Poll Results: What Should I Post After Rosa Is Finished?

The Sacrifice: An Easter Story	5 (55%)
The Treasure: The first written in my Tales of the Great Kign series	0 (0%)
Halfling: The sequel to Knight's Quest	4 (44%)
The Right Thing: A short story	0 (0%)

Thanks for voting, everyone! The beginning of The Sacrifice will be posted tommorrow!

-Sarah

The Angel's Command Review

Author: Brian Jacques

"Master storyteller Brian Jacques is back at the helm with a double adventure: a perilous sea chase followed by a gripping escapade in the mountains of France!

Ben and his Labrador, Ned, castaways from the legnedary ghost ship Flying Dutchman, swore never to go to sea again- but a mishap in South America lands them aboard a French pirate ship with not one, but two vilainous sea captains in persuit. To make matters worse, Ben is still haunted by visions of Captain Vanderdecken, whose ghost seeks vengeance on the former cabin boy.

A daring chase through the shakr-filled waters of the Caribbean ends on the coast of France . . . from where a new adventure begins!

Ben and Ned flee the Pyrenees, where, with a new troup of friends, they find themselves confronting bandit gypsies, evil sorcery, even an avalanche!"
-Summary from the cover of The Angel's Command

  Characters: Excellent! Ben and Ned return, and they bring a whole host of colorful new friends and enemies, from the pirate captain Raphael Thuron to the British privateer Cap’n Redjack, from the strangely gifted artist Dominic to the evil Razan queen Maguda, and many, many more! Like the previous book, fans of Brian Jacques will be reminded of characters from the Redwall series in many places.

5/5   

Location: Ok. It’s clear and well done, but I didn’t find it particularly spectacular.

3/5

Plot: Like Castaways, The Angel’s Command contains two adjoining plots, both of which take place between the second and third part of Castaways. The first is a swashbuckling pirate tale, and the second is a no-less-exciting adventure in the mountains of France. Both plots are exciting and well done, with plenty of action and a nice amount of humor.

5/5

Other: The Angel’s Command is, in my opinion, the best book in the series. It’s definitely a book worth reading. However, some people may be disturbed by the appearances of Captain Vanderdecken.

Overall Rating: 4/5

Alternate Ending for Rosa

Hi, everyone! It’s time for another story part! And, since the results of my “Should I Post The Alternate Ending of Rosa?” poll were 6 for and 1 against, I’m posting the original ending of Rosa: A Snow-White Remake. (For the ending I used, click here.) And now, the previously unreleased, mostly unedited, original ending!

Chapter Nineteen

At that same moment, Queen Leila was deep in conversation with Cullen. “Cullen,” she asked, “Are there any who are a danger to me?”

            Cullen hissed “Aye, my queen, there are those who would have you brought down from the throne right outside your door.”

            Leila gasped. “Do you mean my guards? I thought-“

            Cullen hissed once more, cutting Leila off. “Nay, not they guards. There are others.”

            Leila started to ask “Then who?” but the question died on her lips as her door and a tall, kingly man strode in. “Leila, “ he declared, “Your time for evil is at an end.”

            Leila’s already pale face got even paler. “Who are you?” she asked, her voice high and shrill.

            “I am Lord Alanal, eldest in the elven clan of Allë.” he said.

            At this, an angry look came over Leila’s face. “Guards!” she shouted, but no guards came. Instead, a smaller man, dressed in black appeared in front of her, his hand on the hilt of a dagger. 

He said “I’m afraid your guards won’t be coming for some time. They apparently decide that it was time for their afternoon nap. I may have helped the process along, but they’ll wake up in a few hours I’m sure.”

“Who are you?” Leila asked.

“Panthal, warrior of the Allë clan.” he replied. Then, he caught sight of the mirror in her hand, with Cullen’s face still in it, and he gasped. “Cullemanden!” he whispered, and turned to the others, who had com e crowding through the door. “It is a Cullemanden! We may have been mistaken in some of our calculations!” He turned back to Leila. “Where did you get this?” he asked.

“A man gave it to me one day. He said it would help me.”  Leila began to sob. “The man in the mirror made me do it. I didn’t want to become queen!”

No one said anything for several minutes, they just stood there and tried to digest this new development. Then, Rosa slipped up to Leila and asked “Why’d you try to kill me?”

Leila looked at Rosa and explained. “Cullen said that I was the most beautiful, and he would tell me if anyone was more beautiful than I. He’d warn me of threats and do other things like that.”

Lady Clarellë looked sadly at Leila. “He was trying to get you and all other members of the royal family killed so that he could emerge from the mirror and become king. I’ve seen it happen many times.”

Leila’s face suddenly turned purple with rage. She looked at the mirror  and said, between clenched teeth, “I will serve your desires no more!” Then, she hurled it across the room with amazing force. It landed it the fire burning on the hearth across from Leila’s bed. It lay there for a moment, then it exploded with a boom and a large puff of smoke. Everyone instinctively dove for cover.

When the smoke cleared, everyone came out of their shelter. Now one said a word. Then, Leila laughed. “I’m free!” she exclaimed. Then, she turned to the others. “Tell me what I can do to make it up to you!”

Prince Owen, Mandy, and Rosa looked at each other. Then Mandy said “Make it right with those you hurt.”

Epilogue

Well, Leila did make it right. She apologized to everyone she could, let out those who she had unjustly imprisoned, and resigned as queen. She left for the village she had come from soon after, and had a happy life there.

Rosa and Prince Owen finally told each other how they felt, and they were married on the day when they had first seen each other. After their marriage, they became the rulers of the castle and were known for their kindness.

As for Mandy, she was offered a position of high prestige. She, however, refused. Instead, she chose to remain as cook, for she had discovered that she loved that job. She stayed in the kitchen for the rest of her days, and made the castle famous for its plum pies and was always ready with advice and sugar cookies for those who needed them. And, whenever Rosa felt that being queen was too much pressure, she’d go down to the kitchen to see Mandy. Owen would find her several hours later cuddling with Mandy and eating sugar cookies, and all the kitchen servants suspected that he was the only king who had to ask the cook for his wife back.

And what of the elves? Well, they returned to their home in the forest and lived there happily for ages upon ages. However, they remained honored guests at the castle, and Rosa, Owen, and Mandy were always welcome in their clearing. And so, I guess you could say that everyone lived happily ever after.

What do you think? Did you like the ending I actually used or the original ending better? Please comment and tell me! I’d love to know.

-Sarah

M'n'Ms

Hello, everyone! Monday has come around, and that means that it's time for some more of my photography. This is a picture that I took last year for a photo contest.

Not particularly impressive, I know. However, when you use some special effects, it turns into this:

Different, isn't it? This is just one of many special effects available in Photoshop. Like my flower collage two weeks ago, I made this when I was playing around, seeing what I could do. So, what do you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
-Sarah

This Week . . .

Hail, all ye who cometh to my blog! Since today is Friday, it’s time for an update on my life!

·        My stories, sadly, aren’t going as well as I’d like them to be going. So far, I’ve only gotten the chase scenes and the attacking, but no answered questions. I hope to remedy this today or tomorrow, if possible. My Easter story isn’t doing much better, as I only have two scenes in part two. Fortunately, it’s a short story and I already have Part One written. Also, I finished typing Ovulum this morning, which is good. However, I need some help with one of my other stories. You see, I need a name for a certain group of bad guys. These bad guys are evil, twisted humans (and possibly elves as well) who, at the moment, wear all black, typically have hoods on so you can’t see their faces, and wield swords and some kind of taser-type weapon that looks like a black staff. If anyone has any suggestions, they would be much appreciated. (And please do not suggest “pretzel people.” Someone has already suggested that and the humor has worn off.)

·        I have started and finished Pilgrim’s Progress. It, quite obviously, went a lot faster than I expected. It was also a bit, dare I say it, boring. And while I’m quite aware that it’s an old book and an allegory, I highly prefer the Kingdom and Knights of Arretthrae series, both of which are by Chuck Black.

·        Now, the piece of news that I’m most excited about. As some of you may know and most of you probably don’t, I spend quite a bit of time reading the Webkinz Insider and Underground forums. These are two forums, the first of which is primarily for Webkinz-related stuff, though there’s considerably more than Webkinz on it, and the second of which is a forum for The Berinfell Prophecies by Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper, one of my favorite series. I have wanted to get an account on one or both of these for quite a while, and this week, I actually got accounts on both of them! My past week’s computer time, other than what I spent on my blog and stories, has mostly been spent exploring these new accounts. And, I like both of them even more than I expected to.

Well, that’s about it for this week. Please comment and vote in my surveys! I always like to hear what you think!

-Sarah  

Rosa Chapter Nineteen and Epilogue

Hello, all! I hope everyone’s ready to read the next chapter of Rosa, because I’m posting it now! If you need a refresher, here’s Chapter Eighteen! And without further ado, Chapter Nineteen!

 Chapter Nineteen

At that same moment, Queen Leila was deep in conversation with Cullen. “Cullen,” she asked, “Are there any who are a danger to me?”

            Cullen hissed “Aye, my queen, there are those who would have you brought down from the throne right outside your door.”

            Leila gasped. “Do you mean my guards? I thought-”

            Cullen hissed once more, cutting Leila off. “Nay, not the guards. There are others.”

            Leila started to ask “Then who?” but the question died on her lips as her door and a tall, kingly man strode in. “Leila,” he declared, “Your time for evil is at an end.”

            Leila’s already pale face got even paler. “Who are you?” she asked her voice high and shrill.

            “I am Lord Alanal, eldest in the elven clan of Allë.” he said.

            At this, an angry look came over Leila’s face. “Guards!” she shouted, but no guards came. Instead, a smaller man, dressed in black appeared in front of her, his hand on the hilt of a dagger. 

 “I’m afraid your guards won’t be coming for some time. They apparently decide that it was time for their afternoon nap. I may have helped the process along, but they’ll wake up in a few hours I’m sure.” He said.

“Who are you?” Leila asked.

“Panthal, warrior of the Allë clan.” he replied. Then, he caught sight of the mirror in her hand, with Cullen’s face still in it, and he gasped. “Cullemanden!” he whispered, and turned to the others, who had come crowding through the door. “It is a Cullemanden! We may have been mistaken!” He turned back to Leila. “Where did you get this?” he asked.

“A man gave it to me one day. He said it would help me.” Leila’s tone was defensive. “And it has! I’m now queen!”

Lady Clarellë looked sadly at Leila. “He was harming you more than helping you. The mirror warns you of threats, correct?” Leila nodded, and Lady Clarellë continued. “Many of the threats were not threats at all, but instead people who wouldn’t have harmed you. He was trying to get you and all the royal family killed so he could emerge from the mirror and take over the throne.”

Leila’s face turned purple with rage. “No!” she cried. “Cullen would never do that! He says I’m beautiful! He said that no one would harm me if he could prevent it!” She tried to rush to the door, but found her way blocked. She turned and tried to reach the small window, but then she tripped. The mirror cracked, and a fiery smoke emerged, filling the room. Everyone except Leila rushed for cover. There was a loud boom, and the room shook. Then, the smoke cleared. Leila and the mirror were gone.

Rosa was the first to speak. “What happened?”

Lord Alanal shook his head sadly. “The mirror cracked, and the spirit within could not survive, but it took Leila with it.”

Everyone was silent for a minute, and then Skyellë asked “So what happens now?”

Prince Owen answered her, his voice quiet. “We make things right.” 

And now, since there’s only the short epilogue left, I’ll post that too.

Epilogue

Well, they did make things right. After some dispute, it was decided that Prince Owen would rule until there was time to sort out who was the rightful ruler. And he, with the help of Mandy, Rosa, and the Allë clan, did his best to right Leila's wrongs. Those who were unjustly imprisoned were set free, and anything else that could be done was done.

After this process finally came to an end, something wonderful happened. Prince Owen and Rosa told each other how they felt. They were married on the anniversary of Rosa’s healing, the healing that was brought about by love. The day later became a national holiday in that land. Their marriage also solved the problem of who was the rightful ruler. Together, they ruled as king and queen, and they were known even beyond their kingdom for their great kindness.    

As for Mandy, she was offered a position of high prestige. She, however, refused. Instead, she chose to remain as cook, for she had discovered that she loved that job. She stayed in the kitchen for the rest of her days, and made Aren Castle famous for its plum pies and was always ready with advice and sugar cookies for those who needed them. And, whenever Rosa felt that being queen was too much pressure, she’d go down to the kitchen to see Mandy. Owen would find her several hours later cuddling with Mandy and eating sugar cookies, and all the kitchen servants suspected that he was the only king who had to ask the cook if he could “please have his wife back?”

And what of the elves? Well, they returned to their home in the forest and lived there happily for ages upon ages. However, they remained honored guests at the castle, and Rosa, Owen, and Mandy were always welcome in their clearing. And so, I guess you could say that everyone really did live happily ever after.

Well, Queen Leila and Cullen are both gone, Rosa and Owen are together, and everyone can finally relax. So, what did you think? You can tell me in the comments, or in the survey that I’ll be putting up soon. Please don’t forget to vote in my other surveys too!

-Sarah

Castaways of the Flying Dutchman Reveiw

Author: Brian Jacques

The Flying Dutchman! The legend of the wind-tattered ghost ship and its mad sea captain, cursed to said the seas forever, has been passed down throughout the centuries. But what of the boy and his dog who were trapped aboard that ship? What became of them?

Sent off on an eternal journey of their own by an avenging angel, the boy and dog roam the earth throughout the centuries in search of those in need. Braving wind and waves and countless perils, their travels lead them to Chapelvale, a sleepy 19th-century village whose very existence is at stake. Only by discovering the buried secrets and solving the dust-laden riddles of the ancient village can it be saved. This will take the will and wile of all the people - and a very special boy and dog.

This is Brian Jacques as you have never seen him before!
-The summary from the cover of Castaways of the Flying Dutchman

Characters: Very good! Ben and Ned are the type of characters that you can’t possibly help liking, and the rest of the characters are diverse and colorful. Readers familiar with the Redwall series will find pleasant reminders of favorite characters in the cast of Castaways of the Flying Dutchman.

4/5

Location: Very good! There’s plenty of description, and although there’s no map, it’s very clear all the same. 5/5

Plot: This book seems to have two or three plots within the main plot of Ben and Ned’s adventures, a fact which makes it seem like there are two or three books in one. All the plots are well done and clear, and I like how the focus switches between Ben and Ned and the bad guys.

4/5

Other: I will note that this book is slightly violent, although there is not graphic violence. Also, some people may be slightly disturbed or frightened by the last scene on the Flying Dutchman.

Overall Rating: 4/5

Rosa Chapter Eighteen

Hi, everyone! Ready for Chapter Eighteen of Rosa? I hope so, because I’m posting it right now! (If you need a refresher, here’s Chapter Seventeen.) And now, on with the tale!

Chapter Eighteen

Rosa quickly found the servants’ stairs, and they all hurried up to just outside Queen Leila’s chambers. However, there they ran into another problem. That problem came in the form of two burly guards stationed in front of Queen Leila’s door, who weren’t too keen on letting in uninvited guests. The group soon learned this when they tried to persuade the guards to let them in, a conversation that went something like this.

            “Let us pass!’ ordered Prince Owen.

            The guards laughed. “Not happenin’ little half-royal pup. We’re under direct orders from the queen not to let anyone in!”  One guard scoffed.

            “Yeah,” agreed the other, “Now go away before we decide to make you leave.”

            The quality of guards that the queen merits has obviously gotten worse. Mandy thought.

            Suddenly, Panthal appeared in front of the guards, holding a pair of daggers like he knew how to use them. “I would suggest that you not say that.” he said, his voice soft but dangerous.

            The two guards looked uncomfortable for a moment, and then laughed again. “It’ll take more than one man with a few little knives to scare us!” they scoffed. “Now leave us in peace before we decide to chase you away!”

            Panthal sighed, and looked at Lord Alanal and Prince Owen. “Should I?” he asked.

            They both nodded.

            Panthal turned back to the guards. “Well, too bad for you I’m an elf, not a man.” Then, almost casually, he expertly threw the two daggers so the hilts hit the guards’ heads heavily. The guards looked bewildered for a moment, then their eyes crossed and they dropped to the ground.

            Rosa gasped. “Did you kill them?”

            Panthal shook his head. “Nay, they’re just knocked out. They’ll wake up in a few hours with humongous headaches, wondering what hit them.” Then, he looked around and asked “Everyone ready?”

            They nodded, and Lady Clarellë and Mandy almost simultaneously said “Aye.” They were all eager to confront Queen Leila.

What will happen next? Will our friends be able to defeat Queen Leila? There’s only one way to find out: check back soon when I post the next chapter! In the meantime, please comment and vote on my surveys. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

-Sarah
Update: Chapter Nineteen and the Epilogue are up!

Chilly Cherry Blossoms

Hi, everyone! Yesterday morning, I went with Daddy to a semi-nearby public gardens-type place to take pictures of the cherry blossoms there. Unfortunately, it was very cold there and the cherry blossoms weren't completely open. Also, it was quite windy. I managed to get one or two pictures worth editing, which I shall post here.

Cherry Blossom Branch HDR

Cherry Blossom HDR

Non-HDR version of the above picture

As you can see, my pictures ended up being rather blurry because of the wind. Still, please tell me what you think. I'd love to hear your opinions!
-Sarah

Books, Music, Tales, and a Few More Books: My Week

Hi, everyone! Friday’s here again, so it’s time for me to give an update on what’s going on with me! So, without further ado, my week in short.

·        I finished Morgoth’s Ring on Sunday or Monday, which I can’t quite remember. As it turns out, there’s a lot more than I thought that you can’t find in any other books, to my knowledge. Tolkien, apparently, had two ideas for The Silimarillion, and the unused one is found in Morgoth’s Ring. It's actually rather interesting, believe it or not, as is the (slightly confusing) piece on where Orcs came from.

·        I am beginning to wonder if someone in the music group BarlowGirl has read The Door Within. One of their songs, which happens to be one of my favorites, is called “Never Alone”, which has a large connection with this series. Of course, it could be nothing, like my “someone in the Newsboys likes The Lord of the Rings” theory.

·        My story is going fairly well. It’s got so many mysteries that even I’m not entirely sure of everything that’s going on, my one of my character’s dreams just got even stranger, and another character has spied on my creepy guys in black, finding out their plans . . . though she has no idea what in the world they’re talking about. I plan to have a lot of attacking going on soon, as well as a nice-sized chase scene or two and a bit of answering questions. As you can hopefully see, I’m having a lot of fun writing this.

·        I plan to either reread The Swiss Family Robinson or read the full version of Pilgrim’s Progress this month. Why? Well, for the past three or so months, I’ve been setting monthly reading challenges for myself, the purpose of which is so that I’ll have extra encouragement to read some of the longer, more difficult-to-get-through books in a slightly more reasonable amount of time. If I didn’t do this, I’d probably still read the books, but reading them would take a few months, like reading The Book of Lost Tales did, instead of one month. The Book of Lost Tales, by the way, is basically the very beginnings of The Silimarillion, and it took me most of the summer to read it. I do not plan to repeat this incident, since the reason for the lengthy time was not that it was a long book (The Silimarillion is far longer, and I finished it in a month), but simply that I was putting off reading it.

·        As many of you can probably guess, Rosa: A Snow-White Remake is almost over. For this reason, I will have two surveys up very soon. One will be “What Story Should I Post Next?” The other is a little more complicated. You see, Rosa actually has two endings, one that I actually used and one that I ended up “discarding”. However, I do still have both versions. So, if you want, I could post the original ending so you can see which you like better. Please vote in both of these surveys; I really do want your opinions.

Well, that’s about it. Please comment and vote! I’d love to hear what you think!

-Sarah