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Adventures in Life and Writing is my little home on the web. It's a place where I can take a break from serious writing and work and just chat about whatever is on my mind. You can also read all about the books I'm reading and what I think of them along with finding out some information about the writing projects I'm working.

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Far-Flung Adventures: Fergus Crane

Posted By Bria_Teragram on June 15, 2009

By Paul Stewart & Chris Riddell

Synopsis: Fergus Crane is a young boy who lives with his mother. Though they are poor, Fergus Crane is still able to go to school aboard the Betty-Jeanne. It’s a ship with strange classes and even stranger teachers. One night a flying box comes to Fergus’s window. Fergus begins corresponding with the stranger who sent the box and soon he learns his life is in danger. With the help of the stranger Fergus must try to save his fellow schoolmates.

Review: Like everything written by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell, this is another great story.  While the story is set in less colorful world than the Edge, it is still full of strange and interesting things.  As all ways, the drawings by Chris Riddell help bring the story to life.   This is an easy read that you can give to young kids.  It could even be great read to your youngest children who are just learning to read, the only thing is that some of the illustrations can be a bit distracting at the beginning of the novel since they are mostly just side characters that make only one or two short appearances later on.

Similar Reads: I haven’t come across anything quite like Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell’s books. I’d recommend reading their Edge Chronicles if you want more like it, just remember that they are meant for a slightly older audience than the Far-Flung Adventures.

Parting Thoughts: I think the only thing that is disappointing about this series is that each story is about a new character. They are definitely still worth reading though! I’ve already got the next book, Corby Flood.

The Forest: Part 3

Posted By Bria_Teragram on June 15, 2009

She leaned back in the chair, resting a hand on a her full stomach.  Her eyes roved over the people at the table.  Their eyes were a deep green like her parents.  As she stared at them, she could see some resemblance to her own mother in the woman that had spoken in the common tongue to her.  They could have been sisters, maybe they were.  Her parents had said they left their home before she was born.  They had wanted to explore the world and when she was born, they stopped in that village and settled there.

“There are many people that want to meet you, child,” the mother said interrupting the girl’s thoughts.

“Why?”

“Because you are important to our people,” she said picked up the empty plates.

“Why would I be important?”

“Every child of our people is important, especially those that have been gone for a long time.  You are a child that was born in the world outside and your homecoming is a time for celebration.”

“And who are these people?”

“Do you not know who we are, what we are?”

“My parents never speak of their home, only that they left it before I was born.”

The mother sighed and turned towards the girl.

“Well, you will learn now that you are here.  First, let us get you properly dressed.”

The girl looked down at the human clothes and ran a hand through her plain hair.  She must look strange to them in these clothes.  They fit, but hung loosely around her slender frame.  It was so unlike the clothes they wore.  The deer hide clothing fit snugly to their bodies.  Some even looked like they had living plants wrapped around them.

“Come child,” the mother said as she ushered the girl toward some stairs.

The girl followed her.  A hand running along the smooth grain of the wood as she ascended the stairs she had not seen the night before.

“What is the name your parents have given you?” the woman asked as she picked up pale green linen dress and handed it to the girl.

“Anaba, Anaba Fieldthorn,” she said as she shrugged out of her clothes and slipped the dress over her undergarments.

“Fieldthorn?” the woman asked as she handed over a deerskin vest

“Yes, is that not their real name?” Anaba asked as she laced up the vest

“It was not the name your parents had when they left, but our names change.  It is the way of our people.  You will always be Anaba, but you will not always be Anaba Fieldthorn.  They have called you the Spiritwalker for many years.  We have seen your spirit in our forest.  You walked among the trees, but never among our people.  I expect you will be called Anaba Spiritwalker by those you will soon meet,” the mother said as she began to braid Anaba’s hair.

“What do you mean by my spirit walked in the forest?”

“There are those among our people who can travel places without their body.  Their spirit can float free and travel the world.  Some people can move their body from one place to another, but their spirit cannot separate from their body.  Others can do neither, and still a few can do both.  You are one of those that can do both, though, for a long time we thought you were just a spiritwalker.”

“And my parents?”

“They must use their feet to travel,” the mother said as she began to expertly weave leaves into the braids.

“Will they know where I have gone?  Do they know what I can do?”

“They probably have had some idea that you were a Spiritwalker.  And the other spirit walkers of the village have been searching for them so that they might know where you have gone, though they will probably figure it out on their own.”

“Perhaps I should go back and tell them?  They will wonder where I have gone.  I am their only child and they worry over me.  Even if they try not to let me see it,” Anaba said as she fidgeted with the string on the vest.

“If there is one thing I know about your parents, it is that they are some of the brightest elves there are.  They will figure it out and they will pick up their feet and travel back home.”

Anthem for the Week - June 14

Posted By Bria_Teragram on June 14, 2009

“Big Star Machine” by Superchic[k]

Could someone help me comprehend
How my wanting to have friends
Is now this monster that I feed
It’s popularity I need
When people think that I’m the deal
It helps me feel like I am real
But I think I lost the me
Looking for the star machine

I don’t want any part of it
Everything is here today gone tomorrow
Big star machine
Ricky Martin or Menudo
Big star machine
VHl “where are they?”
Follows big star machine
How could I have been so shallow
Big big star machine

Could someone help me comprehend
How I came to judge my friends
On a scale of trendiness
And somehow I love them less
Not as hip as they could be
Through the eyes of star machine
It’s a dumb philosophy
To judge by popularity
I don’t want any part of it everything is

Here today gone tomorrow
Big star machine
Ricky Martin or Menudo
Big star machine
VH1 “where are they?”
Follows big star machine
How could I have been so shallow
Big big star machine

While I was never one to feel like this during any of my school years…  I do identify with the need to be liked in the song.  I came to understand and accept at a fairly young age that I’m just a weird quirky quiet girl that likes her books, I’ll never be popular in the traditional sense.  But there is part of me that likes to be known, though I prefer anonymity in my popularity (pennames ftw, not that I’ve published anything yet…).  The great thing about the internet, though, is that I can be whoever I want to be, though I act as myself, I just use names other than my own, though I do use my real name from time to time.

But all that aside, if I ever do get published and become famous (insert laughter here).  I hope that I don’t lose “me” and become a different person.

Getting Back on Track!

Posted By Bria_Teragram on June 14, 2009

I’ve been bad.  You can tell by look at my blog.  I promised some book reviews weeks ago.  I finally wrote the first one.  I’ve decided that I won’t write a book review for the second book in the Sisters Grimm series, since I wouldn’t have much extra to say, so I just tagged a extra thought on the end of the book review for the first one.

So, now… I’m getting back on track.  I have one book review written.  I plan to write another one tonight and post it tomorrow.  I have also posted two days in a row on my serialized story and have a draft lined up for tomorrow (I hope I keep this up!).  I will be taking some time later today to work on the forth part and review my third part which I’m having some second thoughts about.

I will also skim through some of my music later today to try and find a song I want to use as my Anthem for the Week.

And of course, I need to start working out again.  I probably won’t work out at all today, though if it is cool enough outside I may go for a walk.

Sisters Grimm: Fairy Tale Detectives by Michael Buckley

Posted By Bria_Teragram on June 14, 2009

Synopsis: Daphne and Sabrina Grimm are orphans. Their parents mysteriously disappear and after a series of foster homes they are finally given to an old woman who claims to be their grandmother, Relda. The girls soon learn that Ferryport Landing where Granny Relda lives is not a normal city. They find out about their family’s history and learn about the job their family has done for centuries in Ferryport Landing. Daphne and Sabrina must help the Granny Relda solve the latest mystery that has beset this small strange town.

Review: This is a fun story full of mystery and intrigue. This is great easy light read. The story definitely takes a different look and view of Fairy Tales and Fairy Tale characters. While the main characters may at times be a bit flat, predictable or even annoyingly stereotypical, it doesn’t detract from the story itself because the twists on the Fairy Tale characters are so interesting and the pictures are a bonus, though they don’t really bring extra life to the book like they do in books like the Edge Chronicles.

Similar Reads: There are some similarities between Fablehaven by Brandon Mull and Brandon Dorman and The Sisters Grimm. Both involve the children going to live with a grandparent in which they start to learn that their Grandparents live in a world of fairies and other strange creatures. While The Sisters Grimm focuses purely on fairy tale characters, Fablehaven ventures into the wide range of fairy tale creatures.

Parting Thoughts: The Sisters Grimm are books I’ve eyed for a long time. It was pretty obvious by the title and the name Grimm that the Brothers Grimm would have something to do with the main characters and that Fairy Tales would play a large role.  Buckley definitely took a new and different look at Fairy Tale creatures and I look forward to reading the rest of the series.  You should definitely pick up this book if you are interested in twists on Fairy Tales.

I will,however, note that I did read the second book in the series and still find the main characters annoying flat and stereotypical, so if those types of characters bother you, this may not be a good series for you.  I do recommend at least trying the first book though.  It’s a short enough book that it won’t take too much time.

The Forest: Part 2

Posted By Bria_Teragram on June 14, 2009

With her eyes still closed she went over her dream from the night before. It was so strange. The trees of her secret place had grown bear bread stairs and there were homes up in the trees. A whole city was up in her secret place. It was the best dream she could ever have. She must have fallen asleep while she was meditating; that surely wasn’t something she could have made up while awake.

She rolled on to her back, stretching her arms out as she let out a yawn. She finally opened her eyes. The view before her wasn’t her room; it was the room she had fallen asleep in during her dream.  Pulling the moss blanket off, she jumped out of the bed.  Her eyes turned to the ivy-covered doorway.  She walked through, the long tendrils swaying at her passage. Once again the table was set with food, this time there were a few people sitting around it. She stopped and stared at them. They looked just like her and her parents. They had long flowing brown hair, each one in a different style, with leaves, lichen or mosses weaved in.  They would easily blend in with the scenery around them. Their skin was a light brown and covered in tattoos. Their ears were not curved like the people she normally saw, they slanted and came to points a few inches past that of the normal person. These people were the most elegant things she had every seen. Their beauty surpassed that of the silverware and creations around them. She looked at her plain skin, she never understood why her body was not covered in the designs that her parents had. Somehow, though, she knew that she was just like these people. She did not know what they were called, but they were not humans.

The nearest one stood and bowed to her, it was obviously the father of the family. He held out a hand to her and spoke in a tongue which she barely knew, a tongue that her parents only would whisper at night.  Over the years she had come to understand a few of the words, but she never used them.

“Welcome home child,” he said. She stood for a moment staring at him, confused. Her legs slowly buckled and she sank to the ground. ‘Welcome home child?’ What was this? Surely this was not her home, her parents were not here and she had not seen this place before.  These may be the people of her parents, but this was an unfamiliar world.

The mother of the family moved to her side and helped her stand.  “We have been waiting for a long time for you to find these trees. You have come and gone in many of the places around our woods, but till last night you had not found the stairs. We are glad you have returned to us. We trust your parents are doing well.”  The girl’s brow crinkled, trying to puzzle over the words and make sense of the ones she didn’t know. She had been running around the woods? The only time she had gone near any forest was when she meditated and then it was only in her mind.

Her lips were barely able to form the words that came stumbling out. They rolled awkwardly over her tongue. “I-I, whe-where,” she started and then after a pause continued in the common tongue, “where am I?” The mother just chuckled at her and gave her a squeeze.

“Home, now please come sit and eat, you must be hungry from your long rest,” the mother said in the common tongue. The mother looked upon her with love and understanding.

With the mother’s help she managed to sit down at the table. She ate in silence, barely picking up anything that was said. This was all so new to her. She wondered how in the world she had gotten here.

The Forest: Part 1

Posted By Bria_Teragram on June 13, 2009

She closed her eyes and simply floated away, letting the darkness come over her. Her mind turning towards that secret place in her head, to the place where she was at peace. The place where the trees went soaring up into the sky and no matter how long she climbed she never reached the top. She vowed that one day she would reach the top and look out across the vast expanse of sky that would be before her. Maybe today she would venture up into the sky.

Ever so slowly the black begun to change. Beams of light burst through the darkness creating pillars of light. Gradually things began to come clear. The trees about her towered over her small figure. Their bark was covered with mosses and lichen. These giants soared into the sky and were the oldest she had ever seen, each time she visited them they seemed to have aged even more. She stepped towards the nearest one and ran her hand across the bark and moss, rough and soft. It was pleasing to the touch as was the strong woody scent of the many plants that came to her nose. As her eyes continued to travel around she saw the ferns and flowers fighting over the ground. Each one trying to get the most sun so that it would grow big like the trees around them.

Her eyes returned to the giants all around her. She carefully scrutinized the one that her hand was touching. She began to circle around it looking for a good place to begin climbing. Her eyes finally spotted the bear bread that she would use as her steps till she got to the first limbs. She hugged the tree as she made her way up; it seemed this time as if the bear bread had been laid out just for her to step upon. Though they were far apart, they still were close enough that she did not have to stretch far to reach the next piece. It was like climbing a grand spiraling staircase that went up for many feet. She paused for a moment to look up, the air was thinner here and she could barely even begin to see the beginnings of the branches. The view seemed different than normal this time. The picture wasn’t quite the same but it was still pleasing to the eye. She leaned her head against a large spot of moss breathing in its earthy wet smell. Heaving a deep sigh she began to ascend once again.

The view before her along the limbs was amazing. It seemed this time that something inhabited this place. Homes were built around the trees and sturdy limbs. Many of the limbs seemed to have been coaxed into different directions, turning at odd angles but providing good support. The bear bread steps continued on up higher where more homes and large areas to sit and stand were. She slowly began to explore this new area, this first level. The trees seemed to be glowing with pleasure, not a nail pierced their bark. Everything was grown into the shape it was. Very few of the homes were made of anything but the living trees and plants that abounded in this forest place. Inside the homes even beds and tables seemed to be knobs and branches that had been grown specifically for their various purposes. The beds had soft moss covers and pillows that weren’t even attached, but still thrived like the moss attached to the trees.

All that was before her was beautiful and amazing. It seemed more real then ever before. The scents were much stronger; it was if she was in a real thriving forest. Everything was much more pleasant. Each touch of an object brought more feeling than she was used to. It seemed as if her secret place had become a real forest and there were others here to share it with her, but she could not see or find them. With a sigh she carefully sat down upon one of the moss covered chairs at a table. There was food sitting before her waiting to be eaten. She carefully began to sip at the glass of wine; the taste was new and unknown. It was full of vibrant life. It smelled and tasted strongly of berries, but in a mix that she was not used to. It was much more elegant than anything she had ever tasted before. It was much stronger too, it would be easy to get drunk off of if not drunken slowly and with a meal.

Her hand slipped over the elegant metal fork beside the porcelain plate. The etchings in it were amazing and beautiful. So delicate that it seemed impossible for a human hand to make. The food that she ate with it was just as amazing and delicious as the strange wine. It filled her belly, leaving it warm and sated. Slowly her eyes began to droop.

She picked herself up and crawled into the bed in the next room. How odd it was that she was getting sleepy. In this place she had never gotten tired before, only exhausted from the endless climbing or exploring of the forest. Her eyes finally closed with her last thought, this was no ordinary trip into her secret place.

The Forest: A Short Introduction

Posted By Bria_Teragram on June 13, 2009

Many years ago I started writing a story for one of my English classes.  We had to turn in weekly writings that were usually a reflection of things we had learned in class the previous week.  The TA for the class decided that because my writing skill was above average that it would be okay for me to explore my more creative side in writing, so I begin to do freewrites.  These freewrites quickly developed into a serialized story.  When the class ended so did the story, but due to my desire to try and write everyday, I’m going to start working on the story again.  I’ll try to post daily, though I doubt that will happen.  The story will be in a mostly raw form.  I won’t edit a whole lot, but I’ll try and clean up most spelling and grammar errors.  Despite the fact that this will probably not be my best writing, since it will be largely unedited, I still want to share it.

For a lack of a better name, the story for now is called “The Forest” since that is where it takes place.  It isn’t an ordinary forest as you will soon find out.  So please read and I hope you enjoy.

You can also find the first few installments posted here, along with a few others stories I was writing around the same time.  I have done some minor editing to those first few installments as I post them here, but I will keep them mostly unchanged from their original form.

June Challenge

Posted By Bria_Teragram on May 31, 2009

I’m not sure if this is a normal thing for SparkPeople, since I’ve only been a member for just over a month now, but they are having monthly challenges.  For June it’s all about sleeping!  I’m going to try this challenge just like I did the Sweatsuit to Swimsuit Challenge.  I’m hoping it’ll help me finally attain a regular sleep schedule.

While the insomnia that has plagued me off and on from my teen years and beyond is not as bad as it once was, I do find that I still sometimes have issues going to bed at a regular time.  My body seems to want to stay up more than 16 hours a day and sleep around 8, which means that my body wishes it had more than 24 hours per day. ;)

With exercise, I do get tired earlier… but sometimes the exercise doesn’t seem to do anything for me.  I think part of this may also be due to the fact that I don’t have a regular time I exercise.  I just do it after I feel like I’ve digested most of the last meal and won’t get that sick feeling from exercising with a full belly.

So starting tomorrow, I’m going to be keeping a sleep journal as part of the week 1 challenge.  I may or may not post the probably boring journal here.

But, yeah… anyway…  Here is to hoping that I will make a more successful venture into this challenge than I did for the Sweatsuit to Swimsuit (though I did lose 2lbs and 3.5 inches, but not quite the 1-2lbs per week I was aiming for).

Anthem for the Week - May 31

Posted By Bria_Teragram on May 31, 2009

I’ve been pretty bad about not posting lately.  But!  I’m on today, so here is the anthem for the week:

Run Kid Run - “Set the Dial”

Static fights
Against the reel
Real is all I want to feel
This feeling’s got me off the ground
Transmitting love around
When everything’ a little out of place
Make your move to escape
Set the dial and make it straight
A frequency we will create
So play a song of love
The song we want to hear

We are the radio
On to the world that’s lost control
Let’s turn it up so they all know the song that’s playing
On the radio

Love is a movement but our movements slow
The reception on our radio
Is breaking in and out of flow
The sound it can not be concealed
Concealed is how we seem to feel
Let’s break these airwaves push it through
Free the signal make a move
So play a song of love
The song we want to hear

We are the radio
On to the world that’s lost control
Let’s turn it up so they all know the song that’s playing
On the radio

Yeah take control
To the tune of what we know
Let sound waves show

Were letting go
At the top of my lungs
I’m gonna tell everyone
This is the sound
That sole surrounds
So turn it up
I’m gonna dare to share
Open my mouth and declare
This is the sound
So play it loud
Into the airwaves now
At the top of my lungs
I’m gonna tell everyone
This is the sound
That sole surrounds
So turn it up

What I really like about this song, besides a fun beat, is that it talks about a “song of love”.  This idea of love in general is what drives my Christianity.  When asked what the greatest commandment was, Christ didn’t just give one, he gave two and both were about love; loving God and loving our neighbors.  While I may not be the greatest at following them, I try and remember that love is important.