Hope you all had great Novembers,
~Legacy
Friday, December 10, 2010
Back Again for Posting!
Hello readers! I'm finally back from (over a month) NaNo experience and lovely November stress. I've read a few books or so, and plan on reviewing soon. I did manage to get Earthen up to 50,000 words, which I'm very proud of. However, during my busy state, I managed to make a few more book covers. Any your favorite?
Hope you all had great Novembers,
~Legacy
Hope you all had great Novembers,
~Legacy
Friday, October 29, 2010
NaNoWriMo Time!
That's right! It's almost November 1st! Are you doing anything to WriMo? This is honestly my first time trying it out, and I'll admit I am cheating. Not completely, but enough that it will not "count" as an actual NaNoWriMo. Instead of starting something new, I am continuing Earthen (which today has reached over 20,000 words). I want the novel to have its first draft done by December 31st, so that I have a couple of months to edit it before submitting it to the Scholastic Writing Contest. If I didn't do WriMo on Earthen, it wouldn't make it to the February deadline in time.
I'm sorry it took me so long to update this wonderful blog! My life has been quite stressful lately, and my family is still struggling to get through it. Still, I will try to update more often this coming November.
Hope you have a wonderful Hallowween,
~Legacy
I'm sorry it took me so long to update this wonderful blog! My life has been quite stressful lately, and my family is still struggling to get through it. Still, I will try to update more often this coming November.
Hope you have a wonderful Hallowween,
~Legacy
Sunday, October 3, 2010
My First Review: I Am Number Four
First review on this blog, and most likely not the last. The book of the day is I Am Number Four.
Author: Pittacus Lore
Page Count: 440
Genre: Sci-Fi
Age Range: Young Adult
From First Glance: Gosh, it's such a handsome book! Whoever made the cover and did the formatting for this thing did a brilliant job with it! As in the picture above, it looks pretty simple but instantly catches your eye. Also, the side of the pages has two words on it: Lorien Legacies. I'll honestly say that when I bought this the woman at the register started freaking out at this, which was quite hilarious (although I feel the same way).
The back is really interesting as well, but it is pretty vague. Even with finishing the book, I'm not sure if it's the good side (the Loriens) or the bad side (the Mogadorians) for it could be either. Still, it was very well done.
Brief Summary: The book is about Four, a boy from a distant planet called Loric that was destroyed. He is sent down to Earth and hide. Eight others (with their guardians) are also sent. Those that destroyed Loric, the Mogadorians (that's a mouthful, huh?) then go to Earth to kill these Nine and succeed on killing three. The story then jumps to John (aka Four with a name change), who moves with his guardian Henri to the small town of Paradise, Ohio. While there, he starts developing powers known as Legacies. These Legacies will give John and the other Loriens a chance at fighting the Mogadorians.
Thoughts and feelings:
The writing itself-- It was okay. I wasn't impressed with the book at the beginning, with its confusing and practically meaningless prologue (even when I reread it after finishing the book, it was still pretty meaningless) to finding two spelling/grammatical errors on the first page of Chapter One. The first half of the book was all right, but enough to keep me reading. It got a lot better about 200 pages in, when everything really started to get interesting. The ending was fabulously written, although it really got me ticked off. Overall it was good.
The characters-- I'm at a 50/50 here whether I like them or hate their guts. Some were likeable (such as John's guardian Henri), but the others didn't feel real. They weren't developed enough as they could have been, although they did manage to be interesting. Four/John was okay, but didn't wow me in any way. The friends he makes I kinda liked, but Mr. Lore should have gone even further with them. Then there were a few characters that couldn't make up their mind, and didn't have a set personality of who they were.
The plot-- Great work here! It's pretty original, and I was entertained by Pittacus Lore (the author) how he named the planet after himself (Loric and Loriens) and had the founder of Loric be Pittacus Lore ( an elder who randomly showed up there. . .it wasn't really explained why he did. *Shrug*). The idea of John and Henri in hiding in plain sight from the Mogadorians was great, and the action scenes written in this book were fabulous! The book was filled with action scenes too, which made it go by quite quickly.
Final Thoughts: Gah! The ending bothered me. It really bothered me. I'm not sure if I'm depressed about it or if I'm furious at it. It didn't seem to really have a good ending point either. Still, that will not stop me from getting the next one whenever it comes out.
Rating: **** Four Stars. It was a great concept, but the characters did not seem developed enough. It also had points where the characters swore unnecessarily (swearing just to swear), and the school didn't seem that realistic. It had that stereotypical feeling to it, and the bullies pulled pranks I doubt any quote on quote "bully" does in school nowadays. Still, the action scenes were very well written! Overall, I did enjoy reading it.
Author: Pittacus Lore
Page Count: 440
Genre: Sci-Fi
Age Range: Young Adult
The back is really interesting as well, but it is pretty vague. Even with finishing the book, I'm not sure if it's the good side (the Loriens) or the bad side (the Mogadorians) for it could be either. Still, it was very well done.
Brief Summary: The book is about Four, a boy from a distant planet called Loric that was destroyed. He is sent down to Earth and hide. Eight others (with their guardians) are also sent. Those that destroyed Loric, the Mogadorians (that's a mouthful, huh?) then go to Earth to kill these Nine and succeed on killing three. The story then jumps to John (aka Four with a name change), who moves with his guardian Henri to the small town of Paradise, Ohio. While there, he starts developing powers known as Legacies. These Legacies will give John and the other Loriens a chance at fighting the Mogadorians.
Thoughts and feelings:
The writing itself-- It was okay. I wasn't impressed with the book at the beginning, with its confusing and practically meaningless prologue (even when I reread it after finishing the book, it was still pretty meaningless) to finding two spelling/grammatical errors on the first page of Chapter One. The first half of the book was all right, but enough to keep me reading. It got a lot better about 200 pages in, when everything really started to get interesting. The ending was fabulously written, although it really got me ticked off. Overall it was good.
The characters-- I'm at a 50/50 here whether I like them or hate their guts. Some were likeable (such as John's guardian Henri), but the others didn't feel real. They weren't developed enough as they could have been, although they did manage to be interesting. Four/John was okay, but didn't wow me in any way. The friends he makes I kinda liked, but Mr. Lore should have gone even further with them. Then there were a few characters that couldn't make up their mind, and didn't have a set personality of who they were.
The plot-- Great work here! It's pretty original, and I was entertained by Pittacus Lore (the author) how he named the planet after himself (Loric and Loriens) and had the founder of Loric be Pittacus Lore ( an elder who randomly showed up there. . .it wasn't really explained why he did. *Shrug*). The idea of John and Henri in hiding in plain sight from the Mogadorians was great, and the action scenes written in this book were fabulous! The book was filled with action scenes too, which made it go by quite quickly.
Final Thoughts: Gah! The ending bothered me. It really bothered me. I'm not sure if I'm depressed about it or if I'm furious at it. It didn't seem to really have a good ending point either. Still, that will not stop me from getting the next one whenever it comes out.
Rating: **** Four Stars. It was a great concept, but the characters did not seem developed enough. It also had points where the characters swore unnecessarily (swearing just to swear), and the school didn't seem that realistic. It had that stereotypical feeling to it, and the bullies pulled pranks I doubt any quote on quote "bully" does in school nowadays. Still, the action scenes were very well written! Overall, I did enjoy reading it.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Alternative Covers for Earthen
Hello everyone!
Yet another short post by me during the weekend. Just wanted to show you guys some alternative covers I made while fiddling around with Gimp and photo manipulation.
This one I was first making as the first cover for Earthen's sequel Defender, but then decided to keep it as a possible Earthen cover for now (although I don't plan on switching out the cover I currently have for a while yet):
And this is the one made completely in Gimp:
Have a good weekend, folks! Expect another post by me sooner than later!
~Legacy
Yet another short post by me during the weekend. Just wanted to show you guys some alternative covers I made while fiddling around with Gimp and photo manipulation.
This one I was first making as the first cover for Earthen's sequel Defender, but then decided to keep it as a possible Earthen cover for now (although I don't plan on switching out the cover I currently have for a while yet):
And this is the one made completely in Gimp:
Have a good weekend, folks! Expect another post by me sooner than later!
~Legacy
Friday, September 17, 2010
At Long Last!
I have officially gotten 10,000 words for Earthen! You know what that means, right? I can finally post it as a book on Inkpop! :D
Although a major rough draft, I still hope you will check it out and love it as much as I have loved writing it. Here is the link if you want to read it:
http://www.inkpop.com/projects/69553/earthen/
Although a major rough draft, I still hope you will check it out and love it as much as I have loved writing it. Here is the link if you want to read it:
http://www.inkpop.com/projects/69553/earthen/
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Earthen: Being the First in a still Unnamed Trilogy
Novel Title: Earthen
Genre: Fantasy/Sci-fi, with some Steampunk
Current Word Count: 6,358
On Chapter: Four
Short Hook: If it were up to her, Sienna would not save one world, let alone two.
Summary: Raetha is dying. The town of Firethorne, housing Sienna Ashton and her family, was once a place of agriculture and riches. But the tides are turning, and the air is growing hotter. Each year, more and more food is burned up and useless. The mines of Firethorne are becoming more dangerous, with the sudden increase in tunnel collapses and deaths. As Raetha is at the brink of summer, Sienna's family is hit with yet another blow: Grandfather is dying from an unknown and incurable disease.
With the comfort of her friend Caydyn and the riding of the local griffins, Sienna tries to push the thoughts of Grandfather away.
Of course, that changes when Grandfather asks for Sienna to tell her a story about a place called Earth. It is at Earth, he says, that the griffins gain unimaginable powers to stop the destruction on the planet. As his last breath leaves his body, Sienna feels doubt stirring her heart.
Was Grandfather too far gone to take seriously, or was he telling the truth?
In the spirit of starting Earthen, I decided to make a cover. There isn't much to it, but I still love how it came out. Unfortunately, the book is not quite ready for Inkpop yet. However, I plan on posting the rough draft of what I have soon.
I hope to see all your wonderful comments and swaps when it gets onto Inkpop,
~Legacy
Genre: Fantasy/Sci-fi, with some Steampunk
Current Word Count: 6,358
On Chapter: Four
Short Hook: If it were up to her, Sienna would not save one world, let alone two.
Summary: Raetha is dying. The town of Firethorne, housing Sienna Ashton and her family, was once a place of agriculture and riches. But the tides are turning, and the air is growing hotter. Each year, more and more food is burned up and useless. The mines of Firethorne are becoming more dangerous, with the sudden increase in tunnel collapses and deaths. As Raetha is at the brink of summer, Sienna's family is hit with yet another blow: Grandfather is dying from an unknown and incurable disease.
With the comfort of her friend Caydyn and the riding of the local griffins, Sienna tries to push the thoughts of Grandfather away.
Of course, that changes when Grandfather asks for Sienna to tell her a story about a place called Earth. It is at Earth, he says, that the griffins gain unimaginable powers to stop the destruction on the planet. As his last breath leaves his body, Sienna feels doubt stirring her heart.
Was Grandfather too far gone to take seriously, or was he telling the truth?
In the spirit of starting Earthen, I decided to make a cover. There isn't much to it, but I still love how it came out. Unfortunately, the book is not quite ready for Inkpop yet. However, I plan on posting the rough draft of what I have soon.
I hope to see all your wonderful comments and swaps when it gets onto Inkpop,
~Legacy
The First Post is Always the Hardest. . .Right?
Hello, and welcome to Airis (aka my novel/book review blog with a funky title)! My name is Michaela, otherwise known as Legacy on this blog and on Inkpop.
I don't really have a reason for naming it Airis, other than it sounded cool. "Blog" didn't sound original enough.
A few things about me: I'm 15, and am in my sophomore year of high school. I have a cat and some fish. The color green has to be my favorite. I'm also an avid reader, writer (obviously), and love anything concerning animals. One thing that really has me peeved are the major obsession with vampires and the misspelling of words on the internet. I can put up with werewolves sometimes, but I have a line I need to draw after that.
Now that greetings have been issued, I can get onto the better stuff: writing. Books that I have read. Interesting things in general. Along with my novels and the book reviews, I will post some art I have done now and again.
I hope this blog will not only spark your interest, but be of entertainment to you,
~Legacy
I don't really have a reason for naming it Airis, other than it sounded cool. "Blog" didn't sound original enough.
A few things about me: I'm 15, and am in my sophomore year of high school. I have a cat and some fish. The color green has to be my favorite. I'm also an avid reader, writer (obviously), and love anything concerning animals. One thing that really has me peeved are the major obsession with vampires and the misspelling of words on the internet. I can put up with werewolves sometimes, but I have a line I need to draw after that.
Now that greetings have been issued, I can get onto the better stuff: writing. Books that I have read. Interesting things in general. Along with my novels and the book reviews, I will post some art I have done now and again.
I hope this blog will not only spark your interest, but be of entertainment to you,
~Legacy
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