Don't Quote Me (#21)

Movie Review: La Belle et le Bete (1946)

I don't like sticking with one hobby, and I feel like I only show my book loving side on this blog. Books are wonderful in every way, but I want to spice things up a bit, and because of the holiday season, I've been slacking on reading, and been a movie watcher instead.

Today, I'm going to tell you about La Belle et le Bete. If you didn't already know, that is the original Beauty and the Beast film. The film that became a huge success when France was in the World War II depression. It sounds wonderful and all, but if you've never seen it then you will be in a ride for yourself.

The movie is completely in French-there are English subtitles-as far as I know there is not a dubbed version, so don't count on it. If you are a French loving speaker, like moi, the movie is not too hard for beginner in French. I have only taken one and a half years of French classes myself, and I catch most of the words without reading the subtitles.

Losing Your Writing

Thursday was a very scary night for me. I tried to open my novel on Scrivener and it came out as nothing what so ever. My nanowrimo novel was completely gone, and I was devastated. I checked by flash drive for any copies, but they only contained my short stories. I tried to search back in history on my laptop, but I had recently done a system restore on my pc. It was incredibly distraughting, and if you are a writer, you would be too.

I did get my novel back, don't worry, I can still do this series. You ask me how I got my novel back? I found an old email I sent to myself with an attachment of my nanowrimo novel. This .rtf file was readable, and I just opened it up with Scrivener. BTW you should definitely check out scrivener if you are currently writing a large project, or want to write a novel, or nanowrimo, etc.

What I'm trying to get by is, always make copies of your novel. Make irrational copies. For instance, make an epub or Mobi file for ereaders, even though you don't have an ereader. Make .rtf, word documents, pages for macs, what ever. Make as many copies as possible through out your writing, and put them on a flash drive and email them to your friends. Print out each chapter you finish. Find away of keeping your novel by putting it out there, without completely giving away your work.

I hope you guys have a wonderful weekend, holiday break, and may your writing be better than ever.

Love and Hugs
Clara

2013 European Book Challenge

This challenge is hosted by Rose City. The main premece is that I have to read books set in a country in Europe. The book, not where the author came from-unless they are European and wrote about where they've been or lived. Anywho, I wanted to do this challenge, because I've never seen it before and I just wanted to read something new. Something that was out of the United States or UK. Not that neither them are awesome in their own way, but I'd like to expand my horizons. Here are the books I plan to read:


Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins-France
The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare-Venice
The Orange Girl by Jostein Gaader-Norway
Faceless Killers by Kenning Mankell, Steven T. Murray-Sweden
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway-Spain
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller-Italy
The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie-Portugal
Villette by Charlotte Bronte-Belgium
An Angel in Hell by Barbara Cartland-Monaco
My Merry Mornings by Ivan Klima-Czech Republic
Cornelli by Johanna Spyri-Switzerland
Animal Farm by George Orwell-UK

I probably won't get through all of these, but that's my list to get through and pick and choose from. The challenge starts on January 1, 2012 and ends on January 14, 2014. I'm pretty sure that I will be able to read at least one of these each month, and that is my goal. My goal is to by pass the Five Star(Deluxe Entourage) level.

If you want to join me, remember to go to Rose City's page where she explains things in more details. I hope you can do the European Book Challenge, and if you plan to please leave me a comment. I'd love to know what you plan to read. :D

Love and Hugs
Clara

Writing: Character Development

During reading over what and how I wanted to edit the novel I wrote over nanowrimo, I found that I barely knew my main character. Do note that I don't plan when I'm writing a first draft. I find it terribly difficult to stick to it, and things just don't work out for me. Anyways, when I found out that I wasn't super sure of my main character, I decided to look up somethings about character development, and how to go about it.

One of the things I read about was, interviewing your character in the place of them. It literally has gotten me to figure out so many things by just asking my character. That might seem weird, because some characters are in my head and I should just write them down, but like I said before, I don't plan, so I make up my characters on the spot. Georgia-my main character-was a girl I thought up on the spot. She has a difficult past, and while writing Nanowrimo a lot of wholes were left out that could have effected her one way or the other.

I plan on doing that with some of my secondary characters, but my main group of characters seem to be the ones with the least back story, or fully developed. It's frustrating, but it's so much fun interview the characters. It should be easy, and come out naturally. If the answers to the interview don't come out as so, you should rethink the importance of the character in the story.

That's all I want to say this week, and I have some websites that I think will also help with character development:

http://www.pgtelco.com/~slmiller/characterdevelopment.htm

http://lillieammann.com/2009/07/27/creating-fictional-characters%E2%80%94part-8-developing-characters-throughout-your-story/

http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474976908598

http://www.wikihow.com/Develop-a-Character-for-a-Story

Of course there are so many more website and books out there, and the best way to learn is to find things on your own. I hope you have a wonderful time writing. :D

Love and Hugs
Clara

Review: Chase Tinker and the House of Magic by Maila Ann Haberman

In Chase Tinker's world, magic, lies and secrets can be a lethal combination...

Thirteen-year-old Chase Tinker can't understand why he has the power to move things with his mind. Besides that, his dad has been missing for over a year, causing his mom to be too upset to pay much attention to her sons, so now he's been busted for shoplifting. As if this isn't enough to worry about, his younger brother Andy suddenly has a weird magical ability too.

Can things get any crazier? Chase thinks.

Then, a grandfather they thought to be long dead arrives at their door. He wants Chase and Andy to come visit him for the summer so they can learn about their supernatural heritage and why they have magical powers in the first place.

The boys soon find out that Grandfather, along with their cousin Janie, lives on a remote island in the middle of Puget Sound in an out-of-this-world house where fantastic magic can be found in practically every room, stairway and corridor. Chase can't believe their dad has been keeping so much from them.

It's an even bigger shock when Chase learns that all their magic is controlled by a very powerful and mysterious Relic in the attic, and if anything happens to this relic, every bit of Tinker magic will be lost forever. He's even more disturbed when he learns his family has a dark and powerful enemy that is determined to steal all their magic, their house and their relic. 

Now Chase must find a way to stop these evil beings, while at the same time figuring out what has happened to his dad, unraveling even more Tinker lies and secrets and not letting on that he has a huge crush on the housekeeper's daughter.

from goodreads

Chase Tinker and the House of Magic can be one of those family book series that anyone would like. Mostly, if you are a fan of Harry Potter-and come on, who isn't? The book is not a rip off of the Harry Potter series though, and that was the key parts of why I liked it. I wasn't too keen on the idea of this twelve, almost thirteen year old boy and his brother discovering they have magical powers, and go to their grandfather's house to learn.

Malia Ann Haberman is a great author, but I won't compare her to J.K. Rowling because that's quite cruel, and no one can beat her-in my opinion. Though, she writes amazingly well, and it doesn't suck, as some independent authors have a tendency of having poor grammar and spelling-which can get tedious to a reader.   

The main thing I loved about her writing, was the characters. They were all very tangible people, and it was interesting to see them interact and follow them through the novel. My favorite character has to be the boy's grandfather, and I love the whole plop in out of no where characters. Sometimes, those characters are annoying and jerks, but the grandfather seems to work out a balance of being a cool old guy, that isn't a creeper. 

I believe that Chase Tinker and the House of Magic is a great reader for those middle grade reader, and even adults, anyone really. The thing is, magic is such an old story that you'd think it gets old after a while, but this novel is not one of those boring been there done that sort of deal. So, you guys being one of my all time favorite people, I give the novel by Malia Ann Haberman a head nods, thumbs up, and smiling like there's no tomorrow. (5 out of 5)

Don't Quote Me (#20)

I made the first three quotes last Friday night when I was bored. I wished I could reword this one a bit. 

Who's addicted?

I was feeling extremely down last Wednesday, and could not believe how black and white my future was, so I decided to do something about it. This is just a picture I made to go with the feelings of last Wednesday.

Review: Caught in the Moment by Martin Dukes

Caught in a Moment is the story of Alex Trueman, a teenager who daydreams himself unwittingly into the strange world of Intersticia. This is a world outside of ordinary time, that exists in the slender intervals between instants. From Alex's point of view the world around him freezes into immobility. At first it seems the he alone is free to wander the hushed streets with their motionless cars and people. But he is not alone. Alex soon discovers that he shares the world with others. There are a few dozen fellow daydreamers who share his fate. There is plump, bespectacled Will, pretty brunette Kelly, and the rebellious outcast Paulo. Presiding over them all is the enigmatic Ganymede, and irascible vagrant who distributes food to his dependents and sets them perverse tasks to perform in return.

Alex soon finds that he has rare skills in Intersticia. Most uniquely he can affect the motionless world of 'Statica' around them. He can open doors, help himself to food, and move objects. But this forbidden activity soon sets him on a collision course with Ganymede in which the very existence of Intersticia is put at risk.


from goodreads

When I first read about this story, it was nothing like I had ever heard of. The story had a strange feel when I read it. It was like I as partly dreaming, and partly there. Whatever it was, I liked it. Some background info: this book is published in the UK and there is the occasional saying or word I was unsure of. That does not give away change or disrupt the story at all, and it's the quaint things that I like most about the story.

Martin Dukes is a wonderful writer, and I would think that he would be published by the big publishing houses here in the US. He writes in away that gives you enough information for now just to settle you, but not too much that all the secrets are given away at one time. I love the strong characters that he writes, and the in between worlds fascinate me.

Alex is such a peculiar teenage boy in my opinion. There's that off feeling I felt when the story started to unfold in the beginning. I guess, he never really is 'normal', even before he goes to 'Sticia. He is probably more intelligent than the teenage boys I know, but he has this sensitive spot that is quite prominent and something that I did not expect to show so early in the novel.

I felt like most, if not all, of the characters felt real and tangible. They were easy to grasp a hold of. I think Paulo was my favorite character out of all of them. There's the sense of you know who this character is before the main character has come into contact with, because everyone knows that person that curses like a sailor, and travels like one too.

My favorite part of the novel is that the moral really stands out. It's kind of like, be careful of what you wish for kind of thing. The whole don't take things for granted moral is popular amongst the popular morals, and I think Caught in the Moment is a great example of that. So, when my best friend asked me what I thought about Caught in the Moment, I gave her a head nods, thumbs up. (4 out of 5)

Independent Novels to get for the Reader!

For the teenage mystery reader
http://www.solidnovel.com/
http://www.amazon.com/Solid-Shelley-Workinger/dp/1453624821


For the music lover that reads
http://www.amazon.com/Casey-Barnes-Eponymous-ebook/dp/B006RBOTW6


For the boys that like paranormal series
http://maliaannhaberman.weebly.com/


For the myth lovers
http://www.amazon.com/Medusas-Desire-Death-Series-ebook/dp/B00ABMAW5K


For the conspiracist
http://www.amazon.com/The-End-World-Know-ebook/dp/B008UYP8NW

In My Mailbox(#16)

Caught in a Moment is the story of Alex Trueman, a teenager who daydreams himself unwittingly into the strange world of Intersticia. This is a world outside of ordinary time, that exists in the slender intervals between instants. From Alex's point of view the world around him freezes into immobility. At first it seems the he alone is free to wander the hushed streets with their motionless cars and people. But he is not alone. Alex soon discovers that he shares the world with others. There are a few dozen fellow daydreamers who share his fate. There is plump, bespectacled Will, pretty brunette Kelly, and the rebellious outcast Paulo. Presiding over them all is the enigmatic Ganymede, and irascible vagrant who distributes food to his dependents and sets them perverse tasks to perform in return.

Alex soon finds that he has rare skills in Intersticia. Most uniquely he can affect the motionless world of 'Statica' around them. He can open doors, help himself to food, and move objects. But this forbidden activity soon sets him on a collision course with Ganymede in which the very existence of Intersticia is put at risk.

from goodreads

Short Story Friday: Prank

I have been extremely lazy and busy at the same time this past week. I suppose, it's because of the holiday season and school work has been piling up for me to finish before break. So this is going to be an interesting short story, which I may or may not be able to edit. Hope you like it!:D

In a town the size of a pin wheel, lived a little boy named Eric. He had a sloppy grown hair that curled at the ends, and drooped on to of his head. Eric was a pudgy kid, and he loved to dance at unexpected times. Though, his friends and classmates always laughed and teased him, Eric did not let that take away what he loved to do.

Eric had an older brother. Kevin was the big brother that did football, and went through girls like a meteor shower. He didn't like the fact that his little brother was being teased at all day. When he heard a rumor  he'd stop it then and there. The power the most popular kid was lethal, and thankfully Kevin used it for good.

"What's that you have on your mind?"Eric questioned Kevin.

Kevin was easily twice the size as Eric. Both being quite the opposite of each other. Eric had a pudge that held close to his bones, and didn't slack, while Kevin was made out of carbon and muscle. When he looked down at Eric, it could be mistaken for pitying him.

"Something you don't need to know,"he quipped.

Eric's eyebrows smushed together in a frown,"And why would that be?"

In all honesty, Kevin was thinking about the game plan for the night's game after dark. Not the football game, but the senior's game. The one where you personally prank each of the freshman. One elder choose their pray on the veal. Eric, was a freshman. As far as Kevin heard, Eric was going to get it bad. His little brother was the target for three of the toughest game players in the grade, Patrick, Conner, and Joseph. All three of them together on one prank would cause a bigger explosion than Nagasaki.

"What are you doing tonight?"Kevin asked his sibling.

"I'm going down town for an audition,"he said quite sheepishly because he always thought that Kevin disapproved of him dancing. Kevin would always try to make him play sports or play video games. Eric insisted that he had to practice dancing. Since, Eric was one of the few guys in the school that was open about his dancing, he attracted a lot of the girls. He would be spotted with girls talking to him. Whether they are on the cheer team, or in a ballet studio.

"Would you like me to come with you? Moral support."Kevin added.

This struck something in Eric. Eric was not completely clueless, so he did question why Kevin wanted to come, but he was more excited that his older brother would be there to witness what might be his big break.

Neither of them knew that Patrick, Conner, and Joseph created the audition as a prank a week before the pranks would ensue.

To Be Continued

Don't Quote Me (#19)

Post First Draft Depression

I want to start off with a little editing series going on on this blog. Since, I did do nanowrimo and won-yeah, I'm awesome-I want to blog about the process of how things are going. At the moment I can't give you a synopsis of the novel, because there is a lot of plot being moved around, and maybe the main problem the main character faces is only a side problem. You know?

Anyways, the first thing that happened when I finished nanowrimo about two weeks ago was that I just wanted to chuck the story out the window and feed it to the coyotes. I suppose many authors feel this way, because we have been so close to this piece of work, that it's too much. I was about to scrap the entire document at one point. Terrible of me for not believing in my own writing, but sometimes you want to kill someone, but instead of someone, many people in your mind.

The other day I got out of this 'depression' stage. Something just clicked in my mind, and I guess with me going back into the community of writers I've found, it motivates me to do something with the story. I have not started actually editing the novel, but I am in the process of reestablishing my characters, and where I want the story to go, and where it should be going. There's a difference. I'm happy with half of the characters I had made up on the spot while writing nanowrimo, but in there are the ugly ducklings. The ones that don't have a personality easy to spot out, or a background that's bland and contains no meat.

So if you are in the post first draft depression state, I beg you to not chuck out your story. You are going to hate yourself if you do, because you will look back at it and think I should not have done that. Especially, if you did nanowrimo and got far ahead. Do not change your mind and free up space on your computer. There is a reason why you started to write the story. Whether you knew what you wanted to come across in your writing or not, it will come across, and you need to edit and think about it to do so.

Great chat with yall today, have an amazing time writing this week. If you have trouble thinking of things to write-which you should be doing everyday-I'm going to start making daily writing prompts on twitter. @Clarareads

Love and hugs
Clara

In My Mailbox (#15)

Clio Kaid's had one crazy summer.

After learning she was one of a hundred teens who were genetically modified before birth, she and the others departed for "camp" at a classified military site.

Besides discovering her own special ability, uncovering a conspiracy, and capturing a killer, she's also forged new friendships, found love, and managed to lose them both.

With no answers and the end of summer closing in, Clio's terrified of going home more lost than when she arrived.

Will she finally find everything she's been looking for?

Find out in this exciting conclusion to the Solid trilogy.

from goodreads

Blog Tour: Review of Hybrid by Juliann Whicker (Book 2 of The House of Slide series)

Dariana Sanders, daughter of the prestigious House of Slide, has her hands full. The Bloodworker who killed her brother is dead, but it turns out that he's not the only one who wants Dari, or who will do anything to make sure that she's taken care of before she learns to control her powers and becomes a force to be reckoned with. She needs her friends, family, and a reluctant soulmate if she's going to survive.

from goodreads

After reading the first novel of the House of Slide series, I was fangirling since I found out that Hybrid would be coming out at the end of the year. It took me two days to read this book, and possibly one if I didn't have to go to school. I like the compact feel of a book that you can start in the morning, and finish at night, while still giving you the entire experience.

Juliann Whicker is one of my all time favorite authors, mostly because of the world she makes.Also she creates a series that is original, unlike many of the novels that are out on the shelves in the Paranormal Romance section of the bookstore/library. One of my favorite parts of Hybrid, is that the pace is strong, and it never lacks action or suspense. I would be lying if I never laughed out loud, smiled like a fan girl, and have my eyes tear up a bit-not all at the same time of course.

Don't Quote Me (#18)

Review: Looking for Alaska by John Green

Miles Halter is fascinated by famous last words–and tired of his safe life at home. He leaves for boarding school to seek what the dying poet Francois Rabelais called the “Great Perhaps.” Much awaits Miles at Culver Creek, including Alaska Young. Clever, funny, screwed-up, and dead sexy, Alaska will pull Miles into her labyrinth and catapult him into the Great Perhaps.

from John Green's Website

Usually when I write reviews, I know what I'm going to write. While I read, I take mental thoughts of what I would write the review for. Looking for Alaska was not an exception. Though,my mind isn't thinking about the book, or feeling any emotions about what I just read. I guess you can say that reading is like a drug for me, a roller coaster of emotions. Looking for Alaska didn't have any after effects though.

I had read John Green's most recent book, The Fault in Our Stars and adore the heck out of it. I plan on rereading it, and that is saying something. Since, John Green released Looking for Alaska-his debut novel-in 2005, I can see the difference in his writing like the sun in the sky. It is so strange reading an author's past work, when you have recently read their most recent-and some say best work. I guess, I was a bit let down at the writing. It didn't give as much as I was hoping for.

Looking for Alaska is one of those books, where I have all time favorite characters and all time characters that I detest. Is it bad to say that I hated Alaska? Before I read the novel I saw this video from Renee of Nehomas2 on youtube. She talks about the manic pixie dream girl trope in her video, and I guess that Alaska is a MPDG, and not a good one at that. Alaska is suppose to be mysterious and bring Pudge on epic adventures and pranks, but she's just the b word in opinion. Even though the ending is sad and there's a whole explanation that goes on, Alaska was just unlikable as a character in my opinion.

As for my favorite character, Takumi was quite hilarious in his "I'm a motherfucking fox" ways. Also he raps, and I usually don't listen to rap-just not my cup of tea-but he makes it awesome. Though, the Colonel was my absolute favorite character. He has a big personality and I can't believe that he's 5'0. The way he acts and moves make me think of him as a 6'0 guy. The Colonel is lovable, and he doesn't come and go away for long periods of times, like Takumi. He is mostly always there for Pudge, and Pudge is there for the Colonel. I secretly ship those twos at time.

The pranks and mystery weren't good enough for me. I don't know why, but I saw everything coming. The ending especially and what happened to Alaska was so obvious that I wanted to shout at Pudge at times and get his head in the game. I have to say the Barn Prank was my favorite, even though the "most epic prank" at their school was suppose to be the ultimate prank, it wasn't as good.

I finally understood why peer pressure could make someone start to smoke through this book. Before, I didn't really understand why anyone would hurt themselves to get friends, but I kind of get it through Pudge. Though, I don't approve of underage smoking, or drinking, I finally understand why. It's a mixture of you just have to to get through the day, and the social atmosphere you're in.

In the end, I would not read Looking for Alaska again. Maybe when I'm old and want to refresh the story in my mind, and have lived more, but now I wouldn't for a  long time. John Green really upgraded his writing since he was first published, and I think that's what I like about him. His writing changes in a good way. I'm not sorry that I read Looking for Alaska, but if my best friend asked me how it was I'd give a head shakes, thumb down, shoulders shrug. (2 out of 5)

Author Interview: Sahana Epari

Last week, I review Sahana Epari's debut novel, Pure at Heart. I was lucky enough to also have the chance to ask her some questions for an interview:

How did you come up with the concept for Pure at Heart?

I don't really remember. I guess I was just in that phase where I was obsessing over urban fantasy and paranormal novels. I still am :) Anyways, I guess the supernatural being that got to me the most was the werewolf. No matter what book I read, if there was a werewolf in it, the character would automatically be my favorite. As for the plot itself, it took a while to come up with something that I would read myself. Pure at Heart is basically everything I, as a person, would want in a book.


What was the toughest part of writing the novel?

The toughest part would be the conclusion. To be truthful, when I started, I wasn't completely sure I wanted a sequel. I was thinking I could write maybe one of those single novels. Then, I realized that it would be a really big book, because there were so many things I wanted to introduce. The conclusion of Pure at Heart was hard to write because I had to conclude things, but leave a lot of room for questions. I wanted the readers to think, "What happens next?" and want to read the next book.


Is there anything you would want to change about Pure at Heart?

I actually like it the way it is. I elaborated the characters enough, the plot, the setting. Everything is the way I need it to be. If I did have the chance, however, I would want to be a little more descriptive in some scenes.


Who is your favorite author?

Cassandra Clare.

What is your favorite book(s)?

City of Bones, or the Mortal Instruments series.

Many authors tell aspiring young writers to wait until they are older to publish because they haven't lived much and their writing is great for their age, but don't compare to older authors. What do you say about that topic?

I completely disagree. Now that there are self-publishing companies, like CreateSpace, it allows anyone to publish anything they want. Everyone knows that young authors are still growing, and haven't experienced a lot, but that makes it all the better. There's a surprise when you read a really good book, and then discover that it wasn't an adult who wrote it but a young person. Yes, novels written by young authors like myself, shouldn't be compared to books written by older, more experienced, and more educated adults. However, that shouldn't be a restriction to publish something.

What can you tell us about the sequel to Pure at Heart?

It will continue a few days after the end of Pure at Heart. I haven't really decided on the name yet, but it will definitely summarize the novel. I'm hoping to add a big surprise, so hold on. Not sure about the release date as of now.



Where can readers contact you?
  You can go to my blog:

evalineandthepack.blogspot.com

In My Mailbox (#14)

She transformed into an abomination through his touch. Her skin grew scales. Her eyes turned red. She screamed for help, but all who saw her became stone.

Medusa thought she would be alone forever, until the day a man came to kill her and fell in love instead. Now Perseus is running from those who hired him as he continues to love a girl who could kill him with a glance.

from goodreads

The Breakfast Club meets The War of the Worlds in The End of the World as We Know It, the latest release from Alloy Entertainment (The Vampire Diaries, Pretty Little Liars, 666 Park Avenue, Gossip Girl)

They wanted to party like it was their last night on earth. They just might get their wish….

Meet the four most unlikely heroes ever:

Teena McAuley: Queen Bee, first-class problem solver, resident heartbreaker.

Leo Starnick: UFO conspirator, pizza delivery boy, all-around slacker.

Evan Brighton: Baseball all-star, extreme virgin, Teena-worshipper.

Sarabeth Lewis: Straight-A student, weekend hermit, enemy of the color pink.

When Teena locks Leo, Evan, and Sarabeth in the basement during her biggest party of the year, she doesn’t plan on getting trapped in the Loser Dungeon herself. She can barely imagine a night with these dweebs—let alone a lifetime. But when an alien invasion destroys their entire Midwestern suburb, it looks like these unlikely friends are the last people on earth. Now, it’s up to them to save the world….

from goodreads

Scared of Comments?

There's no denying that cyber bullying goes around on the internet. Especially in a blogging community such as the book bloggers. Even though, I have barely seen any rude comments on others blogs, and everyone on here is extremely nice, and we all want to help out each other and become friends, there's always the voice in the back of my mind that brings out all the insecurities I have, and believes that email I get sent when someone leaves a comment says something about my insecurities.

I'm not so much as scared of a comment, as if it would haunt me, but what people think of me, and how they perceive me as a blogger. There's always a chance that there will be a troll, or someone that is just mean-or they are having a bad day and trying to make themselves feel better-and I always feel that rush of what if when I read comments.

Then there are the comments that I have only heard of from people in my school. The ones where because the majority of the teenage population don't know that their are stalkers, and they want to be popular, feel the need to get thousands of followers on instagram, facebook, and twitter. I have know right to call people out and say you are doing it wrong, but I think people should know better than to post photos of themselves everywhere they go of them, and their friends. It seems idiotic to me. The result of these people that put their entire selves on social media is that they create people to stalk them. I have proof that many people in my school have been stalked, and it just seals my point that there is a privacy matter that teenagers don't understand. Being stalked at thirteen is really sad. There is a part of me that thinks those things. The side that I might have put too much information that I should have.

So where am I going with this? I think that comments should be shared lovingly, and to critique. There's a difference from sharing your opinion and antagonizing people. How much you put yourself out there on the internet is on your shoulders, and sometimes we all need a reminder of that. My brief hesitation before reading comments may seem irrational to many, and I know that there are many people that get much worse comments online, but it doesn't stop me from reading comments. Feel free to leave a comment below, and tell me if you hesitate before commenting, or reading comments. Tell me/ask me whatever. 

Short Story Friday(#2)

Last week's short story was partially true with some extra stuff throw in there, and so will this week's short story Friday. I was looking back lately on what to write this week, and I discovered that I have had many boy issues with boys I have never dated. What is up with that? Probably 97% of guys I have met caused some sort of drama or difficulty in a relationship where I have just met them.

There's no hiding that I am a student. I still go to public school, and going to public school means a couple of things. It means 1) that you are always told that anything in the school could be cut funding in a pin drop, 2) having marvelous teachers, and grass watching teachers, 3) there are the 'popular' and then the not so popular-I'm in between the populars and not so populars. Then lastly, 4) there is the ever present dating game with girls and guys and how guys will be utterly rude and insensitive.

I feel like I should just state a claim out there that there are some pretty amazing guys-whether they are guy friends or boyfriends. This is just me ranting about a guy that I have gotten over a month or so ago, and I thought that our relationship-if you can even say that-was an interesting episode.

First day of school, go to my first class and I have to sit next to the most annoying and 'stupid' guy in the class. Because I am kind of a kiss up to teachers, I've experienced this. It is not like I enjoy it, but it's just something you have to deal with.

Here are some things I've heard about this guy in the past few years: he's incredible at basketball and hand to hand combat, he is annoying from all the things my girl friends have told me, and he talks about the most discriminate things.

Hold your horses for a moment. This is public school, where almost everyone says things like 'you are so gay' 'blacks can't swim, they are stupid, etc' 'Asians are smart and all of them have mean and strict parents at home that whip them' 'whites are the norm'... The list goes on and on and truthfully I hate myself for even typing those words. I'm sorry if I offended anyone.

Moving on, I already had my perception of this guy. Let's call this guy, Eric. He is what I described to you above, from the first five minutes I sat next to him. People like him, I stay away from because I know I'll just get red in the face and he'd end up getting away with everything.

This one moment really stood out for me: we had a test this day, and I had already peaked interest that he was copying off of me for little quizzes/exit cards. Little things like that and homework don't really get to me much because I have to say I do that sometimes too. I don't do it weekly, but I would be lying if I never copied off of someone's homework. So this day was the first big test in the class. I think it was about sixty points for the entire assessment.

With the knowledge that I knew this guy was copying off of me, I decided to trick him. I've never tried to trick a copier before, so this was a first, and it came out more successful than I would have imagined. What I did was, do all of the problems in out of sequence. The thing that really shocked me was when I skipped almost more than half of the first page and gone to the next, he just waited there staring into space. I laughed internally. He probably thought I was just checking the whole packet out, but boy was he wrong. I could feel the resentment pouring out of him. That was extremely rewarding.

Then there came the day where we got it back. I was very surprised that I had gotten a perfect score. While, wait for it... He got a C! Oh the look in his face, it was priceless.

Of course those kinds of people always try to make themselves bigger so here are the next events: He insults me on my bad handwriting-which I am aware of and proud of-but that he blames my bad handwriting on him getting a C is ridiculous.

I'm not the kind of person that would waste my time on someone that doesn't deserve it. I'm quite aware of where I stand for myself, and to others. So I didn't even want to go into the conversation-more like argument. I would usually vent thing like that out later with friends, and move on with my life.

Guess what he did next. No, really, guess. You would never get this:he asked me if I could help him in the class-a tutor.

My thoughts exactly as the words left his mouth: Woah! Back track right there, cowboy. You just copied off my paper and then you insulted me!!! How dare you ask me to help you! What kind of idiotic,[many cuss words later]... You can't possibly be this stupid. I mean come on now!! Gah!! I hate cheaters.

About a week later I decided to just stop talking to him. From the day of the test he had relentlessly trying to get my attention and make me explode. There were some racists comments, that many of his friends laughed to, but of course I could not. There were times where he just could not accept my differences and this is sounding really strange now... I guess what I'm trying to say is that there are some people out there that can't seem to comprehend or play with the idea that there are people out there that have different beliefs and practices. It really makes me sad, but c'est la vie.

I did ignore him and I haven't talked to him in a month. I don't care about him, if that is what you are thinking because of last week's post. This person has no place in my heart and I intend to keep it that way. There maybe some people that said he liked me. I have heard that guys usually make fun of girls they like. I can't wrap my head around someone that goes as far as he does. It's not a teasing remark, but a deliberately trying to make me angry for laughs. I don't stand for that sort of thing.

I guess I can put this story out there for commentaries. Thanks for reading if you read all of this post. It was quite long and I'll try to write something more happy and less venting next week. Have a great weekend!

Love and Hugs
Clara

Places to Post Your Writing

I have been trying to get more feedback on my writing lately, and the best way to do so is to put it out there on the internet. I thought that it would be neat to put all the websites that I know of that you can share your story and then get feedback from other people that read it.

issuu
http://issuu.com/

readwave
http://readwave.com/

fanfiction.net
http://www.fanfiction.net/

fictionpress
http://www.fictionpress.com/

wattpad
http://www.wattpad.com/

booksie
http://www.booksie.com/

figment
http://figment.com/

fanstory
http://www.fanstory.com/

writers network
http://www.writers-network.com/

amateur writing
http://www.amateur-writing.com/

writeandshare
http://www.writeandshare.co.uk/

I personally use fiction press, just because it is easier and I am use to the website. You can find me on fictionpress by the pen name Clarareads. If you have any other writing sharing websites please leave a comment below and I will add it to the list.

Love and Hugs
Clara

Don't Quote Me (#17)

So true...

I have learned this recently, and most people around me have not. So, they always think of me strange when I don't let things get to me, and make me mad. 

This was a shocker, and I hope this isn't true. It's not true right?

Nanowrimo has made me embrace messy hair. 

I needed to learn this recently, and I hope you do too if you share memories with strangers. 

Review: Pure At Heart by Sahana Epari

Lies. Betrayal. Secrets. They are worse than you think they are.The feeling of something you thought you had but you never did. Your whole train of thought changes direction. Suddenly everything you have lived for becomes a life you never had.
I thought I knew everything.
My name is Evaline Pangborne, and I am a werewolf.
When Eva and the Shadow Clan find out a ground-breaking secret of their life, they seek the only way out of the pain and suffering--an escape route. An escape route they got, but along with that came even more secrets, questions, and betrayal.
The people Eva trusted most, is now someone to despise and hate, and the people Eva never wanted to trust, get closer and closer to her. Living itself seems like a big joke to her. What's the big secret? And why is everyone keeping it from her?

from goodreads


I feel terrible for not reviewing this book earlier, but better late than never, right? Yeah... So, I received this book for review by the author herself, and my first impression was that this was going to be awesome. Then I started reading the first few chapters, and the many punctuation errors got on my nerves.

Sahana Epari is a debut and young author that is one of the few people I know that are published at such a young age. What I love about her writing is that she is aware of her characters. Her characters were the strong leads of the novel, and even though Eva got on my nerves more than once, I could easily distinguish Eva and her attitude towards life. There were many little jokes here and there, none that made me laugh out loud though. The dialogue was a bit stiff, and did not flow like it could be for some characters. Though, some characters talk in a distinctive way, and I liked the mash up.

Eva is arrogant and very naive. Actually, most of the pack is naive in my opinion. They are kids, but I think that because of their role in the world, they could have been more mature. They were very childish and the thought process of Eva wanted me to punch her sometimes.

One character I did love, was Victoria. Victoria reminds me of one of my friends. She is the bad-ass in the back ground that has this mysterious air around her, and I truly feel sorry for her the way she is treated by Eva, but both of them do get each other at their necks.

The paranormal world was built in a way that you slowly discover more of it as Eva does. The world is built in a full extent, but not at all majestic or grand as Divergent, or Daughter of Smoke and Bone. There were the basic werewolf vampire creature fight and it was a simple set up of a story.

I like Pure At Heart because of its simpleness and quick pace. If you are a werewolf fan, I think that you will love this story. So in the end, I will give Sahana Epari's debut novel a head moves back and forth, thumb moving towards the middle or down. (3 out of 5)

Embarrassing Book Covers

One reason why I bought an ereader was because I hated book covers of some of the books I wanted to read. That sounds shallow, I know, but people judge a book by its cover, and sometimes the cover has nothing to do with the book. So I have a list of book covers in which I am embarrassed about reading in public.

Nevermore by Kelley Creagh

Enshadowed by Kelley Creagh


An Abundance of Katherines by John Green


Infernal Devices Series by Cassandra Clare

Mortal Instrument Series by Cassandra Clare


Sometimes I wished that it was the old days where books didn't have a cover. When the book was bound in a cloth, and then the first page was the title page. There are many more books that have very embarassing book covers, and if you know any leave a comment below.