“If one advances confidently in the direction of one’s dreams, and endeavors to live the life which one has imagined, one will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”
- Henry David Thoreau
What About That Book?
A Little Something For Book Lovers Like Us…
fLIE
So, here is another announcement; I have written a short story called fLIE, which may or may not appear on this site, or Whispers. It’s currently at 10000 words, and quite a bit of effort went into this short story. If there is interest enough, I will put it up.
First of all, though, I will give a little synopsis and background of this story that just may turn into a novella, let alone a full length novel, as Emma’s Party is turning in to.
Firstly, this story stemmed from a frightening but exciting dream I had one night on corrupt government that was killing anybody who was against them and the way the ran them. Rouge Courts were put in place to bring this government down, mostly in the tattered remnants of North America. The most frightening aspect of this dream was the fact that those that the government killed had a blank face, and they killed with terrible monsters. I woke up exhilarated and ready to write more about this terrible government and life that these people were living.
From there, I created strong characters, written in third person. yes, you read that right. Michelle is writing in third person. Wow. I have my background, and every bit of research I felt I needed.
I, so far, have received positive feedback on this, but have not shared with anybody outside a close personal circle.
We shall have to see what the future brings. Perhaps my awesome readers will give me some feedback? 
For now, I shall give you a taste of what this story entails.
Run. A young woman flitted from shadow to shadow, hiding from the glow of the street lights that lit the gloomy rural street. She heard her heartbeat in her ears, pounding wildly, and she forced her breath to slow, tried to choke it back as she panted, straining to hear anything that was not harmonious with the night sounds all around her. She restrained her panic, closing her eyes for a moment.
A pebble skittered.
The young woman took off like a startled doe, her panic quickly rising. She fought it, wrestling it as she ran hard for the brick building at the end of the street. She heard metal clicking and a low mutter behind her as something dropped and clattered across the dark pavement. She ran faster, pushing her body harder than she ever had before in her life.
She ran across the road, leaping over the curb in a long jump. The brick building was there, just ahead of her…
Suddenly, she was hit with a spasm of agonizing pain. A wall in her mind fell, disappearing and leaving her mind open. Her knees buckled, and she fell hard to the damp pavement. She felt bruises bloom on her skin, and wetness where she had scraped against the concrete. She closed her eyes, gritting her teeth so hard they creaked. Her head felt like it was about to explode, and the world blurred around her. She could feel the Wielder’s smile as it forced the creature on her, smiling as the smoke surrounded her…
No! She fought the terror and pain. No, I can’t die here, not from them. No, no, no, no, no! She struggled against the distorted grey that came across her vision, and pushed, hard, throwing the stone wall back up.
She felt it recoil, slowly drawing back. Circling and trying to find a way around the mental stone wall that blocked it. Her vision sharpened, the grey going out of her eyes. She thrust herself up, her breath catching. The thing wasn’t strong enough to hold her if she fought it.
She built up the wall, breathing hard, listening for any sound. She took a tentative step, and the force hit her again. She stayed up, but felt her skin being scraped, like long metal fingers. She pushed the force out of her mind and darted forward, concentrating on the brick building ahead of her. She ran, feeling like she was struggling through thick honey. Pain brought her down, making each step feel like she had barely moved.
She shook her head, and the physical movement smarted. She pushed harder against the force, which grappled with her, trying to find a place to take hold, some place to drag her under.
She sharpened her mind, trying to force the thing out, pushing on it, trying to hold it as far away from her as she could. The thing bit, her head feeling like it was splitting as it roared silently. She ran harder, those last few meters so close…
The woman jumped onto the stairs, her heart beating unevenly. She felt the thing harden it’s resolve, and she buckled at the front door. Her world went slightly grey again, blurring as it did. She pushed, but the darkness was sapping her energy, and her mental walls were crumbling. Every hole that broke in her wall was a bit of grey shading her eyes. Mortar and dust were sucked into the grey. The color went out of the scenes around her. The grey started to turn black, and she felt washed away, into the darkness that was awaiting her. She gave the beast a last shove, and she could feel the smile of the one who controlled it. She angrily tried to heave the pressure away from her.
She struggled, but the fight was washing away from her, as fast as the dim colors of the street around her. The red brick turned a murky grey, the streetlight white.
Light suddenly bloomed from behind her, and the pain became excruciating. She felt herself slip off of the mental ledge she had put herself on, and fell, too tired to scream in dismay, into a darkened pit.
Quote Day
“There’s always another storm. It’s the way the world works. Snowstorms, rainstorms, windstorms, sandstorms, and firestorms. Some are fierce and others are small. You have to deal with each one separately, but you need to keep an eye on whats brewing for tomorrow.”
Maria V. Snyder, Fire Study
Hiya!
So, my friends; it’s been almost a year of me not writing on this site. I suppose that it was a little bit longer of a break than I anticipated, but, here I am.
Though I cannot guarantee constant updates like before, there will still be plenty of content on this site for whoever stumbles upon this to take a look at. Both reviews, updates, pictures, and even perhaps, a short story or two.
I will also say, that I have another website up, and I suppose I should have updated you all when I first put it up. Welcome Whispers of the Willow to my blogging family. I’m sure those of you who manage to make it over there will at least attempt to enjoy it.
I’m also playing around with the look of this lovely site; the old look was needing a facelift for the ‘grand re-opening’, if I do say so myself!
Expect a quick review on a novel coming soon! ♥
Wait, What?
Alright, so If you haven’t been able to tell from the lack of posts on the site in the past couple months, this site is almost completely inactive.
This has been a very busy year for me, and I have not been able to sit down and update the site nearly as often as I would like to. It’s a bigger job than most people would realize; especially with me trying to post things three or four times a week. This means I have to do research, read the book, and get my thoughts in order to share it with all of you lovely people.
And that was the other thing; this site is not nearly as popular as some sites; I can’t get the traffic, which was frustrating.
However, this was a fun little project for the time that I did do it. I hope that you enjoy the remaining posts, as for the time being, I am going to take an official break from ‘blogging’ and work on all the other things that need working on in my life.
Do know that this means that I am not leaving forever; it’s just when I get more time, I will start this up again. Same site, same place. As Arnold would say, “I’ll be back”.
But thanks for taking some of this ride with me. It was fun.
Milly.
Teasing, Tempting, Tomes
For this week’s Teasing, Tempting, Tomes, I have three novel covers that look pretty in a dark, run away, way. The use of trees and the person running is captivating, and I rather like them all.
Extraordinary, by Nancy Werlin,
Light Beneath Ferns, by Anne Spollen
Mulling On Monday #18
2 Stars
Here we are, yet another dreary Monday as we approach ugly winter. It’s already wet and rainy here, and not very nice out, so that’s just rather unfortunate.
But, it means I have to stay inside and do something, so, I get to read. And write, since I’m falling behind on my book and on this site. But whatever, here we are.
The novel that I have for today was one I read over the summer and did not like, even tough lots of people have classified it as ‘an American classic’. One, I’m not American, so maybe I just don’t get the whole thing, but I did not enjoy this novel one bit. Drawn out and pointless, it was a struggle to keep reading.
The novel is A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, who died in 2001. It’s been deemed a classic, amazing, and such a great read that I picked it up.
Well, first of all, this was not the novel I thought I picked up. What I had heard of for such a promising read must be somewhere else…or misplaced.
This novel could quite easily have fit into a short story, so imagine my surprise when I heard that this was indeed a short story before it even came near this 208 waste of time novel.
Anyways, there were a few things I liked about this novel, or else it would have earned no stars whatsoever.
What I liked about the novel was the new cover. The colors and the boy in the foreground with the building in the background is wonderful, and I find it to actually be quite pretty.
The characters, eventually did develop well enough, and turned into ‘round characters’, who changed by the end of the story (an extreme case of this would be Leper, who ***spoilers*** pretty much loses it and goes mental, such a contrast to his lovely, quiet self. But no, he stars seeing women’s heads on men’s bodies and limbs falling all over, but no big deal, that’s called character development. What???)
I also liked the setting; it seemed nice, even though I assumed (wrongly, always read the back covers properly) that it would be in England, not New England. But that was my fault. But I thought that for all the metaphors and whatnot, this was the right setting for it.
What I didn’t like.
First of all, the characters were very hard to sympathize with; they were very self-centered and coldly focused on goals that made them hard to like. They were also supposed to be 16-17 years old, but I found them oddly immature, especially in the time they were in. I would guess them to be barley 13 if I had to guess without the author throwing the fact that they are old enough to enlist every second paragraph.
Along with strange character flips (see spoiler) and with out of place characteristics, the entire thing was hard to read mostly because of the characters.
This means that I also did not like Finny or Gene at all. And if you can’t like the leading characters, or the character’s whose head you are in, then there might be an issue.
As for the story, like I said, it could have been condensed into 15 pages with little effort. If it had been a short story, I think I would have enjoyed it more than I did. The idea was half decent, it was just the presentation and the characters that killed it.
Overall, a novel that should not bear the title ‘classic’ without first being a good novel. It needs more character and a better story development.
Phinny is a star athlete with his entire future in front of him. Gene is a brainy kid who shares the same room with him. Soon they become best friends in .he boy’s school that they go to, a peaceful place where the faraway war seem fake and distant.
That peace goes away when Finny falls off a jump from a Tree that belongs to the Super Secret Suicide Society that the boys made up. Finny shatters his leg, and Gene is hiding a secret that could hurt Finny even more…
In a novel that has been called classic, this will make you question right and wrong, and what really matters as a person.
Author: John Knowles
Published: December 1, 1984
Page Count: 208
ISBN: 0553280414 (isbn13: 978-0553280418)
Books on my Growing List To Read: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
So, this has actually been on my list of ‘to-read’ for a while, but, I admit, after watching Disney’s Mulan again, I now have a renewed interest in China. This is because these stories are so intriguing, and old China is extremely interesting.
This novel is Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See. This is, I am assured a book that is a ‘must-read’ for all girls from teens to seniors. Therefore, I believe I will try it, and I hope to be impressed.
It is a novel that takes place in 19th century China, where tradition and men ruled domineered. Set in a remote area, the story of two women is supposed to be engrossing, and to ring true with women.
Okay, if it rings true with women, why women? Do men not have friendships. Okay, so that’s not the point, but I want to know and understand why this is such a driving point for all of the reviews I have seen.
What I like about it is that it takes place in China, which sets a wonderful backdrop for novels, and has woven many a wonderful tales, including one of my favourites, Memoirs of A Geisha. I also like that it is a secluded tale, not one buzzing with gossip and city life. I am sick of city life, I would rather enjoy a retreat from it.
I believe I found this on Goodreads, or perhaps Teenreads, on a must read section. So, obviously it cannot be too bad.
Which brings us to Goodreads stats. 3.97 rating out of 339804 ratings and 7040 reviews. Popular. And sounds pretty decent, almost guaranteed to be a good read.
And, by the way, as I was googling this novel, It sounds like there is a movie set to be released based on the book. It’s set for release in 2011. So, now I have to read the novel if I want to see the movie!!
A language kept a secret for a thousand years forms the backdrop for an unforgettable novel of two Chinese women whose friendship and love sustains them through their lives.
This absorbing novel – with a storyline unlike anything Lisa See has written before – takes place in 19th century China when girls had their feet bound, then spent the rest of their lives in seclusion with only a single window from which to see. Illiterate and isolated, they were not expected to think, be creative, or have emotions. But in one remote county, women developed their own secret code, nu shu – "women’s writing" – the only gender-based written language to have been found in the world. Some girls were paired as "old-sames" in emotional matches that lasted throughout their lives. They painted letters on fans, embroidered messages on handkerchiefs, and composed stories, thereby reaching out of their windows to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments.
An old woman tells of her relationship with her "old-same," their arranged marriages, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood—until a terrible misunderstanding written on their secret fan threatens to tear them apart. With the detail and emotional resonance of Memoirs of a Geisha , Snow Flower and the Secret Fan delves into one of the most mysterious and treasured relationships of all time—female friendship.
-From http://www.lisasee.com/snowflower/
Author: Lisa See
Published: June 28, 2005
Page Count: 272
ISBN: 1400060281 (isbn13: 978-1400060283)
Book Of The Week: Atonement
4 1/2 Stars
Loved this novel. Absolutely loved it. Everything was very well done, developed, and things were just so well written overall. Ian McEwan knows his stuff when it comes to writing.
Every line has something to it, the prose..ah! It’s a lovely, lovely novel that will stick in my head for a long time to come. Brilliant, brilliant.
I meant to read this over the summer, but instead ended up putting it away for a wile after getting a little bogged down by the start, and with little time to read it between Memoirs of Cleopatra, and this novel. Memoirs won, but I’m glad I ended up reading this one. It is a gem, and I think I will end up watching this movie pretty soon to see if the movie comes close to the novel. It has Kiera Knightly in it, so I believe it could work out well.
Anyways, the good, the bad, the ugly.
The good; loved it. The plot is beautiful, the narrative just brilliant, and the simplicity of it great. Loved the subtle twist at the end that changes everything.
The bad; not much of ‘the bad’ to it, but, like all novels I read that there is not a first-person narrative, I found it hard to get into. Especially with a slower start, and a slightly confusing pace with the twirling plot at the start, it was difficult to keep going.
And the ugly; this does bug me, personally, but be warned, there is some strong language and descriptions in this novel. I felt that it added to it rather than subtracted from it, but just so you know.
Overall, thought it was a great read worth the time it took to get into it, and I recommend it. I will have to get back to you on the movie, and see how that works out. Fingers crossed, as it was a most excellent novel.
Briony Tallis is a thirteen year old girl with a passion for writing. Innocent, protected, and living what seems a simple life in light of the war, she misinterprets a moment’s heated passion and crushes her sister’s newly-fledged dreams in mere minutes.
Her innocence tears the family apart at the seams, ripping a chain of events that alters’ the family forever.
In a novel that makes a distinct point, and tells of love, war, and forgiveness, this is sure to sweep you off your feet and make you think if innocence is really what it seems to be.
Author: Ian McEwan
Published: November 27, 2007
Page Count: 496
ISBN: 0307388840 (isbn13: 978-0307388841)
