25 Book Questions

It's Hannah, answering 25 Book Questions just 'cause. My mom asked if we could do a similar questionnaire with books, so I modified the music questions. Books have more to do with writing anyway, right?  


1: A book you like with a color in the title: Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery. This includes the whole series, but my favorite is Anne of Avonlea, I think... I might have just liked it cause it had the prettiest cover. Gosh, it's been a long time since I read those.

2: A book you like with a number in the title: The Two Towers by J. R. R. Tolkien. Lord of the Rings, wink wink. 

3: A book that reminds you of Christmas time: Becky Garcia by Elspeth Campbell Murphy.

4: A book that reminds you of someone you would rather forget about: Um... Nope. Got nothing.

5: A book about drugs or alcohol: Hmm... I don't know if there are any of those... there's probably a Frank E. Peretti book about that. No, I've just remembered. The Icebound Land by John Flanagan has a lot about a drug called warmweed. It's not strictly about drugs, but it has drugs in it. Not in a positive light, mind you.

6: A book that makes you happy: Just about any book by John Flanagan... except maybe Halt's Peril. Rosencrantz and Gildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard is funny, too. The Derwood Inc. series by Jeri Massi is also hilarious.

7: A book that makes you sad: The Last Battle by C. S. Lewis. The Last Guardian by Eoin Colfer. Halt's Peril by John Flanagan. Brisingr by Christopher Paolini. These are books that make me merely sad. See also "a book that breaks your heart".

8: A book that you never get tired of: I don't know if there's a single book, but I'm quite content to read the Enola Holmes books by Nancy Springer several times over. Harry Potter is good for repeat-reading too.

9: A book from your preteen years: Hmm. The Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis. The Chronicles of Narnia is one of my favorite series ever.

10: A book that is a retelling of another story: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis. Or maybe even the whole Chronicles of Narnia series. It's a retelling of the Bible: The Magician's Nephew being when Aslan created the world; The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe being when Aslan (Jesus), as the son of the Emperor-Over-The-Sea (God), sacrificed himself for a traitor and was resurrected to triumph over evil; and The Last Battle relating the events of Revelation, etc.

11: One of your favorite classic books: Not sure what "classic" entails... I guess I'll say Beowulf, then, which is about as classic as they come.

12: A book from the year that you were born: Oooh! Harry Potter and The Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling. Special.

13: A book that makes you think about life: Do Hard Things by Brett and Alex Harris, The Courtship of Sarah McLean, by Stephen B. Castleberry.

14: A favorite book with a person’s name in the title: Gypsy Rizka by Lloyd Alexander.

15: A book that moves you forward: Do Hard Things, by Brett and Alex Harris. 

16: A book that you think everybody should read: The Holy Bible, by God. Good stuff. But I also think every teenager should read Do Hard Things.

17: A book by an author no longer living: Rakkety Tam by Brian Jacques. Or the whole Redwall series, as a matter of fact.

18: A book from another country: Oh, a whole lot of the books I've mentioned. If I have to pick one, let's say Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer. The author lives in Ireland.

19: A favorite book from a favorite series: Abandoned by Jeri Massi, from the Derwood Inc. series.

20: A book that makes you want to fall in love: The Viking Quest series by Lois Walfrid Johnson is pretty good. Most fairytale books by Gail Carson Levine...

21:  A book that breaks your heart: Hmmm... what counts as "breaking my heart"? The ending of The Return of The King by J. R. R. Tolkien was really depressing. Left Behind by Tim Lahaye and Jerry B. Jenkins can get pretty heart-breaking, both the kids and adult series. And... oh, gosh, the Seven Sleepers series by Gilbert Morris. The Final Kingdom made me cry. Oh, and another book that makes me sob like a baby is the Courageous novelization by Randy Alcorn. My word. If you haven't seen the movie Courageous by Sherwood Pictures, you should watch it. You know, I'm actually pretty emotional when it comes to fiction. I say emotional, Trinity says sappy...

22: A book by an author you love: For a long time I'd say Gail Carson Levine was my favorite author, and The Two Sisters of Bamarre is one of my favorites from her.

23: A book that you remember from your childhood: Elsie Dinsmore by Martha Finley. Heavens, that series was traumatizing. Mama used to read it to us before naptime, and we often dreaded it, because, besides Elsie, none of the kids ever "did good"... and the girl just had a horrible life. I read this book again a few years ago, and for some reason it wasn't quite so bad.

One of our several, disorderly bookshelves,

24: A book that has many meanings to you: Should I at all include the books I am writing in this list? Those have many meanings to me. But if not, perhaps one of the books Mama used to read to us when we were little. I know I've already put The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe on here several times, but that book means a lot to me. When I was younger, I used to hate it being read to me about as much as Elsie Dinsmore, mostly because Edmund "did bad". I hated it to the point of disliking the spot on the bookshelf it sat on whenever I walked past. But later, in 2005, we got to see The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe film. Now, back then, we didn't see very many recently released films, or DVDs for that matter, so Narnia was revelatory to me. I left the room during the Stone Table scene - it was super scary and made me cry - but Mama wanted us to see it, I assume because of how it related to the crucifixion, and sent me back in. I spent most of the scene hiding under my blanket (I was only seven at the time... and give me a break, The Little Mermaid scared me).
But once we finished the movie, in the following days... and weeks and months... it got to be one of my favorite movies. And I knew there was a book about it, but I'd never read it, so I finally finished The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. So it has many meanings to me.

25: A book that reminds you of yourself: The Mildred Keith series by Martha Finley were great, but we accidentally sold it, so I haven't read it for years. The Big Green Pocketbook is a kid's book that I used to read a lot that is reminiscent of my... big... green... purse. The Enola Holmes series by Nancy Springer, too, and again, the Derwood Inc. series by Jeri Massi. And the first six Trixie Belden books.

So there you go. Not even a fifth of all the books I've read in my lifetime. I was going to say tenth, but I'm not really sure how many books I have read, so I'll say it's a fifth to be on the safe side. And there's at least 153 books here. When there should be 25. Oh, well. Reading's awesome.

30 Music Questions

Guess what?! It's been almost an entire month since anybody posted. And two months since I personally posted. But Trinity is back! 

Aaaaand, I won't be talking about writing today. It'll be music. Which is a big part of writing, right!?

Anyway, here are the thirty questions that I'm going to answer for today's post. 

1: A song you like with a color in the title:
I actually have quite a few, but here's a few my favorites... Courtesy Of The Red, White, And Blue by Toby Keith / Blue Xmas (To Whom It May Concern) by Miles Davis / Streets of Gold from Oliver and Company.

2: A song you like with a number in the title:
I'm making two whole new playlists for colors and numbers! And they're huge. I found 22 number songs. I'll try and narrow them down to... three. Ouch.

Okay, okay, four... Edge of Seventeen by Stevie Nicks / The 12 Days Of Christmas by Straight No Chaser / Million Voices by Barlow Girl / Seven Ways To Praise by Carman

3: A song that reminds you of summertime:AHA! I already have a playlist for this one. Summer Sunshine by *gulp* ... Barbie / Knee Deep by Zac Brown Band / Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride by Jump5 / and sigh... Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepsen.

Hey! It reminds me of summer because the first time I heard it all the way through was when the Olympic Swim team made a music video to it, okay!?

4: A song that reminds you of someone you would rather forget about:

I will gracefully bow out of this one as I really don't have a good answer for it.

5: A song that needs to be played LOUD:
Boomin' by TobyMac. And Showstopper by TobyMac.

6: A song that makes you want to dance:
Oooh, lots of songs... But if I'm not in the mood, no song at all. If any song can make me dance, it's Thriller, though.

7: A song to drive to:

Showstopper by TobyMac. Most Audio Adrenaline songs. White and Nerdy by Weird Al Yankovic because when I drive a twelve passenger van with carseats and a Bible verse on the side, it's ridiculous to think I'm so cool for rapping this song perfectly.

8: A song about drugs or alcohol:
At first I was like, "Uh.... I don't have any of those." But then I thought of one.

Who Spiked The Eggnog by Straight No Chaser!

9: A song that makes you happy:

Touch The Sky by Julie Fowlis usually makes me feel somewhat rapturous. If that makes sense.

10: A song that makes you sad:

Cinderella by Steven Curtis Chapman. It makes me sad to think of leaving my family when I get married.

11: A song that you never get tired of:
I can eventually get tired of any song. A song I'm not tired of yet, but have listened to many times? This This, Message For Ya, and Baby Girl by Nicole C. Mullen.

12: A song from your preteen years:
Get Down by Audio Adrenaline. My dad used to listen to DCTalk and Audio Adrenaline on the way to work and I remember riding with him and singing their songs, so they're special to me now.

13: One of your favorite 80’s songs:

Oh, gee... I know so many... (Not sarcasm). Okay, here's three.

Another One Bites The Dust by Queen / No Spill Blood by Oingo Boingo / Sweet Dreams by the Eurythmics

14: A song that you would love played at your wedding:

Sabbath Prayer from Fiddler On The Roof, maybe. I don't know. I really don't care for sad, sappy songs that make me bawl. Thriller will almost definitely be played at some point. (Not during the ceremony, though.)

15: A song that is a cover by another artist:

Party Rock Anthem by Lindsey Stirling.

16: One of your favorite classical songs:
Ooh-ooh!! Yay!! I've always had a special place for Tchaikovsky's music. It's just been a favorite of mine. Pachelbel's music is close behind, possibly tied with Bach, then Beethoven. Mozart I've never liked much for some reason. Wagner's Ride Of The Valkyries is a favorite. / Moonlight Sonata, possibly. / La Gazza Ladra, or The Theiving Magpie by Gioacchino Rossini. / Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 / Holst's Mars, Bringer Of War 

I don't know. I was exposed to a LOT of classical music as a child, so it's special to me.

17: A song that you would sing a duet with on karaoke:

Playing With The Big Boys from Prince of Egypt. / Let Our Voices Rise Like Incense by Petra / Hallelujah by Michael Henry and Justin Robinette / and though I probably shouldn't... Phantom Of The Opera by Emmy Rossum, Gerard Butler and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

18: A song from the year that you were born:
Colors Of The Wind by Judy Kuhn. (I didn't even know that was written the year I was born!)

19: A song that makes you think about life:
Something To Be Proud Of  by Montgomery Gentry / Walking Her Home by Mark Shultz / We Live by Superchick / You're Gonna Miss This by Trace Adkins

20: A song that has many meanings to you:

This is a hard one. I'm going to go with Sweetly Broken by Jeremy Riddle. Ever since a friend told me it was her favorite song it's had extra meaning, and then the song itself is very meaningful and almost always makes me cry.

21: A favorite song with a person’s name in the title:

A Boy Named Sue by Johnny Cash / Ahab The Arab by Ray Stevens / Valorie by Nicole C. Mullen / Me and Becky by Chris Rice / Bye Bye Brianna by Nicole C. Mullen

22: A song that moves you forward:

Not entirely sure what this means, but I'll give it a shot.

Always Love You by Nicole C. Mullen / Anthem by Superchick / You Can't Take Me by Bryan Adams (Spirit)

23: A song that you think everybody should listen to:

Should've Been Me by Citizen Way

24: A song by a band you wish were still together:

Jesus Is Just Alright by DCTalk. /sigh....

25: A song by an artist no longer living:
Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash. /sigh...

26: A song that makes you want to fall in love:

Love Like Crazy by Lee Brice / Walking Her Home by Mark Shultz

27: A song that breaks your heart:

Forever 17 by Zoegirl / For You by Keith Urban / I Need A Miracle by Third Day

And the last, worst/best one... Little Brother by Judy Rogers.

Just listen to it. Really.

28: A song by an artist with a voice that you love:

Well, the voice I love is Nicole C. Mullen (She's on this list a lot, isn't she?). And the best song to hear her voice is Redeemer. But my favorite song by her is This This.

29: A song that you remember from your childhood:

DCTalk song, Audio Adrenaline songs, but my two songs of choice are You Are My Sunshine sung by my mom to me, and Grandma's Feather Bed, sung by my dad while he plays his guitar for us kids.

30: A song that reminds you of yourself:
Goodness. This is a really hard one. All of these songs are me...

Okey-dokey. I'll pick a couple. Barlow Girl by Superchick / Man Of God by Audio Adrenaline / Words by Hawk Nelson / Cowboy Girl by Lonestar / and White And Nerdy by Weird Al Yankovic

WOW. That took me a really long time. Like, two hours. 

I've got other stuff I need to get done today, so I'll leave it at that. 

Sé onr sverdar sitja hvass!
-Trinity

P.S. Pick some questions out and answer them in the comments! Or at least leave me a link if you decide to do these questions so I can check your answers out!

A Bard's Telling

It's Hannah! Today I have a poem, or perhaps a legend or lore or ballad. I've been trying to think of the word for quite sometime. Perhaps an epic. For the past few days I've been calling it "A Bard's Telling".

It's dictated by Ohana Lost-tide, the scribe from this post, and tells the first part of the tale of the Dragon War (a battle in my second book).

korbox.deviantart.com

From coast to coast of the darkened land
The swords were passed from hand to hand
And ferry the news to hall and home
The devils are arrived to roam
To kill and crush and raze and burn 

A demon-king beast and blight of doom
Will raze the earth beneath our moon
Songs of mourning as warriors die
Mothers wail and children cry
Breaking of day, horrors to light 

As angers awaken
And fury will flame
For young children taken
The killers to blame

A righteous blood-wrath 
Will every face pass
For demons who dare
To darken our path 
As children of light
Lift eyes to the moon
And pray to the Lord
To save us from ruin

The heads of the family
Rise up to the call
To join with the thousands
To fire and to fall

Mothers and wives
Cling to husband and child
Songs of lamentation
Ascending and wild

Mingle with fading voices
Of men whose hearts burn
For a family to whom
They will never return

“So pull back the bows,
And let up a prayer,
Release bolts of death
Winging into the air.
Let’s summon our hearts
Unfailingly brave,
Remember our comrades
Who went to the grave.

“This is our land;
It was won by fair blood
Of our ancestors grand,
Long returned to the dust.
And these are our children;
They will not see death.
We will stand by to guard them
To our final breath.

“So pull back the bowstring,
And send up a cry,
To our faithful God,
That He won’t let us die.
And summon your hearts
Unfailingly brave,
Forget not your comrades
Who went to the grave.

“And these are our lives; 
They will not be controlled
But by king and by God,
And hearts cannot be sold.
And this is a home,
Ere protected with love.
If you steal it away,
You can bet there’ll be blood.

“So raise up the shields,
And raise up a shout,
With cries strung with victory
Let courage ring out,
And summon a song
Unfailingly brave,
To honor our comrades 
Who went to the grave.”


I've had a bit of practice doing poems, but this may very well be the first that I finished without a modicum of ridiculousness. I may later put on some of the others I've done, if I judge them not too gory or insanely strange (really, I've rewritten Clementine as a story about a gluttonous daughter of a rich guy in London).
This was heavily inspired by what I remember from reading Beowulf, and I was careful not to turn flippant, because, after all, it's an epic about a battle, and while battles are often told to be full of glory, they're definitely very frightful and devastating. I was also inspired to write a melancholy narrative-like poem by songs like Misty Mountains (I like Stephen J. Anderson and Shaun Canon's version), Tale of The Tongues, Age of Aggression, and Age of Oppression from Skyrim (look up Malukah's version on Youtube!). I actually have a recording of me singing the last part of the poem to the tune of Age of Aggression - or Age of Oppression, not sure which -that I am not going to put on here (so please don't ask, you'll be disappointed).

So what do you think? I seriously love comments and feedback. Just don't ask for aforementioned recording.


Sosrin God ignt eht ceallian,
(To God be the Glory)
Hannah

Snippets Of A Story

Here are some random snippets of different stories I've written. Most of them do not have titles.


7/24/12 - Creative Writing #21 - 
It was a wrong number that started it, the telephone ringing three times in the dead of night, and the voice on the other end asking for someone he was not. Sureshot answered it, and, of course, that was what got us in trouble. There’s a reason he’s called Sureshot and not Brain. 

At the time I was checking my rifle for the millionth time. Not because I was bored, although I was, but because I don’t ever want to be in situation where my gun stops working. 

Anyway, I heard the phone ring, which meant something new was coming. It’s a private line and it never rings unless someone has a job for us. There was a general rush for the phone and Sureshot got there first, which earned him a lot of nasty looks from the rest of the gang. He grinned, picked it up and immediately asked what the job was. I think he was trying to sound like he knew what he was doing. I glanced up at him, and I noticed he was pale. Paler than normal. The boy is never out in the sun. Not many of us are, but I’ve never met anyone lighter than Sureshot. He started stammering something about a wrong number. 

That got everyone’s attention. In the ten years we’ve worked here, we’ve never gotten a wrong number call. Our number’s too unique. There’s not another one like it in the world. We made sure. 

He hung up and Shadow swooped down on him, her words barely intelligible through her thick accent.

“Who was it?” She demanded.

Tribes Of The Earth - 

Deidre took a stance that she knew would be seen as aggressive to a wolf. Shoulders hunched, eyes wide open and teeth bared, she growled at him. With a deep bark that sounded like a roar to her, he bounded down the side of the cliff.

Stab him under the chin to save the pelt. She reminded herself in the few seconds before she had to act.

The wolf charged her fearlessly. Deidre’s hand tightened on the knife and she thrust forward and upward. And missed. Somehow, either it had slipped to the side or her aim was off, but she missed.

Throwing his full weight at her, paws on her chest, he knocked her to the ground. The knife went flying out of her hand and black spots danced in front of her eyes as she got the wind knocked out of her. The wolf opened his jaws and lunged for her throat. She had the presence of mind to throw her arm up and he bit down on it instead. There was a sharp crack and Deidre screamed in pain.

8/8/12 - Creative Writing #23 -

I stepped out into the hall. The air was considerably cooler out here than in my room, but my bare feet sunk into the deep carpet, and my long silky pants nearly covered my toes. My shoulders were even warmer under my heavy fur cloak.
It was blessedly quiet out here. No one was waiting to ply me with questions or demand explanations for my actions. I padded down the hallway, passing the doors of my associates, most of which had burly, armed men standing guard in front of them. They nodded to me as I passed, no doubt as instructed by their employers.
I winced inwardly, knowing that with so many eyes watching, my little escapade to the lobby would be the talk of the town tomorrow and would enrage my ambassador to no end. He seemed to think that the only politically correct thing for me to do was to hole myself up in my suite for days. I just wanted a little change of scenery.
As I turned the corner, a little girl came charging at me, looking back over her shoulder. Without time to dodge, I caught her a carefully as I could, though she still head-butted me in the stomach.

7/5/12 - Creative Writing #15 -

I sat perfectly silent, perfectly still. All around me, people, for that is the kindest way to describe the poor souls, scurried about... working I suppose. I don't pay much attention to them. They do what I pay them for and we don't bother each other. The Egyptian style yacht cut through the water silently, as I had ordered. I sat ramrod straight under the shaded canopy, watching each hut as we went past. All had their door shut, and from a few you could hear loud and strange cries. Everyone around me flinched periodically when we drew too close to one of the noisier ones. They weren't pleasant sounds, like coins clinking, or the snish of bills being printed, or the snigger of a lower mercenary that thinks he's just made a good deal. They were angry, bloodthirsty sounds, of creatures who were each more than capable of committing a massacre by their lonesome.

Aouthentica (Older Version) - 

Rienna sprinted up the stairs into the lounge. Usually, the lounge was filled with couches and tables and games. It even had its' own refrigerator stocked with sodas and other various snacks. All those things were still there today, but practically buried under suitcases, valises, and travel bags of all kind. 

"Good Grief! Cam, are you in here?" Rienna asked. 

"Yeah, I'm here." His voice came from deep within the recesses of the room. 

Rienna cringed as a stack of suitcases toppled to the ground with a crash. "Cam? Are you okay?" 

"I'm alright." He answered, picking his way through the leather mounds. "So, what can I do for you?" 

His auburn hair was the exact same shade as Cara's, and the two looked identical in every way possible. One of the few differences was that Cam was a few seconds older. 

"I need another saddlebag." She said, showing him the tear. 

Cam sighed. "Those are all the way on the other side of the room, Ri!" 

She smiled and set the bag down. "I'll help you."

At this, he smiled sheepishly. "No, I'll get it. That's what I'm here for." 

He turned and began restacking the fallen suitcases, adding, "Wish I wasn't, though." 

Perplexed, Rienna asked, "Where would you rather be?" 

"Getting ready to leave with the rest of you." He snorted. "It's going to be so boring here without all you guys. Especially you." 

"Aw. That's sweet."

 "But true." Rienna could hear the grin in his voice. "Everyone knows you're the source of all the fun and trouble around here." 

"I am not the source!" She exclaimed. "Trouble and fun come from all over the place. I just sort of... nudge it along."

The Very First Version Of Milliayn - 

This is very embarrassing to share. However, feel free to laugh. It IS rather funny. In a horrible sort of way.

Rienna walked toward her home looking forward to a nice long nap. Just as she opened her door a scream came from the corner to Andjrews gate. Rienna whirled around to see that the group of soldiers who had chased her had scaled the gate. Rienna sighed as she pulled out her incinerator. Within minutes all that was left of the soldiers was ashes. 

Rienna pulled out her messenger and sent a message to Jrew: 

We need an incinerator beam for the top of the gate. 

I had to destroy some of Villen soldiers. 

That reminds me, send 

the cleaning crew to “404 Incineration Place.” 

By the way I want you to know I'm willing to be the first one 

to try the transporter. 

I don't think we should risk the time machine, most of us are affected by 

Villen's life, even by the things he did when he was young. If it wasn't for 

Villen some of us wouldn't even be born. 

-Ri

Rienna walked to her house, incinerated the trash, poured herself a drink, and wrote herself a note to message Myck and tell him about the meeting. then she walked into her room for a long, long nap. 

I've linked up with Katie Sabelko's Snippets of Story!


Sé onr sverdar sitja hvass!
-Trinity