Picture of the Day: 

The albino peacock that struts the walkways of Busch Gardens!

Quote of the Day: 

"I lived to write, and wrote to live." 

-Samuel Rogers

We meet once more, my beloved readers! By this time tomorrow I will be seated in my last final for my undergraduate career, and pleasantly awaiting my release. After tomorrow, I shall be done forever. Hopefully. Verdict still has not come in on my essay for Global Conservation yet. But why ruin an otherwise joyous occasion with such topics? I am looking forward to summer. I am looking forward to whatever is next, and it is mostly because I am so tired of what is going on now.

I plan on focusing more on my writing this summer, so hopefully you will receive more updates that actually pertain to what I am working on! Everything is mapped out for my pirate novel, so I think that I could, potentially, finish it by the end of the year. (Yeah...I will believe it when I see it, myself. But it is nice to dream!) 

Oh! And speaking of pirates:

I cannot wait for this.

Jack Sparrow is back! This time with Blackbeard, mermaids and someone other than Orlando Bloom as his sidekick! (Really, I am stoked!) Hopefully seeing some new adventures on the open seas will give me some inspiration for my own novel--though, I will admit that I am pretty sure my idea is way cooler than this movie will probably be! 

I will probably fill my summer with books about pirates, royal navies, and sea monsters, hoping beyond hope that inspiration will keep me aflame for this novel's speedy finish. I am really excited about this particular endeavor, and I cannot wait to try my hand at finishing one of the many stories I have started. 

Maybe, once this one is finished, I can head back to working on my Legacy of Elysia series. If only I had not grown so tired of it! Ah, well. This one seems more interesting anyway--and while I refine my writing skills, I will gain the tools necessary to meet my Legacy of Elysia idea head on in battle...and win.

Anyway. I will leave you with another ship summary to satiate your growing hunger for my pirate novel.  And if you are not hungering or it, by all accounts, you should be! 

Meet the Sundowner, the fastest ship in the Veliarian Navy. She is light, not entirely well armed (at tops she has six guns), and modeled after a sloop from our world. Which means, she looks something like this: 

Yup. Also without the flag.

The Sundowner, as you can see, has no real cabin on the stern of the ship for the captain. This means that all the crew (Liam, and the commodore included) sleep below deck without any rank distinction. I may have Liam have a little bit more privacy by being at the very back of the ship or something, but he is not going to receive his own quarters. 

This ship is the ship that Liam, Jarek and the commodore set out on their adventure in. It is manned (for this special trip) by the best of the navy. Normally, she is used for chasing down pirates (should the need arise). However, for Liam the Sundowner is a sloop of adventurous proportions. 

I cannot say too much about this particular ship, other than what is already mentioned. The Sundowner's name also stems from something nautical: it is a term used to describe an extra-strict navy officer.

It also is apparently a slang term for a drink to wind down after work. 

Take my word on it; that is not important.