New Story Reveal!

Here is the promised reveal of my next serial blog-story! To start with, I guess I'd better announce the title:

Swords, Sails + Scoundrels

I wanted something slightly shorter than 'If Adventure Comes Your Way' because that can be a bit of a mouthful to say sometimes, but I wanted it to be cool. And it also needed to reflect the story somehow.

As you can gather from the title, there will hopefully be quite a bit of sailing/ships in this story, as well as weapons - mostly of the sword-ly kind. I'm quite looking forward to starting so you can all find out about my brilliant plans.

Now, I have a couple new characters, and I spent ages thinking up random character profiles/blurbs that didn't give away everything that might happen but were still interesting, so I hope they'll give you a quick glimpse at what these people are like.


Louise De Corlette: 
(Yeah, I know, I know, the new ones'll come soon)

Using the cover name Conwell, she is eager to see more of the world. One time, Louise would have been daunted at such a prospect, but she is no longer the same girl that sat in the parlour with Governess Kathryn.

Now a tried adventurer, Louise finds that she has yet a very narrow field of experience. Changing status from a lady, she tries her hand at many trades; traveller, gypsy, even pirate. But her journey to Eirerandil isn’t just for fun…

Eumin Quest:

Leonora’s oftentimes companion on her Outrider missions. He's quiet and strong, the perfect kind to fight alongside Leonora’s daring courage.








Leonora Maysdaughter:

Lieutenant of the Royal Outriders and younger sister of Eumin Quest, Leonora has become well known for her adventurous ability and fencing skills

(Here come the new characters!)

Marius De Corlette:

The second of Louise’s older brothers, Marius is just twenty years of age. He and Louise were the closest of the De Corlette siblings, despite being almost complete opposites. Having left Feâ Sirih a little over three years ago to earn renown, he fell into deep trouble upon reaching the fair country of Eirerandil.

His family have heard nothing of him since the day he left.

Captain Wielder:

Infamous pirate of the Notrias Sea. Rapscallion, rebel and rascal supreme.

Although he goes by the term pirate, Captain Wielder has nothing alike with others of that kind. Since his boyhood he made adventures for himself, planning great feats and fame on the high seas. These dreams never died, and he now lives them in reality, sailing the seas in search of adventure. 

Captain Wielder is an expert swordsman, known for capturing soldiers to fight them and beat them with his gentleman-like manner – just to show off his swordsmanship skills. After which he unfailingly releases them so they can go tell the whole country about him.

Earning his widespread fame in this manner, he ceased searching for adventure, discovering that it found him plentifully without any help. Being such a renowned swordsman, the ultimate challenge for would-be soldiers is to fight and beat him. Many have tried. None have succeeded.

With gentlemanly courtesy for the ladyfolk and willing respect only for those who earn it, he sails his beloved Rift across the sea, meeting ever more famous swordsmen to fight. And beat. And release. And make his reputation grow ever more.

Gypsy Boy:

At the age of sixteen, he lived his whole life travelling the country with his parents and the band of gypsies. Unfortunate, and unexpected circumstances (a.k.a. Captain Wielder) drag him from his mother’s overindulging grasp, and send him reeling onto the wild seas.

He has the typical brown hair and olive skin of his race, but his eyes are dark blue, given by a distant Eirerandil ancestor.

A quick glance shows a sullen, quiet yet arrogant bearing and a remarkable ability to annoy people without speaking a word. But inside he really wants to be wanted by someone, to be needed somehow – he realises that no one actually likes him, they just fake it. Although some don't bother to even do that.

Though he is a fast thinker and good at quickly assessing situations, he doesn’t often share it, keeping his thoughts and feelings to himself.

---

I really can't decide if I like Captain Wielder or Gypsy Boy the most...I have such plans for them both. 
So, how to they all sound? Interesting?

And here's a random synopsis I wrote up:

“Eirerandil, a once-bright land, is marred by the presence of a terrible evil. A serial killer stalks the land, and only one person has a chance to stop him.

Louise ‘Conwell’ is excited about widening her experiences, but when she reaches her destination she realises that it’s worse than she imagined. Courageously starting off things begin to go awry from the very first. When Louise is captured by the infamous pirate Captain Wielder she discovers that allies can be found in the strangest of characters.

But with wild storms at sea, shiploads of pirates, and an elusive goal, can Louise and her friends possibly stop the killer before her long-lost brother is lost forever?”

Sadly I can't share the cover picture yet, because my artist is yet to finish, but I can say that, last I saw, it looks pretty cool.

And equally sadly, I won't be starting SS+S next week. I'll be away at my crazy cousin's farm! (Disclaimer: I never said she was crazier than me. I've been told she had her serious moments.)(besides, she goes to school. Pfft, overrated thing as it is, you've got to be at least half sensible to go there and live.) I'll be getting back next Friday and doing a post about my Camp NaNo novel, so things won't be completely silent.  (Also, since I'm leaving early Sunday morning I will check for comments Saturday night, but after that they will unfortunately remain unpublished until I return on Friday. But please comment anyway, it'll give me a nice welcome home!)

My plan is to start the week after though, so unless something bad blows up (or the cover picture still needs more time)(I think my artist is a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to her drawings), you can expect the adventure to begin then. 

If you were wondering what happened to Maree and Jack, don't worry, they actually did live happily ever after (for a while). All the Freespirits are alive and they went to live with Jack's family in the forest. But they yet wait for news of Louise's return.

Oh, I almost forgot, I drew (you are about to witness the most artistic I ever get. Except for when making pizza) a map -

And then Clare, dear sister that she is, made it epic -

It looks so amazing! I'm just annoyed at myself for smearing the 'd' of Pyre-ite Island and the 'n' of Raeyn...(Raeyn is the town right down the bottom of the coast of Eirerandil, if you couldn't tell)
I reckon the sea looks pretty cool, with all the currents and the swirling vortex around the compass (I was rather happy with how the compass turned out, I usually draw them in a slightly different style but I actually like this one heaps). The land's great too...so's the whole thing really. Thank you terribly much, Clare. :D

I believe that's all for now. Phew, I wasn't planning on this being such a long post! I hope you're as excited as I am for the first segment! *does a happy dance*

Dúinn aller!

Of Two Sorts of Bows and Several Other Matters

Last Sunday my friend, Sarah, and I were sitting in a tree after church. We were discussing stories, and other such things, until I mentioned the fact that it was getting boiling hot. And I said that it would be so nice to just fall in a dam or something.

The idea grew more than I expected.

Soon we'd gotten hot enough to try our luck and see if this dream could become reality. And, low and behold, the parents agreed. Yay!
So that afternoon our family went out to Sarah's place and the excitement began.

To start off with, Sarah was asked to play her violin which she's been learning. Aaand since I want to learn too, she let me have a go. Surprisingly, everyone put up with my screeching for quite a while, and I had a ton of fun. I even managed to play most of 'The Last Goodbye,' and it almost sounded recognisable. Then I was dragged off the violin, or rather, the violin was dragged off me, and we headed out to the dam (it wasn't as hard to get me out there as it sounds, it just sounds better that way).

From then we had a great time tipping each other off surf skis and splashing, and chasing, and no drowning, which is always a good thing!

Eventually it was getting late-ish and we had to get out. Then since Zach had just gotten a new bow, we naturally had to do some archery (hence the 'two kinds of bows'). I'd brought my bow (under orders) and we had a nice new hay target -- just set up -- to shoot at, with a paper target in the middle. I wasn't told until the very end that the piece of paper was for aiming at, so I didn't hit it *grins innocently.* But no one else did, anyway. I even had the brains to bring the new arm guard I'd recently made from real leather. It actually worked, except I still got a nasty/good (depending on your view on bruises) one on my left arm. But it was from being pushed off the surf ski that I'd been standing on. Well, technically I wasn't pushed, Zach was about to try and tip me off, but I'd gotten a little distracted by his approach and "purposefully jumped off" before he could. I kind of whacked my arm on the surf ski as I fell jumped into the water.
After a fun I-don't-know-how-long, time of archery we had to go home. But in all it was a really fun day.

It also led to a search.

A search that could cost a high price if we found what we sought. A search that is not to be taken lightly. A search that would lead to unknown places...

In plainer words: we went searching (in a manner of speaking) for a violin. For me. Whenever the topic comes up, I do my best to keep my face reasonably neutral because I'm trying not to get too excited. If people could see what I really felt like inside...that could get amusing. When I think about the possibility of getting a violin I feel like jumping up and down squealing, with a grin wide enough to split my face, but that's too undignified for someone like me. (Ha ha ha...very funny, Jane, everyone knows just how dignified you are.)

But, we've found something. It's an ancient violin (old violins are actually better than new ones, generally speaking) and it just needs a few repairs.
Clare, being the photographer that she is, is also looking forward to all the photos she can take of me with it, I think my parents are both looking forward to when I can play nice songs on it, but I'm totally more excited than them. I know.
The violin is still 'maybe/hopefully,' not certain yet, we've still got to find out how much it will be to repair it and everything. 

I've been listening to quite a bit of Lindsey Stirling's songs, since Sarah introduced me to them last Sunday. Actually, the story is quite funny: I couldn't remember who had played the song Sarah showed me, and I could only remember that the name had something to do with 'Sky.' I believe the exact words I googled were: "Epic violin playing girl Sky." And it actually came up with exactly what I wanted! At the moment my favourites are definitely 'Lord of the Rings Medley' (surprise!) and 'Skyrim.' They're really epic. (It you had a 'Jane's inner thoughts detector' that sentence could be translated as: "AGHHH, I can't wait until I can play like that. But probably I'll never be that good. *Depressed sniffs* ooooh, but I want to..." But since no one has invented such a detector you'll never know) In fact, I'm listening to them both alternately as I write this!

So, it just goes to show that if you step out and do something, there is more possibility of it happening than if you sit in a tree dreaming about it. Even if it's just something like an afternoon with friends!
And that's all for now, have a great week and see you on Friday.

Fare Thee Well!

Brotherband Book Six: The Ghostfaces

Okaaay, so this post has taken a while in coming because I've been slack on my 'Ranger's Apprentice and Brotherband new books Watch' so I only recently (as in, about half a month ago) found out more than slight rumors.

Here is the cover...

Meh, no cover yet, but I'm sure it'll turn up soon enough (and quite possibly I'll do another blog post on it). 

But here is the synopsis. This'll probably change and be refined slightly before the release date but it's all I've got so far.

(Wait for it...)

When the Brotherband crew are caught in a massive storm at sea, they’re blown far off course and wash up on the shores of a land so far west that Hal can’t recognize it from any of his maps. Eerily, the locals are nowhere in sight, yet the Herons have a creeping feeling they are being watched.

Suddenly the silence is broken when a massive, marauding bear appears, advancing on two children. The crew springs into action and rescues the children from the bear’s clutches, which earns them the gratitude and friendship of the local Mawagansett tribe, who finally reveal themselves. But the peace is short-lived. The Ghostfaces, a ruthless, warlike tribe who shave their heads and paint their faces white, are on the warpath once more. It’s been ten years since they raided the Mawagansett village, but they’re coming back to pillage and reap destruction. As the enemy approaches, the Herons gear up to help their new friends repel an invasion.

In this sixth book in the action-packed Brotherband Chronicles, the Herons find themselves in unfamiliar lands and prepare for battle with a ruthless, unknown enemy.

It sounds kinda interesting and strange at the same time. Also sounds just slightly similar to stories about Leif Erikson discovering America...Hmmm, I wonder...

I'm really looking forward to reading it though. But wait! I haven't told you the release date! There are slight conflicting resources on this point. Random House Australia says that it's in May but other places say June...I'll just go with the May one 'cause Random House is the publisher so if they don't know I'll start getting worried. (Also, the June one might be American but I really dunno.)

16/05/2016

That is the hopefully, maybe release date of Brotherband Six - The Ghostfaces!!!

Read this series everyone, I'm telling you for the...er...somethingth time, but you really should. 

I also discovered here that apparently there's going to be another book about Will and Maddie and at least one more prequel. I reckon there should be something about Gillan's apprenticeship, because that sounds extremely amusing...

Anyway, I'm keeping a half-watch for the cover and will hopefully do a post to show you all what it looks like. Anyone else dying (not literally) to read it? And, if not dying, really looking forward to it?

Fare Thee Well!

If Adventure Comes Your Way - Fragment Ten

Today marks the day we come to the last 'If Adventure Comes Your Way' for this year. I think it's kinda interesting that we finish with Fragment Ten, it almost looks like I planned it. How fascinating. Sorry to say, I'm taking the day off next Friday as we're not around for Christmas. We'll be leaving for my cousin's place on Tuesday. I'm really excited about it! I hope you don't mind that I purposefully finished with an extra big cliffhanger this time...Mwah ha ha, I am so evil sometimes. Sorry, I just couldn't help myself.

Option three won the votes by a long shot (Now I'd better check back to make sure I didn't word it quite that way last time...ok, cool, I didn't, we can continue now) which is very nice of you all, 'cause that was also my favourite. Authors are so unfailingly cruel to their characters...

Ahem, anyway, here is your dreadfully-cliffhanger-ended-last-post-of-the-year-story. Read on!

Half a dozen men had appeared from behind the trees. “Surrender, or take the consequences,” one of the soldiers commanded sharply. My heart sank into the ground.

Four of the soldiers held crossbows and they were all pointed at us. The commander took a step forward. “Surrender!” he barked.

I raised my hands slowly, knowing resistance was pointless. Jack followed my lead.

The soldier gestured at us with his sword. “Take them,” he said shortly.

Three of the men stepped forward, one grabbed my arms roughly, twisting them behind my back, the other two went for Jack. He started struggling, but two grown men were too strong. 

“Just go with them, Jack,” I said, hopelessness filling my heart.

The leader of the soldiers regarded me with interest. “What is your name?” he asked. 

I raised my chin defiantly. “Lady Louise De Corlette,” I said.

Jack jerked backwards but the soldiers prevented any more movement. His wide brown eyes fixed on me were filled with shock. My mouth formed and ‘o’ as I remembered that to Jack I was supposedly Louise Conwell, some nobody of no importance. I shrugged inwardly, he was going to find out sometime.

“I see,” the soldier murmured, rubbing his chin. “Very interesting.”

“Shall we take them to the castle, Captain?” the man holding me asked.

The Captain nodded briskly. “Yes,” he sheathed his sword. “You two go behind in case one of these kids try make a break for it,” he instructed the remaining soldiers, then glanced at me. “I recommend they don’t try anything silly.”

My mind dulled with despair as we were marched through the ancient trees, the ground sloping upwards as we climbed the hills. Everything was going wrong, Adventures weren’t supposed to work like this. I sighed. 

Before we moved off the soldiers had bound my hands tightly with a thin cord, and I could barely feel my fingers. I wiggled them just to make sure they were still there.

After tramping through the forest for what seemed like hours the Captain of the soldiers paused and turned back to us. “I’ll go first,” he said. “Send the girl next, then you—” he gestured to the man behind me. “Then the boy can come, followed by the rest of you.”

The soldiers saluted and the Captain disappeared through a narrow gap. I was shoved forward and I gasped as I realised just how narrow the passage was. It was basically a crack between two massive boulders, only just wide enough for a man to pass through without his shoulders touching either side. 

I calmed my heart, trying to blank my mind. Forget the fear, my thoughts became a mantra, keep going, forget the fear. I stumbled out the other side, almost tripping as my foot caught on a stone. A hand grabbed my arm and steadied me. I looked up into the deep eyes of the Captain. Then I looked past him and caught my breath sharply.

A castle loomed ahead, seeming to glare down on everyone in the hidden vale. It was even bigger than the De Corlette Manor, and that was saying something, as far as I’d been aware only the King’s palace could claim that.

“Welcome to the Stronghold of Hacaz,” the Captain said.

I looked up at the distaste in his voice, but his expression revealed nothing.

Soon all the other soldiers and Jack had entered the valley, and the Captain formed us up again and led the way to the castle gates.

I shivered as the gates swung open for us, revealing the dark courtyard inside. Keep going, forget the fear, my mind chanted. The Captain halted us with a wave of his hand.

“Inform the Garrison Commander that we have two new prisoners,’ he commanded three of the soldiers. 

They saluted and turned away, jogging to a low building to the side. The Captain nodded at the remaining men. “Let’s get these kids into the prison.”

I stumbled along behind the Captain, wishing Maree was here. She’d know what to do to escape. I crashed right into the leading soldier when he stopped suddenly.

He steadied me and drew his knife. I cringed back but he gripped my arm firmly, turning me around. The knife sliced through the rope around my wrists. I looked up, dazed, what was going on?

The Captain gestured at the other two soldiers and they grinned, releasing Jack likewise.

“Listen,” the Captain said. “I have a daughter at home, about your age, and a son. I’m not going to be responsible for your capture.”

I stared. “You’re...you’re going to let us escape?”

The Captain shook his head. “No,” he said, and the small hope I felt instantly flickered out. “You are going to be rescued by a giant of a man and he is going to knock out us soldiers and we’ll never stand a chance.”

A smile crept onto my lips. “So when is this giant going to come?” I asked.

“Any time now,” the Captain said.

One of the soldiers behind Jack coughed. “Captain, we will be punished.”

“That is inevitable, Felix,” he replied. “What would you say to your wife if you had just locked up two young children? Or more, what would she say to you?”

The guard, Felix, shook his head. “I agree. I can already feel the folds of unconsciousness approaching.” With that the two soldiers collapsed to the floor.

Jack looked down and nudged one with his toe. “Wow, they’re good,” he murmured.

“You have to get away, there’s a door just down this corridor, first on the left. Hide in there until sundown and then leave through the servant’s staircase,” the Captain said, pointing the way. “Now go!”

The steady, even footsteps of a soldier echoed along the corridor behind us and Jack jumped into action, running down the hall. I sprinted after him, ducking into the side room right behind him. He closed the door quickly, leaning against it heavily.

“Phew,” he gasped. “That was interesting.”

“We’ve got to hide,” I panted, looking around the room desperately. “So they don’t find us before nightfall.”

“The bed!” Jack exclaimed, scrambling over to it. He glanced under it then looked up grimacing, “There’s only room for one, you hide there.”

I hesitated, but a commotion out in the corridor decided me, I ran lightly to the bed, dropping to my stomach and squeezing under it. I saw Jack’s feet disappear as he stepped into a large wardrobe.

The voices and shouting outside continued, and I hugged my arms around me, trying to stop my heart from jumping right out of my chest.

The door was thrown open, and a pair of gleaming boots came into view followed by several more. “We need to search the whole castle,” a voice said. “We can’t afford to lose prisoners, especially just before Lord Hacaz comes back.”

The boots came closer to my hiding place. I bit my lip and held my breath, forcing myself to remain dead still. The rustle of fabric sounded and I found myself staring into the eyes of a soldier. 

My heart froze, and our gaze locked. Then the soldier straightened. “I don’t think anyone’s in here, Sir,” his voice came from right above me. 

The reply came as a grunt and the soldiers walked out of the room. I released a shaking breath, there was another soldier who had some conscience, if this truly was the stronghold of Hacaz he obviously didn’t realise just how ‘loyal’ his troops were.

Hours passed slowly, soldiers hurried along the corridor, and loud voices called all through the castle, but no one came into the room again. Eventually the light began to grow dimmer and a door creaked softly. Jack’s shoes appeared, and I figured I could come out.

My cramped muscles protested to the movement and it was all I could do to keep silent as I struggled to my feet. Jack smiled tightly, his face showing the strain. I wondered if I looked as bad.

“C’mon,” he whispered, padding over to a nondescript door on the far side of the room. “Servants door.”

I nodded, slipping through the open door. Jack closed it behind him and then frowned at the dark corridor. “What way?”

I pointed. “That way,” I said, glad to know something useful. “There’ll be stairs going down to a kitchen just along there somewhere.”

“Well, lead on, m’lady,” Jack said, bowing slightly.

I sighed. “Just call me Louise,” I told him. “It doesn’t really matter.”

He lifted one shoulder in a half shrug and I headed off down the hall, listening carefully for any sign of other people.


The cold night air blew my hair back as we slipped out of the hot kitchen. There’d been so many servants, maids and cooks inside that no one had noticed our presence.

“Let’s get to the stables,” Jack breathed into my ear. 

I nodded and we shadowed along the wall, reaching the stables after a few minutes of tense sneaking. Jack pointed silently at the window and knelt, gesturing for me to use his leg as a step to climb inside.

I heaved myself into the musty dark of the stable, dropping onto the soft hay. Jack was beside me in a moment, peering into the darkness.

I caught sight of a ladder. “We could try the...loft,” I said quietly, remembering the correct word just in time.

Jack nodded. “Ladies first,” his whispered, holding the ladder steady. 

I mounted up the rungs, feeling the rough wood under my hands. Hay dust stirred as I reached the top, stepping from the ladder to the wooden boards of the loft floor. Jack coughed below me and I heard the nervous whicker of a horse somewhere in the stables.

The ladder quivered as Jack started climbing and I collapsed onto a pile of hay, instantly it ceased being so soft and turned scratchy. I was so tired I hardly cared. I was asleep before Jack reached the top of the ladder.


Sunlight streamed through a crack in the roof, right into my eyes. I blinked and sat up, wondering where I was. Memory returned and I almost slumped right back down again. A loud sound stopped me. Hammering and yelling came from just outside the stable.

Jack’s face appeared from the other side of a stack of hay. “Morning!” he said, his voice low but cheerful.

“Why so happy?” I asked, scratching my neck.

He shrugged. “I just have a feeling that today is going to be a good day,” he replied.

“What is that sound?” I asked as more shouts came to my ears.

Jack frowned. “I don’t know,” he said. “I didn’t want to climb down a look until you were up to agree that it was a good idea.”

‘Well, it’s not a good idea, but we’ll do it anyway,” I said, now thoroughly awake.

Jack peered carefully over the side of the ladder while I tried to get the hay out of my tangled hair. “I think it’s all clear,” he called softly before starting his descent.

I jumped down the last few rungs of the ladder, landing lightly on the hard floor. The nearest horse snorted curiously, tossing its head. I rubbed my hand along her neck, twisting my fingers in the flaxen mane. “You’re a pretty girl, aren’t you?” I murmured.

“Louise,” Jack’s voice was very different from the tone he’d used to say ‘good morning’. I spun around.

“What?” I asked, my heart quickening nervously.

He waved me to the window, his face grim. “I don’t think you’re going to like this,” he said.

I took a tentative look out the window and my eyes caught on the object in the middle of the courtyard that hadn’t been there the day before. A gallows. Crowds of soldiers and the castle’s inhabitants were milling around it, talking in loud voices.

A scuffle in the door of the castle caught my attention and I glanced that way. A group of soldiers were dragging someone towards the scaffold. As they drew closer I could see that the unfortunate person was struggling and kicking but to no avail.

I watching in horror as the prisoner was forced up the steps and onto the platform. A dark robed executioner stepped forward, but I wasn’t paying him much attention. 

Now that the prisoner was standing still and raise above all the soldiers I could see them clearly. And what I saw was a small figure, dressed in a muddy wool tunic and pants. Even from that distance and without the oversized leather jacket I recognised her.

“Maree.”

My friend was about to die.

***

1. “Okay,” I said numbly, my eyes still fixed on Maree. “You got a plan?”

2. A second figure climbed the stairs onto the platform, a taste of loathing rose to my mouth as I saw Hacaz again. Dead or given up, am I? I thought, you’re about to find out just how wrong you are. 

3. Maree raised her bound hands, and waved them above her head. “I beleeve I have the preevilege of last words?”

***

I hope I haven't caused any deaths by ending there. It was kinda mean, but I did already admit to that. Looking forward to seeing your votes and opinion on the story! It was another long one...2,191 words...I think I'm starting to make them longer because I've been writing these paragraph sum-up of the fragment (so I know what's happening and don't have to moan and groan so much) and I keep including too much in them. :) Oh well, I don't think any of you mind. See you in two weeks and...

Merry Christmas everyone!

'Brace Yourself'

So...something happened that, a while ago, I wouldn't have ever expected. I've kept you all in suspense, although most of my followers already know, because they've seen me. I almost considered not doing a post just for a certain cousin of mine (yeah, Jessica, I'm talking about you...),  because I thought it would be funny to just turn up at Christmas time and freak her out. I did rather want to see her face when she saw me. But...just 'cause I'm nice, I didn't. 
Right, so to get right to the whole point of this post:

 I Have Glasses.

Okay, it all started with the projector at church. I'd been having trouble reading it and I eventually mentioned it to someone. This resulted in a frown and a few weeks later, an eye test. To use the exact words of the Eye-Doctor-person: "You are the best case for needing glasses that I've had today." (Sorry about that very generalised summary, I could go into more depth, but it's not much of an interesting tale.)

Yeah, so after that I had to choose frames for the glasses. Those who know me will also know that I really don't like making decisions. Really. And this wasn't just any decision, it was one that was going to stay around for quite a while. In the end I decided on a black frame, nice and simple, nothing fancy, just like me really (In case you didn't know, I have a strong distaste for most things fancy).

Last Tuesday they were ready so Daddy and I, along with my three littler siblings, went down to pick them up. When I put them on I just said, "Wow." I couldn't think of anything better to say. It truly is wow-ish. Driving back home I read out about every sign we passed just 'cause I could, and commenting on all the jacaranda trees, that are flowering now, had so many flowers! The trees have so many leaves, the grass is so...umm...grassy, my feet look really small, not to mention that I can't work out if the ground looks close or far away.

Sadly, Tuesday and Wednesday were all cloudy, but finally on Thursday the sky was clear. And at night I went outside to look at the stars. So cool. I thought I could see heaps of stars before. But now? Now I can see loads more. And they're not just random blobs of light, they're actually more like holes in the sky, opening up into some other realm full of adventures and fantasy.

Naturally my sister Clare, who is also a photographer, would not allow me to do a post without pictures. So we managed to find a sunny few minutes just before the sun set the other day and she took a few photos. 

Yep. Just a few (I know, it's amazing). As I said, it was only minutes until the sun set so I am still to be subjected to a more lengthy photo-shoot. But to look on the bright side: I don't even have to pay! Which is a good thing, because I've already spent all my money on Christmas presents. Two Christmas presents (Guess what! They were books!).
I didn't really have much money to start off with. Actually I still haven't earned the money to pay my Mum back. I'm doing that at the end of this month though, so it's all sorted. I still haven't had any inspiration as to what to give any of the rest of my family yet, but I'm working on it. 

Right, sorry, I'll get back to the point.

One sad thing is that I can't show other people how much difference the glasses make. Everything looks so amazing! But if I'd always been able to see this much I wouldn't think it was amazing, it'd just be normal. I think all my siblings have tried on my glasses, most thought things looked really over sharpened, but my almost-two-year-old little sister, Ann, didn't say. She just stared at me and then smeared her hands across the lenses so I had to clean them if I wanted to see anything other than smear. I wonder why she did that? (Sorry...sarcasm runs in the family.)

Basically I have to wear my glasses all the time unless I'm doing something that's close; like stuff on the computer, reading and school work. Apparently if I wear them while doing that kind of thing my eyes could get worse. And I'm already half-blind enough, so I'm fine with taking them off. :)

 So there we go. Now you know that I have glasses. To finish off this post I think a poem (written by Skilf, naturally) about my glasses would be fitting. She wrote this as if from my point of view, after I told her about my glasses. She seemed to find it rather amusing when I mentioned the church projector being the bane of my life, as you will notice...

‘The Bane of My Life’

Oh the bane of my life, the projector.

To glasses and short-sightedness lie,

Forever to squint, or glasses to wear,

For I have the myopic eye.

Pray, come near me not, my dear friends,

For catching, my case may well be,

And you do not want to have glasses,

All the bother and annoyance, trust me.

All the smudges and all of the dust specks,

All the smears and the random chap’s stare,

I haven’t decided, but they might just be worth it,

For all that they rather impair.

For now I can see, what astonishment!

An amazing occurrence, I’m sure.

Oh the stars in the sky are quite brilliant,

Of the trees and the land I see more.

So maybe, just maybe, I don’t mind much,

Does the benefit outweigh all the blight?

I am yet unsure, but I’ll say one thing;

Glasses ain’t that bad...well, not quite.

Fare Thee Well!

Dusty Red ~ Part 18/My 14th Birthday

Hey there readers! Here I am, a fourteen year old! I hope I didn't give anyone a heart attack when they read that I'd never do another post...Don't worry, I hope this instalment will cure all diseases or other afflictions I have placed on you. I had a great birthday, I got five books: The first 3 books of The Impossible Quest series by Kate Forsyth, 'heartless' and 'draven's light' two books in the Tales of Goldstone Wood by Anne Elisabeth Stengl. I've finished reading heartless and it was really, really, really, really (okay I think you get the point) good. You can read my Goodreads review here. 

I also got quite a lot of leather, some cool medieval looking ornamental key thingys, several music books, a Bel Thomson CD, and the promise of 24 thousand or so chain mail links so I can make a chain mail vest or something of the sort. I think I've forgotten something...Oh I've remembered two more things! The Boxtrolls movie and the corner of a brick. I got the brick from a cute four year old boy who apparently has a precious pet rock...I also got the coolest ever wooden (although it looks real) cutlass. (Yes, it was crafted by the Master Swordsmith. Thank you once again.) (I still think I've forgotten several things...)

I invited two families, so there was plenty of people, 21, I think, including us. After a really fun piñata that we whacked to bits with swords, we played a game (Of my invention) which I haven't named but it went something like this: There were 2 teams. My team had treasure which the other team wanted to find. To do this they had to capture us and try to get us to tell them where the treasure was. The other team succeeded quite quickly in catching my team and since some of us had played this a few times before someone knew how expert I was at escaping...so I got rather tied up. Nevertheless, I bargained some information on the treasure (which I thought would be completely useless) to get my legs slightly untied. After that I happily managed to slip out of the rest of the ropes tying me and run away.

See my really cool cutlass?

After a while of hiding I walked right up to the other team's base while they were all off treasure hunting. My companions had also managed to escape, and I decided that if I took all the rope no one would be able to tie us up! So I started untying rope from trees and chairs, and untangling it...Soon enough the other two members of my team came along and helped me.

And then one of the other team came along. After a while I decided to tie him up, since he seemed to want me to. I tied his hands nice and tightly in front of him (he was directing me how to do it (I did kinda already know) and assuring me it wasn't too tight.) and then, at an onlooker's urging, tied them above his head to the tree behind him. I decided to watch him try escape, and after taking his knife out of his pocket, I proceeded to do so. He got his feet out fairly quickly (note: I hadn't tied them up) but his hands presented a rather difficult problem...

For the next minutes it was very amusing to watch him try untie himself. His hand slowly began to change into a rather funny colour. I have no idea how long we were there for, but at the end several people estimated 20 minutes. I made a bargain with the prisoner that if he could get away, I'd give him the treasure. Sadly it turned out I couldn't do this as after a while his sister (who was also on his team) managed to find it, so it was no longer mine to give. Instead I promised him a piece of cake. (even if he was already going to get that.)

I was a very nice captor really, as I gave him back his knife so he could try cut the rope, but the knife was so blunt that it didn't work anyway.

He did untie the rope and get out eventually...but it took him a very long time.

When we went inside for cake he discovered that the whole time he'd had a pocket knife in his jacket pocket that was sharp enough to cut the rope...He wasn't too pleased that he'd forgotten it.

I had three relighting candles on my cake...I think it took me a whole minute to get all of them to stay out.

So it was a very fun day. I've forgotten to tell you half of my presents and about half of what we did but I'm sure you'll forgive me.

I'd best get to the point of the post: The story. Option three (Ice-cream) was voted in, so ice-cream it is! I must admit, what Flicks says (the, "Ice-cream. That's what I want: Ice-cream." bit.) is actually a quote from the 'Read With Me Bible' computer game that my sisters and I used to do ages ago. We can still quote half of it! :D I also decided that Flicks should fall asleep, as I don't think she's slept for...a long time....I couldn't be bothered to find out exactly how long. But now, to the story:

Two soldiers entered the room and at a gesture from Lord Cameron seized Flicks. The huge lord smiled mirthlessly, “Anything you’d like to say before they lock you up?”

Flicks sighed, “Ice-cream. That’s what I want: Ice-cream.”

“What?” Cameron’s eyebrows twisted in confusion and...Was that a tinge of horror? “Ice-cream?”

“Yeah,” Flicks said. “Ice-cream.”

“Ice-cream?” Lord Cameron said again.

Flicks looked at him, a bemused expression on her face. “Er...yes...Ice-cream...isn’t that what I just said?”

“But how do you know about Ice-cream?”

“Umm, I just...well...know about it. Is it not common knowledge?” Flicks replied. 

Lord Cameron looked around the room almost nervously, as if expecting someone to creep up on him at any moment. After a second or so he shook himself, “Anyway. Guards! Take her to her room and lock her up.” He snarled at Flicks. “Enjoy your time, Skilf.” He turned his back and rubbed his chin with one hand, deep in thought.

One guard coughed.

Lord Cameron turned around sharply. “You’re still here?”

“Er...Yes sir,” The guard on Flicks’ right said.

“I said ‘take her away’ did I not?”

“Yes sir, but...” the guard gathered up his courage. “She said ice-cream sir.”

“What do I care if she said ice-cream?!” the lord roared angrily. “Get out of my sight this instant!”

The guards almost dropped Flicks in their haste to exit the room, but remembered at the last moment that they were meant to be locking her up and so dragged her out with them.

Flicks quickly found herself staring at a sparsely furnished room behind a hastily slammed and bolted door. She shrugged and sat down on the bed, “I guess this must be Skilf’s room,” she murmured, looking at her reflection in the mirror on the opposite wall.

“I would guess so,” Fred said, disentangling herself from Flicks’ hair and half jumping, half gliding down onto the floor.

“Why do you think everyone was going weird with all the ice-cream business?” Flicks asked.

Fred twined her tail around the wooden leg of the bed. “I was going to ask what made you say something like that, but since you asked first, I’ll tell you my answer: Probably because it’s most people’s natural reaction when someone says the word ‘Ice-cream’,” Fred tilted her head to one side, surveying Flicks. “Do you even know what that word means?”

Flicks raised her eyebrows, “Umm, it means cold, creamy stuff that tastes really nice?”

The dragon’s jaw froze in the middle of a yawn and she stared at Flicks in half amazement. “Is that what you think Ice-cream is?”

“Yes,” Flicks said. “That’s the only Ice-cream I’ve ever heard of.”

“Ahhh, well I’ve no doubt you’ve probably got the right thing for the name, but the humans around here – including Skilf and Nainsi – say that Ice-cream is a powerfully magic word. It is apparently spoken when someone, generally the speaker, want to summon something. The stories vary, but usually what they summon isn’t very good for their enemies,” Fred finished speaking and jumped up onto the windowsill and looked out over the gloomy view.

Flicks blinked in surprise. “I had no idea,” she said, somewhat dazed.

“I’d guessed that halfway through the conversation,” Fred returned, curling her tail around her. This reminded Flicks distinctly of a cat, but she rather thought it better not to say so. She kept her mouth shut.

“So what do we do now?” Flicks asked several moments later.

Fred lifted her wings slightly in a dragon shrug. “I have no clue,” she replied. “Maybe Skilf or Larzik will come up with some kind of an idea.”

“Okay,” Flicks said, flopping backwards on the bed, lacing her fingers together under her head. 

-------------------------------------------

“Hey! Sleepy head!”

The shout accompanied with loud bangs jolted Flicks from the sleep she hadn’t realised she’d entered. She leapt up out of bed, but promptly falling face first on the floor as the sheets of the bed wrapped themselves around her legs.

After a minute or so of struggling, Flicks freed herself and stood, looking around the room.

“I believe I was correct in assuming that Skilf or Larzik would have an idea,” Fred said from the window.

Flicks turned to her and caught sight of a face peering through the glass. She hurried over to the window and flashed a relieved smile to Skilf, trying to work out how to open the window.

“Lift the latch and push,” Skilf said through the glass.

Flicks found the latch and did as she instructed. Skilf’s head dropped out of sight as the opening widow nearly swiped it off her shoulders.

Flicks leant over the frame. “You okay?” she asked.

Skilf, glared up at her, “What are you trying to do? Kill me?”

“Well you said—”

“I didn’t tell you to knock my head off!” Skilf interrupted.

Flicks couldn’t think up a good enough reply so she reached her hand down to pull Skilf up. Skilf glared at the hand suspiciously, “Are you planning on dropping me?”

“No, I am not,” Flicks replied. “Just let me pull you in.”

Skilf submitted, placing her hand in Flicks’. Soon she was inside her room, dusting off her hands.

Flicks raised an eyebrow. “Do you have a plan?”

Skilf twisted her mouth to one side. “A plan? Not as such, more of an inkling.”

“An inkling?”

“Aye,” Skilf said, walking over to a cupboard. “An inkling that while we’re here we may as well investigate.”

Flicks watched interestedly as Skilf headed to the door with a thin metal rod. She slid this between the door and the wall, then lifted it, pushing the door with her shoulder. It swung open and Skilf tossed the rod aside. “After you,” she said.

Flicks grinned and walked out the door. Skilf dropped the heavy wooden bar back in place and turned to her, “I think we’ll take a look around the next floor up first, that’s where my uncle does most stuff. And, you never know, maybe we’ll find nothing. It’d be a pleasant change.”

Flicks snorted. “It would that,” she returned and followed Skilf as she led the way along the hall.

The climbed the wide, winding staircase and Skilf pointed to a large ornate door. “That’s Lord Cameron’s office room, where he makes private meetings and agreements,” Skilf whispered.

The door was firmly closed but Skilf dropped silently to the ground and pressed her eye to the crack below the door. Flicks heard her faint intake of breath and only just managed to stop herself from pushing Skilf aside so she could look.

Skilf stood slowly, her face quite pale. “I don’t think this is good news,” she breathed.

Flicks frowned, “What is it? What’s in there?”

Skilf gestured wordlessly for her look take a look. Flicks did, and although it was difficult to see under the door, she could see enough. She couldn’t help agreeing with Skilf; this didn’t look like a pleasant change.

~

1. There were only two people in the room that Flicks could see: Lord Cameron, lounging back in a large, well-padded chair, and a regally dressed, dark haired man. Flicks guessed quite easily who he was.

2. Of the two people in the room, Lord Cameron was the only one clearly visible. All you could see of his companion was his boots, covered in fine, red dust. But that was quite enough for Flicks and Skilf to know who it was. 

3. Nainsi sat in clear view, her arms chained to her chair. Flicks’ eyes widened incredulously as she saw that Nainsi, as if oblivious to the chains, was calmly sipping a cup of steaming tea.

~

I spent a longer time than usual writing this so I hope it was worth it (I think it was). I was completely out of options in my brain after writing two but then I suddenly got an idea, and personally, it's my favourite. (Don't let that make you think option 3 is my favourite, although it could be, I often think up the options in a very random order...) I'm looking forward to all your comments!

Fare Thee Well!

Ranger's Apprentice Prequel: The Tournament at Gorlan

Everyone celebrate!(Here is the sounds of great cheering and clapping and celebrations in general) There is a Ranger's Apprentice Prequel! The publish date is the 6th of October this year. And there is (finally) an Australian cover, although no doubt it in still under going several changes before the actual publishing...And here it is! I reveal to you, The Tournament at Gorlan, Book one of the Ranger's Apprentice The Early Years series.

"Before they became the most famous Ranger in the land and the hard-working Ranger Commandant, Halt and Crowley were young friends determined to change the world. 

The scheming Baron Morgarath is drawing other power-hungry knights and barons to his banner. King Oswald is wasting away and, if gossip can be believed, Prince Duncan is causing havoc in the north. 

Halt and Crowley set out to find the prince, uncover the truth, and re-form the weakened Ranger Corps. Once-loyal Rangers are scattered across the country, and it will take determination, skill, and leadership if they're to come together as one. Can the Rangers regain the trust of the Kingdom, or will the cunning Morgarath outwit them at every turn?"

I found the cover at the 'Random House Australia' site....I must say I'm quite pleased with myself for actually finding it! The web master must be a sneaky kind of person...(But I'm even sneakier!)

I've heard that there is going to be at least two books in the series. What's more I heard from a reliable source: the back of Scorpion Mountain, the latest Brotherband book.

I've been watching this since...umm..about early March...And now my waiting pays off. (I really should stop finding these things so early on, it would require less waiting then, but...I just can't help myself.)

The American cover has been out for a while but now the Aussie's is out! And I reckon it looks much cooler, although I am wondering who it is, he must be one of Baron Morgarath's men because he's got the lightning insignia on the shield. I guess it could even be Morgarath himself...(Dramatic and evil music plays here.)

If you're as excited as I am you'll be wanting to read some...and you can, you'll find an exert Here. Clare did already link to that in Her blog post, but you can always read it again! Who wouldn't want to read about Halt being gloomy?!

I really enjoy these books. They're not hard to understand or anything and the random bits of humour are quite...well...humorous. I really recommend them to anyone who hasn't read them. Warning: These are the books that made me like I am now, crazy in some people's view. But just forget about that, who cares anyway?!

Only 91 days left....

Fare Thee Well! (I actually got that from a Ranger's Apprentice book, from a song...About Greybeard Halt)

Useless Inventions and Random Fangirling

“A monkey glances up and sees a banana, and that's as far as he looks. A visionary looks up and sees the moon.” Victor said.

Conor smirked, “Which resembles a giant banana” ~ Airman.

In my latest Dusty Red post (part 11), I mentioned that I'd recently finished reading Airman by Eoin Colfer. Here is the promised post, including one or two random bits and pieces. But first, the cover of the book and the synopsis...

"Conor Broekhart was born to fly. Or, more accurately, he was born flying. Little wonder he became what he became. In an age of discovery and invention, many dreamed of flying, but for Conor, flight was more than just a dream, it was his destiny. 

In one dark night on the island of Great Saltee, a cruel and cunning betrayal destroyed his life and stole his future. Now Conor must win the race for flight, to save his family and to right a terrible wrong..."

Doesn't it sound cool? And I reckon the cover's interesting too. You (yes that means you) should really read this book, it's great book. And now to tell you about the invention.

I decided that making a flying machine would be too difficult so I decided to try something else....a "Mysterious winged 'A'", as it is called in the book. See the big 'A' thingy in the picture? Not the one at the beginning of the word 'Airman' but the 'A' above the 'M'. That's what I made. Using tie wire, paper, scissors, glue, pliers and (of course) myself.

First I used the pliers and my fingers to bend the wire into an A shape (extremely difficult). I'd aimed to make the A slightly bigger than it is in real life on the cover of the book, but that kind of failed as I hadn't cut myself a big enough piece of wire so the 'wings' of the A were...not so good (or long) to put it lightly.

For my second attempt (I was very committed to this) I got a nice long bit of wire and also decided to make the A smaller. I'd made the top corner and one side, but when I went to do the other side I squeezed the wire a little too hard and it snapped. Typical.

Then I used what was previously going to be a 'wing' and tried again. Attempt number 3. This time I was very careful not to snap the wire. And after a lot of twisting, bending, muttering and hoping, I did it! And it actually didn't look too bad.

But that was only the first part.

I then printed out an A like in the picture above and used the scissors to cut it out. Then I used bucket loads of glue (perhaps that's a slight exaggeration, but I did use more than I needed too) and glued the paper to the wire. After that I accidentally shoved the 2nd attempt other bit of leftover wire up my thumbnail (not a smart move), and so I decided to go inside and wash all the blood off my finger.

So that's how I made the random-and-completely-useless-but-cool invention (sadly I have no photos, but you can trust me. It looks cool.). I'm not entirely sure what to do with it now...but it was fun making it. I think I'm currently getting just a little obsessed with Airman. Oh well, who cares?

I think I may have run out of things to say, but I'll conclude with several quotes and adding one last time, "You should seriously read this book!" And if you find the quotes slightly confusing go read the book and you will understand everything.

“Don’t feel bad; I regularly reduce people to unintelligible stammers.” ~ Victor Vingy

“Conor, I could search the world for another swashbuckling scientist, but I doubt if I would find one like you.” ~ Isabella

“Other men look up and down, left and right; but men like us are different. We are visionaries.” ~ Linus Wynter

~ Jane, Misty Maiden