Summer Reading Plans

When I think of summer activities, there are many things that come to me: swimming, biking, writing, and most of all, reading. For as long as I can remember, I've done the summer reading program at my library every year, and if I can find others, I like to do those too. This year, however, I'm doing something I haven't done before: a summer reading list.

Most of the books on my list are ones I haven't read in a year or more and want to make sure I reread sometime relatively soon. There are some new titles on the list, however, and if anyone has suggestions of other books I should add to it, I'd be happy to hear them. I'm always on the lookout for new books to enjoy.

First on my list is The Door Within Trilogy by Wayne Thomas Batson. This was one of the first contemporary Christian fantasy series I read, and when I first started writing, it heavily influenced my stories. However, in the last year, I've been more focused on other Batson books, namely The Tide of Unmaking and his short stories. I'm very much looking forward to returning to the Realm this summer and joining Aidan, Antoinette, and Robby on their adventures once more!

Another trilogy on my list is The White Lion Chronicles by Christopher Hopper. When I first read Rise of the Dibor, I don't think I was really mature enough to appreciate these books, since they're longer and move at a slower pace than most books I was reading at the time. After they were rereleased, I gave them another try and really enjoyed them. However, until now, I never quite got around to rereading them. This is the only series on my list that I've already gotten started on rereading; I just reread Rise of the Dibor last week.

For a change from fantasy to dystopian, I'll be reading Sneak, the second book in the Swipe series by Evan Angler. Though Sneak was released some time ago, my library only recently obtained copies of it. I can hardly wait to read it and find out what in the world is going to happen to Logan, not to mention whether or not my theories about the Mark and such are true. Of course, since Storm just recently came out, and I'm pretty sure my library doesn't have it, I'll be back in the same boat again. Oh well. Such is life.

Back to fantasy! This time, however, the fantasy is a classic. It's a tradition of mine to make sure I read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings at least once every year. I used to try to do this in either November or May (near either my birthday or half-birthday), since the first time I read The Lord of the Rings was shortly after my birthday some years ago. More recently, however, I decided that summer was the best time to read these books, since I'll have more time to read and therefore I'll be able to enjoy them more. 

Another classic I'll be rereading is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I first read this book in September of last year and promptly decided that it was my new favorite non-fantasy classic. I also hope to find another Austen book to read, though I'm not sure which one. I read Sense and Sensibility in January and, though it was fairly good, didn't enjoy it nearly as much as Pride and Prejudice. I'm leaning towards Emma for this summer, but if any fans of Jane Austen's books are reading this, suggestions are more than welcome!

Two weekends ago, I did the Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt, an online scavenger hunt hosted by thirty-two Christian fiction authors. To complete the scavenger hunt, you had to go from blog to blog and collect all the clues to put together a quote and be entered in a drawing for the prize. Along the way, I discovered a few authors I'd like to try, most notably R. J. Larson, author of Prophet and the rest of the Books of the Infinite series. Her books, which are fantasy set in a world similar to the Biblical time period, looked interesting, so I decided to give them a try. I can hardly wait to find out if they live up to my hopes.

By far the longest series on my reading list is the Redwall series by Brian Jacques. I've read these books several times each since first discovering them, but I've been too busy with other books to read them for some time. This summer, however, I intend to change that. It might take a miracle to get through all of them, however, unless I decide to listen to some of them on cd or such instead of actually reading them. There are, after all, twenty-two books in the series!

Taking second place for longest series on my list is John Flanagan's Ranger's Apprentice series, along with its companion series, The Brotherband Chronicles. I've actually read several of these semi-recently (within the last few months), but I decided to put them on my list anyway, since I've been thinking of rereading the two series for a few weeks now.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer is a newer book that I first noticed because two people recommending it in the same day: Jill Williamson in her ABC Reading Challenge and Emma, a friend of mine from WI. Cinder is a Cinderella remake set in a sci-fi/dystopian-type setting, which I thought sounded interesting. After asking both Emma and a lady at my church (who's recommended several other fairy-tale remakes to me) for more details, I decided to go ahead and add it to my reading list.

Another dystopian series on my list is The Cantral Chronicles by Amanda Davis. Like The White Lion Chronicles, I haven't quite gotten around to rereading the books in this series since around the time they first came out. In this case, however, that's mostly because I'd have to borrow the first book from a friend. I'm hoping she'll be ok with me borrowing it, since I remember really enjoying The Cantral Chronicles the first time I read them.

The last book or book series on my list? That's still a bit of a mystery. A friend of mine (who's pointed me towards many of my favorite authors and books) suggested that I try reading something by Shannon Hale. However, I'm not sure where to start. I know she wrote The Goose Girl, as well as the Princess Academy series and a whole lot of other books. (The library has twenty-two items by her, though some of those are books on cd, not actual paper-and-ink books.) Has anyone reading this read anything by Shannon Hale? If so, do you have any suggestions of which of her books I should read first, or any of her books I should avoid? Thank you in advance for your advice!

What about you? Do you have any summer reading plans?
Never alone!
- Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

Medieval Times!

Hey'a, everyone! Today I went to Medieval Times! Medieval Times, for those of you who don't know, is a dinner theater-type place where you get to watch a medieval tournament while eating a medieval-style meal. One of my friends was going with her co-op, and she was nice enough to invite me to come along. I really enjoyed it, and I definitely want to go again sometime.

As you can see, it's in a castle of sorts. You can't tell from the picture, but the "castle" is actually part of a mall.

This is the entrance inside the mall itself. When we went in, they gave us tickets that told us where we were supposed to be sitting. (There are six seating areas, each marked with a different color.) As it turned out, we were in the yellow section, in two of the tables closest to the jousting area, so I got a really good view of the whole thing. (That being said, it was darkish in there for a lot of the time, so a good number of my pictures turned out pretty lousy.)

Before we went into the actual arena, though, we walked around the gift shop area. They sold all sorts of stuff, both costume-y, souvenir-ish type items and more interesting items like swords, armor, and weaponry. I would've liked to buy a sword or dagger, but they were all more than I wanted to spend.

Eventually, we were called into the arena by the Lord Chancellor/MC. The first half of the show consisted mostly of the king, princess, and lord chancellor talking and people like a falconer and two knights (who weren't in the actual tournament) and their squires doing demonstrations about different aspects of medieval times. My favorite part of this was when the knights were demonstrating different fighting moves. During this time, the servers were also bringing out the food: garlic bread, oven-roasted chicken, herb-roasted potato, corn on the cob, and the pastry of the castle for desert. My favorite part of the actual meal were the potatoes, which were absolutely delicious. The rest of the food was fairly good as well, but the chicken was a bit on the messy side, since there was no silverware.

Finally, it was time for the actual tournament! There were six knights competing in the tournament: the blue knight, the red and yellow knight, the green knight, the red knight, the black and white knight, and the yellow knight. The people in each seating area were supposed to cheer for the knight whose colors matched those of their section. As I said, I was in the yellow section, so I was cheering for the Yellow Knight. This is the only picture I got of him that turned out halfway decent. As you can see, it's still pretty blurry. Sorry about that.

The first part of the tournament after the knights were introduced consisted of various tests of the knights' skills of horsemanship and accuracy with their lances. The Yellow Knight did quite well in all these. Unfortunately, I didn't get any good pictures.

Then it was time for the actual joust. I'm pretty sure most of you probably know how a joust works, but I'll explain it anyway. First, the two knights who were jousting would ride towards each other and try to knock each other off their horses with their lances. Once one had been knocked off, he would try to knock the other off. Once both were on the ground, they'd fight hand-to-hand until one had been defeated. I do have a few somewhat decent pictures of the hand-to-hand portions of some of these battles, which I'll post here:

The Yellow Knight was in the second joust, which he won. Then the Green Knight decided that he'd rather fight the Yellow Knight than the Red Knight (who he was supposed to fight). Much to my disappointment, the Green Knight won that battle, which meant that he and the Red Knight would face off for the final battle. I and my friends were all rooting for the Red Knight to win. I actually took a video of this battle, as well as one or two others, but I can't seem to get them to upload. Once again, I apologize.

In the end, the Green Knight won. The show ended shortly after that, and we headed for home. As I said, I really enjoyed it (other than the Yellow Knight having lost). Also, I now want to find a way to put a tournament in one of my stories, since I now have an idea of what they were like. We'll have to see how that works out.

Thanks for reading! Nai haryuvalyë melwa rë!*
- Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)
*May you have a lovely day!
 

Tagged Again!

I have been tagged again, this time by Scarlet Raptor. It's the same tag as last time, so I'll dispense with the instructions and get on with the random facts:

1. The last book I read was Entwined by Heather Dixon, a 12 Dancing Princesses remake. 
2. The next book I plan to read is Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix, though I may decide to read Starflower by Anne Elisabeth Stengl instead if I decide I'm still in a fairy-tale-ish mood.
3. I like making up words.
4. I once wrote a sonnet about procrastination. I'm thinking of posting it sometime, if I ever get around to it.
5. My favorite poem is "Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carroll. 
6. I'm currently knitting a coif.
7. I'm currently listening to "The One" by Skillet. 
8. I got new sandals last weekend. Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to wear them yet. 
9. As I type this, it's 1:04 PM.
10. I'm thirsty.

And now for the people I'm going to tag:

Vrenith

Aarathyn Arvell

Joel Ball

The WordWeaver

Rayne Speryll

Rob Thacker (or one of his characters)

IDK323

And once again I seem to be out of people. Oh well. 

Namárië!*

- Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

*Farewell!

A Winning Week

This week has been a week of finishing things.

First of all, I won Camp NaNoWriMo on Tuesday, April 23rd, with a wordcount of 50,127 words! As a reward, I bought myself the Owl City album All Things Bright and Beautiful from iTunes, which I've listened to at least once a day every day since then. (In case you couldn't guess, I really like Owl City.) Please don't get my winning Camp NaNo confused with my having finished my Camp NaNo novel, though. I still have a long way to go before that will happen.

I've also been finishing up a lot of school subjects. I took my last science test yesterday, and my last history test today. (Huzzah!) I'm nearly done with literature as well; I only have the final left. 

Of course, since school is winding down, that means that it's time to start thinking about summer plans! I'm going to take a writing class this summer, which I'm quite excited about. I'm also hoping to do the second Camp NaNoWriMo session in July if I have time, though I'm not sure if I will, since the writing class runs through July, and I'm also helping a friend with a project during that month. Other than that, however, I'm hoping for a fairly quiet summer with plenty of reading, writing, and knitting.(We'll see how well that works out.) 

What about the rest of you? If you're doing Camp NaNoWriMo, how are your wordcounts? Do you have any summer plans you want to share?

Calo anor na ven!*
- Sarah

*May the sun shine upon your road!

Tag! I'm it!

Hey'a, everyone! It seems that Hyperlinkzer tagged me on his blog. (My first tag on this blog- exciting, isn't it?) To perform the tag, I have to state ten random facts about myself and then tag ten other bloggers. To the ten other people, I apologize in advance. You'll probably all have been tagged before at least once.

So, anyway, on with the tag!

1. The first fantasy books (other than fairy tales) that I can remember reading were The Chronicles of Narnia. 
2. Currently, my favorite word is bumfuzzle, which means confuse, perplex, or fluster.
3. I love Laser Tag (though I haven't played it much) and would happily spend an entire day playing it. 
4. I own the extended editions of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Return of the King. 
5. I may or may not spend a good bit of this evening watching The Fellowship of the Ring. I want to, but it depends if I'm busy and if I decide I need to write and whether or not I have enough time to watch a decent amount of it.
6. Two of my three favorite hairstyles are from the Hunger Games movies: Katniss's braid from The Hunger Games and Prim's braid from Catching Fire.
7. I'm hoping to make a Lorien cape (like the ones in The Lord of the Rings) over the summer. I'm also thinking of trying to knit a cape at some point in my life.
8. My Camp NaNoWriMo word count is 44,513 words, which means I have 5,487 words left to write before I complete my goal (though not my book).
9. I used to always put Parmesan cheese on white rice.
10. I have no idea what else to say here.

Now my random facts are done, and I just have to tag people. Once more, I apologize if the person I've tagged has been tagged before. So I tag . . .

Emma (a friend of mine from WI)

Ryebrynn

Gwingyth

Jag Swiftstorm

Warrior of Aror

Raptor

Um. I seem to be out of people to tag who I know haven't been tagged at least once or twice already. So . . . if you read this, you have a blog, and you feel like doing it, go for it!

Namárië!*

- Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

*Farewell!

This one's for you, Rye.

Hello, everyone! I'm here with a very special announcement concerning this blog!

As you probably know if you've been reading this blog for any length of time, when I started Dreams and Dragons with my parents' help, it was a private blog. That meant that the only people who could view it were those my parents and I invited. We did this mostly because we didn't want to take any privacy risks. After all, creepy people aren't just in fantasy books.

Time passed. The novelty of blogging wore off slightly. I joined WI and the UG, two forums I'd been interested in for some time, and which now are a large part of my life. I was stepping past Dreams and Dragons, which remained private, into a bigger world. I still kept blogging, of course. But no one on those sites knew I had a blog.

Then, a week or two ago, we opened Dreams and Dragons up- temporarily, we thought- so some of the posts could be used as examples of my writing for a writing class I hoped to take. While it was opened, one of my friends from the UG found my blog, quite by accident. One friend turned into two. I'd like to say I took it calmly. I didn't. The truth is, I freaked out slightly. Even opened up as it had been, Dreams and Dragons was still supposed to be fairly private. I hastily explained things to those who had found it, and they were quite kind and understanding about the whole situation. I told Daddy about it. He was much calmer about it than I was. I still had plans to return the blog to its invite-only state as soon as possible.

However, the experience had gotten me thinking. I rather liked the idea of having a blog that my friends on the UG could read, and those on the UG who'd discovered Dreams and Dragons seemed to like it. I posed the idea of starting a new blog to Daddy. He suggested that, rather than doing that, I clear Dreams and Dragons of anything that could give away personal information and leave it open to the public. I liked this idea much more than my own, and I started work the very next day. Five days later, he approved the clean-up job as complete.

And now, with that backstory laid out, it's my pleasure to declare Dreams and Dragons officially open to my fellow elves of the UG and for any other friendly passerby who happen upon my humble blog. I hope you enjoy it!

And, Rye, if you read this, this post is for you.

Calo anor na ven!*

- Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

*May the sun shine upon your road!

The Hunter

            I smell the human before I see him. The familiar scent brushes by my nostrils on a breath of wind, causing me to tense for a moment. I cannot forget it, nor do I wish to. I turn and take off through the forest undergrowth, following the scent to its source. I am supposed to be hunting for food for my village, but this prey is far more important.

            I remember the words of my friend, Jaylen, as I was leaving this morning.

            “Be careful, Kuri. They say there’s a human on the loose.”

            I stopped short, turning to stare at him. Within my heart, the first fierce sparks of angry anticipation were beginning to light. “A human?”

            Jaylen nodded, his face solemn. “Yes. The hunters yesterday think they smelled one. They couldn’t tell it if it was the murderer or not. Be on your guard.”

            A growl rumbled through my body. “Don’t worry. I will. And if it’s the murderer, he’d better stay on his guard as well.” Then I bounded off into the forest.

            I know now that it is the murderer I chase. I am close enough to hear his footsteps as he runs through the forest. I know he is trying to escape me, but he will not. No mere human can outrun a Tiger Clan shifter on a hunt for justice, no matter how hard they try. And I will see that this murderer gets what he deserves, just as I vowed one long year ago.

            Metal scraped over wood as I drew my knife. With barely a glance, I slid the edge of the blade across my palm, opening a shallow cut. I pressed my hand against the Justice Tree, leaving a fresh handprint among the many bloody ones. “I will avenge her. I swear it. It is my right. I was her guardian, and so her murder will not go unpaid.”

            The old man who’d been my teacher for much of my life shook his head. “You are better than this, Kuri. Do not let anger rule. The man did not mean to do it. He said as much, and I believe him. I know he has caused you immeasurable pain, but if you seek revenge, you prepare death not only for him but also for yourself.”

            I lifted my chin defiantly. “I seek justice, no more. You know the laws, not only of the Shifters but of the humans as well. Blood for blood, a life for a life. Death is the just punishment for murder.”

            My teacher shook his head, sadness reflecting in his gaze. “No, Kuri. You say that vengeance is your right, and that death is justice, but there is room for forgiveness as well. That, too, is in your rights, even now. Let go of your anger. It will only lead you down a dark path to destruction.”

            “You are wrong,” I snarled. My body tingled as my anger threatened to trigger the change from young woman to tigress. “You are wrong. I seek justice and I will see it done.”

           

            I am close now, so close! Soon, I will be within springing distance of the murderer. I put on one last burst of speed and then launch myself towards him. He falls beneath my weight, and I pin him to the ground. “You cannot escape any longer, murderer.”

            He struggles to squirm away. “I am no murderer. It was an accident. I would not have even considered the shot if I had known. I have told you as much before.”

            I snarl again. “You lie. I was there. I know what happened.” I doubt I’ll ever forget.

            “Please, Kuri? Please?”

            I stretched, shifting to a more comfortable position on my tree branch. “I told you already, Kali, no. I hunted yesterday; there’s no need to go again today. Why don’t you ask Jaylen?”

            My little sister, Kali, paced around the base of my tree. “I did, and he said no. Please, Kuri? You know I’m not allowed to go by myself.”

            “Yes, I am quite aware of that.” My eyelids drifted to a half-shut position. “And it makes no difference. If you want to come with me, be ready to go on my hunting days and stop bothering me.” I shut my eyes completely, signaling that the conversation was over. Kali let out a long sigh and continued pacing.

            A breeze brushed past me, ruffling my fur and tickling my nose with a hundred scents. I my eyes opened again as I recognized the smell of a human. I sat up and scanned the forest. I spotted the young hunter just as he released the arrow. Seconds later, I heard Kali fall. I let out a wordless cry and leapt down to the ground. I landed beside her, now in my human form, and pulled her into my lap. She had turned to human form as well, so small and so vulnerable. “Kali, no. Don’t go. Don’t die. Just hold on.” I knew that my pleading would do no good. The arrow had been expertly shot; she would be dead within minutes. Tears gathered in my eyes, and I blinked them back. “I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I’m sorry, Kali. I love you.”

            I don’t know if she heard me or not. Seconds later, I knew she was gone. I raised my head and for a moment, I saw the horrified expression on the hunter’s face as he saw what he’d done. Then he turned and fled, leaving me to bear my sister’s body back to the village.

            “I’m not lying, I swear.”

            I stare down at the hunter with fire in my gaze. He’s stopped struggling now, but he’s turned his head so he can see me out of one eye. He speaks again. “I told you what happened. I told you that it was an accident. I asked for forgiveness. You know that.”

            It’s true, he has. On the night of the funeral, he’d approached the village under a white flag of truce. Only that and the laws against killing on a funeral night had kept me from killing him then and there. He’d made his case on his knees, the picture of repentance. And much as I tried to forget, his final words were burned in my memory.

            “I know I have wronged you. I know I cannot begin to make it up to you. But please, can you forgive me?”

            I remember, too, what I snarled at him in reply. I repeat it now. “You do not deserve forgiveness.”

            “I know,” he replies, his voice almost a whisper. “I know. But who does?”

            My only answer is a snarl. I lift a paw for the killing blow, then pause, noticing something. “Your bow is gone.”

            “I burned it. I will not hunt again. Not after the mistake I have made.”

            I hesitate. A voice that sounds like my teacher seems to whisper to me, “What good will killing him do? Will this man’s death satisfy you?” I try to push it away. I have to do this. I have to see justice done.

            But is it truly justice? Or is it revenge? Why do I want to see this man die? Is it because he has broken the law? Or because I want him to suffer for my suffering? I know the laws of my village. There is no honor in killing someone simply out of a desire for revenge. And I can tell this man is no longer a threat to us. It is I who am the danger.

“If you seek revenge, you prepare death not only for him but also for yourself.”

My teacher was right. Another death will not fill the ache in my heart. It will only lead to more sorrow, more pain. And there is enough trouble in this world without me adding to it.

The hunter is silent beneath me, perhaps resigned to his fate. I shift to my human form and rise to my feet. “Go.”

He scrambles to stand, his eyes wide as if he can’t quite believe I didn’t kill him. I gesture in the direction he’d been running. “Go. Your death will not satisfy anything or anyone. You asked me to forgive you. And so I will.” With those words, I turn and walk away, feeling lighter than I have in a long, long time.