New Blog Design//Description of Changes!

Hiya! Annika here. Over the last few days I have been tweaking my blog's design, and I'm very happy with the results. I thought's I'd go over and list the changes for you curious folk :)

Change: I have disabled copy and paste. The only thing you can copy now will be the codes for my new buttons.
Why: Because as a writer, I have no sympathy for or about the idea of my work -posts and snippets- being stolen. I know this will provide a hindrance to those who wish to quote and credit me on their own blog with good intentions, but this is just as a precaution.

Change: New header!
Why: Well, I wanted a header originally, but I was just starting out and had this idea all writing blogs had a vintage, forest-y, autumn colors feel about them. Yep, and I now know that isn't true. The main reason my blog design changed so often before was I was learning, wanted to try different things and because I was unsure about using hot pink, which is a color I love above all others. I have no idea how, but somehow hearts got in the mix, as you've seen over the last few days. I guess since I love writing, they fit right in.

Change: New Buttons.
Why: Actually, the header I have now was inspired by the buttons. As you can see, hearts are still a going theme. If you have my button on your blog, please switch out the one you have for one of the new ones. The first one is circular and the last two are square. 

Change: Blog Lovin' gadget. 
Why:  I've been seeing this on a few blogs, so I went to the site, On a whim, I searched my own blog, and it turned out there's one person who follows me through it! So, I've decided to go on and add the gadget.

Change: I've finally figured out how to make the post title grow bigger (or smaller) and change color when hovered over.
Why: I've always wanted to do this, since I thought it looked cute. It was a little trial and error, but I'm very happy about the results.


Also, have you heard? Picnik is closing! Nah, kidding. Most people on the internet have known and been enraged about it for more than a couple months. I used to think everyone was overreacting and all, since I was using fotoflexer more then.

But I used it to create my newest blog design images, and I'm blown away by the results with the (now free) premium features. There are some things it can't do, but a lot of people use it. I also realized we'd lose many of the awesome fonts that seem pretty much exclusive to it as well.

Well, good news:  a website called dafont.com has tons of downloadable fonts that include Star Wars (search for Jedi, not Star Wars), Harry Potter and the Hunger Games. It's very easy to find most fonts featured on Picnik, so set aside some time, open Fonts and get ready to extract some files. You can only use them in word, Paint or other text using programs that came with your computer, though. You might edit your images in Picnik, Picasa, fotoflexer etc., but to use your installed fonts you'll have to open them in Paint or word.

Artemis Fowl...

Okay, I will admit when I first heard about it, I thought it was just another crummy series with another anti-social anti-hero. But for the sake of it, I picked up Eternity Code and Opal Deception, the latter of which I'm reading now.   

They are just amazing! I mean, the villains are ingenious, the hero isn't too good, and his alienation and awkwardness among others around his age is relateable, in a twisted way. And the plots keep you on the edge of your seat right till the last page. 

Artemis is seriously the male personification of awesomeness (Ahsoka being the female one.)

One of the things I really like about this series is the blend of Fantasy and Sci-Fi. I love both genres and are constantly torn between them, so this is a fresh breath of air.

So with that, I only have one thing to tell you if you have a minute:

            Pick up a copy Artemis Fowl. You won't regret it.

P.S. I don't really like how they keep trying to show him as a short, playing-dress-up type of kid in a suit. In the graphic novel, he looks 7, not 13, in my opinion. I see him as a sharp, tall, pale boy with black hair and narrow eyes, not... a baby faced dude with red glasses.

Snippets of Story- February

Hiya! Annika here. I found this lovely little 'Monthly Blog Thingy' as Kate from Whisperings of the Pen calls it through The Director's blog . You have to post snippets of things you've written, including fanfiction if you want, as long as it's your own. So, here we are:

"Roll call!" Ms. Polowski said in her gruff, biker-esque voice. Her beady eyes swept over the entire 7th grade English class, stopping on me briefly. For some reason, I was a trouble maker in her eyes, even though I was almost always framed or no one could prove I did whatever I was being accused of. It started in first grade, when someone broke one of the schools toys and blamed me. That teacher told another, the another, all the way up to  Ms. Polowski, 7th grade torturer extraordinaire . But you almost couldn't blame her. Even though I was far from a delinquent, I looked the part. Not extreme punk, but lots of black. On black. With black. Even my hair was black.- Zoe Knight, Night's Prophecy 

“Why is it so cold?” Victoire shivered. “My toes feel as if they’re made of stone.” She wiggled her toes in her boots for emphasis, even though no one could see.“You really are very childish for a twelve year old girl, do know that?” Agnès smirked.“Yes, and you are very serious for a seventeen year old girl. Now, answer my question: why is it so cold?” The girl’s breath came out in a foggy cloud.“It’s cold because the sun hasn't risen and it’s winter.” Victoire nodded, showing that her sister’s answer was satisfying. Even though she now understood why it was so cold; it didn’t really seem to make the crisp November air any warmer. She sighed, glancing at the gray winter sky and early morning fog.- Victoire Leroux, Victoire, a Novel 

“Hey, Carrot Hair!” Stella’s 16 year old brother Cameron teased her the moment she had crossed the threshold. He had called her that since she was eight; when his eighth grade English teacher had made his entire class read Anne of Green Gables.      “Hey, Tinsel Teeth.” She said, smirking at his braces.  Cameron went red in the face. He was very sensitive about his braces. “Oh yeah-!” he started, but was cut off by his sister, who was standing on the landing above them.  “Put a sock in it, Cameron,” Stella called down. “Come on up here, Rory.” - Rorina Stevenson-Homer, Time Traveling Tweens 

Thanks for reading! Even though I wrote some of this stuff in Summer 2011, I'd love some feedback :D

Spotlight Author: Gail Carson Levine

Hello! Annika here. Today on Spotlight, we're going to talk about one of my favoritest authors ever: Gail Carson Levine.

I came upon this outstanding author by chance a couple years ago. I was milling around in the paperback section, thinking there weren't any more good books. Boy was I wrong. Ella Enchanted caught my eye. It looked like it would be a gook book, so I brought it home and started reading... it was AMAZING! 

The fantasy world seemed so real, the characters right next to you, the danger your own! And Ella was just a darling, like an old friend. I read it again sometime later. Still I was blown away! 

Now, I will admit I've only read a few of Gail's books. But the ones I have read were superb. After I was done with Ella, I discovered the Princess Tales, retellings of old fairy tales that usually featured a princess or a to be princess. The only downside was that they were a quick read, as I read them in about two hours, even with distractions. But they were still very entertaining, with good morals, plots and characters overall. 

Now, for something that kept me just as captivated as Ella: Fairest. 

Enter Ava, a chubby, frying-pan-black haired girl, an orphan that was adopted by innkeepers. But there is one thing about her that is more beautiful than any of the other characters: Her singing voice. In the language they speak in the book, Ava actually means 'lark'. Despite her looks, she is one of the best characters I've read in a book in a long time. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes outstanding books and fantasy. 

And now, to a book I'm actually reading now: Writing Magic. I bought it because I kind of needed a writing book and I wanted to learn some of the master's fantasy writing secrets. It's really good and I'm about halfway through, but I can say it's improved my writing already and even induced a few new ideas!

Well, that's today's post. May the Force be with you!

Present Tense, Stylized Lists and Other Things of Note

       

The cloaked maiden floats through the hall, her dress, which is the color of a sky that can't choose between sunny or cloudy, trailing behind her. You can't see her face, but somehow you know she is beautiful . As she walks away over the black and white tiles, you are left alone in the grand, deserted hallways. 

An attempt at present-tense... Nah, still don't like writing it. 

Also, I noticed that Qui from Freckles and Pointe Shoes has this neat little thing where she does these type of stylized lists. I think I'll try it:

<< Loving >>

Writing

Blogging

Star Wars

Followers <3

<< Wishing >>

That August would come

That it was NaNoWriMo every month

<< Listening >>

Unstoppable- China Anne McClain

Watch Me- Bella Thorne and Zendaya

                                                               Hit the Lights- Selena Gomez