It Has Arrived...

  A day that I have been waiting for for close to a year, has finally arrived!!!

Fall-Tastic Favorites Tag

  Morgan LuaAnn over at The Day the Lord has Made, tagged me for:

Questions:
1. Favorite Fall Holiday:  Thanksgiving!!  All  the yummy food and family (not yummy family).

2. Favorite Fall Dessert Ingredient: Carmel, Pumpkin or Pecan?  Ooooo!!  That's a really tough one!  Individually nad mixed together, all three area amazing.  But I think of the three, Caramel is my favorite.

3. Favorite Fall Movie:  I don't really have one.

4. Favorite Fall Candle:  Apple scent.

5. Favorite Fall Drink:  Hot Cocoa or Spiced Apple Cider.

6. Favorite Item of Clothing for the Fall:  My fuzzy, pink sweater.

7. Favorite Fall Outing/Activity:  Walking through the gap that's about 7 miles away.

8. Favorite Candy:  Chocolate!

9. Favorite Fall Weather:  Sunny, but cool.

10. Favorite at Home Meal:  Sauerkraut with wieners, Rolls, Applesauce and Beets.

I'm Crazy

  Guys, I am certifiably crazy.  I'm doing NaNo this year.  Yeah.  I know.  Really crazy.  I can hardly ever get past 3 chapters when I try to write a book.  And I have trouble with writing prompts that require 1,000 words.  And no, I'm not saying these things so that you all will tell how not crazy I am.  I'm showing you the kinds of things that I let my older sister Melody talk me into doing.

  Anyway on to the actual story.  I have a slight....okay, more then slight obsession with Vermont farmhouses.  I blame it on Grace Livingston Hill novels and White Christmas.  And I was swooning on and on about how I wanted an Old-Fashioned Christmas in a Vermont farmhouse.  So Melody says, "Well I can't give you an actual Christmas in a Vermont farmhouse, but you can give your imagination one.  Go write a story about it."  So I decided to stick our family (with some adjustments) into a Vermont farmhouse and give them an Old-Fashioned Christmas.  It is currently titled, Christmas In Vermont, very unoriginal, but I haven't thought of a better one.  Half the kids are married, the Triplets (I turned myself into triplets, 2 girls, 1 boy, and based one of the girls off of  my real life twin who is actually 3 years older then me and not related to me by blood), are home from Dublin for Christmas, and another sister is home from Korea for Christmas bringing a guy home with her.  Oh, and it's an Irish family.  So basically, it's just this big family having a wonderful Christmas and sharing the love, joy and faith that the Season always fosters in me.

  It is 11:05 on November 1st, and I wrote 3,753 words throughout the day while canning applesauce.  I am fairly proud of myself.  I am also very tired which is why this is probably the most rambling, ridiculous post I have ever written and I can't believe I am actually going to to hit publish.  But I wanted to post about it and nothing sensible is coming out of my brain right now.

An inspirational pin from my storyboard.

 via Pinterest

Movies I Watched In September 2016

Titles with nothing before them I watched for the first time.

Titles with ** before them are re-watches.

Titles with # before them I watched with my little siblings.

Full House Take 2 ~ 2012 ~ 6 eps

This drama continues to be absolutely hilarious.  

Cantabile Tomorrow ~ 2014 ~ 4 eps

This was another amusing one.  And the music!!

Back To the Future ~ 1985

Wow!!!  This movie.  Wacky, but funny!!

E.T. the Extra Terrestrial ~ 1982

This one was so sweet!!  And little Drew Barrymore was adorable!!!

An Affair to Remember ~ 1957

I love old movies!!!  Even when they are a bit corny!  Mum and Mel didn't enjoy it very much.

The K2 ~ 2016 ~ 2 eps

 And the drama that we were waiting for!!  It is Ji Chang Wook's newest and we are watching it as it airs.  It started out a bit more thriller-y than I expected, so I didn't know if I would be able to watch it, but it leveled out and I'm loving it!

10,002

  Omo!!  I have over 10,000 pageviews!!!!

Interview: Kendra E. Ardnek

  Today I am interviewing Kendra as part of the Lady Dragon, Tela Du Book Release Tour.

  My questions will be in blue, Kendra's answers will be in purple.
 
  Welcome to The Flowering Vales Kendra!  If you don't mind, we will sit here on this grassy slope and enjoy this bit of sunshine while we talk.

  I love sunshine, so I don't mind a bit!

  Good!  And here is some lemonade if you become thirsty.

  Yum!

  Okay, now let's start the Questions!  You have said before, that Rizkaland was inspired by Narnia.  Is the Doorkeeper your version of 'The Wood between the Worlds'? 

  The Doorkeeper is complicated and no, not inspired by "The Wood Between the Worlds," but her power is distantly connected to the wood. She was actually inspired by my desire to insert my own pen-name - then Sandra Elizabeth Nedor - into the series as a recurring character. She got more and more complicated until I retired her, and then brought her back as Laura when I was watching Doctor Who and was intrigued by River Song's timeline.

So, more accurately, I'd say that the Doorkeeper is my version of the TARDIS.

  Intriguing!  I haven't actually watched Doctor Who, but I have heard a lot about River Song.  Is Fantasy your preferred genre to write?

  It is. I've been dabbling in sci-fi and superhero fiction, though.

  Who is your favorite character in the Rizkaland Legends? 

  Laura the Doorkeeper. She has a long, complicated story that I've only brushed the surface of, and is such fun to write. And brilliant for foreshadowing, I might add.

  Oh it definitely is that!  Do you know how many children Clara and Andrew will have in the real world?

  Yes and no. I'm afraid I can't give any details on that until book 6.

  I see!  Do WPFP characters and the LDTD characters ever meet in our world?

  

  That's much of the premise of book three. And, actually, Reuben and Andrew have already met, as Reuben's cousin is Andrew's best friend.

  Kevin, right? 
 

  Yep

  

  Which leads to my next question.  Do Kevin and Rhoda go to Rizkaland together?

  That will be book 5!  Do look forward to that.

 

  Oh I definitely will!!  It will be interesting to see how soon after she reaches Rizkaland, Rhoda begins to figure out that the others have been there before.

  And her reactions to finding out the truth about her cousin and best friend...

  Yeah!  I wonder if she might be a little upset at first. 

  She might. Any more questions? 

  One more.  What are a few songs that symbolize Rizkaland for you?

  I actually have a YouTube playlist set up for the series: Rizkaland Inspiration .  Some of the specific ones are "Just Fall," "Write Your Story" and "Greater."

  I will have to check it out.  Well, thank you for joining me.  I am very much looking forward to reading Lady Dragon, Telu Du when it is completely finished.  Have a nice day, and God Bless.

 Thank you for having me! 

  You can purchase Lady Dragon, Tela Du on Kindle HERE and in paperback HERE.  Also the first book in the Rizkaland Legends, Water Princess, Fire Prince, is available HERE for free until the 23rd. 

  

Character Interview: Laura

  

  Today I am interviewing Laura, or the Doorkeeper as some of you know her.  My questions will be in green and her answers are in black.


  Welcome to my blog Laura.  It is very exciting to meet you in person.  *motions to a white wrought-iron bench next to a lily studded pond*  Please have a seat.

  Ah, yes, I'm excited to be here. *sits down.* Ponds can be so pretty, you know.

  Very, especially when they are covered in water-lilies which are my favorite flower.  Now I have a few questions for you.  You have the amazing gift of being able to travel between worlds.  Have you ever been to Middle-earth? 

  I will confess that I have. I enjoy having picnics with Tom Bombadil and Goldberry. 

  Oh my goodness!  That sounds amazing!!  Middle-earth is my favorite world.  Most people consider it a fictional world, but it has never felt fictional to me!

  I'm sure that you have run across many interesting foods and drinks in all of your world traveling.  What are a few of your favorites?

  Ooh, let's see. I must admit that I'm rather fond of Pomella Cider from Rizkaland, and Earth's spaghetti. And Twintas, a sort of fruit from Aloetway. Luna has some divine Spiced Soup - like tomato soup, but a bit richer. Then there's pizza, nothing tops pizza - except maybe Filla Pudding in Wienta...

  Ooooo!!  The Spiced Soup sounds delicious!  Do they serve it with Grilled Cheese sandwiches?

And you're right.  Nothing tops Pizza.

  They don't really do cheese in Luna, unfortunately, though Amber did enjoy the combination once introduced to cheeses in Lintooalintae.

  Do you ever have trouble learning the languages of the different worlds, or do they come naturally to you because of your world traveling gift?


  That is a complicated question that I can't fully answer, but yes, most languages come naturally to me. I'll give some more details in book 3, though, so you can look forward to that!

  I will!  Do you have a favorite world?


  Earth, actually. It has such an interesting history, and some of my favorite people live here.

  Have you ever been to Ireland?  I have a bit of an obsession with that country.

  Once. It's kind of a funny story. You know their legends about leprechauns?

  I do!  I find them quite amusing and love reading them. 

  They're kinda ... my fault. Someday I'll get back to Ireland, round up those little people, and send them back to Quina where they belong ...

  Oh really?  Well, I am kind of glad that you let them loose.  They have provided lots of tales and enjoyment for many people!

  Aye, I suppose.

  Have you ever ridden in an airplane?

  And on one, but I do not recommend that.

  Well it is definitely something I won't try!  Do you enjoy watching movies?


  Depends on the movie and whether or not I know the real events behind the story. And how much time I have on my hands and how tired I am. Movies are great for when you're tired. They don't require much thinking, you see.

  That they don't!  I find them very relaxing too....well, I guess it actually depends on the movie!

Do you have a favorite book?

  I actually don't do much reading, but any copy of God's Word in any world is amazing.

  It is.  Though I have only read the copy that exists in this world and in the English language.  It is getting a bit late and I have to make supper for my family, but I do have one more question. 

  All right.

  If you hadn't been chosen as the Doorkeeper, what is a career that you would have chosen and which world would you have chosen to live in? 

  I really don't know. I know I probably would be on Earth, but I have no idea of my career. I probably would still be doing some form of travel, though.

  Maybe a traveling Wedding Planner? 

  Maybe. I don't know. I really don't. And since I am the Doorkeeper, I really don't have to worry about it.

  Exactly!  Well I really do need to go now, but it has been very, very exciting to have you here.  Please feel welcome to drop in whenever you want and as a parting present, here is a bag of my favorite homemade Apple Cider Doughnuts.

  Oh, they sound delicious. *opens the bag to sniff* and they smell delicious, too. I'll see what I can do. My timeline is so tangled, I can't say when or if I'll ever show up again - but you never know!

  Well, you are always welcome!  Thank you again for coming!


  You can learn more about Laura in Lady Dragon, Tela Du, which can be purchased on Kindle HERE, and in hardcopy HERE.  Also, Water Princess, Fire Prince, the prequel to Lady Dragon, Tela Du, is free on Kindle HERE until the 23rd.