Top Ten Tuesdays: Favorite Movies

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Hello, everyone! I'm finally getting back into Top Ten Tuesdays just in time for the one Top Ten Tuesday that isn't about books: Favorite Movies or TV Shows. Since I don't really watch TV, I'm going with my favorite movies.

1. The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Best. Movies. Ever. (Especially if you watch the extended editions like I do.) They did an amazing job of capturing the books' epicness, even if they did leave out or change a few things. The actors, the scenery, everything is absolutely incredible. I could rave about them almost as much as I do the books!
2. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Another amazing movie- not quite as good as the LOTR trilogy but still great. I wasn't all that crazy about the addition of Azog and all that, but the other stuff they added in with the White Council and Thorin's backstory and such? I loved it. Also, I've mentioned this before, but I love how the movie turns the Indistinguishable Background Dwarves (basically everyone except Thorin, Balin, and Bombur) into unique characters, each with their own story and personality. 
   
3. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. Smaug. Oh. My. Pumpernickel. He pretty much made this movie for me. And considering that it takes a lot to impress me with movie dragons (mostly because I'm rather particular about how I think they should look), that's saying something. The action scenes were pretty intense too, especially the battle between the dwarves and Smaug. However, there were certain things things that disappointed me- like how quickly they passed over Beorn and Mirkwood- and others that just made me mad (*cough*Kiliel*cough). 
4. The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. This is another great book-to-movie adaptations; it's probably the best of the Narnia movies (though it can't measure up to LOTR). I like that they stayed fairly true to the book, and the casting was great- all the characters looked exactly like I imagined them! Not even LOTR accomplished that, though it did accomplish the opposite (after a while, I started picturing all the LOTR characters the way they looked in the movies). 
5. Tangled. "Frying pans! Who knew, right?" Flynn cracks me up, and he has a ton of great quotes- he's
   
   pretty much one of the fallbacks for my sister and I when we play the Quote Game. (That's a game where we take turns quoting a book or movie and the other person has to guess where the quote is from.) Besides how hilarious Flynn and the movie in general are, I really like the character development of both Flynn and Rapunzel. Plus, it's a retelling of one of my favorite fairy tales. Awesome, no?
6. The Avengers. I haven't watched a lot of superhero movies (mostly because I didn't realize I was interested in them until last summer), but I love The Avengers. The dynamic between the characters is great, and Loki? I'm not a fangirl, but he's super cool. (No pun intended.)
7. The Chonicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I kind of have a love-hate relationship with this movie. On one hand, Voyage of the Dawn Treader used to be my favorite Narnia book (until I decided that I preferred The Silver Chair), so I was kind of upset when the movie changed the story so much. On the other hand, looking at Dawn Treader as a movie in its own right? It's pretty awesome. And unlike certain other movies I could mention, they didn't make the characters act like idiots for the sake of more excitement. (Not that Dawn Treader needs more excitement . . .)
8. Beauty and the Beast. Beauty is another of my favorite fairytales, and the Disney version is just wonderful. I love everything about it, pretty much. One of my favorite parts, though, is the music. The songs from Beauty and the Beast often seem to get forgotten amidst songs from newer movies (like Frozen), but they're still lovely.
9. Frozen. It was kind of overhyped, but Frozen is still a great movie. I love that the biggest relationship-related plotline isn't a romace; it's the sister relationship between Elsa and Anna. The characters are great, and, of course, the music is awesome. 
10. Howl's Moving Castle. This is another book-retelling that's vastly different than the original story. I still love it, though. It kind of reminds me of a Beauty and the Beast type story in a lot of ways. Also, Howl. Howl is awesome. Just sayin'.

Honorable mentions go to Brave, Wreck-It Ralph, and The Princess Bride, which are also awesome movies but didn't quite make the list. What about you? What are your favorite movies?
Garo arad vaer!
 -Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

Camp NaNoWriMo: Rebel Month

Camp Stats at a Glance:
My goal: 40,000 words
Words written: 19,089 words
Projects completed: Almost two
Current writing music: My Celtic playlist (so Riverdance, Celtic Thunder, Capercaillie, and Celtic Spirit).

Last year, I did something different for July Camp NaNoWriMo: I worked on multiple projects throughout the month. I made the move out of necessity; it was the only way to do both Camp NaNoWriMo and the TPS Summer Creative Writing class. I never expected to repeat the experience. Then this summer rolled around, and I found myself in the middle of two projects (both of which desperately needed to be worked on) with many more in my head. I couldn't pick just one, so I decided to find a way to balance all of them.

And that's where I got my challenge for the month: four weeks, four projects, forty-thousand words.

For week one, I continued work on Destinies and Decisions, which I also worked on this past April and November. The week went splendiferously, since all the scenes I had to work on were really fun to write. There was one small problem near the end of the week when my characters weren't all cooperating, but I solved it with the help of some of my friends. (The fact that it's very hard to argue with a dragon also helped quite a bit. And then I got to scare a bard half out of his wits. It was very amusing.)

Week two, which I'm finishing up today, was Monster in the Castle. Yes, I've been working on it since April, and no, I haven't finished it yet. I think I'm getting close; I just keep getting distracted by Destinies and Decisions. Monster started out slightly less well than Destinies, mostly due to the fact that while I love Prince Hayden of Aldurna, he can be really boring to write sometimes. But once I brought in another character- one who very much gets on Hayden's nerves (he gets on everyone's nerves except mine, really), poof! Monster became fun too!

Tomorrow begins my third week of Camp NaNo, and I'm really excited for the projects I'll be working on: Goldstone Wood fanfiction. I have a bunch of ideas that have been in my head for ages but I haven't had time to write, so I'm sure it'll be super fun. I'm hoping that once Camp is over, I'll be able to edit some of the stories I wrote and enter them in the Goldstone Wood fanfiction contest. We'll see how that turns out.

Are you doing Camp NaNoWriMo this year? What's your project? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

Back! . . . again

First of all, I apologize for disappearing without a word of warning for the second time in one month. Very bad form on my part; I'll have to work on not doing that again. Apparently June was not a good month for internet activity. Second of all, those people who keep up with regular blogs even though they're a lot busier than I am? They're a lot better at managing their time than I am. (Either that or blogging is their form of procrastination . . . which is still better than my usual form, which consists of playing games on the internet until I get too frustrated or run out of music.)

Anyway, my last three weeks were pretty exciting and pretty busy, thus my lack of blogging. What was I doing? Well, from the 12th to the 26th, I was at college. Kinda. A college that my friend goes to offers a summer dual enrollment program in which you take a college class in two weeks, during which time you live on campus. It was an awesome experience, both in and out of class. It was also a lot of being around people- if I wasn't in class or studying, I was generally socializing or participating in the activities planned for the Summer Studies students (and there was an activity almost every day).

One of the best parts of the two weeks was the people I was with. I already knew Mandy, my roommate (we go to the same Bible study), and that helped a lot. I think that if I'd been with almost-total-strangers the whole time, I wouldn't have enjoyed the time as much, but since I knew someone already, it was a little easier to step out and get to know other people too. There were quite a few other homeschoolers there (thought not as many as I expected), and several others who loved LOTR, Star Wars, and other geekish things of that sort. (Two, Jenn and Luke, actually know Elvish. And Jenn, on our third day there, memorized Gandalf's "good morning" speech from The Hobbit and occasionally quoted it at me or Jimmy- another LOTR fan- throughout the rest of the two weeks. If you can't tell, she's awesome.)

The class itself, Politics and American Culture, was also excellent. A lot of the class focused on our government and how it's developed, as well as the development of things like civil liberties and civil rights, and I found it really interesting! Some members of our class had a tendency to ask questions that got us off on rabbit trails or into debates. In my opinion, though, that just made the class better, since we weren't just listening to the professor talk the whole time and we could actually interact somewhat. The homework load wasn't too bad, mostly just a few things to read for the next day's classes and one paper that was due at the beginning of the second week. Even though I more or less doubled the amount of work I did out of class by typing up my notes so I could study them more easily, I still had plenty of time to hang out with the others and do the activities. (I also managed to not procrastinate on the paper, something I'm very proud of myself for, since papers during the regular school year tend to get pushed off.)

And, of course, there were the activities. As I mentioned, there was one almost every evening. They ranged from small groups (Wednesday nights), to various things off-campus (like ice cream, bowling, and canoeing), to- on the 21st- King's Island. They were all really fun. One of my favorites was canoeing, something I haven't done in a long time. It was really relaxing (until we started racing two of the boys), and I now want to use canoes in a book sometime.

The biggest and most exciting event was, of course, King's Island. I'd never been there before, so I wasn't quite sure what to expect. And before anyone asks, no, I didn't ride any roller coasters. Jenn, Abby (the only other girl there my age- the others were all a year older), and I decided the day before that we'd stick together at King's Island, since everyone else was like "YAY ROLLER COASTERS!" and none of us were all that keen on, well, pretty much any thrill rides. (Of the three of us, I was the only one remotely interested, and I won't go on anything that goes upside down. Even then, I have to be with people who, like my family, really enjoy that sort of thing.) Even without thrill rides, though, we had a great time. In the morning, we did some of the non-thrill rides, like the Scrambler (one of those spinning rides) and bumper cars (which I never get to go on because I'm the only one in my family with any interest in them).

Then, in the afternoon, we headed over to the waterpark to get thoroughly soaked. The waterpark was originally Jenn's idea, and I'm very glad she suggested it. We only had time to do two slides before we needed to go meet the others, but those two were awesome. If I'd had time, I would've done both of them over again. Then, after we met up with the others and decided to stay longer, Mandy joined our group and we went to do some of the wet rides outside the waterpark. Mandy, Jenn, and Abby went on the log flume, which I skipped to watch bags and get ice cream. (I'd been wanting ice cream all day, but no one else was all that interested.) Then we went on the Whitewater Canyon ride, which is similar to one of my favorite rides at Busch Gardens, the Roman Rapids. I think I may have gotten as wet on Whitewater Canyon as I did on any of the water slides, to be honest. It was absolutely awesome.

The final highlight of the two weeks? Risk. I've wanted to learn how to play it for a while now, but didn't have the opportunity- until now. My first game was over very quickly; it only took about an hour. My second game, on the other hand, was over four hours and the longest game played by anyone in the two weeks of Summer Studies. It was epic. (Also, after several very long and drawn out battles, I won. I was very happy.)

Eventually, though, it was the 26th and everyone had to leave. There was much hugging, much trying not to cry- and also a bit of freaking out, particularly on my part. See, while I was packing that morning, I made a discovery: there was a very large rhinocerous beetle living in Mandie's and my room. How did I find this out? The worst possible way: it tried to climb on my leg. That's when I screamed (apparently loud enough that I got the attention of most of the girls' dorm) and fled the room. The rest of the day, though, went smoothly, and I got home around eight that night.

Since then, what've I been up to? Not much. I'm doing Camp NaNoWriMo this month (I can tell you more about that later if you want), and I've been reading a lot. My current obsession is Mistborn, since I just read the first book two days ago and it was ah-mazing. I've also been trying to cut back on computer time. So far, I've been successful- though it's part of the reason I didn't get this up sooner. (The rest was all procrastination, I'm sorry to say.)

Anyway, that was my three weeks. What about you? What've you been up to? Have you done anything fun this summer, or are you planning anything fun? Please tell me in the comments!
Garo arad vaer!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

Liebster Award

Hallo! Before I went on hiatus, I was nominated for the Liebster Award by deborahocarroll. Thank you, deborahocarroll! I really like doing these (well, I like answering the questions), so I very much enjoyed getting nominated again. I'm pretty sure that everyone here is familiar with the Liebster award, but I'll review the rules anyway:

1. Thank the person who tagged you and link back to them 
2. List eleven facts about yourself 
3. Answer the questions posted by your tagger
4. Post the same number of questions for the next set of people
5. Tag as many people as you have questions. Or as many as you can come up with. 

The Answers:
1. Do you name your electronics?
Not generally, but our family's GPSes do have names. One is Glenda and the other is Penelope.
2. What color is your hair?
Brown.
3. Do you prefer libraries or bookstores?
Libraries, definitely!
4. At this moment, if you could magically have any kind of food (or drink) what would you wish for?
A big slice of apple pie topped with vanilla ice cream.
5. If you had to pick between never drinking tea or coffee again, which would you choose?
I don't drink coffee, so, yeah. But I need my tea!
6. Who is your latest favorite character that you’ve “met” and why?
Eugenides from the Queen's Thief series! He's so devious and yet so innocent about it. 
7. Do you own multiple unused journals/notebooks and if so how many?
Yes, though I'm not sure how many. Probably around a half-dozen.
8. In your writing, are you a plotter or a pantser?
I'm a plantser. I plan some, particularly when I'm working on a long project. However, it's never a very detailed plan. 
9. What’s your favorite genre?
Fantasy all the way!
10. Favorite theme song from TV or movie?
Probably Sam's theme from LOTR.
11. Happy endings? Tragic? Bittersweet?
Happy endings, please.


The Facts:
1. I like Tangled better than Frozen.
2. I prefer the German version of "Let It Go" to the English version.
3. I occasionally get the two versions mixed up and end up switching back and forth throughout the song.
4. I love cheese and will eat it with a great many things.
5. I also love hummus and would happily eat it every day.
6. Despite the above two facts, I do not combine cheese and hummus. It just doesn't work.
7. I enjoy writing poetry about my inability to get stuff done.
8. Said poetry annoys one of my characters (Ariana, who I had an argument with a few months ago) to no end because it inevitably ends up mixed in with her research materials.
9. I'm rather bad at responding to sarcasm.
10. My favorite writing snacks are M'n'Ms, jelly beans, and Lifesavers.
11. I have no idea what to put for this last fact.

The Questions:
1. Do you prefer the mountains or the beach?
2. Would you rather have the ability to fly or the ability to breathe underwater? Why?
3. You discover one day that you have whichever ability you picked in #2. What's the first thing you do?
4. Who's your favorite superhero?
5. You're inviting three of your favorite fictional characters over for lunch. Who's coming?
6. Also, what are you serving for lunch?
7. While you and the characters are eating lunch, the antagonist from one of their stories shows up. What happens next?
8. Do you like dark characters?
9. Do you have a favorite number? If so, what is it?
10. What's your favorite kind of shoe?
11. Owls or hawks?

And now for the People I Tag. This is always the hardest part of these awards. But I shall do my best.
I tag:
Hannah
Emmarayn Redding
Ryebrynn
Sarah Faulkner
And I shall stop there because everyone else I can think of, I have tagged many times already. Sorry.

Hope you enjoyed reading my answers and facts and such!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

Well, I'm Back

Hullo, all! I apologize for my sudden hiatus. I thought I'd scheduled a post announcing it, but apparently it didn't go up. Anyway, I'm back!

Part of the reason for my hiatus was that my family went on a trip up to the mountains for a week, and that meant no internet access. We did have a lot of fun, though, especially since we haven't been able to make it up there for a few years.

As usual, we went hiking every morning while we were there. When I was younger, I hated hiking. Now I actually enjoy it, mostly. Walking through forests, over dirt and leaves, rather than on concrete sidewalks and paths along streets or behind houses, makes me feel a bit like I'm off on an adventure, or like I've left behind normal life and found my way into another world. There are certain paths, however, that I don't like. Namely, the long ones that make you feel a bit like you've stumbled into Goldstone Wood without a Path, and every step- even in the direction you know should take you back to the end of the trail- seems to just take you further into the Wood.

Afternoon activities varied more, but half the days we were there, we went to the old gravel pit that serves as a shooting range. Everyone in my family shoots, and because there's nowhere to hang a traditional bull's-eye, we generally use more interesting targets. Ice bottles and cans are popular, but my favorites are balloons and golf balls hung on a string. The only problem with balloons is that they disappear very quickly, so if you want to be sure you'll get to shoot one, you have to claim it before people start shooting. One new kind of target that we tried this year was pressurized plastic bottles. Basically, Daddy pumped air into the bottles, like you would if you were filling up a bike tire, and then set them out to be shot at. He got the idea from an archery video, so he had me shoot a few of the bottles with my bow back at the cabin. It made a surprisingly loud noise, and very much shocked me the first time. (Things I shoot with my bow, after all, are generally not supposed to sound like an explosion.)

Mornings, however, were probably the best part of the day. Outside is one of my favorite places to write, and the cabin happened to have a very comfortable porch swing. So, every morning, I went out and wrote for a while. I'm pretty sure that I wrote more there per day than I usually do at home! After I'd written, I'd read, knit, or, if other people were awake, go back inside. All in all, it was very relaxing.

I did take some photos while I was on the trip, and I'll try to get them posted sometime soon. It may take a while, though.

Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

Random Friday: Literary Quotes

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Suilaid, everyone! This week's Random Friday theme is literary quotes. As you can probably guess, there are a lot of quotes I like for various reasons. Obviously, I can't post all of them (I can't even post all my favorites), but I'll highlight some I especially like. 

1. “Maybe it will have a happy ending,” said she. “When everything’s complete and come full circle. This part ain’t so nice, but maybe somethin’ good will come of it? Remember, you have to read all the legends together to know for sure, and we don’t know them all yet. There may be a story out there to make this one happy.”- Rose Red, Veiled Rose 

2. "Then something Tookish woke up inside him, and he wished to go and see the great mountains, and hear the pine-trees and the waterfalls, and explore the caves, and wear a sword instead of a walking-stick.”- The Hobbit

3. "Half the places I have been to, never were. I make things up. Half the things I say are there cannot be found. When I was young I told a tale of buried gold, and men from leagues around dug in the woods. I dug myself."
"But why?"
"I thought the tale of treasure might be true."
"You said you made it up."
"I know I did. But then I didn't know I had. I forget things, too." - The Golux, The Thirteen Clocks

4. "Anyone can do any amount of work, provided it isn't the work he is supposed to be doing at the moment."- "How to Get Things Done" by Robert Benchley (Note: I had to read this essay for school this year and quite enjoyed it It's very amusing. And that quote pretty much describes about half my life.)

5. "It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.”- Bilbo Baggins, The Lord of the Rings

6. "But I suppose it’s often that way. The brave things in the old tales and songs, Mr. Frodo, adventures, as I used to call them. I used to think that they were things the wonderful folk of the stories went out and looked for, because they wanted them, because they were exciting and life was a bit dull, a kind of a sport, as you might say. But that’s not the way of it with the tales that really mattered, or the ones that stay in the mind. Folk seem to have been just landed in them, usually their paths were laid that way, as you put it. But I expect they had lots of chances, like us, of turning back, only they didn’t. And if they had, we shouldn’t know, because they’d have been forgotten. We hear about those as just went on, and not all to a good end, mind you; at least not to what folk inside a story and not outside it call a good end. You know, coming home, and finding things all right, though not quite the same; like old Mr Bilbo. But those aren’t always the best tales to hear, though they may be the best tales to get landed in!"- Samwise Gamgee, The Lord of the Rings.

7. "I don't know what it is, but it's the only one there ever was."- Hark, The Thirteen Clocks

8. “Adventures are funny things. They always begin with the unexpected, but they always end with the promise of adventures yet to come."- The Final Storm 

9. "I don't believe in chosen ones. In prophecies. In destinies."
"Neither do I. On principle, I'm against them. Inconvenient, nonsensical things, and a cat does like to be master of his own fate, you know? But what I believe or don't believe has little to do with the truth of the matter."- The Chronicler and Bard Eanrin, Dragonwitch

10. "I know none of it makes sense to you! No common sense, in any case. But perhaps one day your uncommon sense will wake, and the worlds will become more bearable."- Dame Imraldera, Shadow Hand

11. “All their life in this world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on for ever: in which every chapter is better than the one before."- The Last Battle

12. "I'm on Aslan's side even if there isn't any Aslan to lead it. I'm going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn't any Narnia."- Puddleglum, The Silver Chair

What are some of your favorite literary quotes? Please tell me in the comments, or feel free to make your own Random Fridays post on your blog! Thanks for reading!

-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

Want to join in the Random Fridays fun? Feel free to make a post of your own on the week's topic! Please just be sure to use the Random Fridays banner, link back to Awkwordly Emma, and post the link to your post on the Awkwordly Emma blog so other participants can check out your post. For a list of future Random Friday topics, click here.  

Bookish Babblings

So. Today's Tuesday, which means I should have a Top Ten Tuesdays post up. However, I have no books to list for this week's topic, so instead I'm just going to talk about books I've been reading recently and books I plan to read soon.

Books I Read

Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

I was kind of unsure about this book; I'm not quite sure why. I picked it up at the library one day because I thought I'd heard people say they liked it and I was low on new books. I'm very glad I did. It's a great book, and I enjoyed all the mystery and intrigue. Also, though I had a hard time liking Elisa for some reason, I thought her knowledge and use of strategy was pretty cool. 

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

Ok, I admit it- I read this book primarily because I wanted to know who Eugenides is. I definitely wasn't disappointed! Though neither book nor character were quite what I expected, I loved both. The ending caught me very much off-guard, but thinking back, I might've just missed almost all the clues the author dropped. I definitely want to read the rest of the series!

  Dangerous by Shannon Hale

I have always associated Shannon Hale with fairy-tale remakes and stories that feel like fairy-tale remakes. This is neither of those. It is . . .  Well, I can't tell you that. Spoilers. It is pretty exciting, though definitely not Shannon Hale's best. The idea of the book was good, and the main character was a homeschooler who loves science and occasionally quotes poetry to express her feelings, which is cool. However, I thought it seemed a bit rushed, particularly at the beginning. Also, there was too much romance and not enough-world saving, at least in my opinion.

Reapers by Bryan Davis

I'm currently in the middle of reading this book, and I'm not entirely sure what I think about it. It's very different from most of the books I read, including Davis's other books, but that's a good thing. I like the concept of the Reapers, and the main characters seem cool. And this isn't a bad thing, but SO MANY QUESTIONS. Also, Alex is nasty and I want to punch her very hard. I guess the only thing that's really making me uncertain of this book is that something seems off with the pacing.  

Books I Want To Read

A few days ago, I came home from the library with a very full bookbag, and I already had several books waiting for me at home, not to mention several other books on request from the library that hadn't come in yet. So, these are just the highlights.

Crown of Embers by Rae Carson

As I mentioned above, I really enjoyed Girl of Fire and Thorns. I'm very excited to read the sequel (as well as glad I didn't start the trilogy until all the books came out). Elisa's new position is an almost-guarantee for more intrigue (yay!), and the book summary/blurb thing promises that Crown of Embers will be at least as exciting as Girl of Fire and Thorns.

Eyes Wide Open by Ted Dekker
This is another book I picked up more or less on a whim. I haven't read much Dekker in a year or two, but I noticed this one at the library, realized it was new, and thought it sounded interesting. I also have Water Walker out from the library, but I've had Eyes Wide Open longer, so it's probably higher priority. Probably.

The One by Kiera Cass

I'm still waiting for this one to come in at the library, but I'm really looking forward to it. No spoilers from The Elite, but as usual at the end of a second book, the characters are in a terrible mess, and I desperately want to know how they fix it. I also read a sneak peek of The One in a book of Selection short stories/bonus materials, so that got me even more excited. I very much hope America ends up with Maxon. Yes, he has his problems, but he's a great guy. And if she goes with Aspen in the end, there will be yelling on my end.

Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
This, like The Thief, is a book I keep hearing about and finally got curious to try. Again, I'm still waiting to get my hands on it, but I think it should come in at the library soon. I'm not entirely sure what to expect, but it sounds awesome, possibly on the level of the Blood of Kings trilogy.

Well, there's my bookish news for the week. What about you? Have you been reading anything good lately? What books are you looking forward to reading? Please tell me in the comments!

No galu govad gen!

-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

Random Fridays: Songs That Inspire Me

http://bookworm716.blogspot.com/

Hullo, everyone! This week's Random Friday is a freebie; I pick the topic. As you can see, I chose songs that inspire me. But when I say inspiring, I don't mean the encouraging-make-a-bad-day-good kind of songs (though some of these are that kind of songs, at least for me). I mean the kind of songs that give me an idea for a story, a character, or a scene . . . and believe me, there are a lot of those. (As in, if I had a dime for every time a song affected a character or story, I'd probably have a few thousand dollars.) These are a few of my favorites.

1. "The Invitation" and "Welcome to the Masquerade" by Thousand Foot Krutch

Ok, I've already written a short story based on this. If you're on the Underground, you may have read it. If you haven't, know it involves a mysterious masked bardess (female bard; a position I made up for my novels), a plot to kill a king, creepy so-called Seers, and- of course- a masked ball. I had a lot of fun writing it and hope to write a sequel sometime, maybe this summer.

2.  "Sing Me a Love Song"- BarlowGirl

I'm not sure if this would be original fiction or a Goldstone Wood fanfic. The idea plays a large part in one of my favorite daydreams, but those are half fanfic anyway. I do know the basic premise of the idea, though: She's lost; broken; an outcast. She's given away so much of herself that she can't remember who she is. But one thing reminds her. And no matter how hard she tries, no matter how much she sometimes wants to forget, she always comes back. Always returns to the song.    

3. "Dementia"- Owl City

You'll never guess what this one gives me an idea for: the scene in a Cinderella remake I'm hoping to write when the prince sees Cinderella at the ball. I can't give away too much, but I can say this isn't the first time he's met her . . . he just doesn't remember the others. And once she shows up, strange things start happening . . . but none as strange as her mysterious warning for him. 

4. "Hero"- Skillet

I tried to write a novel based on this song. It was supposed to be a dystopian-superhero story: my main character, Anya, was the youngest child in a family of very rich, influential supers, and she was the only one without powers. That, however, played into the story very little; the main plot was how the government was outlawing Christianity and Anya had to find the courage to speak against the change. Looking back, I wish I'd waited on it, but oh well. Maybe I'll try it again someday.

5. "No Plan B"- Manafest

Does anyone remember the Silver Bullets from my short story, "The First Mission"? Well, that story wasn't the first I'd written about the Silver Bullet group, or about Mikayla and her father. "No Plan B" was a spur-of-the-moment story written after listening to this song a few too many times. It was a fairly simple plot: a team of Silver Bullet agents was sent into a Brotherhood compound to rescue several people. But these people weren't ordinary prisoners . . . and not everyone in the group had the same agenda. Interestingly, were I to write enough Silver Bullet stories to put them all in a book, "No Plan B" would be the final story. If you've read my Underground writing thread, you know why. If you haven't . . . Well, you'll just have to wonder for now.


6. "Not Gonna Die"- Skillet

Would you believe that I haven't even finished book four of the Berstru Tales series and I'm already getting ideas for book five or six? Whether or not I actually use those ideas depends on a lot of things, but this song is pretty much the theme song for two of the major subplots (or possibly main plots) of whichever book it ends up being. Each subplot- one of which is Emma's, the other of which is Jared's- is mainly inspired by one of the first two verses.

7. "Stronger Than You Think"- Fireflight

"I know your intentions. I've seen the way you work. . . . I used to chase you. But now I hate you. I'm safe inside the light, so go on, do your worst." That sounds like the challenge of a hero to me- a hero who's been down a dark path, perhaps even served the villain at one point, but has since been lifted out of that darkness and found the villain for an epic showdown- inspired, of course, by this song.

8. "Shivna"- Riverdance

While the other songs in this post inspire primarily through lyrics, this song inspires more through the rhythm and the feeling it gives me. There are at least two scenes in Danger in the Tower (my Rapunzel/12 Dancing Princesses) remake inspired by this song. It's also my idea of what the music of the Feyling, particularly the dark Feyling, would sound like . . . and a very potent song indeed is that played by the Feyling.

 Do you find inspiration in songs? If so, what are some songs that have inspired you? Please tell me in the comments! Thanks for reading!
 Calo anor na ven!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

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Top Ten Tuesdays: Book Covers I'd Frame as Art

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Suilaid, mellyn nin! (I feel like speaking Elvish today, all right?) It's time for another Top Ten Tuesdays post, this one about book covers- specifically, book covers that are worthy of framing and putting on one's wall. I'm really excited about this week's theme; book covers are awesome, and there are plenty that I'd use as artwork in my eventual house. (I'd say my room, but the walls are already taken over by Hobbit posts, pretty much.)

1. The Errant King by Wayne Thomas Batson

This is pretty much my favorite book cover in the history of ever. I love the crashing sea and the scroll and the people on the scroll. You can see right off what Loch is like and one of the main choices before him. As for Raudrim-Quevara, she's perfectly creepy and I love the way she seems to be coming off the scroll. The color scheme also does a really good job of creating an exciting, mysterious mood.

2. The Silimarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien.

I love the illustrations in this version of The Silimarillion (which happens to be the version I own). The one on the cover is probably one of my favorites. I want to step right into the picture, be on one of those ships as they're sailing towards what I assume is Numenor.

3. The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

What can I say? It's Rivendell; it's beautiful. The colors in the version I have are a bit lighter and more pastel-y, which gives it a dreamier look, but the darker colors are still nice. And you know that I'd love to have a picture of Rivendell on my wall. (Maybe someone should make a Lord of the Rings calender with places on it instead of just people . . . Thoughts, anyone?)

4. Shadow Hand by Anne Elisabeth Stengl

I love the bright, beautiful colors and the way the cave above and the thorn branches below frame Daylily and the woods behind her. This also happens to be my favorite of the Goldstone Wood covers, all of which are quite lovely, so there's that. (As a side note, I finally read this book a week or so ago and oh. my. pumpernickel. It was amazing. I thought I had a pretty good idea what was going to happen. I was so. incredibly. wrong. But in a good way. Also, Time, and implications of what might've happened if certain characters had made different choices. It makes my head spin, so I'm trying not to think too hard about it, but I can't help wondering.)

5. Heartless by Anne Elisabeth Stengl

This is my second favorite Goldstone Wood cover. I love the way that Una is framed in the dragon's eye, and the colors- with the deep, cool, blues on the outside and moving in to the warmer reds,  yellows, and golds on the inside is just lovely.

6. Beyond the Reflection's Edge by Bryan Davis

This is a very stark, mysterious cover, which I really like. I think it looks cool, with the ripples and the music and the 'reflected' city. It does give the impression of seeing something in a mirror that's not in the 'real' world, so to speak, and of being able to somehow cross between the 'real' world and the world in the mirror.

7. The Vanishing Sculptor by Donita K. Paul

This is another pretty cover, and I think that the distant tower with the dragons flying around it adds just a hint of mystery. The minor dragon peeking over the cover plaque is, of course, rather cute, and a bit funny too.

8. Matched trilogy by Allie Condie

 I haven't read these books yet, but I really like the covers. I like the bright colors against the grey-white background, and the girl's progression of being trapped in the bubble, breaking out, and finally free. Very cool. If I were hanging them on my wall, I'd put them along a flight of stairs, with Matched at the bottom and Reached at the top.

9. Entwined by Heather Dixon

I really wish that the title/author were elsewhere on the cover; that's my only qualm about putting this book on this list. But I like the silver vines framing the image, and the way the girl seems to be looking for a way out as the world tilts and twists around her. (If you look at it, you can see that the shore of the lake is skewed.)

10. Dragons of the Watch by Donita K. Paul

Cute dragons and books. Yeah. I want to cuddle the green one and then have at books . . . without disturbing the sleeping purple dragon, of course. But yes, this is mostly on the list because it combines two of my favorite things in the world and I'd be quite happy to have it on my wall.

 
Well, there's my list. What do you think? And what book covers would you want on your wall? Feel free to tell me in the comments or make your own Top Ten Tuesday post.
Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

Random Fridays: Childhood Memories

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Hullo, all! This week's Random Fridays is about childhood memories. Obviously, there's a lot of places I could go with this, but I thought that I'd use the theme to highlight some of the things I loved when I was a kid.

The Books:

The Three Cousins' Detective Club series

These used to be some of my Favorite Books in the World. I owned all but one of the books in the series, and I have no clue how many times I read them, but it was a lot. I remember especially liking the Honeybees' Secret one and The Mystery of the Hobo's Message.

The Magic Tree House series

Yeah. I'm pretty sure most kids read these at some point. My favorites were the Merlin Missions. (I'm sure that comes as no surprise to anyone reading this.) These books were also what originally made me interested in the King Arthur legends, which I still love today.

Heidi

This used to be my favorite classic book. I first read it as part of collection of books: Pocahontas, an abridged Little Women, Pollyanna, and Heidi. Of those four, Little Women is now my favorite, but I probably read Heidi more times. I haven't read it in a long time; I should probably pick it up again at some point.

 The Movies/Videos

VeggieTales

Admittedly, I still do like VeggieTales- at least the ones from before they started going downhill. However, since I've watched them for as long as I can remember (and I mean that quite literally), I had to include them. I have no idea which one I liked best, since it changed a lot, but I've probably watched most of them several dozen times . . . And, of course, I've nearly memorized a lot of the Silly Songs.

The Barbie Princess Movies

By that, I don't mean just The Princess and the Pauper, though I did like that movie. I'm talking about all the Barbie remakes of famous stories (plus Magic of Pegasus and Diamond Castle, both of which my little sister liked more than I did). I remember especially liking Swan Lake and Princess and the Pauper- until Three Musketeers came out just before I started growing out of Barbie movies. Then that one became my favorite, mostly because it involved females with swords and such. Go figure.

The Land Before Time

VeggieTales, Barbie movies, and The Land Before Time videos: all of these I watched almost obsessively at one time or another. Though, with the Land Before Time videos, I didn't really like the first video, the one the most people probably know about. I preferred the sequels (up to number seven; anything beyond that we had to get from the library), mostly because I thought the first one was kind of scary. I also recall that I loved Cera because, hey, her name sounds just like mine!

Did you love any of these when you were a kid? What were some of your favorite books, movies, or anything else? Please tell me in the comments or make your own Random Fridays post!

Thanks for reading!

-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

Want to join in the Random Fridays fun? Feel free to make a post of your own on the week's topic! Please just be sure to use the Random Fridays banner, link back to Awkwordly Emma, and post the link to your post on the Awkwordly Emma blog so other participants can check out your post. For a list of future Random Friday topics, click here.