Hello my peeps, and welcome back to Sword of the Penmaiden! I was preparing to release a review today, and then got this inkling that I should look at a calendar and make sure it was the last Monday of the month before I published it.
*fp* May has five Mondays. Not just four. XD
So! Today I’m going to do a bit of housecleaning and catch up on all those tags I’ve been tagged for but haven’t gotten around to. Turns out I’ve been tagged by multiple people for the same tag, so I’m just going to lump those together and do three tags today: The ABC Tag, Sunshine Blogger Award tag, and the Blog Recommendations Tag ’cause that one just looks like fun. XD This’ll be a long post, so grab a seat belt and some chocolate!
The ABC Tag!!
Rules:
Thank the person who nominated you and link back to the original blog! (That would be Grace Johnson and the girls over at Sisters Three!! Thanks for the tag, guys! This looks like a BLAST.)
Include the hastily constructed graphic in your post! XD
You must write a 26 sentence story each sentence starting with a letter from the alphabet. (Example, first sentence starts with a, second with b, third with c, and down through the whole alphabet!)
Nominate 7 bloggers or writers to do the challenge! (SEVEN!? 0_0)
Have fun! (And try not to get stuck on x and z….lol…) (Let me go find a dictionary real quick… XD)
Story:
Anyone could touch the stars, or so the legends said. Bright they were, brilliant points of light piercing the velvety canvas of night like diamonds. Catching one was harder than touching one, though. Darkness made it difficult to watch where you were running, so most people who tried to catch a star ended up falling off a cliff or with a concussion. Even Sarlis, the most famous star-catcher ever, had taken her share of spills. For how could one become the best without having one’s share of mistakes along the way?
Granted, my dreams of being taught by Sarlis were far-fetched. However, that didn’t mean I wouldn’t pursue them to the best of my ability.
I knocked on her door, anxiety settling in my stomach like a heavy stone. Just as dusk was beginning to veil the world in shadows and I was giving up, it creaked open to reveal a young woman, not yet in her thirties, with a long blond braid swaying to her waist and piercing grey eyes in which I could have sworn the light of the stars lingered. “Karth,” she said, as if she had suspected that it was me. “Let it go, lad.”
My fingers twisted my cloak into a knot as I shook my head. “Never. Once upon a time, you said you’d take on any apprentice who but asked. Please, take me.”
Quietness reigned.
“Right, I did say that. Still, that was ages ago, before I was swarmed with kids I never thought would be interested in learning from me. Teaching takes time [author’s note: heh, that was 3 “T”s in a row! XD], Karth. Understand?”
Vivid indignation flared in my stomach as I shook my head again. “Well, then, I guess I’ll catch one by myself.” Xanthous-colored grass crackled beneath my feet as I whirled and darted away, not heeding Sarlis’ cries until she got desperate.
“YES, I’LL TEACH YOU, JUST DON’T DO ANYTHING STUPID!”
Zeal shot through my veins at those words. Time to catch a star.
Yes, yes, I know I added one more sentence. But it needed a better ending. XD THANKS SO MUCH FOR TAGGING ME, GIRLS!! That was so much fun and the story now has me engaged, which means I might have to add another thing to my “To-Be-Written” projects. ;P
The Sunshine Blogger Award (Take 2)
This is a fun tag, one I’ve already done once. Since I was tagged by three different people, I’ll pick-and-choose eleven questions from them and answer those, since I don’t have the time to answer 33 questions. XD Let’s get started, shall we?
Rules:
Thank the blogger who nominated you and link back to their blog (thanks to Grace Johnson (again XD), Tasha Van Kesteren, and Rose Addams!)
Answer the questions
Nominate eleven bloggers and ask them eleven questions
Tag:
What’s your least favorite movie ever? Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End. All of the characters degrade into complete moral dirtiness, their once-straight compasses as skewed as Jack’s compass. Not to mention that the plot in and of itself is rather… odd… and majorly centers around a heathen “goddess” who looks like a voodoo witch. The humor is ok, but not as good as in the other two before it. Yeah. Not a fan.
Have you ever flown before? If so, where to? If not, would you like to one day? Noooo I haven’t!!!!! And it’s killing me. XD I’ve always loved heights and the idea of flying, so YES I would LOVE to fly someday. 😀
Favorite Bible verse/passage? John 15:13. SO. GOOD.
If you could spend a day with one author, who would it be? Andrew Peterson. He seems like such a great guy, plus I could interrogate him until I have all my questions about WFS answered. >:)
You can go to any college or university all expenses paid, where are you going? Either to School of Kingdom Writers or to The Author Conservatory. ‘Cause… WRITING!! XD
What three books would you take to an abandoned island? ONLY THREE!?! Sheesh, I’d probably die on that island from a broken heart. *sniffle* Um… definitely the Bible, ’cause I could read that for like FOREVER. Then LOTR… then WFS… *sniffs and thinks of all the books I left behind* AND YES I’M COUNTING SERIES AS ONE BOOK EACH XD
Would you rather meet Peter Pan or Aladdin? PETER PAAAAAN!!!!! Because he can fly. And he’s awesome, albeit slightly annoying at times. And because then I might be able to convince him to teach me how to fly and use a sword and then take me to Neverland and that would be just sheer awesomeness. 🙂
Love triangles, yea or nay? Depends on how they’re written. Written well and nicely with the romance focused on character and each other instead of each other’s looks and selfish motivation? Sure. Written badly and annoyingly with the romance focused on looks and self instead of the other person’s character and growth? Get it away from me or I will burn it. XD
Which fictional character would you like to eat a meal with (say, at your favorite restaurant- you don’t have to cook it. If you don’t like to cook)? 0_0 I… can’t decide… ouch. XD Erm, it’s a tie between the Florid Sword from WFS, Artham from WFS, Gandalf from LOTR, and Thorin from The Hobbit. *sighs* Can we just have a group dinner? XD
Would you rather write a critically-acclaimed, bestselling novel that creates a huge following (but only one), or one or more good, but not hugely famous, series/ short story collections? Hrm… less famous would be my first thought. But I’m actually not sure with this one. XD Am I allowed to still write after finishing said one and only novel, and just not publish? Or do I have to stop writing all together?
Dream pet (disregarding allergies, budgetary limitations, or even realism, if you’d like a unicorn…)? I’d love a griffin, hands down. *grins* Because yes: FLYING!!!!!! XD
That was so much fun – and so hard to narrow it down to 11 questions. I got stuck at 12 and then realized that two of the questions essentially asked the same thing. XD
OK! Last tag, coming right up!
Blogger Recommendation Tag!!
Rules:
Thank and link back to the person who tagged you. (Yes, thank you again, Grace! XD)
Mention the creator of the tag: Nehal @ Quirky Pages.
List the rules. (Done XD)
Share one or more bloggers you think fits into each criteria.
The people you mention will be considered tagged.
Apart from the ones you shared, you can tag other bloggers and notify them.
Just have fun!!
Recommendations:
A fascinating blog theme: Fascinating? That’s an interesting choice of words… XD I guess I find Chloe’s Place‘s theme very interesting – it totally fits her vibe and is something I’ve never seen before! Same thing goes for Daniel Amador at The Right Kind of Writer.
A lovely home page: Grace, you take the cake with this one. Your homepage is GORGEOUS. If I had Wix, I’d copy you. XD
Great book reviews: going with Grace again for this one (seriously, this girl’s blog ROCKS XD). She goes in-depth, which is great especially if I’ve been looking at that book to figure out if I want to read it or not. If I haven’t heard of the book before. Allyson Jamison has some EXCELLENT shorter reviews. 🙂
Amazing humor: The Sarcastic Elf, hands down. Y’all… the chihuahua post… XDDD Though Victoria at Solo Deo Gloria is also pretty high up there. I ASPIRE TO BE LEGOLAS TOO. XD
Mind-blowing poems and stories: Back to The Right Kind of Writer again! XD Daniel’s short story, From Reign to Ice, was magnificent. Also, AnnaKate Writes has some GREAT short fantasy-like stuff you should check out!
The friendliest: Going with Sisters Three here – y’all are so nice! XD
The most consistent: Yup, Grace got this spot-on. Vanessa Hall is SO consistent, it’s kind of incredible. Also, Briar Albaugh at The Grazing Daisy somehow manages to consistently post like FIVE TIMES A WEEK.
HOW. XD
The best at sharing tips: Allyson Jamison has some EXCELLENT articles, y’all: top-notch advice written in a clear, understandable style and applicable write away!! 🙂 Boy, now I sound like a salesperson. XDDD Saraina Whitney also has some INCREDIBLE content that you need to check out like RIGHT NOW. XD
The talented artist: Y’all. If you haven’t seen Sarah Baran’s work, head over to The Sarcastic Elf and spend a few hours perusing those glorious pages. Because she has some sheer TALENT. XD
Cool site name: Storylight, Karissa Chmil’s blog. IT CALLS ME. XD
The underrated: Um, like everyone I just mentioned. XD But also especially The Homeschooled Girl and Penlightenment.
That was a lot!! Goodness. XD I’m completely out of brain juice, so for the tags for all three, if your blog was linked above in the recommendations, consider yourself tagged for any tags you haven’t done yet. XD
With that, I shall bow out and actually go do school. ;P
Until next time!
Take courage, pursue God, and smile while you still have teeth!! 😀
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