Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Once Upon a Time... linkup: A Faceoff


Today is my 12th linkup!!! It is kind of strange to think about! I'm glad I decided to start doing this though. It is so much fun.

I rather like this snippet. It comes from In the Shadow, during a very important scene.
 
The setting:
a disobeidient slave
mockery
fear and hatred
 
 
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Word count: 291
Ó Pure Grace


Her smile was brash as he stopped in front of her.
“Ionez,” he said. “What are you doing?”
Ionez grinned innocently. “I came to see if my beloved mistress would care to view the gift her brother bought her.” Since he had caught her, Ionez decided to get as much pleasure out of taunting him as she could.
“And what did she think?” Marcellus’s response caught her off-guard.
Her eyes swerved to the passage behind him. “She was speechless.”
“Good,” he smiled.
“Oh, it was not from pleasure,” Ionez snapped. “She was disgusted.”
“I’m sorry she did not appreciate your beauty. How can I compensate?”
Ionez sputtered with rage. Would things always go wrong with Marcellus? How did he manage to twist her words and make her feel ridiculous? She was supposed to be making him furious, for being there, for mocking him. Instead, he seemed to enjoy listening to her and goaded her on.
“There is no need. I told her exactly what I thought of her ugly face too.”
“I am sure you did,” Marcellus chuckled. “And now are you returning to Brixia?”
Ionez folded her arms. “Is that where you want me?”
“It is where you belong.”
“I belong in Britannica.”
“Nay, you used to belong in Britannica. Now you belong here, in my house.”
“I will never belong here.”
“Perhaps. For now, we would be obliged if you would at least pretend you did."
Ionez was taken aback. He freely admitted she was unhappy here? And he did nothing about it! Anger constricted her throat and she took a step toward him. “I would chop every finger and toe from your body before I would surrender to that!”
“Thank you. Maybe I can do you a favor sometime.”


Join the Once Upon a Time... linkup:

Post a selection from your current WIP no larger than 500 words to your blog.

If there is a prompt, make sure your section fits the requirements.

Add the Once Upon a Time... linkup button:




Connect your link using the linkup button on Wednesday or Thursday!

And voila, you are done! Don't forget to visit the other blogs and drop a line.

Guest Post by Nobody



Yeah, so, I totally didn't plan for this week at all and had no one on the list to write this guest post. I'm such a splendid organizer...

So, here I am, scrambling out some sort of post by which I can make amends. Nobody is{n't} perfect. {Pun intended...eh he...and I'm bad at making puns.} But at least this is something.

I have been reading a storm of books this last month. I've probably finished ten or eleven novels. Several of them were excellent. Several were mediocre. One of the ones I picked up was Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie. Not the children's Disney makeover, but the real classic Peter Pan. It is fantastic.

It is still a children's story {obviously}, but it is so cute. I love the narrating style and laughable moments. Of course, I am still a child at heart, so what can I say?

I have been editing my own novel In the Shadow to within and inch of my life. Someday I'll get it there....someday....

I had this ridiculous notion when I began this blog for it to be some sort of professional site with Q & A format, exact purposes, specific guidelines and picture-perfect posts. So I've given up that dream {or nightmare} because I realized that is not what I want. I want my writing to be more than that. Up front and personal. Meaningful. Useful. Not a dry, thick-worded mass through which you have to wade just to discover something interesting. {How was that for absolutely boring...}

I don't do boring. It's not my thing. Never been bored an hour in my life. I don't plan on making you bored either.

Oh, and a reminder to you all. The giveaway ends in a few days. Here are the rules and the prize!!




Rules to enter:

1: must be a member of Stories in the Mind
2: loves to read!!! :)
3: comment on the blog in one post other than this one
4: tell me what your favorite book is and why! {if you have done this, feel free to skip it and I will add you in for the 4th tag anyway, just let me know you have completed it}
5: give me one reason why I should pick you. JK!! share the giveaway on your blog and send me the link

The giveaway is open internationally.


Take the next step in your writing career.
 
 

And yes, I realize this was supposed to be up....yesterday. My Internet shut off before I could post it. Technical difficulties. Don't we all love them.

I will try to get the Once Upon a Time... linkup up today. I am having troubles getting this all done. If I don't, it WILL go up tomorrow. The prompt will be: a faceoff.




Saturday, January 26, 2013

Saturday Quotes: Imagination



 

 
 
“Stories of imagination tend to upset those without one."
― Terry Pratchett
 
 
“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination
and life to everything.”
― Plato
 
 
 
 
“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”
― Kurt Vonnegut
 
 
“I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”
― Albert Einstein
 
 
“Imagination is the golden-eyed monster that never sleeps. It must be fed; it cannot be ignored.”
― Patricia A. McKillip
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
“Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were, but without it we go nowhere.”
― Carl Sagan
 
 
 “Imagination was given to man to compensate him for what he is not; a sense of humor to console him for what he is.”
― Francis Bacon
 
 
“A book is a device to ignite the imagination.”
― Alan Bennett
 
 
 
 
 
 No Reimer Reason - Imagination WordArt - Click to be taken to download page
  
 
“Imagination is the highest kite that can fly.”
― Lauren Bacall
 
 
“She always wanted to believe in things.”
― Kazuo Ishiguro
 
 
“Imagination is Everything!”
― Termina Ashton
 
 
“Imagination does not become great until human beings, given the courage and the strength, use it to create.”
― Maria Montessori
 
 

 
 
“Writing is a job, a talent, but it's also the place to go in your head. It is the imaginary friend you drink your tea with in the afternoon.”
― Ann Patchett
 
 
“There are no rules of architecture for a castle in the clouds.”
― G.K. Chesterton
 
 
“Because when you are imagining, you might as well imagine something worth while.”
― L.M. Montgomery
 
 

 
 
“Imagination is like a muscle. I found out that the more I wrote, the bigger it got.”
― Philip José Farmer
 
 
“The possible's slow fuse is lit by the Imagination.”
― Emily Dickinson
 
 
“So rapid is the flight of dreams upon the wings of imagination.”
― Alexandre Dumas
 
 
 
 

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Thursday Funnies


 

Writing Mistakes – Bad Vocabulary


  • Amateur: A very good person in sports
  • Cadet: A boy who carries golf clubs
  • Cynical: A cynical lump of sugar is one pointed at the top
  • Dead heat: Anything in such a raging heat that it would kill you
  • Ignition: The art of not noticing
  • Income: A yearly tax
  • Individual: One piece of people
  • Inter alia: Something in the ale
  • Lie: An aversion to the truth
  • Preposterous: a child born after his father’s death
  • Quorum: Another word for quandary. It happens at meetings.
  • Spectre: A man who cheers a football team
  • Transparent: Something you can see through — for instance, a keyhole
  • Snow: Rain, all popped out white
  • Stars: The moon’s eggs

 

Writing Mistakes – Typos!


Random:
  • Last night, when I ate dinner, I started joking.
    My friend hit my back very hard until I stopped.
    I was so lucky he was there!

Parents:
  • I always ate lunch at school.
    But every day my mother made me suffer.

  • My bed has three blankets
    and a large guilt my parents gave me.

  • My father met us at the airport
    and gave me a big hog.
    Then he hogged my wife


Weddings:
  • I have something exciting to tell you. My girlfriend and I got enraged last night!

  • The groom was wearing a very nice croissant

  • He lifted the veal off her face and gave her a big kiss.

Sports:
  • When we won, I was so exciting I had goose pimps all over my body.

  • Did I tell you I climbed half way up one of the tallest pigs in the world?

  • It was so exciting to watch! The cheerleaders threw up high into the air.

A Recipe:
  • -First, heat up your pants really hot, then add oil.
    -Put the cabbages in salt water. Then sit in the sink until the morning.
    -Next, chop all the vegetarians into little pieces.
    -Next, add a little Buddha and mix it all up.
    -When you are finished cooking, find a suitable bowel and eat it with chopsticks.
 

commas-save-lives



Random funny quotes:

For a long time now I have tried simply to write the best I can. Sometimes I have good luck and write better than I can.

I love being a writer. What I can’t stand is the paperwork.

A good head and good heart are always a formidable combination. But when you add to that a literate tongue or pen, then you have something very special.
{In all honesty....I like this one... :D}

The waste basket is the writer’s best friend.
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The difference between an author and a horse is that the horse doesn’t understand the horse dealer’s language.

If writers were good businessmen, they’d have too much sense to be writers.

It’s a poor mind that can only think of one way to spell a word.

I just wrote a book, but don’t go out and buy it yet, because I don’t think it’s finished yet.

The difference between the right word and almost the right word is the difference between lightning and the lightning bug.

Only a mediocre writer is always at his best.

Television has raised writing to a new low.

Manuscript: something submitted in haste and returned at leisure.

Copy from one, it’s plagiarism; copy from two, it’s research.


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{Some found HERE}
 
 
 

Once Upon a Time... linkup: An Interview


I am so excited!! For the first time, I had two linker's {I know we all know it is not a word, but we all use it so why don't we just add it to the dictionary already, eh?} last week!! And I owe you all an apology for getting this up so late this week... no excuse. I just couldn't get on. :P I guess it is a double good reason this is now open Thursdays too, eh?

This week I am pretty thrilled to be sharing a favorite part of the first book in my Trilogy. It is a scene between one of my two protagonist's and her literal owner. She is a slave. And she has an important message for him. You can see the results below and guess at what is to come... ;) This scene is actually in the works right now, so this is NOT how it will end up. But I'm going to share it like this anyhow, because it's still fun and shows a bit more of my story, an angle you have never seen before. I probably should create a better blurb for this Trilogy than what I have on the About My Novel's page, but I'm not sure how without giving away too much...

Well, anyway, I hope you all enjoy! Let me know what you think of the feeling and how you relate to Merrie.


Setting:
the tablinum {a Roman Senator's study}
the scent of scrolls and ink and sweat
fear
a message that must be delivered
 

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Word count: 579 {yes, I am breaking my own rule, because this section just had to go together...}
Ó Pure Grace
 
“He is dangerous today, Merrie,” Jarius shook his head.
“He is always dangerous,” she whispered.
“There is an oratory to be delivered to the Senate that is irking him. He’s shouted at three slaves this hour. I can’t let you in there. He’ll shred you.”
Merrie smiled. “It doesn’t matter, Jarius. Whether it is now or later, I must speak to him. I’d rather it be now.”
“Very well,” Jarius sighed. “You take your own risk.”
“Aye,” Merrie nodded, mixed elation and dread settling around her shoulders. “I usually do.”
Jarius cleared his throat and went to the door, Merrie stepping behind him. The heady smell of parchment, wine, and sweat filled the tablinum.
“The slave Merrie to see you, Excellence,” Jarius spoke into the chest filled room, and then stepped aside, leaving Merrie vulnerable and slight in the doorway.
Heartbeat thrashing, she took one step forward and chewed at her bottom lip, waiting what seemed a lifetime for Antistius to look up. His stern brow, bent over a length of parchment scrawled with little black words, worked fear into her like she had never known. For seven years, she had avoided this man. And now, of her own choice, here she stood before him. The frown etched deep in the creases of his face flickered up to her, washing her in disapproval, and he scratched at the parchment with his stylus.
“What is it,” he snapped.
Merrie cracked her lips open, dry-mouthed and petrified. It felt like she had swallowed her tongue. A lump the size of a goose’s egg throbbed in her throat, choking her. “My lord, I have–” Merrie sucked in her breath, trying to speak. Fear churned in her belly and the little courage she had mustered slipped between her fingers like water.
“Well,” the Senator’s face cringed with forbidding impatience and he turned back to his oratory.
“I have reason to believe Claudia is in danger, master,” Merrie blurted out, again hating her tactlessness. She had never been blessed with a way with words. She hadn’t needed one. She told the truth, spoke with love, and that was all that had mattered. Now she felt handicapped. It took more than the truth to get around Antistius, Julia, and Claudia.
“Oh, really?” Antistius frowned at his page, ink dripping from his stylus tip onto the table, unheeded. His scowl deepened and he shoved a foot into the floor, hard. Irritation flashed over him and smacked Merrie in the face. She rushed on.
“I–I accidentally overheard a conversation my lord Publius had in the garden with Gauis Baculaius. They are planning on kidnapping her five days from now and forcing her to wed Gauis!”
The Senator jerked a new parchment from a stack at the top of the table and slapped it on top of the last one. “What absurdity!”
“It is no tale, my lord! It is truth.”
Antistius’s last fading benevolence vanished. “This is an endless outrage! How do they expect me to craft such a speech?” He glanced up at Merrie, brows glowering. “Are you still here, girl!” he screamed. “What do you want?”
Merrie gasped, folding her hands in pleading. “Please, will you not help her?”
“I have enough to do without listening to you weep and simper.” Antistius stood up, abruptly. Merrie shrank back, dragging her eyes to the floor as his dark gaze traveled over her. “Get out. I will waste no more time on your petty grievances.”
 
 
Join the Once Upon a Time... linkup:

Post a selection from your current WIP no larger than 500 words to your blog.

If there is a prompt, make sure your section fits the requirements.

Add the Once Upon a Time... linkup button:







Connect your link using the linkup button on Wednesday or Thursday!



And voila, you are done! Don't forget to visit the other blogs and drop a line.
 


Tuesday, January 22, 2013

The Importance of Eyes



Have you ever noticed how much care photographers take about the eyes of their subjects? Whether it be a baby, a senor photo shoot, an elderly man, a pouting toddler... they focus in on the eyes.

I have always been captured by eyes. The color. The expression. The beauty and delicacy and emotion encompassed in two small orbs stuck in your face. It is incredible. No matter who a person is, I look at their eyes. I can see a lot about them just by what they look like. How they glance around. How they avoid contact. How crinkles fold at the edges when they laugh. Eyes are beautiful. And speak so much.

 
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There is a beauty found in the human eye that you can't express. And I think it is important to capture that in writing. It is a hard thing to do. Eyes are visual. Not just because they are literally what we see through, but because their expression is something we see. And to be able to convey it in a story is something both necessary and hard.
 
And when done right, powerful.
 
Ways to describe eyes vary. You can display shock by widening them. Anger by narrowing them. Pain with tears.

 
 
 
 
And still, there is more to it than that. I find this quote by Leonardo da Vinci covers it pretty well.


 
 
 
Eyes speak the heart. You can see love shining, hatred simmering, anger churning, pain screaming...oh, it goes on and on. But it boils down to one thing. Eyes are important, to humans and the way we interact and contact each other, and need to be used. Finding the perfect way to do that is tricky. But when you can do it, you capture something that cannot be put into words. Just seen.
 
 



Monday, January 21, 2013

Guest Post by author Charley Robson


This week we are hearing from a new going-to-be-published author!!! She will be telling us all about her book {co-authored} that will be coming out soon. I am excited!
 
 
 
 
St Mallory’s Forever! is like the puppy that your  grandmother gives you on Christmas morning. It’s unexpected, amazing, the pride of your existence . . . but you have no idea how she snuck it into the house, or how you’re going to keep it from eating your English coursework.

In conversation, my co-author Miriam Joy and I call it “a young adult mystery”. The “young adult” is fairly obvious – both of us being at least several months off the official borders of adult-ness. But it’s a slippery appellation at best. What defines “young adult”? Does that mean it’s not suitable for younger readers? Are we allowed to have our characters hacking into the data files of MI6 under the guise of “young adult” entertainment?



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Sorry, I’m digressing. But my point is this: neither of us are greatly experienced in the “young adult mystery” department. We’ve both been writing a fair while, sometimes collaboratively, but both of us tend to stick to the realms of the supernatural – high fantasy, complete with neurotic sword-wielders, for me, and death and fairies (literally) for Miriam. So, suddenly, dealing with a real-world setting and a genre we’d only prodded and admired from afar was quite a challenge.
This is, of course, where the co-writing part comes in. By writing together, we stood a much better chance of actually creating a functioning plot – or at least having another head to bash against when we were really scuppered for ideas.

In fact, now that I think of it, I don’t think any one of us could have written St Mallory’s Forever! alone. Our publisher, and third head of our hydra-esque author entity, Mark, loves boarding school stories and has always had a bit of a dream about publishing one. If we hadn’t had him, we probably wouldn’t have even got started. Likewise, without Miriam, Mark and I would have been left scrabbling in pits of mutual confusion over the actual behaviour of Londoners. And without me? Well. Who else is going to tell them which way up a lacrosse stick goes? 

So this was us, hammering out tentative chapters and sending them flying through cyberspace once or twice a week. We got better as we got going, of course, and the editing process was surprisingly easy. If one of us didn’t catch that errant apostrophe lurking in Chapter Twelve, you can bet one of the others would (and slay it mercilessly into the bargain). Continuity was a bit squicky, I’ll admit, but you can blame exams, moving house, and various ill-timed illnesses for that.

Writing with other people is great fun, especially for a profession that is, archetypally, pretty lonely. Miriam and I had a bit of trouble adjusting, both being horrific control freaks, but before long we were too busy questioning the origin of references we didn’t understand and wondering if anyone actually remembered the name of the Physics teacher.


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Apologies for the slightly disorganised nature of this post. I did try to keep it all in order, but writing a book is, going back to my first analogy, like trying to explain to your teacher why your pockets are full of mangled tennis balls after being woken up at three in the morning for an early morning game of catch by a damp tongue and a distinct smell of pilfered dog biscuits.

Thus, in order not to appear completely useless, I’ll leave you with a few little tidbits of advice that I’d give to myself at the beginning of the St Mall’s adventure:

Pinned Image1 – Listen to the experts. Even if you don’t have an incredible Obi Wan of a co-author, there are plenty of amazing blogs out there, done by people who break down the complications of the world for the newbies.  

2 – Balance your time. Miriam and I wrote most of the first draft of St Mallory’s during two of the most stressful years of our schooling, so we both had to learn to balance the immediate needs of our grades against the long-term (and much more exciting) prospect of bashing out another chapter of the novel.

3 – Enjoy yourself! Don’t think that just because it’s such a long and painful process that it’s got to suck harder than a cyclone-powered Dyson. Give yourself little treats and rewards, talk about it with your friends and family, and enjoy the journey! If you don’t enjoy writing it, nobody’s going to have much fun reading it, are they?

Thanks to all for reading, and special big thanks to the lovely blog hostess for letting me invade her pristine corner of the internet and sully it with my blithering.
 
If you want to know more about St Mallory’s Forever!, you can check out its official blog, its Facebook page!, You can also check out mine or Miriam’s blog!


~ Charley R
 
 
{Charley sent me a beautiful copy of their book cover, but because of blogger's refusal to behave, I cannot upload it. But please head over to THIS site to see both it and learn more about the book.}
 
 

Miriam Joy

Photo by Andy WilsdonMiriam Joy is the youngest member of the St Mallory’s Forever! multi-headed author entity. She has lived in South-East London all her life, working through the state education system and trying to appear as normal as a fangirling nerd ever can (she is, after all, a proud contributor to the Hamlet fandom). Recently, she became the assistant to the Teens Can Write Too! blog, which basically means answering emails and pretending to know what she’s talking about.
As well as writing, she also does ballet and archery, plays three instruments (violin, flute and piccolo), makes YouTube videos, blogs, and is learning two dead languages and a made-up one on top of her schoolwork. Despite this, she still manages to spend far too much time on Tumblr, which has led to an accumulation of quotes and facts about actors or TV shows that she will never, ever need, but likes to know anyway.
She loves mythology, especially Celtic and Norse. Her music taste varies from Shostakovich to My Chemical Romance, taking in a lot of the stuff in between, although for writing she usually prefers film or TV soundtracks.
Her short story The Eagle Child was published in volume one of the Saffina Desforges Presents… Coffee Break Collections in November 2011.

Charley Robson

Charley RobsonCharley Robson has a more unusual background: a proud ‘army brat’, she has lived on every major continent on Earth and is currently attending her thirteenth school, a boarding school for girls in Dorset, South England. She has tried and failed to learn several languages (though will happily insult you in both Arabic and Latin) and has met many weird and wondering people during her travels.
Her deeply-seated loathing for all things requiring a calculator means she spends most of her time reading, picking her teeth with five-page essays, covering her fingers in ink, and poking philosophical holes in reality. Aside from this and writing, which goes without saying, Charley also enjoys long walks, acting (she has been cast as nothing but villains since the age of seven), singing and watching Doctor Who. Her musical tastes range from films soundtracks to rock bands to Celtic music, and back again. She’s even been known to listen to a Disney song from time to time.
Charley is also a fairly prolific poet, and one of her poems was awarded a place in the top 20 of a Daily Telegraph poetry competition in 2010. She’ll try her hand at most types of writing, though, including articles for her school magazine and, in 2012, a pantomime for performance in the annual school Drama competition.
Charley’s short story Darkness to Light was published in the second volume of the Saffina Desforges Presents… Coffee Break Collections in February 2012.




Sunday, January 20, 2013

In which I....die of embrassment


So, um, yeah, please laugh. Because I can't believe I am doing this.

I found some random docs on my computer of schoolwork I did back in 2007, when I was in 9th grade. I was doing a program called the Omnibus for History and Writing. Which of course made it super fun....but let's not hold our breath over my 13-year-old writing, eh? Just for fun, I am posting up a story I wrote, unedited, raw, exactly the way it was on that doc when I pulled it up.

I'm pretty sure this assignment had a point to it, besides being set in William the Conquerer's Norman England {I'm related to him, by the way, directly through royalty, with proven docs. Just a random, cool sidenote there... :D}. Something about knowing what's really important or something like that. Else I can't justify that ending....

Anyway....laugh. Please.


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The Norman Way
By
 Pure Grace
 
Ó Pure Grace


The sun was shinning brightly over the glistening indigo sea. The sharp morning breeze carried the exultant call of birds, greeting each other anew for the day, along with the distinctly salty flavor of the ocean. From his high perch among the rocks, Edmund could clearly see the approaching vessels. This time, the fair Saxon knew, they were not coming to simply speak with King Harold. They were coming to conquer. Simply enough, the boy thought, they are coming to kill us–and our families!
He turned and briskly began to scramble down the cliff. Sprinting along the trail, Edmond felt a quaver of hatred, taken over by one of fear, not for himself, but for his sisters and mother. What right had those Normans to take England into their domain? In a moment the lad was joined by another.
“You saw them?” he panted, without slowing his pace.
“Aye,” the other responded. “We will tell the others.”
In a few minutes they reached a small camp. The man obviously in charge immediately called them to him. After reporting the boys helped clear the camp and begin to fall back. The main English army was ready when William the Conqueror disembarked. The invaders were to be repulsed to the last defense. Expectantly, Edmund stood by his father on the battle field with a heaving chest. If the Normans won, Saxon Britain was dead.
After much waiting the enemy troops appeared. The conflict that ensued became known as the Battle of Hastings. Edmund fought to defend his country, his people, his family valiantly, but still one by one the Saxons fell. At the close of the batter few men were alive. Edmund, captured, lay desperate with fear. The Normans had won! It was of little comfort when the noble lad was set free. Few would retain their position unless they conformed. That would be imposable for him. Yet one glance at the faces of his dear ones at home changed that opinion, and as others before him, he reluctantly reformed to the Norman way of life. A family was better than any tradition.



 
 
Don't forget about the giveaway found HERE for this item!!
 
 
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Also, this week's Once Upon a Time... linkup will be on: an interview.



 

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Want books? Get books.


I can't believe after all this time, I have forgotten to introduce you all to one of the BEST websites in the world!!!!

*slaps hand on forehead*


Paperbackswap.com is one of my favorite websites, ever. Because it is all about me, getting books. For free.

No joke.

No catch.

No problem.

Basically, it is one big swapfest. What you do is go onto the site and set up an account {which is free and painless}. Then, "post" books that you own that you don't want, care for, or need. {Yes, even I do have books that I don't like or want.}

To post books, you can go under the "Post books" tab on the sidebar, look up the book directly in the search box, or type in the isbn. When you find the book you own, click on the blue button that says "Post this book" beside it. If it says "Order this book" already, it means it is in the system and you can click on the book, go to "More options" and then click on "Post this book". It is actually very simple... :D

If you post ten books when you sign up, they will automatically give you two credits to search all the shelves and find books that you want. If you find one you want, check and see if the box beside it says "Order this book" or "Post this book". If it says "Order this book" click on the button and follow the instructions. There, you got a book for free. If it says "Post this book" you can add it to your wish list and as soon as it is available they will send you an email notifying you that it is now on the site. It is a first come, first serve basis, but they will hold a book for you for 48 hours. Then it is available to all PBS members.

When a book is requested from you, all you have to do is print out the address to the person who asked for it and send it off in the mail {usually about $3}. That is all the cost you will ever have. Once the person who asked for the book gets it, they will mark it as received and you will get another credit to find more books with. {Make sure to mark books YOU get as received too.}

And there you have the exchange. There is a lot more to the site too. You can write reviews, add shelves, put books on your books I read shelf, and more.

I don't do much of that...mostly just trade books. This month alone I have received 5 or more books and sent out as many. It is fast, simple, and cheap.

So, the books are "free", but it costs you the shipping of a book you have sent out to get a credit. All in all, you end up getting your books for an average of $3 or $4. So I guess it's not really free. It just sounds nice, lol! And it is super cheap. And I have gotten some old classics and brand new paperbacks on the site...books that are normally $15 or more!!!!!

They also offer hardbacks, audiobooks, and more. Every book on the site will tell you what it is, paperback, hardback, audiobook... They have a cd and movie site too {you can find it on the main page}, but I haven't gotten into those cause I don't have spare movies lying around, lol!

So go check it out! And let me know if you sign up so you can become my friend!!!

It is worth it. 100%.




Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Once Upon a Time... linkup: What If?


It's that time a week again!!! This is the tenth week for the linkup! Woot!!!

I'd like to draw your attention to a new change, as well. From now on, the link is going to be open Wednesday's and Thursday's. Because people have joined the blog from all over the globe, it made it easier for everyone to be able to linkup, since times and dates are off for us all.

So, today's prompt is: what if?

This excerpt is from In the Shadow, book #1 in The Endless Fire Trilogy.

The setting:
the dark of night
internal struggle
a broken past



Pinned Image


Word count: 264
Ó Pure Grace


Merrie rolled over, sweat trickling down her back. Fear wormed its way into her belly. For the first time, Merrie wondered if she would ever gain back her trust. What did she really want anyway? To be free? Or to be loved? Did it matter anymore? What if it didn’t? She was afraid her life was undone. There would be no going back, just as there was no returning to Judea. But just what did that mean?
She wasn’t prepared to think about it.
The hours drew on. Merrie’s breathing was heavy and every muscle knotted. Her eyes felt heavy and a blanket descended upon her mind, foggy. Her head spun, circling over her thoughts like a hungry vulture. Tingling grew in her left arm and she realized it was falling asleep. She rolled over and flexed her hand to loosen the muscles. Eyes pried open, dry and thick, she stared at the dark door where Julia would come.
Merrie woke with a start, panting hard and sweat dripping off her face. Her dreams lingered in the air, dark and eerie. Her father had stood before her, his arms reaching out to her, his mouth open, as if he were trying to form words of comfort and hope, but he could not. Tears had run down his face, palms open to her, his face broken and shoulders weighed down. Because he could not save her. She lay still, choking back the tears that burned the in her throat, when she heard the noise. At once, every muscle in her body tensed. It was time.


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Post a selection from your current WIP no larger than 500 words to your blog.

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