Midwinter Blogfest

My entry for Marieke’s Musings blogfest. It’s from my current WIP Quarantined, hope you enjoy.

Thomas taught me Christmas.

This morning when I woke up there was fresh snow outside. A white Christmas. But snow means we are trapped. There haven’t been many patrols around our area these past couple of days, but it wasn’t worth the risk. No matter how big the reward.

When I found the snow, Thomas was still asleep so I sneaked downstairs as quietly as possible but it wasn’t long before I heard him.

“Hell no,” he shouted. The shutter slammed shut. There’s another bang followed by a myriad of words I imagine my mother would faint at.

Thomas has never been a morning person.

I’d finished making coffee when he finally limped into the kitchen. I’m going to have to move the bedside table again. There isn’t a lot of light with the shutters and I don’t think his eyes have recovered enough yet; he keeps walking into things.

“There goes that idea then,” he said, nodding towards the curtains in front of the kitchen window. “There isn’t supposed to be any snow around here you know,” he complained.

“There isn’t supposed to be any life around here either.” I answered.

I could see him swallow his words, as I handed him the coffee. Real coffee. I don’t indulge using the Coffee-Create often, because it eats the batteries, but for the he look on his face it was worth it. I couldn’t stop laughing.

One to me.

I left him there and started to clean the house. When I came back he was in the kitchen cooking.

It was so strange, because Thomas has never cooked since I’ve found him. And the food was so good. He spoon-fed me some of the soup while he directed me on how to set the table. I never knew that it could be so complicated.

Just before everything was ready he handed me a bag and sent me upstairs to one of the bedrooms.

Inside was a dress, a new dress. It still had tracker tags. For a moment I panicked until I realised that he’s burnt the chip.

The dress itself was beautiful. Dark blue with a light blue ribbon below the bust. I couldn’t remove the tracker without damaging the dress so I tried to ignore it instead. I found the full-length mirror in the wardrobe and stared. It’s the first time I’d really seen myself in years. At times I’d risk a quick glance but my reflection still scares me. Today I look almost normal. Pretty.

When I come downstairs Thomas stops midstride to look. Sometimes he looks at me like I’m a child, other times he doesn’t. This is one of them and it’s those times I like best.

One to him.

~

After dinner we danced.

I had no present for him. No way to explain what he gave me today and every day since I found him, so instead I gave him what’s most precious to me: my name.

All the pretty things are Mistwood…

Ok, I wasn’t going to do this because A. it’s really late B. I’m still halfway through my building project but well I can’t resist, plus Leah Cypess sent me on a happy fangirl cloud. It’s all sparkly and nice, I should visit more often…

Anyway, GO GO GO here

Not only is it an awesome and useful guide to world building by Leah Cypess but my bestest writing buddy is giving away a copy of Mistwood. Seriously you need this book! And to top it all, Leah is currently answering questions in the comment section…

Which brings me to my fangirl happy cloud, I knew she was lovely anyway but she’s just made my week (I wanna say month…) by answering my questions due to this state of euphoria I’m going to fess up now.

Mistwood is one of the 4 books that are DEFINITELY in my top 10 reads of this year. I’ve been planning that blog for months and it’s not going up until the end of December (who knows what other treasures I can find) but hand on heart Mistwood was one of the first on there and hasn’t budged* – I truly ♥ it and I wanted you to know that.

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*the list has changed SO many times already

The award goes to…

For the next 2 weeks I won’t be around much, I have many things to sort through (aka read/write) and I’m going to build ‘the wall of book’ i.e. adding a top level to my bookcases. Hopefully it won’t be a death-trap

However there are a few things I thought I’d blog about, firstly thank you to Marieke’s Musings for my blog awards

How did I get them? No no idea but she says: “…it is my bestest writing buddy’s amazing blog. And it deserves awards!” *has warm fuzzy feelings*

The Rules for The Versatile Blogger Award:

1. Thank and link back to the person that gave you the award.
2. Share seven things about yourself.
3. Pass the award to fifteen bloggers that you think deserve it.
4. Lastly, contact all of the bloggers that you’ve picked for the award

One Lovely Blog Award Rules:

1. Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.
2. Pass the award to 15 other blogs that you’ve newly discovered.
3. Remember to contact the bloggers to let them know they have been chosen for this award.

I’m new to blogging, I’ve only recently started reading regularly them SO I can’t make 15 but I’ll try again in a year and see where we are – deal?

7 things about myself:

1. I love my flat – the wonky floors, the fact that nothing is level, the squeaking doors and that I can’t get a single picture hook all the way into a wall
2. I speak/read/write in two languages
3. I love the theatre and go every change I get
4. I’m a visual person. My stories are all on pinboards or stuck to the wall with bluetack – I need to see it to write it
5. I collect pins from the HardRock Café
6. I’m living the childhood I didn’t have now
7. When in doubt, tea

So the blogs I award:

Marieke’s Musings – sorry I know you gave me the award but it’s seriously good and guys her upcoming events are going to be epic. Check it out!

Tessa Quinn – fellow member of The Voice, as are: KidsBookJunky, KitForbes, ChristyH, RachelHarrie and yes I get the theme and it might be an easy out but as I said I’m new to blog reading and these are the ones I’ve started looking up so they get them because they should!

I thought about the below, mainly because I was like ‘I can’t possible write to these people’ but they are still people and at worst they can ignore me, right? Right? *is scared*

Jackson Pearce – it’s like one of the very first blogs I started paying attention to and have you seen her YouTube channel? Writers’  Blok is epic!

Robin McKinley – writer of my all time favourite book, Sunshine and probably my favourite author. I know I shouldn’t have favourites but still

Merry Sisters of Fate – doesn’t need an explanation, not really

Partly related, check out all these awesome blog competitions by ReadingTeen, InWhichAGirlReads & C.A. Marshall

See you guys soon!

The countdown begins…

This time next week I’ll be checking boarding passes, packing that one extra book* and doing last minute revisions in time for boot camp. The closer it get’s the more excited I am about it. A whole week on writing, reading, and talking about writing and reading

My bestest writing buddy is on a mission to get her WIP finished in time for my arrival, that’s about 40k in one week but if anyone can do it she can**.

My mission is to get the revisions done for part one of my WIP, which I’ll be focusing on this weekend.

A visit to WriteOnCon, while much too brief (I was double booked so couldn’t spend a lot of time there), gave me some valuable input and meant there is another plot rethink. Not as major as previously but it will mean a few changes and a lot more research…

Apart from boot camp the other mission for my holiday is book shopping. I’ve been saving up for 2 months for the express purpose of getting lost for hours amongst shelves of wonderfulness.

The minimum purchase requirement is 20, which is think is a decent number (it should also keep me out of trouble for a month, maybe two) and the maximum is, well, however far I can stretch the budget.

Books I definitely want to get are: Newes from the Dead by Mary Hooper, The Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink, Magic under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore, Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma, The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson and Finding Sky by Joss Stirling…. I’m thinking Linger by Maggie Stiefvater also.

Anyone for further suggestions?

*ok, maybe more like third or fourth

** I have told her she doesn’t have to finish it but she promised and like me she never backs down on a promise. Hence, we only make very few…

I’m going to boot camp…

…apparently, judging by my writing buddies latest blog. I thought I was going on holiday? What a foolish notion. *lol*

It’s all good though, I’m actually looking forward to it. It was her that started me off on my WIP the last time I visited, only it was writing exercises then. I still have them, see below -

“Tea?”

Sarah looked at the girl in disbelieve.

“Tea? You’ve hunted me for weeks, beaten the crap out of me and just dragged me out of my bedroom window and now you want me to have tea with you?!”

The girl just smiled and poured herself a cup, taking a seat opposite Sarah she winked and said:

“It’s never to late to start being civil.”

Sarah snorted.

“You know we aren’t that different, you and me.”

“Really?”

Sarah laced her question with sarcasm.

“Apart from the fact that I don’t chase innocent people into a deserted park or kidnap them.”

The girl sighed and opened the drawer in the cupboard behind her, taking out a brown folder she placed it in front of Sarah and opened it. There was her name, Sarah Owen, 17 years old, pisces… the notes carried on from there.

“What is this?”

“You. Shall I read?”

The girl pulled the folder towards her and lifted the first few pages.

Of course the story has changed a lot since then. It’s still evolving now, but that was the day that the name Sarah first appeared.

So boot camp eh? Well like Marieke said, I’m going to be crit-ing Ysolde while I’m there* and she’ll be helping me in my WIP. Which should have the first draft finished by then, I have 2 chapters and an epilogue left and another 3 weekends to do it in. No problem.

So since I couldn’t possibly fit everything into the comment section, here’s my reply m’dear:

This may or may not include vicious critiques, Yes chronic comma confusion, That would be you, I’m staying away from comma’s cocktails at the Hard Rock, Check veggie burgers at the same Hard Rock, Double check flirting with waiters,That was you not me. It didn’t get us served quicker though, you should practise more 1k1hr, oho… I’m worried youtube vids, That be me Doctor Who overload, Check, check, check, Torchwood too please cheesy films And some truly awful ones *wink* and tea. Yep, stocks are running low! Oh. And books. Possibly. Book buying may or may not occur. *g* Like the sun might possibly rise and set… right?

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So before I go back to writing I just quickly wanted to share this – ♥

And yay for Jackson Pearce also loving SYTYCD, I knew YA author’s were the best.

*I so can’t wait to read it. It looks ace.