Snippets of Story- March

It's that time of month again! Presenting: Snippets of Story, March! Want to do it too? For more info, click here. 

Darren, Crown Prince of the Fire Kingdom, parried the fierce sword strike of his brother, Corad.“I think someone’s burning out,” the boy smirked;his cheeks so ruddy with glee they almost matched his vibrant red hair as he pushed against his brother’s blade. Even though he was only a year younger than Darren, who was 17, he looked not a day older than 13. Darren gritted his teeth at the insult. He knew his brother meant no harm, but it did annoy his competitive streak. He was a… hothead, in the truest sense of the word. Despite being from the Fire Kingdom, it was almost surprising in the cold, level court of King Erik. “In your dreams,” he smirked, darting away before doubling around and lightly touching the sword to his brother’s collar bone. “I win.”- Collide

"For the next week we will study this book and the traits all fairy tales carry." She paused, clearing her throat and straightening her lumpy tweed skirt before continuing. “You will be tested on Friday." A few kids groaned in response. "There are five stories. Read them in any order you want. As long as you read them."
I rolled my eyes. How old did she think we were, seven?  I picked up the heavy book, flipping through it. It consisted of Cinderella, Princess and the Pea, Sleeping Beauty and Hansel and Gretel. The usual lineup. But as I looked to see which one was the best, I realized I didn't know what the fifth one was. I flipped to the back of the book to find hastily sewn in, worn brown pages. I could see where the other ones had been ripped out. -  Night's Prophecy 

“Demi,” Galen blanched, rushing over.  He rolled me onto my back, his eyes full of guilt. “I’m so sorry,” I murmured, avoiding his eyes. Galen shook his head, trying to help me up. “Don’t talk like that. Come on, we’ll-” “It’s only fair,” I whispered. “I took his life, I shouldn’t expect any less.”
“But-” Galen cut himself off. “I love you,” he blurted. “And I’ve never told you. But I do, and I always have.”
I opened my mouth, but darkness tugged at the edges of my vision. My breaths were numbered. I slowly drew my finger down his cheek. “I know.” And as the last syllable left my mouth, I slipped into the darkness.- The Thirteenth Olympian  

Thalia trudged back to her hotel room, not quite sure what to do. She burnt to a crisp in the sun, so it wasn't like she could just waste the day away on the beach tanning. So she decided to go window shopping, just to keep from having to go back to the hotel room. As she peeked into the different windows, feeling out of place, something caught her eye. A sequin covered, vibrant, deep royal blue dress glinted back. Thalia smiled in spite of herself. That was the very dress Analiese had pointed out to her a week ago, hinting that she wanted it.  It was like a lifetime ago... she thought, stepping inside. Weird New Age music pulsed in the background of the nearly empty store. Glittery dresses and shoes were on display, dancing in the color-changing light. Suddenly, the quiet was interrupted. Angry shouts came from the back room, then gunshots rang out. Thalia froze before rushing towards the stock room door, looking in.- Murder In Milan 

 Blogger is doing something weird with the formatting in my blockquotes... I don't know why. But I assure you, I do hit the enter button when writing ;)

© 2012 Annika Elipton

A Burning Inspiration

Fire doesn't really scare me. Not unless it's untamed. Or a threat. Still, I don't really care for it. Usually. 

But lately, I've kind of had a fixation with it. Not the fire itself, the embers, really. And yes, that does mean:

My favorite name is currently Ember 

My favorite phrase is 'Playing with fire' (by the way, I don't condone this. I just like the dangerous edge to the words) 

It has inspired some writing

Something is alluring about the glowing red orbs that linger for hours after you snuff out the flames, barely keeping their hold on life. They eventually go out and are relatively harmless, but remember, they are fire. You can't forget that.  

Q&A with CinderScoria!

Hiya! Annika here. Today I'm going to interview a friend and and fellow nanoer of mine. I hope you enjoy this! 

*** 

Q: This probably isn’t a question, but how about you introduce your awesome self to our readers? XD

A: Oh! Sure, no prob! *waves cheekily* Whaddup, people? I’m Jasmine, AKA CinderScoria. Most people just call me Cinder though!

Q: You have an interesting take on the forever warring angels and demons in your novel, The Lucky One. But they’re not fighting by human standards of good and evil. They’re acting on their own merits, traditions and values. What made you decide to take on this view?

A: I had this scene pop into my head, where Lucky learns that Ava and Brock are a demon and an angel, respectively. But Lucky automatically assumes that Ava’s the angel, and she gets annoyed by it. It made me think that maybe demons aren’t perpetually evil, you know? Maybe angels just seized the humans’ good vs. evil perspective and painted them as the bad guys. And then that scene grew into a book and… well, you know the rest.

Q: What inspires you?

A: For writing? Music does. Other writers do. Contests especially, because I’m very competitive and I love prompts. I also have great friends who encourage me and my writing, so that’s another thing.

Q: Do you have any other hobbies or likes you’d like to share?

A: I sing and act. Majorly. If I could do all three—singing, writing, and acting—as a career, I would. I also play the piano and the guitar, and I am a bit of a linguist.

Q: If your book is published (and it will be ;D) do you ever think there is a chance some people will try to ban it? What do you think of that?

A: Oh gosh, yes. When I started writing it I didn’t realize how controversial it would get, but I am taking a lot of things from the Bible—which I have read and respect—that could anger some people. Gabriel, for instance, is a character in my book. So is God (or Adam, as I call him) and Lucifer. It takes the idea that they’re not good and evil, they’re just races in a misunderstanding that has lasted for… a very long time. It’s fiction, but at the same time it’s really cutting it close on the line.

Q: What is your favorite genre to write?

A: Mystery and action, actually. This is my first time writing fantasy. I love crime thrillers.

Q: Who is your favorite author?

A: Gah, I have to pick one? James Patterson is tied with Rick Riordan. And Gorman Korman.

Q: What is your favorite book or book series?

A: My all-time favorite book series is the Hardy Boys. I grew up with them. LOVE them. I also love the Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus series, and the Chronicles of Nick (Infinity and Invincible) series. My all-time favorite book is… Princess Academy. Probably. But there are so many of them, I just don’t know.

Q: Who, in your opinion, is the most awesomesauce character in literature?

A: Oh, I can’t choose one. There’re too many. Book literature, I’d have to say… Nick Gautier (Chronicles of Nick). I have died of laughter reading his snarky remarks. He is so awesome. Um, movies and television, it’s a serious tie between Riley Poole (National Treasure) and Carlos Garcia (Big Time Rush). DON’T LAUGH. They’re both amazingly epic, and I like Carlos because he’s one of the first genuinely happy-go-lucky guys I’ve seen. So there.

Q: What author do you aspire to be like?

A: Either Ally Carter or Rick Riordan. I love their plot styles and the way they incorporate danger and humor. It clicks so well with them!

Q: Do you plan out your novels or just wing it?

A: I plan them. Every single step. And even then it goes way off course. I’ve edited The Lucky One, like, nine times and it’s still in the editing stage.

Q: Do you have anything else you’d like to say?

A: Um, stay in school, kids, and stay true to your heart. Honestly, I’m youthful and I’m proud to say that I like the things I like and I don’t care what other people think. It doesn’t matter what they say—it’s your life and you can live it the way you want to.
Yeah, I’m not good at cheesy advice-giving sessions.
Thanks for interviewing me!

Oh Cinder, you are very, very welcome! Again, I hope you enjoyed this!  Be sure to check out her awesome novel, The Lucky One, on Wattpad!

Spotlight Author: Lisi Harrison

Hiya! Annika here. I have a brand new series: Spotlight Author. It's when I pick one of my favorite authors and spotlight him/her.

 This week's author is none other than... drumroll please... Lisi Harrison! Born Elyse E. Gottlieb, this Candian born author might have not even been able to shop at the GAP as a kid, but her glamorous YA books have taken America's tweens and teens by storm. She is the author of NYT Bestselling serieses The Clique,  Alphas and Monster High. All personal favorites for me. I have rarely tried to acquire all the books in a series, but I find myself eagerly devouring each one in each series. There's only a few Clique books I haven't read, one Alphas book and one Monster High Book.

But, there is a downside to reading such high quality books: other YA books that are similar in style and genre come off as cheesy, overdone and pale. There are few authors who match up with her, and those are to name another day.

Okay, truth be told I didn't much like the Clique at first, as at nine years old I thought the books were- I don't know... I was still reading the Ramona books then, mind you. Of course, the more I read them the more I realized how good they were.  I preferred Claire, who's sweet as the gummies she likes so much, even Massie, who made me want to tear my hair out sometimes, grew on me. Alicia, Dylan and Kristen did too. 

After Clique ended February 2011 (D8), I became more interested in Lisi's other series: Alphas. At first I wasn't sure. I mean, I can read a book overnight if I want to, but with Belle of the Brawl I just put it off. Finally, I finished it after a month. My library card didn't take kindly to that. I scooped up the first and last ones during the summer. I. Was. Hooked. I couldn't believe how Lisi blended glamour and sci-fi. One moment a super cute outfit was described, the next it was revealed it had climate adapting qualities! Alpha Island was just epic. And the ending was just epic. I would tell you, but I don't want to ruin that surprise. 

And last, but not least, I finally got to Monster High. At first I didn't have a high opinion of it. But then I read it. It was amazing! I loved Cleo de Nile (I started on the second book) because she reminded me of myself, in a way. Besides, she's an Egyptian Princess! I love Egypt. But the one who I really could relate to was Frankie Stein. Even if she was the daughter of Frankenstein, she was sweet as can be, green skin and all. After that I like Draculaura, then Clawdeen and Melody Carver. 

Well, that's all folks, Annika Elipton signing off! May the Force be with you!

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: the Lighting Thief Review

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: the Lightning Thief is no doubt one of those amazing books that goes on my 'Read It Again and Again' list. I picked it up while doing NaNoWriMo 2011, just to see how another author took on Greek Mythology, which was the topic of my novel. To put it lightly, I was blown away. To the farthest corner of the Universe. The very edge of the cosmos. The- well, you get it. One of the things I liked most was that the book never actually said there isn't a God in the Christian sense. In fact, is hinted that personified and unpersonified Gods coexist.

Moving on... This book was hilarious. I could barely read from laughing so hard at some points. I also loved how Riordan took Greek tales and myths and created scenarios suited to them. I was interested to find out that Medusa was once Poseidon's girlfriend and that Athena had actually 'created' the Gorgon sisters after finding Medusa and Poseidon in her temple. Her sisters were punished as well, since they helped her sneak in. 

I loved Camp Half-Blood, and found the fact that most of the Cabins were honorary was an obvious fact that you don't get at first. I liked that the characteristics of each cabin corresponded to their respective god, such as Zeus' having lightening bolts and Hera's having pomegranates.

I also liked the chapter with Procrustes. I found his maniacal determination to make people fit into his beds funny and 'like, seriously?' at the same time.

I found the Underworld interesting. The Fields of Punishment sickened me and the Fields of Asphodel filled me with dread. It actually made me really think about getting something done in this life. 

Now, let's talk about Percy. According to the Camp Half-Blood wiki he's a twelve year old boy diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia who has been expelled from every school he's ever attended. This is Percy in a nutshell. The ADHD is something that while it might not help him function in a classroom as well, his ever shifting attention will help him keep an eye on things in battle. The dyslexia is a side effect of a mind wired to read Ancient Greek. All the demigods have both of these conditions, so things are more interesting. Grover and Annabeth were two very outstanding secondary characters that helped develop Percy. You got to know him better though them as well.  

I really liked the ending, especially Gabe's fate. 

Well, thank you for reading this review! I tried to keep it as spoiler-free as possible, but that was a big fat, Greek God sized flop, if you may. 

May the Force be with you! Annika Elipton signing off!