This Writer's Return

Well, I'm back.

For a moment.

I've been off, sick and reading and otherwise. We (my entire family and I...actually, my entire church...) seem to have caught some rather nasty cold/flu/something-or-other. I've been sick for around three or four weeks now, though the first two weeks were simply a cold. Anyhow, I'm nearly over it by now (or, at least, I think I am). However, I've many, many, many, many -- did I mention I have a lot? -- of books to be read.

Books from the library. With due dates. It's my own fault, really, but that's that. And so I'll not be on much, I'm sure. But I'll be back now and again, and later more consistently.

Here's how it happens: I go to the library (mistake number one, but I really can't help it). Then I sit down to read. But somewhere between the door and the chair, I can't help but notice some book. Or if I don't, then when I look up from reading. Or between the chair and the door again. I can't help myself. Though I've gotten better. I simply can't resist a potentially good book. And so my pile of library books ends up looking something like that picture at the beginning. Or like this:

This leaves me with plenty to read, though very little time to do it in. That always seems to be the way of things. Either you've plenty of time but can't seem to find a book to read, or you've plenty of books though too little time.

So many books, so little time.

adieu for now, my friends           

         

Confession

I have a confession to make.

Once upon a time, my sister insisted I read Anne of Green Gables. However, she made it so romantical and Anne is such a chick-flick type thing and...I don't know. I never had any interest in reading the series but when Ang decided I simply must, I told her most definitely not. I said I'd read it when a (guy) friend of ours did. She said this was unfair but I didn't care because that way I'd never be forced to read it. Hopefully.

As of late, it's come to mind that perhaps I might enjoy reading Anne, even if I don't love it. But no, because then I would have changed my mind! And I can't do that now, can I?

Then I read this. The third question Anne-girl answers in that post is, "Share (up to) four heroines of literature that you most admire and relate to." The third heroine she chose was Anne Shirley:

Duh! Anne has my imagination. We both take any situation and make it better. I love Anne's red hair. We both love looking forward to things.

It came to mind as I read this that perhaps, perhaps, I would like to read Anne. "No, no," I thought, "of course not." Then a realization dawned: maybe the real reason I refused to read Anne was simply that I was afraid I'd come to love it; not with the books or the author, necessarily, but with the characters. Oh, that wasn't the reason at first -- originally, I really just didn't have any interest in reading it. Though it's slightly ironic, since it was Anne's first movie that inspired me so when I was younger (4 or 5).

Then in a post from Amy's blog, which Anne-girl linked to, this:

Mark Twain once said that Anne Shirley was the dearest and most lovable child in fiction since the immortal Alice (of Wonderland fame, for all you non-Lewis-Caroll-fans out there). This sweet comment almost makes up for his crack about Jane Austen.

I absolutely love Mark Twain, and I rather enjoy said "crack about Jane Austen". (That said, I do wonder, if I despised it so much, why he read Pride and Prejudice more than once anyway? Or perhaps he simply meant every time I tried to continue the first time through.) Also, Amy's post seems to have completed the amount convincing needed to get me to read these accursed books.

There's also the minor detail that something possessed me to take an Anne personality quiz and I got Katherine Brooke. I don't know who Katherine Brooke is and so I'm afraid I'll need to find out, which means either watching the movies again or reading the books or both.

So I've decided that perhaps -- not right now, since I've got so many books I'm reading already -- but it may be that I could, perchance, conceivably read Anne at some point in the future. I still don't think I'll fall in love with the books or author; but, possibly, with the characters, I shall.

Hurray. Happy now?

The Ides of March

The ides of March, the ides of March, the ides of March.

What's so important about that? My sister keeps saying, "Tomorrow is the ides of March," and now, "Today is the ides of March." I'm not quite sure why, but she does.

First of all, we're all readers here, so who knows what the ides of March is? Okay, maybe we're not all readers. Did I hear Shakespeare? Yes, Shakespeare wrote of it. The ides of March is simply the 15th of March. What's so special about it is that Julius Caesar was warned to "beware the ides of March!" Eventually, he was killed by Brutus; stabbed in the heart while his back was turned to the senator.

During the American Revolution, there was a Hessian general...I can't remember his name, but he's in "Liberty's Kids". Anyway, he was playing cards and ordered that he not be interrupted under any circumstances. Meanwhile, a messenger came with a note warning said general of a surprise attack the Americans were planning. A servant came into the room the general was in but the general would hear nothing, simply pockets the note. He was busy and told them not to interrupt and they had better follow those orders. The servant reluctantly left his general alone. Not much later (minutes, I think), the American's attacked. The general and his Hessians rushed to defend their hold. At some point during the battle, the general is fatally wounded. After the battle is over, his men rush to him. He remembers the note, pulls it out of his pocket, and reads it. "Had I read this note, I hadn't died."

So, what's the big deal about the ides of March today? I'm still not sure why Ang thinks so (you've have to ask her, though I'm not sure she knows either). But maybe the application is: when you're told to beware something, perhaps you should listen.

          

Cats and Coffee

Cats and coffee.

The point of this post?

Well, to be honest, nothing really. I felt like typing (as I call it) and my cat was sitting next to me on the back of the couch I'm lying on. I love my cat and it's awesome when Mom makes me a good cup of coffee. Other than that, I don't suspect this post will have much to do with either.

That's her: my cat, Torri. That's not a picture of her just now. First of all, that's not a couch, it's a chair. Second, the picture is from a couple weeks ago. It's also my profile picture on Facebook. She actually just turned 15 this month. Happy birthday my darling cat!

*evil glare*

What?

*evil, oh-brother, don't-you-dare, you-know-what glare*

Okay, okay, Cat.

*rolls eyes* Just like her person.

Happy birthday my dignified creature!

*you've-got-to-be-kidding-but-I-suppose-I'll-accept-that stare*

*looks away then begins to groom herself*

(Yes, I really do have conversations with my cat. They go something like that. She gets her looks from me; pun intended or no pun intended.)

So I'm sitting here, having just finished with some pancakes my sister Rissa made me, listening to Julie Fowlis radio on Pandora, watching Mom crochet the blanket she's been working on, reading Scribblings, and wondering what I could write right now.

I currently have two books I'm working on.

The first is untitled.

Actually, let me just outline them for you.

BOOK #1
AnnDrew, Jess, and Alex Kyle

Main Characters (so far)

• Alex - his real name is Josh. He and his little sister were abandoned by their mother 8 years ago when they were 3 and 7, their father being a Navy Seal MIA. He ran when he was unable to save his sister from dying at the hand of their abusive uncle, their mother's brother.
• AnnDrew - 
• Jess - 
• Kyle - Alex and Jainie's father. He escaped / was rescued (I'm not sure yet) and has made it back to the US but without any contact with his family whatsoever. He's looking forward to being a husband and father again.

Other Characters (so far)

• Jainie - Alex's younger sister. She was killed by their abusive uncle at 11 years old.
• Jake - Josh (Alex)'s best friend. He isn't fooled by Alex's uncle's lies about how Jainie died, and after Josh tells him the truth he helps Josh escape.
• Ken - Alex & Jainie's uncle and Mia's brother. Abusive, gambler, blackmailer, embezzler. Has everyone in the small town in which he lives (and was raised in) fooled and is looked up to as the rich, generous gentleman and an upstanding, law-abiding citizen. He left when he was in his teens and came back rich, though no one know where the money came from. He calls himself an entrepreneur.
• Mia - Kyle's wife, Alex & Jainie's mom, and Ken's sister. Abandons her family when Alex and Jainie are 7 and 3, respectively, leaving them with her abusive brother. (He didn't abuse her, and I don't think he abused the children much at all while she lived with them.)
• Mrs. Parker - Jess's mom. She makes the greatest sweet iced tea. That's about all I have on her right now.

Plot

I'm not entirely sure of my plot yet. Kyle & Alex's reunion will definitely be a big part of it. Jake will have to come back in at the end (I can't just leave Josh's best friend all by his lonesome while everyone else is "happily ever after"...not that there will necessarily be one of those, though I do plan for an at least partially happy ending).

BOOK #2
Joshua, son of Nun

The second book is a book I'm co-authoring with Anne-girl. It's more of just a side project right now, especially for her, since she already has plenty of books she's working on and not nearly as much time.

The basic idea is that we're going to write a novel based on Joshua, son of Nun. You know, "Joshua fought the battle of Jericho, Jericho, Jericho..." Yah. Anyway... Now when I say "based on" I don't mean "loosely similar to a story based on a story of the biblical story of Joshua." No, I mean we're going to stick as close to the facts as we can. We're not going to change anything that's clearly spelled out in scripture. Sure, we're going to have to take some poetic license in places to turn it into a novel (there aren't exactly a lot of details about several things which are necessary for a novel) but only where and as needed, and in keeping with what we do know.

Of course, there will be mistakes. We're not perfect, only human, and some things are subject to interpretations. Chances are, since there's two of us working on it that it will end up more accurate than if just her or just I were writing the entire book by ourselves.

Our hope with this book is simply to create an unforgettable encounter with one of the great and forgotten characters of the Bible.

Wait...Joshua, forgotten? Okay, so everyone knows the story of the battle of Jericho. You might even remember that he was one of the two "good" spies (Joshua and Caleb) who spied out Canaan. But do you really know much else about him?

Joshua pops up many places throughout his life where you may never have noticed him before. He follows Moses part way up mount Sinai, and stays there until he meets back up with Moses on Moses's way back to the camp. He leads the battle during which Aaron and Hur hold up Moses's hands; he prays in the same battle for God to stay the sun and give them victory over the enemy. There's also a second instance of Joshua asking God to stay the sun, and He does both times.

Those are just a few of the places no one really knows he's part of. All the more reason to write a novel and write it right, write it accurately.

This book doesn't have a title yet, either. As far as themes, we're thinking courage or faith or trust, something along those lines. In fact, I think I may want to suggest a theme based on "be strong and of a good courage," since that phrase appears often in the books in which Joshua lives, and is spoken several times directly to Joshua.

That is enough for now. This post has become quite long enough and longer than I expected...which, I suppose, is a good thing?

I shall have to have some of my head characters stop by sometime. Perhaps they won't ramble unimportantly so much as I do.