Never Have I Ever: Book Edition + The Bookworm's Tag

Since these two tags seem very similar to each other, I decided to do a double tag post. 

For the first tag: Never Have I Ever: Book Edition, I was tagged by Annika at Annika Larraine, thank you so much, Annika, this tag looks so fun. 😄

The rules- 

 -Link back to the original creator: Madame Writer

-Link back to the person who tagged you

 -Answer all prompts

-Add one more prompt of your own

-Tag at least five people

-Don’t lie!

-Have fun!

The questions-

Never have I ever: Read a Later book in the series first.

Actually I have, a couple times. I did it either without realizing it or because the book in the series was the one I bought, and I wanted to see if it I liked before I read the first book. 

Never have I ever: Burned a book.

Never, and never want to...Poor books! Plus, there are so many negative connotations behind burning books. So I don't know why anyone would think it would be a good thing to do. (I mean it's usually related to censorship, and I really don't like censorship). 

Never have I ever: gone into a shop to buy one book but came out with many.

Yes! That happens a lot. 

Never have I ever: loved a book when I was younger but hated it when I was older. 

I haven't really had this happen as much. I have had books that I don't like as much now that I'm older, but I've never outright hated a book. 

                      Never have I ever: read a book I knew I’d hate.

(Image from Goodreads, https://www.goodreads.com/book/photo/41865.Twilight)

Yes, I've done this with... Twilight. A lot of people around me liked it. I knew I wouldn't really like it if I read it. I tried reading it but never finished it. I couldn't relate to Bella or Edward, and I didn't want either of them to get together. I also really didn't like Meyer's version of the vampire. Give me a vampire that isn't super strong and sparkly but is scary instead!

Never have I ever: wrote a fan fiction about my favorite book.

Yes I have actually. It was in comic form (made on Pixton), but it was still a fanfic. 

Basically it was a fanfic of Percy Jackson but with my original characters: 

Here are a few of the characters I made.
(Also please excuse the spelling errors. I made this comic before I started editing my writing). 

While I wouldn't call Percy Jackson one of my all time favorite books, it was at least a book series I really like, though there are some critiques I do have of it now. 

Never have I ever: dressed up as my favorite literary character.

I have multiple times, usually for Halloween, though more recently I dressed up as Sherlock Holmes for a monologue (that I filmed and posted). And I dressed up as Victor Frankenstein for a comedy sketch scene. 

Never have I ever: hated a book by an author I love.

Yes, it is unfortunate when it happens. 

Never have I ever: skim read a book.

Accidentally I have, but yes. Usually after I do that, I go back reread and annotate. 

Never have I ever: pretended to read a book I haven't.

I don't think I have. 

I know I shouldn't do this, but sometimes I have strong opinions about a book even though I haven't read it. I can get into trouble in conversations with people who like the book...I should probably read the books before I critique them. 

Never have I ever: read a book without the dust cover.

Yes I have, a couple times. 

Never have I ever: had a book boyfriend/girlfriend.

Yes, I think the reason why I did it was because everyone else my age had or has a boyfriend. (I actually don't want a boyfriend, at all.) I found that I felt of left out of conversations with friends. So, I would just say, "Legolas is my boyfriend" or "Raoul from The Phantom of the Opera is my boyfriend," just so I could feel included in the conversation. Side note, you have no idea how many silly arguments arise out of saying a fictional character is your boyfriend, partly because someone else then wants the fictional character as their boyfriend. 

Never have I ever: picked up a book based on the cover alone.

A couple times, some with good outcomes others with not so good outcomes...

One bad outcome in particular was Matilda Bone. I thought the book seemed like it may be good based on the cover...And then I read it, and it turned out not to be. 

Never have I ever: read the end of the book before the beginning.

No, I try never to do that. However, I do sometimes have to read summaries of books (classic books) in order not to feel lost when reading. 

Never have I ever: read a history or anthropology book for fun.

All the time, and while this isn't a book, I am listening to a history podcast about Chinese history for fun. 

Never have I ever: participated in a readathon.

No, but I want to. But I am a slow reader, so I'm not sure I could. 

Never have I ever: bought multiple books in a series before reading it.

I have, actually. I have a lot of Heroes of Olympus books on my shelf that I still need to read...

Never have I ever: written in a book.

Yes, I annotate in them, that's one of the ways I stay focused while reading. 

Never have I ever: filled up an entire bookshelf and have to have stacks of books balanced precariously throughout different rooms.

Yes...That happens a lot, more in my bedroom, and less in different rooms around the house. 

Never have I ever: loved a book most people don't like. (Annika's question) 

  

Yes, but it depends on which friend group I am in. I have been in groups who love the said book, and I have been in groups who loathe the said book with a burning passion. 

One incident in particular happened with a book I really love, Frankenstein. I was in a group who loved the book, and then I was in a group who had to read it for school, so didn't like it at all. 

And my question: Never Have I Ever: Liked the movie adaptation of a book more than the original book. 

I tag: 

Elizabeth 

Sadie 

Skye 

Victoria 

MiddleEarthMusician 

Bailey

The questions + my own question (for copy and pasting purposes):

• Never have I ever: Read a Later book in the series first.
• Never have I ever: Burned a book.
• Never have I ever: gone into a shop to buy one book but came out with many.
• Never have I ever: loved a book when I was younger but hated it when I was older. 
•  Never have I ever: read a book I knew I’d hate.
• Never have I ever: wrote a fan fiction about my favorite book.
• Never have I ever: dressed up as my favorite literary character.
• Never have I ever: hated a book by an author I love.
• Never have I ever: pretended to read a book I haven't.
• Never have I ever: skim read a book.
• Never have I ever: read a book without the dust cover.
• Never have I ever: had a book boyfriend/girlfriend.
• Never have I ever: picked up a book based on the cover alone.
• Never have I ever: read the end of the book before the beginning.
• Never have I ever: read a history or anthropology book for fun.
• Never have I ever: participated in a readathon.
• Never have I ever: bought multiple books in a series before reading it.
• Never have I ever: written in a book.
• Never have I ever: filled up an entire bookshelf and have to have stacks of books balanced precariously throughout different rooms.
• My question: Never Have I Ever: Liked the movie adaptation of a book more than the original book. 

And here is the second tag: I was tagged by Victoria at Soli Deo Gloria. Thank you so much, Victoria! 

                                                                    The Logo: 

The Rules

Thank and link to the blogger who nominated you. 

Include the tag graphic in your post! 

Answer the ten questions the blogger asked. 

Nominate five to 10 bloggers. 

Ask your nominees ten book-related questions!

Don't feel obligated by these rules. 

(Most importantly) Have fun! 

The questions: 

Which book have you read that you wish you had written?

That's a hard question. You see, I don't exactly wish I had written someone else's book (because I feel like that would be stealing). I wish that I was around the time when, for example, epic poetry was being written, so I could write an epic poem, not someone else's epic poem, but my own epic poem. 

And I've also wished I could write like Oscar Wilde, Edgar Allan Poe, Washington Irving and Mary Shelley at different points. But I've never wanted to have written their work. (Unless in writing their work, I could add elements/tropes that show up in my writing? But on the other hand...Would that really benefit their fiction by doing that...?? It helps mine and strengthens mine, but would it work for theirs??) 

Anyway, despite my long ramble about that, I'm just going to choose two books off the top of my head to answer this question with: Frankenstein and The Picture of Dorian Gray are books I would have wanted to have written. 

What is your favorite classic?

Usually I would answer this with a Gothic book from the 18th or 19th century, but I am going to answer it differently this time... 

(Images from Goodreads, here and here) 

So, two of my favorite (classic) epic poems are The Journey to the West and The Odyssey. I started (and am still reading) The Journey to the West. I really like the religious elements (mainly Buddhist religious elements, since the protagonists are Buddhist monks, but there are mentions of other religions too). And I also like Sun Wukong. He is one of the main reasons I really like this book. 

For the Odyssey, I really enjoy it, because I love Greek mythology, and I like how the gods influence the plot and help or stop Odysseus in getting home.

What is one book you want to see made into a movie?

So, I have several books that I want to see made into movies (really, books I would like to make into movies myself). Most of them are classics, but there is a book I wish they would make into a movie, which is... 

      (Image from Goodreads, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/613866.Igraine_the_Brave?                                                  ac=1&from_search=true&qid=EIZ7XQHJun&rank=1) 

Igraine the Brave by Cornelia Funke. A movie was made of Inkheart, so I really want there to be a movie for Igraine the Brave. However, I want to be the one to make the movie, since for a screenwriting class I took, I decided to turn the book Igraine the Brave into a script for a movie. 

If you had to burn any book on your bookshelf which one would it be? (I know, I'm so mean.) XD

I am thoroughly against the idea of burning books, because it is often linked to censorship (which is very harmful).  I know I've said that before, but it's important...Also, why are these questions so obsessed with book burning?? 

But...Let's say I had to burn a book for whatever reason because something horrible would happen if I didn't...

                                                                       (Images from Goodreads, here and here). 

I would burn either Matilda Bone or Tuck Everlasting. Both of these books I despised (and I am not over extracting), since I really disliked the protagonists in both these books and wasn't rooting for them. 

In Winnie's case, I was begging her to leave the Tucks (and to stop flirting with a boy who is older than her). And in Matilda's case I was groaning about her being so judgmental and prejudiced. 

Anyway, if I met either of these characters I would not be friends with them. 

Which book inspired your love for reading?

(Image from Goodreads, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5907.The_Hobbit_or_There_and_Back_Again)

So, the first novel that I read after I learned to read was The Hobbit, which then inspired me to read Lord of the Rings, and then after that inspired me to read other long books (like The Odyssey).

Would you rather spend a day with the author of your favorite book or spend three hours with the main character in your favorite book?

I would spend three hours with the main character from my favorite book, though spending time with the author would be fun too. I feel like getting to meet the main character would be so neat. 

What is one book you have re-read before?

(Image from Goodreads, https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35031085-frankenstein?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=AW4g6jfpO8&rank=1)

So, I tend to reread a lot of books. As it turns out, if I like a book I will likely reread it more than once. But I will go with Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. I have reread it at least twice, since it is one of my many favorite books. (Actually, I probably have read it three times, but I am not entirely sure...) 

Which book brings back the most childhood memories?

Okay, so there are several books that bring back childhood memories for me. (I could make a long list of all the books.) But I am going to go with a different answer than I would normally for this and say... 

(Images from Goodreads, here and here) 

Holly the Christmas Fairy and The Faraway Tree. I loved both these books. I loved the character of Holly in Holly the Christmas Fairy. (They should really write more books with her. I'd read them.) And in The Faraway Tree, I really enjoyed the adventures the children had in the different worlds that come to the  tree. 

What is your favorite romance trope?

I don't tend to like romance alone as a genre. That is, I wouldn't usually seek out books that are just romance (though there are exceptions to that), so I prefer it as a subplot in a story. 

But...my favorite has to be the trope of Forbidden Love. For some reason it shows up a lot in my writing, and I have no idea why. But given that I like writing it, I also like reading it...depending on how well it is done of course. 

Audiobooks or no audiobooks?

(Technically Arcasia (the blog's mascot) could not listen to an audiobook, since those things don't exist in her world. (Unless you count people performing epic poems, but that isn't the same.) But since I have no recognizable characters from the modern world, I decided to just go with it). 

Audiobooks for sure. This is because I like the idea of someone telling a story to me. It's just so relaxing. So, when I'm tired, I find them easier to read than normal books. 

I tag: 

Galatea at Blooming Elephant 

Gauri at Brighter Alleys 

Elena at Life is a Beautiful Ride  

Hailey at The Girl Behind the Camera 

McKayla at Tales of a Triple Threat 

Artemis Crescent at Artemis Crescent 

Annika at Annika Larraine 

My questions:

1. What's your favorite sub-genre of Fantasy? And why? 

2.  What is your favorite book series? And why? 

3. Who is your favorite fictional character and who is your least favorite fictional character?

4. Would you rather get stuck in the world of your favorite book and not be able to return to the real world or you're in the real world but you're stuck permanently in the body of your favorite character? 

5. What's your favorite genre of books to read? And what's your favorite book from that genre? 

6. What's your favorite Fantasy trope? And why is it your favorite trope? 

7. Do you have a favorite myth or fairy tale? If so what is it? 

8. What is your favorite novel? And what is the opening line of that novel? 

9. What types of bookmarks do you use? Random pieces of paper, hand-made bookmarks, or something else? 

10. Do you write annotations in your books? Why or why not? 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Have you ever written a fanfic about your favorite book/book series? And do you have a favorite romance trope? 

-Quinley 

My NaNoWrimo Novel 2021: The Mystery of the Body Thief (+ P.1 of the Q&A)

                                                   

                                                  Greetings Adventurers! 

I am participating in NaNoWrimo this November, in order to work on the second draft of my novel, The Mystery of the Body Thief.  And if you want, you can check out my most recent post about my novel here, given that this post will be answering questions about it. 

Also, thank you everyone for sending in and posting questions for the Q&A about my novel. I won't be able to answer all the questions in this post, but there will be a second part of the Q&A, so if you didn't post a question and want to, you still can. Or, if not all your questions got answered or none of your questions got answered they will be answered in the next part. Also, thank you for Fifty-six followers! 

                                    Synopsis- 

Genre: Fantasy | Murder Mystery  Series: The 1st book in the Lady Annabelle Mystery Series. 

Horatio wakes up from being in a coma, but he doesn't remember anything that happened before he fell into unconsciousness. All that he remembers is a name, "Annabelle!" 

Also... Detective Inspector Time finds himself having to solve a case without Lady Annabelle. Murders have been happening throughout many different kingdoms, and no one knows who exactly is behind it all. 

               My Plans for NaNoWrimo This Year 

I plan to continue world-building, editing, and rewriting my novel from where I left off. Originally when I was editing, I edited the story in its chronological order. But then I decided to rewrite it out of order, so I could spend some time on the scenes (and sections) I had skipped during the first draft. 

I might add that when I was first drafting the story, I skipped some sections. Most of them were scenes I had trouble writing and/or didn't feel like writing at the moment. But in the second draft, I get to focus on those scenes and flesh them out. 

I've also found that the scenes I skipped writing required me to have experiences that I didn't have at the time but have now. It wasn't until the second draft that I realized I was unconsciously writing about experiences from my own life, and why I had to process those experiences before getting them right....It's interesting how writing does that sometimes. 

Also, in the second draft, I finally realized what message I wanted to communicate through my story. Neil Gaiman actually said something similar about this in his writing of The Graveyard Book: "It was then, only then, that I saw clearly what I was writing...."  He "had set out to write a book about a childhood-- it was Bod's childhood, and it was in a graveyard, but still, it was a childhood like any other; I was now writing about being a parent..." (The Newberry acceptance speech, part five, the Graveyard book) I realize that I am doing a similar thing now, in my story, and that there are some elements I need to tweak in order to get the message through. 

In terms of world-building, I have made some progress, and I understand the world better. And it has also helped me understand the characters. When I first started writing, I didn't know Ophelia was going to be a healer and a priestess. I first knew she was a healer, but over time I soon figured out what it meant to be a healer and priestess in her world and that some priestesses are healers. (Not all priestesses are healers, but a certain type of them are.) 

So, during this NaNoWrimo, I plan to expand more on world-building and look back on the document where I wrote random ideas I had about the world during Camp NaNoWrimo. I want to see if I can expand on them and flesh them out.  

                             Q & A

And now for the questions from you, the readers, about my novel, The Mystery of the Body Thief. 

                                       Question from Elizabeth Knight: 

I'm intrigued about what the "body thief" could possibly be, but I have a different question in mind so as not to spoil the book for me: what, if any, kinds of magic are there in the book, and what form does it take?

Ophelia (left) and Vonivera (right), using their powers

There are three different types of magic in the world of The Lady Annabelle Mysteries Series: there is magic given at birth which is usually seen in fairies (though it is seen in other creatures too, like dragons), magic that can be learned (in this particular world you have to become a devotee to a god/goddess in order to learn it), and magical objects (which can be in mirrors, wands, etc.) 

There are also very different uses for magic: some magic is used for healing in the world, other magic is used for harm (or to kill), and magic can also be used to solve cases by the detectives in the world. 

In the religious beliefs of the elves, magic was given to the world by the gods. (Other magic came to the world through pure trickery.) I am also working on a post in my Look Into a World series on this blog, which I plan to post sometime soon. It talks more in depth about how the magic in this world came to be. 

                         Questions from Elena Denver at A Handful of Stories: 

     Hi Quinley, I was wondering about Horatio’s personality. Is he quiet and shy? Humble and Gentle, a bit prideful or outgoing? Or just friendly and creative?

Horatio is a bit timid (partly because he doesn't have many friends, and many servants in the castle do not like him), curious, and friendly, as well as being outgoing. If there is something dangerous or mysterious happening, he is willing to get involved in it. (However, he doesn't always know why he is so quick to do that: it seems almost like he does it instinctively or impulsively.) 

Horatio also seems not to understand parts of himself, like how he behaves certain ways at certain times. This is partly due to the fact that he has amnesia and doesn't remember his past. So elements about himself seem strange to him that wouldn't otherwise be strange if he remembered his past. 

                                                  Where’s the setting of your story?

(Image from Wiki Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Paul_Sandby_-_Bothwell_Castle,_from_the_South_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg)

The story is set in a Fantasy world. But most of the action in the first half takes place in Dragon's Province, in the castle of Lord Oberon, where Horatio is a servant. 

But the setting also extends to the town in Dragon's Province, where events happen such as plays, festivals, and religious gatherings. At different points in the story, Horatio visits the town for different reasons. In particular, he visits the police department. 

(Image from Wiki Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tavern_Scene-1658-David_Teniers_II.jpg)

And though this isn't exactly a single place, the characters do visit several taverns (and sometimes taverns that are also inns). I have felt like taverns are also part of the setting of the story. Taverns can be a dramatic setting in the story, since characters often fear being watched by others. Other characters either meet in a tavern (in some cases) or go there to talk when their work is done.  (And I may have been also slightly influenced by D&D and Lord of the Rings with the taverns that show up in my story). 

You can also listen it to here

One thing I think I should add is that I've been listening to this particular complication of music whenever I write a tavern scene. Though it isn't exactly about the setting in my story, I thought by sharing it I could give you an idea of the atmosphere of the taverns in Annabelle's world.

                                  Questions from Greg at Book Haven 

Ooh my first question is- who is Annabelle? Kinda obvious I know lol, but she seems to be key.

Annabelle in her wedding dress. 

Lady Annabelle is a half elf princess who worked as a detective before she (like Horatio) was in a coma. But unlike him, she hasn't awakened yet. She is also the main character in the series. (Though Horatio is taking the spotlight for a short time in this one book, the next book will go back to Annabelle.) She started working as a detective after a murder took place in the castle, and though her father is very against it (because he worries about her safety), she continues to solve cases anyway. 

However, her connection to Horatio is unclear. Horatio isn't sure how she and him knew each other -- whether they were friends...or something else entirely -- but at the moment, he believes they were at least friends or acquaintances (given that he has memories of her). But I can't say anything else about that...because of spoilers. 

So, I hope that answers your question. Also, I have created a profile for Annabelle on this blog, so if you want you can check out her character sheet here. 

Inspector Time- I'm wondering if his name means anything (like time travel or something) or if that's just his name? 

Naming wise, When I first created the character, his name was going to be Detective Inspector Thyme, but since I was pretty young when I named the character and had taken the name from the cozy murder mystery TV show, Rosemary and Thyme, I thought the name "Thyme" was Time not Thyme, so I ended up naming him Detective Inspector Time. But since it worked, I decided not to change it. 

Character-wise, D.I. Time changed his last name, because he wanted to. His family had had a different last name, but since he wanted his name to be memorable he decided to change it to Time. (This may or may not have been after he got his magic). His extended family though is not very happy with the name change. (Especially because the name change was not done through marriage, and just was done..."on a whim" as they describe it). 

 When it comes to your question about whether he has powers (time travel related ones that is), the answer is not exactly. Since most detectives or officers in the police department do have powers (though people are not required to have them) he does have powers (and so does his adpoted daughter, Marigold). But they aren't exactly what you think they are. Upon touching an object, D.I. Time has the ability to know what it has gone through and who has touched it. But he can't tell the names of the people who touched it, only the texture of their hand, the way they hold the object, and other feelings like (warmth, cold) he gets from where the object was, how it was made, what it has been through. 

The fact that murders are happening in multiple kingdoms is intriguing too. that makes me wonder if Time and Lady Annabelle are part of some far flung agency or detective group, or ?

So, there are several detective agencies working on solving the murders of royalty. This is partly because concerned royalty (who is worried they one of them could be next), would rather have more than one agency work on solving it than a single one. So agencies from all over different kingdoms are working to solve it. Admittedly, this rarely happens, since crime solving is usually limited to one kingdom, but since the life of different kings and queens is on the line, multiple detective agencies happened to get involved.  

Annabelle is not a part of the detective agency though. Her father would never let her give up her position of princess to be a detective, though she has gotten herself involved in several different cases, I'd say in a very Sherlock Holmes-like fashion. 

                        Questions from Grace Thomas at  American Girl Dolls Chat Club 

    Is there any drama in this story? I would like a lot of drama in your story! I love drama!

 While the story itself is not a melodrama, there are some social conflicts (drama) and internal psychological conflicts. Gossip often plays a negative role in the social drama, and since this is a murder mystery, there is of course the drama of murder itself and having to look for the killer or killers. There is also magical and supernatural drama throughout the series, as magic plays a role in causing and solving cases. Gods and goddesses often come to the mortals' world, and sometimes they cause a bit of drama whether they meant to or not. 

 

Why are the murders happening in the story? Is it because of money or something else is going on?

That contains spoilers, so you will have to wait for my book to come out in order to figure out who the murderer or murderers are, and why the murders are happening. If I revealed it here, it would remove the mystery from The Mystery of the Body Thief. 

...And that's the end of part one of the Q&A, if you would like to get a question or questions in for part two, you can ask them here or comment them down below.  

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

Are you doing NaNowrimo this November? If you were to have powers, what type of powers would you like to have? 

-Quinley 

Announcing My July 2021 Project: The Mystery of the Body Thief

 

A while ago I mentioned that I finished writing the first draft of this novel. This July, I am focusing on editing it and working on the second draft, along with some world-building along the way. 

For this project I started writing the first draft in 2018 and finished it in 2020.  I made a lot of posts about this novel in the past, so if you want to check them out, here you can, or if you can to look at posts about the series as a whole here you can. 

Synopsis-

Genre: Fantasy | Murder Mystery 

Horatio wakes up from being in a coma, but he doesn't remember anything that happened before he fell into unconsciousness. All that he remembers is a name, "Annabelle!" 

Also... Detective Inspector Time finds himself having to solve a case without Lady Annabelle.
Murders have been happening throughout many different kingdoms, and no one knows who exactly is behind it all. 

Characters- 

Here are the characters. Please note, many things have changed. Phillip, the dwarf guard character  from the first draft moved to later book, given that the time-line changed a lot. (The dwarf and elf war happens much later). Also since Phillip is not coming in until later, I replaced him for now with a character named Angela. I had created her character for All is Not Lost For All Will Begin Again, but that setting and story changed, too. Angela didn't fit the story anymore, so I moved her to The Mystery of the Body Thief instead. 

There are other characters who appear later in the story, but I won't be including them in this post. In this post, I am including the characters who have the largest impact on the plot: 

                                                         Horatio 

A servant who works in the castle, who lost his memory. He has a connection to Annabelle, but what the connection is, he doesn't know, but he longs to find out. 

                                                     Ophelia 

She is one of  Horatio's few friends and one of the healers at the castle. She works with the Earth and Air Gods and learns her magic from them. She is a very sweet (but quiet) person. 

                                                    Lady Annabelle 

Lady Annabelle is a princess, who is in a coma, who fell unconscious at the same time as Horatio. Before she was in a coma, she worked as a detective and sometimes would work with D.I. Time and Marigold. 

                                                Detective Inspector Time 

An old friend of Annabelle's, he is a detective actively working on the case of the murdered royals. 

                                                    Marigold Time 

Marigold is also working on the case of the murders of royalty, and is the adoptive daughter of D.I. Time. She also works as a detective in the police department. 

                                                           Vonivera 

Lady Annabelle's lady in waiting, she is a friend to Horatio and a frenemy of "Angie." Unlike the other ladies in the castle, Vonivera is a fairy and she finds it odd to be amongst elves and humans. 

                                                          Angela "Angie" 

    Another one of Lady Annabelle's ladies in waiting, Angela is "a close friend" of Vonivera's (or at least that is what she tells people).

Soundtrack- 

I compiled a playlist of music that I listen to while writing this story. I decided to make a different playlist for the second draft, because it is neat to look back and listen to music that I listened to when writing the first draft of this novel. 

                              My Goal- 

Since I'm on the second draft, my goal is going to be edit/rewrite at least 12,000 words. I made my goal smaller because, editing is really hard and I don't want to make myself stressed with a large goal. There are also a lot of things that have changed in the plot-line, so getting those changes into the story, along with the world-building is very important in this second draft. While it may not be perfect, I have the third draft to fix those flaws. 

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

Are you participating in Camp NaNoWriMo this July? If so what are you writing? 

-Quinley 

Using Polls to Create Art #1

I wasn't feeling well one day, so I did a whole lot of drawings in order to make myself feel a little better, and because of that I thought it would be fun to challenge myself and draw my characters in different styles or doing different things than they would normally do. This is a little bit like the post I did previously, except that I'm using pre-created characters and asking what they should be doing instead of creating a totally new character. 

Since NaNoWrimo has a thread dedicated to polls, I thought it would be fun to do polls that could produce drawing exercises for me. What I did was ask people to vote for which character I should draw, and then ask them what should happen in the drawing in a separate poll. 

And these drawings are what came out of it (unless I say otherwise all of these were majority votes): 

This is a drawing of Elm which I decided would be fun to draw in the Disney 2D animated style. 

I really like how it turned out. 

                

                         Since Annabelle detests dresses (for reasons that you will find out in the future), 

                  I thought it would be interesting to draw her wearing one that appeared in my book. 

                 Even though she really doesn't like it, I still like how it turned out.  

Phoenix in 2D animated drawing  style, this time mimicking that of Tangled the Series. 

This is a drawing of Elm using her powers which are her singing abilities. 

Her singing has magical attributes, which can cause the world around her

to dance, among other things. 

                                         **trigger warning: This drawing contains a bit of blood** 

Since Halloween was soon...ish when I drew this, I had Detective Inspector Time investigating a creepy (and haunted) house. 

                                                           **end of trigger warning** 

This one was particularly hard because Annabelle is a morally gray character and turning her into a villain is difficult. Annabelle can be seen as either, and she is often seen as a threat by those around her. So instead of going full out evil villain, I turned her into an assassin instead.  She is a detective (in her story), so making her a murderer would be completely different. 

Even though this was not the majority vote, I decided to draw Phoenix as a villain anyway. Interestingly enough, everything he would wear as a villain would be raven-themed. And he would have fun being a villain. Also, for some reason I imagine him stroking a raven or crow like most villains would a cat. 

This drawing also helped me figure out what would cause Phoenix to go from a protagonist to an antagonist. 

Someone at one point thought it would be neat to see Annabelle in Steampunk clothes. 

So I ended up drawing her that way, even though it was not the top vote. And I have a feeling she would like the Steampunk outfit a lot better than she did the dress from earlier. 

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

Which drawing is your favorite? What would your character(s) be like if they became a villain? 

-Quinley 

Wattys and Camp NaNoWrimo July 2018 project: The Mystery of The Body Thief (+ 100th post!)

Hi everyone, last April I made a post about this project so I thought that I should make another post about it considering I am still writing it and I entered it into a writing contest called the Wattys. (Also, this is my 100th post.)

Anyway, here is the post:


Synopsis- 

Ever since Horatio woke up from being in a coma, things around the castle have been going from normal to strange. 

He is also trying to solve a murder that now is beginning to seem more complex than he thought. 

Characters-
Since I made a whole list of the characters before in my last post about this project, I am only going to do some of the main characters and not the minor ones.
                                                                  Horatio 

A servant who works in the castle, who lost his memory.


Vonivera  (previously known as Veronica.) 

Lady Annabelle's lady in waiting, and friend to Horatio and Phillip.
Unlike the other ladies in the castle, Vonivera is a fairy, and she finds it hard to fit in.

                                                                            Phillip 
                                                                    

The captain of the guards and the only dwarf in the castle. Also 

a friend of Annabelle's who is helping Horatio and Vonivera solve a recent murder.

                                                Detective Inspector Time & Marigold 

From left to right, Detective Inspector Time, Marigold. 

Two detectives who are trying to solve the recent murders of royalty.

                                                             Lady Annabelle 

A princess who is in a coma, who fell unconscious at the same time as Horatio. 

Excerpts-

Vonivera had very annoyed looking expression her face, that she normally had when she was talking about the gossipers and how they talked about Horatio, and the things he had done wrong. 

“I am worrying about it, because I care about you, unlike everyone else in the castle.” she said. 

-from Chapter 10, Vonivera to Horatio. 

“Are you alright?” Vonivera asked. 

“Yes…I’m fine..” Horatio said, as he picked up the burnt fire wood, and swept the chimney, which was sooty but not quite as sooty as it had been when he first cleaned it. 

“Are you sure?” asked Vonivera, who like usual was hanging around where Horatio was working. She rather liked to talk to him… 

“Yes I’m sure…” sighed Horatio, who rather was concentrated on cleaning the chimney… 

“You don’t look sure…” said Vonivera. 

Horatio sighed, “That’s because I’m cleaning the chimney!”

- from unidentified Chapter. (Though I am pretty sure it is after the events of chapter seven though, but I am unsure...since the labeling of the chapters got confused.) 

You can also read the seven chapters that are up here (though I do plan to self-publish it eventually.)

the official story soundtrack- 
Last time I posted songs that reminded me of the story. But now here is the official story soundtrack:


 
You can also listen to it here 

Some of the songs in this are songs you have heard before in the previous post.

A sneak peek at future songs that will be added into the story soundtrack (playlist):


                                       As The World Falls Down by David Bowie. 

You can listen to it here

 This song goes really well with a (romantic) ballroom scene in my book. ;)

Kiss and Break Up by Meghan Kabir 

You can also listen to it here 

This song went perfectly with a scene from my story. 

(I am not going to say what scene though ;) ) 

Money, Money, Money by ABBA 

                                                 You can also listen to it here
                                I am not sure whether this song will be added to the story soundtrack or a playlist describing one of my characters, but either way it still reminds me of what the servants may think of royalty and money.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Have you ever entered your book into the Wattys? Also, how was your Camp NaNoWrimo? 

Love,
Quinley