Pictures of Halloweens Past!

Picture of the Day:

Lettuce Lake Park, with a gator!

Quote of the Day:

"The worst moment for the atheist is when he is really thankful, and has nobody to thank."

-Rosetti

Well, I finally finished my Halloween costume!! In light of the fact tomorrow is Halloween, I would like to put up some pictures of Halloweens past. Soon pictures will be up of my costume this year, but until then it will remain a mystery!!

First stop, Halloween '08!

I was Medusa. Made the costume myself. However, what you are probably thinking is: why are there no snakes?! Before Medusa was turned into a gorgon, she was the most beautiful woman in Greece. I did something more in between. There is a snake headpiece, and I have scaled make-up. Either way, I was pleased with the result. Sad news? I can no longer find it. 

Here are some more shots from Halloween '08!! In order of appearance: The Green Lantern (twice!), A pirate, a matador, Vincent Valentine, a guy in a witch hat, 

Next stop....

Halloween '09!

Okay, so for '09 I was an internet pirate. Note the pirate aspect of the costume. Anyway, what isn't pictured is my belt of CDs and internet cables that I made. You can see my jump drive necklace, a little bit. I was exceedingly proud of the cleverness of this one. Though, I will be sad to admit I did not MAKE anything but the accessories. 

Here are some other noteworthy costumes of last year! From beginning to end: A clown, Billy Mays, Kanye West (and to top it off, all he did was interrupt people!!), a zombie and some ultimate fighter.

Oxi Clean. It gets tough stains out. And zombies.

There you have it folks! Keep a look out for this year's costume madness, and I hope you have a wonderful (and safe) Halloween!

Of Thieves and Novels

Picture of the Day: 

Go Bulls! 

Quote of the Day: 

"Dance is the hidden language of the soul." 

-Martha Graham

I finished two books within 24 hours, and I was left with the utmost inspiration! So, instead of being able to work on my other works already started, I had a new idea and set to work on mapping out the details I already knew would be a part of the story. There is a stone, its guardians, and a thief. Mayhem, love, and adventure ensue! 

Speaking of thieves, one of the books I finished featured one as a main character. Get ready for a book review! 

I read Shana Abe's book called The Dream Thief; ironically, it has nothing to do with someone who steals dreams (which was what I was expecting when I opened this book). It does, however, have something to do with a thief and a girl, named Amalia, who can dream the future. 

Basically, Lia (or Lady Amalia) is a member of a fantastic group of people called the Drakon. The Drakon are shape shifters, and while they take the form of humans most of the time, they can change into smoke, and from smoke, they can change into dragons! She sets out with Zane, a thief, to acquire a stone called the Draumr, and the stone has a power to control the Drakon when wielded by a human. Mainly: Zane. The entire time she dreams that she is under the power of the stone and serving Zane like a slave, and it is up to her to figure out how to change her fate. Only one problem. From page one, she is in love with him. 

Now let me start by saying, I was highly disappointed with the names of the characters. They all sounded like they belonged in a fantasy novel that did not take place in the seventeen hundreds in Europe. (For instance, the Thief's name is Zane. I very much doubt that that was a time appropriate choice. But it was memorable.) Still, I cringed when I read the name Amalia; it sounded very stock-ish, like I have seen it hundreds of times before. Still, the names were easy to get by and I still managed to knock out the entire novel in one sitting. 

It is not a particularly hard read. In fact, it seems to move very fast, especially in the beginning. There wasn't a lot of in depth details given about character's physical appearances, or indeed the locations that the characters happened upon in the course of the pages. One place the details did not fail, though, were in the intimate scenes between Lia and Zane. 

It was detailed enough that I almost felt assaulted reading the text. Still, I will admit that I couldn't seem to put it down. It was a lot like roadkill; I just couldn't look away. Part if it could have been the fact I promised myself I would branch out into all different types of reading material. Part of it could have been that, while simple, Abe's style of writing is highly entrancing. I couldn't tell you, really. But I will say that if you want to avoid such books, this is not the one for you. 

The Dream Thief is actually the second book in a series. Not that it mattered; you got all the back story necessary in this novel alone, and it wasn't until I had finished that I realized it was a part of a trilogy. I may go out and search for a read on the rest of the series too, since I did enjoy the characters. 

All in all, I wasn't disappointed. (And to think. I bought it for fifty cents!) If you're looking for a quick, easy, romance novel to look at, this may be your ticket to escape.

Pumpkin Carvings!

Picture of the Day:

Monticello, Virginia

Quote of the Day: 

"The best way to get approval is not to need it."

-Hugh Macleod

I carved a pumpkin! OF my pumpkin! 

See? It's Sammy!

It took me about an hour. I had a party at a friend's house, and we all had a pumpkin to carve. So here are the fruits of my efforts! I am no expert carver, mind you. But I feel very accomplished. It looks very much like my baby boy! 

However...the best pumpkin? The one to rule them all?

My friend Sarah's!!

I love Lord of the Rings. Best. Pumpkin. Ever.

NaNoWriMo - Yeah, It's a Mouthful

Picture of the Day:

Flowers!

Quote of the Day:

"One of the advantages of being disorderly is that one is constantly making exciting discoveries."

-A. A. Milne

Right now, I am a complete mess. Midterms have left me positively drained, and I still have more tests to take. I cannot, however, keep up with any of it. Needless to say, the perfectionist in me is slowly dying and a new, haphazard version of the Kathryn I know and love is coming to fruition; and at the worst possible time.

I barely have time to think and breathe, but I know that my stress level needs to be kept at some sort of bay. I cannot seem to stay ahead of the game, and it is causing many problems in all four of my literature classes. Four literature classes is suicide; so please, do yourself a favor and never do this to yourself.

However, I thought I would take a few moments to drop in anyway; I know myself, and if I miss a day or two, you will not hear from me for a few weeks. As is expected, I plan on giving you another song from my soundtrack, but before I get to that, I would like to present you with a link that was sent to me by a friend via Facebook.

Do I have any authors out there reading? Well, this is for you! Have you heard of NaNoWriMo? Apparently, November is National Novel Writing Month, and this organization has taken it upon themselves to spur writers 50,000 words ahead by the end of the month!

They even have tips to keep you motivated.

If I had enough time, I would be joining in the effort myself, but as it stands I can hardly breathe, let alone work on my novels! Still, I encourage any author I know to join the effort, or at least set a personal goal for themselves to try and reach by the end of November. Even if it is only 5,000 words! C'mon, writers! We can let everyone know what we are all about!!


Whatever you do, don't stop writing!

Now, before I jet back to homework and studying, I would like to offer my next song from the soundtrack: "I Wouldn't Be A Man" by Josh Turner.

This song has a hold on me. It could be his sultry voice, it could be the intimate connotation to the song. Nonetheless, I love it. Someday I plan to channel this kind of energy and emotion into an intimate scene between my two characters from the Legacy of Elysia series, but that will have to wait until December, when school is finally done. A sad but true reality! 
Happy writing!

Introducing Inspiration and Relaxation: Loreena McKennitt

Picture of the Day:

Lettuce Lake Park

Quote of the Day:

"If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything." 

-Mark Twain

I went to the library yesterday. May I just take a moment to praise the purchase of used books? Because I think there is nothing better than walking out of the library with four books and paying $2.50. I will get to them as time permits; in between school reading and The Alienist, which is my current read for the moment, I am having plenty to juggle. I will review them as I get them finished, this I promise.

I took a look at their music CDs at the library while I was there. I picked up some new Celtic Woman and a CD by Loreena McKennitt, another Celtic/World artist, and the next artist I am going to share with you for my Soundtrack of Inspiration and Writings.

This one is called "Mystic's Dream".

She has a very distinct style, and I find that it is both relaxing and inspiring. Her stuff is just outlandish enough that it transports me into somewhere new and uncharted. This, I confess, was the first song I heard of hers, and immediately I was thinking of Nydia, a character from the Legacy of Elysia series. 
Nydia is a young girl (in the first book she is about fifteen years old) who has given her life over to be a priestess and has been declared as an Oracle, a High Priest or Priestess that can literally communicate with the gods themselves. She is the second daughter of a prominent Judge of the city Micaladin, and her elder sister, Nessa, is one of the antagonists of the series.
I love the instruments that she uses in this particular piece; it sounds almost Middle-Eastern, and is the type of music that I could see my land of Elysia partaking of and taking joy in. Not only that, but the music itself is very peaceful. Loreena McKennitt is an artist you can sit and listen to in the dark and feel stress leave you. Haunting and lovely, I fell in love with her immediately. I will leave a few more samples of her for you here; maybe it will ease the passing to the first day of the week!








Happy Monday!

How To Train Your Dragon

Picture of the Day:

Weedon Island

Quote of the Day:

"Thank you for nothing, you useless reptile."

-Hiccup

Yesterday, after the wedding, my family and I had a family day; we went out to eat, and then we watched a movie. One that stole my heart, and has managed to fly its way into my favorites list.

How to Train Your Dragon!

Let me start by saying I am a dragon buff; they have always been my favorite mythical creatures, and my sister can attest to that. However, if there is one thing I cannot stand, it is a dragon that can speak. So, right away this movie got good marks on my behalf; the dragons all roared and made cute noises. 

The story takes place in Berk, an imaginary Viking city that is constantly plagued by dragons! Their buildings get burned completely during attacks, so there is no such thing as an old building; they are all new. While most of the Viking men are big and strong, the story centers around a scrawny boy by the name of Hiccup as he tries to live up to his father's expectations (I was excited to hear by his voice that the father was played by the one and only Gerard Butler!) as a dragon hunter. Basically, Hiccup is the kid that always screws up, and right from the start the two family members are on rough terms. But, when Hiccup comes across a Night Fury, the most mysterious dragon breed known to man, he ends up in dangerous stare down. The stare down leads to trust, and the trust to friendship. This is their story.

Now, I will not fail to mention all of the epic action, the wonderful CGI (I am in LOVE with Toothless), or the light love story that follows behind. But, I will leave that up to you to find out by watching the movie and leave them at passing mentionings alone.

I will take a few moments to praise the wonderful soundtrack. I fell in love with it, just like I did the movie. And here is just an example as to why:

It has beautiful music, and great epic music for the battle sequences and dragon attacks. This movie covered its bases.

So, on this bright Sunday, I beg you. Go watch this movie. Please. Thank you.

Music - Expressions of the Soul

Picture of the Day: 

Blue Ridge Parkway, North Carolina

Quote of the Day:

"Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all."
-Sam Ewing

My music tastes are eclectic. The majority of my iPod is country, but I adore classical music, Celtic inspired music, easy listening...just about anything, as long as it is not rap. So, as we continue down the journey of my soundtracks (which, by the way, are never set in stone or finished), you will see a variety of types of music that I use. And today, I give you David Arkenstone and song number two in my ever expanding soundtrack.

David Arkenstone is a Celtic/New World artist, and is predominantly instrumental. Basically, a genius with music. This particular piece, called Magic Forest, is one that I actually found via Youtube whilst looking for a different one to put up here. I fell in love with it.

It is so peaceful and tranquil; exactly the kind of music that I use for inspiration with some of my scenes in my Legacy of Elysia series that take place in the glade. The main character, Octavian, is haunted by visions of a war where he lost his best friend, Caelan. The place he finds the most comfort is in the confines of the glade, nestled a good hour's walk into the forest behind his house where he meets the gentle daughter of Orestes for company.

Here, as you are listening, read my description of the glade:

         The tall trees vanished for a space large enough to be called a glade, nothing more. The branches of the great trees along the edge rose high, seemingly reaching out for the opposite side of the clearing, until they were all entwined with one another in a slow dance of the ages. The canopy lovingly shaded the pool of cool water that lay in the center of the clearing, glittering and dancing in the golden sunlight that managed to seep its way through the branches and leaves; to the eye it looked as if jewels were hidden at the surface of the water, though no matter how greedily one delved and dove none would be found. Beside the pool was a boulder. Grey and sleek, it seemed entirely foreign against the earthy tones the glade harbored. It was as if the gods themselves had placed it there, to offer a place to rest and relax amongst their finest work, where the scent of colorful blooms could encompass and enfold a person until they were blanketed and comforted in the purity and calm the glade held.

Yes; I do believe this song is perfection!