Friday, April 27, 2018

My Camp NaNoWrimo Novel April 2018: The Mystery of The Body Thief


Hi everyone,
I hope you are having an awesome April... I have some exciting news! I finished my Camp NaNoWrimo word count goal! :)  (However, I am still working on my novel.)

Synopsis 

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

In this novel there are quite a few characters. I won't list all of them, I'll just mention the main characters.

Horatio- A servant boy who woke up from a coma, he doesn't remember anything except a name "Annabelle."

Lady Annabelle- She and Horatio fell into a coma at the same time, except unlike him she hasn't woken up.

Detective Inspector Time- An elvish detective, who is trying to figure out who could be behind the recent murders of royalty.

Phillip- The Captain of the Guards, who is a dwarf.

Veronica- Annabelle's Lady in Waiting, who is a fairy.

Marigold- Time's adopted daughter, who is working with her father on the case.

Ophelia- The castle nurse, though she is a nurse she dislikes blood, and well anything medical.
Some people in the castle wonder why she became a nurse in the first place.

Austen- The new coroner, who is also helping Time solve the case.


Excerpt


He opened his eyes, his head felt incredibly dizzy and memories flashed in front of him for no  particular reason, and voices calling a name: 
Annabelle, Annabelle!” 
the name felt like it had a meaning for some reason but he could not place it. Suddenly he felt a hand on his wrist. 
“Sir” said a stern voice, that sounded as deep as a bass. “You suffered from severe trauma to the head and were in a coma for 24 hours.” 

Story music 

This is kind of a sneak peek at the story soundtrack I am working on for the story soundtracks page...

                                               Sleeping Beauty by Traci Hines 





You can also listen to it on YouTube Here

This is the theme song of my book.

All I want by Eurielle 

                                                      You can listen to it on YouTube Here 
                                    This song reminds me of a scene from my book.


                           Discombobulate by Hans Zimmer 


                                          You can also listen it on youtube Here 
                                                 This is a song that I often listen to when I write mysteries. 

                      ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 
                     How was your Camp NaNoWrimo? 

                      Love, 
                      Quinley

                             

Friday, April 13, 2018

April Drawings



Hi everyone, 

I hope you are having a wonderful day. 
 Today I thought I should do a drawing post: 




A drawing of Pocahontas, I like how it turned out. 


This is kind of an experiment.  I decided to try 
to combine a photograph I had taken with one of my drawings. 
I think it turned out well, however, I wish I had gotten rid of some of the white spots.




This is a drawing of Deborah Sampson, a woman from the colonial era, 
who disguised herself as a man and fought in the American Revolutionary War.
I like how it turned out. 


This is a drawing of Phillis Wheatley. I like how she turned out,
especially her clothes. 


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Which drawing is your favorite? Also do you have a favorite historical figure? 

Love, 
Quinley 



Wednesday, April 4, 2018

If My Characters Lived in Modern Times



Hi everyone, Camp Nanowrimo has started!:) I am so excited!:)
Also Happy (belated) Easter and April Fool's Day (I didn't have a post planned for either, since I was working on my blog anniversary posts).
 Anyway, on with the post, here is what my characters might do if they lived in modern times:


Lady Annabelle 

from the Lady Annabelle Mystery Series 

Annabelle would probably be a police (or private) 
detective, if she lived in modern times (and if she wasn't a princess).  
She would love reading mystery novels like, Sherlock Holmes, Murder Most Unladylike
The Secret of The Sealed Room



Mr. Robertson 

from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: The New School Master (my fan fiction of Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

He would probably be a teacher of literature and history,
and would be especially fascinated with the American Revolutionary War 
(and would be trying to figure out how the British lost). 
He would live in New York (near Sleepy Hollow.)


Tesariel (Tess) Short 


from Tess Short book one 

                                           Tess would probably be a writer
                               (and compete in NaNoWrimo and Camp NaNoWrimo),
                          would be a member of a book club, and would be a huge LOTR
                                (The Lord of the Rings) and Hobbit fan.

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What would characters do if they lived in modern times? Which of my characters is your favorite? 

love,
Quinley

P.S. I may not be able to post as much as I normally do, since I will be doing Camp NaNoWrimo.

Saturday, March 17, 2018

Saint Patrick's Day Drawings


Hi everyone,
I hope you are having a happy Saint Patrick's Day,
to celebrate I made a drawing post:




This is a drawing of a young leprechaun. 




This drawing was half inspired by the Irish song 
Black is the Color of My True Love's Hair (or just Black is the color
and half a drawing of my one of my characters who is a Selkie. 
I like how it turned out. 


A drawing of a girl celebrating Saint Patrick's Day. 

This drawing was inspired by the song Star Of the County Down

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Which drawing is your favorite? And do you have a favorite Irish song? 

Love, 
Quinley 

Friday, March 9, 2018

It's My blog's Anniversary! (+ Short story.)



Hi everyone,
Today is Adventure Awaits's anniversary. To celebrate I am sharing a short story I wrote. I very rarely write stories involving myself, but since it's my blog's anniversary I thought I should share the story of the Golden Pen. In the story you will find fairy tales, portals, and...you will find out the rest when you read it!:) :


Click clack was the sound of my fingers as they tapped against the keyboard…and the words appeared on the screen of the computer beginning with the words: Once Upon a time… 

I thought it would be a good day to write a fairy tale. I had always loved reading Cinderella, Snow White and most of all Rapunzel. I had always wanted hair as long as hers. I was in the middle of writing my story when a scream came out of nowhere, and there was a loud crashing sound as a short figure came falling down the chimney. Tons of dust went everywhere. It was so hard to see what had happened…when the dust cleared, there stood a short little man who was rather dirty from falling through the chimney. His clothes looked regal, but were covered in dust, and he had blonde hair that looked almost like gold. I coughed from the dust, then managed to say,“H-hi.” I wasn’t quite sure what to say, for it isn’t every day that a short man falls through your chimney.
“I could have sworn the miller's daughter was supposed to be here!” he grumbled, standing up from the ground and walking over to me.
“You, aren't by any chance the miller's daughter?” I shook my head. 

“That’s frustrating. I have been traveling all day and night looking for her, and I doubt the king is happy. How will I ever explain this to Mother Goose?” he groaned. 

“You mean you are…Rumplestiltskin!” I said.
“Why ye— wait! How did you know my name? No one knows my name!” he said. 

“Uh…I read about you in a book,” I said, though it sounded weird.
“Ah okay…that makes sense, I guess.” he said, no longer angry at me. “Maybe that was how they found out my name last time.” 

There was a silence…finally I spoke, “I never introduced myself. I am Quinley,” I said. “May I ask what you are doing in my house?” 

“Well, I meant to take the Fairy Godmother’s bus (she started a business bringing people everywhere, especially to the Ball) when somehow I fell off and landed in your chimney. I am sorry for the inconvenience.” he said blushing. Then he added, “I must get back to Fairy Tale Land, though. And I have no idea how. The only way could be to jump through a book, I suppose, but it is rather dangerous.” 

I looked at him, “Well…I have several books upstairs, and I could—“ 

“Excellent, Quinny! Show me the books!” Before I could respond and correct him that my name was “Quinley,” he was upstairs in my bedroom staring at the book shelves. 

“So where are your fairy tales?” he said, looking through the book shelves. He had already created a pile of books on the ground. 

“Umm…somewhere around here,” I said, searching through the pile and moving The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and The Lord of The Rings where they wouldn’t get stepped on. Finally I found a copy of Classic Fairytales
“Wonderful!” said Rumplestiltskin, opening the book, and turning to the story Rumplestiltskin and muttering some magic words. Suddenly there was a flash of light and everything went black. When I awoke I found myself in a hay pile. I stood up…there was a voice “Ow! Your stepping on my hand” I turned around. There was the miller’s daughter, her eyes red from crying… 

“Uh…something must have gone wrong” I mumbled…looking around. “Because I am not supposed to be here.” 

“Well, you could rescue me from the King. He will kill me, if I don’t spin this straw into gold. I mean, who would ever believe such a thing, that I could spin straw into gold?” she said.
“Uh….” I didn't know what to say at first. Finally, I answered, “Your father, I suppose?”  

“My father?” she said, her face turning red. “How could you say that, my father would never say such a thing!” 

“Are you sure?” I asked. 

“Positive!” she said. 

Suddenly the door opened and in walked the king… “Miller’s daughter you were supposed to spin straw into gold for me!” he said, looking around the room. 

I groaned how could the story end like this? It is impossible, and sad. “Uh!’ I said, thinking fast. “She needs five more minutes to do so..” 

“What is she doing here?” said the king. 

“I..I climbed in through the window…silly me…and I was helping her spin straw into gold. She promised she would give me her first born child when you marry her.” It came out all at once. I couldn’t even stop myself. 

The king stared at me… “And your name is?” 

I blushed…”I can’t say! And you don’t know…” 

The king’s mouth fell open. He looked surprised and he couldn’t even speak. Suddenly, Rumplestiltskin climbed in through the window and gasped…“Uh, Quin what are you doing here!?” 

I turned to him, still blushing…”I-got-stuck-in-your-story-by-mistake-is-there-a-way-to-get-out?” I said all at once.
Rumplestiltskin slapped his face in frustration…”I should have told you to stand back while I did the magic!!” he groaned. He turned to the others and said, “I’m very sorry your highness and miller’s daughter please just stay calm and don’t panic…” 

He reached into his pocket and handed me a golden pen. “Use this to get back. Just write with it, and amazing things will happen.”

Then he handed me a piece of paper and I began writing about home, about magic, about adventures... Suddenly, there was a flash of light and I was back at my desk, sitting at my computer. What had happened? I turned and saw the golden pen, it was still there. Since then I have written many stories with the golden pen. I don't know if the ink was pure gold, but it was magic. Whenever I wrote with it and read my stories aloud, the characters I created would come to life. It would feel like the story was real, but when I was done the characters would vanish.  

I never forgot about my adventure in Fairy Tale Land, and sometimes I even have dreams about it.

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Did you enjoy the story? And what is your favorite fairy tale? 

Love,
Quinley

Also I wanted to say thank you to everyone for following my blog, it means so much to me. 
And I love reading your comments, they always make me smile. I hope you will have a good rest of your day. 

Saturday, February 24, 2018

The Tag that Must Not Be Named



Hi everyone,
I was tagged by Briana at No End of Books, thank you so much for tagging me.

Anyway here is the tag:

What book has been on your shelf the longest?


(Image from Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/Hobbit-J-R-Tolkien/dp/054792822X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1518308819&sr=8-1&keywords=the+hobbit ) 

Probably The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien, I have loved it for a really long time...I have always and will always love Bilbo Baggins, and his sword Sting. 


What is your current read, your last read, and the book you’ll read next?

I am currently reading... 

(Image from Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/Study-Scarlet-Arthur-Conan-Doyle/dp/1977901573/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1518547275&sr=1-1&keywords=a+study+in+scarlet&dpID=51CfHBPqhVL&preST=_SY291_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch) 
I have been reading Sherlock Holmes lately, so I thought I would read his first ever case!:) 




My last read was... 
(Image from Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/Wicked-Will-Mystery-William-Shakespeare/dp/1416986618/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1518545824&sr=8-2&keywords=wicked+will) 
Wicked Will is a historical fiction murder mystery. It was really good, and had a lot of references to Shakespeare's plays (And there was also a young Benjamin Franklin murder mystery, which was good too.) 

A book I am planning to read next....
(Image from Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/Expectations-Penguin-Classics-Charles-Dickens-ebook/dp/B002XHNMIU/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1518547541&sr=1-11&keywords=great+expectations+by+charles+dickens ) 
I really liked this cover of Great Expectations. I am definitely excited to start reading this book (because I read an abridged version that did not have much detail.)

What book did everyone like, but you hated?
Even though I love Percy Jackson now, I did not like it (at all)  before I decided to read it. At first I thought that everyone was getting the wrong idea about Greek Mythology. But when I decided to read the book I loved it. 


What book do you keep telling yourself you’ll read, but you probably won’t?

It's not books necessarily, it's often a series for me. I try to read the series but then I get distracted by other books, and instead read them. It's mostly with book series that have really long books (such as the Heroes of Olympus, etc.) 

What book are you saving for retirement?

Umm...I don't think I could save a book for retirement (I would probably read it before I was retired.) 
but...I am saving a book for next Camp NaNoWrimo:
(Image from Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/Mistletoe-Murder-Most-Unladylike-Mystery/dp/0141369728/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1518546932&sr=8-3&keywords=murder+most+unladylike) 
Even though it is technically a holiday murder mystery, and I had put the series down for awhile to read some other books, also I want to read a murder mystery while I am writing the story (not at same time of course.) And I think this would be good to read.

Last page: read it first, or wait ’til the end?

Wait till the end, I like to be able to experience the action at the same pace as the characters do. 

Acknowledgement: waste of paper and ink, or interesting aside?

Well... I do think it could be needed (especially in historical fiction books.) 


Which book character would you switch places with?

Do you mean switch bodies with? or switch places? Anyway I will answer for both... 
Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables 
Prince Caspian (or Lucy) from  The Chronicles of Narnia 
Sherlock Holmes (or Irene Adler) from The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Annabeth Chase (or Rachel Dare.) from Percy Jackson 
Arwen (or Eowyn)  from Lord of The Rings. 
Benjamin Franklin from The Secret of The Sealed Room
William Shakespeare from Wicked Will
Hobbes (or maybe even Calvin) from Calvin & Hobbes 
This isn't all the characters that I would switch places (or bodies) with...but it as many as I could fit into a post. 


Do you have a book that reminds you of something specific in your life? (Place, time, person?)
(Image from Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/Lord-Rings-Trilogy-Fellowship-Matched/dp/B00CO2MXM0/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1519505984&sr=1-7&keywords=lord+of+the+rings+trilogy+book+set&dpID=41y4MYTQj6L&preST=_SX218_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch) 

It reminds me of an event that happened to me last summer. 

Name a book that you acquired in an interesting way
I have often gotten books from people, but I can't really name one at the moment. 


Have you ever given a book away for a special reason to a special person?

I don't believe have done that before. However, I have given people copies of a certain book, that I had read and I think they would enjoy reading. 

Which book has been with you most places?

                                               Calvin & Hobbes 


(Image from Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/Essential-Calvin-Hobbes-Treasury/dp/0836218051/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1518548336&sr=8-2&keywords=calvin+and+hobbes ) 
Even though I have read the comics a million times they still make me laugh. 


Any “required reading” you hated in high school that wasn’t so bad later?

High school? Just school in general there was an awful book that I don't know why they read to us, 
(Image from Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/Teacher-Black-Lagoon-Mike-Thaler/dp/0545065224/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1518548537&sr=1-1&keywords=the+teacher+from+the+black+lagoon+books) 
I will never like this book.


Used or brand new?

Both!:) But I love giving used books a second chance.

Have you ever read a Dan Brown book?

I have no idea who Dan Brown is!:) 

Have you ever seen a movie you liked more than the book?


(Image from Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/Inkheart-Widescreen-Iain-Softley/dp/B00267OB9Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1518548867&sr=1-1&keywords=inkheart+movie&dpID=51AfsFS67RL&preST=_SX218_BO1,204,203,200_QL40_&dpSrc=srch) 
Personally I like the movie Inkheart compared to the book (The movie has a happier ending than the book) 
and even though it left out some details that the book had I like it. 

Have you ever read a book that’s made you hungry, cookbooks included?
Umm...I have actually never gotten hungry while reading (because I am eating while reading sometimes.) Though if the character is eating something like cake or popcorn I might get a little hungry.


Who is the person whose book advice you’ll always take?

My family, they always have good book advice. 

Is there a book out of your comfort zone (e.g., outside your usual reading genre) that you ended up loving?




(Image from Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/Washington-Irvings-Stories-Illustrated-Library/dp/0448420740/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1518549093&sr=1-7&keywords=the+legend+of+sleepy+hollow+by+washington+irving ) 
Besides Percy Jackson, There was another book that I ended up loving. It was The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. I did not like scary stories or ghost stories at the time, but when I read it I loved it. 

I tag: 

Jane Maree at Her Author site and Maiden of the Misty Mountains 

Emma at Drawn to Writing 

Anna at A world Through Her Heart 

Gray Marie at Writing is Life 

And anyone who wants to do it.

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What are some of your favorite books? Who is one of the characters you would switch places or bodies with? 

Love,
Quinley

P.S. For the other people who have tagged me, I am still working on the tags I just haven't gotten around to posting them...yet!:)

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Valentine's Day Drawings


Hi everyone,
 I hope you are having a Happy Valentine's Day!:) 

Here are the drawings: 




I really like how this one turned out! 
I like the details in it, especially the heart. 


I like how her dress turned out. 


This is a drawing of Eros (aka Cupid), 
the god of love, and son of Aphrodite. 
A drawing of a heart, I really like the details. 


This is a my version of the Birth of Venus. 
I think it turned out well, and I like the way her hair looks. 

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Which drawing is your favorite? And I hope you have a Happy Valentine's Day, 

Love,
Quinley