Updates AT LAST!!!!! :D

Well, friends, I can see from the date of my last post that I have been out of commission for some time! At least blogging wise. And recently, one of my friends on Facebook got a hold of me through message, and asked when on earth I was going to post some updates? This wasn’t the first time I was asked, either; I had been asked the same thing by a blog follower just the day before. So I definitely know that it is time to get everyone up to speed. 

Well, let’s start with my regular life. I’ve been writing A LOT more lately. Way more than I could have even hoped to during the school year. My novel, “Song of the Daystar”, now has a (very nearly complete) history behind the plot, the world, and the story itself, and because of that history, all of the little plot holes that I was struggling with are starting to fill up and make sense. And, quite honestly, the whole thing sort of worked itself out all by itself and came at me from out of nowhere. I’m reworking the beginning of the book yet again, but this time I’m opening with my villain and (though I haven’t completely decided on the specific time period of the scene) at the moment it is a scene that happened four years before my MC’s story. (That may change in the near future, if I can’t figure out how to work in the four year skip with grace… :P)

Besides writing, though, I’m still working on art commissions. Right now I’m all backed up. I have quite a few illustrations I’m working on from several different authors, and I have some deadlines coming up for them really soon (both personal and otherwise) so the pressure is really on. So far so good… hopefully I can get myself completely dug out within the next month. Or maybe two, if there are any complications. I still don’t have a scanner of my own, which means I’m still relying on my local Library and my school’s computer lab, but hopefully before too long this problem will be fixed as well.

Which leads nicely into the third bit of news regarding my personal life: I’ve got a job! It’s a part time job working as an In-Home care CNA for a wonderfully sweet woman who just happens to be the mother of a good friend. This has made life so much more manageable, since I can now rely almost entirely on myself, and I thank God every day for this gift. Besides, a portion of the money is going into a business fund for Magpie Eclectic, while another portion is taking care of bills, and another portion is going in a savings fund for my planned move this fall.

You read that right, friends. I’m hoping (though it’s still too early to say for certain) that I will be able to move out of my parents’ house for the fall 2012 and spring 2013 semesters and live on campus (or somewhere much nearer campus than my parents’ house) during that time. I still need to figure out a proper mode of transportation, since I’m currently using my parents’ van, but the thought of finally being on my own is a sweet one. Besides, with gas prices what they are, it’s getting ridiculous for me to drive an hour to school and an hour back every day of the week (usually including Saturday), and then an hour to church in the same direction on Sunday. I might as well live close as spend all that money on gas! Lol!

I also may be going to the big Ren-fair in Wisconsin coming up in a few weeks. I’m excited about that. Been working on embroidering and beading my big renaissance dress for the occasion. Hopefully when I get it done, I can post pictures of all my hard work. I’m excited to get it finished… I absolutely can’t WAIT to wear it at the fair! :D

And now for news concerning Magpie Eclectic Press and the Anthology Project – just in case any of you were curious about it. The submission process for the Anthology Project is going well. Currently we have four short stories that will be included in the anthology, and two poems. I will not be announcing names until after submissions are closed, and only if I get the authors’ permissions to announce them. As of the moment there is still no submission deadline, and if any of you have submitted something but haven’t heard back from me yet, just know that I’m getting to it. :D Some of the stories are still being debated over, but as soon as a solid decision is made I’ll be sure to contact the author with the results. I’m really getting excited about this project. Using the stories that have been decided on as a base, I’ve started to work out a design for the cover and have begun to brainstorm Anthology titles. Within a couple months time I will probably be setting up a pole to see what readers think of the potential anthology titles. 

I’ve also set up a new blog for the company… well, actually for me; to chronicle my journey into the publishing world as a company. It is called “Aspiring Endnotes”, and the title was inspired by the fact that I learn as I work… so basically my blog posts are likely to be “notes” on the lessons I learned after the fact. Lol! Currently there are no posts, but I have a couple that I’m working on. When I set up the first post, I will put a link up on this blog for those of you who are interested in reading it.

Some of you are probably wondering why I would set up a separate blog for that, when I could just post everything here at the P&P. But the truth is, every time I posted something about Magpie Eclectic here, I felt like I was self-promoting – advertising. That’s not really the purpose of the P&P, so I thought I would set up a separate blog for that sort of stuff… for talking about publishing through the eyes of one who is learning how to become a publisher. This blog here (the P&P) is for my personal journey as a writer… the Aspiring Endnotes blog is for my personal journey as a publisher. I’ve found that I look at the world of writing and publishing through different eyes, depending on which subject I’m working on, and which roll I take on as I’m working on it (writer, or publisher). So I feel like it’s just better to have my two views on the subjects separated... to keep them from getting mixed up. 

On another note entirely, yesterday I opened my business inbox to a new submission that I found quite intriguing. Since magpie has opened I’ve been surprised at the amount of submissions I’ve received already. After all, this is a fairly new press, and I haven’t even been given the chance to prove myself in the publishing world yet; I only have what I know, what I’ve studied, and what I believe – bunches of promises and this blog, but no books. And yet Magpie is still receiving submissions. :D However, up until this point, although I saw potential in several of the manuscripts, this is the first submission that I feel could possibly have more to it… this is the first one I’ve read that has made me want to request more. And it’s not just the writing or the style (by which I found myself pleasantly surprised when it drew me straight in), but it is also the subject idea. Now, of course it’s still WAY too early to say more than that or to get any hopes up – I still don’t know much about the rest of the book or how everything will play out, etc… and I haven’t even talked to the author yet – but this submission has made me wonder… I’ll be sure to keep you all posted over at Aspiring Endnotes.

Besides that… well, there really isn’t any “besides”. That pretty much sums up my life and current situation in a nutshell. I’ve been keeping myself busy. :D I have several book reviews that I should be getting up soon… but with everything else I’ve been working on, it seems so easy to push a book review to the side for a few days… and then a few more days… and then a few more… I can’t put it off forever though. Lol! There are also a couple of posts I would like to blog about, having to do with some insights into the lessons behind certain scenes of “The Chronicles of Narnia” books. I’ve been re-listening to the audio dramas of the books as I work on my ren-dress, and just the other day I had a revelation about the scene in “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” where Aslan turns Dragon Eustace back into a boy. It should be a very interesting post. 

If you’ve made it through this entire post, then I congratulate you for surviving my rambling! Hopefully my next post will be more focused (although I promise nothing… ;D)
Bye for now! And Happy Writing. ^_^

Nichole White

Updates and More Fun in Music

Hello friends,

You've probably noticed, but I haven't been around a lot.  I've just been really busy. :D  And the busy isn't ending - not yet at least - I'm just taking a few minutes to pause and update my life. ^_^

For starters, the person who wins a free copy of my e-book short story "Blue Moon" is....

GALADRIEL!!!!!

Congratulations. ^_^  To claim your copy, please email me at silverdreams3@gmail.com. :)

On another note, I'm preparing to host another giveaway... this time for Frank Peretti's new book "Illusion".  I FINALLY received my ARC of the book about a week and a half ago... after it was already in stores. :p  But that's ok.  I'm slowly working through my copy of the book, and Simon & Schuster sent me an extra copy of the ARC as well... a book that has never, and will never see a bookstore shelf... a book that I should have been able to offer you long before the rest of the copies came out in stores, but oh well. :)

SO in the very near future, I'll be posting more info on how you can get your hands on it. ^_^

In the mean time, I've been spending WAY to much time doing things that are not related to writing novels.  In  fact, I've been writing music.  ^_^  You see, I've been playing around with the demo version of a program called FL Studios, and having an absolute BLAST with it.  I've put together three pieces of music since downloading the demo program three days ago. lol!

The first piece... needs some work. :P :P  I'll go back and edit it later.  Now that I'm getting the hang of the program, I know I can do much better than that. (even though I still like the original music. lol!)

The Second and third pieces are much better, and the third is my FAVORITE. ^_^  It's called "Beautiful Storm" and was inspired by... you guessed it... a very beautiful storm that blew over my house the other night.  I just LOVE listening to the rain on my roof at night!  And I think that this composition portrays the wonder of it fairly well... or at least I hope it does.

Enjoy!  And let me know what you think of the music.

Nichole

Excerpts From My Life

Hello friends,


This post is sort of a mix of an update and a mix of something else - I'm not exactly sure what. :P


On the "Update" side, I have some exciting news. ^_^  If you've been reading my posts, and you've read through the comments on the post "Updates on my life... and no, I'm not dead yet", then you might have noticed that I've mentioned I was in the middle of an experimental project in which I prepare several of my short stories for publications through Amazon, B&N, and Smashwords.

Well, step one in said experiment is now complete... which means, in essence, that the first of a set of my short stories is now available on Amazon for Kindle. ^_^  The first object of the experiment is to test my text formatting and type setting skills when it comes to digital publication, so that I'm 100% prepared for Magpie Eclectic Press' first title.  Well, according to my kindle, I have a good handle on the type setting and formatting for amazon.  Now I just have to prepare the book for Smashwords and B&N.


The second (and currently less important) object (which I will explain about in a moment), is to test my online marketing skills.  The book just went live a little over 12 hours ago, and the story is only 4k long.  It's also one of my older pieces, but it's one that I still really like and I've been "tweaking" it. :D


Here is the cover and the blurb:


(Note about the cover: My name is really dim on purpose, because I didn't want the extra words to take away from the picture's effect.  However, if you find this troublesome, please let me know. :D)

ZI Mara is an elite soldier in the F.A.H (that's Faeries Among Humans for those of you without fae blood).  When an enraged male ghoul escapes the faerie realms and begins on a rampage for Chicago, Mara and her friend, Officer Lee Moker, are the only ones who can stop the monster and save the humans from disaster.  However, the ghoul has already taken a large bite out of Mara's shoulder and its venom is slowly rendering her immobile.  The only hope for the people of Chicago rests in Mara's hands... and that hope could cost her her life.

(A disclaimer for those of you who are a bit more sensitive, the word "heck" is used several times throughout the story.)

The book is now available for $0.99 on Kindle. ^_^  It was not released under Magpie Eclectic Press, as it is more of an experimental personal project.

As the story is only 4k, and hasn't been previously advertised before release (which would be standard procedure with a novel), I don't expect the story to really "take off", but I still hope it does well.  I don't write short stories very often, and this is definitely one of my better pieces.  Hopefully it will help me gain a few new readers and maybe even a couple of fans... which, of course, would be nice and encouraging. :)

Here's the Amazon link:

"Blue Moon" by Nichole White

In other news, school is going well and so is the progress on Magpie's new site. :D  It's not live yet, but it's coming.  In the mean time I've been working on a new writing post called "The Delicate Art of Torture", which is about conflict and torturing your characters... *evil look*

I've also been working on more jewelry... really fun pieces which are all twisty and beaded. :)  I've created an FB page for them, and I'm working to set up an etsy shop. Here's the FB page if any of you are interested:

Handmade wire wrapped jewelry

And in between that, music theory homework, and life in general, I've also found some time to squeeze writing in through the cracks of my crazy, wonderful life.  I have a few more book reviews due to be up within a couple of weeks, and I'm really, REALLY hoping that this will be the last "update" post in a while (meaning that instead, I will be posting more book reviews, writing posts, and perhaps even hosting a contest in the near future... ^_^)

In the mean time, how about a giveaway... The prize is either a PDF or Kindle Formated author review copy of my short story "Blue Moon" (which is exactly the same as the published version, only you will be getting it for free. :D)

To join, you must:
1) follow this blog (1 pnt)

2) Post a comment (1)

To earn more points, you can:

1) Post to FB (1) 

2) Tweet about it (1)

3) blog about it (something thoughtful if possible) and post the link in the comments (2)

4) get a friend to follow the P&P (and for this to count, your friend must post a comment saying who it was that referred them) (3)

I wonder who will win this contest. :D  I've never hosted one like this before, so it should be interesting... good luck to you all! 

Updates on my life… And no, I’m not Dead Yet

It has been a long time since I’ve posted something meaningful on this blog, and I truly am sorry for that.  I honestly can’t say why that would be, either.  It’s not that I don’t have lots of interesting things to talk about, because I do… I suppose.  And it’s not necessarily that I don’t have time for it either, because I suppose I have that as well. 

 

Perhaps it’s just sheer procrastination.  I’m not sure anymore.  I’m busy, as always, but that is really no excuse.  I’ve just plain been avoiding it, I guess.  On a side note, I’m in some pretty desperate need of a solid job, and though I’ve been applying all over and have had several interviews, I’ve yet to be hired.  It’s rather discouraging, to be truthful, but people keep telling me that perhaps it’s because I just haven’t found the right job yet, and that God knows which one I need.  I keep praying about it.  Hopefully something will come up soon.

But speaking of interesting jobs and what not, there’s been no end to creative release for my overly active mind.  Over the holidays I made a TON of new jewelry.  I also lost my camera, which is why there have been no pictures of them, but I found it the other day so hopefully I’ll be able to post new pictures soon.  I honestly don’t know what I find so fascinating and fun about twisting wire and adding beads, but I find it soothing… something for my hands to do without my mind having to process a whole lot of information, guess.  It’s comforting.

On the other hand, I’ve also picked up a few new commission jobs; some exciting ones at that. :)  I know that some of you out there are writing friends and followers of Jake Buller over at his blog “Teenage Writer”.  And if you follow Jake, then you’re probably aware of his novella “The War Horn” which has been in progress for a while now, and has been discussed on his blog several times.  Jake is quite the talented writer, I must say, and I was excited when he let me read through part of his first draft for TWH.  But I was totally honored when he came to me a few weeks ago and asked if I would do his cover art for him.  Jake currently lives in Liberia, having just moved there with his family from Kansas.  He is planning to publish TWH for kindle through Amazon, and the proceedings from the book will help fund his way back to the States for a writing conference that he really wants to attend.  Right now he’s waiting for feedback from his ARC’s, but the book should be available to purchase sometime near the end of February.  Here’s a look at his cover art, in case you are interested.  If what I’ve read and what he described for me was anything to go by, the book should definitely be worth looking into.

But that’s not the only exciting piece I’ve started work on.  I know that many of you are followers of Jill Williamson and her “Blood of King’s” trilogy Published through Marcher Lord Press.  Her newest book “Replication” just hit shelves in January, and I wrote a review for it here on the P&P.  It was quite a page turner, I’ll tell you!  Now, Marcher Lord is preparing to release yet another of her books in the fall, and GUESS WHO’S WORKING ON THE MAP FOR IT!!!  ^_^

 I seriously cannot tell you how excited I am. :D 

Jill Williamson is one of my most favorite, if not THE most favorite Speculative Christian Author on my list today.  Her “Blood of Kings” trilogy is really phenomenal, as is her new book “Replication”, and I’m sure that her latest book will be just as awesome.  On the flip side of the coin, Marcher Lord Press is the premier indie publisher of Christian Speculative fiction in the world.  They’ve published some truly spectacular material, and picked up some big names in the last few years with Sharon Hink’s “Restorer” books, and Kathy Tiers’ “Firebird” trilogy.  And they continue to grow.  It’s just a little mind boggling for me to think that if all goes well, one of my maps might actually be in an MLP book… and not just any MLP book, but the book of my favorite Christian author to date (besides Tolkien and Lewis, of course.)  It’s a little frightening and a whole lot of tingly.

I gotta tell you, God is amazing. ^_^

And speaking of God and books, I finally, FINALLY moved forward with Magpie Eclectic Press.  We are now open to submissions. :D  However, I’ve decided that the company’s official launch date won’t be until we actually release a book for market.  Because, after all, we definitely want people to see what we can offer them.  ^_^

Still, for now, Magpie is up and running and we are on our way.  And at the moment, I’m just trying to get the word out about the open submissions.  I have several online interviews lined up to talk about what the company is about, how we differ from other houses, why we are different from self publishing and vanity presses, etc…  The types of questions that authors want to know the answers to before looking at a publisher, as well as the types of questions all curious authors want to ask about the publishing business itself.

I must be honest, it’s daunting to look at some of the questions being asked.  I believe I’m ready for them – I honestly and truly do – but this is still a big first step for me.  Do I have the answers to all of them, and if I do, are they the right ones?  I won’t lie, I’ve already wondered if I might have opened the company too soon, or if I should have opened it at all.  Can I truly handle this, or was it never meant to be? 

Well, I believe it was certainly meant to be.  I believe that the idea for it was planted and watered by God, and I believe that I have the passion and knowledge to carry it forward.  But I’ve disillusioned myself.  I said from the beginning that I couldn’t do it alone, and I stick by that instinct; I’m hiring out for help.  No way could I complete everything by myself and do it well… God has placed many talented people in this world and in my path, and I’m so grateful for his provision.

But do I actually have the answers to the questions that people are going ask me in these interviews?  Am I really ready for this?  Will the authors see and understand from my answers that I will really WORK for their books… that I truly want to, and will pour my heart into it?  Will they understand that my passion goes beyond these words into the actions and the steps that I will take for them… or will they just see a girl pretending to be something as if this were all just a dream?  Will they read what I have to say and take me and this company seriously? 

I guess that’s what I’m really worried about.

But I’ve done my research and thought long and hard on everything that this huge endeavor is going to take.  I’ve hosted and read interviews on the subjects involved, read articles, watched and listened to news casts, read books, searched blogs, studied publishing companies, their methods, and their markets, written papers and articles on the subject, blogged about it… I’m even studying to be an English Major simply because I know that I’m supposed to be working in the publishing industry, and I might decide to take on a publishing major afterward.  I’m not even going to try to pretend like I know everything now, but I know a lot and I’ve answered questions like these before.  Like I’ve said, this is a large first step for me, but I know I have God on my side, and my passion is for words.  I desperately want to help other writers bring their words and stories into the world so that readers can enjoy them too.  I want Magpie Eclectic to be trusted as a source of good, strong Christian Speculative fiction all over the U.S. and hopefully beyond.  I mean, truly, it’s all about the stories and coming together as a writing/publishing family, based on Christian morals and standards.

So yes… I think I’m ready.  God willing, I’m ready.  Prayers are welcomed, as I work to get Magpie securely anchored on its feet.   But you can’t take a step forward without standing first, and that’s why I’ve opened Magpie for submissions.  That’s why I knew it was time.

(And sorry if this all sounds like a bunch of rambling thrown out to form some sort of pep talk.  If you don’t understand what I’m going on about, no worries.  I simply think best when I’m typing freely, and I do THAT best when I’m blogging. ;D)

If, by any chance, you are interested in submitting to Magpie Eclectic Press, you can visit our temporary Website at www.wix.com/nichole_white/magpie-eclectic-press.  Please ignore any missing apostrophes or the like that you may stumble across… I haven’t figured out exactly WHY the site is refusing to leave them in, even after I go back through and insert them all again.  I know it looks very unprofessional without them, and its driving me insane!  But I am working with someone to prepare a more professional and polished website for the company… one that will have no problem leaving punctuation in its proper place.  Aside from that, however, this site does have our terms laid out for any who wish to submit something to us.  If you are interested, go ahead and take a look. :)

And now… well, I think I’m going to go ahead and end this blog post for now, and I might go ahead and write another one for another time.  Perhaps one that doesn’t feel quite so jointed together.  Maybe even one on the writing process.  It’s been a while since I’ve done one of those, and I’ve started to have more success with SOTD again as well, so perhaps it’s time for me to dig through my notes and actually write something about writing again.  :D  We’ll see.

In the mean time, what are your thoughts on traditional publishing verses self publishing?  What do you think of Indie Presses like Marcher Lord Press, Splashdown Books, and Port Yonder Press?  What are your thoughts on Indie Authors who go it alone?  Are you for them?  Against them?  Why or why not?  Do you prefer E-books or physical books, and what are your thoughts on the way the publishing market of today is turning out? 

Let me know what you’re thinking.  I love to hear all the interesting things everybody has to say. ^_^

Goodbye for now, and happy writing!

 Nichole

Oh the Holidays!!! Crazy life and the Hobbit Movie Trailer. ^_^

Hello friends. :)

Well, it's official!  School is out, and I have passed all of my classes! ;D  And I had a job interview this morning which went rather well.  Hopefully I also get that job.

In the meantime, I've been CRAZY busy.  Which is a really good thing.  I've been able to pick up work on the commissions that had to be set aside during finals time, and I've been making more jewelry too.  I've also been able to finish reading some of the books that I've received to read and review and haven't had a chance to finish. So now that I've gotten back into reading, expect reviews on some pretty neat books!

I feel kind of bad for not being able to post a lot on the P&P though... Don't worry folks, I have some more meaningful posts coming up.  I promise!  This little blog needs some TLC and it will get it. ^_^

Right now, I'm still freaking out over the trailer that I saw this morning for the Hobbit.  Yes, LOTR fans, the official movie trailer is out, and it totally rocks!!! *dreamy sigh*  Do we really have to wait a WHOLE YEAR to watch the actual movie?  That's going to be... painful.




I'll post more meaningful stuff later!!!  Expect a review on Jill Williamson's newest book, "Replication", and a review on Wayne Thomas Batson's "Sword in the stars".  Also, I'll be posting news soon on the new constellation contest Mr. Batson is hosting for his newest book in The Dark Sea Annals, "The Errant King". All coming up soon!!!

Updates and sparkly JEWELRY!!!! :D (Updated)

(Updates:  The pendant and chain "The Birth of New Life" and the silver and blue earrings "Icicles" have been spoken for.  Thank you!  ^_^)

Hello friends!

What do you know!  I made it on before the end of the month this time. lol!

Well, I told you I would post more to let you know what's been going on in my life.  It's been kind of hectic, but in a winding down, School's-almost-over, pleasant sort of way.

Unfortunately I was forced to quit my part time job about a month ago because of a clashing schedule and not enough pay to make it truly worth it.  It was a rather sad day, because I really, really liked that job... I was a writing consultant at my college.  But, with that said, since I pulled the plug on it, my grades have picked up a little bit in my other classes.  Now I'm looking for something to keep the bills paid over the holidays and next semester... putting in my application as often as possible, and picking up art commissions in between to help with gas and insurance. (I'll be posting pictures of the commissions soon.  The latest is coming along very nicely... almost finished. ^_^)  It's not a lot, but I'm SO grateful that people like my art enough to have me do artwork for them. :)  I never dreamed I would get the chance before.

ANYWAY...

On the note of picking up the odd job here and there, I've started making jewelry.... again... <_<  That is to say, I've made it before when I was younger, but back then it was only made for me, and it wasn't as good-looking or as complicated as it is now. :)  Now, I make the jewelry under the "company" name "Personalities" (which was my mothers idea. ;)  In fact, my mom and my sisters and I craft under that title now. ^_^) I started making the Jewelry for a craft fair here in central IL, and I got a lot of large compliments over it.  So... I decided to offer it here on the P&P.  I told you yesterday that I would put prices up with the pictures, if you are interested in buying any of the pieces.  If you decide to buy a piece, thank you very much!  The money will help keep me in a car over the holidays. ^_^  And I apologize in advance for the slightly blurry pictures. :P  I was having trouble with the camera.

(note: Consider all pieces completely hand crafted from scratch unless otherwise noted.  Pieces marked NA are not for sale.  Please note, though, that some of the pieces can be replicated upon request, as I wrote down the patterns as I was creating them.  All jewelry currently available was made entirely from scratch. Shipping and handling is not included in the prices listed below.  Please consider about $3.00 for shipping and handling as you make your selection to cover packaging and shipping.  I am currently accepting checks until the Paypal account for "Personalities" is set up.  Packages will be shipped after payment is received.  Thank you!)

(Pair of Earrings)

Title: Ring Around the Sun
Price: currently NA (pending)

(pendant and chain)

Title: The birth of New Life

Price: $16  SOLD

(note: The chain is not hand crafted)

(Hand crafted chain)

Title: Frills and Lace
(more can be made upon request)

Price: $12

(pair of earrings)

Title: Christmas Cheer

(more can be made upon request)

Price: $10

(Necklace)

Title: Spring's Revelry

Price: $20

2 bracelets (1 child - 1 adult)

Title: Summer's Ice

(more can be made upon request)

Child's bracelet price: $5

Adult's bracelet price: $6

(Ring)

Title: Burning the Yule Log

Price: Currently NA (pending)

(pair of earrings)

Title: Icicles

(more can be made upon request)

Price: $10  SOLD

(pendant and chain)

Title: The music of Christmas

Price: NA

(note: The chain is not hand crafted)

(necklace)

Title: Christmas Lace

Price: NA

(ring)

Title: Unity Ever Green

Price: $10

And that's it for now.  I hope you like the pictures!!!  There will be more to come soon.  And, if you are interested in buying any of the pieces, just let me know in a comment.  First come first serve.  I'll be setting up a paypall account soon so that things can be taken care of quicker and with less hassle.

In other news, Wayne Thomas Batson is hosting another contest to promote his latest book, "The Errant King".  More word on that in a later post... Perhaps I'll get it up later this afternoon.  For now, it's back to classes and finals! :P   See you all later!!! ^_^

Updates, updates, updates... :D and My Portfolio

This isn't going to be a very long post, so there's no need to go and get all comfortable unless you want to.  Recently I've felt the need to update The Pen and Parchment yet again.  So I've been adding pages.  I finally got my entire Art Portfolio downloaded to the site (check it out at the top of my blog. :D), and I'm thinking about changing the look once more.  I also want to add a poetry page and a page that explains my art commission rates.  Just thinks to look for in the future.

It must be a sign of change you know, this sudden need to update things.  Update my profile pic on FB, update my blog, update my book... and school's coming up in another month: I'll be a writing consultant and the secretary of the choirs.  I'll be meeting Brock Eastman and working more on SOTD while learning Music and Writing theory and singing my head off.  And I bet you I'll love every minute of it. :)  This next semester promises not to be as difficult as last semester (so far), so I'm actually looking forward to it.  And in the meantime, I'm enjoying my time off.  Recently I've simply been doing... nothing. *sighs blissfully*  Nothing much, anyway.

So that's all for now my friends.  Sorry this post is just rambling, but I felt the need to ramble and update.

See ya later!

Nichole

Updates! Yea!

Yes, I am still here.  No, I haven't abandoned you... yet... mwahahahaha!!!!

I just thought I would post an update on what's been going on and why I haven't posted anything for awhile.  For one thing, we must remember that school comes first... even if we would prefer not to remember that. But at least one of my projects has really caught my interest.  I'm sitting in on a British Literature class taught by the professor I had last semester for Shakespearian Lit.  She's amazing... but anyway.  She is allowing me to unofficially "join" the class this semester as it was a class I wanted to take but that I couldn't because of the hours I've already committed to.  This way I don't have to pay for the class, and I don't really have to do all of the projects if I feel like I can't, but I still get to learn and follow everything that's going on.

Anyway... The project that caught my interested was one where every student in the class must pick a British Author and blog about them in some way.  My pick was (naturally) J.R.R. Tolkien (reinforced by the fact that C.S. Lewis was already taken. :D)  As many of you know or may have guessed, I LOVE The Lord of the Rings and Tolkien's other works.  I've created a new blog specifically for the purpose of exploring Tolkien's life and literary works titled The Inklings' Quill, and right now I'm really happy with the way it's coming about. So if that sort of thing interests you as well, check it out. :D

In other news, I am still waiting for some of the interviews I sent out to come back to me, and I've started working on another.  The people I will be interviewing on The Pen and Parchment (so far as I know) are:

1) Rachel Starr Thomson
2) Jeff Gerke
3 Scott Appleton

But not necessarily in that order.  Currently I'm working on the interview for Scott Appleton and I thought it might be interesting if you, my readers, posted questions you would like him to address.  Remember, we are currently talking about the ins, outs, and differences between Self Publishing and Traditional publishing, but you may feel free to ask him about his books as well, as that is also something we will be addressing.

So, that's all I have for now.  As a last note, I also have some book reviews planned in the future, but it may be awhile before I can get to them.  Thanks for reading! :D

Nichole

Updates, Updates, Updates...

Well I know it's been a while since last I've posted.  For those of you who are following the first chapter contest, there is a new entry on the page titled "The Song of Leira".  I've read the first part of it and so far it's really good!  So go and check that out.  There is still time to get your chapters in before the deadline of Oct 25th.  The deadline's coming fast though, so let's not wait too long!  And please feel free to post about it on your blog: let's spread the word!  The more people know about this contest, the more fun it will be! :D

And... Stop the Presses! What is this?  There's a new prize on the line!  Yes, that's right... there will now be three winning slots to fill!  The prize I'm adding to the list is a copy of "Watership Down".  If you haven't read it yet, you really should.  The book has become (in my own oppinion) quite a classic in anamalistic fantasy (think a mixture of Brian Jaques and Tolkien.)  All the more reason to enter the contest!  But please don't let this oppertunity slip by... polish up those first chapters and send them to me.  Let's show the world what we're made of... or (ahem) what our worlds are made of. :D

And on that note, I know I haven't been posting in a while (mostly due to the dreaded homework of a college student) but I'm hoping to make up for some lost time within the next few days.  So be on the look out for book reviews (and perhaps even a movie review) along with the second entry to my "Elements of Story" series.  (hopefully... I'm still working on that part. ) 

And on a completely different note entirely, me and some friends at school have started throwing together a fanfiction for Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew" and I'm considering posting bits and pieces of it for review.

Well, that's all the exciting news for now.  Hope to recieve some really awesome first chapters in  the near future. :D

Nichole