Flying and Thud

"I can't help flying up on the wings of anticipation. It's as glorious as soaring through a sunset... almost pays for the thud."
— Anne, from Anne of Green Gables

"I'd rather walk calmly along and do without the flying and the thud." - Marilla Cuthbert, from Anne of Green Gables

I didn't write today.  Two days ago I was flying high with my writing.  Now I've reached the thud.  This always happens to me.  I don't think I'm bipolar or anything, but I do experience glorious highs, where everything is clicking and life is good.  Inevitably, the high never lasts.  These highs and lows aren't tied to writing -- there are many things that can trigger the soaring.  I live for those moments.  But are they worth the thud?  I must think so, because very soon I hope to be flying again.  

DREAMDARK - An Evening With Faeries

I'm still observing Unplugged Week. This review was originally posted on my Literarygirls blog - August 2009. It is one of my favorite postings. Hope you enjoy it too.

Synopsis:

"It is the faeries' doom to forget what ought never be forgotten. Their wars have faded to legend. Their foes are naught but nursery tales. After thousands of years of peace the name Blackbringer inspires no fear. But it should. The Blackbringer is no nursery tale. He's the dark come to life. And he's back."



This month, book club was at my house and I chose the novel "Blackbringer" from the Faeries of Dreamdark Series - written by Laini Taylor. Before I became a fan of this series - I first became a fan of Laini Taylor. I enjoy reading her blog. She is so interesting, personable and fun. She and her husband are both artists and their life is very appealing. I also think it is way cool that she has pink hair. Her husband Jim created the artwork for this book and for her books that will be debuting soon. You can find her blog here. So, to get into the wild spirit of the book I had a theme party. We invite all of you to share in our fun.

All of these wonderful photos were taken by Anna Hale of Boololo Photography, located in Salt Lake City, Utah - check out her blog here.

Here There Be Faeries

Standing: Mary, Heidi, Wendy, Sue, Sue, Paige and Kristy
Kneeling: Jade and Jill
Missing: Kelli, Natalie, Corinne, Catherine and Tauna
All of these lovely ladies are apart of my wonderful neighborhood.

"Be willing to rewrite a scene a dozen times or more -- as many as it takes. Go above and beyond the call of duty. You’re striving for your best -- never be content with a scene or even a single line until you love it." - Laini Taylor from her blog - Not For Robots

There is a paragraph on page 145 where Laini uses the word "surreptitiously." I wasn't sure what that word meant so I looked up it's meaning. After that I reread the paragraph and it changed what I had envisioned was happening in the scene. As far as I'm concerned it was the perfect word. At that moment I realized how important it is to make sure we find the perfect word or sentence when writing. One word can make all the difference. Laini has a blog called "Not For Robots" where she shares the knowledge she has gleaned from writing novels. It has been extremely helpful to me. You can find that blog here.

Our Thoughts:

Heidi - "I picked up the book and couldn't put it down. Loved it!"
Paige - "Really fun, very engaging. I loved the world so much. It was beautiful and I wanted to live there or visit."
Wendy - "I enjoyed it - faerie stories are lovely and this one kept me turning the pages. I didn't like the name Magpie though. When I think of a magpie I think of a big noisy bird - thought she needed a more feminine name."
Kristy - "I liked the imagery. Her writing made it easy to visualize the world. Thought the pictures were to harsh - pictured Magpie and Poppy differently."
Sue - "I enjoyed how she changed Point of View throughout the book."

Of course I loved this book or I wouldn't have chosen it. I enjoyed the amazing world and the endearing, tough characters. I don't think that I have ever read a book about faeries in my life before reading this one. But now I have read a few others - so far this has been the best. It even inspired me to get crafty and I am not a crafty person. The only problem that I have with the book is that it implied that humans are a scourge on the earth and I don't care for that kind of thing - since I believe the earth was created for our use. I believe we are stewards of the earth and we definitely need to take care of it, but I dislike the idea that we shouldn't be here at all. But the imagery is fantastic and the prose is literary and lovely.