The Secret Adventures of WriterGirl

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): Banquine by Cirque Du Soliel [Journey of Man soundtrack].







So as you've probably noticed, I've been kind of absent of late (and if you haven't, great! All the better. Keep not noticing). Here's the low down: I am editing my novel as furiously as I my smallish can't-reach-the-fourth-finger-on-the-viola-to-save-my-life fingers can blitz out. What that means is that I am inside my head a lot working out the details of the world, copying and pasting scenes, deleting scenes, rewriting or writing completely new scenes to fill in the gaps of the deleted scenes. And making a cool map*. And what THAT means is that I have less time for blogging, but only temporarily. Like literally, maybe a couple of weeks (I'm hoping less). Three max. I will still be doing Feature Fun Friday, because I don't want this blog to feel like a ghost town (ghost blog?), and besides, who doesn't love internet videos? :)

But the less I am thinking about other things like blogging, food, sleep, showering, etc., the more I can craft and hone this novel to the best it can be. And that means querying. And that means hopefully a very good book in your hands soon. So, do you think you can stick with me for a little bit longer with radio silence? Then I can come back and we can jiggy it down all night. And probably host some kind of cool contest to celebrate.





Until then, so you don't notice I am gone at all, I am going to distract you with... BABY ANIMALS**!










































































*I'm kidding about the map part. I hope. It hadn't occured to me until now. New ideas are always a dangerous thing with me.

**Because nothing says love and internet affection like baby animals. ^_^

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): Liz on Top of the World by Dario Marianelli [Pride and Prejudice soundtrack].






Awesome introductory video to the adorable, narwhal-loving Victoria Schwab, author of THE NEAR WITCH (which I've heard is creepy and all number of fantastic things. Can't wait to get my hands on it). So if you watch this, you know, you could pretend you were there, like, at the genesis of it all of her greatness. Just a thought. Have a great weekend everyone!

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): Outside the City by Young Galaxy.



The idea of Monday's Muse is to introduce you to unknown, forgotten, or overlooked fiction that has been lost from regular radar. I am WriterGirl. I am in the business of saving lives, one book at a time.

What I do is go to amazon, narrow it down to a YA field and type in a random word, any word that comes to mind. I then take a sampling of some I have never heard of before, or only vaguely heard of (and hopefully you as well). No infringement is intended for any description I take for the books. It's purely for promotional reasons. I will try and cover as many genres as possible that are fitting for the random word. Simple but it really uncovers some incredible gems. I will be doing this every other Monday. If there are any words you want to prompt me with, go ahead and fire away.

The Shield Ring by Rosemary Sutcliff.

The story takes place in England shortly after the Norman Conquest. High up among the mountains of the Lake District is a secret valley where the Northmen (Vikings) have their last stronghold - or shield ring. The Normans want to crush this last group of Northmen and bring the whole country under their control. To this end they build a castle in Carlisle and send an army north.

Life goes on in the valley: lambing, shearing, spinning, harvesting, and singing and storytelling in the great hall in the evenings - as narrated by two young people. Frytha is a Saxon girl, who fled to the valley after the Normans burnt her home, and Bjorn, the Bear-Cub, is the foster son of the old harper.

As the people of the shield ring go about their lives, they stay ready for a Norman attack. Bjorn's foster father teaches him to play the Sweet-singer, a special harp that the old harper owns, and despite Bjorn's enthusiasm, a secret fear burns inside the boy: if the Normans capture Bjorn, he may succumb to torture and reveal the path to the hidden valley.

When the Northmen need to scout the extent of the Norman army, Bjorn volunteers: he speaks enough Norman to get by and a harper can go anywhere. The young man sets out for the Norman camp, not knowing that Frytha, an ally, follows him. He does know that if the Normans discover his espionage, though, he will be tortured, and his secret fear from childhood may become a reality.



Immortal by Gillian Shields.

Sensible Evie Johnson arrives alone to face her new life at the Wyldcliffe Abbey School for Young Ladies. Raised by her beloved grandmother, Evie never wanted to attend boarding school, especially one for spoiled rich girls. But Frankie has fallen gravely ill and Evie's father is away in military service, so off to Wyldcliffe she goes. It is as horrible as Evie suspected it would be. The girls mistreat her, the headmistress is a nightmare, and she keeps seeing a girl who looks just like her. Evie's only joy comes from her budding romance with elusive Sebastian, who tells her that he lives near the school. Why will he only meet her at night? What does he know about the mysteries surrounding the school? And who is that shadowy girl? Billed as the first in a paranormal romance series, this lightweight story is filled with romance, mystery, and suspense. The moors provide plenty of atmosphere and Wyldcliffe Abbey and its teachers are downright spooky.–Sharon Grover, Hedberg Public Library, Janesville, WI, School Library Journal.



Shield of Fire by Alice Leader.

A powerful historical adventure set in ancient Greece. Nyresa is forced to leave her island home when the Persians threaten to invade. As she starts a new life in the hustle and bustle of Athens, she begins to make new friends - and finds herself sucked into a dangerous new world of subterfuge, lies and treason. With her beautiful cousin Rhode and a young soldier called Cherson, she uncovers a plot to betray Athens to the Persian army - and as the two armies build up to an unforgettable battle at Marathon, the fate of Athens is in the hands of a 12-year-old girl.



Ben and Gran and the Whole, Wide, Wonderful World by Gillian Shields.

Ben's favourite person in the whole, wide world is Gran, and Gran's favourite person is Ben. There is only one problem - they live a whole, wide world apart. Now Gran is coming to visit. But with rocky rivers, scorching deserts and seasick cats to contend with, will she ever reach Ben's in time for tea? The split page design allows children to follow Gran's amazing journey at the same time as watching Ben busy making his preparations for her visit.



Viking Warrior: Book 1 of the Strongbow Saga by Judson Roberts.

In 9th century Denmark, a child born to a slave is also a slave, and the property of his mother’s master. Halfdan, the son of an Irish noblewoman and the Danish chieftain who captured and enslaved her, has grown up a slave in his own father’s household. But the Norns, the weavers of the fates of all men, have different plans for him, although rarely do they give a gift without exacting a price. The Strongbow Saga is an epic tale of one man’s unstoppable quest for justice and vengeance that carries him across the 9th century world of the Vikings. In Viking Warrior, book one of the Saga, a cruel twist of fate both robs Halfdan of the mother he loves and frees him, setting him upon the path to a new destiny. But a brutal act of treachery and murder upends Halfdan’s new life, sending him on the run with ruthless hunters hot on his trail.

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): Ghost Story by Sting.





I will let my superman-like self be my own introduction this time around. It was - fantastic, like a dream and something very visceral. If you ever get the chance, I would highly recommend it. There's nothing quite like flying.

Current Theme Song (aka what's playing on my ipod right now): Regarding the Incredibly Deadly Viper by Thomas Newman [A Series of Unfortunate Events Soundtrack].






You guessed it - AGAIN. You guys are way too cool and world savvy for my wiley ways. This one was a great adventure and one heck of a wild ride. I loved it.


I've always wanted to go skydiving. Don't ask me why, but the "fear of heights" gene was never properly installed in me. In fact, I've been literally pulled away from gulleys, backyard porches and cliff faces by friends and family members who were freaking out sufficiently on my behalf that they could not restrain themselves (imagine me blinking, totally (and genuinely) innocent as to why on earth all the color had drained from their faces). The only scary part about skydiving might be the actual act of throwing myself from an airplane. I can imagine a few gut wrenching stomach drop muscle spasms there--but in a good way. It's like the first drop off of a really good roller coaster. ^_^ (Yes, I may very well be a closet adrenaline junkie. I even like turbulence - so long as it is not inside a heavy thunderstorm in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with no islands in sight. *shudder*). Buuuutttt... skydiving is kind of expensive. And you have to go tandem the first time *grumbles* So there is this place called iFly.


It is a gigantic wind tunnel where stunt skydivers (even teams) can practice aerial acrobatics for performances, or just because it is oh so cool. Lucky for me, they also let the wee amateurs in.

So my family and I got all geared up, suited up, and hair properly stuffed into helmets. That was amsuing. I'm pretty sure the hot guy behind the counter was laughing behind his friendly smile the entire time I was wrapping my hair around my pony tail and trying to keep all the stray pieces in before sucking my hands out. Let's just say those helmets were a tight squeeze.


The chamber was supercool. It's all plexiglass so you get to see every toss and tumble and move of awesome that was made. They even had mini bleachers just for regular people to watch (or the ones waiting in line. It was consistently busy there). I saw what looked like netting, the rope kind you see in playgrounds or jungle-gym parks, but it turned out it was a wire mesh that kept us from falling to our doom in case the wind got too low.




I'm totally kidding about that, by the way.




In fact, I couldn't even see the fan generating the air. But it was a long way down, at least twenty-thirty feet I'd say, and that was just meeting up to the mesh. There was at least another good twenty to thirty feet above us as well. And let me tell you, that was A LOT of air. But I am getting ahead of myself.


First came the orientation with the standard silly video with the over-smiling people. Cue practice round where demonstrated we'd been paying attention by responding to the visual hand signals because it is so loud in there you cannot talk. Earplugs were a part of the standard equipment. Then came the actual chamber.


There were about twelve people in our group, another family paired with ours, so we had to wait in line as we scooted our bottoms along the bench toward the open plexiglass doorway. But that only added to the excitement because you got to see each person try and get the proper balance and you just knew you were going to be a thousand times better. By the time it got to me, I was practally ready to leap into the tunnel. You have to, actually. Kind of like you're pretending you're superman. Which is totally okay with me, considering we're about to fly. :)


It is WINDY. Obvious, but still valid. All of my clothes whipped around me, showing my skinny form. And my hair? The one I so tightly wound up into that helmet and made hot guy laugh on the inside? Yeah, totally came out through the one tiny hole in the helmet.


This tunnel can go up to 160 miles an hour. It. Was. AWESOME! I never felt like I was falling. It felt instead like a cushion of air was pushing me up the entire time, which in fact, it was, but this is supposed to mimic actual skydiving. Otherwise the real skydivers would never train in it. This was also confirmed to me by other members in my family who actually hate that gut-surging feeling in your stomach when you fall. Crazies.


We only had two minutes in there but it went by so fast. I couldn't stop smiling the entire time, which resulted unexpectedly with a completely dry mouth because of all the air rushing past. (This is why I love doing hands-on research. There are details that are so specific and real that you would never think of unless you are there).





The second round was even better.






But I'm not going to say why. Not yet.






Because while we weren't allowed to take cameras into the chamber for obvious reasons (wind + small, slightly heavy object + heads = bad idea) we were able to get video of it from a safe chamber where they did the controls for a small nominal price. Guess who totally bought one? :)


So look for it for this week's Feature Fun Friday!


All in all it was absolutely fantastic and I would throw myself into that chamber again in a heartbeat. Which I may just have to do, once my bank account can get its breath back. :)