Book Review: The Green Sky Trilogy by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

The Green Sky Trilogy is a rather interesting series by Zilpha Keatley Snyder.  The whole premise is that Raamo, a young kid, is selected to become a new Ol-zhaan (priest) of his people.  When he begins the training he finds out that there is this great conspiracy happening.  His people live in the trees and are never allowed to leave the canopy.  He, through a series of events, does so and finds out the forest floor is not what they’ve been told.

I though these books were interesting.  There were definitely some political overtones to me.  But, from the strict standpoint of the story – it was good.  Maybe the political overtones were just my imagination.  I will admit that.  The characters are likable and the plot is sufficiently complex to make an interesting story.  It is still a young adult’s trilogy and not an adult’s, so don’t go in expecting something more like a Tolkien world.

In the end I would say read it if you have a chance.  It is worth it.

Random Sunday – Glasses, Pinterest, and Monkeys

I have glasses now.  They’re reading glasses.  I hate glasses.  I hate having to remember to put them on when I start doing a bunch of stuff that requires reading.  That means I should just put them on in the morning and leave them on all day.  But I can’t do that.  It’s not that they’re not comfortable.  I just can’t get used to wearing them.  I fidget with them all day.  So yeah.  I’m in quite the dilemma.  Okay.  Whining moment over for the day.

I actually created something I pinned off Pinterest.  I’ve used Pinterest for storyboard inspirations.  But I’ve also pinned a bunch of crafts, recipes, etc. as well.  I finally made one.  With my mom’s help.  We made the cutest onsie for my son.  On the front side we appliqued shapes to make a turkey face.  On the back side we appliqued three feathers.  I’ll post pics of him wearing it to Thanksgiving dinner.  But, I’m proud of myself for actually getting motivated and organized enough to do one of the things I’ve pinned on Pinterest.

I have a monkey staring at me.  Not a live one.  One that is about 10 inches tall and dressed like a pirate.  He is my son’s Halloween monkey.  My son loves the thing.  I think mainly because when you squeeze its paw, it sings and dances.  The thing got drug all over the house.  Consequently, it got missed when I was picking up the Halloween decorations.  Now it’s sitting on the arm of the couch staring at me.  I must put it away before it gives me nightmares.

Questioning

The Trifextra 33 word weekend prompt was to pick any word and use that exact same word (no modifying it) 3 times in those 33 words.  The inspiration for these 33 words is a kid I've worked on and off with at work for a while.  This kid struggles with these questions on a regular basis regardless of what anyone has tried to say.  It just breaks my heart.

Why do you love me?

Why do you choose to love me?

When all is said and done

The day is over

And everyone else has left

Why do you still love me?

Be sure to head over to Trifecta Writing Challenge to see what others came up with for their thrice repeated word in 33 words.

Book Review: Troll’s Eye View: A Book of Villainous Tales by Ellen Datlow

Troll’s Eye View by Ellen Datlow was a great read.  It is another advanced children’s/young adult book.  But I loved it.  Datlow takes the traditional fairy tales we know like Rumplestiltskin and Jack and the Beanstalk, and tells the story from the villain’s point of view.  She does a great job of giving these stories a great new twist.  And the bad guy doesn't seem so bad anymore.

As I said, the book was aimed for a younger audience.  In that respect, the stories are somewhat simple compared to what an adult may expect.  The language was on the simpler end as well.  But, the plots and the stories were well written.  The bad guys in the stories became people I could connect to on some level.  They weren't bad guys anymore.  I loved Datlow's take on the other side of the traditional stories we all know.

I would put this one on your must read list.  It doesn't necessarily have to be high up there.  But don’t miss it.  It is a great new take on those well-known stories.

Random Sunday – Sleeping, Drafted, and Heart Surgery

I know.  It’s not Sunday.  It’s Tuesday.  But, Random Sunday got delayed a little.  The big reason is that my father-in-law had to have heart surgery just over a week ago.  The surgery went well and he is doing just fine.  Between that, though, and a major project due for school, Random Sunday got delayed a little.

I've been drafted.  Not literally as in drafted into the military.  But, I got conned into doing a work presentation.  I will be speaking in front of about 300 people on Thursday night.  Several major news outlets may be there as well.  I am not impressed.  Not because I don’t like speaking in front of people, though 300 does make me a bit nervous.  I just don’t like being the center of attention like that.

I had a random observation late last week.  I was watching my one year old sleep for a moment or two because he’d squeaked a little and I wanted to make sure he was staying asleep.  Then it struck me.  How on this green earth could he be comfortable sleeping the way he was.  And he had to be because he’s slept like this many, many times before.  He’s on his tummy, his legs and arms curled up in the fetal position under him, his head cocked to one side and his little butt up in the air.  I just don’t get it.

Random Sunday – Pumpkin Pie, Walking, and Snow

I got homemade pumpkin pie this weekend.  I love homemade pumpkin pie.  I’m talking the kind where you start with a real pumpkin.  Not pumpkin out of a can.  I don’t get it very often for a couple reasons.  I don’t have fresh pumpkin all that often.  I also don’t have the kind of time to clean a pumpkin and cook it down before even starting the pie.  So, I love the chances to have the real pumpkin pie.

My son walks now.  He’s still practicing it so he falls fairly often and still crawls quite a bit.  But, he has been walking so much more in the last two days than he has ever before.  He was even playing a silly game where he walked between me and my mom.  Every time he got to one of us, he would get a hug, turn around, and go to the other one.  He went back and forth like that until he was just sweating and puffing.  He finally quit when he just plain couldn't keep walking like that.

It snowed this weekend up where we’re at hunting.  We got about an inch of snow.  We took my son out into it.  He has never gotten a chance to play in the snow before.  He was too little last year to play in the snow.  He had no idea what was going on.  The snow was pretty cool until he accidentally pulled a mitten off and then stuck his bare hand in the snow.  Then it was all over.  He doesn't like to be cold and that snow was WAY too cold.

An Old Acquaintance

Write at the Merge gave us Guns N' Roses November Rain and Shakespeare's quote "The third day comes a frost, a killing frost."

This is the current scene I'm working on in a short story for NaNo.  It was originally suppose to be a Precipice submission earlier this year, but that obviously didn't happen.  Oh well.  As always, any concrit is much appreciated.

The light in the windows faded into a dirty orangish glow that was rather fitting for a mid-November evening before disappearing entirely.  The faint twinkle of stars fell short of the warehouse floor.  The temperature started to drop.  I was getting cold.  It wasn’t the frosty cold from Minnesota that I was used to.  But it was cold enough I was starting to shiver.

I sensed the movement more than saw it gliding out of the darkness.  My jaw dropped when I realized I knew this werewolf.

“What the hell are you doing, Lawrence?”

“How many times did I tell you, little druid, that I needed you?”

He had said that on numerous occasions before Kris kicked him out about a year ago.  I just figured he had a thing for me.  And, seeing as there were way more males than females in the pack, some of the males would try to seduce a female away from which ever male she was with.

“This is one hell of a way to win a girl’s heart.”

“It isn’t your heart I want.  Not anymore.”

At least I hadn’t been far off the mark back when he was still with Kris.

“I’m not giving you a blood sacrifice.  What you’re asking for is wrong and you know it.  That ritual won’t give you the kind of power you’re looking for.”

“There is only one kind of power.  And I need it.  Kris is wrong.  We can’t keep living among the humans.  Not anymore.  Not when there are so many more than there ever used to be.  We should be ruling them, not hiding.”

“That ritual will corrupt you.  It will eat you alive.  I will not be a party to your destruction despite you 

kidnapping me.”

“You’re wrong.  I can control it.”

“No one can.  That is why it is a forbidden ritual.  It never should have existed, much less survived this long.  Lawrence, let me go.  I’ll talk to Kris.  See if you can come back.  The others can come, too.”

“He’ll never let me back.  Not after abducting you.”

“For me, he will.”

“The ritual begins the day after tomorrow at sunset.”

Lawrence turned to walk away.

“That ritual will kill me, Lawrence.  You know that, right?”

He froze, “I know.”

Then he left me to shiver in the empty loneliness of the warehouse.

Be sure to follow the link above to other great stories based on these two ideas!

Rusty Charm

This week Trifecta gave us the word Craft, as in skill in deceiving to gain an end.  My piece is a segment out of a short story I'm working on for NaNo.  The story takes place several years after the events of my One Night in Dusseldorf serials.  Any concrit you have is most welcome.  Be sure to stop by Trifecta Writing Challenge to check out other great responses to this prompt.

Just then, one of the werewolves sauntered out of the dimness.  I figured this was my chance.  I needed to use every bit craft and cunning to try to convince this guy to let me go.  Hell, I didn’t even know what they wanted me around for much less going through the effort to kidnap me like they did.  Now, don’t get me wrong.  I was very happy this pack rescued me from the Spanish Inquisition guys.  I would rather have thanked them and moved on than this.  But, nobody asked me.

“Would you help me out a second?” I tried to muster as much charm as I could.

“What?”

It appeared my charm needed some work but I plowed on anyways, “The blood from where I hit my head on the bricks is really bothering me.  Can I have a towel to clean it off with?  I’d also like to check my head to see how badly I got cut.”

“You’re head’s been checked already.  Three stitches were put in.  You’ll be fine.”

With that he wandered off back into the shadows.

“Shit.  I guess Kris was right.  I don’t pull off the sweet and innocent thing very well anymore,” even though I was talking to myself I kept my voice low.  I didn't want to attract any more attention than absolutely necessary.

Movement heading for me caught my attention.  I didn't figure that was a good thing.  Once he’d waded through enough shadows, I saw it was the same wolf I’d just been talking to.  He had a wet cloth in his hands.

“Hold still.”  He grabbed my chin and started to wipe the blood off my face.  I didn't know what to think.  

Maybe my sweet and innocent bit worked after all.  When he made to leave again I spoke up.

“What do you guys want from me?  I don’t even know who you are.”

“You don’t have to.  We know who you are.  Druid.”

Book Review: Soul’s Gate by James L. Rubart

Soul’s Gate by James L. Rubart is a rather interesting book.  I love the premise that one can, literally, travel into the soul of someone else to help fight a battle against the demons there.  That being said, I was a little taken back by the intense amount of overt Christian beliefs referenced in the book.  Not that I’m against it, but it wasn't what I was expecting when I considered reading this book.

On the positive side, the premise of the book is wonderful.  The characters are easy to relate to and believable.  It reads fairly quickly and doesn't take much work to understand or follow.  The prose is pretty good – not the best I've ever read but by far not the worst.

The biggest down side is that if you have difficulty with things connected to Christianity, this book is definitely not for you.  I think that if I would have gone into reading this book knowing that, it wouldn't have stuck out to me so much.

I am going to reserve judgment on whether or not you should read this one due to the religious piece.  I strongly ascribe to that saying about avoiding religion and politics if you want to avoid an argument.  I feel that it applies here.  Certainly worth a read if you don’t mind the religious piece.  If the religious piece is a turn off, there are thousands of other great books out there, too.

Random Sunday – Daylight Savings Time, Thanksgiving, and Purses

I have decided.  I don’t like Daylight Savings Time.  I like having more daylight in the afternoon after I’m off work.  That way I can still do stuff.  Besides, switching the time around messes with my sleep schedule.  And that’s off enough considering I have a one year old who is getting molars right now.

I can’t believe it’s almost Thanksgiving.  I took all my Halloween stuff down and traded it for the Thanksgiving decorations.  It just seems way too fast that we’re at this time of year again.  I am thankful for many things and I love this holiday.  I think it gets overlooked when retail stores go straight to Christmas this time of year.

I have discovered something.  It was something I already knew but relearned it again over the last week.  I hate shopping for purses.  I don’t like big purses.  I like purses that zip shut.  I also have discovered I like purses that do not have any outside pockets.  The last is because my son has been into stealing things out of my purse lately.  Do you know how hard it is to find a purse that fits all of those criteria and isn’t God awful ugly as well?  Trust me, they’re a rare breed.

A Prophecy Fulfilled

I swear.  I'm not trying to be teacher's pet getting my assignment in early and all.  But, this prompt worked well to wrap up a short story I'm working on for NaNo.  Yeah.  I'm nuts for even attempting NaNo this year.  But I figured it'd serve as a reminder to keep working on my writing amidst everything else.  

So - here's the new Master Class assignment.  We were given the 10th line on page 100 of Anne McCaffery's Dragonflight.  We had to either begin or end the story with this line "She rubbed her palms against her thighs in anticipation of the challenge."

As I said, my response is the end of the story.  The beginning can be found here.  The part in the middle.  Well, that you'll have to wait for my short story collection to get.  Here's the ending:

She rubbed her palms against her thighs in anticipation of the challenge.  So much had happened to lead her to this point.  She knew, beyond any inkling of a doubt, that this moment would define the rest of her life.  The rest of her rule.

“Highness, you’ll wrinkle your dress if you keep doing that,” Jaylen’s maid nodded to where Jaylen’s hands were wrapped into fists in the delicate silk fabric.

“You’re right, Noella.”

Noella reached down to smooth the silk.  When she brushed against Jaylen’s hands she jerked back.  Small red marks appeared on Noella’s fingertips.

“Oh!  Noella, are you alright?”

“I was burned.  How?”

“I was fixing my dress.”

The blank look on Noella’s face screamed incomprehension.

“I manipulate fire now, remember?  I was warming my hands enough to smooth out any wrinkles.”

“I guess you’ll have no need of me ironing any of your clothes again, will you?”

“Don’t be silly, Noella.  You’ve cared for me right from the start.  I will always need you.  Irons and all.  Besides, I think the court will keep me plenty busy to worry much about ironing my own clothes.”

“Aye.  They will at that.  Is Lord Maroshek going to be here today?”

Jaylen’s face pinked a little at the mention of his name, “He is.  He refused my request to stand with me.”

“He’s a smart man.”

“I know.  I just feel better when he’s there.”

“Lord Maroshek has been your protector since shortly after your birth.  If you didn’t feel better I’d be worried.”

“I hate the political necessity of having to distance myself from him right now.”

“Is it just his protection you miss, or is there something more?”

Jaylen’s face reddened even more.  She turned away from her maid to stare out the window.  Parts of the city still burned.  Ash blew on the wind like snowflakes.  Most of the prophecy had come true.  Now it was up to her to rule.  She felt like the hard part had just begun.

“I don’t know, Noella.  The House of the Lion has always served and protected the House of the Phoenix.  Never anything more.  Yet, there is a part of me that wants more from Maroshek.”

“Never?  That’s a strong word.”

Jaylen whipped around.  Her mouth hung open, “What do you mean?”

“Come, child.  You know that the official histories are only that which was chosen to be preserved.  There is always more to the story than the official histories.”

“Then there have been times the Lion House was more than protectors to the Phoenix House.”

Noella’s lack of reply told Jaylen all she needed to know.  Her task to rule suddenly didn’t seem so heavy.  The trumpets sounded outside interrupting the conversation.  Noella placed the crown on Jaylen’s head and adjusted her auburn curls.

Jaylen drew herself up, assumed the long familiar regal bearing expected and nodded at the guards.  They threw open the heavy oak doors still singed around the edges.  Walking through, Jaylen made a note to herself to have someone fix them.  As she stepped into the throne room, she changed her mind.  The blackened marks throughout the palace would serve as a good reminder for the ruling Houses that she, Jaylen Amayana, was the rightful Empress.  And that anyone who wanted to challenge her would have to deal with a Phoenix Reborn.

Please be sure to click on the Master Class badge above to check out other great authors' responses to the prompt as well.