Faerie Tale Princes & WIP It Good

In celebration of her book release for The Faerie Prince, book #2 in the Creepy Hollow (awesome) series, Rachel Morgan is hosting this cute little blogfest that I just had to get in on - it's all about faerie(fairy)tale princes, you see! I am a bit of a sucker for fairytales, at least the "Disney-fied" kind (I've found that the Grimm versions aren't quite so romantic for the most part). So I'm here to tell you that my two favourite princes are Aladdin and Henry. I won't say more, but please allow me to illustrate:

Dude!

Cute for a cartoon!

You're welcome. Right, now that that important business is taken care of, here's the even more important business: buy Rachel's awesome books, or if you're still waiting for payday, at least add them to your TBR on GoodReads!

Aaaand today is the WIP It Good Blogfest, hosted by DL Hammons and Elise Fallson. For WIP It Good, participants are sharing details of their current work in progress. Well, to be honest I haven't done much on any of my numerous WIPs in quite some time, but as of tomorrow I will be writing a new novel for BuNoWriMo. So I thought I'd tell you a little bit about the plans I've got for this June. Therefore, keep in mind that not only do I have no story yet, but the pitch and synopsis below are totally rough draft (and aren't really even a pitch or a proper synopsis).

WIP Title: ELLA (yeah, sorry, that's how I name my drafts)
Word Count (projected): 50,000+
Genre: YA Contemporary...yyyy?
How long have you been working on it?: Zero seconds.

Elevator Pitch:
(I'm not doing a real pitch or even a fake one... this is just meandering blather)
ELLA is (or rather, will be) a story of family drama, and I guess it has a dash of murder mystery in it as well. I also intend to ensure it has some sort of romance. And maybe some tears. But I dunno, maybe hold the tears. We'll see. Oh, and there will be friendship. And a wintery beach. Yeah, baby.

Brief Synopsis: 
Ella and her mother return home after a ten-year road-trip and take refuge with their long-lost family. But things at home are increasingly strained, and Ella is content to be left to her own devices. She ventures out to explore the town she lived in till she was six but hardly remembers.

As a near-friendless loser, Ella tries to uncover more of the town's history - and her own. With help from the only non-relative who doesn't mind being seen with her in public, she soon learns of the decade-old tragedy that still haunts the town. And she is shocked to realise that her own little family sits right at the epicentre.

Ella begins to regret her hunt for the truth. But whether she had sought it or not, the truth would have found her. Because Ella's mother didn't just come home for some R&R, or to have a mental breakdown. She's here on a mission - to dig the past right out of the grave...

(Yeah, that's a bit awkward. But I am loving the IDEA of the story! And that's all that matters at this stage.)

Are you looking for a Critique Partner? 
Ummm, not really. I wish I was. I mean, I have SO many finished novels that need help. But I really am a perfectionist and could never pass a work over to a new CP until I really, truly felt it was "polished". Most of my works are not polished. Not yet. Thanks, though. ;)

Are you looking for a Beta Reader?
Probably same as above, right?

Anyway, I'm excited about BuNo! :)

Travel Series: ENGLAND

In the last installment of this series, I had just finished telling you guys about the epic trip I took across the U.S.A. in 1998. Today I'll talk about the next leg when we headed for England, the country where I was born. That's the main reason we were going to England, but there was also the fact that it's a groovy place to visit, and is a definite hub on the way to Europe!

Accidentally "art".

For the first two days in London, I didn't do much at all, just hung around relaxing (and getting a sore throat). I wrote letters home, and reading them again now it's pretty obvious I was getting worn out and a little fed up. Travelling with Dad is definitely an adventure, but it does tend to wear an ordinary mortal out.

On Day 3 I ventured out into London to visit the Tate gallery and others. This was where I got to see works of Dali and Epstein. In particular, Epstein's Rock Drill was a work I was fascinated to see, because I had studied it so much in high school for assignments. It was amazing seeing these works with my own eyes.

Real type art.

Then, on Day 4, it was time to leave the big city and end our R&R. We got a National Express bus from London Victoria Coach Station and went to Newcastle-upon-Tyne. From there we hired a car and explored some of the English countryside. During this time, I saw the building I was born in. Unfortunately we couldn't go inside, but at least I got to get my photo taken outside it:

Yep, I was born here.

Ain't that beautiful?

Sheepies! I love da sheepies!

Next we went to Edinburgh for a (very) brief foray into Scotland (so brief it really didn't count for much). Here we saw the "huge old castle - my FAVOURITE!" I have vague recollections of some moments in Edinburgh, but I remember it far better from last year's return trip. Another place we visited was the little town where my mother's father was born, Douglas Water, which I'm pretty sure we've all visited by now.

Back in Newcastle we returned the car, and got the bus back to London. From there it was on to the White Cliffs of Dover to board a ferry for France! I'll write about that next time.

So bootipoo!

What I've been reading (mini reviews)

It's time to put up a book review, but I thought I'd put up a bunch of little reviews instead of one big one. So, these are some books I've read lately:


Species Imperative trilogy - Julie E. Czerneda

• Loved this sci-fi series, not only the fascinating world-building but the characters. Mac is a fabulous main character and the series had everything I personally require in a story - action, adventure, heartache, romance, laughs, and...near-apocalypse! (okay, I don't always need a near-apocalypse...)

The Host (The Host, #1) - Stephenie Meyer

• I knew that this wouldn't be another Twilight, but to be honest I wasn't sure what to expect. In the end, what I got was something I prefer to vampires - aliens! I was also compelled by the at-times-unhealthy romance element.

Imaginary Girls - Nova Ren Suma

• I thought this was beautifully written, even if I really disliked Ruby for most of the story. I found her decision at the end of the story to be quite moving, and redeeming. All in all, this isn't a happy, chirpy story.

The Beggar's Opera - Peggy Blair

• This was a fairly entertaining read that kept me interested, but quite often I was confused as to who I was meant to be siding with. I guess it's good to have your assumptions and loyalties challenged in that way, though. ;)

I've also read these:

• The Mermaid's Mirror - L.K. Madigan
• How To Rock Braces and Glasses - Meg Haston
• What a Boy Wants (What a Boy Wants, #1) - Nyrae Dawn
• The Witches of Santa Anna (The Witches of Santa Anna, #1-7) - Lauren Barnholdt

What have you read lately?

The Secondary Characters bloghop

Today is the Secondary Characters Bloghop, hosted by Rachel Schieffelbein, Theresa Paolo, Kelley Lynn, Jessica Salyer, Jenny Morris and Suzi Retzlaff. You can win critiques by participating, so get on over to the linky if you haven't already and slap your name on it! 

Now to my favourite secondary characters. It's hard to choose one or two, so I went with a larger number! And this was also just off the top of my head! So, with that said...

My favourite secondary characters (of the moment):

• Vera's dad in Please Ignore Vera Dietz - I love his little charts. The little dad interludes brought a bit of extra lightness and cuteness to what was at times a really sad story
  
  
• I could name countless awesome secondary characters from the Harry Potter books, but for now I'll just say I love Neville - he's one of those characters who undergoes an amazing transformation
  
  
• Speaking of amazing transformations, can anyone say Wesley Wyndam-Pryce from Buffy / Angel? It was so amazing (and pretty tragic) watching him change from the absolute blithering weakling we first meet to a deadly, hardened warrior with serious war wounds
  
  
• Joel Tuck from Dean Koontz's Twilight Eyes (my favourite Koontz book), who is a gentle (dangerous) giant...with a third eye:
  
  
• From the TV series Medium, which I only just recently finished watching (sniffle! argh! noooo, what now?), I'm guessing Bridgette counts as a secondary character - she's the middle daughter played by Maria Lark, who was just the cutest little girl at the beginning of the series. Such a funny actress even at the age of 6!
  
  
• Neale from The Lifeguard, one of those tween scholastic books I read as a pre-teen (and still re-read sometimes these days!). Neale was troubled but sexy (and, eventually, sweet)
  
  

I think I could go on (and on, and on...), and I've probably forgotten some of my most favourite secondary characters, but this is the list as it stands in my conscious mind right now! :)