2011 Reading Roundup

Writing Status: Procrastinating.

I read a ton of books in 2011. Since our public library reopened, I've been trying to catch up.

My favorites, offhand, were:

Evil Genius by Catherine Jinks
I love smart characters. This story looks a little incredulous at first, but it was real and heartfelt. Definitely a fave.

The Hollow Kingdom Trilogy by Clare Dunkle
Now one of my all-time favorite book series. I even got the first one for Christmas.

Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer
I have a huge crush on Artemis, I'll admit.

Airman by Eoin Colfer
I am naming my first son Conor Broekhart.

Maximum Ride series by James Patterson
I finally got around to reading these. They were awesome, kickbutt, and funny.

The Thief Lord and Dragon Rider by Cornelia Funke
These definitely go on my all-time favorites list.

Gods of Manhattan by Scott Meebus
I'm a history and a fantasy buff. This married the two perfectly.

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
I want this book. I really do. The characters are great, and the writing is just as good.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Because who didn't love it?

Wings by Aprilynne Pike
I liked this because it combined science and fantasy beautifully.

Watersmeet by Ellen Jensen Abbott
I read the back of this book like a cheater, but still wanted to read the whole thing through. That is a good book, imo.

Simon Bloom, Gravity Keeper by Michael Reisman
Lots of Douglas Adams references. What more could you want?


Honorable Mentions:

Need by Carrie Jones
I'm waiting to see whether Zara ends up with Astley to deliver judgement on this series.

The Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter
She's an awesome writer and I stalk her agent, Kristen Nelson.

The Maze Runner by James Dashnell
I loved it for four-fifths of the book, but I couldn't get into the way he ended it. It just didn't make sense to me. Should've been a stand-alone. No Scorch, please.

Across the Universe by Beth Nevis
This book was too much of a psych-out for the favorites list, but I can't wait to read the sequel.

Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George
It made me smile.

Wolven by Di Toft
ditto.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians, etc., by Rick Riordan
I liked the books a lot better than the movie.

Michael Vey: Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans
I got this for Christmas and I've read four times already. I think it's on its way to being a favorite.

Also, I developed a taste for graphic novels of all things (I know, the horror). I blame Ultimate Spider-man and the Artemis Fowl graphic novels. And all the superhero movies that came out last year. (We bought three of them.) And this is nowhere near all the books I read, but I didn't want the list getting too long.

Revision Pains Etc

I have been revising Dark Falcon for the past week or so. I'm overwhelmed now. I really, really want to finish this revision by the end of the month. That was going pretty well, but the past couple days have been gunk. Maybe it's allergies... but my head just won't work. Not the best time to edit, you know?

I'm optimistic about Dark Falcon, but I need a beta reader. Trouble is, I'm not actually sure how to get my manuscript off my internet-less Windows 98 and onto this one (a Vista).

I've also been writing a short story I've tentatively entitled "The Goblin Queen". It's my own take on goblins, Faye, and Otherworld, so that's always fun.

My interest in Twitter has been revived as I now have more opportunities to sneak on.

I'm not really big on writing scripts, but I may collab with my brother again for ScriptFrenzy. He gets to mess with the formatting that way.

My 18th birthday is coming up (yay!) This may sound weird, but I want to head out to the zoo and practice my photography for the occasion.

:D SD

P.S. I have discovered I am a geek: This summer's superhero movie lineup has me freaking out. ...And Cowboys & Aliens.

I'm Just As Stubborn

I'm sitting here at the computer desk. I've been up three hours and have about three paragraphs to show for it. I'm tired, bored, and uninspired. I know what I want to write in the next chapter, but I've got to get them there first. The writer's block just isn't going away.
Got up to make a new copy and started wondering: Is this story any good? If it is, would anyone ever buy it? I've got other stories I could be working on, so why stick with this series? We both know it'll probably just wind up on a memory stick my sock drawer.

My only answer to this dilemma? I'm passionate. I love these stories and these characters. I can't expect it to be any good on the first try, or even the second. Sure it might be epic fantasy, not very original, and too short; but it's mine. I'll keep writing and resist the urge to open another document. And I just might finish for once.

So I'm still here. And I'm going to get to writing. And I'll pull myself out of this funk I'm stuck in.
Maybe, just maybe, the Chinese chicken leftovers will survive.

See? I'll show the writer's I'm just as mule-headed as it is.
:P S.D.

Story Artwork

I love drawing character art for my stories. As of late, I've been drawing the characters for the novel I'm trying to finish, The Restored.

Oh, and I got my mom signed up and on deviantArt, so if you're on there, go look up M2S4J2.

Art for my Characters:

Lindsaille

Will




Bhari



Emerelda



Cherapha

I had best get to writing now :D Catch Ya Later! S.D.

Time Management? (plus art)

I have no ability to manage my time whatsoever. I have an attention problem, I suppose. I'd rather be mindlessly doodling than doing my English and scribbling down a new story idea than math.
And lately I'd rather be searching for and manipulating photographs than writing my stories.
I swear that deviantArt is the best and worst thing to ever happen to me. I can't stay off of the place. Especially after one of my photographs became a top pic (in the last three days) for its subcategory thingy. Yeah, it's that picture on the left.

I haven't really been blogging on here lately or commenting much, but like I said, my time management is around zip.

Anyway, if you want to look at my art gallery, it's at the bottom of the page (the little SitBack thing).