Thursday, November 28, 2013

Happy Thanksgiving!

What am I thankful for? The usual things... what Jesus did on the cross, enough food, enough money, a nice house, great friends and family, books, a car (not my own - my mom's), clean water, blankets, Rosey, music, piano, chocolate...
What am I especially thankful for this Thanksgiving?

FINISHING NANOWRIMO!


So that I can do this:


And this:


I am so thankful to have both After the Twelfth Night finished (and published!) and to have this year's NaNoWriMo over and done with. My novel-writing juices are all but spent and I'm looking forward to not writing anything big for a few months. It's time to take a well-needed break.


A quick update-y thingy on After the Twelfth Night as long as I'm thinking about it...
1st thing: It's on Goodreads now! Huzzah!
2nd thing: I'm not sure when the eBook will be out... I had really hoped to get it out before Christmas, but now it's looking like that won't be possible. November and December are always the busiest months out of the year for me, what with NaNoWriMo, choir concerts, and other recitals.
We're headed to grandparents for Christmas, and I hope, while there, to work with my dad on the eBook. It will most definitely be out before the end of January, and most like be out earlier than that, unless other things get in the way.
So there is my little update-y thingy.

 
(Ironically, the one person who would get this joke doesn't check my blog very often. xD)
 
 
What are YOU thankful for this Thanksgiving? And are you doing anything special today?
 
Live long and prosper.


Saturday, November 23, 2013

Happy 50th anniversary Doctor Who!

50 years ago Doctor Who, one of the best and most popular sci-fi shows, was created.


They had a special episode called The Day of the Doctor which played on BBC America, as well as in select theaters around the world. Since we don't have BBC America, my dad and I went to see it in theaters.
OH. MY. GOODNESS!
I won't post any spoilers because some out there have not seen it yet.
My advice to you is: go find it now and watch it. Go to England if you have to. (Okay, maybe not)
It was fantastic! Brilliant! And Moffat has gained major points with me.

The experience at the theater was SO cool. It was like a mini comic-con in there! You look around and there's the Doctor. You turn the other way, there's the Doctor! There were too many Eleven's and Four's to count. (Not enough Nine's and Ten's in my opinion.) There were TARDIS' and Daleks, and even a Weeping Angel! (Seriously, that girl would have won a Best Costume award if there had been one. She looked frightening like a Weeping Angel. When she came in, everyone went 'don't blink! Oh, I guess we can't blink anymore.') There was a Martha, a, Captain Jack, a Rose (in her Idiot's Lantern costume)


several Amy Pond's, and even a Wilf! That was hilarious.


Antlers and all.
Everyone not in costume was wearing a Doctor Who t-shirt (although several boring people were dressed as regular people).
OH OH! There was also someone dressed as this guy (from Gridlock):


She had done a really amazing face paint job!

Anyway, it was SO. FUN. And the episode was SO. GOOD! Go watch it now!

Also at the theater were huge posters of the characters from The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug! That was cool.
Speaking of the Desolation of Smaug... What's up with Thranduil in this picture from the official Hobbit blog?


He's like, "I'm fabulous."
AH! Speaking of The Hobbit, we got the extended edition and watched it! It was great! I loved the extra scenes they had in Hobbiton and Rivendell. Those were fun.

Anyway, I had a hard time quelling my inner fangirl today. Especially because when I got home I saw that they have a SHERLOCK SEASON THREE TRAILER OUT! And I may have giggle-snorted at the close-up of John's upper lip...

Live long and prosper! (Speaking of which, only two-ish years to wait until Star Trek's 50th anniversary!)

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Update-y thingy?

Gah! I keep trying to film an update because I don't actually want to type out everything but I keep failing! So, we'll see...
Whether in video or in writing, sometime in the next fortnight, you will be seeing posts about the following topics:

Canterbury Tales (by Chaucer) review, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (translated by J.R.R. Tolkien) review, After the Twelfth Night update, and possibly some stuff regarding NaNoWriMo and what I'm reading. Also a post on God vs. Egypt's gods. Aaaand maybe a post about short stories. And possibly one about God "giving people over to their sins" (see Romans 1:24) in regard to the current state of the United States and where we're headed. I dunno. It's something I've been thinking about, something that has made me very very sad, but also anxious to DO something about it!



The truth. =) Unfortunately my animal doesn't like to be hugged. Fortunately, there are stuffed animals to cover when the Dog doesn't want to be loved.

Live long and prosper.

Sunday, November 17, 2013

"Another!"

After watching Thor with my friend tonight...
"I like these movies. Another!"

I can thank my friend for getting me into this mindset. Her enthusiasm for the Avengers fandom/franchise is contagious and I'm just glad that she's taking me along for the ride. =D So long we've seen Avengers and Thor together... with hopes to watch Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor 2 together.

Now what I'd like to see is a Hawkeye movie... What's his back story? Does he have a back story that's explained somewhere that I just missed? He's very curious.

Live long and prosper!

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Cover reveal for Miss Jack!

Miss Jack Lewis Baillot over at However Improbable is coming out with the second book in her Haphazardly Implausible series in a month! Huzzah! I had the pleasure of editing for her... and let me tell you, this book is really, really good.

Summary: The enemy draws close. Cities will fall. And few can stand in Morcoft's way.
Peter Jones has been betrayed by the man he trusted as his own father. Now he is forced to question everything he has ever been told, and learn the truth of his past.
Isidore Thaddeus Reichmann has finally found the person he has hunted all over England for. Yet, not all is as it seems and he begins to fear he might be on the wrong side.
Singur faces down his worst fear and comes out a victor, but the price of his triumph may put the last member of his family in grave danger.
Choices now stand before all three young men and the paths they take will not only change their lives, but the whole world.
Battles are coming. Enemies are made. Friendships are questioned. When the only world you've ever known is a lie, where do you go?

DUN DUN DUN!!!
Here is the wonderful cover!


Author Bio:
Jack Lewis Baillot is Spartacus! She also likes to believe she's an author. She likes to write books, while drinking tea, and likes to read while eating cookies, but she doesn't like to do Math, even while drinking tea and eating cookies.
 

Live long and prosper!

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Green Bears.

The typo for today:

"You're as skinny as a green bear!" (I meant bean, for the record...)

I really need to not listen to stupid Star Trek songs while doing NaNo. As long as we're stating things for the record, this wasn't technically a Star Trek song - it was worse. A Monty Python song with a Star Trek video to go along with it.


I couldn't think of what to give my characters for dinner, so I gave them ham and spam an jam (a lot).
By the way... I rewatched The Hobbit the other day for the first time since seeing it in theaters in December (GASP, I know! It was too long!) and Martin Freeman mentions jam. The fandoms online have decided that Martin Freeman is made of jam and kittens and I was wondering if P. Jackson put that line in because he knew that... or maybe Martin Freeman just made it up.
Also, do you think Sylvestor McCoy (the 7th Doctor) was made Radagast the Brown on purpose?


After all, P. Jackson is a Doctor Who fan and I believe that the above episode was filmed before The Hobbit...


He owns two Daleks... OH OH! Speaking of Daleks, did anyone see the Daleks in the background in the newest Emma Approved episode? It's in the background of Charlie's video appointment with Emma.

Well, I'm off to write ten or so more words before heading off for the night (I'm at 22,090. I can't leave it that close to 22,100! I just can't!)

How is NaNoWriMo going for all of you?

Live long and prosper!

Monday, November 11, 2013

The typo of the day.

"Do you think we've been had?" Varina asked.
"Nom," said Daniel.

NaNoWriMo is going pretty well... I was a little down the past few days, but now I'm feeling better about the story again and can continue. I just passed  20,000 words! Yay!

I'm reading three good books... Which is a problem, because I don't know which to read at night! The Hobbit, The Hound of Baskervilles, or Mansfield Park?

Live long and prosper!

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Hee hee hee...

Sorry for the double post... but I just had to share:

Google is celebrating the birthday of some doctor person... doing some sort of therapy thing.


Um, that looks like a lip. It's a lip. It's a lip, it's a lip, it's a lip lip lip, it's a lip, it's a lip, it's a lip lip lip, it's a lip, it's a lip, it's a lip lip lip. LIIIIIP lips lips lips!
They turned blue, what could I do, she had a beard, and it felt weird, my friends all laughed, OOSTA!

Live long and prosper.

The past seven days...

...of NaNoWriMo have passed in a blur.
I'm currently 63 words away from 14,000 words and I'm finally starting to enjoy my novel.
It's titled A Pretty Face Can Hide An Evil Mind. It's a line that comes from this song:


Daniel and Varina, my heroes from my two previous NaNo projects (NaNoWriMo 2012, and Camp NaNoWriMo in April 2013) have to go undercover to stop a dastardly plot to destroy the government.

The first 8,000 words or so were very painful to write. Not because of anything evil... It's just I'm so burned out from all the work on After the Twelfth Night that my writing has fallen to a very low quality. Finally, though, things are starting to warm up. I'm starting to enjoy my characters more. There's more description (the first 8,000 words or so are almost all primary dialogue) and my writing has finally gotten to a level where I feel comfortable sharing snippets!
Here, have the one good piece of writing in all 14,000 words (and it's a very raw "good" piece of writing):


Varina lovingly pulled out Mansfield Park by Jane Austen and settled down to read, forgetting her tiredness for the moment.
Daniel chose a shorter book to read – if, indeed it could even be called a book. He had to search through the bag carefully, but finally he found what he was looking for… Down on the very bottom was a collection of Beethoven sonatas, which he took out and began studying intently, occasionally breaking out in a spurt of humming, while his fingers exuberantly played an invisible keyboard on the bed in front of him.
Mansfield Park because I just started reading it last night and I'm really enjoying it so far! Though I do feel sorry for Fanny.

While my story has started warming up... my character's have decided to turn on me. Alright, maybe not all of them at once... But Daniel has given me two pieces of information - one helpful, and one not-so-much.
The helpful one is that he finally told me his middle name(s)! Lots of ideas and two books later... he finally told me his middle name(s).
Here, have the only other piece of goodish writing from the first 14k:

“So, names,” said the Big Boss. “We were thinking of Rupert for you, Daniel.”
“Sorry,” said Daniel. “Rupert is my middle name.”
“I thought Charles was your middle name?” asked the Big Boss. “That’s what the file says…” he started digging around for Daniel’s file.
“Charles is my middle name, sir…” said Daniel, turning a little red. “But Rupert is my middle name too. Daniel Charles Rupert Adams.”
“The Third?” asked Varina.
“No, but I have high hopes for my first born son,” said Daniel.
As well as giving me his middle names... Daniel has also decided to spring on me that he went to Juilliard for a year in his late teens. Juilliard is one of the foremost music school in the world (I believe... I actually don't know too much about it). I was thinking, okay, that's fine. Just so long as Juilliard isn't in New York. I looked it up. It's in New York! This is a problem, Daniel! Why? Because Daniel is from England and before the first book in my series, he had never been to New York... so I thought. Even now, he's cowering in a corner and apologizing in an adorable stammer. He didn't think it was relevant until now... he's sorry...
Yeah, well, you should have thought about telling me before I started writing this series, Daniel Adams!


I'm not crazy, I promise. Okay, maybe a little crazy.

Anyway, I've been listening to quite a bit of Vivaldi and Paul McCartney. And a song called Weep You No More, Sad Fountains, which I would really like to sing in voice lessons. And I've been listening to a few of the songs from The Great Train Robbery movie. It has a super cool soundtrack.

Well, back to writing! I want to get at least 150 more words before updating my word count and doing something else.

Look forwards to a review of Canterbury Tales coming soon... I finally finished it! Huzzah! That was a painful book to get through.

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Sink meh, I've been watching movies!

The first is Rise of Guardians.


This is a great movie based off of a series of books, I believe. The movie is about a group of legends... Santa Claus, the Sandman, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and Jack Frost. The first four are Guardians - they make sure children are happy, and that they believe in the legends. Jack Frost is a mischievous guy who doesn't remember his past, and who wishes to be seen.
When Pitch, the author of nightmares, starts making the world black, the Guardians must join together and save the children of the world!
I really, really enjoyed this movie. It was very sweet and well done.

Second movie: The Avengers!


This one I can talk more about since I saw it last night, as opposed to two weeks ago (when I saw Rise of the Guardians).
Eep! It's as good as everyone says! I really enjoyed it! I can see how many people love this franchise so much - it's so intertwined! Especially with all it's prequel movies and stuff. And I know I'm not the only one out there wondering what happened in Budapest.
I was really impressed that the movie could be such a perfect mix of character, plot, action, and funny lines. For example, the funny lines helped the plot along, rather than taking over. "I'm listening."
So who is my favorite Avenger? That's a hard question. Let's look at each one...
Captain America: Because he's just cool. He's from WW2. Which is cool. But, he's not my favorite.
Thor: He's from a different planet, has a super cool hammer thing that comes to him when he uses the force, and wears his mother's drapes for Shakespeare in the park. Plus he's Captain Kirk's dad in Star Trek 2009 and he has a cool accent. But he's not my favorite either.
Iron Man: He holds a special place in my heart, I must admit. Mostly because the first Marvel movie I saw (about a month ago) was Iron Man 2. Plus, I just think it's cool that he has a cool circle-heard thingy in his chest. And he has his own tower. He's not my favorite either, though he comes close.
Black Widow: She is sooo cool. I love her interrogation tactics. And she has amazing hair. And it seems like she has a really cool backstory. Is that ever explored anywhere else? If not, I think she needs her own movie. But she's not my favorite either.
Hawkeye: Oh my goodness he's so cool! I loved his character. He rocks. But, he's not my favorite. He comes close, though...
So who is my favorite? Well, without seeing his movie and basing it only on my knowledge of him from this movie...
Bruce Banner - the Hulk. His backstory and introduction were my favorite (other than Black Widow's... her intro was pretty cool. But Banner's was tied for first). Plus, the actor did an AMAZING job portraying the inner turmoil Bruce Banner must be feeling.
Anyway, as a friend pointed out, this is kind of the big kid version of Rise of the Guardians. Both movies were wonderful, some of the best coming out of recent years. Go see them!

The next two movies are older... Both from the 1980's, I believe.
The first I saw on Saturday morning... very early. Both my mom and I couldn't sleep to we go up to watch TV and The First Great Train Robbery was on. It stars Sean Connery (Indiana Jones' dad) and Donald Sutherland (another distinguished actor). They, along with a woman, decide to make the first train robbery England has ever seen in the 1850's. They devise a plan and over the course of a year, put it into play.


Oh my goodness... This movie was so hilarious! In order to break into the safe (which is on the train) to get the gold bars, the two guys have to steal four keys, kept in three different places. And then they have to get on the train. How do they do it? Well, there's a dead cat and a very Tintin-like stunt of running on top of a moving train involved, I'll tell you that much.
This is a great movie. And the music really adds to it. Jerry Goldsmith was the composer; he also did music for Star Trek.
There is, of course, some bad stuff... Mostly references to females who sell themselves.

The final movie is one that I have seen before... The Scarlet Pimpernel starring Anthony Andrews!



Sink meh, if it isn't Sir Percy!
I watched this movie awhile back, after hearing so many great things about it on multiple blogs. I really, really enjoyed it the first time around. And now on second viewing, I am finding even more to appreciate. This time around, I'm noticing how amazing an actor Anthony Andrews is.
The story is wonderful - set during the French Revolution. The Scarlet Pimpernel rescues French aristocrats who are being beheaded by Madame Guillotine.
Not only do we get to see Sir Percy rescue several aristocrats, and devise a plan to save the Crown Prince, but we get to see the troubled state of Sir Percy's marriage. He believes his wife has sent a family to the guillotine - she must not know the he is the Pimpernel. It drives them apart.
It's wonderful to see both storylines intertwine, and to see the inner turmoil Sir Percy feels.
This movie also, is based off of a book (actually, the Great Train Robbery is based off of a book by the same man who wrote Jurassic Park), though I've heard it's different than the book. It makes me wary to read the book, in case It spoils the movie... Yet, I can't help but want to read the book, for the story is so wonderful! Not to mention, Sir Percy is quite the hero.
Also, this movie has Gandalf in it, only he's 30 years younger, and the evil bad guy.

I've talk long enough! Odd's fish m'dear, it's time for me to be off!

Live long and prosper!

Friday, November 1, 2013

After the Twelfth Night avaliable now...

...from an online bookstore near you!

Eep! I'm a (self)published author!
Here's After the Twelfth Night's page on Lulu.com:

http://www.lulu.com/shop/ag-werff/after-the-twelfth-night/paperback/product-21279474.html

 

Antonio was a pirate, and now he's in jail for that long ago sea fight with the Duke. His friend, Sebastian, was supposed to bail him out of jail, but Sebastian has been kidnapped! Antonio promises Sebastian's wife that he will find her missing husband, but first he must get out of jail...

Four years of my life and it's finally finished! Huzzah! Huzzah!


So what's the next step? Well, in a few weeks, my book should be available on Amazon as well as Lulu.com. Also, sometime before Christmas I hope to have eBook versions available for eReaders (Nook... whatever the other one is. xD iPads and such. Apple products.)
Until then, I shall bask in the loveliness of a finished project, and start NaNoWriMo.

Huzzah!

Live long and prosper!