...but I'm doing some promoting today.
Hello all,
If you mosey on over to my sidebar, you'll notice my new Badges section. So, if you want to give me a reward/award/badge thing of some sort, I have no problem with it ;) Shiny, sparkly stuff!
Anyways, Tera Lynn Childs, author of OH. MY. GODS. has written another book, Forgive my Fins. I haven't read it yet, but I will very soon. It's aiming high.
Feel free to pick it up at Amazon.
Now, there are a couple of reasons to follow me. Today I planned on giving you a brief overview of the main ones.
1) Exclusive reviews. Until I get more followers, the only people who'll be allowed to see reviews of ARCs or books that recently came out are my stalkers.
2) I'm currently trying to think of things that'll fit in an envelope to give away.
3) You'll be fortunate enough to spend time with the glorious (and humble) Riv Re and my great sense of humor.
...
...
Okay. Fine. Forget the last part.
Peace,
RR
Current Music: Beth by Kiss. Gleed version.
Current Mood: Getting over a cold (finally)!!!
Monday, June 7, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Teaser Tuesd- Whoops, Teaser Sunday
Hey all,
Since I've got nothing to post, and I'm not gonna leave you guys hanging, I'm going to give you a little teaser from Eberheardt. I'm planning on writing a nice, long, post on what it is, but for now, here's how the prologue of Eberheardt starts.
Since I've got nothing to post, and I'm not gonna leave you guys hanging, I'm going to give you a little teaser from Eberheardt. I'm planning on writing a nice, long, post on what it is, but for now, here's how the prologue of Eberheardt starts.
People screamed, clinging to their loved ones as they tried to escape. Men laughed as they ran through the streets carrying torches and swords, slaying all who rose up against them. A young boy-he couldn’t be any older than sixteen-was hidden on a hill, watching it all happen. He was wrapped in a traveling cloak, formerly colored royal shades of red and gold, but now tattered, muddied, and devoid of its former splendor. The hood covered short black hair, startling green eyes looking out from beneath it.
The boy watched in horror as the capitol city burned. He ducked low into the bush he was hiding in as soldiers rushed passed. The boy fought the desire to throw his dagger at the man and kill one of the murderers. But he could not afford to reveal himself, or lose his weapon, at such a time.
The boy’s grandparents were elderly and had been oblivious to the uprising. They had been unable to quell the rebels, and now all that the boy could do was watch in horror as the castle-and his life-burned.
The sun rose behind what was left of the beautiful palace. Mere hours ago, the boy had been celebrating the summer festival with his family. He had been laughing with a friend of his, a nobleman’s son, and they had been courting the many governors’ daughters of the land. Of course, what fair maiden would deny the wishes of a prince? That sunrise, the boy’s grandparents were planning to pass on the crown to his father and mother, making him crown prince.
But alas, at midnight these marauders had attacked the castle. And word had come from many a breathless messenger that the same was happening through the vast kingdom, and even a boat sailed up the Fortuin River island of Eberheardt
The attack had been planned brilliantly, with no flaws in the plan. Except one; the boy had managed to flee from his burning home, dodging hostile enemies, and find solace on this hill.
So, tell me, what do you think? Is this something you' like to read more of? Do you think it's written too formally? (If you do, don't worry, that's not the way the whole book is written, only the prologue.) I want to hear your opinion on my work!
Peace
RR
Current Music: Wake Me Up When September Ends by Green Day
Current Mood: Sneezing in sets of 4, 5, or 6.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Stuffy Nosed Saturday and Naming Fantastical Characters
Exactly.
What.
It.
Sounds.
Like.
I haz a cold.
Now, as I'm watching Benjamin Button
very soon, here's a quick post on fantasy names.
But first, a little question on the title of this post:
Isn't fantastical the most awesome-est word in the entire English language?
I knew you'd agree with me.
Of course, my friend Peanut Butter (just a nickname, don't worry. I don't use real names here) didn't believe me when I told her it was a real word.
Ah, the sacrifices we make for awesomeness.
Now, on to the post.
In case you haven't figured this out yet, I love fantasy. (The understatement of the week.) So, most of the names I use aren't random. I only have a fewcritirea criteria. (When I can spell it, that is.)
1) It has to sound at least remotely right. Meaning, it has to fit. Sometimes, a name just doesn't work for a character.
2) It has to have a meaning that matches. All names have meanings. When I name a character, often I'll look up the meaning of a word. For example, Eberheardt focuses around a war, right? So, there are two army commanders. 'Marcus' means soldier, or something like that. 'Gabriel' means something along the lines of "G-d is strong". I won't name a bad guy 'Simcha', which means happy. I plan to rename my bad guys something like, "Akser". It comes from a word "achzar" (the "ch" is guttural) which means "cruel". Get it?
3) It has to be old-fashioned. Eberheardt takes place in a fantasy world with no new technology. Like, say, medieval times. Meaning, no blogging. (Some people did have travel logs, though!) They see with torches, fight with swords, and travel by foot or horseback. Nothing even remotely new. So,to fit with that old-fashioned theme, I use names like "Annabell", not, say, "Derek".
4) It can't be reused, or share the same letters as four other characters. Meaning that unless they're triplets, I won't have John, Joe, and Jack. I usually avoid names that start with the same letter or are similar to another character's name. In one place in my book, I have a character Aero and a character Art who are buddies. That's because it seemed right. As for what I said about reusing names, this is in most cases. In Eberheardt, there's a character of lore with the same name as a character you actually meet. This is done on purpose. It's part of the plot. Only do it if it's part of the plot, so as not to confuse people. For example, in Will Grayson, Will Grayson,
it's what the plot is based upon.
5) Don't mix real and fake names. Unless you're me. I mentioned the name Aero before. I love it. It's fake. I'll change it. All of my names are real, except for that one and another character, Janko, based off a kid I know.
When I pick names, I use behindthename.com and babynames.com.
What.
It.
Sounds.
Like.
I haz a cold.
Now, as I'm watching Benjamin Button
very soon, here's a quick post on fantasy names.But first, a little question on the title of this post:
Isn't fantastical the most awesome-est word in the entire English language?
I knew you'd agree with me.
Of course, my friend Peanut Butter (just a nickname, don't worry. I don't use real names here) didn't believe me when I told her it was a real word.
Ah, the sacrifices we make for awesomeness.
Now, on to the post.
In case you haven't figured this out yet, I love fantasy. (The understatement of the week.) So, most of the names I use aren't random. I only have a few
1) It has to sound at least remotely right. Meaning, it has to fit. Sometimes, a name just doesn't work for a character.
2) It has to have a meaning that matches. All names have meanings. When I name a character, often I'll look up the meaning of a word. For example, Eberheardt focuses around a war, right? So, there are two army commanders. 'Marcus' means soldier, or something like that. 'Gabriel' means something along the lines of "G-d is strong". I won't name a bad guy 'Simcha', which means happy. I plan to rename my bad guys something like, "Akser". It comes from a word "achzar" (the "ch" is guttural) which means "cruel". Get it?
3) It has to be old-fashioned. Eberheardt takes place in a fantasy world with no new technology. Like, say, medieval times. Meaning, no blogging. (Some people did have travel logs, though!) They see with torches, fight with swords, and travel by foot or horseback. Nothing even remotely new. So,to fit with that old-fashioned theme, I use names like "Annabell", not, say, "Derek".
4) It can't be reused, or share the same letters as four other characters. Meaning that unless they're triplets, I won't have John, Joe, and Jack. I usually avoid names that start with the same letter or are similar to another character's name. In one place in my book, I have a character Aero and a character Art who are buddies. That's because it seemed right. As for what I said about reusing names, this is in most cases. In Eberheardt, there's a character of lore with the same name as a character you actually meet. This is done on purpose. It's part of the plot. Only do it if it's part of the plot, so as not to confuse people. For example, in Will Grayson, Will Grayson,
it's what the plot is based upon.5) Don't mix real and fake names. Unless you're me. I mentioned the name Aero before. I love it. It's fake. I'll change it. All of my names are real, except for that one and another character, Janko, based off a kid I know.
When I pick names, I use behindthename.com and babynames.com.
So, how about you? Any naming tips?
Cheers,
RR
Music: Rose's Turn-Glee version
Mood: Sick
Friday, June 4, 2010
Have a Six Flags Day with the Green Lantern (and participate in another contest!)(and see some of my writing crituqued at BF&F)!
So, our class went on a trip to Six Flags Great Adventure yesterday. (We got back late and I couldn't post, sorry!)
Backstory: My school has a charity event every year. The class/es that bring in the most miss a day of school to go to Great Adventures. Last year my class won, but I hated upside-down roller coasters. It was dull. Last summer, however, I was on the Hydra in Dorney Park. First. Looped. Coaster. Ever. And it was awesome.
Totally.
Awesome.
So I was really excited to go to the very-intense, very-crazy amusement park. And I had a blast. I went on Rolling Thunder, Mine Train, El Toro, Batman, Dark Night, and Scream Machine. Unfortunately, Nitro was closed, we forgot Bizarro and Superman, and I had to wait with a friend during Kingda Ka, so I missed that one.
Now that that's all said and done (that sorta starts Over You by Chris Daughtry), on to the best part. After the roller coasters, we went wandering (passing one Dip'n Dots around 4 times) and came upon a little section (like, five square feet) where two superheroes stood. We saw Flash and Robin at one point, but didn't say much to them.
Note: We interrupt this blog with an important message: This post is dedicated to S.R, a classmate and Six Flags gal.
Now, after Flash and Robin, Green Lantern and Wonderwoman made an appearance. SR walked over to say hello, attempting to play dumb blonde. She made some jokes, at my expense, and wonderful GL (Green Lantern) backed me up. The three of us spoke about everything from getting mugged, to babies, to leather boots, to karma to the Beatles (he started singing Lucy in the Sky, and I told him it was before his time). It was fun. Oh, and high-fiving (can't forget, that's very important!).
Afterwards, we were still talking about him. SR, getting all jealous, claimed that he thought I was older, and that's why he liked me better. Never mind that we both wore identical uniforms. I'm almost a head taller than SR.
With my oozing sarcasm and awful jokes, with help from some friends, we came up with my celebrity superhero crush. You know what I've decided? He's keeping his distance in order to protect me!
Now, here's SR attempting to draw (love ya, SR)---->
That's a picture of his ring and our initials in a heart (in case you can't tell) The awkward turtle moment came when another friend, DKP, said, a bit loudly, "and then Riv's boyfriend said..." and the bus fell silent.
Completely.
Utterly.
Silent.
And then we cracked up and I faked annoyance. This isn't the kind of thing I want my eachers knowing about, as non-existent as it is.
I'll never see him again.
I'm learning to accept the heart-ache.
*sniffles*
There are a couple questions we regretted not asking him:
1) How old do you think we are? (me and SR)
2) What's your alias?
3) (We forgot this one, so I'll make it up now) Which one of us did you like more? After you called SR mean.
In other news, the lovely Natalie Whipple of Between Fact and Fiction critiqued the first 500 words of Eberheardt yesterday. View it here. This isn't actually the beginning of Emberhard. Scroll down to the comments to view my reason for not posting the prologue.
And finally, Ink In All Forms is hosting a kick-off contest! Win some lovely books (almost as lovely as Natalie)! Go here. Now.
Peace and enjoy your day,
RR
Current Mood: Overtired
Current Music: Do You Know (Where You'll sleep Tonight)? by Gossip Grows on Trees (They're a small-time band, but they sound wonderful. Amazon is selling two of their songs for free. Check them out or I will steal Snuggles.
(<---------New feature: Amazon Associates)
Backstory: My school has a charity event every year. The class/es that bring in the most miss a day of school to go to Great Adventures. Last year my class won, but I hated upside-down roller coasters. It was dull. Last summer, however, I was on the Hydra in Dorney Park. First. Looped. Coaster. Ever. And it was awesome.
Totally.
Awesome.
So I was really excited to go to the very-intense, very-crazy amusement park. And I had a blast. I went on Rolling Thunder, Mine Train, El Toro, Batman, Dark Night, and Scream Machine. Unfortunately, Nitro was closed, we forgot Bizarro and Superman, and I had to wait with a friend during Kingda Ka, so I missed that one.
Now that that's all said and done (that sorta starts Over You by Chris Daughtry), on to the best part. After the roller coasters, we went wandering (passing one Dip'n Dots around 4 times) and came upon a little section (like, five square feet) where two superheroes stood. We saw Flash and Robin at one point, but didn't say much to them.
Note: We interrupt this blog with an important message: This post is dedicated to S.R, a classmate and Six Flags gal.
Now, after Flash and Robin, Green Lantern and Wonderwoman made an appearance. SR walked over to say hello, attempting to play dumb blonde. She made some jokes, at my expense, and wonderful GL (Green Lantern) backed me up. The three of us spoke about everything from getting mugged, to babies, to leather boots, to karma to the Beatles (he started singing Lucy in the Sky, and I told him it was before his time). It was fun. Oh, and high-fiving (can't forget, that's very important!).
Afterwards, we were still talking about him. SR, getting all jealous, claimed that he thought I was older, and that's why he liked me better. Never mind that we both wore identical uniforms. I'm almost a head taller than SR.With my oozing sarcasm and awful jokes, with help from some friends, we came up with my celebrity superhero crush. You know what I've decided? He's keeping his distance in order to protect me!
Now, here's SR attempting to draw (love ya, SR)---->
That's a picture of his ring and our initials in a heart (in case you can't tell) The awkward turtle moment came when another friend, DKP, said, a bit loudly, "and then Riv's boyfriend said..." and the bus fell silent.
Completely.
Utterly.
Silent.
And then we cracked up and I faked annoyance. This isn't the kind of thing I want my eachers knowing about, as non-existent as it is.
I'll never see him again.
I'm learning to accept the heart-ache.
*sniffles*
There are a couple questions we regretted not asking him:
1) How old do you think we are? (me and SR)
2) What's your alias?
3) (We forgot this one, so I'll make it up now) Which one of us did you like more? After you called SR mean.
In other news, the lovely Natalie Whipple of Between Fact and Fiction critiqued the first 500 words of Eberheardt yesterday. View it here. This isn't actually the beginning of Emberhard. Scroll down to the comments to view my reason for not posting the prologue.
And finally, Ink In All Forms is hosting a kick-off contest! Win some lovely books (almost as lovely as Natalie)! Go here. Now.
Peace and enjoy your day,
RR
Current Mood: Overtired
Current Music: Do You Know (Where You'll sleep Tonight)? by Gossip Grows on Trees (They're a small-time band, but they sound wonderful. Amazon is selling two of their songs for free. Check them out or I will steal Snuggles.
(<---------New feature: Amazon Associates)
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Writing Rush, Contests and Comics! (oh, and packages)
Hello my blogging buddies!
Well, today is a writing day.
Meaning?
My arms and screaming at me to open up Microsoft Word and set them free.
First some back story.
Sometimes when I'm bored in class I'll write on my notes. Meaning: it could be anything from a time traveling paragraph* to scene from Eberheardt** to peoples' initials***, to a poem****. Today I wrote one little scene from Eberheardt. First period finished. Then I got bored during second period, so I pulled out a yellow legal pad thingy and began to write a battle scene. Now, this pad is, maybe, 8'5 (I'm probably way off). Splitting each line in half (more than twice as many words per line than usual!) I filled two pages, "just finishing the scene". Well, the scene, a very intense one, isn't finished.
I'm one of those people that, when they need to write, they feel it. Right now, the veins in my forearms and the muscles in my fingers are yelling at me. The veins is a weird thing. I get a weird feeling where I assume my veins are, and I need to write. Anyone else get like this?
No?
Anyone? Anywhere?
Guess not.
Anywho, I would never leave you like that. So, I've got two contests to speak of, and a comic.
First off, La Femme Readers is giving away an ARC of Hunger!
And, I just remembered. I got a package today(!!!!!) Sorry, it's not Linger yet. I actually got 2 packages. I got If I Stay by Gayle Foreman, from the wonderful Candace of Candyland. And, my gorgeous TImex watch came from Gearloop on eBay. No pictures, but I'll try to get you an image from Timex. :)
Now, for the comic:
(click on it to see the cut-off part)
This is from xkcd, the hysterically funny webcomics posted every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It's definitely worth it to bookmark them! (And no, I have not been bribed to say that ;) )
This is from xkcd, the hysterically funny webcomics posted every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It's definitely worth it to bookmark them! (And no, I have not been bribed to say that ;) )
Peace,
RR
Current Music: Honestly by Cartel//Follow You into the Dark by Death Cab for Cute (the 2nd song started while I was finishing up this post but after I posted Honestly)
Current Mood: Overtired and Writing Rush-filled. (I got 2 hours of sleep last night.)
*Done it. I might post it some time, if I can read it XD
**Done it several times
***You should see my 3rd period notes
****Can't recall doing it, but I'm sure people have.
DISCLAIMER:
I hold no responsibility for failed courses as a
result of following in my footsteps and writing during class.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
FAQs Or: Some Questions That Give Me a Bigger Ego
Now, I haven't gotten a single question yet, but doing this makes me feel good :)
Q: Who are you?
A: A teenager low on sleep and high on books.
Q: What do you blog about?
A: Books, mostly. Usually fantasy. I'll also have some good reads to tell you about, and, when I get my hands on ARCs, I'm going to have book reviews exclusively for followers. Isn't that awesome?
Q: Speaking of awesome, how are you so cool?
A: It's natural.
Q: Do you have any giveaways, contests, or book tours?
A: Unfortunately, I'm nothing more than a broke teenager. I'll be giving away blog awards, having blog featuring contests, and I might in the future be giving away things small enough to fit in a 49 cent (or whatever postage is these days) envelop. That means pictures, bookmarks, and whatever else I can come up with with my aforementioned awesomeness.
Q: Can I quote you?
A: Knock yourself out, but please link back to me if it's my own quote.
Q: Can I interview you?
A: I'm flattered. If you feel so inclined, just shoot me an e-mail. rivkarno1(at)hotmail(dot)com. (Except replace with @ and .)
Q: I'm an author/publisher. Will you read and review my book?
A: I'd love to. If you want me to review your ARC, just shoot me an e-mail, giving me some basic information, like the genre, official release date, title, author, and publisher. And include a brief synopsis too, please. As much as I love free books, I don't want to take your ARC if it's a genre I'm not interested in and I'm just going to let it sit on my pile for a year before giving it an awful review. For example, I don't like heavy romance. For example, no books titled, "Lovely Sweet Maiden" or "Intense Relationships" or "Vampire/(Non)Werewolf/Tasty-Human Love Triangle". (Feel free to use one of those titles in your next YA sparkly vampire romance novel.)(Er, the "sparkly vampire" bit was only referring to that last title.)
You get my drift. Feel free to e-mail me.
Q: I'm a reader, and I'm considering getting a certain book, but I'm not sure. Since I value your opinion, will you review a book I request?
A: I'll consider it. Aside from the right genre, the book has to be available in my library. Once again, e-mail me.
Q: Will you look at my blog?
A: Send me a link and I'll take a peak.
Q: Will you read my WIP, unpublished MS?
A: Yes, I will, but you should know that if your book isn't published either by yourself or through a publisher, you have no copyright and it can be stolen.
Q: I noticed that you have two WIPs. Eberheardt and Payment in Blood. What are they?
A: I will have a page on them soon. Currently there is none.
Q: Your WIPs sound good. Can I read one?
A: No. Copyright issues.
Q: I have a computer problem. Can you help?
A: I'm a techy, but nothing major. Ask away if you really want to.
Q: Can you help me make a book trailer?
A: I can try. First tip: use Windows Movie Maker, unless it freezes every five minutes or has messed up sound (like yours truly's WMM).
Q: You're favorite music is Boys Like Girls, Cartel and Gleed versions, right?
A: Basically. Throw in some oldies into the mix and get rid of love Drunk by BLG.
Q: Diet Soda or regular?
A: Diet.
Q: Pepsi or Coke?
A: Coke.
Q: Chocolate or candy?
A: Chocolate.
Q: You like blue.
A: How'd you guess?
Q: That wasn't a question.
Q: What if I have other questions?
A: E-mail me or comment below.
Q: You're awesome.
A: Thanks.
Current Music: Jessie's Girl- Gleed version
Current Mood: I still haz a cold.
Cheers,
RR
Q: Who are you?
A: A teenager low on sleep and high on books.
Q: What do you blog about?
A: Books, mostly. Usually fantasy. I'll also have some good reads to tell you about, and, when I get my hands on ARCs, I'm going to have book reviews exclusively for followers. Isn't that awesome?
Q: Speaking of awesome, how are you so cool?
A: It's natural.
Q: Do you have any giveaways, contests, or book tours?
A: Unfortunately, I'm nothing more than a broke teenager. I'll be giving away blog awards, having blog featuring contests, and I might in the future be giving away things small enough to fit in a 49 cent (or whatever postage is these days) envelop. That means pictures, bookmarks, and whatever else I can come up with with my aforementioned awesomeness.
Q: Can I quote you?
A: Knock yourself out, but please link back to me if it's my own quote.
Q: Can I interview you?
A: I'm flattered. If you feel so inclined, just shoot me an e-mail. rivkarno1(at)hotmail(dot)com. (Except replace with @ and .)
Q: I'm an author/publisher. Will you read and review my book?
A: I'd love to. If you want me to review your ARC, just shoot me an e-mail, giving me some basic information, like the genre, official release date, title, author, and publisher. And include a brief synopsis too, please. As much as I love free books, I don't want to take your ARC if it's a genre I'm not interested in and I'm just going to let it sit on my pile for a year before giving it an awful review. For example, I don't like heavy romance. For example, no books titled, "Lovely Sweet Maiden" or "Intense Relationships" or "Vampire/(Non)Werewolf/Tasty-Human Love Triangle". (Feel free to use one of those titles in your next YA sparkly vampire romance novel.)(Er, the "sparkly vampire" bit was only referring to that last title.)
You get my drift. Feel free to e-mail me.
Q: I'm a reader, and I'm considering getting a certain book, but I'm not sure. Since I value your opinion, will you review a book I request?
A: I'll consider it. Aside from the right genre, the book has to be available in my library. Once again, e-mail me.
Q: Will you look at my blog?
A: Send me a link and I'll take a peak.
Q: Will you read my WIP, unpublished MS?
A: Yes, I will, but you should know that if your book isn't published either by yourself or through a publisher, you have no copyright and it can be stolen.
Q: I noticed that you have two WIPs. Eberheardt and Payment in Blood. What are they?
A: I will have a page on them soon. Currently there is none.
Q: Your WIPs sound good. Can I read one?
A: No. Copyright issues.
Q: I have a computer problem. Can you help?
A: I'm a techy, but nothing major. Ask away if you really want to.
Q: Can you help me make a book trailer?
A: I can try. First tip: use Windows Movie Maker, unless it freezes every five minutes or has messed up sound (like yours truly's WMM).
Q: You're favorite music is Boys Like Girls, Cartel and Gleed versions, right?
A: Basically. Throw in some oldies into the mix and get rid of love Drunk by BLG.
Q: Diet Soda or regular?
A: Diet.
Q: Pepsi or Coke?
A: Coke.
Q: Chocolate or candy?
A: Chocolate.
Q: You like blue.
A: How'd you guess?
Q: That wasn't a question.
Q: What if I have other questions?
A: E-mail me or comment below.
Q: You're awesome.
A: Thanks.
Current Music: Jessie's Girl- Gleed version
Current Mood: I still haz a cold.
Cheers,
RR
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