the seventh Harry Potter book, both parts of the Deathly Hallows movie, and the Hunger Games movie. That's right, FOUR midnight showings/releases. ;)
5. In order, my favorite book series are Harry Potter, the Hunger Games, Percy Jackson, Fablehaven, and the Song of the Lioness.
6. My favorite movies are "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" and "The Hunger Games."
7. My favorite stuffed animal is a very dirty, old, stuffed cat named Menedy that I've had since I was two or three.
8. I am 12 and my favorite color is yellow.
9. My favorite singer is Taylor Swift and my favorite songs are "Who Says" by Selena Gomez, "Radio Radio" by Brooke White, "Safe and Sound" by Taylor Swift, "Enchanted" by Taylor Swift, and "Eyes Open" by Taylor Swift.
10. I want to be an author when I grow up and I read a write a ton. I have participated in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) three years in a row now. :D
11. I am a nerd and I love to learn. :D
Mary's questions for me:
1. If you were to write a book about your life, what would the title be? "Type Book Title Here." It's creative and funny. :D
2. If you were to change your name, what name would you choose? I wouldn't change my name. I love my name. But if I had to, I'd change it to Katherine or Hermione. (Hermione is my favorite book character and Katherine is similar to my name).
3. What is your favorite school subject and why? Writing. Writing writing writing. I love to write. I especially love creative writing. When you're writing fiction, you're in charge. You control the characters and the story. You decide the fate of everyone and everything in the book. You can create your own world. My second favorite subject is history because it's like reading a story.
4. What is your favorite hairstyle? I love long, straight hair. I also like wavy, but on me I like long and straight hair.
5. In your dream your pet would be . . . Well, since I already have a dog, I'd say a pegasus. I love horses, but I would love to fly (not by an airplane or a vehicle, just fly like a superhero), so it's the perfect combination! :D
6. Is there a character in a book, movie, or TV show that you think is like you? What about this character makes her similar to you? Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series. She's smart, and witty, and doesn't take anyone's crap. Her hair is even the same color as mine (well, mine's darker, but it's close enough) and my hair looks like hers when I get out of bed. ;)
7. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would that be? I like myself the way I am and I wouldn't change anything about my personality or appearance. Well, I guess I would make myself taller, but other than that . . . ;)
8. What is your favorite thing about yourself? Ugh, I hate these questions. I always sound all full of myself when I answer them. :P But I guess I like that I'm a good friend. I'm thoughtful, and friendly, and I'm a good listener. (I'm also a good talker). ;)
9. What is your favorite hobby? Reading and writing. :D
10. What is the riskiest thing you've ever done? I don't think I've ever done anything "risky" although I am a bit of a daredevil when it comes to amusement park rides. ;)
11. If you could have any superpower, which one would you choose? The ability to fly. Oh my gosh, I would love to be able to fly! :D I could go anywhere I wanted and it would be so much fun! :D (If anyone has an old broomstick I could take, leave a comment. Oh, and please include a quaffle, a snitch, two bludgers, and two beaters' bats). ;)
My questions for the people I tag:
1. What is your favorite color and why?
2. What is your favorite book and why?
3. What is your favorite movie and why?
4. What is your dream pet and why?
5. What is your dream vacation and why?
6. What is your favorite song and why?
7. What do you daydream about?
8. Who is your best friend and why?
9. Is there a famous person you would love to meet? Why would you want to meet the person?
10. Do you sing in the shower?
11. Do you ever think about doing something to change the world? If you do, what would you want to change? It could be a law or a different way of doing something.
I'm going to tag Sushi and Pizza, Duct Tape World, and Juice Box! :D Have fun! :D
2. There are five people in my family: my mom, my dad, my brother, me, and our adorable shi-chon puppy named Scout (who is technically not a person but I think she counts). ;)
3. My favorite food is sushi and my favorite drink is pink lemonade.
4. I've been to the midnight release of the seventh Harry Potter book, both parts of the Deathly Hallows movie, and the Hunger Games movie. That's right, FOUR midnight showings/releases. ;)
5. In order, my favorite book series are Harry Potter, the Hunger Games, Percy Jackson, Fablehaven, and the Song of the Lioness.
6. My favorite movies are "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" and "The Hunger Games."
7. My favorite stuffed animal is a very dirty, old, stuffed cat named Menedy that I've had since I was two or three.
8. I am 12 and my favorite color is yellow.
9. My favorite singer is Taylor Swift and my favorite songs are "Who Says" by Selena Gomez, "Radio Radio" by Brooke White, "Safe and Sound" by Taylor Swift, "Enchanted" by Taylor Swift, and "Eyes Open" by Taylor Swift.
10. I want to be an author when I grow up and I read a write a ton. I have participated in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) three years in a row now. :D
11. I am a nerd and I love to learn. :D
Mary's questions for me:
1. If you were to write a book about your life, what would the title be? "Type Book Title Here." It's creative and funny. :D
2. If you were to change your name, what name would you choose? I wouldn't change my name. I love my name. But if I had to, I'd change it to Katherine or Hermione. (Hermione is my favorite book character and Katherine is similar to my name).
3. What is your favorite school subject and why? Writing. Writing writing writing. I love to write. I especially love creative writing. When you're writing fiction, you're in charge. You control the characters and the story. You decide the fate of everyone and everything in the book. You can create your own world. My second favorite subject is history because it's like reading a story.
4. What is your favorite hairstyle? I love long, straight hair. I also like wavy, but on me I like long and straight hair.
5. In your dream your pet would be . . . Well, since I already have a dog, I'd say a pegasus. I love horses, but I would love to fly (not by an airplane or a vehicle, just fly like a superhero), so it's the perfect combination! :D
6. Is there a character in a book, movie, or TV show that you think is like you? What about this character makes her similar to you? Hermione Granger from the Harry Potter series. She's smart, and witty, and doesn't take anyone's crap. Her hair is even the same color as mine (well, mine's darker, but it's close enough) and my hair looks like hers when I get out of bed. ;)
7. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would that be? I like myself the way I am and I wouldn't change anything about my personality or appearance. Well, I guess I would make myself taller, but other than that . . . ;)
8. What is your favorite thing about yourself? Ugh, I hate these questions. I always sound all full of myself when I answer them. :P But I guess I like that I'm a good friend. I'm thoughtful, and friendly, and I'm a good listener. (I'm also a good talker). ;)
9. What is your favorite hobby? Reading and writing. :D
10. What is the riskiest thing you've ever done? I don't think I've ever done anything "risky" although I am a bit of a daredevil when it comes to amusement park rides. ;)
11. If you could have any superpower, which one would you choose? The ability to fly. Oh my gosh, I would love to be able to fly! :D I could go anywhere I wanted and it would be so much fun! :D (If anyone has an old broomstick I could take, leave a comment. Oh, and please include a quaffle, a snitch, two bludgers, and two beaters' bats). ;)
My questions for the people I tag:
1. What is your favorite color and why?
2. What is your favorite book and why?
3. What is your favorite movie and why?
4. What is your dream pet and why?
5. What is your dream vacation and why?
6. What is your favorite song and why?
7. What do you daydream about?
8. Who is your best friend and why?
9. Is there a famous person you would love to meet? Why would you want to meet the person?
10. Do you sing in the shower?
11. Do you ever think about doing something to change the world? If you do, what would you want to change? It could be a law or a different way of doing something.
I'm going to tag Sushi and Pizza, Duct Tape World, and Juice Box! :D Have fun! :D
I am 21-year-old author, actress, daydreamer, voracious reader, introvert, klutz, fangirl, and overuser of tape. I love the impossible (which might explain my obsessions with YA novels) but I dip into the real world . . . occasionally. I’m a big fan of dogs, Broadway musicals, and bittersweet endings. When I'm not hunched over a laptop writing a new story, you can find me onstage in whatever theatrical production I've allowed to take over my life. I am a contributor to the “Fauxpocalypse” anthology and the author of “Instructions for Flight” and “Ghost Light,” both collections of poetry. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram at @KateIFoley.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Encyclopedia of Me- R
Reading- Reading is AWESOME. When you read a book, you can forget about all of your worries and things you have to do but haven't done yet. You can just escape into another world and fall in love with different characters. Whenever I finish a book (unless it's a really lousy one which doesn't happen a lot at all) I feel happy and want to start another one. And now that I think about it, I should've chosen "Rowling" as one of my things for Encyclopedia of Me.
Rich- Richard (or Rich for short) is one of my best friends along with Brennan. He's crazy and funny and Maxim, Brennan, and I have a lot of fun with him. Some of my favorite things to do with him are hide and seek tag, Yu-Gi-Oh!, sardines in a can, watch tiny toons, and lots of other things.
Rainbows- Rainbows looks so cool and colorful. There's something happy about seeing all of those colors right next to each other. I constantly draw pictures of things of different colors and make friendship bracelets with all of the colors in the rainbow.
Rain- When it rains, sometimes a rainbow appears, first of all. ;) Second of all, rain helps plants and food and flowers and grass and trees grow. It also gives us water and without water we would die. O.0 There's also something cozy about curling up with a blanket and reading while it's raining. :D
Relaxing- It's good to sit back and relax after running around and doing lots of stuff. One of my favorite places to relax at is the beach. :D It's sunny and warm and the ocean makes all sorts of cool noises while the seagulls are . . . squawking? I don't really know what they do. :/ But anyway, sit back, relax, and enjoy the show-er-post. ;)
Ron Weasley- Face it, Harry. You wouldn't have survived if it weren't for Ron. Let's see, book one, he helped you knock out the troll and saved you in the giant chess game. Book two, he stuck with you all the way to the Chamber of Secrets. Book three, both he and Hermione would've sacrificed themselves to save you. Book four, he tried to help you with the egg and stuck with you all the way to the end of the Triwizard Tournament. Book five, he went with you and more of the DA to the Ministry to help "save Sirius." Book six, he was one of the most loyal friends you had and even "approved" of your dating Ginny. Book seven, went with you to destroy horcruxes and saved you when you almost drowned and so many other things. Ron Weasley is one of the most loyal characters in the series and helps to lighten the mood. Did you know that J.K. Rowling considered killing him off in book THREE or FOUR?!?! Can you imagine how heavy and sad the rest of the books would be without sarcastic Ron? That would've been bloody terrible!
I am 21-year-old author, actress, daydreamer, voracious reader, introvert, klutz, fangirl, and overuser of tape. I love the impossible (which might explain my obsessions with YA novels) but I dip into the real world . . . occasionally. I’m a big fan of dogs, Broadway musicals, and bittersweet endings. When I'm not hunched over a laptop writing a new story, you can find me onstage in whatever theatrical production I've allowed to take over my life. I am a contributor to the “Fauxpocalypse” anthology and the author of “Instructions for Flight” and “Ghost Light,” both collections of poetry. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram at @KateIFoley.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Writing Prompt: Ant at a Picnic
I found a fun writing prompt. You have to write for at least ten minutes about an ant at a picnic. Here's my story! :D
There were two humans; a boy and a girl. The girl was tall with blonde hair so yellow, it was bound to be dyed. The boy was short and had light brown hair that covered his eyes. He was constantly flipping it around in a very annoying way. They were laughing hysterically at the corniest jokes and feeding each other grapes. It was disgusting.
I darted through the grass, my antennas flying around in the wind. As I got closer to the picnic blanket I crept quietly. The checkered blanket was covered in fruits and sandwiches. This was every ant’s dream. A feast fit for a colony.
I hid behind the picnic basket and watched the humans eat and laugh eat and laugh. It was very boring and I was hungry. When they were making soppy faces at each other I took a chance and dashed for a crumb. They didn’t notice and I ate it right away. I hid behind the basket again and looked for another tasty morsel. I saw a squished grape and sucked the juice to wash down the crumb. And, once again, I hid behind the basket. I probably didn’t need to, though, since these humans were obviously oblivious of their surroundings.
I decided to have a little fun with the human girl. I started to walk as fast as my little legs could carry me towards the girl’s pants leg. I tried to climb up her leg, but she was wearing jeggings, and I knew there was no way I would fit through those tight bottoms. So I went for the boy instead.
I had to keep myself from gagging as I crawled up the boy’s pants. He needed a shower with lots of soap and some tomato juice to get rid of the stink. It was worse as I crawled up his shirt near his armpits. Did he even know what the word “deodorant” meant?
The boy hadn’t noticed me the entire time, but when I got to his neck he faltered in the middle of his sentence and scratched his shoulder a little. I climbed up to his face and he started to scratch his nose. After a little while he started scratching like a giant, stupid, baboon. The girl laughed nervously and stared at him with a strange expression.
“Ant!” she suddenly screamed. “There’s an ant on your face!”
The boy looked down and saw me. I smiled and waved. They both started yelling like crazy as I ran away with a satisfied smirk on my face.
Now I challenge all of you to write your own "Ant at a Picnic" story. Write it, post it on your blog, and challenge all of YOUR friends. Have fun! :D
There were two humans; a boy and a girl. The girl was tall with blonde hair so yellow, it was bound to be dyed. The boy was short and had light brown hair that covered his eyes. He was constantly flipping it around in a very annoying way. They were laughing hysterically at the corniest jokes and feeding each other grapes. It was disgusting.
I darted through the grass, my antennas flying around in the wind. As I got closer to the picnic blanket I crept quietly. The checkered blanket was covered in fruits and sandwiches. This was every ant’s dream. A feast fit for a colony.
I hid behind the picnic basket and watched the humans eat and laugh eat and laugh. It was very boring and I was hungry. When they were making soppy faces at each other I took a chance and dashed for a crumb. They didn’t notice and I ate it right away. I hid behind the basket again and looked for another tasty morsel. I saw a squished grape and sucked the juice to wash down the crumb. And, once again, I hid behind the basket. I probably didn’t need to, though, since these humans were obviously oblivious of their surroundings.
I decided to have a little fun with the human girl. I started to walk as fast as my little legs could carry me towards the girl’s pants leg. I tried to climb up her leg, but she was wearing jeggings, and I knew there was no way I would fit through those tight bottoms. So I went for the boy instead.
I had to keep myself from gagging as I crawled up the boy’s pants. He needed a shower with lots of soap and some tomato juice to get rid of the stink. It was worse as I crawled up his shirt near his armpits. Did he even know what the word “deodorant” meant?
The boy hadn’t noticed me the entire time, but when I got to his neck he faltered in the middle of his sentence and scratched his shoulder a little. I climbed up to his face and he started to scratch his nose. After a little while he started scratching like a giant, stupid, baboon. The girl laughed nervously and stared at him with a strange expression.
“Ant!” she suddenly screamed. “There’s an ant on your face!”
The boy looked down and saw me. I smiled and waved. They both started yelling like crazy as I ran away with a satisfied smirk on my face.
Now I challenge all of you to write your own "Ant at a Picnic" story. Write it, post it on your blog, and challenge all of YOUR friends. Have fun! :D
I am 21-year-old author, actress, daydreamer, voracious reader, introvert, klutz, fangirl, and overuser of tape. I love the impossible (which might explain my obsessions with YA novels) but I dip into the real world . . . occasionally. I’m a big fan of dogs, Broadway musicals, and bittersweet endings. When I'm not hunched over a laptop writing a new story, you can find me onstage in whatever theatrical production I've allowed to take over my life. I am a contributor to the “Fauxpocalypse” anthology and the author of “Instructions for Flight” and “Ghost Light,” both collections of poetry. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram at @KateIFoley.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
The 1930s
Recently we've been learning about the 1930s, so I would like to share a few things that were invented or happened at that time. We made a collage of pictures from the 1930s and I will also put a picture of that here.
Chocolate Chip Cookie: The chocolate chip cookie was accidentally invented in the 1930s. BEST ACCIDENT EVER! :D A woman who ran an inn in Massachusetts was making chocolate cookies but she ran out of chocolate. So she decided to use broken chunks of a chocolate bar instead. She hoped it would melt in but it didn't and the chocolate chip cookie was born! :D She sold her recipe to Nestle in exchange for a lifetime supply of chocolate chips. But there's another story. A chef who worked with the woman said that her story wasn't true. He said she knew too much about baking to know that the chocolate chunks wouldn't melt in. His story was that he was mixing the batter for sugar cookies and the vibrations knocked a chocolate bar down into his batter and the chocolate broke into chunks. The woman wanted him to throw the batter out but he didn't want to waste it and everyone loved the cookies. :D
Judy Garland: Judy Garland starred in "The Wizard of Oz." It was a big deal that their movie was in color and black and white. We recently watched it again after learning about it.
Jesse Owens: When Germany was hosting the Olympics, Hitler wanted to show off all of his perfect, blonde-haired, blue-eyed athletes, but instead he was humiliated when Jesse Owens (a black Olympic runner) beat his athlete in the long jump. Everyone said Hitler was rude and refused to recognize that Jesse Owens won. Later Jesse Owens said, "Hitler didn't snub me, FDR did." Hitler had sent Jesse a photograph of himself while FDR didn't even send him a telegram. It wasn't until two presidents later that he was recognized for his talents.
Chocolate Chip Cookie: The chocolate chip cookie was accidentally invented in the 1930s. BEST ACCIDENT EVER! :D A woman who ran an inn in Massachusetts was making chocolate cookies but she ran out of chocolate. So she decided to use broken chunks of a chocolate bar instead. She hoped it would melt in but it didn't and the chocolate chip cookie was born! :D She sold her recipe to Nestle in exchange for a lifetime supply of chocolate chips. But there's another story. A chef who worked with the woman said that her story wasn't true. He said she knew too much about baking to know that the chocolate chunks wouldn't melt in. His story was that he was mixing the batter for sugar cookies and the vibrations knocked a chocolate bar down into his batter and the chocolate broke into chunks. The woman wanted him to throw the batter out but he didn't want to waste it and everyone loved the cookies. :D
Judy Garland: Judy Garland starred in "The Wizard of Oz." It was a big deal that their movie was in color and black and white. We recently watched it again after learning about it.
Jesse Owens: When Germany was hosting the Olympics, Hitler wanted to show off all of his perfect, blonde-haired, blue-eyed athletes, but instead he was humiliated when Jesse Owens (a black Olympic runner) beat his athlete in the long jump. Everyone said Hitler was rude and refused to recognize that Jesse Owens won. Later Jesse Owens said, "Hitler didn't snub me, FDR did." Hitler had sent Jesse a photograph of himself while FDR didn't even send him a telegram. It wasn't until two presidents later that he was recognized for his talents.
I am 21-year-old author, actress, daydreamer, voracious reader, introvert, klutz, fangirl, and overuser of tape. I love the impossible (which might explain my obsessions with YA novels) but I dip into the real world . . . occasionally. I’m a big fan of dogs, Broadway musicals, and bittersweet endings. When I'm not hunched over a laptop writing a new story, you can find me onstage in whatever theatrical production I've allowed to take over my life. I am a contributor to the “Fauxpocalypse” anthology and the author of “Instructions for Flight” and “Ghost Light,” both collections of poetry. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram at @KateIFoley.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
The Maze of Doom (Chapter 1)
I'm writing a book called "The Maze of Doom." It was partly inspired by The Hunger Games and partly inspired by a dream I had while I was at the beach. It's a post-apocalyptic book about a country that discriminates against women. The leader is evil and every year he randomly selects ten girls between the ages of twelve and eighteen to be put into the Maze of Doom wielding only one weapon and gifts given to them by the weight, agility, climbing, and weapon trainers. Girls are allowed to make temporary alliances, and killing is not against the rules. The girl who reaches the middle of the Maze is granted one wish. But no one has survived yet.
Here is the first chapter. I'll take any feedback. Thanks! :D
Chapter 1
I live in a sexist country.
It is a place where girls do all the working, men do whatever they please, and girls get sent to jail for the rest of their life for the tiniest thing.
But that’s not the worst of it.
Each year, President Hunter has a competition called The Maze of Doom. It’s been going on for twenty years. Let me tell you about it.
The Maze of Doom is a huge maze filled with dangers. Ten different girls ranging from the age of twelve to eighteen race to the end of the maze. Their prize is a single wish. But no girl has survived yet. Girls are allowed one weapon each, provided by President Hunter. Girls can make temporary alliances, but they can also kill each other. It’s a gruesome maze.
Some, if they are in the maze, plan to wish for riches or fame. Others plan to wish for their sisters to get out of jail for not polishing their boss’s shoes exactly right.
I have a different wish.
I have been randomly chosen by the country’s leader to be entered in The Maze of Doom.
Our country’s leader is revolting. He made The Maze of Doom for entertainment. He likes the idea of girls killing each other. For him, it’s just one less worker to pay.
But I have to survive the maze to make my wish. As I said, no girl has survived yet. I plan to change that, too.
Today is the day I say goodbye to my family and leave for “Maze Training”. Really, it’s to see how good each girl is so the country can place their bets to see who will survive the longest.
My mom starts to cry as I pull on my boots. My dad puts his arm around her. He tries to comfort her, but the tears keep on coming.
“Don’t cry, Mom,” I say. “I’ll be fine.” But even I can’t promise that.
My mom hugs me and bawls. Dots appear on my shirt’s sleeve.
“Carrie, she’ll be fine,” My dad straightens his glasses and tries to hide his watering eyes. “You know our Clelia. She’s one tough cookie.”
My mom attempts to talk as my dad hugs her again.
“My daughter!” she cries. “My only daughter! In The Maze! She’s only fourteen.”
“I know,” He says. “I know.”
I hug each of them again.
“I love you guys,” I say in a faltering voice. “But when I come back, everything will be better.”
I hear a knock on the door. My dad goes to answer it.
“Hello,” I hear him say. “Won’t you come in?”
“Actually, I’m here for Clelia,” A female voice answers. No surprise there. All of President Hunter’s employees are female.
I hug my mom one last time and walk into the kitchen. It only took a few steps to get from the living room to the kitchen.
“Ah,” The young woman standing in the doorway gestures for me to come outside with her. “There she is. Come.”
I hug my dad, look around our single floor house (or hut, as I like to call it) one last time, and walk outside. My mom won’t stop crying.
“Mom,” I say. “Please don’t worry about me. Besides, you won’t have to keep wondering what’s going on. You can read the whole thing in The Mazeazines.”
The Mazeazines are magazines all about The Maze. Once The Maze of Doom starts, the entire thing will be watched and typed for the whole country to read. They don’t help much though, since the reporters make everything more dramatic. Even though we can never see what’s going on, I can tell that that’s not what’s actually happening.
“Clelia!” The woman stands by her car, tapping her foot impatiently.
“I love you,” I say before walking to the menacing, black, car.
The woman opens the car door. I get inside and wave at my parents until they disappear from view completely.
I remain silent the entire trip to President Hunter’s main building.
An hour later, the black car pulls up to a towering skyscraper.
“Here we are,” The woman says in a bored voice. “Follow me.”
The tone of her voice makes it obvious that she has done this same routine for quite some time.
I followed her down the hall and into the elevator. I gasped. There were 70 different buttons. The woman had to go onto her toes to reach the 30 button.
The elevator went up and made a ding noise.
The woman entered the big, circular, room. I followed her and saw five different people. I recognized four of them from previous Mazes. They were the trainers. The strength, agility, climbing, and weaponry trainers. The other I knew just from living in this country. President Hunter. The evil leader that started this maze.
“Good,” He said. “You finally arrived. As you know, the contestants aren’t allowed to see each other until the maze begins, so you will be privately trained in this room. The reporter should be here any second now.”
As if on cue, the elevator dinged again, and two women appeared. One carried a camera to take pictures, the other, a notebook and pen.
“If everyone is ready, the training shall begin!” President Hunter stepped back. The camerawoman started snapping pictures and the reporter started scribbling furiously.
There were four sections of the room I could go to. Each section had its own equipment. I decided to start with the worst and work my way up. I’m terrible at physical activities, like climbing, and lifting weights, but I’m good at running and using small weapons like daggers for hunting or building things.
I started at the strength training.
“Hi,” The female strength trainer said. “My name’s Candace. Nice to meet you.” Her leg and arm muscles were very visible. You could tell she stayed in shape. And besides looking strong, she seemed like she could be decently nice, even friendly, unlike most workers here. I don’t blame most of them for being un-friendly, the way they get paid.
I took her hand and shook it.
“So,” Candace said. “Would you like to start with the weights, the sit-ups and push-ups, or bag carrying?”
I selected the bag carrying.
“Come on, Clelia!” Candace encouraged me. “You can do it!”
I had carried six bags of bricks across the room on my shoulders already. Four more to go.
“Almost done,” Candace kept yelling. “Two more! Just two more!”
It was nice that Candace was helping me, but it was a little annoying.
“That’s it! One last one! And, you’re done!”
I wiped the sweat off my forehead and walked back over to Candace.
“That was really good,” She said handing me a towel for my sweat. “Do you need some water?”
I nodded my head gratefully, still gasping for breath. I took the bottled water from Candace and gulped down almost half.
“Let’s move on to the weights.”
Candace handed me two weights. They must’ve both weighed at least twenty pounds.
“I want you to lift one at a time. So raise the right one first with your arm locked, then do the same thing with your left arm. Then lift them both at the same time. Got that?”
I nodded my head again. I’m a girl of many words.
I continued with my strength training. I thanked Candace and moved on to climbing. The trainer wasn’t nearly as nice as Candace was. But it didn’t matter since all she had me do was climb a rock wall about fifty times over. I did horribly. I kept slipping on rocks and I took forever to get up once. Strength and climbing? Not very good at all.
I moved on to agility. I ran a treadmill for ten minutes at a good, steady pace, and then jumped rope for a while. All in all, not bad.
It was time for weaponry.
I had to use each weapon they had and try them out. At the end of the training, I would get to select a weapon for the maze. I had to choose carefully, because once I chose, I couldn’t change my mind.
“Welcome to weaponry,” The female trainer said in a bored voice. “I’m Teresa and I’ll be you’re trainer. Remember never to use your weapon for anything except what you’re told to do, blah, blah, blah. Let’s get started. Choose your weapon.”
There were many different choices; A bow and arrow, a sword, a spear, a mace, a whip, and a dagger.
I chose the bow and arrow.
“Do you know how to use a bow and arrow?” Teresa asked. I nodded. I had used one before, but I was rusty.
“Then try to shoot this target.” Teresa walked over to the wall and pointed at the target. I pulled back the arrow and shot, but I shot way off course. Teresa had to duck her head to avoid getting hit. It struck the wall and stuck there.
“Guess you’re not going to be using that in the maze,” She said. “Try something else.”
I took the spear. Again, she had me throw it at the target. I threw, but not hard enough. I tried again and again, but it would drop on the ground three feet away from me. Again, I am not very strong at all.
I tried the sword, the mace, and the whip, but every single one was a failure.
I took the last weapon. A dagger complete with a small sheath.
“Ah ha ha!” Teresa started laughing. “That is the wimpiest weapon I have ever-!”
I threw the dagger hard at the target. It flew and hit the bull’s eye.
Teresa’s mouth hung open.
“W-would you like to choose the dagger f-for your w-weapon?” She stuttered.
I turned away from Teresa and walked to the target. I pulled my dagger out, and sheathed it around my pants.
I knew everyone was going to hear about my “rage and fury at the weapon trainer”. I knew they would read about me throwing the dagger. But they wouldn’t know anything. They wouldn’t know that I imagined President Hunter’s face on that bull’s eye as I threw the dagger.
I'm not finished with the story yet (I've written nine and a half chapters so far), but if you would like an e-mailed copy when I'm done, let me know in a comment. :D
Here is the first chapter. I'll take any feedback. Thanks! :D
Chapter 1
I live in a sexist country.
It is a place where girls do all the working, men do whatever they please, and girls get sent to jail for the rest of their life for the tiniest thing.
But that’s not the worst of it.
Each year, President Hunter has a competition called The Maze of Doom. It’s been going on for twenty years. Let me tell you about it.
The Maze of Doom is a huge maze filled with dangers. Ten different girls ranging from the age of twelve to eighteen race to the end of the maze. Their prize is a single wish. But no girl has survived yet. Girls are allowed one weapon each, provided by President Hunter. Girls can make temporary alliances, but they can also kill each other. It’s a gruesome maze.
Some, if they are in the maze, plan to wish for riches or fame. Others plan to wish for their sisters to get out of jail for not polishing their boss’s shoes exactly right.
I have a different wish.
I have been randomly chosen by the country’s leader to be entered in The Maze of Doom.
Our country’s leader is revolting. He made The Maze of Doom for entertainment. He likes the idea of girls killing each other. For him, it’s just one less worker to pay.
But I have to survive the maze to make my wish. As I said, no girl has survived yet. I plan to change that, too.
Today is the day I say goodbye to my family and leave for “Maze Training”. Really, it’s to see how good each girl is so the country can place their bets to see who will survive the longest.
My mom starts to cry as I pull on my boots. My dad puts his arm around her. He tries to comfort her, but the tears keep on coming.
“Don’t cry, Mom,” I say. “I’ll be fine.” But even I can’t promise that.
My mom hugs me and bawls. Dots appear on my shirt’s sleeve.
“Carrie, she’ll be fine,” My dad straightens his glasses and tries to hide his watering eyes. “You know our Clelia. She’s one tough cookie.”
My mom attempts to talk as my dad hugs her again.
“My daughter!” she cries. “My only daughter! In The Maze! She’s only fourteen.”
“I know,” He says. “I know.”
I hug each of them again.
“I love you guys,” I say in a faltering voice. “But when I come back, everything will be better.”
I hear a knock on the door. My dad goes to answer it.
“Hello,” I hear him say. “Won’t you come in?”
“Actually, I’m here for Clelia,” A female voice answers. No surprise there. All of President Hunter’s employees are female.
I hug my mom one last time and walk into the kitchen. It only took a few steps to get from the living room to the kitchen.
“Ah,” The young woman standing in the doorway gestures for me to come outside with her. “There she is. Come.”
I hug my dad, look around our single floor house (or hut, as I like to call it) one last time, and walk outside. My mom won’t stop crying.
“Mom,” I say. “Please don’t worry about me. Besides, you won’t have to keep wondering what’s going on. You can read the whole thing in The Mazeazines.”
The Mazeazines are magazines all about The Maze. Once The Maze of Doom starts, the entire thing will be watched and typed for the whole country to read. They don’t help much though, since the reporters make everything more dramatic. Even though we can never see what’s going on, I can tell that that’s not what’s actually happening.
“Clelia!” The woman stands by her car, tapping her foot impatiently.
“I love you,” I say before walking to the menacing, black, car.
The woman opens the car door. I get inside and wave at my parents until they disappear from view completely.
I remain silent the entire trip to President Hunter’s main building.
An hour later, the black car pulls up to a towering skyscraper.
“Here we are,” The woman says in a bored voice. “Follow me.”
The tone of her voice makes it obvious that she has done this same routine for quite some time.
I followed her down the hall and into the elevator. I gasped. There were 70 different buttons. The woman had to go onto her toes to reach the 30 button.
The elevator went up and made a ding noise.
The woman entered the big, circular, room. I followed her and saw five different people. I recognized four of them from previous Mazes. They were the trainers. The strength, agility, climbing, and weaponry trainers. The other I knew just from living in this country. President Hunter. The evil leader that started this maze.
“Good,” He said. “You finally arrived. As you know, the contestants aren’t allowed to see each other until the maze begins, so you will be privately trained in this room. The reporter should be here any second now.”
As if on cue, the elevator dinged again, and two women appeared. One carried a camera to take pictures, the other, a notebook and pen.
“If everyone is ready, the training shall begin!” President Hunter stepped back. The camerawoman started snapping pictures and the reporter started scribbling furiously.
There were four sections of the room I could go to. Each section had its own equipment. I decided to start with the worst and work my way up. I’m terrible at physical activities, like climbing, and lifting weights, but I’m good at running and using small weapons like daggers for hunting or building things.
I started at the strength training.
“Hi,” The female strength trainer said. “My name’s Candace. Nice to meet you.” Her leg and arm muscles were very visible. You could tell she stayed in shape. And besides looking strong, she seemed like she could be decently nice, even friendly, unlike most workers here. I don’t blame most of them for being un-friendly, the way they get paid.
I took her hand and shook it.
“So,” Candace said. “Would you like to start with the weights, the sit-ups and push-ups, or bag carrying?”
I selected the bag carrying.
“Come on, Clelia!” Candace encouraged me. “You can do it!”
I had carried six bags of bricks across the room on my shoulders already. Four more to go.
“Almost done,” Candace kept yelling. “Two more! Just two more!”
It was nice that Candace was helping me, but it was a little annoying.
“That’s it! One last one! And, you’re done!”
I wiped the sweat off my forehead and walked back over to Candace.
“That was really good,” She said handing me a towel for my sweat. “Do you need some water?”
I nodded my head gratefully, still gasping for breath. I took the bottled water from Candace and gulped down almost half.
“Let’s move on to the weights.”
Candace handed me two weights. They must’ve both weighed at least twenty pounds.
“I want you to lift one at a time. So raise the right one first with your arm locked, then do the same thing with your left arm. Then lift them both at the same time. Got that?”
I nodded my head again. I’m a girl of many words.
I continued with my strength training. I thanked Candace and moved on to climbing. The trainer wasn’t nearly as nice as Candace was. But it didn’t matter since all she had me do was climb a rock wall about fifty times over. I did horribly. I kept slipping on rocks and I took forever to get up once. Strength and climbing? Not very good at all.
I moved on to agility. I ran a treadmill for ten minutes at a good, steady pace, and then jumped rope for a while. All in all, not bad.
It was time for weaponry.
I had to use each weapon they had and try them out. At the end of the training, I would get to select a weapon for the maze. I had to choose carefully, because once I chose, I couldn’t change my mind.
“Welcome to weaponry,” The female trainer said in a bored voice. “I’m Teresa and I’ll be you’re trainer. Remember never to use your weapon for anything except what you’re told to do, blah, blah, blah. Let’s get started. Choose your weapon.”
There were many different choices; A bow and arrow, a sword, a spear, a mace, a whip, and a dagger.
I chose the bow and arrow.
“Do you know how to use a bow and arrow?” Teresa asked. I nodded. I had used one before, but I was rusty.
“Then try to shoot this target.” Teresa walked over to the wall and pointed at the target. I pulled back the arrow and shot, but I shot way off course. Teresa had to duck her head to avoid getting hit. It struck the wall and stuck there.
“Guess you’re not going to be using that in the maze,” She said. “Try something else.”
I took the spear. Again, she had me throw it at the target. I threw, but not hard enough. I tried again and again, but it would drop on the ground three feet away from me. Again, I am not very strong at all.
I tried the sword, the mace, and the whip, but every single one was a failure.
I took the last weapon. A dagger complete with a small sheath.
“Ah ha ha!” Teresa started laughing. “That is the wimpiest weapon I have ever-!”
I threw the dagger hard at the target. It flew and hit the bull’s eye.
Teresa’s mouth hung open.
“W-would you like to choose the dagger f-for your w-weapon?” She stuttered.
I turned away from Teresa and walked to the target. I pulled my dagger out, and sheathed it around my pants.
I knew everyone was going to hear about my “rage and fury at the weapon trainer”. I knew they would read about me throwing the dagger. But they wouldn’t know anything. They wouldn’t know that I imagined President Hunter’s face on that bull’s eye as I threw the dagger.
I'm not finished with the story yet (I've written nine and a half chapters so far), but if you would like an e-mailed copy when I'm done, let me know in a comment. :D
I am 21-year-old author, actress, daydreamer, voracious reader, introvert, klutz, fangirl, and overuser of tape. I love the impossible (which might explain my obsessions with YA novels) but I dip into the real world . . . occasionally. I’m a big fan of dogs, Broadway musicals, and bittersweet endings. When I'm not hunched over a laptop writing a new story, you can find me onstage in whatever theatrical production I've allowed to take over my life. I am a contributor to the “Fauxpocalypse” anthology and the author of “Instructions for Flight” and “Ghost Light,” both collections of poetry. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram at @KateIFoley.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
The Help (The Movie)
I finished watching "The Help" yesterday with my mom and dad. Two words: Awe-some. :D Sometimes I read a book and then watch the movie and I think, "Eh," but the movie was really good. I still like the book better, but the movie was really well done and made me cry at some parts. I don't have a favorite character, but Minny's great. :D I'm not going to give anything away for those who haven't read the book yet, but I love when she's telling the story of, "The Terrible Awful." The actress who played Minny actually won an award for the Golden Globes. :D
For those of you who have read the book but haven't watched the movie, watch the movie. It's awesome.
For those of you who have watched the movie but haven't read the book, read the book. It's definitely worth reading.
For those of you who haven't read the book or watched the movie, I recommend both. :D
For those of you who have read the book but haven't watched the movie, watch the movie. It's awesome.
For those of you who have watched the movie but haven't read the book, read the book. It's definitely worth reading.
For those of you who haven't read the book or watched the movie, I recommend both. :D
I am 21-year-old author, actress, daydreamer, voracious reader, introvert, klutz, fangirl, and overuser of tape. I love the impossible (which might explain my obsessions with YA novels) but I dip into the real world . . . occasionally. I’m a big fan of dogs, Broadway musicals, and bittersweet endings. When I'm not hunched over a laptop writing a new story, you can find me onstage in whatever theatrical production I've allowed to take over my life. I am a contributor to the “Fauxpocalypse” anthology and the author of “Instructions for Flight” and “Ghost Light,” both collections of poetry. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram at @KateIFoley.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Encyclopedia of Me- L
Love- This one is pretty obvious. If everyone in the world learned to love more, there wouldn't be any wars, and the world would be perfect. Why is it so hard to be nice to each other? Love is a wonderful thing. I love to give people hugs and presents. It feels so good and makes me so happy. :D
Life- This one is also pretty obvious. Life is awesome. There's so much you can do in life. The words "life" and "love" and "peace" make me jittery for some reason in a good way. It gives me inspiration. When I was looking up "love" and "life" in Google images, there were so many cool pictures to choose from.
Laughter- I love to laugh and I love to hear other people laugh. I especially love it when I make my friends laugh or when a baby laughs. (Baby laughter is so cute). Whenever I go to INCH, I usually get the hiccups coming home from laughing so much. My best friend, Kirsten, and my friend, Sophia, are the best at making me laugh. Everyone knows Sophia as one of the funniest kids at INCH. She is hilarious. :D
Lemonade- Pink lemonade is my favorite drink, but any kind of lemonade is good. Strawberry lemonade is my second favorite drink. The strawberry lemonade at "Red Robin" is the best I've ever tasted because they leave huge strawberry chunks in the cup and you can scoop them out with your fork. :D
Lists- I love lists. I make a list practically everyday, whether it's a list of story ideas, a list of Christmas presents to make for my friends and family if it's around Christmas time, a to do list, or a list of images to get for the "Encyclopedia of Me" posts, they help me a lot. :D
Luke- One of my absolute favorite characters in Modern Family. (He's the kid with the shower cap over his head and a hairdryer without a shirt on in the picture above). He's the goofball, oblivious, sweet kid in the show. He's kind of ADD. He'll be sticking a straw up his nose one minute and playing "Plants vs. Zombies" while sticking his face in a bowl of cereal. Yeah, he's that kid. It's impossible to put all of my favorite quotes from him onto this post, but this is one our family quotes all the time.
(Seeing that everyone is too busy on their electronics to pay attention to anyone or anything around them, Claire gathers the family and tells everyone that there is a week-long ban on anything electronic).
Luke Dunphy: "Can I still play Plants vs. Zombies?"
Claire Dunphy: "Are you not listening?"
Luke: "But you learn about plants. And plants are life. Are you against life?"
:D Hilarious.
Other "L" words that didn't make the list:
Lemmings: Totally cute, but totally stupid. I think I've told you the story about how I learned about lemmings, but I'll tell it again for anyone who didn't read the post. My friend Sophia told me about them so I looked them up then my dad told me that sometimes one lemming jumps off of a cliff, and the rest of the pack jumps off, too just because one of them did. So whenever someone does something just because someone else does it, I have to yell out, "LEMMINGS!" :D
Library: I didn't think about this until after I wrote the post. INCH meets at the library almost as much as we meet at the park. I love our library and our librarians. :D
I am 21-year-old author, actress, daydreamer, voracious reader, introvert, klutz, fangirl, and overuser of tape. I love the impossible (which might explain my obsessions with YA novels) but I dip into the real world . . . occasionally. I’m a big fan of dogs, Broadway musicals, and bittersweet endings. When I'm not hunched over a laptop writing a new story, you can find me onstage in whatever theatrical production I've allowed to take over my life. I am a contributor to the “Fauxpocalypse” anthology and the author of “Instructions for Flight” and “Ghost Light,” both collections of poetry. You can follow me on Twitter and Instagram at @KateIFoley.
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