Sharing Saturday Sixty-Six

I promised weeks ago to start posting regularly and with the start of 2020, I am committed to this. For my first Sharing Saturday of the year, I have decided to share with you a paragraph from a short story I am currently working on. This is the beginning paragraph. I hope you enjoy!

I wish I had left a legacy.  Don’t we all wish that? To leave something to be remembered by.  I never did that and now I will never get the chance. When my death came I had hoped to have no regrets but alas that is not true.  We all have regrets but we hope maybe it was a lesson a part of life. Something to be remembered and think back on as an obstacle successfully overcome.  But all I see as the darkness closes in on me is my mistakes. I did what I had to do to survive but I could have done more and for that, I can never forgive myself.  Maybe. Maybe there will be something beyond this life. A second chance. Wishful thinking but none of us truly know what is beyond death. I glance up one last time as a hooded face appears briefly before me but all I see is darkness until it pulls away.  Looking up, I see the ancient moon which watches indifferently as inky blackness closes around me for the final time.

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Sharing Saturday Sixty-Five

Christmas is coming up and I could not be more excited.  Today’s post is a continuation of the last Sharing Saturday Sixty-Four.  I am sharing the next couple of paragraphs in my short story, The Confession.  

I have once again let weeks pass since I last posted but I am going to change that.  I will try to post three times a week.  On Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday with Saturday being Sharing Saturdays and Tuesday and Friday will mostly be book reviews.  Beyond that, I hope you enjoy this excerpt and have a wonderful weekend. 

I was in senior year of high school attempting to just make it through school day by day.  I had just lost many of my friends or at least that was what it felt like since I was never invited to hang out with them.  I can tell by your questioning gazes that you wonder how one loses friends so quickly. The truth is that I have always been anti-social.  I never knew what to say and every time somebody would question me or joke with me my replies would be lackluster and later I would realize the perfect thing to say when the conversation was long over.  How did I deal with the lack of social graces? Through reading and that was inadvertently the beginning of the end.

Sharing Saturday Sixty-Four

It has been a while since I have posted and I apologize.  The last few weeks have been crazy.  Today, however, I have decided to share some spooky writing.  I know Halloween was a little bit ago but you don’t have to share spooky stories just around Halloween.  Anyways, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and enjoy this excerpt from my story, The Confession.  I will post the story in multiple excepts in the following weeks so stay tuned.

The premise of the story is that a grandma is telling the story of her past to her grandchildren from a second-person perspective.  This was difficult to write in and I think it would be fascinating to do a discussion solely on perspectives.  Perhaps I will do that next week and put off continuing the short story.  Which would you prefer?  Let me know in the comments below.  I hope you enjoy the paragraphs below!

You may not believe the tale I have to tell you but I swear that it all happened.  It happened in my little hometown. What town you ask? Well, this town is long gone.  It was wiped off the map decades ago. This tale is unbelievable and even to this day I am questioned and harried by those who cannot accept that there is more to this world than the facts spelled out in textbooks.  You nod and tell me that you will believe. Only after you hear my story can you make that decision. Now let me begin.

Narrington was a little town where everybody knew everyone and what happened in one’s life was broadcast.  Secrets were never kept and nothing exciting ever happened except for the one bar fight instigated by a news reporter who was desperate for anything to happen.  Well, something happened but no one was expecting it least of all me.

Sharing Saturday Sixty-Two

Another Saturday is upon us and today I have decided to share a few of my recent writings with you.  In the past few Sharing Saturdays, I have shared images, videos, and book release dates and covers.  I feel that it is beyond time I showed you all a portion of a recent story that I have been working on.  It follows a girl who is trying to make her way in a cruel world where women are used as sacrifices in order to please a goddess of love.  I hope you enjoy and have a phenomenal Saturday!

I stride past the competitors next to enter the arena.  Their eyes dance around trying to absorb everything at once while skating over the blood that coats the sand staining it a permanent red color.  One of the girls, a petite black-haired angel holds her sword awkwardly and I look away knowing she is going to die today.  I walk into the dark confines of the rooms beneath the arena and inhale the musty earthy odor of the caves I stand in.  They are literal caves carved out of the rock by millions of slave laborers a thousand years ago. Sackcloths cover entrances to small indented rooms where competing girls can change and prepare themselves for the multitude of rituals that make up this horrible celebration.  The plinking of water can be heard in the near silence of the corridor until the screaming of the crowd makes it indiscernible. 

 

Book Review: Bring Me Their Hearts by Sara Wolf

Zera is Heartless.  As an unaging and unable to die servant to a witch Zera doesn’t have a heart and yet that is all she craves.  Her witch, Nightsinger has complete control over Zera and Zera serves her unquestioningly until Nightsinger asks her to infiltrate the noble court.  Her task to take the Prince’s heart and in return she will gain her heart and freedom.

Crown Prince Lucien d’Malvane hates the court and the nobles.  With every girl jockeying for a position at his side he wants nothing to do with the spring brides.  Until Lady Zera is presented with her inelegance and smart-mouth shes’s out for his blood.

Soon a game of cat and mouse begins between a Heartless and a boy who has everything.  The winner gets the loser’s heart.  Literally.

Bring Me Their Hearts was an amazing tale of struggle, heartbreak, and the darkness offset by light that makes up humanity.  The characters were stunning and their struggles were utterly real and heartbreaking.  The world the author created was unique and I adored reading about the struggles of a girl who believes herself to be a monster.  I could not put Bring Me Their Hearts down and when I reached the devastating end I came away wanting more of Zera and Lucien’s story.  The end was a massive cliffhanger and I desperately want another book because this story was stunningly brought to life.  What really made the book, though, was the characters.

The main character Zera constantly struggled beneath the weight of being heartless.  It was devastating to read about the hunger that constantly clawed at her and how she fought it.  She covered the darkness within her with jokes which made for some entertaining back and forths with other characters.  However what made her real was her desperate need to be cared for and loved. She wanted that, to not feel like a monster.  Zera believed herself to be a monster and yet throughout the book we begin to see her emerge and attempt to be human again.  She learns to love and it was a beautiful thing to read as Zera changed and grew beyond her heartlessness.  The character growth was phenomenal and I completely adored Zera’s character.

The other characters were just as finely wrought what with their pain and heartbreak.  The emotional depth the author instilled throughout the book was outstanding, especially in the Prince.

Lucien, the Prince, wants to care for his people and he wants to live up to his sister’s memory.  We watch throughout the tale as his internal walls slowly break down for Zera.  However, at the end of the book, it is heart-wrenching to read about how he finds out that Zera is heartless and to see her as a monster.  Throughout the book, we watch as he grows and finds the courage to try to change his nation once and for all.  His character was outstanding and I simply cherished him as the love interest.

The other side characters were just as sensational as the two main characters.  They each fought their own demons and the book in no way hides that.  Some overcome their demons while some continue to fight theirs but it made each character unique and real.  The world was stunning and the characters all the more so.

Would I recommend this book? Yes, yes, yes, a dozen times over.

Sharing Saturday Fifty

The second Sharing Saturday of the year has arrived and I am excited to share with you some of my writings.  I recently wrote a ten-page essay on Jack the Ripper, a serial killer whose identity has never been discovered.  This chapter of history has fascinated me since I read Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco and I have researched and written a lot about it.  So, today I will be sharing with you but a short paragraph about this famous killer.  Enjoy!

The Ripper’s crimes took place in London during the nineteenth century when technological advancement and new ideas began to flourish.  However, this also brought about a boom in migration and London became an overcrowded, dirty, and desperate place as poor immigrants fought for any way to support their families.  Chaos ensued, crimes spread like wildfire; robbery, theft, violence, vandalism and even murder were commonplace as people struggled to feed themselves and their families. Soon London became a haven for criminals and one of the worst parts of London was the East End.  From the depths of this place arose one of the most well-known serial killers ever: Jack the Ripper.

Sharing Saturday Forty-Seven

I am so excited for today’s post since I am a logophile.  I will once again be sharing new and exciting words that I have found in my travels throughout the bookish world.  I previously posted five fun words on Sharing Saturday Thirty-Seven and I decided that I had to do it more often.  Curiously enough it is exactly ten weeks later that I decided to do it again.  Without further ado… here are five unique words!

Farouche – sullen or shy in company (adjective)

Ataraxia – a state of serene calmness (noun)

lacuna – an unfilled space or gap, a missing portion in a book or manuscript, a cavity or depression especially in bone (noun)

Anthropophobia – fear of people and society (noun)

Echt – authentic and typical (adjective)

Sharing Saturday Thirty-Four

Another week has passed and another Saturday has arrived. Today I will be sharing the first paragraph of a story I started that is based on the tale of Peter Pan.  Without further ado..

I ducked as the Pewter shattered barely missing my head. I dared a glance behind me as I scuttled towards the only locking cabinet in our tiny two-room abode. My mother desperately grasped at my stepfather’s arm as he hurled a second Pewter mug at me. His face is purple with rage and he is swaying slightly as if on the sea. Finally, I reached the cabinet throwing myself inside and securely locking the door.

 

 

The Sunshine Blogger Award

I was recently nominated for the Sunshine Blogger Award and I am so excited to do it.  A big thank you to The long distance relationship for nominating me.  Let’s get started.

Rules

• Thank the blogger who nominated you.
• Answer the 11 questions asked.
• Nominate 11 other bloggers and ask them 11 new questions.
• List the rules and include the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post.

Questions

Which is your favorite childhood story book and why?

That’s a hard question since I had a lot of story books that I loved.  But if I had to choose I would have to say Puff the Magic Dragon.

Had any paranormal experience? Please share.

No, unless you count my cats as ghostly devilish beings.

What is the one thing that you certainly want/wanted at your wedding?

Ummm….no idea.  So, lets just move on.

What’s your thinking about a perfect couple?

I don’t know. It changes depending upon what couple I am reading about.

What is your plan for old age?

To travel the world and read way too many books.

If you could go back in time which place or whom would you love to visit?

This one is hard.  I think I would go back in time to London during the 1700s or 1800s but then again I have always wanted to meet Robert E. Lee and Abraham Lincoln.  Or I could visit the Dark ages or the Renaissance. I don’t know.  I want to visit and see it all.

Camping or slumber party?

Camping!

Which book or movie would you like to be the hero/heroine of?

Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco!!!

What is your favorite thing about being single?

I don’t know. I’ve never dated so……

What is your most prized possession?

My books.

Share the funniest moments of your life.

The funniest moment I can think of is when my sister told me that I had a mosquito on my face.  Without thinking I slapped myself in the face in an attempt to kill the mosquito.  I found out mere seconds later that there was no mosquito and that my sister was just joking.  It was hilarious.

My Nominees

theatreandart

Myths of the Mirror

Writer In Retrospect

thebookishchick

Fictionophile

Plants and Beyond

Christy Jackson Nicholas, Author and Artist

Confessions of a YA Reader

Ya Girl In a Bookish World

My Mundane Life

readctbooks

My Questions:

1. What is your favorite mythical creature?
2. Who is your closest confidant?
3. Do you prefer to draw or write?
4. Share your favorite childhood memories?
5. What would you do if you only had one day left to live?
6. If you could rewrite a book which one would you choose?
7. What is your favorite dessert?
8. Coffee or tea?
9. What is your favorite candle scent?
10. If you could bring one person back to life who would it be?
11. Who is your favorite historical figure?

 

Is it September 18th yet?

In September the third book in the Stalking Jack the Ripper series is coming out and I don’t know how much longer I can wait.  I just want the book.  I need to know what happens to Audrey Rose and Thomas Cresswell.  September seems so far away and I want the story to continue so that I can have more material to reread at least several times a month.   I have read the first two books so many times that I have parts of the books memorized.  I hope the third book which is called Escaping from Houdini is even more mysterious, bloody, and filled with wonderful interactions between Wadsworth and Cresswell.  Below is the synopsis which just makes me want the book all the more.

Audrey Rose Wadsworth and her partner-in-crime-investigation, Thomas Cresswell, are en route to New York to help solve another blood-soaked mystery. Embarking on a week-long voyage across the Atlantic on the opulent RMS Etruria, they’re delighted to discover a traveling troupe of circus performers, fortune tellers, and a certain charismatic young escape artist entertaining the first-class passengers nightly.

But then, privileged young women begin to go missing without explanation, and a series of brutal slayings shocks the entire ship. The strange and disturbing influence of the Moonlight Carnival pervades the decks as the murders grow ever more freakish, with nowhere to escape except the unforgiving sea. It’s up to Audrey Rose and Thomas to piece together the gruesome investigation as even more passengers die before reaching their destination. But with clues to the next victim pointing to someone she loves, can Audrey Rose unravel the mystery before the killer’s horrifying finale?

Also, the cover is phenomenal!  All of them are.  I love the covers for I feel that they portray the books wonderfully.  I wrote a whole essay on the cover of the first book, Stalking Jack the Ripper.  You can see the introduction on Sharing Saturday Fifteen.  In future Sharing Saturday’s  I may share more of my essay.  The cover is gorgeous and I can’t wait to hold a physical copy of the book in my hands.

I am counting down the days until this book comes out.  It’s 96 to be exact.  I also have a countdown on my website.  I will probably pre-order the book or be at the bookstore the moment it opens. It just seems so far away and it’s depressing.  I was never good at waiting for books and time drags until the day it finally comes out.  Even after Escaping from Houdini comes out I have to wait for the fourth book. 

However, I look forward to reading the books because they are going to be amazing!  The books in this series are worth the wait.  I loved the first two and I have faith that the next two books are going to be even better.