So, with my life changing and uncertainty hanging before me (and two stalkers), I’m shutting down the blog. It was started for fun and I put a lot of work into it, but anonymity and fun have disappeared. I don’t have the time for it and I have a few certain people that I don’t want to know what I’m doing or where I’m going etcetera. To those of you who will actually miss me, I’m sorry XD It was great times.

Cheers for the last time,
Amber

I hate getting into fence building – it’s a huge pain in the butt and you know once you start you can’t just stop – you will be at it all day, guaranteed. Once I get into it and the demolition has started, I don’t mind so much. I just do.

Another thing I don’t mind about fences, is painting them. I’ve pained them one colour, painted them mulitcolour (our back fence, from the backalley view, looks like prison bars) and I’ve now begun with murals, thanks to my mom.

We have this long ass section of fence on one side that we never bothered with until we had to chop down trees and then only because it looked so bloody bare. We stared at it, painted it with what bits of paint we had and then decided it needed more. So I painted a door and my mom put in some greenery.

Well that was last year. We spent the winter looking at lots of snow and the rest of the unfinished paint job. Hm. One section would have been great for a wrecked pirate ship, but that was a little too ambitious for me and we weren’t sure how a wrecked pirate ship was going with our hobbit door lol.

This year though, we began again. The garden isn’t grown yet (obviously) so we started working on MOaR painting. I saw this great opportunity for a corny part of our fence for a waterfall but um, I’m not sure if my rocks look like rocks or if they look like mountains because when I said waterfall, I really meant like a tiny stream splashing from rock to rock…. um yeah, we shall have to see how that goes.

For now, please be satisfied by this picture of the Work In Progress!!

Cheers, Amber

Also, I have to wonder – if you comment in another language, how are you reading my English blog? That is a curiosity for me.

I don’t think I have ever mentioned it, but I do have a bit of a love for language. I love the English language of course because I know it best, but I also took several years of French (French like Quebec French, which, I am told, is quite different from France French) back in school. I do miss those classes. I also endeavoured to learn some Spanish, German, a tidbit of Swiss and Japanese. I am terribly limited in these languages but I love them anyways. What languages do you love?

As you can most likely guess from the heading, I hit the garage sales early this year! On saturday we hit a few places with bargains, grabbed a few things we didn’t need and a few we did. My great find was a school that had been cleaning out it’s library! Here are a few of my finds:

Rebecca is a plucky heroine who goes to live with her maiden aunts. She is intelligent and imaginative, much to the chagrin of Aunt Miranda, who has definite ideas about children and their place in the world.

My sister found this for me ages ago and since her name is Rebecca, the book has special meaning to me. I have never been huge on the classics, but I would like to read it again! The only thing I really remember is something about a parasol in a well XD

Who has not dreamed of life on an exotic isle, far away from civilization? Here is the novel which has inspired countless imitations by lesser writers, none of which equal the power and originality of Defoe’s famous book. Robinson Crusoe, set ashore on an island after a terrible storm at sea, is forced to make do with only a knife, some tobacco, and a pipe. He learns how to build a canoe, make bread, and endure endless solitude. That is, until, twenty-four years later, when he confronts another human being. First published in 1719, Robinson Crusoe has been praised by such writers as James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, and Samuel Johnson as one of the greatest novels in the English language. 

There I go saying that I don’t do classics and what do I have here? Robinson Crusoe. Okay, honestly, I have never read this and really have no idea if I am in for a snooze fest or not but I am willing to find out!

The House of Night series is set in a world very much like our own, except in 16-year-old Zoey Redbird’s world, vampyres have always existed.  In this first book in the series, Zoey enters the House of Night, a school where, after having undergone the Change, she will train to become an adult vampire–that is, if she makes it through the Change.  Not all of those who are chosen do.  It’s tough to begin a new life, away from her parents and friends, and on top of that, Zoey finds she is no average fledgling.  She has been Marked as special by the vampyre Goddess, Nyx.  But she is not the only fledgling at the House of Night with special powers.  When she discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school’s most elite club, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look deep within herself for the courage to embrace her destiny–with a little help from her new vampyre friends.

One word: curiosity.

Audrey Eaton awakes at three in the morning and gets up to retrieve her husband, Tom, from the recliner where he has fallen asleep watching a ball game. But when she enters the living room and looks at his gentle face in the soft lamp light, she knows their time together is over. Grief attacks her until all she can think about is how much she wants her old life back. Determined to find healing, she embarks on a journey to the one place Tom and she always intended to visit but never did. Along the way, she discovers, through shared experiences with friends old and new, the meaning of the “tender graces” God provides each and every day.

Are you beginning to realize that there was no logic to my book picking? Yeah. Well this sounded terribly touching even if it does come off as a little preachy, we shall see!

Olwen Pendennis is the Keeper of the Isis Light. She and her companion, Guardian, have lived alone on the planet Isis since the death of her parents. But then a group of colonists arrives on Isis from Earth, settling in the valleys – the only places where they can breathe and not be harmed by the planet’s harsh sun. Olwen fears these new inhabitants may ruin her world forever, and at first, it appears she is right.

This was my fave book when I was in, like, Grade Seven! It is still awesome and I couldn’t pass up the chance to add it to my growing library

Years have passed on Isis, but life has gone backward, not forward. Under their leader, Mark London, the settlers have abandoned the technological knowledge of their forefathers. Upper Isis is now a forbidden zone, and the history of the first inhabitants from Earth has been replaced by myth. But one inquiring young man yearns to know the truth, and soon he gets the chance to find it.

There is a sequel?? MUST HAVE.

C-Three, the computer, is programmed to make the city of Thompsonville an ideal place to live in. But disaster threatens as the computer uses increasingly ruthless means to discard all that is old and useless. Caro and David are aware of the horrors, but can they alert the others in time?

Are you beginning to understand that I have a love for Monica Hughes? I have never read this book but I knew I had to read it when I saw it. Also, this is the actual cover that I have on my copy!

Okay, I also got Island of the Blue Dolphins but I am too lazy to link it etcetera etcetera…. Anyways these are the books I picked up for twenty-five cents a piece on the weekend! Very epic bunch. They are all waiting in a cue behind Madame Tussaud, which I am currently reading. I will give you a full review later, that book totally deserves it! The author did a stunning amount of research, wowing me.

Cheers, Amber 

Thanks for all your patience, here’s a music video to make up for it! (Yes I do actually listen to country music sometimes lol)

The King’s Speech

The story of King George VI of Britain, his impromptu ascension to the throne and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch become worthy of it.

I had been told, even before we actually got this one in, that it was a good movie. I admit I was apprehensive since I have seen too many boring drama movies for my taste (I count Remember Me, The Fighter and even Country Strong as drama and no, none of them were really what I would call awesome.), but The King’s Speech surprised me. It was surprisingly witty, to the point that you almost forget that this actually has to do with history, with events which actually occured.

I have studied World War II several times, from both the European perspective and the American one, but seeing it from the POV of the British – and not just any British but the Royal Family – was intriguing. I loved Bertie, I loved Logue and I even loved Bertie’s wife (whose name I have forgotten, but the actress also played Bellatrix in the Harry Potter movies and is married to Tim Burton, nevermind her name is on the movie poster to the left, duh.).

I did not find it boring, in fact some parts were downright hilarious, as a customer pointed out. There is one point in the movie where, since Bertie has a speech impediment, Logue instructs him to swear and I will never forget him blurting out all those words and seeming so timid about it. A beautiful and memorable movie to be sure.

Now that summer is here it is harder than ever for me to write, particularly if I want something coherent, because I am outside as often as I can be. Since I’m a simple pleasures kind of person that means random walks, getting icecream, playing on tireswings and gardening. Also painting fences (I want to get some pictures up of that so you don’t think I’m just painting one solid colour, I’m talking mural). That also means that when I do get to write, it is often late at night so that when I come to it the next day only half of it is in the right tense.

The writing course over at F2K is still going on too, so I’m struggling to keep up with that and give all the feedback I can (I fail, I’m sorry guys!). And then there’s my actual job. Hm, where has my writing life gone? When’s the last time I got through a book? I have three (still) that I am slowly progressing through.

Ah, but I have to go now, my phone just rang telling me that I have an appointment with Minute Muffler for my car >_> It only took me two weeks to make and I would hate to back out now.

And it’s voting day! I’m going to run, pick up my car after work, and go exercise my political rights. Afterall, if I don’t put in my two cents and vote, I don’t get to complain right?

Cheers,

Amber

Thanks to Tahjir over at Extremis for all his help!

Editors

“Editing is the same thing as quarreling with writers – exactly the same thing.” – Harold Ross

Authors and editors have been at odds for a long time. Authors are the creative minds behind the writing and their characters, but without an editor the story might never be ready for the reader’s eyes and without the author, the editor would not have a job. It is a relationship that feeds, one off the other, and has been thus since the dawn of time. As such, I warn you now to trust your editor, though I urge you to give in only as you see fit. Editors are, above all else, lovers of the written word; they have taken up this job so that more of the writing they love will find popularity.

Editors, in the basis of their title, will correct grammar, sentence structure, inaccurate facts, plot flaws, loop holes and other such errors in your judgement or writing. They have a fresh set of critical, unbiased eyes to lend you.

I have never hired an editor; I have used friends, family and old teachers/librarians to look through my work. I have even used a writing circle over the Internet that tore my first piece of scifi up into little bitty pieces. (It broke my heart, but I became better for it.) I have worked as an editor online for many different people, often on favours or a credit system. Being a word nerd as its advantage.

If you are really set on an editor, look up the classifieds on a publisher’s market or find an agent’s blog that has links to credited editors. Sign up for a writer’s circle or a guild that will help you if you feel like you are drowning.

From Agent Nathan Bransford’s Blog:
Submitting to editors

Also, it’s worth mentioning that every responsibility I’ve listed up until this point is done on spec – an agent has not yet gotten paid for any of this. Since agents only receive income if they’re able to sell a project, they could very well spend tens or a hundred or more hours on a project, send it to editors, and come up empty.

Find an editor:

Editors’ Association of Canada (EAC):  http://www.editors.ca/

The Literary Agent

The literary agent is a dangerous creature. I mentioned that they are picky – well they are, and they have to be. Their jobs are hinged on picking up good manuscripts, and what people want now is writers that are willing to make a career of writing – authors with sustainability.

When you approach them with a query, make sure you give your best and you know what you are getting yourself into. Research your targets – know their name, know who they represent (and if your manuscript fits into that genre), know if they are even taking on clients right now. Remember that legitimate agents will not charge money to represent you, they earn their paycheck by finding you an interested publisher. Connect with them first on their blog if you can so that when you do query, you can use it and they will know that you have been paying attention. Can we say brownie points?

While it is possible to represent yourself, literary agents come with a number of perks. For instance, they often deal with the legal aspects of writing, such as foreign distribution deals. Agents will also present and sell your work to editors, negotiate contracts and make sure you get paid. The relationship isn’t always professional, either. Many published authors look to their agents for support in the day-to-day aspects of writing.

MEDIA

Blogging

I do advise setting up a blog, even if you only do book reviews. Use your blog to advertise the fact that you write, use it to network with other people who write. Agents, editors and publishers (along with other writers) all blog, tweet and what-have-you; use the Internet to your advantage.

If you do plan to advertise yourself online, remember that everything you do and say can be seen by future agents, publishers, and readers. If you’re going to communicate online in any capacity, remember: Don’t be a say anything you will regret.

Anyone could be reading, and they will remember.
Blogs to Follow

Agent Nathan: http://blog.nathanbransford.com/

-has links to everything you could ever wish to know about writing, publishing, editing, etc.

Writer Beware Blog: http://accrispin.blogspot.com/

-very handy

The Rejectionist:  http://www.therejectionist.com/

-some offensive language but if you want to know what life as an agent’s assistant is like (or you are in a slump and need a laugh) this is the place for you

Don’t Pet Me, I’m Writing: http://tawnafenske.blogspot.com/

-Even if you aren’t a romance writer, Ms Fenske always has a worthy opinion as well as advice

Grammar Girl: http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/

-If you are wondering about how you should spell something or what you should capitalize, Grammar Girl has likely addressed it

I Should Be Writing: http://isbw.murlafferty.com/

-A podcast on writing, with interviews of authors, agents, and publishers.

Reading

ON WRITING – Stephen King

THE ELEMENTS OF STYLE – William Strunk, Jr and EB White

I recommend these two on the arts of writing, but for reading in general I suggest you read everything you get your hands on. Read fiction, non-fiction, YA – especially the genre you are working in. You are not just a fan anymore, you are a student. Pick your favorite work by your favorite author, and try to figure out how they did what they did, and how you can learn from it.

As everyone has told me: if you don’t have time to read, you don’t have time to write.
NaNoWriMo.org

NaNoWriMo – aka National Novel Writing Month – is an event you will most definitely want to look into. Take the challenge to write 50,000 words in one month along with thousands of other people around the world. Keep in touch with them, go to meets, discuss plot points, and write until you go crazy. You will have a lot of fun, you will learn what it takes to meet a deadline and in the end, you might just get a free copy of your book.

–> I have been trying to read this for some time but I continue to be distracted. No idea why THAT should happen. Though from what I have gotten through, I must say that whoever wrote the movie script did a bang up job!

[Speaking of which, who has seen Voyage of the Dawn Treader? Pretty epic huh? I absolutely adore the movies, but I don't know what they are going to do now that the books start getting... less awesome. I mean, that last book in the series? Awful, just saying. ]

–> I have read a ton of the Starcraft books and have loved each one, an addiction I can thank my brother for. He started me off with Starcraft Ghost: Nova and it just lead to me reading whatever else he had; this is the last one he owns that I haven’t read. At least… I don’t think I have read it xD

[And for those of you wondering, no I have never played the games but certain members of my family have. I'm sure if I ever came up with the time and ambition I could play, but... I think I'll just stick with the books. If you don't read scifi or don't know where to start, read Starcraft. They are awesome.]

–> And finally, this book. It was lent to me the other night by a good friend with some odd tastes in books – and I mean that in the best of ways! He reads books I would normally over look just because they sound odd – yes, I admit it, I do search by back covers. If the summary isn’t enough to catch me I usually don’t open the cover unless I have a reason to.

I read “Neverwhere” by this same author and I loved it, but I really couldn’t get into “Coraline”. Yeah. Just couldn’t.

So if you are wondering what I am doing for the next few days and why I probably WON’T be posting, it will be enjoying my weekend in the middle of the week – that’s right, two days off in a row. I will be outside enjoying whatever sun has deigned to shine, cleaning up a yard that is almost free of snow, reading and attempting to write something that isn’t horrible. We are not going there.

Cheers, Amber